Ravioli!!

           So, we were at one of our college best friends' wedding a couple of days ago. The wedding was in a hotel, and as the habit goes, an open buffet dinner was served. It was one of the rare occasions when I didn't, really, feel like eating. However, I went along with Summar. There were several types of pasta, but Summar picked one with white sauce that was shaped in rectangles. I prefer red sauce for pasta, but that looked appetizing so I had a bit too. We filled our plates with other stuff, then we started to eat. I started with the pasta;, I put a piece into my mouth and started to chew and then magic happened! There was the yummiest mix of cheese I ever tasted. Just remembering the taste, right now, is making my mouth watering! The rectangular pasta pieces were stuffed with cheese. Its taste reminded me of the Tortellini I ate at Sbarro years ago, but that was stuffed with cheese and chicken, and it was round. Summar was smiling pleasantly, and when I asked, she said that she was just admiring how delicious that was…Yes! That's how dreamy it was!

          After researches, I found out that the magical pasta dish is called Ravioli! It can be served with red sauce or white sauce, though the white sauce suited it perfectly. It can also be stuffed with things other than cheese. I went, instantly, for the recipe. It wasn't good news for me though. Apparently, you have to do make the pasta yourself. I never tried it before and I don't know anyone who tried to make pasta from scratch at home.

         The dough to make the pasta consists of: flour, water, eggs, olive oil and salt, which are the basic ingredients for any dough. Why didn't we ever try to make pasta before?!

         Then, there's the cheese filling, which contains of Ricotta, Parmesan, Roman, Asiago and cheddar cheese blended with eggs, salt and pepper. That's all simple and available, as well. Maybe, except for Asiago cheese. Does cheese with that name even exist?!

         Apparently, yes! However, it can be replaced by Romano and Parmesan, which are already there, so it's not necessary.

 All easy so far!

-Now you have to mix the stuff for the filling together, and refrigerate them for 30 minutes. Then go for the dough. Crack the eggs and beat them with the water, oil and salt. Then, add the flour and make the dough!

-Now you have a dough. Roll it out with a rolling pin and then, using a round glass cut circular pieces of dough.

-Fill them with the refrigerated cheese mix and seal them.

-Place the Ravioli pieces in a pot filled with boiling water, until they cook.

-Finally, top it with your favorite sauce!

        Now that I think about it… that was easy! I am so making that for dinner next week! I am so excited right now! I want to eat that again, and I am cooking pasta from scratch!! I am broadening my horizons! .. That went too far! But good food can really drive you nuts! I might update this post, if I keep my word and try it for dinner, next week.

       So, that's  where I got the recipe: http://www.wikihow.com/Make-Ravioli

The illustrating pictures are really helpful. I couldn't get a word , from all the other recipes I checked. :D

Movie of the week (2)

Movie: My Best friend's wedding
Genre: Comedy, Romance
Starring: Julia Roberts, Dermot Mulroney, Cameron Diaz and Rupert Everett
Release date: June, 1997
IMDB rating: 6.3/10
Rotten tomatoes rating: 71%
Plot: Julianne Potter learns that her best friend Micheal O'Neal is getting married in a couple of weeks and she goes down the crazy road from there. She was depending on their promise to each other, that they would get married by the age 28 if they were both single, and just before her 28th birthday she learns the news. She realizes that she's in love with him. She sets out to bring him back and ruin his relationship with his fiance Kimberly Wallace. What makes her mission harder is that Kimberly is a very sweet lovable person who truly loves Micheal, she even makes Julianne her made of honor. George, Julianne's co-worker and friend tries to snap her out of it and to help her let it go.
What makes it special: It's a movie that always makes me laugh. I can't even remember the first time I saw it, but I love watching it over and over again. The couple of music numbers are just adorable like that restaurant scene when all the family was singing, or that moment under the bridge with Fred Astaire's The way you look tonight.

Julianne is also in some comedic scenes due to her desperate attempts to break up the lovely couple. All in all, it's a nice movie about friendship, love and letting go ^_^

My rating: 8/10

Song of the day (10)

Song: Kiseki

Artist: Greeeen

Album: Ā, Domo. Ohisashiburi Desu.

Year: 2008

        Writing about Rookies, today, made me remember how much I loved its theme song Kiseki. Listening to it, always, made me feel happy and optimistic. It's a romantic song but a cheerful one, the lyrics are nice. Besides, I liked Rookies so much, so the song brings good memories. However, Rookies is not the only memory it brings.

Kiseki reminds me of our second visit to the Japanese foundation in Cairo.

       The Japanese foundation in downtown, Cairo, is like a Japanese cultural center. It was the embassy before it moved to Maadi. On our first visit to the foundation, I and Summar met at El-Manial and went there together by the Metro. It gets you right beside the tower where the foundation is located. On the second visit we were supposed to meet there. On that day, the underground gate that lead to the tower was closed. I had to leave from another gate. The streets were barricaded to block the way to Tahrir square. Then I realized I had to get there from the opposite direction and I ended up in Garden City. For me, and for many I dare say, Garden city is one hell of a maze. You keep going and going and then you end up where you started. It took me an hour to get out of there. Eventually I found my way to the tower where I met Summar.

      The foundation has a small library. The library has manga, magazines and Japanese teaching books. It also has audio CDs, anime figures and other stuff. However, all the books there are in Japanese and only Japanese, not a single word in English or Arabic, even the teaching ones. So, reading a book or a manga was out of the question. We'd go around though, check the book covers and the manga they have, flip through the magazines for anything that looks familiar and that's it. Since, it took me a great deal of walking, that day, to get there, we couldn't settle for this, so we went for the audio CDs. We checked for any band we knew and there was Greeeen and Mr. Children. So, I and Summar sat there and listened to the songs on the CDs of both bands. On Greeeen's CD there was Kiseki! :D

       Kiseki was on the top of the Billboard Japan hot 100 for the year 2008. It was, also, certified as the bestselling download single in Japan by Guinness world records.  

Anime character of the day (10)

Character: Mame
Anime (movie): Momo e no tegami (A letter to momo)
Age: Unknown
Role: Supporting character
About the character: Mame is one of the three former Gods (goblin like beings) that appear to Momo after she moves to Shio island following the death of her father. Along with Iwa and Kawa they accompany Momo and help her adapt to her new life. They appear to Momo after she finds that unfinished letter from her late father only saying "Dear Momo".

I find Mame very similar to Dobby from Harry Potter :D He's sweet and childlike and gets Momo in trouble with his love for food. The adventures they have together are enjoyable and fun to watch, especially that dance XD

J-Drama of the Week (2)

J-Drama: Rookies

Genre: Sports – Drama – Comedy

Episodes: 11+ Special

Network: TBS

            Rookies is a sports drama adapted from the successful Shōnen manga that goes by the same name. The story revolves around the baseball team of Futakotamagawa high school. Koichi Kawato is the new Japanese literature teacher at the school. He catches interest in the suspended baseball team of the school. The team was suspended due to a violence incident during one of their games. The suspended team turned into a group of thugs interested only in smoking, fighting and women. In spite of all that, Kawato sees potential in them. He's determined to get them back on the field and help them realize their dream, reaching the baseball high school tournament.

           The first few episodes show Kawato's attempts to retrieve the team members. Then, the rest of the episodes contain the team games and their efforts to reach the national tournament. Beside all the troubles with the team, Kawato has his own secret. He struggles to become a fine teacher that can make a positive difference in his students' lives.

          

           Generally speaking, I like sports dramas. I like the competitiveness that comes with it. I, also, like watching the underdog winning, which is the case with almost all sports drama. However, Rookies had more than that. Rookies is about realizing dreams and achieving goals. Rookies is about the importance of teamwork and the value of friendship. Rookies is about hard work and sacrifice for the greater good. Rookies is about "All for one, and one for all". Having the optimum high school experience is by working for your dreams and seeing them come true.

 I liked watching rookies because:

-It's interesting. The drama was good and the games were stimulating.

-It's informative. I learned a lot about baseball. I didn't know a thing about baseball before watching it.

-The comedy was good. It didn't ruin the mood.

-The characters were fine and they developed well. The actors played their roles splendidly.

-The OST suited the show. It was nice. The theme song Kiseki by Greeeen is one of my favorites. Also, the special's Haruka was nice.

-It's inspiring. Though in my case, it just made me regret wasting my high school days. If you're not there yet, then there's still a chance.

      Finally, I can say that Rookies was one of the best J-drama I've watched. It was very enjoyable, exciting and inspiring. If you're into sports and J-Drama, then this should be on your list. 

TV series character of the week (2)

Name: Walter Bishop
Actor: John Noble
Show: Fringe
Role: Main character
About the character: Walter is such a difficult character to explain! Walter was a Harvard graduate who had post graduate studies in Oxford and MIT. He worked with his life time friend and partner William Bell on experiments in the basement of one of Harvard's colleges. Their work focused on fringe science, genetic engineering and quantum physics. Walter's IQ is 196 which is definitely very smart :D

Walter was admitted in a psychiatric institute for seventeen years after being accused of manslaughter. He developed weapons for the military and did -not very legal or ethical- experiments on humans.
When the FBI encounters accidents beyond their understanding, they require the help of Peter Bishop, Walter's son, to help them deal with Walter in solving those mysteries.

Why I Chose him: Walter is my absolute favorite character in this show. I can't explain how much I admire him. With each episode I shout, this guy deserves an Oscar, honestly one of John Noble's master pieces. He successfully portrays Walter as a disturbed genius, who has this huge amount of knowledge. Despite being this smart, the character is so warm due to his memory problems and somewhat childish behavior. I mean how cute is it that he loves licorice and has a pet cow named Gene. It's amazing watching Walter develop relationships with other characters. Two very special relationships is with his son Peter and his assistant Astrid.
Peter <3 my second favorite character, maybe I'll talk about him later. Anyway, it's heart warming to watch them develop that father-son relationship. Two scenes in particular are unforgettable, when Walter has kept Peter's Christmas presents for  more than 10 years and finally presents him the box ^_^ The other one is in the episode before the last, it's a one minute conversation but holds so much emotion, unfortunately I can't describe the scene in fear I might reveal something, but it breaks my heart every time :').

Walter with Astrid is pure laughs :D The way he always forgets her name calling her Astro, Asterix, Ostrich and even Claire one time which doesn't start with an A XD Their famous strawberry milkshake, the way Astrid feels like his baby sitter, and how mush she understands him. They also have a brilliant moment in the finale that just brings you to tears :').

I won't even start talking about Walternate and how amazing he is. It just shows how clever the writers were to create such a different yet logical version of Walter. I just love hating him :D
Another thing that makes Walter so lovable, is that you can feel how much John Noble enjoys playing him. He gets to play a genius who has every reason to go crazy, one time walking around naked in the house giving Peter a heart attack XD

Finally I recommend this show to anyone and you're sure to fall for sweet sweet Walter (as I call him :D).
Now I feel like I want to re-watch the whole thing XD

Song of the day (9)

Well it's only logical for me to choose this song today :D

Those were the days

Artist: Mary Hopkin (English)/Original: Tamara Tsereteli (Georgian) & Alexander Vertinsky (Russian)
Album: It was only a single
Genre: Folk
Release date: August 1968
About the song: The original song was written by the Russian poet Konstantin Podrevskii dealing with reminiscing the old days of youth and memories of friendship. The song became very popular with its English lyrics. The song was recorded in over twenty languages by many singers and the tune is very well known worldwide.
Why I chose it: The first thought that crosses my mind is my school days, my friends and I used to love it :D Now it has this bittersweet feeling, there are too many memories attached to the song. I see my childhood, my school days and my college years. And today a girl on a harp was playing the melody as we were eating at Aya's wedding :D.Nothing's like beautiful food with beautiful music and your best friends around you <3. It's just beautiful and reminds you that life is nothing without a bunch of very good friends and companions ^_^

Anime Character of the Day (9)

 Shintarō Natsume, one of my Beelzebub unsolved mysteries… XD

Character: Shintarō Natsume

Anime/Manga: Beelzebub

Age: 18

Role: Supporting

          Natsume is an Ishiyama high student and one of Kanzaki's underlings. Natsume is one of the most interesting characters of Beelzebub and he remains so till the end. He, always, seems calm and carefree. He rarely gets involved in the fights, he prefers to watch in amusement. In spite of being Kanzaki's underling, he's most probably stronger than Kanzaki. He's just following him, because it's fun. He could defeat the MK5 all by himself. He could also handle one of the 6 holy knight of St. Ishiyama alone. He was also claimed to be of Tojo's level by Misao one of Yohei Nasu's underlings. He's interested in Oga and his strength. He also acknowledges him as the strongest of Ishiyama's delinquents, calling him the big boss.  

         He seems to be enjoying the trouble, whenever it happens. We, rarely, witness his fights, we usually see the outcome, which is a defeated foe and him showing unscathed. In spite of being, apparently smarter than Kanzaki and Shiroyama, he goes along with their, idiotic actions. He's never seen advising them against anything. He seems to enjoy watching them acting stupid and falling in trouble, like when Kanzaki was trying to become stronger to defeat Oga, in the first arc.  

         
        In spite of his laidback attitude, Natsume is loyal to his friends. He's always, there for help. He helped with the holy knights. He was, also, a member of Ishiyama's volley ball team against the holy knights. He participated in the search for En. He trained with others, under Saotome, to defeat Behemoths Pillars (Akumano Academy). He was also a very effective member of the Saints in the final arc.

           Natsume is a mystery because we never know how strong he is. We never see him in a complete fight. We never understand what's going on in his head. He seems to be always enjoying the situation, whatever it is. I was waiting for a Natsume surprise till the end of the manga, but there was no such thing. He remains a mystery, or maybe that's just how he is. It was noted in the manga itself, that the guy is a mystery. However, he's one of favorite Beelzebub characters. :D

Anime character of the day (8)

Character: Yuzuyu Sakashita
Anime: Aishiteruze Baby
Age: 5 years old
Role: Main character
About the character: Yuzuyu is a sweet 5 year old girl who was abandoned by her mother. Her aunt takes her in and Kippei is given the guardian role and he has to take care of her. Bit by bit Yuzuyu becomes attached to Kippei and considers him her mother, friend and guardian :D

Why I chose her: Just listen to her "Kippei oni-chan" super kawaiii ^_^ She could be a cry baby, but you have to excuse her it's the hardest thing to see your own mother walk away when you're only 5. She's smart and sweet and her bond with Kippei is just adorable to watch. She even gets jealous of his girlfriend :D I love that episode when Kippei tries to make her onigiri (rice balls) just look! :D

Book of the week (2)

Book: Lorien legacies book series
Author: Pittacus Lore
Genre: Dystopian, Adventure, super powers, sci-fi
Release date: The first book was published 2010
Condition: Ongoing
Goodreads rating: Average of the 4 published books 4.14/5
About the books: To be honest I didn't read the first book "I am number four", but I watched the movie and despite IMDB's unfair ratings I totally loved it! I've always been a sucker for super powers and awesome abilities :D I'll try not to reveal too much ;)

So the story starts with a boy who names himself John Smith and his father figure Henry. John is one of nine alien children (members of the Garde) who were sent to earth from their dying planet with their guardians, to grow, learn their abilities, get stronger and finally save the planet from the Megadorians ruled by Sitrakus-Ra. Problems start when John has three burning scars on his leg meaning that three of his kind were tracked and killed by the Megadorians. John is number four. He's next and the nice life he started building in Paradise, Ohio is disturbed. The first book revolves around John's training with Henry, meeting his best friend Sam, his girlfriend Sarah and his loyal pet dog Bernie Kosar.

The second book "The power of six" takes us in a journey after John, Sam and Six meet and they're on the road together. We get to meet seven in a narrative form. I find Seven's part in the book completely boring, it just killed me. Nine also makes an appearance, leaving us anticipating how five and eight will be. There are some nice twists and surprises here.

After Six, John and Sam are separated "The rise of nine" shows us Six with Marina/Seven in Spain with their friends Ella and Clayton flying to India searching for Eight. On the other hand John and Nine are discovering more of their abilities, but Sam has been left behind under unfortunate circumstances :/ What we find in this book is that Marina isn't that bad, she could grow into a good strong girl :D Eight is just sweet and very very cool. Ella Wohoo, not saying anything. Nine is AWESOME! The book ends with a blast and the five members of the Garde are brought together to the same place.

In "The fall of five" the group start training together after finally reuniting. They start looking for Five. Can't say anything as well except this one has MAJOR surprises. You'll just keep flipping those pages only to find the book is done.

Now I'm jumping off my seat, because finally the fifth book comes out today and hopefully it'll be here in Egypt ASAP. (I'm not telling you the title, it could reveal things :D)
Final verdict: The books stumble a little in the beginning, but I promise you they keep getting better and better. The last two just blew me away. If you're a fan of sci-fi and super powers this is the place for you. Sit back, read the book and indulge in the world of Pittacus Lore.
My rating: 9/10
Bonus: The author is so crazy that he made himself a fictional character in the book. I just don't know his real name XD