Author: CircleMe

Arroz con leche, a milky rice treat

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arroz_con_leche
Arroz con leche, or literally rice with milk, is a desert that is enjoyed in parts of South America, especially Peru, as well as Europe.

It is an exotic yet simple desert that can is easy to make. The arroz con leche can be sweetened and flavoured to taste and it is an easy desert that can be served when entertaining either for a small dinner party or just to offer a little taste of something different for your own family. This desert is also quite filling and is best eaten with a meal that does not already include rice.

All you need are two cups of uncooked white rice, three pints of cow’s milk, condensed milk, powdered cinnamon, brown sugar, a saucepan, four cinnamon sticks, and four small desert bowls or desert glasses.

Soak the uncooked rice in milk for a few hours. This can be done overnight as desired. Once soaked, in a saucepan over a low flame, boil rice in the remaining milk until nice and tender. Once rice is tender leave to cool

Stir in condensed milk and sugar to sweeten to taste. Add powdered cinnamon and place small amounts of mixture into glasses. Chill in a cool refrigerator until ready.

Cinnamon sticks can be added to the desert bowls before serving.

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Havana, Cuba

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havana

One of the oldest cities in the Caribbean and one of the most exotic is Havana, the capital city of Cuba-the largest island in the Caribbean. The city is 90 miles from Florida in North America and used to be the play ground of many wealthy Americans before the embargo of the 1960′s came into effect.

When wants to see vintage American cars driving around Spanish style architecture and streets, Havana is the place to see it. Stepping into Havana is like taking a step back in time.

The city proper is quite large with just over two million inhabitants. It was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site and is known for its mix of culture, history,architecture, and monuments.

Habana Vieja is the oldest part of the city and just across the bay sits the Fortress San Carlos de Cabana. Here each night a reenactment involving canons being fired takes place.

Among the other interesting buildings are the El Capitol Nacional, which is a replica of the US state capitol buildings and is the centre of government in the city; The Plaza de la Revolucion and the Hotel Nacional de Cuba. The Cuban ballet is also in old Havana.

The Malecon runs along the north coast of the city and is the most popular avenue in the city, known for its spectacular sunsets.

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Lindsay Lohan goes back to work

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Troubled actress Lindsay Lohan is out of a 90 day rehab facility and already back to work. The actress taped an episode as a guest host of the E! programme Chelsea Lately.

Lohan who has been in and out of rehab as much as she has been in and out of trouble in the ast few years interviewed the Dylan Bruce who stars in the BBC show Orphan Black..

Meanwhile, a judge has ordered that the blonde Lohan undergo more therapy to avoid certain failure following her latest stint in rehab.

The judge made the order after the facility where Lohan stayed for three months wrote a letter requesting that she undergo further treatment citing fear of a certain relapse without further therapy.

Cliffside Malibu’s CEO Richard Taite a letter stating that the actress needed 3, 50-minute sessions a week for the next 15 months.

Lohan also stars in the erotic thriller “The Canyon”. The movie directed by Paul Shrader opened in New York City last Friday.

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Simon Cowell impregnates friends wife

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Simon Cowell out and about in Los Angeles, America - 27 Oct 2012
Simon Cowell is about to become a father for the first time at age 52 but what should be a happy occasion is quickly turning into one of the biggest scandals of the year.

The superstar producer of the X-Factor, Pop Idol, and American Idol has become embroiled in a love triangle involving his friend Andrew Silverman and his wife New York socialite Lauren Silverman.

Cowell is said to have had an affair with Lauren while she and her husband were going through a rough patch in their marriage. The 36 year old Silverman is now pregnant. Her husband has filed for divorce and has cited Cowell in his divorce petition.

He claims that he and his wife had not yet split when she started the affair with Cowell. Lauren was photographed walking in New York recently with a slight baby bump. Meanwhile, Cowell’s ex-girlfriend 80’s singer Sinitta is said to have burst into tears when the news broke. Sinitta is reported to have said “It should have been me.”

Simon Cowell has gained notoriety on both sides of the pond in the last decade. After popularising Britain’s Got Talent, Pop Idol, and X-Factor Cowell moved to the United States where the developed the US version of American Idol as well as the X-Factor.

He also helped develop such talents as Il Divo. Cowell is known for his love of dark-skinned or mixed race women.

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Blended fruit punch, goodness in a glass

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fruit_punch
A fruit punch is a fun, fresh, and refreshing drink and with lots of fresh fruits it’s good for you too.

A blended fruit punch made with crushed ice, is the perfect drink to cool down a hot summer‘s day or a nice non-alcoholic beverage to serve when you’re entertaining friends.

It is easy to make. All that is needed are two bananas, one medium papaya, the juice of one lemon, 4 ounces of watermelon, 3 oranges, pineapple juice, and 3 ounces of apple juice, two glasses, crushed ice, 2 pineapple wedges, toothpicks, maraschino cherries, and one blender.

In a jug, squeeze the oranges, being careful to remove all seeds. Press the watermelon removing all the liquid and combine with the orange, apple, and pineapple juices.

Peel the papaya, remove the seeds and slice along with the bananas in a blender. Add combined juices of apple, orange, and pineapple. Add crushed ice and blend until smooth.

Pour into glasses. Place pineapple wedges onto glass. Use one toothpick to sear wedge through and add cherry.

Enjoy!

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Dubrovnik, pearl of the Adriatic

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Sitting along the Dalmatiancoast of Croatia is the city of Dubrovnik. Nicknamed the Pearl of the Adriatic, the old city was named a Unesco World Heritage Site in 1979.The city was founded in the seventh century and is considered one of the ten best medieval walled cities of the world.

The city boasts Europe‘s third oldest pharmacy established in 1317. Many old buildings were destroyed in an earthquake in 1667 but several still remain. Among the cities highlights are the Sponza. Palace which now holds the National Archives; Rectors Palace, St. Saviour’s Church -all dating back to the Renaissance as well as the 18th century St. Blaise’s Church.

The wall of Dubrovnik is one of the main features of the city which is a popular tourist destination featuring many top class hotels. Each summer a festival known as the Dubrovnik Summer Festival is held in the city. The festival is 45 days long and involves concerts, games, and live plays.With a Mediterranean climate Dubrovnik has hot dry summers and wet winters. It has its own international airport is also accessible to the rest of Croatia by highway.It is used as the location of King’s Landing in HBO‘s series Game of Thrones. 

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Kickboxer Gets a Reboot

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kick_boxer

Hollywood classics continue to be remade and Jean-Claude Van Damme is no exception a remake of his 1989 hit Kickboxer in the works. Stephen Fung has signed on to direct the film which will be produced by Radar Pictures which also produced The Last Samurai and The Chronicles of Riddick.

Fung previously directed the movie Tai Chi Zero. This is the second Van Damme flick which will be remade as it was previously announced that another of his more popular works Bloodsport is to get a reboot. Jim McGrath and Dimitri Logothetis will write the script for the film. No word yet on whether Van Damme will make a cameo in the remake of either film but Bollywood actor Neil Nitin Mukesh is reporting that he has been offered a film by the Belgian action star.

Van Damme was in India at the International Indian Film Academy Awards where he met Mukesh. It has been reported that Van Damme is hoping to make a film in India complete with all the spice of a Bollywood film mixed in with a little romance and action. Hollywood in the meantime, continues its trend of giving movies a fresh new look. Many films have been getting the reboot over the last decade including Fame, Ice Castles, Fright Night.

Even Spiderman which was only ten years old got a reboot last year.

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Mariah Carey Not Ready to Let Go

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mariah_carey
Mariah Carey hit some bumps in the road and says she isn’t quite ready to release her new album The Art of Letting Go just yet. The 43 year old songstress and mother of twins Munroe and Moroccan was planning to release the new album on July 23 but said that she got so immersed in the creative process that she didn’t think it would do the album justice to release it then.

The singer explained that there were a few songs that she did not want to exclude from the album and so she prefers to wait. No word yet as to when the album will be released. Carey spent time earlier in the summer on the island of Capri shooting a music video for a collaboration she did with Miguel.

The singer was hospitalized in July after she suffered a dislocated shoulder and broken rib while shooting the music video for a remix of her song Beautiful in New York. Sources say the injuries may have happened when the singer took a fall in her heels. The injuries didn’t stop her performing at a Hurricane Sandy Relief Concert in Central Park on July 23.

The multiple Grammy Award-winning Carey has been on a musical and personal high since marrying Nick Cannon in 2008. The pair welcomed their children, one boy, one girl, in April 2011.

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Yummy Cheese Fritters

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cheese_fritters
Cheese fritters are a great meal that can be enjoyed if you prefer to have something filling or a snack sans meat or fish. The best thing is that fritters can be made with any left-over bits of cheese whether it is cheddar, feta, gruyere, pepper jack or mozzarella.

They can also be served with marmalade or chutney to give them a little extra zest. First in a bowl sift flour, salt, and cayenne or black pepper, chopped onions, chopped scallions, and thyme. Make a hole in the centre of the blended flour and add two eggs. Whisk batter combining the eggs with two tablespoons of olive oil and two tablespoons of milk. Next grate in the cheese and stir all together.

Let the mixture sit for a few minutes while you heat a saucepan with oil. Once the oil is hot use a large spoon to scoop up batter and drop medium size dollops in the pot. Fry until golden brown. Once cooked, remove the fritters and place in a sieve or silicone paper to drain off extra oil. The marmalade can be bought or you can make you own using sugar, cider vinegar, sweet peppers, oil, and garlic. Over a medium heat carmelise sugar and onions, sweet peppers, and garlic. Turn down flame until sauce is thick. Do not allow the mixture to burn. Turn off stove and allow marmalade to cool.

Serve and enjoy!

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Santo Domingo, a whole of sun and history

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santo_domingo
For those who love the beach and lots of sunshine with a little bit of history thrown in Santo Domingo is the place to visit. The capital and largest city of the Dominican Republic sits at the mouth of a river that empties into the Caribbean Sea and enjoys bright sunshine almost year round.

The city also happens to be the oldest continuously inhabited city in the New World after being founded by Bartholomew Columbus in 1493. The city is an ode to Spanish old world architecture and several of the structures built during the reign of the Spanish still exist.

The city’s Zona Colonial has been a Unesco World Heritage Site since 1990 and contains a magnificent collection of 16th century buildings, churches, and palaces. The oldest castle in the Americas the Alcazar of Colon is in the city’s colonial centre. Other sites in the colonial zone include the Catedral Santa Maria La Menor and Parque Colon. One of the main attractions of the city is the Malecon, a beautiful avenue running along the coast with some of the finest hotels in the city within view of the sea. The Columbus Lighthouse sits in the east of the city as a monument to the Christopher Columbus and is said to contain his remains. Not far from the city is the vibrant Boca Chica Bay where one can enjoy the beach while walking around in narrow streets.

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