I tend to be a semi planner. Â I thought Lisbon in the south, Coimbra in the middle of the country and Porto in the north would provide a nice cross section of the country. Â There are also multiple trains running each day between all these cities so I wouldn’t have to worry about when to leave or travel wait times.
When it comes to determination and passion, Fabian Thorne would be the poster child. Here is a man who would not permit any handicap to derail his long term plans. Fabian, ever since childhood was always interested in sports in any form. He played basketball and his favorite football. At first he was a sight to see at the local parks but he would graduate to play at the High School and semi-pro level.
But there was one major set-back that many would have avoided even attempting to compete. Fabian was legally blind on one eye but that did not stop him from not only trying out but making the team. He owes his perseverance to his mother, coaches and his own stubbornness.
So what if you wanted to move your pretzel experience to the comfort of your own home? Â It’s actually quite easy with one annoying exception. Â The recipe called for 1/4 cup of powdered milk. Â Did you know you can only buy powdered milk in increments of 5 pounds? Â I do now. Â So $13 later and with the newest addition to the back of my cupboard, I was ready to bake.
I am always looking for new recipes to try (and ultimately set off the fire alarm in my apartment….)  It just so happened the incredibly talented Janness Koh who writes for our Full Access Singapore site had just what I was looking for with her Pandan Cake.
Disregard the fact there are 3 grocery stores within half a mile of my apartment.
Throw out the knowledge there are 2 bakeries, countless bodegas and Seamless ready to handle all my restaurant delivery needs.
Let’s take it back to ’79 (1879) when people were making their own food at home.
Challenge accepted.
We all remember Federico as “Furio” on The Sopranos but he has come a long way since then; from building up his painting career to directing movies. The project was first released as a trailer, “Lilly of The Feast”  and came together around 2015. It was the brainchild of Federico and prolific writer, Michael Ricigliano. The title of the film later changed to “Brooklyn Banker” when it was completed. Only last week they launched a national film campaign which began at the Cinema Village in Manhattan to a sold out crowd.
Brunch. I’m not the biggest fan of Maths, but the sum of breakfast + lunch is an equation everyone should get acquainted with. Brunch is the socially acceptable way to get away with two meals in one and to drink bubbles with eggs and hollandaise sauce – Winning. And quite frankly, my experience in the past few weeks has revealed that Christchurch City has many Brunch haunts worth a visit (or two.) Here are some top picks.
Do you enjoy a great book? Â How many of us recall searching through a bookstore with rack after rack of colorful novels? Â A long time ago our cities were filled with independent book sellers. Â These book stores were a part of the community. Â Sadly, most such places have faded into the dust of history. Â In their stead we have the endless results of Google, the extreme pricing of Barnes and Noble, the careless displays of Books A Million, the behemoth of Amazon, and we have the proverbial cloud of Kindle.
Little River, a small village conveniently placed at the foot of the Banks Peninsula and a gateway to Christchurch’s more outdoorsy relative. In Latin, peninsula literally translates to almost (pen) an island (insula), i.e. A very accessible destination with all of the frills one expects of a typical island such as postcard views and an abundance of food from the sea. Last week, I took a trip to Little River to experience a break from technology, a spot of relaxation and a chance to explore a place I have spent many a childhood jaunt, but from a different perspective. One of my favourite past-times is pretending I am a tourist in my own hometown; you can travel the world, but sometimes it’s your backyard that was stunning all along. Go check it out!
The pineapple is one of those perfect ingredients (alongside avocados and mangos.) Â So why mess with perfection? Â I would say it is more about taking a different approach to something you are familiar with than a detraction. Â The heat concentrates and enhances the natural sweetness of the fruit and the caramelization on the outside is just delicious.
I originally put this together for my paleo friends. Â Aside from that, I wanted to play around with temperature and texture. Â The raw and cooked ingredients play well off each other. Â This is also a really simple salad and you can put it together in about 20 minutes.
