Senin, 25 Mei 2009

Wow! Giant octopus - extreme animals

Octopuses are characterized by their eight arms (as distinct from the tentacles found in squid and cuttlefish), usually bearing suction cups. These arms are a type of muscular hydrostat. Unlike most other cephalopods, the majority of octopuses – those in the suborder most commonly known, Incirrina – have almost entirely soft bodies with no internal skeleton. They have neither a protective outer shell like the nautilus, nor any vestige of an internal shell or bones, like cuttlefish or squid. A beak, similar in shape to a parrot's beak, is the only hard part of their body. This enables them to squeeze through very narrow slits between underwater rocks, which is very helpful when they are fleeing from morays or other predatory fish. The octopuses in the less familiar Cirrina suborder have two fins and an internal shell, generally reducing their ability to squeeze into small spaces.

An octopus moving between tide pools during low tide

Octopuses have a relatively short life expectancy, and some species live for as little as six months. Larger species, such as the North Pacific Giant Octopus, may live for up to five years under suitable circumstances. However, reproduction is a cause of death: males can only live for a few months after mating, and females die shortly after their eggs hatch. They neglect to eat during the (roughly) one month period spent taking care of their unhatched eggs, but they don't die of starvation. Endocrine secretions from the two optic glands are the cause of genetically-programmed death (and if these glands are surgically removed, the octopus may live many months beyond reproduction, until she finally starves).

Stauroteuthis syrtensis, a finned octopus of the suborder Cirrina

Octopuses have three hearts. Two pump blood through each of the two gills, while the third pumps blood through the body. Octopus blood contains the copper-rich protein hemocyanin for transporting oxygen. Although less efficient under normal conditions than the iron-rich hemoglobin of vertebrates, in cold conditions with low oxygen pressure, hemocyanin oxygen transportation is more efficient than hemoglobin oxygen transportation. The hemocyanin is dissolved in the plasma instead of being carried within red blood cells and gives the blood a blue color. Octopuses draw water into their mantle cavity where it passes through its gills. As mollusks, octopuses have gills that are finely divided and vascularized outgrowths of either the outer or the inner body surface.

How to Make a Flavorful and Delightful Barbecue

If you are tired with the same barbecue recipe that you prepare for your family during picnics or family gatherings or your guests might now be turning their heads away from your barbecues during parties or socialization, you might be needing some barbecue recipe rescue. You can try new barbecue recipes but you can also dash up the taste of your good old barbecue by following these tips:


Add fruits and veggies to your barbecue. Why not try adding pineapple chunks and cucumber cuts to your barbecue? This will make your barbecues look delightful and more presentable when you serve them to your family or guests. Adding fruits or vegetables also adds vitamins that are good for the body. Pineapple chunks, for example are rich in Vitamin C. If you want your barbecue to look appealing even to health buffs, adding some vegetables and fruits is a good idea that you can try.

Make the meat tastier. Many people apply the barbecue sauces into the meat 20 minutes or an hour before grilling. The flavor, however, cannot seep into the meat. You can do something about this by soaking the meat into the marinade or barbecue sauce overnight or longer before grilling. If you are afraid that the meat can get spoiled, place the meat and the marinade in the refrigerator. You will notice that the meat is tastier when it is soaked longer in the marinade.

Serve more tender meats. Nobody wants to eat chewing gum like meat in barbecue so it would be a good idea to serve meats that can be easily chewed and eaten. You can do this by marinating the meat longer. Some people also add white wine in the marinade. Another good idea is to choose for younger and tender meats that you intend to use for the barbecue.

Add something to spice up the taste of your barbecue. If you are making your own barbecue marinade instead of buying ready to use barbecue sauces, you can make the marinade more flavorful by using lots of spices like garlic, onion and pepper. Alternatively, you can add pineapple juice to your marinade to give it a tangy taste and more vitamins C. Try this the next time you prepare a barbecue marinade and you can tell the tasty difference.

The next time you are preparing barbecue for your family or for your friends, make your barbecue more flavorful and more delightful by following these tips. The difference can truly make your barbecue everybody’s favorite.

Minggu, 24 Mei 2009

Sumba Surf Trip Vacation Destinations

Sumba is an east-Indonesian island, located south-east of Bali.

It is an island clothed in mystery, and known for centuries as the Sandalwood Island. Sandalwood was the only known cure for many diseases until penicillin was invented. The Sumbanese traded with the Chinese until the 16th century, after which the Arabs became the most important trading partner until the early 20th century. More Sumba from East Sumba .com

Sumba Map:Sumba Map

Travel Indonesia-Jakarta cityview

Jakarta (also DKI Jakarta) is the capital and largest city of Indonesia. It also has a greater population than any other city in Southeast Asia. It was formerly known as Sunda Kelapa (397–1527), Jayakarta (1527–1619), Batavia (1619–1942), and Djakarta (1942–1972). Located on the northwest coast of Java, it has an area of 661.52 square kilometres (255.41 sq mi) and a population of 8,489,910.[1] Jakarta is the country's economic, cultural and political center. Jakarta is the twelfth-largest city in the world; the metropolitan area, called Jabodetabek, is the sixth-largest in the world.



First established in the fourth century, the city became an important trading port for the Kingdom of Sunda. As Batavia, it grew greatly as the capital of the colonial Dutch East Indies. Renamed Jakarta in 1942 during Japan's occupation of the Java, it was made the capital city of Indonesia when the country became independent after World War II.

Major landmarks in Jakarta include Indonesia Stock Exchange, the Bank of Indonesia, and the National Monument (Tugu Monas). The city is the seat of the ASEAN Secretariat. Jakarta is served by the Soekarno-Hatta International Airport, Halim Perdanakusuma International Airport, and Tanjung Priok harbour; it is connected by several intercity and commuter railways, and served by several bus lines running on reserved busways.

Sabtu, 23 Mei 2009

How to make delicious sayur lodeh

There is something deeply gratifying about coming home to a warm stew on a rainy winter night, and all the more so when the ingredients needn't be cooked to a pallid sodden shadow of what they were before they left the grocer's custody. When the calorie count is inversely proportional to its come-hither index, you know this one's a keeper!


That's what I thought when I had my bowl of Sayur Lodeh:


Frankly, I'm no authority on whether it should be considered a curry or a stew, if these are even mutually exclusive food groups. The flavour is evocative of a curry, but the cooking method is what I'd term stewing. At the verge of a boil, carrots, string beans and cabbage (in that order, since carrots take a notoriously long time to cook) are plonked into the fragrant curry thickened with just enough coconut milk to make the broth translucent. The whole vat should then simmer until the vegetables just start to lose their crunch.

Fried tofu squares and softened glass noodles are added towards the end as well as more coconut milk if desired. I'd like to say "Serve immediately", but as with all curried things, I'm often inclined to let Sayur Lodeh sit around and age so that the vegetables imbibe the character of the curry and shed some of their inherent individual flavours. If you live in a tropical climate, do let it sit in the fridge. 2 days is my minimum prescription.

How to: I'm not sure everyone has patience for this. Write me! :) I'm still trying to work out the shortcuts!

Variations: Adding cakes of compacted rice (called ketupat in Malay) turn this into a one-dish meal, and transforms its name to Lontong. Hard-boiled eggs and shrimp go quite well with it, too.

Body count: probably 20 or more tiny prawns perished to provide a tablespoonful of belachan for flavouring the curry.
source http://khao-piyo-mauj-karo.blogspot.com

How to make gado gado / Indonesian Salad

500g cabbage shredded blanched and refreshed in cold water
500g bean sprouts blanched and refreshed
250g green beans trimmed blanched and refreshed
6 small cooked new potatoes sliced or chopped into quarters
1/3 cucumber sliced
3 eggs hard boiled shelled and sliced or cut into small wedges
prawn crackers (optional)

The sauce
1 tbspn vegetable oil
1 onion chopped
1 large clove garlic crushed
rounded tsp chilli powder
grated rind of 1/2 lemon
1 tbspn lemon juice
1 tbspn brown sugar
1 tbspn soy sauce
3/4 tspn salt
175ml coconut cream (tinned from supemarket)
4 rounded tbspn smooth peanut butter
125ml water

To make the sauce heat the oil in a saucepan and cook the onion and the garlic until transparent.
Add the remaining sauce ingredients.
Simmer gently for 15 min stirring frequently with a wooden spoon and making sure the peanut butter has dissolved.
Cool then add more water to produce a double cream consistency.
To serve arrange all the salad ingredients attractively in layers on a serving dish or on 6 small plates and spoon the sauce over.

This fabulous sauce from Indonesia can be used to dress whatever salad ingredients you have to hand. Just remember to add variety of colour flavour and texture.

source
www.lovelyrecipes.com

Minangkabau cuisine / Padang food

Serious tourists and guide books rave about padang food. What an adventure!



I don’t get it. There are a bunch of dishes of food stacked up in the window all day long with flies jumping all over it and it is supposed to be a great experience to choose what you get to eat. Most of the meat portions are skimpy at best and the chunks of fish are tiny.

The food is cold but they put it on top of warm rice (usually it’s warm). The drinks are all stacked up in the sun as well so if you get a coke or anything it is nice and warm. Warm coke, cold food.

At least there is always a pitcher of free water on the table that you might need to help wash down your meal if they loaded it with chili.

Fresh ikan bakar, hot off the coals blows away padang food any time.