Number Nine: Cook a National Dish

Let’s face it: Spanakopita isn’t the official national dish of Greece, but really, do you even know what Moussaka (the real national dish) is? I don't.

When I think of Greek food I think of two things: Baklava and Spanakopita.  Both delicious.  Both carved out of phylo dough.           

I chose to make Spanakopita after watching My Big Fat Greek Wedding. It took me 4 hours (the cooking, not the movie watching) with the help of my mom, who is a fantastic cook. In addition, it was super difficult to fold the phylo dough up without breaking it.  I don’t know how Greek women do it! I have a feeling it doesn't take THEM four hours to make it.

In conclusion, expanding your culinary horizons is a lot of work. At least when you’re making Spanakopita. I found a recipe that turned out deliciously. It also used a bucket-load (no pun intended) of butter. But the spinach (2 pounds total) helped to make it a little bit healthier.

As I took a crispy bite, letting my teeth sink into a mound of crackling phylo, melted feta cheese, and lemony spinach, I could practically smell the salty air of the Greek Santorini Islands. The four hours of work didn't seem quite so bad.

A GREAT GREEK SPANAKOPITA RECIPE:

MAKES 60

1/3 cup olive oil

2 pounds spinach, washed and drained

1 bunch scallions, white and green parts, chopped

1/4 cup finely chopped parsley

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

1/2 pound feta cheese, crumbled

1 to 2 eggs, lightly beaten

1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, melted

1 pound filo pastry sheets

 1/4
cup minced fresh mint leaves

  2
tablespoons minced fresh dill leaves

  3
medium garlic cloves , minced or pressed through garlic press (about 1 tablespoon)

  1
teaspoon grated zest plus 1 tablespoon juice from 1 lemon

  1
teaspoon ground nutmeg

  1/2
teaspoon ground black pepper

   1/4
teaspoon table salt

   1/8
teaspoon cayenne pepper

GETTING STARTED:

Heat 1 tablespoon of the oil in a large saute pan, add half of the spinach and saute until spinach wilts, tossing with tongs, about 2 minutes. Remove spinach and squeeze out excess liquid, then chop roughly. Repeat with remaining spinach, using 1 more tablespoon of olive oil. Pour off any liquid from the pan, and add remaining olive oil. Add scallions and saute until soft, about 2 to 3 minutes. Add the spinach to the scallions, along with the parsley, salt and pepper. Cook over low heat for 1 to 2 minutes, then remove from heat to cool. (This part can be done ahead and kept refrigerated).

Stir the feta and as much beaten egg to moisten the cooled spinach mixture. Mix in mint, dill, garlic, lemon, nutmeg, black pepper, salt, and cayenne pepper.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Brush a baking sheet with some of the melted butter.

Unroll the filo dough on a flat surface and keep it covered with waxed paper and a damp towel so it doesn't dry out and become brittle. Using a sharp knife, cut the filo into 3 by 11 inch strips, and recover with the towel. Use a pastry brush to brush a strip of filo with melted butter. Place a small spoonful of spinach filling 1 inch from the end of the pastry. Fold the end over the filling to form a triangle, then continue to fold up the strip in triangles, like folding up a flag. Continue with remaining strips of dough, placing filled triangles on the baking sheet and keeping them covered with a towel until all are ready to bake.

Brush the triangles lightly with butter, then bake for 20 to 25 minutes, or until golden and crisp. Serve hot. (These may be frozen before baking, layering waxed paper between layers of triangles to keep them from sticking. Bake frozen triangles an extra 10 minutes.)

Variation: Butter a 9 by 13 inch baking pan, and spread 6 sheets of filo, brushing each with butter, on the bottom. Spoon the spinach filling over the filo, then cover with 6 more sheets of filo, buttering each sheet. Score the top 3 sheets with a sharp knife. Bake 40 to 45 minutes, or until top is golden, let stand 15 minutes, then cut into squares and serve warm.

They turned out really tiny, but work as great appetizers (or a meal if you make them larger into larger squares by cutting each phylo dough sheet in half.)

I recommend making this if you want to cross the national dish off your bucket list (although make sure to set apart lots of time)

Otherwise, here are some other great national dishes:

• Ackee and Saltfish from Jamaica
• Coo-Coo and Flying Fish from Barbados
• Bulgogi from Korea
• Kibbeh from Lebanon/Syria
• Goulash from Hungary
• Wiener Schnitzel from Austria
• Pot-au-Feu from France
• Roast Beef and Yorkshire Pudding from England
• Irish Stew from Ireland

Or even, Hamburgers from the USA!

~Ultimate Dia

Christine

Number Eight: Learn to Draw

Okay, you really don't have to pay money to learn how to draw.


And you don't have to be born with a gift.


All you have to do is practice and set an alloted hour of time.


Want to see drawing evolution in progress?


MY DRAWING AT THE START OF THE WEEK-- WITH ONLY 30 MINUTES OF IMPATIENT WORKING.

MY DRAWING AT THE END OF THE WEEK-- A TOTAL OF 3 HOURS OF WORK.

This drawing, as you can see, adresses an issue near and dear to my heart. It helps to be passionate about your artwork and the image you wish to project.

Although I can not claim to be anywhere near an expert or even an award winner, I CAN say that drawing is an amazing hobby. It's relaxing, stress-relieving, and truly rewarding.


Try it!


ULTIMATE DIA
~Christine

Number Seven: Experimentally Determing Your Favorite Coffee Shop

This is something that should be on everyone's bucket list. I mean, who doesn't want an excuse to go to three different coffee shops from every chain, and compare flavors?

As a major fan of both Skim Cappucinos and Dark Chocolate Mochas, I made these my standard of comparison, as well as the  atmosphere and price. Here are my results.

CAPPUCINOS:

1ST PLACE: Dunn Brothers. An obvious choice. Compared to the competition, it has less calories, more flavor, and MORE fluff. Sipping the milk froth is like drinking a cloud. My all time favorite.

2nd Place: Caribou Coffee. It has less flavor and less froth that Dunn Brothers, but still quite good.

3rd Place: Starbucks. Flavorless, with foam that was lucking sucking on car exhaust (no offense).


MOCHAS:


1st Place: Caribou Coffee. It has rich, chocolately flavor, with a great tint of espresso. Plus, it comes in the Northern Light option, which is equally tasty and comes with non-fat whipped cream.

2nd place: Starbucks. A bit too rich for a mocha, but still yummy and satisfying. Scalding hot, and stays warm for quite a while.

3rd place: Dunn Bros. BLECH! Tasted burnt at all three locations. Not something I want to drink again.


ATMOSPHERE:

1. Caribou Coffee for sure wins in atmosphere. Not consistently cozy in all locations, but still has a great college-student atmosphere that makes you think "Gee, I'd want to sit here and work all day". The layout is such that you feel like you're in a nice little nook where you can cuddle down with a book and coffee. Plus, I love reading the quirky and inspiration phrases on the coffee cups. Unbeatable!

2. Dunn Bros. In all four locations I've been to, it's consistently cozy, asthetically pleasing, and unique. There are cozy chairs, individual tables, occasionally fireplaces, and soft music. What's more, you can smell their coffee beans the whole while you're working.

3. Starbucks. I'm sure this isn't ALWAYS the case, but in all the locations I went to it just felt... sterile and clinical. Hard chairs, loud noise, no warm and fuzzy smells. Kind of felt like trying to get comfortable with a book at McDonalds. Not happening.


BEST PRICE:

1. Starbucks. $3.25 for a small mocha.

2.  Dunn Bros. $3.70 for a small mocha.

3. Caribou. $3.75 for a small mocha.


MY OVERALL FAVORITE: CARIBOU COFFEE.

Yes, hard to believe, but even Dunn Bros' cappucino foam can't win me over on this. The flavor in Caribou's coffee just can't be compared, and neither can the atmosphere.


Now, how about we start over and do it again?
When else are you going to have an excuse to go coffee shop hopping all day long?

Ultimate Dia!
~Christine

Number Six: Learn to Cook Gourmet

Gourmet brings to mind many things. Small stacks of ratatouille drizzled in orange sauce. Snow White pies, with picture perfect crusts. And, most importantly, Julia Child, the queen of french cooking.

I decided to start cooking gourmet I had to make something Julia Child.

Since my family is not big on the high-butter, high-cream recipes that the French use, I made the closest things I could find to American staples: Croque Monsieurs (basically fancy grilled cheese sandwiches) and Cheese souffle (kind of like a hot dish, right?).

Croque Monsieur & Cheese Souffle

Dessert: French Chocolate Cake

It was a huge success (although we were all VERY full afterwards), and I made sure to mark Croque Monsieurs as something to make again. Truth be told, cooking gourmet isn't that hard. Sure, it took a few hours, but I consider that part of the definition. As long as you know how to measure, stir, and flip sandwiches, anyone can cook. A great thing to check off your bucket list.

Ultimate Dia

~Christine

Number Four & Five: Join a Speech Group and Win

Before I can talk about Speech, I must tell you a story. About a chef. A chef that eats roadkill. And how my Dad invited him to share a room with us in the middle of the South African wilderness.


It's a true story. And you won't regret hearing it. After all, this guy has been featured on National Geographic TV. Read about it on my earlier blog post http://ultimatedia.blogspot.com/2012/01/roadkill-chef.html

Now, you're probably wondering how the heck this is relevant to me joining a speech group. 


Well, last year I joined Speech Team in a category called "Creative Expression" (you write your own script) and talked about Arthur Boyt, the eccentric British chef who picked up roadkill and cooked it for every meal.  I thought it was a great story. But unfortunately most of the judges were too grossed out to give me good scores on on my high school speech team.


So this year I switched to a different category--- discussion-- a cut throat debate team. You smile to your competitors while stabbing them in the back with your  carefully chosen words.

Examples?


I SAY: "Oh, excuse me, would you like to speak?"
I MEAN:  I wish you wouldn't spew  a single word, but I'm being polite to get points from the judges


I SAY: "What a great idea! I'll keep it in mind. Anyways, as I was saying..."
I MEAN: What a BAD idea


Discussion is kind of like the presidential political debates.


This weekend I had my first speech meet and placed third overall. I was so surprised. I kicked the two items on my bucket list: joining a speech group (so that I can actually talk without freaking out!), and winning an award-- a plaque (I never thought it would happen.)


After the award, I felt evil and awesome at the same time. I felt like I could talk and argue whenever I wanted, with no fear.


And what's more, I know that I can talk about normal things (like WORLD HUNGER, our current topic) without getting funny stares and wrinkled noses. No more roadkill stories!





Anyways,  what about you? Don't have a high school speach team, but want to learn to talk too? Back stab subtly?


Go to http://www.toastmasters.org/


Toastmasters is a great, fun speech group for all ages that meet up in most major cities.


GO ULTIMATE DIA!


~Christine

Number Three: Invest in the Stock Market

Admit it, we all have dreams of having been a lucky McDonald's investor half a century ago so that we could now be millionares.

Too bad time machines aren't invented yet.

So maybe its not altogether normal to be interested in stock markets as a teenager, and maybe you think I'm a money hog, but I just find all the risk involved very exciting.

 I think investing in the stock market is a great idea, and when I won a $500 writing award a week ago, I decided to use it to cross this item off my bucket list.

1. First I researched stocks.


2. I picked one, with the help of Charles Schwabb Investing and my dad. Guess what it was?

AMAZON.COM

3. I'm going to justify this.  I know the stock went down in the past month, but if you look at it in the long-term, its great! Plus, I don't see the downfall of this coming soon. Amazon's convenient, they sell just about ANYTHING, they ship quickly, they've got great service, and they have Kindles (although, who knows how those are going to be able to complete with iPads and other ebooks). I think its a good buy.


4. THUS I own 2 Amazon Shares, which I bought at $170, and are (as of now) worth $190 a piece.

5. Fantastic, right? Let's just hope they shoot up like McDonalds did. You never know.

The Roadkill Chef

Arthur Boyt

By Christine Catlin: An 8th Grade True Story

          In South Africa everyone avoids strangers. A stranger could easily kidnap you, rob you, shoot you, or brutally murder you in any fashion. Unfortunately, my dad didn't seem to understand this concept. Despite the risks, my dad continued to pick up hitch-hikers and hand out cash to any man who looked poor. I was okay with this at first, until it went too far.

          It had been a long day in Africa. It was our fourth day and our luggage was still lost, and we'd just spent the whole day driving and looking at hyenas, crocodiles, rhinos, zebras, lions, baboons, ostriches, monkeys, buffalo, and almost every other African animal you can think of. That evening, however, my dad, a tall, gruff, dark-haired man, ran into an old, eccentric-looking, British man who could not find a room for the night. My dad, feeling sorry for him, of course, offered our spare room at the Guest House. I could not believe it.

          The old man was quite grateful and stammered with his British accent that his name was Arthur Boyt. He wore a large, scruffy, blue sweater over his wiry frame and his thinning gray hair stuck out at odd angles from the brim of his cap. He looked slightly frazzled, with glasses pushed to the bridge of his nose, and was probably in his late sixties. He was one of the last people you'd find out in the African Bush and I did not trust him. I promised to keep an eye on him at all times while he was in our spare guest room.

          We walked with Arthur to his car, I more reluctantly, and watched as he pulled out a ratty suitcase from a pile of highly odorous plastic bags. He and my dad talked while I hung back aways. Once he had grabbed his luggage we walked down the winding trail towards the guest house, the evening sounds of croaking hippos and snorting hyenas echoing in the dark. Opening the door for him we showed him where he could stay, and then headed off to our own room. However, it wasn't long before we heard a light rap on the door. It was Arthur Boyt.

          “Hello, I thought you might want to see some of my photographs I took today.” He stammered. “I have some lovely pictures of a lion and hyena fighting. They followed my jeep all the way down the road, you know, because they smelled some of the roadkill I had in my car.”

          I eyed him suspiciously, wondering briefly why exactly he had roadkill in his car. My dad, a much less cautious being, invited him in the room as he scrolled through the fuzzy images of birds and beasts.

          “I'm an avid birder.” Arthur explained after about the millionth picture we'd seen of the Southern Ground Hornbill. “I come from Cornwall, England, and we don't have many birds there. That's why I travel out here. I've been to America and Australia, too, because I enjoy biking and participating in Orienteering competitions.”

          I nodded keeping a careful eye on the eccentric man. He seemed harmless, but he was a retired entomologist, and I don't know what kind of normal person enjoys working with bugs.

          When Arthur went back to his own room I made sure to lock the door to my room. I had a restless sleep that night, and in the morning was relieved to find that he had left, leaving behind only a small thank you note. Days passed and I had nearly forgotten him completely, when, on a whim, I found a wi-fi and Googled his name. Immediately I was blown away by thousands of results. There were articles from the BBC, CNN, YouTube, and all major news sources. Slightly disbelievingly I clicked on one. I came face to face with his picture. Obviously, our British friend was famous!

          I felt slightly disbelievingly as I read article after article. The man certainly was famous, he even had his own TV Show! But I never would of guessed just what he was famous for. His TV Show was called The Man Who Eats Badgers: Tales From Bodmin Moor. Apparently this man was famous for cooking roadkill- in fact he'd eaten nothing but roadkill for 50 years. He'd eaten dead weasel, badger, hedgehog, skunk, squirrel, rabbit, rat, Labrador, cat, fox, mice, deer, and pigeons. His wife, needless to say, was a vegetarian. On YouTube, I watched a documentary telling about all the threatening phone calls he got, and how he was now writing a “soon-to-be-bestseller” cookbook. I couldn't help laughing as it quoted how he found the food, “safe, healthy, legal, and cheap” and that “even the green stuff was good- if not a bit bland.”

          I couldn't believe I'd met such a person. He'd had hedgehog sandwich, badger casserole, and skunk spaghetti! I erupted in a fit of mirth and couldn't wait to tell my dad the story. Although I didn't ever plan on trying roadkill myself, it was the most memorable experience on my whole vacation. After all, it's not every day you meet a celebrity chef... especially one that eats roadkill!