Avocado

I’m a big big fan of Avocado. It’s a great addition to anything from salad and pasta to burritos or sushi. Avocados are also known as alligator pears because of the texture on the outside and the shape similar to pears. It’s pretty well known that avocados are full of nutrition. Well, according to Wikipedia,

·         About 75% of an avocado’s calories come from fat, most of which is momounsaturated fat.

·         Avocados have 60% more potassium than bananas.

·         Avocados are rich in Vitamin Bs, as well as Vitamin Es and Vitamin Ks.

·         Avocados have high fiber content among fruits

Avocado is good for the heart because eating avocado regularly can lower the blood cholesterol level. It’s also a popular diet food. Avocado has a smooth and creamy texture and drinking a glass of avocado juice makes you feel full and you’ll eat less of other unhealthy food. You do need to watch out and limit yourself to no more than one avocado (fresh or juiced), however, because too much of anything can’t be good.

Avocado makes a good company to all kinds of food, from savory to sweet. Avocados can add sweet, creamy taste to burgers, hotdogs, sushi, or even pizza. You can also add avocado juice, avocado puree or avocado slices to sweets like milkshake, ice cream or pudding.

I’d like to share my favorite avocado milkshake recipe. It’s easy to make, healthy and delicious.

Take one avocado, cut it in half and remove the pit. Spoon the inside into a blender, add a cup of milk and half cup of plain yogurt (You can add cream instead if you want it to be sweeter). Blend together and add chocolate syrup. Serve cold.  

Unusual birthday gift

It was my brother-in-law, Tod’s birthday a couple days ago and we’re having a birthday dinner tonight. We asked him what he wanted for his birthday and he asked for a pair of 3D glasses. I thought he was joking because they’re less than $10 or you can even get one for free at movie theaters. But then I realized that he doesn’t have LG 3D TV like us but has an active 3D set from Samsung. Whenever he comes over, he would drool over our LG Cinema 3D and joke about exchanging his Samsung 3D TV with ours. He said he was only able to get 1 pair of 3D glasses because it was too expensive. He has two kids and when they take turns watching 3D, the battery wears out very quickly and by the time he tries to watch anything 3D, the flickers annoy him.

A pair or 3D glasses seem like an unusual birthday gift but he needs them the most so we got a pair of Samsung rechargeable 3D glasses for $130 at BestBuy. I think that’s just way too expensive for a 3D accessory. I still don’t understand why active 3D sets don’t include the glasses when people pay so much money for the TV and the glasses are necessary to watch 3D. We also got a “Tangled” video so Jess and Ryan (his kids) can watch the movie TOGETHER now. This made me think that it’s good that we got a LG 3D TV because now I can ask for better and prettier things for my birthday J

Savory and Sweet

These recipes were on wsj.com. They are by professionals and I admit that they are not the simplest recipes to follow. But once followed, they give the most heavenly results that no other pies can compare to.

Savory Pumpkin and Apple Pie

This recipe is by Spike Gjerde of Woodberry Kitchen in Baltimore

·         Heat oven to 300 degrees.

·         Halve 1 (2-pound) fairytale pumpkin (or an equal weight of hubbard squash) and remove seeds. Season generously with salt and black pepper.

·         Set on baking sheet and roast 25 minutes or until flesh collapses and browns. Remove from oven and let cool.

·         Peel and slice 4 large shallots into a medium bowl. Sprinkle with 1 tablespoon sea salt and set aside for 1 hour.

·         Stir in ½ tablespoon allspice, 1 teaspoon mace and 2 ounces maple syrup.

·         Scrape mixture into wide pan and cook over low heat until soft and deeply golden.

·         Add 6 minced sage leaves and ½ cup cider vinegar and cook until nearly dry, stirring to prevent sticking. Add 2 cups white wine and simmer 5 minutes.

·         Dice 2 Yukon Gold potatoes. 

·         Peel and dice 2 medium delicata squash. Add both to shallot mixture. Simmer 10 minutes, adding a splash of water if sticky. Stir in reserved pumpkin and 1 apple (tart varieties work best), peeled and diced. Remove from heat. Season with salt and pepper.

·         Raise oven to 400 degrees. On floured surface, roll ½ batch pie dough into a 12" round (reserve rest for later use). Line 9" pie plate with round, allowing 1" overhang at edges. Fill with pumpkin, flute edges and bake for 30-40 minutes, or until crust is golden.

Plum Crumble Pie

This dessert pie recipe is by Rachel McBride of The Blue Stove in Brooklyn, N.Y.

·          Heat oven to 350 degrees.

·         Pit and slice 2 pounds Italian plums (4 cups total). In a medium bowl, combine plums with ½ cup sugar, ¼ cup flour, ¼ teaspoon salt, zest of 1 lemon and juice of ½ lemon. Toss well and set aside.

·         Make crumble topping: In a large bowl, mix ½ cup flour, ¼ cup granulated sugar, ¼ cup brown sugar, ¼ teaspoon cinnamon, ¼ teaspoon freshly ground nutmeg and ¼ teaspoon salt. Add 4 tablespoons chilled unsalted butter and, using a pastry cutter or the tips of your fingers, blend butter into flour mixture until the pieces are the size of large peas. Refrigerate until ready to use.

·         On floured surface, roll ½ batch pie dough into a 12" round (reserve rest for later use). Line 9" pie plate with dough, allowing 1" overhang at edges. Crimp edges, prick bottom with the tines of a fork and sprinkle with 2 teaspoons sugar. Heap plum mixture into the pie plate, letting it mound slightly at the center. Top with crumb mixture, leaving 1" of plums exposed around the edge of pie. Bake for 1 hour, or until juices have begun to bubble and topping has browned. Serve plain or with vanilla ice cream.

Passive 3D TVs ARE actually better than active 3D TVs!

I read an interesting article on passive 3D TV being better than active 3D TV. Apparently a guy named Raymond Soneira (I did a little more research on him and he turns out to be the president of DisplayMate Technologies Corporation) conducted a study to compare the two types of 3D TVs—active and passive—available now. He tested LG Cinema 3D TV 47LW6500 and Vizio E3D470VX for the passive and Samsung UN46D7000 and Sony KDL 46HX729 for the active. His findings show that images on passive 3D TVs are superior to the images on active 3D TVs. He has a lot of evidences from observations.  

I bought LG Cinema 3D TV because it’s a passive 3D TV, which has less flickers and puts less stress on the eyes. Comfort while watching 3D was my main concern because I knew that my kids will watch this TV mostly to watch 3D movies while my husband and I will mostly watch regular 2D contents. Honestly, I didn’t notice any difference in image quality between LG passive 3D TV and Samsung active 3D TV but I did hear some people saying that active 3D TVs have higher image quality. Now that a formal comparison study has been done to prove that passive 3D TVs have better images compared to active 3D TVs, I really don’t see a reason to choose an active 3D TV over a passive 3D TV. My neighbor wanted to buy a 3D TV and they have kids too. I recommended LG Cinema 3D TV and they are very happy with their purchase. Before this study, I was kind of hesitant to recommend this TV to anyone who wants really high quality images and are less concerned about the side effects but now I would definitely recommend LG 3D TV whether the image quality or comfort is the main concern.

If anyone wants to read the article:

http://news.cnet.com/8301-17938_105-20102018-1/study-finds-passive-3d-tvs-superior-to-active/

http://www.displaymate.com/3D_TV_ShootOut_1.htm

LG Cinema 3Ds are fashionable and so are their passive 3D glasses

Passive 3D TVs are pretty hot right now but I don’t think I look so hot wearing those 3D glasses (but I think I look much better in the sunglasses-like passive 3D glasses than in those bulky, awkward active 3D glasses). But for people who don’t want to give up on their hotness even while watching a 3D TV, LG has collaborated with a UK designer Giles Deacon to create fashionable 3D glasses. These polarized glasses have frames with colorful stripes. Deacon said that “LG produce innovative and exciting products and these glasses are designed to complement that.” (http://www.techdigest.tv/2011/06/lg_passive_3d_t.html) They look a lot like fashionable sunglasses.

These 3D glasses are really pretty and it would be cool to have one of those but I don’t think they are available in the States yet. They are sold exclusively from Selfridges at 29.99 pounds. I’m curious if they will become available here and I wonder how much these glasses would be. One of the benefits of passive 3D glasses is its cheap price (or availability at movie theaters) and if the designer label shoots the price up, the benefit is gone. I guess you can maybe wear it as sunglasses slash 3D glasses J It sure is an interesting collaboration and would probably be a good promotion if not a huge sale driver. 

You can watch a video on it at http://www.techdigest.tv/2011/06/lg_passive_3d_t.html

Book: Ideas in Food

I found a great book at a local bookstore last week. It’s Ideas in Food—Great Recipes and Why They Work by Aki Kamozawa and Alex Talbot. They actually have a popular blog http://www.ideasinfood.com/. I’ve been to this blog and it’s really interesting. It has a lot of photos, interesting events and menus. The posts are not the usual food blog recipes but touch on various aspects and techniques of creative cooking. This book has about 100 recipes and the authors share a lot of tips and innovative thoughts on cooking. Both the blog and the book are inspiring. I think restaurant owners and food stylists can learn a lot from the blog while anyone who’s interested in creative cooking would enjoy reading the blog and the book. While the blog has many colorful photos, the book lacks vibrant visuals. Instead, there are simple explanations and simple drawings to help the readers understand.

Aki Kamozawa and Alex Talbot are fun people and they’re not scared to try new things. What I had a lot fun reading was when they tried to prepare a roasted pepper. They prepared a roasted pepper by burning the outside with butane torch. They weren’t satisfied with the result because it was still pretty raw so they microwaved it to serve as pickled pepper salad.

If you are interested in food styling, finding new ways to prepare delicious dishes or are a creative person in general, their blog and book are the must-check outs.

Don't be fooled by 3D TV prices

I’ve been searching on the Web yesterday and learned that 3D TV prices are expected to fall a lot during the holiday season this year. I’m not surprised because almost all products go on sale during the holiday season but I do think that it’s about time 3D TVs’ prices fall—especially active 3D TVs. Although I bought my LG 3D TV (LG Cinema 3D LW6500) for a good price, I have friends who have purchased active 3D TVs and felt ripped off and friends who are hesitant to buy a 3D TV because of the price. I see the price as a relative factor i.e. if the product is worth the money, I don’t mind paying the amount even if it’s a bit high. On the other hand, if the product is not so great, I don’t want to pay the price no matter how cheap it is. I’m glad that I got my LG Cinema 3D and think it’s worth its price.

I think active 3D TVs like Samsung and Panasonic are totally overpriced. A really good friend of mine got her Samsung 3D TV before I got my LG Cinema 3D. She paid over $2000 for the TV and bought 3 pairs of 3D glasses for $150 each (they have 3 children and we all know that children want to watch 3D movies together without having to share the glasses) which is RIDICULOUS. This turned out to be not a great decision because it had noticeable flickers very often. She feels like she’s been ripped off but it was too late. So don’t be fooled by the price. When buying electronics, some people think that more expensive models are better models and some manufacturers try to put high price on the product that should really be much cheaper.

But don’t be fooled by cheap price either. Westinghouse and Vizio offer much cheaper passive 3D TVs starting as low as $600. The price is attractive but I’ve read many consumer reviews complaining about those TVs malfunctioning and flickering. I thought passive 3D TVs are not supposed to flicker but I guess that really depends on the manufacturer.

LG Cinema 3D is priced between Vizio and Samsung (exact price depends on the model and options) and gives my family great 3D experience that’s worth the money we paid. Great, crisp 2D and 3D images with no flickers, included 3D glasses, exclusive deals from sites like Netflix… What I want to say through this posting is that if you’re thinking of buying a 3D TV, weigh the quality of 3D experience it will give you and the price of the TV to decide which 3D TV will give you the most satisfactory 3D experience for the money you paid.

Earth-friendly LG Cinema 3D

I just learned today that LG Cinema 3Ds are energy-saving 3D TVs. When buying a new TV, people ask the age-old question of ‘should I buy a plasma or a LED tv?’ Specifications and the picture quality are probably the most important things to consider when buying a TV but you also need to think about the cost of owning the TV. While plasma tvs use up a lot of energy and can cost you almost $100, LG Cinema 3D uses LED backlight and can save money. Most people don’t think about when buying a TV is the electricity cost. To be honest, I didn’t think about this either when I got our LW6500 either. But a friend of mine told me that he got a LW5300 and it only uses up only $8 worth of energy, at 5 hours of usage time everyday in a year. I did a little research and found out that LW5600 models use up only $13 worth of energy a year and LW6500 models do not use more than $20 worth of energy. Another good example of a ‘tv-owning-cost’ is the price of the 3D glasses. I think it’s absolutely ridiculous to pay an extra $150 for a pair of active 3D glasses when you’ve already paid $1500 for the TV. My LG Cinema 3D came with 4 pairs of 3D glasses and extra pairs are only $10something each. Now that I learned LG Cinema 3Ds saves me money in terms of electricity cost, I’m even happier than before with my TV. Thought I’d just share this with everyone in case someone is debating between a plasma TV and a LED TV!