reheating samosas tip

leave samosas out to come to room temperature. 

split samosas in half. bake 350 degrees for 10 minutes.

we didn't have chutney so i substituted with pear jam.

bademjan

1. cut aubergine eggplant in 1.5 inch chunks. microwave with frozen onion. i microwaved for 3 minutes, flipped the eggplants over and microwaved for 3.5 minutes more. i can't remember if i microwaved it more after that. basically the eggplant gets really soft.

2. food process eggplant and 1/3 cup walnut/pecan.

3. heat 1 Tbsp oil in pan. saute 3 clove garlic MINCED for 2 minutes. 

4. add eggplant nut mixture. add 1 Tbsp dry mint, 1 tsp salt (i used seasoned salt) and 1/4 tsp turmeric. 

5. mix and cook for 10 minutes.

6. mix in 1/4 cup sour cream. serve with crackers or afghan bread. 

glutinous corn tip

boil glutinous corn for 1 hour. last time i boiled it for only 20 minutes and it wasn't cooked enough. 

cruise ship tips

waterslides have much shorter lines in the morning.

for carnival radiance you can go on the forward deck on the 6th floor and 7th floor. 

go early for buffets when things are "cleaner."

cruise ships have a weird smell indoors :o(

the availability of fatty foods at every hour is not healthy. i felt super grossed out being in that environment. 

upload podcast from laptop to smartphone tip

how to mount the phone instead of charging the phone:

1. use the black cable to connect laptop to smartphone

2. on phone, click on setting icon.

3. choose "connected devices"-->USB-->use USB for file transfer

1. go to itunes and get podcasts

     -after choosing ~10 podcasts copy/paste from laptop to smartphone.

     -continue with next ten podcasts, etc.