Winter Fish: The best thing to steam

The winter is here finally in its full 'bloom.' last night it rained and I could listen to rain drops falling on the my bedroom window glass. I wanted to get up and see the Nature's gift when everyone was sound asleep, but leaving a cozy warm bed was a very difficult decision to make, so I opted to listen to the sound made by raindrops.

When I got up in the morning, I went out and everything was wet and my lawn and flowers looked fresh and health. And it was then it dawned on me that I was standing in almost a few degrees Celsius wit no warm clothes on and ran back and lit the heater to warm myself.

In winters, one must keep oneself warm lest many 'traditional' winter ailments come attacking. And one of the best antidote against winters cold is eating fish - and lot of fish before the winters pass away, unfortunately these do so very quickly.

Those living in Lahore are lucky as there are lot of places in Lahore where one can buy quality fish. Sardar and Inrahim are to names of Lahore that make best fish, served sizzling hot if you want to eat right at the shop. And sitting outside in the cold, eating steaming hot fish has no parallel. I you haven't tried this, do it this winter - it will be a lifetime memory.

Why eat fish? Well food experts and doctors say rthat fish is high in protein, vitamins, minerals, and omega 3 fatty acids, which are found lacking in most diets, and can reduce some problems associated with PMS, memory loss, cardiovascular functions, colon cancer, and stroke. The tissues of oily fish provide fish oil which contains the omega-3 fatty acids, eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA), and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA), precursors to eicosanoids (believe me it is hard to pronounce such medical terms – so I write exactly as I found out) that reduce inflammation throughout the body and are therefore recommended by experts for a healthy diet.

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Now while eating fish is beneficial for health, the kind of fish we eat at Sardars and Ibrahims or anywhere else which is heavily deep fried in vegetable oil is certainly not the kind of fish we should be eating. and I have seen people eating the deep fried fish in kilos, am not joking. These fish friendly people, specially in Lahore, sit outside in the December nights and the 'in flow' of fish continues in consignments of kilo in succession.

We need to eat fish, preferably steamed with least oil applied. While I was in Iran, my land lady would often make the steamed fish and I tell you that nothing tastes like a steamed fish. So when eating fish, try to eat steamed fish, but certainly not in kilos. However, one should eat it often 2-3 times a week in winters.

One should also be mindful of type of sea fish as some of these contain higher amounts of mercury like Tilefish, swordfish, king mackerel and shark and should not be consumed at all. However, Shrimp, salmon, pollocks, canned light tuna, shrimp and catfish contain lower levels of mercury, but should not be eaten more than 12 ounces in a week.

So lets be healthy by eating fish this winter steamed not deep fried!! 

via Jaho Jalal
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Top 10 Most Popular Google Doodles of 2012

I remember it were the lats days of 2011 when I was writing posts about the best things that happened in 2011 - and now it is almost the end of another year when I am sitting and writing about those good, important, and even bad things that happened in 2013.

Gamers had lot of fun I suppose because the apps in their smartphones and even otherwise gave them good entertaining time to be happy and while away their time.

Google, did not disaapoint its users as i provided them a lot of doodles to be busy during the holidays and delved out some visual stunners and interactive ones to boot.

To look back at its collection, the search engine giant for the first time on Wednesday released a list of its 10 most popular Google Doodles of the year.

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Here is a list of these 10 top most popular doodles taht Google provided to its users:

• Soccer Doodle
• Moog Doodle
• Turing Doodle
• Halloween Doodle
• Nemo Doodle
• Zipper Doodle
• Valentine's Day Doodle
• Archery Doodle
• Father's Day Doodle
• Faberge Doodle

Read more about these at a slide show prepared by Mashable Here.

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Collector transforms his basement into a century-old general store

Hobbyists are amazing people: They not only have the passion to collect, but also have great aesthetics sense that can transform heir passion and hobby for all others to enjoy.

Moseman has hoarded a wide range of general store items [Photo: AP]

Roy Moseman, a decorated Vietnam veteran and a retired electrical contractor, is one such person who has turned his basement into a century-old general store, full of brightly colored packages a customer might have found in a general store circa 1900, give or take a few years.

The labels many of which we do not see today [Photo: Richard Hamm/Online athens.com and Athens Banner-Herald]

Moseman started off with just a wooden stove when he started his collection about 20 years ago. But within 10 years, he had built a collection of hundreds of store items.

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The shelves and boxes hold a dizzying array of tobacco packs of long-gone brands like Hi-Plane, Prince Albert, Q-Boid, Dixie Queen and Cherokee.

There's a curious snuff ball made by Levi Garrett just down the shelf from tins of Possum Cigars. 'Am Good and Sweet,' the slogan says.

Most of the items in the collection aren't worth much on the collector's market, thanks in part to Internet shopping. But a few, like his Wrigley chewing gum man, are pretty rare, he said. But Moseman built the collection mainly because these products are a kind of history in and of themselves.

Read more about it at: Daily Mail
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Balancing Perfectly - A skillful hobby

We have in our previous posts talked about a lot of hobbies people adopt around the world. From indoor games to trekking, from gazing the star full of sky at cold winter nights to going fishing early in the morning when everyone else in the family is asleep, and of course baking a pizza or brownies in the oven or even writing a blog. all these hobbies reflect the taste, mood and mind of a hobbyists.

Let us talk of a new hobby today - the hobby of balancing things PERFECTLY.

Some may contest what is so special about this hobby? But when this post is scrolled down, one would be left speech less and awe stricken as to how someone can achieve the perfect balance by placing things one over the other - even balls above balls and coins above coins. Remember building a castle with a pack of cards? This is exactly what I am talking of. But herein under is much more than that.

Here is how it goes:

This is perfect balance - right on the edge of a sheer drop of thousands of feet. A slip of the wheel and one goes down rolling for a never return. But still people are there who dare. Mind you these are not professionals like those crossing Niagara Falls on a string with a balancing rod in their hands. These are people who adopt the hobby of achieving perfect balance and they dare!!

 Here you find an ordinary man, just like you and me - but look how perfectly he has balanced a water melon on a gas cylinder resting on his head, even when he is riding a bike on a busy road.

Balancing cards one over the other is one thing - but balancing these on a sleeping buddy is something else.

 How about round coins resting upon each other?

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This last act of achieving perfect balance is amazing. look at the third girl how she is resting on the foot of the second girl which has been raised backwards in a most critical angle. This amazing.

Have you ever tried any of these? It takes time in achieving consistancey.

Photos shared from Funzug
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Traffic Jam ahead? Let me 'fly you' out in my Motor-Tricycle

Man has always been fascinated by birds who fly majestically above in the blue sky and many inventors and would-be-flyers lost their lives in crafting out something to fly with. Perhaps this was the passion of Leonardo da Vinci who had designed a working model of a helicopter but could not implement his innovation because technology of his time perhaps did not permit him to do so.

The Wright Brothers were luck in their pursuits when they flew the first ever working model of an aeroplane at Kitty Hawk.

Although since the Wright Brother's invention, the aircraft industry has progressed to unimaginable heights, the latest being the efforts to fly a commercial plane into the space.

However, the quest of the individuals to fly a flying machine and be included in those magnificent men in their flying machines never diminishes. and devoted flying hobbyists around the world are always in pursuit of making something that takes them into the sky, rather than flying remote controlled (RC) planes.

Larry Neal in his Motor-Tricycle 'Super Sky Cycle' just before take off [left] Scroll down for video

And Larry Neal  from Aurora, Texas USA, is one such passionate inventor who made it possible for him to lift his motor tricycle into air just like a helicopter and fly free in the wind.

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Larry Neal's revolutionary motor-tricycle, which he calls a the super sky cycle,  allows him to take off into the sky and cruise over miles. Larry's super sky cycle is fitted with a 582cc engine and a three-blade 68-inch propeller. The motor-tricycle can fly at 35mph, land in 20ft of space and has a top land speed of 65mph. It has a 5 hour flight time without refueling, costs £46,000 ($75,000) and requires a pilot's license to fly.

Watch the video below:

via Daily Mail
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Top 20 Manly Hobbies

For some this post of mine may seem controversial as there is nothing that men do and women cannot, specially in these day. But the gender bias or perspective aside, if we start to think logically and rationally, we will find many hobbies that only men adopt and likewise many hobbies that women adopt. Now when I say men and women, I should have added the term 'generally' or 'mostly' - and this generally or mostly thing make hobbies many or feminist.

Some of the Top 20 Manly Hobbies

For instance hobbies like knitting, baking, film-stars' poster collecting, reading and gossiping are generally taken to be feminist hobbies or hobbies adopted by women and girls. But hobbies like hunting, fishing, trekking or even playing chess are generally adopted by men and can be called as manly hobbies. 

But this does not mean women do not go fishing or hunting, but the comparative ratio of hobbies generally labeled as manly are  seldom adopted by women.

Since Hobby Shobbys is a blog exclusive for hobbyists, I thought of listing down popular hobbies adopted by men to start with. In my next post, I will list down feminist hobbies or hobbies adopted by women and girls.

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Men and boys, mainly because of the biology, are interested in doing things that require muscles and brains or a combination of both. Mostly the manly hobbies are outside the comforts of one's house and into the wilderness require stamina, confronting dangers and even wild animals and at times risking one's life. And when it comes to indoors, card games like poker and bridge and board games like chess and scrabble, collecting coins, antiques, stamps and matchboxes add to men's leisure.

So I sat and start listing all such hobbies that require usage of muscles and brians or a combination thereof and come upon following listing:

1. Hunting
2. Shooting
3. Arcehry
4. Fishing
5. Camping
6. Free Falling
7. Mountaineering
8. Woodwork
9. Collecting
10. Gardening
11. RC Gadgets
12. Body Building
13. Photography
14. Painting
15. Flying
16. Astronomy
17. Genealogy
18. Card/Board Games
19. Magic
20. Playing Guitar

This is my listing - there can be many more that can be added here. I have three of my hobbies, collecting, photography and genealogy, in the list. Those who have been regular visitor of Hobby Shobbys, would have observed my thrust and interest in these fields more than the rest.

I have already written separately on some of the hobbies listed above in my earlier posts (which have been highlighted and links to previous posts given) and would write more which have not been covered earlier. 

However, there is a catch here - these are the hobbies which generally people had before the advent of the digital age. Now the trends have changed in adopting hobbies. I will write about these trends separately which has had a profound effect in the domain of hobbies once  happily adopted.

You may add or subtract hobbies from ly listing for being manly or otherwise through your comments.

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10 Mouth Watering Recipes for your Thanksgiving Turkey Leftovers

Well the Thanksgiving is over and am sure you must eaten lot of Turkey meat in as number of dishes, fkavours and recipes as one can think of. It must have been fun fun eating Turkey - the healthy big bird exclusive to Thanksgiving.

Recipes for your Thanksgiving Turkey Leftovers [Photo: Mashable]

But what have yoy done about the leftover Turkey? Well if you intend preserving it in your refrigerator for taking frequent 'casual bites,' I have some good news and alternatives for you.

Herein under are 10 ways you can re-use your left over Turkey in new ways and make new dishes, probably not tried before:

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• Turkey Pot Pies
• Turkey Lettuce Wraps
• Turkey Noodle Casserole
• Spicy Turkey Soup
• Terrific Leftover Turkey Recipe
• Turkey Curry
• Turkey and Mushroom Stroganoff 
• White Chili with Turkey Leftovers
• Turkey Jambalaya 
• Turkey Calzone

I came across these recipes at Mashable and would want you to go to the site and get details / recipes to make new dishes out of your Turkey leftovers.

Take a tour of the video gallery HERE to have something new out of your Turkey for you and your family and friends - and don't forget to invite me when you try any or even all of the above recipes!!

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