Friday Finds - Books

What great books did you hear about/discover this past week? Share with us your FRIDAY FINDS is hosted by MizB over at Should Be Reading.

Lots of finds this week!!!


Found over at Reading On A Rainy Day.



Synopsis here.


Synopsis here.

While reading A Darker Domain this week I came across a reference to this book and immediately bought it.

Synopsis here.


I was looking at the Costa shortlists for 2011 and found these that need to be added to my TBR list.
Costa cafes are my favourite place to hang out in when I am in the UK. Much nicer than Starbucks!!


Synopsis here.


Synopsis here.


Synopsis here.


How could I pass up a book with this author's name? Synopsis here.


Synopsis here.

Granada Nicaragua Faces

Nicaragua Driving Tips

Nicaragua's top cop, who once wanted to be a nun, fends off drug gangs  source.

I first wrote about Nicaragua's police when we first arrived in Managua. I forgot to mention in that post that he had had at least eight driver licenses in his grubby paws that we could see, from various US states.
We learned a lot more about them in the following days of our trip.
Firstly they are known affectionately as Courtesy Police. They only make about a $100 a month so our "bribe" of $80 was a windfall for them.
Some tips we were later given by expats:
Have a photocopy of your driver's license with you. You can get a copy in most hotels for about 25cents. That way you can just had him that.
Drive in the far lane if there are two lanes. No cop is going to step out into a lane to pull you over.
Drive with your visor down so they can't see that you are a tourist.
Keep you money in separate places so you can show him you have only so much money in your wallet.
Ask for their badge numbers, they won't give it to you but ask anyway.
Ask for a ticket if they tell you that you have performed an infraction, again he won't give it to you but ask.

Here's a post about driving in Nicaragua.

Wordless Wednesday - London Eye - The Millenium Wheel

I'm linking up this week at Wordless Wednesday's blog.

My Recipe Box - Indian Koftas

These are great appetizers. Click on the image to enlarge as it is really small here!!
I thought I had lost my recipe so I had found one here.

Featured in: The American Thanksgiving. 

INGREDIENTS

FOR THE DUMPLINGS:

• 2 pounds zucchini, trimmed
• 2 teaspoons coarse kosher or sea salt
• 1 small red onion, peeled and coarsely chopped
• 2 tablespoons raw cashews
• 4 large cloves garlic, peeled
• 4 lengthwise slices fresh ginger(each 2 inches long, 1 inch wide and 1/8-inch thick)
• 4 fresh green Thai, cayenne or serrano chiles, stems removed
• ¼ cup chickpea flour  is gluten free
• 2 tablespoons rice flour
• 2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh cilantro leaves and tender stems
•  Vegetable oil for deep-frying

FOR THE SAUCE:

• 2 tablespoons ghee or vegetable oil
• 1 teaspoon cumin seeds
• 1 small red onion, peeled and coarsely chopped
• 4 fresh green Thai, cayenne or serrano chiles, stems removed, coarsely chopped (do not remove seeds)
• 2 tablespoons raw cashews
• 2 tablespoons golden raisins
• 1 (14.5-ounce) can diced tomatoes
• 1 teaspoon coarse kosher or sea salt
• ¼ teaspoon ground turmeric
• ½ cup half-and-half
• 1 teaspoon garam masala
• 2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh cilantro leaves and tender stems, for serving

PREPARATION

1. Prepare the dumplings: Shred zucchini using a food processor or box grater. Collect shreds in a large bowl and mix in salt. Let stand for about 30 minutes.
2. Meanwhile, place onion, cashews, garlic, ginger and chiles in a food processor. Pulse until mixture forms a spicy-smelling, slightly chunky paste.
3. Wrap zucchini in a clean kitchen towel and squeeze out all the liquid. (Discard the liquid.) Transfer squash back to bowl and stir in onion paste mixture until combined. Add chickpea flour, rice flour and cilantro and stir to combine into a slightly wet batter.
4. Working quickly, place a heaping tablespoon of batter in the palm of your hand and squeeze it to condense it into a ball; transfer dumpling to a baking sheet. Repeat with remaining batter to make about 25 dumplings. (The longer you let the batter stand without shaping it, the more liquid the squash will release, making it difficult to handle. Adding more flour will make it manageable, but will also make the dumplings too dense.)
5. Pour oil into a wok, Dutch oven or medium saucepan to a depth of about 1 inch. Set over medium heat until a candy or oil thermometer registers 300 degrees. Meanwhile, line a plate or baking sheet with paper towels.
6. Once oil is hot, gently slide 8 dumplings into pan. Fry, turning occasionally, until they are honey brown and crisp, about 5 minutes. Remove dumplings with a slotted spoon and drain on the paper towels. Repeat with remaining dumplings. You may need to adjust heat to maintain the oil temperature.
7. Make the sauce: Heat ghee or oil in a large saucepan over medium-high heat. Add cumin seeds and cook until they sizzle and darken, 5 to 10 seconds. Immediately add onions, chiles, cashews and raisins. Stir-fry until onion is soft and golden, chiles are pungent, cashews have turned honey brown, and raisins have swelled and darkened, about 5 minutes.
8. Add tomatoes, salt and turmeric to the saucepan, stirring once or twice to combine. Transfer to a blender and purée, scraping the inside of the jar as needed, to make a smooth and spicy-sweet red sauce. Pour sauce back into saucepan. Pour 1/2 cup water into blender jar and swish it around; add this liquid to pan. Stir in half-and-half and garam masala.
9. Gently add dumplings to sauce, making sure they do not break apart. Heat curry over medium heat until sauce starts to bubble, then lower heat, cover the pan, and simmer until dumplings are warmed through and have absorbed some of the sauce, about 5 minutes; do not stir. Sprinkle with cilantro before serving.

My Recipe Box - Crema di Latte

I took a cooking class at the LCBO (their website has amazing recipes). This recipe was the dessert and I have made it often in the summer when berries are in season.

Granada Nicaragua Market

Our GPS took us right through the market when we were trying to find our way to our Bed and Breakfast.

Cars are not supposed to drive through here but everyone was very generous and moved out of the way.
I took these photos from the car while we were stuck in a traffic jam exiting the market.

One day we walked to the market to look around. First I stopped and got my hair cut for $2!!!!!

 Pretty dresses

 Good Nicaraguan beer

Thirsty Tuesday - Rivas Nicaragua

 Beer and pizza a couple of weeks ago in Rivas.

Artist's rendition of the pizza place - Pizza Hot