Cat Walks World

What I like about Zurich is you can find exotic ingredients needed for international cooking easily. Let me share with you my fish curry recipe:

Fish curry

2 lbs fish fillets
2 tbsps ginger powder
2 cloves garlic
4 tbsps mustard seeds
4 bay leaves
1/2 tbps coriander powder
2 onions
red chili to taste
1 tbsp cumin seeds
3 tbsps turmeric powder
salt to taste
2 tomatoes cut into cubes
water

1. Grind onions, ginger, bay leaves, red chili, mustard seeds, cumin seeds together.
2. Marinate fish in salt, turmeric garlic.
3. Deep fry fish then set aside.
4. Saute ground spices and tomatoes.
5. Add water covering the the sauted tomatoes. Simmer until conserved.
6. Add fish and simmer for 5 minutes

Technorati tags: fish+curry Indian+recipe

Zurich, according to William M. Mercer, a London-based consulting firm, is the city with the highest quality of life in the world for 6 consecutive years. They analyzed 215 cities based on 39 different criteria, including leisure and relaxation, safety, cleanliness, political and economical stability, and medical care (Manila is 123). Well, since this is where I live, I guess, life cannot get better than this. Actually, in the same survey, Switzerland together with Germany are the only countries with 3 cities in the top 10 (Zurich-1, Geneva-2, Berne-9) . Well, I guess , it really doesn't get better than this.

What do these criteria translate to in everyday life? Well, the Zurich Lake, around which the city is built is so clean, I won't be surprised if one can directly drink from it. The trains and trams arrive precisely on time (to the second!). The city vacuums (!) the street everyday. The swiss franc is one of the most stable currencies in the world. Everyone has health insurance. Very low crime rate (in fact probably there is none at all that sometimes the big news of the day is that of man caught peeping in the women's changing room of a department store!).

Though famous for being an overly expensive city (9th in the world in terms of cost of living), it also gives the world's highest salaries. It's so expensive here that if one is earning less than 3500 sfr (3200 USD), one is considered to be living below the poverty line.

To be continued....

Technorati tags: zurich cost+of+living quality+of+life

We were in Cambridge in September 2004 when the Titan arum at the Cambridge University's Botanical Garden bloomed for the first time in 20 years. A native of Sumatra, this giant flower (largest flower stalk in the world) is famous for it's odor--- the smell of rotten flesh. This odor is used by the plant to attract pollinators like beetles and flies. We were really lucky because the bloom lasts for only 2-3 days. This event is so rare that you can even find in wikipedia a list of all known publicised Titan arum blooms in cultivation!

Technorati tags: Titan+arum rotting+flesh+flower Cambridge England

What is the best thing to do when you only have 6 hours in London? Take the red double decker sightseeing bus!
Unfortunately, we didn't have so much time in London but I wanted to see everything. I saw everything from the outside at least. We went past the Tower of London, Picadilly Circus, London Eye, Parliament house, Buckingham Palace and the Big Ben, and of course the London Bridge. I even saw the house of Madonna!
I will go back to London for sure to see all these places deeper but I was really glad to have taken this red sightseeing bus. Made the 6 hours that we had in London quite memorable.


Technorati tags: London England red+buses sightseeing

Located in the eastern part of Poland, near the town of Siematycze, The Holy Mount of Grabarka (also Holy Hill of Grabarka) is considered to be the most important sanctuary in Poland for Orthodox Christians. The most distinguishing feature of this place is the mass of crosses surrounding the church brought by pilgrims to get salvation and good health. The site itself had been considered scared for 700 years but unfortunately the monastery burned down in 1990. It was reconstructed almost immediately. What is strange though is when I went inside the monastery, I didn't have a feeling of "new".
I came here as a sidetrip of one scientific meetings I went to so I have no idea how to get there by public transportation or by car. We were nicely transported in a big bus from Bialowieza.



Poland Grabarka orthodox+church Holy+Mount+of+Grabarka