MMMM..Indian Cinnamon. I love the taste of it. It is richer, more texure, and deeper tasting and more expensive. But it is worth it. I get mine from a spice trader for $50 a kilogram.
Cinnamon is one of the oldest and most flavor filled spices known to man. Cinnamon was once more valuable than gold and has been associated with ancient rituals of sacrifice or pleasure. In Egypt, it was sought for embalming and witchcraft; in medieval Europe for religious rites and as flavouring. References to cinnamon are plenty throughout the Old Testament in the Bible. Later it was the most profitable spice in the Dutch East India Company trade.
The name cinnamon comes from Greek kinnámōmon, from Phoenician and akin to Hebrew qinnâmôn, itself ultimately from a Malaysian language, cf. Malay and Indonesian kayu manis "sweet wood".
Cinnamon is the dried bark of an evergreen busy tree. There is a particular season for pealing of the bark. It is considered superior compared to cassia though they belong to the same class.
Cinnamon is used in a wide variety of foods, beverages, pharmaceuticals, liquors, cosmetics, perfumery and toiletries.
A major ingredient of garam masala, Cinnamon is used whole in Savoury rice dishes. Khadi, a popular yogurt drink in Gujarat and other northern states, has Cinnamon or cassia as one of its ingredients. Cinnamon oil is an international favourite in beverages and perfumery, while Cinnamon oleoresin is a popular flavour for processed foods.
Cinnamon in grown in various parts of southern India and a remarkable quantity is produced from Kerala.
Monday, April 28, 2008
Sunday, April 27, 2008
The Hibiscus
Hibiscuses are very beautiful plants. Canada has only one native hibiscus, the marsh mallow plant. It is a very rare flower in these parts. Pelee Island and Point Pelee National Park are excellent spots to spot these amazing plants. It is found along the marsh shores on both Pelee Island and Point Pelee, but please don't pluck these flowers, as it is designated as "vunerable" in Canada.
The Hibiscus, rich in colour, is a spectable of nature yet for many to behold.
The Hibiscus, rich in colour, is a spectable of nature yet for many to behold.
The Legend of Victor Crowley
Once there was a boy named Victor Crowley. He was born hideously deformed, and sadly, folks weren’t too kind to him. So he spent most of his life hidden in his Daddy’s house out in the bayou. One Halloween night, the local children came throwing firecrackers at the house to tease and scare him. And the old Crowley house caught fire.
When Victor’s Daddy arrived home, the house was in flames. He went to the barn, grabbed himself a hatchet, and started chopping down the front door. But what he didn’t know was that Victor was pressed up against the other side, trying to get out. He hit him square in the face with that hatchet...
...and poor Victor Crowley died.
The old man went into mourning and became a recluse after that. Never to leave the house. Never spoke to anyone. He finally passed away about ten years later.
And that’s when the stories started.
They say people tend to disappear in that swamp. And if you get close enough to the old Crowley house at night, you can still hear Victor Crowley. Still roaming in the woods. Still crying for his Daddy.
--Louisiana Folklore--
When Victor’s Daddy arrived home, the house was in flames. He went to the barn, grabbed himself a hatchet, and started chopping down the front door. But what he didn’t know was that Victor was pressed up against the other side, trying to get out. He hit him square in the face with that hatchet...
...and poor Victor Crowley died.
The old man went into mourning and became a recluse after that. Never to leave the house. Never spoke to anyone. He finally passed away about ten years later.
And that’s when the stories started.
They say people tend to disappear in that swamp. And if you get close enough to the old Crowley house at night, you can still hear Victor Crowley. Still roaming in the woods. Still crying for his Daddy.
--Louisiana Folklore--
Saturday, April 26, 2008
Explanation of the Plum Pudding Model
At the dawn of the 20th century, scientists knew that negatively charged particles existed. Because most atoms have a neutral charge, scientists thought that positive particles might exist to balance the negative particles. They were also curious about how many charged particles were in the atom and how the particles were arranged. Thomson proposed an atomic model in 1904 in response to these curiosities. 
In Thomson’s "Plum Pudding Model" each atom was a sphere filled with a positively charged fluid. The fluid was called the "pudding." Scattered in this fluid were electrons known as the "plums." The radius of the model was 10-10 meters.
Thomson suggested that the positive fluid held the negative charges, the electrons, in the atom because of electrical forces. However, this was only a very vague explanation and failed to provide any definite answers.
In Thomson’s "Plum Pudding Model" each atom was a sphere filled with a positively charged fluid. The fluid was called the "pudding." Scattered in this fluid were electrons known as the "plums." The radius of the model was 10-10 meters.
Thomson suggested that the positive fluid held the negative charges, the electrons, in the atom because of electrical forces. However, this was only a very vague explanation and failed to provide any definite answers.
Friday, April 25, 2008
The Story of La Befana
La Befana
Country of Origin: Italy
The Three Wise Men had traveled long and far in search of Bethlehem. One night of their journey they became lost, and came to the doorstep of the Italian Grandmother Befana to ask for directions.
Befana was consumed with the sweeping and cleaning of her home and quickly dismissed the Wise Men when they told her of their search for the New Born King. Even when they asked her to come with them to pay respects to Jesus, she stubbornly refused. Later in the night a brilliant star appeared in the sky, and it's beauty quickly made Befana realize she had made a terrible mistake.
She gathered up toys and presents for the Christ Child and tried to run after them, but her old legs couldn't catch up with them. In frustration, she wept over the dirty broom that had been her misfortune.
The sincerity of her tears gave the broom new life, and it scooped her up into the night sky to search for the Wise Men she had treated so badly. La Befana has never found the Three Kings or the stable they searched for, but every year on January 6th, the Feast of the Epiphany, she flies over the homes of the children of Italy leaving presents with good boys and girls until she finds the baby Jesus.
Country of Origin: Italy
The Three Wise Men had traveled long and far in search of Bethlehem. One night of their journey they became lost, and came to the doorstep of the Italian Grandmother Befana to ask for directions.
Befana was consumed with the sweeping and cleaning of her home and quickly dismissed the Wise Men when they told her of their search for the New Born King. Even when they asked her to come with them to pay respects to Jesus, she stubbornly refused. Later in the night a brilliant star appeared in the sky, and it's beauty quickly made Befana realize she had made a terrible mistake.
She gathered up toys and presents for the Christ Child and tried to run after them, but her old legs couldn't catch up with them. In frustration, she wept over the dirty broom that had been her misfortune.
The sincerity of her tears gave the broom new life, and it scooped her up into the night sky to search for the Wise Men she had treated so badly. La Befana has never found the Three Kings or the stable they searched for, but every year on January 6th, the Feast of the Epiphany, she flies over the homes of the children of Italy leaving presents with good boys and girls until she finds the baby Jesus.
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