Matrah
Photograph by James L. Stanfield
Glittering crescent on the Gulf of Oman, Matrah beckons west of Muscat, the capital. Most places are now reachable by motor vehicle; as recently as 1970 the nation had only six miles [9.7 kilometers] of paved road.
—From “Oman,” May 1995, National Geographic magazine
(Source: Oman Photos – National Geographic)
More useful info: Oman Country Guide
The Lost City re-uncovered in 1911 in Peru, South America A re-uncovered “Lost City” on one of Andean Mountains’ hills, about 80 km northwest of Cusco! With the Inca architecture, Machu Picchu owns magnificent and stunning mountains and nestles three main buildings: the Intihuatana,
the Temple of the Sun,
and the Room of the Three Windows
Photos up above may bring ones the feelings of age-old history of Incas in AD 1400. Mere something about this worth-a-visit place!
More info could be found right on the internet or Machu Picchu Travel Guide (I’ve found and see interested in) for your convenience.
Mushrooms! I’m doing a little happy dance in my head just thinking about them. When I was a kid I begged for mushroom soup. When I was in college I made mushroom quesadillas. These days I think I could easily go through a pound of sautéed mushrooms in one sitting. They’re great with steak, still good in a quesadilla, terrific over polenta, or just on their own. Here’s the trick with cooking most mushrooms, dry sauté them first. A mycologist friend of mine taught me this trick years ago, with the chanterelles and porcini we had foraged. Sauté the mushrooms first, just on their own, with no added liquid or fat, in a hot pan. The mushrooms will release their water, which will then boil away, concentrating the mushroom flavor. Then you add the fat, and whatever seasonings you want.
In this recipe we are sautéing button or cremini mushrooms first dry, then with butter, then adding thyme, and some Marsala wine. You could easily use olive oil instead of the butter, and fresh shiitake, porcini, or chanterelles instead of (or in addition to) the button mushrooms. The Marsala is there for the flavor, you could use chicken stock, or white wine, or red wine, or add some sesame oil and mirin for an Asian twist. Instead of the pinch of thyme you could use Herbes de Provence, or Italian seasoning, or finely chopped tarragon.
Do you have a favorite way of preparing mushrooms as a side? If so, please let us know about it in the comments.
1 To dry sauté the mushrooms, heat a large sauté pan over high heat. Put all the mushrooms in the hot pan and stir the mushrooms. Reduce the heat to medium-high. Stir often. You may hear the mushrooms squeak. Just when you think the mushrooms may start burning, they will begin to give up their moisture. Water will seem to just seep out of the mushrooms. Stir so that the mushrooms are coated with their own sauce, and sprinkle salt over them.
2 Cook until most of the liquid has boiled away, then add the butter to the pan and stir to combine. Add a pinch of thyme. Sauté the mushrooms in the butter on medium high heat until they begin to brown, about 4-6 minutes.
3 Add the Marsala wine to the pan and increase the heat to high. Toss to coat the mushrooms well. Boil this down vigorously until the Marsala is nearly gone. What you will see remaining is the butter in the pan.
Turn off the heat and serve at once.
Serves 4 as a side.
Speaking of Bled’s tourist attractions, Lake Bled is the one that cannot be missed out of the list. This stunning retreat in Slovenia, with panoramic scenes and landscapes taking on many visitors for years, is 1000 years old.
In the middle of the Lake there is a floating Church situated on a small island. The locals say the resounding from the bell of this Church can call your dreams out to the real life.
(Photo’s right reserved by Spin Travel, Mojca Peterka)
Malta, a beautiful Southern European island country with magnificent landscapes, has a pretty long architecture history. A variety of Mediterranean, especially British, architecture has deeply impacted on its construction. Among them are SmartCity Malta, the M-Towers, and Pendergardens, while areas such as the Valletta Waterfront and Tigne Point being in renovating progress.
I post some photos up here to express a part of spectacular scenes and special spots in Malta to just light up your eyes!
The photos' right is reserved by Malta Tourism Authority
Source of photos: Malta on Flickr
Santa Catalina Monastery (or Convent) is a 17th architecture situated in Peru. The stunning style of this convent expresses the sense of high devotion. As big as a small city, inside Arequipa City, Santa Catalina Monastery is one of the biggest architectural monuments of Arequipa.
Photo’s right reserved by Jimmy Quea
