Wednesday, March 21, 2007


Arundhati Roy: A 'small hero'
The first sentence of the The God of Small Things, which I found very charming
"May in Ayemenem is a hot, brooding month."
...
Roy argued that the 21st Century might be the time for "the big" to be dismantled - it might be, she said, "the century of the small things".
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/1857495.stm

Tuesday, March 20, 2007

Monday, March 19, 2007

Reading notes



I tried to make this sweet stuff, which has the Vietnamese name, banh xu xe. The idea of making one has stuck in my mind since I tasted one small piece at the Vietnamese New Year fair in Ottawa last month. One more reason is that I always associate this gentle and subtle favor of it with my grandmother even though I don't remember how she made it. I found several recipes in the internet and combined them to create a new one.
The shell of the cake was made out of tapioca flour, scented with fragrance of grapefruit flowers and sprinkled with sesame seeds on top. The interior was a thick paste of cooked ground mung bean, shredded coconut and sugar.
Does this special sweet stuff sound exotic? It tastes wonderfully with a cup of green tea especially in this dry weather of Canadian winter.



Visiting Boston and Amherst.

Vietnam is on the news! Yes, this time it is not about war, poverty, or that sort of thing. The word "Vietnam" has appeared on the news as it is related to Angelina Jolie, a Hollywood movie star with her newly adopted son, a Vietnamese orphan.
I am happy for the boy. I am impressed with Angeline Jolie. And I am giving label for this post as news and media.

Monday, March 5, 2007

Sunday, March 4, 2007

Saturday, March 3, 2007


Black History Month
Grandmothers help Grandmothers

Thursday, March 1, 2007