Food to suit your palate!

Rib Sauce

2 tbs sugar
1/4 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp salt
2 tsp ground ginger
1/2 tsp ground turmeric
3 tbs soy sauce
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup ketchup
1/8 tsp mustard powder
Combine all ingredients and simmer in a saucepan.
Ideal for barbecues. Approximate cost - Rs 50/=

Curried Chicken Wings

24 chicken wings
1/4 cup white vinegar
Salt to taste
3 tbs curry powder
1 tsp ground cummin
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 cup oil

Remove wing tips and discard. Cut wings at joint into 2 pieces. In large bowl combine vinegar, 1 tbs salt, curry powder, cummin, cinnamon and the oil. Add wings and toss to coat. Refrigerate overnight. Heat oven to 400 degrees. Put wings in a single layer in a shallow pan. Roast until browned, turning the wings once, about 30 minutes. Approximate cost - Rs. 350/=

Macaroni Salad

1\2 pkt macaroni
6 hard boiled eggs
1 cup thinly sliced celery
1 each red bell pepper and green bell pepper, medium chopped
2 tomatoes, medium chopped
1 can drained tuna fish
1 1/2 tbs mayonnaise
salt and pepper to taste

Boil the macaroni until tender, then place the pan in the sink and run cold water over the macaroni until it has completely cooled down. Boil the eggs ahead of time, and run cold water over them until they are completely cool. Chop up the eggs into bite-sized pieces.

Put the vegetables, eggs, tuna, and mayonnaise into a very large bowl. Stir until slightly mixed. Add macaroni and stir until completely mixed. Approximate - Rs. 250/=

Apple and Vegetable Salad

1 cup apple, thin strips
1 cup carrots, shredded
1 cup cabbage, shredded
1 cup celery, diced
Pinch of salt
Salad dressing
Lettuce leaves

Gently mix together apples, vegetables and salt with enough salad dressing to coat. Refrigerate. Serve on crunchy lettuce leaves. Approximate cost - Rs. 100/=

Coloured Hard Boiled Eggs

Boiling water
Eggs (as many as needed)
Food colouring (any colour)

Boil eggs in boiling water for 10 to 11 minutes. Remove from water, shell eggs. Soak eggs for 4 to 5 hours in coloured water.

Alternatively, boil eggs, crack shells but don't remove them. Soak in coloured water and then remove shells. Approximate cost - Rs 40/= for 10 eggs.

Asparagus parmigiana

Only first-class passengers aboard the ill-fated Titanic were fortunate enough to feast on this exquisite Italian dish. A heady aphrodisiac, asparagus may have ignited the fires of passion between actors Kate Winslet and Leonardo DiCaprio. This recipe exudes first-class luxury.

•2 bundles asparagus

•Freshly ground pepper to taste

•1/4-1/3 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese

•75g butter, melted

STEP 1: Take care to wash the asparagus thoroughly and trim the ends if tough. Take a piece of crumpled foil and make a pillow out of it. Place foil in pan of hot, salted water. Lay the asparagus on top with tips resting on the foil and the stalks in the water. Cover with a lid and bring to the boil. Cook for 7-10 mins or until tender. Lift the asparagus with an egg slice onto a clean tea towel or paper towel.

STEP 2: Place the asparagus into a greased ovenproof dish and sprinkle over liberally with grated Parmesan cheese. Pour over the melted butter and season the whole lot with freshly ground pepper. Place under a grill or heat in the oven until the cheese has melted.

Serve immediately.
Bellissimo!

"E-me" please!

By Aditha Dissanayake

No one writes letters anymore. No one telephones. No one talks. Everybody is busy watching Shanthi, Damini and Pragathi on TV or e-mailing each other.

Only my grandma keeps expecting a monthly epistle from me - white half-sheets tucked in a brown envelope. But grandma was born in 1910, way before even the Great War. With everybody else it's either "e-me" or "reach me not".

There used to be a time when cellular phones cost something over Rs. 100,000. They were the size of a red brick and a man carrying one in his pocket could be detected from a mile away: his trousers would be coming down from the weight of the phone. Now they are no bigger than a thimble, cheap, (there are undergrads and high-school kids who can afford them) and some don't even ring, but send vibrations. You can read e-mail messages on them, and check how much money there is in your bank account.You are "contacta-ble" whereever in the world you might be - seated in the bathroom at home or at a conference in Geneva. But the cellular phone has its snags too. While stuck in a traffic jam in Pettah, you dial the mobile number of a friend in New York.

"So how are things in New York?" You ask him.

"New York?" He snorts. "I'm here in the Colombo Hilton. Room 206".

You cut the line immediately. You realize both of you will be billed international call charges.

Meanwhile, I get myself an email connection. I become a "somebody at some such place dot lk." But things aren't easy; often there is "no dial tone"

(Crissy, my cat, plays with the wires stretched all over the floor - she thinks they are white earthworms) or "boxes" appear on the screen saying "the computer you dialed is not responding" or something is wrong with the "configuration panel". I kick my heels and tear my hair. I should have been born a thousand years ago. It would be so much easier to go down to the garden and send a smoke signal.

Then, once in a full moon - often at about three in the morning, the blessed "churu, churu" sounds come, the box saying "logging on to the network" appears and I sigh with relief. I am connected. I can now surf the internet, "surf" into the lives of friends and uncles and aunts who have been out of reach for ages and ages.

"Check-mail". I click the mouse. What joy! I have new mail. One. I open it eagerly.

"Did you borrow my white tee shirt with "Nirvana" printed on it? Return it at once or else...."

I sigh with disappointment. An e-mail from my brother who lives in the room next to mine.

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