The 100 Best Dishes in the World

Note: The Philippines Simigang Made it to # 97. The US Boiled Main Lobster is #78. Italy has 12 dishes in the List.  Japan and Greece have both 7 dishes in the List. Thailand has 5 Dishes in the List and Brazil has 4 dishes in the List.  

The annual 💥TasteAtlas rankings of the best cuisines, dishes, food cities, food products, and ingredients, as well as lists of legendary restaurants and cookbooks, have been published.

A total of 395,205 (271,819 valid) dish ratings, and 115,660 (80,863 valid) food product ratings have been recorded.

Based on these ratings, the top 50 food items for each cuisine were extracted, and the best-rated cuisines in the world were ranked according to the average ratings of the best-rated dishes and food products of each country. Italy and Japan recorded the same average rating, but Italy has taken first place again this year due to a higher rating of its best-rated dish - pizza. The third best-rated cuisine is Greek, and you can view the entire list here: www.tasteatlas.com/best/cuisines.

Based on the average user ratings for dishes, a list of the top 100 dishes in the world has been published. The best-rated dish for 2023 is the Brazilian meat cut Picanha, followed by Malaysian bread Roti Canai and Thai stir fry Phat Kaphrao. You can view the entire list here: www.tasteatlas.com/best/dishes

How many dishes have you tasted from the above list. If you have tasted more than ten , I salute you. You are a Food Connoisseur and Adventurer.   If you have not tasted a single dish in the list, I suggest #97, try the Philippines Sinigang. It can be Pork, Shrimps or Fish. The Pork Sinigang can be purchased from Ima's Kusina ( Kitchen) located inside the SeaFood City Mall in Concord. I believe you can order via Door Dash and delivered right in your Front Door here at THD. 

 

💥TasteAtlas is an experiential travel online guide for traditional food that collates authentic recipes, food critic reviews, and research articles about popular ingredients and dishes. Describing itself as "a world atlas of traditional dishes, local ingredients, and authentic restaurants", it features an interactive global food map with dish icons shown in their respective regions and purportedly contains nearly 10,000 dishes, drinks, and ingredients, as well as 9,000 restaurants.

Bon Appetit!

Note: The Philippines is the Nation that is most likely to enjoy foreign cuisine ( 67%) and Japan is the Nation that is least likely to enjoy foreign cuisine( 39%). 

Are You Lonely and Feel Forgotten? Play Mahjong!

Photo Credit: IntegraCare.com

I found the following article on my Face Book Page several weeks ago. It reminded me of the plight of numerous Senior Citizens in this Country who are in Nursing Homes. I  am in a slightly similar situation, but my space is 1000 sq ft, 2Bedroom, 2bathroom apartment and I do not live in a Nursing Home as some of my relatives in the Philippines think. I am residing an Active Senior Living Community, which just won the  2024 Best Senior Living Award from a Place for Mom.com    

I am not lonely and every now on then two of my children residing nearby visits me or drive me to my doctor's appointment.  I was able to bring a few pieces of what I owned ( antique furnitures and souvenirs from our travels) from my previous home to my apartment. Most important, I do not feel isolated and participates in most of the scheduled activities sponsored by my senior community management employees and made new friends and acquaintances among my fellow senior residents and senior community employees. 

I feel lucky, but the following story touches my soul and break my heart reading it.  

Here's the article for your reading pleasure.  

   "I am 82 years old, I have 4 children, 11 grandchildren, 2 great-grandchildren and a room of 12 square meters.

I no longer have a home or expensive things, but I have someone who will clean my room, prepare food and change my bedding, measure my blood pressure and weigh me.

I no longer have the laughter of my grandchildren, I don't see them growing, hugging and arguing. Some come to me every 15 days, some every three or four months, and some never.

I don't bake cakes, I don't dig up the garden. I still have hobbies and I like to read, but my eyes quickly hurt.

I don’t know how much longer, but I have to get used to this loneliness.

Here at home, I lead group work and help those who are worse than me as much as I can.

Until recently, I read aloud to an immobile woman in the room next to me, we used to sing together, but she died the other day. They say life is getting longer. Why?

When I’m alone, I can look at photos of my family and memories I brought from home. And that's all.

I hope that the next generations will understand that families are born to have a future (with children) and that they do not forget about the family even in old age."

- Author Unknown 

Here's a possible solution to the Problem of Loneliness in Nursing Homes

Introduction: Elderly people who leave their home environment and move to a nursing home enter a phase in life with diminishing contact with family and friends. This situation often results in a feeling of loneliness with a concomitant deterioration in physical and mental health. By exploring the topic through the lens of the nurses, this study takes a novel approach to address an under-researched area in the nursing field.

Objective The objective of the study was to identify, based on the nurses’ experience, how elderly residents handle loneliness in the nursing home.

Methods: This study used a qualitative explorative approach with data collected through two focus group interviews with nine nurses at two elderly care facilities in Norway. The resulting transcripts were examined using an approach based on inductive content analysis.

Results: Three main categories emerged as crucial to help lonely nursing home residents cope with day-to-day life: (i) maintaining ties to one’s earlier life; (ii) engaging in recreational pursuits; and (iii) building new networks.

Conclusion; Analysing the findings based on sense of coherence (SOC) and person-centred care (PCC) theories illustrates the importance of maintaining a connection with both family and friends. To that point, having access to familiar objects from their earlier life seemingly provides meaning to the residents by bridging the past and the present. Recreational activities, ideally adapted to each person’s needs and ability, have a positive impact by providing structure and meaning that help overtake feelings of loneliness. Building a new network with fellow residents and staff imparts a sense of meaningful community belonging and projects both dignity and self-worth.

Source: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8047972/#:~:text=Elderly%20people%20who%20leave%20their,in%20physical%20and%20mental%20health.

Meanwhile here's a video of Song from a Secret Garden-Adagio- One of the most relaxing piece of music ever written, This is my favorite music as background during my weekly one-hour massage session here at THD,  

https://youtu.be/nNL9Lole-iE?si=J_Ak2XRY7EyJV5L8

My 7 Pairs Winning Hand in Our Mahjong Game, April 18, 2024. The last time I had a winning 7 Pairs Hand was a year ago. 

My 7 -Pairs Winning Hand- Mahjong Hongkong Style ( 13 + 1 Tiles)

My 7-Pairs Winning Hand (Philippine Style Mahjong, 16 + 1 Tiles)

Don't be lonely and feel isolated play mahjong : Googled It!

Nostradamus Prediction for 2024 and the Book- The Fourth Turning

Citing his 1555 text "Les Propheties" ("The Prophecies"), the report said that Nostradamus predicted that the King may be abdicated and Prince Harry will potentially take over the throne. He said that the "King of the Isles" would be "driven out by force." and will be "replaced by one who will have no mark of a king."

An escalation in the war between Russia and Ukraine, a military conflict between China and Taiwan, and a highly disruptive cyberattack on U.S. critical infrastructure all present serious economic and national security risks as well. Source: Preventive Priorities Survey 2024.

https://youtu.be/9TLYqdB3Iv8?si=YahjAo5PDBbm_WCF

For Additional Details visit:

https://www.pennlive.com/news/2023/12/nostradamus-predictions-for-2024-what-the-famous-astrologer-sees-for-this-year.html

Related Topic, the Fourth Turning: https://youtu.be/xeVyfiP0cLk?si=NF-fmdtLJhe0U8YC

The visionary behind the bestselling phenomenon The Fourth Turning looks once again to America’s past to predict our future in this startling and hopeful prophecy for how our present era of civil unrest will resolve over the next ten years—and what our lives will look like once it has. 

Twenty-five years ago, Neil Howe and the late William Strauss dazzled the world with a provocative new theory of American history. Looking back at the last 500 years, they’d uncovered a distinct pattern: modern history moves in cycles, each one lasting roughly eighty to one hundred years, the length of a long human life, with each cycle composed of four eras—or “turnings”—that always arrive in the same order and each last about twenty years. The last of these eras—the fourth turning—was always the most perilous, a period of civic upheaval and national mobilization as traumatic and transformative as the New Deal and World War II, the Civil War, or the American Revolution.

Now, right on schedule, our own fourth turning has arrived. And so Neil Howe has returned with an extraordinary new prediction. What we see all around us—the polarization, the growing threat of civil conflict and global war—will culminate by the early 2030s in a climax that poses great danger and yet also holds great promise, perhaps even bringing on America’s next golden age. Every generation alive today will play a vital role in determining how this crisis is resolved, for good or ill. 

Illuminating, sobering, yet ultimately empowering, The Fourth Turning Is Here takes you back into history and deep into the collective personality of each living generation to make sense of our current crisis, explore how all of us will be differently affected by the political, social, and economic challenges we’ll face in the decade to come, and reveal how our country, our communities, and our families can best prepare to meet these challenges head-on.

Meanwhile enjoy this photo of the my Twin Orchid in the Garden of Chateau Du Mer, Philippines

https://youtu.be/FjPgSSUOq40?si=w3d5QP2vZYzuwTG2

I hope the bad prediction for 2024 will not come true.

Common Homonyms and Phrases for Animal Collectives

Bonus Blog- Lately my bonus blogs on my FUN with the English language received more comments and positive reaction compared to my main blog for the day.  Continuing this trend my bonus blog for today is as follows: Again your comment will be highly appreciated. 

Homonyms are two or more words that have the same sound or spelling but differ in meaning. Homophones—which means "same sounds" in Latin—are two or more words, such as knew and new or meat and meet, that are pronounced the same but differ in meaning, origin, and often spelling. Homographs, meanwhile, are words that have the same spelling but differ in origin, meaning, and sometimes pronunciation, such as the verb bear (to carry or endure) and the noun bear (the animal with a shaggy coat).

Words that fall under any of these three categories often confuse readers and writers alike. But they need not perplex you: Understanding the meaning of these three grammatical terms and, especially, being able to recognize them can help clear up any confusion. A list of some of the most common homonyms, homophones, and homographs can help any writer use these words correctly and any reader or listener recognize them when they occur.

Here are a few examples: Homonynms, Homophones and Homographs

blew - past tense of blow	blue - the color
bread - baked food item	bred - produced
buy - purchase	by - near, through	bye - goodbye
capital - punishable by death	capital - chief city	capitol - building where legislature meets
ceiling - top of a room	sealing - setting, fastening
cell - compartment	sell - vend
cent - penny coin	scent - an odor	sent - past tense of send
cereal - breakfast food	serial - sequential
chews - gnaws with teeth	choose - to select
Chile- country in South America	chili - bean stew	chilly - frosty
chord - musical tone	cord - rope
cite - quote	site - location	sight - view

https://www.thoughtco.com/homonyms-homophones-and-homographs-a-b-1692660

Lastly here are phrases for Animal Collectives:

The three phrases I love are: an escargatoire of snails, a pandemonium of parrots and convocation of eagles. What is your Favorite Phrase? Let me hear from you. 

Reference: https://www.wordgenius.com/names-groups-of-animals/ZbPuIJ4PlQAHAVCK?utm_source=blog&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=2103690007

Meanwhile here are photos of Batman and Robin enjoying my CATIO

Lastly, Batman & Robin are my, Duo of Felines. My pair of Mousers and temporarily my two great grand kids and apartment companion.  

Another Story That Touched My Heart

A son took his father to a restaurant to enjoy a delicious dinner. His father is quite old and therefore, a little weak too. While eating, food occasionally fell on his shirt and pants. The other guests watched the old man with their faces contorted in disgust, but his son remained calm. 

After they both finished eating, the son quietly helped his father and took him to the toilet. Cleaned food scraps from his crampled face and attempted to wash food stains on his clothes, graciously combed his gray hair and finally put on his glasses.

As they left the restroom, a deep silence reigned in the restaurant. The son paid their bill but just before they leave, a man, also old, got up and ask the old man’s son, “Don’t you think you left something here?” The young man replied “I did not leave anything.”

Then the stranger said to him,”You left a lesson here for every son and a hope for every father.”

The whole restaurant was so quiet, you could hear a pin drop!

One of the greatest honors that exist, is being able to take care of those who have taken care of us too. Our parents and all those elders who sacrificed their lives with all their time, money and effort for us, deserve our utmost respect .

• 
  
• 
  
  
• "The best way to honor your parents is to show them love and respect in their lifetime."
• 
  
• "Aging parents deserve to be treated with dignity, compassion, and empathy."
• 
  
• "The love between a parent and child knows no boundaries, transcending time and age."

"To care for those who once cared for us is one of the highest honors." - Tia Walker. Tia Walker's quote reminds us of the profound honor it is to care for our parents as they age. They have dedicated their lives to nurturing and supporting us, and now it is our turn to 

reciprocate that love and care.

By Pure Coincidence: Today, I got an invitation from A LOVE One to watch a play, that he is involve with and his wife in 2 weeks. I said Yes!  And here are beautiful roses I purchased the other day. 

Related Article: https://indiawest.com/asian-americans-share-challenges-of-caregiving-for-elderly-immigrant-parents/

How To Make a Succulent/Cactus Terrarium

 My Own Creation of a Cacti/Succulent Terrarium- It is a Work of Art if I may Say So!

There is another activity that was scheduled yesterday that I am interested in attending ( flyer above). However, because it is scheduled at the same time I play bridge, it is no brainer my bridge playing has the priority. It is about making a terrarium with succulents. Here's how to Create a Terrarium.

Instructions

1. Add Gravel or Pebbles to the Bottom. Start by adding a layer of gravel or pebbles to the bottom of your vessel. ... 
2. Add a Filter On Top of the Pebbles. Next, add a thin filter on top of the rock or pebble layer. ... 
3. Layer In Soil. ... 
4. Plant Your Succulents. ... 
5. Add Additional Accent Plants. ... 
6. Mist With Water.

Here's a video of how to make your own succulent terrarium

https://youtu.be/FGQyw_iP2TM?si=UkVi1vEIqC6wuRAT   

Meanwhile enjoy this photo of the first rose bloom here at THD I took last week.

Photo Taken April 10, 2024, THD Court Yard, Walnut Creek, California