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My nephew recently had his 10th birthday party. We went to the zoo, as that is his favorite place in the world. He absolutely loves lions and tigers. We told most of the parents that they were welcome to join us. I know that most birthday parties end up being a babysitting session, and most parents are thrilled to have their children out of the house for a while. So, we tried to get the parents involved. Most all of the parents came. I think they wanted to see the animals too. They got a free trip to the zoo, so I think that was part of it. We had also heard that the zoo was using my sister’s favorite corporate caterers NYC that day. Her business office uses them also. I think she liked seeing the zoo support them. It’s good to have local businesses supporting each other in this rough economy.

I really need to get some food right now because I am starving, but at the same time, I am not really sure what I want to eat. Well, there are other problems that are delaying me from being able to decide on what to get for lunch today. In fact, my girlfriend is really the problem right now, or I would have probably already decided on what I was going to eat. We have been discussing lunch for the past hour, and she keeps shooting down all my ideas. Anyway, I think that we decided on Chinese food for lunch, and that sounds plenty good to me, but now we need to decide on what exactly we are going to get from the Chinese place. Further, I will need to look online to see what sort of Chinese delivery Greenwich restaurants are around here. I am hoping that I will be able to find one located nearby.

If you cannot make up your mind as to which of the available coffee makers to acquire for your newly opened restaurant, you may be pondering such deep philosophical questions as whether Bunn coffee makers (or a similar brand) are preferable to Newco coffee makers (or a similar brand) or vice versa. So how can we help you to make up your mind and arrive at the decision that works best for you. We will not tell you which brand of coffee makers to buy, but we offer you a few hints as to how to choose an appliance that will best satisfy your particular requirements.

First of all, know what the requirements are. Put them down in writing on a piece of paper. Although you may already know what you are looking for in general, writing things down helps clarify them and raise them to the level of consciousness. Your requirements should not include specific brand names or models – that is not their point! Instead, you should focus on functional features and aspects, such as:

• Types of coffee drinks to make. Do you just want drip “Americano” black coffee or do you want something more fancy, like espresso or cappuccino; or do you want a coffee combine that can make all those kinds of coffee brews at the same time?
• Capacity, speed and throughput. How many cups of the drink do you want the machine to brew at the same time? How often will you use it during the day? Do you want it to keep the drink hot for a while? For how long?
• Manual mode vs. Automation. These features affect the price quite a bit. Do you want a fancy programmable machine with sophisticated timers, that does most of the work for you but can cost quite a bit? Or do you require something more simple but cheaper, yet something that gets the job done all the same?
• Price range. Although this is not a part of the machine’s functionality, you want to determine your price range accurately before you buy, so as to avoid making a rash decision or passing up a great opportunity.

These requirements will be essentially your spec for the machine. Please give them plenty of thought and be thorough. The second stage of the research process will be finding a machine that best first your spec. This too can take a little while. You need to talk to coffee makers owners and discuss the models that they are using right now as well as those they may have used in the past. You should not feel socially awkward about this: although the subject may be boring to lay people, those in the business of making coffee will definitely find it interesting and talk up a blue street about out!

Yet do not rely on word of mouth alone. Search the Web and eventually visit the stores as well to find what you want.

Staying overseas is a big challenge, especially if you are living alone. Thank God for comfort food as it often serves a cure for homesickness. I am a Filipino, and I’ve been to places and tried different mouth-watering dishes. I work for a Leicester catering company at the moment (in the UK) so I’m used to being away from home and also cooking!

My taste buds always tell me: “there’s no place like home.” Despite all the nicest foods readily available, they crave for a familiar taste, my favorite food Kare-Kare. Kare-kare is a uniquely Filipino dish that is cooked with peanut butter. It is often cooked with beef, stewed oxtail, trife and a variety of vegetables including string beans, eggplant, Chinese cabbage. Through the years, some variations have been made by creative Pinoy (a colloquial term for Filipinos) cooks. This includes using pork or even seafood as a replacement of the beef and oxtail. It is often eaten with shrimp paste (locally known as bagoong). It is not the healthiest food in the world. But I would assure you that it is one of the most comforting foods you can eat. I have introduced it to my catering company in the UK and they simply love it. I guess, when I say Pinoy food… it will be on top of their list. As it is a common food during family celebrations and feast days in the Philippines, I would always associate it with the family members gathering to prepare all the ingredients and later on sharing this appetizing dish… definitely, a cure when I miss everyone and everything from home.