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ARAB TIMES, SUNDAY, OCTOBER 19, 2014
35
Risotto great candidate for weeknight meal
Adding broth in 2 steps makes pumpkin risotto easier
By Sara Moulton
I
f you’ve never made risotto
before, you’re missing out on a
great candidate for a weeknight
meal. With no more at hand than
the right rice, an onion, some broth
and a wedge of Parmesan, you have
dinner.
Like omelets or tortillas, risotto is
attractive as a weeknight dinner
because of its flexibility; you can
augment it with anything, your
choice of veggies and/or proteins,
leftovers definitely included. And,
yes, I know that the Italians think
of risotto as a first course, like soup
or pasta. But in US there aren’t
many working folks preparing
multi-course meals during the
This Sept 29, 2014 photo shows
pumpkin risotto with fried sage in
Concord, NH. (AP)
week.
Let’s start with the basic risotto
technique. For a family of four to
six, you’ll need about 1-1/2 to 2
cups of the correct rice, half a
chopped onion, 6 cups of broth, and
about a cup of cheese.
Choices
There are three proper rice choices carnaroli, vialone nano and
arborio, with arborio being the easiest to find. All three are much
starchier than the long-grain rice
we usually cook with, which means
they produce a wonderful creamy
sauce when cooked properly.
In the standard prep method, you
start by sauteeing the onion in a bit
of fat (butter or olive oil or both)
until softened. You then add the
rice and “toast” it, that is, coat it
thoroughly with the fat. Next, the
liquid is added no more than 1/2
cup at a time and brought to a simmer. And stirred. And stirred. And
stirred ... until most of the liquid
has been absorbed and you can see
the bottom of the pan when you
stir.
Then you do it again. And again.
Again. The point of this method is
to coax as much starch out of the
rice as possible. The whole process
takes about 20 plus minutes of constant stirring. All that non-stop stirring is what makes some people
shy away from making risotto. It’s
just too much doggone work.
Happily, if heretically, there’s a
less labor-intensive way to get the
job done. It’s a method I was taught
by Andrew Carmellini, a wonderful
New York chef and restaurateur
with an Italian background. He
adds the broth just twice, half in the
beginning and the remaining half
after the first batch has been
absorbed, which cuts way down on
the stirring. Try it yourself and see
if it the resulting risotto isn’t satisfyingly creamy.
After you’ve added the broth,
when the grains of rice are just al
dente, it’s time to put in the cheese,
and perhaps an extra dab of butter.
It’s also at this point that I sometimes pour in a little additional
broth, which makes the risotto
saucier. You can add the cooked
veggies or protein at the beginning
or end of this process.
I cast pumpkin as the star of this
dish because this is the season for
it. But I’m not talking about Charlie
Brown’s great pumpkins; I’m working with the mini guys. Most folks
think these cute little squashes are
just for decoration, but they happen
to be super tasty. I roasted them, cut
side down, until they were very tender, then discarded the seeds a
chore that’s much easier to do after
the pumpkins are cooked. Finally, I
scooped out and mashed the pulp
and stirred it into the risotto. If you
can’t find the tiny pumpkins, you
can substitute 1-1/2 to 2 cups of
mashed roasted butternut squash.
(AP)
KALD
KALD to honor ‘exceptional’ teachers
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‘Special needs teachers deserve our appreciation’
Continued from Page 34
available to meet students, parents, teachers and guidance counsellors to present
the advantages of studying in Canada. On
Wednesday, Nov 5, 2014 a Study in
Canada exhibition will be held at the
Marina Hotel, Salmiya from 6:00 -9:00
pm for potential students and their parents
to attend.
The Canadian institutions will also be
visiting local schools to speak to interested students about opportunities to study in
Canada.For more information:
www.kuwait.gc.ca
Nov 7
Vanithavedi Sargaanjali:
Vanithavedi - Kuwait, the prominent
women’s association in Kuwait will be
conducting competition for
‘Thiruvathirakali’ on Nov 7, from 9 am, at
Indian Community School, Khaitan. This
will be conducted as a part of
‘Sargaanjali,’ the mega-programme of
Vanithavedi. Please register the names as
early as possible.
For details, contact: 97114331,
97426295, 24312180.
Nov 9
IEI marks 47th Engineers Day: The
Institution of Engineers (India) Kuwait
Chapter has great pleasure to announce
the celebration of the 47th Engineers’ Day
on Sunday, Nov 9, 2014.
The program shall start at 6:30 pm and
shall continue up to 9:30 pm.
The venue for this celebration is the
prestigious Arab Organization Building
(Arab Fund), Shuwaikh Kuwait.
All our esteemed members are requested to kindly participate in the memorable
event and make it a great grand success.
The Invitation Card shall be sent shortly.
Kindly confirm your attendance by
sending an email to [email protected]
or call our Kuwait Chapter office at
22445588, extn.314 between 5:30 pm and
8:30 pm, Sunday through Thursday.
Nov 21
Harvest festival: Harvest Festival of
2014 St Gregorios Indian Orthodox Maha
Edavaka will be held on Nov 21, 2014 at
Indian Central School, Abbasiya from
8:00 am to 7:00 pm.
It will be a full day program with variety of cultural programs, food stalls, game
stalls, etc.
Preperations are underway. A large
committee is working for the success of
the event.
Thousands of faithful are expected to
attend the event according to the organisers of the event.
General
Pravasi Bhartiya Divas 2015: The
Government of India has decided to hold
the next Pravasi Bhartiya Divas (PBD2015) at Mahatma Mandir, Gandhinagar,
Gujarat in January 2015.
The effort would be to have more
meaningful and interactive sessions that
would address the issues and concerns of
the overseas Indian community effectively. Since 2015 marks the hundredth
anniversary of the return of the greatest
“PRAVASI” of all, Mahatma Gandhi from
South Africa, it is desired that PBD-2015
would be celebrated in a grand way.
The detailed programme of PBD-2015
is being prepared and will be uploaded on
the Embassy’s Website in due course.
More detailed information on Pravasi
Bhartiya Divas (PBD-2015) can be
accessed at the Ministry of Overseas India
Affairs’ website (http://www.moia.gov.in).
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AWL registration: If you would like to
join the American Women’s League
(AWL), please call 99039723 or
94067999 or email:
[email protected]. All American
women and wives of Americans are welcomed.
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Al-Sayer makes the case of early
assessment as being crucial for the
child’s future. “We find that unfortunately in our society, some families
live in denial. The truth is that nobody
wants to label his child with the tag of
‘disability’, it is a very harsh word for
parents to contend with. So in many
cases avoid and deny the reality, this
is very dangerous for the child.”
“Early evaluation is important. We
recommend evaluation centres based
on the location, whether parents want
to avail of a free or premium service
etc, and we encourage them to do it is
as early as possible because it makes
a huge difference”, she continued.
She highlighted that Thomas
Edison, Albert Einstein, Steve Jobs
and Frank Lloyd Wright had accomplished much with an incomplete education. “A degree is not for everyone,
people can achieve great things with
or without it.”
Al-Sayer reveals that many sectors
are working towards the common goal
of providing for children with LD and
ADHD, but are doing it in separate
ways. “We need a more combined
effort, a national plan to provide for
our students. The government has to
adopt a scientific approach to providing the best service. Without a combined effort, we will always find ourselves falling behind. But if we collaborate together, definitely we can
catch up”, she asserted.
By Cinatra Fernandes
Arab Times Staff
KUWAIT CITY, Oct 18: “I believe
that all expats who have left their
countries and families to come here to
Kuwait and teach our children deserve
to be appreciated, their hard work
must be recognised and acknowledged, and we must share with them
our utmost gratitude,” remarked
Amaal Al-Sayer, Chairperson of the
Kuwait Association for Learning
Differences (KALD).
KALD will hold an Award
Ceremony recognizing exceptional
teachers who help students struggling
with ADHD or Learning Difficulties,
under the patronage of His Highness
the Amir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad AlJaber Al-Sabah, on Monday Oct 20.
The Distinguished Teacher Award
being presented for the first time in
Kuwait and the Arab World, will
henceforth be an annual award given
to teachers who exemplify the highest
standards in teaching. The event is
being supported by the Ministry of
Education, the Higher Council for
Disability, Ministry of Planning and
the UNDP. Sponsors of the KALD are
Meshari Al-Khair and Kuwait Projects
Company (Holding), the special event
sponsors include Zain Telecom and
Health Magazine.
“We hope that we can encourage
more teachers to come and teach our
kids in Kuwait. We also hope that our
universities and colleges will soon
start to support our schools with specialised teachers”, shared Al-Sayer.
She pointed out that the Basic
Education College had recently started a LD department to provide the
schools with more specific education
teachers, and this was a step forward.
Awareness
Approach
“Years ago we had special needs
teachers who would take care of students with a range of disabilities. But
today, we have to deliver more specialised programmes and styles of
teaching. Each student needs a
streamlined curriculum and
approach”, she informed.
Preparations for the award started
with Amaal Al-Sayer, Chairperson of
KALD’s visit to the Inspection of
Private Schools Department at the
Ministry of Education which resulted
in the department’s full cooperation
with KALD in its endeavour to
approach all private school and
encourage them to participate in the
award. The supervising committee
consisting of Dr Fatima Al-Awadi, Dr
Badrieh Al-Hajji, Wafa’ Nusseibeh,
Nabila Midlij, Suad Al-Thuwaikh and
Dr Huda Sha’ban et with school principals to brief them on the aims and
conditions of the award and training
workshops for teachers on Charlotte
Danielson’s Framework for Teachig
Evaluation.
The supervising committee on
reviewing and evaluating the applications, then observed the teachers in
their classrooms and nominated five
teachers to the finals from Manarat
School, Dasman School, Al-Ma’rifah
School, Fawzia Al-Sultan
International School and American
Universal School. At the award ceremony, the names of the three winners
will be announced.
International statistics indicate that
between 10 percent — 15 percent of
students have them. “There are
Amaal Al-Sayer, Chairperson of KALD
600,000 students in Kuwait, this
means that we have at least 60,000
students who need help if they are to
succeed and live fulfilling lives,” she
said.
KALD focuses on a three pronged
approach, targeted towards the three
members of the educational process
— the student, the parents, and the
teacher. For students, the organisation
provides psychological support to deal
with low self-esteem and poor social
skills. Parents are engaged in awareness programmes, provided with support groups and other resources. “I
personally hold a support group once
a month for parents to help them
cope. We encourage them to read
more and come to us whenever they
need help and support”, Al-Sayer said.
KALD works with teachers through
training developmental programmes,
hosting conferences. KALD focuses
its efforts for private schools as the
Centre for Child Teaching and
Evaluation works extensively with
public schools.
“Let me mention first that we are
talking about students whose IQ is
average or above average. Of course,
some who are below average in IQ
can have learning disabilities but they
are not included in the group of students that we cater for. In fact, the
new trend is to change the term LDs
to SLD ie. Specific Learning
Disabilities when we are referring to
students whose IQ level is average or
above average but have learning disabilities”, she explained.
She reiterated that the brain of a
person with a learning disability is
simply wired differently which affects
how he receives and processes information. This can lead to trouble with
learning new information and skills,
and putting them to use. The most
common types of learning disabilities
involve problems with reading, writing, math, reasoning, listening and
speaking.
launched in Kuwait to promote business
and trade. The forum will primarily aim to
provide an interactive platform of networking for Indian businessmen and professionals with their Kuwaiti counterparts
through regular interface, meetings and
even workshops.
The new forum, which plans to engage
with all trade and commerce bodies across
India and also in Kuwait, intends to act as
a unified forum for exchange of information related to current or expected business or professional opportunities in India
and Kuwait.
Not merely confined to business
exchanges, this forum will also enable
Indian businessmen and professionals to
make suggestions to the government on
matters of policy matters, procedures pertaining to the business activities.
The forum plans to promote Indian
businesses in Kuwait by providing several
opportunities between businesses, dissemination of information through seminars
and interaction with local and government
counterparts. In brief, the Forum intends
to revolutionize and develop new business
and professional relationships while consolidating existing ties.
Those interested to be part of this
organization may email on [email protected]
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Tapondo self-defense class:
She affirmed that while awareness
in Kuwait concerning LDs and ADHD
is much better than it was a decade
ago, there is still a long way to go.
“Spreading awareness is top priority
for us. We set up awareness campaigns on LDs and ADHD that
include lectures, workshops, articles
in newspapers, TV and radio, as well
as writing and issuing publications on
LD and ADHD and on their impact on
the academic, psychological and
social life.”
She pointed out that ADHD is not
regarded as a disability by the
Kuwaiti law and believes that it
should be. ADHD is one of the most
common neuro developmental disorders of childhood. It is usually first
diagnosed in childhood and often lasts
into adulthood. Children with ADHD
may have trouble paying attention,
controlling impulsive behaviours or
be overly acute. “If we call dyslexia,
dysgraphia, dyscalculia learning disabilities, then ADHD is a disability of
life. It affects every area and puts a lot
of pressure on the family and the spirit of the person suffering from this
deficit”, she said.
KALD is a social welfare association that collaboratively works
towards helping all individuals, especially students in private schools in
Kuwait, who have learning difficulties
and/or Attention Deficit Hyperactivity
Disorder through setting up awareness
programs, training courses, and other
educational activities. KALD that was
established in 2007 by Amaal AlSayer with the help of a number of
volunteers is funded by Masharaee
Al-Khair and Kuwait Projects
Company (Holding). Its Board of
Trusties includes specialists, educators
and parents who believe in KALD’s
cause.
Ugandans register with UIK: Are
you a Ugandan living and working in
Kuwait? Would you like to get in touch
with other Ugandans in Kuwait both
socially and professionally? Then please
get in touch with us.
We would like to invite you to register
with the Ugandans in Kuwait (UIK) association, an informal organization of
Ugandans living and working in Kuwait.
The purpose of this exercise is to get
together as Ugandans and to consider taking the first steps to establishing a more
formal organisation. This association is
voluntary. It is designed to create a forum
for Ugandans in Kuwait to foster a sense
of community, to communicate more
effectively with each other and to encourage Ugandans out here to work together.
We are also planning a celebration to
mark 50 years of Ugandan’s Independence
this year. If you have any questions
regarding this association or if you are
interested in registering, then please send
us an email at
[email protected]. We hope
to hear from you soon.
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Indian business forum launch:
Introducing a new world of business networking and commercial synergy, a world
all set to open fresh contours in the
emerging global economic scenario.
A forum comprising of Indian businessmen and professionals will soon be
Tapondo-Phil Combat Aikido, Kuwait
Chapter ... Filipino method of selfdefense, non-aggressive and defensive
type of martial arts, wish to invite everyone to join our regular training every
Wednesday 8:00-10:00 pm and Friday
2:00-4:00 pm at the Kaifan Karate Club.
Easy to learn and applicable to teens, men
and women in all walks of life. Contact
Herms 66486346, John 99478443, Warli
66884601, Elli 94000471.
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Fakaju martial arts: Filipino, Arnis,
karate, judo Arnisudula international
(Caballero and illustrisimo style) wishes
to invite everyone who are interested to
learn complete martial arts such as: Arnis
single stick; arnis double sticks. Complete
disarming: Long range, medium range,
close in fighting techniques; knife
defense. Join our regular training every
Friday, 6:00 am to 8:00 am, complete
martial arts, Arnis, Kali and Eskrima. For
more details contact: Wilson P. Noval,
Mobile No. 99124178 and Warli, Mobile
No: 66884601.
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Scrabble sessions are back:
Scrabble sessions are back for all to come,
learn and play with us at Better Books,
Continued on Page 36