How to make delicious Festival from scratch

We posted this recipee back in December but upon the request of 'Anonymous', here it is again.

Yes, you can buy a pre-mixed package from a West Indian store such as Nicey's http://www.niceysfoodmart.com/ but this is much more fun.

This golden treat can be enjoyed with any meal, but is especially delicious with breakfast. It has the texture of a donut, but is not as sweet and is delicous when dipped in gravy.

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup flour
• 1 tsp. baking powder
• 1 Tbsp. margarine
• 1 cup cornmeal
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1 tsp. nutmeg
• 1 tsp. lime juice
• 1/2 cup water
• 1/2 cup oil for frying

Method:

• In one large bowl, sift flour and baking powder
• Add cornmeal, sugar, nutmeg, salt, margarine, lime juice and enough water to bind mixture to a manageable dough
• Leave to stand for two minutes
• Heat Oil in a pan, shape festival into fingers and fry
• Drain on absorbent paper.

How to cook Hot Pepper Shrimp to die for!

This is a unique snack to Jamaica that is made using prawns from Black River and sold on Bamboo Walk.

You can leave the heads on (which is my favourite part) or you can take them off.

This is my favourite Jamaican snack, but beware, because they are very, very HOT!

Ingredients:

• 1 lb shrimp or prawns
• 2 green onions chopped
• 2 garlic cloves
• 1 or 2 scotch bonnet peppers (depending on how hot you want it)
• 1/3 cup oil for frying
  

Method:

• In a large pan, heat oil to medium and then add green onions, garlic and peppers. Cook for about 1 to 2 minutes
• Add shrimp, making sure each shrimp is thoroughly covered in the mixture and cook for about 5 minutes, or until each shrimp is bright red
• Let them cool and drain on some paper towel

Now get a cold Red Stripe (not that we encourage the consumption of alcoholic beverages) and dig in!

Friday the 13th Sucks!

Friday the 13th really sucks. For some people, but not for me.

Here we are, an entire society of grownups caught up in the belief that it is a 'Bad Luck' day. And all because of some events that while terrible, occurred in the past. Spending any energy today worrying about what terrible things may happen because of the day and date is a waste of time.

But thanks to the superstition, lots of people will be playing it close-to-the vest today and will play it conservatively. I have a 'High Energy' day planned today to take advantage that.

My plans include actively prospecting for new business in all the areas I work in. I am sending out a proposal for a FREE marketing seminar to Alteredperceptioninc prospects. I have a teleconference with a business in Newfoundland to discuss sales and marketing plans. And I am moving forward on a project that will take a group of runners to Jamaica to compete in and complete their first marathon. And to top it off, I am taking my wife to dinner at an excellent local Italian restaurant tonight.

Thanks to everyone who believes in bad luck today. Due to you and your superstitions, it will be a GREAT day for me today.

How Failure leads to Success

Too often we judge failure to achieve an objective the first time as 'FAILURE'. In car racing, this is not the case because the only way to achieve success in racing is to push the limits - fail, then try again. It is a good reminder to never, ever give up.

I am sharing this video because although it is a corporate piece, it contains some strong inspirational and motivational tips on achieving success http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OgXegRoErNk

The video was sent to me via email from an excellent blog I subscribe to that is sales-focused, but provides advice that can be applied to all areas of business http://salesblogcast.com/