“Everything has beauty, but not everyone sees it.” - Confucius
Celeriac (Apium graveolens var. rapaceum), also called turnip-rooted
celery or knob celery, is a variety of celery cultivated for its edible roots,
hypocotyl, and shoots. It is sometimes called celery root. It was mentioned in
Homer’s Odyssey as selinon.
Celeriac is a root vegetable with a bulbous hypocotyl. In the
Mediterranean Basin, where the variety originated, and in Northern Europe,
celeriac grows wild and is widely cultivated. It is also cultivated in North
Africa, Siberia, Southwest Asia, Australia, and North America. In North
America, the Diamant cultivar predominates.
Typically, celeriac is harvested when its hypocotyl is 10–14 cm in
diameter. However, a growing trend (specifically in Peruvian and South American
cuisine) is to use the immature vegetable, valued for its intensity of flavour
and tenderness overall. It is edible raw or cooked, and tastes similar to the
stalks (the upper part of the stem) of common celery cultivars.
Celeriac may be roasted, stewed, blanched, or mashed. Sliced
celeriac occurs as an ingredient in soups, casseroles, and other savoury
dishes. The leaves and stems of the vegetable are quite flavoursome, and
aesthetically delicate and vibrant, which has led to their use as a garnish in
contemporary fine dining.
The shelf life of celeriac is approximately six to eight months if
stored between 0 °C and 5 °C, and not allowed to dry out. However, the
vegetable will tend to rot through the centre if the finer stems surrounding
the base are left attached. The freshness of the vegetable can be determined by
viewing the hollowness of the vegetable; a fresh celeriac should not have a
hollow centre. The freshness of the vegetable will also be obvious from the
taste; the older the vegetable, the less potent the celery flavour.
Celeriac is a very good source of fibre, vitamin C and essential
minerals such as phosphorus, iron, calcium and copper. It contains many
antioxidants that can scavenge free radicals boost the immune system. 100 g of
celeriac provides 120 kJ of energy.
“Change will not come if we wait for some other person or some other time. We are the ones we’ve been waiting for. We are the change that we seek.” - Barack Obama
This week, Poets United has as its Midweek Challenge motif, “change”. All things change, and no matter how hard we try not to, we change too. Some change is good some is bad, and if we wish to make the best of the shifting, coruscating, ever-metamorphosing world, we should be the agents of change ourselves. Anticipate change, catalyse it, be part of it, make it ours, own it and be positively influenced by it.
Metamorphosis
I choose to walk away from that image
Looking at me pitifully
Within the silver depths of mirror.
I shed my yellow countenance
I strip my flabby skin
And much like a snake erupting,
Freeing itself from its constricting,
Worn, outgrown, ugly old shirt,
My inner self slips lightly by, and is liberated.
Kicking the pile of hateful flesh
Laughing at the bewildered
Idiotic stare of moon-faced image
In the looking glass,
Resolve has effected change:
Egg, caterpillar, chrysalis…
At last I soar free and beautiful,
A brilliant butterfly,
Unfurling multicoloured wings
Tasting the joys of flight
Grateful for the mystery
Of metamorphosis.
“If I see my
city as beautiful and bewitching, then my life must be so too.” - Orhan Pamuk
Welcome to the Travel Tuesday meme! Join me every Tuesday and showcase your creativity in photography, painting and drawing, music, poetry, creative writing or a plain old natter about Travel!
There is only one simple rule: Link your own creative work about some aspect of travel and share it with the rest of us!
Please use this meme for your creative endeavours only. Do not use this meme to advertise your products or services as any links or comments by advertisers will be removed immediately.
Istanbul, historically known as Constantinople and Byzantium, is the most
populous city in Turkey and the country’s economic, cultural, and historic centre.
Istanbul is a transcontinental city in Eurasia, straddling the Bosphorus strait
(which separates Europe and Asia) between the Sea of Marmara and the Black Sea.
Its commercial and historical centre lies on the European side and about a
third of its population lives on the Asian side. The city is the administrative
centre of the Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality (coterminous with Istanbul
Province), both hosting a population of around 14.7 million residents.
Istanbul is one of the world’s most populous cities and ranks as the
world’s 7th-largest city proper and the largest European city. Founded under
the name of Byzantion (Βυζάντιον) on the Sarayburnu promontory around 660 BCE,
the city developed to become one of the most significant in history. After its
reestablishment as Constantinople in 330 CE, it served as an imperial capital
for almost 16 centuries, during the Roman and Byzantine (330–1204 and
1261–1453), the Latin (1204–1261), and the Ottoman (1453–1922) empires. It was
instrumental in the advancement of Christianity during Roman and Byzantine
times, before the Ottomans conquered the city in 1453 and transformed it into
an Islamic stronghold and the seat of the Ottoman Caliphate.
Istanbul’s strategic position on the historic Silk Road, rail
networks to Europe and the Middle East, and the only sea route between the
Black Sea and the Mediterranean have produced a cosmopolitan populace, although
less so since the establishment of the Turkish Republic in 1923. Overlooked for
the new capital Ankara during the interwar period, the city has since regained
much of its prominence. The population of the city has increased tenfold since
the 1950s, as migrants from across Anatolia have moved in and city limits have
expanded to accommodate them.
Arts, music, film, and cultural festivals were established at the
end of the 20th century and continue to be hosted by the city today.
Infrastructure improvements have produced a complex transportation network.
Approximately 12.56 million foreign visitors arrived in Istanbul in 2015, five
years after it was named a European Capital of Culture, making the city the
world’s fifth most popular tourist destination. The city’s biggest attraction
is its historic centre, partially listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and
its cultural and entertainment hub can be found across the city’s natural
harbor, the Golden Horn, in the Beyoğlu district.
Considered a global city, Istanbul has one of the fastest-growing
metropolitan economies in the world. It hosts the headquarters of many Turkish
companies and media outlets and accounts for more than a quarter of the country’s
gross domestic product. Hoping to capitalise on its revitalisation and rapid
expansion, Istanbul has bid unsuccesfully for the Summer Olympics five times in
twenty years.
This post is part of the Our World Tuesday meme,
and also part of the Wordless Wednesday meme.
Add your own travel posts using the Linky tool below, and don't forget to be nice and leave a comment here, and link back to this page from your own post:
“The life of the
dead is placed in the memory of the living.” - Marcus Tullius Cicero
Zachary Bryant (above left with sister Zara),
a baby boy has become the first victim of Bourke Street mall car rampage to be
laid to rest, as two others continue to fight for life in hospital. Zachary was
buried on Tuesday at a private funeral. He was three months and 14 days when he
died after being hit by a car aimed through the mall on Friday. A private
funeral for Thalia Hakin, 10, will be held on Wednesday. Matthew Si, 33,
Sydneysider Jess Mudie, 22, and an unnamed Japanese national, 25, also died in
the attack.
Nineteen people
were still in hospital on Tuesday after a man drove into the lunchtime crowd,
killing five people and injuring more than 30. Two victims are still critical,
including new mother Nethra Krishnamurthy. Zara Bryant, Zachary’s older sister
is in a stable condition.
Perpetrator
Dimitrious Gargasoulas (above right) is excused from court by police, claiming that he is
feeling ‘unwell’. He is charged for 5 counts of murder on the day. He has been
remanded in custody and ordered to face court via video link in August.
