Latest news with #Alina
Chicago Tribune
a day ago
- Business
- Chicago Tribune
Barrington area business community leaders welcome Luna Bee Farms during ribbon cutting
Barrington Area Chamber of Commerce, community members, and local leaders gathered in a July 2 ribbon cutting for Luna Bee Farms, located at 25550 W. Cuba Road in Barrington. Luna Bee Farm is a six-acre destination in Barrington where blooming lavender fields, pollinator-friendly gardens, and beehives create a serene space rooted in sustainability and connection, according to a news release. Founded by Alina and Gardiner Sutton, the farm grew from Alina's lifelong love of gardening, which was first inspired by her great-grandfather's garden in Romania and later nurtured in her own backyard in Chicago, the release said. In 2021, the Suttons moved their family to Barrington to bring this vision to life. 'Luna Bee was built with heart, hard work, and a vision for bringing people together through nature,' Alaina Sutton said. 'We are so grateful for the support of this community and excited to welcome others to experience the peace and beauty that blooms here.' In addition to a beautiful selection of plants, flowers, herbs, and upcycled furniture, Luna Bee hosts a variety of community events and wellness experiences, according to the release. Regular offerings include yoga in the lavender fields, kid-friendly workshops, and creative collaborations with local artisans and businesses. According to the release, signature experiences like Petals to Pour invite guests to craft floral-forward mocktails using fresh garden herbs and botanicals, a refreshing way to connect with nature and creativity at the farm. Luna Bee Farm is open for events and by appointment, with ongoing updates shared on its website, and Instagram, @lunabeefarm. For more information, call (224) 454-3318.
CNET
5 days ago
- General
- CNET
This Ingredient Doesn't Help Your Pasta Water Boil Quicker, but It's Still Important
Pasta is the perfect meal for new cooks. After alll, you just have to drop noodles into boiling water and wait for them to cook, before adding sauce and enjoying your creation. Although it is quite simple, there are still nuances to making perfect penne or linguini that shouldn't go overlooked. Along with pasta's undeniable popularity comes a swell of hacks promising better, faster cooking results. And while some of these viral tips may do some good, many of them are pure farce, according to an Italian chef I spoke with. To learn the biggest pasta-making mistakes folks are making, I talked to professional chef and pasta pro Filippo de Marchi, chef de cuisine at De Majo Restaurant & Terrace. Here's everything you need to know about making the Italian staple. 1. Throwing pasta against a wall to see if it sticks Cooked pasta will indeed stick to a wall but that doesn't mean it's a good way to determine doneness. Laura Ciapponi/Getty "This isn't the best way to check for doneness," says de Marchi. "The texture of the pasta can change when it hits the wall and it doesn't give an accurate indication of whether it's properly cooked." Plus, you're likely to splatter your wall with starchy noodle juice or worse, watch it slide down the wall and behind the stove. Instead, scoop out a single strand and taste it. You'll then be able to tell if it's achieved that perfect al dente texture. 2. Adding olive oil to pasta water Olive oil in your water isn't the best fix for sticky pasta. Alina Bradford/CNET One of the worst offenses, according to Marchi, is adding pricey olive oil to pasta water thinking it will keep noodles from sticking. Olive oil is a necessary addition to most pasta dishes, but save it for the plate. Some folks think it will help keep pasta from sticking when added to boiling pasta water but "the oil just floats on top of the water and doesn't coat the pasta effectively," says de Marchi. "The best way to prevent sticking is to use plenty of water, stir the pasta regularly during the first few minutes of cooking and make sure to use the right size pot for the amount of pasta you're cooking. "This way, the pasta has enough space to move around and cook evenly," he adds. 3. Leaving the pot covered while the pasta is cooking Stopping your pot from boiling over can be as easy as putting a wooden spoon across the top. JannHuizenga/Getty Images "Leaving the lid off the pot while the pasta is cooking is the way to go," advises de Marchi. "This prevents the water from boiling over and helps control the cooking process. Plus, it allows the steam to escape, which helps prevent the water from foaming up and making a starchy mess." As recommended, be sure to also pick an appropriately sized pot so that your pasta cooks evenly. 4. Adding salt and thinking it will help the water boil faster Salt won't get your pasta water boiling significantly faster. Morton Salt/Amazon Based on a recent Reddit discussion, quite a few people are confused about whether adding salt to pasta water makes any real difference. The truth is that salt plays an important role in pasta water, but not when it comes to heat. (Impurities do change the boiling point of water, but the amount of salt you add to pasta water doesn't make a significant difference.) Rather, it's essential to add salt so that the pasta can absorb its flavor. "If you're cooking without enough salt, the pasta can end up tasting a bit bland," warns de Marchi, whose signature dish at NHC Murano Villa is spaghetti alle vongole. The seafood dish hails from the region of ocean-adjacent Venice and consists of vongole (typically clams, garlic, white wine, and chili flakes), sea asparagus, and lemon zest. 5. Draining pasta until it's completely dry Leaving a whisper of pasta water will help the sauce adhere. David Watsky/CNET There is a reason why salted pasta water is held in such high regard. Not only does it contain a delicious brine to enhance sauces, but it also helps the sauce adhere to the pasta itself. "This creates a more cohesive and flavorful dish," argues De Marchi. "A little moisture can go a long way in making your pasta dish extra tasty." 6. Running cooked pasta under water before serving Rinsing pasta after cooking may not be the special trick we all thought it was. Getty Images If you want to subject yourself to a potential injury via a rolling pin or wooden spoon by Nonna, run your cooked pasta under fresh water. "This can remove the starchy coating that helps the sauce adhere to the pasta," says de Marchi. "The residual heat from the pasta helps the sauce to marry with the pasta, creating a more flavorful and cohesive dish. Think of it like a beautiful marriage -- you want the sauce and the pasta to come together and live happily ever after, not to undergo a cold shower right before serving." 7. Precooking sheets of lasagna Not all lasagna recipes require precooked noodles. CNET "Precooking lasagna sheets isn't always necessary, especially if you're using a sauce with plenty of moisture," he says. "In fact, many lasagna recipes call for using the sheets directly without precooking, allowing them to absorb liquid from the sauce and cook during the baking process." Set it, forget it and let the magic happen in the oven. Pasta is not something to overthink or stress over. Its simple preparation makes it all the more enjoyable.
Time of India
10-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Time of India
Writer Joycee on Mazha Thorum Munpe: If you're after flashy sarees or trendy earrings of the heroine, this isn't the show for you; it's a slice-of-life story
Malayalam TV writer Joycee, known for his popular series, returns with 'Mazha Thorum Munpe,' an adaptation of his beloved novel. He initially hesitated to adapt the novel, but actress Nikitha Rajesh, who he introduced as a child artist, convinced him. Adding a personal touch, Joycee's grandchild, Abigael, joins the cast. The favourite writer of Malayalam TV is back in the industry after a brief hiatus. Joycee, the one who glued the Malayali audience to the TV screens with his heart-touching stories like Omanathinkal Pakshi and Manjurukum Kaalam, is back with yet another tale, 'Mazha Thorum Munpe'. In a candid chat with ETimes, the writer shared his hopes about the serial adaptation of his all time favourite novel. 'Mazha Thorum Munpe is one of my all-time favourite works, the one I truly enjoyed writing the most. The novel, which began in 2006, continued until 2011, spanning 242 issues in a leading weekly at the time. It was a story so close to readers' hearts that many urged me not to adapt it into a serial, fearing the essence might be lost in the process. Over the years, several people approached me about turning it into a show, but I was hesitant to give the nod. My biggest concern was that, back then, I couldn't find anyone in the industry who could truly embody Alina, the central character. But now, I feel everything has finally fallen into place, and here we are,' he said. Undoubtedly, it was one actress, Nikitha Rajesh, who convinced Joycee to finally say yes to the project. And who can blame him? Now a versatile presence in both Tamil and Malayalam television, Nikitha was once the adorable child artist Joycee himself introduced to the industry. Yes, she was none other than the beloved Anna Mol from Omanathinkal Pakshi. 'Nikitha was just 4 years old when she joined Omanathinkal Pakshi, then she played a role in Manjurukum Kaalam at 14. Now, at 24, she's my Alina. It feels like she's been growing up as my characters, decade after decade. She's truly one of the finest actresses I've come across; she instinctively understands the precise meter of every emotion and how to deliver it on camera. I'm hopeful she will win your hearts as Alina,' Joycee said. It's not just Nikitha who's making this project special for Joycee, there's another young artist adding a deeply personal touch to the show. His own grandchild, Abigael, is joining the cast as Chinnu Kutty, making Mazha Thorum Munpe even more close to the writer's heart. 'It's a blessing to witness this in my lifetime. It's incredible to think that when I first wrote the character, she wasn't even born. And now, to see my own grandchild portraying one of my favourite characters, it's truly a special feeling. She follows the director's instructions to the letter and doesn't like repeating actions,' he added with a smile. Commenting on the current trend in Malayalam television, where adaptations of shows from other languages dominate the scene, Joycee proudly notes that his work stands apart. He describes Mazha Thorum Munpe as a slice-of-life story that any Malayali can easily relate to. 'Though the story was written 15 years ago, its relevance feels even more fitting today. Yes, I've made a few changes to suit the current audience, but I've been very careful not to add any gimmicks. If you're watching just to see what flashy saree the heroine is wearing or to check out the antagonist's earrings, sorry, you might have to switch the channel. This is a story about ordinary people, told with realism, focusing on their struggles and survival. I'm confident it won't disappoint the story lover in you,' the writer concluded.
Yahoo
02-07-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Should a B.C. couple, both 45, sell their GICs to buy a bigger house?
Married couple Alex and Alina are 45 years old with a child in elementary school and their eyes cast on the future. They are focused on how to build an investment portfolio that will allow them to achieve their short-term and long-term goals. They have adopted a similar approach to finances as their parents. 'My parents had pensions so they never invested in registered retirement savings plans (RRSPs),' said Alex. 'The focus was on buying real estate and saving in a bank account and that's what we've been doing.' The couple are ready to explore their investing options as they look to upsize from their current home in British Columbia. They have a budget of between $1.7 million and $2 million and are looking for a house with a rental unit. They plan to use the proceeds from the sale of their mortgage-free current home, valued at $1.2 million, and the $400,000 they have in cashable guaranteed investment certificates (GICs) to pay for a larger house. 'Is this the right approach?' asked Alex. 'Will using the GICs to help fund a new home hurt my retirement plans?' Alex and Alina earn $195,000 a year combined before tax and Alex will be eligible for his full employer pension at age 62, which will pay about $5,500 a month. He does not plan to work after he retires. Alina will likely work to age 65 and does not have an employer pension. The couple also own a rental property valued at $1.4 million that generates $5,500 a month in rental income. This more than covers expenses and the $3,200 monthly mortgage payments on the $538,000 mortgage at 3.93 per cent. The mortgage matures in 14 years. They plan to keep the rental property and have it serve as Alina's pension before eventually giving it to their child as part of the inheritance. Alex and Alina also have $73,000 invested in exchange-traded funds (ETFs) and stocks in a tax-free savings account (TFSA). They have $156,000 invested largely in mutual funds and ETFs in an RRSP. They also maximize contributions to a registered education savings plan (RESP), which is valued at $40,000. To this point, Alex feels their savings haven't been working for them and he would like to change that. Specifically, he wants to know what the couple should be invested in and where. 'Should 60 per cent of our investments be in the U.S., 20 per cent in Canada and 20 per cent in emerging markets? Should we be focused on generating dividend income or do ETFs make the most sense for us? What type of asset allocation should we have?' he asked. Graeme Egan, president of CastleBay Wealth Management Inc. in Vancouver, said Alina and Alex have saved well and are on the right track to building a substantial investment portfolio — a definite priority in today's world of relatively low interest rates and rising inflation. 'Parking money in a bank account is no longer an option today.' Using their GICs to help purchase a larger house makes sense, Egan said. 'Even if they have to take on a small mortgage, the rental suite and income they hope to have in their new house will help offset mortgage payments and their surplus income from their rental property provides a cash-flow cushion if it takes a while to find a tenant.' When it comes to their investment portfolio, their focus at this stage of their planning should be on capital appreciation, not generating dividend income while they are still working and don't need the income, Egan said. 'If Alina and Alex continue to self-manage their investments, ETFs are the right choice to build a globally diversified equity portfolio and they should look at replacing all of their retail mutual funds with similar ETFs, which have lower management expense ratios (MERs) and are liquid. If they have not already done so, they might have to open self-directed RRSPs and TFSAs at a discount broker of their choice; all the big banks own a discount brokerage arm. A few discount brokers even offer no commissions on ETF purchases as an incentive to open an account.' Given their long runway to retirement — at least 17 years of investing if Alex retires at 62 — Egan believes their current overall asset mix seems a bit conservative. He recommended at least 70 per cent equities and 30 per cent fixed income, reducing to 60 per cent equities at age 55, with further reductions in equity holdings as they age. 'Their TFSAs should hold 100 per cent equity ETFs, given the tax advantage of completely sheltering long-term capital gains. Any fixed income (bond ETFs) should be invested in their RRSPs.' In terms of geographic focus, Egan suggested 20 per cent of their equity ETFs be invested in Canada, 25 per cent in the U.S. (including large- and small-cap as well as Nasdaq exposure) and 25 per cent international (including five per cent directed to emerging markets for 'higher octane exposure'). 'If they do not want to continually rebalance and monitor their portfolio, there are all-in-one asset allocation ETFs … with various asset mix allocations to suit different investors which are rebalanced occasionally according to the ETF sponsor's pre-set rules,' said Egan. 'If Alina and Alex want to build their own ETF portfolio and they are not interested in researching bond ETFs, they can consider using an aggregate bond ETF that contains a range of short- to long-term government and corporate bonds. No bond management is required by the investor, MERs are lower compared with a bond mutual fund and they pay interest monthly into your account.' Egan recommended Alina and Alex continue to maximize annual RESP contributions to obtain government grant money and then focus on investing in RRSPs and use their annual tax refunds to contribute to their TFSAs and invest in equities each year. 'The good news is Alex's defined benefit pension will likely be indexed at age 62 and beyond. Equity investments tend to keep up with inflation so only their fixed income portion is not indexed,' he said. Is saving $500,000 in investment income enough for couple to meet their retirement goals? Can Bianca afford to retire at 66 with a mortgage? 'Once their current real estate situation is settled, they should consider engaging the services of a fee-for-service financial planner to do some long-term projections for them to calculate what they should save annually in RRSPs and TFSAs in conjunction with Alex's known pension so they can both be financially independent at Alina's age 65.' *Names have been changed to protect privacy. Are you worried about having enough for retirement? Do you need to adjust your portfolio? Are you starting out or making a change and wondering how to build wealth? Are you trying to make ends meet? Drop us a line at wealth@ with your contact info and the gist of your problem and we'll find some experts to help you out while writing a Family Finance story about it (we'll keep your name out of it, of course). Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Al Jazeera
30-06-2025
- Politics
- Al Jazeera
War-weary Ukrainians ready for peace with Russia through compromise
Kyiv, Ukraine – Halyna is ready to abandon her dreams of returning home in exchange for peace in the rest of Ukraine. 'I want this nightmare to be over. I don't want to hear air raid sirens almost every night and read about dead children and people burned alive in their homes almost every morning,' said the 35-year-old who withheld her last name because she 'doesn't want to sound unpatriotic'. 'I want peace, even if it means we can't ever go back home,' she told Al Jazeera. Halyna hails from the southern port of Mariupol, the large Ukrainian city Russia seized in May 2022 after a three-month siege and attacks that killed thousands of people. She is among 56 percent of Ukrainians who would agree to a 'compromise' to end Europe's bloodiest armed conflict since 1945, according to a survey released on Thursday by the Janus Institute for Strategic Studies and Forecasts and the SOCIS Center for Social and Marketing Research, both Kyiv-based pollsters. The 'compromise' means that Kyiv would have to agree to Russia's de facto control of almost a fifth of Ukraine's territory. Another 16.6 percent of those polled would agree to a freeze along the current front lines, and only 12.8 percent want Kyiv to fight until it wins back all the land Russia has seized since 2014. 'Nothing to go back to' The lost fifth of Ukraine's territory includes Mariupol, where Halyna lived with her 11-year-old daughter, Alina, and husband, Serhiy, who was killed in March 2022 by a blast while searching for food in a bombed-out grocery shop. Halyna and Alina fled three days later with a single bag of clothes, documents and toys after their next-door neighbours, an elderly couple, agreed to give them a ride. It took them three days of hours-long queues, searches and interrogations that she described as humiliating at Russian checkpoints to reach the Kyiv-controlled city of Zaporizhzhia. Six days after their escape, their nine-storey apartment building was struck by a Russian bomber. 'I realised we have nothing to go back to,' Halyna said. The growing readiness for a compromise indicated in the poll reflects a nationwide realisation that even with Western military aid, Ukrainian forces are unable to kick the Russians out. 'Most Ukrainians do support the negotiations through compromise to end the war,' Volodymyr Fesenko, head of the Kyiv-based Penta think tank, told Al Jazeera. 'We understand that we can't count only on the military way to end the war.' 'Ready for a drone to fly in' The war uprooted one in four Ukrainians – 10.6 million people – who either became internally displaced or fled abroad, according to the United Nations refugee agency. Many of those whose homes have remained intact and out of Russian hands are war-weary to the point of physical and mental exhaustion. 'Every night I get ready for a Shaheed [an Iranian-designed Russian drone] to fly into my apartment,' Oleksiy Svidirenko, a 51-year-old bank clerk, told Al Jazeera while describing his 'paranoia'. He meticulously checks that all of his documents, savings, family photos and hard drives are packed in an emergency bag that sits all night next to the front door of his fourth-floor apartment in a five-storey building in central Kyiv. His wife and son fled to the Czech Republic in 2022, but Svidirenko – along with every Ukrainian man of fighting age – cannot join them. He keeps a COVID-19 epidemic-era mask to protect himself from the dust raised by a possible explosion, has a flashlight ready in case of a blackout and makes sure a pair of shoes with thick soles are under his bed in case glass shards litter the floor. 'It's my personal little superstition – if all of that is ready, I can sleep fine,' he said with a nervous laugh. 'Some of my friends do the same.' 'Existential shortages' A psychologist says the wartime hardships Ukrainians face could be best described as 'shortages'. 'The war has taken a lot from us, leaving holes of various sizes in the daily life,' Svitland Chunikhina, vice president of the Association of Political Psychologists, a group in Kyiv, told Al Jazeera. 'The largest shortage is safety as well as stability, predictability, justice,' she said. 'We all in Ukraine live like people with disabilities, but our disability is existential.' The feeling is exacerbated by the betrayal of the West – real or imaginary. 'Everybody let us down – [former US President Barack] Obama, [current US President Donald] Trump, Europe,' Halyna said. 'Trump is the worst of them all,' she added. 'He made so many promises he knew he wouldn't keep.' Before his re-election, Trump pledged to end the war 'in 24 hours', pointing to his alleged clout with Russian President Vladimir Putin. After months of attempts to start a peace process, Trump seems to have given up on the idea. On Wednesday, Trump said at a news conference at the NATO summit in The Hague that his pledge was, 'of course, sarcastic'. To Fesenko, the biggest problem is that Trump now has 'no clear position, no clear understanding of how to end the war'. 'In Ukraine late last year and early this year, there was a moderate optimism about Trump. Now, this mood is gone,' he said. 'And I think it's good. There are no heightened expectations regarding Trump. There is a pragmatic understanding that, most likely, the war won't end soon,' he concluded. Despite the growing doom and gloom among civilians, Ukrainian forces have so far succeeded in containing Moscow's summer offensive. Last week, they prevented a Russian advance in the northern region of Sumy, according to a political analyst fighting in eastern Ukraine. 'We can say that the enemy began to skid,' Kirill Sazonov wrote on Telegram on Monday. This year, Russia has occupied about 5,000sq km (1,930sq miles), or about 1 percent of Ukraine's territory, according to data analysts. The gains pale in comparison with the conquest of 120,000sq km (46,332sq miles) in the first five weeks of the full-scale invasion in 2022 and Ukraine's recapture of 50,000sq km (19,305sq miles) in the spring of 2022.
