Τετάρτη 1 Δεκεμβρίου 2021

CHRISTMAS WISHES

 



Κυριακή 21 Νοεμβρίου 2021

GERUNDS AND INFINITIVES

 5 Simple Rules to Master the Use of Gerunds and Infinitives

 

Rule 1: Gerunds can be used as a subject of a sentence.

Take a look at some examples.

Walking is good for your health.

 Making friends has become more difficult since I moved to a new city.

 Becoming a millionaire is a dream of many young people today.

 

Here, the gerunds (in bold) are part of the sentence subjects (“walking,” “making friends,” “becoming a millionaire”). All three sentences sound like normal, everyday English.

 

Now read these two sentences:

To be or not to be—that is the question.”

To mourn a mischief that is past and gone is the next way to draw new mischief on.”

(Both sentences are quotes from William Shakespeare’s works.)

They sound formal, don’t they? They are poetic, aren’t they? Shakespeare is one of the greatest authors of all time, but his English is famously difficult to understand. And that’s because it is literature. It is formal and it is art.

In those two quotes, the infinitives “to be” and “to mourn” are used as the sentence subjects.

So, it is possible to use both infinitives and gerunds as subjects, but gerunds are much more commonly used as subjects. Just pay attention to how the choice reflects on the tone and meaning of your sentences.

OLIVE OIL

 

Olive oil

From Wikipedia
Jump to search
Olive oil
Oliven V1.jpg
Extra virgin olive oil presented with green and black preserved table olives
Fat composition
Saturated fats
Total saturatedPalmitic acid: 13.0%
Stearic acid: 1.5%
Unsaturated fats
Total unsaturated> 85%
MonounsaturatedOleic acid: 70.0%
Palmitoleic acid: 0.3–3.5%
PolyunsaturatedLinoleic acid: 15.0%
α-Linolenic acid: 0.5%
Properties
Food energy per 100 g (3.5 oz)3,700 kJ (880 kcal)
Melting point−6.0 °C (21.2 °F)
Boiling point700 °C (1,292 °F)
Smoke point190–215 °C (374–419 °F) (extra virgin)
175 °C (347 °F) (virgin)
210 °C (410 °F) (refined)
Solidity at 20 °C (68 °F)Liquid
Specific gravity at 20 °C (68 °F)0.911
Viscosity at 20 °C (68 °F)84 cP
Refractive index1.4677–1.4705 (virgin and refined)
1.4680–1.4707 (pomace)
Iodine value75–94 (virgin and refined)
75–92 (pomace)
Acid valuemaximum: 6.6%(refined and pomace)
0.8% (extra virgin)
Saponification value184–196 (virgin and refined)
182–193 (pomace)
Peroxide value20 (virgin)
10 (refined and pomace)

Olive oil is a liquid fat obtained from olives (the fruit of Olea europaea; family Oleaceae), a traditional tree crop of the Mediterranean Basin, produced by pressing whole olives and extracting the oil. It is commonly used in cooking, for frying foods or as a salad dressing. It is also used in cosmetics, pharmaceuticals, and soaps, and as a fuel for traditional oil lamps, and has additional uses in some religions. The olive is one of three core food plants in Mediterranean cuisine; the other two are wheat and grapes. Olive trees have been grown around the Mediterranean since the 8th millennium BC.

The top five producers of olive oil by volume are Spain, Morocco, Turkey, Greece, and Italy. Per capita consumption is highest in Greece, followed by Spain and Italy.

The composition of olive oil varies with the cultivar, altitude, time of harvest and extraction process. It consists mainly of oleic acid (up to 83%), with smaller amounts of other fatty acids including linoleic acid (up to 21%) and palmitic acid (up to 20%). Extra virgin olive oil is required to have no more than 0.8% free acidity and is considered to have favorable flavor characteristics.

Olive oil has long been a common ingredient in Mediterranean cuisine, including ancient Greek and Roman cuisine. Wild olives, which originated in Asia Minor, were collected by Neolithic people as early as the 8th millennium BC. Besides food, olive oil has been used for religious ritualsmedicines, as a fuel in oil lampssoap-making, and skin care application. The Spartans and other Greeks used oil to rub themselves while exercising in the gymnasia. From its beginnings early in the 7th century BC, the cosmetic use of olive oil quickly spread to all of the Hellenic city states, together with athletes training in the nude, and lasted close to a thousand years despite its great expense. 

Symbolism and mythology

Olive crusher (trapetum) in Pompeii (79 AD)

The olive tree has historically been a symbol of peace between nations. It has played a religious and social role in Greek mythology, especially concerning the name of the city of Athens where the city was named after the goddess Athena because her gift of an olive tree was held to be more precious than rival Poseidon's gift of a salt spring.

The_Manufacture_of_Oil_drawn_and_engraved_by_J_Amman_in_the_Sixteenth_Century

Uses

Culinary use

Vinegar and olive oil

Olive oil is an important cooking oil in countries surrounding the Mediterranean, and it forms one of the three staple food plants of Mediterranean cuisine, the other two being wheat (as in pasta, bread, and couscous) and the grape, used as a dessert fruit and for wine.

Extra virgin olive oil is mostly used as a salad dressing and as an ingredient in salad dressings. It is also used with foods to be eaten cold. If uncompromised by heat, the flavor is stronger. It also can be used for sautéing.

When extra virgin olive oil is heated above 210–216 °C (410–421 °F), depending on its free fatty acid content, the unrefined particles within the oil are burned. This leads to deteriorated taste. Refined olive oils are suited for deep frying because of the higher smoke point and milder flavour. Extra virgin oils have a smoke point around 180–215 °C (356–419 °F),[1] with higher-quality oils having a higher smoke point, whereas refined light olive oil has a smoke point up to 230 °C (446 °F). It is a "popular myth" that high-quality extra virgin olive oil is a poor choice for cooking, as its smoke point is above the temperatures required for cooking, and has greater resistance to oxidation than most other cooking oils, as a result of its antioxidant and mono-unsaturated fat content.

Olives in olive oil

Choosing a cold-pressed olive oil can be similar to selecting a wine. The flavor of these oils varies considerably and a particular oil may be more suited for a particular dish.

Fresh oil, as available in an oil-producing region, tastes noticeably different from the older oils available elsewhere. In time, oils deteriorate and become stale. One-year-old oil may be still pleasant to the taste, but it is less fragrant than fresh oil. After the first year, olive oil is more suitable for cooking than serving raw.


Religious use

Christianity

The Roman Catholic, Orthodox and Anglican churches use olive oil for the Oil of Catechumens (used to bless and strengthen those preparing for Baptism) and Oil of the Sick (used to confer the Sacrament of Anointing of the Sick or Unction). Olive oil mixed with a perfuming agent such as balsam is consecrated by bishops as Sacred Chrism, which is used to confer the sacrament of Confirmation (as a symbol of the strengthening of the Holy Spirit), in the rites of Baptism and the ordination of priests and bishops, in the consecration of altars and churches, and, traditionally, in the anointing of monarchs at their coronation.

Eastern Orthodox Christians still use oil lamps in their churches, home prayer corners and in the cemeteries. A vigil lamp consists of a votive glass containing a half-inch of water and filled the rest with olive oil. The glass has a metal holder that hangs from a bracket on the wall or sits on a table. A cork float with a lit wick floats on the oil. To douse the flame, the float is carefully pressed down into the oil. Makeshift oil lamps can easily be made by soaking a ball of cotton in olive oil and forming it into a peak. The peak is lit and then burns until all the oil is consumed, whereupon the rest of the cotton burns out. Olive oil is a usual offering to churches and cemeteries.


Judaism

In Jewish observance, olive oil was the only fuel allowed to be used in the seven-branched menorah in the Mishkan service during the Exodus of the tribes of Israel from Egypt, and later in the permanent Temple in Jerusalem. It was obtained by using only the first drop from a squeezed olive and was consecrated for use only in the Temple by the priests and stored in special containers. In modern times, although candles can be used to light the menorah at Hanukkah, oil containers are preferred, to imitate the original menorah.Olive oil was also used to prepare the holy anointing oil used for priests, kings, prophets, and others.


Skin care

One study found that olive oil lowered the risk of dermatitis for infants in all gestational stages when compared with emollient cream, while another study of adults found that topical treatment with olive oil "significantly damages the skin barrier" when compared to sunflower oil, and that it may make existing atopic dermatitis worse. The researchers concluded that due to the negative outcome in adults, they do not recommend the use of olive oil for the treatment of dry skin and infant massage. Applying olive oil to the skin does not help prevent or reduce stretch marks.

Other

Olive oil is also a natural and safe lubricant, and can be used to lubricate kitchen machinery (grinders, blenders, cookware, etc.). It can also be used for illumination (oil lamps) or as the base for soaps and detergents. Some cosmetics also use olive oil as their base, and it can be used as a substitute for machine oil. 

The Ranieri Filo della Torre is an international literary prize for writings about extra virgin olive oil. It yearly honors poetry, fiction and non-fiction about extra virgin olive oil.

Σάββατο 5 Ιουνίου 2021

Guernica

 

Πέμπτη 25 Μαρτίου 2021

Δευτέρα 22 Μαρτίου 2021

HAMBURGERS-Passive Voice

 THE STORY OF THE HAMBURGER

The hamburger is the most eaten food in the whole world. The first hamburgers were made and sold in Connecticut in 1895 by an American called Louis Lassen. Louis called them hamburgers because he was given the recipe by sailors from Hamburg in Germany.

Hamburgers became a favourite meal in America in the early part of the twentieth century. Their popularity grew even more after the Second World War, when they were bought in large quantities by teenagers who preferred fast food to family meals. In 1948 two brothers Dick and Mac Donald opened a drive-in hamburger restaurant in San Bernardino, California.

Since then over 25,000 McDonald’s restaurants have been opened worldwide and now 35 million MacDonald's hamburgers are eaten every day in 115 countries from India to the Arctic Circle.


Exercise :

 Put the verbs into the correct tense, active or passive.

The first hamburgers (make) in 1895. Louis Lassen (call) them hamburgers because he (give) the recipe by sailors. Hamburgers (become) his favourite meal. Their popularity (grow) even more when they (buy) in large quantities by teenagers who (prefer) fast food. Dick and Mac MacDonald (open) a drive-in hamburger restaurant. 25,000 McDonald's restaurants (open) worldwide. More than 35 million hamburgers (eat) every day.



 





Answer:
The first hamburgers were made(make) in 1895. Louis Lassen called(call) them hamburgers 
because he was given(give) the recipe by sailors. 
Hamburgers became(become) his favourite meal. 
Their popularitygrew(grow) even more 
when they were bought(buy) in large quantities by teenagers who preferred(prefer) fast food. Dick and Mac MacDonald opened(open) a drive-in hamburger restaurant. 25,000 McDonald's restaurants have been opened(open) worldwide. More than 35 million hamburgers are eaten(eat) every day.



Πέμπτη 18 Μαρτίου 2021

SUGAR-WHITE GOLD

 What you always wanted to know about sugar!!

Δευτέρα 15 Μαρτίου 2021

Let's go fly a kite!!

 Flying a kite on "Clean" Monday!!

Enjoy the Mary Poppins version!




"Clean" Monday


Clean Monday (Greek: Καθαρά Δευτέρα), also known as Pure MondayAsh MondayMonday of Lent or Green Monday, is the first day of Great Lent throughout Eastern Christianity and is a moveable feast, falling on the 7th Monday before Pascha (Easter).

The common term for this day, "Clean Monday", refers to the leaving behind of sinful attitudes and non-fasting foods. It is sometimes called "Ash Monday", by analogy with Ash Wednesday (the day when the Western Churches begin Lent).
Liturgically, Clean Monday—and thus Lent itself—begins on the preceding (Sunday) night at a special service called Forgiveness Vespers, which culminates with the Ceremony of Mutual Forgiveness, at which all present will bow down before one another and ask forgiveness. In this way, the faithful begin Lent with a clean conscience, with forgiveness, and with renewed Christian love. The entire first week of Great Lent is often referred to as "Clean Week", and it is customary to go to Confession during this week, and to clean the house thoroughly.

Clean Monday is a public holiday in Greece and Cyprus, where it is celebrated with outdoor excursions, the consumption of shellfish and other fasting food, a special kind of azyme bread, baked only on that day, named " lagana" (Greekλαγάνα) and the widespread custom of flying kites. Eating meat, eggs and dairy products is traditionally forbidden to Orthodox Christians throughout Lent, with fish being eaten only on major feast days, but shellfish is permitted in European denominations. This has created the tradition of eating elaborate dishes based on seafood (shellfish, molluscs, fish roe etc.). Traditionally, it is considered to mark the beginning of the spring season. Kite flying is also part of the tradition, as it symbolises "trying to reach the Divine".





Παρασκευή 12 Μαρτίου 2021

ST. PATRICK'S DAY


Looking at celebrations throughout the year, like Christmas or Easter, there is one which isn't celebrated in Greece, unless you are of Irish decent. 

St. Patrick's Day is a global celebration of Irish culture on or around March 17. ... It particularly remembers St Patrick, one of Ireland's patron saints, who ministered Christianity in Ireland during the fifth century. St Patrick's Day is celebrated in countries with people of Irish descent.