Guest Blogs
Knowitall.ch often invites local experts in their field to contribute to their own blogs on our site. This means not only you will benefit from the useful recommendations that we make on our News pages, but you can also profit from some of the great advice and tips that these experts have to make on their favorite subjects. Whilst each of these bloggers has been recommended to us at some point during the evolution of Know-it-all passport and knowitall.ch, obviously we are not able to test out all the suggestions they make on their blogs, nor do we necessarily agree with all their opinions. So if you do find one of their tips useful (or not!), do let us know!
To make these blogs more accessible to you, we have now decided to group them altogether in one section, entitled Guest Blogs, accessible from our main menu bar. We will also post the most recent blogs on the home page of our site in the right hand column.
We are still building up this area of the site, and are looking for bloggers in a number of sections, including Your Home, Travel, and Leisure, so if you feel you have a useful contribution to make in either of these areas, and have the time to submit blog entries approximately every month, then please get in touch!
Hello, Bonjour, Namaste,
I remember when I first started working in Geneva I bought a great book called “Is that what you really mean?” by Paul Hancock. The book takes 50 common errors and illustrates them with humorous pictures....and this got me thinking…(yep it happens to the best of us sometimes). With the rise of non-native speakers of English increasing at a rapid rate, clear communications from native speakers to non-native is going to put the spotlight on us English mother tongue speakers and how we communicate..
So what can we do? How can we make sure that we are understandable and our message is understood?
- Speak slower?
- Avoid idioms and slang?
- Check understanding?
Yes all of the above help and have been accepted as universal tools and well documented but in my opinion what’s really important is acknowledgement from native speakers.
Read the full blog entry from Rosa's Yummy Yums
Salt and seasonings are my big addiction. I would not be able to live without them as I cannot imagine enjoying a chow that is awfully bland, lacks soul or oomph. My taste buds need to be constantly challenged, otherwise the fanciful eater that I am gets terribly frustrated.
Pungent spice blends are heavenly and elevate cooking to another level. That is exactly what flavored salts do. They are so versatile and can spruce up just about anything, thus they have the power to completely transform a recipe. The perfect addition to your kitchen pantry and a great gift for any occasion.
Nowadays, you can purchase them from any deli, supermarket, corner store and market merchant. They might not be a rarity, but generally bought flavored salts are quite expensive. It is the reason why I highly recommend you to prepare them at home as they cost a lot less and you can let your imagination go wild (no limitations) as well as have buckets full of fun during the process.
In order to facilitate your task, I have gathered some useful information and tips that might come in handy when developing your own formulas...
Read the full blog entry from Rosa's Yummy Yums
A few days ago, I had some quark (fresh cheese which can be found in Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Russia, etc...) in my fridge and really wanted to sublime it by transforming it into a fresh, tasty, healthy and summery sauce which could be poured cold over boiled potatoes, accompany hot or cold staples and be used in multiple ways (dip, spread and dressing), so that's how I concocted a succulent and versatile "Quark And Zucchini Sauce". Perfect for this transitional season...
Multi-Purpose Quark And Zucchini Sauce
Recipe by Rosa Mayland, September 2012.
Makes about 2 cups.
Ingredients For The "Sauce":
250g Quark (semi-fat preferred)
1 Small (150g) Raw zucchini, grated
2 Hard-boiled eggs, chopped
1 Clove garlic, finely chopped
1 Shallot, finely chopped
2 Tbs Pumpkin seeds, toasted and finely chopped
2 Tsps Basil pesto (homemade or bought)
1 Tsp Lemon zest (organic)
1 Pinch Ground allspice
Red Tabasco, to taste
Freshly ground black pepper, to taste
Fine sea salt, to taste
Method For The "Sauce":
1. Combine all ingredients together.
2. Serve.
Remarks:
You can replace the quark by any other fresh cheese (goat, sheep or cow) of your choice, thick Greek yogurt, 2 parts ricotta and 1 part sour cream, mascarpone or cream cheese (please note that both the mascarpone and cream cheese are much richer than semi-fat quark).
Serving suggestions:
Serve as dip with raw vegetable sticks (carrot, cucumber, zucchini, celery, bell pepper, jicama, etc...) or slices (button mushrooms, cauliflower, etc...).
Serve as spread with bread and crackers or in sandwiches.
Serve as sauce with fish (truit, salmon, cod, etc...), grilled meat, boiled potatoes, oven fries, steamed vegetables or pasta.
Serve as dressing with potato, rice, pasta or grilled vegetable salad.
Photos courtesy of Rosa Mayland Photography.
Author's Bio
Rosa Mayland, the creator of Rosa’s Yummy Yums, lives in a small Geneva countryside village situated in the French speaking part of Switzerland - a few meters away from the French border. She’s an Anglo-Swiss food enthusiast who loves photography, loud rock or electronic music, walks in the countryside, meeting interesting people, cats, books and independent films. When she’s not writing for her blog, you’ll also find her over at The Rambling Epicure, a daily international food chronicle and online newspaper to which she contributes as a freelance writer.
As you can imagine, she is very passionate about cooking/baking and can spend hours surfing the net for inspiration, reading blogs, creating dishes, testing new recipes or going through cookbooks and magazines. She is crazy about flavorful and soul-uplifting grubs, spices and yummy textures, therefore she’s particularly fond of Asian, Caribbean, Mediterranean, South American, Middle Eastern delights as well as regional and traditional specialities!
Rosa has kindly agreed to let us post some of the recipes from her blog on knowitall.ch. Each month we will feature a new dish from her site, but due to space limitations we will only publish the recipes listed in each blog entry. However, you MUST click on the link provided with each recipe to read for yourself the inspiration behind each of the dishes prepared by Rosa and to see the wonderful collection of photos accompanying each dish. Many of these photos have been taken at locations in and around Geneva - see if you can work out where they have been taken!
By Sarah Santacroce at Simplicity
If you are a small business owner who has an e-mail list and sends out newsletters, tap yourself on the back. You are doing one thing right already ! Despite all the Social Media hype, E-Mail Marketing is still a very important marketing channel. There are a few mistakes that I see regularly in newsletters though, so I thought I’d write them down:
Lack of regularity – Small businesses sometimes think that they can just send out a newsletter once every six months and expect a good “opening rate” (number of people who actually open the e-mail). Sorry to disillusion you, but if I signed up to receive your newsletter 6 months ago and never hear from you again until half a year later, I probably won’t remember who you are and just delete your e-mail. So, continuity is key to build that trust with your readers. I would say one newsletter per month is the bare minimum.
Too much info – This is kind of related to point one. The same people who send out their news only once every 6 months expect me to read their 3 page long e-mail. Most likely they will loose me after the 2nd paragraph. So not a good technique either. I recently announced to my subscribers that I will increase the frequency of my news exactly for that reason. I have too much content, articles and tips to share with them and each newsletter gets too long ! Keep it short and to the point.
By David Cooper, Fund Advisers Europe
Educate Your Children – Invest in Their Future
Every parent wants to give their children the best possible start in life - but the prospect of funding a child's education right through to university can be daunting. However, with careful planning and good advice, you can make your money work for you to educate your children the way you want to.
How do private and state schools compare?
There are no clear-cut answers or conclusions. State schools have their advantages and disadvantages. Private schools offer an alternative. Which works best for you? Some comparisons between state and private schools can be: what is the curriculum, admission standards, accountability, accreditation, graduation rates, cost, discipline and teacher certification.
