• Single table design in Mongodb: Example app designed with a single table design in mongo.
  • The Early Days of id Software: Programming Principles: Talk by John Romero about the early days of id software. How the team / company worked, principles the team worked under (eg If you see a bug, fix it! Don’t move on and build more software on top of the bug). Very high performing team at the start of id and for many years following. They invested in tools that enabled them to build new games, content very effectively. tileEd, quakeEd, doomEd (texture editor, level editors etc)
  • Url encoding: Straightforward discussion of why you need to do it. (Certain characters have special meaning in urls - eg =, &, ?, , and others) Best to leave it to a framework url constructor function if such a thing is available to you ...
  • Anna Makes Menemen Breakfast Pastries from Istanbul!: Yummy! Must try :)

Breakfast pastry recipe

  • Makes 12 pastries
  • Serves 6
  • Prep Time: 45 minutes
  • Cook Time: 20 minutes

• Ingredients •

Dough:

  • 4 cups (600 g) all-purpose flour
  • 2 Tbsp (25 g) granulated sugar
  • ½ tsp fine salt
  • 1 ¼ cups (310 mL) hot water (from the tap)
  • 3 Tbsp (45 g) unsalted butter, melted

Menemen Filling:

  • 2 Tbsp (30 mL) olive oil
  • 1 medium onion, finely diced
  • 1 green pepper, finely diced
  • 1 large tomato, diced
  • 2 Tbsp (30 mL) tomato paste
  • 2 tsp finely chopped fresh thyme (or 1 tsp dried)
  • Salt
  • Aleppo pepper (optional)
  • 4 large eggs
  • 3 oz white cheese (similar to Feta cheese)
  • Egg wash and Nigella seeds (if baking)
  • Vegetable oil (if frying)

• Directions •

  1. For the dough, measure the flour, sugar and salt into a large mixing bowl and add the hot water and melted butter. Stir with a wooden spoon until too difficult to do so anymore, and then turn the shaggy mixture onto a work surface and continue to knead by hand until elastic, about 5 minutes. Place the dough back in the bowl, cover the bowl and set aside to rest while preparing the Menemen.
  2. Heat the oil over medium heat in a large non-stick pan. Add the onion and pepper and sauté for 5 minutes, until the onion turns translucent. Add the tomato, tomato paste and thyme and cook this stirring often, for about 10 minutes or until most of the liquid has evaporated from the pan. Season lightly with salt and Aleppo pepper.
  3. Whisk the eggs in a little bowl and pour this into the pan, still over medium heat. Gently stir the eggs a few times as they cook through, about 2 minutes. Remove the pan from the heat and crumble in the cheese, strring gently. Cool the Menemen for about 15 minutes before using, or it can be prepared ahead of time and chilled.
  4. To assemble, turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and divide into 12 pieces. Roll each piece into a rectangle about 5-x-7-inches (13-x-18 cm). Spoon about 3 Tbsp (45 mL) of the Menemen onto each portion and fold in half so that the short sides meet and press well to seal (you can rub a little water on the pastry to help it stick together). Place the pastries onto 2 parchment lined baking trays
  5. To bake the Menemen pastries, preheat the oven to 375F (190C). Brush the tops of the pastries with eggwash and sprinkle with nigella seeds. Bake for about 20 minutes until golden brown.
  6. To fry the pastries, heat a large pot or tabletop fryer with vegetable oil, fry the pastries in batches for 6 to 8 minutes, turning once while frying. Remove the cooked pastries to a rack resting over paper towel to drain for a minute before serving.