Saturday, April 30, 2011

Story Time



Just for fun I thought I would read a story to you, wasn't going to post but 85 people have listened on You Tube :-)

Hugs and hope your all having a good weekend


Bookmark and Share

Thursday, April 28, 2011

Dropped Scones



These little dropped scones or mini American style pancakes are a fun thing to snack on for afternoon tea and are great for little toddlers to munch on. You can make a batch ahead of time and they will keep for a couple of days.  You will find these in most British grocery stores and we got some in New Zealand as well.  I guess since its the big wedding fun to share a British recipe, I am happy for them, but not getting up at 4 am to watch it would struggle for my own family he he its cool the UK has a long weekend for it though :-) 

Weddings are indeed fun and I love attending them its just a day though the key is focusing on love and working through the good and the bad times as a team.  Always remember you love your partner and forgive for the small things in the end you can't even remember what all the little fights were about! My hubby was just saying that to me last night :-)

Tuesday, April 26, 2011

Orange and Mango Smoothie


This is a super simple and refreshing smoothie, all you need is from great fresh oranges I got mine from The Orange Shop in Florida as you need a lot to make juice and it often works out cheaper this way and some good mangoes. Don't you just love making fruit juice smoothies the combinations are endless :-)

Ingredients:

  • about 10 oranges 
  • 4 mangoes 
Method:

  1. add to a good juicer and voila a delicious smoothie is born, I make a jug full and keep in the fridge for a day :-)







Bookmark and Share

Monday, April 25, 2011

Guest Post: A Nordic Fish Breakfast


Last week I was on twitter and a tweet by Dietitian Jennifer McGuire @JenniferMcG_RD caught my eye, it was sardines with brie titled nordic breakfast. I just adored the idea of having a healthy fish for breakfast its lean, high in protein and omega 3 fatty acids. So me being me shot her and email and asked for a guest post on the topic and she kindly obliged. She is actually quite an expert on fish and is the dietitian for The National Fishing Institute. 

I remember as a child sometimes having kippers on toast with butter for breakfast. Kippers are smoked herrings. We are headed to the UK next week and for a week staying with my parents in Scotland, where I went to High School and University. We plan to head to the Highlands for a weekend, I really want to show this amazing place to my hubby and Jasmine. When I was looking at the area, I read about kippers from the west coast and it got me hungry. Its on my list of foods to eat when home, and I hope after this post you may consider fish for breakfast :-) 


Sunday, April 24, 2011

South Indian Sambar



This is a staple dish in a South Indian home and I love it in fact its more tasty than dal to me, Its my first time successfully making it I know that's bad considering my hubby is from Tamil Nadu South India but the other day I saw a wonderful step by step post on Shrivalli's blog Cooking 4 all seasons. She is the wonderful blogger I got to meet in Chennai when I was there last year and for great South Indian recipes she is my go to :-)

Sambar based on Shrivalli's but I maybe simplified it a tad you all know me and added more vegetables, that's the dietitian in me!


Ingredients:

  • a green chilli's is sliced in half
  • some dried tamarind about a hand full from Indian store to soak in hot water
  • about 6 small Indian eggplants/brinjals cut into quarters
  • 1/2 a bottleneck squash cubed 
  • about 5 drumsticks - this Indian vegetable is hard to get fresh except from Indian stores, but can also be found frozen in an Indian store
  • 1/2 a red onion chopped
  • 3 cloves of garlic 
  • 2 small tomatoes chopped
  • sambar powder to taste I use about a teaspoon
  • cumin powder about 1/2 a teaspoon
  • coriander powder about 1/2 a teaspoon
  • about a cup of yellow lentils, dal called toor dal to add to pressure cooker and cook till soft
  • a few curry leaves
  • salt to taste
  • a pinch of mustard seeds
  • a pinch of chili powder
Method:

  1. heat some oil in a pan and saute the chili, onion, brinjal/eggplant and bottleneck squash for about 5 minutes
  2. then add the tomato on a medium to high heat and let it reduce down, add cumin seeds
  3. now add the coriander powder and a touch of chili powder
  4. meanwhile add the tamarind to hot water about a cup to get tamarind water, key to a good sambar to give that sour flavor, also add the drumsticks at this point
  5. add tamarind water to vegetables with salt to taste and let it boil for 10-15 minutes 
  6. meanwhile pressure cook your Dal ready to add
  7. add the cooked Dal to the pot with desired about of water, sambar powder and boil
  8. finally heat a little oil and pop some mustard seeds and curry leaves and add to pot 
  9. voila an amazing South Indian classic enjoy great with rice :-)





Anyone had this before? if not give it a try its delicious 




Bookmark and Share

Thursday, April 21, 2011

Orange Sugar Cookies




These citrus cookies make a fun treat all year but why not this Easter :-) I had fun making them with our little one and I can't say enough how much blogging has inspired me to bake more :-) thanks to you all for your inspiration. Have a wonderful Easter weekend or Passover depending on what you celebrate may God richly bless you.

Wednesday, April 20, 2011

Just for Laughs!!




Just found this clip of a baby penguin being tickled at Cincinnati zoo and it made me smile, sometimes we all need clips like this to brighten our day

hugs 

Bookmark and Share

Tuesday, April 19, 2011

Classic Carbonara


I made my first carbonara last week, so proud of myself, I must admit I was putting of making it ever since I saw the proper way to make it on Claudia's blog- Journey of an Italian cook as I queried whether the raw eggs would get cooked just being mixed with hot pasta. But then I thought come on folks in Italy have been making it for generations and it tastes so good.  It was easy to make and delicious thanks Claudia for an awesome step by step recipe, your my go to for Authentic Italian recipes - hugs

My only changes were to add peas and mushrooms as I love one pot meals and our little one likes them. I also didn't have any fresh parsley on hand or Parmigiano-Reggiano dried worked fine,  but I bet it takes it to a whole new level, so next time I will perfect it!

Ingredients:

  • about 1/2 a pack of spaghetti 
  • one tablespoon of parsley
  • 4 rashers of bacon
  • 1/2 a cup of frozen peas
  • about 8 mushrooms sliced
  • salt and pepper to taste
  • 1 1/2 eggs whisked
  • 2 cloves of chopped garlic 
Method:

  1. cook the bacon till crispy then remove and cut up
  2. I added a little olive oil to a little of the bacon grease and sauteed the peas, garlic and mushrooms in it
  3. whisk the egg 
  4. meanwhile boil the spaghetti till al dente 
  5. add pasta and egg to pan and stir quickly remove from heat as not to let eggs scramble and keep stirring the hot spaghetti cooks the pasta 
  6. season with parsley and salt and pepper
  7. serve and enjoy



Today was a big day for our little family we had the anatomy scan for the baby, and we are thrilled to say God has blessed us with a baby boy :-)

Love



Bookmark and Share

Sunday, April 17, 2011

Smoked Salmon and Avocado Salad



This wonderfully simple dish was inspired by our visit to New Zealand, when we stayed the night on the sheep farm this was the appetizer our lovely host served us. The salmon paired beautifully with the avocado not sure why I hadn't thought of it before. 
Its perfect for spring loaded with good fats and omega three fatty acids.

Friday, April 15, 2011

Beef Yakiniku and Social Media Coaching


So I am on a mission to learn some Japanese dishes, this was a simple recipe, really it means grilled meat and it should be cooked on a little charcoal grill but I used an electric, after searching online I found a marinate for the beef. Its so easy you make the marinate let it sit a couple of hours grill and serve with rice and vegetables. Love these type of meals 

Wednesday, April 13, 2011

Roasted Eggplant with Pesto and Pasta



This is a super simple meal, packed with flavor, its in fact another meal I made right before leaving for our trip, it would also be perfect if you had limited ingredients on hand. I just adore roasted vegetables brings out a whole new flavor.

Tuesday, April 12, 2011

How to Link Facebook Pages to Twitter


Here's a brief tutorial demonstrating how to link the page for your blog or business to twitter, anytime I learn something new in social media I will share with you :-) - http://www.facebook.com/twitter/




Bookmark and Share

Monday, April 11, 2011

Foodie Tips from Australia and New Zealand

I just recorded a radio show on foodie tips and memories of our trip to Australia and New Zealand on Blog Talk radio if your interested :-) 




also heres an amazing clip of Huka waterfalls we saw this on how last day in New Zealand - wow

Hugs 



Bookmark and Share

Sunday, April 10, 2011

Soba Noodles with Vegetables


It's been too long since I had a recipe on here, you may have forgot it was also a food blog after all the travel posts :-), I made this simple soba noodle dish before leaving. After being in Melbourne especially I am now on a mission to learn more Japanese, Malaysian and Indonesian dishes let me know if you can any blogs to recommend or cook books :-) 

We got home safely after a diversion to Nashville yesterday on route from LA from Auckland due to bad storms in Charlotte reached home at 2 am EST, but Praise God for traveling mercies and adventures. Thanks again for those of you who traveled along with us was fun to share it with you hugs

Thursday, April 7, 2011

The North Island - NZ



Hi all so we are now in the last few days of our big Australia and New Zealand adventure and what a fun time its been. We landed in New Zealand on Monday and got a $400 fine as I accidentally forgot about an apple in our little ones snack bag in the main luggage. I totally respect the reason but felt the fine was harsh after the shock and upset we tried to make the most of being in The North Island. We stayed in Auckland a couple of days, nice city although not unlike any other city. We took the local ferry to Devonport pretty little seaside town and played in the park and hung out at local library to shelter from the rain. The local ferries in both Australia and New Zealand are an awesome and cheap way to travel.

Friday, April 1, 2011

Sydney: The Rocks and a Stroll


This is a clip of strolling in Sydney on the first night, we were in awe very pretty city with amazing harbor views and a fusion of the US, some parts look like Manhattan, Australia and the UK. Beautiful old buildings are mixed with the new. Today we visited The Rocks the original settlement in the late 1700's early 1800's looks very much like London. They have a fun market on the weekend, and its very much the cool place to be. 

Kiama Blow Hole NSW





Here's a clip of the blow hole in Kiama very neat, this was another beautiful coastal town on the drive to Sydney. I highly recommend the coastal towns on NSW pretty friendly locals, fresh seafood some remind me a little of the fishing villages of Scotland. 

Breakfast with the Locals!


These little parakeets joined us for breakfast on our balcony in Narooma NSW truly magical and such tame and beautiful birds!

Bookmark and Share

LinkWithin

Related Posts with Thumbnails