Chow and Chatter

Mini Key Lime Pie

2012-01-26T23:36:00.000-05:00

One of my all time favorite desserts is Key lime pie, I always have one every time I go to Florida :-), I recently made peppermint creams with Jasmine mainly as she loves using cookie cutters and coloring them, they were hardly eaten but had fun making them. I looked on the side of the condensed milk and saw a recipe for key lime pie, so easy. I just had to make a couple of mini ones, I used digestive biscuits (British cookies) for the base and garnished with some peel.

Ingredients:

4 digestive biscuits crushed
2 tablespoon of butter
about 2/3 of a can of condensed milk
juice of one lime and some peel for garnish

Method:

crush the biscuits mix with melted butter, line a couple of ramekins
and bake for 5 minutes at 350
meanwhile mix lime juice with condensed milk
add lime mixture to ramekins and put in fridge over night
enjoy the next day

This would be fun to make ahead for a dinner party :-)

Is there a food you have to have when you visit a particular place?

Have a wonderful weekend everyone

Cajun spiced yogurt sauce

2012-01-25T16:14:00.001-05:00

I made this simple yogurt sauce to go over my crab cake sandwich and just had to share the recipe.

Ingredients:

1/2 cup of plain yogurt
1/2 teaspoon Cajun blackening seasoning
a wedge of grated cucumber
little fresh lemon juice
a pinch of sea salt

Method:

mix it all together and add to your sandwich and enjoy

Baked Egg with Spinach and Tomato

2012-01-23T22:59:00.003-05:00

I am hooked on baked eggs, they are so good can't believe it was taken me this long to make them. I think I read about them on a blog and went to bed thinking about them, I remember reading something along the lines of the eggs, bake while the coffee brews :-)

So I got up that Sunday morning on a mission to make them this recipe is inspired from the BBC good food site. Its easy to do and really makes breakfast special. It's also good for brunch or even lunch, I made a mushroom one the other day!, its funny as when I shared the picture on the chow and chatter facebook page Erin commented that I am hooked, she's right :-)

Ingredients:

2 eggs or how ever many you would like
ramekins, I am also told they can be made in a muffin pan
one cup of spinach
2 cloves of chopped garlic
olive oil
one tablespoon of butter
5 cherry tomatoes chopped

Method:

saute the spinach in olive oil with the garlic until cooked
add a little butter to the bottom of the ramekin and add the spinach and a couple of chopped tomatoes
break the egg into the ramekin with a little butter on the top
and bake at 350 for 10-15 minutes until cooked with the egg yolk slightly runny for dipping :-)
enjoy straight away with hot toast and coffee

Is there a new recipe your hooked on at the moment?

Turkish Delight Jellies

2012-01-21T21:15:00.001-05:00

I made these Turkish delights recently, but I am calling them jellies, they are easy to make and taste like Turkish delight but jelly like in texture, I had a suspicion such an easy recipe was too good to be true. After all the professionals in Turkey have been making it for hundreds of years, I can still taste how good it was from the Spice Bazaar in Istanbul :-)

Heres the link for the recipe, its worth making for the taste but for the candy making pro's out there do you know how I can get a firmer texture?

Is there a food you have had on a trip that you will never forget?

Hope your all having a good weekend, I took the kids to an Indian cultural program today it was fun. The Go Social app is going well, if you have it and wouldn't mind leaving a review on itunes, it really helps :-) thanks your friend - Rebecca

Thoughts on Being an Entrepreneur

2012-01-20T23:04:00.001-05:00

Here are a few of my thoughts on being an Entrepreneur what do you think?

Caramel Panna Cotta

2012-01-19T08:08:00.001-05:00

I made my first panna cotta a couple of weeks ago, hats of to blogging for continuing to inspire me to make new things. I adore creme caramel so I figured why not combine the two :-)

Ingredients

1/2 cup (240 ml) whole milk
1/2 packet unflavored powdered gelatin
1 1/2 cups of cream
2 tablespoon honey
1/2 tablespoon granulated sugar
pinch of salt
about 2/3 cup of sugar
1/3 cup of water

Directions:

heat the water and add the sugar stirring all the while, slowly increase the heat till its boiling after about 5 minutes it will start to brown remove from heat and add to the bottom of 4 ramekins
add milk to a bowl and sprinkle gelatin over the milk allowing it to dissolve and stand for 5 minutes
add milk to the saucepan and heat but not boiling, about 3 minutes.
add the cream, honey, sugar, and pinch of salt, stir and make sure it doesn't boil for about 5-7 minutes
remove from heat, pour into ramekins or any desired container, let it cool then put in fridge over night
carefully remove from ramekin and enjoy :-)

This would be a wonderful dessert to make for a dinner party as it can be made ahead of time and will surely wow your guests :-)

So who's made panna cotta and what kind did you make?, I want idea's for next time he he

Hugs

Introducing Go Social

2012-01-17T22:09:00.000-05:00

It is with great pleasure to introduce Go Social mine and Nadine's Social media tips app, here's me talking about it and a cool demo of how it works from Nadine :-)

It would mean the world to me if you know anyone who would like to have some easy tips to get them going with social media if you would share this post and app with them. I love social media and it has enriched my life, created paid work for me and connected me with amazing people. I hope this app will really help folks get the most of social media for personal and business use and most importantly to have fun with it.

here's another fun pinterest find :-)

Lotus Root Stir fry with Noodles

2012-01-15T22:34:00.000-05:00

So here's another recipe for lotus root, I used it in a simple stir fry and mixed with Chinese egg noodles, and vegetables we love meals like this in our home.

Ingredients:

1/2 a pack of lotus root
1/2 cup of shrimp
1/2 a bunch of broccoli chopped
one teaspoon of ginger/garlic paste
2 tablespoon soy sauce
a dash of sesame oil
2 tablespoon oyster sauce
1/4 cup of fresh Thai basil - if you can get it :-)
one cup of chopped baby bok choy
one packet of Chinese egg noodles

Method:

heat a little canola oil and add sesame oil
then add the ginger/garlic paste
and the bok choy, broccoli and basil cook for 7-10 minutes
add the shrimp cook for 3-5 minutes until cooked add sauces
meanwhile boil the noodles then combine
serve :-)

Other news my social media tips app is now available on itunes

stay tuned for another post with a demo :-)

Dried flower fairies

2012-01-14T12:05:00.000-05:00

Here's a super simple craft idea for little ones, first select some flowers, these were some of the last ones' we had in the fall, place between two pieces of paper and lay two very heavy books on top, hubby's medical textbooks worked great. They will dry out in a few weeks. Then cut out a little person shape and add flowers like a dress :-)

Have a fun weekend everyone :-)

Pineapple Upside Down Cupcakes

2012-01-12T10:09:00.001-05:00

I made a lovely new friend recently called Kristen, she emailed me to ask me questions about being an Entrepreneurial dietitian to a talk she was giving to students. She is a wonderful diabetes educator and personal trainer. She even volunteers on the board of a food pantry in Clemmons an area she doesn't even live in. Through her I made contact with them and volunteer by helping with their social media fell free to follow on twitter @Clemmonspantry. She came to visit me one day and brought me a lovely pineapple such a treat I chopped it up and thought wouldn't it be cool to make mini pineapple upside down cupcakes. They turned out really well and were wonderfully moist.

Ingredients:

2 small eggs
4 oz of self raising flour
4 oz sugar
4 oz butter
a about 1/4 cup of icing sugar
1/4 of a chopped pineapple or enough to add a few chunks to the base of about 8 cupcake papers

Method:

cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy
add the eggs and flour
meanwhile line a muffin pan with cupcake paper and add a few chunks of pineapple to the bottom of each
then add the cake batter to about 1/2 way up to allow space to rise
bake at 350 for about 15 minutes
if desired make some icing by mixing icing sugar/confectioners sugar with water and top with a cherry

Do you do any volunteer work?

Tips for Pinterest

2012-01-10T09:24:00.001-05:00

Here's a tutorial with my tips for using the social media site pinterest and a link to a great mashable guide, happy pinning!!

this image comes from pinterest, couldn't find the original source on there.

Lotus Root and Peanut Soup

2012-01-08T22:07:00.000-05:00

I went out for lunch recently with fellow ladies who tweet :-) in Greensboro and after lunch me and the little man, went to the Asian market there's a great big one there called Super G. I spotted a bag of lotus root and couldn't resist getting a bag I had seen a soup on Biren's blog Roti and Rice , but I lacked the pork to make the stock. So after a fun chatter on facebook, I decided to make miso soup with it. It is an aquatic root of the lotus flower low in fat, high in vitamin C, fiber, potassium, thiamin, riboflavin, vitamin B6, phosphorus, copper, and manganese. This root has a neutral in taste and had a great crunch.

Ingredients:

1/2 a pack of vacuum packed lotus root from the Asian store
one sachet of dashi soup stock
a couple of handfuls of peanuts
6 strips of seaweed broken into smaller pieces
2 tablepoon of white miso paste

Method:

soak the sachet of dashi with hot water in about 3 cups of water, its like a tea bag for 2-3 minutes then remove
mix in the miso paste with the stock/dashi and another cup of water
add lotus root and peanuts and boil for 15 minutes
near the end add the seaweed
enjoy

So has anyone had lotus root before and do you have any more recipe idea's for me :-)

Hugs

5 Spice Panko Crusted Sole and Big News

2012-01-06T11:53:00.000-05:00

Here's a super simple recipe great for busy evenings, I coated sole in panko and 5 spice and pan fried it and served with bok choy and rice, really good. This will make a regular appearance on our diner table :-)

Ingredients:

3 fillets of sole thin fish works best
about a cup panko
one teaspoon 5 spice
one egg beaten
a little salt and pepper to taste

Method:

dip the fish in the egg
then roll in panko, 5 spice and salt and pepper
fry in a little olive oil for about 5 minutes each side

Bok Choy

3 small bunches of bok choy chopped
a dash of sesame oil
1/2 teaspoon sugar
one tablespoon oyster sauce
one tablespoon soy sauce

Heat a little canola or olive oil in a pan, add the seame oil and ginger/garlic paste, then the bok choy, soy, oyster sauce, sugar
cover with a lid and let it steam for about 5-7 minutes

Have a wonderful weekend everyone, things are good with us, little Roshan is now 4 months and I have started to introduce tastes of food, blending carrots and freezing in little batches, pears, and zucchini next :-)

Jasmine feeding her baby brother

and other BIG NEWS -

I am releasing another app for iphone with a friend and colleague Nadine Fisher - with social media tips basically an extension of the e book but now featuring tips from some amazing experts in the field such as Craig Kanalley social media editor for NBC news, Sree Sreenivasan, Professor/Dean of Journalism at Columbia University and technology and social media expert are also included. Also included are tips from Tonya Hall, host of a social media radio show, and Neal Shaffer, social media speaker and author. The app also has tips from other media savvy nutrition and health professionals including Elisa Zied, a registered dietitian, 3-time author, blogger and media spokesperson and Keri Gans a registered dietitian, author and media expert. The app will help you to learn to make meaningful connections, grow your business or personal brand and have fun with social media.

Stay tuned we are nearly ready to submit to apple I can't tell you how excited I am and honored that such big names kindly offered tips to be included :-)

Spicy Tapioca and Peanut Snack

2012-01-03T22:19:00.000-05:00

Here's another fun recipe using tapioca pearls, the same day I was tweeting about how to use them, someone mentioned that she makes a savory Indian snack with them. I think its from North India as my hubby has not heard of it, but it went down well as it was al gobbled up:-)

I just found out from the chow and chatter Facebook page from under the photo what this dish is called :-) - Sabera - sabudana khichdi yum

Ingredients:

one cup of tapioca pearls
about 1/2 cup of peanuts
2 red chili's
a little butter or ghee
a pinch of cumin seeds
a few curry leaves
1/4 cup chopped coriander/cilantro
salt to taste

Method:

soak the tapioca pearls over night, they will absorb the water and become soft
heat a little butter in a pan and add the cumin seeds, chili and curry leaves
after a minute add the tapioca pearls and partially ground peanuts (I used a coffee grinder, we now have two coffee grinders as we use one for spices) and finely chopped coriander/cilantro
add salt to taste and enjoy

Here's to lots more new recipes in 2012 :-)

Hope your all having a great week :-)

Cool Trick for Removing Avocado Stone

2012-01-01T20:08:00.002-05:00

This is a Cool Trick for Removing Avocado Stone, you may already know it but just in case you don't here you go :-)

Hugs

Tapioca Pudding and #Welcome2012

2011-12-31T15:39:00.000-05:00

So the bridal shower we all did for Nelly was so much fun Sanjeeta decided we should all do another for new year, with a new recipe and a look back at our favorite recipes from last year. This year has been amazing for our family with the arrival of our son, we are now blessed with a boy and a girl and couldn't be happier, parenthood is a fun ride:-)

So here's a new recipe for you - when my Mother in Law left in the summer she left a bag of tapioca pearls and me being me, I decided I was going to have fun learning new recipes with them. I made a tapioca pudding first it was delicious and my toddler loved it I think she was fascinated by the little balls inside. Tapioca is basically a starch made from the cassava plant and is a great thickening agent. Stay tuned for another tapioca recipe using peanuts and spices a tasty Indian snack.

Ingredients:

one cup of tapioca pearls
about 2 cups of milk
a handful of raisins
a few nuts to garnish, I used cashew
2 tablespoon of golden syrup

Method:

soak the tapioca pearls overnight
then boil about a cup with 2-3 cups of milk for 7-10 minutes
add the golden syrup and raisins
and serve

tip - it tends to solidify on sitting to have more, measure out desired portion heat for 30-60 seconds in microwave and add a little extra milk.

Here are are few of my favorite recipes, all new to me from last year :-)

Aloo Saag

Shrimp egg drop soup

Key lime Cupcakes

Dark Chocolate Mousse

and my amazing little daughter sampling it:-)

one of her new toys from Christmas day :-)

and little Roshan

Here's to new dishes and fun in 2012 -

"The discovery of a new dish does more for the happiness of mankind than the discovery of a star." -Anthelme Brillat-Savarin

Much Love and Hugs

Arabic Shawarma with Pita

2011-12-26T22:35:00.001-05:00

I was browsing food blogs last week and came across a wonderful Shawarma recipe , It looked pretty easy and I adore Middle Eastern food. she has the most delightful Dubai based blog with first class photography and cute pictures of her little daughter. I marvel at food bloggers with small children who manage to get good pictures. The day I took this picture I had made pita from scratch as we don't live in an area where we can get fresh pita. The hubby was watching the kiddies while I cooked and by the time I had finished I had a couple of minutes to snap a picture!

The link to the recipe is above and for the pita I used that link but instead of using the oven I cooked it on a cast iron grill pan a great tip from Lisa . Overall I enjoyed the meal the pita were decent for a first attempt, its taken me years to master chapatti so next time they will be better, I loved the taste of the chicken and the lovely yogurt, mint and cilantro sauce. This dish brought back memories of our brief visit to Dubai.

Here's me enjoying tea in an Iranian restaurant this place was cool, called Apple in an office building with great food and views.

with the driver of the jeep safari if you visit Dubai this is a must

Outside of a pretty Mosque, I wanted more of this and basically ancient culture. Dubai to me lacked this, modern city with very little ancient buildings this was one of the oldest mosques and only dates back to the 1970's. I enjoyed Turkey much more for this.

Camels, back in the day the people in this area were bedouins living in the dessert.

No trip to Dubai is complete without a trip to the gold shops the picture says it all! even a lot by Indian standards we actually stopped in Dubai on our way back to the UK from India three years ago after attending my brother in laws wedding.

I would say its worth visiting for a layover for maybe a couple of days but not as a destination, but that's of course my humble opinion.

So where do you wish to travel to in 2012?

Merry Christmas

2011-12-24T20:40:00.000-05:00

Merry Christmas everyone much love, Rebecca

The clip below is a fun idea, of a modern day social media nativity :-)

Craft: Tabletop Christmas Tree

2011-12-23T22:14:00.001-05:00

Here's a simple Christmas craft, a table top christmas tree as everyone is making final christmas decorations for Christmas day :-)

and the label below says it all

For Laughs: Cat and Bird play in Snow :-)

2011-12-21T10:21:00.001-05:00

Just because we all need a laugh, thinking of you during this special season in the hustle and bustle be sure to cherish the gift of today and remember God loves you

Hugs

Golden Raisin Tarts

2011-12-19T17:05:00.001-05:00

When I was growing up one of my favorite desserts my Mum would make was treacle tart, a tart lined with golden syrup (pure cane syrup from the UK and can be found in a lot of US grocery stores), mixed with bread crumbs and baked - gooey sweet and so good.

I found these lovely golden raisins and decided to make mini tarts with golden syrup and raisins, they turned out great. I gave most of them away as I don't need to eat them as trying to lose weight after the little guy arrived. I am just having the best fun inventing baked goodies, endless possibilities.

Ingredients:

8 oz flour
pinch of salt
4 oz butter
cold water to mix about 2 tablespoon
1/2 cup golden raisins
1/2 cup white bread crumbs
1/2 - 1 cup golden syrup enough to coast raisins and bread crumbs

Method:

sift flour and salt into a bowl
mix in butter by hand until it resembles fine bread crumbs
add cold water until it forms a paste
roll out to and link a muffin pan
fill with the raisin, bread crumb and golden syrup mixture and add a little criss-cross of pastry over the mini tarts
bake at 400F for 20 minutes or until pastry is golden.

Is there a fun food item you are having fun experimenting with at the moment?

Borscht

2011-12-18T09:27:00.000-05:00

I was tweeting a while back with the lovely Mdivani (I know you must be thinking Rebecca is addicted to twitter :-)) he had mentioned making Borscht and I asked him for the recipe. He very kindly emailed me his Grandma's recipe and she is Russian. I made it according to his directions the only different is I didn't add any sour cream, not keen on it and made a smaller amount. It was easy to make and a great soup.

If you love fashion, travel and food he's a great person to follow, he's a designer by trade now a blogger and awesome interviewer. He is the real deal and one of the nicest folks on twitter - @ladieswholunch1 and his blog

Borscht

Ingredients

8 cups Vegetable Stock
2 1/2 cups uncooked beets cut into julienne strips
1 cup finely chopped uncooked beets
1 cup finely chopped carrots
1 cup finely chopped onion
2-3 Tablespoons Sugar (to taste)
1/2 Teaspoon Salt (to taste)
2-3 Tablespoons red-wine vinegar (to taste)
1 Tablespoon Lemon Juice
1 1/2 cups Sour Cream

Method:

Put 5 1/2 cups of the vegetable stock in a large pot. Place the remaining 2 1/2 cups of vegetable stock in a saucepan and add the julienned beets. Simmer covered over medium heat about 10 minutes. Strain the julienned beets out of the stock and put aside. Add the bee/vegetable stock to the rest of the stock and bring to a boil. Add the chopped uncooked beets, carrot an onions to the stock. Stir in the vinegar, salt and sugar, tasting as you do to get the flavor you like. Over medium heat, cook covered for 15-20 minutes or until vegetables are soft.

Now here is where you get to decide, because my grandmother did it both ways:

For a smoother soup, strain out the vegetables and discard. For a chunkier soup (my preferred) leave them in.

If serving hot, gradually stir in the lemon juice and the sour cream until smooth then add the julienned beets back into the stock and simmer for another 10 minutes.

If serving cold, let stock cool then chill. When ready to serve, add the lemon juice and then gradually add in the sour cream until smooth, then add the julienned beets back to the mixture.

I serve it with Sour Cream on the side for extra dollops when serving. Or!! Serving hot, I sometimes don't add the sour cream to the mixture at all and just put dollops into the bowl when serving (when doing this I add the julienned beets back into the stock without the sour cream addition).

Have a great start to the week everyone

Boulder Locavore Guest Post: Persimmon Pudding with Hard Sauce

2011-12-14T06:15:00.019-05:00

I am thrilled to introduce Boulder Locavore to you, she is amazing and I have really enjoyed tweeting with her, she is also a Mum and has been so uplifting as I would mention being tired with two little ones. I have always been a fan of her blog, her passion for local organic foods and knowing where it comes from. She tells wonderful family tales with her recipes and is a must follow blog.

I was completely flattered when cyber ‘Gal Pal’ Rebecca asked if I’d do a guest post for her. I don’t recall what she’d just read of mine that inspired her request but I seem to recall it was a madcap tale swirling around food.

I also don’t recall how we first connected though know it was on Twitter. I appreciate Rebecca for so many things. Her culinary focus and her culinary reach are two starters that caught my attention early on. When I first began to read her blog I was fascinated by the chef interviews and her worldly awareness and interest. She’s plugged in, this girl. Our bonding truly crystallized earlier this fall over my obsessions of anything Anglophile or anything I can infuse in a jar basically. I became smitten with things like Hedgerow Gin and Sloe Gin, voraciously researching fruits of the hedgerow and what liquor I could make with them. Rebecca would throw me a bone when she found one in the form of any links with such recipes; I suspect both out of kindness and to watch my puppy-like antics when receiving a link for something like Wild Plum Gin Sorbet (which I made immediately).

All kidding aside, I really respect Rebecca and all of her talents. Social Media maven, dietary aficionado and committed Mom of a wee tot and newborn. I remember those oh-so-painful days of no sleep and smiling faces ready to start the day when I had never experienced a sleep-filled night.

A quick note on me. I live in Boulder Colorado with a food focus of local, seasonal eating, hence my blog name of Boulder Locavore. I am also gluten free as well as have a serious case of wanderlust so draw from my travel experiences when preparing my food. I also choose all organic ingredients whenever possible (which is quite easy where I live) but am one who believes everyone needs to choose what is best for their needs and budget. Of late, I’ve been enjoying prowling through multi-generational family recipe boxes, finding and preparing vintage seasonal dishes. Food does bind us all and I love the idea I’m eating something my Great Grandmother had prepared a century ago.

When I would travel through the UK anytime around the holidays I’d always bring home a Christmas Pudding (and jarred Hard Sauce). Christmas Pudding is a bit like a souped up fruitcake equivalent for those in the U.S. It’s steeped in booze so literally can be kept for a year before eating. When I found a recipe for Persimmon Pudding with Hard Sauce in my Grandmother’s recipe box I knew I wanted to make it for this post. A bit of a nod to Rebecca’s UK heritage interwoven with my passion for all things vintage and seasonal.

I will admit both that I had no idea what to expect when making this and that I was thrilled with the outcome. Americans will associate the term ‘pudding’ with a creamy, gelatinous dessert but this is truly the form more of the UK experience. More like a dense cake, perfectly seasoned with holiday signature flavors without being ‘too much’. And let’s face it; anything with Hard Sauce can’t be beat.

PERSIMMON PUDDING with HARD SAUCE

The original recipe indicates to put the pudding in a mold to bake however I elected to use individual ramekins. If cooking in a mold, either solid or tubular, I would check the pudding at 30 minutes by sticking toothpick in and watching the browning on the exposed surface for doneness. If the toothpick is clean, it’s done. It does brown but should not over brown on the top. Slice and serve on a plate with hard sauce. Also the original recipe indicated to grease a mold. I did not grease the ramekins and had no issue; greasing the mold would probably be a good idea.

Serves: 6-8

Ingredients:

· 1 cup flour (I used gluten free flour)

· 1 cup sugar

· ¼ teaspoon salt

· 2 teaspoons baking soda

· 1 teaspoon cinnamon

· 1 cup peeled, seeded, mashed persimmon pulp (approximately 2-3 large persimmons)

· ½ cup milk

· 2 tablespoons butter, melted

· ½ teaspoon vanilla

· 1 cup chopped pecans or walnuts (I used a mix of the two and it was delicious)

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees.

2. Mix together with blender or by hand flour, sugar, salt, baking soda and cinnamon.

3. Add to dry mixture the persimmon pulp, milk butter and mix until well combined.

4. Stir in the vanilla and nuts to the mixture and fully combine.

5. Fill ramekins* 2/3 full and bake on a cookie sheet for 25-30 minutes until a toothpick comes out clean and top has begun to brown.

*I used 4-4 ounce and 2-6 ounce ramekins.

HARD SAUCE

Ingredients:

· ¼ pound (one stick) unsalted butter, melted

· 2 cups confectioner’s/powdered sugar

· ¼ teaspoon nutmeg

· 1 egg white, beaten

· ½ cup cream, whipped (I hand whisked the cream to ‘lift’ it but not to make it peak)

· 1 ‘jigger’ (ounce) of rum

Blend all ingredients and serve with the Persimmon Pudding.

I thank you Rebecca for this opportunity and hope you can sit back and enjoy with a cup of tea. And to you, her dear readers, thank YOU for your time and I hope you’ll enjoy the recipe. Please pop by my blog to say ‘hi’. This cake would go perfectly with another of my Great Grandmother’s recipes I have on my blog right now ‘Designated Driver Egg Nog’ (my title, not hers)….providing you’ll be walking to your next stop!

Apple Chips

2011-12-13T08:54:00.001-05:00

Here's a wonderfully simple recipe got the inspiration from Nelly :-) Cooking with Books. Lovely for seasonal apples and would make a great snack food to nibble on at holiday parties :-) A much healthier chip a great source of vitamin C and fiber.

Ingredients:

2 large thinly sliced apples, I used a mandoline
a large baking sheet to lay them on, you could slice and bake more apples if you have a bigger oven and more baking sheets :-)

Method:

slice apples
bake at 225F for 30 minutes each side until crisp
sprinkle with cinnamon for a festive flavor :-)

Heres our christmas tree :-)

and a picture of my darling boy to make you smile :-)

Have a wonderful weekend everyone :-)

Tips for Expats at the Holidays

2011-12-13T08:41:00.000-05:00

Tribute to Mums

2011-12-10T14:26:00.001-05:00

So I was having a tough day today, hardly any sleep the night before and just exhausted hubby was away on a guys trip. Then I saw this tweeted, it made my day, I believe this is how God speaks to us to pick us up when we are down through the words of others

This one is for all the Mums and Dads

Craft - paper plate reindeer

2011-12-10T11:59:00.001-05:00

Here's another fun craft idea for Christmas, please forgive the baby crying all the parents will understand ;-)

Have a wonderful weekend all

Hachee a Dutch Beef Stew

2011-12-10T11:58:00.001-05:00

I got this wonderful recipe from Kay of Kayotic kitchen after I started tweeting that I wanted to learn some Dutch recipes. She tweeted me this saying its a staple comfort food for Dutch folks, I enjoyed the addition of apples and molasses in the recipe. I must confess it was a little different compared to a British stew in taste a little sweet but its so much fun trying foods from different countries.

Here's the link to the recipe and your sure to enjoy her blog - Kayotic Kitchen - Hachee

I served it over polenta sometimes I like a change from mashed potatoes and it worked well :-)

What new cuisine have you cooked recently?

Baked Banana for Nelly #Nellysbigday

2011-12-07T09:35:00.001-05:00

“And …I said YESSSSS!”

It happened one November midnight, in Twitterverse, we saw this tweet from our dear Nelly @nella22. Without missing a beat, we all knew Nelly had “said YES” to her beloved “M”,as she sweetly calls Brian Murray, her fiancé.

So here we are,Nelly dear, your friends in the food world, wishing you and Brian,all the best. And with our wishes, a simple recipe with an easy formula for a life of bliss, rich with EVERYTHING in it!

BLOGGERS RECIPE FOR NELLY ‘S WEDDED BLISS

Mix together: A lot of Love, Patience, Perseverance, Respect, Courage, Strength, Trust, Kindness, Honesty, Compromise & Great Sex.

Stir in : Equal Parts of Love, Support, Faith, Fidelity, Hope, Validation, Friendship, Forgiveness, Communication.

Cook over slow simmer for the rest of your life. Dot daily with a Sense of Humor.

Leave out the nagging, sarcasm, skepticism, doubts and stubbornness.

Serving Suggestions: Best prepared daily. Serve with flourish because Married Life is a FEAST. Live it with flavor, spice it with unconditional love, enjoy its richness.

Recipe Notes: Some ingredients won’t always be fresh or available. Or the heat may flare up and the anger spills over. Simmer down and douse the flames with all the LOVE you can throw in.

Enjoy the feast of marriage, love and life!

(Written by : Elizabeth @Mango_Queen)

Here is my little message for you sweet Nelly and a super simple recipe I just had to do something with banana's for Nelly :-)

Baked Banana with chocolate and Nuts

Simple slice a banana, add a few pieces of chocolate and some peanuts wrap in foil and bake at 350 for 5-10 minutes

Unwrap and enjoy :-)

This is also great on the grill or when camping chocolately gooey goodness :-)

LOVE YOU NELLY CONGRATS

This is my recipe/post for the virtual bridal shower for Nelly hosted by Sanjeeta kk at Lite Bite.

Special thanks to Heather for the logo, Elizabeth for the intro write up and to Junia for the spreadsheet.

Miso Marinated Chicken (tori misoyaki)

2011-12-06T23:24:00.001-05:00

This wonderful recipe was inspired by a conversation on twitter I asked if folks had more recipes using miso and someone tweeted this to me ;-) and in the process I discovered another awesome blog for Japanese recipes - Just Bento

Ingredients:

4 pieces of chicken I used thighs
1/2 teaspoon sugar
2 tablespoon sake
2 tablespoon miso

Method:

mix miso, sake and sugar together and cover chicken with it
marinate overnight
cook on a grill pan i used cast iron for about 4 minutes each side allow it to brown
then transfer to an oven and broil for a another 10 minutes or longer until cooked.

Serve with rice and vegetables or add to your bento box :-)

Review of Wenzani Travel App

2011-12-06T16:14:00.001-05:00

Here's a quick demo of a fun new travel app, I think its cool and has huge potential :-)

Rose Milk

2011-12-04T16:40:00.001-05:00

We made rose milk recently, its a popular drink in India and a lot of friends and family members have fond memories of drinking it growing up. I brought some natural rose essence at the store and this drink sprang to mind, you can also buy rose syrup at the Indian store, although it has artificial coloring in it.

We had fun with this and called it Princess milk, I boiled some tapioca pearls let them sit in a little beet root juice to make them pink and used blended raspberries to get a healthy natural color. The pearls make it like bubble tea :-)

Ingredients:

2 cups whole milk or lower percentage this was for my toddler
a couple of drops of rose essence
about 8 raspberries pureed
a handful of tapioca pearls
a little beet root juice
sugar to taste about a tablespoon

Method:

boil tapioca pearls for 10 minutes until soft and rinse, allow to sit in a little beet root juice for 5 minutes until pink and set aside
add pureed raspberry and sugar to milk, with rose essence
pour over tapioca pearls.
enjoy with a little princess

she even put on a Princess dress to drink it :-)

Anyone got any more good recipe ideas for rose essence?

Craft - Peek a boo house

2011-12-02T20:04:00.001-05:00

Here's another simple craft idea for little one's

Hope your all having a super weekend, we are going to a christmas party this evening brave folks are having 66 people over, pleased its not me I would freak out :-)

Aloo Saag

2011-12-01T18:02:00.001-05:00

I recently learnt how to make aloo saag a North Indian dish with potato and spinach and wondered why I hadn't made it before its easy to make and super tasty. Maybe not the prettiest of dishes but when its served like this who wouldn't want to tuck in. I made it with chapatti love making these as Jasmine helps me roll them, like play dough for toddlers.

Here's an old post with tips and a fun picture of her with food all over the floor! and a you tube tutorial

Ingredients:

1/2 red onion chopped
2 large potatoes, cubed
one bunch of spinach chopped or a bag
1/2 teaspoon ginger/garlic paste
1/4 teaspoon cumin seeds
1/2 teaspoon turmeric
1 teaspoon garam masala
olive oil
salt to taste

Method:

saute the ginger/ garlic paste, with a little olive oil, add onion and cumin seeds for a few minutes
then add the turmeric, and potatoes stir fry for 3 minutes add a lid and about 1/2 cup of water and cook/steam for 5 minutes
then little by little add the spinach it will reduce down
then add the masala powder, salt to taste and continue to cook 5- 10 minutes until soft.

This is a wonderfully simple Indian dish and super healthy it pairs beautifully with chapatti. We ate it with dal, okra and chapatti a fab vegetarian Indian meal.

So go on dive in :-)

Hot Chocolate with Chantilly Cream

2011-11-28T21:59:00.001-05:00

This is a fun treat, once in a while why not have an indulgent hot chocolate :-), its a hot chocolate made with cadburys hot chocolate (my parents brought it from the UK) and chantilly cream. Which is a simple whipped cream from France with a dash of vanilla and sugar added. This was amazing.

Ingredients:

one mug of milk
2 teaspoon hot chocolate
1/4 cup whipping cream
one teaspoon sugar
dash of vanilla

Method:

add hot chocolate to milk and microwave for 2 minutes stir
whip cream with sugar and vanilla
put on top of hot chocolate, sprinkle with cocoa and enjoy :-)

What's your favorite winter drink?

Seafood Chowder

2011-11-25T11:54:00.001-05:00

It's soup season so here's another great one, and my first chowder with seafood. It's easy and if your like me and keep fish in the freezer great to make with limited ingredients on hand. I added blackened creole seasoning which gave it a great flavor and slight kick.

Ingredients

1 cup vegetable stock
2 large potatoes diced
2 medium carrots sliced
1/2 cup cream
one teaspoon blackened creole seasoning
salt and pepper to taste
one small bag of frozen sweet corn
1 1/2 cups 2 % milk
one salmon filet - cut into pieces
one sole fillet - cut into pieces
1/2 an onion chopped
2 cloves of garlic chopped and one piece of chopped bacon
knob of butter

Method:

saute the onions, chopped bacon and garlic for 5 minutes in a little butter
add the carrots, potatoes, creole seasoning, sweet corn and stock and bring to a boil for 5 minutes
then add the milk, cream and fish and simmer for a further 20 minutes

Have a wonderful start to the week everyone

Food Bloggers Unplugged

2011-11-24T20:26:00.001-05:00

The lovely Janice of Farmers girl kitchen a fellow Brit tagged me in this fun idea of Food Bloggers Unplugged and I thought it would be fun to answer like a live interview!, the questions are below I am to tag 5 folks but I will tag you all and its up to you if you would like to post and tag others.

Its fun to learn more about the bloggers behind our favorite blogs :-)

Food Bloggers Unplugged is to help you to find out a bit more about the tagged Food blogger, in this case ME! So here goes:

What or who inspired you to start your blog?

Who is your foodie inspiration?

Your greasiest most batter splattered cook book is?

These are three of the oldest books that I bought myself.

The best thing you have ever eaten in another country, where was it and what was it?

Another Food Blogger's table you would like to eat at?

What one kitchen gadget would you like Santa to bring you? (money no object)

I'm coming to you for dinner, what is your signature dish?

What is your guilty food pleasure?

Reveal something about yourself that others would be surprised to learn?

Have a great weekend everyone

Happy Thanksgiving Message

2011-11-23T16:44:00.001-05:00

A short thanksgiving message and a craft for kiddies me and Jasmine did last year

love and hugs Rebecca

Welcome to Winston Salem - love this

2011-11-22T22:08:00.001-05:00

This is amazing a must share amazing acrobatics and its done right here in Winston Salem where I live enjoy folks :-)

Florida sunsets and meet ups

2011-11-21T19:52:00.001-05:00

We have just spend a wonderful weekend in Florida, a weekend of fun eats, wonderful meet ups and strolls along the beach.

We fly into Saint Petersburg from Greensboro great deal :-) meet friends in Tampa that evening. We ate at the Tacos bus

913 E Hillsborough Ave Tampa, FL 33603

(813) 232-5889

Fun place with a buzzing atmosphere and good Mexican food at very affordable prices. I thought the fish tacos were just ok but they were fried I prefer grilled, my favorite item was a drink - Hochata a Mexican drink made from rice, condensed milk and cinnamon. I mentioned it on the facebook wall and Kristina kindly shared a recipe, guess what I will be making this week :-)

Chow and Chatter
Love horchata - rice, condensed milk and cinnamon from Mexico so good

181 People Reached · 6 People Talking About This

· · Share · Friday at 10:12pm via mobile ·

4 people like this.
- Nelly Rodriguez I had this at The Aviary last weekend and it was amazing! They made cinnamon ice cubes, so the flavor was amazing! They also added rum and tequila ;)
  Friday at 10:26pm · · 1
- Chow and Chatter Nelly now that's a fun version :-)
  Friday at 11:45pm · · 1
- Shelley A Rael My son buys it as his own treat. I don't remember to get it for him. Good stuff.
  Saturday at 12:16am ·
- Kristina Holdburg i love it to never made it with condensed milk before im sure that makes it super sweet ill have to try that! i always use rice cinnamon sugar and whole milk.
  Saturday at 12:40am ·
- Kristina Holdburg horchata is great in the summer its a thirst quencher!
  Saturday at 12:41am ·
- Chow and Chatter Shelley :-) Kristina do you have a recipe ?
  Saturday at 12:04pm ·
- Kristina Holdburg yes my recipe is very simple and authentic got it from my best friends grandmother who is from mexico.... take 1 cup long grain rice and 5 cups water put into blender make sure rice is uncooked blend about 1 min till rice breaks up. set aside and let soak 3 to 4 hrs i usually do it before i go to bed and when i get up in the morning i strain the rice water into a pitcher and then u discard the rice then add 1/2 cup of whole milk 1tsp vanilla 1tsp cinnamon and 2/3 cup sugar blend wellput in fridge till well chilled serve plain or over ice! YUMMY now i want to make some! :)
  Saturday at 5:22pm ·
- Chow and Chatter Kristina thanks awesome recipe making for sure :-) Rebecca
  Saturday at 8:14pm · · 1
- Kristina Holdburg your very welcome hope you like it! :) and thankyou for all your wonderful recipes that you share with us all! :)
  Yesterday at 4:33am ·
- Chow and Chatter Kristina oh your so sweet I am going to add your recipe to my blog just now :-) rebecca
  4 seconds ago ·

We then headed south to Siesta Key wow the sand is like sugar. I have been enjoying Lyndseys blog The Tiny Skillet for a few years and love her beach pictures it was so special to walk on her beach.

a sunrise

stunning sunset a must see

Since I was headed to her neck of the woods a meet up was in order, so we arranged to meet for lunch at Mattisons downtown Sarasota and another one of my all time favorite bloggers joined us Sam from My Carolina Kitchen.

Here you can see Lydsey in the blue she is every bit as sweet and talented as her blog, her hubby and daughter. On the left the pretty and lovely Sam and her hubby Meakin he was the life of the party.

This beautiful shell angel was a gift from Lyndsey that she made, she also gave us some dried sea urchins and told me she had made snow men with them here's the link, she is super crafty as well as a great mum, wife and cook ;-) - sea urchin ornaments

On saturday after a morning on the beach we drove along the keys from Siesta to Anna Maria in fact these wonderful German folks at our hotel told us to go, we ate at the waterfront restaurant overlooking the 100 year old pier. Good fresh food and loved the view.

fresh gulf of mexico shrimp so good

and of course no trip to Florida is complete without key lime pie :-)

lovely old car

Today on the way back to Saint Petersburg I quickly looked up restaurants and red mesa cantina came up, offering Mexican and South American flavors. I loved this place funky building with a hip vibe

4912 4th Street North St. Petersburg, FL 33703-3819

I ordered mofongo a new dish to me - pork, a type of cheese and yuca a Puerto Rican dish very good, we were in a rush would love to visit again and have fun eating more from the menu :-)

decor

I even got to enjoy a cup of tea on the beach this morning :-)

So if your thinking of a short break in the US - be sure to add Siesta key, Sarasota area to your list. Also if your a blogger never be afraid to reach out to blogging friends in a city your visiting and arrange a meet up you will be glad you did.

I miss you Florida :-), we will meet again

Have a great start to the week everyone its a special week for folks in the US thinking of you as you prepare for Thanksgiving

Love

Rebecca

Payasam (South Indian Milk and Vermicelli pudding))

2011-11-15T17:32:00.001-05:00

It was Diwali a couple of weeks ago and I made this payasam for hubby its his favorite, I used this site for the recipe, don't you just love blogs. I didn't make many changes, other than using pre- roasted vermicelli I got in my local Indian store and using butter in place of ghee both work well.

Ingredients:

Milk - 5 cups
Vermicelli - 1/2 a pack of pre roasted from the Indian store
Sugar -1/2 cup or to taste
Cashew nuts - 8 - 10
Cardamom - 3-4 ( powder it- I used my coffee grinder to do this)
Raisins -10 -15
butter - 1 tbsp

Method

Lightly fry the vermicelli in butter
Boil the milk then add the roasted vermicelli to it and cook till it becomes soft.
Add sugar and powdered cardamon
In a separate pan lightly roast the cashew nuts and raisins in butter
garnish the payasam with the nuts and raisins, I sprinkles a little cardamon powder for garnish too or pistachio would be great

Just before Diwali Jasmine and I did a rangoli resign. I try my best to teach her Indian culture :), but as you know I am a Brit and Christian so Christmas is my biggie :-) but still important to learn and respect all cultures

We are headed to Florida for the weekend tomorrow got a fab deal on fights and planning to meet two of my favorite bloggers, stay tuned :-)

Have a wonderful weekend all

Love

Carrot and Coriander Soup

2011-11-14T22:38:00.001-05:00

Here's another soup for you, posted before but since its soup season and this is one of my favorites I thought I would share the link again :-), I also made my first chowder recently and learnt from the facebook page that there are two kinds New England white clam chowder, milk based and Manhattan red broth with tomatoes added. I love the facebook page for the blog, linking travel and food articles and chatting there, learn so much from everyone feel free to join in the banter there too :-)

We all watched puss in boots last night fun movie :-)

Ever wondered about foraging, join me this morning at 12.30am EST as I talk to Michaela Ballman @nutrispeaking she recently did a course on it. With restaurants like Noma in Denmark regarded as the Worlds best restaurant being well known for foraging for menu items per Noma's website

We comb the countryside for berries and herbs that others would not bother with and work with foods that aren’t part of any system of formalised cultivation and consequently cannot be obtained through ordinary channels of distribution.

Here's an interview with the chef:

Hugs

Vegetable Pulav

2011-11-13T21:51:00.001-05:00

Here's a super easy version of vegetable pulav, all you need is some spices, frozen vegetables and rice combine with a boiled egg and you have a quick tasty meal on the table in a jiffy.

Ingredients

a few curry leaves but can omit
1/4 teaspoon coriander powder
1/4 teaspoon cumin powder
1/4 teaspoon turmeric powder
about 3 cloves
one stick of cinnamon
one cup of basmati rice
1/2-1 cup mixed frozen vegetables
2 star anise
a pinch of cumin seeds
a few coriander seeds
1/4 teaspoon masala powder
one dried red chili or more if you want it to be spicier
1/2 a teaspoon ginger/garlic paste
1/2 red onion thinly chopped

Method:

heat a little canola oil in a pan
add the spices, curry leaves, chili, ginger garlic paste and red onion saute for 5 minutes
then add vegetables cook a little, 3 minutes
add rice and 3 cups of water cover and let it simmer on a low heat for about 20 minutes until all the water has evaporated

Have a wonderful start to the week everyone

Dark Chocolate Mousse

2011-11-09T22:37:00.001-05:00

I made my first chocolate mousse last week, it was so much fun and let me tell you divine. The more I blog and read blogs the more I get the confidence to get in the kitchen. I am having fun seeing the marvel of food reactions. For example how the whisked egg whites turned simple melted chocolate into a delectable mouse and recently how hot water, milk and sugar can bubble like crazy to create creamy caramel.

I found this recipe on this blog and didn't really change anything, but couldn't resist adding here for quick reference for lil ole me when I make it again!

Pierre Herme's Simple Chocolate Mousse

Ingredients:

170g dark chocolate, finely chopped - about 1 1/2 bars I used Green and Blacks Organic
1/2 cup whole milk
1 large egg yolk (use good quality eggs and especially you are eating them raw)
4 large egg whites
2 tbsp caster sugar

Method:

Use a bain marie or I simplyput a stainless steel mixing bowl on the top of a pan of boiling water, this worked like a charm to melt the chocolate, keep to one side
Boil the milk and then add to chocolate mixing with a whisk, then add the egg yolk
In a separate mixing bowl whisk the egg whites with the sugar on medium to high until you get glossy peaks, then little by little add and mix to the chocolate, add the mousse to any desired container I used some Turkish tea cups I got in Istanbul.

These glasses make me smile as I remember buying them with Jasmine in a tiny pottery shop and the sweet girl gave a small plate to her as a gift. Hubby calls one a champions cup and gets her to drink her milk from it. So this is chocolate mousse for Champions.

Finally here's a wonderful interview with Pierre Herme the master pastry chef and Chocolatier he started his career at 14 and is a fourth generation pastry chef winning numerous awards. He famously worked at Ladurée and is known for his macarons. With shops in France, London and Japan and various cookbooks.

Beautiful Autumn

2011-11-09T22:21:00.000-05:00

I thought I would share some beautiful pictures of fall/Autumn around Winston Salem NC adore this time of year. Hope its beautiful where you are or if you in the Southern Hemisphere enjoying Spring :-)

My road

me and Roshan :-) having a fun morning in the park

friends and lolly pops

Have a wonderful weekend everyone :-)

Hugs Rebecca

Ode to the Spud

2011-11-07T20:18:00.001-05:00

Ode to the spud, don't you just love potatoes tasty healthy rich in vitamin C no fat and a rich source of vitamins and minerals. Poor things they have had a bad reputation and often omitted in diets but its how they are prepared that increased calories. I recently made hasselback potatoes and I learnt from Angie of Angies recipes that they are known as “accordion potatoes”, and were named after the Hasselbacken Hotel in Stockholm, Sweden that first introduced them in the 1700s. Angie featured an amazing recipe with a gorgonzola sauce. I served mine with pork chops in a mushroom gravy. Easy to make and lovely and crispy on the outside soft in the middle hubby also loved them and he is from a family of rice eaters . Someone from the chow and chatter facebook page even adapted the potatoes she was cooking that day to make them after I posted a picture and loved them as well.

Ingredients:

any desired amount of potatoes
sea salt to taste
pepper to taste
Italian herbs about a tablespoon
olive oil
4 cloves of chopped garlic

Method:

slice the potatoes using a spoon handle be careful not to cut through them, I did this with a couple :-)
coat with olive oil, garlic, salt and pepper and herbs
bake at 400 for about an hour

I was just reading a fascinating article today about how the potato changed the world heres the link:

How the Potato changed the World

and a wonderful clip about the Potato museum

Egg Drop Soup with Shrimp

2011-11-06T22:43:00.001-05:00

Hubby has been asking for more soups lately so being a good little wifey I have been making them, love them this time of year and makes a change for lunch. I got this simple and super tasty recipe from the Sweet Ann's blog Anncoo Journal. I made a couple of tweaks, added 5 spice and mushrooms and peas you know how our little one likes them :-)

Ingredients:

1 Large egg (beaten)
2 Tomatoes, chopped
one teaspoon of five spice powder
10 raw shrimp
one teaspoon ginger/garlic paste
1 1/2 cups vegetable stock
2 cups water
a dash of fish sauce
1/2 cup frozen peas
5 sliced mushrooms

Method:

heat a little canola oil in a wok on high, add ginger/garlic paste, five spice and tomato and let it reduce down to a paste
add stock, fish sauce, peas, mushrooms and simmer for 10 minutes with lid on
Add in prawns and cook for 3 to 4 minutes.
Beat egg and pour in as the soup is boiling stirring it as you add
season with fresh pepper and sliced spring onion
enjoy

What is your favorite soup?

Baba Ganoush Linguini

2011-11-05T23:17:00.001-04:00

Don't judge this dish by looks :-) it tastes so good and its super simple to make. One of my favorite dips is baba ganoush, so I figured why not combine with pasta. Its basically baba ganoush but I didn't add tahini.

Ingredients:

one large eggplant
4 cloves of garlic
one tablespoon olive oil
linguini
salt and pepper to taste
a dash of lemon juice
1/2 a teaspoon cumin powder
handful freshly chopped parsley

Method:

thinly slice the eggplant and put on a baking tray with garlic drizzle with olive oil, salt and pepper and bake at 400 for 15- 20 minutes until soft
add a little cumin, dash of lemon, parsley and blend
mix with linguini and serve

Craft: Paper Bag Lantern

2011-11-05T13:00:00.001-04:00

Here's another fun craft idea how to make a lantern from a paper bag

Have a wonderful weekend everyone

Other good news is that big sister is getting on better with her little brother we all face painted each other last night well he was sleeping (poor lil guy) but she felt like she was playing with him :-)

Maple Shortbread Cookies

2011-11-02T14:26:00.000-04:00

We made these simple shortbread cookies recently and had fun making different shapes and letters, what a fun way to learn baking and letters!

Ingredients:

5 oz butter diced and a little extra for greasing
8 oz of plain flour and some for dusting
4 oz sugar
one tablespoon of maple syrup

Method:

grease a baking tray with butter
sieve the flour and rub in the butter with fingers until it looks like bread crumbs
stir in sugar and maple syrup and make a firm dough
roll it out onto a floured surface to about 1 inch thickness
have fun making different shapes
bake at 350 for 15-20 minutes until lightly golden
dust with confectioners sugar

While visiting the Charleston Tea Plantation I got some cookie cutters in the shape of a tea pot, can't wait to make these again soon :-)

What cookie cutter shape would you like?

Husk Charleston SC

2011-10-31T23:47:00.002-04:00

While in Charleston at the weekend we had brunch at Husk restaurant viewed to be best new restaurant of the year by Bon Appetit. In fact the article in Bon Appetit really sparked my interest and made me want to eat there. I love the philosophy of farm to table and the seasonal menu that often changes daily. This approach is very similar to a restaurant we ate at in Edinburgh Scotland - Castle Terrace, on target to receive a michelin star. I struggled to get a table for 7 when making reservations and often it can be booked for 6 weeks, but the manager was very kind on twitter and helped me out he even said hi when we arrived.

Husk is located downtown Charleston in a beautiful old white mansion. Its interior is modern and very inviting and it has wonderful utensils and tableware, reminiscent of days gone by. In fact the menu follows the same theme with traditional southern dishes from scratch with a twist. The James Beard Award-winning Chef Sean Brock is well known for this.

76 Queen Street

Charleston, SC 29401-2220

I ordered Southern BBQ which came with cheddar and bread, sausage and potato hash and a fried egg. It was super tasty but honestly a tad heavy and greasy. Everyone enjoyed the food and overall great experience I saved the best for last the first picture on the blog is my dessert a oatmeal pie with brown sugar custard this did impress me. I would give Husk 7/10 worth eating at if in Charleston but not quite worth the hype.

On Friday we dined at Circa 1886 at the Wentworth Mansion hotel. In fact this was a fluke as due to feeding the little guy we lost our reservation at Slightly North of Broad, another Charleston classic and as I called around they said they could accommodate and they had a private room, a bonus with three kids! We had a great time and were very impressed with the food, it even had a touch of molecular gastronomy the bread was served with what appeared to be whipped butter but on asking it was olive oil.

I ordered flounder with heirloom tomatoes and squash ravioli topped with a Parmesan foam that they poured a stock over - superb. Hubby got shrimp and quail and his friend ordered antelope from Texas.

This was my dessert like a key lime cheesecake with curd in the center, raspberry coulis and candied lime peel. First class, this restaurant was excellent and set in the old coach house of the mansion, honestly the food will make more lasting memories for me than Husk I would say 8/10.

Beautiful Charleston Building

The horse and carriage tours

honey tasting in the Savannah bee company store

beautiful church

one of the many pretty houses to be found in Charleston

What famous restaurant have you eaten at recently and did it live up to the media hype for you?

The Charleston Tea Plantation

2011-10-30T20:23:00.001-04:00

We visited the Charleston tea plantation yesterday, I was very keen to see how tea is grown and it's Americas only tea plantation. South Carolina has a good climate warm, humid with rainfall and the plantation has been growing tea for a number of years in fact the owner is a fourth generation tea tester.

It has been hard to make profit though as harvesting and processing is costly and it closed for a number of years it is now in partnership with bigelo tea, who help with processing and saw it as a great tourist attraction and education opportunity.

We were amazed to learn that a tea plant can live and produce tea for over 600 years! It takes 5-7 years from planting till harvesting.

It's well worth the visit if your in the charleston area you can take an enjoyable trolly tour around the plantation, learning the history and sampling tea.

Some of the plants are over a hundred years old and were brought over from China. As a Brit and avid tea drinker I enjoyed the hot blended black tea but the iced are their number one sellers in the south. The plantation is very creative with their tea once making an iced tea vodka, hand creams with tea and soon shampoo.

6617 Maybank Highway
Wadmalaw Island, SC 29487-7006

Stop and Listen!

2011-10-29T12:35:00.000-04:00

Stop and Listen to the waves, heres a clip of the waves at Folly beach SC, sometimes in life we need to stop close our eyes and listen to waves, birds the wind in the trees and re charge :-)

Hugs have a great weekend

Everyone

Ice Cream Cone Cupcakes

2011-10-25T22:49:00.000-04:00

I made these simple cakes recently mainly because I had seen them on blogs and wanted to see if it worked. As you can see I overfilled them and got a nice melted ice cream look :-) I didn't frost them as already very sweet but would look cool, these are perfect for a kids birthday party.

Ingredients:

4 oz self raising flour
4 oz butter
4 oz sugar
2 eggs
a dash of vanilla essence

Method:

cream the butter and sugar
add eggs and flour and vanilla
add to ice cream cones and bake at 350 for 10-15 minutes

We are going to Charleston SC for the weekend this week, really excited its been months since we have been away and love the beach and Charleston, fun history and amazing food already have reservations for Husk :-)

Please pray little Jasmine stops being so jealous of her baby brother. This evening she threw a yogurt carton at his eye and it bleed I was so upset and hubby came home from work. His friend also a doctor came over to check on him and my neighbor came to calm me down. Praise God he is OK just a little red in corner of his eye. Not sure how to handle Jasmine but it should get better in the meantime Roshan will have to be next to me at all times.

Tips for Nursing

2011-10-24T22:51:00.000-04:00

I wanted to share some personal tips for nursing mums, there is no right or wrong any way you choose to feed your child is fine love is key. I just want to help you if your struggling as it gets easier :-)

Pork Chops in a Mushroom Gravy

2011-10-23T16:19:00.001-04:00

Here is another revisited recipe, its super simple and full of flavor, any type of mushrooms would work the link is for porcini this one is with button and enoki.

Can you believe Jasmine is mushroom obsessed adores them, asks every meal are there mushrooms and picks them of our plates too funny. Was there a food you were crazy about as a child ?

Pork chops in a mushroom gravy

The clip is just for laughs, what has made you smile lately?

Craft - Pumpkin Garland

2011-10-22T12:01:00.001-04:00

Here's another fun craft for fall, how to make a simple pumpkin garland :-)

Have a great weekend everyone

hugs

Pumpkin Brownie Bites

2011-10-19T22:09:00.004-04:00

With all the amazing pumpkin recipes going around, I want to contribute :-) these simple pumpkin brownie bites are super easy and make a nice treat.

Ingredients:

1/2 cup all purpose flour
1/2 cup butter
one cup of sugar
2 eggs
one teaspoon vanilla essence
1/3 cocoa powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup of puree pumpkin
one teaspoon baking powder

Method:

cream butter and sugar for a few minutes
then add in the eggs, flour, vanilla baking powder, salt and cocoa and pumpkin
add to cupcake cases and bake at 350 for 20 minutes

Also feel free to join me tomorrow morning for #beanchat on coffee and travel - I was asked by Gevalia's to host (its unpaid) I thought it sounded like fun.

click their facebook page at 10 am EST and join the chatter with a coffee - http://www.facebook.com/GevaliaCoffee

Amazing Photography to WOW you

2011-10-17T20:27:00.001-04:00

The Aurora from TSO Photography on Vimeo.

Thanks @Lonelyplanet for tweeting a link to his site, Terje Sorgjerd, travels the globe in sometimes crazy conditions to capture some of the worlds wonders and makes videos. They are a global sensation but new to me and in case you haven't seen them yet enjoy :-)

The Mountain from TSO Photography on Vimeo.

Portuguese Inspired Baked Cod

2011-10-17T11:14:00.000-04:00

I made this recently its a simple one pot meal I learnt from Ruth from I Love Flavor me, its been on the blog before heres the link - Portuguese baked cod , but its always fun to make good recipes again. I also love keeping a variety of frozen fish portions in the freezer so handy for making a quick healthy meal.

me with our little ones, loving the gift of being their mummy :-)

What are the recipes you keep going back to?

Craft - Leaf Prints

2011-10-14T17:30:00.002-04:00

Here's a fun fall craft idea, collect some lefts the skeleton ones are the best with an adorable little helper. Place between two pieces of paper and gently rub over with a crayon, it will leave a print. As a child we would do this with coins as well. We then cut them out and stuck on colored paper.

Right now our home is filled with leaves, pine cones and acorns he he :-)

Have a wonderful weekend everyone, happy friday :-)

Hugs

Apples with Caramel Sauce

2011-10-12T12:01:00.002-04:00

When my parents were here, I thought it would be fun to coat sliced apples in caramel I got the recipe from Nelly its fun to have a pastry chef friend! - Rebel Caramel , follow the link for great instructions. It amazed me how simple sugar and water with milk can make a wonderful caramel sauce. I would have liked this to be a tad thicker and another pastry chef friend suggested adding to Greek yogurt as a dip, love this idea. Jenni from The Balanced Pastry Chef.

Its a fun activity for fall and its apple season :-)

Talking of fruits and vegetables, research done in Canada shows that people who ate more fruits and vegetables had a lower risk of heart disease despite a genetic predisposition now that's wonderful news

- Eating Fruits and Vegetables May Outwit genes

Ploughman's Lunch

2011-10-09T22:24:00.001-04:00

When my parents came I asked them to bring some Branston Pickle, a famous British pickle and a must for a ploughman's lunch. Branston pickle is made from Branston Pickle a variety of diced vegetables, including swede, carrots, onions, cauliflower and gherkins pickled in a sauce made from vinegar, tomato, apple and dates with spices.

I got hooked on ploughman's sandwich's when I was last home, sharp cheddar cheese, salad and branston pickle so good. Here's my take on it. Apparently the Milk Marketing Board came up with the idea in the 1960's to increase the sales of cheese and it stuck :-)

You will find this on the menu of cafes and pubs around the UK.

Ingredients:

a couple of slices of good ham
a few slices of a sharp cheddar cheese
a generous helping of Branston pickle not sure where to get it in the US maybe World Market?
any desired salad, I used mixed greens, cherry tomatoes and mango
I also had some brie and a couple of slices of whole grain bread

Method:

add to a plate or make as a sandwich and enjoy

Anyone else had this?

Glitter Pumpkins and First Smiles

2011-10-06T21:56:00.000-04:00

Here's a fun toddler craft - glitter pumpkins, I even amazed myself being able to fit in a craft with Jasmine she better be thank me when she is older! The little guy has started to smile magical here's a picture :-)

Have a blessed weekend everyone

What's your favorite thing about fall?

Hugs

Guest Post - Dave's Fisherman's Pie

2011-10-04T19:54:00.001-04:00

I love twitter it connects you to so many cool people, one is Dave Evan's - UK Expat Particle Physicist Computing & Software dev in Chicago. Rugby, Physics, Food, Cooking, interesting discussion on pretty much anything http://evansde77.posterous.com

We immediately hit it of both having a British humor and a love of good food. I started to read his blog and was so impressed by his cooking ability and passion for inventing new recipes like this one, a healthy version of the beloved fish pie. With a tomato based sauce and seasonal carrot, sweet potato and butternut squash topping. I love this as a dietitian as its healthy and packed with flavor.

This is on Dave's blog - I would like to create the online equivalent of a dog eared, pencil-note scribbled, post-it note and notepaper stuffed cookbook that lives in the bottom of the kitchen drawer and someone one day finds, and possibly craps themselves with nostalgia. If not, then bugger it, it works for me.
I love this and still want chow and chatter to be about finding cool blogs and promoting them, as they deserve to be read and enjoyed by many just my opinion ;-)

This dish started with a bit of a dilemma:
I recently bought a copy of the new Pieminister Cookbook, A Pie For All Seasons (and a very nice, pie-centric book it is too!) and naturally wanted to dive straight in and start new adventures in pastry wrapped meat in gravy. However, my wife is on a pretty strict diet limiting calories and fat intake on a daily basis, so I had to try and reconcile something healthy with the fantastic stodge one usually associates with a pie.

One of the recipes in the book is a fish pie called the Pietanic, which is a nice take on the classic creamy béchamel and mash topped fisherman's pie. Given the lack of pastry and presence of fish as opposed to meat, it seemed like a pretty easy target to tweak and make it a bit healthy.
Firstly, if there is a way to make a healthy, creamy béchamel sauce, then I don't really want to know about it, because it's quite good as- is. So the sauce morphed into a tomato based sauce that would be easy to make a bit lighter and would work with fish because things like cioppino and bouillabaisse are tomato based and also rather tasty. This also made sense from the point of the view that the garden is producing a lot of end of season tomatoes at present, so I had plenty of very ripe, tasty cherry and currant tomatoes that I planned on roasting for sauce anyway.

For the mash on the top, slow absorbed starches like sweet potatoes are generally a bit better for you that plain white potatoes, but I am not overly keen on just plain mash. Having done a rather nice root vegetable mash with sweet potatoes recently, I decided to revisit that and combine roast butternut squash, garlic and sweet potatoes with some boiled carrots, which combined with end of season tomatoes really bought a fall feeling to the whole thing.

The first step for this recipe was to fire up the oven (to 375ºF) and roast two medium sized sweet potatoes and a halved butternut squash for an hour.

At the same time I took a large roasting tray and filled it with:

1 Carrot, diced
1 Celery stick, diced
1 large Shallot, diced
2-4 red and yellow bell peppers, sliced.
4-6 cups of fresh cherry and currant tomatoes
1 Tbsp Olive Oil
1 Tsp dried rosemary
2 Tbsp balsamic vinegar

and threw that into the oven for an hour, occasionally stirring and finally giving it a bit of a mash.

For the root mash topping:

1 roasted butternut squash
2 roasted sweet potatoes
2 large carrots, sliced and boiled until cooked through
4-6 cloves of roasted garlic
Salt & Pepper to taste
1-2 Tbsp Balsamic vinegar
Few splashes of vegetable stock

Put all of the above into a bowl and give it a good thrashing with a potato masher, adding the stock to get you a smooth mash texture to top the pie with.

For the sauce:

1 Tbsp Butter
2 Tbsp Olive Oil
2-3 Tbsp Flour
2 cups of roast tomato mash from above
Approx 1/2 L vegetable stock
Salt & Pepper

Melt the butter and oil together, add the flour and cook to make a roux. Once the roux starts to bubble like a honeycomb and turn a nice golden brown, add the tomato mixture and stir well. Then you start adding in the vegetable stock until you get a nice thick béchamel-texture sauce. Check the seasoning & adjust as needed.

Fish:
I wanted a mixture of shellfish, oily fish, white fish and smoked fish in this and used (more because of what I had at hand than any great science) the following:

4oz fillet of Tilapia
6oz fillet of Salmon
4oz smoked Salmon
6oz cooked shrimp

The fish was all chopped into pieces about the same size as the shrimp for even cooking, mixed and seasoned and placed into a casserole dish. The sauce was poured over the top and stirred in, and then I spread the mash over the top.

Into the oven for 45 mins at 350ºF and served with some baked broccolini with lemon zest, and job done!

What cool blog have you found lately?

Chow and Chatter

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Guest Post - Dave's Fisherman's Pie

Chow and Chatter
Love horchata - rice, condensed milk and cinnamon from Mexico so good