Month: November 2013

B has been nominated for the SUNSHINE AWARD!

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You are my SUNSHINE! MY ONLY SUNSHINE.. YOU MAKE ME HAPPY.. DA DA DA DUM DUM *And so the song goes!*

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Thank you for the nominations:  Ginger, Elaine, Danielle, and Upasna!  I thought I’d blog about this.  Blog awards make me feel happy 🙂

Rules to Accept the Award:

  1. Include the Sunshine Award icon in your post
  2. Link to the blogger who nominated you
  3. Answer 10 questions about yourself
  4. Nominate 10 other bloggers to receive the award
  5. Link to your nominees and let them know you nominated them
  6. Create 10 questions for your nominees to answer

My answers are as follows:

  1. Who would play you if your life was made into a movie?
    That would be interesting.  I would want some Bollywood actress to play me!  🙂
  2. Where in the world would you most like to travel?
    I would love to travel to South America, Alaska and other destinations that I haven’t been to!
  3. What is the best thing about blogging?
    Connecting with out bloggers.  There’s so much to learn from everybody!
  4. What is your secret indulgence?
    Sweet popcorn in cinemas.  I could eat an entire large bucket!  But I won’t.
  5. If someone handed you £1000 tomorrow what would you spend it on?
    A ticket to some exotic country.
  6. What do you never leave home without?
    Phone, wallet!
  7. What’s your favourite meal of the day?
    Dinner or Lunch.  Depends what we are having.  I’m not much of a breakfast person although that happens to be the most important meal – I kind of force myself to eat in the morning.
  8. What makes you laugh?
    My family always puts a smile to my face.
  9. Who would be your ideal dinner party guests?
    My family 🙂
  10. What was the last thing you Googled?
    Review sites for Apps.  Would love my App to get reviewed when its out.  Ohhh the excitement.

My nominees are (I’m trying to nominate my new blogging friends):

Check out these bloggers as they add sunshine to the blogosphere!

Enjoy your weekend everyone!

xx

B

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B’s Vegetarian Chinese Crispy Noodles

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Hello all!  Today we felt like having noodles – okay when I say we I actually mean more my husband than me.  I rather make something that would be appreciated to be eaten.  The chef needs to be appreciated.  When the eater goes hmmmm – it makes the chef feel good about the hard work that went into it 🙂  Ok – I have absolutely no idea why I’m calling myself a chef and speaking in third person today! I’m going to stop. LOL 🙂

Chinese Crispy noodles involve deep-frying and I didn’t feel like something so unhealthy so I made the exact gravy and had it with boiled noodles.  However – for those of you who want to try it crispy – you can deep fry it or acti-fry it (less oil and same result).

I loved the way it looked.

ImageDoesn’t it just look delish with the veggie chicken topped on it?  It gave it a really new chewy texture!

B’s Vegetarian Chinese Crispy Noodles

Makes: Enough for 3-4

Ingredients:

  • 1 tsp minced ginger
  • 1 tbsp sesame oil
  • Broccoli
  • Carrots
  • 1 can of Water chestnut
  • Baby corn
  • Chinese dried mushrooms (soaked in hot water for 10 minutes – cut the stalks off)
  • 1 cup of vegetable stock (I used OXO cube)
  • 2 Chicken fillets (You can use Quorn steak strips too!)
  • Sauces/Seasoning: 2 tbsp-Soya Sauce, 1 tbsp-Dark Soya Sauce, 1 tsp-Sweet Sauce, 1 tsp-Chilli Powder, 2-3tbsp-Mushroom water, Cornstarch (1 heaped tablespoon mixed with water)

Method:

  1. Saute ginger then add carrots and brocolli in sesame oil.
  2. Oven bake chicken and cut into strips. (Yummy!) 🙂
  3. In a separate pan, boil thin egg noodles. Drain the noodles once done.  (To fry the noodles- deep fry the cooked noodles)
  4. Mix sauces/seasoning in a bowl with vegetable stock.
  5. When vegetables are cooked and sauces to it and bring to a boil.  Add water-chestnut and mushrooms.
  6. Lastly, add cornstarch mixture and let it thicken to desired consistency.

Makes a one-pot vegetarian meal.  Easy to make and healthy 🙂

Enjoy!

x

B

B’s Basil Pesto Brushchetta (Without Garlic)

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Yummy.  Home-made pesto cannot be compared to the store bought kind at all!  It simply melts in your mouth. I made the pesto a day earlier as I wanted it to sit in the fridge overnight to make it more flavourful.  Pesto and Brushchetta are both notoriously famous for their garlic flavour.  I however do not like garlic.  I find the smell rather pungent and the after-taste deadly.  So here you have it Basil and Brushchetta without garlic.  Feel free to add garlic if you like the taste as it does enhance it for garlic-fans!

Here’s a picture of my masterpiece 😉

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Doesn’t that just look gorgeous?  YES – food can look gorgeous.  😉

Here’s what I did..

First I made the pesto…

ImageBlend. Blend. Blend.

Then I used my home-made bread (pan-toasted first) and topped it with everything.  Ready to go in the oven!

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And out it comes!  All ready to feast on.  It screams EAT ME NOW! 🙂

B’s Basil Pesto Brushchetta

Makes: As many as you spread! 

Ingredients for pesto:

  • 2 cups of basil leaves (removes stems of course!)
  • 1/4 cup of olive oil
  • 1/4 cup pine nuts
  • 1/3 cup of cheese (I used cheddar as that’s what I had at home!)
  • Salt and pepper

Ingredients for Brushchetta:

  • Pomodoro Fresh Tomatoes
  • Bread (toasted first)
  • A bit of cheese
  • Fresh Basil leaves (torn for the garnish)
  • Salt and Pepper

Method:

  1. Blend basil leaves, pine nuts and cheese together using a food processor.  Add olive oil and blend again.  Add salt and pepper.
  2. Toast home-made bread.  I like doing this on the pan as I love how it comes out 🙂
  3. Spread basil pesto on bread, top with chopped tomatoes.  Add salt and pepper.
  4. Top with some cheese.
  5. Put in oven (about 190 C) till cheese has melted.

YUMMYYYYY!

Enjoy 🙂

xx

B

Technology Tuesdays: Air-popped Popcorn

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I’ve been eating popcorn on and off in the cinema lately.  I know I shouldn’t –  but I can’t help it.  Sometimes, I make it at home, my stove-popcorn style.  However,  the popcorn only pops with at least 3 tbsp of oil!  Ok, that’s to feed two very hungry people. LOL 🙂

So I went on amazon and decided to order a fat-free popcorn maker.  It was 20 pounds with free shipping.  Really a good deal! It just arrived – and I couldn’t resist but try some!

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Thought I’d add the pamphlet – incase anyone wants to order it too (all the info is on there!)

Pros:

  • Fat Free
  • Takes less space than my blender (it’s tiny)
  • Pops the corn in 3 minutes
  • Minimal clean up needed (just wiping with damp cloth and washing the measuring spoon)
  • Melt your butter in the same measuring spoon as the kernels (ONLY ONE SPOON TO WASH!)

Cons:

  • Only a small quantity can be made (about 4 cups of popped corn).  We eat a lot. LOL.  It’s good for portion control though!
  • Wait 12 minutes for it to completely cool down before a second batch can be made
  • Not as crunchy as popcorn made with oil

Having said all this, I would recommend it.  It makes a very easy snack when you are in a peckish mood. 🙂  Also, popcorn is rich in fibre and low in fat.  It’s oil-free with this device!

TO BUY OR NOT TO BUY?  TO BUY

xx

B

Foodie Fridays: B’s Kitsune Udon Recipe (Japanese Noodle Soup)

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Hello happy humans!  It’s Friday 😉  I love sleeping in on Saturday – the feeling is just magical.  So I’ve had a busy day involving completing my App’s ICON!  How amazing is that?  I’m terribly excited.  🙂  Coming back to Foodie Fridays –  I’ve been eating healthy food at home to compensate for fatty food that will be coming my way (weekend).  I had udon noodles and veggies at home – and thought it would be a healthy vegetarian lunch for my husband and I.  It’s been so cold in London, so it was really comforting as well. This is an easy meal to whip up too when you are busy but do not want to eat out of a packet! 🙂

FYI: Work with two pans – it’s faster and easier to serve the noodles then pour the soup mixture on top!

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And the end result:

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Healthy veggies & tofu 🙂

B’s Kitsune Udon (Japanese Noodle Soup)

Makes enough for 2 people

Ingredients:

  • 2 packets Udon Noodles
  • 2 carrots, chopped
  • 5-7 mushrooms, chopped
  • Asparagus, chopped
  • Some tofu, chopped in cubes
  • Seasoning:  1 tsp Mushroom Seasoning Powder, 1 TBSP Miso Paste, 1 cube of OXO Vegetarian Stock, pepper, 1/2 tsp chilli powder, 1/2 tsp soya sauce

Method:

  1. Cook Udon noodles – boil in water (follow package instructions)
  2. Put about 1 tbsp of sesame oil and stir fry mushrooms.  After a few minutes add carrot then asparagus.  Add a bit of water and cook.
  3. Add water and miso paste.  Keep stirring till fully dissolved,  Add soup stock and all seasoning.  Add the tofu.
  4. Serve on top of noodles!

Note:  Kitsune Udon is usually prepared with fried tofu which is available in Asian Shops.  It has a spongy texture and absorbs flavour very well.  However the fat sitting on my stomach right now is not allowing me to eat that kind of tofu.  SO THERE YOU HAVE IT. Low fat.  You can change the veggies to your liking –  I just used up what I had in my pantry!

Hope everyone has a fantastic weekend!  I’m going for some retail therapy this weekend.  It’s been a hectic week -that’s why I’ve barely posted!

xx

B

B’s Crispy Kale Recipe

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Hope everyone had a good weekend.  Somehow weekends always bring about “cheat” days for those who are dieting!  I know they do for me 😉  So here’s to some healthy food *cheers* 🙂

Crispy Kale is delectable and very nutritious!  Kale is a superfood – a food often eaten by gorillas (surprisingly!).  They are packed with nutrients such as:  Vitamin K, A and C.  It also has copper, calcium and manganese.  Actually the list goes on but these are the significant nutrients in Kale.  However, always remember to buy ORGANIC KALE as you wouldn’t want to be eating pesticide instead of nutrients.  The detrimental effects would largely outweigh the benefits of it being a healthy vegetable in the first place!

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Make sure to trim all the stems out and break kale into pieces…

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Dry the leaves properly…

ImageLay out in a baking sheet ensuring that leaves are spread out and not overlapping…

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Crispy and flavourful – right out of the oven! 🙂

My recipe featured on Almonds & Raisins:

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Hope you guys like it! x

Travel Thursdays: A weekend in Paris

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BON JOUR! Image

 

Yes exactly.  Paris = Eiffel Tower!

It was very glamorous at night.  However, in the daytime – it’s rather disappointing.  I’d suggest to see it at night first, otherwise your disappointment might leave a bad taste in your mouth.  And perhaps even a quattro formaggi pizza would not be the cure. 

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Yes – it does not reflect the image often shown in movies. LOL!  

We had gone to Paris for our first weekend being married.  Our weekend – mini honeymoon! What a romantic surprise by my husband!  The perks of living in London is that Europe is just a stone away.  We were unable to go for a lengthy honeymoon like most couples as my husband was still new in his job and leave was a problem!  Oh well – when life throws you lemons – you take them along to Paris and drink lemonade over the weekend! 😉  I was disappointed at the time, but what can we do!

We stayed in Novotel, which worked out really well as it was a 10 minute walk from the Eiffel Tower.  Highly recommend the hotel as you can’t go wrong with Novotel!

Things to do in Paris over 2 days:

  • See the Eiffel tower at NIGHT 
  • Go on the top of the tower (pre-book to avoid having to queue up!) 
  • Take a cruise along Seine River to view all the major sights
  • Go to the Louvre (the actual Mona Lisa is a bit disappointing)
  • Walk at Gallery Lafayette and you might bump into a friend from Singapore like I did (I was beyond stunned when I heard my name being shouted across the mall.  When you have such a unique name – you know its YOU when you hear it!)
  • Stroll around Champs Elysees and learn to pronounce it too!  Quite a challenge!
  • Eat 4 cheese pizza – it’s a good excuse for a cheat cheesy day!!

ImageA Little Cafe opposite the Eiffel Tower!  I just love my cheese. Yum!!  🙂

ImageGallery Lafayette.. Beautiful architecture and many shops!  If you’re going with your husband/boyfriend make sure you’re extra nice to him before… Then you might end up with many gifts 😉 HAHAHA!  

Au Revoir!

xx

B

 

 

Technology Tuesdays: Our app..

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We’ve been working on our app for quite a bit now.  Who would have thought it was so hard to make a simple app?  My husband’s been learning programming on the side- and we are actually seeing it work now.  Which is really satisfying!  I’ve been trying to find easy User Interface videos – anyone do app designing?  Would appreciate some pointers!

Today, I have been reading Apple’s guidelines and there’s just so many angles and layers to making an app.  I truly hope we will be done by this year (as we both really really want to be!)

May the “technology” be with us! Ok – bad attempt at using a Star Wars line.

xx

B