B’s Makhani Potato Bake

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Hello all!  I’ve been so MIA lately – have been having guest and been so busy,  I made this for my so-so-lovely visitors.  They really enjoyed it 🙂  I made this as I could make the sauce before hand which would give me less stress!! It became sort of an indian butter masala and pasta bake fusion.  Vegetarians sometimes have limited fancy food.  Cheese and potatoes are always a winner.  I would definitely make this again! But I would have to hit the gym several times before that and after that!

Here’s the sauce:

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And this is how it looks like fresh out of the oven:Image

Another look at it, to simply tempt you… Yes I love making people hungry!Image

B’s Makhani Potato Bake

Ingredients:

  • Makhani Sauce
  • Baby Potatoes (I bought ready-made herb and butter)
  • Shredded 4 Cheese 
  • Some Tabasco/Dunriver Sauce

Method:

  • Prepare Baby Potatoes
  • Pour yummy sauce over it.  Top up with cheese and tabasco.
  • Bake at 200 degrees and serve while hot.

Enjoy it!  I would suggest it as a leftover whenever you try out my Makhani Paneer 🙂

xx

 

OPI: Turquoise Bright Nails

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The sun is blazing in the midst of London’s summer.  Yes summer.  It’s been so hot the last few days that I feel I’m living in the tropics.  Funny how I complain about the weather either way.  Haha!

The bright weather made me get bright nails done today!

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It’s the OPI Turquoise Shatter.  I’m not into shatter-look nails anymore, but since I have the color, I thought why not! 😉

Simply love the brightness of it.

Here’s another shot:

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Trying to add spark to my mundane monday which consists of just way too much laundry (entire weekend), chores and grocery shopping to stock the fridge for the upcoming week.

xx

B

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Coconut Scones

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Hello everyone 🙂 I’ve been experimenting with Scones lately.  I altered the BBC recipe a bit to make coconut scones.  I had to make these twice as I was unsure of the amount of coconut to put in it.  The first go,  I used 50g of coconut.  The second go, I increased it a bit to suit my palette more!

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I tried different shapes, just for fun!

B’s Coconut Scones

Bakes: About 12 small scones, but I made some big funky shapes instead.

Ingredients:

  • 225g Self Raising Flour
  • 55g Butter
  • 50g Caster Sugar
  • 75g Fine Desiccated Coconut
  • Pinch of Salt
  • 150ml milk

Method:

  1. Preheat oven to 220C.
  2. Mix together the flour, salt and rub the butter. Make sure the butter is cold.  This ensures softer scones.
  3. Add in the coconut and sugar.  Mix in the milk and knead lightly to a dough.
  4. Move to a floured surface and cut the shapes required.
  5. Brush with milk.
  6. Bake for about 13 minutes, till golden on the top.
  7. Serve with butter.  🙂

I personally like this the best with just butter as you can then appreciate the taste of the coconut.  I raised the amount of sugar in this recipe as a result.  As served with butter, it should be a bit sweeter than a normal scone that is served with jam.

YES, the FOODIE thought about it properly!  Give it a go. You know you want to!

xx

B

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Easy & Vegan: Scrambled Tofu

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Prior to being Vegetarian, one of my favourite combinations was scrambled egg with rice.  Growing up I used to have it like fried rice, more like butter-glistening rice with egg.  It was my go-to comfort food 🙂

I’ve now found a replacement to suit my new vegetarian lifestyle.  It’s been 10 years.  It’s definitely a commitment that I hope would be life-long.  So anyways!  I made tofu scramble for lunch yesterday, didn’t want it to have butter/oil or any fat.  So here’s a low fat, protein filled easy recipe.

But hold on – first have a sneak peak...

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It was yummy!  Packed with flavour and grilled asparagus on the side. 🙂

All you need is:

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B’s Tofu Scramble

Makes: Enough for 1 (or 2 if you are eating with something else on the side)

Ingredients:

  • 1 packet Firm Silken Tofu (refer to the picture)
  • Seasoning: Turmeric, Red Chilli Powder, Soya Sauce, Salt, Pepper

Method:

  1. Put the block of tofu in the pan.  Keep mashing it.  All the excessive water to evaporated.
  2. It usually takes around 5-7 minutes on high flame.
  3. Keep mashing.  When it is dry and resembles egg, start seasoning.
  4. Start off with some Turmeric (about 1/2 tsp) to give it an egg color.
  5. Add chilli powder, soya sauce, salt and pepper to taste.

Note: I like a lot of flavour, as a result I add a lot of seasoning.  Always remember that tofu, unlike egg is rather bland.  Season away!

Enjoy it with brown rice and a side or even on top of savoury waffles with sausages. (I have had that before too, and it was really good!) 🙂

Enjoy! 

xx

B

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Travel Thursdays: One day in Bratislava (Slovakia)

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Before going to Vienna,  I had googled nearby cities/countries that would be worth a visit without wasting excessive time getting there.  Bratislava seemed to stand out due to the fact that it was just an hour bus ride away.  I never imagined going to Slovakia.  Yet the explorer in me screamed YES, WE REALLY SHOULD!

For just 12 Euros per person we got return tickets to Slovakia.  A different country without passing through immigration seemed puzzling.  On the contrary, when we travel from Singapore to Malaysia we pass through a strict immigration process.  This left me a bit dumbfounded.  As a precautionary step, I still took my passport with me.  You never know when you need your passport.

I was excited to see the Old Town of Slovakia. From Tripadvisor, I knew there wasn’t much to do.  That’s precisely why we chose it.  As I pictured quaint lanes of Bratislava would be perfect for our third year anniversary.  It was just so different from our past two (Brussels and Zurich).

The lanes were as quaint and picturesque as I had conjured up in my mind.

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We walked around for a bit and thought we must find authentic food to feast away on.  Although saying that, vegetarian food can be tricky while travelling.  There were friendly waiters throughout the lane who ushered people into the restaurants.  One menu caught our eye as it seemed perfectly divine.

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Potato Battered Cheese Cutlets. OMG OMG OMG!

I was so excited to try it.  I was even more thrilled when it arrived at our table!  I’m such a foodie tourist, it’s almost funny.  Food can definitely be a highlight of a holiday if its worth photos and commentary!

Here it is:

ImageMy husband was equally taken in by this.  We couldn’t wait to indulge in the cheese.

And there is it:

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 The cheese was oozing out… It was divine.

The food was the highlight of my trip.  I would love to eat these bites of heaven again sometime in life.  🙂  After our lunch we strolled around the whole town.  It’s a small town and it’s suited for pedestrians.  We walked into a church which was not comparable to the churches in Vienna but was still nice.

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After our stroll around Bratislava Old Town, we walked back to the coach station and hopped back to Vienna.  It was a no-fuss travel.  I highly recommend this to all travellers who like to cover different countries and appreciate different architecture and well, FOOD. 😉

xx

B

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B’s Summer Salad

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It’s summer in London.  No way! Yeah,  I have this conversation daily in my head when I’m dressed in a long sleeve shirt topped with a light jacket.  But seriously, today the sun’s out!  😉  I deserve to whip up a summer salad in celebration. It’s a mix of italian and greek salad.  Basically combined my favourite parts from both.  So here it is!

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I used this on the top (Marinated Feta Cubes):

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B’s Summer Salad

Makes: 1 big bowl 

Ingredients for the dressing:

  • 3 tbsp olive oil
  • 2 tbsp vinegar
  • 1 tbsp lemon juice (might add more next time)
  • 1 tbsp dried basil
  • Salt, Pepper, Chilli flakes and Oregano – to taste

Ingredients for the Salad:

  • Romaine Lettuce, Cherry Tomatoes (halved), 1 Avocado, Marinated Feta Cheese cubes, olives and anything else you have in your fridge that you like 🙂

Method: 

  • Mix dressing together in a bowl.  Chill overnight.  I always believe dressings are best the next day as the flavours are enhanced!
  • Serve over cut salad 🙂
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Technology Tuesdays: The relativity of time in the age of technology

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Everyone has exactly 24 hours in a day.  Some days feel longer, and some shorter.  I was recently involved in a discussion that made me tie in technology with the relativity of time.  The use of technology makes time go faster.  This statement was worrying and yet intriguing.  I find it worrying as it is provocative and it demands people to question why we want time to fly faster.  Don’t we want to live our life fully and enjoy our happy moments?  But what if happiness is having wifi or 3G and in holidays we want that.  We want to be connected all the time.  In addition, procrastination is happening all around us.  We delay tasks we have to do and don’t realise where our time has flown by.  In university I remember checking Friendster (the ghost of Facebook), replying emails when my lectures just felt so long.  Time passed by fast and the lecture seemed to end earlier than it would.

When I’m out and about, I notice people glued to their phones.  People are constantly on Facebook and Instagram.  There is this persistent need to be connected at all times.  Time flies.

On the contrary, when you’re on a holiday without 3G of wifi, the day seems longer.  I experienced this in Vienna.  My 3 days there without wifi seemed longer.  I felt we could cover more in a day.  We were more engaged in conversations and less caught up with the internet.  I realised how dependant we were to be entertained by our smart phones even in restaurants while waiting for our meal to come.  This thought made me almost feel sad for what the world has become.  I was observing on other tables how everyone checked their phones at least 3-5 times during a meal.  I honestly don’t think it could be of any importance, yet I usually do it too.  I check my whatsapp messages, Facebook comments, Instagram likes etc.

Do we still have time to smell the roses?  Do we still have time to appreciate the world?  Time seems to be passing us by and we all seem to be paralysed by the paradigm shift in technology.

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B’s Nutella Croissant Bread Pudding

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YUMMY.  This recipe came about one day when we didn’t have bread in the pantry but had croissants. We wanted bread pudding but didn’t have bread.  That just sounds ridiculous to not have the core ingredient!  Then I thought to myself – croissants would be a far better substitute.  The texture of croissants allow greater absorption of the creamy mixture and biting into that – would well be somewhat divine.  Bread pudding is already such a treat, can you imagine it with buttery croissants?  My husband LOVES NUTELLA.  He eats it from the jar.  That got me thinking…  Buttery croissant pudding with.. Nutella?  Better still, imagine it with oozing nutella. YUMMY.  So I set it out to make it right!

I’ve made this 2-3 times as its still a pretty new invention.  We had a poker night this weekend, so thought it was ideal for it.  🙂

Here’s the recipe for you to try out!

B’s Nutella Croissant Bread Pudding

Makes: 1 tray/pyrex

Ingredients:

  • 4 butter croissants
  • Nutella (as much as you desire!)
  • 700ml – 1 litre milk (depends how thick you want it)
  • 1 cup double cream
  • 1/3 cup sugar
  • 4 1/2 tbsp custard powder
  • Vanilla essence to taste

Method:

  1. Cut the croissants in half and put Nutella in the middle as a stuffing.
  2. Lay the Nutella prepared croissants in a dish.
  3. Beat together the milk, double cream, custard powder together.  Add the sugar and vanilla essence.
  4. Bake at 180 degrees for about an hour.

Enjoy this easy dessert with simple pantry ingredients!  xx

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Foodie Fridays: Fruit Jelly

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My aunt brought me packets of Agar Agar from Singapore, so i decided to use some up!  I googled a few fruit jelly recipes with agar agar as an ingredient so it’ll be vegetarian.  I quite liked this youtube video where this guy mixed agar agar fruit with a cake layer.

I had just made Nutella Cake 2-3 days ago and had some left overs which I could use in the jelly – so this recipe became an instant winner.  A picture of the final product!Image

I put the jelly in small moulds as it made nicer individual treats.  Although next time I want to try it in a cake mould.  A jelly cake with real cake!

B’s Jelly Agar Agar with Strawberries

Makes: 4 small moulds

Ingredients:

  • 2 tsp agar agar powder
  • 3-4 tbsp sugar (you can just omit it if you want)
  • Handful of cut strawberries
  • Some leftover cake cut into cubes

Method:

  1. Arrange strawberries in the mould facing downwards.
  2. Boil half the water and add 1 tsp agar agar and 2 tbsp sugar.  After the powder is dissolved, pour into the mould.  Freeze for 10 mins.
  3. Remove from freezer and pierce the top jelly a bit with a fork.  Add the cubes of cake on top of this layer.
  4. Repeat step 2 for another jelly layer.  Add it.  Freeze for 10 mins.  Refrigerate till you want to eat it.  Remove it from the mould and serve it inverted!

Easy and a great summer delight.  This would make a healthy snack if you omit the sugar out completely.

xx

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Travel Thursdays: 3 Days in Vienna

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Beautiful– that’s definitely a word that encapsulates the ambience of Vienna. The city resembled a postcard. It was surreal.  I felt as if I was walking through a magazine with edited photographs!

We stayed in Pentahotel after thorough research on trip advisor. We wanted a good nights sleep with a budget price. In addition, it was accessible to a nearby train station.  However my only complaint would be that it was a half an hour walk to the city center and this was misrepresented to us.  We were told it was a 10 minute walk – unless of course the guy was sprinting in a marathon.

Here’s a picture of the hotel:

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Picture of our room:

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It was contemporary and clean.  I was definitely happy with it.

Some postcard-type of moments in Vienna: (FYI- These pictures are all un-edited!)

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Schonbrunn Palace

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The Belvedere

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A different angle of The Belvedere. It was just breath-taking!  And the walk there also took my breath away.  It was so far!  DO NOT TRUST AUSTRIANS when they say it’s a 5-10 minute walk.  I am really skeptical as to what speed they walk.

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A random church that we passed by as we walked and walked.

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The Hofburg

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Stephansplatz at night!

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Inside St. Peter’s Church.  Divine!

Places I recommend:

  • The Belvedere Palace- we almost didn’t end up going which would have been a real shame.  It is simply gorgeous as you can see!  You must go there to get a feel of Vienna.
  • St. Peter’s Church – sometimes people feel if they have been to one church they have been to all.  Fair enough.  But this church had gorgeous architecture.  It’s something worth visiting.
  • Schonbrunn Palace- I absolutely loved the flower carpet.  It was gorgeous!  The colors were vibrant adding to the picturesque beauty of the whole place.
  • The Imperial Palace (Hofburg).  It’s a huge square which has the Spanish Horse Riding School as well.  A beautiful place to walk around.
  • Stephansplatz – the ultimate place for tourist.  You can get souveniers and good food there!  It’s best to go here at night to feel the city-life of Vienna.  We go lucky as the 13th night was the Fashion Night of Vienna.  There were street dances to entertain the crowd and freebies given at every corner.  It was fantastic!

It was really a good holiday.  Our second day in Vienna was only half a day as we hopped over to Slovakia to celebrate our anniversary.  Slovakia deserves an entire blog post as well 😉  I’ll be posting up some stuff real soon!

xx

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