Monday, November 19, 2012

Nutella Lava Mug Cake. And love.

NUTELLA. LAVA. MUG. CAKE.

In my time of desperate need, when I am living without an oven in the kitchen, the internet came to my rescue.

Borrowed from:
Nutella Lava Mug Cakes


Isn't it BEAU-ti-FUL! :D

What you need:
4 tablespoons self rising flour, sifted

3 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder, sifted


4 tablespoons caster sugar


1 medium egg


3 tablespoons Nutella


3 tablespoons milk


3 tablespoons olive, or vegetable oil (I used olive)

2-3 teaspoon chocolate chips





Mix everything together.


Spoon into your favourite coffee mugs. Top with chocolate chips.


Microwave on high power for about 2 minutes. Cooking time depends on microwave power, and size of your coffee mug. Slightly undercook for the lava effect. :)



I serve with an umbrella and lots of love. <3

Being Brit in Den Haag: Scally's Lunchroom and Tearoom

Found a British tearoom here! :D In Chinatown, of all places :P

Scally's Lunchroom and Tearoom

Wagenstraat 117, Den Haag, NL


We ordered Scones and Jasmine tea.


LOVED the way the tea was served. We were three girls SO excited to be there :D


Scones with Cream and Jam. Heaven on an old-fashioned plate, it was.


And of course, the book about the queen. <3

Easy Asian fix for friends - Rice Noodles in Coconut Milk

I had a big group of friends coming over for a casual dinner, and I didn't have the time or energy to cook a fancy meal. I also really didn't want to make pasta (that's been done to death). This is an easy, throw-everything-in-a-big-bowl kind of recipe that I came up with. Very easy, and quite fun to make too.

Rice vermicelli/noodles
Broccoli
Red Chillies
Lemon
Chives
Coconut Milk
Shrimp
Avocado


I massacred the broccoli, that's what I did. Cut them into tiny TINY bits.  


Chop some red chillies (keep them big and round so that people KNOW what they're eating :P )
Scatter into a big serving bowl.


Squeeze in the juice of half a lemon on the chillies.


Snip in a handful of chives.


Add the coconut milk - stir it all together, and let it sit.


Boil the shrimp till just cooked.

In a pan, quickly saute the broccoli in some olive oil, a thin slice of garlic and salt.


Add the cooked shrimp to the coconut milk dressing...


... and the broccoli as well (let it cool first).


Cook the rice noodles in boiling water till done. Drain...


... And toss into the bowl.


Finish with avocados chopped generously on top.

Serve and amaze your friends. :P 


Bean Thread with Shrimp, Bok Choy and Coconut Milk

Easy Asian food. It doesn't get any better :)

Bean thread/ Bean vermicelli/ Can also use rice noodles
Bok Choy (Chinese Cabbage) cut and blanched
Shrimp, cooked in boiling water
Coconut milk
Green Chillies
Soy Sauce


Soak the bean thread in boiling water for a few minutes. It cooks pretty fast.
In a bowl, combine coconut milk, a dash of soy sauce, and chopped green chillies. Mix well. Let it sit for about 5 minutes.
Once the bean thread is ready, in a big bowl, toss it together with the shrimp, bok choy and coconut milk dressing.

Done! :)

I don't know how to cook Chickpeas.

Canned chickpeas. Apart from making hummus, I have no idea how to cook them. But I found myself with nothing in the kitchen except all this..

1 can Chickpeas
Bacon.. Ham.. (Or whatever this is called.. The kind of meat that goes into Carbonara)
Navy/White beans
Chives

Everything needed to be used. Everything had to be finished. So.. I put it all together.


No oil. Just put the ham/bacon/whatever that is into the pan, the fat that melts off is enough to cook everything.

Snip in a generous bunch of chives. It'll start smelling pretty great.


Drain the water from the can and toss in the chickpeas.


Sprinkle some red chilli powder. Skip salt - the meat is salty enough.


Add the navy beans (pre-cooked).


Toss everything around and plate, with almonds on top. :)



Sunday, November 4, 2012

Budapest! Oktogon Bisztro

We were in Budapest for three days. Our hosts took us to this charming little bistro for an all-you-can-eat Hungarian food thing, and it was brilliant :D

1190 HUF =  roughly 5 euros. How great. :D


Oktogon Bisztro - at Oktogon, one of the stops on the yellow line, towards Hero Square. :)


Not sure what we ate. I just have lots of pictures. The first one (below) is Goulash.. A spicy soup full of meat and vegetables and paprika. I loved it :D













I recommend this place to anyone visiting Budapest, for a taste of good Hungarian food. 5 Euros for all you can eat is VERY CHEAP, trust me! And the food is heaven on a plate :)