Archive for January, 2017
Happy New Year!!! My wanderings around my world this first week of 2017 started with…
Powering up for a day of sushi making!
And… we’re off!
First, we make the kappa maki.
Then, it’s the vegan sushi.
Next, it’s time for futomaki.
Then we finish off with the bacon crunchy shrimp roll, spicy shrimp inari, and sashimi… then it’s time to eat!!!
Good words for this year.
One of Son’s favorite foods is bánh Ãt trần… especially when his mom makes it for him.
An attempt at an origami koi. Not bad for my first try, if I do say so myself!
#homeownerproblems
Roasted until the tips get all crispy. THE BEST.
I may or may not have just stood at the counter, eating asparagus off the pan with my fingers.
Cut off their heads and carve out their guts.
Hot soup on a cold day.
Comfort food. Very spicy comfort food.
Where are you wandering this week?
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After our smaller-than-expected-but-still-tasty dinner at St. John’s Restaurant and Bar, off we wandered again.
This telephone booth was an interesting find.
If you watch Sherlock, you might be familiar with this ambulance station…
(I watched that episode on the plane on our way back home, a couple weeks later, and was like WAIT A MINUTE I WAS TOTALLY JUST THERE.)
Our favorite part about London was the architecture. There are so many interesting buildings here!
We found the Blackfriar…
Who was right next to our intended destination: Blackfriar Station
From there, we took the District line to Westminster station. The moment we stepped out of the station, we looked up and realized we had found Big Ben!
He was looking quite dashing on this stormy night.
And right across the way, you could see the London Eye.
We headed across the river to get a better look.
… I kind of feel like we just upskirted the London Eye.
After seeing the sights, we headed back to the hotel, and stopped by a Pret a Manger to pick up food.
Pret a Manger is a food-to-go type of place, with lots of pre-made dishes to try.
We got a Vietnamese salad, crawfish sandwich, and a bottle of mandarin lychee juice, and took them back to our hotel to eat.
Soon after, it was off to bed.
Next, we’ll be off to Chelsea Stadium!
Happy New Year!
Raise of hands, who’s making resolutions to eat better, exercise more, lose weight?
Well, lately I’ve got the exercise part down. (Easy – just find something that’s a ton of fun! 😉 )
Lose weight? Hahahaaaa…. these hips are quite stubborn, I’m afraid.
And eat better… well, I try that every month or so, but things (ahem, somebody’s got a sweet tooth) somehow always get in the way.
Don’t worry – I’m not one to suggest a juice cleanse (I’d probably kill somebody) or going carb-free (I tried that once… can you say, “hangry”?)
I don’t have the discipline to go on any of those fad diets. But what I can do is introduce more tasty, healthy things to my life.
This carrot soup is easy, good for you, and thanks to the dukkah, it’s pretty interestingly-flavored, too. No boring health food here!
Recipe from Bon Appetit’s December 2012 issue.
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup unsalted, shelled raw natural pistachios
- 2 tbsp sesame seeds
- 2 tsp coriander seeds
- 2 tsp cumin seeds
- 1/2 tsp fennel seeds
- 1/4 tsp whole black peppercorns
- 1 tsp kosher salt
- 2 lbs carrots, peeled, cut into 1″ pieces
- 2 tbsp (1/4 stick) unsalted butter, melted
- fresh ground black pepper
- 1 qt vegetable broth
- low-fat plain Greek yogurt
Cooking Directions
- Toast pistachios in a skillet over medium-low heat, stirring occasionally, until golden brown, about six minutes. Transfer to a small plate and let cool. Add sesame seeds, coriander seeds, cumin seeds, fennel seeds, and peppercorns to same skillet. Toast, stirring often, until fragrant, about 1-2 minutes. Transfer spices to the plate with the nuts and let cool. Transfer nut and spice mixture and salt to a food processor or a mortar and pestle and coarsely grind.
- Preheat oven to 425°F. Place the carrots on a rimmed baking sheet. Drizzle with the butter, season to taste with salt and pepper, and toss to coat. Roast until the carrots are tender and just beginning to brown, about 25 minutes. Let the carrots cool slightly.
- Transfer the carrots to a blender. Add the vegetable broth. Blend mixture until soup is very smooth, 1-2 minutes. Pour the soup into a medium saucepan and bring to a gentle simmer over medium heat, stirring occasionally. You can add a little water to the soup for a thinner consistency, if desired. Season soup to taste with salt and pepper.
- Divide hot soup among bowls. Spoon a dollop of yogurt on top of each bowl of soup. Sprinkle with the dukkah spice mixture.
Restored after our nap (not to mention, those wonderful heated bathroom floors – best thing ever for feet frozen by walking all over London in cold, rainy weather!)…
… off we went, to explore once again.
This time, we put on our tourist hats for a bit, and stopped by the Buckingham Palace.
From there, we wandered through a nearby park.
Duck!
That’s the London Eye way off in the distance.
And a cute little cottage where the bird-keeper lives. Wouldn’t you love to live there, right in the middle of a beautiful park?
From there, more wandering…
… down into Picadilly Circus Station.
We took a the Picadilly Line to King’s Cross, then the Thameslink Line to Farringdon Station.
A few streets later, through the drizzly rain…
We found ourselves at St. John’s Restaurant and Bar.
We had hoped to have dinner at the restaurant, but when we arrived we found it was reservations only.
Luckily for us, the bar portion of the restaurant also served food, and was open to walk-ins.
We started off with Welsh rarebit. This was the first time either of us had tried it, but who wouldn’t like a hot, cheesy toast on a cold, drizzly day?
Next was bone marrow (because, yum), which came with toast and a parsley salad.
It was fantastic.
But surprisingly, it was the parsley salad that was the real star of the meal. The freshness of it really went marvelously with the rich bone marrow.
Lastly, we got poached rhubarb with toasted brioche and vanilla ice cream for dessert.
Neither of us had tried rhubarb before this, although we were well aware of how the entire food blogging community goes wild over it every spring.
To be honest, we weren’t really fans. (Although the brioche and ice cream were fantastic.) It was incredibly tart, and I was convinced rhubarb just wasn’t my thing. That is, until a few months later, when we tried rhubarb a second time… and I fell in love. Now I know better!
Overall, it was a tasty meal, although I do wish we had gotten to try the restaurant.
Next week, we’ll see Big Ben and the London Eye… and as always, more food!
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This week in my world…
(Yes, I know there are 52 weeks in a year, but we skipped two weeks when we were out of the country in the spring – travel posts for those two weeks coming soon!)
Flying over snow-capped mountains on the way home from Arizona.
Home-grown Thai chilis.
About to be ground up with salt, which Son will then sprinkle over pineapple.
Christmas #2 at home. Yes, we have a fake fireplace on our TV in front of our real fireplace.
Tried a new Chinese restaurant. It was mostly meh, but before the meal they gave us a dish of seaweed-seasoned peanuts that were SO GOOD.
The xiao long bao weren’t too bad. But then, I always adore xiao long bao.
Hot tofu soup is the best on rainy days.
So spicy! But so good.
Making tamago for New Year’s.
Kampyo gourd.
Powering up for a day of sushi making!
And… we’re off!
First, we make the kappa maki.
Then, it’s the vegan sushi.
Next, it’s time for futomaki.
Then we finish off with the bacon crunchy shrimp roll, spicy shrimp inari, and sashimi… then it’s time to eat!!!
Good words for this year.
~~~~~~~~~~
