It doesn't get any better than this :-) Merry Belated Christmas everyone.. hope everyone had a good Christmas, stuffed themselves silly, recieved and gave great presents and also paid attention to the more important things in life...
Talent in the Bucketloads
These guys are two cousins living somewhere in the US. I just cannot get over how anyone can sing seperate layers of a song and put it together, let alone sing it acapella. Its amazing and wonderful.
Comfort Food
There are days, you are way too lazy to cook and you just want something yum to snuggle with and watch TV. For me, there are many days like that, and today was no exception. I decided to make my variation on a soup I had seen ages ago.
Again, I don't have proper quantities and it is really up to you and what you have available in your kitchen. My soup I made today had carrots, leeks, sausage, pasta and chicken broth.
First, you cook your pasta and get rid of the water. Then in the same saucepan (again, comfort and ease, not much washing!), cook the sausages. A tip - remove the skin from the sausages so it resembles meatballs. Cook them well and keep aside. Then add some garlic that is well ground up (this is optional but add a little, like a small clove per person). Add chicken stock and cook till boiled. Add the vegetables (you can add potatoes, carrots, leeks, cabbage, whatever you have at home). After its cooked, add the sausages and pasta. If you like, at this point, you can add some spinach leaves. That also adds a nice color to the soup.
It doesn't take long to cook, maximum 30 min and this is nutrious and yummy. For those living in cold climes, it is perfect to snuggle up to the couch and watch your favorite Christmas movies on TV.
Again, I don't have proper quantities and it is really up to you and what you have available in your kitchen. My soup I made today had carrots, leeks, sausage, pasta and chicken broth.
First, you cook your pasta and get rid of the water. Then in the same saucepan (again, comfort and ease, not much washing!), cook the sausages. A tip - remove the skin from the sausages so it resembles meatballs. Cook them well and keep aside. Then add some garlic that is well ground up (this is optional but add a little, like a small clove per person). Add chicken stock and cook till boiled. Add the vegetables (you can add potatoes, carrots, leeks, cabbage, whatever you have at home). After its cooked, add the sausages and pasta. If you like, at this point, you can add some spinach leaves. That also adds a nice color to the soup.
It doesn't take long to cook, maximum 30 min and this is nutrious and yummy. For those living in cold climes, it is perfect to snuggle up to the couch and watch your favorite Christmas movies on TV.
Dinner ideas II (contd)
So, its morning and after a cup of coffee, I feel moderately able to write a post of a few recipes.
Shrimp with Broccoli
The usual simple recipes. Clean the prawns (I used without the skin because of the eeky intestinal bits) and mix them with broccoli (duh), soy sauce, lemon juice, sesame oil and coriander leaves. Keep in the fridge to marinade. When you are ready to cook them, just put into a pan and cook! That's it really. You don't need to add salt as the soy sauce is salty enough.
Stuffed Peppers
I don't like couscous but in a bid to be healthy one afternoon, I bought some and I never used it again. I saw it in the pantry and was thinking, maybe I should just use this one day and try it out. This recipe is in 3 parts, but it is not complicated.
Stuffing
It is part couscous and part yummy stuffing. First heat up some chicken broth to boiling point. Put to the dried couscous and add some ground up cumin and a little tumeric. Leave to soak.
The other stuffing is you cook apple (yes, apple.. Any type is fine, I used Fuji), chopped onions, coriander leaves, mushrooms, and a little crushed cloves. You cook it in a pot, don't add oil. Just cook till its well done.
Mix it with the couscous and add some raisins and nuts (cashews, almonds, whatever). That's your stuffing :-)
The Peppers
You cut off the tops, and clean out the seeds. It should look like a pretty cup. Soak them in hot water to cook and then wash them out with cold, so they retain the shape and size. Add the couscous mixture and just when you are about to serve, put into the oven (180C/350F) for 15 min.
Sorry for the bad quality pictures, I took them in the evening before serving.
Shrimp with Broccoli
The usual simple recipes. Clean the prawns (I used without the skin because of the eeky intestinal bits) and mix them with broccoli (duh), soy sauce, lemon juice, sesame oil and coriander leaves. Keep in the fridge to marinade. When you are ready to cook them, just put into a pan and cook! That's it really. You don't need to add salt as the soy sauce is salty enough.
Stuffed Peppers
I don't like couscous but in a bid to be healthy one afternoon, I bought some and I never used it again. I saw it in the pantry and was thinking, maybe I should just use this one day and try it out. This recipe is in 3 parts, but it is not complicated.
Stuffing
It is part couscous and part yummy stuffing. First heat up some chicken broth to boiling point. Put to the dried couscous and add some ground up cumin and a little tumeric. Leave to soak.
The other stuffing is you cook apple (yes, apple.. Any type is fine, I used Fuji), chopped onions, coriander leaves, mushrooms, and a little crushed cloves. You cook it in a pot, don't add oil. Just cook till its well done.
Mix it with the couscous and add some raisins and nuts (cashews, almonds, whatever). That's your stuffing :-)
The Peppers
You cut off the tops, and clean out the seeds. It should look like a pretty cup. Soak them in hot water to cook and then wash them out with cold, so they retain the shape and size. Add the couscous mixture and just when you are about to serve, put into the oven (180C/350F) for 15 min.
Sorry for the bad quality pictures, I took them in the evening before serving.
Dinner ideas II
After a very very long time, we decided to call some friends over for dinner. I am nanny-less these days (as the woman I had before decided to leave me for a wedding.. later on I realized she has busted most of my cooking equipment, hence the abrupt leaving situation - that's a topic for another posting), thus I haven't had the time or energy to exercise let alone cook. Roomservice.lk is my best friend these days at work, although it doesn't seem to be the healthiest of friends..
Moving on, dinner.. So I decided to make a nice western style dinner with Lankan fusion. Menu consisted of :-
* Shrimp with Broccoli
* White rice (now you don't need a picture of steamed rice, do you?)
* Potato Gratin
* Stuffed Peppers with Couscous
* Coleslaw
* Grilled chicken
So my table looked kinda like this :-
Yum!
Next posts I will give the recipes for each dish, right now its about 11pm, so bed time for me.. but the posts will come :-)
Moving on, dinner.. So I decided to make a nice western style dinner with Lankan fusion. Menu consisted of :-
* Shrimp with Broccoli
* White rice (now you don't need a picture of steamed rice, do you?)
* Potato Gratin
* Stuffed Peppers with Couscous
* Coleslaw
* Grilled chicken
So my table looked kinda like this :-
Yum!
Next posts I will give the recipes for each dish, right now its about 11pm, so bed time for me.. but the posts will come :-)
Retail Injury
Like most girls, I do like to go shopping. Unfortunately, UNlike most girls in Sri Lanka, I never seem to find my size. I am not HUGE persay, but I am not delicately proportioned either. I do happen to be 'voluptuous' if i am say so myself. I do have boobs (which most women's clothes in Sri Lanka do not seem to understand) and have a body which does look like I have given birth (which is the truth). So why is it so difficult to find any clothes here?
I was thoroughly disappointed with Odel - Kohuwela, Warehouse and Alexandra Place. Overpriced, and NOTHING available. Went to Cotton Collection, was almost blinded by the bright printed and casual wear. Dilly's - again, overpriced and catered to the boobless-skinny women which seem to dominate Sri Lankan mannequins. Tried the smaller stores in Thimbirigasyaya - again disappointing. The only shops that seem to have anything decent is Sista (but again, either too big or catering to the pregnant - which is not really the look I am looking for. I don't want to look pregnant if I can help it).
Why is it shameful to be a big bigger than everyone else? I mean, I don't think I am huge. But its so difficult to find flattering clothes in this country. I am sure there are people who are larger than the norm. Not everyone looks like they are suffering from malnutrition - well, considering the cost of living these days, it might be one idea why the sizes are so misaligned.
Everytime I see someone I haven't seen in a while, they say "Oh, you've put on" or the rare "You've lost weight!". Why do people in Sri Lanka have the need to tell you about how you look. Its not like we don't have mirrors, plus its not the best way to get someone to like you especially if you mention their size. How is that a conversation opener anyways? One day, someone said that to Hubby on one of his off-days, his response "Well, you've got uglier from the last time I met you" (this was to the statement - "You've put on from the last time we met").
Does anyone have any suggestions on where we can buy decent clothes at a decent price? I don't mind paying, as long as I don't have to squeeze myself into something unflattering or find something nice and that would fit me in a decent way. Please let me know in the comments. However, presents, bribes are always welcome :-)
Hot potatoes
Sorry for the delay in posting. In between trying to run my little store, working for my boss (who also happens to be my mum - never a good combination) and everything else going on in my chaotic life, my little baby boy gets sick... Its miserable, not just for him but for everyone around.
He had high fever, around 102F when we took him to the doc. He was not his normal cheerful self. No songs, no demands for music, no requests for Mickey Mouse, he didn't even have an appetite, the poor guy couldn't even make it to his school's Christmas party. But thank goodness, Santa managed to get his present to me, so one crisis is sorted.. One positive, the fever and his flu are NOT related... but if the fever continues, that means something more serious (eekk!).. so blood tests are in order.. just the thought of some strange nurse putting a needle into my little boy's arm is enough to give me nightmares..
UPDATE
Sonny's fever is almost completely gone after one night's medicine (yay!) so we should be ok.. although the cough is still persisting.. another bit of good news, appetite and the singing has come back!
