Home-made Tortillas & Vanilla-marinated Oranges! :D

 The weekend was a lot of fun ! Saturday, Theo was working and I was home with my own creative self :P So I decided to prepare a nice dinner with 3 courses for Sunday :) The preparation was the most fun though, because  the new recipes didn't really live up to my high expectations. But that's life, you live and you learn!

So therefore, I'm only gonna share the parts of the dinner that I really liked ! All in all, there were 2 outstanding things that are both going to be made many many times more in my life! And these are:


Home-made Tortillas

(Really a simple and fun thing to make and so much nicer than the ones you buy at the store!)

Ingredients: 250 g flour, 50 g margarine, ½ teaspoon salt, 1.5 dl finger-warm water Optional: Some dried oregano or crushed garlic for additional flavor)


Do: Mix flour and salt. Add the margarine by pinching it into small pieces, then mix it as well as possible. Add the water and form a dough. Leave it in a bowl for 15 minutes covered by a moist kitchen towel. Put some flour on a baking area and divide the dough into small pieces and use a rolling pin to form small tortillas that fit into your frying pan. Fry each tortilla for about 1 - 1,5 minute on each side - Done ! (Don't fry them longer, because then they will become hard and dry and will break when you roll them!) :)
  
Very simple and quick and sooo so nice ! Fill them with whatever you like :)

The second outstanding thing I made was:

Vanilla-marinated Oranges

Ingredients: 4 oranges, ½ vanilla stick, 1,5 dl water, 1 dl sugar
Do: Peel the oranges and use a knife to remove the skin from the wedges. Mix water and sugar in a saucepan. Cut an incision in the vanilla stick and add it to the water. Make sure you squeeze out all the black "dots" from it :P Boil this marinade for 10 minutes and then pour it over the orange wedges. Optional: I added a small bit of orange liqueur (Cointreau) to enhance the flavor even more :) Marinate the oranges for a few hours and serve with some fresh lemon balm for example. Yummie !!!


2 very simple but very tasty recipes that I hope that you will like if you want to try them! Theo and I highly recommend them :)

That was my weekend :P And now I'm gonna start to think about some healthy food for the week because someone should start preparing for summer 2011 :P I'm not a weight-maniac because weight is just a number and as long as you are happy and healthy, that number doesn't matter that much. But even though food is very good, everything needs a good balance! So healthy food it is this week :)

Thanks for reading! Peace :)


- Stef

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Sunshine is my religion :)

This pic is taken from a horizontal position on my couch, with my face in the sunshine with some chill caribbean music in the background ! As long as the sun is shining, it's quite warm even though the balcony doors are open are it's not that warm outside! :D I LOVE SUNSHINE !! :D I think it's extra nice to lay in the sun the first few times after the winter, because  I feel like a frozen piece of meat or so and the feeling of sunshine has a defrosting effect on me! It's like coming to life again :)

 Yesterday it was also sunny and beautiful ! I love my apartment because it has sunshine all day from morning til evening :) Perfect for me! Here are a bouquet of beautiful tulips that I got from a friend ! :D

I also felt really productive from the sunny weather to I baked bread (Breadmix from IKEA) and made a nice dinner pie with creamy chicken, broccoli, cherry tomatoes, bacon and cheese :D My baby liked it so much, almost the whole pie was finished in one go !! :D It's so nice to cook for people who like food !

Tonight it's gonna be Swedish night with 2 Swedish girls, some traditional Swedish pea soup and freshly made waffles with whipped cream and jam ! When you have lived abroad for a few years, your ideas of absolutely DELICIOUS FOOD change and become a whole lot simpler ! You learn to enjoy the small conventional things that you normally don't think so much about! :D

Here's a nice sunny song for you all, new Collie Buddz song "Brush me" :) Fits with the weather !

Have a nice sunny weekend everyone !! :D

- Stef

Culinary delights ! :D

 During the weekend, Theo and I were cooking a lot ! There is so much nice food to explore :)

Among others, I made chickensticks with smoked bacon, curry and apple :)

This is what the recipe website's picture looked like vs. mine ! :D Theo and I really liked it and it could definitely come back, however, I'm sure it's even nicer when BBQ'd !

The recipe is simple !

Cut a few chicken filets into small cubes
Peel and cut a big juicy apple into cubes
Put the chicken and apple on sticks together with pieces of smoked bacon.
Season the sticks with salt, pepper and curry powder.
Fry in oil until the chicken is done! Serve on salad together with mango chutney :)
I also chose to serve with potato halves, pre-boiled then fried in butter + oregano :) Yum!

 I also tried a new recipe for baking scones for a lazy but heavenly delicious Sunday breakfast! Very easy recipe as well:
3 dl white flour
1 dl graham flour
1 dl milk
2 teaspoons baking powder
50 g margarine
0,75 dl cream

Add ingredients and form a dough.
Form buns and bake 8 - 10 minutes in the oven in 225 - 250 degrees.


Last but not least, I'll share my recipe for my own Chicken Taco Pie which I made on Friday :)
It is also very simple !

Ingredients:
2 dl white flour
1 dl graham flour
150 g margarine
2 teaspoons paprika powder
2 spoons of cold water


2 chicken filets
1 bag taco seasoning mix

400 ml creme fraiche
2- 3 tablespoons of sundried tomato tapenade
3 - 4 teaspoons paprika powder
250 g cherry tomatoes
150 g grated cheese

Simply form the flour, margarine, paprika powder and water into a dough. Press it out into a pie form. Make some holes with a fork and pre-bake in the oven for 8 - 10 minutes in 200 degrees C.
Cut the chicken into really small pieces. Fry in butter and when it's almost done, add the taco seasoning and a few spoons of water and let it bake until the fluid is gone.
Mix creme fraiche with tapenade and paprika powder until you reach the flavor and spiciness that you like.

Add the chicken to the pie-dough. Put the creme fraiche on top of the chicken, as a layer. Slice the tomatoes into halves and add them to the creme fraiche layer. Finally add the cheese on top and bake the pie in the oven for about 25 minutes in 200 degrees.

Serve hot with perhaps a fresh salad on the side ! :) It's yummie !

I just love eating good food, and sometimes nobody is gonna make it for you if you don't make it yourself. Life is too short for being lazy and eating crap food every day! So my philosophy is to enjoy all the nice recipes there are!!

- Stef

Personal development comes unnoticed but is definite! :)

So I've been here in Holland for three years now.. And I can't help but to think about how I have changed and developed during these years, that all feel like the blink of an eye...

I came here three years ago, a little bit shy and highly selectively social.. My first practical placement at Hilton Schiphol Hotel was nice, but I feel like I could have done more regarding the social part of it.. I feel that I've developed my social skills a lot during these years and I find it easier to reach out to people, which is totally nice because I've realized, people won't bite you if you just talk to them or make a joke or whatever. That's what Holland has taught me.

The culture here in Holland is a lot more social, people make conversation a lot more easier, and I really like that !! That's what my baby has taught me, to simply interact with people around you, whether it's people you know or just strangers in the grocery store or whatever.

I watched the first episode of a Swedish series called "Hotellpraktikanterna" meaning the Hotel practical students. The show is about like 10 teenagers who have done a hotel & restaurant education in Sweden and they are going to work in different departments of a 4-star hotel in Stockholm and the best student wins a 1 year internship in that hotel.. So yeah, you could see those guys working and looking totally pissed off or chewing chewing gum in the reception, coming late or placing food on the floor...

All this, making me realize that I've actually learnt one thing or another during these years here :P LOL. How to be service-minded. How to be more outgoing and social. And I like it ! It can only bring more fun to my life !

2011 is here, the year where I'm gonna finish my Hotelschool education and hopefully get a full time job ! Let's hope it all goes well :)

Thanks for checking in peeps !

Here's a nice song for you all, a Sting cover by Vybz Kartel, adding a little reggae twist to this classic song !



Peace !



- Stef

Today's post is dedicated to... POLAND! :D

Many people have no clue what an amazingly awesome country Poland is! Sure, it was a country with grey buildings in the past, but that was 100 years ago and times have definitely changed, and people's image of the country is nsimply not up to date!

Yesterday I had more than 200 page views (!), so I'd like you all to see what Poland is to me! I love going there, for the shopping, for the food and for all the fun things you can do!

Here are some impressions from the cities of Poznan and Gdansk, among others ! :D

They are building the coolest buildings ever, and new shopping malls are made so often ! There are millions of beautiful bars and cafés everywhere !

It is one beautiful and FUN country ! Going there in April to spend Easter there with my family! Can't wait for that ! :) Hope you guys like the pictures, don't be afraid to comment and say what you think :P

Peace!

- Stef

Helplessly dancing around the house :P

I'm definitely bringing these wonderful tunes with me to the beach when that time comes!

As one can guess from previous posts, I really love Caribbean music ! 

It's so full of happiness and it's sparkling with an "Enjoy life" light, just like sunshine! I can't wait til spring is here and then to sit/lay in the sunshine and literally DEFROST from a cold and windy winter!

My defrosting has started with these brand brand new tunes right here ! (Gotta love Facebook, which allows for artists to just post all their new stuff right onto my feed!)

Machel Montano - Bend over (Note the amazing steel drums in this beat!)

 

Umi Marcano - On the road with you

 

"Spend time on the road with you, every day, in every way, do those things you wanna do! With you by my side, ready to ride!"

That's how I feel about my baby ! Life is fun together with him, every day, in every way! Here's a funny little collage from the previous year ! A lot of crazy fun times :D

 I wish for everyone to have such an amazing person in their life! :)

- Stef

Life's good ! - New design too! - :)

The days of sitting 8 hours a day in front of my laptop at school are now officially done (for this time at least) and it feels niiiice to be able to relax a little. We students really need some relaxation sometimes :P

I had another amazingly fun weekend with my baby ! However, I didn't document it with pictures unfortunately ! On Saturday we had an amazing Chinese dinner with friends from school and after some more partying was done at a bar ! Amazingly fun !

Even after getting back home at 5 AM, Theo and I still had the need to watch one episode of this series we started watching.. "Modern Family". If you haven't seen it yet, check it out :P Quite amusing!

Last night I was a little bored, so I played around with some new designing for the blog :) I hope you like the new happy-looking header ! :D

In general, I'm feeling very happy because time is flying and the time when I'm moving in together with my soul mate Theo is getting closer and closer !! Few more months and then we are there :D Can't wait!

It's nice to look forward to something :D 2011 is gonna be a hell of an amazing year!

- Stef

Yummie weekend !! :D

This weekend consisted entirely of joy !! My baby spend the weekend with me at my place and we had so much fun together :D We ate a lot of good food and went for a small shopping tour :P

My first joy was to find these beautiful plates on SALE ! :D So I copped two of these pretty things :)



My baby made cheese fondue for me - completely home made with 3 different kinds of cheese and white wine in it. We dipped bread and veggies in it and it was really delicious !




Then I made 18-hour marinated beef steaks, marinated in a whisky marinade ! When my mom made it, it was the best piece of meat of my entire life.. When I made it, didn't work out entirely the same but it's still really REALLY tasty !

The recipe is simple:
4 cloves of garlic
3 tablespoons Chinese soy sauce
1,5 tablespoon light syrup (I took some more!)
1,5 tablespoon balsamico
2 teaspoons grinded dried ginger
1 tablespoon tomato pureé
1,5 deciliter olive oil
5 tablespoons whiskey (I took more!)

Simply mix all these ingredients and put the steaks in the marinade and let it stand cool for minimum 12 hours. Dry the meat and fry it on high heat! I served it with rosemary potatoes and a creamy whiskey sauce :) My baby was very happy !! :D



Then even more joy after the weekend !! :D They sold a big bouquet of roses for only €1,50 at the store ! So I totally copped some !! :D Yaay !



And after such a nice weekend full of nice food, it was time for a fresh Monday salad :)
I discovered the best dressing I've ever tasted and now I bought all the bottles the store had ! Haha ! :P Balsamico garlic. Yum !


I hope everyone had a joyful weekend !! :D Peace !


- Stef

Greetings to Jamaica !! :D

Spending this Friday evening on the couch, chilling to some really really cool Jamaican youtube videos.

Seriously, Jamaicans make such awesome music ! So thank you Jamaica, for spreading some beautiful sunshine this way, in form of reggae and dancehall tunes !!

So I'm sharing some really cool videos with you, that I've just randomly found together just now :)

Enjoy ! (Put the videos on full screen, lean back and chill!!)








Gyptian is getting really famous right now! I remember a lot of years ago, when his first single came out and I just loved it !! Then he was just a newbie, and now.. a celebrity !


- Stef

Today's props go to.. :)

... Good thriller novels !! :D

I got some nice books from Santa that I am looking forward to reading ! :D

I think the phenomenon of the book will never disappear, no matter what technology comes along.. There is just something so special and nice about laying down comfy with an exciting pocket book and just disappear into another world for a little while.

To the ones of you who appreciate a GOOD thriller, I highly recommend (Read: I worship this author) the books written by author Lee Child. He writes about a really cool dude named Jack Reacher and it doesn't matter whether you are old or young, man or woman, you will love these books ! Check out the website http://www.leechild.com/ for more info on the books and translations available ! :)

A tip for the cosiness factor is to light some candles when reading !! :D

- Stef

PS. How do you like the new banner ? :P Pretty cute huh :D

Refreshing holidays :)

After some nice quality time at home, I'm refreshed and motivated for the coming year !!

2011 is going to hold some very important and fun changes in my life for example a management placement after the summer and a new and nice apartment as well ! :P I also look forward to Easter, because then I'm going to see my Polish family again ! I love being there, I just wish I could be there more often. But life is not always simple, and we have to enjoy the time we get to spend together with our loved ones :)

Here are a few pics of what my holidays included :D

A beautiful Xmas tree, fun times with good old friends, a beautiful snowy landscape and LOTS of food ! So therefore, my 2011 has already began with lots of fruit, veggies, soups and healthy food :) Some sporty exercises are going to take place as well haha!





I'm not a big fan of deadly serious resolutions that don't allow you to enjoy yourself every once in a while (e.g. some people who stop eating sweets completely or whatever). Life is about enjoying oneself, and therefore I won't forbid myself to do anything that I like. It's just all about self discipline and common sense - of course I love homemade cakes, but it's not reasonable anymore if I'd eat it every day of the week. Moderation is the key!

So use your common sense, allow yourself to enjoy the good things in life (on the level of moderation which you see reasonable) and have a very very Happy New Year !!!

- Stef