Couchsurfers

I had a great couchsurfing (CS) experience this weekend. This young Hungarian couple was my fourth CS visitors and so pleasant to have around. They were out sightseeing for most of the day yesterday, but last night, we had a great exchange of foods, mixing traditions from our different countries. J came too, with a friend from Italy so we had a true international evening, throwing in a bit of salsa dancing between dinner and dessert too.

If you’re interested in meeting people from all over the world and not overly fearful of strangers, I highly recommend CS (www.couchsurfing.org), which is a global community of travellers who surf other people’s couches, or have people come sleep on their couch a couple of nights or so. It is such a great way to meet people and hear about their countries and cultures. Due to the nature of CS, the great majority are fun, friendly, outgoing and easygoing people.

This morning my guests left even before breakfast, to have time to cover the last spots on their list and make some purchases before they travel on. I’m stuck with piles of dishes and have started doing laundry. I shouldn’t say stuck because days like this, it’s actually not that bad going through the motions of cleaning, sorting and restoring things to normalcy.

I’m meeting up with J again this afternoon, when she has also waved her guest good-bye. Really looking forward to some girl-talk, for which Sunday afternoons are particularly conducive. An excursion to IKEA was on my list for today, but it’s quite a ways, both in distance and atmosphere, from the cozy coffee-and-fresh-baked-bread-smelling cafés downtown. We’ll see how the day unfolds.

[Via http://eatlovedance.wordpress.com]

Eat Food. A Lot. Mostly Fiber.

Today all the running I’ve done has been up and down grocery aisles and boy has it worked up an appetite! I’m pretty sure I’ll be half way through a field a broccoli by the time I finish this post. Anyway, this morning I was a bit surprised when I woke up and realized I slept 10 hours. Yikes, talk about oversleeping. I guess I must have needed up but when I oversleep that much I just feel blah the rest of the day. From now on, my aim will be 8 always–never more than 9 or less than 7. I think that’s a good goal ti keep in mind.

For breakfast I thought I’d try out a new product.

Al Fresco Wild Blueberry Chicken Sausages

Katie from Al Fresco sent me an amazing array of their sausages to review. They use all natural ingredients with vegetarian fed chickens and believe it’s not the quantity but quality of their meat. How perfect is that for me?! Best of all, their products are fully cooked so you just have to heat and serve(aka, I can make these in my dorm pretty darn easily). These breakfast ones really stood out, so I seared them in a pan for 6 minutes or so to brown.

Pan Searing Sausages

Then, in true Food Makes Fun Fuel style, I chopped them up and added them to some oats for breakfast–gotta have them whole grains

Oikos With Maple Syrup, Oatmeal With Wild Blueberry Sausages And Mighty Maple

Well, maybe not everything should be put in oatmeal. But that aside I looooved the flavor of these. The hint of maple syrup baked inside really made them. That being said, not everything goes in oatmeal–lesson learned. I really wanted to get out and run at 11 but the weather was cold, forecast grim, and time wasn’t on my side. Instead there was a change of plans and it was time to dive right in to chores. There was the other type of fuel…

McDonald's Decaf Coffee

…And then we were off to Trader Joe’s and Whole Foods. Taking the backroads let me see all the barns and stables around here in the winter time and they looked amazing. I think I have a new goal in life to buy and live in one of those. I’d hate to have to take care of them, and I’m sure they’d be some crazy money to heat, but dreams are meant to be unrealistic, right? At Whole Foods there might have been additional coffee while checking out all the sales and coupons. At Trader Joe’s I had a ton of fun picking up treats for my blogger secret santa I know they’ll love them. I also might have snuck a few goodies for myself.

Fun Groceries

Well, whole wheat mac n’ cheese isn’t “fun” but I got it for 66 cents on sale with a coupon. Isn’t that a bargain? Those cranberry oatmeal white chocolate dunkers were calling my name, as was the milk chocolate orange. I love those other ones but they unfortunately have some artificial flavorings–Trader Joe to the rescue! I also picked up a new toy:

Thai Red Curry Sauce

And when I say “toy” what I really mean is sauce. I was pretty hungry by the time we got back so I just got to work. I cooked in a pan some tofu and red peppers with the sauce while microwaving some broccoli for efficiancy. All in all, it was a TJed meal.

Red Curry Thai Tofu And Red Peppers, Broccoli With Soyaki

Delicious! The thai sauce was a good level of spice, and the soyaki added a nice touch of salt and sweetness. Tofu is so much better when you have tools other than a microwave to cook it with. I should try baking some while I’m home. I was still a little hungry so I had a fiberous dessert.

Apple

And then I was good to go. Right after lunch we headed out to for a last minute hair cut, and then to Hannafords for yet more secret santa goodies and some more to eat. Again, getting home I was starving even though I just ate not 2 hours earlier, so I went for yet more fiber and more protein.

Brussels Sprouts And Lightlife Ground Sausage With Southwest Seasoning And Maple Syrup

And that’s what I’m currently being held over by, though for who knows how long. This was the first time I got the ground sausage and not some preformed meat. While I don’t think it would be useful in a dorm room, with all the equipment I have to cook it at home it’s a much better bargain and tasted just as good. The chili seasoning with maple syrup sounded out but tasted perfect. And now I’m off to bake some cookies for the fundraiser Ashley held! I’ll have to resist eating them myself and make sure they make it to the highest bidder

Here’s a flaxy giveaway

[Via http://foodmakesfunfuel.com]

chocolate guinness cupcake with bailey's buttercream

I made some tasty little cupcakes today that I like to call “Drunken Irish Cupcakes” as they include both Guinness as well as Bailey’s. This idea originally came from some brownies I had made with a co-worker for a staff party some months back. The brownies were Guinness chocolate brownies with a Bailey’s cheesecake swirl on top and they were fantastic! CAKE:

• 1 cup Guinness stout
• 1 cup (2 sticks ) unsalted butter
• 3/4 cup cocoa powder
• 2 cups sugar
• 2 cups flour
• 2 tsp baking soda
• 3/4 cup vanilla yogurt
• 2 large eggs

DIRECTIONS:

pre-heat oven to 350 degrees.

whisk together flour and baking soda.

pour Guinness into small saucepan and add butter.  Slowly heat on stove top until butter is melted.

once butter is melted, whisk in cocoa powder and sugar until combined.

combine eggs and yogurt in large bowl and beat with mixer until combined.

slowly add Guinness mixture to eggs and yogurt and beat with mixer.

add in flour mixture and beat until well combined.

fill cake pan or baking cups and bake until toothpick inserted into middle comes out clean.

FROSTING:

• 7-10 large egg whites
• 2 cups sugar
• Bailey’s irish cream to taste

DIRECTIONS:

Place sugar and egg whites in the heat-proof bowl of an electric mixer. Set bowl over a pan of gently simmering water, and whisk until sugar has dissolved and egg whites are hot to the touch, about 3 minutes. Test by rubbing the mixture between your fingers; it should feel completely smooth.

Transfer bowl to mixer stand (or hot pad if using hand mixer). Using the whisk attachment, beat on high speed until mixture has cooled completely and formed stiff and glossy peaks, about 10 minutes.

Add the butter, one piece at a time, and beat until incorporated after each addition. Don’t worry if the buttercream appears curdled after all the butter has been added; it will become smooth again with continued beating. Add Bailey’s, and beat just until combined.

Make sure the cupcakes are fully cooled before frosting as buttercream melts extremely easily!

[Via http://yumgasm.wordpress.com]

Defining the OXO factor

On many counts, OXO’s X Factor tie-in advertising drive gets brand engagement spot on – themed around the zeitgeist cultural phenomenon, check, using ‘real people’ to speak for the brand, check, low-fi credentials, check again. But the sum of the TV ad-campaign’s parts only seem to equal a whole lot of mild bewilderment. I doubt very much that ‘have you got the OXO factor’ will become the new ‘whassup’ and as for sprinkling OXO over your friends and family to try and make them more exciting – if anything was going to see a stock-cube- infused meal called off…

Perhaps it’s the families chosen for the final, who leave me feeling slightly unnerved, or the fact that the shorts are so on-brief – could we not at least have had a Whatamess-type-dog turning into smug pedigree cat – but for me, the sub text of the whole campaign reads “we spent our entire budget buying up X Factor ad slots”.

This is not to say that the new product (yes, there is one) is bad, however – it’s actually bloody amazing. The new X-shaped cubes – genius! They no longer explode when crushed, meaning that I can say goodbye to the days of combing vegetable-flavoured salt grains from my hair. It’s simple physics. There, if this was the 1950s, an RP voice would simply state “The new OXO cube – it crumbles better” – I’m sold.

[Via http://wordsonthetopic.wordpress.com]

POSER-ON-ICE

I finally got the aspect ratio right!!!! animation inspired by the free skater suit for v4 at renderosity.com beanie hat also from rendorosity edited in sony vegas sound effects from soundjay.com pictures from google IT’S ALL FREE … Skater ice v4 victoria poser model green screen animation 3d winter snow

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IL4ie5XOAH0&hl=en

Tags : Best HDTV For You Convection Oven

[Via http://winterbeanieshats.wordpress.com]

Zoup Tante

dingin begini… ujan-ujan begini… enaknya sama zoup tante lho…

sebenernya ini posting udah tertunda hampir 2 minggu yang lalu pas ujan udah mulai sering nongol ke bumi… fotonya aja udah teriak2 minta dibikinin posting hehehe…

uuuupsss… lupa untuk kenalin si zoup tante yang endang gurindang margotop nemenin di saat2 ujan dingin seperti ini… pasti penasaran khan mo kenalan ma si tante nan seksi ini…

okay, let’s meet the tante :

zoup tante nan centil

…

huahahahaaa….. pasti bete… pasti bete..

kenalin, nama panjang si tante ini “zoup tahu n telor”, nama panggilannya ya si zoup tante itu! kalo ditambah sosis namanya bisa jadi zoup tante zoes (alias tante sosis).. ditambah bakso namanya bisa jadi zoup tante cho (tante bak-cho) ato kalo ditambah tempe buat acara superman de timbele, namanya bisa jadi zoup tante ve (alias tante temve hihihi…)

bikinnya gampang banged, bahan2nya simple :

9 buah tahu putih yang kecil2

3 butir telur

5 siung bawang putih, keprek trus cincang halus

3 batang bawang daun, iris2 tipis ato tebel teserah…

1 ikat sawi, potong-potong

garam, gula merica secukupnyah

2 sendok makan minyak goreng tuk menumis

air secukupnya (kurleb 600-700ml)

bawang goreng kalo suka

..

how to :

- panasin minyak, tumis bawang putih mpe harum

- masukin air n tahu n garem gula merica, biarkan sampai air mendidih

- kalo sudah mendidih masukin telur satu per satu, jaga supaya jangan sampe telornya morat marit, biar tetep sexy

- masak sampai kuning telur matang (kalo suka setengah matang ya bolleee…) trus tambahin sawi

- kalo mw ditambah royco ayam bole aja

- beri bawang daun di mangkuk saji, siram dengan kuah, beri masing2 3 buah tahu dan 1 buah telur, taburi lagi atasnya dengan bawang daun n bawang goreng

- serve HOT!

tambahin saus cabe sebotol kalo mw lebih HOT yaaaa….

..

makan masakan ini rasanya seperti makan bakso kuah tanpa bakso kekekekkkk…. bisa diberi pelengkap kripik tempe kalo gag ada pangsit goreng, trus dimasukin ke acara supermanshow de timbele deh! biar maksah, yang penting inovatif! hihihi…

[Via http://mytemporarykitchen.wordpress.com]

Christmas Cake for one (or maybe three)

Ok, I know I said I wasn’t going to make a cake this year because I’m the only one who ever eats it, so even using the smallest tin I owned, there was still a lot going to waste, but how could I not? Specially when I found an even smaller tin (15cm) on Ocado. So, I made cake again this year, going back to the loving arms of Nigella, after cheating disastrously on her last year, going over to Rachel Allen, which had the misfortune of being the most disgusting Christmas cake I have ever made (whereas you can never go wrong with a Nigella Christmas cake).

This year I went with her Nigella Christmas recipe (lurve that book!), which is a little different from her How to be Domestic Goddess and Feast recipes, but not too different, in fact I have every confidence it’ll taste even better, it certainly smelt amazing as I was making it and it’s in the kitchen cooling down as I type and . . . I . . . want . . . to . . . eat . . . it . . . right . . . NOW! Having said that I generally want to eat my Christmas cake straight away, I should learn and massively bulk buy on dried fruits and simultaneously cook Jane Brocket’s delicious fruit cake at the same time, just to satisfy my fruit cake urges right now, as Jane Brocket’s fruit cake is most definitely fruit cake, as definitely as it is not Christmas cake (hmmm, a quick check through the blog and I see that I did end up making both last year, as I’d brought too much dried fruit, shame that upon making a significantly smaller cake this year, I managed ok on smaller packets of dried fruit and don’t have any left over, reading that blog post though, so that Allen cake had dried apricots in it, dried apricots in a Christmas cake? Much as I love dried apricots, no wonder it was disgusting! I should have known better!)

So, I’m in a very happy kitchen-y mood right now, me and my kitchen have not been getting along recently and I’ve done hardly any proper cooking since Girl Lacer’s birthday back at the end of October and I’ve missed it. It’s always amazing how contented a spot of baking can make you, all those delicious smells wafting through the flat!

The cake was ready to come out of the oven just before bedtime, Boy Lacer was hanging round the kitchen and he sees me take the cake out of the oven,

“What you make?”

“Cake.”

“Who’s birthday is it?” (see that’s how infrequently I bake these days).

“It’s nobodies birthday, it’s a Christmas cake.”

“Who’s birthday is it?”

“Well, um, I suppose some people would say it’s Jesus’ birthday. Do you know who Jesus is?”

“No.”

At which point Girl Lacer, who is in the bath, in the next room, chips in “I know who baby Jesus is.”

“Ok, who is baby Jesus?” I ask.

“THE SON OF GOD”

“Very good and do you know who Mary is?”

“Jesus’ mummy.”

“And who’s Joseph?”

“Jesus’ daddy.”

“But I thought you said God was the daddy?”

“Yes, but Joseph has to be daddy to, as he’s married to Mary, so he’s got to be.”

There you go, morality according to a six year old.

Boy Lacer on the other hand was more concerned about who was going to eat the cake.

“Mummy, daddy, Girl Lacer not eat all the cake ok?”

[Via http://lacer.wordpress.com]