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Hey guys,

I will try to update one of these days . I haven't been cooking/baking anything nice lately nor have I been out for dinner to new restaurants; just the regular ones which I've probably already covered at some point or other!

I have a new hobby/toy/ thing to love haha and I spend almost all my time caring for it;-) Meet my new baby:

Because this is a food blog, I should probably try to include something about food- even if it's not the kind humans consume. The cats eat Orijen, which consists of 80% meat (the best you can find). I do mix Royal Canin Kitten 36 because we still have 2 small bags left (the kitten definitely prefers this but it only has over 30% meat and grains-which is bad for your cat-). For wet, we feed a combination of Bozita, Animonda Carny and Carnibest (which was not a success but I think that's because the only flavour left at the store is the most unpopular amongst cats). For a snack/treat, they get Gimpet Baby Tabs, some dried chicken breasts (free, actually meant for dogs:-P ), some smelly kitty bits (which they love, also free), Gimpet Grass Bits and the occassional piece or two of raw chicken (their most favourite thing in the world!).

Salmon & Watercress Quiche

Hello girls!

Exams start tomorrow. Ergo, this blog will be updated again;-)

Recipe (adapted from BBC Good Food, May 2011)

Pastry
350g plain flour
1tsp salt
140g cold butter,cubed
4 tbs cold water

Filling
1 bag/bunch watercress, chopped
200g smoked salmon, shredded to bite sized pieces
2 tbs dill
5 eggs
100ml full fat milk
250ml cream

1. Sift flour and salt and rub butter into the mixture until it looks like a crumble. Then, add the water until the dough sticks together into one big lump. Leave in fridge for 15 minutes.

2. Then, take the dough out and roll and line in ramekins/ cupcake tins/ disposable cupcake liners (or just 1 large tart tin) and fill with baking beans. Bake for 20 minutes in a 180C oven. Then, remove the baking beans and bake for another 5 minutes at 160C until golden. If you want a professional looking tart, trim your pastry now.

3. Spread the watercress and smoked salmon evenly on your pastry. Then, whisk the beaten eggs, dill, milk and cream together with some pepper. Don't bother adding salt into the mixture because the smoked salmon is salty enough!


4. Pour mixture into the pastry cases and bake (again, at 180C) for about 35 minutes (until top is golden brown and set).



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I'm not really a quiche person but this is great as picnic food or when you have to feed a mixed crowd.

Procrastinating Again

3 big reports due this week. Another 2 a week later. And 1 the week after that. Exams at the end of this month. ARGH. I hate school. Working is less stressful.

That explains why I've been baking quite a bit again!

Gorgeous Weather

 

-gorgeous, gergeous flowers! a present from the Dutchman-

Not spring-y at all! Instead, it's been summer in NL the last few weeks. We even had a barbecue on Easter Day. Last year, we were still wearing our winter coats.

Easter was relatively quiet for me. Honestly, I suffered through what could possibly have been the most boring dinner of all time with my in-laws. Most times, dinners and meetings are OK but sometimes..... this is one of those times. I could not wait to go home, I was yawning every 30 seconds or so. Tried not to do it so publically but I couldn't help it- it kept coming. :-( Later in the car, Dutchman and I looked at each other and said "Wow, that was boring!". Haha

Right, this is a food blog so I should probably tell you what we prepared for Easter. Food is one thing my in-laws and I don't agree on. My family..we love food. On festive occasions, the house almost bursts open with various dishes, cookies and drinks. My family is a big believer of "too much is better than not enough". My in-laws on the other hand don't really like cooking (for a crowd, which in our family means 10 people) so special occasions dinners tend to be very simple. Like this Easter, they actually wanted soup and bread for dinner. I'll be honest with you- I like soups but I HATE only soup for dinner. Luckily, Dutchman hates them even more than I do so he immediately veto-ed the idea and told his mum to have a barbecue as that is just as easy. Everyone brought something. I made some simple pork & chicken skewers and some store-bought chipolatas. I actually wanted to bring some proper meat (rack of lamb or a slab of steak) but Dutchman said that's 'showing off' (I only wanted to bring food I like.. food which you know..is Easter-ish! If it's just 'normal' food, it's not a special occasion, is it?). Oops.

 

Some things I prepared last week...

Getting Depressed

I don't know what it is but The Netherlands gets me down. I've lived here for about 5 years now and I still don't like it. Sometimes I think it's OK and I definitely see the good sides but it's just so empty. It is so boring. I don't have a life, just an existence. I've never really felt like this about any other country before and the whole time, whether I'm in the bus or when out with people, I just want to shout "THIS IS A SHITHOLE, THIS IS A SHITHOLE AND I AM LIVING HERE ONLY BECAUSE MY BOYFRIEND IS DUTCH, NOT BECAUSE IT'S A BETTER LIFE!".

I just don't know what's else there is for us. And for me. It's like OK, general unhappiness and crabbiness but I have 'things' to do- finish school, get married, have babies, grow old. But what else? Dutchman is doing exceedingly well in his career now and he's such a kampung (village) boy who doesn't really want to move abroad. If we move elsewhere, same thing- only this time, I'm happy and he isn't.

What a dilemma;-) Hope I stop harping on this soon.

If

you're wondering why it's been quiet here, it's because exam period is over and I don't have to study and therefore need to procrastinate by baking/cooking.

Fried Chicken

I love KFC. I know it's bad for me but always go back for the hot & spicy chicken wings and sometimes the crispy strips. They are ALWAYS eaten with Malaysian/Indonesian garlic chilli sauce. The last year or so, I've only had them with "sambal asli" which is a kind of garlic chilli sauce, not as sweet as the usual ones and a definitely spicier.

Why I don't like KFC: it is somewhat expensive, the ques are long and service is ridiculously slow (if there are 3 people in front of you, expect to wait 30 minutes). Also, for some reason, this place always gets something wrong. They forgot my fries and/or coleslaw about half the time. Sometimes, I only get 5 chicken wings out of 6 or they'll forget to include cheese in Dutchman's burger. We'll discover these things after arriving home and I suppose it makes more sense to check our order upon receiving. Oh well.

-first recipe: my own-

To cut the long story short: I fried chicken twice (2 different recipes) last weekend and I can't believe how yummy and easy it was! I have bad memories from the nyonya fried chicken a few years ago when oil splattered every fucking where (ceiling, floor, walls, me) and I still have a burn on my arm sustained from that day. This time, it didn't splatter AT ALL. :-)

The first was one I made up myself based on what I had in the house at that time. The second is by Jamie Oliver. Honestly, I prefer mine because Jamie Oliver's was slightly "sour", probably because of the amount of lemon juice and buttermilk. It was however, more crunchy. All in all, I would make either again. I don't think I'll ever go back to KFC :-D