In my Kitchen-May 2014

09/05/201419/05/2014 Moya30 Comments

Something a little different this week. This post is inspired by Celia’s blog, Fig Jam and Lime Cordial and she runs a monthly theme “In My Kitchen“, where bloggers showcase some of their kitchen treasures. If you are a blogger why not join in and let us have a peek at what’s in your kitchen.

In my kitchen you will always find vanilla and lots of little spoons. Filled with vanilla paste, this heart-shaped spoon with an infinity knot on the handle symbolizes how much we love the flavor of vanilla in our family. It’s easy to make your own vanilla bean paste, especially if you bulk buy vanilla beans. Continue reading “In my Kitchen-May 2014” →

Postcards from Melbourne

05/04/2014 Moya10 Comments

Melbourne City, Queen Victoria Night Market, Street Graffiti, Love Locks on the Yarra River footbridge to Southgate

Mission accomplished and hubby has completed his goal, with his first Ironman championship, swimming for 3.8km, cycling for 180km and running for 42km… what a feat! One of our local newspaper (Gulf Daily News) featured him as “Bahrain’s Fittest 51-year-old !” Definitely a grueling challenge and I was both happy and relieved to see him finally cross the finish line to become an Ironman, 12 hours, 37 minutes and 17 seconds later. I guess the Oat Porridge with Coconut Milk and Avocado Smoothies might have had something to do with it all.

In preparation for the Ironman and on the day of the race day we spent some time in Frankston (race start) and St. Kilda (race finish), a lively seaside town overlooking Port Phillip Bay, a very beautiful area. While in Frankston saw some pretty amazing sand sculptures, certainly taking sandcastle making with the good old bucket and spade to another level.

Continue reading “Postcards from Melbourne” →

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Homemade Vegetable Stock and an iPhone Food-photography Challenge

09/03/201427/04/2014 Moya8 Comments

Stocks are the foundation of many sauces, soups and other dishes and there are times when I prefer to use a homemade stock instead of stock cubes. Making vegetable stock is so easy and with only a bit of washing, peeling (or not) and chopping to do, a pot of vegetable stock will be simmering on your stove top in a matter of minutes. Of course, I wouldn’t be without my handy stash of stock cubes either, which sit next to the stove in a little box.

With homemade stock, you control the flavor, seasoning and intensity and it’s a good idea to double the recipe and store some stock in the freeze for another time. I mostly freeze chicken and turkey stock as they take longer to make. Continue reading “Homemade Vegetable Stock and an iPhone Food-photography Challenge” →