Moi Je Joue

Absolutely adore this commercial!



Love the sheer playfulness of it and the beautiful pale colours. It makes me want to ride a bike down the streets of Paris with a handful of balloons. =)

Why Sundays make me smile...

A day at Columbia Road Flower Market...

"too blessed to be stressed"

Hope you had an inspiring weekend =)

Mine all mine =)

Living with flatmates with clashing schedules tends to lead to a 'cook for yourself' system we have established. Truth be told, as much as I enjoy cooking with/ for friends, I honestly love and prefer cooking for and by myself, I find it harder to make dishes for many people than I do for just one. You can afford to be decadent, and as selfish as it sounds, when cooking for one, the only person you have to please is..well...yourself!

Beef Stroganoff for One
Serves 1

• 120g Beef stewing steak, cut into chunks
• 15g butter
• 1 tbsp vegetable oil
• half an onion sliced
• 1 very large button mushroom
• 1 tbsp flour
• 1 tsp paprika
• 2 tsp white wine vinegar
• 3/4 cup beef stock
• 1 tbsp cornflour
• 1 tsp mustard
• 1 tbsp white wine
• 2 tbsp sour cream
• salt and black pepper to taste

1. In a pan, heat oil and melt the butter. fry beef chunks till brown. Season with salt, pepper and paprika
2. Push the beef to one side and stir in the flour with the beef juices. Add the onions and mushrooms and cook for 3 to 5 minutes, then push to the side with the beef chunks.
3. Pour in the beef stock and vinegar, stirring constantly. Bring to the boil then lower the heat, stir in mustard. Then cover and simmer gently for about 30minutes or until meat is tender. If sauce is too thin, stir in cornflour.
4. Five minutes before serving, stir in the sour cream, and white wine. Add salt and pepper to taste.
   
   
   Serve with rice or noodles.
   ..enjoy =)

Today I baked...

Almond topped coffee cake

I haven't baked in weeks due to being swamped with work. But its all done now!! =) I made this as a treat to myself and a pick me up for my sister who is swamped with projects now.

This cake can be prepared overnight and stored in fridge to be baked the next morning, so its perfect for those busy mornings. Admittedly I'm not much of a morning person, for some reason my mind and body just don't seem to agree with it haha. I don't have problems waking up, but getting me out of bed is a nightmare. I' m a serial lazer, I have to laze in bed for approximately 45minutes before I'm adequately awake. However THIS morning, the thought of waking up to the smell of cinnamon-y, almond-y goodness got me snip snap out of bed! The sour cream in the recipe is what gives it a wonderful moist texture and it contrasts beautifully with the cracked brown sugar and almond topping.

Almond topped coffee cake
Serves 6

• 85 g butter, softened
• 100 g sugar
• 1 egg
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 3/4 teaspoon nutmeg
• 1/2 cup sour cream
• 1/4 cup packed brown sugar (I used a mixture of muscado dark sugar and light brown sugar)
• 1/4 cup chopped almonds
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Glaze

• 1/4 cup confectioners' sugar
• 1 tablespoon milk

1. In a large bowl, cream together butter and sugar until smooth. Add in egg and beat well.
2. Combine the flour, baking soda, salt and nutmeg together. Gradually add the flour to the creamed mixture alternately with the sour cream. Pour mixture into baking dish.
3. In a small bowl, combine brown sugar, chopped almonds and cinnamon; sprinkle over coffee cake. Cover and refrigerate overnight.
4. Next day. Remove from the refrigerator 30 minutes before baking. Bake, uncovered, at 170 degrees celcius for 35-40 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean.
5. Cool on a wire rack for 10 minutes. Stir confectioners' sugar and milk together; drizzle over warm coffee cake.
   
   
   Enjoy with a warm mug of coffee =)

'Amazing grace how sweet the sound'

I just watched an interesting documentary on BBC.
Deborah Drapper a 13 year old girl, devout Christian who has absolutely no clue about things like who Britney Spears is, ask her who Victoria Beckham is and she replies “Someone married to a Mr Beckham? I don’t know her, I’m sorry.”
It's amazing, she's intelligent, completely confident in herself and most of all devoted to God. It's almost enviable how self confident she is with herself. At aged 13, she holds intelligence and an amazing maturity far beyond her age. She doesn't care what the world thinks of her, only how God perceives of her is important. It's utterly amazing...and truly inspiring. I myself wish I had her boldness...All I can say is that I'm completely humbled by this little girl's faith and by God's amazing grace and forgiveness.

God Bless you all =)
If you are interested the documentary:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b00j6l77/Deborah_13_Servant_of_God/

The ultimate study meal

So I have been working like a maniac for the last few weeks, cause I have crazy essay deadlines to make next week. I'm actually supposed to be working right now, but I thought I would take a sneaky break to write something other than 'the notion of nostalgia' hee hee. It's so depressing I swear.
Anyway I'm sure most of you students can probably relate to the fact that exam time = crap food and a LOT of eating out and takeaway.
Being a person who prefers to cook at home, this never appealed to me. But because of my tight schedule now, I can only afford to make quick little meals.
Thus I bring you...the bagel sandwich! It's quick, easy and oh so yummy! =) I got the idea when I visited my friend in Edinburgh a couple of weeks ago, and she brought me to this adorable little bagel shop that did all sorts of awesome bagel concoctions. When I returned to London, Tesco's was having a buy one get one free on all their bagel bags! I took that as a sign haha. So hurry down to your nearest supermarket and pick up a bag!...or two! =)

Grilled red peppers, Brie and garlic ham bagel

Ingredients

• 1/4 red pepper cut into slices
• Brie cheese (or you could use mature cheddar, depending on what you like)
• Butter
• olive oil
• One bagel sliced in half
• Garlic ham (you can use salami, pastrami etc.)

1. Lightly toast the red peppers in the oven for 10minutes with olive oil and a pinch of sugar
2. Butter your bagel, cover bottom bagel with cheese, layer with ham, remove peppers from the oven and layer peppers on top with another sprinkle of cheese.
3. Pop it in the oven to toast for 10minutes
4. Done!

Time to get back to work! =)

Funfact: Did you know that bagels are boiled?! I was so shocked when I found out!

Best Loved Sugar Cookies

I was never really a big fan of sugar cookies, thus I never made any...till recently.
I tried making it once and I just couldn't stop! It was an addiction! I just kept making it, and trying to perfect it. So much so, that I couldn't eat it all by myself.
So I started giving it out as gifts to friends who requested it =)
It's incredibly easy and incredibly delish!
So here it is!

Best Loved Sugar Cookies
Makes 25 cookies

• 3/4 cup white caster sugar
• 130 gram butter
• 2 eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 3/4 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon lemon juice
• 1/2 teaspoon lemon zest

Icing

• 1 cup confectioners' sugar
• 2 teaspoons milk
• assorted food colouring
  

1. In a large bowl, cream together butter and sugar until smooth. Beat in eggs and vanilla.
2. Stir in the flour, baking powder, and salt. Cut dough in half, wrap and chill dough for at least one hour (or overnight).
3. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). Roll out dough on lightly floured surface to 1/4 an inch thick. Cut into shapes with any cookie cutter. Place cookies 1 inch apart on ungreased cookie sheets.
4. Bake until cookies are set and light gold around edges, about 10 minutes. Let cool on sheets on wire racks for 5 minutes. Transfer cookies to racks, and let cool.
5. In a small bowl, stir together confectioners' sugar and milk until smooth. Add food colouring if desired. Ice cookies. Using either a teaspoon or pastry brush

Enjoy =)

I packed mine in a box and gave it to a friend as a gift.

Ps: If you don't have a cookie cutter (which i didn't at that time) I used... a clean kitchen cardboard roll haha it works brilliantly! But it would be nice to use cookie cutters and not be a cheap student like me haha.