donderdag 29 juli 2010
CEiMB - Mango Lassi
maandag 26 juli 2010
TWD: No Chewy, Chunky Blondies - instead: Lots of Ways Banana (Cup) Cakes
A little bit of France in Zwolle
vrijdag 23 juli 2010
How to win a $70 CSN gift card.... Giveaway!!!
They come in lots of lovely colors and I'm totally smitten with the color Caribbean and in particular with this Le Creuset mortar and pestle.
Another great item to try out would be this ice cream maker by Cuisinart: just imagine how much fun I could have while churning me some home-made frozen yoghurt, sorbet or regular ice cream now that summer is upon us!!
Would you like to win the $70 gift card? Here's what you have to do:
Visit one of the many CSN Stores and leave a comment on this post telling me what you would use the gift card on.
For extra entries:
For one extra entry: tweet about this giveaway and leave a link in a comment on this post.
For another extra entry: mention this giveaway on Facebook and leave a link in a comment on this post.
Followers get an extra entry, mention that you're a follower in a comment on this post.
Please note that each entry has to be submitted in a separate comment!
Also make sure that I have some way of reaching you in case you win, by leaving behind your emailaddress or your blogaddress in each comment!
Giveaway details:
Contest is only open to US and Canada residents
This contest ends on Thursday July 29th at midnight CET
Winner will be chosen at random via Random.com generator and announced here on Friday July 30th.
donderdag 15 juli 2010
My Tapas Birthday Party: 4-Minute Spicy Garlic Shrimp
4-Minute Spicy Garlic Shrimp
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil, 2 turns of the pan
- 4 cloves garlic, crushed away from skin
- 1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
- 24 jumbo shrimp, peeled and deveined, tails in tact, ask for easy peels at your fish counter
- 2 teaspoons grill or steak seasoning blend (recommended: Montreal Seasoning by McCormick) or coarse salt and pepper
- 1 lemon, zested and juiced
- 2 tablespoons chopped parsley leaves, a handful
Directions
Heat a large skillet over medium high heat. Add extra-virgin olive oil, 2 turns of the pan, garlic, red pepper flakes and shrimp. Season with grill seasoning or salt and pepper and cook shrimp 3 minutes or until just pink. Toss with lemon zest, juice and chopped parsley. Remove shrimp to a serving platter leaving the garlic cloves in the pan.
woensdag 14 juli 2010
My Tapas Birthday Party: Marinated Mushrooms
Ingredients
- 1/4 cup olive oil
- 4 garlic cloves. smashed
- 1 1/2 pounds halved button mushrooms
- 1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
- 2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
- Kosher salt
Directions
Heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Cook garlic, stirring, until fragrant, 2 to 3 minutes. Add mushrooms and cook, stirring occasionally, until beginning to soften, 2 to 4 minutes.Remove from heat and stir in lemon juice, parsley, and 1/2 teaspoon salt. Let marinate at least 30 minutes.
dinsdag 13 juli 2010
TWD: Brrrr-ownies
maandag 12 juli 2010
My Tapas Birthday Party: Gazpacho Shots
Both the gazpacho and the glasses can be prepared in advance and chilled before serving. This is a great refreshment during summer. I made some minor adjustments: instead of 300 ml bottled water I used 200 ml tap-water and 100 ml vodka. I also added a few splashes of Tabasco to up the spiciness of the Gazpacho.
Gazpacho Shots
makes 1 liter
4 Vine tomatoes
1 Small cucumber peeled
4 Large cucumbers
1 Garlic clove
1 Small onion
1 Small red bell pepper
3 Tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
2 Tablespoons white wine vinegar
salt and pepper to taste
300ml bottled water
To make the gazpacho
Roughly chop the tomatoes, pepper, onion, garlic and 1 small cucumber.
In a blender or food processor, blend the ingredients together to form a thick paste.
Pour in the olive oil, wine vinegar and season to your desired taste with salt and pepper.
Blend for a second time, adding water little by little until you achieve the desired consistency.
Reserve in a glass pitcher or pourer.
To make the shots
Take the four large cucumbers and slice off each end, cut the cucumber into 6cm long segments.
Using a peeler peel away strips of the cucumber skin creating a vertical stripe pattern.
Use a small paring knife carefully cut around the seeds in the centre of the cucumber then, gently scoop out the seeds with a spoon.
Fill each cucumber piece with gazpacho and refrigerate for 20 minutes.
maandag 5 juli 2010
My Tapas Birthday Party: Tortilla Espanola - No TWD
Oven-Baked Tortilla Española
Serves: 16 as part of a tapas meal, or 6 as a lunch or bunch main course
4 large red-skinned potatoes or Yukon gold potatoes, diced
4 Tbsp olive oil
2 garlic cloves, minced
4 scallions, white and green parts finely chopped
1 medium green bell pepper, seeded and finely diced
1 medium red bell pepper, seeded and finely diced
5 large eggs
1/2 cup sour cream
1 cup grated Parmigiano-Reggiano or Spanish Rocal cheese
3 Tbsp snipped fresh chives (or about 1 tsp dried chives if you can’t find the fresh)
1/8 tsp paprika powder
Kosher salt and fresh black pepper, to taste
Preheat oven to 375˚F. Place diced potatoes in a sauce pan and cover with cold water. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to low and cook for 5-7 minutes, until the potatoes are tender. Drain and set aside to slightly cool.
Spray a casserole dish (approximately 7×10 inch) with cooking spray; set aside.
Place the 4 Tbsp olive oil, garlic, scallions and bell peppers in a skillet and cook over medium heat, stirring, for 5-6 minutes, or until the onions are softened but not browned. Let cool a bit, then stir in the cooked potato. In a large bowl, beat the eggs, sour cream, cheese and chives together. Stir in the vegetable-potato mixture, and season to taste with salt and pepper.
Pour the mixture into the baking dish and smooth the top. Bake for 40 minutes, or until golden brown, puffed, and set in the center. Remove from the oven and let cool and set. Run a spatula around the edge, then invert onto a cutting board, browned-side up. If the surface looks a little runny, place it under the broiler to dry out. (I didn’t need to do this.)
Let cool completely. Neaten the edges, if necessary, then cut into one-inch squares. Serve on a platter with wooden toothpicks.
zondag 4 juli 2010
My Tapas Birthday Party: Simple Sangria
(I used one orange and one lemon and quartered the slices)
vrijdag 2 juli 2010
$70 CSN Gift Card Winner
Random Integer Generator
Here are your random numbers:
6
Timestamp: 2010-06-28 22:15:30 UTC
Comment number 6 was made by TeaLady: And You know I follow!!
Congratulations Tealady!! I do know that you follow!!! I will contact you via your blog!
Guess this Food Giveaway Winner!!!
To determine the winner of this giveaway I used the Random Integer Generator:
Random Integer Generator
Here are your random numbers:
4
Timestamp: 2010-06-28 22:10:58 UTC
The 4th comment was made by AppleC: It's a black truffle. Spain is one of the main producers of these little delicacies. Lucky you!