Ben and Jerry's Festival

I notice that I haven’t really updated my blog lately, not because of lack of interest but lack of time. My job search has really picked up. Tomorrow I have another job interview…so everyone cross your fingers and send good vibes. Lately I haven’t really cooked anything new. I still cook, but it’s basically the same recipes that I have already posted here on this blog. I’ll change some one or two ingredients, but nothing brand new. These next couple of weeks are going to be really busy for me. I apologize in an advance for the limited blogging. My husband and I are moving in two weeks to a bigger place! (Yes, I’ll have a bigger kitchen!) So we are pretty excited and getting ready to pack soon.

Anyways, this weekend I went to the Ben and Jerry’s Festival. It was a lot of fun and a great way to spend a sunny Saturday afternoon. There were activities, food, music and of course FREE Ice Cream! We basically listened to live music and ate way too much food and ice cream. There were many activities for all ages, but, to be completely honest, I was a bit hung over from Friday night (Drinking/Meeting Will’s coworkers) to fully participate. What I love about London in the summer is that there is always a festival going on. Pretty much every couple of weekends there is either a food or music festival in one of the various parks across London. They are lots of fun!

Well I have to prep for my interview tomorrow, wish me luck….

Back in Action

So you all probably notice I haven't been doing my challenges lately. I sincerely apologize for my lack of blogging. The last two weeks have been keeping me really busy. Since my last recipe, I've been cooking meals that I've already posted. Well, today is a new one! Yesterday, I had no idea what to make since I wanted something light and healthy. I asked my husband what he wanted for dinner and he told me, "Shrimp Tacos". In my head, I was saying "Shrimp Tacos... I can't imagine that being good!"When people tell me they had fish tacos, I've always wondered if they were any good. I'll admit it: I've never tried tacos that didn't have the standard beef, chicken, pork or veggies. So Shrimp Tacos it is....


Recipe of the day : Shrimp Tacos

Ingredients/Grocery List: Total Spent: £13.83 (went over but it fed more than two servings :) )


2 packages of peeled and cook shrimp (about 1 pound) - £5.98
2 medium riped avocados - £1.00 (on sale for £0.50p each
2 medium tomatoes - £1.38
3 garlic cloves minced – (had it already)
1/4 cup of cilantro/corriander(how the UK says it) - £0.79
3 limes - £0.90
Shredded Lettuce - £1.00
Jamaican Jerk Seasoning - £1.06
Corn Tortilla - £1.72
Fresh Ground Pepper
Sea Salt


Preheat the oven for 200 C. Wrap corn tortilla in foil and place in oven for ten minutes.

First, cut and dice the tomatoes, and avocado. Place it in the bowl but don't mix it yet. Add the minced garlic cloves, chopped cilantro/coriander, a few dashes of fresh ground pepper and sea salt to the bowl. DO NOT mix the bowl. Now grate rind of two of the limes. Add this to the bowl. Now you can mix the ingredients very gently with a big spoon. Cover with film or foil and place in the fridge for at least 20 minutes before serving. While the filling is being chilled, start chopping the lettuce and set aside. On medium heat, place the shrimps in the skillet and add few dashes of Jamaican jerk seasoning. Cook for 3-4 minutes. Assemble the taco and Serve! Dinner is Done!




I must admit, I didn't think shrimp tacos could be good, but boy was I wrong. I absolutely loved this meal. It was light, healthy and, of course, delicious. Oh, and it is extremely easy and quick to make. My husband enjoyed it as well and asked me to repeat this meal again sometime in the future. This meal will definitely be repeated. Now, I can't wait to try fish tacos. Hope you all enjoy this meal!

Tomorrow is a new day!

Sorry I haven’t updated the blog lately. My husband and I went to Germany for 5 days and nights. We went to Berlin for three days and Munich for two days. We had a lot of fun. My sister and her family were vacationing in Berlin as well. It was nice to see them for three days because I was feeling a little homesick. I highly recommend going to Germany. The people there are so friendly and Berlin and Munich are absolutely amazing. The trip was really relaxing and it allowed me to escape reality. I had to return yesterday and was dreading coming back to London. We arrived to a typically cold and rainy London. After eating unhealthily for so many days and back to feeling down about things, I reminded myself yesterday that “Tomorrow is a new day”.

Today is a new day…. I woke up at 8:00am and ready to tackle the everyday little challenges. I’m ready for applying for more jobs, organize the house and of course my cooking challenge. Applying for multiple jobs each and every day and hearing no or negative responses, you start to get a sense of hopelessness. But, like the saying goes, “Tomorrow is a new day”. If you are feeling down today, or your are frustrated at work, or things aren’t going your way today….there’s always tomorrow.

Red, White and Blue

July 4th is one of my favorite holidays. There is nothing more better then BBQ with friends and family. Since I’ve been feeling homesick, I was determined to find a place in London that was celebrating the Independence Day of America. After a couple days of intense internet search, I was truly shocked that I actually found a few places that celebrated July fourth. I mean we did declare our independence from the Brits. so I can imagine this country wouldn’t want to have Americans priding their freedom all around town. We decided to go to Strongroom’s American Beer Festival. It had various beers from all over the States along with a Texas grill, American music and it even had a mechanical bull. I was overjoyed to hear so many American accents in one place. For a second it had me feeling like I was back in the states. I didn’t get to see any fireworks that night, but it was a very good alternative to celebrate the red, white and blue. Here are some pictures from July fourth.

The Grass is always Greener on the otherside......

There is no cooking challenge. Today is a different challenge. Yesterday, I was going through a bit of a funk but I guess we all get funks I suppose. Sometimes, I just want to go back being a kid and having no stress or worries. It’s been really stressful here and I’m trying desperately to find a job. I mean it almost seems impossible. I haven’t given up, thanks to my husband, family and friends. So whoever has a job, be thankful because the job market is not looking good right now. Being jobless and alone for the majority of the day is really quite depressing. It really annoys me how people think that my life is so wonderful. They have this perception that I have this fabulous life of not working and living in a non stressful life. I laugh and think to myself…the grass is always greener on the otherside. Sure, there is many positive having a lot of free time but there are a lot of negatives as well. Being unemployed, your life is really unstructured. There is so much stress and worries that you wouldn’t imagine that came along with it. I am a type of person that will stay positive in any situation but in reality I’m real; I get sad, I get depressed and I get funks. I ask myself everyday, How am I going to keep it together? Everyday I have to force myself to exercise, be active, eat right, and most importantly feel happy to keep my life together. Cooking the recipes are a challenge, but the job hunt right now is the biggest challenge…. I hope soon that I will overcome it.

Summertime!

Yey, Summer is finally here. It was a beautiful, sunny weekend in London. No challenges this weekend because it is very rare that we get weather like this in London. And besides…who likes to cook in hot weather, especially in an small apt?!?! To celebrate the nice weather, we decided to make sure we would spend our time outside as much as possible. On Saturday, my husband and I were invited to go to a Tapas and Wine Festival down around Tower Bridge. I love going to events in London because the city is spread out hence making events much more enjoyable to attend. I know I could just picture this same event in New York City….it would be so cramped and overly crowded. Anyways, we arrived at the festival in the afternoon. Once you walked in, you could pay £2 for 4 tokens to use on wine samples. There were so many stations of wine and food vendors. We had a fabulous time listening to latin music in the sun, tasting wine and eating tapas. It was a perfect day to enjoy the festival.



This weekend was the round two of the World Cup starring the USA vs. Ghana and England vs. Germany matches. On Saturday, we went to a place called Café Kick to watch the USA vs. Ghana game. There were so many people gathered at this venue watching the game. On Sunday, we went to a quiet pub just around the corner where we live called the Queen Bodecia. It was a good spot to end the weekend. Even though both the USA and England lost their game, I still had a good time experiencing watching the World Cup in Europe.




My husband and I decided to end the weekend with a nice picnic at the park. In London, there are many little secret small parks. We tend to walk around the city on the weekends and find many small little parks all over. It’s great to go to one of them when it’s nice out because you get to enjoy the sun with only a couple of people if not by yourself. Well, I hope the weather stays like this for this week/weekend because it was an absolutely perfect weekend.

Bruschetta

There’s no dinner challenge because we had leftovers, so instead I decided to do an appetizer challenge. Growing up I never ever had to eat leftovers. I would be lucky if there was enough dinner to eat on that night! I grew up with a very big family. I am the youngest out of seven siblings. When dinner time came that meant you better hurry up to the table and get your portion or else it’s gone. So I guess growing up I was fortune enough to rarely eat leftovers. I love pasta and the Chicken and Mushroom Fettuccine Alfredo was just as good the night after! To make dinner a little more different, I decided to make the following starter:
Recipe of the day: Homemade Bruschetta

Ingredients/Grocery List: Total Spent – £3.55

4-5 small tomatoes on the vine – £1.99
½ of red onion – £0.19
3 Cloves of Garlic - £0.25
1 Small Baguette – £0.33
2 Tablespoon of Olive Oil (had it already)
2 Tablespoon of chopped Basil – £0.79
1 teaspoon Italian Seasoning (had it already)
½ Tablespoon of Light Pesto Paste (had it already)
2 teaspoon Fresh Ground Pepper (had it already)
1 teaspoon Fresh Ground Salt (had it already)

First, add the oil, italian seasoning, finely minced garlic, pesto paste, salt, pepper and basil together in a bowl and mix it. Now dice the tomatoes and set aside in a different bowl. Then finely chop the red onion place it in bowl with the seasoning in it and mix it together. Now toss the chopped tomatoes in the bowl and mix it all together. ( you can always drain out some of the tomato juice if there's too much before you add it to the bowl). Place it in the fridge for at least 1 hour before serving. You can serve it with toast crackers, or do what I did: I took a small baguette, sliced it into about ½ inch thick pieces and placed them on a cookie sheet. Next spray or brush lightly with olive oil. Place in oven on 200 C for 10 minutes. Then add a the bruschetta on top of the toasted bread.






This recipe always makes a tasty, light appetizer when cooking pasta. You can also make this if you want to bring something over for a dinner party. It’s a great, light snack for the summer. Next time when I make bruschetta, I will be having it with a nice chilled cocktail and soaking up in the sun. Enjoy!