Buttered Crouton Salad with avocado and smoked salmon
Its a beautiful day when I start preparing a salad by taking out a crusty baguette and butter.
Its a beautiful day when sunlight shines through my beer.
Its a lovely day when I can successfully keep my giant kitten away from my smoked Alaskan salmon.
Also its totally a wonderful day when I can find something simple and inspiring on the internet. Its a magical day when I see a person in the car next to me totally rocking out to Kelly Clarkson. Its a dang good day when I choose the fastest line at the grocery.
I find that beauty is simple, even if Im not looking for it.
Beautiful crusty bread is a highlight in this salad.
As if this bread werent delicious enough were going to warm it and pan fry it in butter. Of course then well sprinkle it with sea salt.
If it is your instinct is to stop there I totally understand.
Vinaigrette is one of the easiest and most satisfying things to make.
This vinaigrette features Dijon mustard and salty capers.
Look at that beautifully creamy vinaigrette! Can you even believe how pretty that is!?
And YES! Were totally adding avocado too.
This salad is the marriage of 100% amazing ingredients. Good lettuce, ripe avocado, dressing that youre so proud you made yourself, and warm crunchy salty bread. Theres smoked salmon too. Beautiful wild caught salmon from Alaska.
With such lovely ingredients theres really no way that this can go wrong for you. Its beauty, indeed.
When bread is salad ooohhh what a wonderful day it is.
Im so so smitten by this salad.
Actually Im really into all sorts of salads.
Heres a few for you to mull over.
I love you. and I do totally still love cookies you know this to be true.
Spinach Feta and Blood Orange Salad
Roasted Tomato and Caramelized Onion Salad
Buttered Crouton Salad with avocado and smoked salmon
serves 2
For the Dressing:
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard!
1 teaspoon white wine or champagne viniagrette
1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
1/4 cup olive oil
1 tablespoon capers, coarsely chopped
salt and pepper to taste
For the Salad:
1 small baguette sliced into about 12 thick slices, then sliced in half into half moon shapes
2 tablespoons butter
2 teaspoons olive oil
Salad greens, enough for 2 generous servings
1/2 ripe Haas avocado, sliced
enough smoked salmon for 2 generous servings, in bite size pieces
coarse sea salt and fresh cracked black pepper
To make the dressing, combine mustard, vinegar, and lemon juice in a small bowl. Whisk with a fork to combine. Slowly drizzle in the olive oil, whisking constantly. The slow drizzle and whisking will emulsify the dressing. Add the capers. Add salt and pepper to taste. Set aside.
To make the Salad, heat 1 tablespoon butter and 1 teaspoon oil in a medium sautee pan over medium heat. Once butter is melted, add half of the bread pieces to the pan. Cook until toasted, then flip and cook until toasted. Remove from the pan, add the remaining butter and olive oil, and cook the remaining bread pieces.
On a serving plate, arrange salad greens. Carefully drizzle as much dressing as yous like onto the greens. Toss to coat. Top greens with sliced avocado, and smoked salmon pieces. Top with warm bread pieces. Sprinkle the salad with salt and pepper and serve immediately.
Recipe: A healthy salad with olive-balsamic dressing, cherry tomatoes and toasted pumpkin seeds
I'm not a HUGE fan of salads, but when I do eat salad, it has to be GOOD! I believe that the dressing plays a huge role in making the salad tastes good. One of my favorite dressings on a salad is extra virgin olive oil and balsamic vinegar. Always choose a good balsamic vinegar.
It's nice to eat healthy...
To make the dressing, it is very simple. Just mix 6 tbsp of extra virgin olive oil and 3 tbsp of balsamic vinegar. Season with a small amount of soft brown sugar (you can omit the sugar if you like but I feel it makes it taste much nicer) and salt. You can always add more balsamic vinegar if you like the dressing to be a little more tart. Finally, add 1 finely chopped shallot to this mixture and mix thoroughly. Simple, right?
Salad with olive-balsamic dressing, cherry tomatoes and toasted pumpkin seeds
There is no rule as to what you can put in your salad - romaine lettuce, coral lettuce, rocket leaves... take your pick. A must for me is some good quality cherry tomatoes (and sundried tomatoes if I can get my hands on some). Last weekend, when I was shopping for the salad, I decided to grab a box of organic pumpkin seeds too.
Pumpkin seeds add a nice nutty texture to the salad. Other than that, it is said to be a rich source of minerals, protein and monounsaturated fats as well being able to lower yourcholesterollevel. Though pumpkin seed is pretty nice eaten just like that, toasting it makes it all the nicer. To toast, you can either place it in a 160C oven for 15-20 minutes or toasting it in a pan on medium heat for approx. 10 minutes or until lightly browned. Do keep an eye while toasting as you just want to lightly roast/toa! st them as overroasting destroys some of their nutritive value. Other than pumpkin seeds, you can also use pine nuts.
I find toasting in a pan more convenient if you're doing it in small amounts
My kids love munching on them!
To assemble the salad, just place the salad leaves in a bowl, pour over 3/4 of the dressing and toss the salad leaves to evenly coat the dressing. Top the salad with halved cherry tomatoes and toasted pumpkin seeds and drizzle the remaining dressing on top. You can serve this salad on its own or with your main meals.
Healthy eating doesn't have to be boring!
A colorful, inviting salad
Surprisingly my kids love this salad, especially Baby C.
Hungary Roma restaurant eases prejudice through food
Head chef Malvin Nemeth, or Aunt Malvin: A full stomach opens the heart. Reuters pic
For one recently opened eatery in the Hungarian capital the fallopian tube, for centuries only eaten by the countrys Roma minority, is a delicacy indeed.
The restaurant, tucked away in a slowly gentrifying inner area of Budapest in a crumbling hundred-plus-year-old building, goes by the name Romani Platni, meaning Roma Stove in the Romani language.
Part home restaurant, part social experiment, it is meant to open Roma kitchens to Hungarians, and open Hungarians to better understanding the ways of the Roma, who have been misunderstood and discriminated against for generations.
Project leader Sandor Orsos turns on the music and breaks down the stereotypes. Reuters pic
We have tried very hard to avoid stereotypes and cook like my grandmother used to, he said while preparing dinner for 16 recently. You think people run screaming from the oviducts (fallopian tubes). But one group a while back came specifically for that dish.
So they got it. Ordered from a trusted butcher and stripped clean, the tubes were cooked with garlic, then chopped up into thumb-length bits, and fried with bacon until curly.
Its as nutritious as pork gets, and it tastes exquisite, Orsos said. Its consistency resembles chicken; Im not much of a pork eater, but I like this dish a lot.
Food is as good a way as any to cultural understanding. Project leader Sandor Orsos
< p>Food is as good a way as any to cultural understanding, and while people will travel to exotic countries and go out of their way to learn about little-known cuisines, they have next to zero knowledge about their own neighbours, says Orsos.Romani Platni was meant to ease that on a local basis. It opened in February with a small grant from the Open Society Institute, a handful of volunteers from a social aid group, and a half dozen local Romani women to cook.
Orsos started a blog, invited a select group of friends and known foodies for a first lunch, and put the word out in the media. He said he would throw dinners every time the place, a converted youth centre with a small kitchen and a few tables and bookshelves, was booked full.
The idea took off faster than anyone had expected, least of all the organisers.
Romani Platnis weekly dinners are booked full a month in advance, and the dinners have been so successful that Orsos has begun to entertain the idea of keeping it open every day.
Stuffed cabbage, pork cuts
People are very happy with these dishes, said head chef Malvin Nemeth, or Aunt Malvin, a 60-year-old petite Roma woman with a wrinkly smile and a voice raspy from decades of chain smoking. We have had stuffed cabbage before; pork chops with tomato and peppers, and potato hanuska (potato and dumplings).Pork ribs come hot out of the oven. Reuters picHanuska was on the menu now, too, and Aunt Malvin returned to soak the grated potato-and-flour nuggets in goose fat and fried onions: a full stomach opens the heart, she says.
My neighbours used to always come and ask me, Aunt Malvin, what are you frying? she said. Id give them samples, and we were friendly. We were good neighbours... These (guests), they dont know Gypsy cuisine, but they are (also) curious about it.
On the Saturday menu was a steamed sal! ad serve d with smoked pork; the Hanuska served with garlic pork chops (Ganca), and pasta fried in butter and served with vanilla breadcrumbs and honey glazed peaches.
Roma food is very simple and clean, Orsos said. Organic is a big hit these days, and its on our menu for sure. For the Roma it has always been a regular thing: going out to the woods, picking something wild, and frying it up to eat with bread.
Simple, nutritious, not too spicy. Spices are expensive and the Roma have always been too poor to use them.
As the guests file in, Orsos puts on Roma music from his smart phone, and the place is suddenly filled with cheer, warmth and a quiet curiosity.
I have been waiting for an initiative like this for a long time, said Nora Szabolcsi, a 33-year-old finance expert.
I convinced my friends that its great, theres something other than music that the Roma can be proud of. Plus I like pork chops. The steamed salad could be dicey, but well see.
Halfway into the meal she gave a smiling thumbs up, and the other guests, some of whom brought their own wine, gradually eased up too. The chatter grew louder. Someone took a snapshot of her pork chops.
We leave them alone for most of the meal, Orsos said. Then the guests come and often chat with the women who cooked the food. They ask for recipes, and compliment them on the dishes, and then they go home. Its rarely a long affair.
Its not much, he added. But its a start. Reuters
Guests at the Romani Platni: Theres something other than music that the Roma can be proud of. Reuters pic
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Food is as good a way as any to cultural understanding. Project leader Sandor Orsos
Food is as good a way as any to cultural understanding, and while people will travel to exotic countries and go out of their way! to lear n about little-known cuisines, they have next to zero knowledge about their own neighbours, says Orsos.
Romani Platni was meant to ease that on a local basis. It opened in February with a small grant from the Open Society Institute, a handful of volunteers from a social aid group, and a half dozen local Romani women to cook.
Orsos started a blog, invited a select group of friends and known foodies for a first lunch, and put the word out in the media. He said he would throw dinners every time the place, a converted youth centre with a small kitchen and a few tables and bookshelves, was booked full.
The idea took off faster than anyone had expected, least of all the organisers.
Romani Platnis weekly dinners are booked full a month in advance, and the dinners have been so successful that Orsos has begun to entertain the idea of keeping it open every day.
Stuffed cabbage, pork cuts
Hanuska was on the menu now, too, and Aunt Malvin returned to soak the grated potato-and-flour nuggets in goose fat and fried onions: a full stomach opens the heart, she says.
My neighbours used to always come and ask me, Aunt Malvin, what are you frying? she said. Id give them samples, and we were friendly. We were good neighbours... These (guests), they dont know Gypsy cuisine, but they are (also) curious about it.
On the Saturday menu was a steamed salad served with smoked pork; the Hanuska served with garlic pork chops (Ganca), and pasta fried in butter and served with van! illa bre adcrumbs and honey glazed peaches.
Roma food is very simple and clean, Orsos said. Organic is a big hit these days, and its on our menu for sure. For the Roma it has always been a regular thing: going out to the woods, picking something wild, and frying it up to eat with bread.
Simple, nutritious, not too spicy. Spices are expensive and the Roma have always been too poor to use them.
As the guests file in, Orsos puts on Roma music from his smart phone, and the place is suddenly filled with cheer, warmth and a quiet curiosity.
I have been waiting for an initiative like this for a long time, said Nora Szabolcsi, a 33-year-old finance expert.
I convinced my friends that its great, theres something other than music that the Roma can be proud of. Plus I like pork chops. The steamed salad could be dicey, but well see.
Halfway into the meal she gave a smiling thumbs up, and the other guests, some of whom brought their own wine, gradually eased up too. The chatter grew louder. Someone took a snapshot of her pork chops.
We leave them alone for most of the meal, Orsos said. Then the guests come and often chat with the women who cooked the food. They ask for recipes, and compliment them on the dishes, and then they go home. Its rarely a long affair.
Its not much, he added. But its a start. Reuters
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Taman Ayun Bali Pura Taman Ayun
Taman Ayun Temple is a Royal Temple of Mengwi Empire and it is located in Mengwi Village, Mengwi sub district. Located at Badung regency and about 18 Km north side of Denpasar town. It is strategically located beside of major roadway between Denpasar to Singaraja. It is set on the land which is surrounded by the big fish pond and look like a drift on the water. It owns the beautiful temple building with multi story roof and Balinese Architecture.
The entrance to the park. The gate looks quite standard in Bali where the architecture is retain since the ancient time. Till to date, you can see this gate design in most of the household around the city.
The entrance to the inner temple where is prohibited access. This is only for royalties and VIP access during religious ceremony. Visitors are allowed to see the inner temple at the side walk around the temple where you can see clearly the whole park.
The function of Taman Ayun Temple is a place to pray the god in! their m anifestation. It is according to the content of Babad Mengwi and the existence of temple building structure, especially the temple that is located in third area (Jeroan). According to Astadewata, the special God is worshiped in Taman Ayun Temple is the God in manifestation as a Wisnu God which his palace located in top of Mangu mount. In papyrus of Usana Bali mentioning that one of Dewa Catur Lokapalas carry through its worship is Meru Pucak Pangelengan that is a temple building with 9 multistoried roofs. Pitara God is a holy soul deity of ancestor who is also referred as the other names of Hyang Pitara or Dewa Hyang. Pitara God is obliged to be worshiped by clan heir (Prati Sentana) in the form of temple ceremony which the same meaning as by the ceremony to the god. The worshiping existence to Pitara God in Taman Ayun Temple can be searched and proved by pursuant to the existence of temple building which lay in by consecution in east which is called Paibon that is representing Special Temple. Taman Ayun Temple in capacities or its status as special altar for the King family of Mengwi Palace or as a Merajan Agung from Mengwi King Families specially for the founder of Mengwi Empire that is I Gusti Agung Putu.
The altar for ceremony
Full Album : http://www.flickr.com/photos/foodpoi/sets/72157629379754278/
Our Tour Guide and Driver : Suwendra Wayan (+62 817 0671788) Pretty fluent in English and good local food tour guide. He also provide home stay at a very special price.
Ah Weng Koh Hainan Tea and Imbi Wet Road Market Breakfast Experience
Lately I am trying to focus the old school gourmet and foods around Klang Valley. Commercial restaurants and foods though they were good but it doesnt bring the feel as good as the traditional food outlets. Last week during our King Installation day, I catch up with my old friend who were once a regular there at Ah Weng Koh Hainan Tea.
Ah Weng Koh Hainan Tea coffee shop is located in the Imbi Road Wet Market food section. Without fail I see a lot people order the standard like a good cup of old kopi-O. Not to miss the half boil egg served the old school way with a big stainless steel mug filled with hot water and covered with a coffee cup dish plate.
You make the judgement on when to get the egg out. Wrong timing, it turn into hard boiled egg. Too early will be watery. Experience matters here. For me 5 minutes upon served is all good. Youll get a perfect half boil egg.
Traditional Toast Bun with kaya and butter spread.
Crispy kaya and butter toast.
Fresh wrapped Sisters Popiah.
This is the original SisterS Popiah stall. The one you saw in the shopping mall is the franchise version which operated mainly by Indons.
Thick cut turnips boiled till soft.
Wrap upon order for your spring roll (popiah). The version here is slightly different from the one I had in Penang. Penang ones is famous to have more vege in it vs this one which is more crispy. Anyway, I still like it as it is.
A journey to yum char here will not complete without paying a visit to Bun Choon Bakery within the vicinity of Ah Weng Koh. Here they sell all sorts of traditional biscuits and famous for their fresh baked Egg Tarts.
The egg tarts are fresh from the oven and still piping hot. Careful not to burn your tongue when biting the golden yellowish egg tarts. I am starting to drool over them when writing this post.
Location:
Imbi Market / Pasar Besar Bukit Bintang
Pudu, 55100 Kuala Lumpur,
*Closed on Monday
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