Winter Recipe: Hot & Sour Soup.

Brrr...Brrr! What better than a warm bowl of soup in winters. Nothing beats chicken soup for me but for a change I like to enjoy minestrone, lentil, veggies and seafood in my soup.

Hot and sour soup is one of my favourite soups and I prefer it with shrimps/prawns. But you can add chicken too if you like. Here's my easy peasy recipe and as always you can add or subtract ingredients according to your own taste & preference.





this Recipe makes for 2.


Ingredients:

3 cups water
1/2 cup chicken (boiled and shredded-if you like)
1 cup shrimps/prawns (stir fried and fully cooked)
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp chinese salt
3 tbsp vinegar
1 tbsp soy sauce
1/2 cup cabbage (thinly chopped)
2 carrots (thinly chopped)
1 spring onion (thinle sliced)
1 tsp black pepper
1 eggwhite
3-4 tbsp cornflour
1 knorr chicken cube
2 tbsp ketchup
chilli sauce


How to make it:

Boil water and add chickn cube in it, bring it to a boil then add ALL ingredients EXCEPT egg and cornflour.

Cook for 8-10 minutes.

Dissolve cornflour in cold water and add to soup. Add more if needed to thicken.

Cook for 2-3 minutes.

Add eggwhite and cook for 3-5 minutes more-Keep stirring.

In the end add 2 tbsp ketchup and chilli sauce to taste.

Enjoy hot with prawn/fish crackers :)

Bon Appétit!

^^^CONGRATULATIONS^^^

The winner of the giveaway contest has been announced on the page and will very soon receive their gift-Congrats once again! :)

Am off for a short winter vacation- (yes, again!) and will be off from blogging for about two weeks. Will be blogging about more fun stuff and giveaways when back!

Miss me! ;)

Happy Holidays!

A Great Little Giveaway!

It's Giveaway Time...!! :)





I have a little gift especially Riyadh readers out there, its a small giveaway from my side for thanking you guys for all the lovely comments & appreciation.

This giveaway is NOT sponsored so I will be purchasing the products for the winner.

Arch de Triumph price 40 SR & coin purse 20 Sr plus a sweet delight!

A gift worth 80 SR for FREE!

The details and rules of the game are below get ready, set, go!

The rules of the game are simple & very easy to follow.

RULES:

1.) This giveaway contests is ONLY for blog readers living in Riyadh, KSA.

2.) Participants Must Be Fans Of My Facebook Fan Page. (by simply clicking 'Like' on the page you will become a fan)

3.)Refer a friend to my page. Your friend must mention your name or tag you on My facebook Fan Page. (the more friends you invite, the more points you gain!)



The giveaway starts today 7th December 2011 and ends on 12th December 2011 and is open ONLY for resiedents of RIYADH, KSA.

The winner will be contacted by email/facebook and must respond within 24 hours or another winner will be chosen.

Good Luck Evereyone! :)

Recipe Of The Day: Molten Lava Cakes

And my lovely blog readers one of the most awaited recipes is Finally here! :D

Molten chocolate cake or lava cake, is a popular dessert that combines the elements of a flourless chocolate cake (sometimes called a chocolate decadence cake) and a soufflé. Some other names used are chocolate fondant pudding and chocolate lava cake.

Who can say No to molten lava? Not me! ;)

Moist chocolate cake with a core of rich creamy chocolate filling. A delicious delight. I prefer to make it at home as one of my favorite desserts and now You can too! :)

They’re the kind of thing that you usually only find in restaurants because they look as though they are difficult to make. And there are a million recipes on how to make them and I have tried half a dozen recipes & find this one the easiest and quickest!

Once again this recipe is a step by step guide with each and every step with pictures.

Don't over bake or you will get a brownie-like dessert without the creamy-molten chocolate center-the 'Lava'. They are a little tricky because of the cooking temperature and the baking time but once you master that art...Viola!

This Recipe Makes 4 Cakes.

Ingredients:

4 squares chocolate (bitter or sweet-as you like)
1 stick unsalted butter
1/2 cup sugar (if using sweet chocolate) and 1.5 cups (if using bitter chocolate)
2 eggs
2 egg yolks
6 tablespoon All-Purpose Flour
Baking Spray
whipped cream/icecream/sauce/nuts for Garnish.


How To Make:

Preheat oven to 200 degrees Centigrade. Spray to Grease the cups with butter, four 3/4 cup ramekins.




Heat chocolate on a water bath. When melted add butter on very low heat. Until Smooth.




Stir in sugar. Blend in eggs first then egg yolks. Until Glossy. Cook for few more minutes.

Take off heat and Stir in flour.



Spoon In Cups:



Bake for 12-15 minutes or until sides are firm. Centre will be soft.




Loosen with knife and serve immediately warm on a dessert plate with cream/icecream/sauce & nuts. (turning the cakes on the plate is tricky so be careful)

Cut it to get the beautiful molten chocolate lava :)




Bon Appétit!

Review: The Body Shop-Shimmer Cube Palette.

The Body Shop is one of my favourite places at the mall. I love their body butters, scrubs, creams and lotions & gift packs...a few months back I tried their makeup and its fabulous too- including this eye palette which I love!

They are little cubes of colours in a small box. They are subtle for daytime wear as well as vibrant for night time-shimmery, glittery, crease resistat, mix easily with other shades & colors, can be used both wet & dry. There are different shades available including warm, blue-grey, purples and greens.


Perfect for a great winter look!



I got this one for 24$ around 85-90SR.

Key Ingredients:

Community Fair Trade marula oil: Marula oil comes from the marula tree, native to Southern Africa. The oil is rich in oleic acid, essential to the maintenance of healthy-looking skin.

Pearl pigments: provide shimmer.

Have you used the shimmer cube palette? Which colour is YOUR favourite?

Recipe Of The Day- "Lemon Chicken"

Chinese is one of my favourite cuisines & I eat and cook it very often. This recipe is from one of my favourite chefs Kokab Khwaja and this was the first time I tried it and it turned out good. It is both sweet & tangy, not very spicy and good for those who like to enjoy different flavours!

Just like many recipes, Lemon Chicken also has different ways to cook & this one is a very simple one (like most of my recipes).





Ingredients: (this recipe makes for 2-4 people)

For the Chicken:

4 Boneless Chicken breasts
1/2 cup cornflour
3 tbsp water
3 egg yolks
salt & pepper to taste
2 spring onions (only the green part for garnish, I used sliced capsicum)
Oil

For the Lemon Sauce

1/2 cup Lemon Juice
2 Knorr chicken cubes
2 tbsp Cornflour (Add more or lessen it according to the thickness you like)
2 tbsp Honey
2 tbsp brown sugar
1 tsp ginger paste
2-3 cups water ( Add or lessen water according to the thickness you like)

Method:

Prepare Chicken:

Add cornflour, water, egg yolks, salt & pepper in a bowl and whisk them all together.

Now slice chicken breasts. (There are a number of ways you can slice chicken, in thin short slices, or thin long slices. I just cut them in thick short pieces).

Now dip the chicken pieces in the above mixture of yolks etc and deep fry for few seconds.

Keep the chicken aside and prepare sauce.

Lemon Sauce:

Mix together All the ingredients for the sauce in a saucepan. Cook till thickens; but not too much just enough to have a sauce like consistency.

You can now either put the already fried chicken piece in the sauce or pour the sauce on the chicken and serve hot. Granish with spring onions. Serve with boiled/fried rice.

Who doesnt enjoy a bowl of hot soup in winters, so this can also be served like below. With Chicken Corn Soup, Plain fried rice and ofcourse a bowl of the tangy, sweet lemon chicken. Bon Appétit!



---End NOtes---

You can always change the amount of ingredients you use according to your taste. For example if you dont like too tangy a flavour, then lessen the amount of lemon juice.

A review: Soap &Glory- The Scrub Of Your Life

Hey, hey! :)

Here's another review for a beauty product I recently purchased, used & loved.

I'm a lot into scrubs, body washes & body butters even more than makeup!

The first thing that attracted me to this tube was ofcourse the Girly Pink colour and pink is a colour whick instantly cheers me up :D

This was my first time using this scrub and I must say Iam Impressed.




The Scrub Of Your Life
Smoothing body scrub

First of all I like the packaging because using a tube is easier rather than the tubs that usually most scrubs come in. Easy to dispense, unlike those tubs of scrub that make a big mess in the shower. As a busy mom, I'm used to having quick showers so I find tubes quick and less messy too!

It's perfect for a quick exfoliation in the shower. Simple to use, yet efficient. This scrub has the right amount of beads which turns into a foam, which has an amazing smell to it. It has a feminine, sweet fragrance(scented with original pink formula).I also like the way it lathers up and leaves skin feeling really soft and silky smooth.

Definitely another amazing product from Soap and Glory!

Moisturise with a good body butter/cream and you're good to go! :)

I got this tube from Boots (they have a whole soap&glory section)

Price is £6.64
200 ML | £3.32 per 100ML. Boots also has 3 for 2 on selected indulgent bathing- cheapest free.

Scrub! Scrub! ;) Have a Great day! :)

Have A Nutty Day! :)

Okaaaaay, so winter is at its full bloom at our side of the world...7 degrees to 14 degrees ahem ahem I know lot of you have snow and all but for me anything less than 20 degrees is coooold...and winters seriously make most of us really lazy especially when you have a little monkey at home hehehe... waking up at 7am is so NOT cool in winters, that's the time when the cosy bed and the warm blankets are most comfortable... BUT... we busy moms HAVE to get up pick and drop the kids, make breakfast, lunch & dinner blah blah blaaaaah! :P

But....Winters are also the time to enjoy a hot cuppa on a perfect morning, a bowl of filling chicken soup while it drizzles outside, warm milk & cookies...ahhhhh! and NUTS - unless you are allergic or hate nuts I'm sure most of us enjoy a good nutty break I make a ntut mix which we all enjoy during winters yummmO, a handful of almonds, cashews, raisins, walnuts etc

So just mix 'em all up all your favourite nuts make a trail mix but dont have them too much! ;)

Have a good cooold weekend! :)

Name Change Guys!

Hello hello! so I was just working on a few photos, facebook page too and was told by few friends that the previous name was a bit hard to remember lol so I have changed the blog name from myjellybeanieworld to Food-Shop-Travel sounds more appropriate I guess and easy to remember too :) thanks for the appreciation guys! Keep the love coming! :)

Now you can stay updated for latest blog updates on facebook page

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Food-Shop-Travel/308507502507634#!/pages/Food-Shop-Travel/308507502507634

Have a great day! :)

My Latest Beauty-full Purchase :)

Okay so while I was visiting Bahrain I went to the mall (ofcourse!) and slipped into Sephora which is one of my favourite places at the mall, by the way! and I made few yummy purchases, one of which I would like to share & review today.

Too Faced Cosmetics Natural Eye Kit

This trendy and very handy, easy to carry, travel friendly Eye Kit has Nine eyeshadow colours with instruction cards and a dual-ended applicator inside the mini box. There are three card-written instructions on how to create “day”, “classic” and “fashion”. I simply love the colors which are light, glittery, smokey all in the same box!

They also have variety of more shades & colours to choose from:

Smokey Eye Shadow Collection
Matte Eye Shadow Collection
Romantic Eye Classic Beauty
Naked Eye Soft & Sexy Eye Shadow Collection

The price is $73 at Sephora stores and I got it for 20.7 BD from Bahrain. Available in Riyadh, KSA for 207 SR, AED 193 in Dubai. So all you eyeshadow lovers get your hands on it now! ;)

Weekend in Bahrain

So I was off (again-MASHA ALLAH!) for a short holiday in the desert only, a short drive and 3 days later we are back! :) The highlights of the trip are ofcourse Maya, back to back movies (lovedddd cat in boots 3D), Nirvana at Ritz, shopping & a new place we tried Nu Asia! All in all a short & fun trip! :)

Few clicks from the trip...enjoy! See ya guys soon with another yummy blog update! :)

Ritz Carlton

The yummy gulab jamuns at NIRVANA (Ritz Carlton)



Live instrumental music at Nirvana





yummy Maya


Yummy sorbets

Heavenly Chocolate Soufflé

A soufflé. French: [su.fle]is a light baked cake made with egg yolks and beaten egg whites combined with various other ingredients and served as a savoury main dish or sweetened as a dessert. The word soufflé is the past participle of the French verb souffler which means "to blow up" or more loosely "puff up" (Reference Wikipedia)

Im back to routine & all unpacked after a tiring but fun vacation, am very tired, Rayyan's school started right after we were back and I had to start with the same routine...but was also sick of eating restaraunt food for the past two weeks, there's nothing like a home cooked meal. DH and I are big fans of home cooked food apart from being a big time foodie, I also love to cook and try new recipes all the time and as the saying goes ;)



Was making dinner, opened the fridge & chocolate chips caught my eye...now I had two options, I could just eat a little of those yummy morsels or nibble a carrot :P any guesses on which I chose? I decided to make a Soufflé....yup! that's me and my sweet tooth :) Dont really remember where I got this recipe from over the internet or some tv channel completely fogotten. Had it noted down in my diary ready to be tried :)

I took pictures at every step so it's easier for you guys to make and see what the steps actually look like! So here is the step by step on making the yummy little thing just for the two of you or if you would like to eat both all by yourself...upto you ;)

Ingredients: (for two people)

1/2 cup chocolate chips
2 tbsp butter
1 tbsp cocoa
1 large egg (yolk & white separated)
1/2 tsp vanilla
2 tbsp sugar
sugar for sprinkle and spray can (baking)

Method:

Pre-heat oven to 400F/200C.

Spray two 6 ounce ramekins or custard cups (oven proof) with spray & coat lightly with sugar.

Heat chocolate chips, butter & cocoa in a pan (very low heat, takecare not to to burn/overheat).


When chocolate is fully melted, Stir in the-egg yolk & vanilla. Keep on flame for 5-10 seconds. Stir slowly.

Beat Egg whites (it will be frothy & foamy at first). Add 2 tbsp sugar and keep whisking till soft peaks form.



Stir 1/4 egg white mixture to the chocolate mixture. Fold in the remaining gently but thoroughly.




Spoon in ramekins, filling 3/4th cup.




Bake on centre oven rack for 15-20 minutes or until puffed. Sprinkle with powdered sugar. Serve warm.





----End notes----

Soufflé is supposed to be puffy and as soon as it's out of the oven it deflates and goes a little down. Dont panic if that happens :) it's normal. It will be soft and gooey inside but not runny. You can now enjoy your Heavenly Soufflé right in the mug or turn it upside down on a plate and serve with fruit/icecream/whipped cream. Enjoy!




I hope you & your family try it and enjoy this easy but delicious recipe! Any questions or comments are most welcome, your lovely comments make my day! Spread the Love by sharing this Blog and the posts you like :)

Ciao <3

What's For Breakfast Mummy?!?

Pancakes!! Breakfast of the day is Pancakes. We love 'em! Just a little twist for my son who is a very choosy & picky eater (like most kids these days). But he loves it when I make faces, shapes out of food, it fascinates him. Give it a try :) it really works with kids. Boys loves cars and animals- whether its car shaped nuggets or a cat face sandwich, it attracts them to food.

Easy Pancake Recipe:

Ingredients:

1 cup all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons white sugar
2 tablespoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 egg, beaten
1 cup milk
2 tablespoons vegetable oil

Directions

1. In a large bowl, mix flour, sugar, baking powder and salt. Make a well in the center, and pour in milk, egg and oil. Mix until smooth.

2. Heat a lightly oiled frying pan over medium high heat. Pour the batter onto the pan, using approximately 1/4 cup for each pancake. Brown on both sides and serve hot.

Twists to the basic recipe:

Now comes the fun part ;) You can make a number of changes with basic recipe, you can add bananas (chopped) & nuts, or chopped apples & cinnamon or whatever your kid likes.

I just add a small banana, make the face with Nutella, the hair with Peanut butter and drizzle it with honey! :) thats how you get the yummy Happy face! :)

Give it to kids with a glass of warm milk or orange juice, healthy breakfast for the weekends or just before school.

Stuff I'm Lovin Right Now

Dont we all have those few things, things we like, things we always pack when we travel, things we cant live without, yes yes we all have 'those' few things in our homes that we love.

So here goes, I will will be also blogging about my top fave stuff stashed in my kitchen or my bedroom drawer, it can be just anything that I'm loving at the moment.

For now I raided my kitchen and came up with few things which have made things easier & definitely tastier ;)


Jell-O



Who can say No to Jell-O!?! Best for quick fixes, the jellies and the pudding mixes. We have quite a few flavours available here in Riyadh including plain cheescake but my personal favourite is the Oreo cookies & creme, its very easy to make with 1-2-3 steps. You can eat it as is or pour it in pie crust or tart shells, its delicious any way ;)

Peanut Butter and Nutella



Need I say more? ;)


Nando's



They dont call it 'bottled passion' for no reason ;) I get my dose of nando's peri peri whn i visit my home or from Dubai. Delicious with almost anything: fries, rice, noodles, sandwiches, chip dips etc etc. Splash into pasta sauces and stir fries for more flavour and fire! they have Extra Hot, Hot, Medium, Garlic and Lemon & Herb.


Baker's Joy



The name says it all :) It is truly a Baker's Joy! Perfect for baking, available in all big hypermarkets especially Danube/Tamimi in 'imported' products section.


Last but not the least Cup'a'Soup



I'm lovin' it, its easy, its yummy and has lots of flavours:chicken, lentil, noodle, mushroom, tomato....ahhhh needless to say am havin it right now! ;)

And We're Back...!! :D

Phew! Finally after 2 weeks & 5 cities, the sun, the sand and ofcourse the tan :P we are back - home sweet home...it is true no matter where you go there's nothing like your own bed no place like your own room, no matter how luxurious the hotel is...no place is like home :)

So, this time around we covered Thailand- my first trip to the amazing country, though DH has worked and stayed thr many times before & then we were off to China - my 4th trip to the fascinating land.

Will b updating about stuff I love there, where to stay, when to go, what to do and ofcourse where to EAT if you're planning to visit either countries anytime soon :)

Next blog will be about the travel tales, for now Iam jet lagged, bags to unpack along with a cranky toddler who wants 2 go back to the Beach and to ride elephants :P

see y'all soon stay tuned :)

****EID MUBARAK****

Dear Readers,

We have Eid holidays in KSA & we're leaving for vacation tonight, insha Allah! will be back sooooon! Will start blogging as soon as Iam back. planning on a travel tale blog too :)




Also wishing all Muslims, Eid Mubarak (have a Happy Eid)...!

Snack Of The Day

Well....what is a snack? For some it might be an apple or a piece of fruit, for others a bar of chocolate ;) so yes its all in the perspective.

So what do You consider a Snack..?? :)

In this blog will be sharing my favourite snack for now and also will be covering another eatery in Riyadh, which I like to go to after shopping for a bite. It is a nice & cosy joint, with a good sitting area right infront of Debenhams at Riyadh Gallery called "Tomn Lounge"

The first thing that attracted me to that place was...ofcourse the food! lol but also the purple, flowery couches & chairs. The menu is also nice including breakfast, sandwiches (hot & cold), drinks (hot & cold) and ofcourse the desserts (tarts, muffins, cheescakes etc), they also have 'light' sandwiches.

What I tried this time was the Oriental Chicken Sandwich...it has strips of chicken, mayo, mustard, lettuce & tomato, you can choose your own bread (they have variety of breads) .... Ofcourse it happens only in KSA where you order a 'LIGHT' Sandwich and they give you a packet of 'french cheese or salted' LAYS chips along with it ;) hahaha!

Recipe Of The week-Steaky!Steaky!

One of our favourite foods on the dinner table is a juicy pepper steak with black pepper sauce, sauted veggies and baked potatoes

Today will share how I cook it(its a mix of 2-3 recipes, because I usually make slight changes in it according to my taste-you can also do the same)-its an easy peasy, quick steak for busy moms like me. I have used the quick sauce here will blog about the long basic recipe some other time too :)

Pepper Steak with sauted veggies & baked potato wedges




The pepper steak sauce I use & love.


The Recipe:

(this recipe cooks for two)

Ingredients: marinade for steak:
2 beef steaks fillets
Ketchup 1/2 cup
Soy sauce 2 tpsp
Lemon juice/vinegar 1 tbsp
salt & black pepper 1 tsp
mustard 1 tsp
ginger paste 1 tsp
Oil 1 tbsp

For Baked potatoes:
(use as needed)
paprika
salt
thyme
oregano
(and cheese if you like)

For Sauted vegatables:
1 can mushrooms
1 bell pepper diced
1 onion diced
corn & carrots (if you like)

Method:

Hammer the beef fillet with a steak hammer and marinate in the marination for 2-4 hours (the more, the better)

Meanwhile cut potatoes in wedges or thick slices, grease a baking dish & add spices to the wedges and bake for 25-35 mins (you can check every 15 mins) at 200 degrees C-cover the dish with foil.

Saute the veggies in butter or olive oil for few minutes.

After the beef is marinated well (2-4 hours) heat a grill pan (preferrably) or a simple pan and add 2-3 tbsp oil. Cook the steaks at very low heat with the lid on. Dont let it overcook & dry out but dont let it be undercooked & raw.

The beef takes minimum 30 mins to cook depending upon the marination and the beef type.

Once done turn the heat high for few minutes to get that grilled look.

Serve hot with this bottled blackpepper sauce or a homemade sauce on top of the steak, with wedges & sauted veggies.

(End Notes)-

*You can add a cheese slice on top of the already baked potato wedges and closed the foil again the cheese will melt in seconds. I used Almarai (cheese slices)

*Got the beef fillets from Tamimi

*The pepper steak sauce is from Danube-Hayat Mall

*You can add or subtract stuff as you like & according to your own taste.


Bon Appetit! :)

My Favourite Hot Spot Of The Week-Maya La Chocolaterie

"Chocolate is the only aromatherapy I need."
Jasmine Heiler


Chocolate Brownie with vanilla icecream




Cinnamon Rolls



Chocolate Fondant



Chocolate...Oh yes! Who can say no? Especially if you share it with a bunch of friends and few good laughs! Over a cup of hot chocolate, or fondue, caramel drizzled, chewy, fudgdy brownies & a scoop of vanilla icecream....ahhh heaven! And of all these places I love going to, for my (now & then) 'aromatherapy' is Maya, its a lovely cosy joint for all chocolate lovers. Must try...quite rushy on weekends.

For all Riyadh,KSA foodies with a sweet tooth this is a must go place :)

Maya - Saudi Arabia
Al Tahliya Street, Riyadh.