Back to Work, Back to School!

School is back in full swing and so is work (I work in a school, lol). It's great to be back in the routine though. Too much of a good thing and it's not good anymore.
Being back to work means things get busier and there is less time to do chores and hobbies. Here are a few tips to clean easily and effortlessly (or with minimal effort;)).
For instance, the shower head...if you live in an area of hard water especially, the shower head soon looks horrible and most of the little holes become blocked. One way to clean the shower head is to pour some vinegar in a zip-lock bag and dilute it a little if you want but pure will do the job faster. Insert the shower head inside the bag and lock as much as possible and leave all day while you are at work. When you come back, take the shower head out of the bag and rinse. Job done!
The tiles in the bathroom also can be sprayed with diluted vinegar (you can add some lemon juice for the nice smell) before you leave the house and scrub a little and rinse when you get back. It will make future cleaning easier as long as you do this regularly, about once every two weeks.
At least once a week, put your pillows near an open window if you live in a flat (apartment) like me. This will aerate them and prevent them from smelling. If they can be put in the washing machine, do this once a year at least.
Keep outdoor shoes for outdoors and have slippers or flip-flops for inside the house. This will help keep the floors cleaner for longer.
Clean as you cook; let me explain. Don't leave all the mess to be cleaned or cleared after you finish cooking. While you are cooking, put things to soak, load the dishwasher or do the dishes by hand while the sauce is simmering or the roast is in the oven. This will leave you with very little mess after dinner.
I hope these tips are helpful and let me know if you want specific tips about particular subjects.
Until next time:)
Have a blast this weekend!!

It's finally the holidays!

Hey, how are you all doing? I am feeling light and happy because it's not until the 7th of January that I will have to think about work again!😊 Then ten days later it will be my birthday, when I will turn 41. Justine broke up on the same day as I and that was so helpful. Have you sorted all your cards and presents? I am slowly getting there...I know, I am late this year, especially with cards. I am known to have wrapped all my presents by November 1st, lol. You must be thinking "Get a life!" but I believe some level of organisation in some areas are quintessential while in some other areas, spontaneity is the key.
Anyway, I would not be true to myself if I didn't pen off after giving you a recipe or recipe idea;) so here goes: try crispy chicken with golden potato wedges and vegetables of your choice.

To be honest, I had planned on making crispy chicken using seasoned flour and breadcrumbs but I was low on all-purpose flour (aka. AP flour) so I decided to venture into new realms...I used fine polenta mixed with the little flour I had left and seasoned it with salt and pepper and a little bit of chicken seasoning mix. I never measure any of these ingredients when making the seasoned flour so just use logic and put in what looks reasonable. I cut my chicken breast quite thin so it would take a very short time to fry. I only shallow fried them after dipping (I think the correct term is dredging) each piece in the seasoned flour/polenta mix. They looked so lovely and golden due to the polenta, it was hard to wait to eat them!
For the wedges, cut each potato in half first (this makes it easier to cut wedges afterwards) then cut each half into wedges but not too thick. The trick to get them all crispy and golden is to use a mixture of coarse polenta, a pinch of garlic powder, salt, pepper and a pinch of onion powder on the wedges. First you need to coat the potato pieces with oil (I use rapeseed a lot for frying and general cooking because it is good for you and it has a high smoke point). After coating them in oil, dredge them into that polenta mixture and bake on a baking sheet in a preheated oven at 190 degrees Celsius (that's about 375 degrees Fahrenheit) for about 35 to 40 minutes (just keep an eye on them past the 30 minutes mark).
As for the vegetables, you can cook (boil, steam or roast) whatever you like to go with your dinner but I have an idea for divine green beans. Use fine green beans to be quick but any will work. Cut the beans into short chunks then fry them on a medium high heat into a skillet that has a small amount of hot oil in it. Season with salt, pepper, onion powder and garlic powder. Continue frying for 5 minutes and take off the heat; they are best served immediately.
Enjoy the ideas and good luck with all the festive preparations, decorations and visits! See you again soon...don't forget to eat mince pies and drink hot chocolate;)

Sorry I look like I just woke up (I had just woken up...lol)

Christmas is fast approaching!!

How ready are you for Christmas? Got some presents, food, drinks, cards sent? I cannot say I can tick all the boxes myself...oops! ;)
I have most of the presents sorted, some of the food, no drinks yet and very few cards sent. Looks like I have to get going!
While all the festive stuff is happening, life still carries on alongside it so I thought of just making this short and sweet post to update you about what we're up to and still slip in a recipe for you to try.
Christmas is a busy period so it helps to save time when possible. This is a fast and delicious breakfast recipe that will keep your energy up but that doesn't compromise on taste...
...you will use:

• Yogurt (full fat has more creaminess and taste)
• One heaped teaspoon marmelade or jam of your choice 
• One teaspoon flaked almonds (or any nuts you like)
• One heaped teaspoon mixed dry berries (raisins do fine too)

Mix everything together and enjoy!
Happy festive season....I will drop back in soon for another post!

Black Friday...

What is Black Friday?

All it is, is the Friday following Thanksgiving Day in the United States of America (Thanksgiving being the fourth Thursday of November). It is one of the busiest shopping days in the whole year because it sort of marks the official beginning of the Christmas shopping season.

Grabbing Black Friday Deals: Clever or Silly?

Whether it is silly or clever to grab deals on Black Friday and any other day for that matter, depends on whether you need those items you are buying. If you only buy something because it is on sale, it is not so clever. For instance, I needed to buy my Secret Santa gift and some other gifts for my colleagues and I got myself some juicy deals and I say that's a win situation!:)

What are you up to this Friday?

I happen to be off work today and my daughter and myself plan to spend the day at home mostly, if not entirely. What are you all up to? I guess most people are working...on the plus side, it's nearly the weekend!:)) This morning, I made crepes (thin pancakes) and I need to share (or re share) the recipe with you because they turn out perfect and light every time. 

The amount of ingredients below makes about 6 small pancakes or 4 large ones.

You will need:

50g all purpose flour (sifted to remove lumps)

150ml milk (I use whole milk)

1/2 Tbsp. melted butter (melt it in a small bowl in the microwave on the low setting) - plus some butter for the pan

1/2 Tbsp. granulated sugar

1/2 tsp. vanilla extract

1 large egg (beaten)

Vegetable oil for the pan

How you make the pancakes:

Beat the egg with the sugar in a small bowl.

In a jug, put the sifted flour and half the milk then beat well and then slowly beat in the rest of the milk. Now add the egg and sugar mixture and beat well. Pour in the vanilla and mix in well, along with the melted butter. Let your batter rest for at least half an hour in the fridge before cooking them, if you have time. 

When you are ready to cook the pancakes, heat up your pan on medium high and pour in a 1/2 tsp. oil plus a little butter. As it sizzles, pour some batter to evenly coat the surface of the pan and cook for about a minute on one side then flip and cook for 30 seconds. You can put some hazelnut chocolate spread on the pancakes or squeeze some lemon and sprinkle some sugar on them. Both are delicious. 

Enjoy guys!

Perfect light and fluffy pancakes

If any of my friends or family members visit my blog, here is a picture of Justine (my eight year old daughter) - this was taken yesterday on the way to school...

Justine wrapped up warm; it was -1 degree after all!

I guess I better start on some housework...long overdue! 😆 Ok everyone, enjoy your weekend if I don't check back in here for a few days. I will keep you posted about what we are up to and give you plenty of interesting ideas for the holidays!

Big kiss and warm hugs...xoxo

It is beginning to feel a lot like....

...Christmas! With this special time of year just round the corner, the pressure is on to get all Christmassy and festive, to think of gifts for loved ones and to think of ideas for the Christmas meal.
I personally like to include a little personalised something when I give away my gifts to friends and family. Already I feel like I left it a bit late to get crafting those personalised somethings but I will try my best to get them done;)
One item I found last year (to be repeated this year definitely!) is a cute crochet 3D puffy heart. So adorable! Take a look...

They are quick to make and are always loved by the receivers. Look for 3D crochet heart free patterns online and you will find an array of websites that offer a free pattern. I have tried a few and they all work fine.

Soon we will be baking gingerbread cookies. Apparently saying gingerbread 'men' is wrong nowadays and we are supposed to say gingerbread 'person', lol, can you believe the nonsense?! I am sure my little Justine will be eager to help me decorate these gingerbread men (oh yes, I will say it the way I like! lol).

A short but sweet post and hope you are all well and kicking:) Day off today for me so a spot of shopping, a spot of cleaning and a lot of relaxing I hope. Tomorrow is another day, make the most of the present time. Happy Wednesday everybody!

Happiness comes from within

You must be thinking, "she is out of her usual territory of keeping things light". Well, not really. I just notice so many unhappy people around me, including some very special ones that I care about deeply. This makes me sad because so many people have it all wrong; they expect life to veer round the corner and to just be perfect, or, they expect their partner, friends and/or kids to make them happy. To sum up their expectations, they want their happiness to come from external sources, from other people or happenings. I doubt if they will ever feel happy...
Happiness comes from within ourselves. We make ourselves happy by doing what we enjoy, by reaching out to people who we value, by creating enjoyable moments. We can give without expecting anything in return, we can like and love without expectations of being liked or loved back. You can smile when you feel like it and just enjoy little, everyday things.
Enjoying a cup of your favourite herbal tea, watching your favourite series of the moment, or crafting something out of that amazing shiny card you bought....all those things are so simple but are what makes a simple everyday special. Keep doing what you enjoy doing, that's the only way to be happy. What we enjoy may evolve and that's ok too, just as long as it happened naturally and not through pressure from other people.
Ok, enough of all that deep talk:) Now on to serious business, food! (how did you guess?? lol)
Yesterday I thought how nice it would be to have some cheesy scones to eat for lunch and the only way to get exactly what I wanted was to make it! So I did!

Perfect flaky soft cheese scones

Now I've done it, I made you hungry! lol That's ok, you can go and try to make these scones too. They are easy and quick to whip up and take only 15 minutes to bake. The recipe is from Rachel Allen and appeared on someone's blog. That's how I found it: I looked for cheese buttermilk scones. Anyway, I would post the recipe but not sure if it's allowed.

Something else I| made that was quick, easy and tasty is Jamie Oliver's pizza dough. I topped it with some tomato and basil pasta sauce, slices of basic mozzarella and finished with a layer of pepperoni slices. Justine (my daughter) loved it and I also thought that this dough was a keeper.

That is how it turned out...

Messy, gooey, homemade delicious pizza

Today I will be cooking some Mauritian dishes, ready for when my work friends come over for dinner on Thursday. A lot of Mauritian dishes actually taste much better if they sit in the fridge for a couple of days so that will work very well. "Vindaye Poisson"* with French bread slices for starters, brown lentils, "beef rougaille"* and plain rice as the first main, Mauritian pilau rice with sausages, peas and egg as the second main. For dessert, I am thinking along the lines of a pudding...."Poudine Mais" (translation: maize pudding).

* Vindaye is a mustard seed, turmeric and vinegar paste

   Rougaille is a tomato sauce with ginger, garlic, thyme and parsley 

I will be busy cooking while Justine goes off with her friend to the trampoline park and has a sleepover. Tomorrow, my friend is coming with her two kids and I have booked a slime workshop and bowling to keep them entertained! 

Be happy, keep smiling!

Hello! It's Half-Term Break, Hurray!

Hello everyone!
I really hope you are all doing ok. Justine and myself are both on half-term break and it's a relief. I do have a lot on though but good things; Justine's cousins are coming over tomorrow to play with her. Then Tuesday, Justine is off to the trampoline park with a friend and will have a sleepover at her house afterwards. Wednesday my best friend is coming over with her two children and will stay with us for one night. Thursday my colleagues are coming to mine for dinner and I am starting on the cooking on Tuesday. Mauritian food tastes better if it sits in the fridge for a couple of days anyway. Friday will be mostly a chill day for us but I will have to tidy up and clean a little bit I guess. Although that could wait for the weekend because Justine will be at her dad's.
That's my schedule for the week; pretty full on as you can see:)
Anyway, in my last post, I promised to put a picture of Justine's wand up in this post and here it is...

Justine now has a Harry Potter wand from the Harry Potter Studio Tour shop but I do like the one dad made for her, it's rugged and magical!;)

Now it's time for a little recipe for another kind of magical spell - a delicious rice dish!

What would be my blog without talking about food?! I absolutely love food, sweet and savoury but I have a particularly sweet tooth:)) This recipe is inspired from Hainan's chicken rice but without the Pandanus leaves which can be hard to find in some regions of the world.

You will need:

• ginger (two 2cm pieces)
• garlic (2 cloves)
• shallot (quarter, cut into small pieces)
• lime (half)
• sea salt 
• rice (or white) vinegar
• chicken breast left whole (one)
• soy sauce
• spring onions
• vegetable oil (preferably not olive)
• mortar and pestle
• rice (washed and soaked in tap water for 10 minutes)

Using the mortar and pestle, make a paste of a 2cm piece of ginger, 2 garlic cloves, a good pinch of sea salt, and a good squeeze of lime juice. Add the shallot pieces and further bash to make a paste. Drain the rice. Cut slits all over the chicken breast and insert slices of ginger and spring onion in these slits. Put the chicken in a saucepan of cold water (just cover the chicken) and add a good pinch of salt to the water. Bring to the boil then reduce heat to allow for a gentle simmer. Let the chicken simmer for 15 minutes. In the meantime, pour a swig of vegetable oil into a sauté pan and heat on medium heat. Fry the garlic, ginger, shallot and salt mixture for around 5 minutes (do not let it brown too much). Spoon out the mixture and put into a bowl. Immediately pour a tablespoon of rice or white vinegar on the hot mixture. 

Fry the drained rice in the same oil used for the mixture ; fry for 2 minutes then use the chicken stock (chicken cooking water) to cook the rice - pour enough stock over the rice to just cover it and bring to a boil then cover and reduce heat to lowest setting. Cook for approximately 10 minutes. Taste to see doneness. 

Slice spring onions finely to sprinkle over finished dish. Slice chicken and reserve the rest of the broth to moisten rice when served. Serve rice, mix some soy sauce in the broth and pour some of this over the rice. Mix some of the ginger/garlic/shallot mixture into the rice. Place a few chicken slices on the rice and sprinkle some spring onion on top.

If you happen to have some salad cress lying about, it can be used as an accompaniment to this dish. It adds freshness and a further bit of green. Just squeeze some lime juice over the cress before serving. 

Enjoy!

Let me know if you tried it, if you liked it and if you made any changes, let me know what worked for you:)

I guess I will pen off for now, Justine is back from her sleepover, I will go spend some time with her!

Bye!!!