A short holiday in Prague

I've always wanted to go to Eastern Europe for a holiday and  so took the opportunity to hop over to Prague from Aberdeen.  Prague, the capital of Czech Republic is the fourteenth largest city in the European Union having a population of just over a million and covers 500 sq km at its outer limits. We stayed in the old town of Prague at the Charles Bridge Premium Apartment which was one of  the best apartments that I've stayed so far.  We spent 3 nights in Prague and paid 515 euro for our stay in this apartment.

Oh, back to the first picture of this post ...... The Old Town Astronomical Clock which was acquired at the beginning of the15th Century, rebuilt by a master clockmaker named Hanus.  On the top of it is the Old Town Hall Tower.  On the left is the Gothic Door, main entrance to the Town Hall and Tower, carved by Matthias Rejsek.

Our first meal and taste of Czech food @ the U Dvou Sester  restaurant which was within walking distance from the apartment.  What we had ......  Pork ribs, a soup, Pork knuckle, not in the picture is a Lasagne. Cost - 1067 Czech Koruna excluding service charge.

Market selling all sorts of knick-knacks, souvenirs, fruits, etc.

If you've enjoyed this post and would like to see more of Prague, do tag along in my future posts!

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Livingston Designer Outlet in Edingburgh ~ (Wordless Wednesday)

Cute Candy Van

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Pumpkin Angku Kuih

These Pumpkin Angku Kuih were made using the same recipe as my  Pandan Angku Kuih but I substituted sweet potatoes with pumpkin.  Another minor adjustment that I made was  I used water in this recipe instead of green pandan juice.  Also, I made the mung bean filling a little bit savoury by adding in finely chopped shallots and some salt.  So these Pumpkin Angku Kuih tasted a bit sweet and salty and they were soft and chewy..... Yum!

Recipe for Pumpkin Angku Kuih

Ingredients for Pre-prepard dough

• 150 gm glutinous rice flour
• 125 ml water
Mix these two ingredients to form a dough, cover and refrigerate overnight.

Ingredients for Filling

• 150 gm split mung beans, soaked overnight
• 80 gm granulated sugar
• 1/2 tsp salt (or to taste)
• 2  Tbsp oil
• 4 small shallots, finely chopped
Method

1. Rinse, drain and rinse the mung beans, steam for about 30mins. or till soft.  While hot, blend them with about 3/4 cup of water till it forms into a paste.
2. In a non-stick pan, saute the shallots with the oil till fragrant, add in the mung bean paste and salt, fry till it leaves the sides of the pan.  Fine tune to taste.
3. Dish out and let cool.  Cover with cling wrap and keep refrigerated till ready for use.
4. Roll out into balls of  12 to15 gm for the mini kuih and 45 to 50 gm for the normal kuih.
Ingredients for Dough

• 100m ml water
• 2.1/4  tsp rice flour
• 1  Tbsp oil
• 2  tsp caster sugar
• 40 gm glutinous flour (add this sparingly, may not need the whole amount)
• 100 gm pumpkin, peeled, steamed and mashed
• Banana leaves, cut into bigger size than the moulds, grease with oil.
Method

1. Mix water with the rice flour, oil and sugar.  Mix till smooth.  Cook over low heat, stirring to make a smooth paste.  Leave to cool.
2. Add rice flour paste to the mashed pumpkin, mix and add in the 'pre-prepared dough', mix, add in the 40 gm glutinous rice flour, sparingly and knead lightly till thoroughly mixed.  Dough should be soft and moist but not sticky.
3. Weigh out dough accordingly,  12 to15 gm for the mini kuih and 45 to 50 gm for the normal size kuih.
Assembling the kuih

1. Flatten the dough, wrap with the filling, shape into a ball and press into the lightly rice flour dusted moulds.  Knock out the kuih and place onto a piece of greased banana leaf.
2. Heat up a steamer and steam the kuih on medium heat, 3 mins. for the mini  kuih and 6 mins. for the normal size kuih.
3. Remove from steamer and immediately brush the kuih with some oil.
4. Yield :  8 normal size kuih and 12 mini size kuih

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Dolphin Watching @ The Speyside Way

'Scotland is one of the best land-based dolphin watching hotspots in the world'.... and so, our way back to Aberdeen, we stopped by at the Scottish Dolphin Centre at Spey Bay on the Speyside Way, with the hope that we'll be lucky enough to catch a glimpse of dolphins.  Other than dolphins, Spey Bay is also a good place to see seals and ospreys and Scotland's wildlife. Updates were given by the Spey Bay information centre  that the dolphins were last seen at around 3 p.m. that day.   We were there at around 5 p.m. and we waited patiently  for about an hour or so before we spotted a shoal of dolphins right in the middle of the sea.

Everyone who had been waiting patiently were excited, some with binoculars, some zooming in with their cameras on tripods set up much earlier.

Look, the sky full of Ospreys, a fish-eating hawk found along the coastlines, marshes, lakes almost world wide. It was fun watching how they fly over the water hunting for prey, hovering and then plunging into the water feet first with a big splash and within seconds up they fly with their catch in their talons.

These pictures were taken by my girl with her Panasonic Lumix camera ........ she was so excited when she captured the images. I wouldn't be fast enough to do this :) Good job!

Gift Shop @ the Scottish Dolphin Centre

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Thai Green Curry

I do like Thai food but sometimes find the dishes too 'lemak' or heavy for my tummy, especially their curries.  However, Thai Green Curry has always been on my menu list whenever I patronise Thai food joints.  I cooked this curry with  Delimas Thai Green Curry Sauce and as you can see from the pictures, the curry is not 'lemak'/thick as I didn't follow fully the instructions on the packet but added more water to suit my taste buds.  Also added some palm sugar to enhance the taste.

Recipe for Thai Green Curry

Ingredients

• 400 gm chicken fillet and thigh, cut into chunks and seasoned with some seasalt
• 100 gm capsicum
• 100 gm long beans, cut into 2 inch lengths
• 150 gm egg plant, cubed
• 1 pkt Delimas Thai green curry sauce (180 gm/6 oz)
• 2 to 3 bird's eye chillies, sliced
• 1 red chilli
• 4 kaffir leaves
• 1 tsp palm or brown sugar (optional)
• 1.14 cup water
• Some fresh Thai Basil leaves to garnish
Method

1.  In a wok, heat up 1.1/2 Tbsp oil and pan-fry the seasoned chicken fillet.  Add in 1/2 cup water and simmer till the chicken is cooked through.
2. Add in the egg plant, followed by the Thai green curry paste and kaffir leaves, continue stirring.
3. Add in the long beans, capsicum, sliced chillies and water, continue stirring.  Fine tune to taste.
4. Dish out and garnish with Basil leaves.
5. Serve hot with rice.









I am submitting this post to  Asian Food Fest  (Thailand) - November Month 
hosted by  Lena of  Frozen Wings

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Isle of Skye, north Scotland

Skye, or the Isle of Skye, recently voted the '4th best island in the world by National Geographic magazine' is the second largest and most northerly large island in the Inner Hebrides of Scotland.  With an area of 639 sq miles, its population is just over 10,000.  Skye is  famous for its breathtaking scenery and dramatic landscape. The Isle of Skye is also a great destination for Wildlife watching with the White Tailed Sea Eagle at the top of bird watchers lists. Otters, seals, whales, dolphins and red deer are just some of the other impressive creatures that can be seen on and around the Isle of Skye.

We stayed at The Caledonian Hotel,  a  bed and breakfast accommodation in Portree which is the capital and the main service centre in the island.

 

  

Diatomite mine ruins in the Isle of Skye.  What is Diatomite?  Known to the locals as 'Caile' (Gaelic for chalk), diatomie is a  white or grey mineral earth which is quite similar to china clay.  It is formed by microscopic algae and has many uses, such as for face powder, fire-proofing and insulation and as a filter in several industrial processes.

Highland Cows

 

We left the island with fond memories and returned to Aberdeen.

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