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.

Baca selengkapnya »

Thai Chicken Vermicelli Salad

A quick and easy chicken salad which is laced with a chilli and lime dressing.  With vermicelli add-on, it makes a good wholesome one-dish meal!  You can also make use of  left-over chicken meat for this salad.

Recipe for Thai Chicken Vermicelli Salad  (adapted from a book 'The very best of Chinese and Asian cuisine')

Ingredients


• 1/2 chicken breast, marinated with some seasalt and pepper
• 1 onion, finely sliced
• 1/2 cucumber, cut into match sticks
• 1/2 carrot, cut into match sticks
• 1 stalk lemon grass, finely chopped
• 1 to 1.1/2  Tbsp fish sauce
• 4 tsp sugar or to taste
• Juice of 8 calamansi/limau kasturi
• 2 bird eye chillies, chopped
• Dried vermicelli, soaked till soft
• Sesame seeds, lightly toasted
• Cashew nuts, lightly toasted (optional)
• Coriander to garnish
Method
1. Poach or steam the chicken meat till cooked.  Let cool and shred the meat into slices.
2. In a bowl, mix the calamansi juice and sugar till dissolved.  Add in the fish sauce, mix well.
3. Bring a pot of water to the boil, cook the presoaked vermicelli, remove, drain off water.  Set this aside in a mixing bowl.
4. Add the shredded meat, sliced onion, cucumber, carrot and lemon grass into the vermicelli.
5. Pour in the calamansi mixture and mix well.  Fine tune to desired taste.
6. Serve at room temperature or chilled.  
7. Garnish with chilli, sesame seeds and fresh coriander before serving.









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

and also to

Cook your Book # 6 hosted by Kitchen Flavours

Baca selengkapnya »

#Bundtamonth : Peanut Butter Lime Jam Bundt Cake

So far, I've yet to bake something with peanut butter and when the organisers of Bundtamonth announced that the theme is 'Jammy November',  I surfed the net and located this recipe.  It's a recipe taken from the book 'Cake Simple' which was tried by 'Bake or Break'.  I used my favourite lime marmalade in this recipe but as I didn't put enough jam  according to the recipe, the jam swirls weren't so distinct, in fact there were no swirls at all :((  I reduced the jam as I didn't favour an overly sweet cake.  Nonetheless the lime flavour did go down well with the creamy peanut butter and it was good.

Recipe for Peanut Butter Lime Jam Bundt Cake (adapted from 'here' with modiciations)

Ingredients


• 10 oz plain flour
• 1.1/2  tsp baking powder
• 1  tsp bicarbonate of soda
• a pinch of salt
• 4 oz butter
• 6.1/2 oz brown sugar (reduced from 3/4 cup sugar + 1.1/4 cups brown sugar)
• 1 cup creamy peanut butter
• 3 eggs
• 1 cup milk
• 2 tsp vanilla
• 1/4 cup lime marmalade (reduced from 3/4 cup)
• Icing sugar to dust (optional)
Method
1. Prepare a 10 cup Bundt pan, greased and flour dusted.
2. Sift flour, baking powder, bicarbonate of soda and salt, set aside.
3. Cream butter with sugar till creamy, add in peanut butter and vanilla, mix well.
4. Add eggs one at a time, mix well.
5. Fold in flour in two batches, alternating with milk, start with flour and end with flour.
6. Put half of the batter into the pan, spoon jam onto the batter taking care not to touch the sides of the pan.
7. Cover with batter, repeat process.  Give the batter a gentle swirl with a knife or skewer.
8. Bake in a preheated oven @ 180 deg.C for 45 to 50 mins. till golden brown.  Test with a skewer till it comes out clean.
9. Leave cake in pan to cool for about 20 mins. before unmoulding onto a wire rack to cool completely.
10. Dust with icing sugar before serving.









I'm also linking this post to

Cook your Book # 6 hosted by Kitchen Flavours

Baca selengkapnya »

Loch Ness ~ Isle of Skye

Loch Ness is a large, deep freshwater loch (Scottish word for lake or fiord) in the Scottish Highlands spanning approximately 37 km south west of Inverness. Its surface is 15.8m above sea level and is the largest lake in Scotland by volume.  Nessie, the Loch Ness Monster is just one of the many myths and legends to be discovered in this particular beautiful part of Scotland.  This is indeed a very relaxing place to be in, more so if you like the outdoors, explore and enjoy the breathtaking landscape.

Urquhart Castle is one of the most picturesque landmarks in Scotland.  Although in ruins due to warfare and the passing of time, it is still a magnificient iconic sight, perched on the banks of Loch Ness, beside the village of Drumnadrochit.  It is said to be one of the main sites for the sighting of Nessie.

We didn't enter the castle, so could only managed to snap this from afar.

See the bridge in the background........ we had to cross that to go to the Isle of Skye.  If you would like to see what's at Isle of Skye, please feel free to follow me in my future posts.  Till then......

Baca selengkapnya »

Sweet Potato Chicken Pie

I've made pies with potatoes before but haven't tried with a mix of potatoes and sweet potatoes.  Spotted this recipe from a Coles magazine which spurred me to give it a try.  It wasn't bad really.  I think that the sweetness of the sweet potatoes did blend well with the savoury filling.  All in all, a comforting one-dish meal for my family.

Recipe for Sweet Potato Chicken Pie (adapted from a Coles magazine with modifications)

Ingredients


• 400 gm sweet potatoes
• 400 gm potatoes
• 650 gm chicken fillet, cubed
• 1 onion, cubed
• 4 cloves garlic, chopped
• 1 carrot, cubed
• 1 capsicum, cubed
• 3  tsp chicken granules
• 2.1/2  tsp mixed dried herbs
• 1.1/2 cups water
• 2 Tbsp cornflour + 2 Tbsp water to thicken
• Sugar, salt and pepper to season the chicken fillet
Method

1. Season the chicken fillet with some salt and pepper, set aside.
2. Wash the potatoes, cook in a pot of boiling water.  Drain, cool, peel and mash till smooth.  Mix in some salt, set aside.
3. Heat some oil in a pan, saute the garlic till fragrant, add in the onions, carrot and capsicum, stir-fry.  Dish out and set aside.
4. In the same pan, add some oil, stir-fry the seasoned chicken fillet, add in the water, simmer till meat is cooked.  Toss in the onions, carrot and capsicum.  Mix well, add in the cornflour thickening, chicken granules, fine tune to desired taste.  Sprinkle on some mixed dried herbs.
5. Spoon mixture into 4 x 1 cup capacity ramekins, top with the smashed potatoes.  Place on a  baking tray and bake for 20 mins. till golden and bubbling.
6. Serve immediately.





I'm linking this post to 


Cook-Your-Books #5 hosted by Kitchen Flavours

Baca selengkapnya »

Inverness ~ Loch Ness

On the way to Loch Ness we spent a night in Inverness and put up in this Whinpark Bed & Breakfast.  Inverness is regarded as the capital of the Highlands and is the centre for commerce and industry.  It is the most northerly city in the British Isles and said to be one of the fastest growing cities in Europe and tourism plays an important part in the economy.

The breakfast area, clean and neat

Our bedrooms, also neat and tidy.

We had our lunch in the above restaurant.

Chicken sandwich, Trout, Beef burger and Cumberland Sausage ring

River Ness

Inverness Castle sits on a cliff overlooking the River Ness.  The red sandstone castle was built in 1836 by architect William Burn and today it houses Inverness Sheriff Court.   The Drum Tower houses an exhibition of castle history and is open daily in the summer while the castle itself is not open to public.

This is the breakfast we had before we moved on to Loch Ness hoping to catch a glimpse of  'Nessie' the world famous monster!

Baca selengkapnya »