Denise's Wonderland: Food for Thought

Food for Thought

Showing posts with label Food for Thought. Show all posts

I love products by Marks and Spencer and the M&S' pancakes top my list. Either the plain or the raisin pancakes, I love them all! I recently discover the new flavor - mandarin orange pancakes. As a citrus lover, I instantly fall in love with this new flavor.

The moment I opened the packaging, the citrusy fragrant immediately filled the air. Very refreshing indeed. Mandarin orange is less sours than orange and hence added a mild tangy taste to the pancakes, not over powering, but just nice to cut through the sweetness of the pancakes.

The pancakes can be enjoy as it is, or you may toast them in toaster for 1-2 minutes for better taste. I like the luxurious version as the one served in pancakes house, so I added some freshly cut strawberries and raspberry marmalade to go with my pancakes.

Warm and fluffy, tangy and sweet, every bite is so satisfying!

I am totally aware that ready made food is packed with sodium and preservatives, and it is best to cut down the intake if possible. However, I can be easily tempted to secretly stock-up on a few packets in my freezer especially when there are new items on the shelve.

Ya, check out this Bakehouse Chicken & Bacon Pie from Green Isle. They look absolutely tempting from the packaging itself. In this post, let's review how the pies tasted.

There are 2 pies in a box. The unbaked frozen pies are flat and pale in look. The pie rose and doubled the size after baking in the oven for 30-35 minutes at 175c.

Overall, the pies tasted pretty good especially the puff. I like the baked fluffy crust and not overly buttery in taste. The cream sauce chicken and bacon filling is slightly creamier than I expected but can be overcome with some chili sauce. Unlike what is shown on the packaging photo, the pie is packed with chunky chicken and bacon pieces. It is not the case in reality. 70% of the filling is cream sauce and chicken and bacon pieces just submerge underneath. To me, it is more like having chicken and bacon cream soup. So guys, images can be deceiving.

A pie is not entirely filling, so I have other side dishes i.e. pan fried potatoes and sweet corn to pair with the dish.

Not a bad try and I do recommend it to those who love pies as the pastry puff scores.

Who could resist the great Summer in Europe? Sunshine in the Summer always shed away all the depression mainly causes by the often rainy and gloomy autumn plus winter. I can safely bet that 9 out of 10 Europeans will tell you they LOVE summer to bits.

No doubt Summer is the best time to enjoy the sunshine and embrace tons of outdoor activities. One should also not miss relishing some great summer fruits too such as berries, melons, peaches etc.

My weekly shopping cart were full of summer fruits and I even pluck some from the garden. Check out the pic above - a handful of wonderfully delicious homegrown berries i.e. raspberries, red current and strawberries. Lovely color ... (p/s: Sorry about the half-ripe strawberries as the ripe ones have been eaten by birds or insects.)

The small round shape, smooth skin red currents were surprisingly sweet. I enjoy the the sourness of the bright-red raspberries. These fresh berries are powerful natural antioxidant and are an excellent source of vitamin C, plus there are low in calories especially for raspberries.

With Autumn quickly being usher in, perhaps I will need to wait till the next Summer for some homegrown "berries power". The song Wake Me Up When September Ends from Green Day starts to play:

Summer has come and passed
The innocent can never last
Wake me up when September ends
......
......
Hope everyone had a great Summer. See you in the next Summer!

Spring is around the corner I reckon based on the first sprout of flowers and green twigs bursting through the dried trees. The undeniable signs that Spring is fast approaching. Somehow, the mercury once again refuses to rise and today it snows again. What a long long winter.

This is my second winter in foreign land, but definitely the longest and coldest as compare to my previous encounter in Beijing and Shanghai, China.

I have a strong urge to find out when the unforgiving winter will finally end. A quick check on weather.com reviewed the magical date of the first day on Spring: 20th of Mar which is just a mere 8 days to go. Hurray!

While praying and hoping for the first day of Spring to arrive, I still have to go through another few rounds of snow. As fore-casted, 16 to 18-Mar will be snowing in the Hague. Thereafter, the much awaited spring will finally arrive.

The entire city of The Hague had been covered by a layer of white linen since 14-Jan, after the first snow of 2013. The constant below freezing point temperature transformed the Hague into a picturesque white city. The usual doom and gloom of winter season dominated by never ending rain and overcast sky were suddenly replaced by a fresh coat of white snow. Even the canals and streams were not spared and turned into giant white icy block.

However, these breathtaking scenes only lasted for a short span of 2 weeks. After a last flourish of snow shower on last Saturday afternoon, these amazing scenery were immediately washed away by a giant downpour on Sunday morning.

This post features some of the amazing winter scenery in the Hague which I managed to capture for the past two weeks.

I will definitely cherish these memories for the rest of my life.

The first snow of the year in the Hague for 2013!

I still remember a few days prior to ushering the new year, someone told me that we have already experienced the worst of winter season 2012-13. And how the coldest days were over and we should not be expecting any more snow in 2013.

Perhaps the person is wrong. We have just welcomed the very first snow for the year of 2013. It has been super cold for the past 2 days with temperature hovering around 0°C. Without prior notification, many areas in the Hague are covered with around 5 cm of fresh white snow this afternoon.

Just a short 3 hours of snow transformed the roofs, cars and trees to be covered by a layer of brightly lit white linen. White Chirstmas feeling once again reverberated in my heart.

Time to have a cup of hot dark chocolate to warm my body and soul...

Delft pottery or more popularly known as Delftware refers to blue and white pottery made in and around the city of Delft in the Netherlands since the 1600s.

Royal Dutch Airline, KLM present these small Delftware in the form of old Dutch canal houses that filled with Jenever (a type of Dutch liquor) as gifts to their first and business class passengers on the long-haul flights.

I got these 3 beautiful Delft miniature Dutch canal houses while traveling with KLM on the Kuala Lumpur to Amsterdam flight 3 years back. While the distance between Kuala Lumpur and Amsterdam is approximately 6350 miles.

KLM Dutch Blue Delftware

I was really surprised when these Blue Delft miniature houses suddenly appear while unpacking my shipment after arrival in the Netherlands. This is because I did not recall packing them for the relocation in the first place. How did these Delftware make the 6350 miles intercontinental journey then?
Blame it on the packers. They must have accidentally wrapped and packed the miniature houses into the carton boxes to be shipped to The Netherlands. Perhaps, these 3 Dutch Blue Delftware may have just claimed the world record as the furthest traveled Blue Delft miniature houses: a total of 12,700 miles.

“Hey … is that a camera?”

“Quick, hurry, take a snap … before I have to be whisked away”, the little dog seemed to shout at me.

This cute little puppy was spotted when I was exploring a quiet neighborhood near Gouda. He kept staring at me and refused to go even though his master was pulling his leash rather tightly. Perhaps he was excited to see me holding my monster: Nikon DSLR.

After a quick snap, he happily moved on with great satisfaction.

Although this is the only shot and the sharpness could be better, I am quietly contented as I fulfilled the little dog’s request … if I read his mind correctly.

Growing up in a tropical country, I really have no idea how animals react to extreme weather.

We, human beings are far more fortunate. During cold days, extra piece would come in handy to curb with the chill. How about animals? Since they can't put on another layer of clothing as they wish, ever wonder how animals deal with the nasty cold weather during winter?

Perhaps through these photos you may discover the answer.

Pigeons in Amsterdam and Cats at Great Wall of China

Left: Pigeons along the canal of Amsterdam Right: Chilled cats beneath the Great Wall of China

What a magnificent piece of art by Mother Nature !

In a short span of 5 weeks time, the trees at the back of my apartment have transformed from green leaves to bald branches.

Winter is definitely around the corner ...

‘Do you own a houseboat?’

Perhaps it is not uncommon to ask this question to a Dutch. A stroll along the canals, you may spot boats in various sizes docking. You may also be surprise to see letter boxes standing next to the canal too.

Yes, these are not the usual fishing boat. In fact, these are the home to some people who prefer to stay floating rather than on the land. The boat is a house, a transport, a source of food i.e. instead of buying fish from the market, you may just fish right from your boat. 3-in-1, isn’t that great to have a houseboat?

Canal in Rotterdam

Rien Sans Dieu Boat of Rotterdam

My last visit to Stockholm has in fact brought me a chance to stay in the hotelboat. The cabin in the hotelboat is rather small. The cabin is merely 12m² with a double decker bed, a small coffee table and a heater. Just like the backpacker hostels, the bathrooms and toilets are shared among the hotel guests.

I was pretty happy with the stay despite the small room and shared facilities. The hotelboat is simply the choice for a backpacker like me as it is cheap and convenient. Just for your information, the boats are just a mere 10min walk from the subway station.

Hotelboat is something you should not miss when you visit Stockholm!

Loginn Hotel, Stockholm

The Red Boat, Stockholm

Cabin in The Red Boat

We all know about the benefits of tea tree oil. It helps to get rid of skin problems such as acne and skin infections. Some even use it as mouth wash to treat bad breath, inflamed gums and plaque.

Eemm, just a quick question. Have you seen an actual tea tree before? I haven't ... but I have seen a real T Tree.

Check out the photo below: A tree in T shape

I am completely awoke as the awesome autumn has arrived ...

Autumn signifies romance, beauty and colours. For me, autumn is much more than that, it is the most mysterious time of the year. Almost every year without fail, I will spend at least a week in Europe. However, I have yet to visit Europe during autumn. Why? It still baffles me till now.

The spell has finally broken in 2012! Yes, you read me right. For once, I finally got the chance to savor my very first autumn in Europe.

I feel like I am stepping into a colorful fairyland. Everything is so surreal and sometimes, I really thought I am living in my own dreams. Perhaps, I am awoke in my own autumn's dream.

Anyway, I know I've fallen for the fall ...

Denise's Wonderland

M&S Mandarin Orange Pancakes

Bakehouse Chicken & Bacon Pie

Summer Fruits

Spring is Coming to the Netherlands

Amazing Winter Photos of The Hague

First snow in the Hague

Dutch Blue Delftware: The Amazing 12700 Miles Journey

A Little Puppy's Camwhoring Request

The Natural Defense Against Chill

Transformation

Houseboat in Europe

T Tree

Wake Me Up When Autumn Comes

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