Monday, September 20, 2010

It's Autumn!

It was my first time to experience autumn, leaves are slowly falling from the trees, the green landscape that i was so fond of looking at everytime i go cycling is fading day by day.  Mushrooms are sprouting everywhere.


HT couple who's used to sunshine, autumn, temperature wise, is already winter for us.  And out of principle, we haven't switched on the heater.  (haha trying hard to get used to it).


And what do we do to compensate when the temperature is slowly going down?  We take care of our tummies!
Autumn beef stew

As most of my family and friends know how inexperience I am in the kitchen, definitely this is not an original recipe.  My past time right now, is looking up online on recipes and try making it in our kitchen.  And i would like to share my favorite kitchen blog, Kayotic Kitchen which was recommended by another famous blogger here in the Netherlands, thanks oranjeflamingoAside from the good photos which motivates me to do my own version, the recipes were easy to make. 

My Autumn beef stew was inspired by Kayotic kitchen's Winter cranberry beef stew. (check out the link for the full recipe).  It took me only 10 minutes to put everything in the pan but simmered it for 1 1/2 hours (the longer the better so the meat would be more tender). 

After sautéing onions and bacon bits, i just mix salt, paprika, pepper, the beef cubes, beef stock, tomato paste and of course the key ingredients, a cup or red wine and 3 tbsp. of molasses which gave out the balance taste of this dish.  Drop a few bay leaves for more aroma.

And to give an asian hint on this dish, i put a few slices of chilies. 

Voila!  HT hubbie loved it!


Homemade Burritos

We cheated on this dish and got ready made soft tortilla and pre-mixed sauces (you know when lazy days kicked in).  We used chicken as our source of protein and loaded ourselves with more carbohydrates by adding a big serving of rice and overdosage of cheeseOf course, chilies (again) were added in this dish.



And last but not the least...
HT hubbie's apple pie!

I visited friends in another city and when I came home, HT hubbie surprised me with this wonderful yummy, rich-in-vitamins pie! 

Spicy food, delicious meals and well-fed tummies, we're definitely ready for the winter!

How about you?  What food do you fancy when it's cold?

4 comments:

  1. ice-cream... ironically :P

    they taste so good when the temperature is cold for whatever reason! But i always regret 10 mins later, hahaha

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  2. Ha! We've been trying to avoid turning on the heat, out of principle, as well, although we gave in one day last week! At least the weather has warmed up a bit these past few days. If it gets cool again this weekend, I think I'm going to make that stew! It looks delicious, but then all of Kay's recipes have been a success for me. I'm glad you're enjoying the site, as well.

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  3. Hello Oysterdiaries, that's a good one. :) I guess to avoid being gloomy during cold season, is to live like it's always summer! And ice cream is a must!

    Hi Alison, haha we gave in this week :) And yes, these past days, weather is quite good. Thanks again for all your help!

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  4. there's nothing like a hot meal in cold weather! (:

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