spanish tortilla

i have some friends here in Chile that are obsessed with making frittatas and tortillas. So I thought I'd give it a shot after a lazy sunday. It was so simple to do and really really delicious. Good for leftovers also....maybe a little slice for breakfast tomorrow before work.

http://www.marthastewart.com/285346/spanish-tortilla-with-bell-pepper?czone=food%2Fdinner-tonight-center%2Fdinner-tonight-main-courses

I sliced up my potatoes, cut up the pepper and onions and let them sit on the heat till they were pretty well cooked. (I didn't really follow a clock for this part) below are a couple of photos of the prep stage and first cooking stage.

when that was almost done cooking i whipped up the egg mix (eggs with salt, pepper and a bit of cilantro).

After I put it in the oven, I noticed that it wasn't baking as fast as I thought it would. I adjusted the oven and slowly....success! Here's the finished product. I served it with a bit of JB mustard. (mustard in chile is more subtle and sweeter than mustard i've had in north america. its delicious. I've always got some in the fridge.

it looks beautiful! and tastes even better! (even without hot sauce!) thanks for the recipe martha!

fall = apples!

well this was a new experience. ive made smoothies before...MANY times. So this morning I needed a refresher. I walked down the street to a little local outdoor fruit and veggie market and stocked up on fruit. i bought plums, peaches, apples etc.

I made an apple ginger (with a splash of vanilla) smoothie...but it was a little to thick...so i decided to strain it and ta-da! my very own JUICE! it may possibly be the best juice that has touched my taste buds! haha. if you don't believe me, try it yourself:

in a blender, mix:

1 large granny smith apple (peeled)

a LITTLE chunk of ginger

a tablespoon of sugar

a drop of vanilla

you'll end up with an apple slushy. like the photo below

but if you prefer your juice a little juicier and a little less slushier, you can use a strainer and eat the slush on the side if you like (as not to waste a perfectly good apple).

delish!! :D

zucchini walnut loaf

My mom would be very proud!

One thing I love about zucchini bread is that the zucchini is pretty much a secret. AND it's delicious!

So on a Wednesday afternoon after coming home early from work, I decided it was time to begin this cooking journey...with zucchini bread. I followed a recipe I found on smittenkitchen.com. See recipe below :)

Zucchini Bread

Yield: 2 loaves or approximately 24 muffins

3 eggs
1 cup olive or vegetable oil
1 3/4 cups sugar
2 cups grated zucchini
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
3 cups all-purpose flour
3 teaspoons cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon nutmeg
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup chopped walnuts or pecans (optional)
1 cup dried cranberries, raisins or chocolate chips or a combination thereof (optional)

Preheat oven to 350°F.

Grease and flour two 8×4 inch loaf pans, liberally. Or line 24 muffin cups with paper liners.

In a large bowl, beat the eggs with a whisk. Mix in oil and sugar, then zucchini and vanilla.

Combine flour, cinnamon, nutmeg, baking soda, baking powder and salt, as well as nuts, chocolate chips and/or dried fruit, if using.

Stir this into the egg mixture. Divide the batter into prepared pans.

Bake loaves for 60 minutes, plus or minus ten, or until a tester inserted into the center comes out clean. Muffins will bake far more quickly, approximately 20 to 25 minutes.

I only had one baking pan so I cut the recipe in half which didn't really affect the taste but the size of the bread was a little...small. The bread turned out really moist and delicious! However, my bread was not as plump as I would have liked and so next time I might use the full recipe or 3/4 of the recipe to make one loaf...i like it tall!

The bread received rave reviews from its tasters (myself, my boyfriend and his friend).

SUCCESS! yummmm

I need a hobby

I think I've realized, I'm doing pretty well in most aspects of life. However there's this one thing that's taking over. That thing called laziness. The following are examples of recent bouts of laziness:

I bought a bicycle and was really excited about riding it around my neighbourhood. All I needed was a bike lock so I could lock it up after riding instead of bringing it up to my apartement.

Did I buy a bike lock? No. Have I ridden my bicycle? .........no :(

There's a great outdoor fruit and veggie market near my apartment. I can walk there, it's cheap, the people there are great! The market is open only on Saturday and Sunday. Saturday rolls around....

Do I go? No. On Sunday morning I wake up, thinking about the market, ready to go.

Do I go? ....no :(

I think we get the idea.

So while talking to a friend today about enjoying life more, he mentioned the brilliant idea of taking up cooking. I've recently been doing this myself after watching many episodes of Top Chef (as a form of being lazy) but with his idea I thought I'd take my dabbling in cooking a little more seriously. So, here we go.

Welcome to 'yummies'. The blog where I try to cook stuff and then tell you (whoever reads this) how it went! And when I'm too lazy to actually cook, I'll write about a great dining experience I had.

Feel free to leave recipes and other banter. :)