Thursday, March 18, 2010

I'm obsessed with the mess...

From time to time, fashion bloggers make some stupid posts about silly things. This is one of those posts...!

I guess that all of you have got an obsession: bows, dresses, sunglasses... my obsession are socks. I can buy pairs and pairs of different socks without thinking of how many pairs I've got right now.

 My last pair of socks, an adorable Emily Temple Cute pair I bought yesterday... 
(read more)



And yesterday night, I was talking with a friend about this... et voilá! I though it would be funny see how many cute socks I have; so I've made photos of (almost) all my cute socks, except some of them that are at my home at Algeciras... I must say that I've got like 15 more pairs (or maybe 20, I don't know) apart from what I'm showing you here, but they're not so cute at all... so... let's start! Click in the pictures to enlarge!

From left to right: Tutu Anna socks (a present from Esther!), Topshop and Claire's... overknee!
Ankle socks from Claire's, H&M and Calzedonia. 
Pink section: Secret Shop socks, Baby, the Stars Shine Bright and Oysho, with little hearts (I love them!)
White with cute things: with flowers from Calzedonia, with black roses and crosses from Moi-Même-Moitié, with a panda from Putumayo and with rabbits and hearts, from Chocomint. 
Black stripes with ramdom colors: dark pink (a present from Laia); light pink and blue (Claire's), purple (Calzedonia) and orange (Claire's too). 
Stripes with cute things: skulls and crowns (Alice and the Pirates), french cards (Claire's) and ribbons and candies (Leg Avenue). 
Black cute ones: with a rose jail and with the Alice and the Pirates logo (both from that brand), ballerina socks (Bodyline), with the white rabbit (The Macmillan Alice) and with an skull (Putumayo). 
More black, all from Calzedonia!
Black and white, with musical notes (offbrand bought at Camden Town, London) and small squares from Bodyline. 
I call these my "Harry Potter's socks"; I don't remember where I bought them but they're so Griffindor and Slytherin!
More short socks: the red ones are from Oysho and I think that the other ones are from Topshop... I can't remember, so many socks!!
My yellow overknee socks with stars, offbrand. 
Ant the other adquisition from yesterday, an adoraple pair of anklesocks from Calzedonia. 

So you, what's your obsession?

Msabbaha - مسبحة



Dear fellow readers and bloggers, sorry for disappearing again! I just got back from Lebanon! A little change from the crappy weather in Europe :( Now, seems like spring is in the air :) So I guess my energy is back, yes!
This recipe is very simple and very similar to the Hommus with tahini but with a bit more tahini and not as thick as the Hommus mix. So for this recipe you'll need:
- Prepare the Hommus recipe just like you normally do (or check my Hommus recipe if it's your first time) then add to it:
- Half a cup of whole cooked chickpeas, another small spoon of tahini sauce with half a cup of water, and add some cumin. Some chopped parsley for decoration and olive oil on top and voila!
Serve with pita bread and assorted pickles, or a plate of fresh cut vegetables (tomatoes, mint, cucumber, green onions and some radishes).

Aberdeen Angus Fillet Steak with Garlic and Leek Pastry Bombs

Garlic and Leek Pastry Bombs Ready to be Cooked"What are garlic and leek pastry bombs?" is likely to be the first question asked by a great many who come across this blog post. The simple truth of the matter is that garlic and leek pastry bombs (pictured right, ready to be cooked) are a meal accompaniment which I, "Created," entirely by accident, from ingredients which I had available, when an inopportune telephone call caused me to burn the filling which was supposed to go in to the pastry. That is the bottom line but does not change the fact that they are absolutely delicious and it is guaranteed that I will be making them again.

The following recipe is for two people.

Ingredients

2 Aberdeen Angus fillet steaks
2 small carrots (scraped and chopped in to discs)
1 small leek (with at least 6" of green leaf)
4oz puff pastry (chilled)
1 clove of garlic
Pinch of dried sage
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
A little milk
A little butter
Sunflower oil for frying the steaks

Method

I have prepared the instructions for making the garlic and leek pastry bombs in great detail, with a number of photographs included to assist you in the process. To avoid repetition and to save time and space, these instructions can be found by clicking here. They will open in a new window.

Fifteen minutes prior to the garlic and leek pastry bombs being ready, the carrots should be added to some salted, boiling water and simmered gently until the pastries are ready. It is thereafter important to remember, that as well as the required cooking time, the steaks will have to be rested for a few minutes prior to serving. These 1/2" thick steaks, I cooked in a very hot pan, containing a little sunflower oil, for about a minute each side, before removing the pan from the heat and allowing them to rest as they were for three or four minutes. I have stated many times that I enjoy a steak best when I can feel the blood dribbling down my chin but I am aware that is not everyone's preference and the cooking time may be adjusted as required.

When all the components of the meal are ready, the carrots should be drained through a colander and the meals plated up for service as shown below.

Aberdeen Angus Fillet Steak with Garlic and Leek Pastry Bombs

umi

14 maret 2010, minggu

Kemarin minggu, biasa deh jadwal ke mertua. Hari ini hubby ga bisa nganter kesitu, jadinya gw n anak2 naik densha-train ke sana dah. Jaraknya si cuman 1 station, cuman abis dari situ, mesti jalan skitar 30 menitan. Gpp, cuaca lagi cerah..jadi jalan nyantei aja sama Mei. Xiang tetep pake bebi car. Ribet kalo ga bawa bebi-car, maunya jalan sendiri ga mo dituntun huhu.

Ngobrol sebentar ama mertua, trus ngajak ke umi-laut. Kebetulan rumah mertoku tuh deket ama laut, lautnya di belakang rumah, cuman harus jalan ke sana, paling 15 menitan. Disana sepi, soalnya bukan musim panas, musimnya berenang n maen pasir hehe.


Disitu Mei ketemu maenan baru, yaitu ngumpulin kaigara-kulit kerang. Xiang ga begitu suka laut, jadi dia pergi nyari matsubokuri-pic dsini. Gw juga ga tau bahasa indo nya apaan ya??
Akhirnya Mei ikutan ngumpulin juga mpe banyakkkk banget, ga tau buat apaan ni?? ada kali bawa pulang 30 biji?? huhuaaaaaa...penuh2in rumah, cuman ga brani gw sembarang buang, kcian, da cape2 ngumpulin kok dibuang mama?? pasti ngeluh begitu.
Senangnya main2 walaupun cuman main pasir, nyari2 kulit kerang, ngumpulin matsubokuri, ya anggap aja piknik mini, sayang belom bisa berenang n main air, coz airnya masih duingggiiinnn

'Is that Alex from Just Cook It on Masterchef?'

Oh crikey. I’ve made it through to the quarter final of Masterchef UK.

If you’d like to see my television-based adventures so far (and you’re based in the UK) it is available on the rather brilliant BBC iPlayer.

Dear regulars: you have no idea how hard it’s been to keep this secret. Thank you hugely for your continued visits and your funny, insightful and inspirational comments over the past couple of years.

And for any newcomers: hello. Welcome to my little blog, Just Cook It – pull up a chair and have an explore. To give you an idea of the sort of thing I do, here’s a small selection of some of my favourite posts to get you started:

Mains
Five hour steak
Beef short ribs


Momufuku style steamed pork buns
Deep fried pig’s brain

Dessert


Lemon and chilli pepper tart
Whipped Chocolate mousse
Instant sponge pudding


Misc. tastiness


Pork Pie
Eccles Cakes
Hot Dogs
Pork Scratchings


New posts may be sporadic over the next few days but if you’re feeling starved, I can be found on twitter at @justcookit. Hope to hear from you soon.

More madness to follow shortly - the Masterchef Quarter Final is on Monday 22nd March at 8:30pm on BBC1.