Month: December 2015

A quick update! 31 barista-course Lisbon

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This won’t be much of a post. Just some info or rants of what’s happening in my life. My journey to creating a life that I want continues and thus far I have made some steps. Moving out to Amsterdam and taking up the adventure of life. I have gained a level, I leveled-up from 30 to 31 in the past week. It didn’t felt any different from the previous leveling-ups. Just the number has changed and maybe some physical stats, but not much. I just gained a full year of experience of life.

After turning lvl 31, I was ready to attend the timely event that was set beforehand. The road to the barista-class was opened and I could acquire the class change. I moved to the area where the barista-job questline could be acquired. It was an easy travel riding the White-‘Sprinter’-bird to the east-town of Adam. Once arrived at the Roasting-shop I have met one of the quest giver and some companions to take up the challenge of the barista-questline. We had a nice briefing from the questgiver and could take the first few quest of cupping and answering a written-test quest. This was the First part of the barista-class questline. Together with my two other companions we defeated the Test-monster and was approved of receiving an Achievement certificate of the SCEA. It will be send in due time.

As happy as we were, the group split up and continued to work on the questline on their own.

I have been grinding some gold in between the barista-event. And continue to do so until my Christmas event starts. The plan is to ride the airship to another country and enjoy our exploration of the town Lisbon. One thing for sure is that I try to experience some ‘Pastei de nata’ and recover some stamina to continue my journey and my story.

This is what is awaiting for me in the coming days. 

Live the life that you want and Keep Experimenting!

Missing inspiration… The salad story.

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I am sitting in a coffee franchise, drinking a grande caramel latte and not knowing what to write about. Inspiration has been missing for the last two weeks. I have been pretty much settled in Amsterdam, working part-time, having social events and going to the gym two times a week. However at times I feel unfulfilled with what I have now. I know I am starting a new chapter of my life story, but I am a bit impatient to get where I want to be. This feeling of not going forward tends to occur when I’m having lots of free time to spare. I shouldn’t bitch about, because a lot of people are to busy to have time to spare.

First world problem, right? We should be more grateful for the things we have and I am grateful for having a warmhearted family, good friends and a good life up till now.

I have the future in my own hands and by being active and trying, I can create things that I like. So this dish was something I wanted after a Monday-morning in the gym. Something healthy and some ingredients that I still had stored in the kitchen.

Ingredients: (for 2 portions)

1 Lettuce
1 Red pepper (capsicum)
Halve a Cucumber
1 sweet and fruity Apple
200 grams of Feta cheese
50 grams of Cashew nuts
Quarter of a Lemon
20mL of Extra virgin Olive oil

(optional)
200 grams of Sliced Turkey breast meat
Some salt and pepper
Some oil or butter

Preparing the Salad

Take the sliced turkey meat and season it with salt and pepper. Heat up a fry or grill-pan, when it is hot enough add some oil or butter on the pan. Add the turkey breast in the pan and grill it till it is done. When ready put the turkey aside on a plate.

Get the lettuce and cut it in half from top to bottom and cut up each half of the lettuce from the top end to the bottom end in stripes. Throw away the bottom part. Take the Red pepper and cut it also in half from top to bottom. Remove the insides and the green top of the red pepper. Cut the red pepper also into stripes from top to bottom. Get the cut up veggies and rinse it in a colander. Wash the cucumber and slice it into disks. Take out the feta and cut it into cubes. Wash the apple and cut it in half from top to bottom. Remove the core, the top and the end. Julienne (a french name of cutting technique) the apple parts. Grab a big bowl and mix all the lettuce, red pepper, cucumber, apple, feta and cashew nuts all together. In a separate bowl add some Extra virgin olive oil and agitate it with the lime juice. Mix it well and the two liquids thickens.

Plate up, add the turkey and the salad mix. Give it a few spoons of the dressing-like mixture and it is done.

It is easy to make and I hope you like it. Like, share and Keep Experimenting!

The 3rd Japan Market and Amsterdam Food Festival

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Last weekend was a busy end of the week or better yet end of the month. November has ended and the Festive month starts. So in hindsight it was a nice way of ending it fun and joyful with my siblings. Last week program was The FoodFestival Amsterdam at the RAI and on Sunday was The 3rd Japan Market (Fair) at the Lloyd hotel, both in Amsterdam. (I am kinda slow on posting.)

The 3rd Japan Market (Fair)

As you might know in my previous post the weather in the Netherlands sucks at the moment with lots of rain, wind and greyness. Nevertheless, I had a rather relaxed and laid-back morning with some steamed buns for breakfast. However it was a bit to laid-back and I had to change-gear from ‘zero-to-100’ for the ‘Metro’ (subway) to Amsterdam Central Station. The meet-up with my siblings was at 12:30 p.m. and I was just in time to get the 12:10 Metro to ‘Centraal’. I was the first one to arrive, my sister, brother and his girlfriend were next up and right on time. Then we took the tram to The Lloyd Hotel were the event was held.

It was the first time that I was at the Lloyd hotel. It was not a fancy new hotel, but a more traditional styled one. The hotel from within has been renovated to modern times, with an open spaced lunchroom and a stairway to multiple plateaus. These plateaus-areas can be used for various occasion, like holding small events or place to retreat to for some reading or doing things on the laptop. This time it was The 3rd Japan Market held at this location. The event was divided into two parts the non-food and the food part. The non-food part was set up in two small rooms on the first floor of the hotel. There were various small booths selling Japanese items or handcrafted works from people who studied under the Japanese art style. Some of the remember-able booths were: The butterflies that are made of ties, The handmade pottery-works following the Japanese style, The modern ‘kawaii’ (cute) handmade stuff made for girls and young-womens. Others are Japanese forged steel scissors and various Japanese arts inspired craft works.

   

Next up is the plateau area or food area. Multiple food-stands are selling their Japanese cooking-arts or just food. Stands were selling Onigiri, a triangular rice ball with fish or vegetables in it and covert with a ‘nori’ paper (processed seaweed.) green tea stands, sushi-boxes and home made sushi. Sweets stands with matcha-muffins, Doriyaki’s (Doreamon’s favorite), mochi’s and the fish shaped cake Taiyaki. We bought some of those treats and had them for lunch. The Japan Market was nice and may they become a bigger event in the future.

   
  

Food Festival Amsterdam

Before we went to the Food Fest at the RAI, we wandered a bit at Central Station and nearby IJ-burg. The thing was that we were still full from the lunch and could use a walk. So we went for a stroll or shop-hopping…. uhm, yeah shopping at the IJ-passage at Central and grabbed something to drink near IJ-burg. At around 5p.m. we hopped into the car and headed over to Amsterdam RAI for the Food Festival.

The RAI, Amsterdam largest event location and a place for holding these kinds of grand happenings. The Food Festival was at it’s last day, it started three days earlier on the 26th of november. The four of us walked to the main entrance and were saluted by the security for a look in our bags. It is supposedly not allowed to bring in any food or drinks. In the voyeur was a DJ-Truck playing loud music too welcome the visitors of the event. On the left was the way to the conference area but it was closed off and was not part of the event. On the right side was the road to the large hall were the Food Festival was held. It was huge place and filled with different kinds of people, foodlovers ‘Foodies’, parents with small children, students, expats and many more. The venue was compiled of foodtrucks, the trucks were laid out in a rectangular encirclement having an outer ring and an inner ring. Between the two rings were tables and benches for the visitors to sit and dine. There were two token-shops, where every visitor had to buy tokens in order to buy the food they wanted to consume. One token was €2,50 and the prices at the stands were mostly around 2-3 tokens. However there were some restaurants stands that offered a whole menu or a 3-dish course. Those were more on the expensive side with 4-9 tokens. Drinks can be bought at drinking booths, one token for the ‘souvenir’ drinking-cup and a minimum of one token for the beverage.

So what did we ate that day? Multiple things. (from left to right)

    

The BAO-burger or Beef-Pork-Chicken-Shrimp-patty on a bun. It was an Ok burger, but if you were not familiar with a mix of multiple meat types, it might taste a bit odd. Having something like this is not in everyone’s taste so I would not recommended it for try-out outside of home.

The slow-cooked pulled Pork meat with lots of fried stuff and spring onions on a steamed bun. This is mix of slow-cooked pulled meat and Asiatic soft steamed bun makes it a combination of the modern fusion food. A tasty grub and a change from the regular burger or other fast-food.

The Potato-twister and chicken skewers. A parties favorite that is looks fun, curled up and twisted on a stick. This fried potato on a stick is easily sharable with family and friends or just have it for yourself.

   

Fresh young coconut, very simple and yummy to have. Sipping the coconut juice and eating the young coco-meat.

A Savoury waffle with beetroot and bacon. An odd combination, but who does not like bacon. With waffles you mostly think of sweets, but savoury dishes can also be made. Same with pancakes or crèpes, it can be sweet or savoury, definitely worth a try to make some savoury pancake or waffles.

Below are three pics of Saturday, when I also went to the Food Festival. (two days in a row how about that :p)

   

A pulled pork sandwich, followed by a beef meatball and a beef-burger. A meat-lover must-try meal and a lot of ‘punny’ comments to add. Get a taste of these ‘meaty-buns’ and make sure to ‘sandwich’ it while sharing. Have a lick or a bite of the ‘juicy spiced balls’ and make sure to have this threesome of meat.

Some bite-sized fried snacks, good to go with some beer or drinks. It was seafood flavour, but a meat version was also possible.

Orange Punch and Green Power Smoothies to boost your daily fruit and veggies needs.

 

That’s all folks, it was a day of treats for the eyes and stomach. For the next time I try to post it more on time, cause now it is way after some time. Nevertheless up to the next Food experience! I hope you like it and Keep Experimenting!

Where is the Holiday Spirit? Here, near Deez Nutz!

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I don’t like this time of the year especially in the Netherlands. The thing is that around this time in the Low-lands it is cold, windy and very wet; the days are short, getting up and going to work when it is dark, leaving work and getting back home in the same darkness. It is as if everything is telling me to hibernate and skip this time of the year. It really sucks to go outside, the grey-and-sad-looking sky, crying it’s many tears down on to the planes of our small, small ‘Kikkerlandje’ (A Dutch saying).

However it is also the end of the year with it’s Festive holidays and Joyable gatherings. The many birthdays of my family in these months, the Oh-so-critisized Traditional Childrens-holiday of ‘SinterKlaas’, The Commercially known holiday of the birth of Christ ‘Christmas’ and the End of the Year celebration of ‘Oud en Nieuw’ on the day of switching to 2016.

It is the time to spend some time with family and friends and I am blessed with them being in my life. So to have some ‘Yummie in the Tummy’ I present a triple recipe in one with some seasonal ingredients of autumn and winter. Prepare yourself Winter is coming!


Muffin-sized cakes: for 6 cups
Apple-Cinnamon-Pecan
Matcha-White Chocolate-Macadamia
Chocolate-Cream Cheese-Oreo-Hazelnut

Ingredients:

Apple-Cinnamon-Pecan
150 grams of Flour
80 grams of Sugar
100 grams of Butter
20 grams of Cornstarch
8 grams of Baking Soda
10 grams of Cinnamon
80 mL of Milk
50 grams of Pecan nuts
2 Large-sized Eggs
1 Apple
1 tablespoon of lemon juice

Matcha-White Chocolate-Macadamia
120 grams of Flour
80 grams of Sugar
100 grams of Butter
20 grams of Cornstarch
8 grams of Baking Soda
15 grams of Matcha (green tea powder)
80 mL of Milk
50 grams of Macadamia nuts
2 Large-sized Eggs
100 grams of White Chocolate

Chocolate-Cream Cheese-Oreo-Hazelnut
120 grams of Flour
80 grams of Sugar
100 grams of Cream-cheese butter
20 grams of Cornstarch
8 grams of Baking Soda
50 grams Cocoa-powder
80 mL of Milk
50 grams of Hazelnut
2 Large-sized Eggs
50 grams of Oreo-cookies

   

The Easy way of making these Cakes.

Have every ingredients out on the cooking table and have the butter and cream-cheese butter at room temperature. Measure the ingredients and set them aside. Peel the apple and chop it up into small cubical pieces, add lemon to it to prevent browning. Chop the chocolates, oreos and the various nuts and put them separately into small bowls for later. Pre-heat the oven at 180-190 degrees Celsius.

First up, take a mixing bowl and put in the butter. Use a hand-mixer to mix the butter to a soft and creamy substance. Add the sugar, milk and eggs and mix it again. The mix should be clear of lumps and mixed well. Next step is to add in the powders. Use a sieve and add all the powders: flour, cornstarch, baking soda and the recipe’s powder (cinnamon, matcha or cocoa-powder.) Sieve in the powders to prevent forming of lumps and mix it all with the handmixer. A thick batter-like substance should be seen. Final step is to add in the apple and pecan-nuts (or the white chocolate and macadamia-nuts, the oreo-cookies and hazel-nuts.) Use a spatula to mix in the Last ingredients.

When it is mixed in, lay out the cups and pour in the cake-mix. Put the cups with the mix in the oven for 25-30 min. Check up on the cakes at 25min with sate-skewer and depending on the mix type it can be done or need a little bit more time. (When you poke the skewer down to the bottom of the cup and pull it out; the skewer should be clear or a little bit oily. If it is otherwise, it isn’t done yet.)

The Long way of making these Cakes

I did not have the time to use this method, because it was already late at night and I did not wanted to disturb my house-mates with the hand-mixer noise. It would have made a more lighter and fluffier cake.

Measure the ingredients and prepare it like the first part above. (peeling and chopping.)

Next would be melt the butter in a pan to have melted butter. Separate the egg yolk and the egg white.

The egg-white would be hand-mixed to soft peak, then sugar would be added and mixed further to stiff-peak (meringue.) In another bowl are the melted butter, milk and the egg-yolks mixed together. When both bowls are ready, I would use a spatula to scoop up some of the meringue and gently fold it into the butter-milk-and-yolk-mix. Continue until all of the meringue are folded into the mix. Next part would be to add the powders gradually with a sieve and fold it in as well. It have to be added gradually or else all the work to add air into the mix will be done for nothing. Finally, add the last ingredients such as apples and pecan nuts and fold it all again. The added air and folding technique will make the Cake-mix more airy and gives it more of a rise in the oven. Because of the rise of cake, it is best to fill the cups half-full otherwise it might droop out of the container/cup.

Put the cups with mix in the oven for 20-30 min at 180-190 degrees Celsius and check up on it at 20min timer to see if it is ready or it need more time to bake.

I will have to try the Long-method in order to see the results for myself. But for now have fun trying, Like, Share and Keep Experimenting!