food again

I kept myself busy this weekend by spending a lot of time in the kitchen, and in food related activities. Well, I did clean the bathroom, which I hate doing, but is a necessity anyway – in other words, no choice! Oh and I did go back down to the garage just to check if my bike’s back – but of course it’s not! I must be wishing!

And so instead of punishing myself for not getting better locks for my bike, I instead decided to move on by being a busy bee for the rest of the weekend. So here were the results:

Barley and Lentil Soup

I love making soup because it is very easy to make and at the same time, there are no rules… you can put in whatever you want, season it, and that’s it! But so far, my favorite soup to make is barley and lentil soup. I like barley because its texture is the same as rice and you know how we love rice! And it’s healthier than white rice too.

According to this livestrong article: Is Pearl Barley More Nutritional Than Rice? -

Including more whole grains in your diet can lower your risk of heart disease and help you maintain a healthier body weight, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Both pearl barley and brown rice are examples of whole grains. White rice is an example of a refined grain. While some of their nutritional components are similar, pearl barley is a better source of fiber, iron, potassium and folate than either brown rice or white rice.

Lentil on the other hand, is a legume. It’s quite healthy, high in protein and fiber and they give some added thickness to the soup.

The rest of the ingredients I added were broccoli, mushroom, tomato, green peppers, and veggie broth. I didn’t get the taste right after, but my aunt helped me with seasoning it further, and after a few adjustments, it actually tasted pretty good! I made a whole bunch… it’ll probably last us a whole week. Haha!

Banana Bread

And so I’ve been waiting for my bananas to go overripe for more than a week already and finally it’s ready. When I say overripe, I let it turn to black, you know how bananas turn out if you don’t eat it, they turn black, and that’s the state I want my bananas to be. I got this recipe named “Ridiculously Simple Banana Bread” from my aunt and that’s what I followed. To add some more zing into it, I included chocolate chips too!

I think it turned out pretty good, better than what I expected. It’s moist and it’s not too sweet too. My boss in the office brings her home made banana bread to the office every now and then, and I think mine’s much better. Hahaha!

Elderflower syrup – Carbonated Water Drink

Last Friday night, my friend brought me to this wonderful vegetarian restaurant and got me to try out different types of vegetarian food. That was one of the best dinners I’ve had, but I think I’ll reserve that for another post (if I can get to it). One thing that stood out was that he wanted me to try out an Elderflower drink. That’s the first time I even heard that word! No idea at all what it is. And so when it was served, oh did it make a really good impression. It’s a nice sweet flavor. Actually reminded me of sprite, but a lot less subtle. So anyway, I enjoyed it so much that this morning, I went to Gourmet Warehouse, as suggested by my friend because that’s where I can get this (the one of the left):

It’s an Elderflower drink concentrate, like a syrup, but not as thick as let’s say, pancake syrup.

The one on the right, the Gerolsteiner is a carbonated water that I got from a regular grocery store here.

The suggested mixture is 1:6 between the elderflower and the carbonated drink. You can also add some lemon and ice to the drink to make it yummier!

And thus, I made my own drink! Wonderful!