Bye bye Dubai -farewell trip to Abu Dhabi

My dream trip to Middle East comes to an end. We are leaving Dubai and are going to settle back in London. I realize sadly, that means the end of my blog, which I only started making this July while living in Dubai on the Palm.

We arrived in Dubai in January and loved the weather and surroundings.

The idea for a blog came to me only in July. As the summer reached its peak, I cooked more and sought inspiration as we became vegetarian. I tried more recipes and hope that I helped or inspired others to try and  cook for themselves.

I was glad to discover that my blog had an audience in UAE, Canada, US, UK and even Asia. Thank you to all of you who took the time to check out the blog.

I am going to miss the friends I made here in Dubai and I hope that I will see you guys at some point and somewhere soon.

Our life-changing experience, (which was especially for me, coming to Middle East), was completed in style with a trip to Abu Dhabi's Palace and a lovely lunch experience on the verandah.

The Palace was stunning, covered in gold, literally!

During our lunch we sat outside, looking at the beach and listened to classical music.  The food was beautifully displayed. It has certainly given me some ideas for future events.

The dishes were fairly simple but mouthwatering. 

Have a look.

 Golden Palace

View from the lunch seat

Lovely selection for a little girl:

 Filipino starter - spinach dish

mmm....

 Stuffed baby courgette, mini gazpacho and blue cheese salad

 Caesar salad in a glass

 A pretty selection of skewered apricots, profiteroles, marshmallows and grapes.

So bye bye for now ... and future details of my next blog will follow shortly.

You can find me now on:

http://littleblackcoffee.wordpress.com

Love Patricia

Avocado, red bean, tuna and tomato tacos

 It's Tacos night!

What can I say - it is yummy and healthy. A very colourful proposition for the evening meal.

 I bought wholemeal Tacos. For the filling I used:

1. clove of garlic
2. red onion
3. organic red beans (can)
4. Rio Mare tuna (can)
5. cherry tomatoes (a bunch)
6. tomaberries (berry shaped tomatoes)

8. chilies

9. cheese -special addition for my (better) half :) 

Next time I will definitely use fresh fish and gherkins with fresh cucumber too.

 

Burger for veggies

After so much exercise, fresh air and running around, everyone felt pretty hungry by 4.30 pm. West 14 -the bar next to our beach, smelt of barbecue.

So the Vegetarian Burger idea was reborn!

Trolley, my online supermarket, did not disappoint and my delivery man brought us sesame seeded buns and other yummy things.

I cooked sliced potatoes for home-made oven-baked fries.

I prepared grilled baby aubergines in olive oil, chestnut mushrooms, tomatoes, baby basil mozzarella and egg & flour coated courgettes.   

I am a big fan of Portabello mushrooms, but I could only get chestnut mushrooms which was good enough.

We had mayo, gherkins, wasabi, herbs and pepper on the side.

I could not forget fried onions, off course. I used the red type.

Breakfast part II

A good, strong and aromatic coffee, fresh croissants and jam - this is heaven for me...

Cheese for Daddy...

And milk for the little one.

Maybe this kinda of breakfast does not keep you going for a long time but it is a pure joy for your senses.

An oatmeal with cinnamon, honey, banana is served sometimes in our home - just for a change.

 Cinnamon warms us up when we need it and it is good for digestion.

Indian onion Bhaji

Some of us celebrate All Saints and some of us do "treat or trick", Halloween style. I joined the Kids Club Halloween party and it was great fun to see little Orla enjoying herself so immensely on a bouncy castles and dancing so energetically. I was not planning to go but considering how bad my migraine was, it was an easier option than staying with her indoors.

Afterwards, we had Indian onion Bhajis and Thai coconut pancakes.

They are pretty easy to make - another recipe which I expected would be more tricky than it actually was.

You will need:

• two onions (one chopped and one sliced)
• chilly
• curry powder (2 tsp)
• gram flour (chickpea flour) (100g)
• baking powder (1/2 tsp)

Mix it all and fry them in oil.

I do not want to use deep-fat-fryer so I simply use my frying pan.

 I used the paper towel to soak-up the oil.

 I garnished them with coriander and served them with sour cream

As you can see, nobody complained.

Thai pancakes with a dip

I absolutely adore this Thai recipe. It is quick, easy and makes me imagine that I am eating take away.

For the pancakes you'll need:

• 4 rounded tbsp plain flour
• 3 eggs beaten
• 100 ml coconut milk
• 1/2 tsp ground turmeric
• vegetables of your choice to fill the pancakes with
• eggs hard-boiled and chopped 

For the dip: 

• 4 tbsp honey
• 4 tbsp light soy sauce
• 4 tbsp lime juice
• 2-4 red chilies
• 1 crushed clove of garlic

Serve with your choice of vegetables, egg, cucumber, spring onions and mint.