Danderma's Blog, page 33

Recipe: Quinoa with Broad Beans & Dill

Growing up, rice with broad beans & dill or what we call in Kuwait “Bajela w Shbent” was a favourite lunch dish of mine. It is traditionally made with chunks of meat and daqqos tomato sauce at home but I’ve always opted to mix it with low fat yoghurt instead. I was craving it the other day but since I’m still on the path of losing the Ramadan weight and testing out quinoa in recipes I’ve decided to make the dish, subsituting rice with quinoa and see how it would turn out. To my surprise the recipe turned out to be a success and had I not made the dish myself I wouldn’t have realised I was actually eating quinoa! 

I prepared the quinoa as I’ve done before in my Quinoa & Pomegranate salad recipe and Quinoa Mushroom Risotto which doesn’t take much time, only fifteen minutes maximum.

Basically for every measure of quinoa you use double the amount water with a sprinkle of salt, put them together in a pan and bring to a boil on high heat then reduce the heat to medium-low and let simmer for 15 minutes until all the water is gone and the quinoa is double in size. Here is a video I found on Gcalories blog that explains it better. You know the quinoa is done when it looks like this.

I measured the amount of quinoa I needed for my recipe and kept the rest in a tupperware in the fridge for future use. It keeps very well and doesn’t spoil quickly so whenever you need it all you have to do is take it out of the fridge, fluff it a bit with a fork, and consume immediately.

What else do I need? A bit of vegetable oil, salt & pepper, some frozen broad beans (green bajela) and some fresh dill.

Ingredients – serves 2:

12 cups of COOKED quinoa (about 320g cooked quinoa) – one tablespoon vegetable oil – 1-1.5 cup frozen broad beans – a bunch of dill, chopped– 1.5 cups water – salt & pepper – low fat yoghurt – some tamarind concentrate (optional).

You measure the quinoa, the broad beans, wash the dill and give it a nice chop which should release it’s grassy fragrance, it smells like freshly cut grass which I adore. Once you are ready it’s time to cook.

In a non-stick pan add the tablespoon of oil then add the chopped dill and the broad beans. Mix for a bit until you see that the broad beans have thawed a bit.

Add enough water to cover the dill and beans mixture, add salt and pepper.

Bring the mixture to a boil.

Once the mixture boils add your quinoa and mix. Then add water just enough to cover the surface of the quinoa rice, beans, and dill.

Let the water bubble away and reduce, when it cover the pan with some aluminium foil, cover with a lid, and reduce the heat. Let it simmer for about 20 minutes.

In 20 minutes take the pan off the heat and take the lid off, your quinoa, beans, and dill is now done and ready to be consumed immediately.

Serve and get ready to dig in.

I personally like to eat it with low fat yoghurt.

I also had a bottle of Tamarind concentrate which, if you add just the right amount, will give a tangy sweet edge to your dish. Too much of it will be too sour though.

Yummy indeed! My favourite quinoa dish so far! Familiar yet modernised and more diet-friendly.

I need more ideas on cooking quinoa, even though I’m not much of a fan of hot quinoa but using it in dishes like this with lots of flavour didn’t differ much from using rice, flavour wise anyway. If it looks good, it tasted even better than it looked.

Dinner At Atari Asian Tapas Restaurant

The first thing that comes to mind when you hear the word “Atari” is the Atari video games we used to play in the very early 80′s, therefore when  a new restaurant with the name Atari opened up a while back the name did catch my attention and made me want to dine there, and I finally had the chance to do so last Thursday. 

Atari is an Asian Tapas restaurant located on the Seif Restaurant strip right next door to Slider’s Station and Cocoa Room. High ceiling, dangling light fixtures, floor-to-ceiling windows, open kitchen, black and green colour theme, gorgeous retro tiles, and the cutest graffiti peeking from the strangest places is what makes this little restaurant special. It’s also very cosey with only a few tables and quite a tight squeeze.

My favourite graffiti was of the mushrooms, sprouting just below the cash register. Very creative and totally in tune with the Atari theme.

Still, why the name Atari? The menu had an explanation. Apparently Atari actually means hitting the target and I suppose it combines both the retro carefree attitude plus hitting the spot right with the good food. I liked the name even more. The menu, however, was still their soft opening menu which meant there were a very limited amount of dishes to choose from. We were told that dishes from the new full menu would be available the very next day which is last Friday.

Not a big fan of Asian food myself, I did manage to find something to order. First we went with soft drinks.

Don’t you just love those tiles? They are so pretty!

For appetizers we went for the spicy edamame. They were good, but really spicy!

For the main dish my husband went for the spicy Thai chicken curry with steamed rice.

He enjoyed his dish a lot even though it was so spicy his face was turning red. My order was the Noodles which were vegetarian.

The portion of noodles was very small, probably because it was a side dish. It was quite tasty but again it was really spicy and I was tempted to gulp the entire bottle of diet coke after a few bites.

The restaurant was getting crowded so when we were done with our meal we decided to leave but when we asked for the check they asked us to wait for dessert which was complimentary. I asked for black coffee to go with my dessert.

The dessert was a very rich warm dates cake topped with vanilla ice cream.

I’m not usually a fan of dates or cakes with dates but this cake was lip-smacking! So delicious, oozing flavour, and hit the spot just right which I suppose in Asian means Atari! Atari indeed!

Our check came to about 10 KD, not bad at all for a meal out. Do you see the bottle beneath our check?

A melted coke bottle! I suppose this is a recycled coke bottle and I just love it! The attention to the quirky details in Atari is amazing.

We enjoyed our dinner in Atari and we’d love to go back and try more of the food items on the new menu. We do have one complaint regarding the service, which although was very friendly and efficient but they were too attentive. The moment you put down your fork, or chopsticks, or take the last sip of your drink, you’ll realise that your plate is gone! Actually they swept away the edamame just as I was about to grab one and the dish was half full, they didn’t ask us if we were done or if we wanted it to be removed. Swish, and it’s gone. Game over! The delicious cake made up for it though. Great place you have there Atari, wishing you the best of luck

Atari Asian Tapas is located in the Seif Strip right beside Cocoa Room and Slider’s Station. There is no need for reservation but for more information and you can call them at +(965)-22468760 or follow them on instagram (@Atari_KW).

10 Things That Just Happen As You Diet

1- A very thin girl makes it her personal quest to destroy your diet. Whenever she see’s you she’s squeal and call you too thin and “enough already” even though you’ve only lost a kilo and need 49 more to go! Why, for the love of god, why?

2- Somehow everyone you know decide they are gathering up, for lunch or dinner where food takes central stage.

3- All the restaurants in Kuwait decide to come up with something new and irresistible then you find flyers with yummy pictures waiting at your doorstep that you’d see first thing n the morning and can’t get out of your head for the rest of the week.

4- Suddenly naughty food items start appearing out of no where, at home or at work, and they sit there and taunt you for you’ve decided not to touch them.

5- Everyone is suddenly speaking about food all the BLOODY TIME, 24/7! Even in movies, they all seem to be sitting on breakfast tables, dinner table, or sipping coffee somewhere!

6- The amount of food commercials on TV intensify rapidly, and you find yourself dreaming about sinking your teeth into that boneless breaded chicken thigh from KFC!

7- You smell things that aren’t there but you can swear someone invisible is sitting next to you biting into a slice of strawberry cheesecake drizzled with chocolate fudge and topped with whipped cream and caramelised nuts!

8- You also begin to get a bit too agigated and feel like everyone is conspiring on you behind your back, perhaps snapping at people for the slightest tick, especially thin people. Especially thin people who never diet yet won’t stop eating.

9- You discipline yourself keeping in mind that you are going to have that cheat meal you’ve been craving all week long, then the cheat meal turn out to be a disappointment and either doesn’t taste the way you remember it or something else happens to ruin it for you. There is nothing worse for a diet’s spirit than a lousy cheat meal. Hate them

10- You decide to try and fit into a new pair of jeans that is a size too small, and you can actually button it up without having to suck your stomach in until it reaches your throat. Suddenly, all your hardships seem worthless and you know you can do this despite all the obstacles in your way. Yay me!

The Butcher’s Den Bloggers Tasting

Last week we had the pleasure of being invited to a private tasting event of the new menu at The Butcher’s Den. I’ve been to the Butcher’s Den before and liked it a lot although the service was a bit clunky since they were in their soft opening phase still. Now that they are operating full time I expected the service to be top notch and indeed it was.

The Butcher’s Den interior is modern with a sense of humour, you could see little cow figurines everywhere, poking fun at the fact that is a steakhouse serving different cuts of meat. Very cute.

At the back of the restaurant you could see big fridges displaying different cuts of meat from different parts of the cows. I wouldn’t be able to tell you which is which or how good are they, being a vegetarian myself, but everyone I know says they are excellent.

Sitting down on our table, we were brought cotton candy to munch on as browsed the menu.

Then we placed our order, the first to arrive were the drinks of course.

My dish was the Buratta! I love the Butcher’s Den’s Buratta. It’s always fresh, creamy, and delicious. It comes with a nut cracker and walnuts still in their shells.

Since it was a private bloggers event hosted by Ghaliah Technology, there were a few competitions for the diners. The first was to try and cut a piece of meat that weighed 250g without weighing it first.

The second was try and guess the sauce by tasting it, which I’ve won. The third was was to try and correctly label how cooked the different pieces of meat were, whether rare or medium or well done etc.

Then it was time for the main dishes to arrive. Of course my fellow diners ordered steaks and enjoyed them thoroughly.

I enjoyed the side dishes that came with the meat dishes, the glazed figs, the mashed potatoes, the baked potatoes in cream.

Then we enjoyed the desserts, a warm and satisfying chocolate molten cake.

And a really, really delicious caramel waffle with vanilla ice cream. That dessert I finished and almost licked the plate.

As we said our goodbyes we were handed little packaged giveaways wrapped according to the steakhouses’s theme.

Inside were our very own cow figurines. Cute!

Thank you Ghaliah Technology and The Butcher’s Den for the invitation and a really fun night and delicious dinner, we had a great time and the giveaways were funny and cute indeed.

The Butcher’s Den is located in Al-Bida’a restaurant strip next to Java Detour cafe. For more information you can follow them on Twitter (@ButchersDen) or instagram (@ButchersDen).

Dinner at The Butcher’s Den

Last week we had the pleasure of being invited to a private tasting event of the new menu at The Butcher’s Den. I’ve been to the Butcher’s Den before and liked it a lot although the service was a bit clunky since they were in their soft opening phase still. Now that they are operating full time I expected the service to be top notch and indeed it was.

The Butcher’s Den interior is modern with a sense of humour, you could see little cow figurines everywhere, poking fun at the fact that is a steakhouse serving different cuts of meat. Very cute.

At the back of the restaurant you could see big fridges displaying different cuts of meat from different parts of the cows. I wouldn’t be able to tell you which is which or how good are they, being a vegetarian myself, but everyone I know says they are excellent.

Sitting down on our table, we were brought cotton candy to munch on as browsed the menu.

Then we placed our order, the first to arrive were the drinks of course.

My dish was the Buratta! I love the Butcher’s Den’s Buratta. It’s always fresh, creamy, and delicious. It comes with a nut cracker and walnuts still in their shells.

Since it was a private bloggers event hosted by Ghaliah Technology, there were a few competitions for the diners. The first was to try and cut a piece of meat that weighed 250g without weighing it first.

The second was try and guess the sauce by tasting it, which I’ve won. The third was was to try and correctly label how cooked the different pieces of meat were, whether rare or medium or well done etc.

Then it was time for the main dishes to arrive. Of course my fellow diners ordered steaks and enjoyed them thoroughly.

I enjoyed the side dishes that came with the meat dishes, the glazed figs, the mashed potatoes, the baked potatoes in cream.

Then we enjoyed the desserts, a warm and satisfying chocolate molten cake.

And a really, really delicious caramel waffle with vanilla ice cream. That dessert I finished and almost licked the plate.

As we said our goodbyes we were handed little packaged giveaways wrapped according to the steakhouses’s theme.

Inside were our very own cow figurines. Cute!

Thank you Ghaliah Technology and The Butcher’s Den for the invitation and a really fun night and delicious dinner, we had a great time and the giveaways were funny and cute indeed.

The Butcher’s Den is located in Al-Bida’a restaurant strip next to Java Detour cafe. For more information you can follow them on Twitter (@ButchersDen) or instagram (@ButchersDen).

Movie Review: We Are the Millers

“We Are the Millers” movie is currently third on the US box office chart for the fourth week since it’s release and since it just arrived to the cinemas of Kuwait I wasted no time booking tickets for a movie with such box office success.

A comedy with Jennifer Aniston and Jason Sudeikis, the millers are a made-up family of a drug dealer, a stripper, a homeless girl, and a dorky kid trying to smuggle drugs in an RV from Mexico to the USA while disguised as a loving family on a road trip. I didn’t watch the trailers because the Hollywood trailers tend to show all the funny scenes and therefore I had no expectations and I enjoyed and laughed at all the funny scenes for the first time. The movie is funny indeed, and I kept laughing and laughing even though the movie was dissected beyond recognition. There are complete scenes chopped off, things that happen that you don’t know about, the f-word which is heavily used is silenced out and it’s up to you to fill in the blanks. Despite all that, what is left from the movie is indeed funny and if you can stand all the chopping and wouldn’t get frustrated, then I suggest you grab yourself a bucket of popcorn and go laugh away.

We are the millers is definitely going to join my DVD shelve. I cannot wait for it to be released on DVD so I can watch it again and laugh at all the missing scenes. If you can wait, I suggest you watch it on DVD so you can understand the movie better.

Waving at the Vanishing Tail Lights of an Airplane

I looked up from the passenger seat while driving around finishing mundane chores and there it was, a big regal plane descending slowly from the sky, its lights blinking glittering little stars. Remembering the last time I was on an airplane that was landing in Kuwait Airport, I remember how I was glued to the plane’s window, checking out the landmarks of Kuwait and trying to decipher the street map before my eyes to locate where I call home. Upon recalling that memory, I began waving to the plane and saying hello. 

Three waves later I felt silly, bordering on ludicrous even. There I was, a passenger in a car waving at an airplane in the air. No one can see me from the plane, not the captain, nor the passengers glued to their windows. I’m as invisible as a black pixel, undetectable from that height, and my eager waves were for nothing. My waving hand back down to rest beside me and I lowered my gaze. I waved and no one saw me, and no one will ever see me. How many things we do in life that no one can see, or will ever know about? How many times was I a white dot on a white wall, living in my very own bubble that will yield no recognition whatsoever?

Do I need someone, anyone, to know about things I do? Why would I need it in the first place? Encouragement? Recognition? What kind of satisfaction that comes from society’s approval? What if I don’t grant it? Does it mean whatever I did is meaningless, or means nothing? Should be only be doing something for other people to see? How many times before have I done things for myself or for others that no one ever saw? Or watched but chose not to see? Or seen but never appreciated or recognised? Or did see and admire but chose to keep silent about it? Did that ever stop me from doing what I want to do or give back the way I like?

No. Never. Because the single most important person that should know already knows, and that person is me. It’s enough that I know. It’s enough that I remember. It’s enough that I see and appreciate, encourage myself and debate my actions, and that is what counts in the end.

I lift up my arm again and wave, a happy smile on my face, until the plane’s tail lights vanish from my sight. I don’t feel silly this time, I don’t need someone to wave back at me, because I know someone might be or might not be waving back at me even if we can’t see each other.

Breakfast at Circle Cafe in Dubai

When I was last in Dubai I kept hearing and reading reviews of a Circle cafe. The reviews raved about the lovely interior and really distinguished food. One morning as we were driving down Jumeirah Road we saw Circle Cafe and decided to stop for breakfast.

Circle Cafe is located on the second floor of Jumeirah Beach Park Plaza and when you reach it’s door you are flooded by the sun light streaming in from the floor-to-ceiling windows in the back overlooking Safa Park. It wasn’t very crowded, a few tables here and there with diners having breakfast quietly.

We sat on a window table and the view was lovely indeed, with plenty of sun warmth and morning light. As we sat down we looked around the cafe and it was lovely indeed. Dark grey walls, white furniture, and whimsical items like bird cages and victorian tea cups were everywhere.

The service was prompt and very friendly, the waiter brought out the menu which looked like a newspaper and dubbed The Circle Times and helped us select our breakfast.

It didn’t take long for our breakfast to arrive. First was my double espresso which was good.

Carrot juice for my husband. Don’t ask me why…

The rabbit I had as a breakfast companion ordered a vegetarian omelette with bagels.

My breakfast was scrambled eggs with hash browns and bagels and I ordered an extra cream cheese on the side. You cannot have bagels without cream cheese now, can you?

Even though my scrambled eggs weren’t creamy, more on the dry-shredded side, but the food was really good, even the eggs! The bagels were soft yet firm, slightly toasted, and very delicious.

And of course we had the view, watching life unfold in the Dubai morning as we lazily enjoyed our breakfast in peace and quite.

When we were finished and asked for the check, the waiter informed us that they offer a free kunafa cheesecake with every meal as an Eid promotion. We would have loved to try it, the table next to ours were having it and it looked good, but we were too full after our big breakfasts. Next time for sure!

I can understand why people are raving about this place. I would very much want to come back and try their menu for lunch or dinner, especially the Thai green curry with quinoa! If you ever feel like taking a relaxing break and hiding away in a lovely place watching the world as you enjoy good and fresh food, Circle Cafe is the place for you.

Circle Cafe is located in Jumeirah Beach Park Plaza on Jumeirah Road, Dubai. They have other branches around Dubai and Abu Dhabi as well. For more information you can check their website (link), follow them on Twitter (@CircleCafeDubai).

My Diet Motivation Idea

How do you motivate yourself while dieting to continue on the path of losing weight? God knows dieting is not easy especially living in a country where our number one hobby is creating glorious dishes and consuming them. To me, my number one reason for losing weight is sadly not health-related although I’m beginning to rethink the order of that priority, it’s looking good in my clothes and being able to buy what I want without worrying about sizes that would keep me dieting.

Whenever I start a diet I measure my progress with the size of my clothing, therefore I always have a few new garments in my wardrobe that I really want to wear but I bought them in sizes smaller than I’d be currently wearing. I tag those garments with sticky notes and on the notes I write 4 Weeks, 6 Weeks, etc.

Why? Well, I know how my body works and how it would shed the weight. I’d diet for, say, 4 weeks and I wouldn’t dare cheat because whenever I open my wardrobe I’d see that hanger with the tag on it, urging me on. After four weeks of dieting I usually try on the piece of clothing that had a 4 weeks tag on and if it fits, and usually it does, I’d feel over the moon with joy. I feel thinner, happier, and accomplished. All my hard work and hunger pangs would lead to that moment of pure glee.

I take my revenge and frustration out on the poor little note, crumbling it and making a point of throwing it in the garbage. I then wear that particular garment a few too many times, but each time it feels like I’m wearing my own accomplishment like a medal. It also reminds me there is still some more to go and that in a few more weeks I’d be able to fit into another garment I want to wear and that when I do, I’d be able to feel the euphoria of accomplishment once again. It would urge me on and keep me going, resisting that big plate of spaghetti or the bubbling hot pizza dancing in front of my eyes.

I don’t expect to one day become a super model, my goals are usually realistic and I’m looking forward to the day I fit the black & white 6 weeks shirt. What about you? What usually motivates you to diet and stick to your diet?

Wasl Square in Dubai

Last time I was in Dubai I wanted to see the Gift ATM that sells gifts 24 hours in S*uce Gifts shop. The address said ‘Wasl Square’ a place I’ve never been before but when I did go I kept going back. Wasl Square is a cosey modern residential project located at the intersection of Wasl Road and Safa Park, with an open space that hosts cafes with outdoors seating and open plus a nice collection of stores and restaurants.

My first stop was of course at S*uce Gifts to check out the 24-hours gifts ATM machine. I love the idea of pre-wrapped gifts you can buy at a whim. It happened to me before, I tend to lose track of the calendar and suddenly realise I need a birthday gift to a friend. Or perhaps I was on my way to meet someone and decided to bring a gift at the last minute. All I have to do is go up to the machine, choose the gift I want, pay with my credit card and voila, I’m set to go!

The selection of items on sale is lovely, from bracelets to shirts and other knick knacks. I almost bought myself a gift of “Grendizer T-Shirt”.

Other shops in Wasl Square are Yamanoti Atelier, Dubai’s first Japanese cafe which I’ve dined in and loved.

Others shops and restaurants include an excellent Turkish restaurant, Zurna, that I’ve enjoyed very much and will post a review of soon. There is a Tim Hortons and a very nice looking cafe called The Pantry that I want to try if I visit Dubai in the winter time by god’s will.

There are also some nail bairs and a few other restaurants/shops/salons that I didn’t explore because it was too hot to walk outside in the August sun. There was a cafe with book or a bookshop/cafe that I wanted to check out but I’m saving that for my next trip.

If you’ve never been to Wasl Square before I suggest you do. It would be lovely browsing around the shops and cafes especially in the early morning time. Wasl Square is located at the intersection of Wasl Road and Safa Park overlooking Wasl Road.