No-Frills Recipes ... cooking, baking & excerpts on travel

I've always wanted to go to Eastern Europe for a holiday and  so took the opportunity to hop over to Prague from Aberdeen.  Prague, the capital of Czech Republic is the fourteenth largest city in the European Union having a population of just over a million and covers 500 sq km at its outer limits. We stayed in the old town of Prague at the Charles Bridge Premium Apartment which was one of  the best apartments that I've stayed so far.  We spent 3 nights in Prague and paid 515 euro for our stay in this apartment. Oh, back to the first picture of this post ...... The Old Town Astronomical Clock which was acquired at the beginning of the15th Century, rebuilt by a master clockmaker named Hanus.  On the top of it is the Old Town Hall Tower.  On the left is the Gothic Door, main entrance to the Town Hall and Tower, carved by Matthias Rejsek. Our first meal and taste of Czech food @ the U Dvou Sester  restaurant which was within...

Cute Candy Van

'Scotland  is one of the best land-based  dolphin watching  hotspots in the world'.... and so, our way back to Aberdeen, we stopped by at the Scottish Dolphin Centre at Spey Bay on the Speyside Way, with the hope that we'll be lucky enough to catch a glimpse of dolphins.  Other than dolphins, Spey Bay is also a good place to see seals and ospreys and Scotland's wildlife. Updates were given by the Spey Bay information centre  that the dolphins were last seen at around 3 p.m. that day.   We were there at around 5 p.m. and we waited patiently  for about an hour or so before we spotted a shoal of dolphins right in the middle of the sea. Everyone who had been waiting patiently were excited, some with binoculars, some zooming in with their cameras on tripods set up much earlier. Look, the sky full of Ospreys , a fish-eating hawk found along the coastlines, marshes, lakes almost world wide. It was fun watching how they fly over the water h...

I do like Thai food but sometimes find the dishes too 'lemak' or heavy for my tummy, especially their curries.  However, Thai Green Curry has always been on my menu list whenever I patronise Thai food joints.  I cooked this curry with  Delimas Thai Green Curry Sauce and as you can see from the pictures, the curry is not 'lemak'/thick as I didn't follow fully the instructions on the packet but added more water to suit my taste buds.  Also added some palm sugar to enhance the taste. Recipe for Thai Green Curry Ingredients 400 gm chicken fillet and thigh, cut into chunks and seasoned with some seasalt 100 gm capsicum 100 gm long beans, cut into 2 inch lengths 150 gm egg plant, cubed 1 pkt Delimas Thai green curry sauce (180 gm/6 oz) 2 to 3 bird's eye chillies, sliced 1 red chilli 4 kaffir leaves 1 tsp palm or brown sugar (optional) 1.14 cup water Some fresh Thai Basil leaves to garnish Method  In a ...

Skye, or the Isle of Skye , recently voted the '4th best island in the world by National Geographic magazine' is the second largest and most northerly large island in the Inner Hebrides of Scotland.  With an area of 639 sq miles, its population is just over 10,000.  Skye is  famous for its breathtaking scenery and dramatic landscape. The Isle of Skye is also a great destination for Wildlife watching with the White Tailed Sea Eagle at the top of bird watchers lists. Otters, seals, whales, dolphins and red deer are just some of the other impressive creatures that can be seen on and around the Isle of Skye. We stayed at The Caledonian Hotel,  a  bed and breakfast accommodation in Portree which is the capital and the main service centre in the island.      Diatomite mine ruins in the Isle of Skye.  What is Diatomite?  Known to the locals as 'Caile' (Gaelic for chalk), diatomie is ...