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

When you next plan your overseas travel, would you like to taste the local homecooked food that their locals enjoy?  I certainly would! The picture above is a local dinner in the picturesque village of Mae Wang, Northern Thailand.  You can enjoy the natural surroundings of the village, listen to stories of  their rural life and also have the opportunity to cook with them and learn to prepare their traditional Lana Thai food.  Now with the newly launched Withlocals you can plan your holiday and at the same time get  to taste the real authentic local food in the comfort of the hostess's home.  So do browse around and check out the home dinners available at    Eat Withlocals    and you'll be spoilt for choice! Withlocals is a network connecting food lovers and travellers from all parts of the world.  So if you plan to visit any South East Asian countries (Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, Indonesia, Vietnam, Sri Lanka and Nepal) you can easily book a home dinner with

This is a lazy man's one-dish meal, quick and easy to prepare, fuss-free.  I just marinated the chicken legs with some sauces,  cooked them in a non-stick pan, cooked the vermicelli, added a sprinkling of carrot, cucumber and greens,  squeezed on some lime juice for that tangy taste and it's done! Recipe for Vermicelli Chicken Salad Ingredients 2 chicken legs, cut into 2 pieces 100 gm vermicelli or more, soaked and cooked in hot water 3 Tbsp chilli sauce 2 tsp fish sauce 3 tsp brown sugar Carrot, cucumber, some lettuce, red chilli and lime Method Marinate the chicken pieces with the sauces and brown sugar for about 2 hours. Heat up some oil in a non-stick pan and cook the chicken till tender. Meanwhile blanch the vermicelli in a pot of boiling water, drain well. Cut up the carrot and cucumber into match stick sizes and mix with the vermicelli.  Toss in some lettuce and red chilli. Drizzle on some sauces from the chicken. Serve the salad with some

Wenceslas Square is one of the two main squares in Prague, just 5 mins. away from the Old Town Square.  Lies at the heart of the New Town, it is a vibrant area of hotels, clubs, banks, apartments, international shops and restaurants.  It is the nightlife and entertainment centre of Prague and the main shopping district.  Metro lines intersect at this square and trams run through its centre. National Museum - the vast Neo-Renaissance building at one end of  Wenceslas Square.  The entrance is reached by a ramp decorated with allegorical statues. Dancing House is the first masterpiece of modern architecture designed by world renowned architect in Prague since the Velvet revolution 1989. 

I had some leftover white and black chocolates which had been hibernating in the fridge for quite a while.  So thought it a good idea to dump them with some craisins into a basic Muffin recipe and create a Mixed Choc Craisin Muffin for my afternoon tea.   I added a sprinkling of granulated sugar and cinnamon on top and this gave the added crispy, sweetish crunch...mmmm.   Saved some leftovers for breakfast and after popping them into the oven toaster, they tasted just as good! Recipe for Mixed Choc Craisin Muffins Ingredients 2 eggs 260 gm plain flour 2.1/2 tsp baking powder 80 gm caster sugar 1/2 cup/113 gm melted butter 1/8 tsp salt 1.1/2 tsp vanilla 160 ml milk 1 cup of white and dark chocolate and craisins 1 Tbsp  granulated sugar + 1/2 tsp cinnamon Method Melt the butter, set aside. Sift flour with the baking powder and salt, mix in the sugar, whisk with a ball whisk to mix well. Add in the chocolates and craisins.

When I saw Zoe's post on  'Lor Chicken' recently I bookmarked it straightaway.  However, I've substituted chicken with pork and added hard boiled eggs too.  Lovely to go with rice.  Family members gave the thumbs up! Recipe for ''Lor' or Caramalised Pork Shoulder (adapted from ' here' with modifications) Ingredients 3 Tbsp oil 3.1/2 Tbsp sugar 4 cloves of garlic, peeled 1 cinnamon stick 1 star anise 2 Tbsp light soya sauce 1 Tbsp dark soya sauce 1/2 tsp 5 spice powder 1 cup water 800 gm pork shoulder, cut to bite size 2 hardboiled eggs  (optional) Method Put the oil and sugar in a wok and heat on low flame.  Do not stir, just let the sugar dissolve and caramalise. Add in the garlic, cinnamon stick and star anise.  Add in water and spice powder, stir. Add in the meat, give it a good stir and once it starts to boil, lower heat and cover the wok.  Let the meat  cook till  tender and the sauce, a

Golden Lane ~  named after the goldsmiths who lived here in the 17th Century, this short narrow street is one of the most picturesque in Prague.  One side of the lane is lined with tiny, brightly painted houses which are built right into the arches of the Castle walls.  The ceilings of these cottages are quite low, the houses narrow and small giving  the impression that the people of those days were rather small in size. The Tailor's house Another house with a baby cot

I've baked cakes with alcohol such as Brandy, Beer, Cointreau, Kahlua and Stout but have never tried one with Whiskey until my trip to Scotland and tasted the Whiskey cake at the Glenfiddich distillery cafetaria.   Upon my return I googled for various recipes using Whiskey and stumbled upon  a recipe from  simplyrecipes.com and was convinced that I must try out their Chocolate Bourbon Cake.   True to the comments from their readers this is indeed a moist and chocolately cake ...... absolutely delicious with a mild hint of  Whiskey! Recipe for Whiskey Chocolate Cake   (adapted from 'here' with slight modifications) Ingredients 8 oz butter 8 oz plain flour 5 oz dark chocolate 3 Tbsp coffee powde 2 Tbsp cocoa powder 1 cup Whiskey  (I used Black Label) 1/8 tsp salt  (reduced from 1/2 tsp) 9 oz caster sugar (reduced from 2 cups) 3 eggs 1 Tbsp vanilla 1 tsp baking soda Icing sugar for

This is a rich and indulgent ice cream comprising of vanilla and peppermint choc chip cookies which give the creamy dessert the added crunch.  Perfect as a treat or a snack, any time of the day! Recipe for Mint Cookies Ice Cream Ingredients 1 cup heavy cream 1 cup whole milk 3 oz sugar 3 egg yolks 1/8 tsp salt 1/2 tsp vanilla 10 choc chip peppermint cookies, crushed. Method Bring heavy cream, milk and salt to a simmer, let cool. Whisk egg yolks with sugar together till pale. Add the milk mixture to the egg mixture, mix well. Then pour back the egg yolk milk mixture into the pot, stirring continously till mixture thickens and can coat the back of the wooden spoon.  Add in vanilla. Pour into a bowl and cover with cling wrap, let cool and keep refrigerated overnight. Process the mixture in the ice cream maker according to instructions.  Transfer 1/3 ice cream to a container, add in the crushed cookies, mix quickly and continue