Scones 09May2009

I know nice scones are not easy to make but who cares. the recipe is simple enough

this is cherry & sultana scones. ok, I know they do not look exactly like scones ... realise I dont hv round cutter, so I just rolled them into balls and flattened. I did brush some milk on top but seems not enough to brown the top ...

taste ... ok lah, not fantastic but reasonable lah

African Violet collection

being bitten by the AV bug, I started collecting AV but mostly no ID (ie they do not have a name). I started with 1 ... white with purple trim ... in Feb. The flowers has since all drop but recently, it re-blooms. I am so delighted becos this is the first time I managed to get it re-bloom

in feb - original blooms

re-blooms in May 09


then my friend maggie, knows that I like AVs, saw these 2 double-petal ones and help me bought them

this is pink with purple dots

this is purple with white trim ... I love the leaves, which is quite unusual for AV



maggie then saw this white one with green trim ... very unique and yes, it landed in my office :)


and although I already hv 4, I could not resist the temptation and bought another 2

ya, I hv 6 in total now :)

My Balcony - Update 09May2009

the number of plants I have has grown a lot since I started gardening.
many were given to me by friends. Some I grow them from seeds. Some have died along the way but some has manage to re-bloomed ..

My first ROSE 09May2009

could not resist the temptation and decide to start growing a rose, even though I know it will not be an easy journey

so, with help from friends, I got this lilac rose ... the photos are not able to show the actual color well ...

there are 10 blooms!

Spain Food - Barcelona

it has been 10+ years since I went Europe. This trip, we did London and Spain, which includes Barcelona, Madrid and Seville.

Spain is popular for its Tapas ... basically small plate of food to satisfy hunger inbetween lunch and dinner (which is extremely late at 9pm)

Restaurant=Cervecería Catalana












a bakery shop near our hotel has these on display and should be for sale. They have all sorts of designs / cartoons, including Japanese cartoons.




It was raining in Barcelona so it was cold and wet. We walked a long way to find this restaurant (Via Veneto) and the service was excellent.

lamb steak

















the white cubes are marsmallow, where you can pick up with a fork but melt into your mouth immediately ... very interesting




this restaurant (Cafe de l’Academia) where we had lunch has value for money set meals. The place is very small with only 28 tables but the food is good.

Duck

for dinner, we were at this place (Botafumeiro) where the king of Spain had his meal there before. but frankly, the food is so-so and service is not really fantastic.

baked crab with cheese























We travelled all the way to the harbour and some deserted corner by the sea and found this restaurant (Can Majo) which serves nice seafood. price is cheap as well. but they can only speak limited english.

paellas

final meal at Barcelona is at this fusion restaurant (Gaig) ... red and black deco ... good service but a little pricy.

starter

Morning Glory 12Apr2009

These are the pink morning glory which have bloomed beautifully every morning ... I sowed the seeds around 2 mths ago ... now waiting to see if there are any blue ones

Moonvine 11Apr2009

after nearly 2 months, my moonvine has bloomed! the white flower is quite huge (compare to my hand) and has a baby powder smell ... nice