The Oak Bistro

The hubby and I finally made it to afternoon tea @ the Swissotel. I had bought it off Groupon for his birthday back in November and finally got to book it.

It was a delicious spread. We have scones on top with clotted cream and strawberry jam.

 An assortment of sandwiches: smoked salmon, cornish chicken, ham and cheese, and cucumber.

Apricot and creme phyllo pastry and a sugar glazed muffin.

A ginormous plate of London touristy inspired cookies and chocolates. Big Ben was a chocolate and raspberry filled tower and Buckingham palace was hazelnut filled.

coconut pannacotta with an apricot jelly on top and a layered chocolate dessert with a crunchy bottom. I tried a little taste of each cookie but definitely couldn't finish all of it. So much sweets!! I would recommend going to the Swissotel for afternoon tea. Probably the best one I've been to so far :)

Saturday morning, we left for an overnight trip to Cambridge with Arf Arf. I forgot my camera though so all I could take were Iphone pictures :(

She's such a little rascal! She kept whimpering and barking until we had to let her out of the cage...

..to sit on daddy's lap. The girl always gets what she wants ;)

We were starving upon arrival to Cambridge so after we checked into our hotel, we went to Cote brasserie for lunch. I got the tuna nicoise salad. The fresh tuna was cooked perfectly. Slightly rare on the inside. DELISH!!

T had the croque madame.

I also ordered a side of chips

We walked around the city center and enjoyed the shops and sights. The only picture I managed to get was this guy playing his guitar and singing from inside a garbage can. W.T.F??

The holiday wasn't just for us. We also wanted to give the lil rascal a chance to run outside.

and boy did she run. Run all the way away from us and onto a field that wasn't designated for our use. Oops!! Thankfully T was able to corner her and get her back safely. We definitely won't be letting her off the lead anytime soon.

We had dinner reservations @ http://www.theoakbistro.co.uk/

The dining experience was quite lovely. The service was great and the ambiance very cozy and

freshly baked bread with a tasty dipping oil.

Mushroom and truffle oil risotto. So silky, warm, and amazing.

Garlic and parsley prawns

Seabass with potatoes and spinach in a saffron mussel sauce.

Duck confit with braised red cabbage and mashed potatoes

side of mixed vegetables

Apple and berry crumble with ice cream on top. What a lovely way to end a delicious meal. I would definitely recommend the Oak Bistro to anyone making a trip out to Cambridge. Such a great meal!

I feel a lazy Sunday afternoon coming on. :)

Iranian food

I made the most delicious scrambled eggs yesterday morning. The trick I found out was to use a tablespoon of butter on a hot skillet and waiting for the butter to foam a little before adding the eggs. Sounds silly that I haven't made eggs like these before but I guess I just forgot how to do it! I then scrambled them for a minute and when they were just about done, I added a splash of milk for extra creaminess. The avocados went nicely on the side for a healthy fat addition.

I was in a baking mood yesterday. I tried my hand at Hummingbird's red velvet cupcake. We recently bought the second cookbook that they released.

Red color=check, cream cheese frosting=check, moist=check, flavor=???? meehhhh

The cupcakes turned out very moist but the flavor was just a tad bit off. I swear British measurements are going to kill my baking habits. I had the toughest time with the (g) measurement! lol..

Lunch: I had some shrimp that needed to be used and some leftover brown rice so I decided to make a stirfry.

I sauteed some onions and garlic...

added in the shrimp and brown rice with some roasted veggies straight outta da oven.

 excuuuse my dirty table..

Yum!

Breakfast this morning prior to my run: Yogurt with granola, walnuts, tablespoon of almond butter and dates.

I added in some dates for some fast releasing energy for my run this morning. I haven't run in 3 months and boy was I feeling it. Sad that I could only run for 20 minutes!! Slowly but surely I know my body will get back into shape..Sigh..I also went to yoga this morning. This was my third ever yoga class and I actually felt like I did something this time around. Usually, yoga has made me feel sleepy and lethargic so I never got into it. I know this is not the case for all yoga classes so I think I'll keep giving it a shot. I definitely feel I worked my muscular endurance; holding poses until my muscles ached!

After yoga, a friend took me out for Persian food @ Anar.
http://www.anarpersiankitchen.co.uk/

She ordered us a mixed grill platter of chicken, lamb, and steak. It was all VERY good!! The bread underneath that the meats came on was also very flavorful from the meat juice dripping down. It soaked up all that amazing flavor. Mmm MMM!

with some yogurt dipping sauce for the meat and rice

What a delicious spread. My belly was very happy this afternoon :)

Fingers crossed: I might have a zumba teaching gig in a few weeks.
Fun schtuff: I just ordered my first shipment of Zumba material: Shoes, tops, cd case, bag. YIPPEE!
Better start memorizing that choreography!!

Bikini Strap workout

 Dontaksu! I love me some fried pork! It was unusually good. Or maybe I just hadn't had it in forever

Sushi set- Yumm-O!

The rolls were delicious. Don't ask me what they were.

Eel over rice

Breakfast this morning- yogurt bowl w. wheatgerm, ground seeds, walnuts, agave nectar, and raisins. 

Morning workout: Zumba and the Bikini strap workout!

http://toneitup.com/blog/2011/03/spring-into-bikini-season-8-week-series-to-get-bikini-ready-with-tone-it-up/

Forever Love

Even though we never met,
I know your face by heart.

Even though we never spoke,
I can hear your voice.

Even though I never held you,
I feel your weight in my arms.

Even though we'll never lie beneath the same stars,
you will always shine above us.
Anonymous

Rainy Wednesday

Leftovers for lunch yesterday.

healthy mid-afternoon snack. This time I added in some walnuts for extra protein.

Beef in red wine sauce. I experimented with a new recipe. I sort of halved the recipe and hoped for the best (my recipes never taste right when I seem to chop it in half!)

I'm not going to lie, it didn't look or taste ALL that great. Bummer!

Post salsa dancing dessert fix provided by the hubby. Cake with strawberry and chocolate filling with a chocolate dipped strawberry on top. It was muy delicioso!! :-D

T made us another omelette this morning. It was filled with cheddar cheese, shallots, and garlic.

with some wholemeal toast.

Lunch after my Zumba workout

I heart drinking my apple juice out of a wine glass :P

leftovers with some roasted veggies on top. The roasted veggies were simply dressed with EVOO, salt, and pepper. Yum!

Someone wants to play. Peace!