Baked tofo. Tofu. TOFU!!!

We went to a new tapas restaurant in our neighborhood for lunch yesterday. It was good not great but enjoyable nonetheless. We started with patatas bravas with aioli for dipping.
http://www.romangrill.co.uk/

garlic prawns

calamari with sweet chili sauce and mayo to dip. It was a delicious flavor combo!

tapas portion of seafood paella. It was alright. The rice wasn't very tasty.

beef empanadas. These were fried in phyllo dough and it didn't really work.

Spinach artichoke hearts with Parmesan and goat cheese topping.

We spent our Sunday lounging around and catching up on tv shows HIMYM, Modern Family, and 30 Rock.

Dinner: Takeout chinese form our local greasy spoon.

Lots o' food!

Cashew chicken with special fried rice

Prawns in chinese "special sauce". I don't think I ever want to see the nutritional info on these dishes.

Beef with green peppers

duck with all the fixins (sliced cucumber, spring onions, hoisin sauce). We also watched The Girl who Played with Fire.

 

The movie was pretty badass. I've never read any of the books but I'm enjoying watching the movies in Swedish w. English subtitles :-D

Breakfast this morning: Back to the usual. Scrambled eggs with ground seeds on top and wholemeal toast.

I spent the entire morning 8:30-12 working on my Zumba material. I will be teaching my first ever class on April 22. Fingers crossed** as long as everything goes well, I should have my own class every Friday. HOT DIGGITY DAWG!

I was starving by the time lunchtime rolled around.  I decided to experiment with tofu and soba noodles again.

http://www.savvyvegetarian.com/vegetarian-recipes/baked-tofu-recipe.php

Soba noodles tossed with sauteed spinach, onions, and kale.

The baked tofu was SO YUMMY!!! A tad crispy on the outside and warm on the inside. The marinade really soaked into the tofu and gave it such wonderful flavor.

I love a successful meal :)

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!!