[FOTO] Guido's Pizzeria Braunschweig

What a breath of fresh air Guido's was! As I've mentioned many times before, there aren't many places to get cheap & yummy let alone interesting & creative eats here in BS. It definitely ain't comparable to pizza from Napoli, but at least the pizza here's good enough for me to continue frequenting the place. They even sell "1/2 pizzas" you can order to-go from a window outside for as low as €2,65!



Located dead smack in BS's city centre, the small Italian pizzeria was decently busy for a random Monday lunch hour. I admittedly liked the cozy ambiance of the place. We ordered 2 pizzas: your good ol' classic Margherita and the "Special of the Day" Spinach & Garlic. Each pizza was around €5 which isn't too shabby at all. Excellent crust on 'em butttttt I do have some constructive criticisms. These pizzas need to pack more punch! If it's a Spinach & Garlic pizza, gimme echt Knoblauch Geschmack, please! And who really likes ready-made herbs & spices sprinkled onto a pizza these days?! Not I.

Was ich aus Toronto vermisse

Meine Name ist Shelley und ich lebe seit neun Monaten in Deutschland. Ich bin Kanadierin, und ich vermisse viele Sachen aus meine Heimatland, besonders Toronto, meine Heimatstadt. Wo soll ich beginnen? Natürlich vermisse ich mein Familie und gute Freunde. Ich vermisse auch das Essen aus Toronto! Mann kann jedes Internationale Essen in Toronto essen! (z.B koreanisch essen, somalisch essen, jamaikanisch essen, u.s.w.) Vertrau mir, die Multikulturalismus Mischung ist unglaublich!

Zuletzt vermisse ich.... Trommelwirbel bitte.... Tim Horton's! Kennt ihr Tim Horton's? Wenn nicht, dann kann ich es euch erklären. Kanadier sagen "Timmies." Es ist ein landesweite Café Kette. An fast jeder Ecke in Kanada, gibt es ein "Timmies," wo mann günstig Kaffee und Frühstück bestellen kann. Mein Lieblingsgetränk ist "French Vanille." Obwohl ich vermisse mein Zuhause, im moment bevorzuge ich in DE zu arbeiten und vor allem zu leben. Wir wollen nächstes Jahr nach Toronto fahren. Bis dann, Leute!

The Trip that Inspired my Unceasing Travel Itch

I was a wee lil 19-year-old Teenie back in 2008. Despite the fact that Bondz and I went with a GAP adventures tour group, the two weeks we spent in Costa Rica were indescribably phenomenal. It was the trip where I was officially bitten by the Travel Bug, and to this day, I still consider it one of my favourite trips ever! It was simply a superb mix of adventure, nature and culture. The pics shown here were taken by my celly at the time (hence the blurry quality). Peep my Flickr album for digicam pics.



Most memorable Costa Rica moments: vertically climbing (2 hours one-way) up an extinct volcano only to go swimming in the lake that had formed in its crater, eating the cheapest and yummiest tuna steak burger ever in life as a reward for the insane 4 hour hike, watching dried cocoa beans being turned into a chocolate dip right before my very eyes, finding a dead (Hootie & the) blowfish on a beach, swimming at a secret waterfall (not pictured here) and zip-lining/swinging through Costa Rica's Monteverde Cloud Rainforest (also not pictured here). A budget-friendly and beautiful country to visit indeed! I luh CR!!!

[Pt. II] Homemade Dinners: Filipino Food

Told you I'd be back with some more of that home-cooked good stuff! And this time, with a vengeance! Cooking filipino food at home has become a sort of therapy for me. I never expect the dishes to taste exactly like mom's, but I secretly hope while cooking that the dish'll at least come close! So far, I've been able to find all the necessary ingredients for the dishes I've made. Some things, however, are ridiculously expensive (e.g. 3,60 Euro for 200 grams of Chinese string beans — that is $4.50 CAD).



Ahhhhhhhh Sinigang. You have the pork lovers and the shrimp lovers, but when I first attempted it, I went with pork. Sadly, (probably due to boiling it for either too long or at too high a temperature) the pork turned out a tad too tough. Furthermore, I had issues recreating the lovely sour tamarind broth Sinigang is known for. Not even Mama Sita could help me out on that one. At least André had the chance to try taro for the first time! But ya, if I attempt this dish again, it'll have to be with shrimp.



I don't know why I didn't cook this dish earlier! It's called Ginataan Sitaw at Kalabasa, which means String Beans & Squash in a Coconut Sauce. I loved everything about how the dish turned out except for the sauce. For me, the sauce was a bit too watery (perhaps it was the recipe I used). As well, it could've had more flavour. Mind you, I did decide against using bagoong (shrimp paste) because I'm scared of the salty stuff! But as a whole, I just love all the different textures going on here: soft (baby food-like) squash, juicy shrimp and beans cooked to al dente all bathing in a creamy coconut sauce.

Uninspired

I'm still here. But I keep peacin' out for periods of time because I just ain't foodistically inspired atm. Not to mention, work and lesson planning has drained the hell outta me lately. Can you believe I've been teaching English for 8 months now?! That is Crazy Bones! Though I've already admitted that I enjoy what I do, I had no idea that it could be so mentally exhausting. Oh, c'est la vie, c'est la vie. Ich kann nicht mich beschweren. 'Cause I'm not inspired by the food-y scene that surrounds me, my only saving grace these days has been cooking at home. Ya-hoo, more Homemade Dinners posts to come!

Macaroni Omelette Recipe

I'm warning you now — this recipe is WACK. I can't say the omelette was delicious, but I've decided to share it with you because I believe there's hope for it yet! The idea stemmed from the fact that there was leftover cooked whole wheat macaroni in the fridge that I didn't want to go to waste. Go figure!

Instructions

Whisk 3 eggs, a splash of milk and 1/2 cup grated emmentaler in a bowl. Dice up 1 garlic clove and fry it for a few minutes in a heated pan with 1 tbsp oil. Add about 1 1/2 cups macaroni to the garlic, and immediately afterward, pour the egg mixture evenly into the pan. Season the omelette with salt, pepper and ground nutmeg and put a lid on top of the pan. The omelette should be ready in about 7 minutes. What's important is to keep the heat on low to medium (to avoid burning the bottom).

In all honestly, the texture of the macaroni inside the omelette isn't as horrible as it seems. And I, for one, seriously believe this recipe has the potential for greatness. I bet adding diced red peppers and chunks of chorizo to the recipe would elevate it heaps! Or perhaps some sautéed mushrooms, spinach and feta instead of emmentaler? After eating this slice of cinnamon-y cake at a resto somewhere in small-town Croatia, my outlook towards pasta as an ingredient completely changed. Be open-minded!

Family Reunion in... EUROPA!

'Twas a crazy family reunion, indeed! We all met up in Rome, stayed there for a few days, then Ryan-aired to Paris for another few days together. Because I had already been to Rome and Paris before, it wasn't necessary for me to see certain sights again (e.g. the Colosseum, the Vatican, etc). Although back in 2009, I only had time to view the Eiffel Tower from the bottom. This time, we went all the way up to the top! That was my MMM #1. MMM #2: The 'rents frantically searching for filter coffee in a city (or country, for that matter) where espresso bars can be found within 50 metres of each other. Womp!!!

Crêpes vs. Galettes

You all already know that crêpes are somewhat of an institution in France. But to be honest, they were never so OMG for me. Maybe I'm more of a North American-style pancake chick? Anyway, here are some of the crêpes we recently tried in Paris. Whoops — let me correct myself. Technically speaking, crêpes only refer to those made with wheat flour. Those made with buckwheat flour are called galettes. So what ya'll see here is a nutella crêpe from Richard Lenior Marché, a pre-packaged galette filled with bacon and goat cheese from some supermarket chain that I can't remember right now, and (drumroll please)... the "Complète" galette from Crêperie Bretonne Fleurie.

Filled with ham and gruyère cheese and topped off with a wobbly, half-cooked egg, the Complète lived up to everything I expected it to be. I especially loved its crispiness (reminded me of dosas from India), a texture I think would be hard to recreate if I made it at home. I spotted one guy in the resto using his fork to break the egg and spread its yellow-y goodness all over the galette. A fine idea for next time! Washed down the Complète with Val de Rance cider and it was smooth sailing for the rest of the day.

#TYPELOVE #PARIS

Bondz and I are such typography nerds. Inspired by my sissy's Type-Fiendin' in Paris et Roma post, here's some more of that type ish to get you all hot and bothered. Taken sometime last month during our 4-day jaunt 'round one of the most visited cities in the world, I feel like these photos capture tiny glimpses into what Paris is all about. She's brash and overrated but I love how she's also grimey yet dainty and oh-so-cosmopolitan. Wanna know what's b-b-badass? Madeleines from a vending machine.