Iceland - Part 1

I believe that travel is good for the soul. It is VERY good for my soul. Every time we travel, I come back a brand new person with brand new perspective on life and what really matters. Prakhar is a perfect travel partner. Together we make a good team and we make good decisions (at least when it comes to travel). He keeps me grounded and I keep him adventurous. I remember watching a special on Iceland few years ago with him. I had made him pinky promise me that one day we will go there. Work is always crazy busy for him and taking time off is really difficult. So when Prakhar told me that he can take a week off, I was so excited, I didn’t know what to. We couldn't decide on a destination. I started looking at my notes, and my pretend vacation itineraries (one of my hobbies...long story). We checked for flights to Iceland and within 30 minutes,

Iceland was better than good. It was probably one of the most beautiful places I’ve seen. I fell in love with this country. Doing a self-drive tour was probably the best decision. I loved the fact that we can manage our own time. We didn’t have much time to plan our trip. We booked our flight and then didn’t know where to go from there. I did so much research on hotels, things to do and trying to create a perfect itinerary so that we can make most of our time there. Then things got so busy with work and seeing houses that I thought we would cancel our trip. I came across the travel agency Nordic Visitor on Trip Advisor. They had fantastic reviews and so I decided to contact them. I got a response the very next day from their travel consultant. Sigfus was fantastic. He knew the country. I sent him our list of things we wanted see. He took those ideas and turned into a fantastic itinerary. He helped us plan our route, book hotels and rent our car. As we were booking this trip, Barbathbunga happened! We decided to go anyways. Best decision ever!!

Did I mention that we got upgraded to business class?? Yes! Nice way to start the trip. Free unlimited champagne served in real champagne glass sure is nice way to start your vacation!

We arrived in Reykjavík, and breezed through the immigration process. A representative from Nordic Visitor was waiting for us. He helped us with our luggage and handed us our travel bag. That travel bag had our personalized itinerary, cell phone with a charger, map, vouchers for all of our activities, car and hotels. On our way to the hotel, he gave us an update on the Volcano and assured us that it won’t be a big deal. Since we were going to drive on our own, he answered all of our questions on the roads, speed limit etc. He even pointed out some structures and features in the city before arriving at our hotel.  Our hotel was really nice. It was situated in the perfect location with close proximity to major attractions in Reykjavík.  

landed safely, only to find out bardarbunga volcano had erupted over nice.

What can I say about this city? It is quiet and yet busy. While the weather was overcast, it was warm enough to walk around. I do wish, we had more time to explore more. The streets are full of small cafes and cute little shops. The first day, we decided to explore the city on our own. The map that Nordic Visitor provided to us was extremely useful and accurate.  Since we had an option to meet Sigfus in person and go over our itinerary, we decided to take advantage of that service. We also wanted to thank him in person for helping us plan our trip. He was one of the friendliest people we met in Iceland. He was very professional and explained everything. We might have gone a little overboard with questions but he answered them calmly.

I do have billion pictures to share with reviews on hotels, restaurants etc...so I think this trip deserves multiple posts. One of the reasons I started this blog was to capture and document our travels, so that when I'm 90 and can't remember what I ate for breakfast, I can come here and read about how wonderful this world is and how lucky I was to see a small piece of it.

Can I get a high five for blogging after what 5 months???? ;)

Simple

This simple bag took me less than an hour to make! I used the Sugar'n Cream yarn. This cotton yarn comes in some beautiful summer colors too.

Hellllooooo

So what's my excuse for being MIA? Umm let's see...life is sooo good these days that I forgot I had a blog? Ha!! Just kidding. Between work and laziness I've been neglecting this space. I have been cooking a lot though and you'll just have to take my word for it. What I haven't been doing is writing down the recipes. And you know what? some of these experiments actually turned out pretty good! You can ask my husband...he wouldn't lie! ;) So until I attempt to duplicate my kitchen experiments, you'll just have too drool while looking at these pictures. Thanks for stopping by!

Korean Tofu Tacos

Thai Summer Rolls

Spring crochet

Happy first day of spring!! It is finally here! Well it's still cold but on paper things are official. Maybe my crochet flowers will bring some real flowers.

Raspberry Vodka

I had a really good weekend. I spent the entire Saturday crocheting and then there was frozen yogurt on Sunday.  A good weekend certainly deserves a good cocktail, don't you think?

Raspberry Vodka


Ingredients: (makes one drink)

• 1/4 cup raspberries
• 2 tsp sugar
• 4 Parts Absolut Vodka
• 2 Parts Triple Sec
• Tonic water

In a pot mix the raspberries with 2 tsp of sugar and add 1/4 cup of water. Let it come to boil on , use a fork to break the fruit. This process took about 7-10 minutes. Let it cool for few minutes.Strain the juice in a glass filled with ice. Add the Vodka, the Triple Sec and top it off with some Tonic Water. And finally enjoy!

p.s I you have raspberry juice, you can make this drink in 1 minute?

The one with the pinapple slicer

Two years ago Prakhar came home with a pineapple slicer from work. He told me his female co-workers convinced him that this is something he should buy. Not only did I judge him but I also made fun of him. Best part of being married to him. The next day I bought a pineapple, and decided to test this slicer. Turns out it's pretty damn good and impressive. Whoever thought of this is geeenius. That year we ate a lot of pineapples and drank a lot of pineapple smoothies & daiquiris. Since the sun decided to shine this weekend with temperatures in the 50s, I decided it's time to take out the slicer from hibernation.

Pineapple coconut smoothie

• 1 cup fresh pineapple cubes
• 1/2 cup coconut milk 
• 1/2 cup Greek yogurt

Blend everything in a blender, add water if too thick and you're done! 
 

Winter

I have love/hate relationship with winter. I love how pretty everything is and that's where my love stops.

Greek Yogurt Guacamole

I only have three words for this post...I Love Guacamole!

Ingredients 

• 2 Avocados 
• 4 tbs greek yogurt
• 1/2 onion
• Cilantro
• 1 garlic
• 1/2 Jalapeno
•  Lemon juice
• Salt & Pepper

Mash avocados in a bowl and mix in Greek yogurt. Chop onion, cilantro, jalapeno, and garlic in the food processor and mix it with avocados and Greek yogurt. Add lemon juice and season with salt and pepper. Enjoy with baby carrots and celery!

Easy Pumpkin Spice Latte

I absolutely love pumpkin spice latte. I wait for it all year long. When it's cold outside, pumpkin latte sounds good right? I made my own version over the weekend and it was pretty good.

1. Mix coffee, cinnamon and latte mix in a cup
2. Add hot (not boiling) water and whisk until dissolved. I used a frother.
3.  In a pan start to heat milk, do not boil. Froth milk until foamy.
4. Add the hot milk and foam in the cup and dust
5. ENJOY!!

Crochet Necklace

I've been meaning to learn to crochet around things, especially wooden beads. It turns they are really fun and easy to make. I promise I AM working on a tutorial! This necklace can be made under an hour if you have all the supplies. I can't wait to make more. I really don't what I'll do with all of the necklaces...Sandya, do you want one? :) It's easy to refer her since she is one of my two readers...hi Harit! Thank you both for reading. I really love you.

Weekend in pictures

These two pictures basically sum up my weekend...

 

Finally decided to try this nail trend! Love!!

Chakchouka

I received this awesome cook book called River Cottage Veg from some awesome people. There are so many things that I want to make and most probably I'll try to make everything since it IS vegetarian cook book. This particular recipe is easy and comforting. Slowly cooked peppers in smoked pepperika and saffron makes the entire home smell heavenly. And did I mention eggs are involved?? If a savory dish with egg is not comforting then I don't know what is. I even got to use my clay pots! I hope you enjoy this North African stew (Chachouka) as much as I did.

Chakchouka

• 3 tbs olive oil
• 1 tsp cumin seeds
• 1 large onion (halved and sliced)
• 1 crushed garlic clove
• 1 each red, yellow and orange Ramiro peppers (cut in long thin strips)
• 1 can (14oz) can tomato (chopped)
• 1/2 tsp hot smoked peprika (i used 1tsp)
• pinch of saffron 
• sea salt
• freshly ground black pepper
• 4 large eggs

Preheat oven to 350F.  Heat oil in large (oven proof) pan over medium heat. Add the cumin seeds and let them fry for a minute. Now add onions and cook gently for 8-10 minutes. They should get golden. Add the garlic and pepper and continue to cook them on low heat for 20 or so minutes. Once the peppers become soft and wilted, add peprika and crumble in the saffron. Now add entire can of tomatoes including the juice. Season with salt and pepper.Cook for another 10-15 minutes, taste and adjust seasoning to your liking.Now if you're using over proof pan, make four dimples in the pepper and tomatoes, crack an egg into a saucer and carefully pour into a well, repeat with the three other eggs. Sprinkle each egg with a little salt and pepper. Since the pan I used was not oven proof, this was my chance to finally use the clay cooking pots I received as gift. You can also use a baking dish. Bake for 10-15 minutes, until the egg white is set and the yolk still runny. It took me 12 minutes. Basically I watched it like hawk, I had come too far to screw up plus this was our only dinner option. Once done, enjoy with bread or pita bread!!