J's thoughts

Dynamite Shrimp Lemon with mint Rainbow Sushi Kids Lo Mein Mongolian Beef and rice Tiramisu A very tasty and satisfying lunch at P.F. Chang's.  The sushi is a new addition to their menu and it indeed was tasty. You should never miss trying out the dynamite shrimp [it is a must have on our list when ever we visit].It is served in a tall glass and if you look around, dynamite shrimp is one dish common to all the tables. lol The restaurant is always packed and it is an indication of the good food they serve :)

If you are looking for a Yoga place in Kuwait, this is the best one.

So what to do when you end up with a lot of strawberries in hand? Unfortunately, the shelf life of strawberries is too short. So I HAD to find a way to use them. I need to find a way to preserve them and my thoughts led me to the idea of strawberry preserve or a jam. The recipes on the internet calls for pectin sugar which gives the consistency of jam. I had none at hand. So I just went ahead with the castor sugar I had. 'Oh well, this is going to be an experiment anyways; so go ahead without any fear' I reassured myself. Ingredients: 1. Strawberries (crushed) - 3 cups 2. Sugar - 2 cups 3. Lemon juice - 1/4 cup Method: Wash the strawberries and hull them. Crush the strawberries with your hand or gently blend them so that you have pulp with pieces of strawberry. Heat a deep pan and add the crushed strawberries, sugar and lemon juice. Once the mixture starts boiling, reduce the flame to low and keep cooking the strawberries till the mixture reduces...

Ever since the American franchise, Quiznos, opened up in my work place, I wanted to try it out. They have subs, soups and salads. Quiznos doesn't have many branches in Kuwait. But one can order online through talabat . They do have a Facebook (Quiznos Kuwait), twitter  (quiznos_kw) and Instagram (quiznos_kw) accounts and a  website . Their hotline number is    188001. Their small subs are like 5 or 6 inches long and is more than enough to satiate you.  You can choose brown or white or jalapeno or rosemary Parmesan bread. I am in love with the rosemary Parmesan bread ever since I tried it.  That is how it is packaged. I bought the egg and cheddar breakfast sub on a rosemary-parmesan bread.I do not like jalapenos and pickles in my sub, so I always avoid it. And thank god they do not give you much options like Subway :). My friend ordered the steak, egg and cheddar sub. The bread is quite fl...

It was through a friend here that I came to know about the Albohayra farm aka Blue Lake farm. The strawberry picking part was what got me all excited about. So with great expectations, on a Friday morning, my family set out to experience and explore the Albohayra farm. It is easy to find the location of the farm on google maps or waze app. The sporadic rains in Kuwait has made the desert look yellowish green [The drive kind of reminded me the lands in India in the summer :). lol, what an irony.] It was an hour and a half drive.  Once we reached the farm, we parked our car and went right in. The gates to the strawberry farm was already open.  Usually they open the farm by 12:45ish; so try to reach there early i.e. atleast  by 12:30pm so as not to miss picking the reddest ripest strawberries. There is always a crowd and the ripe strawberries get picked up fast. Make sure to call them to affirm that there IS strawberry picking on the day you are...

This is a made in Kuwait tea brand. I saw this tea when i visited Albohayra farm in Abdali. They have a variety of tea available like lemongrass, lemongrass and ginger, green tea with mint, black tea with basil etc. The package is a tall cylinder which holds the cups, sugar, stirrer, and the cover for the cups. The color of the packaging is different for different flavor of the tea. Each individual cup holds the tea leaves and there is a mesh (which acts like a tea strainer). So when you pour water into the tea, the flavour seeps into the water without the messy tea leaves swimming all around the cup [it is a nightmare to drink that]. And yeah, no need to use a tea infuser or a tea strainer. Just pour hot water into the cup, stir in sugar, close with the lid and you are good to go. The expiry date is two years from date of production. They have an instagram account @nabtabrand and also a website www.nabtabrand.com I picked the lemongra...

Don't be scared by the name and think that this calls for some lengthy method of preparation. This recipe is adapted from Edmonds cook book. The cook book was given to me by a friend and she told me that in New Zealand, every household has a copy of this book. And that all the recipes come out well. And it is true. I have tried a few recipes from the book and all have come out good. Ingredients 1. Oil - 2 tbsp (olive oil or vegetable oil) 2. Onion - 1 large (finely chopped) 3. Tomato paste - 1/4 cup (21 gm) 4. Canned tomatoes in juice - 1 can (400 gm) 5. Minced beef - 500 gm 6. Garlic - 1 pod 7. Turmeric powder - a pinch 8. Oregano - 1 tsp 9. Basil - 1 tsp 10. Water - 4 cups 11. Spaghetti - 200 gm 12. Salt - to taste 13. pepper - to taste 14. Grated Parmesan cheese - as needed Method Cook the pasta as per the instructions on the packet and set aside. Heat oil in a large frying pan. Add the minced garlic and saute. Add the chopped ...

The museum is called 'Habitat'.  It explains about Kuwait's environment and landscapes. As you enter, you have to give your civil ID  to the person in the front desk. After that, he directed us to another person who handed over some funny looking gadgets.  The rectangular shaped black contraption is to be worn around your neck and the white round one is to be hanged on your wrist. There is a head piece which is connected to the black box. Once you start walking around, it automatically starts playing about the things in front of you. Pretty cool eh! It's like a guide, no humans required. The  museum is worth a visit. They have utilized all the new-gen technology to run the show. This huge wall showcases the preserved parts of dried up plants - species found in Kuwait. The name of the founder and the name of the plant, botanical name and the year in which it was discovered is also stated. I found the name of an Indian  which made me feel ...