Easy Beef Stew!!

Hey there!
Since we moved to Bahrain, I have discovered a love for cooking. My love for food was always obvious but I never thought I was particularly gifted in the kitchen. Turns out, all I needed was a good kitchen and and a dash of confidence.

When I find great recipes I will start sharing them. I am by no means a chef so the recipes I share will be easier to cook with ingredients that are generally found everywhere. Now that we are expecting, I also try to find recipes that are larger in quantity so I can pack some for Indiana's lunches and enough to put in the freezer for another day. I also try and keep it on the hearty and healthy side to keep my little one inside my tummy happy and healthy.

So here is a recipe I stumbled across that I have fallen in love with.

Easy Beef Stew!

Note: Do not start to cook this if you or your family are already hungry! You will need about 2 hours and 45 minutes. This recipe makes about 4-6 servings. It can also be easily cut down or bulked up.

Ingredients:

- 1/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon all purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons kosher salt, plus more for seasoning
- 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, plus more for seasoning
- 1 (3- pound) boneless chuck roast (I used beef cubes already cut from the grocery store and used a little less than 3 pounds)
- 3 tablespoons vegetable oil (I used olive oil)
- 1 medium yellow onion, diced largely
- 2 tablespoons tomato paste
- 1 cup dry red wine (I used Welch's 100% Grape Juice instead)
- 4 cups (1 quart) low-sodium beef broth
- 2 bay leaves
- 4 fresh thyme sprigs (I used dried thyme spices instead)
- 3 medium carrots
- 3 medium celery stalks
- 4 medium potatoes (about 1 1/2 pounds)
- 1 cup frozen peas (I used canned instead)

Preparation:

1. Place 1/4 cup of the flour and the measured salt and pepper in a large bowl and whisk to combine; set aside. Trim the roast of excess fat and sinew and cut into 1 to 1 1/2 inch cubes. Place the meat in the flour mixture and toss to coat; set aside. (I saved on prep time by buying already cubed pieces of beef from Alosra)

2. Heat the oil in a large, heavy-bottomed pot or Dutch oven over medium heat until shimmering. Shake off the excess flour from about 1/3 of the meat and add it to the pot. Cook, stirring rarely, until browned all over, about 4 to 5 minutes on medium heat. Remove to a large bowl, Repeat with the remaining meat in 2 more batches; set aside. (I only did it in two batches because I used less meat)

3. Add the diced onion to the pot and season with salt and pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally, until softened and just starting to brown, about 5 minutes. Add the tomato paste, stir to coat the onion, and cook until raw flavor has cooked off, about 1 to 2 minutes.

4. Sprinkle in the remaining tablespoon of flour and cook, stirring occasionally, until the raw flavor has cooked off, about 1 minute. Pour in the wine (grape juice) scrape up any browned bits from the bottom of the pot, and cook until the mixture has thickened, about 3 minutes.

5. Return the meat and any juices in the bowl to the pot. Add broth, bay leaves, thyme sprigs (or spice) and stir to combine. Increase the heat to high and bring to a boil. Immediately reduce the heat to low and simmer uncovered for 1 hour. (If the liquid is too sweet because of the grape juice for you, add something like garlic and Worcestershire sauce to tone it down a bit)

6. Cut carrots, celery, and potatoes into large dices and add them to the pot (peel the carrots and potatoes first if you desire, which I do). Stir to combine, cover with a tight fitting lid, and simmer, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables and meat are knife tender, about 1 hour or more.

7. Remove and discard the bay leaves and thyme stems. Stir in the peas and simmer uncovered until warmed through, about 5 minutes. Taste and season with salt and pepper as needed. (I decided to throw a dash of paprika in there to spice it up a tad)

Then you are ready to sit down and eat!!! For us being a family of two, for a few more months at least hehe, this recipe allowed me to put two containers in the fridge for our lunches tomorrow and still have two more servings to freeze for later.

Hope you enjoyed it as much as we did if you decide to make this!!!

Bye bye xoxo

A Whole Lot has Changed!

Hello Everyone!

I have been off the grid for so long I am not even sure if I have any readers left! A lot has changed in the last year and I just never knew what to write. I needed some privacy.

Earlier this year, I complained about the place I was working. One day when I was in a colleague's office discussing work, my horrible department head barged in and started screaming at me. She started to accuse me of not being professional and all sorts of nasty things. I had had enough. Usually, I take pride in staying professional in any situation but this time was different. I live my life according to certain principals I believe in. RESPECT! I do not allow negative, disrespectful people in my life for a reason. I enjoy a positive lifestyle. The last place on earth I expect to deal with such disregard for other people is at work. Everyone "should" maintain a level of professionalism when in the work place. She basically took those basic human morals, rolled them in a ball and tossed them out the window. So I gave her a piece of her own medicine. She did not like this. I left the office early that day in order to compose myself. She clearly doesn't know how to count to ten before acting when upset because she proceeded to send the owner of our company a very emotion driven email calling me poison to the workplace and all sorts of other poorly written comments. You can see she wrote the email in about 30 seconds, didn't read it through, sounded like a complete moron and then sent it to the owner of our company. Needless to say, I went to his office the next day and quit. I didn't quit because of that one day but that day was my eye opener that this toxic place was not worth it. He begged me to stay but I told him I just couldn't. So I freed myself of all that negativity that took a toll on my mental health.

The other thing in my life happening at the same time that helped put life in perspective for me was the fact that I fell pregnant. Trying to come to terms of this huge new moment in life helped me realize that I do not need to settle. We are lucky that my husband can support the both of us and I didn't need to be working at place that didn't appreciate me or anyone for that matter and getting paid pocket change for it. A couple weeks after I quit, I had a miscarriage. It was a very sad time for us but we didn't let it get to us too much. Luckily both my husband and I are very realistic people and I knew the chances of a miscarriage during your first pregnancy. I also know there is a reason your body rejects the pregnancy and we need to trust my body. So we decided we would take it in our stride and keep moving forward. What this experience did show us is that we were ready to start that new chapter in our lives. We decided to just let things go the way they are supposed to. We decided not to "try" for a baby and just let it happen when it was supposed to. We had a holiday coming up. We went to Texas!!! So we decided to have a fun filled holiday and enjoy ourselves before we start a family. Well,,,,,,we are proof that you really can not plan life. After my miscarriage I had my first period and everything was back on track. I really invested my time in getting fit and healthy and I tell you, I was looking pretty damn good. I went down almost two sizes and was even getting V lines! I did a six week training class and at the end of it I participated in a 4 km obstacle challenge. Then, I missed my first day of my second period, post miscarriage. I just knew. Five pregnancy tests later, which all showed different results each time, and a blood test from the clinic later, I got a phone call from my OB/GYN telling me she didn't expect to see my file on her desk so soon and congratulations. There I was, pregnant again full of mixed emotions. I was terrified inside. Last time a fetus never even formed. So this time I just didn't know what to think, It was a mixture of nerves and excitement. Indiana felt the same. So we decided once again to take it one day at a time and to make a long story short, here I am almost 7 months pregnant with  a baby girl! We are due on February 26, 2015! This has been the most exciting time of our lives. We have grown so much closer. So now my blog will stay the same basically, only I will probably write about a lot more things baby. I still want to share my experiences, especially with food (my passion), and continue to learn and share what I learn about life in Bahrain and life in general.

So there is my intro to the new step in our lives and I look forward to dedicating more of my time to documenting my experiences and hopefully getting some much appreciated advice along the way.

Here we go!

xoxo

American Mission Hospital

So I finally took a trip to a hospital here. I have been asking around about good ones and American Mission Hospital popped up a few times.

So every year for the past four years I have been getting these red, very itchy, bumps on my knees and sides of my hips. I never really did anything about it because by the time I would decide to go get it checked out they were gone. Well since I have started working they have been appearing full force. We had a day off on Monday and I thought alright, it is time. So I called a few hospitals to ask if the dermatologist was available over the holiday and all said no except for AMH. So that already was a bonus for me in evaluating the hospital. So I went and saw the doctor whom was a very nice man. I am sorry to say I forgot his name. I informed him that I have psoriasis and have had it since childhood. He then took a look at my itchy, annoying bumps and then informed me that I have a form of eczema as well. He said sometimes it just appears later in life and it can just as easily disappear. He gave me antihistamine tablets to take for 15 days along with a cream to sooth the pain. So far they are still here but the itching is less.

The hospital is very nice and clean and more importantly the staff is very friendly and professional. I opened a file in less than ten minutes and was given a membership card with my picture on it and everything. BE WARNED, the computer camera they have is not the best and your picture will make you look like the cast of the cone heads. A fringe is best worn when taking you AMH picture. The process to pay and receive your medicine is also very organized. You go to the first counter and give them your prescription. You then proceed to the second counter and pay your bill. Finally you move on to the third counter, pick up your meds and voila! You are good to go. I really like this place and am ecstatic to learn that they just opened their new branch yesterday in Amwaj!!! I can walk to it from my house and be there in ten minutes or drive and be there in under a minute! It is located in the building that has the Lighthouse Cafe in it. It is the big blue building across the road from Alosra and across the street from the school. I couldn't be happier. Now they just need to open a gas station on Amwaj and it is literally perfection on an island.

As you know from previous posts, I rather use natural remedies. Right before I went to the doctor I put apple cider vinegar on the bumps to ease the itchiness and low and behold it worked like a charm. I am a firm believer in apple cider vinegar. It is the best thing for sore throats and avoiding a cold when the season arrives. Upon further research I also found that it is good for psoriasis as well. They say to add a cup up it in your bath or rub some directly on the areas of your skin that it is present. It is also good to add a tablespoon to a nice hot cup of water. Adding honey, lemon and cinnamon then turns it into a cold, strep throat combatant as well.  All in all this stuff is worth more than gold in my books.

For those of you who are interested I will explain psoriasis briefly.

Psoriasis: A skin condition that is a common, chronic immune- mediated disease which may also affect the joints. No, it is not contagious. Basically it occurs when your immune system mistakes a normal skin cell for a pathogen and sends out faulty signals that cause overproduction of new skin cells. People with psoriasis will also find they get sick less than the average Joe which is a hidden benefit to the disease. The disease is characterized into 5 categories which I will not go into detail about. Like most diseases some are harsher than others. For example, I get white, scaly, almost rejuvenating cut looking things on my elbow and upper arms, sometimes my legs and on my ears. For me they do not itch or bother me at all. Some people get it all over their body and some cases can itch and or be open sores. So I take it that I am very lucky actually. Most people believe their are certain foods to avoid and others you should eat. From what I know, psoriasis is at its least with me when I am healthy and exercise regularly. A very big trigger is stress. Yoga works wonders for both the psoriasis and the stress. There is no actual cure for it yet and it is still a disease that is being studied. Doctors and scientists don't exactly know what causes it and what cures it. There are many creams and pills on the market that help control it but noting takes it away. I stopped with all the treatments long ago. Most of the time the pills and creams are not very good for your body. Swimming in salt water works best for me alongside a healthy lifestyle. You can find a picture below of a mild case of psoriasis. I wont post a picture of a worse case in case some of my readers have a week stomach.
               
                                                                  Psoriasis on Elbow

I will post something about eczema once I know more myself. Any comments would be greatly appreciated.

Well clearly I as in the mood to write today. I hope you guys found my post informative at least!!!
Catch you on the flip side!!!! xoxo

Moving Up....

Hello All,

Work has been insane. I haven't had any time to myself lately. There was definitely no time to blog and I missed it. So I thought I would take some time out now and just write. Work is going alright. I still have to deal with daily politics, lack of proper English grammar, and bad attitudes but there is a plus side to it all. On Sunday I got my own office. I used to sit in a big room with two other coworkers and it was really nice when you wanted to have a chat. However, when you needed to make a phone call or concentrate....not so easy. So now I am in my own little quiet space and it is lovely. I went and bought some office decorations and made the place feel a bit more warm while still maintaining a professional appearance. Everyone in the office loves it. I think I may have inspired a few people to do the same. They way I see it is you spend close to 70%, if not more, of you week at work. Why not make it a comfortable place you enjoy? Sitting in a dull atmosphere, hating your work area for 70% of your time is not healthy. Positive outlook and thinking can go a long way in your life. Believe me, I speak out of experience.

On home life, everything is great. Indiana and I have really sunk well into our new life. It was tough at times. I tell ya a big move like this is hard but in the end it was all worth it. Life is so much calmer here. The country is a lot more tolerant than Kuwait was. The great thing is that even though Bahrain is more open, they have managed to keep the beauty of the culture alive. The way it should be. The world is an ever changing place and if you don't jump on the band wagon, you are just going to be left behind. No one is coming back for you after that. So yes, it is good to stay true to ones culture and immerse it throughout the country but you should also be tolerant of your surroundings. If you country is filled with expats that help grow the economy then you must also cater to their needs. It is a give and take situation. Something Kuwait hasn't caught on to very well. Bahrain tends to embrace its expats. So all in all, there isn't really anything I regret about this move thus far.

As for exploring Bahrain, I am sad to say that I haven't done much exploring. I did however find two small shops that I really like. One is an Arts and Crafts store at the beginning of Budaiya highway under the Marine seafood restaurant. It is a great shop that has two stories full of arts and crafts materials. I myself am not very artistic but I love going into these places and sometimes I get inspired to try something new. The other store I really really like is further down Budaiya highway close to the big Alosra called The Bookcase. It is this small little store that sells a great variety of books. It also sells little trinkets so it has a really homey feeling to it. It is tiny but I would probably spend hours in it looking at everything.

Well that is all for now.

Laters xoxo

Overwhelmed!!!!!

I have been so busy between work and trying to have a personal life at the same time that I hardly have time to do either! I work late most nights, as does Indiana, and by the time we get home we are simply too tired to do anything. On a positive note, our boat is finally in the water! The hubby has been working on it every weekend since we got it in the water. We can't wait for it to get warm so we can start scuba diving again!!! Speaking of scuba diving!!! I have a gift under the tree from my man that might just be pink and used to keep your buoyancy under control while in the depths of the sea........ He might just be getting a device of the sort that has no wires, can be taken on the boat and plays music via Bluetooth.... Hmmmm what could be under the tree this year I wonder? 

My new job is hectic as hell and still unorganized but it's a job. I bought a new cell phone today so I can get a personal line because the line I have currently turned into my company line seeing as they don't provide me with a company phone or sim. I did find out I am entitled to a phone allowance however that I wasn't informed about until today. Luckily my colleague told me she will sort it out and make sure I not only get my allowance every month but will get paid for the past two months as well. Can't argue with that I guess. 

On a Bahrain note, I have found one of my new favorite sushi places here. It's called Frangipani and is located inside Seef mall. The service was a bit slow but the food was worth the wait. The chef who cooks the food in front of you is pretty impressive with his spatulas!!! The menu is good offers the usual variety at most sushi places. 

Also, if you are keen on starting the new year off with some new high fashion brands at a good sale price, you should hit up the Bahrain Retail Fair from January 2nd till the 5th, 2014. There will also be Bahrain's first auto auction! So hit it up and start the year off with a new pair of wheels! 

What else??? The motor show is this weekend and it sounds like it will be tons of fun. Indiana and I are goin to check it out. 

Well for now that is all I got. I have a date with my much loved pillow. Nighty night all!!!!

Xoxo

Sniffle sniff sniff....sneeze

Joy to the world I am sick! :( I have a bad sinus infection that is really getting the best of me. Last night I fell asleep at a friends house while my husband was stuck on the causeway. Poor Indiana was stuck on the causeway coming back from Saudi for about 4 hours because the computer systems went down. This is a prime example of poor management. Always have a backup plan! Some people were stuck on the causeway for 7 hours! If the computers go down, have a back up paper system! No instead, they take that opportunity to have tea and a nice long chat presumably. Anywho so my wonderful husband came and got me and took me home. Now, I am sitting at work having been called in on our public holiday for a reason I am still not sure. To make matters worse! Aunt Flow came for a visit today....joy..... 

So if anyone reads this I would greatly appreciate some hospital or clinic advice for here in Bahrain. I don't really know where any are. 

I need to get better because apparently it is a crime to be sick while at work haha. I should be home resting..... 

Sorry I don't have anything more interesting to tell you guys about!!! 

Cheers! Xoxo sneeze

Working woman again....I guess....

Hello everyone,

So I got a job. I am in marketing again (shocker I know lol) at a media company. They called me in for an interview three weeks ago and put on the charm. The offices looked great and super creative. They bragged about their clientele and all that jazz. They even made the deal sweeter by mentioning on top of my base salary I get commission for every sale and business I bring in. Plus working hours are from 8 to 4:30 which I thought was great because then I have enough time to play with the dogs, cook dinner, clean up the house, read a book and welcome my wonderful hubby home. 

Let's just say everything wasn't necessarily a lie but a very stretched out version of the truth. Within my third day at work I stayed till 9pm. Outside of last Thursday I have never left work at 4:30 actually. I even came in on a flippin public holiday! I am in my third week and already burnt out. Listen I don't mind working late when it is necessary but to be honest the only reason people stay late is because there is zero time management skills, zero project management, zero organization, zero delegation and zero team work! It is every man for himself here kind of thing. Also, people have no issue pointing the finger in order to keep the blame off of them. It's like high school here. Now the big boss has a god complex.

I mean he held a brainstorming session the other day and I tried twice to put in my opinion and he immediately shot them down. He did it to everyone actually. Why the hell would you call in a "brainstorming session" when it was more like a dictatorship where he just wanted to tell us how HE wants things done. Then in today's meeting he is busy trashing talking employees whom he thinks hasn't done a good enough job. Zero professionalism. I pick up a brochure today that has already been sent to printing and there are spelling and grammatical mistakes on every page!!! There is even incorrect information on it! That's when it hit me; we do production and all that but don't have an editor! Not to be mean but we are in a company where everyone's second language is English and their language skills are far from up to par and we don't have an editor????? I don't know how this is going to pan out for me. I want a career but I also don't want to feel like I want to jump out of a window everyday. I also have a life, dogs and my husband; I can't

spend every waking moment at work because people don't understand time management. That is not my problem.

 

Anyways. Enough ranting. My brother in law came in for the weekend and we had a blast. Thursday we took him to a bar and danced all night. I love dancing. On Friday we relaxed majority of the day then when the sun went down a little we filled our inflatable cooler with some ice cold beers and parked ourselfs on our inflatable island in the canal. Our friends came by on their boat and hung out with us. Then we all started to get hungry. So we headed to our friends house for a braai to end the night off. Saturday we spent on the beach. It was lovely. But today I feel a bit under the weather...oops. 

I hope everyone had a great weekend as well. Now we have a long weekend to look forward to this week!!! Woohoo!!!! 

Adios muchachose!!! Xoxo