What I miss while travelling....

I love to travel. I love exploring new cities and new landscapes, and I especially love tasting new foods. But after a while, the one thing I miss while travelling is cooking in my own kitchen.

I've been so inspired by my favourite food blogs lately. I have a crazy long list of bookmarked recipes that I'm dying to try when I get home.

Here's a few examples....

Doesn't this simple dish of baked eggs in roasted tomatoes look amazingly satisfying?!

(photo credit: Olivia of Everyday Musings)

And all of these mother's day brunch recipes have me over the moon! Especially this fried goat cheese and mango salad...

(Photo credit: Karen Mordechai of Sunday Suppers via A CUP OF JO)

And how about this chestnut tart with oyster mushroom filling? Yum!

(photo credit: Green Kitchen Stories)

And finally, who could resist these sugary homemade doughnuts?

(photo credit: Pure Vegetarian By Lakshmi)

And speaking of cooking at home, I cannot tell you how excited I am for this cookbook. It's going to be brilliant!

Ok, ok, back to the present moment. Although I am totally excited to start cooking again, I will easily continue to enjoy indulging in foreign restaurants for the next several days. After Amsterdam, we're off to France for our final week of vacation. It should be a culinary delight!

The Misty Hills of Great Malvern

 We've spent the last 2 days in a charming little English town called Great Malvern, in Worcestershire. 

The town is built on beautiful green hills and surrounded by lush forests. It feels as though Robin Hood or knights on horseback might pop out at any moment.

We've been enjoying some proper English afternoon teas, and going for plenty of long walks through the misty forests.

 (this is wild garlic. It seems to grow everywhere up here. You can eat the flowers too... but it tastes just like biting into a garlic clove.)

The highlight of our stay in Malvern of course was watching my dear cousin Eleesha perform with her contemporary dance company, The National Dance Company of Wales. 

They were absolutely spectacular! 

I especially loved the first performance of the night which was a piece choreographed by my cousin herself. I am in complete awe of her amazing talent.

We're off to Amsterdam for the next 3 days. The forecast is calling for more rain, unfortunately (we can't seem to get away from it this vacation)... but I'm not complaining. We're having a wonderful time just the same.

New Music: Regina Spektor

Anti-folk artist Regina Spektor is one of my all time favourite singer-songwriters.
I love her voice, her subtle strangeness, and her lyrics.

She has a new album coming out soon (May 29/12) called What we saw from the cheap seats, which I'm very excited about. Here's a little taste...

I absolutely love her new song, Small Town Moon, which you can listen to via Soundcloud.

She's also redone an older song of hers, "Ne me quitte pas", which you can listen to here: