STUFFED ONIONS

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The recipe is taken from Jamie with a twist by putting in some Cashew nuts – it taste soooo gooood. I think Portobello mushroom would also be amazing too. Let me know if anyone of you tried this recipe with Mushroom.

I am going to Columbia on the 19th April. Connect with you guys soon!

Click here for the recipe!

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A NON-ITLIAN PASTA

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Everyone should learn Italian cooking, it is about cooking with simple ingredients while paying respect to it. I stole this recipe from Jamie Oliver but I personally like my tomatoes gilled, it is softer and the flavor is more complex.

A little update of my life in Antigua. I finally went to spanish class with a private teacher and ask about my level of spanish. I got a 4.5 out of 10. Boy, I was happy to know that my days starring in front of the computer to save money, does help me out quite a bit. My Salsa is getting better as we speak, I will probably do another 3 lessons before I invite a girl at the bar. Sketching is a little mainly because I am very lazy in Antigua. I will be going to do  another indie guide for Antigua so watch out for that!

Here comes the recipe!

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INDIE GUIDE TO ANTIGUA

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A small yet important city in history that is located in-between 3 volcanos. It had been the most important cities in the early days in the whole of central America. My first impression of this town was that it is filled with too much Gringos (Americans). Most of them have flocked here to volunteer, learn Spanish, Salsa or spend their holiday hence falling in love with it and decided to spread theirs roots in this city. I came for the same reasons too. This town has thus became one of the most expansive cities in Central. After spending a month here, my perception changed after finding some cool spots around the city. Therefore, this indie guide is  for anyone wants to spend their time differently in Antigua.

1) Earthship, Guatemala

The Earthship is a fully self-sustainable house built with recycle materials such as car tires, cans, plastic bottles and glass bottles. The building can provide electricity, potable water, contained sewage treatment and sustainable food production. Earthship had built 2 houses in Comalapa as a gift for the locals family. You can take a bus to Chimaltenango and change another bus to Comalapa. From the city centre, it a 20 minutes walk to the site. Please be really considerate when visiting the Earthship, it’s a family there.

http://earthship.com/guatemala

 

2) La Canche Tienda

Don’t be fooled by the looks of this innocent looking shop. Take a brave step inside, walking across the counter and you will find the kitchen with tables. I recommend trying the Pepian, a local Guatemalan food serve with chicken with a special sauce and rice for Q25. A homely and local ambience!

Located opposite La Merced Chruch.

 

3) Pastores 

The small town is a 15 minutes bus ride north of Antigua. The sole existence of this town is  about satisfy all the leather needs. The leather product ranges from cowboy boots to customized leather shoe for less than US$50. I was really tempted to custom made a boot but the thought of carrying it for the next 7 months, stopped me. Nonetheless, I came back with a leather belt for Q100.

 Click here for the rest of the guide..

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CREAMY CARBONARA

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Everyone should definitely have this recipe down in their arsenal. Its creamy, Chessy and it’s Carbonara. I am happy to say that after the second, I can make a pretty good damn Carbonara. Here the recipes after some trail and error!

Here the recipe!

Serve 4

Ingredients

450g Linguine
4 strips of bacon
2 eggs
1 Handful of grated Parmesan cheese
150g of double cream
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
Dried Thyme

Instructions
Cook the pasta in salted boiling water as per the packet instructions
Sliced the bacon and fry it in a pan till golden brown
Whisk the egg in a bowl with the cheese, cream, salt and pepper (good hit of pepper)
When the pasta is cooked, stir into the bacon
Add the sauce into the pasta and let the heat from the pasta cooked the raw egg
Add the pasta water to thin the sauce
Garnish with thyme and pepper

Tips
What’s important is that you add the cream while the pasta is still hot. This way, the residual heat of the pasta will cook the eggs, but not so that they resemble scrambled eggs.
Make sure to give it a good hit of pepper (Must)
I add a little of thyme as I find it a little too heavy.
Jamie Oliver add mint leaves and peas to his version.


10 INTERESTING ITEMS I PACKED

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Here some inspiration for aspiring backpacker when packing their bag. After having been traveling for 5 months, these are some items that I will definitely pack into my bag for any future trips 🙂

1) SNAKE POWDER (Prickly heat)

The snake powder is one of those tricks that I’ve learnt in my army days, going out to field camps and not having to shower for 5 days straight! Although I have no encounter any situation that is as bad, the snake powder does keep me fresh and cool. It also can be used while camping to prevent snake from going near your campsite as the cooling agent will irritate the snake skin.

2) TIGER BLAM

This bad ass have literally save me from a million mosquito bites from the beaches.  Other than that, you can use it for headaches, blocked nose, stomach upset, muscles aches and even bladder pain. It is one of those asian miracle remedy for everything.

3) CABLE TIE

As mentioned in previous posts, I use these things to prevent theft in many of my bus rides. They are light, inexpensive and unflashy which is perfect for security.

4) NEXUS 7

This is a fantastic little tablet made by Google. I have been using it for many occasions. It can Skype, Facebook, Instagram, watch a movie, check my lonely planet and the Google maps is amazing. You can download the map of the area and view it without any wifi, the GPS function can locate my position without any wifi too. I usually mark out all the attractions on Google maps so that I am able to plan my route for the day. Moreover, unlike an expensive iPad, Nexus are inexpensive, so it won’t be the end of the world if something happens to it.

Here the rest of the guide.

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