simplymariana

Hello! Thank you for visiting Simply Mariana. As a blogger and photographer, I love to spend time surrounded by nature, and using photography to document all of my adventures is one of my favourite things to do. Writing has been a passion of mine for a very long time, and even though I can't put a label on it; whether this is a lifestyle and photography blog, or something else unique, I plan to share my journey with you. In essence, this blog is about my life. So...do you fancy a good read? Join me on this journey.

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Coconut bowl lunch - a simple, but delicious recipe!

3/4/2019 9:41 AM HomeMy lifePhotographyLunchSalads

Hello! It's been a little while since I last posted, so I thought I would share with you the delicious recipe for yesterday's lunch.

On Saturday, Bruno and I headed over to the shops to get some ingredients and food for the house, and I ended up getting some yummy cherry tomatoes, some rainbow chard, tahini and squash.

On Sunday, for lunch, I decided to try a combination of all these ingredients, and boy was I blown away by this creation!

Step 1 - Firstly, I sliced the squash in small pieces and popped it in the oven for about 20 minutes to cook. At the same time, I also seasoned the tomatoes with salt and pepper, and a drizzle of olive oil, placing them on a baking tray in the oven.

Step 2 - I then peeled a red onion, then sliced it and cooked on low heat for about 10 minutes with a drizzle of olive oil.

Step 3 - While the onion was cooking away, I toasted the pine nuts on a separate pan, also on low heat for about 3-4 minutes, shaking the pan occasionally for an even cooking.

Step 4 - Once the onions were soft, I chopped the rainbow chard and added it to the onions, stirring to mix things well.

I seasoned everything with cumin, salt and pepper, and once the squash and tomatoes were fully cooked, I removed them from the oven. It was now time to assemble my coconut bowl. The chard and onions mixture was added first, then the tomatoes and squash, and finally the pine nuts.

The final step was to use a tahini/lemon dressing to bring all the flavours to life! I really enjoyed this meal.

I hope you've had a great weekend.

Simply,

Mariana

Sunset, coffee and dinner on the balcony

4/26/2018 8:25 PM HomeMy lifePhotographyDinnerSalads

The last few weeks have been an absolute nightmare when it comes to organising and tidying everything up in the new house. We've just moved into a new house and we're very excited to be now called homeowners! The house is nowhere near ready for a full tour, especially since there's still piles of boxes everywhere. Moving into a new house is definitely a 'work in progress'. With jobs, gym, shopping, cooking, exploring, photography, etc. there's barely any time to unpack boxes, which in all fairness should be my priority right now. But you know I can't help it...Still, and one at the time, we should have the house ready for a full tour soon.

In the meantime, I'd like to share with you some pretty yummy recipes I've recently made. On Thursday night, after the gym, I've decided to make a quick dinner just so I could have the luxury of eating outside on the balcony. I opted for a vegetable stir fry, some couscous and a side salad. Once I got home and back from the gym, I started cooking immediately so I could still enjoy the sunset. I love the fact that the days are getting so much longer...I do love my snow in the winter, but there's nothing quite like those extra hours of sun during the summer months. At the moment, the sun sets at around 8:30 pm each day, which is absolutely amazing!

To begin my dinner-making process, I poured a little bit of olive oil at the bottom of the frying pan and emptied the box of veggies on top. As for seasoning, I added a little bit of cumin and black pepper. I know it sounds super boring, but sometimes, and especially when it comes to cooking, less is more! I then let the vegetables cook for about 3 or 4 minutes on a high temperature, before reducing the heat and cooking them for a further 60 seconds, until those broccoli heads were soft. Broccoli is always the one thing that takes the longer to cook in a stir fry! Argh!

While the veggies were cooling down, I started preparing the couscous and my side salad. I don't know why, and you can call me weird, but there's something so refreshing about pouring fresh raspberries or blueberries on top of salads...Is it just me? Not only do they add some sweetness, they are also so fresh and juicy...yum! I can never have enough of berries, especially in the summer months. Since the sun is setting later than ever, I thought it was a good enough reason to pretend it's summer and celebrate with some raspberries.

Keeping it simple, I poured the raspberries on a bed of letucce and seasoned with nothing but a drizzle of olive oil and a little bit of black pepper. Then, it was time to go outside and enjoy the sunset on the balcony of the new home!

With the sun going down, the weather outside started to get a little chilly, so I grabbed a cosy jumper before sitting on the chair outside, watching the sun set and listening to the birds sing.

The food was yummy, but being able to eat outside felt even better! Even though it was somewhat cold, it still felt amazing. Sunsets make me happy.

I finished it all off with a coffee and two biscoff cookies, as I waved farewell to my diet and gym efforts made so far, this week!

I hope you're having a wonderful Thursday, and if not, remember that the weekend is almost here, so hang in there...I'll see you soon.

Simply,

Mariana