POTATO, SAUSAGE, & VEGGIE HASH + THINGS THAT KEEP ME SANE WITH THE SEEMING IMPOSSIBILITY OF FINDING WORK IN DUBLIN

It's been awhile since I have written anything on here. I have been stressed and a bit down. So I'm going to bitch a little bit. I apologize. It has been so incredibly hard for me to find work here. It doesn't matter what sector either. I have applied to restaurant/hospitality jobs, admin/secretarial work, and of course design jobs. I have even contacted recruitment companies. Ireland does not have a good system when it comes to interviewing for restaurant jobs. It's really actually total bullshit. A potential employer is allowed to legally not compensate you and have you do a trial for up to four hours. I have done quite a few of these trials, with not even a simple call to say, "hey, sorry you didn't get the job." 

Tortilla pizza, and kitties! Two of my favorite things.

Tortilla pizza, and kitties! Two of my favorite things.

I have now been in Ireland for nearly 4 months, and out of those 4 months, I have worked (for pay) a total of just under 1 and half months. DO YOU KNOW HOW AWFUL THAT IS? My savings are massively suffering.

Okay, enough bitching. Time to be positive. I have not and will not give up hope! I also have had some interviews the last couple of weeks, as well as an upcoming interview tomorrow. *crosses fingers* I also did have the opportunity to do some freelance work for an event agency company last week, which ended up being really cool. 

There are a few things that have been keeping me sane in my transient phase. Unfortunately, they have gotten to be a bit on the unhealthier side. Drinking, cigarettes, and eating pretty terribly (not all the time, thankfully). I am in the process of getting myself back on track.

Did I mention I like to cook? Stuffed ground beef, veggie, rice, and lentil peppers, served with asparagus, and a spinach, white bean, pear, yogurt salad.

Did I mention I like to cook? Stuffed ground beef, veggie, rice, and lentil peppers, served with asparagus, and a spinach, white bean, pear, yogurt salad.

Staying positive, eating healthy, and working out can do wonders on one's emotional and physical well-being. I can and will be healthy and happy and fulfilled!

So, I love to cook. Cooking also makes me happy. Being happy is good. So here is potato, sausage, and veggie hash that I whipped up the other day for breakfast.

Potato, Sausage, & Veggie Hash

 

(Ingredients were actually approximately halved from photos below, because I realized it would have been way too much for two people)

Ingredients (all measurements are of course approximations, because I don't follow recipes or measure anything)

6 small-medium red potatoes
1/2 head of small broccoli head
2 green onions
1 small onion
5 cloves of garlic (I didn't have any)
10-15 cherry tomatoes
2 mixed color bell peppers
6 small sausages (more would have been tastier)
3 large kale leaves (no need to trim)
large handful dill
large handful cilantro
2 eggs

Seasonings (to taste, no idea how much I put in)
1 tbsp olive oil
Turmeric
Chilli powder
Fresh ground black pepper
Sea Salt
Mixed herbs
Cumin

For garnish
Shredded Cheddar
Chopped avocado

Now, basically just look at the pictures and it's pretty self explanatory. It's really simple to make.

Step 1

Chop up potatoes in bite size pieces. Next slice onions into thin strips. Add oil, potatoes, and onions to a large frying pan. Cook until potatoes are nearly soft. Cook sausages in another pan simultaneously. 

Step 2

While the potatoes & onions and sausages are cooking, cut up all the ingredients into bite sized pieces ("bite sized" is based on your personal preference). Once the sausages are done, cut those up into small pieces as well.

Step 3

Once the potatoes are mostly soft, add the rest of the vegetables, but save the herbs, green onions, and tomatoes until the next step. Cook until the veggies are tender, but still have a bit of a crisp.

Step 5

Once everything is nearly cooked, start frying your eggs. Make sure you keep the egg yolks intact. Runny egg yolk is super yummy! Add the herbs, green onions, sausage bits, and tomatoes and stir it all together. 

Step 6

Portion out food onto two plates, add garnishes, and then NOM your face off. 

Man, the 4th of July is going to be so strange to celebrate here in Dublin. I mean it's 'MURICAS birthday, and I have no 'MURICANS to kick back a cold one with while eating loads of bbq and lighting things on fire. Oh well, I can and WILL celebrate and do these things, even if it is by myself. :)

I hope all this food distracted you a bit from my complaining. I really am blessed to be here in Ireland, this is really a special opportunity, and I am thankful for the opportunities I have had, even if they aren't exactly what I want or need at the moment. Now, on to enjoy the Irish "summer!"

TRYING TO EAT HEALTHY, AND MEXICAN-ISH SHAKSHUKA

So I am always trying to eat healthy, but also eat good. Really good. I LOVE food. 

Before going to bed last night, I was thinking about how good baba ghanoush sounded, and what cheese I like best. When I woke up this morning, I immediately thought of phyllo dough, and all of the wonderful things you can make out of it. Spanakopita. Mmmmm. I then proceeded to spend way too much time this morning looking at foodgawker.com, seeing all of the tasty things you can make out of phyllo dough.

I got made fun of yesterday, because I was explaining to my friend that I had made a list of all the restaurants in Dublin that I wanted to try. Granted, it's a fairly long list, but ya need to understand. Food is everything. It makes people happy and brings them together.

I also love cooking, but I am a very different cook as compared to your average person. I love vegetables and crazy amalgamations. I try to use and substitute ingredients for a recipe based on what I have on hand. But that's another thing, because I almost never follow a recipe. Unless I'm baking, of course, cause if ya don't follow the recipe there, ya dun fucked up. Then no one's going to be happy with your sweet treats.

A typical lunch for me. Egg + veggies + maybe meat + maybe avocado + maybe brown rice

A typical lunch for me. Egg + veggies + maybe meat + maybe avocado + maybe brown rice

Before coming to Dublin, I had this grand idea of how healthy and fit I was going to be. This has turned out to be much more difficult than I originally intended. Not having steady work + travel + new places + Ireland + booze + new friends makes it very difficult to be as healthy as I want. There's too much good food about, and there's also not enough of certain healthy ingredients I want. Also, why is protein so expensive here? For fucks sake. My protein intake has been suffering! I've been eating tons of eggs. Oh well.

Being fit, or at least forcing myself to go to the gym, however, is going alright. Except that I am not going nearly as much as I should be, but at least I am going! Anyway...

Back to the food. So last night I attempted my first Shakshuka. To be fair, it's not very similar to a traditional Shakshuka, but I thought it turned out very well. I spazzed out though and forgot to take pictures of the whole process, so I apologize that for my first cooking related post, the photos are somewhat lackluster.

Yum. So good.

Yum. So good.

Mexican-ish Inspired Shakshuka
serves 2

Anyway here's the ingredient list that I used and the approximations (I never measure anything ever, let's be real)

1/2 of a large hard cooked chorizo sausage chopped up small
1 red pepper sliced into thin pieces
1 medium sweet potato chopped
1 can of whole tomatoes in juice
1/4 cup of corn
3 cloves of garlic
20 baby tomatoes halved
1 tablespoon of olive oil
paprika to taste
Italian herbs to taste
black pepper (use loads)
2 eggs
1 cup of shredded cheddar (as garnish + cheese is the best)
Nice crusty bread for dipping or toasted tortillas

Just cracked the eggs into the mixture.

Just cracked the eggs into the mixture.

Instructions (again approximations, I never time anything)

Basically chop the shit out of the sweet potato, and sauté in the olive oil for about 10 minutes or until the sweet potato starts to soften a bit. Add the chorizo, garlic, and red pepper, and sauté for about another 10 minutes. Add the can of whole tomatoes + the halved baby tomatoes + corn. Add all the seasonings. I found that I didn't need to add extra salt because the chorizo was salty enough. Simmer on low heat for another 5 minutes before cracking the eggs into the mixture. Cover with a lid and cook until the whites of the egg are thoroughly cooked but so the yolk is still runny. Meanwhile, toast your bread or tortillas and prepare the plates. Add the cheese and cover with lid until just melted, and then revel in your glorious creation!

Nearly done. Just need the cheese. Too bad the cheese covers up those eggs.

Nearly done. Just need the cheese. Too bad the cheese covers up those eggs.

It was easy enough, and turned out to be delicious. We ate it with toasted bread, and it was delightful. Again, I apologize for my poor photos. Next time I will take much better photos of the actual process.

I want to make a more traditional Shakshuka next time, but this was still lovely.

I'm super stoked, cause I leave for Budapest on Friday. Till next time.