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Applying for the Vietnam E-Visa
Happy New Year! My start to the new decade was spent doing some additional preparation for my upcoming trip back to Southeast Asia. As I’ve written before, Mr. Chuckles and I are in the midst of planning a trip to Cambodia and Vietnam that is fast approaching. Now that flights are booked and the itinerary…
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Risotto à la forestière with wild mushrooms
The term à la forestière, translating to ‘of the forest’, is a French cooking style wherein the dish is characterized by hearty, earthy flavours. Typically, this features wild mushrooms sautéed in butter. Risotto is, of course, a traditional Italian dish but variations of it are also commonly featured in French cuisine. This recipe for risotto…
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Top 10 travel moments of 2019
This year was filled with new travel experiences, inspiring the inception of this blog, so there is no better place than here to reflect on my top memories from around the world in 2019. Over the past 12 months, Mr. Chuckles and I had the opportunity to embark on 4 trips, encompassing 3 continents, 5…
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Photo essay: The dogs of Peru
When we landed in Peru earlier this year, one of the first things we noticed was the abundance of dogs wandering the streets. We saw them all over the streets of Cusco, in the Sacred Valley, and around Machu Picchu (Aguas Calientes) too. There is indeed an issue with stray animals in Peru, but according…
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Instant Pot beef chilli
Although some sources report that chilli originated in northern Mexico, most food historians assert that it is a classic American dish invented in southern Texas. In fact, some Mexicans will strongly concur; a 1959 Mexican dictionary defined chili con carne as a “detestable food falsely called Mexican, sold in the United States from Texas to…
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Julia Child’s Boeuf Bourguignon
This evening’s dinner recipe was inspired by Julia Child, the renowned chef who introduced French cuisine to the American public, best known for her debut cookbook Mastering the Art of French Cooking. People who love to eat are always the best people. Julia Child (Image: Source) In this case, Mr. Chuckles and I are two…
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Old-fashioned apple pie with gingerbread crumble
My earliest memories of apple pie were from The Big Apple, a bakery/shop that sits just off the westbound lane of Highway 401 as it passes Colborne, Ontario. My family made a point to stop here every time we were on our way home to Toronto from Ottawa to pick up a couple of their…
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Wonky festive gingerbread cookies
We are in full fledged holiday mode. Christmas tree is up (see below), gift shopping and wrapping done, Advent calendar opened, and now it’s time for holiday baking. This weekend afternoon was spent preparing homemade gingerbread. I participated by practicing my cookie decorating skills, which turned out more in line with that of a contestant…
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Blog milestone: 100 followers!
I received a notification from WordPress yesterday that I’ve Bean Travelling has now surpassed 100 follows, including a combination of WordPress reader, email, and social media subscribers. This blog was started on a whim as an inside joke between myself and Mr. Chuckles, but has since transformed into my creative outlet in a small corner…
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Italian-American meatballs in red sauce
Spaghetti and meatballs is a classic Italian-American dish, introduced by Italian immigrants in New York City sometime in the early 20th century. This dish differed significantly from the meatballs prepared back in the motherland. In Italy, meatballs known as polpette were much smaller, often no larger than the size of a marble. Unlike the Americanized…
I've Bean Travelling
A travel and food blog.
I've Bean Travelling 