Itinerant Bordeaux

Saturday mountain trip

2010-09-25T17:09:00.004+02:00

This morning we woke up earlier than usual on a Saturday (well, Alexander anyways) had French toast for breakfast, showered and headed into the mountains.

People often complain about how much city there is in Taiwan and how little nature. But on the contrary, in pretty much any city in this country you are always less than half an hour from mountains with incredible forest greenery and clean fresh air. All you need to do is get onto your bike and head in the right direction.

It was Alexander's first time into the eastern mountains of Hsinchu and Miaoli county (I think we were in bordering Miaoli...) and luckily he brought his camera with to capture some of the scenery, like this tree covered in white egrets...

... and farmers working their rural rice paddies viewed through verdant bamboo. We stopped at a cafe along the way, an old favorite where I used to stop for coffee and cheesecake on mountain trips years ago. We enjoyed light sandwiches for lunch and a river view.

On the way home we stopped by this friendly lady to buy a big bag of passion fruit. She spoke no English, but I understand enough Chinese to know that she was explaining that her spot was just gorgeous and loads of people stop there to take pictures of the scenery.

Of course, we took Japie with for the ride. He has to ride in the basket otherwise he moves around too much. Don't worry, he enjoys the basket and viewing the world go by from it. And yes, he is giving us all a side-eye in the picture on the left.

Guest Blogging- A Perfect Moon

2010-09-22T12:07:00.003+02:00

I've been invited by darling Dorothy Black (fellow blogger and seriously good friend) to do some occasional guest blogging over at her blog A Case of Nerves. Here is an excerpt from my first entry on her blog...

Earlier this year, when Alexander and I were visiting Taiwan for the winter, I was talking to a guy online.

He lived in a city northeast of Taipei and was on break from school for the winter holidays.   He was single and complaining to me about how small his prospects are for finding the right guy. I couldn't understand why he was having such a hard time finding a boy for a relationship or just some fun. There are loads of very handsome and very available men in Taiwan. Just look at any gay-dating website around here, plenty of handsome and available men looking for love or a good time.

For the rest of the entry go here. And do yourself a favor and check out the rest of her blog. It's full of insights and musings on sex, being a woman, dating, men, single life, dating life... a bit like Sex and the City, only better and way more real.

Dapper man at the market

2010-09-06T06:14:00.002+02:00

We moved! We found an awesome place and we've moved in and are settling in nicely. More about that in a later post.

First, I was walking home after a coffee out through the morning market on our lane yesterday (!), when I spotted this handsome gentleman walking a gorgeous Frenchie and carrying a beautiful traveler's palm behind an old lady zipping through the market.

I kept an eye out and spotted him again later, this time without any obstructions. Of course I invited him home, who wouldn't? He said yes and moved in with the dog, plant and lots of style.

Yes I know it's my husband but allow me the fantasy please. Don't you think this picture could work for Sartorialist?

Typhoon pancakes

2010-08-31T08:28:00.003+02:00

After a summer that's been otherwise dry and incredibly hot, we are currently feeling the effects of three typhoons in the region. Kompasu, Lionrock and Namtheun have all been making their presence felt since Sunday night with constant rain, sometimes hard, sometimes soft.

It makes for unpleasant driving on scooters, but it does bring a very welcome relief to the heat and the world is looking clean and fresh again. Both Alexander I noticed how you could smell food being cooked everywhere yesterday, instead of the usual exhaust fumes.

I'm not working this week and decided to make some simple banana pancakes for breakfast this morning. We enjoyed it in bed with cloudberry jam from IKEA and a heavenly sweet and thick caramel Alexander's parents got me in Bali on their recent trip (some pictures of the trip that Alexander joined here), while enjoying views of the green hills and the rain.

We're moving into our own place tomorrow. We've been house-sitting for friends who's been away for two months and trusted us with their house and dogs. I'm excited about having a place of our own, but I am going to miss the area they live in, surrounded by lush forest with the sounds of tropical birds during the day and frogs at night.

I'll try to post some pictures of our new place very soon. I can't wait to move!

I desire- a Butt towel

2010-08-30T09:16:00.005+02:00

The first time I saw these fantastic towels I was in the company of my sisters-in-law and Alexander. I was so excited that I shouted "I want a butt towel!" My enthusiasm for a butt towel was met by shocked giggles from the ladies and a disapproving look from Alexander, who was actually the one who pointed the towels out to me.

It's a few months later and I still find myself desiring a Butt towel. Who wouldn't want a towel in this sexy magazine's (site NSFW or Starbucks) instantly recognizable pink with a hot man sprawled over it? You wouldn't? Curious, I can think of nothing that would make me happier.

So if my happiness is important to you (and it should be) hurry on over to American Apparel's website and order me one of these babies. Or two, one for me and one for Alexander. It's still summer season here and we need to give those people at the pool something more to look at besides us.

Bjork!

2010-08-27T01:40:00.005+02:00

Since Wednesday I've had Bjork on random on both my iPod and the computer. It has been a long-long time since I've listened to her, and now I can't seem to stop. I'm loving every second of driving around Hsinchu with her voice in my head. Beautiful.

Bjork, some Tori Amos and a bit of U2 helped me survive my final year of high school back in the early nineties. Mostly Bjork helped me survive my first year at university which was potentially the worst year of my life. So we go way back. And I still love her and her music every bit as much as I first heard her voice in my high school dorm room in '94.

Here's some vintage Bjork for you on this lovely Friday.

And then something more recent, a beautifully haunting collaboration with Antony Hegarty of Antony and the Johnsons.

And if you're interested, go here for a short NPR interview with Bjork for 50 Great Voices

Tropical fruit cake

2010-08-25T07:22:00.005+02:00

Hear this, the Chinese name for passion fruit is 百香果 (bai-shiang-guo). It literally translates as hundred-smells fruit. Our good friend Jing-guo explained that it means it is the fruit that smells better than a hundred other fruits. Beautiful isn't it? I'm only using it's Chinese name from now on.

百香果 is in season at the moment, along with lots of other tropical fruit delights like mango and banana. I bought a bunch of all of them at the market one afternoon, but in the crazy July heat everything ripened incredibly fast and the next day I was sitting with some over-ripe fruit on my hands. What to do, what to do?

Bake, of course!

So I trawled the web for some banana bread recipe, decreased the banana and added some mango. Baked it, made a passion fruit syrup and poured it over the cake. The leftover syrup I mixed in with our cereal and yogurt in the morning. I baked the cake for Jing-guo and his sister who were helping us in our apartment hunting. His little nephew insisted on having the cake for breakfast, so I guess it was popular with him at least!

Return of the blogger

2010-08-23T06:46:00.004+02:00

Man alive I am a lame blogger. I knew it would take some time before I start blogging again, but I never expected it to become months. My excuse is that I've been terribly busy with school. Working more hours than I have in almost two years was a shock to my old system.

Besides working we've also been getting back into the swing of living in Asia, visiting markets for fresh produce, teaching Alexander how to ride a scooter, finding the best places for baking ingredients, trying out new dishes and places to eat and visiting big cities like Taipei and Kaohsiung over weekends. And becoming parents to a one-year old French bulldog!

We barely got back when a friend mentioned that she knows someone who cannot take care of hers anymore and is looking for someone who can adopt him from her. We were immediately curious and I think we made a decision even before we saw him.

His name is Japie, he is a beige Frenchie and he is adorable. He has brought about quite a shift in our lives. We're now cooking big batches of dog food once a week, give doggie baths, spend a ridiculous amount of time in pet stores looking for toys and have regular discussions about his bathroom.

He was named (by us) for an Afrikaans boy hero I learned about as a kid. When I told Alexander the story years ago he decided that if we should ever get a dog he should be named Japie, so there you are. I don't think ours is very brave, but he is quite the hero of our hearts.

Yup, he is all I talk about these days.

I'm going to try my best to post more very soon. We're still apartment hunting and that is quite a mission here, so I'll keep you posted on that (I think we may have found a place), I've done some baking and Alexander had his camera ready, I'd like to share some of our market experiences with you and our adventures back in Asia.

I'll be back soon, I promise!

Potjiekos

2010-07-06T13:13:00.000+02:00

Mmmmmm potjiekos. Some foreigner I encountered on my travels long ago referred to South African food as bland and specifically noted potjiekos as a good example of how bland it can be. I was rather unhappy about this unfriendly statement. I agree that some South Africans enjoy their food bland or over-salted, but we also have some awesome cuisine with influences from Africa, Europe and Asia. And potjiekos falls into the latter.

Potjiekos literally translates as pot-food. I know, the name is actually quite bland, but the food shouldn't be. And if someone ever ate bland potjiekos then the person who made it is to blame and not the meal. This food is traditionally cooked in a round-based three-legged cast iron pot. It's a slow stewing process and can be made using just about anything. It is incedibly popular in South Africa and I grew up with several regional and national potjiekos competitions taking place all the time.

The preparation of the meal, like a barbecue, is a social affair. You start by building a fire and watch it turn into coals while enjoying a drink with friends. When the heat is right the pot, well-oiled, gets put on the coals. A fair amount of onions and garlic and in my case ginger gets cooked in the hot pot using a large wooden spoon. The meat of your choice (or other vegetables if you want to make a veggie potjie is added and browned. Next comes your liquids— water, wine, or stock can be used. And then some flavor. My potjie was a chicken curry so I made a mixture of curry powder, turmeric, chutney, and some dry white wine. Other ingredients follow— potatoes or sweet potatoes (in this case sweet potatoes worked wonderfully) carrots, beans. Whatever you feel like. The pot gets covered and everybody relaxes around the fire while it cooks, checking often to make sure there is enough liquid in the pot.

When everything is cooked the pot gets moved from the fire and everyone helps themselves to the delicious stew. We served ours (which we made for Father's Day) with some brown rice and a fresh summer salad Olivia made. If I may say so myself, the chicken curry potjie, which was my father's recipe with a couple of minor tweaks made by me, came out superb. Nothing bland about it, the sweet potatoes worked perfectly with the curry and the chicken was super tender (I used thighs).

For dessert Alexander made another South African favorite, malva poeding, no idea what that translates into, but it was awesome. He baked the pudding in a muffin tin so everyone got their own little dessert. He also added a bit of brandy to the sauce and sprinkled some nutmeg over everything. It was incredible and as I type here my mouth waters for it. And he did it all using an Afrikaans recipe book while I was out teaching!

South African food bland? Bah!

Poolside Kate

2010-07-05T00:35:00.003+02:00

I may have mentioned before that I am nuts for Ms. Moss. I probably have a bit of a crush on her actually. She has just always been so totally gorgeous and hot. I'm always thrilled when I see her on the cover of a magazine looking fantastic. The new issue of French Vogue made me especially happy. Poolside Kate looking siren hot. Love her.

Dancing on my own

2010-07-02T00:14:00.002+02:00

I love-love-love the new single from Robyn. It's fun, it's sad, it's beautiful and makes me want to dance. My favorite line, 'I'm not the guy you're taking home', reminds me of my pretty miserable gay younger years when I was still a pretty sad homo, always crushing on some straight guy and feeling sorry for myself. Thank goodness those days are over.

Anyhoo, something for you to bop to.

Eating in LA

2010-06-29T17:01:00.006+02:00

Since arriving in Los Angeles last Thursday we've been spending a lot of time eating at the city's many fantastic restaurants and cafes. And of course also enjoying the atmosphere, the architecture and the company of Alexander's sisters. Olivia flew out here for a couple of days, while Genevieve has long been a resident of the city.

Here are some pictures of a couple of meals we've enjoyed over the past few days.

Breakfast at Square One Dining on Fountain. Fantastic fruit, freshly baked scones and muesli. The seating on a patio out back did not hurt.

Lunch at Joan's on 3rd. Excellent food and despite the fact that they expanded they are still as great as ever. I was convinced of seeing Naomi Watts. I didn't.

And of course, cupcakes at legendary Sprinkles on Little Santa Monica was the perfect place for a late afternoon bite.
Saturday we wandered around Silverlake, where I still won't mind living.

We headed to the Silverlake Farmer's Market...

... for some fresh produce...

which resulted in an awesome dinner...

... and breakfast the next morning.

We enjoyed lunch at the super fun Lemonade on Abbot Kinney. We all had salads, awesome salads, and the lemonades were something else. I had cucumber and mint, while Alexander chose this bright watermelon and rosemary. Super refreshing.

I did not spot any celebrities around there like my first time in the neighborhood, but this handsome piece kept on popping up everywhere.

Lunch on Monday was tacos from the Yuca truck on Hillhurst. Really flavorful and well prepared. And not at all heavy, just perfect. Oh, and for breakfast we had coffee from Peet's on Larchmont where we spotted Molly Shannon grabbing a cup. Yay!

And now it is Tuesday and we continued the good eats. But no pics yet. Tomorrow we leave for Taiwaaaaaaaan! Yes, I'm excited. But I'm sad to leave LA, and the US. Quite sad. I'll be back though.

I'll try to post fairly soon after our arrival, but I do not promise anything. Till Asia then!

I desire- A small Utah Ranch

2010-06-25T04:12:00.004+02:00

I’m in love with Utah. I know it’s supposed to be pretty conservative and the state of conservative Mormons who are in a big way responsible for Prop 8 getting passed in California, but I can’t help it. I’m in love. And I desire-desire-desire a ranch in Utah.

It does not have to be big. I’m not asking for much, an acre (that’s not too big is it?) or even half an acre would be fine. Really, size doesn’t matter. As long as there are some trees and a creek where I can go cool off in summer I’ll be happy.

If there is a small cabin on the property, and maybe a barn, bonus! If not that’s fine. I’ll be more than willing to build my own little cabin where Alexander and I can go hang out if somebody would just give me the land. Send the contract and let me sign.

And you’ll be more than welcome to come visit and cook with us, swim in the creek, build a fire in winter, go for hikes in the mountain. So if you know someone who would gladly give me a ranch in Utah (somewhere around Capitol Reef would be perfect) give them my number.

On our way again

2010-06-21T22:49:00.002+02:00

After almost 3 months in the States we are off to some new and some old destinations. Over the next couple of days we'll be taking a short road trip to LA and after a few days there we'll be flying out west back to Asia.

First we head from Albuquerque NM to Utah where we will spend two nights exploring some of what is called the most beautiful state in the US. We' spend one night camping out in Canyon Lands National Park and another in Capitol Reef National Park.

Wednesday night we spend in Las Vegas! It'll be second time in that monument to decadence and tackiness and hopefully I will be less overwhelmed this time round. I'm planning to spend the whole time there soaking up some rays next to the pool, sipping on a trashy cocktail every now and then.

Thursday we arrive in LA. We'll be staying with Alexander's sister Genevieve at her Los Feliz apartment (ENVY!) and hang out with her and Olivia who will fly out there for a couple of days. We'll be there for almost a week, visiting some old spots like the Farmer's Market, LACMA, and Little Ethiopia. We'll also try out some new farmer's markets like the one in Silver Lake and spend some time around Culver City where I haven't been yet. We're also going to catch up with some old friends we have not seen in a while and hopefully eat lots of fun meals.

And then on the 30th we fly direct from LA to Taiwan, (the picture above is an old one of Sun Moon Lake in central Taiwan). And here we'll be settling in for a while. The plan is to go back to teaching and live in my old Taiwan hometown, Hsinchu. We'll probably be there for the next two years. If I had my way maybe longer! I'm looking forward to blogging to you from a new home. Hopefully, after an initial blog drought I'm sure, I will be able to write to you about our adventures with cooking, traveling and life in my dear Taiwan.

Entertaining with South African food

2010-06-20T20:17:00.000+02:00

For our last Wednesday dinner I offered to cook a South African dinner for the family. It's been a while since I used my fun Tradisionele Suid-Afrikaanse Respete (Traditional South African Recipes) book, this seemed like the perfect occasion. From the book I selected a dish called smoorsnoek and for dessert a pineapple yskastert. I pulled a recipe for a green bean salad from the net.

Smoorsnoek is a fish and rice dish that's traditionally made using snoek, a fish popular at South African fish barbecues. It's got a quite distinct gamy flavor and is also pretty bony, as a result I hated it as a child, but these days I always look forward to going home and have my dad throw one on the fire. Of course, there was no snoek anywhere to be found in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Thanks to some guiding tips from Jeanne from Cooksister I managed to pull off a dish that came pretty close to the smoorsnoek my mother made when I was growing up.

The green bean salad is something that my grandmother used to make for big family dinners. It's simple combination of crunchy green beans, onions, lemon juice and pepper and it went well with the main dish.

Dessert was an old childhood favorite of mine, yskastert. It translates as fridge tart and is quite honestly a seriously trashy dessert. There is absolutely no fresh ingredients in it and is the kind of thing I totally try t steer clear of these days. But as I have not had it in decades I thought it would be fun to try and make one. I was hoping to make it with passion fruit, but I could not find the right ingredients so I ended up making a pineapple version.

Recipes:

Smoorsnoek
(This recipe is for if you do not have access to snoek. Thanks Jeanne for the tip)

1 piece of of smoked fish (I used a white lake fish)
2 pieces of halibut, broiled together with a bit of olive oil salt and white pepper
2 cups cooked rice (I used brown)
2 onions chopped
2 garlic cloves chopped
1 small pepper chopped
2 ripe tomatoes, cored and chopped
2 tablespoons butter
1 tablespoon oil
white pepper
fresh parsley for garnish

Flake the fish together and set aside. Heat oil and butter, add the onions and garlic and saute until soft. Add the pepper and tomatoes and gently stir through to heat. Add the fish, mix through and white pepper to taste. Transfer to a serving dish and serve.

Green Bean salad
2 pounds green beans, trimmed
1 cup white onion, thinly sliced
1/2 cup oil
juice of one lemon
salt and pepper, 1/2 teaspoon each

Cook the green beans until they just start going tender. You don't want them all wilted. Drain. While boiling the beans, whisk the oil, lemon juice, salt and pepper in a bowl. Add the green beans and onions and toss to coat. Serve immediately.

Yskastert
(You can use any kind of fruit combination and I am sure you can even attempt to make a fresher or at least healthier version that this one if you like.)

1 box jelly (jell-o)
1 tin evaporated milk
1 tin canned fruit (drained, reserve some for the topping)
graham crackers

Prepare the jelly according to instructions and leave it in the fridge until it just starts to set. Whisk the evaporated milk until it is foamy and thickens somewhat. Mix the jelly into the milk. Mix in the fruit. Place a layer of the crackers in a dish, top with the mixture, place another layer of crackers, top with mixture. Finish with a layer of the mixture. Top with the reserved fruit and leave in fridge until it is set. Cut and serve.

Entertaining with family

2010-06-18T22:19:00.006+02:00

After our first spring dinner we decided to have regular Wednesday dinners where we all bring something else to the table. For this dinner I was in charge of cocktails and dessert, Alexander made salads and his sister Olivia got the main course.

To kick the evening off I prepared gin and limeade cocktails, inspired by the Panaka recipe from A Life(Time) of Cooking. Although I was very curious about the ghee and cardamom powder I skipped these two ingredients as I did not have time to search for them. It was a pretty refreshing drink and tasted great nonetheless.

Alexander outdid himself with the salads. They were perfect for spring. The salad on the left was an asparagus and roasted heirloom plum tomato salad. The one on the right consisted of fresh strawberries and pecans tossed with salad greens. Incredible salads. I think I could totally survive on this kind of salad for a while. Fresh!

For the main dish Olivia made an awesome pasta dish. Slices of spicy sausage tossed with broccoli, soft cheese and whole wheat penne. An excellent combination of textures as well as flavors and it worked brilliantly with the two salads.

Dessert was a Norwegian rhubarb cake. The easiest cake ever and a truly fun dessert. I got the recipe from Cooking Books. I could not believe how easy it was to prepare and it tasted perfect. So much so that I baked it again two nights later, but this time with blueberries.

I'm most certainly going to miss these Wednesday dinners when we're gone. Hopefully we can recreate a similar experience in Taiwan.

We've been outed! Homos eat poo-poo and fist!

2010-06-05T18:47:00.003+02:00

Thanks to the National Task Force Against Homosexuality in Uganda (a task force!) your worst fears about homos have been confirmed.

Yes people. Gays and only gays participate in a practice off anal-licking. I did not know this but apparently this automatically results in pooping and then the gays slobber that up too. Gays and only gays also participate in the practice of shoving whole arms down another man's anus. And gays and only gays take drugs too, to numb the pain. I know. Those gays. Filthy.

Hey! This guy has a Macbook. It's kind of paradoxical.

I'm moving to Uganda. You can watch gay porn in church! How awesome is that? I know, I should not make light of this insanity. But what the fuck else are you going to do?

Let our thoughts be with gays and lesbians (although I don't think these bigots are aware of lesbians so maybe they're safe) of Uganda and most other African nations. With all of this being shoved down people's throats I would hate to know what some idiots will do if they discover someone is gay.

* Via The Lost Boy

I desire- several more pairs of espadrilles

2010-06-05T18:19:00.003+02:00

I was checking out a pair of yellow espadrille from Urban Outfitters for about a month before I finally picked up a pair for myself this week. They are pretty simple, but totally campy. And by far the most comfortable shoes my feet have ever encountered. I am absolutely and totally in love. It's like walking on air. Or something.

They add a fun element to my style, which goes very well with the great summer weather we are experiencing here in Albuquerque. I can see them doing well in Taiwan too, where silly trendy and bright colors seem to make an appearance on the streets every summer.

For the first time in my life I want to go back to the store and buy more shoes. I desire several more pairs of these babies. They also come in blue, white, grey, red, and black. And at $14 a pair for something this fun and comfy it's a steal.

Sadly they do not come in purple, which seems to be becoming a staple in my wardrobe. I have seen a pair of purple canvas plimsolls at Urban Outfitters. Tempting...

Something to celebrate- Malawian Gay Couple Pardoned

2010-05-30T15:19:00.006+02:00

In a completely unexpected turn of events, the president of Malawi Bingu wa Mutharika, officially pardoned the gay couple who got sentenced to 14 years in prison a couple of weeks ago. Miracles doth happen.

They were immediately released from prison, following a visit to the president from the UN Secretary General, Ban Ki-moon. The president still said that homosexuality was illegal and not part of Malawian culture, but that Tiwonge and Steven were released on humanitarian grounds. The country has been criticized by international groups, celebrities like Madonna and Elton John and foreign countries.

Although the news was not met with great cheers from most Malawians it may just be the start of some much needed change in the country. And one can only hope this kind of change will spread to other African countries like Zimbabwe and Uganda and further into the continent.

* Full article at the New York Times

Take me back to your house- my future home?

2010-05-26T18:35:00.010+02:00

Our flight to Taiwan is booked. On July 1st, late at night, we will be landing on my favorite island in the world. We're trying to sort out work and accommodation to some extent before we get there. I'm not doing so well on the former, but on the housing front things are looking up.

We fantasized about having an old second story flat above a shop in downtown Hsinchu, but knew that was kind of unlikely to happen. So we were preparing to settle for a typically bland Taiwan-style apartment— lots of white paint, tiles and neon light fixtures. The best we could hope for was to have it some place near the hills with a view of bamboo forest or that it would have a decent enough balcony to have a garden on.

But then, through some sifting through facebook, I got the email address of a person whose family has created a hip and organic community in the mountains close to town on what used to be a family farm some 20 years ago.

The community is called Casa Chile and it consists of various buildings with different styles of housing. There's plenty of lawn (a rare sight in Taiwan) and the property is surrounded by natural forest, hills and bamboo groves.

Six kinds of structures make up the accommodation with some of them in apartment styles with shared cooking facilities and some private apartments with more bedrooms. And it is not all hippy-like. Not at all. All the buildings are hip and stylish, some have small wooden patios with lawn views, others have views of the bamboo groves. One of the buildings have Japanese-style bathrooms in the apartment. Awesome!

Just the idea of living almost in the city but not and having a place that is stylish and fun was tempting. But then I discovered that the owners will be making some small plots available to tenants who wish to have their own gardens. Here you can plant veggies, fruit and herbs as long as it's organic. And...and...and... you can keep a hen for egg laying purposes! Ah yeah I think I am ready to sign that lease now!

We're hoping to find a place at Casa Chile. It might be a bit further from work and town, but I will gladly deal with driving the distance if it means I can return home to a sunny patio, some weeding and harvesting and watching my hen peck at chopped carrot tops. From my own garden.

I desire- a hairless cat.

2010-05-25T05:24:00.004+02:00

It's been years, YEARS since I've had a cat. My last cat traveled from Taiwan to South African in 2005 and has been living with my parents ever since. Not long after I met Alexander (not a pet person) and we've been doing too much travel to justify getting a pet.

But I really miss having one and whenever I see a cat, any cat, I get all gushy and nag Alexander for one. The answer is always no. I'm not picky about what cat we get. All the cats I've ever owned in my thirty-odd years, six, were stray cats and they were all pretty awesome. So I don't mind picking up a stray one from the SPCA again or taking an abandoned kitty home.

But I can't help but be very intrigued by these hairless cat species. I know I know. They are pretty unattractive. But adorable don't you think? I saw one on The Real Housewives of New York (judge as much as you like) and it was all scratching up against a box. A-do-ra-ble.

I totally desire a hairless kitty. I read that since they're not too fuzzy they get cold easily so they luck to cuddle. And they like getting under the covers with you and sleep all close to you. Totally my kind of kitty!

Anybody know of someone with a litter let me know!

Entertaining 'cause it's Spring

2010-05-23T23:36:00.000+02:00

When we arrived in the US early April I was disappointed to discover that it was not really spring yet. For some reasons I thought everything would be green and we'd be enjoying some glorious sunny days with the occasional spring shower. Instead we encountered dry winds and dust and even a freakishly late case of freezing temperatures and snow in the foothills.

But now that it's late May I think it's safe to say spring has sprung! The spinach I planted on the day it snowed survived and I used some in breakfast yesterday, the day lilies in the garden are making buds again and we enjoy our afternoon coffee on the back patio. Glorious!

To celebrate spring Alexander and his sister decided we should have a dinner this past Wednesday with each of us contributing a dish that seemed spring-y.

We started the evening with rosemary gin fizz cocktails. They're actually supposed to be a Christmas drink, but sounded light and fun enough for the sunny days we've been enjoying.

For starters I prepared a frisee salad with some roasted mushrooms and radishes tossed with a lemon and olive oil vinaigrette and topped with a poached egg. Lovely!

Olivia prepared the main dish, a pan-seared halibut on a bed of green beans and topped with a tomato and caper sauce. Delizioso!

For dessert we enjoyed a decadent ricotta tart with strawberry and rhubarb jam that Alexander made. Everything from scratch, even the ricotta! I know I know, I married well.

I hope you're enjoying your spring, those of you in the northern hemisphere. For those in the southern hemisphere, happy autumn/fall!

Chill, vegetarians

2010-05-22T16:22:00.001+02:00

We have two very good, very devoted vegan and vegetarian friend sand I've never heard them say anything unfriendly or judging about non-vegetarians. And that's just one of the many reasons why we love you Sarah and Tanya!

But over the past year I've encountered a couple of people and some comments by some vegetarians/vegans aimed at us meat-eaters that reeked of self-righteousness. Stinks really. Soy-bean farts actually.

Yes I'm in a bad mood. Homo's in Africa is being imprisoned and threatened with execution and Bangkok is burning down and vegetarians are being all judge-y like. I'm allowed.

Here's the thing. If you're going all vegetarian and you don't eat and live 100% responsibly then you have no right to point any fingers. Do you eat canned products? Do you eat imported plant produce? Do you drive a car rather than take the bus? Do you recycle everything in your home? Is the wine you're drinking organic? Or the beer? Or the vodka? Do you drink organic fair-trade coffee? Are the soy milk you enjoy in your coffee from a small-scale local organic farm? What kind of laundry detergent do you use? Where are your clothes from? Do you have solar panels on your roof? If you have a garden do you compost? Do you buy local? If you are in a position to have children are you considering adoption or are you adopting? Are you living 100% responsibly?

I'm trying to live responsibly and, unlike someone suggested, it's not because of a move towards a vegetarian diet. Eating and living responsibly has become a lifestyle choice for us over the past few years just because it seems like a smarter, healthier and friendlier way of living. It was a conscious decision and we try to stick to it as much as possible.

We eat less meat, we go through weeks without eating meat without thinking about it. It just happens. When we buy meat and eggs we try to get free-range meat. We try to buy organic and fair trade products. We tend to make our own tomato sauces rather than buying canned products. We look forward to someday living in a city where we can rely on public transport instead of having to get a car. I know that living organic in Taiwan is harder than in the US, but we are already seeking out better options. And thinking of rather supporting wet markets than big stores.

We are lucky too that we can afford this lifestyle and I am aware of the fact that too many people in the world are not able to do so. And for that I blame huge corporations who just do not care about the health of people and the world but only about profit.

If you're a vegetarian then well-done to you and I respect your lifestyle. If you're doing it responsibly even more power to you. But don't run around trying to guilt non-vegetarians. Few things are more annoying than self-righteousness.

I desire- an issue of Pinups

2010-05-20T23:19:00.001+02:00

Somehow I stumbled onto this magazine yesterday while trashing all over the web. Pinups, in a word, is just awesome. It's a new publication with no words, only pictures of what seems to be mostly hairy guy types with very little clothing on just hanging out. Once you've paged through and enjoyed your issue you can take it apart and tile it into a poster. In the end you have a 70" by 30" pinup!

There's been 11 issues so far, it comes out three times a year, and the 12th will be out soon. Feel free to send me the most recent one or any of the ones that are not sold out (5-11).

If you want to see an example of the centerfold go to the Pinups website. Be warned it's NSFW, but lots of fun :)

Malawian Gay Couple Found Guilty

2010-05-19T04:55:00.004+02:00

In a very sad, but to be expected, turn of events on my home continent the gay Malawian couple I blogged about some months ago- Tiwonge Chimbalanga and Steven Monjeza- were found guilty of gross indecency and unnatural acts. They face up to 14 years in prison.

I am trying my utmost not to swear and use profanities in this post. Feel free to do so in your comments though.

A full article, Gay Couple Convicted in Malawi is available on the New York Times website and I ask you to read the whole thing. Here's some of it:

Magistrate Nyakwawa Usiwa Usiwa, in delivering Tuesday’s judgment in a small courtroom in Blantyre, the country’s commercial capital, was similarly stern. He referred to the crime as “buggery,” using language from when Malawi was a British colony and the current law was written.

He found both men guilty of “carnal knowledge” that was “against the order of nature.” He said the two had been “living together as husband and wife,” which “transgresses the Malawian recognized standards of propriety.”

As the judgment was translated for them from English into Chichewa, the defendants barely flinched. Then they were hastened out of a back door, escaping a taunting crowd that already was celebrating their conviction.

Yup, they were convicted under a law that dates back to the Colonial days. It's funny how quick they are to point out how un-African (or Malawian) homosexuality is, but then find them guilty under a law written by non-Africans. Who in the meantime, luckily, came round.

Keep them in your thoughts. Here's a petition to sign against the trial. More info over here.

Oh whatever, fuck this shit.

Corn Syrup, get the facts

2010-05-04T06:53:00.003+02:00

I've been watching the last one of these on a loop since Alexander showed it to me this afternoon. For the full effect he showed me these actual ones first and then the parody. Watch at least one of them or all three, then check out the parody. Hilaaaaarious!

Only a couple more days till Betty White lights up SNL!

2010-05-04T01:09:00.000+02:00

I cannot wait until Saturday for my favorite Golden Girl to host SNL. Only 5 more sleeps. I forget about this I'm gonna be pissed. Must remember to put sticky notes up everywhere because it is the kind of thing I might forget.

Feel free to send me regular reminders till Saturday!

I desire- a pet hen

2010-05-02T17:11:00.005+02:00

There is a new urban trend that I've been hearing of lately and I am totally falling for it. It seems that more and more people are raising chickens as pets for their egg-laying abilities. I've seen whole pages in newspapers devoted to the topic, books are published about raising your own and people are discussing the trend online in forums.

The first time I started thinking about raising some chicks was after I read Barbara Kingsolver's Animal, Vegetable, Miracle. I love the idea of hens clucking around a yard, ridding it of bugs, and providing you with a supply of your own eggs. And now I am bombarded with articles and books about keeping them in your own backyard, making me really desire a hen to call my own.

Of course we don't have a house with a backyard and chances are we won't have on for a really long time. Our next home is going to be an apartment in Taiwan which would hopefully have a balcony, but you can't keep a hen cooped in on some small balcony all the time, that would just be cruel.

So now I'm wondering, would it be possible to keep a pet hen in an apartment? Could I toilet train her and have her walk around the house and then take her to the park on a leash everyday to scrub and peck and amuse onlookers? I've seen people with pet pigs on leashes in Taipei, could I do the same with a hen?

* There are some really cute coops on Making it Lovely.

** The picture is from Chicken Cribs. You can order these beauties from them if you want to keep a hen at home.

Another week on the web

2010-05-01T17:40:00.006+02:00

1) I totally have the hots for the large-ish redhead- OMG
2) Yet more reasons to move back to Taiwan from EatingAsia
3) Absolutely gorgeous things at Mon Petite Fantome
4) Love the food and love-love-love the styling in this post- Cooking Books
5) Make your own truffles? I think I just might- Dana Treat
6) Go around the world in seconds- Pret a Voyager
7) You did not just say that- Kenneth in the (212)
8) Dreamesh is playing house. Envy!
9) Lotta provides inspiration for all. I love it- Wisecraft
10) I want more- Primitive Culture

A Hippo for Maddie

2010-04-30T01:20:00.007+02:00

After completing the mobile for my nephew, Alexander decided we should make something for his two-year old niece, Maddie. He suggested a hippo and decided that it was also time for me to move onto something more challenging and make a three dimensional hippo. Yikes! Luckily he took it upon himself to make a pattern and quite the pattern maker he turned out to be.

He picked out some shweshwe fabric and I set out to cutting the pieces. It was going to be a challenge, but luckily we were still at home so my mom could help out if we got stuck. We decided to embroider some details onto the hippo- eyes, nose and a little fish, with the machine. I quickly figured out I had no idea how to go about doing this.

Good thing my grandmother lives crawling distance from my parents. We went over for tea one morning and asked her if she would do the embroidery for us. She was pretty excited to be included in our project and immediately grabbed her box of supplies and helped us pick out some colors and discussed the design details.

Later that afternoon she came over to drop them off. The embroidery looked super and it was time for the hippo to be assembled. It was a bit of a headache and I though we would not be able to finish it in time, but my mother helped us a bit with the sewing, stuffing and stitching the hippo shut.

For a first attempt at making a 3D toy I think we did really good. The hippo looks very South African and the embroidery detail add a sweet unique touch. She's a bit heavy around the head and tends to fall on her chin sometimes, but overall she's a sturdy hippo.

And did Maddie like her hippo? When Alexander showed it to her and asked her what it was she answered, 'It is mine!'

* Thanks Alexander for the pictures.
** I just ordered a new sewing machine and can't wait for it to arrive so I can start on some Lotta Jansdotter projects- I just picked up her book, Simple Sewing and it has some very fun and inspirational projects.

Breakfast pastry with farm fresh produce

2010-04-28T18:30:00.012+02:00

Our Saturday in San Francisco was spent at the Ferry Building's weekly farmer's market, an event that sees the building and space around it filled with locals and tourists alike standing in lines for delicious meals and to pick up fresh and organic produce.

We decided to stock up on some goodness and make breakfast for the family Sunday morning. I was inspired by a recipe for a breakfast pastry in February/March issue of ReadyMade magazine which suggest arranging some ingredients on puff pastry, putting it into the oven and topping the finished product with a fried egg. It seemed simple and a great idea for breakfast.

From the market we got (clockwise in the picture above from top left)- pancetta and a fennel and orange salami from Boccalone Sulameria, a bundle of fresh herbs, free-range eggs, asparagus, two kinds of heirloom tomatoes (how have I not had this before?) and Dutch shallots. Everything was either organic or free-range or both and everything looked and tasted just magnificent.
I could not find puff pastry as the recipe suggested, so instead I picked up some phyllo pastry from the friendly grocer across the street from our apartment and left it overnight in the fridge to thaw.

Sunday morning I started out by cutting and slicing up all the ingredients, neatly arranging them on the cutting board before starting work on the pastry. I've never worked with any form of pastry before so I was rather nervous. What I did to the phyllo was probably somewhat wrong but it worked fine. I folded the sheets in half, brushing each layer with a little melted butter. I forget how many sheets I used, it wasn't too many. The last one I brushed with some beaten egg and then arrange the rest of the ingredients, except for the eggs, on top with the help of Alexander.

While the pastry was baking in the oven (preheated to 375F and baked for about 12 minutes or so) we cooked the eggs. When the pastry was nicely browned and the toppings were just nicely cooked we removed it from the oven, topped them with egg and served. Simple and fantastic.

* The images were sketched by Alexander. He's on a drawing and painting mission and I might do some more entries with his work. Fun!

Take me back to your house- my parent's garden

2010-04-26T04:07:00.005+02:00

In between our jaunt to Asia and our current stay in the US we spent a couple of weeks visiting my parents in Hoedspruit, South Africa. Visits home are usually rushed and chaotic and ends up with me being frustrated, but this time we took it easy and stayed for 3 weeks. It's the longest I've been home in years and it was very well worth it. I may have mentioned in previous entries how our time was spent on creative pursuits like sewing (me) and sketching and painting (Alexander) as well as cooking for my family.

While we were there Alexander took a lot of pictures of the garden. As long as I can remember gardens were always big with my family. Both my parents grew up in homes where gardening was a popular hobby and it is something that they both actively pursue. I believe that starting our day having breakfast on the 'stoep' with our view of lush garden (thanks to some very late rains) contributed to our time there being a very memorable one.

The 'stoep', pictured above, is spacious with some trophy antlers from my grandfather, dad and brother and other bits hanging around. Our house is very popular with toads who try to nest inside, much to my mother's frustration (they attract snakes and messes a bit) but we befriended them. This one hung out on Alexander's leg for a bit.

My parents have several aloe species growing just beyond the garden as part of their nursery, they supply indigenous plants to gardens and businesses in the area. We also have a variety of avo trees growing around the garden, sadly they none were ripe for the picking while we were still there. The dam is a couple of steps from the home with nice views of the hills beyond. It's home to some colorful fish.

A quiet spot in the overgrown garden. I have no idea what most of the plants in the garden are, but I really like the dark purplish ones in the bottom left frame.

I don't think I'll ever live in a house with a garden as spacious as theirs, but I do hope that we have the chance to live somewhere someday to carry on their love of gardening.

Spending time in California

2010-04-23T18:59:00.016+02:00

Apologies for being a lame blogger. I got reprimanded by a fellow blogger the other day so I will try-try-try to be more active here.

We're currently on a family holiday in northern California. Having a most fantastic time and feeling quite at home in this part of the US. If I had a dollar for every time Alexander mentions something along the lines of 'so we should totally move back to this part' I'd be able to afford a pair of Tom Ford sunglasses by now. I do agree with him though. I enjoyed Chicago and New York seems like fun, but there is something about the West that just clicks with me.

We spent some time in Napa, visiting wine farms, enjoying the scenery and we got to meet the above mentioned blogger, delightful Erin of Endive Chronicles and her husband Phil. And of course we had to stop by an In & Out to satisfy a craving of almost 3 years!

At the moment we're in San Francisco and I am loving it. I must admit that I was a bit skeptical about the visit, everybody who heard we're coming could not stop ranting about what a great city it is. My skepticism was gone within the first few seconds of arriving here though. It really is a great city. It has everything I like- lovely fresh produce, excellent food scene, great architecture, handsome men, stylish ladies, fun shopping, sweet coffee spots, environmentally conscious... in a word, it is awesome.

Since arriving here we've been doing a lot of eating and wandering around. Some highlights include grabbing superb Vietnamese sandwiches at a grubby spot and then some fabulous baked goods from Tartine and then enjoying them in Golden Gate Park. We had the most amazing dinner at Burma Superstar (if the food there was at what food is like in Burma then book me a ticket pronto!), more great sandwiches at Wexler's downtown and super ice-cream at the Bi-Rite Creamery in the Mission.

We're almost getting ready to go again and already I know I am going to miss San Francisco. But we are keeping it open as an option of possible-future-home-city so who knows. And if we decide to move back to LA (which luckily I also love-love-love) then SF is only a couple of hours away. Head over to Alexander's blog soon for some more stories on our foodie adventures here.

*Thanks Alexander for the pictures!

Corrective rape in Zimbabwe

2010-04-09T15:32:00.000+02:00

Alexander alerted me to this story on the Huffington Post's website yesterday. It's no secret that homosexual men and women in Zimbabwe are often victims of public harassment and persecution, members of the public are being encouraged to report on homosexuals they know and obviously it doesn't just stop at that. Homophobes, religious zealots, extremists and the like often feel they have the divine right to hand out their own forms of justice on those they do not agree with, just look at what happened in the US with the passing of the new health bill recently.

Now corrective rape is nothing new in the world and most certainly not in Africa. It is very common in South Africa for lesbians especially in black communities to become victims of this form of 'social justice'. And nobody gets spared, last year a member of the South African female soccer team, Eudy Simelane, was repeatedly gang raped, beaten and stabbed. Her dead body was found in a creek in a park outside of Johannesburg. She was openly lesbian and a campaigner for equal rights.

According to the article in the HuffPo the situation in Zimbabwe is getting worse and it affects all homosexuals. Gay men are forced into having sex with women and lesbian women are raped by men, families of the victims are often involved in this corrective process. Homosexual family members also get forced into marriage with people of the opposite sex in an effort to 'heterosexualize' them.

The government is not helping the situation with politicians still speaking out against homosexuals and President Mugabe have recently re-iterated that there will be no provisions made for the rights of homosexuals in the new constitution. According to the article the prime minister Morgan Tsvangirai has also stated that he 'shares and abhorrance' of homosexuals, although he has also asked for tolerance towards minorities.

Nice try Morgan, sad to think I supported you politically, naively believing you would take the rights and interest of all Zimbabweans to heart. Abhor and tolerate sadly do not go together.

It is sad to think that there are so many people still facing horrible injustices at the hands of their fellow country men with a government that either turns a blind eye or encourages this kind of behavior.

Vintage family portraits

2010-04-07T21:06:00.001+02:00

While at home just now (did I mention that we arrived in the US a couple days ago?) I spent a lot of time over at my maternal grandmother's house. She's in her eighties and my last grandparent still around. Alexander and I paged through some of her old albums and discovered some fantastic old pictures, mostly of her husband when he was a young man.

She entertained us with some stories of him during the second world war and of her teenage years. I decided to borrow her albums and scan some of the images and also discovered some old family pictures from my dad's side of the family. It was an incredible trip into my genetic heritage and family's past, seeing resemblances and hearing about events that took place long before my time again. It made me kind of sad too, I never got to know any of my other grandparents very well, so I missed out on a lot of their stories.

Here are some images so long. I might post some more as I sort through them.

My paternal grandfather is standing second from the right. I forget what the event was.

And here he is many years later as a young man, I inherited his names- Jean Bordeaux. He also went by Bordeaux, or Oupa Bordeaux for me. He passed away when I was 7 so I never really knew him. But apparently I inherited his preciseness.

His wife, Ouma Tille. I adored her, she instilled in me a love of reading and the piano. Sadly my elementary school piano teacher ruined it for me. I stopped playing as soon as I went to high school.

My maternal grandfather, Oupa Johannes. He was (is it okay if I say this?) an incredibly handsome man and I think he was well aware of it. I thought he did not like me as a kid, but later found out that he told my mom on his deathbed that I was his favorite. My grandmother also told me recently how he basically told her I was going to be gay and he was being very protective of me as a result.

Ouma Isabel. There are sadly not a lot of pictures of her when she was young. She's still alive and very busy, always sewing or gardening, baking and cooking. Her father spent time in a concentration camp during the South African wars, she was born in a simple adobe house and I can spend hours listening to her stories about my family.

Here is one of my father as a kid. Love-love-love the outfit. He was adorable I think and there are several pictures of him dressed up in the cutest little outfits. I suspect my grandmother always yearned for a girl.

And this is my mom as a baby girl. I had the same deep brow as a baby and now my nephew's got it too. You can also see my sister as a baby in this one. A really sweet baby pic of her.

And finally me. I believe this was on the day I was baptized. The dress was the one my paternal grandmother was baptized in as well as my father. We still have it, an incredible heirloom dating back to the 1910's. It is a long dress with lots of lace and mother of pearl buttons. Everything was handstitched. It is exquisite, my nephew will be baptized in it as well.

Another project

2010-04-07T19:24:00.002+02:00

While I was home and had some time I sorted through my 'stuff' and discovered some thin boards that were just taking up space. I decided to cover it with bits of fabric I had traveling with us and then using string, fabric and ribbon to crisscross over the boards for keeping notes, pictures and other random light bits of nonsense. Everybody in my family got one and they'd better be using it.

Jean's mobile

2010-04-07T19:08:00.002+02:00

To welcome our new nephew into the world Alexander and I decided make a mobile with African animals made from South African shweshwe to hang above his bed. At the time we didn’t know if it was going to be a boy or a girl, so a mobile with neutrally coloured shwshwe seemed a safe idea. We started on the project in December last year, but never got further than drawing the patterns and cutting the fabric.

Moving house and travel wreaked havoc with that plan though and so the cut-out pieces of fabric were mailed to my parents, the project to be finished once we had access to a proper sewing machine and other equipment again.

It ended up being quite a family project. Alexander designed and drew the patterns and gave lots of helpful suggestions. I was responsible for sewing and stuffing the toys and my mom assisted in sewing them shut. My dad had some great ideas for building a stand and did all the sawing and drilling. There were a couple of nervous moments, but in the end it all came together nicely I think.

Have to say I’m pretty satisfied with how it turned out. I like that African look and feel of the animals and I think the stand adds to the natural style of his parents’ house. The mobile can also be removed from the stand and travel with them to their temporary home further north where they will be living for the next few months while my brother is their for hunting season, where they can suspend it from the ceiling over his bed. I hope he likes it.

I am tempted to try my hand at more of these and sell them on Etsy, so anybody with a word of advice in that regard, give me a shout.

The Littlest Martin

2010-03-29T07:56:00.004+02:00

I briefly mentioned in my previous entry about my brother and his wife who’s had a case of the babies. Their firstborn, who shares my names but will go by Jean like his grandfather, was born on March 10th, about two weeks earlier than expected.

At the moment he is just a tiny bundle of sleep and adorableness. Seriously, that is all he does, sleep and look cute. And weird. He most resembles a baby tortoise at this stage with very oddly shaped skinny legs and a long neck that stretches everywhere. He’s also good at pulling faces, mostly serious or very worried and occasionally he looks a bit grouchy.

I did not think I would be as affected by his presence in our family as I have been. I’m totally in love with him and just want to look at him all the time. Did I mention that babies are highly contagious? Alexander’s antidote is to remind me of the babies that traveled with us on our last international flight. That usually works. But don’t you think we’d make a cute family?

We have a few more days here and then we’re off to the States to go visit the other apple of my eye, Alexander’s niece Maddie, who we last saw early 2009 when she was only 18 months old, apparently she’s turned into quite a sassy and sometimes silly little girl, so I’m looking forward to spending lots of time with her and enjoying her antics. It will be sad though to say goodbye to my family as it will be quite some time before we come back here again, I guess by that time Jean will also be old enough to start acting silly and will be a little more fun that right now.

Kind of unrelated, it was my birthday just the other day (well-wishes welcome and check my I Desire pages if you want suggestions) and Alexander baked me the most amazing cake. It was a simple sponge cake with a delightfully light crunchy crust, a caramel filling and a chocolate ganache frosting. Slicing into the cake it oozed caramel and chocolate. Incredible!

Court date set for Malawian gay couple

2010-03-24T11:57:00.004+02:00

A trial date has been set for Steven Monjeza and Tiwonge Chimbalanga, the gay Malawian couple who were arrested in December last year for performing an engagement ceremony and who are still held in a maximum security prison in that country ever since.

They have been denied bail twice since their arrest for ‘indecent practices between males’ and ‘unnatural offences’. Yes, getting engaged to someone of the same sex in Malazi is considered indecent. Please cover the kids’ eyes.

Besides being arrested and imprisoned for over 3 months they have also been subjected to humiliating physical checks like anal examinations to confirm sodomy charges as well as assault. Authorities claim they are still being incarcerated for their own safety. It is good to know the Malawian authorities take the safety of homosexuals seriously. I suppose they will be found guilty in the end and imprisoned for the maximum sentence in Malawi for homosexual acts of 14 years, also for their own safety.

The Protestant churches in Malawi would certainly be in favor of keeping them in prison for 14 years or longer. They’ve been urging the government to stick to their ban on homosexuality saying "We hold homosexual acts and practices as un-Christian. We do not condone homosexuality. The government should not be forced to legalize alien ideas and recognize gays.” (whole article at News24.com)

In other news, the church is also urging the government to criminalizing Christianity in the country as it is also alien and un-African and once that’s over and done with they will embark on a mission to rid the country of all ethnicities and cultures not completely indigenous to Malawi. (not really, but makes sense doesn’t it?)

Think of Steven and Tiwonge and all other gay and lesbian Malawians on April 3 when the case will continue. We can only hope they will be granted bail and that they will win their case against the State and clear the way for more equal rights in that country.

* The image here of the couple breaks my heart, handcuffed together with the public sneering and jeering in the immediate background, it’s just too sad.

** While I’m on the topic- anybody heard about this fuckery in the state of Mississippi?

A Kruger break

2010-03-21T08:55:00.001+02:00

We are back in South Africa for a quick visit and despite making the mistake of following local news and becoming endlessly depressed as a result it has so far been an excellent trip. Perhaps it was because while we were pretty much still suffering from jetlag we took a trip to Kruger National Park with my parents for a couple of days.

Growing up less than an hour from the park we spent many a weekend and holiday there in my youth, mostly in the back of a car on endless daytrips away from the camp. I did not enjoy those trips much, luckily my parents learned to chill as they aged and these days trips to Kruger are spent taking medium distance daytrips, doing lots of reading and a whole lot of relaxing.

We stayed at Tamboti tented camp. As far as camps in Kruger go these small inexpensive ones are great value for money. The camps are tiny and pretty basic; they are raised over wooden platforms with an outdoor deck and come with comfortable beds, a closet, small fridge and outdoor furniture. A small barbecue area is next to each tent. Everything else you have to bring yourself. The kitchen facilities offer sinks, hot water boilers and two-plate stoves and there are shared ablutions.

What makes these basic camps so enjoyable is the fact that very little has been changed to the environment so one is still completely surrounded by indigenous forest that secludes each tent. Views are often of river beds, perfect for sitting back with a book and a cup of coffee while seeing the occasional waterbuck or impala wandering by. Hyenas often come up right to fence at night (sadly we did not have a visitor) and on our trip a small genet came by each night, once wandering up onto our deck to see what we were up to!

We had some excellent sightings on our trip; a buffalo herd numbering close to 400, huge flocks of marabou stork and even a couple of breeding pairs of the very endangered saddle-bill stork. One of the highlights was this beautiful male lion Alexander and I saw on a very early morning drive on our last day, accompanied by the rest of his pride. He walked alongside the car for quite a bit and as he was almost as tall as the car resulted in some nervous moments.

Also on our last day we met this gorgeous fellow, we pulled up right next to him and he did not seem too phased by our presence and was the perfect model for Alexander.

We left the park recovered from our jetlag and very well rested.

*Thanks to Alexander for all the pictures.
** I became an uncle just over a week ago! We share names and he is gorgeous despite his resemblance to a baby tortoise.
*** Internet here is a nightmare so I won’t be a regular here until we are back in the States again in April.

Orangutans!

2010-03-08T12:37:00.002+02:00

Our main reason for coming to Sepilok, and a major attraction in Borneo in general, was to see orangutans in the wild. This area of Sabah is home to the Sepilok Orangutan Rehabilitation Centre (SORC) and it provides a great opportunity for viewing these incredible creatures in the jungle.

SORC was created to rescue and care for orphaned and injured orangutans, with the eventual goal being releasing them back into the jungle again. The program is run by a UK based organization who does incredible work here, sponsoring a local vet and nurse, offering volunteers, educating the locals about the situation of these animals and providing employment to people in the area on a direct and indirect level.

As the centre is located on the edge of a protected jungle preserve the animals are safely re-introduced into the wild over a period of several years. Young and injured ones are initially taken care of by volunteers who train them in aspects of orangutan life like swinging (between trees and branches of course) and foraging for food.

Eventually they are slowly introduced into the jungle, where they are still fed twice a day. The feedings take place at three different platforms, the first one very close to the center and the last much further into the jungle, this is done to slowly lure them further away from human contact. They are fed only a small amount of food at these stations, encouraging them to find food on their own.

Visitors to the center are allowed to view feedings on the first platform, which can be reached on a raised wooden walkway through the jungle, which brings one to a viewing platform. Ropes are suspended from the trees to the platforms to guide the apes in the right direction.

The number of these orange creatures one can see in a day is never guaranteed, but the day we visited we got lucky and saw six at both the morning and afternoon feedings. It was an incredible experience, seeing them arriving from a distance, slowly swinging along the ropes until they came to the platforms. Some of them were rather playful and silly, others just came in for a snack and then made their way back into the jungle.

We were also fortunate to see three young ones up close after the last feeding. When we arrived back at the center they were hanging around the trees right behind the ticket counter and playing on the wooden walkway. Wardens were around the whole time to make sure a cheeky baby do not come too close to any visitors, as they are very susceptible to diseases carried by humans and too close contact can be very harmful. Standing only two meters away from a young orangutan frolicking through some bamboo was still incredible though.

We’re not done with our time here, but I am sure this visit to the research center will stand out as the highlight of our time on Borneo and I sure won’t mind to come again.

* The pictures here were all taken by Alexander

From the Bornean Jungle

2010-03-05T05:07:00.005+02:00

One would have expected me to be more of a prolific blogger recently, considering I spent a month in one of my most favorite countries on earth, Taiwan, and am now traveling in Malaysian Borneo. I know, I know. I never fail to surprise!

We arrived in Kota Kinabalu in the Malaysian state of Sabah a little while ago and spent our first few days here enjoying the local food scene and relaxing. Alexander was recovering from some sort of cold and we considered it better to stay put until he was better. KK turned out to be a teeny bit dull, but pleasant nonetheless. The night market kept us coming back for incredible food at rock bottom prices and refreshing shaved-ice desserts, while the local ‘kedai kopi’ spots were good for a cup of local style coffee and great breakfasts or lunches.

We also hung out on one of the nearby islands for a day, enjoying the beach, clear waters and lots of tropical fish swimming by just off the beach. The island we went was Pula Mamukan and if we ever come this way again I would consider paying a bit more and spending a few days relaxing there, or at one of the others.

Currently we are kicking back in the Borneon jungle in the area of Sepilok, home to the Sepilok Orangutan Rehabilitation Center. We decided to stay at Paganakan Dii, a relatively new B&B place in the area. It’s located on a bit of a hill with views of the surrounding jungle growth and palm oil plantations.

We opted to stay in one of the private rooms instead of the longhouse style dorms. Our room as at the far end of the property and our window has a fine view of a plantation and distant hills. There are large sliding doors on either end of the room, one side that opens onto an immediate view of the jungle. While I am typing here a small brown squirrel jumped from the trees outside onto our balcony and scurried around. Earlier today, after our return from the rehabilitation center, a brightly colored snake was waiting for us on our front porch and later sailed into the bathroom (non-poisonous, luckily I found out from the guy who removed it).

The room has a comfortable double bed with crisp white linen and a mosquito net over the bed. A welcome change after the backpackers place we stayed at in KK, which was fine and great by backpacker standards, but backpacker nonetheless. Our bathroom is slightly open air, with a partial open view into the jungle. A bamboo ladder serves as towel rail and a remodeled wok as basin. Apparently lot of salvaged wood was used to in building the rooms.

The place is so lovely and the staff so friendly that we decided to stay three nights and spend our second full day here just relaxing and enjoying the environment.

Underneath the dorm rooms are rattan hammocks and swings and there is an open air viewing deck, I will be spending most of my day tomorrow in either one of these spots, attempting to read Far from the Madding Crowd, while enjoying the sounds of the jungle.

* Most of the images above were by Alexander

Starting something, thought it could be fun ♪

2010-02-26T05:05:00.004+02:00

If you're a fan of Goldfrapp I am certain you are as excited as I am about the release of their fifth studio album Head First coming out next month. Listening to the first single 'Rocket' it sounds like they are moving back into dance territory, although it's said the album will be a mix of the musical stylings of the more folksy 'Seventh Tree' and dancy 'Supernature'.

I. Can. Not. Wait.

The music video for rocket is not out yet and I have no idea how to embed a song here. But it's leaked out there so go give it a listen. It's sure to put a smile on your face and get you tapping your feet.

Muji is Love

2010-02-23T05:11:00.002+02:00

Alexander’s love affair with Muji has become infectious. I’ve always liked their stores ever since I first discovered them here in Taiwan years ago, the stationary section in particular always made me happy.

More recently though, my enjoyment of their products has started to turn into a full-blown obsession. Sadly I cannot indulge fully in this obsession yet as we are still without home and full-time employment and will be spending the next few months traveling to Malaysia, South Africa and the US. But when we return to Taiwan in the summer I am most certainly going to be spending a lot of time and a lot of my income on Muji’s cleaning products, toiletries, stationary, snacks… you get the picture.

For now I will just enjoy some of their well-thought-out and brilliantly designed products to make my travels easier. I just invested in a stylish black shoulder bag from them with several unobtrusive pockets inside and outside as carry-on luggage for those long flights ahead of me. The bag is sturdy and just the perfect size to comfortable store some in-flight necessities; a book, notebook, phone (turned-off!), i-Pod, light sweater and scarf, sunglasses and some toiletries. It can be adjusted on the sides to make the bag wider or narrower, a feature I enjoy as I can adjust it to my needs and mood.

I also picked up a clear storage bag that neatly fits in all my in-flight toiletries like hand lotion, fragrance, hair product and compact Muji toothbrush and toothpaste, everything under 100ml in size.

Something that’s always bugged me is traveling around with heavy bottles of soap, shampoo and conditioner. But now I can store all these in small lightweight containers that I can refill as needed. The perfect size for a short two-week break in Borneo.

Finally we also got a piece of Muji luggage. Something we have desired for almost two years. A brown suitcase that is neither too large nor too small, just the right size for the two of us to fit in all our travel necessities.

I think I am set for the holiday that lies ahead now. And very much looking forward to returning to Taiwan for more shopping at Muji!

*I am sorry for not putting up any decent images here. I blame bad lighting, and not having a camera at home right now.

Straight people, you need to stop

2010-02-18T15:58:00.006+02:00

Okay I know I am preaching to the choir here. And I know that if you need to go as low as these people to prove a point you really do not have a point, but still it gets me really mad. This offensive. And striaght people of the world, you need to set your kind right.

Over the past few years I have heard several idiocies coming out of the mouths of homophobic people and it just seems to be getting worse. Is there no dignity anymore?

Recent cases are the New Hampshire State Representative, Nancy Elliott, who said the following in a discussion on same-sex marriage: "We’re talking about taking the penis of a man and putting it in the rectum of another man and wriggling it around in excrement. And you have to think, would I want that to be done to me?” (Watch the clip over at OMGblog)

Lady, you need to shut up. You do not know the first thing about anal sex, gay sex and clearly also not hetero sex. You came to this meeting to discuss marriage, why take it to anal sex? Why take it to poop? Does same-sex marriage mean you are now going to have to do anal sex? Have you got any idea hw many heterosexual men and women enjoy giving and receiving anal sex with penises and with strap-on dildos? Are you going to be putting a stop to heterosexual people getting married if they enjoy anal?

And poop? So many questions for you Ms. Elliott. Did you even prepare for this meeting or did you just get fixated on your own constipated personality and then decided to take a serious discussion to the kindergarten playground, talking about shit.

And then there was this Ugandan idiot, Pastor Martin Ssempa, an anti-gay clergyman who decided, in an effort to educate his followers about the evils of homosexuality, to show gay porn to his congregation. Nice move, show it to the kids and to the whole church. (Read the whole article on the BBC's website)

I wonder, did this idiot follow it up with a sermon about hetero sex and showed the congregation some images of every form of straight porn, from plain old plumber visiting to snuff films and violent pornography? And did he follow that up with discussions of the fact that HIV transmission in Africa is mainly as a result of straight people having unprotected sex and did he talk about domestic abuse in hetero families and teen pregnancies and botched teen abortions and oh, the fact that it is still not uncommon for HIV positive men in many African countries to rape babies to 'cure' them from HIV?

Seriously. what the hell is wrong with these people? Are we gay people really that scary that you have to go to such lengths to scare other people into fearing us or be disgusted by us? Jeeze. You need to find a hobby. Do something creative. But find a better way to use your time than hating on gay people.

Don't talk to me about family values. Straight people invented messing that whole thing up. And don't make an issue out of homosexuality when your own country is a pretty mess. Get a life and stop messing with mine and other people like me.

*This is a much toned down version of my original post in which I mostly swore. But I try to be polite. See? It's possible.

**I took the image from the website of the World Policy Institute- Project for Global Democracy and Human Rights.

New Year, New shoes, Night out

2010-02-13T07:23:00.005+02:00

We're ringing in the New Year tonight in Taipei! I can't wait to get my behind on a dancefloor again. It has been too long. And is it should be we got some new items to wear for ringing in the Year of the Tiger. I picked up a pair of classic white Converse Chuck Taylors last night. I know, I should have been wearing these when I was in my tweens, but recently I have become kind of obsessed with Converse and my feet aren't complaining so...

Happy New Year, may the Tiger bring you all lots of joy and goodness this year.

*Update: Rats scrap that. Plans got cancelled at the last moment so it seems our behinds will stay put in Hsinchu. I'll be wearing my new shoes under the covers and catch up on 30Rock and The Office. Happy New Year!

Tribute to McQueen

2010-02-13T05:31:00.002+02:00

While I was getting out of the shower yesterday morning Alexander called out to me the terribly sad news that Alexander McQueen had passed away. So very-very tragic. I don't have to launch into a long essay to tell you how brilliant and talented he was. Look at his body of work, it speaks volumes. This is just too sad.

My little tribute to him is the video for Bjork's Alarm Call which he directed below.

Goodbye and may your rest be peaceful.

One afternoon at Melting Pot

2010-02-11T07:28:00.001+02:00

I had a 90-minute break between two of my afternoon classes on Tuesday and decided to pass the time with coffee and the Taipei Times at Melting Pot just around he corner from my school.

The spot’s been around for a couple of years now and it is still one of my most favorite places in Hsinchu. The same two ladies who started it a couple of years ago are still there baking great cookies, making fun bagels and decent lattes. Every time I walk in after an absence of a few years I’m welcomed back by big smiles from them.

It was the perfect afternoon, with the sun brightening up the space and filling it with a pleasant yellow glow. I had moved from a coffee to a latte and was deeply absorbed in my book when I glanced a monk walking in with a young boy following behind. They ordered and sat down at a table diagonally across from me. The monk was dressed in the mustard smock, grayish pants and gray ‘socks’ that are standard here, the outfit was rounded off with hiking sandals and a dark blue baseball cap. Beautiful.

He was deeply absorbed in some general interest magazines while sipping his latte and enjoying a blueberry tart, the kid was drinking hot chocolate milk while glancing around the café, occasionally starting up a short conversation with the monk.

It was such a deeply satisfying scene. We grow up with certain ideas about the East and especially about religion here. 10 Years ago the thought of a baseball cap wearing monk with some kid in tow hanging out at a fun café drinking lattes on a Tuesday afternoon would have been completely inconceivable to me. These days a scene like this fills me with a deep sense of contentment. I know I’m saying this a lot, but I love Asia and I wish I never had to leave.

Spent some time in BKK

2010-02-07T10:18:00.010+02:00

We've been back in Taiwan for over a week now and if I don't write a little about our short stint in Bangkok I probably never will. I am a gifted procrastinator.

We arrived in the city early on the eve of the 27th, checked into our room and started working our jaws pretty much immediately. We went for dinner at inLove, a restaurant on the bank of the Chao Phaya river with great views of the Rama 9 Bridge and river from their rooftop deck. It was the perfect setting for a 'welcome back' meal.

Before our arrival I expected to be blown away by everything again, the flavors, smells of the city, traffic, people. But on the contrary it just felt completely natural and familiar. My first sip of tom-ka-gai (coconut galangal chicken soup) tasted like something I was used to, the tart mango in our salad was like something I grew up with. The same went for everything else. Jumping into a taxi the little Thai I know came back with ease, walking around the streets hearing a language I did not understand made me feel at ease.

Later on we hung out with our friend Paul on Soi 4 in Silom, its a popular gay bar area with tables on the street, all facing out to see who's coming and going. We enjoyed a couple of Changs while enjoying the crowd and mildly flirtatious waiters trying to get us to stay longer and drink more. We were all exhausted though, us from flying and Paul from work and study and he was also catching a flight to Hong Kong the next day, so after a few drinks we said our goodbyes and went back to our guesthouse in Banglamphu to crash for the night.

Thanks to jetlag I managed to sleep until after 10 the next morning. We had breakfast at Roti Mataba and it was still as good as I recalled. Love that place. We strolled around the area for a bit before heading so Sukhumvit where we were to spend the next two nights at the sweet Suk11 Guesthouse. Somehow the place still manages to stay attractive and pleasant despite being in a fairly seedy neighborhood.

We spent most of the rest of the day just eating and shopping. We hung out at Platinum Fashion Mall restocking our wardrobes. The fashions there are way funkier and hipper than at the overpriced and blah MBK. I think I found a new personal shopping hangout in BKK! In between shopping we enjoyed the spiciest papaya salad I ever had, some fishball noodle soup and a grilled fish stuffed with lemongrass. Awesomeness.

We met our friend Sarah (a former colleague from our BKK teaching days) at Central Zen’s food court for dinner. We missed the great food courts of Bangkok’s department stores and malls and this is possibly one of my favorites. It’s a stylish venue with comfortable seating and fantastic views of the traffic and BTS zipping by. Their food is excellent of course and we were all satisfied with our orders (if this sounds like copy writing I’ve been doing work in this line recently, sorry!).

We headed out to Suan Lum night bazaar where we did some more shopping with Sarah’s encouragement. Thanks!

We got up earlier on Friday to go for massages before heading to Siam Square and Siam Paragon where we hung out the next day enjoying coffee at Vanilla Industries again, browsing around bookstores and tasting samples at the Gourmet supermarket. We met up with Sarah for her birthday dinner that evening at Cabbages & Condoms, which despite its name is a great restaurant in a beautiful garden with excellent food, plus they support some great causes like family planning and educating people about preventing STD’s.

We decided to go out for a drink again on Soi 4 before turning in to bed. Our flight out was the next morning.

Our time in BKK was so short, but really satisfying. I loved being back and feeling right at home. I don’t know if we will live there again, part of me is tempted, but mostly not. Who knows? I do love the city and can easily spend a week or more there just taking it all in, enjoying the food, the people watching, the department stores and the shopping. I heart Bangkok and I cannot wait for our next trip there.

En route

2010-01-30T05:22:00.003+02:00

We arrived in Bangkok on Wednesday and have been non-stop eating ever since. Arriving back in Asia was like a homecoming. A very strange homecoming in a way. The fact that we left South Africa and was back in Asia only hit me once we passed a night market on the way to the guesthouse.

I thought I'd be overwhelmed by everything, but instead everything just feels so natural and similar. Almost as if I have never left. I realized again that I might be happiest in Asia.

We also got to see our friend Paul just before he left on a trip to Hong Kong and Shanghai and we got to hang out with our friend and former colleague Sarah a few times and celebrating her birthday with her.tt

We are departing for Taiwan in a couple of hours where we will spend the next month. I'll blog about our short trip in Bangkok from there and of course about our stay in my home island.

Entertaining visitors from afar

2010-01-26T07:57:00.001+02:00

We leave today for the East. Everything is pretty chaotic on this side, but getting to a point. Our flight is this afternoon and I cannot wait to be on it and start relaxing again. But before that a quick entry.

Two college friends of Alexander who are on a world tour at the moment came to visit us over the last week and we've been having a great time hanging out with them again, going out for last meals at favorite spots and showing them around. We also had to cook them a South African meal of course and decided to make a bobotie and malva pudding.

The evening started with Alexander's new cocktail, the Capetonian, paying homage to the city that's been our home for the past year. It's a brandy-based drink and was the perfect way to start of the evening.

I started the bobotie earlier during the day so the spices could have time to develop their flavor. For those unfamiliar with this dish, it is a popular Cape Malay baked meatloaf with subtle hints of curry, turmeric and bay leaf with an egg custard on top. It often contains raisins, but we used chopped up dried Cape peaches which worked just as well. Also usually served with yellow rice, I used brown instead.

Thanks to Cape Town's late summer sun we took it out on the balcony enjoying the view of the setting sun over Lion's Head for one of the last times.

For dessert Alexander made a malva pudding, a local baked bread-like pudding with a sweet syrup poured over, usually served with cream or sometimes ice-cream. Alexander added an extra South African touch by using Amarula cream for the syrup and he baked the puddings in individual muffin tins. It looked great and tasted spectacular!

And so our year in South Africa has drawn to a close. The next time we entertain it will be in Taiwan! We fly to Bangkok now for a couple of days, then on to Taiwan for a month, followed by a couple of days in Malaysian Borneo, a quick visit to friends in Kuala Lumpur and then back here for a short visit to family before heading back to the US in April. Adventure! I will try to post often.

* Brett, one of our visitors, is keeping track of her travels at Around the World with Brett.
* For more of Alexander's cocktail hour endeavours go check out his section cocktail hour with primitives.

Corne's birthday cake

2010-01-23T08:00:00.000+02:00

A cake ere I go. Two weeks ago we celebrated the birthday of our friend Corne. It was a big birthday, and her girlfriend decided we should bake a big cake for the occasion. After paging through my Martha Stewart book she picked Martha's Birthday Cake. An elaborate affair involving cake, butter cream, syrup, meringue and a kitchen torch.

I was hesitant at first and tried to pull out of the deal, but in the end I decided to give it a go. It is by far the most tricky cake I have ever attempted with several steps and a really long process, but it paid off. The cake looked great (not perfect but hey!) and it tasted even better.

The original recipe called for almond essence and Amaretto simple syrup, but I used coconut essence and Amarula in the syrup instead, giving it a more South Africa taste.

Birthday girl cutting the cake.

Things got a little out of hand later that night. Below is the very looooong recipe. It involves several steps and a lot of washing up if you have a small kitchen with minimal supplies. But is is absolutely worth the effort. A great cake indeed.

The cake:

Ingredients

4 sticks unsalted butter, room temperature
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup self-rising flour
4 teaspoons baking powder
¼ teaspoon salt
2 cups plus 1 tablespoon sugar
2 vanilla beans split lengthwise with seeds scraped
1 cup whole milk
8 large egg whites
Amarula syrup (recipe follows)
Coconut buttercream (recipe follows)
Swiss Meringue (recipe follows)

Process

Preheat your oven to 180C (350F) and butter a stainless steel bowl (4.5 to 6 inches deep, I used a stainless steel wok, hence the flat-ish shape). Dust with flour and set aside. Sift the 2 flours, baking powder and salt together and set aside.

Beat butter, 2 cups sugar and vanilla in a mixing bowl until light and fluffy (here’s where the stand mixer would have been handy). With mixer on low speed, add flour and milk in four parts beginning and ending with the flour, don’t over mix. Transfer the batter to a larger bowl and set aside.

Beat egg whites and a pinch of salt on high speed until soft peaks form. Add the tablespoon of sugar and beat until medium-stiff peaks form. Whisk a third of this mixture into the batter, add the rest by gently folding it in until just combined. Pour the batter into the prepared bowl and bake for 1hour and 20 minutes (or more depending on the size of your oven), until a cake tester inserted comes out clean. Remember to rotate halfway.

When ready, transfer bowl to a wire rack, let cool for forty minutes, invert onto rack and allow to cool completely.

Using a serrated knife carefully cut the cake into two or three layers. I made two, as my cake was not round enough. Brush the Amarula syrup onto the top of each layer, followed by spreading the butter cream over it as you reassemble the cake. Once you’ve put it all back together again, spread the remaining butter cream evenly over the cake. Fill a pastry bag or strong bag with tip cut off with the meringue and pipe the entire surface of the cake with the meringue. Use a small kitchen torch to slightly brown the meringue all over.

Let the cake at stand at room temperature until ready to serve.

The rest:

Amarula syrup:
Combine half a cup of sugar with half a cup of water in a saucepan over medium-high heat and cook while stirring until sugar dissolved. Stop stirring and bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer until slightly thickened. Remove from heat, stir in 3 tablespoons of Amarula and allow to cool.

Coconut butter cream:
3 egg whites
2/3 cups sugar
2 sticks unsalted butter, cold and cut into tablespoons
½ teaspoon coconut extract

In the heatproof bowl of an electric mixer set over a pan of simmering water, combine egg whites and sugar, whisking constantly until sugar dissolved and it is very warm to the touch.

Remove from heat and beat with electric mixer starting on low and increasing to high until stiff glossy peaks form. Switch to paddle attachment (if using, otherwise use beaters on medium) and add tablespoons a few at a time, beating until smooth. Add the extract and continue beating until incorporated and smooth.

Swiss Meringue:

8 large egg whites
2 cups sugar
pinch of salt

Combine egg whites, sugar and salt in mixing bowl of simmering water and whisk until sugar dissolved and the mixture is hot to the touch. Remove from heat and beat with electric beaters on medium high for about 2 minutes, then raise the speed to high and beat until stiff glossy peaks form. Use immediately.

Call me names, but Qwelane is not okay...

2010-01-22T05:39:00.002+02:00

"They want to appoint that fucknut Jon Qwelane as ambassador to Uganada!" read an SMS from my friend Christel the other morning.

Jon Qwelane is a well-known South African journalist, commentator, future ambassador and all-round homophobe. Capital H. In 2008 he wrote an editorial for the Sunday Sun on the rift that was growing in the Anglican Church over the ordaining of homosexual men and women as bishops. You can download a pdf with the original article here.

In the article he rants on about 'the rapid degradation of values and traditions by the so-called liberal influences' and 'There could be a few things I could take issue with Zimbabwean president Robert Mugabe, but his unflinching stance over homosexuals is definietely not amongst those.' He oncludes his homophobic rant with 'at this rate, how soon before some idiot demands to "marry" an animal and argues that this constitution "allows" it.'

Now the South African government is considering sending this man to Uganda, who is considering passing a bill that could mean the death penalty for homosexuals in certain instances. WTF? What kind of a message is the president sending into the world? He has been known to make homophobic statements and there has been rumours of some interfaith leagues trying to get on his side in an attempt to put an end to same-sex marriages and abortian amongst other things.

As if the South African government's silence on the Uganda issue is not enough, appointing Jon Qwelane would basically come down to condoning the Uganadan government's plans and also send a clear message to homosexuals in South Africa and the rest of the world- 'We do not like what you are getting up to and the days of toleration are drawing to an end.'

I stated a long time ago that my reasons for leaving South Africa again were not social or political, but I am taking that back. If this is the way we are going then I can now check political as a reason for going. If President Zuma okays this my country is taking a gigantic leap backward and I am not going to stay put for that. I struggled enough with homophobia growing up and I am not going to stay around for the next round. I do sincerely hope this does not happen.

*Update- When asked about the potential appointment of Jon Qwelane as SA ambassador to Uganda the ANC's spokesperson had the following to say "Do you have any scientific evidence that [Qwelane] is a homophobe?" Read the full article at the Mail & Guardian.

Sewing projects: a bag for Christel

2010-01-14T23:12:00.000+02:00

And here's another project. A messenger bag for my friend Christel. At some point while she was still working in Madagascar she started going by the name Speedhakoo, 'hakoo' is Malagassy for chicken (I think), so I thought the rooster would be appropriate. The bag can be turned inside out if she gets bored of the rooster as demonstrated in the picture to the right. The bag was modelled after a similar one I made for myself, but I still have to take some pictures of it.

Sewing projects: a bag for Dorothy Black

2010-01-13T10:49:00.005+02:00

I recently went on a sewing spree, before giving up my darling sewing machine and overlocker. I am going to miss the terribly. Here is one of the last things I made. A bag/purse for my friend going by the pseudonym of Dorothy Black, lady columnist and friend extroadinaire. Some starry shweshe with fabric circles for an almost flowery effect.

I'll post some more things as soon as I come around to taking pictures. Which should happen soon, we have less than two weeks before we leave!

* Dorothy Black also has a blog where she discusses everything.

I don't like your dog

2010-01-11T07:53:00.003+02:00

I don’t like your dog and there is a good chance I’m not going to like your kid either. At first anyways, unless your dog is very well-behaved and chill and the same goes for children. I know, it’s not even the middle of January yet and already I’m complaining your ears off (or eyes). But please allow me to get my bitch on early in the new year, perhaps I will get it all out of my system and be a bundle of joy for the rest of the year! (Not going to happen)

I don’t understand why so many (not all!) owners of dogs and parents of children feel that there is absolutely no need for them to restrain them or teach them good manners. People take their dogs everywhere them and obviously their children too, so why not make sure they are not going to make life miserable for other people?

I’m talking about unleashed dogs that are allowed to run amuck in cafes, restaurants and shops, sniffing at fresh breads, knocking over displays, running underneath diners’ feet at tables and slobbering all over the show. The owners completely ignore unfriendly stares from managers and other patrons while happily going about their business. When someone reprimands their dog the animal is called over and consoled, sometimes whispering to the mutt that the other people are just grouchy. I’ve witnessed this kind of behavior several times.

Same goes for kids. They run around stores and malls, wheeling about on everything from shoes with wheels to skateboards, they scream and shout at restaurant tables so no one can have a conversation, they knock stuff over and the most any parent ever does is call out to the kid to calm down. A call that pretty much always goes unheard, so the child just continues on its rampage. Leaving the movies the other night some kid ruined my reverie my screaming bloody murder (it was past 10, should he not have been in bed?) while running around and then knocking over a huge movie poster that almost fell on us. What did the mother do? Call out his name in a bored voice and then continued her conversation with her friend.

Not on, people, not on at all. I have friends who have dogs and friends who have kids and most of them, I am happy to say, are in control of both. And I love their children and most of the time I enjoy their dogs too. I’ve even come to love some of these dogs very much because they are well-behaved and pretty well adjusted. Because their parents/owners understand the concept of respecting other people and raise their kids/dogs accordingly. And for that I am grateful to them, they give me hope.

Here’s Choppy (white) and Suey (black). Two dogs I did not like at all when I first met them because they are dogs, but over the year I have grown to love them so much that I even taught Suey to come sit on my lap while I massage her back. A treatment only cats enjoyed before. So see, I am not a terrible dog hater, I just need to be eased into them and they need to be well-behaved. Same goes for children.

2010-01-10T11:28:00.003+02:00

'Where the Wild Things Are' finally made its way to South Africa and we went to see it last night. I guess I knew all along I would not be disappointed, since hearing about it the first time I have been totally excited for its release, I have faith in Spike Jonze. And he did not disappoint.

It was mesmerizing and so incredibly beautiful from perfect start to finish. It was brilliant. I feel like seeing it again today. If you grew up loving the book go see the movie (if you have not already done so). It is fantastic.

Alexander was reading up about the movie this morning, and how Maurice Sendak went off about people saying it is not a movie for children and should have an age restriction, also about how the book was originally banned in some countries, along with some other works by him like 'In the Midnight Kitchen'. It is strange how parents are totally fine with their children watching 'Star Wars' and 'Transformers', movies that are blatantly violent and aggressive, but when it comes to suggestion and emotions they rear up in protest. People are stupid.

I included this image of Spike Jonze with Max Records who played Max in the movie, just because I have the tiniest crush on Mr Jonze. Kind of dorky handsome, don't you think. Blush-blush.

And a happy new year to you too

2010-01-01T18:57:00.002+02:00

Judging by everybody's Facebook status, including my own, 2009 was one crap year. We all went into it with so much expectation, despite the recession. Maybe we were all still on an Obama high? There were highlights, of course, Alexander and I got married, we baked a lot, ate well, lived a pretty active lifestyle here in Cape Town, but on the whole, it was rough.

After much debate we decided to sleep in the New Year. We catered for a party, came home and made dinner, watched a DVD and by 11:10 my tired behind was in bed. I woke up to neighbours stomping and shouting at midnight and all I could think was, good bloody riddance.

Maybe sleeping into 2010 was a good thing. I woke up this morning feeling cautiously optimistic. Maybe 2010 will be better. We have many destinations to look forward to, seeing our family in the US again, welcoming a new baby into our family here, seeing dear old friends again. I'm sure there will be lots of stressful events as well and things won't always go as planned. But after last year I think I can deal with it.

To welcome you into the New Year, here's a picture from Engrish.com that made me giggle this morning. I know, very immature of me, but it made me happy. Happy 2010!

Anton's birthday cake

2009-12-28T07:08:00.004+02:00

This is the cake I baked for my friend on his birthday last month. A layered cake with rich chocolate frosting, layers held together with a whole can of caramel. It's the cake I always wanted my mother to bake for me, but which she refused. My mother was never a great baker. I can say this without feeling like a bad son because it is the truth. She'll readily admit it. She rarely baked our cakes when I was very young, always leaving it up to the neighbor's maid who was a champion baker.

What my mother was great at though was decorating cakes. She had these picture books of party cakes, and when birthday time comes around we could pick whichever cake we wanted. A cake (or cakes) would be ordered from next door and the day before our birthday she would spend the entire day making frosting, cutting cake and decorating. Between my siblings and I we had an owl cake, a locomotive with carriages, a maypole with dancing girls cake, a sunflower, rugby field with players and many more. I should actually scan pictures of those sometime and share. Her cake decorating skills were incredible.

Still, my favorite that she refused to make. I never requested it for my birthday because it was not elaborate enough, perhaps I should have. I think she thought it sounded much too rich. Whenever she baked chocolate cake she always used strawberry or apricot jam between the two layers. Yuck! So when we decided to have a birthday dinner for Anton at our place this year I decided that he I would bake him this one for dessert.

I used Jamie Oliver's sponge cake recipes for the cake and Martha Stewart's Swiss meringue buttercream for the frosting and a can of caramel in the center, of course there was way too much frosting as usual. But we did not let any of it get to waist, Alexander did a great job of using all of it on the cake, adding almost an inch thick layer on top!

If I may say so myself, I think it was my most successful cake ever. It was the first cake I baked in our oven that did not fall, but was perfectly baked and stayed that way after I removed it from the oven. The frosting came out great, just the right texture and consistency, and of course the caramel made it as decadent as I wanted it to be. Everybody enjoyed a slice, the rest was sent home with guests. It was incredibly rich, not even I could do more than one slice, but it sure was great!

For the sponge cake you'll need:
450g unsalted butter, softened
450g selfraising flour
450g caster sugar
8 large eggs

Preheat the oven to 180C. Grease the bottom and sides of two cake tins, dust with flour and shake out the excess flour. Mix the butter and sugar together until light and fluffy. Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition to incorporate, finally add the flour and fold in. Divide between the two cake tins and bake for about 20 minutes or until a wooden skewer come sout clean. Remove from the oven, allow to cool slightly then turn out onto a cooling rakc and allow to cool completely.

For the chocolate Swiss meringue buttercream (makes about 4 cups):

4 large egg whites
1 and cup sugar
3 sticks unsalted butter at room temperature
225g melted best quality bittersweet chocolate, slightly cooled before mixing in

It helps to use a standing mixer for this, but you can do it without as well. In a heatproof bowl set over simmering water, whisk together the egg whites and sugar until sugar has dissolved and the mixture is warm to the touch. Transfer the mixture to a mixing bowl and whisk on high speed until it holds stiff but not dry peaks. Continue beating until the mixture is fluffy and slightly cooled, about 6 minutes. Swithc to the paddle attachement if you have one. Add the butter several tablespoons at a time with mixer on medium low spead. Beat well after each addition until smooth. Beat in the melted chocolate. Beat onlow spead to eliminate air bubbles and then stir with a spatula until smooth.

When your cakes are cooled and the frosting done, spread a whole can of caramel on top of one cake, pop the other one on top, lather in frosting and the let the decadence begin!

Another week on the web

2009-12-26T07:16:00.001+02:00

Just one thing this week. It will forever be the week in which Brittany Murphy passed away. Michael Jackson, Heath Ledger, that was sad. But nothing is as sad as this. Here's a clip of Brittany as my favorite character from Clueless, Ty.

Goodbye Brittany, you'll be missed.

I desire- good bookstores

2009-12-23T06:14:00.005+02:00

This bookstore review by Jonathan in China reminded me just how much I miss good bookstores. They don't really exist in South Africa. In Cape Town we have a couple of good bookstores, there is the Book Lounge on Roeland Street and Clarke's on Long. Both are owned and managed by people who clearly love a good book. But those are the exceptions and both are pretty small.

Then there is Exclusive Books, a countrywide retail bookstore chain, but there is nothing Exclusive about them. Their biggest store is still the size of a large open-plan living room and the book selections are never that great. And their gay and lesbian section (if the store even has one) is always grouped with hetero sex advice, meaning together with one or two dull homosexual romance novels there are loads of books explaining to straight people how to get off.

To make matters worse books in South Africa are ridiculously expensive. Ridiculously. Not exaggerating. We were looking at a Borneo guide book here and then compared the price to ordering from Amazon and having it shipped here. It was still more than US$10 less than buying it here. A friend explained it's because South Africa taxes books as a luxury item. WTF? We're a country with terribly high illiteracy levels and books are considered a luxury?

Why is it that in the giant bookstores in countries like China, Taiwan, Thailand, and Malaysia you can find bigger English language books than in South Africa, and at better prices? Not fair.

I am looking forward to going back East and visiting Kinokuniya in Bangkok and Page One in Taipei, but sad about the fact that my friends here will still have to deal with pricey reading material from Exclusive Books.

* The image is from the blog Stephanie's Written Word, entry titled Vacation Spots.

Season's Greetings

2009-12-21T06:13:00.000+02:00

We're flying to Pretoria tomorrow to go spend Christmas with my family. I can honestly say that I don't really like Christmas, the last time I got excited about this holiday was when I was a kid. Too many forced family Christmases during our hot summers kind of ruined the experience for me. And since popular world culture dictates that it should be a time of snowy winter during the holidays I've always felt kind of cheated.

I discovered this book online while searching for 'African Christmas.' I was trying to see if there are any images that related what Christmas is like here, this was the closest I came. The other option was a Santa on a surfboard. Sad.

This will probably be my last summertime Christmas for a while. Next year we'll probably be in Taiwan and the year after that potentially the States, who knows. Although I am a little nervous about spending a whole week with my family in a house on a wildlife estate outside of a city I am also looking forward to spending time with them again. I have not actually spent any real time with them in 3 years. And luckily there is a pool and I am planning to start my mornings with bloody mary's or mojitos and progress from there!

So to you and all your family. Happy holidays, enjoy the togetherness, all the food and all the drink. Merry Christmas!

Catering for Cameo #2

2009-12-20T06:48:00.003+02:00

Some more images from the gallery opening we catered for a while ago. The show was titled Cameo and took place at Salon 99 Contemporary Art Collection on Kloof street, the artist was our friend Francesco Nassimbeni.

The Spread at the gallery

Black and white cupcakes with white and dark chocolate ganache frosting on top

Pink strawberry flavored meringues

Pink meringues dipped in white chocolate with a strawberry flavored ganache on top

Chocolate wafer cookies with decorative cameo design

Some of Frankie’s art at the show

Happy Together

2009-12-19T12:55:00.000+02:00

I watched Wong Kar Wai’s Happy Together for the first time earlier this year. It became an instant favorite. Don’t let the title mislead you though, there is very little happiness in being together for Po-Wing (Leslie Cheung) and Yiu-Fai (Tony Leung). But the yearning to be happy, to love and be loved, is just so incredibly beautifully portrayed in this tragic love story, set in Argentina.

The movie came out in 1997, years before Brokeback Mountain, starring two major Hong Kong hunks, with movie posters that did not hide the fact that the movie had a gay theme (unlike this one) and started out with a sex scene between the two main leads. I wonder why the movie did not make the same impact as Brokeback? I suppose partly it was because it did not have any mainstream appeal, it was not a Hollywood production with actors who are not really known in the ‘West.’

I really loved the story, the cinematography, excellent acting and the brutal honesty in portraying two lost men in love. The movie ended in a night market in Taipei, which also struck a chord with me.

For the past few weeks The Turtles’ song from which the movie took its title has been playing over and over in my head. Maybe I should go rent it again soon.

Another week on the web

2009-12-16T07:25:00.009+02:00

1) Absolutely adorable pets at Skunkboy Creatures
2) A nutella tart would be perfect right now- Happygrub
3) Make this spiced clementine sherbet and then invite me over, please- Endive Chronicles
4) Feel free to do some Christmas shopping for me at Making it Lovely
5) I want this sandwich for lunch today- Eating Asia
6) Neat kitchen ideas- Design Sponge
7) Priscilla Presley's face scares me just a little (actually a lot)- Dlisted
8) Now this is seriously fucked-up, what was the BBC even thinking turning this into a debate?- BBC
9) Fun styles in Australia- The Sartorialist
10) I like the lung sculpture here- Hibernian Homme

Take me back to your house- Hanlie and Henk's light house

2009-12-15T19:07:00.004+02:00

Finally, the promised Take me back to your house of a local home. I first visited Henk and Hanlie place when we were doing the catering for her birthday party. We were introduced to her through one of our friends, her brother Louis. We arrived with platters of food before the guests started arriving and I almost ended up moving in. It was love at first sight.

When Henk bought a house in Hartlevale, a suburb of sweet Victorian homes bordering Observatory, they were still living in a house with a view in Higgovale in Cape Town's City Bowl. Hanlie was not to keen on giving up the comfort of living in the city and a view to boot for a house in a neighborhood that is notorious for no views and almost zero natural light. But thanks to clever planning and months of rennovation they now live in possibly the lightest house I have ever encountered in this part of the city.

The walls separating the kitchen from the living room and dining room came down, skylights came in and a wide glass accordian door leads from the dining area into the back garden, resulting in an abundance of natural light streaming into their house, giving it a pleasing and inviting feel.

Rooms that should have been dark (clockwise from top left)- the dining room leading to the garden, the Victorian-style en-suite bathroom lit up by ceiling windows and the skylight in the master bedroom, the skylight over the sink in the kitchen allows for maximum sunlight, and the living room whcih woud have been hulled in darkness is everything but (the armchair and puzzle coffee table was inherited from her grandmother's farmhouse).

The kitchen is a fun reflection of a retro farmhouse kitchen, but with some modern conveniences. Separating it from the dining room is a cooking island with gas stove and electric oven and plenty of workspace.

Hanlie, who likes surfaces clean and tidy had four drying racks installed above the sink for items she uses regularly like plates, glasses and cups. The bottom row of kitchen drawers were fitted with screens and are used as vegetable drawers, keeping kitchen clutter to a minimum.

Hanlie's love of vintage and antique furniture, nostalgia harking back to her grandparent’s family farm in the Freestate they used to visit on school holidays as kids, is evident in the furniture and display items in the house. The hutch above was picked up at a second-hand store and now proudly displays other items she inherited from her grandmother like this coffee and tea set. The air vents on the hutch was repeated on the cabinet doors in the kitchen.

The master bedroom, sunny and warm thanks to the skylight, is a fun mix of old and new. The modern headboard and bedside tables are playfully paired with an antique store find bead spread and dresser. The closets, covered with textured floral wallpaper, form the entrance to the en-suite Victorian style bathroom, which compliments the house's original style. The ceramic frog prince is one of two froggie paraphernalia still in her home. Hanlie loves these amphibians and has boxes full of them in storage. She's still debating whether she should allow them into the new home. I say yes! She is also planning a small frog pond in the backyard, which will happen as soon as she convinces Henk to start digging.

Art pieces decorate walls throughout the house and are all from friends like the Marlise Keith above the bed in the master bedroom, the Norman O'Flynn prints (above top-right and bottom-left) and works by Liza Grobler (above top-left and bottom-right).

Looking over the pictures Alexander took of Henk and Hanlie's place I could almost feel the light playing on my skin and the love that went into remodeling and decorating this house. Hanlie said that there is still a lot of work that needs to be done, but the house we visited seemed pretty much perfect to me.

Asked aboutt he house with the view in Higgovale they gave up Hanlie just shakes her head and says she doesn't miss it for a moment. She has definitely found her home.

You have got be kidding

2009-12-15T09:16:00.003+02:00

To quote from a song by the Sugarcubes, 'Oh my god and Jesus as well' and then in the words of the rest of the world, 'Say it isn't so.'

I was just guided by Dlisted to the website of the Lohan family (minus daddy Michael of course). Up to this point I was not aware of this site and my life was better for it, but now I've discovered it and I'm feeling a bit shaky as a result. WTF?!

Not only are you updated on the latest sadness in their lives but you can buy their second hand shit! Again, WTFFFF?? This takes fame-whoring to a whole new level. Then again I suppose they do need the cash. They do pretty high living (interpret 'high' anyway you like), and despite Lindsey there is no talent in that house. Yes I think Lindsey could have been a great actress but she's snorted all of that talent away it seems. When was the last time she did anything worth watching?

So if you feel like a pair of Dina Lohan's old skank boots you know where to go. You can pick up a whole wardrobe there. Don't wait too long though because I am sitting here with my Visa card ready to max it out on Lohan crap as Michael K pointed out, there might be some great recreational goodies still hidden in the pockets of those old Lohan purses.

About me

2009-12-14T14:35:00.000+02:00

Lord I have been neglecting this blog. I did not even get to a weekly update on Friday. Skandaal! Mainly I've been procrastinating on one entry for weeks now, I'll try to get my behind in gear and post this week. It's one I'm pretty excited about. I've also been kind of busy with sewing again, markets, and packing up our Cape life.

In the meantime, here's a 'meme'. I was tagged by Jeanne of Cooksister a while ago. One-word answers to the following questions. Let's see:

1. Where is your cell phone? Chair
2. Your hair? Short
3. Your mother? Nuts
4. Your father? Difficult
5. Your favorite food? Can't
6. Your dream last night? Forget
7. Your favorite drink? Coffee
8. Your dream/goal? Travel
9. What room are you in? Living
10. Your hobby? Food
11. Your fear? Death?
12. Where do you want to be in 6 years? Can't
13. Where were you last night? Home
14. Something you aren’t? Heterosexual
15. Muffins? Banana
16. Wish list item? Airfare
17. Where did you grow up? Limpopo
18. Last thing you did? Lasagna
19. What are you wearing? T-shirt
20. Your TV? Without
21. Your pets? Cat
22. Friends? Life
23. Your life? Rootless
24. Your mood? Fine
25. Missing someone? Maddie
26. Vehicle? Pick-up
27. Something you’re not wearing? Watch
28. Your favorite store? Uhm?
29.Your favorite color? Few
30. When was the last time you laughed? Today
31. Last time you cried? Forget
32. Your best friend? Christel
33. One place you go to over and over again? Taiwan
34. One person who e-mails you regularly? :(
35. Favorite place to eat? Balcony

There you go. Insightful isn't it? Bet you feel like you know me intimately now. Thanks Jeanne, that was fun! And to the rest of you I hope I'll have more fascinating and deeply intriguing posts for you to pore over soon, I know you all live for this here blog.

Just don't say gay

2009-12-04T18:55:00.003+02:00

I was searching for information about Tom Ford’s film A Single Man, his directorial debut, when I happened on this entry on Towleroad. In short, the promotional material for the film including the American trailers and the one-sheets make absolutely no reference to the fact that the lead character is gay.

Now, I don’t think every movie with a gay lead character needs to have billboards and trailers screaming GAY to the world. In the end it is going to be just a movie covering various themes and issues, amongst them homosexuality. But from what I could gather the gay theme of the movie is completely hidden in this promotional material, and I have an issue with that.

What really got to me was Tom Ford’s reaction to questions about this, one of them at a private viewing party was “But this is not a gay film. I don’t even think about that. There are so many gay characters on TV that it’s almost become a cliché.” Okay, I kind of get that, but then he went on to say this in an interview with Kevin Sessums in Advocate “I don’t think of myself as gay. That doesn’t mean that I’m not gay. I just don’t define myself by my sexuality.”

That really irks, me. I get that he is trying to say he’s moved beyond labels and all that, but we, the world at large, have not. And for a public figure like him to ignore this fact by saying he does not view himself as gay is sad and problematic. It’s like saying you don’t see race and it’s not an issue. If you don’t you need a seeing-eye dog and you need to wake up to reality, just come take a look in South Africa, race still matters a lot. And so does sexuality.

I think Tom Ford is a brilliant man, pretty smart and very creative. I do admire him, but this sounds dumb and ignorant. Perhaps he moves in circles where it is easy for him to say “I don’t think of myself as gay.” Because it does not matter, but to most of us being gay is still a pretty big deal, and not something we can ignore.

We get stares when we hold hands in public, someone recently reminded us that judgment day is coming in a shopping center. In New York State gay marriage won’t be legalized, both Democratic and Republican senators voted against it. Adam Lambert is being dissed by ABC because he shoved a guys head into his crotch onstage. Something Janet Jackson has done way back in the nineties and no one batted an eyelid. Here in South Africa where same-sex marriage is legal there was a huge outcry over a male-on-male kiss in a soap earlier this year. A Facebook group opposing the show was created, 18000 people joined. In Burundi homosexuality was criminalized this year resulting in an increase in discrimination against gay men and women, Uganda is set to pass a bill making homosexuality illegal with harsh punishments for perpetrators.

Now, is not a time to say you don’t see yourself is gay. For whatever reason.

Another week on the web

2009-12-04T06:27:00.000+02:00

1) A different kind of shepherd's pie. I am a Viking
2) An anniversary endive salad- congratulations Erin! The Endive Chronicles
3) Why I want to go back to Hanoi. Hanoi Scratchpad
4) A lasagna story (in Afrikaans). Voer
5) Help pick a homemade rug. Dreamesh
6) A wish list. Skunkboy Creatures
7) Support if you can the Scalabrini Refugee Centre here in Cape Town. Blog here and website here.
8) Make popicon portraits! Dos Family
9) Now this is how you sell a house (NOT!). Dlisted
10) Jeeze, not a good week to be gay in America, this sucks. CNN and LA Times

I desire- Onitsuka Tigers

2009-12-03T14:38:00.003+02:00

I love Onitsuka Tigers. They are just the funnest footwear around. I fell in love the first time I laid my eyes upon a pair back in Taiwan, but oddly enough I've never owned any. I almost bought some last year on vacation in Kaohsiung, but I went back to the store the next morning they hadn't opened yet and so I missed my chance as we had to catch a train.

With my next paycheck (whenever that may be) I'm not risking anything and grabbing myself a pair of these Mexico 66 Onitsuka Tigers. They were the first Tigers to be introduced with the iconic stripes and were worn at the 1966 Olympic Games in Mexico City. Since it might be a while before my next proper paycheck I will not hold it against anyone who feel like splurging on a pair for me. I'm a UK size 8, thanks.

Thanksgiving Feast

2009-12-02T15:12:00.003+02:00

As a South African Thanksgiving holiday was something I never celebrated or cared for. I did enjoy the occasional dinner back in Taiwan with American friends, but on the whole I couldn’t be bothered. After I started dating an American things didn’t really change, Alexander not being one for this particular holiday, he’s more into his Halloween and Christmas.

Last year would have been the first time for us spending Thanksgiving together in the States and I actually became quite excited about experiencing this major vacation (most of my US friends wax more lyrical about Thanksgiving than Christmas) in the US. Alexander’s sister was going to cook a proper holiday meal for us and we were going to celebrate it on the day of our arrival in LA with some of her friends. This never happened due to that unpleasant little situation at Suvarnabhumi Airport in Thailand. We spent Thanksgiving at Incheon International.

We were going to give it a skip again this year, until I got it in me that I wanted to try making turkey. Next thing I knew Alexander was inviting people, Marie was making her house available for the feast and I was standing in the kitchen with an enormous poultry cadaver while pumpkin as being roasted for pie. Fun!

Alexander suggested making a South African stuffing, so I decided to use the very SA boerewors sausage as stuffing, mixed with loads of rosemary, sautéed onion and garlic, breadcrumbs, grated carrot and dried peaches soaked overnight in brandy. I heard that one should get some of the stuffing between the skin and the breast to keep them from drying out, which is what I did. A gross process, but it made all the difference. And I even made a brandied gravy using the giblets! Yes, I cooked with giblets (flaming brandy in the kitchen and all). And it was good.

Alexander made pumpkin pie from scratch. And from scratch I mean he roasted his own pumpkins (white pumpkin and some green gem squash) and made his own pie crust. None of this store-bought nonsense for our Thanksgiving pie thank you! Don’t they look great? He used the squash seeds and all which added a beautiful texture to the pies.

Our friend Marie (who’s house I’m in love with) invited us to host it over there. She has a massive open kitchen and she pulled together two tables and all the chairs in the house to accommodate all the guests. Thanks Marie!

All the guests were asked to bring something to the Thanksgiving feast. We had peas and bacon, a potato dish, fresh beetroot and feta salad, turkey and stuffing and, my absolute favorite part of the evening, sweet potatoes and marshmallows, decadence! I had loads of the latter and took lots more home, which I stood eating in front of the fridge with a spoon the next day.

We also had lots of dessert- Alexander’s pumpkin pie, pecan pies and homemade chocolate mousse tartlets with mulberries. I forced myself to have some of all the desserts, which I guess is not very healthy but Thanksgiving only happens once so don’t judge.

We had an excellent evening and I think a very successful Thanksgiving. I think I’m going to make a habit of this, celebrating Thanksgiving every year. As long as there is an oven and turkey I’ll be having fun with this one. After all, I did marry into an American family and as a devoted husband it’s the least I could do to make their customs my own. I want to insert a smiley face here, but I won't.

Catering for Cameo

2009-11-29T11:18:00.003+02:00

We were asked to do the catering for the opening of a friend's gallery opening yesterday. The title of his exhibit is cameo and here's what we made:

Black and white cupcakes with white and dark ganache frosting, strawberry flavored meringues- some pink and some dipped in white ganache and then topped with pink ganache, cameo chocolate wafer cookies which Alexander created, my favorites. More pictures soon.

I like the shape of this

2009-11-27T18:05:00.002+02:00

We are currently figuring out our plans for next February/March. We decided to spend February in Taiwan again, visiting some friends, doing a bit of work and celebrating Chinese New Year there. It will be a first for Alexander. While working out the cheapest and most convenient route between South African and Taiwan Alexander discovered the following:

If we fly from Johannesburg to Bangkok and on to Taiwan, then to Kota Kinabalu on Borneo, followed by Singapore, Kuala Lumpur and then Bangkok again and back to Joburg, it would cost less than flying direct to Taiwan and back. I know, I married a flight-plan genius. So after a year of non-travel we'll be making up for lost time very early in the New Year. We haven't made up our minds 100% yet, but we're basically doing this. Like the arrow shape this plan follows too.

Cities, jungles, beaches here I come!

Another week on the web

2009-11-27T17:35:00.003+02:00

1) A clutch won't do in Hanoi- Medusa se Blog
2) Beautiful images from a trip to Charleston- Hibernian Homme
3) Delicious Tangerine Vanilla Bean Marmalade- Prudent Baby
4) How to make fantastic nut butters- A Life (Time) of Cooking
5) Musings on Thanksgiving- Primitive Culture
6) I agree, could not care for Adam Lambert before but beginning to like him- OMG
7) Art gift ideas- Bloesem
8) Pret a Voyager's Color as Communication class project using one of my favorite films, Amelie- Pret a Voyager
9) White chocolate cake with mango and pomegranate syrup- Winos and Foodies
10) A contest for something beautiful- Mon Petit Fantome

Happy Thanksgiving

2009-11-26T16:04:00.003+02:00

I've been busy this week preparing for our first Thanksgiving as a married couple and the first time we actually have a Thanksgiving dinner. We are hosting it at a friend's home, with us bringing the turkey, stuffing, gravy and pumpkin pie. I've never made turkey before, ever, so this is a huge deal. I was terribly nervous making the stuffing, stuffing the turkey and now getting ready to make gravy. But once the stuffing was done and the bird ready to go into the oven I decided I have reason to be proud of my first effort and I'm certain it's going to taste great.

We've decided to go South African for the stuffing, with boerewors (South African style sausage) meat and dried peaches soaked in brandy with lots and lots of rosemary. For the gravy I'm making brandied giblets, another thing I've never worked with before!

Alexander made some beautiful pumpkin pies with a mixture of local squash. Yum!

Will post more after the holidays. Happy Thanksgiving!

You desire: BloggerAid Cookbook

2009-11-25T06:12:00.001+02:00

Here’s something we should all desire, The BloggerAid Cookbook. It’s the fruit of a lot of work on the part of a couple of kindly bloggers who decided to publish a cookbook to help alleviate hunger in the world.

Food bloggers from around the world were asked to submit recipes to the project. These were compiled into one impressive cookbook to be sold online, with the proceeds benefiting the UN’s World Food School Meal's Program.

Here’s more:

“Food does not simply nourish the body; food also celebrates what makes the world diverse, as well as, what unites us. The BloggerAid Cook Book is a collection of international recipes illustrating that we can work together and unite for a greater cause. The authors of this cookbook are food bloggers from around the world who have endeavored to make a difference by raising funds for the World Food Programme and encompassing their passion for "all things foodie" at the same time. Through these recipes they share their traditions and insatiable curiosity about new flavours. They pay tribute to the home cooking of our grandmothers, while celebrating the exoticism and richness of a world brought closer together by their hopes to make a difference. With recipes such as Tomato-Cheese Ravioli with Eggplant Sauce, Spicy Serundeng Tuna and Peanuts, Serrano Ham Paella with Oyster Mushrooms, Raspberry Mascarpone Bites and Triple Layer Orange-Passion Fruit Tart we are doing our part to say that bloggers can change the face of famine.

We chose the United Nations' World Food Programme (WFP) to receive the funds generated by the cookbook because of the wonderful work this organization does. The WFP has touched the lives of our members, many of whom are from countries where poverty is often a way of life. More specifically, 100% of BloggerAid's proceeds from the cookbook will benefit the WFP's School Meals Programme, which benefits an average of 22 million hungry children each year. School meals are important on many levels. In countries where school attendance is low, the promise of at least one nutritious meal each day boosts enrollment and promotes regular attendance.
This book is a virtual way for all of us, wherever we may be and however rich or poor we may be, to pull up a chair at the same table and share what we have.” *

So hop on over to createspace.com and order your copy and order a couple more for the rest of the family, and enjoy the fact that you contributed to keeping someone fed and educated.

* Paraphrased from review on createspace.com

Homemade egg noodles

2009-11-23T15:32:00.002+02:00

A few weeks ago I tried my hand at homemade pasta in the form of ravioli. I swore high and low that I was never undertaking anything like that ever again. But when it comes to saying ‘never’ I am a big old liar. I once said I’ll never live in Taiwan again, just to go back and live there for 5 more years and loving it, I also said I’ll never teach again and now I am making plans to study Education. So of course I was not going to stay away from pasta making for two long.

After my pasta attempt I decided to try making Chinese egg noodles. Which is basically what pasta is seeing as how you use egg and wheat flour to make both. In Taiwan western style pasta is called Italian noodles or idali mien. I’m sure my spelling of that is all wrong.

Alexander nicked a really old Chinese cookbook from his parent’s home on our last visit and it has been coming in very handy for cooking Chinese and it was from this book, Regional Cooking of China by Margaret Gin and Alfred E. Castle, that I got the recipe for the noodles.

Ingredients:
1.5 cups flour
2 eggs, lightly beaten
cornstarch for dusting

Process:
Pour the flour out onto a clean surface and form a well in the center, pour the egg mixture in and gently incorporate the two. Knead for about 10 minutes into a smooth ball. Cover in a bowl with a damp tea towel and let it rest for 20 minutes.

Knead again and break off pieces to be rolled out, always making sure to cover the balls you are not rolling out with the towel. Roll out the balls as thinly as possible. Dust with cornstarch, set aside and cover with a damp tea towel. Continue until all the dough has been rolled out.

Take a sheet of rolled out dough and begin rolling it up away from you until you get to the center of the sheet, roll from the other side towards you until the two rolls meet. Use a sharp knife and slice into desired widths (about an 1/8th of an inch). With the blunt edge of the knife, lift up the pieces and shake them free, or use your hands. Continue to do so with all the sheets, dust well with cornstarch to prevent them from sticking. Place in a covered container or plastic bag and refrigerate until ready to use (up to 2 days) or freeze them. If you freeze you can defrost it in the fridge before using.

To cook your noodles, bring a pot of slightly salted water to a boil with a tablespoon of oil and add the noodles. Boil for about 3 minutes until tender, make sure the strands don’t stick.

It’s a bit of work, but it was actually much easier now that I knew what I was getting myself into and I loved the whole process, besides, it’s helping me gain some muscle in these scrawny arms of mine.

We had ours the same evening with a Szechwan beef stew I made from the same book. Yum! I did slice the noodles a bit too wide I think, but it came out great and we had a fun dinner.

* Thanks Alexander for the photos.

I desire- Butt calendar 2010

2009-11-22T08:43:00.003+02:00

This is exciting news! Butt magazine is coming out with their first ever calendar for 2010. 54 Weeks of the hot, the cute and the naughty from all over the world on Butt's signature pink gracing a wall in our home(s) sounds like the perfect gift that gives on giving to me!

The images are mostly reader submitted which I love. Real people, not models, will be welcoming you into each week of the year, and they are from all over; from Syria and Argentina to the US and Norway. A new guy to develop a crush on every week! There are also a couple of extra pictures by amazing photographers like Wolfgang Tillmans and Alisdair McLellan.

You can order them online here, just email me for address details. Thanks!

Take me back to your house- NOT

2009-11-21T18:16:00.002+02:00

I scanned this from the home decor section of a local magazine I like, but which will remain unnamed here. What the? This reeks of nouveau rich taste which for some reason is very often celebrated in home and decor magazines in this part of the world. God it stinks. And that tacky pillow underneath the word. Ugh!

In better news, I'll be visiting the very adorable home of a friend tomorrow for a very local Take me back to your house!

Another week on the web

2009-11-19T19:19:00.004+02:00

1) Style Guide Cape Town is enjoying London style.
2) I think I know the feeling, Asia does this to you.
3) Naan!
4) Kind of preppy equestrian style in this week's Living In.
5) Brett's getting lost in Melbourne and spotting koalas.
6) Shop-shop-shop at Skinny laminx and while you're at it get some for me too. Thanks.
7) Dreaming of seeing the aurora.
8) I want to eat these chocolate cranberry rolls now.
9) Some lady slapped the mayor of Cape Town this week after he suggested there squatter camp was not so bad. I can't find an article online, but I love this kind of stuff. Hope she got an award!
10) I think it's safe to say summer's here and this is what we've been doing every day this week.

Anise seed beskuit

2009-11-19T18:29:00.002+02:00

I have this one recipe that I always use when I bake beskuit (rusks in English, don’t like that word either). It is my mom’s and she’s been baking it since forever. I think it is my favorite kind of beskuit, but I decided that it was time I give something new a try, browsing through some old recipes I found one for anise seed beskuit. Really simple and great with coffee or tea with a great anise taste.

For these you need the following ingredients:
1kg self-raising flour
2 teaspoons anise seeds (or more)
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup sugar
150gr margarine, melted (I suppose you can use butter as well)
2 cups milk
2 eggs, beaten

The process:
Preheat the oven to 180C and prepare a deep oven dish. Mix the dry ingredients in a mixing bowl and set aside. Mix the rest of the ingredients together and add to the dry mixture. Mix until you have a stiff dough. With your hands, roll bits of dough into little balls, a bit bigger than golf ball size and pack them tightly into your oven dish. Bake for about 45 minutes or until a skewer comes out clean. Remove and allow to cool in the pan for 10 minutes. Carefully turn it out and separate the pieces and place on a rack. Dry out in the oven at 100C until dried out. Make a pot of coffee or tea, dip and eat.

These are also great fresh out of the oven after the first 45 minutes with a bit of butter. Yum! I’m glad I tried a new recipe, although I still like my others best these are really great, especially with the anise.

For those who don’t know, beskuit is a South African take on biscotti. They’re usually higher than biscotti and cut into chunks rather than slices. And it tastes better and less hard than biscotti. Sorry, but it’s the truth!

The oven mitt in this picture was made by my maternal grandmother from the kitchen drapes that hung in my paternal grandmother’s kitchen years and years ago. We have four in total with blue and red birds on them. I totally adore them. Thanks grans! Oh, and the tin was a Milnerton market find. Cool hey?

* Thanks Alexander for the pics.

Entertaining with pizza

2009-11-19T18:08:00.000+02:00

Last week we had a couple of friends over for a pizza dinner. I spent the afternoon preparing my trusty pizza dough with the help of the oven, since it was very wintry I needed a different heat source for the dough, and asked each guest to bring some toppings for their own pizza.

At around 8 in the evening our friends arrived and after enjoying some lovely bruschetta with spicy Khmer mushroom topping that Alexander made we started on making dinner.

Leslie brought loads of blue cheese that she crumbled all over hers, Tanya made a veggie version with mushrooms while Ryan prepared one with salami and olives and Alexander made one with green pepper and mushrooms and another also with salami and tomato sauce. Alexander covered a table with crappy baking paper, sliced the pizzas and placed them one the table where they were snapped up and enjoyed with great company and warming red wine while the wind was blowing rain against our window. It was a very cozy dinner.

Thanks for the toppings and the great evening guys!

A good week in the kitchen

2009-11-18T16:38:00.003+02:00

I've been rather busy in the kitchen last week. Experimenting with Chinese cuisine, baking again and making use of the unexpected wintry to just play around in the kitchen.

We enjoyed green chili fiesta rolls, baked chicken, fried greenpepper and beef, an evening with pizza, Szechwan beef noodle soup, and anise seed rusks (beskuit). Some recipes will soon follow.

I love Kate!

2009-11-14T16:18:00.006+02:00

I have been in love with Kate moss since foreeeeever. Ms Kate can do no wrong. When everybody was saying she's too skinny I said skinny on. When people pointed fingers and said 'Bad model!" when she was snorting lines I hollered snort on! Kate Moss is totally awesome.

So of course I love this motto of her quoted to WWD recently, "Nothing tastes as good as skinny feels."

Classic. Love it. No I am not into size 0 models, I think that's a lot of BS. Except when it comes ot Kate. She's prefection.

Another week on the web

2009-11-13T19:09:00.001+02:00

1) Flavorful Asian style meatballs from the Philippines compliments of 80 Breakfasts.
2) All things Danish at the re-purposed I am a Viking.
3) Dreaming of Lapland at Hibernian Homme.
4) Hear what Dorothy Black has to say on prostitution in South Africa.
5) And something about homosexuality in China and Taiwan from Jonathan in China.
6) Someone should stop Ashlee Simpson- see why on Dlisted.
7) More reason to go back to Taiwan- Pho restaurant review at A Hungry Girl's Guide to Taipei.
8) Think its possible for me to live inside Dosfamily?
9) Hot guy to the rescue!
10) A salad resulting in pink feta at Voer. I like!

Cambodia 2001- my Preah Khan guide

2009-11-13T10:04:00.002+02:00

I also visited Cambodia for the first time in 2001. Back then guidebooks made it sound like a nightmare for travel with terrible roads, a dangerous capital and landmines everywhere. We decided to just fly in and out of Siem Reap and spend a couple of days there, exploring the temples.

Upon arrival in the dusty town it seemed the guidebooks were correct. Siem Reap was a backwater with virtually no properly paved roads, massive moon crater potholes in the town, and only a couple of places where backpackers like us could get some burgers or pizza. There was no sign of the food scene Siem Reap boasts these days and the town was not nearly as attractive as it is nowadays. I did not like it one bit and we spent most of our time either among Khmer ruins or cooped up in our AC-d room.

Back then there was nothing around the ruins, not a soul selling fresh coconut juice or stands where you could get a tasty Cambodian curry. There was the odd souvenir peddler, but other than that nothing. We bought fruit, water and sandwiches in town and took it with us for lunch and snacks. We also did not take any cash with us, it would have been totally useless to us.

One particularly hot day we had Preah Khan on our list of sights, one of the ruins that has seen a lot of destruction by the environment over the centuries. It was used as a monastery and university at one time, later becoming an inter-denominational temple for devotees of Vishnu, Shiva and Buddha. My friend Jodi had enough of the heat and decided to wait for me in the shade of a massive tree while I wander around the site.

As I entered a skinny kid of about 11 or so approached me and offered to be my tour guide. They were everywhere those days, following professional guides around and picking up the English, German, French, Japanese and Korean versions of the various temples’ history. I told him that I was fine on my own and kept on walking, but he was not about to take ‘no’ for an answer.

He kept on following me, pointing out features of the temples and sharing bits of information. I knew he was doing this in return for a tip, something I could not give him because I had absolutely no money on me, only my camera, notebook, guidebook, pen and half a bottle of water. I explained to him that I did not need a guide, that I seriously had nothing to offer him and asked him kindly to just leave me alone. He did not budge, so I decided to hang out in one spot until he gave up. No such luck, he just kept on insisting that he did not want any money and that he’d like to be my guide just for fun.

In the end I relented and we strolled through the ruined corridors and clambered over massive banyan roots. Besides being very informative he was also highly entertaining, trying to scare me from time to time by calling out ‘Tiger! Tiger!’ I enjoyed his company, and as we neared the entrance again I started feeling terrible that I did not have anything to offer him.

Before saying goodbye I asked if I could take his picture and he gladly obliged. For some reason his expression in this picture is much more serious than the rest of the time. I reached into my bag and repeated what I said earlier, that I had no money and that I could not pay him, but I decided to give him my pen. Hopefully he could use it at school, it was a miserable tip, but I thought it would be something. I thought oh so wrong.

He’s kind eyes turned into rage as he chanted in a raised voice, ‘Dollar! Dollar!” I reminded him how if warned him I had no cash, but he refused to comprehend. In all likelihood he did not even understand the first time. He refused my pen and started screaming at me in Khmer, causing a bit of a scene. Under the shameful glares of elderly tourists I turned away from him and rejoined Jodi and our driver, him still cursing me in the background.

I remember that day so well; I can still hear his voice, guiding me through the ruins. Whenever I look at this picture I feel a terrible sense of guilt for not being able to give him more. Every time I’ve been back to Siem Reap and Angkor since then I always wonder, what happened to him?

I desire- Torilla lime & salt chocolate

2009-11-12T07:42:00.004+02:00

Tequila shots like cigarettes is something I sometimes miss, but I think if I ever smelled it again that night will come back in one awful rush and it would be the end of me.

Most of us have been there. Young, out on a Saturday night (or any other night) and uncontrollably doing mad tequila shots. It used to be my favorite pastime whenever I went to a bar, which was regularly during the entire duration of my twenties; lick the salt, shoot the tequila, bite down on the lime. Everything with one hand. Later on I quit the lime and salt and just shot it back in one clean go.

And then it all went wrong one night as it always does and I never touched it again. Except once in margarita form in Mexico.

But this morning I discovered that Blair from Wise Craft and her husband came up with brilliance. They have be working on their own chocolate bar range called Komforte Chockolates, and came up with three very innovative and awesome flavors; French Toast, Ramen Noodles and… Tortilla Lime & Salt!
Now this I can do. So it's like having the parts of the tequila shot without the stuff that's going to give you a headache and lots of other unpleasantries. Milk chocolate mixed with lime infused tortilla chips. Yes, please! I think I can almost taste it and it tastes damn good. Now get me to Seattle ASAP so I can pick up a few of these bars and some of the others too, very curious to try the ramen noodles. Sounds crunchy!

My family is not big on Christmas so there probably won’t be any stockings, but I will sew one special if someone decides to place one (or six) of these and the others in a stocking for moi.

The man who fell in love with the moon

2009-11-12T06:58:00.003+02:00

I read The Man Who Fell in Love with the Moon by Tom Spanbauer for the first time in 2000 I think. I was in love with Shed, the protagonist, after the first paragraph. I continued to fall in love with pretty much the rest of the story’s main cast as Shed introduced them one by one; Ida Richilieu, Alma Hatch, Dellwood Barker.

After reading it the first time I got my own copy and reread it at least once a year over the next couple of years. It was my favorite and most beloved book ever. The last time I read it was in 2004 or 2005. Since then it’s been gathering dust in a box at my parents’ home. When we moved back here I brought it down with us to Cape Town, but never opened it.

I was worried that reading it again I will find the characters dull, the stories empty and be disappointed. I actually considered giving it away the other day. But Alexander suggested I try reading it again before doing so.

I was trying to get into Die Afrikaner (The Afrikaner) at the time and found the writing style decidedly dull, so I figured I might as well take turns between the two books. After the first page of Man I had Die Afrikaner in the stack of books I had to return to Christel. I was falling in love again.

The Man Who Fell in Love with the Moon is still my most favorite book. It is hard and it is sad, the characters are prostitutes and gay men in a time and in a place where there was very little tolerance for them. But it is so beautifully written, it draws one in and you cannot put it down, through all the grimness and the wretchedness, and the moments of happiness.

Entertaining with kool frikkadelle

2009-11-11T18:03:00.002+02:00

One Friday night a while ago, after a week of entertaining and eating out we stayed in and entertained ourselves with a very South African dish (as far as my knowledge goes) called kool frikkadelle or cabbage meatballs. I think the Afrikaans sounds better regardless of how badly you might pronounce it.

I’ve actually never had it in my life and only found out about its existence while paging through some cookbooks (with pretty pictures of course) earlier this year. What I have had though is my grandmother’s meatballs (okay I hate that word so from now on it’s frikkadelle- work on the pronunciation: frik-ah-delle-eh) and I liked them so much that I asked her to send me the recipe. I was craving them so I decided to make them, but work them into cabbage frikkadelle. It’s a great way to serve something as mundane as frikkadelle.

Ingredients (feel free to increase the spices, think I’d do so next time):
about 10 whole cabbage leaves
10 whole cloves
1 can whole peeled or crushed tomato
salt and pepper to taste

1 kg minced meat
3 thick slices bread
500ml water
2 eggs
½ teaspoon ground nutmeg
½ teaspoon ground cloves
1 large tablespoon chutney
¾ cup grated carrot

The process:

Immerse the cabbage leaves in enough gently boiling water to cover and cook for 10 minutes or until gently softened. Remove from heat and allow to cool in water. Drain.

Soak the bread in the water. Mix the spices, chutney and carrot with the meat, then add the soaked slices of bread (torn into pieces) and eggs. Mix everything well and shape into frikkadelle (how’s the pronunciation going?).

Pour the tomato into a saucepan and bring to a simmer over medium high heat.

Meanwhile, lay down a cabbage leave and place a frikkadel on it, wrap up, and pin shut with a whole clove. When you’re done, place these parcels into the saucepan with the tomato sauce, cover and allow to cook for about 40 minutes, until the meat is cooked.

I served mine with brown rice and a simple salad, and we enjoyed it with a pleasant bottle of wine. Which we bought minutes before the liquor store closed (can’t wait to move back to Taiwan where you can buy booze at ALL HOURS EVERY DAY!) after I threw a little hissy fit. Sorry Alexander!

* Thanks Alexander for the pictures- xx.

Someone took my summer again

2009-11-10T08:28:00.002+02:00

Barely a week ago we were enjoying glorious summer weather here in Cape Town, perfect for sunny breakfasts on cafe patios...

... enjoying clear blue skies...

... and walks in the park.

But all that's been replaced by lots of rain and dark clouds. Resulting in this being my view form the kitchen window while preparing breakfast this morning.

Enough already I say, bring me back my summer!

Caramel shortbread two ways

2009-11-09T07:08:00.003+02:00

When visiting a bookstore and browsing through the cookbooks section it’s always the ones with the best images that captures my attention. If I pick up a book, doesn’t matter how brilliant, and it does not contain bright visual stimulation I invariably grow bored within seconds and put it back on the shelf. Yes I know, it makes me sound a bit not-so-smart. Give me a book full of fantastic food pornography however and I am hooked. I would totally buy a book just by looking at the images of food, never once reading through a couple of recipes. That’s why I leave buying cookbooks to Alexander or to friends because I know I am not to be trusted with judging a book.

Blissful Brownies is one of those books I would just pick up without glancing at even one recipe’s ingredients list. The pages are filled with forty-something brownie and other recipes accompanied by I-want-it-and-I-want-it-now full color images of the finished products. I got the book from a friend for my birthday a couple years ago and just love paging through it sometimes for the pictures. When I felt like baking something sweet recently I decided to select one from this book.

Not an easy task, was I going to go with double chocolate brownies, mocha brownies, pecan brownie muffins, mint julep brownie cakes, blonde brownie hearts, chocolate peanut butter bars, or chocolate marshmallow fingers? In the end it was the picture of caramel chocolate shortbread that won me over. One look and my arteries congealed, greedy heart surgeons rejoiced, cholesterol levels skyrocketed and I said yes, please!

Ingredients:

Base-
115g unsalted butter
1 and ¼ cups flour
¼ cup superfine golden sugar

Toppings-
200g butter
½ cup superfine golden sugar
3 tablespoons corn syrup (I used honey instead which added a great flavor)
400ml sweet condensed milk
7 squares bittersweet chocolate

The process:

Preheat the oven to 180C and prepare a cake tin by greasing and lining the bottom with baking paper. I used a bread tin, my square one was too large I discovered. Sift the flour and sugar together and cut in the butter until the mixture starts resembling coarse crumbs. If you have a food processor you can do it all in there. Press mixture into the tin, smooth the top and bake for 20/25 minutes or until golden.

While this is happening you can start on the filling. Place butter, sugar, syrup and sweet milk in a pan and heat slowly until sugar dissolves. Bring to a boil and simmer for 6-8 minutes, while stirring constantly, until the mixture becomes very thick. Take care not to let it burn. When the shortbread comes out of the oven, pour this rich mixture over and chill in the refrigerator until firm.

Melt the chocolate in a heatproof bowl over simmering water. Let it cool slightly and pour over the caramel. Chill again until set. Remove from the cake tin, cut and you’re ready to share. I say share because if you ate it on your own the health consequences may be dire. But worth it!

We took these for dessert to friends where a guest suggested mixing in some peppermint crisp candy bars. As I did not use all the caramel the first time round I decided to give this a go. I followed all the steps, adding a bit of crushed mint crisp to the dark chocolate when melting and covering the caramel with this. Deliciousness! It reminded a bit of peppermint crisp fridge tart, since I decided to make the second round in mini tart pans it was a bit of a tart. Again we shared, sometimes I try to think of my own health.

Another week on the web

2009-11-06T09:13:00.004+02:00

1) Boarding Passes at Pret a Voyager- Conn Brattain and John Giordani

2) Pretty embroidery hoops at Dreamesh

3) Awesome news about Taiwan from Wall Street Journal via EatingAsia

4) And even more reasons to return to Asia from Primitive Culture

5) Beautiful still lives at Style Guide Cape Town

6) Super DIY projects at Dos Family

7) Oatmeal choc chip cookies at Cooking Books!

8) Great idea with yogurt at A (Life)time of Cooking

9) A neat Kuala Lumpur house on Bloesem

10) A frittata with green ingredients at Cook Sister

Luang Phabang, Laos- July 2001

2009-11-05T07:17:00.002+02:00

I first visited Laos in 2001. I had very little knowledge about the country aside from their recent history, but it sounded like the perfect antidote to a year and half of manic teaching to pay of my student loans. Luang Phabang with its heritage temples sounded particularly appealing. We headed there from the town of Vang Vieng on a nightmarish bus ride that lasted forever, and was made worse by the fact that I had to sit on the engine in front of the bus as it was packed. If it was not for the incredible scenery I don't think I would have made it.

I fell in love with Luang Phabang and wished we could have stayed longer. Such a beautiful and very laid back town. I enjoyed strolling around and trying out my new camera (forget the particulars) I got just before the trip.

I don't know if you can really see it, but the man in the picture above was smiling broadly, as if he had just realized how silly he looked with the wife holding the umbrella over him. This was taken near the old market.

The novice monks were getting there heads shaved ahead of the full moon festival. The kid with the red T-shirt in the background made this picture for me.

We were at Kuang Si waterfalls and these kids were acting out some games for a filming crew. I think it may have been for local television. The traditional clothes were all part of the show. I had to crop out a lot of empty space in this picture, I had (and possibly still don't have) no technique back then, but I liked the expressions I captured here.

Bread!

2009-11-04T16:03:00.001+02:00

A couple of weeks ago I decided to bake bread. Not banana bread, but a proper bread that can be enjoyed for breakfast or lunch. I wanted to make something that can be enjoyed with preserves or scrambled eggs, something simple yet satisfying. I leafed through my Martha Stewart’s Baking Handbook and decided on the Pullman bread. It’s your standard loaf of bread that most of us (I think) grew up with and the perfect all-rounder. Nothing too exciting, but it was what I craved.

I get nervous whenever I have to bake with yeast because there is always the risk that the rising might not happen, which is exactly what happened with my first attempt. The result was a solid, dense loaf that really did not make me too happy. My second try was a much bigger success and we enjoyed the fruit of my efforts throughout the following week.

I do not have a Pullman loaf pan (they have a lid that closes, resulting in a flat-top loaf) but this was not a problem as you can bake it sans lid and get a rounded top this way. It takes a while to prepare the dough, about three hours and then you still have to bake it, but enjoying your own homemade bread is certainly worth it. Another change I made was using brown bread flour instead of regular bread flour as we prefer brown bread.

To make this bread you’ll need:
675g brown bread flour
3.5 teaspoons instant yeast
1.5 teaspoons coarse salt
1.5 tablespoon sugar
1/3 cup nonfat dry milk
2 tablespoons unsalted butter (room temperature)
1 and ¾ cups warm water
Vegetable oil for the mixing bowl and pan

The process:

Combine all the ingredients except the oil and water in the bowl of an electric mixer with the dough hook attached. Add the warm water and beat on lowest speed for about 5 minutes until the dough is smooth, elastic and uniform in color. Turn out onto a lightly floured surface and kneed by hand until it forms a smooth bowl. Put the dough in a lightly oiled mixing bowl, cover with plastic wrap and let rise in a warm place or until doubled in bulk, about an hour.

Punch down, pull in the sides and turn it over smooth side up, cover again and let it rise until double in bulk.

Brush a loaf pan with more oil to coat. Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface and roll out to a 12-by-8-inch rectangle. One of the long sides should face you. Starting at the top, roll the dough towards you into a tight log. Pat in ends to make it even and gently roll it back and forth to seal the seam. Place it seam side down into the pan, cover, let it rise in a warm place until it almost touches the top, while preheating the oven to 220C.

When it’s done rising, remove the plastic wrap and bake, rotating halfway until the loaf is light golden brown, about 45 minutes. Reduce the oven temperature to 180C and bake for another half hour. Transfer to a wire rack to cool for 10 minutes. Remove from the pan and let it cool completely, before slicing.

I would love to make this bread more often, but as I said, it takes a little time, and there are so many others I want to try! Hopefully I can share some more soon.

I desire- The Sartorialist

2009-11-04T15:07:00.003+02:00

Who is not in love with The Sartorialist blog? I thought so. We all love the way he captures what beautiful people are wearing all over the world. And seeing new ways of being beautiful, realizing how little it has to do with physical appearance sometimes and how often it is the result of the way a person carries him or herself.

And now we can have an edited version of his blog with the book The Sartorialist on our coffee tables, by the bedside, in the office, on the dresser or wherever we want. Enjoying the significance of personal style as captured by such a fantastic photographer.

Feel free to order me a copy at amazon.com.

* Alexander happened upon a great Cape Town based blog the other day that also captures some local style beautifully. Go check it out at Style Guide Cape Town.

Entertaining with ravioli

2009-11-03T07:13:00.003+02:00

Last week I decided to be exceptionally cruel to my arms and hands and create home-made ravioli, sans the help of a pasta machine. My hands were aching for three days after that episode. But it was a good exercise and I might just attempt it again some day. The ravioli was for a dinner we had with some friends here at ours that evening.

The guests arrived at around eight, dinner was served closer to ten. When I started cooking the ravioli I discovered that my sheets were not nearly thin enough, so after having cooked the ravioli once for a few seconds in rapidly boiling water, I had to cook it again and for longer. I felt like a terrible host.

At least there were several bottles of wine and excellent company, so while I was spazzing away in the kitchen our guests were having a fine, albeit starving, evening. And of course that meant that when I finally did serve dinner everybody was just to hungry to notice that my ravioli was potentially just a bit of a big mess. Phew!

Having guests over is always great fun and I think we don't do it nearly enough. Looking forward to the next evening of entertaining, hopefully without any mishaps.

* Thanks to Alexander for the pictures
** The light in our place is awful, hence the strange color in the images.

Take me back to your house- Alexandra's house with deer and owls

2009-11-02T16:22:00.003+02:00

Ever been to Dos Family? It is a fantastic design blog with a regular feature where they visit the homes of different people and photograph it for their blog. Don't you just love the idea? It's like going on a voyeuristic trip to hip and stylish homes without the help of a pair of binoculars or some locksmith tricks.
I was perusing over some older entries the other day when I happened on the house of Alexandra, sister of one of the contributors. What caught my eye, more than the pale color palette and quirky antiques, were the glimpses of owls and deer in her house. Take me back to your house!

While in Bangkok I bought several T-shirts with deer motives on them, it became a theme in my wardrobe and I still love them. My mother is an owl-freak. I grew up in a home filled with owls in all shapes and forms, from fridge magnets and portraits to ceramic owls. I would often go through the house and count every owl I could find, close to a hundred! So of course Alexandra's house hit a chord with me. Go check here for more images of her house.

Hand drawn maps

2009-11-02T07:09:00.003+02:00

Ever heard about the Hand Drawn Map Association? They collect and archive hand drawn maps from all over the world and of just about any place and anything, and display it on their website. Some of the maps are just quickly sketched directions on napkins, some are more detailed and precise while others are elaborate fantasy maps.

Many of the maps have a story behind them, included by whoever submitted it, the one above left was drawn by a kid who wanted to remind his/her grandparents of a birthday party and was worried they might forget or get lost.

The map top right was a fantasy map drawn by a kid who kept it and only submitted it now as an adult. How detailed and beautifully drawn! Anyone can submit maps they have found or drawn to the association and if there is a story to tell include it. They are currently also working on publishing a book of maps. I can't wait to see it.
Inspired by these I decided to create my own hand drawn map of Taiwan. It follows the routes I traveled on over the years, some along the coast, some over mountains and some over the sea, like to Lio-chu island. As you can see it is not exactly a map of Taiwan, but only of the routes, that basically shape the island. I was going to add modes of transport that I used by all the routes, but I think I'll have to practice drawing little map symbols first, I was not blessed with great drawing talents!

i HEART taiwan

2009-10-30T18:50:00.002+02:00

I am returning to the country that has my heart. Probably. You have no idea how thrilled I am. No. I. Dea. I am giddy with joy. I'm going to start screaming for pure excitement in a second.