Summer solstice + full moon eclipse = baking time

It's supposedly the longest day of the year (definitely not the hottest), add a full moon and a full lunar eclipse at the same time ... ingredients are coming out of the pantry and into the mixing bowl and then into the oven all by themselves :)

Well, with a little help from me.

The raspberry fruit friand recipe is one of my old favourites. I usually bake mini ones, but since I ran out of mini cake cases, I made some bigger cupcake size ones. I wanted to bake them because tomorrow we are going to visit some lurvely friends for a pre-Chrissie arvo tea.

Even though the recipe calls for raspberries, I used mixed frozen berries. It's all good.

Raspberry fruit friands

Makes about 24 mini cakes

Ingredients:

-160g unsalted butter

-170g icing sugar

-65g plain flour (white or wholemeal) - I used white

-110g ground almonds (almond powder/meal)

-5 egg whites

-raspberries or other berries

Directions:

1) Preheat oven to 200 degrees celcius (180 degrees fan-forced).

2) Melt butter in saucepan and simmer for a little bit, then let it cool down for 5 minutes).

3) Sift icing sugar and flour into mixing bowl. Then stir in ground almonds.

4) Stir in unbeaten egg whites and then beat until it is a soft batter

5) Pour the melted butter through a fine sieve into the batter and mix/beat well.

6) Grease muffin tins or prepare paper cake cases and 3/4 fill with mixture.

7) Push a couple of berries into the centre of each muffin

8) Put into oven and bake for 5 minutes, then lower the temperature to 180 degrees celcius (160 degrees fan-forced) and cook for a further 20-25 minutes, covering the cakes if they get too brown.

9) Turn off the oven and leave the friands inside for 5 minutes.*

10) Cool slightly in the tin and then turn onto rack to cool completely.

* I took the cakes out quickly to check with a toothpick they were completely cooked, then quickly put them back into the oven for 5 mins, now turned off.

 
 

OH MY.  Kanye West's Runaway. It is incredible. Sublime. Breathtaking. Watch it. Full screen.

Give yourself half an hour and you won't regret it :)

My favourite part is definitely the ballet dancers ... (sigh * melt *).
Just beautiful.

So... should you accept your parent's facebook friend requests?

Not sure? This chart may help :)

Found this over here. Luckily, mum's still not too interested in Facebook yet. She is happy with email, youtube and the general internets... no social media yet  :)

 Come and say hi at Ms Doody's

 I have been to a couple of Ms Doody's Art Shows in previous years and I am really excited to join a bunch of talented artists and designers in Ms Doody's this year!


Carol, one of the organisers for Ms Doody's, kindly asked if I would like to participate, and I jumped at the chance. The exhibition showcases a bunch of very creative artists and designers' work which appeal to children and those who are young at heart. The work is usually colourful, full of characters, lively, whimsical and fun. I love being part of a group exhibition, there is MUCH less pressure than holding a solo exhibition, and also you get to be part of a bigger creative energy.

I created 5 new pieces for the exhibition, and am nervous but excited to show my work in this upcoming exhibition. It's always interesting for me to see the paintings outside the studio. It takes on a new life, sometimes I see a different side of the paintings, when I view it exhibited somewhere else.

The opening is on Friday 10th December and it's held at the Carclew Youth Arts Centre in North Adelaide. (Did you know it's supposed to be haunted?) I do think it looks a bit spooky at night!

It's also open on Saturday 11 and Sunday 12 December, 10am - 6pm. (Yes, ONE weekend only!)

Check out the Ms Doody's blog for more info about the artists :) 

Hope to see you there!


PS Did I mention that both kids and adults are going to build a giant cubby castle together at the exhibition?! ;) Oh yeh!

Oh Toulouse-Lautrec, you are as mad as you are talented! 

These set of photos were taken 1898, by Maurice Joyant, a Parisian art gallery owner. He photographed his childhood friend defecating on the beach at Le Crotoy, Picardie.Would be no big deal, except the friend was the awesome artist, Henri de Toulouse Lautrec!

This is one of the earliest documented evidence of famous artists/celebrities acting 'this way'. :)

Image and more info from here.

A baby after my own heart.

Too, too cute!

Ahh, the powers of Bob Marley. :)

Check it out - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gd5yN43TqCk&feature=player_embedded

Luo Mai Chi 

I have been wanting to make these little babies for so long, first it took me forever to find a recipe (even with the internets and all), then I finally got one from my aunty - however the filling recipe wasn't what I wanted to eat, so I looked on the internets some more .. and somehow I found a few more recipes posted now than last time. Or maybe I have learnt the art of searching properly? Its hard searching for a dessert I only know the Cantonese name for. I have to spell it phonetically, and of course, everyone spells it slightly different. There are chinese, vietnamese, malaysian and japanese versions with all different fillings inside. (They are called 'Mochi' in Japanese)

Anyhow, I used a recipe from here and below is a slightly adapted version. Please see the * notes.

Oh the yummy goodness of these little glutinous rice balls!

Peanut and sugar mixture inside. Adds an awesome texture to the soft coconutty balls.

Ingredients (makes approx 12 balls)

Dough
200 grams Glutinous Rice Flour
2 tbsp Corn Starch
300 ml Water
2 tbsp Peanut oil

Filling
100 grams  Peanuts (roasted, not salted)
35 grams Granulated Sugar *

Dust
50 grams  Dessicated Coconut
50 grams Glutinours Rice Flour

Directions

1) Mix the glutinous rice flour, corn starch and the water until you have a smooth batter.

2) Add the peanut oil and mix until the mixture is blended and smooth.

3) Steam the batter over high heat for 15 minutes. **

4) Meanwhile, prepare the filling by grinding the peanuts fine and mix it with granulated sugar.

5) After the steaming the batter should be turned into a sticky dough. Use a pair of chopsticks to stir the dough a bit. You will feel that the dough is very sticky, solid and more translucent.

6) Use a tablespoon to scoop a big spoon full of dough into the dusting glutinous rice flour.
(As the dough is very sticky, you will need some glutinous rice flour to dust the dough off. This way the dough will not stick to your fingers, while you try to form it.)

7) Roll the ball of dough in flour, so it is coated.

8) Form the dough into a circle as big as your palm.

9) Fill with approx 1 tablespoon of peanut mix. Wrap up so that all the edges meet and squeeze dough together so there are no openings and makes a round ball.

Dip the ball in water, then roll the ball in dessicated cocount.

Et voila!

* I felt 35 grams of sugar wasn’t quite enough sweetness .(I am not sure if my organic, unprocessed sugar was the reason, but next time I will add a touch more sugar.) In saying this, you can definitely taste sweetness, and is enough in most cases, but personally I prefer it a tiny bit sweeter.

** I steamed for 15 mintues but my mixture was quite runny still and had did not go a milky translucency.
I steamed it for a further 15 mintues, and it only got a bit better. I researched another 2 recipes, one said to steam for 20 minutes, the other for 30 minutes. And also, one of them mentioned covering it. So I covered the bowl with a lid, and 45 minutes later, it seemed to get a bit more translucent and solid.

I would suggest the following:

a) use a flat dish that will hold the dough mixture, instead of a bowl.
This will let it steam evenly and faster.
 
b) Either cover dish with a cloth as suggested by Yummy in My Tummy where this recipe was adapted from. OR cover with lid. I would even go so far as to say try completely covered steaming. So that it is completely enclosed.
 
c) I would steam it for 20-30 minutes.

I've been to Sydney, Wellington, Auckland and back, so I have been pretty slack with my posts. (more on those locations later!)

A friend asked about a facebook post I made of this awesome artistic duo.

Finding the artists again took a bit of work (going through a year and half worth of facebook posts!) :/

When I finally did find them, I was once again, in awe of their work and had to submit it to The Jealous Curator (one of my fave art blogs). It was featured today Yay!

Love love love their work! So much imagination, colour, whimsy, and as the jealous curator says, brings out the 10 year old girl in me too! Rainbows all the way!

Yesterday I decided to make a card to congratulate Phil's sister and her partner one their new little man.
At first I was just going to draw something, then I thought I would do something with felt, then I just got totally carried away and sewed everything on! I didn't use a drop of glue. It took me a while as I wasn't used to sewing felt to handmade paper, but I thorougly enjoyed it. So much so, I think I want to make these into little pieces of framed felt art.

Talking about craft, the Bowerbird Bazaar is back in town. Humna and I visited the old Queens theatre, transformed into a place full of all things craft and design. Even though I promised myself I would only 'look', I knew I would go weak at the knees after seeing all the cool and wonderful things on offer. I was not able to resist this, and bought three packs. Can't wait to stick them on my walls and change the photos easily and whenever I like.

I also am the proud owner of a new little handbag. Yes, yet another one to add to my collection. I am such a bag lady! Anyway Bowerbird Bazaar is on all weekend, and if you're in Radelaide, I suggest you go and treat yourself to something weird, wonderful and awesome. Oh and there are also divine little cakes, pastries and savoury foods there. Go!

This made me laugh out loud!

So cute and clever, great way to make someone eat eggs, bread and vegies for every meal.
I need to attempt to make my food more humourous! :) Not that I need an excuse for eating :)

How apt!

Found this from the Kerri Smith website. On her website are of course her awesome illustrations!

At the moment no. 4 and 6 apply to me ...  :O

Thanks Kerri, for reminding me :P

What type are you?

If you are a typographic nut like me, you will appreciate this from the talented guys at Pentagram.

I gotta admit, they got my type right, I do love Archer hairline.. now I just have to get the font. It's just beautiful :)

Go on, take the quick quiz and see what type you are :)

http://pentagram.com/what-type-are-you/

It's hard to beat fresh flowers and meringues!

I've been feeling pretty under the weather lately and decided to treat myself to some fresh flowers when I was at the market. It really is such a luxury buying cut flowers, even slightly wasteful, but it makes me so happy to see their lovely yellow blossoms around the house. So much so that I even, carry the vase from my studio to my bedroom so I can wake up to see these gorgeous runuculi. 

Another one of my absoloute favourite things in this world are meringues. Oh the texture, the simplicity of a not too sweet meringue. So delicate yet so much character! A little while back I found a blog that used recipes from the 30s-70s especially. Sometimes they may tweak the recipe but the meringue recipe doesn't really need much changing. It's perfect as is. Follow the link to find the recipe!
So tonight's dessert is basically an Eton Mess without the cream :) Healthier, no?

I'm hanging around the oven like a fly. The long waiting period just makes me want them more!

I made sooo many of these! But they will go quickly, I assure you!

These little babies are making me feel better already!!

I'm off to grab yet another one! :)

The finished product!

I've finally completed the fourth tutorial on Home Ec. – Round bunting flags!

A friend is about to bring a dear little baby girl into the world, and have already named her 'Aurora' (how convenient for me!) and what a gorgeous name! So, this is going to be her birthday pressie :)

This tutorial taught you how to use foil to create a fabric circle, and also helps you practise sewing rounded corners / circles. Very Hard! If you don't look too close, it looks lovely :) If you do look close, you may see a bit of wonky stitching!

close up - argh!

Unfortunately the beige wall doesn't do the bunting much good, but it was the only bit of big, clear wall space in the house I could find in a hurry!

I can't wait to give it to Aurora and her mum and dad!

The latest post on White Hot Truth really struck a cord with me. Its raw, wild but yet tender. Scarred yet radiant. She is you, she is me. It's just beautiful, direct and really speaks to me. I have been following her posts since I found her via Gala Darling, another amazing gal in the blogosphere. Their blogs inspire me with thoughts, pictures and words, life would be different without these and the many other blogs I follow!

On other news, I found the sweetest app! I've got to admit, since I received my secondhand iphone, I haven't downloaded a single app, but after I saw this, I might just pop the cherry! It's pretty, whimsical and beats normal sms and emails! What a great way to say words to a special someone!

image from https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhN6Qodl64jYRn5nmvTfw1XZlpllPRDa0ELTivtXw3OuMsWR4TgOtDWslvIddvT_bJTbrydq145rf3z3NT-pp5YFEZO-8JzjFkzSKA9eZRxlz1ZQU5Qd8CC-SXWkytThMpgdmQfFA/s320/HearMeRoar_bitters.jpg

Yesterday, it was French themed stART day at the Art Gallery SA. It's my second time volunteering there and I had a great time! The stART day is a program that aims to cultivate an interest and love for art at a young age. 5-10 year olds are invited to come with their parents/guardians and enjoy all the activities that put on for them for free.

It was less hectic than last stART day and I spent my time on the meet and greet desk instead of the art and craft room (which got very chaotic last time!). I really enjoy seeing the parents/guardians/grandparents come in with their little kids. Not being a parent myself, it is actually very interesting to see all the different ways of parenting. Those who leave their kids to come up and ask questions etc while they stand back in the background; those mums who do ALL the talking and the dad that just stands in the background; those who get make a big point of the fact that the group of kids standing there are not ALL theirs; those who are very fussy about their child's artwork and end up doing it themselves to make it 'better'. The parent that thinks their child is going to be a famous artist and proceeds to tell everyone; and the list goes on. It's fascinating to see all the varying ways a parent/guardian shows their love for the child. Then there is the super friendly kid, the very painfully shy kid, the ones that make sure they get a goodie bag for their sister or brother who isn't here as well, the tiny kids that are not really the stART programs age group but really want to get involved... I love seeing people and families from all different walks of life.

There was a piano accordian player, a mime artist and a juggler (who did a workshop later). I noticed a father dancing with his little girl in front of the accordian player and they were having so much fun, then the younger son joined in as well. It's gorgeous to see such simple but wonderful moments.

Those who came to the gallery with their kids but didn't know this kids program was on, were pleasantly surprised. I especially liked telling people that everything was free, including the goodie bag, people are very delighted and I love being the bearer of that news :) Free stuff in this day and age?!! yay!

Finally, I craved croissants the whole time I was working there. All this talk of all things french made me very hungry. I wanted to visit france again, to eat all their yummy foods, speak very broken french and picnic by the side of an old ruined castle!

Carcasonne citadel at night

The café in Arles made famous in Van Gogh's painting. Originally the wall wasn't yellow but the owners have since painted the hotel's wall to match the famous painting :)

This ad campaign from ralph lauren to sell kids clothes is rather cute.

I love the way that the little kiddies are surrounded by a hand drawn environment. It brings me back to when I was little and for some reason, always wanted to live in a 2D world, kind of like this.



The way you can look inside the specific kid's wardrobe is also wonderful. They all have three looks, and they are soo cute! I especially think Willow and Zoe are adorable! :)

This is my nightmare.

Mashed sweet potatoes and scrambled eggs meal = just been to dentist and has sore gums

Because of my sinful behavour in my early 20s and genetic DNA and other various factors, my gums aren't my best friends the last few years. I have been seeing a periodontist to fix me. I dread my visits to her (even tho she is the nicest dentist/periodontist I have ever met)and today I had to have one of those 'deep cleans' which means lots of little local anasthetic around my gums.

Its been 5 hours since the local has been put in and I am just starting to feel normal again (ie not like I have a big fat lip and feel like I look like a duck.)  Phil hasn't got the best set of gums either and so we both visit the same periodontist, tho Phil is usually the hero and Im the chicken.  Makes me think, if we have kids, the poor child will be dragged religiously to the dentist, no ifs or buts about it. I guess my teeth were completely fine (and they still are - no fillings at all at 29.5 years old) but I slacked off on worrying about teeth and gums when I was in my partying days. Oh I sure am paying now.

So, I guess the lesson is, go see your dentist regularly, if you don't want chaos to reign in your mouth later on.

(There are those who are very lucky and completely abuse their teeth and gums but still don't suffer any repercussions. They are truly blessed. Jealous.)

image from http://www.legaljuice.com/dentist_patient_nightmare-thumb.jpg

While reading Lainiesips.com (a lovely blog about tea), I came across an ingenious teapot that I first saw in Dali, Yunnan Province in China. We were on our honeymoon around Yunnan, where we were taken to a famous artist's house. It was a spectacularly designed house with modern and old china mixed together to create a very zen feel. It was there, relaxing in their courtyard garden that I first saw this teapot. It takes tea making to the next (easier) level. Yay, no more accidentaly spilling the tea leaves back in my cup. No more floaties. I only hope the mesh is fine enough to keep all my little fine rooibos leaves in the strainer!

I've ordered it and will be back to report if it IS as good as I remembered it. Very exciting! (well for tea aficionados anyway)

View of the artist's house in Dali, Yunnan province, China

View from the suspended 'balcony'

Me hanging out on the balcony

On top of one part of the house is a mirrored wall, ready for tai chi, yoga, kung fu practice

View across Erhai Lake from the artist's house

Sewing adventures ...

While I was blog surfing a month or so ago, I came across Freckled Nest's 'Home Ec' Class.

It was just the thing I was looking for. Tutorials stay up online for a whole year! And if you run into trouble you can always ask the teachers via chat or comments section. There is even a 'student's lounge' on flickr where we can show each other what we made and talk about all things sewing :)
I have tried to learn sewing a couple of times. Each time, I enrolled into some 1 week class at Spotlight or Lincraft, only to have them tell me to pick a simple pattern and some material and sit at a machine and off we go. I found it really hard without knowing much about the sewing machine I was using, not much useful help, and trying to read a pattern straight away.

This is what's different with these tutorials from Freckled Nest. They start off with the most basic of projects and in each project you learn a different skill. It makes much more sense to learn that way. Plus you don't even learn how to read a pattern till towards the end of the course. I have only finished one project so far. It went okay I think, I did get better as I went along, but the ric rac edging was a bit of a challenge. Trying to sew straight, was much harder than I thought!

Anyway, here is a pic of my first project.

spotty and stripey napkins :)

The next project is going to have some odd looking fabric. (I am just using old scraps etc) But I have no idea how it's going to go so don't want to buy any fabulous fabrics just yet :)

Cake in the shape of New Zealand

I am still in the search for the right cake to make for Phil's bday party. (Not even any invites have gone out, but I have set myself to the task.) This is the second cake in 3 days. OMG.

On Sunday I attempted a simple butter cake recipe from the Food Ideas Magazine which I love. However I found their cake to be too dry. My cousin, Lorraine suggested I try a chiffon cake. So off I went on the internets to try and find a good chiffon cake recipe. I came across this one from asweetpeachef.com

It looked divine, but of course, I deviated slightly from the recipe. First of all, I didn't use 2 nine inch spring form tins. And 2, I didn't use canola oil, I used olive oil (which seemed completely fine afterwards).

Phil suggested I make a cake the shape of the land of the long white clouds. Ah, what a genius idea, (I did think of it myself a week or so previously, but put the thought out of my head as I couldn't find any cake tins of the shape of NZ, nor could I find any pics of a NZ shaped cake on the web. With Phil's encouragement, I went full steam ahead.

NZ shaped cake meant, I went for a square tin and a loaf tin. I didn't have bigger tins than these, so it would have to do. The cake wasn't huge, but would probably suffice if I made a batch in a normal shape.
I also had one of those days, where I was a complete klutz. I poured the egg white instead of the olive oil into the dry ingredients and had to start over again. I knocked over a few things. But a cake did end up taking shape, and I manage to ice it with the 7 minute frosting. It did take well over 4 hours though, with the toasting of the coconut, f***up with the ingredients, cooling of the cake, cutting of the cake into NZ shaped and icing it. All happened just in time for me to go to art class at night! So here's some pics of my chiffon cake adventures...(and it does taste great, but Im not 100% sure Im going to make this cake or this shape for the day.. its a lot of work.)

coconut shreds just about to be toasted

cakes just out of the oven, this is when I really should turn them upside down straight away!

Finished NZ shaped cake

A pic of the overall country :) (just ignore the side parts - offcuts of the cake and sorry stewart island just couldn't stand up properly so it was eaten.)

Here are some pics from my exhibition opening at Eggless. My bridesman, Ben took the photos :) Thanks ben!

love the lanterns

Dan (with one of the twins), Dr Mike and Phil :)

Inside the funky dessert cafe, Eggless

Jamie, myself and Loana (my bridesman's brother and mum) :) So sweet for coming to support me!

Tom, Ryan and Mark

speeches...!

Tony and Humna (hasn't she got a gorgeous smile on!?)

The wall with my paintings on it. The otherside was taken up entirely by a cute mural :)

Miriam, Becky and Abi (so colourful!)

turkish delight icecream - this is divine, unfortunately this made it on the menu after I had done all the paintings, otherwise I would have loved to interpret this and paint it!

green tea tiramisu (front) pear and honeycomb cheesecake (back)

So Im thinking of making a cake for Phil's birthday... then I came across this:

The cakes that Maggie from Magpie's Cake creates are just divine, sophisticated and so understated. I wish I had even 1/4 of this level of skill in making cakes. Perhaps phil will just have to settle for some cupcakes and some coloured icing :) Need to start practising asap!

This just brightens up my day (uh actually night). What a wonderfully bright and colourful idea to bring attention to this area in Rio de Janeiro! Going home would be such a delight!
image from http://www.favelapainting.com/santa-marta

 My weekend has been a bit colourful too! My friend Humna Mustafa collaborated with a couple of other artists, Nick Graalman and Erin Lykos - to create a magical exhibition opening called "Elements".

L-R Humna Mustafa, Erin Lykos and Nick Graalman

It was amazing, and there was a lot of thought put into it. The most beautiful part I think, was when after the speech, the three artists lighted up little oil lamps and then everyone lighted their own little oil lamps, one by one. Spreading the light. Suddenly the whole backyard was brighter, lit up by many little oil lamps. It was very special!

Crowd getting settled in, ready for the speeches...

everyone lights each others'oil lamps

 

 

 

... and voila, the whole garden is lighted up!

shop space.. where you can purchase Erin and Humna's awesome work and Nick's timelapse DVD!

Holly, myself and Sarah, yep we're the little elves in this shop. :)

images by anT photography (the talented Tanty!)