tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3510698639731329862024-03-16T03:53:42.958-07:00Twist in the TailJhoomur aka JBhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11863377244719408313noreply@blogger.comBlogger276125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-351069863973132986.post-81980585570299015322015-12-07T21:47:00.001-08:002015-12-07T21:47:48.252-08:00F*** Your Beauty Standards? <div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgq-q-hajxpIyLQFtdh5bxwmEsek9r_22i5uP6xFkTVN1SdKi4eBr6_tt7enGWW11NePg1WuKz7EDGKCHIf_OhevSuMiW6xBUfm6KBEBAxBYZUveZU5PN99oqxzcbcORnZZyP3v12A72eo/s1600/Screen+Shot+2015-12-08+at+12.43.07+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="318" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgq-q-hajxpIyLQFtdh5bxwmEsek9r_22i5uP6xFkTVN1SdKi4eBr6_tt7enGWW11NePg1WuKz7EDGKCHIf_OhevSuMiW6xBUfm6KBEBAxBYZUveZU5PN99oqxzcbcORnZZyP3v12A72eo/s320/Screen+Shot+2015-12-08+at+12.43.07+PM.png" width="320" /></a>Look at her. LOOK at her.<br />
Some people say clothing/fashion brands are exploiting "fat" women (and men) to sell their stuff. Yet others blame her (and others like her) for promoting obesity and unhealthy living. Tess Holliday has started a movement called Eff Your Beauty Standards. It's about loving yourself the way you are - big, skinny, voluptuous, bony. It's about being the best you can be without implying that the best needs to be within certain inches.<br />
She has never asked anyone to get obese.<br />
<br />
I don't want to be her size. But I want to be like her. So much. And no it doesn't mean I want anyone to see my negligee-clad selfie either. I don't have gorgeous underwear like hers.<br />
<br />
The last bra I bought was a "minimising" bra that is supposed to make my breasts look smaller. Slimmer. Not there. It doesn't work. The bra sort of pushes them down and to the sides. It makes my chest look wider, like a hammerhead shark, but with a hammer chest.<br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiypyC0SxZRsBlrlIIymx3D7tSCGI7zIAkWM2zz167utxY1COyuEPogJhXNjvzWocJTYqIKrz58be1WAWTVqGX5yAIBifxO4EtNrpgOWaR0GJd2suoMaiTGvJr-O_sfya5UcO3pUerhbr0/s1600/Screen+Shot+2015-12-08+at+12.44.37+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="313" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiypyC0SxZRsBlrlIIymx3D7tSCGI7zIAkWM2zz167utxY1COyuEPogJhXNjvzWocJTYqIKrz58be1WAWTVqGX5yAIBifxO4EtNrpgOWaR0GJd2suoMaiTGvJr-O_sfya5UcO3pUerhbr0/s320/Screen+Shot+2015-12-08+at+12.44.37+PM.png" width="320" /></a>I want to have Tess's confidence. I want my IDontGiveAFuckness to come back. Somewhere along the way it's been hammer-chested too.<br />
I was thinking about all my mummy friends back in Melbourne. I can count the non-skinny persons on the fingers of... one hand.<br />
<br />
I want to be like Tess. And wear sleeveless outfits and shorts and nice dresses without thinking about who I'm offending with my arms and my thighs and my unminimised breasts. I don't even know why I'm self-conscious about my breasts. Women pay shitloads of money to have surgically enhance them to my size. :/<br />
<br />
Oh well. I think I need to go shopping.<br />
<br />
<br />
Images: Courtesy <a href="https://www.facebook.com/TessHollidayOfficial" target="_blank">Tess Holliday</a></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06940726266857576700noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-351069863973132986.post-34540808227415747482015-11-02T18:04:00.001-08:002015-11-02T18:04:42.802-08:00You'd be pretty if<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div style="color: #141823; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px;">
"You'd be hot if you lost that slight tummy." -- 24yo, 50 something kilos</div>
<div style="color: #141823; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; margin-top: 6px;">
"Oi moti, let's go for movie na?" 18 yo, 50something kilos (moti = fatso)</div>
<div style="color: #141823; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; margin-top: 6px;">
"Your boobs are your best feature." 25 yo, 50something kilos</div>
<div class="text_exposed_show" style="color: #141823; display: inline; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">
<div style="margin-bottom: 6px;">
"You can balance a tray on your butt." 23yo, 50 something kilo</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 6px; margin-top: 6px;">
"Wow. You've really made a hot body now." 26yo, 38 kilo</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 6px; margin-top: 6px;">
"You're looking anorexic." 27yo, 40kilo</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 6px; margin-top: 6px;">
"This is perfect. Don't change now." 28yo, 46kilo</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 6px; margin-top: 6px;">
"You've filled out since I last saw you." 30yo, 50kilo</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 6px; margin-top: 6px;">
"All pregnant women are fat." 31yo, first baby, 64 kilos</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 6px; margin-top: 6px;">
"You look amazing, you lost all the baby weight." 31 yo, 54 kilo</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 6px; margin-top: 6px;">
"You look so... Spread out wide." 32yo, 60 kilo</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 6px; margin-top: 6px;">
"You're all baby, there's nothing else to you but that bump." 33yo, second pregnancy, 62 kilo</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 6px; margin-top: 6px;">
"You need to stop losing weight." 33yo, 46 kilo , four months after baby</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 6px; margin-top: 6px;">
"You have a great figure for a mom of two." 34yo, 47 kilo</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 6px; margin-top: 6px;">
"You've put on weight since coming here." 34y0, 51 kilo</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 6px; margin-top: 6px;">
"Good job. You've worked hard to look like this." 35yo, 48kilo</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 6px; margin-top: 6px;">
"Do you have to be obsessed with exercise?" 35yo, 47kilo</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 6px; margin-top: 6px;">
"You look gaunt. You look better with some weight on you." 35 yo, 46 kilo</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 6px; margin-top: 6px;">
"Oh no JB, you've got thunder thighs now." 36 yo, 54 kilos</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 6px; margin-top: 6px;">
" You need to lose some weight." 36 yo, today, 61.10 kilo</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 6px; margin-top: 6px;">
I am tired.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 6px; margin-top: 6px;">
<br /></div>
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</div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06940726266857576700noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-351069863973132986.post-49868741057862330342014-08-09T05:22:00.002-07:002014-08-09T06:07:24.818-07:00To want is to b*tch
<br />
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">I want to take my
daughters to the park. I want to cook fresh, healthy food for them. I want to
make lovely dresses for them. I want to bake cakes and master cookies and
create works of edible art. I want to start blogging again. I want to write a
second book. I want to make yummy food. I want to have a lovely, clean house. I
want to sort out my cupboard, the kids cupboard, Sam’s cupboard, the linen
cupboard, the crockery and utensils cupboard, the cupboard-that- is- full- but-
I- don’t- know- what’s- in- it*. I want to read more books. I want to read the
books I’ve already bought on my Kindle. I want to watch and do the various
lessons I’ve bought on Craftsy. I want to read the news. I want to Facebook my
friends and Pinterest for inspiration. I want to talk to my parents (…more than
just “how are you? Bye”) I want to do art with the girls and take them dancing
and swimming and for gymnastics. I want to go out and socialise. I want to
remember my friends birthdays etc. I want to get better at sending people
gifts. I want to moisturise my body every day. I want to wear socks so my feet don’t
get so dry. And condition my hair. I want to cleanse-tone-moisturise daily. I want
to have nice hands. I want to have a Lara Croft body and eat cake. I want to
exercise. I want to look good in the clothes I already have. That I cannot
find. I want to organise my cupboard. I want to reorganise the guest room and
get all the pictures/art framed. I want to plant the freesias and lettuce. I want
to paint the Elsa canvas and finish the Winnie Pooh cross-stitch. I want to
deep sleep.</span></i></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">I want to fit it all
in 24 hours. I don’t want to lose my mind. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I don’t know what to do. </span></i></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">(*I’ve already sorted
the Baking Stuff cupboard and the pantry, yay!)</span></i></div>
Jhoomur aka JBhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11863377244719408313noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-351069863973132986.post-8806806870170275602013-07-25T02:43:00.001-07:002013-07-25T02:47:09.815-07:00Clever mummy<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<span class="userContent" data-ft="{"tn":"K"}">Toilet training Mia. Or trying. Yet another mishap, this time the more solid variety. <br /><br /> Me: Let's put this in the potty <br /> Mia makes no move to help and stands far, nose screwed up, the picture of disgust.<br /> Me: So c'mon then, help me, you throw it in the potty, you like doing things yourself.<br /> Mia: Oh no thank you, it's yucky poo-poo, I no touch it. You do it. <br /> So I do it. She comes up and pats my back.<br /> "Well done mummy, you so clever."</span><span class="userContentSecondary fcg"> </span></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06940726266857576700noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-351069863973132986.post-64459259536952684262013-07-24T02:46:00.000-07:002013-07-25T02:47:01.263-07:00Masca(ra) laga ke<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div class="text_exposed_root text_exposed" id="id_51f0ef689dec11162140232">
<span class="userContent" data-ft="{"tn":"K"}">Usually I try not to let Mia around when doing makeup related stuff; especially since she's taken to 'manicures' a little too quickly. <br /> Today however she planted herself on the stool as I painted myself in the morning. As she gave a running commentary I began getting a bit worried about explaining things with "because mamma wants to look pretty" or "mamma is hiding her flaws" etc. I thought 'Body <span class="text_exposed_show">Image Issues and how i might be destroying my little girl's ideas of beauty forever... </span></span><a name='more'></a><span class="userContent" data-ft="{"tn":"K"}"><span class="text_exposed_show"><br /> Mia: You're putting dots on your face with a brush. <br /> Me: (hide brush if you don't water colours on it)<br /> Mia: Don't poke your eye with pencil!<br /> Me: (better hide all kohl pencils)<br /> Mia: ooooh. That's a big brush. Is that red paint mamma?<br /> Me: (blush n brush too) <br /> By now my hands were shaking and I was certain by the time Mia is 5, she'd be refusing to step out without makeup. Till...<br /><br /> Mia: mamma! What's that? <br /> And then hysterical laughter. She couldn't stop.<br /> "Oh mamma what IS that? You making silly faces in mirror. I don't want to put THAT on me. <br /><br /> And just like that she phooeed the makeup and left. All it took was me applying mascara. Apparently I look THAT funny when doing it.</span></span><br /></div>
</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06940726266857576700noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-351069863973132986.post-57952577699522110662013-07-19T05:42:00.000-07:002013-07-19T05:43:32.625-07:00Can't make (this) up<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<strong>Part1. Before makeup.</strong><br />
<strong></strong><br />
A few weeks ago, I walked into one of the big department stores in Melbourne (Myer) and lined up at the MAC Cosmetics counter for advice. I was looking for some light foundation. I had my double pram with me though only with Liv in it (Mia was having a Daddy-day).<br />
<br />
Now Livvy has some sort of a mummy-store-sensor. She is a perfectly angelic baby (coos even) when I'm shopping groceries, or visiting the doctor or sitting in a café. But the moment I enter a shoe/ clothing/ jewellery store, my normally happy, placid baby becomes this infuriated, red-faced ball of screams. And right at the moment the MAC salesgirl approached me, Livvy began roaring. <a name='more'></a><br />
<br />
A rather distracted me -- in between attempts at trying to stuff the dummy in Liv's mouth, untwisting her from the pram seat belt and unclenching her little fist to get my hair out of it -- told the girl what I wanted. "I'd like a light foundation please, nothing too heavy because I perspire on my face and nothing too obvious because I don't like the caked-up look and get very self-conscious," I said, congratulating myself on my honesty. As I finished speaking, there was this sudden, intense silence. Mostly because the dummy was in but also, I sensed without looking up, from the salesgirl. <br />
<br />
I looked up... and into a 20-something face that might have been pretty if you could only excavate it from the layers of makeup. There was the smoothed-with-a-sponge foundation, shimmer on the cheekbones, three different shades of eye-shadow, highlighter on the brow bone, careful flourishes of an eyebrow pencil, a rather thick pair of fake lashes that had at least two layers of waterproof, double-the-volume mascara (with curved brush), some sort of bronzer under the chin and cheekbones, blush and some diamond-shine-type-wet-lippy gloss*.<br />
<br />
I didn't even get the chance for a mental uh-oh.<br />
<br />
"Ah, let me see," she smiled, skimming over my face expertly and then skimming over the rows of foundation thoughtfully. She gave a light, decisive nod like she knew what she was doing and turned towards me. One hand gracefully indicating the foundations, the other artfully placed on the hollow at the base of her <strike>fucking</strike> neck, she smiled and asked, "So did you want the foundation for the spots on your face, your dark circles or the wrinkles around your mouth?" <br />
<br />
I hoped Livvy would yell, she didn't and all I did was mumble "I'll come back later" and ran away. <br />
<br />
<em>* I now own a MAC concealer for the spots, dark circles and wrinkles, a foundation for evening out the skin tone and a powder to make sure all hidden bits stay that way. I went back later when there were other salesgirls on duty. I didn't comment on their makeup.</em><br />
<br />
<strong>Part 2. After the makeup.</strong><br />
<br />
We were taking a family picture with Partner, self and the two girls playing on the lounge room rug. I had tried out my new makeup, downloaded a self-timer app on the phone and we were generally having fun. Some time later, Partner was sitting with the laptop and going through pictures. I was picking up random things off the floor, Mia was still adding to that pile and Livvy was carefully taking notes on how-to-do-things-when-I-grow-up-like-my-sister.<br />
<br />
"This picture," Partner said randomly, "You look so made up in it." I dropped everything and looked over his shoulder at the picture. <br />
<br />
"What do you mean...made up?" I asked, mortified that I was looking plastic, guilty I had overspent on cosmetics I now wouldn't ever use and horrified with images of the made-up-MAC-bitch flashing before my eyes. <br />
<br />
"Look," he said, leaning closer for a better look, "The dark circles are gone, there are no spots and your skin is glowing!" he exclaimed. (Exclaimed!)<br />
<br />
There was a sudden, intense silence. Partially because iTunes couldn't find the next track in the library and mostly from me. I think Partner sensed it because he suddenly looked up at my face.<br />
<br />
"What? What! What did I say?" he asked.<br />
"Are you saying I look nice?" I asked.<br />
"Er, yes? No?" he asked.<br />
"Silly Daddy," Mia said.<br />
<br />
And to think all this while I've been proud of the fact that I do the "natural" look. :/ <br />
This is all I have to say: <br />
<br />
</div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06940726266857576700noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-351069863973132986.post-69554040940141178102013-07-14T20:13:00.003-07:002013-07-14T20:16:22.111-07:00Mia's Peppa Pig birthday party<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6eGlLGTYUUor22Ud4F_Bv9rZKN_ypfUqIrumBYQPTRjcpnjIJY0ZQaVa1k5_LUWclBrflI3Mwteo4chV6NRkzRgib4-L1wtNDSvrX2KDSRPQi9ri8D0jedRPD6HncjYid4K1kSRI3gjQ/s1600/Mia+car.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6eGlLGTYUUor22Ud4F_Bv9rZKN_ypfUqIrumBYQPTRjcpnjIJY0ZQaVa1k5_LUWclBrflI3Mwteo4chV6NRkzRgib4-L1wtNDSvrX2KDSRPQi9ri8D0jedRPD6HncjYid4K1kSRI3gjQ/s200/Mia+car.jpg" width="150" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">4 days old, coming home <br />
from hospital</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Just the other day I remember bringing home a <a href="http://twistingthetail.blogspot.com.au/2010/07/mamma-mia.html" target="_blank">tiny little baby</a>, weighing only 2.99 kilos, wearing a hand-knit red sweater three sizes too big for her. She was so little and so perfect. I remember waiting for that first smile, remember waiting for her to crawl, to stand, to walk... With each "milestone", Mia took her own time. She did everything but only when she was ready. She didn't give a damn that I was waiting. <br />
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQDGMamu1pAv0BK5jZA0vg6j5OB8brvxNfprAo21YFRCKSJbKzxe_vDXppjeKUjMeCejy-_G3OJFRBt697GFd7M4vZf_bZlZwQp0ei67zYqABZ9lOMDewUhLbvIawe4XgLpKGCzg3tMv8/s1600/miatoy.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQDGMamu1pAv0BK5jZA0vg6j5OB8brvxNfprAo21YFRCKSJbKzxe_vDXppjeKUjMeCejy-_G3OJFRBt697GFd7M4vZf_bZlZwQp0ei67zYqABZ9lOMDewUhLbvIawe4XgLpKGCzg3tMv8/s200/miatoy.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">7 months old</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
So many firsts, so much learning -- for her, for me. My first little baby turns three on the 17th. Back then I had to decipher what her various cries meant, now my baby tells me, "I'm so cited about the party Mamma!" Or that "Peppa Pig and Daddy and Livvy and my mummy are my faaavirite." She still loves broccoli but has developed a dislike towards peas. She loves her chocolate but also demands "I want to crunch a green apple Mamma." I sometimes have to remind her to say "yes please" when offered something but she always remembers to politely say "No please" when she doesn't want something. And she knows when she doesn't want something. Of all the things I have learnt along with her; she's taught me mostly that she knows her mind. <br />
<br />
But then I am her mother and I know my mind too. <a name='more'></a><br />
<br />
So it was that we had a rather intense negotiation on what her third birthday party cake was going to be. This party was special because she is turning three and because it was also a sort of farewell party. We're moving to Jakarta in August and will not be seeing our Melbourne friends for a few years/birthdays. <br />
<br />
Mia fluctuated between Peppa Pig, a train cake, a jungle cake with animals, a Bananas in Pyjamas cake to her grand idea of having a train-in-a-jungle-with-animals-and-Bananas-and Peppa-sitting-in-it-cake. I told her she could have either Peppa or the Bananas and I threw in the promise of Happy Mrs Chicken (a game Peppa Pig plays) along with marshmallows and sprinkles and Granny Pig's apples. She agreed with the "pawmis" she wouldn't go to the party (!) if I couldn't deliver. A little bit of a spoilt brat and a whole lot her mummy's daughter. <br />
<br />
So mummy got thinking and intensely Googling. I didn't like any of the Peppa Pig cakes I saw on the net. Most of them had too much fondant. My idea was to incorporate the characters, a chocolate cake (Mia's faaaavirite), sprinkles and chickens. Then I saw these two cakes that were both perfect... Problem was that I couldn't decide on which one.<br />
<br />
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKJ2Dr3ZgG8HLRtPYtRAh2w_kukD0oBdV60Ost4rSUAXG7pn80VSF96Nc1OHWKdfHrmE5W4hvn0EPyEH3wY95BOugBcpBBMu3ws3GDNxjTD7t9npB9jNR9fpMODbE2u0VJxttVs5RfsNI/s1600/IMG_2741.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="230" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKJ2Dr3ZgG8HLRtPYtRAh2w_kukD0oBdV60Ost4rSUAXG7pn80VSF96Nc1OHWKdfHrmE5W4hvn0EPyEH3wY95BOugBcpBBMu3ws3GDNxjTD7t9npB9jNR9fpMODbE2u0VJxttVs5RfsNI/s400/IMG_2741.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">There was heaps more on the table, forgot to take a pic!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
To incorporate Mia's wish list I made a two-tiered cake with hand made Peppa Pig & Family figures and their house, 24 vanilla cupcakes, 55 marshmallows covered in chocolate and assorted sprinkles, 35 Happy Mrs Chicken cake pops, 68 'apple' sugar cookies and one batch of mini meringue blossoms. All recipes were from websites I frequent (links follow below).<br />
<br />
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<strong>The main cake</strong></div>
I chose to make both the cakes I'd seen. I followed the recipes and advise to the letter (mostly) and everything from the texture, flavour to the fluffiness was exactly as promised on the website. Thank you <a href="http://sweetapolita.com/" target="_blank"><em>Sweetapolita</em></a> for some excellent instructions.<br />
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The main cake was two-tiered. A <a href="http://sweetapolita.com/2011/07/fluffy-vanilla-cake-with-whipped-vanilla-bean-frosting/" target="_blank">vanilla cake</a> with vanilla buttercream filling and icing on top and a <a href="http://sweetapolita.com/2013/04/6-layer-chocolate-sprinkle-cake-and-a-cookbook-announcement/" target="_blank">chocolate cake</a> with chocolate whipped cream icing on the bottom. And heaps and heaps of sprinkles. I mixed 100s & 1000s, fairy sprinkles and <a href="http://www.cakedeco.com.au/product-detail/edible-decorations/sprinkles/mini-sequins.aspx" target="_blank">coloured sequins</a> to get a lovely, vibrant mix. <br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Getting there, limbs and smiles left...</td></tr>
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Peppa and family figures and the house were made two weeks in advance from sugar/gum paste (<a href="http://www.cakedeco.com.au/product-detail/icing-modelling-paste/modelling-paste/gum-paste.aspx" target="_blank">ordered online here</a>). The 'bunting' on the cake is made of triangles cut out from pretty cupcake wrappers I found at the local bargain store. The idea was from <a href="http://joythebaker.com/2012/06/how-to-make-a-cake-banner/" target="_blank">here</a> except that I used a bodkin and embroidery needle to poke holes and sew in the thread.<br />
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For the house, I modified the template (and size) from a <a href="http://sweetopia.net/2011/12/video-making-a-gingerbread-house-free-printable-gingerbread-house-template/" target="_blank">gingerbread house template</a>, though with much thinner walls and roof. For those wanting to learn how to make gingerbread houses or houses made from cookie dough etc., the video tutorial is quite helpful. If I ever make a sugarpaste house again though, I'd be making the walls slightly thicker to make for easy gluing-together. To colour in the windows (which I botched somewhat), I used edible food writing pens. <br />
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<strong>Note:</strong> The recipe calls for two 8 inch pans but I made the vanilla cake in two 6 inch cake pans instead, with a little extra batter left that filled in a Texas muffin pan. I also didn't make any extra filling for the chocolate cake. If you beat the melted chocolate icing a hell of a lot, you get enough to fill layers AND ice a 6-layered-8-inch-cake AND ice 24 cupcakes. I know because I made the cupcakes just to finish the left over icing from the main cake. The cupcakes are made of the same batter as the vanilla cake; yielded exactly 24 cupcakes. Also, instead of flouring the bottoms of the pans/baking paper, I just greased the pan really well and also cut out baking paper to line the sides. All the cakes -- two vanilla ones and three chocolate cakes -- came off easily<br />
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<strong>Happy Mrs Chicken cake pops</strong></div>
I used Green's Chocolate Mud Cake mix and the icing that goes with it for the pops, Wilton yellow candy melts and lollipop sticks. I also used some Copha (Aussie brand of vegetable shortening) to thin-out the melted candy. For the beak and feet, I used sugar paste coloured orange (Americolor gel paste). I used a small-ish drop-flower nozzle to cut out the feet and let them dry overnight. <br />
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Big mistake though was using Wilton black colour to make the dots for the eyes. There was nothing wrong with the colour except it would not dry out and ended up smudging on many of the pops. Next time when I make eyes on any figures/pops, I'll go the extra length of colouring fondant/sugar paste and cutting those out.<br />
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<strong>Marshmallow pops</strong></div>
The local supermarket had these somewhat triangular marshmallows (unlike the straight, tall ones seen on most websites). So I first poked skewers through some mini cupcake wrappers, then dipped them in chocolate and poked them into the pointy end of the marshmallows. Once dry, I dipped the mallows in melted white chocolate and assorted sprinkles, shook off excess chocolate and gently pushed up the cupcake wrappers. The end result looked like mini cupcakes, a happy result. <br />
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<strong>"Apple" sugar cookies<span id="goog_985007723"></span><span id="goog_985007724"></span></strong></div>
I saw this lovely cookies on another website and just had to make them. I was also dying to try out the "flooding" method of filling cookies with Royal Icing. And since it makes perfect sense to try out a terrifying new technique for a big party, I did it! <a href="http://sweetopia.net/2009/12/sugar-cookie-recipe/" target="_blank">The cookies</a>, a form of shortbread, were absolute winners taste-wise -- not too sweet and just the right crispness. I used Wilton's premade royal icing that you just mix with warm water and it's ready. <br />
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The <a href="http://sweetopia.net/2009/06/cookie-decorating-tutorial-general-tips-butterfly-cookies/" target="_blank">tutorial for flooding</a> on <em>Sweetopia</em> was excellent and helped me get over some of my royal icing fears. I used the hints and tips on <em>Sweetapolita</em> on how to get <a href="http://sweetapolita.com/2011/03/steps-to-making-the-perfect-sugar-cookie-and-cookie-pop/" target="_blank">exactly same-shaped cookies</a> and to avoid them from spreading. Mighty convenient and I was very happy with the results. It's also far easier to store this RI (or one made from meringue powder) than royal icing made from fresh egg whites. (Forgot to take pictures of the filled out cookies, but will do so soon)<br />
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<strong>Mini meringues</strong></div>
(No picture, will get one soon) The idea was from the <a href="http://cakejournal.com/tutorials/how-to-make-rose-meringues/" target="_blank">rose meringues </a>on <em>Cake Journal</em>, a website I subscribe to and that has some excellent and very clear tutorials on heaps of cake/cupcake related stuff. I'd made the rose meringues for a weekend getaway a couple of months back but didn't want to make something as big. Practically too making the rose meringues would have meant at least 2-3 batches of meringue to beat. I wanted something that gave the pleasure of biting into a lovely, crisp meringue but was more bite-sized. <br />
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So I did my version of 'mini meringues'. I used the rose meringue recipe, a Wilton 1M piping nozzle and baked the meringues at 100 degree C for 8 minutes and then let them cool in a turned-off oven with the door closed* for at least an hour or two. <br />
(*Unlike pavlovas where you leave the oven door slightly ajar for the pav to cool, you have to keep the door shut on the tiny meringues for them to dry out to a lovely crispiness).<br />
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I made the meringues a week before and stored them in an airtight container, layered with baking paper and with a bowl of baking soda sitting at the bottom. The baking soda absorbs moisture and keeps the meringues crisp.<br />
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<strong>Tissue paper puffs</strong></div>
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No those aren't edible. :) But they make excellent and rather cheap decorations. Reading through comments on some websites, I found that the 'kit' to make these puffs costs around USD 40! Each packet of tissue paper cost me about a dollar, so that's a total of AUD 7 on the puff balls and a whole lot of satisfaction watching them turn out right. Though the idea for the balls I originally found on the <a href="http://www.marthastewart.com/265163/pom-poms-and-luminarias-how-to" target="_blank">Martha Stewart</a> website,<a href="http://www.lookbetweenthelines.com/craft-projects/decorative-tissue-paper-puffs/" target="_blank"> this tutorial</a> works really well. I however used more tissue paper to get fluffier balls. </div>
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I also loved, loved, loved the idea of mini, glass milk bottles for the kids, though we ended up serving juice in them. I bought cheap, striped paper straws from the local bargain store. The price for the straws at <em>Invite Me</em> was about AUD 9.50 per packet while <em>Bill's Bargains</em> in Yarraville had them at AUD 2.50. I also bought some polka dot take-away boxes and used them to serve popcorn and chips to the kids... and later to pack cupcakes for the adults. <br />
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For the kids' party favours, I bought polka dot bags from the bargain store, printed and cut out some Peppa Pig characters and wrote each child's name on the tag. The bags had some bubble-blowing bottles, stickers, a mini packet of Smarties, leftover mallow pops, a tiny smiley badge and blow-out whistles. <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEii1jU82mFG57LjrCy2WgsUxtT5ou71-SW5T_sts25SkfwT4o8EXpa6Iis7hMmpQTLJgXX3miLtzRPFMBSOBr8-NF_wLb2MEoxIBzSR4VBBdowdksuP95CUX_rQASuqmDp996Q4Ueilf5I/s1600/Livvy+Lou.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEii1jU82mFG57LjrCy2WgsUxtT5ou71-SW5T_sts25SkfwT4o8EXpa6Iis7hMmpQTLJgXX3miLtzRPFMBSOBr8-NF_wLb2MEoxIBzSR4VBBdowdksuP95CUX_rQASuqmDp996Q4Ueilf5I/s320/Livvy+Lou.jpg" width="180" /></a>Wow. This is a looooooong post. Apart from the sweets, there was roast chicken (store bought), bread rolls, salad, chips, dips and cheeses. And the tastiest home-made slices, quiches and sausage rolls, courtesy Mia's Nanna, who arrived four days before the party. She managed the kids, managed dinner (Mummy forgets food when making cakes!), helped finalise menu and plan shopping list and action-plan with Mummy, helped clean the house, even washed the mixer bowls and other baking equipment to keep it ready for the next round. Once the guests started coming in at the party, Nanna pretty much held fort. Thank god she was there! <br />
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We will miss our friends and family here in Melbourne and hope that when we come back, we'll have more fun times and parties together... for Mia and for my little Livvy. :)<br />
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PS: Now then, do you have any tips on what icing's best for the humidity in Jakarta? (Picture Partner pulling hair out here)</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06940726266857576700noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-351069863973132986.post-21092604429116743882013-06-27T07:30:00.001-07:002013-06-27T07:39:44.349-07:00Papa don’t breach<p>I had never faced such a dilemma before.Should I tell him? What if I hurt him? As I looked at the email again, I wondered anew if I should tell Papa... <p>Talking to my father wasn't the easiest things when growing up. There were topics you didn't broach with him: Bollywood, any other film industry, fashion, any idea that might directly or indirectly contradict what he'd just said, Punjabi boys, Tamil boys, Bengali boys, any other human being remotely described as boy, Boy George, Madonna's <em>Like a virgin</em>, waxing your eyebrows... Then there were things you broached via Ma: almost everything else. </p> <a name='more'></a> <p>Food was the only topic you could discuss with him unhesitatingly. If you wanted to eat anything, you asked Papa and even before you'd voiced it, there it was, served to you. It was also the same with most other things. If he saw me looking at a doll -- and felt it justified -- it was bought. So while I didn't have a Ken or a Barbie bathtub (with real bubbles!) or the Barbie house and didn't have more than two extra Barbie dresses (there were so many cool designs!); I did have a Barbie (Birthday barbie) and the next year, a Skipper doll. When we went shopping for new clothes he'd always buy the dress Ma picked but put away because the tag was too much. We didn't go to exclusive, private schools but we went to the best an Army officer's modest salary could afford. <p>Achievements were rewarded and interests were encouraged (academic and non-boy, non-movies, non-fashion variety). We had great holidays. I've grown up eating very yummy food. And with no restrictions on the number of Dairy Milk chocolates you could have. Despite him being stern and strict and having <strike>some</strike> mostly impossible rules, he’s been a loving father. <p>And here I was, looking at the email, wondering if I should tell him... My phone buzzed. <p>"U dere? Skype?" said Papa's text. <p>So I Skyped and looked at his nostrils as he frowned at the monitor, chin raised, peering over his reading glasses. My video must've come on then because he broke into his beautiful smile and asked me the routine when-on-Skype-question. <p>"Can you see me?" <p>I told him I could but not very clearly. <p>"Ei je, esho, Papu eshe gache," he called out to Ma while waving at me, nostrils in and out of focus as he tried adjusting the camera. I could see Ma's blurry form sit down beside him. He finally stopped fiddling with the webcam. I now looked at half of each of their faces. <p>"Did you get my email?" he asked excitedly, and right then I knew I had to break it to him. <p>“Papa,” I said gently, “I love getting mail from you. But you know the emails you send me? I know those are new to you but I’ve been seeing those forwards since 1996. You’re kind of spamming me, you don’t do that on email.” <p>There. I’d done it. Internet etiquette to the man who taught me how to hold a pencil. <p>“Ah, ok, ok,” said my stern, always-sure-of-himself father looking adorably sheepish. “I’ll send you new ones then?” </p> Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06940726266857576700noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-351069863973132986.post-89009015955877680162013-06-24T05:20:00.001-07:002013-06-24T05:20:47.433-07:00Kung Food Panda 3<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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Just the other day I decided to be a Really Good Mother and make some extra healthy, ticking-all-nutrition-boxes food for Mia. <br />
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Cooking for Mia --and feeding her -- is hair-pullingly frustrating. She will only eat plain chocolate cake. Will not touch a "complicated" sandwich (ham, cheese ONLY please) and don't even think of adding mayonnaise or any other sauce to it. Won't eat anything that doesn't match her idea of what it should look like. Noodles are always "white". If I add even a drop of soy and the "noo-noos" change colour, she won't eat. She loves broccoli but only if it's steamed, cut into 2 inch pieces and not an extra centimetre. She loves steamed green peas too but if you overcook them and if she can squish them with her index finger... <a name='more'></a><br />
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Braving toddler disapproval and sending a prayer to the gods, I cooked some shell-shaped pasta (no sauce), chucked in some butter and grated cheese (only cheddar) and added some vegetables. Broccoli, peas and itty-bitty pieces of carrot and celery. I thought I was being very smart with the itty-bitty. I thought she might appreciate a bit of orange in her food and hoped the celery was adequately camouflaged.<br />
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Mia made me pick out every ittyfuckingbitty bit of celery and carrot out of her pasta. And then she surveyed each forkful very suspiciously before putting it into her mouth. Mummy fail. <br />
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Now meet my other daughter, Livvy, 9-month-old in three days, bottom-bopper, zero crawler, tickle lover and general household food bin. Every bit of celery, carrot and squishy peas and not-shell-enough pasta picked off Mia's plate went straight into Liv's tummy. She has now successfully eaten newspaper, a complete (and I mean all of it) nine-of-spades card, corner off a cardboard box (a packing box mind you), bitten an inflated balloon, deflated it and then tried to eat it*... <br />
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Livvy is like the Bear Grylls of babies -- will try anything once. And if it doesn't make her spew, probably try it again. <br />
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If not Grylls, Livvy seems to be channeling baby Po from Kung Fu PAnda 2. In the video below, just substitute Livvy for the Panda and that's almost how it happens in my house. Except that the baby panda asks for food politely. Livvy goes into complete baby-outrage-mode -- red face, yelling as loud as possible, body rigid -- if she sees anyone eating and if she hasn't been made an offering.<br />
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Mia refuses food when she's full or not interested. Livvy doesn't want to accept she's full and she's always interested. I might have to watch what this baby eats... Or just enjoy it. And thank gods that finally I might have a baby who likes icing. <br />
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">* Yes I took the balloon away. No I haven't given her another balloon.</span> <br />
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<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/Cl-o4qIUOvw" width="420"></iframe><br /></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06940726266857576700noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-351069863973132986.post-83987196909131516712013-06-22T05:03:00.001-07:002013-06-22T05:05:10.859-07:00Monsters University<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyMUU5EM_0yMg-WLDv7DQbXKXklX3IAZqj72rXloW8Q-Ks6Z63MFt-zOA63vVnmwlSpq3aaJnYbNHxL5YUw_TRWXFGdhQwk6ziyPFMopDGe35IWUkSwmvR9oLjvh2nXpiWraNVXQijH6g/s1600/Monsters_University_poster_3-799949.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5892276802225910242" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyMUU5EM_0yMg-WLDv7DQbXKXklX3IAZqj72rXloW8Q-Ks6Z63MFt-zOA63vVnmwlSpq3aaJnYbNHxL5YUw_TRWXFGdhQwk6ziyPFMopDGe35IWUkSwmvR9oLjvh2nXpiWraNVXQijH6g/s320/Monsters_University_poster_3-799949.jpg" /></a>Had a great today. Started out with breakfast with close friends at local café -- stacked hash browns, avocado and sumptuous coffee -- followed by some shopping for a mum-to-be. Then driving around for some work with the kids. Then it was our first movie at a theatre as a family, as in all four of us. </div>
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We saw <a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1453405/">Monsters University</a>, which is absolutely adorable. Mia was a little concerned there was no "Boo" this time but soon got over it. Livvy tried to stay up but was soon snoring through most of the movie. </div>
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Followed by dinner at local restaurant where I pigged out on prawn in chilli sauce and now consequently have a horrendous tummy ache. But hey, what's a tummy ache for a good day spent? </div>
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Monsters University is like a prequel to Monsters Inc and tells the story of how Mike Wazowski (Billy Crystal) and James P. Sullivan (John Goodman) met and became friends. It's a movie about under dogs or under-monsters as is the case and involves a whole lot of spoofing of everything from all-American college movies to a rather funny take-off on human horror movies. :D Some of the jokes had more adults laughing than kids but most kids enjoyed watching silly monsters doing sillier stuff. Highly recommend for a nice evening off with the kids. <br />
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06940726266857576700noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-351069863973132986.post-73790519899630619952013-06-21T07:01:00.000-07:002013-06-21T13:41:50.368-07:00My toddler loves tv. <div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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I have a confession: I allow Mia (2 years, 11 months old) to watch television. A lot. </div>
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Despite that bit of "bad" mothering, I think I am a bloody good parent. Mia is bright, clever, smart, curious, absolutely not-shy, loves going to the park, loves meeting new people, loves asking them 20 questions even more, knows her mind a little too well and is very, very observant. Of course, all of that might have nothing to do with me (or Partner) and might simply be her personality. (I am quite possibly one of those painful mothers who think their kid's a genius.)</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9XLwiJWA7eglXsCyyb-vTkkxQ0oZ3X29Ho26oQhqo-ufTpKXFbMk71TUbj62BWESrG4fkYSa1y5bZ89qDz1AOq95XeqtuFwGXtuUc7cMtbRD05zmXt-V1nqoqOthIXuw5XQUO9816jSE/s1600/TV+show.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="235" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9XLwiJWA7eglXsCyyb-vTkkxQ0oZ3X29Ho26oQhqo-ufTpKXFbMk71TUbj62BWESrG4fkYSa1y5bZ89qDz1AOq95XeqtuFwGXtuUc7cMtbRD05zmXt-V1nqoqOthIXuw5XQUO9816jSE/s320/TV+show.png" width="320" /></a></div>
Mia's favourite characters (from tv and movies), in order of preference, are Peppa Pig,<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kung_Fu_Panda" target="_blank"> Kung Fu Panda</a>, Bananas in Pyjamas, Merida (from <a href="http://disney.go.com/brave/index.html" target="_blank">Brave</a>; I love her), Fireman Sam, Timmy (from <a href="http://www.timmytime.tv/" target="_blank">Timmy Time</a>), Shrek and Angelina Ballerina (I don't much like). So far, despite all her tv watching, Mia seems to be a perfectly normal, happy child. <br />
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According to<a href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/9003507/Peppa-Pig-making-children-naughty-parents-fear.html"> this </a>story in <em>The Telegraph</em>, Peppa Pig is making kids naughty or rather, parents are complaining about the cartoon piglet because their kids are copying her. For those who might not know, <a href="http://www.peppapig.com/" target="_blank">Peppa Pig</a> is a hugely popular, very cute British cartoon series. The central character is 5-year-old Peppa Pig who lives with Mummy Pig, Daddy Pig and her 2-year-old little brother, George Pig. </div>
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Do I think it's a good show for children? It's a great show for 2+ kids. Does it or can it be a bad influence on kids? Absolutely. Much like Tom & Jerry teaches kids to hit each other with mallets (violence), <a href="http://www.abc.net.au/abcforkids/sites/bananasinpyjamas/" target="_blank">Bananas in Pyjamas</a> teaches kids to eat a lot of jelly (full of sugar), <a href="http://www.angelinaballerina.com/au/" target="_blank">Angelina Ballerina</a> promotes gender stereotypes (girls love ballet and pink tutus; they do by the way, mostly), ditto with Peter Pan (every female character is either motherly or flirtatious and ALL of them are prone to jealousy) and let's not even get into what psychological damage Bart Simpson is causing our children.</div>
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So what are the bad things Peppa Pigs is making our kids do? Some parents have complained their kids are jumping in muddy puddles (Peppa's favourite activity). Mia has also developed a fondness for muddy puddles. However she also understands her favourite shoes/feet/outfit will get dirty and that she needs to wear gum boots before jumping in muddy puddles. </div>
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Apparently some other kids have been demanding chocolate cake for breakfast (like George Pig) and are saying "yuck" to green vegetables (George again). Mia LOVES chocolate cake and would be absolutely thrilled with some for breakfast. She has asked too. But she does not get it. Coco Pops on rare occasions, but it's rice-bubbles-with-peaches or Weetbix-with-bananas for breakfast. The first time she threw a hissy fit about the cake, she was allowed to yell for as long as she wanted to. Without breakfast. Till she ate her breakfast. .</div>
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I will point out here that mine is a very sugar-friendly house. Along with stickers, shiny crayons, glitter glue, special scissors, face masks, colouring pages and such, Mia gets chocolate frogs as rewards, M & M sprinkled over vanilla ice-cream as an after-dinner "prise" (surprise), a lollipop if she behaves herself on a 6-hour-shopping trip, special cupcakes if she helps pick up her toys (for three days or more)... She absolutely, assuredly never gets anything -- not even a sugar cube -- if she yells or throws a tantrum, which are frequent. (Geniuses have genius-sized tantrums) Will she have rotten teeth? Hope not, we do brush regularly. Will she always expect sweets as rewards? Possibly. Better than a cash prize. </div>
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She does not, however, gorge herself on sweets and shows amazing restraint for her age. There are times she <strong><em>returns</em></strong> M & Ms and half-eaten chocolate frogs. "Don't want them now Mamma," she says. She even refuses cake and most often does not eat the icing on the cupcakes. How many adults do you know who do that? Perhaps she doesn't go stupid stuffing her face because it's her temperament. Or maybe because I am a genius mother who has given her so much sugar that even chocolate bores her now. </div>
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I am very glad there's a channel for kids (in Australia) without advertisements. I am glad Mia is learning interesting and diverse things some of which I might not be interested in. I read to her about fairies and unicorns but she is learning a lot about giant spider crabs and tiny sharks from watching Octonauts. She understands "inner peace" (thank you Kung Fu Panda 2), even if she thinks it means standing quietly in a corner so you can throw "giant fire crackers at bad peacock." I appreciate her trying porridge because B1 and B2 eat it. Or making drawings for me because Timmy makes them for his mamma. I particularly love that she is developing a sense of adventure even if it means jumping in muddy puddles. Something most kids love and something most parents seem to have forgotten. </div>
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As far as television is concerned, parents have immense choice in what we want our kids to see, how much, when, in what manner. It is also completely up to us to choose what the kids are picking up off the tele. And if you don't like it, turn the damn thing off. <br />
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PS: Leave Peppa Pig alone. Oh and by the way, Mia's favouritest vegetable is broccoli. Yuck.</div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06940726266857576700noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-351069863973132986.post-57500712910521891112013-06-19T05:32:00.001-07:002013-06-19T05:34:39.579-07:00Save the bunny<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhKTj9IhqLjshAKUYeBpCU2jZ8fX13UYvjtdl4_I-oDBaaLNMl82on3h1hGPaFiPXIfDT4ymELTPwzy_Mq8mRADb65zzngbG-4W9G4OmTf8NMo2ypuBHfQwX5m-yBCdq8EPd5RRp7U7PI/s1600/bunnu-725166.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5891170953809174210" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhKTj9IhqLjshAKUYeBpCU2jZ8fX13UYvjtdl4_I-oDBaaLNMl82on3h1hGPaFiPXIfDT4ymELTPwzy_Mq8mRADb65zzngbG-4W9G4OmTf8NMo2ypuBHfQwX5m-yBCdq8EPd5RRp7U7PI/s320/bunnu-725166.jpg" /></a>Why do you hate me Patrner? Just look at my stupid expression. It's saww cuute. I was bought for $6, not the best money spent but hey, just look at me. I've been around three years despite numerous murder attempts. Including being chucked at t...he wall by a then-18-month old. Toddlers! Shudder. And then She asked you to pack me in bubble wrap and put me in the Lounge Room box. Instead... She just found me in the recycle bin. Outside. She's hidden me now. Going to Jakarta, she said. She also said she trusts you. How could you??!!!</div>
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PS: For those who might not know, we are moving to Jakarta in the next few months. For a couple of years or more, don't know yet. <br />
But major excitement. And little bit nervousness. </div>
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Also said bunny is a wooden Easter Bunny that has been inexplicably hated by Partner ever since I purchased it. </div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06940726266857576700noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-351069863973132986.post-65738043230761946472013-05-23T16:40:00.002-07:002013-05-23T16:50:33.696-07:00Recipe: The good brownie<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-t_pikRRfySY/UZ16tsoMeTI/AAAAAAAABbk/Zgi3op9LINk/s400/eat3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-t_pikRRfySY/UZ16tsoMeTI/AAAAAAAABbk/Zgi3op9LINk/s400/eat3.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;"></span> </div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">A brownie is not a brownie unless it has walnuts in it, or
so it is for me. While that doesn’t stop me eating a walnut-less brownie, it's not quite satisfying. I also cannot stand brownies that
have heaps of chocolate sauce or ice-cream piled on top. Not unless it’s being
served for dessert. A good brownie is meant to be eaten as is. And should have walnuts.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">If the Black Forest was Ma’s for-special-occasions/party
dessert, the walnut-brownie was her weekday specialty. It was not fudgy. It was
more like a regular chocolate cake, with more cocoa and walnuts. It used to be
a lovely, light chocolate colour, smell divine and taste really, really good. My
job each time Ma made brownies was to chop the walnuts and lick the residual
batter from the bowl. While Mia has now perfected Licking of the Spatula, I’m
waiting for her to take over the walnut-chopping. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">I first discovered that brownies can also be fudgy-not-just-cakey
once the whole Barista/café onslaught began in Delhi in the late 90s. (Small town girl, no big city/café experience, what to do!) In Melbourne
cafes, more often than not, the brownies are without walnuts and oftener still,
sort of thick slabs of sweetened chocolatey dough. Not always nice. I still eat
them though; sometimes you’ve just got to get your brownie fix. </span><br />
<a name='more'></a><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Of the two brownie recipes I’ve tried –
<a href="http://www.joyofbaking.com/katharinehepburnbrownies.html" target="_blank">Katherine Hepburn brownies</a> from Joy of Baking and the <a href="http://joythebaker.com/2008/04/old-school-fudge-brownies-with-walnuts/" target="_blank">Old School ChocolateBrownies</a> from Joy the Baker – the latter has become my go-to brownie recipe. The
KathHep brownies tasted divine but were a bitch to get out of the pan. A little
too sticky and over-sweet. That recipe also called for flouring the cake tin
instead of baking paper and I learnt the hard way that it doesn’t work, or
didn’t do so for me. <o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Joy the Baker’s brownies though hit the right spot, have
just the right amount of cake vs fudge ratio and are good brownies to cut up
into bars. And finish in two days. Try these, you will love them. Just remember that whenever you bake brownies and even if the recipe doesn’t ask for it – ALWAYS grease your cake tin and line it with baking paper. Also with these brownies, do not over-bake as the brownies dry up too quickly and are crumbly. In case you have a fan-forced oven like mine, reduce the temperature by 20 degrees.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><a href="http://joythebaker.com/2008/04/old-school-fudge-brownies-with-walnuts/" target="_blank">Here’s the link </a>to the original recipe. My ‘version’
does not have any <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>chocolate chips and uses
twice the quantity of walnuts. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Calibri;"> </span><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">Just some pointers:</span></span><br />
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<li><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;"><span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 7pt/normal "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Too much beating changes the
texture of this cake.</span></div>
</li>
<li><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;"><span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 7pt/normal "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Measurements
are given in cups and metric for those who might/not have kitchen scales.</span></div>
</li>
<li><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;"><span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 7pt/normal "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-family: Calibri;">2/3 cup
is roughly 166g. </span></div>
</li>
<li><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<!--[endif]--><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Standard
cup is 250 ml for liquids.</span></div>
</li>
<li><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;"><span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 7pt/normal "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Toast the
walnuts for 8 minutes till they are light and fragrant; cool slightly and chop
up roughly. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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</ol>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06940726266857576700noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-351069863973132986.post-42486657020174382332013-05-18T21:58:00.000-07:002013-05-23T21:58:36.648-07:00Recipe: Aloo gobhi<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<span style="color: #741b47; font-family: Calibri;"><strong>Aloo gobi (Mildly spiced cauliflower and potatoes)</strong></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Serves 2 (Pic coming soon)</span></div>
<strong>INGREDIENTS</strong><br />
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Cauliflower 1 full, cut into smallish florets with some stem<br />Potatoes 3 medium, diced into 1 inch cubes<br />Sunflower/olive/vegetable oil 2-3 TBS<br />Green chillies 1-2, seeded, finely chopped (optional)<br />Cumin seeds 1 TSP<br />Ginger fresh 2 TSP, grated<br />Salt to taste<br />Turmeric ½ TSP<br />Coriander powder 2 TSP<br />Fresh coriander, chopped finely 1 TBS (more/less according to taste)<br />Water as needed<a name='more'></a><br />
<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><strong>METHOD</strong></span><br />
<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">1.</span><span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 7pt/normal "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Heat oil in a wok/pan with lid. Once the oil is
hot, fry the cauliflower till light pinkish and aromatic. Take out and keep
aside.</span><br />
<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">2.</span><span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 7pt/normal "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Next fry the potatoes till lightly browned on
all sides, keep aside.</span><br />
<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">3.</span><span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 7pt/normal "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Check if oil is hot enough – chuck in a cumin
seed, if it splutters, oil is ready – and add the cumin seed. Once cumin
splutters, add the chopped green chillies and ginger and fry for a minute or
so.</span><br />
<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">4.</span><span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 7pt/normal "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Next add the salt and the dry spices and stir to
mix well. Allow the spices to fry for 2-3 minutes, taking care not to burn
spices; don’t let spices stick to the pan either. If spices look too dry, add a
couple of teaspoons water. </span><br />
<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">5.</span><span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 7pt/normal "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Once spices smell “cooked”, add the pre-fried
cauliflower and potatoes and mix well to coat in the masala. Cook for 5
minutes, uncovered, stirring frequently. </span><br />
<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">6.</span><span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 7pt/normal "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Pour in half cup water, mix well; cover and cook
till potatoes and cauliflower are tender (but not mushy). Remember to stir
intermittently so that vegies/spices don’t stick to the bottom of the pan. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Calibri;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Can be served with Indian breads/rice. </span></div>
</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06940726266857576700noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-351069863973132986.post-56099477323947640372013-05-16T17:22:00.003-07:002013-05-16T17:22:38.644-07:00TGIF?<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<span style="-webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(175, 192, 227, 0.230469); -webkit-composition-frame-color: rgba(77, 128, 180, 0.230469); -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.296875); font-family: '.Helvetica NeueUI'; font-size: 17px; text-align: -webkit-auto;">Livvy refuses to be put down today, has puked on me thrice since morning. The last one right after I had a shower. Then as I am holding her on one arm and trying to have a sip of my coffee, she flips the cup. Coffee down my dress and up my nose. After I had just changed from the pukey dress. Mia has nose full of snot that she insists on wiping herself and thereby smearing all over her face. I am having a brilliant morning. How is yours?</span></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06940726266857576700noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-351069863973132986.post-46792251516812793902013-03-21T03:40:00.000-07:002013-05-23T16:49:07.726-07:00Recipe: Mexican red chicken<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhqeF3L_jW60fi9a4yOi_3C9lbVyWEiM6Lf4Yk-BAv4tGa1SckqVEtOQDgKlw3ECf5OlhqhG87WrYM37zeh_bv8LgKNABQkS4IE8j2giPoRkD4DIOkT42WT0fRIJ4nREVBOlpNyXCEJX8/s1600/IMG_2021.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhqeF3L_jW60fi9a4yOi_3C9lbVyWEiM6Lf4Yk-BAv4tGa1SckqVEtOQDgKlw3ECf5OlhqhG87WrYM37zeh_bv8LgKNABQkS4IE8j2giPoRkD4DIOkT42WT0fRIJ4nREVBOlpNyXCEJX8/s400/IMG_2021.JPG" width="300" /></span></a></div>
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</span><br />
<h3 class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="color: red; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Pol</span><span style="color: red; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">lo rojo (Mexican red chicken)*</span></h3>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><span style="color: red;">Serves: 4</span> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">I’ve made this dish twice now. Once in the oven as per the original
recipe; the second time, with my modifications and on the stove top. With the
original recipe I found that the tomato paste retains its tomato-pastiness and doesn’t
taste quite ‘cooked’. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Perhaps it’s
because I’ve grown up eating curries… When making an Indian curry, the
tomato/paste – the base of the curry/gravy – is always ‘prepared’ first and doesn’t
taste uncooked and like the cook was in a hurry! Tomatoes aside, the </span><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">chargrilled capsicum adds a very nice flavour to the
chicken and overall the dish is quite different from anything I've had in a while. It’s definitely
going to become one of my go-to recipes in a busy week. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<h4 style="text-align: left;">
INGREDIENTS</h4>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">4 red capsicums</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Cooking oil spray/ 2 TSP vegetable oil</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">500 gm chicken thigh fillets, cut into bite size pieces</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">2 TBS plain flour </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Salt and pepper, to season</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">1 TSP chilli flakes/ crushed red chillies </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">1 TSP ground cumin</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">2 TSP hot paprika</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">2 TSP dried oregano</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">1 TBS tomato ketchup</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">1-2 TSP hot chilli sauce </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">400g can diced tomatoes (I use Ardmona, I find other brands,
particularly Italian ones are too acidic and add quite a sour taste)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">2 cups chicken stock</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Parsley leaves, to garnish</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Steamed rice to serve</span><a name='more'></a><br /></div>
<h4 class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; text-align: left;">
METHOD</h4>
<ol style="text-align: left;">
<li><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Preheat oven to 200ºC. Spray/rub capsicums with 1 TSP cooking oil and roast on an oven rack for 45 minutes or until lightly blackened. Transfer to a bowl, cover (with plastic wrap or plate) and set aside to cool. One cooled, remove skin and seeds and slice flesh into 2 cm strips. </span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Mix flour with salt and pepper in a bowl and toss the chicken pieces in it. Reserve two teaspoons oil and heat the remaining oil in a large frying pan (with lid). Fry chicken pieces until sealed and somewhat golden on all sides. Take the pieces out and set aside on a plate.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Heat two teaspoons oil, add the can of tomatoes and cook till THRY dry up a little.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Add spices, oregano, tomato ketchup and stock and fry another two minutes.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Transfer chicken back to the dish and stir to coat it in the spice-tomato sauce. Quickly bring to a boil, then reduce heat to minimum, cover the pan and cook for 30 minutes or till chicken is tender. </span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">In the last five minutes or so, fold in the capsicum. Remove from heat, garnish with parsley and serve with rice.</span></li>
</ol>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><em><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">*adapted from Better Homes and Gardens, Australia, Feb 2011 (I think). Click for </span></em><a href="http://au.lifestyle.yahoo.com/food/recipes/recipe/-/7944098/pollo-rojo/"><em><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">original</span></em></a></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"> </span></div>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">
</span><div>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"> </span></div>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">
</span><br />
</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06940726266857576700noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-351069863973132986.post-36450435461373641552013-03-19T16:58:00.000-07:002013-03-19T16:58:18.856-07:00Understanding marriage<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Compromise: the negotiation involved in buying a new casserole dish ONLY if you throw out three other dishes.<br />
<br />
Going today, ice tray, jelly moulds and one plastic storage box. Cheating, but the size of items to be thrown were not specified.<br />
<br />
<br />
<br /></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06940726266857576700noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-351069863973132986.post-77318732789716428582013-03-18T21:29:00.000-07:002013-05-23T16:50:03.841-07:00Recipe: Fried, mixed vegetables<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<span style="color: black;">
MIXED VEGETABLES<br />Serves 6-8</span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: #00b050; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="color: black;">Flavourful, colourful, lightly spiced and very healthy, this recipe can be eaten as an accompaniment to mains or as a ‘salad’!</span></span><br />
<span style="color: #00b050; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="color: black;"><strong><u>Ingredients</u></strong><br />2-4 carrots, cut into matchsticks<br />300g beans, stringed and cut diagonally<br />½ cauliflowers, cut into slices, leave some stems<br />2 TBS olive oil<br />1 tsp black/brown mustard seeds<br />1 dry, red chilli<br />3 garlic cloves, crushed<br />3 tsp finely grated ginger<br />1 ½ TSP turmeric powder<br />½ tsp chilli powder (optional)<br />Salt to taste</span><br />
<a name='more'></a><br />
<span style="color: black;"><br /><strong><u>Method</u></strong><br />1. Heat oil in a pan and add mustard seeds and red chilli – oil should be hot, the mustard seeds will splutter; dry, red, chilli (if using) should turn black.<br />2. Add garlic, ginger, turmeric and chilli and fry, stirring for 2 minutes.<br />3. Add the carrots, beans and cauliflower and stir over medium heat till vegetables are tender but still crisp. <br />4. Sprinkle with salt, cover and cook for 5 minutes – serve immediately. </span></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06940726266857576700noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-351069863973132986.post-72721324948193581602013-03-18T21:11:00.000-07:002013-05-23T16:51:58.323-07:00Recipe: Matar paneer<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
MATAR PANEER (Cottage cheese in tomato gravy)<br />
SERVES 6-8<br />
<br />
<strong><u>INGREDIENTS</u></strong><br />
300g paneer, cut into cubes<br />
500g frozen peas, thawed<br />
½ cup vegetable oil for frying (olive oil can be used but isn’t the greatest for frying)<br />
2 medium onions, finely chopped<br />
4 cloves garlic, finely chopped<br />
2 tsp finely grated ginger<br />
2 tsp ground coriander<br />
1 tsp ground cumin<br />
1 tsp ground turmeric<br />
½ tsp chilli powder, optional<br />
1 cup tomato paste<br />
Salt to taste<br />
1 tsp garam masala<br />
2 tbs finely chopped coriander leaves<a name='more'></a><br />
<br />
<strong><u>METHOD</u></strong><br />
<br />
1. Heat oil in a pan and fry paneer cubes in batches. Turn cubes gently to lightly brown on all sides taking care not to break cubes (careful, these can burn pretty quickly). Use a perforated spoon to take out the browned cubes and drain on paper towels.<br />
2. Once all the paneer cubes are fried, remove excess oil keeping only 1 TBS in the pan.<br />
3. Fry onions, ginger and garlic over moderate heat till onions are soft; stir frequently to avoid onions sticking to the pan.<br />
4. Add ground spices – except garam masala – and stir for 2 minutes till spices are aromatic.<br />
5. Add tomatoes salt and half garam masala and cook, stirring intermittently, till tomatoes are pulpy. (Reduce cooking time if using canned tomatoes) (Tip: if mixture looks too dry, add a couple teaspoons water)<br />
6. Add peas and cook till they are half done add the fried paneer and half chopped coriander and simmer, covered, for 8-10 minutes or until peas soften (soft NOT mushy!)<br />
7. Turn off gas/stove, sprinkle with remaining garam masala, garnish with coriander and serve with rice or Indian breads. </div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06940726266857576700noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-351069863973132986.post-35272346921401608502013-03-18T19:56:00.000-07:002013-05-23T16:51:19.126-07:00Recipe: JB's chana masala <div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Serves 8 (recipe can be halved to serve 4)<br />
<strong>INGREDIENTS</strong><br />
4 cups chickpeas/ garbanzo beans (if using canned chickpeas, drain and wash)<br />
4 tomatoes, finely chopped<br />
2 cups tomato paste/puree<br />
6 medium onions, finely chopped<br />
4 cloves minced garlic (optional as per taste)<br />
2 tbsp ginger paste<br />
Salt to taste<br />
½ tsp. cumin seeds <br />
1 tsp. turmeric powder<br />
3 tsp. red chili powder (adjust according to taste/tolerance)<br />
2 tsp. coriander powder<br />
2 TBS vegetable/ olive oil <br />
½ tsp. garam masala powder<br />
<br />
<strong>GARNISH</strong><br />
Coriander leaves<br />
1 tomato, sliced into rings<a name='more'></a><br />
<br />
<strong>METHOD</strong><br />
1. Drain and wash the chickpeas well.<br />
2. Heat the oil in a pan and once hot, add the cumin seeds. (To check if oil is hot, throw in one cumin seed – if it sizzles, the oil’s hot)<br />
3. Once the cumin seeds splutter, add the ginger-garlic paste.<br />
4. Next add the onions and fry till caramelised. (Tip: adding a pinch of salt helps the onions to brown faster)<br />
5. Add the coriander powder and fry for 2-3 minutes till it changes colour (becomes light brown)<br />
6. Add turmeric powder, chilli powder and salt to taste<br />
7. Add the garam masala and fry for another 2-3 minutes<br />
8. Chuck in the chopped tomatoes and tomato paste/sauce and fry till oil leaves the sides. <br />
9. Add the chopped green chillies<br />
10. Add the chickpeas and stir to coat in the masala.<br />
11. Add about 2 cups water (ratio of 1 cup water to every 2 cups of chickpeas) and bring to a boil. Cover and cook for 10 minutes for chickpeas to soften. <br />
12. Once cooked, turn off the gas/stove, press the chickpeas with a spoon/masher to soften further (don’t mash completely!), add the chopped coriander, garnish with sliced tomatoes and serve with steamed rice or Indian breads. </div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06940726266857576700noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-351069863973132986.post-56752618799733136302013-03-18T12:31:00.000-07:002013-03-18T16:58:18.219-07:00Gates of Mordor<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitFJej1WlzQaVJD0GX3iwLHv4DT5D5RJkGRMpICN8gp1zYsNS3lsWqGJG9GVPUU6eIULmZd2dENILF-Aj_oP3BWuvjQoDezyoPD9kQv0gR2IFOQcsmg26YqnUyX3faY0g8WEcaROlNr9Q/s1600/messy.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="246" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitFJej1WlzQaVJD0GX3iwLHv4DT5D5RJkGRMpICN8gp1zYsNS3lsWqGJG9GVPUU6eIULmZd2dENILF-Aj_oP3BWuvjQoDezyoPD9kQv0gR2IFOQcsmg26YqnUyX3faY0g8WEcaROlNr9Q/s320/messy.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">11am: the art of mess</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
It's 5.30 am and given my "regular" routine for the last three weeks, that's sleeping in.<br />
<br />
I went to bed at 11 pm last night, woke up at one am to feed Livvy and have slept a total of five hours. Wow. For the last month that I've been on steroids (<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prednisolone" target="_blank">Prednisolone</a>), I've been on a crazy energy drive, which includes me waking up at three am. I cannot sleep unless I'm literally asleep on my feet and once awake, I can't go back to sleep. Apparently insomnia and mania (I am a maniac?!) are both <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prednisolone#Adverse_effects" target="_blank">side effects</a> of using the steroids. I've also developed something called 'mooning' of the face; a rather cute, non-Harry Potter term that means I have a huge, bloaty face. Not cute. In another couple of weeks the steroids stop and after that... I am absolutely terrified. Apparently there are side effects to stopping them as well, including fatigue, aches, depression... I have two little children to look after, I can't afford depression. <br />
<a name='more'></a><br />
I've had constant diarhhoea since January 2012. It got really, really bad in the last three months of my pregnancy with Livvy. After her birth in September 2012, I lost 14 kilos in three months. Honestly though, even if the process was inconvenient at most times and painful (try arse on fire) at others, I'm kind of happy about losing weight. All through the pregnancy, my general practitioner (GP) had been confused about what was wrong with me. Everything from hormonal changes, to a resistant bug to food intolerance was suggested. After the baby was born, I was put on a restrictive diet to rule out allergies. From September to January this year I didn't eating anything that had lactose, fructose or gluten -- that's nothing with milk, fruits or any bread. <br />
<br />
Nothing seemed to help, the diarrhoea kept on, and I weighed 44 kilos. I finally had a colonoscopy and gastrocopy in late Jan 2013 -- just before a two-week holiday in Phuket, it was bloody brilliant -- and have since been diagnosed with <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crohns_disease" target="_blank">Crohn's disease</a>. My small intestine, ignored for the last 33 years has suddenly become the centre of my existence. A little to the right perhaps. There's no diarrhoea though, I'm back to eating three raw, Habanero chillies with my meals and I now weigh 46.5 kg. <br />
<br />
Given the increased energy, I've also been trying to keep my house clean. Trying, which on most days means one room is clean while the others are potty. I hereby confess that I'm a terrible housekeeper. Oh I can cook, sew, knit, write a book, do workshops and teach people stuff, play with my daughters, bake like a, er, maniac BUT nothing of <em>that</em> matters because my house is mostly a mess. Mostly means 28 out of 30 days. The two days it is clean, it's usually in the process of getting messy. I HATE cleaning. Not the process itself but the whole impermanence* of it. How it does not bloody stay clean. How you have to do it again and again and fuckingagain. Constantly. It's like fighting orcs at the Gates of Mordor knowing Frodo's already been eaten by a Nazghul and you cannot win. All my friends' houses, each and everybloodyoneofthem, are organised. I have cupboards and boxes and storage solutions and still most of my stuff sort of lies around. I don't even know how it gets there in the first place. <br />
<br />
Yesterday a friend came over -- a self-confessed cleaning Nazi -- and shared her 'tip'. You clean as you go. Ugh. I hate that phrase more than I hate cleaning because Partner says it to me all the time. Look, I try. I try to put away stuff while I am baking but if the bloody recipe says whip egg whites and <em>quickly</em> mix baking soda and <em>instantly</em> put it in the baking dish... I am not going to stop to wash the bloody KitchenAid because my egg whites will go FLAT. Cake disaster. Why doesn't anyone <strong>get</strong> that? Partner says if I can't clean I should not bake (one of us needs a shrink me thinks). Or knit because the wool lies around. Or sew because the machine stays on the table. Or cut magazines with Mia because there's confetti all over the floor. Or make "tunnels" in the lounge room because then the carpet is half on the couch and half on the upturned table. <br />
<br />
If I clean-as-you-go, then I am only, constantly cleaning. Where's the bloody going? I'll never get anything else done. I will get totally, completely depressed. And everyone will think it's the steroids. <br />
<br />
{*Apparently <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Impermanence" target="_blank">impermanence</a> is a Buddhist doctrine that means "...all of conditioned existence, without exception, is in a constant state of flux." Couldn't have said it better really.}<br />
<br />
<strong>PS:</strong> Ok. I will try. To clean. But I will still bake, sew, knit and (try to) write. <strong>Today I am going to:</strong> <br />
a. Put out a big bag of clothing for donation -- that's getting rid of clutter. <br />
b. Clean up the dining/play room and move extra toys to the upstairs room -- more declutter.<br />
c. Plan a menu for the week and stick to it. <br />
d. Finish sewing buttons on Mia's new dress she'll wear this weekend for a huge family event. <br />
e. Finish joining side seams of Livvy's new jumper for same event on d. <br />
f. Alter my dress for same event.<br />
g. Go into the city to do some house chores. <br />
h. Make dinner. <br />
i. Plan out stuff for Easter egg hunt at my place next week.<br />
Remember that I have to also feed and clean and play with the girls WHILE I fuckingcleanasIgo. <br />
<br />
<strong>Check:</strong> 6.34am. Things done so far. Not on the list. Now the girls have woken up. Off we go.</div>
</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06940726266857576700noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-351069863973132986.post-37473699411220428672012-12-14T02:47:00.000-08:002012-12-14T02:49:42.774-08:00Seen, Intouchables, EoW and Prometheus<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">You start with missing one week of writing and before you know it, its been four months. To be fair to myself, two of the last four months I was hugely pregnant, quite unwell and extremely uncomfortable. Then of course I had the baby; my second one, for those who might not know. Olivia turned 10 weeks old on the 9th and Mia is now 28 months old. </span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"></span> </div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">With two kids now I’ve quickly realised that I'm not going to have the time or the luxury – and time <em>is</em> a luxury – to write the way I used to. However, I shall stop procrastinating and be thankful to my girls for being good babies and letting me have some time do other things along with my mommy duties. Here’s what I’ve been up to (somewhat). </span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><a name='more'></a></span><br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"></span> </div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><strong>Recently* delivered: A baby!</strong> </span><span style="font-family: inherit;">Natural birth, six hour labour, three pushes and totally stoned on laughing gas. Left the hospital in 22 hours. Say yay to superwoman. *grin* (10 weeks is fairly recent, no?)</span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"></span> </div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><strong>Recently watched:</strong> The Intouchables, End of Watch and Prometheus</span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"></span> </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgoJ830gC6hlJQ5DGDNd_KHE3jhZLx1ruBXJU-VE34TU8rM_z0mrGUDdpeljAH9R5EFBu8onMFLRnUSQes7pmSoeDAkVczTGXXo-69Tvt106emAjhDYGL0unW3VWn2pRImZ5F4DaYApkhs/s1600/intouchables_2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a><br /></div>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgoJ830gC6hlJQ5DGDNd_KHE3jhZLx1ruBXJU-VE34TU8rM_z0mrGUDdpeljAH9R5EFBu8onMFLRnUSQes7pmSoeDAkVczTGXXo-69Tvt106emAjhDYGL0unW3VWn2pRImZ5F4DaYApkhs/s1600/intouchables_2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgoJ830gC6hlJQ5DGDNd_KHE3jhZLx1ruBXJU-VE34TU8rM_z0mrGUDdpeljAH9R5EFBu8onMFLRnUSQes7pmSoeDAkVczTGXXo-69Tvt106emAjhDYGL0unW3VWn2pRImZ5F4DaYApkhs/s320/intouchables_2.jpg" width="216" /></a><span style="font-family: inherit;"><em><a href="http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/the_intouchables" target="_blank">The Intouchables</a></em> was our first movie in the theatre since Mia’s birth! Thanks to Partner’s aunty – and Mia’s favouritest great-aunt – for making it happen. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">The movie is apparently the second biggest hit ever in France, though globally it's received mixed reviews. </span><span style="font-family: inherit;">While some reviewers found it heart-warming, moving etc., others have called it clichéd, formulaic and predictable. Two of my favourite film reviewers, Margaret Pomeranz (wears crazy ear rings, has crazier laugh) and David Stratton (will most definitely, absolutely hate any movie that has hand-held camera work) of <strong><a href="http://www.abc.net.au/atthemovies/" target="_blank">At The Movies, ABC</a></strong>,</span><span style="font-family: inherit;"> have both given the movie three stars and say, “...the problem is that if, while you're having a good time with these characters, you start to think about the wider implications of the film, you might find yourself somewhat less enthralled.” </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Personally, if not enthralled, I quite enjoyed the movie. While I am a big one for crying during soppy movies, I couldn’t quite manage tears while watching this one (in comparison, there were many happy tears during <em>Amelie</em>). I did manage quite a few laughs though. The humour was the first reason I enjoyed the movie and felt it was quite an achievement making people laugh when the protagonists were a quadriplegic and a down-on-luck-and-life bloke off the streets of Paris. My second reason for liking the film was how it downplayed some of it’s obvious messages – racial prejudices/profiling, glamour of Paris vs gutter of Paris, haves and have nots, value of money vs value of health, pity towards the physically challenged etc. While it was definitely not subtle (agree with Ms Pomeranz there), it was not over the top and I didn’t feel I was preached too. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Margaret and David: I don’t understand how you could give three stars to <em>The Intouchables</em> and four stars to <a href="http://www.abc.net.au/atthemovies/txt/s3455389.htm" target="_blank"><em>Mirror Mirror</em></a></span><span style="font-family: inherit;">. Yes the costumes were great but it was a bloody boring movie! </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><em><a href="http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/end_of_watch/" target="_blank">End of Watch</a></em> </span><span style="font-family: inherit;">is about two LAPD cops who uncover a nasty cartel secret and are then hunted down by said cartel. We watched this movie at home after putting the kids to bed and with ma-in-law watching too. The highlight for me was my MIL’s shock at the language. “What did they say? I only heard f-this, f-that,” was her constant complaint. :D </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">The climax of this movie left me cold and had me rewinding to see if I had missed something. I was waiting for more when the credits just started rolling. While I don’t have Mr Stratton’s aversion towards movies shot with a hand-held camera – he gives one and a half stars to this one! – it perhaps could have done with a little less of the camera moving everybloodywhere. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">I also found the story/action v.e.r.y slow to take off. Actually it never really takes off but sort of creeps up on you. Once it gets going though, it bloody well gets you. The action sequences are edge-of-the-seat stuff, though I could have done with more of them. From thinking “All right, get on with it”, I found myself wanting to know what happens to the characters and even wanting them to be safe. While I didn’t think the camaraderie between the two partners is anything I haven’t seen before in a cop movie, I did begin to care about them somewhat. And that’s why I found the ending a huge disappointment. I am all for realistic movies and life-is-a-bitch finales but this one was just too abrupt. (I actually really, really wanted a revenge movie.)</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWWDgR8L0WmEYaPhEdzz5uZJ6RZSKN8i3ftcJ6VO1pIv1fJ5MCJZec_baYbbc_1wYxoxCJndrcy7FYe4I4-j9ZlChpeE6P3-13PYucy7rbVhvCxoixmPZH6SGIPV_0QHaRHW1CxMZHvPs/s1600/prometheus.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWWDgR8L0WmEYaPhEdzz5uZJ6RZSKN8i3ftcJ6VO1pIv1fJ5MCJZec_baYbbc_1wYxoxCJndrcy7FYe4I4-j9ZlChpeE6P3-13PYucy7rbVhvCxoixmPZH6SGIPV_0QHaRHW1CxMZHvPs/s1600/prometheus.jpg" /></a><span style="font-family: inherit;">As for <a href="http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/prometheus_2012/" target="_blank"><em>Prometheus</em></a> , despite Michael Fassbender and a very cool spaceship, the movie</span><span style="font-family: inherit;"> lost me five minutes after the spaceship lands on mysterious-planet-with-possible-creators-of-humans. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">So some very rich guy spends “trillions” to get this ship and specialist crew to this planet in another galaxy (!). I am interested. They are looking for God. I am still interested. Some of the crew gets off the ship to investigate mysterious structure that has mysterious cave… I am "hmmm". And then the reconnaissance team ENTERS the cave! In a strange planet! Like mate, have you not heard of automated, robotic probes/rovers? We used them in 2012 and your bloody expedition is supposedly happening in 2094. And you’ve got trillions. What kind of scientific moron sends in half the crew to check out possibly dangerous conditions without first sending in a robot?</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">My brain was too preoccupied with this obvious lack of judgement to really notice anything else about the movie. While the movie was a great load of crap, the comments on <a href="http://www.abc.net.au/atthemovies/txt/s3509274.htm" target="_blank">this page</a> </span><span style="font-family: inherit;"> are fun – I think ‘gelatoman’ probably ate his hand, he sounds SO irritated with the movie. Also, if at all you've seen the film and are wondering about that opening scene, or the names of the creatures etc., <a href="http://www.prometheus-movie.com/articles/5" target="_blank">this article</a> is excellent. </span><br />
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Coming soon: More on recently this and that.</div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06940726266857576700noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-351069863973132986.post-82806063422657184102012-09-09T04:08:00.000-07:002013-05-23T16:53:22.579-07:00Recipe: JB's Dhal (red lentils)<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQriYmWA9wRTXGWXn8LLliZpDNan_rFySHYvlwlxB-3I3h1tm5brwI_iZ3LxF7gJvwpSrIJRfRaCbl1mec-PtiN8HOJHnDqqSqZQjKJZ_KygmnDDSJ_zAWObAG2eWsjLaZpJvsqcoy8SE/s1600/roti10.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQriYmWA9wRTXGWXn8LLliZpDNan_rFySHYvlwlxB-3I3h1tm5brwI_iZ3LxF7gJvwpSrIJRfRaCbl1mec-PtiN8HOJHnDqqSqZQjKJZ_KygmnDDSJ_zAWObAG2eWsjLaZpJvsqcoy8SE/s320/roti10.jpeg" width="320" /></a></div>
<strong>Update:</strong> <span style="color: #ff6666;"><strong>This dish is an entry for the </strong></span><a href="http://www.winosandfoodies.com/2009/08/livestrong-with-a-taste-of-yellow-2009.html"><span style="color: #ff6666;"><strong>LiveSTRONG With A Taste of Yellow </strong></span></a><span style="color: #ff6666;"><strong>concept. Started by Barbara Harris as a way of supporting the </strong></span><a href="http://www.livestrong.org/site/c.khLXK1PxHmF/b.2660611/k.BCED/Home.htm"><span style="color: #ff6666;"><strong>Lance Armstrong Foundation</strong></span></a><span style="color: #ff6666;"><strong>.</strong></span><br />
<strong>Most people I know have at least two food items they hate with all their heart (or stomachs) and will only eat them intravenously, if they were unconscious. When friends tell me about their hate-foods, it’s usually goes back to their childhood and involves some form of force-feeding story. For some, it’s been a case of having mothers who were really adventurous in the kitchen… with disastrous results.<br /></strong>One friend hates spinach because her boarding school chef made spinach for breakfast, lunch and dinner. Another cannot stand beet root because his grandmother forced him to drink beet root juice – and soup and even eat beet root dessert – each time he visited her (that’s four times a week. Another refuses to eat pumpkin because she finds its Hindi (<em>kaddu</em>) and Bengali (<em>kumdo</em>) names offensive! While I don’t really understand that, I do remember my father scolding us by saying, “You bloody <em>kaddu</em>!”<br /><br />Partner refuses to eat sultanas/raisins because his mom packed it in his school lunch. “Poor boy hates it because of me,” she now rues. He also cannot stand gherkin<a href="http://jbgoescooking.blogspot.com/2009/03/19.html#_ftn1" name="_ftnref1" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn1;" title=""><span style="color: #ff0080;">[1]</span></a> but refuses to tell me why. As for me, I cannot stand any form of small fish; whether as anchovies or fried like they do in Bengal. Firstly, it’s the smell and secondly it’s the taste. I also cannot eat Hilsa (<em>ilish</em>) – and this is Bengali blasphemy, most worship the fish – because I don’t like its skin.<br /><br />Once upon a time, I also hated <em>daal</em>. It was more to do with having to eat the <em>daal</em> before I could eat the meat – and I love my meat – than hating <em>daal</em> per se. Thankfully, as I have grown up, I have also grown to love my <em>daal</em>.<br /><br />It was only after I started living alone that I truly realised how much I enjoyed the simple dish. In fact <em>daal</em> was the first dish I ever cooked… I used less water, cooked in an open saucepan and the whole thing was burnt. I used to stay in a working women’s hostel that time (2000) and it was the hostel’s warden who took pity on me and told me the basics.<br /><br />Over the years, I’ve come up with my own style of cooking <em>daal</em> and now that I am so far away from home, it is my favourite comfort food. Here’s how I do it.<a name='more'></a><br />
<br /><a href="http://www.blogger.com/null" name="daal1"><u><span style="color: #ff0080;">JB’s Daal</span></u></a><br />
<span style="color: red;">Serves: 4<br />Cooked on: low heat, covered (20 minutes) or in a pressure cooker (2 whistles)<br />Accompaniment: a dash of lemon juice or a teaspoon of pickle oil<br />Try this with: as soup, with bread or with rice.</span><br />
<span style="color: red;"><br /></span>INGREDIENTS<br />Red lentils/ Masoor<a href="http://jbgoescooking.blogspot.com/2009/03/19.html#_ftn2" name="_ftnref2" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn2;" title=""><span style="color: #ff0080;">[2]</span></a> daal: 1 cup<br />
Green chillies: 2, cut into slivers<br />
Cardamom: 1 big, slightly crushed<br />
Black peppercorns: 3-4<br />
Cloves: 2<br />
Garlic: 1-2 pods, depending on size<br />
Turmeric ground: 1 TSP<br />
Red chilli ground: 1 TSP<br />
Coriander ground: 1 TSP<br />
Salt: to taste<br />
Water: 2 ½ cups<br />
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Tadka<a href="http://jbgoescooking.blogspot.com/2009/03/19.html#_ftn3" name="_ftnref3" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn3;" title=""><span style="color: #ff0080;">[3]</span></a>/ tempering <br />Ghee<a href="http://jbgoescooking.blogspot.com/2009/03/19.html#_ftn4" name="_ftnref4" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn4;" title=""><span style="color: #ff0080;">[4]</span></a>/oil/butter: 1 TSP<br />
Cumin whole: 1 TSP<br />
Whole red chilli: 1<br />
Onion: 1 small, finely diced<br />
Tomatoes: 1 medium sized, finely diced<br />
Lemon juice: 1 TSP (optional)<br />
Water: According to desired consistency<a href="http://jbgoescooking.blogspot.com/2009/03/19.html#_ftn5" name="_ftnref5" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn5;" title=""><span style="color: #ff0080;">[5]</span></a><br />
Coriander: 1 TBS, finely chopped to garnish<br />
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METHOD <br />
<ol>
<li>Wash the lentils thoroughly in water and keep aside. </li>
<li>In your pressure cooker/ pan, boil two cups of water (high heat) with all the spices. Once the water boils, add the washed lentils, stir well once and cover the pan/ close cooker lid.<br />If in the pressure cooker, wait till two whistles and turn off the gas. If cooking in a pan, you’ll need to cook the lentils till they are soft; take some out on a spoon and press to check. While the lentils are cooking, remember to stir so that the lentils don’t form a lump and don’t stick to the bottom of the pan. Just in case – should not happen but if – you find the water is evaporating from the pan and there’s not enough to cook the lentils, add another half cup water. </li>
<li>Once the <em>daal</em> is cooked, take the pan/cooker off the stove and place another wok on the stove. </li>
<li>If you notice that the <em>daal</em> once cooked is too thick, don’t panic; we shall fix it in the next step. </li>
</ol>
Tadka/tempering: <br />
<ol>
<li>In a separate wok/pan, heat the ghee/butter/oil on high heat. Once the ghee/butter/oil is really hot, add whole red chilli, cumin seeds, green chilli slivers and chopped onions. Fry the onions for 2-3 minutes till they turn pinkish. </li>
<li>Now add the chopped tomatoes and cook, mixing well, for another 2-3 minutes. </li>
<li>Add the cooked <em>daal</em> – careful, the oil is hot and it will sizzle and splutter – and mix well. </li>
<li>Add water depending on how thick you want your <em>daal</em> to be; more water for thinner <em>daal</em>, less for a thicker one. </li>
<li>Bring it to a boil on high heat then reduce heat to low and simmer for 5 minutes. </li>
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Your <em>daal</em> is done! Garnish with fresh, chopped coriander and serve with rice, roti or have it in a bowl. And don't forget to let me know if you like it.NOTES<br />
<ol>
<li>Making the <em>daal</em> in a pressure cooker is much faster than in a covered pan. If you’re using a pressure cooker, the ratio of lentils to water I use is, 1 cup lentils : 2 ½ cups water. Different lentils cook at different rates; for red lentils, two whistles of your pressure cooker should do it. If you’re cooking the lentils in a pan with lid, use 1 cup lentils : 3 cups water. You’ll need to cook for about 20 minutes, checking and stirring the lentils intermittently so that they don’t form a lump or stick to the bottom of the pan. </li>
<li>While the <em>daal</em> is essentially done even without the <em>tadka</em>; the latter process imparts more flavour. However, feel free to skip the step and have your <em>daal</em> as is. </li>
<li>For a really simple <em>daal</em>, you can skip all spices except for garlic, turmeric and salt and it will still taste good. </li>
<li>For thicker <em>daal</em>, add less water when tempering; for thinner <em>daal</em>, add more. </li>
<li>A Bengali home favourite – one of mine as well – is to have <em>daal sheddo</em> (thick, plain, cooked <em>daal</em>) with rice. Simply cook the daal with water and salt, reduce the water (on low heat) till most of it evaporates and the <em>daal </em>thickens and mix it with rice and eat. </li>
<li>Home remedy 1: In fact if you have an upset stomach, red lentils cooked using only salt and a little turmeric (say ½ tsp or less) is really good. </li>
<li>Home remedy 2: Red lentil soup is also the vegetarian answer to chicken soup! If you have a cold, a sore throat or are simply feeling blue; make the lentils with salt, turmeric and 1 TSP of ground pepper; temper with cumin seeds, add water according to the desired consistency.</li>
<li>Tasty trick: Leftover <em>daal</em> that you don’t want to eat? Cook it in an open wok till all the water evaporates. What’s left tastes really good when mixed with rice and can also be stuffed into <em>paranthas</em>. </li>
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<br /><a href="http://jbgoescooking.blogspot.com/2009/03/19.html#_ftnref1" name="_ftn1" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn1;" title=""><span style="color: #ff0080;"><strong>[1]</strong></span></a><strong> </strong><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gherkin"><span style="color: #ff0080;"><strong>Cucumber type vegetable</strong></span></a><br />
<a href="http://jbgoescooking.blogspot.com/2009/03/19.html#_ftnref2" name="_ftn2" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn2;" title=""><strong><span style="color: #ff0080;">[2]</span></strong></a><strong> </strong><a href="http://www.indianfoodforever.com/glossary.html"><strong><span style="color: #ff0080;">Indian glossary</span></strong></a><br />
<a href="http://jbgoescooking.blogspot.com/2009/03/19.html#_ftnref3" name="_ftn3" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn3;" title=""><strong><span style="color: #ff0080;">[3]</span></strong></a><strong> <em><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chaunk"><span style="color: #ff0080;">Tadka</span></a></em> or tempering is a way of releasing essential oils in whole spices</strong><a href="http://jbgoescooking.blogspot.com/2009/03/19.html#_ftnref4" name="_ftn4" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn4;" title=""><strong><span style="color: #ff0080;">[4]</span></strong></a><strong> </strong><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ghee"><strong><span style="color: #ff0080;">Clarified butter</span></strong></a><br />
<a href="http://jbgoescooking.blogspot.com/2009/03/19.html#_ftnref5" name="_ftn5" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn5;" title=""><strong><span style="color: #ff0080;">[5]</span></strong></a><strong> Degree of </strong><a href="http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/consistency"><strong><span style="color: #ff0080;">viscosity of liquid </span></strong></a></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06940726266857576700noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-351069863973132986.post-40823959941617746172012-07-31T17:53:00.001-07:002012-07-31T17:53:07.058-07:00Petrificus Totalus<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
I was wiping down the fridge yesterday (hate cleaning the fridge, why can't we have self-cleaning fridges? Also, I'm an author, surely authors don't have to clean fridges?) when I noticed this A4 sheet stuck to the side with a magnet. It had a list of dates, neatly demarcated into trimesters, then weeks, week-by-week. It was the list I'd made when I'd first found I was pregnant again (mid Jan). In the time it took for my eyes to scroll down to July 31, I was in full blown panic. <br />
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I'm still panicking. I am 32 weeks pregnant. <em><strong>How</strong></em> did that happen? <br />
<a name='more'></a>As in I know the technicalities of hello-sperm-meet-ovum, but how did I get to 32 weeks? That means in four weeks I am 36 and that means that anytime after that I will have a newborn on my hands. No sleep. Breast-feeding. Leaky tits, wet bra. Different mindfuck-creating poo consistencies. 15 times nappy changing (at least three for Mia and rest for B2.0) <br />
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No Twitter! No blogging! No time for maniacally tracking Goodreads! (Yes I know I'm supposed to be all cool and not care about who and how many are reading my book, but bloodyhell I <strong>do</strong> care, deal with it) No Facebook! :O<br />
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Not to mention the fact that every other recently-born second baby -- at least 10 friends have had baby number twos -- has been falling consistently ill. I am not ready. I haven't done the new cot (don't even have one), haven't got clothes ready, haven't even decided on any names. More than anything else, I am... <span style="font-size: x-small;"><em>just not sure of myself</em></span>. <br />
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When Mia was born (or about to be), I was so focussed on the to-be baby. This time round it's not the case. With Mia, I knew that all I wanted was to look after my newborn and give her the best and the most of me. I've been dedicated to her for two years. I haven't had any nightouts, I've been around her, I've spent every waking moment and have been woken up from sleeping moments to be with her. <br />
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For five years since quitting ibnlive in 2008, I've been no one but someone's girlfriend, the last two of which I've been someone's mom... <br />
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Now with <strong><a href="http://twistingthetail.blogspot.com.au/2012/07/deboned-and-loving-it.html" target="_blank">Confessionally Yours</a></strong> finally published, I am slowly finding myself again. I am still a girlfriend and still a mom and I love it, but I am also someone else. I think of subjects other than baby and what to cook (despite the Instagram recipes!). I react to what's happening in the world, particularly in my country. I am talking to people about stuff other than the best nappy rash cream. And I have to be honest that I am absolutely loving it. I feel alive! <br />
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And I feel massively guilty. Guilty because suddenly I don't want to give this up. I still don't want to work in an office but I definitely don't want to go back in the (self-created) hole of just being a mother/housewife. I know it sounds horrible and selfish and other not-a-good-mother things, but that's how I'm feeling. <br />
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Mostly, I am terrified that I won't have a choice -- newborns do that to you -- and will end up resenting the baby. Partner says he is confident I am making up things in my head and that I will bond with this new person as well... but what if he is wrong? </div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06940726266857576700noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-351069863973132986.post-50404629098828477922012-07-27T05:01:00.000-07:002012-07-29T17:53:50.971-07:00Make a confession, win fab prize<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://ibnlive.in.com/features/confessionallyyours/" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" target="_blank"><img border="0" height="271" sda="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjX3CyKmivLF1FtKtkEPyM8I7jec-qxtmH8HuMMCwGnHAx_v-LBczQAbDH7dQylvFh71CvjqXe5Z1cBAoPUFM1wTAuDxZINnryiIINZg71tPHp9DqauIsJjYQgjhSIwM7R8F5CvZ7buQWE/s320/ibn_contest.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">Many thanks to ibnlive.com for running a rather fun contest. All YOU have to do is make a confession and win a prize.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Here's where you go: </span><br />
<br />
<a href="http://ibnlive.in.com/features/confessionallyyours/" target="_blank"><span style="font-size: large;">Confessionally Yours Contest</span></a></div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06940726266857576700noreply@blogger.com2