No.14 (Carla's post)

It's almost summer and now it's hiding. Lifted my face to feel cold splashes today. Looping the headphones tonight is Modest Mouse - 'The Moon and Antarctica'. Weirdly wonderful, melodic, uplifting, darkly charming...altogether just right, right now.

Stream of consciousness...floating childhood memories
outstretched hand
can't catch, the meaning
unconscious tears
laughter
peripheral visions
bitter-sweet remembrance
dizzy joy
spinning sky
winded fall
weightless ocean
endless freedom

This life, may be all.

At a family lunch recently the multiple intertwined memories of love-filled food and ties that bind, bound me again.

So, the Morning Benders - 'Big Echo' is playing the nostalgia-for-now soundtrack. And although summer is shy we've been loving light healthy food! Quick stir-fry. Serves 4. 2 cups cooked brown rice. 2-3 courgettes/zucchini, washed, halved and sliced. 1 sweet red pepper, washed, halved, seeded and thinly sliced. 1 small punnet mushrooms, wiped and sliced. 1/2 cup fresh basil & 1/2 cup fresh coriander leaves washed. 1 TBSP sunflower oil. 2 TBSPs Soy Sauce. Heat oil in a wok & stir fry veg on a med-high heat, about 5 mins. Add rice and stir through. Reduce heat. Using kitchen scissors cut basil and coriander into rice & veg mix. Stir through. Add soy sauce and stir through. Add whole coriander leaves when serving. Enjoy.

Lucky 13

Apologies for the unplanned hiatus....sometimes technology just doesn't play along. I tried to blog from my cellphone; just couldn't do it. I need a proper keyboard in front of me! 'Deer Tick - War Elephant' is soundtracking tonight....he's got one of those unmistakable voices and I love the images their lyrics conjure up. There is something dusty and world-weary yet optimistic about it.

Cynicism seems to be a respected form of wit, a show of intelligence, a mask of superiority. 'I have done and seen so much I'm bored'. Granted, cynical comments can be very funny, but I always get a little shiver of sadness. Children capture me with their wondrous innocence. We can't hang onto that indefinitely but we can unburden ourselves of the heaviness around us. Don't limit yourself to a life lived by opinions and judgements. Liberation lies in true freedom of thought. Try it.

Here is a super yummy healthy side dish. Baked sweet potato. 4 med sized sweet potatoes, scrubbed, skin on. 100g butter, softened. 2 cloves garlic, crushed. 1-2 med-hot chillies chopped. 1 TBSP fresh grated ginger. 1/2 cup fresh coriander, washed and chopped. Pre-heat oven to 190 degrees celsius. Prick sweet potatoes a few times and bake in oven until soft. About 45 mins - 1 hr. Mix rest of ingredients and refrigerate until sweet potatoes are cooked. Slice open sweet potatoes and fill with butter mix. Enjoy!

No.12

Hello again. Here in the southern hemisphere summer is rolling on in and the Fleet Foxes are helping it along. So pretty and harmonious and deep with the perfect hint of intrigue. Saw a Vincent Moon directed vid of them on youtube a few days ago. Ridiculously talented boys captured in an edgy, bleached polaroid, unadorned, just-right kind of way. They've got a new album coming out soon...love being impatient about the release of an album or book!

I know I've said this before, but feel it needs a bit of expansion. Never underestimate the power of being in the presence of nature. Mountains, gardens, rivers, parks, breathing trees, singing birds, quiet beaches all keep your senses alive. Our world is often noisy and frenetic, contradictory and exciting. There is something so dynamic and peaceful about letting natural surroundings wash over you. Close your eyes and breathe in the salty waves, warm green scrub, forest leaf tea stream, earthy moss, perfumed lavender, splashing rain, bracing snow. Live, live, live.

Aaah Midlake...the only possible follow-up. Today's recipe is a perfect sunshiny day meal. Apple and brie salad. Enough for 4. A large colander full of mixed lettuce (butter, rocket, cos, iceberg, red and green oak leaf etc.), washed and dried. Half a cucumber thinly sliced. 2 crispy, slightly tart apples cored and sliced (squeeze a little lemon juice over and toss to prevent going brown). About 1 1/2 cups sweet rosa/cherry tomatoes. A wedge of brie thinly sliced. 1/2 cup chopped walnuts / pecan nuts. 2 TBSPS each apple cider vinegar and fruity extra virgin olive oil whisked together. Put all ingredients in a large salad bowl leaving apple, brie and nuts for the top. Splash dressing over. Enjoy!

No.11

Sunday, Sunday... The Felice Brothers are winding down the week-end with their smoky piano whiskey saloon songs. I guess we all have a little of the wild west in us even if only planted in our youthful minds at saturday afternoon double bill shows. It's not about whether you were the cowboy or the indian but instead how, unconstrained by concrete and metal, life on the frontier played out. Sleeping under a mysterious, blinking, star-splattered, inky sky. Living and breathing survival.

Somehow now we live in a world where those fighting for survival are only a few decisions away from those creating dramas to enrich their blandly complacent lives. It's not a judgement, but an uneasy observation. Treat everyone you meet as you would like to be treated. An unexpectedly effortless way to live.

Sometimes the gravity of humanity makes the recipes seem frivolous. I remind myself of the philosophy of simple pleasures.

Here is a very easy girly cake icing. I made a vanilla double layer cake for a friend's daughter yesterday and topped it with this and fresh strawberries. 1/2 cup softened butter. 1/3 cup icing sugar. 1 cup fresh strawberries blended to a slightly chunky pulp. Cream butter and sugar, with an electric beater, until light and fluffy. Add strawberry pulp. Beat until combined. If consistency is too soft, refrigerate about 15 mins and then top cake/s. Enjoy

Postscript: Onto 'Tonight at the Arizona' and 'Rockefeller Druglaw Blues' another play it twice favourite. So nostalgic and modern.

Downing Street

Another day of more buds on all the trees in our garden and busy birds building nests... Love the changing seasons. Got the headphones filtering some anthemic rock in the form of Doves "Some Cities" (soon to be followed by "The Last Broadcast") into my ears. It's that real English alternative rock; music with so many layers and intricacies and rollercoaster emotions...I can never listen to 'Walk in Fire' just once. Got to love it.

Balance. Rolls off the tongue so easily but is a bit more difficult to apply day to day. I find it a lot easier to deal with things when I accept that some days are better than others. Today wasn't a great day...although this music is helping a lot! I couldn't imagine life in monotone. I am grateful that I feel incredibly happy most of the time and it seems that the occasional down day makes me appreciate happiness even more. I guess the lesson is in the acceptance of events rather than the resistance of them. I am not talking about accepting anything other than what you want from life, but realising that there are ups and downs.

Here's a cop-out pasta recipe that is super healthy and delicious. Enough for 4. 18-20 cherry/ rosa tomatoes cut in half. 1x tin of tuna (I did say cop-out). 18-20 black olives pitted and quartered. A handful of flat-leaf parsley chopped. Good (organic if possible) extra virgin olive oil. Pasta of your choice. Cook pasta al dente, rinse, drain put back in pot and onto a med heat. Pour in a good glug of olive oil, toss and add rest of ingredients. Stir through to warm. Serve with grated parmesan. Enjoy

No.9

Hey there! Wanted to listen to something I haven't heard in a while and saw a mind-blowing, sort of interactive Arcade Fire vid called "The Wilderness Downtown". Knew I had to have "Funeral" as the soundtrack for tonight. If I close my eyes I'm on a heady road trip to a particularly beautiful wild coastline that is legendary (thanks Barney) and somehow still a bit of a secret. And this is the perfect soundtrack for youthful energy on the brink of change.

Have you ever watched one of those extreme make-over shows or plastic surgery operations on TV? It is so stomach churning it's scary and yet our vanity runs so deep we are prepared to risk our lives for a bigger/smaller/smoother/sexier whatever. When I think about it, it seems too ridiculous to be true. Especially the wrinkle- and/expression-less 40 something celebrity crediting their new guru/diet/exercise regime but denying anything else. Are we so scared of dying that we no longer accept ageing as a natural process? What happened to the wisdom of age? I think that in our desperation to hang onto our youth we have altered a very important natural cycle and sadly lost the true meaning of 'elders'. We are meant to learn from them, from their life experience. We should respect them and what they can teach us. Instead we have become a race of self-absorbed, dismissive, 'young' freaks. My grandmother was one of the most beautiful people I know. I listened to her stories for hours. They contained so much wisdom and good advice. Of course the obviously taut 60 year old sitting next to you at a restaurant also has life experience, but in physically denying their age I believe they have put a mental block on it too. I'm sure it must play havoc looking in the mirror. I look forward to getting older as a time to be less concerned with the outer and more concerned with the inner.

Here is a quick-ish and easy topping for (chocolate) cupcakes, pancakes etc. Makes enough for about 12 cupcakes. 1 cup of water. 1/4 cup raw brown sugar. zest of 4-5 med oranges. 2 TBSPs van der hum/orange liqueur. Put water in a small saucepan over a med heat. Add sugar. Stir until dissolved. Add liqueur and increase heat to burn off alcohol. Lower heat and simmer for about 20 mins. Add zest and stir through. Keep simmering until liquid becomes syrupy (about 20 mins). Allow to cool slightly and spoon over cakes. I use about a tsp per cupcake making the amount of zest approximately the same for each cake. Enjoy.

No.8

Hello, hello...got some dirty Black Keys blues on "Rubber Factory" rocking my night. Sometimes you just need the raw, real energy of pure, under-produced music...I feel like I'm sitting in a big, cold warehouse, wrapped up in a warm coat passing around a bottle of Jim Beam watching some friends on the cusp of greatness...love it.

It seems we're back on the 'consequences' discussion. It's all about accepting responsibility for your actions. Living consciously so to speak. Or 'you make your bed, you lie in it' as I like to say. It's just another observation, but we all seem to be taking our cue from the 'pass the buck' school of thought. It ALWAYS catches up with you. There are far more intelligent ways to rebel than being self-centred. Find your own path. Live and love freely...

As I'm sure is obvious it's a short , sharp message tonight. So here is a recipe to counter that! Orange flower/ blossom water cupcakes. 1 cup stone-ground all-purpose flour. 1/2 tsp baking soda. 1/2 tsp baking powder (aluminium free - yes... it's the surprise ingredient). 1/4 tsp salt. 3/4 cup soft brown sugar. 1/4 cup softened butter (not melted). 1 large free range egg. 2 tsps orange flower water. 200ml buttermilk. Preheat oven to 180 degrees celsius. Place 12 cupcake cases in muffin pan/s. Sift first four ingred. into a bowl and mix with a fork. In another larger bowl beat butter and sugar until creamy. Beat in egg and orange flower water until smooth. Add flour mixture and buttermilk alternately in about 3 goes mixing lightly each time. When well combined but not over-mixed pour into cases in muffin pans about 3/4 full. Bake for 18-20 mins or until a skewer inserted in the middle comes out clean. Top with mascarpone cheese and honey beaten together and then sprinkle orange zest on top. Enjoy.