Tuesday, March 22, 2011

Hamptons Style

Something white, or light in hue, something stripey, something blue:




Wednesday, March 16, 2011

Food Challenge: Red Duck Curry

I was recently introduced to this dish after eating it at Holy Basil and have been wanting to try making it at home ever since. I love the contrasting flavours of this dish - sweet lychees, sour tomatoes, salty duck and spicy red curry makes for an explosion on your taste buds! What I learnt from making this for the first time was that it was all a balancing act between these competing elements. I tried to follow the ingredients and method in the recipe but ended up seasoning the curry by taste in the end to make it just the way I remembered it from the restaurant. Finally, it was perfect and the best satisfaction is getting the approval of my greatest critics - my family! Will definitely be making this dish for family and friends in the future as it's definitely a crowd pleaser and a great addition to my repertoire.


Ingredients:
  • 400mL lite coconut cream
  • 1/2 Chinese BBQ duck
  • 1 tbsp fish sauce
  • 1 tbsp brown sugar
  • 1 can lychees, drained
  • 10 cherry tomatoes
  • 1 handful of Thai basil leaves
  • 6 fresh Kaffir lime leaves
  • 2 tbsp red curry paste
  • Jasmine rice to serve
  • Water as required
Method:
  1. Pour half of the coconut cream in a medium frying pan over a medium-high heat and bring to the boil.
  2. Add 2 tbs red curry paste and cook, stirring, for 2 minutes or until fragrant.
  3. Add the remaining coconut cream, duck, fish sauce and sugar. Reduce heat to medium and simmer, uncovered, stirring occasionally, for 8-10 minutes or until sauce thickens.
  4. Add the lychees, tomatoes, Thai basil, Kaffir lime leaves and red and green chillies, and cook, stirring until heated through. 
  5. Now that you've added all the ingredients, taste the curry to see if it has the right balance of flavours. I added water to reduce the intensity of the curry paste and seasoned with sugar to reduce the saltiness. Once seasoned, simmer to thicken the sauce again.
  6. Divide among serving bowls and serve with the rice.

Monday, March 14, 2011

Earthquakes

In the midst of the recent trail of devastation across the world from the string of natural disasters that have plagued the Asia Pacific region, there is increasing emphasis on supporting the rebuilding efforts. My friend has recently brought my attention to Emergency Architects Australia, "a not for profit organisation that helps to rebuild lives and support local communities in Australasia and the Pacific region". She is starting a new society at uni: Emergency Architects UNSW which will avenues for students to contribute to this great cause. This is just one of the many examples of organisations who focus on helping victims of natural disasters rebuild their lives and infrastructure in the wake of turmoil and devastation.

On that note, please pray for the victims of the recent earthquakes in New Zealand and Japan. Both countries remain in a state of emergency and face many hardships going forth as they deal with increasing threats of aftershocks and side effects while trying to repair the damage that has been done.

Saturday, March 12, 2011

Designer Watch: Aurelio Costarella

I love beautiful lush flowy gowns and have recently discovered an Australian designer who delivers just that. I've seen Aurelio Costarella in magazines such as Vogue and Madison but have only recently visited his website to view his collections. His Summer and Winter colours are distinct (see below) but I love his signature silhouette that hugs the bodice and cascades down. My favourite is the turquoise dress - love the asymmetric front feature and painting like photo shoot!

 


Saturday, March 5, 2011

Fiji Time!

Law and I just got back from 5 wonderful days in beautiful Fiji! We've decided to blog about it on our travel blog Law and Anna Go Global so please check out all the details there. Here are some of my favourite photos from the trip courtesy of Law and his newly developed photography skills (my Sony Cybershot has become redundant and is semi retired because of his new Olympus!). We love to travel and have fallen in love with Fiji so I would definitely recommend it as a wonderful tropical island holiday any time of year!





Friday, March 4, 2011

Bonjour Mes Amours!

I can't believe it's been nearly a whole month since I've sat down to blog! Things have been pretty busy but finally, I'm settling back into my uni life routine which means I'll have much more time to procrastinate on my laptop and find lots of sources of inspiration! Hopefully I can document my back log of summer love, food, fashion and decor experiences ASAP and also give you my first official travel blog since I started this site...destination? You'll just have to wait and see! Here's a sneak peak: