eat; thai salad with fried tofu

This Thai Salad will knock your socks off (and those of your guests!) so make sure you aint wearing socks with holes (lol!). If you are wanting to keep it raw, simply add more cashew that have been soaked for at least 4 hours and then dehydrated for 2 hours. You can also replace the fried tofu with a plain firm tofu if you aint up to the deep fried option.

I used to make this A LOT when I was living in Echo Park, as one of my housemates was soooo addicted to it, she would salivate just thinking about it!

Serves 4

What you need;
6 pieces of fried tofu
1 English cucumber
1 red capsicum
8 carrots, grated
4 spring onions
4 cups fresh coriander (cilantro)
8 basil leaves
3/4 cup cashews, raw
Dressing
4 Tbs lime juice
1/3 cup soy sauce
1 Tbs white wine vinegar or rice vinegar
4 cloves of garlic, minced
1 birdseye chili
2 tsp white sugar
cracked pepper on serving

Start by making the salad dressing by combing all the dressing ingredients in a glass. Stir and set aside. Toast the cashews by dry frying (no oil) in a non stick pan on a medium to high heat. Be careful as they kind of toast 'all of a sudden'. I have been caught out getting distracted and burnt the crap out of them before. Once done, set aside to cool.

Grate carrots on the large hole section of the grater. If you have a food processor with the grating attachment, go for it! Place the carrots in a big bowl.

Cut the red capsicum into quarters going length ways. Remove seeds and then cut into thin strips. Add to the carrots.

If using organic, keep the skin on the cucumber and cut into big sections. Stand the cucumber sections and slice as above into thin slices.

Cut into julienne pieces and add to the salad bowl with other ingredients.

Pick the leaves off the stems of the fresh coriander and place into the salad bowl .

 

Cut the spring onions into small pieces and add to the salad bowl. Add the salad dressing and gently toss all these ingredients together using tongs. Make sure you are ready to serve as the dressing will break down the salad if put on too early.

Slice the tofu as above but do not add it to the salad bowl. Set aside.

Now for the serving. Add a good amount onto each plate, stacking up high. Add the slices of tofu and then drop some cashews onto each plate.

Vola! An amazing salad that I know you will make again and again!

Buon Appetito!!!!

pink; rash room

Blind Rash - Shooting Blanks: 30"x38" Lambda Photograph 2008

Gina Osterloh is an American/Fillipino living and working in Los Angeles. Her practice melds together performance, photography and sculpture. This series of works I'm featuring was created for an exhibition in Manilla called Shooting Blanks in 2008. Appearing as if giant diaramas, Osterloh's work merges the individual and their environment, in an attempt to bond together psycholocial and physical space. 

The women in these works has their eyes and mouth covered and stuffed with the same pink paper that makes up the background. By placing patches on her eyes, and stuffing pink paper in her mouth, she cuts off our access and communication as a viewer into her world. Our instant reaction to seeing someone is to look into their eyes, but Osterloh blocks this access and so we are confronted with where to look, where to place our focus. Without a focal point, our eyes meander around the figure and into her environment to question what it means to be an individual in a space that has become part of the individual; or be it the other way around. The boundary of individual and environment is broken and blurred as a result. 

The figure becomes devoid of identity. This may have been a direct reflection of how she felt being a foreigner in Manilla,  potentially feeling disassociated from her new environment, where she was sent through a scholarship program to participate in the exhibition and undertake research. Most of us have felt this way. We sometimes feel it walking into a party where we only know the host/ess and  especially when travelling. I know this feeling very well, having been in a transitional space for nearly two years now. A connection to environament is a very important part of being human. As our environment changes, so do we. These works reflect on the sense of loss that is felt when we remove ourselves from our familiar space and try to relate to a new one, with a new sense of identity and connection.

The images below continue the series. Empty (Rash Room) is the most chilling of all. After experiencing the photographs with a figure within, we are confronted with a 'padded cell' environment void of any human existence, questioning what happened to that woman who allowed us to attempt to connect with her, even though there is distance between us and her with her covered eyes. We can still relate to a figure who is slumped, exhausted by her environment, but once she is removed, we are left with only our feeling and a further disconnectedness to the environment.

Empty (Rash Room) - Shooting Blanks: 30"x38" Lambda Photograph 2008

Mute Rash - Shooting Blanks: 30"x38" Lambda Photograph 2008

Gina Osterloh has a large-scale performance commision at LACE in Summer 2012. Check out the details of this upcoming interactive performance here.

love; ten things i love this week

naturallivingcuisine.com

1. Adding wheatgrass powder to my daily routine. It's not as bad mixed in with cranberry juice as it is with water and will give you that added kick desperately needed in the afternoon. LOVE!

2. Drinking a litre of water upon rising. I must admit, this was very difficult for the first few mornings! I'm an espresso kind of a girl. Now, I'm reaping the benefits of this small but effective health habit. LOVE!!!

3. All the pics on facebook regarding the double rainbow in Melbourne, Australia on Wednesday night. Soooo great to see everyone really enjoying such an amazing show by nature! LOVE!!!!

4. House sitting for a friend with a claw foot bath!!!! OMG! Is that not every girls dream?!?!? LOVE!!!!

5. Buying a new mask. This is 'AMAZING' and I highly recommend it! Find it here. LOVE!

6. The William Mulholland Memorial Fountain here in Loz Feliz, built in 1940.  It is a beautiful art deco fountain which has become my turn around point on my morning walk. LOVE!

7. Getting lovely comments posted on my F.B wall about my old place in Melbourne, Australia, affectionately known as 'Number 12'. I used to throw the most outrageous parties and miss it so. I was told I am Number 12, which made me all warm and fuzzy inside. LOVE!

8. Being a part of my friends raw supper club. How lovely to see people eat 'raw' cuisine for the first time. It really is a special way to prepare and eat food! My favourite was the raw ravoli! YUM! LOVE!

9.  Getting my eyebrows done. Sometimes, that's all a girl needs...LOVE!

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10. Being invited to an amazing event, that I really can't give details of yet, in New York. Sooooooo exciting!!!! I'm out to buy a new dress today for it! I think hot pink is going to be very, very appropriate! LOVE!