eat; red lentil and tomato soup

kashi.com

Seeing it's cold in the Northern Hemisphere of our wonderful world, I've decided to add this soup for those living here. I know it's bloody hot in the Southern Hemisphere, but I'm sure you guys will enjoy this soup when Melbourne has one of those cold summer days soon.

Tomato soup has definitely been a take it or leave it soup for me in the past. I grew up eating tomato, not drinking it! It wasn't until I tried this recipe that I became a fan of this humble soup. I made this once for a friend of mine, Julishka from Germany, who is an avid fan of tomato soup. She told us Australians that tomato soup shouldn't come from a can and I completely agree with her in terms of ready made canned soups, even though this recipe does call for a can of tomatoes!?! I am proud to announce that Julishka was so blown away with every mouthfull, that I had to email her the recipe as she was eating it, right then and there!!! There was no way she was going to leave my house without it!

So here it is and you will definitely blow away minds with this simple but super tasty recipe!

What you need;

1 large onion finely chopped

810g can of tomato, whole or chopped. (Remember what i said in my earlier post about canned tomato, if you can't get Annalisa brand, go organic only!) 

1 cup of washed red lentils

3 cups of vegetable stock

2 cloves of garlic

4 Tbl of olive oil

10 basil leaves, torn

salt and lots and lots of freshly cracked pepper

Heat the oil in a big saucepan. Once hot, add the chopped onions and cook until soft. Add the can of tomatoes, breaking them up slightly if using whole tomatoes.

Stir in the stock, add the red lentils and salt and pepper. Bring to boil, cover and simmer for about 30 mins or until the lentils are cooked. Add more water while cooking if need be.

When cooked, throw batches into a blender and blend away. At this stage, add the torn basil leaves and 2 cloves of garlic to one of the batches. Yes the garlic is uncooked but will bring out amazing flavours to this soup because of it!

As your batches are being blended, make sure you have a big bowl handy to pour the soup into. Once all complete, you can return it to the stovetop in the saucepan to re heat.

This soup is AMAZING served with an open grilled cheese sandwich. I've served it with vegan cheese above, thats why it looks a bit wrong (vegan cheese doesn't grill too well). You can also freeze the the left over soup.

Buon Appetito!!!

pink; untitled (rose quartz pillows)

artslant.com

Marina Abramovic is definitely an artist I would never have imagined writing about in my research on contemporary artists who have created pink work. She is the Queen of Intense, having topped most lists of 2010 'must see' exhibitions, for her show at MOMA last year titled The Artist Is Present. Very present she was indeed, as she sat  silently for a total of 736-hours and 30-minutes during March 14 to May 31, in the gallery surrounded by lights and dressed in what looked very similar to a Catholic priests robe. Visitors were invited to sit opposite her while they both stared into each others eyes, no words exchanged, for as long as the visitor was able. Talk about intense! This woman made people cry from simply starring into them, so much so that a F.B page was set up as a support group for 'sitters' so they could talk about their experience of sitting opposite the artist!

With this work, which could be seen as humorous, Abramovic creates a sense of deep contemplation around the realms of healing gemstones. The Rose Quartz is considered to be a stone which aids in emotional healing, especially of the heart. These healing stones are normally associated with hippy culture, pie-in-the-sky type attitude with their 'what one must do with the stone' instructions and 'cleansing by the moonlight' rituals. All too much effort for me!

Untitled(Rose Quartz pillows) created in 1994, is meant to represent the Tzadik according to Abramovic. The viewer is to achieve a synthesis of heart, mind and eros whilst standing or leaning into the 'pillows' which are positioned to touch the head, heart and groin, becoming a righteous person through the experience; a Tzadik.   

I find humour in Abramovic calling these pillows. Of course they are pillows!!!! Only she would consider a stone a pillow! She has held workshops and retreats for performance artists  where participants have been known to sleep outside, drink green tea and water only, count grains of rice, sitting and staring at an object for a ridiculously extended period of time and even starring at themselves all day, holding a hand held mirror. 

These 'pillows' are set in a room that looks more like a mausoleum than a room for healing, with the positioning of the 'pillows' in rows against the wall similar to memory plaques for the dead inside. The grey room looks cold and, as if beyond the temperature of freezing point, the pink stones look icy, not warm and inviting as pink often does. Is Abramovic suggesting to be a righteous person is to be close to death? Maybe this is her point and she is wanting us to experience the coldness of death as a reminder that we can be reborn and recreate only through the death of something, whether metaphorically or physically.

Ahhh Marina, thankyou for being who you are and presenting us with a perspective that is so intense it scares me off. 

I will take my pink clouds room for healing thanks!

love; 10 things I love this week

foodblogga.blogspot.com

1. Panettone French Toast for brekky!!!! Katya and I enjoyed it all week following Christmas day when I made my first Panettone ever! If you give the Panettone recipe a go, follow it up the next few days by mixing 4 eggs with 2/3c of milk, a sprinkling of cinnamon and a few drops of vanilla essence. Fry it up in some butter and serve with maple syrup....LOVE!!!!!

justingibbs.com

2.xtranormal.com I was introduced to this website by a friend at LACE the other day. You can create your own movies using the characters available and have hours and hours of fun! It definitely removed the boredom of invigilating for a few hours by making these cute and sweet looking characters swear and curse and say rude things!  Give it a go!!!! Soooo much fun to be had...LOVE!!

thegauntlet.com

3. Marilyn Manson. Yep, I have discovered him in a BIG way this past week while researching Alice in Wonderland stuff. He has been working on a film about Charles Lutwidge Dodgson/Lewis Carroll since 2006. Here is a link to the trailer. What an inspiration!!!! LOVE!!!!

amazon.com

4. Pipilotti Rists book Apricots Along The Streets. I ordered this book a couple of weeks ago and am waiting in anticipation for its arrival! She describes it as 'a book I would love to get from my twin sister, who only exists in my dreams'. Bring it on I say!!!!!! LOVE!!!!

vivapolish.blogspot.com

5. Hot pink nail polish! I love it whilst wearing a black and white outfit. LOVE!

flickr.com

6. PINK CHAMPAGNE!!!!! I do love drinking pink bubbles, but I must admit, I hate the harsh hangover! I always ignore it when I've had a night on the bubbly, well try to anyways. LOVE!!!!

mzephotos.com

7. Macro video and still cameras....I WANT ONE!!!!! I have been working on a new vid and using macro within it and LOVING the detail!!!! Check out macro photography in google images or even better, check out macro video on youtube. Hours and hours of fun!!!! LOVE!

8. I know...sooooo Nineties, but I do love an oil burner. I bought myself one a few months ago and love having it burning away in the corner as I write. Lavender is my favourite. Bring back the oil burner!!!!!! LOVE!

promkit.com

9. Disco balls! Are they not the best invention EVER?!?!?! I used to have one at my last place, affectionately known as Number 12, that would come out for parties. One day I will have one in my bedroom. LOVE!!!!

10. Dressing up for a night on the town. From putting on my make up, to deciding what to wear, sometimes I find this part of the evening a lot more exciting than the evening itself! This is a pic of me last night going to Culver City Gallery Openings. I wore my sequined Mickey ears and completely lost count at the random compliments I received throughout the night. Mickey is definitely held dear to the Americans hearts...LOVE!!!!!

eat; pumkin pizza with caramelised onions and goats cheese

flickr.com

This pizza will knock your socks off and those of your eating guests! I sometimes make it with a pita bread base when I can't be bothered going through the whole thing of preparing the base. When I can, I use Jamie Oliver's pizza base recipe. If using real dough, make sure you place the pizza on a heavy based tray. A terracotta tile can do wonders too!!!!

I'll be posting variations of my vegie pizzas as we go along. My favourite is Eggplant and ricotta cheese...YUM!!!!!

What you need;

1 butternut pumpkin, sliced into 1/2cm thickness

1 red onion, sliced just under 1/2cm rings

2 Tbs balsamic vinegar

1 Tbs brown sugar

1 Tbs of olive oil, plus extra for brushing

Goats cheese

Handfull of rocket (arugula)

Pasta sauce 















Start by making the Pasta sauce and pre heating the oven to hot.

Place cut pumpkin pieces onto a tray that is lined with greaseproof paper. Brush the pumpkin pieces with a little oil and bake for about 20mins in a moderate oven (180c 400f) or until a fork pierces through easily. Do not let the pieces brown.

While the pumpkin pieces are cooking, heat 1 Tbs of oil and when hot, add the onions. Saute on a medium heat for about 5 minutes until soft, then add the balsamic vinegar and brown sugar. Stir through and let simmer for about 10 minutes, or until caramelized.

If using fresh dough, flour the tray that you will be using with either semolina or flour. Roll out dough to fit the pizza tray and the thickness you prefer. I like mine thin. If using pita bread, lay them out on a tray with greaseproof paper

Start to layer the pizza by adding the tomato sauce to cover the base. Add the slices of pumpkin covering to make a single layer. Add the caramelized onions, spreading it evenly over the pumpkin.

Place the pizza into a hot oven for about 10 minutes. When done and still hot, crumb as much goats cheese as you would prefer over the pizza. Top with rocket just before serving.

Buon Appetito!

pink; work no. 329

michaellett.com

I thought it would be fitting to start this year with Martin Creed's Work No. 329: Half The Air In A Given Space, seeing most of you would have been surrounded by balloons only a few nights ago. My dream New Years Eve party is to have balloons fall from the ceiling at midnight with glitter and streamers! That didn't happen this year, instead, I was at a party where the balloons were filled with helium and kissed the ceiling. I can never understand why this would appeal. Why would you want a room filled with balloons that are out of reach?!?!?! It isn't fun!

Martin Creed has created the ultimate 'balloons in a room' experience having done various versions of this work since 1998. He strategically calculates the volume of the space and then blows up balloons to occupy half the volume of the space. His choice of colour has been an issue for him claiming "The first one was white because I couldn't decide on a color – and white is a non-color that allows the people who are in the balloons to be the color. The second one was multicolored because I couldn't decide on a color, and so I had all of them; and when it comes to choosing a color, black is similar to white in that it is not a color – or at least not overtly." (L. Buck, "UK artist Q&A Martin Creed," The Art Newspaper, No. 86, November 1998).

He actually sounds like a kid saying all that about colour, not being able to decide if he wants red ones or blue ones. In 2006, at Auckland's Ivan Anthony Gallery, Creed decided on pink balloons. I couldn't find any information on why he finally chose pink but thank goodness he did. Isn't this heaven?!?!?! Well, it is mine thats for sure! This work gives us permission to reenact the playfulness of childhood. One cannot help but wear a huge smile in such a space, playing within the sea of the balloons. His work does that. It is about experiences and he creates spaces where the viewer can enjoy what is within the space, or not within it. This work makes us aware of air, how it fills a room without us noticing or even being aware of what our relationship may be to it. 

michaellett.com

"By enabling viewers to move freely among the swarm of balloons, Creed creates a purely physical, playful environment in which people are invited to consider their relationship to the air in the room and how they navigate through it." (1) This was a boring quote I came across about the work. Yes it is all that but foremost, I do think Creed simply wanted to experience a room that was filled with balloons, just as the audience would pile up to experience it too! 

We are given permission to play as we once did as children, whether we physically experience this work or simply imagine we are in it. He reminds us of the existence of the child within and invites that child to come out and play. We are dwarfed as adults by the sheer numbers of balloons, feeling as we did as a child about the world around us. It would have been amazing, an experience that would not be easily forgotten. I do hope one day I experience a room full of pink balloons. I don't think I would be able to leave the room until all the balloons become deflated into pink pools of latex.

Below is a video of people experiencing the installation. Looks like soooo much fun!

 

love; things I love this week

echoparkhomesforsale.com

1. Echo Park Lake. Yep a man-made lake a few short blocks away from where I live. I packed a picnic for one the other week and sat in the winter sun reading my lush Pin Up architectural magazine which features Los Angeles, taking breaks from reading to watch the ducks paddle around the lake. LOVE!

2. I heart my hood Echo Park and Silverlake. Full of high and low culture, Hispanics and Hipsters (go the double H!!!!), cheap 99c stores next to one off indy designer dress stores. Great coffee at Intelligetsia where really good looking young men fuss over making you a perfect coffee, the coolest vintage shops and super cheap Mexican food restaurants and supermarkets. Even though we have had two shootings in two weeks (!) I still  LOVE my hood!!!!

slashfood.com

3. My morning routine. I wake up and straight to the stove I go to make myself an espresso. Once done, I go back into my room and start my morning pages, pencil in one hand, coffee in the other. This normally takes about 20-30 mins, then back to the kitchen to make my green smoothie. I do feel sorry for my housemates! Waking to the sound of a blender must be the worst way to start your day!

shutterstock.com

 4. It's been raining here in Lala Land for a few days now (yes, we do get it occasionally!!!!) and I love waking up to it! It is almost a 'get in free' pass to stay in bed and just read all day. I do have the luxury now to be able to decided whether I do or not and let me tell you, it aint a hard decision to make!!!!! LOVE!

planetware.com

5. I hated palm trees for a very long time. Still did when I got here in L.A but I have come to love them! They are a huge part of the history of L.A even though they are not native. Every where you look, you'll see palm trees on the horizon, or sticking up high out of the hills within. I do love them, maybe it's just a symbol of loving L.A!

slinkylikestealth.blogspot.com

6. Driving in L.A! Yes I know, this sounds ridiculous as everyone whinges about the traffic, but I love it!!!!! Natalie has been away for a few days and let me drive her car. I must admit, I was very nervous at the idea but once I was behind the wheel, I felt like a pro again! It has been nearly nine months since I drove and it made me realise how much I miss it. I DO LOVE DRIVING!!!!!!

tutu.com

7. Buying myself and my housemates a tiara for Christmas! How wonderful and necessary for everyone to have one! I'm hoping to wear it in a bubble bath at some stage this year! Our bath here in L.A isn't quite right but I am going to manifest the most amazing bath and fill it with lots and lots of bubbles!!!! LOVE!

disneystore.com

 8. My sequined Minnie Mouse ears!!!! I took the bow off and wore them on New Years Eve! Sooo much fun! I will be wearing them randomly through the year I'm sure!!! LOVE!!!!

9. My new Alice In Wonderland tea cup! I bought this at Disneyland and LOVE it!!!! You can get one too on Amazon. Makes drinking a cup of my Madura soooooo much nicer!!!!!









10. Having friends visit me here in L.A. This week, I have had a friend from Australia with her sister visit and Katya from Chicago. It definitely allows you to be a tourist in the city you live in when friends drop by. LOVE!!!!!!

eat; panettone (and bonus recipe!)

sultanas.gr

I had such a great response from my Chrissy blog special that I decided to try and make a Panettone for Christmas day. Katya was coming from Chicago so I thought it would be the perfect time to create one for my first time EVER! It is a chore (lots and lots of  waiting, kneading and beating!) but the rewards are totally worth it!

We had sooo much fun hanging in the kitchen catching up on what was news in our lives and enjoying the smells that were coming from the oven. I had prepared an orange and green vegetable lasagna (recipe coming soon!!!!) the day before so I was free to prepare the panettone on the day of Christmas while the lasagna was in the oven. I initially put WAY too many packets of yeast to foam up and had to throw two thirds of it away. Changing grams into ounces is still confusing me and after a google search, I found out compressed yeast is different in weight to dried yeast!!!! I have changed the recipe below to cater for dry as it is easier to get a hold of.

Another thing I discovered was to take off the handles from a 23cm pot so I could bake the Panettone in it. It made the perfect mould and allowed the Panettone to rise high. If using a pot, make sure the handles are either metal or that you can unscrew the plastic handles! You could purchase a panettone paper mould or a non stick panettone pan if you are serious about it.

I also made Amaretti biscuits as the Panettone recipe had called for three extra egg yolks and I didn't want to throw the whites away. I hear you can freeze the egg whites for another time but I have never had luck with doing this. You have to make sure you write on the outside of your container how many egg whites are in there, otherwise you will forget!!!!! So today, being my last post for the year, you will get a double bonus and get two recipes in one!!!!! 

This recipe is from Womans Weekly Italian cookbook. I have tried and tested their biscuits over and over again and I have found the simplicity very successful. Give this a go for New Years Day! It will make the house smell amazing and it also makes great french toast! YUM!

What you need:

1 1/2 cups sultanas

1/2 mixed peel*

1/2 cup of Masala (or rum)

30g (1 1/4 oz) dry yeast

1 tsp sugar

1/4 cup lukewarm water

3 eggs

3 egg yolks, extra

6 TB sugar, extra

5 cups plain flour

1 1/2 tsp salt

the rind of 1 small lemons, grated

100g butter

1 Tb oil

1 cup lukewarm milk

1 egg, extra for glazing

*(candied orange and lemon. If you can't get this, double the lemon rind and add the rind of an orange)

Take the butter out of the fridge a few hours before preparation so it will be at room temperature when you start cooking. Combine sultanas, chopped mixed peel and Masala and let soak for 45 mnutes, turning every 15minutes.

Combine yeast, sugar and lukewarm water in a small bowl and mix well. Let stand in a warm place for 5 minutes or until the mixture becomes frothy.

Beat the eggs, extra egg yolks and extra sugar until combined.

Sift the flour and salt into a large bowl, add lemon rind (and orange if using), butter and oil. Stir in egg mixture, lukewarm milk, then the yeast mixture and the undrained fruit mixture.

Take a wooden spoon and beat the dough quickly and vigorously for about 5 minutes. This beating is very important so do not be a slacker!

When you start beating, the dough is almost like a cake batter. You have reached the desired texture when the dough is elastic, leaving the sides of the dough.

Cover the bowl with cling wrap and let stand in a warm place without drafts for 45 minutes or until the dough has doubled in bulk. 

Prepare a pot as mentioned above (23cmD 16cmH) by using grease proof paper. Place  the pot onto a sheet and trace around it's bottom to create a circle. Cut it out and place it on the inside. Cut some more paper to wrap around the inside of the pot, making sure it goes a few centimeters higher than the pot itself.

Once the dough has doubled in size, turn dough onto a well-floured surface and knead lightly. Cut dough in half and knead each half on the well-floured surface for 3-5 minutes or until the dough loses its stickiness. Place the two halves on top of each other in  the prepared pot and let stand in a warm place for 20-30 minutes or until the dough has doubled in bulk.

Once the Panettone has risen, brush the top with the extra egg that is lightly beaten.

Bake in a moderately hot oven (220-230c 425-450f) for 15 minutes then turn down the heat to a moderate oven (190-200c 375-400f) for a further 30 minutes. Check it after 20 minutes and if you find the colour is great on top, cover the Panettone with aluminum foil with the shiny side up. Use a skewer when time is up to check if the inside is cooked.

Turn out immediately onto a wire rack to cool. Once cool, you can dust with icing sugar if you wish.

My first Panettone!!!!! OMG!!!! I was soooo impressed when I turned it out that I wanted to kiss it!!!!! I will never buy one again! My house smelt soooo amazing all day. We ended  our Christmas day by eating roasted chestnuts and Panettone and washing it down with Champagne....What a great day! Thanks Katya for coming from freezing Chicago to spend Chrissy with me in California!!!!!

Buon Apettito!!!

mccullagh.org

So here is what to do with the left over egg whites. You can keep the egg whites in an airtight container in the fridge for up to two days before having to use them.

Amaretti biscuits have an amazing chewy texture on the inside and a crunchy outside. They are soooo morish!!!! Whenever I bake these infront of guests, I cannot keep up with the dissappearing act that goes on! Eveyone loves these and they are sooooo easy to make!!!! They store well in the pantry for a week or so, thats if you can resist them!!!! 

What you need;

190g ground almonds (place whole raw almonds into a blender if you can't get almond meal)

1 1/2 cups sugar

3 lge egg whites

1/2 tsp vanilla

1 or 2 drops almond essence

blanched almonds for decorating (to remove skins, place in a bowl and pour boiling water on them. Wait till the water is cool and then peel)

Place all the ingredients except for the blanched almonds which we will use for decoration later, in a small bowl of an electric mixture.  With a spoon, mix all the ingredients together. 

Beat the mixture on a medium speed of your electric mixer for three minutes and then let stand for 5 minutes.

Spoon the mixture into a piping bag. If you don't have one (my share house aint got one!) do as I have done in this photo and simply clip the corner of a zip lock bag with scissors to create a hole. Cut about 1 cm in, across the corner.

Pipe the mixture onto a grease proof sheet of paper into about 4 cm in diameter rounds. Place a half blanched almond on each one and pop into moderate oven (190-200c 375-400f) for about 10-12 minutes or until lightly browned. Leave on the trays for a few minutes before using a metal spatula to move them onto a wire cooling rack.

Buon Apettito!!!!