Archive for February, 2006

  • Illustration Friday: Simple

    Date: 2006.02.15 | Category: design | Response: 1


    Simple. A plate, a wooden table, a red wall. My homage to Scandinavian design, to its vibrant colours, clear shapes and contrasts of plain wood and plain white. I’m thinking Marimekko, Ikea, Kosta Boda and how what you see as a child influences the designs you like as an adult.

    Marimekko is still a big influence on artists and crafts people – see whip up. Sometimes people rather laugh at Ikea, it’s funny diagrams and put-it-together-yourself philosophy. But I have fond memories of Ikea Gordon in the ’80s, and of the contrast between what Ikea’s furniture and most other furniture available then. And I still can’t understand some designers on the UK changing rooms hating pine. Maybe I’ve never looked properly at the woods they love, only seen the bad quality knock-offs made for those Aussies who can’t come to terms with living here …

    It’s interesting that Mum, Nan and many other Sydneysiders were so influenced by Scandinavian design and Marion Hall Best. I fully understand that bright colours and a sense of space and clean are vital in countries that experience long, dark winters. But why should the same things work so well where there is plenty of space and light? I don’t know …

    Of course, simple design is not simple. My drawing captures a little of how I feel, but can’t match what I see in my head.

  • Self Portrait Tuesday

    Date: 2006.02.14 | Category: random | Response: 1


    I’ll give you a riddle -

    who has …
    … an Italian name but is not Italian?
    … a law degree but is not a lawyer?
    … trouble adding up but is studying science?
    … fluent French but has never been to France?
    … a complete set of the UK changing rooms magazine, ring bound, but no landlord’s permission to paint the walls?
    … bought no novels in the last 5 years but many, many non-fiction books?
    … filmed, edited, floor managed, directed and produced TV programs but rarely seen TV when growing up?
    … said traditional wedding vows in church, wearing red and black and receiving a plastic (and silver) ring?
    … a husband who actually thinks a yellow sofa is a good idea, and whose favourite colour is also red?
    … a daughter she loves very much?

    All of me, all the contradictions, all me. Happy Valentine’s Day to everyone, singles and couples alike!

  • easy dinner #02

    Date: 2006.02.13 | Category: home | Response: 0


    My favourite in any Japanese restaurant is always Oyako-don (followed closely by salmon sushi with lots of wasabi, yum). I’ve been searching for a simple Oyako-don recipe for some time, and I think I finally found one here. For some reason, I love dishes combining egg and meat…

    Shopping list (for 2):

    • 1 cup dry (3 cups cooked) rice
    • 150g or so chicken thigh meat
    • 1 brown onion
    • 3 eggs
    • 2 and 1/2 tablespoons soy sauce
    • 2 and 1/2 tablespoons mirin (sweet sake)
    • 1 sachet dashi (soup broth) mixed in 2/3 cup boiling water
    • 1 teaspoon sugar

    Cooking:

    • Slice chicken and onion into small pieces.
    • Put rice on to boil. My Singaporean friends taught me to put the rice in the saucepan; flatten it; then fill with water from the tip of your index finger touching the rice to your first finger joint.
    • At the same time, boil the chicken and onion in the soy sauce, mirin, dashi, water and sugar.
    • Once the chicken is cooked, swirl in the eggs without scrambling them too much. Cook eggs, but once they start bubbling strongly, put on the lid and steam them about 5 minutes or until cooked.
    • Serve rice and place chicken/egg mixture on top without breaking it up too much. Miso soup and a fresh green salad to complete the meal.

    Actually, I was rather impressed. Tasted pretty authentic to me, although I’m not Japanese. ;D Enjoy!

  • easy dinner #01

    Date: 2006.02.11 | Category: home | Response: 0


    The first of a series, hopefully. I’m searching for enough easy-to-make but tasty recipes to fill a week or so of dinners. This is my first find, from one of Jamie Oliver’s books. Adapted so that the ingredients are easy to buy at Mr Lucky’s supermarket and so the instructions are the sort I understand.

    Shopping list (for 2):

    • enough bow-ties (pasta) for 2
    • sealed pack of bacon (Weight Watchers, preferrably) 3 slices or 6 rounds
    • 200 ml pure cream (King Island Dairy) only 1/4 actually used
    • 1 egg (only buy 6 eggs if you don’t use them much)
    • black pepper
    • small bag baby peas (frozen)

    Cooking:

    • Put the water on to boil. Yes, really. Cooking the pasta’s the most time consuming part.
    • Fry bacon in minimum oil until cooked, then turn the frying pan off. Put the bow-ties in the water as soon as it starts boiling.
    • Whisk 1/4 of the cream with the egg and pepper. Keep an eye on pasta.
    • Put the peas in with the bow-ties as soon as they start going pale at the edges. I like a lot of peas, 2 generous cups.
    • Drain peas and bow-ties in a colander, immediately empty the colander into the fry pan (where the bacon is) and stir in the cream and eggs mixture. Don’t turn the frying pan on again, the egg is cooked by the warmth of the bow-ties.
    • Serve and eat. A little parmesan is nice.

  • summer garden

    Date: 2006.02.10 | Category: food gardens | Response: 2


    The little courtyard garden is going surprisingly well, I think the watering restrictions are suiting it. The mandarin, for instance, used to only be watered when its leaves looked r..e..a..l..l..y droopy (about 10 times per year). But now I can’t just water it whenever, the mandarin gets watered at least once a week, usually twice. And it’s loving it! Heaps of new growth, at least 30cm I reckon, and lots of green mandarins waiting for winter. The lemonade tree’s also going well – it’s new this year from Digger’s.

    In the middle is my experiment with growing cucumbers and popcorn (and, yes, for those of you with well-trained eyes – at least 1 zucchini). Seed from my favourite sources – Eden, Digger’s (again) and New Gippsland. I’m not sure whether they’ll keep growing well in pots, but at the moment they’re looking good. The idea is the cucumbers climb the popcorn, although really, I should have planted the popcorn first – so I might need a few stakes later. Sort of rushed putting them in because I decided I just couldn’t waste the summer, and I read that sweet corn viability drops quickly after a year. The pots are intended for some trees (olives and hazelnut I’m thinking) once the weather cools, but there’s no harm in a summer experiment!?!

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