Bondi Beach
The best time to go on holiday depends on the seasons and the reasons. To escape from a dreadful climate. To escape from a task that you don’t want to do. To escape from boredom. To escape from the drudgery of an office job. To escape from a heartbreak. I don’t know about you. But I go on holiday to escape. Period.
Carrot cake with pistachios and walnuts
About two weeks ago, I met an American from Michigan who moved to New Zealand and unexpectedly became a Kiwi farmer. In 2009, he started a WordPress blog called Moon Over Martinborough to chronicle their life in the farm which eventually led to a best-selling book of the same title. Carrot cake everyone wants is the most enticing story behind a recipe that I’ve ever read. It teaches you a lesson about sharing your most beloved recipes, unless you want an angry mob of pitchfork-carrying farmers at your door.
New Zealand passionfruit
I wish I was blogging about passionfruit cheesecake and eating one right now. Wishing is one thing, making it happen is another. Perhaps another time! For now I just marvel at the thought and sight of these wonderful, wrinkly, sour and sweet little things called passionfruit.
One good thing about attending food bloggers conferences is you get freebies from food industry sponsors. But I was overwhelmed with the three bags of goodies I had to take home from the International Food Bloggers Conference (IFBC) in Seattle, Washington.
Last year’s International Food Bloggers Conference was held in Portland, Oregon. It wasn’t part of my planned trip to the U.S. so I didn’t go. This year though, I finally did. I took the train to Seattle, Washington and stayed in the foodie capital for 3 days.
The following photos were actually taken a year ago during a road trip to Seattle. They are still valid, I guess. Pictures don’t have expiration dates.
On the way to the famous Pike Place Market.
One of the highlights of my trip to Portland Oregon was spending time with Lara Ferroni in her studio. If you are a food blogger + photographer and you don’t know who Lara Ferroni is, then you should read no further.
I’ve had a marvelous vacation and was out of the country for seven glorious weeks. But look what I found waiting for me under the kitchen sink?
Some mouse (and company) decided to make a toilet out of the cupboard where I kept my food photography props!
Canon 600D, ISO 400, 1/60 sec, f/2.8, 24-70mm
“Anything worth doing well is worth doing poorly at first, and it is often worth doing poorly several times until you master it.” ~ Brian Tracy
DISASTER in the kitchen! No, I’m not talking about the time I almost burned the house while frying tofu. This is about two failed attempts at cooking experiments involving flour and pastry (again).
First I tried to make vegetable tempura from supermarket bought tempura mix and dark beer. I sought advice from my Japanese friend who at one time brought a platter of vegetable tempura to a party. It was a hit and I wanted to recreate it. A tablespoon of batter for each tempura and a pair of chopsticks are the secret weapon, she said. I missed to ask her about the rest. I ended up with tempura that were soggy outside and half-cooked inside. The plate for the photo shoot remained empty.
The kitchen is my playground. 