Tuesday 30 October 2012

100 New Recipes ~ Spiced Lentil Soup with Coconut Milk

Part of my Life List challenge to try 100 new recipes ~ #5 Spiced Lentil Soup with Coconut Milk
 
 
I first saw this on Felicity Weller & had to immediately try it for myself. And I'm so glad I did. This recipe was an absolute winner, & I'll be making it many, many more times in the future.
 
This is the recipe, although I made a few slight changes out of necessity. I used brown lentils rather than green, added a little tumeric and curry powder, rather than one or the other, used lemongrass from a jar, left out the cardamom (my man is not a fan), & used powdered nutmeg rather than fresh. I only had a small handful of fresh baby spinach so I added some frozen spinach as well. And, obviously, I used dessicated coconut rather than flaked.

 
We ate this with our favourite garlic & coriander roti on the side. One of the most delicious meals I've eaten in a while. This soup is very similar to a dahl, though a little sweeter. Even better ~ the leftovers the next night. The flavours were perfect, & the lentils had soaked up the excess liquid. We added some greek yoghurt, which worked perfectly.
 
Seriously, you need to make this for your dinner tonight. Deliciousness!

Friday 26 October 2012

Wilder & Tamer

WILDER

~ The Bishop family house from Moonrise Kingdom.

~ Friends who are willing to help you out when you need it, & expect nothing in return.

~ Watching Kowhai smile in her sleep.

~ I left Koko with her Granny On Wednesday afternoon & took myself on a date. I went to see Pitch Perfect, which was great, bought myself popcorn & soda, & completely blissed out. It was a much needed recharge. Although I have had No Diggity stuck in my head ever since. I can't decide if this is Wilder or Tamer.

~ Pikelets for breakfast.

TAMER

~ Paul Henry apologists.

~ Maggots.

~ Prowlers.

~ Holiday weekend road tolls.

~ 'Saints & Angels' parties for Halloween. I love that Halloween is about embracing the sinister & the scary. If you're not into that then just ignore the holiday altogether, which is pretty easy to do here in New Zealand.

Thursday 25 October 2012

Wilder Web

Relevant. Advice on how not to blow a marriage. (via Laura McQuillan)

Oh gosh! Last week I said I was considering buying Luxirare's Leather Scarf. Well, there are more & I want them all.

Kanye Wes. Kanye West lyrics over Wes Anderson film stills.

Oh my goodness I am SO IN LOVE WITH THIS WEDDING!!! A humanist ceremony! An alternative hymn! Handfasting! Handmade gifts! LOVE!

Mama Likes This has found the most adorable round up of Halloween costumes for the kiddies.

21 Adult Novelty Costumes Explained. (via Sarah-Rose)

4 Little Ways To Show People You Love 'Em. Although sometimes, when Christmas is coming up & you know your beloved bro-in-law is notoriously bad at buying presents for your sister, you say "Hey dude, there's a Loudon Wainwright album in Evil Genius at the mo'. She'd love that." And he replies "I've got it covered." And then your sister gets a can opener for Christmas. TRUE STORY.

"You don't own me" PSA ~

 
The Adele Cackle ~
 

Friday 19 October 2012

Wilder & Tamer

WILDER

~ When strangers offer to lend you a hand on the street.

~ Movie nights with friends.

~ That house cleaning motivation that comes with impending visitors. So productive.

~ Trying new things.

~ My Doctor. He is nice.

~ Lunch dates.

TAMER

~ Flies.

~ My lungs.

Thursday 18 October 2012

Wilder Web

I like Kris Atomic's contrast of What We Pretend Fashion Week Looks Like & What Fashion Week Actually Looks Like. As usual, both sets of photos are gorgeous.

The diary of a woman & mother of three who goes on strike from household chores.

I could quite happily live in this home. Quite happily. (via Yes and Yes)

Sooo relevant! Put a Bird on that Manifest Destiny Tee: Some Thoughts on Eco-Grief, Hipster Racism, and the Series of Indigenous Tubes. (via Alice) "We need to find ways – as individuals, as families, as educators, as learners, as communities, as nations, settler and Indigenous – to enter back into our shared histories and landscapes. Bad birds on cute hats and Pocahottie costumes come from the same place: impoverishment (of knowledge and context and experience) combined with privilege, be it corporate, racial, urban, or otherwise."
 
I am seriously considering buying Luxirare's Leather Scarf. If only it weren't so pricey! Perhaps I'll have a go at a DIY version.
 
This girl = my new hero. Omaha schoolgirl dresses as a different historical figure each day. "Neither parent supplies the costumes or the ideas. They just roll with what Stella wants to do and support her, grateful that she's emulating stories and strength, not beauty."

The Simpsons opening real life style ~

(via Phil)

Relevant: What if money was no object ~


Capuchin monkeys reject unequal pay ~

(via Matt)

Waterfall swing! I want a go! ~
 

Thursday 11 October 2012

Wilder Web

I love this video for the NZBCF.

Hilarious. An A-Z Guide to 'Beverly Hills, 90210' Style. "Mom jeans. It was an epidemic."

A mattress spring clean. Yep. Gonna do this.

This is...slightly depressing. Why Hogwarts Was All in Harry's Head: A Conspiracy Theory. (via Morgue)

10 Words You Literally Didn't Know You Were Getting Wrong. (via Dooce) The misuse of 'literally' is one of my pet peeves.

A Rube Goldberg Machine That's Powered By Parkour! (via Nick) This starts off fairly standard (Rube Goldberg standard still being amazing) & then gets mind-blowing.

Zoetica Ebb contributed a couple of sweet sketches to an amazing proposal idea.

This Sikh woman is my new hero. (via The Lady Garden) "...baptized Sikhs believe in the sacredness of this body – it is a gift that has been given to us by the Divine Being [which is genderless, actually] and, must keep it intact as a submission to the divine will. Just as a child doesn’t reject the gift of his/her parents, Sikhs do not reject the body that has been given to us. By crying ‘mine, mine’ and changing this body-tool, we are essentially living in ego and creating a seperateness between ourselves and the divinity within us."

Susan Sontag's 10 Rules on Child Raising. (via Yes and Yes)

Almost equal is almost bullshit. Sarah-Rose's submission in support of the Marriage Amendment Bill is fantastic, as expected. "I feel like my marriage is weakened by the fact that those I love who are in same-sex relationships cannot share in this institution. Marriage will be made stronger by making it free."

Not Your Erotic, Not Your Exotic ~

 
How Not to Write About Africa ~
 
(via Lauren)
 
I don't know much about Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard, but this speech is bloody fantastic. Bravo! (via The Wellington Young Feminists' Collective)
 

Saturday 6 October 2012

Wilder Women

Oh. My. Goddess! These Wilder Women totally deserved a post to themselves. Awesome!

Friday 5 October 2012

Wilder & Tamer

WILDER

~ Coleslaw.

~ Making new friends.

~ Evil Genius is turning one! I am so proud of Apa and all the hard work he's put in there. And so excited about the weekend's celebrations.

~ Being able to put Koko in her highchair & give her finger food to feed herself, rather than having to spend an age spooning meals in.

~ Making time to catch up with people you haven't seen for a while.

~ Kim Kardashian on the cover of Sunday magazine. Love the hair, love the make up, love the dress. Stunning.



TAMER

~ I lost my running mojo. Stink! I'm trying to claw it back, but it is HARD.

~ When other peoples grumpy moods rub off on you.

~ Ungrateful people.

Thursday 4 October 2012

Wilder Web

Full respect to The Penis Mom. Awesome!

Vic Books have listed their Beautiful Backlist all time favourite books, & again my reading list grows.

The Sacred Tattoo crew went on a class trip to a sculpture farm & now I want to go there.

Did you read The Baby-Sitters' Club series as a kid? I did. And in every single story there was a description of Claudia Kishi's outfit. Some brilliant women kicked off the #kishi twitter hashtag for people to talk about what they're wearing a la Claudia. It's pretty fun. This sums it up for me pretty well.

Ugh. Shame. National Geographic calls New Zealand on our 100% Pure branding regarding a decision to protect the fishing industry rather than the Ross Sea.

I'm not at all familiar with the story or music of Les Miserables, but after watching this I am really excited for the movie. I'm always disappointed when really talented singers in TV & movies are lip-synching, so knowing that all the singing has been filmed live is awesome. (via Morgue)

Hey, Menfolk! Francis from The Wellington International Ukulele Orchestra has some fashion advice for you. "If someone suggests that you not wear something, listen to there reasoning, evaluate it, politely thank them for their opinion and then completely ignore it."

For my fellow interiors geeks ~ some good styling tips. (via Gala Darling)

10 Reasons To Be Insanely Jealous Of Rooney Mara, And 6 Reasons To Hate Her. (via Dooce)

The Problem With The Emmy Awards In 5 Pictures. (also via Dooce)

Yes! The moral case for sex before marriage. (via The Lady Garden) "We'd be a lot better-off if we recognized that sex is incredibly important to a lot of people, and, for most couples, sexual compatibility is necessary for a great marriage. You really can't tell if you're sexually compatible unless you have sex. The insistence that premarital sex is dirty or perverse makes it a whole lot harder to have necessary conversations. And a worldview that positions sex as shameful and bad also isn't going to evaporate on your wedding night."

Where has my little girl gone? doesn't tell us anything we don't already know about the early sexualisaton of young girls, but it does give some really good tips on things parents can do to combat this.

Cloud! An interactive art installation. I love the communal joy of the people in the video. Happy! (via Yes and Yes)

Eep! Two people living in a studio apartment & still managing to make it adorable. Also, Bunk Beds! (also via Yes and Yes)

Bahahahahaha! The Chatroulette version of Call Me Maybe. Kinda NSFW.

(again, via Yes and Yes)
 
I'm not at all familiar with Seanan McGuire or her work, but I like her response to being asked when her female characters would be raped. (via Moata Tamaira) "Velveteen brings toys to life and uses them to fight the powers of darkness. Sarah is a hot mathematician who looks like Zooey Deschanel but is actually a hyper-evolved parasitic wasp. The unrealistic part about all these characters? Is that they haven't been raped."