April Bellabox

Be Fashion Forward. That was the theme this month. And I am trying to stay true to the theme by donning my heeled pumps and doing a few more OOTD posts than I would normally do. This month's bellabox has been well worth its weight in the subscription.

Included in the sturdy box (last month it was a calico bag, but we are back it would seem on the luxe box) has been

1) Comvita Brightening range: samples of the Facial Exfoliant, Facial Serum and Moisturiser of which I really liked the exfoliant and serum for their texture and finish and the serum especially absorbs really quickly. The moisturiser on the other hand didn't absorb well and was really unpleasant to put on, dragging on the nice soft skin after exfoliation and matting the glow from the serum. Mr.HEA declared I smelt like clay that night and wouldn't peck me on the cheek goodnight. So this Moisturiser doesn't get a tick.

2) Ulta3 Nail Polish Range that retails at $2 for 13mls! Cheap as chips nail polish that doesn't chip easily, goes on smooth and dries quicker than normal. I got the enchanted colour which is a little onyx in the bottle, purply in one coat but finishes after 3 coats like a pearly charcoal.

3) pureDKNY Verbena scent sample: a sweet pure scent that has some complex undertones after you let the scent linger. It's actually quite a fresh perfume and I can see it suit the young woman perfectly as it isn't overpowering, but holds its own in a demure way.

4) OP Therapy summer scrub: Luxe smelling sea salt scrub that really does remind you of that summer away with it tropical hints. The sea salt is coarse but not at all rough with all thes essential oils that gets absorbed whilst you slough away the dead cells, leaving behind new baby soft skin.

5) Nak Aroma Hair Oil: Giving off a soft baby powder scent, this Hair Oil tames wild frizz, perfect for the newly found humidity in Sydney. It is waxy and gel like from the bottle but absorbs surprisingly quick into hai leaving a nice sheen and quite the salon finish. I got the 10 mls which will probably last me about 15 uses? At $11.95 for 100mls, I definitely will be revisiting this product.

6) Hollywood Feet gel cushions: Using these in high heels gives relief to the balls of your feet to be sure, but I have wide feet and will need relieve for the sides of my big toes rather. Still really thoughtful of the team to at Bellabox to include these for all the shopping in heels the ladies will be doing this fashion week!

This is my last bellabox for a little while. Don't get me wrong. I really enjoyed the thrill of it in the last three months, and will miss the excitement of not knowing what each month's delivery has in store for me, but its given me so many products that I want to introduce into my routine (which is really what I joined for) that I want to do just that for the moment and then sign up again when I am ready to try new things again. Hope you enjoyed the last three months as much as I have with the bellabox!



Perfect Pizzas and a lovely Anzac day

Having a mid week day off with all your friends is one of the best things sometimes. I hadn't had a chance since Christmas to properly catch up with this bunch and so when Anzac day came on a Wednesday and we had no other plans, we all jumped at the chance of a get together.

The idea was a pizza lunch party where I supplied the pizza dough and everyone else brought a different topping of choice and we made our own pizzas. It was great fun and also an opportunity to let our 'kids' get to know each other.  See, my other post about me not being at the stage of having kids, my friends are in the same boat I suppose, but they still wanted to have the companionship and be able to pour their love onto a little one and so, they have gone and acquired pets. One a full grown staffordshire terrier and the other, a fourteen week old 'spoodle' (Cocker spaniel cross poodle), both brought together at our place for the first time.

I really enjoyed the day, simple as it is, cooking with close friends, sharing a lovely meal and a few cuppas, having the dogs run around beserk, going to a park in the sunshine, all lent themselves to another beautiful memory creation.

I didn't take many pictures of the day, but here's what I got:

Pizzas! Made with the perfect pizza dough recipe which I share below

OOTD: A lovely boutique stripped top with cascading ruffles from the markets paired with zigzag stockings

And then layered with my tan Misonni scarf and a beige Portmans pleather jacket

My Darling friends gave me a very belated birthday present: A Mystique candle and...

Leona Edminston stockings! Perfect for the wintry weather we are coming into!

 Now, for the Perfect Pizza dough recipe (No kidding, this really is the perfect pizza dough).

It makes 4 thin-crust italian-style pizzas.

1. Sift 500g of "00" or strong white flour into a bowl, and add a pinch of salt, and a 7g sachet of dried yeast. Make a well in the centre of the flour and then slowly add 360ml of warm water, stirring as you go with a wooden spoon or the dough beaters of a food mixer. After you've added in half of the water and the dough is coming together, you can begin adding in 60ml of olive oil too. Keep mixing until all the oil and water has been mix in with the dry ingredients and it forms a soft dough.

2. Place the dough on a clean floured surfacem and knead firmly, using the heel of your hand, folding the dough over as you go. Do this for about 10 minutes, until it become soft and spongy.

3. Put the dough back in the bowl, cover with cling film or a damp tea towel and leave in a warm place (you can preheat the oven to about 50 degrees celcius and leave the bowl in there) for about 30-40 minutes or until it has doubled in size.

4. Turn the dough out onto the floured surface again and knead with your knuckles for a couple of minutes to knock out the air. Divide the dough into four and roll each piece out as thinly as you can, rolling away from you and turning as you do so that it is round. It does tend to spring back a little too.

5. Transfer onto a hot, lightly oiled baking tray and fill with your toppings of choice. Bake in oven at 250 degrees celcius for 15 minutes.

6. Serve Hot!

Random things until I find my voice

Hmmm... there have been a few things to mull over of late, amongst which are the questions of where our marriage is headed towards. Somewhere underneath the happy shopping and warm cups of Nespressos shared with the Husband, there are conversations that we are having that I have not shared with my blog or my family and friends.

That is, no we are not expecting as I have had a lovely sushi lunch today and am enjoying a casual drink tonight out of our wedding favours of Hendrick's Gin & Tonic.
When I was at Nobu just over a week ago I ordered this very drink and heard a man amongst the patrons explain to his female companion why there was a cucumber in my drink as I carried it to the sushi bar. I do not understand why it works either, but the cucumber accentuates just how smooth and almost menthol-like the finish is on this particular scottish gin. Absolutely divine.

I digress. Anyways, there isn't much I am prepared to share yet, mostly because the conversations have not led anywhere remotely concrete yet. But I can share this. There will not be any little HEAs in the horizon. I might be clucky, but there are other things Mr.HEA needs to achieve first before we head down that path and as impatient as I am, I hope to be able to support him in his dreams, pursuits and ambition. At least for now, when I can afford the time.

I promise I will share, and then explain my decision further to those of you who might judge differently. At this point in time, I am still easily swayed otherwise, so I cannot write with certainty.

There are other things to be happy about in the meantime, beyond being able to drink irresponsibly and eat without reservation just about anything I might fancy...I also am able to shop at whim and put more time into building my career. Ahhh, that next step. I have been taking a few meetings with our stakeholders by myself of late. Lotsa autonomy at work and empowerment which I treasure dearly. Today over coffee with a client, I found that my milk jug had left a rather curious stain on the wooden table and I could not resist a happy snap.

Perhaps this was life's way of letting me know that there is something happy to smile about still. Even in something as simple as the embrace of a loved one, the kiss of a friend and the smile of a milk stain.  

New fixation with animal prints just got worse

I know you have seen these from earlier this week, but since then it's gotten just a tad more nagging.

I have gone off the rockers with my obessession with exotic print. Sped along of course by gorgeous fashion bloggers' impeccable tastes: Crashing Red's outfit to the Emporio Armani store launch had me floored and so walking in to my health care provider today and faced with the unbearable prospects of potentially losing out on claiming my full $200 eye care benefits, I decided the only way to salvage the situation was to buy oneself a pair of designer frames.
I had to cover a significant gap of $292 for these, so I am really hoping that the obsession will last me at least until the end of the year to justify the spend

These Fendi Snake skin glasses are a bit out there considering I intend to wear them to work. However, I have always been conservative with the eyewear so I figure this would be a welcome change to spice things up.
I have also got my eye on these pants from Zara to satiate my appetite should I be able to find them and pull off the look:

Source: Zara

Leaving you with an OOTD for good measure:

 wearing Burberry Blue Label Jacket in Black, Gap skinny jeans, Forever New Metallic tank, open toed wedges by Wittner and Black Abbey tote from Gucci. And rocking the Rebecca Minkoff iPhone cover.

Dancing in the rain and animal prints

It was tough coming back from nice warm Melbourne to Rainy Cold Sydney. I have felt several times this year that perhaps the temperamental Melbourne has swapped weather hormones with Sydney once and for all. *shivers*

Whilst squelching in my gripless thongs and trying very hard not to slip on the wet floor, I just couldn't stop thinking about the last time the weather was like this and how I mused over a purchase that very quickly slipped my mind when the sun shone again.

I couldn't bear the thought of my first day back in the office with squelchy shoes, so I hopped into House of Leather in Wynyard to purchase myself a lovely pair of gumboots (Above) to match my polka dot brolly. I am now officially part of a club of really fashionably sensible ladies in the office. Exhibit below:

Was it wrong to be so happy in the rain all the way to the post office in my gumboots to pick up my Bellabox April delivery and then to Mallhaciel's office after work to collect this lovely? (She'd help me order it because if you order above $100 from shopbop you get free delivery to Australia! And on top of that the generous soul that she is, she bought me a bottle of O.P.I Malaysian Mist too, just because...)

The box is gorgeous. But Mallhaciel quickly pointed to the equally provocative warning label which cracked us both up in the street.  

I don't know what's come over me but somewhere in the last month or so I fell in love with Fuschia and then exotic animal print. Like the Cheetah print of this lovely Rebecca Minkoff iphone cover really has everything I was looking for. It was versatile, easy to remove without breaking my nails but at the same time it was just snug and gives good grip which is extra protection for my phone from a klutz like me.

In other evidence supporting my case, I have been toting the python tote that held the Priceline Beauty Bag that I got from my Revlon lip butter purchases because I am crazy over it. And in my latest shopping escapade in Melbourne, I picked this crazy Lara faded pleated maxi skirt in Python to try on my cami with. I bought the cami, but left the skirt behind just in case it was an impulse.

But I keep thinking about it!

Anyways, times are a bit tough for a lot of people with the current economic climate and I feel guilty having so much fun with my indulgences. I've had a too lovely a weekend to justify jumping straight into another purchasing spree on Shopbop, so I closed the window reluctantly and am trying to block out the memory of the 20% discount code InTheFamily20 at least until tomorrow when it expires.

But those of you who are feeling a little shitty about the gloomy Sydney weather (I know you are out there, I see you on Twitter), if you have been good this last month, then please do feel free to benefit from the discount and be sure to tell me about your purchases!

Mundane travels made interesting by e Logies

I am in Melbourne for work and have so happen to have been put up in Crown Promenade. Surprisingly, it was really exciting being in Logies town, and I have had more celebrity spotting than bargained for so I am really glad I came down earlier today to spend the day.

This morning did not set out to be a great one, which was why I was not expecting it at all when Lyn Collingwood (Colleen Smart from Home and Away) stepped in and cut in front of me whilst boarding the plane. I didn't mind, but it didn't even occur to me Then who she was. I was fastening my seatbelt when Erik Thomson from Packed to the Rafters edged past me to his seat a few rows further back and again I thought, it couldn't be, because they would already be in Melbourne already surely?

It wasn't until we were at the baggage carousel and I noticed Manu Feidel, Rebecca Gibney, and a few other Packed to the Rafters stars amongst us when I realized that it was really them! And swooned that I was on the same flight as them.

I also went weak at the knees when I saw Charles Cottier (Dexter from Home and Away) in the taxi queue with me, and later, (gosh I hope he does not think I was stalking him) at the check in counter at Crown... But I was at the wrong one, so no I am not staying in the same one as Charles.

I see a lot of them (TV personalities) just walking around the Crown grounds, around the reception, sneaking into the casino, getting in and out of the lifts but I don't know them enough to place them.
The Tweens were just everywhere...





Interrupting every five minutes of my first experience at Nobu, the Tweens either screeched or sang One Directioner songs. They were crowded around the atrium awaiting the appearance of 1D of course.

I left them behind to go shopping in the city and picked up a decent haul from Ganache, Pleasure State and Shimmer tank from Forever New.


 

When I came back to the hotel, the red carpet had begun evidently. My hotel room was pierced with random screeches, and I was six floors up behind glass...





It was the start of the red carpet, so these lucky tweens got first peek of the lovely frocks and celebs. I watched from where I was for a bit but it was difficult not knowing who I was watching cause I couldn't see their faces, so I decided to hit the sauna instead.

Back at my room later, and there were crazy lights at Crown Towers...that must have been the 1D performance.





I am sorry I was too shy to whip out my phone to take photos of these sightings I speak of ( this would make me the worst blogger ever) but it was a really lovely day. Would definitely put this weekend up there as one of the best ones I have had in 2012 so far.

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Am I there yet?

I must say that it has been a fairly decent week so far... I've learnt a couple of things that positions me in my current stage of life. That is, I am too old to know who the One Direction boys were or want to marry them...like these girls did:


But I was also not yet at the stage of my life where I could name the character this one year old's cake was based upon. Or why it's left wing looked unfinished.



So where does that leave me?
I am part of the social media whirlwind, trawling beauty, fashion and lifestyle blogs on a regular basis, pondering what are my next lusthaves or what new recipe I'd add to my bag of tricks next, building my arsenal for when I become Supermum one day.

Just an aside, my brother-in-law nudged Mr. HEA yesterday about children, pointing out that I was getting really clucky... Am I that obvious? Ah well, might have been that my crazy chasing after the cute little ones and attempt kidnaps of the one year olds at the party have been slightly misconstrued.

What I'd more rather do is pick up the next hot deal guilt free from spending their college funds, like how the #pricelinelovesrevlon hash tag drove me to buy three peach parfaits and one pink truffle on a whim.



I mean, the peach parfaits are practically gloss, and a girl's always gonna have to have gloss. Check out the swatch below:





The pink truffle on the other hand is my new found alternative to Chanel's Boy. Just as luxe in feel and colour, even more long lasting without a liner than the Chanel, I imagine it is a strong contender and have since sensibly put aside my Chanel pout for a Revlon one.






So here's the other part which works great when you're a DINK, when faced with a decision of buying another one of those lipsticks in order to get my claws on the Priceline Beauty Bag, the answer was Yes Please. Even if it meant a massive giveaway to my girlfriends over What'sapp that night:



and then another one including a cull of my own samples beauty bag the next day for some Friday the thirteenth fun at work:



Hmmmph, it's a good life at the moment, my attention in my private life only being shared between my gorgeous readers, followers and Mr. HEA. And being able to chase chuckling toddlers around and then handing them back overstimulated to their parents so that they can do the mundane stuff like putting them to bed and changing nappies.

And then jetting off to Melbourne the night of the Logies, for a day of coffee, chocolate, shopping and celebrity spotting... Hope I gather enough to post about next!

What I'd rather be doing

I am sure most people are familiar with that feeling.

Today at work we get an email soliciting a volunteer actress for a training video about risk. The attached script named the part as Chris, and I thought, well, interesting they are only looking for females as this could be a gender-neutral role. Until I read further down. The scene is about a female boss who lunches and leisures and leaves her trusted staff to run her business with no acumen to put in any check points over cash withdrawals made by staff.

Hrrrrmmph... Why did Chris need to be a woman? After my initial wave of anger bubbled in me and then subsided, the inner diva in me from high school drama classes began to mentally act out the part of Chris.

I'd have immaculate makeup, bouncy well styled curls, carry my designer bag (oooh fun I get to choose which one I'd showcase) and oh my nails will of course be manicured with my favorite colour of the moment: O.P.I's Hong Kong Sunrise Source: makeupalley

Oh but I'd need to shape up, so that my bum will look good in the tight pencil skirt I will be wearing. I'd need to do a few songs on Kinect's Dance Central 2 (which I have not turned on since my post Xmas workout btw) and burn some unnecessary calories that way.

 

Then reality crashed and I realized with my current role they'd never allow me the time to run off to do another training shoot (even though I did get my last volunteer video shot within only three takes the last time). Plus who has time to get manicures and dancercise when one has to cook and do laundry?


So I very quickly crashed back down to reality. You know what else is reality but I am denying vehemently? That indian summer isn't coming. It is blistering cold outside. I haven't fully given in though. Even though I caved and put on stockings, and changed my bag to one that will fit over my  jacketted-shoulder I am still boldly sporting my Nine west cotton shawl.

OOTD

Tagged Again and Awarded

I have been humbled again. It's enough to know that I have friends in the blogger community but that they would think of me, now, that's something I never expected and am very thankful for.

So 2 weeks ago, Fey from The Bombshell Next Door tagged me and last night, Mallhaciel, The High Queen of the Elves *wink* awarded me with the Versatile Blogger Award and because some of the things you have to do for both are quite similar, I thought I'd combine them here and make for one big post about my journey and me.

The rules of the Versatile Blogger Award are:

1. Add the Versatile Award photo on a blog post
2. Thank the blogger who nominated you and link back to them in your post. THANK YOU JEN! What an honour that you considered me!
3. Share 7 things about yourself. This will be combined with my tag requirements
4. Nominate 15 blogs/bloggers that you’ve recently discovered or follow regularly for the Versatile Blogger Award.
5. Contact the chosen bloggers to let them know about the award.

The tag Rules

1. Each person must post 11 things about themselves on their blog.
2. Post small photo of person who tagged you with a link to their blog

 Isn't Fey just Gorgeous?

3. Answer the questions the tagger has set for you plus eleven questions for the people you have tagged to answer

4. Choose eleven people and link them in your tag

5. Go to their page and tell them

6. No tag backs

7. You legitimately have to tag

11 Things about my relationship with S aka Mr. HEA that forms the basis of this blog mostly (also because I have already posted about myself before)

1. I have been with the Husband for 9.5 years today! Dating for nine and married for half a year already
2. We met in Uni in First year and revisited the campus to take our Engagement shoot
3. We both like our toilet rolls coming from the top and our clothes facing the right which makes it two less things to annoy each other about when living together.
4. We actually lived in the same suburb once when we were eleven, which is incredible as we were in different countries. S was visiting a family friend for a whole month for summer and that was the year I moved into our family house in KL which happened to be in the same suburb!
5. The picture in the header features our cake topper, chosen because S loves his Xbox and Superman. What people don't realise is I actually have a good go playing Kinect with him and that I love watching him play games with stories, like Gears of War, Mass Effect or Uncharted ( I know this is a PS3 game) and this is something that creeps into our normal conversations over dinner. "So Mordin the Salarian died in the game. He sacrificed his life to cure the genophage." And I totally get what he is talking about.
6. I had a random dream of our wedding a good few years ago and that at our wedding, S's Best Man will meet and fall in love with one of my cousins. Funny thing was, she did visit during the wedding, but they never spoke and the Best Man still hasn't forgiven me for not introducing them.
7. So S has one brother who married a girl who only has a younger brother, very similar dynamics to me, which got me to thinking, our children as well as his brother's children will never have an Ah Yi (Mum's sister) or a Gu Ma (Dad's sister), the concept of which is kind of wierd to me.
8. I burnt garlic bread once and the Husband still thinks until today that I am crap with the oven. No other meal no matter how fabulous seem to be able to redeem me.
9. S and I love brunch together on weekends.
10. I am very particular with how my husband behaves in front of my family. All rules that applied to me when I was a kid and living at home now applies to him when we are back home. Poor Hubby got woken up as soon as someone else in the family stirs. Woe betides us if we ever slept in longer than an elder. I drive him insane with these arbitrary Asian rules.
11. One day I let out a huge sigh in the midst of a Twillight book and asked S, "Why can't you be Ed Cullen?" and without hesitation, he replied "Why can't you be Beyonce?"

Questions from Fey

1. If you could live anywhere in the world where would it be, and why? I always dreamt of spending time in a cottage in Tuscany with my husband because its rustic, full of charm and the people are warm if you remain ernest and open.
2. What is your favorite lipstick? Chanel Rouge Coco Shine in Boy
3. What is your favorite perfume? Viktor Rolf's Flowerbomb
4. If you were to walk out of your house, and could only put one cosmetic product on what would it be?.

BRTC BB Cream with SPF50. Makes me look ghastly in pictures but as my colleagues tell me, my skin will be thanking me for it later on.
5. Do you work out in the gym or at home? I actually never go to the gym. I do a lot of chores around the house and occasionally go for long walks with the Husband
6. When it comes to fitness and staying in shape what do you find is your biggest challenge? Cutting out carbs, does that count?
7. What's the first thing you check out on a man when you meet him? His eyes
8. What is your biggest turn off when it comes to men? Tucked in T-shirts and Polo Tees. *shudder*
9. If you could go on a date with a famous celebrity who would it be? Just to make my husband jealous, Beyonce Knowles
10. What's your night skin care routine like? I cleanse with Shiseido's Extra Gentle Cleansing foam, tone and revitalise with SK II toner and essence, slap on eye cream of the moment and Oil of Olay on the rest of the face and neck.
11. If you won a Million dollars in the Lottery tonight, what would be the three first things you would do with the money? I'd go with the Husband to Europe, buy myself a Chanel bag and then pay off our house's mortgage. 
 

So here is the twist. I am combining the two rules. I am awarding 15 people and on top of the Blog Award duties, they are going to have to answer my 11 questions. Or if they have already been tagged, or been given the award, then they can just answer my questions.

My Questions:

1. What is your song?

2. What must you pack with you when going away for the weekend?

3. Best Pickup line you've ever heard?

4. What's your Favourite Indulgence and does your partner know about it?

5. So you're in the final rounds of a beauty pageant and you are asked, "If you could change one thing about the world what would it be?" What would you say?

6. If you had to bring a dish to a dinner party and you really want to impress, what would you make to bring?

7. What's one beauty tip do you swear by and will pass on?

8. How old were you when you found out where babies came from?

9. Which is your favourite spot in the house?

10. Best Party you've ever attended?

11. If a genie granted you three wishes, what would you wish for?

And here's my 15 Versatile Blogger nominees:

Btw...I follow a great many other great blogs, but I know they either have already been tagged with me, or I am too shy to award them cause I don't know if they would respond.

1. MrsB at The Wifey Chronicles

2. kerker at !♥ The Ugly Moments

3. Miss Directions at Miss Directions

4. Lauren at Sugar and Spice

5. Fey at The Bombshell Next Door

6. Little black sheep at Tiny Little Bubbles

7. Jorji at It Feels Like Home

8. K at Almost Mrs Who?

9. Lilian Harlow at Lilian Harlow

10. cevapa at One step @ a time

11. Z at Lovely Jublies

12. Krystle C.at F-Words: Profanity-free thoughts

13. Emily at Emily's Anthology

14. Mrs C at http://mrsjackofalltradesdaily.blogspot.com/

15. KittyCate at All Cats are Grey at Night

All you lovely ladies work hard at your blog posts and I have been inspired by your posts at certain points to improve my lifestyle/ cooking/ fashion sense somehow, sometime. So keep up the beautiful posts and I look forward to many more to come!

 

Quick Apple Pies - Three Ways

Before my brother left, he bought about half a dozen of massive fuji apples and never finished eating them despite my nagging him to have an apple a day. So staring at the apples this weekend and knowing that he won't be back to claim them, I really began to miss him.

One of the memories I have of when he first came to live with me, was his claim that he made the best apple pie in his church back in Glen Waverley which spurred him on to buy all the ingredients necessary to build an apple pie from scratch. But I never got to taste this acclaimed apple pie.

So on a Good Friday morning, I picked up one apple and began peeling.

I  decided to use this Simple apple pie recipe and make it suit the 5 apples I had at my disposal.

Ingredients:

• 1 (6 sheets) package puff pastry
• 5 apples
• 2/3 cup packed brown sugar
• 2 tablespoons flour
• 2 teaspoons lemon juice
• 2 teaspoons cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon nutmeg
• 1 beaten egg

Method:

1. Thaw puff pastry according to directions on package.
2. Peel, core and chop apples up coarsely.

 

3. Combine apples with sugar, flour, lemon juice, cinnamon and nutmeg.

4. Heat oven to 180°C.

5. Flour surface lightly

6. Cut pastry sheet into nine squares.Place approximately 2 heaped tsps apple mixture on one square, Score parallel lines in the middle of another square making sure you stop at least 1-2 cm from each side. Place scored second pastry square on the top of the already filled pastry to form a pocket. Press down border with fingers to seal and then press with fork to decorate the edges.

Or if you fancy a more rustic looking design:

6. Cut pastry sheet with a large circle cookie cutter, or like in my case, I traced mine with a martini glass. Place approximately 2 heaped tsps apple mixture in the middle of one, With the ends of the pastry sheets after cutting out the circles, I rolled them flat and then cut out strips the length of the circle's diameter. Arrange the strips on the top of the already filled pastry to form a latticed pocket. Press down border with fingers to seal and then press with fork to decorate the edges.

Or when you have done the first design and realised that cutting nine squares means you are always left with one odd square, you can fold it into a triangle puff with 1 heaped teaspoon of filling inside and crimp the edges to prevent spillage.

7. Place on ungreased cookie sheet and give each one an egg wash.
8. Bake for approximately 20 minutes or until golden.

There you have it. Individual Apple Pies - Three ways:

One pot wonder

Whilst walking through the grocer's picking up some of my favorite vegetables, I saw this Korean brand of tofu, Cho Dang. I hadn't seen it for a good many years now and it brought back memories of an Easter trip we made many years ago where I met A, one of the most talented and messiest cooks I had ever encountered. She made this Curry on our stay there and even though she used Malaysian curry paste, the curry turned out with Thai flavors and was really delicious. The most memorable thing for me was that she had put this Cho Dang tofu into the curry and I had never had white tofu on curry before that!

We normally would put tofu puffs, but sliced white tofu... With A's recipe though, the sour tang from the curry latches onto the smooth tofu, and this particular brand had a bite to it which I adored.
So when hit with sudden cravings for A's curry I just broke all desperate housewife rules and made this one pot wonder (all your proteins and three vegs in one pot) for Monday night's dinner.

Preparation time including chopping: 1.5 hours
Serves 2 very hungry adults

Ingredients:
1.5 cups of steamed rice (To serve)
1/3 cup loosely packed chopped coriander, include roots if you have it
1 shallot diced
3 cloves garlic diced
1 litre stock
2/3 cups red curry paste. I used a Malaysian meat curry powder instead.
100ml coconut cream
1 tsp of tamarind purée
1 tsp of lime juice
1tbsp soy sauce
1tbsp fish sauce (A was very particular about the fish sauce. I was pretty Devo when I found out we had run out so had to use more soy sauce to balance out the flavours instead)
300g meat of choice: I used lean rump beef, diced
100g of sliced Cho Dang tofu
Three vegetables of choice: popular choices include potato, eggplant, carrot, tomatoes, beans...I used roasted sweet potatoes so that it is already soft, capsicum and okra, sliced into rather large pieces as I didn't want them to dissolve into the curry.

To Garnish:
Coriander leaves
Fried shallots

Method:

1) Heat a tbsp of vegetable oil on high heat in a heavy based pot. Fry the coriander stalks and root, shallots and garlic until fragrant.

2) Add curry powder mixed with 2 tbsp of stock to form a paste and mix them all up and add to the herbs to fry.

3) Add meat to brown in the Curry Paste Mix.

4) Add Coconut Cream and vegetables that you want to soften (I put in capsicum first then okra about 5 minutes later) If the curry gets too hot/start to dry up, you slowly add the stock, just 1.3 cup each time and you can now add the coriander leaves, tamarind, fish sauce, soy sauce and lime juice and begin balancing out the flavours. I added the soft potato and tofu after the flavour of the curry is right and let it simmer for 2-3 minutes on a lower heat before I began to spoon the curry into a serving bowl.

5) You can garnish with the remaining coriander leaves and the dried shallots. I even put some on the rice just to make it look nicer.

 And then, 'Makan!' Is how our Malaysian friends would encourage you to dig in!

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