This recipe ROCKS!!

A few weeks ago I stumbled across the wonderful 64 sq ft kitchen blog. Warda's blog contains her favorite family recipes from Algeria and The Maghreb. Now doesn't that sound yummy!

The night after I made the discovery I was having a couple of friends over for a casual Sunday night supper (BTW - I don't normally refer to dinner as supper but this blog has me hooked!). I had promised said friends homemade burgers done on the BBQ and intended to make my stock standard wedges as accompaniment (potatoes cut into wedges, sprayed with canola spray and sprinkled with cajun = low fat, scrummy fake chippes). After seeing this recipe, I decided to change plans and try something new. Oh boy I am glad I did (and so were my guests), the chips were absolutely delicious!

Warda calls the recipe "Weeknight Potatoes" but I'm afraid that in the Holden household, these would count as "Main Event, Saturday Night Dinner Party Potatoes". They were a real hit!

I have reproduced (copied) Warda's recipe below. I have also included the link above. I know this might sound crazy, but this recipe is a keeper and I want it saved on my blog permanently!

Roasted Spiced Potatoes Recipe: serves 4

Six big Yukon Gold (or any of your favorite yellow flesh potatoes)
1 tsp sweet paprika
1 tsp ground cumin
3 tbsp olive oil
2 tbsp chopped parsley
2 tbsp chopped cilantro
1 tsp fresh lemon juice
2 garlic cloves, pressed or minced
1 tsp Harissa, or your favorite hot sauce (Optional)
Salt
Freshly ground black pepper

Preheat the oven at 400F.

Peel and slice the potatoes into wedges or fries. Put them in a bowl, along with the olive oil, salt, black pepper, ground cumin, paprika and harissa, if used. Toss the potatoes to combine.

Arrange them in a baking sheet in a single layer and bake until golden brown and crisp on the outside, turning them over once, about 25-30 minutes.

Mix the herbs, garlic, lemon juice in a bowl. When the potatoes are baked, toss them quickly with the garlic infused herbs and serve.

Image from here

Hi there !

Happy Monday morning (if it's ever possible to be happy on a Monday morning)!

How was your weekend? Did you get up to anything exciting? Try something new?

Unfortunately I didn't have the best week last week. About this exact time last Monday morning I was getting ready for work and managed to hurt my back (which I later found out meant I slipped a disc - VERY painful)! I was forced to spend the rest of the week flat on my back in bed/on the couch. I tell you what, that experience gave new meaning to the words "cabin fever". By the weekend I was literally pulling my hair out (and anybody else in close proximity).

It is going to take a while to make a full recovery (loads of physio and exercises etc.) but I am at least mobile now, for which I am extremely grateful. I am even going to head off to work today and see how that goes. Hopefully I last the whole day as I have truckloads of work to catch up on, but if not, then alas, there is not much I can do about that.

Due to last week's stresses, I was unfortunately not able to carry on with The Project. It got me thinking though, whilst flat on my back in immense pain, I found myself stressing that I hadn't taken my daily pic. That got me thinking even more, was it the fear of failure in not being able to stick to it that bothered me, or the fact that I didn't have anything exciting/interesting to capture and show you? What/who was I doing The Project for? That's when I decided (I had a LOT of time to think last week...), that I would take The Project "off-line". To be honest, I felt the pressure to capture something exciting everyday too much. Some days I just go to work and come home and whilst there are adventures along the way, they may not be particularly noteworthy, or picturesque. If I am going to do The Project, then I need to feel free to capture stuff that isn't necessarily for your eyes (I mean that in the nicest possible way). Like when I was on the couch in my most comfy (aka least fashionable) attire, looking like I was on my death bed, did I really feel comfortable publishing a pic of that here for all to see. The answer is no! But it was my day, my reality, and if I am to use The Project to capture my daily life, then that was it! It's not that I only want to share the glamorous side of life on here (I try not to make this a brag book!), it's just that a diary is I guess private by nature, and it needs to be in order for the author to truly express his/her feelings in an honest and raw way. Do you agree? I guess to a large extend it depends on the diaries purpose...

Anyway, the long and the short of it is, I am going to try to stick to The Project, but in a more private "off-line" kind of way.

Now that I have got that off my chest, I had better get ready for work. I am looking forward to this week! We got the Award (judgment) on the Arbitration I have been working on AND WE WON!! Of course, we got it last week whilst I was flat on my back, and so the elation of the win will be all but gone in the office by the time I arrive this morning. Nonetheless, there are a million things to do now that it has been decided, and I need to crack on with them. It also means that we are 1 week closer to Will's 30th, which means 1 week closer to his parents arriving (that is a good thing btw - I love my in-laws), and 1 week closer to our Paris/Spain adventure. Oh boy do we need a holiday!

Hope your week is a lovely one. xox

Image from here

Would you choose this?

Whilst most people dream of living at The Peak, I don't think I could cope with the constant cloud and mist that would shroud your existence. I took this pic yesterday on our walk, looking down from the very top of the peak. It's a bit gloomy hey?

It's not like this is a rare occasion either, I would hazard a bet that this is a typical view - 80% of the time. Last week when I went to visit baby Barrett in the Matilda (which is incidentally also at the Peak), you could not see an inch out of her window. Not to mention how you would ever get anything dry or keep mould at bay (although I am sure peeps living up here don't concern themselves with that sort of thing)!

I never realised, before moving to Hong Kong, what havoc humidity can play in your house. We have to have de-humidifiers running constantly otherwise our clothes, shoes etc. would be ruined from all the damp. And then there is the daily commute, suited up in heels and all. You really have to consider having a second wardrobe at work. These days I usually opt for dresses and wear thongs (flip flops!) to and from work.

The humidity makes you feel alive though, and for me, it is a constant reminder that I am living in Asia - which I LOVE!!

PS. I haven't forgotten Day 10 (it's just that the pics are on someone else's camera:)

Day 11

16 May 2010

A stroll in the woods.

After taking CoCo for a play in our favourite park (yeap, the one at the top of the Peak), we walked back down the path to the ring road and around to the touristy part of the peak. It was a lovely way to spend the afternoon, and I think CoCo enjoyed it too!

Day 9

14 May 2010

Dinner at Bistecca with Zoe & Saf.

Bistecca is a new Italian steakhouse opened in Lan Kwai Fong. Whilst "Italian" and "steakhouse" wouldn't first come to mind as a dining combo, that may be more a display of my lack of foodie insight than anything else. And, it worked well I must say!

Obviously the main thing on offer here are steaks, HUGE steaks! Although there was a range of other Italian specialities to choose from.

Steak and I have a love/hate relationship. Truth be told, I have never been a big steak eater. I like meat don't get me wrong, but I would rather it served in smaller pieces than a big fat slab. I love the thought of a nice steak, but I usually find after a few mouthfuls I am feeling stuffed and bloated, and like on Friday night, totally zapped of energy whilst my body starts the digestion process. Too much info I know!

Anyway, the dinner was lovely and as always, it was nice to try something different.

Day 8

13 May 2010

Last nights dinner!

For some reason, this pile of vege's we had for dinner last night tasted sooooo good. It must have been exactly what Will and my bodies' needed cause we both devoured it whilst licking our lips and making loud "mmmm" sounds.

Will has been feeling a little under the weather this past few days. A fix of vege's should sort him out I reckon. Although, on second thoughts, that dreaded man-cold is a pretty nasty thing. Us girls wouldn't know of course, having never had the experience. I hope he feels better soon!

Day 7

12 May 2010

My desk at work. Something a little bright today after the rather depressing post yesterday about the dog poisoner!

I like to start the work week with something bright and cheery on my desk. This usually involves me stopping in to visit the lovely flower stall in the markets on my walk to work. This week they had peonies, which they informed me where HUGE (at the time they were only teeny tiny buds).

I must confess I have had mixed success with peonies here in Hong Kong, despite them being my all time favourite flower. I often buy them with great anticipation of things to come, and then a couple of days later find the buds droopy and dead having not opened at all.

Anyway, I am an eternal optimist (especially when it comes to peonies), so I took the risk and bought some. I took them to work, trimmed them up and placed them on my desk. To my absolute delight, before the morning was over each of the buds had burst! One by one the little darlings opened up to reveal the most amazingly soft layers of pink. They are absolutely magnificent and have worked a charm in keeping a smile on my face this week. They smell good too!

NB: Upon complaining to my florist friends that I was having mixed success with their peonies, they let me in on a little secret. Because peonies are so tightly held in the bud, they sometimes need a little massaging in order to help them open. I know it sounds funny, and let me tell you people will think you are crazy if they catch you doing it (picture me at work lovingly massaging the little buds whilst singing a happy "open up" tune - people think I have finally lost my marbles). BUT, it works a treat so I don't care!

Happy hump day friends!