Summertime is a great time for fresh fruit and papaya is one of my favorites. A squeeze of lime juice offset the flavor of the fruit.

Image courtesy of Seattle postcard

“Dear Residents of Seattle & its surrounds,

Please do not be alarmed, this is just a friendly survey of 2 Seattle hopefuls. We just want to know, in your opinion, where would you recommend buying a home in Seattle. Where do you think is the best part of town to live? For a couple with no kids and who enjoy culture, food and nerd stuff.

This is just preliminary, we are still not sure if anything is confirmed yet. We are hopeful and thought that some of you helpful folks will be kind enough to share what you know.

Thank you all in advance,
Stef & Mike

I am looking forward to this long weekend. We won’t be going out of town but I think I’m going to prepare a feast for my senses:

Visual – Shrek2
Audio – Electronica Music, particularly Zero7
Taste – Iced Tropical Green Tea
Touch – a nice jasmine bergamot massage @ Spa Siem
Scent – fresh flowers and black tea incense

Have a safe Memorial Day weekend!

Of late, it’s been a little difficult for me. Yes, I have all these wonderful things to look forward to in the coming months but ironically, it is those same things that make it hard for me at present.

I miss home. I miss my family – my folks and my brother, my sis in law, their babies. I miss my extended family, my aunts, uncles, cousins, and their babies. I miss my friends – those whom I treat as family. I miss the familiarity I grew up with. I miss all those things. I can’t believe that the 2 years away from all that, has drained so much of what I call my source.

I find myself looking for pictures of my family, my homeland and my past. I look at them longingly, dreaming of a time when I can be reunited with it all.

Many times I have proclaimed that I live a happy life and don’t get me wrong, I do but still, sometimes I wonder if I was capable of feeling this happiness if I hadn’t been brought up with all the love in the world.

Things are happening all around and again, I tell you that the winds of change are blowing hard. It is during such times that I crave a return to my source to feel it rejuvenate me.

Today, I want to be grateful for my source – particularly those I call my family. Each and everyone of you, I do hold very dear to my heart. Mike and I are really looking forward to going home.

It’s confirmed, this trip home to Singapore has “produced” another trip of its own. We are going to take an idyllic vacation on the island of Bali (Indonesia). I have not travelled to Bali before but it appears that there is many an adventure awaiting us. We will be travelling with my folks, my cousin, her daughters and my dear friend Cindy.

We will rent a private villa near the beach, with its own private pool. We will have a driver who will drive us around the island, visiting shops and indulging in the wonderful ambience and culture. There will massages, quiet sunsets and a lot of reading. One of the things I’m really looking forward to is a sunset seafood dinner on the beach.

We have already ordered a guide (DK Eyewitness guides are the best things ever, they contain great pictures, detailed information, comprehensive maps and excellent tips). Can you tell I’m stoked?

I can’t believe that my alma mater is celebrating its 150th anniversary. For those of you who live outside of Singapore, 150 years is a big long time for us. For a country that was founded in 1819.

There are going to be some events this year to celebrate this anniversary and I feel kinda left out because as it is, I arrive one day late for the arts festival.

CHIJ was a wonderful place to grow and become the woman I am today. I wasn’t one who had a high profile in school or purposely sough out a teacher’s attention on purpose, I was a friend to all whom I met. Some girls were a little more worth staying friends with and I am lucky to even call them friends today.

There was blood, sweat, tears and a whole lot of laughter. I cherish those times and cannot wait to walk down memory lane with some old friends this July when we gather for a reunion.

[Just a follow up - I was in CHIJ Bukit Timah Primary School from 1979-1984, then CHIJ Toa Payoh Secondary School from 1985-1988 - anyone out there too?]

I have been resorting to instant ramen bowls for lunch because the food at the cafe is just too bad to consume. I figured that a bowl of ramen and a fruit was more nutritious than mouldy cheese in a salad.

There is a great variety of instant noodles that are found in asian supermarkets. I wish that some of the more mainstream supermarkets carried slightly more brands than what they do now. You can find dried noodles, soup bowls, rice congee bowls, rice noodle bowls and all sorts of flavors. I bought some Nissin UFO Yakisoba (dried noodles), Tom Yam ramen and some Sang Mian (Taiwanese Ramen) in Szechuan Beef flavor.

I had yakisoba today. Yum! The veggies actually rehydrate to resemble lettuce bits…amazing.

Since we brought home a bounty of fresh produce on Saturday when we took the impromptu trip to the farmer’s market, we decided to harness as much of the season’s freshness and cook.

We got a big box of vine-ripened tomatoes (like those in yesterday’s pictures). We’ve already seeded and crushed about half of them for a base sauce that can be used for pasta, pizza and meatballs. Another batch of them will go into a cooked salsa (see recipe below) as well as a fresh salsa.

Small peaches herald the beginning of the peach season so we bought a basket. We made a lovely peach pie. This recipe is great – it does not require too much sugar to overpower the natural flavors of the fruit. The use of nutmeg really offsets the sweet-tartness. It is pretty easy to make too, just have to peel the peaches without squishing all of it up.

We also bought a fresh pineapple, a papaya, some bananas, plantains and cucumbers for pickling.

I can’t say it enough – find your local farmer’s market and support them. Even if you don’t buy a whole truck load of produce, just browsing the stalls will surely brighten up your day.
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Mike’s birthday dinner @ Outback

Parsley, cilantro and fresh veggies

Tomatoes and tomatoes

Dried chillis and corn husks for tamales

All market pictures taken at Altanta State Farmers Market.

I know I’ve been quiet this week, I’ve been busy at work and when I get home, I mostly try to unplug. Several things to note this week:

• People interested in the work I do;

• A dear friend has taken off to Europe for some new adventure;
• Victoria’s Secret not-so secret sale [pink galore!];
• Outdoor portable bug zapper;
• Very pretty summery necklaces I love;
• Mike turning 30 today – happy birthday darlin’ – didn’t mean to slip this in there. Still, you know we’re having some fun this weekend. *wink*