The last week here in the Pacific NW has led one to believe that spring has arrived but today, just 30 mins east from where I live, it snowed all afternoon. It’s almost freaking May!

Still, we stood in defiance, tongs in hand and grill strategically positioned. “Ha ha ha…”, we thought as we shivered and gravitated towards the glowing coals. A lovely dinner of grilled crab legs (Alaskan, of course), Dungeness, shrimp and skate (with sambal of course!) was prepared despite the weather. Even our Romaine hearts were halved and charred with a vinegar marinade/glaze. Homemade bread and family sitting down to dinner – always worth it.

This has made it clear that when the spirit is willing, the body will prevail.

Tomorrow, we hope for the sun to come out.

The creative police have been coming around and asking what new projects I’ve been up to. To be honest, I’ve been spending most of my free time tending to the garden – being able to sit on a patio and look around one’s garden has motivated me to cultivate my garden further.

This week, I’ve decided to move from the outside to inside – I started to decoupage switchplates and it’s becoming a sort of obsession. Looking for paper to use, deciding on what style would match which room and brushing on diluted white glue have kept me busy.

The berries on twigs ones has already found a home in the powder room downstairs. I have decided to redo the styling in that room and I’m leaning towards asian+modern but it’s still evolving. Parisian and Euroflea (as much as I admire those styles) didn’t quite work for me.

The first one on the left will be used in my craft room/study. I haven’t decided on the middle one yet.

Cutting and pasting are very therapeutic for me. Thank heavens!

This one is because Mir� shouldn’t only be celebrated on his birthday.

“I’m comin’ ’round to open the blinds
You can’t hide here any longer
My God you need to rinse those puffy eyes
You can’t last here any longer

And yes they’ll ask you where you’ve been
And you’ll have to tell them again and again

And you probably don’t want to hear tomorrow’s another day
Well I promise you you’ll see the sun again
And you’re asking me why pain’s the only way to happiness
And I promise you you’ll see the sun again

Come on take my hand
We’re going for a walk, I know you can
You can wear anything as long as it’s not black
Please don’t mourn forever
She’s not coming back.” – Dido, See The Sun

Although it hasn’t been warm enough to eat out on the patio yet, we have started grilling outside. It’s Mike’s decision to not bring the grill inside until Oct/Nov. We are looking forward to a good 5-6 months of grilled goodness and fresh ingredients.

These chicken kebabs [we did brine the chicken breasts to maintain their moisture] were marinated as below, according to AB’s beef kebab recipe:

Spicy Beef Kebabs

1 1/2 to 2 pounds boneless beef sirloin
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 teaspoons smoked paprika
1/2 teaspoon ground turmeric
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/3 cup red wine vinegar
1/2 cup olive oil

Special equipment: 4 (12-inch) metal skewers

Cut the beef into 1 1/2 to 1 3/4-inch cubes and place into a large mixing bowl. Set aside.

In the bowl of a food processor combine the garlic, paprika, turmeric, cumin, salt, pepper and red wine vinegar. With the processor running drizzle in the olive oil.

Pour the marinade over the meat and toss to coat. Place in the refrigerator in an airtight container or a sealable plastic bag and allow to marinate for 2 to 4 hours.

Preheat the grill to medium-high heat. Thread the meat onto the skewers leaving about 1/2-inch in between the pieces of meat. Place on the grill and cook, with lid lowered, 2 to 3 minutes per side, 8 to 12 minutes in all (8 minutes for rare and 12 for medium). Remove from the heat to aluminum foil, wrap and allow to rest for 2 to 3 minutes prior to serving.

Giao tagged me:

Five minutes to yourself: I would lay in bed with a seaweed mask on my face, listening to some music to unwind.

Five bucks to spend right now: how would you spend it?A latte and a pastry from one of my neighborhood bakeries. Can I wish my friend would be there to share my company too?

Five items in your house you could part with, right now, that you hadn’t thought of already: the white cushions on my Poang chairs [and magically the red leather ones would replace them], the tiled master bath, the weeds in the garden [does the outside of the house count?], the dining table and chairs [do I get to replace the stuff I'm parting with?] and some of my old pillows.

Five items you absolutely, positively could not part with in your house: my iMac, my digital camera, my Kitchenaid Mixer, my apothecary chest and my letterpress print [I want to have at least one copy!]

Five words you love: scrummy [not really a word], gossamer, dodgy [I love me the British slang], haberdashery and effervescent.

Five folks I’m tagging: Any 5 folks who are reading and haven’t done this – this has been going around quite a bit.

On Saturday evening, mum and I cooked up a mini Thai style dinner. We made this shrimp & pork meat balls, speckled with kaffir lime shreds, chopped up cilantro and bits of Thai bird chilies. The mixture was held together with some corn starch and seasoned with fish sauce [nam pla] and white pepper. I could eat all of them if their fragrant smell did not attract anyone else in the house. This is a very quick dish especially if you use a food processor – not unlike how Nigella does her shrimp cakes.

Serve it up with some sweet chili sauce and cold beer.

The other Thai style dish was a vegetable green curry – I cheated with a green curry paste but it was fast and very spicy [I added whole Thai bird chilies]. I chopped up broccoli, orange and yellow peppers and cremini mushrooms and simmered them in the green curry paste & coconut milk. I added some kaffir lime leaves, a little brown sugar and fish sauce.

While perusing this month’s magazines, I read this line in Food & Wine and immediately felt homesick for Singapore food. At the same time, I am also grateful that for my fortune to have been born into the beauty that is Singapore’s makan [eats].

“I was in Singapore trying satay for the first time, and it was like eating in Technicolor.” – Nick Nairn

This is not a new description to me – my own hubby tried to describe eating in Singapore the first time:

“Eating in Singapore is like watching color tv for the first time in your life!”

I love that man!

I have always been one who feels too much. I absorb emotions – both good and bad. I often find myself staying away from bad news or ill feelings so as to prevent myself from becoming filled with all of it. I can’t explain how or why but I do absorb most of it and sometimes it can overwhelm me.

Lately, friends and co-workers have been experiencing some sort of separation in their lives – from loved ones passing or moving on to a different life.

It reminds me of how I have had to cope with it myself in the past and we all know that the mind does not let you forget the bad memories too easily. I will however, continue persisting in letting it go. Simply because in forgetting the more painful times, I allow the good ones to come through. Those good times must have been worth something to me and slowly, I am learning that they are.

This goes out to all of you who have had to let go of something/someone important to you. You owe that much to yourself.

“The heart that truly loves, will never forget.” – Anonymous

I’ve made this dish and posted the recipe before but mum made this and it was absolutely scrummy. The sauce made a great difference – she used assam [tamarind], dark soy sauce, brown sugar and freshly ground peanuts. Oh, and ground chilies too. Spicy, sweet, sour and salty. Very Southeast Asian.

Our patio is now done. We set up the table and seating but it still is in need of some plants. I’m also planning on making a copper trellis but that’s our next garden project. In the meantime, I think we’ll try to enjoy our outdoor space.