on friday i went to a ball! it was held at a university college and there was food and dancing. i went with my sister and a few friends and ended up dancing most of the night. i even got to dance with someone special (though we were dancing in a group and not one-on-one).

everyone looked amazing. i wore a knee-length, full-skirted dress, gloves and pearls. i had my hair up in a bun with a fascinator in it. it was so nice to get dressed up and have a fun night. wish i could do it over again!

this dip is incredible! it's a nigella lawson recipe, and i just couldn't resist making it...though i ended up doing it a little differently to hers.
ever since my dad went into anaphylactic shock a couple of years ago, we haven't eaten chickpeas. and that means no hommus :( so i was so happy to discover this pseudo-hommus! same texture, no allergy - it's really win-win.

this is how i did it. it's not the true recipe, but seeing as we don't eat garlic during the week (we love it, but my dad goes to a lot of meetings and doesn't like the halitosis it gives you) and seeing as we don't have a food processor, i couldn't make it exactly the same. so i improvised a little, and reckon it turned out pretty splendidly!

***

red kidney bean dip

olive oil (not extra virgin)
1 onion, finely chopped
1 can red kidney beans, drained
copious amount of tomato paste
ground cumin
ground coriander
ground cinammon
lime juice (from about 1 lime)
pepper and salt
basil and coriander leaves, to garnish
flatbread, to serve

***

heat the oil and add the onion, cooking until browned. if you were to use garlic, you would add it here in crushed form (about 3 cloves).

add the red kidney beans and tomato paste. i love tomato paste and so am quite liberal with it (perhaps too much so) but just add as much as you like, i think.

add the cumin, coriander, cinammon and lime juice. i'm also liberal with my spice usage, but again, use as much as you like. the lime juice was taken from a bottle, so i just added a little, tasted, and then added more if i didn't think it was flavoured well enough.

remove from the heat and cool slightly. the dip should look deliciously like chilli con carne. it's now meant to be added to a food processor and turned into a hommus-esque puree, but as i lack such equipment i had to improvise. it may be overwhelmingly unorthodox of me, but i ended up using a regular old potato masher. it didn't really do a great job of pureeing the dip, but it broke it down into a worthy dippish pulp.

once your dip is sufficiently pulverised, put it in a bowl. cover it in cling wrap and place in the fridge until about 30 minutes before serving. once you're ready, let the dip come to room temperature and add some pepper and salt to taste.

nigella used grated lime zest to garnish, but as i didn't have lime zest i used some herbs from my flourishing pride and joy of a herb garden. coriander is one of my favourite herbs, and as it was already used in the dip i didn't see a problem with adding a bit of the fresh variety. and i absolutely love the peppery scent and taste of basil, so i couldn't resist adding some.

serve with pitta, flatbread or any bread really. or you could even just eat it on its own, i reckon it's nice enough!

life has been such a mix lately! ups and downs, but nothing really out of the ordinary.

basically, i've....

finished uni (apart from finals) - relief!!!!

got a "job" (tutoring at a local library)

applied to study overseas in the second half of next year (eek)

done quite a bit of cooking - despite the heat we've been having, i couldn't resist making this: (toad in the hole)



and this: (chocolate, almond and mascarpone cookies)



i did a bit of inventing with the cookies, and they came out pretty well. at any rate, they tasted better than they look :)

i recently re-read this:



it's a non-fiction book and the debut work by science writer Rebecca Skloot. it tells the story of Henrietta Lacks, a young black woman who died in 1951 (aged 31) from an aggressive form of cervical cancer. cells taken from her tumour were grown in culture and defied all expectations by multiplying as an immortal cell line. this cell line (HeLa) has led to significant medical advancements (including the development of the polio vaccine). such a great book, i've read it about five times already, but each time i pick it up again it's only more brilliant.

today is remebrance day - commemorating the men and women who have fallen in war. as australia has recently lost a few diggers, i think today's remembrance day is even more significant that usual.

as Laurence Binyon wrote in 1914:

They shall grow not old, as we that are left grow old:
Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn.
At the going down of the sun and in the morning,
We will remember them.

lest we forget.











peace.

hi all.

today it is cold and windy, but i'm cosy in a nice red jumper. it's been a long time since i posted anything really.

life's been quite interesting. uni started again, not sure if i mentioned that in a previous post. it's going well, i'm currently in week 7 and am really enjoying it. i'm considering doing honours in 2013, which should be so much fun. we get to write a 15,000 word thesis! amazingggg. i'd really really love to do it, but i doubt myself too much. i think i should probably start being more assertive and let others put me down rather than put myself down :)

a few weeks ago i came to the realisation that i was losing one of my best friends and that i couldn't really change it. the circumstances were difficult for me to deal with but i'm no longer very sad about it. she seems happy without me as a close friend, and i'm happy that she's happy. life goes on, people move on. it's just a bit more complicated when the situation involves me (but many things in my life are complicated, so no surprises there). i had a great conversation about it with my uncle and godfather this morning, he was so wonderful to talk to. we're similar, and it's nice to be able to speak with someone who understands a bit of how i work and what i feel.

i've been helping out recently with my uni's very first comedy show! it's called skithaus, it's happening on 19th oct. i was asked a couple of months ago by this guy i know to help out with the writing of the sketches. since then, my role has intensified. i'm now vice-president of the student organisation committee (!) and am designing posters for the show. becoming known as "the boff" by the team :) there's a bit more work to do on it, but it's been such a fun thing, and the team's so lovely.

so life's been good in general. a few ups and downs, but more ups i believe. it's all about perspective and attitude really. there are challenges every day, but the real issue lies in how we deal with them.

Google made me laugh today :) The image is teeny so click it to make it bigger.

People are often unreasonable, irrational, and self-centered;
Forgive them anyway.

If you are kind, people may accuse you of selfish, ulterior motives;
Be kind anyway.

If you are successful, you will win some false friends and some true enemies; Succeed anyway.

If you are honest and frank, people may cheat you;
Be honest and frank anyway.

What you spend years building, someone could destroy overnight;
Build anyway.

If you find serenity and happiness, they may be jealous;
Be happy anyway.

The good you do today, people will often forget tomorrow;
Do good anyway.

Give the world the best you have, and it will never be enough.
Give the world the best you've got anyway.

You see, in the final analysis, it is between you and God. It was never between you and them anyway.

- Author unknown

i like this song, it's pretty nice :)

today was rather enjoyable. i managed to complete a few tasks and fulfil some plans (mostly uni related). i walked my dog, but as we were on our journey she got a bit excited and her collar fell off (luckily she's helpful and didn't run away from me). i drove in the rain, which was fun, but then the sun came out and attacked my sensitive eyes.
second week of uni, with full classes! i still haven't got all my books or my readers, most of them are on order from the UK - loads cheaper!
one of my friends is starting up a sketch show and he's asked me to help write some of the sketches (i don't know how good i'll be, but it will be fun). i'm planning to play indoor soccer for uni too - haven't played for ages but it will be nice to start up again.
in general, life's difficult but brilliant. there are issues and problems, as always, but i'm getting better at knowing how to deal with them. i'm accepting the unchangeable aspects of myself and my world, and i'm drinking less tea :) (even though tea is fabulous, limiting myself is probably a good thing. for a while i was having a cup of green tea at 5:30 each morning...in hindsight i don't think that was wise)
peace and love to you!