Sunsets,White Rabbit Showcase and Soulfood Soup

Maddabling would like to apologise for this tardy blog post, it was due out yesterday...instead of enjoying the divine Autumn sunshine this weekend, Maddabling has been busy battling the flu instead. That aside, this week let me share with you Sunsets, White Rabbit Showcase and Soulfood. 

Sunsets 

This past week has seen some particularly gorgeous sunsets. Driving home from work the other night, I was compelled to stop on the side of the road, as were the other 15 or so people happy snapping on the foreshore, to catch some beautiful colours in the sky as the sun set over the harbour and coast hills. Let me show you what I mean...........

Now you may understand why I had to stop and snap! Blessed to live in such a wonderful place.

White Rabbit Vintage and Handmade Showcase

For those in the Albany Area this weekend, why not take a leisurely Sunday Drive to the picturesque Torbay Hall located on Hunwick South Road, Torbay. The hall itself is just beautiful - nestled amongst the Karri trees!  

white rabbit vintage will be holding a vintage and handmade showcase set to tempt you with local Art, Jewellery, Homewares, Vintage and Kidswear available to purchase. 

Soulfood Soup

This recipe is one of my favourite winter warmers or Soulfood if you like. It's easy to make, delicious and you can garnish it with some toasted shredded coconut, chopped coriander and slices of chilli if you so desire. Here it is :) Really this one is too good not to share - enjoy! 

Thai Sweet Potato Soup

Ingredients

1 tbs olive oil

1 brown onion, halved, finely chopped

1 tbs red curry paste

1L (4 cups) vegetable stock

1kg orange sweet potatoes (kumara), peeled, coarsely chopped

160ml (2/3 cup) coconut milk

Fresh coriander leaves, to serve

Method

Heat the oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add the onion and cook, stirring, for 5 minutes or until onion softens. Add the curry paste and cook, stirring, for 1 minute or until aromatic.

Add the stock to the pan. Increase heat to high and bring to the boil. Add the sweet potato and reduce heat to medium-low. Simmer, covered, for 20 minutes or until the sweet potato is tender. Set aside for 5 minutes to cool.

Place half the sweet potato mixture in the jug of a blender and blend until smooth. Transfer to a clean saucepan. Repeat with remaining mixture. Place over medium heat and cook, stirring, for 2-3 minutes or until heated through. Add the coconut milk and combine.

Ladle the soup among serving bowls. Top with coriander leaves and serve immediately.

Note: I leave the soup in the pot and use a stick blender, instead of transferring it to a blender - I find this a little less messy and not as time consuming. 

source: http://www.taste.com.au/recipes/1739/thai+sweet+potato+soup+with+coriander+pesto

Well lovely readers, that wraps up Sunsets,White Rabbit Showcase and Soulfood Soup. Hope to see you back for the Wednesday Wishes post later this week and of course, the Friday Friends feature on Friday xo

Good Fortune, Soulfood Soup, Saturday Outing and Handmade Goodness

Happy Sunday readers. I have so much I want to share with you today. A summary would be Good Fortune, Soulfood Soup, a Saturday Outing and Handmade Goodness. Do I have you intrigued? Read on :)

Good Fortune

I recently put my haiku writing skills to work in a gorgeous 1000 Likers Giveaway hosted by Fruzsi Kenez of Peach Patrol. Fruzsi asked: "If you write a little poem/haiku/rhyme about someone in the picture your like counts for TRIPLE!" I got my creative thinking cap on, I love the challenge of a haiku. 

"Haiku poems date from 9th century Japan to the present day. Haiku is more than a type of poem; it is a way of looking at the physical world and seeing something deeper, like the very nature of existence. A haiku poem consists of three lines, with the first and last line having 5 moras, and the middle line having 7. A mora is a sound unit, much like a syllable, but is not identical to it. Since the moras do not translate well into English, it has been adapted and syllables are used as moras."

source : http://examples.yourdictionary.com/examples-of-haiku-poems.html 

I looked at the strange friends in the picture, and my focus was drawn to Lulu, I Keep My Antlers Warm. I read Lulu's story and wrote this haiku: 

Nimble fingers knit

a kaleidoscope of warmth

happy Lulu smiles.

Fruzsi loved it! "Congratulations Samara, your prose brought a big smile to my face and completely encapsulated the energy of I Keep My Antlers Warm." 

I received this gorgeous package in the mail from Fruzsi and feel so very blessed! Thank you so very much Fruzsi - readers, don't forget to stop by her facebook page to say hello!  

Speaking of good fortune, I recently featured sweet Debbie of The Smile Emporium who sent me a lovely thank you gift - aren't these peacock earrings and hair pins beautiful? Thank you so much Debbie, they certainly brought a smile to my face :) You should also stop by Debbie's facebook page to say hello!

Soulfood Soup

Coming into the cooler weather, I find it's time to dig out the cookbooks or enlist online searches for soup recipes. I made this one on Friday night, simply delicious! 

French Onion Soup 

(source: http://www.taste.com.au/recipes/12576/french+onion+soup) 

Ingredients

80g butter

4 large brown onions, sliced crossways into rings

2 garlic cloves, crushed

2 tsp plain flour

1.5L (6 cups) beef stock

125ml (1/2 cup) dry red wine

1 bouquet garni sachet 

Salt + freshly ground black pepper

1 30cm baguette (French stick), cut crossways into 12 slices

55g (1 cup) finely shredded gruyere cheese

Method:

Heat the butter in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add the onions and garlic, and cook, stirring, for 10 minutes or until the onions are soft and light golden. Add the flour and cook, stirring, for 1 minute or until flour bubbles and comes away from the side of the pan. Add the stock, wine and bouquet garni. Bring to the boil over medium-high heat. Reduce heat to low and simmer, uncovered, stirring occasionally, for 30 minutes or until soup thickens slightly. Remove bouquet garni. Taste and season with salt and pepper.

Preheat grill on high. Place baguette slices on a baking tray. Place under preheated grill (about 5cm away from the heat source) and cook for 2 minutes each side or until light golden. Remove from grill and sprinkle each slice evenly with the cheese. Place under grill and cook for a further 2 minutes or until the cheese melts.

To serve, ladle soup into serving bowls and top with the baguette 

Saturday Outing and Handmade Goodness

There is a fab little facebook page called Stuff To Do In Albany. This page is full of information about what is going on in Albany town. I found two things to combine into a wonderful Saturday Art inspired outing with my dear friend Del of DEL-icious Designz.  

Firstly we visited the amazing free exhibition at the Albany Museum - Line of Sight by Broome photographer Peter Strain. The exhibition is definitely worth a look and runs from Sat 4 May 2013 – Sun 23 Jun 2013, 10:00am – 4:30pm. "Line of Sight is an exhibition of photography and nature pictures by Broome photographer Peter Strain. It features extraordinary close-up photography of tiny creatures from Australia’s rugged and remote Kimberley region, from Broome to Darwin" Here is a peek at what we saw.

In case you are wondering what that big glass thing in the background is, I can tell you that it is the "Eclipse Island Optic consisting of three glass lenses, each three metres high. The optic rotates silently on its bed of mercury and lights up the building." source:http://museum.wa.gov.au/museums/albany/whats-on

I found a short history lesson for you dear readers, through some selected text, on the Eclipse Island Lighthouse. "Eclipse Island Lighthouse was built in 1926 on Eclipse Island off the south coast of Western Australia. It was built as a cylindrical tower made of concrete. Initially it was a manned station using kerosene as lantern fuel in combination with a first order Fresnel lens. In 1976 the lantern was completely removed though and the optic was put on display at the Western Australian Museum. Today the light is emitted from atop a mast on the lighthouse's concrete trunk. The characteristic is a group of three flashes every twelve seconds from a focal plane at 117 metres (384 ft) above sea level."  

source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eclipse_Island_Lighthouse

We then meandered on to the Vancouver Arts Centre for the Annual Mother's Day Market. Maddabling and DEL-icious Designz were both visitors rather than stall holders this year. There was a lot to see, and we were inadvertently snapped by Stuff To Do In Albany, while we browsing the fine handcrafted Italian Glass Bead creations on display at the Nazzy Beads stall. It's kind of amusing that we were in the photo as we had earlier joked about Photo Bombing you see! We also had the pleasure of watching Naomi of Nazzy Beads creating glassy goodness right there at her stall. If you want to see for yourself, you can find more on the Nazzy Beads Facebook Page. 

photo courtesy of http://www.facebook.com/StuffToDoInAlbany

We stopped by the This Paper Cut Life stall and had a chat with Sue Codee. Maddabling couldn't help but buy herself a new brooch, the "Levelling Brooch" to be precise. Isn't it just divine? You can find more of This Paper Cut Life by Sue Codee on her facebook page.  

It was really good to catch up with several of the regular stall holders for a chat, the special folk who become friends (you know who you are ladies) as they do in a small creative community and I hope each one had a very successful market. So readers, that wraps up the Good Fortune, Soulfood Soup, Saturday Outing and Handmade Goodness blog post. See you all on Wednesday for a new Wednesday Wishes x