Friday, October 31, 2008

Recipe of the Week - Baked Seafood with Coriander and Coconut Chutney

This weeks recipe was very well received by the family. It is in the latest Delicious magazine, and could be adapted readily for any seafood. The recipe was for seafood baked with coriander and coconut. A paste made in a food processor with dessicated coconut (although I used the very moist coconut flakes), coriander seeds roasted and ground, garlic, ginger, green chilli, fresh coriander, coconut cream and lime juice. This was put over mixed seafood including prawns, mussels and snapper. The fish was cooked in a packet made with baking paper and alfoil in the oven. The girls, their partners and Simon came over for dinner. We each had a parcel and as we opened the parcel the aroma was superb. The 'chutney' could be used over a whole fish, just mussels alone or any other fresh seafood readily available. I served it with a fresh light cabbage salad with lime juice, coriander, coconut milk and fish sauce. We had a crisp Hamelin Bay 2007 Sauvignon Blanc from the Margaret River region which complemented the dish perfectly. For the complete recipe follow the link to Grublove- www.grub-love.blogspot.com

Chinese Brush Painting - Second Lesson

Settled down into the second class. Paper hard to find here but one of the class members tracked down a good supply and kindly on-sold it to us. After some further demonstrations we were allowed to put brush to paper. This was very challenging. Clearly the quality and type of brushes is important. My brush did seem to work well and I was able to come to a very fine point. As I completed pages of repetitive strokes I drifted off into a very relaxing state. I don't really know if the work improved, but the enjoyment level rose. This discipline is said to reduce blood pressure. One of the class member had "The Chinese Brush Painting Bible" by Dwight which looked interesting. I look forward to my next class and will practice on butchers paper over the weekend.

Monday, October 27, 2008

Puzzles

I love doing puzzles. Mostly I like a time frame, so the daily ones I find are the most interesting as they must be done before the next paper comes out. Times-on-line is entertaining as they have a quick crossword daily. The talented complete this in minutes. I take lots of minutes and in the end there can be one word that completely evades me. Join the crossword club at http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/.

Saturday, October 25, 2008

Καλημέρα


Καλημέρα σας,

σήμερα το πρωί πήγα στο μάθημα Ελληνικό. Ήμουν αργά γιατί πήγα στην συνάντηση ιατρική πιο νωρίς. Στο μάθημα διάβασα όσο αφοπά τα ρήματα - σηκώνομαι, σηκκώθηκα κτλ. Το βιβλίο του μαθημού μου είναι Επικοινωνήστε Ελληνηκά - Κλεάνθιης Αρβανιτάκης. http://bibliagora.co.uk/promo.php?mt=20.
Θέλλω να ασκήσω Ελληνικά στο νετ.

Τώρα πάω με τον σκύλο μου, Λεο για την βόλτα στο πάρκο.

Wednesday, October 22, 2008

Καλησπέρα

Καλησπέρα σας. Με λένε Έυα και μαθαίνω ελληνικά. Θέλλω να αλληνλογπαψώ με άλλους φοιτητες. Πάω στο μαθιμά το Σαβατο στις εννιάμισι. Θα γράψω ενα ημερολόγιο κάθε μέρα για να μάθω ελληνικά.
Attended my first Chinese Brush painting lesson. Frustratingly we didnt' put brush to paper. We learnt about the brushes - soft goat hair for soft wash - hard weasel or horse hair for outlines. Fortunately the brushes I purchased in China were of very high quality as there is no good local wource of brushes. Searching on the net for on-line resources but difficult to see the quality of such items as paper.

Tuesday, October 21, 2008

Chinese Brush Painting

Today I am going to my first Chinese brush work painting. I have enjoyed water colours in the past and have always been attracted to the simplicity in traditional Chinese painting. The artists seem to emphasise shape, form and shadow. The scenes are generally uncluttered. I felt that gaining skills in this discipline may improve my water colour paintings. I especially enjoy water colours and sketching when I am travelling, and in this setting there is a need to capture details and effects quickly.
Claremont School of Art is running this course http://www.claremontschoolofart.com.au/