Snapshots #5 - Happy Holidays!

I hope everyone had a great Christmas and to those who are having a break from work, have lots of fun on my behalf. It has been painful for me to wake up on the early morning of the 27th after two days of celebrations/partying with family and friends. I, unfortunately, had to go to work. It was extremely depressing but at least the trains were quiet.

As per tradition, we gather at home and had our little Christmas Eve celebration (if you count 9 people as a small party). After stuffing ourselves with food, we proceeded to spend the rest of the night playing board games. Who knew Harry Potter board games could cause such a ruckus on the living room floor? Before long, the clock struck 12 and its arrival saw the floor covered with torn wrapping paper and ribbons. Christmas day was basically the same. Just lots more food. As a result I'm still suffering from the after effects of overeating. I might have made a pact with mum to be a vegetarian for a month. But give me a week and I will miss meat again.

Do you celebrate Christmas? If so, do you have your own Christmas tradition?

Potato gnocchi

Potato gnocchi with samphire, girolles and baby leeks (for 4)

The dough:

600g warm baked potato, sieved (around 12–14 medium Chippers Choice)

40g egg yolk

90g plain flour

10g salt

Seaweed butter:

150g soft unsalted butter

20g chopped wakame

20g chopped sea lettuce

Sautéed girolles:

150g girolle mushrooms, cleaned

1 small shallot, chopped

1 sprig of thyme

1 clove garlic (optional)

10g vegetable oil

Splash of cabernet sauvignon vinegar

Splash of walnut oil (optional)

80g samphire

4 baby leeks

Full recipe details on Editer

Like most people, pasta is one of my favourite types of food. I, more often than not, have some sort of pasta dish twice a week. Particularly love ravioli and gnocchi (although gnocchi technically isn't part of the pasta family). It's quite difficult to find a place that makes good gnocchi here and even so definitely not as good as the dish I had in Florence. That's why my eyes lit up when I saw this recipe at Editer. The dish looks amazing and drool-worthy. Plus it seems fairly easy to emulate. Well... at least from the pictures it seems that way.

What's your favourite pasta dish?

Have a great weekend gents and ladies.

Travel lust: Sri Panwa, Phuket

Images from weheart

In desperate need of an island holiday somewhere in South East Asia. Somewhere to unwind and relax after an exhausting month at work. I must be insane when I rejected my friends's invite to join them for a NYE getaway in Fiji (although with the cyclone having hit Fiji at the moment, it's probably a wise decision). Hence I have resorted to Google for therapy by browsing through images of Fiji, Bali and Thailand.

When I spotted these images of Sri Panwa, it was love at first sight. How gorgeous are these custom-designed villas facing the Andaman Sea? Clean, chic and immensely private designs tug my heartstrings. I can imagine myself having a dip in my own infinity pool with a cocktail in hand as the sun sets. Now all I need is to win the lottery.

Playlist #5

Current playlist for the month of December. Still not over Mumford. I would love to see them live again... and again. Arctic Monkeys was a favourite of mine during my teenage years especially with Alex Turner's sexy vocals. Jason Mraz has always been one of my guilty pleasures. His songs just make you feel good. I won't give up is my go-to song when I'm feeling down and crap. Last but not least Of Monsters and Men, my current addiction. I love them. Massive fan. I'm so excited that they are playing at Laneway Festival on the 2nd of February. I need to get tickets. I have a feeling they will be awesome live. Plus this year's lineup is amazing - Chet Faker, Yesayer, Alpine etc.
Any Sydney-siders going?

Wishing you all a wonderful weekend!