Haya and Sama

I love these girls. Sama and Haya Abu Khadra are 18-year-old twin sisters. They are daughters of Rula Abu Khadra, founder of a lifestyle boutique in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. The girls reside in Dubai but are of Palestinian heritage. They are currently buyers for their mother's store. Been seeing around during Paris Fashion Week. They have been described as “a Botticelli painting come to life". I can definitely see that, especially with those curls. Girls to watch. 

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Wearing DW by Kayne West... love the shoes.

Photos via Stockholm Streetstyle, Google Images, Tumblr, Shoot the Breeze, Oversized Shades & Coffee, The Fashion Spot.

Lemon and Raspberry Cheesecake

Prior to cooking this dessert I had never made lemon curd. First time I made it I had problems getting it nice and thick. I was mid way making it googling for "how to thicken lemon curd". I ended up adding corn flour which helped but second time it was glossy and just had that perfect lucious texture. Boy was I proud! Made it a few more times and perfect each time. 

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I love my layered desserts in tumblers. Don't know what it is but these desserts tend to have a mixture of textures. I love bit of crunchiness and a bit of creaminess. I love this dessert. I've made it at least 3 times now. If you skip the lemon curd part it shouldn't take very long. 

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A vast improvement from my normal photographs. This is what happens when you use an SLR in daylight. I always manage to photograph the food on this blog at night. Very annoying!

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For this recipe, I would make the lemon curd the night before and put the cheesecake together the following day.

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Lemon Curd recipe from Taste.com.au (Makes 1 1/2 cups) 

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Ingredients

2 eggs, plus 2 egg yolks

3/4 cup (165g) caster sugar

1/3 cup (80g) chilled unsalted butter

Zest and juice of 2 lemons

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Method

1. Whisk whole eggs, yolks and sugar in a saucepan until smooth, then place pan over a low heat. 

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2. Add the butter, juice and zest and whisk continuously until thickened. Strain through a sieve into a sterilised jar. Lemon curd keeps, covered, in the fridge for 2 weeks.

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Cheesecake recipe from Jamie Oliver's 30 Minute Meals

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Ingredients

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50g butter 

50g blanched hazelnuts 

8 gingernut biscuits 

1 lemon 

4 heaped teaspoons lemon curd 

1 punnet raspberries (approx 150g) 

250g light or low fat cream cheese, marscapone cheese or crème fraiche (I used marscapone.... my favourite!)

1 teaspoon of vanilla paste or extract 

A splash of milk 

1 tablespoon icing sugar 

Good quality dark chocolate for grating  

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Method

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1. Place 4 tumblers for these cheesecakes into the freezer. (You could use a large deep bowl to serve this instead and you could just scoop it out. I did that on one of the occasions I made it.) Put the butter into a medium frying pan on a high heat. 

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2. Place the hazelnuts and biscuits in food food processor to crush into pieces or bash with a rolling pin by placing them in a sandwich bag. I prefer the food processor. Alternatively, you could use a pestle and mortar. 

3. Turn the heat off under the melted butter, tip in the bashed nuts and biscuits and stir. Finely grate in the lemon zest and mix well. 

4. Take the tumblers out of the freezer and divide the mixture between them, gently patting it down until firm. Put 1 heaped teaspoon of lemon curd into each tumbler and top with a few raspberries. 

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5. Spoon the marscapone  into a bowl and add the vanilla paste or extract and a splash of milk. Stir, then add the icing sugar and another splash of milk and mix really well until it looks soft and silky smooth. 

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6. Divide between the tumblers, scrape over a few gratings of dark chocolate and set aside until you are ready to serve.

Searching for a Wallet

With my birthday approaching later this year and of course Christmas, I think it's time for a new wallet. I've had my current Oroton wallet for way too long. Time for a change. I always go for long wallets. My criteria is a long wallet, with good coinage space (preferably a zip component), note slots and slots for random things. The other very important criteria is space for least 8 cards. Let the search begin... 

Chloe via Net-aporter - love the colour blocking here. 

Marni via Netaporter - Purple suede. How can one resist? Inside also looks lovely.

Valentino via Netaporter - Love the green, so nice and rich.

Mulberry via Mulberry Online - Such a gorgeous colour for summer. 

Mulberry via Mulberry Online - Think of Princess Kate when I see this. She has the matching bag. Classic.

Stella McCartney via Netaporter - Love grey on anything including this wallet.

Marc by Marc Jacobs - simple, classic but not sure maybe too boring?

Alexander Wang via Shopbop - Modern and cool take on a long wallet.

Alexander Wang via Shopbop - if only this was long.

Rebecca Minkoff via Nordstrom

Ted Baker via Nordstorm - Love this.

YSL via Netaporter - Another simple and classic wallet, but something about this leather is very seductive.

Chicken Thighs with Almond Asian Sauce and Spinach, Sultana and Almond Salad

I love nuts. My favourites would have to be pine nuts and almonds in savoury dishes along with pistachio in desserts. My pantry tends to have a wide variety of nuts. I don't buy any junk food during my weekly grocery shop so love them as a snack and for cooking. 

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The chicken dish works so well with this spinach salad. This salad is a regular side when I don't have much time for making veggies.  

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Chicken with Almond Asian Sauce by Nigella Lawson (Slightly altered)
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Ingredients
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Chicken
6 chicken thighs
2 teaspoon garlic oil
1 teaspoon sea salt flakes
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Sauce
2 tablespoon natural almond butter (you can find it in health food aisle of the supermarket)
1/2 teaspoon ginger, finely grated
2 tablespoons soy sauce
2 teaspoons rice vinegar, preferably brown
2 teaspoons soft brown sugar
1/4 teaspoon crushed chilli or dried chilli flakes
2 tablespoon cold water
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Method
1. Sprinkle the chicken with the garlic oil and salt. In a lightly greased non-stick fry pan cook the chicken thighs on medium heat until cooked on both sides. 
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2. Meanwhile spoon all the sauce ingredients into a small bowl and whisk to combine.
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3. Put aside while making the salad.
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Spinach, Almond and Sultana Salad by Dressed and Eaten
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Ingredients
100g spinach
Handful of almonds
Handful of sultanas
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Method
1. In a lightly greased non-stick fry pan cook the spinach on medium heat until wilted. Add the sultanas and almonds and stir through for about a minute. You can use different nuts instead of the almonds. Pine nuts also work well. If using pine nuts, add them in bit earlier to cook through more.  
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2. Serve the chicken with the salad. Top the sauce over the chicken. 

Metallic

Let it shine so bright. Love. 

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Photos via Stockholm Streetstyle, Late Afternoon, Columbine Simille, Tumblr, They all Hate Us, Fashion Squad.

Zara

Alexander Wang 

Patent + Metallic = brilliance. 

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Photos via Shopbop and Netaporter

ASOS

Mulberry

Photo via Netaporter

Ratatouille with Poached Egg

As you might recall I love and adore eggs in a main. See here and here. They are so comforting. I don't often venture into French cooking. The amount of butter used freaks me out. I prefer to keep savoury dishes as healthy as possible and get my fat from desserts and keeping my sweet tooth satisfied. However, this dish is of course one of your healthy French dishes. The addition of the egg just brings it to another level of comfort.  

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Recipe from Delicious Magazine via Taste.com.au
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Ingredients (serves 4)
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 onion, finely chopped
1 garlic clove, crushed
1 eggplant, chopped
2 zucchini, chopped
1 red capsicum, seeds removed, chopped
400g canned chopped tomatoes
4 poached eggs, to serve
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Method
1. Heat oil in a large saucepan, add onion and cook for 2-3 minutes until softened. 
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2. Add garlic and stir for 1 minute, then add eggplant and cook, stirring occasionally, for a further 2 minutes. 
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3. Add zucchini, capsicum and tomatoes, and simmer for 10 minutes until all vegetables are just cooked.
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4. Season with salt and pepper, divide ratatouille between 4 plates. Top each plate with a poached egg. Watch that gooeyness flow into the lovely veggies. Delicious!

In the middle

There comes a time when you wear something that isn't flattering. You wear it because you like it enough not to care that it makes your butt look bigger or whatever. I long to reach that stage where I won't care. Example is the midi skirt or dress. I have a handful that I choose not to wear because I feel that a midi skirt tends to draw emphasis on my large hips and butt. I prefer to wear things above the knee to draw emphasis on my good legs and away from everything else. 

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Looking for some inspiration now so I can make it work. Think it's the perfect time to wear them given the weather is all over the place here in Sydney.

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Photos via Late Afternoon, They all Hate us, The Sartorialist, Face Hunter, Stockholm Streetstyle, Tumblr and Karla's Closet