8/28/2013

Jasintha's Dhal, Rice & Curry and Brinjal Salad


This recipe is really, really good but it take a bit of time. An hour and a half, to be exact. But it's so worth it because it's absolutely delicious. Who better to learn it from than from a local? Jasintha took the time to teach me how to make three Sri Lankan dishes and I was standing by the stove for nearly two hours, taking notes in the dizzying heat coming from the stove (and from the outside because we are in the tropics, mind you), sweat running down my back, tasting the food that Jasintha fed me, and smelling the exotic spices. If the language barrier turned out to be too great (although I was trying really hard to understand her Sri Lankan English), she simply shook her head and showed me in silence what needs to be done. In the end, I think I nailed it down with the recipes. Here's what you need:

100 g red dhal
1 small clove of garlic
3 green chillis
4 small tomatoes
2 small eggplants
500 g cleaned prawns
15 fresh curry leaves
1 cup of red basmati rice
unroasted curry powder
turmeric powder
coconut oil
1 cinnamon stick
black pepper, salt
1 lime
oregano
soy sauce
10 basil leaves
1 tsp sugar

Rice:
1.       Boil 1,5 cup of salted water
2.       Wash the red basmati rice thoroughly with tap water, rinse it, add it to the boiling water
3.       Add half of spoon of unroasted curry powder and a pinch of turmeric powder to the boiling rice
4.       Cook for 20-30 minutes, depending how you like your rice

Dhal:
1.       Boil 200 ml salted water
2.       Wash 100 g of dhal with tap water, rinse it, add it to the boiling water, cook for 20-30 minutes, depending how you like your dhal
3.       Pour coconut oil into the frying pan, when hot, add ½ of the garlic clove, 5 fresh curry leaves, ¼ of the cinnamon stick, stir
4.       Add cooked dhal to the frying pan. Stir and it's ready to be served.

Curry:
1.       Sprinkle half a teaspoon of turmeric on the prawns and wash them with tap water. Ideally, there should be yellow patches of turmeric left on them
2.       Heat the coconut oil in the frying pan, add ½ of the garlic clove, 10 fresh basil leaves and 10 fresh curry leaves
3.       Stir and cook until golden brown
4.       Add the prawns and stir. Cook until golden brown
5.       Add ½ spoon of curry powder, ¼ of cinnamon stick, a pinch of black pepper, a pinch of oregano, a pinch of turmeric powder
6.       Thinly slice 2 tomatoes and 3 green chillis
7.       Stir. Add salt and add the tomatoes and the chillis
8.       Cook for cca 15 minutes

Brinjal Salad:
1.       Pour quite a generous amount of coconut oil into the frying pan
2.       Thinly slice two small eggplants
3.       Fry the slices of eggplants til golden brown
4.       Thinly slice 1 small onion, 2 small tomatoes into a bowl
5.       Add ½ lime juice, 1 tsp soy sauce, 1 tsp sugar and a pinch of salt
6.       Mix with your fingersJ
7.       Place the fried slices of eggplants onto a plate covered with a serviette and let the serviette absorb the excess coconut oil
8.       Add the eggplant slices to the salad mixture and slightly crunch them down with your fingers. Serve.

Here's what Jasintha served me in the end.

Bon apetit!

Teja xoxo


8/27/2013

Mirissa, Sri Lanka

Where to begin? The last two days have been crazy. It took me almost four hours to get to Mirissa from Colombo. First a tuk tuk from my place to the Colombo Bus Station, then a bus (air-conditioned, yay!) from Colombo to Galle, then another (local!) bus to Mirissa and another tuk tuk to the hotel. I was drenched with sticky sweat and exhausted, so when a waiter in the hotel brought me a refreshing ice cold papaya smoothie, the arduous journey was soon forgotten.  Here are a few snapshots from the journey to Mirissa:

 A tuk tuk ride in Colombo during the rush hour. And yes, it is as bad as it looks.
 Bananas anyone?
 Journey from Galle to Mirissa. Gorgeous beaches!
 The ride in a local bus to Mirissa. The guy just piled the lettuce beside the bus driver:)
Made it! Behold the Mirissa Beach!:)
I couldn't get enough of the exotic flora and fauna of Sri Lanka. Everything is so different from Europe. The animals look different, the fruit looks and tastes different. Everything is new and exciting. After several fails, I did manage to take a photo of a beautiful yellow bird that was singing above my head and a chipmunk that was nibbling on anything that it could get his little paws on and making pieces of bark and leaves fall on me:)
 Here's the Mirissa Beach, but where's Mitch Buchannon to save me from those big waves?
 Aaaah. Here he is:)

Lots of love,

Teja xoxo

 PS  Hey guys, please like my photo on  the Vintage Vikend Summer Challenge and help me win. You simply click on the Vintage Vikend link CLICK on my photo (I am wearing a red top and a polkadotted skirt) and LIKE it. That's all. Takes exactly a minute. Thank you:)


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8/23/2013

Dude, where's my soap?

I am talking of course about top notch Bollywood soap operas, feeding the souls and the minds of the common Indian folk. I am telling you, Spanish Telenovelas have nothing on these when in comes to sappiness and the expected ''unexpected'' twists. The bad fluorescent lightning, the cheap (really cheap!) sets, visibly fake tears smearing the girls' makeup like somebody had turned on a fountain, combined with pretty cheesy acting. Oh yeah, Indians eat this up like chicken tikka masala.

They have this channel here called ''Star Plus'' over here in Sri Lanka and it's soap operas 24 hours a day. I know it's bad TV, but I couldn't stop watching it. I mean it was interesting to see from a cultural perspective: the saris the women wore were really beautiful and when some girl was getting married, all the women had a ceremony where they would paint each others' hands with henna tattoos. There is also no kissing on the lips, no sex scenes, no nudity, no smoking, no cursing and no alcohol. I entered an entirely new universe completely foreign to me.

By the way, did you know that they cut out all sex and kissing scenes in Western movies here? When somebody is drinking alcohol or smoking, there is a small subtitle saying ''Smoking Kills.'' Pretty interesting, right?

I lasted exactly 17 minutes, though. I couldn't watch it till the end. Way too sappy and predictable for my taste:) So here are a few screenshots that I took at which I was laughing my head off:




I hope you found the screenshots as amusing as I did:)

Take care,

Teja xoxo

PS  Hey guys, please like my photo on  the Vintage Vikend Summer Challenge and help me win. You simply click on this link, CLICK on my photo (I am wearing a red top and a polkadotted skirt) and LIKE it. That's all. Takes exactly a minute. Thank you:)

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8/22/2013

To the Market, to the Market

One of the most interesting aspects of traveling, to me at least, are, the local food and the local food markets. They latter are like a beehive - forever buzzing with life; everybody is yelling over each other, you can't make out what they're saying, and even if you could, you wouldn't be able to understand it anyway, since everything is in the local language. Which makes it that much more exciting.
Yup. I am back in Colombo, Sri Lanka. And it feels good to be back. Food markets are always my favorite place to see. The colors of the exotic fruit are absolutely beautiful, some of which I've never even seen before in my life. And they are cheap and local.
When it comes to selling fruit and vegetables, Sri Lankans like to kick it old school, which means that the salespeople still use weights. Then, they write a list of all the items you've bought (in Sinhalese, of course, why bother with English?) on a wrinkled piece of paper and how much each item costs. Then, they add them all together (without a calculator, mind you). And then, you pay.
There are lots of stray animals in Sri Lanka because it's a third world country and the home of Buddhism, which means that animals are not allowed to be euthanized or castrated. That's why the animals are multiplying like bunnies; the most popular ones being dogs (infested with fleas, of course), ravens and cats. In Colombo, there is shit load of ravens. Seriously, it's not normal to have this many ravens! And they are really big and they are going to steal anything sparkly or shiny, so when I go to the swimming pool, I always wrap my cell phone in a towel, so it doesn't shine in the hot sun.
The fish market is also interesting. It was curious to see different kinds of species of fish and crabs that you wouldn't normally see in Europe. I was also relieved that it didn't smell at all. The meat market is an entirely different story, though. I did not go there because a reliable source told me that the ravens of Colombo are happily munching down the pieces of displayed meat at the butcher's which is something I definitely do not want to see!
I found this chair by a fruit stand and took a few photos of it. I think it's cool that no matter where I go, love follows me around. Love. And every person, no matter what color their skin or religion is, needs only love. Love.

Take care,

Tejaxoxo

PS  Hey guys, please like my photo on  the Vintage Vikend Summer Challenge and help me win. You simply click on this link, CLICK on my photo (I am wearing a red top and a polkadotted skirt) and LIKE it. That's all. Takes exactly a minute. Thank you:)

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8/18/2013

EVERY HOME NEEDS...

EVERY HOME NEEDS...



Oly drum lighting / Metal clock / L'Objet serveware / Wood storage box, $140 / Alexandra Ferguson charcoal throw pillow / LSA International vase, $94 / Heart poster / BY SOPHIE white wall art / Royal Doulton dinnerware, $11

Love,

Tejaxoxo

PS  Hey guys, please like my photo on  the Vintage Vikend Summer Challenge and help me win. You simply click on this link, CLICK on my photo (I am wearing a red top and a polka dotted skirt) and LIKE it. That's all. Takes exactly a minute. Thank you:)

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8/17/2013

Home Sweet Home

Home Sweet Home



New Growth Designs rose bouquet / Linea home decor / Jamie Young glass hurricane / Sugarboo Designs linen throw pillow / Vietri ceramic dinnerware / Imm Living small item storage / Hand woven basket / Bunny home decor / Bird wall art, $34 / Happy Jackson tea mug, $12 / White wall art




I've always liked mixing rustic interiors with contemporary pieces. These are some of my favorite bits of interior design. I adore pistaccio and turquoise colors, as far as the interior design goes, these colors are smoking hot and any interior design diva should have them in her little palace. I can't get enough of them, I want my entire apartment to be in these colors! Here are some howtos:

TIP 1: Turn only one wall into a focal point of the room and cover it with wallpaper of your choice. Paint the rest of the walls in white/magnolia/vanilla.

TIP 2: Place either really light or really dark decorative pieces against the wallpaper, it's going to make the pieces really stand out.

TIP 3: Frame your artwork with really thick black frames.

TIP 4: Why not try screenprinted pillows with animal designs?

TIP 5: Mix and match contemporary decorative pieces with nostalgic ones you'd found in your grandpa's attic or cellar

I hope you found these tips useful,

Tejaxoxo

PS  Hey guys, please like my photo on  the Vintage Vikend Summer Challenge and help me win. You simply click on this link, CLICK on my photo (I am wearing a red top and a polkadotted skirt) and LIKE it. That's all. Takes exactly a minute. Thank you:)

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8/13/2013

Trending Fall 2013

Trending Fall 2013



Oxford shoes / Proenza Schouler d ring / Proenza Schouler / Prada / Yves Saint Laurent / TIBI /

The Fall is just around the corner which is a perfect opportunity to reorganize your closet; dust off your scarves and your jackets and air them out on your balcony, shine your leather booties and your oxfords, dry clean your plaid pants.

Accessories: When it comes to bags, all trends this fall are in favor of various textures: scaly, shimmery, rubberized studs, silver studs, holographic, take your pick. 

Shoes: Everything from boyfriend shoes (not really my cup of tea, I must say) to Femme Fatale shoes with straps (I <3). If you're more into classics, the two golden tickets for the fall are always leather loafers and suede booties.

Make Up: Must-Haves for your Make up bag: Smokey eyes Palette and burgundy red lipstick, preferably a Yves Saint Laurent one, I am obsessed with these.

I hope you found this post helpful,

give me a shout below!

Teja xoxo

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8/04/2013

(CLOSED) Vote for Soul Fishing Blog on VintageVikend Challenge!

Hey guys,

this is how I was spending the hottest day in the summer (38,4 degrees Celsius) yesterday:

vintage bandana
vintage hoop earrings
YSL Rouge Volupte Lipstick in No 17
H&M top
Vintage belt from my mom
Vintage skirt from Trgovina Kostn
Shoes Ovye

I have entered the competition for the best vintage costume organized by VintageVikend. The person with most likes wins:)

So, please like this photo on VintageVikend's Facebook page. You will need to scroll down the page a little bit, but I don't think you'll be able to miss my photo:)

So please, show your support on Facebook, you will just need to click on the 'like' button, that's it, it's going to take you exactly 3 seconds:)

I thank you in advance for all your votes, you guys rock!

The Challenge ends on August 31, 2013!

Tejaxoxox

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8/03/2013

Blogger Meeting

Yes! We made it girls! After rescheduling our blogger meeting over and over again, we did manage to meet, finally, just the three of us: beauty blogger Ana from Lovely Little Luxuries and another beauty blogger Erika from Fatalna.si. And me;)

I really like it when bloggers meet all in one place to share their experiences and ideas, it's crucial that we stick together, because in Slovenia, blogger culture is very very very new. It's really hard to get a sponsor, it's really hard to get people to collaborate with you (and some of them are really mean and impatient) and it's almost impossible to become a full-time blogger because we have such a small market. Us girls were like, ''a full-time blogger in Slovenia? Are you kidding?''

It also doesn't really pay off to blog in our mother tongue, which is Slovene, because then our reach would be much much smaller. In this case, I have to say that I am really happy that I can blog in English and I have to say that I am thankful to you, dear reader, yes you, sitting in front of your computer reading this post:)

It's so exciting to get emails and comments from all over the world. It totally makes my day! And I hope it also makes yours when you're reading my blog:)

Left to Right: Erika from Fatalna.si, Ana from Lovely Little Luxuries and Teja from SoulFishingBlog

Hugs and kisses,

Tejaxoxox

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