Read all about our Vespa adventure in Trufflepig.

Melanie, who now goes by Audrey,  found her prince.

Meanwhile her daughter Maisie has made a new Facebook friend.

All good things must come to an end.

March, 2015

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 If you can’t make it to Vietnam for the cooking lesson, below is a passport-free recipe from the fabulous Duc. 

Lust in Translation –

Ingredients for tuna rolls:

 ●   tuna – 400 grams – sushi grade, tuna belly

●   nori sheets- 4 sheets, each breaks into 3 strips

●   rice paper – 12 sheets (banh trang re)

●   garlic/onion/ginger – 2 tbsp each minced

●   fresh herbs – coriander, mint, basil

●   sesame seeds – 2 tbsp black + 2 tbsp white

●   vegetable oil for deep frying

Prepare the seasoning for the tuna:

Finely chop garlic, onion, ginger, and fresh herbs – mixed all together with sesame seeds.  Tuna cut into strips of 2cm thick then roll over the mixed seasoning.

Wrap and roll:

On the cutting board – rice paper layer with nori strip and seasoned tuna strip then fold both sides of rice paper in toward center, and continue rolling as tightly as possible without tearing.

Frying:

Heat the oil to 350 degrees – immerse the rolls in oil, use chopsticks to turn them so that they are evenly cooked.  It is ready when the rice paper turn a golden brown color

ingredient for dipping sauce:

●   natural yogurt – ½ cup

●   passion fruit – 2 whole fresh

●   red chili

●   wasabi paste

●   five spices

●   brown sugar, salt, black pepper – pinches to taste

 Prepare for dipping sauce:

 Simply mix together the passion fruit and yoghurt, add a pinch(es) of sugar, salt, and black pepper to taste, a pinch of five spices powder and ½ tsp of wasabi paste.  Cut the red chili into thin strips without the seeds and add to the sauce – leave in the fridge for 2 hours before serving.

Serving:

cut the tuna rolls into bite size pieces, drizzle three drop of soy sauce in the center of each piece then ½ spoon of yoghurt sauce on top.

March, 2015

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to the eye-catching surprises along the way, we were constantly entertained.

Here is Kate making a local friend in Bangkok.

And Elias Vere Nicoll hamming it up with a Chinese tourist in Siem Reap, Cambodia.

Travel takes you out of your world and wham bam lands you in another whether you like it or not. You meet people you’d normally never meet. See things you’d never see. And come home with a mind expanded that only firsthand experience can do.

My ideal: The stranger the better as long as there’s good coffee in the morning. Thailand delivers on the spicy food and gorgeous beaches,

but I warmed more to the less touristy Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam – especially southern Vietnam where the locals were incredibly warm. This happy Vietnamese couple have been together for about 60 years.

Vietnamese chef Tran Thanh Duc below with Cristina Vere Nicoll gave us a shopping and cooking lesson in Hoi An that I can only describe as utterly terrific and delicious. He’s going places.

Travel can also bring you closer to the people you’re with, shared experiences and all that. Melanie Vere Nicoll and me in Luang Prabang, Laos.

We traveled with Trufflepig, a Toronto-based travel group that I highly recommend. All you really need is good people, an open mind and the ability to laugh when things don’t go according to plan (which is a travel guaranty). 

I’ll be posting more on our life-altering trip in the coming weeks.

January, 2015

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Dedicated urbanites can still smell the roses amidst the diesel. Below are a few of my London summer-time picks. Kensington Gardens and the Serpentine Pavilion are easy green options.

Shoppers can catch some rays at Q, Selfridge’s pop-up terrace restaurant.

For something a bit buzzier visit Granary Square at King’s Cross where daily street vendors sell everything from Mexican tacos to Mumbai meatballs to Falafel wraps. It’s the edible U.N. here, otherwise known as Kerb street food collective.

You can watch the boats pass by.

Or follow the tennis.

And for a special garden treat outside central London –  Petersham Nurseries near Richmond Park is unbeatable. Its bohemian glasshouse restaurant (dirt floors, sublime food, cool staff) and the chic garden shop make the journey well worth it.

Fragrance maker Jo Malone believes in the power of gardens to provide solace and lift the spirit. Jo Malone Urban Community Garden Project  supports gardens in deprived areas in Edinburgh, Liverpool and Bristol. Buy a Silk Blossom Home Candle in the UK to help this cause, and bring a little piece of garden home.

July, 2014

* Petersham Nursery photo courtesy of Keiko Oikawa

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This 7th biennial is housed in the lovely landscaped gardens of Asthall Manor near Burford, a 17th c. Jacobean house once the family home of the Mitford sisters.

Don’t dawdle because this fabulous exhibition featuring more than 200 works by 30 of the most talented living sculptors ends July 6th.

And for the free-spirits out there, the Wilderness open-air festival in Cornbury Park near Burford is a must. Besides glamping, this award-winning, four-day festival in early August hosts so many fun frivolities it’s hard to list them all. Highlights include long table banquets with top chefs like Simon Rogan, Angela Hartnett, Russell Norman & Polpo.

There’s tons of live music and dancing and interesting talks supported by the Huffington Post. Other activities include morning meditation, fly fishing, facials, tai chi, croquet, sunset yoga classes  and of course, luxury hot tubs.

 and wild swimming….

Who can resist a festival where the “Ugly Animal Preservation Society”, “Liars League”, “Tongue Fu” and “Chill Pill” are just a few of the guest speakers?

June, 2014

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