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

The post Vroom Vroom appeared first on Elena Bowes.

 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

The post From Burnt Toast to Vietnamese Fusion appeared first on Elena Bowes.

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

The post See, Smell, Taste and Touch appeared first on Elena Bowes.