Pretending it's the weekend

I still can't believe how lucky I am. That a complete stranger would open their GORGEOUS home to me for an entire week is way more than anyone should be able to ask for. Luckily, I didn't have to ask for it, it was offered a mere 2 hours after I met her. Anne is a lovely woman, incredibly generous with her advice, experience, time and gorgeous (did I already mention that?) home.



My second week in Bali was spent exactly how I pictured a Balinese vacation before I ever arrived. I read probably six different books, lounging by a beautiful pool tiled in navy, taking dips whenever I wanted. I also cooked a few times, had lovely wine, as well as fantastic Balinese food.

Indonesian food and Balinese food are rather different, in my experience, at least, with Balinese food winning hands down. Take Indonesian food, add Indian and Malay spices, and you'll have an idea of what Bali has to offer culinarily.

I went to a traditional Balinese restaurant run by a Swiss gentleman who immigrated many years ago, and has since married a Balinese woman and settled down. The food was phenomenal, phenomenal enough for me to pay way too much money to sign up for a cooking course. The course was a lot of fun, and I got many good recipes out of it, but it didn't allow me to cook nearly as much as I wanted to. Then again, unless a cooking course allows me to cook everything by myself, it'll probably never live up to my expectations. Eh, c'est la vie.

Here's my first quick recipe tip, inspired by my course:
Anyone looking for a delicious quick snack should combine the following:
sweet corn, lime juice, shredded coconut and a touch of sugar.
Absolutely wonderful, though I warn you that the lime juice is essential...without it, the dish is much too sweet.
Enjoy, and I promise to update you on my much more eventful adventures in the jungles of Kalimantan very soon.

p.s. If anyone knows of a green papaya soup recipe from Bali, please let me know! I fell in love with the dish while I was there and can't wait to experiment when I get back home.