May 2018 – MakeCookGrow.com

Where We Stay In Seminyak, Bali

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When I tell people we’re just back from a holiday in Bali the first comment people make is, “Lucky you” and the second is always, “Where did you stay?” About 1.4 million Australians travel to Bali every year and enjoy an enormous range of accommodation choices in many areas.

We keep returning to Kamuela Villas because they are close to the exciting chaos of Seminyak (wonderful restaurants, massages, lots of pampering, shops and cafes) but up a quiet street, calm and serene and very peaceful at night. The Manager and staff are so helpful and lovely!

The legendary Balinese hospitality begins when you’re collected from the airport in clean, cool 4WDs and transported to Kamuela reception, where you’ll enjoy a welcome drink before going to your villa.

Entrance to a one bedroom villa. These have less garden but each has a roof top terrace with great views and cool breezes. The villas are air conditioned except in the bathrooms which have fans.

Lush tropical gardens. Bali has world class restaurants and some days we have breakfast and one other meal and have a little picnic by the pool instead of a third, full spread. There’s a deli up the road with cheese, crackers, vegetables and fruit for in villa picnics.

The locked entrance gate means your villa is private and secure. The villas and pools are cleaned daily.

King sized beds with garden and pool views. All the rooms are light, airy and spacious with soaring ceilings and timber floors in the living areas and tiles in the bathrooms.

Order your breakfast and your preferred delivery time the night before and the lovely, smiling Balinese staff will arrive and set things out, ready for you to eat. We tried the English, French, American, Indonesian and Japanese breakfast choices and liked them all.

A variety of food can be ordered from the room menu ranging from snacks to three course meals.

The fruit in the front, left side, is a reptile fruit, with white flesh and a sweet, chewy texture.

We swim in the morning, in the afternoon and after dinner!

The tropics can be harsh on the buildings and a refurbishment program is planned.

Spacious bathrooms with showers and baths. Bottles of water provided….don’t drink the water in Bali!

Each two bedroom villa has a shared living space with sitting, dining and kitchen areas and two complete bedroom en suite units housed in three pavilions featuring these soaring ceilings. So beautiful.

Every time we stay we come home relaxed and blissed out, vowing to return as soon as possible. It is all so easy. Airfares are so low, Kamuela so accommodating and the staff so lovely. See it at www.kamuelavillas.com

Yesterday was Tiara Day, quite fitting following the Royal Wedding, but probably not very relevant for people in the suburbs with few commitments requiring a tiara. Apparently, Tiara Day is the same day as Queen Victoria’s birthday. I’m sure she had some gorgeous tiaras!

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5 Good Things To Do In Bali

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SWIM The balmy weather means you can swim during the day or night, at the beach or pool. Take two swimsuits as they can take a while to dry in the humidity and putting on a clammy, still damp swimsuit is a bit off putting!

2. EAT There’s a huge variety of cuisines available in Bali and the food is delicious. Experiment! I felt quite sad when a young boy staying where we were told me his family had hamburgers from a well known world-wide hamburger company delivered every night. Take the opportunity to talk to local people and ask them what’s popular or new.

3. ENJOY THE ARCHITECTURE The local style of architecture is so different from other countries and is ornate and beautiful. Craftsmen still carve and decorate wood and stone. Originally, strict rules dictated the order and arrangement of rooms in the houses but as properties have been divided due to inheritances, the size of land available has been diminished and the layout of rooms is less formalized.

Private home, set in lush gardens. So calm and peaceful and very beautiful.

A family temple. The Balinese are very spiritual and each family, larger family group and village has a temple.

4. BE PAMPERED So many opportunities for massages, facials, manicures and pedicures. So affordable compared to Australia.

I had an excellent facial from a male beautician. I’ve never had a male beautician before anywhere! No photos as I fell asleep almost immediately but my skin felt hydrated and soothed for days afterwards.

Reflexology is so relaxing. We went to a few places but my new favourite is Chill Reflexology in Seminyak. After a foot wash we were led into a cool, darkened room where we lay down, were given eye masks and ear phones and enjoyed the next hour listening not to dying whale music as I feared, but lovely soothing sounds. So restful, so relaxing.

Really good foot scrub and pedicure, too. Takes an hour with oils and creams massaged and rubbed on feet and legs, nails shaped, plenty of time between each application of polish. My local shop in suburban Perth follows a business model where they never say no to anyone who walks in, so even when I’ve made an appointment, the girl doing my nails might be flitting between three other people while I’m waiting and waiting and I’m there for so long.

Leaving Prina Spa, so pretty.

5. SHOPPING Most people like a memento of their holiday, especially when you have the time to shop without too many time constraints. I have always admired these roof “crowns” common on the peak of many Balinese buildings and was lucky enough to be taken by a friend to where they are made and was able to buy one.

Then I needed to buy a basket to carry it back to Australia!

Quickly discovered the drawstring basket was handy for carrying towels and books, too..

So many clothing, decorator, food, and souvenir shops everywhere and now, the ubiquitous tattoo shops! There’s antique furniture, rustic furniture and modern designs, clothing for everyone of every age, bags, shoes and masses of knick knacks!

A surprising discovery…a Catholic Church!

Did you watch the Royal wedding? Such a gorgeous dress, a lovely service and it looked like a beautiful day with the sun shining, but why did the bride’s mother seem to be alone?

Today is Quiche Lorraine Day, celebrating a shortcrust pastry filled with egg custard, cream, cheese, bacon or ham and sometimes added vegetables. Although we think of Quiche Lorraine as a French dish, it is actually thought to originate in Germany.

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5 Reasons You Should Have House Plants

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The Australian urban landscape is rapidly changing as more and more people move into high rise apartments without traditional front and back gardens. In fact, the number of people living in apartments seems to double every decade. There are good reasons to consider indoor plants.

1. Our houses are polluted by volatile organic compounds (VOCs). These are released from plastics, synthetics, carpets, glue and paint. Indoor plants remove these VOCs from the air and produce oxygen, too.

2. Green plants project a healthy, calm environment. Plants make you feel well and in a small way, connected to nature.

You can also have fun selecting pots for your plants which can be ceramic, metal or plastic. There’s other ways of decorating your pots, too, such as wrapping them in hessian or cache pots but be sure there’s good drainage.

3. Plants have been shown to make positive changes to the brains electrical activity, muscle tension and heart activity.

4. Some plants, such as lavender, are thought to induce better sleep. Have two potted lavender plants, one by your bed and one resting outside and swap them regularly. It’s easy to bring pots of rosemary indoors, too, and enjoy the lovely smell.

5. Indoor plants are inexpensive and easy to maintain. Spray them occasionally to create humidity, don’t over water them and dust them regularly. Read their labels to find out how to feed them and enjoy!

This Sunday, 13th of May is Mother’s Day in many countries. Enjoy this special day however you like to celebrate. Happy Mother’s Day, Mum!

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Summer Fruit, Autumn Fruit, Fruit Jellies and Reading Materials

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The end of summer fruits, kiwi fruit and strawberries plus new season pears and apples.

Following a period of poor health I am trying to “repair” my gut and found lots of online references to gelatin. It is thought to improve the mucosal lining of the gut and stimulate the production of gastric juices aiding digestion. It is an easily digested protein.

There are so many recipes for fruit jellies, or gummy bears, online, but I wanted to use apples as I already had a bowl full. My resulting fruit jelly wasn’t such a pretty colour like those made from strawberries or mango, but it tasted very good.

I began by stewing four apples in very little water. When they were soft I drained them and pureed the pulp.

I put one and a half cups of pulp in a jug and stirred through two dessertspoons of gelatin dissolved in half a cup of water. Next time I will put the fruit through a sieve to make a smoother jelly, but I quite liked the chewiness of this lumpier jelly.

I poured the mix into a lightly oiled glass dish and left it to set in the fridge for a few hours before cutting it and tasting it. Intense apple flavour and very nice. Some online recipes include faux sugars which would certainly make it more like traditional gummy fruits but I didn’t add this and we still enjoyed the taste.

Lots of examples online show the jellies made in silicone moulds shaped like bears, hearts and even Lego figures which are also available online and in kitchenware shops.

I will make this again trying other winter fruits which are now appearing in the fruit shops. A thinner version, using less gelatin, would be like normal jelly/jello but the whole point is to digest the gelatin so I’ll stick with these proportions of fruit to gelatin.

We’re going away soon and have begun collecting books to read while we are on holidays. Our collections often overlap and we swap, but I don’t think that will happen this time. I also like to take some decorator magazines.

The last of the hydrangeas. I cut and potted lots of “sticks” when I was pruning to create new plants in spring.

The last of the roses. The bushes are getting “leggy” and will be pruned soon.

Today, the fourth of May, is Star Wars Day, so sit back and watch your favourite Star Wars DVD with your light saber close by and may the fourth ( ha ha) be with you!

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