May 2019 – MakeCookGrow.com

10 Great Things About Bali

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Bali is less than three and a half hours flying time from Perth where we live and is a very popular tourist destination for all Australians. There are so many reasons we go to Bali every year. I’ve only listed ten of them!

1. THE PEOPLE

The Balinese people are so welcoming and friendly. They are very tolerant and hospitable and we feel so comfortable and pleased to spend some time amongst them. Many people in Bali are Hindus and their architecturally intricate and attractive temples are an integral part of Balinese life.

2. THE ACCOMODATION

Bali offers rooms in houses plus hostels, hotels and villas. Most villas have private pools. Many hotels and resorts have amazing pool complexes and gardens. Bali offers everything from modest to truly luxurious. We stay at the same resort, Kamuela Villas in Seminyak, every year. We love the people, the villa, our pool, the serenity and closeness to restaurants, spas for reflexology, pedicures and facials, cafes and shops. We use their shuttle service for short trips plus hire their car and driver for traveling greater distances.

3. FOOD

Back to our favourite cafes and restaurants for consistently fabulous food plus we found some new, great places, too. Beautifully presented, wonderfully tasty, healthy food made from fresh ingredients and reasonably priced. You can enjoy every possible cuisine and style. A foodie wonderland!

4.COOKING SCHOOLS

My son and I spent six hours doing a Spice Mixing Course in Nusa Dua. Not all that time was cooking, there was a lot of eating and chatting, too! There were twelve of us on the course and we all helped make a few dishes each, plus lots of demonstrations and information and a detailed takeaway package of recipes and resources. Our session was in an open air kitchen surrounded by lush gardens. The instructors were very good and we left well fed and well informed!

There are also schools to master surfing, SUP boarding, white water rafting and so many other things, especially yoga classes and retreats. Search online.

5. PERFUME MAKING

I spent two hours at L’ Atelier Parfums & Creations defining my preferred scents and then selecting the top, middle and bottom notes I wanted to incorporate in my personal perfume. My instructor was Vemi and I was the only one in this session and probably benefited from the personal instruction. I learnt a lot about the common ingredients used in perfume making, their origins, their staying power and how they blend together. The final product, my personal perfume, is very pretty. It was a fun and interesting activity.

5. SHOPPING

We are not really shoppers on holidays but in all the years we’ve been going to Bali I’d only been to one shopping centre and that was a brief visit. Looking online I discovered there are several new, big shopping centres so we set off for one in Kuta. Wandering through the SOGO Department Store we saw the shoes my husband wears a lot and, jokingly, asked if they had his size (13 mens, hard to find) and they did have them so now he has them and is very pleased!

I also bought another basket. They are so useful with their drawstring linings and I use them instead of plastic bags when I go shopping. Bali is the home of desirable baskets in every shape, size and colour.

6. PEDICURES, MANICURES and FACIALS

This is the lovely Evelyn giving me a pedicure. The best pedicure although I had to re-apply the fake tan after the leg scrub! There are spas to suit every price point and treatments to suit every skin type. So relaxing.

7. REFLEXOLOGY

Love a good foot rub and after all the walking we do this is a lovely way to cool down and relax. We always feel great after really good reflexology. There are no set methods in Bali and you might get a gentle, soothing foot and leg rub or you might get a methodical and strong work out but every session has its benefits and is so affordable.

8. BEAUTIFUL FLOWERS, LUSH TROPICAL GARDENS

Flowers, especially orchids, green, cool gardens and my favourite, red heliconias. There are many variations in Bali but this red one is my absolute favourite! Everywhere you look there’s greenery.

9. SERENITY

Step outside your accommodation and you’ll find chaos; scooters, bikes, general traffic and crowded footpaths, but within your room, suite or villa it will be cool and quiet. After dinner, back at our villa, we often marvel at the peace and tranquillity.

The outer areas of Bali can offer totally peaceful villas and hotel rooms surrounded by lush gardens and jungle.

10. Bali is not just sun, surf, food and fun but also beautiful countryside. Visit the rice terraces, the Botanic Garden, lakes and temples and coffee plantations. Admire the mountains and Agung volcano, which erupted hours after we flew out.

Sad to leave Bali but flew back to Perth and this beautiful sunset as we landed.

Thursday was Learn About Composting Day. I would love to make nutrient rich compost from kitchen and garden waste but despite trying several different “fail proof” methods all I have ever made is evil smelling mush.

I hope you make wonderful compost!

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Big Day Out In The Bali Hills

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Bali, a popular tourist destination, especially for Australians, is best known for its beaches, restaurants, massages, hotels and resorts and temples, eating and shopping. The best known Indonesian island, Bali is also known for its volcanic soil and the occasional volcanic rumble.

This year when our son joined us for a week during our annual visit to Bali we decided to head out of town for a day.

Our first stop was to look at rice terraces. Rice is the staple food for half the world’s population and its cultivation can be traced back for at least 8000 years. It is the mainstay of Balinese cuisine and features in every meal and influences every aspect of Balinese cultural life.

Rice paddies are managed by the local priests and guarded by water temples. These terraces are surrounded by jungle and some other agricultural activity.

Surrounding farmland.

This small building is probably a gathering point for the farmers to eat in.

From the rice fields to the Bali Botanic Gardens, known locally as Kebun Raya Bali. This is not a typical botanical garden with beds of named specimens, but more a green place with local plantings and some wild areas, too.

Green, clean and well looked after with many interesting plants, mostly shrubs, bushes and trees, but also some flower beds. Plant collections here include orchids, ferns, cacti and carnivorous plants.

Into the cactus house.

Some very strange looking cacti, especially these knobbly ones. Some locals have carved their names into the plants.

Small, natural waterfall into one of the ponds.

Lush, cool and green, the gardens are popular on Fridays for family picnics and bus loads of school groups or for work lunches. It’s easy to see why they’d choose this isolated and green garden to relax and eat.

Fabulous vista of this lake and temple compound from the Botanic Garden, so this was our next stop. Beratan Lake, with its mountainous backdrop, is home to the Ulun Danu Temple, built in 1633. Architecturally beautiful with intricate carving and ornate finishes, this water temple is very important as the lake is the main source of water for irrigation in this area. There are other smaller temples along the lake shore.

It was a little cooler in the mountains and we enjoyed walking around this temple compound and admiring the view.

From the temple to a restaurant overlooking another valley. The satay sticks were very good and so was the coffee from their Italian coffee machine! Bit unexpected as we were a long way from mainstream Bali, but very welcome and we each had two coffees and plantan cakes.

Our view from the outdoor terrace at the restaurant.

To a coffee plantation. They also grew cocoa, turmeric, vanilla and ginger which were all used to make tea.

This is a demonstration of the old way of roasting the coffee bean and takes about an hour per kilo. Hot and smoky!

The famous luwak coffee from this area actually is harvested from the coffee beans which have passed through the civet and been collected. The civet, a cat-like animal, is nocturnal and this curled up ball is the best I could do as they were fast asleep! I didn’t try those coffee beans, either.

This farm produces coffee beans, cacao which they sell to a famous chocolatier in Belgium, pink, black and white pepper corns, ginger and turmeric. Lovely wander through their garden and tasting tables.

Types of teas available at the coffee plantation. We bought mangosteen tea and ginger tea, but there was a huge variety and we enjoyed tasting them all.

This was the last place on our list so we headed back to our villa in Seminyak.

Today, 25th of May, is Tap Dance Day, which began in 1989. The day celebrates the origins and heritage of the genre and remembers famous tap dancers.

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Making a Quick Cutlery Roll

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Just as Northern Hemisphere blog writers are pleased with the signs of Spring, I am pleased with the indications of Autumn! We had some rain yesterday and it is cool outside. The frog chorus is rowdy tonight. So my thoughts are directed at making, cooking and growing. I am enjoying doing things around the house.

MAKING a CUTLERY ROLL Often when we are travelling we eat breakfast and lunch and then something light in the room for dinner. These hotel room picnics can consist of bought ready-made salads, cheese, bread, fruit or cold meats. I saved these bamboo knives, forks and spoons and carry them for our picnics.

There is a plethora of instructions online for making cutlery rolls, but I wanted something light, quick and easy. This one took half an hour if you don’t include the washing and drying of the fabric. This actually is a hemmed rectangle with one end folded up and stitched into three slots and finally rolled and held in place with ribbon. Too easy!

I washed and ironed a remnant piece of fabric and then cut a rectangle to make the cutlery roll. My piece of fabric measured 50cm x 25cm (about 20″ x 9″) including seam allowances.

After I’d sewn down one side and across the bottom, I snipped the corner, turned the rectangle back to the right side and ironed it, making sure the raw edge at the top was folded over into the middle so I could sew it closed.

After I’d stitched the raw edge, I placed the cutlery on the rectangle so I could fold the end up to create the pouches to the right height to hold it (your chosen cutlery will determine the size of the folded piece) then stitched it to make three slots or pouches. I just guessed the measurements.

I hand stitched a length of grosgrain ribbon in the middle on the back, to tie the roll, after folding each third to make the roll.

Fold, tie and all done!

Light, quick and very useful, my super easy cutlery roll.

GROWING Went to an Open Garden afternoon with Sophie Thompson, a columnist, national public speaker,TEDx presenter, author, broadcaster, horticulturalist and weekly presenter on Gardening Australia on ABCtv. She focuses on sustainable gardening and promotes water wise and climate compatible gardening. Sophie spoke about the natural ways to control pests. Extremely well informed and funny, it was a great afternoon held in a wonderful garden. Very motivational

There are still some flowers in the garden. My Amaryllis Belladonna Lily (Naked Lady Bulb) thrives in our hot climate, grows in full sun and blooms late in summer when other flowers are finished.

This Abraham Darby is a lovely fragrant rose which sprawls out of its pot.

I collected seeds from this hippiastrum late last year and have five small plants. It has beautiful flowers several times during the year.

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Hello Autumn!

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Autumn is here! A few days have been cool enough for long pants and even a scarf this morning which is a lovely change. By the end of summer I am tired of my summer clothes. Also planted snow peas as a winter crop.

A crisp, yellow autumn morning, so breakfast at the beach followed by a walk. Great view, great food and a great walk!

I seem to abandon herbal teas when it gets cooler and drink way too many espressos. Lots of socializing means lots of espressos but I love catching up with friends. And I love good coffee.

In gardening news, I am pleased with these cream clivia seedlings. I collected seeds from a mature plant. I planted fourteen and they all germinated and most are thriving.

Started the new year doing a small painting every day, but life got in the way. Lately I’ve been doing quick watercolour pencil paintings using anything around me on or near the table as subject matter. As I’ve become more familiar with the pencils I’ve realized how versatile they are and will keep working with them on small pieces.

This Sunday is Mother’s Day. We are really looking forward to spending the day with my mother, chatting, eating, just spending time together. Mother’s Day is special!

This eye catching display of huge paper flowers is hanging from the very high ceiling of our local shopping centre (mall) to celebrate Mother’s Day.

We have a holiday soon and part of the planning is collecting books as we both find it really relaxing to lie around reading. Some we will both read, some we wont, but we leave them at the resort as we finish them for anyone who wants them.

Did you know May is Get Caught Reading month? So much to enjoy, fiction, non-fiction, perhaps some poetry, but don’t just restrict yourself to reading in May, read every day!

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Making Pesto, Cooking Pizza and Reading ” Common Table”

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MAKING Made pesto using just harvested basil and other simple ingredients. I picked and rinsed the leaves then blitzed them with extra virgin olive oil, lightly roasted pine nuts, pecorino (a strong sheep) cheese and garlic. Smells wonderful, tastes delicious. This pesto doesn’t keep for very long, but we’ll use it on pizzas tonight and on pasta tomorrow. It never lasts for long because it tastes so good.

I was a bit surprised to read that bought pesto has vegetable oil, pine nuts, garlic and pecorino cheese plus milk, salt, potato flakes, sugar and acidity regulator(575). Try making your own. So easy, so tasty, so fresh.

COOKING This yeasty pizza dough rose nicely as it was a warm day. Later, we rolled out the dough and made a variety of pizzas with several different toppings, including some of the pesto I made earlier. Delicious, quick to cook and a treat for us plus some leftovers for tomorrow.

Common Table

READING “Common Table” written by Janice Marriott and Virginia Pawsey, two New Zealanders who were at school together and met again later in life and began corresponding by letter, which make up this book. The co-authors write about their shared interest in food and their diverse lives and different challenges, as one lives on an isolated farm and the other in the city. Warm, often very funny, scattered with recipes and astute observations about the people around them, this is a book about two old friends adjusting to their changing lives and expectations.

I enjoyed this book so much I have hunted down and ordered their previous book, Common Ground, based on their shared passion for gardening.

Today is Meditate in a Garden Day, which sounds like a lovely thing to do, so make time to settle, relax and meditate in a garden.

Common Table

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