my top 5 new websites of 2009
18 Nov 2009 Leave a Comment
in general Tags: estie thirion, fly.com, simonseeks, travelzoo, twitter, whatkatiewore
What Katie Wore
By now, hundreds of people have been made aware of this darling website. Every day, Joe posts a picture of his gorgeous girlfriend Katie wearing a different outfit. Totally different, every day, for a year. Katie works her kooky magic with whacky colours, awesome accessories, crazy tights, designer, vintage and high street, and hair like an apostrophe. Checking out this site is a small highlight of every day for me – it’s an inspirational splash of brightness that’s become a daily fix. Who knows what will happen after this yearlong project has ended?!
Simonseeks
I’ve written about my predictions for Simonseeks shortly after it launched and early signs are there that I was right. The site won the Website of the Year award from the Good Web Guide and I’ve had four guides published: one on the wildlife in Cape Town, one on our honeymoon destination Pringle Bay, another about a short foodie break in the Lake District and the most recent on the culinary delights of Marseille. I’ve had over 1,000 clicks on these and have the princely sum of £5.48 in earnings to my name. Most of all, I’ve enjoyed squeezing the creative juices about one of my favourite subjects – travel – and getting feedback on it. I’m sure it will be just a matter of time before many thousands more writers have jumped on the bandwagon and I’m pleased to have been one of the first few hundred.
Twitter
I was suspicious of Twitter at first and couldn’t really see the point of the whole microblogging craze. But now, following interesting people and 166 tweets in, I’m a convert. I’ll have to do a separate list of my favourite Tweeters of 2009, but suffice to say my days have been brightened by links to travel pieces, snippets from celebs, recipes, tips and general musings which made me stop and think on a busy day. I was amazed at the role it played in the Jan Moir debacle and to see how things like football matches, Nick Griffin and the X Factor affected trending. Most of all for the next year, I’m interested to see what direction Twitter will take, especially from a business point of view.
Estie Thirion Photography
So I’m biased and Estie is one of my nearest and dearest, but her blog has just given me so much joy in the last year. The photographs are mini works of art, taken in some of the most beautiful parts of South Africa, and of course it’s always a joy to see those you love follow their dreams, inject passion into everything they do and make a success of each and every day. I’m a very proud pal.
Fly.com
What a clever search engine this is. I’ve long been a fan of the value of TravelZoo’s deals and this flight search engine is a great addition to the Top 20 newsletter and other offerings. I find it easy to use, reliable and comprehensive, so I’m sure it will give me lots of good service and deals in the years to come.
day of the dead
02 Nov 2009 Leave a Comment
in food and drink Tags: cabbage, day of the dead, estie thirion, jamie oliver, mexican, recipe, sauce, steak, sweet potato
Today is the Mexican feast of the Day of the Dead (El Día de los Muertos or All Souls Day) and so it was the perfect opportunity to join in the celebrations by cooking one of our favourite cuisines. We always have most of the ingredients for a Mexican culinary feast, so I didn’t put much thought into what we’ll actually have for dinner. The end result was not quite Mexican, but spicy, seasonal and deliciously tasty: rump steak with red pepper, chilli and shallot sauciness, sweet potato mash with chilli and delicious braised cabbage with bacon. Masterchef judges will probably say the dish doesn’t quite come together as one, but it was delicious and Chris and I both really enjoyed it, so I figured it was worth sharing anyway.
Spicy sauce for steak
Sauté a couple of chopped shallots in butter, along with a finely chopped clove of garlic, a thinly-sliced red pepper and sliced green chilli. Deglaze with a good glug of red wine and serve over steak.
We cooked our veggies for the sauce alongside the steak – I’m pretty sure this isn’t textbook but it made a pretty picture.
Sweet potato mash I can’t call this a recipe… I boiled some sweet potato until soft, added some butter, a dash of milk and seasoning and stirred in a chopped green chilli.
Braised bacon cabbage (Courtesy of Jamie Oliver…. I realise my blog is becoming a bit of a shrine to the man himself… this recipe is from the Ministry of Food book but I adapted it slightly to serve 2 people)
Wash the leaves of half a cabbage and slice finely. Slice up three rashers of smoked streaky bacon – the best quality you can afford. Fry with a lug of olive oil until crisp and then stir in a finely chopped clove of garlic. As it begins to colour, add a tablespoon of Worcestershire sauce, a knob of butter and your cabbage. Stir well, give the pan a shake and crank up the heat to high. Drop a stock cube in about 300 ml of boiling water (we use vegetable stock but chicken will work too), then add about half of that to the pan. Give it a good stir. Put a lid on your pan and let it boil away for about 5 minutes. Remove the lid and cook for another 5 minutes. Season with pepper (the recipe says to add salt to taste but the stock already makes it quite salty so we find it doesn’t really need any extra). Drizzle with some olive oil before serving. This is one veggie dish you will make again and again.
This mobile phone photo is pretty rubbish, not least because the portion of sweet potato is disproportionate and the steak looks incinerated… I need some lessons from my friend Estie Thirion…. food stylist and photographer extraordinaire…
