Strawberry Sorbet

Image from otchipotchi.blogspot.com

I have been thinking about all the summery foods i can make now that a. live in Thailand where it's hot ALL. THE. TIME and b.  I have a place with a kitchen.  Last week I came across this post about Strawberry Sorbet and little bells started ringing in my head.
Yummo! Can you imagine the taste sensation it would be. Sorbet is truly a magical invention. i think i'm in love!

Sorbet is so easy to make too. All the ingredients are available in Nakhon and I have a freezer. The only thing I need is a blender. i was ummmmming and aaaahhhhing about whether or not to invest in one and thanks to this I have decided to buy one. Heck it'll be my birthday prez to moi :) Goody! *clapping hands excitedly*

I did have my heart set on making bread. The bread that my friend Jake makes is so good but the thing is i don't have an oven so it's a bit tougher than sorbet.
I am determined to make bread and i will! No reason why i can't do both. But sorbet is easy peasy and i can do it at home so maybe sorbet will be my thing, like bread is Jake's. I can bring it to all the parties we have in town! Yay!


Ohhhh now i'm dreaming of all the things i can make with a blender. Pesto...mmmmm, and Gazpacho like the one i made in Sydney before i left. This green gazpacho is from Plenty, the most amazing cookbook EVER! (Sorry Ms Child)

Taste buds tingling...must go make lunch.

The Sydney Film Festival

It's cold in Sydney, cold cold, like hat, gloves,  scarf, jacket, woolen jumper and boots cold. And despite the fact that i hate the cold with a passion (thus the whole living in Thailand thing) i would love to be in Sydney right now because it's SFF time.

I love the Sydney Film Festival! I have been going for 10 years and it's one of the highlights of my year. A lot of the films are screened in the beautiful State Theatre on Market Street. The State is opulent, red carpets, ornate features and a double marble staircase. It adds some old world Holly wood charm to the festival.

Every year the SFF program comes out and I go into fits giggles as i hurry to read through it and choose what to see. This year is not different, excepting that this year I can not go *sniff sniff*

Moving on, here's my picks for the 2011 Sydney Film Festival (in no particular order)

Sammy's Adventure: The Secret Passage.
Ignore the rather unfortunate name if you can and imagine the joy of an animated film entirely about turtles! I love turtles in a big way and this is a 3D film i would love to see. i imagine it would be just like Scuba Diving....only less wet.
http://sff.org.au/public/films/program/family-films/sammy%E2%80%99s-adventures-the-secret-passage/

Cool It
A look at the world's alarmist reaction to global warming.
http://sff.org.au/public/films/program/green-screen/cool-it/


How To Start Your Own Country
This film asks 'What is a country' the answer may shock and amuse you.
http://sff.org.au/public/films/program/take-me-on-a-journey/how-to-start-your-own-country/

Life in a Day
On the 24 July 2010 thousands of people recorded footage of their lives. Kevin Macdonald (The Last King of Scotland, Touching the Void) directs this groundbreaking user-generated  film.
http://youtu.be/XMxuocCN1O0

Animals Distract Me
A film by Isabella Rossellini about Isabella Rossellini. I love her and her mild madness. This film looks fantastic!
http://sff.org.au/public/films/program/make-me-laugh/animals-distract-me/

Le Quattro Volte
I can not find the words to describe this film so i have pasted the description from the festival guide.
'Since premiering last year at Cannes, where it won Best European Film in Directors Fortnight, Michelangelo Frammartino's magical film has won the hearts and minds of moviegoers and critics across the world. Set in a rustic Calabrian village seemingly unchanged since medieval times, Le Quattro Volte (the literal translation being 'four times') is inspired by philosopher Pythagoras' belief in four-fold transmigration - from human to animal to vegetable to mineral. The main characters are an old goat herder and his dog, some snails, a brick, a kid, a tree and a charcoal kiln. This explanation fails, however, to impart the beauty, humour and originality of Frammartino's film: neither fiction nor documentary and almost wordless. Reminiscent of György Pálfi's Hukkle (SFF 2003) and Robert Bresson's 1966 classic Au Hasard Balthasar in its style and cinematic power, Le quattro volte is a mesmerising and not-to-be-missed cinematic experience.'

That's 6 films and sadly i don't think i'd be able to afford to go to more, however if i had all the money in the world there are at least 6 others i would have enjoyed seeing.
What a fantastic program it is this year!

A little update

I have not had a lot to write recently, life plods along here. Plus if truth be told i am a little ashamed that i have not yet managed to make any bread (i did however make a cracking banana bread and i'm attempting a carrot cake tomorrow :)

So anyway, life is nice and quiet here. I'm settling in to the routine. I ride my bicycle to school every morning and arrive at 7:30, I mope around my classroom lamenting the fact that i am at work on such a beautiful day until i have to go to assembly at 8am.
My class of 26 crazy 4 yr olds is waiting for me and the sight of them usually snaps me out of my mope.
We're back up in the classroom at about 8:30 and i don't teach until 9:20 so i'm usually just preparing or marking homework.
I teach for an hour then sit back down and mark what we've just done.
The kids go to lunch at 11:20ish and usually the Thai teacher likes to put them in their PJs before that (thus wasting that class when she's meant to be teaching).
I wander down to lunch with the kids, help serve them and then all the foreign teachers go to the other campus to eat the hit and miss lunch the school provides. My kids sleep for a few hrs while the teachers eat.
We get back from lunch, iced coffee in hand - yum - at about 1pm and i spend the next 15mins marking/preparing my next class.
If i'm teaching at 1:30 i wake the kids up at 1:15, if my Thai teacher is teaching she doesn't wake them up until 1:45 so there's enough time for them to get ready for my class at 2pm.
I usually teach art or maths in the afternoon and then spend the time after class marking.
The kids get picked up by about 3:30 and I leave the school at 4:15. By which time i am super tired and needing a nap.

Having had a nap and recharged my batteries though there are plenty of things to do in Nakhon. I'm going to take up Thai classes with a lovely guy called Jay and I'm trying to go swim some laps/do some sport a few afternoons a week too.

Sorry i don;t have any exciting photos of anything, nothing has happened really.
I will take some pics of my new house and post them asap.

Until next time, stay warm.