It's out!

Our house was featured in d+a magazine Issue 052 recently. This completes the project. The article will serve as a useful marketing tool for us in time to come. Interestingly, the same magazine issue also features an interview with Ole Schereen of OMA, who is more famously known as Maggie Cheung's younger boyfriend :). On a more serious note, I have been an admirer of the works of OMA. Being featured in the same magazine is an honor.

Sunbirds Had Left

The chicks have fledged, and the nest is now empty. It happened just a few days ago, less than 3 weeks from birth. I remembered getting up earlier than usual that morning, did my usual routine, and oblivious to what was about to unfold. Like every day before that, I would check out the nest the first thing when I woke up. Nothing particularly suspicious, and as amazed as the day before, I contemplated how the fragile and tiny nest could house three birds. Little did I know that was the last time I saw them. Yes, just like that..

However, we managed to capture one of the many feeding frenzies in the last few weeks in this video clip. Enjoy and be inspired.

Birthday Dinner at Home

Time flies. I can't believe how quickly it came and went. This is my second entry on the topic of my birthday celebration. So, I knew it has been a year since I started blogging. Given the current economy, we decided on a home celebration, and since it was my birthday, I was not to lift a finger. Yan did all the grocery planning and shopping, cooking and washing. After all, it was meant to be a treat for me. I must admit that I was a little stressed out watching him do his things in the kitchen. Precision and timing don't feature often in my cooking vocabulary, yet Yan, an engineer by profession, is exactly that type of cook. "Two minutes on each side of the steak", I heard him murmuring to himself.  I smiled and walked away.

He did impressed me in the end. The steak was cooked to perfection, with the right thickness and medium well.

He used some of my pesto sauce to prepare spaghetti mushroom as a main course for his mother, who's a vegetarian.

He baked a dozen escargot for a few minutes in the oven, which added an element of sophistication to the menu for the night.

And since I wasn't allowed to meddle in the cooking, I volunteered to set up the table in my favourite apple green and white theme.  

Baby Sunbird

It was a "National Geographic" moment.  I was proven right. Mama sunbird was indeed building a nest for its newborn. The nest houses two tiny chicks. Each day, Papa and mama sunbirds will take turn to feed the babies.  At night, only mama bird is seen returning to the nest to take care of the birds. The same routine is repeated each day. Very soon, the little chicks will fledge, and the entire family will migrate, leaving behind the lovely nest for remembrance.

That ubiquitous dish!

This is one dish that most people in my part of the world will know how to cook. It never disappoints no matter how bad the cooking is. I love making it because it's easy and it's delicious. Something I could whip up within an hour.

Moroccan Inspirations

I was so inspired by a cooking show on TV that I dreamt about cooking Moroccan dishes last night and sprang into action early this morning. It helped that I had a box of couscous in my larder unit and most of the spices needed to make it work. I couldn't wait for dinner, and made Sunday brunch instead.

Moroccan Lamb. Combination of lemon juice and spices (coriander seeds, cumin and paprika) gives a sharp tangy flavour that goes really well with cous cous.

The marinate. 

Butter couscous.

Moroccan inspired dip, made from split beans.

Love Nest, literally!

It has been barely 2 months old, and it looks like our neighbourhood birds are already making themselves comfortable at our home. I'm hoping it's the good fengshui that's attracting the nature. First, there was the bumble bee trying to tunnel through my new wooden kerosene lamp in the garden, leaving a permanent coin-sized imprint on the wood. Next came a green-feathered bird happily building its nest on our backyard bamboos. And now a small bird who's finding our bonsai tree a haven for its newborn. She's weaving a nest from twigs, pellets, and just about anything found from the surrounding area that could hold the nest together. It's humbling to see how hard the bird has been working (flying in and out, and weaving non-stop for 2 days now). The choice of location could not have been more conspicuous - the nest hangs precariously on the bonsai tree right in front of our main entrance, along the walking path and within reach by hand. The prospect of destruction by human or nature does not seem to be a deterrent at all. Mother nature is awesome!

Bird landing on its newly built nest

Bird starting to weave

Bird trying out its nest

Bird resting at night after a hard day's work

P.S. I just found out from a website maintained by a group of bird watchers in Singapore that the little bird is a female olive-back sunbird. She's probably incubating her eggs in her new nest attached to our bonsai. I'll try to see if I could catch a glimpse of the eggs.