All posts by Genevieve

How to cut up a Mango

Glossary, , , , , ,

How to cut up a Mango

It started when we were in India. The mango season arrived, and my colleagues brought me in bags full of juicy sweet mangoes. “Indian mangos are the best” they declared. “The season in starting, you have to try these Alfonsi mangoes from Mumbai”. As the season progressed more mangoes were brought in. Different varieties, all from India, the self declared home of mangoes.

On television a IPL cricketer player from Australia caused a little stir when he declared that mangoes from Queensland in Australia were actually the best. My Indian colleagues though just laughed, not possible. Indian mangoes are the best.

And then we moved to Singapore. My Pakistani colleague declared that Pakistani mangoes were the best, better than the Indian ones. My Thai colleague declared that Thai mangoes were the best. My Taiwanese colleague declared that actually the ones from Myanmar were worth trying too.

We just kept trying all kinds of different ones and enjoying them all. After all this trying (we haven’t managed to find a Pakistani one yet), but our favourites so far are the Indian Alfonsi and the Thai Honey Mangoes. The Australian and Myanmar ones are pretty good too though.

The problem was though that I kept ending up with uneven sized pieces, cut offs, and it all looked a bit of a mess.

On our last trip to Thailand, a lady who prepares Mango Sticky Rice (which is something I still can’t walk past when it is well prepared) and cuts up a lot of mangoes taught me how to cut them up her way. It was a lot easier than what I had been doing, and also meant that all of the pieces were the same size, rather than the mess I had been making cutting off bits and then cutting it up. It was also fun to learn from a true expert.

Here is what she taught me.

How to cut up a Mango

Hold the mango flat in your hand. The pit will be sitting flat through the middle of the mango. Insert the knife at the top (or bottom) of the mango, and cut all away around the middle. Cut deep enough so that you can feel the blade of the knife hitting against the pit of the mango all the way around. The mango will not fall in half because the pit will hold the mango together.

How to cut up a Mango

Use the incision line that goes all around as your guide, and cut all of the skin off of one half of the mango.  Leave the skin on the other half intact for now. How to cut up a Mango

Hold the mango flat in your hand again. Cut all the way down to the pit lengthwise about 1 cm apart all the way across the mango.

How to cut up a Mango

You will end up with a series of cuts all the way across the mango. How to cut up a Mango

Next, turn the mango and make the same incisions across the width of the mango. Make sure you are cutting all the way down to the pit as you go on every cut. You might need to rock the knife from tip to heel across the pit if you have a mango with a rounded pit.

How to cut up a Mango

You will end up with a whole series of squares. How to cut up a Mango

Next, insert your blade at the top of the mango and follow your way slowly along the pit to cut all the mango off. The Thai Honey Mango has a very flat pit, and so it is very easy to do this. However, some mangoes have rounder shaped pits, so you might need to work from the sides towards the middle, rather than in the length like we are able to do with this flat pitted mango. How to cut up a Mango

Turn the mango over and repeat the same process on the other side. The other side is a little bit messier because you are now holding the pit in your hand instead of the skin of the mango.

Duck Breast with Pomegranate Sauce

Dinner, , , , , , , ,

Duck Breast with pomegranate sauce

Duck is a flavorsome meat, and this powerfully flavoured sauce makes a rich combination, that is quite impressive to serve. The ingredients can be a little expensive to buy, but it does make a wonderful dish for a special occasion. Serve with a salad and sweet potato chips.

Ingredients

  • 2 large duck breasts, skin on
  • coconut oil
  • sea salt
  • freshly ground pepper
  • Pomegranate seeds to garnish
  • Fresh coriander to garnish

Sauce ingredients

  • 2 spring onions, chopped
  • 2 garlic cloves, chopped
  • 1 cm fresh ginger, peeled and chopped
  • 100 ml organic pomegranate juice (check the label carefully to avoid added sugar and additives. The one we found was in a glass jar, and imported from America.)
  • 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
  • 1/2 tsp ground allspice
  • pinch of freshly grated nutmeg
  • 1 tsp manuka honey
  • 50 ml fresh orange juice
  • pinch of ground cloves
  • 5 thyme sprigs

Directions

  1. Preheat the oven to 180 degrees Celcius (350 degrees Fahrenheit)
  2. Make a few cuts in the fat / skin of the duck breast. Brush with a little coconut oil and season with sea salt and freshly ground black pepper. 
  3. Fry in an oven proof pan for 5 minutes skin side down on a moderate heat. Turn the duck over and cook for a further 2 minutes. 
  4. Put all of the sauce ingredients into a blender and blend until smooth.
  5. Pour the sauce over the duck, and put the pan with duck and sauce into the oven to cook for around 5 minutes (depending on the size of the duck breast it might take a little more or less time). 
  6. Garnish with fresh coriander and pomegranate seeds to serve. 

Music to go with it…
Listen on Spotify: Burning Spear – Marcus Garvey / Garvey’s Ghost

 

 

Pumpkin Zucchini Omelette with Lamb and Spinach

Lunch and Light Meals, , , , , , , ,

Pumpkin Zucchini Omelette with Lamb and Spinach

Lunch does not have to be boring, but it also does not have to take an hour to cook. This pumpkin and zucchini omelette is sweet and delicious, but won’t take you all morning to prepare. We paired it with lamb tenderloins and a salad of spinach leaves to complete the meal.

Ingredients

  • 3 eggs
  • Salt and Freshly Ground Black Pepper
  • 1 tsp dried herbs like oregano, thyme, rosemary
  • 50 ml coconut milk
  • 1 onion, sliced
  • 3 Garlic cloves, sliced
  • 100 gr pumpkin, cut into small cubes
  • 1/2 large Zucchini (courgette), cut into small cubes
  • 3 mushrooms, sliced
  • Handful of fresh mint leaves
  • Large handful baby spinach
  • Splash of good quality red wine vinegar
  • Splash of olive oil
  • 1 x 250 gr lamb tenderloin

Directions

  1. Beat the eggs with salt, pepper, dried herbs and coconut milk. Set aside.
  2. Chop up the pumpkin, onion, garlic, mushrooms, zucchini.
  3. Heat a little coconut oil in a oven proof frying pan and fry the chopped vegetables for a few minutes until they are getting soft.
  4. Add the egg mixture and cook until it starts to set.
  5. Transfer the pan to a preheated oven and grill for around 5 minutes or until the top start to brown.
  6. Take the pan from the oven and let cool off a little.
  7. Garnish with a few mint leaves and sprinkle with olive oil
  8. Season the lamb and fry for 2 minutes on both side for medium – rare. Let the meat rest for 10 minutes, slice and serve with the omelette

Music to go with it…
Listen on Spotify: Gregory Isaacs – Night Nurse

GDP vs Social Progress

Mind, , , , , ,
Biking in Copenhagen, Denmark
Since the Great Depression in the 1930s we have defined the progress of countries based on their Gross Domestic Product (GDP). We determine progress based only on wealth. We don’t look at social progress: the distribution of that wealth, the investment in education or healthcare, or the health and well being of the populations.
 
By focusing only on Gross Domestic Product as the standard of success in our global economy, we give ourselves a passing grade if the top 100 people in the county gets wealthier, or a lot wealthier. GDP counts bombs and prisons as progress. It counts overeating and over consuming as progress. It ignores environmental impact. It ignores whether the population is happy, and even whether their basic needs are being met.  
 
This counting ourselves rich while we make ourselves poor is something I have been thinking about for a while, and also talking about with some friends for a while. We need to change the metric for success. We need to move away from measuring wars and pollution as success. 
 
The Social Progress Index as an alternative
The Social Progress Index offers an alternative to GDP as a goal for nations to aspire to. It measures progress along 3 axis:
  • Basic human needs – Nutrition and basic medical care, water and sanitation, shelter and personal safety
  • Foundations of well being – Access to basic knowledge, access to information and communications, health and wellness, ecosystem sustainability
  • Opportunity – personal rights, personal freedom and choice, tolerance and inclusion, access to advanced education
The 2015 Social Progress Index Results
In the 2015 Social Progress Index Results, the Top 5 reads like a list of one of the “best places in the world to live”. #1 Norway, #2 Sweden, #3 Switzerland, #4 Iceland, #5 New Zealand. In fact, the recently published list of the happiest countries in the world in the UNs World Happiness Report is remarkably similar – #1 Switzerland, #2 Iceland, #3 Denmark, #5 Norway, #5 Canada (Canada was #6, Sweden #8 on the social progress index, Denmark is #8 and New Zealand is #9 in the happiest countries in the world list).
 
What this shows is that these countries have not only focused on GDP growth (in fact New Zealand’s GDP per capita is modest when compared to some other countries), but have had a focus on the welfare of their people, and the result is social progress and societal happiness. With universal literacy, welfare states, and universal health care, the basic human needs of (almost) all the population is taken care of.
 
These countries also score highly on personal rights and freedoms. Canada and New Zealand score highest on Opportunity, and surely the efforts both of these countries have made in redressing the rights of the aboriginal populations of these countries (not saying it is perfect yet, but they are making efforts compared to other countries) has contributed here too. 
 
Outside the top 5 what does the data show?
What else the data shows is actually quite interesting. It shows that increases in GDP only translates directly into improvements in Social Progress when the country has a GDP lower than $10,000 per capita. Once GDP per capita goes above this level, GDP becomes a poor indicator of social progress. We see the same relationship with happiness. Once your basic human needs have been met, each salary increase has a diminishing return on how happy you are, and above a certain point, it even makes you less happy, less satisfied with life. 
 
Once an economy has reached this threshold level, it depends on what they invest this wealth in to how the society progresses. The United States is an interesting case in this point. Without the universal healthcare and access to quality education that you find in the Nordic countries, it scores lower on Social Progress, relative to its wealth. Or Kuwait, with the highest levels of GDP per capita, but with lower levels of Social Progress than Costa Rica, with far lower GDP levels.
 
So what?
So how do we move to a world metric where we define success based on the social progress of a nation? How do we get politicians to be interested in the basic human needs of its population and not just the total wealth number? How do we get economies to invest in healthcare, education and equality of distribution of wealth as a key to success? How do we redefine success to one that does not include bombs and prisons in the metric of success?
 
I don’t know. That is the million dollar question. But having a different metric available, a different measurement system. Starting a conversation about how this alternative measures something more meaningful and sustainable can only help. 
 
 

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Fried Spinach with Garlic and Pine Nuts

Dinner, , , , , , , , ,

Fried spinach with garlic and pine nuts

An easy to prepare side dish, that goes well with Lebanese Lamb burgers and sweet potato fries with aioli to create a meal. Pine nuts are available in most supermarkets these days, try the nuts aisle or a middle eastern goods section.

Ingredients

Directions

  1. First toast the pine nuts in 1 tsp of coconut oil with a good pinch of sea salt.
  2. When the pine nuts are ready, set them aside and wash the spinach.
  3. Transfer the spinach to a large pan and cook with the lid on for 10 minutes until done.
  4. Drain the spinach but do not squeeze it.
  5. Heat 3 tbsp of coconut oil in a large frying pan and fry the garlic until they turn brown.
  6. Discard the garlic
  7. Add the cooked spinach. Fry for about two minutes, transfer to a bowl and sprinkle with the toasted pine nuts.

Music to go with it…
Listen on Spotify: Woods – With light and love

Chrysanthemum, Plum, Goji Berry tea

Drinks, , , ,

Chrysanthemum plum yoji berry tea

Living in Asia is a great way to learn about the tea cultures that exist around the region. This is a simplified version of the Chinese Eight Treasures tea, and substitutes the rock sugar for honey to give it a lovely mellow taste that avoids processed sugars.  

Ingredients

  • 1 Tbsp Chrysanthemum
  • 1 Tbsp green tea leaves (or 1 tea bag)
  • 1 Tbsp goji berries
  • 2 dried plums
  • 4 slices fresh ginger

Directions

  1. Place all of the ingredients into a tea pot with a wire mesh barrier in it to hold the ingredients when you pour the tea (alternatively you can strain the tea from the tea pot with a strainer when you pour it).
  2. Pour over hot water, preferably at 80 degrees Celsius (170 degrees Fahrenheit), or boil the water and let it cool a little first.
  3. Let the tea steep for at least 10 minutes before you drink it.
  4. Strain the tea into a glass or cup and enjoy

Music to go with it…
Listen on Spotify: Atlas – Real Estate

 

 

 

 

Salmon Coconut Curry

Dinner, , , , , , ,

Salmon Coconut Curry

We lived in India for two years and love Indian food. This curry is inspired by the food of Southern India, and is full of flavour, but not spicy. It uses chili only to create flavour rather than heat, and you remove the chilies after the dish is cooked. It is mild enough for children to eat, but extra chilli could be added if you prefer to add some spice.

Ingredients

Spice paste

  • 1/2 onion, sliced
  • 3 cm ginger, peeled and roughly chopped
  • 3 garlic cloves, peeled
  • 1 tsp ground coriander
  • 1/2 tsp ground cumin
  • 100 ml coconut milk

Curry 

  • 1 tsp mustard seeds
  • 6 green cardamon pods
  • 4 cloves
  • 1 cinnamon stick
  • 1/2 large onion, sliced
  • 3 whole green chilies, pricked all over, whole
  • 120 ml coconut milk
  • 150 ml water
  • 250 gr salmon fillets, cut into pieces (can also use salmon trimmings)
  • 15-20 curry leaves
  • salt and pepper
  • 1 tsp garam masala
  • 1/2 tsp amchar (mango powder)
  • 2 tsp lemon juice
  • fresh coriander to garnish

Directions

  1. Place all of the spice mix ingredients into a blender. Blend well to form a spice paste.
  2. Heat 1 Tbsp of coconut oil in a moderate heat pan, add the mustard seeds, cardamon pods, cloves and cinnamon stick and fry until fragrant.
  3. Add the onion, and fry gently until soft.
  4. Add the spice mix, salt and chillies to the pan and stir well. Cover and cook for 10-12 minutes, stirring occasionally.
  5. Add the coconut milk, water, salmon fillets, curry leaves, pepper, garam masala, and mango powder. Stir to combine and then let it simmer for around 5 minutes until the fish is cooked through.
  6. Stir in the lemon juice and garnish with some fresh coriander.
  7. Serve with rice or cauliflower rice.

Music to go with it…
Listen on Spotify: Anoushka Shankar – Traces of You

Finding our ideal place to live

Mind, , , , , , , , ,
View from the pool at the Vivanta by Taj hotel looking over Sri
Every couple of months an article about the best places to live in the world is published. They are all different – where to live as an expat by HSBC, the best cities in the world, the happiest countries in the world – but also more or less the same. Today I came across another of these articles but this one captured my attention for a little longer. While the world has become obsessed by improvements in GDP, this one said that we should look at a complete set of metrics, and not GDP alone. I like this concept, because I strongly believe that there is more in life than money alone. 
 
Living around the world
We are currently living in Singapore – a country obsessed with wealth, shopping and prosperity. Before that we lived two years in New Delhi, India – probably the most polluted, crazy, and interesting city in the world. And before that we lived in small, “gezellig”, 16th century Amsterdam which you can bike around and enjoy the parks and coffee. 
 
Living in these cities has made us think a lot about what really matters to us. What do we consider important and where do we actually want to live?
 
 
So what do we want for our lives?
So what is our favorite place to live? Is there any such thing? Are we even capable of living somewhere for the rest of our lives?
 
Genevieve is from New Zealand and I’m from Holland. Two opposites in the world, literally. But both countries we call home and we are very lucky that both of our countries normally end up pretty high on those best places to live lists. The fact that we were born in those countries, does not mean for us that we have to live in one of them, either now, or forever. I think too many people just live where they do just because they were born there, not because it makes them happy. Most people probably haven’t even thought about where they would like to live. It just is the way it is. That is human nature. 
 
What is important to us?
Over the last few months we have been thinking about this question. What is important to us in where we live? And after living in a few different countries, it became clear that a few things are important us. We love being outside, we like green stuff so being able to go out and have easy access to nature – forests, mountains, beaches – is really important. 
 
Keeping our bodies healthy
Living in Delhi also made us see first hand what pollution can do to your body. Running outside for 20 minutes was followed by coughing for at least the same length of time. Pollution is rapidly becoming one of the leading causes of death in Delhi. So a healthy living environment is also high on our list.
 
Equally important is a good education for Liam and quality health care. Space for Liam to run, and an ability for both of us to exercise and keep ourselves healthy so that we can call on that quality health care system as little as possible.
 
Eating safely
As you might have noticed, Genevieve and I love good food so access to good restaurants, cafes, but also healthy veggies or even the possibility to have our own vegetable garden, is also really important. The food scares that China has experienced over the last few years (pesticides, ingredients in oils, milk powders, the list goes on…) and some of the scares that we experienced in Delhi (our purified water supply being stopped because of a water scam that was refilling Purified Water canisters with filtered tap water, watermelons being sprayed with over the counter medicines and Yamuna river water…) has also made us extremely conscious of living somewhere where we can trust the quality of the food. In Delhi we found a way by finding a local organic farm who supplied our vegetables, but we would prefer that we can trust a wider portion of the system at large, or at least have a selection of local farmers that we can trust. 
 
People we care about
But life is also about people, relationships. While living in Singapore we met some lovely people – just like we did in India – and made some great friends. But we also came to realize that it is very difficult for a non-Singaporian to meet Singaporians and to mix in local life. Singaporians stick with Singaporians and so we mainly hang out with fellow Expats. Which is fine but Singapore is a country where most people only stay for a couple of years before they go back home or move on to their next destination.
 
So as soon as you have a group of friends, half of them will leave. For us relationships are very important so in our ideal place to live it should not be too difficult to make and maintain friends. Which basically makes living in a beautiful but remote mountain village in Nepal not ideal…
 
Work life balance
One of the other things we have learned from our time in Singapore is the importance of work – life balance. Genevieve’s job here is one in which she has to travel a lot. Almost every week she takes a flight, and by the weekend she is often jet lagged and exhausted. It impacts on our family life, and while she really tries to use the rest of her energy for us, it doesn’t leave any work – life balance for her. Where ever we choose to stay next, and for a longer time, we need to get a better balance than what we have had here. 
 
Job opportunities
Maybe this should have been higher on our list. Maybe a year ago it would have been higher on our list. Maybe we are changing and it has come lower on our list as our priorities have changed. We still want to have meaningful working lives, to have jobs where we feel that we are valued and can make a difference, but maybe climbing the corporate ladder, participating in the corporate games became less important for us the more of the world we have seen. 
 
Colour in our lives
We don’t want to live boring. We have a sense of adventure. We love to explore. We like to see and experience new things and new senses. We need sunshine and places to visit and opportunities to travel. We need open minded people around us who want to talk rubbish late into the night over a nice dinner. Who want to dream with us. 
 
So where is this place…?
We don’t know, we are still working on that. And maybe there isn’t one answer anyway. Maybe there isn’t one answer for the rest of our lives. Maybe we aren’t destined to live in the same place for the rest of our lives. Or maybe…
 
How did we get to decide all of these things?
Over the last months we have created a number of mind maps. Both together, and separately from each other. Basically we started with a blank piece of paper. We wrote one of the following questions on the middle of that paper, and we connected words to it that resonated with us to look for patterns in what we thought about.
 
  • What is important to me?
  • What is important for us as a couple?
  • What is important for us as a family?
  • What is important for us in where we live?

And then we talked about them together. We did this over the course of a few weeks, and were inspired by the book “