by TheLastWonton | Sep 20, 2019 | Asian, Travel & Stories
An enchanted, hidden, jungle haven, in rural Ubud, where Nature surrounds, Comfort abounds and Service astounds.
It seems like forever that the four of us dearheart friends dreamed and schemed, and planned and replanned, and researched up, down and sideways, whilst saving and giddily anticipating our Bali or Bust! chick trip.
And now, in hindsight, as if by magic, or some potent wizardry, here we are, living the dream at Villa Sagitta. If you are ever so blessed as to experience a stay at Villa Sagitta, you will know exactly why I mention 'magic' and 'wizardry'. By what other means could such a heavenly vacation home exist?
Villa Sagitta is perfectly perched near the top of a jungley hillside, on a gorgeous UNESCO World Heritage river gorge. Wow, right?! We've been here nearly 2 weeks and still the views from the villa leave us breathless, at every turn.
Situated about a 20 minute drive from the hustle bustle of Ubud, Villa Sagitta is a stone's throw from narrow country lanes, garlanded by rice paddies, where rural life passes by, with bewitching timelessness.
Thanks for the awesome rice paddy reflection photo Deb!
For our arrival in Bali, we arranged airport pick-up, ahead of time, through Villa Sagitta, keeping everything easy peasy. Sure enough, our friendly driver, Ketut, was there, at the Denpasar airport, to transport us 'home'. Tired, but eager to just be here, as soon as we arrived at the villa, Yande, the villa manager, greeted us with big, warm smiles, open arms and genuine welcomes. The eagle has landed.
And even now, recounting this to you, I get goosebumps of gratifying pleasure, at how I felt seeing, feeling, Villa Sagitta for the first time. An unbridled rush of joy surged through me, as my eyes encountered the golden glow of dusk reflecting off the beautiful infinity pool, the Balinese-ness oozing from the villa, from the grounds, from the jungle.
And, of course from Yande, and his happy team, who effortlessly got us settled, fed and welcomed, like only they can.
Then, of course, tired from our long journeys, we were all eager to each go to our own delightfully spacious, gloriously comfortable, Bali bedrooms (all with their own bathroom), to tuck in and drift off to dreamland.
And then………..Morning has broken.
"I am waking up in Bali!", I silently, excitedly, exclaim to myself, as soon as I stir. I can't even remember the flurry of dressing, combing and throwing open, that came next, but I sure do remember stepping out of my bedroom right onto the poolside lanai, for the very first time.
Our pool reflected the gorgeous sunrise colours, while golden shards of sunlight played tag in the tall palms along the top of the far hillside. Birds cooed, twittered, chirped, sang, and cockle-doodle-doo-ed, in an unorchestrated, audible ode to joy.
From the temple, just over the way, on the hillside beside us, the entrancing rhythm of morning prayers and melodic chanting rises up, up, up, to the heavens. More goosebumps.
I see the early morning wisps of misty clouds that couldn't resist dropping down to kiss the river, now silently drifting upwards, through green treetops, somewhat reluctantly, making their way home, to the sky.
Even the morning breezes seem to be in cahoots to surround us with heady pleasures. From the soft whooshing of gazillions of leaves, to the whispering of swaying bamboo and the percussive wave, much like a flock of birds flying overhead, as the giant silver-green palm-like leaves rustle each other, in all the right ways.
From somewhere, over the way……the calming aroma of incense wafts around us, making our noses smile.
ZEN ~ TRANQUILITY ~ JOY ~ CONTENTMENT ~ BLISS
And I'm so tickled to tell you, that this isn't just my, or should I say, our, first morning experience at Villa Sagitta, it is our every morning, at Villa Sagitta.
And so our day begins. By 7am Yande and a couple of his team dudes are here, rolling into a day of keeping this stunning villa ship shape, of cleaning, tidying, cooking deliciousness and always, always, dishing out absurdly wonderful service and food, whilst keeping us delightfully entertained.
*More on this charming, helpful, friendly team and the delectable dishes they serve up, in Villa Sagitta – Part Two – stay tuned. *
The 4 of us always start our day with warm gratitude as we greet the morning, and gather at the big table, poolside, on the lanai. Next order of the day is tea, tea, coffee, coffee. Aaaah.
We always have fresh picked, local fruit for breakfast, and then more often than not, Yande's rather sublime Pineapple Pancake, (which is more of a cross between a pancake and a crepe) riddled with lime zest and boasting fresh pineapple chunks. Good morning Bali!
Then, it's time to decide if we are going to laze and play around the villa, for the day, or adventure out. It's often a tricky decision between experiencing the marvelous, exotic, sights and sounds of the Ubud area, or staying put and being all one with ourselves, and understanding pure, unadulterated, pampered, relaxation.
Around the villa we fall easily into grace, magic and beauty. Our lanai begs us to stay, to put our feet up, and just hang out. The aqua blue of the infinity pool, that hangs over the jungle slopes, is forever whispering sweet nothings to us. Beckoning….beckoning…..
Another bonus of our stay-put-at-the-villa days, is witnessing first hand the daily ritual of Canang. Canang is a Balinese Hindu offering of gratitude. Small coconut leaf containers holding colourful flowers, a pinch of rice, pieces of snacks, traditional herbs and burning incense are placed strategically around the home and grounds. Beautiful.
Potent blessings, of every kind come to frolic, at Villa Sagitta.
Speaking of which, one day last week, Yande arranged for two lovely masseuses to come to the villa to give us all one hour, full body massages. Massage tables were set up along the rail, overlooking the jungle, in Lynnea's crazy beautiful, open-air Joglo suite. One thing lead to another, and yessirreebob, I am no longer a bashful un-massaged old chick. Uh, uh, I sucked it up, threw it off, and let my body have the pleasure of a fragrant, true Balinese massage. Oh my!! There's no looking back now!
Deb, Donna and Lynnea are all old hats at getting massages, and were so pleased with the their massages, that we have already all had another full hour of those magic hands, making happy bodies, Balinese style. Life is good!
And then, before we know it, Happy Hour rolls around, and Yande makes us some perfectamundo Margaritas on ice, as we drift towards dinner time. Choosing what we want from the menu, for dinner, has become one of our rituals. Oh my goodness, we always have a tricky dicky time, choosing that just-right-for-tonight dish, well knowing that all of Yande's meals are prepared with experience, passion and freshness.
* Again, more on Yande and team's style of hosting, of raising the bar high, of big smiles and cheerful assistance, in Villa Sagitta – Part Two – stay tuned *
As evening has it's way with us the muted darkness of dusk is softly interrupted by the golden glow of patio lights……the table is set, and dinner is served. Tonight, happiness is ~ Sauteed, just-picked-this-afternoon Ferns, lightly seasoned with sultry chilis. ~ Made-from-scratch Springrolls, draped in a luscious, tangy sauce ~ Perfectly al dente Spaghetti, crowned with a tangy, bold, fresh tomato sauce ~ And some tasty, saucy, Mie Goreng Balinese noodles. Mmmmm. Suksma, Yande!
Then, as happens every night, at Villa Sagitta, calm contentment sets in and soulful gratitude oozes from us, for this food, this place, this day. For each other. We smile out loud, in unison. In the glow, and magic, of Bali moonlight, we sit together, we chatter, we giggle and then we collectively ponder about what might be in store for us tomorrow. We smile again. In unison.
Sweet dreams.
Thanks oodles, for listening. I'll be back soon, with more of our Bali or Bust! chick adventures.
by TheLastWonton | Sep 11, 2019 | Food and Drink, Travel & Stories
WELCOME ~ E KOMO MAI
Eat,Travel, Live…….Passionately.
The promise and glorious renewal of Spring, the lazy, hazy, crazy patio-lingering days of Summer, the bounty of overflowing roadside stands and colourful beauty of Autumn and the sheer, homespun warmth and nostalgic comfort zones that Ol’ Man Winter heralds.
Oh, the delicious and auspicious possibilities, as the seasons unravel.
But let’s not rush. Instead let’s welcome and linger in our favorite flavour zones as they present themselves to us.
HONEYED SRIRACHA WINGS ~ The Winner! of Food Network Magazine’s Secret Ingredient “Cook with Honey” Contest. They said think like an Iron Chef and dream up a dish using this month’s secret ingredient. So I did.
Now, as we roll out those golden-oldie infused, cloud-animal daydreamy, flip-flopped days of Summer, it’s time to sing in the sunshine, get grilling and savour the delicious pleasures of things like happening upon a crazy-delicious, blackberry patch; licking up, licking down, the frosty goodness of homemade fudgicles and backyard, peach margarita blasted, patio dinners that go on until blue skies turn starry.
Sometimes I sense our forest and veggie garden not-so-secretly smiling after a welcome summer rain. Lakeside picnics beckon and tiny specks of brilliant colour shoot through the air, like a bullet, moving from one hummingbird feeder to another. Aaahhhhh…..
The aroma of backyard barbecues drifting in on warm breezes, strawberries macerating in Grand Marnier and menus strewn with garden fresh goodness beg for attention. Crispy edged, lemony potatoes cooked to tempting perfection in little foil packets on the BBQ; spice-coated, honey-shoyu glazed, tender, juicy beer-can chicken; just-picked Green Zebra heirloom tomatoes tucked into grilled ciabatta with crispy bacon, garlic aioli, and chilly butter lettuce; parmesan and black pepper blasted pasta boasting juicy beef tenderloin and peas just popped from their pods; and of course just picked, sweet, tender, peaches and cream corn on the cob, hot grilled and slathered with lime, jalapeno butter and Fleur de Sel
I can’t wait to throw on some great tunes (because cooking without music is like a bee without a buzz) and play with some sumptuous new flavours and ingredients, not knowing where they might take us……Into the Mystic……perhaps….
Though, as we go, please be patient with this Forest-Dweller, as I continue to learn the blogging ropes…..as I figure out how to make my blog good lookin’, with lots of what I like best and even more of what you like best.
Stay tuned, much more to come. Goodies from here, recipes from there. What I’m cookin’ up these days in My Okanagan Kitchen, as I gaze upon the beautiful forests of Trepanier, up above the lakeside hamlet of Peachland in BC’s beautiful Wine Country. Family feasts, down home comfort and tasty little treats.
“Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the
things you didn’t do than by the ones you did do.
So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor.
Catch the trade winds in your sails.
Explore. Dream. Discover.”
~ Mark Twain
Summer view from my kitchen in the forest in the Okanagan Valley.
On the other hand, I’m going to sweep you away to far off tropical islands with my memoirs of what I conjured up in My Hawaiian Kitchen a few years back when I was lucky enough to call the amazing Big Island of Hawaii home for a few years. And these days too, when I’m blissed out to be vacationing to my ‘Home Sweet Island Home”. Bountiful island ingredients, local specialties with my own little twists and ono (delicious) new revelations on old stand-bys and of course Hapa tunes to fill my spirit and kitchen with luscious Aloha.
“And the sun poured in like butterscotch and stuck to all my senses.”
~ Joni Mitchell
Sunset view from the lanai just off one of my favorite Hawaiian kitchens.
So come on in! I’m here waiting for you with a big warm invitation to pull up a stool along my kitchen counter, plunk down at my dinner table, or just hang out with me while I do what I love best. Alo-ha!
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THE LAST WONTON RECIPE INDEX
THE LAST WONTON TRAVEL INDEX
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“My kitchen is a mystical place, a kind of temple for me. It is a place where
the surfaces seem to have significance, where the sounds and odors carry
meaning that transfers from the past and bridges to the future.”
~ Pearl Bailey
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by TheLastWonton | Aug 25, 2019 | Appetizers & Snacks, Baking & Desserts, Breads & Sandwiches, Breakfast & Brunch, Recipes, Sides
Irresistible, pillowy-soft, butter-coated, twisty sticks of goodness.
There always has been, and I'm pretty darn sure, always will be, something unanimously beguiling about homemade bread. Whether it's some unspoken link to the good old days, to carefree childhood times, to memories of warm, homey, cozy, deliciousness, or maybe it's simply an innate, heartfelt, homage to the revered art of bread making.
Whatever it is, I'm glad so many of us have this in common, as it makes whipping up a batch of breadsticks way fun, and effortlessy wipes a silly smile on your face.
For these, I do the dough in the breadmaker, then pull out the happy, kneaded, risen dough and make the sticks. No worries if they are irregular, short or long, fatter or thinner. No mattah', they're all irresistible.
As soon as the hot breadsticks come out of the oven, I always, quickly brush them with melted butter. Sometimes, if serving as a bit of a starter, I sprinkle generously with fresh grated Parmesan cheese and set out beside a bowl of warm tomato sauce for dipping. They're perfect with soup, or pasta, or actually, come to think of it, just about anything.
I always test one as soon as it's not too hot to handle, smeared with butter and drizzled with golden syrup. Oh mama!!
In closing, here's a bit more Bread, for your listening pleasure, whilst you throw yeast and things in your breadmaker.
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Adapted from Food.com, for The Last Wonton.
Thanks LoveBakedIn!
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EASY PEASY SOFT BREADSTICKS ~ Makes 12
1 cup warm water
3 tablespoons brown sugar
2 1/2 teaspoons yeast
2 teaspoons salt
1/4 cup oil
3 cups flour
Add water, brown sugar and yeast to your breadmaker. Let rest for about 10 minutes, so these ingredients get to know each other. Then add salt, oil and flour, and let your breadmaker run its Dough cycle.
On lightly floured surface roll, or push dough into a rectangle approximately 10 x 12 inches.
With pizza cutter, cut dough into 12 strips. Give each strip a s t r e t c h , and a pull, then flop in half and twist, twist. Lay strips on large, parchment covered baking sheet. Cover loosely, and let rise for about 45 minutes.
Preheat oven to 400F. Bake for 15-18 minutes, until golden brown. Brush with melted butter. Serve warm, with more butter, and cheese, or tomato sauce, or maybe strawberry jam, or crabapple jelly. Oh wait, or soft Brie and shaved 18 month prosciutto. Oh my!
by TheLastWonton | Aug 25, 2019 | Appetizers & Snacks, Breakfast & Brunch, Main Dishes, Recipes, Soups & Stews, Vegetarian, Veggies
It's like summer and autumn are in cahoots, in every bowl. Sunshiney, fresh, hot corny goodness, stoked up with charred poblanos, sweet onions, and earthy new potatoes. Wham bam a few salty, roasted pepitas on top, a squeeze of fresh lime, and boom shaka laka!
I don't know if it's just because, as these last few August days play out, subtle thoughts of fall, start pushing themselves on us, or what. But when I started making this chowder, I was thinking how summery it was, yet when I was ladling it out and putting on those crunchy pepitas, gloriously, autumny flavours were definitely staring back at me. In a good way.
Roasting the fresh corn cobs, and poblano pepper, adds an extra depth of flavour. You can do this on a hot BBQ grill, gas flame, or broiler. I like to use my BBQ to char, it just seems fitting, and, besides that, it reminds me of Folsom Prison Blues ~ ♩ ♪ ♫ ♬ I hear the corn a poppin', a poppin' on the grill … ♩ ♪ ♫ ♬
After easy peasy charring, sauteeing and simmering, it's time to muddle things up a bit, with a blender, or even more fun yet, an immersion blender. Blending about a third of the soup, while leaving the rest all chunky and happy, adds a bunch of texture and amps up the flavours of the whole shabang.
"A light wind swept over the corn, and all
nature laughed in the sunshine."
~ Anne Bronte
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Adapted from Two Peas and Their Pod food blog, for The Last Wonton.
Thanks Maria and Josh for the corny goodness.
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ROASTED CORN CHOWDER ~ Serves 4-6
4 ears corn, shucked
1 good-sized poblano pepper
2 tablespoons olive, or avocado oil + 2 tablespoons butter
1 small sweet onion, or 1/2 large sweet onion, chopped
2 celery stalks, sliced thin
3 garlic cloves, minced
2 generous cups, bite-size diced or chunks of new potato
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
1/2 teaspoon cumin
1/4 teaspoon paprika
1 teaspoon sea salt
Freshly ground pepper
5 cups good quality chicken, or veggie broth
1/2 cup whipping cream
*Optional – 1/3 cup chopped cilantro*
2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
Toasty pepitas**, lime wedges, sliced avocado, chopped cilantro, for garnish, optional.
First char the corn and poblano pepper. Heat BBQ to high. Put cobs and poblano on hot grill, for about 10 minutes until blackened and blistered, turning every 2-3 minutes, to evenly char each side.
Put poblano pepper in paper bag and close up tight, and let sit for 10 minutes. This will make it easier to peel. Meanwhile stand each ear of corn up, stalk end down, and use a sharp knife to slice the kernels off the cob. Remove skin and seeds from poblano pepper, and dice. Set corn and peppers aside.
In a large pot heat oil and butter, over medium-high heat. Add the onion and cook for 2 minutes. Add the celery and cook for another 5 minutes, until onion is getting some golden edges and celery is soft. Add garlic, stir and cook for 1 minute. Add potato chunks, oregano, cumin, paprika, 1 teaspoon salt and some freshly ground pepper. Add the broth, increase heat, and bring to a simmer. Lower heat to maintain simmer, and cook 10-12 minutes, or until potatoes are just fork tender. Stir in roasted corn and cook for 2 minutes.
Transfer about a third of the chowder to a blender, and blend until smooth. Stir the mixture back into the pot. Or, if you have an immersion blender, you can blend the chowder, right in the pot. But don't over do it. You want some of those tasty kernels and yummy chunks.
Add the diced poblano, cream, cilantro if using, and lime juice. Stir, stir. Stir with salt and pepper to taste and get ladling. Garnish with desired goodies, and serve hot. Tastes like summer, with the subtle richness of autumn. Mmmmm.
*****Toasty Pepitas ******
Toasting hulless pumpkin seeds or pepitas gives brings out their nutty flavor, puffs them up and gives them a little more crunch. Yum-O! Thanks Getty Stewart for this great method!!
1 cup hull-less pumpkin seeds
A poof of sea salt
Place a heavy fry pan over high heat. No oil. Add pumpkin seeds/pepitas, to cover bottom of pan. Add a poof of salt. Stay with the pepitas, and give the pan a shake every so often. As the pepitas heat they will puff up. Keep shaking the pan until they've turned mostly golden brown, about 4-5 minutes. Pour out of hot pan, right away, and allow them to cool. Dig in!
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by TheLastWonton | Aug 23, 2019 | Appetizers & Snacks, Asian, Salads & Bowls, Sides, Veggies
Tangy, refreshing, Japanese salad, adorned with skinny cucumber slices and tasty, fresh shrimp. Flavour-popping slurpy goodness, in a bowl. With chopsticks.
We love our Sunomono. It fires our jets. It's always sooooo refreshing. And tangy, with that wee hit of sweetness. Yum!
We love it all dressed up with fresh, hand-peeled B.C. shrimp (ebi), and 'wafer thin' mini cuke slices, topped off with a good schwack of wasabi sesame seeds, and splashes of soy sauce. Yessirreebob, that's the way we like it.
But wait, sometimes I just quickly throw it together with the bean threads, cuke slices and that heady dressing. A quick fix, please.
And then sometimes, when I'm doing Sunomono for a family or friend dinner party, I big batch it by laying the cooked bean threads out on a hefty platter (with sides that curve up a bit to hold in all the juicy dressing) toss on lots of cucumber slices and shrimp, pour the dressing evenly over the top, and voila. With small bowls and chopsticks in hand, everyone eagerly helps themselves. Apparently our whole 'crowd' is Sunomono lovey dovey.
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EBI SUNOMONO ~ Our way ~ Serves 4-5
I almost always have a jar of Sunomono dressing in the fridge, just 'cuz I can.
DRESSING
Add into mason jar, or similar container:
1 1/2 cups rice vinegar
1/2 cup water
1/3 cup sugar
2 tablespoons soy sauce (I used dark soy sauce)
Put the lid on and shake, shake, shake, the bedickens out of the mixture, to dissolve the sugar. Refrigerate. Keeps well in the fridge, up to 2 weeks.
SALAD
About 100 grams dried bean thread vermicelli
1 cup thinly sliced English cucumber, or those mini cucumbers (I use the single blade on my box grater)
100 grams (about 1 cup) fresh shrimp
Garnish – sesame seeds, soy sauce
Cook bean threads in boiling salted water, for 2-5 minutes, until just barely al dente. Quickly rinse with cold water. Can be used right away, or covered and kept in the fridge for up to 4 hours.
To assemble, plop about 1/4 of the cooked bean threads into each of 4 bowls. Continue with 1/4 of the cucumber slices, and shrimp, also into each of 4 bowls. Pour enough dressing over all, so that the bean threads are happily soaking in that tangy deliciousness. You can prepare the bowls a few minutes ahead of time, and set in fridge so bask a bit, but also yummy and a-ok to serve up right away. Sprinkle with sesame seeds, drizzle with shoyu, grab those chop sticks and dig in. Slurp, slurp. Oishii!!
Thanks for the awesome rice paddy reflection photo Deb!
