New Delhi, India.

I am just back from an amazing trip to India. WOOOHOOOO! I am still on a bit of a travel high. It was five sense overloaded weeks, mostly in Rajasthan, with two friends both named Alex. The trip ended up being ridiculous fun, which was only enhanced by the fact that both my travel companions have the same name (see side note below). Here are some photos of our first few days in Delhi. We spent daylight hours outside and retreated to our hotel in the evening. You might think we a little cautious to begin with, not to worry, as the trip wore on we became more relaxed, silly and daring. In the coming posts you will see that we stayed up until 6am at an Indian wedding, bathed in the Ganges, covered ourselves in henna and by the last day of the trip we were riding around the streets of Delhi with fake moustaches and beards.


Some observations about New Delhi, India.
- The streets don't have nearly as many people on them as I expected.
- The poverty is in your face. As we drove from the airport, I was amazed by all the people sleeping on the side of the road, especially a family with a baby huddled around a small fire in the median strip.
- The metro is modern and super efficient. The rest of Delhi not so much, but the fact that things are inefficient and maybe a little backwards only adds to the charm.
- Customer service is gold. We were always offered a comfortable seat and a cup of tea when visiting shops. 
- Indian tea (chai) is super sweet and delicious.
- The people are genuinely friendly, eager to learn and have the best sense of humour! We loved that people didn't take life too seriously and were willing to take a few minutes out of their day to have a good belly laugh with us.
- The people probably have diabetes from all that sweet sweet chai. I don't blame them. If I was Indian, I would happily inflict diabetes upon myself. It's that good.


*Side note-  Sometimes I would also pretend to be named Alex. It was highly entertaining to watch the wide eyed reactions of the Indian shopkeepers and street food vendors. It was even more entertain when people didn't notice that we all had the same name.

India Gate

An Indian gypsy at India gate. She tried to scam us, it didn't really work. 

One of the first times I saw a baby with eyeliner on.

The beautiful Loutus Temple

Ok, so the streets might have been a little busy. 

Almost every Indian outside the Red Fort wanted a photo with Alex, even the army guys.

Miss T's Cupcake Icing Tutorial

We were invited over to Miss T's for a cupcake icing tutorial. She is a pro cupcake maker as she works at the yummiest cupcake shop in town. We got to learn her secrets. Score!

Alex's Icing
90g unsalted softened butter
200ml full cream milk
500g icing sugar
Vanilla


-Beat butter, milk and half the sugar until the mixture loses it's yellow tinge and turns white. --Beat in the remaining sugar and add vanilla flavour/ colour/ cocoa. Icing should be almost as thick as mashed potato, and should hold it's shape. It should not taste like mashed potato.
-Hold the piping bag directly above the cupcake, about 1cm away from the surface, keep the bag steady, let the icing naturally spread out, then finish with a swirl.

Froth, mix, kneed, rise, roll, rise, simmer, wash, sprinkle and bake.

Baking before 7am on your day off. That deserves a high five. Actually it was totally worth it!  We made blueberry bagels. SICK BRO. Fully chewy, delicious and kinda a bit purple! 

Blueberry Bagels

Recipe adapted from- taste.com

Prep  time- 45 min

Total time from start to finish- 2 hours

Baking time- 20 minutes @ 200 degrees c

INGREDIENTS

7 grams dry yeast

185g warm water (around 37 degrees)

100g blueberries (thawed if frozen)

70g caster sugar

large pinch of salt

1 egg yolk

1 tbs milk

2 tbs raw sugar to sprinkle bagels before baking

Cream cheese and blueberry jam for serving. Of course the more cream cheese the better.

FOLLOW THESE WORDS AND YOU WILL FIND YOURSELF WITH 8 BLUEBERRY BAGELS

1. Combine water, blueberries, yeast and 2 tablespoons of caster sugar in a jug. Set aside for 5 minutes or until frothy.
2. Combine the flour, cinnamon and salt in a large bowl and make a well in the centre. Pour the yeast mixture into the well and stir until mixture just comes together. Turn onto a lightly floured surface and knead for 10 minutes or until dough is smooth and elastic. Place in a large bowl and loosely cover with plastic wrap. Set aside in a warm, draught-free place for 30 minutes or until dough rises by half. 
3. Preheat oven to 180°C. Combine extra water and remaining caster sugar in a large saucepan over high heat and bring to the boil. Reduce heat to medium and bring to a simmer.
4. Brush an oven tray with oil. Divide dough into eight even portions. Roll each portion into a ball. Push a lightly floured finger/ wooden spoon through middle of ball to create a hole. Spin the bagel around your finger/ wooden spoon and pretend to be an italian pizza guy. Flatten ball slightly. Place on oiled tray, cover with a tea towel and set aside for 10 minutes to rise slightly.
5. Add 4 of the bagels to the sugary simmering water; cook for 1 minute. Use a slotted spoon to turn; cook for another 1 minute. Use a slotted spoon to remove and return to oiled tray. Repeat with remaining bagels. The longer you stammer them the chewier they will become.
6. Whisk egg yolk and milk together in a bowl. Brush evenly over each bagel; sprinkle with sugar. Bake in preheated oven for 20 minutes at 200 degrees celsius or until golden brown and cooked through. Remove from oven and set aside to cool. Serve toasted with cream cheese and blueberry jam.

It's Freo, It's Gino's.

Fremantle is Perth's colourful little brother. A half an hour drive from Perth, it is famous for cappuccinos, chilli muscles, it's port (+dock, +sailors, +boats), and relaxed atmosphere. Gino's is an old and very well known cafe situated right in the heart of Fremantle. It was started in 1984 by a first generation Italian-Australian tailor who was sick of drinking terrible coffee. It became "the place" to go for good coffee. People still think of Gino's when they think of Fremantle, but these days the coffee is nothing to talk about.  It does however take the prize for "Best place to people watch in Fremantle". It's location is provides the best outlook for people walking from the restaurants to the bars, shops, nightclubs. So despite the coffee being a little bitter, I prefer to sit at Gino's and watch the lovely people of Fremantle, then drink good coffee while facing a wall. Gino's is also cafe of choice for older Italian men. They congregate to read the newspaper, drink espresso, wave their arms in the air and offer cigarettes to old friends. Man this place has charm. Other things I like; the parmesan is grated at the table, the cake slices are ginnormous, and if they accidentally make too much iced chocolate, they will give you two glasses. It's unpretentious, it's Freo, it's Gino's.

First 24hrs with my beautiful new d7000

The roses out the front, a lovely night with the beautiful Sophia, brownice/rice at pigeonhole, London Court at noon and Maggypie. I have fallen head over heels with this camera! I love the colours, speed and feel. Looking forward to spending many a year with my d7000.

Total Eclipse of the Moon

Saturday night. I could hear some neighbours having a Christmas party. Even in the shower I was able to sing along to Hark the Herald. I decided to go outside on the street in my pyjamas to investigate. I walked several hundred metres, but still I couldn't locate the source of the music. Very mysterious! It must have been the effects luna eclipse. Very beautiful it was, worth being mauled by ravenous mosquitos for.

The Asian Grocer

On the weekend I was sent to the Asian Grocer to buy a yummy handful of things to make red chicken curry. I love visiting the Asian Grocer and looking at the unfamiliar packaging. I love trying out the different types of tea and buying sticky rice wrapped in bamboo leaves. We are so lucky in Australia to be able to cook and eat so many different types of food. The chicken curry was also delicious.