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Photo: robanhk / Flickr

This spicy vegetable tagine recipe is perfect for vegans. You will need mixed vegetables like eggplant, sweet potato, pumpkin, potato, carrot, parsnip, tomatoes and onions. Spices include paprika, cumin, cinnamon, saffron and ground ginger. Other ingredients to have at hand are preserved lemon, vegetable stock, dried pears, pitted prunes, almonds and flat-leaf parsley. This stew, which allows for four generous portions, will take 20 minutes to prepare and an hour to cook. Serve with instant couscous (but first remove the cinnamon stick). (more…)

Photo: blmurch / Flickr

Layered puff pastry and custard slices are referred to as Mille Feuilles in the French tradition. Mille Feuilles consist of layers of baked puff pastry interspersed with sweetened egg custard. They can be dusted with icing sugar before serving or they can be piped with chocolate filigree. Many variations of these puff pastry slices exist: fruit and cream and ice cream and chocolate, for instance. We’re staying close to the traditional version here, by simply adding mixed berries to the custard. (more…)

Photo: I Believe I Can Fry / Flickr

Potato salad is one of the most popular salads, due to its relative ease to make and exceptionally good taste. This potato salad recipe is full of flavour and should ideally be prepared on the day of serving. Ingredients include potatoes, apple cider vinegar, onion, mayonnaise, sour cream or natural yoghurt, seasoning and parsley. You can use spring onions rather than onions and add slices of smoked sausage for a meat dish, too. (more…)

Photo: nebulux76 / Flickr

Yes, you read that correctly — couscous can be eaten for breakfast! What’s more, this mixed berry couscous recipe is not only delicious but it takes only five minutes to ‘cook’. You’ll need some instant couscous, apple and cranberry juice, a cinnamon stick, some orange zest, raspberries, blueberries, strawberries and plain yoghurt. Honey can be added for sweetness and fresh mint leaves can be used for garnishing, should you be serving the dish as a special treat. Allow for about a quarter of an hour for the prep work. (more…)

Photo: kattebelletje / Flickr

It boggles the mind the number of spice variations that are out there. Not only do curry bases differ from place to place but they also differ from chef to chef. Knowing that there is no ‘right way’ to make a curry should give you some confidence if you’re new to making pastes. Here we share two basic Thai recipes that are both versatile and easily stored: Thai red curry paste and Thai green curry paste. (more…)

Photo: zoetnet / Flickr

If you are planning a trip to Singapore, be sure to pay a visit to Louis Vuitton’s new flagship store. You don’t even have to be fashion passionate to do so because the building, which was designed by Moshe Safdie, is a destination in its own right. The glass-clad structure is moored off the Marina Bay Sands complex and is the star of the Marina Bay waterfront. The shop is the fifth stand-alone Louis Vuitton store in the progressive city. (more…)

Photo: yaili / Flickr

Rabanadas tipsy cinnamon bread slices are similar in appearance to egg-bread. While they’re normally served at Christmas time in Portugal, in in her book Piri Piri Starfish Tessa Kiros suggests that they’re ‘also nice to make on a morning when you wake up early and can’t get back to sleep.’ Rabanados or tipsy slices should be made with tightly crumbed Portuguese bread, baguette or ciabatta bread. (more…)

Photo: javcon117 / Flickr

Does all your jewellery turn brown no matter how expensive it is? Although a lot of people experience discolouration of jewellery or skin with cheap items, certain people also see an effect on their silver or white gold jewellery. The answer to your problems could lie in a number of things, be it the quality of the jewellery you are buying or the chemicals in your skin. Make sure you know why your jewellery starts to tarnish and discover simple ways to fix tarnished jewellery. (more…)

Photo: Mattox / Stock.Xchng

Imagine having limitless amounts of energy so that you can do all the things you want to do. Some people, like Judith Wills believe that ‘once you finally tap into life as you truly want to live it, you will find that energy really is infinite.’  She says that you don’t have to feel that you have just ‘so much’ energy that will allow you to do just ‘this many’ things and no more. Whatever positively stimulates, motivates or pleases you can energise you, too. (more…)

Photo: zsoltika / Flickr

A simplified home environment that is free of clutter is a relaxing home. A minimalist environment is not only more appealing to the eye but it is easier to keep clean, too. Of course there are different extremes to living simply. How one arranges one’s space comes down to one’s personal taste and sense of aesthetics. A few pieces of furniture and a vase of flowers may work well in a room for some people while a near empty room may be preferable to others. (more…)