I am very lucky to have the best Video shop manager in the world. I know I had hit gold when she saved me a bargain $5 copy of “Girls Just Want to Have Fun” because she knew it was my kind of film.
Since then, it’s got even better. After loving “Midnight in Paris”, I decided to revisit my old favourite Woody Allen films and watch those I’d missed over the years. But my local store has a measly range (like who out there hires old Woody Allen films these days?) so, my fairy godmother video manager started bringing me in copies from her personal collection.
We now have a barter system going where she lends me a movie and I return it with a freshly baked treat. It’s a happy deal for all and the reason I’ve spent my summer with Woody.
It was my hairdresser Jamie who suggested I watch “Interiors”. Made in 1978, it is a less known film and such a departure from the comedies we know so well. The art direction took my breath away- shades of beige, browns and greys that transport you to another time and space, deep into the psychological world of those women.
When I mentioned how “Interiors” affected me she brought in “Another Woman” (made 10 years later), which was the perfect follow up. I particularly loved how in both these films Woody Allen delves into the emotional world of an older woman. Again, the look of the film is superb and I especially enjoyed Martha Plimpton’s character’s outfits (not to mention the elegance of Gena Rowlands in every scene).
But then, for a breath of lightness I revisited Manhattan Murder Mystery. What can I say? It was pure joy. I loved it so much I had to watch it all over again. I even found myself chatting to a mum at kinder about the hotness of Angelica Houston….not your standard morning chitchat, but I just needed to discuss it with someone.
I was wanting more Angelica so re-visited Crimes and Misdemeanors. That film has so much punch and intensity that I am still replaying scenes in my mind. What a timeless study of the human condition.
I feel so blessed to have this collection of Woody films available for me. Like my love for James Bond films, my preference is for the older style to the contemporary. The women of the 60s to 80s are exquisite and the costumes and art direction inspire me. I do think (like many Librans) that I am an aesthetically sensitive person so these beautiful films really feed my soul.
Thank you Woody.
Stay genki,
C x
Images: Annie Hall 1977, Interiors 1978, Another Woman 1988, Manhattan Murder Mystery 1993, Crimes and Misdemeanors 1989
This is just a short post about shorts to let you know the amayonaisining Jodies are on sale. This style is an example of where online shopping can be tricky…I know, it’s not easy buying shorts (of all things) without trying them on, but trust me, these shorts are the most flattering I have ever worn.
Named after Jodie Foster, short wearer extraordinaire (Freaky Friday, Taxi Driver) these are the shorts you keep forever-not too fashion, not too short and look good with bare legs or tights.
Remember, with all our denim style, we offer a full refund if they don’t fit the way you dreamed of (so long as they come back as new and you send them back within a week). This is still a-ok, even now they are on sale.
Good time to give them a try.
Stay genki,
C x
/product/GW-305Jodie1/
I have been lucky enough to be growing or been given so much beautiful fresh produce lately. Our tomatoes are thriving in this sunny, rainy mix-master weather and the greens are going bonkers. The other day we visited our friend’s farm and picked a bucket of juicy ripe plums that we have shared around, but still, left us with more than we could munch on.
So I have been busy cooking and baking with plums. First thing I did was make a big pot of poached plums using Stephanie Alexander’s recipe. I have been very satisfied with my café quality breakfast of muesli, vanilla yogurt and plum compote this week and it’s made a lovely desert when all the other fruit’s been eaten up.
The other standout plum recipe was the cake I baked on Sunday for a friend’s BBQ lunch. Also from Stephanie’s “The Cook’s Companion”, she calls it her favourite plum cake recipe so why on earth would I make any other? All I can say is it didn’t disappoint. So much so, that I am about to bake it again tomorrow. What really stood out was the way the cake base stayed light & moist like your best teacake and didn’t get soggy from the fruit (which can really wreck a good cake).
So here are the two recipes just in case you get lucky with plums too:
Poached plums
Ingredients:
1 & ½ cups water, 1 cup white or red wine or port, ¾ cup sugar (I only put in ½), ½ vanilla bean split, 12-15 plums, halved.
Method:
1. Bring all ingredients except plums to a simmer, stirring to dissolve sugar
2. Cook for 5 minutes
3. Slip in plum halves and simmer for 10 minutes, then allow to cool in liquid.
4. Refrigerate in an airtight container for up to a week.
Mieze’s Plum cake
This quantity is for a 28cm tin, which is pretty large. It can easily be halved and just use a 20cm tin instead.
Ingredients:
275g softened butter, 250g sugar (I used 200), 200g plain flour, 200g self-raising flour, pinch of salt, 3 eggs lightly beaten, 100ml milk, 1 cup ground almonds or fresh breadcrumbs, 20 rip blood plums, halved and stoned.
Topping
125g butter, 200g sugar (I used 100), 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon, 4 eggs.
Method:
1. Preheat the oven to 180 deg C and lightly grease a 28 cm spring form tin
2. Cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy, then mix in flours and salt
3. Add eggs and milk to make a soft dough (the mixture should drop easily from the spoon)
4. Spoon batter into prepared tin (it shouldn’t fill more than a quarter of the depth as the cake rises a lot) then sprinkle over almonds
5. Arrange plums, cut side up on top, starting around outside edge and working towards centre
Topping (you can start preparing this earlier to give the butter time to cool)
1. Melt butter and stir in sugar and cinnamon, then allow to cool
2. Whisk eggs well and stir into cooled butter mixture
3. Spoon over and around plums on cake
4. Bake for 1 hour until cake tests cooked in the centre.
5. Serve warm with cream or ice cream.
Any leftover cake can be warmed, wrapped in foil, in the oven at 180 deg C for 15 minutes.
Apologies for not sharing my Christmas inspired dish before the big day. Sometimes life can get like that and before you know it the days have flown by and you just haven’t done everything you planned.
My first instinct was to share the incredible Plum pudding semifredo with caramel sauce and boozy prunes (from Karen Martini’s “Cooking at Home”) which was a knock out hit. But with many of us feeling like we’ve overdone it with the eating and drinking, I’ve decided on something that’s a bit fresh and healthy, but so beautiful that will be the belle of any party table.
Fig with basil, goats curd and pomegranate vinaigrette
This recipe is from Ottolenghi’s Plenty. I am so obsessed with this incredible book and think it is essential to any collection-especially for vegetarians. Just looking through it now I feel inspired to cook a new dish for lunch today.
I added pomegranate seeds to my version which gave it a festive twist. Aren’t they like little gems glistening on your plate that are almost too gorgeous to eat?
Ingredients:
1 shallot, finely chopped, ½ tsp Dijon mustard, 2 tsp pomegranate molasses, 3 tbsp olive oil plus extra to finish, 40g rocket, 20g mix purple and green basil leave s (I only had green), 8 ripe figs, at room temp, 70g goats curd or a young and creamy goat’s cheese, salt & black pepper.
Method:
1. Place the shallot, mustard and pomegranate molasses in a medium bowl
2. Add some salt & pepper and whisk vigorously as you slowly pour in the olive oil (aiming for a nice homogenous dressing)
3. Add most of the rocket and basil leaves to the dressing, reserving some to finish the salad and toss gently
4. Lift the dressed leaves onto a large serving plate, spreading them out to line it.
5. Cut the figs vertically into quarters and arrange over the leaves
6. Next, dot the figs and leaves with teaspoons of curd
7. Scatter the reserved leaves on top 9with the pomegranate seeds I added) drizzle with extra oil and season with salt and pepper.
After writing my post on the sad state of local architecture, I have been thinking more about what’s happening out there and why things seem to have gone off the rails.
So, I hope you don’t mind me sharing my latest burning question:
How did gym gear become acceptable as proper clothing?
Don’t get me wrong, I’m all for comfortable, breathe easy clothing for exercise or moving about and happily put on my leggings a few mornings a week for yoga.
But when did Lycra leggings, tank top and a skintight zip up top become fashion? Not just for going to and from the gym, but an outfit to spend the day in.
No offence, but it’s looks wrong when I see a woman with a full face of makeup and blow waved hair dressed in top to toe gym gear. It’s like their heads belong to another body-the one wearing the cocktail dress & high heels.
I’ve spoke to a few friends about this phenomena. One believes we have Lululemon to blame as they have officially legitimized Lycra outfits as fashion. She also has a theory that the makeup & posh hair is so the personal trainer notices them (especially during the intimate stretching & cool down bits).
But I believe there may be more to it. I think there is a “what to wear wear” dilemma that sets in when you’ve had a lifestyle change. Choosing an outfit can be challenging when you are working from home, being a mum, or often doing a combination of both.
We all want a look that’s relaxed, comfortable, not too dressy, easy to clean but still makes us feel good. In comparison, dressing for work where the rules are simple is a breeze.
I suspect that many women (especially where there is a gym class at some stage in the day) may have chosen “fitness” as their look because it provides an easy simple uniform.
Forgive me if I sound harsh. I just think it’s sad that full gym outfits have become so normal and acceptable that it’s excuse not to wear and enjoy clothes (plus there’s the camel toe factor which I’d rather not talk about).
I haven’t shown any examples of this look as I only like sharing photos of things I love (plus I think we all know what I’m talking about). Instead, here are some ladies going about their day looking casual but gorgeous. A simple white shirt, camel coat, t-shirt, jeans and a blazer, classic stripy tee. They are all ingredients of a fabulous daytime wardrobe.
I’ll just finish off with a message that I think is relevant to all ages and for women and men alike. Please accept my apology in advance if I’ve gone too far in my earnestness.
Personal style is such a gift. Having confidence in how you express yourself-from what you choose to wear to how you decorate your home, is so attractive. It disheartens me that people sometimes forget, or perhaps are too busy, and before they know it they become like everyone else.
Stay genki,
C x
Melanie Laurent Tomboystyle, Alexa Chung That Kind of Woman, The Sartorialist 7/7/06, The Locals 24/9/11, Emmanuelle Alt The Sartorialist 25/10/10
Sunday Best Posted on 16th December 2011
Hi again,
Just a quick one to say Genki will be at Sunday Best this Sunday at the Carlton Hotel. Steve Wide’s show on 3RRR is the highlight of my week so the music will be splendid. So nice to be able to go out with your kids and have a dance.
Would be lovely to see you there.
Stay genki,
c x
GENKI GIVING Posted on 8th December 2011
In the past couple of weeks I’ve done some Christmas market stalls and really enjoyed them. People were in good moods, relaxed and loving being out and about doing their shopping.
Such a contrast to the frenzy, anxiety and madness of the shopping centres.
Unfortunately I experienced this first hand when I went to one of our town’s mega malls yesterday morning (long story, not like I make a habit of it). I reasoned with myself that if I got in bright and early with a clear plan of action, it would be painless. No such luck. Apparently people like to hang out there with friends (like some of us do in parks and each other’s homes) and it was not pleasant. But I did get everything done without having an anxiety attack so I suppose it was a success.
Back to the market experience, I totally get why people would choose that genre of shopping over any other and I think it’s wonderful that Melbourne has embraced this retail culture.
At the Genki market stalls I did some special prices because people were so familiar and friendly, mate’s rates felt right. So…I’ve decided to carry this spirit over onto the online shop until the holidays are over. You’ll see the sale section has grown quite a bit, but these prices are only temporary, so if there’s anything there that would make a perfect gift, or something you’ve always wanted, just go for it.
Doing markets also reminded me that the Genki goodies look a whole lot better in the flesh; so if anyone has questions, or needs more detail, just let me know.
Stay genki, c x
PS. We can also gift wrap if you like
Photos: Kewpies from Japan, Shin & Co purple zip tote, cat pouch, yellow wallet and teeth pouch, Tatty Devine Jarvis Specs
For those of you who know me well (or have been reading the recipes I’ve been sharing), it won’t be a surprise to hear that I am talking about Karen Martini again. I think she is a local treasure-whose cooking style reflects the essence of Melbourne food culture.
One of my favourite recipes is her Syrian Chicken. I actually first made this when it featured in the Sunday Life magazine years ago and now am relieved to have a fresh clean copy in “Cooking at Home” (Karen Martini’s second book Penguin 2008).
I made this for my cousins the other night, served with Israeli (pearl) couscous. It went down a treat and they asked if I’d make this the recipe of the week.
Syrian Chicken with ginger, lemon & saffron
Ingredients (serves 4):
2 teaspoons sea salt, 2 teaspoons ground cumin, 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon, 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, 1 teaspoon ground turmeric, 1.4-1.6 kg free range chicken cut into 8 pieces, 100ml olive oil, 2 brown onions, thickly sliced*, 100g fresh ginger cut into matchsticks, 5 cloves garlic peeled and smashed, 2 small red chilies split, 2 tomatoes coarsely chopped, 2 pinches of saffron threads, ½ tsp cumin seeds, 5 sprigs thyme leaves only, coarsely grated lemon zest & juice of 1 lemon, 2 tablespoons honey, 100g currants, 2 tablespoons vegetable stock powder, ½ bunch coriander (leaves only).
Method:
- Combine the salt, cumin, cinnamon, pepper and turmeric in a large plastic bag. Add the chicken pieces and shake to coat
- Heat the olive oil in a large heavy based saucepan over high heat
- Add the chicken and brown on all sides (do in batches if too crowded)
- Remove from the pan & set aside
- Add onion, ginger, garlic and chili to the pan and cook for 3 minutes, adding a bit more oil if necessary.
- Add the tomato, saffron threads, cumin seeds and thyme and cook for 2 minutes.
- Return the chicken to the pan and add the lemon juice and zest, honey, currants, stock powder and enough water to just cover the chicken.
- Cover with a lid and simmer over med heat for 10 mins
- Uncover and simmer for 10-15 mins or until the chicken is tender and cooked through, and the sauce is slightly reduced
- Stir in the coriander and serve with couscous or rice.
*I made this dish without onion because my hubbie can’t eat it, and it was still amazing.
photo taken from Cooking at Home by Karen Martini’s Penguin 2008
On this Sunday at Federation Square is the very special Markit. I have always enjoyed being a visitor as it’s a lovely way to do Christmas shopping and meet great people without suffering the razziness of a shopping centre. I had never thought of having a Genki stall, as this time of year was always so frantic when I had the shops.
But the other week, a big box arrived at my door fresh from Japan and my friend Abi from Third Drawer Down simply said, “You should do Markit, it’s great.” I couldn’t ignore her wise words, or the fact that other dear old friends would be there too, so I signed up!
Now I feel very excited. It’s been a long time since I’ve had the pleasure of chatting and hanging out with my customers (many of whom are also friends) so I hope I will get to see many of you there.
Genki is stall number 42 situated at the entrance to the Atrium on Flinders Street. I am putting together a lovely range of products especially for the day and promise to have some home baked treats so you don’t go hungry.
Stay genki,
C x
PS. Check out the Markit website here for all the info you need http://www.markitfedsquare.com.au/
Our favourite local café is Ollie and Ari, from the wonderful Ari who used to have 80 Spaces in Chapel St. How lucky to have him nearby (was the best coffee near Genki Windsor which I really was missing). I was also craving his homemade muffins-rustic, never too sweet, fresh out of the oven goodness. Recently, Ari revealed how easy they are to make. No precise recipe but enough to get me going.
So here’s my version of the Ollie and Ari pear and dark chocolate muffins. I based it on Stephanie Alexander’s Raspberry muffin recipe-so by all mean, omit the cinnamon, pear and chocolate and put in 100g of raspberries instead. Also, you can use blueberries, do a combo of white chocolate with your berries, or even banana or cooked apple (and keep in the cinnamon).
Pear and Dark Chocolate Muffins
These are super duper simple to make. No mixer needed and they’ll bake in about 20 minutes.
Ingredients:
220g self raining flour, ½ cup caster sugar, I teaspoon of cinnamon, ¾ cup buttermilk (or milk with teaspoon lemon juice), 1 free range egg, ¾ cup vege oil, 2 poached pears (cut into chunky pieces-or however you prefer), 100g chopped dark chocolate.
Method:
1. Preheat oven to 180 deg C
2. Put paper cupcake cases into muffin tin (or grease with melted butter)
3. Sift flour into large bowl, add sugar, cinnamon and mix.
4. Put milk, egg and oil in another bowl and whisk to mix well.
5. Make a well in the flour mixture and pour in egg mixture.
6. Stir lightly but don’t over mix while gently adding in pears and chocolate.
7. Spoon into muffin tin holes, filling to just over two-thirds full.
8. Bake for 20-25 minutes or until firm and golden brown.
Notes: It’s ok to use tinned pears-I know, I was unsure at first but it save so much time and tastes just fine.
I also reduce the sugar to about 1/3 of a cup when I’m using chocolate. I left in the original ½ cup as it’s best to start with that and then if you find them too sweet, work out the amount that suits you.
(I have been tweaking desert and cake recipes to reduce the sweetness without taking away the beautiful flavour.)
