Salted Brown Butter Crispy Treats

I've been wanting to make this twist on the old treats from Smitten Kitchen for a while, but our local supermarket hasn't had any Rice Krispies in stock!  Argh!!  I have been obsessed with sea salt on chocolate, and I have a feeling that this will be just as divine...

Merry Christmas, Everyone!

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Kicking a few balls around the futsal court.

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Check it out...  It's the grooviest taxi in Singapore!

Almost every cab available on the street is new, impeccably clean and sparsely decorated with the usual trinkets, air freshener or flower offerings on the dashboard.  

Every once in a blue moon, we jump into one that's been transformed into a truly fantastic ride.

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Ahh...  The rainy season.  Things have been deliciously wet and (relatively) cool here in Singapore over the past few weeks.  The afternoon showers quench the steamy afternoon sun and usually last until the evening.  One question though - how do the rain and thunderstorms roll in every day at precisely 2:30pm?  Does this happen anywhere else?

The Holiday Season Begins

Hey stranger. :)

It's been a while!  We've had a busy last few weeks, here in the Lion City.

We celebrated Thanksgiving a week early with a lovely potluck dinner at Auntie Goosie and Uncle David's apartment, and I'm suddenly feeling the whirlwind of the holiday season.  In New York, the transition to autumn usually feels quite gradual with the appearance of harvest vegetables at the market, a crisp wind, the early setting sun.  I didn't realize how much I would miss all of these seasonal cues.  This year, the shock of Thanksgiving fare in the summer heat was a delightful surprise.  Cornbread...  Roquefort Pear Salad...  Roasted Potatoes...  Pumpkin Pie!!

Singapore is well known (in the region, anyway) for it's over-the-top holiday decorations along the main shopping area, Orchard Road.  It's hard to get into a festive, wintry mood when we're all sweating it out in tank tops and sandals.  Just wait until I show you the holiday MADNESS.

Also to come, Ruby's 2nd Birthday!  Stay tuned for pictures of her Black Cat Party.

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I took a break from the heavy SLR this week and had lots of Hipstamatic fun. :)

Let's see...  What have I been up to?  The heavy rain finally let up and gave us a bit of gorgeous blue sky and blazing hot sun, so we spent a lot of time outdoors.  The Singapore schools are on the longest break of the academic year, so it feels like summer vacation around here all over again!  Except that I'm thinking about what to do for Thanksgiving...  and Christmas...

Oh yeah, I got a new bike. :)  We also bought a rear-mounted child seat, so I can bring along a little one.  It's AMAZING!  Steven already had a bike with a kid seat - now we can all go riding together.  We've been biking to go out to breakfasts and dinners all week.  Bicycle shoot to come - I promise.

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  Presenting Kiki the witch...

And her little black cat!  

I hope you all had a delightful Halloween!

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Weekend breakfast at a local kopitiam (coffee shop).

After living here for a little over a year, we've discovered that we've become much more Singaporean - we now eat out more often than we cook at home.  It's silly not to, as grocery bought food can cost more than restaurant fare.

 Kaya toast, soft-boiled eggs, iced Milos and coffees - a full breakfast for a family of four for under S$10.

 

And the post-meal marauders swooping down on the table next to us are pretty entertaining too.

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Happy Deepavali, everyone!

Are any of you going to be celebrating the Festival of Lights?

Steven and I woke up this morning to the girls prancing around the house with goodies from Lily's Deepavali party at school yesterday.  

The kids and teachers dressed up in Indian clothing...  The whole school was decorated with fresh flowers and smelled of jasmine and incense.  Gorgeous.

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Missing fall harvest lately, but I had a delightful surprise at the grocery store this week - acorn squash!  They used to make regular appearances on our dinner table in New York.   I bought a bunch and roasted them up with maple syrup and butter.

Cleaned the seeds too, and roasted them with a little olive oil and salt.  Yum!  I'll turn up the air conditioning a little and pretend it's fall.

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Has everyone been having a fun week so far?

We're still sweating it out here in Singapore, but things are definitely ramping up for Halloween!  I've been working on a few costumes - the first year I'm really making all of them.

Lily wants to be Kiki the witch (from one of our favorite movies, Hayao Miyazaki's Kiki's Delivery Service) and Ruby is really excited to be her black cat.  I'm planning on being a spider, and Steven wants to be a pirate!  Stay tuned for the fashion show later this week...

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It is bizarre fruit week on Traveling Light, apparently.  The girls were playing at my parents' house today, and when I walked in, they couldn't wait to show me THIS!!

How does this happen??

Dreams of Flying - Jan von Holleben

What fun!

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Check it out...  I found some snake fruit at the supermarket!  We tried some during our stay in Bali - the fruit is native to Indonesia.  The girls were crazy about it.

(Does it make you go, "Ssssss?")

Its reptilian-like exterior peels off easily to reveal what looks and feels like garlic cloves, but tastes kind of like pineapple.

  

The locals in Bali warned us that the snake fruit does bite!  If you eat too much - no more than one a day for the kids - it'll irritate your mouth and throat (like mangoes and pineapples do).  

I've lived in Southeast Asia for years, and have never noticed them until now!

Would you try some?

The Mixed Race Project

Take a peek at this amazing and inspiring photography project by Jenna Park.  Capturing sweet and intimate moments between children, parents and grandparents, she offers a glimpse into the homes and lives of inter-racial families like her own.

I loved looking through her photos.  I am also from a mixed family - my father is Chinese, my mother from the Philippines.  I was born in Singapore and have lived in diverse, metropolitan cities my whole life.  My husband is a Japan-born Argentine-American, of Austrian and English descent.  Our two children are multi-racial.

In addition to having grown up among so many cultures, I am also fairly young - sometimes I forget how new this diversity is to the world.  I am puzzled by racial stereotypes that some people cling to.  I was shocked to learn that up until 1967, inter-racial marriages were illegal in many states in the U.S.  After a little internet research, I found out that there are still inter-racial or 'inter-ethnic' marriage restrictions in many countries today.

Where are you from?  Does your family embrace more than one heritage?  I'd love to hear your history.

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I took Steven to one of my favorite high school hangouts the other night - The Crazy Elephant!  What a blast from the past.  I hadn't been there in ages, and I'm surprised I hadn't gone sooner.  We've been living in Singapore for a year already!  It's a rock'n'roll blues bar that features an awesome live band every night of the week.  I am thrilled to report that it is just as amazing as I remembered it.  :)