Cooking up a feast at Paon Bali in Ubud, Indonesia

I've been going to Bali pretty much every year since I was 4 years old. When we go, we normally keep our holiday plans to pretty much a minimum so that we can spend as much time as possible between our place and the beach. OK, except one time when M and I decided to get married in Bali. The only time I actually set foot on the beach during that trip was seriously only during our wedding ceremony! But that's another story ;)

Anyway, every so often we venture out and try to discover new touristy things. Last December, we found the Paon Bali and absolutely loved it. It's a cooking class located in serene Ubud in the north of Bali, run by a husband and wife team, the funny Ibu Puspa and Pak Wayan.

Welcoming the Saka New Year in Silence (Nyepi in Bali)

The Balinese celebrate the end of the Hindi Saka calendar with the epic Ogoh-Ogoh parade.

Last month I managed to squeeze in a 3 day vacation amid the hecticness that is my research roject in Indonesia. Escaping the craziness of Jakarta, I went away to stay at my parent's little piece of heaven for the long weekend of Nyepi in Bali. Nyepi Day (Silence Day) commemorates the New Year in the Saka (Hindu) calendar. This was actually my first time being in Bali for Nyepi and it was such a treat!

Meatless Mondays - Three Bean Shepherd's Pie with Baked Celeriac Mash

Celeriac: possibly the ugliest vegetable around but so much goodness and a guilt-free substitute for potatoes.

I just heard about this thing called Meatless Mondays. It’s a great American initiative that started in 2003 to get people to give up meat one day a week. As we know (and often ignore!), animal products in our food chain contributes to a third of the world’s greenhouse gas emissions. That’s because the meat industry uses masses of energy to raise the livestock and poultry. Additionally, grazing livestock also add to the problem of land degradation. According to the good guys at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology, simply turning your meal into a vegetarian one already reduces the carbon footprint of your meal by 70%.

Greek-Inspired Olive Crusted Roast Beef with Potatoes and Homemade Tzakiki

Tzakiki dip made from homemade yogurt (top) with olive-crusted roast beef (bottom)

This year Easter came twice. One weekend after the Anglo Easter weekend, it’s now the Greek’s turn to celebrate Orthodox Easter.

Now, if I didn’t have my little accident and hadn’t hurt my ankle, we were supposed to be watching the madness of Orthodox Easter festivities in a small island in Chios, Greece. We would have seen this insane festival called Rouketopolemos. The festival goes between Easter eve until Easter day, this year it is held between April 15 - 16. It involves the congregation of two (traditionally) neighbouring rival churches of St Mark’s and Panaghia Ereithiani, shooting makeshift firecrackers made out of wooden sticks stuck to a whole heap of gun powder. Hence the term “Rocket War”! The goal of the game is to hit the bell tower of the rival church using these rockets. Coming from Australia, where the sale of firecrackers are strictly prohibited in most states, the idea of Rouketopolemos is totally amusing!

Hot Cross Buns - Happy White Easter!

The universe is telling me to slow down. After the busy whirlwind trip to Indonesia, I was so ready to come back for a mini Easter weekend a way to Turkey with M. But unfortunately, not even 24 hours after my return to Switzerland I managed to sprain my ankle walking down the stairs. A 4 hour emergency room wait, followed by my first German-speaking hospital encounter, I was finally told it was a damaged ligament. So it’s crutches for a week, cast for a month, no flying for a while (what is this DVT business…) which means… no Turkey for the Easter break and no skiing until next season! Boo hoo.. whinge whinge whinge… Who knew not watching where you’re going has such dire consequences.

So this Easter weekend I’m sitting tightly at home in Zurich. And it was a white Easter, can you believe it snowed in April? We ended up having a nice Easter lunch with a group of friends in Zurich, and stuffed ourselves silly with too much food. For dessert I served my favourite Easter treat, fresh out-of-the-oven hot cross buns. These little treats are sold everywhere in England and Australia during Easter. It’s traditionally eaten on Good Friday, with the cross symbolizing Christ’s crucifixion.