I haven’t blogged in…7 weeks.

And my friends have been dropping ~subtle~ hints.

It’s a bit unethical of me to keep bribing for your love and forgiveness with snapshots of food but I do it so well I don’t think I’ll ever stop for as long as school continues to pervade every second of my life lol.

I was lucky enough to be invited over for a dinner party at a friend’s place a month ago and impressed with his cooking, we made a covert deal: he was to email me his favourite recipes and I was to reveal the address of my secret brunch hangout. This pasta recipe is so easy to make; it’s actually deceiving and I say this because yes, it’s a cinch to make but it tastes like you’ve actually made an effort lol. Whiffs of this would make your dinner guests think you’ve spent hours at the stove stirring while the sauce simmers away, a seemingly complex coral-red with bits of herb green strewn in.

Capellini with Shrimp and Creamy Tomato Sauce

3 tablespoons olive oil
1 lb. Peeled shrimp
3 large garlic cloves, mashed.
1/4 teaspoon dried oregano
1/2 cup sweet red vermouth*
1 can diced tomatoes
3/4 cup heavy cream (aka double cream)
1/2 teaspoon lemon juice (freshly squeezed)
1/2 lb angel hair pasta

*I don’t drink alcohol so I substituted this with 1/2 cup of apple juice and a generous squeeze of lemon

1. Heat oil in skillet. Add shrimp, garlic with oregano, 1/2 teaspoon salt, 1/4 teaspoon pepper. Turn until golden.

2. Stir in vermouth, tomatoes. Stir until tomatoes are soft.

3. Add cream and briskly simmer until sauce has thickened slightly.

4. Add lemon juice. Let it simmer for a while more.

5. Meanwhile, cook the pasta. Serve immediately.

In place of the powdered stuff, I actually used fresh oregano. I’d like to think that it does make a difference and plus, I love pulling the slightly woolly leaves off their stems and releasing them just centimetres above the pot so they can infuse perfectly with the pasta sauce by way of gravity. I like sprinkling more atop my pasta because god, I love its peppery sweetness that goes so well with anything tomato-based.

Also, I need to admit what you see in these photos aren’t shrimp; they’re grey prawns fresh off the market. Shrimp usually comes frozen here and I hate waiting around for anything to defrost (I’m lazy!) so I settled for the cheaper, faster option ;D Obviously, this recipe isn’t figure friendly (double cream omg) but does it even matter?

This is going into my instant salvation in 20 mins or less recipe folder for days when I need something more than what a few mediocre rolls of sushi can offer me. Thank you for the recipe, Felix!

Magazine picks of the month and I finally got Nigella Express – it was going for $12.95 at a bookfair in school, I’m extremely excited about this so it gets a spot in this entry >D

RUSSH is a bi-monthly Australian fashion magazine, I would consider it better than Vogue Australia actually. Alessandra’s on the cover of the current issue and urgh, could she be any perfect?

STUNNING.

Catherine McNeil is on the cover of Vogue Australia but sadly, the editorials in the magazine are so lacklustre. This is a pretty picture no less and I like the dramatic eyeliner in this one whoo.

And finally, we return to the familiar food porn from the domestic goddess, the anti-chef I watch obsessively on the Discovery Home & Living channel back home. Nigella Express is a beautiful, well-written collection of fast recipes for the overworked and busy.

What would this entry be without the salacious promise of new make-up mmm? This is MAC’s Mineralize Skinfinish in By Candlelight, quite the poetic name for a beautiful peachy highlighter from the In The Groove collection. To be honest, I bought Petticoat first but I didn’t like it as much as I thought I would. It’s a pretty raspberry but it wasn’t very exciting so I exchanged it for By Candlelight which I much prefer.

Here’s a swatch! You can barely see it on my skin – which is the point, really. You want highlighters to look like the glow on your skin is from within you, not on you (greasyyyy!) lol.

I must get back to my readings now sigh. I’m taking Anthropology this semester which exposes one to ‘unconventional’ culture practices e.g. eating the body of a dead relative and it is quickly becoming the subject I enjoy going to for lectures because my lecturer is this kooky English guy with the most remarkable and terribly explicit sense of humour. I’m sorry I haven’t had time to read all your entries but mid-semester break is coming and I’ll be doing some massive catch-up readings then. Meanwhile, you can follow me on Twitter or ask me a question on formspring. Take care and my muslim readers, sorry I’m a wee bit late but Happy Ramadhan & Eid!