Saturday, November 21, 2009

Dear Kate Moss,

Regarding your recent comment that 'nothing tastes as good as skinny feels' (Women's Wear Daily, Fri 13 Nov), whilst I appreciate that you have founded your career on being a controversial angular waif, I would like to suggest - ever so politely - that you are wrong.

I think that the pro-anorexia critics have covered this sufficiently from a health perspective in the last few days, so I don't plan on rehashing that part of the debate.

From someone who knows, I would like to offer a list of just a few things that taste better than skinny feels.

1. Green & Black's Organic Chocolate

Their milk chocolate is to die for. With a higher cocoa content than your average chocolate, it is the perfect compromise between milk and dark chocolate. Every good supermarket will stock it.

How to eat: share it whilst chatting on the couch with your girlfriends.

2. Anything from Sparkle Cupcakery

The fittingly festive iced pumpkin cupcake is amazing. I'm going back to try the lavendar and honey, and lychee and rose. Don't even try to stop me.

How to eat: when a lovely man picks one up for you and brings it home in the late afternoon in the gorgeous thick paper bag as a surpise , risk spoiling your appetite before dinner and share it. Then eat dinner.

3. The freshly made eggplant, onion and roasted almond ravioli from The Pasta Gallery

You can buy it on Saturdays from the Eveleigh Market, or pick it up from their kitchen, or wait for delivery day.

How to eat: have dinner with the man who surprised you with a cupcake. I cooked it up and served it with a butter, lemon juice and sage sauce, tossed with finely sliced zucchini and fresh spinach and rocket.

4. Breakfast at Cafe Giulia on Sunday morning

Eggs scrambled with haloumi, mint and tomato and served with kefte, or smoked salmon rosettes with hash browns, perfectly poached eggs, spinach, lemon, and some kind of delicious mayonnaise type condiment - these are just two of many offerings.

How to eat: a knife and fork will generally see you through. Nab one of the bigger tables in the courtyard and fill it up with your nearest and dearest. Don't forget the coffee.

5. Lemon Calippo

Icy, lemony confectionary goodness. 99% fat free - Kate, I promise that the odd one of these won't have you out of your skinny jeans anytime soon.

How to eat: wait for a hot day then embrace your inner five year old - run off the beach, skip up to the nearest corner store, tear off the foil, slurp away and definitely don't share this one.

So perhaps enjoying food means I won't be starring in a Yves Saint Laurent mini-movie (and yes, Kate, congratulations are due, you do look unrealistically and unattainably beautiful) but it certainly tastes better than skinny feels.

With kind regards,

A happy girl at a healthy weight

P.S. I've included a gorgeous vintage advertisement titled 'If you want to be popular, you can't afford to be skinny'. Just something you might want to think about...

Wednesday, November 18, 2009

Consumerist kitten

Consumerist kitten does battle with the Visa. Rather exemplifies my love-hate relationship with my credit card. Love at shopping time, and hate at bills time. Kitten moves through the motions a little faster - in all of 11 seconds, actually.






I suspect she was shopping online, looking to import a mail order man(cat) - one of those sexy sleek Siamese, or perhaps one of the more rugged Russian Blues. The neighbourhood cats don't quite cut it. I expect a designer diamond studded flea collar or three and a year-long supply of Tetsuya's tuna sashimi will arrive in the next week or so also.