Weekend before last, I stowed something very exciting in my rucksack when we went to Devon: one of Lomography’s then-unannounced LomoKino cameras, a dinky little box that shoots around 50 seconds of movie footage on a single 35mm roll of film. You can read my review on Gizmodo UK here, but take a look at the video above for a taste of what the LomoKino shoots. (There’s a second movie, with more doggy action, over on Giz UK.)

A beach near Appledore, Barnstaple and Bideford; shot on a Canon AV-1 with Fuji Velvia 50

I also shot a couple of rolls on my Canon AV-1, and dared to dig into my stash of Velvia 50 for the occasion. While I’m as yet to produce snapshots as gorgeous as Ken Rockwell’s, I’m really pleased with the weekend’s efforts; the highlights of which you can see here. (There are also some colour neg 400 shots below).

Dogs and humans; shot on a Canon AV-1 with Fuji Velvia 50

Sarah and Ava; shot on a Canon AV-1 with Fuji Velvia 50

Tim, Elvis and Herbet; shot on a Canon AV-1 with Fuji Velvia 50

Jim throwing stones; shot on a Canon AV-1 with Fuji Velvia 50

Sarah filming Ava on the LomoKino; shot on a Canon AV-1 with Fuji Velvia 50

Jetty legs; shot on a Canon AV-1 with Fuji Velvia 50

Dali-esque scenery; shot on a Canon AV-1 with Fuji Velvia 50

Walkers; shot on a Canon AV-1 with Fuji Velvia 50

Sarah traipsing down the steep Clovelly hill; shot on a Canon AV-1 with colour neg 400

Clovelly tea-rooms (yes, we did partake!); shot on a Canon AV-1 with colour neg 400

Jim eye-spying Ava and Tim; shot on a Canon AV-1 with colour neg 400

Jim and Tim doing the Zissou point; shot on a Canon AV-1 with colour neg 400

Old window and Clovelly hill; shot on a Canon AV-1 with colour neg 400

Smiling Ava; shot on a Canon AV-1 with colour neg 400

There’s been a recent glut of turning-26 year olds in my RSS feeds the past couple of days, which has resonated strongly as I too turn 26 in January. I’ve traditionally been very cagey about my age, what with always having older boyfriends (and indeed, an older husband), but the last few years I’ve been particularly careful, in professional circumstances especially, about admitting I still hold a (valid) young person’s railcard.

Perhaps it was because I started on this professional-blogging path (it still makes me laugh that that’s actually my “career”) when I was so young — just 19, an age where you’re desperately trying to shuck your teenage years from your back and prove your worth.

Surrounded by peers much older than I — especially in the tech industry, where it’s unusual just to have a set of ovaries and/or your own teeth — it’s not exactly something you want to scream about. Not that I’ve ever felt discriminated-against because of my age (or even my gender), but would I still be able to to say that if I’d been upfront from the beginning?

Reading Heidi’s account of how she feels years off 26, I realised I should probably quit trying to be older (and even look older) and just, well, be me — albeit less aged and granny-like. What a funny quarter-century-age predicament to be in.

*Image Credit: @robjdlc via @indiamos via Clusterflock via Pinterest via Bettyjoy*

Yesterday’s was less recipe, and more OFM Monthly Awards — which was a tad disappointing, but the Best Reader’s Recipe caught my eye. Sadly it hasn’t been uploaded yet to the website, but until then you can get it here via my condensed rehash. I’ll pop a link in when it’s finally online.

Maya Glaser’s Sweet Potato and Aubergine Subji With Red Onion and Coriander Raita

Recipe says enough for 2 – 3 people, but I think it’d serve four.

It took me about an hour to make, but I had to scurry around four different shops for over half an hour, trying to find garam masala and ground cardamom! It’s a very easy recipe, but I would suggest ensuring you had all the ingredients ready before starting.

It’s not too hot, with the raita tempering it slightly. I’m not a fan of onions (let me rephrase that: I LOVE onions but onions don’t love me — I get horrible stomach cramps), so went easy on them, but by all means, go for it if you can handle them!

Curry ingredients:

2x medium onions
4x garlic cloves, crushed
small chunk of garlic
1tsp cumin seeds
1 – 2 green chili peppers, chopped
dash of olive oil
2tsp garam masala
2sp turmeric
1/2tsp ground cardamom (I used cardamom pods, and just mortar ‘n pestle’d them)
1/2 tin chopped tomatoes
handful coriander, chopped
1x large aubergine, chopped into cubes
2x sweet potatoes, chopped into cubes
2 handfuls spinach, chopped

Raita ingredients:

half pot natural yoghurt
1/2 garlic clove
1/2 red onion
handful coriander
squeeze lemon

Method:

Fry onions, garlic, ginger, cumin seeds and chili in olive oil.
Stir in garam masala, turmeric and cardamom, then chopped tomatoes and half the coriander.
Simmer 5 – 10 mins, add aubergine. Simmer for 20 mins, then add sweet potato. Simmer for further 20 mins.
Add spinach, simmer until wilted. Add coriander.

Meanwhile, make the raita by combining the yoghurt, garlic, red onion and coriander with squeeze of lemon in bowl.

Serve with rice (but don’t let it get gluggy like mine went…I got sidetracked watching an episode of Kath & Kim. Whoops!) and perhaps a naan if you’re feeling naughty.