made, read, heard, saw

Happy Friday!

Firstly, I wanted to say thank you for all your very thoughtful responses to my other side post.  Knowing that you are out there is a constant source of delight and inspiration! 

On the subject of things enjoyable and inspiring, the week in review:

1. Made these zucchini quesadillas and can highly recommend you do the same. I think my technique may have been a little bit suspect - I basically cooked up the filling in one pot and then lay the tortilla on a warm pan, put cheese on top then filling, then tortilla and then thought 'How the hell do I get these this out of the pan without making a colossal mess?' I ended up cutting the circle down the middle with a knife/ spatula then gently flipped the half circles on top of themselves to form quarters. It worked, sort of. Tasty though.

I also made a damn lot of crumbles. Apple crumble, strawberry crumble with chocolate, breakfast crumble (essentially leftover crumble from the night before with milk added). 

2. Read Haruki Marukami's interview in the Paris Review and was immediately inspired to finish my top drawer half-finished novel and simultaneously start on another, also to start up running again.  I think I need to re-read What I talk about when I talk about running. There is something very reassuring and inspiring about Murakami's routines and quiet persistence.

3. Listened to Carl Sagan's message to the Mars explorers and got a bit teary.

4. Watched Maira Kalman reading her work on identity, happiness and existence and nodded vigorously in agreement with many of her wonderful words and ideas. If you haven't come across her yet, check her out, you'll be glad you did.

And that is all for now, have a wonderful weekend!

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a few degrees

In search of a few degrees extra warmth and some down time we recently headed up north to the Gold Coast for a few days. It was a funny trip.

The weather held out its end of the bargain and was sunny and mostly warm enough for t-shirts and shorts to both make an appearance. We also enjoyed some pretty great food and an apartment with a glorious view of the sky and the sea.

And then... we both got head colds, Kristian suffered a minor foot injury, I cricked my back and managed to fulfill one of my most feared experiences by spectacularly throwing up on a crowded bus coming back from Dreamworld. Not my finest hour let me tell you. I now know that multiple roller coaster rides (including the horror inducing kiddie-spinning-boat-thing that goes around and upside down) coupled with painkillers and egg salad sandwiches do not mix. Even writing that sentence is making me feel nauseous.

On the plus side there was plenty of relaxing and down time. We walked on the beautiful but also slightly apocalyptic looking beach up to Surfer's Paradise, got some quality vitamin D action and even caught up on some classic episodes of Cheers and Family Ties. Good times indeed.  Oh and we made some awesome food - burgers, epic breakfasts, bacon sandwiches, tacos, banana desserts. I also managed to fly through the 5 novellas of Wool, which were utterly mind-blowing.

Now begins holiday recovery mode. Roll on vegetables, vegetables and copious amounts of health.

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small pleasures

Sometimes I feel like I'm a whirlwind of activity, constantly rushing from one thing to the next (or thinking about a million different things all at once - what I am doing, what I should be doing, what I want to be doing). I need to intentionally take the time to s l o w  d o w n .  .  .

Recently I've made the change from coffee to tea, a rather big deal for someone who has been a long time coffee drinker, and I have been finding that it has helped even me out. There is something more restful about tea, more contemplative.

I've also tried to start taking more pleasure in small, simple things. I have a tendency to get the winter blues and whilst it's not winter yet I've been trying to focus on the beautiful things about the changing season to try and keep positive - colourful leaves, getting out my favourite cardigans and scarfs and drinking lots of hot beverages out of fun cups, such as my favourite Austen above. When enjoying a nice cup of tea out of this mug I like to pretend I'm in an old-timey tea house in Bath spotting gallant chaps dashing in from the rain. Mmmm...

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a childhood favourite

So long Maurice Sendak.

I remember fondly his books from when I was little and loved rediscovering them again as an adult. His philosophies on living and writing are humbling and enduring. A true master-storyteller and human.

"I've convinced myself — I hope I'm right — that children despair of you if you don't tell them the truth."

These interviews with him are a wonderful way of preserving his ideas. Have a listen and be reminded how precious this thing called life is.


[The picture was taken on our 2010 trip to Japan, where we saw Where the Wild Things Are]

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friday reads

Lately, I've been going through a bit of a blah phase when it comes to reading. It may have to do with the fact that most of my books are still in the moving boxes but I feel like I've had the attention span of a gnat. I'll pick up a book, read a few pages, then put it down and end up playing scrabble on my ipod all night instead. I suppose Scrabble is still wordy but it's not as relaxing as tucking into a good book right before bed.

But then...

A few weeks ago we had a book sale at work and I was totally invigorated. I only bought about five novels but just having them lined up on my bedside table is making me all excited to get reading again. They're acting a bit like my stuff to cook and make list - a jumping off point for rediscovering two of my favourite things to do, aka the title of this blog.

So what's on that bedside table you ask? At the moment there is:

The Secret Cure - Sue Woolfe
Blindness - José Saramago
A Maggot - John Fowles
The Nature of Ice - Robyn Mundy

So far I'm about halfway through The Secret Cure, which is intriguing and surprising and sort of odd too. For example, I didn't work out it was set in the 1980s until about page 201.

But, as for the rest, I think that might be my Easter reading stitched up, right there. Even just typing those words Easter reading gives me a little thrill of anticipatory pleasure. It's not all about chocolate and easter buns, though they are both thoroughly enjoyed in a big way in our house. Amongst other important things it's also about a bit of quiet time to curl up on the couch with a cuppa and a great read. 

How about you - are there any books you're looking forward to reading over the break?

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light

 

The light has been amazing in the evenings of late. I'm enjoying getting home and still having time to savour it for a few hours - bless you daylight savings (for the moment at least). It's nice to have time to catch up on reading, to linger over dinner preparation. There's something about having a glass of wine whilst the sun's streaming in the back window that makes summer holidays feel that much closer. I know it's only October still but roll on the festive season!

Some things helping me get into that holiday spirit:
This upbeat song;
Vicarious travelling adventures from my desk;
Compiling summer reading wishlists - I'm especially looking forward to reading Tales from High Mountain by Tara Austen Weaver (who writes the wonderful blog Tea and Cookies) about her time spent in Japan - more vicarious travelling - can you tell I'm ready for a holiday?

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my plans for the weekend

Hello there...

... Goodness time flies when you're a year older. I realise it's been almost two weeks and I've not written much here at all. But all is well, September is gunning on and I'm positively trembling with excitement about the extra warmth in the air and the prospects of T-shirts, sandals and salads.  It's Friday now and there are supposed to be some summery temperatures hitting us here in Sydney this weekend - 27 degree type temperatures - very exciting indeed!

My plans for the weekend so far include reading more of an addictive new book, watching Daria (a favourite from high school days and a surprise birthday gift from Kristian) going on some walks and taking pictures...

Oh and I'm sure there'll be some cooking and eating too. I recently discovered the words smakfulle øyeblikk are Norwegian for tasteful moments - I couldn't imagine a more beautiful onomatopoeia-esque description of the beauty of food.

The weather is so beautiful here right now - perhaps I can throw in some beach action as well...

What are your plans?

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sunshine

Sydney sure knows how to put on an autumnal show. It's been a bit of a sunshine party these last few days and we've been soaking up those warming rays and enjoying the amazing light at every opportunity. Yesterday I enjoyed a glass of wine in the sun with my friend Sarah at the Sydney Writers' Festival and this morning, breakfast at Clipper Cafe in Glebe, where we watched inquisitive dogs and enjoyed homemade baked beans and poached eggs. Delightful.

All this outdoorsyness has not kept me away from the kitchen though because the minute the sun goes down, the oven goes on. There have been more pies and a few more crumbles and some vegetables too, that I will share with you soon. Until then, grab some sunshine where you can and here's to a wonderful weekend!

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in a pickle

I realised at the end of this weekend that I had entered something of a nanna state. Somewhere in amongst going out to see the excellent Smoke and Mirrors and preparing for a job interview, I managed to make pumpkin scones, a spinach and chicken pie and about 7 jars of pickles. I also somehow sprained my wrist whilst sitting on the couch. Achievements all round. But let's get on to the pickles because they were quite exciting, in a way that preserves tend to be.

My gran and I were both big supporters of pickles and cheese on toast, actually, make that most things and cheese on toast, but especially pickles. I am instantly transported back to her tiny kitchen whenever I dip into that lurid yellow preserve. There is something about pickles that is homely and nourishing and just plain good and so I thought it was about time that I made some from scratch.

This would be the point where I found Gran's handwritten long lost recipe but alas I couldn't find anything of the sort amongst all my cookbook paraphernalia and so I turned to the excellent and reliable Homecooked - favourite recipes from Australian kitchens (with recipes selected by Maggie Beer, Valli Little and Ian McNamara). It's a little hard to find but I heartily recommend owning a copy of this little gem. It has so often had a recipe for something obscure/ old fashioned that I've got it in my head that I want to make and haven't been able to find anywhere else, such as: savoury cheese puffs or passionfruit flummery or puftaloons or... you get the idea.

Anyway, there in the back was a recipe for green tomato and cucumber pickles that looked to be just the ticket. I didn't have any green tomatoes but I didn't let that put me off and instead substituted carrots and leek for the tomatoes. I also quartered the recipe because otherwise it produces 27 cups and whilst I like pickles, I probably couldn't put away that many of them.

Pickles
Adapted from Homecooked, ABC Books
Makes approximately 7-9 cups

125g salt
4 cups water
500g onions, chopped roughly into chunks
500g cucumbers, unpeeled and chopped
250g of leeks, finely sliced
250g carrots, chopped
1 1/4 cups sugar
1/2 cup plain flour
3/4 Tbs ground turmeric
1/2 tspn white pepper
3/4 Tbs curry powder
3/4 Tbs mustard powder
2 1/4 cups white vinegar
1/2 tspn ground allspice

Dissolve the salt in the water in a large (non-aluminium) saucepan on low heat. Put the vegetables into the saucepan and stand overnight. Next morning, place the pan on high heat, bring to the boil and cook for 5 minutes. Remove from the heat, drain and rinse the vegetables well.

In a medium bowl, mix together the sugar, flour, turmeric, pepper, curry powder and mustard powder and mix to form a paste with 1 cup of cold water.

Put the vinegar and allspice into a large saucepan and bring to the boil. Stir in the paste mixture and return to the boil until it all thickens. Add in the vegetables and stir through to combine. Pour into clean jars and seal immediately. Keep in the fridge for afternoon snacks or for any time you feel like a slab of bread with pickles and cheese, or just pickles, or whatever your fancy.

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