buds and biscuits

Observations from the first weekend of Spring:

~ It was surprisingly cool, as if nature was saying 'don't get too hasty throwing off that Winter garb'.

~ From our back yard I spotted birds flying in arrow formation for what felt like the first time and marvelled at how that was possible.

~ A smiley face appeared in the sky with a word after it - I thought it was going to be decide but it ended up being decorug (whatever that is?).

~ A friend dropped round on Saturday with pear tart, which was surprisingly good.

~ We had lunch at my parent's house for Father's Day and talked lots about our upcoming trip to London - did I mention that we were going to London in two weeks? I don't think I have... 

~ I sat in the garden with Kristian and my mum, soaking up the sun and checking out the new buds and shoots coming up.

~ I made some protein-rich gingerbread biscuits to fatten up my Dad (and ate a few of the misshapen ones myself).  

Gingerbread Biscuits

Adapted from Breakfast, Lunch, Tea, by Rose Carrarini

125g unsalted butter, softened

90g brown sugar

3 Tbsps molasses (or golden syrup works just as well)

1 egg, beaten

370g plain flour, sifted (I substituted 100g of flour for quinoa flakes, to up the protein)

1 tsp bicarbonate of soda

1/2 tsp salt

1 Tbsp ground ginger

1 tsp ground cinnamon

1 tsp mixed spice

Beat the butter, sugar and molasses/ golden syrup until pale and well combined. 

Add in the egg, then fold through the flour and other dry ingredients until the mixture forms a good dough. You might need to add a little extra flour or another egg if your dough is too wet or dry. 

Roll the dough into a ball and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 180°C/ 350°F. Butter a baking tray.

Roll out your dough until it is about 5mm thick. I heartily recommend well flouring the rolling pin and surface you are rolling on, lest you have to shout expletives at the dough when it won't lift off your chopping board. 

Cut the dough into the shapes you want and put them on the baking tray.

Bake the biscuits for 10-15 minutes, or until firm and browned on top. 

Cool them on a rack and try not to eat too many before lunch.

I hope you had a wonderful Spring weekend! Here's to more clear skies and warmer weather ahead.

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the other side

Learning to live with a little chaos is a skill I struggle with a fair bit of the time. I'm often caught up in looking down the road in an attempt to try to prepare myself for what (I think) is coming. But life has a way of reminding you that no matter how hard you try you can't control everything - sometimes it helps just seeing things in a different way.

I came across a wonderful story recently that captured this idea:

There is a young Buddhist man who whilst journeying home comes to the banks of a very wide river. He stares hopelessly at the great obstacle in front of him and ponders for hours how to cross such a wide barrier. Just when he is about to give up and continue on his journey away from the river, he sees a great teacher on the other side of the river. He yells out to the teacher, 'Oh wise one, can you tell me how to get to the other side of this river?"

The teacher thinks for a moment, looks up and down the river and yells back, "My son, you are on the other side."

Life can surprise you by showing you something beautiful or unexpected and changing your perspective on things even when you least expect it.

On the weekend, in the midst of some truly chaotic weather outside and swirling emotions inside, we went for a walk down to a dog park nearby and simply sat and watched a bunch of dogs frollicking around in the grass. It was joyous to watch and I felt rejuvenated by seeing those dogs scampering around enjoying their day. It made me realise that finding beauty and joy in the world is always possible, even when it seems unlikely, and that it can be a choice to see it. That in itself is a reassuring realisation I think and one that can be grasped during difficult times.  A good coffee, a call from a friend, blooming magnolias, apple crumble for dinner - these can all help light the way.

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best of british

How was your weekend?

It was amazingly warm here in Sydney so, after washing just about everything in the house, we got out and about for a few good walks around the neighbourhood, where I spotted gorgeous magnolias and fun murals.

And it seems I've become rather affected by the London Olympics, if my weekend baking is any indication. On Saturday I met up with a friend for coffee and cake at a cute little place on Norton Street and once the topic of cornish pasties came up there was no turning back.  They were going to be on the dinner menu one way or another.  My distant British heritage kicked into gear and, after a brief discussion on preferred ingredients including Alissa's recommendation to opt for pastry of the short-crust kind over the puff variety, it was on. I'll admit that I didn't use a recipe because sometimes on a Saturday night after a few glasses of shiraz that's how I roll but there are plenty of good ones out there, like here or here (Delia's pie version).  If you own a copy of Stephanie Alexander's The Cooks Companion you just know there's going to be one in there.

We ate our pasties with lashings of tomato sauce whilst watching the basketball and gymnastics and adding our own enthusiastic commentary to the proceedings. Then on Sunday, needing only the merest slight nudge of a suggestion from Kristian, I went and whipped up a batch of scones and then we ate a few of them somewhat guiltily in front of the marathon.

I have a feeling I'll be doing a lot of walking to work this week to compensate...

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a morning walk

On Sunday Kristian and I went to Natty's cafe in Stanmore, which has hands down pretty much the best breakfast trifle I've come across in a long while. It is delicious: crunchy, creamy, fruity, not too big and amazing value. If you haven't been already, clear your calendar for next weekend. Afterwards, we went for a long walk around our neighbourhood and talked about ideas and projects and marvelled at the changing leaves. Not too many days left of Autumn, so I'm soaking up as much colour as I can and pondering this quote in anticipation of the coming Winter months:

Au milieu de l'hiver, j'ai découvert en moi un invincible été.
In the midst of winter I discovered within me an invincible summer.

~Albert Camus

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potatoes, pies and pink

Our weekend was all about a very excited little girl (Kristian's niece) turning three and some equally excited adults getting to play with Mr and Mrs Potato Head and eat party pies and toothache-inducing amounts of cake and pink icing.

After a big week, it was so nice to stop for a minute and breathe in the weekend, to listen to the gutteral laugh of the birthday girl after having fizzy drink for the first time (care of me, oops!) and to see three generations of K's family together - to notice, in amongst the eating, playing and conversation, those occasional funny, familial moments of similarity that make me smile.

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shopping the neighbourhood

A few years back I had a longish stint working part-time for a doctor so that I could spend my days off working on a (as yet still unfinished) novel.  It was a really interesting and occasionally very difficult period and it taught me a lot about people and even more about myself. Apart from learning how to deal with hysterical patients over the phone - a useful skill to have in any profession - and a lot more about dermatology than I'd ever want to know, this period of self-imposed financial restriction fundamentally changed the way I think about spending money and the value of things.

I no longer enjoy spending lots of money on clothes or things for our home but instead get a kick out of finding wonderful second hand items; things that have a bit of history and story about them.

So you can imagine the almost unbridled joy with which I sprang out of bed on Saturday morning to head out on my bike and explore Second Hand Saturday, a event organised by our Council where households in our neighbourhood put on a bunch of garage sales on one day.  I got to meet some really nice people and came home with a bunch of fantastic old tupperware, kitchenware and even a great, grey couch, which I scored for $20!

And then I had to have a lie down.

On Sunday, Kristian and I ventured over to the Addison Road Markets, excitement levels still high, to explore the Bower and Reverse Garbage - all very much recommended! We had egg, mushroom and halloumi rolls from the Mr Bacon and Egg stall, surveyed all the wonderful fresh produce and watched dogs playing and kids taking shetland pony rides.

I resisted a few deliciously luring bargains and in the end was satisfied with a triangular loaf of zucchini bread and some $2 measuring cups from the Bower.  A good weekend all round.


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warming on up

Our place was alive with the sounds of merriment the other night as friends gathered to help us officially warm it up. I made guacamole and ginger punch and friends surprised us with gifts and drinks, and, in the case of our Melburnian friends Emma and Sam, with their unexpected presence from across the border - wholly unanticipated and wonderful! A mojito station was quickly established and all I had to do was drink in the deliciousness and crank the oven for hot food, which was consumed at lightning speed, in amongst sparkler displays, nerf gun wars and even a pregnancy announcement from a friend. What a night!

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easterings

A smattering of moments from a wonderfully long Easter break. Don't let the photographs fool you - a

lot more hot cross buns were consumed that it would appear, along with twenty or so cups of tea, fresh figs, banana cake, quesadillas, tuna mornay, potatoes, potatoes, potatoes and soup. I got up ridiculously early almost every day and read books in our garden with cups of coffee, whilst I waited for Kristian to awake.

Instead of having chocolate eggs we made brownies instead and watched the most delightfully quirky British show - Dirk Gently, based on the books by Douglas Adams, which I can highly recommend. It is reassuringly awesome in the manner of most English crime comedy/dramas. 

Hope you had a lovely break and here's to another short week!

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a few breakfasts lately

A few breakfasts enjoyed at our place recently. Normally, I'm a vegemite toast and tea person but on the weekends we have been splashing out a little in the breakfast department.

Sunday was the first time in about a month that we've had a day at home together - we celebrated with huge baguette french toast, bacon and maple syrup, with coffees from Norton street. Heaven.

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with a fiercely confident conviction

I can always tell when spring has sprung in earnest because I really start to get my salad on. I'll start lusting after juicy tomatoes, watermelon and lemon, greenery of all kinds (cue rocket, cos lettuce, spinach, peas) and crispy things like celery, sugarsnap peas, cabbage and carrot. Meals tend to become more affairs of assemblage rather than of baking and simplicity is the order of the day. This weekend I managed to cover a few of my spring favourites: frittata, coleslaw and more than a few bowls of rockmelon.

Coleslaw is one of those classics, along with potato salad, that tends to stir up fervent feelings when it comes to ingredients included and excluded, technique and most importantly whose mum's recipe is the best. I remember at several picnics and family gatherings over the years listening to my mum and other women debating herb choice and dressing style with a fiercely confident conviction that theirs alone was the correct method. Generally these debates ended with the age old assertion, 'Well, that's how my mother made it.' And that there is what I think keeps us coming back to these classic dishes - the familiar, comforting homeliness coupled with the desire to make it our own.

I say all this as a pre-cursor because below is by no means a definitive recipe it's just my current riff on a classic, done in the way my mother likes to do things - which is fly-by-the-seat-of-your-pants style, recipe-free and made with what is at hand (also, with gusto).

Coleslaw
Adapted from memory

1 large carrot, grated or chopped finely
1/2 savoy cabbage, shredded
1/4 red cabbage, shredded
1 small red onion, thinly sliced
1/2 capsicum, thinly sliced
1/2 cup whole egg mayonnaise
1/2 Tbs Dijon mustard
1/2 Tbs wholegrain mustard
zest and juice of one lemon
splash of white wine vinegar

Prepare all the vegetables and combine in a large bowl. If you have time (or the inclination) you can marinate them overnight in cold water and and a small amount of vinegar, to give them a slightly pickled, tangy edge. I'm a big fan though of adding the tang in dressing form. For the dressing, combine the mayonnaise, mustards, lemon zest, juice and vinegar, mix thoroughly and pour over the salad. Toss to combine.

Interesting side note: In the process of making this salad I thought I probably should check Stephanie Alexander's The Cook's Companion just to see if she had any definitive tips on making the classic coleslaw.  I had to smile when I read the entry for Coleslaw, master recipe...
Make a mixed coleslaw of red, green and crinkly-leafed cabbage and dress with a mustardy vinaigrette. 
And there you have it.

So, in an attempt to avoid over-explaining another classic, I shall just say that on the weekend I also made a spinach frittata with tomato, pesto and goat's cheese.

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putting on the spritz

We're having some confusing weather here in Sydney of late - it feels almost like we're going back into Autumn, in keeping with our northern neighbours. Still after the 34 degree day we had last Monday it's almost a bit of a relief. But it made for a strange week. Monday felt like Friday, Tuesday felt like Friday... there was a bit of a pattern going on.

So you can imagine my relief when Friday did arrive and I had the day off to boot! The night before we had gotten dressed up to attend the Bombay Sapphire Design Awards and enjoyed several quite delicious gin variations, along with some pretty nice sliders, salt and pepper chicken shots and a few other tasty morsels. Amazing as those gin cocktails were, I couldn't get another drink out of my head. Just the week before I had been introduced by Deborah, a lovely colleague at work, to the Aperol spritz - the promise of summer in a glass.

The Aperol Spritz is popular in the Veneto region of Italy and is made with Prosecco (Italian sparkling wine), Aperol (an orange liquer) and a splash of soda water.  As an aperitivo, it's a great way to start a meal because the Aperol has a reasonably low alcohol content and the drink tastes light and refreshing - spritz is the word. Here's how you go about making it:

Aperol Spritz

3 ounces Prosecco (or any sparkling wine)
2 ounces Aperol
a splash of soda water
garnish of orange or lemon

Pour the aperol into a glass of ice cubes.  Add a splash of sparkling water then top with the Prosecco. Garnish with lemon or orange slices. Sip whilst leaning back in your chair, pretending you're looking out over the rooftops of Venice, the sounds of evening church bells ringing gently in the background.
Wonderfully refreshing! With Melbourne Cup just around the corner, I may have already found a winner...

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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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birthday weekend

I turn 31 today - good heavens! But I'm in good spirits because Kristian and I just came back from a weekend in the Blue Mountains - a weekend of views, relaxation and lots of delicious food and drink. We stayed in a little cottage right near Echo Point and the Three Sisters and were minutes away from the breathtaking views. Looking out over the valley we felt like we were standing on the edge of the known world. It was a clear day yesterday and we could see for ever.

Although we only stayed for two nights I somehow managed to pack enough food for a least a week so, whilst there was lots of amazing snacking, great meals what not, there was also a fair bit of lying on the couch with a full belly groaning. No complaints though, it was so nice to escape from the city for a few days, to read and play cards, to wander in the bush and generally loll about.

Some highlights: the flowerpot scones at The Wayzgoose Cafe in Leura, a surprisingly good coffee at the top of Scenic World, hearing Japanese schoolgirls screaming as they went down the Scenic Railway (I screamed internally), homemade kebabs at the Katoomba waterfalls for lunch, the miner's cottage in the bush, hearing the incredible vocal mimcry of the Lyrebird and Norman Lindsay's house (and cafe - where I had to have yet another round of scones!)  All in all a damn fine birthday weekend!

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