Book: A Spot of Bother, Mark Haddon

a lovely book
full of 'oh that's just like something I'd think
(but more articulate) 
being able to see my friends & family in the characters 

some of the lines just made me laugh out-loud
not sure they'll work out of context
but since I allowed myself the book sin of folding down the pages, I'll share them here...

(itty bitty teen-tiny folds, in the bottom of the page so I wouldn't notice them tooo much)
((what me?  uptight?))


"He spent the day shopping and making risotto in the time-honored male way, removing all the utensils from the draws, laying them out like surgical instruments, then decanting all the ingredients into small bowls to maximize the washing up."

"Aidan balled Katie out because admitting he'd cocked up wasn't one of the skills he'd learnt on his MBA."

"You remember Emily?"
"Yeh?"
"Thew up in the vestry."
"Shit!"
"They had to send her up the aisle with this massive bouquet to hid the stain.  Barry's dad assumed the smell was Roddy.  You know, after their stag night."

"It exasperated her sometimes.  The way men could be so sure of themselves.  They put words together like sheds or shelves and you could stand on them they were so solid.  And those feelings which overwhelmed you in the small hours turned to smoke."

"We're just the little people on the top of the cake.  Weddings are about families.  You and me, we've got the rest of our lives together."

Madmax - Roads

sun glare barrier
and while we are on the topic of madmax,
they have really good roads here well, really good things to look at the sound  & sun barriers are great here's a sample, with more to come.


apologies for the photography
these are usually snapped post mad handbag scrabble to catch an upcoming wall.



(note to self, wind the window down)
 


 

Madmax

Melbourne loves its cars & (its roads.)
I think its madmax in the blood or something.
i have never seen so many ram bars, snorkels, custom builds and classic cars...
so I'm going to start sharing them.


I even made friends with a builder taking one of these photos.
Hello Nick!  If you were serious, I'd love to take your truck off your hands
get in touch!  :)


Spring! A Spring Chick

I'm happy, spring really is here!
Look at this fuzz ball in the middle there
makes me want to go all Hans Christian Anderson
"I'm not such an ugly duckling,
my feathers all something and brown."

Chick's parents are a nasty piece of work though
living up to the swan stereo type
I don't blame them though
the "I'm an Albert Park Swan" PVC necklace tube can't be comfortable.

Eggs & Avocado

Weekends were made for eggs
my food snobbery means
its only free-range organic eggs

eggs and avocado is a weekly essential
Saturday's eggs were extra special
on home made challah (holla!)
and served with bacon
(you know a little Jewish, a little not)

lightly toasted bread
blend 1/2 a lemon,
about a tsp of olive oil
mush - and then spread on the toast
you can lux it up with a little cream cheese underneath.

meanwhile poach 4 eggs
(get your groove with poachers
and its easy
but its not like riding a bike
I find you've got to stay practiced)
so, boil water
add a glug of white vinegar or cider vinegar
(brown vinegars look yucky)
and a pinch of slat

once the water is its good & bubbly - turn the heat off.
use a cup or small bowl - and ease one egg at a time into the water
(easing them against the side of the pan)
let a little water into the cup / bowl
and that will help the egg learn its shape to be
reminding it to say together, and away from the other eggs.

leave for 3 minutes, remove one at a time
(in the order they went in)

not to brag, but I now do 4 eggs in 1 pan
it used to be an egg per pot - (i don't wash up...)

fresh eggs make a difference & so does using room temp eggs.

anyway, serve eggs on avocado mush, on toast
with sprinkled bacon chopped into little bits.
so good.

Wild Rice and Green

This is one of my fall back dishes
evolved from a roomie who made what I've come to think of as the English version
his dominant flavors were cucumber, mint, parsley and tinned tuna

I've adopted it, and use what I keep in the fridge
boiled the wild rice, as per the packet
and then chop up small (ie .5cm cubes)
celery (2 sicks)
cilantro
spring onions (2 or 3)
a handful of rocket leaves
a handful of mung beans or similar
steamed asparagus
or steamed and grilled brussels sprouts

toast some nuts and throw them in
again 2 or 3 types better than one
today I used pistachios, cashews and pine nuts

*toast different sized nuts separate to accommodate for different cooking times
(burnt nuts suck)

dressing:
one lime or lemon (you get more bitterness per drop with lime)
mustard 1 tsp per type you have in the fridge up to 3 tsps max
a glug of good olive oil
a glug of walnut or peanut oil (sesame tastes too distinctly "Asian")

oh - and I don't make it with tinned tuna,
but often serve it with a grilled tuna steak
(best is marinated for 30minutes in Braggs (or soy) lemon/lime, and a 1/3 of a beer.)

enjoy!

The Beach

Living in Melbourne, with the beach always just there 
my house could be filled with interesting shells 
and my camera full of water pictures.  
Here's 4 from the weekend looking south to north as the storm rolled in on the weekend.  
I love the colours, and the tranquility of these shots.

  

Glory hole @ Pinocchio

So last week I was in South Yarra, 
where I lived when I first moved here
and I picked up a take out pizza from Pinocchio

It used to be our local fallback  
I can't say much for the ambiance,
its apparently an institution
been around since 1970
not sure they have decorated since
but their pizza is old school yum.

more importantly
they carry a Sangiovese Cabernet  
by Dal Zotto that is just glorious.


AND as you can see by my photo
in the bathroom they have a hole in the wall
labeled GLORY HOLE.

how long has that hole been there?! 
at least 6 months... 

it made me smile to see it was still there.
like awww... a Melbourne memory.

and yes, I am all class
sometimes I even eat out at places other than pizza joints.
you'll see.

Oooie Gooie Goodness

 
I borrowed this recipe from my friend Erin.
She introduced me to it in January
I was in San Fran.
It was winter.
I was cold, tired & this was glorious.

when I asked for the recipe the other day
her reply was totally my style of recipe


  

"o, it's a yeast bread, often half wheat/half white. 
You then roll it out about an inch thick.
Then mix up a mixture of sugar and butter and cinnamon, 
probably more than you're really comfortable with. 
Spread it over the rolled-out bread. 
(the way to figure out 'enough' is to see how much it takes to cover it) 
you can add apples or raisins or walnuts at this stage. 

Then roll it up and put it in a loaf pan in the oven. Or something like that.
You can also slice the roll and put it in a flatter pan (as cinnamon rolls), 
with a bit more cinnamon and sugar on top.
 
I bet you have bread recipes you like. The ones I use are sourdough ones."

I cooked up the apples I had around the house
(fiji, granny and another one I can't remember right now)
((I think the mix of apples gave it nice depth and breadth of flavor))
in lots of lemon, some brown sugar and golden syrup
(lets be honest, mostly so I could lick the spoon afterwards)
I added the apple to my basic bread recipe (which I'll share at some point)
rolled it up and cut them into swirls, 
allowing the dough to rise before baking for about 15 minutes on 190c

Umm, wow.  Oooie Gooie Goodness!
Sweet, sticky but without the soullessness pastry.
this was satisfying and so comforting.

served with coffee.
(milk for me, straight up for the boy)

Flowers from a Candidate

So when I'm not cooking, blogging or pretending to be the new wave of travel writer 
I have a day job which I absolutely love doing.  

I'm headhunter, so most everything to do with that is confidential
(and there for won't be making an appearance here..)
((can you imagine? the blogging headhunter?!))

However, I can share these beautiful flowers 
that someone sent me on their first day at work
to say how excited they are.  awesomeness.

I'm a very lucky lady.