Come into my kitchen.......................................
See more pictures of my kitchen over at Use Real Butter. Over the next few weeks Jen is doing a feature on food bloggers kitchens. I'm up first along with Figs, Lavender and Cheese. I'm looking forward to seeing the kitchens of some of my favourite bloggers.
A few months back I received an email from a PR company asking if I'd be interested in receiving products for review on my blog. I agreed on the understanding I would be free to express my own opinions.
Today a package arrived from Adelaide. I got excited thinking it was my copy of Harold McGee I've ordered from my friend Jude. It wasn't. It was two products from Beerenberg.
Reading the information that came with them I was intrigued with their nifty little gadget which allows you to go to their website and track the history of your purchase. By entering the barcode you can find out where and when it was made and by whom, the ingredients and how it was made.
My jar of Strawberry Jam is from batch 9 made on the on 12th January 2009 by Jeff and Allen.
The Tomato Sauce from batch 9 made on 27th November 2008 by Peter and Jordan.
Over the weekend I tried the products out on the family. Both passed our family taste test. And my family is fussy and know good from ordinary. The tomato sauce has a much more vinegar taste than regular tomato sauce to the point of being more like a chutney. And the jam was a success on some scones from the freezer.
Jump in, It's time you learnt to swim.
We swim up the pool
We swim down the pool.
Now we get out and shake a tail feather to dry.
Except these little ducks couldn't get out and needed help in getting back on dry land.
...and even then one got left behind and it took Chris an hour to find the mother and family to return the baby duckling to it's home in the park pond.
Thank you everyone for your lovely messages and comments throughout the year. It has been particularly comforting the past few months to have had your support. I very much appreciate your kindness, virtual hugs and love.
I have some exciting news for the New Year regarding LiveSTRONG With A Taste Of Yellow. Check back here in January for the announcement.
I'm celebrating Christmas at home with both our boys here to make the day extra special. We'll be tucking into a roast turkey cooked by Michael assisted by sous chef Chris.
Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays.
When I started blogging in 2005 I never imagined my world would open up to so many wonderful friendships. Blogging for me was just a way of writing down my thoughts and recording my life. I wasn't interested in a career as a food writer or a book deal or even making money from ads.
I have always blogged just for me. Sometimes I can go for weeks without checking my stats. When I do, it is always a thrill to see I have readers from far off places.
Yesterday when Bron and Ilva's Virtual Hugs event popped up on my Google alerts I was overcome to the point of being speechless. A big fat tear rolled down my cheek as I showed it to Bryan.
The past month has been particularly difficult as my first chemo session was too strong. I felt like one of those dolls that you punch down and they pop back up and you punch them down again and they pop back up again. I suffered every possible side effect of the chemo and then some. There is no way I would get through 24 weeks of this.
Happily for my second session the dose was adjusted and they seem to have got it right. Last night I cooked dinner for the first time in 5 weeks. On Monday I go in for my third session of the 12 sessions I am scheduled for. My dear oncologist has decided to let me delay the 22nd December treatment until after Christmas.
Sessions happen fortnightly so I have a long way to go. Which will give me plenty of time to plan my end of chemo celebration for May 2009. I'm thinking a bottle of Cristal and a few days with Bryan in a vineyard cottage in the Granite Belt, a 3 hour drive from here.
Thank you to all my fabulous food and wine blogging friends for you kindness, your beautiful words, the tantalising recipes I wish Bryan could recreate for me, and the biggest virtual hug I've ever received. And a special thank you to Bron and Ilva for this kind and thoughtful gesture.
Do visit Bron's or Ilva's blog for a list of the particpants because they have created some fabulous recipes to go with my virtual hugs.
.....and I'm also honoured to be the recipient of the ANGEL AWARD
I'd like to thank Giz at Equal Opportunity Kitchen and Jeanne at Cook Sister for the Angel award they deemed me worthy to receive because of my support of Livestrong Day with the LiveStrong With A Taste Of Yellow event. Both Giz and Jeanne have been recipients of the Angel award for their own personal efforts to make the world a better place for us all.
The award comes with the following rules.
1. The rules of this award are not to be taken lightly--which means you
can't give it to someone just because they did something really sweet
for you.
2. This award is to be given to bloggers that have shown
they are angels by doing something humanitarian and heavenly to help
others.
3. You don't have to receive the award in order to give it.
Feel free to copy it and bestow it on someone who is worthy of it. If
you think they're an angel, they probably are.
4. The award must be linked to a post about an organization or good cause you would like more people to be aware of.
5. The rules for this award are to be shown when giving the award.
UPDATE: You would not beleive how my day turned out. It seems the port in my chest that has a line that takes the chemo into the heart has moved and isn't working. Tomorrow I report to the hospital at 6.30AM to have the portacath removed and the following Wednesday I have a new one put in and treatment resumes. It totally screws up my Christmas schedule but there you go. I have a week without any chemo in my body so that's got to be a bonus.
Thank you again for your fabulous virtual hugs, pretty flowers and delicious meals.
UPDATE,UPDATE Wednesday 10th December 08
Well it appears a blood clot had developed near my port. So the last couple of days have been a series of tests and scans to see where we go from here. For the moment I'm off chemo until it is sorted. It is wonderful to have almost minimal nausea and be able to cook dinner each night.
Tuesday - Following reporting to the hospital at 6.30AM for the removal of the port under a general anesthetic I spent the remainder of the day in and out of labs and doctors rooms. Finally I left my oncologists office at 6.30 pm. We got in the lift and pressed carpark and the lift locked. We looked at each other and after the day we'd just had what can you do but laugh. So laugh we did, perhaps a little hysterically at first, then just a jolly good laugh before we pressed the emergency button and staff came running to rescue us. You see after normal working hours the lifts lock for security reasons and the receptionist is required to escort you down.
So for the moment I'm on a blood thinner drug and two blood tests are week and we shall see.
Food bloggers are the best. Thank you for all the lovely messages, comments and kind words both here and at Twitter. And thank you to my friends who aren't food bloggers and have also been there for me this past fortnight. When you are feeling rotten it is nice to wake up to lovely messages from around the world.
I particpated in the latest round of Blog By Mail organised by Stephanie ant Dispensing Happiness. My parcel of authentic Aussie goodies went to Deb in Hawaii at Kahakai Kitchen.
I was the lucky recipient of a parcel of goodies from Leigh at Kumquat Connection. Such a delightful name for a blog don't you think?
Leigh's collected goodies from Chicago included Rooibos Tea, Burts Bee Hand Salve, Smashed fruit strips, Roasted pumpkin seeds. a gourd shaped candle, artisan jam from a company in Maine, a huge maple leaf cooker cutter - and when I first saw them - I thought how did that get through customs - a set of erasers in the shape of peanuts. Leigh also made a lovely hand crafted card featuring my favourite pink flowers.Thank you Leigh it was lovely to receive a little bit of your autumn colour in our spring.
My friend S dropped in over the weekend bearing gifts of figs, mango and this beautiful bunch of white asparagus. Wooooonderful.
Thanks to the charming David Lebovitz in Paris for allowing me to use his photo of rotting fruit.
How often do you throw out rotting fruit like this?
Australians throw away food because we forget about it,” says Jon Dee,
environmentalist and founder of Planet Ark, who has joined forces with
Notebook: magazine to put an end to food waste in Australia. “We leave
it lingering in the depths of our fridges and cupboards, unused and
unloved. When we do use it, we use too much and even then we don’t use
the leftovers.”
“It’s an approach to food that anathema to older generations. Their
cooking of leftovers was the earliest form of recycling. They used up
every scrap of food, because they valued it. Today that attitude has
changed but it’s vital that we change it back.” “When food waste rots
in landfill it produces methane, a greenhouse gas 23 times more potent
than the CO2 pouring out of your car’s exhaust,” explains Jon. “If we
don’t mend our wasteful ways, we’ll be eating ourselves out of an
environment that can sustainably support future generations of
Australians.”
We all do it. How often do you forget what's in our pantry or fridge and then throw it out because it's gone rotten.
It came at an opportune time when the people at Notebook asked if I'd support their campaign on Food Waste in Australia. Even if they hadn't sent me a free copy of their magazine (thank you) I'd support it.
Food waste is something I've been conscious of since we moved to Australia. I can't tell you how much food I've wasted in the past 6 months since we have been here. There is much we take for granted when we live in the same house for years. Where to shop for the best produce, how long the fruit will last on the bench, where in the pantry is the best place to store your onions and potatoes. Even how long the wine will remain drinkable in the cupboard you call the cellar.
Suddenly I live in a climate averaging 10 degrees warmer and I've learnt the hard way the bowl of red peppers can't sit on the bench looking pretty any more.
Added to that is the fact we don't know that many people here yet and keeping the fridge stocked with nibbly things in case friends drop in for a drink has seen me throw out packets of smoked salmon and jars of sour cream.
In Auckland we lived within walking of the best produce shop in Auckland. It not only sold fabulous produce, it sold all the best Asian, Italian,Spanish and French delicacies. Although we love living in this part of the Gold Coast, and it has great bars and restaurants, it lacks shopping facilities. Which means driving to the shops and rather than shop every day, I now shop twice a week. I'm not so good at planning meals in advance. I hate to shop today for what I'm going to eat in two days time.
From the September issue of Notebook magazine - Australians are wasting $6 billion of food each year - enough to feed the entire nation for three weeks. - Current research suggests the majority of food thrown away is fresh fruit and vegetables. - Meat, fish, bread, dairy produce, rice and pasta are all in the ‘top’ most wasted foods. - The two main reasons for food wastage is that people ‘cook or prepare too much’ or ‘don’t use food before its use-by date’. - A 2005 study by The Australia Institute estimated that food waste was costing Australians $5.3 billion per year. - The Australian 2006 National Greenhouse Gas Inventory report stated methane emissions from solid waste disposal on land were equivalent to 13.2 million tonnes of carbon dioxide. - According to CSIRO data, dumping a kilogram of beef wastes the 50,000 litres of water it took to produce that meat; throwing out a kilogram of white rice will waste 2,385 litres and wasting a kilogram of potatoes costs 500 litres.
That is just in Australia, a country of 21 million people. Can you imagine the amount of food wasted in the entire world.
Do you have any tips for stopping food waste? Feel free to share them in the comments. I could use the help.
Australian readers can share their tips on stopping food waste at Notebook and win.
Picture from North American Carousel Website.
Why do some retailers think it is okay to display their products without prices? Because if they put prices on no one would buy them. Imagine walking into a bookstore or clothing store and having to ask the price. Or a restaurant menu without prices. It doesn't happen.
A couple of minutes walk from my apartment is a fruit shop with fabulous looking produce. In past years when we came here on holiday I shopped there somedays. I'd walk out thinking it was expensive, but that's okay, the quality was excellent. I naturally wasn't up with the current Australian produce prices at the time.
However I live here now and I know the price at the supermarket, farmers market and convenience store. I realise just how expensive this particular shop, Fruitique On Tedder, really is. But today their expensive prices were overshadowed by their arrogance.
On several occasions I've gone in and chosen a piece of fruit or a couple of tomatoes, they've weighed it and told me the price, and I've said no thank you and left. But today is hot and I have a sore throat and god that watermelon looked good. I chose a nice piece, asked the price and was told $3.99 a kilo. Now I'd seen watermelon at the produce store in the mall on the weekend and it was $1.99 a kilo. Onto the scales with my chosen chunk and $7.80.
Me: Hmmm, I don't want to pay that much so could you cut it in half please.
Assistant: (to I assume the owner) Can we?
Owner: No, you'll have to choose another piece.
Me: But I don't want another piece, they don't look as nice as this piece.
Owner shrugged and continued doing what she was doing. I walked away without any watermelon.
Does your local fruit and vegie store display their prices?
The best meals are often the most simple. We used two different methods to cook the prawns. The ones with shells on were barbecued.
Method One
Barbeque green prawns.Top a slice of bread with a lettuce leaf dipped in seafood sauce.Top with shelled prawns.Add another slice of bread. Eat.
Follow up with a glass of pinot gris.
Method Two
Shell green prawns and remove digestive tract. Saute in butter and garlic with a dash of white wine thrown in at the end to create a sauce for dipping bread in. Drink more pinot gris.
We enjoyed lots of foodie experiences over the 10 days of celebrations. Here are a few of them.
Seriously good hotcakes for Sunday breakfast at the Surf Club.
Breakfast at home in the sunshine. Clafouti is so easy to make.
Beach picnic at Byron Bay.
Late night pizza at home.
Thai take aways at home when we too tired to go out.
Of course everyone was in town for the big birthday party.
The Main Event - The Party.
Set the scene with candles
Invite some friends and open the champagne.
Presents for the birthday boy.
Hire taxis to take everyone to the restaurant where the room is decorated with tea lights and a sea of yellow daffodils in blue bottles.
Provide place names so everyone sits where they are told. We used CD's of some favourite music.
After the main and before the dessert came the official speeches.
The funny one from Michael.
The more serious one from Chris.
Then the toast. Believe it or not I'm drinking water. I didn't drink any alcohol until dessert. Someone had to stay in control.
I had some help on choosing the wines to accompany the meal from my favourite winosapien.
He made some excellent choices for us. The big hit of the night was the Seppelts DP33 Muscat which was served with the desserts. Other favourites were De Bortolli Shiraz Viognier, Sandalford Verdelho, Mt Langi Ghiran Billi Billi 2005, Thorn Clark Shotfire Quartage.
The weather was fabulous. There were a lot of walks on the beach.
and drawing in the sand.
And indoor events. Boys and their toys
- playing games and checking emails.
Girls having fun without boys
- doing a jigsaw puzzle.
And finally after 10 days I think we've eaten enough, drunk enough and crammed a lot of living and laughter into the time with our family and friends.
Thank you to everone who sent birthday wishes here and at Twitter and Facebook. I apologise if I didn't send a personal thank you.
Bryan and I almost share our birthdays. His is the 15th and mine is the 16th. As from the 15th July 2008 his age will end in a zero. Once you get past 21 any birthday with a zero means a party. My age will not contain a zero for another couple of years. We may need that time to recover from the next two weeks.
We have friends and family flying in from France, New Zealand and Lindeman Island. All on different days, different airports and different times.
Bryan and I kick off the celebrations with a dinner on Monday 7th at Restaurant Two in Brisbane. We need to be at Brisbane airport by 7AM on Tuesday morning to meet the crew from France. I t seemed a good idea to stay in Brisbane, rather than get up really early and drive up from the coast. The 7th just happened to be the Vogue E & T 2008 Champagne dinner. Nice coincidence don't you think.
Everyday that week someone will arrive and by Friday everyone will be here and the partying proper begins.And by the 18th of the following week they will have all gone home.
The main event will be held at Bumbles restaurant on the Saturday night. They don't open in the evenings so we will have the restaurant to ourselves, with Kate cooking exclusively for us. The menu has been chosen and guests will have a choice for their entree and dessert. For the main we decided to have a selection of dishes on the table and everyone helps themselves...as you would at home.
Some days are planned and some days we will wing it and go with the mood. I won't be blogging for a couple of weeks although I'll be dropping into Twitter so I don't miss everyone.
I found local vanilla beans. Earlier this year when we spent a weeks holiday in Port Douglas I saw big bunches of locally grown vanilla beans in the fruit shop. The heaviest rains in 70 years prevented me from getting through the flooded streets to buy some on my last day. A bit of googling when I arrived home and I found the grower....and they sell online. So I placed my order and I now have two big bundles of vanilla beans in my pantry. After placing a bean in all my sugars, vanilla flavoured olive oil was first on my to do list. It is made and sitting in a cool spot waiting to be used. I have no idea what I will use it for. I like Garrett's vanilla olive oil ice cream. Anyone have any suggestions?
UPDATE 17th July 08
Since writing this post I've been told the vanilla beans from Vanilla Plantations of Australia are actually imported from Papau New Guinea. I'm attempting to confirm the origin with the owners of the site but it isn't proving easy. I apologise to anyone who bought the beans under the impression they were locally grown in Australia. Australian grown vanilla beans can be purchased from Daintree Vanilla and Spice.
Watercress Soup for lunch in my lovely yellow Italian mugs a gift from Chris at Mel Cotte.
These mugs are a favourite in my house. They hold just the right amount of soup to enjoy with our lunch time sandwiches. Then when the cool air closes in at night we cup our hands around them as we warm up with a hot chocolate.
This beautiful bracelet was made by Giz at Equal Opportunity Kitchen. She names all her bracelets and she named this one Barbara...... and sent it to me as a gift. Isn't it pretty? Thank you Gis. Whenever I wear it I think of you. Food bloggers are the nicest bunch of people in the world.
.....and some of my favourite blog reading this week.
David's adventures in the South of France.
Mysterious Gifts Of Memory from Jennifer.
More pretty pictures from Maryam.
Missoni fabric at Melanies.
Enjoy your weekend.
Thank you FX Cuisine for this idea, although mine doesn't contain rhubarb and I used a dry Marsala for an alcohol hit. It was brilliant.
Banana Nutella Muffins. Always a favourite from Delicious Days and * my * usual * cupcake * base.
This bird has nothing to do with cabbages I just like the shot.I'm addicted to this salad I found over at Stone Soup. Thanks Jules, I'm enjoying your beetroot salad also.
Maryam is taking bookings. If you are headed to Morocco you really must stay at Peacock Pavilions.
We will be spending quality time with friends visiting from Auckland. I hope everyone has as much fun over Easter as I plan on having.
Remember I said Maryam had been doing a little shopping in Morocco for me. It arrived this week. My beautiful vintage Moroccan Wedding Blanket.
It is covered in rows of sequins which sparkle in the light and jingle sweetly when I touch it. I think it will look beautiful by candlelight.
And hiding inside a little gift from Maryam - these beautiful soft sparkling slippers. Thank you Maryam.
UPDATE: Visit Yoli over at Musings to discover the background to these Moroccan Wedding Blankets.
The ultimate prop room.
His name is Kevin.
He is 70 years old.
He's been married for 27 years.
Two days ago his wife left him...she wanted a life of her own.
We thought he was playing in the waves.
He looked like he was having a good time.
We were just sitting watching the waves as the sun rose in the sky.
We hadn't walked on the beach for a week.
The tide was high so we walked in the dry sand.
It took us longer.
I wore an extra long sleeved top over my t shirt.
He'd taken Cerepax
I could smell alcohol on his breath.
He wanted to die.
I covered his shoulders with my top.
I held his hand and told him my name.
Bryan called an ambulance.
He said he loved the ocean.
He asked why did we help him.
Because we care.
I don't think he really wanted to die.
Sorry no food photos of our barbecue in the park. All gone before I remembered to take a photo. Drinking in the middle of the day will do that to you. Dish of the day goes to the cheesecake on a base of lamingtons. Senbloodysational.
Australia Day after lunch photo of our Gold Coast extended family. Five Aussies, one brand new Aussie, one Kiwi, one Kiwi/Aussie, one South African.
Then back home to watch a little cricket and in the evening back to the beach to watch the fireworks.
My blog anniversary slipped by and I didn't notice. Well I can be forgiven as I have been so preoccupied with our move to Australia. Back in January 2005 I wrote my first post .
Three years later and 425 posts, 3,770 comments, 4 surgeries, two lots of chemo and heaps of new friends.
Almost all blog about food and everything connected with food and more , a couple blog about wine , a few blog about family and life. All enrich my life with their words and stories .
I would be here all night if I linked to all my blogging friends. For those of you I haven't mentioned, you are all important in my life. I thank every one of you for the friendship, pleasure and support you have given me the past three years. Every day is precious as I continue my fight with cancer. Here's to another three years and more.
The wine above was a gift from the lovely French couple who now live in our house in Auckland and cook in my perfect kitchen. Thankyou Olivier, we enjoyed both :)
