NYC FUDS

Maybe the best bit about our trip was all the delicious meals we ate?

lately

1, sweeetest sleeper!
2. nobrainer dinner (home made basil pesto, tomato, roquette).
3. prickly pear
4. funny catface
5. a little strawberry flower (from my pathetic spring garden). .

wet weather timetable

I had big plans for today but all this rain and thunder seems determined to keep me indoors. Instead I think we'll stay in bed: drink some tea, read a bit, watch a film, pretend like I enjoy winter (now that the end is nigh). I even have some left over cauliflower chickpeas & chorizo soup in the fridge. Yup! Its my new favorite. So thats settled then. And what about you, what will you do today?

PS - Recipe here.

the end of summer

1/ My housemate & the dogs all perched on my bed. A saturday morning (wine & beer bottles remain from a wee party I'd accidentally hosted in my room the night before - I dont usually drink in bed, I swear!).

2/ Bruschetta. Yum. I ate a whole lot of it this summer, always with tomatoes from my garden.

3/ The Peach. Doing what she does best (ie. living a life of luxury & looking cute).

4/ Nu. Sporting The Cone of Shame (skin allergies) whilst practicing her whistful gaze.

5/ Maggie. Crylaughing after posing for this set of photos.

6/ Fruit & Vege. Picked while walking the back laneways of Brunswick & used to make jam / feed folks for my birthday dinner.

7/ Frank. Feeling snoozey.

garden grows

This summer has seen my first serious attempt at veggie growing, and Ive been slowly enjoying my first homegrown eats these last few weeks. Im in love!

Unfortunately our house was sold so I'll be moving somewhere within the month. Im not sure what will be worse: saying goodbye to all those in-ground pumpkins, zucchini and corn, or moving all my potted plants (which includes 30-odd fruiting tomato plants) somewhere new! Aghhhh. Cross your fingers for me, please, the Melbourne rental market is seriously THE WORST!

xmas lunch

Christmas lunch is never anything too extravagant around here. Cold Meats, Prawns and Salad, then Nanna's Trifle and a Pavlova topped with the biggest most delicious Rasberries picked from my Grandpa's garden. All eaten on plastic plates (shhhhh!) in my Nannas garden. Those two kids are the youngest of my nieces and nephews (Ive got 3 of each!) and are pretty damned cute, right? RIGHT! Well, in any case, wishing you all the happiest of holidays (and so on and so forth) !

black sticky rice porridge

I was first served Black Rice Porridge as a breakfast food in Bali some 13 years back. It was 4am and we were off to climb some volcano and watch the sunrise, so forced my 14 year old self to down this black sloppy 'energy food' helper. I never did make it to the top of that mountain but I spent the next six years of my life secretly obsessing over that breakfast until I found it for sale again from a Beijing street seller. Since then, there have been several failed attempts at recreating this dish using various microwavable 'intant' packets, but had never (until now) thought to just google how to make that guy!

Oh god, its the easiest thing to make ever and is just so damned tasty. I want to describe it as chocolatey but think maybe its just delicious like chocolate but with a different flavour all together. I dont know. What I am really trying to say here is - Make it! Its summery goodness and winter comfort food all in one so youve got no excuse. Even add fresh mango or banana! Yum!

A "recipe". Inverted Comma.

1C Black Glutenous Rice (aka Black Sticky Rice)

5C Water

4 Tbsp Palm Sugar (but palm sugar can be a bit scary though, non? raw sugar is ok too, apparently)

1 Tin Coconut Cream

Mango or Banana (Optional)

Serves 4-6.

Wash then soak rice overnight. Add to a pot with 5 cups of water. Bring the the boil and simmer for roughly 1 hour, stirring occasionally. It should be a porridge like consistancy with the rice soft right through. Stir in shaved palm sugar to taste (roughly 4 tablespoon, it does need to be quite sweet!) then serve with coconut cream and fruit.

Refridgerated, it will keep well for a few days, too. Just reheated as you go. Yep.

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Oh, and how amazing are those pincushion protea flowers? My housemate and I picked them from someones garden while drunkardly walking home last week, as we are known to do. They are my new love.

backyard

Oh Spring, she's arrived (!) and so Ive been spending all my time outside. This year I'm making some ambitious attempts at a veggie garden, and the dogs have been really helping out. See - Poppy has been keeping the potato's warm & Frank even kindly carted off some large skeletal remains I found buried in an old planter. Thanks so much guys!

Oh and Beetroot. I love you best when I eat you with feta on toast but also kind of secretly like how you stain my fingers a crazy shade of red. So yeah, Beetroot, thank you too!

a minor place

Walking from my gaff to the little cafe just down the road (for coffee and french toast w/ rhubarb & pistachio mascarpone om nom nom nom!) and then back again. All "ugly" 1970's brick houses besides victorian terraces besides big old wooden things. Thats why I like it here. Oh, and for all the fruit trees in yards waiting around for me to come and (sneakily) harvest!

Melbournians, did you know you can find (and help others find) nearby fruit trees by using this map? Or this one?

Everyone else- I bet a similar thing exists for your city too (and if not you should start one)!