Occasionally, life gets in the way of blogging.
Which is a good thing, because it means I’m out and about rather than sitting on the computer all day. Here’s a catch up on the week’s adventures!
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I often play around with chocolate on the weekends – my latest batch included these Drambuie-soaked Persian figs, dipped in dark Belgian chocolate. They’re quite potent…
On Saturday, I baked three giant focaccias to share with friends and neighbours (there was one more in addition to those shown in the photo below). We ran out of racks to cool them on! One slab went to stock Christina’s freezer, another half went to Dredgey, and the rest was divided up and shared around.
It sounds like generosity on my part, but it really isn’t – as all my breadbaking friends know, there is something so joyous and so rewarding about producing bread in large quantities, that we’re always delighted when anyone gives us the slightest excuse to bake…
We cut up a large piece for our Saturday night dinner with Will and Bethany. Their little poppet stood up on her tiptoes and peered longingly at the bread – we laughed ourselves silly and then dubbed our cocktails the Baby Grace in her honour…
With the two egg whites I had leftover from making Greek pasticcio for dinner, I baked a huge tray of meringues…
Waste not, want not – just two egg whites and half a cup of caster sugar produced a mountain of crunchy sweet treats…
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On Sunday, a giant tromboncino and our final eggplant of the season went into the wok with a Spanish onion, jalapeño chillis and a tin of tomato pulp..
…and came out as two large boxes of garden ratatouille. We eat it cold as a sandwich filler…
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A day trip out to Castle Hill to visit our friends at the Youeni Foodstore is always a treat. This time we were meeting up with Rick, who had not only made the epic trek on public transport from the other side of Sydney, but had also grown a beard for the occasion (as one does).
The food was fabulous and interesting, as always. I had a vegetarian pearl barley risotto…
…and Pete had chorizos and white beans on Damien’s delicious new sourdough bread…
Lovely Chris who owns the store brought us his latest Brussels sprouts creation to taste. I liked it so much that I asked to take the leftovers home. Neither Rick nor Pete are fans of the dreaded green vegetable, but both tried it, with Rick declaring it to be “the best Brussels sprout he didn’t like”…
And…ta-dah…the beard-off! Chris (on the left) is a seasoned beardsman, but Rick grew his just for the occasion. He shaved it off that night!
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On the way home, Pete and I stopped at the Sydney Fish Markets. The produce at De Costi Seafoods is always amazingly fresh…
I came home with a kilo of green Hawkesbury River school prawns, which had been “jumping” that morning. Green prawns are usually frozen and then defrosted for sale, which makes me reluctant to stock my freezer with them. That certainly wasn’t the case with these, and I added half my “catch” to Hokkien noodles for dinner that night (and yes, Chicago John, that is tromboncino you can see at the bottom of the plate!)…
What have you been up to this week?
Fig Jam and Lime Cordial 
Such a boring life…LOL…those figs are calling me…
Norma, they’re very addictive! :)
We love brussel sprouts and last night on Masterchef Australia (we are viewing the 2011 series here in SA) and they deep fried some! I have to try it!
Sue, I adore them, but no-one here will eat them with me! It’s hard to eat entire bowlfuls on my own.. :)
I need to try to do something with brussel sprouts so that my husband will like them. I’m hoping for an eggplant lasagna this weekend.
Please let me know if you figure it out – I still haven’t been able to convince my tribe! My favourite way of eating them is stir-fried in oyster sauce. Eggplant lasagna sounds wonderful! :)
My God Celia, do you ever sleep???
I’ll sleep when I’m dead, Glenda. (As my friend Patrick used to tell me) :)
LOL Glenda… and Celia, great photos. Now you must tell me, did you soak the figs before you dipped them in chocolate? I adore Willabrand figs, have you tasted those? Were yours similar in texture and taste?
Lizzy, I macerate my Persian figs in Drambuie, then put the jars somewhere and forget about them, and then find them again months later and think “ooh, I’d better do something with these!”. I haven’t tried the Willabrand figs – the Persian figs are hard little nuggets which soften up with soaking…
Celia, everything looks heavenly although your Drambuie-soaked Persian figs, dipped in dark Belgian chocolate are definitely the winners!
:-) Mandy xo
Mandy, figs and chocolate are like a match made in heaven! I’d love to have a supply of fresh figs from my own tree like you do (although the neighbour keeps us well stocked when they’re in season!).
Figs dipped in dark chocolate? Oh, yes please. Those would disappear quickly, but everything looks so good! Sounds like you had a delicious week. :)
Judy, we really did, thank you! :)
You had me hooked at the figs! Life should always come first :)
Tandy, thank you for understanding – we can get so caught up in our blogs sometimes that we forget that! :)
This food looks amazing and the figs look devine!
Thank you! The figs were the perfect after dinner chocolate! :)
Ooooh I am sure they were! :) :)
Oh my – those figs look so tempting! Nice set of pictures thanks Celia. Now I’m hungry.
Thanks love – I’m sure you’re not really hungry, as you eat your way through Canada! :)
Our bread last less than 24 hours. Our big boy ate slabs of it with Vegemite and younger brother – who says “no” to everything – was hoovering it as well. Next morning, it was literally toast. Thank you Celia.
I’ll have to make you some more.. :)
I am sure you don’t sleep but it all looks most delicious and happy inducing food here, what a fun set of photos :)
Thanks Jo – it was a fun week! The trip to Castle Hill was a real highlight! :)
Everything looks delicious Celia…especially those figs…and the meringues are so cute and perfect.
Have a lovely weekend ahead :)
Juliana, it’s been a fun weekend, thank you – hope you’re having a good one too!
So many good things Celia. I am thinking about trying your sd focaccia on the weekend and you have just reminded me, thank you.Your meringues look so professional and perfect, I can almost taste the crunchy goodness.
I haven’t managed to comment on your trombie soup post but it looked great. We have just had decent rain and my trombie has doubled in size…again. I wonder if horses eat them!?
Happy Friday my friend x
Jane, you made me laugh out loud! I wonder if the horses will eat them for you? I think the sudden cold weather may have done our plants in at last. I’m almost hoping it has. :) The trick to meringues, I figured out a while ago, is to use a star nozzle when piping them. If you just use a round nozzle, they look like poop. :)
Want to swap lives for a weekend? I’m still down here in Virginia, cleaning, and gardening and getting the house ready for the season. I’m tired and want to wander about in fish markets, eat dark chocolate brandy infused figs and have lunch with friends.
No- your life is perfect for you- mine is a good fit, too- but sometimes- well, I’d rather be someone else- that is what good reading books are all about. Right?
BTW- your bread is lovely as usual!
Heidi, there are so many times when I read your blog and think how wonderful your life must be – we can be each other’s books! Although I think one thing that would make life better is if we could hang out together in person! :)
Rick is a better bearded than I. I barely lasted two weeks into my beard attempt.
Well yes, but he doesn’t look like a young Timothy Dalton.. ;-)
I have the same concerns as you re stocking up the prawns in the freezer, I usually buy in bulk of 5kgs box straight out from the shop’s freezer, I also bury the prawn shells deep in the garden bed and it seems to rot very quickly.
Yvonne, that’s a GREAT tip, thank you! It’s always a palaver to get rid of the prawn shells…
Very true about getting out to enjoy life instead of sitting behind a computer! Looks like you’ve had a tasty week!
Gotta love Sydney’s public transport system ;-)
Sandy, it’s a riot, isn’t it? I think it took Rick two hours to get to Castle Hill in the end! :)
You had me at the figs and then I clicked through your meringue link and I realised I could freeze meringues – happy days.
Nancy, we use the frozen meringues to make other desserts – trifles, Eton Mess, and ice cream topping!
Oh Celia, those figs…sigh. I just want to grab one! I’ve never had one dipped in chocolate, but I can definitely image it. Yum. And I have to agree with you about bread baking & giving- it’s so rewarding isn’t it? You got me hooked!!
Emilie, isn’t the baking so addictive? And we’re so grateful when someone asks for a loaf, because then we have an excuse to bake more! :)
Finished ‘your week’ and am still smiling! Well may you say ‘that was a good one!’! Hate to be a repetetive bore, but against all usual thoughts you have me with the figs also :) !
Eha, LOVED seeing your backyard on Celi’s blog! What a gorgeous vista you have!
Well, let’s be honest – most of that is private parkland twixt two ‘streets’ here in the community, but I back onto it without fences, so MY backyard, twixt the trees, segues into the ‘common ground’. Next day Celi printed my ‘luncheon spot’ which backs onto the park – now that is gorgeous!!
I got as far as the second photos before Oscar Wilde popped into my head… “Moderation is a fatal thing. Nothing succeeds like excess.”…
I’d have joined you eating the brussel sprouts with you – properly done, I love them :)
Moderation is over-rated, ED. :) I do love a good Brussels sprout! :)
How nice to fill your week with such lovely times Celia. Good friends, good food equal good times indeed. Xox
Becca, thank you, we did have a nice time! xx
Those trombonchinos are getting around. Looks like a wonderful but busy week. I do like the look of those drambuie figs. And that is a huge amount of bread! I love how you provided such pretty abundance from just two egg whites xx
Charlie, I always think meringues are so under-rated in terms of bang for their buck. They barely use any ingredients, and I just seemed to be piping forever when I was making them!
Those figs look amazing! So does everything else of course.
Wish I could have shared them with you, Deb! x
Celia! You’ve had such a busy week. Love the photos – figs, fish, beards & sprouts. Vxxxxx
Hi Vicky! Love the beards – Pete won’t grow one for me! :)
I started drooling at the figs all the way down to the hokkien noodles (always a favourite :)).
L, they’re the Hokkien noodles I bought at Costco! They’ve been very nice too!
I love these posts Celia! Never thought to put ratatouille on bread what a great idea. A little cheese would go nicely.
I know what you mean about bread baking. It’s quite and addiction isn’t it? I think it releases happy hormones like exercise!
Claire, thank you! Sometimes life gets so hectic that it’s hard to do anything more than share a diary of our lives with you all. I think you may be right about the endorphins! :)
A busy but fulfilling week it seems. Have a lovely weekend.
Karen, thank you! I hope you’re having a fabulous weekend too!
Those meringues look delicious! I’m laughing about the Brussels sprouts. My hub hates them and yet my father-in-law makes them every year for Thanksgiving. A couple of years ago he got in trouble for feeding a couple to the dog. :-) What a tasty week! Maz
Maz, the Brussels sprout are contentious here – Pete didn’t feed them to the dog, he took them straight out to the chooks! :)
Ha ha ha!
A lovely catch up of your week! And the fish really does look so fresh – I’m looking at it thinking a squeeze of lime, a lemon grass chopped and touch of green chilli…… delic ! Hope you have a super weekend :)
Claire, the fish we get in Sydney can be SO good – often we’re literally buying it as it comes off the boats. I came home with a whole salmon for a family dinner next week – it’s in the freezer now! :) Hope you’re having a fun weekend! x
I’ve been meaning to make your focaccia for ever! Maybe today will be the day! What a delicious week you’ve had!
I hope you like it, Clare! The guys at Youeni made it last week, and Jane at Shady Baker is trying it today! :)
Crickey Celia, from the first photo I felt like a bunny in the headlights and realised by the end of the post that I’m actually salivating – almost to the point of dribbling! Don’t tell anyone!
Jan, I wish you lived closer darling. We’d have so much fun! :)
Pete has fig envy!! I got given some on Thursday – lovely fresh ones and now he’s thinking Drambuie and chocolate. By the way we are doing the pork belly for the second time, it’s lovely and scrummy.
Bon apetito
Anne, I’m so happy to hear you liked the pork belly! Tell Pete the figs in Drambuie are a winner – both for the figs and the resultant fig-flavoured Drambuie!
Nothing half as much fun as your week. Lovely things you play around with, chocolate bread and beards! No produce to pick here, the sheep broke in and ate most of my garden.
Oh no, I’m so sorry to hear that! Darn sheep! Did they leave you anything?
I’m often reluctant to refreeze prawns too, it’s great you were able to get some super fresh ones! I havn’t been to the fish markets in years, the parking situation always deters me but I really must go, looks great :)
Lisa, if you get to the fishmarkets, De Costi sell frozen peeled Aus green prawns – I put some of those in my freezer as well. If you spend more than a certain amount, most of the shops will stamp your ticket to give you free parking for the first hour. And I never go on a weekend – always mid-week – or the parking is a complete nightmare! :)
A week stuffed full of good foodie goings on, sounds lovely. And most lovely of all are the sound (and looks) of your boozy chocolate figs.