We had a full and (mostly) fun-filled weekend! Here’s a diary of events as they unfolded, captured on my iPhone…
The weekend began on Friday with lunch at our favourite Marrickville Thai with the Spice Girl. It had been a long week, and I was looking forward to lunch with SG so desperately that I nearly wept with joy when we arrived at the restaurant. We always order the same thing – Pla Rad Prik (deep fried fish in an amazing sauce), green papaya salad (Som Tum), and sago pudding…
After lunch, SG suggested we meander up Illawarra Road to peek into the Vietnamese grocery stores on the way to our respective cars. We were amazed by the intriguing assortment of fruit and vegetables – I surreptitiously took lots of photos to show you…
There were rambutans…
…and pomelos…
…okra, or lady’s fingers, as I’ve always known them…
…my mother’s favourite, bitter gourd or bitter melon…
…big fat stalks of lemongrass…
…green papaya for Som Tum salad…
…I had no idea what this was – does anyone know?
…lotus root – I’ve only ever bought the tinned version…
…I really should know sort of yam this is, but for the life of me, I can’t remember…
…galangal, a root which we’re hoping to grow in our garden…
…and another mystery melon/squash…
. . . . .
On Friday night, we cooked pasta con cime di rapa – the broccoli rabé plants are back in season in our garden. Apart from oil and salt, the only ingredients are garlic, chilli, broccoli rabé and pasta…
The boys happily devour this vegetarian offering…
. . . . .
On Saturday, Pete and I walked up to the local shops. Along the way, we passed this discarded piece of exercise equipment on the nature strip. For the life of me, I can’t figure out how it’s used, and every possible scenario that comes to mind is somewhat..um..risque. Can anyone enlighten me?
. . . . .
On Sunday morning, we were beside ourselves with excitement – our gardening hero Linda Woodrow was joining us for brunch! We were also just a little bit nervous…would she like us? Would she approve of our garden, which had been built following her plan?
Of course, we were being silly, because Linda is the nicest person we’ve met in forever. We talked almost non-stop from the moment we picked her up at the station to when we dropped her off at the airport. I knew she liked very dark chocolate, so I made a batch of rocky road just for her, using a 75% cacao blend mixed with marshmallows, cranberries, slivered almonds and crystallised ginger…
Brunch was a laid back affair, with homemade focaccia and ciabatta, served with jamon, quince paste, cheeses, smoked salmon and antipasto…
I also made Chicago John’s grandfather’s tuna salad – tinned tuna in oil, topped with sliced Spanish onion, anchovies, ground black pepper, extra virgin olive oil and red wine vinegar. It’s a fabulous combination of flavours, and destined to become a house favourite…
. . . . .
On Sunday afternoon, I accidentally cut half my nail off while chopping leeks – I sheared it clean off the nail bed and then proceeded to bleed profusely all over the kitchen. After the melodramatic wailing had died down, I took this photo and posted it on my twitter feed, much to Pete’s amusement.
Needless to say, this blogpost has taken me a very long time to type, and if I’m slow with commenting and replying, please excuse me for a few days…
. . . . .
I’d promised to bake bread for a party the following day, so I had to wear latex gloves! And not for the first time, I was incredibly grateful that my doughs in general, and my ciabattas in particular, require very little hands-on kneading…
. . . .
My darling friend Becca, the very tolerant InTolerant Chef, stayed overnight with us on Sunday to attend the party the following day. On Monday, we sat down to a Japanese feast for lunch at Manmaruya…
. . . . .
And here are my loaves, artfully arranged at the party on Monday night!
. . . . .
It was a fun few days and I love that my iPhone lets me share them with you!
How was your weekend?
Fig Jam and Lime Cordial 