January

January is a funny month don’t you think.  We stumble out of the haze of Christmas and New Year, armed with the good intentions of New Year’s resolutions.  The kids are still on holidays, but we return to work – but not everyone is back at work, so a lot of stuff just gets left until February.  Then before you can say “oi oi oi” it’s Australia day, the Country Music Festival is in full boot-scooting swing and we are playing host to a swag of visitors. 

So the way I see things, life at number 35 doesn’t return to normal until really the first week of February – school’s back, visitors have returned home, everyone is back at work.

Now is the time to start really thinking about what I want to achieve this year – not the usual “lose weight, be fitter” waffle that is trotted out every January 1 – things that will really make a change in my life for the better.  It’s easy to “resolve” to do something, but there is never any clear path or definite outcome.  Wouldn’t it be better to set some goals for each month with an end result that’s tangible?  I may still have a goal of losing weight, but what will I do each month to get there and what do I want to be at the end of the year.

But while I tend to concentrate on my weight and my fitness, I neglect other areas of my life that I would like to improve.  And maybe if I were able to get these other areas under control, then the constant battle with my weight wouldn’t be so...constant.

I’ve been reading Gretchen Rubin’s “The Happiness Project” and the monthly challenges she set for herself to find happiness.  She felt like life was racing by and the real things that mattered in that life were getting bogged down and neglected in the rush.  Each month she looked at particular area of her life – marriage, work, friendships – and worked on improving her focus on these things in order to be happier. 

In January, Gretchen turned to improving her vitality – she aimed to:

• Go to bed earlier
• Exercise better
• Toss, restore, organise
• Tackle a nagging task
• Act more energetic

The challenge for February was to focus on her marriage:

• Quit nagging
• Don’t expect praise or appreciation
• Fight right
• No dumping
• Give proofs of love

I have decided to follow Gretchen’s path to happiness – a year of really concentrating on the things that make up my life and the things that really matter.  Now that it is February, I’ll be playing catch up but stay tuned....

Chicken Avocado Wraps

Adapted from "Table Tucker" by Penina Peterson

Ingredients:

2 chicken fillets, sliced into strips
1 tablespoon olive oil
400g can corn kernels
400g can diced tomatoes
1 red chilli, seeds removed, finely chopped
1 yellow capsicum, cut into strips
8 tortilla wraps
2 handfuls salad leaves
1 large avocado, cut in chunks
2 tsp parmesan, grated
1 cup grated cheddar cheese

Method:

Heat the oil in a frypan, add chicken and cook until nicely coloured.

Add the chilli and the capsicum, cook for around 5 minutes until capsicum starts to soften.

Add the corn and the tomatoes and simmer for around 10 minutes.

Meanwhile, heat the tortilla wraps according to the packet instructions and arrange the remaining ingredients on a nice platter.

To assemble, take a tortilla wrap, add some salad leaves, then the chicken mix.  Top with some parmesan or cheddar cheese and some avocado.  Roll up and enjoy.

Makes 8 tasty wraps - enough for 4 people.

Weekly Meal Plan

School's back, visitors gone, time to get back into some sort of routine.

This week I'm revisiting "Table Tucker" by Penina Peterson. Penina provides weekly meals plans based on seasonal produce, as well as annual, seasonal, monthly and weekly shopping lists.  The meals are based on simple, everyday foods and just to make our lives even easier, you only cook on three nights of the week. 

So on Sunday, you also cook Monday's meal; on Tuesday, you cook Wednesday's; on Thursday, you cook Friday's. 

If you were really keen, you could do all your cooking on Sunday, but where's the fun in that.  Because I'm starting on a Monday, I'm just going to cook every night instead and see how it goes.

Saturday is a free night - think leftovers, something from the freezer, takeaway or try out a new recipe.

I haven't tried any of these recipes before, so if they are a hit I'll let you know.

Monday - Chicken Avocado Wraps

Tuesday - Stuffed Capsicums with Raw Veggie Salad

Wednesday - Lentil Patties with Pasta Macaroni Salad

Thursday - Easy Sausage Risotto

Friday - Tomato Caper Fish on Couscous

Sunday - Chicken Asparagus Bake

Panzanella

As well as loads of eggplants and zucchini, we are also raking in the cherry tomatoes.  As a happy coincidence I have been watching re-runs of Italian Food Safari on SBS and had received the Italian Food Safari cookbook from my favourite nephew for Christmas.

The lovely Guy Grossi whipped up this Panzanella Salad and it looked particularly delicious.  It is also a perfect way to use up some beautifully sweet cherry tomatoes and some leftover sourdough that was lurking around.

Ingredients

½ stale  sourdough baguette, roughly cut in chunks
3 vine ripened tomatoes, cubed
1 red onion, peeled and finely sliced
Handful fresh basil, leaves picked
Handful continental parsley, shredded
Salt and pepper
Aged balsamic vinegar
Extra virgin olive oil

Preparation

Toast bread chunks in a moderate oven until dry and lightly toasted. Leave to cool.
Combine tomatoes and onion in a bowl.  Tear over basil leaves and parsley and season with salt and pepper.  Drizzle over oil and vinegar and toss thoroughly before serving.

Chargrilled Zucchini, Eggplant and Goats Cheese Salad

We have had an abundance of eggplants and zucchinis from our garden so far this summer, so this salad has been a popular one.

Chargrilled Zucchini, Eggplant and Goats Cheese Salad - from Notebook magazine February 2009

Ingredients

1 large eggplant, trimmed, cut into 1cm-thick slices
3 zucchini, trimmed, thinly sliced lengthways
2 red capsicums, quartered, seeded
1/4 cup (60ml) extra virgin olive oil
2 tsp cumin seeds
1 bunch mint, leaves picked
100g goat's cheese, crumbled
1/2 cup (80g) toasted pine nuts
1 tbs red wine vinegar
Char-grilled crusty bread, to serve

Method

Step 1
Preheat a barbecue or char-grill pan on high. Brush the eggplant, zucchini and capsicum with 2 tablespoonfuls of the oil and sprinkle with cumin seeds. Season with salt and pepper. Add a quarter of the vegetables to the grill and cook for 1-2 minutes each side or until charred and tender. Transfer to a bowl. Repeat in 3 more batches with remaining vegetables.

Step 2
Add the mint, goat's cheese and pine nuts and gently toss to combine. Place on serving plates. Whisk the vinegar and remaining oil in a bowl. Drizzle over the salad. Serve with char-grilled crusty bread, if desired.

Cute Things

Found these little things at some garage sales today.  They cost $2 each and I think they are quite cute.

The tray reminded me of one from Jamie Oliver's "15 Minute Meals" - I think it will become a regular fixture on our table.

A Bush Christmas

Christmas 2012 at my brother-in-law's property between Hermidale and Nymagee aka "the middle of nowhere".  A good time had by all.

The Hour

I’m really excited about this – The Hour returns to ABC1 on January 13 next year.  Get a glass of Scotch and a packet of Benson and Hedges and enjoy.

This Week I Will Be....

Watching:  Pillars of the Earth on ABC iView

Reading:  Peter Mayle's A Year in Provence

Making:  These Pistachio Shortbread

Going to:  The Workshop on Saturday for a Christmas party with some very dear friends

Listening to:  Ed Sheeran +

Our Town - Iris DeMent

I keep hearing this song - on the radio, not in my head - well, now it's in my head.  And I remembered how much I use to love this show.

Meal Plan Monday

No Jamie Oliver this week I'm afraid. Too hot for indoors cooking so the Weber will be taking centre stage. And as the Weber is only able to be used by the owner of the Weber, it's an easy week for me.

• Monday - Beef and Red Wine Sausages with Oven Wedges and Asian Noodle Salad
  Tuesday - Marinated Butterflied Chicken with Salad and Potato & Onion Gratin (it's a little bit fancy - well not really, but sounds better than Potato Bake)
• Wednesday - Lemon and Rosemary Lamb Chops with Greek Salad and Smashed Potatoes
• Thursday - Homemade Burgers and Wedges
• Friday - Leftovers
• Saturday - Takeaway
• Sunday - Maybe a roast and veges

An Italian Food Safari

A Good Set of Knockers...

Friday Favourites

• An interesting article in the Sydney Morning Herald this week about the public service and the type of language used by the government to describe job cuts -  In Defence of Public Servants

• Jamie Oliver's Swedish Meatballs were a big hit at our house this week - a little bit of Ikea at home

• I'd really like my laundry to look like this

• This looks sensational - Hard to Find Magazine

• It's going to be 40C here tomorrow, so I'd rather be here:

Enjoy the weekend!!

And We're Back....

Time to actually get back and do this blogging thing properly. Another year has nearly passed me by, and what a year it has been.

So, what do I have to talk about? 

I love travel - armchair and in real life
I enjoy cooking, but I enjoy cookbooks more
I like writing super lists about everything
I love reading about other people's fabulous lives in beautiful places
I really want to learn a foreign language, but so far my efforts have been "meh"
I would love to live overseas for 12 months - Italy, France, New Zealand, Tasmania...
And I have loads more holiday snaps to bore everyone with

So, to begin...

I like to plan meals - religiously every Saturday I sit with a cookbook, my trusty Kikki-K Weekly Meal Planner and my i-Pad for online grocery shopping.  And, of course, a glass of wine for sustenance.

My favourites lately have been anything from Jamie Oliver 15 Minute Meals or 30 Minute Meals.  I have no illusions - I can't get food on the table within those time limits - but Mr O's recipes are easy, tasty, generally healthy and budget friendly.

So this week's menu plan from 15 Minute Meals is:

Monday - Tasty Daal Curry, Warm Tomato Salad and Naan
Tuesday - Sausage Fusilli with Creamy Garden Salad
Wednesday - Golden Chicken, Braised Greens and Potato Gratin
Thursday - Swedish Meatballs, Celeriac and Spinach Rice
Friday - takeaway night
Saturday - someone else's turn to cook
Sunday -  Roast chicken and vege

Cinque Terre

Bellagio

Day trip to the Bellagio, about the halfway point of Lake Como. No George Clooney sightings but did manage to arrive at the same time as Israeli President Shimon Peres. Fortunately we avoided an international incident, though the Polizia did provide an armed guard for us during lunch.

Bernina Express

Day trip through the Swiss Alps on the Bernina Express train to St Moritz. Beautiful scenery along the way - snow capped mountains, cute little alpine chalets and some bratwurst and rosti to finish the day

Como

Arrived in Como this morning by train from Milan. Como is on the southern end of Lake Como, one of Italy's largest lakes. The water's edge is dotted with many beautiful villas, once the homes of the many wealthy families and the old walled city is perfect for strolling.
Sam and Larry have arrived from Paris to join us. I have quickly introduced Sam to the ritual of aperitivo - especially my new favourite drink Aperol Spritz.

Milan

Finally here. Arrived in Milan in the early hours of Sunday morning after nearly 21 hours in a plane, feeling tired but excited.
Just a quick wander around Milan though - suffering badly from blistered feet and jet lag.
Strolled through the very cute Brera neighbourhood - narrow streets, cafes and little boutiques.
The Galleria and Duomo were just spectacular - though the queue to get into the cathedral stretched from one of the piazza to the other.