Weekend Round Up

Posted on by ghotiindustries

Long Weekends are such an odd phenomenon. I go into them with such high expectations, and long lists of all I would like to achieve, then my body catches up with the fact that I’m not at the day job and pulls my feet out from under me and demands down time! 😛 What’s with that?! So, here’s what I did do.

Friday we headed up the Hill to the Annual Easter FishBQ. Every year there seem to be more children running around, and less inebriation. I guess the babies are all getting older. It is so good to be able to see and catch up with people we used to see every week, even if it does now average once a year …

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There was a new pair of socks begun as they are the perfect traveling project to take on the train for a four hour round trip! They are Marlene by Cookie A, in Dragonfly Yarns “Norbert” colourway which I got via a sock club last year.

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Saturday there was a little local wondering and I bought the Julie & Julia DVD which I’d been wanting to see for a while. I have now watched it 3 times since buying it. I feel a sudden urge to buy Mastering the Art of French Cooking and expanding my repertoire. I love having a kitchen that I enjoy cooking in for the first time in years!

While watching DVDs I spent some quality time with my sticks and strings.

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There was an interesting moment where the designer of this spectacular piece insinuated that I was an idiot, and in a moment of complete clarity I backed away from telling her what I thought of her. I’m still proud of myself for that one. However, Twitter heard all about it 😛

Sunday Himself cooked the most delectable dinner, which deserves a post all on it’s own, and which will be forthcoming in the next few days. He cooks so well and I always eat far more than I should when one of his creations is up for the offering!

Monday and Tuesday was when my body caught up with me and though I felt lazy, I also felt exhausted and so achieved very little other than further knitting, and some adorable cat photos. So I shall leave you with those.

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I hope your weekend was wonderful!

Lamb and Barley

Posted on by ghotiindustries

This weekend I washed the curtains, sheets, mattress protector, towels, and all clothes that were waiting for a load of sufficient size to go through.

I have dusted, vacuumed, aired, bleached and scrubbed the interior of the house.

Saturday evening we went out to dinner at a friend’s house. *waves at the subscriber* We were fed Gumbo of Deliciousness, and may have shared the last of the snickerdoodles from last weeks baking whilst sipping down Black Russians.

I also found time to make this Lamb and Barley Stew on Saturday, for Sunday night’s dinner in the slow cooker.

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I was a little worried that it wasn’t actually cold on Saturday, but I may have affected the weather by making this one, as Sunday was chill and raining! Perfect weather for this recipe!

The first step is a little fiddly, so make sure you have a sharp knife.

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Then it’s all smooth sailing!

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It may not look like much …

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But it’s SO TASTY!

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(Yes I could have ironed the placemats, but if I had you wouldn’t believe it was me)

I think the results speak for themselves!

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Autumn

Posted on by ghotiindustries

You know it’s finally here when Daylight Savings ends. What didn’t occur to me (for some bizarre reason) is that this means I now walk home in the dark. For the last 2 nights, this also included rain.

It hasn’t been too bad. It just means that I get home and melt into a warm shower. Though, as I said to Himself, that only stops me being cold. I’m still wet! 😛

Over the weekend we celebrated my Dad’s birthday (*waves at Dad*). Our meagre contribution to the feast was to provide Snickerdoodles. For those that have been hanging around this wee blog for a while, you’ll know that I’ve made these before to great success, and therefore the recipe I’m following is indeed foolproof!

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Here are the beautifully cooked, golden biscuits as they cooled from the oven!

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So much fun! I do love making a mess in the kitchen!

On the knitting front, I’m at the toe of both my retina searing socks, so once I’ve finished them I’ll model a few shots for you to wonder at their magnificence. You may wish to have some form of eye bandage handy at the time 😉

Until next time!

Rubyos

Posted on by ghotiindustries

Rubyos – Our favourite restaurant. Convenient to us just at the Broadway end of King St, we have never had a bad experience there. We were introduced to it by some friends several years ago now. The food is superb, the service exceptional, and the ambience is conducive both to a romantic dinner for two, or a gathering of friends.

In this instance we were given a thank you gift for a dinner to our favourite restaurant. Without hesitation we knew where we would be going, and thanked our hosts for their generosity, though the prices are by no means exorbitant!

We arrived late having had a small fubar with a taxi reservation, but arrived to be greeted with a smile and led to our favourite table; Front Window in the corner, watching the traffic and passers by.

We know the menu fairly well and had to pare it down to just what we would have the capacity to eat in one night! With wonders like Fried Haloumi, and Seared Kangaroo Fillet, this isn’t as easy as it sounds! We went for some old favourites, having had a mildly stressful day and wanting to be able to unwind at leisure.

Excuse my dodgy photography in this post please. Good Restaurant lighting isn’t the same as good photography lighting when you only have a small snappy camera on hand!

From the Grazing Menu we began with the Flash Fried Calamari (where the photography failed completely). Next came the Soft Shelled Crab.

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Then some Moroccan Spiced Salmon.

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And last (but never least) the Wagyu Beef Meat Balls.

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If you have never experienced meat that has the ability to melt in your mouth before, then you simply have not lived! Each dish was an exquisite masterpiece of flavours, with the portions size just perfect to move on to the next course.

By the time we had finished eating, though the desert and cheese menus are rather spectacular, we opted for another favourite.

The Espresso Martini.

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In short, if you’ve been looking for somewhere to go, look no further!
Bon Appétit!

The Season continues

Posted on by ghotiindustries

Our tree is up, much to the amusement of the feline members of the household. They can’t get enough of the train (it sings). So it had to be moved to higher ground for it’s own safety!

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Carols are allowed for just a few songs a day, and acceptable renditions are cover versions done by Twisted Sister. I discovered their xmas album by fluke just days ago and bought it instantly! In more traditional music; The Nutcracker Suite seems to not provoke, and therefore has been on reasonably high rotation in an attempt to prolong Himself’s sanity.

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This week I made fudge to go with the gingerbread. Again, assembling all the ingredients first …

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I don’t have any “making shots” owing to all hands being needed at all times, but here’s the finished product.

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And here’s the finished product!!!

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I hope all your seasonal cooking is going successfully too!