Bolognaise

Posted on by ghotiindustries

I made bolognaise the other night. It’s a household staple around here, and when Mum asked for the recipe a few weeks ago, I looked kind of dumbfounded as I don’t really have a recipe. I just throw stuff in a pot!

So this one’s for you Mum. Here’s what goes in:

Olive oil
Onion
Garlic
Bacon
Mince
Tomato Paste
Crushed tomatoes
Carrot (grated)
Mushrooms
Worcestershire Sauce
Brown Sugar
Oregano
Thyme
Tarragon
Paprika
Cayenne Pepper
Chilli
Black Pepper
Red Wine

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Being me, I cut up all my vegetables first so I can just throw it in the pot when the time’s right. Into heated olive oil I throw the onion, garlic, and once browned the bacon too. Then in goes the mince until it browns.

By the way – biggest clove EVER! Organic FTW?

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After that I dollop in the paste, then in goes the can of tomatoes, followed by the grated carrot. If it’s just me eating I now put mushrooms in, if Himself is home I skip them (darn picky eater!)

Then more dollops – Worcestershire sauce, brown sugar and all the spices. Be generous with the spices! Think in tablespoons especially for the oregano, less so for the chilli and peppers (still think teaspoons rather than just a shake).

I finish with probably a cup from a box of Yalumba shiraz which I specifically have for cooking with (for boxes, the right grape is even drinkable!).

Then I stick a lid on it and let it simmer down and thicken up a bit, while watching for the right time to put the water on to boil for our favourite pasta. We like a large spiral for ease of picking up the meat sauce!

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With a bit of parmesan on the top … Perfection!

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Weekend walks

Posted on by ghotiindustries

The Day Job has done it again and I’ve been run off my feet trying to get everything that I need to get done fit in to each day!

On the weekend when I called a halt to everything going on, we walked in a new direction. Have some pictures of the beautiful area in which we live!

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If anymore evidence was needed that we celebrate Yule at the wrong end of the year; the poinsettias were in bloom in profusion!

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Happy July!

Organisation

Posted on by ghotiindustries

I have been getting organised. I know! Me! Who’d have thought?! But in spite of myself, I am working hard at a great purge of the household and its surplus items. Mainly because we have too many to fit within these walls, and I want to simplify my/our lifestyle. (Yes, Himself is in on the kick too.)

We have a great wall of things growing to go to Vinnies, and what seems to be an even greater mound out the back that will require a skip of some sort to remove it all. Yesterday I sorted and filed a stack of papers that was a foot high!

It’s very cleansing. The feeling of a great weight lifting as you realise that you don’t need these things that you’ve been hanging on to for all these years (moving with you with each consecutive move, taking up space in the moving vans and therefore costing you money…)

I have a wonderful theory that with all these extraneous distractions removed, I’ll have time to do all the other things I haven’t had time to do so far! Isn’t that a wonderful theory? I love theories! *grins*

Anyway; all of this leads to very boring photography. So here’s where I’m up to with knitting. I’m making the Crown Prince Shawl from Knitted Lace of Estonia.

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There are 7 of those crosses around the boarder. I’m using Filatura di Crosa Centlovaggi which is a cobweb weight yarn, on 3.5mm KnitPicks circulars.

Why I decided more nupps were in my future I’m not exactly sure. But it should be a stunning piece when completed! I may think about entering it in the Royal Easter Show for 2012 if the world doesn’t end!

Dinner at The Ranch

Posted on by ghotiindustries

Sometimes you just want comfort food. Even better is comfort food when you can convince yourself it’s vaguely healthy! In the effort to appear that we were looking after ourselves, we made pizza for dinner, rather than buying take out.

It’ has all the important food groups, vegetables, carbs, dairy and meat.

Well, the way we make it tends to look a little like this …

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Yes, that is pepperoni, salami, and cabanossi. Also two kinds of cheese. Why do you ask?

Coming out of the oven …

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and heartattack on a plate!

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Can’t ask for more than that really!

Norton St

Posted on by ghotiindustries

As is our habit, we enjoy trying lots of local businesses in an effort to both support them, and find a venue where we are comfortable spending hours (and sometime significant cash) at a stretch. There have only been a couple of places in the last seven-ish years that we’ve been on the search where things coalesced perfectly.. The first was Barzu on Norton St, which closed down. Then there was 2 Front Doors up the hill, which … closed down. We appear to have a new contender called Grind.

So far, on the plus sides they have amazing, friendly, prompt service. Good coffee (harder to find than you’d think in Leichhardt), and easily identifiable delicious food.

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I just don’t feel comfortable pulling out the knitting and relaxing into sitting there for a few hours. Though it’s obvious a few of the other patrons can, and do!

They also have awesome brownies! This is a major positive!

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I didn’t get a photo of the actual brownie, it disappeared too fast!

Next time we’ll sit upstairs and see what that’s like. Let’s hope it doesn’t close down!