Chicken Paella

Posted on by ghotiindustries

Dinner time! Tends to be my favourite meal owing to how much time is able to be devoted to its preparation as opposed to other (slightly more rushed) meals. Today’s meal is all by Himself. He makes a mean Paella! He has also gotten extremely good with experimentation using this recipe as a base. The recipe is consistent in results, and therefore foolproof.

From this book.

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This recipe.

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The onlookers aren’t convinced. but what would they know?

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Surrounding yourself with ingredients, makes for no nasty surprises later!

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Cooking, cooking, cooking …

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And it went so well with knitting!!! 😀

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Bon Appétit!

ANZAC Day

Posted on by ghotiindustries

A few years ago now in a different time and place I accepted the challenge of attempting to eat just army rations for ANZAC day. I was even given real ones. The real deal. Beige packaging and all.

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I didn’t remember details given that it was two years ago, but thanks to the magic of online journals, I rediscovered that between Himself and I we had found it a LOT of food. With the prompt I also remembered writing “I don’t think I ever want to see jam in a tube again”. There were also some helpful hints (too little too late) from an ex-enlisted friend about how to have combined bits made it all a touch more palatable.

As we headed up the Hill for our annual Easter FishBQ just 3 days ago, this challenge came back to mind, as the generous soul who proposed the challenge and provided the rations would normally have been in attendance. I asked of his whereabouts, only to be told that he was currently deployed.

It’s so easy to forget while going about daily routine that the people out on the frontlines are our friends, neighbours, and family.

When you wake up this morning in your comfy bed, and contemplate walking up the local café for breakfast or whatever your routine is, spare a thought for the people out there fighting for what they believe in. How many of us can honestly say the same?

Thank you ANZACs.

They shall grow not old, as we that are left grow old:
Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn.

At the going down of the sun and in the morning,
We will remember them.

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!