INSPIRATION AT THE MARKETS

 

Today was market day and we almost didn't make it there. I was flying solo with the kids as Matty was in Melbourne watching the demise of the Swannies at the grand final. After a relaxing morning pottering about at home, cleaning up my newest roadside fine (oh my glob, an amazing six piece retro/retractable dining table!!) driving around looking for a carpark for about thirty minutes was pretty annoying, I told Paddy that we were going to have to make this our last round drive and then we were going to drive home (a good idea for the markets would be to have a shuttle bus system running in from terrigal carpark). Circling around for the final time, we ended up scoring the best carpark in all of the land. Right out the front of the entrance to the markets.

We always head straight over to the gozleme stand and today we had a slight variation, instead of two cheese and spinach, we had one chicken, cheese and spinach for him and the usual for me. We plonked ourselves down in front of a wonderful blues band, I closed my eyes and I could have been in Byron. So at the table setting I spied a few pieces of table scape inspo, I was loving the different textures of the hangings, some crochet and some woven together. I love this idea of storing the pineapple, as there is never enough room in the fridge and the fruit basket is always too full. I want to do a weaving class, one of my darling friends pointed me in the direction of Kosklea and their workshops, one of which I spied is a weaving class - which I would to do one day.

What types of workshops are you interested in or have you attended?

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PINK OR BLUE AT THE LAKEHOUSE

 

The weekend hosted the perfect weather to be sitting by the large bay windows at The Lakehouse with a room bursting with beautiful ladies and an assortment of delicious bite sized treats and hot pots of tea. We were here to celebrate the welcoming of baby number three for a very dear friend of mine. She has two handsome and healthy young boys and we were all there to share the excitement of finding out the gender of baby number three. 

The table was spread with towering tiers of assorted macarons, mini slices of orange and chocolate cake, cute little cups of chocolate and orange mousse, scones, freshly whipped cream and shallow dishes of blackberry jam. Long sandwich plates were delicately topped with sandwiches and mini quiches, exactly the type of food you hope to fill up on at an afternoon tea. The tea menu itself boasted an impressive assortment of deluxe tea leaves which would satisfy even the most pickiest of tea drinkers and perhaps even lure in the most die-hard coffee fans with the availability of the such distinct and diverse flavours.

The real jewel of the crown was the cute and unassuming little cake which sailed high above the tiers of sweets and plates of sandwiches. We were all so eager to see whether the cake was bestowing a pink or blue filling. You can only imagine the excitement and disbelief at seeing a pink sponge cake hiding underneath the white buttercream frosting. It looks like they used a different recipe this time around and I am just so beyond happy for my darling friend and her beautiful family. This pink little sponge cake is the first of lots and lots of all things sweet and pink. By far, this is the best way to welcome in new life is with an abundance of sweet treats, friendship and love.

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STEWED RHUBARB w BLOOD ORANGE & GREEK YOGHURT

Stewed rhubarb is what I made on Sunday afternoon. Fresh local rhubarb from the markets with some left over blood oranges from Saturday's weekend challenge. After about half an hour of searching through my cook books, I ended up appropriating a Jamie Oliver recipe which I found online but I made a couple of little tweaks to suit what I had available at home and to my taste.

Stewed Rhubarb w Blood Orange

Bunch of fresh Rhubarb

Juice and zest of 1 Blood Orange 

Half a cup to a cup sugar (sweetness to your taste)

1. Slice rhubarb into 4cm sections and place into a pot

2. Add zest and juice, plus a ladle full of water

3. Add sugar and bring to the boil, then turn down the heat and simmer for about 5 minutes.

Serve over some full fat greek yoghurt, or perhaps over some toasted sour dough with a dollop of greek yoghurt and a spoonful of stewed rhubarb on top.

Note: If you like it to be a bit more syrupy, add a tablespoon or two of extra water and sugar.

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MARKET DAY

 

Sunday is market day. Not every Sunday, only once or twice a month. Today we met up with a beautiful new friend, and her son and my son playfully followed along behind us, jumping over tree roots and skipping as we forged our way through the markets to pick up some vintage finds for her and some fruit and vegetables for me. Soon after arriving, Pat and I got straight to business -two spinach and cheese gozelemes and a chilli pulled pork bun, right off the bat. We spent most of the mid morning and early afternoon wandering around and catching up with friends as we strolled and stopped and strolled along the busy pathways. The weather was not so bright earlier in the day, but the tenacious sunshine stuck around and it made for a gorgeous afternoon in the sunshine. After our snowcones, we headed home and I greedily spilled the contents of my bags onto the table and I plonked myself down on the couch with Vinnie on my lap and a stack of cookbooks next to us, dog earring the appropriate pages with ideas for this weeks meals.

 

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ORANGES & EGGS

 

 

 

A bit of a wet and grey welcome to the weekend. No chance of a sleep in today as Matty is up north surfing for the weekend. So for me, an early breakfast by the window today and with some freshly squeezed orange juice made by my five year old son. He was pretty impressed with his slicing of the oranges, as was I. Today we have plans to bake in the morning and party in the afternoon.

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