Doing nothing

After a week of not feeling so great, I decided to do nothing on Saturday. No plans, no packing the car to go to Camden. After all these years, I had never had a lazy Saturday in Crows Nest. I enjoyed this painted building. 

Not so keen on this bit of kitsch. 

Headed to the 2 local op shops. Scored these glass vessels for my new shelves. 

Am going to read the movie An Inconvenient Truth. Great picture book for grown ups. 

Score of the day is this bowl. Add spray paint, and I am hoping it will come up looking good. 

Lunch at a great cafe 50m from my place. 

Reading this fabulous new book. 

And finished the day at the doctor finding out I have shingles. 

That's why I have been feeling so lousy.   Tomorrow?  A Sunday doing nothing. Not so bad, at least I have a good book to read. 

Tastes Of the Middle East

What an amazing girls day it has been - including Matt!  There are lots of words to describe the lovely Norma today - supremely organised, extremely generous, knowledgeable, talented and leaving us with a day to remember, and an extremely full tummy.

 

So how to start?  With a bubbly, of course.  And then a bit of her background.  Norma is born and bred on the North Shore, but her family is from Armenia originally.  Loved hearing of family traditions, but I'm still wondering how women from years ago could cook like this without our kitchen mod cons.

 

First dish into the oven was basbousa.  It looked easy when Norma made it, but I reckon I could give it a go.  Except next time I will not be naughty and lift the lid before its time.  Look at the neat almonds, perfect when it was cut into pieces.

 

Cinnamon spiced walnuts going into the Baklava.  My fave... 

 

Learning how to cut baklava so perfectly - brilliant.  Is that still champers in the background??

 

Super organised Norma had this printed - menu, shopping list, recipes, and a list of wog shops.  We will do the full tour another day!

 

Easy to know when the babousa is ready in the oven.  The smell....

From here, we headed up to the local Wog Shop, having been granted honorary wog status for the day.  It was so good to have Norma telling us what to buy or not.  Steep learning curve - fava beans are not broad beans?  Oops. 

 

I bought Lupini to cook (Norma, how do I do this??), date syrup, slivered pistachios, pepper (capsicum) paste, semolina, avjar and labne.  And had a taste of the pistachio Turkish delight.  In the meantime, Norma ordered lunch from the local Lebanese restaurant, and we took it home to eat.  Have a look at the plate of Kebbe Nayeh.

 

Now, I have to admit, I am not adventurous when it comes to raw meat.  Norma understood, but said "Well, you eat raw fish, don't you?"  Well, actually no.  But I have to say, I really enjoyed it.  Drizzled with olive oil, onion, mint, some tabouli and garlic sauce, it was creamy, smooth and great flavours. 

 

So, back to the kitchen.  Have  a look at the recipe on the cupboard.  Super-organised Norma!  Here she is separating the shredded pastry, which we then put in the food processor and shredded until it was even finer.  Never seen it before!

 

Did I mention the baklava?  How good it this?

 

Norma explained that in the Middle East, every meal has rice with it.  When it is this good, I can understand why!  We fried fine noodles in ghee, added rice, then added stock.  Here it is, bubbling away.  Perfect pilaf.

 

Completely new to me, here is Mouloukheya - the Soup of the Pharoahs.  Not sure how to describe it, but garlic, coriander - hey, how can you go wrong!  I loved it over the pilaf.

 



 

This is before we ate.  Feeling hungry and excited.  Later, full, satisfied and sleepy...

 

So, for some, this was saving the best till last.  Knafeh.  So different, and Norma had to start this 3 days ago to "de-salt" the cheeses.  The result was perfect.  Hard to describe, easy to eat.

 

What a fabulous day, with very special people.  Pity Steve and Doug couldn't join us, but then again, more for us.  I am so full that I can't eat another thing tonight.  Or maybe just 1 piece of baklava.  Norma assures me it is better the next day, but it has never lasted with me overnight before!

 

Thanks Norma, brilliant day.

 

 

Challenging

Sisters can be challenging, as well as lovely.  When Heather and I visited the V & A Quilt Exhibition in 2010, we bought 3 fabrics, the same, and set to finish a challenge quilt to be finished/revealed for Heather's 60th birthday.  In the intervening years, we have done these on our own, with the results being a complete surprise to the other.

So here they are!

There were some rules.  We had to use the 3 fabric in "recognisable quantities", add any fabrics we liked, be within a size limit, and have a demonstrable link to the exhibition.  I will leave it to Heather to explain the design of hers, but with Cynthia's encouragement, here is the inspiration for mine (on the left).  The pattern follows the likeness of a quilt in the exhibition called the Rajah Quilt.  Or should I say, just a section of it.  In the days of transportation, a Quaker led society, led by Elizabeth Fry, was promoting the improvement of the females being transported to Australia.  Leaving Woolwich in the UK, they were provided with fabric, and thread, and on the long journey to Van Diemens' Land, the women made a (very) large quilt top. 

My small token follows the pattern as the quilt grew from the centre to the outside border.  I interpreted the birds as being "Bluebirds over the White Cliffs of Dover".  As the journey progressed down, I have South African fabric purchased some years ago in Cape Town, and I understand the women were able to sell some of their handiwork in Cape Town.  The journey continues, and I have some waves flowing across the quilt.  The final designs at the bottom are worked in aboriginal print fabric, symbolising their arrival in the new land.

All good quilts have to have a mistake in them and this particular mistake (although there are probably others) was on the back:

 

I had the convict women sailing into Sydney, but they actually sailed to Tasmania. 

 

And this blog has been sitting in my drafts for over a year.  Time to get this blog moving!  And challenge others to start one.

 

Maz



Melbourne, with sisters

By now it is clear that I am a very infrequent blogger.  So infrequent, in fact, that every time I do a new blog, the software changes. 

So this is to tell the story of a lovely weekend in Melbourne.  With Heather as a host, in her superbly located apartment on St Kilda Road. Only a few pics, but such a lovely time.  I think that having Morris & Sons & Dymocks in the same location started the weekend well.  On a knowledge scale of 1 to 10 on knitting, Heather is up in the 8-9 region.  Lois is in the lower scores, and I am not much above her.  So, much to be learned from Heather there.

Down in the bookshop, I would have Lois in the higher ranking scores on knowledge.  Again, I seem to middle below.  Perhaps it is the role of a younger sister to always be striving to the older ones!  And I wouldn't have it any other way.  My sisters have taught me so very much, and continue to do so.

In the cooking stakes, it seems as though I will be destined to remain in the dark ages, being the one that does not have a Thermomix.  Sigh.  I am just going to have to live with that fact.

Friday night had the gorgeous and tired Jennie join us.  And show and tell for some little things soon to be winging their way to a baby shower in Seattle.

Saturday was an eye opener for me.  We used the Melbourne public bikes - Heather had her own - on a fabulous ride.  Around the "tan", we were at the river, and rode along the banks for about 10km.  It is amazing to be in a lovely park/bush setting right in the middle of a city.  Lois was glad to see the coffee sign after an hour or so, then we made it to the Abbotsford Convent in time for lunch.   The convent has just celebrated it's 10th year as an arts, cultural and community precinct.  We didn't have enough time to see it all, but I would love to go back and have another look. 

Lunch on the lawn.

    Looking at the map, it seems like we wound our way (delightfully) around the Yarra, we took the roads back which was much more direct.  Then the shock.  Melbourne's blue bikes are cheap for the first half hour, but for 4 hours, we could nearly have had a limo for the same price.

Late afternoon had us at the Melbourne Recital Centre for a fabulous early Italian recital, with original instruments and a gorgeous young woman singing mezzo soprano.  Then, dinner at the café in the centre, with this dessert plate.

And knitting, and a movie.  Lovely to relax and share.

Sunday, I walked the Tan track.  Seems like I was the only one going anti-clockwise, but the others were going the other way because it gave them the one hill climb on the track.  So social and relaxing, right near the city.

And some more city, knitting shops, tram rides, and cafes capped off a terrific weekend.

And a final note.  Picked up a booklet at the Abbotsford Convent.  The Good Shepherd nuns arrived in 1863 to establish a Convent for women in need, and purchased what became the convent.  By 1900, it was one of the biggest charitable institutions in the Southern Hemisphere, and at its peak, housed over 1,000 women and children.  There were vegetable and fruit gardens, dairy and poultry farms and a piggery. 

Seems to me that the need for refuges remains as high, and perhaps large scale facilities where people can practice self sufficiency could be an improvement on what we have now.

So, a post.  Promise another soon x

Figs 6 ways

This is a no photo blog, because I was so busy presenting it at the office in makeshift kitchen conditions, I didn't even think of taking photos.  We have an office lunch for everyone's birthday, normally take-away from one of the many restaurants in Crows Nest.  This was a 60th and I wanted to cook for it instead.  Richard chose the main course, which was a barbequed quail in a fig bath dish from a Maggie Beer cookbook resident in the office.  I took this on board to present a menu based on fig over 3 courses.  It was enhanced by a lovely tablecloth, table settings, and some freshly picked sage as the greenery.  The menu?

A tasting platter with:

• black figs wrapped in prosciutto
• sauteed prawns with a hint of garlic (they were delish)
• pan fried asparagus with slivered almonds
• slow cooked roma tomatoes
• balsamic figs topped with goats cheese
• pizza slices with leeks caramelized in burnt fig jam with gorgonzola cheese (these were adventurous and amazing)
• Labna with fig & fennel paste served in filo cases (surprisingly good)

Mains
Barbequed quail in a fig bath, with freekah salada with preserved lemon, fig paste and mint

Dessert
spiced figs and almonds topped with vanilla marscarpone


Not sure I would do it all again, but with figs in season, it was a lovely lunch.  Happy 60th Richard, and no leftovers - it was all gone by the end of lunch!

The arty part of the trip

Thought I'd cover my wonderful trip to the Pacific Northwest in a few genres - this one is admiring some artistic features.  So it is very visual...

This is the exterior of the EMP (Experience Music Project) building in the Seattle Center precinct, with the 50 year old monorail running through it.  Didn't actually get there - have to leave something for a future trip!

The start of the huge amount of glass art, but I liked the style of this.

The glass is starting to get a little more complex - shells represented here.

This series was symbolic of baskets woven by the native Indians.

Rosie and I found this guy outside Union Station in Tacoma.  The station is no longer used, but is preserved with artwork and was lovely.

The bridge to the glass museum in Tacoma - the Venetian Glass Wall.  They were all gorgeous, and quite unitque to me as outdoor art.

My new facebook profile pic - Rosie captured me well with floating glass behind me.


Just loved this duck.

I loved this art at Pike Place Market, but as it turns out, it was just a painted canvas wrapped around a pillar.  Just captured the winter season so well.

Loved this pictorial as to the restrooms, below Pike Place Markets.  All hexagons!

Who'd have thought street lighting could also be artistic!

The chewing gum wall was amazing, and I think, artistic.  A bit hidden, but I'm sure they take all the tourists down there. 

This fountain was a favourite.  This first time I saw it, the child was obscured.  The water jets apparently vary at different times.

This was at the La Conner quilt museum.  A Lone Star quilt design, but I thought the bottle of wine and wine glasses quilting was pretty unusual.

This was my pic of the ones I was able to photograph.  Fresh applique, random and some good colour.

Some great building art in Vancouver - a large building.  Actually, there was a lot of street art in the 3 major cities (Vancouver, Seattle and Portland), but I wasn't aways comfortable in pulling out a lovely camera, or the Iphone.  Trying to blend in without being a tourist target.

These totems were in Stanley Park in Vancouver.  They were really impressive, and in a stunning location.  On the downside, I'd have to say the Vancouver Art Gallery was the least impressive I can remember being in.  Maybe I just went at a bad time, but I'd rather the street art!



More to come.  Promise.  Maybe.

10 Aussie books

Yep, it has been ages, but I'm ready to get back into the blog world.  Plenty of excuses with real life getting in the way, but it is nice to think I can return to what is really a web diary.  No pictures with this one, as it is all literary.  Tonight, the ABC had their final book club, revealing the votes of the all time favourite Aussie books.  Top 10 made it to the show. I was hoping to find some wonderful titles I could read, but I've already done 9 out of the 10.

So from 10 down, they were:

Picnic at Hanging Rock.  Well, I probably read it many years ago, and the movie had many girls from my school in it.  Great unresolved mystery.  I saw the rock a couple of years ago, and understand its mysterious aura.

The Secret River by Kate Grenville.  I have read all or most of hers, but this was terrific, and being on a houseboat on the Hawkesbury really put you in the picture.

The Slap - didn't read it but saw the TV series.  I thought the concentration of a charachter per episode/chapter was a good way of presenting the story from different points of view.  I think not everyone would like it, but that is because some of the personalities were not likeable! I really enjoyed the show.

Magic Pudding - wow - I have always loved it.  The concept of "cut and come again" to me is the epitomy of hospitality offered by those of limited means.  In earlier times, people would always be welcomed in for a cup of tea and a slice, even when there was precious little to share.

Jasper Jones - the only one I have not read, but it has been recommended to me.  On my list now!

The Power of One - by the very recently departed Bryce Courtenay.  Didn't like it.  Or anyting by him.

Harp in the South - read it a long time ago, and enjoyed it, but surprised to see it at number 4.  What about books by Peter Carey or Geraldine Brooks???  Ex-pats to be sure but Aussies too.

A Fortnate Life - A B Facey - great book, and time to re-read.

The Book Thief - YES YES YES

And, number 1 - Cloudstreet - Tim Winton.  I have the pleasure of "reading" this at the moment on book tape, and I am loving it.

So I am across the top 10, will have to look at the top 50 to see what I have missed.