Monday's Menu, and our weekend

Our life returned to it's normal pace on the weekend. Like anybody living on a bit of property the grass on our block had taken off over the last couple of weeks, after the combination of frequent rain and the warmer temperatures. Sadly after one day of brush cutting our not-so-trusty brush cutter spluttered to a halt a couple of weekends ago. I was cleaning the windows at the time and could hear Rob fiddling with it, pulling the trigger, cleaning a filter, pulling the trigger, I was waiting for him to kick it into the dam, but he was apparently resigned to the fact it would need to be serviced. (It was serviced last year at great expense so we were more than a little disappointed with it dying already). I know like Michelle he has a scythe on his wish-list for Christmas, but we really needed to cut our grass now! Apart from looking so untidy, I was getting increasingly worried about the dogs and snakes.
So we took ours to the doctor (a new doctor mind you) and next door is a place where you can hire them. So the drone of a 2-stroke was our weekend companion, it took Rob 10 hours over 2 days to cut the grass around the hut, down the drive, in the orchard and garden and around the nut orchard. It looks so much tidier. I know we'll need to do it again before the whole thing gets cut for hay but it made me feel a lot better.


So whilst Rob was busy outside I baked a carrot cake on Saturday and our first Christmas cake on Sunday. We took a moment to marvel at the colours of the sunset on Saturday night, and over the weekend I kept finding the dogs snuggling each other. It was pretty darn cute, although I'm not sure Nigella entirely approves of the adoration from Claudia! She tolerates it.



The menu at the hut this week: salmon on soba noodles, a salad with Asparagus and new season pink eye potatoes, I made red pepper pesto (with almonds) then stirred it through pasta, we had a chorizo, potato, zucchini and ricotta frittata and finished off the working week with a quick lemon linguine.
We always start our Saturday morning off quite virtuously at the gym for a weights class, but then it quickly deteriorates from there, with a visit to Jackman & McRoss for small white chocolate and peach tarts and cream buns. We picked up some lamb shanks and were tempted by a tasting to buy some wagyu beef sausages.
So Saturday's dinner was a simple one of sausages, Pigeon Hole bread and home made chutneys. Rob roasted the shanks in quince jelly so we ate them last night with roast potatoes and some beans. With enough left over lamb for souvlaki tonight and lamb soup tomorrow!