Monday's Menu

We had a quiet weekend. Slept in both days, I spent some quality time on the window seat whilst Rob constructed my garden beds.
It was hard to take him away, but I had ordered some free range pork, bacon and a shoulder of lamb from Mount Gnomon farm, and had arranged to pick it up from Guy at MoMa, the new food and produce market at MONA on Saturday afternoon. When we got to the gate people were still streaming in, there were cars everywhere. I have to admit we haven't been before. The place was buzzing and there was a long line to get into the museum. We visited Michelle for a chat and bought a jar of her peach jam, but it's presented so beautifully I don't want to open it. Guy was braving the stiff breeze that was coming up the Derwent.
Rob cooked the pork belly on a bed of red cabbage in the Weber, we ate late, the tender pork served alongside some steamed zucchini and beans.
Sunday was a perfect blue sky day and we stayed home all day. The garden beds are nearly done. I baked a batch of banana, walnut and choc chip biscuits. A cross between a biscuit and banana bread. They were pretty good, but Rob thought they needed a touch more sugar.
This last week we headed out for lunch nearly every day, oops. In the evenings we had grilled vegetables and beans on Monday, and just snacked on cheese and crackers on Tuesday. Rob spoiled me with birthday pancakes in bed before work on my birthday. I'd requested pesto for dinner, so he made deconstructed pesto, just frying the pine nuts and warming a garlic clove in olive oil. Then they're tossed through the pasta with basil and Parmesan.
Thursday we were adventurous and chose some lamb souvlaki sausages from our butcher. I made a mint, parsley, tomato and cucumber salad. It was just warm enough to eat it outside.
Friday night was a treat: dinner out at Red Velvet Lounge. We ordered some smoked eel croquettes for entree, then had a pork cutlet (each) on mash with rocket and red pepper pesto. We somehow squeezed in a honey and hazelnut parfait, and rolled home before 8pm!
Today I head off to Canberra for a night, not sure what culinary delights await me there.
Hope you had a great weekend.

Monday's Menu

It’s granola season at the hut. I struggle with eating breakfast during the week, I get bored easily, and I was so over porridge. I’d eat a mouthful and then not so subtly put the bowl down for Claudia to finish off (she loved me!) So last weekend I baked up a batch of Nigella’s granola (from Feast). What’s not to love about roasted Almonds, seeds, honey, and raisins? I made another batch yesterday but added some flaked coconut, pumpkin seeds and golden raisins as well. During the week we served it with strawberries, mango and rhubarb. Now I can't wait for breakfast.

As mentioned on Friday we took delivery of a box of goodies from Mount Gnomon farm. So pork dominated the menu all weekend. We’re not complaining though. Rob slow roasted the shoulder for three hours in the Weber on Saturday. Then yesterday we blasted it in our oven under the maxi-grill, that thing is wicked, I could see the skin blister! That crackling, I have to say, was perfectly cooked, shattering as you bit into it. It was then warmed up again in the Weber sitting on some sliced fennel, baby carrots and bay leaves, and served it with roast potatoes, the pork was deliciously juicy. Oh dear I’d better stop otherwise I might start drooling on the keyboard.

Finally, as it rained most of Saturday we were happily stuck inside, after lunch I fell asleep on the window seat with Claudia as a foot warmer, for several hours!

I thought I’d better do something worthwhile, so I measured out and chopped the dried fruit for two Christmas cakes (sultanas, currants, raisins, dried apricots and prunes).


Maybe the menu might have to be a little healthier this week (looking at what you eat all week is a bit of an eye opener) maybe even some salads and green vegetables! 

Top row: Scrambled eggs on Pigeon Hole sourdough toast, Granola with Greek yoghurt and strawberries, Italian sausages on mash with peas (an excuse to eat relish), creamy mushroom, bacon and pea fettuccine, spring vegetable risotto.

Middle row: Mount Gnomon bacon and egg roll, Sweet Envy jam doughnut and pecan sticky bun, Mount Gnomon chorizo, tomato and lentil risotto, dried fruit soaking in brandy for Christmas cakes, the roast pork shoulder (from guess who).

Bottom row: The pork served with roasted fennel and carrots, a pear poached in red wine, cinnamon, vanilla and thyme, our granola fresh out of the oven, this morning with rhubarb, gin and tonic season has started.

Friday Flowers

Not many new flowers in the garden this week. But the Nematolepis squamea (commonly known as lancewood),  is flowering at the top of our driveway next to our front gate. It has very pretty little creamy flowers.  So I thought I'd share one of Rob's macro photos of the flowers.




I'm not quite sure where this whole week has gone. I was hoping to get a lot more done at work. I've started counting down the weeks until my annual holiday, and sadly my to do list is not decreasing.


Yesterday I received a package in the mail from the company Land's End, I was being quite brave in picking a dress from their website. Unfortunately it was huge (I was worried it would be too small) and the style wasn't all that flattering anyway. I was a bit disappointed, I'm still looking for the perfect dress to wear. But maybe I should give up and try and find a skirt and top. I seem to be a bit long in the middle which means that waistlines never sit where they should on me, and I really don't suit an empire line dress!


Anyway as Nigella would say, food shopping is much less fraught with potential disappointment, so I'm looking forward to opening the box of goodies from Mount Gnomon Farm that arrived at work today. We ordered a pork shoulder, some bacon and chorizo. Thanks Guy and Eliza, I can't wait to taste the slow-roasted pork shoulder!