waterside

Have I mentioned that my husband kayaks to work? Yep- that's his commute & exercise & 'me time' all rolled into one. He detests traffic (and being part of it) so he has been kayaking to work since he could. We occasionally go down to the marina to collect him so he doesn't have to run up the HUGE hill after a long day at work.

I have been playing with my Instagram app. Here are some waterside pics.

bargains cont'd

Any of these remind you of your schooling? These are a few of the garage sale bargains I picked up over the weekend.

1. Spot of croquette anyone?

2. Medical kit

3. Veterinarian kit

4. Old-school magnets

5. Old-school construction

Bargain City!

Only about a week ago I thought to myself "it's been a while since since I got myself a bargain." My father-in-law used to have a theory that if you ask the universe for something - put it 'out there' then the universe will deliver.

So there my luck began...

1. A garage sale on the weekend. This is just a smidgen of what I brought home. I am a sucker for educational resources!

2. Spot the extra cookbook. I have dreamed about owning Stephanie Alexander's Kitchen Companion.... my local newsagent had it from $129 down to $49. I could not resist!

3. Thank you council clean-up! I stopped by the side of the road to grab a plastic trike for our youngest and a big 'mega block' truck for our eldest. I was about to pull away from the kerb when our hawke-eyed 3 year old spotted this cubby. "Mum. Don't for get that one!" How could I?

4. $2 each for these books. 3 of the best baby books I have ever read.

5. As much as I am a sucker for 'useful things' I am also a sucker for storage devices (thankfully). This colourful number caught my eye at a Vinnies last week. $20 later and it was all mine!

gado-gado & wontons

Tonight we'll have an Asian inspired dinner.

Although I am exhausted I wouldn't mind having cheese on toast! But I have already done the prep so we are having some of those yummy steamed chicken wontons and the Indonesian dish gado-gado.

I have only found the Shanghai wonton wrappers at an Asian grocer some distance from our place so I made the trip today but I was very pleased to find, in their fairly extensive Indonesian section, some great products - peanut salad dressing for gado-gado. I usually check packets carefully but this dressing has just the basics. Add warm water in a pan and there you have the gado-gado dressing! (I just added a dessertspoon of Sambal Oelek for a bit of a chilli kick!)

I better get into the kitchen. My husband is due home soon and I am hungry just thinking about dinner!

persimmon update

The persimmons are ripening....

blogs

Have you seen the blogs I visit listed down the right hand side of this page? I have recently updated them.

finding art

Two fabulous books have been published by the NSW Art Gallery - one book about finding colour in art and one about finding number in art. $5 each *bargain!*

Yesterday, after reading the books the night before, I suggested to my kids that I take them to the gallery to find the artworks in the books. As much of the contemporary Australian works have been packed away to accommodate the Picasso exhibition we found about 6 (out of 30) but we don't mind because we've decided to return when Picasso concludes on the weekend.

The delight on B's face when he spotted his first artwork was priceless. This is a brilliant way to introduce art to children!

sydney botanical gardens

I'm sure I have mentioned somewhere that I often wonder what our city was like pre-European settlement. It truly is a spectacular harbour. I like to imagine the suburbs when they were decorated by native trees.

While much of the garden is manicured lawn there are pockets of natives and we are so luucky to have this area preserved so close to the CBD.

pinterest

Are you on Pinterest? You can follow me by searching Miss May Blossom.

suitably cool : a new blog I found!

suitably cool

a weekend with friends!

We travelled to Kings Point for the weekend.

There was food. Good food. Yummy food. (Home grown and picked potatoes, tomatoes fresh from the mine, squidgy cheeses, wine grapes, delicious chicken with freshly made pasta).

There were 4 dogs!

There was a little cabin in the garden where we slept.

There was water play!

There was talking and wine... and as the wine flowed there was more talking.

There was a party for the three year old twins.

There was a lot of fun!

Australian Open of Surfing

It rained. The ocean was flat. The junior skateboarders were incredible!

chicken noodle soup

 

Chicken Noodle Soup ~ My version! (serves approx 6)

For the soup:
5 dried shitake mushrooms, chopped
2 litres of water
5 chicken thigh fillets, cut into strips
1 packet of soba noodles (available at Woolworths or Coles)
Peanut oil, for cooking

8 spring onions, chopped into lengths of approx 4 cm
4 cloves garlic
Half cup organic soy sauce
4 large corn cobs, kernels removed (I prefer the ones unpeeled. They tend to be sweeter).
1/2 bunch coriander, roughly chopped

For the noodle seasoning:
6 tablespoons soy sauce
Sesame oil
Coriander, extra

Place shitake mushrooms in a bowl. Cover with water and soak for 30 minutes. Poach chicken in 2 litres of water until cooked through (about 10 minutes). Drain chicken and retain the water. This will become your 'stock.' Refrigerate the cooked chicken.

In a large pan heat the oil and saute the spring onions until lightly browned. Add the onion, mushrooms and soy sauce and cook for a further 5 minutes. Add the stock, soy sauce, corn, half of the coriander and bring to a simmer. Simmer, covered, for 20 minutes.

While your soup is simmering cook the noodles according to the instructions on the packet. Drain and divide into 6 bowls. Pour a dash of sesame oil, a tablespoon of soy sauce and a over each serving.

5 minutes before serving, place the chicken in the boiling soup to heat. Pour the hot soup over the noodles. Garnish with coriander.

** If (when!) you make this please let me know! I combined a few recipe ideas together (and added a few of my own) and the end result is, if I do say so myself, pretty damn fine!

persimmons

Very excited..........

I came into about 2 kg of (astringent) persimmon's recently. I can't exactly say how except that they might have adorned a tree at a local park near a dear friend.

The mission may have been undertaken in the cover of darkness. I should mention that this is an annual event (and the persimmons seem to be no one's in particular.)

So- watch this space. They are ripening as we speak.

Have you got a favourite persimmon recipe? I am thinking persimmon cake.... and a preserve of some sort.

with friands like these.....

Stephanie Alexander's friand (aka 'fanciers' - took me a while to relocate the recipe under this name) recipe makes for a chewy, fluffy, sweet little accompaniment to a cup of tea, a coffee or even just a thought (any excuse!)

6 egg whites & browned butter does the trick!

I managed to make these with the help of P (1 year old) and B (3 years old)!

yum!

Thank you organic markets!

They have to be some of the best apples I have ever eaten - crisp (not waxed either) and sweet with a touch of tang like a REAL apple!

walking in the mountains

The first day in the mountains was white! We couldn't see the Three Sisters from Echo Point Lookout but fortunately the sky cleared overnight. We visited the Three Sisters with a view, stunning Leura Cascades and then Pulpit Rock.

heaven scent

I have been a little absent. Apologies. We have my brother and his girlfriend here and we are having a wonderful time. Last weekend we wanted to show them the Blue Mountains so we stayed in this sweet cottage in Leura.

After all the rain the garden looked and smelled divine.... can't you just smell that mountain air?