Cute Stuff #4

Since my last post I've been to New Zealand and back, and moved house. Busy times! I've also spotted these cute things from around the interwebs.

The Winter Harvest Quilt, from Gorman's homeware range. I thought it was cold in New Zealand, but I got back to a freezing Melbourne. Need this to snuggle up under.

I loved seeing all the new season Winter fashion in New Zealand. Since I'm at home a lot now I've been dressing even more for comfort. This trouser/trackpant hybrid from Huffer pleases me.

Weaving whizzes New Friends are making rugs now. Any one of these would be an excellent addition to our new place.

This Hummingbird cake by Julia Busuttil. I had Hummingbird cake at a book club get together a few years ago, and it was so delicious. This reminded me that I've always wanted to make one myself.

I need these sneakers with puppies on them from Keep shoes. Cat lovers, there's a version for you guys too.

Vudu Cafe in Queenstown has this stunner of a vintage photo on the wall, as seen on studiohomeonline. Ray's bedroom in our new place has a window that's been sealed up so I've been mulling over getting a large landscape printed to put in it. My first idea was a tropical beach scene, but now I'm thinking I could use one of the photos I took last week in Queenstown. Fingers crossed that when I get my film developed the pictures look even half as good as this one.

Winter Recipe

I've spent a lot of this year feeling sleep deprived, and generally on the verge of sickness, so trying to eat some healthy meals has been a top priority. Now that winter has arrived, I'm sure there's a lot of you out there feeling a bit sniffly and miserable too. Might I suggest this super immunity boosting dish? Adapted from Marion Grasby's Beggars Chicken recipe, this is a meal to help you get back on your feet if you're feeling rundown.

Ingredients:

• 1 bunch coriander
• 10 cloves of garlic
• few cms of ginger
• 2 tablespoon vegetable oil
• 1 tablespoon sesame oil
• 6 x chicken thighs
• 1/2 cup soy sauce
• 1/4 cup fish sauce
• 5 star anise
• ground black pepper
• 1 tablespoon white sugar or palm sugar 
• 1 litre chicken stock or water 

• 1 cup brown rice
• 1 head of broccoli
• one bunch of spring onions

Method:

Cut the leaves off the coriander, and rinse the roots and stems. Chop into a fine mush, along with the garlic and ginger. Use a pestle and mortar if you have one big enough.

Heat your oil in a large saucepan and add the coriander-garlic-ginger, heating through for a minute or so to create a fragrant paste. Add the whole chicken thighs and cook for a few minutes until slightly browned.

Pour over soy sauce, fish sauce, and stock or water to cover your chicken.  Add the star anise, black pepper, and sugar, then simmer the lot for about 40 minutes, until the chicken is cooked through, and you have a delicious broth.

While this is cooking, get your brown rice on. I use one cup of rice, to two cups water. Or pour enough water over to sit two centimetres above the rice. Cover, then once the rice is boiling away keep an eye on it until it looks like the water has just about evaporated, and then turn it off. If you keep the lid on the rice should just steam itself cooked in about 20 minutes. This is my fullproof rice cooking method.

Add your chopped broccoli to your pot of rice, and it will all steam up nicely together.

Before serving, add chopped spring onions to your chickeny broth, and the shredded coriander leaves. Pull the chicken out and slice into bite sized pieces, to make it extra nice and easy to consume. Layer up your rice and broccoli in bowls, and cover with your chickeny broth. Delish!

Home at last!

The wee dugong has been home with us for four weeks already, boy has it flown past. I don't think I need to say how great it's been having him home where he belongs. Thank you so much to everyone who has sent kind thoughts our way during this crazy rollercoaster journey we've been on!

Mr Meet-cute got to take 2 weeks paternity leave, and my lovely Mum has been staying to help out for the past week and a half, but she flew home this morning, so now it's just me and Ray at home, the real deal! We've managed a few exciting outings since he's been home - even just getting out to the shops is extra thrilling now with the wee dugong in tow! Apart from that, Winter has really set in, so I'm happy to be hunkered down with Ray at home with the heat on, wearing my comfies all day.

This guy seems pretty excited about being home too!!

Winter Eats

What I ate this Winter. Butternut squash lasagne, recipe from design*sponge.

I've made this several times and it's a winner. I do get quite stressed out over the course of making it, as you have a zillion different elements on the go at once. It's worth it in the end though, just look at how delicious!

Another Winter fave is this lentil stew. Sounds boring, you say? Not after simmering away with smoky paprika and chunky bacon it's not.

Who's the fool that bought a pineapple in the middle of Winter? This guy. Well, not Mr Meet-Cute, he's just holding it. I was the fool that bought it and it was all woody tasting. Disappointing.

Haloumi and green olives on lettuce, thrown together when I only had ten minutes to eat before going out.

I got really into pho this Winter.

I got really into these chocolate brownies too.

A fancy breakfast at a place near our house.

 Xiao long bao 'soup dumplings'. GOD I LOVE YOU.

Amazing Cibi breakfast plate.

Mr Meet-Cute had some fun with pomegranate. I had fun eating it.

Eggs with runny cheese. YES.

Deluxe poached pear. YES.

Gozleme eaten on a sunny bench at the South Melbourne Markets.

Is fruit crumble the perfect Winter food? I say yes.

Yes please

{from Peachlings}

Hey Southern Hemisphere peops, it's the last day of Winter!

CERES Saturday

Before I started my pottery class on Saturdays I was a regular at CERES market and shop. There was a break between pottery terms this weekend so it was nice to go and visit CERES once more. I'd been missing it!

There's a lot going on at CERES, which stands for Centre for Education and Research in Environmental Strategies. As well as the shop and market there's the sprawling urban farm, community education and environment centres, an awesome plant shop and nursery, and a cafe, where we had some delicious breakfast. And there's always lots of good dogs there.

My first daffodil sighting! A sign that Spring is just around the corner. Also: BLOSSOM.

This is part of what I bought. Everything at the shop is in bulk so you need to bring your own jars and bags to fill up. The first time I went to the market I forgot to bring my reusable shopping bags - oh the shame!

I wasn't paying attention to what I was doing when I was filling up the quinoa - I accidentally mixed in some red quinoa that I wasn't going for. The perils of self service.