Swing

Oliver has a new swing. 

We will pop it outside soon but for now it is hanging on the stairs.  Very popular with the little master. 

Treat

Little English Man

Oliver's British passport arrived today. 

Brunch , walk and lamb

This morning Debbie and Captain (his name is Kirk) came over for brunch.  So nice to see them. Lots of fun jokes, laughs and chats. 

In the arvo we went for a lovely family walk. Frida is back from her 3 day 'holiday' at Leigh and Peters place so she got a nice walk.  

J had marinated a half a leg of lamb for 24 h that he cooked tonight.  The marinade is made with garlic, honey, cranberry and rosemary.  Add a little bit of oil and salt.  In the oven at 170 for 1 h and 15 min. It was delicious !!  

Happy Australia Day!

Happy days , it's Australia Day!! 

On the upside we get to spend today having fun and tomorrow is a public holiday.  Yey ! In Australia if a holiday falls on the weekend you automatically get another day off. Niiiice! 

On the downside this is the weekend when 2 of our closest friends pack up and leave Australia. Actually Amy , Ian and Lula left for Dubai yesterday.  Today we have spent all arvo with Frank , Caroline and Teddy since they go back to the UK after the weekend. I hate goodbyes and just pretended we will see them soon again ! 

The afternoon was spent at Paddo bowling club.  Have spent many days there lawn bowling and drinking champers. In the old days! 

Today was a family day , some bowled or did the thong (flip flop - not underwear! ) throwing competition - but most people were chatting and hanging out looking after the kids. Lovely afternoon! 

Food processor and meat

A little while ago , after long and faithful service, our food processor died. We have been slack and lived Without since.  Very hard since we use it all the time. Today we got a new one woohoo!!

J immediately made a mean salsa verde to go with the steaks for dinner.  Nice! 

After getting the food processor we went to the meat emporium.  J thinks he's died and gone to heaven every time he is in there. For me it was the first time andI was  pretty impressed too! Loads of meat so if you're sensitive , don't look at the photos below... 

Anyway we got a lot of meat for a lot less than you would at the butchers plus better quality. Love a filled freezer! 

Tonight we had lovely 150 day aged steaks, wedges, salad  and salsa verde. Not too shabby ! Hehe. 

Oregano

Happy oregano ! 

No sleep

I can't sleep.  Oliver is sleeping and do is J. I'm just not... 

It would almost feel better if it was Oliver who kept me up.  Now it feels like I have no excuse to be awake ... 

I should not jinx it though... : ) 

Veg lasagna

The other night I made a really nice veg lasagna from Jamie Oliver. J inhaled it and actually said it was one of the nicest things I've cooked. 

You really should not complement yourself but it was really good!! 

I really recommend trying it. I now prefer it to the meat lasagna... 

Very easy to do but takes some time to do.  This is what you need: 

• 3 aubergines

• 3 cloves garlic, peeled and sliced

• a few sprigs fresh thyme, leaves picked

• 1 dried red chilli, crumbled

• 6 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

• 2x400 g organic tinned plum tomatoes

• 1 splash balsamic vinegar

• 1 bunch fresh basil, leaves picked and stalks chopped

• 150 g Cheddar cheese, grated

• 2 handfuls Parmesan cheese, grated

• 6-8 fresh lasagne sheets

How you do it: 

Preheat the oven to 200°C/400ºF/gas 6. Steam the whole aubergines over a pan of simmering water for 30 minutes, then scoop out the flesh and cut it up roughly. Slowly fry the aubergine, garlic, thyme and chilli in the olive oil for around 10 minutes. 



Add the tins of tomatoes, chopping them up roughly with a wooden spoon, then add the balsamic vinegar and most of the basil leaves. Bring to the boil and simmer for around 10 minutes until the sauce has reduced and thickened. 



Spread a layer of aubergine sauce in a large, shallow dish. Sprinkle over some Cheddar and a handful of Parmesan, then spread over a layer of lasagne sheets. Repeat once or twice more, until your dish is full. Finish with a final sprinkling of Parmesan, a scattering of basil leaves and a drizzle of olive oil. 



Place in the oven for 25 to 30 minutes until bubbling and golden.

This is my lasagna : 

Happy dog

With a very happy dog in the park ....

Happy Birthday Walter

It is my gorgeous nephew Walter's birthday today !!  Happy birthday to youuuuuuu! 

On the weekend they had a birthday party for him and they were all dressed up as knights. Walter is at the moment into everything medieval... 

The cake was amazing don't you think ? 

Apparently this a a 'famous' character - it's Mike the Knight! I had no idea but now I have googled lots and am informed! Hehe. 

I wish I was there to say happy birthday in person and give him a big hug.  Xxx

Bay run

This morning Oliver and I walked around the bay ( called the Bay Run) with Nicky-Lee and Connor.  It's a 10 km walk in total and today I took Frida as well.  Great weather , cloudy and 26 degrees.  We are currently doing this walk together once a week and it's so nice to catch up, take the bubbas out and get some exercise.  

When we got back to the house Oliver spent an hour rearranging the furniture.  He is walking holding on to things and prefers chairs and other furniture rather than his toys... 

Summer hobby

Gold

Dukkah from Robinvale estate.  

Yum! 

7.18 am

Have managed FaceTime and Skype with both sets of parents , change clothes, nappy on Oliver , had tea + bottle for Oliver, clear up in the kitchen and now in the park with dog and son. And it's only 7.18 am... 

Motherhood makes you efficient! 

Beautiful day

It has been such a beautiful day today. I am lucky in so many ways. It is not everyday I think about that but today I feel grateful for a lot of things.  

Not only because if has been 30 degrees and sunny outside but for so many other things. I'm grateful for my beautiful family, both my own here , my family in Sweden and the uk.  In particular grateful for Oliver. That we are all healthy and happy. That we live in a great city.  That we are lucky enough to be able to have a lovely home and beautiful things. That I have such lovely friends , here and around the world. 

I am lucky in so many ways...

Moi

On walk with Oliver and Frida today. 

Yummy

A few days ago Nicky-Lee and I walked around the bay with the boys.  We got talking about baby food and recipies. Afterwards she popped in with some muffin and recipes for me.  So lovely! So I'm cooking something different this week!! 

Variety

Tonight Jamie Oliver vegetarian chilli - yesterday pork crackling and home made apple sauce. 

I have to give you the recipe for the veg chilli - it was looooovely!!! Really easy to do too and lots left over. 

We had quite a lot for dinner and also both now have lunches for tomorrow.  Fabulous! 

Note - I used dried chilli flakes as I did not have any fresh chilli ... Also we only served with sour cream and chopped coriander. It was plenty , no need for rice we felt ...

• 2 medium-sized sweet potatoes, approximately 500g

• 1 level teaspoon cayenne pepper, plus extra for sprinkling

• 1 heaped teaspoon ground cumin, plus extra for sprinkling

• 1 level teaspoon ground cinnamon, plus extra for sprinkling

• olive oil

• sea salt

• freshly ground black pepper

• 1 onion

• 1 red pepper

• 1 yellow pepper

• 1 bunch fresh coriander

• 1 red chilli

• 1 green chilli

• 2 cloves garlic

• 2 x 400 g tinned beans, such as kidney, chickpea, pinto and cannellini

• 2 x 400 g tinned chopped tomatoes

Preheat the oven to 200°C/400°F/gas 6. Peel the sweet potatoes and cut into bite-sized chunks. Sprinkle with a pinch each of cayenne, cumin and cinnamon, drizzle with olive oil and scatter with a pinch of salt and pepper. Toss to coat then put them on a baking tray.

Peel and roughly chop the onion. Halve, deseed and roughly chop the peppers. Pick the coriander leaves and put aside, finely chop the stalks. Deseed and finely chop the chillies. Peel and finely chop the garlic.

Put the tray of sweet potato in the hot oven to cook for 40 minutes until soft and golden. Put a large pan on a medium-high heat and add a couple lugs of olive oil. Add the onion, peppers and garlic and cook for 5 minutes. Add the coriander stalks, chilli and spices and cook for another 5 to 10 minutes, stirring every couple of minutes.

Drain the cans of beans, then tip them into the pan with the tinned tomatoes. Stir well and bring to the boil, then reduce to a medium-low heat and leave to tick away for 25 to 30 minutes. Keep an eye on it, and add a splash of water if it gets a bit thick.

Get the roasted sweet potato out of the oven and stir it through your chilli with most of the coriander leaves. Taste and season with sea salt and freshly ground black pepper, if needed. Scatter the remaining leaves over the top, and serve with some soured cream, guacamole and rice or tortillas.

Yesterday - pork crackling - 4 h in the oven: 

J's home made apple sauce.  Recipe from Bill Granger:

The result:

Candles

It's 30 degrees outside and the oven has been on for 4 hours so probably 35 in here.  But hey if it is Saturday night the candles are lit!! 

Note my Liljeholmens kanal ljus in the Georg Jensen candle holders. The very best candles in the world.  ( since 1837) I get them sent here as hey, can't do without them.... 

Sultanas and activity

Oliver is obsessed with raisins at the moment ...

Maybe that is what gives him the energy to be INTO everything ALL the time ...

Tiredness

Friday night and I went to bed at 8.30 pm.  Been reading until now and my friends I am saying good night.  Bedtime - 9.40 pm.  

I'm a real wild child....

Fjällräven

Love Oliver's new backpack! 

Was a Christmas pressie from his cousins .... 

Prawn and chilli curry

Looking forward to a prawn and chilli curry tonight. 

We almost followed the recipe below - added and subtracted some .... 

Tea and dog

Got a new tea from T2 - it is really nice! 

So having a cuppa and cuddling Frida....

The Hobbit: The Desolation Of Smaug

Put Oliver into day care today and we had a dag together.  This has not happened since before he was born!!! 

J went for a big run in the morning and I faffed around at home and got ready SLOWLY. ( also never happens here! ) 

Then we went to see the hobbitt at the cinema. During the day!! Oh so exciting to go to the movie alone during the day! 

I loved the movie and so did J. We are both big fans of anything fantasy and the hobbitt / lord of the rings in particular. So there we were with popcorn in the middle of the day.  Pure decadence! 

After the movie some shopping then sushi for lunch.  Yuuum!

Then we picked up a very happy Oliver. He loved being back at day care. Phew! What a relief I thought maybe he'd forgotten about his mates and be upset. Not at all - he was happy as Larry !