Texture loving tails

It has been a year since our two kittens took ownership of both us and our house.

When we picked out the bundles of fluff, it was April so they weren’t moulting.  Then summer hit and everything changed. I swear that soon I will be the one who is choking up hairballs in the morning. Absolutely everything we own is coated with tendrils of their silky black fur.

One thing I am most curious about is why all cats always choose the fluffy or soft spots to sit when they are so fluffy themselves? Our kids are inseperaple so when you find one, you are sure to find the other close by, if not underneath the other. I think it’s because nothing is softer than their fur.

Berlin’s toe fluff is so long she could have braids!

How can they feel the softness of fabrics with a fluffy coating over their entire bodies? The scientist in my needs to know why.

Slanted and Enchanted

Borrowed from clashmusic.com

I recently stumbled upon the below while cleaning up the desktop of my computer. I vaguely remember scribbling it down post the Pavement gig I went to about a year ago.

Slanted and Enchanted

The night air gusts through the windows as the passing lights streak neon lines in my peripheral vision.

The cab driver deftly ploughs up the empty streets, veering around stray drunks.

Head lolling towards the open window, the warm air tousles my hair as I fight off sleep.

My feet throb;  my throat is dry and scratchy, signs of a night well spent.

The encore! They played my favourite song – I waited 19 years to hear it live.

I tumble into bed smiling but exhausted.

Recipe challenge – Seared scollops & crispy prosciutto with roasted tomatoes & smashed white beans

I made this dinner for Wifely’s birthday and while it was a bit intense and required some multitasking skills – a bit different to my usual one pot wonders – it was really delicious. It’s from Jamie Oliver’s The Return of the Naked Chef.

Seared scollops & crispy prosciutto with roasted tomatoes & smashed white beans

INGREDIENTS

• 4  Large ripe tomatoes, quartered
• Salt & ground pepper
• Pinch dried oregano
• Olive oil
• 8 Slices prosciutto
• 1 Clove of garlic, finely chopped
• Dried chillies to taste, crumbled.
• 4-6 Anchovy fillets, chopped
• 1 x 400g Tin of cannellini beans, drained
• 12 – 16 scollops
• Rocket or other salad leaves

METHOD

• Preheat the oven to 240 degrees.
• Season the tomatoes and sprinkle with the oregano. Drizzle with olive oil and roast in the oven skin side down for about 10 – 15 minutes.
• Place the prosciutto slices beside the tomatoes and continue to roast for a further 10 minutes or until tomatoes are juicy and the prosciutto is crispy.
• In a pan, fry the garlic, chilli and anchovies in oil for a minute or so.
• Add the beans and cook for a few minutes before adding a ‘wine glass’ of water. (I need to interject here. When I read this, half way through trying to successfully make a nice birthday dinner for wifely, I got the rage. How long is a piece of string? I have a range of wine glasses and they are all different sizes.  There’s the ‘i’ve had a really tough day’ half a bottle sized wine glass, the ‘I just fancy a wee tipple while cooking’ wine glass etc. I was so unsure of the quantity it really through me. I started with an actual cup of water, but thought a bit of wine would help too. Some for me, some for the beans – about half a cup)
• Bring to the boil, then lightly mash to a coarse puree (or in my case, mash the hell out of it while muttering about how ridiculous it is that renowned chef’s don’t use regular measurements)
• Loosen the puree with a little more water if need be. (Try to contain the eye twitch)
• Finish the flavour off with some peppery extra virgin olive oil, salt and pepper.
• Season the scollops then sear them in a frying pan with a touch of olive oil for 2 minutes without touching them.
• Check and continue to fry until they have a lovely sweet caramelized skin – turn them over and allow the other side to do the same. Don’t overcook them.
• Remove to a bowl and coat with a little olive oil and lemon juice dressing. Put some smashed bean puree on each plate, scatter over the tomatoes, prosciutto, scollops and rocket.

Kittens vs. Christmas tree

We didn’t put up any Christmas decorations this year as we have two incredibly naughty kittens. I just stumbled upon a video that exemplifies what would have happened had we of erected a decorated tree. As it is, we have to keep the toilet lid down as the kittens love swimming in the toilet, then walking around the seat leaving wet paw prints. We also have to keep our toilet paper in a lidded container as we came home to this toilet paper ticker tape parade one afternoon. (Berlin is looking away like she had nothing to do with it)

Our catch phrase has become “it’s lucky they are so cute” as they are constantly up to no good. While we named them Parsley and Berlin, their frequently used nicknames are mischief and mayhem.

Recipe challenge – Chilli pumpkin quesadillas

On a recent trip to the library, wifely picked up a great recipe book called Kitchen by Marie Claire. It is full of fresh and healthy recipes, so I of course went straight to the more unhealthy – though truly mouthwatering – recipe for Chilli Pumpkin Quesadillas. With two types of cheese and a lot of oil, there was no way they couldn’t be delicious!

They were pretty easy to prepare with the roasting of the pumpkin being the only thing that required a bit of time. Crunchy on the outside and melty gooey goodness on the inside, there will definitely be a repeat of this little number. The left overs were also great heated up in a flat sandwich press at work the next day.

CHILLI PUMPKIN QUESADILLAS

INGREDIENTS

• 4 Tablespoons pitted and chopped black olives
• 1 Large red chilli, seeded and chopped
• 125ml Olive oil (this is an excessive amount of oil. Next time I will definitely reduce it by using only enough oil to combine the chilli and olives into more of a tapenade style paste and just use spray oil on the tortillas. While the original recipe is delicious, I am a bit scared that if we have this meal on regular rotation in its current form, we may die from clogged arteries before the end of the year)
• 500g Pumpkin
• 1 Teaspoon smoky paprika (I don’t believe in measuring spices, so I just gave the jar a liberal shake to coat the pumpkin)
• 300g Grated mozzarella cheese
• 150g Crumbled fetta
• 6 – 8 Tortillas (depending on size)
• 90g Coriander

METHOD

• Preheat oven to 180 degrees celsius.
• Put the olives, chopped chilli and oil in a blender and blitz to make a flavoured oil. (Next time I will just make a paste & perhaps add a clove or garlic to the mix)
• Dice the pumpkin into small pieces and put onto a baking tray.
• Brush pumpkin with the oil and sprinkle with paprika. (Next time I will use spray oil on the pumpkin)
• Bake for 30 min or until soft and golden.
• Put the cheese in a bowl and combine.
• Put some of the oil onto a tortilla and then put it oil side down onto a baking tray. (Next time I will use spray oil here)
• Pile on the pumpkin, cheese, a drizzle of the oil and some coriander then top with another tortilla. (Next time I will liberally apply the tapenade to the filling side of the tortilla before piling with pumpkin & cheese)
• Brush the top of the tortilla with oil then pop it in the oven for 10 – 15 minutes or until the tortillas brown and the cheese melts.
• Eat them hot and try not to burn your chin with the drippy goodness! (Next time I won’t burn my chin!)

Humpty Dumpty

Whilst walking down the street, a pleasant looking man around 50 years old, snappily dressed in a hat and waistcoat walked towards me. As we approached each other, he held out his arm with a closed fist, palm towards the ground. Close to my face, he conspiratorially wiggled his wrist up and down, gave a slight nod and said “humpty dumpty” and continued walking. Bemused, I didn’t respond to his comment. In retrospect, I should have said  “and humpty dumpty to you kind sir” which seems the only fitting reply.

I turned to see if he was doing it to everyone he passed, but he appeared oblivious to everyone else on the street. It made me smile. Then a frown crossed my brow as I wondered if he was implying that I am egg shaped. He didn’t know me so he couldn’t have realised that I AM so clumsy it is highly likely that I would fall off a wall, should I decide to sit on one that kings men on horses were surrounding.

It’s these kind of completely unthreatening occurrences that make running work errands so enjoyable as working in the CBD, they are relatively frequent. They really do make my day.

Hand over the homemade

This year I have decided to only give hand made gifts. I was  inspired  after hearing that there were around $900 million dollars worth of unwanted gifts given this year for  Christmas.  While I bought an Oxfam gift card for my family and friends this year as an attempt to help those in need rather than those who want,  they are going to think I am just being mean or cheap if I stop giving them gifts altogether.  Besides, I really enjoy giving gifts! It’s the whole experience; choosing something I know the recipient will be excited about, as well as wrapping the presents and making them look too good to open. I really hate waste though and I do try and recycle everything possible so I have turned crafty.

The first person on the gift list this year is my good friend Sarah. I had a think about what she likes / would want and came up with some food items. Sarah doesn’t have a sweet tooth so I didn’t make her my usual gift of cake or other baked goods. I have become the cake baker in our group and am in charge of our rent-a-kid Harper’s birthday cake every year. This years request was a cat cake or a ‘meow’  as she calls them.

Sarah isn’t hugely into cooking but I know she appreciates good food so I made her a yummy chilli jam which is a great all rounder and can be used in place of tomato sauce. It’s the first time I made it and I tried it out with my breakfast this morning and it was delicious. I cleaned out old jars and used ribbons off  gifts I have received, place cards left over from a conference I organised and old card scraps to finish off the jars.

The other thing I made her was a maple macadamia muesli. I love cooking so enjoy preparing foodie gifts.

My friend Mel’s birthday is this weekend and we are celebrating by having a picnic. I thought a personalised stubby holder might be fitting, great when there are a bunch of people drinking the same brand of beer.

Apart from  making things that my friends and family will appreciate and like (hopefully!) it also keeps me stimulated and off the couch.  Making gifts and listening to music is a much more productive and satisfying way to spend an evening than blankly staring at the television. What home made gift have you received that you loved?

Recipe challenge – Stuffed eggplant

I made this recipe around New Years as I had indulged in weeks of excess and felt more than a little dirty on the inside. I consumed a mammoth amount of junk over the festive period (and if I’m honest, for most of December) resulting in an intense physical craving for veggies on mass.

Wifely got a hamper from her work that included a giant Toblerone, tiramisu biscuits, nougat and other treats. I bought her a box of Lindt peanut butter balls (where have you been all my life??) and I baked 30 chocolate faux plum pudding cup cakes and 30 passionfruit cupcakes to take along to our various functions. Needless to say there was a lot of test tasting and nibbling, as well as outright “i’d better have one of each as I simply can’t decide between the two” moments.

This is all on top of the usual Christmas fare and all the unhealthy – but entirely delicious – meals we both cooked during our time off from work. Great for my mouth, not so great for the rest of me! All of this has led to the dirty feeling and the reason why this recipe was a relatively low fat veggie filled number. Pretty tasty too which is a nice reminder that yummy food doesn’t have to be full of fat (are you listening wifely??)

This recipe is from BBQ food – Get out of the Kitchen and turn up the heat. I had to buy this recipe book for the cheesy title.

STUFFED EGGPLANT

INGREDIENTS

• 2 Eggplants
• 2 Tablespoons olive oil (if you have a decent non stick pan you won’t need this much)
• 1 Onion, chopped
• 2 Garlic cloves, crushed (or you can use a microplane to grate them which is heaps easier)
• 4 Ripe tomatoes, roughly chopped
• 2 Teaspoons tomato paste
• 2 Tablespoons chopped dill (I didn’t have any dill so used basil instead)
• 2 Tablespoons parsley
• 2 Tablespoons currants (I omitted these as the texture of hot currants gives me shivers & when I was 3, my brother told me they were dead flies. 31 years later I still believe him)
• 2 Tablespoons pine nuts
• 1 Tablespoon red wine vinegar
• 150g (1 1/2 cups) finely grated kefalotyri cheese (this is the cheese used in saganaki. I just used parmesan as it was on hand)

METHOD

• Cut the eggplants in half lengthwise, then cut out the flesh leaving a 5mm thick shell. Finely dice the flesh. (The recipe says to soak the eggplant etc which I never do. I don’t find eggplant bitter and I am also too impatient to wait for it to soak and drain)
• Heat some oil in a fry pan on high and cook off the eggplant until browned. Transfer into a large bowl.
• Heat remaining oil and cook off garlic and onion for 2 mins, then add tomatoes, tomato paste, herbs, currants (if you are happy to eat dead flies), pine nuts and vinegar. Cook off for about 10 minutes stirring occasionally. Add tomato mix to eggplant and combine with cheese and season with salt and pepper.
• Spoon mix into shells, sprinkle with cheese and chuck them on a BBQ or in the oven until cooked through.

**I made mine in the oven and cooked the shells while I was doing the rest of the recipe so they didn’t take so long. Did I mention I am impatient when it comes to food?

I covet a moustache

Lunching at my local cafe The Estelle, I was overcome with an unusual emotion when I happened upon (who I think is) the owner of said cafe. I emitted a high pitched squeal and my stomach became awash with butterflies when I saw him standing at the till. As a female who bats for my own team, it has nothing to do with attraction and everything to do with envy. On my first visit to the cafe, I struck up a conversation with him just so I could congratulate him on his marvellous moustache. On many subsequent visits he, or rather his moustache, haven’t been there to receive my fervent stare so I felt like I had lucked in on this particular day.

When I was a little tacker growing up in a street predominantly filled with male youngsters, I had a colossal case of penis envy. Not because I wanted an actual penis, but because the boys on my street always wrote their names on the road with a steady stream of urine and I was eminently jealous that I couldn’t partake in this creative endeavour. Nearing 34 years old, I have advanced from wistfully wishing I could  ‘wee write’  (mostly) and it has been replaced with monstrous moustache envy. Movember is the worst month of all. I know that they are raising funds for a really important cause but it’s a hard month for those of us who are genetically incapable of growing facial hair. The green eyed moster is a savage beastie.

I think my love affair with the moustache began whilst studying art and discovering Salvador Dali, whose masterly mo makes me sigh and smile. You have to admit that being able to poke your eyes out with your own facial hair is highly impressive.

While Dali was my ‘mo de jour’ throughout high school, John Waters has been my moustache idol since my late teens and still is. I love Waters for many reasons but his signature mo which is the most individual and impressive of them all, is the mo I would grow if I could.  Perpetually pencil thin and perfectly groomed, it is equivalent to consummately applied liquid eyeliner. I am still awaiting a fancy dress party with the theme ‘come as your idol’ so that I can don a John Waters mo, if only for one night. I figure trimming my hair in order to ensure my faux mo looks authentic in it’s spiky stubble  is required to do my ode justice.

Pumping irony

Image borrowed from http://weightsupplementsforhardgainers.info/blog1.php

I have recently become a gym junkie. I never thought that phrase would pass my lips but I have come to love it. There are  many  factors that contribute to my enjoyment, but my personal highlight is the sense of irony of one of the staff. I’m not sure if it’s due to the fact that it’s a Richard Branson owned Virgin Active gym so there is a sense of humour in all aspects. On the GHD straightners is a sign that says ” Warning, I will make you look hot” with the HOT in a different colour to warn the uninitiated.

The gym is sectioned up  with the cardio area having all the treadmills / cross trainers / bikes,  most with their own flat screen TV’s attached.  For the equipment that doesn’t, there is a wall of TV’s with all 8 or so channels playing so the user can choose a channel they like and access the sound via headphones.  Then there is the free weights area which brings me to the use of the above image and to the thing I find most amusing.

The free weights area is where the men that look like my buddy above hang out. And so do I. Just to clarify, I don’t look anything like the above; I am just trying to slowly tighten up my bingo wings / tuckshop lady arms / nanna bye bye’s: the loose and fatty area covering where your lats would be if they were visible. Anyway, I digress. So in this area are all the people who are swilling protein drinks whilst lifting weights bigger than me. The area contains benches facing  a wall of mirrors to watch your technique (or watch yourself kissing your biceps as you curl some iron) which only leaves room for one lonesome  TV – and it generally plays cartoons. Not the cool, slightly adult cartoons like South Park, The Simpsons or Family Guy, but kids cartoons with super heroes and cartoon cats.

Image borrowed from tvweek.com

I think it’s hilarious and often ponder the reason for choosing this channel over the other 7 or so on offer – one of which is a sports channel. Are the gym staff trying to calm the muscle men down? Do they want to return them to child hood when they weren’t so angry all the time (just eat some bloody carbs! You need the sugar to stop being so moody) or is it to mess with them? It gives me a giggle either way. I wonder if anyone else has found it ironic.