by Krista | Nov 30, 2011 | Plucky Thursday
It’s a perfectly marvelous stormy day today, gusting winds, pouring rain, and it feels every bit like England in the fall.
So this afternoon I’m going to take you on a pictorial jaunt with me and my dear friend Katy through the streets of London.
It was late afternoon as we emerged from the Tube, wrapped our scarves more snugly around our necks, and wandered happily through the bustling throng.
Seeing this flower stall made me think of Eliza Dolittle in My Fair Lady and I was struck by how many of my favorite movies and books are set in this most wonderful city.
I love strolling with Katy. A prolific traveler, writer, and lover of life, she is a splendid walking partner, perfectly content with companionable silences or laughing hard as she regales me with tales of her adventures abroad and at home in England.
She chuckled at my incessant photo-taking and ooohing, knowing that she is every bit as bad as me in countries she didn’t grow up in.
After a gentle rain the sun emerged, casting a lovely, warm glow over the stately stone edifices around us.
I was utterly charmed by this street. It reminded me of the delightful Jean and Lionel from “As Time Goes By.”
And I couldn’t help grinning at all the lovely old pubs and cheery double-decker buses.
After much happy wandering we decided it was high time for a pot of tea and something decadent. We found a welcoming spot with one table left open just for us. We ordered piping hot tea to warm our fingers and pooled our last few pounds to purchase a stunning little strawberry tart to share.
Then we sat back and watched people, wrote in our journals, and felt like two of the luckiest girls in the world.
What is your favorite treat to have when you stop for a coffee or tea break?
by Krista | Nov 28, 2011 | Gulliver Tuesday
Starting your life over completely is a scary, overwhelming and wonderful thing.
Along the way you run out of money, meet amazing new people, and parts of yourself come to life that have lain dormant for ages.
You have great days and weepy ones, and sometimes, right when you need a shot of hope in the arm, something good comes along to cheer you right up and give you renewed courage.
Like a birthday. In Australia.
I turned 37 this weekend and have to say it was the best birthday I’ve ever had. 🙂
My bear pulled out one surprise after another to make it a beautiful week of great memories and new adventures and I love him for it. 🙂
He started with Nearly Birthday Day, whisking me away to town for silly little things that make me happy. Like taking me to a new thrift store and letting me pick out whatever treasures delighted me: a slightly gaudy medieval necklace, a rather lethal looking rake, two wonderful old books by two of my favorite authors (John Buchan and Baroness Orczy), and a splendid hand-painted champagne bottle that looked like something from Eastern Europe.
We went to a tiny, local butcher and bought bacon that was over a foot long (!!) and a pork roast with a thick rind that will make the best cracklings. Then he loaded up with all sorts of fresh fruits and veg from the outdoor market – I’ve been juicing and cooking like mad with all those yummy things! Next stop was the shopping center for a hot date in the Food Court where we dine luxuriously on hot dogs, potato wedges with gravy, and coffee milkshakes.
Later bear surprised me with a lovely filigree pendant, two new chooks – gorgeous Belgian ones in soft gray with bright red combs – and three adorable baby ducks who cheep like crazy when they see food. We also had dark chocolate mud cake and a jolly visit with dear friends and wow, I felt utterly spoiled.
But the dear fellow wasn’t done yet. Sunday afternoon he picked me up and took me for a drive up through the hills near Toowoomba to the Preston Peak Winery.
It is a gorgeous, sprawling estate of vineyards and flowers with a chapel and reception room for weddings overlooking the valley.
We climbed up further to the tasting room and cafe perched above the grapevines lining the hillsides and took in the stunning views.
Tearing ourselves away from the scenery we entered the Preston Peaks Winery tasting room and were greeted by Kor Ersoy, a lovely Turkish man who made us feel so welcome, answered all our questions, and lavished us with samples. While everything was good, my favorites were the Wildflower series, Golden Gleam (White Muscat), and the delectable Touriga Port.
After all our sampling we were more than ready for some solid food, so we wandered over to the cafe to see what they had to offer.
What they had was a stunning view, cool breezes blowing in through the open windows, and a menu chosen to suit the wines they produced. It was perfect!
We were ravenous so we ordered our bevvies: iced coffee to perk us up after all those tastings, wine and Double Sars (double sarsaparilla) to go with our meal, and then tucked into a feast: spring salad, warm cheesy bread, to-die-for pizza, and an antipasto platter with olives, sun-dried tomatoes with lavender, pesto, salami, smoked ham, caramelized sweet onions, and roasted capsicum. Phew! Needless there’s no way we could eat all of it, and I happily did not have to cook the next day. 🙂
We drove home as the sun was setting over the hills, sleepy, full, and so very, very happy.
It was the best birthday ever.
What is your favorite birthday memory?
by Krista | Nov 22, 2011 | Compatriot Wednesday
Good morning, luvs!
It’s a blissfully cloudy day and I’m so grateful for the coolness after the piping hot weather we’ve had the last few weeks. 🙂
I thought I’d take you on a little tour of some of my beloved critters here on the farm in Australia. 🙂
We have a LOT of chooks (chickens) right now and will soon have heaps more since we have darling chicks arriving every day. 🙂 These are some of our Light Sussex scratching around in the straw for bits of grain leftover from the goats feeding.
Here are our newest additions highly curious about my camera but none too impressed with having their picture taken.
This is our resident duck gang that waddles around en masse quacking animatedly. They make me laugh.
I love this sweet new goat nibbling happily among the Australorps and Light Sussex.
Here is one of two horses: Swannee Bay Jane and Gunnago Miss Baby Bars. 🙂 Aren’t those the most outrageous and fabulous names?
These are my favorite members of the farm family, maybe because I got to celebrate their birth and name them. The mama on the left is L’Abri, and the twins cuddling on the grass are Felix and Sophie. They are the friendliest little goats, always running up for pats on the head and scratches around their horns.
Do you have any animals where you live?
by Krista | Nov 20, 2011 | Bootstrap Monday
Well, I’ve been officially sick for two weeks now. Bear has been too, and folks from work are coming down with this wretched cold/flu thing left, right and center.
I’ve drunk copious amounts of tea, bowls of soup, and, it must be admitted, a whole lot of salty potato chips that somehow are just the thing for upset stomachs and sore throats.
Last week my friend Ann surprised me with a bread machine and taught me how to use it the way she does. Ann is a clever soul and with five kids to feed she has found every possible shortcut to making healthy food for her family. She uses the bread machine to do the mixing and kneading – a process she doesn’t have time for – then shapes and bakes it in a regular oven which she’s found results in better texture and taste.
I’ve been trying all sorts of flavors and styles and each one has turned out beautifully. It’s been especially nice when I’m unwell since I can just dump in ingredients, press the button, and rest until it’s ready to pop in the oven.
Now that I’m perking up a bit, I finally have time to share the rest of the photos from my trip to my friend’s goat farm. (You can read Part I here)
After a scrumptious lunch, we donned our wellies and with a herd of curious goats at our heels, headed down to the creek for a stroll.
My first visit to their farm was in January after devastating floods swept through uprooting trees and depositing mounds of mud and debris. (Click here to see photos of how it looked then).
I’m so happy to see what ten months of time, sunshine and Joe and Shirley’s hard work have done to turn that disaster into something beautiful once again.
The entire creek is like this now, water gurgling through towering trees with banks thickly carpeted with a tangle of wildflowers.
I love it here. 🙂
Now I think it’s time for a slice of fresh bread and butter and another cup of tea.
Do you have any tricks for making healthy food quickly?
by Krista | Nov 17, 2011 | Plucky Thursday
Good morning, luvs!
After my Bolognese friend Maddalena and I explored bombed out villas in a beautiful Italian park near Bologna, we emerged from the tree line to see this stunning view.
I could hardly believe it! The colors were so rich and glorious in the late Indian Summer sunshine, looking more like a painting than a real life scene. The sun was warm on our skin and we soaked it in little knowing that the next day summer would flee for good, replaced by bitterly cold winds and drenching rain.
We shared the trails of Parco della chiusa or Parco Talòn in Casalecchio with Italian couples strolling hand in hand, young moms visiting animatedly with their friends, and joggers huffing and puffing up the steep incline.
And it was steep! Instead of sticking to the gentle incline of the main trails, we took a deep breath and headed straight up the hillside, bent almost double to keep from sliding down the dusty pathway.
By the time we reached the top we were wheezing and gasping like the joggers we had seen earlier, laughing as we made our quivering legs take those final steps to the top.
The view was worth every shaky step and near tumble and we stood for a while enjoying it thoroughly as we filled our lungs with fresh air.
After a bit we continued on our way, the going much easier now that we were crossing the ridge line instead of laboring up steep paths.
It was my first time visiting Italy in the Fall and how I loved crunching through the leaves, finding bushes laden with ripe berries, and feeling beautifully warm after my chilly summer in Amsterdam.
We didn’t actually know where we were, so we just followed whatever trail took our fancy, assuming that one of them would take us home again. Along the way we found ivy covered walls and this wonderful old villa glowing warmly in the setting sun.
At the villa we picked up a couple of friends, two little kitties – a black and a gray – who gamboled after us, stopping often to roll in the dust-filled potholes and arch their bodies against our legs.
All too soon it was time to head home for dinner. We drove through the golden hills back to Maddalena’s house, and sat down to a perfect meal of fresh bread and homemade minestrone soup. It was nothing like the glutinous stuff I’ve had out of cans with soggy bits of pasta floating in a sea of overcooked vegetables. Nope, this was marvelous, a delicate vegetable soup drizzled with good quality olive oil and topped with freshly grated Parmesan.
Maddalena was surprised I wanted the recipe. To her it is simple country food, a hodgepodge of whatever leftover vegetables she might find in her fridge. But to me it was something special.
It was minestrone soup as it was meant to be. A delicious end to a wonderful day.
What is your favorite meal after a nice, long walk?
Real Italian Minestrone Soup
Maddalena and her aunts always use a pressure cooker to make minestrone soup. They add vegetable broth, salt and pepper and an assortment of chopped vegetables. While the combinations are endless, they do have certain traditions concerning the vegetables.
Ingredients:
hunk of Parmesan cheese
good quality olive oil
chopped vegetables (see below)
Vegetables that SHOULD be Included:
carrots
potatoes
beans (small dried)
green beans
celery
zucchini
spinach
Vegetables that CAN be included:
tomato
broccoli
Vegetables that MUST NOT be included:
fennel
aubergine (eggplant)
Directions:
- Add all ingredients to pressure cooker and cook for 15 minutes until all vegetables are tender.
- Ladle into bowls, drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with freshly grated Parmesan.
What is your favorite treat to have when you stop for a coffee or tea break?
_logo.svg){kind=logo}
