by Krista | Mar 16, 2012 | Fabulous Friday
After a gorgeous stroll through Salisbury, my friend Katy and I were thrilled when we came upon the Salisbury farmer’s market held in the town square.
It was positively bustling with people filling baskets and bags with fresh flowers, ripe cheeses, and all sorts of fruit and veg.
I was in absolute heaven when we entered the cheese part of the market. I nearly swooned at the incredible prices and wished I had a huge suitcase just to fill with wheels of French brie, tangy cheddar, and creamy soft goat cheese. We somehow managed to limit ourselves to just three, and happily tucked into them when we got home.
I am a true blue market lover. I’d happily shop only in farmer’s markets for the rest of my days if I could.
I love the big crusty loaves of fresh bed piled in marvy wicker baskets, bins filled with crisp apples and juicy pears, and am a sucker for meat wrapped in paper from the butcher.
I like the funky handcrafted items you find, like these fabulous felt slippers with pompoms.
But most of all I like the wonderful mix of people: pensioners in their comfortable walking shoes, business women decked out to the nines, and kidlets running about underfoot trying to wheedle candy and ice cream out of their long suffering parents.
Markets have such a cozy community feel. There’s something so nice about meeting up with dear friends for a cuppa or chit-chatting with perfect strangers about the quality of mangoes or the price of asparagus.
After we made the rounds of all the stalls, Katy and I climbed creaky wooden stairs up into the loft of a truly ancient pub for a bit of lunch.
How nice it was to remove our winter wrappings in the cozy warmth of the pub, visiting happily as we ate our way through toasted chicken and cheese sandwiches and baked potatoes topped with fire-roasted tomatoes and brie.
What is your favorite part of an open-air market?
by Krista | Mar 9, 2012 | Fabulous Friday
It is just starting to feel a bit like Autumn in my part of Australia with chilly nights and mornings and gorgeously warm and sunny days.
I absolutely love waking up early to foggy scenes like this.
No matter how tired I am I can’t tear myself away from my bedroom window and sit there happily with my morning cup of tea.
The fog never lasts long, so I treasure every mysterious and magical moment of it.
When sunshine scatters the last misty remnants, I head to my kitchen to make my new favorite bread: Triple Garlic.
Using the bread machine to do the hard work of mixing and kneading, I simply dump in the ingredients and return a while later to do final kneading and shaping. There’s something so homey and comforting about seeing the bread rising in a sunny spot on my counter, and even before baking, the garlicky smells fill my kitchen. I slide the risen dough into a hot oven and 45 minutes later a golden loaf is cooling on the kitchen table, almost ready to be cut into thick slices and slathered with butter.
What’s your favorite breakfast on a foggy morning?
Triple Garlic Bread
Ingredients:
1 cup cold water
2 cups whole grain flour
1 cup white flour
1 Tbsp raw sugar
1 1/2 tsp sea salt
2 Tbsp milk powder
1 Tbsp powdered garlic
1 Tbsp dehydrated garlic
2 Tbsp minced garlic
1 Tbsp olive oil
1/2 Tbsp vegetable oil
1 envelope yeast (2 tsp)
Directions:
- Place all ingredients in bowl of bread machine. Place on Dough setting and leave until buzzer sounds.
- Remove dough from bread machine and place on flour-dusted counter or table.
- Knead 5-10 times, shape into oblong and place in greased or baking paper-lined bread pan.
- Cover with clean, dry dish towel and let rise for 30-40 minutes until top is well rounded.
- Bake at 375 degrees F for 30-45 minutes until top is golden brown and loaf sounds hollow when you tap on it.
- Remove from pan and place on cooling rack. Brush top with olive oil and leave to cool to desired temperature. I like it best served warm or toasted and slathered with butter. Also makes delicious grilled cheese sandwiches.
by Krista | Mar 1, 2012 | Fabulous Friday
Living in several different countries makes for a rather topsy-turvy life where visas are concerned. This month is a particularly madcap one as two visa requirements for two different countries came up at the same time.
This weekend I fly to islands of Vanuatu (formerly known as the New Hebrides) for a 24 hour stay since the Australian Government needs me out of the country for a few minutes. I could’ve gone anywhere, so long as it was out of Australia, so I went online, found the cheapest ticket going anywhere, and Vanuatu was the place.
I am so excited about visiting this collection of islands, even if it is only for 24 hours. I remember reading about the New Hebrides when I was little, never in my wildest imaginings thinking that one day I would actually see these beautiful places.
I will be staying on Nguna Island, a short boat ride from the main town of Port Vila. I have no idea what I will be doing there, but I’m very excited about my little seaside bungalow, a place that requires the use of lanterns at night because there is no electricity. 🙂 It also includes home cooked meals by the owners, so I’ll get to find out what island food is like. I plan to make the most of my 24 hours there, and, if I can figure out how to use Bear’s camera, I will take heaps of pictures to share with you.
Ten days after I get back I hop on another plane to fly to Canada and then down to the United States to meet the requirements of my American visa.
Phew!
I’m tired just thinking about it, but so happy to know I’ll get to see dear folks, eat copious amounts of Mexican food, and experience a bit of winter whilst visiting some of my favorite haunts around Washington and British Columbia.
So it’s looking to be a wild ride this month, but it will be a good one. 🙂
How about you, dear one? What is your March looking like?
PS – You can view this month’s Rambling Tart Newsletter by clicking here.
by Krista | Feb 10, 2012 | Fabulous Friday
Before I traveled through the Balkans, I always pictured them looking like Communist-era Eastern Europe: dark, cold, and starkly utilitarian.
Perhaps this is why I spent the entire road trip agog, staggered by the pristine beauty of Bosnian lakes, Slovenian mountains and a Montenegrin coastline dotted with palm trees.
I know so many of you are in the icy grip of winter right now, so I thought we could all escape for a little bit to the sunny shores of Budva, Montenegro.
Wishing you a beautiful weekend, dear ones! xo
by Krista | Feb 2, 2012 | Fabulous Friday
It’s been a week marked with pain and sadness, both personal and in the lives of those dear to me. Yesterday was one of tears and that tightness in the chest that comes from grief and anxiety over things you cannot change, but wish with all your heart that you could.
I want to fix, heal, restore, and I can do none of them.
As I worked through my sadness yesterday, I sat in Bear’s big green armchair and edited photos from my trip to Bosnia from a couple of years ago. Seeing these images, so soft, green and intensely peaceful, helped me move from deep grief to deep peace. I let myself have a good cry, spoke aloud the things laying heaviest on my heart and then read moving and inspiring things like this post from my friend Rain.
As the day came to a close I was wrung out but at rest. My hope was restored, my joy intact. It’s a lovely thing to be able to hope again. To see the pain in this world and hope for those broken relationships to be restored, those shattered bodies made whole, those places of darkness illumined with light.
I cherish those hopes and thought of the family motto of my Mum’s Welsh family line: “While I breathe, I hope.” All is not lost while there is still life. The broken things can be healed.
I put on the kettle and slid ginger cookies into the oven. I smiled as the sun came out after days of rain and cloud. And I just shook my head and chuckled when my dear, wretched goats found another hole in the fence to escape through.
Life is devastatingly painful sometimes. And scary. And sad. But somehow it’s still beautiful, with friendships and experiences that restore, comfort, and cheer.
“Be brave enough to hold onto the hope that life will be beautiful again.” – Brave Girls Club
I wish you a beautiful weekend, dear ones.
by Krista | Jan 26, 2012 | Fabulous Friday
I love stormy days in Australia. Rain pattering loudly on my tin roof. Winds rushing through the gum trees. Standing still under the canopy of branches, listening to the patter of water droplets as they fall from sky to leaf to forest floor.
It’s so good to be home. Cozy in the big, green armchair, creamy coffee sweetened with real maple syrup, time to rest and think and just be.
It’s a thoughtful sort of day. A day for naps and reading and gentle strolls in the rain. For penning handwritten letters and slow-roasting tomatoes. For making soup.
I juiced oranges this morning and put the peels in my crockpot and covered them with water. They’re simmering now, filling my little house with citrusy goodness.
I’m lingering on Pinterest today. Losing myself in glorious images. Letting go of niggling anxieties and fears as I’m reminded of how much beauty and goodness there is in this oft-frightening world.
I feel my little griefs ebbing, replaced by gratefulness.
Gratefulness for:
A big feather comforter that keeps me so cozy at night.
An “anything you can fit in this bag for $3” special in the produce department at the grocery store. I filled one with cherries, peaches, nectarines, grapes, fresh dill and watercress. I can’t help smiling when I think of it.
Friends who love me just the way I am. No strings attached. No efforts to mold me into what they think is best.
A real hand-written letter in the mail. And a package wrapped in brown paper all the way from Germany.
Finding more dark chocolate when I thought it was all gone.
A whole stack of new British murder mysteries from the library.
Funny how a little gratefulness cheers a body right up. 🙂 Now I think I’ll don my wellies and go for a trek in the storm. It’s a lovely storm.
What is cheering your heart today? xo
