From One Year to Another

by liz on January 26, 2012

Once again another year is over.  I am not sure exactly how time got eaten up so quickly.  Yet here I am at the face of a new year, not knowing what are my plans and goals.  Evaluating life seems quite hard, I guess looking over last year it may be hard to beat!

So what did happen last year(2011)?  Well in the lives of Roy and I, first we rocked out the new year in mud at Woodford folk festival.  It is like a tradition, yes we did end it there too.  After a week being back home in Brisbane the rain did not let up and yes the qld floods were on our doorstep.  Surviving a week with no power, limited supplies and listening to a quite city while trying to get sleep. A very surreal experience.  Everyday we were helping someone, move in or out of homes, scrubbing, pushing and hosing mud.  We were lucky it did not hit our home.

It was wedding time in April, Roy and I had decided we would get married before we travelled the world.  Why not?  But first, our flatmate Paul was getting married to Suesue.  We flew down to Melbourne to eat dumplings and of course attended a beautiful wedding.  Paul and Suesue’s big day was so fantastic, the memories of the tram ride, ohhh.  The night before our friend Gemma had her book launch for her project Red Light Dark Room.  I love Melbourne, I love that the crew flew down to have a jolly weekend in another city.

Then it was Easter time which meant that the Blues Fest was coming up.  Another festival on the cards each year.  For some reason we did not take any photos.  Or write about it last year.  ODD?  Well it was our wedding in 5 days, so I think our focus might have been on something else.

Our wedding, well I guess we did it in style.  All of our dearest friends and family all camping under the stars for a long weekend out in the bush.  Nothing like rolling around in a paddock!  A pig on the spit to feed the ravenous up.  A sunset like no others and a hoedown that I will never forget.  My day was special, and the weekend was just the best time ever.  If I could do it all again I would.  We were so lucky that we had everyone come to our special day, people traveled long and far.  Take a look at these brilliant photos done by Gemma of our weekend.  It still brings a tear to my eye, I love that man! Roy that is.

Well we were packed up and ready to go before the wedding.  We had given and sold most of our belongings.  With only a few things to keep, obviously the car.  I really need to find a photo of it.  It was now time to pack our tiny backpacks to take on the world.  Our packing list was somewhat an ordeal of what to take and what not to take.  I think we could even make it smaller again next time.

So it was time for us to take on the world.  Japan, China, Malaysia, Thailand, Laos and Vietnam.  We traveled for just over 3months.  Our highlights of Asia are found on flickr or take a look at our travel page.  Eating our way through Asia was a fun task, I would love to go back to China, maybe this year?

Roy was back to work in PNG and me well I decided on living some where new.  Maleny was my pick, we have a great view from our verandah of the glass house mountains.  After searching for work I am now a Chef(please do take note of the capital it makes me feel important) at a health retreat in Reeseville.  I also write recipes for the local paper each week, check out the Range News.

Christmas was at our house this year, us the newlyweds. Our families arrived on Christmas eve for our big dinner.  I cooked a turkey.  I had never cooked one before.  Below are a few photos of our Christmas feast with our family.

So what is 2012 going to be?  Maybe it will be a nice and relaxing year.  After the last one being so eventful.

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Steak with Chimichuri

by liz on January 25, 2012

Australia day is all about gathering together in someone’s backyard and having a beer and a barbecue. While the men tell tall tales over the flames the ladies are fussing over salads.  This recipe for chimichuri is an all-rounder, place it over your steak and drizzle it over your salad.

Chimichuri is something that Roy and I love, tasting it first in Argentina.  We have since recreated the  recipe to how we think we remember it.  It is now apart of our barbecue tradition.  I can’t live with out it, especially as a salad dressing then sopping the left over juice with a bit of a baguette.  YUM.

Chimichuri

  • 2 cups fresh parsley
  • 3-6 cloves of garlic
  • 2 tablespoons chopped onion
  • 1/2 cup olive oil
  • 4 tablespoons red wine vinegar (optional)
  • Salt and red pepper flakes to taste

Preparation:

  1. Crush and mince garlic and onion in a mortar and pestle.
  2. Now finely chop the parsley and add to the mortar.
  3. Add the oil and vinegar and stir.
  4. Season with salt and pepper

You can add a little water to the mix if you would like.

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Spaghetti and Meatballs Recipe

by liz on January 18, 2012

 

With a few extra hands in the kitchen, this meal is quick and easy to prepare. Good quality mince from the butcher a few pantry items and this meal will suit any budget.

Spaghetti and Meatballs

  • 500g beef mince
  • 1 brown onion diced
  • 3 cloves garlic finely diced
  • 1 tbs chopped fresh thyme
  • 1 tsp lemon zest
  • 2 tbs chopped parsley
  • 1 tin diced roma tomatoes
  • 1 tbsp brown sugar
  • 250g spaghetti (or dried pasta of choice)
  • Sliced parmesan
  1. Preheat oven 180′c.  Place the mince in a large bowl. Along with half of the onion, 1/3 of the garlic, thyme, parsley and lemon zest.
  2. Mix the ingredients, it is best to use your hands for this.  Then roll the mixture into bite sized balls.  Place them on a tray lined with baking paper.
  3. Place the meatballs in the oven and cook for 10-12min or until cooked
  4. Heat up a saucepan of water for the pasta.  Once it has come to a rolling boil, add the pasta and cook for 8min, and then drain.
  5. In the meantime, drizzle a little olive oil in a large frying pan, thrown the remaining diced onions and garlic in.  Once they have softened pour in the diced roma tomatoes, fill the tin half way with water and give it a stir, then add the water to the pan.  Stir in the sugar and allow the mixture to come to the boil.  Add the meat balls to the mixture and allow to simmer for 5 min.
  6. Season with salt and pepper and serve on top of your pasta along with a few slithers of parmesan cheese.

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Penang Laksa, Malaysia

by Roy on January 15, 2012

Working at crossing off all the culinary treasures Georgetown possesses, it was time to move onto the serious food.

Everybody knows laksa in Australia as a spicy coconut noodle soup. Somewhere in south east asia I am sure they do something like this. But not in Penang.

Venturing out to find a street stall that was recommended to us, we came to the corner to find a man working away getting ready for the afternoon rush.

Look at the price, a whole dollar.

What came to our table did not look entirely enticing at first glance, thick and dark.

But the flavour was superb, actually very subtle and light.

Liz was not game enough to get a bowl, so settled for a strange green drink, which she liked and I was not to sure about.

As you can see, there is nothing coconuty about what was served.  Which is more than fine with me, as I find most coconut dishes to be overly rich and lacking the subtlety I love in most Asian food.

This was just a fantastic thick fish stock, with a few noodles, greens, chilli and garnish thrown in. An absolute masterpiece.

The masters workshop was a work of art in itself.

Ahh, Georgetown, we love you.

 

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Tandoori in Georgetown, Malaysia

Our time in Georgetown was coming to an end. But we still had a list of food we wanted to try that just kept getting longer no matter how much hard work we put into eating five or six meals a day. Oh well! May as well keep trying. Tandoori and Nann bread was something we [...]

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Grandma’s Chocolate Cake

This recipe is one for all the young bakers out there.  My grandma gave this recipe to me when I was about ten and I still make it now. Quick and easy, throw the ingredients in a bowl and mix and into the oven. It is moist and light and goes great with a cup [...]

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Festive Sangria

As the new year is upon us, with many bbq’s to attend.  A punch can be made up to suit everyone’s tastes.  A festive drink should be colourful and pack a little punch.  Make your own fruity experiment.  Have a happy new year. Sangria 2 bottles red wine 1 cup orange juice 1 cup soda water splash [...]

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Cranberry, Rosemary and Wine Jelly

This jelly goes great with your Christmas turkey.  I like to pair it with brie, turkey and rocket on a sandwich an easy way to use up any left overs. Or simply add it to your Christmas hampers. Hope you all have a happy and safe festive season Cranberry, Rosemary and Wine Jelly 170 gm Dried [...]

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