weekend love

Gotta love a weekend. Especially one with blue skies, winter warmth and sheets flapping on the breeze ready for a cosy night's sleep. Our gal's off to dinner with a friend tonight, so the planned menu of lamb shanks is on hold till tomorrow night.

So tonight, we're having mega veal cutlets, crisp kipfler potatoes, wilted spinach - and maybe a bernaise sauce... {where were the veal cutlets on the meal plan some may ask? Happily exchanged for the roast beef I didn't realise had passed its best-before date. Well hung meat indeed...}

weeding out the nanas

You know, I reckon that this whole word verification thing that blogs have going on isn't to weed out spam or computer generated nonsense - it's to stop oldies like myself from rabbiting on in the comments section. Seriously, how damned incomprehensible are most of those letters? I spend more time trying to work out if it's a G, H, 3 or a q than I do coming up with my attempted pithy comment. And I become more squinty than Renee Zelwegger when I'm trying to decipher them - that's never a good thing...

the answer my friend...

I've always been a huge fan of drying washing in the sunshine and breeze. The other night, while I was poorly, I dropped substantial amounts of bolognaise sauce on my lavender and cream Peter Alexander pjs. Sadness! But my daughter said, "Don't worry, just wash it and the sunshine will take the stains away." Too true. In 30 minutes of hanging in the sun the tomato stains had vamoosed.

Today it's a real drying day. It's sunny and it's windy. I'm even thinking of washing my doona - that's how good a day it is! The load I hung out at 8.30 was dry when I hung my second load out at 10am.

I loved the clotheslines in Venice. Strung between apartments you'd see lines of clothing flapping above the canals. Sure, I did have to chase one of my tops that hadn't been pegged out properly {I did have fun working out where the little courtyard it landed was!}, but everything dried beautifully. I also think that line-dried clothing is easily to fold straight from the line and {NOW} straight into the baskets and into our cupboards.

It's the little things...

frugal friday

Yesterday, as I mentioned, I did my speed grocery shop - but I didn't zoom past the bargains. Instead, what I did was change my mindset from Top Shelf Gal, to Bottom Shelf Browser. See, I've always been one to go for the top shelf spirits in a bar. I'll go for Grey Goose vodka over Karloff anyday. However, now I'm an economista, I'm hunting down low for my bargains, cos, you know, in the supermarket those products at ankle-level are where bargains are to be had. I only spent $60 yesterday on my staples {because I'm buying my meat from the butcher} but I do believe I saved around $10 by buying bottom-shelf items.

Making friends with your butcher is also the best way to be frugal. We're having spanish chicken tonight, so I bought a Lillydale free range chicken from my butcher and asked him to cut it into portions for me - which he did, at no extra cost. Plus, because I'm a regular, I didn't even have to ask him and he kept the bones aside for me to use as stock! Now, confession time, I've never made stock - I'm a buy it in a carton gal. However, because I use so much stock in my cooking it's time to knuckle down and bring out the boiler. I've got all the basic ingredients on standby so I'll mix up a batch and freeze some in cleaned milk bottles.

I'm also going cold-turkey and buying absolutely no pre-made cleaners - so no multi-purpose sprays, bathroom cleaners, floor cleaners... nothing. Instead, I'm going to use the bottles, pour in a quarter white vinegar, a few teaspoons of bi-carb soda and top it up with warm water. I'll give it a shake and then add a few drops of lavender oil and a drop or two of tea tree oil to disinfect. Effective, smells purdy, and the costs are minimal {I estimate around 20 cents per container - much cheaper than your spray and wipe!}

My work-chasing has been successful too which makes me happy. Between getting new work, and cutting back on expenditure we'll be debt-free and saving in no time.

andelay, andelay...

Just had a speedy gonzales moment. I've been a bit slooooooow after my migraine on Tuesday, so I needed to catch-up, quick-smart. At 2pm I sat down and came up with the week's menu, wrote a shopping list and was out the door by 2.10pm. I zoomed through the supermarket, bought a week's worth of ingredients, even stopping to chat to my great Aunt who I haven't seen for yonks, and I was at the school gate ready to pick up my daughter at 2.50pm. Ahh, the joys of living centrally.

This week we're eating:

Tonight: Shepherds pie and veg

Friday: Spanish chicken with rice {we didn't get around to this last week}

Saturday: Lamb shanks, mash and peas {inspired by last night's MasterChef}

Sunday: Roast beef and vegies

Monday: Chorizo pasta bake

Tuesday: Pork cutlets and veg

Wednesday: Provencal chicken {my daughter's new fave!]

Off to start frying off some veg and simmering the lamb mince for the pie. I love mine slowly simmered for a few hours before topping with mash and baking.

Excuse me, salivating.

boot scootin' baby

I have frosty tootsies today, so my shoe of the week has to be these butter-soft Marc Jacobs beauties I spied with my little eyes over at net-a-porter. Sure, I'll never zip them over my netballer's calves, and yeah, I don't have even a fraction of the cashola to pay for them, but this spot ain't for practicality - it's for living vicariously shoe-wise.

Which I'm doing.

Mmmm, snuggly tootsies...

meet me at martha's

And we'll wander through her peony beds together!

head space

I spent the whole day in bed yesterday... with a migraine. A killer migraine. Ouch. So I'm spending today in a spacey-kinda headspace, plodding through things I need to do. Slooooooowly.

moving on a monday

Lots to do this week. How 'bout you?

I've got some new work, so I need to knock that over quick smart, then I need to chase even more work {damn you money...}. My aim is to have everything in place to get stuck into some intensive meetings in two weeks time.

This week's five things that I must do {following the lead of Liss at frillsinthehills.blogspot.com}

• Mop my kitchen floor - it's beyond gross

• Tidy the papers in my study

• Send out three "Hi, remember me? Want to give me some work?" emails

• Buy birthday pressies for two spesh friends

• Finish copy for new job by Friday

That'll do. Off to mop the floor {it's a hot water and sugar soap job thanks to roast pork and tarte tartin spillages on Saturday night that've just been vaguely wiped. Eeek!}

Enjoy your week.

especially for me

I love a good challenge, especially when it seems it was designed just for me. This week's blogthis challenge runs as follows:

The Dinner Party

Your challenge, should you choose to accept it, is to plan a fabulous dinner party. You've been given a healthy budget, so don't scrimp!

Guest list - 8 people, dead or alive, real or ficticious.

The menu - will this be your very own masterchef moment, or is outsourcing more your style?

Is there a theme? What will be the entertainment for the evening? What will you wear? What will you talk about? Don't forget the wine!

Have fun planning, be as creative as you like. If you're creative, maybe even design the invitation. Make this an event not to be missed!

Hello, does this challenge have my name all over it or what?

Now: guest list

I'll be inviting Matt Preston, MasterChef judge just so I can see the look on his face as he tastes my food {hopefully he'll enjoy...}

I'll invite Ross Noble, because I think he'd be one of those comedians who are always 'on' and in an intimate setting reckon he'd get me and my guests giggling.

Also on the list is Amy Sedaris -it was a toss-up between her and her brother, but I've got to up the girl factor for this party so Amy's it.

My hubby will be there, cos I do all the prep-work and he sees to filling glasses and carving meats etc.

Amanda Keller will be another girly guest - I'm so digging her on Talking Bout Your Generation, she's quick witted and looked damn fine in that pencil skirt and red frilly blouse last night.

The Fug Girls from GoFugYourself - I'm going with the quick-witted theme tonight.

Finally, my last boy, hmmmmm, big call, but I'll go with Johnny Depp so when we need time out we can just gaze upon his calm beauty.

Now, it's my party so I'm going for a spring fling. We'd bring up a trestle table and pop it in the pavillion by the pool. And, as money's no object, I'm strewing the surface of my pool with pink and red rose petals, and covering it with a glass dancefloor. Vases of blowsy pink and red roses are dotted around the place, with bowls of flower heads serving as a centrepiece.

I like bitsy menus, so starting off with bowls of tasty nibbles, tapas-style, always works. We'd have spicy caramelised prawns, chilli lemon haloumi, warm rosemary and maple syrup mixed nuts, sauteed chorizo with a sherry jus, and strips of herb and chilli pita crisps - served with rose champagne cocktails.

For a main I'm doing my viking chops - a standing rib roast marinated and cooked on the bbq before carving into single man-sized cutlets. With it I'll serve a simple watercress, radish and cashew salad, roasted pototoes and beetroot with aioli dressing and a red wine, caramelised shallot jus. This will be accompanied by big hearty bottles of red.

For afters, I'll serve chocolate tart with fresh rasberries, creme fraiche and caramelised pistachios with a sticky semillion from the Hunter Valley {Margan perhaps?}

Finally, for those who linger, there'll be a cheese and fruit board and more fortified wines, and perhaps an espresso or two for those in a European frame of mind.

frugal friday - having an ouch moment

Well, we got our tax bills from our accountant today - yes, bills, not refunds. Luckily they're less than we expected, but still, we've got to cough up. So that means going even harder on the frugal front. How? Well, we're going alcohol-free for a few weeks from this Sunday {after having guests on Saturday night for a last hurrah...}. I'm going to look at how I can keep shaving money off the shopping bill and am busting a few blood vessels chasing more work at the moment.

Foxtel's going to get cut to the minimum. The movie channels have to go because there's never anything I want to watch when I want to watch it - and lately the only films I have watched have made me angry or sad {Nights in Rodanthe I'm looking at you!}.

Food-wise I want wastage to be at zero, zilch, nada, none. I'm going to make myself up a little compost somewhere so I can actually put all our piles of coffee grounds to good use so I have lovely lush compost when I do eventually get my vegie garden.

Exotic ingredients are a no-no {so I shan't be importing pigeons and perigord truffles to replicate a MasterChef dish - although it did look absolutely amazing!}.

No air-conditioning during the day while I'm working - and I'm keeping the thermostat down at night and adding more blankets so when I turn it off when we head to bed we'll stay all toasty.

From now on it's all about making-do.

so sad

The deaths of Michael Jackson and Farrah Fawcett have me in a pensive mood. I look at that gorgeous young face to the left, with all that talent, and am saddened by the shell of a man that recently died.

While I wouldn't have considered myself a fan, Michael Jackson provided the soundtrack to many memorable moments in my life. The digital jukebox at my 40th was pumping with plenty of his hits that got us all up and dancing - and a smile will forever be tweaked from my lips at Jennifer Garner's Thriller interpretation in Suddenly 30.

May they rest in peace.

don't you know who i am?

My blog spent the entire afternoon pretending to have not one clue who I was. I had to sign in and write up that crazy, incomprehensible word verification - whenever I tried to comment on MY BLOG. Then, when I tried to post, blogger told me I wasn't the author of any blogs yet. Scary stuff.

Luckily it's recognising me now, which is fortuitous as I'm teering on the edge of hysteria with Justine being sent home from MasterChef. Yes, Justine: talented, calm, fabulous, should have won the first celebrity chef challenge, graciously allowed Lucas to take the second challenge to secure his berth in the final {even though he's not one onehundredth of the cook she is...} - that Justine. And yes, Justine, while Sam {one dish wonder} and Andre {strawberry risotto} remain in the competition. Not happy! At least Julie's still there. I just love Julie.

Chris for the win I reckon - hey, I'll be at whatever he has to offer next time I'm in Melbourne.

happy days

When you're happy and you know it, post some Betsey Johnson shoes on your blog! I'm in a super-fine mood this morning. I've got new work coming in, the sky's a remarkable shade of blue and I had an enormous bacon and egg breaky to start off the day.

I'm also thinking about how blessed I am with my friends. I've got some pretty darned amazing ones and feel like giving them all a great big hug.

meal planning

Whew, my parents have gone home and I can get back to my usual meat-filled menus. While I did enjoy coming up with some vegetarian creations {the zucchini and haloumi fritters with aioli were a hit!} the carnivore within needs some stoking. So here's what's cooking in PPMJ's household this week - after some serious browsing at taste.com.au:

Wednesday: strictly comfort food: sausages, mash, gravy and green beans

Thursday: beef casserole with parmesan dumplings, cauliflower and mushy peas

Friday: chicken and potato provencale

Saturday: friends to dinner so I'm cooking up a pork belly feast. Mmmmm, pork belly... served with lavender creme brulee {thanks MasterChef - my gal decided this was a must-cook}

Sunday: spaghetti bolognaise in the slow cooker {big day of household chores, this'll make us happy when we schlep in at 5.30pm.}

Monday: garlic, lemon and oregano lamb in the slow cooker - with braised French lentils and roasted broccolini

Tuesday: Spanish chicken - heavy on the chorizo with a spinach rice pilaf

the way to a man's heart...

Those of us who love to cook agree that there's nothing better than the sight of someone obviously enjoying the fruits of your labours in the kitchen. I've always thought that there was more than a degree of truth to the adage, a way to a man's heart is through his stomach, and now it's been confirmed.

Undoubtedly the most unexpected sex symbol to have taken many hearts firmly is his grasp is MasterChef judge and food critic Matt Preston. Now, I'm always a fan of the Oscar Wilde floppy hair brigade, so he already had a point in his favour. And, must say, a snazzy dresser with individual style will also catch my eye. When I found out that he started wearing cravats at 18 to cover his lovebites, the sense of the bad boy appealed, but oh my, his passion for food? That closes the deal.

Most fans will have viewed the crikey.com video ode to Matt, and nodded their heads in agreement, sighing all the way through. I don't think he's quite inspired Robert Pattinson rioting in the street levels yet, but I imagine anyone finding themselves in a restaurant in the vicinity of Mr Preston would soon uncover scenes akin to the time Samantha goes to seduce Smith at Raw, competing with many lascivious women licking their lips, revealing more cleavage and enticingly biting on asparagus.

I wonder if he's free for dinner any time soon? I'll happily import a container of truffles for his masticating pleasure...

tv times

I've always been addicted to television. Even as a youth I spent a disturbing amount of time glued to the screen - not that I can work out how as my brother and I were out riding our bikes or roller skates until the streetlights came on every day after school.

I'm still addicted. Last night I was squirming in anticipation of MasterChef followed by Talking Bout Your Generation {mainly so I can be a smug girly swot and answer every question correctly - that's my kinda show} and rounding off my evening with Australia's Next Top Model. They're a treat for all the senses.

So it's no surprise our daughter's also a fan of the box - but of course, these days, with Foxtel any time's children's programing hour. She's still active, gets all her homework done, plays with friends, so really, I can't see why I should stop her. TV hasn't rotted her brain, turned her into a brat or distracted her from any other childish pursuits. And hey, when she grows up she too can be a pop culture show-off and be the team member all trivia teams fight over.

finally tagged

It's really simple. I love how every photo tells a story. Some short stories, some long tales. I want to know what is your favourite photo of yourself. Everyone has one. The photo they look at and smile. It reminds them of something, some time, some place. A moment in time.

So share the photo, share the story and then tag three other people. I want to see photos and stories all around the blogosphere.

Chantelle from fatmumslim.blogspot.com tagged me yonks ago - but my technological incompetence stopped me from posting. Damned if I can work out how to post her pretty pic, and text, plus mine - so I chose mine and her text. Get it? Plus, the tag is a doozy. See, I've got a gazzilion fave pics of my daughter, plenty of my hubby, but me? Well, that's a tougher call. I think I first started getting self-conscious about having my picture taken when I was in primary school - and it's persisted. However, a few years ago a friend mentioned something that was a revelation. When she was asked why she always looked fabulous in photos she replied "Because I like having my photo taken" and it's true.

Look at photos of children - they always look beautiful, and totally like themselves because they're just open, honest and happy. They're not standing at the perfect angle, holding their chin up, sucking their tummies in, holding their arms out so they look thinner... Nope, they're just themselves.

Anyway, I finally understood what I had to do just before my 40th birthday party and in every single shot I look happy, and, well, like me. It was also the perfect, perfect party. Everything was decorated in pink and red, I had a digital jukebox so we danced the night away, yummy food and lots and lots of lovely champagne. I was surrounded by so many wonderful friends and laughter is still ringing in my ears. Oh, and on my feet were my new Manolos... Sign

So here's one of my fave photos from that night. I look happy, I'm anticipating the fun that's to be had, and, I look, well, like me. Here goes the blogging anonymity!

screen time

If the story alone doesn't impel you into a cinema, or the knowledge that Tim Burton is directing, or even the exquisite casting of Johnny Depp as The Mad Hatter, take a look at Anne Hathaway as The White Queen and tell me how you could possibly miss Alice in Wonderland on the big screen.

using my loaf

Okay, the sour cherry, walnut and coconut loaf was a smashing success - here it is in all its soft focus {oh, alright, outta focus} glory.

Here's what I put in it - remembering that I barely measure stuff, relying on what I think looks good. It tasted good though - moist, crispy outside, and yummo if you got a whole cherry in one of your mouthfuls.

In a bowl sift one and a half cups of self-raising flour, 1/2 cup brown sugar, 2 tsp of baking powder together. Then add about 1/2 cup shredded coconut. To this add one beaten egg, about 1/4 cup warm milk, 1/2 cup melted butter and about a cup of frozen, pitted cherries. Then sloosh in a couple of tablespoon's worth of sour cherry jam and about a cup of really fresh walnut pieces. Barely mix it together, using a butter knife like you would for a scone mix. You want a barely moist mix.

Pop it in a greased loaf tin {I used my 8 million dollar tupperware silicon loaf tin} and sprinkle the top with more chopped walnuts, some brown sugar and a little cinnamon. Bake at 180 degrees for around 40 minutes, or until a skewer comes out clean when poked in the centre.

Serve dusted with icing sugar, and if there's any leftover, toast it and serve it café style with a lump of melting butter and a dusting of cinnamon.