can't wait

Next Wednesday Harry Potter is finally hitting our screens - I'm positively squirming in anticipation...

And tonight's the premiere of series two of the Aussie Project Runway. Can't wait to fall in love and hate with the designers - and see Henry Roth, who I do so adore... I'll be stitched to the screen!

things that make me go woo hoo

The delicious Tahnee won Australia's Next Top Model last night and looked so smoking hot in her Alex Perry dress it's no wonder a nose bleed had to ensue. Clare deservedly took out the viewer's choice award and I was amazed at how well she handled herself on the night. Considering there were complaints all through the show about her demeanor, she was warm, gorgeous and positively bubbling with confidence and personality. She'll strut down global catwalks in style.

Apparently Cassie was a no-show at the after-party - has her fiance already whisked her away?

sizzlin' sausages

My husband's special dinner request was for proscuitto-wrapped chicken sausages - which were delish. So now I'm going to share the love - and the recipe...

500g chicken mince

zest and juice of half a lemon

a couple of finely sliced garlic cloves

around a cup of chopped italian parsley

salt and pepper

an egg

1 slice of wholegrain bread, grated

8 - 10 slices proscuitto

Combine all ingredients except prosciutto in a bowl and mix well. Form into sausage shapes and place in a container before refrigerating for around 30 minutes. Take out, roll the sausages completely in a slice of proscuitto {do it on an angle so it's completely enclosed} and then grill them, turning till crispy and browned and firm.

Yum.

My daughter loved these - even with the strong lemon flavour. She did a MasterChef taste test while eating, and managed to get all the ingredients except egg and breadcrumbs {and who'd taste those?}. Served with rich orange pumpkin mash, crisp sweet potato rounds and lightly steamed spears of broccolini I feel this was the perfect balance of healthy and tasty...

Now, to master that lamb dish they just cooked on MasterChef.

eat up

This week we'll be noshing on the following:

Tuesday: Chicken and prosciutto sausages, mashed pumpkin, roasted kumera and broccolini

Wednesday: Slow cooked bolognaise

Thursday: Steak, red wine and shallot jus, pumpkin mash and wilted spinach

Friday: MasterChef lamb kofta pizza thingy with salad

Saturday: Beef stroganoff with buttered noodles and brussel sprouts with almonds

Sunday: Lemon and thyme roasted chicken and veg

Monday: Enchilladas

music is my life

One of my 'special skills' is that I have a song for every moment. It entertains my daughter no end that if she mentions a word, then I can pretty much burst into a song from the 70s, 80s or 90s to match it.

I even used music back in my toddler taming days.

One day my daughter may need therapy, but luckily, even now she can look back and laugh. See, the other day, we were in a store {Laura Ashley actually} when a song came on {as they do} and my gal looked at me and said "Why do I know this song?" I smiled and said "Wait till the chorus." Sure enough within minutes she'd burst out laughing and said, "It's tragedy!" Yep, this is the tale of how the Bee Gees helped with toddler tantrums... {And nope, it didn't involve threatening her with men in tight, gold suits - how hysterical is this shot? And believe me, there weren't a dearth to choose from!}

I used to deal with tantrums with a mix of 'ignore it and it'll go away' and 'selected hits from the 70s'. The first case involved a memorable trip around Coles, where my daughter tried her first {and last} throw herself at my feet screaming about something-or-other. At this I simply moved a few metres up the aisle and ignored her. She of course, noticed, got up, moved, and, again, flung herself at my feet. We repeated this little vignette for a few aisles until eventually she tired, and, thank god, we've never had another incident.

But sometimes, a musical option was called for. See, whenever she thought things were particularly unfair, I'd burst into the chorus of the Bee Gees Tragedy. Loudly. And sure enough, it'd stop her. So much so that after a while, as soon as she saw me taking a deep breath way into my diaphragm she'd say, "Noooooooooo, my not want Tragedy..." and that'd put an end to that episode. {my not was her cute-as-a-box-of-kittens way of saying I don't. Bless}

So thanks Barry, Robin, and Maurice. I had no need for the naughty step, or spanking, just a set of lungs and an inability to ever feel embarrassed...

it's raining again

Yep, drizzle, drizzle, pour, pour, sprinkle, sprinkle - raindrops keep falling on my head.

Sigh.

At least it'll inspire me to stay inside and get all my work done.

But still, rainy days and mondays always get me down... I've got over the mondays bit - how can I burst my seasonally-affected, rain-influenced blues-disorder?

Pink polka dotted gumboots?

Bright red fingernails?

A bowl of hot chocolate?

Every little bit helps.

molten bliss

Last night our pudding was chocolate fondant - the bane of MasterChef contestants and judges in Aus and the UK. However, must say, these worked out rather well. For a start, they're a Gordon Ramsay recipe - which I saw a team prepare on The F Word, to great success. Secondly, I followed a blogger's advice {ironchefshellie.blogspot.com} and froze them before cooking. Yep, froze 'em.

They were amazing. Here's the recipe - all I can suggest is sit in front of your oven, watching them every second of the 12 - 15 minutes they'll need to cook {my hades-like oven took 12 minutes} and as soon as the top starts looking brownie-esque and starts to pull from the sides, whip 'em out, let 'em sit for a minute, then pop 'em out on a plate.

Chocolate Fondant
Gordon Ramsay

50g melted butter , for brushing
cocoa powder , for dusting
200g good-quality dark chocolate , chopped into small pieces
200g butter , in small pieces
200g golden caster sugar
4 eggs and 4 yolks
200g plain flour

Prepare your moulds ready. Using upward strokes, heavily brush the melted butter all over the inside of the pudding mould. Place the mould in the fridge or freezer. Brush more melted butter over the chilled butter, then add a good spoonful of cocoa powder into the mould. Tip the mould so the powder completely coats the butter. Tap any excess cocoa back into the jar, then repeat with the next mould.

Place a bowl over a pan of gently simmering water, then slowly melt the chocolate and butter together. Remove bowl from the heat and stir until smooth. Leave to cool for about 10 mins.

3. In a separate bowl whisk the eggs and yolks together with the sugar until thick and pale. Sift the flour into the eggs, then beat together.

4. Pour the melted chocolate into the egg mixture in thirds, beating well between each addition, until all the chocolate is added and the mixture is completely combined to a loose cake batter.

5. Tip the fondant batter into a jug, then evenly divide between the moulds. The fondants can now be frozen for up to a month and cooked from frozen. Chill for at least 20 mins or up to the night before. To bake from frozen, add around 5 mins more to the cooking time.

6. Heat oven to 200C/fan 180C/gas 6. Place the fondants on a baking tray, then cook for 10-12 mins until the tops have formed a crust and they are starting to come away from the sides of their moulds. Remove from the oven, then leave to sit for 1 min before turning out.

7. Loosen the fondants by moving the tops very gently so they come away from the sides, easing them out of the moulds. Tip each fondant slightly onto your hand so you know it has come away, then tip back into the mould ready to plate up.

8. Sit a fondant in the middle of each plate. Using a large spoon dipped in hot water, scoop a 'quenelle' of ice cream.

9. Carefully place the ice cream on top of the fondant, then serve immediately. Repeat with the rest of the fondants.

Serve to a round of enthusiastic applause - even if it's only your own!

monday's motivation

Somehow, despite my annoyingly debilitating migraine - I managed to achieve most of the stuff on my list from last week. Phew.

This week I will:

• Complete two articles on deadline

• Write up copy for a new client

• Make chicken and prosciutto sausages for dinner as per my husband's request {recipe will follow - they're delish!}

• Send out two "hi, remember me, want to give me some work?" emails

• Do something lovely each day for my husband and daughter so they know how much I love them

Anything else'll be a bonus. How about you? Check out Liss's list at frillsinthehills.blogspot.com and tell me about yours.

happy birthday g

I had a right royal stuff-up with my calendar and sense of dates today and called one of my dear friends to wish her a happy birthday - a day late. Whoops!

So, here's my big birthday wishes to you Gina, gorgeous gal, I know you had a fabulous weekend in your new purple party shoes - let's go out in them again soon so I can help you celebrate in the most bubby way!

xx

good gone bad

Why is that sometimes doing something good can make you feel so bad? Just now I decided to give the bathroom a quick spruce, you know, cos it's been a while, and, um, how did I not notice how gross is actually was in there? I felt like I was in the 'before' scene from How Clean Is Your House. I knew I had "A little" mould in the shower recess, but when I actually got it there and sprayed it realised that it was "A little" in the same way that Johnny Depp is a little bit delicious. Hmmmmm.

So I attacked it with the white vinegar, bi-carb, water and lavender mix and left it to soak in while I vacuumed the eight thousand dustbunnies breeding on every floorboard in my home. I came back, scrubbed it with my grout brush, rinsed it off and all better now. Phew. How did I let it reach such a state and why haven't I been more persistent in my hunt for Oil Of Cloves - guaranteed mould inhibitor which will stop the damned stuff growing back.

I'm not letting it bug me though. Now it's all pristine and on Monday I'm going to track down every chemist that said they had Oil of Cloves on order and make sure I buy some. Then it's straight into a spray bottle with some water and will be slooshed liberally over my bathroom and anywhere else that harbours mould.

Now I'm off to brown off some lamb shanks. As I had a few extras I've invited the in-laws for dinner. Lamb shanks, mash, greens and chocolate fondant for pudding {but I'm only calling it fondant if Gordon Ramsay's recipe is a success. Knowing my hot as hades oven I'll be calling it Chocolate Pudding and serving it with a dob of delicious double cream!

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.