why french is so chic

I'm feeling a tad on the enervated side today so a little perking up was in order. Firstly, some nodding pale pink roses in a pale green jug to place just so on my desk. Fragrant and ever-so-pretty. Next, breakfast... oh my yes. A toasted piece of baguette spread with lurpac butter and the final scrapings of my violet jam. Served with a bowl of cafe au lait (what else?) I'm already feeling much more stylish and clever - that story I'm working on today just has to write itself really. Now, if only I could find a way to make the house clean itself...

chillin'

When the stress and deadlines just get too much I'm going to stop and think about blowing bubbles...

accidentally wonderful

whenever I set out to shop, with a theme in mind and a ready-to-be-maxed-out credit card in my wallet the only certainty is that the shop will be filled... with absolutely nothing I like or need. My shopping has to be spontaneous to be successful. Like today. Continuing on my month-long quest to find the perfect vintage champagne bowls, so I too can sip like Marie Antionette (preferably in laduree-coloured Manolos...) I ducked over to an op-shop a few suburbs away. Now, of course, the object of my desire was absent (only heavy, catering champagne bowls - not the delicate, etched ones of my dreams. Sigh). But I did spy some pretty, floral fabric across the room. Dashing over I found the cutest little a-line skirt, knee-length, perfect for seeing out the last of summer, and next to it, oh, be still heart thou art being so frantically... the most divine, floaty, floral, moss&spy skirt. IN MY SIZE. I snatch it up quickly (despite being the only person in the room) and make my way to the change room. Now, as I'm sauntering to the changing room, a jaunty song in my heart, my eyes are assaulted by another vision. THE most delectable 'french' black and white stripey dress. Oh, come on, it's too much. Liberating it from its rack I dive into the change room and throw off my dress. I start with the flirty a-line. Yep, cute as a box of buttons - that's a yes. The moss&spy? I'm not messing with your head but tears actually welled up as I zipped it up. Perfection. Oh, and the price, yes $7. Not $300 or whatever the retail is, but I'm an I'm almost ashamed to admit it $7. I was rolling with it so I went with the dress and ooh la la mon cherie, tres jolie. Divine. Black fishnets and my red suede peep toes? What else. 

I do believe my only option is to go lie down on my bed, hugging them and thanking the kind person who gifted them to the City Mission store. Bless you, you've made this little black duck very happy indeed!

i need a clematis... to hug my roses

pretty is

I'm pretty sure that meals taste better when they've come from a gorgeous cookbook which is why I'm now scouring Tessa Kiros's Apples for Jam for dinner ideas. No cover makes me smile wider, and I've cooked "The best EVER chocolate cake" (according to my daughter) and a too-scrummy lamb and green bean casserole from its delightful pages. I need a plate-ful of pretty tonight. It's gotta have child-appeal (not a stew), tasty and able to be put together with minimal time and ingredients... oh, who am I kidding? It's got to be Nigella's spaghetti carbonara tonight! I didn't take notes while watching her program so I may have left out an ingredient or two, but it's the simplicity that's so wonderful. I do like to add garlic sometimes, if I'm feeling energetic. But there is no cream, absolutely not a spec, and yet it's so decadent you'd swear it were drowning in the stuff. I served this up in our villa in tuscany on our Italian trip in 06 and totally felt like a native - particularly when washing it down with a local glass of red!

My version of Nigella's spaghetti carbonara 

Cook spaghetti in boiling, salted water. Meanwhile, dice up small chunks of pancetta or thick, streaky bacon - around 300g. Saute in a little olive oil, till golden. Drain spaghetti, reserving a little of the cooking liquid. Remove pan from heat and stir in spaghetti, coating it nicely with bacon and oil. Beat two eggs and pour over spaghetti (make sure it's off the heat!). Stir like a maniac till it's nice and creamy - add a little cooking liquid from spaghetti if it needs thinning. Throw in a handful of freshly grated parmesan and some freshly ground black pepper and serve. So easy it's almost enough to make you blush... but oh, it tastes soooo good. Make it look pretty by serving it up with the Donna Hay swirl.

what makes me happy

It's time for a change. After two years of dramatic, rich red we've decided to paint our living room. The red was an experiment and while it looked quite amazing, particularly against a few key pieces of furniture, it tended to make the room a little too dark - not what you want for a main room.

So, we needed a new colour and it's going to be... Laduree Green. No, it's not officially a colour, but this pretty, pale green reminds me of one of the gorgeous places in my favourite city - macarons from Laduree in Paris. All we need now is a spare weekend to paint...

Olé

Aah, oh chorizo, how do I love thee... Yes, a recipe success. After my tasteless disaster the night before I knew that only one thing could save me, a spicy, spanish sausage. Here's what I did...

Spanish Chicken

6 skinless organic chicken thighs

2 chorizo sausages

1 spanish onion

2 Kipfler or similar waxy potatoes

1 red, yellow, and orange capsicum

six cloves of garlic

1 tsp or more smoked paprika

1 cup dry white wine (I used Sauvingon Blanc - it was open and in the fridge)

1/2 lemon

salt and pepper

Italian, flat leaf parsley to serve

Cut chorizo and chicken into bite-sized chunks and arrange in the bottom of a lightly-oiled baking dish. Cut up 1/2 of the red, orange and yellow capsicum into 1 inch chunks, cut onion into quarters, and quarter the peeled potatoes. Arrange all ingredients artfully and sprinkle with smoked paprika. Pour over white wine and then squeeze lemon juice over the top. Dust with a good, generous pinch of salt (Maldon or Murray Pink Salt are my faves) and grind over plenty of black pepper. Cover with foil and bake in 180 degree fan-forced oven for 15 minutes, then remove foil and bake further 10 - 15 minutes until potatoes are nicely browned. Sprinkle with a good handful of roughly chopped parsley and serve with some steamed rice. A light spanish red would wash it down rather well I believe...

j'adore

falling off the horse

I so adore cooking. Coming up with something new, chopping, mixing, tasting, smelling - it's all good. Last night however, tragedy struck - I cooked a bad meal. What made it worse was that it started out well, tasted fine along the way... but came out of the oven a bland, tasteless mess. It's shattered my confidence now, but I'm determined to get back on the horse and not let it throw me again. I'm thinking spanish chicken with chorizo could be the meal to get me out of that funk. I'll make sure I spice it up with plenty of smoked paprika and garlic - and may well roast some red, yellow and orange capsicum to brighten my life. To serve? Garlic baby spinach and lemon roasted kipfler potatoes. 

Happy valentines!

fade to grey

I'm a huge fan of the Visage song, but when it comes to sky paint me blue any day. We've had pretty much unrelenting rain for the past few months - fine for the drought, bearable in winter, but hey, it's meant to be high summer in Aus. So instead of breathing in the frangipani, hanging lavender-scented sheets on the line to dry and wondering which jaunty colour to paint my toenails I'm drowning in an enormous to-do pile of laundry and grumping around in a huff.

Some things however, have made me smile. The exquisite smile of my darling goddaughter Harriet, the smell of her hair when she snuggled in for a 'huggle' after waking and then the news that her final words to her mother, before drifting off to sleep were "Ninny loves me". (yes, that would be me - Linda, Ninny, I'll answer by anything that comes from her adorable mouth). Love is...

i'm loving

While I'm happy to have crazy, out-of-control curly hair, never pick up an iron unless absolutely forced and can quite happily only make the bed moments before hopping in again at night, there are a few things I'm a wee bit anal about.

1. I always use a bookmark, even if it's a receipt. I just love my books too much to deface them with dog ears or broken spines.

2. I always fold my washing as I bring it in (saves me from ironing...)

3. I like the inside of my Le Crueset french oven to be as close to shop pristine as possible.

Now, number three might be possible if I were to slavishly follow in the well-shod footsteps of Andy Warhol and deign to only eat white foods - but let's face it, slow-cooked foods call for rich red seasonings. Tomatoes, red wine... and for long, slow, bubbly cooking. Sigh. 

So, before yesterday I'd always follow a labourious, time-intensive procedure after polishing off the Coq au Vin. Soak pot overnight in soapy water. Wash and remove any bits with a soft scourer and very hot, soapy water. Then, a second soak, with a dishwasher tablet - overnight, again. Finally, I'd scrub the inside with a paste created from bi-carb. 

Then I discovered a product that made my heart swell and sing a little dance of joy. Gumption. This citrus-smelling white paste is miraculous. After only my first soaking and scrubbing I wiped a little of this stuff on, and then polished it off to uncover the most gloriously pristine ivory interior.

I think I'm a little bit in love...

what's for dinner?

there's beef bourguignon bubbling in the le crueset, potatoes to mash and crispy, organic green beans. does it get better? oh my, yes. there's an ever-so-lissome french red to accompany. a sourdough stick will make the night complete.

here's how you do it.

1kg of beef blade steak

750ml red wine (pref burgundy)

3 cloves garlic, crushed

bouquet garni

70g butter

1 onion, chopped

1 carrot, chopped

2tblsp flour

200g bacon cut into strips

300g french shallots, peeled and left whole

200g sm button mushrooms

Cut the meat into cubes and trim away excess fat. put the meat, wine, garlic and bouquet garni in a large bowl, cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight, or for at least 3 hours.

Preheat oven to 160 degrees celcius (315 farenheit). Drain the meat and reserve marinade and bouquet garni. Dry meat on paper towels. Heat 30g butter in large casserole dish. Add onion, carrot and bouquet garni and cook over low heat, stirring occasionally, for 10 mins. Remove from heat.

Heat 20g butter in lrg fypan over high heat. Fry meat in batches for about 5 mins or until well browned. Add to the casserole.

Pour reserved marinade into frypan and boil, stirring for 30 seconds to deglaze pan. Return casserole to high heat and sprinkle meat and veg with flour. Cook, stirring, until meat is well-coated with flour. Pour in marinade and stir well. Bring to boil, stirring, then cover and cook in oven two hours.

Heat remaining butter and cook bacon and shallots, stirring, for 8-10 minutes. Add mushrooms and cook, stirring occasionally, for 2-3 minutes or until browned. Drain on paper towels. Add shallots, bacon and mushrooms to casserole.

Cover the casserole and return to oven for 30 minutes, or until the meat is soft and tender. Discard bouquet garni, season and serve.

From The Food of France: a journal for food lovers (murdoch books)

adore/abhor

starting a blog is far more terrifying than writing any article. so i thought the best way to start is with a 'getting to know you (me)' list...

i adore: 

coffee in a bowl

peonies, roses and violets

pink

giggling with my fabulous friends

champagne

shoes

slow-cooked food

rosé

creating scrummy meals for friends

my hubby and gorgeous girl

i abhor:

too much rain

4WD owners with an 'i'm more important than you' attitude

people who've been hit with the negative stick