I work with kids, now that’s something I thought I would NEVER say! Me working with kids – nup, my sister, Jan, was the teacher, not me!
Well, somehow that has changed a little, and, every now and then I work with kids in the kitchen. This Halloween morning we cooked together again – I’m pretty sure that you can guess what the theme was for that day… Yes, Halloween….
It’s all about Halloween…
Yes, it rained yesterday, not earth shattering news I know, but the gauge was full, and it’s been raining again today. It’s been so dry, and there are many among us who are excited, happy, relieved, to see the wet stuff falling from the sky. So with it cold and wet outside, it was a great reason to stay indoors, actually in the kitchen, and cook and keep warm, and that’s exactly what I did!
The evening before, I’d been working in the veggie patch and the parsley needed a good tidy up so had brought in a basket full and popped it in the fridge. That was the first job, it was washed, picked over and loaded into the dehydrator, with a little bunch set aside in a vase on the hob of the stove.
I may have one or two French, or French inspired recipe books on my shelves, and as you wander from room to room in our home, you are likely to find more!
My French food journey began in earnest, in 2009, on our first visit to France. As part of my planning, I read everything that I could get my hands on, in an attempt to learn about the culture, the traditions, the food, and did everything I could to try and grasp a little of the language, which is how I met my, now, best friend, Véronique. Continue reading
My sister just turned 7 x 10, she did not really want to celebrate, but I asked if we could come for a visit anyway. We were so excited to be with her for her birthday!
I planned the trip, and we traveled two and a half hours to our son’s home, where our other sister, Sonnie, joined us. She, Gary, and I then traveled another four and a half hours to Jan’s home. The itinerary took us around Melbourne, not through, and across so many different, beautiful landscapes. It was so much nicer than battling city traffic – always a good thing as far as I’m concerned, and didn’t take much longer than if we had battled the city traffic.
Sonnie and I had prepared a special menu for Jan’s birthday meal – we based it around a comment that she had made about how much she had enjoyed the meals during her travels through Sri Lanka and the Middle East. We made lots of little dishes that could be re-heated (if necessary) upon our arrival, and served in the middle of the table for all to share. As is our way, there was always much more than we could eat!
Earlier this week we had a day out. I was on a mission, I needed a particular style of large coffee jar, and I needed in excess of 20! Fortunately I had collected 10 already, but I needed more.
I mentioned to Gary that I was heading out to do some Op-Shopping (Charity Shopping), and he was keen to join me on my little adventure. After traveling from one town to the next, and running out of time before the little shops closed, I still needed three more jars, yes, I had managed to collect seven, but was a little anxious to get those last three jars.
In the last small town there were two beautiful Op-Shops, one in the main shopping area and the other at the Anglican Church – I was familiar with both, and I know why, they are not only treasure troves, the people in the stores are always so helpful and kind. The first shop didn’t have any of the jars I was after, even going to the trouble of checking that there were none stored away out the back, as others had done during the day. Our last stop, the Anglican Church Op-Shop, and there were two on display, I was so excited. Hearing that I needed just one more jar, they ducked out to their shed and found another two – I bought the lot!
What a fabulous day – not only did I get to meet with and chat to beautiful people, but I also got what I needed, and maybe a little more – I may have also purchased some beautiful knits for my wardrobe, books to be read, and a few other nic-nacs as well – I couldn’t help myself!
