Lost Aussie on the loose

A "Fruitful" Day

It became apparent over the weekend when looking for toppings for toast and finding little in the (post move) pantry that something had to be done! 
So I enjoyed a computer free day today and spent a little time cooking up some Summer goodness in the kitchen, namely some Marmalade and Chutney.

After what is now become an almost daily routine, swimming 40 laps at the local aquatic centre, I headed to the grocery store in search of jars, fruit and sundry other items to simmer and preserve.

I ended up choosing to make Marmalade (a rather "British" garnish for toast) and while I was in the mood decided to make some Chutney as well.  Peaches are plentiful hereabouts and were an obvious choice to include on the menu.

I'd flicked around on the 'net to find some suitable recipes and as is fairly typical, picked a few as guides and then just had at it.

My marmalade ended up being done with oranges, lemons and ginger and is tangy, bittersweet with a little bit of kick (from the ginger), lots of peel and lots of texture and a few dried cranberries thrown in at the end as a bit of a surprise ....yummy!

The chutney was more or less off the top of my head with peaches being the main ingredient, some mangoes for good measure, red and green chillies, onion, raisins and a good dose of warm Moroccan spices.  Then about 10 mintutes out from being done I added some freshly cut off the cobb corn kernels to add a little extra sweetness and crunch!

I ended up with six jars of Marmalade and seven jars of Chutney .... so I guess we will be in good shape for toast and cracker "fixins" for a little while now....

Simply Snowy

Often at this time of year you will find me posting blog pictures of balmy blue skies and hot sunny sand-scapes, snapped off the coast of Western Australia.  This time the pictures hail from the North Shore of Long Island, where snow drifts meets the beach and frigid temperatures turn your fingers blue in the time that it takes to snap the picture.  Lovely nonetheless!  No photoshopping required, as sometimes the images speak eloquently all by themselves!

Our blessing this Holiday Season is a visit from the oldest of our four sons, Ryan and his wife Iris.  Ryan's time with us is precious as it will not be long before he heads back to Afghanistan with his EOD unit in January - so a memorable time is definitely in order.

The pair have have enjoyed tripping into the City, some time exploring the Island and tomorrow we head into NYC to "do" MOMA and catch a performance with the Blue Man Group which should be fun.

I am also hoping to meet up with an Aussie Art friend - Megan tomorrow as well.

Given all the to-'ing and fro-'ing that we have been doing of late, and the fact that folk will be coming and going on Christmas Day, we decided to have our 'fancy' dinner a little early and enjoyed our home cooked Christmas meal tonight.  The menu included a (very nontraditional) Roast Lamb, served with crispy potatoes, roasted fennel and red pepper ratatouille, fresh steamed broccoli, gravy and mint sauce.  We washed that all down with a very fine Mollydooker Goosebumps Shiraz and added gluttony to the last of the year's sins by feasting on homemade New York Cheese Cake and fresh whipped cream for dessert.

Now I just need to figure out what I can possibly squeeze into to wear tomorrow!

Oh and the kicker for the day - sitting in my studio fiddling about, waiting for the lamb to roast, DH comes in and says...."well I guess that's your first failed cheesecake huh? "

"What" I cry, "what is the problem?"
"Well it's sitting in the laundry and all fallen down"
"Well, it's sitting in the laundry because it's the coolest room in the house and I WANT the cheescake to cool down and YES, it's supposed to FALL down from the 8" that it was in the oven - hot air rises and it will cool down, fall down and become dense and yummy as it cools"
"Oh - thank goodness for that" he said!

(and ate two pieces ((when it was cool))  hehe)

Getting Ready to go Gothic

I've had an incredibly fab and productive week (at last) and managed to knock off a number of things that have been lingering on my 'to-do' list for some time.

Early in the week I headed down to the basement and fired up the sewing machine and completed three lovely baby blankets for two friends who have recently been blessed with new arrivals...one boy for a friend in Connecticut and twin girls for my art friend Chrissy Howes (of ARtistA fame)..the quilts are now safely in the post and on their way, hopefully to wrap the new arrivals in a little downunder love!

Then I completed my fun paper weaving exchange piece with my blog-mate Chris, got several Etsy orders off in the mail and put the finishing touches to a watercolor painting that I've been working on for my Aunt - a picture of the lovely little church in her small town of Eardisley in the UK and finally got ready a print for my SIL that I had been promising to send for ages.

Thursday saw us with guests for drinks so I spent the day in the kitchen and cooked up a rather yummy asparagus and shitake mushroom quiche,  some ham, bacon and brie filo wraps and a little homemade guacamole to round out the supper line-up.....thankfully there were a few left-overs which took care of dinner tonight!

Today I have been getting ready for my class with Lynne Perella (Medieval themed) which will be held in New York City on Sunday.  There will be a bunch of us attending her workshop on either the Sat or Sun who know each other from Blogland and we are going to meet up for dinner tomorrow night, so DH and I decided to just grab a hotel in town for the night rather than trek to and from the Island.  And of course, true to form,   I got a little hairball this afternoon and decided to make a few 'treats' to take along for the dinner guests....so there are now 9 new pieces of art in various stages of drying and preparation for packing up to take with us - the pic above is one of them!
Funny how you can pump out the work when the deadline is just inches away from your nose..now why is that?

Anyway, the weekend should be a lot of fun and I will be sure and take lots of pics and report back when I can!

Hope you all enjoy a wonderful few days off too..........

Ciao for now