A little bit country

Growing up I was a part of a group of four. We were practically inseparable, and although we made friends with others, our foursome was impenetrable.

Then came high school. of new people and new adventures later we had drifted apart and, long story short, by the time we properly came back together, we were a five. 

Two have ended up in Armidale, two are still on the Central Coast and I am in Sydney. We all try to get together in any way we can as much as possible, but some of the best times have been spent in Armidale, or "Farmidale" as we fondly refer to it. 

Last Friday, the Coast girls and I jumped in the car and drove 5 hours north to visit the other two. Going on these road trips it's like we revert to being 12 again, packing the car with as much junk food and 90's music as we can stomach. The girls had brought a cool bag with soft drink, some chips, crackers and Lillie's and I had baked brownies. We kareoke'd until we could kareoke no more and laughed so hard we nearly had to pull over.

The thing about these fabulous women is that we have all grown up to be very different people, yet we know eachother so well, it's like things never changed at all. Big is pregnant and just moved into a new house her and her hubby built, Little is about to embark on a motorbike trip to Finland through Asia with her partner, Sish is slowly doing renovations to her home, and Fizz is newly single. Yes, we all have nicknames and no we will never call eachother by our first names.

We headed into town for lunch a Bistro on Cinders and indulged in two courses. I went for the Thai Beef Salad as I felt more justified in ordering dessert, which I had picked out before we were even shown the menu board - flourless chocolate cake with lime, walnuts and margerita cream. The service was knowledgable and friendly enough to have a little fun with us as well.

Stuffed with food and plied with a good strong shot of coffee we ventured out to Dangar Falls to get some fresh air. Unfortunately it hadnt rained in a while so the falls were absent, but the scenery was still beautiful.

 

Little & I have always bonded over food and this trip was no different. The decision of roast lamb was unanimous, and without much discussion, I got to preparing the veg while Little worked the lamb. It was simplicity at its best.

I'm not sure if I could live out of the city, not yet anyway. But I look forward to our weekend escapes. The next trip is not too far away as we send Little off and welcome Big

Inspire:

Inspiration is such an important thing in life. Without it so many of life's stones would lay unturned.

Can you imagine a world where absolutely nothing pushed your button? One thought did not lead to another, a new fresh idea? Nothing to pick you up when you were feeling flat or down?

There are stupid little things that get in my way every day and prevent me doing the things I want to do and being the person I want to be. And I'm sure most of you would experience the same thing from time to time. These stupid little things are known as laziness, lack of motivation, fear and anxiety. 

When I want to kill those pesky little demons, I look for things that inspire. Things that make me want to do. Lately I have found that when the brain fog settles in and I can't string a sentence together, I imagine making pastry, and I instantly feel switched on and revived.

I have also started reading a new magazine called the Messenger Collective, thanks to my Mum who placed the first issue in my hot little hands and told me I must read it. I am still only half way through issue #1, and issue #2 is on my coffee table waiting patiently for my attention. This is not lust, this is most certainly love. I am reading a handful of articles every day or two and with so many entrepreneurs, thought leaders and creative beings amongst the pages I have found I am absolutely hooked and brimming with inspiration!



Since entering into part-time employment I often find myself busy on Wednesdays and full of motivation, but come Thursdays I am flat. The motivation to get out of bed wanes, I spend time watching terrible (no, really, TERRIBLE!) shows on TV and don't get out of my pyjamas until afternoon.

Aaaand cue the sad, little violin.

The past 2-3 weeks I have not had this problem. I am so buzzing with inspiration, motivation, ideas and concepts that I am surprised I can sleep at night. That said it is a very good thing and I am not complaining! I am on the brink of enrolling myself into a course, with more in mind on completion of the first. I have decided on a business and am working towards it in little steps each day.

From all this I have decided Thursdays will no longer be flat whites. They will be mutli-flavoured Slurpee's with popping candy (that was not meant to suggest they will be cheap, artificial and nasty; more that they will be colourful, surprising and multidimensional)! And my posts on Thursdays will be about inspirational things I am devouring - people, stories, art - anything creative to keep the juices flowing.



Speaking of juices (see what I did there?), today, after reading an article in the Collective on Lorna Jane and then finding my monthly Love.Nourish.Grow catalogue in the mail, I was inspired to try my very first green juice. I've always been a bit hesitant to try them, after all the idea of putting kale and/or spinach in a drink just doesn't conjure up a tasty beverage in my mind. A perfect example of why it is so important to be open minded and always try new things. I started with the Morning Juice from Bec's Green Juice Recipes (you can find the recipe here: a-green-juice-journal-with-lorna-jane-bec-ronald) and I think this will start appearing on my daily breakfast menu. The lemony-gingery kick will certainly wake you up, without any of the nastiness my brain thought the spinach would contribute. The best thing about a juice like this is, no buyers remorse. I might enjoy my gelato shake from the coffee shop down the road, but afterwards I don't feel great and I immediately regret my decision. After a glass of this I feel great physically and am absolutely delighted to be making such a healthy choice. What a great way to start the day! Now all I need to do is come up with a handy breakfast to go and I'll be one step closer to my ideal morning.

I would be really grateful to find out what makes your morning so great - how do you get yourself going? What makes you want to get out of bed in the morning? Please feel welcome to share your inspiration along with any recommendations on great green juice recipes!

Later dudes - xx

Duck, duck, pig...

This weekend was all about slow cooking for me. I love having the time to throw some ingredients in a roasting pan and let it bubble and simmer away, filling the apartment gradually with wonderful aromas like garlic, red wine and herbs.

We are big fans of pork ribs, or American ribs as they're labelled in our local butcher shop. We usually buy the Pre marinated ones as our butchery makes the spice mix and sauce themselves and it is just divine! But of course, I wanted to make my own. Flicking through my Autumn magazines I stumbled across a feature on pomegranate, including a sticky marinade for ribs - I was sold! 

All sweet and sticky, teamed with the right spices and the sour kick of pomegranate molasses the marinade was a great choice as an alternative to BBQ.

3 hours later, I could barely put the ribs on a plate. They were so tender that any attempt to scoop them out of the dish resulted in a lot more scooping! I'll admit the marinade probably needs a bit of tweaking before I'd find it truly amazing, but that said, at the time the only thing running through my head was, "nom nom nom, pork ribs, nom nom, ribs, nom"... Or something to that affect.

Following on from ribs, on Sunday I chose to try my hand at duck. I enjoy duck immensely; it's one of those things I order when eating out but have never been brave enough to try at home. My favourite thing to order from our local Thai is the Larb Ped - Shredded duck meat with lots of fresh mint, Thai parsley, chilli, red onion, shallots, roasted rice and a chilli lemon dressing. 

My duck dish of choice was from the May edition of delicious - Chinese style Braised Duck legs with Crispy Potatoes. I had all the ingredients in my fridge & pantry, and didn't look too technical for a rookie to start with. 

Rendering the fat was probably the hardest part for me. I wanted the skin to go that lovely golden colour but it was taking so much longer than the recipe suggested, and I really didn't want to spoil the meat. Powering through, I set the duck aside and started on the braise. Star anise, red wine, rice wine and soy with a bit of sugar. Both my man and I are steering away from drinking at the moment so we had no wine in the house and buying a bottle was only going to go to waste. I decided to improvise and try using a home made blackberry liqueur, which I thought would compliment the flavour of the duck, with a splash or red wine vinegar so it wasn't so sweet. I am happy to report this choice did not spoil it one bit! I shoved the duck into the oven (literally, our roasting dish is a bit too big for our oven) and got to work on the crispy potatoes. I've heard how amazing potatoes roasted in duck fat are, but I have never tried eating them before, let alone cooking them! I think I may have over cooked them in water and could have done with more duck fat as they did not come out as crispy as I was expecting, and fell apart as they were so soft. More practice needed here, but they were tasty so I don't mind!

When I served it up to Bri, I was worried he wouldn't like it. I used marylands and they were quite fatty and really difficult to cut up and eat. But to my delight he thought he flavours were great and the duck well cooked, and even came up with some really nifty ideas on how I could present it next time to save us the hassle of picking the meat from the fat - and yes there will be a next time!!

It was great to be finishing the weekend on a high, having successfully ticked some boxes in the firsts category, I'm one step closer to where I want to be.

Pat and Sticks

When ice cream sandwiches arrived as the new trend on the food scene, popping up in hipster cafes and bar menus around Sydney, I was pleased but wasn't in a hurry to get my hands on one.

Then my man came home with a box of Pat and Sticks Vanilla Lace Ice Cream Sandwiches and I'm not quite sure how I lived prior to devouring this tasty little morsel.

The Almond "lace" is a perfect combination of crunchy and chewy and tastes like caramel and an Anzac biscuit have made sweet, sweet love in your mouth.

Despite being an ice-cream-oholic, Vanilla has always been my least favourite flavour. In fact, I can honestly say I have never ordered a vanilla anything in my life unless it comes with chocolate fudge, salted caramel sauce or something of the like to mask the taste - it's either all fake and syrupy, tasting of nothing but sickly sweet or 'under-beaned' and almost metallic. Pat and Sticks is hands down the best vanilla bean ice cream I have ever stumbled upon.



And on the 6th day (sometime in 2004), God created Pat and Sticks. Bored with their 9-5 jobs, two buddies decided they would never fall short of a date by creating an after dinner treat no woman or man could possibly say no to. Ok, so it wasn't quite like that, but essentially they created a product they loved and believed, starting in their own kitchen making ice cream.

The reason it tastes so good because it's locally made from top notch REAL ingredients and free of preservatives and artificial flavours. The duo still are involved in the entire process and credit to them.

The flavours - so far I have only tried Vanilla - but Caramel Pecan, Mochaccino and Strawberry Choc-Chip are where I intend to venture next!

All in all, I am a Pat & Sticks convert and believe you will be too!