Kaddie’s mum Sue sent through some great shots of the two besties having a great time after class a month or so back. There are some neat action shots in the collection with droplets of water frozen in air. The two always have a great time together and frequently swap roles chasing. Kaddie is the more agile one and is often found encouraging Simba to get off the ground resting. They are both restless, distracted and agitated when they don’t get each other’s attention during class.
Jamie Oliver’s happy cow burgers
The shadow of a full moon greeted Simba and I tonight as the unusual bite in the night’s cold air enveloped around us. The wind quivered branches, swayed trees and howled unceremoniously as it moved between the sharpness of cold, dark flora and unnatural objects. The path ahead was damp from last night’s drenching and puddles of water reflected the ominous mood of its surroundings.
Something was different about tonight…
Table of Contents Plus 1311 released
Version 1311 is a minor update and is available via the WordPress repository. Changes include:
- Added third parameter to toc_get_index API function to enable eligibility check (eg apply minimum heading check, is post type enabled, etc). This has been switched off by default and only affects those using the API. Thanks Jonon for your comment.
- Added Dutch translation courtesy Renee
- Apply bullet option to TOC+ widget, thanks to Thomas Pani for the patch.
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Shepherd’s Pie
My first attempt at making an all time favourite took a little longer than anticipated but the results were yummo. The process was similar to the lamb with potato crust dish but this one didn’t have the oats but had more of a sauce in the mixture. I finished the night off with a well craved sticky date pudding.
Black seed sesame soup
We went out for a small team lunch today together with our commanding officer who was taking a voluntary redundancy and finishing up at the end of next week. Chris has been at Treasury for donkey’s years – something that I remind him of at every opportunity cause I’m a cheeky bugger. We went to one of his favourite Chinese restaurants situated in the Belconnen Markets where he began to order a selection of dishes in his native language. There was a schezuan beef, a couple of hot pots, a mixed roast and a vegetarian plate. All of which were delicious.
Chicken noodle soup
A good warm heartening soup for a cold wintery day always lifts up your mood as the warmth perpetuates throughout your body. Chicken soup is also known to have some strong anti-inflamatory and immune boosting characteristics so I gave it a go and added some noodles… why? Cause you only live once.
Some photos from the Canberra Nara Candle Festival
Celebrating 11 years of Canberra and Nara being sister cities, I went expecting it to be low key but was blown away by the packed crowds. With all of the Japanese stalls offering a taste of traditional flavours, we found it amusing seeing a long queue to some Dutch pancakes. It was also reassuring to see Mee’s Sushi (from Manuka and notably the best Sushi in Canberra) present too.
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- People at the main stage
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- Notes blowing in the wind on the wishing tree
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- A flower at the Ikebana stall
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- Looking at the main stage
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- Candles – in total about 2000 were laid
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- A good ambience of colour
I was conscious of eating festival food, especially before attempting Fitz’s 105km cycling challenge the next morning – but I’m a sucker for food (particularly the yummy kind…) so I had to experience some things. Happy to report I was fine for the event and completed it in under 4hrs (not counting the 10min pitstop at Tharwa).
Buttermilk chicken and mango jelly
Loved the lamb pie with potato crust we had last week, I made it again yesterday and this time was even better. This time around, I kept all of the juices that seeped out of the lamb rather than reducing it – which retained most of the unique lamb flavour – and baked it for 5 minutes less. This resulted in more moisture that you’d expect out of any pie. But less about the pie and more about the new dish for tonight.
Lamb pie with potato crust
As my brother was going through the psychology section of the book store, I flicked through a handful of cooking books and found the lamb pie recipe. Not only did it look great in glossy print but it appeared easy to make skimming through. I bought the book for a steal of $5, just a little bit more than a large coffee!
So this would become my second lamb dish in this challenge with the first being sizzling lamb koftas. The wraps brought a refreshing change to the beef burritos I normally make. And the use of plain low fat yoghurt added to the fresh healthy feeling. So the lamb pie would need to be convincing to compete.
Prawn toast, prawn laksa and lemon chicken
This week saw three new dishes and one of which I had reminded myself many times I would never. Ever. Try. But the time was right to be bold and daring and I was feeling brave. Later I would realise that feeling bold, daring and brave was synonymous for stupid.
The dish I told myself I would never ever do? A laksa.
“I will never try making a laksa in the chance that I’d ruin a delicious and comforting meal for the rest of my life”.