I’m loving this whole have Fridays off from work to work thing. It makes it easier dealing with the long and jolty evening commute when I know I only have to do it four nights a week. The problem is, I’m not always using my day “off” to, well, work. Last week I was in the groove and got a long way through the structural re-write I’m doing- taking time off only for lunch out with the family. Today, however, was spent mostly in the city doing a long walk around the coast. I’ll tell you more about that tomorrow, but the lead picture this week is one I took today when walking through the Botanical Gardens.
Ok, without further ado, to the five…
Where I lunched…
Wolfe & Co in Dural. This time I managed a photo of the wolf. What did we eat? Soft shell crab burgers… For those of you who don’t live as close to Dural as I do, it’s worth the drive.
Where I shopped…
Richmond Good Food Markets. It’s on each Saturday morning from 8am-1pm. It’s large enough to be interesting and small enough to be friendly. I love it. So much.
There’s something so wonderful about talking to the producers about the food you’re buying- and that’s the really lovely thing about these markets. We bought meat from Paddock to Plate, veggies from the veggie man (including the tiniest sweetest little brussels you ever did see), cider from the cider lady, cupcakes from the cupcake lady, coffee from the coffee cart, and bread from a very hunky bread man selling sourdough so good you can almost ignore the eye candy. Oh, I also bought a succulent in a recycled timber pot from the recycled timber pot man.
Plus, I had a crispy shallot pancake with an egg inside it that tasted just like it did the time I had one from a from a street cart in Taipei. I rolled it up and ate it out of the paper bag- just like I did waiting for the train that morning three years ago.
What should have taken 40 mins took over 2 very enjoyable hours of browsing and tasting and chatting. Speaking of which- the mini thai prawn and coconut pancakes that I tasted will be my brekky treat next visit. Follow them on Facebook for updates on stalls each week.
What I’m listening to…
Back in the (early) 80’s, one of my favourite bands was ABC- you probably don’t remember them, but their album Lexicon of Love was on my absolutely love list for a long time. The lead singer, Martin Fry, wore these gold lame suits and the music had a faintly orchestral tinge to it. And the lyrics…oh the lyrics… Anyways, they’re back- well, Martin Fry is anyway…sans gold lame…with a new offering: Lexicon of Love II.
What do I think? I love it. I even listened to it (digitally) cover to cover in the order it came in- something I don’t do anymore. A couple of standout songs, and the sound is pure pop. The orchestral sound has been beefed up and the lyrics are more mature.
I even love how he kept the same theme happening with the cover art.
What I cooked…
An amazing chocolate bread and butter pudding. This is, I happen to think, the best bread and butter pudding in existence. I was recipe testing for Wish You Were Here, so if you’re really lucky, I might be able to persuade Max (my protagonist) to share it with you…in her words. Maybe on Monday…it will be a sneak peek at what you can expect from Wish You Were Here…
What I’m reading…
Having finished Rebecca Tope’s Cotswold Mysteries, I’ve started on her Den Cooper stuff. A Dirty Death is the first of those and involves a rather horrifying and smelly end in a slurry pit. Eeeeeeuw.
What I’m contemplating…
Yes, I can count and know that this is now number six in the five, but I’m contemplating reducing my cookbook library. I’ve identified some of what I want to part with, but have many more to go. Even that will leave me with full bookcases. The thing is, I don’t want to list these individually on ebay, nor do I want to just give them away- I’d prefer them to have a more charitable end…or the proceeds from them to have a charitable end. Any creative ideas? Donating to Lifeline is one option…
And Anyways... 