The weather has finally turned a tad on the chilly side here in South-East Queensland. The days are still fine, but we are needing jackets or jumpers for the 6am walk. It’s lovely to feel cool again.
It’s a public holiday here today – Queensland celebrates Labour Day on the first Monday in May (when most of the rest of Australia celebrate it in October). That’s okay though – we celebrate the Queen’s Birthday in October while most of the rest of Australia does that in June.
On the covid-19 front, there have been no new infections on the Sunshine Coast for some days and we have just one active case in our region. Over the weekend some of our movement restrictions were relaxed in Queensland, and while our state borders are still closed, we can now drive short distances for recreation and we can also have picnics outside (with immediate family or one other person) and use our parks and beaches for reasons other than exercise.
Okay, onto the five things that made me smile, think or wonder…
1.Long walks
I smashed out the steps last week – almost 120,000 of them. As I mentioned last week, I’m having a few problems on the headspace front and walking and fresh air helps with that.
Sarah had to do some work in Caloundra yesterday so dropped Grant and I at Moffat Beach with the intention of walking the Coastal pathway to Golden Beach.
Her work went for longer than she expected, so our walk did too. We ended up doing just over 13kms.
It was, however, perfect weather conditions – the sun was shining and a light breeze blowing. Gorgeous.
2. Orchestral Manouevres
Just after 8 the other morning, the kid over the back fence began practicing his trumpet…so did the kid up the street and another a street or so away. Then it hit us – school was back in session (virtually speaking) and so, therefore, were the music lessons that would normally take place before school on a Wednesday.
Speaking of home-schooling, I saw a fabulous meme the other day (somewhere that said:
It might take a village to raise a child, but it takes a vineyard to home-school one.
And, on the subject of virtual learning – not that it’s virtual learning, but I needed a segue – one of the hihlights of our week at the moment is Goggleboxing Masterchef ie watching the elimination round of Masterchef each Sunday night virtually with my brother and his wife via the magic of Facebook Messenger’s video.
3. Album covers reimagined for social distancing…from @activistla
4. re-reading old favourites
My first read for May was Jan Austen’s Persuasion. I’ve always loved this novel and it’s been way too many years since I read it. Not that this was a read as such – I listened to the book on Audible as I walked. It might possibly be one of the reasons why I did cover as many steps as I did last week.
5. In the kitchen
The meat-free experiments continued with this Yellow Curry Cauliflower. I roasted the cauliflower with cumin and coriander for some extra spice and we added beans, red peppers and handfuls of baby spinach to amp up the veggies and declared it a winner.
One of our favourite local restaurants, Sum Yung Guys, is selling their fantabulous curry sauces, so this was the base for midweek meal.
Saturday night’s destination theme was Italian and I cooked some pork belly in milk. It’s something that I read in Elizabeth David’s Italian Food, but also Annabel Langbein’s Free Range Cook. Essentially you give the pork belly a blast in a super-hot oven to get the skin crispy and then pour milk into the pan and bring the temperature down. The result is a really tender piece of pork (you throw away the pan juices). We served it with some glazed whole carrots (I even used the carrot-tops as a herb), some broccolini with lemon and parmesan, and some thyme-roasted potatoes.
Dessert was home-made hazelnut ice-cream with the easiest chocolate sauce in the world. The recipe is below. Sarah enjoyed it again on Sunday night in a banana split.
What you need
- 200g good quality chocolate, broken up
- 200ml cream
What you do with it
- Pop the cream into a saucepan over a medium heat.
- Bring it to that point just before it starts to boil.
- Remove it from the heat and pop the chocolate in.
- Leave it there for 2 minutes. Yep, just leave it.
- Stir well until the chocolate has melted into the cream. Believe it or not, it will start to come together- even though you doubt…
- Once the chocolate has all melted, grab a whisk and get some arm action happening. It’ll thicken and go all glossy – just like a real chocolate sauce.
- If you’re not using it just yet, pour it into a glass jar or bowl and pop into the fridge – It’ll keep for a couple of weeks.
- You can either heat it slowly in a saucepan or whack it in the microwave for 30 seconds to warm it up.
On the blog
Okay, not a lot of activity here last week, but I did post a round-up of my reading for the month. You’ll find it here.
And Anyways... 
Hi Jo, I laughed that the meme about needing a vineyard. My daughter and son-in-law have been trying to home school Ethan combined with Elliot who is 2 running around. I also am amazed at the workload for a Grade 1 now at school. It is a whole new world. The weather on the Gold Coast has been beautiful and I saw your post about your long walk which was a great achievement. I’m loving the cool, crisp mornings and evenings but need to pull out the winter woolies. I did a huge declutter last season and not sure I have too many warm clothes left. Have a beautiful week. It is Mike’s birthday on Wednesday so I’m making him slow cooked beef cheeks with potato mash and greens followed by a Caramel Baked Cheesecake. Watch this space! Take care xx #lifethisweek
That meal sounds totally scrummy. It’s our wedding anniversary on Thursday so I’m still thinking about what to cook… watch this space. Have a beautiful week my friend.
No doubt your menu will be delicious. Congratulations in advance! Take care and enjoy your day. xx
Hi Jo, thank you for supporting #MLSTL and linking up. Have a lovely week and happy anniversary for tomorrow. xx
That ice-cream is to die for! I’m ready for bed and now I am seriously thinking SNACK! I believe that your posts have done this to me (many) times before. 😀
Love the re-imagined album covers.
High fives all round on 120,000 steps (holy cow!) and for the 13km walk. Also that chocolate icecream and sauce look amazing and I’d definitely want a helping if I lived nearby (to help me recover from listening to trumpet playing children!) Hope your headspace is benefiting from the fresh air and exercise and you’re back in your happy place x
Hi Jo – just back for MLSTL and to say I’ve shared on my SM x
Jane Austen’s Persuasion has a very special place in my heart. I first read it when I was 27 and single, just before I met my husband so I feel connected personally. We’ve actually done two Italian cuisine nights. The first one was unfortunately disappointing, so we tried again later with much better results!
As an ex-teacher I can really appreciate how difficult home learning must be for teachers and for parents. That meme is hilarious but the album covers win the internet this week. Loving those glorious blue skies in the pics and that you’ve been able to get outside and enjoy the sunshine. It must feel wonderful to have an easing of restrictions – I’m really looking forward to some more freedom! Hope you have a great week x
Loved your weekly post again Jo, and your stepping was phenomenal! Your photos show a very different landscape to mine so I always enjoy looking (more like drooling) at them. I hope your head is feeling clearer! That ice cream looks delicious but I probably don’t need to eat that just at the moment but I can dream!
Jo I’m a bit envious of your 13k walk. It’s a while since I’ve walked that far due to the injury but slowly increasing. I love Persuasion. I can almost taste that banana split just looking at your photo
Wow! 120,000 steps in a week is amazing! Good for you. You have a beautiful place to walk. That yellow curry cauliflower looks delicious! I am saving the recipe to try next week. Thanks for sharing!
I’m loving the cooking experiments and the long walks! Two things I definitely want to get more into (the exercise I kind of need to rather than want to lol)
Di from Max The Unicorn
lol indeed re the exercise. I reckon my walks keep me sane, and sort of kind of grounded.
Joanne, you always remind me how our seasons are different. Interesting about your Labour Day. For us it is the first Monday in September. Yay, on the great progress for your part of the planet.
Congratulations on almost 120,000 steps! A beautiful, blue sky and large open spaces. Perfect!
You take wonderful food photos, Joanne. I guess it is because the food is wonderful!
Well done on the walking!
I’ve been watching this season of Masterchef so the ice cream churning looks familiar…
The album covers are brilliant! Made me laugh for sure. I say this almost every week but I love your sunrise photos! As for walking, I’m with you there. Lots and lots of steps. I was already walking more since I moved back to Sydney but I feel like some days it’s a lot more especially on weekends. That said, I think a lot of people are not regular walkers and do not seem to know walking etiquette! That icecream looks delish!! Hope you have a lovely week ahead!
The thing with long-distance exercise is you’re too damned tired to think of anything but relaxing and tucking into something scrumptious like that ice cream. Another lovely sunny day, here again, though a few degrees cooler today.
Smashing the walks lovely! That icecream looks amazing …your cooking and photography is the best!
Thank you so much for being part of Life This Week by linking up and leaving a comment on my post. It is a great way to share the connection on-line. Next week the optional prompt is 19/51 Special Anniversaries 11.5.2020. I look forward to seeing you there too. Stay safe and well. Denyse.
Hello Jo. So nice to catch up with you. I love your photos, and I am definitely impressed with all the walking. The reimagined album covers gave me a laugh to start out my morning. Thanks for that! Enjoy your week.Take care.
Thanks Christie. I hope your week has been a good one.
Well done on the walking, Jo! I love all your photos. The scenery is beautiful and the food and ice cream make me hungry. Have a wonderful week! #MLSTL
I’m only just catching up on comments (it’s been one of those weeks)…