5 things – Monday 7 September 2020

It’s the first week of Spring here in Australia and even though we don’t get the whole blossoms thing where we live, our overnight temperatures have increased almost, well, overnight. The full-length leggings for my morning walks have been put away for the year and the knee-length have come back out. So too the long-sleeves have been replaced by short – although I still need a jacket when we start.

Okay, without further ado, onto the five…

1.Father’s Day

It was Father’s Day yesterday and even though I called him – and talk to both Mum and Dad a couple of times a week – it’s a reminder that with closed borders I haven’t seen my parents since March. I have to put up the occasional selfie on Instagram so they don’t forget what I look like. (And no, Mum and Dad aren’t into Zoom or any technology that could possibly make the distance easier.) Fingers crossed we can get down before Christmas.

Anyways, back to this Father’s Day. We had lunch at Noosa Boathouse – on the river.

It was a lovely meal and a lovely day. I had Hervey Bay scallops with sea-urchin butter and sweet and sour apples to start and snapper with a green mango salad and nahm jim dressing as main. Sarah also had the scallops but followed that with a Penang curry with local seafood. Grant went for the salt and pepper calamari with an iceberg slaw and preserved lemon aioli and then a steak with the usual accompaniments.

Desserts were a chocolate and raspberry brownie with salted caramel ice cream and macadamia crumble (Sarah), a creme brûlée with toasted coconut (Grant) and a cheesecake in a glass with ginger crumble (me).

2. Things I’ve seen

This meme – an oldie but a goodie…

And from the “not sure how I feel about this but wish I’d dreamt up the story first” files, this article about a “Coffin Confessor” – someone who has built a business out of gatecrashing funerals and speaking up for the dead. Hmmmm.

3. Strawberry Picking

Yep, we were at it again. This time Grant came along and Sarah and I made a new friend.

The 2kgs we picked didn’t last long – although some did make it into a trifle (see below). Plus I bought another 3kgs of jam strawberries (for $5) that I turned into, wait for it, 10 jars of jam.

I’ll post that recipe plus more ideas of what to do with strawberries on Thursday.

4. Watching

For the first weekend in I can’t remember how long I had no freelance or RWA deliverables. I should have been writing, I know I should have been, but instead, I’ve fallen down a binge TV rabbit hole.

What have I been watching?

  • I Am Woman – the Helen Reddy Story on Stan
  • Burden of Truth – a fabulous Canadian series on Foxtel
  • The Salisbury Poisonings – on SBS – “The incredible true story of the assassination attempt on double agent and spy Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia, which sent shockwaves through a small community and the public services left to deal with an unprecedented national emergency.”

5. In the Kitchen

Sarah’s been away house-sitting this week so we kept it pretty simple in the kitchen. I did, however, do a slow-cooked goulash – because Sarah was away and she’s not big on anything with paprika in it. And yes, that includes beef stroganoff. How can she not like strog?

I’ve never actually written my goulash recipe down – and really must do so – but Sammie has included something very similar in her list of fabulous things to do in the slow cooker. You can find that post here.

The chosen destination in this week’s Saturday Kitchen was England. I made an old-fashioned fish pie in a traditional parsley sauce with mash on top.

The recipe I sort of followed is this one. It mightn’t look pretty, but it certainly tasted good.

To Sarah’s absolute delight Grant made a trifle. Normally this only comes out at Christmas – with Sarah eating the leftovers for breakfast. She is currently working her way the leftovers for breakfast.

In case you missed it…

Also on the blog this week:

  • I’m continuing to transfer across posts from our 2018 road trip through France. This week we were in Oyes in Champagne. The post is here.
  • I wrapped up my August reading list. The post is here.
  • Fancy a cake that’s more of a frittata than a cake but uses up leftovers and goes really well with Champagne? I’ve got you covered with this French-style Savoury Cake.

Okay, that was my week…how was yours?

Author: Jo

Author, baker, sunrise chaser

19 thoughts

  1. I slow-cook most things, so I appreciate that you shared Sammie’s recipe here.
    Your Old-Fashioned Fish Pie looks and sounds amazing. I sorta-follow most recipes as well, so the recipe that you shared should work for me. Fingers crossed! 😀

    1. I just love an old-fashioned recipe – for some dishes there’s really no need to be faffing about with what works is there?

  3. There’s so much in your post that I love Jo. Your lunch looks amazing. I’ve put Noosa Boothouse on our list of things to do when we the borders and we can visit the grandkids. I’ve subscribed so I don’t miss your strawberry jam recipe.

    1. There was so much family stuff happening down at the river. We’re thinking of hiring one of those pontoon style boats for a few hours when family can finally come up.

  4. Hi Jo! We watched the Salisbury Poisonings as well and I’ve just finished Big Girls Don’t Cry yesterday. You should read it LOL:) it is by an author I know #namedropping I’m looking forward to the strawberry jam recipe as I haven’t made jam before. Saturday night we had slow cooked pulled pork with roasted mediterranean veggies. Have a great week! #lifethisweek

  5. We are experiencing 100 degree weather here so my slow cooker has been relegated to the garage where it’s working hard on pasta sauce made from our tomato harvest. I’ll definitely check out that goulash recipe! The food pictures from your Father’s Day meal look so yummy! OK, now I’m hungry…

    1. We have those temps to look forward to! It’s the start of spring here so we’re still in the low 20s (celsius).

  6. I love that border photo Jo and your denim cap is very cool!!! I heard about the coffin confessor – could make a good discussion starter for a group I’m a part of!! The weather is warming up down here too which is lovely and has me feeling like I’m unfurling like my magnolia flowers 🙂 Have a great week!

  7. Love the view from the Boathouse and your food photos make me hungry. I’ve got Happily Ever After on my iPad. look forward to reading it! #lifethisweek

  8. Hi Jo – I think I would have really enjoyed that fish pie and trifle (maybe I’m a closet Pom??) As far as watching stuff goes…. I’ve managed to get myself sucked into another series of The Block – but I watch it on catch up TV so I can fast forward through the recaps and boring bits – I’ve become such a milennial in my TV viewing!

    1. Sarah & Grant are watching The Block, but record it so they can fast forward through the ads & the recaps & the boring bits.

  9. Your Father’s Day feast looks the real deal. Let’s hope the borders open soon, I feel like I’m living an a lone state not a complete country! Thanks for the goulash shout out – it’s one of my all time faves. How was I am a Woman? I’ve heard very mixed reviews so would be keen to hear what you think! That fish pie looks amaze and the dish is just gorgeous! Hope you have a wonderful week!

    1. I enjoyed I Am Woman, but at the same time I was disappointed… I love that pie dish as well – I have a thing about pretty china.

  11. Potato top pie and especially a fish one, gets a big tick for me. Best of all if made bigger enough it lasts for more than one night! I must get a book reader so I can download books. Though having said that I love holding paper. Still in awe of you bloggers that manage to write books. Hope your week goes well.

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