It’s been a busy week in the day job and I’ve worked on my usual day off. Hey ho, it is what it is. But, on a brighter note, it’s 7.30 on a Saturday morning and not only have I seen a lovely mackerel sky sunrise (I learnt that term from the Rick Stein memoir I recently finished) but the farmers market is also done and dusted for the week. (Another saying I heard during the week and have to find a use for is: “you can’t ride 2 horses with 1 arse.” It’s about multi-tasking and taking on too much.)
Okay, without any further havering, here’s the week that was.
What brought joy to my week
Grant came up to Hervey Bay last Saturday to pick me up from Sarah’s. We did a little work around her “yard” and ducked down to the fishing co-op to pick up some local prawns, scallops and crayfish for lunch before driving home.
Sarah arrived home last night for the weekend – it’s lovely having the noise in the house again.
We had good friends over for dinner on Thursday night and yesterday I caught up with another for lunch at a local favourite, Green Zebra. We shared some entrees and a main course and it was all very lovely indeed. As was the view.
On our table were crispy halloumi fingers with a cucumber and radicchio salad and sumac yoghurt, salt and pepper squid with togarashi mayo, and caramelised pork belly with a green papaya salad. All washed down with a glass of rose and this view.
This photo in The Times of some wind-swept dogs in Kent also made me smile, and starting a new game of words with friends with not 1 but 2 consecutive moves where I was able to offload all 7 tiles made me do a happy dance. It’s the little things.
What I read
The latest in Kerry Greenwood’s Phryne Fisher series. It is, in fact, no 21 in the series. My version is on kindle, but I think I’ll probably get the paperback too because I have all the others in the series and I’m a tad OCD like that. Also, the cover is just beautiful.
Greenwood blends quite a bit of food into her books so in honour of Phryne I made this quiche for dinner on Sunday.
What I watched
The Great Kiwi Bake-off is back. I’m a massive fan of the bake-off franchise so am very happy to be catching up on this one.
Because we’ve just finished reading Wuthering Heights in book club, I also watched the first half of the 2009 mini-series. I’m watching it on YouTube so hilariously there are parts where the words and the mouths don’t match, but whatever.
In the Kitchen
While I haven’t written a Nigella Diaries post for a while, during the week I made these Turkish eggs for lunch. It looks a bit messy but at the same time I really love the colour the egg and the paprika give to the yoghurt. It was sort of like having breakfast for lunch.
Speaking of lunch, I made Tom Yum soup the other day using Life’s Good curry paste, some tomatoes, mushrooms and chicken stock. It’s spicy, hot, sour and I think has absolute restorative powers. It’s super healthy too. I dropped in a few prawns for some protein and it was absolutely perfect.
We did a barbecue for our friends the other night but I made Nigella’s Lemon Curd Pavlova for dessert. If you ever come to my house the likelihood of pavlova is quite high, and the chances that it will be this pavlova are higher again. I’ve never yet managed to get a decent photo of it though.
I also made this Grains and Greens Salad. Because I was adapting the recipe to something Sarah can prepare for lunches, I used a packet of mixed brown rice and quinoa. Other than that the recipe is here.
In the news
Vaccine rollouts have commenced here in Australia. This should, in theory at least, stop the border instability. Other than a couple of linked cases already in isolation in Melbourne, and the occasional one in hotel quarantine (returned traveller) there has been no community transmitted cases again this week.
The war between our government and Facebook seems to be if not over, than a truce between the two has been declared. Both sides are saying the other side blinked first. I don’t care much either way, but I have pulled back on my use of Facebook as a result and am keeping it really only for groups and my author page.
Brisbane (and, by extension South-East Queensland) has been named as the preferred candidate for the 2032 Olympics.
Finally, there was this article about why rereading the classics is a good idea – in that it brings your life experience to the novel. It’s a subject I’d been pondering as I reread Wuthering Heights for bookclub – and had a very different view of the book at 53 to the one I did at 16. While I found the book as powerful as I had on previous reads, I had a different perception and a different appreciation and, I think, was more aware of the textures and the structure of the novel.
On the Blogs
Okay, that was my week. Linking up for the weekend coffee share with Natalie.
And Anyways... 
This post cracked me up right away with your immediate use of ‘it is what it is.’ It’s a wonderful catchphrase! I loved the article that you shared about rereading the classics — and the new takeaways this brings. I’m already deciding on books that I want to reread!
Yeah, that article really spoke to me. Have a lovely weekend.
Hi Jo a lovely week and those prawns look so fresh and delicious – they just say Summer & Qld don’t they? I’m going to try the Greens and Grains Salad recipe and what an inspiration Ruth Wilson is achieving her Phd at 88. I still have time to get a degree it seems Enjoy your week and look forward to reading next week’s coffee share. x
Jo, Your photos of the skies are gorgeous, and the food photos look divine. Ruth Wilson’s PhD at 88, wow.
I watched a video of Sheila White at age 97 and her 5 tips to build mental resilience: https://www.cbc.ca/player/play/1859701315790
Staying active physically and mentally seem to be the key to these ladies’ longevity and life satisfaction. Thank you for linking up with #WeekendCoffeeShare. Have a wonderful weekend!
I love the term “mackerel sky.” We get those now and then and they are gorgeous! Everything you made looks delicious and I’m looking forward to showing up on your doorstep and being served pavlova (wait, you did invite us, right?).
Your catch phrase is now sealed as ‘it is what it is’ Jo and I love the term mackerel sky too! Anything with halloumi in it gets my vote and this dish looks delicious! A great round up of what you’ve been up to. I really enjoyed the article about reading the classics and totally agree! #weekendcoffeeshare
So much food! I gained 2kgs just looking at all the pictures! As I said to Sue – I’m very glad you’re all finished with “Wuthering Heights” because every time it gets mentioned on someone’s blog my brain immediately launches into “it’s me it’s Katheeeee I’m so co-o-old” and I need to have a break from that! Nice that you had some Sarah time and that things are going well (except for the sucky working on your day off scenario!)
What great pics!! Thanks for joining us in the coffee share!
Thanks for dropping by.
Oh my…..all that food looks amazing, okay, except for the eyes on the prawns…lol. I’ve been trying to do more reading. It’s been nice.
Lol re the prawn eyes… Thanks for dropping by.
What a great wrap up – as usual all the food looks amazing and especially the Tom Yum – it’s one of my all time favourite dishes. Loved the pic of the puppers – it made me smile!
The tom yum has become a bit of a go to lunch for me of late. Healthy & yummy.
I think you know I hated Wuthering Heights when I relistened to it a few years ago. I hated everyone and everything about it!!! Who would have thought I’d be so passionate about something.
The halloumi fingers look amazing! Sorry you had to work more, I hope things quieten down for you soon work-wise and you get some of that utopia-like ‘balance’ in your life.
Ummm…all that food! It looks and sounds amazing. You had me at fishing co-op but then it just kept going. That lunch with the rose sounds heavenly and then all the cooking at home. Devine.
I keep meaning to re-read the classics too. I might have to start putting them on the list and read one monthly. And I like the looks of the Phryne Fisher series, if for nothing other than those covers.
Aren’t the covers amazing? I love the series too.
Hi Jo, I love that this post is chock full of amazing food. That greens and grains salad looks perfect. I’m envious that you are having friends over for dinner and can’t wait until we feel comfortable doing that. Nine days to go before we get our second vaccine…making plans for April.
In our state we’ve had just 2 cases in the community since last July – we still get the odd one in (compulsory) quarantine. Our visitors from the southern states commented that it all feels weirdly normal.
The food looks delicious! Crispy halloumi fingers! Yummy! When you visit Sydney, we should definitely catch up and check out some amazing foodie places along with Sammie. I’m currently feeling like I’m riding 5 horses with 1 arse – is that an acceptable saying?! 😛 Always love your sunrise pics, Jo. Hope you’ve been having a wonderful week!
It’s absolutely an acceptable saying – and a good one. Hope your week has been great.
Food photography is such a skill and you nail it. I am so over looking at food I cannot eat though…sad face. It’s been quite a while since I got my teeth but eating and how I can do that now is quite limited.So, will stop the whinge and appreciate the beauty you bring to the page! Glad you had a noisy house again.
Thanks for being a consistent, caring and contributing blogger to this community I call #lifethisweek. Next week we are sharing our snaps (photos) and that’s an optional prompt. See you next Monday, I hope, as always.
Denyse.
Thanks Denyse, I’m trying to get better at it. It’s been lovely having people to feed.
I need access to your meal plans… all those food photos look delicious and nutritious (as my mother would say) 🙂
Aww thanks. I actually do meal plan every week…