Melbourne Trip #4 - Tuesday and Wednesday

Yesterday's post only got me to the end of lunch on Tuesday.  After lunch, I had a bit of downtime while Jeannie taught a really cute little student.  Then, because of my little encounter on the bike, I decided to change before we went out again.

Tuesday Outfit #2: Stockings from Target, top from Dotti, dress is Don't Ask Amanda - bought at an op shop on my last trip, boots Mina Martini from Jeannie.

We headed into town again, this time on the train, and went to the Rialto tower.  This was something I remember from my high school trip way back when, but Jeannie had never been to the top.  I'm not sure, but I suspect it's been swankified since my school trip.  I can't imagine a whole lot of high school girls, on tour, behaving properly in the bar at the top. 

We were the only customers when we arrived (great service!) so had a pick of views. 

We opted for the Albert Park Lake side, and so had drinks overlooking the city.  It was a pretty great view.

We then headed over to Captains of Industry (in Somerset Place) for some trivia.  Yes, I'm slightly addicted to trivia, so I would have said yes to this anyway, but this particular event was a fundraiser for a group doing the Oxfam Trailwalk shortly.  At first it seemed that everyone there was formerly from Brisbane and either visiting Melbourne like me, or had moved there in the last few years.  As it turned out, there were plenty more people who didn't fit into this category, so those people had a distinct advantage in the 'sport' round.  Another fabulously fun evening, and we came not last, or even second last, but respectably in the middle.

Wednesday.  Outfit: green Kinki Gerlinki dress, black Ambra top, black leggings, black flats from Target, Hot Options jacket from Jeannie.  Wednesday was the consumables day.  This was a good outfit choice.  My hair was in a world of its own though, and highly annoying.

First, we walked down to Bread and Jam for Frances, via Bradstreet Books.  Bradstreet Books is a secondhand store by Glenferrie station, and has 2 levels of shelves and nooks and more shelves.  So many books!  I did not buy anything.

Bread and Jam for Frances is a bakery/cafe attached to Readings bookstore.  Really good service.  Really good coffee.  So we had 2 each.  And we shared a pastry.  And then... Then we went to the bookstore side of things.  Having spent many dollars in my life on not great books, I developed a list of authors I was allowed to buy - everyone else had to be borrowed from the library.  I bought one book from an allowed author.  And then I bought 2 new releases.  No regrets!  One I read yesterday, and the other I started today, and my brain is thanking me for it.
Home again, then I was forced to drink a super greens drink.  I know it's good for me... But yerk. 

Back into the city on the train, and by this stage we were both hungry.  We went to Degraves Lane again, this time to TOFWD.  I have no idea what the initials mean, but I felt healthy just looking at the food, and chose a lentil burger.  We then undid all that good nutrition by heading over to Koko Black.  It's still amazing.  I even had a Chocolat experience!  Having decided from the menu what I would buy to take home, I then forgot one of them - the chocolatier correctly suggested an option. 

On the way to our next engagement (free comedy), we just happened to pass Quick Brown Fox.  A free blowdry later, I also bought a scarf and a pair of earrings.  Then we were ready for some free comedy.  At first, I thought "No wonder this one is free" but then it got unbelievably funny.  Not clever funny, not crass or anything else, just people from the audience being asked to act and have props made out of balloons.  I laughed for at least 30 minutes.

We went to yet another bookstore, then were at a loss.  Instead of buying a bottle of water and wandering aimlessly until dinner, we went to the Cookie rooftop bar.  What a find!  Many flights of stairs (how to earn your treats), and you're practically on top of Melbourne.  There was no great vantage point for photos, but seeing dusk gathering over the city was fabulous. 

Dinner at Miss Chu was mostly vegetables.  Definitely an inner-city eating establishment, with house rules (including 'no chopsticks fights'!) listed at the top of the order forms.  Quick ordering process, very little room, vegetarian and vegan options, and plenty of serviettes for all the effects of the chilli.  My greatest delight here though was when I realised what the deal was with the light fittings - inverted rice bowls!

Then - the highlight of the trip.  We went to Arj Barker in the Melbourne Town Hall.  Going to a comedy festival event had been on my to-do list for years and years and years.  I was not disappointed.  Again, I laughed for most of an hour (there were some serious points), and I was relieved not to be the only one laughing outrageously.  I even bought a sticker pack with quotes from the show, and got a sneaky photo thanks to Jeannie.

I had a relatively early flight on Thursday, so nothing exciting happened that day.  And I wore jeans and many layers of tops, not exciting.  I'm very pleased to have achieved some of my to-do list - and I've added at least 2 items to the list for next time.  And aside from everything detailed here, I met many new people and didn't freak out.

Melbourne Trip #4 - Monday and Tuesday

It's that time of year again.  Melbourne trips seem to happen every 3 months.  I flew down on Monday, after very few hours sleep.  One of my goals for this trip was to wear different clothes - not just jeans and a top.  This occupied more of my brain than I anticipated, which was partly why I'd had very little sleep.  I still had a suitcase weighing only 9kg though.  Throughout all the following activities was a much-needed dose of talk.  Of the kind only a best friend can share.

Monday.  Outfit: Jeanswest super skinny jeans, black organic cotton Ambra tshirt, green and grey striped cardigan from Miss Shop (via op shop), black Target flats, graduated grey scarf.

I met Jeannie at Flinders St station, and we went to Degraves lane for coffee.  At Cafe No. 5 we had coffee and a pear and cinnamon muffin, then decided to get lunch.  I can't remember the name of the place we had lunch (Cafe King? Cafe Kong? something like that) but it was an Asian place with great service, mostly Asian customers (always a good sign) and massive servings.  My sizzling noodles with beef in black pepper sauce would have lasted me for 3 meals if I was making this at home.  Because it was so tasty, and I was rather hungry, I ate rather more than I should have. 

I have no regrets.  Then, being after midday, and we were both in that mood, we went to Ponyfish Island.  This is a bar underneath the Southbank Footbridge, and it's like being in Pirates of the Caribbean.  It has a lovely view, too.

I was a little worried I'd brought not enough in the warm clothing department, but Jeannie had a pile of clothes for me to check out.  Just in case, though, we went to 2 op shops (more great finds).  I then had a teeny tiny nap.  I had been warned that Monday nights were swing dancing lessons.  With all the other fun new things we had planned, combined with the immense sleep deficit, my brain was not enthusiastic about swing dancing.  Eventually, I was hauled off the sofa.  I went to swing dancing.  It was my first time, but knowing where the beat is, and a bit of salsa dancing experience, really helped.  I had so much fun, and didn't feel like an idiot most of the time.  So much fun, in fact, that I'm going to check out the swing dancing options in Brisbane in a couple of months.

After swing dancing, we went to Cafe Sofia (2 doors down) for dinner.  Jeannie and Matt have some experience in the meal sizes at this place, so we ordered one pizza for the 3 of us.  I think we managed to eat the whole thing, but only just.  Huge!  This place reminded me of my childhood, a really great family restaurant with friendly staff.  So friendly that we were given free 'cranberry juice' (port) after our meal.  Needless to say, I slept rather well on Monday night. 

Tuesday.  Outfit #1: op shop dress bought on Monday (black and white horizontal pin stripes, not apparent in photos), black Dotti top, colour block stockings from Target, black flats from Target. 

One of the things on our to-do list was to ride bikes into the city.  So, after breakfast, I got on a bike for the first time in approaching 20 years.  A little practice ride around the garage area, and I thought I would be fine.  Then we got out onto the road.  I got a little freaked out by traffic.  I then realised I didn't need to pedal downhill, and that the brakes were there for a reason.  My adrenaline was rather high, and thankfully we eventually got to the bike path.  I won't go into great detail, but I did realise a lot about my brain from this experience.  In those moments I wasn't concentrating on staying on the path and out of the river, it was a picturesque ride of about 15km in to Federation Square. 

We were hoping for more people around and more coffee, but had an okay coffee and muffin at Opti.  We then ticked off another item on my to-do list: seeing inside St Paul's cathedral.  It's rather beautiful.  It also reminded me of St David's, in Hobart.  Many photos later...  So I'll just share my highlights.  The front door is impressive (that's the outfit photo).  The tiles throughout reminded me of so many English cathedrals, and such a lovely feel.

The vaulted ceiling - I always enjoy looking up.

We also rode home.  I had a little incident (again, brain - resulting in jarred finger) and so when we'd completed the bike path component I opted not to ride along the road.  With the parked cars on one side and major road traffic on the other.  Uphill.  I could foresee an expensive disaster.  Jeannie rode on ahead.  Unfortunately, I didn't check the map function (thank goodness for my phone!) until I was quite sure I was in the wrong place.  And how!  It should have been 800m from where I now know I took a wrong turn, but I went about a circuitous mile instead.   Lunch was rather delicious though, and really healthy.  Thankfully.

Outfit #108 - Warm and Cool

Previously, I have always paired this top (a very cool blue) with black/white/grey lower halves (also cool).  Today was the first time I paired it with black and coffee-ish.  Mmm, coffee...  I mean, warm.  Plus, weather (hello, more floods) causing me to appreciate the warmth factor of my raincoat.  Weird.

Top: David Lawrence.  Skirt: Katies.  Singlet and leggings: Ambra.  Shoes: Target.  Earrings: Sportsgirl, I think.  Necklace: made by me.

My coffee and milk didn't play nicely on the weekend, causing rather an aversion to coffee.  I'm gradually getting over it, thank goodness.  Meanwhile, we're stuck with the super-tired face.  Getting only 4 hours sleep thanks to a late-running gig last night didn't help either.  I'm really looking forward to a mini sleep-in tomorrow. 

Outfit #91 - Summery Apron

Outfit details:
Dress: Caroline Morgan.  Shoes: Target.  Earrings: made by me.

I haven't worn this dress to school very often.  In fact, I think this was the second time.  The first time I wore it (about a year ago), a girl in grade 3 or 4 asked if it was an apron - it's not (it has a double layer so it's a bit deceptive), but I think of it now as my apron dress.  Today I was told I looked very summery, but really it was just uninspired.

And my hair started the day not pulled back, but it started to look ... umm... weird (like a haystack) so back it went.

Today's photo:

Recently I was introduced to coffee bags.  I forgot to buy any last week, but I made sure they were on my list yesterday, and today was my first at school.  Win.

The Shingle Inn

Last night, I had a really deep - and helpful - conversation about this blog (among other things).  Unfortunately, today's New Thing was a new coffee place.  Not very deep.  I hadn't had a new coffee for ages though (excluding trips to Melbourne) and life is rather hectic right now.

I had a few things to do in the city, but by the time I arrived (after a hair appointment) I was in the unfocused-I-need-coffee-now stage.  The Shingle Inn in the Myer centre was the first suitable option, and I was very impressed with my self-restraint in not indulging in a sugar-fat something. 

The service was good - staff with brains, a coffee that was quick enough but not at the expense of quality.  The coffee was reasonable - not amazing but better than the surrounding options. 

Today's photo:

In between the hair appointment and city stuff, I did something I've been meaning to do for ages (as in, a few years) - I took photos of the trees around the Wesley Hospital.  I was a bit late in the season for the money shot of jacarandas, but found these trees along a small street leading to Coronation Drive.  The overall effect of the trees was stunning but not great for photographing thanks to the cars.  I like the little curled-up buds though.

The Raw Revolution

After today's gig (in Solothurn, just past Maleny), we all needed coffee/hot chocolate.  Stat.  Not much was open in Maleny by this stage of a Sunday afternoon, but we asked a couple who told us the Marketplace was still open and really good. 

The Marketplace is one of those organic places, beautiful wooden tables and benches, organic food and coffee, eco-friendly products... Hippie heaven.  Coffee was good.  I was a tad peckish as well, so I almost bought a Byron Bay Cookie.  But then I spied the Raw Revolution bars and decided to be slightly good.  Warning: they're really good - and really expensive.  No preservatives, or artificial ingredients, or refined sugars or proteins.  Includes Omega-3 & 6, 5g fibre, 7g protein.  But the best bit is I recognise all the ingredients.  They're all actual foods!   And the product itself was delightfully yummy, chewy and chocolatey.  Win.

Today's photo:

The light fittings in this place were beautiful.  Each one was different - this was my favourite.

Melbourne Pre-Race

Yesterday, I ran the Melbourne half marathon.  I flew down on Friday afternoon and did some more New Things in Melbourne.

Friday:  I met Jeannie at Flinders St station, where they now have storage facilities (until 9:45pm).  We had dinner at ... um... a pub nearby with a fancy restaurant bit attached, but I can't remember the name.  Although it was a Friday, I didn't have fish and chips but the Atlantic salmon salad instead.  Then we were going to go to a Melbourne Fringe Festival show in which a friend of mine was acting.  The venue was in South Melbourne.  We put it into Apple maps.  There was a station nearby, named North Melbourne Station.  We got there and discovered we were on the wrong side of Melbourne.  We went home.

Saturday:  Breakfast at Las Chicas on Chapel St.  Wow.  One of those super feel-good places, as organic and local and sustainable as possible.  I felt really bad for not being able to finish.  Admittedly, my breakfast included a whole crop of spinach...  Very friendly service, too - we were wished a great day by about 4 staff as we left.

Chapel St shopping.  Flying down and back with only carry-on meant I was not inclined to shop.  But some of those stores were so tempting!  I did try on a dress but I resisted buying anything.  Except undies from the Bonds outlet store but that was more a necessity than anything else.  We also passed (and then went in) San Churro's Chocolateria.  This was on my list of things to do. 

I had my first Spanish hot chocolate (like an Italian hot chocolate but not as thick) - I went Azteca, with added chilli.  I love chilli in my chocolate, have been doing hot chocolate that way for years, and at Easter I make a chilli chocolate cashew mousse, but this was the first Spanish hot chocolate with chilli.  So good!  I thought about buying chocolates.  I did not.  A new thing (for this year, anyway) - not taking photos of all meals and coffees while eating out.  I hope you appreciate the absence of 'oh look, another coffee photo' photos.

Tram to Lygon St - with the trees all decked out in their fresh new leaves, this was so pretty!  I didn't get a photo though.  We had a late lunch (still not all that hungry after the very filling breakfast) at Papa Gino's, then had a few hours before the next thing on my list, so we went to the movies.  Cinema Nova was showing Searching for Sugar Man within about 15 minutes, and it was described as 'heartwarming' so we went for that.  After the second sentence we turned to each other and said, "This isn't heartwarming" - but it turned out to be true.  A documentary rather than a movie, it was the tale of Rodriguez - an amazing story.  I won't be able to do it justice here, so find it and watch it!

The next thing on my list was to see the sunset at St Kilda.  After the movie, we were both pretty tired...and my legs were starting to feel it... and it was overcast and rainy... and I could see us getting home close to 9 after dinner... As the primary purpose of this visit was the half marathon, I decided to abort the sunset/penguins mission.  We walked along South Bank (the Melbourne version) and back to Flinders St.

Rice pasta for dinner - a new experience for me - I'm tempted to buy some as it was rather yummy.  Another new experience was feeling like I could fall asleep at 8pm daylight saving time.  I held out until about 9:30, but still!

Cartel Coffee

There is a coffee cart on Adelaide St that has often tempted me.  Cartel Coffee has that Havana vibe, I think from the little motif of a hat.  Clever.  I had never bought a coffee from there though, I'm not quite sure why.  So when Aidan said on Sunday that the coffee place outside his work does pretty fantastic coffee, and my brain put together his workplace and the coffee cart that is Cartel Coffee, I was excited.  We arranged to meet for coffee today.

This is really good coffee.  They certainly live up to their mission: good coffee, good service, good ... um... I forget the other thing.  But it was good.  I even broke with tradition (I know, right?!) and ordered a cinna-cino.  Yummy, but I think I'd stick with regular cappuccino in future.

Apart from having a very cool "I'm in Cuba" vibe (yeah, not the actual cartel association), it's organic, and it's Fair Trade.  I like.  And you get bonus feet in the photo.

Monday's photo:

First thunderstorm of the season.  I love summer storms.  This wasn't the most amazing, but it's still getting into the groove so I can deal.

Today's photo:

Early morning sunlight plus kangaroo paw (plus spider web strands).

Escape to Melbourne, Part 2

Yesterday's post was just the beginning.  I had another day to 'suck the life out of the weekend'.  To continue, then:

10.  After a hearty and super-healthy breakfast on Sunday, we drove to the Royal Botanic Gardens.  I had a very vague recollection of them from the school trip, but as the weather was stunning on Sunday (blue skies, a few light and fluffy clouds, warm) it was hard to tell.  I went a bit nuts taking photos of not-so-bare branches and black swans.

11.  We walked back along the Yarra - again, something previously seen yet unrecognisable.  There was some sort of regatta happening so the whole thing felt rather English, actually.

12.  Off to St Kilda.  So, Melbourne beaches aren't all bad in winter.  With the sun shining, trees starting to shoot out leaves, a light breeze, people out enjoying a Sunday, it can be rather lovely.  We had a bit of a wander down to the sea (actually, all of St Kilda had me thinking England - minus the beach huts, of course!) and had lunch at Beachcombers.

Half a lamb later, I walked to the entrance of Luna Park, back via the 'Public Conveniences' and along the famous pier.

13.  We headed back to the Farmers' Markets we'd seen on the way, in Albert Park (I think) on Fitzroy St.  I found the chocolate.  Organic, and made by the man in the stall, who kept feeding me samples.  Then I had to choose...  Thankfully there was a 5 for $10 special. 

14.  I just missed out on a coffee at the markets (which were a one-off, but part of the Regular Farmers Markets), so we went to Bar Sant'amore across the street.  I kept taking photos of the coffee and the placemat.

15.  And then I had to go home :(  I navigated to the airport, and was actually quite sad to be leaving.  So, I have begun to consider the previously inconceivable.  Last year, I know the consideration would be as far as it would go, but this year is much braver.  You never know.

One last photo - flying into Brisbane at dusk, with controlled (I hope) burning on the outskirts, made for a vivid orange horizon.

Escape to Melbourne

My first visit to Melbourne was a high school music tour.  In the middle of winter.  It was freezing, raining and hailing, and they took us to the beach.  Needless to say, I wasn't a huge fan of Melbourne after that.  My second visit was only as the start of the Great Ocean Road.  I noticed just how flat it is (I like hills).  It was January.  It was freezing, grey and raining.  This did not improve my opinion.  However, when my bestie moved there a couple of weeks ago, I wanted to go and visit.  This was the only wedding-free weekend before the end of this school term. 

1.  I was actually looking forward to going to Melbourne.  Partly to see Jeannie, partly to escape a nasty neighbour situation, partly to learn to at least like this city.  Post-landing required a coffee by the window.  I caught the Skybus from the airport, then bought an actual ticket and caught the train to Jeannie's nearest station.  Later, I bought a myki (like Brisbane's gocard).

2.  Although even the pilot admitted the weather was foul (11C, blustery and raining), it was great to get some wear out of my coat.  And warm cap.  Thankfully, Melbourne knows its weather is horrible and compensates with heating.  This is good.

3.  Dinner was at the Oxford Scholars' Pub, then coffee (this was I think my 5th for the day...) at the Marriott (reasonable).

4.  Bennetts Lane Jazz Club.  Fabulous.  There was no cover charge, and the evening's entertainment was in celebration of the 20th anniversary of the Mabo land rights decision.  Not just the music was great, but the vibe, the service - and I noticed that we weren't at the older end of the age spectrum, there were people of all ages there.  The general vibe out and about in the city was so different from Brisbane, much less raucous. 

5.  Saturday morning.  Running.  In a new place.  With no fixed route.  Agh!  I had to remind my brain, this is a good thing.  We ran 12 km around the neighbourhood, nice long straight streets, a few gentle rises, a bit of bike path and oval.  It was lovely seeing the gardens - although not pretentious at all, just the difference between the plants in Melbourne and Brisbane was interesting.  We're both running the Melbourne half marathon, and now I'm really looking forward to it!

6.  A train and a tram and we arrived at the Ceres Organic Markets.  The actual markets were closing up, but they pointed us towards the cafe.  I could spend a whole Saturday there, easily.  90% organic, sourced as much as possible from the surrounding garden farm, recycling as much as possible - just imagine the greenest possible place.  We both had green eggs (no ham), I had my usual coffee and Jeannie had a dandelion latte.  A great place for kids, they were running around and climbing the hill and just generally mucking around.  Nice people, too.

7.  A couple more tram rides, including the city circle tram, to get to Federation Square and the National Gallery of Victoria.  We couldn't find the stained glass (next time!) but we did see the Felton collection (Aboriginal art - some of the red works were wonderfully intense) and the Joseph Brown collection, as well as a textile collection which was akin to ballet costumes, so vibrant and Australian.  In the Joseph Brown collection I finally saw many famous favourites, including The Shearing of the Rams and Lost, and some Grace Cossington-Smith paintings of the Sydney Harbour Bridge under construction. 

8.  Food was needed, and I found organic coffee bean yoghurt.  Yum.  We found the Chocolateria San Churro, a Spanish chocolate place and I didn't have anything.  Most likely, only because I had just had the yoghurt.  But still...

9.  We went to a production of Under Milk Wood.  In St David's Welsh Presbyterian Church (of course).  This was a Whistling Vicar Theatre production - still running until September 1st I think.  Both of us were a little anxious about having to listen to words so much, but there was enough acting to help us along.  Plus good singing.  Plus Welsh accents (yet no "but I am the only gay in the village"!).  And, as I was meant to have read this in high school (I admit it, I cheated), references by other family members previously went over my head but now I know what they're talking about.  I would have missed about a quarter of the dialogue still, but that's much better than I expected.

The weather was still quite overcast on Saturday, and the general landscape reminded me at various times of Sydney, Adelaide, and Canberra.  However, it is starting to grow on me.

Coffee for a Cause

Yesterday I said I would be drinking coffee for a cause today.  At participating cafes, $1 per cup of coffee would go towards grassroots services for the homeless.  This was enough of a reason to drag myself out of the house.  It was a close thing - but, the one day of the year when one of my indulgences is helping others was too good to miss.

I noted all the suitable options yesterday and then chose one of the closest ones today.  Although as I nearly fell asleep on the train it could have been a slightly different story.  I had heard from a few fellow coffee afficionados (afficionadi, maybe?) that Bunker at Milton was worth a visit.  From the station I had to pass a couple of other coffee spots, which surprised me in this unassuming street. 

Bunker is well-named.  It really is in a bunker, with vines covering the walls and ceiling, a nice contrast to the otherwise industrial feel.  And the coffee.  So far this year I think it might just win.  As usual, I ordered a cappuccino, and I was pleased to see a decent amount of chocolate going on top.  I was about halfway through consuming this cappuccino when I realised the amazing chocolatey goodness I was experiencing was coming from real chocolate - not just that normal mix you find sprinkled in most places.  When I was almost finished, I realised that this is a coffee and chocolate place.  Now I have to go back.

You can't really tell from the photo above, but the clipboards show the filter coffee options, featured coffee options, something else (I knew I should have written these down!) and the special of the day (jaffa).

I arrived just before the rush, so there was minimal wait for my caffeine - I noticed the staff knew many of the names of people who came in just after me, always a nice sign.  Another plus was the music and the staff actually knowing musical things ('this performer likes A minor' for example).  I felt self-conscious taking photos though, so took the above as surreptitiously as possible, and the below shot after I had left.  The man in the photo came out just as I was snapping - sprung! 

Bunker can be found at 21 Railway Tce, Milton.   No doubt, I will also be found there again.

Today's photo:

Baking.  Afternoon light catching the dripping beaters.  Anticipation.

Sausage and Parsnip Risotto

Parsnip is quite possibly my favourite vegetable.  This current box of vegetables was the first that has contained any though (after about 15 months of deliveries).  Having eyed this recipe (from Jill Dupleix's Good Cooking: the New Essentials) for a couple of years, I was thrilled to be able to cook it tonight. 

Ingredients:
2 parsnips
1 onion, peeled
2 tablespoons butter
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 Italian pork sausages
4 rosemary sprigs
350g arborio rice (about 2 cups)
150mL light red wine
1.2L hot chicken stock
1 tablespoon tomato puree (paste)
1 tablespoon finely chopped flat-leaf parsley
1 tablespoon freshly grated parmesan

Peel the parsnips, slice thickly and cook in simmering, salted water for 10 minutes.  Drain and set aside.
Halve and finely slice the onion.  Melt half the butter with the olive oil in a heavy pan, add the onion and cook for a few minutes until softened.  Skin the sausages and pinch small portions into the pan.  Fry until well browned, then take out half the sausage and set aside.
Add the rosemary and rice to the pan and stir until well coated.  Add the wine and allow to bubble for 2 minutes, stirring, until absorbed.
Add a ladleful of stock to the rice, and stir until it is absorbed.  Add another ladleful and stir constantly (but calmly) with a wooden spoon until absorbed.  Continue this process for around 15 - 20 minutes until the rice is cooked and still creamy.
Add the tomato puree, sliced parsnips, reserved sausage, remaining butter, salt and pepper, parsley and parmesan.  Heat through and serve.

This is described as 'the culinary equivalent of a blazing fire and cashmere cushions'.  I concur.  Of course, I didn't replicate this exactly...  I bought the ingredients from memory, and obviously had a different recipe in my head so bought 'inexpensive fruity red wine' instead of light red wine (I wonder which recipe it was though?!).  Not being a wine connoisseur though this didn't really make a difference to me.  I also forgot all about the rosemary, so used some dried marjoram instead - acceptable, but I'd love to use rosemary next time.  I'm not a sausage-eater so I feel really out of my depth in that part of Woollies.  'Italian pork sausages', if present, were not labeled in that way, so I settled for chorizo sausages (I have another recipe waiting for them).  Next time I probably wouldn't use sausage but I'm loving the parsnip and red wine elements. 

I don't normally tell everyone what my future posts will be, but tomorrow is the day for drinking coffee.  CafeSmart cafes are donating $1 for every cup sold to grassroots services helping people who are homeless.  Can drinking coffee get any better?!  Look for your nearest participating cafe here.

Yesterday's photo:

Computer tantrums last night stopped me posting a daily photo.  I had this salad for lunch and it was just so pretty!

Today's photo:

I looked out randomly today and saw the trees on the next street lit up from the sun.  I ran upstairs with cameras and only managed to get 2 shots before the light changed and we were back to normal clouds.  Even so, I still missed the golden tree.