Shoe Storage

For a few years, the lower staircase has held a pair of shoes on each step.  Some of my students and friends can tell they're at the right door by the parade of shoes up the stairs.  Yes - I have many shoes.  Earlier this week I had my carpets cleaned, and I discovered I had more shoes even than I thought.  They kept popping up!  Although it's nice to be referred to as 'The Shoe Lady', it's also nice to be able to vacuum without stopping frequently to move a pair of shoes.  I've been on the lookout for a suitable cupboard or shelves, but then - I opened the hall cupboard and had a light bulb moment.  This would make a lovely shoe cupboard - and it's free! 

Today was beautiful - it seemed my Facebook newsfeed was chockers with 'perfect day' posts.  Instead of doing something outdoors (and, really, between about 9:30 and 4 it was rather warm), I chose to reorganise my hall cupboard in favour of shoes.  I think this was a good choice.

Apart from the obvious benefits of having one place for my shoes (as opposed to me thinking 'Is that pair beside the keyboard? Next to the drawers? On the stairs?'), this central location is near my room.  So when I'm choosing outfits, I don't have to trek up and down stairs until I have a suitable pair.  And it's forced me to do a bit of a clean-out.  I have quite a stash of expired things - sunscreens, painkillers, cold and flu tablets, and prescription medications.  I found some interesting things (for a hall cupboard) - like electrical cords, a drill, bubble wrap, candles, curtain rings, and a whole lot more. 

My shoes don't take up the whole cupboard, so towels and first aid will still live there.  And there is a stash of shoes I will be giving away at the next swap.  Not the greatest of photos, but it's rather an awkward place if you want to take a photo, short of climbing over the ledge (although that was tempting).

Yesterday's photo:

Again, not a great photo.  Yesterday's gig was wedding and reception, with the reception at Customs House - and who can resist a photo of the Story Bridge?

Today's photo:

Because today was so hot, I took pity on my plants and gave them an extra watering this evening - and spotted this little caterpillar enjoying my parsley.  Good for him.

Planting Parsley

Parsley is not one of my favourite herbs.  Not as aromatic as some other herbs, and not as tasty as some other herbs, and tends to make me choke if I have bits too big.  I was diligent in buying some for a recipe recently, and I was even more diligent in watering it until I could plant it.  Before I planted it, I noticed the nutritional benefits printed on the side of the pot - I had no idea how wonderful it was!  So I'm making more of an effort to include it in my cooking and salads. 

Now, I used to be a fine gardener.  My plants grew, I weeded - that's pretty much it, right?  But then I stopped being so great about watering, and stuff started dying.  Last year, I bought parsley for something, and eventually I planted it in the bit of earth by the fence underneath the clothes line.  It died.  Earlier this year, I bought parsley for something, and I thought about planting it, but I didn't and it died.  No real surprise...  So I was hoping to get this lot into some earth and, fingers crossed, keep it growing.  Step one complete today. 

The basil has been looking a little straggly, but still producing some lovely leaves.  I thought it could do with a companion.  After various doggy visits, the soil in this pot has started to look a little ... ummm... you know.  Dogged.  But I discovered the bit of plastic was in fact not buried, and an actual plastic bag.  I also removed most of the weeds.  So now I have 2 herbs in the pot, with fingers crossed for keeping them alive.  This pot gets watered daily, and has the best position for catching sun, so the odds are good.

Today's photo:

Not much happened today.  But the lilies have opened recently and are so bright and cheerful I couldn't resist.

Curried Beet and Sweet Potato Soup

One of the blogs I follow is What I Wore 2Day, which includes a weekly 'Sporty Sunday' post (health, training, that sort of thing).  In a recent post, a curried beet and sweet potato soup was mentioned and I shamelessly asked for the recipe.  Success!  I even had beetroot in my delivery box this week.  You can find her recipe here, or see below for Australian measurements (or, What I Did).

3 medium beetroots
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 large onion
2 large garlic cloves
2 teaspoons fresh ginger root
2 tablespoons Indian curry paste (haha.  When checking for ingredients I thought, I'll make my own like I normally do, so didn't buy any.  When it came time to make the soup though, I was not up to making any and didn't have any pre-made like Patak's, so I ended up using tamarind paste.  Unusual).
2 medium sweet potatoes
6 cups vegetable stock
400mL can coconut milk

Method:
Preheat oven to 200C. Rinse beetroots and remove greens (if still attached). Place in covered casserole dish and roast for 45 minutes to 1 hour (until easily pierced with a fork). Remove from oven, peel, and dice.  (I roasted 5 so I have some leftovers.  I'm also cautious when it comes to vegetable sizes from one country to another, and I've found the organic varieties to be generally smaller than non-organic but with much better taste - and, I have discovered, are more nutrient-rich).

While beets are roasting, peel/dice/press/chop onion, garlic, ginger, and sweet potatoes.  (I discovered that my ginger was a bit past it, so used some ground ginger instead).

Heat vegetable oil in large soup pot over medium heat. Saute onion, garlic, and ginger until onions are translucent. Add curry paste and stir to coat.  Add potatoes and vegetable stock. Bring to boil and gently simmer 30 minutes, or until potatoes are tender.  Add beets and remove from heat.

Using an immersion blender (I used my new stick blender), puree until smooth.  Return to heat. Stir in coconut milk. Heat through and serve.

I now have oodles of pink in my fridge and freezer - excellent antioxidants.  It looks like I'll get 8 serves out of this. 

Today's photo:

I have a pot of parsley on the kitchen windowsill waiting to be planted.  The advantage of its current spot though is the sunlight it soaks up in the afternoon.  And the fly-screen pattern on the leaves.