Goodbye 2011...and HELLO 2012!!!

I don't usually give too much thought to new years resolutions. The few times I've resolved to do something my procrastinating personality gets in the way and I end up achieving nothing and feeling guilty about it. Not this year. I am unusually excited about the coming new year. 2011 has been a bit of a rollercoaster year. All relative of course, but there are parts of this year that I'd rather not relive. But it has closed a few chapters - I've paid off my student debts, I've passed my specialist exams and I've reached peace with the ending of a relationship.

This blog started off a new beginning, and this coming year - 2012 - is the start of a new beginning as well. It is time for a new chapter in life. It's a time to say yes, to embrace all the good things that come my way, and to not dwell on the things I cannot change. It is a time to meet new people and make new friendships, to find new challenges and to do some things that I've been putting off. It is a time to enjoy, to grow and to really start afresh.

I've got a list a mile long of things I want to achieve this year. I know I will not be able to achieve them all, but I dare to dream. And as a favourite childhood quote says:

"Reach for the moon, for even if you miss, you'll land amongst the stars" Anon

1. Take figure skating lessons - one of my top bucket list items is go ice skating in Central Park, and I've always wanted to actually be able to skate when I do it...I've got 11 months....

2. Learn a language. I was linguistically challenged at high school, but would love to be able to order my beautiful french pastry on the Champs Elysees in French...I've got 11 months....

3. Do a photography course - I'm loving my new camera but feel a little limited with my abilities...would be good to have more formal training

4. Take up Ceroc classes again - French Swing. Dancing. Fun exercise. What could be bad about this??? I've done this once before but not for years, and I was only ever average at best. Would really like to learn it again

5. Put God centre in my life - I find that this can easily get lost in the general hubbub of life but it really is the most important thing in life. And read my bible more...

6. Buy a mountain bike and get fit again. With all the study and work and life I haven't gotten back into mountain biking. I haven't been riding in Brisbane...so now is the time to change it.

7. Conquer Cancer charity bike ride and the ADRA 25000 spins Great Ocean Road Challenge - these both may be pipe dreams as I am super unfit at the moment, but I'd love to do them in the next few years.

8. Travel. Bucklet list item...I've not had the opportunity to do the travel thing since I've been studying for my entire life but that is all finished, so now, Europe and New York (at Christmas), here we come!!!

9. Buy a house. I want to have my own little spot...a garden to have a vegie patch and room enough for a golden...ideally with wooden floors and a bright breezy living area and north facing windows perfect for food photography!


10. Use my cookbooks!!! I've got some gorgeous cookbooks and I really must start using them more...I'd love to do a Julie/Julia cooking experience but there are so many recipies in books that I can't eat (dairy, pig, seafood etc) so I might just have to settle for finding the recipes I love and blogging about them...

So they are written here, for accountability, to get my dreams organised in my own mind.

Here's to 2012, and here's to achieving your dreams, and making your dreams a reality.
Happy New Year! 

xxx

A rare treat

When I was little we used to go to the Bunya Mountains regularly. This was back in the good old days; when winter was cold and foggy and there was nothing nicer than curling up in front of the open fire at Rice's cabins and you could feed the birds with abandon. I have pictures of me covered in King Parrots and Crimson Rosellas (in my attractive duffel coat and 80's tracksuits...gotta love the 80's!). I loved feeding the birds when I was little, and feeding them still gives me a thrill today. We are lucky enough to occasionally have King Parrots grace us with their presence, and this morning was one of those days! Armed with seed we always keep in stock, I was able to feed this gorgeous male kingy. No photos of me today (birdy had already flown off by the time the cameras were mobilised but wouldn't have been a pretty sight anyway in my jammies and my wild and woolly hair) but twas a lovely start to the day.

My talented daddy dearest took this pic - was after he had eaten all the sunflower seed in my hands and had decided to sulk about the fact the only remaining seed was 'healthy' seed...

xxx

Paris in the living room

My parents have become francophiles. Always having an interest in the country (they both learnt French at school) recently their interest has grown. I"m not complaining! I've wanted to learn french for ages (its on my to do list) and quite partial to parisian chic and channelling a little bit of Coco Chanel. I'm also so excited about visiting the city of light and the Eiffel Tower and having a coffee (well, a soy chai actually) on the Champs Elysees. Its funny, when I think of wandering the streets of Paris it's always in winter. And I"m always wearing gorgeous winter attire...but I digress. My parents took some amazing photos on their last trip and they finally printed them...not up on a wall yet, but definitely have whetted my appetite even further to go visit soon!!!

Aren't they wonderful! Paris here I come....

xxx

Duck a l'Orange a la dee bee

I'm really unadventurous with my meat. I always stick with the clean meats: I love chicken, lamb, fish (including anchovies...yum!) and I can't go past a good steak, but I"ve never ventured too far off the beaten track. I've had venison but that is about as adventurous as I get. With the burgeoning interest in international cuisine in Australia different meats have been taking centre stage. Duck is one of them. Now I know people have been eating duck since the beginning of time, but it has never really entered my radar until recently. My dad hates it. I think he has terrible childhood memories and so I've always been a bit nervous to try it. I've seen it in restaurant menus and avoided it like the plague. My mum bought some the other day and we decided together to give it a shot. Armed with all the knowledge to properly cook the bird (MKR, Masterchef etc have been a wonderful source of culinary education) we braved it yesterday. YUM! I really enjoyed it. It will now give me another option when I go to dinner at a fancy restaurant!

My duck a l'Orange recipe

Duck breasts
One orange
Salt
Pepper
Castor sugar
A few chilli flakes if you want a little heat - we didn't have any but it would balance the sweet quite well

Vegetables to serve - we had mashed popato and steamed asparagus.

Season the duck with salt and pepper and place skin side down on a hot grill pan. Grill until crispy and then turn over and sear the other side. At this point we put the whole lot into the oven to continue cooking for a few minutes.

While it was cooking we made the sauce. Easy peasy - the juice of one orange, a tablespoon of sugar and salt and pepper and boil away until it thickens. By this time the duck should be done.

Stack the vegetables and duck and drizzle the orange sauce over the duck and make it all pretty. Voila! I didn't eat the skin but the meat was really nice. A little game-y but tastes pretty much like a chicken leg.

xxx

Festive gingerbread house

I've wanted to do one of these for the longest time. I've just never had the time or an easily accessable willing helper to do it. My darling mummy and I decided to do it this year. We had a few days in which to do it and we got a wee bit carried away, but nevertheless I do love it. It keeps in theme - red and white of course! - with some nordic type snow around the garden.

The main recipe is a Donna Hay one - found on another blog (but apparently published in the Dec/Jan 2010 edition of Donna Hay Magazine) - but it makes some nice gingerbread...and for the vegans out there, until you start dressing it with royal icing, it can actually be vegan.

Ingredients

7 1/2 cups plain flour
3 teaspoons baking soda
1 1/2 cups brown sugar
3 heaped teaspoons ground ginger (I love my gingerbread gingery...if you don't, reduce the amount accordingly)
375g dairy free spread
1 2/3 cups golden syrup

And here I diverge - I added 1 teaspoon ground white pepper, 3/4 tablespoon nutmeg and 1 tablespoon cinnamon (ground dutch cinnamon smells SO GOOD!) because I quite like a spicy gingerbread, with just a little kick of heat.

All ready to go...

A word to the wise...probably better to use the dough attachment, not the whisk attachment :-)

 

Add flour...

...and baking soda...

...brown sugar....

...ground ginger...

...and all the other spices. Add the 'butter'...and then...

...combine...

After it was combined I kneaded it on the bench until it was a beautiful glistening dough.

Once it is all kneaded it can then be rolled out into sheets of gingerbread.

I like to roll my cookie dough between two sheets of grease-proof paper. 

At this point I stopped taking photos. Shocking. I know. Further instructions -  roll out gingerbread to 3-5mm thickness. Make sure the rolling is even otherwise it will not cook evenly. Once it is rolled out you can chill it so it doesn't stick to the pattern

Lay out the pattern ( I just googled one - you can get it here ) on the gingerbread sheets. Cut out around the pattern and then transfer while still on the grease-proof paper to the baking tray. Apparently you should bake them at 180 degrees C for 15-20 mins (until done really) depending on the thickness and size of the sheets of cookie dough. We had to put quite a few back in the oven as the gingerbread was too soft. Just don't burn them (blush).

Once it is cooked and cooled you can start the assembly.

Lots of washing up.!

Cooling gingerbread sheets - any flat surface was fair game!

Make the royal icing - we cheated and used packet royal icing but you can be authentic

 

Starting the assembly. We didn't trust the royal icing so we used alot of it...

The number of red M&M's in 2 family packets.

Our roof was quite burnt...oops. Icing hides a multitude of sins...

A word to the wise. Do the adornment of the walls and roof before you have them vertical. Oops again :-)

 

 

We crumbled mini meringues around for the snow and uncrumbled ones for snow drifts.

 

Every self respecting winter wonderland should have a snowman. Ours is made of rumballs...YUM!

Ta da! The finished house. It seems a shame to eat it now!

I'm dreaming of a white christmas....

xxx

Preparing for Christmas

I love Christmas time. A time to contemplate life, a time to celebrate God's amazing gift to mankind in the form of his Son, Jesus, and a time to spend time with the people you love the most. I don't like the frantic crowds, fighting for a car park just to buy some food to eat or the fact that the holiday season appears to turn even the most affable person into a grumpy-bum. Sadly, this Christmas snuck up on me a bit. I had my presents sorted ages ago but didn't have a chance to do all the Christmas baking like to usually indulge in over this Christmas period. Thankfully I had a few days off prior to Christmas to unwind from life's usual business and concentrate on Christmas - food, presents, lights and of course, taking tons of photos!

I came home and got to enjoy the preparations with my mummy darling. We've been baking up a storm, creating gingerbread houses (see more later!) and photographing our hearts out!

My sister and her friend's gorgeous gingerbread houses...the inspiration for the one we made...

More lights - a winning house in Tmba

 

Patriotic light display...

Our city hall all decked out in its Christmas finery

 

My parent's christmas card collection. It is a dying art, sadly so. I can't talk, I only sent a couple out this year. I did send individual texts though...

The lunch my darling mummy actioned while we were busy baking all manner of christmas treats...yum!

 

The theme for this year...red and white nordic...in case you couldn't guess :-)

 

Thank goodness for Kikki-K!

Love this babushka doll ornament. Not quite nordic but european

 

My mum missed her calling - gorgeous table decorations!

 

Cood feet on Christmas day...good thing we have some festtive socks to keep the tootsies warm!

Evil fruit. Evil I say. My family loves them though...so I try indulge them when I can :-)

xxx