5 weeks in and it’s finally starting to look like spring. What better weather than this to enjoy some precious balcony time with my fellow holidaying teachers?
Having people over always motivates me to clean and tidy. Spent 2 consecutive days at Ikea, initially to purchase some glasses for school and ended up with new shoe racks, napkins, placemats, glasses for home as well as for work. At least I didn’t forget to buy the glasses! On arrival I insisted everyone worship my newly sprouted rocket and lettuce seedlings.
Only after all my guests had oooooh-ed and aaaaaah-ed to my satisfaction were they allowed appetizers! I am genuinely excited about my seedlings. On R’s advice I had opted for the haphazard-sprinkling technique when planting my seeds. Step 1: Open packet. Step 2: Sprinkle seeds on soil. Step 3: Sprinkle some soil over seeds. Step 4: Water in. Step 5: Watch like a hawk!!! My seedlings sit in the same pot as my dwarf lemon tree, which means I am able to dedicate a solid watch-plants-grow session every possible moment of my day!
A great one-stop-shop for food to impress, I decided to head down to the Boatshed to stock up on some gastronomic delights for my 4 guests. This is where I discovered this:
I think they showcased about 4-5 different types of spinach, among which lay this beautiful deep purple mountain spinach. It’s flavour profile is quite similar to radicchio but with more sweet than bitter. Either way, it looked real pretty sitting among the green of its other spinach friends, roasted pumpkin and nut-brown roasted pinenuts.
This is also where I go for sicilian olives– my new favourite antipasti dish. Almost flourescent green, the sicillian olive is mild and EXTREMELY morish! Nowhere near as salty or tart as the kalamata but far more interesting than black olives. I still have some leftover in the fridge, which I plan to attack Nigella-style later tonight. 🙂
While putting together my pre-lunch munchies, I realised that I’d inevitably created some sort of edible united nations! Let’s see– Sicilian olives, pita crisps (middle eastern?), Persian feta, Mexican salami (lots of chilli, beware!) and finally the unavoidable cacciatore sausage!
And don’t forget the West Australian olive oil, egyptian style dukkah, Australian semi-sundried tomatoes and home-made marinated artichokes!!!
Despite the gourmet spread laid out before her, little K decides that a dusty old table looks far more palatable. STOP EATING TABLE!
For lunch we had a roast that was horrid (seriously), balanced by a gorgeous 4-cheese baked polenta and a warm pumpkin and spinach salad! Then there was dessert…
Chocolate mousse and strawberries marinated in balsamic and basil, inspired by Karen Martini’s Where the Heart Is. The mousse was so rich only the brave and the greedy (which happened to be the same one person) managed to finish the entire 200ml serving! I am constantly amazed by the transformation that occurs when strawwberry meets balsamic. Pure alchemy. Plus basil? Genius.
So that was my mid-week lunch special, courtesy of fine weather and good company. Highly recommended for the disheartened and the bored. 🙂
glutton dressed as lamb 