Things To Do When You’re Thirty

What I’m about to say won’t mean anything to most of our fans in the UK, but yesterday I filed my taxes.  And while our fans in the US will understand what this means, it’s our Australian readers who will know that I did this just one day before the deadline. 

Basically, UKers, just because you pay tax on everything you buy, everything you earn and just for breathing … does not mean that it stops there.  Every year you need to tell the tax man about it ALL.  Luckily for me, I don’t have any undeclared financial control of foreign company dividend options.  So filling in the online form was merely a lot of clicking ‘no’.  And the good part is that since we weren’t here for the full tax year … well … can you say rebate!

Speaking of doing grown up things, we’ve been thinking a lot recently about investing in some property (a more sophisticated way of saying we’re getting tired of giving someone else our money).  To this end we’re viewing a couple of places this weekend.  We might even take in our first auction, just to see how things work in these parts.   Here’s one of the places on our list.  It’s conveniently already in our building.  Might be a bit pokey though.  What do you think?

Not So Much A Conundrum

More of a puzzle really.  You know how some times cravings can come out of no where … and I don’t really mean food-type cravings here, but activities.  Just like an irresistible urge to taste something, you want to enjoy doing something.  Sometimes you can really get into it, and the craving becomes a fad.  You try and do it any opportunity you get.  Sometimes fads become a hobby, but often they fade just as quickly as they developed as you move onto the next big thing.

And so we found ourselves considering doing a jigsaw puzzle.  The more we thought about it, the more we were bitterly disappointed that we didn’t have one.  So, we got one.  And what a beaut!  It was a 1500 piece Ravensburger, one that was both interesting to look at and plenty of challenge.  Take a look, in all its jiggly-pieced glory:

Cocktail of the Week

Spicy Tomato Shot

1 oz Absolut Peppar vodka
1 oz tequila
1 1/2 oz tomato juice
1 lime wedge

Chill a shot glass with ice or in the freezer. Empty the shot glass from ice and water. Pour absolut peppar, tequila and tomato juice into the shot glass. Garnish with a lime wedge. For an extra kick, substitute Hot and Spicy V8 for the tomato juice.

Weekly Menu

Monday: Prawn Bisque

Tuesday: Hoisin Pork Lettuce Wraps

Wednesday: Baked Tarragon Orange Salmon

Thursday: OUT

Friday: Cheese Ravioli with Fresh Tomato and Artichoke Sauce

Lunches: Caramelized Onion and Gruyere Quiche, Broccoli Salad

What Musicians Do Next

I got an email this week from our business development manager about a chance to go see his band play. Now it’s not that uncommon to discover that managerial types are in bands … you know the sort, you wouldn’t know it to look at them but they like to “rock out” down the local at weekends.

This is not like that.

Reading more into the email, the band is referred to as being from a point earlier in his life. Ah, I get it, his student band. Like Tony Blair, back in the day they were all the rage down the student union, and now they are getting nostalgic for “the good times”.

This is not like that.

No, reading about The Lime Spiders reveals that they were a pretty influential Australian post-punk band started in the early 80s. They’ve been on and off since then, and my manager was with them through their biggest times, such as during the 3 album deal on Virgin. The Lime Spiders were specially requested as the support act for the Black Crowes during their tour of Australia in 92. They’ve played the Roskilde Festival and at London’s legendary Marquee Club. One New York gig saw two of their biggest fans come backstage to meet them – Joey Ramone and Iggy Pop. Most impressive to me is the band who supported them on that tour – Faith No More.

This is not the sort of deal you expect when you find out one of your managers is in a band. This is a seriously impressive past for a now successful business development manager completing his PhD in forensic linguistics. Check them out at MySpace and listen to a few classic tracks.

Look At The Tastiness

I can’t believe that this time last year, after attending the Sydney Food and Wine fair – the highlight of Good Food Month (if not the culinary sampling year) – we were satisfied to merely TELL you about all the tasty goods. How we ever expected to truly convince you that October is a great month for a visit, that this is THE unmissable event, without showing you how great it was is beyond me.

I mean not only can you sample from some of the best eateries in the city while sitting in a beautiful park on a lovely sunny day with a few thousand of your closest foodie buddies … but all proceeds go to the Aids Trust of Australia, so you can give while you amply receive.

It is highly advisable to get there early. Not that there are really any less people, but stalls do run out of food. And if you can decide what you want sooner rather than later you won’t have to queue for nearly as long.

There are plenty (I say PLENTY) of options to choose from, so it’s always nice to start with canapés and cocktails. On the left a selection from Chilterns: Vietnamese rice paper roll; apple beetroot and fetta on crispy wonton, Thai chicken ball with sweet chilli sauce; smoked salmon on cucumber with avocado and flying fish roe; chocolate brownie; and a strawberry frenchy – a frothy blend of vodka, strawberry liqueur and pineapple juice. And on the right: a Spring Bay scallop with pork belly and warm noodle salad served with a very refreshing tetanka of elderflower and Żubrówka vodka.

After appetisers comes the fish course.  I was a little unsure of having fish when there was so much meat to be had.  But I needn’t have been concerned because Bécasse served up the most delicious smoked Tasmanian ocean trout with citrus tea vinaigrette and radish salad I have ever had.  The only I grant you, but it would take a lot to beat it’s exceptional texture and flavour combination.

I blogged a while back about how I always forget quite how good pork is.  Just because I have diagnosed this facet of absent mindedness, does not mean I have eliminated it.  Thus I was once again struck by the majestic flavour
sensations that pork can provide.  First there was the incredible rabbit and pork (you don’t need to read that again, I did indeed say rabbit) rillette with sour cherry compote and watercress.  The Restaurant at the Art Gallery of NSW sure created a masterpiece with this fine merging of Bugs and Porky.  Next up, and always a Scott-pleaser, was the Bavarian Beer Cafe’s presentation of pork belly bites with apple compote and dark bier pineapple sauerkraut.  At once crispy, juicy and meaty I can only tell you that I love pork belly.

After such a succulent feast, it was time for dessert.  We were more than happy to take receipt of The Bayswater Brasserie’s moorish Shiraz soaked strawberries with almond pastry and cream.  Time to sit in the park, with a glass or two of wine, and just enjoy the sun soaked atmosphere.

This is one of our favourite events of the year.  The food was so good, and this time round it was even better than the last.  We can’t wait to see you there next year!

Food Shots

Ginger-Lemon Muffins

Devil’s Food Cake

Cuts Like A Knife

For our anniversary almost four months ago, Scott promised to start me a proper knife collection. Since then, I have been learning the ins and outs of knives. I’m sure the owners of our local kitchen store are sick of me coming in and asking to hold one or two knives from every brand they carry, then leaving without buying anything, still unable to make a decision.

This is a big deal, something that could (with proper care) be with me for the next 20 years (if not a lifetime), so I want to choose the right ones for me. However, with Christmas approaching and various family members asking (constantly), “What do you want for Christmas?” I decided to nudge myself into gear and pick my knives. This was also spurred on when earlier today I tried to chop an onion and had to stop half way through to have a conversation with the onion, asking it to will itself into small uniform pieces because the knife was clearly having a “personal day.”

I have it narrowed down to three brands, though I think I’m leaning towards the Global.

One More (Sort Of) Rugby Post

So just a couple of tidbits for you today.  First, one of the extra bonuses I get from coming home for lunch is Monday Night Football.  That’s right, if there’s any NFL on TV of an American evening, it’s perfectly timed to coincide with lunch time here.  Though it was particularly good today to see Manning’s Colts continue their winning ways, today had particular significance for ALL Aussies.

In the commentary box was none other than Russell Crowe.  Though he is a big fan of football (US-stylee) he was there talking about Rugby League.  We wondered if he was just trying to sell his favourite football (NRL variety) on the back of the recent Rugby Union World Cup.  But it goes so far beyond … he was actually in Jacksonville to promote an upcoming exhibition match between his beloved (co-owned) Sydney Rabbitohs and the English champs Leeds Rhinos!  We’re not big league fans, but it will be really interesting to see how this goes down in the States.

A second recent occurrence is that we got a very clever spam comment.  It was on our recent  post looking toward the rugby final … it discussed the game, gave specific details, was written in perfect English, didn’t mention v1agRA or replica rolexes … it was a very genuine comment.  It only gave itself away with the author’s homepage – an online betting site in the UK.  Clever, but still spam and still to be deleted! Mwah hah ha.

Weekend Sampler

This weekend, smack dab in the middle of good food month, was a very busy one for us with the Australian Beer Festival, the Rocks Market and our very own Crows Nest festival. Now, we could go on and on about what a great time we had in the glorious weather enjoying all manner of taste sensations, but that’s really not fair on those of you (that would be all of you) who missed out. Instead we wanted to present you with just a sampling of snaps to show you why even our local events (just five minutes from our own front step) offer a whole world of enjoyment.

Firstly there’s the entertainment: maybe it’s a Scottish thing but I sensed the pipe band almost as soon as we’d left the house – even when they were just warming up; and what could cover more fun AND educational bases than an Egypt themed bouncy castle.

While you are serenaded (I told you I liked bagpipe music) you can browse all the stalls – from things to make and things to wear, things to grow and things to wear if you’re Dad.

Of course, on such a glorious day, with so much to see and do, one needs sustenance. You want freshly grilled corn on the cob? You got it. You crave something sweet? Try a fly free jam tart. Taste-tastic!

And of course, what fair would be complete without a petting zoo. Though the miniature Shetland Ponies were sorely missed, we present for you ‘aww … so cute’ appreciation one friendly goat, and one seriously fluffy chicken.