Tuesday, October 16, 2012

Back into the swing of things

After being away for nearly a month with all our travels, I was looking forward to getting back into a routine in this place that is now becoming our home.  We sure had a productive and enjoyable one…
Dinner at the Opera Bar with friends before the show at the Opera House.  SO many giggles for the witty comedian, Aziz Ansari.  They do say that laughter is the best medicine…I would agree after that night.  
We spent our Saturday afternoon "branching" out and trying new things.  First things first…R drove us for the first time on our own!!  This is a big deal for us.  We have been nervous to venture on the left side of the road with right sided steering.  We just kept repeating, "stay left"…and it worked!  We are a part of this program called "go get" where you pay a small monthly fee and reserve a car in advance.  Lucky for us, there are a lot these cars scattered around our neighborhood so it is very convenient to have one waiting for you if needed!  We took the car to a plant nursery, where I wanted to not only spruce up our deck, but also buy some edible herbs to cook with.  Do you get as frustrated as I do when you buy $8 worth of fresh herbs for a recipe only to throw away everything but a few leaves?!  So, I'm trying to fix that. We walked away with some flowers, greenery, basil, lavender, mint, and cilantro (called coriander here).  I spent the afternoon potting the plants, hoping that I wasn't already killing them.  We shall see how long this lasts...
On Saturday evening, we picked up fish and chips and enjoyed them with friends on our patio. One of R's coworkers from Dallas is here on a month assignment, so we have enjoyed welcoming her here.  Once the sun went down, we headed to the classic movie theatre nearby to see Killing Them Softly starring Brad Pitt.  Hmmm don't know what to make of it.  R did not like it and I kept wanting to fall asleep (might have been the influence of wine).  Great reviews by the critics, though.  
I guess you could say that Teddy has comfortably settled into Aussie life.  Whether it be running around the parks in the sunshine, taking naps per usual, or watching the cruise ships go by on the patio, his life ain't so bad.  We were a little worried his first few days with us when we could hardly leave Teddy alone without him crying and freaking out.  Since then, I have been researching and chatting with Cesar Millan (the dog whisperer) to re-train the dude to chill when we leave him in his kennel.  So far, so good.  

This week in the kitchen:
Chocolate coca-cola cake. Do you like how I go with dessert first?
Stuffed green peppers with brown rice, ground beef, onions, and garlic.
 Crostini with brie cheese, strawberries, honey, and basil.
Edamame fried rice with leftover marinated chicken breast.

All of these recipes courtesy of pinterest:
This weeks thought for food was a combination of sous vide and seared scallops on risotto cakes with a  light citrusy salad and garlic aioli sauce on the side.  One of my favorite weeks for sure!  I feel like I have already learned so much about cooking techniques and using different ingredients that used to scare me.   What will be next?
And I will leave you with this…just another sunset that I will never take for granted.  In all my days spent in Sydney so far, not one has gone unappreciated.  I hope I can continue to live my life with this in mind..

2 comments:

  1. So happy Teddy is home with you guys! He's so cute. You could try drying the herbs?? How was the coca-cola cake??!

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  2. I love that you posted the link to the recipes. Thank you, Love you. M

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