I'm so very happy with the kitchen so far. Just some grouting to do and then we are there. Almost.
Here is a tiny pretty bit. The rest is bedlam.
You have to make sure there are plenty of good things to eat when you're on holidays. Luckily one of my favourite things about holidays is the cooking. I like how you have to keep it simple. You've only got basic equipment and a limited pantry so you've got to be inventive. But for me, that makes it all the more relaxing. We packed the car with delicious cheeses, olive oil, wines, jams, eggs and olives from home and stocked up on basics at the local health food store when we arrived :: strong flour, SR flour, rice, lentils, chickpeas, dried fruit and nuts, maple syrup, popcorn. Then with milk, yoghurt, butter and a sack full of spuds from the corner store we were set for a week's lazy cooking. Pancakes for breakfast, sauteed potatoes for lunch, a woodfired bbq for dinner. We baked bread or made damper every morning, ate loads of ice cream and the kids sucked on frozen orange quarters all day long.
It was pure luck that on a visit to the library before we left to stock up on books for the peeps that I came across a copy of Tessa Kiros' delightful book Apples for Jam. Despite having seen this book pop up on blogs often enough, I'd never got my hands on a copy until now. It was the perfect book to take away on holidays, full of comforting, easy recipes that my kids just loved. Each chapter is divided by colour, red, white, orange, etc and the pages are full of cute photos, kids' drawings and Tessa's own childhood memories. Good bedside reading as well as a great cook book. I'm always looking for inspiration when it comes to cooking for the children and this book does it beautifully.
Now that dollar is looking so healthy, I might just have to get myself a copy methinks. Then I could pretend we are still on holidays. Wouldn't that be nice!
At our beach, at our magic beach...
we stayed in a cottage with flowers...
drank hot chocolate at dawn...
cooked meals out of doors...
and soaked in the bathtub for hours.
It's an anniversary of sorts. A blogaversary. Chocolate cake to celebrate. The car is packed with beanies, gloves, jackets, swimmers, sun hats and towels. Yes, we're going on a Tasmanian seaside holiday. All four of us. First time ever. See you soon.
A most excellent haul from the tip shop today. English yellow rose bowls, vintage Johnson plates, a woollen blanket called "The Doctor" and a brand new ironing board. Less than $30. Very nice thank you. It's been a bit quiet here. We've been outside. In the garden. I'll show you what we've been up to soon.
Macaron testing :: take three.
Tastes delicious, crispy shell, chewy middle, soft ganache centre.
However the shape isn't quite right.
Happy to keep practising.
It's been a while coming but spring has finally arrived in our corner of Tasmania. We've flung open the windows and doors and the peeps are off, running barefoot on the soft new grass.Hello spring. Hello sun on my face.
Oh boy, we are in the thick of it now. Today the kitchen sink was ripped out along with the last of the cabinetry and now the space is stripped to its bare bones. Butt naked except for a designer Italian piece in the corner. There is no going back now. As Hugo was helping he pulled up a loose floor board that revealed a cavity under the house. Sadly there was no long forgotten treasure underneath, so we decided to leave a keepsake of our own.
On a piece of paper, written in purple pencil::
My name is Elsa and I'm 8 years old. I like cooking and drawing and sport! I live in this house with my dog Mabel and 5 chooks and my brother Hugo who is four and my mum and dad. We are fixing the kitchen. I own a restaurant*
This note, along with a few seashells, were put in a jar, carefully placed under the floorboards before Hugo hammered the board back into place. A coat of pavement paint to match the rest of the floor finished off the job.
A little message from Elsa, that perhaps someone will find in the future, when the next kitchen is installed. A hidden treasure.
* Elsa explained that when someone found this note in the future, she'd be a grown up and she would have her own restaurant by then. Sweet words.
