The year of living recklessly: an update & forecast

Dear all,

I've missed you, and (rather surprisingly) I've happily discovered that some of you have missed me too.

Late last year I declared that this would be the year of living recklessly, and after having said this with such certainty to all of you I feel obliged to give an update.

Since we last talked, these things have happened (roughly in this order):

• 4 months ago...My camera broke (a significant contributor to the lack of blogging - no photos = little inspiration to write). I would like to attribute this to a particularly reckless act, like swimming in the duck-pond at 3am in the moonlight just because I could, however I think that it just grew old, filled with sand and water after too many adventures and gave up. Today's pictures are brought to you by my flatmate's camera.
  

• 3 months ago...After having thrown in my old job, I landed a contract at the Sydney Royal Easter Show (Australia's largest event! and, according to Wikipedia, the sixth largest event in the world). I watched children plunder showbags, herded cows and also an escaped and angry pig, learned an excellent lime cordial recipe*, followed a trio of ducks with more dress options than even I have, pushed a pirate around on a trolley, ate half my weight in Show food and then drank myself green on closing night.
  

• 2 months ago...Molly & I (plus a rather nice man) moved out of the lovely home that we have shared for over 3 years. It seemed reckless and daring at first until I realised that after campaigning so hard for the change I moved us into a brilliant new place only two streets away from the old place, still within the same tiny suburb, and into the equivalent room (upstairs, front of house) - all these terraces are laid out the same. This particular terrace, however, sits higher on the hill, meaning more light in our room, and said light-filled room also has (joy of joys) an ensuite bathroom and built in wardrobes. Not one wardrobe, but two. That is one each. Words cannot sufficiently express the delight.

Pretty new room (plus kitten, if you look closely)



Pretty new flatmates outside the new house, living what a passer-by described
as a "charmed existence"

Molly, quite content in her new home, although not ready for her close-up

• 1 week ago...I turned a year older and largely tried to pretend that it wasn't happening as I felt I didn't have the time, then threw a cheese & cocktails* thing at the last minute when I realised that it would be a year before I could celebrate my birthday again.
  

• Yesterday... I bought a pair of delightful boots. Recklessly expensive (*congratulates self on use of key word*) but beautiful. The camera, and my leg, don't quite do them justice.

• Today... I blogged, instead of churning out more job applications. And galloped, instead of walking, around the house. Galloping lifts the spirits and distracts from more serious things, like job applications.
  

• Tomorrow...will be the beginning of the end of my employment, as my contract ends at the end of the week. In suitably reckless fashion, I have nowhere to go. In a style somewhat less reckless, my impending unemployment is troubling me and nights at my place frequently end with a significant amount of foot-stamping and a tirade about how I don't want to write any more answers to selection criteria.

• In the next 8 months...I will possibly do any, or none, of the following things: start one of the million craft projects stowed under my bed, skydive, sew, start a street festival, stop eating chocolate on a daily basis, drop everything and visit Canada using the power of Mastercard, write more often, be a little less of a 'fraidy-cat and start singing along whilst I learn to play guitar, join a burlesque troupe or start working as a film extra.
  

And that concludes today's update and forecast for the remainder of the year ahead. As you can see, I'm about as reckless as your nanna, or on the recklessness meter, I'd rate somewhere around 'Probably still pays for virus protection software when it can be downloaded for free'.

Until next time, when I think of something inane to ply you all with!

*Lime cordial and cocktails piqued your interest? When I started blog writing I promised myself that I would include something useful for the reader in each post. So this is the useful part.

The lime cordial recipe I learned is on the CSR website...right here...you can use regular sugar if you prefer, you will just need to double the quantity.

The cocktails recipe that I came up with is just an elaborate version of the cordial above. This served approximately 20 people, and made quite a nice non-alcoholic punch for those who prefer it that way.

You will need...

15 limes, juiced (save skins!)
2 punnets of strawberries, crushed with a fork
1 1/2 cups of raw sugar
1/2 L water
dash of Angostura bitters

3 L sparkling mineral water
2 L ginger beer
spirits of your choosing (vodka and gin were good, pimms was excellent)
ice, ice, ice

The how to...

1. In a large saucepan, over a gentle heat, combine the lime juice, raw sugar and Angostura bitters. Stir until the sugar has dissolved. Slowly add the 1/2 L of water as/if required to help this process along.

2. Add the mashed strawberries and remaining water, and let the lot simmer until you have a light syrup mixture. This took about 15 min over a gentle heat, but needs watching otherwise you will end up with something that looks more like jam than something drinkable. Turn off the heat and let it cool for 10 min.

3. Take a jug, add a handful of lime skins and then tip in about a fifth of the syrup. Let it stand for another 10 min to cool if it needs it.

4. Add a scoop of ice to the jug, then top it up with chilled sparkling mineral water and ginger beer - I used about 3 parts sparkling to 2 parts ginger beer, but you can adjust this if you prefer it more or less sweet.

5. Drink! It's nice to leave the jug un-spiked so anyone wanting something non-alcoholic can partake and everyone can choose their own alcohol. Tip a shot of whatever you want into your glass and then fill up with the cocktail mix.

Cat in my hat

Come springtime, fashion - and all those who worship at its altar - turn to hats. Hats are the make or break factor in any races outfit, and it seems they are also the latest in bed wear. At least, according to Miss Molly, who won't be seen lounging on my bed without this stiff cream net number.

Simplicity is all the rage this year, says this fashion forecast, and Miss Molly has customised last year's hat appropriately. Gone are the fussy pink and black spotted feathers of last season. They were ripped out of the hatband and devoured like the inanimate-reminiscent-of-bird-prey/fashion faux pax that they were. Feathers are to be replaced by brooches or gemstones, apparently. This might explain the accruing collection of dead cockroaches in the house that kitten inspects frequently, turning them over with her paw before rejecting them for small flaws like scratches and crushed shells. If you were to look closely, they have a certain shine and brooch-like shape to them. If nothing else, the legs would probably adhere quite well to the stiff net of the hat like cicada shells on a tree. A little has been done to making the hat smaller and more structured than it was, in the way of some artful claw-work. There is definitely less hat than there used to be. Kitten hasn't quite gotten to re-colouring the hat yet, but luckily for her cream has been tipped as an elegant option this year.

It may not be her finest piece yet, but at least she will trump Dr. Seuss's Cat in the Hat, with his Where's Wally colour theme and penchant for the ridiculous. Not that I'm one of those pushy and competitive (kitten) stage-mothers, but between you and me, I imagine the Cat would probably grin less if he knew exactly how outdated his oversized and multicoloured headpiece would be amongst the pillboxes and bejewelled headbands at this years Fashion on the Field contest.

'It's just another manic Monday'

Six o'clock already I was just in the middle of a dream

I was kissin' Valentino

By a crystal blue Italian stream

But I can't be late

'Cause then I guess I just won't get paid

These are the days

When you wish you were a kitten, hey?

It's just another manic Monday.

Manic, that is, for everyone but a certain Miss Molly. Whilst I grappled with the snooze function on my phone (a war I fight at least half a dozen times each morning), Molly dozed (like the happy contortionist that she is) on the end of the bed.

Molly knows nothing of The Bangles, but lives their dream - every one of her furry feline days is a Sunday, her fun-day.

Jealous much?

If this leaves you feeling a darker shade of green with respect to the leisurely lifestyle of the furry one who deigns to live with you, take a look at this genius comic.

'Garfield minus Garfield' will/might/should:

a. make you laugh at the prospect of erasing the smug felis catus from your life;

b. bring you to the realisation that without your smarmy yet lovable friend, the cartoon of your life would leave you looking (dare I say the word of the day? yes, yes, I do) - manic;

c. leave you mildly irritated about the fact that, everyday, people other than you and I have simple yet brilliant ideas, like this reinvented comic;

d. remind you that unlike Garfield, most cats are without the pleasures of foodstuffs like lasagne. Ha-ha. A win for the two-legged creatures; and, last but not least...

e. it is highly likely that it will make you feel superior that you have known about this amazing Garfield-less phenomenon for much longer than me. I only discovered it last night.

P.S. Molly wishes you all a Happy Monday, from her sun lounge.

A green glow...

Miss Molly the pussycat went to play
In a beautiful pea-green bag..

On shopping day, kitten rediscovers her favourite thing. The green bag. As the groceries are unpacked, she paws closer and closer, until the bag is empty and there is sufficient space for her to wriggle in.

I like to think that kitten loves the green bag because, at heart, she is a little furry eco-warrier. More likely, I suspect, she likes the pea-green colour and its function as her playground.

That said, I like my things to be beautiful and functional as well as environmentally friendly. So you can imagine how delighted this caffeine-fiend was to find this lovely item at the Young Blood markets on the weekend, at the closing of the Sydney Design Festival...


The Keep Cup is the first barista standard reusable coffee cup. Very sexy. All the pieces come in a variety of colours (polaroid tones don't do them any justice), so you can mix and match until you have one that suits you. Take a look at the website for more information about the design and concept, and if you're as taken as me, to buy one for yourself.

www.keepcup.com.au

My big fat greek style burger

Once upon a time there was an amazing little burger place called Burgerlicious on King St, Newtown. They made seriously tasty burgers with good quality ingredients. One dark day they sold out. The lovely waitress with the same name as me disappeared. They brought in fluorescent lighting. All of the good ingredients left in protest. I thought my short-lived fling with burgers was over, until a certain someone taught me how to fend for myself with this recipe. Menfolk, take note: the way to a lady's heart is through her stomach.

The ingredients
..................................................................
500g lamb mince (buy the best quality lean meat that you can afford)
1 spanish onion, diced finely
2 cloves of garlic, crushed and chopped
1 egg, beaten
1 heaped tablespoon of both mayonnaise (whole egg variety, preferably) and seeded mustard
a couple of shakes of garam marsala, ground cumin and cayenne pepper
a handful of fresh mint, chopped (optional)
..................................................................
1 red capsicum
2 zucchini
1 eggplant
haloumi
rocket (baby spinach also works)
wholemeal buns (you could use any kind of bread - or none at all if that's your preference - but a bun is good for holding everything together whilst you eat it)
..................................................................

The how-to

Preheat the oven to 180 degrees, or 160 degrees for fan-forced.

Mix all of the ingredients from the first section, using a large spoon, until just combined. To make sure that all of the ingredients, particularly the spices, are evenly distributed, knead and squeeze the mince mixture with your (clean and ring-free) hands.



You want the mixture to be quite sticky - you can always have your kitten come by and do a quality control inspection, Miss Molly (pictured above) is always obliging. Divide into six even pieces. Mould each of them into a palm-sized round, and don't flatten them completely. Pop them onto a grill tray (preferably a wire rack with a tray for catching the fat that will drip out underneath so that you don't make a mess of your oven) and set aside.

Slice the egglant into thin rounds and sprinkle with salt. Set aside.

Slice off the four sides of the capsicum, working around the core. Put them skin facing up onto a baking tray covered with baking paper close to the element of the oven and grill until the skin is charred and looks blistered (approx 5 min). Take out and let cool. The outer layer of the skin should come away easily. Discard this, slice the capsicum lengthways and set aside.

Slice the zucchini lengthways, into pieces a couple of millimetres thick. Rinse the eggplant, shake dry and then lay the eggplant and zucchini slices onto the same baking paper-lined tray that you used for the capsicum. Put the vegetables and the mince patties in to the oven, with the vegetable tray above the mince tray. The vegetables should take approximately 10 minutes and the lamb should take about 20 minutes. Turn the vegetables after 5 minutes and turn the patties after 10 minutes so everything cooks nicely on both sides.

Once the vegies and meat are cooked pull them out and let them rest a couple of minutes. Start to assemble your burger with some of the lovely grilled vegetables, a lamb pattie and some fresh rocket. Once everything else is ready, slice as many pieces of haloumi as you need - two per burger is about right - and fry in a pan heated with a little olive oil. You want it to be soft and golden brown on both sides. The haloumi should be left til last because it is best eaten whilst hot - it starts to harden as it cools after being cooked. The haloumi can go straight from the pan and onto the burgers.

This is lovely as is, the grilled vegies are really flavoursome and the lamb is quite juicy, but you can also add any kind of condiments that you like - mayonnaise, chutney, pesto, sauce - and then serve it up.



As you can see in the picture, this goes quite nicely with a cheeky drink or two...

P.S. Vegetarians, don't despair!

This is a good meal when you are catering for a group with a variety of food preferences. It is easy to replace the lamb patties with more of the grilled vegies and haloumi. Also, avocado, grilled mushroom and olives are good extras for the vegetarian version.