Day Dreaming...

With the sun shining and the beautiful autumn colours on the trees I am going to spend my weekend out and about buying delicious produce to make a few treats for my chums - a perfect weekend awaits.

It's going to be a long afternoon waiting for 5pm to come, so these images will send you off places that will help shift some time.

I'm off exploring....

Working on a herb garden that will give me endless supplies to make gallons of treats

Cheesy but true

My plate collection doesn't look like this....yet

Red wine + adults on swings = asking for trouble

Table Talk

The humble dinner table is in urgent need of a come back. In our busy lives we've forgotten about the most important piece of furniture in the house. It's where the stress of the day can melt away, long lunches can turn into dinners and everyone can have a good old natter/ argument over roast potatoes. 

Chuck a throw over a table, find a field, hang some bird cages and off you go!

Al Fresco - nothing beats it.

Nothing makes me happier than a sit down meal around a big table with the people I care about most. There is something very satisfying serving up a beautiful, simple meal with plenty of wine and watching the reactions of your guests faces when they taste what you have made. I just love making people happy with food so grab some friends and bring back table dinners.

Bon Appetite!

Morning CHOMPERS! It's another pretty awesome day in Sydney, so before the obligatory storm rolls in, go for a wonder and smell the coffee.

Viva Italia

After a crazy storm last night we have woken up in Bondi to beautiful blue skies and sunshine, reminding me of my recent trip with my wonderful friends back home to Southern Italy to my Dad's "Blue Trulli" house in Martina Franca near Brindisi. Despite a 4.30am start, getting lost for 2x hours and forgetting the keys to the house, we arrived to a pretty special little place.....most of the photos were taken by my amazingly talented friend Nick Andrews.

It's a foodie's dream with heaving fruit and veg stands filled with beautifully fresh produce at the morning markets, sellers yelling their offers, old men sitting around having coffee, yelling and ladies gossiping in doorways....yelling. 

Friendly Italian's happy to see us being pre tourist season, directed us to fish shops packed with the mornings catch, cheese shops with buckets of silky mozzarella, bakeries stuffed with home made cakes and little, lazy cafes to rest and refresh. We shopped a treat to make our own delights to have at home with plenty of bottles of Primitivo - delicious and very reasonable wine..sigh.

Lunch at Lido Bizzarro " Linguine Con Cozze"

Sightseeing mornings followed with down time at our own private beach, Lido Bizzarro - like stepping into a 70's time warp, bliss. Pops of tangerine painted beach shacks stood out against the picture perfect, blue skies. Dining on our own version of antipasto in the warm, spring sun then snoozing on our effortlessly cool, retro sun loungers. TAKE.ME.BACK.NOW.PLEASE.

Our last night we treated ourselves to a stunning meal at Osteria Sant Anna, a beautiful, old restaurant that I first went to when I was 19. Friendly staff, food on another level of perfection and the family history for all to see throughout the white wash walls with retro furniture, a Vespa and family portraits. Such a treat and we love it so much that my sister wants to get married in the magical courtyard littered with lanterns candles and flowers. 

So that was my foodie long weekend in Puglia, well worth the dodgy Ryanair flight. It felt like we had stepped back in time, totally switched off and soaked in all the goodness around us. No wonder my family love their long hot summers there - Viva Italia!!

Why? What's the worst that could happen....

10 Green Bottles

Simplicity is the key to making anything look amazing and I am having a bit of an obsession with putting herbs, flowers, candles, drinks and sauces into bottles and collecting jam jars to create clusters of colour and mood lighting. So get collecting and have a look at these pretty images I found for inspiration....

Soup Season

Winter is knocking on my door, as are the debt collectors (joke Dad), as is the roll of fat that always appears around my waist every July. So after another inspirational meander around Bondi Farmers Markets, I decided to kick off Soup Season with two, new tasty contenders that went down a treat at home and will hopefully last me the week - thrifty!  

Carrot & Coriander and White Bean, chorizo, thyme both topped with sour cream, avocado, lashings of black pepper accompanied with soft flat breads in an attempt to lower my carb intake and look a little bit restaurant-like. And for those of you who know me, chilli flakes but you don't need to add these if your chilli obsession isn't like mine - obsessed.com. 

Carrot & Coriander - silky smooth, soothing and bludy tasty, look at that orangy goodness and all for a bit of chopping, boiling and blending.

           

White Bean, chorizo, thyme - warms the cockles, textured, herby hits Latino- style goodness all cooked in 10 mins, GET IN CELERY! (Sorry I didn't clean the plate around the edges but this was taken at work on my iPhone and I would have looked a bit odd...)

And I just had to share my version of rolled eggs that I bought at at the markets and made for myself and then the boy, he chowed them down in a few seconds so I think that's a good sign. Free range, boiled for 3 mins so still soft and gooey rolled in chopped parsley, salt and pepper, served with fried silverbeet, sweet cherry tomatoes and crusty bread from Nio and Tony's, my AMAZING corner store that sells the world.

Ok, so if my tasty weekend couldn't get any better I was invited to my newly engaged, beautiful chum's pimping pad in Liz Bay for a delicious meal followed by one of life's good things Maggie G's amazing Burnt Fig and Caramel ice cream...i die/ get fatter!