November round-up

NaBloPoMo, Day 30!! Finishing up with a few more items of note:

I stumbled across this bon appétit non-recipe recently (for a quick Thai-ish dish inspired by pork larb) and decided to try to wing it from the description. A keeper - I especially liked the contrast of the cold, crisp, uncooked vegetables with the cooked rice and pork mince. A good, quick summer dinner for the next couple of months....

I found this bookcase on the curb in my neighborhood and brought it home for DP, who was in dire need of more book storage. It looks somewhat fragile in the picture, but it's made out of good-quality wood and was actually quite heavy - luckily, I had my bargain hunter/home organizer adrenaline to sustain me. (Also, luckily it was in front of the house directly behind ours, so I didn't have far to go.)

Another weekend of solo parenting, another attempt at crumpet-making - still not satisfied with my results, though. Anyone have a tried-and-true crumpet recipe they'd be willing to share?

Part of yesterday's farmers' market haul macerating before being turned into a batch of mixed-berry jam....

McClure's - makers of the famous gold-plated pickles - turns up in Canberra! At my local shops, no less! (No pickles in sight, which might be for the best - I shudder to think how much they'd cost down here!)

And the last, but probably the most important event of November 2014 at casa RL: Miss B masters riding a two-wheeler. Not only that, but it happened in 3 weeks, with no drama and no training wheels, thanks to some expert support and instruction from a local "learn to ride a bike" program. It's especially amazing and wonderful when I think about how anxious we both were about the process going into it, and how well it's turned out - and especially when I see the confidence boost acquiring such a major life skill brings.

Thus we come to the end of NaBloPoMo 4.0; I missed 2 days of posting this year, but I don't think the internet docks points for that or anything. Thanks to everyone who's followed along!

Regular Saturdays

herbs

 

That's what today was - just a regular Saturday. Farmers' market in the morning to do a regular weekly shop, with no major meal planning in the offing and no guests expected for the next week. After last week, when I bought nothing but ingredients for Thanksgiving dinner and did no extra cooking of any kind, it was nice to buy herbs again - coriander for my weekly batch of salsa (which I haven't made for 2 weeks to help keep the fridge pared down), basil (maybe for some pesto?), and lavender, just because it smells nice. My biggest accomplishment of the day was stripping the Thanksgiving turkey carcass: about 1 kg/2 lbs of leftover meat, plus a batch of turkey stock simmering in the slow cooker. Miss B and I spent the afternoon at an impromptu play date which eventually extended through dinner and past bedtime. Just the ticket for the post-Thanksgiving recuperation.

NaBloPoMo, Day 29.

Thanksgiving recap

NaBloPoMo, Day 28.

Some shots of how the day went:

The first thing I did yesterday morning, because I knew otherwise it would just get forgotten in the food prep melee. Seriously proud of myself for remembering to not only buy but also arrange flowers. Not only that, I even organized activities (and munchies) for the kids' table!

Serving the main course: three turkeys (1 made by me, 2 by my co-hostess) + a huge variety of sides.

Dessert table in the process of decimation. (Note my mug in the foreground, which contains hot buttered rum made by the best guest sous chef ever.)

The calm after the storm. (Photo taken by one of our lovely guests, a fellow American expat and colleague of DP's, who thoughtfully snapped a few shots for me while I was inside, trying to unload leftovers.