Two Dogs Harvest

I've Moved

2016-05-25T15:35:00.001+10:00

Hi There,
Thanks for stopping by.
I've moved to www.twodogsharvest.com come over and visit to see what I'm getting up to with my adorable little family these days....maybe put the kettle on first so you can settle in with a cuppa ox

Kids Craft With Recycling

2016-03-09T05:00:00.000+11:00

Sometimes Monday mornings just call for staying in your PJ's and crafting. And what better way to craft than to make animals out of recycling. Unfortunately for us single-use cardboard and plastics are a part of life, but we do try to reuse things before they go to recycling.

Lara and I made a giraffe, and an elephant out of old containers and cardboard rolls, with our trusty roll of masking tape-I may have taken that cue from my good friend Play School. We have a packet of googly eyes that will probably last us forever, and some pipe cleaners (I have no idea where they came from) that make brilliant giraffe ears, elephant trunks and spiders legs. I was also pretty impressed with Lara's creativity to make some bird wings out of masking tape and put them on a straw.

Children are amazing, they need the tiniest nudge in the right direction and they sore. Since this crafting morning together I've been able to leave Lara to "do crafting" independently and she has made some great looking lady beetles and spiders out of the lids of sour cream containers, stickers and the reused pipe cleaners. I guess this is what parents did before batteries and televisions. It isn't always easy, but when it works it's bloody brilliant.

I was pleasantly surprised by how long these DIY toys held up with a two year old and eleven month old playing with them. They probably lasted three weeks before their legs were too beaten up to stand, and that was when I removed the tape and put all the other materials back in to the craft box.

Of course I had a heap of fun making African safari animals. Who wouldn't?!

Meerkat Madness

2016-03-07T15:02:00.000+11:00

My babies are growing up far too quickly. The latest smack in the face realisation of this came last week when we went to Taronga Zoo. Lara (two years and five months) and Olivia (11 months) stood and talked to the meerkats. Of course, Olivia wants to do everything Lara does at the moment, which is gorgeously ambitious and a major pain in my ass.

It melted my heart when Olivia got all excited talking to the meerkats (albeit completely ignoring the sign not to bash on the glass), and Lara proudly supported and guided her little sister with a gentle hand on her back. Just quietly I think it's safe to assume that Lara is pretty proud of her little sister.

Daddy meerkat asking Lara if he can look for treats in her hair.

I may or may not have been slightly offended when Olivia, who rarely finds the need to say 'Mum' decided to say 'meerkat'. I wonder if the Daddy meerkat receives the same amount of appreciation for all of his hard work.

The Chameleon who entertained us and the masses, so much personality.

Concrete Pots

2016-02-19T16:26:00.000+11:00

For a long time now Mark and I have been talking about making concrete pots to contain two of my many hobbies; candles and succulents. We had made a few prototypes that weren't anything amazing, but were scattered around the house and garden anyway. Then all of a sudden my sister and her now husband wanted concrete pots for their wedding; so the deadline was set and we gladly accepted the mission. Naturally Mark worked on making the best looking concrete pots around. My husband the perfectionist, made beautiful vessels for me to work with...the only problem is, he still hasn't taught me how to make them, and I don't think he has any plans of making them for me this weekend, thus my creativity is currently on hold.

I love the combination of smoothness with air bubbles.

Now I have a growing collection of coffee cups and containers waiting to be reused as moulds or succulent beds (which makes me feel a lot better about all the 'single use' containers that we purchase) a whole heap of succulent babies that need homes, and of course a desire to make more candles in these gorgeous industrial looking pots. Making things makes me happy, it makes my husband happy, and it makes my children happy. I'm yet to inform Mark that Lara has put in a custom order for another little pot plant for Olivia's room though. Lara claimed a tiny succulent for her room, and has watched Mum and Dad make these things that she likes, so it is perfectly normal for her to ask us to make more.

Propagating succulents-don't start, it's addictive!

As I sit here gulping down a cup of caffeine in desperation to get the energy to do housework, I'm thinking about being outside in our backyard making things as a family this weekend...and stopping myself from going outside and pottering around right now. Plus, it's Friday, and I'm seriously looking forward to a glass of white wine tonight-which gets me to thinking about making a concrete wine cooler, it would be much harder to knock over after a few too many drinks.

Cheers All, have a great weekend!

Turns out flapjacks can look good.

Candles and succulents.

This is where I want to be; planting out in the sun.

In The Veggie Garden

2016-02-17T16:09:00.000+11:00

Bountiful harvest.

So much is happening out in the veggie garden at the moment. Lunch and dinner salad both came from the backyard, despite the battle I'm currently having with fruit fly. I say battle, but I really haven't been doing much defence other than removing fruit that has been attacked, and doing my best to keep the garden bed tidy. But today I had had enough, and I upped my ante. I removed every tomato that was of harvesting size and have brought them inside to ripen on the window sill.

Soon I will start researching what to do about fruit fly. Organic gardening is hard, I don't remember it being this hard five years ago, but I keep reminding myself to stick it out and nature will get back in balance.

In other news, the worm farm that I purchased on line from Compost Revolution as part of Lara's Christmas present has finally arrived, and she loves it....the last few mornings we have been outside straight after breakfast feeding the worms and the chickens. Man I love the little person that she is developing into. Each night I think about everything I haven't done, but obviously I'm doing a lot right to have such wonderful children.

My little farmer girl.

COOH

2016-02-01T05:30:00.000+11:00

House roasted coffee, sweet potato chips and chicken burger.

Olivia and I were out doing errands in Curl Curl when I realised it was already lunch time, and that we haven't managed to have a ladies lunch with just the two of us yet. So, we drove down the road and stumbled upon COOH, an organic cafe that we were able to park right across the road from-which was important since a storm was threatening.

This relaxed little cafe is really understated and welcoming. Olivia and I sat at a lounge at the back of the restaurant, which was perfect for her first course (breastfeeding) and surprisingly comfy. My first sip of coffee I enjoyed the overall flavour, but did get a hint of bitterness. Still, it was nice to have a coffee that wasn't the standard boring crowd pleaser, and had a bit of life to it.

When I was ordering I couldn't decide if I wanted the chicken or the beef burger as they both looked great, in the end I went with the chicken burger for $12 which was absolutely delicious. It came with nitrate free bacon, cheese and avocado salsa, rocket and had just the right amount of lime in the tzaziki. All that for only $12 might just be enough to get me venturing over the Narrabeen bridge more often, haha.

10 month old food critic, Olivia.

I'm people watching mum, I can't pose right now.

Olivia has been a pretty tough food critic the last few days, but you wouldn't know it when she smashed her small bowl of sweet potato chips which only set us back $4. She even enjoyed the aioli that they came with-even though I scoffed most of it....I had to test that everything wasn't too hot or spicy for her.

The best thing about this cafe is that it proves that eating healthy, delicious food that hasn't been smashed by nasty chemicals doesn't have to cost a fortune. Organic and fantastic.

The Willows, Willoughby

2016-01-29T21:13:00.001+11:00

The Willows at Willoughby was listed on a mums and bubs website that my sister-in-law frequently visits, and since we have a mutual love of food she sent me the link and asked me for a play date months ago. This week we finally managed to get there.

It didn't disappoint. The staff were so welcoming to all of us, even with our need for two high-chairs for my girls and room for my nephew's pram.The children were treated like the customers that they are, with the waitress taking the time to understand my two year olds order, and all the staff were smart enough not to put things in reach of my ten month old's go-go-gadget arms.

That said, this is not the place for a long lunch with the kids, because there isn't any where for toddlers to stretch their legs when mums want to keep talking, but the meals are perfect value for money, with plenty of options for the children...and they are made to feel special.

The all day breakfast is a winner. I had tomato, avocado and goats cheese on toast ($12), and chose to add two poached eggs for $4. I should have thought to state that I like SOFT poached eggs...when did hard poached eggs become the norm? It certainly isn't at my house, and it is something that annoys me when I'm out. My sister-in-law got the pancakes which were a cute little portion size, and looked adorable on the plate-no, we didn't manage to get a photo of that plate too, we have three babies. Lara and Olivia very happily shared spelt banana bread, and the best part of this was that the waitress suggested that one serving would probably be enough for them to share, she was right.

They serve Gabrielle Coffee which is a crowd pleaser, and on leaving we saw that they make the cutest little kids milkshakes in mini glass milk bottles. They have Lara's name on them for next time. It really is the small things that make a big difference. The staff at this cafe pride themselves on good old hospitality and it shows. It was a pleasure visiting.

There Is No Such Thing As A Supermum

2016-01-23T22:50:00.001+11:00

Yes, you read that right, the "supermum" does not exist. Sure, she exists in social media, but not in real life. Why am I writing about this? Because one of my besties (who has three kids under four), who is a great Mum, messaged me that I was a super mum because I'm managing to make succulent pots and candles at the moment. I think she is a supermum managing with three tiny humans. My immediate response to her message read something like this; "there is no such thing as a supermum. If I'm not being creative I don't feel like myself, and when I am making things I'm feeling guilty for not interacting with the girls enough, even though I know how important independent play is". I also know that it is very important for my children to see me doing things that make me happy, and I include them with the non dangerous parts of the processes as much as possible. Still mummy guilt is a very real, and very nasty thing. Without the added pressure of trying to do everything perfectly, as seen on Instagram-and I guess my feed doesn't help challenge that stigma....I might just have to see what I can do about that.

I have a few friends who are mums and doing amazing things, whether it be starting up their own businesses or focusing purely on mothering and doing great activities with their children everyday. I see them as amazing, yet, I don't see myself as amazing, and it takes them to point out that it doesn't matter that my house isn't as tidy as theirs because we have a veggie garden that they wouldn't even dream of looking after. My point is, we need to learn how to focus on our strengths, instead of comparing ourselves to others and telling ourselves we need to do more. This is something I have to keep reminding myself of in this fast paced world.

So the "supermum" that you see making candles and succulent pots at the moment, currently has a kitchen bench with enough room for food prep only because we have a gorgeous, big kitchen. I wouldn't even attempt making candles whilst being a mum of two toddlers if we hadn't renovated our kitchen last year. And the backyard table where I'm making concrete pots, and planting up and propagating succulents is non-usable, with no order whatsoever, it is totally doing my head in....I'm blaming this on Kmart for not having a shelving ladder in-stock that was listed as available on their website. Sometimes it's healthy to blame someone else.

This is life; these things have been sitting on my bench for three days,
as I've been making candles in stages-and I'm still not finished.

I'm a real mum, who has to move a whole heap of crap out of a background before I even consider taking a photo....and then if you look hard enough you will still see stuff in reflections. Doing things I enjoy, and having fun with my kids is more important to me than a super tidy house and garden.....but that doesn't mean I won't try and fake being a domestic goddess.

The real supermum is the one that is happy and has fun with her family. We are all doing the best job we can, and we all need to support one another on the good days when we get heaps done and feel like superwomen, and on the bad days when bedtime can't come soon enough.

My last thought for the day, is to remind myself to think of all the things that I have achieved during the day, rather than focusing on what still needs to be done. The power of positive thinking should not be underestimated.

In The Veggie Garden

2016-01-21T14:14:00.003+11:00

Today's harvest....Olivia needs a straw hat in her size.

Summer is so rewarding, my veggie garden is pretty neglected, yet we were able to harvest enough from it today to make a green smoothie...and if Baxter hadn't have been left in the veggie garden area unsupervised for two minutes the other day we could be enjoying a complete garden salad....but that Labrador knows when the tomatoes and strawberries are right for the picking.

This morning the girls and I got outside nice and early before the heat hit. With Olivia in the ergobaby, and Lara stomping around in her gumboots we harvested a nice little collection of leaves and a cucumber to make a green smoothie...including a green tomato that the hose managed to bash off the plant. We enjoyed silverbeet, rainbow chard, parsley, mint and cucumber all from our organic garden, with the addition of store bought lemon (our tree needs some love), ginger and a last minute addition of banana to take away the bitterness of all the greens-for me lemon, mint and ginger do this nicely, but it doesn't pass the kid test.

Current cucumber situation. Happy day.

Since I know I struggle in the heat, and rarely feel like eating much, I made a big batch of green juice and put it in a reused passata bottle in the fridge. It looks pretty fancy and delicious to me, and often prevents the 3pm slump. A glass of veggie juice at that time seems to help me power on through to dinner, bath and bedtime with two adorable, energetic toddlers.

Reused glass bottle full of homegrown, homemade green smoothie. Winning!

On a side note, the frangipani tree that has been waiting for me to break down into small branches and pot up (for months now) isn't doing too badly with neglect. It is literally laying on the pavers, out in the sun, amongst the weeds and flowering....what are the chances of me getting to it whilst the babies sleep today, amongst all the other jobs?

Neglected frangipani tree in flower-yep, this is real life, there are weeds in my pavers.

Now that I've finished my tea, and Lara and Olivia have stopped protesting sleep it must be time for me to go and do poop patrol in 33oC....and then I will do some more jobs in the veggie garden. Prioritising sucks!

Christmas Craft with the Kids

2016-01-20T16:31:00.000+11:00

Lara creating Christmas paper-and staying out of mischief.

So ideally this post would have been uploaded before Christmas, or even a week after, but I have a two year old and a 9 month old, and Christmas is a crazy enough time of year without trying to entertain busy little people. Seriously, I'm still trying to recover.

The big plus of having kids at Christmas time is that they bring the magic of Christmas back...the downside is that my husband and I, who are self confessed Christmas grinches, need to find some magic and help the kids create it. The best way for me to do this is to get into Christmas crafting.....and by getting Lara crafting all my inhibitions are lost. The tricky part is to let go of control and not limit her creativity. We create for fun and enjoy the process. Hand made cards and wrapping aren't meant to be perfect, they are meant to be unique and created for the individual that we are giving them to-and I'm sure our family and friends loved the fact that they could tell that our little lady made them something.

Utilising the playpen to protect Olivia and the Christmas tree from each other.

At the moment Olivia is too young (9 months) to really create anything, but she is content watching Lara make things-as long as I give her something to play with whilst she is strategically seated (restrained) in her highchair. Whilst Lara and I painted with washable finger paint and "roll, roll, roll" with Christmas stamps to create wrapping, Olivia scrunched paper and drew with Twistable Crayons....next year may be a little more tricky since Olivia thinks she can do whatever her big sister Lara is doing.

Rolled wrapping paper and watercolour painted gift cards.

The benefits of letting kids make Christmas paper are endless; they are doing an activity so they aren't climbing the walls, their craft gets put to good use, and the recipients of the gift get to marvel in your little ones' creation....not to mention that you can buy a huge roll of packing paper dirt cheap and make unique wrapping paper.

I also added little embellishments to individual gifts. Grandma loves purple and red, so they were the colours we chose to stamp her wrapping paper with, and Lara loves lady beetles, so her card had an extra little something on it, and her appreciation made it so worthwhile.

Personalised gift cards....it's the little things that make a difference.

Unfortunately, as I look back through thousands of photos it has become apparent that I didn't take any photos of the great Christmas cards Lara made. We were too busy creating, and having fun is exhausting work. Initially Lara needed a fair bit of help working out how to select items to stick on cards, how to lay them out to make a card, and then glue them on. But after day one of sticking cupcake cases (that she had stolen from the kitchen draw and were no longer food safe) and cut outs of doves, stars and snowflakes on cardboard cards (from cardboard that was already in the cupboard from one of my previous craft projects) Lara was off and running, creating Christmas cards that I'd be happy to say I whacked together. Most days on the lead up to Christmas she would ask me if we could make Christmas cards, so she just kept getting better and better at creating...I struggle to say no to the little cutey. If only I'd managed to have taken photos, oh well, there is always next years craft....and next year we will start it much earlier in order to really get into the Christmas spirit.....and maybe next year we will be a little more prepared for the hairy fat man in the red suite...

"Cuddle me Mum, cuddle me!".... despite being cuddled.

Chicken Run Renovation

2015-12-19T22:01:00.000+11:00

Meet Betty White.

Over a year ago now we renovated our kitchen (that post is still in development) and our electrician's dog did some things to the chicken coop that required serious fixing. After multiple dodgy repairs on my behalf I finally nagged Mark into building a nice enclosed run for me, that kept the chickens in and the food thieving wild birds out.

In true Mark form he took forever to start the project, a long time executing it, and it looks amazingly professional now that it is finished. I'm really proud of the job he did, which has made my job of looking after the chickens so much easier, and really enjoyable since we can easily walk into the aviary and cuddle our girls.

Structural posts set and roof framing on.

We have finally learnt that when it comes to 'renovating', not to be held back by existing elements, so for the girls to get a deluxe chicken run three trees (one was dead, one has been struggling for years and needed relocating) needed to come out. Mark had all the fun with the chainsaw whilst I did the hard labour of carting all the deadwood to the trailer to be taken to the tip. We will attempt to propagate the frangipani, but it was never happy where it was, and my skills aren't what they used to be, so time will tell if it survives. Once the offending trees were removed I spent three whole days levelling out the site. Naturally it poured rain and turned the site into a mud pit....which the chickens loved free-ranging through. It was back breaking work, but it was a great and rewarding workout.

Then it was time to pour concrete and set the posts, and before we knew it we had a chicken run to be proud of. It helps that Mark is a draftsmen by trade so he drew* everything up to work with the standard size of the timber and the rolls of chicken wire.

And viola! All of a sudden I had a fancy new chicken coop-brownie points for the husband.

It is still a work in progress, with nipple waterers now added, and a very make shift water tank which we hope to make a rain water collection tank in the not too distant future. We are also in the process of designing a feeder that needs much less maintenance than the current feeder. And now that our old girls Stevie (Rhode Island Red) and Stickybeak (Australorpe) are terrorising our new girls Henny Penny (Isla Brown) and Betty White (Leghorn x ) we need to look at putting in some roosts and protection for the new gals on the block.

The new girls using the waterer as a safety perch.

Miss friendly and curious Henny Penny.

Sadly we have buried a chicken this week, which has been a great life lesson for our two year old. We were having discussions that the flock needed to grow to meet family supply demands before Cheeky died since she was eight years old and slowing down on the lay. The plan was to get three, day old chicks and hand raise them with Lara and Olivia, but when Cheeky carked it we went and purchased two laying hens, Henny Penny and Betty White. But don't be surprised if you see us with day old chicks in the new year.

Half naked, walking in the dirt and feeding chickens...ah, the life of a suburban farmer.

Early last week Betty White (before mentioned flighty chicken) thought Lara's curly hair looked like a lovely nest and flew and sat on her head. A prompt wing clipping of three out of four chickens (that Lara witnessed) and a hat for Lara meant that she was back in the run with her chickens faster than you could blink. She really is an amazing little person.

Our early Christmas present, today all four girls laid an egg WOHOO!

*If you could use the coop plans email me and I will send them to you.

In The Veggie Garden

2015-12-14T23:03:00.000+11:00

Winners and losers.

Summer is in full swing, but my veggie garden is only just plodding along. It's true what they say, you only get out what you put in, and sadly at the moment my time management skills are really being put to the test. Thankfully we always seem to have herbs growing in the garden...and as I type that I'm wondering if the sage that was flowering beautifully, looking spectacular, and full of visiting bees a fortnight ago is about to give up on life. It is definitely time to take some cuttings and hope to salvage some of it.

Today I picked our first bean for the season, and it was shared between Lara, Olivia and I. It's hard to explain how good it feels to watch your children pick and eat something you have grown.

Chives are going into our chickens eggs on a regular basis, and they sit on a bed of home grown baby spinach or rainbow chard leaves for breakfast on a regular basis. We can manage to pick just enough lettuce leaves to stretch out a salad for dinner, and whilst it is disheartening taking a leaf from one lettuce here, and another leaf from another lettuce there, it really does make us appreciate the food we are eating, and means we aren't wasting anything. Obviously I need to get serious about feeding the veggie garden and sowing seeds successively.

Lara and I are still enjoying strawberries, and two self seeded tomato plants are the healthiest looking tomatoes in the garden at the moment. Our first tomato is ripening off nicely, so we are watching it closely on a daily basis, whilst desperately hoping that nothing beats us to it. There has already been lost crop to bugs since we do everything organically and I'm currently having to put a lot of work into getting our little ecosystem that was so perfect for years re-established. The cycle of life is a fragile one, and sadly getting my house sprayed to deal with our cockroach infestation when the whole street (including us) was renovating wreaked havoc on our natural environment....damn my ignorance and baby brain. That said, we are finally starting to see plenty of insects returning to the garden.

Our first vine of tomatoes for the season, three tomatoes succumbed to bugs already.

I have been trying to spend a little bit of time doing odd jobs in the veggie garden each day, and on the most part that works really well. However, I really need to use the girls nap time tomorrow to have a hard slog at everything-fingers crossed I get more than the standard 45 minutes per day of baby free time they give me these days, because I'm seriously going to need it. I don't know what mums do when their babies stop napping.

The bees are returning.

Oh, and I haven't even mentioned our new chicken situation that is requiring a fair chunk of playground duty. Hopefully I will manage to make the time to record all the funny antics here before they are forgotten. There is always something interesting going on here.

Welcome back lady beetles.

Marigolds, so simply beautiful and beneficial to the garden.

Rough & Bare RESTAURANT

2015-12-10T13:22:00.000+11:00

Rough & Bare (yep, that is seriously what they called it) is the new restaurant in Mona Vale, and it is super health focused. I went and checked it out one Friday morning with Mark and Olivia, who both thoroughly enjoyed their meals, and I think all I need to say about my meal, is that when I went back with a friend on the same weekend the waitress told the chef "this is the lady who pretty much licked the plate".

All their principals sit well with what I'm wanting my familys' life to entail; organic, biodynamic food that is grown locally, not only is it better for us, but it tastes better too. The team at Rough & Bare are pro good fats, and avoid sugar. Basically, it is dead easy to go here and chose anything deliciously healthy on the menu without having to put any thought into it. That said, you do pay for the premium food and service....but you also get longer lasting energy from eating real food.

On my first visit I had perfectly poached eggs with baby spinach, the most amazing beetroot relish, cured salmon and some nutty cracker things that Olivia definitely approved of. My second visit I felt like something light (and was being cheap) so I had the broth, and whilst it was delicious, I was expecting more spinach or something substantial in my broth, so I was a little hungry and disappointed-hangry is very real for me. But for the first time I ventured out and had a turmeric latte, and I can highly recommend it. Sounds gross, tastes good.

Depending on how many eggs my chickens lay today (another post) we may end up having a family breakfast date at Rough & Bare tomorrow.

I have also heard from a reliable source that the land across the street is set to become a playground, so fingers crossed that happens sooner rather than later, and it will be the perfect spot to have mum and little ones lunch dates.

Little Box Coffee Co.

2015-10-28T13:26:00.000+11:00

@latteartporn back in action.

A new cafe has hit Newport, and I must confess that I may have instagram stalked and followed the barista to Little Box Coffee Co which opened only four days ago. It was the perfect option this morning, when I asked Lara what she wanted to do and she requested that the whole family go out together, so Mark joined us for a quick morning coffee date before work. It was a great start to the day.

My family enjoying perfectly made beverages.

I was expecting a really nice coffee since I know these guys have been working in collaboration with Barrel One Coffee Roasters (who I'm also stalking since I miss their skills too) and I certainly wasn't disappointed. The flavour is still gently lingering in my mouth-not that nasty, I need to drink a litre of water lingering that is all too familiar with coffee- but a want for a second cup because the aroma was so smooth and complex and the flavour was such a treat that I managed to savour my coffee rather than skull it.

The 'little box' that they are in was my old hairdresser, so I know how tiny it us, thus we didn't expect to be able to get breakfast there. However there is a nice simple, well priced menu, so I will probably get smashed avocado toast ($9), and Mark will probably get the bacon and egg roll ($7) next time we go....which will probably be soon, coffee like that is hard to stay away from.

Brothers Matt and Dan have achieved a lot, and really have something to be proud of. The decor is fresh and inviting, especially considering the space they have to work with. Green turf mats establish the outside seating area, and succulents on the tables do a great job at detracting from the busy road. At the moment if I'm being completely honest they seem a bit worn out, and that is completely justifiable, but hopefully when things settle down a bit we will have the two very happy, friendly baristas that I came to know some time ago.

The fact that Little Box Coffee Co are right next door to my favourite florist (who did our wedding flowers) could be a deadly combination. It made for a lovely morning for the senses, seeing and smelling the beautiful flowers at Wild Lotus Florist and then smelling and tasting the coffee at Little Box....this could get deadly.

Mum Notes

There wasn't a high chair in sight (and I didn't ask for one since we were having a quick stop), but there is plenty of room for pram parking, and the tables and chairs are at a good height for my petite two year old. There was also a great wooden game that kept Lara thoroughly entertained, and she hasn't expressed so much approval of a babycino since the first few her Dad made her at home...I may be a little chuffed that my daughter can also tell that Matt and Dan have skills, and obviously use good produce as Lara said "yummy chocolate in milk Mum".

We may need to put restrictions on ourselves.

Jah Bar Dee Why

2015-10-23T13:49:00.000+11:00

Albondigas

An impromptu family date night, brought on by picking my car up from being serviced, found us in Dee Why. I don't think we've visited Dee Why since having Olivia, so it's fair to say that we aren't regulars. But Jah Bar might just change that.

We started off our meal with one of my favourites; croquetas and these croquetas were really pimped up my alley; stuffed with field mushrooms, truffled pecorino and truffle aioli. The crispy outer and pasty centre were perfect, so much so that I may have fought my toddler for them just a little. The little lady who hadn't been interested in eating anything other than chips, honey toast or milk for the past week asked the waiter for 'more YUMMY chips please', and I may have just taken that as a perfectly good excuse to order a second helping.

Croquetas are worth moving for.

The next tapas to quickly follow were meat balls, but these weren't just any old meatballs, they were albondigas ; pan roasted pork and chicken with pine nuts, bravas sauce (spicy tomato) and manchego. Seriously, this restaurant was made for me! Mushrooms, truffle, manchego. I was in heaven. Mark and I had smiles from ear to ear as we enjoyed the meatballs and watched Lara nibble away on the "spicy meat, mummy". We are so glad that she is showing the same obsession with food and flavours that we have, hopefully Olivia will too.

Fish tacos were served on a crispy shell, with kingfish cured in tequila, lime onion jam and avocado salsa, we squeezed the lime over the top and thoroughly enjoyed the light, fresh seasonal flavours and great texture combination. Mark thinks he would have preferred this dish without the caramelised onion, but it worked well with my sweet tooth, although I do agree with him that it took away from the kingfish.

Fish tacos.

Pulled pork tacos; chickory smoked pork, onion jam, avocado salsa, soft taco shell, chipotle and quindilla (Spanish for chili) were perfect to wrap up the end of the meal.

Needless to say our little family enjoyed our impromptu date night, and the flavours have inspired a few meals already, avocado salsa has been featuring in dinners and breakfasts, and spicy eggs were a total winner this morning.

There are so many dishes on Jah Bar's menu that I want to try, and we will definitely be going back on a Monday night to take advantage of the $10 tapas....we may have already told a few friends and family members that they should join us. It also helps that the staff are super friendly and attentive. This could be our new favourite.

Monday nights, here we come.

Buffet Breakfast at the Hilton

2015-10-21T05:00:00.000+11:00

A gift voucher to Tetsuya's (see post here) prompted our idea for a staycation in the city, and since all I wanted to do the whole time I was pregnant with Olivia was to scoff down on a buffet breakfast, we decided to stay at the Hilton and enjoy what has been dubbed the best buffet breakfast in Sydney.

As Mark and Olivia made themselves comfortable in our nice round booth I went and did a lap of the buffet in order to plan my attack. Sadly nothing really got me that excited, and I figured that I musn't have been paying enough attention the first time around. I decided to start with some chia porridge with apple compote and some fresh fruit, and to reassess the situation. That's when I spotted the assortment of freshly squeezed juices, which really were lovely. There was grapefruit and carrot for those who like a tart wake up call, and a beetroot blend which I decided to go with.

Chia porridge with apple compote.

Mark got a bircher muesli which was full of delicious fruit and yoghurt, and passed the baby test. I think Olivia also passed her fine dinning table manners test as the friendly and helpful staff couldn't stop smiling at her.

Breakfast passed the baby taste test.

For my second course I had a poached egg on French toast, since the bread station was at the other end of the room. Needless to say I wasn't exactly impressed by the layout or presentation of the buffet. The chicken sausages were delicious, as were the mushrooms and hash brown, but poached eggs are not cooked freshly on request and mine was hard....Mark was fortunate enough to get a soft poached egg from the bain-marie, but it literally was a lucky dip, and for $42 per head for out of house guests I'd expect more. Oh, and that doesn't even bring in to account the additional charge of $5!! for a proper coffee. I'll admit that I told the friendly staff not to worry about it, and we would go to a cafe down the road and pay $3.50 for a good quality coffee.

Big breakfast Hilton style.

Of course, at a buffet breakfast you always have to finish with pastries, and I really would have loved to have a coffee or hot chocolate to dunk my pain au chocolat in....maybe if I did I wouldn't have been able to taste how burnt it was. The scrumptious mini croissants did undo the damage though.

Do I agree with the reviews that the Hilton has the best buffet breakfast in Sydney? No, I was disappointed. For the same money I have had a great breakfast at Four Seasons and would definitely chose it next....or perhaps Park Hyatt, which surprisingly is well matched for price and offers Sydney's amazing harbour views....that said I'm guessing it will be a few years before Mark and I have the privilege of staying in Sydney again.

Tetsuya's 'Happy Birthday Me'**

2015-10-19T15:43:00.000+11:00

Tetsuya's Chocolate Cake-complete with gold birthday candle.

For Mark's Christmas bonus he was given a gift voucher to Tetsuya's, which we have been waiting for a time when I wasn't pregnant and our second baby was old enough to be left with family to care for her, so that we could cash it in. This coincided nicely with my birthday...kind of fitting since I took Mark there for his birthday twelve years ago when we were just kids.

We have a six month old and a two year old at the moment and it is far to say that I was due for a holiday, so we decided to make a 'staycation' out of it, which meant we were in walking distance to the restaurant. It was a lovely spring night, and we were lucky to just get a few spots of rain on us before we were welcomed at the restaurant. As we walked into the dining room we were both surprised by how things had changed and how commercial the space had become. Our previous dining experience at Tetsuya's (although more than a decade ago) was in a much more intimate room with fewer tables and the most comfortable armchairs for seats. The room on Thursday night was full, and whilst the chairs were nice leather chairs that we were happy to sit in for hours, we didn't warm to the change. After the second course we both confessed our initial disappointment and that we had quickly gotten over it and were having a great time.....talking to your husband, I mean really talking can be an amazing thing, just ask someone with children who hasn't made time for a date night in way too long.

As the waiter brought butter to the table I could smell the truffle in it before its presence was even announced....seriously, I must have been a truffle dog in a previous life, I'm a fiend for it. We were given the option of delicious dirty white bread or a grainy bread and I straight away went for white and then coated the truffle butter on like slices of cheese. I couldn't get enough of the stuff! When the waiter came around after a few courses and asked if we would like some more bread we went for the grainy stuff....but I'd gone so nuts with the butter that they also brought us more butter. On the third offering of more bread I think our waiter was a bit dumbfounded when we said "yes please" and we quickly informed him that if he didn't give us more bread we were going to eat the truffle butter with a spoon. Seriously, I could live on that stuff. The rest of the meal was pretty great too.

Happy birthday me-my gift from the staff
since it was kinda obvious that I had an obsession.

We started our meal with the optional pacific oysters with ginger & rice vinegar which were spectacular, the quality of them really proved how our seafood industry works-the restaurants get the cream of the crop, the next tier gets shipped overseas and then we enjoy what is left. The ginger and rice vinegar dressing prepared our palates nicely for the light and fresh meal that was to come.

Entree was silken potato with bottarga and egg yolk which didn't sound or look all that amazing. I had to ask what 'bottarga' was, and from the waiters reaction I've assumed that not many people ask, or maybe I'm just an uneducated full time mum these days that doesn't know a thing. Basically bottarga is salted, cured fish roe and it is rather tasty, in case you didn't know. The boring sounding and looking dish pleasantly surprised me with its flavour.

The next course of Hiramasa kingfish with salt bush & shiso relish melted timelessly away in my mouth, but this isn't surprising considering the way shiso speaks to me. It was followed by another favourite poached New Zealand scampi tail with bread sauce don't ask me what bread sauce is, just accept that it is tasty and that carbs are good for you.

Then came the restaurants' "signature dish", seriously, do the waiters have to tell you such wanky stuff as that? Maybe I would have enjoyed the course more if it wasn't talked up to be so amazing. It was sweet to see that the young waiter was so proud of the confit of petuna ocean trout, and we did thoroughly enjoy it, but it wasn't our favourite dish of the night. The crust on top seemed much more complex than our memories from twelve years ago, however, we did end up swishing sparkling water around our mouths in order to get rid of the little particles of crust that were embedded in our teeth-très posh!

Confit of petuna ocean trout with a salad of celery, witlof, apple & unpasteurised ocean trout roe.

Mulloway with sea cucumber and parsnip followed and it was divinely complex. The soft mulloway with the slightly crunchy sea cucumber and the deliciously light and zesty broth was spectacular. I wanted more.

Mulloway with sea cucumber & parsnip.

The following course was easily Mark's and my favourite. Duck breast with orange, caramelised witlof and Tasmanian pepper berries was so complex, and such a delicious light, modern take on the French classic.....I just might be inspired to attempt cooking it something similar soon, since life with a seven month old baby is so much easier than life with a one month old baby (I say that now, worrying that I'm shooting myself in the foot).

Duck breast with orange, caramelised witlof & Tasmanian pepper berries.

Ranger's Valley beef cheeks with roasted celeriac and pickled Jerusalem artichokes was the next course, and writing this more than a week later (sick two year old) I really can't think of what to say about it. Obviously it wasn't that exciting, nor un-enjoyable. Sorry beef cheeks, next time I will do my best to take notes, mummy brain memory is a shocker at the best of times.

First dessert was poached pear, butter milk and hazelnut which was presented so simply and gorgeously with a makeshift stem on top. I've eaten a few poached pears in my time, but this one really packed a lot of flavour, which was also well complemented by the matching wine.

Poached Pear, Butter Milk and Hazelnut.

Second dessert had to be chocolate, Tetsuya's Chocolate Cake, not that I would describe it as a cake at all, it was smooth, and mousse like in texture and just melted in my mouth, reminding me of coveteur chocolate that I ate in Paris. But the dessert wine that was served with this was something else! As the 1986 Toro Albala Gran Reserva Pedro Ximenez, Montilla-Moriles from Spain was being poured into the glass my senses went crazy, the aroma gently wofted across the table and settled under my nose and I inhaled deeply, waiting for my glass to be filled so I could take a sip. It was the perfect end to the meal....might just put a bottle of that on the Christmas wish list.

What was our overall feeling of the evening? The wait staff this time around didn't have us feeling anywhere near as welcome as we did when we were children. As eighteen year olds we were never made to feel like we couldn't afford something, yet when we said we were going to enjoy the matching wines (without looking at the wine list) the water said "that is $110 per head, would the sir be OK with that?". Yes, the sir (and I) would be OK with that, what we wouldn't be OK with was his attitude, and this was before we even mentioned that we had a gift voucher. Luckily we both agreed to put that misdemeaner behind us and move on. There were many other friendly interactions with the waiters, as we joked about inhaling the truffle butter and the night went fairly smoothly, however, our coffees were brought to the table before dessert, which isn't a big deal, but Mark doesn't deal too well with change, and considering there is a program to stick to it was an unexpected mistake....once the oversight was identified we were offered another coffee, of course with no reference to the error-yes, we noticed, we're not as bogan as we look, my toddler just stole my husband's fancy shoes and socks out of our bag. Overall we had an enjoyable evening, but would we spend our own money on that experience? Hells NO!

Degustation menu with matching wines.

*Note to self-next time we dine out somewhere fancy, mention that we only want two bottles of sparkling water and then we will be happy to have tap water, because my tummy just doesn't need all that extra fizz.
**Happy Birthday Me is what Lara says when she is opening her presents, which she had weeks of doing.

Just Do It

2015-10-08T06:00:00.000+11:00

A while ago now I became aware that I'd been putting off a few craft projects not so much for a lack of time, but due to a fear of failure. In my mind, this is the worst kind of fear. What makes it worse in my case is that I have an unbelievable amount of crafting supplies sitting around the house (taking up space in Lara's wardrobe). I mean, I've already brought the material, so I may as well make the project. I had to ask myself "what is the worst thing that can happen?", and the very simple answer was that I'd make a mistake which in most instances can be undone and fixed, or in the case of my latest project I'd make a complete mess of it and have to throw away some not very expensive material-which really wouldn't be a bad thing since I'm making a very conscious effort to de-clutter any way. Honestly, my recent crafting is a bi-product of de-cluttering.

My first project was a heat pack that I made based off a heat pack I already have. I'm not too disappointed with my first attempt at this project, but like most things I attempt, after the first trial I come up with ways and means to make it better and/or easier to accomplish the second time...only time will tell if I manage to make a second one.

First heat pack made with nautical material and appropriately gifted to an achy old sea dog.

So with that project being relatively successful I broke out an old roll of material that I got dirt cheap years ago and never did anything with. The plan was to make a change table cover out of it, assuming that the curtain material (with backing) would be a good barrier from dampness, but acknowledging that it could be a little tricky to work with-particularly for someone like me with very limited skills. I found a pattern here but my change mat is an unusual size and either something went amiss with my adjustments, or it was just my lack of skill that meant this is now a better bassinet mattress protector. It may also have had something to do with me using a different size elastic since that was what was in my sewing kit, and I was meant to be using up materials, not purchasing more. So I kept adding more and more elastic until it became perfectly apparent that the seams were indeed too close together. Oh well, living and learning.

A not so perfect hand made change mat cover...if at first you don't succeed-use it as something else.

In all honesty, I'm rather proud of myself for not letting this failure crush my confidence. This is a big deal for a reformed perfectionist. My sewing machine is like a family heirloom, and as such the manual is MIA, so I needed to use good ol' YouTube for help. This link helped me out, even though it is a bit slow and repetitive for my attention span, it encompasses the principals of good teaching; repetition.

And its funny, because the more you do, the more you realise you can do, and the more you are willing to attempt. I've also mended (hand sewn) three items of clothing, two of which have been sitting around for the best part of a year, so I'm feeling pretty good about myself.

I've also been doing a touch of knitting and card making for a very special little person; my nephew. Olivia was given the green and white baby blanket when she was born, and it is the perfect size for when she is in her car seat and pram. The talented knitter who gifted Olivia's blanket and inspired me to make one told me that it was easy to make, and it only took her a week to complete. So with a little over two weeks before my nephews expected arrival I started knitting....it was a good thing he was late. A break from the knitting needles, combined with caring for a three month old and twenty one month old meant that I wasn't on my best form, some how I managed to knit on the wrong side and had to undo a lot of work which may have led to tears, blame it on the hormones, and it is painfully apparent that all the holes aren't neatly lined up. However, that little guy can look at his not so perfect blanket and know that his Aunty loved him and was willing to give him her time even before he had entered the world.

The inspiration (green given to Olivia) and my creation....slightly obvious which one the sleep deprived Mum made.

My cards are a bit naff and if Lara was just a little bit older I'd probably tell people she made them, but again, making them is a process I enjoy, and it shows the recipient that they are special enough for you to make time to make something for them-even if it means forgoing vital sleeping time.

The offspring was affectionately known as chick whilst it was incubating.

Smalltown

2015-10-06T06:00:00.000+11:00

Fish Tacos

Smalltown in Avalon ticks my three main boxes at the moment; good food, good coffee and room for the pram. The staff here are also friendly, although not the most attentive.....please just come and take my toddlers order, sadly I'm not even joking, my two year old ran from the lounge-room to the kitchen this morning asking her father for a babycinno. She cracks us up...and once again I digress.

Smalltown serves Single Origin Roasters coffee which fits in to my 'crowd pleaser' category, meaning it is an enjoyable drink, but there aren't any flavour characteristics that excite me. That said, I did want the flavour hit again so I enjoyed a decaf for my second coffee beverage. Before children you could hear me say 'decaf, what's the point?' but as a breastfeeding mum I'm on caffeine rations, so I'm on the hunt for a delicious decaf, although I shudder at the thought of the solvents that are used throughout the process.

For lunch I couldn't go past the fish tacos. A squeeze of lime freshened up the deep fried parcels and the mayo was absolutely delicious with just the right amount of heat (for me at the moment), although my husband probably would have been asking for some chili sauce to spice it up.

Lara was very content with thick cut chips, which she decided she was having when we got out of the car on the other side of the road and the delicious aroma wafted under our noses like a scene out of a cartoon. She seriously smelt the air and exclaimed "chips", priceless. Naturally I had to bite the ends off to cool them down for her, so I can vouch that they were delicious. However, the house made chipotle aioli had gone a miss which was disappointing.

Hot chips that smelt good from across the street.

I've been to Smalltown a few times now, and every time has been an enjoyable experience. It is becoming a favourite...good job it isn't within walking distance to home.

Gardening and Sunshine

2015-10-04T14:25:00.000+11:00

Spring is well and truly here, my completely unexpected morning sunburn is proof of it, and it's time that I pulled my finger out and got our veggie garden feeding us again. I'm not going to lie, making the time to plant seeds with two babies is challenging. I've probably missed the boat for planting tomato seeds, but I'm giving them a go any way....now the challenge will be to water them every day so they don't dry out, whilst avoiding the battle with Lara's "I help". Fingers crossed we will get some delicious fruit before Christmas.

I planted lots of seeds; various kinds of tomato seeds, basil seeds to companion plant with the tomatoes, and cucumber so we have all the ingredients for a delicious salad-the cut and come again lettuce in the garden has been providing us well for some time now. There are also chilli seeds that I saved from a previous crop and am seriously crossing my fingers will germinate, and some pumpkin seeds that I saved from a delicious 'farm bought' organic pumpkin...but I may have processed them all wrong, time will tell.

Tomato, basil, cucumber, chilli and pumpkin seeds.

Half way through processing the seed trays I got tired of squatting at the edge of the veggie garden and wished I had a gardening table to work on. Then I remembered that we had an old work bench just sitting out the front doing nothing, so with a bit of help from Mark I carried it up the back steps and wheeled it into position. Perfect, and yet another 'why didn't I do that sooner?' moment. Fingers crossed it also keeps the ants away (job to put on list, pour boiling water over ants).

Veggie garden in October with new work bench in position.

I also planted some seeds directly in the veggie garden as the packet instructions suggested. However, I'm not expecting great things from this, because some pesky little critter(s) stole my last planting of bean seeds. Living in the Northern Beaches of Sydney is absolutely lovely, but we do have a lot of wildlife to cohabitat with, so it is anyones' guess if birds, possums or bandicoots stole the last lot of seeds, oh, and there is a new culprit to consider; brush turkeys. Yes, two landed on our roof on Friday when we were out gardening, the boys (dogs) went off at them like you wouldn't believe so hopefully they will find somewhere else to hangout....I suspect their home got cut down that morning at the construction site across the road. Still, I don't want them visiting my chickens or helping themselves to our food. That said, I deliberately left some sacrificial bean seeds out in the main part of the garden, so hopefully they will act as a decoy to any creatures considering the veggie garden.

Cucumber and zucchini seeds planted with a trellis waiting for them to grow up.

Of course there are a lot of creatures that we do want to attract to the garden, and I've been rather upset by the lack of bees lately. I've been planting more flowers and waiting and waiting for the bees to come, and finally I saw two native bees and a bush honey bee in the garden, so that made my day. Years ago there would be groups of bees enjoying my veggie garden, so the bee issue that everyone is talking about is becoming terribly apparent....the discussion with my husband about having a beehive continues, for now the bees will just have to visit and enjoy the flowering sage.

Flowering sage; a tasty bee treat.

By far the best thing about the veggie garden is watching my family eat from it, and this is getting even better with Lara's developing enthusiasm for picking and eating strawberries. The half eaten strawberries you can see are Lara's solution to my suggestion of only eating the strawberries when they are pink and leaving them on the plant to ripen. She took a bite out of the pink bit straight from the pot, and left the green part of the fruit on the plant to ripen. Waiting sucks. This kid has got some amazing logic. She makes me laugh every day.

When the toddler critter gets to the strawberries.

Something tells me I won't be eating many of these.

I Blinked

2015-09-29T15:45:00.000+10:00

Lara one day old. Photo Sheridan Nilsson.

Lara two years old and a caring little soul.

I blinked and all of a sudden my baby turned two. During the weeks leading up to this milestone her vocabulary exploded, along with her demands to 'go outside, dig worms', and "babycinno me" said with the most adorable Italian accent that came out of no where. Lara also became even more caring for others and showed this by giving toys to her sister, and at one point taking over feeding her dinner. We are still working on the whole sharing thing though.

Lara's 1st birthday, feels like three months ago, not twelve.

Everyday with my babies is amazing. We may not tick all the boxes everyday, some days we don't do puzzles, but we always have big cuddles, read books and say "I love you" and that's what counts. I'm still learning to focus on the small positives that are achieved each day rather than guilting myself over the things I haven't done, and no doubt this is something most mums do. Now I just need to work out how to slow life down before my babies are whisked off to school.

The Way To My Heart

2015-09-17T22:40:00.000+10:00

.....is through my stomach.

I stumbled upon this draft post full of images that was never written-probably because my family took me to lunch at Jonah's on my thirtieth birthday and I had an eighteen day old baby. Regardless, I have great memories of the day and thought this would be hard to beat, yet almost two years later I'm counting down the days to our next delectable degustation menu-and hopefully with a two year old and six month old I will manage to make time to write about the experience as well. Watch this space.

Cottage Point Inn

2015-09-16T14:47:00.001+10:00

The other day (or months ago probably) I was out with a friend for lunch and we started talking about how great degustation menus are (and how you are lucky to make the time to do them when you have kids). It got me reminiscing about Mark's birthday lunch, which was all the way back in April. Seriously, I blink at the moment and a month flies by. For Mark's 30th he got spoilt and taken to Cottage Point Inn for lunch, and since I'm his wife I got the privilege of accompanying him. Score....even though I couldn't enjoy the matching wines with degustation menu since Olivia was only three weeks old. However, the rest of the table did, so I had an occasional sip, and I think it is fair to say that we all thought the pairings were great.

Mark and Olivia

After reading the menu we were anticipating a delicious lunch, but every course was better than we had imagined. We started off with warm ratatouile salad that was flavoured with lemon thyme, which satisfied my citrus obsession nicely.

The second course of gently grilled scallops, fresh figs roasted in rosemary butter, toasted macadamia milk and charred gem lettuce read like there was going to be too much going on in the dish, but it was perfectly balanced...not to mention that I was stoked to be making up for all the scallops I missed out on when I was pregnant with Olivia.

Second course was cobia, a fish I hadn't consumed before and thoroughly enjoyed. It had a nice firm flesh which I described as eating a fish steak, and it had leek which made me a happy diner.

Lightly charred cobia, hazelnut, anchoiade hollandaise,

persimmon, baby leeks and chard.

Third course was smoked pork belly brushed with black garlic, toasted walnut and pork skin crumb, pink grapefruit. This was my first introduction to black garlic and I loved the slightly new yet familiar flavour, and I couldn't get enough of the walnut and pork skin crumb....despite my unexplainable dislike for pork skin. Yes, I know crackling is the best thing in the world, but it has to be a freaking amazing execution of pork skin for me to even entertain the idea of putting it in my mouth, it is a textural thing for me and it is very rarely done in a way that I enjoy it, although I love the flavour, so this crumb was beyond perfect.

Grilled Wagyu rump cap, shaved foie gras,
marinated brown mushroom, roast onion and lemon puree.

Next was grilled Wagyu rump cap, shaved foie gras (which melted in my mouth), marinated brown mushroom, roast onion and lemon puree. This dish did create a discussion about the animal cruelty involved with making foie gras, however, it was saved until after the delicious treat had melted in our mouths. I was surprised to find out that the animal cruelty involved in the production of this delicacy isn't as common knowledge as I had assumed it was. Am I against the practise of making foie gras? Indefinitely YES. Is it bloody delicious? YES! Would I eat it again? The activist in me would like to say no, but let's be honest (like I know how to be anything but), my tastebuds would totally win that argument.

After a perfectly balanced rich red meat course along came dessert, well the first dessert anyway. Blueberry parfait, natural yoghurt sorbet, salted caramel pistachio crumb was as pretty on the eye as it was in the mouth. A few simple flavours perfectly married together with creamy and crumbly textures was perfect, and the little surprise in the middle added to the theatre of the day...did I mention we were at Cottage Point Inn, which provides perfect viewing of Cowan Creek and all the beauty that nature has to offer.

Blueberry parfait, natural yoghurt sorbet,

salted caramel pistachio crumb.

The second dessert of coffee roasted chocolate mousse, textures of chocolate, mint ice cream

more than satisfied my chocolate obsession. The combination of chocolate and mint ice cream meant that you could have been mistaken for thinking that this dessert was made especially for the birthday boy. Not to mention the smooth coffee flavours that also coming through.

Coffee roasted chocolate mousse,

textures of chocolate, mint ice cream.

Chocolate sticks served with coffee.

After this delightful afternoon everyone was stuffed. Except me, I could have easily done it all again, but I am eating enough to fuel two humans. The venue was perfect, the staff were friendly and the food was delicious. When can we go back?

Do you fancy enjoying a degustation lunch at Cottage Point Inn? I highly recommend contacting Off The Map boat charters to get you there....and yes, I am paid (in love) for that recommendation.

Papi Chulo

2015-09-15T08:00:00.000+10:00

An impromptu date night (a few months ago now) at Papi Chulo was exactly what Mark and I needed. Admittedly it was a date night with a pretty new born baby that couldn't leave her mummy's side for very long, but getting dressed up and going out for a relatively quiet meal was bliss. Not to mention the amazing roasted cauliflower ($17), that try-as-we-might we haven't been able to replicate yet. Mark has mastered a delicious romesco sauce, but we are still working on getting the right level of smokiness along with the texture. I think we might be heading back there soon based on this dish alone-it is that good that I have contemplated braving Manly by myself at lunch time with two babies in tow.

Roasted cauliflower, romesco, parmesan cheese and brown butter crumbs.

I've always had a great appetite (and luckily a reasonably good metabolism), and when I'm breastfeeding my babies I down so much food that friends and waitresses do their best to hide their looks of shock, but I don't blame them for being surprised, I can eat enough for a small village. So Mark and I decided to get the BBQ platter that serves two to four people ($86), my favourite was the spicy smoked lamb ribs, though I did a great job at helping Mark finish everything off. I'm not so good with spices at the moment though, and I would have appreciated some more coleslaw to balance out the meal.

Smoked lamb ribs, Wagyu brisket, pulled pork, pork belly

We did manage to break the bank since we thought we were going for a winter feast menu (husband not reading properly) but we had a thoroughly enjoyable evening watching the rain trickle down the windows outside. We can't wait to get the chance to go back. Northern Beaches dining win.

Nook

2015-09-11T08:00:00.000+10:00

Winning Nutella milkshake.

Oh dear, it has been some time since we went on a lunch date to Nook. The photos have been sitting in a draft blog post just waiting for me to write about this experience. Mum life with two babies under two is a game of swings and roundabouts, a very fun game, but sometimes, like when they are both teething at the same time, want constant cuddles and bury you in some amazingly disgusting nappies, you just have to rest when they sleep, and accept the fact that your brain is a big pile of mush, but everything will be OK again in a week or two.

So, my thoughts about Nook. Would I go back to Nook? Possibly; the food was tasty, there was room for our double decker pram and the location is relatively central for a family lunch-break date in the city which is a huge plus. However, my first coffee was cold and as a breastfeeding Mum I'm on coffee rashions, so I did ask for another, whilst apologising profusely and explaining such rasions. I was more than happy with my second coffee which was hot, and delicious. Our lunch got lost in the cue somewhere meaning my family of workers had to rush back to the office, so we didn't get to enjoy our meal as much as we would have liked to. Was it uncanny that once my food finally arrived there was a really long hair in it? I would like to think so. Honestly, I was half way through my meal by the time I found it and didn't want to complain again. Perhaps next time we will just get a Nutella milkshake to go, since that was amazing-just ask Lara.

Poached eggs and haloumi stack-who says its breakfast only food?