Best of Both Worlds

I think Monet has the best of both worlds here in our new home. And why shouldn't she?

After all our dramas over her teeth (she hasn't complained about her 'sore mouth' since Monday!) she deserves to live in a happy, safe and fun environment and our new home is all that. Okay, she still gets a bit grumpy and moody (who doesn't?) but when Monet is sweet, she really is sweet. (But man, when she's grumpy, boy, does she get grumpy! Nanna can vouch for that!)

So we live less than a quick 10 minute walk down to the beach, where Monet has been enjoying 'making cakes' with her bucket and spade. Banana cakes have been popular down the beach, even though I think in Monet's lifetime I have only baked one banana cake so I don't know where she has got that idea from. Yesterday down the beach though, it was Chocolate cakes. Mmm...
We also live incredibly close to a new children's playground, which Monet thinks is wonderful. Except on Wednesday mornings. That's when the local young school children come over to use the play equipment and Monet's not too keen on sharing the swings with other kids... What more could a child want, the daily choice of the playground or the beach? If she's lucky she gets to do both. And if she isn't grumpy there is always our 'perfect' pool...

Yep, the best of both worlds. Right here. Care to join us today, on this gorgeous sunny, cloudless day? Which would you prefer to do? Beach? Playground? Or the perfect pool?

I've Won An Award...

...thanks to Sarch!

I usually don't do MEME but I like the idea of this one. The idea is to award five blogs which make me think. I have so many blogs I love to visit that it is hard to award only five! But here goes...

Marie over at Practigal. Over in New York state, Marie lives with her husband and her Little Man K, who has just turned 3. We have a lot in common, even though we live at opposite sides of the earth! I enjoy reading about Marie's takes on things, especially when it comes to her son. Its amazing how children of around this age, even on the other side of the planet, can be so much alike.

Deana over at Friday Night Fish Fry. Oh how Deana makes me laugh. Every time I read her blog I am guaranteed to crack a smile. She lives in a beautiful part of America in an absolutely gorgeous home with her husband. Her photographs are amazing, I enjoy viewing her part of the world and her perspective on life...

Stella of Ms. Mac's Meanderings. Another laugh out loud blog I read religiously. A Scottish mother of 3 boys, married to an Aussie man, living life in the gorgeous surroundings of a little Swiss village. Her take on life is very tongue in cheek, which I appreciate and I always look forward to reading what she is meandering about each day...

Delane at Life In Mayberry. He lives in Mayberry, North Carolina, not far from his sister Deana (of FNFF) with his wife of 9 years and their two gorgeous sons. His section of the world I would truly love to visit - his descriptions of his daily life I do enjoy reading.

Kim from Reading Matters. Okay, okay, she's my big sis but I do like to read this blog daily. The main content of this blog is about books (obviously) and anything to do with books. She has a wide fan (?) base and is well worth a peep if you are stuck on what to read next. Her reviews on books are something I take into consideration when I am choosing a new book to read.

The participation rules of the award are simple:
1) If, and only if, you get tagged, write a post with links to 5 blogs that make you think
2) Link to this post so that people can easily find the exact origin of the meme.
3) Optional: Proudly display the 'Thinking Blogger Award' with a link to the post that you wrote..

Worth Celebrating!

Can you see what I have to contend with every day? Gee, makes life hard doesn't it?

After everything Lyndon and I went through to secure this new home of ours and getting our first bank loan, the trouble now seems worth it. Our new suburb truly is beautiful and we all love it. It is clean, relaxing and pretty much perfect, especially when the sun is out and there isn't a cloud in the sky...

The 'wet' season finishes officially on Easter Monday and the 'stinger' season a month after that. Phew.

It will be one year this coming Monday since we all moved up here to Far North Queensland, which is worth celebrating - we survived and we love it! And we bought our first place together here.

Now, that's worth celebrating.

Will you be celebrating anything in the near future?

Nanna Muzza Gone

So we said 'Goodbye' to Nanna this morning. She flew home to Melbourne at early this afternoon. You may remember this post I wrote when my mother left. It never gets easier, but I know she left after having a nice time away from 'normality'.

Thanks Marianne for your company over the past week. You know Monet wasn't her usual bubbly self but she was pretty good yesterday and today, as you know. Poor little button. She has already been pretending that she has been speaking to you on the phone.

Many, many thanks too for our house warming present, our new dishwasher...

...ahh! How lovely is that? And how lucky are we?

Many thanks for those delicious cups of tea too. I'll be lost without my Marianne 9:30pm Cuppa tonight!
We know you had a nice time away, we enjoyed having you here, and we look forward to seeing you again real soon, hopefully with Poppy! Hehe...

Where Else But Queensland?

Being Australian and living in Australia, a lot of the time we find ourselves saying Only in America... (would a certain story happen - all apologies to my American friends!)

But lately I find myself getting disillusioned with Queenslanders and Queensland itself. (Queensland is the Australian state I live in, for those of you who don't know!) As much as I love it (I seriously do!) somethings make me scratch my head in wonder. I won't start. That's a different post altogether.

Only in Queensland though, would you find a sign on a beach that looks like this....

I love it. I hope you find it as amusing as I do. It's a pretty clear message if you ask me but then I guess there would be people out there who would view the sign, shrug their shoulders and say "So what!" They wouldn't if they knew that the 'Stingers' could permanently scar or kill you.

Daintree Discovery

I love good scenery. I'm sure everyone does. I especially love it when it is beautiful scenery. That's what we saw on Sunday. Beautiful natural scenery. On a gorgeous sunny day. Hmm...

On Sunday, Lyndon drove Monet, Nanna (Marianne) and I up to the Daintree Rainforest, about an hour and a half drive north from here. Its a pretty drive, with the gorgeous waters of the Coral Sea on the right and sugar cane fields and big mountains covered in lush rain forest on the left.

In the car, we crossed the Daintree River (you can only enter the forest on the southern side by a car-ferry which goes back and forth all day across the river). Our car was the only one on the ferry (it holds like 24 cars or so all up) and the drive to the Daintree Discovery Center (our destination) was a quiet one. We've been up to the Daintree twice and each time it is super busy with tourists, but not on Sunday. It was quiet. That's what I like.
The Daintree Discovery Center is where you walk along on a metal aerial walkway, which goes along the forest to a big Canopy Tower, where you are above the tree tops and you look out. My legs punished me yesterday as there were a lot of stairs to climb!! It is pretty spectacular stuff and pretty amazing. I don't think we'd go back though, a bit pricey to enter for a look around, but at least the money goes towards preservation of the Forest. And otherwise you probably wouldn't get to see the forest like this without being part of a tour group and keen on hiking. Monet thought it was pretty good. She said it was "Fun". She especially liked it because I bought her a toy 'Cassowary', whom we've since named Dain (as in Daintree) and Monet thinks he is the ants pants!!

Lyndon drove north after leaving the Center, to Thorton's Beach.

We were going to go up to Cape Tribulation but that was about another 30 minutes north. We were pretty satisfied with a stroll on this beach anyway. It seemed untouched and was really beautiful. Part of Nature at her best. Truly. I'm not just saying that.
It is pretty special to see the Great Barrier Reef and The Daintree Rainforest, two World Heritage listed places, side by side. It is the only place in the world where this happens and aren't we lucky to have the opportunity to visit and enjoy. I think so anyway. (That's the 'Greenie' in me coming out!)

On our trip home we stopped off at Port Douglas for lunch. Monet got all whingy after our lunch so we pretty much left straight afterwards. The trip back down the Captain Cook Highway was quiet, thanks to a tired and sleepy Monet dozing in the back next to her Nanna (who was awake, not asleep!)

Have you ever been somewhere in nature and thought just how lucky you are to see it?

We've Been Busy...

A Dental Relief

We had Monet's big Dentist appointment today. The one I had been counting down towards, one that I have been worried about for weeks. I was unsure how she would react to anesthetic, the Dentist etc.,... I was thankful Lyndon took some time off work to come with us...

I didn't think I would cry (I know, anyone would think it was me getting a dental procedure done!) but I did. I had too. It had been bubbling underneath the surface for weeks and when the anesthetist did his job and I saw my baby lying on the dental chair surrounded by dental nurses, the dentist and the anesthetist I couldn't help it... I felt better for it.

The procedure (fillings) took, what seemed to me, forever. I'm not sure how long. I couldn't tell you. But I knew Monet had started to come out of the anesthetic as I could here her screaming, which is apparently a good sign. The screaming lasted for a good 20 minutes or so. Her throat must be killing her.

A disoriented and very (very) upset Monet was waiting for us in the recovery room. It took her quite a while to come around but I was rapt to see her open those beautiful blue eyes of hers and look right at me. *relief*

The Dentist came in and told us that all was okay. And she will be fine. Besides the back two teeth, the rest are great. I gave the Dentist a bit of a hug (I couldn't help myself, mainly out of relief!) and thanked him.

Our drive home was eventful. Don't ask. Okay, I'll tell you. My poor little baby was sick and spewed, mainly over me! Mmm. But I think it made her feel better. That and having a wee nap in the car.

We're back home now and Monet is happy. She's got on her favourite Dora Terry Toweling dresses (sooo trendy and oh-so 1980's!), she's eaten a sausage roll, drinking water, she's had her medicine and she's now watching Hi-5 on DVD. And she's smiling. And she looks happy.

Seems as if I have my old Monet back. *fingers crossed*

We're off to collect Monet's Nanna (Lyndon's mum) from the airport in half an hour or so which is a nice treat for Monet (and Lyndon and I). She's staying for a week so it will be nice to have Marianne here and my happy daughter! *relief*

Jool's favourite Saturday Afternoon Pasta

This was a pretty tasty and easy pasta recipe. I love recipes that you don't have to go out and buy ingredients for, so this recipe was right up my alley! It had a bit of a bite to it but that was good! This recipe says it serves 4, but I halved everything and I still had heaps...

*Taken from Jamie Oliver's 'Cook With Jamie'*

Ingredients
Olive oil
1 red onion, peeled and finely chopped
1-2 fresh red chillies, deseeded and finely chopped
1 level tsp ground cinnamon
a bunch of fresh basil, leaves picked, stalks chopped
2 x 400g tins good-quality plum (Roma) tomatoes
2 x 300g jars good-quality tuna in olive oil, drained and flaked
sea salt and freshly ground pepper
500g good-quality rigatoni or penne
zest and juice of 1-2 lemons
a small handful of freshly grated Parmesan cheese

method
Heat a splash of olive oil in a heavy-bottomed pan and cook the onion, chilli, cinnamon and basil stalks on a medium to low heat for 5 minutes until the onion has softened and is slightly sweet. Turn up the head and add your tomatoes, tuna and a good pinch of salt. Break the tomatoes up using the back of a spoon, then bring to the boil and simmer for about 20 minutes. Taste for seasoning.

meanwhile, cook the rigatoni in a pan of salted boiling water according to the packet instructions. When al dente, drain the pasta in a colander, reserving some of the coking water. Toss the pasta into the tuna and tomato sauce with the roughly torn basil leaves, a glug of olive oil, the lemon zest and juice and Parmesan and mix well together. Loosen the pasta with a little of the reserved cooking water if needed. Check the seasoning and serve immediately.

Serves 4

We're Here...

So here we are now, all safe and sound in our new abode and just how wonderful is it? Wonderful!

Our move went very smoothly indeed on Saturday. I would never do a moving job by myself ever again (we did that a few years ago and it was terrible and never ending!), removalists are definitely the way to go. It also helps to be pretty organised as we were, with our large packing boxes all packed and waiting by the Friday night.

We did two car loads of 'bits and pieces' on Friday, after the settlement of this property. We mainly took Monet's loose toys and pantry goodies on the Friday, which I think stressed Monet out a little by the Friday evening. She definitely was not herself - we figured it was a big (BIG) combination of a toothache (owch!) and thinking she was moving out without us (because most of her goodies were now at our new home and not at our city apartment). We got her to sleep in bed with us to calm her (trust me, she was all over the place the poor little button!)

Saturday morning the big move began at 8am. We were all moved by midday to our new abode. Phew.

Of course we had boxes everywhere but we have now sorted out everything and put most things in their rightful home. We have one box left to unpack and its one of those boxes I don't want to touch as I have to find a home for it all. (Crappy little things, you know what I mean!)

This place is more spacious than we first thought which is terrific. Monet's room has all her toys in it (rather than them being all over the apartment like in our last home!) including her big Dora Cubby. She has been sleeping wonderfully too, all night in her bed. That's a big bonus. Lyndon and I got a new bed delivered on Sunday and we've told her she's not allowed to sleep in it during the night. Maybe that's why she's been sleeping well. Who knows.

Here's how my new kitchen is looking....

The worst thing about moving though, is that you always have your 'old' place to clean. Anyone who rents knows this. It is seriously the pits. You're all excited that you're in a new place but you still have to go and clean your old place. (We need our bond back!!) We gave the place a bit of a wipe down (I had already cleaned the bathrooms and the kitchen was extremely clean as I did them last week) on Sunday. As we couldn't be bothered cleaning the tiled floors and the windows, we hired cleaners to do the place yesterday. How easy. I hope they've done a good job (Lyndon will check - he actually got the cleaners from his workplace to do it)

So yep. Here we are. All happy, bar someones tooth, but that's being fixed tomorrow. (And that's an entirely different post!!)

Every Single Hand Helps When Moving...

Bye Bye For a Week...

This will be my last post for a week (boo hoo!) because our phone line (and therefore our broadband) are going to get disconnected tomorrow. It was either have five days without the internet here or five days without the internet at our new place. Obviously you know what we choose.

This will at least get me to pack up everything and clean without the distraction of blogging!! So in advance I apologize if I don't come and visit your blog but rest assured that I will be blog catching up you within the next fortnight. The first thing that will be unpacked and set up will be the internet connection. Trust me. I know what we are like.

I have had in my mind so many posts I want to tell you about but I don't really have the time...

I want to tell you that when Monet says blanket, she says (very cutely mind you), "blanklet" (as in anklet!)

I want to tell you that down at the Marina over the past week Monet and I have spotted these huge salmon-coloured jelly fish, with heads like big pasta bowls and tentacles like blobs of fingers, which Monet calls "jelly babies"...

I want to tell you about the gorgeous pink feather boa I bought Monet (how could I resist?) so she could dance around the room like Kylie...

I want to tell you about how we went out on Friday night for a drink with a couple of Lyndon's work mates and Monet was really well behaved and got out of the pram and danced for everyone...

I want to tell you about how today we went looking for a bed for Lyndon and I, and we both had a computer tell us which type of bed was suited to us and it was the same type (which is apparently very unusual!)...

I want to tell you about how this is our last weekend in Cairns City and how we spent our time packing away our goodies...

I want to tell you about how we all got ourselves 'battery-powered' toothbrushes...

I want to tell you just how hilarious the new Hi-5 DVD is, which I don't mind watching...

I want to tell you about the lovely home-made 'Dim Sims' I made the other night which turned out much better than I expected but you can view the recipe here on my other blog...

I want to tell you that Monet is two nights into her five nights of sleeping well in her 'big bed', sleeping towards her new 'Kylie' DVD...

I want to tell you how I am planning on decorating Monet's new bedroom within the next couple of months...

So much to say, so little time.

Next time I blog I will be sitting pretty in our new home. Our new home! How exciting. We are really looking forward to it. This time next week we hope to be pretty much settled in with most of our stuff in its rightful place...

In the meanwhile, I hope everyone has a terrific week and I'll catch up with you all really, really soon.

Melody x

Stuck in a Strawberry

"Mummy...Mummy...Help, I'm stuck!"

I was busy in the kitchen and could hear Monet calling out from her room. I thought Lyndon could hear her too and figured he'd go to her rescue. When Monet gets 'stuck' in her bedroom, it usually means she has surrounded herself with books or toys and can't clear a path to escape.

"Mummy......... Mummy........ I'm Stuck!!!"

She certainly was stuck.

For whatever reason Monet thought it would be a great idea to get into her Giant Strawberry (which is a nappy holder).

Talk about a good laugh for the three of us! (As you can see in the photo she was looking at herself in the mirror with a huge grin on her face - Cheeky devil.)

Mini Dim Sims

In my time I have made up my own version of spring rolls, which I always enjoy. But I have never been motivated or even remotely interested for that matter, to make my own Dim Sims. I live with the Dim Sim King (Lyndon loves a good dimmie) and I thought I might take a chance and make some, after I spied a packet of Dim Sim wrappers in the fridge department of my local Coles.

Well, weren't they delicious? They were easy to make, not at all fiddly (truly) and I will probably be making them again in the very near future. And to top things off, Monet loved them and so did Lyndon!! Next time I would probably add a little chopped Chinese cabbage to make them a little more authentic. I fried half and I steamed half. Either way they took hardly anytime to cook and either way was nice.

This recipe was taken from the back of the Dim Sim wrappers pack, but I added quantities.

Ingredients
1 packet 30 dim sim wrappers
350 g mince (I used chicken)
2 spring onions, finely chopped
1 tsp soy sauce
1/2 tsp sesame oil
1 egg

Method
Mix all ingredients together until combined. Using dim sim wrappers, place a teaspoon of combined ingredients on each. Fold the ends in and roll, using a little water to make the two ends meet.

Either fry until golden, or steam until cooked through.

Enjoy with soy sauce.

Makes about 30.

Little Fan

I felt like watching and bogeying to U2 the other day. So we popped on the Vertigo Tour DVD and Monet had a wonderful time dancing around. She's a good little dancer who sways her hips, shakes her heads and moves her legs and arms in rhythm. Or tries to anyway.

She has liked U2 for about a year and a half now. I have on tape her dancing and cheering and clapping to the 'Vertigo Tour' DVD when she was just over a year old. It is hilarious.

On Sunday night, the Kylie Minogue concert was on television. Because Monet wasn't well and wasn't sleeping she watched it with us. Well, guess who loves Kylie now? Monet swayed her hips and 'oohed' and 'ahhed' over Kylie's costumes. She especially loved Kylie's feathers!

I have promised Monet that if she sleeps soundly for five nights in a row, without creeping into our bed, I will buy her the DVD.

We haven't got past one night yet. But we will. We will, damn it! I want to watch the concert again!!! (It was actually surprisingly, really good!)

Why Can't This Happen At Home?

To take a break from packing and cleaning this morning, Monet and I visited the library. It's a 10 minute walk away with Monet in the pram.

With Monet still seated in the pram I quickly choose a novel to read (I was actually surprised they had the book I wanted!) and then we went over to the lovely children's area. Some other child had obviously been in the area beforehand. There were blocks spilt across the floor, books still on one of the little tables and general toys here and there. It is usually a pretty tidy area. Obviously not today.

I took Monet out of the pram and took a seat. And you know what Monet did? She cleaned up.

She. Cleaned. Up. Happily and quietly too I must add. She loves the library and she must love the library because it is so neat and tidy (unlike her toys at home!!)

Why can't this happen at home? Hehe...

(((Hugs)))

I bet you've never had a hug from Bono.

I have.

Or from The Edge.

I have.

Or got a hug from an egg. Or a television. I have. Thanks to Monet.

She can be such a laugh sometimes. She is definitely a card my girl.

Each time I speak to my parents or get a text message off my father, they always say "Give Monet a hug from us". So I do. And Monet hugs me back. Big time hug. Not one of those wussy hugs. I'm talking bear hugs. And boy, are they lovely!

The the fun starts. Her eyes dart around the room looking at items she can see.

"This is from the computer", she'll say as she bear hugs me. She lets go, the eyes dart around the room again.

"This is from the oven". Another hug. And another loud laugh from me.

Then I suggest she goes and gives Lyndon Dad (which is what she calls him) a hug. So she goes over to him.

"This is from Grandad" she tells him whilst hugging him. Terrific, just what Lyndon wants, a hug from MY father!! And of course I'm sitting on the couch laughing in hysterics.

She'll come over to me and it starts all over again. She even included family members in her hugs, which is nice. So this week I have been hugged by my Nanma and Grandad (my parents), Nanna and Poppy (Lyndon's parents), Kim (my sister) and a gang of rock stars (The Edge and Bono included).

I love a big hug, I always have and I always will. How about you?

Princess Tooth Ache

My little princess is going along okay. Thanks to everyone for their sympathy. A tooth ache is one of the most painful things to have, we can all agree on that yes?

So we went to another dentist yesterday, just to get a second opinion. I've never done that before (got a second opinion) and I am so glad I did. I think I will get second opinions from now on - trust me. The first dentist we saw on Monday, said in his Irish accent "Out with the teeth". The second dentist whom we saw yesterday said "Let's save these teeth". Do you know how relieved I felt to hear those words?

Monet has some cavities that have to be attended to which will be fixed in a couple of weeks. The poor little love has to go under a general anesthetic so I will be besides myself no doubt, but we will get through this and she will be fine. The cavities could be caused by grazing throughout the day, but they really aren't sure why. She brushes at least twice a day and she doesn't have a lot of sugar in her diet. She still doesn't realise that the 'lolly/sweet' aisle in the supermarket is full of sugary treats. She thinks its just another aisle.

I was very proud of Monet yesterday. I have never seen her open her mouth so w i d e. The dentist was very pleased to see her do this. But she's had a few days practise of doing this. The dental nurse was fabulous, simply fabulous. I could have hugged her. She was kind and playful and Monet thought she was terrific. And she gave Monet a lovely pink balloon and some stickers and some funky bubblegum flavoured 'Princess' toothpaste.

Monet is still in a bit of pain but she is on medication and is a happy chappy when she forgets about her tooth. But talk about whinge when she remembers! Oh. My. Can my girl whinge? But I think a toothache is worth whinging about. Ouch.

Warm Roasted Potato with Spicy Sausage

We have a bit of a 'thing' here for chorizo sausage and when I spied this recipe in my new cookbook I had to make it. It was very delicious and very easy so I will definitely be making it again in the not too distant future.

*Taken from the Murdoch Book 'Tossed'*

Ingredients

800 g small waxy potatoes, unpeeled

2 tbs olive oil

1 tsp sea salt

4 small chorizo sausages (about 500 g), cut into 1 cm slices

100 g rocket, leaves trimmed and roughly torn

100 g semi-sundried tomatoes

crusty bread, to serve

seeded mustard dressing

3 tbs olive oil

1 tbs seeded mustard

2 tbs white wine vinegar

Method

Preheat the oven to 200C (400F). Scrub the potatoes and pat them dry. Put them in a roasting tin without any oil or seasoning and bake for 20 minutes, or until they start to soften. Remove from the oven and gently squash each potato using a potato masher, until the skins burst and they are slightly flattened. Lightly drizzle the oil over each potato, sprinkle with the sea salt and gently toss to coat. Roast for a further 15-20 minutes, or until crispy and golden.

Meanwhile, put a frying pan over high heat. Add the chorizo and dry-fry for about 5 minutes, or until cooked through and golden. Transfer to a serving dish with the rocket and tomatoes.

Put all the seeded mustard dressing ingredients in a small bowl. Whisk well and season lightly with salt and freshly ground black pepper.

Add the crispy potatoes to the salad, pour the dressing over and toss well. Serve hot or warm, with crusty bread.

Serves 4

Gift Time

As you know, yesterday was my birthday. It would have been a great day if it wasn't for my little one not being well. And the visit to the dentist and all that. But I won't go on about that. (For now!)

I was lucky enough to receive some lovely gifts from family, here and interstate. Lyndon and Monet bought me this lovely skirt I had my eye on for a while...


Esprit clothing is really good I find, and wears well. They might be a little pricey but the quality is top notch.

I also received from interstate family some lovely perfume, this groovy bag (called an envirosax) - pretty retro hey?...
...this cool cook book, full of salads to make...
...my Birkenstocks I bought the other day with money from the in-laws, along with a Baking Dish and a funky Bonds long sleeved stripy tee. I did pretty well, don't you think? And of course I recieved some lovely thoughtful cards.

Lyndon took me out to dinner to Mondos, down by the Inlet. I love it there, sitting outside with a slight warm ocean breeze, sipping champagne and munching on a good quality meal at a good price. (No I didn't take this photo!)
But the best Birthday present came from Monet. She slept the whole night through. Bless her.

Tuna Fritters with Whipped Fetta

These would have to be the tastiest tuna fritters I have ever tasted. Repeat. Ever tasted. They were delicious and if Lyndon liked them, well, that is really saying something. I think it is the combination of Tabasco sauce and lemon zest which really 'lift' them. Very simple to make with cheap ingredients. Try them.

Since I don't own a food processor, I used my Bamix with the 'mincer' attachment. I also find it better to place the uncooked fritters in the fridge to 'set' for at least 20 minutes before frying.

*Taken from Karen Martini's 'Where The Heart Is'*

Ingredients

100 g fetta

100 g ricotta

50 ml pouring cream

185 g canned tuna in springwater, drained

2 tsp lemon zest

2 sprigs flat-leaf parsley, chopped

3 splashes Tabasco sauce

2 eggs

250 g potatoes, cooked and mashed

3 spring onions, sliced

3 cups (210 g) fresh breadcrumbs

1/2 cup (75 g) plain flour

olive oil, for frying

lemon wedges, to serve

watercress sprigs, to serve (optional)

Method

To make the whipped fetta, place fetta, ricotta and cream in a food processor with 3-4 tbs water and blend until smooth and light.

To make the fritters, place the tuna in a food processor and blend until smooth. Add lemon zest, parsley, Tabasco sauce and 1 egg and process. Add potatoes and process until combined. Transfer to a large bowl and mix in spring onions and 3 tbs of the breadcrumbs. Use your hands to shape mixture into small fritters about 6cm in diameter.

Beat remaining egg. Dip fritters in flour to coat. Dip into beaten egg, then in remaining breadcrumbs. Heat olive oil in a large non-stick frying pan and fry fritters for 2 minutes on each side or until cooked, then drain on kitchen paper. Serve with whipped fetta, lemon wedges and watercress if desired.

Birthday Blues

Today is my birthday. I won't tell you how old I am, but I'm between the ages of 33 and 35. Heehee...

So we've got off to a bad start to our weekend and my birthday. Don't ask. The news isn't good. And it has to do with Monet but we'll get through it and she'll be okay. All I will say is that we are good toothbrushers here, morning and evening but it hasn't paid off...

Yep - tooth problems. Back molars. Not the colour they should be. Pain. Lots of pain. Makes me hurt too to see my little one in pain. But as I said we will get through it and things should be on the improvement in the next few weeks, fingers crossed and all...

I still can't help but feel horribly awful in my gut. Is there anything worse than seeing your child in screaming and crying pain? I don't think. This is a downside of being a parent, we have to take the good with the bad, unfortunately.

But we will be right. Chins up and all that!

Goodnight, Sleep Tight

My baby isn't much of a baby any more. Boo hoo. Yippee! Yes, I can't make up my mind if that's a good or a bad thing...

Last night, under her Fairy Doona cover, Monet slept in her own big bed. The whole night through. I generally don't post photos of Monet as you know, but I think I had to here. She's a lovely looking sleeper, even when she's pretending, don't you think?

So it took Monet ages to go to sleep. She was terribly excited about the 'Fairies' that would be watching over her as she slept. She has had the bed with that doona cover, in her room for a good 8 or so months and has never given a second glance at the $10 doona cover I had on her bed. But last night was really something else.

I've been building up all week the fact she was moving in to a 'big bed' from her cot this weekend. (We had decided that when we move we didn't want to set the cot up again.) She was very excited yesterday when I changed her room around (for one more time - I packed up a lot of her toys at the same time!) so I could easily get her into bed and also see her from the bedroom door if I needed to check on her. As soon as Lyndon walked in the door after work last night, she excitedly got him to look in her room and tell him that she was sleeping "under the fairies tonight!" It was good she was so enthusiastic about it all...

She slept from 10pm till 6:30am in her bed, without waking, without creeping out into our bed, without falling out of the bed! I was and still am thrilled. I had visions of her waking up at 2 am and sneaking into our room and cuddling up to me, but that didn't happen, until 6:30 but I don't mind that when it is that time.

My baby isn't much of a baby any more...

Keep On Moving...

We are like a couple of professionals in the moving stakes, Lyndon and I. Look, we even went out and bought one of those packing tape dispensers...

...And we write on the tape, not on the box, in case we have to use those boxes again.

I've been packing at least one big box a day and we are slowly getting through it all... I can see ourselves this time next week eating off paper plates and using plastic cutlery because I would have packed up the whole kitchen!! And we'd still have a week to go before we move!!

Since going out with Lyndon, coming up to 11 years in June, this will be our 10th move together and Monet's third (and she's not even 3 yet!).

I think that Packing tape dispenser will probably get a fair bit of work out in years to come as I know what we are like. But then things may change, considering we are moving into our 'own' place this time and not renting!! (Yippee!! We still can't believe it.) And if we do happen to move, the company Lyndon works for will be paying for removalists to pack and move our stuff anyway (like they did with our Melbourne to Cairns move), so maybe we don't need to hold onto that tape dispenser after all. Heehee...

Over the past 10 years, how many house moves have you made?

Chicken & Sweetcorn Soup

I don't know where I originally got this recipe but over the years I have added and changed a few things, so I am claiming it as my own recipe now! We love this soup, especially Monet!!

Ingredients

Olive oil

1 onion, chopped finely

4 cups chicken stock

1 cooked chicken breast, chopped into small pieces (or use left over roast chicken like I usually do)

1 can creamed corn, (use either 310g or 440g tin)

1 handful frozen corn kernels

2 spring onions, finely chopped

1 handful of uncooked vermicelli pasta (optional - good for thickening)

2 eggs, lightly beaten

Method

In a saucepan, heat the olive oil and fry the onions until soft, but not brown. Add the chicken stock to the pan followed by the chicken, creamed corn, corn kernels, spring onion and pasta (if using). Bring slowly to the boil (or wait until pasta is cooked through, if using). Add the egg in one long stream, using a fork where it meets the liquid soup, to beat into the mixture. Cook for one minute. Enjoy.

Serves 4-6

You Like?

I saw this Pot Holder in my local Coles the other day. I thought it was pretty 'kitch'...

...and I thought it was about time I threw out the last one I bought in the Year 2000!

More Shoe Babble

So I ended up buying a pair of these today...

I was after the 'Madrid' style like my black ones, (just one simple strap over the base of your toes) but they didn't have any of the khaki green ones in stock so I decided on the Gizeh style (Kikimiss will be happy!)

I did visit a few shops selling the Croc Mary Jane style ones, but they only had in stock the black ones and an army green colour so I gave them a miss.

I am happy with my new purchase, with thanks to my parents-in-law, as it was their money I spent... (I wonder whose birthday it is next week? Hmm? Let me think...)

Eggplant Parmigiana

This was actually pretty tasty and was something different too. The anchovies in the recipe really brought out the flavour. It was more like an eggplant lasagna rather than a parmigiana! I added on top a few sliced black olives and a sprinkling of crumber fetta cheese....

*Taken from Karen Martini's 'Where The Heart Is'*

Ingredients
2 large eggplants (I used 1)
3/4 cup (110g) plain flour
3 eggs, lightly beaten with 3 tbs water
2 cups fine breadcrumbs
350ml olive oil, for frying
100ml extra virgin olive oil
4 cups (1 litre) tomato passata (I used 500ml)
1 cup (80g) grated Parmesan
200g mascarpone
4 anchovy fillets, finely chopped
10 slices fontina* cheese
4 sprigs oregano (I used dried)
2 sprigs basil, leaves picked
salt flakes and freshly ground pepper

Method
Cut eggplants length ways into 1/2 cm-thick slices. Dust eggplant with flour, then dip into egg was then breadcrumbs. Heat olive oil in a large heavy-based frying pan over medium heat. Fry eggplant slices for 1-2 minutes on each side until golden. Drain on kitchen paper.

Preheat the oven to 170C. Place 2 tbs of the extra virgin olive oil in a large ovenproof dish and swirl to cover base. Spread about a third of the tomato passata in base of dish. Sprinkle with 3 tablespoons Parmesan. Place marscarpone, anchovies and remaining Parmesan in a small bowl and stir to combine.

Place one layer of eggplant slices over the base of the dish. Spoon another third of the tomato passata over eggplant, top with a layer of fontina and spoon over a few dollops of mascarpone mixture. Sprinkle with half the oregano and basil. Repeat layers, seasoning each layer. Finish with cheese and herbs. Drizzle with remaining extra virgin olive oil and cover with foil/

Bake for 25 minutes. Remove foil and bake for a further 15 minutes or until golden.

Serves 6

*Fontina is a semi-soft cow's milk cheese with a sweet delicate flavour. (I looked high and low for this cheese and was unsuccessful in finding it. Instead I used what I had in the fridge - some lovely cheddar cheese and a bit of fetta)