Fridays and Funerals

Today I attended the funeral Mass for a lovely lady from my church. She was a regular volunteer at our Sunday morning teas and we bonded over brownies and baked goods and the fact that she looked just like Meryl Streep. And we both LOVE Meryl Streep.
Tonight I am taking myself off to bed early with a copy of the film and my favourite illustrated
copy of Out Of Africa. And think of Aldona...

The Chef is Home for Dinner

My son The Chef was home for dinner one night this week. This is an unusual situation... mostly at dinner time he is at work cooking for other people . So when the opportunity arises, like all sensible people, I take advantage of his superior skills and stand aside if he happens to be here at mealtimes. Similarly, I would be remiss if I didn't stand over him and take copious notes and photos to share the cheffy magic he brought to our dinner table. Its like a masterclass in my own kitchen!

In true cheffy form, he has no recipe as such. His recipe is measured in handfuls and pinches and eyefuls.  He tastes again and again, as each ingredient is added.  I am impressed by how capable he is... its not often that a mum gets to see her boy all grown up and working his trade in her own house.

It was all done and dusted and on the table in about 20 minutes.. Served with lots and lots of crusty bread, it was a delicious meal for a chilly winters evening.  I hope you enjoy it.

Mussels in White Wine and (not too spicy) Spicy Tomato Sauce

2kgs mussels, cleaned and debearded
a slurp of olive oil
9 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
1 hot red chili, finely chopped ( make it 2 if you prefer )
1 large brown onion, finely chopped
a good pinch of salt and black pepper
30g butter ( 2 cubes )
800g tin of chopped tomatoes
2 cups good quality white wine ( ours was a New Zealand sauvignon blanc )
a good handful of finely chopped basil and parsley
Lots of bread for dunking  ( or serve over a cup of rice)




I know it looks like alot of onion, but trust me!

Also alot of tomato....
Let the tomatoes and wine cook vigorously for about 5 minutes.


Voila ! Dinner in 20
If there's any sauce left, use it to poach a chicken breast or a piece of white fish.  No reason to cook twice if you can cook once....

Simple Things

Maybe twenty years ago, maybe even a little longer ago than that, my sister gave a me a simple, ringbound scrap book to keep my recipes in….. how could either of us know it  would be my constant companion in the kitchen for the next few decades. In it, recipes for cakes and casseroles, playdough and pastries chronicle the life I have shared with my family and friends.  Pages torn from magazines, or photocopied from library books share the space with handwritten menus for Christmasses and parties long over. I delight over them and the little details of who brought whom and who brought what to all of those  delightful shared meals.


I could never have  guessed how much that little book would come to mean to me. Sometimes it really is the simplest things that bring you the greatest joy. I am going to be cracking open this little beauty and I hope some you might enjoy some of the pages that fall out as much as I do..

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