Vintage plant stand thrift find

Our vintage safari style bedroom

Bedroom, vintage safari style!

Spinach and ricotta cannelloni recipe and left over frittata

After a week of stunning, crisp Autumn days it has turned cold and wet. In fact the rain is pouring down. We are sitting inside with the fire on. It is time for comfort food.

Cannelloni is one of my favourite treats. It is very easy to make, best for a weekend day though when you can put it in the oven hours before you intend to eat it, to ensure it cooks right through.

You will need:

1 packet cannelloni tubes

2 cans tomato puree

1 packet silken firm tofu

1 small tub ricotta

parmesan cheese, grated

spinach or silverbeet, sliced

Instructions:

Steam the spinach until tender.

Drain spinach, then mix with the tofu and ricotta in a large bowl.

Spoon into cannelloni tubes.

Pour half a can of tomato into the bottom of a lasagne baking dish.

Arrange the filled tubes into the dish.

Pour the rest of the tomatoes over the top, being sure to cover everything well.

Sprinkle the parmesan over the top.

Cover with a lid or sheet of alfoil/tinfoil. 

Bake in a hot oven until the pasta is soft.

Notes: the tofu can be admitted if preferred: double the amount of ricotta. I recommend the tofu however as it adds protein and also changes the texture of the cooked filling - I think for the better. Don't tell anyone there is tofu in this recipe and they will never know!

There are only two of us and a whole packet of tubes makes about 6 serves so I freeze left over individual serves: perfect for lunch, or dinner when you get home late from work. It reheats really well: you won't know the difference from when you ate it straight from the oven.

The bonus here is a frittata recipe. I often find after I fill all the tubes that I have left over filling. 

Mix a couple of eggs, add some feta cubes, sun-dried tomatoes and basil into the left over cannelloni filling. Pour into lightly oiled ramekins and bake. Great with salad or for breakfast.

Our thoughts return to Boston today

Our thoughts go to everyone in Boston this week. We visited last October and found it a pretty, very livable city, with friendly people.

The only kind of terrorist action we experienced in Boston was guerilla knitting. This delighted me.

I love how people decorate their houses for the seasons in Massachusetts  We visited in Autumn, one of my favourite seasons and the one we are enjoying now. 

The Constitution, The US Navy's flagship against the backdrop of the financial district. 

The contrast of old and new works well in Boston.

I was fascinated by the story of Paul Revere as a child so was delighted to visit his statue, house and grave.

Beacon Hill and the Charles River from the Mass. Ave Bridge on our walk to Harvard and Cambridge. They were preparing for a run that day too.

I loved this diner, so quaint (sorry, but true), authentic, friendly.  We discovered it by chance and enjoyed a hearty breakfast before leaving Boston, driving to Concord and Deerfield.

Dear Bostonians, we feel for your suffering and are glad the terror seems to have ended. I wanted to share a few photos of our experiences which were so enjoyable. We hope you feel peaceful again soon.

DarlingBridget bags for sale at the Cool Room, Robertson

DarlingBridget bags for sale at the Cool Room, Robertson Cheese Factory. Bright and cheerful

Relaxing weekend on Jervis Bay

We spent a wonderful, relaxing weekend on Jervis Bay, walking, swimming, kayaking, 

wining and dining.

Jervis Bay is only about 1 and a quarter hours south of where we live yet we had never been. It is a popular holiday destination for people living in Sydney and Wollongong. The two main towns that we visited: Huskisson and Vincentia, are quiet bay-side towns that must swell dramatically in the summer. Luckily we visited out of peak. They remind us of towns up north and how they were when we were kids: places like Pottsville and Kingscliff that have been overrun with tract housing, hotels and large villas. 

We walked along Nelson's Beach on a cloudy afternoon, 

and famous Hyams Beach the next morning in bright sunshine. 

I was pleasantly surprised to be able to swim and read in the sunshine in April. 

The bonus was not getting sunburnt.  The water was crisp and invigorating.

We also visited St George's Basin a large lake with an ocean inlet. We kayaked out to and around these two islands. 

The basin is full of seaweed. Howard observed that it was like looking down on a forest from the air - I've never seen water plants like it but yes, that's exactly what it looked like.  There were tiny fish darting and water birds including cormorants, egrets and black swans who rose to the air clumsily when we quietly paddled past. The shore and bottom of the lake were strewn with half shells - I have never seen that before.

Kayaking around the bay and the basin provided a unique way to experience the place, so quiet, so gentle and wow just awesome. I can't wait for our next adventure.

Happy Easter: a market and a chicken story

Happy Easter everyone. Its Sunday here and day 3 of a lovely 4 days off work. How we need this time to recharge the batteries and keep on keeping on.

The weather has been great: clear and sunny with a genuine Autumn chill in the air but seems like rain may be on its way now. The Highlands have been inundated with visitors, which is very good for the local economy.

Yesterday afternoon we went, as always, to the Burrawang Easter market where they close the main street and transform a quiet little village to a teeming mass of stalls, people and dogs. It is the best market around with good food, lovely craft, classy products and happy people.

We stocked up on cheeses, local wine, cherry-almond shortbread, lime infused dijon.  To us the produce is always the best bit about a market.

I bought a darling doiley holder made of old tea coloured linen with hand embroidery, a scalloped crochet edge and satin ribbon close. This double layered cloth was designed to keep your doilies clean, flat and safe inside.  I have never seen or even heard of one before. It is so precious. 

I added to my African textile collection with a raffia mat from the Congo made by the Kuba people. Its geometric pattern is made with pulled raffia and has a course brush-bristle texture. I have another Kuba mat of a different style that I picked up in New York as well as many mud-cloths.

We were at the market for hours and merrily looked at antique stalls, hats, tea towels, food, cider and more.

Now I promised you a story about a chicken. It is Easter but its not the happiest of chicken stories although I'm optimistic it will end well.  Katie is the most accident prone little chook and has been convalescing in our bathroom for days. On Tuesday I heard her making the most piteous noise, rushed outside to find her trying to push through a wire fence. She seemed to have taken a fright to something and was determined to get to the other side of this fence and under our house. The first thing I noticed was her comb which is all bloody and droopy. But the real damage is to her wing which she has scraped badly. I won't share a photo of that. So back into the cat box in the bathroom to be kept quiet and away from flies and pecking.  She has barely made a peep ever since, but has been eating and drinking.  Anyway we decided we should let her have some time outside and see how she goes. She's outside now scratching around with Scully.

The funny part of the story is Howard and I trying to bandage her wing. I'm here to tell you it is no easy task!  Howard held her while I applied a non-stick dressing and wrapped a gauze bandage around the top of her wing. I used a bit of masking tape to hold it in place. Well one flap of her wing and the whole bandage went flying across the room. Hmm, not to be deterred from our mission we unwrapped the bandage and had another go. This time I wrapped the last bit of the bandage across her body, pinning her wing to her side.

When we set her outside I realised I had pinned both wings to her sides!  She has managed to shrug this off now but not the dressing on her wing. Poor chicken would probably fair much better without me trying to help her! We hope she comes good. She has been in the wars but is looking happy out scratching for worms.

The rest of my days off will be spent cooking, making soap, pulling a few weeds and generally enjoying the peace, quiet and relaxation of time at home. Whatever you are doing I hope you are enjoying it!