Saturday Night Fever

You'd think that growing up in Singapore would have inured me to humidity, but apparently not. I abhor muggy weather, but it's something Sydney specialises in, and this summer is a standout. How does it go - 'horses sweat, men perspire and women glow'? Bollocks. I sweat like a pig (or horse?). It is deeply unglamorous.

Despite the nasty weather, I spent yesterday in vigorous physical activity, scrubbing the courtyard pavers (hands and knees, no wimpy high-pressure hoses for me), double-mopping every floor in the house and ruthlessly pulling out plants that have passed their use-by date (mostly overgrown, non-fruiting tomatoes and parsley).

By the time it came to thinking about dinner, all I wanted was something with minimum stove time. We ended up with Greek prawns with tomatoes and feta (home grown tomatoes), ruby chard (also home grown) cooked with onion, garlic, olive oil and pine nuts, plus crusty bread. Dessert was just fresh strawberries and rockmelon with a drizzle of vanilla poaching syrup left over from some peaches.

Today the boys are down the coast at a sailing regatta (gratuitous shot of Kid 1 sailing). Kid 2 and I are engaged in domestic chores. She has decided she wants an iPod Touch and wishes to earn some money to add to her current savings through extra chores. I have told her she can cook the weekly batch of bolognaise sauce (has to be in freezer for those horrible evenings when no one gets home until 7pm), so today we will do the first session. It's difficult for me to be hands-off in the kitchen, so this will be a learning experience for both of us.