Saturday Night Fever

I have been busy, bored/boring and a little melancholy. Dull, damp weather hasn't helped. But now the sun is out again, it's the weekend, and I only have TWO articles to finish by tonight. Oops, now I'm depressed again.

It's also Mothers' Day, so Kids 1 and 2 have been very nice to me, including making me an omelette for breakfast (Kid 1) and homemade fizzy lemonade to keep me cheery while working (Kid 2).

Last night we cooked chicken braised in white wine and cream, with roast spuds and green beans, followed by chocolate pots with whipped cream and salted toffee shards. Kid 2 snaffled the leftover egg whites from the choc pots to make meringues, all by itself.

Mid-week I had my hair cut. I had been toying with the idea of growing it - Lord knows why, as I have horrid hair - so it was well overdue. I've had it blonde for about a year now, so I decided to go darker (for winter?). The cut was fine, my normal super-short pixie. The colour is awful. It's a sort of nothing brown that doesn't quite cover up the previous blonde - it's insipid and ugly, all at the same time. I know I should probably just go back to that salon and say 'fix it', but I can't be bothered. Sometimes it's very tempting just to let it grow out, grey and all ...

Back to the grind.

Saturday Night Fever

On Saturday night I catered a cocktail party for 60 people. Actually, I think there were about 70 (10 too rude to RSVP in time), so I spent the first part of the evening worrying about whether there would be enough food. I have never knowingly undercatered in my life ... Turned out there was plenty.

This is what they had:

- Moroccan meatballs with yoghurt + garlic + mint dip
- Spicy chicken wings
- Gougeres (yes, I do them every time)
- Sushi (bought as replacement for the salt cod croquettes that FAILED)
- Steamed pork & prawn dumplings (also bought)
- Tarts with goat's cheese, caramelised onion and thyme
- Pumpernickel with smoked salmon, cream cheese, capers + dill
- Water chestnuts wrapped in bacon, brushed with soy and cooked in oven
- Grilled chorizo slices topped with a prawn and a dollop of smoked paprika mayonnaise
- Frittata squares

And two mini desserts - tarts with lemon curd (home made) and Turkish Delight (bought).

It's now Monday and I finally feel like I might be able to approach the kitchen again (we ate out last night).

Note to self: Don't wear heels when you're going to be working on your feet for 8 hours straight, not even your most comfortable Clarks. You will regret it.

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.

Saturday Night Fever

Kid 1 recently accused us of having a social life. He may almost be right, as we were out on Saturday night, so I didn't cook. I'm almost starting to miss it, Saturday's festivities being the antithesis of the tedious, slapdash weekday dinner. I know some people consider cooking the evening meal a good way to wind down from the work day, but it doesn't feel that way to me - I feel like it's just another thing on my endless 'to do' list. Perhaps I need to shift my perspective.

Today I am trying to finish writing an article on Islamic finance. It is a lovely spring day outside, and I'd much rather be mucking about in the garden, or doing yoga, or ... yes, I'd much rather be doing ANYTHING than working on this particular job.

Even worse, tomorrow we have a studio shoot for the magazine and I have to be photographed. What on earth will I wear? Just the thought is making my skin blotchy. I hope they are liberal with the Photoshop in post-production.

Saturday Night Fever

Most Saturday nights we're at home. We have friends who go out at least once a week, and spend a not-very-small fortune on babysitters, but we generally stay home with the kids and attempt to create our own fun.

Andrew likes to do this by forcing the kids to watch movies he considers to be 'classics'. (I think his interpretation of 'classic' is a little loose at times.)

For me, it usually takes the form of cooking something that's either: a) time-consuming and therefore a treat only for weekends; b) new, so untested and therefore potentially exciting; or c) slightly extravagant (think duck, truffle oil, etc).

Last night I made a barbecued seafood salad with prawns and baby octopus, potatoes and zucchini, served with a salsa romanesca. For dessert I made a strawberry shortcake.

To be honest, the salad was slightly disappointing. I'm not sure why - maybe a bit bland, not enough textural interest. But the salsa was delicious and I'll definitely make that again. I thought the kids would love the strawberry shortcake, but they were a little underwhelmed by it. So not the most successful of Saturday cook-fests ... Perhaps I'll do better next week.

School resumes tomorrow, and I'm in the city for a client, so the relaxed morning pace of the last couple of weeks will soon be a pleasant memory.

Babette's Feast

Holden came home with an assignment the other day. 'Mum', he said, 'I have to cook an Italian meal for the family, and then hand in recipes and menu (in Italian) and photos'.

Well, thank goodness he comes from a foodie family, I say.

We discussed various options, and he finally settled on: prosciutto wrapped melon; osso buco with gremolata, served with ciabatta and salad; gelato (bought) for dessert.

Here's how it went ...

1. He squealed when asked to dust the veal shin in seasoned flour ('it feels gross, mum!'), but bravely persisted.

2. He chopped garlic with great gusto and surprising skill.


3. It all simmered away while he wrapped melon in prosciutto and made salad dressing and gremolata.



4. We ate lots and lots.


5. I think he'll pass his assignment.