Wednesday, November 28, 2012

A calm week


I packed Eadie up and sent her off to camp on Monday. For the record, she's not crying just embarrassed by me taking photos of her. In fact, she couldn't stop smiling and was super-eager to get on the bus.

To add to that, Steve went to Sydney the day before. The shift in dynamics has resulted in a much quieter household. There has been the occasional rousing (they're not perfect after all; and neither am I).

Last night, Ava and I watched Ruby's choir performance at Town Hall. It's so nice for them to be able to perform in such a lovely venue.



I think I will try and end the week on a high and have dinner out with the girls before I all returns to chaotic-normal on Friday.

Saturday, November 24, 2012

A day out

Last weekend the sun was shining and we got a real taste of summer. But this is New Zealand and we will probably be wearing your jumpers again in a few days. As the saying goes: Make hay while the sun shines. And that's exactly what we did with a short drive over to the seaside at Takapuna.









Friday, November 16, 2012

I love...

Terrariums. Not really ones with lizards and frogs inside. More the funky dinosaur variety.


I know I could make one but if I decided to do that it would just get added to a long list things. It would be really nice if someone would do it for me :D

Wednesday, November 14, 2012

Eggplant Curry



Eggplant is one of my favourit-est foods in the whole world!! There is a Malaysian restaurant not far from where we live that is famous for it's eggplant curry. Then when we were in Sri Lanka Aunty Daisy made it for us. It was to die for!

Aunty Daisy told me how she did it then I Googled it when I got back home and came up with a recipe that seemed like a good blend.


I've never been very good at cooking curries and Asian food. Perhaps it has something to do with my Anglo-Italian upbringing. Anyway, this curry turned out really gooood.

In a nutshell:
  • Prepare the eggplant then fry it up (no, it's not health food)
  • Fry an onion with a mixture of spices
  • Add some chopped tomatoes
  • Stir through some coconut milk
  • Lastly, stir through the eggplant.

Delish! Leave a comment if you want the full list of ingredients/instructions.


OK, you asked for it; here it is.

Ingredients
3 medium sized eggplants, chopped into bite-sized pieces
1 onion, chopped
4 tomatoes, chopped
1 teaspoon curry powder
ginger
chilli
2 cloves garlic, crushed
½ cup coconut milk
salt
sugar

Method
Sprinkle the chopped eggplant with salt and let sit for at least ten minutes to extract the bitter juice. Wash and dry, then fry in some oil.

Fry the onion and garlic in a small amount of oil until soft. Add the curry powder, ginger and chilli and cook until aromatic. Stir in the chopped tomatoes and coconut milk until combined. Lastly add the eggplant pieces and stir. Add sugar to taste.

I hope you like it as much as I did.

Tuesday, November 13, 2012

In bloom


The occasional sunny day, slightly warmer weather and frequent showers are all definite signs of spring in Auckland. I just love it when our roses bloom. They are a very old variety and have the most beautiful fragrance. I think I will try my hand at growing some from cuttings for our new house.