New Layout + Panfried Barramundi with Roasted Vegetables Recipe

This is the 3rd week of day shift and I am nursing Day 4 of this horrid cold/flu/headcold, whatever you want to call it. I made a massive mistake of not increasing the intake of vitamins with the 'timezone switch'. So there, I am properly sick for the first time in 2 years. Hence, I dedicated my morning/afternoon/day really, into changing my layout. What do you think? I am quite happy with how the owls turned out. Hoot!

Otherwise, I still have been out and about AND still cooking. I'll let the photos do the talking : )

My first West End markets installment in years! Spot the budgie - Pat was very excited about my celery purchase.

2nd weekend at the West End markets - this is a shot of Farrago Band playing to a crowd in front of the Chai Van. Bliss.

And then I met Oliver, a scaly breasted lorikeet. Here he is devouring a grape : )

Such beautiful flowers - 40cent each?! Unbelievable!

Dinner last night

Pan fried Barramundi served with (pesto covered) Roasted Vegetables

If you are reading this and firmly detest my choice of combination please close window right now. I only realised after I started preparing how wrong the combination of Asian style marinated fish would go with Italian pesto-y roasted vegetables. Oh well. I really enjoyed it and so did The Boy; that's the most important thing about cooking right?

I am a big fan of garlic (almost dangerously so) and since this sickness I have been taking lots of garlic oil tablets and adding copious amounts of garlic to all my cooking. And I really felt like a dish full of garlic, ginger and flavour.

The Barramundi

marinated with ginger (I put 2 inches worth, chopped up)

garlic (about 4-5 cloves)

chilli padi (just 1 really hot chilli, seeded)

fresh coriander (a bunch?)

Macadamia nut oil infused with lime and chilli (otherwise sesame oil is fine too)

The Roasted Vegetables

Mix in olive oil, salt and peper to pumpkin, potato and swede (or whatever vegetables that take your fancy)

Roast in oven at 200deg for 35 mins (this may vary for different ovens but whatever's required to brown the sides of the vegetables)

Nuke fresh baby spinach leaves for 20 seconds in the microwave to wilt it

(the lazy person's) Pesto

Bunch of basil (finely chopped, see, Lazy Person's Pesto!)

A few leaves of mint (also finely chopped)

Garlic (again, I put something like 3 cloves? Clearly you won't need this much)

Olive oil

Grated parmesan cheese

(ideally) chopped up pine nuts too (but I didn't have any at the time)

In order to serve up all at once, I would 1. Marinate fish 2. chop up vegetables 3. roast vegetables 4. make pesto 5. when the timer says there is 15 mins left for the vegetables, start pan frying the fish 6. wilt baby spinach leaves in the microwave (I do this because my stomach isn't too keen on uncooked vegetables. Obviously fresh and uncooked is best.)

Once cooked mix the roasted vegetables, pesto and wilted baby spinach leaves in a large bowl, serve with freshly cooked fish. If you are sharing this meal with you partner, rest assured both of you will be so garlicked up that you won't even notice his/her breath. Promise.

Wordless Wednesday

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It's cold again

Can't believe the temperatures are soaring below 2 digits when it still isn't officially winter yet. I am definitely feeling the cold these last few nights at work. I start my new day shift role in 2 mondays' time.

While there are several reasons to be looking forward to working during the day time like 95% of the population, I have some reservations as to how that would change my lifestyle. Night shift has turned out to be super awesome for me as I am naturally a night time person. I am and probably will always love the fact that night time work is like a mundane after-thought that gets tacked to back of a great day. Almost like the act of brushing teeth, after a great day/night, before bed. Get what I mean?

What I am most concerned about is....COOKING! How am I suppose to find enough time to pursue this true passion of mine? I'm expected to be at work Monday to Friday, from 7am to 5pm at the very minimum. How does one find a life outside of work?

I'm determined to be twice as organised with meal planning/marinating and also to take advantage of having time to do yoga and meditation at the acclaimed Australian School of Meditation and Yoga at West End.

Oops, bell's rung. It's dinner time. Hopefully tasty lemon and garlic chicken breasts roasted with tomatoes and potato wedges, served with a generous dollop of freshly made brocolli pesto. I'll post the recipe if it's successful!

(I'm writing this whilst sitting in front of the oven that's roasting dinner.)

This Monday I'm Grateful For...

1) A very supportive boy.

We've been together through thick and thin, through 7 different (share) houses and 2011 also marks our 7th year together. I don't often feel this so strongly but recently, I was reminded that very fact. It's ever so easy to take for granted or not acknowledge as often, the importance of having that happy voice saying happy words when you come home, climb into bed, on the other end of the phone and in many many other instances. The crucial part is the regularity of it and I'm very grateful for that.

2) A cosy home.
Since making the big move to the land Down Under in 2003, I've lived in 11 different houses be it temporary or for any length of time. Right now I live in a 3 bedroom typical post-war home with Steve and Pat (our dear budgie boy). While everything about the house is not so ideal; western facing bedroom, no insulation whatsoever (in winter inside the house is colder than outside and in summer the house is hotter than it is outside!), poor cross-ventilation, paint peeling from the ceilings, back and front yard with drainage issues and floor boards that aren't completely level etc. I could go on and on about how this house is imperfect but the bottomline is it's a happy place to be in with just the right person.

3) (that) We make do.
Not always but most of the time. So what if we don't own many brand-new furniture? So what if we love camping instead of paying $600 a night to stay in a 6 star room? So what if there's a tear in the couch or a stain on the wall? What matters is that the piece of furniture/electrical appliance functions to our satisfaction. I have to admit I have made the transition from make-do kitchen appliance a few years ago; I went out and spent a whole month's salary on brand new very good quality pots, pans, knives and other kitchen essentials. Without what I have now, I doubt I'll be as happy or as effective in my kitchen endeavours! But I'm still very grateful that we have hand-me-down (still very good quality) furniture and the likes.

These 'I'm Grateful For...' posts are supposed to be for Saturdays and also they tend to have pretty pictures to show. I've recently just got my ancient (is 6 year old considered ancient these days?) laptop up and running again by paying all of $79 to get the RAM/memory quadrupled such that it goes as fast as a brand new computer again (something else I am grateful for!). But I've also emptied most of my hard drive of photos and files into my external hard drive so photos will have to wait.

Here's to a good start to a week! What are you grateful for?

Hot!

The hot weather has definately caught up on us. It finally feels like summer, in all its humid and stormy glory.

Last month has been slighly more hectic than usual. I've been running around Brisbane (all before work of course) trying to find myself an orthodontist to straighten my teeth. It all started with 1) me resigning to the fact, which isn't all that bad really, that we won't be doing any extensive travelling over the next year (or at least until the project ends). Hence having some spare funds to finally straighten my teeth, and 2) I turn 25 next June and in private health terms, I get 'cut off' from my parents' all encompassing cover (i.e. highest possible). I have always shyed away from traditional 'train-tracks' braces because I'm the biggest wuss when it comes to pain. I remember back in Secondary school years the parents offered to pay all of $2000 for me to have straight teeth and I said no. The last few years there has been offers of "paying half" and I still wasn't quite sure. You see, I don't really mind how my teeth look but in recent times have learnt that their crooked overcrowded nature have their consequences that I don't yet have to pay for but will come haunt me in later years. Back in 2006 I saw the ad for Invisalign and thought - hey, maybe I can have straight teeth after all with no pain. But funds were short back then and there was much travelling to do (and rent to pay). Long story short, after seeing 4 orthodontists and 1 dentist, with 3 sets of completely different opinions, I have found the ortho who will fix my teeth with no extraction and with Invisalign. PHEW! This treatment will commence Jan/Feb next year and I can't wait.

In other news, lots of new (hot) summer receipes have emerged from my kitchen. I made indian lamb rissoles/meat patties yesterday and another favourite is a chicken salad. I must get around to photographing them and post receipes here.

Pat, our dear budgie, has grown to be quite the personality around our eating table. He takes baths on 30 degree days, kicks around his soccer ball, learnt to play soccer with grapes and has shown to be quite the inquisitive, acrobatic bird.

home at night time

I am very seldom home by myself at night time.

Tonight I have a spare several minutes - luxury! Our little home during the day is full of happy noises, Pat Norman chirping and dinging his bell/wheel, children learning at school across the road, Don next door chainsawing wood (he's quite the handyman!). In my mind, there is always a clear list of 'things to do'; usually what to cook and if it would fit in if I went to the gym/sauna/steam room.

At night the same space as such a cosy, retro feel to it! I definitely feel like I miss out!! I currently have The Audrey's 'When The Flood Comes' CD playing on the CD player and Pat slowly waking up (sorry Pat!) next to me clicking his beak and looking curious. Everything's slow and quiet, so nice! Take a peak at our lounge room. There are more than one thing out of place, clothes to be washed and bits and pieces lying around from the week that's gone past.  During the day time it I often feel the urge to 'have' to put them away. In tonight's peaceful atmosphere, they seem happy where they are and in the scheme of things, it is these 'things' that make a home homely.

During this busy time of November and lots of happenings each weekend, it is nice to sit with a glass of water (if the weather was cooler I'd say tea) to be relaxed, tired but happy.

Five things

Work has been a little more hectic than usual in the last week. I have had nights where I hop into bed just as the birds outside start chirping. It actually felt comforting as it reminded me of university days; where me hopping into bed around that time usually comes attached with a feeling of fulfilment after pulling an all nighter to finally go to bed with one less assignment on the shoulders.

Each weekend of the next month is filled with fun activities. We have one engagement party, one trip to the beach and hinterland, one trip up a mountain, one 100km ride (not me, thankfully), one band competition (again, not me), one down to the tunnel where I work. November/December for us has almost always classically been filled with lots. Hopefully we've timed it correctly this year such that our busiest time during the crazy-time-of-year is in November with a few breather weekends in December before we plunge head first into the holiday season where everyone else in this (inevitably car dependent) continent is also on holiday (read: road madness!)

This has been on my mind for quite some time now so here goes my list....

5 things that I have made an effort to change/am going to make an effort to change in the near future:
1) No more buying of water in disposable bottles (I'm not sure how I'd go when we do go overseas when water out of a tap is a no-no..cross that bridge when we come to it I guess)

2) No more buying of commercialised cosmetics/skincare/haircare/household cleaning. Have you read how much palm oil derivatives those $3 bottles of shampoo contains? Not to mention tons of chemicals and petroleum derivatives!! Ideally I would love to make my own but I see that as a not now but maybe 5-10 years down the track change. I've been using jojoba oil and rose hip oil (certified organic of course) as moisturiser and they work a charm!!

3) Home cooked meals. At the moment it is that way for during the work week. I think that's good enough for now?

4) 30 minutes of exercise. I have this fear of 'don't use it and lose it'. My grandmother is (unfortunately) a specimen. She has trouble walking and I can slowly see my parents going down that track. Coming from Singapore, any activity that involves perspiring is a no-no. "too hot" seems to be an acceptable excuse to lead to older aged immobility. I have been victim to that myself until 3 years ago after a total of 18km of bush walking left me with swollen knee caps and practically bed ridden for 2 weeks..not. fun. Can you imagine feeling like that every day for the rest of your days?? 

5) Learn to ride the bicycle (again). Falling over the handle bars has left me scarred. I think 4 years is enough recovery time.

I'll have another list of probably 5 other food related changes that I would like to make.