Frustration & Joy

Mr Mel & I headed to Sydney on Saturday arvo for a family do on Sunday, in between my weekend chorses & packing etc, I loaded around 200 songs onto my IPod.

Our new Hyundai has an IPod connection, so I thought sweet, one way to override the sports radio drive is to show Mr Mel how cool the IPod connection is.

I loaded some great tracks, heaps of 80's (much to Mr Mel's chagrin), some Paul Kelly, PowderFinger, Machine Gun, Johnny Cash, U2, current hits etc, a pretty good mix.

So we head off, Mr Mel driving, and I plug the IPod in, it reads that there's a USB connection but says 'no media', I try another 3-4 times, then think maybe I'm meant to press a button, so pull out the car manual, and there in shocking black & white is written that certain IPods won't work with the connection, including my 5 year old IPod Nano.

Sooooo frustrating, I know we didn't buy the car for the IPodedness (new word), but it sure was something I was looking forward to.

So I have a bit of a sook and Mr Mel tunes into the sports, interchanging with some rock, not totally awful.

We stop at the big servo on the F3 to get a drink, and there sitting on the counter is a 5 CD of the 80's Boxset....The angels start strumming and the clouds part, Hallelujah, I start giggling as I hand over the $29.95.

I get an odd look from Mr Mel as I skip back to the car grinning, and he then starts cringing when I show him the case ala Delvene Delaney on Sale Of The Century.

CD 1 Song 1 - AHA - Take On Me....................and all is right in the world again......................

For a list of all the glorious hits:

http://avaxhome.ws/music/large_collection/VA_80s_The_MegaBox_5_CDs_Box_Set_2010.html

Till next time,

Sanctuary Restaurant @ Pokolbin

It was Mr Mel's birthday yesterday, and we headed to Sanctuary Restaurant at the Peppers Guest House, Pokolbin (formerly Chez Pok).

The Head Chef is Michael Bolam, formerly of the very highly regarded Shakey Tables Restaurant also in Pokolbin, he also worked as Chef de Partie at The Ledbury in London.

We were lucky enough to have a 2 for 1 voucher, which was part of a promotion from the restaurant for the month of August.

We were a bit concerned that dining at 7pm on a Tuesday night might be a bit quite and we could be the only table there. Luckily we weren't, there were 2 other tables of 2, and another of 4.

We went to the restaurant for my birthday last November, in it's former guise of Chez Pok, and since then they have undertaken a fair bit of work, refurbishments, new paint and furniture.

For dinner the options were a 2 course ($55 pp) or 3 course ($75 pp) dinner, or a 7 course degustation dinner ($95 pp or $130 pp with matching wines).

We opted for the 3 courses, our choices were:

House baked bread with Pukara Estate Olive Oil, Balsamic Reduction, Dukkah, the bread was very moreish

Mr Mel:

Entree - Steamed Scallop & Yabby Lasagne with Shellfish Cappucino, Curried Cauliflower - Mr Mel is a seafood fiend, he adored it, I love yabbies, so I was happy with my taste too, I though the shellfish cappucino would be a bit strong, but it was very understated, lovely

Main - Charred Lamb Loin, Roast Cutlet, Smoked Potato Puree, Minted Pea, Baby Carrots - Not a huge serving, but very tasty, the lamb was a little bit over the medium rare Mr Mel ordered, but not terribly so, you could taste the smoked potatoe puree before you ate it, it filled your mouth with a very rounded smokey taste, and the minted pea was scrummy

Dessert - Ginger & Orange Rice Pudding, Burnt Butter Icecream and Citrus Madeleine - Very nice, a piece of the citrus madeleine on top of spoonfull of the rice pudding & icecream was the perfect mouthful, crunch with soft and creamy

Me:

Entree - Roast Breast of Duck, Broccoli & Brussels, Truffle Cream, Muscatels - Melt in your mouth duck, and a good sized portion, the truffle cream & muscatels were lovely

Main - Binnorie Labna filled Courgette Flowers with a 'Risotto' of Butternut Pumpkin - Mr Mel & I shared a plate of Kipfler potatoes, with rosemary and a toffee crunch, which we both found a bit sweet with the lovely potatoes - I love labna, and the courgette flowers were very nice, while not a huge serving, 3 smallish flowers, they were very tasty, I wondered when we ordered if the 'Risotto' was a 'real' risotto, it wasn't a rice dish, it was small cubes, maybe 2 mm by 4 mm in size, of butternut pumpkin, a new texture for me, but with me being a pumpkin freak I adored it

Dessert - Spiced Carrot Cake with Pumpkin Icecream and Housemade Shortbread - I had this dessert for my birthday under the Chez Pok banner, the pumpkin icrecream wasn't as pumpkinny as it was in November, but was still a winner, the carrot cake is lovely

Wine - Margan Verdelho - very nice, one of our favourites, from Margan Wines at Broke

With it being Mr Mel's birthday I took along some candles asked the waitress if they would mind putting them on Mr Mel's dessert. Well of course he orders rice pudding, hard to stick candles in that, so the kitchen sent out a large slice of the carrot cake with sparklers and candles, free of charge.  A lovely touch.

Before our entrees were served the chef sent out 2 lots of tastings:

• Cured Trout with Creme Fraishe
• Oysters Beignet with Wasabi

When we asked for the bill we were given another unexpected gem, a cute treasure chest that contained:

• Marco Polo Macaroons with Marco Polo cream - delish, apparently Marco Polo is a tea, will be trying to track some down!
• White Chocolate & Olive Oil Truffles in Bitter Chocolate
• Strawberry Jellies rolled in a citric acid that made your mouth literally water

Have to give special mention to our waitress (is that the PC term?), she was an absolute delight, very approachable, knowedgeable, and attentive, she made a great night all the better.

All in all a terrific night, we left very happy, and very full, after a 3 hour graze. We weren't shocked to read that they won Best Restaurant in a Hotel in the Hunter Valley Region.

9/10 for Restaurant Sanctuary :-)

View the Restaurant Sanctuary Dinner Menu

Or the Restaurant Sanctuary Degustation Menu

Till next time (and Happy Birthday Mr Mel xxx),



Mr Mel & I were paying diners, this post has not been endorsed or sponsored by Peppers or Sanctuary

A Pampered Weekend, With A Difference

I know most people, fellow women mainly, will think a weekend of pampering would include massages, champagne, chocolates, spa treatments, shopping, etc.

Well I do agree, however this weekend just past was a tad different.

On Saturday we headed to Coolmore Australia at Jerry's Plains & Darley Australia at Aberdeen for the industry stallion parades. On Sunday we went to Widden Stud in the Widden Valley for their parade.

The farms put on a terrific day, at Coolmore we had morning tea in a marquee (the most delish chicken & pistachio sandwiches), followed by a parade of their stallions, along with a colourful commentary from one of the Coolmore boys.

At Darley the parade is first, very slick & professional, commentated by leading racecaller David Raphael, following the parade is a glamorous lunch, they set up several marquees with different themes, and cuisines, along with a bar, waiters etc.

At Widden it's more of a family affair, the farm has been in the Thompson family for over 140 years, and it shows, there were no professional wait staff, the Widden farm staff provided excellent and personal service.  Before a lovely lunch on the lawn at the homestead there was a parade of the Widden stallions and the foals of their new lads, a good touch the other farms don't do.

I decided to not take my camera this year, as I found in previous years I was more worried about getting good shots than enjoying the day and socialising with friends, clients & associates. Mr Mel & I thoroughly enjoyed ourselves.

So yes my weekend included all the usual pamper weekend items:

Champagne - I somehow got suckered into being designated driver, but I still had a glass of bubbles both days
Chocolates - dessert on Sunday was a delish bitter chocolate tart with berries, and there was chocolate nibblies on Saturday
Massages - not entirely included, but definitely requested after a day in heeled boots walking across paddocks!
Shopping - indeed, inspecting the stallions is akin to shopping, sure the prices ranging from $8,000 to $165,000 are a tad steeper than usual!
Spa treatments - I had a lovely face full of foal hair after a particularly friendly foal decided I needed to rub noses with him, perhaps a new fad for spas?  yeah probably not!

Some photos from previous parades.

 

Till next time,

Life really is good if you let it be good!

I'd like to think I'm a pretty grounded sort of person, grateful for the life I live, and aware of the blessings I've been given and earnt along the way.

I find it really annoying & frustrating that some people can't or won't appreciate what they've got.

Having a chat on the weekend with a friend (let's call her F1), and a mutual friend (F2) came up in conversation. F1 said that F2 had said to her recently that F2's hubby had asked her why she was so nasty about people who she's meant to love, ie friends & family, and F2's reply was that she's jealous.

I blurted out 'No Shit Sherlock' to F1, and she agreed, we were both amazed that F2 had actually realised that it was jealousy driving her at times, not very nice, behaviour to others.

F2 has a great hubby, 3 healthy & lovely kids, a nice house in a location they love, lots of friends and family who are always there for them. Yet F2 thinks she's so hard done by, everyone else is lucky or get's it easy.

I feel like saying to her to and spend a day in a kids cancer ward, or at a homeless shelter, and see how hard done by you are.

Reality check needed.  If she would just take a step back, appreciate what she's got, she would realise that life really is good.......................:-)

Off my soapbox for now.

Till next time,

Lamb Shoulder (slow cooked).........delicious

My parents (Qld) and sister (VIC) arrived yesterday, for a weeks visit.  So Mr Mel & I thought we'd cook up a bit of a storm for a welcome dinner, especially since my darling mother still seems to think I'm cooking challenged!

We wanted something we could sort early, as we had to run around doing last minute cleanup/organising before they arrived mid arvo, and didn't want to be slaving in the kitchen after they arrived.

We went with a lamb shoulder & 3 shanks, in the slow cooker.

We had tried a couple of recipes, and while we love them (lemon & garlic one is delish), my parents, especially my dad, are country folk, so we wanted something hearty and not too fancy.

The recipe ended up being:

1 lamb shoulder, 3 lamb shanks (battled for a good 10 mins to remove the shank attached to the shoulder!)
6 carrots, peeled & chopped into 1cm chunks
4 stalks celery, chopped into 4cm chunks
2 onions, chopped
3 cloves garlic, crushed/minced
5 tablespoons passata
3 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
5 bay leaves
5 peppercorns, whole
about 3 litres of vegetable stock (enough to cover everything)

We put the carrots & celery in the slow cooker, on high.
Then sealed the shoulder & shanks for a few minutes, seasoning them with salt & pepper. 
Put the lamb ontop of the carrots & celery.
In same fry pan as lamb, sweated the onions and garlic till onion translucent.
Add the onion and garlic to slow cooker.
Then added the passata, worcestershire sauce, bay leaves, peppercorns, and covered with vegie stock.
Cooked on High for 4 hours, then Low for 3 hours.
We had to use a slotted spoon to lift the meat out, it was literally falling off the bone.

I made a gravy with gravox, water, and a few tablespoons of the stock from the slow cooker.

We served with mashed potatoes, beans (with honey stirred through once cooked & drained), and the carrots & celery from the slow cooker.

Dinner was a huge success, Mum was raving, and Dad who is a hard judge, was very happy, and everyone left a clean plate, with a few finger slide marks in the remnants of the gravy.

The bonus is we've all got a lamb roll for lunch :)

Unfortunately no photos, but will be cooking it again, will try for photos then!

Till next time,

Foals of 2010 - 1

We had the first foal of the season arrive last week, the mare who was having her first foal was very considerate and had her foal at midday, the usually wait until nightfall, but it made things alot easier when we didn't have to have a torch shining on proceedings.

All went well, a healthy filly and mare, after a quick delivery.

We're foaling 17 mares this year, another 16 to go!

Welcome to the world little Missy

Till next time,