Snapshots: Weeknight Cooking for Friends

For most of us, Mondays aren't usually welcomed with a smile. That's why it's good to do something special once in a while so you can look forward to the start of the week instead of spurning it. That's what I did this week and it certainly helped beat the Monday blues.

Shae, Dave, and their son Flynn came over for dinner and a touch of wine (Flynn's experience was sans wine, of course!) I decided took make two dishes I had been craving from the A16 cookbook, a favourite in this house: braised cannellini beans with garlic, marjoram and oregano; and pasta with homemade oven-dried tomatoes, garlic, and chili. Although I have to admit that, in retrospect, I probably should have served the beans first, followed by the pasta, and it would have been wise to include a salad of some sort. But hey, this was Monday. Surely I can be forgiven for serving two ridiculously filling dishes together...

Going in the oven for six hours

Love this Nero d'Avola

The tomatoes could have stayed in longer, but they turned out nicely and we all decided it was better they were still a bit juicy.

My toughest critic.

Flynn gave his seal of approval.

Snapshots: Playing Catch Up

Well hello there, strangers. After neglecting my poor blog the last two weeks I figured I'd return with a photo-heavy post featuring snapshots taken since I last wrote. A lot has been happening lately, what with wedding preparations, my birthday, and a slew of other developments. It seems to have settled down a bit, which should mean I'll be back writing more regularly.

Now, on to the photos! 

These were taken during a recent visit to a very special restaurant in the Sunshine Coast Hinterland.

Deconstructed Black Forest Cake

Outside the Gallery of Modern Art (GoMA) along the Brisbane river. 

Peter, my friend Sasha, and I went along to Matisse Up Late where we sipped bubbly while attempting to draw live models (they succeeded, I did not) and wandered through the incredible Matisse exhibition.

Matisse was followed by Japanese at Sake

Gardening took up a lot of my time over the last couple weeks. Here's one of two gorgeous little magnolias blooming in front of our house.

Spider Lilies in our front garden

Over the holidays and the rain-filled month of January I let my garden get taken over by weeds. Up until this point I had been on top of it, keeping it pretty and respectable. But come February it was a jungle out there. Something just had to be done. 

I weeded, bought some sugar cane mulch, and got to work. I wish I had a before photo, that would make for a dramatic makeover effect, but alas, I only have the after shots.

Here's me getting my mulch on.

And voila! A complete success.

The rosemary is still going strong.

But I'm hoping to bring my marjoram and chives back from near death.

Peter's mother made a delicious lunch on my birthday...

which was followed by a yogurt and lemon cake

Later that evening Peter took me to Ortiga.

The jamón was super flavourful, a highlight of the night.

And here's Gustav Klimt's Judith I, a superb Valentine's Day gift.

Happy Presidents Day!