Category: Food

Everyday life, Food

Ribolitta

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Ribolitta

That first taste of autumn arrived at the weekend.  Stormy rain rolled through on Friday night, lashing windows and dropping the temperature.  By Saturday that’d broken up into scudding showers that blew in with force along with a cool wind. It resulted in lamps getting turned on early, candles being lit and my favourite cosy clothes being pulled out of the cupboard for their first wear of this year.

That sort of weather always make me crave warm, hearty meals and one of my favourites is ribollita – a Tuscan bread soup. It’s packed full of vegetables, is bursting with flavour and is my go-to recipe whenever someone says they feel poorly…

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Food, Life, Pregnancy, Thoughts

First trimester diary

by wattleandash2 Comments on First trimester diary
First trimester diary

Those first few months of your first pregnancy are a strange period. Not only are you trying to process that a little being is nestled deep inside of you, but a lot of the time there are dozens of physical symptoms manifesting themselves in all different shapes and ways.

In those first fleeting weeks and in the months that followed I found great comfort in reading about others’ experiences – to know I wasn’t alone and that everything I was going through, others had gone through it too.

So in the spirit of the sisterhood, I thought I’d sit down and reflect on what the first three months of my pregnancy was like, in the hope that one day it might help someone else…

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Everyday life, Food, Local sights

A picnic by the river

by wattleandash9 Comments on A picnic by the river
A picnic by the river

The other week Adam and I took a drive south to Albury, on the New South Wales / Victorian border.  Our purpose was to scout out a baby superstore to start to get our heads around just what we’ll need when our little person arrives in September.

It turned into though, the most wonderful day out – complete with a picnic dinner on the banks of the Murray River…

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Everyday life, Food

Baked ricotta with olives

by wattleandash7 Comments on Baked ricotta with olives
Baked ricotta with olives

The other weekend I was invited to a housewarming, birthday party and farewell gathering all rolled into one.  We weren’t having a proper sit down meal, rather a selection of small bites, with each guest asked to contribute something.

Knowing the fail safe cheese board was probably taken care of, I decided to take a flick through one of my most reliable cookbooks – The Australian Women’s Weekly Best Ever Collection. There, I discovered the recipe for baked ricotta and olives, and decided to give it a go…

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Everyday life, Food, home

Adam’s bolognese sauce

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Adam’s bolognese sauce

I find there are some dishes Adam and I make over and over again for dinner, and bolognese sauce with pasta features quite near the top of that list.  After a long day, nothing quite beats coming home to a comforting bowl of al dente pasta smothered in a rich, tomato dense bolognese. It’s never the most Instagram-worthy meal, but it’s darn tasty and sometimes that’s all you need right?!

I spent years tinkering with my mum’s recipe and testing out others in Italian cookbooks (this was a favourite for a long time) but then Adam came into my life, and with it his bolognese recipe.  It tastes decadent, but normally we’ve always got all the ingredients on hand.  Adam normally makes a double batch which ensures we’ve got plenty of leftovers.  It freezes exceptionally well and tastes just a great dolloped on a steaming jacket potato or on a bit of toasted sourdough as it does pasta.

Adam has kindly shared his recipe if you’re keen to give it a go yourself…

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Everyday life, Food, home

Plum and vanilla slice

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Plum and vanilla slice

A few months back I treated myself to a copy of the National Trust cookbook.  Adam and I had National Trust membership while we were living in England and I have so many fond memories of spending days exploring the Trust’s beautiful old houses and stunning gardens.

We hosted a group of friends this weekend gone for a summery barbecue and I turned to my National Trust cookbook for some seasonal inspiration when it came to dessert…

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Everyday life, Food, Travel

A frolic at the Fayre

by wattleandash2 Comments on A frolic at the Fayre
A frolic at the Fayre

I can’t quite believe Christmas Eve is here already – with the wedding and our lovely holiday back in the U.K., the last few months just seem to have whizzed by. I spent the weekend deep cleaning the house, finishing up the gift shopping and buying lots of delicious food.  Adam and I welcome my parents and brother this afternoon and we’re looking forward to spending some one-on-one time with them all over the coming days.

I sometimes think the build up to Christmas is more lovely than the day itself – am I the only one?! You’ve got time to ease yourself into the festive spirit and special moments manifest themselves when you least expect them.  This year I got to experience the pre-Christmas buzz in both Australia and England, so today I want to take you back to early December – when trees were just being decorated and lights switched on and Christmas markets were in full force…

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