Malory Towers and Marni (H and M).


Sydney is a city that loves reinvention and constant redefinition of the latest and greatest.  Be it food, shops, celebrities or the mansions of the super wealthy – the latest developments with one or all of these will be in the paper on any given day. Thankfully, the counterpoint to this obsession can be found in the streets of suburbs which seem to be actively taking a stand to preserve their history whilst staying connected with the elements of the present that harmonize with the local vibe.

St Andrews, one of the residential colleges of the University of Sydney in Newtown, has recently been refurbished and its rejuvenated facade has recently been revealed to the public.  It looked magnificent in the winter sun this morning.  It just made me happy looking up at soaring tiled roof tops, the lead work framing the window panels and the arches of the connecting outdoor walk ways.  Beneath the arches were cobbled paths leading into the college proper and I was suddenly reminded of Malory Towers….

http://www.enidblytonsociety.co.uk/

I was very, very tempted to cross the road and trespass in search of Darrell, Sally and the painful Gwendoline but I didn’t.

Nutritionally speaking, back at SSG Manor, calcium is the official element of the month.  I’ve just discovered that I can now have a cuppa at any time of the day or night and still fall asleep for a good 9 hours without any difficulty at all.  So I’ve been having cups of tea after dinner, whilst drying my hair, reclining on the sofa with my Kindle (I’m not that bad, I sit up to sip) – anytime at all really.

Between cups of tea with extra millk and regular snacks of Jarlsberg and sea salt dusted tomatoes on Premium crackers, I’m sure Baby SSG is getting more than enough calcium to build those bones.

The official cooking technique of the month has been make ahead.  I found myself fired up by the thought of batch cooking on Sunday and managed to get most of this week’s dinners organised on the one day.

Both this bottle of red and my trusty red Le Creuset casserole were instrumental in making a stew with prunes using this recipe from the New York Times.

Come Monday, the stew found itself wrapped in a sheet of butter puff pastry and doused with chopped parsley.

To become this beef pie.

Cottage pie is a no brainer for a make ahead dinner.  I used this recipe from The Good Food Channel.  It requires a glass or so of white wine and the result is a mince that has a thinner gravy than the Australian recipes I’ve been using.

Tonight, I’m harnessing the energy of the ziplock bag as a vessel for marinading and letting it do all the work for me.

Cardigan and neck party – Marni for H and M, dress – Isabella Oliver, bump – 17w1d, background mess – my yoga props.  I’ve actually been doing yoga for a change recently and it seems to have miraculously cured me of an assortment of twinges and aches I seem to have collected in the last few weeks.

While I post this photo of what I wore today.  An ensemble of Marni for H&M with a bit of Isabella Oliver thrown in for bump constraints.  I swear my obstetrician deserves an Academy Award for not shielding his eyes whenever I front up to his rooms for an appointment.  It was pretty crowded in the waiting room today and as I looked around I realised that I was the only person wearing both a tactile Neck Party / Installation and a Confronting Print.  I think the last time I was there I was a vision of psychedelic mid section courtesy of a Missoni poncho.

Back to the ziplock bag.  It contained some chicken tenders for an  improvised chicken souvlaki (I modified the recipe to what I had on hand) with tzaztiki on Turkish bread.

As you can see, no skewers or flat bread were featured in the final product but gee it tasted good all the same.

Hold on your hats, readers, it’s Friday tomorrow!!!!!


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