straight out of the taste.com recipe book

Posted on by bekswhoknits

last week loml (love of my life) unexpectedly had to get his wisdom teeth out.

in the many times that he spent sleeping rather than awake (and in pain) i researched what i could make him that would be easy to eat, but with ingrediants that i already had in my cupboard so i wouldn’t have to go to the shops and possibly not be there when he woke up.

after a bit of searching i found cauliflower soup and it’s associated recipe carrot, zucchini, and dill muffins

all had ingrediants that i had in the cupboard/fridge already. i figured that it would be a good, vegie filled meals which would be easy on the teeth.

Now my boy didn’t like the cauliflower soup, although i was rather partial to it. But he devoured the zucchini muffins, which is surprising as he only eats my zucchini slice because it has bacon in it.
Although he did comment that the muffins could have used bacon.

Fast forward 5 days and you have what i grabbed out of my fridge this morning as i was (as always) running late.

And an update on the wisdom teeth? All ok, stiches removed and my little chipmunk is a chipmunk no longer.

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the evolution of a garden

Posted on by bekswhoknits

i bought my place about 2 years ago. i can remember my excitement prior to settlement about all my plans now that i had a garden of my own, not just a patch in mum’s, or a rental property.

I somehow thought that because it was ‘my’ garden, things wouldn’t die.
And as it turns out i was wrong.
About a year and a half ago now, my mum and I spent 2 / 3 weekends weeding, mulching, and planting my new garden.
It doesn’t get any sun so my dreams of a vegie patch were dashed. But i was able to put in some nice flowering plants and some new trees to give myself some privacy.

So my garden went from before to after.

and then came the worst storm that my little city has had in a long long time. and my garden was flooded, the gutter above my pretty pink flowers broke and caused a stream of water to destroy them, and all the mulch was redistributed throughout the lawn.

That was pretty much the end of my foray into gardening. It was all too difficult.

But one of the benefits of having a man about the house is that he enjoys gardening.

Now here’s a photo of it before the rain destroys it.

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Lemon Chicken

Posted on by bekswhoknits

You know those days when you get home from work, look in the fridge, and inspiration just strikes from nowhere.
Inspiration tonight was Lemon Chicken.

A bit of research online had a few different variations. Some were roasts, some were barbecued, but I really wanted something with a sauce so I could serve it with rice.

So I found a recipe where I had most of the ingredients (bestrecipes.com.au) and set to it.

The chicken thigh was coated in flour which had garlic flakes and lemon pepper mixed into it.
The chicken then went into a hot oiled pan to bubble away.
I put on the rice (1 cup rice to 3 cups water let it boil and then simmer) and some spaghetti for the non-rice eating boyfriend.
After the chicken had been cooking for 10 minutes I added a pint glass of water which had a chicken stock cube, some pepper, some ground ginger, and a pinch of sugar. That boiled away until it reduced and started looking like a sauce.
Whisk together an egg yolk and some lemon juice. I only had bottled lemon juice so about a quarter cup.
That went into the pan with the chicken.

Once that was all cooked I put some bok choy in the microwave.

And done!

Some fresh parsley from the garden and a meal was made.
Definitely a keeper (with rice or spaghetti)

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Yum!!!

go to – strawberry, spinach, and feta salad

Posted on by bekswhoknits

And a new sistema container.

It has everything you need for a strawberry, spinach, and feta salad.
A special container for the balsamic and olive oil dressing (equal parts), and room underneath to house some spinach (straight from the packet), some strawberries cut into quarters, and some feta sprinkled over.

Delicious, and super easy just to whack into a container when you’re running late for work.

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Also some apologies for not blogging recently. Sometimes life just gets in the way.
It hasn’t boyfriend moving in has definitely taken up a fair chunk of time recently, however things seem to have fallen into place so more writing soon – pinky promise.

A sad day for Perth – One Movement festival cancelled

Posted on by bekswhoknits

It is with great sadness today that I read about the WA Government’s decision to abandon the One Movement festival which has been held the past two years in Perth.

One Movement was run over 5 days, at several venues around the centre of our beautiful city here. It was crammed full of live music, industry showcases, and opportunities for not so well known bands to be heard. It is the closest thing Australia has to a SXSW. And, in my own opinion, had the potential to become the equivalent of SXSW.

I see the cancellation of One Movement as a loss for two reasons.

Firstly personal.
One Movement is a festival entirely driven by curiosity and excitement. It’s not about the headline band, but about who you can discover. Much like SXSW, bragging rights come from ‘i discovered this band 2 years at One Movement’. There are certainly opportunities to discover bands at festivals such as Southbound, but at Big Day Out, Soundwave, On The Bright Side et al. the crowd swells towards the latter part of the day are more apparent. Only the truly dedicated are watching the first band.
One Movement was geared towards this experience and discovery.
This event was quite important not only as a music fan but as a music blogger. Last year i had tickets and couldn’t use them due to sickness. This year was going to make up for that.

Secondly there are the success stories that have come out of One Movement.
Stonefield were a particular success, who after being seen at One Movement were invited to play at glasonbury. One Movement was a perfect springboard to perform in front of so many industry professionals, and also to get advice from industry professionals.
It had an important function within the Australian music industry and deserved its spot in the calendar.

One Movement was always an overly ambitious idea for a city like Perth. And no doubt much of the criticism will focus on the stale and backwards thinking stereotype (perhaps warranted) of Perth.

Yes, apparently they were making a loss at tax payers expense. But this tax payer will happily pay for it.

Maybe that’s why there is a government enquiry. Perhaps changing the business model is the answer.
Instead of canceling why not cut it from 5 days to 3.
Or maybe try hiring less venues.
Look at Perth Festival for inspiration.
Think about the bigger picture. The tourism money that can come only once a reputation has been established. The boost that you’re doing to the music industry as a whole. The exposure that young bands can get, which can only be a good thing for the city.
Imagine if Perth became the next happening place for musicians to come, be inspired, and be heard.

Please just don’t admit failure.
Particularly when you were offering such a unique product which had the potential to become the next SXSW.

Weekend reminiscing

Posted on by bekswhoknits

Well the weekend didn’t go entirely as planned. I didn’t get any writing done, didn’t listen to any new music, and the writing I did do I didn’t save properly.

But it was still an awesome weekend.

Went down to Dwellingup and camped near Nanga Mill in the Lane Pool area. It’s so stunningly beautiful down there.
We left later than we should have and took a detour to see Serpentine Falls. That was nice but not worth the $11 cover charge. Particularly as would have only stayed for 20 minutes.
We had lunch at the Dwellingup Pub where we watched my boys lose to the eagles. Terrible game.
Then we went to set up camp.

Had a bit of a walk before settling into camp.
Listened to the Geelong-Fremantle game on the wireless whilst I knitted and my boy read a fishing book.

Cooked up 2 kilos of mussels in a bottle of Coopers Pale Ale, but I think next time we’ll stick to the white wine.

It was good stuff. Everything tastes better in the bush.
The next mornings breakfast was a beauty as well. Bacon & egg sandwiches with some hash browns that didn’t survive the frying process but added extra crunch. Bit of BBQ sauce and they were the perfect camp brekkie.

Packed up camp and went to go fishing. I got snagged on the first cast, my boy got snagged not too long after. But it was a nice spot just a few too many logs in the water.

Relaxing.
Good stuff.

Check my tumblr for more pics

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happy 100th post

Posted on by bekswhoknits

to me!!!

and thank you all for reading my ramblings.

If anyone ever wants to say hello, please comment!
Let me know if you like what you’re reading, especially let me know if you don’t like what you’re reading.

This is my way of developing my writing skills, as well as keeping track of what i eat and listen to. So any criticism can only help.
Should i be explaining more?
Should i be taking photos with a camera and not my phone?
Do you want more music? More food? More what i wear?

But thank you for reading. And please say hello.

What’s better than fresh pies? Two day old pies

Posted on by bekswhoknits

So much better.

Something about the mince soaking in the tomato sauce and marinating for a couple of days perhaps?

I kinda don’t know why, but they were good.

Leftovers usually are.

Accompanied by some leftover pasta, and some fresh home-made garlic bread. My baby isn’t kissing anyone else tonight.

Continue reading What’s better than fresh pies? Two day old pies

Happy Pie Day

Posted on by bekswhoknits

Cottage pies. Or Shepherds pies. Or Potato pies.
Whatever you call them it’s what I made for Sunday night.

There wasn’t much pastry to go round so I made two with pastry (puff – prebought) and 4 without pastry in little ramekins.
Continue reading Happy Pie Day