Tree cosies

Ippudo Ramen

10 reasons why today was great

1. Tea in bed while playing scrabble, as the rest of the world goes to work - dog snoozing on the bed next to me
2. Clean house - fresh sheets
3. Visit from my favourite Bowral family (well just over half of them)
4. Escargot at Autolyse 
5. Shopping at Lonsdale Traders through all the little pop up shops. Browsing and buying, browsing and wanting
6. Walking amongst the knitted trunks at the Arboretum, flashes of colour in woods, surprise forts and laughter
7. Lunch at Loading Zone (pasta, bread, apple coleslaw)
8. Perfect cup of piccolo 
9. Walking the dog through the winter leaves
10. Homemade cocktails while watching the West Wing, followed by a cup of tea.

Full circle.

Adult lemonade

Fresh lemon, sugar and gin.

Breakfast amazingness

Canberra does breakfast well.  Loading Zone, now open Saturdays. Hello mushroom with herb ricotta and hazelnut....and baked eggs with sugo, chickpea and fennel sausage. Sneak down the laneway in the Melbourne building and look for the white marquee. 

Silo foccacia

Great snack on the way to the dog park, even better dinner with french triple cream cheese. 

The cover of darkness

Evening walk under the stars. Freezing cold hands and the sound of my heels echoing through the night. Thank you winter.

This morning's greens

Now this evening's green sauce.
Parsley, garlic, capers, olive oil, salt, green olives, coriander.

Buddha's birthday banquet

Eight dishes  (it's an auspicious thing you know) and the most incredible pear tart...so fantastic I did not think to take a photo prior to eating. By the same people who brought you (well me) bo-ssam: 

Silence is golden

The last few weeks have been like no other. And finally I get to sit down and feel like myself. Not anxious, not tired, not doing three things at once.

A cup of french earl grey tea in front of the heater at six o'clock at night. The first cup of the day, but that's all right. It has been a nothing day of cleaning, and shopping and a walk around the lake with a gypsy friend. Just a normal day - a much missed normal day. And now... no TV, no music, just the soft sound of sauce reducing gently on the stovetop. Bubbling. The dog on his bed, a clean house and a full fridge. These are the good things right now. The tea is soon to be replaced with a gimlet and the silence filled with music. Sometimes I think the craziness is there to make you appreciate the everyday.

This time last week feels like a world away...

Pizza Arte

Best pizza in Canberra hands down. Massive wood fire oven, fantastic thin crust, nice people in a house in Kingston. Home made goodness: www.pizzaarte.com.au/pdf/pizzaartemenu.pdf

Canberra National Poultry Show

What brings me to the Canberra National Poultry Show? A breakfast catch up with friends followed by this....event. I have to admit the place kind of made me nervous. And the noise level....yowser! But the birdies, they were all beauties (mostly).

Amore Cakes - Canberra Farmers Market

When you were a kid, what did you want to be when you grew up, and why?

The same friend who asked me about my perfect Canberra day asked me this question: When you were a kid, what did you want to be when you grew up, and why?

I can't exactly remember the answer to this. I think in second grade when I was in love with Miss Gold, I wanted to be a school teacher. She was such a wonderful teacher, I don't know exactly why, but I had a crush on her like seven year olds do. And when I was a bit older my love of animals led me to the job of vet. Then I decided I couldn't put animals down, so that ended that. Goodness knows what other jobs came and went and the job that I was probably suited to but just didn't know.

At home I would spend hours designing the interior of my Barbie's imaginary camper van and then her house. Drawing upon drawing of different rooms, and for the camper can - you know I had to fit a lot into that small space! I'd draw different versions, switch the rooms around. I loved doing this, and it wasn't until a few years ago that I thought...if only I recognised this was maybe ARCHITECTURE!  

Biota dining

Biota is in Bowral. Nobody swears at you when you arrive and the food is amazing. How about that.

Eighty Six (language warning)

Yes another new Canberra restaurant, and this one - people either love or hate. I'm undecided. 

Greeting: You have to have a certain amount of bravado to meet you guest with the line "who the fuck are you two?". Granted the guy knew the third person of our party, but...well, I'm not sure if that is the best way to meet a customer. I kinda love this, but then I sort of hate it because it seemed to be part of the overall schtick. 0 hate stars / 0 love stars 

Ordering: We'd heard bad things about this so were prepared. Our guys was normal in that he just let us read the menu on the blackboard and then order. 3 love stars

Food: You know what? I'm sick of deconstructed food. The chicken - it was great with no deconstruction there. Just well cooked chicken. But it was just chicken. And the slaw tasted exactly like KFC slaw. So that is either an awesome post modern tongue in cheek achievement, or just KFC slaw. The vitello tonnato ....try hard dish with bits of veal, on top of anchovies, on top of tuna with scattered capers. Duck confit with brussell sprout was a similar dish. Bits of duck without flavour with bits of bits.  I don't know guys, it really isn't innovative if everyone does it. Popcorn with caramel and icecream was ok, but would have been wonderful if better icecream was used. 1 hate stars

Ambiance: Do you like your Friday night restaurant to be kind of similar to a nightclub. Not a lounge bar, but a really loud and brash club where people arrive looking like boat-whores? Yes, that's a term we coined throughout the night to describe all the boys wearing rolled up denim pants with sockless moccasins (remembering we are in the midst of winter in Canberra) and with the girls accompanying said faux sailor dudes looking like whores - boat-whores. 4 hate stars for the noise an 4 love stars for the people watching.

Bill: It came quickly with a stupid book that I think you were supposed to write something totally outrageous like "Fuck I wish we'd booked Italian and Sons". I'm giving it a love star because paying meant leaving. 1 love star.

So to summarise - the hate equals out the love and quite frankly I don't know what the fuck this place is trying to be. Canberra has a million (ok 7) amazing restaurants I'd rather go to. Good luck and get the chicken.

Old Fashioned - Rusty Nail

Saturday night in. Ugh boots and vegemite toast optional. Cocktail and West Wing mandatory.

First fill a 16 oz glass with crushed ice until it is overflowing. Pour in 5 parts drambuie and 9 parts scotch. Pour in twice as much scotch as drambuie. Stir gently, as to not bruise the ice. Keep stirring until a thick frost develops on the side of the glass. Garnish with a lemon twist. Serve.