Ol' Miss

I love Ol' Miss, she is a Sulphur Crested Cockatoo that has been coming to visit us almost every day for a year now.

College Pudding

This is a great pudding recipe because you can add whatever spare ingredients you have on hand. I have also added coconut, nuts, almond meal and have substituted golden syrup for jam in the past. It's so easy to pop this on the stove while you eat your dinner. This pudding is so versatile, always enjoyable!

INGREDIENTS
1 tablespoon jam (I use more, probably 3-4)
1 cup self raising flour
60g butter
1/4 cup sugar
1 egg
3 tablespoons milk
Few drops of vanilla
2 x handfuls of chocolate chips (I use dark)
Olive oil spray  

METHOD
- Spray a pudding mould with olive oil spray or grease with butter
- Place jam in base, set aside
- Cream butter and sugar, add egg, beat
- Stir in milk, flour, vanilla (I normally just beat slowly)
- Pour mixture into mould - Place mould in boiling water for 1.5 hours
 - Turn out of mould, serve with custard or ice cream


 Adapted from: The Commonsense Cookery Book, Angus & Robertson Publishers, 1970

Hobart, Tasmania

I've felt a pressing need to visit Tasmania since the opening of MONA, and earlier this year I saw my opportunity to book and took it. I think Mark and I have officially gone off the idea of 'going away' on long weekends, by the time you drive there and back much of the time is gone and the stress is high from traffic and delay. This is before you even get started on higher prices, public holiday surcharges and the like. SO...

Up pops a four-day Easter weekend. Airfares only about $50 more expensive than going to Melbourne (from Sydney). Good accommodation, no traffic to speak of. Welcome to Hobart!

Our hire car... also known as the 'Noddy Car,' surely the least masculine car in the whole of Hobart.

We took a late flight on Good Friday afternoon mainly because the others were already fully booked! On the upside it allowed us to sleep in, clean up at home and get organised. We arrived in Hobart... and it was warmer than Sydney at 27 degrees! This was a little confusing, and also to our hosts who had left the goose-down quilt on our bed.

Bellerive House.

Our Room.

Our beautiful bathroom, arguably larger than our entire Potts Point apartment!

We stayed at the beautiful Bellerive House, which is 15min drive from the airport and 5min from the town centre. Greeted by a gorgeous golden Labrador called Tashi and hot cross buns, we were happy to call Bellerive home for the next three nights. Beautifully renovated, we had the biggest room and run of the house. Breakfast each day was really enough food for the entire day (oh the local porridge with fresh cream and brown sugar, this is before eggs or pancakes!) and there was also lots of free alcohol with sherry in our room and whisky in the hall, good for me, not so good for Mark :)

Mark gets in amongst the artwork at MONA.

The famous artwork, the Cloaca. Look it up to see what it means, you won't be sorry :)

The next day we set off for MONA and I wasn't disappointed, the building itself is magnificent and the concept and story around the whole thing rather beguiling. The audio (more like multimedia) tour (which locates you amongst the artworks using GPS) is amazing and I really could have gone another day on my own to squeeze every last drop out of it. The only thing that let me down (slightly) was I really wanted to get the view of the tennis court as we entered... but they had markets on, so instead it was covered in stalls and huge beanbags for everybody to sit on. Mark was disappointed the MONA store didn't have more postcards, as he loves collecting postcards from galleries all around the place.

In the mid afternoon we headed across to 'Salamanca' (The tourist / shopping area) to meet my workmate and friend David Gowlland! It was great to share a few stories and hear about his 2 month road trip so far, he was looking so healthy and 10 years younger as well, bravo! We ate a Greek lunch and visited the excellent 'The Hobart Book Shop' together, where Mark got his postcard fill.

We didn't really get a chance to see much of the Salamanca Markets but that was OK considering we can't fit another single knick-knack or item in our apartment. It did look like quality though and the food looked amazing. In fact, I would say the food everywhere in Tasmania looked amazing! I particularly enjoyed our drive to Kettering the next day, where along the way there were lots of roadside stalls selling fresh, local produce. We actually passed a village called 'Snug!' If you'd like to find somewhere cosy to stay between Hobart and Kettering, I actually found this website today (after we got home!) with lots of good accommodation links (less than half an hour from Hobart).

Bruny Island Cruise.

Beautiful and haunting.

The next day we headed out on a pre-arranged Bruny Island Cruise which promised lots of local information and adventure. The whole thing was organised very efficiently (you know I like efficient) and we scooted around the Southern Ocean, checking out rock formations and local wildlife, including seals. Bruny Island itself reminded me alot of Kangaroo Island in South Australia (which we visited about 3 years ago) and is very spare and calm. Might be a nice place to finish writing that thesis or get over a break-up... you know, THAT sort of place. As we were passing through, this looked like an interesting place to stay.

After that we ate a lovely Indian meal, a real treat... And that basically brings me to the end of our short Easter trip away! I really liked Hobart, but of course I need to write down some tips. So here they are:

- Gourmet Traveler has a good guide to Hobart Restaurants. We didn't even try to go anywhere 'happening' so I can't say if it's really any good. As I mentioned earlier, the fresh produce is amazing, so I would be enough satisfied with my own kitchen and a bag of ingredients!
- Here is the best Hobart walking guide I could find, although most of the shops were closed when I tried! I did however, visit 'The Maker' and decided there and then that I will definitely move into 'art wear' when I hit my 40s :)
- Hobart is not exactly a 'city' when you come from somewhere like Sydney, so I'd venture to say you do not have to stay in the CBD when visiting. Some of the lovely and price-conscious accommodation we saw around the place was an easy drive into the town centre, there really isn't enough going on to need to be right 'in there amongst it.'
- Hobart is a food place. You will think about eating the whole time you are there. Prices however, remain the same as in Sydney. A take away Thai meal from the suburbs cost us $45 (two mains and one entree to share) which is more than at home in Potts Point.
- Cascade beer tastes better in Tassie.
- For a place with a climate like England, the people there sure love the great outdoors! Lots of hiking, biking, fishing and riding. It is cold and windy though, so be prepared for that (we were not so well prepared and Mark got very cold -bones rattling- when we went to Bruny Island, by that I mean you need hat, glove, thermals.)
- There is no such thing as 'The Cadbury Tour' anymore. There is a factory store with everyday prices, but no tour of the chocolate factory like in the old days. A big boo from Cadbury fans everywhere!
- Things are slower, but the people are still switched on, optimistic and interesting. Everyone had time to talk, and inparticular, came across as very creative and diverse. I'd love to join a knitting group or silversmithing course, learn to catch salmon or grow an orchid if I were local!

I'd return for a longer road trip or another short break such as this. It's clear that Tasmania is a pretty special part of the world and it would be lovely to have friends there. I think it's an ideal place to meet up with an old friend and hit the road for Radio National and lots of chats. Sit by the fire, enjoy a glass of wine. This holiday was hassle free, very cosy and relaxing.

Killer Recipe: Capsicum Toffee Cream Cheese

So I made this for my family Christmas table, it really is a once-a-year thing (for me) but it is cheap to make and truly delicious! I was a little nervous because I was given the recipe by word of mouth, but I was very lucky it worked out even better than expected! Very versatile, you could easily substitute ingredients to suit taste or occasion.

INGREDIENTS
2 x blocks of philadelphia cream cheese
1 x cup malt vinegar
1 x cup brown sugar
1 x cup of water
1 x red capsicum, sliced
sprinkle of chilli flakes (optional)
pinch of fresh rosemary (optional)
handful of dried cranberries (optional, I added because it was Christmas)

METHOD
- Arrange cream cheese in a dish (the aim is for it to sort of look like a log)
- If you are adding anything extra (I added dried cranberries this time,) place them on top and around the cheese.
- Place sugar, vinegar, water in a saucepan, bring to boil.
- It should be a rolling boil all over, not too fast, not too small or slow, stir frequently.
- Add sliced capsicum, stir.
- Boil for 20-40min until liquid reduces and starts to become sticky
- Test regularly by drizzling a little bit on a cold plate, after 30sec you should see whether it is becoming 'sticky and sauce-like' or if it needs more time on the stove.
- When liquid reaches desired consistency, pour over cream cheese.
- Leave to set, can be stored in refrigerator but is best served at room temperature.

Best made on the day you plan on serving it, make sure you include a spoon as well as a cheese knife to serve!

New Orleans, New Awlins

Here goes, my first ever blog post from an iPad! Guess I'll finish it off on Mark's laptop later, we are finishing off our last night in New Orleans and what a relaxing and beautiful way to (almost) end a fantastic and successful holiday!

The drive from Houston to New Orleans was pretty tiring, it took about seven hours all up and we left at 7am. It was a smooth ride until we were about 4 miles out of New Orleans, where we simultaneously hit a freeway closure and our GPS decided to direct us around in circles while we searched for our car return. Although our comfy car was air-conditioned, the sun was beating down and we were hungry, sustaining on a bag of trail mix and water - the very thought of another stop at a fast food restaurant turned my stomach (and it really is fried chicken, shrimp, crawfish over here, you get over it after you have eaten it... once). We managed to hold it together but were fairly out of words by the time we managed to return our car at New Orleans airport!



The cab ride from the airport to our accommodation was great because in New Orleans it's a flat rate! Our cab driver was also very helpful and let us prebook our ride back to the airport on Wednesday, boxes were already ticked there. We decided to stay in a Bed and Breakfast in New Orleans and made an excellent choice in a restored Southern-style house called Ashtons. We immediately felt better than right at home, with cake and cookies waiting for us, along with two friendly cats (Boots and Leon) and pretty much the best shower I have ever had!

Our room, which was called 'Jazz Festival' - check out the bed!

We had an antique bed that I had to climb up a little step to get into, and finally, a blessing for us both - a room with a ceiling fan for us to sleep under! The friendly advice of our host Patrick (along with amazing breakfasts) ensured we packed as much as possible into our three day stay.

It's true that New Orleans is really special, I didn't arrive expecting anything (hmm I'm a bit stuck for adjectives) but it's sort of like a melding of Brunswick Street (Melbourne), Byron Bay and Newtown - all the best bits of course!



The weather was about 31-34 degrees and it was definitely beer and margarita heat! We spent a great deal of our time walking around the French Quarter, which was pretty rowdy on the first day we arrived (a Sunday) as the New Orleans Saints were playing a game. One of many good things about New Orleans is there doesn't seem to be such a separation between locals and tourists. It's more that they are inviting you into their world a little, and you can go ahead and enjoy how you please.

New Orleans is colourful and musical and boozy and sure at times can be a little tacky, but there is a strange sense of earthiness and community and acceptance as well. It's definitely the place I would live if I were stuck in my 21 year old body, it's cheeky and idealistic and slightly melodramatic! I would love to visit regularly if I lived in LA or San Francisco, anywhere in the USA actually, there is just a sense of real here, the brand names and chain stores are missing and there is a live band playing in practically every bar along Bourbon Street, even midweek daytime, promise!



So we spent one of our days doing a self-guided walk through the 'Garden District' and Magazine Street where we walked around gawking at huge Southern Mansions, including those of John Goodman (bought from Trent Reznor!), Anne Rice and Nicholas Cage. We beat the heat by having ice cream at Sucre and greeting the local pussycats who were sunning themselves outside of local houses and stores.

Honey Island Swamp.



Today we did another walk in our local (more 'Creole') area up 'The Esplanade' past the Degas House to the New Orleans Museum of Art (NOMA) then rushed back home to go on a Honey Island Swamp Tour. Who'd ever think we would be so excited about watching some alligators? It was great learning about the local wildlife and 'swamp life' - there are still people living along the swamp crabbing for a living and getting on with ahem, a pretty redneck type of existence! We also learned a few things first hand about Hurricane Katrina which was fairly confronting. There certainly is a resilience amongst the people here and most we have came into contact with have bounced back fairly well.

We finished off our stay with trashy cable TV in bed ('Extreme Couponing!') and cups of tea after a final shower in the best shower in the world. Our early flight means a 5am start and we are not looking forward to it!

Now back to LA for the long journey home...

Bigger than Texas!

After an all-too-short stay with Michelle in LA (more on that later), we boarded our flight for San Antonio to start off the Texas leg of our trip. San Antonio - what a pleasant surprise! We picked up our second hire car at the airport and headed to Hotel Havana, an oasis and one of the most impressive hotels we have stayed in, suited us right down to the ground. Photos just don't do it any justice, but a visit to the website will give you a better feel for it. It just had a lovely sense of space with large airy rooms, hardwood floors and crisp linen - not to mention the most covetable fridge in the world! (to me, anyway).

Hotel Havana, San Antonio.

Our room opened right out onto a beautiful balcony.

Our hire car, a Lincoln MKT. Huge!

San Antonio would be the perfect long weekend away - if we lived in LA or San Francisco. It's a rather flat city with a tourist precinct built along a river. The element that connects downtown San Antonio is a thoroughfare called the 'Riverwalk' and it is gorgeous; more like a European canal. We saw lots of ducks and water birds, squirrels and even a turtle as we were walking along!

The San Antonio Riverwalk. (Sorry about the dark photo of Mark, it's all I have!)

Hotel Havana was located about 5 minutes walk from all of the action, and I must admit the tourist area (which is something I usually avoid) is really attractive and amenable. We only had 24 hours in San Antonio so we visited the San Antonio Museum of Art and The Alamo, not before visiting the local IMAX theatre to watch the story of The Alamo (seems this is a sacred moment in American history but like parts of Australian history, it's sort of questionable!)

The Alamo.



The rather odd but very enjoyable Mi Tierra restaurant - open 24 hours per day since 1941!

We also visited the landmark restaurant, Mi Tierra. The only way of describing this restaurant is by saying the interior felt like living inside a Christmas tree! If I were a child this would surely be my favourite restaurant in the world. We enjoyed gigantic helpings of food and a mariachi band played us a 'happy' Mexican song, which was the song from the 'One Tonne Rodeo' Holden ad a few years back. We fairly rolled right out of there and tried to walk it off...shame that this part of America is all about driving!

A surprise for us both was that San Antonio had it's own 'Market Square' or 'El Mercado.' It was sort of an indoor Mexican Market with lots of stalls selling all of the touristy stuff... just that Mexican touristy stuff is sooo good! We stocked up on a few embroidered shirts and platters and I'm glad we did because we didn't see anything similar elsewhere in Texas.

The beautiful Ocho.

Mark sets up office.

Before leaving the following morning, we ate the most beautiful meal at the hotel cafe, Ocho. This has to be one of my favourite meals of this trip, Mark and I sat up above the river in a glass conservatory-style room, shaded by magnolia trees and palm fronds. I had some fantastic 'huevos ranchero' which was a 'little' plate of scrambled eggs, grilled banana, chorizo patty, tortilla and refried beans. The cool breeze blew in and we considered the drive ahead. I think we were both a little disappointed to leave San Antonio so soon!

It was an easy 3 hour drive to Houston where we had some more family-type stuff to do. My attempts at eating there were rather unsuccessful and we ended up at Wholefoods (a sort of upscale supermarket, Sydney needs a few!) for two meals because I was seriously feeling a lack of nutrition!


The Rothko Chapel for those of all beliefs and denominations.

The Cy Twombly Gallery.

The most pleasant surprise with Houston was The Menil Collection - which is a group of art museums funded by a very, very wealthy family which includes the Rothko Chapel and Cy Twombly Gallery. This was special and evoked some emotion, particularly the large rooms of Twomblys! But driving around all the time in Houston evoked a different type of emotion. The hot weather and long periods on the road (even in our comfy car) meant I sort of felt stale for much of the time, even though we stayed in the very nice Hotel Magnolia.


The Hotel Magnolia, Houston.

We wound up our trip to Texas with a 7 hour drive to New Orleans, but more on that later :)

love, Big Sur.

Part of the Big Sur coast.

This morning Mark & I woke up to the sound of raindrops and wondered if our trip south to Big Sur and The Henry Miller Library would be worth it. What an adventure! And completely worthwhile it was...now I truly feel as though we are on holiday.

We set out in the pelting rain, and in Mark's words: "It was bucketing down - interesting drive along the coast when you can't see a foot in front of you, you're driving on the wrong side of the road, & the drop to the right is a few hundred feet." I was just glad that I was not at the wheel...



The Henry Miller Library.

In the cloud and torrential rain the view really looked no different to the Sydney coastline. But upon arriving at the library we were welcomed by the sight of a little wooden lodge? cabin? and once we were safely inside we were surrounded by books, posters, memorabilia, a few guys on macs happily typing away on the free wi-fi. Everything was sort of cosy and interesting - not to mention meeting a very friendly pussycat who was hopping from lap to lap saying hello!

Inside The Henry Miller Library.

Fortified, we stepped back out to the car and on to the famous Big Sur Bakery for lunch. I gasped appreciatively at the sight of a real coffee machine, and we feasted on turkey noodle soup and peach pastries. This was the closest I have eaten to Sydney food and I say that in an entirely complimentary way, especially after trying Dennys for the first time yesterday! After finishing lunch, the sun came out, and we thoroughly enjoyed our drive back to Monterey, this part of the world is gorgeous in a pretty special way!

So, what's so special about Big Sur? I can't exactly say. There is very little information available on what it is exactly, but it is basically one road that runs between the forest and the ocean for about 30 miles? - and it offers the best of both worlds. There are a handful of very expensive resorts but other than that there are a few campgrounds and not very much in the way of tourist attractions. Which leads me to the very reason that people go - to experience the natural environment in the first person, I guess! I really hope one day Mark and I can return and hike around, and without sounding too trite, to simply enjoy nature, and maybe enjoy one of the famous concerts held on the grass outside The Henry Miller Library, such as those given recently buy The Arcade Fire and Thurston Moore!


Schoolhouse at Big Sur.