Wedded bliss

Congratulations B & E.

The work weekend

WHY ARE IPHONE PHOTOS SO SHIT??????

Aperol spritz

Beef Eye Fillet, kumara puree, crispy kale, shallots, enoki mushrooms, red wine jus

Coconut tart with berry coulis and passionfruit puree

Prawns in caper butter sauce

Hawke’s Bay whole flounder, Mediterranean salsa, crispy twice cooked potatoes w parsley butter

Roasted stuffed chicken Maryland w ricotta & pinenut filling, light fennel slaw, sage burnt butter glaze

Sticky date pudding w salted bourbon butterscotch sauce & vanilla bean ice cream

A long ass week

Back to condiments

Mayo is not a condiment, but it's pretty much what I use for nearly everything. But these two are the OG.

Need space

I've never minded sharing space, but finally it happened. I'm in my own office, by myself...

How long does it take to finish one small fucking bathroom

Apparently, a very, very long time

Notes on a Friday

Went to a Banksy exhibit

Notes on a Friday

Easing back into it

Photo dump

RTDs to keep warm

Can't remember where this was

A Toulouse-Lautrec??

Lamp at the Hotel De Brett

Tapawera in the middle of nowhere

Vintage Dior?

Spring flowers

All images taken by a Lumix

Saturdays

Some days are exactly what they are in photos.

Autumn blue skies

Back to oats

Lily in the sun

Your Japanese local

A fitting close

Weekend eating

Wonky Box

Asian Mart haul

A whole fish for dinner because why not?

Monday 12:30 - 1:30pm

End of the week

Late to the House of Cards party

Can’t believe we’ve missed watching this when it started. But what’s more astounding is how we cheer on the villains and wish the good guys ill.

40 versus 37.5

I’ve been asking myself (and anyone who still bothers to listen because they’ve heard this before so many times) if I should do 40 hours instead of 37.5. But when you get off at 2pm on Fridays when everyone else is literally dying in their desks at work, and get home to a new bed and a bag of popcorn…well..

Food focused

Sam and Mary are dieting so for the last couple of months, I’ve been buying, cooking and eating food solo. As it turns out, other people’s dieting has a good effect; I tend to eat less, waste less, not necessarily buy less or cheaply, and only have indulgent meals (like fried chicken) on the weekends.

To go to the gym or not

Have not set foot in a gym for the last 7 years. But I have some abs, my waistline is still 29-30 and I have good arms. But is that enough? Should I be grunting along forever in the garage?

Friday

See you south

Today

Strange vegetables

Did you know that the celeriac is the root of the celery? You cook it like you would potatoes but the best thing about it, is that it has fewer carbs than potatoes. Tastes like celery, but nuttier Wikipedia describes it. Hmmm. I don’t like celery that much; I used to hate pansit that had celery bits in it. Kohlrabi on the other hand is actually related to the cabbage. The following way of cooking it appeals to me: For a simple side dish, sauté the sliced kohlrabi in a bit of butter in a skillet. Once it begins to show some caramelization, season it with salt, nutmeg, and a little sugar​ for increased sweetness. Continue cooking until slightly al dente, with a bit of crispness, and serve it immediately.

The end of single-use plastic (for real)

Don’t get me wrong; I think I can live without plastic. But if it’s there like in the supermarkets, I will use it and won’t feel guilty about it. But this is it- the government is banning it for good.

Spend like a penshioner

So a much older friend advises me, and with Uber rides now starting at $14 for a 6-kilometer minimum, I decided to do public transport. By the time I got back, I had saved myself $56. I felt very virtuous after that.

The Gold-Card hour

All the passengers on my bus had gold transport cards and it always gives me flashes of my future- that’s me eventually. And strangely, I’m at peace with it because it’s inevitable. A couple of things could be different; I would be immaculately dressed because that’s non-negotiable for me; I could finally be driving instead of taking the bus (Dear Elon, pls sort out your self-driving cars ASAP).