I love me a taco! So I whipped some up recently with buttery, spicy salmon – combined with fresh summer vegies and a zesty, spicy sour cream dressing, these were really delicious but also nice and light.
Here are some gorgeous peonies I took heaps of photos of a while back (it’s difficult to take a bad photo of them); they’re the loveliest flowers but quite expensive. It was worth it though, to be able to walk past these luxurious flowers on my dining table for a few days (we live a modest life but occasionally I like to splash out and buy something beautiful but completely unnecessary).
Happy Friday!
I’ve been getting into old Jane Fonda movies lately; Barefoot in the Park, Klute, Coming Home and On Golden Pond to be precise. Gosh it was a different world back then! I find it difficult enough to come to terms with how much the world’s changed in the last few years but to go back to before I was born or when I was a baby, when my parents’ generation was young, is fascinating and a little sad – I can’t help but feel I’d like things to be more like it was back then.
I love how Jane has evolved both physically and emotionally in her characters through generations; from a young newlywed in Barefoot in the Park to a cynical call girl in the thriller Klute then a housewife who finds herself befriending an angry Vietnam war vet in Coming Home while her own husband is away in combat.
On Golden Pond is different to those other movies in a way. I was a kid when I first saw this 1982 movie (although it was a few years later) and it’s always been one of my favourites. Jane wasn’t the reason for watching this particularly even though she was great in it; it was mostly her dad, Henry Fonda and Katherine Hepburn who stole the show in this laugh-out-loud funny, yet poignant movie situated in one of the most heavenly places I’ve ever seen (I think New Hampshire or Maine was the setting).
Anyway, Jane’s a wonderful actress and her movies are so iconic and worth watching. Off topic but I also admire her political beliefs, she’s a true activist and despite heavy criticism over the years, has always stood up for what she believes in.
Movie posters and images from: Barefoot in the Park (USA, 1967), Klute (USA, 1971), Coming Home (USA, 1978) & On Golden Pond (USA, 1981)
Eton mess is a lovely dessert, easy to whip up and perfect for spring and summer weather although it can be made at any time of the year with seasonal fruit. Traditionally made with cream, I added some Greek yoghurt to this for some zesty sharpness in amongst the sweet flavours which reminded me of cheesecake – never a bad thing. I also used pure double cream, the cream which is super thick so you don’t need to whip it up, just pile everything in a bowl and dive into the cool richness.
Oh and you don’t need the coloured meringues or you could even make your own, however I spotted these cute little pastel, flavoured meringues in the supermarket a while back and loved how they looked but plain white meringue would be just as nice.
Guys, this is so good! It doesn’t even taste like there’s alcohol in it (haha, probably a bad thing I guess) and it’s so full of creamy, luscious coffee flavour, more like a fancy iced coffee. I used full fat ingredients but have an idea this would be just as good with lower fat.
Happy Friday!
I watched The Two Faces of January recently; this subtle psychological thriller set in the early 60s and based on the 1964 novel of the same name is in film noir style, very stylish and really enjoyable.
The storyline’s based on 3 main characters – a seemingly wealthy and glamorous couple and a young man, one of whom is a con artist, meet in Athens, Greece and become reluctantly involved after a violent incident. Starring Kirsten Dunst and Viggo Mortensen (always a pleasure to see this talented fellow in movies, he never makes a bad one), you’re never sure who to trust as jealousy, betrayal and paranoia abound (if you’re into Hitchcock, you’ll love this).
Images from the movie: The Two Faces of January, 2014, USA, UK, France, Magnolia Pictures
I’m always banging on about spring produce but this time of year always inspires me to cook up huge, steaming bowls of pasta with this season’s fresh and lovely vegies. There’s something about their sweet, crisp flavour combined with comforting spaghetti; fresh, lemony and perfect for a weekend lunch.
Happy Halloween all (if you celebrate it that is). Here are some spooky stories if you’re game!
Haunted places and ghost stories of Brisbane; and
Village of the Dead: The Anjikuni Mystery
I really enjoyed this cute, heart warming movie.
Enough Said is a grown-up romantic indie comedy basically; about being middle aged and worrying about the future, dealing with children leaving for university, divorce, single parenting and attempting to meet potential partners at a stage of life which must be hard when life experiences start to weigh you down.
The extremely talented James Gandolfini (being the big guy’s last movie, it’s difficult to come to terms with knowing I won’t see his friendly and rumpled persona in anything new) and the lovely Julia Louis-Dreyfus play two people (Albert and Eva) who meet at a party and find they share divorces and impending empty nest syndrome in common, then start dating. There’s a catch though as massage therapist Eva also, unbeknownst to all, meets Albert’s ex-wife at the same party and they become friends. Eva meanders between her new friend and Albert without being truthful to either of them, being privy to the personal details of their marriage breakdown which then starts to affect her new relationship, until an inevitable confrontation.
I loved how this movie showed the minutiae of life in a perceptive, sometimes awkwardly funny way; I like to imagine that both of these really likeable and empathetic characters are close to James and Julia’s true personalities.
Trivia: the actress Eve Hewson who Albert’s daughter is U2’s Bono’s real-life daughter and plays nurse Lucy in the Knick!
Images from: the movie Enough Said, USA, 2013
I’ve been making these gorgeous roasted, stuffed capsicum for years. Fresh, warm coloured capsicum filled with tomatoes, olive oil, basil, olives and cheese (lotsa cheese!), you bake these until the filling is bubbling and cooked through … I overcooked ours a bit as you can see. These are actually even better the next day after storing in the fridge for a day or so.
