Suburban Lush

Interpret

What does it mean when you dream that you at so tired and just want to fall asleep?

The Time Traveler's Wife

I went to see The Time Traveler's Wife last night and, well, I wasn't impressed.

I loved the book. Absolutely loved it. And I was a little nervous about going to see the film. I understand that a movie has time-constraints, and needs to maintain a different pace from a book. And to be honest, The Time Traveler's Wife probably wasn't a bad movie, just not the kind of movie I enjoy.

This book of complex human emotion was turned into a simple love-story. Call me heartless, but love stories bore me. And I was unable to look past Eric Bana's terrible acting. How does that man still have a job?

Looking around the theater at the end of the movie there was no shortage of tear-streaked faces, so I assume that most people enjoyed it more than I did. In fact, my flatmate who I saw it with, who also loves the book, really enjoyed it and wept copiously. So maybe it was just me.

My flatmate wants to see Lovely Bones with me when its out. Will I watch it, probably. But then, I didn't really like the book.

Corn Fritters

Occasionally I feel like something a bit different for my weekend cooked breakfast. My go-to favourites are mushrooms on toast or a soft-boiled egg with toast.

I had a craving for corn fritters. They are often on brunch menus in New Zealand, served with sour cream, bacon and sweet chili sauce, but I'd never made them before.

Searching on the internet I came across this recipe from The Pioneer Woman. A bit different from what I wanted (I was after corn fritters that were more pancake style, and I didn't want a deep-fried breakfast) I figured I could modify the recipe to fit my desires.

Served with bacon, thai sweet chili sauce (lots for John and just a little on the side for me), sour cream, and a simple chunky avocado salsa (roughly chopped avocados, tomatoes, and red onion; thinly sliced chili; a squeeze of lime juice) they were perfect. Admittedly it took me a while to assemble the meal (close to 45 minutes from start to finish, which I think is a little excessive for brunch) but it satisfied my craving brilliantly.

Ingredients: (makes enough for 2)

2 cups corn kernels: fresh, frozen, or canned
2/3 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 tablespoon sugar
1 eggs
1/4 cup milk, more to thin if necessary
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 teaspoon chopped fresh chives
butter, for frying

Mix together the flour, sugar, salt and cayenne pepper. Whisk in the eggs and milk to make a thick batter (I had to use extra flour to thicken mine). Add corn and chives to batter and fold together to combine.

In a frying pan, melt some butter over a medium-high heat. Drop ladles-ful (is that even a word? I don't think so!) of batter and cook, turning once, until golden on both sides.

While I was doing this I grilled the bacon and made the salsa and, when the fritters were done, piled everything on to two plates for a fantastic brunch.

Wombat's Choc Chippie Cookies

I seem to be forever on the quest for the perfect chocolate chip cookie. Several months ago I managed to convince my sister to give me herfavourite recipe so that I could try it. She kindly did, and I left the e-mail hanging around my inbox while I ignored it completely, mostly because I was craving something else.  I finally got round to making them on the weekend, and they are divine.

As per Wombat's suggestion I slightly undercooked them to leave them chewy and soft. Also, I used less chocolate chips than the recipe calls for, because I thought I had more chocolate in my cupboard than I really did. Oh, and I used a combination of semi-sweet and milk chocolate chips.

So here you go, make these and go thank my sister.

Ingredients:

• 125g salted butter
• 1/2 cup white sugar
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 2 small eggs
• 1 to 2 drops vanilla
• 1 3/4 cups self raising flour
• 250g choc chips

Preheat the oven to 160C.  Using an electric mixer, cream butter with sugars until pale.  Beat in eggs and vanilla until combined.  Beat in sifted flour until mixed through.  Fold through choc chips.

Grease or line a baking tray with baking paper.  Roll dough into teaspoon sized balls and place on tray (press down).  Bake for 10 - 12 minutes.  If you like them chewy like I do don't let them brown as they crisp up as they cool down.

Makes heaps.

Tall Ships Atlantic Challenge

This year Belfast hosted, and was the final destination for, the Tall Ships Atlantic Challenge. Over the course of 5 months the tall ships sailed from Vigo Spain to Tenrife in the Canary Islands, across to Bermuda, Charleston US, then on to Boston, then Halifax and finally across to Belfast Northern Ireland.

The ships arrived in Belfast throuout the week, and there were celebrations down at the docks on Thursday, Friday and Saturday before they sailed off again on Sunday morning. We went down on Saturday afternoon to check out the action: fair rides, continental markets, beer tents, street theater, live music, fireworks in the evening. And of course the ships themselves. The weather was nice and the place was packed. We managed to meet up with a few friends and walked around checking out the ships (but didn't go on any as the queues were horrifying) before grabbing a bite to eat (gotta love bratwurst!) and settling ourselves down it a beer tent to enjoy the atmosphere and, later, watch the fireworks.

The festival closed up at 9.30, so we headed to Whites Tavern where we had a few more pints. We may have had a few too many, and I *may* have fallen off a chair (Hi Mom! Hi Dad!). Because the weather was lovely we were able to sit and drink outside, a rare occurrence in Belfast. The night was great craic and one of those evenings that you end up chatting to a whole bunch of random people: at the bar ordering drinks, in the line for the bathroom, any poor person who happens to walk by your table or sit anywhere near you - you get the idea. 

It was an excellent night, and fortunately I didn't feel too bad the next day. I'm pretty sure the takeaways we picked up on our way home helped with that!

James Street South

Out for dinner last night for my aunt and uncle's 40th wedding anniversary. A family meal at the exquisite James Street South Restaurant. Located on James Street South (surprising, no?) this is one of Belfast's premier restaurants. Fancier than John and I would normally go to (after all, we're fans of Tony Roma's), James Street South is the kind of restaurant where they take your coat when you enter and help you back into it as you leave, where the wine and water glasses never get a chance to be empty, where they can take an order for a table of ten people and bring the correct dish to each  person without having to ask.

So, what did I have? We started with a round of gin and tonics while waiting to be seated. Then, lobster salad with quail eggs, paired with a lovely New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc. As a main, wood pigeon served with figs and a beetroot jus and selection of sides - all divine - creamy champ, buttered beans with sauerkraut, chips, tomato cerviche, broccoli, washed down with an Australian Shiraz. And for desert, white chocolate parfait with strawberries, and a macchiato to finish it off.

The food was devine and it was a lovely meal with lovely company. A perfect Friday night splurge.

Quiet

A quiet week with not much to report.

Sunday I walked in both Ness Country Park and Roe Valley Country Park with my hiking group. Nice, easy walks with cake at the coffee shop to finish.

Tuesday night we went to see Taking of Pelham 123 - thoroughly enjoyable and a good escape from reality.

I've been strangely tired all week and fell asleep after work on Wednesday, before waking up to attend my polercize class.

Thursday, a quiet night at home, making chocolate and vanilla cupcakes for a commission and skyping with my Mom for her birthday (Happy Birthday Mom!).

Now its Friday. Plans for the weekend? Out for a fancy dinner tonight with my extended family for my Aunt and Uncle's 40th wedding anniversary. And the Tall Ships are in town so I will probably check that out on Saturday. No plans for Sunday, but I might spend the day pottering around in the kitchen - I'm thinking a big pot of soup, some sweet treats and maybe a casserole for diner.

Hopefully I'll have some stories and photos for you on Monday.

Belfast Taste & Music Festival

Last night a bunch of us went to check out the Belfast Taste & Music Festival. Held outside in the lovely Botanic Gardens, the Taste & Music Festival brings us chefs from overseas (this year from Chicago) and local restaurants to showcase their culinary skills.

There are several bands which play, and Friday night it was a Fleetwood Mac tribute band. We sat on blankets on the lawn, enjoying the sunny evening and listening to the music. Every now and again we would get up, check out the many different food tents, and choose something delicious to try next - basically it was an entire evening of grazing on gourmet food. First off I tried some Asian style pulled pork spring rolls with hoisin cognac sauce and white truffle oil by chef Jackie Shen. Next, crispy giant prawns and basil served over a fresh beetroot salad (I can't remember which chef this was by, but I can tell you it was divine), and braised and roasted chicken drum wrapped with fired eggplant and creole sauce, served over a bed of rice, by chef Toni Motamen. For desert, my friend Zoe and I shared afternoon tea cakes (including a fruit tart, scone with jam and clotted cream, and profiterole swan) from local chef Tony O'Neill.

It was a lovely evening spent with good friends.

Local Tourists

Our friend Susan from New Zealand is on a big trip at the moment (lucky girl) and came to visit us for the weekend, arriving on Friday afternoon and leaving on Monday. It was lovely to catch up, and we had fun showing her the sights.

I left work early on Friday afternoon and met her off the airport bus. That night we went out for some traditional Belfast pub culture: dinner at The Crown Drinking Saloon (I highly recommend their steak & Guinness pie!) and a few pints at a couple of old pubs - Kelly's Cellars (an old IRA hangout) and The Garrick, where we met up with a few friends. We'd planned a party for Saturday night so Friday was just supposed to consist of a couple quiet drinks, but we didn't end up getting home until 3am.

Saturday we checked out the St George's Markets (one of my favourite thing to do on a Saturday morning in Belfast), and the Pride Parade which, while not a typical Belfast experience, was very fun. It was very nice for John and I to see the parade. When we first arrived in Belfast we had an experience on a bus where a gay couple sat down near an older man and the older man got up and moved to the other end of the bus, as far away from the couple as possible. As a result I tend to joke about Belfast being "the least tolerant city in the world", but the Pride parade showed that people are working on being a bit more accepting.

We partied on Saturday night and consumed far too much alcohol (Jagerbombs were probably not a good choice) so Sunday morning was a bit subdued. However we rallied on Sunday afternoon and headed out on a bus tour which was interesting and informative, and also didn't require any effort on our part!

It was a good weekend, and a nice excuse for us to head out and do the touristy things in Belfast that we hadn't gotten around to doing yet.

Resolution Redux - July Edition

We're a few days into August and I still haven't updated you on July. Also, it looks like I totally missed a June Edition. And June is too long ago for me to try to remember what the heck I did that month!

See more movies: At the cinema, I saw the latest Harry Potter, The Hangover and Public Enemy, and watched Sense and Sensibility on DVD.

Read more non-fiction books: I'm still working my way through EB White's letters. Really, I must read more of that book - its good, but it would be nice to get it finished and start something new.

Try two new recipes a month: I haven't spent much time in the kitchen lately, but I did try out a new Peanut Butter Cookie recipe. And I made Rajmah, a divine red bean curry recipe from Smitten Kitchen, that will definitely be made again.

Explore local sights: I checked out Orangefest, which is definitely a Northern Ireland experience, and a friend and I took ourselves on a personal tour of historic Belfast pubs one Saturday afternoon. I also had dinner at The Crown Drinking Saloon, an iconic Belfast pub.

Do more hiking and work to improve my overall fitness levels: I've been pretty good with the gym, and have done a couple of hikes - Trosnan & Slievenanee, and a weekend on the Antrim Coast

Say yes more and take all opportunities presented to me: I've been feeling a little anti-social this month, but I did join a polercise class with my friend Zoe.