Saturday, 14 May 2011

Mighty Hash Stack

'Can we have it again?' Asked my Mr., the night after we ate this for dinner. I think he would eat this every night for tea if I made it. (I will confess he asked for a lamb steak to be added in version two!)

It's called The Mighty Hash Stack because the aim is to stack it as high as you can without it falling over. I suppose it appears to the structural engineer that my Mr. is!


  • red pepper
  • 2 hash browns
  • 2 flat, brown mushrooms
  • gruyere cheese (sliced)
  • red onion (sliced)
  • handful of basil leaves (roughly chopped)
  • splash of olive oil
  • salt and pepper
  • worchester sauce


1. Roast that red pepper! Pop the oven on grill and sit the red pepper/capsicum in the oven.

2. Put hashbrowns on a tray and also put them in the oven to cook.

3. Meanwhile...pour 1TB of water on each mushroom and microwave on high for 2-3minutes.

4. Rotate the red pepper (it needs to be chargrilled almost all over...yes black!)

5. Once the red pepper is chargrilled grab it out of the oven and throw it into a plastic bag. Close the bag so no air gets in. Now let the pepper sweat it out for a good 5 minutes! Once it cools, that skin should just peel away easily.

6. Add a good dash (couple of teaspoons) onto each mushroom and add it to the hashbrown tray in the oven. Flip those hashes! Cook until golden & mushrooms soft.

9. Stack away!

10. Add a splash of beautiful olive oil, sprinkle of salt & crack of pepper. Mmmm...


















Now, this isn't the most glamerous photo but boy, does this taste gooooood!

My One-Day House

I came across the gorgeous site ShoeBox Dwelling this week. It's nice to know people are designing furniture for those of us who live in ridiculously small houses or apartments!

Here is my dream list...

.one.
floating books. super cool!

 .two.
 multi-purpose, folding chair-stool. awesome!
 .three.
 I can't help wondering if this would work with a crying baby as well?

Thursday, 12 May 2011

American Wednesdays

So it's Thursday in New Zealand. But in America it is Wednesday. What better reason to join...

[one]

The place I call home.

Bing.com

I live in a spectacular place which inspires me to be active, to take snapshots, to write...to live fully!

[two]
White peonies. Oh so classic, so beautiful. Yes, please!
[three]

My Mummy. 

I've had a rough week. But I love that I can pick up the phone and call my mum. She makes my heart all okay again.

[four]

Friends.

The TV type, I mean:


It might sound silly but it's a tradition for me. I fill the sink, turn on an episode of Friends and do the dishes. Makes the time fly & I know the jokes so well I don't need to see it to remember what's happening.

[nest jewellery]

I just love this nest inspired jewellery and it doesn't look too hard to make. I'm keeping my eye out for some good wire to have a go myself. Beautiful!
http://adornjewelry.bigcartel.com/product/goldfinch-nest-necklace
And that is what I love on American Wednesdays.

Oh, Decisions I Hate You!

Today I have been forced into decision-making. Intense decision-making.

My doctor told me that one of the downsides of Crohn's illness is that I can expect it to take a while to concieve and I may not carry to full term. Gosh.

Ideally I would have kids in five years time and have that happy family.

























Suddenly Mr. and I are faced with some hard choices. Do we get this illness under control and start trying for kids? Or do we risk waiting and running out of time on the other side?

Oh, boy, decisions how I hate you!

Wednesday, 11 May 2011

A New Day

On Friday we celebrate six months of marriage.

Normally, I'm not big on anniversaries and the like. But this seems like an accomplishment.

Six sometimes-challenging, sometimes-frustrating, sometimes-wonderful, sometimes-overwhelming months.

via Bing.
















I do believe a new season is about to begin. Mr. and I tend to work in six month blocks:

  • we were friends for about six months before he told me he wished we were more
  • it took me about six months to turn him down
  • it took a year (and the end of my last relationship) to change my mind
  • within the next six months Mr. and I were dating
  • the first six months were totally blissful
  • at the six month mark my Dad died and Mr's Mum got sick
  • we were engaged for 6 + 3 months
  •  
In 'Our Book of Life' the past six months will be titled:

'Entering Into: The Learning Curve'

The next six months, I pray, will be different. We will live with more love for God, for each other. We will have less fear of the future and learn to move forward despite health issues. We will treat each other better and hold fast to our precious vows. We will continue our learning with a season of challenges behind us.




Friday, 6 May 2011

The Honest Banana




















It seems apt that we consider the 'forbidden fruit' that Eve ate to be an apple.

It certainly wasn't a banana. Banana's are just too honest.

Now a banana can't look tempting and be bad at the same time. If a banana is bad it shows us very simply.

Apples, on the other hand, are deceitful indeed.

You can pick the most beautiful, shiny, red apple from the tree and be 100% sure it will be delicious. It's skin displays it's magnificance and tempts you, entirely. But take a bite and it could be yellow and floury, soft and awful. The apple continues to decieve today just as it did, so many years ago.

Wednesday, 4 May 2011

Learning the Hard Way

Today I was contemplating the lessons in life that our parents teach us and those we learn outrselves along the way. Here are some lessons no one ever taught me and I'm learning/learnt by experience:

1. Don't Drive & Eat
It is true: don't eat sour snake lollies whilst driving on the motorway. When you start choking it is very scary.


2.  Summer, then... umm...
My man teases me so much about this because I can never remember the order of the seasons. It's not my fault, I swear, no one ever taught me as a child!

3. Following God will Colour your Life

Via Bing :)


 
No one ever taught me this lesson. SomeOne tugged on my heart one day and I decided I wanted to follow after God.

It wasn't an easy decision because I grew up in a family who didn't do this.






4. I am Not a Good Person
That's right. I'm not. Left to my own devices I am selfish and proud. I can be awful to my man, the one I love most and I am quick to forget God when life gets good. I am not a good person and I must remember this to keep my heart in the right place.

5. Marriage is a Massive Challenge 
I come from a broken family so I did know that marriage could be tough and painful. Nothing could have prepared me for the real challenge of marriage...it is tough. In marriage I see the best and the worst of myself, of my man and it is not an easy ride. No one managed to make me grasp how much of an adventure it would be and so early on.

There are more lessons I learn each and every day. Tomorrow's resolutions?

  • Don't eat lollies on the move
  • Enjoy the season of...whatever
  • Be God's colour in the world
  • Keep humble, I'm not totally awesome
  • Marriage is a marathon and worthy of all the effort