yummy winter/summer salad

This is so easy and yummy that I've made it twice this week.

I've called it winter/summer salad because in winter I think it's superb with soup or quiche and in summer it's equally delightful with BBQ anything. You can use the slow roasted tomatoes warm or cold as is your want.

If you wanted to dress it up further, you could happily add freshly shaved Parmesan or avocado or roasted pumpkin. The dressing is essentially a vinaigrette, so it goes with pretty much anything.

Sorry I don't have photo of completed salad....I utterly forgot to take a photo before my friends arrived and by the time I remembered everyone was gathered around the table forks at the ready. It seemed impolite to ask them to stop so I could take a photo. I know you would understand, but these friends don't blog.....

It's barely a recipe, but here it is:

Winter/Summer Salad:

1 punnet cherry or grape tomatoes

spinach/rocket leaf mix amount depends on how many you're serving

handful of pine nuts, toasted.

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar

1 tablespoon brown sugar

Salt and Pepper to taste

**************

Method:

Pre-heat oven to 150oC.

Put punnet of tomatoes in oven proof dish and sprinkle over brown sugar, then pour over vinegar and oil. Give the dish a bit of shake to mix. Cover with foil and put in the oven for an hour.

At the end of the hour, the tomatoes will still be in their form, yet now infused with the gorgeous aromatic dressing.

Pour the entire contents of the dish over your washed spinach and rocket mix.

The tomatoes can be used warm or cold...it's all good.

Sprinkle with toasted pine nuts and you're good to go.

Enjoy!

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If you haven't entered the giveaway yet - you can do so here {click}.

Meredy xo.

feeling like a book giveaway!!

This is the current stack of books I keep within easy reach of the table when I'm having my lunch.
A few here are old favourites, but a couple are new.
One of them has me SO excited, I just want to give a copy to everyone I know.
Can you guess which one?



The Ann Voskamp "One Thousand Gifts" is poetically beautiful and inspiring, although a heavy, challenging read in some respects. It's exquisitely written, and very thought provoking....a bit of a long-term project, methinks. A perfect book to take on a retreat, or when you want to cocoon into yourself and skinny dip in "Lake Me".

But the one that has me completely in its thrall is:




The Family Dinner by Laurie David.


I've just had my lunch of pumpkin soup and cheesy toast {as above:)} while settling once again into this book. It's the sort of book you just want to grab and read whenever you get the chance.

One of the things I love about it, is that it is completely REAL. It acknowledges that tears, tantrums and tiaras usually happen at dinner time. The word encourage means to literally put courage into something....this book does that. No matter how despairing you might currently be feeling about your dinner table state, this will give you buckets of courage.

By the publisher:

The producer of An Inconvenient Truth, Laurie David's new mission is to help America's overwhelmed families sit down to a Family Dinner, and she provides all the reasons, recipes and fun tools to do so.

Laurie David speaks from her own experience confronting the challenges of raising two teenage girls. Today's parents have lots to deal with and technology is making their job harder than ever. Research has proven that everything we worry about as parents--from drugs to alcohol, promiscuity, to obesity, academic achievement and just good old nutrition--can all be improved by the simple act of eating and talking together around the table.

Laurie has written a practical, inspirational, fun (and, of course, green) guide to the most important hour in any parent's day. Chock-full chapters include: Over seventy-five kid approved fantastic recipes; tips on teaching green values; conversation starters; games to play to help even the shyest family member become engaged; ways to express gratitude; the family dinner after divorce (hint: keep eating together) and much more. Filled with moving memories and advice from the country's experts and teachers, this book will get everyone away from electronic screens and back to the dinner table.

So, my lovelies, I just feel it in my waters that this books needs to be given away.

All you need to do is leave a comment about anything to do with the dinner struggle:

- nightmare stories {these are my FAVOURITES}

- great ideas to decorate the table

- quick meals

- funny conversations

- favourite games to be played around the dinner table

Whatever you want to comment about - go for it - you're amongst friends.

There's no judgement here.

I'll do that random.org thingamie to pick a winner and send it out to you with much love and encouragement, wherever you may be in the world.

I'll run this until next Friday, 3rd June.

Love Meredy xo

more fabric love...

More swatches for that day that I have enough time/energy/skill to pick up a needle and thread and start my cushion emporium.

The new collection from the gorgeous Anna Maria Horner:

Unbelievably I spotted her latest book offering, Hand Made Beginnings, in Target - just last week! Again, Target....you continue to delight me:)

Meredy xo.

p.s. Thank you, thank you for your comraderie regarding my last post....love you guys more than my cookbook collection:)

to dare to dream....

You gotta love the way God plants hope in our hearts.

This inner-yearning which can triumph over all evidence to the contrary.

He's cool like that.

No matter how defeated I can feel, a few moments spent talking to Him can restore my jaded, weary spirit.

That's the way my week has been.

It's been one of those two steps forward/one step back type of weeks.

Our home has been filled with both laughs and tears.

I nearly did a celebratory post dedicated to a dinner mid-week that didn't end in tears and recriminations...I was SO happy!

The kids have been delightful one minute.....deplorable the next.

I've said things I'm not proud of:

"What is wrong with you??"

"Seriously. This is not normal behaviour."

"I've HAD the lot of you!!".

Arghhh.

Parenting holds up such a high-definition mirror doesn't it?

Flaws. Inadequacies. Inconsistencies.

I hate that.

But I love that God gave us imagination and a faith-yearning.

How else can I explain that despite the way I left my house this morning, I fully expect that with a bit of tweaking, we can iron out our morning routine flaws and one day things will be better?

How else can I look at that child with anger issues who regularly turns our home into a battle-ground and think to myself....with some careful guidance and clever strategies and prayer, we shall overcome?

I'm so grateful that my childhood was filled with plenty of opportunities which nurtured my imagination and my faith...they've been my greatest ally in the war against depression and defeatism.

On the way to work this morning, just when I'd decided to settle in for a good pity-party, one of my favourite songs came on....U2's City of Blinding Lights. By the time I got to work, I was ready to stand on the roof of my car waving a cigarette lighter in appreciation. But, you know, it's hard to get on the roof of a people mover and I don't smoke....but the intent was there, it really was.

After giving myself a good talking to, following that song, I've decided to re-focus, re-imagine and re-ignite my dreams of how I want my family to live.

And I'm dreaming BIG, baby!!

Yes, I'll fail on a regular basis...and probably pretty spectacularly, but that won't stop me.

And if my imagination fails me, I've always got coffee and grace.

Meredy xo

p.s. not even my laundry mountain will stop me...I'll just climb on top of it and plant a flag of Cath Kidston bunting to make it look pretty.

random...

All critical thinking patterns are currently being focused upon how many different ways I can present soup and toast to the Goofballs and still pass it off as a substantial meal at the end of a long day which has invariably included rugby, dancing, tae kwon do and lots of scooter wrangling.

Along with my stick blender, these photos also brought a smile to my face:

From Missy Moo...

My desperate attempt to make-over the midday lunch for Bugsy.

This is why I grocery shop online.
We get this delivered every week.
30 litres.

Hipstamatic makes everything better.

I should test its limits by taking a photo of my kids' bathroom.

This is how Max Brenner serve a skinny cap.
They must have looked at me and thought "Who do you think you're kidding?"

For the girls and their friends...this looked like delicious fun, but I was too busy licking the chocolate off the edges of my coffee mug to join in.

The boys get a dream.

This is handily located just outside L'Occitane.

Mama has a dream too....

Meredy xo

caramelised onion & feta tart

This is an extraordinarily giving tart.
Not only is it flavoursome, it is wonderfully quick and easy to assemble and a lovely replacement for a starter for just about any meal I can think of during winter.

It's a Bill Granger recipe from his Bill's Open Kitchen book (page 68)

Here it is:

2 T olive oil
1kg (2lb 4 oz) onions, finely sliced
1 T soft brown sugar
2 T balsamic vinegar
1 t sea salt
freshly ground black pepper
1 x 375g (13oz) pkt of puff pastry*
25g (half cup) finely grated Parmesan cheese**
150g (5 and a half oz) feta cheese, crumbled
2 T fresh oregano leaves

* I cheat at this point and use a couple of sheets of pre-rolled puff pastry...life's too short.
** You must pinky promise not to use that weird powdery Parmesan stuff in a can.

**************************************

Place the oil and onion in a saucepan over a medium heat and cook for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add the sugar, balsamic vinegar, salt and pepper. Cook for another 5 minutes, or until the onion is soft and caramelized. Set aside to cool.

Preheat oven to 220oC (425oF). Line a rectangular flan tin, if you have one, with the pastry. If you don't, place on a lined baking tray and score a 1cm border around the edge of the pastry, taking care not to cut through to the bottom. This will form your edge. Prick the pastry with a fork and sprinkle the parmesan cheese within the scored edges.
Place the onion on top of the pastry base. Bake in the oven for 20 to 25 minutes or until the pastry is puffed and golden brown. Remove from the oven and sprinkle with the feta and oregano leaves. Serves 6.

We're also making the weekend lunch quite alot.
I've posted about it before here {click}
Easy. Filling. Fun to make.
That hardly EVER happens.
By the way....whoever made silicon bakeware which can now be bought for only $4 a piece in Kmart, deserves a Knighthood.
I love you Mr or Mrs Affordable Silicon Bakeware.

Also, chocolate sheet cake from The Pioneer Woman recipe book.

It is insanely moist, fabulous and large enough to feed all the neighbourhood kids if they tend to drop in quite a lot over the weekend. Which, they will continue to do once they taste this, in the hope that you will keep making it for them.

You'll be forever remembered as "Mrs ....... who always makes that AMAZING chocolate cake". You will be providing warm, fuzzy childhood memories enough that will hopefully conterbalance the facebook-google-youtube heavy childhood they are currently experiencing.

It's a good cake.

Mr Magoo would happily tell you, if he could remove the icing beater from his mouth for a moment.

Hope you're having a lovely weekend.

Meredy xo

ten best things to own....according to megan morton

I've been pouring/poring/pawing (!?) over the pages of Megan Morton's Home Love this past week. I've learnt so much....who would have thought I'd now be running the words "French Hang", "puddling" and "wabi-sabi" through my mind whilst sitting in traffic?

To help enlighten the Target/Op Shop/Ikea entrenched mindset, she's handily included her ten best things to own for your home. {Actually, Ikea does get a mention which is encouraging}. As opposed as I am to bossy directives about what one should or must own, Megan Morton is actually pretty sensible for someone who moves in such fabulous surroundings most of her days.

So here's her list. It's pretty interesting.

Ingo Maurer's Zettle'z 5

Of course, this would be totally hopeless in our home as the kids would see it as a sort of interactive chandelier to be jumped up at and slapped at every opportunity.

Okay....so would I.

Zafferano glasses. Specifically the Tumbler 1117...which I couldn't seem to locate. This is the Scintille 3500, which is pretty glorious. Definitely for grown-ups.

Classic Bentwood chairs from Thonet.

Never out of style and utterly gorgeous.

Gervasoni's Ghost 09 Love-seat.

Hmm, looks fab, but I'm afraid those arms are far too mean-spirited for my liking.

I'm not feeling the love on this seat, I have to say.
The Cookie Monster-inspired Knodd pedal-operated bin from Ikea.

At $24.99 a bargain:)

Bathrobe from Alfresco Emporium
So practical.

Some say subway, some say butcher....

These tiles are divine whatever you call them.

You can even get them from your local Bunnings:)

Wall art by Trevor Mein - meinphoto

From Becker Minty

I'm not understanding the glass cloche set up....how does it burn? how does the fragrance diffuse? Enquiring minds need to know.

From Caroma

I love that such a domestic item is included in her top ten.

So there you have it.

I have to admit, I think my top ten list would be quite different.

But in my maturity I am prepared to acknowledge that not everyone feels as strongly about Kmart ice cream bowls as I do.

Hope you're having a great day.

It's freeeezing today in Sydney. I have officially embraced my fluffy slippers and favourite grey marle Bonds tracksuit. Hmm...warm and fuzzy.

Meredy xo

the encyclopaedia of the exquisite and other lovelies

With my birthday and Mother's Day falling so closely together, I have been the lucky recipient of a number of online book voucher's. Yipee!! Books and shopping...a retail therapy marriage made in heaven.

I have been agonising over which ones to pick. Feel free to express your opinions and/or recommendations as you see fit:

If for no other reason than just to have this within arms reach when the daily domestic detritus threatens to swallow me whole. I'm thinking I should set up a shelf with a red cross on it or put some books under glass with a "Break in Case of Emergency" written across it.

Here's a review from Amazon:

“Encyclopedia of the Exquisite lives up to its unique premise . . . interesting and entertaining. [Jenkins takes] the reader on a fanciful tour. . . . Her goal is to assemble a collection that describes beauty of all kinds, interesting, affordable and, as collections of miscellany often are, eccentric. In this she succeeds, and Encyclopedia of the Exquisite is both attractive and addictive. It is certainly catnip for the trivia-besotted, but it also is a work that can easily be read in short bursts, and reread as the whim dictates. With its accompanying rich bibliography, it also provides an excellent starting point for the further pursuit of any of its myriad topics.”

I am quite trivia-besotted...so this will have to go on the list.

The blogosphere is RAVING about this book, so it must be list-worthy.

I adore some modern vintage action.

Apparently, Carolyn Westbrook's style is quite the thing and this book seems to be on everyone's lust list.
'Cause it looks purty.

And let's face it...how can a book on beach cottages disappoint.

Oh my. This book ticks every "living my vicarious life's dream in rural France with my family" book.

This is definitely voucher-worthy.
Click on this link {here} to go to the Amazon page then click the image for an inside peak....but put on a bib beforehand, you know...to catch the drool.

Who amongst us doesn't need a bit of a hand during arsenic hour?

The ups and downs of family life.....it's all captured around the table.

I am quite militant when it comes to eating dinner at the table together.

It's not negotiable.

Sometimes, though, I wish I could slink off and eat my meal all by myself.

Her name keeps on popping up everywhere in quite the most delightful ways, so I think this might also be worth a look in. Or will I just hate myself? Please advise.

From the woman who launched a thousand kitchens from the set of "Something's Gotta Give", this promises to be filled with more of the same Hampton's/Connecticut/Martha's Vineyard type deliciousness I've unfortunately grown to crave.

I especially love the fact that it's published by Rizzoli....it reminds me of Rizzoli's bookshop in New York which was featured so heavily in an anguish-filled, love in all the wrong places, Meryl Streep/Robert de Niro movie "Falling in Love". No one can wear shapeless skirt and jacket 80's ensembles like Meryl. The woman is bullet-proof.


Smug Alert:

I found this heinously expensive book tucked under a pile of other books on the bottom shelf at Target on the weekend.

It's quite huge and the striped cloth binding caught my eye whilst browsing at cooking porn.

I couldn't believe it when I price-checked it for only $20!

I love Target.

Meredy xo

for my precious mum....

Who has held my hand and never let go.

Through difficult teenage years, appalling haircuts, boys and fashion choices....

Through late nights of broken curfews and broken rules....

Through meeting the love of my life, knowing that he would take me away from her....and being happy for me........

Through wedding plans and first set of saucepans;

Through IKEA on a weekend {no greater love hath a mother!};

Through six pregnancies and a miscarriage;

Through depression, anxiety and recovery;

Through a crisis of faith and confirmation of belief;

Through it all with the greatest gift that can ever be given to a child...

unconditional love.

I love you Mum.

Meredy xo.

p.s. I promise I'll return your garden tools by next weekend.

39 and feeling foxy!!!

It's my mantra today.

I'm making a list of everyone who is totally foxy and older than me.

It gives me hope.

J.Lo

Elle McPherson

Sandra Bullock

Monica Belluci

Julia Roberts

Salma Hayek

Jennifer Aniston

Naomi Watts

Julianna Marguiles

Okay, so maybe some might be a tad "enhanced". But, I'm pretty sure that the latest cream I got from the Ponds Institute is going to do the trick this time. I'm sure of it! It's the Ponds Institute after all, right?

Considering I've just spent an all-nighter with Bugsy on the nebuliser with croup/asthma....{I've decided to call it crasthma}....I think I could look worse.

Admittedly, I was feeling better until I turned up to work this morning and Dave bluntly pointed out that I had breakfast cereal down the front of my trousers. This information would have been helpful before I bumped into the 300,000 school mums at the local cafe this morning get my jumbo skim cap.

So, maybe not totally foxy....but not quite a dog either.

Should I get that on a t-shirt?

Love ya more than my birthday cake,

Meredy xo


UPDATE: For those who enquired....yes, it is my birthday today. Can you tell I'm operating on no sleep? There should probably be a rule about "No Sleep - No Post".

And a very Foxy clip to put me in the birthday mood!