Weekend Cooking: Anatomy of a road trip

Last week we were lucky enough to be able to take a week off from work and do a roadtrip in our home state of Victoria. Our original plan was to head up to Canberra and then drive back around the New South Wales south coast but unfortunately with a cluster of COVID cases in Sydney, the borders were closed which means that we had to make a plan B pretty quickly. And plan B was to stay within the state border, and it just so happened that our route meant that we were following the Great Alpine Road which was something we discovered after we booked all the last minute accomodation.

Our original plan allowed for a day to visit silo art, and I have to say it was worth the drive, but first we visited a town called Glenrowan which is famous for being the place where infamous  Australian bushranger Ned Kelly was arrested following a deadly siege back in 1880. The main reason for stopping in this town was to have scones with jam and cream. Last time I went to Canberra we stopped here and I remembered that the scones were good and the serving of cream was very generous. Given my lovely husband's penchant for cream, I thought he would enjoy it. Whilst the scones were still very good, the serving of cream was not quite as generous as I remembered, but it was sufficient. Oh, and there's a giant statue of Ned in town too! It wasn't the last time that Ned got a mention during our trip!

We then visited a town called Benalla which has an annual art festival where murals are painted on the walls. I definitely think that we will revisit the town after the next festival to spend some time exploring.  Jackie, I think this would be your kind of place

I have posted before about silo art, and once again the ones that we visited on this trip were really good, and you can see my favourites  by clicking on the link. This video is of a water tank that has been painted. This one is way off the beaten track, along dirt roads, driving through an area that used to be under water when it was a lake. Again this is part of an art trail which we really enjoyed.

 

On the former lake edge, we stopped at the only cafe in the area, just as the kitchen was about to shut, so the only thing we could have was some hot chips (think chunky fries), but my goodness these chips were so good. It wasn't the first really good chip that we had on the trip either. These were the ones that we had up a Mount Hotham, at the very top of the Australian Alps. We began to wonder if maybe the altitude made the chips better but that didn't work as the reason for this first bowl given that we were at the bottom of a former lake

The various great chips did prompt a conversation about what makes a really good chip - it has to be crispy on the outside, but still a bit fluffy on the inside, and definitely better if they are a bit salty, or with gravy as we had on these ones at Mount Hotham.

One of the other conversations we had was about what a really good tourist town needs. On our journey we visited several big tourist  towns - Beechworth (where we visited the jail and heard all about Ned Kelly), Bright and Lakes Entrance - and one of the big discussions we had whilst driving was what is it that a good tourist town needs. There are many things of course, but from a food perspective we agreed that you would need at least one good pub, but there also needs to be a good bakery, and a lolly (candy) shop.

Normally, we have our test of a good bakery is how good their vanilla slice was, but at one of the bakeries we visited their specialty was a beesting. This is something that I have made myself before, so it was nice to compare. I would make it again, but now that we know that we can get it from this bakery chain, and that there is one up the road about an hour or so away, we might find ourselves doing a day trip out that way.

Weekly meals

Saturday- Steak, baked potato, blue cheese sauce and broccoli

Sunday - Chicken Schnitzel with meditteranean vegies

Monday - Beef Stir Fry

Tuesday - Dinner with our family

Wednesday - Green Chicken Curry Pie

Thursday - Chicken sausages, cauliflower mash, gravy and broccoli

Friday - Pork hamburgers and chips

Weekend Cooking is open to anyone who has any kind of food-related post to share: Book reviews (novel, nonfiction), cookbook reviews, movie reviews, recipes, random thoughts, gadgets, quotations, photographs, restaurant reviews, travel information, or fun food facts. If your post is even vaguely foodie, feel free to grab the button and link up anytime over the weekend. You do not have to post on the weekend. Please link to your specific post, not your blog's home page.

This Week ...

 

I'm reading...

I finished my last book while we were travelling and so then I had the luxury of deciding what I wanted to read and wasn't constricted by hat I needed to read but rather I had the freedom to choose what to read. My only restriction was that it needed to be a book that was already downloaded as our internet access was a bit limited.

 

So what did I choose? I chose to start reading The Life She Deserves by Maggie Christensen, the first book in the Granite Springs series. The reason I chose this book was because I have heard that the books are good, and I liked the idea of reading a rural romance which features older characters. As someone who met their spouse in my mid forties, I love the idea of reading about more mature characters. So far, the main characters adult kids are annoying me but we will see how it goes as I read more. Given that the seventh book in the series is just about to come out, I have plenty of reading in front of me.

I'm watching....


Because we were away last week, we didn't watch too much, other than quiz shows. We watched plenty of those!

Life

Our road trip was full of ups and downs! We ended up driving the Great Alpine Road and spent a couple of days at Falls Creek and then another couple of days at Mount Hotham. In winter both of these are snow covered playgrounds for skiers and boarders. In summer, the trails are ideal for mountain biking and walking. While we didnt do any biking, we did walk a bit. It has confirmed how unfit we are, so that's something that we should probably do something about.

After hitting the heights in the mountains, we then ended up in Lakes Entrance which is a beautiful place.

From mountains as far as the eye can see to water as far as the eye can see!

Posts from the last week

Weekend Cooking: Roadtrippin'

Blog Tour: An American in Paris by Siobhan Curham

I've linked this post to It's Monday, what are you reading? as hosted by Book Date

Weekend Cooking: Roadtrippin....

 We are currently lucky enough to be roadtripping around Victoria.

I'll be back next week when I have more consistent internet access.

In the mean time, please still share your links and I will be around to visit within the next couple of days.

Weekend Cooking is open to anyone who has any kind of food-related post to share: Book reviews (novel, nonfiction), cookbook reviews, movie reviews, recipes, random thoughts, gadgets, quotations, photographs, restaurant reviews, travel information, or fun food facts. If your post is even vaguely foodie, feel free to grab the button and link up anytime over the weekend. You do not have to post on the weekend. Please link to your specific post, not your blog's home page.

Blog Tour: An American in Paris by Siobhan Curham

There's an old adage that is something along the lines of if you want to know the truth ask a drunk. For Sage Segal, a night out is enough to ruin a highly successful social media influencing career. If you want to keep your career then you probably should not reveal to the world that everything is fake, and that all the positive life messages you post don't reflect how you actually feel. Let's call it a career limiting move. In addition, it makes you a target for online trolls.

What Sage doesn't expect amongst all the vitriol is an email from an American man called Sam who claims to have the matching half of the locket that she was given by her late mother. She was left on a church doorstep in Paris at her birth, with only the locket and a scrap of paper saying her name. Given the toxicity at home, Sage takes the opportunity to go and visit Sam in Arkansas.

There Sage begins to learn the story of her grandmother, Dorothy. Originally from Arkansas, Dorothy went to New York and became a dancer. From there her friend Bessie invited her to come to Paris to dance, setting in motion a chain of events that she could never have dreamed of as a young girl on the farm.

On her first day in Paris, Dorothy meets an artist named Otto and they have an instant connection. Unfortunately, Otto is returning to Austria the next day so they only have that one day but they promise to meet again at the same time on the same day next year. But Europe in the late 1930's is not a safe place if you are Jewish, as Otto is.

When they are finally reunited, it as the Germans are invading Paris. As an American in Paris, Dorothy has more freedom than others and so she is asked to write a column that will give information about what is really happening in German occupied Paris, especially as there are Germans who frequent the club where she dances. At the same time, it is challenging to keep Otto out of the hands of the Germans.

I don't know about you but I find the role of influencers in modern social media kind of odd, and so I found it a bit difficult to relate to Sage. I did like that by the end there was clearly personal growth and a realisation about the way to be happy is to be true to yourself, but it took a while for me to relate to her. 

When I read dual timeline books it is normal for me to be more interrested in the historical story, and that was definitely the case here. I found Dorothy's story to be fascinating, although I did wonder if one person could take on all the different roles in the resistance that were portrayed here. Certainly made for a cracking, dramatic story though. I was glad that the author didn't make all of the most obvious story choices in telling Dorothy and Otto's story.

About the book

Paris, 1940: Walking through Montmartre that morning was like the eerie calm right before a storm. The roads were deserted. We carried on, arm in arm, and then finally, we saw them. Columns and columns of soldiers, spreading through the streets like a toxic grey vapour. ‘You must write about this,’ he whispered to me. ‘You must write about the day freedom left Paris.’

As Nazi troops occupy the City of Lights, American journalist Florence is determined to do everything she can to save her adopted home and the man she loves.

Florence had arrived in Paris in 1937 and on a beautiful summer’s day, met and fell in love with Otto, a Jewish artist from Austria, who had fled persecution in his homeland. But as swastikas are draped along the city’s wide boulevards, everything Otto was running from seems to have caught up with him.

Both Florence and Otto begin lending their talents to the Resistance, working to sabotage the Germans right under their noses. Florence’s society columns that, before the war were filled with tales of glamorous Parisian parties, now document life under occupation and hide coded messages for those fighting outside France for freedom. While Otto risks arrest in order to pin up the anti-Nazi posters he designs by candlelight in their tiny apartment.

But with every passing day, things become more dangerous for Otto to remain in Paris. If Florence risks everything by accepting a secret mission, can she ensure his survival so that they can be reunited once the war is over?

A sweeping wartime story that will capture your heart and never let it go. Fans of The Alice Network, The Lost Girls of Paris and My Name is Eva will be absolutely gripped from the very first page.

About the author


Siobhan Curham is an award-winning author, ghost writer, editor and writing coach. She has also written for many newspapers, magazines and websites, including The Guardian, Breathe magazine, Cosmopolitan, Writers’ Forum, DatingAdvice.com, and Spirit & Destiny. Siobhan has been a guest on various radio and TV shows, including Woman’s Hour, BBC News, GMTV and BBC Breakfast. And she has spoken at businesses, schools, universities and literary festivals around the world, including the BBC, Hay Festival, Cheltenham Festival, Bath Festival, Ilkley Festival, London Book Fair and Sharjah Reading Festival.


https://siobhancurham.com/

https://www.facebook.com/Siobhan-Curham-Author-398343120181969

https://twitter.com/SiobhanCurham



Buy Links:


Amazon: https://bit.ly/3mlNzgj
Apple: http://apple.co/2ETJ0tT
Kobo: http://bit.ly/3nm25q2
Google: http://bit.ly/2Ss6CZI

This week....

I'm reading

Do you pick a word for the year at the beginning of the year? I am in a group on Facebook where they do this each year and this year the word I chose is Balance, because I need to ensure that I have better work life balance for starters.

I haven't done one of these posts for a month or so because I have been super crazy busy with work and it really has impacted on my reading time. In the end I only finished two books in December, both of which were audiobooks, and one of them was only really a novella as it only ran for a couple of hours. And that one featured really horrible characters, like really horrible.

I have several books that I have started but haven't finished yet, but the book that I really need to focus on this week is An American in Paris by Siobhan Curran. I really need to find some time to read , which is going to be challenging given that we are currently on holidays!

I did start listening to a new audiobook, the sixth book in the Seven Sisters series. I have had this in my queue for a while, but I avoided it as for a while as it is more than 20 hours. That's actually why I chose the other book whichh was so awful. I am really keen to get this book read before the final book in the series is released which I think is due to be sometime this year 

By the way, if you are a historical fiction fan? I am hosting the Historical Fiction Reading Challenge this year so be sure to sign up!

I'm watching

We partied hard on New Year's Eve by watching Soul on Disney. Has anyone else watched it? I thought it was okay but if you did watch it with a kid  you would have to do a lot of explaining.

We did watch Death to 2020 on Netflix which we really enjoyed. 

I spent all of Boxing Day watching Bridgerton which I enjoyed a lot. It was fun to see all those ballroom scenes coming to life - so over the top and gorgeous. I was a little bit disappointed that they didn't change one of the key scenes which they could have easily done without losing all the drama.

Life

We were supposed to be visting Canberra this week but the borders between Victoria and New South Wales have been closed because of a coronavirus outbreak n Sydney, so instead we are staying in Victoria and going up to the Australian Alps. If it was winter we would need snow gear but given that it is summer we will probably just need our winter jackets!

Our first day was spent following the Silo Art Trail. I have posted before about visiting other silos across the state, This is something that really enjooy doing. We also visited a town where they have an annual street art festival where murals are added to the streetscape. We are thinking about maybe coming back after the festival to see what has been added. Here are a few different images from our arty day. For the next few days it is going to be all about the mountains!

Posts from the last week

Weekend Cooking: Prawns vs Shrimps

Historical Fiction Reading Challenge: January Link post

I've linked this post to It's Monday, what are you reading? as hosted by Book Date

Weekend Cooking: Prawns vs Shrimps

Back in the 1980s there was a very successful tourism campaign which encouraged Americans to visit Australia. I dare say if you asked any Aussies, they would say that the catch cry used by Paul Hogan was "throw another shrimp on the barbie" but this is one of those occasions where that isn't actually what was said.  There are a few different versions of the ad, but here's one where Hoges actually says that he will slip a shrimp on the barbie

The other big issue with this ad is that we just don't call that particular form seafood shrimp. If you come to Australia and ask for shrimp you will get very small prawns (the kind that you would normally see in fried rice) and not the type that you see in the ad.

You may wonder why I am talking an ad from the 1980's. Let me assure you that it isn't just for nostalgic reasons. It's because I have prawns on the mind!

I do love prawns but I do tend to only eat them at this time of the year. I know that there  is no reason why we can't have them at other point in the year in things like prawn pasta, or in a prawn laksa, but we just don't.

It is, however,  quite a normal thing for us to sit on the deck on Christmas Eve and eat a pile of prawns whilst downing some nice wine. This year, we did it a bit differently and cooked them and then served them up with three different types of butter (garlic, lemon and chilli butter) with steamed rice! Delicious!

Every year we do a pretty traditional Christmas lunch where the first course is a prawn cocktail for all of us, except for my son who doesn't like prawns. This year he didn't have anything for first course, but in previous years he has been known to just have lettuce.

We also had prawns for dinner the other night, this time with a chilli and garlic sauce and steamed rice.

I thought that today, I would share my favourite recipe for barbecue prawns. I have shared this recipe before but it was many years ago and it is still one of my favourites, and I have a few friends who love it  too! If I am making it for a group I tend to buy frozen prawns rather than having to do the whole cleaning and peeling business!

I am hoping that we might get one more big prawn feast this year, but we will see what happens!

Low-fat barbecued prawns with lime, chilli & coriander

Preparation Time

20 minutes
Cooking Time

25 minutes

Ingredients (serves 4)

* 2 tbs fresh lemon juice
* 1 tbs fish sauce
* 2 tsp olive oil
* 4 kaffir lime leaves, deveined, finely shredded crossways
* 2 large garlic cloves, finely chopped
* 3 small fresh red chillies, deseeded, chopped
* Salt & freshly ground black pepper
* 1kg (about 12) large green king prawns, peeled leaving head and tail intact, deveined
* 2 tbs roughly chopped fresh coriander
* Lemon wedges, to serve (optional)

Method

1. Combine the lemon juice, fish sauce, oil, lime leaves, garlic and chillies in a large ceramic or glass bowl. Season with salt and pepper.
2. Add the prawns and toss gently until the prawns are coated in the marinade. Cover and place in the fridge for 30 minutes to marinate.
3. Heat a barbecue grill or chargrill on high. Cook the prawns in batches of 3-4 on preheated grill (depending on available space), brushing with the marinade, for 2-3 minutes each side or until they change colour, curl and shells are browned. Place the cooked prawns on a plate and cover loosely with foil to keep warm while cooking the remaining prawns.
4. Place the prawns on serving plates, sprinkle with the coriander and serve immediately with the lemon wedges if desired.


Weekly meals

Saturday - Pork chops, mashed potatoes, broccolini 

Sunday - 

Monday -Zucchini Risotto

Tuesday - Burgers with waffle friends 

Wednesday - Southern Fried Chicke

Thursday - Prawns with Rice

Friday - Chicken with Cauliflower Fried Rice

Weekend Cooking is open to anyone who has any kind of food-related post to share: Book reviews (novel, nonfiction), cookbook reviews, movie reviews, recipes, random thoughts, gadgets, quotations, photographs, restaurant reviews, travel information, or fun food facts. If your post is even vaguely foodie, feel free to grab the button and link up anytime over the weekend. You do not have to post on the weekend. Please link to your specific post, not your blog's home page.

Historical Fiction Reading Challenge - January

Welcome to the 2021 edition of the Historical Fiction Reading Challenge here it's new home!


I am very excited to have so many of you signed up for the challenge already this year, and I look forward to reading your reviews throughout the year! I am sure there is going to be a lot of great historical fiction discovered and shared with fellow HF lovers this year!

If you haven't already signed up, it's not too late! The sign up post is here.

Just to recap what participants need to know. At the beginning of each month I will put up a post which will have a Mr Linky embedded into it for you to add your link.

Please remember...

• add the link(s) of your review(s) including your name and book title to the Mister Linky we’ll be adding to our monthly post (please, do not add your blog link, but the correct address that will guide us directly to your review). A direct link to your Goodreads review is also acceptable
• any kind of historical fiction is accepted (fantasy, young adult, graphic novels...)
• if you have time, have a look some of the other links that are present. You never know when you will discover new blogs or books!

I have created a group on Facebook which you can find here and don't forget to use the #histficreadingchallenge hashtag on the socials.

I hope that you all enjoy your participation in the 2021 Historical Fiction Reading Challenge.

What will be your first histfic read this year? 

Weeking Cooking: What I Baked in December

I am already at that time between Christmas and New Year where you are not really 100% sure what day of the week it is!  Normally it takes a lot longer to get to that point but it has been a strange week all round. I went and got my hair cut on Monday with my current hairdresser as she is moving her business to the other side of the city. Whilst I could drive more than an hour each way it also doesn't make sense to drive past hundreds of hairdresser to get there. I also have always, always gone on Saturday so it is really odd to have gone on Monday afternoon. I also went into the office to work for only the second time since mid-March, and then worked very late a couple of nights so was absolutely exhausted by the time I got to Christmas 

We went to my sister's for Christmas lunch which was lovely as usual. For all that it is summer here, it was actually quite cool yesterday with a high of 18C/64F. It was warm enough to wear a nice top with jeans, but definitely not hot enough for the pool. We were lucky enough to be able to have my entire family there as the borders to South Australia are opened so my mum was able to come over as was my brother, his partner and their almost 2 year old son who was, of course, the centre of attention.

We always have quite a traditional Christmas lunch - we always start with prawns with home made cocktail sauce (which is a 3-2-1 ratio of cream, tomato sauce and worcestershire sauce with a touch of cayenne powder). Then the roast dinner and vegies with ham and turkey, and then Christmas pudding and trifle, which this year was made by my 13 year old nephew.

Anyway, it's the  last Saturday in December, and so this is my normal weeek to share what I made in December, although I think I have shared everything already!

For my team at work I made a couple of little treats for when we had our first face to face meetings since mid March. We ended up splitting the team into two groups rather than coming together as one team. I made them Rocky Road Clusters and also Soft Chocolate Gingerbread Cookies, which are always a bit hit. I posted about making the first batch a couple of weeks ago because apparently I coouldn't follow a recipe properly, but when I made the second batch, I managed to actually remember all the ingredients!

My recipe for Rocky Road Clusters can be found here and the Gingerbread Cookies are here.  I highly recommend the recipe for the cookies. I have made these for the last 3 years and they are delicious.


The only other thing that I made this month was the Chocolate Caramel Flan which I made for our family dinner with my husband's kids. This is the recipe that I made a few weeks ago but to make it festive we filled the hole in the cake with fresh berries.

I need to find some new things to make now! Not sure where I am going to get my inspiration from but it will come from somewhere I am sure.

Weekly dinners:

Saturday - Family dinner (Spicy chicken wings, roast beef fillet with peppercorn, glazed ham, roast vegies etc)

Sunday - Left overs

Monday- Beef and noodles stir fry

Tuesday - Pork ribs with baked potato and coleslaw

Wednesday - Spaghetti Bolognaise

Thursday - Prawns with 3 different types of butter sauce

Friday - Nothing - way too full from lunch still

Weekend Cooking is open to anyone who has any kind of food-related post to share: Book reviews (novel, nonfiction), cookbook reviews, movie reviews, recipes, random thoughts, gadgets, quotations, photographs, restaurant reviews, travel information, or fun food facts. If your post is even vaguely foodie, feel free to grab the button and link up anytime over the weekend. You do not have to post on the weekend. Please link to your specific post, not your blog's home page.

Weekend Cooking: Gravy Day (with White Wine)

I am a couple of days early with this because Gravy Day isn't until Monday really, but for my Weekend Cooking post this week I wanted to share a couple of songs about Christmas. Why is December 21 called Gravy Day? Well, listen to the words of the first song and you will find out!

This year is certainly going to be a very unusual Christmas for many people,with many unable to travel to celebrate with family and friends as they usually would. This first song is about a family who are unable to be together for a different reason.

Paul Kelly, who wrote and performed this song is an Australian music legend, and he is definitely a storyteller. Many of his songs tell stories, which I love.

As you know, I am in Australia, so for us Christmas often means hot weather and sunshine, rather than the more traditional cold weather and snow that is generally portrayed as being Christmassy. This song, by Australian comedian/musician Tim Minchin is now one of my favourite songs. I was going to say something about it being new, but the reality is that it has been out for more than 10 years now. Whilst we will most likely have a traditional lunch, no matter how hot it is, the reality is that at least part of our day might be spent outside, drinking white wine in the sun, or maybe a nice sparkling rose. We'll see.

To all of you who are celebrating this week, I wish you a very safe and happy Christmas! And if you are celebrating your own faith's holidays, I wish you all peace and as much joy as possible at the end of this very strange year. 

And I thank each of you for your continued support of Weekend Cooking!

Weekly Meals

Saturday: Burgers 
Sunday: 
Monday: 
Tuesday: Steak, egg and chips

Wednesday: Butter Chicken Pizza
Thursday: Mexican Chicken and Rice
Friday: Pizza (takeaway)

Weekend Cooking is open to anyone who has any kind of food-related post to share: Book reviews (novel, nonfiction), cookbook reviews, movie reviews, recipes, random thoughts, gadgets, quotations, photographs, restaurant reviews, travel information, or fun food facts. If your post is even vaguely foodie, feel free to grab the button and link up anytime over the weekend. You do not have to post on the weekend. Please link to your specific post, not your blog's home page.

Christmas Quote: A German Christmas

Years ago when I livedin the I went to a European Christmas market. I remember being amazed by some of the gingerbread houses. I also totally agree that chocolate is always a good idea.

I also found this quote poignant because, with the benefit of hindsight, we know what was coming for all of Europe.

Schloss Siege, Christmas 1934

The household was awake early on Christmas Eve at Schloss Siegel. Isabelle hated to think waht timethe servants must have begun their day.. When she walked into the dining room for breakfast, she was greeted with one of theloveliest sights of her life. On the giant mahogany table was an entire village of gingerbread houses studded with brightly coloured sweets. Thick strands of holly and ivy wound around gorgeous silver platters of food. 

Isabelle had lain awake a great deal of the previous night, her mind a swirl of thoughts about German politics. Max. Nazism. Did he really believe in Hiter's policies? Or was he just trying to do what was best for his country? What would she do if he were to become irrevocably involved - in all aspects of it?

Now she moved forward to the stack of plates on the sideboard. The family's Christmas porcelain was decorated with exotic red and green patterns, swirling flowers, and dancing red ribbons. He shoulder brushed against the armof Max's valet, Hans. He apologized in German and stood aside for her to pass..  But Isabelle insisted that he go first. He nodded, his blue eyes failling to the floor as he moved on.

This was one of the days of the year on which the servants were given special privileges. The household staff were chatting informally with the family and other guuests and had all been given a personal gift, along with a box of gingerbread and a bag of sweets and chocolates. The atmosphere was convivial, even relaxed; it was as if the normal formalities of the house had flown awy, if only for a few hours.

"You have to try one of these." Max appeared behind Isabelle and handed her a plate of chocolate, exquisitely decorated and formed into tiny handmade wreaths, perfec tlittle Christmas stockings, even miniature Christmas gifts, complete with a bow. Isabelle took this and held it for a moment.

"It seems a little indulgent for breakfast." She smiled.

"How so?" Virginia said, sweeping into the conversationn in a green silk dress that hugged her perfect figure close. "Chocolate is always a good idea."
Isabelle chuckled and popped the delicacy into her mouth. She took Max's hand and led him across the room, toward the double doors that opened into the small dining room.

"You know, I  think this is my favourite thing in the entire house," she said, leaning in toward a tiny triptych on the small sideboard. The decorated panels illustrated the Christmas story, and the triptych was lit by a single candle in front of it.

"Wait until you see the church later today," Max said. He leaned down and kiss her on the cheek, the backs of his fingers lingering on her face for a moment.

Virtual Advent Tour 2020 - Where's Elvis?

Back in 2006 Kailana from The Written World and I had the idea to start a Virtual Advent Tour where we toured around the blogosphere as participants shared stories, songs, memories and more about Christmas. We continued to host up until 2013 when we handed the baton over to Sprite Writes and she has been hosting since 2014

For the longest time the Advent Tour was one of the ways I helpedget myself into a festive mood because it was a time of the year that I did struggle with, so I am super pleased to see that the tour lives on!

I thought for my advent post this year I would share something that I have been doing for a while now and that is buying Christmas ornaments when I travel. For a long time I used to buy one special ornament each year. Usually it would be a more expensive, more fragile ornament with a glittery inscription of the year on it, but a few years ago this morphed into being ornaments that we had bought from places we had visited on our travels.

This year I should have been able to share ornaments from London and Paris at the very least but our trip was cancelled and we haven't really been able to travel anywhere to buy new ornaments!  So instead, I am sharing last years with you.

In May last year  we travelled to the US, arriving in New Orleans, then we went on a Carribean cruise (where we got engaged) and then we drove from New Orleans to Nashville, and then onto Kansas City via Tuscon and a small town called Concordia where my son was playing college basketball. It was an amazing trip.

Along the way we gained several Christmas ornaments, which are going to grace our new tree. This year is actually the first year that we have put up a tree since Robert moved in. The last couple of years we haven't quite managed it because we were going on holidays so we decided not too.

So these are just some of the ornaments that will be gracing our tree this year

This is our New Orleans one, the classic fleur de lys. Only problem is that when I went to hang it on your new Christmas tree this year, I realised that the only way to hang it is upside down which didnt really work properly.

Next up - Nashville. I really enjoyed Nashville and would love to go back again at some point. Maybe not right now with the US COVID situation, but some time.

The next one comes from Graceland in Memphis. We actually bought two ornaments in Memphis. The only problem is that we have lost Elvis! Maybe I should say Elvis has left the building? Actually I am pretty sure he is still in the building but we really don't know where! And now, I am going to need to find him, no matter how much effort it take because he would look great on our tree! He's purple, with a big cape and, from memory, gold accents!


We did acutally acquire another ornament last year when one of my friends visited from New Zealand.

Here's  hoping that next year we will have some new additions to the tree from places we have visited. Maybewe will need to collect some Australian ornaments.

Thank you for visiting my post for this year's Virtual Advent Tour. Special thanks to Sprite Writes for keeping the tradition alive.

Christmas Quotes: Christmas 1941

Earlier this year I did a Top Ten Tuesday post about books that have been on my shelf for a very long time. Doing that post prompted me to actually read the book and now I am sharing a Christmas Quote from it!

This is an excerpt from a letter written to the writer's childhood friend who is serving in Europe while the writer is at her home in a seaside town in Devon

In the afternoon I went to see Lady B, who wouldn't let me into her room because of germs. So I went back home, lit the fire in the drawing-room, did the black-out all over the house annd sat down with my knitting. At six o'clock there was a lot of scuffling and scrunching on the path outside, and some children began singing carols. We get a lot of carols here, most of them squeaked hurriedly through the letter-box, but these were real carols, sung by a lot of children with a grown-up in charge.
'God Rest Your Merrie Gentlemen', they sang in their clear, sweet voices, and very nearly in tune. After that, we had 'Once in Royal David's City', and 'No-well, No-well'. A very small child came in with the collecting-box, and deeply moved by their performance, I gave, as they say, generously. When Charles came home he found me sitting in the dark, blowing my nose.
"You're not getting a cold, are you?" he said, rather crossly, as he switching on the lights. "Hullo!" he said, rather crossly, as he switched on the lights. "Hullo!" he said, peering at me closely, "what's going on here?"
"It was the carols," I muttered.
"But carols oughtn't to make you sad."
"Well, these did. There is so little, so very little peach and good will in the world just now, Charles."
Charles patted me kindly on the shoulder. "Not the international sort, perhaps. Plenty of individual good will," he said. "And now, go and put that cottage pie in the oven, I'm hungry."

Weekend Cooking: Sticking to the recipe

Do you have weeks when sticking to the recipe is just harder than it should be, even if it is something that you make regulary? We had that this week, not once but twice.

I was lucky enough to meet up with half my team this week, and so I thought I would make a little treat for them. Good plan. I even played it safe and made things that I have made before.

The first thing I made was Rocky Road Clusters which I managed to get right, but to be honest it would be a big problem if I did mess it up because there are only three ingredients!

The second thing that I made was Soft Chocolate Gingerbread Cookies - another recipe I have made multiple times in past and they have been big hits, even being labelled as the favourite thing I had ever taken into work at my last job.

Now admittedly,  I did start making them after a very busy day in a very busy week in a very busy couple of months at work, and we had had people come for dinner, so I was probably a bit too tired to actually bake but bake I did.

And it wasn't until later that night as I was going to bed, I realised that I had forgotten to put the sugar in to the cookies. I remembered to grind the cloves, but no brown sugar at all! Now my husband assured me that it still tasted good but I did feel as though I needed to give the recipients a warning, just in case.

As if that wasn't bad enough, the next day we had a friend coming for dinner.  She is gluten intolerant so we wanted to find something that was easy to do after work that she could eat. In the end we decided that we would make one of favourite recipes - Baked Zucchini, Tomato and Parmesan Risotto.  This recipe is one that we have even used as a basis to make other baked risotto's using the principles of the recipe, such as doing bacon and mushroom baked risotto.

Given how often we make it, you would think that we wouldn't bugger it up, but somehow we used vegetable stock instead  of chicken stock but that wasn't too big a deal. It still tasted delicious, and my friend asked for the recipe. What might have been a problem was something that we only realised when we were laying in bed and my husband said to me....um...I forgot the tomatoes! I mean, they are even in the title of the recipe!

I am meeting up with the other half of my team this week so I will have another go at making both of these recipes, but maybe we will just keep it a bit simple!

Are you making edible gifts this year? What are some of your favourite things to make?

Weekly dinners:

Saturday: 
Sunday: Cheese on toast
Monday: 
Tuesday: Chicken kebabs wth baked potato and coleslaw

Wednesday: Very cheesey mac and cheese
Thursday: Zucchini and parmesan risotto
Friday: Pizza (takeaway)

Weekend Cooking is open to anyone who has any kind of food-related post to share: Book reviews (novel, nonfiction), cookbook reviews, movie reviews, recipes, random thoughts, gadgets, quotations, photographs, restaurant reviews, travel information, or fun food facts. If your post is even vaguely foodie, feel free to grab the button and link up anytime over the weekend. You do not have to post on the weekend. Please link to your specific post, not your blog's home page.