Boys are born competent. Girls have to prove they are
"Boys are born competent. Girls have to prove they are," someone once said to me. I was horrified. Surely that wasn't true? Last week I attended the junior recipe testers' swimming carnival. I helped with timekeeping, which was both fun and nerve-wracking in equal measure. My juniors swam in their age races, I got to watch and cheer from close quarters, and while neither are currently showing promise as the next Australian champion, they both did well. My daughter did very well in her age group, recording one of the fastest freestyle times for her age, and the fastest for her house. This qualified her for the 4 x 50m relay. My son also qualified, although not as far up the...
Turning into my mother, fixing a toilet at 3am, and the perils of flexible work
I think I'm turning into my mother.
Now, I should clarify I like my mother. A lot. There are great many characteristics of hers that I should like to emulate. Her sleeping habits are not one of them.
When I was a teenager my mum could never seem to sleep an entire night. She would wake anywhere between 2am and 4am and look at the ceiling for hours. I couldn't understand it. She was tired... nay, she was exhausted. She worked for both love, caring for 4 children, and money, in a job she enjoyed. I considered her sleeping issues ridiculous. And perhaps evidence of a character flaw.
I've changed my mind.
Sore boobs, the smell of wet sheep and a Happy New Year!
It's 2019. Already. We're so excited to be back in the kitchen for 2019, cooking for you. I love the Christmas and New Year period. But on reflection through January, I do feel that there are some things I will do differently this year... Seems every year, on Christmas EveThat all good sense just ups and leavesAlthough I swore we never wouldWe joined that martyred parent-hood Of those who stay up far too lateConstructing toys with long debateWhy do we always feel the squeezeTo get things done by Christmas Eve?I meant to get the carpets cleanDuring the year, but time was leanOn eve of Christmas. Hip hooray!"Last chance," I thought, "Today's the day!" A man arrived, a friendly chapTook out his hose, hooked up the tapAnd in a jiffy he...
Trying to help
I feel certain that the dog would not have bitten the senior recipe tester. That is, if the dog had not thought the senior had pushed it down the stairs.
The senior, it should be said, is not prone to violent acts, towards cute furry animals nor anyone else for that matter. Yet this poor creature saw need to attack the senior's ankle in rather a vicious, blood-drawing fashion.
Shortly after it fell down its own front stairs.
Surely, if it had not fallen down the stairs it wouldn't have even considered that the senior recipe tester had pushed it...
The maintenance of general personal hygiene
I know I don't have it as tough as my grandmother, or her grandmother. Most certainly not as difficult as her grandmother. Modern appliances make the washing of clothes, and therefore the maintenance of general personal hygiene, much simpler than in years gone by.
Until said appliances decide they cannot possibly go on...
Sourcing local honey for you
Sustainability, and sourcing locally grown produce is important to us.
At Thomas Holt Drive, where our dinner cart is located, our partners, AMP Capital, have bee hives, along with trained staff to maintain them, keep the bees happy, and to collect the honey. They were delighted to give us some of their honey to cook your dinner, or cater for your events in Sydney.
And so this week we're excited to bring you two delicious offerings: our much adored Teriyaki Chicken, and Apple and Cinnamon Muffins made with honey sourced from our second site at Thomas Holt Drive. Local honey indeed, from hives just 15km down the road.
Garbage trouble
Setting up a new kitchen has taught me many things. It takes longer than you think. It is more complicated than it first appears. Brand new stainless steel panelling comes wrapped in a protective plastic film. The plastic film needs to be removed before you can start cooking.
Plastic film is bulky and creates a lot of rubbish.
Too much for the new bins that just got delivered.
We launched... with a few blow outs
We have been desperate to get back into the kitchen and start cooking for you again. And this week we have finally done it! We have cooked in our new premises in Carrington Road, Castle Hill (32/7... do stop in and say hello!)
You all know that our kitchen renovations took much longer than we anticipated. But the result was worth it: what we have to work in is so much more than we anticipated. And we couldn't be more excited.
If I'm being really honest, it has been a week of highs and lows. In any move there are bound to be teething problems. ...Yep.
I shouldn't be surprised... but I always am
I know I shouldn’t be surprised. But I always am. Despite my significant experience, I never ceased to be amazed. And then I never cease to be irritated. I sometimes cease from shouting, but never cease from gritting my teeth and speaking. Simultaneously.
Things always take longer than you think.
Always.
The week that is...
This week has almost got me beaten. Almost. That I'm here typing is evidence. That I wince from time to time as I type is just a symptom of this week. This afternoon I dropped my big kitchen grill plate on my finger. Setting up a new big kitchen, I am discovering, requires the moving of equipment from here to there and then back again.
The grill plate is very heavy. My finger is not. My finger is slightly flatter than it was when I woke up this morning. My fingernail is purpling up nicely.
This week the senior recipe tester is in China...