Lunch with a Friend

 Well now.  That was exciting.

We actually went out to lunch.  With a friend.  We haven't been out for lunch with a friend for months!

Now that regional Victoria has opened up a little we can meet outside in small groups. The local cafes and restaurants have opened up again and can have small numbers inside and slightly larger numbers outside. And our friend Chris, who is one of the Sunday Lunchers, was coming to Ballarat to do some shopping.

The Sunday Lunchers haven't met since the beginning of the year because of various restrictions on gatherings and a lack of opportunity. So when Chris said she would be in Ballarat and should we meet for coffee, I thought YES we should.  Only we should meet for lunch.

So I booked us a table at Websters, which has outside spaces as well as inside spaces.  We were spectacularly lucky with the weather, which was sunny and relatively warm.  The space we were in did have a covering but I don't think it would have helped much had it been wet and cold. But it wasn't so it was a lovely couple of hours chatting, lunching and generally catching up. Jim also had a good time. He hasn't got out much since mid-March. He was a bit reluctant to come and risk exposure to the public but everyone in Ballarat is being quite careful, and we were outside where the risk on contracting any sort of pathogen is reduced. I think he also enjoyed having someone who wasn't me or close family to engage with. He definitely enjoyed his Websters' Breakfast and his glass of wine.  No wine for Chris and me. We were driving. I very much enjoyed my iced chocolate instead.

More lunching out is required, I think. Any (regional Victorian) volunteers?

It's another lovely morning today, though it is beginning to cloud over. I don't think it is supposed to rain though. And I am definitely not expecting snow!

Sunrise this morning, at about 05:45

Early morning light

 What a difference a weekend makes! These were taken at around 6:30 this morning

Spring

I do know that September is really the tail end of winter, no matter what the government and the BoM have to say about the beginning of spring.  September can be cold and grumpy. It can also be warm and sunny.  Depends on its mood on the day.

I knew that the weather had turned quite dark on Friday. Even so, I was somewhat surprised to look out the window at Rupert and Hugo's place to see this:

Rupert, looking at it with some consternation

There's garlic growing happily in there.
There are also broad beans just poking through.
Or there were :D

 

Hugo absolutely loved it.  Rupert, not so much.  Hugo went out and more or less started sledging. He launched himself at it and slid along. He had a great time.  Then he zoomed and zoomed and zoomed.  Rupert stood under cover with me and watched him.  You could hear him thinking that Hugo was quite, quite bonkers!

Then the clouds went away, the sun came out and all the snow melted.  We've just had rain since then.

Lindsey and I ventured out to look at one of the newly restored markets yesterday. The Lakeside and Brown Hill markets have both been relocated to a road through the park near the lake to make social distancing and crowd control easier for the organisers. It was quite fun to have a potter about but we did our actual shopping a the mushroom farm and Elaine.

And I am still having fun cooking.  Freyja told me about a recipe she had observed on Instagram and then adapted and made herself.  It sounded interesting so I gave it a go.  Freyja's was suitable for vegans.  Mine was suitable for vegetarians - until I topped it with some fried chicken pieces

Broken up lasagne sheets, simmered in stock and white
wine with green vegetables, garlic and tarragon
plus some parmesan cheese

Then I made parmesan crisps with the left over parmesan and mixed seeds

Possibly the easiest recipe ever!
Mix grated or flaked parmesan with seeds of
your choice.
Bake in a medium oven until lightly browned

Oh. And I've picked the first ever lemon from out little lemon tree. That was exciting!

Welcome, little lemon

Food

For some time now, I have been steaming fennel and leeks, with garlic, herbs, butter, whatever else I fancied, wrapped in foil and placed in the oven.  This produces lovely fennel and leeks but is a bit wasteful of foil. I decided to look out for a clay pot to use instead.

Then I remembered that I have this:

It was a present for my 60th birthday and lives on the dresser in the dining room. I haven't ever used it, being scared of breaking it. But it's a properly fired tagine and I figured it should be ok in the oven.  So I tried it, empty, in the oven, starting from cold and letting it warm up gently. And it didn't break. 

Right. Better than a foil package. So I filled it with vegetables, garlic, butter, mixed herbs and a bit of stock

45 minutes in a medium oven and it looked like this:

 

The tagine is clearly the way to go, although I also have a bamboo steamer which could be pressed into service more often than it is!

Sunday saw us hosting a Sunday Lunch for the first time in weeks.  Lindsey and Ian are our household "bubble" and came, bringing Rupert and Hugo with them.

I made up all three of the meals in my Cook Along box. And it was all very delicious. I will never buy beetroot dip again - who knew that it is so easy to make. The coleslaw was amazing. Lemon and thyme potatoes were a revelation. 

A mighty Greek Feast

Ancient grain salad, assorted dips with pita,
saganaki cheese

Swordfish with yoghurt, marinated chicken pieces, 
lemon potatoes and marinated shoulder of lamb

There was more than enough to feed 4 hungry adults, plus two greedy Great Danes.  I've never bought a cook along box before.  I will certainly do it again. It was lots of fun and drew my attention to things I hadn't though of before. Plus - there were leftovers.  I lerv leftovers!

Rupert and Hugo enjoyed being able to get out and visit. Since they were last here I have added the raised beds. They had a great time inspecting them, but had to be persuaded that I wasn't growing the cabbages and cauliflowers as a grazing table for them!

I love you, Lindsey, says Hugo

But I love your lunch even more!!

Delivery

You may remember that we live at the top of a cul de sac. Ours is the last unit at the end of a driveway which runs along the fronts of the three units on the block. Once you get to the end of the driveway, you can't go any further.  And at the moment you can't get quite as far as the end, because I have a pile of gravel and a heap of soil in the way.

Over the side fence there is a path which runs from the back parts of Mount Helen down to our court. It's the most direct way on foot to get from the houses at the back of Mount Helen to the main road and thus to the buses, the University and the technology and government buildings in the trees on the far side of the main road. Over the back fence is a small piece of common land, covered in trees. I suppose a small car could navigate the path, but I think it would struggle when it got the trees.  Every now and then, a bloke on a ride on mower zips up and down the path and very occasionally someone on a motor bike uses it. But mostly it is people on foot, occasionally on bicycles, people walking their dogs. We never see the lights from traffic at our place.

So it was a bit disconcerting when a bright light shone into the bedroom at 4:30 this morning. I could hear an engine idling. As it happens, I was awake. I was listening to the news on the World Service on the radio. I think the lights would have woken me anyway. The blinds were closed but there is a small gap on either side which let the light in.

I didn't think it was the police, who would almost certainly have banged on the door and announced their presence. It seemed unlikely it was someone with nefarious intent. Evil doers tend to be slightly more subtle in their approach.  It was unlikely to be a social visit at that time of day. I got up to investigate.

And observed an orange clad bloke delivering a box to our front porch.  A delivery! At 4:30 in the morning!!!!!

I hadn't expected the Covid restrictions to be lifted quite as much as they have been in Regional Victoria, or not quite yet. So when I saw an advertisement for a Cook Along box with one of the former Masterchef judges I decided to get one. It was three meals from the Hellenic Republic which closed down before Covid hit. I thought it would make a nice treat for Jim and me. The Cook Along is in video format so no need to cook all three meals on Saturday at 5pm. I get to do some interesting Greek food, Jim and I get to eat it. Something interesting to do on a locked down weekend

I knew the box was coming today.  I was not expecting it at 4:30 am!!!  I brought the box in when the orange bloke had gone away, unpacked the contents and put them all in the fridge and went back to bed. I've looked in all the paper bags this morning and there are lots of fun things to play with. 

Regional Victoria is not that locked down any more. We can nominate one other household to have as social visitors. Restaurants and cafes are opening up again. Retail has sprung back into life, although we weren't as limited in our shopping choices as Melbourne has been. We can leave the house just because we feel like it and go anywhere we like in Regional Victoria. Not into Manky Melbourne, which is still locked down, and not interstate because the state borders are still closed. 

So to celebrate this unexpected freedom of movement, Lindsey and Ian are coming for lunch tomorrow. And we will Cook Along with George for a mighty Sunday lunch.  Each of the three meals is designed for two people. I figured if we cook them all we can have a pick and mix lunch. Anything that's left over will do for lunches during the week. I'll let you know how we get on.

Look at what I made

It's many years since I last made a raised pie, so it's a bit rustic. And I think my new spring loaded cake tin is bigger than the recipe called for - I only just had enough pastry. Definitely none left over for decorations.

It was very tasty, though, despite being rustic in appearance

Wouldn't win a baking competition

but made a delicious lunch, with some salad and pickle 

I've also made some marmalade, with orange, lemon and ruby grapefruit. I have some extra ruby grapefruits so I am planning to make a grapefruit jelly (not a jelly with cream and sprinkles!)

I woke up quite stiff this morning. This is unusual. Then I remembered that I ordered a metre of garden soil yesterday. When it arrived I decided that I needed a wheelbarrow. A quick trip to Bunnings and a wheelbarrow was acquired. Then I shifted enough soil to fill two wooden boxes and one of the hexagonal raised beds before I decided that my back would probably appreciate it if I stopped.  It is not my back that is objecting this morning!!

I've shifted about a third of it, I think. I had intended to move a bit more today but it's raining. Not hard, but enough to mean I'm not likely to play in the garden. Perhaps it will go away for a while and I can move a bit more.  It's not actually in front of the garage door, but it's inconvenient for getting the car out.

Wind, Rain, and some Sunshine

We certainly had Weather last week.   

There were very high winds and lots of rain. You would not have called it warm. And, in typical spring fashion, if the day cleared at all, it cleared in the late afternoon, early evening.

We don't usually get spectacular sunset colour at our place. We get to see the sunrises. You get the sunsets at Hill House, which overlooks the plain running towards the South Australia border. (You can't, of course, see that far, but on a good day you can see the Grampians in the far distance.)

Every now and then, though, and particularly when a wet day clears into a sunny evening, we get this, looking to the trees over our back fence

Then, at some point on Saturday, the weather cleared, the sun came out, the wind dropped. We were fortunate in that none of the surrounding trees fell or dropped branches on us.  I might even go wild today and collect all the twigs that are decorating the backyard - before the winds decide that we're getting lonely without them and come to visit again.

I can't remember if I have ever mentioned the Krooze In Cafe, which is just around the corner from us.  I can walk there in under 5 minutes. Under normal circumstances it is very popular at weekends with the local bikie community, although cafes and restaurants can only do take away service at the moment so the bikies are not there. I called in on a whim many weeks ago, when I was walking past on my way back from the post box. It's a reasonably typical Australian country cafe, distinguished by its 1950/60's American diner decor.  I've been in a couple of times since that initial impulse visit. The food is not bad, the weather on Sunday was very pleasant, so I decided to treat us to a take away lunch. 

On my way down the driveway, I ran across the hermit-like tenant of Unit 1. I think I have seen him 3 or 4 times in the nearly 2 years we have lived here. I have spoken to him just once before.  You don't often see any signs of life at all in his unit.  Anyway, it turns out that the people who have bought unit 1 are planning to move into it.  The people who bought unit 2 were planning to rent it out. This worked for him, so he was in the middle of swapping from #1 to #2.  This is good news. I was a bit worried when our lovely neighbours moved out; you can never tell what new neighbours might be like. But he is hardly going to be troublesome!

Sunshine, Wind and a Bit of Rain

Sunday was Father's Day in Australia.  It was also a beautiful day. Sunny, relatively warm, still.

I expected there to be multiple road blocks between Ballarat and Mount Martha. There had been an extensive advertising campaign imploring people to stay at home and not to go and visit their fathers but given the beautiful weather I thought people might be tempted to make a quick visit.

In fact there was very little traffic on the roads and no obvious police presence. We, of course, were not making a furtive visit to father but a perfectly legitimate care visit to mother. Didn't hurt that it was a lovely day :D

All in all, it was a good weekend. I did all the usual Saturday morning things - mushroom farm and farm gate shop. I did a bit of cooking, a bit of tidying. We did a bit of gardening. We took some food supplies to Mount Martha on Sunday and did a bit of tidying and sorting out there. We were stopped at Checkpoint Charlie on the way home, but they weren't really very interested in us. Asked where we had been and why,  then sent us on our way.

The wind picked up yesterday, although not enough to inconvenience us. By nightfall, however, it had got quite strong. It was very strong overnight. I was quite surprised to get up this morning and not to find large bits of tree scattered over the garden. Twigs and small things, yes. Huge bits of tree, no. However, we have no terrestrial television reception. None at all.  I went out to see if we still have a television aerial. And we do. But I am fairly sure it is now pointing in the opposite direction to where it was pointing yesterday! I have someone from Hire a Hubby coming on Monday to give me quotes for a couple of small jobs we need done. I shall get them to include the re-orientation of the aerial in with it.  Jim and I are definitely not shinning up a ladder onto the roof to play with TV aerials! In the meantime, we have digital options to play with so we won't be entirely without televisual excitement this week

There have been reports of trees and branches down around Ballarat and surrounds.  I have not been out today to inspect them. Partly because I had no reason to leave the house, partly because this morning was windy and rainy, partly because of inertia. Oh, and working on various bits of web related stuff for work, which (you will be surprised to learn) was considerably more complicated than I expected it to be!