Tuesday night Coq au Vin

I'm a fan of slow cooking.  Browning each item thoroughly, slowly caramelising the onions, carefully dicing the vegetables into an even size to make a beautiful sofrito and leaving it on a low simmer to bring out the maximum flavour and have the meat falling off the bone.  Slow cooking like that is a Sunday afternoon activity, when you have all the time in the world to make a beautiful dish and the perfect side of smoothly mashed potato.

Even when cooking quickly get some decent colour on the chicken.

On Tuesday night it is less about a perfect fine dice, more about a random "rustic" chunk.

Then there is Tuesday night cooking.  When a conversation with my Mum has me craving that rich casserole flavour but the reality of a working life means I want all the prep done in the minimum time.  On nights like that the pan is hot, the cooking is fast, the dice is random and the potatoes are not mashed.  The flavour might not be quite as deep, the meat not quite as tender, but the satisfaction is all there.

Artistic shot of herbs - I use these ones because they grow in my garden.
The rosemary is so close to the door I don't actually even have to step outside the house - I use it a lot.

Yum mushrooms, all for me because S doesn't like them - score!

This is my Tuesday night Coq au Vin. (note, I also usually throw in some bacon with the onion etc but our reliable freezer supply was unfortunately used up last night).

Tuesday Night Coq au Vin
serves 4
olive oil
8 pieces of chicken - i.e. drumstick or thigh is best
1 onion diced as roughly as time allows
2 carrots diced as roughly as time allows
2 sticks of celery diced as roughly as time allows
2 tablespoons tomato paste
1 cup red wine
2 cups chicken stock
2 bay leaves
sprig rosemary
4 sprigs thyme
handful of mushrooms - mine were fairly large so I cut them into quarters

Heat a heavy casserole over a high heat. Toss your chicken with a little flour, pepper, salt, dried oregano, paprika.

Add some olive oil to the casserole and start frying the chicken in batches being sure to get a good solid golden colour on the chicken pieces.

Once the chicken is cooked, throw the onion, carrot and celery in the pot and cook stiring occasionally to make sure it doesn't stick, for as long as you want - ideally till it is all softened, but probably more like 5 or so minutes.

Throw in the tomato paste, the wine, stock and herbs, bring to the boil.  Add the mushrooms and chicken and stir to coat.

Keep on a light boil until your boyfriend asks when it will be ready and starts investigating the leftover lasagne in the fridge - hopefully at least 30-50 minutes later.

Serve with boiled potatoes and slightly dehydrated peas from the freezer where  you forgot to tie the bag up.

Enjoy with a big glass of wine and an episode of Masterchef.

Note to self, the peas are much tastier if you don't let the freezer dehydrate them.

Slippers to work

It is beyond me why anyone would build anything in Canberra without insulation - yet they do.  Case in point is our office.  Above our ceiling tiles there is a little bit of sarking and roof tiles, that is it.  As a result it gets cold in our office very, very quickly.

Luckily we have an excellent heating system but on these cold and frosty mornings it takes some time to get the temperature up and as a result, even with my fantastic Flox stockings, I've had cold feet too many times recently.

My office is quite a casual place, so this morning, knowing there were no visitors expected, I wore slippers to work.  The boys haven't even noticed, or at least they haven't commented, and I'm pretty sure they would, if only to agree that it is an excellent idea.

So I can add wearing slippers to my list of inappropriate things I've worn to the office - along with a ballgown, cocktail dress, large hat (for Melbourne cup day) and that time I accidentally wore a black bra under a white shirt.

Have you ever worn something odd to work (either on purpose or not)?

Autumn outside my window

Do you remember this tree that lives outside my office window from spring?

Well it looks like this now!

It is almost luminous in its red gold colouring.  Usually it is one of those trees that changes a bit at a time so you end up with a multicoloured effect, but the consistently cool temperatures this autumn seem to have it all turning at once and it is just spectacular.

Autumn is proving to be such a joy to behold this year.

Homemade Muesli - attempt 1

For some reason, at some point in my life I decided that I did not like muesli.  It was the strange thing that Mum ate in the morning and it was clearly awful.  Then when I was in an Asian country with no other cereal options I finally tried it - and realised I love muesli.

This is not the first time this has happened.  Pesto, parmesan and beetroot were all exactly the same.  At a young age, for no decernable reason I decided I didn't like them and given that I eat pretty much everything everyone assumed that there must be a reason for this.  I guess it is the reason why it is important to try everything and if there is something you don't like, keep trying it every few years because our tastes do change.  I'm still hoping that coffee will become something I like in time because it just isn't the same ordering a pot of tea when everyone else has a coffee.

Anyway, back onto muesli.  Having discovered that muesli is in fact awesome, I set about trying different varieties.  I prefer untoasted muesli, served with greek yoghurt rather than milk. While each brand I tried had great elements, I was struggling to find one that exactly matched my preferred tastes.  So I finally got around to making my own.

Given that making your own natural muesli basically involves just mixing a bunch of stuff together and then eating it, it is a remarkably simple process.  My first attempt is very tasty.  Even S who is not a muesli eater commented it was yum when he stole some of my breakfast.  I think this is a mix I will be making again, but I do like variety, so expect some different recipes in the months to come.

Do you like muesli?  What type and how do you eat it?


Lisa's Natural Muesli - take 1
3 cups rolled oats
1 cup soy and linseed bran straws
1 cup natural almonds roughly chopped
1/2 cup pepitas
1/2 cup sultanas
1/2 cup dried cranberries
1/2 cup dried apple cut into pieces about the size of the cranberries

Put in a bowl, mix together, eat any way you enjoy!

Lunchtime

I am generally very good about bringing my lunch to work.  Not only does it save me a lot of money (where I work you are very lucky to get change from $10 for lunch) but it also helps me get in my 5 serves of veggies a day.  In summer I eat a wide range of salads.  In winter it is usually veggie soups, ratatouille with cous cous or a veggie curry of some sort.

However, every now and then, often on a Friday when my brain has run out of the energy needed to remind me to bring something with me, I buy lunch.

On those days I am almost paralysed by the choices available.  I've worked in the same street for almost 15 years (although for different companies and in different buildings, crazy I know) and in that time we have gone from one grubby takeaway and one nice sandwich shop to a plethora of choices.  You can get everything from gourmet sandwiches, to sushi, dumplings, pasta, the standard chinese and greasy chips, etc.  So it is a big decision.

Today I went with Turkish.  Delicious fluffy rice, topped with chicken and a side salad.  Actually surprisingly healthy for a takeaway lunch option.  And so delicious.  I ate well beyond what I needed to, but it is hard when it is so yummy.  Time for a walk around the block I think!

Koko Black take 2

I haven't been there in months, and then within weeks I've had two visits to Koko Black - believe me I'm not complaining!

This time I opted for the walnut brownie served with hot chocolate sauce and vanilla bean icecream.  The presentation at Koko Black is always gorgeous and as someone who eats first with their eyes, it is always a delight when such a plate is placed before me.  The brownie was rich, yet surprisingly crumbly, so the hot chocolate sauce was lovely with it.  In fact the hot chocolate sauce was delicious on the brownie, with the vanilla ice-cream or just by itself.  It is lucky we were with friends or I might have been tempted to lick out the little pot it came in, as it is I probably took a layer of china off with my spoon.

After the chocolate overload of our last visit, I decided to forgo the hot chocolate as a drink and instead chose a pot of tea.  It really was the perfect match for my brownie and meant I didn't end up in the same diabetic coma as last time.

We had been to a BBQ earlier in the day and S was stuffed so he just ordered a cappuccino.  However in true Koko Black style, even the coffee came with chocolate in the form of a small cup of chocolate shavings to scatter over the top.  He said it was delicious.

Koko Black is definitely not for every day, but it is the perfect place for leisurely indulgence with friends - the kind of indulgence that means I will be doing my power walks this week!

Flox Tights

Check out my "normal" opaque tights.
(Not the best photo - it is hard taking a picture of your legs.)

Other than a random week in November and my time in Adelaide over Christmas, I don't feel like I had a real summer.  Scorching days were pretty much non-existent.  My power bill was the lowest it has ever been owing to the lack of air conditioning use.  So you would think that the change into winter weather would be easy.  But somehow I'm struggling this year.  I keep finding myself not quite warmly enough dressed, particularly at work.  I've had too many days of cold feet so today I brought out the big guns - my Flox tights.

I discovered Flox tights last year.  They are the holy grail - fleecy lined tights.  Yes you read that right.  Some genius managed to merge tracksuit pants with opaque tights and the result is awesome.  They aren't quite as warm as thermal leggings, but they are close and they look exactly like normal opaque tights so no one will know your secret to staying warm.

They do have a slight tendency to pill, so you need to be careful with your handwashing and they do stretch a bit over time - but people, they are fleecy lined tights, they are still awesome.

Apparently this year they are also selling footless tights.  This I don't understand.  Being someone with perpetually cold feet, why if it is cold you would not want your feet covered is beyond me.  But if that is your thing, the option is there.

So if like me, you insist on continuing to wear dresses through winter I highly recommend Flox!  You can buy them here on their website.

This review is all my own opinion, I am not in anyway connected with Flox, other than through my now toasty warm legs.