July happenings

What a month so far! The weather up here in the tropics has been nothing short of ridiculous. We are supposed to be dry, and yet we have had the wettest July on record. Today we were cooler than both Brisbane and the Sunshine Coast at 0700. However, it is really quite lovely to be in bed on a sunny Sunday morning at 11 degrees in July...

This month is a lot about MacK, and his continued exponential developments. He seems to have really good coordination, which he has to get from Jane's side, 'cause it certainly didn't come from me! He loves to follow a ball around the yard, just kicking it along. He has a pretty good throwing arm also. Jane watched him with a rugby ball the other day, and thinks she might have to concede that he will play in the front row - he was practicing his lineout throws!

A future 'Picasso' in the making, having fun with Mum

He is developing his words at a rapid rate also. We have had Mum and Dad for a while, and then sounds that we were interpreting as words. Now we definitely have 'Bike', 'Bird', 'Star' and 'More' as well. He has a full range of sounds, now he just needs to start putting them together so we can understand him. I really think that at the moment the problem lies more with us than him. He is giving the best cuddles, and although his kisses are generally open mouth, they are pretty special too.

You can peel the pear next Mum... I am a good helper!

Last week he went into his own 'big' bed, and seems to be sleeping better. Not yet all the way through, but definitely making moves in the right direction. It was so cute the other day to see him walk into our bedroom at 0700 in the morning with a great big smile on his face. 

Right now he is motorbike crazy. He has always waved me off to work in the mornings, and now just loves to sit on the bike, making "vroom, vroom" noises. When I come home I generally sit him on the tank and ride around the yard before riding into the garage. He loves it, and it is a struggle to get him off the bike.

Mack really loves the bike!

Other than MacK news, the month has been a bit of fun, with a few welcome visitors. Melissa came to stay for almost a week, arriving on my birthday. We had a lot of fun, and MacK certainly enjoyed the time with his Godmother. Oh yeah - July is my birth month, and this year was the 40th one of those I have had. We weren't planning on doing anything (I wasn't, but I think Jane always had something up her sleeve), until Melissa planned her arrival to coincide. I then had a call from Dave (my oldest mate, and MacK's Godfather) to say he was going to fly up from Sydney for the day, and that I had better get a couple of bottles of red out of the cellar. We had a great day, with slow braised lamb shanks for dinner, and a cake to represent the farm for dessert. 

Jane and I, with my farm cake!

Catey & Jo McGlinchey, Dave and Melissa celebrating with me

Last week I took a call from Tyson to tell me he was slumming it over on Magnetic Island, and that he would come for dinner one night. It was brilliant, as he hadn't had the chance to meet MacK prior to that point as he has always been away for our visits south.

The other happening of note for the month is that our chickens have had to find a new home. It was a little bit sad, as the crazy girls have really become a part of our household and lifestyle. We can always get more! 

A pre-birthday dinner

First up I have to apologise about the lack of pictures in this post. We had the best of intentions to take lots of pictures at our last dinner party, but only remembered at the end of dessert.. woops!

I had originally decided that I wasn't really going to plan anything for my 40th birthday, mostly due to the tyranny of distance from friends and family. We decided that we would have one of our dinner parties, just so that we could enjoy good food and wine with great company, and my upcoming birthday was as good an excuse as any. It ended up being a couple of weeks early as one of the people we wanted to invite works in the mines, and we wanted to work with his schedule.

When I sent out the invite, it read like the following:

A Gentleman of a “certain age” would like to invite you to join him on a retrospective culinary journey through some of the tastes, flavours and memories of life thus far.

Menu:

Canapés

·            Mangrove Jack, wrapped in pasta with Aioli

               My take on a Friday night favourite – Battered fish with Tartare sauce

·            Potato and ham croquettes, mustard sauce

               Reminds me of my Nana’s (and then Mum’s) corned beef with mash and mustard sauce

·            Deconstructed prawn cocktail

               As a child of the 70’s, I have to have a soft spot for it. But no avocado, I promise!

·            Lamb’s fry, bacon & onion

               Memories of Dad on the farm, and fresh lamb’s fry for lunch

Dinner

·            Beetroot, rocket and chevre salad, on toast

               Simple, but grown up flavours. Classic – showing that good ingredients treated simply are always a winner

·            Hot smoked beef, smoked garlic, slow poached egg, tomato confit and chips

               My take on Steak, eggs and chips… Perhaps a little tweak here and there, but always a favourite when Dad was cooking!

·            Mini Gateau St. Honore

               Dedicated to the patron saint of Pastry Chefs, and one of the first real restaurant desserts I cooked.

Afters

·            Tea, Coffee and Chocolate Mint crunch

               Chocolate and mint has been a favourite flavour combination since I can remember. Generally in ice cream, but always the combination.

·            Cheese with Oat and rosemary biscuits

                        Because I like cheese. And now that I am growing up, isn’t it the grown up thing to                 serve?

The aim was to treat myself to some favourite memories, but I found it really difficult when I wrote the menu. There were so many dishes that stood out, and so many that I wanted to share. Of all of the dishes, I am told that the Fish wrapped in pasta was a favourite - I think because it was so unexpected. For me, the out and out winner of the night was the prawn cocktail. I have never had a reaction to food like I did to that dish. I strained pureed tomato, onion, capsicum and celery through several layers of muslin to get a perfectly clear 'tomato water' (fruit juices are clear, when you remove the solids that float in suspension). I served it in a champagne saucer with a lettuce leaf, and a skewered prawn tail fried in garlic oil and chilli flakes. It took people an age to work out what the clear liquid was - and really tickled my fancy.

The rest of the meal was a success - although I probably wouldn't recommend trying to hotsmoke beef (or anything else) in a domestic kitchen, with a domestic rangehood. But at least we know the smoke alarms work!

Fantastic night as always with that group of people, and an excellent selection of wine to go with it. I think Jane and I got to bed a little after 0100... But very much worth it.

On the general home front, not too much to report. MacK is growing daily - and my next post will have pictures of him, I promise. It is raining, which is really unusual for Townsville. Being the dry tropics, it generally doesn't rain between April and October. We don't mind, as it is actually cool enough to climb under some blankets without sweating! Lovely.