Hampton Food & Wine

So, yesterday was the Hampton Food & Wine Festival, which I try to attend - almost religiously - every year with a few good friends (kids optional).  Hampton is a small community about 25 min North of Toowoomba and to get there you have to drive through the beautiful lush, green, tree lined New England Highway.

Thankfully the sun was shining all day and so long as you stayed out of the shade it was reasonably warm for a windy Autumn day.  We were able to try dozens of yummy wines from Queensland vineyards - mostly from the Stanthorpe area, including Ballandean Estate Wines (home of Opera & Jazz in the Vineyard, which I am yet to attend) - one bottle of which we managed to drink with lunch, plus some bottles to take home in the boot.

We ate delicious local food from restaurants & producers such as Kylies Hungarian langos (like a naan bread), Sudha's Indian butter chicken & Bindi Spots beef curry, Dutch poffertjes (like profiteroles), local fudge (mmm -from So Sweet), Jims Jerky, Rash Valley olive oil (processed just a week before - so smooth you could drink it), Avacado oil, the worlds best vinegars (LiraH), Gypsy Gourmet chutneys, Hampton Blue jams, Seatonfire Chilli chocolate, just to name a few.

We also watched some wonderful celebrity chefs cook up a storm of Grilled Murray Grey Beef with a pistachio crust - so tender cooked by Alastair McLeod and an Italian Style Breakfast Torte - by Dominique Rizzo, and listened to a local wood fired baker talk of his passion for feeding the community, the owner of LiraH who makes the best Verjuice and Vinegars I have ever tasted , as well as personal friends Daz & Kylie from Homegrown Health who produce organic food sold weekly at the Toowoomba PCYC market.

Probably the best bit, was soaking up the sun, enjoying the company of great friends, eating fine food & drinking bubbly sparkling shiraz, having a whole day without kids (yeah!) and getting our photo taken by the girls at TDD Photo Booths.
Happy days...

Happy St Patricks Day

Well today is the day to wear green and drink guiness. I will try my hardest to do both, now just what to do with the children, hmmmm. Anyone know a good baby sitter.

St Valentines day

So, I just thought I would put my heart on the line today..........

When you are married, especially if you have children,

your heart goes on the line every day.

In one moment you can be so heart - broken,

only to feel overwhelming unconditional love the next.

Life is not always what we expect, in fact rarely

is that the case, but life with love, is the only way to be.

My home town

Recently my home town made news all over the world due to severe flash flooding in our city of Toowoomba.  Thankfully my family are all safe and we only have minimal damage to our property.  But it is a day that will stay with me for the rest of my life.

My appointment in the city centre was rescheduled from 2:30pm to 2pm and something told me to be early and take an alternate parking spot that day, so thankful that I listenned to my "inner voice" that day. I walked out of my appointment and was about to walk between two shopping centres, before I stopped and saw the torrent of water in front of me.

My kids were at their Grandmas on the other side of the creek and I had no safe way to get to them till the next day.  My poor Mum had two kids with only 3 nappies, running amok totally oblivious to the world around them.

My hubby was stuck at work in Grantham for over 24 hours.  All he could do was watch as the water rose from a small river to a 1.6km wide torrent, carrying debri, etc, in front of his eyes. About 80 of his co-workers were stuck there, some for up to 3 days. Also as most of them live in nearby towns, we are still waiting to hear that all got home safe that day who left from the early shifts.

It really makes you think about life to go through an experience like this. I really hope I can learn to never waste another day, as each one we live is so precious, and made all the more so when our loved ones are safe and happy with us.

My thoughts and prayers still remain with the families who are awaiting answers of their loved ones.

Christmas presi's

OK, so anyone who knows me well, understands my obsession with all things in the kitchen. So I was a happy gal when I got for Xmas - a le creuset paella pan, a three tierred cake stand + 2 x 2 teir cake stands. Oh and a spanish cookbook amongst other goodies.

So coming up soon - Spanish banquet dinner party, yum!
and a High Tea garden party.

Recipes to follow.....

Happy New Year

Well who can believe it is 2011. I love every new year I get older.

I think it has something to do with my Religious Ed teacher telling me in primary school that she thought the world would end (AKA Armageddon) by the year 2000.  I remember being like 8 and going to myself - so that means the oldest I will live to is 23.  Needless to say I came home from school that day in tears.

So now that I am 33, I appreciate every year that the world doesn't end.

techno troubles

Don't you hate it when your technology doesn't work properly.....grrrrr. have been trying to update posts for a week now and keep having difficulties.  Probably all of the rain at the moment.