Daisy Chains and Picnics

I love Megan Hess illustrations and books, she is an amazing illustrator, her work is just so beautiful and clean, I plan to get all of her books eventually. I found this article in signature luxury travel  here  and just had to share it. Megan Hess in Paris The illustrator’s new book,  Paris: Through a Fashion Eye , brings to life the inimitable style and elegance of the City of Light. We chat with Megan about what to do, where to eat and where to find inspiration. What is the ideal 24 hours in Paris for you? I always stay at Le Bristol (I’m Artist in Residence there). I love its French toast and espresso for breakfast. A perfect day would then be wandering the galleries in Saint-Germain-des-Prés and stopping at Café de Flore for coffee, then on to Rue Cambon for a little shopping at Chanel. Just around the corner is Hôtel Costes where I love to have dinner. The people-watching is second to none, as is its famous Cracker Jack cheesecake. To finish the nigh...

Who doesn't enjoy a nice crispy piece of fried chicken now and again, it certainly doesn't last very long in this house and any leftovers (if there are any!!), Scott takes to his work for lunch. Marinating in buttermilk it helps to tenderise the meat. If possible leave it to marinade for a few hours or better still, overnight. Various spices added to the flour gives a delicious fragrant spiced flavour to the batter. Ingredients 8-10 chicken drumsticks 300 ml buttermilk 3 tsp ground Si Chuan peppercorns 1 1/2 tsp salt 300 g plain flour 5 1/2 tsp smoked paprika 2 1/2 tsp chilli powder 3 tsp five-spice powder oil for frying Method 1.  Place chicken drumsticks in a zip lock bag and pour over buttermilk, add some salt and pepper. Squeeze out air then close zip bag. Allow to marinade in the fridge for at least 2 hours, overnight if possible. 2.  Crush Si Chaun peppercorns in a mortar and pestle until finely ground. Combine with salt...

This salad is ideal as a sandwich filling or for jacket potatoes, great for using leftover chicken meat. Pieces of toasted almonds and red onion add a delicious crunch, the horseradish cream gives a tangy slightly spicy flavour. Ingredients 1-2 tbsp slivered almonds 1 cup cooked chicken, cubed 1 tbsp fresh parsley, finely chopped 2 tbsp mayonnaise 1/2 tsp horseradish cream 1 tbsp red onion, finely chopped salt and pepper to seaso n Method Lightly toast slivered almonds until golden. Finely chop them. Place cubed chicken into a small bowl. Add mayonnaise, horseradish cream, onion, almonds and parsley, mix to combine. Season to taste with salt and pepper. I enjoyed mine with a green salad.

The other day I couldn't decide whether to go tuna or egg for lunch so decided to have a mash up of the two, so it maybe doesn't sound so great but add to that sweet spiced gherkins, red onion, mayo and mustard and the combination is wickedly awesome. Ingredients 3 hard boiled eggs small can tuna, drained 2 small sweet spiced gherkins 1/2 small red onion, chopped 2 tbsp mayonnaise 1 tsp Dijon mustard chicken salt ground pepper Method Mash eggs in a bowl, chop the gherkins into chunks, finely chop the onion, add  these to the eggs along with the tuna, mayonnaise and mustard. Mix to  combine. Season with chicken salt and freshly ground black pepper. Dare to be different! go on try it 👍

This is a super easy soup to make, just pour streams of beaten egg into simmering broth which cooks the egg into silky ribbons giving it a delicious creamy texture, almost like very soft noodles. It is usually made using chicken broth but I had made an Asian style roast duck for tea and decided to use the carcass to make a broth then added a couple of chicken stock cubes, which resulted in a really chinese tasting broth, ideal for egg drop soup. Ingredients 1.5 litres broth 1.5 chicken stock cubes 1 tbsp soy sauce 2 tbsp cornflour 2 tbsp water 4 eggs, lightly beaten Method 1.  Bring broth to the boil, add stock cubes, reduce to a simmer, add soy sauce. 2.  Mix cornflour with the water, stir into broth, allow to thicken for a couple of minutes. 3. Using a spoon, swirl the broth then gradually add streams of beaten egg into the swirling broth. Remove from heat. Season to taste. Garnish with chopped chives or slices of sprin...

👀👀 It's been a week of eyes!. On Monday morning I noticed that Hamish wasn't opening his left eye, I had a quick check of it and it was very red and angry looking, assuming he had either scratched it or got something in it, I took him to the vet, she examined him and he had a slight scratch on his cornea but also an infection so $173 later we left with some cream and anti inflammatory tablets and another appointment for Wednesday. Even with the cream and tablets he continued to scratch it so I had to come up with a makeshift collar that prevented him getting to his eye, hence the towel tied around his neck!. Come the time for the next appointment he could open his eye but it was still quite red. On examination, the vet said that the scratch was a lot better but his eye was still too red for her liking so another $39 later we left with another appointment to go back on Monday. Finger's crossed all will be well then. Sore eye and makeshift collar. Fee...