Middle of the day

I am in the middle of a stunning autumnal day. Jonty, Nic and I all went to Lyttelton this morning. They went boating and I went to the market...on my own. They had a great time checking out the shipwrecks and I had a great time getting the food in. I bought organic apples, a whole bag of lunchbox sized Braeburns for $3! Organic vegetables including a cos lettuce and some fennel bulb and stunning ruby red pears. I also got some Aoili (I could make my own but my olive oil is not as good as theirs) plus some venison sausages, a small bag of kaffir lime leaves and a small bag of fudge for my sailors. Plus one giant organic baguette. After the market I went flower shopping and got dusky pink roses, dark red roses, white carnations and a bunch of freebee carnations. I have them in various combos and vases around the house now. I also stocked up on some bakery items and headed home also with a new vase and a pair of boots. YIKES!!! Shopping on ones own is a recipe for disaster me thinks.

With my gorgeous purchases I stuffed the very full fridge fuller and made my first ever Caesar salad using the cos, baguette, eggs, shaved Parmesan and some stunning pancetta I bought from the butcher last weekend. I added anchovies to the aoili to get that salty thing going and man it was lovely. I would have to say the lettuce was the least spectacular element of the dish and it was tasteless and a little sinewy. Anyway, because I am in love with food, I took a photo of it to share.

As I have already shared I am doing an upholstery night class these days. I have just about completed my chair which has been on the go for about 6 months. Below you can see the original followed by the makeover shot.As you can see I have gone for the French Country theme and hope to get a beachy kind of feel from it in the sunroom. Nicholas and the cat seem to love it so I imagine it is going to end up with either food and dirty feet or cat fur all over it. The upholstering has 7 layers of stuff on it and I learnt lots of new skills, needle and fabric stuff in the process. The wood has three coats of paint. Funny thing is, it is not that easy to sit in for grown ups but it has been fun to make and I love the look of it.I have a large vessel of quinces simmering on the stove in order to run up some quince jelly this weekend. Oh bliss. I just hope I can find enough jars after making plum jam in summer and some strawberry a few weeks ago. It is all sugary and fruity around here.