01. New Year’s Eve gin.
02. I made the most delicious pea, fetta and mint tarts for New Year’s Eve. The recipe came via my sister-in-law, who got it from a friend. I tracked it down to Annabel Crabb’s book, Special Delivery (now out of print), via an article by Julia Baird about the joy of cooking for others.
03. Nectarines. How delicious are they this season?!
04. Watching Love Me (Foxtel/ Binge) – one of those stories that I was engrossed in from the first minute (note that it’s about grief and bereavement). Added bonus, it’s filmed in Melbourne and I recognise lots of the locations (and saw Hugo Weaving filming a scene at Merri Creek one day when I was out walking).
05. We needed an easy puzzle and this was ideal.
06. New skirt (it has yellow in the print and pockets, so it’s perfect). Pockets are essential IMO.
07. Bit obsessed with neon peach nail polish.
08. I realised that I missed reading my AY (Annual Yates) last year. Huh. So, happily choosing which one it will be for this year – I have two unread to date (A Special Providence and Eleven Kinds of Loneliness) and one that I read so long ago that it’s due for a reread (Liars in Love). Thoughts?
09. After not much action for weeks, the avocado seed has sprouted new leaves.
Yep, those gins have pretty much summed up the situation 😀
Thank you for the avocado update!
Didn’t know which one to open first! 😉
I do a variation on those tartlets when asked to bring a plate (if I don’t have time to make spanakopita). The recipe came from A Whizz in the Kitchen. (It came with my first food processor). Short or puff pastry cut into circles to fit a patty pan: whiz 1/2 an onion, an egg, some cheese, some fresh herbs, crab or ham or whatever, and a bit of cream and fill the pastries. Bake till they look irresistible.
An acquaintance of mine works in a Greek bakery. Others are always saying to her, “How do you resist the cakes?!” And I always think that if I was there, the cakes would be fine, it would be the spanakopita that would call me name! I LOVE it.
My secret: home made ricotta and about 1/4 of the greens is sorrel from my garden.
Hurrah for the avocado! Not a gin fan (sorry) but I’d by it for those labels.
The fine print on the labels is very funny.
Love the humour behind those gin labels……..
And they get funnier the more you drink 😀
Love gin … on the hunt for a good Yuzu gin. Every time we find one it’s out of stock, but we are checking out another now. Have always loved gin.
Great nectarines are great, but I don’t eat a lot of stone fruit because I’m too often disappointed. Mr Gums keeps trying – I have no idea why. Give me a fruit salad of mango, nashi and passionfruit, and I’m happy.
Love the look of the tartlets, though as a gf person they are off-limits for me. I have found some gf tart cases though and make a cold, goat’s cheese filling for them. They are great for a party.
Anyhow, happy new year to you Kate. I enjoy this post series of yours – and your Stella predictions which I’m thinking about and keenly waiting for your ideas. No pressure! You still have time! Haha.
I love stone fruit and am prepared to persist every summer. Nectarines are my absolute favourite. In contrast, I don’t eat mangoes! (I know, I know, who doesn’t love mangoes? It’s a texture thing….).
Working on my Stella predictions. Poetry is included this year – not my area of knowledge, so wouldn’t know where o begin on a poetry prediction.
That gin! And Love Me…I watched it all in one night I loved it that much.
I stayed up way too late and finished Love Me last night. Excellent series. Seems like another season could be possible??
I really hope so!
Being a generation older than you, I wouldn’t be game to have those gins in my house in case my mother saw them.
The tarts look great
I can’t imagine how women get by without pockets.
Well, I have to say that my daughter saw the gins and said that a contribution to the family Swear Jar was required!
I don’t understand why women are expected to get by without pockets! Yes, we often have handbags, but often not.
Women LOVE pockets. That’s one reason why I don’t understand why they make women’s coats that don’t have inside pockets. I buy men’s coats and jackets so I can get inside pockets, because I don’t always want to lug a bag around with me!
I recall seeing a red carpet feature in a magazine and one of the celebrities was wearing an amazing sequinned, floor length skirt – with pockets! The commentary was about the pockets but again I thought, ‘We need pockets in the evening as well!’ 😂
Those Gins – HA!!!