Another round of Sydney mornings and London evenings.

From London:
I stopped to admire the Christmas lights on my way to Hamleys for a spot of Christmas shopping. I think they are a bit boring this year. Not very Christmasy at all. The first year we were in London I went to watch them turn on the Christmas lights. Last year, I don't think I even saw the Christmas lights at all. This year, I only saw them because I was in town. We're no longer tourists; we're becoming real Londoners. When referring to London, the word "home" has slipped out of my mouth more frequently lately. When I talk about our upcoming trip to Australia, I keep saying we're flying home in early December and returning home on new year's eve. My subconscious reveals my heart's state of confusion. I'm sure Australia will win in the end.




Check out Sue's evening at noodlebowl.net and her photos on Flickr.

This week's recipe was brought to you by wine, cream and butter. How can you go wrong? It was in the twenty-minute meals chapter and is supposed to take you 19 minutes to cook. I think it took me around 25 minutes including preparation time. Not bad for such a tasty meal.

Chicken and Leek Stroganoff
Serves 2 (this was 1.5 meals for Andrew and me with a little bit of extra rice)

sea salt and freshly ground black pepper 150g long-grain or basmati rice 1 large leek a big handful of chestnut or oyster mushrooms 2 chicken breasts, preferably free-range or organic olive oil a knob of butter a glass of white wine a bunch of fresh parsley 285ml single cream 1 lemon

Pour boiling water from the kettle into a large pan, place on a high heat and add a pinch of salt. Add your rice, bring back to the boil, then turn the heat down slightly. Cook for the length of time given in the packet instructions. Cut both ends off the leek, quarter length ways slice across thinly, then wash well under running water. Slice the mushrooms. Slice the chicken breasts into little-finger size pieces.

Put a large frying pan on high heat and add a good lug of olive oil and a knob of butter. Add the leek to the pan with the white wine, a small glass of water and a good pinch of salt and pepper. Let it bubble away for 5 minutes, covered loosely with a piece of foil. Meanwhile finely chop the parsley, stalks and all. Remove the foil and add the chicken strips, most of the parsley, the cream and the mushrooms. Stir, bring back to the boil, then turn the heat down to medium and simmer for 10 minutes. Drain your rice. Just before serving cut your lemon in half and squeeze the juice of one half into the stroganoff. Season to taste.

Spoon some rice on to each plate and top with the stroganoff. Scatter with the rest of the chopped parsley. Serve with the other lemon half, cut into wedges.

We're halfway through Movember now. Hooray!


So, all along I've been calling Andrew's moustache a handlebar when it's not. According to Wikipedia, a handlebar moustache is "moustache with particularly lengthy, often graspable, extremities". The side bits of a handlebar moustache are not attached to the face. Andrew is growing a horseshoe moustache, one which was favoured by cowboys in the Wild West. It's a " full moustache with vertical extensions from the corners of the lips down to the jawline and resembling an upside-down horseshoe".

I found lots of useful information on this site The Handlebar Club. It's a social club for men who grow handlebar moustaches. They have a very interesting FAQ section, answering questions such as What sort of comb should I use?, What is a moustache cup?, What is a snood? and Can I make my own moustache wax?. Go and check it out. Your life is not complete until you know what a snood is.

A few of Andrew's workmates are also doing Movember. (Photo 1: Craig, Kiwi Allen and Andrew. Photo 2: Andrew, Kiwi Dave and Kiwi Allen.)


Thanks to this week's Mo Bros and Sistas: Juzzy, Caitlin, John and Leah. Thanks for the donation guys!


Don't forget to sponsor him.

Andrew and I spent a rainy Sunday afternoon at the Museum of London with what seemed like the entire under-5 population of London. We spent a lot of our time at the museum avoiding pushchairs (strollers) and children throwing spectacular tantrums (we saw one great old-fashioned face down fists banging the floor one). It was great CAT (Child Aversion Therapy). The Museum of London focuses on the history of London. There are exhibitions on pre-roman times, Londinium (Roman times), Medieval London and Tudor and early Stuart London. There is also an exhibition on the Great Fire of London.

Fire Marks
After the Great Fire of 1666, an enterprising individual, Nicholas Barbon, invented Fire Insurance. These insurance companies not only insured your house, but had their own private fire brigades. When you were insured by a company, you placed what was known as a Fire Mark on your house. This was a badge which showed that you were insured. The idea was, that if your house caught on fire, the fire brigade of your company would come and put it out. Apparently, if a house caught on fire, the fire brigades from several companies would turn up to see who it belonged to. If the house wasn't insured by them, they would just leave and let it burn.


Trade Tokens
At the time of the great fire, businesses such as pubs and coffee houses used trade tokens instead of small change. These trade tokens show businesses that were forced to relocate after their premises burnt down in the fire. The trade tokens show the symbol and the address of the business.

Picture of a Turk and the writing: ROBERT HAYES AT YE COFFE HOVS HIS HALF PENY / HOVSE IN PANIER ALLEY		Picture of a Turk and the writing: ROBERT HAYES AT YE COFFE HOVS In Barbican formerly in Pannyer Ally

Other

Roman Face Pots, these are known as Face Pots because of the faces that are moulded into them. They are found in Roman Cemeteries or places of religious importance. They don't know what they were used for. They are kind of cute though.	Mitten, This mitten was knitted in the 1500s which makes it one very old mitten.	Keys

Although it was an interesting enough way to pass a rainy afternoon, I wouldn't recommend the Museum of London to tourists who have limited time in London. There is so much else to see in London (The Tower of London, The British Museum, The National Portrait Gallery). However, it is the only museum that focuses on London itself. It's also free! (Their website is also very impressive. They have a searchable catalogue of their entire collection on the website. This made it really easy for me to identify the pieces in our photos.)

We needed some grown up time after our visit, so we stopped off at a pub for Sunday roast and a couple of beers. The perfect way to banish the thoughts of tantruming toddlers and cranky kiddies.

Still on London mornings and Sydney evenings.

From London:
Andrew and I live a few blocks away from Portobello Road market. We popped out early this morning for a coffee. Saturday is market day and Portobello road gets crazy busy with tourists. The trick to avoiding the crowds is to head out early. As we walked along Portobello this morning, the stall owners were still setting up but we could actually move. Other locals were also out at this time buying fruit and veggies. After 10am the road is gridlocked and the market is a nightmare.



Check out Sue's evening at noodlebowl.net and her photos on Flickr.