Easter Weekend

Sorry for the delay since my last blog. Life has been very busy with school and spending time with Aussie friends. Now I'm on holidays so I should be able to get caught up..

This weekend was the start of our first term break. 10 weeks of teaching and now 2 weeks of holidays. The Australians definitely have the right idea there!!

I flew to Brisbane on Good Friday, splurging to fly all the way from Dubbo. Last trip into Sydney, I drove to Bathurst (2.5hours), took the bus to Lithgow (1.5 hours) and road the train to Sydney (almost 3 hours). It was a long trip and coming back was worse. The views of the Blue Mountains were amazing but it was just too long for me. So, I booked flights the whole way and it was lovely!

I was greeted with hugs from family, as I arrived in Brisbane and have been enjoying family time ever since. It's been a wonderful weekend full of lazing by and in the pool (temps have been around 28), laughing and joking, incredible food and wonderful wine.

My cousin Michael and his girlfriend, Dawn, love to cook!! Lucky for us, they've been sharing this love with us all weekend! Friday night we had marinated prawns and fresh oysters as the starter. For the main, we had baked red snapper in a creamy sauce.

Saturday, we made homemade ravioli. Michael brought his pasta maker and taught me how to make and knead the dough. Dawn created a beautiful spinach, ricotta, Parmesan stuffing. We then rolled out the pasta and worked through the process of stuffing and sealing and setting the ravioli. Meanwhile, we had some fried calamari with salsa verde as a starter. They then created a beautiful butter, sage sauce for the pasta.

It was a long but enjoyable process to get the pasta made. Watching Dawn and Mikey in the kitchen is incredible... The love and care they pour into each dish, can be tasted in every delicious bite.

Sunday, has been the Easter feast! We began the day with champers and Italian Easter cake and then watched as Mikey and Dawn prepared more amazing dishes. Today, we enjoyed Herb and Lemon Preserve Stuffed Roast Chicken, Roman Style Lamb with Anchovy Gravy, Roast Potatoes (easily the best I've ever eaten!), and Minted Peas with Feta. Mouthwatering deliciousness in every bite!!

I didn't know I could be this passionate about food but our feast this weekend has restored my love of cooking and ignited some excitement about it, in me! Good food, good for you food!

So on that note, I wish everyone a beautiful Easter. I hope you're sharing time with family and/or friends and that you're enjoying some delicious food too.