Come Dine with Me - Take Two

So the Come Dine with Me series continues, and with the American's having taken their turn, it's three British couples left to run. Next up were Lucy and Steve, and all bets were on them preparing an Argentinian feast, having previously lived there.

They instead surprised us with a three course French delight! Here is the menu:

Entree: Moules avec du chilli et des tomates
Plat Principal: Boeuf Bourginon avec des pommes de terres boulangere
Desert: Creme brulee avec le chocolat blanc

I will admit to a little bit of googling to help us translate the potato part of the dish, and once deciphered we were excited and hungry! Here are some images from the dinner:

...and a special feature had to go to Steve in his marvellous apron!

Permanent Residents

Earlier this week we passed another landmark in our Australian adventure. On 18th February 2013, we became permanent residents of Australia!

This isn't really as permanent as it sounds, because really what its means is that we have a new visa, which allows us to live in Australia for the next 5 years. Interesting use of the word 'permanent', but I'm not complaining... what this also allows is a potential future application for Australia passports, and therefore a dual nationality for us and any of our offspring. Now that sounds good!

To commemorate our new status I finally got around to taking some photos of our new apartment:

Come Dine with Me - Ex-Pats Down Under...

Not content with sunshine and BBQs, we've decided to add a little bit of fun (read: hard work and competitive stress!) into our lives by organising a Come Dine with Me style dinner party round robin with three other ex-pat couples!

Together we are six Brits and two Americans, and here's my little run down of the form guide:

• Lou & Sam - favourites to win in my eyes, renowned for delicious food and being entertaining hosts
• Lucy & Steve - experienced at CDWM competition having previously competed in such an event, this could be a clear advantage
• Katie & Tom - that's us. We are the only couple who don't have children or a pregnancy as a distraction during preparation time, surely this should give us as advantage?! (I fear it may not)
• Jordan & Kevin - the only American couple, who have never seen CDWM - clear disadvantage, but Jordan is the hostess with the mostess and their home wouldn't look out of place in a magazine. Outside favourites.

The rules are simple - prepare a three course meal for the group and scores will be awarded by each couple, on video (!), for revealing on the final night. Theming and entertainment is optional, snooping around people's houses is strictly forbidden, and bad-mouthing your friends on camera is ill-advised as this is all a bit of fun after all!

Jordan and Kevin kicked off proceedings with a delicious menu inspired by the Southern States of America....

Starter - spinach and artichoke dip with mexican bruschetta

Salad - wedge salad with blue cheese dressing

Main - 'Surf & Turf' with glazed carrot and twice baked potato

Pudding - fruit cobbler with ice cream

The decor was oustanding, the food was delicious, and a lot of fun was had by all! The highlight for me was the spinach and artichoke dip for starter. It was so delicious I asked for the recipe, and then soon learned the secret.. it was 95% cheese.. yummy!

The scores shall remain secret, but here's a few photos from Dinner number one... Thank you Jordan and Kevin for a fantastic evening!

Beautiful sunset.. Saturday 12th January

At St Kilda beach with Telfy.. we came to see the penguins and got
this as a bonus :-)

12th January 2013 : Yarra Valley

Instead of attempting a 365 daily photo project for 2013, I'm going to aim for approximately weekly posts here of at least a photograph, and maybe some text too ;-)

Here's a shot of yesterday's trip to the Yarra Valley wine region with Telfy and Ant, visiting from the UK via Myanmar (their current home!).

Hague Family Christmas

Hague Family Christmas for 2012 actually took place in 2013. Well, only few days into 2013! It was great to have all three siblings in the country at once (a rare occurence these days!), even if Tom had already returned to Oz so we were down a spouse.

I cooked (well, put M&S food in the oven!) and then took some family photos:

On the beach

In early January we spent a day on the beach at Durley chine with my cousin Emma, and her family - husband Marc, and children Jake and Daisy. Jake is also my godson, and we always try to catch up when we are back in the UK. We were blessed with a dry and relatively (dare I say it) 'warm' day. Maybe I mean mild? Yes, I think that's a better description!

We played on the beach.....

Jake and Daisy went searching for treasure, aka 'geocaching'. If you haven't heard of this, now is the time to google it. A network of treasure hunters have hidden tupperware containers all over the world, which can be found using GPS and clues provided by a website. Inside the tupperware is a log book to record your 'find' and small toys for children. Perhaps Tom was a pirate in a former life, because he found the treasure!

Then we played on the beach some more...

Happy family :-) Lovely to see you guys... speak soon! xxx