Cauliflower, Cannellini Bean and Blue Cheese Soup

Today poor hubby had a rather stubborn wisdom tooth out so I needed to make something sloppy for dinner. This is what I came up with. It tasted OK, so I thought I'd write it down for posterity.

Cauliflower, Cannellini Bean and Blue Cheese Soup

2 cloves garlic, crushed

1 onion, diced

bay leaf

2 potatoes, chopped

1/2 large cauliflower, chopped

1 tin cannellini beans, rinsed and drained

3 cups unsalted chicken stock (vege would be OK too I'm sure)

1 cup water

a couple of sprigs of thyme and rosemary (that's all I had in the garden)

some blue cheese

In a large saucepan, fry garlic, onion and bay leaf until translucent. Add potato,cauliflower, stock, water, beans and herbs. Simmer covered for about 20 minutes, or until all veges are soft. Remove from heat, remove herb sprigs and puree soup in blender. Return to saucepan, season with salt and pepper, and reheat for serving. Serve up into bowls and top each serving with a slab of blue cheese and garnish with some extra thyme.

Flowers for a rainy day

It's been a quiet day, just a bit drizzly to start with, but the rain has set in for a while now. A good day to take some macro shots of the lovely native flowers I got for my birthday.

Om Kolthoum - Enta Omri 2/6

Two weekends ago I was in Sydney and had the pleasure of seeing the divine Dina (of Cairo) dancing to my favourite arabic song, Enta Omri. I was in heaven. Enta Omri never fails to bring tears to my eyes and shivers down my spine, and only Dina can dance with the intense emotion that is needed to do justice to the song. Here is the legendary Om Kolthoum singing my favourite bit.

Go see this movie!

Went to see NZ movie "Boy" last night. It was fabulous - so funny but so very sad as well, I laughed and cried at the same time. It's more poignant than the trailer suggests.

http://www.boythemovie.co.nz/

Day 4: Katoomba Clifftop and Federal Pass

This was walk was the most 'touristy" of all the walks but still well worth doing.

Day 3: National Pass

This walk at Wentworth Falls is one of the most popular walks in the Blue Mountains, and we weren't disappointed - the photos just don't do it justice.

Day 2: Lockleys Pylon

This was our favourite walk as it was mainly out in the open with spectacular views all around. As getting to the start of the walk involves driving 8kms on gravel road, it is also much quieter than other walks. We had a glorious lunch spot perched on the cliff edge, overlooking a waterfall.