Apricot Jam

Turns out we have an apricot tree in the backyard, which has produced an abundance of apricots... and it inspired me to do something I’ve never done before... make jam!

Back in Kiev, I remember buying kilos and kilos of fruit, carting it home in a bucket on the tram and then making jam in a huge copper tub. I loved everything about the process - the smell, the foamy part on top that I got to eat, the responsibility of taking out the pips.

Obviously I didn’t remember the recipe – just googled it and went with the simplest recipe I found on the internet. But I think it came out OK. Now I have litres of jam to give away :)

Christmas Presents

My present - pasta maker

I was inspired by an Italian cooking class to make my own pasta. It tastes AMAZING and has about as much in common with supermarket pasta as a Sara Lee cake has with a home-made cake. With this latest aquisition I think I have all the kitchen tools appliances I desire... although never say never :) I've made 2 batched of pasta on it already - one spaghetti and one tortolini. Yummy!

Tim's present - remote controlled helicopter

You can't see it very well on the carpet, but it's a Black Hawk. I will endevour to video its maiden flight when it happens.

Vanuatu

Had an awesome time over Christmas / NY with Eunice in Vanuatu... *sigh*... how I wish someone would pay me to live there....




Junge Walk







Chillaxing at Deco Stop, Espiritu Santo





Hideaway Island





Cascade Falls