Where Have You Been Lately?

I can't believe our last post was Wednesdays in France this time last week - Life has been so busy lately but a full life is so much rewarding than an empty one so we consider ourselves fortunate. It would be nice though to smell the roses occasionally.

Seen in Marseilles 2012

A church in Thenay, Loire 2010

Standing under a street signed named after one of Italy's most admired cyclists - Viareggio 2006.

What's been happening in the Sims household since last week? You may well ask!!!
Your cycling tragic Blogger has started racing again - I realised that 2014 celebrates 50 years since I took out my first racing licence as a 14 year old budding cyclist. My first race in over 8 months rewarded me with a second place and $40 for the effort. It make me wonder why a 63 year old wants to race against kids that could be my kids, possibly my grand kids. All good fun and pleased to still enjoy the sport that's rewarded me with such great memories and friends.

Just some of the little foodie things for the cycling widow's get together.
Wish I could tell you more but I was pouring drinks and washing up!!!

Last Friday Sue had her girlfriends or maybe I should call them "the Cycling Widows" because their hubbies were in Adelaide South Australia playing on their bicycles during the Tour Down Under. Wish I had been with them but someone was needed to pour drinks and wash up after the girls little soiree.
Mind you, I wouldn't have minded being with the boys but Sue and I have bigger fish to fry with our impending trip to Italy and France starting next September - 10 weeks requires a little of saving of finances and holiday leave.

I think Saturday may have been just Sue and I on the couch watching a nice movie but for the life of me, I couldn't tell you what it was.

My mates returned from the Tour Down Under and there was another gathering of the faithful at the home of one of the cycling widows and what a night it was. Great food, great friends = great times.

And oh yes, did I tell you my son Mitchy rode his bike with a mate from Melbourne to Adelaide, 1000 kms in 9 days for a rock concert. He has sensibly decided on taking a plane home.

Family - Friends - Good Times - Life is Good.

Wednesdays in France

We decided to take a coffee stop at Portiers on our way to the Loire in 2008, our second trip to France. Parking in an underground car park, we emerged to be confronted by this amazing house of worship.

An experiment based on a Monday night dinner

On Monday we caught up with some friends for dinner. One of them is Thai, and she and her partner chose the restaurant. A Thai one in Melbourne. The food was wonderful and an added bonus was the Thai grocer next door. I most certainly wanted to go there after dinner, and our friend generously took charge. She helped me fill my basket. Leon was very patient. I guess he knew there would be food for him from the process!

One of the dishes we had was soft shelled crab in a curry sauce. Apparently it is a very commonly cooked dish, but usually made with fresh, large crabs. Look Moo (our friend) knew how it was made and shared the recipe with me. From the grocer, she ensured I had the correct ingredients. All I had to get later was the crab.

The meal was very experimental as I had little idea of quantity and was a bit sketchy on sequence, but hey....

I have to say that my dish tasted great and quite similar to the restaurant one. I did remember though why I seldom buy crab. It is sooooo messy to eat! Needed a shower by the time we finished and all the slurping! You could never eat it when you were out!

I am definitely going to make it again. But next time will have a try with squid and maybe prawns. 

Garlic and chili, carefully chopped by Leon

This is the special curry powder. Now you know as much as me!

Evaporated milk, oyster sauce and sugar, an egg and that powder. Apparently it is also possible to use fresh milk.

Blue swimmer crabs all cleaned and sectioned

This is the rice cooked. Red cargo rice. It's nutty and delicious.

Crabs and spices

Also it has celery and spring onion

The finished dish

Totally enjoyable - Leon

Frying Friday

Friday @ 7.00 am after a pleasant morning ride.

A Salvadore Dali front page.

Melbourne Melts

We thought Melbourne had missed out on its summer this year. While we were complaining that the warm weather had passed us by, it snuck up from behind with a vengeance. Today's forecast is for 44 degrees and last night it didn't drop below 30 degrees.

 

Last night also saw storms come through the state with lightning igniting several fires and one person being struck by a bolt of lightning, fortunately surviving.

Yesterday's news reported 250 fires around the state and without any fatalities so far. Several years back we had bush fires that equaled or possibly surpassed any in history for life and property lost. Since then the Government with the Media are more vigilant with their fire plans and getting information to the public.

Let's hope we get through this heat wave with a minimum of drama.