Gamer

It's kind of embarrassing but I'm a gamer. And not a cool one.

First I was addicted to iSketch which is like Pictionary and really fun if you have a drawing tablet and pen. Sometimes played with my kids so that people would just think I was an indulgent mother trying to increase their artistic abilities.

Then I played Lexulous, an online multiplayer version of Scrabble. I played so much I learned all those crazy words that when you play with your friends in real life, they think you are a cheater, a nerd or both.

Now? Now I can't get enough of Rummikub. We got the board game from my sister and brother in law as a gift for the kids this past Christmas, but I'm so obsessive that I would play fifty games a day. That is unlikely to happen as pretty much everyone else in the house has a life. Instead, I play with randoms from around the world. And if I'm lucky, Joe and I will cuddle up in bed, each with our own laptops and play a few games against each other before bed.

I don't want anyone to think I'm a complete loser. I do have other interests. Like Survivor. Oh wait, what? That's another game? Why so it is! I've been spending days trying to figure out how we could play it at Station Creek in the summer when we go camping. Who would play? What would the challenges be? The rewards? Who would host it? What would the prize be? There must be a way to do it over a few weeks. Any ideas?

I know the game is played in the US every year. Australia had a couple seasons but sadly it never caught on here. It also is still going in several other countries, but you have to be a citizen of them. Of course Canada doesn't have it either, so I'm twice out of luck! I can only hope that Australia suddenly embraces Survivor fever as much as I have. In the mean time, I'm going all Bear Grylls and practising making fire with my cool flint lighter. I'm looking for bamboo (have you got any?) to make a rustic shelter, get my fishing skills up and then I'm gonna go eat rice from a coconut shell.

But not until I finish my next game of Rummikub.

Happy Dance Chicken

I love experimenting with cooking and I'm always inspired by sites like Foodgawker and by my big collection of recipe books and magazines.

A few years ago I entered Australia's Good Taste Magazines Home Cook of the Year competition and was the State Finalist for NSW. I was pretty stoked with the whole thing and it spurred me on to be more creative with my own recipes.

This one I came up with late last year and I call it Happy Dance Chicken because when I tasted it I was happy dancing for about half an hour. I could have called it OH MY FUCK THIS IS THE BEST CHICKEN EVER chicken, but it takes too long to say it when I'd rather be eating!

So how do you make Happy Dance Chicken? With just a few simple ingredients!

You can use any kind of chicken but I would suggest something with a bone and skin. I have used drumsticks, maryland and thighs and they all work great.

So lay out your chicken in your pan. Then get jars of garlic and ginger. I know a lot of people are purists about using fresh garlic and ginger, but for this recipe the really wet jarred stuff is perfect. So add a heap of that, then a whole bunch of paprika. Then take three or four preserved lemons (which you can make if not available to buy), cut out the white bits and dice up the skin into tiny pieces. Chuck that in. Then pour in a whole bunch of white wine. I get goon cos it's cheap and make sure it's not sweet.

Then bung it in the oven somewhere between 160 and 180 and cook it for ages turning every twenty minutes or so. I usually go for about an hour. But DO NOT LET IT DRY OUT! There should be quite a bit of sauce left over that you can pour on the chicken again just before serving.

I eat it with hot crispy chips from the Red Rock shop and it's fucking amazing.

 

This chicken is so good I was this far into it before I could take a picture!

My parents and my niece are giving happy dance chicken the thumbs up! The boys are too busy hoeing in!

Please enjoy Happy Dance Chicken!

Northern Light

This is another painting from the same series. It has a big silver frame and the background has little silver stars and lots of glitter. I was pregnant with True as you can tell by her cute tummy. I was living in Byron Bay and this was a way of feeling connected not just to my home in Canada but also to my family.

Dad loves seven pointed stars and him and mum live on a big property. The North Star is a beautiful beacon in the sky and the northern lights are an incredible sight that you often see on cold evenings in the sky.

Megan Rising

I love this painting. This is of my friend Megan who was one of the best friends I've ever had. We lived together in Toronto, worked at the Big Bop and always had these amazing adventures.

Megan was taller than me, lean and had big huge eyes and lips and a long nose. She had lanky brown hair that she'd casually flip from one side to another, unaware of how natural and beautiful she was. She always wore cut off vintage nighties or shabby white t-shirt, cut off jean shorts that were several sizes too big and belted low on her bony hips. My fave thing she wore was old police parade boots. They were steel toed and I had my own pair. All of us that worked in the clubs and lived the Queen St. scene seemed to have them in the late 80's/early 90's.

Megan was a muse for me and I think I did three paintings as well as heaps of sketches of her. We've sorta lost track of each other over the last few years, which is sad, but every now and then I track her down to see how she is going.

It might be time to do that again!

This painting is of course of her, but when it was done it reminded me of Bottecelli's Venus Rising, if she was a skinny punky kinda girl!

Buddha Baby

I did this painting when I was pregnant with True, my first baby. It was funny cos that's what he basically looked like not long after he came out!
True was born at my home in Byron Bay and it was a really amazing experience. The midwife who attended was Pam Sonia and I gave this to her as a gift and a thank you for helping me bring True into the world.