more backlit lollies for you to enjoy 😀
Note – this is an automated posting. Helen is out bush until July 2ish.
Mackay Highlands Great Walk
[audio:Missy Higgins – Going North.mp3]So goodbye for a while I’m off to explore
Every boundary and every door
Yeah I’m going north.
– Missy Higgins
Tomorrow morning as the sun peeps over the horizon, Mum and I will be going north to do the Mackay Highlands Great Walk, 57km over four days with two of Mum’s friends. We have been wanting to do this walk for over a year now but due to a number of things we have had to keep putting it off.
I am really looking forward to exploring some new country, with my camera of course :D. Though I am only taking a very minimal kit with me which will be the following. Camera, 70-200mm f/4, 50mm f/1.8, extension tubes, ef-s 18-55mm, tripod, a polariser filter and a cable release.
Now I am off to pack up as there will be no time in the morning as our destination tomorrow night is Rocky and then onto the Mackay region the following day. We should be back July 3 so until then remember to smile 😀
damm my brother
Now, my brother currently lives in Iceland (actually four of my five brothers live in Iceland but I am referring to the first born son of my mother), the brother who has probably shaped my musical tastes more than anyone else. My brother gets to go and see all those cool Icelandic bands that I only get to listen to on myspace or on the CDs I get sent for Christmas.
What trigged this post you ask?
Karl, the aforementioned brother has just posted his photos and write up from the music festival that he went to over the Easter weekend. We both spent the Easter long weekend at music festivals which were on opposite ends of the festival spectrum. I went to the East Coast Blues and Roots Festival, Karl went to Aldrei fór ég suðuror I never went South. A music festival in Ãsafjörður, which is the town where Karl was born and the largest town in the Westfjords with a population of about 2750. The festival is 110% free, the bands play for free, the events are free with the town pitching in to make it happen, all ages and true all ages in that the crowd ranged from babies to oldies. Best of all, it seems most of it happened in a fish shed, embracing the true roots of the Westfjords.
I was happily clicking the next button looking at all Karl’s photos and I came across this photo of Lay Low at which I jumped in my chair and made some noise along the lines of argrh as to the fact that I want to see Lay Low live dammit! I have been thinking about throwing it all in and going to Iceland Airwaves this year though I don’t think that will be on the cards till I have actually got a real job. Or figuring out a way to get Lay Low and some other cool Iceland bands to come to Aus and do a tour. That would perhaps be even cooler.
What is the point of this post?
Just me been envious of what my dear brother is getting up to in Iceland of course and making those envious feelings public, nothing more than that. Also admiring just how cool his photos from Aldrei are.
Chocolate Mascarpone Tart
It was my turn to cook dinner last night and since we did not have a dessert on Sunday like we normally do I decided why not have one on Tuesday night. My plan was to make the Strawberry Mascarpone tart that I have made in the past but when I was looking at the recipe leaflet that came with the Mascarpone, the Chocolate Dessert was calling me. I quickly looked in the pantry to see what chocolate we had and sure enough we had a block of Cadbury Dark Cooking Chocolate. phew.
One thing I dislike about making dinner is that there is never any natural light around to take photos of what I make 🙁 and without photos I am reluctant to blog about what I made. I guess I should practice more with my flash and my DIY light tent which is what I use to take most of my food photos with during the day. Dinner last night was tagliatelle served on a bed of roast sweet potatoes slices seasoned with basil and topped with sautéed leeks, mushrooms and spinach topped with a rasher of double cooked bacon. It was rather nice 😀
Chocolate Mascarpone Tart
This filling recipe comes from the leaflet inside Wattle Valley Mascarpone. This makes plenty of chocolate cream. To fill one 8″ pie crust you only need probably between 1/3 to 1/2 of what the recipe makes.Filling
250g Chocolate
250g whipped cream
250g mascarpone
2 egg whites, whipped.Tart Shell
One fully cooked 8-9″ sweet pastry shell. I used a Dorie Greenspan recipe for Sweet Tart Dough from Smitten Kitchen. I highly recommend this recipe it makes a delightful pastry shell.Melt the chocolate and stir in the remaining ingredients. I whipped it after this to add some more air to the mixture and that worked out quite well. Fill a tart shell with the filling and transfer to the fridge to chill for an hour or so. If you don’t want use it to fill a tart you could fill small ramekins with the mixture and chill them.
Serve with whipped cream and strawberries or whatever berry takes your fancy.
Variation idea, I was just thinking that this could be quite nice with small chocolate chips or or perhaps coffee mixed through the filling.
bright, happy colours
Anyone for some snakes? Backlit by the wonderful Australian sun.
Strawberry
The local strawberry season is just starting and mmmm I love the strawberry season. On my way home from work the other day I saw a sign at the local fruitshop which said “Strawbs, 1kg for $6”. You think I could resist that? Or more to the point do you think I could not take photos of said Strawbs?
I picked up some extension tubes the other day and have been having a really good play with them. I am also having fun playing with my flash on an off camera cord. The results, I have been having fun and taking photos 😀
