Cleveland Art Gallery

Went to Cleveland to visit my chiropractor and always pop into the Cleveland Art Gallery to have a look at what they had this month. I love this gallery it such a beautiful space. There are two weavers with an exhibition there at the moment and one in particular I was very much inspired by is A

Yogafest Brisbane

Into the city again this last weekend to attend the Brisbane Yogafest what a fantastic weekend. Came home totally exhausted though very happy. Had a massage and also a Ayurveda consultation with the wonderful Vicki from Eumundi Medicine Man. It was held at the beautiful Old Museum again and the weather was sublime. Very sad it finished though what a finish it was with a concert held by a new group, can't wait to find out when their next concert will be although their name escapes me at the moment stay tuned, as I am on a mission to find out their name and where and when they next play.

Finders Keeper Market

I know it has been a week or so since I last wrote. What a lot has been going on in Brisbane the last 2 weeks. It all started with the Finders Keepers Market Brisbane at the beautiful old Museum building. I went with my wonderful mother in law Val, to show her a bit more of Brisbane, the beautiful old building and all the amazing creative people we have here. What a surprise to bump into a very talented friend of mine Lisa, her sister Linda and Linda's daughter from Northern NSW with their stunning ceramics Pebuku Pottery. If you every have the chance to go to one of the Finders Keepers Markets in either Brisbane, Sydney or Melbourne they are well worth it. They are always held in the most beautiful settings, have amazing store holders delicious food and great live music. I came home extremely excited and wanting to get into something creative. 

Wedding Portrait - Finished

Finished portrait and reasonably happy with the end result need a little more practice with water colour and starting to think I may start doing a small painting a day to get my head around water colour. Rachael is over the moon with the end results and really that is all that matters.

Coconut Lime Steamed Puddings

This was an absolute surprise. I have a glut of limes at the moment so making Indian Lime Pickles, Lime Marmalade and anything else lime I come across. This is one of the recipes I thought I would give a try and it was amazing. It is a Donna Hay recipe and you can never go wrong with anything in her books, though I must admit this is one of her extra ordinary recipes. I served it with home made vanilla yogurt which was a great pairing with the tart fresh lime and the sweet coconut. Below is the recipe 

Steamed Coconut Puddings with Lime

175 gm unsalted butter

85gm caster sugar

1 teaspoon of vanilla extract

3 eggs, lightly beaten

1 cup of self raising flour, sifted

100gm of desiccated coconut

Lime Syrup

1/2 cup of sugar

1 cup of water

3 tablespoons of lime juice

rind of 2 limes, shredded

3 cardamom pods, bruised

Place Butter, sugar and vanilla in a bowl and beat till light and creamy. Add eggs a little at a time and beat well between each addition.  Fold in flour and coconut and pour into six 3/4 cup well greased ramekins.

Cover mixture with small circles of greased paper or baking paper. Place in a steamer and steam puddings over rapidly simmering water for around 40 minutes or until cooked when tested with a skewer.  

To make syrup, place sugar, water lime juice, rind and cardamom pods in a small saucepan and stir over low heat until sugar has dissolved. Allow syrup to simmer for a few minutes or until it has thickened slightly.

To serve invert puddings onto serving plates and pour over lime syrup. Serve with cream, ice cream or my personal favourite vanilla yogurt.

Wedding Portrait - On the Home Stretch

Have almost finished the painting just need to do the background and finishing touches not sure which way to go so ended up consulting with Rachael so it won't be a surprise. So watch this space to see what the end product will be........

Beginings of Wedding Portrait

I have now transferred the drawing to watercolour paper and started to paint. I am not very familiar with watercolour and find it a challenge after oil and acrylic. I do like a challenge though, and again I am amazed how much I enjoy painting, the time just flies and I am always a little put out when I need to put my brushes down as the light is going and I have to start thinking about dinner. Oh life does get in the way sometimes.