Weekend Ramblings

Brenton sat for his Hazard Perception test approx a fortnight ago and passed with flying colours - he now moves on to Provisional 2  Car License (P2) (Green P Plates) as soon as his first year is up early March. He was a confident driver but a tad nervous when he went for his P's but blitzed the test (manual and in his own car) first go with a near perfect score. Heartpoet and I were most proud. Tis hard to believe a whole year has passed us by!

Heartpoet and I have had a quiet week home alone. Brenton and Alyssa went to Soundwave Festival in Brisbane last weekend. The major draw card being Brenton's all time favorite band since he was 10 - Linkin Park. Alyssa looked absolutely gorgeous all dressed up in festival type gear. I clearly remember going to similar music festivals at their age. So much fun - albeit exhausted the next day. How time flies... Then bright and early Tuesday of last week the pair (along with two friends) flew to Melbourne for a few days. They stayed at a lovely heritage hotel located right in the heart of the City. They attended Linkin Parks concert at Rod Laver Arena on the Wednesday evening. They flew home Friday. They spent their time either side of the concert taking in the sites and checking out the tourist attractions that Melbourne has to offer. Brenton returned home with a Taco Bill sombrero - awarded to him at a local Mexican eatery for his record attendance over a few short days! Seriously I have said it before and I will say it again - I should have chosen Gonzales for that boys middle name ;)

Heartpoet and I indulged our love of Downton Abbey whilst they were away. We knocked over Series 3 and A Journey To The Highlands (on Blu-ray) in no time at all. We now eagerly await series 4!

We have Alyssa over for dinner later tonight and Brenton has requested (ever so nicely) the lemon garlic chicken dish I make (that he loves) and mini magnum ice-creams for dessert.

Too easy...

Lemon Garlic Chicken - (will post a photo tomorrow)

You will need

2 lemons
8 organic chicken drumsticks (2 each)
2 tablespoons of light olive oil
3 - 4 lge cloves of crushed garlic
Steamed rice
2 Lebanese cucumbers peeled into ribbons
100g feta, crumbled
2 red chilies, sliced to garnish

You then need to...

Finely grate rind from lemons. Cut small slits into chicken. Toss chicken in a roasting dish with rind, olive oil and garlic. Season with ground rock salt and ground black pepper. Cover and put in fridge for approx 1 hour. Cook in a preheated 200C oven for 40 mins or til tender. Remove from oven and squeeze over juice of both lemons and turn legs to coat well in the pan juices and lemon juice. Serve chicken on a bed of rice with a lil of the pan juices spooned over. Top with cucumber ribbons, feta, chili and cracked black pepper (no need for salt because of the feta). So tasty and flavorsome - plates are always left spotlessly clean! ;)

Should one of your kids have a different middle name? Are you enjoying Downton Abbey as much as Heartpoet and I are? Are you going to try my Lemon Garlic Chicken recipe? Is it raining where you are? It never stops here :/  (Queensland - 'The Sunshine State' - yeh right!). Mother Nature - drought - flood - flood - flood...get ya act together sweet cheeks - just sayin ;).  Tis Heartpoet's birthday this Tuesday - do you have a delish cake or special dessert recipe for me to try? Do you miss someone so much your eyes occasionally leak - but the person you miss is too stubborn to budge?