the backup??

Wow, not sure I am meant to be here, but have broken in! The chunkytoast is a constant update for me as well, so I thought I would let you know what is happening down here.
Tara has been working on th Big Day Out site team here in Sydney, it is a big show (55K) and the biggest in Australia, so she has been working hard, long hours. I think it is currently 15 days straight and at least 12 hrs a day.
Food - which is apparently why we read, and here is me thinking it was so you all knew how great I am? Well there is catering and it is not bad, not sure what, but the day i was there was a nice steak and veg, so very Aussie.

As for me, as i know your dying to know, I am on the road, for the 2nd time in 12 months (nice!) with the Kings of Leon, very easy as i already knew them, and all they want is rock and ladies!

Big Day Out wise - I will review - White Stripes not seen, (some bad blood there!) Iggy wow, give it away, Franz please another drum beat, please. Sleter Kenny - so good, Magic Numers great and always drunk, as for the dance side not my scene so not worried. Crowds = ugly, Parties = ugly, gossip none??? Boring I want a fight!

Haydn on behalf of a tired Tara

Chuck Taylor for everyone

Just a quick post...there's some major brand alignment going on at the Big Day Out. There will be the Converse Essentials Stage this year, and, how fitting considering that in the office today 4 people sported their Converse All-Stars. The shoes are ok if you're an office worker sitting most of the day, but I stil l can't wear them for much walking. Which is why I included the Sauconys in my bag today, too. By the way, I'm sporting the blue pair.

And in culinary notes, I enjoyed my first ANZAC biscuit today, a staple and tradition of the Australian/New Zealand armed forces (not quite sure what the AC stands for at the end...). Kind of like a macaroon, yum.

After a long day's work...

It is starting to be a busy month...I will be helping out with the Big Day Out Sydney show and Haydn goes on tour with the festival next week, which likely means there won't be too many culinary or leisurely notes to share. However, it looks like I might become well-versed in Worker's Comp, Public Liability, and payroll taxes. Rock n' roll, man.

Here are a couple of pics from a night at our "local" as they call it -- the pub right up the hill from where we live, the dear old Royal. After a long day, Haydn and I met Joeley and some of her colleagues for a few beers and some Justin Timberlake and Yes on the jukebox.





Because most food places around us close at 10, we were out of luck for getting food. But hey, Dominoes came in in the clutch. Their thin n' crispy is pretty good. Especially after a schooner or two or three of Carleton.

--tara

Following the recipe

Well, I was mistaken. I was thrown for a loop. There was no BBQ'ing last night...there was Popsy cooking up a recipe from a Jamie Oliver book! The first time he has ever followed a recipe, he contended. And he bravely took on Venison with some kind of blueberry and juniper berry sauce. It is pretty hard to find venison around there parts, so he used beef. Not much juniper to be found either, but it didn't matter. It was a wonderful sauce, rich without being too sweet, and nice and fruity. We had salads as well as a chilled kind of Italian red wine, Lambusca. Nice for summer.

Dessert was homemade brownies by Michelle -- homemade! So chocolatey good are the homemade from scratch. And we looked at the half moon through a telescope and sat outside. Sometimes the quality of life in Sydney is ridiculously good.

And while there were no junipers, it seems there was also a lack of good lighting for the pics. I should have turned on the flash, but I think you get the drift...







Maybe we should invite Heath and Michelle over for Sunday dinner sometime...heh heh...Brokeback Mountain isn't out yet in Australia, but the media here is only has glowing things to say about Our Heath and once in awhile his Michelle and their Matilda. When you're an Aussie who really hits the big time, you get may get christened with the "Our" before your name everytime it appears in print. I think Tom Cruise was even an Our Tom back in the day.

--your tara

a quiet one around here

It's been a week of overcast days and afternoons at the library. I've been doing some non-chunkytoast writing and am at my most productive in a setting where other people are working away too. There is something about the quiet camaraderie (and wifi connection!) that keeps me motivated.

But the weekend has been a bit more sunny, a bit humid at times. We watched the movie "The Door in the Floor" the other night , very good in a creepily odd John Irving kind of way. But Jeff Bridges, always good. Always and forever The Dude. We ordered pizza from a place called Big John's. I wanted to try it because the name seemed like a great pizza place name and they have a neon sign, so I figured it was promising. It was pretty good -- in a bit of a pan-style Pizza Hut kind of way, which we need once in awhile.

On Saturday, Haydn worked very diligently to eradicate an annoying virus that had infiltrated my computer. We thought Macs didn't get viruses, but that was proven wrong.

So here I am, blogging on a Sunday. Went for a run this morning over to Bronte...still no Heath Ledger and Michelle Williams spotting there. Eventually they'll have to take a walk along the beach or something. But upon my return home, Haydn and I went to the shops and I got a Frosty Fruit (so good to have a fruity icy treat post-run) and some produce. I made a very Australia meets California kind of breakfast with avocado, cantaloupe/rock melon (it's rock melon in Oz), toast, and cheese. With a dash of Wisconsin in the form of Martha's Hot Mustard that was sent for Christmas. It's good mustard (and I think can be found at Woodman's in Madison), but my dad -- Martha's cousin -- and I always thought "hot" as a description was a bit off -- it's actually more sweet.





Dinner at Pops and Michelle's tonight, so I will bring the camera and I expect some BBQ'ing to be going on.

happy weekend!
tara

a few more highlights

Fulfilling the request from Sam...more pics from the holiday. Featured very prominently in my pics are Jack and Ella, as they are rather photogenic and because Miss Ella often exclaimed "Take a picture!"











A couple of New Year's pics from the Annandale...




And, lastly, New Year's Day at Bondi Beach...with temps in the low 40s celsius. We're talking low 100s F and near-melting conditions for Midwestern natives. It was so hot we waited til about 4 pm to head to the beach, as it would have just been too hot in the sun. But the water was chilly and really refreshing and awakening.


After the beach, it was time for ice cream from the New Zealand ice cream place, and I quite enjoyed the Creme de Coconut cone I had. There seems to be rival nations in the ice cream market, as there is also a Danish Ice Cream place at Bondi, but no Australian Ice Cream shop, tho I have seen one in central Sydney -- making that NYC East Village Australian Ice Cream place not seem quite so random.

But day 2 of 2006 has brought a respite from the sweltering conditions with some grey skies and cooler temps, 21C/60s F, I'd say. It is still ice cream weather to me, tho...

tara

Holiday-ing up north

My holiday hiatus is coming to a close, and I could pretty much just fill this post with the all the pics I took on my new super slim, red Sony digital camera that Haydn gave me for Christmas. I gave him one of the Jamie Oliver cookbooks, so that and the camera are complimentary gifts true to the spirit of this blog.

We took off for Brisbane last Wednesday and I procured some very Australian, very soft, no-sodium licorice. Such good car food, nearly like taffy. We made it a two-day trek north to Brisbane, with the first night's stop in small-ish town Taree, where the only place serving food after 9:30pm was Jin-Hong's Chinese, which didn't give us utensils, so we sat in the hotel eating off of the teacup saucers with spoons. We were definitely on the road.

The next day was Byron Bay, maybe a kindred spirit to Santa Cruz, ie a beach town where you can mellow out and cater to your chakras. We made a major upgrade from the Taree accommodations and stayed at the Byron at Byron, where Haydn stayed with Interpol last year. Very "adult" resort in a very quiet, serene way: no running or diving at the pool, facials and hot stone massage services and very breezy feng shui rooms. We had a great breakfast the next day at Succulent in town, I didn't take pics but I think "chorizo and grilled mushrooms with greens over sourdough toast" pretty much explains it. We did some sight-seeing at the Lighthouse there (most easterly mainland point in Australia) and very nearly melted in the late morning sun.


It was then onto Brisbane for the Official Scorcher Christmas 2005 with temps in mid to upper 30s Celsius and 90s F. It was hot. Very hot, but great to be around Haydn's parents who take such good care of us. Four grandkids between ages 7-3 make for lots of excitement, too. And check out the pic of the totally festival city bus.



The last 5 days were spent at the Johnston family compound at Stradbroke Island, with Haydn's parents, his brother Nick, wife Tash, and their kids Jack, age 5, and Ella, age 3. Stradbroke is an island about a 20-minute ferry ride from Brisbane. Haydn dubbed it Rancho Relaxo -- even with kids who wake up at the crack of dawn!


The days are breakfast, coffee, reading, beaching, reading, eating, playing, happy hour on the veranda, dinner, bed before 10. Island life, with lots of Christmas ham -- it was even used in the fried rice Haydn and Nick made one night. And featured pictorially is the Won Ton soup Nick made, so delicious and flavorful.

We had Joeley over for a night and the three of us made a couple of afternoon appearances at the island pub for "pots" of Carlton beer after a swim. There are varying sizes of beer glasses, and in Queensland a pot is 10 oz, the same size is a Midi in New South Wales. Very important to make note of, culturally, esp if you go to Queensland in summer -- smaller glasses of beer don't last long enough to get too warm.

And then all of a sudden it is Saturday and New Year's Eve and we had our goodbye fry-up breakfast this morning and made the journey back to Sydney via ferry-cab-airplane-cab. Here's to 2006...
--tara

The fancified time of year

I hate to break it to the readers back in the northern hemisphere, but it's been another beautiful day in Sydney. I would say low 80s and requisite sun and blue skies. Times like this is when I realize I am pretty far away from the old stomping grounds of the midwest and east coast, because I can't really fathom the cold and snow. I think I might just be getting used to this as holiday weather...especially as Haydn and I ready for a trip up north. We're going to drive up to Brisbane starting tomorrow and make it a two day trip, and I'm thinking at last I will see a kangaroo out in the wild (or on the roadside where they are unfortunately rather prevalent).

It was a busy weekend with a holiday party in Surry Hills on Friday, a Mess Hall show at Annandale on Saturday night, and then the Tsubi (too-cool-for-school jeans label) and Modular record label party that Haydn coordinated down at Bondi. There was a wee bit of anxiety about the event at the beach what with the terrible rioting of late at other beaches, but with cops on every corner and with clearance to check cars, it was a pretty quiet beachfront. However, the fashion at the party was loud, and I am still smarting that I left my camera charging in the kitchen, so there are no shots to share. But a word of advice for next summer -- those 1980s one-piece shorts jumpsuits seem to be back, preferably in terry cloth! Yikes.

And last night, the esteemed principals of Level One Agency, Haydn and Adam, hosted a Christmas party for the bands they manage, The Mess Hall and Gerling, respectively. We headed to a pub, the Cricketers Arms, for tapas and drinks.


There were some lively little dishes, I must say, with the cauliflower fritter being a battered puff of crispy goodness. And how could I not think of my dear Greggums with the goat cheese-stuffed chilis? That's right: fancy j-poppers! And man, the red chili had some heat as you can see from my sort of hesitant/glazed look in the pic as I eat one. There was also pate with preserved onions (or jelly or marmaladed onions, something like that, pictured), sausage skewers, wonderful chips, marinated mushrooms. Delicious.

I should be able to get a post or two in up at Brisbane and the picturesque Stradbroke Island, but for now Merry Christmas and Happy Boxing Day -- I finally get to experience the day that is always on calendars as a UK, CAN, AUS holiday!

Happy holidays!
Tara

Southern Hemisphere style

Well, the sun continues to shine, the skies stay blue, and while the beach calls out to me for a visit, I think I might just opt for some internet time today. I love the sun, but am wondering how a lady of leisure keeps it at a healthy amount without becoming too weathered, shall we say?

Yesterday, I took a little public transporation adventure over to the Annandale, in a neighboring suburb. In order to do this, I had to transfer buses -- something I had not yet attempted in my time here. Very brave of me, yes. Unfortunately, even though it was, in theory, one trip, transfers are not available within public transport here and I paid two separate fares. While I waited for the bus at Town hall, I snapped this pic, a spirited holiday display in the center of the city at Town Hall.


What I really would have liked to take a picture of is the little nativity scene the bus driver to Annandale had set up next to his fare box -- a lovely little snowy scene with the manger and everything. I think the snow was his own added yuletide effect. I can't help but to think of the Freedom From Relgion movement in Madison would have had a field day with that one. Anyway, I thought it might look a bit odd to snap a pic of his Christmas scene after he helped me figure out where I was going.

And true to the chunkytoast spirit, I did enjoy a lovely chili basil vegetarian stir fry at the Annandale, it had some heat to it, just as it should.

--tc

Sea legs to go with chicken wings

This might be a brief post, as I have just been alerted that the water at Bondi is perfect for a swim -- well, perfect for a whimp of the waves like myself. I am starting to get a bit more brave about diving into waves, but I have also been knocked over a couple of times, too. After one such knock-over, it took me a good 15 minutes to relocate my towel on the beach, altho that was mostly because the person next to me had left and I couldn't spot my landmark. So, it sounds like the water is quiet and very welcoming to the novice.

But, first, very important is the wondrous BBQ we had the other night. Thank goodness Pops and Michelle acquired that grill, and they acquired a Fisheroo too, a contraption for grilling fish. They picked up the fish, bream, Haydn got the chicken wings and away we went. Sadly, there aren't really Buffalo wings down here, so this was especially special with a lovely Thai marinade. I realize the picture of the bream and wings might be a bit graphic, but I don't think words do justice. It was one of those dinners of self-congratulations because it all turned out so well, and concluded with a sight I so treasure -- men doing dishes. Oh and a little warm apple pie a la mode was dessert, for good measure of course.




And, now, you understand why it is imperative to stop what I'm doing to go enjoy some calm ocean water, time for some fitness, without getting knocked over by the waves and tossed back onto the beach like the landlocked native I am. I will watch out for sharks (one was at Bondi last week) and these heinous surfer gangs and their meathead friends wreaking havoc at other beaches. Far, far away from being your typical Aussies, that is for sure.

--tara

A tale of two breakfasts

It has been a good, productive weekend as I have set a deadline of Monday for shipping Christmas gifts overseas. This means it was essential to start each day with the hearty Aussie breakfast. Saturday morning was bright sun, blue skies, a quick run to the Waverly Cemetery before it got too hot, and then Haydn and I strolled down to Baristas -- my treat. He opted for the Big Breakfast and a flat white -- the big breakfast consisting of eggs, sausage, bacon, toast, mushrooms, and tomatoes. Seriously. I think this would usually be referred to as a Lumberjack Special or something along those lines in the US. As you can see in the pic, there might just be a certain Paul Bunyan air to Haydn with that breakfast in front of him. I went the way of the British and had beans and chunkytoast(!) with jam, and I opted for an iced latte. Usually ordering this from a cafe means getting a scoop of ice cream in it, but I elected for sans ice cream.

Then it was running around, getting some things together to send away. A stop at a vintage clothing sale with Joeley. All good stuff. Joeley and I and some other girls headed to the Beach Road Hotel in Bondi for a wee bit of Saturday night fun, and we had missed the Miss Bondi pageant that happened earlier in the day. Oh drat.

But this morning, was the return of how weekend breakfast should be -- executive produced and cooked by none other than Haydn. On the menu we had eggs, rye toast, organic bacon from Sam the Organic Butcher, avocado, salsa, and cantaloupe (otherwise referred to as rockmelon here). I've included a shot of my breakfast, as we dined oh so civilly in the sun room complete with tablecloth (ok, still on the table from Thanksgiving) and a favorite smutty coffee mug.


And now, before me is much wrapping to do. I've downloaded the Charlie Brown Christmas album from iTunes to help invoke the spirit. It is just a bit hard here to grasp Christmas with the sun, blue skies, and beach and lack of elaborate neighborhood light displays and Christmas carols piped in everywhere you go. A few other Northern Hemisphere expats who have been here for some time have said it's just never quite the same, or moreso just different in its own right. Here's to something a bit different...

--tara

Festival foray

At last, I have a bit of gumption, a little time, and a high-speed connection, which means I can post pictures from Homebake and my mini-foray back into the working world and music. I was working for the promoter of Homebake, an all-Australian one-day festival in the middle of Sydney that draws about 25,000 people. I've done some guest lists in my time, but this was pretty massive and I became well-acquainted with the labelmaker and laminator in order to make all those All-Access passes. Haydn, esteemed production coordinator of the festival, captured my industriousness for y'alls.


And for those of you requesting some Aussie fashion pictorials, I tried to capture a couple of pics of rock n roll fashionistas. It was a day of skinny jeans, Olsen twin-sized sunglasses, and girls in bikini tops perched atop shoulders in the crowd.



Some musical highlights for me were The Mess Hall, Ben Lee and his rainbow-and-butterlies positivity, The Dirty Three, and most of all the Finn Brothers. Pretty cool to hear all those people singing the chorus to Don't Dream It's Over and Four Seasons in One Day, very anthemic. And...a pretty good Aussie celeb spotting backstage at the Finns -- Toni Collette, who looks younger and prettier than most of the roles she plays. I also made sure to have my own little photo op with a Finn -- not the more familiar Neil, but the just as well-coiffed Tim.





All in all a very good learning and cultural experience (Aussie hip-hop?!). And lots of good catering too, as that is the kind of thing that helps power me through the day -- spaghetti and meatballs, fish n chips, stir fry. Thank goodness for that.

Nice to be back in the blogosphere...
--tara

like a freelancer

Dear readers,

I'm a bit out of commission as of late, as I am working this week at Homebake, a great music festival on a big green lawn right in the center of the city. In a strangely reassuring way, it is good to know that people at record labels the world over ask for way too much at the last minute. And of course, commuting in a whole new town is pretty novel, too. Instead of the 1 train, it's the 380 bus for me now.

But check out the line-up of all Oz music (not sure if the Finn Bros -- from New Zealand originally-- count, I think they are adopted countrymen) and I will post lots of pics and stuff in the coming days. And with the espresso machine in catering, I'm hoping to be able to proudly say soon that I, too, can make a flat white.

There ya go.

Tara

Lingering a bit

In the wake of Thanksgiving, not much blogging or movement really occured. The highlight of Saturday was sunshine and finishing off the Thanksgiving dishes that lingered, and perhaps a bacon, avocado and BBQ sauce sandwich from Three Steps. Simple, easy.

Sunday, my goodness, was pure Seattle. I think it might have been the most rain and wind since my arrival. But this gave good reason to sleep til noon, read all the newspapers and laze about. And it was the return of good Sunday TV + takeout -- one of my favorite things dating back to NYC and Marie, Gregg, Lucy, Six Feet Under, and Kobma Thai. Last night was a made-for-tv movie of Kath & Kim, a Christmas special "Da Kath & Kim Code." Suburban Australian comedy at its best, it is sometimes on Trio in the US, and like The Office it takes an episode or two to get used to the accents. And there will always be slang that goes right over your head. But it went great with Thai food from up the hill -- red curry, basil chili with cashews. And for dessert...Marquee ice cream bars. My dad recently recently posed a very serious question: "How is the ice cream down there?" And, I can say it is outstanding, especially these ice cream bars. As popular and widespread as Good Humor, but a bit more up-market. I had an ice cream bar "Ego Caramel" -- vanilla coated in chocolate, then a caramel coating, and another chocolate coating. For good measure.

And with the start of the week...more rain, but in true Sydney fashion, things can change fast, and the afternoon ended up sunny and pleasant. Or as they say in the weather reports here "fine." As I write I have a big pot of vegetarian chili stewing away, and I'm hoping it reduces a bit. I thought for the sake of photos and a little public service announcement, I'd show y'all the green re-useable bags here that everyone uses for grocery shopping. These bags are good for the beach, too. Oh and the green pepper in the picture is actually referred to as capsicum here and I have no idea of the origin of that one.



Also included a picture of a street I walked down that was littered with shopping carts. Do we think those people who leave carts outside use green bags for their groceries? Things to ponder when wandering around the streets of Bondi.

so long,
tara

A very special Thanksgiving edition

Of all things Americana, I think Thanksgiving is pretty much the best thing to spread the world over. It's very much an equal opportunity holiday, only concerned with food, good company, and maybe an afternoon post-turkey doze. And, so we hosted a big Thanksgiving dinner in Bondi last night, in part to give the Aussies the goodness of the holiday and also to help me feel that much more at home here. And it was a rousing success on both counts.

Haydn was self-appointed tour manager of the holiday and nobly did all the cooking. I did peel ALL the potatoes, tho, which was really the only time he let someone else be in the kitchen with him. The day started with the ceremonial cooking of our 6.3 kilo/14 lb. organic, free-range turkey. It lived a good life up at Byron Bay and did a swell job in our oven. The afternoon was all about the pies, and Haydn made the pie crusts, including a gluten-free one. I peeled potatoes. He took on the stuffing and sweet potatoes. I peeled the other potatoes. The pies finished and when I finished my illustrious peeling duties, I was kindly excused from the kitchen.

And with all the right and comforting smells wafting through the apartment, guests started to arrive, I did a bit of cultural ambassadorship by recalling some historical points on the holiday and the importance of getting up at 5am the day after to start your Christmas shopping as early as possible. All the food was timed perfectly and in the true all-inclusive spirit of Thanksgiving, our dear friend and vegan, Adam, did the honor of carving the bird. All the trimmings (in vegan and gluten-free form when possible) accompanied the turkey -- mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes, green beans, cranberry (as it should be, from a jar), and stuffing.
I have to say, the stuffing took first prize with apples, walnuts, raisins. Including Haydn, Joeley (lovely lady in red top) and me, there were 14 people and there was quite a bit of build-up to the pumpkin pie, which people here are a bit leery of -- perphaps because pumpkin is so common as a side dish, it seems a bit strange as a dessert. But throw some whipped cream on it, and I think we made some believers.





As the evening winded down, the turkey kicked in and made for a bit of sleepiness. I now understand how football has become such an integral part of the holiday, as it provides a good opportunity for a nap without really offending anyone. And, so, with that my first Thanksgiving in Oz was true to spirit, filled with wonderful, thoughtful people and the food you wait all year for. One more round of applause for Haydn's cooking, please...


Enjoy the leftovers back in the US!
--tc

p.s. -- I had captions for all the photos, but alas they are not showing up...