Beautiful borscht

Sigh, the borscht didn't live up to its name. I've been cooking a lot out of the CSIRO Well-Being Diet Cookbook, and this is the first recipe which isn't drop-dead gorgeously delicious. It called for 1/2 cup lemon juice. Even as I squeezed, I thought 'no way'. I dutifully added it nonetheless - due to my deep need for order in the universe and in recipes - but regretted it upon tasting. Too tart. Only barely fixed by adding yogurt and extra virgin olive oil.

Mmmm pancakes

For breakfast: buttermilk pancakes topped with yogurt and canned peaches in mango juice. And a titch of maple syrup.

Lamb chops.

Boiled kipfler potatoes*.

Spinach and mushrooms**.

*I've always wanted to try these long skinny German potatoes, typically described as yellow and waxy. They were OK (but hey I'm not a potato person). Glad they weren't as expensive as they usually are.

**The star of the show. 500 g sliced mushrooms fried in olive oil with 2 thinly sliced garlic cloves. Right before serving, I added about 300 g English spinach and cooked briefly. Served with black pepper and extra virgin olive oil.

Bronte beach in Sydney

A couple of weekends ago we stayed at Bronte beach in Sydney. Very beautiful. And a fantastic choice of 6 or 7 non-touristy cafes for breakfast.

After slow cooking....

This is what the beans looked like after slow cooking. I added some sauteed fennel and red capsicum at the end.