Two favourite cookbooks

For a few weeks (okay, months) after we moved to Canberra, making dinner at home somehow went out the window. There were so many new places to try and we were still adjusting to city things like commuting and longer days at work.

But now we're back on track. On Monday night, we had roast quail for dinner and it felt pretty special. It was good for our bank balance too :)

We have tons of cookbooks at home but lately we've been cooking from one each. For me, it's been Rachel Khoo's Kitchen Notebook, which I've had since last year but really gotten into after watching the series on SBS.

I've made an excellent spaghetti dish (we're having it again tonight), a fancy breakfast and the roast quail. Next up, I want to try these eclairs.

Tony's been working his way through Alla Fratelli, which was the best Christmas gift from my brother and his wife. Last week we had amazing chicken schnitzels with slaw, and he's made most of the pastas and gelato too.

P.S Before Alla Fratelli, Tony's go-to cookbook was Eat - The Little Book of Fast Food by Nigel Slater. We love it so much that we both bought copies for our brothers. And if you watched Rachel Khoo's Kitchen Notebook Melbourne, I found all of the recipes here.

Three days in Adelaide

We've heard so many great things about Adelaide over the last few years and were excited to check out the city after exploring South Australia's wine country last month. We stayed in a great apartment in North Adelaide, which had cute cafes like E for Ethel and was an easy half hour walk into town.

We spent an afternoon at the Art Gallery of South Australia, where we found some hidden gems amongst what had looked like a collection of European style history paintings. I especially loved two video works, Richard Lewer's Worse luck I am still here, which I watched a few times over and a surreal 40 minute piece by AES+F group from Russia called Allegoria Sacra - I managed to watch the entire thing from start to finish, I was totally captivated. Tony also led the way to Greenaway Gallery, a contemporary art space in the suburb of Kent Town.

On the food front, we loved Maid Mice, which serves Vietnamese-inspired burgers and really great fries. My only regret is not going with the burger banquet option, it was so delicious! We spent a bit of time stocking up on clothes in the city and loved Monday's Coffee Store and The Beigelry for New York inspired bagels and apple pie soda. Of a night, Clever Little Taylor was a lovely spot for a drink. We discovered Rundle Street East a little late in our stay but loved the look of all the cafes (a few hidden away in Ebenezer Place) and fancy shops.

Before we began the long drive home, we stopped by the beach where we saw a dolphin playing in the sea :) We'd love to come back one day to check out a few things we missed, like the Adelaide Hills and Samstag Museum. I'd also love to check out the Adelaide Festival, the South Australian Living Artists Festival and try out this foodie guide to Adelaide, discovered a month too late.