My week - Sprinkles on the carpet

This week I made donuts and then found a blog about donuts - yay!

I also started listening to the StartUp podcast and I'm hooked. Thanks for the prompt Vanessa! The show follows Alex Blumberg, a former producer from Planet Money and This American Life as he tries to set up his own podcasting network. It features a very cringeworthy pitch in its first episode.

Has anyone else been following Human of New York's series on Mott Hall Bridges Academy on Instagram? It just keeps getting better. It started with Vidal, a student who named his high school principal as the most influential person in his life. It's led to a photographic series about the disadvantaged Brooklyn high school, a massive fundraiser and this week Vidal met President Barack Obama!

I joined Joy the Baker's #bakingbootcamp after my sourdough starter died and made wholewheat honey and oat bread this week. It smelt and tasted like an Easter bun and was ready in no time.

Finally, thanks to everyone who stopped by this week. It's been so exciting, not to mention nerve-wracking, sharing this blog with you.

Have a good weekend!

My week - All about Ruth Reichl

This week I've been a little Ruth Reichl obsessed. 

I started reading her novel Delicious! on Kristie's recommendation, listened to this excellent interview with the former New York Times food critic, which in turn led me to her honest article about watching her weight during her years on the job.

I happen to be reading Delicious! on my phone and iPad, using the Borrow Box app, which lets me borrow e-books from my local library for free. I'm stoked! Hopefully your library has it too.

On Australia Day, Tony made chocolate fondant and honey gelato with hidden chunks of homemade nougat. I may have insisted that we get stuck into it before it was properly set.

Flicking through Instagram this week, I loved this Valentine's Day cookie from a cute Melbourne bakery. 

I follow NPR's Asia correspondent Frank Langfitt on Facebook and he shared this eye-opening look at life underground in Beijing, where aspiring actors, families and migrants find affordable accommodation in cramped rooms with no natural light.

My colleague Alex in Western Australia published this kind advice from author David Sedaris just the other day. I can't believe she got to talk to him. 

And just in time for Sunday, how to make Sophie Dahl's strawberry ricotta pancakes.

My week - Reading cookbooks before bed

We just bought this happy bunch from Sophie, whose zinnias bloomed this week.

Two cookbooks arrived in the mail for me this week and I've been reading them before bed :) I bought Sophie Dahl's Very Fond of Food (the title and this pancake post made me do it) and My Darling Lemon Thyme from the Western Australian food blog of the same name.

I was so excited to discover the This Is Radio series, which profiles game-changing independent and public radio producers like The Kitchen Sisters and Joe Richman in short videos.

On the topic of radio, I may be one of the few people who didn't love Serial. This post captures why listening to the series made me uncomfortable (I stopped at episode 4).

I spend a lot of time on Instagram so Tony showed me Amalia Ulman's tongue-in-cheek feed this week. The artist totally masters every kind of Instagram photo and user, from the baby pics (guilty) to the too-perfect food photo complete with hilarious caption.

Japanese writer Haruki Murakami's Q&A website is live! Thank goodness for Google translate. I want to ask a question around the simple meals that feature so prominently in all of his stories. A restaurant in Portland has even created a Murakami inspired degustation.

And now for the long weekend. We're going to make chocolate fondant and honey gelato for a lunch at a friend's farmhouse on Sunday, try out the new Vietnamese cafe in town and I'm going to watch Studio Ghibli's Porco Rosso - a cartoon about a flying pig!

My week - Back to work

The very best lunch break with the lovely Sophie, who brought me the sweetest mini bouquet from her flower farm. 

It's been the week of excellent packed lunches. There were yummy pea and pesto quinoa patties (especially good with a side of sweet cherry tomatoes yum!) and soupy noodle pots. 

And no packed lunch is complete without snacks.

I've long been a fan of Modern Love essays and like many people this week became fascinated by the 36 questions from 'To Fall in Love With Anyone, Do This.' I love the idea of getting people to stray from the stories they tell about themselves and the questions are so probing and personal that I'd be interested in hearing pretty much anyone answer them. 

I made a surprising and delicious dessert last night, poached pears with cardamon and saffron for some great friends who are leaving town at the end of the month. Fun fact: there are black and green cardamon pods. You want the black ones for sweet recipes.

Two exciting Instagram discoveries - my dream handbag (it has eyes!) and a Rifle Paper co. diary is coming in 2016!

And a documentary recommendation from a friend at work (most of our emails end with a link to a doco we've enjoyed recently) - Joy Division. 

My week - Summer in the kitchen

I've been pottering around at home this week, trying out new recipes, taking naps and avoiding the heat before I head back to work on Monday. Here's what I've been up to in my last week of holidays.

We had a midweek pizza night and watched the delightful The Kingdom of Dreams and Madness, a documentary about Studio Ghibli and Hayao Miyakai's final feature length animation.

I've been living in this dress that Tony gave me for Christmas. It's the best striped/t-shirt dress ever, and 100 per cent cotton - win!

On Instagram I stalked graphic designer Jasmine Dowling's beautiful feed, which may have lead to the purchase of my first Assembly Label tee (they live up to the hype).

Also Carin from Paris in four months has been in Sydney, and I've loved seeing how she's captured my hometown on Instagram. Also, I need to go to Brewtown.

Sometimes you need the internet to tell you how to make a sandwich. Green machine sandwiches were our Saturday breakfast and they were so good.

And I've been taking advantage of my time at home to listen to radio shows that I usually miss while I'm at work, like Life Matters, which I love. I especially enjoyed this episode for its unique exploration of marriage.

Hope you have a great weekend! Tony's planning to make special hamburgers tonight (with Kewpie mayo AND tomato sauce) and then tomorrow we're headed to a hoedown at a friend's house for a very different kind of baby shower.