long weekends at home

Since Sandy is working his little bum off out at the factory in preparation for his Furnitex exhibition I have had a homey weekend lounging around watching videos (Lost Boys, Some crappy Jennifer Garner movie and another movie where Antonio Banderas teaches inner city kids to change their lives through the power of ballroom dancing...)
many life lessons to be learnt in that one I can tell you!
Off to the Gold Coast this week for 2 nights for our work conference, lots of drinking, training and Sea World all mixed in together...should be fun!

Random Tomato Based Meal

In an effort to expand my cooking repertoire I went online today to discover some new vege recipes to mix things up a bit. So here's my latest meal attempt.

Start with the slow roasted tomatoes

2 tomatoes sliced lengthways
olive oil
balsamic vinegar
soft brown sugar

Mix the oil vinegar and sugar together to taste (I prefer sweet myself!) spoon the mixture over the tomato halves in an oven tray. Place in an oven on low heat (about 100 degrees should do). They'll take about an hour and a half to two hours to cook, during this time keep applying the mixture as needed.

1 1/3 tbsp olive oil
1 onion chopped
2 cloves garlic chopped
1 can diced tomato
1 can chickpeas drained
3/4 cup feta
salt & pepper to taste

Heat the oil, stir in the onion and garlic and cook for 10 min til tender.
Mix in the tomatoes til heated through for 15 min.
Stir chickpeas and feta through and cook for another 5 min.

Serve with Couscous and the Slow Roasted Tomatoes.

Series Number 1: Good Videos I Find on the Internet Part 2

Here is another just lovely and delightful video that was sent to me by a friend in far off North America (Hi Iowa!). Loving the Amelie-esque nature of the whole thing, the haircuts, the art direction and cute animations. Apparently directed by one of Tom Pettys kids... so there you go! Enjoy!