This week’s small pleasures #439

Thistles and Kiwis

On Saturday morning, as I was walking to the bus stop, I spotted these gorgeous bright red berries of a contoneaster. I took a couple of pictures (the one below and the featured image) and thought how perfect they would be for this week’s small pleasures post, since their colour was indeed a small pleasure to see. Imagine my delight and surprise to see Anne of Something Over Tea also featuring them this week in her recent post. Great minds….anyway, to the rest of this week’s small pleasures which include this beautiful camellia against the bright blue sky of Saturday morning.

In the basket

The Wonky Box delivered a red cabbage, parsnips, a bunch of mini carrots, a head of broccoli, a bag of purple Brussels sprouts and (not shown) a cucumber and bag of baby spinach. There was also a beetroot – something I asked them not to include – so a bit annoying. Anyway, I decided to do my annual ‘try beetroot’ moment with it, and cut it up into little pieces and roast it – it was palatable. I still have last week’s kohrabi to do something with too, though did cook up the remainaing three pears from last week which were still bone hard.

I topped this up with two red capsicum, two persimmons, two apples and the first two tamarillos of the season. There was also onions, lamb mince, feta, Greek yoghurt and other bits and piece.

Lunches

I worked at home on Tuesday, and had some of the roast veggies I had prepared on Sunday with some sardines with lemons and proper Swedish crispbread. I met a friend for lunch on Wednesday, and had some excellent mushrooms on toast, and made up a batch of a puy lentil salad with roasted aubergine (eggplant), capsicum, baby spinach, sesame seeds, a little basil and feta for workday lunches at the start of the week.

Out and about

We went out for dinner on Wednesday, as reviewed in my last post, and on Saturday evening a friend and I went to this year’s choreographic season, created and performed by the contemporary dance students, at the New Zealand School of Dance. The works, by third year students, are put together into a continuous performance of pieces, and are designed to support their creative journey by putting together a whole evening of dance. This year was full of a lot of lovely, lyrical pieces, my favourite being Mille Maden’s Agon. The string referenced in the title was present through a washing line present throughout the evening and used in various ways in each piece.

Staying in

We loved The Four Seasons (complete with cameo appearance by Alan Alda) on Netflix, which I recommend, and the black comedy No Good Deed which is a lot of fun (and good to see Lisa Kudrow and Ray Romano), also on Netflix. I made leek and potato soup for a cosy Wednesday meal and carbonnade a la flamande using Nigella Lawson’s recipe for Sunday dinner.

Simple things

  • Seeing a New Zealand falcon fly over head while I was hanging out the washing on Sunday morning. What a wonderful sight that was!
  • Going shopping for clothes and finding three new things – all on sale – a simple pleasure.
  • Enjoying some autumnal colours – most native plants are evergreen.
  • Finishing one book, starting another and picking up a third from the local bookshop.
  • Digging out my nicest sweaters, lighting candles at dinner and generally getting cosy.
  • Spotting all the fungi in the garden…

What were your small pleasures this week? Here are some other blog posts from a few fellow bloggers looking at the good things in life. Also entered in the weekend coffee share hosted by Natalie.

Thistles and Kiwis is a Wellington, New Zealand based blog written by Barbara, who likes cats, summer, good food and pretends to garden.

You can find Thistles and Kiwis on Facebook, and also on Instagram @thistlesandkiwis.

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Published by Thistles and Kiwis

Loves summer, sunshine and cats. Beginner gardener, likes eating, cooking and reading about food

43 Comments

  1. Our summery weather continues here and our garden is swathed in yellow canary creeper blossoms. You seem to have spent a delightful week, which is cheering for all of us 🙂

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  3. I’m with you on the beets! I think we had them way too much when I was a kid. They were cheap and easy to grow, and my parents both loved them. I thought them rude, bleeding into my mashed potatoes. I know they are really healthful, and I’ve tried over the eyars to make them in a way I could like them, but have mostly failed. However, I can tolerate the little candy striped Chioggia beets in little amounts.
    Love the photo of the cotoneaster!

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  4. Those red berries really pop against that green! I am not a fan of beetroot either but I have roasted it a time or two (with other veggies) and agree it makes it palatable at least.

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  5. You had a busy week! The meals all look delicious and the dance performance sounds lovely too. I enjoyed the movie The Four Seasons which came out decades ago, but hadn’t heard about the series. We’ll have to add it to our list.

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  7. There seems to be a shortage of puy lentils, I haven’t been able to find any for ages! And I love them in lentil soup as they don’t turn to mush like the red ones do. I do actually like beetroot, but detest the small of it when cooking from raw, too earthy. But roasted is nice. Your week has been full of small pleasures.

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    1. Have you noticed things come and go in shops more often since Covid? Or maybe that is just here, where several European brands are no longer available since the pandemic.

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      1. I have noticed that lots of things have disappeared, but that’s probably more to do with Brexit. Also lots of packaged goods have shrunk in size / weight but cost the same or more.

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  8. I love the title of “How long is a piece of string?” It took me right back to my father, who would ask that if you asked a question he couldn’t, or didn’t want, to answer. It’s a great riddle for kids.

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  10. As usual, I forgot to leave a comment as I am busy following links through to other bloggers.
    It’s perfect noticing those little pleasurers in life. #439 weeks of doing so it quite extraordinary!

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  16. As an Australian I feel I need to say “Don’t eat the mushrooms!” 😉 How lovely to go to the Dance. I thought it was a book at first. Great cover! #WeekendCoffeeShare

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