farewell, FNQ!

I left the north ‘for good’ yesterday, saying farewell to sunny Cairns after another wander around Rusty’s Markets (I only took photos; they’ve really cracked down on carrying fruit interstate it seems) and some last minute shopping for Cowboys supporter’s gear. flying down, I enjoyed the sun right until we dove through the clouds to a bleak and dark 5pm Sydney, and then it really sunk in.

we’re not in the tropics anymore, Toto. no more thongs/jandals. no more complaining about how cold it is, because it’s dropped to 18 degrees c. and we’ve had to wear a cardigan and closed in shoes. this is it - the real deal cold.

so here are some of my ‘gatherings’ from Rusty’s, a reminder of the black sapotes, longans, pineapples, dragonfruit, bananas, mangoes and lychees, fresh herbs and asian greens we’ve taken for granted for the past 4.5 years. not to mention the perfect blue-sky-sunny May - August days… I’ll miss it all so much!

The Greens + The Coffee

I know I said I was going to make something exciting with my market buys, but hey, I’m a busy girl. I got home from uni starving yesterday, so made myself this little snackeral…

steamed bok choi and choi sum with snow peas, with a sprinkling of soy sauce. A piece of bready stuff with pesto, fetta and tomatoes (from Rusty’s) and off-screen is a bowl of miso (a paste sachet from the asian grocers two doors down from the backpackers).

and another thing: Carins doesn’t drink coffee. OK, they do, but nowhere near the volume Townsville does - and I am talking about volume.. I’ve been asking for large coffees all week and getting 8oz takeaway cups everywhere. WTF? that’s not going to get me through the belly morning!! I finally found somewhere that has 16oz takeaway cups, plus makes decent coffee to boot. Horray! here’s coffee directly fueling my work at 7am yesterday.

we’ve just now finished the coursework side of my uni course, which has been really interesting and fun. leaving C-town for Sydney tomorrow.

see you there!

Cairns - some quick foody things

In Cairns for the week, doing a uni block course before leaving the North for Sydney.

pretty busy, but just quickly: Cairns is a good place to eat.. here is the yummy chicken & garlic yoghurt pizza I had the other night, and the fruit and veg I got up at 6am to get from Rusty’s Markets before heading out to uni on Sunday morning. so fresh! and how cute is the baby bok choi?

I will have to cook something - well, something more exciting than the stir-fry I ate last night and for lunch again today - so I can post it.. xxx

the puku is relocating

I mean the physical puku, not this site! am packed up and heading down to Sydney to join the boy, and so ends 4.5 years in the tropics.

I will most certainly be eating down there (and in Cairns for a week before I arrive) but just thought I’d post some poor excuse for being a slack blogger (packing house, finishing up at work, partying, no broadband, etc etc) … more puku fillers coming soon! xxx z