Big news for this week is that we got a house in South Melbourne!I Its a gorgeous little victorian house, like a little cottage! I cant wait to be a bit closer to the city, have less of a commute to work and also find some great new places in the area! My favourite cafe's are in South Melb- St. Alis and Chez Dre, great macarons and coffee. Hopefully move in this week- it all happens so fast! 

 My first outing during Dry July was last night, had an engagement party to go to (congratulations to the beautiful Natasha and Damien) and it was interesting to see peoples reactions to not drinking. I stuck to lemon lime and bitters as I was driving anyway but I would have loved to have a toast to the happy couple with a glass of champagne... or a whole bottle! haha. Thats the first obstacle over and done with and it wasn't as bad as I thought. My body is feeling great and I seems to be waking up better as well. However we are going to hold of on our housewarming party until August! 

Aside from that its been an average week, I'm still recovering after a big one for Chris's 30th. I went down the coast to visit the parents and some friends on the weekend and laid pretty low really, just worked and tried to stay warm! Kept my outside runs to a minimum and dragged the yoga mat out for some indoor workouts instead. 

I don't  know about you but this weather is making me want to hibernate! I just want to curl up with a hot chocolate and do nothing!!

 In winter we all crave things like warm soups but it can get a little boring after a while. Something great I discovered  is a new sourdough bakery in St Kilda on Barkly st that makes the most amazing bread! My favourite is olive but if you don't like olives then the pumpkin and soy is really tasty as well! Last time we went it was early in the morning and the bread had just been baked, it was still warm when we got home and the butter just melted on it. You can't beat warm, fresh baked bread with soup in winter!! I think I'm turning into a bread snob, the supermarket multigrain just doesn't cut it anymore! Haha. You should do yourself a favour next time your in St Kilda and check it out! It's just near the corner of Inkerman st.

I also made a really tasty veggie soup  the other day so I thought I'd share a similar recipe (I'm vegetarian but you can add bacon or chicken) I just made mine up as I went, with soups you can add almost anything but this one is pretty close. (Mine also had parsnip and no croutons)

I've grown to really love cooking, if you have the time and aren't too tired after work it's actually quite relaxing and rewarding when you cook something that people enjoy. ( I still make friends sign a disclaimer before eating my food in case it kills them!) haha

I hope you enjoy the recipe and give the bakery a try!! 

Xxx

CAULIFLOWER AND POTATO SOUP
1 head cauliflower, cut into florets and stems sliced 2 med. potatoes, peeled and cubed 1 tbsp. butter 1 clove garlic, minced 1 c. coarsely chopped onion 1/2 c. minced fresh parsley 2 tsp. soy sauce 1/4 tsp. cardamom 3/4 tsp. salt Dash or more cayenne Freshly ground pepper to taste 1 c. low fat milk Chopped scallions for garnish Croutons Steam cauliflower for 5 minutes until florets are just tender. Set aside but save cooking water. Parboil potatoes for 10 minute or until tender. Set aside but save cooking water.In non-stick skillet, melt butter, add garlic and onion and saute until soft. Combine reserved cauliflower, potatoes, garlic/onion mixture and parsley and puree in blender or food processor in batches, adding the reserved liquid as needed. Transfer the puree to a large saucepan and add additional cooking liquid to achieve a consistency somewhat thicker than ultimately desired. Stir in soy sauce, cardamom, salt, pepper, and cayenne. Add milk, stirring soup to blend. Reheat the soup; do not boil. Garnish with scallions and serve with croutons.