Xpressions

Sunset at Royal Botanical Garden Trees changing color everywhere Autumn Colors Fort Denison

There are these 2 things which I've recently learned to cook. They are super simple and good for that hunger pangs after you come home from office and find that you have to cook the dinner from scratch. So I make these and eat some while making .. :D so that I'm up for the dinner cooking effort rather then eating some readymade stuff. Chilli Cheese Toast - All Ingredients off the shelf. Wheat bread  Shredded Cheese  Finely chopped green chillis or Red chilli flakes  Place 2-3 slices on a foil. Top it with shredded cheese and chilli place it in the oven and heat it at 160 for 5 mins (may differ based on your oven) Remove from the oven and dig in .. :) Salad: Salad mix - its washed and ready to use. sliced carrots grapes or strawberries - i like to make my salad colorful .. :) Ready salad dressing off the shelf (it's better to have a readymade dressing rather then having the entire dinner ready made) Mix all the ingredients in a bowl....

Spaghetti Bolognese - I never knew much about this dish earlier and always thought such exotic sounding dishes were very difficult to make. But I was pleasantly suprised when I came across an easy receipe for Spaghetti bolognese. Ok, so this may not exactly be bolognese since it does not have any beef or any meat at all for that matter. But it's a happy vegetarian version of the exotic spaghetti bolognese. Ingredients: spaghetti chopped vegeis like onions, tomatoes, carrots, mushrooms and some fresh parsley/corriander for that subtle flavor (i prefer corriander since i'm more used to it's taste then parsley - but i accidentally got parsley so here it goes .. :))  peas and corn  shredded cheese mix for seasoning mixed herbs for seasoning salt to taste tomato ketchup - I love adding this instead of canned/pured tomatoes Receipe: Heat a pan and add some oil to it. I'm more used to our normal vegetable oil rather than olive oil. Add the onions and s...

If you are celebrating some occassion in sydney, you have to go to Darling Harbor .. :) Opera House Amazing place with lots of good restaurants at the waterfront. So many options to choose from that you dont have to worry about being a vegetarian either .. :). Yeah, I'm not a vegetarian but I always prefer going to a veg-friendly place because both me and hubz are very fussy about what meat we eat. So it's always good to have veg options handy in case we do not get anything to our liking. Harbor bridge Sydney Skyline from the boat Although it was a weekday, we made bookings in advance so as not to have any surprises. It's easy enough to book any restaurants from their websites. From Circular Quay, there are regular ferries going to Darling Harbor. Although you can always walk or take a train if you want to travel to Darling harbor from the city, taking a boat adds that extra special touch to a beautiful evening .. :) A liesure walk around the Circular ...

Each time I mention to somebody that I went to visit this place called - Ball's Head - people give me a funny look .. :)  Yeah, I agree the name is quite funny probably even bordering to vulgar for some, but the place is indeed beautiful and worth visiting not just on new year's eve but anytime of the year. Harbor Bridge View Sun filled Park Ball's Head Reserve as goes the full name is a huge bushland park very close to Sydney CBD. It is accessible from the suburb of Waverton - just a 10mins walk from the station. Due to it's vicinity to the harbor, it has got some amazing views of the harbor bridge and Sydney skyline. It's popular during the new year's eve as it gives clear views of the fireworks done at the harbor to welcome the new year. We reached Waverton around 11am and walked for just about 10mins as per the road signs to reach the ball's head reserve. It's a huge park and has many walks and picnic areas. There are also some cliff li...

Had a lazy weekend at home. Since the temperatures are dipping, it feels better to sit at home and be cozy .. :) Though we did get out for some time to have a look at the ANZAC day parade here in hornsby and get the patriotic feel around. Drummer's Leading the parade Followed by ... It was a small parade with local authorities and schools/clubs participating to pay homage to the veteran soldiers. The most striking thing about the parade was the efficient management. From diverting traffic to managing the small crowd and finishing the entire thing on time with least hurdles for others was an exceptional thing. But for the actual parade, I'd be a lot more partial or favoring to the parades back in India. They are just too good .. :) But overall the fervor and enthusiasm of general public and efficient participation of the authorities was really worth the time and effort. War veterans ..  Local teams ..

There is this huge park with many walks very close to our current place of residence. Hence on a free weekend, with good weather we decided to explore it further. The park - known as hornsby park is more popular with the mountain bikers for it has multiple biking trails going through hilly regions and with increasing difficulty. There are also several walks going through the hills and valley - known as the old man's valley. Steps leading to Old Man's Valley North Walk The route was indeed very nice. Going through the jungles and meeting few fellow walkers. After some meandering, we came across the steps which lead into the old man's valley. I did not count them exactly but i guess there were approx. 75-80 steps to reach the park below. On reaching down, there was a clearing where many families and kids had come for a weekend picnic. There is information on further walks which include a lake walk and a walk all the way to the harbor. Definitely noted this for furth...