I read this “Last Man on Earth” Metafilter thread before bed last night, and then had post-apocalyptic dreams for eight hours. Let that be a warning.

Remember the Meat House? I just got an email from one of the creators alerting me to their latest project: the Meat Ship. My favorite part are the little meat pirates firing little meat cannons.

How do you tell if you’re a true Aussie? I totally agree with/understand all of those, with the notable exceptions of pronouncing Penrith as “Pen-riff” (Quoth the Snook: “Only bogans do that.”) and the secret words shouted during Am I Ever Gonna See Your Face Again. And rest assured, the Snook has just enlightened me as to the latter.

Happy Australia Day! The Snook and I celebrated with Fiona and Matt by heading out to breakfast at Wharfy’s at the Mosman Ferry Wharf. We’d heard that the LA Times voted it “Best Breakfast in the World,” and Not Quite Nigella gave it two rave reviews. We were all looking forward to an experience. Well… it was pretty good. The Snook and I shared an excellent Eggs Benedict and a couple slices of French toast. The coffee was decent. Fiona and Matt seemed to enjoy their food too. Nothing hit me as orgasmic, but it was simple food done well in good-sized portions. For me, though, the sticking point is the price. While I’m sure $35 for breakfast for two is a good deal in Mosman, I thought it was a bit ridiculous. I can get a great breakfast over at Cafe Giulia for less, and I don’t have to sit in the middle of a ferry wharf to enjoy it. So overall I’d say if you’re in Mosman and you want to see what the fuss is all about, go for it. I’m not sure it merits a special trip from anywhere else though.

This one’s for my sister: Caring for a Baby 101. My favorite is the baby massage. Come on! That baby is loving it! (Link courtesy of krisalis.)

Ricotta Dumplings with Orecchiette, Peas and Prosciutto
Have I told you how much I love delicious. magazine? Ma Snook got me a gift subscription a few years ago and has kept it up ever since. Tonight I dipped into my now-extensive back catalog for this little experiment. It’s from the February 2007 issue. (“Orecchiette” are small, curly bits of pasta that look like little ears. You could easily substitute shells.) I liked that it had a real simple component (the pasta and peas bit) and then a slightly-more-complicated-but-still-fun bit (the ricotta dumplings). I’ll admit I was a little dubious about the dumplings. I mean, how can you BOIL CHEESE and not have it turn into nasty melted goo? But these worked perfectly. I think this is one of those super easy recipes you could make that would really impress a guest. Details to follow.Ingredients:
2 cups orecchiette
1/4 c. olive oil, plus extra to drizzle
1 c. fresh or frozen peas
1/2 onion, thinly sliced
1/4 c. dry white whine
4 thin slices prosciutto or ham, sliced
2 T. mint leaves

For the dumplings:
250g fresh ricotta
2 T. grated parmesan, plus extra to serve
1/3 c. plain flour
1 egg, plus 1 extra egg yolk
2 T. finely chopped flat-leaf parsley
Large pinch freshly ground nutmeg

For the dumplings, dump all that stuff (plus a good bit of salt and pepper) in the food processor and whizz until smooth. Then chill in the fridge while you make the pasta.

Cook the pasta in boiling, salted water according to the packet directions, adding the peas for the final two minutes. Drain. Rinse in cold water to cool it a bit, then drain again. Toss with a tablespoon of the oil.

Heat up the remaining oil in a large pan. Add the onion and cook until soft. Add the wine and prosciutto, then dump in your pasta and pea mixture. Stir it around until everything’s mixed up and warm. Dump the whole thing (including any juices) into a big serving bowl.

Meanwhile, put a pot of water on to boil. (I used the same one I boiled the pasta in.) Get your dumpling mix out, and use two teaspoons to nicely shape and drop little football-looking dumplings into the water. Cook about six at a time, and let them simmer for a good two minutes. (I found that they floated to the top when they were cooked.) Drain on paper towels, then scatter over the pasta. Season the whole thing well with salt and pepper. Scatter on your mint leaves and grate some more parmesan over the top. Finish with a drizzle of oil and serve warm.

Market Tote. Cute!

We got some much needed new stuff this week.

1. Laundry shelf. Our little laundry room lacked any storage space beyond the window sill, but the wall above the sink was empty. I picked up this shelf last week at Howard’s Storage World. My friend Albert came over last weekend with his hammer drill (since our walls are all masonry) to help us hang it. I am ridiculously pleased with my little shelf. (In my Elizabeth Bennet voice: “Shelves in the laundry! Happy thought indeed.”)

2. Kitchen shelf/bars. We approached the big empty space above the kitchen sink as both a challenge and an opportunity. The Snook has long desired to HANG THINGS in his kitchen. With that in mind, we picked up a bunch of Grundtal accessories from IKEA a few weeks ago. Albert helped the Snook hang them. We’ve got two shelves across the top, two bars across the middle, a hanging spice rack, a bunch of hooks, and a magnetic knife rack. Now we just need to decide what else we’re going to put on it!

3. My new Campers. Most mornings I walk by the Camper shop in the QVB in the city, and every day for some weeks now I’ve looked at these shoes in the window. Last night Fiona turned up at the TC SnB with a Camper bag of her own. Their sale was still on, she said, and she was happy to accompany me there afterwards. My shoes were on sale for 50% off! I couldn’t resist. They’re very comfy.

Google on hiring spree. GAH.