Oodles of Noodles

Last night we attended the "Oodles of Noodles" cooking class at the Queen Victoria Market Cooking School to sharpen our skills in the kitchen and add a little variety to our meals. Kristi's mum gave her a gift certificate for a class back in February and, after a few miscommunications and booked-out classes, we ended up with another gift certificate - which meant that we were able to attend the class together!

There were about 16 people in the class and we learned how to create 5 yummy dishes: Thai Prawn and Chicken Egg Noodles (as shown in the picture - this was the favorite for both of us, and easy so we'll actually be able to make it!); Pad Thai Noodles; Papardelle with Veal, Prosciutto and Tossed with Young Peas and Herbs (a close second for Kristi); Japanese Soba Noodles with Sweet Pickled Ginger, Japanese Mushrooms and Topped with Seared Atlantic Salmon; and Singapore Laksa with Seafood and Quail Eggs (making fish stock with salmon heads and prawn bodies will make it less likely for us to try this one at home!) To check out pictures of the various dishes click here. And if you're interested in any of the recipes, just let us know and we'll pass them along.

Our teacher, Geraldine Holmes, taught us how to prepare and garnish the dishes, and she also shared her knowledge about vendors at the Queen Vic Market, identified the best Asian grocers and brands, and gave tips on which utensils/pots to use for different types of cooking and how to maintain them. It was a fun evening and we learned (and ate) quite a bit!

Kristi Gets a Job

I know most of you thought I would try use this moving to Australia thing as an excuse for an extremely long vacation, and I know others were hoping for great/grandchildren out of the deal...but instead I have chosen to become a working member of the business world yet again. Starting this coming Monday I will become the "Science and Marketing Administrator" for EvoGenix Limited (a nice title, don't you think?)

From what I understand at this point, EvoGenix completes research to humanize and optimize specified antibodies to fight diseases such as osteoporosis, different types of cancers, and leukemia (to name a few). They are a small company with 23 people in the Melbourne office, 3 in Sydney, and 2 in California. Twenty-two of the 23 people in Melbourne are lab scientists actually working with the antibodies, and the VP of Business Development and Marketing is also located in Melbourne. My position will support both the lab and the business development/marketing aspects of the company. I will manage the lab in regard to supplies, equipment, and invoicing; and from what I can tell I will also be the right-hand-man to the VP (who is also the COO) and basically help him get processes in place and move forward with development and marketing activities.

The team of people I have met thus far are nice folks so I'm hoping this company will be a good fit for the time we are here. In talking with the team I feel there is room to make the most of the position, and as such I see potential for some positive growth and development in my career. Wish me luck!

What Did Josh Win?!

This has just been a winning week for me. It all started last week when one of the folks in the office was selling tickets for a raffle that her son's kindergarten class was having. It was $5 per ticket and I got the last one that she had for sale. I didn't think anything else of it and just figured it was $5 that I wouldn't see again UNTIL.....


I showed up on Monday morning at work and found out that I had actually won something at the raffle! Not just something, but actually had taken home the grand prize!! What is the grand prize you might ask? Turns out that kindergarten raffles are a great deal around here because the prize was $600 worth of wine and spirits!! This is KINDERGARTEN!! I really should go back to school if this is what they've got going for them.


So here's me with the loot - more hard stuff than we've ever had on hand before along with some very nice bottles of wine (including a "big" bottle) so we don't have to spend money on alcohol for quite a while.


SO that was Monday....

Wednesday came along with a meet up with the Nike running group in Port Melbourne - after a rainy and cold run, for some reason that we still haven't figured out I ended up winning a Nike running hat! I'm telling you, so far the week has been great and hopefully it will continue.

More news coming this week as its been a busy one - keep an eye out for the rest of the updates here in a day or two.

Melbourne Food & Wine Festival

This past weekend we took part in a couple of activities associated with the Melbourne Food & Wine Festival, which attracts food and wine experts from around the world. The festival lasts for two weeks and has many options for getting involved - dinners, presentations, workshops, classes, etc.

On Saturday, we checked out the International Flour Festival where you could buy different types of food from around the world - all made with flour (obviously). However, the weather on Saturday was crazy - raining and cold one minute followed by sunny and warm the next, off and on all day - so we didn't spend all that much time roaming the streets. But on Sunday, which was a much more pleasant day, we returned and spent the whole afternoon taking part in the CellarDoor at Southgate. Tasting rooms are called cellar doors in Australia, and this was a huge outdoor tasting room showcasing wines from over 70 wineries located in the state of Victoria. At $25 a glass, how could you go wrong? We did take a short break to walk through the Wicked Sunday showcase of desserts, coffees, and other tasty treats - talk about a good way to spend a Sunday!

To see more photos from the weekend, click here.

Josh is a Winner

Just you wait because I've got a great announcement to make this week. It'll amaze even those of you that know how much of a winner I (Josh) am.....and for those of you that don't know, well....you're in for a treat!

"How is Josh a Winner?" you might ask - well here's your clues. It has to do with the following six subjects - if anyone can guess then you get a BIG shiny star sticker next to your name!

1 - Kindergarten
2 - Gambling
3 - Work
4 - Play
5 - Basket Weaving
6 - Being Number ONE!!

There you go - you'll just have to wait for the pictures now to prove whether you're right or wrong with your guesses. (Of course most guesses as to why I'm a winner are probably correct. :-P)

Puzzle Conquered

Our good friend from Denver, Shannon, gave Kristi this great tree frog puzzle for her birthday to provide an entertainment alternative to daytime television. It took a while - it is harder than it looks - but after a couple days of mulling it over, Kristi was able to put everything in its place. What fun!

Birthday Celebration

Kristi celebrated turning the big 2-8 on Friday. She was thrilled to hear from so many family members and friends throughout the day, and was very excited about the surprise birthday cake Josh brought home! He had quite the time finding her favorite cake (German chocolate apparently isn't common in Australia), but he was able to find one place that made them. As you can see by the picture, it's not your typical German chocolate - much fancier and richer - but boy was it good!

Cake here in Australia is not the same as it is back in the States. Most of the prepared cakes you can buy look like the one in the picture. You don't really see any fluffy white frosting with pink and yellow roses. Also at home the grocery stores dedicate almost half an isle to cake mixes, frosting, and decorations. Not so here - you may have a choice of two or three brands, but there are only about 8 or 10 kinds. It seems like chocolate and butter cake are the standards, and then there were a few others like carrot cake, lemon poppyseed, and mud cake. And to top it off they do not sell any frosting! After thorough review of the cake mix boxes we determined that if the picture of the cake on the boxed showed it with frosting, then the cake mix also included a mix for frosting (which was usually prepared using margarine). We're sad to report that there will be no nights binging on frosting and graham crackers (probably a good thing!)

The rest of the weekend we laid low - cycling on Saturday and a trip to the market on Sunday. The weather is starting to turn to fall, bringing pleasant temperatures for us to enjoy!