Jeanie's Tossed Easter Salad Offering

Ah 4.29 - and web-viewers - I have missed you and thought of you often. And so when I got to see good old 4.29am this morning for the first time in ages, I thought I should drop you a line also.

I had a lot of good ideas as to what aspects of life in the last 10 days that line would cover. Of course, a lot has happened since 4.29 so can only give you the bare bones rather than the inspired version.

The alteration of my long-distance darling to a close-at-hand one has been quite successful - perhaps moreso if we had more drawers and storage, but hey, you gotta take the rough with the smooth.

A sweet moment of success when my daughter became a proud 2-wheeler cyclist.

The breathtaking drive over "The Pinnacle" to the Bancroft Campdraft. I would give you links to both of these spectacles, but unfortunately there is a dearth of easily linkable information. Instead I will give you a couple of pictures.

We are going to have Thai Beef Salad tonight - which inspired the heading and the whirring at 4.29am (high tide does that) and I thought to write my shopping list, I might just give you the recipe, which is a favourite of ours (not 'Salina's but she will get a suitable compromise):

500g rump steak cooked to your liking, cooled, trimmed and sliced thinly.

In a jar combine 2 tbs fish sauce, 3 tbs lime juice, 1 tsp sugar (grated palm or brown), 2 crushed garlic cloves, thinly sliced white part of lemon grass and 2 small red chillies also thinly sliced. Shake well

Make salad of 30g red Asian shallots thinly sliced, 2 spring onions thinly sliced (I use 1/2 bunch of normal shallots for these two), 1/2 cup roughly chopped mint, 1/4 cup roughly chopped coriander, the beef and dressing. Let flavours blend for at least 15 minutes.

Add 1/2 punnet halved cherry tomatoes and 1 thinly sliced Lebanese cucumber and toss well. Arrange on platter of shredded Chinese cabbage.

I also tend to add some rice vermicelli and dry roasted nuts - delish and great the next day also!!!