Getting ready for an adventure

Today was about finding a hearty hot soup for lunch, to combat the cold and my hunger after a session at the gym. I ventured in my car across to Camberwell where there are some good cafes and ended up at Georges slurping their fantastic home made minestrone soup with a crusty fresh sourdough bread roll , yes with butter. That's why I go to the gym!

My other reason for coming this way was to try and pick up some waterproof maps from the Victorian Mountain Bike centre in Kew of the Wombat Forest up near Woodend, where Aaron my Son lives. For those not Melbournian's, Woodend is about an hour from the city. 

On Saturday mother and son are heading out on a mountain biking adventure! I have no doubts this experience will 'test my metal' trying to keep up with Aaron. Whilst I have the better bike with dual suspension, disc brakes in a glistening white frame (soon to be black no doubt), my real off road experience and skills is little. My courage and confidence to go full out will definitely be low, at least to start with anyway.  The guys at the bike shop tell me its a very good 20KM loop single track ride with a few minor technical bits but that I should be fine.  Reviews on the internet and videos on Utube say the second time round is more fun as you know the track so you can let your hair down!

Most of my time for the past week has been spent getting ready for a 13 day bike adventure with my dear friend Carole. We are off to Thailand and Laos with Grasshopper Adventures for an amazing experience riding through very remote places in Northern Laos including mountain ranges!! yes that is plural!
This time no need to carry our own gear as it is an organized trip with a support van to carry our gear and us should we need it! We are taking our bikes which hopefully won't turn out to be something we regret!

I have done a few bike rides over the years and really enjoy it as a way to see parts of the world, meet the locals and see how they live.  This I think will be the toughest ride judging by the reviews and comments, but I'm up for the challenge.


Where is your next adventure or holiday? 

Narelle



Written by Narelle Beurle. To read more - go to: http://firstpour.blogspot.com/

Damn Hot

Damn Hot.. First Day Ride
After a restless nights sleep due to the heat and an early morning wake up from the cicardas we packed up and headed down for breakfast. A very simple one today. Fresh white bread with butter, jam and a banana. We were also offered fried or scrambled eggs. The coffee! Eekk. Drank it anyway due to my addiction.

We left the guest house about 8.30 and rode through Pak Beng township for a few kms, small rustic houses made from wood and straw and the first experience of the children. Sabadii (hello). The families live surprisingly close to the road including their chickens, ducks, dogs, pigs, piglets, goats. At times we were riding around the animals as they wondered across the road. The rule is if you kill the chicken you have to pay!

The countryside is very lush and green as we are now in the rainy season, although it did not rain today. Along side the road is landscape was either growing rice or corn, the main staple food of Laos. A major portion of the corn is exported to Thailand for cornflour. In Laos they mainly grow and eat sticky rice as it does not need as much water to grow, which means it is suitable to grown on the steep slopes of the hillside.

Our guide Chit is covered head to toe in lycra gear. He says the Lao people prefer white skin and not dark so he has chosen to cover up with black leg warmers and skin colored arm warmers. To us he looks so uncomfortable and hot but to him it's important to avoid the sun.

We stop after 20kms for a break all feeling the heat. The road surface is pretty good after we remember to ride on the right hand side. Our 20 km has been undulating with some short hills but the sun is very hot and their is not much shade along the side of the road.

We continue on stopping once for a drink at the top of a reasonable hill. After completing 54km we reach our lunch stop, feeling extremely hot from the sun and heat. The restaurant is very rustic with an open area will plastic tables and chairs fortunately under cover and with a fan blowing at high speed. We order up ice cold cans of coke, ahhhh! They also double as a cooling aid for the face and neck. After almost an hour our lunch of fried rice is served which is very tasty with a bowl of broth soup.

Carole and I elect to jump in the van and not ride, Chris and Sandy decide to ride on a bit further. Once the air con in the van cooled us down, we both had a lovely snooze for 45 mins or so as the van followed the riders close behind. After a further 13kms the others decided to join us in the van.
We all then proceeded onto our stop for the night which was a further 50 or so km down the road Oudomxal. This ride took us about 90 minutes as we travelled at low sped due to the many pot holes and the many many villages we past through along the way.

We arrived and checked into our hotel, which was reasonable. Bigger room than last night, and an air conditioner! They also had wi-fi access.

After a refreshing shower we headed out in search of Beerlao. The local brew and some chips to quench our thirst and review the day as we watched the locals go about their lives andpassing traffic.

A short walk up a series of steps led us to a huge buddist statue at the top of the hill which had a great view over the surrounding area, just as sunset was taking place. Beautiful.

Whilst taking photos of the view we spotted some young monks taking photos of each other with their mobile photos. It seemed strange to see them using the technology given the life they chose to live. I offered to take a photo of the 3 together, which they accepted but the monk indicated he could not hand me the phone, but had to put it on the ground and I could pick it up then take a photo. Monks cannot touch women or stand too close to them, little did I know this at the time!



Dinner was in a local restaurant down the road. When we arrived our meal was all laid out in a private room with air conditioning. a delicious meal of chicken curry, vegetables, soup with pork mince and vegetables and they had made us 2 plates of chips! Our western junk food. All washed down of course with more BeerLao!


We retired back to our room for some blogging, email checking and sleep.
The bed was hard again and thus time the pillow was huge and also rock hard! Made for some interesting sleeping positions! Oh I wish I didn't love my latex pillows so much.

Written by Narelle Beurle. To read more - go to: http://firstpour.blogspot.com/

Location:Laos

Glorious Food

>>> Today I have visited the Queen Victoria Market and marveled at the fantastic choices of food. AND I can't believe I don't come here more often! It's just two tram rides or a shirt drive in my car.. (note to self: get here at least once a month from now on!)
>>
>> The one thing I am enjoying whilst on my sabbatical is having time.. Time to cook and time to walk through places like the Victoria Market without rushing around.
>>
>> With my focus on cooking this month of course buying the best ingredients after spending a few hours each week selecting recipes from my cook books. My two current favorites were introduced to me by my wonderful US friend Rick who is also a great foodie and loves to cook.
>> The books are Stir by Barbara Lynch. A wonderful journey through Italian dishes, but not your traditional ones, they are better! The second book is Mexico One Plate at a Time by Rick Bayless. Rick is well known in the US through his TV cooking shows, and his restaurants and cook books all focused in authentic Mexican food.
>>
>> My visit to the market was to buy veal shanks to make Veal ragu with parpadelle pasta. This is from STIR. The shanks are slow cooked for many hours to produce a beautiful tender meat that just falls off the bone! I have not cooked veal shanks before and didn't realize how hard they were to find, hence my reason to come to the market. Having now purchased 6 veal shanks and walking around the market I feel like I am carrying half a baby cow!
>>
>> My other purchase is pork trotters, shoulder, and shanks to make Pozole a slow cooked pork stew with hominy (dried corn kernels) from Mexico One plate at a time. This is a dish my friend Rick cooked for me in Singapore a few years ago and it was delicious.
>>
>> After the market adventure it was time for coffee and lunch. I have now found a new coffee spot near the market. Seven Seeds, in Berkeley St Carlton. A warehouse conversion in an area with no other cafes around, and near the university precinct. It's got a three bean rating and at 11am on a Thursday it is absolutely packed and buzzing. For me it is a nice level of noise, I can still hear myself think. It is well hidden as I walked right past the back entrance before using my GPS to track it down. Great coffee, table service and I will be ordering something yummy for lunch.
>>
>> Before I sign off, an update in case you are wondering.
>> I have had second interviews on the job with Orica...it feels right. I am seriously thinking it will be a great role for me. So stay tuned.
>>
>> I have also booked another bike riding adventure with my wonderful friend Carole to Thailand and Laos in June for 13 days. Laos is a place we have both been wanting to visit, and comes highly recommended by Aaron my Son who has been twice! We are doing a bike tour with Grasshopper Adventures, yes are a real company. So when am not cooking, or exercising! I put my travel planner hat on and get on the internet. It's so easy these days to find flights, accommodation and all the info on Laos that we need.
>>
>> The question for you today then.
>> Where is your favorite place to shop for great food? And how often do you go to a great fresh market?
>>
>> Narelle

Glorious Food

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Glorious Food

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Master Class

Today I needed a quick coffee fix before going to the hairdresser.

I am in the city again so tried Truffula Seed.

The Dr Seuss book The Lorax, about a creature who tries to save the last Truffula Tree, is the inspiration for this little espresso bar in the landmark Shell House in Spring Street.  I lined up with all the office workers to get my liquid of addiction. This place was rated 2 out of 3 beans for the coffee and it was definately deserved. Possibly one of the best coffees I've had so far.

If you remember from a previous blog of mine, May is cooking month. 
So far i' ve cooked a three course menu for my family inspired by chestnuts from the Victorian Alpine region. Enjoyed by the adults, with my 2 YO and 6 YO nieces enjoying the Almond, chestnut and chocolate cake.

Last night I attended my first cooking class which was a gift from my wonderful son Aaron.  A Master Class at the LG Kitchen in the South Melbourne Market with Matt Sinclair the head chef at O'Connells Hotel in South Melbourne. An institution in the gastronomic pub scene.

It was a first for Matt and a first for me.. 

A very informative, fun and delicious night tasting the three dishes that he made for us. A very intimate group of 9 around a purpose built kitchen with great wine as well.

With so much focus on cooking here in Australia and even around the world with the reality TV shows of Master Chef and Top Chef (USA show) and Melbourne being the capital of the world for choices of restaurants and crusine, it's hard not to be inspired to learn how to make great food at home.

Last night our dishes were a very easy French snack, goujere (choux pastry with cheese), bouillabaisse (seafood soup) and valrohna chocolate. Of course the best part was eating the dishes whilst learning the techniques and tips from Matt. I have learnt how to make a chocolate souffle that will rise every time, without fail!   I highly recommend the Master Class sessions at the LG kitchen, or any of the other classes there, the set is perfect for hands on or just watching the chef demonstrate.

Some tips shared by Matt were: always frying using grape seed oil due to it's higher tolerance to  high temperatures compared to olive oil. Pan frying fish, only cook on skin side down, then melt some butter into the pan and spoon the butter over the fish to finish off the other side.  Melt chocolate in a stainless steel bowl slowly over hot tap water in a pan over a very low heat don't use a high heat or boiling water. It will ruin the chocolate.

This weekend I am making home made pasta with chestnut flour,  a burnt butter and sage sauce. Followed by, yep you guessed it chocolate souffle! Now to find valrohna chocolate.

What's your favorite dessert to cook and or eat?

Narelle

Master Class

Today I needed a quick coffee fix before going to the hairdresser.

I am in the city again so tried Truffula Seed.

The Dr Seuss book The Lorax, about a creature who tries to save the last Truffula Tree, is the inspiration for this little espresso bar in the landmark Shell House in Spring Street.  I lined up with all the office workers to get my liquid of addiction. This place was rated 2 out of 3 beans for the coffee and it was definately deserved. Possibly one of the best coffees I've had so far.

If you remember from a previous blog of mine, May is cooking month. 
So far i' ve cooked a three course menu for my family inspired by chestnuts from the Victorian Alpine region. Enjoyed by the adults, with my 2 YO and 6 YO nieces enjoying the Almond, chestnut and chocolate cake.

Last night I attended my first cooking class which was a gift from my wonderful son Aaron.  A Master Class at the LG Kitchen in the South Melbourne Market with Matt Sinclair the head chef at O'Connells Hotel in South Melbourne. An institution in the gastronomic pub scene.

It was a first for Matt and a first for me.. 

A very informative, fun and delicious night tasting the three dishes that he made for us. A very intimate group of 9 around a purpose built kitchen with great wine as well.

With so much focus on cooking here in Australia and even around the world with the reality TV shows of Master Chef and Top Chef (USA show) and Melbourne being the capital of the world for choices of restaurants and crusine, it's hard not to be inspired to learn how to make great food at home.

Last night our dishes were a very easy French snack, goujere (choux pastry with cheese), bouillabaisse (seafood soup) and valrohna chocolate. Of course the best part was eating the dishes whilst learning the techniques and tips from Matt. I have learnt how to make a chocolate souffle that will rise every time, without fail!   I highly recommend the Master Class sessions at the LG kitchen, or any of the other classes there, the set is perfect for hands on or just watching the chef demonstrate.

Some tips shared by Matt were: always frying using grape seed oil due to it's higher tolerance to  high temperatures compared to olive oil. Pan frying fish, only cook on skin side down, then melt some butter into the pan and spoon the butter over the fish to finish off the other side.  Melt chocolate in a stainless steel bowl slowly over hot tap water in a pan over a very low heat don't use a high heat or boiling water. It will ruin the chocolate.

This weekend I am making home made pasta with chestnut flour,  a burnt butter and sage sauce. Followed by, yep you guessed it chocolate souffle! Now to find valrohna chocolate.

What's your favorite dessert to cook and or eat?

Narelle

Master Class

Accomplishments

Today I am in the city again for some errands and shopping.
Time for coffee and lunch at the closest place in my iPhone app, The Postal Hall in Russell St.
A small open funky place in the old postal sorting hall.
Great table service from a very happy helpful waiter who delivers my coffee in 5 mins and a freshly made bagel with smoked salmon, dill and Brie. Of course the place is full of "suits". Quite suitable for my blog today.

It's hard to believe how fast the first 2 months of my sabbatical have gone. It's been the best thing I have ever done for myself. I am so much more grounded, calm and satisfied with my life. I have had fun, lots of R&R, done new things and crossed off a few things on my must do and love to do lists.

Looking back over the last 11 years, I feel like I have achieved so much in my career, I have worked incredibly hard, learnt heeps, have some very special family and friends in my life, I have also had some amazing experiences living in Asia.

I am now starting to think about what is next. What am I passionate about. What do I love doing at work, and what are the things I don't enjoy doing. What do I want to learn next and where do I want to be in 5 and 10 years time.

I have an interview next week for a GM of HR role for an ASX top 50 company. I am still committed to having the full three months off. Frankly I am not sure if I am ready yet but I am keen on this company and the role, so who knows. Good experience to go through the process.

Going through the whole interview process of course I have to think deeply about what I have achieved in my HR career to prepare for the interviews. It's an interesting exercise to go through. What are the major projects that I have led that have had a strategic impact on the organization, how have I been innovative, what's my impact on executives, how have I created change and how well do I get things done through others.

Working for one company for 11 years meant for me I typically only thought about some of these accomplishments as apart of the annual performance review, and they were often known by my manager so did not require a concise explanation.

How do I build a concise summary of my accomplishments over the last 11 years?and then give some as examples of my vale and impact.
It has been fun to list them out and cull it down to the most impactful.

How often have you sat back and reviewed your career accomplishments back 10 years or more? Or have you done just the annual review like me?

Narelle
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