It was in Brisbane that we shopped and I hardly ever go there. The few times I've been, I've always taken the train. Hubby suggested that we drive. It's only an hour away. I do like train travel though. I find it relaxing. What I don't like about train travel is the price. Governments are constantly pushing us to take public transport to alleviate the traffic on the roads. I think we should too. Late last year the cost of an adult return ticket to Central Brisbane from the Gold Coast was almost $27. Together with my younger daughter who was not studying at the time, there was no concession to be had. I spent over fifty bucks to get to Brisbane and back. Yep. Let's all take public transport. What a joke!
My eldest daughter did a search on google earth (amazing) and found a couple of carparks in the city. It was only ten dollars for 24 hours smack bang in the city centre. I guess you also need to factor in the cost of fuel to the ten dollars.
However in our case, it's hardly noticeable. We drive a Toyota Prius. Hubby is always going on about how everyone should be driving these vehicles. I won't pretend to understand all that this vehicle can do, but it does seem amazing. There's been heaps of roadworks in our area lately. The other day, I was detained for about fifteen minutes on the road, till we were allowed to pass. Imagine. The cars banking up was ridiculously long. It made me think. Fifteen minutes of engines idling - not going anywhere, all the while fuel is being consumed. Ouch.
However in the Prius, not a problem. When the car isn't moving, it doesn't use any fuel. Don't ask me how. But that's a fact. So when I'm at stoplights or held up in ongoing roadworks, I don't have a guilty bone in my body.
I heard Hubby telling our neighbour Romano the other day that the Prius uses less fuel to get around than does his motorbike. No wonder all the taxi drivers up here have switched to using the Prius. They must be saving oodles of money and oodles of fuel.
I won't bore you with all the benefits of this vehicle, but we are happy with it. I was also happy when we arrived at the carpark to discover that "hybrid" vehicles were half price. Thank you Brisbane City Council. We spent an entire day parked in central Brisbane for five dollars. And the fuel there and back cost between eight to ten dollars (almost 200kms). At last. Something to smile about. Now all I need is a dress.
Mariana's Dressing - changes every day of the week. Here was last night's version. Due to the extreme emulsification I created with a generous blob of grainy mustard, I added water. Apart from thinning it down, it reduced the vinegary tang. Plates were mopped clean with bread and I must say, it was particularly delicious.
In a small mixing bowl add:
2 cloves crushed garlic
1 teaspoon caster sugar
lots of cracked pepper
generous dash of salt
1 teaspoon grainy mustard
1 good squeeze fresh lemon juice
3 teaspoons balsamic vinegar
3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
Whisk furiously. Watch it become fabulously thick and almost mayonnaise-like. Add 2 or 3 teaspoons of room temperature water, depending on how runny you like it. I added 2 teaspoons and it was still quite thick. Spoon desired amount over your salad. Refrigerate any remaining dressing. Simply delish.
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| Look who decided to drop in during the photo shoot of my salad. It's Jean-Pierre. What a lovely site I have looking "Through My Kitchen Window". |
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