Getting the chop

Sprog 1 is behaving strangely (and not in the usual gothic fashion). She emerged from her bedroom yesterday morning fully dressed. She was wearing a pretty skirt, leggings and a butterfly t-shirt (so she’d not only dressed, she’d layered). Then she found a brush and started brushing her hair. Without me asking. This is a girl who normally slumps around the house in her pyjamas with bed hair all weekend. I was so stunned, I went straight upstairs to tell Husband. I’m not knocking it, particularly since it inspired her mini-me, Sprog 2, to get dressed and brush her hair too. The whole appearance drive started when the Sprogs had their hair cut. Visits to the hairdresser are normally on par with the dentist (ie deeply unpopular). The Sprogs normally refuse anything more than a teeny trim, but Sprog 1 recently became smitten with her cousin’s bob and demanded an identical one. I drew the line at copying her cousin’s fringe. It took two arduous years to grow the Sprogs’ fringes out last time. Torture. All that hair dangling in their eyes. Their jazz ballet teacher hated me. She kept sending them home festooned with bobby pins. I finally resorted to tying Sprog 2’s straggle into a funny little top-knot. She looked quite peculiar. Anyway, Sprog 1 got her hair cut into a bob and something weird happened. It started in the hair salon, where she stood in front of the mirror, staring at herself from various angles, experimentally tucking her hair behind one ear, both ears, no ears. More staring. She’s since expressed an interest in getting a decorative nail-spraying kit for Christmas. Totally bizarre. She’s turning eight next week. Maybe some random self-consciousness gene kicks in at eight. She’ll be oggling boys next and reading Judy Moody books instead of The Midnight Library. It’s a little scary.   

TONIGHT’S DINNER: Leftover sausage curry, just for a change. Oh, and I forgot to give you the slow-roasted lamb with feta and olives recipe. It’s my signature dish when entertaining (it serves 4, so double it for a larger crowd), and dead easy to make. I think it’s from Gourmet Traveller originally. Here’s how to make it…

2 tsp ground coriander; 1 clove garlic, crushed; 2 tsps lemon rind, finely grated; 1 tbsp olive oil; 1.4kg shoulder of lamb. FETA & OLIVE DRESSING: 1 tbsp finely chopped lemon rind; 1 clove garlic, thinly sliced; 1/2 cup olive oil; 1/4 cup lemon juice; 150g crumbled fetta; 1/2 cup coarsely chopped green olives.

METHOD: Combine coriander, garlic, lemon rind and olive oil in a small bowl and season to taste with salt and pepper. Place lamb in roasting dish and rub with paste, then cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 3 hours. Remove lamb from refrigerator, remove plastic wrap and add 1 cup of water to the pan, cover with foil and roast at 150C for 2 1/2 hours, then reduce heat to 120C and roast for another 3 hours. Remove lamb from pan, cover loosely with foil and stand for 10 minutes. To make fetta and olive dressing, place lemon rind, garlic and olive oil in a small pan and cook over medium heat for 2-3 minutes. Remove from heat, add lemon juice, fetta and olives. Return to heat and cook for 1 minute. Using two forks, shred the lamb from the bones and serve on a platter, drizzled with the dressing. Accompany it with salad or steamed veg or roast potatoes or all three. Yum!