Lamb shoulder, crepes and winter beach-going

Thursday was Bastille Day.  Tabitha and I met my best friend Amy at the Prahran Market to eat some crepes and pick up some French pastries.

Nutella crepes are the perfect breakfast on a freezing cold day:

Tabitha wore a little blue-and-white stripe top in honour of the French national day, and carried her little French mousie (a present from her Francophile 'Great Aunt' Penelope).

In the evening, I made another slow-cooked lamb shoulder.  The full recipe is HERE, but a couple of people have asked questions about the preparation, so here are a couple more photographs...

This is what it looks like before it goes in.  2kg of lamb shoulder, skin side slashed deeply a few times, rubbed with olive oil, and generous amounts of salt and pepper.  The rosemary and whole garlic cloves are simply placed on top, with more of them sitting underneath the joint:

When it's ready to go, you just wrap the whole tray in foil - the tray, not the joint - and tuck the edges underneath, to seal the whole thing quite well.  I use special extra-wide foil, because I keep it in the house, but you can use a couple of pieces of regular foil instead, just make sure that they overlap to keep the moisture sealed in:

When it comes out, it will be falling apart, like braised shanks, and shrunk well off the bone.  Instead of trying to carve the meat off the bone - near impossible, just pull the bone out (it will slip easily out) and shred the meat:

This morning, we went to the Boroondara Farmers' Market.  It was incredibly cold and frosty.  Look at this adorable dog - she had little trousers made of polarfleece to keep her skinny legs warm!

Tabitha was warm and cosy in her woolen coat and the footmuff on her pram (like a fleece-lined sleeping bag!).  She sat and watched all of the goings-on, eating hot spinach and feta Golzeme.

At noon today, we are leaving to go down to the beach, Blairgowrie, for a couple of days.  It will, of course, be too cold for swimming, but nice walks on the beach, all rugged up, and plenty of fish and chip eating is in order.

It is shocking, though, just how much you need to pack for a weekend away with a baby.  Over 60 items on the family packing list!