Come Dine With Me

Are you like me about Chorizo, I love it do you?  Now I  know it is spicy, dotted with little bits of fat ooh that bad, bad word, fat oh my yum!!!! And still I love it.  So when I saw this recipe in a Donna Hay magazine and when I saw it was in a pie (another of my naughty favourite things) well it was destiny.  We would have to meet.  

Recipe:

Pork and Chorizo Pie

2 x 300 g pork fillets trimmed and chopped

plain flour for dusting

3 tbsp oil (I use olive oil for all my cooking so whatever you want is fine)

1 red onion sliced

1 chorizo sausage sliced

2 tbsp sage leaves chopped

1 tbsp dijon mustard

1 tsp finely grated lemon rind (I love lemony flavours so I used maybe 3 tsps)

2 cups chicken stock

1 1/2 cups spinach leaves (I forgot to add these oops)

sea salt and cracked pepper to taste

1 sheet or 1 packet rolled ready to use puff pastry

1 egg lightly beaten

Preheat the oven to 200C (390F)  Dust the pork in the flour and brown in a large non stick frying pan over high heat, using half the oil.  You will need to cook the pork in batches so it browns nicely.  Set aside when done.

Add the remaining oil, onion and chorizo and cook for 3 mins or until the onion is soft.  Return the pork to the pain with the sage, mustard and lemon rind.  Gradually stir in the stock and simmer for 4 - 5 mins or until the mixture thickens.  Stir in the spinach salt and pepper and spoon the mix into two 2 cup capacity oven proof dishes.

  Roll out the pastry until 3mm (1/8 in) thick or cut pastry sheets to size slightly larger than dish.  Cut a whole from the centre of the pie crust.  Place pastry on top of pies and brush with egg.  Bake 15 - 20 mins or until tops are puffy and golden.  

I placed the centre piece on the edge of the hole and served with creamy mashed potato.  Absolutely delicious.  Really simple and it really would make a great, simple, dinner party main.

I brought this nifty little grater back from France last year, one of my useful souvenirs.  Enjoy your Pork and Chorizo Pie.

Bon Apetite.

Mulled Wine

I've read about it, I've heard of it but until yesterday I had never tried it, Mulled Wine, oh it sounds delicious.  It brings up images of snowy evenings in front of the glowing fire.  Snow tapping softly on the window panes, wind shushing against the door, scarves tied tightly, mittens on, boots pulled up, winter in all her glory.  So I have been itching to whip up a batch and try it out.  So browsing through the internet I found my recipe and bought all the goodies needed, including the blue opal cheese, the double cream brie and the sharp, bitey, rich vintage cheddar.  All served up with the crunchiest fruit and walnut batard, does it get better than this really.  Of course you don't need all the glorious rich cheeses to enjoy your mulled wine, but it doesn't hurt that's for sure.

If you have never made mulled wine, firstly I think the most important ingredient is cold, weather.  The atmosphere is everything.  I hate to admit it but the day I made this, the morning and early afternoon were wet, drizzly, windy and perfect for cozying up to a fire, but by the time we were ready to eat and drink it was warming up the sun was peeking through now and then and somehow the whole thing just didn't sit as well in the lounge room with the air con going.  

Needless to say, we did our best though, we grated the nutmeg, zested the orange, chopped the apple and added the cloves and cinnamon, topping them all up with the red wine.  I found the taste really interesting, but as I said really needed to be in front of a bonfire, toasting marshmallows or toasting away in front of a fireplace somewhere.

I don't have song about mulled wine to share with you but I love this version of Summer Wine by The Corrs and Bono.  Enjoy

Recipe:

10 cloves

2 cinnamon sticks

1/4 cup caster sugar

1 roughly grated nutmeg (buy some nutmeg and roughly grate)

2 cups water

1 roughly chopped apple skin on

1 roughly grated rind of orange

750ml your favourite red wine, or a not too nasty drop you like fairly well

Instructions:

Heat all ingredients except wine in pan till boiling, simmer for 10 minutes

Add wine simmer further 5 mins 

Strain and enjoy immediately

Okay so I think I let you all know that Adrian and I have been dieting, I know I should say changing our eating lifestyles, but hey reality is we are eating less and the food is prepared and sent to us for the entire week so basically that's as close to dieting as you can get.  I have lost 4kg in the last month that we have been doing it and I have enjoyed not having to actually sit down and think about what we will eat for the week, write up a shopping list and then purchase and prepare it.  Gosh that makes me sound so lazy doesn't it but it was out of control.  We would go shopping together and come home with 3 or 4 different cheeses, several different breads, olives, an ice cream flavour or two and some new biscuits or chocolate.  So that is why in the last year I have gotten so overweight.  Anyway we have had a week off the eating pre prepared foods, I was in desperate need of cooking something, choosing something that actually needed me to get some sticky oily hands.  So after the incredible Choc Lava puddings, I made this yummy Ginger Beef Patties with Lime Noodle Salad.  Now for those of you who are racing headlong into spring with summer sniffing at her heals this is perfect.  

Start with

100g vermicelli rice noodles

1/2 cup mint leaves

300g beef mince

1/4 cup (60ml) oyster sauce

2 tsp finely grated ginger

2 tsp vegetable oil

150g snow peas (mange tout), sliced and blanched

250g cherry tomatoes halved

1 small red onion thinly sliced

2 tbsp fish sauce

21/2 tbsp lime juice

11/2 tbsp caster (superfine) sugar

1 small red chilli chopped

Place the noodles in a bowl and cover with boiling water.  Set aside for 5 minutes or until soft. Drain and run under cold water until cold.  Set aside.

Chop half the mint leaves and place in a bowl with the mince, oyster sauce and ginger.  Mix well to combine.  Heat the oil in a non-stick frying pan over medium heat.  Divide the mince mixture into six patties and cook for 2-3 minutes each side or until cooked through.

place the noodles in a bowl with the snow pean, tomato, onion and remaining mint leaves and toss to combine.  Add the patties to the salad.  Combine fish sauce, lime juice and sugar and chilli and pour over the noodles to serve.  

Serves 2

This is so light and refreshing the noodles are cold and the patties warm, it's a great combination.


Oh and for food of another kind, one of my favourites, mind food, I have a great site online that I buy most of my books from FishPond and they sell great books, and most of the ones you want and a lot of the ones the stores don't carry.  They also have a second hand book line as well and often alongside the new books are the used ones for quite a bit cheaper.  The books get sent to me from all over the world and the delivery time is fantastic.

These are the latest to arrive.  I am a little more that half way through Kate Morton's latest novel Distant Hours and as soon as I am finished, I will feed on one of these.  Which one that's the question.  Shall I start with Dolci Di Love an irresistible confection of love, loss, and Italian sweets in the delectable tradition of Chocolat, oh doesn't that sound marvellous!!  Or Shug, apparently a teen novel, that is funny, sweet, and constantly surprising filled with insight and emotion, I like that sound of that too.  Cleo is calling my name too, said to be the next Marley & Me, an honest, unmawkish true story (oh I love a true story) of ordinary people rebuilding their lives after a tragedy.  A story of a tiny kitten that helps heal the lives of this family, a tissue read I am guessing.  I can't wait.  Or The Help, labelled, outstanding, immensely funny, very compelling, brilliant, it will draw me into a world of fried chicken, okra, and peach cobbler, a vociferously angry must read, touching, disgraceful and highly recommended.  Wow what a choice I have and how to choose, flip a coin or be led by my feelings on the day.  Hmm I am excited.  Are you reading something brilliant right now, please tell me I love to find a good book.  And just to send you away knowing I love you...

Roses from the Sunday markets just for you.

Odds & Bods

Babies dreaming of the world around them, of far away places yet to be seen.

Angels, sitting waiting to be called to service.

Listening for the cry.

Moelleux au chocolat

(Chocolate Lava Cake)

Ingredients:

180 gr (6oz) light brown sugar

180gr (60z) butter

180gr (60z) good dark chocolates (70%)

6 eggs

90gr (3oz) flour

30gr soft butter (for the mold)

flour (for the mold)

Method

1.  Melt slowly the chocolate with butter on the stove (use a casserole with water) or in the microwave

2. Mix flour and sugar in a bowl

3. Beat the eggs

4. Add the eggs (not on the stove) to the chocolate, mix well, add the mix of sugar and flour

5. Butter and flour the molds (use aluminium cups)

6. Add the preparation and let reest in the fridge for 1 to 2 hours.  (it is good for 3 days in the fridge)

7. Cook in a hot oven (350F) (180 Celsius), for 10 min.  Let rest for 3 mins the serve upside down on your plate

8. Serve with fresh berries, ice cream, cream fruit sauce what ever takes your fancy.

We made this delicious rich, easy peasy desert at our cooking school in Monte Marte in May last year.  It is so easy really and absolutely delicious. Give it a try and impress your friends, it was just as easy at home today and just as scrummy!!!

Beautiful autumn coloured pots for the garden.

Beautiful naked trees in the park.

That was my weekend, what did you do?

I start my SheArt workshop this week cannot wait.

Waiting for books to come in the mail, I so love parcels.

Are you doing anything exciting?

Winter Comfort Food

It is winter here, and I can remember when I was drooling over the beautiful winter snow scenes on the blogs of my Canadian and American blog friends.  I was longing for the white snow to cover my yard, for the foggy breath that comes with the cold.  HA HA was I crazy? Yep I was!!!!!  It is only about 1 or 2 degrees c here so nowhere near as cold as it gets in the states, or of course Europe and I am freezing my toosh off.  We have had frost covering the paddocks and that is enough, seriously it is enough.  I am cold.  The air con is on and the socks and the slippers and the tracky dacks, YES I admit I wear tracky dacks in winter, but only in the house, well the yard too really.  I am layering and layering.  A long sleeve t-shirt under a jumper and then sometimes even a jacket, believe me it is cold.   Brrrrrrr......................

So yesterday I was in need of comfort food, real comfort food, something warm and gooey and I found this.  Now first let me say I have become a fan of Donna Hay.  Her cookbooks are just beautiful.  The photography and the food styling are gorgeous.  An Aussie girl, she is a wonderful cook, and the dishes are easy enough for the average cook and impressive enough that your guests, be they family or friends, will feel that you have really treated them.

This dish "Speck and maple beans with thyme toasts"  was to die for really.  Now I enjoy beans, I really do and I love Maple Syrup the real deal that is not that sticky imitation stuff so I figured I would like this.  Adrian on the other hand is a meat lover.  He is becoming more adventurous but he is a meat lover just the same.  I intended to make this for dinner during the week, but as it is so cold and he comes home so hungry I thought I may have a rebellion on my hands.  That's why I opted for a weekend dinner, when things are a little slower.  I needn't have worried because he went back for seconds,  Yeah!!!!!! a success story.

Speck and Maple Beans with Thyme Toasts

Recipe:

1 Tbsp vegetable oil

200g Speck trimmed and chopped (Speck is a slab of cured smoked ham, you can use bacon)

1 Brown onion chopped

1 tsp mustard powder

2 tsps tomato paste

1 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce

1 Tbsp maple syrup

1/2 cup (125ml) beef stock

1 cup (280g) tomato puree (tomato sauce)

1 x 240g can each of butter beans, white (cannellini) beans, borlotti beans and kidney beans, rinsed and drained.  Really any combo of beans that you like would be fine.

sea salt and cracked pepper

4 slices sourdough bread

1/4 cup (60ml) maple syrup, extra

2 Tbsp olive oil extra

6 sprigs thyme

Preheat the oven to 200c (400f) .  Place the oil, speck and onions in a large saucepan over high heat and cook for 1-2 minutes or until golden and tender.  Add the mustard, tomato paste, Worcestershire sauce, maple syrup, stock, tomato puree, beans, salt and pepper and stir until well combined.  Cover with a tight fitting lid, reduce the heat to low and cook for 10 minutes or until thickened.

While the beans are cooking, place the sourdough on a baking tray drizzle with the maple syrup and oil and top with thyme.  Bake for 10 - 15 mins or until golden.  Serve beans with the thyme toast.  Serves 6.

Well it really was 3 good serves so you will have to decide for yourselves, maybe we were just extra hungry and greedy, yep that was probably it.  

I didn't make the thyme toasts, mainly because I didn't have the sourdough and instead we had garlic bread so either would be fine.  I do want to try the thyme toasts though, they sound scrumptious.  I sprinkled a bit of corriander (cilantro) on top and we washed it all down with a little Pinot Noir which was lovely with it.  So now I know it is summer where most of you are but for my buddies experiencing winter with me, now it's bean time Yum!!!!!

Have a great weekend everyone.

Chocolate stout cake with peanut butter frosting

Stout, maybe black beer, I'm not sure what else you would call it, but it is a dark heavy black beer, with a strong yeasty, beer taste.  This recipe from the Donna Hay 50th Issue Birthday edition tempted me from the get go.  I went and bought the bottle of stout, it isn't a regular drink in our household.  In fact I have never drunk stout, I am not a beer drinker at all, and Adrian is not a black beer drinker, but it is worth buying for this cake alone.

A totally decadent, rich and delicious cake and not like any I had before.  Very beery scent when it is cooking and even to the taste it is beery, but not all a deterent to a non beer drinker.

We were all a little apprehensive so many different tastes in one cake.  Stout, chocolate, peanut butter, not what we would normally put together, but PLEASE give it a go and see what you think.

Delicious, really delicious!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

We ate this cake, cool from the bench and warmed with the left over frosting and oh boy either way this is so yummy!!!!!!!!!!!!

Recipe:

1 cup (250 ml beer)

225gram butter, chopped

1/4 cup, 75 gram cocoa, sifted

2 eggs

2/3 cup, (160 gram) sour cream

2 cups, (300 gram) plain (all purpose) flour sifted

1/2 teaspoon bicarbonate of (baking) soda, sifted

2 cups (440 grams)  caster super fine sugar

Peanut Butter Frosting

1 cup (160gram) icing sugar mixture

1 cup (280 grams) smooth peanut butter

80 grams butter, softened

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/3 cup (80ml) single (pouring) cream

Pre heat oven to 160 deg C (325 deg F)

Place the stout and butter in a saucepan over medium heat and stir to dissolve butter.

Remove from heat and whisk in cocoa.

Set aside.

Whisk together the eggs and sour cream.

Add the stout mixture with the flour, bicarbonate of soda and sugar and whisk to combine.

Pour into a lightly greased 21cm x 10cm x 7cm loaf tin lined with non stick baking paper.

Bake for an hour twenty or until cooked when tested with a skewer.

Allow to cool in the tin for 10 minutes.

Turn onto a wire rack to cool completely.

To make the Peanut butter frosting, place the sugar, peanut butter, butter and vanilla in an electric mixer and beat for 6 minutes or until light and fluffy.  Add the cream and beat for a further 2 minutes.  Spread the peanut butter frosting over the cake to serve. 

(Serves 6-8)

We ate some slices cold and heated some in the microwave.  Either way delicious, see what you think.

Comfort Food

This is my Spagbol Casserole.  I know the name isn't very nice is it, a bit uncooth as they say, but my girls love this sooooo much I really don't care what they call it.  Especially Danielle this is her absolute favourite meal in the entire world.  Well that's what she tells me anyway.  It is my take on Spaghetti Bolognaise and so easy to make.  We had it last night, it's quick and easy and a good standby when you are busy like I am at the moment, with all the packing and moving.

See how delicious and cheesy this looks.  I just cook the pasta, any sort you like is fine, this was Angel Hair last night.  I cook the mince and add a bottle of pasta sauce, whatever you like, or your own home made is great, I didn't have time for that yesterday.  When both are ready I pour the pasta into a casserole dish, sprinkle with cheese and add some cheese sauce.  We have some quite nice packet ones here so it's up to you, homemade or bought.  Remember this is my quickie meal.  Then I top with the mince add more cheese sauce and top with grated cheese.  Yep totally fattening, extremely delicious and so morish.

Of course you have to have garlic bread with this, what is spaghetti bol without garlic bread really.  Ok so I know I have probably made all the home made people cringe, but really this is my emergency meal, when we are tired, busy, or just plain lazy and we all love it so I am not apologising one little bit ok.  There are always left overs and they are the first thing gone for lunches the next day.

We are still moving, packing and unpacking.  It is a lot of work, but fun too.  I am surprised at how all our things are actually fitting in, this new house is quite a bit smaller than our current one, especially the bedrooms.  We haven't tried to squeeze everything into those rooms yet, that will be Thursday I think.  The pantry is a little squeezy, but I think maybe I just have too much stuff.  I found some dried chinese noodles, which I sprinkle on salads, on the weekend, use by date July 2008 oh for heavens sake how did that happen.  So I love the enforced spring cleaning moving makes me do.  Fortunately Adrian and I did do a big clean out a few months ago, some of the storage cupboards needed a go over.  Thankfully this is making for much quicker moving.  So if you are busy tonight whip up a Spagbol Casserole, or tell me what you do in a hurry.

Make Your Own Tonight

Last night was Pizza night, make your own pizza night.  I made the base earlier in the day and laid out the toppings and everyone went for it.  It was so much fun.  Actually would be a pretty good way to have a very casual pool party or early evening dinner party.

Toppings were, olives, tomato, boccocini, basil, corriander, proscuitto, onion, cheese, passata, chorizio, ham, bacon all fresh and yummy.

Adrian is such a boy and of course his was loaded with meat and no basil or corriander, he's funny.  It was fun and I think everyone enjoyed just being able to create their own little mouth watering feast.  I'm trying to show the girls how easy it is to eat well, relatively cheaply and enjoy it.  With them moving on soon I am thinking to myself have I equipped them properly.  I hope so.

We had a little wine with the meal, no we didn't drink all of this don't worry no headaches today at all.  Do you have a family meal you all join in to do together, it's so much fun.  Nothing better I think than sharing the kitchen with family and friends.  I know all the African ladies I know love cooking together, they sit round the table peeling. grating, chopping, mixing and most of all talking and laughing.  Is there anything better?

Egg & Vegetable Curry

Today was cooking day at TRAMS, there were only 2 ladies today with their beautiful little cherubs, such cuties.  A couple of the girls had to leave before we cooked, they had washing to get dry and husbands picking them up.  Our favourite word working with all the refugees is FLEXIBILITY.  You just never know what is going to happen.  My goal this year is to teach the ladies to use some ingredients, that perhaps they haven't used before and to try some different meals.  I also want the things we make to be easy, nutritious and delicious.  Today we made Egg and Vegetable Curry.  Really easy to make......

This serves 4 with some left over for lunch.

2 tsp oil heated in pan or saucepan, add 1 large chopped onion, cook until soft, add to fresh crushed garlic cloves and 1 1/2 tabsp of curry powder.  Cook about 2 mins or until fragrant.  Add 2 400 gram tins of cherry tomatoes, cook further 5 mins or so or until the sauce thickens a little.  Add 1 500gram packet of frozen broccoli and cauliflower heads.  You can add any vegetables you like really, the frozen are so easy but fresh would be fine also.  Cook until tender.  Add 100 gram snow peas and 1/4 cup of fruit chutney.  I also throw in some sultanas and sometimes some nuts just for a little more crunch.  Serve over steamed rice and topped with quartered boiled eggs, about 1 per person and a nice spoonful of low fat fresh plain yoghurt.  Delicious, the ladies loved it and I made it for dinner tonight.  We all love it and it nice to not have meat every night.

My gerbras from a week ago have died.  The petals have fallen and the seeds popped out.  Like little whirly birds they scattered on the desk, I had to get a shot so fluffy and white and the petals so orange.  I just love these and I am looking forward to trying to grow them in our new house.

We have a lot of plans underway, new main bedroom ensuite and walk in robe.  I really don't know where I am going to put everything when we first move.  I am not a hoarder, well I am in my scrapping room but nowhere else.  That will be very interesting actually, how will I ever fit it all in, must get some shots to show you I have gone crazy and filled a room with all my bits and pieces.  New gardens to design, acres of them and a huge vegetable garden and flower garden.  Curtains for nearly all the rooms, actually I am a little excited.  So fingers crossed all will go well.

Baking

I used to bake a lot, cookies for the kids and Adrian, muffins for me I really love nice, fresh, hot muffins.  I like them too much that's the problem. Sweet ones, Orange & Poppy seed and Savoury Cheese were, are my favourites.  Then a while back we started going to Weight Watchers so we would be lean and fit to go on our tour earlier in the year and I kind of just stopped baking.  Then when Lucas died, well I just didn't feel like baking.  I knew I had to cook meals, but for some reason baking was like a comfort.  Choosing, measuring, mixing, blending, forming and cooking, all were kind of a pleasure, a treat and I just didn't have it in me to do it anymore.

I don't know if that makes sense to any one but that's how it feels.  Then this week one of the blogs I follow LensUsTogether and contribute to has the phrase "Looking Up"as the prompt for our photograph. Naturally my first thought was to photograph the sky, the treetops, birds in the sky something like that, but there was this niggling thought in my mind.  Looking Up, to me that means things are getting better, you know how we say, that to each other.  Today I even did a scrapbook page. I haven't done that for ages either.  That is really something that I have to be feeling well to do.  Not well pysically so much but well emotionally.

So I am thinking perhaps things are looking up.  We have booked our tickets to France in May next year, my friend Gretchen has booked hers and I'll get to hang out with my buddy again.  We are doing a cooking class in Paris and most likely going to hang out with another blogger and visit some anitque shops in Paris.  We are going to stroll through some vineyards and wander through art galleries and museums. 

I am excited about that of course.  One of my girls has started to see a guy.  That's always interesting in this house.  Our first daughter didn't date much at all, she had a feew coffee and movie outings with maybe 3 guys before she met and married our wonderful Paul.  Danielle went out with a guy for a month two before she went overseas last year, and Ashleigh, who is going out now hasn't really dated anyone at all.  We are a bit old fashioned I think, we all run to the window to see if the young man is opening the car door for the girls and if they aren't well that's one strike and we all know you only get 3 strikes and your out.  Paul was a door opener, he also paid for the outings he and Alicia went on.  We liked him he treated Alicia well.  Chris the new guy on the scene didn't open the car door, ahh not a great start, but he has paid for everything so while he got a strike he scored in the paying stakes.  He hasn't tried to get to forward with Ash either so that's good.  We don't want an octopus hanging out with our girls, old fashioned well maybe but that's the way it is.  I think Ashleigh would say things are looking up for her at the moment.  Danielle started a new job about 3 weeks ago and she loves it.  No boys on the horizon but she isn't concerned at all.  One at a time I say.  Both girls are going to Perth, the other side of Australia just after Christmas and they are so excited about that.  Danielle would say things are looking up as well.

I spent 3 hours with a girlfriend I haven't seen in nearly 4 years a day or so ago.  My heart is still a little heavy and my eyes tear up now and then, I know I will always miss Lucas, I will  miss being a nanny until I am one and then I will miss not being Lucas's nanny for ever.  But somedays the pain is not so bad.  So things are Looking Up.  Oh and the Thumb Print biscuits are delicious.  Things are looking up.

Show me your face and your Peanut butter Cookies

While I was browsing a few blogs today I found One Fell Out of the Cuckoos Nest and Traci posted about taking portraits of a different kind.  I really love this idea, I love the mystery and imagination that pictures of people but not their faces invokes.  So I thought I would post a couple of pics I have taken recently, actually my husband took the one above of the girls and me.  We actually didn't pose the arms how funny, talk about 3 peas in a pod. 

I also had a time where I took heaps of shadow photos.  I love love love shadow photos.  The way we look in them is sooooo funny.  Legs look like tree trunks, heads are huge, you are either 10 feet tall and thin or 2 feet all and fat.  Love it sooooo much.

Peanut Butter Cookies

100g butter, softened

1/2 cup (140g) crunchy peanut butter

1 tsp vanilla extract

1 1/4 cups (225g) brown sugar

1 egg

1 1/4 cups (185g) plain (all purpose) flour, sifted

1/4 tsp bicarb (baking) soda, sifted

1 cup (220g) Demerara sugar for rolling

Pre heat oven to 180c (355f).  Place the butter, peanut butter, vanilla and brown sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer and beat for 8-10 mins or until well combined.  Add the egg and beat for 2-3 mins or until light and fluffy.  Add the flour and bicarb soda and beat until a smooth dough forms.  Roll one tablespoon of dough into a ball at a time and roll in Demerara sugar.  Place on baking trays lined with non-stick baking paper, leaving room to spread.  Bake for 10-12 minutes or until the edges are golden.  Allow to cool on wire racks.  Makes 24

I used to bake a lot, but since we began weight watching I haven't baked at all hardly.  Last night though I made these delicious cookies.  They are scrumptious, so pea nutty and moist in the middle.  They are from the Donna Hay magazine Oct/Nov 2009 edition.