Friday, December 3, 2010
To a special friend!
To my gorgeous Mitty, you will be very much missed by all! We had many fun times together, I remember the way you would curl up between my legs at night, how you'd follow us for walks around the yard and the way you would come and kiss me on the nose with your little wet nose. You were such a regal cat, such a beauty with a peaceful happy personality. You've had a wonderful life on the farm over the past 14 years, and the place will never be the same without you. All my love dear Mitty, I will miss you greatly!
Saturday, September 11, 2010
Will the REAL Martha Stewart please stand UP!
It sure has been a long time since I visited my little blog! A lot has been happening but nothing too major, I have more recipes for my challenge, so stay tuned I promise I will write them up soon.
For the past few months I've been in a real crafty mood. I really love all things arty from painting to knitting and everything in between, my secret dream is to have my own craft room with everything set-up so I can go all Martha Stewart! I haven't cracked out my giant art box for a while for two reasons; 1. We certainly have no space at our place for arts and crafts (I really mean NO space) and 2. There are too many options just to do one thing at a time!
So this is where I may need your help or inspiration, I'm thinking of starting a new challenge for myself, commit to one art project bi-monthly. It's a pretty big challenge but I have a few ideas running through my head:
1) I'm thinking something to do with photo's perhaps our wedding pictures since apart from our fabulous album, we still haven't arranged for any to be printed (kind of was waiting to move before thinking about it, but who knows when that will happen).
2) I'd love to do some sewing, but down a machine, plus the space issue!
3) I also wanted to do as a gift for my family a 3D scrapbook frame.
4) Lastly I could just focus on my knitting project I started a few years ago, a cool blanket!
Maybe I will start with the last one, since I do like to finish things that I have started before continuing on with something completely new! So be prepared for some photos and craft talks along with my food reviews.... Martha Stewart Apprenticeship here I come!
Tell me about your current craft projects!
For the past few months I've been in a real crafty mood. I really love all things arty from painting to knitting and everything in between, my secret dream is to have my own craft room with everything set-up so I can go all Martha Stewart! I haven't cracked out my giant art box for a while for two reasons; 1. We certainly have no space at our place for arts and crafts (I really mean NO space) and 2. There are too many options just to do one thing at a time!
So this is where I may need your help or inspiration, I'm thinking of starting a new challenge for myself, commit to one art project bi-monthly. It's a pretty big challenge but I have a few ideas running through my head:
1) I'm thinking something to do with photo's perhaps our wedding pictures since apart from our fabulous album, we still haven't arranged for any to be printed (kind of was waiting to move before thinking about it, but who knows when that will happen).
2) I'd love to do some sewing, but down a machine, plus the space issue!
3) I also wanted to do as a gift for my family a 3D scrapbook frame.
4) Lastly I could just focus on my knitting project I started a few years ago, a cool blanket!
Maybe I will start with the last one, since I do like to finish things that I have started before continuing on with something completely new! So be prepared for some photos and craft talks along with my food reviews.... Martha Stewart Apprenticeship here I come!
Tell me about your current craft projects!
Monday, June 21, 2010
A man needs his meat...or is that vegies?
Since getting married and living with my hubby I thought I better always cook a man's meal, you know one that always contains MEAT! When I was single I barely ate meat, I was always busy with work and socialising so I couldn't be bothered defrosting and cooking it, so I mainly ate it when I had dinner out or in a quick Lean Cuisine. Fortunately being a lover of cooking I had many recipes to feed my manly man, but I was very surprised when he requested some more vegetarian recipes! So out of my trusty Jamie Oliver - Happy Days with the Naked Chef guide, Jamie hosts a variety of tasty vegetarian options, which I thought I would try the "Hamilton Squash" on page 226.
Instead of relaying the recipe I thought I'd give you a link to his website, complete with pictures: http://www.jamieoliver.com/recipes/vegetarian-recipes/hamilton-squash
The recipe overall was a little messy, but lots of fun mixing together the tasty ingredients. I cooked and stuffed the filling into my awaiting butternut pumpkin, wrapped tightly in aluminum foil and baked in a hot oven for over an hour.
Jamie sure knows how to give your nostrils a work out, unwrapping my parcel sure had me drooling for dinner! Hubby and I both enjoyed this dish, which was a welcome change to our usual repertoire. We ended up having a lot left over which we used the following evening when my mum stayed over, interestingly it tasted even better, a night in the fridge sure did it justice!
I certainly will give this dish another go, perhaps at a dinner party as a side to Jamie's delectable "Old Mans Superb Chicken" which you can find on one of my earlier blogs.. I know meat again, what can I say a man still needs his meat after all! Happy cooking friends!
Instead of relaying the recipe I thought I'd give you a link to his website, complete with pictures: http://www.jamieoliver.com/recipes/vegetarian-recipes/hamilton-squash
The recipe overall was a little messy, but lots of fun mixing together the tasty ingredients. I cooked and stuffed the filling into my awaiting butternut pumpkin, wrapped tightly in aluminum foil and baked in a hot oven for over an hour.
Jamie sure knows how to give your nostrils a work out, unwrapping my parcel sure had me drooling for dinner! Hubby and I both enjoyed this dish, which was a welcome change to our usual repertoire. We ended up having a lot left over which we used the following evening when my mum stayed over, interestingly it tasted even better, a night in the fridge sure did it justice!
I certainly will give this dish another go, perhaps at a dinner party as a side to Jamie's delectable "Old Mans Superb Chicken" which you can find on one of my earlier blogs.. I know meat again, what can I say a man still needs his meat after all! Happy cooking friends!
Tuesday, June 15, 2010
little work...BIG RESULTS!
Well you may be asking "Where have you been?". I know it has been a while since my last blog, I have been slightly distracted (houses arhh.. another whole blog) and slightly uninspired to write. But I'm back and I have been cooking up a slight storm to write about and even remembered to take some photos!
After spotting whole chickens on special I decided to give "Flour and Water Crust Chicken" page 176 a whirl!
Well this was a load of fun and much easier than I thought. Basically you get a whole uncooked chicken that has had the innards removed. Stuff some cut lemons into the cavity and rub the skin with a pounded mixture of lemon rind, sage, thyme, garlic and olive oil, then season with salt and pepper. Not mandatory, however I let this marinate on the chicken for a few hours in the fridge as we had yet another house to look at before I could start cooking!
Once I was ready, I mixed together some flour and water to create a dough. Once the dough was pliable I rolled it out so I could wrap the whole chicken neatly inside the dough with no gaps, thereby steaming the chicken in the marinade.
After some careful wrapping and fixing I placed it into the 220 degrees Celcius, preheated oven to cook for around 2 hours.
Et Voila!
As you can see I did have a little olive oil leakage, but it was only a small amount and it didn't affect the results. Once I cracked open the tough exterior (please do not eat the dough, not soo nice) it looked like this...
I tell you the smell was divine, the intoxicating aroma of sage, lemons and thyme filled the air, surely ensuing jealously from the neighbours! We tried the breast meat, it was perfectly cooked through, moist and the flavours were infused into the meat. So all in all definitely one to be tried when you have a tribe to feed or guests over. I saved the rest of the meat for the following evening and roasted it in the oven. This is also something I suggest as the crispy skin and flavourful meat was a step up from the steamed chicken, so next time I will let it steam for over an hour then crack the crust and bake again to crisp up the skin! Delicious!
Monday, May 10, 2010
Maybe it was just me?
As promised this week I cooked up a batch of piping hot "Good Old Steak and Guinness Pie"! For those following along recipe is on Page 26 of Jamie Oliver's "Happy Days with the Naked Chef" book. I was really looking forward to this as a friend of mine is famous for making these and they sure are a winner! The thought alone of feasting on one of these babies as the temperature begins to drop had me salivating, so I defrosted my meat and started cooking.
I followed the recipe very closely and browned my floured and seasoned meat; added my finely diced celery, carrot, onion, parsnip and herbs stirring for 4 minutes before pouring in the key element, Guinness, along with some tinned tomatoes. This concoction was then allowed to simmer and flavours to meld for 2 hours on a low heat.
Sadly 2 hours later as promised in my recipe the sauce would be intensely flavoured, nope, so added more Guinness and let to cook a little longer to thicken. Hmm still not a winner. Ok well the recipe did say that this mixture would be safe to keep in the fridge for 5 days to improve the flavour, so that is what I did, I left it for 3 days in the fridge to help improve this bland stew. On Thursday night I gave it a whirl, instead of the pie another suggestion Jamie offered was to have it with mashed potatoes as a stew, so again tried it once more. It was ok, nothing to rave about, if anything I think my creamy garlic mash saved the night.
Round 2, I had the rest of the mixture still in the fridge and thought I'd give it a try 5 days on. I made up the pie using puff pastry and blind baked the base to help it crisp, warmed the filling on the stove, tasted...yep still bland! Arhhh what am I to do? I rummage through the cupboard and stumble across the smoky flavoured barbeque sauce, ok squirt a whole lot in, taste... a thousand times better... so squirt more and more! I fill up the pie with my amended recipe, pop on the top and fold in the edges, slap on the egg mixture and add some artwork.
Roughly 20 minutes later, I unleash my creation gathering the family around to see my Master Chef efforts, hope it tastes good! The judges agree it was a winner! Hooray, but hubby certainly commented that I must have added something to improve it, thank goodness for that sauce!
So all in all, I really was disappointed with this recipe. I will give it another go sometime down the track, but it certainly won't be Jamie guiding me with the Guinness. Not sure if it was just me cooking that made it fail dismally, so give it a try and let me know how you went!
I followed the recipe very closely and browned my floured and seasoned meat; added my finely diced celery, carrot, onion, parsnip and herbs stirring for 4 minutes before pouring in the key element, Guinness, along with some tinned tomatoes. This concoction was then allowed to simmer and flavours to meld for 2 hours on a low heat.
Sadly 2 hours later as promised in my recipe the sauce would be intensely flavoured, nope, so added more Guinness and let to cook a little longer to thicken. Hmm still not a winner. Ok well the recipe did say that this mixture would be safe to keep in the fridge for 5 days to improve the flavour, so that is what I did, I left it for 3 days in the fridge to help improve this bland stew. On Thursday night I gave it a whirl, instead of the pie another suggestion Jamie offered was to have it with mashed potatoes as a stew, so again tried it once more. It was ok, nothing to rave about, if anything I think my creamy garlic mash saved the night.
Round 2, I had the rest of the mixture still in the fridge and thought I'd give it a try 5 days on. I made up the pie using puff pastry and blind baked the base to help it crisp, warmed the filling on the stove, tasted...yep still bland! Arhhh what am I to do? I rummage through the cupboard and stumble across the smoky flavoured barbeque sauce, ok squirt a whole lot in, taste... a thousand times better... so squirt more and more! I fill up the pie with my amended recipe, pop on the top and fold in the edges, slap on the egg mixture and add some artwork.
Roughly 20 minutes later, I unleash my creation gathering the family around to see my Master Chef efforts, hope it tastes good! The judges agree it was a winner! Hooray, but hubby certainly commented that I must have added something to improve it, thank goodness for that sauce!
So all in all, I really was disappointed with this recipe. I will give it another go sometime down the track, but it certainly won't be Jamie guiding me with the Guinness. Not sure if it was just me cooking that made it fail dismally, so give it a try and let me know how you went!
Tuesday, May 4, 2010
Cheese and fish, who would've known!
It's time for another recipe review!
I actually cooked this last week, but didn't get around to writing up the review. So without further delay today we will look at page 56 of "Happy Days with the Naked Chef" by Jamie Oliver, entitled "Roasted Cod with Cherry Tomatoes, Basil and Mozzarella." Now I didn't recreate this recipe to the tee, however I will in the future so I will comment any change in my review once I am done.
This little dish came to mind when I had purchased a nice large piece of Nile Perch from the supermarket that day. I also love all in one dishes, gives you a chance to clean up whilst it's cooking and super handy for those yummy mummies out there! It's very simple, basically you get a large piece of white fish, Jamie used cod however as mentioned I used Nile Perch. Place into a lightly oiled roasting dish, season, drizzle small amount of olive oil, then sprinkle over halved cherry tomatoes, basil leaves (I didn't have basil so used my basil in a tube and placed small blobs randomly around and placed a cherry tomato half on top), finely sliced buffalo mozzarella (I replaced with grated mozzarella) and grated parmesan. Bake in the oven at 220 degrees Celcius for 20 minutes until golden. Then voila, done!
To tell the truth I was really worried about fish with cheese, just seemed a little strange, but it was fabulous! The fish was light and delicate and the cheese helped to balance out the rich flavours of the basil and tomato. We mopped up the juices with some slices of fresh baguette, just perfect! My only change would be to use less oil, hence why I wrote a small amount above. With all the cheeses generously melted on top, the extra oil is just too much.
So give it a try folks! Coming up next is Guinness Pie, yummo!
I actually cooked this last week, but didn't get around to writing up the review. So without further delay today we will look at page 56 of "Happy Days with the Naked Chef" by Jamie Oliver, entitled "Roasted Cod with Cherry Tomatoes, Basil and Mozzarella." Now I didn't recreate this recipe to the tee, however I will in the future so I will comment any change in my review once I am done.
This little dish came to mind when I had purchased a nice large piece of Nile Perch from the supermarket that day. I also love all in one dishes, gives you a chance to clean up whilst it's cooking and super handy for those yummy mummies out there! It's very simple, basically you get a large piece of white fish, Jamie used cod however as mentioned I used Nile Perch. Place into a lightly oiled roasting dish, season, drizzle small amount of olive oil, then sprinkle over halved cherry tomatoes, basil leaves (I didn't have basil so used my basil in a tube and placed small blobs randomly around and placed a cherry tomato half on top), finely sliced buffalo mozzarella (I replaced with grated mozzarella) and grated parmesan. Bake in the oven at 220 degrees Celcius for 20 minutes until golden. Then voila, done!
To tell the truth I was really worried about fish with cheese, just seemed a little strange, but it was fabulous! The fish was light and delicate and the cheese helped to balance out the rich flavours of the basil and tomato. We mopped up the juices with some slices of fresh baguette, just perfect! My only change would be to use less oil, hence why I wrote a small amount above. With all the cheeses generously melted on top, the extra oil is just too much.
So give it a try folks! Coming up next is Guinness Pie, yummo!
Tuesday, April 20, 2010
Clearing out the friend clutter!
Boy I've been on a real negative roll here, so one more then onto happier things! I promise!
Friends are funny things, I love having them around and they are such a blessing in your life but they can also become a major drain also! Here is a friend story I am sad to tell, but sometimes you need to know these things to really appreciate your other friends, who make you so happy!
I had kept in contact with a few close friends till recently. I had a small gathering to introduce my old school mates to my adorable fiancé (now incredibly wonderful hubby), and it was the start of a mysterious and grand fall! Every thing seemed to go along swimmingly; nice chats, photo shares, lovely lunch and he took some photos of us girls together at the end to remember the fun time we had. Once I got home I received a sms from one friend asking if my hubby-to-be had purposefully cut a friend of ours out of a photo he took for her. If you know my hubby you know he certainly would never do such a thing and especially to people he has just met. So I told her no it would have been an accident, he wasn't really sure about using her camera, so I'm sorry it happened. Subsequently she said she wasn't able to attend our wedding. Then my other best friend seemed to avoid me and finally let me know she wasn't attending my wedding. Only one of my good high school friends ended up attending. I was a little upset, as they hadn't told me why they weren't coming it was a big mystery and I thought maybe I had upset them some how.
Then months and months after the wedding I find out it is because of the photo incident that they didn't want to come. Are you kidding me! Sorry but that is truly pathetic in my eyes, and they didn't have the guts to tell me either. I haven't spoken to them since and have removed them from Facebook; if they want to talk to me they have my number and can call and apologise anytime. But I know they won't and they will miss out on so much which makes me sad. Sadder still that they would act this way!
So overall, lesson of the day is don't presume things, don't assume the worst and sometimes you just have to let some friends go. I forgive them and have moved on (yes I have), we are not all perfect especially me, but I'm not going to let them hold me back from enjoying my life with so many wonderful people who appreciate my time and energy!
To those of you who care about me, thanks for being there and reading my blog! Love y'all!
Friends are funny things, I love having them around and they are such a blessing in your life but they can also become a major drain also! Here is a friend story I am sad to tell, but sometimes you need to know these things to really appreciate your other friends, who make you so happy!
I had kept in contact with a few close friends till recently. I had a small gathering to introduce my old school mates to my adorable fiancé (now incredibly wonderful hubby), and it was the start of a mysterious and grand fall! Every thing seemed to go along swimmingly; nice chats, photo shares, lovely lunch and he took some photos of us girls together at the end to remember the fun time we had. Once I got home I received a sms from one friend asking if my hubby-to-be had purposefully cut a friend of ours out of a photo he took for her. If you know my hubby you know he certainly would never do such a thing and especially to people he has just met. So I told her no it would have been an accident, he wasn't really sure about using her camera, so I'm sorry it happened. Subsequently she said she wasn't able to attend our wedding. Then my other best friend seemed to avoid me and finally let me know she wasn't attending my wedding. Only one of my good high school friends ended up attending. I was a little upset, as they hadn't told me why they weren't coming it was a big mystery and I thought maybe I had upset them some how.
Then months and months after the wedding I find out it is because of the photo incident that they didn't want to come. Are you kidding me! Sorry but that is truly pathetic in my eyes, and they didn't have the guts to tell me either. I haven't spoken to them since and have removed them from Facebook; if they want to talk to me they have my number and can call and apologise anytime. But I know they won't and they will miss out on so much which makes me sad. Sadder still that they would act this way!
So overall, lesson of the day is don't presume things, don't assume the worst and sometimes you just have to let some friends go. I forgive them and have moved on (yes I have), we are not all perfect especially me, but I'm not going to let them hold me back from enjoying my life with so many wonderful people who appreciate my time and energy!
To those of you who care about me, thanks for being there and reading my blog! Love y'all!
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