My lovely sister is painstakingly going through all my photo albums and scanning the photos as many are old, faded and looking worse for wear. The albums are dating back from the seventies so you can imagine the size of the task. The below photo has been a favourite of mine since my childhood and may well have been taken with a Box Brownie. It is well over 50 years old and found in an ancient and odd assortment owned by my mother. I do not recall it being taken !!!
My life is incomplete without a food processor. I like 2 bowls and lots of power. My last one died slowly with one thing after another disintegrating. I have replaced it without leaving the house, really without moving even from my kitchen chair. I found the exact same one at the Good Guys online sale. I made the purchase online via paypal. I paid a mere $2.oo delivery fee even though the item was located interstate. Within 3 days the parcel was brought to to my door and now is on the bench. Such smooth sailing, no hitches at all, unbelievable really !! If only every transaction was this easy !!
Two lovely people have given me suprise gifts this week. Both savoury - the presents were savoury, not the people - they were sweet as!! M at the gym gave me an enormous labelled jar of his own Slow Cooked Chicken and Mushroom Ragu - wow , on pasta this was total heaven. It featured succulent sheds of chicken and wonderful chunky champignons . Then A at work sourced an amazing Indian Curry sauce from her local farmers market and brought me a jar. It is called Mango Exotic and smells of all good things Indian. What's more it is all home made with not a single additive, gum, stabilizer or artifical flavour. I can't wait to try this out. I really loved these touching thoughtful gifts and in such a world full of turmoil such kindness truly counts !!
These are the party shoes my daughter is wearing to her 21st dinner tomorrow. Not for the likes of her very middle aged mother but if you are a beautiful young thing, then why not ??
Foodies, I have sinned !! I took a cake to our Mother's Day afternoon tea that I did not cook and what's more I felt no guilt. I constructed a fabulous and delicious Citrus Torte from 4 store bought ingredients. It was so easy and so yummy I may well do it again too !
I drained a tin of mandarins and layered them on one half of a supermarket sponge cake, sliced horizontally. Over the fruit I generously slathered whipped cream mixed with a big swirl of lemon curd then put the on second sponge layer . I added more lemon cream on top and then adorned it with passionfruit and a gorgeous dessert was born !
I have a lovely friend who is a chef who has had years of professional experience. Even though he no longer works in this field he still cooks extensively at home in an innovative and health conscious way with the best and freshest ingredients, often bringing me samples. Lucky me !! We train together at gym with other foodies and in between squats and chest presses discuss food endlessly. He gave me this sublime slice of pork terrine yesterday, exquisite and perfectly formed. A fine layer of thin potato slices run through the middle and pistachios stud it like jewels. I could have eaten it there and then on the gym floor !!
I realize this will cause consternation if you are an authentic Italian cook !! Hey Presto and this fabulous polenta cooked in the microwave in a matter of minutes . It set enough to slice or scoop depending on your preference. I scooped and added cheese !!
I found an incredibly handy recipe today to make my own spice blend. It is called Scottish Mixed Spice Blend and was recommended to sprinkle on porridge. I think its uses go way further than sprinkling. I think it will be a great time saver as when baking cakes, loaves and crumbles this one stop blend can be used instead of locating a variety of small jars that may well be close to empty - in my house anyway !! The ingredients blended together are the usual old favourites of nutmeg, allspice, cinnamon, cloves and ginger with an interesting newcomer added - ground black pepper.
My lovely old Pepper, aged 17, has gone to heaven. He lived with me for 15 years and then his holiday dogsitter adopted him . I received the very sad news from her today. He was part standard poodle and part border collie , was as stubborn as a mule and really had it in for cats , possums and postmen. But he loved a pat and would back onto the couch beside you and perch there in a perfect patting position. RIP Peppy, we all loved you so much and you have given us so many funny memories and "remember when" moments.
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