wake up late, lie in bed listening to the chatter downstairs and smelling the fresh baked muffins put on fleece pants hang around, eat muffins, drink tea change from old sleeping t-shirt into old daytime t-shirt, begrudgingly change out of fleece pants for slightly more acceptable cargos do not put on makeup take pictures of farm, eat grapes off vines, wander around in barn, cook a bit, hang around fend off advances of grandmother bearing more muffins, drink tea chat … [Read more...]
Barramundi with Passionfruit, Lime and Chili
When you have a huge basket of passionfruit staring at you, thoughts of cake and smoothies and ice cream toppings swirl around effortlessly. There was obviously passionfruit cake to be had but sometimes there is more to life than dessert. Gasp. I know, controversial. I started searching the internets for inspiration expecting nothing other than sweet treats but suddenly this brilliant idea appeared. It was an aside, a quick mention in the middle of a beverage post, but it caught my eye - … [Read more...]
Lemon Curd – rules and bending the rules
Lemon Curd is one of those recipes that everyone has a spin - and an opinion - on. You should use whole eggs, you must only use egg yolks. You must adhere to x ratios of sugar to juice to make it very sweet, you must keep it tart. Use more butter, use less butter - mix it in before, mix it in at the end. Cook in a saucepan, cook over a double boiler. Strain the juice, strain the cooked curd. And on and on it goes. The versatility once made is as varied as the list of recipe options. Fill … [Read more...]
Caramel Bourbon Bananas and Whipped Coconut Cream
I've been bad. Not bad because I used bourbon yet again. Not bad because I want to put this on everything I eat. Not bad because it is so amazingly addictively good. But bad because I've made you wait over 2 months for the recipe. How dare I. Back in November for our first SABH challenge I made a Deconstructed Chocolate Pavlova topped 4 ways. I made it through the Red Wine Pears and the Zabaglione and the Chocolate Pudding posts but then Christmas hit and I neglected to share my favorite … [Read more...]
Surprising Stove-top Mac-n-Cheese
Sometimes we all need a mini-break. A chance to juggle one less ball for a change. To take a deep breath - or perhaps two. Even people who sit at home and eat bon-bons and go out to posh lunches and afternoon shopping dates may need to take a break sometimes, you know, for a spa day or some such equally relaxing activity - FYI, if you're one of those people, call me, I'll be happy to help you out. Christina from The Hungry Australian is one of those crazy-busy, always-on-the-go people - … [Read more...]
Zabaglione
When you make Pavlova, or Meringue, or Angle Food Cake - or any other dish that makes you separate eggs with wild abandon in order to use whites on their own - you are bound to be left with a bowl of egg yolks and the never ending quandary of what to do with them. There is always Creme Anglaise, or custard for Ice Cream or even Lemon Curd but this time I decided that Zabaglione was the go - and a perfect topping, or dipping as the case may be, for Deconstructed Chocolate Pavlova. For a … [Read more...]
Mango Salsa
Sydney is still not convinced that summer needs to hurry up and get here. She teases us with a day or two of glorious sunny heat, instigating the removal of blankets from the bed and the pulling out of sandals from the back of the closet, only to bring down another week of grey, cold drizzle that once again call for tights, boots and a jumper - no wonder the meteorologists are striking. But the mangoes tell a different story, they whisper promises of days at the beach and x-mas holidays and … [Read more...]