As I stood in my kitchen the other day I surveyed the goodies I'd been collecting from various markets. The erubescent beets and the ambrosial mango winked at at each other from across the bench-top. I resisted at first. But I was in a mood. I blame it on the purple carrots. I found some organic ones a few weeks back. I made pie with them. It was just a test, a quick experiment to see how it went. I'm in love. I've been on the hunt for more purple carrots ever since. I've just missed them at … [Read more...]
Spiced Cherry Pie for Valentine’s Day, or not.
I've never been a fan of Valentine's Day. The idea of a holiday that instills in an entire culture that there is one best day of the year to proclaim your love? Ludicrous. One day to give flowers and chocolate and jewelery? Rubbish. One day on which you are less somehow because you are not partnered up? Insanity. I want romance because the sun is shining, or jewelery because the moon is full, or chocolate because it is Sunday afternoon, not because the greeting card companies say so. … [Read more...]
A taste of Christmas
Christmas this year was at the house of one of RJ's sisters, the table set with handmade snowman place-cards and a festive centrepiece of Christmas Bush and Magnolia Blossoms. Even Mother Nature appeared to be in a celebratory mood and a beautiful day allowed the adults to sit on the back deck basking in the sun, while the nieces and nephews ran around like banshees and spent more time in the tree-house than on the ground. In true Aussie style the turkey was cooked on the BBQ, prawns … [Read more...]
Christmas Eve Feast – a (delicious) new tradition
For all of the Christmas traditions my family has, we have never made much of a big deal about Christmas Eve. Quite possibly because the day before Christmas meant little other than an eight hour drive up to the farm, arriving just in time to make our yearly church appearance and hear the oldies sing at midnight mass. Now I have been whinging about the weather quite a bit lately but far-out, this year has been more like autumn in Philly than summer in Sydney. However Mother Nature finally … [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...]
Perfect Banana Cake with White Choc Passion-Fruit Icing
I think I owe you a cake post. Here I am talking about hotels, and travels, and footy but there has been a distinct lack of cake. Now anyone popping over from October Unprocessed ~ waves ~ hi! ~ is looking at this cake and probably saying 'how is she listed on the #unprocessed posting roll-call and baking stuff like this?'. Easy, it's not for me ... I have been making the cakes for work birthdays lately and, well, there is not quite the desire that I have to eschew sugar and butter and white … [Read more...]
