LOTF - April

It's Lord of the Fries time again, and for April the sauce of the month is:

Thai


I'm a little confused this month though as the flyer advertising April's Sauce of the Month says "South African - A Tangy Kick-Ass Ketchup"

This definitely wasn't a Tangy Kick-Ass Ketchup, but a smooth satay style sauce.

I actually really liked this one. Very flavoursome.


Not something I could eat a lot of on chips (put it on some chicken or prawn skewers and I could eat loads).

My favourite so far!

Easter Weekend & The Coast.....

I can't think of a more glorious way to spend Easter Sunday than relaxing back on the lawn under beautiful blue umbrellas, drinking wine, nibbling on superb fresh produce and listening to some wonderful music at the Laura Park Estate Winery located on the Bellarine Peninsula.




Having finished a catering job on the Saturday evening (more to come on this later), we headed off first thing Sunday morning down the coast to Portarlington, and what a perfect way to start the long weekend!


I of course took my little baby along with me (my camera), as I've been starting to learn all about the capabilities of these amazing cameras, including shutter speeds, aperture etc.

I took the below photo early the following morning on my walk just as the sun was rising over Portarlington. I was practicing with my shutter speed (slow shutter speed in particular) to try and get the feeling of movement/flight. The exposure/focus, etc of the photo is all off but I really kinda liked how the bird is gliding through the air (even if it is a bit fuzzy).


Later that day we meandered our way down the coast to Point Lonsdale, and in particular, to the lighthouse.


The below two photos are of me practicing with the aperture setting (depth of field).


As you can see with the above photo, my focus was on the red sand shoes (short depth of field), blurring out the surrounding landscape (well trying to anyway).

However, with the below photo I did the opposite, trying to make the focal point the water, blurring out the closest scenery including the red sand shoes. (Baby steps).


The sun was shining and surprisingly, the water was beautiful. Shame I hadn't brought my bathers with me.



With the next two photos I again tried practicing with my shutter speed.

Using a nice slow shutter speed below to try and once again capture the feeling of movement.


And then using a nice fast shutter speed to try and capture each droplet of water.


With bellies now rumbling, we took a drive over to Queenscliffe for a bite of lunch and ended up at Gusto (previously known as Miettas many many moons ago).


Sitting back in the courtyard garden amongst the vegie patch, we munched on some pesto, tomato and mozzarella bruschetta and a Farmers Plate which included cheddar cheese, pickled onions, corned beef, crunchy bread and chutney.


It hit the spot!



For out final morning, after a last walk along the beach, we packed up the car and headed across to Ocean Grove for some brekkie at The Dunes.

The Dunes is a little cafe nestled in the dunes (of course) of the Ocean Grove beach with glorious views out to the ocean.


After filling up on a really lovely latte and some mushrooms/goats cheese on toast (delicious), it was time for this little piggy to run wee wee wee all the way home.

Shame about the traffic jam!

(view from our table at The Dunes Cafe)

Happy Easter

Happy Easter everyone!


These little bite sizes of pleasure are what I made and took into work to wish my colleagues a Happy Easter.

How good am I!


Chocolate Capped Coconut Macaroons


I first spotted these when I was taking a little wander through one of my new favourite blogs – A Sofa in the Kitchen.

I couldn’t resist.


Not overly sweet (which I was very happy about), and just the perfect size (I actually made mine a lot smaller than the recipe asked for).

I loved them, and it seemed my colleagues loved them too.

I think you will too if you give them a try – I promise!

The Cookbook Challenge No.8: EGG

I was heading off to the St Kilda Open Air Cinema for a friend's birthday back in February (yep, I was way ahead of myself with this post) and had planned to pack some picnic food.

Of course any good picnic requires some sort of sweet ending, and what could be more perfect than these little delights (they also used up the tonne of egg yolks I had stored in the freezer)....win/win!


Portuguese Custartd Tarts
Cookbook:Everyday
Author: Bill Granger

3 egg yolks
115g caster sugar
2 tbsp cornflour
230 ml cream
170 ml milk
2 tsp vanilla paste/extract
1 sheet puff pastry

Combine the yolks, sugar and cornflour and whisk together. Gradually whisk in the cream and milk until smooth.

Over a medium heat, cook the custard whilst continually stirring until thickens and comes to the boil. Remove from heat and stir in the vanilla. Cover the top with plastic wrap to stop a skin from forming onto of the custard. Allow to cool.

Preheat oven to 190 degrees and grease a 12 hole muffin tin (I used a 2 x 12 hole patty tins).

Cut sheet of pastry in half and place one half on top of the other. Tightly roll the pastry along the short end then slice pastry into 12-24 rounds. Using a rolling pin on a lightly floured surface, roll out each round and press into baking tin.

Spoon in the cooled custard, and bake for approximately 20-25 minutes until golden on top.


As you can see by the photos below, I made two different batches, the first one being the top photo and the recipe listed above. I had not used this particular recipe before and was not at all happy with the grainy look of the tarts when finished.


In fact, I was so unhappy with them that I decided to make another batch using my 'never fail' recipe - a recipe that I can make in my sleep (photo above - I love it's glossy finish).

I absolutely love my 'never fail' recipe. I could eat these day and night. However the funny thing is that the next day I ate one of the 'rejected' tarts and actually thought.....mmmmm....this actually tastes bloody good!

Doh!

To check out my fellow challengers, click here.

Chocolate Everywhere...........

The Second Annual Chocolate Easter Egg Making Day.

Or better known as "Chocolate OD Day!"


Together with two of my nieces Ms J and Ms M, and one of my nephews Mr H we spent the afternoon melting chocolate, licking spoons and fingers, and oh yeah, making Easter eggs.


As you can see, I covered the table with a huge sheet (learnt my lesson from last year when I found chocolate everywhere days and days later).

So the sun sets on another successful Easter Egg Making Day. The kids are full of sugar, I've dropped them off at their respective homes, and I'm sitting here in peace and quiet. It's wonderful to be an aunty!

A new nibble

How blissful it is when you have spare time on the weekend just to potter.

It's a rare treat for me, so I made the most of it.


Spending the time trying, re-trying, re-vamping and tweaking a new little nibble to add to my menu - Roast Beef & Garlic Butter Bean Puree topped Crostini (if you didn't already know, I do a little catering on the weekends).

I'm very happy with this new baby (and I ate all of them - oopps!)

COOKALONG WITH NIGELLA: April

How the hell are you meant to loose any weight with all this amazing food around?

It never seems to end, and my will power is absolutely useless, especially when I saw this months recipe for the Cookalong with Nigella Challenge.

Secretly, I was a very happy girl.


Lemon Meringue Cake


Holy Mother of God!

When I read the recipe I was in heaven - some of my favourite flavours all in the one cake - lemon curd, meringue, sponge cake and freshly whipped cream.

Only problem - could I do it justice?


Overall, it was actually a little on the sweet side with the layers of meringue, cream and lemon curd - you certainly don't want a large slice.

My own personal disappointment is that I overcooked the cake a little (a little on the dry side) but definitely a wow factor cake that I wouldn't mind giving another go.

When lemon curd is involved, I'm willing to give anything another go!

A lazy Sunday morning....

A favourite way to spend a Sunday morning...............

1. Lazing in bed with a cup of tea and my book.

2. Followed by a lazy home-cooked breakfast.


This morning was no exception, but instead of the usual eggs, I opted for pancakes.


Bill's Blueberry Pancakes to be exact.

Topped with some pure maple syrup.


A very very naughty breakfast, but with a pot of earl gray tea, it was exactly how I wanted to start the day.

I could get use to this!