Food Adventures

I have a lousy cold, so I am taking some time to slow things down a bit, but then I get bored and when I get bored I usually end up cooking. Here are 2 of my latest food adventures that I thought I would share with you.

Homemade mozarella cheese ( 30 minutes )

I have dabbled previously into making my own cheese - the soft cheese sort and thought I'd get a little bit more adventurous - following the steps http://www.cheesemaking.com/howtomakemozzarellacheese.html I soon had my own homemade mozarella cheese  - I was excited. What better way to enjoy the lovely creamy cheese but with tomato and basil of course.

We went out to lunch this weekend and I had the most delicious vegetarian tagine. It was so delicious I decided to try to recreate it and this is my version.

Butternut , tomato, spinach and chickpea tagine.


Ingredients:
butternut - cubed
onion
garlic
red pepper cut into chunks
tin of whole peeled plum tomatoes
chicken stock
chilli flakes
chickpeas - 1 tin drained
spinach chopped.

In a saucepan I lightly fried the onions and garlic then added the butternut, red pepper, tinned tomatoes and some chicken stock ( how much depends on how liquid you want your tagine - I used about 100ml). Add some seasoning ( salt, pepper and chilli flakes - again how much depends on how hot you want it ). Simmer for 20 minutes till the butternut is tender. Add the chickpeas and cook for a further 10-15 minutes. Stir in some spinach and then serve. Delicious. We had ours with pitta breads.

Building rainbows

Rain, rain and more rain.

Its raining again, its been raining for the past few weeks and still we are in a drought and have a hose-pipe ban, funny isnt it.

Its been a bit of a stressful and chaotic time at home too and I've been feeling like I have a huge black thunder cloud hanging over me. I feel heavy and cant breathe and then my body starts to take the strain. High blood pressure - never had it before and I am trying to get rid of it now. All down to that one word - STRESS.

Yet despite all the heaviness and headaches, I am trying to focus on something good and slowly its getting me through.

The prescription :

Take time each day - 5 minutes is all you need - to sit quietly and think of 3 things that you are grateful for. They don't have to be big things, just small glimmers of light and before long you'll have created a rainbow.
These are some of the things I am grateful for today -

• The first day of a new month - a new beginning.
• Waking up this morning feeling rested after a good nights sleep
• The lovely hot cup of tea my husband made for me this morning.
• Special friends who phone to chat and check up that you are ok.

So take some time to pause and think of all the special things in your life that often slip by unnoticed and go and build your own rainbow.

Meet Harry, Larry and Maude....

not to mention Fuzzy , Wally , Burt, Dozey, Nosey, Rosie and Tiny.

Our new project for the summer to raise moths or butterflies. The children thought this was a wonderful idea and its given Jason a chance to relive his childhood and teach his own children how to do it.  First he designed and made a cage to put the caterpillars in when they are big enough so we can watch and see what happens.

It has a removable back for easy access , a perspex viewing window at the front and mesh sides and top. All very exciting.

Next we had to decide what type of moth or butterfly we wanted. After much research to find a variety which would eat the food we had in the garden we settled on garden tiger moths. I think the name appeals more to the children at the moment as the caterpillars are called Woolly Bear caterpillars and then grow into garden tiger moths. So we purchased some larvae/caterpillars off the internet and waited.

Finally our caterpillars arrived all 10 of them surviving the journey.

Fresh leaves picked and we moved them into their new home.....

I shall keep you posted as to how they grow and what happens next .

Spring snapshots

Yes I am still alive, its been rather busy here lately and time seems to be flying by. I thought I would share a few photographs of the beautiful blossoms that are starting to show their faces in our garden. Spring is here and slowly everything is waking up. I hope they brighten your day.

Romany Creams.

I was talking to my children the other day about my childhood in South Africa and the subject turned to treats. Romany creams of course. Romany creams are  South African biscuits or cookies  made from cocoa and coconut and sandwiched together with melted chocolate. A melt in your mouth treat. Now my children have never really fancied dessicated coconut but I decide to satisfy my curiosity to have a go and make some myself and let the family try them out.

Well the end result was a BIG success - big on the size front I didn't realise how much they spread when the cook and also a big hit with the family who promptly devoured the plateful . If you want to have a go here's the recipe I used ( just remember to put teaspoon full drops on the baking sheets as they do spread out quite a bit.)

Homemade Romany Creams


1. Cream together 1/2 lb Butter and 1 cup Sugar .
2. Sift together 2 cups Flour, 1 teaspoon Baking Powder, 1/2 teaspoon Salt.
3. Add 1 1/2 cup dessicated Coconut to the dry ingredients.
4. Add to dry ingredients.
4. Dissolve 2 tablespoon Cocoa in 1/2 cup hot water.
5. Mix all together.
6. Drop teaspoonfuls onto a cookie sheet and bake for 10-15 minutes at 350ºF.
7. Sandwich two back-to-back with melted chocolate when they have cooled.

Recycling .

Its half-term and so I've got children at home and we're busy busy busy creating. Actually my recent project is inspired by another blogger. http://www.danamadeit.com/2008/07/tutorial-the-shirt-dress.html.

We were having  a clean out and I had collected a pile of old clothes to take to the local charity shop when I came across Dana's blog. I decided to have a go and was rather pleased with how my dress turned out, Aimee is also pleased and if Daddy's not careful he might not have any clothes left soon.

Take one man's shirt and recycle it into a summer sundress.
Before :-

After :

 

Another Version :-

A taste of home.

I live in the UK but I originally come from South Africa. Every now and again I dig out the recipe book and indulge myself in a few recipes from home. So last week after a " when will you make some more rusks again? " plea from my family I got baking.

Buttermilk Rusks ( South-African recipe )

Rusks are a national institution in South Africa, especially Ouma’s rusks. Dry and dense, they were designed to last a long time for pioneers travelling in the wilderness. They can be eaten as they are or dunked in tea or coffee for that early morning snack or mid-morning break.

Ingredients: ( Makes about 15-18 rusks )

500g self raising flour
1 egg
100ml sugar
95g butter, melted
250ml buttermilk
½ tsp ( 2.5ml) baking powder
1 tsp (5ml) salt

1. Sift the flour, baking powder and salt into a large bowl.
2. Beat the egg, sugar and buttermilk together.
3. Cut the wet mixture into the dry ingredients with a knife.
4. Knead the dough lightly, gradually adding the melted butter while kneading. This will take about 7 minutes.
5. Roll dough into balls about the size of a golf ball and pack the balls next to eachother into a loaf tin. The balls should reach about ⅔ of the height of the tin.
6. Bake at 180 degrees C ( 350 degrees F) for about 45 minutes.
7. Turn out onto a cooling rack and when cool enough to handle break into individual rusks.
8. Lower the heat of the oven to 100 degrees C ( 200 degrees F ) or less and dry the rusks in the oven. Turning them every 30 minutes.

(Recipe can be doubled etc. )

 Just out the oven see how they are packed in.

 The finished product. They keep for a few weeks in an air-tight container (if the family doesn't eat them all first).

Welcome to 2012...

Hello, welcome back and happy new year. Its been a very busy last few weeks but I have managed to find a few moments to put a few words down. I had a visit this morning to our wet soggy garden and my visitor a wonderful green woodpecker also known as the Green Yaffle Bird.

Yaffle is the 'Olde English' word for the Green Woodpecker or Picus Viridus. The Green Yaffle is an ancient symbol of prosperity and knowledge. Stretching back to the first cities of ancient Babylon, the bird has appeared as a Divine messenger, giving knowledge to humans, often of the future, and being associated with the blessings of good fortune from the heavens. From the oldest of Greek myths to the widespread folk tales from across Europe, these same themes appear again and again. The bird is also associated with being able to unlock all locks and open all doors. Further investigations into the symbolic meanings of a woodpecker also suggest it may be a sign to :

Fly back to our roots.
Nurture our ideas in the womb of our core passions.
Use our heads (intellect) to think up innovative solutions to overcome barriers.
Communicate our ideas in more creative or non-traditional ways.
Stop and consider the opportunities available to us at this time.
Look at projects in unique creative ways to bring new life to a project.
Listen more clearly to subtle energies, there is a message that only our intuition can interpret.

So I'm taking this little visit from my feathered friend as an omen or a good prosperous year, full of creativity, prosperity and blessings.

Wishing you all a very happy, healthy and prosperous 2012....let the fun begin.

Merry Christmas

Its been a while since I last wrote but things have become quite chaotic here. Its 2 days till the family arrives from South Africa and the todo list seems never ending. Just to let you all know I havent forgotten about you here are some festive photos ....

Wishing you all a very merry christmas and a fantastic new year.

3, 2, 1... Blast Off

Its been a very busy few weeks, my little boy has turned 7 and its been birthday mayhem for a week.
To add to the chaos the oven temperature dial decided to break just in time for my attempts at making a space rocket birthday cake for his party, nevertheless with stress levels rising and much checking on the cake we managed to pull it off and were quite proud of our end result. ( Thanks to my wonderful husband for doing the icing ).

Now its all over I have some time to gather myself together and start preparing for the next celebration... Christmas and our long anticipated visit from my sister and her family whom I haven't seen in a year and the children haven't seen in over 2 years  - the excitement is building. This is where I am in my element planning and organising and then finally putting it all together.

So we started on our Biberlie - a Swiss Christmas cookie, which you bake at least 4 weeks ahead to give the flavours time to mingle and mellow and also for the cookie to soften. Its has a filling of ground almonds, apricot jam and honey and the dough has Christmas spices in it so my house smells like Christmas.
Here's what they look like at the moment -

Recipe : Swiss Biberlie ( Christmas Cookies )

Dough:
340g honey
134g cup sugar
1-1/2 teaspoons grated lemon peel
2 tablespoons brandy, rum, or kirsch
512g unsifted all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon ground anise
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1/4 teaspoon ground coriander

Filling:

 300g blanched almonds

200g sugar

 1/2 cup apricot jam

 1/3 cup honey

 1 tablespoon grated lemon peel

 3 tablespoons lemon juice

 1-1/2 teaspoons almond extract

How to make Swiss Biberli

Make the Dough: 

In small saucepan , combine the honey, sugar, and 2 tablespoons water.
Heat, stirring, just until sugar dissolves—do not boil.
Let cool until lukewarm—about 20 minutes.
Stir in lemon peel and the brandy.
Into large bowl, sift flour with baking soda, anise, cinnamon, ginger, cloves, and coriander.
Add honey mixture; mix with wooden spoon to a stiff dough; then knead until smooth.
Shape into a ball.
Refrigerate, covered, 2 days.
Make Filling: Grind almonds, using fine blade of grinder, or use electric blender.
In medium bowl, combine almonds, sugar, the jam, honey, lemon peel, juice, extract; mix until blended.
Set aside.
Preheat oven to 350F.
Lightly grease cookie sheets.
Divide dough in half; return half to refrigerator.
On lightly floured surface, roll out dough, 1/4 inch thick, into a 10-inch square.
Cut crosswise, to make 4 strips.
Place 5 to 6 tablespoons filling in a 1/2-inch-wide mound down center of each strip of dough.
Bring edges of dough over filling, to overlap; press gently, to seal.
Place rolls seam side down.
Repeat with remaining dough and filling.
Cut filled rolls into 1-inch pieces, using sharp floured or moistened knife.
Place seam side down on prepared cookie sheets.
Bake 20 minutes, or until light brown.
Cool completely.
Pack in airtight containers, to mellow for several weeks.

Enjoy !!

       *****************

I am also busy working on my christmas menu and this is what I have so far:-

Christmas Eve -
Buffet of cold meats and cheeses with pickles and chutneys ( homemade of course ) .
Homemade bread
Chocolate dipped strawberries and figs
And the childrens contribution - a decorated gingerbread house.

Christmas Morning -
Cinnamon pancakes

Christmas Lunch - 
Starters:
Spinach, strawberry and mango salad
Smoked salmon toasts

Mains:
Roast Chicken
Roast Pheasant - stuffed
Roast Guineafowl
Potatoes
Vegetables
Cranberry sauce
gravy

Dessert:
Ice-cream santas grotto cake ( shop bought I confess )
A french fruit tart ( hoping it will look something like this -  it will depend on what fruit I get.)

Mince pies and Brandy cream. ( of course )


So far its all falling into place , but no doubt there will be some variations and changes as the big day draws nearer. I'll post some pictures of all the exciting things we've made.