Slightly Organised Chaos

Lemon Curd Layer Cake with Sour Cream Icing

2011-11-15T15:56:00.000+11:00

So, just when I thought things were settling down again I was proven wrong! I am no longer going to make promises about posting soon because it seems that just causes a wave of events in my life that are not conducive to blog writing. The past few weeks have been hard for me an my family, we've had three consecutive deaths to come to terms with in the last four weeks and it has been difficult and I've not really had the will to do any blogging at all.

This cake recipe is one of my mum's favourites and so I made it for her using the last of the lemons we had left from the old house. It's delicious and moist and light and oh so lemony, the perfect cake really. It's a winner.

Mascarpone Vanilla Ice Cream

2011-10-24T10:36:00.000+11:00

So it is coming into summer here down under. It is 28 today and aside from some truly appalling weather yesterday and Friday it has been pretty nice for the past few weeks. I even got to wear shorts on Thursday ‘cause it was 30 degrees. I love spring; it’s the gateway to summer and all the fun that comes with it. Because of this I decided this was the perfect recipe to haul out of my draft bin to edit up and give to you all to tie you over until I complete my experiment this afternoon (it’s a secret). I actually made this a while ago but never had time to edit any of the photos or put the post together but now is the perfect time, cause summer is the season of Ice-cream.

Apologies and Updates

2011-10-23T11:26:00.000+11:00

Okay, so it's quite obvious that I’ve been gone a while. A long while. And I could give you a multitude of boring excuses I’m sure that none of you want to read about, so I’ll just give you this. Uni and life has been kicking my butt. In fact it kicked my butt right into a world of study, sleep, eat, study, go to uni, eat, sleep, study; repeat. It was fun. Not.

If you had asked me what was going on in my life besides Uni, I would have honestly been able to tell you nothing, except the occasional trip to see my horses. But now, aside from one more exam, Uni is over for the year. Yup, you read that right, I’m done for the year, well, aside from all that boring administrative stuff that has to be done and finding out my grades (Fingers crossed people!).

Thank-you to everyone who sent me messages concerned that I had suddenly disappeared to with no warning, I couldn’t reply to all of you but at least now you know that I am indeed alive and cooking.

There are some things to update you all on. The new house is well on its way to being completed and we should be moving back in by mid-December! I’m so excited, the kitchen is going to be awesome, and there will be so much light! The complete opposite of the dreary kitchen in the rental that is not at all conducive to cooking or photography. The only thing I’m not looking forward to is having to get used to a new oven, again! I can see many a failed cake in my future.

So this is just a quick update to let you all know I am here and working on a couple of new posts with recipes and other exciting (at least to me) things to come in the next week or so. Thank-you all for hanging in there while I’ve been gone, you’re all awesome and I’m so glad to be back!!! Bring on the summer!

Brandy Sponge Cake

2011-06-22T22:28:00.001+10:00

So, last week I had my one and only exam for the semester. It went pretty well but the best bit is, I am now free for 6 whole weeks until semester two starts. In celebration of this wondrous event, and the fact that I managed to not bake this before my exam by way of procrastibaking, I made a cake. But not just any cake, a genuine Victorian Sponge Cake, with brandy! I actually made this cake last week, and fully intended to post this then, I have however been surprisingly busy this past week, and then this last weekend I went up to the snow for a bout of Cross Country Skiing at Lake Mountain. Fun times.

Mrs Beeton

2011-06-06T21:18:00.000+10:00

So, on Friday I was up in Ballarat for an interview at Sovereign Hill, a 19th century gold mining open air museum/ working town, for an interview to become a volunteer there. For those of you who don't know, Ballarat is a rural town around an hour and a half from Melbourne, and since we were up there already, we decided to spend the day at Sovereign Hill.

Sovereign Hill is amazing and there are so many things to see, do and experience about life in a gold mining town in the 1800s. My favourite thing though, I think, aside from the general awesomeness are all the shops along the main street that sell 1800s goods. So aside from the many traditional boiled lollies I got, and there were many, Acid Drops, Butterballs, Peanut Toffee, Raspberry Drops, Liquorice and a Toffee Apple (I was possibly slightly ill after consuming a great deal of sugar). I also go a hand forged steel pie dish and, best of all a copy of Mrs Beeton's Everyday Cookery and Housekeeping Book.

This book was first published in 1893 an has an amazing array, over 400 pages, of 19th century recipes. I am so damn excited. There are recipes for everything in there, from Boiled Calf's Head (a dish I probably will not try) to some seriously yummy looking recipes such as a genuine Victoria Sponge Cake, German Puffs, Jams and Jellies, Steamed and Boiled Puddings and various other traditional Victorian fare. It's amazing to read through and see recipes that I cook now, in their early or original form. I mean, I never thought one would cook Yorkshire Pudding for one and a half hours! Or that one would put 6 eggs and sherry in a pancake mix! In saying that though, I'll probably still try them out, although all the quantities are so huge! Every recipe is to feed 6 to 8 people and most of the time I'm only cooking for three or four, but then I suppose, how hard is it really to half a recipe?

I have an exam tomorrow and since I have been able to avoid doing any procrastibaking this time around, I am going to be making one of Mrs Isabella Beeton's Sponge Cake recipes as a reward after finishing this exam. Filling it with copious quantities of lemon curd, because we still have 100s more lemons than we know what to do with. Gonna have to break out the preserving jars soon. Then I'm going to get on the tredmill and run for 3 hours straight while thinking about all the other suet laden goodies I'm going to try over the Uni Holidays.

My Grandma

2011-05-29T14:05:00.001+10:00

This is my Grandma. It was her 88th Birthday on the 27th. She is gorgeous, spunky, witty, sharp as a tack, used to roll her brothers cigarettes, taught my Uncle how to roll a joint and let me eat dog food when I was 4. She makes the best Christmas pudding and is an all around awesome lady. I ♥ my Grandma.

Birthday Cake of Awesome

2011-05-06T16:55:00.000+10:00

My 21st Birthday was two weeks ago and it was a truly wonderful day. After getting up for Church in the morning, and still being late for the 9am service (which is pretty poor, considering we only go twice a year!), we promptly forgot about Easter in favour of my Birthday.

The Best Birthday Present...

2011-04-25T18:03:00.000+10:00

EVER!!! Just look what I got for my birthday!! My very own KitchenAid stand mixer! No more having to steal mum's ancient Kenwood Chef (though I do love it...)

Not only that! But I got the Ice Cream bowl and the meat/food grinder attachments! So now I can make my own ice-cream so much more easily! And I can make my own mince meat! Using the awesome cook book that I got to go along with all that! Just think of all the goodies that this baby is going to produce!! Sooo excited for it to arrive!!!

Butternut Macaroni and Cheese

2011-04-22T13:23:00.000+10:00

Macaroni and Cheese is a classic dish, the only problem (at least for me) is that it is often simply to rich, all that cream, cheese and milk. Whew, talk about a heart attack waiting to happen, that triple whammy of dairy. And apart from lots of calcium there isn't really much to be said for its nutritional value either. We can therefore classify Mac and Cheese as a 'sometimes' dish (or in my case a 'hardly if ever' dish). That was until we found the recipe that inspired this creation. It's mac and cheese, but with PUMPKIN (and a deliciously crunchy pancetta and rosemary breadcrumb top)! Talk about deliciousness.

Coq au Riesling

2011-04-16T15:31:00.001+10:00

Were not big on stews in this house, or soupy casserole style dishes. I think it may have something to do with food trauma sustained in early childhood by certain people at the hands of their parents. We all have those dishes, for me; Chicken alla King. A disgusting mix of chicken, peas and capsicum in a cream sauce, it actually makes me want to gag. This dish however, is nothing like that and has turned into a favourite with everyone, but especially me because it requires no particular skills and it has a bottle of wine in it. Coming into winter I can see it featuring a lot. The second best bit about this dish is everything you don't eat the first night can be reduced further with some added ingredients and tossed into a dish, covered in puff pastry and turned into a mean chicken pie. The little Alsace chicken dish that could.

So, apart from cooking this awesome dish, the past week and a half has been a stressful one to say the least. It is coming on up our mid-semester break at uni, which is actually 2/3 of the way though our 12 week semester this year thanks to Easter. And while having a week off is a wonderful thing it also brings with it the stress of all the assignments and other assessments that occur in the two weeks prior.

Last week I had a two hour Anthropology Exam that I probably could have done a bit more study for along with research for two Linguistics assessments and test that I have next week. To top all that off I burned my fingers on Tuesday night and have subsequently crippled my writing hand. Do you know how damn hard it is to do an exam when you have sever burns on your right hand? It's hard I tell you.

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Risotto Bianco with variations

2011-04-07T17:56:00.000+10:00

On Mondays and Tuesdays my first (and only) class at Uni is from 3 until 5, which means that I don't get back home until quarter past 6 or so, which is not so good in the whole dinner cooking scheme of things. So we have been getting into the habit of having Risotto on Monday nights because I can do it in the pressure cooker and therefore it only takes me 20 minutes or less to make, huge bonus! Risotto is great because once you have the simple base you can add almost anything you want and make up some great flavour combinations. This week I decided on Asparagus.

Pumpkin Sage Soup

2011-03-29T22:47:00.000+11:00

So, it has only been 3 days since I last posted, but it feels like 3 weeks. In that time I have completed three assignments, unpacked more boxes that I would care to count and managed to get dreadfully ill in the middle of it all. Just my luck. So what was my already only slightly organised chaotic life has descended into complete and utter chaos, no organisation what so ever.

When you are ill what better comfort food is there than soup? Chicken noodle soup seems to be a favourite, but I shall let you all in on a little secret. I have never had chicken noodle soup ever. Not once in my entire life, not even when I was in the USA for 4 months. I much prefer pumpkin soup, not too creamy and perfectly sage-y, here is my recipe for Pumpkin Sage Soup. I swear sage has magical healing properties.

The Joys of Moving and Other Things

2011-03-27T15:58:00.002+11:00

We spent this weekend moving house and being overall super busy, hence the lack of updates. Moving is not fun and is hard work. I think I could sleep for a year, but no, I have to be at Uni early tomorrow to finish an assignment that is due...tomorrow...

Uni is kicking my butt at the moment. I have so much work and reading to do it's almost not funny. Getting back into the habit of doing so much work is hard after 5 months off over Summer. But, Semester 1 is a third of the way through 4 weeks in, 4 weeks until mid-semester break and only 8 more weeks until our 2 month holiday before semester 2. It's amazing how much learning they can cram into a 12 week semester.

And because I have to run and unpack yet another box I'm going to leave you with some more random facts about me:

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Baileys Chocolate Cheesecake

2011-03-18T18:36:00.001+11:00

I love cheesecake. Preferably the European non-baked version, but I wouldn't pass up either really. Being Gluten-Free I make most (if not all) of the cheesecakes I eat at home, so everyone has to live with the non-baked ones most of the time. When I fist saw the recipe for this particular cheesecake I new straight away that I had to make it, so I promptly waited three weeks (because we only do desserts on Sundays) and got to it.

Early Autumn Vegetable Soup

2011-03-10T21:27:00.000+11:00

It is now officially Autumn in my part of the world, and has been since the 1st of March. The end of summer means lots of things, Uni starts, stone fruits slowly disappear from the supermarket, hot-cross buns and Easter eggs grace our shelves (oh wait, those have been there since New Years Day...). It also slowly starts to get cooler, most years...February and March are the hottest months of the year in Aus usually. This year has been a bust! Last year it was still averaging mid to high 20s every day in March and into April. This year I've already had to break out my fleece blanket, albeit only for one evening. So to combat the unseasonably cool weather I decided to make an Autumn Vegetable soup.

Spicy Chickpea, Zucchini and Spinach Fritters

2011-03-06T23:03:00.000+11:00

Fritters are an Aussie Classic, or maybe that is rissoles. Either way these fritters are simply divine. And the best part is that they are gluten-free! (Well the best part for me anyway.) My mother found this recipe and e-mailed it to me and the second I opened it I knew that I just had to make these, so I did, two days later after I had been to the supermarket to stock up on the missing ingredients.

Apple and Walnut (Fail) Scroll (Thingy)

2011-03-01T18:43:00.000+11:00

Okay, so the idea behind this (mis)adventure was to make a cinnamon roll with apples and walnuts. Let me tell you know that it did not work the way I intended. In the end this didn't really matter, I re-grouped and made this little gem. I called it Fail Cake originally, but it really isn't a cake, although I have a funny feeling the name 'Apple Fail Cake' will stick in this house. Although the initial scroll idea may have failed, what I ended up with was a deliciously amazing apple, cinnamon and walnut mess with a gloriously sticky bottom and tremendous flavour. I will be making this beauty again, no doubt about that!

7 Little Things

2011-02-25T18:25:00.001+11:00

Meghan over at Cooking In College (you should go check out her blog, it's chock full of yummy vegetarian recipes) tagged me in a 7 Facts thingy. So I am here today to share with you all 7 random facts about myself. I shall try to make them at least half-way interesting and not so crazy that I scare you all off.

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Chilli Con Carne

2011-02-21T16:10:00.001+11:00

Now, Chilli Con Carne was never something I'd eaten before my trip to the USA in 2009. The first time I tried it I was hooked! When I got back I made it for the family and they loved it too. This is my own recipe for Chilli that I have tweaked and adjusted to get just right. Well, just right for me. I think that it is a pretty darn tasty recipe, and since I make it at least once a month now, I'd say that everyone else thinks it alright too. I know that everyone does their Con Carne differently, this is my recipe, give it a try if you want.

Yorkshire Pudding

2011-02-17T17:18:00.001+11:00

Despite its name, Yorkshire pudding is not actually a pudding. Well, it may have been once, but it certainly isn't now. Yorkshire pudding is a delicious, crispy, bread-like side dish that is traditionally served with Roast Beef. YUM. You also make Toad in the Hole with Yorkshire pudding. Toad in the Hole is my ultimate comfort food and one day I shall make it all for you. It is basically Sausages baked with Yorkshire pudding and it is THE BEST.

Sweet Basil Stir-Fry

2011-02-13T22:49:00.000+11:00

I love Thai! It is one of my favourite international cuisines and it just happens to be our luck that we live about a 8 minute walk from a pretty spectacular Thai Restaurant (that also does awesome Take-Away!). At this restaurant my second favourite dish (after the Penang Curry) is this Lamb and Basil Stir-Fry they do. It is simply scrumptious. So since we are trying to clear all the frozen meat out of our Deep Freeze (and there is quite a bit of it) and I knew we had some lamb stir-fry in there (i.e. lazy persons lamb steaks already cut into strips) I decided that I would try to re-create this dish. And I must say that I came pretty darn close.

Sticky Date Pudding

2011-02-09T18:22:00.002+11:00

This is one of my all time favourite desserts (you'll get used to me saying that a lot around here), but really, I do love this dessert. I think some refer to it as Sticky Toffee Pudding for what reason I am not really sure, I mean it is sticky, maybe something to do with the sauce, but we have always called it Sticky Date Pudding, cause really, that is what it is. Sticky dates in a pudding. Mmmmm.

Supermarket Surprises

2011-02-08T14:16:00.002+11:00

I hit a gold mine today when at the Supermarket. Look what I found at Coles this morning when I was doing the grocery shopping!!!! COLES!!!

Sour Patch Kids!!!

Almond Crusted Chicken

2011-02-04T16:44:00.001+11:00

We had some chicken breasts in the fridge that had a use-by date of tomorrow and decided that it was too late to freeze them, so at 7pm tonight I decided that I needed to make something with chicken for dinner. A couple of weeks ago I had a delicious lamb backstrap that had been lightly crusted in almond meal, and I decided that I would do a healthy baked almond crusted chicken for dinner. As it is summer and the herb garden is still in overdrive I had my pick of the herbs. At first I thought of using my best friend the basil, but then decided that Oregano and Thyme would make for a more dynamic and flavourful dish, I also thought that they would go better with the almond. So that is how I made it to Almond Crusted Chicken with Oregano and Thyme.

Greek Lamb with Lemon and Oregano

2011-01-31T12:21:00.000+11:00

This is the roast of choice in our house, I think we would have it every week if we could. The thing I like about this lamb is that it is super easy to do. Get one of the boys to light the Webber - even though I am a strong, capable woman and would have no trouble doing it on my own (the boys laughed at that...) - prepare the lamb and then whack it on, no troubles, and dinner is practically served. If you want to make it even easier you can add the potatoes to the meat while it is cooking and then all you need to do is whip up a quick Greek Salad and voila! You are ready to go.

Lost in a sea of photos

2011-01-28T17:56:00.001+11:00

So I have been somewhat slack with my updates as of late, but I do have a legitimate reason for that. I had family visiting from interstate. I also have family from overseas staying at the moment to, but the real reason for the lack of updates is that the Sydney Family was down for 2 weeks as they are every year. As a result I have been spending my days with my Aunt, Uncle and Cousins doing various fun things that children do. I have meant to post a couple of times but my laziness with my camera and downloading images from it is one of my many flaws. Never fear though my dear readers for you can all have a good laugh at me, cause like most things one procrastinates about, that procrastination comes back to bite you in the arse.

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Harissa Grilled Lamb Serloin

2011-01-24T23:32:00.000+11:00

(with Mashed Sweet Potatoes and Pan glazed Brussel Sprouts)

Sometimes the simplest meals can taste the best. This is a super easy and quick way to prepare lamb that gives it a real good kick of flavour without having to spend hours marinading. It's so simple, in fact there are only two ingredients! That's right folks. 2. This makes it perfect if you just need something to throw together for dinner at short notice or when you have a ridiculous number of people to feed and you really can't be bothered to cook.

Beaches, Birds and Bananas

2011-01-19T23:26:00.000+11:00

Well folks, I am back in the land of the blogging after my week at the beach. And what a lovely week it was too, even if it was just a tad on the damp side with all the rain we have been having here in Australia at the moment. We did have two very nice days, and I managed to get sunburnt, on my KNEES!!! Tell me someone, who the hell gets sunburnt on their knees?! Me, that is who. So know I have sore knees that look monstrous. I'm hoping they will fade to tan and not peel, Ick.

The beach was gorgeous as always, it makes me so glad that I have never lived more than 10 minutes from the beach, I think I would die if I ever had to move away!

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Tava (Cypriot Baked Lamb, with Cumin, Parsley and Tomatoes)

2011-01-13T15:13:00.000+11:00

We already know my love for lamb. So I will not go there again just yet. This lamb dish is a typical Greek Cypriot Mediterranean all in one dish, all it needs is a salad on the side and you have your meal. We have been making Greek Lamb with Oregano and Lemon for years and years. It is a family favourite. And I know I say that a lot, but ask anyone when you ask them what roast they want for their Birthday or on Sunday for Lunch and every week one or more people say Greek Lamb! I think if we went by majority we would never cook another roast ever, it would be Greek Lamb every time. Tava follows along the same lines. The masses go crazy for this stuff!!

A Jolly Holiday

2011-01-08T23:10:00.000+11:00

Tomorrow I am going on holiday with my family and some close family friends. These family friends used to live above us when we lived in our Apartment when I was a little one. We have been close with them all my life. They own the other half of my dad's yacht and we go on holidays with them every year around this time. And even though both families only live 10 minutes from the beach, we still go on holiday...to the beach. It may seem like a waste, but the beaches where we live have nothing on the beaches of The Great Ocean Road.

As you can see, The Great Ocean road and Cape Otway is a place of beauty, and I am very lucky to only live a couple of hours away.

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Lamb Meatballs with Feta, Mint and Rosemary

2011-01-07T00:11:00.000+11:00

I LOVE LAMB!! If I could, I would scream it from the rooftops. If I could only eat one meat for the rest of my life it would be lamb. Roast lamb, Greek lamb, Tava, lamb chops, lamb steaks, stir fried lamb, backstrap, lamb shanks, I could go on and on.

But these. These meat balls are amazing and the sauce is phenomenal due to the meat juices and herbs. It is a bit of an eclectic mix of ingredients but the end result is a very flavourful meatball in a delicious rich tomato sauce. The feta and lamb go very well together and mixed with the mint and rosemary the taste is just divine.

Ultimate Bacon Avocado Sandwich

2011-01-05T16:46:00.000+11:00

My favourite way to make lunch is to go to the fridge, open it up and scrounge around inside until I come up with a combination of ingredients to make sandwiches or soups or the ultimate hot dog in a bowl (ask if you want). Some combinations of things you come up with work really well and others are atrocious! I do the same thing with Pizza toppings.

This combination is not necessarily 'out there' (unlike my favourite quick sandwich filling which is cheese and peanut butter!) but it is delicious. It is quite a busy sandwich but the flavours all work well together and really complement the other.
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Banoffee Pie

2011-01-02T21:59:00.000+11:00

The first time I had Banoffee Pie was in the UK when we were over visiting family in 2003. My Aunt made it for us to have after lunch one day. And ever since I have been hooked. It is delicious. When I was over there last Christmas we had it for dessert a lot, but in a 'de-constructed' form. Yummy.

Banoffee Pie is named after the ingredients it is filled or 'flavoured' with, Banana, Toffee (which is actually a caramel) and coffee. There are a couple of other ingredients, we'll get to those later. Banoffee pie is not a traditional pie as there is no pastry top or 'lid', instead the 'lid' is whipped cream, although I guess if you think about it, to be called a pie something just seems to need a lid of any kind. Shepherds Pie, Cottage Pie, Lemon Meringue pie (Yum!)...anyway, moving on.

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The Best Bolognese Sauce

2010-12-31T15:35:00.003+11:00

Now because it is summer here, I have been doing a lot of summer time recipes with all my wonderful summer ingredients. And a few of you have mentioned how jealous you are of me. And so you should be. It's 40C (104F) here today, beautiful and sunny and my herb garden is overflowing. And so because it is 40C, and because I am crazy, I decided to make a bolognese sauce. But not just any bolognese sauce. The Best Bolognese sauce. Ever. And tomorrow I am going to use it to make my Super Special Lasagne. Yummy. Everyone loves Lasagne.

Fancy Tomatoes on Toast

2010-12-30T11:23:00.000+11:00

Some might say that I am obsessed with basil. And lately I have been using it in my recipes a lot. But remember this post? Where I showed you how out of control our basil was? Well, it's gotten even more out of control and it smells and looks amazing and I just can't help it! Every time I walk past that massive bright green bush and smell the deliciousness I am just compelled to pick some and then throw it in my meal. I'm thinking a good basil pesto is in order soon, even just so we can trim the bush back a bit and allow for some new growth. I just love having fresh herbs and fruit in our garden.

Pavlova Roll with Berry Basil Salad

2010-12-27T11:24:00.006+11:00

The dessert traditionally eaten on Christmas day is the Christmas Pudding. Christmas pudding is a steamed or boiled (we steam ours) spiced pudding with glace cherries, dried fruit (mainly raisins and sultanas, dates, currents) and sometimes candied fruit peel (we don't put any in ours). It is delectable and I will be sharing my Grandma's recipe here later on this week. But in our house we have some strange people. They do not like raisins or sultanas, or they just flat out don't like dried fruit. It is a true horror. So normally what they do is have a tinsy bit of cake and pile it with Brandy Butter and Double cream (what one serves with Christmas pudding) and be done with it. This year I was employed to provide another dessert to appease those strange folk who don't like pudding. So I decided on a Pavlova roll, a different take on the classic Pav and a favourite in our house. (some people in our house also don't like berries, so I only put the salad on half, as you can see...sillies)

Christmas Tales

2010-12-25T20:21:00.002+11:00

Christmas was good this year. My Uncle, Aunt and Cousin came down from the Gold Coast where they live and we had a glorious day of family, food, presents and fun.

Although the day started off with my waking at the butt crack of dawn (okay, so it was 7:55) to make a pavlova that was promptly emaciated when I got into the shower and someone forgot to turn the oven off, it was all okay, I made another one after Church and the day was on its way.

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Banana Cinnamon Biscuits

2010-12-23T17:06:00.003+11:00

Today is Christmas Eve Eve and after going to pick up the dogs vaccination certificates from the vets I was bored and decided to make biscuits. As I was perusing my mental biscuit (cookie) catalogue there wasn't really anything that struck my fancy. Then I thought about these cinnamony type biscuits that I'd had at some point in my past. They were yummy. Then I saw we only had one banana left (we go through on average 25 bananas a week in our house), and I decided that I would make Banana Cinnamon Biscuits.

I wasn't sure how they would work out with the fresh banana in them, but I have to say that they were scrumptious. I used my go-to basic biscuit base that is super easy to modify and went from there. Really, it's not that difficult. My grandma liked them, and she doesn't like fruit (Shock and horror I know!) although she could have possibly been humouring me... Either way here was the outcome of my biscuit making venture. They were a success if I do say so myself.

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Pan Fried Fish with Lemon and Caper Browned Butter

2010-12-22T07:47:00.002+11:00

I went to the supermarket yesterday. I had to get things for Christmas Dinner, things that we aren't having delivered from the market. So while I was risking life and limb in the shopping centre I was also pondering what I was going to make for dinner that night. The cupboard was bare in for all intents and purposes, although I did discover some mouldy baked beans when I was searching for the salted capers in the fridge, I binned those (not the capers, they appear in the recipe below).

As if just having to even enter the shopping centre 4 days before Christmas wasn't bad enough, they (Coles) had sold out of the brand of mascarpone that I wanted. That seriously irked me. I guess lots of people are going to be having something with mascarpone in it this Christmas. So as if that wasn't annoying enough, Coles fresh produce sucks arse, and they didn't have any brussel sprouts. They didn't have any sheep's milk yoghurt either. But I did find some gluten free gnocchi, so I don't have to make my own every time now! Coles narrowly avoids a massive fail. New GF offerings for the ~~win~~ pass. I still prefer Safeway.

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Buttermilk Berry Cake

2010-12-21T11:44:00.001+11:00

So this cake is a relativity new one in my repertoire, but it is fast becoming one of my favourites. With the summer berry season upon us here this cake comes out every time we have some berries that are just teetering on the edge of going bad (cause I have issues with over-ripe fruit). The cake is wonderfully light and has a wonderful flavour thanks to the lemon zest and nutmeg that lends itself perfectly to the berries that top it. Last night I was in the mood for some baking and so made this cake with a bunch of raspberries we had in the freezer.

Oh Summer days...

2010-12-20T16:43:00.001+11:00

I love Summer. Summer means sun, the pool, the beach, friends, parties (read: boozing it up with mates in the glorious heat), Christmas, New Years, beach holidays, family, Australia day and no Uni reading. Summer in our garden means lots and lots of flowers. Flowers make excellent photography subjects, they are pretty and they stay still without complaining, unlike little brothers. So on this cold, dreary, windy, rainy SUMMERS day here in Melbourne I am posting some photos I took of the beautiful flowers in our garden to try and cheer me up and remind me that the heat is coming back again...hopefully, one day soon...

Gluten-Free Cinnamon Rolls

2010-12-20T10:54:00.002+11:00

So last year I went to the USA for a few months. While I was there, apart from being completely astonished that you could buy baked goods in a can, I fell in love with Cinnamon Rolls (my gut did not as I was very naughty and ate ones full of gluten, I was and was not sorry at the same time). In Aus they would be called a cinnamon scroll (for all those Aussies out there, these are better than Brumby's!)

Then I left the US and went to stay with my Aunt and Uncle (and cousins) in the UK. I tired to make my own cinnamon rolls gluten-free (I had most definitely seen the error of my ways, being back on more supplements that I care to remember) using The Pioneer Woman's recipe (people rave about her cinnamon rolls). Needless to say, they did not work. They tasted okay, but did not hold a candle to those I'd sampled across the US. All in all I reported the effort as a solid Fail.

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Tuscan Tomato Sauce

2010-12-19T16:29:00.002+11:00

On Fridays we usually have a fridge full of left-overs. We had the same thing this week but this week we also had an over abundance of Basil. Even after I made my super yummy Basil Brownies we still had HEAPS left over. I initially wanted to make a basil pesto, because it is the only sauce that my brother will put anywhere near his pasta, but we were out of pine nuts, and you can't make basil pesto without pine nuts. So instead I settled on my ultimate favourite tomato sauce, because if there is anything that basil just goes perfectly with, it is tomatoes (and berries and now chocolate)!

This sauce is super simple. I call it Tuscan Tomato Sauce. I don't know if it really is Tuscan, but it is how our next door neighbours (Italian ex-pats) make their base tomato sauce. You can use this sauce for anything, pasta, as a base for a meat sauce, lasagne, pizza base sauce, tomato soup base, spread it on your toast, take a shower in it (okay so maybe not on the last two...). We have however successfully used it as fake blood, so it is a truly versatile sauce.

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Chocolate Basil Brownies

2010-12-18T14:19:00.008+11:00

So I know that it is early days yet. But I think we have already successfully established that I am a bit of a nut job. I thought about easing you into my craziness, but then I decided that would be a lie. You should know what you are getting straight up. It was inevitable, that I be a little crazy. It goes all the way back to my grandparents. One day I am going to record our dinner conversations and really run you all off for good.

Anyway, onto the original point of this post.

It is summer in my part of the world right now. That means that our plants are going crazy. Our herbs are out of control. Just take a look at our Basil!

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Chocolate Crackles and Honey Joys

2010-12-17T11:37:00.003+11:00

Party food to the max! These beauties are memories from my childhood. Every party worth a damn has these babies, along with Fairy Bread and Jelly Oranges. I once ate 15 chocolate crackles in a single sitting. It was one of my finer moments I must say. The saturated fat from that exploit is still sitting in my arteries to this day.

So without further ado...

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On the 8th day of Christmas

2010-12-17T11:15:00.003+11:00

It is nearly Christmas. 8 days to go. Our Christmas tree is up and making the house smell like a pine forest. Sometimes I think that smell is the best thing about Christmas, cause cleaning up all the damn pine needles sure isn't...

Christmas falls on a Saturday this year, which means boxing day is on a Sunday. This means that we also get Monday and Tuesday off as Public Holidays in lieu. 4 day weekend.Win.

A fair amount goes on around here at Christmas. My little brothers Birthday is on the 30th of December. My little Cousins Birthday is on the 23rd of December (so we are always trying not to forget him, poor fellow). This year my Uncle, Aunt and Cousin (not the one who's birthday is the 23rd, I have 10 cousins...) are coming down to spend Christmas with us. That makes 10 people we have to feed on Christmas day. That is lotsa food!

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Spaghetti Pie

2010-12-16T19:11:00.002+11:00

This recipe is one that my father has made my whole life. It is one of my favourite foods EVER! I don't know where we got the original recipe, but I know that dad didn't make it up. I asked mum and she thinks that it came from an Australian Women's Weekly magazine in the early 80s! I don't really care, I have altered it enough that it possibly hardly resembles the original anyway.

The thing that is different about the meat sauce in this 'pie' is the addition of cinnamon! Yup, you saw it right folks. Cinnamon. It's what makes the dish. I always add a tonne, but if you're not so sure, stick with the recommend amount.

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A new day, a new blog.

2010-12-16T18:09:00.001+11:00

I started this blog earlier today, then promptly closed out of all related tabs and scurried back off to my LiveJournal account with my tail between my legs thinking about how I could turn that into a blog of sorts. I then decided that I didn't want to do that and so sat at my desk for a good few minuets trying to decide on a name for this blog.

I initially though something food related would be the go as it was the folks over at Tasty Kitchen that really made me even consider starting a blog, but then I decided that I would end up posting anything and everything about my crazy unorganised life because that is how I roll, so a food name would become obsolete pretty darn fast. Then because my life (and brain) is crazy unorganised chaos I decided that would work just fine.

If there is anyone actually out there reading this, and if they decide to hang around for any extended period of time they will quickly learn that I am just about as weird as they come. So welcome. And enjoy. Things are only going to get stranger from here.