So I don't know if anyone is out there . . . . Hellooooooooo? Well in any case, I have decided to start blogging again, but over here. Come visit me :) |
Life & All That Stuff
Saturday, September 1, 2012
Tuesday, March 22, 2011
A word to the wise . . . .
When baking, if a recipe calls for stiffly beaten egg whites to help make to make it light and fluffy:
Now I'm sure it makes a perfectly lovely pavlova. The mixture was thick and glossy, but it certainly didn't work in this capacity . . . for me anyway. Maybe it's just me. Maybe it's the humid weather. I don't know, but this is how they turned out:
I know what you're thinking . . . "Just fill that ridiculously huge sink-hole with frosting and no one will ever know!" right? Believe me folks, there ain't enough frosting in the world to fill these craters :(
So methinks it is off to Woolies for a pack of these for the birthday boy to take to class on Thursday.
- Do not cheat!
- Do not experiment with a recipe that you know works, when you are time poor and have a 40+ cupcakes to bake for a birthday!
- Do not think that you know bwtter than Martha Stewart and her esteemed guests.
- Do not, I repeat, do not expect this to work as a substitute for fresh egg whites.
Now I'm sure it makes a perfectly lovely pavlova. The mixture was thick and glossy, but it certainly didn't work in this capacity . . . for me anyway. Maybe it's just me. Maybe it's the humid weather. I don't know, but this is how they turned out:
So methinks it is off to Woolies for a pack of these for the birthday boy to take to class on Thursday.
Labels:
baking,
cooking,
cupcakes,
disasters,
domestic goddess,
martha stewart
Sunday, March 20, 2011
What's Your Laundry Ritual?
For most of us it's not our favourite household duty but all we aspiring domestic goddesses have our own way of doing laundry. Our own systems (or lack thereof) that vary depending on the size of the family and the time at hand. What's your ritual? For starters, I wash clothes on the weekends, with a couple of incidental loads of towels and stuff during the week. I just find this fits in with life at the moment. PS I have tried other varieties of soakers, but this is the best. I can't explain why, but it just is :) I also pop a capful in the machine with each load (colours too) What I'm washing with at the moment is Nutrimetics Nutriclean Laundry Liquid. I really like this stuff. It is a much thinner, clear blue detergent than you might get at the supermarket. It's very concentrated so you don't need a lot. And it has this lovely light fragrance which oddly doesn't stay in the fabric after washing. The laundry smells clean, but not fragrant. Which to my mind mean that it has completely rinsed outo f the fabric. That has to be a good thing, right? And best of all, none of that crusty detergent residue left on the clean items that then either have to be hand sponged or re-washed. And then there's this
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Labels:
domestic goddess,
houswork,
ironing,
laundry,
laundry rituals
Sunday, February 20, 2011
Recipe Share - Creamy Chicken, Leek & Blue Cheese Pie
No, not reallly seasonally appropriate I know. But a recent facebook discussion on favourite chicken thigh recipes has prompted me to share this one. You see I have trawlled allover cyberspace, and can't find a link for it anywhere, so I have created my own. You asked for it Yvette - you got it :) Creamy Chicken, Leek & Blue Cheese Pie
A real winter warmer. Rich, creamy and delicious. Ingredients:
1. Preheat oven to hot (200℃). Place short crust pastry sheets next to each other on a lightly floured surface, with edges overlapping. Join together by rolling overlapped edges with a rolling pin. Gently ease pastry into a 6 cup capacity pie/baking dish, allowing to overhang. Chill for 20 minutes. Bake for 5 minutes 2. While chilling pastry, heat oil in a frying pan on high. Sauté chicken in batches seasoning with salt and pepper to taste, until browned. Transfer to a plate. 3. Melt butter in same pan on high. Sauté leek for 5-10 minutes until caramelised. Add the mushroom and thyme and sauté for 5-10 minutes until mushroom is tender. 4. In a jug, blend cream and flour together. Blend into leek mixture with cheese. Season to taste. Bring to the boil on high, stirring. Add chicken. Reduce heat to low and simmer for three minutes. Cool. 5. Pour mixture into pre-baked pastry case. Cover with puff pastry and press down edges firmly. Trim excess. Press a fork around edges to seal. 6. Brush pastry with egg. Make a small hole in centre of pastry to allow steam to escape. Bake for 25-30 minutes until pastry has risen and is golden brown. Serve with mashed potatoes and peas or other vegetables of choice. (Serves 6) If you like a stronger blue cheese taste, use the whole 90g packet of creamy blue cheese. Alternatively if blue cheese isn't your thing, try camembert, brie or any other soft and crumbly cheese. Print Friendly Version | ||
Labels:
best recipe,
chicken,
chicken thigh,
family favourites,
main meals,
pastry,
recipes
Sunday, February 13, 2011
Recipe Share -Sunday Pancakes
Alternative Post Title: Too good not to be shared :) So both boys are out of the house this morning, so we girls decided we would have a pancake breakfast! I don't know about you, but I love a good pancake. But for me it has to be light, fluffy, piping hot and melt in your mouth and at least a centimeter and a half high. Do you know how hard it is to get a GOOD pancake when out for breakfast? Most places I have been to they end up being rubbery, flat, cold and good for nothing but Frisbee frankly! Well, no more! Put down that "Shake'n'Pour" because I have the mother of all pancake recipes. I found this probably eight or nine years ago and I can honestly say that I have never ordered pancakes form a breakfast menu again! (Except for twice from the Pancake Parlour while on holidays. And let's face it, if an establishment specialises in pancakes we can pretty much guarantee that they are going to be good. The reason I have never again ordered pancakes from a breakfast menu or buffet? While I am perusing the menu I am thinking to myself "Don't do it, you know you're going to be disappointed, it doesn't matter how good they claim to be - you know yours are better!" and so I move on to Eggs Benedict or the pastry basket! Yes this recipe really is that good! Sunday Pancakes
Sift (or whisk) the dry ingredients into a bowl. Combine the wet ingredients Whisk the wet ingredients into the dry until just combined. Gently fold the egg whites into the batter. Place a large frying pan/skillet over a low heat. Heat until the pan is hot enough so that droplets of water "dance" for a second or two. Add a teaspoon each of butter and oil to the pan and swirl around until meted Pour in half ladle sized portions an when bubbles rise to the top, flip and cook for a further 30-60 seconds. I like to keep a baking dish covered with foil in the oven on the "keep warm" setting. Pop the cooked pancakes in here to stay warm until all the batter has been cooked. Serve in stacks with butter, maple syrup, fresh seasonal fruit, cream, icecream, jam or cinnamon sugar (or all of the above!). Makes 12-14 10cm diameter pancakes (Serves 4-6) Print Friendly Version But don't take my word for it. The proof is in the eating as they say |
Labels:
baking,
best recipe,
breakfast,
cooking,
domestic goddess,
family favourites,
pancake,
recipes
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