Birthday celebrations

My sister and my dad share a birthday month. In fact, their birthdays are exactly one week apart. We had a special family celebration last weekend with a special dinner, cake and present opening. The weekend was cold and wet but it was still a lovely time hanging out with my wonderful family.

Happy birthday you two!!!
Hope the coming year is amazing for you both xxx

Presents!!!

Duck a l'orange

For the unbelievers - Qworn a l'orange

I scream, you scream, we all scream....

...for ICECREAM! Well actually Soy icecream and strawberry sorbet but what's a few details between friends...

The birthday cake...yes it tasted as good as it looked!

The cake in all its birthday finery

Surprise - its a coloured layer cake! Super Fancy. Thanks to my talented mummy!

I want a piece now!!!

xxx

I just have to show you these...

My gorgeous new smoky blue bath towels. Supima cotton, gorgeous and simple and soothing.
Can't wait to use them tonight!

xxx

Roast cauliflour dip

Hummus by any other name...is roast cauliflour dip!

This recipe spoke to me. It practically yelled at me as I flipped through my sister's christmas present (thanks for sharing Rhi!). A Janelle Bloom recipe, this is so simple and tastes divine. It takes slightly longer than hummus to make, only because you've got to roast the cauliflour first. I changed her recipe a little to cater to more non-adventurous palates (NOT mine!), and I've made the abridged version twice now; a resounding success at both events.

Roast Cauliflour dip

Recipe originally from Janelle Bloom; has been adapted so would not look much like her original one now.

 

Ingredients

400g cauliflour
4-10 cloves of garlic (I'm a more is more kinda girl)
1 teaspoon cumin
1 teaspoon ground coriander
salt and pepper to taste
1 tin chickpeas (drained)
2 tablespoons tahini
juice of one lemon
a dash of chilli flakes
olive oil (the recipe calls for 60ml, I'm sure I've used much more than that...really enough that it emulsifies to the correct consistency)
Crusty bread to serve
2 tablespoons pine nuts, lightly toasted

Chop the cauliflour into small pieces (or blitz in the food processor!) and place on a baking tray with the garlic cloves (still in their paper....trust me on this) and drizzle with a small amount of zee good olive oil. Season with cumin, coriander, salt and pepper. Roast until tender.
Add cauliflour, the soft, mellow, sweet innards of the garlic cloves (sqeeze the cloves and the garlic just pops out easy peasy), chickpeas, tahini and lemon juice to the kitchen whizz and then while the machine is running slowly drizzle in the oil until the desired consistency is achieved. Taste. You may need to add more seasoning, depending on your taste.
Toast the bread (I like a turkish pide done in the oven) and slice and serve next to the dip. Drizzle with a small amount of olive oil and top with toasted pine nuts.
It makes a large amount. But keeps remarkably well if stored in the fridge. Have never tried the freezer (the dilemma of storing it long term has never been a problem) but would be worth a shot if you're only making it for one person, or you could halve or even quarter the recipe).

It will be difficult to stop at just one piece. In fact, I might just go have some now...

xxx

Arachniphilia

Over the last week we seem to have had an explosion of spider webs and spiders around the place. I'm most assuredly a look but run fast in the other direction if it appears to be moving towards you kinda girl. Live and let live as long as they are not threatening my existence. Thankfully there are none inside.

I've been marvelling at these over the last week though. Their webs are so intricate, detailed and actually quite lovely. Their abdomen's are so beautifully patterned and volumptuous and they have a poisonous beauty of sorts.

Spideeeeee!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

xxx

Lemon (and coconut) tart

This is a favourite of mine. I LOVE this tart. I was so sad when I found I couldn't eat dairy. I was a dairy fiend. Milk, yoghurt, cheese and chocolate were all staples in my diet. I also LOVE cheesecake and creamy tart fillings. I thought I'd give this recipe a go, but substitute the cream for coconut cream. I'm so glad I took the gamble. Was SO SO worth it. It takes a bit of time, but if you like lemon desserts, you'll love this recipe.

Lemon tart

Ingredients

Pastry case
3/4 cup plain flour
1/4 cup almond meal
1/3 cup icing sugar
1 egg yolk
125g dairy free spread (or butter)

Lemon filling
1/2 cup lemon juice
1 tablespoon fine lemon zest
5 eggs
3/4 cup castor sugar
1 cup coconut cream (Full fat. Just face it, this isn't a health food so don't even bother pretending. Eat it in moderation, do some exercise and you'll be fine) (or normal cream)

I"m a more is more kinda girl. I love really lemony lemon flavours so I tend to add just a little bit more. If you don't like it too lemony, just reduce the quantities of the lemon.

Preheat oven to 200 degrees C/180 fan forced.
Blitz the pastry case ingredients in a food processor until a dough is formed. Refrigerate for 30 minutes then roll out between two pieces of grease-proof paper until desired size. Line your tart/flan tin with grease-proof paper and then gently put the pastry in the tin. Chill again for 30 minutes. Cover pastry with more grease-proof paper then add pastry-weights/rice/beans. Cook for 15 minutes or until lightly golden.
Remove pie weights and grease-proof paper and add the lemon filling (combine all ingredients and whisk for a couple of minutes) and the bake until set. The original recipe calls for 20 minutes or so. I generally have to go between 40-60 depending on the size of my flan tin. Just keep an eye on it (you shouldn't leave the house with an oven on anyway).

Cool, then cut into generous sized pieces (keeping in mind it is quite rich and very filling) and serve with vanilla So Good icecream (or icecream of your choice...vanilla is the best though!).

I'm not sure I've said this enough. This is SO nice. In all its luscious lemony goodness.
Bon appetit!

xxx

Spinach and potato frittata

Don't know about you, but I"ve got dinner tonight sorted.

Vegetarian, remarkably quick and super tasty. Yum!

Spinach and potato frittata

Ingredients
400g potatoes - I used kipfler - cut into 3 cm chunks
olive oil
half a bunch spring onions - finely sliced
2 portabella mushrooms, chopped finely
1 teaspoon garlic - chopped finely
1 teaspoon mixed herbs - I used an italian mix of parsley, oregano and basil
6 eggs
1/4 cup soy milk
1 box frozen spinach - defrosted and well drained
salt, pepper and chilli flakes to taste

Cook potatoes until tender. I microwave, you can boil or steam (whichever your preference).
Meanwhile, heat olive oil in an oven safe frypan and cook springonions and mushrooms until soft. Add cooked potatoes and lightly fry until golden. Add garlic, herbs and spinach .
Lightly beat eggs, milk, salt and pepper together and add to the frypan. Mix well then cook on the stove top for a further few minutes. Finish cooking in the oven (180 degrees 10-15 minutes depending on how deep your frittata ends up in your frypan...may even be longer if very deep).
Slice into wedges and serve warm with a tossed salad.
Enjoy!

xxx

What's shiny, silver and purple and goes really fast??

My gorgeous new mountain bike!

Can't wait to get out there and enjoy the many off road tracks around SE Queensland. It doesn't hurt that it will help me get fit and get fresh air in the process...excited!

Wouldn't want to be hauling these on too many road biking missions, but will be worth their weight in gold once I"m off road!

 

Not so convinced about the peddles yet...will see. At least they are easily replacable if necessary.

 

xxx