In My Kitchen January 2016 + My Sunday Photo 10 Jan 2016

my new blender - so pretty  

Yay, back to making smoothies for breakfast.  My old blender died over a year ago, and it has taken me this long to get a new one. Love the red!

saffron from Iran  

A lovely Iranian friend went back home over Christmas to see her parents, and brought me back this gorgeous saffron.  Thank you Atee!  It smells divine.

can you see the turtle?  

This is a lovely celadon teabowl from potter Steve Sheridan in the Blue Mountains west of Sydney.  I first saw this on Celia's blog (the former IMK host) and lusted after one for ages.  Mr P. kindly bought me this one for Christmas.  I adore the tiny turtle in the bottom (symbol of longevity).

home made Irish Cream

In my kitchen was the annual making of the Irish Cream.  We have a friend or 2 who likes to partake of this each Christmas.  I seem to remember  a certain Miss M who drank her whole bottle in one fell swoop :=))

a beautiful tea pot from friends   

In my kitchen is this lovely tea pot gifted by friends - so very pretty.  Sadly I don't drink tea except peppermint when I am sick so I will have to leave it to our guests to use it.  (I do have a collection of tea pots though.)  I love the look of them.

my sister says these work wonderfully well  

In my kitchen is a baking dish (or 2).  Sis says they make a wonderfully crisp crust.  And here is another, this time from Mr P.     And yes, it does give a crisp, crunchy crust.

yep this also gives a crisp crust

Swedish moose tea towel   

In my kitchen is a kökshandduk tea towel from Sweden.  My cousin travels each year to outlandish places and brings back fabulous things.  Late last year she went to Sweden and Greenland (be still my beating heart) amongst other countries.  I worked out kök means kitchen; not sure about the rest.

a visiting cat  

In my kitchen is a visiting cat.  She is very friendly, and completely gorgeous.  Where does she come from?  Where does she go?  It is a mystery my friends.

yum!

In my kitchen are my fave sweets.  Soooo delish!  Thanks Mr P.

cute little rabbit    

Lastly in my kitchen is this sparkly little crystal rabbit bought by Mr P. for our anniversary.  I have quite a collection of rabbits in one form or another.  Who can resist?  Just don't buy a real one as a pet in Queensland, else you will be fined and lose your first-born.


This year the In My Kitchen series has moved from its former host Celia of Fig Jam & Lime Cordial to our charming new host Maureen from The Orgasmic Chef.   Thanks Maureen for taking over.  Pop on over to check it out - or join in next month.

This week I am once again joining in the My Sunday Photo hosted by Darren at Photalife.

My Sunday Photo 27 December 2015

making cranberry relish for Xmas lunch    

For some obscure reason, supermarkets have not been selling frozen cranberries at Christmas time as they used to.   So when hubby spied a bag at our local shop, he scooped them up and rushed them home to our freezer.  Once again this year I was able to make cranberry relish for our Christmas chicken and ham.  (And turkey when I get around to defrosting it and baking it).  Don't get me started on the evils of supermarkets and their home brand only items etc!!

Hope everyone had a fabulous and happy Christmas season.  See you in 2016.


  

Mockingbird Cafe Kingscliff NSW - Review

my fave indie bookshop is right beside the cafe - win/win  

Kingscliff in northern New South Wales must be one of the very few places left that actually has a caravan park right on the beach. Not that many years ago, it was common to see them up and down the Australian coast, but developers and big money moved in and snapped up this precious commodity to erect highrises.  Oops, don't get me started on "development".  

Anyway, very happily here we have a beachfront for the ordinary folk :=).  This includes a strip of shops and cafes along the esplanade. Mr P. and I are often to be found down this way, and usually drop in for a spot of lunch at Mockingbird on our way further south.  

Rev me Up - $8

I usually go for Mocha Mudslide but this time I decided to have Rev me Up, laced with coffee, peanut butter and banana.  I am hearing you gasp!  First it was tomato last week and now banana, both of which I have forsworn in the past.  (It must be Christmas madness). This was delicious - cool and creamy, with just a hint of peanut butter and coffee.

vanilla milkshake $6  

Mr P. loves his milkshakes and usually chooses strawberry.  Sis was amazed that this was vanilla:=)  As was I.  Mr P. loved it; he likes it very cold which this was.


Blondie and the Brillo Pad (sis and nephew) met us there for lunch recently.  Blondie is a vego (meat has never touched her lips) and Mockingbird is happy to oblige with meat-free meals.  They use organic where possible, and have their own vegie patch and bee hive.  Baking is done in-house, and meat is ethically sourced. Gotta love that hippie vibe!

peppermint and ginger $4.50

my fave water $5

My favourite bottled water from Mount Warning, which is a remnant of Tweed Volcano (the mountain I mean not the water). Years ago I climbed to the very top; the last bit is where you have to drag yourself vertically up by a chain.  It was winter; it was getting late and dark; hubby and friend couldn't make the last bit so I did it alone in the fog. Scary!

smoked salmon salad with white anchovies $21.50     

This salad was meant to have kipfler potatoes in it; I didn't realise till later that it was potato-less.  Perhaps because we ordered potato wedges as well they didn't think we needed them in the salad?  I had assumed the house smoked salmon would be cold-smoked rather than hot-smoked, but nevertheless it was delicious, and the white anchovies added a tangy aspect to the dish.  I enjoyed the freshness of the meal, and felt like I was getting a dose of healthy. I am going to give this recipe a go myself.  

handcut potato wedges $7 small/$10 large     

Oh my!  These were so delicious.  I know that is a word that gets bandied around but they were!  So plump and firm and tasty.  No sog at all, and a nice wrinkly/crinkly skin. And they actually tasted like something - potatoey, with a sort of nuttiness.  I really hate soggy chips so I was dead happy about these.  I thought the accompaniment was aioli but it was of course sour cream.  No wonder I thought it tasted different.:=) 

BLT on a Turkish roll $16   

Brillo pad said it was fresh and tasty and he liked the softness of the roll, but I think we all thought it would be toasted.  It didn't stop him scoffing it all down though.

Blondie's avo and toast $19      

She was given a generous serve of avocado, and toast which was a healthy multi grain bread.  Blondie was happy to get just what she wanted without any faffing around.  You know how some people like to faff? :=)  She asked for avocado and toast, and they happily obliged.  


 

turtle bean and brown rice burger $19.50      

Mr P. enjoyed his burger but he did say it needed some relish.  We spoke to the owner as we left and the waitress mentioned that the chef normally puts relish on it.  He must have forgotten this day. Mr P. also got wedges with his burger and found them very edible.

All in all, we all enjoyed our meals.  We loved being a hair's breadth away from the ocean, and I loved being right next door to my fave bookshop.  Mockingbird, you know we will be back soon.

Cudgen Creek at Kingscliff 

 

Guacamole - Hot and Spicy

I love guacamole.  Not the one that is zapped in a blender with sour cream; no I like mine chunky and hot.  (Like my men? - I knew you were going to say that).  So I prefer to make my own when I have the time and inclination, which isn't as often as it should be.  This version is taken from Sophie Dahl's online recipes.  Sophie has lots of stories to tell about her amazing family - well worth a read when you have a bit of spare time.  She and I must be twins!  We both love it chunky and hot. 

So I take no credit for this recipe; in fact The Hairy Bikers make a very similar one.  I have done a bit of research and found that either guacamole is not Mexican at all, or it is but only the chunky version with not much in it except avocados, salt and lime. It appears that Mexicans also like to make it thin and mix it with green salsa into a kind of soup - or not.  As Mr P. said, Mexico is a large country with lots of regional differences, so who knows? Well, each to their own.


ingredients:

2 ripe avocados, mashed but still a bit chunky

zest and juice of 1 lime

1 tomato, deseeded and finely chopped

1/4 red onion (or half a small one), finely chopped

salt and pepper to taste

coriander leaves, torn into small pieces - you choose how much, but start with a tablespoon

one small red chilli, very finely chopped or several drops of Tabasco type sauce


Method:


Easy peasy - you know what to do!

Grab a mixing bowl and throw in the avocados, lime zest and juice, the tomato, onion and seasoning

Give it a good stir till combined but not too smooth

Throw on the coriander leaves and chilli as garnish

Serve with corn chips or the bread/cracker of your choice

delish ingredients    

adding the lime juice  

grab a ripe tomato  

chopping the deseeded tomato finely 

delicious chunky guac!  be generous with the coriander and chilli      

I know it looks a bit ratty in these takeaway containers but we were rushing off to a friend's place.  This was part of our contribution to dinner.  Always a great idea to have disposable containers when going out as you don't have to worry about bringing home the plates.

my avocado doodle - did you guess? 

My Sunday Photo 20 December 2015

The Nutcracker

Yesterday hubby and I went off to a Christmas concert at our local Performing Arts Centre.  We walked around for a bit before it started and this is what we saw!  There was a performance of The Nutcracker Ballet on with lots of happy little girls in tutus and fairy costumes running around waiting to go in.  They had 4 huge Nutcracker soldiers at each entrance of the Centre.  It was a lovely, sunny blue sky day filled with happy Christmas revellers.  Thank goodness it was only in the high 20C's rather than the 40C temps they are having down south with the concomitant bushfires.    

Merry Xmas to everyone and be safe!  See you here next year.

Tim Tam Nutella Truffles

nudie Tim Tam balls :=) 

(See the December 2014 post for these truffles, to get the updated version!)

Versions of these delicious little treats have been going the rounds of the Net lately, especially white chocolate ones.  I made these last year, and figured it can only be a good thing to post them again. Mine are a little different to others, in that I roll them in roasted hazelnut meal before coating in dark chocolate.  You may see a bit of an obsession here with hazelnuts and chocolate.  Okay I admit it, it is one of my fave flavour combos.  So as you can imagine, I am a bit of a Nutella freak, (which you may have noticed before in some of my recipes).  


ingredients:

100g. hazelnuts

250g. original Tim Tams 

250g. cream cheese

2 big tbs Nutella

150g. chocolate, melted (I like to use dark chocolate)

Bling i.e. cachous, chocolate hail etc, to throw on top (optional)


Method:

Roast the hazelnuts in a 180C oven for about 12 minutes

Cool for a few minutes, then blitz in a food processor till they become fine meal.  Make sure they don't turn into paste!

Put aside till you do the rolling

Throw the Tim Tams into the processor (no need to clean from blitzing the nuts) and zap away till you have fine crumbs

Add the cream cheese and Nutella and blitz till well combined

Spoon the mixture into a bowl and place in the freezer for 20 mins.

Take it out and form into walnut sized balls - or the size of your choice

Back they go into the freezer for 15 minutes

Take them out and roll them in the hazelnut meal

Into the fridge now for a bit of chillin'

Melt the chocolate and let it cool for a few minutes

Spoon it over the tops of the balls and throw on the bling 

Back into the fridge for a bit more chillin'

Wrap some in cellophane and tie with ribbon for gifting

Tips:

Use whatever version of Tim Tams you fancy; dark choc would be nice

Throw in a few tablespoons of cream with the chocolate before melting if you want the topping to be a bit softer

Okay I have to confess now; I have made nudie balls!  Yes it got to the point where I had made the balls, it was getting late and I thought - right i can bling them tomorrow. Then in the morning I thought - nup, nudie balls are the go.  So that's what I made this year.  They taste great; they are nice and light and not too sweet, and so easy to make. So go ahead and do the nudie thing!

grab your ingredients

all blitzed - sure I know what it looks like :)

getting ready to rock and roll   

nudie balls ready for eating or gifting  

so delish 

my nutty doodle  

A - Z Guidebook - Ghent, Belgium

Ghent in Belgium  

You know all those jokes about Belgium?  Well forget them 'cos Belgium is fabulous.  It is full of pretty and historical cities with beautiful buildings and canals.  Lots of artwork, and the chocolates - oh so delicious.  And did I mention the famous mussels?  Apart from feeling that it all needed a bit of a hosedown - you know just a bit grubby - we had a wonderful time here.

I can't believe that Mr P. and I walked all the way up to the top of the building from where we took this photo.  It is known as St Baaf's or St Bavo depending on which language you speak, Belgium being a mix of French and Flemish speakers.  What you can see are the Belfry Tower and St. Nicholas' Church, which are the other 2 famous towers in Ghent.  

This photo has been dragged out of an old photo album (what's that? I hear young readers exclaim), so please forgive the weird yellow/grey tint to it.  From memory, Belgium really was kind of a weird colour due to the old buildings and grey skies:=)  

I remember marvellous buskers in the streets; the most delicious chocolates ever; oh yes frites in paper cones with mayo (that was such a new idea to Australians then); the zoo in Antwerp; the Museum in Brussels, and on and on.  Belgium, we loved you:=)

Oops, it may not look like it, but this month we are hanging out with the letter G, in the monthly travel linky kindly sorted by Fiona from Tiffin Bite Sized.