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Rob baked my birthday cake, Nigella's Blonde Mocha Cake.



I think a birthday is a good time to take stock, I've been meaning to do this blog post for some time.

Making: the most of leftover roast chicken with a salad for dinner tonight.
Cooking: I need to cook a pavlova using my new pavlova plate (seen above with my birthday cake on it), as you can cook it straight onto the serving plate.
Drinking: Lanson Champagne (a birthday treat for myself).
Reading: I have been on a roll, after nearly a year-long break from reading fiction. I finished my two Christmas books from Rob, both Alexander McCall Smith. I finally finished Mr Wigg, which has sat next to my bed as I found it so poignant, and could see the end coming. Next up is the Book Thief.
Wanting: Some Ridgeline Pottery dinner plates.
Looking: at the Australian Open tennis online, after missing my annual tennis fix for the last three summers.
Playing: Taylor Swift's "Shake it off" on a loop just to see the girls dance.
Wasting: home grown lettuce on the girls, we hopefully put it on their plate every time we eat it, but they are not fans.
Sewing: um, nothing.
Wishing: for summer to return after a week of rain and wind.
Enjoying: Call the Midwife and Sherlock on iView. Late to the party, but that's ok. Except that I cry in every episode of the former, every birth, no matter what the outcome, big fat tears rolling down my face.
Waiting: for the girls to sleep through the night, any tips?
Liking: the abundance of flowers in our picking garden at the moment.
Wondering: how I will cope tomorrow with my first day at work after a month's holiday.
Loving: my little family.
Hoping: to blog a little more this year.
Marvelling: at the expanding vocabulary of Maggie and Elisabeth, and the way they are actually starting to talk to each other.
Needing: a hair cut.
Smelling: the oriental lilies from the garden, the tree like Barbaresco.
Wearing: my pyjamas of course!
Following: Lisa Kingston, a local flower farmer on Instagram, and working up the courage to ask if I can come and learn how to make up bunches of flowers.
Noticing: how big the ornamental pear trees that line our driveway have grown.
Knowing: I should go to bed.
Thinking: not sure how much conscious thinking goes on for me at the moment.
Bookmarking: children's toys for buying next year for the girls birthday and Christmas!
Opening: lovely thoughtful gifts and cards from my family and friends. Rob's special gift was a set of black pearls. They are beautiful.
Giggling: at the Evian baby ads.
Feeling: grateful.

I might try to do this again once a month.....

Day 13 - Granola

To be precise home made granola. We use a recipe in Nigella's Feast - she credits the recipe to Andy Rolleri of the Pantry in Fairfield Connecticut.

I had been experimenting with reducing the amount of sugar in it, but after a bit of a failure last time I decided to return to the original recipe. It is so good! I'll just have to reduce the amount I eat at breakfast.



My slight modifications to the original recipe in Feast

5 cups rolled oats
1 cup sunflower seeds
1 cup pumpkin seeds
175g (200ml) apple compote or apple sauce
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1/3 cup golden syrup
4 tablespoons honey
100g (3/4 cup tightly packed) brown sugar
2 cups whole almonds (or hazelnuts or any other nut you'd prefer)
1 teaspoon sea salt
2 tablespoons sunflower oil
1 cup coconut flakes

300g raisins (or sultanas or other dried fruit)

Heat the oven to 170 degC.

Mix everything except the dried fruit and coconut in a bowl. I microwave the honey and golden syrup so that it's runny.

Spread out the mix onto two baking trays covered with baking paper.

Bake in the oven for 30-40 minutes. I watch it carefully as it can burn easily, after 15 minutes use a spatula to turn the mix over, and add the coconut flakes on top.

Allow it to cool and then mix in the dried fruit (which I inevitably forget so end up mixing in a handful each day into my bowl).

Serve with milk, greek yoghurt and fruit compote (today it was the rest of the apple compote I made for the mix).

Thanks Andy and Nigella.

Chocolate caramel peanut squares {Nigella and Women's Weekly}

I am feeling much more relaxed. An afternoon in the kitchen yesterday did wonders. I cranked up some 80's dance music on the Tivoli, made a list and worked my way down.
Caramel slice, Massaman curry and Speckled (fruit bread).
As we had a packet of peanuts I decided to roast some and inspired by Nigella add them to the caramel. So here's my caramel slice, I see I noted in Nigella's Forever Summer last time I made this, dangerously addictive.

For the base:
1/3 cup self-raising flour
1/3 cup plain flour
3/4 cup desiccated coconut
3/4 cup brown sugar
225g in salted butter, melted

Preheat oven to 180degC. Grease 20x30cm rectangular pan, line base and sides with baking paper extending over the long sides.

Combine sifted flours, coconut and sugar, add melted butter and mix. Press firmly into the base of pan. Bake for 20 minutes.

For caramel filling:
395g can of sweetened condensed milk
30g butter
3 tablespoons golden syrup
250g salted dry roasted peanuts

Combine condensed milk, butter and golden syrup in a saucepan and stir over a medium heat until caramel is light golden brown, about 10-15 minutes. (I may have pushed it a bit far, very firm caramel!)
You can either stir the peanuts into the caramel now, or as I did sprinkle them over after you've spread it onto the base. Bake 10 minutes, then cool.

For chocolate topping:
375g chocolate (i like a thick chocolate topping, original just has 185g)
3 teaspoons vegetable oil

Melt the chocolate with the oil in a microwave, stir until smooth. Pour over cold caramel. Refrigerate at least 3 hours then slice.

Happy Queen's birthday holiday to you.

Apple and fruit mince crumble

So on Saturday night, in the middle of the great wardrobe dismantling session, we realised we should get some dinner on. Rob put a couple of chooks to roast in the Weber, and some vegetables in the oven to roast. I wanted something for dessert, but wasn't feeling like making anything fussy or too heavy.


I looked at what was at hand, some apples, and decided on a crumble. In the middle of peeling and slicing the apples (made easier by one of those coring machine thingys) and mixing up the crumble topping, I remembered that we had several jars of matured fruit mince in the fridge, so decided to add that too.

It took probably 10 minutes to prepare, cooked for 30-40 mins, and according to Rob was "the best dessert I've eaten ever". This is quite a big call, as he's certainly tried a few desserts in his time, but he does have an inordinate fondness for fruit mince (which is normally quite seasonally inappropriate at Christmas). It certainly has won me brownie points over the last few days, and the best bit was that we ate it cold for breakfast the next day.

So here's my "recipe"

Fruit Mince {based on Nigella's recipe in How to be a Domestic Goddess, as an aside I love that book}

250g soft dark brown sugar
250ml medium dry cider (I used Muscat instead)
1kg cooking apples, peeled, halved and quartered
½ tsp mixed spice
½ tsp ground cinnamon
500g dried mixed fruit (I used currants, raisins and sultanas)
75g glace cherries, roughly chopped (we use the dark red sort, not the fake bright red ones)
100g blanched almonds (I used hazelnuts)
zest and juice of ½ lemon
3 tablespoons of quince jelly (my variation)
6 tablespoons brandy

In a large saucepan dissolve the brown sugar in the cider/muscat over a gentle heat. Add the roughly chopped apples to the saucepan. Add all the ingredients, apart from brandy and simmer for around 30 minutes until everything has a pulpy consistency. Take off the heat and when it has cooled slightly stir in brandy. Store in sterilised glass jars, we keep ours in the fridge.

Crumble {Annabel Langbein's recipe}
250g flour
125g ground almonds (or use a total of 375g flour)
375g brown sugar
200g rolled oats
100g almonds, chopped or flaked
2 tsp mixed spice
250g butter, melted
Mix the dried ingredients together and add the melted butter, and mix with a wooden spoon until evenly combined.

5 apples (I used granny smiths)
3 tablespoons caster sugar

Butter an oven proof dish. Peel, core and slice apples and arrange on the bottom of the dish.
Spread about 2 cups of fruit mince over the top, or more to taste.
Top with about half the crumble mix (freeze the rest for later use).
Cook in an oven at about 180 degC for 40 minutes or until the crumble is browned and crispy.

Serve with cream or even sour cream.