Baking...and more baking

We have been very busy in the kitchen of late, although at the moment I'm baking in an old fashioned metal tin - at least I'm certain metal can go in the oven!)

Caramel Slice

The Junior crafter baked a delicious chocolate cake with pink icing and sprinkles (of course).

(She takes icing her cakes very seriously!)

And a banana cake using this recipe which was soooo yummy!

Choose Your Own Adventure Cooking - Fig & Rocket Salad

I needed to use up some beautiful figs before they spoiled, and also had to take something to my Mum's place for a last minute get together, so did a spot of Choose Your Own Adventure cooking.

What I found in the Fridge and Pantry:

Fresh figs

Rocket

Danish Fetta

Olive oil
Honey
Cashews

Method (snicker, making it up as I go along):

Quarter the figs, toss them for about 2 minutes in a frypan with a splash of olive oil and a drizzle of honey. Turn off the pan and leave the figs in the warm honey mix.

Throw the Rocket in a bowl, place figs on the Rocket.

Break the Danish Fetta into small chunks and sprinkle over the Figs.

Sprinkle a handful of unsalted cashews over.

Pour the olive oil and honey mix from the pan over the salad.

I thought it would need a dressing (which I didn't have, eek!) but actually it was really nice without one. The nutty/peppery flavour of the Rocket was a beautiful contrast to the sweet Figs and honey, the Danish Fetta added some creaminess and the cashews gve it a little bit of crunch!

It was really delicious, I'll be making this one again next time I can get Fresh Figs!

The First Birthday

My little man, referred to on this blog as Poor Point 3 or PP3, had his first birthday last week! We celebrated at home with a little afternoon tea for family and one or two close friends, it was lovely (apart from my constant state of shock that an entire year has gone by since he arrived!). Although I shouldn't really be surprised, he arrived after a 2 hour labour and his nickname at home is 'Speedy'!

The Birthday Cake, made by me.

PP3 is the sunniest, happiest little boy you would ever see. He is already walking, he is trying to talk and already has lots of words tucked away in his vocabulary, his favourites being 'more', 'book' 'milk' and 'Dee' which for some reason is the word he uses to refer to both his big brother and big sister (neither of whose names sound remotely like 'Dee').

Happy Birthday my gorgeous boy xx

Choose Your Own Adventure Cooking

I discovered late this evening that there were 6 very overripe peaches and nectarines in my fruit bowl that I did not want to waste, so I decided that dessert was in order. I did think of searching online for an appropriate recipe, but then thought it's been a while since I've done some Choose Your Own Adventure Cooking! I love Choose Your Own Adventure Cooking: I start out with an ingredient (overripe stonefruit in this case) and a vague idea (dessert) and just start chopping and throwing things into pots. Sometimes it works, sometimes it's a great lesson in what not to do. Tonight, it seems, it worked! The result: Fruit Tartlets.

Method (snicker, if you can call it that)

Roughly chop stone fruit and throw into pot.

Add sparkling white wine (because that's what is open in the fridge) and a small quantity of raw sugar.

Simmer.

Forage in kitchen for other suitable ingredients.

Add small handful of blueberries and sultanas, a pinch of cinnamon and a drop of vanilla extract.

Muse over what on earth could be done next with quantity of stewed fruit.

Following suggestion by The Bloke Who Lives At My Place, search for pastry.

Discover shortcrust pastry in freezer. Excellent. Line tartlet tine with pastry.

Fill pastry rounds with stewed fruit.

Rummage in pantry for suitable toppings as not enough shortcrust pastry to cut rounds for lids.
Top with a mixture of hazlenut meal and brown sugar. Inspired!

Bake at 200degrees C for about 10 minutes.

Serve warm with ice cream. Mmm delicious.

All's well that ends well, thanks for sharing my cooking adventures! Do you like to cook 'on the fly'? Make it up as you go along? What daring adventures have you had in the kitchen lately?

Cooking up a storm

Today I've been cooking up a storm:

Beer bread, the easiest bread recipe I've ever made, less than 5 minutes and it was in the oven!

Sweet Potato & Chick Pea Dip, this is a really healthy snack for the kids to have with crackers and carrot sticks, and it's so yummy.

I also made these scrum-diddly-umptious Strawberry Muffins and I just couldn't wait to share this super easy recipe with you, link to recipe here.

Thanks also for all your kind messages re my last post, Poor Point 3 is now completely recovered and sleeping soundly once more :)

White Ribbon Day

Today is White Ribbon Day, the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women.

To support this worthwhile cause you can purchase a White Ribbon - proceeds from the sale of White Ribbons and Wristbands go towards changing community attitudes through high impact awareness campaigns, and you can wear your White Ribbon to raise awareness of this worthwhile cause.

The Bloke Who Lives At My Place is having a morning tea at his work in support of White Ribbon Day, so I baked some White Ribbon cupcakes. I used black cases, and because I didn't want to introduce another colour I sprinkled the white icing with some sparkly edible gold dust; the White Ribbons on top are fondant.

The funniest dessert ever - Blogtober day 25

Today is my little sister's birthday, so we all went out for birthday dinner here which was fun.

The food was pretty good, the service was great and the Margaritas were excellent.

But this dessert really 'takes the cake' (sorry, couldn't resist).

"Dr Tim's Sticky Date Pudding with Self Administering Caramel Sauce".

 *Dr Tim is our local GP, I'm pretty sure he's responsible for this frivolity.

It was delicious.

Happy Birthday J.

The Menu - Blogtober day 22

When I'm not sewing or covering things with paper,  I like to create colourful delights of another kind.

Tonight's menu will feature a delicious blend of organic butternut pumpkin and potato, lovingly cooked and gently blended. This will be complemented by a generous serving of organic zucchini which has been lightly steamed to perfection and pureed for your dining pleasure. Your dining experience this evening will be completed by a wonderfully light and not-to-sweet serving of perfectly stewed organic golden delicious apples to which I have added just a little pinch of love.

Actually, these are the only things my fussy 8 month old will eat. It could be worse I suppose. And being an organised sort of person I cook in bulk and freeze in ice cube trays, then store them in a freezer container.

I tell myself I make my own baby food for the nutritional value and cost saving, but I think it's because I just love the mix of vibrant colours!