The cold continues...

It's 10C outside, the sun has just come out but it's icy cold!  I know what I'd like to do today ... stay in, pottering, knitting, tidying, washing ... but I have to go to work. Bring on the weekend!

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Sticky pork chops ...

http://www.symplytoogood.com.au/_literature_124109/Sticky_Pork_Chops

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I saw this game on Miss Chardy's blog - went online on Monday and it was delivered Wednesday! My girls will love it!

http://youtu.be/bvLo7gV5SrY

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One of my birthday gifts was this tub of Daffodils from my sister, Fred. I mentioned last year that I didn't have any daffs in the ground so she potted some up for me. They popped this week!

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A rainbow over the house across from our dealership, couldn't resist taking the photo...

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Better get going, what are you up to today?

Cheers - Joolz xx

 
 
 

 
 

Jelly Cakes and Chicken Biryani...

I've never had much luck making cupcakes.  They tend to fall flat or overflow or brown too much.  My sister gave me her recipe for her All in Together cake which she uses when making jelly cakes.

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The cakes turned out quite well but were a little flat.  Lucky it doesnt matter once you dip them in cold, near to setting jelly then roll them in coconut.  These were the prettiest six - the others were a bit uglier but hey! - close your eyes and they taste the same.

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I put them all in the freezer as soon as they were finished - after I piped cream inside - (you should have seen the mess with all that coconut!). They are going to work for smoko (my belated offering for my birthday). They will have thawed by smoko time and ready to eat, lovely and cold.

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I tried another curry last night.  I had watched Rick Stein's India on Saturday afternoon and he made a Chicken Biryani.  It looked so good I had to make it!  This is the spice mix of green chillies, garlic, ginger, Kasmiri chilli powder, coriander, turmeric which is mixed with natural yoghurt to marinate the chicken in...

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I trimmed the chicken thighs to get rid of any excess fat and chopped each into about 6 pieces.

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This is the finished biryani. In there is layers of fluffy basmati rice, drizzled with saffron milk and rosewater then the chicked is laid on the rice, sprinkled with crispy fried onions then the layer is repeated.  It is then baked a further 30 minutes to heat it all through so it is steaming. Finally topped with roasted cashews and pistachio nuts...

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It was so good!

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http://www.bbc.co.uk/food/recipes/chicken_and_rosewater_70042

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Served with a cucumber mint raita, I think its one of my favourite curry recipes so far.

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Cheers - Joolz xx

 
 
 

 

Beetroot...

I got the beetroot on boiling at 8.30 this morning...

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Beetroot boilng away and so was the vinegar pickling mix...

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Cooked until just tender...

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Looks like a massacre happened in my kitchen!

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Seven lovely jars of beetroot...

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I'll squish these into my pantry cupboard to pickle for 3-4 weeks then I will do a taste test...

Cheers - Joolz xx

 

Crusty Bread...

Rhonda Jean at Down To Earth 

http://down---to---earth.blogspot.com.au

had this great bread recipe in her Weekend Reading list so I mixed it up, late last night.  Here's the link to the video...

http://www.simplysogood.com/2015/01/crusty-bread-movie.html

 

The bread dough was all bubbly this morning...

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Ready to turn out onto the floured cloth to shape gently into a ball...

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...and onto some baking paper to rise for 30 minutes (while my LeCreuset dutch oven heats up in the oven to 230 degrees)...

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Now the pan is piping hot, drop the dough in and put the lid on...

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After 30 minutes with the lid on, now take the lid off...

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Give it another 15-20 minutes and then its done!

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My mother-in-law gave me this cake stand for my birthday - lucky much?

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It is a great loaf and will be so good for my toast in the morning.  I will definitely be baking this again and will try some of the flavour combinations next time.

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Cheers - Joolz xx
 
 
 
 

 

Macaroni Beef ...

This Annette Sym recipe for macaroni bake is a favourite here.  Low in fat but high in taste...

http://food.ninemsn.com.au/recipes/ibeef/8339726/macaroni-beef-nanette-sym

It is good for hiding veggies - I added a handful of sliced mushrooms to it and capsicum and corn would be good too!

I'll be having the same for my dinner tonight!

Rain has set in for the day...

Cheers - Joolz xx

Sweet Chilli Chicken Thighs...

Matt Preston sure likes easy, comforting food and this recipe is no exception.  Remember his Apricot Chicken recipe I posted about?  This is similar in ease of making and is full of flavour.

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http://tenplay.com.au/channel-ten/masterchef/recipes/sweet-chili-chicken-thigh

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Whack all the ingredients into a big ziplock bag.  I used about 1/2 cup of chilli sauce and it was plenty...

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While it was marinating, I tossed the potatoes in the baking dish and got them roasting (about 20 minutes). Next, in went the chicken fillets with all the juice.

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About 15 minutes before they were done, I tossed in some button mushrooms and stirred the potatoes (which were cooking in the chicken juices now).  Then with 5 minutes to go, I tossed in a big handful of baby spinach leaves and again mixed them through the potatoes and mushrooms to wilt.

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Not the prettiest plating, but a scrummy meal, nonetheless! Down the potato end, you could throw in brussells sprouts, sweet potato, carrots - anything that will roast away while the chicken is cooking.

Give it a go!

Cheers - Joolz xx
 

 

 

Some sunshine at last...

The sun is out today, although it is only going to get to 15C (59F). I think the cold snap is coming to an end - there was yellow pollen from pine trees on my windshield so that signals that spring is not far away.  It certainly has been cold and bleak of late but hey, it is winter.

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Our Foodland had this lovely fresh, just out of the ground beetroot for $2 a bunch so I bought 4 bunches to pickle.  Nothing better.

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I have finished my second strip of my Commemorative Throw and am pleased with how it is going.

I had an email from a fellow blogger, Robyn, who has bought the kit so a gave her a few hints.  I have found you really need to read and re-read the pattern (well, der!) otherwise you can make boo-boos! I did it this morning and purled instead of knitting and had to unknit two rows!
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It looks thicker and thinner is some places but thats just because the stocking stitch patches have rolled under...
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I write up each patch of the strip with the rows and cross off as I go, but you must be careful to do that correctly too. 

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I'm enjoying the different patches and this pattern could be done in any colours of your choice.

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Comfort food here last night - crumbed lamb chops, mashed new potatoes, peas, carrot and lottsa gravy! Do you like gravy like I do? :)

Cheers - Joolz xx

A late birthday get together...

So, did I show you my stunning roses that my huz gave me? 

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I also received these hot, hot pink roses from Pauline ... gorgeous!

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...and still more flowers from my dear friend, Helen!

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We headed to Adelaide to catch up with our girls for my birthday...first up on Saturday, a brunch date with Brianna (Kirby had to do a charity sausage sizzle for work)...

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French Toast...

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Then it was off to Spa on Brougham for some pampering. Pedicures while sipping bubbly!

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Perfect toesies!  We then had a half hour hot stone massage then a half hour facial. I fell asleep! This I know because Bri said I snored! I was relaxed, what more can I say!

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After a slow afternoon, we headed out to Sean's Kitchen for dinner...

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This hot car was parked outside The Intercontinental so Bri did a little pose...

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Sunday, we got ready to head home.  We wanted to go to Ikea to buy some bedside tables and dressers to do up the girls rooms at home. We spent an hour working out what we wanted then went to the storage shelves to pick up our choices. Sold out of everything we wanted!  Aaaargh! 

I was so annoyed - why not put an 'Out of Stock' sign on things if they are unavailable!?

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This put us behind time as we then had to go to Goolwa to pick up a vehicle we had bought. We got away from there at 4pm - not ideal when you have to go across the Coorong in the dark. The likelyhood of hitting a kangaroo is very high!

Luckily, we made it home without seeing any - it must have been too cold for them to be jumping!

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Bri and Kirby went to the Crows v Port Showdown at Adelaide Oval that afternoon.  Here are my lovelies! Mwa mwa, love you! :)

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It was a lovely weekend.

Cheers - Joolz xx