I have a new toy ;-)

I bought the new Kenwood TriBlade - the one with the masher ;-)

We had mashed potatoes last night - 98% success - the mixer is very easy to use and mashed up the spuds in no time flat

I almost forgot to take a photo - this is all that was left when I finally remembered ;-)

Will be making Chicken Chasseur tonight, with mash, to see if I can get it perfect ;-)

CCC#71 is up and running - sausage rolls ..... yum!

CCC#71  is up and running - sausage rolls ..... yum!

the rainbow cake looks gorgeous

I have made Jazzie's brownies on several occasions and can fully recommend them

we went shopping for a TV and came home with a microwave

We spent a day out last week at the new Gepps Cross Shopping Precinct - what a wonderful collection of shops in the one place!  It opened in June 2009 and we finally went to check it out.  See news story here

We had the most enjoyable day shopping together - well, not really together he went to check out Radio Rentals and I went to Spotlight.  I found some material I had been hunting down for a while (can't show you, as it will be for a quilt block swap partner on my sewing blog)

Anyway, I get to RR and hubby is still undecided which TV he wants - he was alternating between two choices, so I suggested we sleep on it.  He felt guilty about taking up so much of the salesman's time, he asked me if I wanted anything?  silly question!!!   I have been wanting to update the old microwave for quite some time now.  We first purchased the National Panasonic Genius in 1983 - it was a big gutsy appliance 600W of power, big turntable, huge internal oven space which made for a huge microwave.

You can see it here on the right - it took up all of the space next to the cooktop. 
it still works perfectly, but is just too big

here is my new one - I am loving the extra space around it - it seems to make the kitchen look cleaner ;-)

I went to Maggie Beer's Farm :-)

Hi everyone,

I have just got back from a weekend away in the Barossa for a mini school reunion with 10 of my primary school friends - some of us have not seen each other for 35 years or more!   We stayed at the Barossa Valley Tourist Park, which was much bigger than we expected and the cabins were clean and reasonably well maintained.  In fact, THIS was my actual cabin for the weekend.

The weather was a bit cold and windy, which is a bit unusual for this time of year, but it did not dampen our spirits.  We ventured out and about anyway.

We visited Maggie Beer's Kitchen and got to taste some goodies.  The Burnt Fig, Caramel & Honeycomb Ice Cream is just GAWGEOUS!

As part of our reunion, the local girls brought up a heap of food for PotLuck on Friday night.  We booked the common room and had a party.  We did have a curfew though - no noise after 10pm.

We cooked in relays in our own cabins and brought everything to the common room.  I made up a batch of butter chicken & rice and some lasagna. 

One of the girls brought up her chicken curry and her husband's beef curry that was particularly hot - I only had a small serve ;-)  We ended up having way too much food and had some of it reheated for brunch on Saturday.  Saturday was spent sightseeing - we went to Maggie Beer's , Angas Park Fruit, and Wohlers.  Sunday came around far too quickly and it was time to go home.  My husband picked me up and a small group of us went out for coffee & brunch before heading home.

It was a great weekend, but I am glad to be home, back in my own bed ;-)

the cakes for my birthday & not closing this blog ;-)

These are the cakes I got from The Cake Charmer (Leanne).  We had 12 white choc & 12 dark choc mud cake - they were all yummy.   My personal favourite was the white choc mud cake.  Although the little pearl things were very pretty, I don't think I would put them on a cake again, as they were also very crunchy - my Dad thought he had chipped a tooth.

I would most definitely use The Cake Charmer's services again.

I have also decided to keep this blog open.

First Rose of the season

Here is our first rose for the season

I love going out in the garden after some rain ;-)

On the hunt for a clear 3 tier cake stand

I am preparing for my 50th birthday party ;-)

I need a cake stand to display some cupcakes - I saw them in Cheap As Chips a while back ...... I know, I hear you saying 'you should have got them then!'  I know, I know ..... ;-)

I have already tried the two CAC's that are near me, but they have none.  I am off to TTP & spotlight tomorrow - Any other suggestions would be great !

Updating the Breadmaker Story

We had all sorts of problems getting a satisfactory loaf with the Breville - then it started beeping continuously at me, so I returned it and got a Sunbeam Bakehouse.

The very first loaf was a score of 9 out of 10!  Our second loaf was 10 out of 10!

I really like this machine.  It makes a much nicer loaf - more of an upright loaf and is so much easier to cut.

On Friday for luch, I made myself a Grilled Cheese & Tomato Toasted Doorstop.  For those that may not know, a Doorstop is a really thick slice of bread.  It looked so yummy, I didn' even stop to take a photo ;-)

Challenge #67 is up and running

The Admin Team at http://www.taste.com.au/ have set the challenge for this fortnight!

Cook's Club Challenge 67

The Pumpkin, Lamb & Feta Pasta bake looks good ;-)

Spring has Sprung

It was a lovely sight today - the blossoms seemed to all pop up overnight (not quite, but you know what I mean LOL)

Pity about the white balance being wrong !!! 

that's what I get for not checking the camera before taking shots!

Cooks Club Challenge 65 is up and running

Challenge 65

the prawn dish sounds lovely - another dish 'just for me' ;-)

Cook's Club Challenge #64 is up and running

Garlic Chicken .................. oooo, it looks so nice

Challenge #64

will have to keep this one in mind when we have visitors and I can cook a little single serve of something for hubby ;-)

Orchids in Bloom

my orchids are almost ready to bloom

My new toy - a learning experience ;-)

Have had two attempts at making the perfect loaf of bread - we have attained a 95% success rate ;-)

the first loaf (750g) was not crusty enough on the top, but lovely everywhere else.
the second loaf (1kg) raised too much and stuck to the window, but was lovely to eat nonetheless ;-)

I am attempting another 750g loaf today, following the instructions on the Laucke Breadmix packet.

We will have crusty bread with our Pasta Carbonara for tea!

We have a breadmaker!

Yes, I have given in - hubby has wanted one for a long time, and now that I have the time to try some new things in the kitchen, I agree with him ;-)

we had our first loaf last night, and I was so excited, I didn't take any photos ;-(

I will post some pics on the weekend after we have had another play.

Cook's Club Challenge 61 is up and running

New challenge is up an running HERE

I can't believe how quickly the weeks are going - I completely MISSED challenge 60 - HERE

I am going to make the Chocolate Self saucing pudding ..... mmmmmmm

Scenery matches my mood ;-(

The view from the front porch matches my mood today ;-(

However, I did notice lots of raindrops on the plants, so I thought I would have play with some macro shots - my favourite type of photography ;-)

I love how the reflections of the raindrops are upside down

(upside down, Miss Pat - anyone remember what TV show that comment comes from?)

After the rains

I love taking photos after rain

Just Joey - Just Beautiful!

View from my window today

This was the view out of my window earlier this afternoon.

the autumn leaves were almost glowing against the grey sky

So I stayed inside and spent the day sewing ..............
see my posts on http://www.cathy-mysewingroom.blogspot.com/

Flickr

This is a test post from , a fancy photo sharing thing.

Cook's Club Challenge #57 - my turn ;-)

it is my turn for Cook's Club and I must confess, this time it has been difficult to pick my three dishes.


Whilst going through my favourite things to cook, I realised that most of the dishes I cook now are actually from Cook’s Club Challenges!

I always used to have problems with my timing when doing a roast, but this one flows beautifully.


Roast Rack of Lamb & Potatoes (serves 2)
Ingredients
1 french cut Rack of Lamb (8 ribs - approx 300-400g)
Herbs – Rosemary & Thyme – approx 1 tsp each (adjust to suit personal taste)
Extra Virgin Olive Oil – 2 tbsp
Potatoes - 2-3 medium sized
Serve with your choice of vegetables and gravy.


Divide rack of lamb into two sections and marinate in Oil & herbs (I use a zip lock bag) for 30 mins.
Pre-heat oven (I set my oven to approx 190C)
Peel potatoes and cut into quarters and rinse.
Line Roasting dish with baking paper – give a quick spray of olive oil. Place cut potatoes curved side down and give a quick spray with olive oil.

Bake potatoes in oven for 20 minutes.
Turn potatoes to a flat side and bake for a further 20 minutes.

At the 10 minute mark of the second 20 minutes pre-heat frypan and place marinated lamb racks skin side down (I usually have the Heart Smart cuts of lamb, so the skin is almost not there) and cook for 2 minutes, turn lamb and cook each surface for 2 minutes. Remove from frypan. (I use this frypan with the residual oil & herbs to cook up some mushrooms).

Around now, the timer for the potatoes will be going off.


Take roasting pan out of oven and turn potatoes over to the other flat side and place the rack of lamb in roasting tin and return to oven for another 20 minutes (may take a bit longer depending on your oven and the size of your rack of lamb).

Please forgive the out of focus photo – I think the heat from the oven fogged up the lens ;-)


Remove lamb from oven and rest for a short time (cover with aluminium foil) while you plate up your potatoes and whatever other vegetables you have prepared. Enjoy!

Next is a salad that I got from my SIL – we have it whenever we have a BBQ


Pasta Salad

Ingredients


Pasta - approx 150g
Kabanas – 1 stick
Gherkin – approx 1 tbsp chopped (or more if you like gherkin)
Cubed Cheese – approx ½ cup
Boiled Egg x 1
Mayonnaise
Mustard Sauce

Mix up mayonnaise & mustard sauce – I do about ¼ cup mustard sauce, ¾ cup mayonnaise – you can alter ratios to suit your preferences
Slice up Kabanas, gherkins and chop up eggs & cheese
Mix all ingredients together in a large bowl


Next is a dish that has been in my ‘to try’ list for quite some time – so I will be trying it along with you ;-)


Chocolate Cheesecake Brownie Slice
http://www.taste.com.au/recipes/15334/chocolate+cheesecake+brownie+slice

I made bread!

We often visit SIL and have bread made using her breadmaker.  DH always raves over it and says we should get a breadmaker too!   I am reluctant to spend $200 on something I don't think we would use that much.

I figured we did not NEED a breadmaker.  My Sunbeam Kitchen Centre (a 21st birthday present from my parents in 1981) had dough hooks and could mix everything nicely. 

My SIL uses the Laucke Crusty White breadmix, so the next time I went shopping I got some.

On Saturday afternoon, I got out my trusty Sunbeam Kitchen Centre and my experiment began!

Here is my first bread - waiting to rise

Here it is risen!  it actually rose!

I divided the mix into four rolls - next time I think I will do 6 - cooked for about 20 mins in the oven and placed in basket wrapped in tea towel while I cooked Fillet Mignon & Chips

Here they are sliced and buttered - the crust is sooo crusty.

We will be having the other two rolls tonight toasted with scrambled eggs!  usual Sunday night fare!

the Photo that started it all ;-)

This is the photo that started my interest in photograpy!

Taken in 1994 at the Adelaide Grand Prix.

Kitchen Helpers - there are benefits! ;-)

My SIL Sharon had a party recently, and we all helped out in the kitchen - as you do!

From Left to right:  my niece Lauren, my other SIL RosaLia and me (in red)

There are benefits to helping out in the kitchen .......... you get to taste test things first ;-)

CCC followers may notice I am serving up pizza wheels (see my blog HERE)

The surprise is however, I did not make them ...... my niece did!  It seems they are popular with all generations!

P.S. Looks like we have not hidden our Coolabah  ;-)  do you hide yours?  ;-) (just a little aussie humour)

Cook's Club Challenge #56 is up and running

CCC#56 is up and running

Chocolate Sticky Date pudding with Butterscotch Sauce looks VERY NICE!

Cook's Club Challenge #55 is up an running

CCC#55 is up and running.

I am going to try the lasagne and the spaghetti with prawns - YUMMO!

Cook's Club Challenge 54

Cook's Club Challenge 54 is up and running - go check it out!

the cajun spices for the chicken sound good

Cook's Club Challenge 53 is up and running

CCC#53 is up and running.

check it out - looks like I may have some competition for my mousse ;-)