Category: Food

Quinn’s Baptism

/ Renae / 1 Comment

Picture this: A garden party, or high tea if you will, with a beautiful shade sale made by Hubs…

… a crisp white table cloth covering a long table where delightful treats such as salmon sandwiches and freshly baked scones await to be enjoyed, and with this:

… as the centrepiece: 70 cupcakes; a mixture of chocolate and red velvet, delicately decorated with teeny tiny feet:

… made with love by yours truly. Picture people wandering around with a cup of tea in hand, mingling with the well-to-dos of Brisbane (and now, Townsville 🙂 ). Ha!

And now picture rain. Lots of rain. Rain for weeks before the big day, a day before, and on the day. Driving, pelting, unrelenting rain.

*sigh* Hubs and I had been planning Quinn’s baptism for a few weeks, and to be honest, we were convinced it wouldn’t rain. But alas, the weather had other plans. So inside we went, and a lovely time was, of course, had by all.

Quinn wore the “family” baptism gown that we had made for Chance from offcuts of my wedding dress, with the idea that all of our children would wear it. So far so good! There are button holes at the front where, for the boys we put cufflinks, and for the girls, pearl earrings. We will give these to the kids when they are old enough to wear/appreciate them. It’s one of many little traditions that Hubs and I are creating for our little family.

And, just like his brother before her, Quinn cried throughout the whole ceremony. This from a girl who, quite seriously hardly ever cries.

We did have a lovely time, and as usual, it was so great to see everyone and to share this special occasion with family and friends. Thanks y’all!

“Rosemary” Lamb

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I’m not sure how it came about, but when we moved in to this place in April, for some reason I thought we had a whole bush of rosemary growing in our front yard. It didn’t look like the rosemary I’m used to, but when I picked some off and smelt it, it smelled familiar and I was convinced it was rosemary. So I started cooking my lamb it in. In the last 6 months, I have perfected a recipe for lamb shanks in my Chasseur and have had people rave about how good they are.

Last week, I was going to make my famous lamb shanks for Mum and Dad and told Dad that there was some rosemary growing in the front yard. He couldn’t find any so I went and showed him.

Rosemary it was not. I had, in fact, been cooking with lavender. I couldn’t believe it! Dad got some rosemary and I had a smell of the two, side by side, and I swear I could barely tell the difference! What can I say? I make a mean lavender lamb 🙂

Romantic night for 2

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Hubs and I were able to head out to dinner on Saturday night, just the 2 of us, and we both agree that it was one of the nicest meals out we have had in a very long time. We went to the Watermarc restaurant in Wangaratta – we hadn’t been there before but had heard good things about it. We arrived around 7pm and sat at a table outside, along the river. We really wanted to take our time and make the evening last, so we ordered some wine and started off with some oysters kilpatrick. They were fantastic – a great start to a delightful culinary experience. We then ordered 2 more entrees – a margarita pizza and soft-shelled crab. Our theory is that if a place can simple things well, they are onto something. The margarita pizza was delicious and the soft-shelled crab, delightful.

We then went for 2 more entrees to share – house made fettuccine with calamari ragu (yes, we love seafood) and the house made gnocchi with pumpkin and shredded boccocini. Scrumptious! We then went for the jugular and ordered dessert. I had the vanilla creme brulee and Hubs had the Affogato with Frangelico which looked something like this:

 

The presentation of the meals, the service, the flavours, the freshness, the wine and the company were all sensational. We took our time and didn’t feel at all rushed. It was one of those nights we will remember for some time, and a great way to celebrate the end of 4 and half tough years of study, moving around, and great times that we have had.

It was just one of those meals that reminds of this scene from one of my favourite movies, What About Bob:

Every mouthful left me wanting more, and I’m so glad we could end our time in Wangaratta with such a lovely memory.

 

A truffling thought

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I’ve been a bit absent from regular blogging lately, and I fear this trend will continue for the next few weeks months. We are in the midst of planning and packing and (sadly) counting down the days til we leave Wang (18). We are fitting lots of socialising in which has been lovely. We headed to Melbourne last weekend to farewell our “med friends” – this group of people have really made the last 4 years of our lives somewhat amazing, and they will always hold a VERY special place in our hearts. I know that we will certainly keep in touch over the years to come.

Here are the graduates of 2012. Hard to believe we only met them in 2008!

And here is the “support crew” (missing a wife and twins of one the the graduates!!)
And the graduation cake I made for them:

And as yesterday was Hubs’ last day of medicine (he has 2 days of exams next week and then that’s really it!!) we have had a few end-of-med dinners and lunches to attend which has been great. The one we went to on Thursday night was a thank you from the students to the Doctors and teaching staff, and I offered to make some baked goods to hand out as a thank you. I decided to make truffles, as I’d never made them before and it’s always a great idea to try something new when you are making presents for 20 people. (Ahem.) Thankfully, they turned out beautifully:

And everyone was very thankful which was lovely. I made the little boards out of cardboard wrapped in alfoil, and stuck the patties down with melted chocolate. I was worried about them melting but I believe they stayed intact. I made over 100 of these little friggers!

 This coming week:
– tonight I’m making lamb shanks as an end-of-uni treat for Hubs
– tomorrow we’re doing a bit of local sight-seeing and maybe catching a bit of the Wangaratta Jazz Festival (I can hear it from our house)
– Monday night we’re having 6 people over for dinner + Revenge episodes (yes I’m hooked. Don’t judge.)
– Tuesday we are going to the local races for Melbourne Cup Day (like last year)
– Wednesday Mum and Dad arrive and Hubs heads to Shepparton for his exams til Friday
– Thursday I’m hosting Mums group at my house for the last time (boo)
– Friday Hubs and I will hopefully go out to dinner to celebrate the real end of Hubs’ medical degree!!
– Saturday we are having a garage sale

So, you know, enough to keep us busy. I’ve been having a bit of anxiety lately, most likely centred around getting ready for the big move, and am just trying to be aware of it, acknowledge it, and not let it manifest itself in crazy ways. I know we’ll get there. We always do 🙂

Baking wins! Choc-coated mousse balls and strawberry soufflé

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No, mousse, not moose. (Weirdo.) And I’m not talking about the kind of velvety, light, fluffy mousse that would normally appear in this household on a whim of my Hubs. I’m talking about the kind of mousse that you ruin because you overcook the custard, and it becomes hard and thick and gluggy. Delicious, but not quite right. That kind of mousse. Hubs’ solution? Well, Hubs’ solution to most of life’s problems: dip it in chocolate! (Life can get messy around here!)

This is probably the most unappealing photo I could have taken of these delightful treats, as I had just taken them out of the freezer, so sorry about that. I rolled them into balls (yes, that was the consistency) and put them in the freezer for a bit, then dipped them in melted 70% dark chocolate. The one at the front left, I dipped in whole and the chocolate set quickly and thickly around the mousse, so for the rest of them I just used a spoon to drizzle the chocolate liberally over them. They were super rich, but super delish! A fail made into a success I’d say!

My second baking venture for the week was in aid of using the up 5 egg whites (after only using the yokes for the mousse) and since strawberries are cheap as at the moment, a soufflé was on the cards. I served these babies up for dessert with friends on Thursday night, after serving a very tasty Guinness Stew for dinner. I’ll let the photos tell you a bit more!

They looked SO impressive and were very light and fluffy and delicious. I actually forgot to put in half of the sugar, so they weren’t too unhealthy (only 1/4 cup of sugar in the whole recipe) and it really didn’t need it to be honest. They were a real hit!

And for the trifecta, I’ve just pulled a dozen scones out of the oven to take to mums group this arvo. Hubs had a hankering the other day, so you know, 2 birds. Luckily they look amazing, so I won’t need to dip anything in chocolate 🙂 The recipe I use is super quick and easy (3 cups SR Flour, 1 cup lemonade, 1 cup cream; stir with a knife, add fruit bits if you like, cook in hot oven – about 220C for 12 minutes) and are great for when people pop in to say hi. Or when I pop out to say hi! Which I’m about to do. Laters!

Broken baken

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Thank you for your suggestions for my baker’s block last week! There are a few recipes that I will be trying, maybe even today! I ended up going with this chocolate sponge cake recipe. I had never made a sponge cake before, and apparently duck eggs are the bees knees for sponges. Something simple that I could jazz up. The idea was to make a “slab” and cut squares and put cream and strawberries on top. Which I did.  So I went to work, starting off with these beauties.

I had to beat until soft peaks formed. I don’t know if it’s baby brain, or the fact that it’s been quite a long time since I’ve baked, but I used the mixing attachment instead of the whisking attachment on my Kenwood. It took almost 20 minutes for those soft peaks to form. Oops.

 

I also didn’t have any caster sugar – I only ever buy brown sugar – so I blitzed that in the food processor to make it nice and fine. I then had to sift the dry ingredients 3 times and then add them to the egg mixture. The problem was, the corn flour made the dry ingredients sticky and clumpy, and when you add the dry to the wet, you’re not supposed to overmix it. But it was really hard to get it all mixed through!

I chucked it in my pan and into the oven, and played the waiting game. It looked a bit lumpy, but I hoped for the best.

And I got it! So it seemed… When I took it out of the oven it looked like this:

As my Nanny would say, “ooh la la!” It had risen and was soft and bouncy and just lovely. I left it to cool in the pan for 5 minutes, and when I turned back around, someone had burst my balloon 🙁
Oh well. I turned it onto a cooling rack, and cut it into squares. This is when I had my first taste-test. Hmmmm…. I couldn’t quite put my finger on the taste. It was somewhat… feathery. It tasted like farm. The duck eggs. I’ve read they have quite a strong flavour, but I really didn’t think I’d be able to taste it in a cake! It didn’t taste bad, just different. And it may have been my pregnancy related heightened senses playing tricks on me, because everyone who had it said it was yummy. But maybe they were just being nice, as not to make the pregnant lady cry.
They sure did look good! And they were light as a feather! (And tasted light as a feather too…)

So anyway, it was kind of a success and kind of a failure at the same time. We are having people over 2 more nights this week, and one of them is gluten-free so I think I’ll try this jaffa cake that my friend suggested, and use it as part of a trifle since Hubs LOVES trifle and you know, I love Hubs.

Over baked

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I’ve lost my baking mojo. I used to get so excited about finding new recipes and choosing which one to try that week, or going back to old favourites. But lately, the thought of baking makes me feel ho-hum. It could be the constant distraction I know I’d get from Chanbe, but maybe I just need some new inspiration. I’ve poured over 3 recipe books, as well as my folder of loose recipes that I’ve printed out over the years, and nothing is exciting me that much.

And the reason I want to be excited about baking is, not only do I have mum’s group this arvo that I’d like to take something along to, but we are also having people over for dinner tonight (more med students). They are bringing the main course and I said I’d do nibblies and dessert. And I’m kind of known around the med student traps for my baking, particularly chocolate-filled baking, so you know, no pressure or anything. So I’d really like to make something that would suit both occasions. Oh, and I’ve been given 10 fresh duck eggs from our friend’s farm, and duck eggs are supposed to be great to bake with.

A couple that have somewhat tickled my fancy are:

1. Chocolate orange tea bread (a new recipe to me – it just sounds a bit boring, but it does make 2 “loaves” which would be helpful)
2. Rolled sugar cookies (an old favourite but VERY time consuming)
3. Some sort of chocolate sponge cake.

Help?????

Some time for me and a funny dessert

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We’ve been back home (in Wang, just in case you get confused about where we live. I know I do…) for a week now, and we’re slowly getting back into our little groove. Life is just looking up and up at the moment, and is continuing that trend which is unbelievably good for my soul. This is what I have spent the last solid half hour enjoying:

Leftover lasagne, a huge salad, a tall glass of water, and the internet. Oh, and a sleeping toddler. This is me time. This is time to catch up on my google reader, respond to emails, read about “Your Pregnancy: Week 18” and lust after my dream pram. I’ve had such a great week so far, and it’s just going to get better. I hit the gym yesterday for some cardio while Chance had a great day in care, even sleeping for over an hour which meant he was a happy little camper when I picked him up!

Last night we got right back into having friends over for dinner which was really lovely. They were meant to come over for dinner tonight but their tutorials got switched (they’re both studying with Hubs) so they were free last night instead, which I only found out at 4:30 in the afternoon, but I had everything I needed for lasagne and salad and garlic bread so we went ahead with that. Hubs came home and tidied our bomb-site of a house (I just didn’t have it in me!) while I made dinner. I hadn’t planned anything for dessert other than “something with strawberries” as they were on special at Coles for $1.60/punnet (I may have bought 6 punnets… and I may be planning on buying more today…) so instead of my usual choc-dipped strawberries, we had do-your-own strawberries dipped in chocolate.

Seriously, if you want an entertaining dessert, this is it. I melted a bowl of 70% dark chocolate and placed it in the middle of the table next to a huge bowl of the biggest strawberries in the punnets. And handed out napkins and little forks. It was the messiest, funniest dessert I’ve ever had. There was melted chocolate on chins, on fingers, and all over the strawberries, that got dropped in the bowl more than once. It was just hilarious, so much so that I was worried I was going to laugh chocolate and strawberries out of my nose.

The verdict? Maybe next time I’ll use smaller strawberries. But an absolute winner FOR SURE! Super easy, delicious, and a great source of entertainment for all.

Feeling the warmth

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Chanbe and I arrived in Brisbane yesterday afternoon, and the weather hasn’t let me down. It’s cool, but not cold. It’s a bit cloudy, but not raining. We’ve had a lazy day of sleep and washing so far today, and the rest of the week isn’t going to be too full-on either.

When I last posted, I mentioned that “we were on the mend.” I was a bit wrong with that statement. Hubs took his Wifey and Chanbe to the doctor the following day, and we were both put on antibiotics. Chanbe bounced back by Friday but it wasn’t until Sunday that I was feeling like myself again. Sunday? Yeah, the last day of our “holiday”. So we didn’t end up at McLaren Vale, nor did we get to Penfolds like we planned on the Thursday. But that’s okay. In spite of the terrible weather and feeling like crap, we had such a lovely time with our friends. Our last dinner together on Thursday night consisted of some fresh fish we’d picked up from the Central Markets, and some truly decadent desserts our friend picked up from her favourite dessert place in Adelaide.

The boys even felt festive enough to wear their Friday shirts the next day!

I haven’t made too many plans for the next 4 weeks, but I have a long list of people to see and things to do, so I’m sure we’ll be kept busy. If you’re around, I’d love to catch up!

See you soon 🙂