Getting around to it

I remember being very amused as a child when someone gave me a "round tuit". The idea being that when you had one you didn't have an excuse not to do things straight away. If only it really worked! It is so very easy to put things off, especially those things that are only done out of an interest and which don't have a real impact on daily life. Which brings me to hot cross buns.

For years each Easter I've intended to try my hand at making hot cross buns. I love them and purchase many a half dozen over the weeks leading up to Easter. I also love cooking, particularly baking, so it seems an obvious thing for me to have a go at making and yet I never have.

Today I finally did it, filling the house with delicious yeasty, spicy scents, peering under the tea towel as they rose and finally enjoying one smothered in butter.

I used this recipe from the Taste website but following the comments I doubled the spice and could potentially have tripled it. However, what resulted was delicious, fluffy, yummy hot cross buns. I don't know that they are so much better than those you can buy that they are a must make, but they are very satisfying.

And best of all, I finally got around to it!

Happy International Day of Happiness

"Happiness may have different meanings for different people. But we can all agree that it means working to end conflict, poverty and other unfortunate conditions in which so many of our fellow human beings live." Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon

Today is the UN International Day of Happiness. I hope today everyone finds a reason to smile and better yet, finds a reason to make another person smile. You can read a few of my thoughts on how to be happy here and more will be coming soon!

Cucamelons

Every year I grow a bountiful supply of tomatoes in our veggie patch. Home grown tomatoes are wonderful things, so bursting with flavour and perfect for the tiny space we have available. I've experimented with many other crops over the years with mixed success, but I may have just found something to compete with the tomatoes - cucamelons.

Cucamelons, also called Mexican Sour Cucumbers, are tiny bite sized cucumbers. They are the size of a grape tomato, look like a miniature watermelon and taste just like a cucumber. I'm still getting used to the experience of eating them. They don't have the explosion of flavour that you get from a grape tomato but have more crunch than a piece of cucumber. And they are prolific! I can see why there are so many recipes for pickling them, I would say that in the next couple of weeks we are going to be inundated.

I grew them from direct sown seeds (bought from the amazing Diggers Club) so they have taken a while to get to fruiting stage. Next year I think I will grow them as seedlings so that I can get them in the ground earlier, but now that they have hit the fruiting point, I'm thinking of all the possibilities of what I can do with the fruit.

I find it really exciting to be growing a vegetable that I've never seen before, only read about and having had a browse of the Diggers Club website I realise there are so many options out there. I can imagine that at some point in the future when we have a decent sized back yard I will grow all sorts of amazing things.

Do you grow your own veggies? And have you discovered any unusual and exciting crops along the way.

Slouchy Saturdays

I read something the other day that said "never trust a woman who says she doesn't own track pants". Now I wouldn't say I would go as far as not trusting her, but I'm not sure we could be good friends. You see track pants are an important ingredient in slouchy Saturdays, which are one of my most favourite things. Other important ingredients are a complete lack of plans, to-do lists or time pressures. A slightly grey sky is helpful, as it negates any chance that you feel compelled to take advantage of perfect weather by leaving the house.

Slouchy Saturdays are not lazy Saturdays. In fact quite a lot often happens on them. It is just that with no to-do list needing to be ticked off by a certain time or having to leave the house, things happen in a relaxed, pottering kind of fashion.

Silk flower cleaning - the kind of chore that only gets done on a slouchy Saturday

Sleep-ins are often involved. Followed by some chores done in a random, as I feel like it, order. A bra is optional, track pants are not.

At the end of a slouchy Saturday I generally feel incredibly relaxed, and yet I have a tidy house, something delicious simmering on the stove and a neat garden. It feels like without any effort I've done everything that is needed.

With a busy life slouchy Saturdays are fairly infrequent. Usually we have plans, something that needs to be done, or people we are seeing, activities we are doing. Those weekends are great, but there is something so refreshing about a slouchy Saturday.

Recipe: Panzanella

Each season has its own flavours and in summer we are particularly spoiled. Mangoes are for me sun in a skin. Peaches and cherries are Christmas. But summer, summer is sun warmed tomatoes and basil.

Each year I transform our tiny veggie patch into a tomato oasis, under planted with basil. And when it is full of sun warmed, perfectly ripe tomatoes I just love to make my version of the Italian bread salad, panzanella.

Traditionally panzanella is just bread, tomatoes and basil with a simple dressing. You use stale bread which you soak in water and squeeze out before making the salad. However, I like to add a few extra veggies and prefer my bread a bit more solid so skip the water step. I like to make this with a sourdough or Italian style bread. I recently made it with an olive sour dough and it was especially great.

This is not a traditional recipe but I think it is yummy. It goes really well with a simple steak or sausages, or just on its own.

Panzanella
(note I haven't included quantities because this recipe really is to taste. I try to have about equal amounts of bread to tomatoes) 

Day old bread
Tomatoes
Basil
Cucumber
Capsicum

Dressing:
Olive oil (roughly 2/3 to 1/3 vinegar)
Red wine vinegar
crushed garlic
sugar
salt and pepper

 Cut or tear the bread into roughly 1cm cubes. Cut up the tomatoes to an equal size and add to the bread (along with any juice that comes out when you cut them up). Roughly tear up the basil and cut up the cucumber and capsicum to similar size as the tomatoes. Drizzel with dressing and toss to combine.

To make the dressing combine all ingredients in a screwtop jar and shake.

This salad is best made at least 15-30 minutes before eating so that the flavours have time to meld.

Valentine's Day

S and I have never made a huge fuss of Valentine's Day. We don't ignore it, but we also don't go over the top with huge presents and expensive dinners either. Instead we have always given each other a simple card and had a simple meal - often just homemade pizza eaten sitting on the couch. We love each other to bits every day of the year, but it is nice on this "day of love" to acknowledge it in some special way.

This morning, as I was getting ready for work, my bleary eyed beloved emerged from his sheet cocoon (honestly I don't know how he manages to wrap himself up like that) and presented me with the most gorgeously written card and a box of Turkish delight. It wasn't some special Valentines Day Turkish delight. It wasn't in a fancy box. It was in a plastic takeaway container - because that is how it comes when it is super fresh from the deli that I like - onto which he had stuck a sticker which made it look like there was a cat in there trying to get out.

Because that is what love is, knowing that amidst the sea of red roses and chocolates, what I would love is some simple fresh Turkish Delight with a funny cat sticker on it.

I hope your Valentine's Day was as romantic as mine.

Recipe: Messing with a classic - creating a Summer Tiramisu

There are a heap of recipes that have stood the test of time, that have earned the status of "classic". They are flavours that are known and loved, so if you mess with them, you better be prepared for the fallout.

With the bounty of fresh berries at the moment, I wanted to make something that showcased them but that was also a bit of a decadent dessert. So I came up with the idea of playing with the flavours of tiramisu. I replaced the traditional coffee and chocolate - flavours that I think of more as for winter - with light citrus and berries.

The reaction was, well, mixed. Everyone really enjoyed it but with the thought of tiramisu in mind they were confused. I got a lot of "I like it but it isn't tiramisu" comments. Maybe I should call this a creamy berry pudding or something - if you can think of a better name let me know in the comments!

There is quite a bit of booze in this (plus raw egg so definitely not one for pregnant ladies), but the liqueur is all about the flavour. The recipe uses both orange and raspberry liqueurs, I used cointreau and an amazing raspberry nectar made by Centennial Vineyards in the Southern Highlands of NSW, but there are a heap of options out there. And the lemon syllabub has both wine and brandy in it, but trust me, I could eat it by the spoonful, it is just that delicious, and adds a fantastic tart element to offset the creamy richness of the mascarpone.

I have no idea how people take good photos of tiramisu, presentation wise, it looked as it always does like a bit of a mess when spooned out, but then again it getting a photo would have been tricky as it disappeared very fast. So I may have messed with a classic, and it may actually need a new name, but it would appear this was a success.

Have you played with any classic recipes recently? How successful was it?

Summer Tiramisu
Juice of one orange
3 tbsp cointreau (or other orange flavoured liqueur)
30 (ish) sponge-finger biscuits
3 eggs, separated
1/2 cup caster sugar
500g mascarpone cheese
3 tbsp raspberry liqueur
1/4 cup caster sugar, extra
1/3 cup thickened cream
mixed berries (I used a punnet each of raspberries, blueberries and strawberries)
lemon syllabub (recipe below)

Place the orange juice and cointreau in a shallow bowl.

Beat egg yolks and sugar until light and fluffy. Fold in the mascarpone and raspberry liqueur until just combined.

Beat egg whites and extra sugar until soft peaks form. Gently fold into the mascarpone mixture and then fold in the thickened cream.

Dip half of the biscuits into the orange juice mixture and place in the bottom of a 8-cup capacity rectangular dish. Spread half the mascarpone mixture over biscuits, then sprinkle over with half the berries. Repeat with the remaining biscuits and mascarpone mixture but reserve remaining berries. Cover and refrigerate overnight.

An hour or so before serving top with lemon syllabub and remaining berries.

Lemon Syllabub
1 lemon
brandy
1/3 cup caster sugar
1 1/4 cups cream
1/3 cup white wine

Thinly peel lemon. Place the peel and juice of the lemon in a measuring cup and add enough brandy to make half a cup. Cover and let stand overnight.

Strain the juice/brandy mix discarding the peel and any pith from the lemon, add the wine and sugar to the juice/brandy and stir till dissolved.

Beat cream till soft peaks form then very slowly beat in the lemon mixture. When the cream holds its shape spoon over the tiramisu.