Time for action

It is time for action. It is almost a year since I retired and never a year has gone so fast. It is almost christmas again and I dont know why I dont just buy two lots of presents each year as the time between goes so fast. So all the exciting things I had set aside do have not eventuated and I ask myself why. I have a suspicion that it took me a long time to recover from social workers 'burn out' and get life and my body back into pre university and work shape. I am almost feeling fit and healthy with the help of Joe Cross and his wonderful video Fat Sick and Nearly Dead. I also joined the gym and go to aqua arobics. It takes time to stay on top of this process and by the time I have planned meals, dealt with the house and charted my calorie intake I dont feel like doing much. I try to meditate regularly to help me find the peace that I so need and I keep a 'gratitude list'. I am making progress but it is slow and I still need to punctuate my day with regular breaks and a little television!!!! At the moment I am testing a new chocolate tart receipe but disaster struck last night when the dog took the 450gm block of beautiful tart bound chocolate and ate 150gms. It was a difficult night and I sat in the chair hoping he would not die. Instead he raced around the house with my scarf in in his mouth and then he colapsed and we slept on the sofa to await the dawn. The dog snored louding and I kept a watchful eye. Precious dog. I often say to my husband that I know he would find it difficult to choose between the dogs and me and I understand that.....one has to! Chocolate tart

November the month of hope

3 November 2013

OK so it is along time since I posted  but I have become full of good intentions with the dawning that it is almost Christmas and action needs to be taken.
So here are the resolutions for the next 6 weeks:

*I am going to make Christmas cards with the help of the grand daughter and send them

*I am going to write a little book called the little sauce book for a small present as money is short     and  I am always being asked for sauce recipes
I have actually started the plan for the little book but I tried to do it on line but I am such a technical cluts  that I have had to give up.  But now it is a work in progress, the sections are planned with layout in my head and the recipes keep galloping through my brain in the middle of the night.

*I am going to plan a meticulous menu for the boat which will last us a month with out having to shop ashore
There are many books for 'boaties' as to how to prepare for a long time at sea but most of them do not realise that the continual demand for 'fresh' vegetables and do not take into consideration the complexities of storage and available fridge and freezer space.

So it is written and has to be done......

Quiet day at home but this evening it is use up the fish in the freezer day. So, it is curried tuna pie sounds hideous but it will be delicious, I hope.

Sauté half a leek, one chopped onion in 2 tbsp of butter until soft and then add six chopped mushrooms and 1 tbsp mild curry powder.

Add ½ cup plain white flour and stir until combined and add 1 cup milk and stir until the mixture thickens.  You may need to add a little more milk if it is too thick.

 

Add 500 grams firm white fish and ½ cup frozen peas and gently heat until fish is cooked about 5 minutes.

Serve with mashed potatoes or rice.  

The rabbit has had more babies even before she has weaned the five that she has with her.  Early weaning for them I am afraid.  The rabbit family is growing and we now had 15 rabbits and it is hard to know what to do with them as the grand daughter is reluctant to let any of them go.  I wish she was as keen to clean and feed her friends.

The dog has killed another chicken, I just wish he would eat them and not just leave their lifeless bodies for me to find in the ivy patch.

up and at it

5am Monday 6 August 2012-08-06

I have woken early with the feeling I am getting a cold so I have broken out the Vicks and thought I might spend the time before the household wakes catching up with emails and the weekly menu planning.

Food at the moment is ruled by what is in the freezer.  I am trying to get to the bottom of the old chest freezer in the barn which is sucking the power. There really isn’t much left but it is always the things that one is sick of that linger in the bottom.  There are only so many beef casseroles one can eat in a week and then the rest goes back into the freezer to be used as pie filling, which just seems to make the problem linger longer.

Busy weekend which is unusual. Yesterday we had lunch with a nephew of the husband.  He and his charming wife live on 11 acres in Whitford and we have been meaning to see how their project was advancing.  We all moved to the country at about the same time and when we meet at family do’s our conversations are punctuated with the problems of the small life ‘styler’ and the issues around drainage and vegetable gardens.

Sally greeted us with the most superb lemon muffins and lots of farming talk.  I was so impressed by her huge vegetable garden and the size of the vegetables.  She tells me that the secret is in the horse manure and saving the best seed from the year before.  I have been hesitant to use it as the risk of weed in a raised garden is too great but looking at her progress in such a short time I think I am prepared to take the risk. Sally’s calendular are the size of dinner plates and her cavolo nero is as high as an elephants eye.

I was inspired and really want to extend the garden with the help of the next door neighbour and a little boundary alteration. M has agreed to the moving of the fence and now a plan needs to be formed.

The visit to Whitford was followed by a visit to a friend who was celebrating his 50 birthday; before pick up the grand-daughter later in the afternoon.  It was nice to catch up with old friends and enjoy a wonderful antipasti spread with a glass o champagne.  The antipasti idea was a great one and there were platters brimming with wonderful cheeses and other goodies.  I think this approach made for a very relaxed hostess and very happy guests.  It was some-what amusing when the host launched his little remote helicopter which promptly flew onto the roof and a small child had to be hoisted on top of shoulders to retrieve it.

Sunday dinner is always something easy so it was cauliflower/macaroni cheese which is always a winner in our house.  I had read that by adding cauliflower to the macaroni you could cut the calorie count by a third. Add a large teaspoon of Dijon mustard to the cheese sauce for extra oomph.

on line again

My life has changed.  I have retired. It is such a relief and my life seems so wonderful.  

I have doing the house work which is a bit of a stretch for me as I have always had help in the house.  So I looked up how to clean the bath  on You tube and  I have that under control.  But the shower has me baffled.   When I was cleaning I decided that I would rather clean the loo than do the job I previously did.

So, it has taken six weeks to recover and  to begin to sleep through the night and to begin to eat with out throwing up. 'Burn out' is a terrible thing!

So, I have been baking and cooking and the family motto (now) is ' if  cant make it we don't have it'. The bread making has improved.  When we lived in the Bay of Islands it was the same motto and my bread making was  much worse. The children asked that for their birthday present that they could have  plain white sliced bread.  I think that the family holds their breath in case I start to make soap again. 

A few weeks ago I had lunch with a friend and we had the most wonderful soup.  I was stunned and I must admit that I wondered if she had made it.  But with persuasion the recipe was provided and this soup has become the constant in our family. I am sure that she wouldn't mid my sharing the recipe with you although I have modified it a little 

Moroccan soup

3 tbsp olive oil

1 large onion

1 tsp each paprika, turmeric and ground coriander

2 tsp ground cumin

800-1kg peeled and chopped pumpkin

4 carrots peeled and chopped

6 cups chicken stock

1 tin chopped tomatoes

1/4 cup chopped coriander

Fry onion and spices gently for 5 minutes and add carrots and pumpkin and cook for 10 minutes and add stock and tomatoes. Simmer for 20-25 minutes.  Add fresh coriander and purée in the blender in batches until smooth.  Check for seasoning. Thin with a little more stock if required and garnish with crème fraiche.

I recently had a chance to resurrect a curry which was taught to me by a friend of my ex husband. I cooked it for 60 at the Takapuna office as they were throwing a party to thank the partners of the social workers. What great idea as the long suffering partners are the unsung hero's of CYF.

It is called Dougal's curry.  This curry is quite unique because it is stir fried and is a one pot dinner if needs be.

Dougal's curry

1 kg cross cut blade cut thinly across the grain

2 medium onions

2 carrots

4 small potatoes

1 tbsp mild curry powder

1 tsp tomato sauce

1 tbsp brown sugar

Stir fry the beef in a very hot pan in batches in half the oil.  sauté onions, carrots and potatoes in the other half of the oil with the curry power, brown sugar and tomato paste.  Add the beef back into the pan and simmer for 5 minutes.

The step-son in law and his family moved house last week and morning tea was called for.  Besides the necessary sandwiches and asparagus rolls I made white chocolate and raspberry muffins and cheese scones.

White chocolate and raspberry muffins

2 1/2 cups self raising flour

1/4 cup sugar

2 tsp baking powder

2 eggs

1 1/2 cups milk

160 gms melted butter

1/2 cup white chocolate melts

1/2 cup frozen raspberries

Combine  beaten egg, milk and melted butter.  Add to dry ingredients.  Bake for 20-25 minutes at 190c.

I have gone back to making a menu for the week with the help of the grand daughter and making a list for the super marked which we stick to.  As a result our food bill has been reduced drastically and our organisation has increased.  The grand daughter looks at the menu each morning and remindes me what I have to have ready when she gets back from school 

Birthday blogg

15 November 2011

It is the night before my birthday and it feels a little like the night before Christmas or really a little better as there are cards and calls are all just for me. 

I love my garden so when the husband asked what I might like I asked for a shredder for the rubbish and weeds that takes so long to compost and as we all know compost is the answer to a healthy garden. 

The husband always buys this sort of thing on Trademe so god knows what it will be like. The daughter is cooking the birthday dinner and as her cooking is improving it should be a nice evening!!

I am almost at the end of my peas, most of which have been eaten on the spot but at one stage I was able to make a side dish of peas, little gem lettuces from the glass house, spring onions all sweated together in a little butter and some finely chopped tarragon, divine.

We have also had little carrots mixed with the new seasons broad beans as accompaniments to some of the left over little lamb chops from last year’s lambs.  (We have to use them up as this years lambs are growing so quickly that roast leg of lamb could be this year’s Christmas dinner).

But the big problem in my life have been pea pods (only joking).  Although I eat most of the peas by the vines and chuck the pods over the fence there is a problems  when there are enough to bring them inside - I hate to throw away those beautiful bright green casings.  So this time I made pea pod soup with the last leeks from the allium garden.

Peapod soup (you will probably never make this but it is delicious)

Sauté one onion with a small chopped leek and throw in about two handfuls of peapod after the little green round gems have been removed. Add two cups of chicken stock.  Cook until all the vegetables are soft.

Push through a sieve, which is hard as they are quite fibrous but it is worth it. Add half a teaspoon of sugar, salt and pepper and a little cream if you like. 

We had this on one of those suddenly wintery night that happens at this time of year, with a poached egg slipped into it and the yolk broke in a golden stream of luxury.  French bread and lots of freshly made salty butter, food of the gods or the Robinsons which is near as dammit, as my old mother used to say.

We had two nights on the boat last weekend first time for nine months.  I said to the husband that I really feel that I can relax on the boat as all I can do is relax, read and of course cook.  So I made the most delicious pineapple and lemon cake and a very smart herbed chicken casserole. I always take a bag of herbs with me on the boat just incase.  I left it in the oven while I was reading and could smell something burning and it turned out to be the wood at the back of the stove and there was mad panic with the fire extinguisher at the ready.  It all turned out alright and the husband instantly drilled some more ventilation holes and the chicken was delicious.

Pineapple and lemon cake

Melt 150gms of butter with 1 cup of sugar and let it cool.  Add a small tin of crushed pineapple and two lightly beaten eggs. Add the juice and rind of one lemon. Gently fold in 1 cup of whole meal flour and 1 cup of white flour and 2 teaspoons of baking powder.

Bake at 150c for 1 hour.  While the cake is still warm poke a few hole with a sharp knife and pour over a mixture of half a cup of boiling water mixed with half a cup of castor sugar and the juice of one lemon.

Chicken casserole a la boat

Four chicken thigh with bone in and skin on.  Add a handful of finely chopped herbs, parley, rosemary, thyme, sage or what ever you have.  Chop two onions and two large cloves of garlic and put them on the bottom of a shallow casserole dish and lay half the herbs on top with a teaspoon of chicken stock powder. Put the chicken on top in a single layer and chuck on the rest of the herb and slide in half a cup of water.

Bake for half an  hour with the dish covered with foil and a second without.  Cook at 180c. the skin should be golden and crispy.

This weekend it will be strawberry jam and strawberry ice cream, it is the season for it.

16 October 2011

The silverbeet is bolting which means it will have to be ripped out.  I have removed all the big leaves and steamed them with some chicken stock and butter, then finely chopped them and put them in containers ready to add to some to lasagna  or cream sauce.wen I need it

Silverbeet in one of those things that you need to have in the garden but some varieties are bitter and unpleasant to the palate, you get that furry feeling which makes you think that the chicken are the only ones that should eat the stuff.  But I have found that perpetual spinach does not have this problem. I know rainbow silverbeet look wonderful in the garden but in my opinion it tastes disgusting.

I have been really tired the past couple of weeks and the husband has been bringing me breakfast in bed.in the weekends. Always the same, a boiled egg with toast soldiers, delicious.  He has mastered the art of the boiled egg.  Perfectly cooked, soft in the middle and the white just the right level of firm, every time.  The chicken are producing well and the yolks are so yellow they are almost red.  Very impressive.

Last night was the rugby and the husband went to baby sit for his daughter and so I cooked Pad Thai to take with him.  I love those thick rice noodles which you soak in boiling water while you make the sauce.  I know that you can buy the packets but it is some much better to make it yourself and then you can adjust the flavour and heat as you like.

So soften a chopped  onion in a little oil and then add a tablespoon of brown sugar, a tablespoon of tamarind paste, 2 tablespoons of soy sauce, lime juice to taste (about 1 lime), 1 tablespoon of chunky peanut butter, 1 tablespoon of  fish sauce and 1/2 teaspoon of chili flakes. Throw in four chopped chicken thighs or a cup of green prawns and stir until just cooked.  Add the drained noodles, a handful of chopped coriander and top with chopped roasted peanut.

This is just a rough guide and let your sense of taste be your guide. If you like it sweeter then add more brown sugar and if you like it hotter then add more chili flakes. This sauce lends itself to adding fish and even hard boiled eggs as well and is delicious and will keep in the fridge for a few days.

I have been enjoying the first of my broad beans, peas, leeks and asparagus.  I pick them and sneak into the kitchen and boil them until just tender and sit in the spring sun in complete bliss.

Off out to dinner.  It is so nice to be cooked for.

15 October2011

We have been away to celebrate our tenth wedding anniversary in Queensland.  We were to spend four days in Palm Cove near Port Douglas.   Now it is always a mistake to even think 'gosh that went well' or even worse to say it.  Ask we touched down in Cairns I thought it and as we went though customs and picked up the rental care I said it.  We then turned the wrong way on the highway and set of south toward Sydney instead of North and it was all down hill from then on.
The hotel was glorious and we popped up to the road the the super market and pick up some store for the following days.  The husband was a little quite and opted for a quiet night in instead of braving the hotel restaurant.  I shrugged and wondered a little and the next day we had a walk along the beach which was peppered with warnings about crocodiles coming down the river, the stinging jelly fish and the sharks swimming close to shore.  But the sea was a glorious blue, the sand very white, the temperature a wonderful 31c and the husband even quieter.
After a little lunch the husband opted for a sleep which lasted until 6pm and I began to worry a little more.  Now he does sleep a little in the afternoon (a perk of the geriatric) but this was more sleep than usual.  We attempted an celebration dinner at Nu Nu which is one of those restaurants up there with Daphnes in London and Tetsuya in Sydney and perhaps Number 5 in Auckland.  The food was wonderful the it was not a success but after my second mango Martini I talked enough for both of us.( I had the crispy chicken livers and he had the duck curry with squid)
Things did not improve the next day and I cancelled our trip to the rain forest and out to the reef.  At midday he collapsed, an ambulance was called and we spent the rest of the holiday in the Cairns Hospital.  Funny every one was so kind and it was time away it didnt seem to matter.  Just seems a natural part of the 'in sickness and health' bit you say when you get married. But it the flights to and from Australis were wonderful and I love Queensland.

Back to reality.