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