Homemade Pesto

I was thinking if I would almost be considered a food snob if I would prefer to make my own pesto rather than buy it from the shop? I don't think I am that bad yet. Maybe when I can't bring myself to buy bread anymore, I might have some issues then, lol.

Homemade Pesto

This recipe is a bit of a go with the flow type, so just taste along the way.

Ingredients:

Big Bunch Basil

2+ Garlic Cloves

Few Sprigs of Parsley

1/4+ cup Pine Nuts

Parmesan Cheese

Olive Oil

Salt&Pepper

1. Place basil, rough chopped garlic, parsley and pine nuts into food processor. I have done this many times with the Tupperware Happy Chopper (small quantity) and Turbo Chef too. Process till a nice finely chopped consistency.
2. Grate in parmesan cheese and add a good 1/2 cup oil. Process again.
3. Taste to see if you need salt, pepper or any more of the other components: cheese or nuts.
4. Add more oil and process until you get to the consistency that you like.
5. This will store well in fridge, just put a layer of olive oil on top to stop from browning. ALTHOUGH why waste a good thing? My batch went straight into a snappy bag, flattened and 4 sections formed with my fingers, then straight in the freezer. Happy Days.

Variation:

Rocket Lettuce & Cashews

Watch this space, now inspired to come up with some more variations.

Hints:

• Parmesan Cheese freezes well, so there is no reason not to have it in your home. Use from frozen. Store back in freezer. I freeze alot of things. 
• Buy pine nuts on sale. They are a great pantry staple in our home. So yummy on salads.

Is it wine time?

A little bit of fun in my kitchen...

Chicken & Pasta w Pesto & Greens

I love to bake. I loved to make so much that it left me feeling a bit "weighed down" so for a summer kick start the baking has been set aside and I have had a desire for lots of fresh fruit and veggies....

As boring as that may sound, it has been Veggielicious! I must have been craving a fresh food hit and who knew that vegetables, nuts, fruit and all sorts of low calorie goodness could be so good!

I have never been a fan of savory cooking. I have been reading cookbooks and flavor patterns are starting to be embedded into my mind...

So to start show casing my vegetable packed meals of deliciousness: here is one of my favorites so far

Chicken & Pasta w Homemade Pesto, A Dollop of Ricotta Fried Asparagus/Baby Spinach & Zucchini

More Cupcake Fun

I made these cute little pretties for my nieces 5th birthday.

I love how the pink cupcakes look like they have a cherry on the top.

A little bit of fun using M&M's with a play on color.

Jungle Animal Cupcakes

I made these Jungle Animal Theme cupcakes for my little mans 2nd birthday. Until now I had not made any fancy themed cupcakes and was looking forward to the challenge....and the end result.

2 hours of decorating (for only 12 cupcakes?!) was well worth the experience and effort involved. 

Mixing all the different icing colors and setting out all the 'little bits' was probably what took a little more time. Learning to be comfortable with the piping bag came easily as I got the flow going. 

Homemade Jarred Roasted Bell Peppers

These homemade yummies are a nice touch to a salad.

You can also add to any meal for an extra flavor kick.

Ingredients:

2 Red Bell Peppers (Capsicum)

Olive Oil

Garlic/Salt/Pepper

Optional - Chilli or any other friendly herb

• Coat the capsicums in olive oil and put them onto a tray under a hot grill under skin blackens and blisters. Rotate until all done. 
• Plunk them into icy cold water to cool them down quickly. Peel all of the skin off. Slice half-ways and clean all the guts out.
• Slice into strips. They should be cool enough to jar once you are done.
• Plop the strips into a jar a handful at a time and top up with olive oil, add any type of herbs that you may enjoy infused into the strips, repeat until done. Enjoy!

Cake No More (for now)

It seems that I have enjoyed my winter baking just a little too much, so to get a kick start into summer I am working on my savory dishes and finding that these can be just as tempting... mostly thanks to Mr Oliver.

Yummo, I don't usually eat mushrooms but these stuffed mushrooms with a kick of chilli are the bomb. Accompanied by steak with some homemade jarred bell peppers.

Chocolate Brownies Round 2

It was only a few months ago that I made chocolate brownies for the 1st time. Unsuccessful and dry. This is the 2nd time I have made chocolate brownies and there is a little story to my success.

Fresh from the oven these were gooey and moreish. Chilled and served the next day the inards had a fudge like consistancy (so maybe just a little undercooked?). I added hazelnuts and used milk chocolate instead of dark. I am not 100% convinced that I have achieved the perfect brownie though.

Or am I?

There is a little story to go along with these little devines. This was a Jamie Oliver recipe. With my mixed butters* already melting, I had already committed to the recipe when I realise that I did not have all the ingrediants to complete the recipe to the 'T'. So this was a balls up and the result were uncertain, but the taste testers over the weekend were impressed; so maybe a balls up gone very well.

*The recipe required unsalted butter, which I was only able to use half unsalted, the rest regular. Caster sugar = ran out after half the quantity... so caster sugar and then topped up with white sugar. Dark chocolate - ah no, so milk chocolate this time.

Jamie Oliver Bloomin' Brilliant Brownies

Here is the link for the recipe, after reading others reviews it seems that substituting for this recipe is normal. I think I might add some cherries and chocolate chunks next time. Too much?

Spring is on the way...

I get a nice feeling of accomplishment after spending a day in the veggie garden... I was blessed with a child free day and I enjoyed my time refreshing my veggie garden for Spring.

I dug, hoed, turned, planted, and mulched. I love the smell of the sugar cane mulch and it looks great.... I planted seedlings of beetroot, beans, spring onions, yellow zucchini, beef steak tomatoes, chilli bushes, mixed lettuce and rocket lettuce. 

My lemon tree also got some TLC, as if she doesn't get enough already... A nice trim, removed any scaled lemons or gangly looking branches and a good hit of white oil all over.

Refreshed and satisfied after a day of sun and soil :-) 

Our mulberry tree feels like it is already Spring time. It started getting leaves in the middle of July, and now it is already full of mulberries ready to ripen up... I expect a RIPPER supply this year. Sadly, we made the mistake of hacking the tree back after our first summer: this is clearly a no-no as last year we were lucky to even get a bowl of mulberries. 

 A word of warning though, if we get this ripper supply that I talk about, this will not be the last time you hear about my mulberry tree, expect plenty of recipes....

Homegrown Tomatoes

I love home-grown tomatoes. You just can't beat the taste.

Although through the winter it has taken me a while to get results.

This was the first from my vines, a lovely big juicy one.

Our first season of growing tomatoes (starting in Spring) we got around 15kg of gorgeous tomatoes, I was giving them away we had so many....

... which reminds me that I really should get down to the nursery to plant some more. Spring is well and truley on its way.