Kitchen Therapy

Monthly Archives: April 2012


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Navarin Printanier

This dish was sooo good!
The flavour was deep and satisfying.
The lamb was so tender it just melted in your mouth.
Even my pickiest eater found it delicious and easy to eat.

I followed the recipe closely (mainly because in the chaos of everyday life, I’ve been taking shortcuts lately with less than desirable results! Ugh!)
The only change I made was to use Vegeta vegetable stock instead of the beef stock.
I’m assuming this wouldn’t have changed the taste too drastically.
And with some fresh crusty bread, we couldn’t get enough.

The kids loved it so much I put the leftovers into wraps for their school lunches the next day.
They all said it tasted as good as the night before.
And what an awesome school lunch!

For me, this has been one of the tastiest dishes in Dorie’s Around My French Table cookbook.

I’m keen to see if the rest of the French Fridays with Dorie group loved it as much as I did???


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Coconut Friands

Over here in Sydney, Australia, the school year starts at the end of January and after every 10 weeks of school the kids are given two weeks of holidays.
Except for Christmas when they get 6 weeks off.

We’ve completed Term 1 and are just winding up 2 weeks of holiday chaos fun!

Now I love and adore coconut.
I knew between trips to the movies, putt putt golf, sleepovers and full days of laser skirmish I was going to get this recipe done and posted!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

It has coconut after all! (And it is one of the simplest recipes I have come across!)
I find it hard to make time to accomplish the basics, like grocery shopping, with so many activities and kids staying over.
But I was not going to miss this!

I made it in plenty of time! And then the next two days we left the house pretty much straight after breakfast and returned at night time!
So all my ideas of pretty photos flew out the window!
I even bought a pretty friand tin… it made a pattern!!!
But the photo taken with my iphone late at night just doesn’t do it any justice!

I wanted to run away! Skip posting for the week.
Like I did with the Cocoa Sables.
That week the kids had so many school band commitments and performances that, while I made both the Cocoa and Butter Sables, I didn’t get around to posting anything!

I did the same with the Salmon Rillettes.
I like Sardines! And I loved this recipe!
However amidst the Easter and school holiday madness, we decided to go to Melbourne for a 3 day weekend the day this post was due. So I skipped it.

But you know what?
I don’t like how I feel when I miss a week of posting!

I’ve come to understand that completing the recipes each week with the French Fridays with Dorie group gives me a sense of achievement and accomplishment!
It makes me feel goooood!

So while I’ve been cooking most weeks, it’s not  as satisfying as engaging in the entire process of cooking, posting and then sharing this with the rest of the group!

Who knew this would become such a fun and filling part of my life!


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Lemon Loaf Cake

This week’s Tuesdays with Dorie recipe was perfect for Easter!
For two week’s, since 1823, Sydney plays host to Australia’s largest event, The Sydney Royal Easter show.

It’s when city meets country.
Australia’s rural industries showcase their finest produce and livestock.

Districts from Queensland and New South Wales display their primary products in creative and imaginative ways…

 Livestock of every kind is displayed and judged.
Sheep, pigs, goats, horses, poultry and cattle of many breeds.

There are also dog shows, cat shows and animal nurseries.
The kids get to see chicks hatch and feed and hold farmyard animals.

And of course there are the rides…

We finish the day by loading up on show bags and settling in to watch the nightly show before the fireworks.

It’s a long and expensive day.
But there’s something for everyone.
Did I mention the woodchopping, show jumping, tent pegging and precision driving?

Or my all time favourite reason for going to the show…
Food!
The farmers sell tubs of freshly cut pineapple and watermelon.
Stalls sell sausage sandwiches, potato on a stick, chocolate covered berries, vienna almonds and gozleme.

There are also arts and crafts displays and competitions.
Woodwork, leatherwork, lacemaking, embroidery and toy-making.
One of the most popular categories since 1960 has been cake making and cake decorating.
Sugar crafts are judged and displayed along with cakes, biscuits, slices, jams and preserves.

This week’s Tuesdays with Dorie recipe, lemon loaf cake, would be a perfect fit here.
Simple, yet tasty, old fashioned home cooking.
Food you would serve at afternoon tea with the neighbours…

We all loved the taste and texture of this cake, I can’t wait to see what the other Tuesdays with Dorie group members thought!

And if you would like to see the recipe and try it out for yourself, head over to this week’s hosts, Truc from Treats  and Michelle from The Beauty of Life.


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Asparagus with Bits of Bacon

This week’s French Fridays with Dorie recipe was simple and delicious.

Toss some oil and freshly squeezed lemon juice over cooked asparagus.
Season with salt and pepper.
Top with bits of bacon and finely diced onion.

What’s there not to like!?!

And it was so easy to prepare and serve alongside grilled salmon, we had time to experiment and play with pink streaks…

What can I say…

Anyway…

Can’t wait to see what the rest of the French Fridays with Dorie group thought of this dish and how they served it!


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Pizza Rustica

It’s been almost a month since I last posted anything!
One of my kids picked up a bug and then generously shared it with the rest of the family.
So for the past few weeks I’ve either been unwell or been looking after unwell kids.
Even as I write this, I can hear the chesty cough of one of my boys coming from upstairs.

This week’s Tuesdays with Dorie recipe, Pizza Rustica, almost didn’t happen.
It was easy enough to motivate myself to take part in this week’s recipe.
I really enjoy being a part of the group!

I picked the day to bake.
I organised myself and planned things so the day would be relaxed and leisurely.
I had three loads of washing done and hanging before 8.30am.
I was feeling good and on track!

As we walked out to the car to leave for school, we could hear a loud engine starting next door. We sat in the car and watched workmen with generator powered hoses strip the paint off the house next door and land all over my three loads of washing.

It’s okay, I kept telling myself.
No big deal.
You’ll just run the clothes through the wash again…

Then, my 4 year old, who seemed like he was finally getting better, began vomiting.
When we arrived at the doctor, he told me we had to go back home “NOW” so he could go to the toilet.
We made it back home just in time!
Then back in the car and back to the doctor!
But it’s okay!
REALLY!

Finally, after a stop at the chemist for medication, we were back home and I was ready to cook!

I made the dough, it was incredibly easy.

I opened the ricotta to prepare the filling and  quickly realised I picked up a tub with an expired date.
It smelled bad!
BUT REALLY, IT’S OKAY!!!

I raced back to the store and picked up the last two tubs of ricotta, yay!
They had just the right amount of ricotta I needed!
Raced back home to find the seal on the second tub was broken!
Seriously!?! 

After a minute or two of contemplating giving up, I decided to just add the block of Philadelphia cream cheese I had in the fridge.
As the kids say, booyah!
Problem solved!
I was feeling pretty pleased with myself!

All the running around meant my pizza rustica was ready much later than planned.
Which was no big deal.

Until I realised it was the first day of daylight savings in Sydney and by the time it came out of the oven it was pitch black outside and I had no chance of taking a decent photo of the finished product!

I wasn’t happy with my photos and I honestly contemplated not posting at all!

But I really enjoyed the taste of the pizza rustica and felt it would be crazy to have gone through all that and not post!

The dough was so deliciously sweet. I loved it.
The filling was incredibly salty and cheesy. .
Whoever thought of putting the two together was a genius!
What a wonderful balance of sweet and salty!
I am so glad I persevered!

If you want to try it for yourself, Emily of Capitol Region Dining and Raelynn of The Place They Call Home, are this week’s hosts and will have the full recipe on their blogs.

If you would like to check out what other members of Tuesdays with Dorie thought of this week’s recipe, head on over!