Last week I had to wheedle and cajole my family to try the “muesli” pasta. This week I struggled to take photos of the finished products! They broke bits off the Salted Butter Break-Up. They picked at the melted cheese covering the cannelloni. They actually had everything dished out while I was still taking the clothes off the line!
Salted Butter Break-Ups
How incredibly easy were these to make? Process the flour, sugar, sea salt, butter and a touch of water. Shape the finished product into a square, wrap in plastic and refrigerate…
After an hour or so in the fridge, roll out between wax paper to 1/4 inch thick. Then brush on egg yolk and decorate!
After baking for 30 or so minutes, I noticed my break-up was a bit browner than I would have liked on the bottom. Even though it looked… well… burnt. It didn’t taste burnt. It tasted amazing!
But then I had to listen to my husband complain about feeling sick from eating so much of it! (As he went back again and again for more).
Anytime I ask anyone in my family, “what do you feel like for dinner?”
I can guarantee you, the answer will be “can you make that cannelloni?”
It is so easy to make and so incredibly tasty and satisfying.
And the best bit… the kids love having the cannelloni for their school lunches the next day!
I process 3 slices of stale bread for breadcrumbs…
I add hot water to the spinach until it wilts, then run cold water over it before chopping…
I place the breadcrumbs, spinach and a cup of grated parmesan in a bowl…
I add the ricotta and season with salt and pepper…
And use my hands to squish it all together!
I open a jar of tomato sauce and cover the base of baking dish
(I prefer 650ml jar of Five Brothers ‘Grilled Summer Vegetables’)
I stuff and layer the cannelloni over the sauce.
Open another jar of sauce and spread it over the top of the cannelloni.
Then sprinkle a good dose of cheese!
Bake for about 30 mins and you’re done!
Ingredients
2 x 650ml Jars of readymade tomato pasta sauce
1 Box Cannelloni Tubes
2 Bunches Spinach (I use two bags of washed baby spinach leaves)
750-800g Fresh Low Fat Ricotta
1 Cup Grated Parmesan Cheese
1/2 Cup Fresh Breadcrumbs (about 3 slices of bread processed)
Sea Salt and Cracked Black Pepper
2 Cups Grated Cheese (I use Pizza Mix)
Method
1. Preheat oven to 180 degrees Celsius.
2. Blanch the spinach by dropping into a saucepan of boiling water for 5 seconds.
3. Put under cold water, then drain and squeeze out any excess moisture, chop.
4. Combine the spinach, ricotta, parmesan, breadcrumbs, salt and pepper.
5. Spread one jar of tomato sauce over the base of a baking dish.
6. Stuff cannelloni tubes with filling and layer over sauce.
7. Pour remaining jar of sauce over the cannelloni, sprinkle grated cheese over the top.
8. Bake for 25-30 mins.
A basic skill every therapist learns early in their career is how to “roll with resistance” that client’s put up when touching on issues they may not want to deal with.
This week I used every trick in the bag to deal with the resistance I felt towards this recipe!
From simple reflection, “So you don’t think you’d like to try this recipe.”
To double-sided reflection, “I can see that you’re not wanting to do this recipe but you’re not willing to give up either.”
From reframing, “So this is an exciting opportunity to try something you would never have tried before!”
To agreeing with a twist, “Yes, trying this recipe will be a waste of time because you know they won’t like it, but they will be excited about trying something authentically ‘French’!”
You get the gist…
I actually decided early in the week I wouldn’t even bother with this one. It was just too weird and I would skip it!
I mean, it’s not like it’s compulsory or any thing… right…?
But, (sighing), I knew the key thing to resistance is to not provoke it and to steer its energy towards creating positive change! So…
As I boiled the pasta…I rolled with the resistance…
As I chopped the walnuts (we are allergic to all other nuts!), figs and raisins… I rolled with the resistance…
But them something interesting happened…
As the butter boiled and bubbled and the colour intensified and changed…
I felt the resistance… melting…
At the last minute, I decided to add only half the pasta to the buttery sauce. The whole packet felt too much.
I fried up the left over pasta with some eggs.
By this point, all my resistance was gone and I felt great!
I had completed this week’s recipe and made a last minute switch that I knew the kids would like and eat!
As the resistance eased, I could feel my energy return and myself open to new possibilities!
I started to feel excited by the flavours in front of me…
I eagerly bit into the linguine and… I liked it!
I couldn’t eat too much as it was far too rich and buttery! But the taste was good.
My husband on the other hand felt a bit disturbed with the combination. He said it tasted like muesli and called it “breakfast” food!
The kids took a few bites each and said it was ok, but they couldn’t eat much more than that either.
(I felt incredibly satisfied! I “rolled” with my resistance and instead of getting stuck, I opened my self to new experiences and possibilities. And that felt fantastic!)
If you’re interested in trying this recipe for yourself, and see where it takes you, you can go straight to Dorie’s website and view the full recipe here.
To get a great cross-section of views on this recipe I encourage you to click here and see what other’s who participated in this week’s French Fridays with Dorie thought!
“People often say that motivation doesn’t last. Well, neither does bathing – that’s why we recommend it daily.” – Zig Ziglar
I love this quote.
It reminds that motivation doesn’t just happen, it’s something we have to work at.
Along with my Short Ribs in Red Wine and Port recipe post, I discussed being forced to challenge my rather limited beliefs I held about creativity.
I honestly thought creativity was about the ability to paint and decorate, and therefore confidently declared myself ‘creatively challenged’!
On my journey to redifine my thoughts on creativity, I stumbled across another deeply held yet totally ignorant assumption I had.
I thought if you were creative, your creative ability oozed out of you.
Seriously, I pictured creative people standing in front of an empty canvas and their art just flowing out of them.
Then I read this quote by Michaelangelo:
“If people knew how hard I worked to get my mastery, it wouldn’t seem so wonderful at all.”
It started to dawn on me that I had made many half-assed assumptions about what creativity meant!
(Yes, I am hanging my head in shame as I admit this!)
But I am sharing this because this relevation was a huge turning point for me.
I not only realised that creativity took many shapes and forms, I finally understood that creative people worked hard at their art!
I kinda figured, “If I was meant to be a fitness and figure competitor, I would live and breathe the gym!”
“If I was meant to be a writer, words would just pour out of me.”
You get the gist…
Now I realise that these people are good at what they do because they make themselves do it.
They don’t live in a constant state of motivation, they’re just persistent and consistent at their art.
Whatever it may be.
That’s why I like Zig Ziglar’s quote. It sums up perfectly what I’m trying to say, creativity requires motivation to produce art! Whatever your art may be!
I saw this recipe for Fig & Fried Goat’s Cheese Salad with Balsamic Syrup and honestly, while I wanted to eat it, after another hectic weekend, it was the last thing I wanted to make!
But these days I’ve learnt to focus on how I’m going to feel after the work is done!
So in no time I was cutting, whisking, dipping and frying!
And boy was it worth it!
Fig & Fried Goat’s Cheese Salad with Balsamic Syrup
(More or less as it appears in MasterChef Magazine)
2 x 150g logs soft goat’s cheese
1 cup plain flour
2 eggs lightly beaten
2 cups panko breadcrumbs
1 lemon zested
150g baby rocket
1 tbs extra virgin olive oil
6 purple figs, stems trimmed, torn into quarters
vegetable oil to deep fry
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
2 tbs sugar
Method
1. Wrap logs of cheese in plastic wrap roll into even log shapes.
2. Place flour in one bowl, the beaten eggs in another and the breadcrumbs with lemon zest and 1 tsp salt in a third bowl.
3. Unwrap cheese and cut each log into 12 slices. The recipe recommends greasing your knife (and so do I!).
4. Dip each slice into the flour, eggs and finally the breadcrumbs.
5. Place on a tray and refrigerate for 20 mins.
6. In the meantime put balsamic vinegar and sugar in a small saucepan and cool over low heat for about 3 mins or until sugar dissolves.
Then leave to cool.
7. Toss rocket with olive oil, season with salt and pepper and top with the figs.
8. Fill a saucepan or deep fryer about 1/3 full with vegetable oil and heat over medium heat until a cube of bread turns golden in 10 seconds.
9. Lower crumbed cheese into oil and fry until golden. Remove with slotted spoon and drain on paper towel.
10. Top salad with fried cheese and drizzle with balsamic vinegar.
I really loved this salad!
I meant what I said about being totally exhausted!
My husband took our 13 year-old with a bunch of friends to watch Rhianna on Friday night.|
Saturday she went camping with her friends (and some of the parents) while we went to a 40th.
The 10 year-old had a sleep over at a friend’s and our 3 year-old spent the night with grandparents!
By Sunday night we were all exhausted so we ordered some woodfired pizza for dinner and I made this as the side salad.
When my husband arrived with our pizza, I took one look at the garlic pizza crust and loaded it with the salad.
I didn’t even taste the other pizzas!
It really was amazing!
I decided to make a kid friendly version of this week’s French Fridays with Dorie recipe!
Actually, I made the bread to start with and was a little hesitant about the cheese. I used Gruyere and Emmenthal.
The smell that greeted me when I opened the packets was… well… bad!
But I’m glad I persevered.
Once the bread was in the oven, the smell changed and it really surprised me that something that started off so stinky could change so much!
I really did think that there was no saving this baby and had written it off, but suddenly, as the new smell filled the kitchen I felt hope!
I couldn’t wait to taste it and see if it was as good as it smelled.
And you know what? It was really, really good…
I swapped Dorie’s chives and walnuts for ham and shallots in an attempt to make it more tempting to the kids.
But I was enough of a realist to know that while the kids were encouraging, they would like it way more with a good dose of cheddar cheese.
So back to the kitchen and this time I dumped the Gruyere and Emmenthal for a packet of “4 cheese blend”! (It’s a mix of cheddar and mozzarella cheeses).
I know what you’re thinking… Classy!
Hey, it worked! The kids loved them!
If you want to see many more exciting and varied versions of this week’s French Fridays with Dorie recipe click here!
Below is the recipe, copied straight from Dom’s post.
Braided Challah Bread
1 sachet (or 7 grams) easy blend dried yeast
1tsp clear honey
8fl oz lukewarm milk
50g melted butter
16oz plain flour
1 tsp salt
2 eggs lightly beaten – in separate bowls – one for the mix and one for glazing
Poppy seed or sesame seeds (optional)
Combine the yeast, honey, milk and butter, stir and leave for 15mins to dissolve
In a large bowl, mix together the flour and salt. Make a well in the centre and add the yeast mixture and one of the beaten eggs. Stir to make a dough. (It will be very sticky and will definitely need extra flour for kneading)
Knead till smooth and elastic (a good 15 mins) then transfer to a clean bowl, cover and leave to prove for 1 1/2 hours.
Grease a baking sheet. Knock back the dough and divide into 3 equal pieces. Roll to shape each piece into a long strip for plaiting.
Lay 2 of the strips over the third to make a star shape and plait from the centre, tucking the ends under. Do this on the baking sheet, then cover with a tea towel and leave to rise for 30 mins.
Brush with egg and bake in a hot oven at 190 for 35 – 40 mins or until golden and sounds hollow if you tap it.
I’ve never had Challah Bread before and was pleasantly surprised by how easy it was to make!
Dom’s instructions were great and, for what felt like very little effort, I managed to turn out this baby…
The kids came home from school and wanted to know what the great smell was?
I showed them the bread and told them excitedly “I made it! Cool, huh?”
They just rolled their eyes, patted me on the back and said “Sure you did mum…”
And then happily loaded the slices of hot fresh bread with butter and jam!
I glowed with satisfaction the entire weekend! Plaited challah bread! Thanks Dom!
I admit it! I have (until recently) been one of those people who thought creativity meant being able to paint or decorate!
It was something that involved a lot of drawing and knowing which colours went together.
So, given this definition, I routinely described myself as “the least creative person you were to ever meet!”
Then, my 10 year forced me to re-evaluate my beliefs.
I had his future clearly planned for him in my mind. Studying economics at university and then working for one of the major banks! Done!
Then something weird happened. He started to develop a real creative streak!
I started to get nervous.
He enjoyed it and others noticed he had a knack for it.
My banking dreams were being threatened and replaced with visions of him painting portraits at Circular Quay!
How could he do this to me!!!
Just as I was beginning to think I had to do something drastic to save my child from a life of artistic poverty, he said to me “Jack (his friend) and I have been talking and we decided we are going to work for Disney making graphics for their movies!” I wanted to cry! Working for Disney! That was a real job? Right? And he would be making money!
He forced me to re-think my ideas on creativity! It was the best gift he could have ever given me!
Today I see creativity everywhere I go.
Take this week’s French Fridays with Dorie recipe. It took creative genius to pull this baby off!
Juggling work, three kids at three different schools doing three different after school activities, a father coming out of rehab after a massive heart attack and stroke and me deciding to go back to uni, I was sure these ribs were going to fall by the wayside!
But the sadist in me wouldn’t let go of the satisfaction I knew would be waiting for me at the completion of this week’s recipe! So after buying a wheelchair and mobility scooter for my dad, I ducked into the fabric shop nearby and bought the cheesecloth for the bouquet garni.
After driving to uni to pick up my time-table with my 3 year old I realised it was ‘O’ week (orientation week) so I put off my grilling plans and we joined the celebrations!
A few lollipops and some one on one time with my baby was worth the delay!
Back home and the grilling…
…chopping and cooking were finally under way!
Before long the ribs, vegetables and a tonne of booze were all tightly snuggled into the oven for a few hours and we were on our way to pick up the others from school and meet friends for a catch up.
While the kids ran around and the grown ups chatted, the ribs bubbled away at home. We came home to the most amazing smell! Everyone was so excited about dinner till I told them it was for tomorrow night! Ha!
The next day the fat was scooped off and the ribs were ready for the final grilling!
They were pretty amazing!
If I didn’t join French Fridays with Dorie I would never have cooked these!
I would have flicked through the book and came back to it on the odd occasion and maybe even made a handful of recipes I felt comfortable with.
How much I would have missed out on!
The creativity of the other members inspires me, check out their takes on this recipe here.
The 4 hour drive from Launceston to Wineglass Bay on the east coast of Tasmania was long, slow and uneventful (except for the wars being waged in the back seat over, well… everything).
It was during this leg of our Tasmanian Christmas vacation that I had a moment of perfect clarity. An Oprah “aha” moment. It was perfect and fleeting. And I knew I had to grab it and flesh it out before it was drowned and lost forever in the singing and wailing coming from behind me.
Life was short and I was spending too much time on things and people that were not serving me. In fact, they were sucking the life right out of me!
This moment lasted seconds but it felt like existential enlightment flooding every inch of my being! It was a very physical experience, I didn’t just think it, I felt it! And for a few fleeting moments, everything made perfect sense!
I decided right there and then to be picky, really picky, with what I allowed to fill my mind!
I resolved to set my standards high and to do everything in my power to fill my mind with good stuff! Exciting, inspirational, “feel good” stuff!
I made an active choice to fill my mind with beauty and creativity.
I identified what dragged me down (and who) and was clear on what fueled me and always set me back on course.
So these days I spend a lot more time here…
And it never fails to shock that pants off me how clear I am when I leave this place! I walk away feeling strong, focused and clear on what and who is important.
The other thing that has kept me on track is this blog!
If I’m not immersed in putting together the latest post or cooking the latest Dorie recipe, I lose myself in the amazing blogs you guys have. Blogs that feel like a home. Blogs that are lovingly maintained and radiate warmth and personality. Blogs that I look forward to reading simply because they make me feel good.
And then something amazing happened!
These amazing people, whose blogs I admire, actually throw encouragement and acknowledgement my way and make me feel 10-feet tall!
Talk about feeling great! I am conscious of sounding like a gushing Gwyneth at the Oscar’s so I’ll just say thank you for the awards!
(And I am pasting the badges on my sidebar with pride!)
This Award has a few more requirements:
1. Thank the Person – thanks again guys!
2. Share 7 things about yourself – I think I’ve shared enough above and don’t want to risk boring anyone anymore!
3. Share 15 blogs you enjoy – again, being kinda new to this I don’t know that many blogs to nominate! But here’s a few that I’ve come across that stood out to me:
Have you ever wondered why some people leave you cold while others leave you wanting (or in the case of Nigella Lawson), begging for more?!
Backtrack to Italy in the early 1990’s where Italian researchers made an unexpected discovery (don’t you just love the way most of our greatest discoveries were made by accident?) Anyway…
One day, sitting in the lab, surrounded by macaque monkeys with electrodes implanted in their brains, one of the researchers noticed something interesting as they reached for their own food. The monkeys watching him began to show neural activity in the same area of the brain that fired when they themselves made similar hand movements! The discovery of mirror neurons was made!
These brain cells fire not only when we do something, but also, when we watch someone else do the same thing.
Scientists used to think our brains used logical thought processes to understand and predict other people’s actions.
Now they believe we understand other people by feeling, not by thinking.
These little neurons help us to not only mirror other people’s actions but also the intentions and feelings behind those actions.
For example, when you see someone smile, your own smiling neurons fire up, creating a sensation in your own mind of the feelings that go with smiling.
Or you watch an athlete on television and feel your own heart racing and the exhiliaration of winning.
Or you watch Nigella taking almost erotic pleasure and delight in her cooking, you can feel her rapture and joy in what she is doing (no wonder we can’t get enough of her!).
In all of the above examples, our mirror neurons fire away, creating in us, the same experience and emotion being observed, so in a sense we enter another person’s reality for a moment.
Now this is all fantastic when we are around people who make us feel as fabulous as Nigella does, but consider the effects of those who aren’t so positive in their take on life. People who are anxious, nasty, fearful, depressed, manipulative or just plain whiny! We all have them in our lives (and if we are really honest we’ve all been one of them at some point in our lives!) People who we walk away from feeling drained, empty, anxious and depressed. If we understand how mirror neurons work, we can identify who these people are and prepare ourselves or even choose to avoid them.
And just as importantly, we can ask ourselves, “how do we want others to experience us?”
So… what in the world does this have to do with Madeleine’s???
All this started with a decision to catch up with some really great women one Friday afternoon. Intelligent and supportive women that approach life with a sense of humour, so there’s always a lot of laughter. And there are no hidden agendas or power plays, so there’s a wonderful lightness and a simplicity in being with them. As I flicked through Nigella’s “How To Be a Domestic Goddess” book, I took one look at the simple yet elegant madeleine’s and they seemed to embody the essence of what these women are about and how they make others feel!
Rosebud Madeleines
(Nigella Lawson’s “How to Be a Domestic Goddess” book)
50g unsalted butter (plus 1 tablespoon for greasing tin)
1 large egg
40g caster sugar
pinch of salt
45g plain flour
1 tbsp rosewater
icing sugar for dusting
Steps (abbreviated by me)
1. Melt butter then leave to cool.
2. Beat egg, sugar and salt with electric mixer for 5 mins, until “thick as mayonnaise.”
3. Sieve flour over egg and sugar mixture, then fold with a wooden spoon.
4. Fold in butter (minus one tablespoon for greasing tin).
5. Fold in rosewater.
6. Mix gently, then leave to rest in the fridge for 1 hour.
7. Take out of fridge and rest a further 30 mins.
8. Preheat oven to 22o degrees Celsius.
9. Brush insides of tin with melted butter and fill with mixture.
10. Bake for about 5 minutes, turn out and cool on a rack before dusting with icing sugar.
(Nigella says her recipe will fill two x 24 bun mini-madeleine tin. I used 1 x12 bun tin and only filled 10 of the holes).
The green beans were amazing!
I honestly thought most of them were going to go to waste so figured I’d better make a kid friendly main and planned to force them to at least try the beans, but I didn’t have to do that at all!
I made a huge serving and they were all gone! My 10 year old son was incredibly pleased that pancetta tasted “almost as good as bacon!”
I ‘get off’ on seeing the colours, textures and flavours of vegetables that have been blanched!
Awesome!
And don’t get me started on the colours and flavours of anything ‘bacony’ being fried up!
The smell was driving the neighbours crazy! (Especially their dog, I could hear him scraping at the fence trying to get over!)
On their own, the beans and the bacon were already looking great, but when they were brought together for one last saute, it was like watching the coming together of two gorgeous people and forming a… a Brangelina! (Too much?)
I was thinking of something fancy to accompany these beans and match their elegance, but let’s face it, with kids in the house (3 of them) I couldn’t face fighting them to eat the green beans and the main! I decided to practice self love and went with Salmon Fishcakes! (And surprisingly, they went really well with the beans!)
While the potatoes were cooking, I poached the salmon in milk with some lemon slices and a handful of peppercorns.
I then mashed the potatoes and mixed them with the flaked, poached salmon and shallots (I luv shallots!)
I took scoops of the mixture and formed patties the size of my palm.
These were then dipped in flour, eggs and fresh breadcrumbs before being placed in the fridge to chill for 20 mins.
Then cook for 20 minutes, turning the patties at half time at 200 degrees celsius!
Salmon Fishcakes
(Adapted from MasterChef Australia)
5oog potatoes (I prefer dutch cream)
500g salmon fillets
2-3 cups milk (to cover fillets depends on size of frying pan)
4 lemon slices
handful of peppercorns
1/2 cup sliced shallots
1/2 cup of flour
3 eggs beaten together
150g fresh breadcrumbs (about 6 slices of bread, crusts removed, in a food processor)
Steps:
1. The potatoes – peel, dice and boil until tender. Then drain the potatoes and mash until smooth. Set aside.
2. Salmon – place salmon in frying pan with lemon slices and peppercorns and cover with milk. Place over medium heat and bring to a gentle simmer. When the liquid bubbles, turn heat to low and poach for another 7 minutes.
3. Combine the mashed potatoes, salmon and shallots in a bowl then season with salt and pepper.
4. Take scoops of the mixture and shape balls the size of your palm into fishcake patties.
5. Place the flour, eggs and breadcrumbs into separate bowls and dip each fishcake first into the flour, then the eggs and finally coat in breadcrumbs.
6. Place the completed fishcakes on a tray or plate and chill in the fridge for 20 mins.
7. Lightly grease an oven tray and bake for 10 minutes on each side or until fishcakes are light and golden.
The Pancetta Green Beans came from Dorie Greenspan’s latest book, Around My French Table and were this week’s recipe from French Friday’s With Dorie, click to see a whole variety of takes on this recipe!
Kitchen Therapy 