Friends for Feeding Frenzy

Preparing for a friends lunch tomorrow

Menu plan -
Nibbles - sorry not so domestic goddess of me - chips and bits

Entree - also doubles as kids lunch - chicken wingettes honey soy and Peri peri, sausages and yummy bread

Main -
Fig, buffalo mozzarella and radicchio salad
Pumpkin tarte tatin
Sweet potato tarte tatin
Roast pork
Roast apples and pears

Dessert -
Decadent chocolate tower cake with butterscotch cream and caramelized hazelnuts

Home made vanilla icecream

Jelly for the kiddies

I will post recipes and pictures tomorrow

Wish me luck !!! X

Ps pic is the cake work in progress

Mama's' Dinner

Morning all.... after dinner madness....

We had everyone over, MIL, FIL, Brother, and of course the birthday girl Mama. Princess made her usual impact (joined us for dinner and had a great time scoffing pork).

Pork - for the first time in ages I stuffed up the crackling.. not very Domestic goddess of me...!!)

Pork Recipe -
Stuffed pork loin from butcher without the bone, crackling attached.. (normally i take this off the roll and roast it separately - hence the crackling disaster.
Salt the fat, place in deep roasting pan, surround with halved apples, pour in 500ml of beef stock, heat oven to 200 place in over, cook for 20 mins, then turn oven down to 180 and cook for about 20 minutes per 500g.

Roast Vegies -
I roasted kipfler potatoes, normal potatoes, some sweet potato and a tiny bit of pumpkin because that was all I had in the house. Just rolled them in oil and placed on over tray in over above the roast.

Cauliflower Cheese
I was going to skip this, but my brother made a special request, and as it was his birthday last week, I obliged.
Stem the cauliflower in rosettes. at the same time add a nob of butter, melted in a saucepan, then a tablespoon plain flour to make a rue. I kept adding flour till it made a paste, I left the heat on to cook the flour a little to remove the floury taste. Then added Milk about 500ml and whisked it to absorb all the rue and not have lumps. When it started to thicken i added some more milk and again whisked. Let it thicken a second time, added cheddar, a big handful, some pepper and then stirred till the cheese was melted. 
Pour this over steamed cauliflower, top with another handful of grated cheese and place in the oven.

Dessert was Creme Caramel
I make this with milk.
2/3 cup of sugar and a table spoon of water (or there about ) enough water to dissolve the sugar. Place in a saucepan, and heat till it turns to a light brown caramel. Pour into ramekins or in our case a round baking tray
While caramel is on the stove, combine 4 large eggs, 2 cups of milk, 2/3 cup of sugar and a teaspoon of Vanilla or in my case I used a teaspoon of vanilla bean paste. Whisk all to combine.
Pour over hardened caramel in baking pan and cook in a water bath in a 180 degree oven for 45 mins or till it is wobbly but cooked.
Cool and then place in the fridge.

Serve with fresh fruit . We had it with Watermelon and strawberries as that is what we had in the house.

that was Mama's birthday spread... HAPPY BIRTHDAY MAMA !!! xx

Mamas birthday dinner plan

Its my Mamas birthday and time to create a little mid week magic!!

Menu plan

Creme caramel
Roast pork
Roast apples
Vegetables

Good wine
Great champagne
Fabulous company ..

Happy birthday Mama - we love you !!!

New Years Resolutions

To exercise more, spend more time, eat better etc etc - I don't think the list is any different to the greater population.

On a more serious note - what do I commit to - this year I think it's simple ( well in theory) ..

I am going to enjoy every minute of my life, focus on the positives and spend time with those important to me. Princess A and A - 2012 is going to be magnificent - with never-ending love, laughter, delicious food and fun !!!

Happy New Year !!!

Xx

Milestones

Milestones were always associated with project management theory and scheduling in a Princess A free world. Now they are something entirely new, its like a whole new vocab.

Milestones like rolling, drinking, eating, talking, crawling and now walking. At 10 months pretty much to the day my little princess took her first step. Was I proud ? You bet, grinning from ear to ear.

Sitting, once again away from A and Princess A I wonder, have I been in such a rush to meet the milestones, that I somehow forgot to enjoy the way? Has the 'management' theory taken over the pure joy of just experiencing things?
When did having a child and working my way through the parenting minefield become a competition ?

I notice myself comparing, judging, passing opinion, all those things I said I wouldn't do.

Is it out of pride that parents do this? We can only really listen to others if we are willing to take a step back.

More later x

The Glamour of Travel

OK I am going to promise, first up that this post is not going to be another repeat of the guilt's or a to - do list for 2012.

Is travel glamorous?
Maybe if you fly at the very pointy end of the plane, stay in 5 star hotels, and travel to luxurious destinations, surely there must be an allure or the 100,000's of travellers wouldn't bother. Lets face it, the hotel rooms, the comfortable pillows, the luxurious linens, the delicious food... ha??? Right now I am sitting in a comfortable room, having enjoyed a small dinner waiting for sleep to come. I don't think its really as glamorous as people make it out to be. Travel is a necessary evil to reach our objective. (or so I heard from someone), maybe that was a bit harsh. For me its a way to get to A - B and home again, part of the job, but part I could live without.

Is travel necessary?
On my way to the airport, the driver of the mini bus taking me from my car park to the domestic terminal, suggested that skype would be a far better way to communicate and save so much money. Does that make up for human contact. Maybe in the work sphere, I could save time and energy by beaming myself into function rooms, webinars or something like that - I am still not 100% convinced about this......
I have been skyping, face timing, whatsapping and Texting and trying to do as much as I can to stay in touch with Princess A and A and I can tell you that Skype does not make up for the real thing. A cuddle, a warm hug, a kiss, the smell of home......

My Glamorous experience -
I stay in a smallish hotel, the service is friendly and they do seem to care which is what I like - but glamorous - No! there is nothing glamorous at racing to the airport, parking the car, waiting for the mini bus, arriving at the airport, heaving the bags and boxes or material to check-in, waiting for the plane, finally boarding only to sit next to some person who thinks that all 3 seats were designated for them, and how dare I want to sit there and then to make it worse, be in the window seat. Order a cup of tea, $10 salad that is barely edible, where the dressing has spurted all over my pants, to pack up, get off, wait for the bags, heave them to the rental car company, wait for 35 minutes while they find your booking, which for some reason doesn't exist, get to the rental car (of course the furthest away from the booking office), find the car, notice additional damage not mentioned, queue some more, get the car looked at, finally leave the airport, drive to the hotel, park the car, check in, get to the room, unpack..... only to start the process in reverse a few days later to return (and if it a short trip the very next day). I think exhausting is a more appropriate word for it !!

The domestic goddess in me yearns for a warm bath, a nice cup of tea and some time with a good book. Bring on the next installment of "the colour tea"  or my latest literary discovery "Nikky Pellegrino". But really if i could chose to be anywhere right now it would be home - nothing feels as good as your own bed, own home, my own food. Princess A and A, I love the feeling of home - I'm on my way in my dream tonigh, see you soon !!

Auckland Adventures

I am once again in amazing Auckland, well maybe it is for me. It seems that when I am here I somehow seem to get a glimpse of the life that I would like and where I want to go, a feeling of clarity only to have it overtaken again by the Sydney System.

At the moment I am feeling anything but domestic, I seem to spend more time in hotels than at home with the family.

A is screaming that isn't what he signed up for and Princess A seems to be coping, but I suffer pangs of jealousy of all the cool things she does with 'other' people.

Enough said, I have started planning 2012 - yes in October!!! I promise Princess A and A that I will do maximum 3 days a week and none of these all week stints.

Anyway... about the food...

I had a delicious dinner in the hotel restaurant - they serve 'prawn cutlets with Asian slaw'. I would call them prawns with with some bean shoots and sweet chili sauce, but the balance of flavour is really delicious and I find myself slurping at the sauce.

Tonight I was a 'piggy wiggy' and ordered a main, lamb fillet with blue cheese sauce, capsicum and some undefined herb. It was surprisingly good, I kept wondering whether the blue cheese would overpower and kind of hit me in the senses, but again the flavours were subtle and tasty. Oh and the best bit - I could go in the draw to have a years supply of New Zealand Beef sent anywhere in the world (how cool would that be !!)

Its late here and way past my bedtime but I wanted to let you know that I hadn't fallen off the planet.

More to come about the Island Luau, my Birthday lunch and lots lots more

xx