day 275: eggs benedict

day 275, and day 5 with steve.  sunday morning and i woke up feeling like a fancy breakfast.  to be honest i have been thinking about eggs benedict for a couple days now since finding a bag of hollandaise sauce in the cupboard while getting ingredients together for an earlier creation.  todays creation came from izzy brodsky and repinned to kirstys recipe must do pinterest board. 

the originating website wasnt a recipe as such, but lets face it, eggs benedict is pretty simple and all about the hollandaise sauce and snappy execution.

i like to use pinterest ideas as a start point and adapt them a bit to suit taste and ingredient availability.  for this one we didnt have bacon but could use some leftover bbq sausages and ham.  we also didnt have english muffins but did have some fresh bread for thick toast.  yes hollandaise sauce can be made from scratch, but this product was advertised as "restaurant quality" and i will try anything once.

it looks like a ridiculous amount of silverbeet/spinach.....but it does reduce down a lot!

eggs are on so only a few minutes to get everything else ready

while the eggs and silverbeet/spinach were cooking, the sossies and ham were being reheated on the bbq (we use the bbq almost every day all year round).  with everything ready it was time to plate up.  here is where individual taste comes in.....from the top:

• polly likes a bit of parsley but no hollandaise sauce
• ben wanted the sauce but does not like parsley
• kirsty got the ham instead of left over bbq sausage
• steve got the lot

all plated up and ready to eat

outcome: this was awesome.  who doesn't like having this kind of quality breakfast on a sunday morning?  in NZ you could pay $10-15 for this in a cafe so it is definitely worth the little bit of effort at home.  at risk of sounding like im blowing my own trumpet, the image i took below is the best i have seen for eggs benedict on pinterest.  im looking forward to seeing it plastered all over pinterest in the coming weeks.

cafe quality if you ask me

day 274: Tipsy Pots

 

day 274 and steve is still filling in for kirsty.  today i felt the need to get outside, partly because i felt like i had put on 6-8 kilos due to all the baking this week.  browsing through kirstys boards i found a heap of outdoor projects that had my name on them.  this one in particular was repinned from stacey hutson garden ideas board.  it appealed because its both a bit quirky and quite clever.  i also knew that i had most of the materials lying around the property.

ingredients - mostly old, some things new

i did need to purchase a few extra pots, and the few i had needed a quick waterblast.  i used reinforcing rod (D12).  later on i could actually use this rebar like a rasp to make the holes a bit bigger in the smaller pots.

remember - always check for underground cables before ramming steel rod randomly about the garden

four hours later after being discharged from hospital, i proceeded with the test fit.  the end of the bar should be just covered (hidden) with potting mix.  you will see above that i started with a base pot level, but then below its tilted.  i just preferred the look with all pots tilted.

test fit the pots - ram the steel further if necessary

fill with potting mix and plant out

this quirky sculpture fits in well with our unstructured garden

finished product with flowers in full bloom

outcome: this last photo is proof that you just cant trust everything you see on the internet, but this is how i see the final result in my head.  im pretty pleased with the outcome and this is not something i would have thought of doing myself.  it was fun and in my view proves the value of pinterest.
thanks to nine is fine for the idea and easy to follow instructions.

day 273: everyday chocolate cake

a big day for us today which included confirmation that kirsty needs an operation for her back.  while this may still be 4-8 weeks away, be assured that kirsty will be back on 365 creations sooner rather than later.
there wasn't a lot of spare time today so i was lucky to find this recipe on kirstys recipe must do pinterest board.
im a sucker for any sort of chocolate cake, and this had "steves supper" written all over it.  check the recipe out on the original site collaborativecurry.com.

you should be scared, steves cooking again

who needs a beater when you move like the Flash

the recipe says "sift", clearly i didn't

see that bowl? im going to lick it clean!

im not a big fan of licking the batter, but let me tell you that this has got to be the best tasting batter ever!!!  i was sold on this before it even entered the oven.

out of the oven......it looks like it should.....

outcome:  it was the easiest recipe to follow and pretty idiot-proof.....but not completely.  i had the oven set at 375 instead of 325.  also our oven is fan-forced so this was a bit over-cooked after 35 minutes.  despite the stuff-up, the real proof is in the tasting and this did not disappoint.  the only disappointment will be on my kids faces tomorrow when they realise dad didn't leave them any.
a couple of other points to note:

• those eggs crack me up so expect to see more while i am in charge
• diabetics beware, the amount of sugar in this could kill you.  remember, "don't be a rooster, first have a booster" (i am a type 1 diabetic so speak from experience)
• this really is the easiest chocolate cake recipe.  any muppet could do it!

day 272: Rhubarb Strussel Cupcakes

 

day 272 and its steve again.....kirsty is still lying on the floor.  rest assured that i dont just leave her there.  we have regular family outings to the doctors and specialists etc, so definitely working towards getting her mobile again.
by now you are probably seeing certain themes coming through with me at the helm.  i enjoy food, love rhubarb, and am trying to use up the eggs.  todays creation covers off all of the above and comes from Barbara Haks pinterest recipes board.

one egg knows whats coming.....the others think they are better than me!

i showed them stoopid eggs whose boss.....mwa ha ha haaaaaaar

thats all the rhubarb gone.....what am i going to do tomorrow?

thats the way the crumble crumbles

all ready for the oven........can you tell a bloke did this?

outcome: these kept the kids and one of their friends happy at afternoon tea time.  kirsty casually lay on the floor and scoffed one (no picture available.....well there was but only an idiot would dare use it), and i ate several (again no picture, but i can tell you it was not pretty to watch).  these were really tasty especially with the crumble topping.

give them a crack!  if i can do it, you can!

three eggs were harmed in the making of this pinterest creation.

day 271: omelette roulade

day 271 and its kirstys husband steve doing the typing again.  kirsty is now comfortable thanks to medication but still not able to sit or walk without pain.  rest assured that everything you see below has been approved by the boss.
i decided to take my own advice from day 270 and make an omelette.  our chooks have ramped up production recently so there is no shortage of eggs.  i didnt want any old omelette though, it had to be a little bit fancy and easy to prepare because it had to feed the family tonight.
I repinned this promising recipe from emanuela jalba to kirstys recipe must do board.  following back to source reveals a blog called chichoskitchen centering around the concept of an internet kitchen......worth checking out.

fresh is best - lettuce, parsley and eggs from our property

the hard bit is next.......flipping

an image designed to depict that something cool is about to happen

pretty cool eh?.....and surprisingly simple

wrapped and ready to go into the fridge

o for orsome

outcome: i chose to rest the omelette on a bed of fresh cooked spinach from our garden.  plating up was complete with a drizzle of olive oil.   taking a step back i admired my creation and wept.  it was at this point i realised i need to urgently (1) bar-be-que some meat (2) skull a beer (3) get my chainsaw and cut down a tree (4) get to my workshop and weld something.

with that done it was time to sit down and eat.  these are an amazing twist on the classic omelette and we all loved them, especially the kids.  i have to admit i had bbq sausages with mine, but they really were quite filling on their own.  thanks to emanuela jalba and chichoskitchen for todays pinterest creation

day 270: rustic rhubarb tarts

day 270 and its kirstys husband steve doing the typing tonight.  kirsty has badly hurt her back and has been laid out flat on the floor for most of today and yesterday.  we are having a family outing to a back specialist tomorrow, but in the meantime its all hands to the pump to keep 365 going!

given the situation, today was about finding something easy to achieve while giving maximum bang for buck!
being a bloke, I suggested food.  because kirsty couldnt sit at the PC to search, i had complete control (subject to kirstys approval of course).

i found this wicked looking rustic rhubarb tart from smittenkitten and knew it would be a winner!  this is pinned to kirstys board recipes for the boys on pinterest (subject to kirstys approval of course).

some of you might look at this and think "what the?...thats not easy, they make the filling and the pastry from scratch".  i totally agree, but it just so happens our neighbours gave us a heap of rhubarb over the weekend.  not only that but we had already cooked it following this recipe.  a quick check in the freezer and i discovered some sheets of sweet short pastry.......all i needed was an oven, and kirsty tells me we have one of those to!!!

two ingredients - but you might be thinking "they should make an omelette instead"

back pain - the ingredients for kirstys supper 

i cut some rustic looking pastry shapes and rustically dolloped the rhubarb in the middle.  then it was a simple task to pinch and fold around to create a pouch of rhubarby rusticness.

started to make four

thought i might want to eat one asap, so made one more

outcome:  im eating one as i type and it is 'o' for orsome (thats a kiwi-ism, not a spelling error).  i made five so i could eat one after the kids went to bed.  we will all have one each tomorrow and i cant wait.  served warm with a bit of yoghurt or icecream, or just eaten cold these are a yummy treat.
kirsty usually thanks people here.  i want to thank our neighbours for the rhubarb, kirsty for buying the pastry, and of course you for tolerating my blogging attempt today while kirsty recovers.  big credit also needs to go to smittenkitchen for the recipe.

day 269: cinnamon swirl bread

day 269 and i have help in the kitchen today with my lovely assistant pollyanna who is going to help me make cinnamon swirl bread.  this is a bread maker recipe from the money saving mom website and the recipe is pinned to my recipe must do's board on pinterest.

just a quick blog post today as i am feeling a little under the weather :(  Polly and I followed the recipe adding craisens instead of raisins.

outcome: the peeps loved it and asked for a second piece as soon as they finished the first one, while my husband came home from work and quickly polished off two slices.....i'd say that was a definite success!

thanks to ben for doing the typing, polly for helping out in the the kitchen and money saving mom for the awesome recipe! definitely a weekend recipe to share with the rest of the family :)