food and diets

And now for something completely different!

/ Rainee / 9 Comments

I went into a shop today and the first items I saw were bags of Snowballs. I told my son I bought some and he asked me what they were. I thought everyone knew but just in case, here are a couple of photos.

Food has all sorts of purposes and meaning in our lives. My dad loved Snowballs. In fact it is one of the last things I remember him eating when I last saw him a few weeks before he died at 89 years old. When I visited I often brought him Snowballs and for my mum it was ginger chocolates!

In case you haven’t come across them before they are balls of marshmallow dipped in chocolate and then rolled in coconut. Sometimes they are advertised as “fat free” which almost makes them sound healthy.

Here is a little video on how to make them. This one uses bought marshmallows but my mum used to make her own.

Yum!

A Recipe reflecting Life

/ Rainee / 10 Comments

bake baked basil broccoli

Photo by Pixabay on Pexels.com

I was cooking dinner this evening – Tuna Mornay – an old favourite. Now, over time I have been careful about particular food items and sensitivities. The mornay starts with cooking the onion in butter. Next is to add flour to make a roux (butter and flour mixed together to make a paste). I used gluten-free flour. All good so far.

Next item to add was the milk – soy milk of course. Then I added the tuna, cheese, spices, corn and peas.

An then I laughed at myself. Why did I bother with the gluten-free flour and the soy milk when I had already included a whole onion?

red brown white and purple onions and garlic displayed

Photo by Pixabay on Pexels.com

Then I got philosophical. We take so much care in looking after very specific aspects of our lives while we cannot see the bit that really needs attention (the equivalent of the onion) in our lives.

I guess this is how most of us manage day-to-day life. We are not always attentive to the bigger picture – especially if our thoughts are busy with a million distractions. We keep hearing about the importance of being mindful of the present moment but it often alludes me still.

 

Life and Groceries

/ Rainee / 8 Comments

For many months I ordered my weekly grocery shopping online and had it delivered to my kitchen benchtop. For a number of reasons I returned to shopping in store.

It was interesting to note that I stopped purchasing many of the items that were on “my usuals” list online. Going back to the store meant more options and opportunities to change habits.

It occurred to me that life is a bit like that! I can get into a groove (rut) and follow the “my usuals” list of how I live my life day to day. I can get stuck doing the same things just because I have a narrow view of my options.

It is easy to just do the same things from week to week. However getting out and seeing what else the world has to offer can add a new flavour to our days.
September 2015 garden 004

Weekly photo challenge: Fray

/ Rainee / 9 Comments

This is a photo of me taken in the last couple of years. Each year I make Christmas Puddings following my mother-in-law’s recipe. When she passed away I inherited her bowls, old kitchen scales, rolling pin (to crush the almonds) and even the frayed apron. The responsibility for producing the Christmas Pudding is now solely up to me! Such responsibility :-). I still have the apron and don’t have the heart to throw it out and get a new one!

Christmas Pudding time

Christmas Pudding time

Make me smile

/ Rainee / 11 Comments

If you’re feeling blah, what is the one thing you do that you can count on to put a smile on your face?

I think this would do the trick for me :-). What about you?

icecream

 

Keeping the creativity going …

/ Rainee / 5 Comments

I have been making a special effort to cook something different each week that I have never cooked before.

Tonight I am cooking RICE PORK LARB – click HERE for original recipe and instructions

INGREDIENTS

1.5 cups of jasmine rice, rinsed

I tablespoon of peanut oil

I tablespoon of chopped lemon-grass (I will have to see if my neighbour has some or I will be using a lemon!)

2 garlic cloves, finely chopped

500g of pork mince

I red onion (I hope a brown one will do!), halved, thinly sliced

1/2 small pineapple, chopped

1/4 cup fish sauce

2 teaspoons of caster sugar (ordinary sugar will have to do!)

1 tablespoon of light, soy sauce

2 limes, juiced

12 small cos lettuce leaves (I only have iceberg lettuce)

1/3 cup of roasted peanuts, chopped

METHOD

1. Cook rice following absorption method on packet. Remove from heat. Cover and stand for 5 minutes. Transfer to a large bowl. Set aside to cool.

2. Meanwhile, heat a wok (I don’t have one :-() over medium heat. Add oil, lemon-grass and garlic and cook for 30 seconds. Add pork and cook, breaking up lumps with a wooden spoon, for 5 minutes or until lightly browned. Add a 1/2 cup of cold water. Simmer, uncovered for 5 minutes or until water is absorbed. Stir in onion and pineapple. Set aside to cool.

3. Place fish sauce, sugar, soy sauce and 1/3 cup of lime juice in a small bowl. Stir to combine. Add sauce mixture and pork mixture to rice. Stir to combine. Arrange lettuce on a platter. Spoon over rice mixture and sprinkle with peanuts before serving.

*** It was very nice 🙂

pork dish 001 (Copy)

My cooking adventures

/ Rainee / 6 Comments

Each week I am trying a new dish that I have never cooked before. This is what I cooked today!

TASTE OF HOME – Click on the link below for the web version of the recipe

Best Veal Scallopini

Veal 001 (Copy)

Ingredients

  • 2 veal cutlet (about 4 ounces each)
  • 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
  • Salt and pepper to taste
  • 3 tablespoons butter, divided
  • 1 tablespoon olive oil
  • 1/4 pound fresh mushrooms, thinly sliced
  • 1/3 cup chicken broth
  • 2 teaspoons minced fresh parsley

Directions

  • Flatten cutlets to 1/8-in. thickness. In a resealable plastic bag,combine the flour, salt and pepper. Add veal; seal bag and shake to coat evenly. In a skillet, heat 2 tablespoons butter and oil. Add veal; cook over medium heat for about 1 minute on each side or until juices run clear. Remove and keep warm.
  • Add mushrooms to skillet; cook and stir for 2-3 minutes or until tender. Spoon over veal. Stir broth into skillet, stirring up any browned bits. Add parsley and remaining butter; cook and stir 2 minutes longer or until slightly thickened. Pour over veal and mushrooms. Yield: 2 servings.

I served the veal with mashed potato, silver-beet (from my garden), Brussels sprouts and carrots.

Creativity Indian Style

/ Rainee / 4 Comments

As part of my challenge to be more creative, I decided I would cook something that I have never cooked before. I found a recipe for chicken cooked with spices from a cookbook called Indian Cooking for Australia by Gladys Roach.

WP ready

Here is the recipe for Masala Murghi. We enjoyed eating it and now that I have a better selection of spices I will experiment with another recipe next week :-).

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