Yummy risotto...

I made a really yummy risotto last night. I just made up the ingredients myself, so I thought it might just be average, but it turned out really good.
If you're interested the ingredients were:
2 Chorizo sausages chopped
1 carrot chopped
1 onion chopped
1 clove garlic chopped
1 1/2 cups arborio rice
1/2 cup semi-dried tomatoes
1 1/2 cups brocolli
chicken stock
1/4 cup grated parmesan

Pie taste test...

The pie tasted pretty good. It was steak and cheese flavour (ie. chunks of steak) and the meat wasn't junky and was nice and tender. But as Peter and I both commented, fundraiser pies have to be fairly good, otherwise people won't buy them when they have the next fundraiser.

Pies have arrived...

The fundraising pies were delivered to kindy today and I was able to bring ours home. They look like any generic family pies. We are having one for dinner, so I'll fill you in on how they taste later.

Suprise breakfast in bed

I got breakfast in bed this morning, for no particular reason (no birthday, anniversary etc.). It was nice and it was yummy - buttermilk pancakes topped with warm blueberries and greek yoghurt.

mmm yum...

we had yummy freshly made basil pesto for dinner tonight. I know I've mentioned how good it tastes before, but it is REALLY good, so I thought I'd tell you all again. Again it is thanks to basil supplied by our back neighbour (this time she pulled the whole plant out and gave it to me!).

South African brain/stomach washing...

Went to the South African butcher today to get more steak (not because they are South African, but because it is the best rump steak, at the best price we have been able to find - only $16.95/kg and it's nice and thickly cut and tender). But I ended up exiting the store with a bag of Nik Naks (SA equivalent of Twisties, only better), which Ben had picked up and requested, and some Koeksisters, which I saw and wanted (Peter and I used to make them every now and then, but it is quite time consuming, so we haven't done it since we've had kids).

I'm sick of tomatoes...

After buying the big box of them last week at the markets and then spending all week drying them, chopping them, making sauce with them, and freezing them whole. I couldn't even think of buying any today when I went to the markets. Instead I bought blueberries and boysenberries which are much easier to preserve - just chuck them in the freezer whole!

Our chillies are turning red!!

Finally after much waiting (and doubting) our chillies are starting to turn red. So we should be able to have a nice supply of red chillies which will last us through the winter.

Yummy Playgroup craft!

Last week's craft at playgroup was icing and decorating biscuits. The kids enjoyed making them, but I think they found eating them even more fun. And the bonus for me was that Joanna ate her whole sandwich for lunch (the deal was that if they finished their sandwich at lunch they could then eat one of their biscuits) - she hasn't done that in a long time.

Yummy semi dried tomatoes...

With their being a stack of tomatoes around at the moment and the tomato season coming to a end, I've been starting to do stuff to preserve some of them so we can enjoy the taste of tomatoes in the cooler months (without it coming out of a can).

So I've been making a few batches of semi-dried tomatoes in the oven (cut into 8ths, put on baking tray, sprinkle with a little salt and caster sugar, put in oven at 100 degrees C for 4hrs). So far I've been storing them in jars I've collected (filling the space around them with olive oil) and putting them in the fridge - they will apparently be good for 3 months this way. As I'm running out of jars I'm going to also try putting them in a snap lock bag in the freezer - where (according to the diagram on the inside of my freezer door) they will be good for 1 months.

They taste very yummy (better than the ones you buy at the supermarket) and the kids love them too.

Mmmm... chillis!

I made some Thai green curry for dinner tonight. We have most of the ingredients growing in our garden (coriander, chillis, spring onions), or in the pantry (garlic and ginger), so the only thing we needed to get was lemongrass. Our chillis have been a little on the weak side, so I thought what the heck, I'll throw in 8 rather than the 6 the recipe says. Well, our chillies aren't quite as weak as I thought. The curry had a kick. A very pleasant kick :) Ben had seconds!

Fresh basil pesto...

Was talking to our back neighbours on Monday afternoon and she gave us a whole plastic bag full of fresh basil that she had just got out of her garden. Apparently she doesn't use it much, but it is growing really fast and big in her garden. I was very happy to receive it because ever since I made my 1st batch of basil pesto last month, I've been waiting for there to be enough basil in our garden to make more! (I even planted a whole lot more seed to get more, but it seems to be growing very slowly). So last night I made up 3 batches of my recipe and now have 3 bottles of pesto sitting in my fridge! It tastes so much better than the stuff you get in the jar from the supermarket. And to help keep the cost down, for the nuts that go in it, I replace the pine nuts with cashew nuts (cheaper to start with and frequently on special at the supermarket).

Pick-me-up pills of choice...

Are chocolate coated coffee beans for me! Lately I been feeling rather tired after lunch, so at afternoon tea time I've been popping half a dozen of these and they seem to help me get through the rest of the afternoon/evening without affecting my sleep (not to mention I like them anyway). Its also easier/quicker than making myself a cup of coffee (which I also don't really want to drink in the heat of the afternoon).