Affogato

What goes hand in hand with Almond & Pistachio Biscotti?

Affogato of course!

Translated it means 'drowned' and that is exactly what you are going to do to the ice cream with the coffee.

Use: Good quality vanilla bean ice cream; hot espresso shot & (optional) a shot of your favourite liqueur such as frangelico

Do: Place one or two scoops of ice cream in a bowl or glass.  Prepare a shot of coffee (using an espresso machine preferably) and pour over ice cream.  (If using a liqueur, pour this over now aswell).  Eat with a spoon.

The juxtaposition of the hot and cold sensations in your mouth at once is sublime.

NomNom!

Backyard Evolution - Watching Grass Grow

So you might will call me crazy when I tell you that having your own patch of green lawn is da bomb!

Seriously though, it is.

Remember when I showed you the condition of our backyard when we moved in to our new home in 2011?

as it was in 2011

Skip forward two-ish years and we are now proud owners of one seriously green patch of grass...

Gah! totally love it, I could look at it all day.  (Ignore the surrounding garden beds, they are a work in progress!).

Our yard has gone from, pavers & rocks, to dirt & dust and now to the greenest of green...

Tell me you don't think it looks ah-mazeballs!?

I must confess we had a professional come do all the prep work & lay the lawn but it was money well spent.

Mr Nutt & I have spent numerous hours, since it was laid in mid March, just sitting on our deck with a cup of coffee watching the grass grow - literally.

So you might say we are chuffed... royally chuffed... and we are.  Seeing our lawn dream come to fruition means we are one step closer to finishing our dream garden.

We are now on the look out for a water feature to sit in front of the office window... I'm eyeing off this one from Masters Home Improvement.

Tropez Urn Water Feature

We're also out and about looking at different types of rocks for our pathways.  Mr Nutt has always been set on tumbled sandstone and we are both in agreement that the rocks below are fit for the job.

Slowly but surely the yard is getting there.

Until the next instalment of our backyard evolution I give you this...

Almond & Pistachio Biscotti

Let me admit to you, right off the bat, that I am a Biscotti novice.

Up until now, I had never cooked, nor even thought about cooking Biscotti.  I wasn't even sure I liked them!

But as you do on a rainy day, you break out your recipe book (or in this case, scour the Internet), raid your pantry and crank the oven.  So why Biscotti?  Why not!

Admittedly, I had some minor issues along the way, and they turned out looking like a Biscotti goddess had a serious run in with an ugly tree, but boy did they taste Deee-Lish!

Biscotti Use:

Biscotti Do:

(Rolling the logs was a little more finicky then I expected and they ended up to long and not thick enough)

From here on in I don't have photos.  I was concentrating so much so that my eyes could cut through sheet metal like lasers! Anyhoo...

5. Once cool, preheat oven to 160 degrees.  Using a serrated knife, thinly slice the logs and place flat down on a baking tray. (this was a little difficult because my log was still a little soft inside, I would suggest cooking the log in step 4 for another 5 minutes)

6. Bake for a further 5 minutes or so.  Be careful not to over bake as the Biscotti will become hard.

Devour!

As an aside, it's not all doom and sugary gloom with this biscuit; almonds & pistachios are a good source of protein, rich in dietary fibre, B vitamins, essential minerals & mono-unsaturated fats.  

With all sugary foods remember, consume in moderation.

For the original recipe click here

Mid-week Meander - Homage to Creativity

Where oh where has the year gone?

It's not long now before we in the Southern Hemisphere are staring directly in the blustery face of Winter.

I'll make it short & simple this week... I'm giving mad props to the wonderful & varied world of Creativity.

the Purl Bee

Crafted Love

source

EfemeraInk

World of Dennifer

Plaid

source 

source

source

If only we could harness the energy of creativity, we could generate enough power to run a small country!

Happy Hump Day!

Backyard Evolution... The continuance

You might remember a few weeks back my first post on the evolution of our backyard? If not, I forgive you, but click here to bring yourself up to speed.

Anyhoo, Mr Nutt and I talked and discussed, and talked some more about our overall plans for the yard and it was a fore drawn conclusion that we needed to make the most of the outlook over the back fence.

This again meant that for the greater good, some garden space and plants had to be sacrificed.  Bye bye grevillea and unidentified deciduous tree in the way of our master plan - a deck.

Learning from our first experience with stump removal, we called in the experts for the next one but still did all the back breaking labour to level the ground ready for the deck, including digging not one, but six post holes to save on labour costs - I repeat... ka-razy!

Okay so all my pics show Mr Nutt doing a lot of work... I helped, I promise!

Enlisting the services of a local tradie, the deck was complete in a day.

There is still plenty more to do in the way of our vision for the yard, but progress is progress and you can't ask for more than that.

More colour from our garden...

Friday Foodie - Minted Pea Puree

How long does it take you to count to 3?  Well that's as long as you will need for this minted pea puree.

Long gone are the days of slapping meat and three simple veg on your plate - au naturel.  Nowadays you need to do something fancy pants.

This minted pea puree adds that touch of fancy without the complication.  It goes extremely well with pork and beef.  Try it tonight!

Use: 1 small boiled potato; 1 cup frozen peas - blanched; 1 tsp garlic - minced; 1 tbs mint leaves

Do: Throw all ingredients into a stick master or mini food processor.  Pulse a few times, then blend until smooth.

Told you, simple.  Now to get that pork belly roasting in the oven...

Easter Bunny Cup

I've been off the radar over the last few weeks, down the rabbit hole if you will.

But I've resurfaced, just in time for Easter.

This is a fun & easy project and a great way to add a little magic & wonderment to Easter, without the excess sugar overload!

You will need: styrofoam cups; craft glue; cotton wool balls; card stock or heavy weight paper in two colours; sharpie marker;15mm acrylic pom pom balls; shredded tissue paper; solid Easter eggs.

To begin, carefully unroll a few cotton wool balls so that each forms a strip of cotton wool rather than a ball.  Starting from the base of the cup, smear some craft glue on to the cup and adhere cotton wool.  Continue until you have covered the entire cup ensuring that the top strip covers the lip of the cup.  Allow to dry.

To make the ears, download any bunny ear template you can find on Google - I used this one.  Trace onto card stock and cut out. Glue inner ear cut out onto outer ear cut out.  Again, allow to dry.

Freestyle draw the eyes and teeth onto card stock and cut out. Using your sharpie, draw an outline on the teeth & colour in the centre of the eyes (see pics).

You're almost there. By the way,  I found this craft project rather relaxing and completed it at my dining table with the tv on in the background - as ya do.

Anyhoo, using card stock, cut out thin strips for whiskers.


Now to put it all together.  I found it easiest to glue it in the following order:  Eyes, whiskers, teeth, nose and then ears.

Allow to dry - preferably over night.  Fill with shredded tissue paper & top with solid Easter eggs.

I think this is super cute & the kids will love the texture of the cup - feels just like a real bunny!

Happy Easter folks!

p.s. You could easily use feathers and yellow card stock to make a little chirpy chick aswell

Friday Foodie - Bruschetta Two Ways

Bruschetta would have to be one of the quickest, least involved meals to make yet one that bursts with flavour.  It is fresh and light, lending itself to be eaten as early as brunch, as a light lunch or even as an appetiser.

In Italy, the traditional way bruschetta is served is simply, grilled bread rubbed with garlic & drizzled with extra virgin olive oil, salt & pepper.  Nom nom.

Here are two alternative ways to serve your bruschetta...

Serves 2-4

Tomato & Basil Bruschetta:
Use:
4 medium thick slices of ciabatta/woodfired loaf or sour dough bread
2 garlic cloves - 1 finely chopped, the other cut in half
4 tomatoes - seeds removed, diced
fresh basil leaves - torn
extra virgin olive oil

Do:
1. Add chopped garlic, diced tomatoes & torn basil leaves in a bowl, drizzle with olive oil.  Combine & allow to macerate
2. Heat grill pan to high.  Brush both sides of bread with olive oil.  Grill bread for 1 minute on each side or until char grill marks appear.  Rub one side of the bread with cut side of garlic
3.  Pile tomato mixture on top of char-grilled bread, drizzle with olive oil, season with salt & pepper.  Serve.

Creamy Mushroom Bruschetta:
Use:
4 medium thick slices of ciabatta/woodfired loaf or sour dough bread
2 garlic cloves - 1 finely chopped, the other cut in half
300 grams button mushrooms - quartered
extra virgin olive oil
knob of butter
1/4 cup cream
parsley - finely chopped

Do:
1. Heat roughly 1 tablespoon of olive oil & knob of butter in a fry pan.  Add garlic & mushrooms & sauté until softened.
2. Add cream and chopped parsley and heat through.  Season with salt & pepper.
3. Heat grill pan to high.  Brush both sides of bread with olive oil.  Grill bread for 1 minute on each side or until char grill marks appear.  Rub one side of the bread with cut side of garlic
4. Pile mushroom mixture on top of char-grilled bread, drizzle with olive oil.  Season & serve.

Buon appetito!

for a printable recipe click here to download

Friday Foodie - Potato Chaat

I have a very lovely Singaporean lady who works in my department - yes I still have a day job!

Anyhoo, every day she fills the office with the amazing aroma of her home-made Thai/Malay/Indian meals and it is heavenly. I was immensely grateful when she gave me the recipe for her flavoursome potato chaat.

So what is potato chaat?  Also known as Aloo chaat, it is the name of a street food in North India which consists of frying potatoes in oil & adding spices.  It is a versatile dish and eaten mainly as a snack.

It is guaranteed to allure your senses.

Serves 2 - generously

Use:
5 medium potatoes - cut into medium cubes
1 tbsp sunflower or canola oil
1 tsp each of mustard seeds & cumin seeds
5 curry leaves
1 medium onion - finely chopped
1 teaspoon each of ginger & garlic - fresh or minced
2 dried red chillies
1/2 tsp each of cumin powder, turmeric, chilli powder & meat curry powder
pinch garam masala
2 medium tomatoes - diced
lemon juice, salt & pepper, coriander leaves & natural yoghurt to serve.

Do:
1. Place potatoes in a pot with just enough cold water to cover and bring to the boil.  When just tender, drain but reserve some liquid
2. Over a med-high heat pour oil into fry pan, add mustard & cumin seeds and curry leaves.  Cook for about 1 minute or until fragrant
3. Add onions, ginger, garlic and chillies, sauté until fragrant - roughly 5 minutes
4. Add Cumin, turmeric, chilli & curry powders along with the garam masala.  Sauté until oil starts to come through.  Stir in chopped tomatoes and cook for another few minutes
5. Finally, add potatoes coat well and cook for another 8 minutes.  If needed use some of the reserved liquid to help with coating the potatoes.
6. Season with salt, pepper & lemon juice. Serve.
7. Garnish with coriander leaves & natural yoghurt

This can also be served with rice, lentils or chapatis

का आनंद लें (Enjoy!)

for a printable recipe click here to download

Mid-week Meander - Autumn

Two days until it's Autumn folks.  Yip-eee!

I love autumn, in fact it runs a close second to Spring as my favourite season.

To me autumn is cool breezy nights & crisp fresh mornings, longer weekend lie-ins nestled under a light doona snuggling Mr Nutt & most of all admiring the spectacular show put on by Mother Nature.

Here are a few quick finds this week to celebrate the oncoming of Autumn.

What does it mean to you?

Happy Autumn!

Backyard Evolution - The beginning

When Mr Nutt and I purchased our home in May 2011, we inherited a modest little backyard but unfortunately, plonked right in the middle, was a giant tree surrounded by lots of pavers & rocks.

When the landscaping was first done it would have looked fantastic, but trees grow and the roots of this one were heading right toward the foundation of the house.  It had to go.

So, shortly after moving in, Mr Nutt got cracking with some good ol' fashioned elbow grease to bring this baby down! (don't get me wrong, I'm a tree hugging hippie, but this tree had to be sacrificed for the greater good)

The late site foreman was ever watchful during the process. How I miss him =(

By the end of the weekend the tree was gone and all that remained was a humongous pile of branches and a stump.

Having the tree gone really opened up the space, just compare the before and after shots.

Anyhoo another laborious weekend later and the raised garden bed was removed and the stump exposed.  Site foreman still sleepily watching on.

We eventually got the stump out and all that was left to do now was to unearth the roots that had worked their way toward the house and remove those too.  A painstaking process, all done by hand might I add - talk about ka-razy!

Stay tuned for more of our backyard evolution, but in the meantime, it's not all dirt and mud in our garden...

Friday Foodie - Orange Cupcakes

I'm a huge fan of citrus flavoured desserts and sweets. In fact I find them so hard to resist that I am indulging in an orange cupcake as I type this post - it's very hard to eat & type you know!

These cupcakes, are super simple to make, have a light texture and are bursting with orange flavour - naturally!

Cupcakes Use:

Cupcakes Do:

At this point, don't be tempted to eat all the mixture, a little bit on the tip of your finger is quite okay!

Don't they just look dreamy already?

If you can resist, allow to cool in the tin for 5 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

While time ticks away, get cracking with the icing.

Icing Use:

Icing Do:
1. Sift icing sugar into medium bowl
2. Add butter and smoosh it into the icing sugar with the back of a spoon
3. Add zest and a little orange juice at a time, stirring well after each addition, until it becomes a spreadable consistency
4. Spread onto cooled cupcakes.  Refrigerate until set.

Feel free to embellish the tops of your cupcakes with any goodies your heart desires.

Enjoy with a freshly brewed cup of coffee!

For a printable recipe click here to download