Friday 28 February 2014

The pic says it for me!


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Food on Friday: Quick & Easy

ON

The new Food on Friday is the opposite of the one we did on Slow Food.  This one is for dishes that are quick & easy to do.  We all need those in our repertoire for those days where we just don't have time to cook up a storm but don't want to resort to takeaways.

To add your dishes just put your name/blog name and the name of the dish into the first Mr Linky box and paste the url for your post about it into the second one.

To see all the other quick and easy dishes just pop over to this Pinboard where I'll be pinning all the links just as soon as I can.

I'm looking forward to some great new ideas for those weeknight meals.


PS  For a change of pace pop over to this Need Some Inspiration post with the features from FoF Slow Food

Thursday 27 February 2014

Hope none of you are thinking of another meaning of 'trip'!

Life-is-a-trip-but-no-map-quote-saying

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Need some inspiration? Try Slow Food Dishes


Cronuts by Cherry on My Sundae
Food on Friday: Slow Food showed just how many people do like to use slow cooking methods – whether in a slow cooker or not.  I have selected a few of the many great dishes for your inspiration today.  To see the others just pop over to this Pinboard.

The first pic is of Cronuts by Cherry on My Sundae

 


Carnitas by O Taste and See

 

Overnight Oven Baked French Toast by Jenn's Random Scraps

 


 

Afghan Spicy Beans by Gormandize

 

Sous Vide Short Ribs by Cooking Madly

Wednesday 26 February 2014

Sheryl says that this is the question we should all ask ourselves


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Lean In by Sheryl Sandberg


I wasn't particularly looking forward to reading Lean In by Sheryl Sandberg.  And I certainly didn't intend to blog about it.  But all that changed.  I started reading it and ended up devouring the book in a day.

It is not a book extolling the author's brilliance – it is not actually any sort of memoir although Sandberg does use personal experiences to illustrate some of her points.

In fact the author is remarkably modest in approach – particularly given her spectacular achievements in business.  She is currently COO of Facebook.

You may not agree with everything she says but, boy, it is expressed well. 


This is not just a book for ambitious women but for all who want to understand the challenges ahead if we are to reach the position where men and women truly have the benefit of choice without barriers created by gender.  
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Tuesday 25 February 2014

A lemon theme going on today!

can-you-explain-how-life-gave-us-lemons-cartoon

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Limoncello with prosecco


I have formed a love affair with drinking Prosecco (light Italian sparkling wine – I got an NZ one) with a splosh of Limoncello.  I still have it now and again.  Subtle lemon flavour, a hint of sweetness and then the liveliness of the bubbles – what’s not to like?

Limoncello is apparently routinely made by households in Italy – each with their own favourite way of doing it.  I wonder how difficult it would be to make it?  Of course, my pathetic little lemon tree just won’t produce enough lemons for this sort of thing.  Last year I only got 3 lemons - this year it will be 7 - if they keep on growing.

I understand you are supposed to keep the Limoncello really cold – even in the freezer – I wasn’t game enough for that and settled on keeping it in the fridge.


Do you use Limoncello – what do you do with it?
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Monday 24 February 2014

Capital City of the Week – Paris


I almost didn't do Paris in this series – such a well known city!  But what the heck!  So I tried to find some lesser known features of the city.



This is the Pont Neuf – which means New Bridge but it is actually the oldest bridge in Paris.



You don't have to choose between the right and left bank of the Seine.  You can stay on the Ile St Louis right in the middle of the river.



This is the Pompidou Centre – it houses art galleries and a library.



Pere-Lachaise cemetery not only has the graves of Jim Morrison and Edith Piaf, but has Oscar Wilde, Chopin and Sarah Bernhardt as well to name but a few of the famous people buried there.

So where in the world is Paris?




Paris is the capital of:





As if you didn't know!


Degas

La Petite Danseuse de Quatorze Ans

Another really famous artist for you today – Degas.  It's just as well he is usually identified just by surname since his first name was Hilaire-Germain-Edgar!  For some reason, he was just called Edgar.  He was born in Paris in 1834. 

 Therese – the painter's sister
He came from a well off family and was the oldest of 5 children.  His mother died when he was just 13 years old.

 
Dance class 1871

Two Dancers Resting
Degas never married.  He is famous for his ballet scenes – he did over 600 works about ballet! 

  Race Horses 1866

He also did works about horses at the racetrack.

Trotting Horse
He not only painted but he sculpted – guess what – horses and dancers of course!


Edmond Duranty 1879
 He also painted a lot of nude women – which you can Google to see if you want.


Portrait of a Young Woman 1867

Degas died at the age of 64 before the end of WWI.  His grave is in Montmartre Cemetery.


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Sunday 23 February 2014

Not sure I quite understand the full weight of this - must need better balance!

life-balance-holding-on-letting-go-plate

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Mini Ham

Mini Ham by Carole's Chatter

Recently I glazed a Mini Ham.  I call it a mini because it was a quarter of a leg of ham.  For 2 of us this turned out to be the perfect size – we were able to eat it all before getting sick of it – a first!

I saw recently on a Food TV programme – sorry can't remember which – that you should warm the ham up in the oven before taking the skin off – because then it is easier to take it off.  I am happy to report that this did work.  I put the ham in a low oven for 20 minutes.  The ham was just warm but still comfortable to handle.

I took the skin off with the help of a little sharp paring knife – I tried to leave all the fat on the ham that I could.

I then scored the ham with a sharp knife – trying not to cut right through the fat – and mostly succeeding.  If you score it in parallel lines one way and then turn the ham 90 degrees and do it again you should have a diamond pattern.

Mini-ham-before-glazing-Caroles-Chatter


I then poked a clove into the middle of each diamond.  This isn't as easy as it sounds because it was actually quite hard to see the diamonds – I just didn't worry about it too much. In fact in the past when I've done ham I've put the cloves not in the middle of the diamond but where the scoring crosses.  I don't think it matters other than for looks.  If you wanted to be sure to put the clove in the middle of the diamond you could pop the ham back into the oven on a moderate heat for 15 minutes or so and the diamonds should then show up clearly, I think.

I prepared a glaze for the ham – it was my own concoction but worked out a treat.  I put the following things into a small pot:

Juice and zest of 2 tangelos (you could use oranges)
Brown sugar – about a quarter cup
Mustard – I would have used powder but didn't have any so used a mix of Dijon and Hot English
Brandy
1 dried red chilli, broken into half and the seeds shaken out and discarded
Half a cinnamon quill – left as a piece

Simmer this lot for 5 minutes or so while stirring to allow the glaze to come together.

Brush the glaze over the ham and then put it in the cook – I had the oven on low/medium and brushed more glaze over every 15 to 20 minutes – a bit of a chore but it builds a delightful depth of flavour.

Because the ham was not raw you don't need to worry too much about the length of cooking – it's done when your glaze looks fab!  Mine took 2-3 hours.  If you were glazing a larger ham I would cook it on medium rather than low and for about the same time – just to make sure the ham is nicely warm all the way through.

Mini-Ham-Tangelo-glaze-Caroles-Chatter


I served this with 3 salads – avocado & tomato, broccoli and cauliflower and my new obsession My Berlin Kitchen potato salad.

PS  That's a tangelo in the first pic.  It's a cross between an orange and a tangerine and has lovely sweet juice.


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Saturday 22 February 2014

Sometimes a sign like this would come in handy!

Please-no-advertising-sign

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Need some extra inspiration? Try BBQ

Sticky Spicy Beer BBQ Sauce
 Over 150 BBQ recipes were collected by Food on Friday: BBQ.  Here are some I selected for your inspiration today.  To see more, pop over to this Pinboard.

The pic at the top is Sticky Spicy Beer BBQ Sauce  by Unfussy Epicure.




Grilled Flank Steak by MJ's Kitchen




Lime Shrimp Kebab by Simple Living & Eating




BBQ Pulled Pork Loaded Baked Potatoes by A Teaspoonful of Happiness





Spicy Honey Chicken by Dimples & Delights




Spicy Grilled Boneless Pork Spare Ribs by Sandra's Easy Cooking





BBQ Meatballs by Life with the Crust Cut Off