Monday, 14 July 2014

Peps Pasta

Peps Pasta is a recipe given to me by one of the guys from work. I came in one day to find him eating a very basic pasta that looked delicious & I had to make it! The only difference between my version below & Peps is I felt the need to add chilli & garlic. I love chilli & garlic!


Ingredients
Ricotta Cheese (good quality)
Fresh Spaghetti
Basil (A good handful shredded)
Garlic 2 cloves (chopped finely)
2 Birds Eye Chillis (chopped finely &
de-seeded)
Salt & Pepper
Good Extra Virgin Olive Oil
A Big Knob of Butter

Bring a big pot of salted water to the boil. Fry off the garlic & chilli in a seperate pan with a big splash of olive oil & the knob of butter seasoned with salt. This is a two minute job. 
 
In a seperate bowl place ricotta, a big splash of olive oil, shredded basil salt & pepper. Mix well. 

 
Boil the fresh pasta till aldente, drain and add to the chilli and garlic. Mix well. Add the ricotta mix & toss together. Taste to season & serve. Simple peasant food at its best! Quick Simple & Easy. 15 minutes & you have Yummy. 


Oh Maggie How I Love Your Food!

I had an exceptionally delicious day on Saturday. Kitty & I went to Maggie Beers Farmhouse. We were not disappointed with her lovely Pheasant Terrine in Sour-cream Pastry & a side of Cabernet Sauce. Talk about amazing! The atmosphere was beautiful overlooking her gorgeous property. Check it out!



The families weekend ended with Breakfast for dinner! My Eggs Benny! 
A super favourite for our clan!

As you can clearly see my Little Peanut is protecting his with a vengeance. Nobody is going to touch his plate! LOL


Monday, 25 February 2013

Fascinating!

Saturday, 23 February 2013

Our First Egg from Feathers Nightclub!

Sunday, 20 January 2013

Good Times!

Sunday Bloody Sunday!

Lying on the soft green grass with Chopper and Peanut staring at the beautiful trees relaxing on a Sunday has to be one of the most amazing things to do in life! We are so small in the scheme of things. Life is precious! This earth is on loan to us while we exist until we are once more within it!

Sunday, 13 January 2013

Sunday Cinnamon Rolls!

You have to love a cold wet Sunday on a farm. Fresh cool breezes and we are in the middle of summer. The smell of rain on the grass. Rodney our Rooster crowing in the background and endless views of our beautiful Australian landscape! So what better than hot cinnamon rolls fresh out of the oven with vanilla frosting. Warm, gooey and delicious! Enjoy the recipe! Betty Crocker I love you! www.bettycrocker.com

Cinnamon Rolls

Ingredients

3 1/2 to 4 cups Gold Medal® all-purpose flour
1/3 cup granulated sugar
1 teaspoon salt
2 packages regular or fast-acting dry yeast (4 1/2 teaspoons)
1 cup milk
1/4 cup butter or margarine (1/2 stick), room temperature
1 large egg
Cooking spray to grease bowl and pan
1/2 cup granulated sugar
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/4 cup butter or margarine (1/2 stick), room temperature
1/2 cup raisins, if desired
1/4 cup finely chopped nuts, if desired
1 cup powdered sugar
1 tablespoon butter or margarine, room temperature
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1 to 2 tablespoons milk

Directions

In a large bowl, stir 2 cups of the flour, 1/3 cup granulated sugar, the salt and yeast with a wooden spoon until well mixed. In a 1-quart saucepan, heat the milk over medium heat until very warm and an instant-read thermometer reads 120°F to 130°F. Add the warm milk, 1/4 cup butter and egg to the flour mixture. Beat with an electric mixer on low speed 1 minute, stopping frequently to scrape batter from side and bottom of bowl with a rubber spatula, until flour mixture is moistened. Beat on medium speed 1 minute, stopping frequently to scrape bowl. With a wooden spoon, stir in enough of the remaining flour, about 1/2 cup at a time, until dough is soft, leaves side of bowl and is easy to handle (dough may be slightly sticky).
Sprinkle flour lightly on a countertop or large cutting board. Place dough on floured surface. Knead by folding dough toward you, then with the heels of your hands, pushing dough away from you with a short rocking motion. Move dough a quarter turn and repeat. Continue kneading about 5 minutes, sprinkling surface with more flour if dough starts to stick, until dough is smooth and springy. Spray a large bowl with the cooking spray. Place dough in bowl, turning dough to grease all sides. Cover bowl loosely with plastic wrap; let rise in a warm place about 1 hour 30 minutes or until dough has doubled in size. Dough is ready if an indentation remains when you press your fingertips about 1/2 inch into the dough.
In a small bowl, mix 1/2 sugar and the cinnamon; set aside. Spray the bottom and sides of a 13x9-inch pan with the cooking spray. Sprinkle flour lightly on a countertop or large cutting board. Gently push your fist into the dough to deflate it. Pull the dough away from the side of the bowl, and place it on the floured surface.
Using your hands or a rolling pin, flatten dough into a 15x10-inch rectangle. Spread 1/4 cup butter over dough to within 1/2 inch of edges. Sprinkle with sugar-cinnamon mixture, raisins and nuts. Beginning at a 15-inch side, roll dough up tightly. Pinch edge of dough into the roll to seal edge. Stretch and shape roll until even and is 15 inches long. Using a sharp serrated knife or length of dental floss, cut roll into 15 (1-inch) slices. Place slices slightly apart in the pan. Cover pan loosely with plastic wrap; let rise in a warm place about 30 minutes or until dough has doubled in size. Remove plastic wrap.
Move the oven rack to the middle position of the oven. Heat the oven to 350°F. Bake 30 to 35 minutes or until golden brown. Immediately remove rolls from pan; place right side up on a cooling rack. Cool 5 minutes.
In a small bowl, stir glaze ingredients until smooth, adding enough milk so glaze is thin enough to drizzle. Over the warm rolls, drizzle glaze from the tip of a tableware teaspoon, moving the spoon back and forth to make thin lines of glaze. Serve warm.


Wednesday, 9 January 2013

Family

- Having a place to go - is a home. Having someone to love - is a family. Having both - is a blessing. ~Donna Hedges

- Call it a clan, call it a network, call it a tribe, call it a family. Whatever you call it, whoever you are, you need one. ~Jane Howard

- The family. We were a strange little band of characters trudging through life sharing diseases and toothpaste, coveting one another's desserts, hiding shampoo, borrowing money, locking each other out of our rooms, inflicting pain and kissing to heal it in the same instant, loving, laughing, defending, and trying to figure out the common thread that bound us all together. ~Erma Bombeck

- The thing about family disasters is that you never have to wait long before the next one puts the previous one into perspective. ~Robert Brault

- I don't care how poor a man is; if he has family, he's rich. ~Dan Wilcox and Thad Mumford, "Identity Crisis," M*A*S*H

Friday, 4 January 2013

Heat Wave

It is so unbearably hot at the moment with catastrophic fire danger in South Australia. We are not alone in feeling this heat. All the animals we saw today that were not fairing the heat at all. One possum we found a young one dead in our yard and another severely dehydrated young male. We have scooped him up given him sugar dissolved in water through an eye dropper hoping he will recover. He seems to have perked up a little fingers crossed the little fellow makes it.

Thursday, 3 January 2013

Contemplation!

I see hit looking out over a beautiful afternoon and think how lucky I am. I live in a beautiful place, I have an amazing family and an extraordinary life. I work hard for it of course but there are so many people less fortunate than I. I feel so grateful that I have what I have. There are people that only dream of a life that I have and I am forever not taking it for granted. It is really a gift of fate.

Tuesday, 1 January 2013

Feathers Nightclub!

Completion! Oh My Goodness! It looks amazing. Chopper you are awesome!!! Can't wait to get chickens now! Next construction project is the Playboy Mansion! Loving Farm Life!

Monday, 31 December 2012

Chicken Coop Construction

My Chopper is a bit of a legend! He has sorted a plan, acquired the materials and is working hard on our new chicken coop. There is nothing like home grown eggs for cooking!
Endless uses for them
Hollandaise Sauce
Aioli
Cakes
Creme Brûlée
Pastry Creme
I am so excited!
We are going to name our Chicken Coop, FEATHERS NIGHTCLUB!
Ha Ha!

Sunday, 30 December 2012

Holiday Food & The Farm!

With a vegetarian daughter and two vegetarian nieces lets just say my repatouir of vegetarian options has increased ten fold. Boxing Day was a day of food, relaxation with cuddles on the grass and John Williamson playing in the background.
The Menu
Roasted Vegetable Israel Cous Cous
salad with a cherry vinegrete and Joseph first pressed olive oil.
Pumpkin tart with caramelized onions, fetta and pinenuts.
Spinach and fetta filo pie with pinenuts.
Roasted sweet potato, capsicum frittatas with fresh goats cheese.
All went down extremely well with full bellies and a niece who had to undo her belt!

Thursday, 13 December 2012

Our Anniversary!

So Chopper and I have been together for 8 years today! And what do you know we both forgot! Gosh we are lost causes! So how did we end up celebrating! Three tubs of icecream and a night of TV watching, Turtle Man, Gator Boys and Swamp People!
Go Figure! LOL

Thursday, 29 November 2012

Room Service!

Usually room service sucks! But I must say that I always enjoy this Margherita Pizza when I stay at a certain hotel!
Delicious!