YuM PuD!

So here we are on the 10th day of January… the 10th day of a New Year. We have been so busy at work that I honestly feel as though the New Year was several weeks ago! Not a mere 1.5 weeks ago!
The New Year hasn’t made a massive impact on me as yet, however is it safe to say the year is nowhere near over?

One thing I am proud of this year is making a homemade dish for the first time ever…. successfully! One of my favourite foods is YuM ChA! And traditionally when we go out to have it, we like to end it with either Mango Pancakes or Mango Pudding. Notice a trend here? LoL
As we have found a fantastic local restaurant right here in the Illawarra that does YuM ChA on weekends only Jasbelle Restaurant has made us VERY happy locals. However as their menu is limited no matter how divine their dishes are, they unfortunately do not make either of these dessert dishes. So instead of missing out, I thought I’d give it a try. And I successfully made Mango Pudding! It was so simple to make & so devilishly awesome to eat! I do believe it is the first time I’ve ever heard my fiance make a “noise” when placing a spoonful of food into his mouth!

So here is the Recipe I followed:

Mango Pudding

2 Mango
1/3 Cup Sugar
1/2 Cup Water
1/2 Cup Coconut Milk (replace some or all with cream or skim/full milk)
3 Teaspoon Gelatin

*Remove all Flesh from Mango.
*Place into Food Processor (or equivelant) & pulse briefly a few times.
*Place water into saucepan & bring to light boil.
*Whisk in Gelatin until dissolved.
*Add to water mixture the Sugar & whisk until dissolved.
*Add this mixture to Mango in Food Processor.
*Add Milk then pulse briefly 2 or 3 times.
*Pour into ramikins for individual serves.
*Chill in fridge for no less than 2 hours, the longer the better.
*Enjoy!

Couldn’t be easier?! Please give it a try for yourself!

Leave me a message to let me know your thoughts xx

That’s Life! Magazine is once again offering the Great Aussie Pie Contest.

My very best friend & her partner owns a store down the South Coast on the Princes Hwy called East Lynne Store. They have been involved in award winning pie making since taking ownership several years ago & have continued on the legacy. It’s is a busy little stop where you can get Everyday Necessities, Pies & Cakes, Hot Coffee, Newspapers, Local Wares, Ice Creams & Ice etc as well as a Liquor Store & Petrol.

Friendly faces & good conversation with locals. We stop in every trip to Mum’s on our way home for a quick catch up & to refill with supplies & we ALWAYS buy Family Pies for dinner. Tonight we are enjoying a Steak & Onion & a Chicken, Bacon & Leek pie followed by Lemon Meringue Pie… MMMMM! All Homemade by Michelle & her lovely staff on the premises.

These guys are often woken at ungodly hours by petrol-stranded or broken down tourists passing by or with grim news of Car accidents along the road. They look after the locals by ensuring fresh supplies of bread & milk etc is available each & every day to save the trip into the nearest town which is just over 20kms away. Passerbys are also well looked after with their service, groceries & knowledge & information available of the local area.

They have 2 very young children, which are also my Godchildren hehe. So I am of course giving them my vote as not only do I believe their pies deserve the fame, but so do they!

So here’s to Michelle & Colin at East Lynne Store… Good Luck to you guys!

If you love their pies & agree or just feel like joining me in this competition, please vote for them by SMS. Send the code 007 to 19710179. Alternatively you can call 1900 955 031.

Did I mention each & every vote you place enters you into a Draw with That’s life! for the chance to win $500??!! Get voting!
Terms & Conditions

SK & I just saw a hilarious new Four’n Twenty Pie advert. Right in the middle of an Olympics ad break on channel 7.
Have a look yourself at the website where you can view the ad if you haven’t seen it yourself. What I find hilarious is that you can actually purchase the said plate! Funny stuff!
Looks like in tomorrow’s shopping we will buy some pies just for the plate… LOL

Four’n Twenty pie. “Have a lunch that’s edible on a plate that’s credible!”

SK loves his mum’s cooked tripe. Frankly I think the smell of it cooking is disgusting & makes me want to leave home whilst it cooks.

My Father was quite fond of tripe too. So I have not been able to escape it my whole life.

I came across this vid on YouTube this morning. Gordon Ramsay puts a new modern twist on tripe in order to bring it back to the dinner table.

Willing to give it a taste test??

Have you ever heard of a Turdurkin????

I came across this item this morning whilst scouring the net for yet more recipes & ideas. I am cooking a Lamb Backstrap tonight & even though I have a good idea how I am going to do it (as it is my first attempt), I was looking around for a little more.. inspiration? I am confident it will be nice, as I am with all of my cooking. However sometimes I enjoy reading recipes even if it is for just one piece of advice or to add something to my already existing recipe.

So as Google is in fact my friend, I came across this product from The Meat Boutique which is situated in Ryde, Sydney. They do home deliver apparently across the country so I am interested in comparing what they have compared to my local Butcher. however you can always order online then pick up from their location.

This Turdurkin is in fact….. wait for it…. a Chicken inside a Duck inside a Turkey! It is cooked in a long slow oven of 4hrs@160 & costs $125. I am considering this to be a wonderful Christmas feast as all these meats featured on our table last year. SK advises me Easter Sunday is indeed approaching. LOL!

Recently I cooked a seafood dinner for ShadowKnight & myself. We started with Wok Cooked Fragrant Mussels made famous by Jamie Oliver. Then followed it with Smashed Potatoes & whole baked Lemon Sole. The fish was marinated in similar flavours to the mussels minus the Lime Juice & Coconut milk. The mussels were my favourite & I am definately making this on Good Friday for those of our family that DO eat seafood. It was absolutely devine! I have made the recipe available for those of you who would like to give it a try. Please enjoy!

Ingredients 

2kg / 4½ lb best live Mussels
Olive oil
2 cloves of garlic, finely sliced
3 sticks of Lemon grass, outer leaves removed, finely sliced
2 fresh chillies, red, green or both
3 tablespoons finely sliced ginger
2 handfuls of fresh coriander, pounded or finely chopped
1 tablespoons sesame oil
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
5 Spring onions
Juice of 3 limes
1 x 400ml tin of coconut milk Place your mussels with a couple of lugs of olive oil in a large, very hot wok or pot. Shake around and add the rest of the ingredients, apart from the lime juice and coconut milk. Keep turning over until all the mussels have opened – throw away any that remain closed. Squeeze in your lime juice and add your coconut milk. Bring to the boil and serve immediately.

Over the past few weeks our household has religously watched Hell’s Kitchen 2 on Austar. This has turned into a bit of an obsession for SK & myself, watching Hell’s Kitchen, The F Word & Kitchen Nightmares episodes on YouTube in bed before sleep.

I don’t know what we are going to do when we have watched everything available as nothing else compares!

Gordon Ramsey is an offensive, insulting man. However, he also knows his shit. I am a weakling emotionally & there is no way known to man I would survive under his pressure. I think those that have come before him are extremely brave & should be commended for getting through it alive.

There is a lot to be learnt from Gordon & those that can take his insults on the chin will come out with a wealth of knowledge.

Here I’ve added a YouTube video of my all time favourite “Ramsey Rant”. This has become a constant call in our house.

 What do you think?