Chocolate Bavarian Desert

When you think of Chocolate Bavarian what do you come up with? For me it's the frozen desert you get from the supermarket or when you order a meal deal through Pizza Hut.
A freezer burned chocolate mousse concoction over a powdery chipboard biscuit base.
Yuck!

So, last week when I was lacking a little in inspiration (and sleep) of what to bake for his lunches, I told Rusty to set me a challenge.
When he asked me to make a Bavarian from scratch I was apprehensive. After all, they are still gonna taste like frozen chocolate mousse over cardboard right?
Oh, how wrong I was....

I made these bavarians in the mini form only because it's easier for Rusty to take in his lunchbox but they would work just as well as a whole tart/ pie.
It's up to you!
So Sara Lee eat your heart out....

Mini Chocolate Bavarians

1/4 cup caster sugar
1 tablespoon gelatin
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 3/4 cup whole milk
170g milk/ dark chocolate chopped
3 egg yolks lightly beaten
1 cup cream
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 packet sweet biscuits
melted butter approx 150g

Ok start off with your biscuit base.
-In a food processor (or in a plastic bag with a rolling pin) crush a packet of sweet biscuits until they resemble chunky breadcrumbs.
-Mix in melted butter until the mix holds together when pressed with the back of a spoon. You don't want it too buttery so just add a little at a time until you get the desired consistency.
-Press into the base of cupcake liners or a pie tin and refrigerate while you make your filling.

-In a medium saucepan add sugar, gelatin & salt.
-Whisk in milk, chopped chocolate (the finer the better) and stir until chocolate & gelatin dissolves and the mixture is nice and smooth.
-Stir a small amount of chocolate mix into egg yolks and then tip the eggy chocolate back into the sauce pan and cook for 2 mins. (we add the choc to the eggs to temper them so that way you don't end up with chocolate scrambled eggs)

-DO NOT BOIL!

-Pour into a large bowl and press cling wrap onto the top of hot liquid and chill until partly set. About an hour - but check regularly as you don't want it to be too solid.

-Beat cream and vanilla together until stiff. Fold into chilled chocolate mixture until well combined and smooth.

-Pour over crumb base and chill for 4 hours or overnight.

-Top with whipped cream and enjoy!

I have a confession to make....

I have a confession to make....

*takes a deep breath*

I am addicted to foodie blogs.
I'm a blurker (someone who reads blogs but rarely posts) and I find myself getting cranky when my favourite blogs don't update....for days....weeks...at a time.
Feed my addiction. Please, don't tease me.
I can't help but wonder my wonderful readers, if we are all voyeurs who can't help but peer through the windows into these outstanding writers' lives.
They write so artfully, that they draw us in and before we know it we're sharing their triumphs and failures.
Sure, we love the recipes but if we were going to be completely honest....there is more to it, isn't there?
Come now, don't be shy. We're all friends here.

I have recently had to create a folder in my favourites toolbar for foodie pages....and then sub folders within to categorize my fave's, those I am warming up to and those that just haven't proven themselves to me yet but that I feel have promise....

I am collecting webpages just the same way as I used to collect shoes, with single minded passion and determination.
At least webpages don't cost a weeks wages and give me blisters.

My favourites are so well written, funny and engaging. They inspire me to try harder, achieve more and challenge myself.

Then I think to myself, do these fantastic men and women who take the time to post wonderful recipes, gorgeous photography and witty anecdotes for us to enjoy, suffer from writing angst just like me?
Do they wonder if anyone actully reads their thoughts, interests and events?
Do they even care?
Maybe they just write for the purely cathartic release of it all.
Perhaps, they are just so in love with their culinary creations or their childs achievements, even their husbands D'oh moment, that they just have to share...even if no-one is looking.

I regularly suffer from bloggers angst.
Moments before pressing the "publish post" button, I break into a cold sweat. I shake, I shiver!
The little monster who resides quite happily on my shoulder cheerfully points out that absolutely no-one is interested in my life, my obsession with feeding people or my attempts at humor.
I am making a fool of myself. I should just stick to writing in birthday cards, which incidentally noone reads either!
For a moment, I look and listen to him. I nod in agreement. I thoughtfully contemplate all that he has just pointed out. I stare so closely that I notice the pimple that is coming up underneath his left horn.
Then I calmly pick up the fly swat on my desk and knock him into next week......

Ok here I go, Is it hot in here? It feels warm...
Maybe I've got a fever? I've got the chills....

Nope just "publish post" fear again...

So here's a bit shout out to all the amazing bloggers who feed our addictions, give us something to enjoy with our morning coffee and encourage our harmless and completely non creepy voyeurism....
Very few people understand the amount of time, effort and soul that goes into each and every blog post.
So thankyou for the down time, the giggles and the extra few kilo's that your recipes have shared with me.

And to my lovely voyeurs- you make it all worth it.
Thanks for stopping by.

Hugs
Dee

Climbing the beanstalk....living in the land of the giants.

Growing up in a realtively small statured house I never realised that I am considered short. Like, really short....
And I suppose in the real world I'm not that bad. At an ambitious 5'3 or 161cm's, there are definately people out there shorter than me.
Coming from a home where my mum is barely 5ft and my Dad is about 5'9, I figured I was about the middle of the road.

Even when I dated very tall guys in high school, I was spared from feeling odd by the inevitable presence of mothers or sisters around the same height as myself.

And later on, just to even things up I fell in love with high heels.
Magical 4 inch stilettos that were not only something absolutely beautiful and artistic to behold but they raised me up where I belong baby!

Ok, so they shortened the tendons in the backs of my legs so badly that one physiotherapist warned me that my achille's tendon would snap one day and unravel right up to my thigh. But thats the price you pay for stunning shoes!
In fact, I never owned a pair of flat soled shoes until my pregnant belly became so unwieldly that random strangers were concerned for the safety of my ankle's.

When I met Rusty, who stands a glorious 6'4 in his socks the height difference never really entered into my mind. Although it did enter my wallet and then onto my chiropractors bank account.
Having to get the crick's in my neck straightened out from trying to reach up and kiss the human skyscraper I fell in love with, is a rather expensive exercise.
In my highest pair of heels I fit neatly under his arm, like a christmas present.
In fact, he still jokes that if I had a flat head and my father owned a brewery I would be the perfect woman!
Anyway, I never felt even slightly out of place.
Until I met Rusty's family.
Spending time with my wonderful in-laws makes me feel like I've climbed the bean stalk. Everything about them is tall.
Even their house was tall. A queenslander, up on stilts.

Rusty's mum Sue is quite stauesque at just under (?) 6ft. She has the kind of long legs I have only ever dreamed of and I am almost positive she doesn't own a pair of high heels, not that she needs them.

My sister in law Jodie is 6ft and maybe a little more, has legs Giselle Bunchden would turn green with envy over and even now at 7 months pregnant looks willowy & ethereal.

I looked like I was due anyday and had gentlemen on the street ask me if I should sit down, just in case....

My brother in law Shaun is almost as tall as Rusty and even Nick, who is disabled is taller than me!
Oh the humanity....
My only saving grace is that Rusty's Dad, Tony is only a fraction taller than me. But he maintains it's because he's shrinking with age and once was a giant also.
We let him run with that, it's easier.

Now dear reader, I understand that your sitting there thinking...."Ok, they're taller than you. So what?"
Let me paint the picture for you.....
Have you ever been in a house where you can't see the numbers on the telephone....because it's up too high?
Or needed to get something out of a top cupboard in the kitchen but there isn't a step ladder to be found?
Ever stepped into a shower and you can't move the showerhead down...because you can't reach it in the first place?
Yup, I thought you'd get the picture.

My height is a joke that never gets old with these guys, and nothing brought the joke home more than recently when I took Blue to see his Child Health Nurse for his 6 month checkup.

Now, I knew I'd had a big baby. I saw photos of myself 2 weeks before he arrived....I looked like I was overdue with quads, it was truly frightening.
Not to mention uncomfortable.
So like any new mother I adore these visits where they measure and weigh and basically decree from a 5 minute visit, months apart whether or not you are succeeding at caring for this tiny infant.
As you can imagine, repeated measuring, referring to records and constantly saying "Hmmmmm" under your breath is not welcome at these appointments.
Just when I was about to break all composure and scream "WHAT???" The nurse turns to me and says...
"Please don't take this the wrong way but your son is a freak..."
Right....of course, I'll take that comment in the positive and happy way it was intended.
I must have looked pretty thunderous because she hurried to mention that at then 6 months old, he was 80cm's long and in the 98th percentile.
Which is a fancy way of saying if you put 100 little boys the same age in a room only 2 would be taller than him.
That mean't that at 6 months old.....my son....is HALF my adult height......

As you can imagine, everyone is having an absolute field day with this. I am almost positive that my mother in law remembers and giggles daily. Quite possibly, while she is reaching up to the top shelf in her kitchen to grab a mixing bowl.
But I am choosing to look on the bright side.
Very soon he'll be able to carry the groceries in, dust the ceiling fan's and take the washing off the line for me.
In fact, he'll probably be able to carry me when my legs get tired at the shops.
Sometimes being short has it's advantages.....

Glass half full me thinks!

Thanks for stopping by.

Hugs
Dee

Mini Lemon & Raspberry Cheesecakes (No baking required!)

The sun is shining, the birds are singing...I'm sneezing. All these facts point to one exciting and important fact. It's spring!

So in honour of the warmer weather I thought it was time to break out one of my fave spring / summer deserts.
If you are like me and your winter baking tends to centre around chocolate...this is a lovely creamy, light change.

It's also a fantastic, simple recipe that is easy to adapt for individual tastes. Don't like lemon? Why not use passionfruit, or lime, or strawberries....see the possibilities are endless!

Mini Lemon & Raspberry Cheesecakes....

Makes 12

- 1 pkt plain sweet biscuits. Eg: Marie

- Approx 150g unsalted butter melted

- 1 tin condensed milk

- 250g Philadelphia cream cheese

- 1/3 cup fresh lemon juice (approx 2 lemons)

- 2 teaspoons gelatin, dissolved in a little boiled water

- Handful fresh or frozen raspberries

Then you....

- Line a 12 hole muffin tin with foil cupcake liners.

- Place sweet biscuits in a food processor and crush to breadcrumb consistency or if your like me and don't have a food processor pop all the biscuits in 2 zip lock bags and belt the crap out of them with a rolling pin. It's a fantastic stress reliver! (you'll actually have enough biscuits for 24 cupcakes so I freeze the leftovers)

- Mix melted butter in with crushed biscuits a little at a time until the crumbs hold together when pressed with the back of a spoon but are not overly soggy.

- Press into the base of the cupcake liners and chill while you make the filling.

- Using an electric beater with a paddle attachment beat room temperature cream cheese until smooth.

- Switch to whisk attachment and whisk in condensesd milk.Gelatin & lemon juice. Beat until well combined and smooth.

- Puree raspberries and press through a sieve to remove seeds.

- Pour cheesecake mix into cupcake liners and dollop raspberry puree on top.

Swirl through with a skewer and chill in refrigerator for 6 hours or overnight.

Sunshine = Gardening. The kitchen garden project part 1.

After what feels like an absolute eternity of grey skies and rain I was pumped to wake up and see sunshine streaming through the windows this morning.

You know your Victorian when the prospect of 23c is positively balmy and you start looking criticially at your wardrobe and actually wonder if your legs are ready for shorts....

Short answer....No.
Really...My legs make the cast of Twilight look like they've just come back from Hawaii...
But when has that ever stopped me?

The yard at our house has absolutely nothing in it apart from grass - well mainly weeds with grass sharing the space and two garden sheds.
Why someone decided to build 2 large garden sheds facing each other instead of just once decent sized shed that I could lock Rusty in is of constant puzzlement to me - but thats ok. I'm used to being puzzled, it's a comfortable place for me.

So a few weeks ago I thought that it would be a fantastic idea to plant my own kitchen garden. Grow some herbs and vegetables, save money, make my yard look more inviting and make a greener footprint for our family.

Sounds wonderful right?
Hmmm...maybe I forgot to mention that I have managed to kill just about everything I have ever planted before. Which Rusty takes great pleasure in reminding me...constantly...

I really should invest in a gag for him...or industrial ear plugs for me!

My plan is to literally make him eat his words. He'll be grateful when he is eating scrummy homegrown tomatoes and strawberries...right?

Anyhoo...I digress....I do that a bit you really have to try and keep me on track...

So my plan for today is to spray some herbicide on my horrible mixture of couch grass, onion weed and bindi thorns in the area I want to have the beds.

I know it's not the organic way to go but I am attempting to do all this with a 7month old strapped to me so unfortunately I am going the path of least resistance at the moment.

As soon as I have killed all the things I want killed (I am so hoping that I am not setting a precedent for my poor garden) I can turn over the soil....edge the beds and add some gypsum and compost to the soil as it's pretty heavy clay here....

Which apparently means that my vegies will get soggy feet and they don't like that...

I'll take some pic's throughout the process so you can see what I have been dealing with...

I'm also gonna make some mini greenhouses to raise some seedlings....so they actually grow....apparently this works....or maybe my dear old dad just likes making me look silly....both are distinct possibilities.

If anyone with a green thumb has any tips or tricks I would love to hear them...

I'll keep you posted!

Hugs
Dee

PS: I have noooooo idea what is going on with my pics...they go funny when I try to upload them. I think there are gremlins in the blogger server!

And he's off!

Well, the day has finally come...

It's time for me to spend the day crawling around my home on my hands and knees to see it from the same perspective as my little adventurer and try and Blue proof the house.

Why is it that children age you so quickly? I didn't have gray hairs before having my son.
Well, maybe just a couple but they were from his father, who thought it was funny until he saw my hairdressers bill. Then he stopped giggling.

But anyhoo I digress...

My child might be the singularly most determined child on the planet. Once he fixates on something, come hell or high water as long as it's there he will continue to try and get it.
I wonder whose gene's he gets that from....

He particularly loves electrical cords.

Blue's been rolling and commando crawling his way around the lounge room for a while now, but hasn't quite gotten onto his hands and knees and started properly crawling.

Or so I thought.

A little while ago we collected all the misc. electrical cords on the floor and put them in a box and stored them in the tiny corner between the tv unit and one of our armchairs. Blue watched us the whole time...we thought nothing of it.

This morning after a bit of a rough night I put Blue on the floor with his toys and Yo Gabba Gabba and bolted into the kitchen for a much needed caffeine fix and when I came back....not a Blue to be seen.

Now, if you've got kids you'll know the feeling you get when you realise that no-one has come and taken your child but your heart jumps into your throat all the same...

So here I am, calmly trying to workout where my son could possibly have gone when I hear rustling and giggling coming from the corner of the lounge room....

Found him!

Here he is, in baby Nirvana surrounded by the upturned box of electrical cords, having an absolute ball.
That is, until he realised I'd found him.

I tell ya, I just saw a face I am sure that I will see quite a great deal in the next 18 years or so...I swear I could actually see his thought process. It went something like this...

"CRAP! She caught me. Ok, damage control time. Must....look....adorable. Nope, she still looks not happy. Time for plan B ...MUMMY LOOK WHAT I CAN DO!"

This is the point where he scooted his little bum around, got up on hands and knees and calmly crawled out of there. TA DA!

So now I can't help but wonder....
Is my child a mastermind? Does he get up in the middle of the night, push his little high chair to the computer and compete in chess competitions or write essays on Shakespeare?

Am I getting conned into changing all these nappies? Is he laughing at me the whole time?

Ooops lack of sleep is finally causing paranoia.
Who would want to write essays on Shakespeare??

Oh well, better go and get started...bet you Rusty can't open the child catches on the doors when he comes home.
Should be worth a giggle...

Now how shall I keep Blue entertained today? A walk, visit friends? Oh I know....
Did anyone see where I put the chess board?

Thanks for stopping by!
Hugs
Dee

Grown Up's Chocolate Cake

I love deserts.

I am particularly fond of wildly decadent, three tiered, mousse covered concoctions that make your thighs expand just by moving within 5 feet of the desert bar at your local restaurant.

You know the kind I mean.
The sort where you convince your partner to share with you because you couldn't possibly eat an entire slice all by yourself - but then you polish it off before they even manage to lift their fork from the napkin??

Come on, tell me you do it to?
Don't leave me hanging here....

Well, this is not one of those cakes!

Because as fabulous as they are I think that sometimes we all need a recipe that is moist, rich, delicious and versatile...
This choccy cake will take you from dinner party to BBQ and even to a kids birthday party just by changing the icing.
I've used a ganache for the adults but a chocolate buttercream would be divine too!

Grown Up's Chocolate Cake

Adapted from taste.com.au

- 1 1/3 cup plain flour
- 2 tablespoon cocoa
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
- 200g good quality dark chocolate chopped
- 225g unsalted butter (at room temperature)
- 1 cup caster sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

- 4 eggs (at room temperature)

- 1/2 cup milk (at room temperature)

Ganache

- 150g good quality dark chocolate chopped
- 125ml cream
- 20g butter

Then you....

- Preheat your oven to 160c. Grease and line a 24cm cake tin. I prefer to use a springform pan as they are less likely to decide to hold onto your cake and not let it go.

- Sift flour, cocoa, baking powder & bi-carb soda together in a bowl and set aside.

- Melt chocolate in a heatproof bowl over barely simmering water (don't let the water touch the bowl) until it is melted and smooth. Remove from heat and allow to cool slightly.

- While all this is happening cream your butter with an electric mixter for 1-2 min or until creamy. Add the caster sugar and beat until light and fluffy and almost white in colour.
- Move your mixer down to medium speed and beat in vanilla and then eggs one at a time beating well after each addition.
- Pour in cooled chocolate mixture and beat until combined.
- Beat in a third of the sifted mixture, followed by a third of the milk - repeating until all is added.
- Beat until smooth but be careful not to overbeat as this will cause your cake to toughen and resemble a hockey puck!
- Bake for 45-55 minutes or until a skewer inserted in the centre comes out clean.
- Cool for 5 mins in pan before transfering onto cake rack to cool completely.

To make Ganache....

- Combine all ingredients in a heatproof bowl and melt over a pan of barely immering water until smooth.
- Remove from heat and allow to cool and thicken for 30mins before slathering all over your finished cake.
- Dancing around the kitchen to bad country music while licking the bowl is entirely optional!