2006 July Archive at me, my camera and my life.

Archive for July, 2006

Strawberry Mascarpone Tarts

Published

on July 30, 2006

. 6 Comments

There are some instances in life when I am scared of what the result will be. Each time I get a uni result back I work up the courage to open the email or paper to see what I was given. Sometimes when I receive an email it may sit unread for a little while till I decide whether or not I want to read what someone is telling me. There are times I take a photo and it may sit unlooked at on my computer for a day or two till I decide I want to see if it turned out how I imagined it in my head.

So why I am telling you this? The Friday just gone I spent the afternoon in a flurry in the kitchen making a myriad of things. I made a big batch (11 servings) of Pumpkin Soup to put in the freezer so I can take a packet out when I want soup for lunch, Chocolate Puddings for dessert (Friday was Mum’s 55th birthday) as well as Strawberry Mascarpone Tarts. In addition to the three different types of meringues I had made the night before with the extra egg whites from the Chocolate Puddings.

The Strawberry Mascarpone Tarts were either going to be a flop, so-so or a success I had no idea how they would turn out as there were a few firsts involved in the tarts. First time using Filo pastry, first time using mascarpone and I was really making the recipe up on the fly. In fact they stayed untouched for 42hrs before I took the step to try one. It was soooo nice. Not too heavy but not too light. Not too sweet but still sweet enough. Just Right!

If they were a flop you wouldn’t be hearing about them. Once I had wolfed down the one I had grabbed for morning tea, I rushed round the house getting my camera gear, setting up my little studio and “styling” the shot.

24 days ago I saw a post on Lex Culinaria for Cherry and Lemon Cream cheese Tartlets, I loved the idea of using Filo pastry for the shells. Shortly around this time also, the Filo pastry we sell in the freezer section at work was deleted which meant that the price went from $3.69 to $1.49. I was not going to put off making something with Filo now. The strawberry season for SE QLD started the other week and since it has been quite dry (rain, what is that?) the strawberries are fantastic, red all the way through and sweet. This of course means that strawberries would be the fruit of choice to go with the tarts I was dreaming up in my head.

I am essentially a shelf packing machine at work and I will often be packing something away and my brain will start turning with ideas of what I could make the item. Since I am mainly a shelf packing machine in the Dairy/Freezer section (Dairy Fairy is the correct term thank-you) I have often looked at the ricotta and mascarpone as I have packed it and thought of what I could do. As life would have it, when I was at the shops getting fresh eggs and caster sugar to make meringues, I saw a tub of mascarpone reduced to clear in the dairy. Well that went into my basket and I headed on my merry way home.

This isn’t really a scientific recipe, in fact most of the things I make that are not following a recipe I just add in the amount that feels, looks or tastes right.

Strawberry Mascarpone Tarts
250g Mascarpone
1 egg
1 tbsp caster sugar
2 or 3 tbsp honey
dollop of vanilla
2 maybe 3 tbsp plain flour
4 sheets Filo Pastry
strawberries, cream and icing sugar to serve.

Preheat oven to 160 °C.
Beat the egg and sugar for a few seconds until well mixed. Add the mascarpone and beat till it is creamy. Add the honey and vanilla and beat in as well. How much flour you add really depends on how runny your mixture is, I just added a tablespoon at a time until it had a nicer consistency.

Grease a muffin tray. Lay out the four sheets of filo pastry and cut the stack into squares that large enough to fit your muffin pans. Depending on how large your sheets are you may need more sheets to make enough cases for the tarts. Place the stacks of pastry in the muffin pans and fill with the mascarpone mixture. For me the mixture gave me enough to make 8 tarts.

Place the muffin tray in the oven and cook until a fork comes out of the mixture clean. I have no idea how long these took to cook as I was busy doing other things - I would say 10-15 minutes but it could have been less. Allow tarts to cool on the bench, then remove from the pans and chill in the fridge till serving time.

Serve with cream and strawberries, dust with icing sugar.

Something else you may have noticed, at the bottom of each post I have added a “Print This Post” link which will give you a printer friendly version of the post.

I like rain on a tin roof

Published

Helen

on July 27, 2006

in Music

. 4 Comments

I like rain on a tin roof,
only when you’re deep in my arms.
The sound of rain on a tin roof
reminds me of the beat of your heart.
And I like rain on a tin roof,
takes me back to something I started.
I like rain on a tin roof,
Baby it’s all right, all right,
It’s all right, I’m inside.
- Tin Roof
women in docs

Last night I went to one of the most magical shows I have ever seen. There are two main things that make a show magical for me; they are great storytelling lyrics and lots of band/audience interaction. A band can play great music but if they just rock out on their stage and don’t interact with the crowd telling stories or making jokes the show looses a lot of interest for me.

Last night was purely magical because amongst other things these two things happened with both bands that played.

As part of the Brisbane Festival a series of free 9:30pm concerts have been running in the Spiegeltent after the main concert has played. Last night the 7:30pm concert was the amazing songstress Kate Miller-Heidke which was also broadcast on ABC QLD radio which when I heard it was been broadcast I ran around the house finding a tape and a tape recorder so I could “podcast” the show later. I have listened to parts of it already and am reminded of just what an amazing voice she has. Pure Magic. Just before the live broadcast started Steve Austin mentioned that the 9:30pm concert tonight was The Genes and women in docs and that all those people in SE QLD who could get to the Spiegeltent in King George Square by 9:30pm should. I made a decision that and after waiting so many years I was going to go and finally see women in docs live. I am so glad I went.

The Genes played first for about 1hr and a pretty rocking three piece of two brothers and their drummer. Lots of super cool songs with some great lyrics and plenty of harmonica. One of the songs that stood out was one that was all about surfing and the sequence of events from throwing on the wetsuit and running down the sand to the waves.

Then shortly after 10:30pm a band came on that I have been wanting to see since 1999 when their self-titled debut EP was released and like many others I fell in love with the song “Tin Roof” and the other five superbly written songs on it. I can tell you that since 1999 “Tin Roof” is one song that has always stuck in my head and I often find myself humming the song or when we get heavy rain and I can hear it on the tiles I sing a couple of lines from “Tin Roof”. Due to a number of reasons it has taken me seven years to see them live. Seven years of built up waiting meant that the show meant so much for me. I sat on my seat, clapping, swaying or singing along with the rest of the crowd as magic was created before our eyes.

For a band that got off a plane from North America 10hrs before they played I was more than impressed. From their classics to their newer stuff and some pretty rocking covers during their movie game section they played an amazing set. The movie game section is where they talked about who would play them in a movie of their life, what sort of movie it would be and what the theme song would be. When each of the band had talked about what their choices were, they would play the theme song. The “theme song” that got the most the laughs was when the drummer Geoff Green said he would be played by Hugh Jackman but he had to make a point clear, it would be Hugh Jackman Wolverine style (muscles and beard) not Hugh Jackman Boy from Oz style (maracas) in response to this they played Dancing Queen which definitely not Hugh Jackman Wolverine style.

There was lots of harmonica provided Roz, heaps of laughs provided by both Chanel and Roz as well as some kick ass fiddle and keyboards by Silas Palmer and rocking drums by Geoff Green. There was heaps of talking between the songs about the songs or about past experiences. When they finally finished playing shortly before midnight, I picked up a copy of their most recent CD red wine and postcards and drove home with a smile on my face as I put the CD in and let it play.

You can listen to three of their tracks at OzTrax as well as sample from their first two EPs on the samples section of their website.

Duyfken

Published

Helen

on July 24, 2006

in random life

. 4 Comments

On Sunday Grandad came down on the train and him, Mum and I headed out to Redcliffe to visit the Duyfken which was at the Redcliffe Jetty for the weekend. Due to the crowds and life Mum and Grandad weren’t exactly in a position to clamber over the jacht, so they waited whilst I stood in line waiting my turn. When we arrived there was a sea breeze blowing and the clouds were not in the mood to part for the sun to shine through, however as we were leaving the sun did come out to play but the sea breeze continued to blow.

The Duyfken was the first recorded European boat to “discover” Australia in 1606 and charted parts of the Gulf of Carpentaria. In 1993 in Fremantle, WA a group of locals decided to build a replica of the boat that played a very important role in Australian history which has been forgotten by many either thinking that the first European to “discover” Australia was Dirck Hartog in 1616 or that it was Captain James Cook in 1770.

The boat was particularly interesting to me in regards to the role that it played in the history of the VOC (Dutch East India Company) in the early 1600’s, the VOC playing a large role in my uni studies of Asian History.

Australia on the Map 1606-2006, 400 years of Australian History.
Duyfken (Wikipedia)
Duyfken 1606 Replica Foundation

The replica has completed some amazing voyages since putting up her sails in July 1999, she has travelled from the Spice Islands of Indonesia to Cape York and from Sydney to the Netherlands as well as sailing around Australia at the moment.

Good-Bye Holidays

Published

Helen

on July 24, 2006

in random life

. 1 Comment

Well the last semester of my four years as an undergraduate Arts student start today. I don’t start classes however until Wednesday as I am a good little Arts student who only goes to uni three days a week compared to my younger brother the Photonics and Nanoscience student who goes to uni five days a week.

Looking back on my list of things to do on the holidays there were some things I didn’t get to do but other things that were not on the list that I did do.

I made the top - Simplicity 4589.
I didn’t make pasta.
I did finish the new blog template.
I have cooked a fair number of the recipes I wanted to try but there is always more in the pile.
I haven’t learnt how to knit.
I have scrapbooked a bit.
I haven’t made any bags.
I haven’t gotten my bike serviced.
I have had a few mini photographic expeditions.
I didn’t get round to seeing Trivia at the Metro Arts.
I did go see Death Cab for Cutie with Sam last Thursday night and it was pretty rocking.
I did go to the Brisbane Flickr Meet up.
I got some photos printed and framed for a long overdue birthday present.
I have had fun.
I have earned heaps for mula.
I have organised all my newspaper clippings into a book.
I hit up the shops with Andrea.
I didn’t go out at all with Sam.
I have played a bit of Gamecube with Matthew.
I didn’t do anything with “The girls from School” but I did see Kaliope last Tuesday when I got my hair cut at the salon where she works and we had gelato afterwards.
I have read quite a few of the books that were on my shelf.

Things I didn’t plan on doing but did.
I had not planned to write up two weeks worth of notes from the Iceland Megatrip of 2005, the other two weeks will have to wait till November when exams are over. This took up a lot of holiday time but I enjoyed doing it.
Stocking up with DVDs each week on $1 Tuesday so Mum and I could have a movie night almost every night.
Cleaning out stuff in my room (well I guess I knew I would do this but it wasn’t planned).
Going out to dinner at Hog’s Breath Cafe with three of my closest scrapbooking buddies.
and other things that by now I can’t recall

Chocolate Puddings

Published

Helen

on July 22, 2006

in food

. 6 Comments

Due in part I guess to working in a grocery store and in part to a love of food I always like to see the new lines in the store. Many months ago I noticed that Nestlé had introduced into their Plaistowe range, a 63% Cocoa Couverture. Well even not knowing how I would use it, I couldn’t leave it on the shelf!

After many months of looking at recipes and thinking of ideas I finally found one that sounded just right and in fact it comes from Nestlé’s own advertising for the couverture

Chocolate Puddings
170g good quality chocolate (eg Nestlé Cocoa Couverture!) plus extra for serving
140g butter (chopped into small pieces)
3 eggs
3 egg yolks (this means that meringues are coming soon)
100g caster sugar
2/3 cup (100g) plain flour (sifted)

If you are making these to follow dinner, I would not turn the oven to preheat until a short while before dinner so that you can put the puddings in the oven whilst you eat dinner.

Preheat the oven to 180°C and grease six dariole moulds. Break 30g of the chocolate into six pieces and set to the side.
Melt the remaining chocolate and the butter using your preferred method (I like using a double boiler). Whilst the chocolate and butter is melting, beat the eggs, egg yolks and sugar. When the chocolate and butter is melted, remove from the heat and stir until it is smooth, allowing it to cool slightly.

Add the flour and chocolate mixture to the sugar mixture and stir well. Pour into the dariole moulds and into each mould push in one of the pieces of chocolate reserved at the start. Cook for 10 minutes or so. When cooked allow to stand in the moulds for 1 or 2 minutes during which you can melt the extra chocolate to serve with the puddings.

These were so yummy! Speaking of yummy I think I need to think of better words to describe food with other than just yummy These were rich, decadent and full of chocolate

Nutty Chicken Pilaf

Published

Helen

on July 21, 2006

in food

. 2 Comments

Can you say yummo? This recipe comes from the Nigella Lawson book Forever Summer(p143 under the title Saffron-Scented Chicken Pilaf). Nigella does not include the eschalots or peas but adds some chopped parsely at the end.
This book is chock full of delightful foods all fit for entertaining a small party or certain to have leftovers after feeding a family of four. I am going to provide the recipe as I made it but if you only want to make it for two or three people it is incredibly easy to just use one chicken breast and reduce the other ingredients.

Nutty Chicken Pilaf
3 chicken breast (about 750g) cut into thumb size pieces
couple of tablespoons Greek yoghurt (enough to coat the chicken)
juice of a lemon
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon saffron threads
1L chicken stock
15g butter
3 tablespoons canola or peanut oil
600g basmati rice
5-6 cardamom pods, bruised
juice and zest of a second lemon

4 eschalots, chopped
1 cup or so peas

50g cashews
50g flaked almonds
25g pine nuts
4 tablespoons shelled pistachios

Place the diced chicken in a suitable sized container with the yoghurt, cinnamon and lemon juice. Give the mixture a good stir to ensure the chicken is covered and leave for 1hr to marinate. Meanwhile soak the saffron threads in the chicken stock (this is done to ensure that the dried saffron threads release all their flavour and colour).

In a hot pan, add 1 tablespoon of oil and in batches cook the marinated chicken after shaking off any excess yoghurt. As this is cooking you may need to add a second tablespoon of oil for later batches.

When you have the first batch of chicken cooking, start the rice cooking.
In a large pan over medium heat, melt the butter and 1 tablespoon of the oil; add the rice, stirring it till it is nice and glossy. Pour in the chicken stock and saffron mixture; add the cardamom, lemon juice and zest. Place lid on pan, turn down to a low heat and leave for 10-15mins or so. After about 8 minutes or so add the peas and eschalots give it a stir and put the lid back on to leave it cooking.

When the rice is cooked, remove from the heat and stir through the cooked chicken.
Toss the cashews, almonds and pine nuts in an oil free pan over a medium heat until they colour and start to release their scent. Then stir them through the pilaf and top each plate with some pistachios.

Serves 7-8

Iceland Megatrip 2005 - Day 14

Published

Helen

on July 18, 2006

in Iceland

. 2 Comments

July 9, 2005.

After setting up camp the night before, we had breakfast and headed up out of the campsite to the main building where we would be kitted out with wetsuits, dry jackets, helmets and shoes to make the most of our day rafting down the Jökulsá Austari (East Glacial River - Skagafjörður). What a day it would be!

When we were kitting up, I managed to grab shoes that were a size or two too small and didn’t really notice that till we were a little away so I spent most of the time curling my toes in to try to make not so tight! That however did not put a damper on the day as I had a total blast! The river is graded an IV by most sources which means that it isn’t really for pansies.

We trooped up to the launch site on a big old bus which at times felt like it wasn’t going to make it round the bends or up the hills but after driving for a while we made it to the launch site we were given some morning tea and were instructed in paddling techniques and safety procedures before getting put in teams and getting introduced to our guides. One of the great things about our guides been Nepalese meant that English was the primary language spoken during the day with the guides shouting back and forth to each other in Nepalese. It is hard to describe the day in words other to say than it was utterly amazing and I would love to do it again!

We had fun going down rapids, laughing and cheering other boats on as went through tricky bits and then cheering for ourselves when we managed to get to the end of the trip without having capsized our boat. The guides threatened to do it on purpose as all the other boats had turned over at one stage or another but in the end they didn’t.

Part way down the river we stopped at a little “beach” and those who wanted to were able to get out and climb up a rocky outcrop (4-6m above the water depending on where you jumped from) and jump into the water below. I was more than happy to lie back on the raft in the sun and watch Matthew, Karl and the rest of the crew jump.

When we reached quieter sections of the river it was fun to watch the guides who were in kayaks showing off doing Eskimo Rolls and other little tricks.

Then after some more paddling, cascades, rapids and other fun stuff we reached the end Where we were greeted with cups of steaming hot meat soup and the ride back to Bakkaflöt feeling a little damp After arriving back at Bakkaflöt and getting out of our kit, we headed over to the hot tub and heated pool for some fun and then onto a dinner of pylsur (hot dogs) and drinks for those who were not driving later on (i.e everyone but me). I did however had a sip of �?sdís’s sister’s Pear Cider which was yum with a capital Y and a capital U and a capital M. After sitting round the campsite eating, talking, playing with cameras, listening to music, Matthew and I jumped in the Micra, hit the road and drove the 100 odd km to Akureyri where we crawled into bed at the Youth Hostel after a loooong day.

I have no photos of the rafting trip because it wasn’t really somewhere to take my camera but I do have photos from the time we spent sitting round the campsite that evening. The first two are taken by Matthew and I think the last one was by me.

Laughs and Shoes

Published

Helen

on July 17, 2006

in cool things and friends

. 4 Comments

After much phone tag and clashing schedules (Andrea works mon-fri and I work on sat) we finally manged to get a Sunday where we were both free. Of course then we were at odds at what to do! After checking out her newish flat we went in to the Valley where we had fun cruising the aisles of the Asian variety stores and found a source of little containers for when we next need to make jelly shots.

We then hit our primary target for the day; The Valley Markets, however I guess because it was bit overcast it was pretty dead so we didn’t stay there long before having fun checking out all the aisles in one of the Asian grocery store and seeing what things we could see such as the whole frozen Durians or the 1000’s of different dried mushrooms or MSG powder (mmmmmm MSG…..). After we had done a little bit of shopping we headed into the city to have lunch at Sizzler.

After a brief poke round Borders we headed back into the Myer Centre to find all the goodies. Our first stop was the Oxfam shop where after much drooling I walked out with a new hair tie and a bag made by Timor Leste women who are part of the Alola Foundation. The bag is gorgeous, it has a tais panel which I just love!

Our next stop was Myer where we were drawn in by the super big sale they are having and the tables upon tables of shoes they were clearing out for $20, $30, $40 etc. Andrea hit the jackpot and got a new pair of shoes and I well I thought I had hit the jackpot. These orange shoes, so very, very nice and the only size they had them in was 9.5 which was a tad tight. Ok well they also come in black, brown, white, baby pink, red and olive (I wanted the red, the orange or the olive) but no the only 10’s they had were in white or black

Since I had fallen in love with them I resolved to ring round the stores in the morning. Once we had a bit more of a browse and a 100 more laughs we hopped on the train back to her flat and had a little hang out chatting with her boyfriend and showing me some scrapbooking she had done

I tell you when Andie and I get together we just become the biggest giggling gerties, it’s a total crack-up

Fast Forward 16hrs.
After I finished work this morning at the grand time of 9:45am I went down to the Myer in our centre but they only had the 10 in white :(. I get home and do some ringing around and get told by more stores we only have the white or the black :(. Dude, those shoes were so funky but alas it seems it was not meant to be.

I wanted a new pair of jeans and since I had nothing pressing yet to fill my day with. I headed out to DFO to see what I could find Well I walked out with a new pair of jeans from Country Road and almost walked out with 2 new skirts. The biggest find however are the shoes in the photo below.

The ones on the left are Simple and the ones on the right are Teva. They are both the first pair of thonged shoes I have owned in years and years as I normally find the thong bit between my toes very uncomfy but these ones don’t seem to be too bad and they both have soles which feel like clouds which is what my feet like