Porcupine Cake

I originally called this cake the 

'Porkypine Cake'

I didn't realise how bad my spelling was until I actually searched for porcupines

on google...woops!

I wish English words where more phonetic in their spelling, 

it would make things a lot easier!

Anyway....

Happy Birthday Gail!

Rich Chocolate Mud,

White Chocolate Set Custard,

Dark Chocolate Ganache

& Vanilla Bean Meringues.

YUM!

A Winter Wamer...

Everyone loves pumpkin soup....

Well, I'm yet to come by someone who would turn their nose up at it...

So here is my version of the old time classic.

Pumpkin Soup with Cauliflower Puree & Salty Pepitas

1 Medium Jap Pumpkin

1 Knob garlic

2 Small brown onions, peeled & halved

1 Chicken stock cube

1/2 Cauliflower

100g Butter

Salt & Pepper

Peel the pumpkin & then chop it all up, make sure you save the seeds cause they come into play later. Pop it in a roasting tray along with the garlic (unpeeled) & onions & bake in a moderate oven until the pumpkin is soft. In a separate dish pop in the pumpkin seeds & a good hit of salt & leave in the oven until they are crispy (this will prob be a little longer than the pumpkin). Pop the pumpkin in a big pot along with the cooked onion & crumbled stock cube. Squash the garlic out into the pot & fill the pot up with enough water to just cover all the bits in there. 

Simmer for about 15 mins until the pumpkin starts to disintegrate & then process to get a nice smooth soup.

Chop the cauliflower up into small pieces & cook in the microwave until soft. Whiz it to form a smooth paste, add in the butter & salt to taste.

To plate it up, pop some soup in bowl then drop some cauliflower puree in the middle then sprinkle some crispy seeds (pepitas) on top...then Enjoy!

Ahhhh Argentinian Glory

Dulce De Leche...

Spanish for "Candy of Milk"

...My translation...

"A little can of Heaven"

...Jen Zahra's translation...

(which I like the best)

"Ahhhh Argentinian Glory!"

I mentioned in the previous post that the halloumi recipe was really easy...

Well this one is even easier, 

And it only requires 1 ingredient! 

A can of condensed milk.

Perfect for when your moving house & the majority of cupboard items including pots & pan have been packed!

What to do....

Pop the can of unopened condensed milk in a large saucepan with a lid (this was the only pan that had not been packed!) & cover with water. Bring to the simmer over a medium  heat then reduce the heat to low. Pop the lid on & cook for 3 (yes three!) hours. Be careful with this, best to keep the pan covered as the can could burst.  Turn the heat off & allow to cool completely in the water before opening the can.

This 'Argentinian Glory' is edible straight out of the tin...

but even better when added to other delectable delights.

I made some little butter cookies with pepitas & popped the Dulce De Leche in the middle,

They where quite popular. 

"Amy Halloumi"

This may sound really cheesy

(sorry no pun intended then)

But....

I was grocery shopping this afternoon & I was pondering in the cheese section

what to purchase, what I could make blah blah blah

When over the loud speaker...

"Amy Halloumi could you please come to isle 6"

was announced...

Needless to say that helped me in my cheese selection.

2 Sprigs of Rosemary

Zest 1 Lemon

EVO (Extra Virgin Olive Oil)

Coarse Sea Salt

Halloumi sliced

Lemon wedges to serve

This is so easy....

Strip the leaves off the rosemary & throw into a mortar & pestle, along with the zest & a generous pinch of salt. Bash it all up until it looks like a paste then add a good slurp of EVO & continue to mix. The consistency should be like runny honey.

Pop the halloumi onto a plate & drizzle over the rosemary & lemon paste. Heat up a flat pan, drizzle a bit of EVO on then whack the halloumi on. Cook until golden brown on both sides then pop back into the pan to soak up the excess rosemary & lemon paste.

Serve warm with wedges of lemon &

Enjoy!