Every Day I'm Stumblin'

Grow plants from your groceries-ginger.

There is a great site found right HERE which allows you to sketch up plans for buildings. The design part of me loves this. Even as a child I loved to build play houses from anything I could find and as I got older would sketch out my dream home in great detail.


I love Stumbleupon.
It has made me find so many new and interesting sites.
Just when you think you have seen it all...
All it takes is a click of that button.
And the internet is your playground again!

Sunday

Father's Day Feast

This Father's Day I have done it.

I have gone all out and prepared a feast for my wonderful husband.

I am not exaggerating when I say feast.

I mean feast.

Today I am taking him and our two gorgeous kids to the local gardens.

It is a beautiful sunny day and Spring has sprung with the blooms beginning to unleash their delightful fragrance.

I will lay out our food.

So much food.

We will relax, lay about in the sunshine and pick at our tasty treats.

I'm sure our girl will find some ducks to chase and feed them eagerly with the bread crusts we have put aside for them.

All in all it will be a lovely day.

A family day.

Here are some photos of what I have prepared.

I was in the kitchen for hours on end on Friday, since Saturday we were busy all day.

Well worth the effort though.

We will start off with some yummy cheese and crackers...

Then move on to some gazpacho salad...

Greek salad...

Perhaps some creamy potato salad...

I did a roast chicken with smokey barbecue and garlic sauce...

Remember my vegetable and cheese muffins? It is one of my most popular posts...

I added some grated feta cheese and my homemade basil pesto...

These ones I added bacon inside and on top...

And yes, they still taste amazing freshly baked with melted butter inside...

Also with the fresh pesto I made a creamy pesto gnocci...

It is divine!

Now onto the sweet stuff.

Because you know, with me, there will always be sweet stuff!

Caramel slice with chocolate frosting.

I cheated and did a speedy version using a biscuit base and top 'n' fill caramel.

Big mistake.
Never again.

They taste good but no where near as delicious as my usual from scratch slice.

Some snickers brownies, in snack size cupcake cases...

Oh yes, look at those insides...

Of course we needed some fruit in there somewhere.

Strawberries have been very cheap so I grabbed a punnet...

And dipped them in chocolate :)

I also did an experiment and dipped some jersey caramels in chocolate too.

I was dipping and they were there.

Oh and they taste yum!

I spent hours frying...

Mixing...

Washing and chopping...

But in the end, it is all worth it.

For the man I love.

The father of my children.

:)

Indian Spiced Red Lentil Soup

This is one of our favourite hearty Winter soups. So for the last day of Winter I decided to cook up a delicious pot for dinner with some fresh homemade naan breads.

We are a particular household.
I am not a huge fan of lentils.
They have to be cooked right and hidden in something with good flavour.
My hubby is the same.
So when I find a recipe that we both enjoy that has lentils, I hang on to it!
So far we have two recipes with lentils that we enjoy. Both soups.
Red Lentil & Tomato Soup.
And this Indian Spiced Red Lentil Soup.



I found the recipe in my ridiculously big collection of magazine clippings.
Of course I altered it.
I like to add more vegetables to things, and substitute when I can. If I don't have one ingredient in the pantry I will find something to replace it instead of going to the shops, or going without.

So here is the recipe:

Red Lentil Indian Spiced Soup


Ingredients:


1 tbs vegetable oil
1 brown onion, finely chopped
1 large carrot, diced
1/4 cup korma curry paste (I have used this but also substituted with yellow curry paste)
1 litre vegetable stock
400g can diced tomatoes
1/4 cup pearl barley, washed
2/3 cup red lentils, rinsed

Directions:

• Heat oil in a large saucepan over medium-high heat. Add onion and carrot. Cook, stirring, until the onion has softened.
• Add curry paste, stir to combine and fry for a minute, stirring, to release aromas.
• Stir in stock, tomatoes, lentils and barley. Cover. Bring to the boil.
• Reduce heat to low and simmer for 20-25 minutes or until barley is tender.
• Serve with fresh naan bread.

You may notice no photos of the tasty naan breads I made.....Well they never last long enough to take any!
I follow a basic recipe and add garlic and when rolling I stuff them with cheese. Brush it with garlic and butter and cook under the grill. Mmm yummy!
Maybe one day I will share the recipe and manage to take some photos before gobbling them all up....
Maybe.