Chocolate Ripple Cake

A few weeks ago hubby and I settled in to watch Celebrity Masterchef. We just can't get enough of Masterchef in any form.

I had a quiet chuckle to myself when Peter Rowsethorn proudly declared for dessert he would be making a Chocolate Ripple Cake.

I've eaten this. It tasted pretty basic but there was something really moreish about it. I went back for seconds!

Hubby on the otherhand has never tried it. Surely everyone has tried Chocolate Ripple Cake at least once haven't they?

Well I thought I would make it for him today. There is a recipe on the packet of Chocolate Ripple biscuits. It is a G rated version though. I thought I'd jazz it up with some Grand Marnier or something similar a bit more adult.

Any ideas on how I can make my Chocolate Ripple Cake just a bit more interesting?

ps - Droolworthy image from Mouthful of Yumminess

Does time stand still with a baby or fly by?

My poor neglected blog.

I started this blog with the intention of distracting myself from the challenges of a baby that doesn't sleep. When I started it I was doing so much walking (in a desperate bid to get my little girl Amelie to sleep) that I had a lot of time to think. It was therapeutic to come home and assemble all those thoughts into a blog.

So where has the time gone?

I feel like I've been living ground hog day over and over. The past four (or is it five months?) have involved painful sleepless nights involving anything from getting up three times a night to more than ten! I stop counting at ten for my own sanity.

On reflection tonight I simply cannot believe I've been doing this for so long.

I'd like to know when it starts to get better? Helpful friends have gently suggested everything will improve once Amelie reaches one year of age and realistic friends have shared their stories of sleepless nights that went on until their littlies were three or four. Urgh!

So what does one do when they are so ridiculously sleep deprived and developing a twitch, such is the obsession of getting their baby to sleep?

Well they return to work don't they. Yup I've returned to work two days a week. I must say it has saved my sanity. As much as it is hard to leave Amelie, especially since she has been a fixture by my side for 10 months, the time apart has done wonders to rejuvenate me.

I've actually found myself approaching much needed naps with a more relaxed attitude. Is it a coincidence that Amelie has actually been going down for her naps with far less fuss? Maybe, maybe not.

Everyday really is a changing proposition.

All I know is I cannot believe my little girl is 10 months old. Soon I'll be planning her first birthday. One can only hope I'll be well rested but if I'm not I'm quickly learning that times flies by so fast that there is actually something really beautiful about 1am, 2am, 3am etc cuddles that won't happen forever.

Good blog Bad blog

They say a good blog is one that is updated regularly. Based on that logic mine must be a resounding failure! There are good intentions to keep it up to date believe me but goodness where does the time go.

Today I got a hurry up from the lovely Simone from Life as a Goff: The Good, the Bad and the Ugly.

Last night I enjoyed a yummy salmon cannelloni. I guess now is as good as any time to share this delicious and ridiculously easy recipe. The added bonus of this recipe is the filling (minus the lemon) served as Amelie's 1st protein dinner too! My little 7 month old has graduated from fruit and veg mush to salmon and veg mush. Lovely!

Salmon and Ricotta Cannelloni

Filling
1 x can of 425g pink salmon (smoked salmon would be nicer but I had Amelie's dinner in mind when I picked this up)
250g smooth ricotta
1 lemon, juice and rind
Big handful of chopped parsley (Dill would be a nice substitute)
Dash of salt and pepper to taste
Cannelloni shells

Sauce
2 tbsp butter
2 tbsp plain flour
400 mls milk
cup of grated cheese

To make the cheese sauce, melt the butter in a saucepan. Add the flour and stir over a low heat until it comes away from the edges when you stir. Gradually add the milk stirring constantly. Cook over a low heat until it starts to thicken. Remove from the heat and stir in the cheese.

Combine all the filling ingredients and fill the cannelloni shells. (I use a knife and find it fills them easily and without too much mess).

Put a small amount of the cheese sauce in the bottom of a ovenproof dish. Lay the cannelloni shells in a single layer. Top with the remaining sauce ensuring all the pasta is covered.

Bake in a 190 degree fan forced oven for 30 - 35 mins.

Buon Apettito

pic: playink

Thanks Masterchef!

My goodness where does time go?

I realised it has been almost a month since my last post! Such is the life of a new mum and a feisty babe I suppose.

So what have I been doing. Well aside from entertaining my very wakeful baby I've been enjoying watching my husband fumble his way around the kitchen. Seems masterchef is to be credited with inspiring him to cook!

Husband's latest creation was a yummy mushroom pasta. It was so good I thought I'd share the recipe:

Mushroom and Asparagus Penne

400g dried penne
2 tbsp olive oil
2 garlic cloves, crushed
1 red onion, cut into thin wedges
300g cup mushroom, sliced
1 bunch (200g) aspargus, cut into 1cm slices
2/3 cup chicken stock
1/2 cup cream (we substituted evaporated milk instead and 1 tbsp cornflour)
salt and pepper

Cook penne in a large saucepan.

Meanwhile heat oil in a large frying pan over medium heat. Add garlic and onion, cook for 2 - 3 mins or until onion is soft. Add mushrooms, asparagus and stock. Cook, stirring constantly for 2 - 3 mins or until mushrooms and asparagus are tender.

Stir in cream and pasta, cook for 1 - 2 mins or until heated through.

Season with salt and pepper.

Winter Woes

Gosh it has been nearly a month since I last updated my blog. Such is the life of a mamma living with an unwell bub. Poor Amelie has been suffering from a cold and associated blocked nose. Damn cold keeps coming and going and has transformed my happy little bub into a clingy unhappy one.

Poor little poppet and poor me. We are both as sleep deprived as each other.

Seeing as I'm stuck indoors today trying to keep Amelie comfortable and warm while outside it is cold and blustery, I've decided to put on a pot of warming soup.

Okay so it won't help my six month old baby but the soup will definitely warm my spirits. It's a favourite of mine.

Chicken and lentil soup

Six chicken drumsticks, skin removed
1/2 packet of dried soup mix, rinsed
1 brown onion, chopped
2 celery sticks, sliced
2 carrots, grated
1 zucchini, grated
paprika
cumin
salt
pepper
stock

Brown drumsticks in a little oil in a pot. Once well browned remove from pan and set aside. Add chopped onion to pot and saute until translucent. Add celery, carrot and a generous amount of paprika to pot and cook over a low heat until vegies start to caramelise. Add a dash of cumin and zucchini and cook until zucchini is softening. Return chicken to the pan and add soup mix. Cover with stock and simmer for 1 1/2 hours or until chicken starts to fall off the bone. Remove chicken and pull off and chop the chicken. Discard the bones. Return chicken meat to the pot and season with salt and pepper.

Favourite Photo

It's really simple. I love how every photo tells a story. Some short stories, some long tales. I want to know what is your favourite photo of yourself. Everyone has one. The photo they look at and smile. It reminds them of something, some time, some place. A moment in time.

So share the photo, share the story and then tag three other people. I want to see photos and stories all around the blogosphere.

I got tagged by Jess from Mother Me

It was hard to bypass a photo of my daughter Amelie for this post but on this rare occasion I decided to.

This photo was taken on my wedding day. My husband and I were oblivious to the camera and we were just enjoying the newness of the moment. We were 100% lost in each other.

We have always shared silly little jokes and made each laugh and that is why I love this photo.

A dish from my childhood

Tonight after a busy day I whipped up a super quick dish that I fondly remember from my childhood.

My Mum was a busy supermum. In addition to raising three girls she was busy working full time and studying at Uni part time. As a school teacher, full time work meant taking a lot of work home too. So when she wasn't teaching or studying she was either working into the night marking student's work or back at school producing a theatre production. As a result my Mum mastered the art of quick and tasty food to add to her repertoire of culinary delights.

I think Mum would be horrified that I'm posting about this particular dish. You see while she was busy being supermum she was and still is the supreme Masterchef.

It wouldn't be unusual for my mum to whip up an African feast consisting of a few different types of Wat and a batch of injera bread for a lazy Wednesday night dinner or to invite friends for a 12 dish Indian feast featuring obscure dishes I haven't even heard of!

So it is rather ironic that I post about a humble little spaghetti dish that I remember and enjoy. I wracked my brains to come up with a fancy name but I can't think of one so I'll go with what I called it as a kid.

Tuna, spaghetti and peas

1 brown onion, sliced
1 tin tomato soup
1 425g can of tuna in oil, drained
1 tbsp balsamic vinegar
dash of dried oregano
1 cup baby peas
spaghetti

In a pan saute onion in a little olive oil until soft. Add tomato soup and balsamic vinegar and stir to combine. Stir over a low heat for a few mins and then throw in oregano, tuna and peas. Toss through cooked and drained spaghetti.

See I told you it was a simple humble dish...but gee it still tastes as good as I remember as a kid.

pic: digitallydelicious