Vistas!

Wine Poached Pear

So I finally achieved a wine-poached pear desert the other day. It was very rewarding and I am thinking of other ideas already! Rum pears, or spicy poached peaches..... mmm

Simple recipe:
2 Cups of red wine, in a saucepan with 1/2 cup sugar and peeled pears - I left mine whole with the stalk, but you can half and core the pears.
Steam until the wine reduces and thickens, add a small dash of vanilla extract.
In a pan, gently melt a tablespoon of unsalted butter and scorch gently 1/2 cup rough-cut macadamia nuts, 1/3 cup rolled oats, 1/3 cup puffed rice in the butter - adding a few table spoons of the poached wine juice into the pan to help the "scorching" part! I added 1/2 teaspoon of cinnamon as well. Served with Marscapone cream cheese with castor sugar dusting.

san gimginano, italia

...a post card from the past! - it reads;

Dear Naomi,
Wish you were here,
Love from the 'town of towers', San Gimginano.

PS Please Come Back to Italy! :)

quiche

good afternoon !

I haven't really mastered making photogenic quiche. it's a taste bud delight, but my delish dish just doesn't work with the camera yet~

Anyway, black and white made it look best - so imagine juicy ripe red tomato, deep green silver beet, peppered with vibrant green basil, and chalk-white crumbled danish feta. in a deep home made butter-coloured pastry crust. (we all ok with the colours now?)


Recipe as is follows:

Pie Pastry:
2 cups of plain flour, sifted into a deep bowl
125g of chopped cold butter

Mix until crumbly consistency (if your using a mixer just 1 min)
add 2-4 table spoons of cold water, mixing swiftly until pastry just comes together

Roll onto floured surface and bring together in a ball. Cover in plastic cling wrap, and refrigerate for min 30 mins.

When it's done chilling out in the fridge, roll out onto floured surface again, use a rolling pin to flatten to the size of your pie dish. i'm big on high crusts - so i always leave extra above the rim. blind bake for 15 mins to get that pastry cooked, then add your fillings - mine were in roughly this order;

handful of thinly sliced silverbeet on base
pre-cooked 1/2 onion and clove of garlic
Herbs (basil, parsley, chives)
8 eggs, beaten with a dash of milk/cream
- I add fresh shredded herbs to onion mix, and mix into to the eggs for better distribution + salt and pepper to taste

thinly sliced tomatos, laid on top for beautiful (photographic) effect! - i tried
and crumbled feta, grated parmesan.

bake at 190degrees for approx 30mins - until egg has set

enjoy. take a photo. share

warmth

warm colours for the rain drenched east coast of australia.
a good cause Red Cross


left to right: paper daisy centre (Helichrysum), a close up of a decorative vase from www.habitatflowers.com.au, and a patch of zinnia flowers.

snap shot

posy via web cam = digital petals :)

my day

sold this bouquet - sweet smelling longi lilies, matthiola and roses.
Then made and installed a corporate out at the International airport lounge (a 3 hour job...consisting of walking miles and miles up the departure lounge twice lugging a trolley laden with flowers, and then the reverse with the old flowers!) today was magenta Vanda orchids, pink Asiatic lilies, glorious privet berry and magnolia and rolled trop leaves.

oh, there is BIG joy for giving old flowers away to people at airport. seriously worth the walk.