These lovely eggs are the result of an evening with friends, wine, paintbrushes, acrylic paint and hollowed eggs. It was harder to paint the small, constantly moving eggs than I thought it would be! But don’t let that stop you from trying it your self. Enjoy!
Happy Easter!
The Sydney’s weather is doing nothing good for my Easter mood at the moment. Hopefully that will change soon and I will get in the mood to make some marzipan. The Norwegian Easter treat. But until then I will share this salad with you, it’s one of my favorites.
Serves 4
Salad
Blend all together before drizzling the dressing over.
Dressing
Early morning run in Hunter Valley. I love waking up at a new place, put runners on and go out to explore what’s around and plan the rest of the day.
After a hearty breakfast at Elfin Hill, the place we spent the night, we picked three wineries to visit: Audrey wilkinson, Tullock and scarborough. All three were good, but nothing could beat the stunning view from Audrey Wilkinson vineyard. After all the wine we were longing after a fresh home made gelato from The smelly Cheese Shop. They use what’s in season and are changing their flavours regularly. I had honey and macadamia nuts. A perfect ending on a good day.
We found home made preserves in a small little shop in Bilpin, along the long, but beautiful drive from Blue Mountains to Hunter Valley. After a few hours in the car it was refreshing with their homemade Bilpin apple juice.
Pastry
2 3/4 cups plain flour
small pinch of salt
150g unsalted butter
3/4 cup icing sugar
2 eggs beaten
shift flour, then rub in butter till it resembles fine bread crumbs.
Add the salt, sugar and eggs and combine together.
Then press together only a little to form a smooth dough.
wrap with plastic and place into fridge for at least an hour
Roll mixture on a lightly floured surface and carefully place into loose bottom tin.
Refrigerate again for 1 hour.
cover with baking paper and then baking beads.
Bake in the oven for 10 min on 180c, remove beads and bake for a further 3-5 min or until just cooked but not browned.
Filling
Spread ricotta cheese on pastry, and then figs and almonds on top. Sprinkle with cinnamon and drizzle with honey. Bake in oven for about 30 min on 180C.
Probably the most satisfying dessert you can finish a meal with. Banana, caramel and biscuit. Great combo!
Baked by Nicole with recipe from Chef Andy Bunn, Cafe Sopra, one of my favourite restaurant in Sydney!
Ingredients
Scraped seeds of 2 vanilla beans
Method
Serves 12
Start this recipe a day ahead.
Place the cans of condensed milk in a large saucepan of water and bring to the boil over a medium heat. Reduce heat to a simmer and cook for 2 hours adding water if necessary to ensure cans remain covered, remove cans and cool in the fridge for a couple of hours.
Meanwhile melt butter in a small saucepan, and then cool slightly. Using a food processor crush biscuits to fine crumbs, add the butter and process briefly to combine. Press crumb mixture over the base of a greased 28cm loose based tin then refrigerate for 30 minutes to firm the base.
Open cooled cans of condensed milk and spoon caramel evenly over the biscuit base and refrigerate overnight to firm.
To assemble pie – using an electric mixer whisk cream, vanilla bean seeds and sugar to stiff peaks. Cut bananas into thin slices. Remove pie from tin and loosen base and place on a plate. Spoon or pipe half the whipped cream over the caramel filling, then place the bananas in an overlapping circle working from the outside in. Top with the remaining cream and sprinkle with grated chocolate.
Cut into slices with a hot dry knife and serve immediately.
A small sneak view on some of their music videos from their latest album “Plastic Beach”
These are just short trailers, you can watch them in full length at youtube.
The Gorillaz are back!
It has been five years since they released “Demon Days”, and now they are back with “Plastic Beach”. Both the albums and their first album “Gorillaz” are all three very different and experimental albums. They got fictional characters, but just two actual members which is Damon Albarn and Jamie Hewlett.
Thank you all for visiting me at the market on Saturday! And thanks to Nicole, Kim and Arnstein for all your help with the baking! And to Teodora for being the best sales assistant! I’m now one step closer to the printing of my first book which is soon to come! If you would like to have a preview of the book go to www.collected.no.
Nicole’s hummingbird cake
This Saturday the 20th of March I will be at the Manly school Market!
Come and have a look if you would like to try some of Nicole’s hummingbird cake, Mum’s orange and chocolate cake or any of Kim’s banana muffins or bread. Come early before Kim eats it all!
Will be selling some books, clothes and shoes as well!
See you there!
Eating jelly reminds me of children’s birthday party, but if you serve them in nice glasses like these lovely old champagne glasses it can be a classy dessert for grown ups as well! And it’s actually surprisingly easy to make jelly from scratch as well! Try this and I’m sure you will soon be creating your own favourite jelly. This recipe is from Margaret.
Combine moscato, sugar, berries, rinds, juices and 250 ml water in a saucepan. Stir over medium heat until the sugar dissolves. Bring to the boil, reduce heat to low and simmer for 8-10 min. Strain liquid through a muslin-lined sieve, transfer back to pan and add gelatin already dissolved in hot water. Stir well, and divide into eight 250 ml-capacity serving glasses and refrigerate until set. ( 6 hours) .
Serve with vanilla custard and fresh berries.
Another dreamy place in New Zealand, this photo is taken along Routeburn track, a part of the beautiful southwest.
Photo by Arnstein
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