Today, it's all about the cooking...

So the knitting is just puttering along. I'm still working on The Classic Shirt, its bit of a mission for a plain ol' stocking stitch garment. It has 11 separate knitted pieces! Thank goodness I sew up as I go, that's all I can say, I think I'd throw in the towel otherwise! So while we're all waiting for that to be finished I have heaps of cooking to show you. Shall we begin? I think so...

Slow Cooker Lamb Goulash
This is what Amy and I had for dinner tonight. It was so good. The lamb was tender, the sauce was unctuous, the potatoes were creamy and delicious. I got the recipe from a blog run by my best friend from high school, Sharyn. We lost touch over the years, but thanks to the fantasticness that is facebook we found eachother again. Anyway, she runs this blog devoted to crockpot cookery. (Among other things, I think she's become a bit entrepreneurial since we last spoke.) Here's a link to the recipe and thereby the blog, follow her, its a good thing!


Gigantes Plaki
Oh. My. Goodness. You have got to try this! Its like baked beans, but the baked beans they served to Zeus on Mt Olympus. They are so good. Both Amy and I are addicted to them, they have become a regular Saturday night meal. I got the recipes from a Jamie Oliver cook book called Jamie Does Spain, Italy, Sweden, Morrocco, Greece and France.

This serves 6.

2 tins butter beans
olive oil
1 onion, chopped
3 rashers bacon, chopped (optional, but you'll regret leaving it out if you do.)
4 cloves garlic, chopped
2 carrots, peeled and thinly sliced
4 tomatoes, chopped
1 tbsp tomato puree (I use paste, its richer.)
bunch of flat leaf parsley, chopped
1 tin tomatoes
red wine vinegar
salt and black pepper
feta cheese

Preheat oven to 180 degrees Celsius. Heat oil in a casserole that can go on an element and in the oven. Fry onion and bacon until soft, not coloured. Stir in garlic , cook for a few more moments. Add carrots, fresh tomatoes, tinned tomatoes and one tin of water, tomatoe puree and bay leaves. Stir in parsley, add a splach of vinegar, a good pinch of salt and pepper and bring to the boil, simmer for 10 minutes. Add the beans, cover with a lid and cook in the oven for about an hour. The beans should be really soft and most of the liquid absorbed. Taste and season if required.

Serve hot or cold, but honestly go hot all the way. Sprinkle with crumbled feta. So. Good!

Nutella Cupcakes
I made these today. They are more like a truffle cake than a sponge, if you know what I mean. I got the recipe from here. They are very rich and very yummy. Try them, you won't regret it!








And finally - Lemon Meringue Cupcakes

At the moment I have a little wee lemon tree out the back, just laden with lovely, juicy lemons and this was just the recipe to take care of a couple of them. And since Dan loves lemon meringue pie, it was winner all the way around. It's a relatively easy recipe, its just fiddly, but it all worth it! Here is the recipe.






So now, Amy and I are hunkered down in our little house, waiting for the polar blast to hit Tauranga. She's working on an internal assessment for Classics, and I'm just about to start getting ready for work tomorrow. Oh and I have some proud mummy news. Amy has been accepted to study Law! Of course, its conditional on her passing NCEA Level 3, but that's not going to be a problem. I'm very proud of her. I am very lucky to have such brilliant children!