Grade 2 Pot Luck Lunch

Grade 2 Pot Luck Lunch

This was our 2nd last Grade 2 event for the school year. KM has offered to host our annual pot luck lunch before she leaves Italy and so it was in her lovely flat in Modena that we had our lunch yesterday.

KM's Asparagus Tart

I arrived in her flat 10 minutes before time, having come from a Middle Years Coffee Morning at CH's. She was still in her shower. I got to admire her lovely self all wrapped up in a nice big towel (now I want a towel like that too). The school called just then and asked her to pick up her eldest as he was a little ill.

My Fried Rice Vermicelli

It was fortunate that KM was not the panicky sort. She told me to take over her house while she was away. I've always fancied myself checking out other people's kitchens, but when I got the chance to do just that, actually I found that I couldn't really do it. I ended up pacing the corridor while waiting for the others to arrive.

And when they did, I didn't know how to open the door. There were 4 locks on it. Which one do I open first?

CB's Quiche

LBL's Fried Chinese Dumplings

GA's Crabstick Roll

We had a really nice time. Everyone brought something and we had lots to eat. Too much maybe.

CZ's chocolate cake

It started to rain when we were finishing dessert. Literally cats and dogs. What a weird month of May we've had.

P's Chicken Curry

In the afternoon, I paid a quick visit to P's. She's going home for good at the end of the month. We said our farewells and I returned home with my last chicken curry from P. One of the best I've ever had. Wish her all the best in her future endeavours, that she will be happy and not forget me too quickly.

Rose and Bandung Agar Agar

Rose and Bandung Agar Agar

I had to rush home from my shopping yesterday because Hub needed me to bring something to his workplace for him. But I couldn't enter our home because there was an accident right at our doorstep and therefore a massive jam in our road.

Wednesday's accident (just after noon)

It's a long straight road but for some reason there are often accidents on it. This goes to show how badly they drive here in Modena. We are very near a roundabout and I often see cars overtaking each other the minute they were off it which certainly is stupid, foolish and irresponsible. You know why the Chinese often ask you if you were hurrying towards your reincarnation in a situation like this.

Anyway, I had another piece of agar agar sheet leftover from the other day's agar agar lokum and decided to make some Rose and Bandung Agar Agar with it. Multi-layered agar agar is common where I come from and in keeping with the rose theme, I added milk (coconut milk will do just as nicely) and made a bandung-flavoured layer to go with the rose-flavoured one. It's similar to the lokum agar agar with the addition of screwpine leaves at the boiling stage and no nuts.

Chicken Shawarma with Garlic Yoghurt Sauce

Chicken Shawarma with Garlic Yoghurt Sauce

I have travelled quite a bit in exotic lands like Turkey, Egypt and Greece in my youth. Needless to say it was on a shoestring budget and the best and cheapest food I could find at that time was shawarma/gyros/doner kebab and I've eaten quite alot of them if I may say so. At 1 to 2 USD a portion in those days. Though I would usually need 2 each time, I've always had a good appetite.

Then I lived a few years in Paris. Still on a shoestring budget. Though at 35 French Francs (about 5 euros) a portion it was quite expensive, but those gyros also tend to be quite big (fries included) so I would treat myself to one from time to time. On my 22nd Birthday, 2 young men fought in front of the best gyros shop at Place St Michel over the right to buy me a gyros as a birthday treat. I know, I was pathetic. They should have combined forces to bring me to the Jules Verne. Hub did, a few years down the road, so I married him. See, I redeemed myself.

I was at Armani today and bumped into MM. She has just spent a few thousand euros in order to earn a few thousand more. I only know how to spend, unfortunately, and only in the hundreds. But the Teenager is happy with his new jeans, shoes and T-shirt and Baby Girl with her capri pants (size 14 years!!!). I will return to the store next month if I still have some housekeeping money left over from this month. I may like a few pairs of jeans myself.

At Lidl the other day I bought a packet of Lebanese bread. Thought that I'd make Chicken Shawarma to go with them. And also a Garlic Yoghurt Sauce. Though I'm one of those people who only eat my gyros - plain. Yes, only bread and meat. So once again I had to depend on the family to taste out my sauce. The Shawarma can also be accompanied by a Hoummous or a Harissa Sauce. I had a ripe avocado so I made a Guacamole.

Cooked Chicken Breasts

Chicken Shawarma :

800g Whole Chicken Breasts (with side slits in each breast)

2 Garlic cloves (minced)

Olive Oil

1/2 Tsp ground Cinnamon

1/4 Tsp ground Cloves

4 Cardamom pods (bashed)

1/4 Tsp ground Nutmeg

1/2 Tsp ground Cumin

1 Tsp ground Chilli

1/2 Tsp ground Black Pepper

1 Tbsp Herbes de Provence

250ml Yoghurt

1 Tbsp Lemon juice

2 Tbsp White wine vinegar

Garlic Yoghurt Sauce :

250g Greek Yoghurt

2 Garlic cloves (minced)

Olive Oil

2 Tbsp Lemon juice

Salt to taste

Parsley (chopped)

Mint (chopped)

I keep the chicken breasts whole because they tend to dry out quickly if they are too thin. But I have side slits in each breast so that they will absorb the marinade better. Marinate with all the ingredients for at least 3 hours. I use herbes de Provence instead of just origano because my favourite gyros in Paris always tasted of that. I loved it.

Marinated Chicken Breasts

Prepare the garlic yoghurt sauce and keep it chilled in the fridge until you need it.

Garlic Yoghurt Sauce

Naturally I do not have a vertical rotating spit which I probably would have had if I had married one of my Turkish suitors. But that would be another story for another day (if ever).

I use a hot oven to grill my chicken. First on normal at 220°C for 30 minutes and then the last 10-15 minutes under the grill. Line the baking dish with Lebanese bread so that they will absorb the oil and liquid during the cooking. Place the marinated chicken on top of the bread and add a few onions or chillis to be roasted if you wish. Turn the meat over half-way through.

To assemble, fill each half of the Lebanese bread with a salad leaf, followed by cucumber, tomatoes, onions, peppers etc. Then slice or shred the meat and add to the filling. Top with the sauce(s). I ate mine with BBQ sauce.

Peanut Butter Smarties Cookies

Peanut Butter Smarties Cookies

Coffee morning was lovely at JoW's and it was good catching up with a few familiar faces. Actually I'll be seeing most of them this week at various lunches and coffee mornings. It's that time of the year when everyone feels like making coffee and tea for nice company.

We talked about this and that and at one point, I asked a few ladies what they would do if they should see their friend's husband with another woman in some sort of a compromising situation. Would they tell the friend? Sound the husband out first? Pretend they didn't know anything?

Very interesting answers - and all valid when you hear them out. But we all agree that we hoped never to be put in such a situation. It's really no-win for anybody.

There are scarlet fever and headlice epidemics in the school at the moment. I was not responsible for either of them though I am not unduly worried about my children catching (touch wood) them. Que sera sera. Nobody wants their children to suffer, but these things happen when you do not live in isolation and the important thing is that there is a cure and we know what to do about them.

In my circle, you can see that most people are quite cool about that. Some mums even help to pick lice from other children's heads, hang out with those whose children had the fever; but other parents are less cool. Heard that one group was like a lynch mob ready to attack the first outsider they heard of who could have brought scarlet fever to the school. Irony was that I knew of at least one family with the fever 2 weeks before this person came.

I had another thought in my head at this point. What do you do when you face a potential mob situation? Do you become part of the group because otherwise you may look guilty (even if you're not), or do you say, "Stop! Have you verified your facts?" even if they may turn against you first for that?

I remember reading about friendly neighbours who turned executioners in war-torn situations, brothers who kill each other over differences in politics or religion, children who turned against their parents over ideology. If you think about it, goodwill is often fragile and short-lived. It is too easy to allow your personal interest to overide all other things.

Before I left for the coffee morning, I made a batch of Peanut Butter Smarties Cookie dough and left it to chill in the fridge. I have a jar of peanut butter to finish and instead of buttering more sandwiches with that, I made cookies.

Peanut Butter Cookies :

150g Butter (softened)

100g Brown sugar

100g White sugar

1 Egg

1 Tsp Vanilla extract

200g Peanut butter (smooth or crunchy)

250g Flour

1/2 Tsp Baking soda

1/4 Tsp Salt

100g Chocolate bits or Smarties

Beat the butter, brown and white sugars.

Add in the egg and vanilla extract and beat again to mix well.

Add the peanut butter and beat again.

In a separate bowl, whisk the flour, baking soda and salt.

Stir or beat into the peanut butter mixture.

Add the chocolate bits or smarties either at this point or later just before baking the cookies.

Chill the cookie dough for an hour before baking.

Heat the oven to 180°C and bake the cookies for about 10 minutes.

The dough will not melt or spread out alot during baking so shape a little accordingly before that.

Sweet and Sour Mango Panko-breaded Pork Chop

Sweet and Sour Mango Panko-breaded Pork Chop

I am usually quite careful about the meat I buy. And I would avoid buying any from Lidl, for example, though I always shop there and manage to find many interesting things to buy. But if you are looking for good-quality sliced lean pork (maiale sottile), they have it and I have not been disappointed with it thus far. Most supermarkets are closed on Monday mornings here in Modena, so if I had to buy meat at Lidl, I buy the pork.

Breaded and ready for frying

What did I do with the pork I bought this morning? I prepared an egg wash with an egg, 5-spice powder, salt, light soy sauce and pepper and dipped my pork slices in it. Then I dusted them with Japanese panko breadcrumbs, fried them and have them sliced into strips. Prepared a sweet and sour sauce as per normal but using fresh ripe mango cubes instead of pineapple, and covered the pork with it. Voilà my Sweet and Sour Mango Panko-breaded Pork Chop.

Sweet and Sour Sauce :

Brown sugar

Chinese rice vinegar

Concentrated tomato purée

Worchestershire sauce

Light Soy sauce

Plum Sauce

Oyster Sauce

Sesame Oil

Sherry

Corn Starch

Water

Mix and taste as you go to obtain your desired sweet and sour sauce.

If you are in a hurry, I would recommend Lee Kum Kee's or Amoy's ready-made sauce, they are not too bad.

This week is another busy one filled with coffee mornings, lunches and packing for our trip to Alghero. I hope to find a moment to see P one last time before she leaves for India though. Ah, I do so hate farewells.

PS : These photos are my first ones posted using the extra storage space that I've just paid for at Picasa. Didn't know that we're only limited to 1GB of storage space with Blogger. Anyway, since Blogger is already free, I'm not going to stinge on the photo stockage.

Life Path of 5

I clicked on some publicity banner the other day and it was a numerology report generator. According to the guy I am a N° 5 personality.

"You are about freedom, independence and the right to follow where your heart and gut-instincts lead you in life. You are an inquisitive soul with many questions that can only be answered through travel, exploration and experiencing a variety of life situations. For this reason you are likely to relocate to various cities or countries during your life and also entertain a number of life partners as opposed to just one soul mate.

You are best suited to freelance work or being your own boss as stuffy offices and rigid routines are deadly to your imagination and soul. You are a great lover of human nature as well as one of it's greatest observers, which is why you would make a good archaeologist, historian, writer, journalist, reporter or artist.

You are great at dealing with people and also do well in any "front line" occupation. For instance many crisis workers, emergency care workers and leaders of self- groups are fives. You need a job that allows you to meet a lot of people as well as brings you a variety of interesting experiences.

You also have quite a spiritual bent to your personality that may send you on many personal vision quests. It is not unusual for a 5 to also belong to many different religions during his or her life or suddenly in mid-life to drop everything in pursuit of a life-style that is the complete opposite of the former one.

One of your challenges is learning how to not waste time. Your perception of time is somewhat distorted which is why you are often late to meetings or sometimes unable to meet deadlines. Novelties and new ideas also easily distract you so sometimes it is difficult for you to choose a career or lifestyle and stick with it. As a result, others may also find you indecisive and frustrating to deal with.

Another challenge that you face on your life path is being overly irresponsible. Many 5's have a habit of taking off when the going gets rough. You tend be quite casual about your relationships and have a great deal of trouble managing any type of emotional crisis. You may even experience panic at the idea of commitment, as you don't like the idea of being responsible to another person. For this reason, many of you have a number of serial relationships rather than just one life long love.

If you are unable to physically escape circumstances that you can't emotionally handle or don't like, you are also prone to escaping through substance abuse. This is part of the unpleasant self-indulgent trait that is part of many number 5 personalities.

Finding one focus and sticking with it is definitely your biggest life challenge. Most 5's are multitalented but they never stay in one place long enough for one of their projects to grow and blossom. Seeing things through to completion is the best way to make sure that you don't suffer poverty or bitterness in your later years.

One of your greatest talents is the ability to communicate, either verbally or through the written word. Your expansive observations of life plus your ability to see all points of view makes you an excellent teacher. Most 5's end up teaching at one point in their life so others can benefit from the rich tapestry of their life experience.

You are also a daring spirit that has a love of adventure. You are usually very physically fit and enjoy good health for your entire life if you stay away from overindulging in drink and food."

What do you think? Not sure Hub would appreciate the entertain a number of life partners bit though. :-)

Rose and Pistacchio Agar Agar Lokum

Rose and Pistacchio Agar Agar Lokum

Hub called to say that there would be a Charity Football Match (Partita del Cuore) tomorrow evening in Modena involving Ferrari drivers Alonso, Massa and Fisichella as well as Italian musicians and singers like Gianni Morandi, Enrico Ruggeri, Luca Barbarossa, Gigi D'Alessio...Ferrari team principal Stefano Domenicali, Italian footballer Antonio Cassano and actor Raul Bova will also be playing. The funds that will be raised from this event will go to the Telethon and the Parco della Mistica Onlus Foundations. And the match will be aired live on RAI Uno at 9pm.

He wondered if we should attend the match. Well, I asked him if 1. he loves football; 2. he is into those F1 drivers and Italian musicians; 3. he wants or needs to rub shoulders with the rich and famous; 4. if he wants or needs to be "seen".

Since his answer to all 4 questions was "no", we figured that we should stick to our original plan to dine at Old Wild West and watch Fantastic Mr Fox at the cinema with the kids.

Finally talked to mum this morning. With the time difference it has not been easy getting her before she goes to bed so I've not talked to her for a few weeks. It's always nice catching up on news from home.

I sometimes think of the parallel universe in which we live, so many lives, so many things going on at the same time, so many things we couldn't see, control or make sense of, not even if we were to put millions of TV screens side by side with cameras pointing everywhere at the same time. You hear about your relatives, your siblings, your nieces, your father, her sunglasses, swimming lessons - and all that time you were trying to get your cleaning lady to clear the spider webs above you and work out the next thing that you're going to cook and blog about.

And that next thing is Rose and Pistacchio Agar Agar Lokum aka Diet Lokum. Well "diet" is a relative term since there is still alot of sugar and rose syrup in it, only that you replace the corn starch with agar agar which is after all just seaweed. :-) You got it, I had almost expired agar agar sheets to get rid of. I think I sometimes do it on purpose. I let food almost expire so that I had to think of what to do with them.

Rose and Pistacchio Agar Agar Lokum :

500ml Water

5g Agar Agar sheets

120ml Rose syrup

100g Sugar

unsalted Pistacchio nuts (shells removed and crushed)

Icing Sugar

Corn starch

In a pot, soak the agar agar sheets in the water for a few minutes.

Bring the water to a boil and stir to dissolve the agar agar.

Stir in the sugar and rose syrup.

Pour the agar agar mixture into a lightly-oiled mould. I used a small rectangular pyrex container that didn't require oiling.

Sprinkle the pistacchios over the agar agar.

Let it cool before chilling it in the fridge. Agar agar sets quickly so it wouldn't require much time.

Mix some icing sugar and corn starch together. I would use 2:1 in proportions.

Cut the agar agar into cubes and roll them in the icing sugar-corn starch mixture.

Actually that was just for the photo, it's sweet enough, I would eat it as it is.

Whole Wheat Paratha

Whole Wheat Parathas

These Whole Wheat Parathas are easy to make and quite delicious. Mine didn't turn soft or soggy hours after they were cooked and we were able to have the remaining few parathas for dinner again. It's like making Chapatis, only you have to fold and oil and roll out the dough again before frying the bread.

Time flies, the children will have a short break again at the end of the week (and we'll be off to Alghero for a few days). And then almost all the ECAs will come to an end and I'll be able to take a break from the constant ferrying. Though I have no doubt that they would be replaced by more playdates. MIL will also be here which reminds me that I had better start looking into a few excursions to bring her on.

Whole Wheat Parathas :

200g Whole wheat flour

1/2 Tsp Salt

about 100ml Warm water

1 Tsp Ghee or vegetable oil

Mix the flour, salt, water and oil and knead into a dough.

Knead for a few minutes on a lightly floured board and leave to rest for 30 minutes.

Knead the dough again and pinch out golf-ball-sized balls to be rolled out into flat and thin circles or squares (whatever you can manage).

Fold each circle or square into half (you get a crescent or rectangle). Lightly oil the surface and fold it again into half (you get a triangle or a small square). Oil it and set it aside as you finish doing the same to the rest of the dough.

Lightly flour the surface and roll out each triangle or square back into a thin, larger circle or square.

Lightly oil a non-stick frying pan and fry each paratha on both sides till crispy.

With Cauliflower Gratin and Egg and Potato Curry

Gratin de Chou Fleur (Cauliflower Gratin)

Gratin de Chou Fleur

Gratin de Chou Fleur is a very French vegetable dish. It is also very easy to make, consisting of blanched cauliflower florets, bechamel, a pinch of nutmeg, breadcrumbs and cheese. Hub is however not hot about it, saying that it is heavy and boring. Well, not if you spice it up.

My gratin is like me - fat, but slightly spicy. A bit of east meets west.

Gratin de Chou Fleur :

A head of Cauliflower (cut into florets)

Salt and Pepper to taste

A sprinkle of ground Garam Masala

2 Tbsp Panko breadcrumbs

50g Butter

2 Garlic cloves (finely sliced)

1-2 Tsp Cumin seeds

1/2 Tsp Mustard Seeds

1/2-1 Tsp ground Turmeric

1 Thai Chilli (sliced)

A handful of Curry leaves

2-3 Tbsp Flour (sifted)

2 Tbsp grated Parmesan Cheese

Milk

Juice of half a Lemon

Grated Emmenthal, Cheddar or Gruyère Cheese

Bring a pot of water to the boil and salt it. Blanch the cauliflower florets in it for 5 minutes. Drain and place them in an oven dish. Sprinkle some salt, pepper, garam masala and panko breadcrumbs over them.

In a saucepan, melt the butter and brown the garlic, whole and ground spices, chilli and curry leaves.

When they are fragrant (but not burnt), lower the heat, add the flour and keep stirring.

Pour in the parmesan cheese and continue stirring.

We are making the bechamel and it is important that we cook the flour. There is nothing more disgusting than the taste of raw flour in your sauce.

Pour in the milk bit by bit. At the beginning the flour will suddenly turn into a lump when you add in the milk. No problem, add more milk and keep stirring.

I never measure the amount of milk I use because it all depends on how thick you want your bechamel to be. But I would say at least 250ml. Whatever it is, make sure that there are no lumps in your sauce and that the flour is cooked. And keep stirring.

Add the lemon juice and mix well.

Heat up your oven to 180°C.

Before being baked

Pour the spiced bechamel sauce over the cauliflower in the ovenproof dish and cover with grated cheese. Bake in the oven for 20 to 30 minutes depending on how bronzed you like your cheese to be. You could add a bit of butter on top just before the end of the baking period if you like it brown. I'm keeping mine not too bronzed as I need to reheat it later. Cauliflower gratins take quite well to reheating so it can be made in advance.

I am serving my Cauliflower Gratin with a few Whole Wheat Parathas and a Potato and Egg Curry today.

Maracuja Cocktail

Maracuja Cocktail

I had leftover Maracuja juice and felt like having a cocktail. This doesn't happen to me very often as I'm not into alcohol, unless I've already paid for it like when we were at Club Med. There, you would find me downing glasses and glasses of Mojitos and Tequila Sunrises throughout the day.

This morning, the 3 boys left to play golf. Baby Boy was so motivated he woke up, brushed his teeth and dressed up on his own first thing in the morning. Then he asked for a packet of Oreo biscuits and a Ribena drink to put in his golf bag. Isn't he just so perfect.

We girls are left at home and we decided to make ourselves Maracuja Cocktails and play the piano.

Maracuja Cocktail (the alcoholic version) :

1 shot White wine, Rum or Tequila

2 shots Maracuja juice

2/3 shot Grenadine syrup

1 shot Sparkling water

1/2 shot Lemon or Lime juice

Mint leaves

Mix everything together, crush the mint leaves (then remove them if you wish) and serve in cocktail glasses.

Meet My Roses 2010

This year's first few roses

Maracuja Mousse

Maracuja Mousse

CT's wife told us that her expert-cook husband's weakness was dessert. Not exactly for it, but for not being "very good" at making it. I figured that the Maracuja Mousse that he made us on the day we were invited to lunch must therefore not be difficult to prepare.

I wasn't wrong about that and indeed it was a simple, refreshing and delicious dessert - if you like yours tangy and not too sweet. And from the basic passion fruit mousse, the possibilities of using it to compose/prepare more complicated sweets are interesting, but let's just start with this.

Maracuja Mousse :

200ml Whipping Cream or Crème fraîche (with minimum 40% fat)

400ml Sweetened Condensed Milk

4-500ml Maracuja Juice (if using bottled must contain minimum 50% fruit)

Whip the cream till thick and stiff.

Add the condensed milk and whip again.

Pour in the maracuja juice (if using the fresh fruit, include the seeds as well) and whip everything together.

Chill in the fridge for a few hours before serving, leaving time for the mousse to set and stiffen.

I was quite surprised to discover that the family loved it. The Babies had 2 servings each. As I am typing out this post, I'm listening to Caetano Veloso's Cucurrucu Paloma...Love the song.

Mont de Milieu, Chablis 1er Cru, Thierry Laffay

Chablis 1er Cru, Mont de Milieu, Thierry Laffay

The Father and Son golf team returned home half-dead after their 18 holes. Apparently since the 9th hole the Teenager was KO and in spite of his endless hours of watching Tiger Woods play on YouTube and bragging about his moves whether you wanted to listen or not, he could barely hit straight and lost at least 15 (very expensive) balls this afternoon. Needless to say, they didn't sign up for tomorrow's competition as planned, they need to go back to the driving range and keep working on their swings...

I hope I sounded suitably sympathetic. Actually I am horrified. I'll never get the hang of this sport. And I now have double membership - at the golf and at the gym - and I do not even know where to start, how to divide myself between the 2. I am not doing any holes at the moment, since my balls tend to fall at my feet - if they moved in the 1st place.

Vongole on Pasta Nera

I was glad to be able to occupy myself by preparing dinner. This evening I grilled a few Scampis and made Garlic and White Wine Venus Clams on Squid Ink Pasta. But the highlight of the meal was a bottle of precious Chablis 1er Cru Mont de Milieu that Hub bought on one of our long-ago trips to Thierry Laffay's in Bourgogne.

Grilled Scampis

Good white wine is hard to come by in Italy, forget good Chablis. And Laffay's wines hold a special place in Hub's heart as his late father used to buy wine from said vineyard. The Old Man and his pal Toto used to drive to Burgundy and come back with crates of bottles in the boot. And in between they would have participated in wine-tasting walks where they got to walk around with a glass in the hand and taste wine all over; or they would have brought along their own picnic of baguette, cheese and charcuterie and gone round to the different cellars so as not to taste wine on an empty stomach. :-)

I miss the FIL, funny enough. He was a great cook, a bon vivant and such a perfectionist. I missed those walks in the forest that we used to make to pick mushrooms. Actually, I was the only one who cried non-stop at his funeral. And I do not even really know the guy. One thing I do know though is that the children would have enjoyed spending time with their paternal grandfather and it is a pity that they couldn't.

The wine was excellent. Hub said that he's going to call up the guy and see if he could have a few crates delivered to Italy. But the wine cellar is already full, I have no idea where he's going to keep any new bottles.

Open Salmon Raviolis

Open Salmon Ravioli with Shallot-Cream Sauce

I get bored easily as I may have mentioned before. I was going to cook salmon for lunch and the choice between teriyaki, just grilled, or soy bored the hell out of me. It's like making love to the same person in the same nightshirt, position and part of the bed for 20 years (not that I know since I'm still sooo young :-)).

I thought about it and decided to package the same thing(s) a little differently. If it looks different, it may taste and feel different. I decided to make Open Salmon Raviolis.

Basically I grilled the salmon to a crispy exterior and placed it on a piece of spinach lasagna pasta that I have cooked just minutes before. Fresh basil leaves, salt, pepper, crema balsamica, light soy sauce. Cover with another piece of cooked spinach lasagna pasta.

There is no need to fill the ravioli with such a big piece of grilled salmon, of course, half the amount would do just as well but I was feeling generous.

Covered the salmon ravioli with a shallot and cream sauce.

Shallot and Cream Sauce :

1 Shallot (finely sliced)

2 Garlic cloves (finely sliced)

1 Tbsp Olive Oil

2-3 Tbsp White wine

Salt and Pepper to taste

2 Tbsp Crème fraîche

Juice of half a Lime

Brown the shallot and garlic in the olive oil.

Add the white wine, salt and pepper.

When the alcohol has evaporated, stir in the cream.

Squeeze in the lime juice, stir and pour over the raviolis.

It's a hot and sunny day today. Hub and the Teenager are off to play 18 holes and the Babies will soon have their golf lesson. I am going to wash and dry the clothes and do a bit of gardening.

Grilled Chicken and Beef Fajitas

Grilled Chicken and Beef Fajitas

I've already blogged about my Fajitas so I'll just post this evening's Grilled Chicken and Beef Fajitas in photos.

Small plate for grilling, big plate to be used raw
Marinating the meat

Hub and the Teenager will be playing golf the whole of tomorrow and may eventually join a competition on Sunday to try to get a handicap. The weather has been bad thus far for late Spring so when it starts to look good I'm not about to deprive them of a few hours of golf under the sun.

Family playing croquet in the garden after dinner

I'll need to move my butt and start getting more serious about the game myself. Just signed my golf membership form today so I'm committed for the rest of the year.