quotes I love {Roald Dahl}

Cremora Tart {no bake}

This is a very easy recipe, and takes about 20min to make and half hour to an hour to set.  All the ingredients you can keep for a while so the perfect tart for those unexpected guests. :-) This is my grandmothers "flop free all ingredients in the home" tart when we pop in.  She uses fridge water though... but all other recipes other than her's use hot water :-) {which makes more sense for the powder to dissolve better}  she is 83 years old, so we'll excuse her ;-) which ever you prefer they both work! {the rest of the recipe is hers though}

2 cups Cremora powder {coffee creamer}

1 cup Hot water

1 {200g} packet Tennis Biscuits 

100 g Butter

1 {385g} can condensed milk

3/4 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice

Mix the Cremora powder and the water together till well mixed and leave to cool in the fridge.

Crush the biscuits and mix well with the butter to form a crumble mixture {I find it easiest to put the biscuits in a bag and crush them using a wooden spoon}.

Line a pie dish {or individual containers} with the crumb mixture and place in the refrigerator.  

Remove the Cremora mixture from the fridge and add the condensed milk and mix well.

Now slowly add the lemon juice and mix well {you will see that this thickens the whole mixture}.

Remove the Pie dish from the fridge and pour over the Cremora mixture.  

Allow it to refrigerate for about a hour before serving.

Top with some biscuit crumbs, lemon rind or leave as is.

It can be served as a dessert or as a tart with tea.

quotes i love... {Norman Vincent Peale}

Mushroom and Blue Cheese Sauce

This sauce goes particularly well with steak, but can be served with any red meat really.  Since I can remember my mother made this sauce with a steak braai {or barbeque as more commonly known in other countries}

What you need:
2 tablespoons Butter
4 tablespoons Flour
1 cup Full cream milk

250 ml Double cream
250 g Brown mushrooms
150 g Blue cheese {like gorgonzola}
1/2 teaspoon mixed herbs
Salt and Pepper to taste

In a saucepan, heat the butter over medium-low heat until melted.  Add the flour and stir until smooth.  Over medium heat, cook mixture for about 2 min.  Add the heated milk, whisking until smooth.

Add the mushrooms, cheese, herbs and cream and stir until well mixed.

Bring to boil and allow to simmer for about 15 min {or until cheese is melted and mushrooms soft}

Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Set aside until ready to serve.

{I find it best it you have it set aside for at least an hour, then slightly heat it before serving}

I love freebies :-)

Free brackets for you to download... if used commercially you need to link it to http://elfadophotoscape.blogspot.com.br

FOR FREE DOWNLOAD: http://www.dafont.com/bella-k-brackets.font

quotes I love {Helen Keller}

Macaroni and Cheese alla Denisimo

This is my own macaroni and cheese recipe {it literally is macaroni with cheese}... but it's tasty and easy and that's all that matters I guess :-) I remember my mother added eggs to her macaroni and cheese, and I know loads of people add tomatoes in the dish.  

What you need:
2 L Boiling water
2 teaspoons Salt
5 teaspoons oil
300g Macaroni

1/2 cup butter
1/2 cup flour
4 - 5 cups milk

250g streaky bacon
200g grated cheddar cheese
200g grated mozzarella cheese

Pre-heat oven to 180°C

Add the salt and the oil to the water and cook the macaroni until al dente {firm but not hard}. This would take about 10 - 15 min.  Drain the macaroni and set aside.

Then cut the bacon up into about 3 cm size pieces, and fry until golden brown, and set aside.

Melt the butter over a moderate heat on the stove top, add the flour and stir until smooth.  Then start adding the milk in bit by bit, allowing to simmer for 2 min or so (not boil) while stirring it.  Add the milk until it forms a thick sauce.

Remove from the stove top and set aside.  

Put the macaroni into an oven dish {dish should be large enough so that the macaroni only fills about half of the dish.  Then add the cheddar cheese, half of the mozzarella and the bacon and mix it in.  Then pour over the sauce, and sprinkle the remaining mozzarella on top.

Bake in the pre-heated oven for about 30min, or until golden.  

I like eating "all gold tomato sauce" with mine or some fresh tomatoes.

Bon appetite!

quotes i love... {Jim Rohn}

Pancake recipe {Basic}

We had a rainy and windy easter week-end in Cape Town {South Africa}, which is perfect weather for pancakes {comfort food}.  

I'd say probably the best part of big fetes and get togethers in farm communities is buying pancakes from the ladies baking hundreds of pancakes on their little gas burners. But making them yourself on a cold day is so rewarding. 

I got this recipe in one of my gran's cook books "Uit die hart van Citrusdal" which means "out of the heart of Citrusdal", and Citrusdal is a small farming community about 2 hours drive from Cape Town. So here it is, making about 30 pancakes.

FYI:

Pancakes in South-Africa is the same as Crepe's else where... very thin, and the size of the pan that you are using.

What you need:

4 cups flour
1 teaspoon salt
4 eggs
1 cup oil
1/4 cup vinegar
about 1200ml water
4 teaspoons baking powder

Method:

Mix the flour and the salt with a fork.

Beat the eggs the eggs, and mix with the oil and vinegar.  Then add to flour mixture.

Mix thoroughly.

Add water until the mixture becomes the right consistency {It should be a thick pourable mixture}.

Lastly add the baking powder and stir immediately. Let the mixture rest for about a half hour. 

Heat the pan, add a tablespoon of oil, and spread it.  
When the pan is hot, pour about a half a cup {depending on the size of your pan, but you should just cover the surface} of pancake mixture in the pan {tilting the pan in circle movements to spread it evenly and the whole pan is covered} 
Cook until little bubbles form on the pancake, then turn the pancake around and bake for about another 10 seconds or so on the other side. You should be able to flip the pancake {sometimes you just need to loosen it all around the edges before you flip it} but be careful, it might end up on the floor ;-) 

You only need to put oil in the pan before the first pancake, there after you just add the pancake mixture.

Traditionally in South-Africa we eat it with cinnamon sugar and a few drops of lemon juice.  

Spreading the Cinnamon sugar on the open pancake then starting at the one edge, roll it into a little roll.

 

Then serve with a slice of lemon or squeeze a few drops over the pancake.

{Cinnamon sugar: For every half a cup of sugar, add a teaspoon of ground cinnamon} 


FYI:
Pancakes freeze well.  Stack them with layers of wax paper between them.

Party invites {evite}

For those of you that don't know the website "evite"... here is an introduction {to a website that I love to use when I'm organising an informal party or get together of any sort for invites and save the dates}

It is a perfect website for inviting guests for birthday parties, baby showers, kitchen teas, or just a simple get together were you need the guests to RSVP and update details as your guest list develops!

It's done in a few simple step.

First you choose a design, and do the wording on the invite.

Then you set-up a guest list {it saves the contact details for future invites}.  You have options to make it an open invite so that your guests can invite others {and limit the amount of people they can invite if you need to}.  The guests then RSVP and every one can see who is coming {and how many} and if someone wants to leave a comment or ask a question they can.

As you want to add to the list you can and if you need to update details you choose if you want to send it to everyone, or just those who have RSPV'd.  Here's a few examples of templates...