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Monday, May 26, 2014

Beef short rib and this and that~

A robust meat dish .... Full of flavour to comfort you these cold winter nights!
We really enjoyed these caramelised ribs baked in the oven slowly for around 4 hours.
The dish needs all your love and care and it will turn out a hit.
I picked up my meat at the 2 Fat Butchers around the corner and my new favourite stop.
The 2 brothers are such great chaps and so obliging with how to get the best out of your joint ....they have free printable recipes to go!

Here's what a did with their recipe for short rib!



Ingredients~

Olive oil
6 thick cut meaty beef short ribs
a large head of garlic, cut in half
1 tsp of puree of tomato
around 750ml good red wine..minus a glass for yourself!
1 litre of beef stock
150g chopped bacon
250g portabelli mushrooms, halved or button ones
sea salt and fresh ground pepper to taste
Chopped flat leaf parsley
fresh organic baby tomatoes roasted with olive oil and honey

Method~
Preheat oven to 170deg C. Heat a deep sided roaster or heavy bottom casserole dish.
Add olive oil . Season the ribs and fry off for 10 to 15 minutes until browned on all sides.
Add the garlic, tomato puree and heat for a minute or 2 . Pour in the wine to de glaze the pan, scraping the bits at the bottom.. Bring to the boil and cook for 10 to 15 minutes until the liquid reduces to half, then add the stock to cover all the ribs. Bring to the boil basting the ribs.
Cover and cook in oven for 3 to 4 hours, basting now and then until the meat is falling off the bones.
About 10 minutes before the meat is ready, fry some bacon and add the mushrooms when bacon is crispy!
Roast the baby carrots for 15 minutes or so tossed in olive oil and honey. Drain the excess fat from the bacon, mushrooms and baby glazed carrots.
Serve the short rib topped with this mixture and complete by garnishing with flat leaf parsley!




Here are some photos from around and about my home~






 salmon, avo, pest and rocket on ciabatta!


beautiful lilies are some of the flowers I had arranged for the weekend~




I've been here only a short while
I've pruned, added, removed and dug over
a little fence adjusted
to keep my Chloe in..
all this has made me come to know
that there's no better place
than one's own sanctuary
one's own garden!
No matter how big or small !


some little collages to end! Have a great week.....


There's those words from that lyric of Diddy...
it  always stops me in my tracks...
I’m coming home
I’m coming home
Tell the World I’m coming home
Let the rain wash away all the pain of yesterday....



so much to be grateful for....just everyday things so many take for granted...  Shel

Tuesday, May 20, 2014

Lemon drizzle cake.

I found this recipe on the Welcome home blog. It's probably the nicest lemon cake I might ever have eaten.
What a refreshing blog too as she dedicates it to her mother and to animal shelters.
Simply lovely! So glad I found her ...I miss my mom so and can definately relate

But more on that special cake ~





Here goes the recipe~
Lemon cake with Lemon Vanilla Glaze.
Cake~
3 cups all purpose flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
1 tsp vanilla
3 lemons, zested
3 tablespoons lemon juice
3/4 cup buttermilk
3 large eggs at room temp and lightly beaten
1 large egg yolk at room temp
1 cup and 2 tablespoons butter, room temp (21/4 sticks)
2 cups sugar

Preheat oven to 180deg C. Spray or grease and dust with flour a bundt tin....large one (12cup).
Zest lemons until you have 2 tablespoons. Squeeze lemons to get 3 tablespoonfuls. Combine lemon juice and lemon zest in a bowl and set aside.
Whisk flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt in a large bowl. In a separate medium bowl, mix together your lemon and zest mixture together with vanilla, buttermilk. In a small bowl, gently whisk eggs and yolk to combine.
With your electric mixer, cream butter and sugar on medium high speed until fluffy and pale. This takes +-3 minutes, scape down the sides. Then add the eggs at medium speed mixing until incorporated. Reduce the mixer to a low speed then add the flour and alternate with the buttermilk mixture until all incorporated. Pour batter into prepared bundt tin.
Bake on centre rack until the top is golden and the skewer comes out clean. This will take around 45 minutes.Cool cake in the pan on a wire rack for 10 minutes then invert directly onto wire rack.

Glaze.~
2-3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
4 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted.
2 cups of icing sugar sifted.
1/4 tsp vanilla

Whisk 2 tablespoons lemon juice, melted butter, vanilla until smooth adding more lemon juice until glaze is thick but still pourable. Once cooled, pour over warm cake and let it cool for an hour before enjoying.
This did not last a day in my home ~~




and the perfect sunset to go with it~



Shel

Friday, May 16, 2014

Blue cheese muffins and warm butternut soup!

We are so fortunate to live in this climate...almost the middle of winter and we are being spoilt with these sunsets.




I have been spoilt for Mother's Day with a SMEG stove....so today I tried out the oven and really was impressed.

Here are my blue cheese muffins I made....delicious with ripe fig jam..






Recipe:
2 cups of AP flour
4 tsp baking powder
2 tablesp Sugar
4 Tablesp melted marg or butter
250ml Milk
1 egg
pinch of salt 1/2 cup of crumbled blue cheese and 1/2 cup of strong cheddar
Combine all the dry ingredients and sift.
Melt the butter
Add to the wet ingredients
Mix together and bake for 10 to 15 mins in an oven at 220deg C


The  little bunny is from a local artist in Cape Town....I could not resist him as we have these hares on the golf course....I have often woken to one sitting at my front door and the reflection in the sandblasted glass of his long ears reminded me so of this beautiful little carving!



The weather is perfect for fire and soup at the moment and butternut soup is truly my favourite with a dash of heat in it and a touch of creme fraishe

Have a wonderful weekend!
Shel

Sunday, May 11, 2014

Happy Mother's Day

A quiet day spent with my hubby...
my boys all in their home towns and the youngest at work..
yet a warm fuzzy feeling inside me knowing that I am well loved...
many mails, presents and time out with my Ed <3 font="">

Just one dearest person, if only I could have had you around for just 1 minute to say thank you for all you did for me most especially for showing me how to be a Mother!

How I love and miss you mom!
I will always cherish the picture of my mother taken with y grandmother .






Happy Mothers Day to all the beautiful ladies that I know !

Shel

Thursday, May 8, 2014

Hello from our new spot !



The sun has set on Solomon where we shared so many fond memories...but.....

 hello from my new home....




 just posting a short message to let you know  my life has turned a few corners (all good!) but hectic.
I am so looking forward to coming back to my comfort zone here on my blog.
Thank you for all your concern, the lovely emails and comments!

Here is a sneak preview of a few happenings in our new life in a different area of Port Elizabeth!



We moved in just in time to celebrate a beautiful occasion.....


the  engagement of our son to our gorgeous soon to be daughter-in-law!



Blessed in so many ways!
I'll be back to share some table settings, recipes and my decorating and gardening from my new spot!

Shel x