in the garden - brisbane

in the garden - brisbane

13 May 2013

I unexpectedly went home to Brisbane for the weekend. I spent a part of Mother's Day with my Mum and spent the rest of the day getting back home to Sydney. I did take my camera with me but it rained most of the time I was home. Between rain showers I managed to get out into the garden where I took a few photos.



I'm not much of a gardener so it's probably no surprise that many of my favourite plants in our garden are in fact weeds, just like this one. I've always loved it's red berries!



Our beloved custard apple tree which still manages to produce the occasional custard apple despite it's advanced years.



My parents pride and joy - a beautiful orchid.



They have an equally lovely orchid indoors.



I hope you all had lovely weekends. I didn't get a chance to get into the kitchen at all during the weekend except to make some macaroni cheese but I do have a recipe to share with you on Wednesday.

See you all again then.

Bye for now,

Jillian

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apple blintzes and mother's day

apple blintzes and mother's day

8 May 2013

When my Grandmother was still alive she used to host a Mother's Day Morning Tea. It always seemed a little unfair that the most senior member of the family did all the cooking but that was the way Grandma liked it. Grandma always served cheese blintzes made with her home made white cheese. Grandma's cheese blintzes were not sweet and I've not found a recipe that's similar to her blintzes anywhere.




So instead of cheese blintzes, apple blintzes are my specialty. I've been making these for so long now, I can't remember when I first started making them but they're an excellent make ahead dessert and really easy as well.



The recipe originally came from the Australian Woman's Weekly and the filling was made using a tin of pie apple. As apples are so lovely at the moment I stewed a few large granny smith apples for the filling.



The blintzes can be made well ahead of time and pan fried just before serving. Otherwise you can fry them and reheat them later in the oven covered with foil to prevent them drying out or zap them in the microwave covered in plastic wrap.



Here's the printable recipe for you.
Apple Blintzes
Pancakes
½ cup Plain Flour
2 eggs
¾ cup milk
Oil and butter for frying

Apple Cinnamon filling
400 g cooked apples or one 410 gm tin pie apples, mashed with a fork
2 tablespoons caster sugar
½ teaspoon cinnamon
¼ cup sultanas (golden raisins)
½ teaspoon grated lemon rind

To serve
Additional sugar and cinnamon
Vanilla ice cream

To make the filling, mix all the ingredients together in a small bowl and set to one side.

To make the pancakes, sift the flour into a small bowl then add the egg stirring to ensure there are no lumps. Gradually add the milk to form a smooth batter. Transfer the mixture to a small jug and rest for 30 minutes.

Heat a small pan and grease it well. Pour 2 – 3 tablespoons of batter into the heated pan. Cook over a medium heat until the underside of the pancake is light golden brown, then turn out onto a wire rack. Leave the top side of the pancake uncooked. Continue with the remaining batter to make 8 pancakes. Don’t wash out the jug as in a moment you’ll need the leftovers.

With the cooked side uppermost, spread 2 tablespoons of the filling into the centre of the pancake spreading it out a little with a small spatula.

Brush the edges of the pancake with a little of the uncooked batter; this helps the edges hold together when cooked. Fold in the 2 sides of the pancake, overlapping slightly. Brush the remaining ends with a little of the batter and fold the ends into the centre overlapping a little to make a small parcel.

Heat a little oil and a teaspoon of butter in a small pan. Place the blintzes seam side down and gently fry for a few minutes until golden then flip and cook for a further 2 minutes until both sides are browned. Drain on absorbent paper if necessary.

To serve, sprinkle with sugar and a little cinnamon topped with a scoop of vanilla ice cream. Serves 4



They're especially yummy served with a scoop of vanilla ice cream.



Happy Mother's Day to all those mothers out there, especially to my own Mama.

See you all again next week,

Jillian

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xmas 2012

xmas 2012

7 Jan 2013

I hope you all had  a lovely break over the holiday season. I drove home to Brisbane to spend Christmas with my family. A Brisbane Christmas is usually pretty hot and sticky so consuming roast turkey and the trimmings followed by plum pudding when it's 30ºC outside is a bit of a challenge.



On Christmas Eve I wandered around the neighbourhood taking a few snaps so you could get the feel of a Brisbane Christmas.



One of the things I miss about Brisbane are the poinciana trees. I think they're known as flame trees in some places. I'm sure they must grow somewhere in Sydney, but I've not seen any. Aren't they gorgeous?




This house has always been my favourite Ascot/Clayfield/Hamilton home. It's quite English in feel and nothing like a traditional Queenslander, which is a wooden house raised high on stilts.



A last little bit of a Brisbane Christmas for you.



Sydney is gearing up for a scorcher tomorrow, 42ºC +. Thankfully work is air-conditioned but it will be a nightmare at the gym. 

I'll be back later in the week with a special Brisbane shopshoot for you, so until then,

Jillian

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in the garden

in the garden

7 Sept 2011

It's been a while since my last 'In the Garden' post but a few weekends back I drove up to Dungog for a special family birthday celebration.



The weekend was pretty miserable but I still made my way into the garden to see what was in bloom.



I found this pretty symphony of green. I also visited the chickens, known collectively as 'the girls', who'd freshly laid 5 eggs for me to collect on Sunday morning. It wasn't quite spring but the blossoms didn't seem to realise.



I was just leaving Dungog on Sunday when I saw this scene. I pulled over because I was sure I wouldn't see anything like it on the remainder of my drive back to Sydney.



P.S. I'm loving the new blogger makeover. Not only can I now check my stats, it's cut my blogging time in half!

Jillian

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Dungog

Dungog

22 Jun 2008

June was always going to be a busy month. Tuesday night I met a friend for yet another birthday dinner, this time at bistrode in Surry Hills. Sandra and I both dined on posh comfort food - wagyu corned beef with suet dumpling and rhubarb and apple crumble. It was all delicious and I was very glad that I'd squeezed in a visit to the gym before the meal. The rest of the week was a combination of work and last minute trip planning.



It was time to take a road trip to visit my brother in the country. After a few weeks of wet weather Saturday was a glorious day - perfect weather for the 3 hour drive to Dungog.



I came with cameras and baking goods as I always take photos and bake something whilst there. I made a coconut pound cake with passionfruit icing but we didn't have time to cut it before it was time for the long drive home. I'll be making another cake this coming weekend so there should be some photos of the cake next weekend.



The garden was blooming and I had a roam around the vegetable garden that's been planted since my last visit. We had roast lamb for dinner with salad ingredients from the garden - lettuce, rocket, snow peas and some herbs. I munched on freshly podded peas whilst Andrew picked the proper stuff.



We went for a stroll around Dungog this morning while waiting for Andrew's bread to bake. I cut a slab, buttered it and smeared on some vegemite to sustain me on the long ride home.



Back home it's been all chores, chores and more chores. Another busy week ahead with the final birthday celebration planned for Saturday. Who else can spread 1 birthday over an entire month???

Jillian

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