My Take

... On my mum-in-law's sugee cake recipe calls for allspice in place of cardamom and no brandy (coz I don't have any)! Still delicious all the same though if I have the chance, I'll add the booze next time.

Notes: This is a temperamental cake: beat it too much or sneak a peak before the timer goes off and it collapses into a volcano. Best eaten the next day, it's one of those treats that tastes better the longer you keep it. (Though its so tasty, it's hard not to gobble up every last morsel!)

What's For Dinner: Pasta Bolognese

After watching a video on how to make Bolognese sauce on Epicurious.com, I figured out what was missing in my own attempts at making this no-brainer meat sauce.

1) The start the whole cooking process on a medium flame to warm up olive oil then add PANCETTA (you can sub bacon which is what I did since the local mercat doesn't stock the fancy stuff).

2) You wait for the meat to really brown before adding the minced beef, VEAL and PORK. I always thought it was a beef-only situation with this sauce but as it turns out you add veal and pork too! I ended up skipping the veal and splitting the proportions evenly between cow and pig.

3) Apparentl, you're supposed to use a large pan to avoid overcrowding the meat so it can sweat (like onions!) and really brown. A too-crowded pan results in steaming so you don't get the full flavour.

4) It's only after the meat is sufficiently browned that you add the onions and the carrots. Both vegetables cut really tiny so the flavours melt into the sauce. Can you say yum?

5) Add a good amount of your favourite drinking wine (red) and simmer. None of that cooking wine nonsense. If it's not something you'd drink in the glass it's got no business being in the sauce.

6) Some heavy cream stirred in after the pureed tomatoes go in to help thicken everything up. You let it simmer till you get this intense brick red.

7) You NEVER use garlic in Bolognese sauce! I didn't know that! All that flavour comes from browning the meat right and getting the size of the other ingredients just right. Wow.

Turns out, the pasta sauce was a big hit with both my boys. Zac even asked for more after he'd polished off what was in the bowl and so did Daddy. I say this attempt deserves 2 thumbs up!

No pictures of the sauce since it's hard to translate the full flavour of the dish but I think this video should suffice (though he does shake his head when I ask if it's good - actions louder than words). I thought it adorable that he would stop to ask me to eat too because he saw me pause to watch him eat.

I've never seen food disappear so quickly nor his attention held for this long!

What's For Dinner: Chicken Adobo

I came across this recipe for Filipino Chicken Adobo on this new food blog I'm reading. The writer lists her recipe for Pork Adobo but since I had some boneless, skinless chicken thighs on hand, I thought I'd sub pig with chicken. The sauce is simple, sweet, tangy and perfect with fluffy white rice.

What's For Dinner: Cheeseburger with Carmelised Onions and Spicy Potato Wedges

Who knew caramelized onions could do so much for grocery store-bought hamburger patties? I made a batch of them for freezing so we can use them to make onion soup but that's a whole other blog entry. The whole trick to getting the onions to turn that gorgeous amber-gold is temperature control. After they turn gold, it isn't too long that they get darker and head to that fine line between perfection and inedibility. The whole thing took me about 40 minutes which isn't too bad considering I had to carry Zac with one arm and continuosly stir the onions to prevent them from burning. I believe I worked hard for my food this evening!

The wedges came out a little on the chewy side but it was mostly because I left them in the oven to keep warm while Len made his way home. Next time, I think I'll shake on more paprika for added spice. I toasted the burger buns and melted the cheese right along-side the potatoes in the oven which I think made the whole meal that much more satisfying.

If you love burgers, you might want to check out cheese-burger.net for some recipes and ideas for toppings. Let me know if you give any of them a go!

Snack Attack for Zac

Trying to find snacks that are healthy and not sugar-laden is quite a challenge in Spain. Even the teething biscuits here have a significant amount of added azucar (sugar). I found some alternatives like wholemeal mini breadsticks, cheese cubes, and fruit, I have been scouring the web for a little something to make the eating experience more fun for Zac.

I found this recipe on Recipezaar.com for fruit jelly sans any added sugar. I tried it out today and it turned out really yummy. Zac enjoyed it and I have to admit, it is quite delish. The applesauce the recipe called for was something I didn't have handy in my kitchen so I made my own using fresh apples and peaches (1 apple and 2 peaches, peeled, cored, cubed and boiled then pureed).

The colour of the jelly is less than attractive but really, who cares if it tastes so good AND it's good for you?