we’ve had a bowl of pears sitting on the dining table for the last couple of days, and when i looked at them this morning, i saw that they were perfectly golden-ripe, and decided they needed eating!

i looked around for a good recipe, and ended up finding a few, which i modified into my own, and i’m very pleased with how it worked out. it’s nice and moist without tasting undercooked, or being stodgy.

ingredients

150g unsalted butter (softened)
1 1/4 cups sugar (raw, caster, or white - it doesn’t matter)
2 eggs
1 1/2 cups self raising flour
1/4 cup milk
3 largeish or 4 smallish pears (approx 400 - 450g) peeled and roughly diced
1/2 cup roughly chopped walnuts
1/4 cup sultanas (if you hate sultanas in things, replace these with an equal amount of walnuts & pears)
1 generous tsp dutch cinnamon
1 scant tsp of freshly grated nutmeg
1 generous tbsp honey

method

preheat oven to 170c, and grease a round springform cake tin.

beat butter and sugar until pale and creamy. beat eggs into this mix one at a time.

sift flour into mix, and continute to stir until combined. then add the milk and again, stir til combined.

add pear, walnut, sultanas, spices, and honey, and stir to combine.

transfer to cake tin and bake for 75 mins. allow to cool for 20 mins, then serve while still somewhat warm.

it made the whole house smell deliciously spicy while it was cooking, and it was nommy with a cup of tea on this cold and rainy day we’re having here today!

essie xoxo

happy valentines day!

i made my valentine some tiny (one inch) heart cookies…

i used this recipe, which was really easy to follow, but that doesn’t mean i didn’t find a way to make disasters in the kitchen! i managed to smash almost my entire first batch when the ice-cream maker fell out of the cupboard and landed on top of them, and i burned the second batch! if i didn’t love my valentine so much, i would have given up, but i couldn’t let her come home to no treats, so i persevered!

i hope you’re having a lovely february 14th!
essie xxx

i feel like you have to be a cook with an extensive repertoire, and sound kitchen skills, in order to have a “signature dish”, but if i were to have one, potato salad would be it.
it’s great for taking to dinner parties and bbqs, and goes well with a lot of weeknight dinners like sausages or schnitzel. to be honest, i could just eat it as a meal in itself.
here’s how i make mine…

ingredients

12 - 15 small potatoes, peeled and cut into bite-sized pieces
1 fistful of continental parsley, chopped
1 small jar of good quality whole-egg mayonnaise
1/2 a small jar of baby dill pickles, roughly chopped
2 tsp wholegrain mustard
1 small spanish (red) onion
1/3 cup of salt (don’t worry! it doesn’t all end up in the salad!)

method

slice the onion as finely as you can and place it in a bowl.
add all but a few pinches of the salt, and toss so that the onion is thoroughly coated.
set aside for at least 15 - 20 mins.

place the potatoes in a large saucepan, and cover with cold water. add the remaining salt to the water. bring to boil.

when the potatoes are tender, remove them from the heat, drain them in a colander, and then run cold water over them to cool them somewhat. transfer them to a serving bowl.

you will notice that your onions look like they have sweated and gotten all wet. the salt has drawn out all the really strong ‘onioniness’ out of them, and left the nice sweet peppery flavour, making them much more pleasurable to eat!
rinse the salt off them (i find the easiest way to do this is to toss them in a sieve under cold running water), and add them to the potatoes.

add the parsley, pickles, mayonnaise, and mustard, and gently toss until all ingredients are combined.

you can eat this warm, or chilled - either way is delicious.

if you’re not vegetarian, it’s also nice with some fried bacon tossed through.

enjoy!
essie xoxox

it’s supposed to be spring here in melbourne, but nobody seems to have told the weather gods. that suits me fine, because i love cold days! this morning i made one of my all-time favourite breakfasts: rice pudding. it’s perfect for cold mornings, and it’s super easy to make.

ingredients:
2.5 large cups cold cooked rice (any white rice is fine for this. when we are having a dinner that involves rice my partner always makes extra so i can use the leftovers to make pudding)
2.5 cups full fat milk (you can take out up to half of the milk and replace with an equal amount of single cream, if you like things extra rich)
3 egg yolks
1 tsp vanilla extract
0.5 tsp dutch cinnamon
3 tbsp raw sugar
honey, and extra dutch cinnamon to serve

method:
in a small-medium saucepan, combine all ingredients off the heat.
when all ingredients have been thoroughly combined, place saucepan over a medium heat and stir constantly.
it will seem like nothing is happening for quite a while, but keep stirring!
soon the pudding will take on a custard-like consistency, and then you’ll know it’s good for nomming!
pour into bowl, sprinkle with cinnamon, drizzle with honey, and let it warm you right up as you eat it!
(serves 2, or one greedy person!)

essie xoxoxo