Author: carly macaulay

baked stone fruit with pistachios and vanilla pod mascarpone

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Baked Stone Fruit with pistachios and vanilla pod mascarpone

ingredients: 6 firm peaches,3Tbl caster sugar,3Tbl balsamic vinegar, 3tsp vanilla extract,juice of 1 lime, 250g marscopne,1/4cup finely chopped pistachio nuts

method: slice around the stone of each peach with a sharp knife then with your hands gently twist the fruit to separate. Never mind removing the stone. Place the peaches face up onto a lined baking tray. In a bowl mix 2 of the table spoons of caster sugar,balsamic vinegar,lime juice and 1teaspoon of vanilla extract, pour over the fruit and bake in an oven set at 200°C for 20 minutes. while the fruit is baking, in a bowl mix the mascarpone with the remaining caster sugar and vanilla extract.

while the fruit is still warm, sprinkle over fine pistachio nuts and serve with a generous dollop of the mascarpone.

 

 

 

tribute to Dylan

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 photographer DEMI GRAHAM

set design DEMI GRAHAM

worn VINTAGE KNEE LENGTH SKIRT, VINTAGE TOP both from thrift shop, VINTAGE JACKET from the vintage shed phillip island http://www.thevintageshed.com.au, 1920’s BLACK HAT camberwell market,melbourne, BOB DYLAN LP

MOCK cigarette (rolled paper and tape) all in the name of art

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This was a fabulous afternoon spent with Demi. We shipped off the babies to the grandparents for a few hours and set up a photo shoot set in the lounge room for her studio arts assignment. Demi has been blessed with the creative touch, she encompasses an idea and then wistfully creates the picture intended. Here, she is going for retro 1960’S-70’s lounge, setting the scene with the usual Dylan, wine and cigarettes.

 

 

caramelised onion and pear tartlets

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 Caramelised Pears

ingredients; 2 brown pears, 2tbl brown sugar, 2tbl unsalted butter 2tbl water

method; leaving the skin on,halve the pears and remove the core. place them face down in a pan with the butter and sugar and on a low heat gently cook until the pears have softened. If the butter begins to thicken and caramelise you can add the water. once cooked remove from the heat and set aside.

Pastry Shells

ingredients; 1sheet frozen puff pastry, thawed, olive oil for greasing tart tins

method; lightly oil tart tins then place the tart tin onto the pastry sheet upside down and with a sharp knife cut around. The pastry circle should fit perfectly into the tin, gently press down. Continue until all the shells are filled.

Crumble Topping

ingredients; 2tbl plain flour,2tbl hazelnut meal, 1tbl brown sugar,1 pinch cinnamon

method; mix with finger tips

Vanilla Cream

ingredients; 250mls of cream, 1tbl caster sugar, 2tsp vanilla extract

method; in a kitchen mixer add the cream and whip on high speed, add the sugar and vanilla and continue to mix until the cream has thickened slightly.

Method

fill the pastries with a teaspoon of onion jam, I used  Beerenbergs Family Farm Caramelised Onion, that worked perfectly or alternatively you could make your own. then lightly chop pears and keep syrup aside. fill each tart with the pear and sprinkle over the crumble then drizzle over a little of the sugar syrup left over from the pears. Bake in the oven at 175°C for 20-30 minutes, You will need to monitor the pastries to prevent over cooking the sugar syrup.

Serve warm with a dollop of vanilla cream and drizzle over any remaining syrup.

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domesticating children

‘washing dishes can be a meditation…

i have placed a small sticky note above our sink with these words roughly scribbled on it. since the unfortunate dying of our beloved dishwasher it is taking some great convincing in our house hold that this could be an opportunity presenting itself. Thich Nhat Hanh, a practicing zen buddhist monk, uses washing the dishes as an opportunity to practice prayer and meditation. Here, looking out the kitchen window from our simple home front, I see children learning to cooperate, the sharing in household tasks,learning life skills, growing up. It seems though that the only person i have been able to successfully persuade in this new approach to washing up is our Georgie, at 16 months she’ll happily do the rounds of dishes morning, noon and night. Thank god for my little domestic goddess.

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