cheese

Cheese Log

This is a fantastic recipe for this time of year when you have to take a plate to Christmas functions or as a starter for your next BBQ, get together.  It’s super easy and uses everyday ingredients to create a show stopper.

aspire

Sickness is a pain, (literally) whether it be a new diagnosis that changes your life or just the dregs of winter catching up. Its important to take plenty of time, just like a good book or a long hot cup of tea, to pamper yourself appropriately sometimes,

 

buy yourself some flowers

so we can sustain ourselves and our loved ones in our busy ever changing lives.  So take time out for a cup of tea, a glass of wine, put your feet up occasionally, and don’t be always running, fire fighting and saving other people.  Look after you.  Now onto the bake which is more of a “combine” than a bake this time. And it involves cheese and crackers, my favourite: The ingredients are:

 

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By Denise, ago

The 73rd Bake: Farthing Biscuits

It’s time to make crackers!!!  I haven’t made crackers before, except the pumpkin seed ones from The 25th Bake: Pumpkin & Sunflower Biscuits. I had to make a special trip to the supermarket to buy lard.  Not easy to find, it’s on the self with the baking ingredients, not by the butter in the fridge as you would expect.  It reminded me of a story told by a 90 year old friend who was a child in Leeds during WWII.  They fried their chips in lard and her favourite outing was going with her Dad to have Tripe pie and sloppy peas!

We went to the 97th anniversary of the Battle of Passchendaele on 12th Oct at the Auckland Museum, a battle in which 846 NZ soldiers died in one day.  The injured may have lain in the mud, or trapped in barbed wire for up to 48 hours waiting for the No.1 NZ Field Ambulance Stretcher bearers to rescue them, and then only to have died in a hospital in the weeks that followed from peritonitis or gas gangrene from having lain in the freezing wet mud for so long.  Having been to Ypres and seen the cemeteries and the trenches,  it was a very moving experience, especially as my husband’s Grandfather fought there.  “From the utmost ends of the Earth, New Zealanders came the furthest and lost the most” was quoted on the day.  Auckland War Memorial Museum sees the 100th anniversary of Armistice Day at 11am on 11 November 2018.  Currently crosses cover the grass field in front of the museum in remembrance of those who died.  We will remember them.

I measured out my lard and butter.  There was quite a lot required for this recipe.  Then (more…)

By Denise, ago

The 52nd Bake: Aubergine Parmigiana Crumble

 

It’s about time I did a savoury bake, all this sweetness and cake, I think I need a break.  I found this recipe for Aubergine Crumble, so bought my very expensive ingredients, gosh, Aubergines @$5 each and don’t even get me started on the price of Mozzarella.  Speaking of yum ingredients though, I went to the Food Show in the weekend and had the best time sampling cheese and chocolate, not to mention humus and berry panna cotta.  It was so much fun and I came away inspired by a couple of products…    (more…)

By Denise, ago

The 40th Bake: Cheese, Ham and Chive Tart

I decided to do a savoury bake and team it up with making dinner, hence killing two proverbial birds. Unfortunately I didn’t get started until 5.45pm so we were eating quite late but it was worth it.  The tart was amazing.  I don’t know why I don’t cook like this Read more

By Denise, ago

Empanadas de Queso (Cheese Empanadas)

Yesterday I was walking the dog in Cornwall Park and a mother was there with her 2 year old daughter.  They spent the whole time with the daughter playing in her yellow gumboots in the puddles.  It made me laugh, the Mum probably wanted to go for a walk in Read more

By Denise, ago