Random, simple, and tasty.

It's been a busy week or so, and I've got some pics saved up, so here is a mish-mash of pics taken of various dishes.
First of all, I had a weird & fast flu bug or something, and so I was in bed for a day. The next day seemed like a good opportunity to go easy and sort of give my digestive system a rest/detox, so I made some spa-type foods for a little restorative attention.
I've got cucumber water, green tea for the anti-oxidants, a bowl of diced mango, and a fresh salad made of beets and Marta's vinaigrette. I wanted to load up with lots of vitamin-rich and nutritious food.
Once again, Marta Sgubin's vinaigrette:

1 tsp. dry mustard (I use two b/c I like it zingy)
1 1/2 tsps. Dijon mustard
1/4 balsamic vinegar
3/4 olive oil

Marta also adds chopped chives to her julienned beets. It's so simple, but very delicious.

Lots of anti-oxidants for healing.

The next day, I progressed to eggs. I had made some pasta for the boys, and then concocted this cute little dish, which I'm calling, "Egg in a Nest." Note the good amount of pepper.

Once things were back to normal, I moved on to make a lovely concoction based upon Snowy's fig jam, which is made with fresh figs & cinnamon. I did not have large quantities of fruit, only a little basket of figs, and I used honey instead of sugar. What a wonderful and heady fragrance! I think Snowy said it would make the house smell like Christmas, and she was right.

Snowy's Fig & Cinnamon Jam
Makes 750g [12/3lb] jam

1lb/450g ripe figs
2 Tbl. water
1lb/450g sugar
2 Tbl. lemon juice
1 tsp. cinnamon [ or a little more if you like it, like I do!!]

Cut the figs into small pieces and put in your pan with the water. Simmer till soft then add the sugar, lemon juice and cinnamon. Stir over a low heat till the sugar has dissolved then boil rapidly till setting point is reached [between 104 and 105.5C / 219 to 222F ] if you have a sugar thermometer].
Spoon into hot, sterilised jars and seal.


I hardly made enough to actually jar, but I loved the process of stirring it all into a bubbling blend, and then I served it on sourdough French toast.

While shopping for a birthday present for Troy, I popped into Williams-Sonoma to see if they had any salted caramels (they didn't, tsk, tsk, Chuck!) and was talked into buying some pumpkin bread mix. I guess I was easily swayed due to my Force Autumn project. The girl working was serving her pumpking bread with a little dulce de leche on the side, which prompted a discussion on who makes the best -- Argentina has received the most votes in my unscientific poll. Peru and Brazil may battle for second place.
So I made pumpkin bread, which was actually more like a sheet cake because I baked it in a brownie pan instead of a loaf tin. And drizzled it with caramel sauce. The boys weren't too keen on how this looked, but they thought it tasted good. Still, I don't think I need to make/buy it again.

The caramel discussion had provided some offshoot ideas of Things To Do With Caramel, and our Peruvian salesgirl put the idea of puff pastry + apples and/or bananas + the sauce into my head. I did have puff pastry in the freezer, so, once home, started to fiddle with experiments.
First I did simple apple squares. Glad I used parchment paper, because the caramel sauce really spread while in the oven. It was good, though, forming a sort of lace-like crust of caramel crunch.

Then I made a package of sliced bananas and caramel sauce enclosed in puff pastry. Wow, this was really delicious. So delicious, in fact, that Troy cut into it and disappeared with a hunk before I could even take a picture of the pretty finished product.

And so, as you can see, I slowly morphed my way into Sugarland, and must now go brew a pot of green tea to offset the insidious slide into too much butter and fat. It was fun to experiment, though, and super-easy -- a good thing to remember with the upcoming holiday season. Puff pastry and caramel sauce will never fail you.