food
I've been back at uni for two and a half weeks, and instead of studying I have been spending heaps of time in the kitchen.
I feel like I am a pretty average cook. I will cook a meal that seems perfect but there will always be something that goes wrong and ruins it all. I have been practicing heaps so hopefully my cooking will improve.
I have made Italian zucchini pie a few times and it always seems to have too much liquid in it. I think its because I am mainly draining the zucchini using a salad spinner, where I should be using the salad spinner and leaving the grated zucchini to sit for a few hours.
I have also been attempting custard. The most recent attempt ended up being slightly curdled and slightly over sugared. I bought a double boiler and candy thermometer online, so when they arrive I shall try again. I served the custard with poached pears which were a huge success. I poached the pears with white wine sugar syrup with cinnamon, cloves and lemon zest.
Today I made and tried my very first granola. I don't know why granola is not common in Australia because it is delicious! It was still slightly 'off' though so I shall have to work on it. I also made chocolate chip biscuits, but they were a dismal failure (I hated them but Russ and my housemates said they were great). I don't like buttery biscuits and my biscuits had too much butter. They were supposed to have a chewy center and crisp outside, but too me they seemed to be crisp all the way through. They also mushed together on the tray and looked ugly!
My life has pretty much revolved around my cooking explorations of late. During the holidays though I spent a week at a dairy farm and a week at the RSPCA. I really enjoyed my time at the dairy farm but I hated the RSPCA. The RSPCA is just too big a bureaucracy for my liking.
I am going to try to post more pictures of my cooking explorations. Now back to study!
I feel like I am a pretty average cook. I will cook a meal that seems perfect but there will always be something that goes wrong and ruins it all. I have been practicing heaps so hopefully my cooking will improve.
I have made Italian zucchini pie a few times and it always seems to have too much liquid in it. I think its because I am mainly draining the zucchini using a salad spinner, where I should be using the salad spinner and leaving the grated zucchini to sit for a few hours.
I have also been attempting custard. The most recent attempt ended up being slightly curdled and slightly over sugared. I bought a double boiler and candy thermometer online, so when they arrive I shall try again. I served the custard with poached pears which were a huge success. I poached the pears with white wine sugar syrup with cinnamon, cloves and lemon zest.
Today I made and tried my very first granola. I don't know why granola is not common in Australia because it is delicious! It was still slightly 'off' though so I shall have to work on it. I also made chocolate chip biscuits, but they were a dismal failure (I hated them but Russ and my housemates said they were great). I don't like buttery biscuits and my biscuits had too much butter. They were supposed to have a chewy center and crisp outside, but too me they seemed to be crisp all the way through. They also mushed together on the tray and looked ugly!
My life has pretty much revolved around my cooking explorations of late. During the holidays though I spent a week at a dairy farm and a week at the RSPCA. I really enjoyed my time at the dairy farm but I hated the RSPCA. The RSPCA is just too big a bureaucracy for my liking.
I am going to try to post more pictures of my cooking explorations. Now back to study!