Well... that would be nice!

Need some inspiration? Try Pasta and Noodles

There were so many (over 140) inspirational pasta and noodle dishes in Food on Friday: Pasta and Noodles that I had a hard time selecting the ones to show you.  To see more  head over to the original post or to this Pinboard.

White Cheddar Chipotle Macaroni & Cheese with Caramelized Onions by Sunflower Supper Club

Savory Lobster Fusilli by Big Bear's Wife

Home-made pasta by A Little Claireification

Spinach & Cheese Stuffed Shells by Culinary Couture

Spinach Lasagne Rolls by O Happy Day

Bayou Pasta by Ms. En Place

Lady Sandwiches – cucumber

The intention was to make these cucumber sandwiches dainty and ladylike.  An old family friend of ours, sadly now departed, used to make the most delicate cucumber sandwiches whenever we visited.  As you can see mine are not particularly delicate.  But I tried.

You just thinly butter some slices of white bread with your choice of spread.  (This is the only time I use white bread)

Then put a thin layer of thinly sliced cucumber on every second slice of bread.  It is important to peel the cucumber to get the right consistency.  Then sprinkle on salt and white pepper.  Pop the other slice of bread on top and press down a bit.

Cut off the crusts and then quarter each sandwich.  And if you manage to be more delicate than me you will have lovely tiny cucumber bites that are lovely and refreshing.

If you are preparing this a little ahead of time, keep the sandwiches cool in the fridge with a dampened tea towel over them (not plastic wrap).

Toast by Nigel Slater

I don't quite know what to say about Toast by Nigel Slater other than that I loved it – even though memoirs are not usually my sort of thing.  It was sort of like an Angela's Ashes without being so grim.  It is written by the UK food writer Nigel Slater – who has a wonderful way with words and a wit that is so dry it is a wonder that it doesn't strike sparks.

The book has been made into a movie – but I don't think I'll seek the movie out – I wouldn't want to spoil the foodie aftertaste of the book.

The book tells of the author's early life from about 8 until his late teens all through the lens of food memories.  He doesn't pull any punches and doesn't try to come across as perfect and certainly portrays his parents in less than flattering terms in many ways.  But he leavens it all with great humour.

A quick but satisfying meal of a read.

I've given diets up!

Beetroot, avocado and Bok choy salad

I gave this Beetroot, avocado and bok choy salad a go because Food on Friday this week is about beets or beetroot, as we call them.

I think I could have assembled it more stylishly but the taste was ok.  I did have to pre-cook both the bok choy and the beetroot.

Next time I would probably used canned baby beets because the roasting took forever – and didn't taste any better to me.

To prepare the bok choy I just took the leaf part – keeping the stems to use in a stir fry.  I then wilted them in boiling water for less than a minute and then refreshed them in a bowl of cold water.  After draining them I spread them out on kitchen paper to dry.  (I think baby spinach would work well as well)

I roasted the beetroot wrapped in tinfoil with a little olive oil.

Once the beetroot was cooked and cool enough to handle I cubed it up – getting my hands stained in the process.  Note to self – wear disposable gloves next time.

I plated it up by putting a layer of bok choy then cubes of beetroot and avocado (also cubed and with some lemon juice)

A splash of extra virgin olive oil and some salt and pepper and it was good to go.

Carole's Chatter is now in the "terrible two's"! Giveaway now closed

Yes, it's true.  Today marks the 2^nd anniversary of this little blog.  It's been an amazing and wonderful ride and none of it would have happened without the support of my lovely readers.

To thank you I am doing a Giveaway.  It's my first ever so it's going to be a bit clunky.  It isn't sponsored at all so it is a personal thank you from me.

The prizes are all pre-loved books and the giveaway is open internationally.  Shipping will be by the least cost method so the books could take ages to get to the lucky winners – sorry about that!

For the gift selection see the pics below. I hope everyone will find at least one book they are interested in.

You can enter any or all of the groups but you need to comment saying which book in the group you have selected.  You can put the title in or just the letter and number I have assigned to it. Only one entry per group though, please!

You also need to give me an email address so I can notify you if you have won.  Please, leave your email address in the comment, or email it to me – my email address can be found on my contact page.

If you win I will email you and ask for a postal address.  If a postal address isn't provided within 5 days I will do a re-draw.

Important:  Entries have now closed!  Good luck to the participants

Group A – Cookbooks by New Zealand authors

Edmonds Cookery Book (A1)

Potatoes & Pumpkin by Robyn Martin (A2)

Allyson Gofton Cooks Chicken (A3)

Marvellous Muffins by Alison Holst (A4)

Group B –New Zealand Books

New Zealand – Photos by Graeme Matthews (B1)

Katherine Mansfield – The Garden Party and other stories (B2)

The Art Deco City – Napier, New Zealand (B3)

Bush and High Country Birds of New Zealand by Elaine Power (B4)

Group C – Fiction/Poetry/Miscellaneous

Hotel du Lac by Anita Brookner (C1)

The Illustrated Old Possum – TS Eliot (C2)

Elizabeth Barrett Browning (Illustrated poems) (C3)

Sister Wendy Beckett – Meditations on Love (C4)

Group D – Cookbooks

Party Food (D1)

Slow Cooked (D2)

Homestyle Thai Cooking (D3)

Young Chef – cool food for kids to make (D4)

Good luck everyone!

It's Labour Day here in NZ - a public holiday - yippee!

Capital city of the week - Santiago

This is Santiago's big tower – what is it with cities and tall towers?

And this is Santiago's financial centre.  Don't you love the mountains in the background!

The city's coat of arms

So where in the world is Santiago?

Santiago is the capital of

Everybody Knows - Sharon Robinson

I came to know about Sharon Robinson through Leonard Cohen.  Sharon has collaborated with Cohen for more than 35 years – what a marvellous pairing this has been for music.

She released  a solo album in 2008 (almost exactly 5 years ago to the day) called Everybody Knows.  The title track was co-written with Cohen several years before.

If you want some beguiling soulful and sultry singing, you might like to try it.

But, it doesn't mean it's easy!

And Now For Something Completely New – At least for me!

As you know, I keep struggling away with producing meatloaf.  This time I made one using half turkey mince (ground turkey) and half pork mince.  I have never cooked turkey before – amazing I know!  And certainly have never used turkey mince.  But there it was in the supermarket and it was even on special!

I mixed up the mince with some breadcrumbs, egg, salt, pepper, a squirt of tomato sauce (ketchup), some grated cheese and a sprinkle of tarragon.  I tried to mix it while not over working it.  I left it in the loaf tin to chill in the fridge.

Then turned it out onto the baking dish and topped it with a little more grated cheese and knobs of butter.

Baked at a moderate temperature for 45 minutes.  It was a good experiment – lighter than the meatloaves I have made with ground beef and the hint of tarragon was good with it.

And don't get me started on tacos!

Need some inspiration? Try Ice cream and sorbets!

You may remember Food on Friday: Ice Cream and Sorbets!  There is loads of inspiration in this collection.  I have selected a few of them to inspire you today.

To see more great ice creams and sorbets just pop over to the original post or to this Pinboard.

Jello shots by Cooking The Recipe

Blueberry Coconut Ice Milk by Spoon

Berry & Vanilla Vodka Dry Ice Sorbet by Honey, You Baked

  

Red Wine Ice Cream by Jo and Sue

Plum Sorbet by Kitchen Delights

Buttermilk Cherry Cheesecake Ice Cream by Give Peas a Chance

Hope your weekend is as delightful as this pic!