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Best tuna bake ever

Posted on March 27, 2012March 17, 2012 by bekswhoknits

This is the comfort food that comfort food eats when it feels down.

And to think I very nearly didn’t put it in the oven.

Let me step back. Zomg! Tuna bake.

So I took a couple of chances, and used what was in the cupboard.
There’s three key differences between this and my usual tuna bake.
I still haven’t got any cream and was low on milk so I used evaporated milk to make the sauce,
I added ravioli into the pasta mix, and nutmeg into the sauce.
If I was only cooking it for myself I would have added pineapple but that’s neither here nor there (I’m dating a lunatic, albeit a lovable one).

And I have explicit instructions to write this one down so I can make it again, and again, and again.

the recipe
Cook the pasta. I used fusilli and cheese ravioli.

Empty 3/4 tin of evaporated milk into a pot and slowly bring to the boil.
Add a tablespoon of cornflour to the remaining 1/4 tin of evaporated milk. Whisk well.
Once the evaporated milk starts gently bubbling add the cornflour/milk mixture. Whisk until it thickens.
Add nutmeg (probably more than you think – i accidently tipped in more than I would have and it worked a treat), a small tin of corn, two small tins of tuna, and about a cup of grated cheese.
Whisk some more until the cheese has melted.

Drain the pasta, and pour into a lasagna dish.
Pour over the sauce.
Top with salt, pepper, a drizzle of garlic olive oil, and more grated cheese.

Bake in the oven (about 180deg) for half an hour.
You know when the cheese goes all crispy and slightly burnt but ridiculously delicious? Yeah that’s how you want the cheese on top to be.

Serve with some fresh parsley and a good episode of Grand Designs.

(They restored a sea rescue house and it was right on the shoreline, Kevin wore a nautical striped suit and the house was all round and it had pretty red window frames. It was a very relaxing house.)

I think this would be a perfect camping recipe. It’s mostly in tins and uses dried pasta. And would go very nicely baking on an open fire.

You don’t make friends with salad

Posted on March 20, 2012March 14, 2012 by bekswhoknits

This week instead of the fruit and vegetable ‘magic box’, I bought the salad box.
It came with another kilo of carrots (I’m bugs bunny), but some other yummy salad items.
So salad it was.

This is really my sort of meal. I love the refreshing-ness (not a word) of salad, particularly on a hot March day.

I cooked some chicken thighs to go with it, and a sauce that doubled as salad dressing.

I went out on a limb with the sauce. I borrowed this recipe from taste, but altered it.

the recipe
Melt butter in a pan.
Add garlic
Add chicken
Allow the chicken to brown. Add a tablespoon of Australian Mustard and try and coat the chicken with it.
Add 1/2 cup of white wine and 1/2 cup of chicken stock.
Once that has reduced a bit, add two tablespoons of philedelphia cream cheese and mix that through the sauce.

Serve with salad (i had lettuce, mushroom, capsicum, onion, cucumber, tomato, and cheese. )

You could use cream instead of cream cheese, but I used what I had in the fridge.

It didn’t get rave reviews from the Mister, but I didn’t expect it to. Next time I’ll make the same chicken and serve it with mashed potatoes. That might go down better.
But it hit the right spot for me.
You don’t win friends with salad.

Once I got the oven going, a lamb was a roasting

Posted on March 13, 2012March 8, 2012 by bekswhoknits

I’m on a bit of a health kick at the moment. I’m trying to move more, eat more fruit and vegies, and drink less calories (be it alcohol, cordial, or milk).

So a roast is an easy way to have lots of yummy vegies. And a roast almost always involves cauliflower cheese. I mean while the ovens on why not bake more. Cauliflower cheese is always a comfort food. A white cheese sauce (with nutmeg obviously) over cauliflower and broccoli and then set in the oven.

Add that with some garlic, potato, and pumpkin which was par-boiled then set in the oven with some garlic olive oil for good measure.

Then the lamb, which was close to the best lamb cutlets I’ve ever cooked.

I rubbed rosemary and garlic olive oil over the skin. Browned it in a pan and then set it in the oven. After about 40 minutes I took it out and placed it in alfoil. So really I just did everything tv chefs tell you to do. And guess what! It worked.
So it may not be ‘diet friendly’ but definitely big on vegetables (and taste).

Superbowl Monday Morning

Posted on March 12, 2012February 27, 2012 by bekswhoknits

It’s a long overdue post but this year all three (the Mr, the BFF, and me) all managed to get the Superbowl Monday off work.
Last year we watched it How I Met Your Mother style. As in we all didn’t find out the score (a little easier in Australia but still not easy), and then watched it later that night (after watching said HIMYM episode).
This year we went to our friendly local (who has also hosted many a grand final, football game, post cricket celebrations, and general alcohol related frivolities) the inglewood, where bright and early (think 7am) we were at the pub with alcohol and tea in hand.

The atmosphere was great even if the score wasn’t (girls had pats, boys had giants). And cheering was done by all.

Bad pats!!

a little football mad

Posted on March 8, 2012March 8, 2012 by bekswhoknits

Inspired by sarahcastically’s post about her hockey outfits, and a twitter war about football and merch, I thought I’d share some photos from Saturday’s game.

For those who live under rocks, I’m a Port Adelaide supporter. This is unusual given that i live in WA and not in Adelaide.
Even more unusual, I live with an Adelaide supporter. Adelaide supporters and Port Adelaide supporters aren’t meant to like each other. And two Perth born people aren’t meant to support opposing Adelaide teams and fall in love, but that’s what happened.
(We’re certainly not meant to start watching NFL and support Chicago Bears and Minnesota Vikings either! We’re all about the rivalry).
It’s a very confused household. Certainly more confused by my best friend, who doesn’t and has never lived with me, but has a wall of (some of) her supporters merchandise. When we go to games we always leave from my place so it makes sense. Or maybe it doesn’t. Nevertheless there is a wall of Hawthorn merchandise in my tiny apartment. But she always support my team and I support hers, unless we’re playing against each other when it’s pistols at dawn, bitches.

So, on Saturday my team were in town. They have 1 maybe 2 games in Perth a year and I try to see them as much as possible. While I wasn’t pleased with the result (we lost by 5 points) I was pleased with the effort that we* showed.

It was a gorgeous day (even with the result) and I’m looking forward to the season.

Now prepare to be impressed by the merch I took to the game (and trust me, there is more!), and the sunset on the way home.

*yes i’m one of those people who include themselves in their football team.

Stuck in my head – blood red shoes

Posted on March 7, 2012April 19, 2012 by bekswhoknits

Cut Chemist – Festival Gardens

Posted on March 5, 2012February 27, 2012 by bekswhoknits

Perth Festival has been impeccable this year.
Not only is the location darling (see my post on Death Cab for pics of the rubber ducky fairy lights) but there have been some awesome bands too.

Cut Chemist are one of my Misters bands. The story goes, if he hadn’t have discovered Cut Chemist then he would still be into gangsta rap, and his first impression would not have impressed me enough to date him.
I still can’t stand rap, but Cut Chemist’s talent is undeniable.

He is a talented musician on those turntables. Just watching what he can do is impressive.

And he’s a nice guy too! He came out and signed some merch and my bloke got a photo with him (which has made all of his workmates very jealous).
We also saw Russell Woolfe (a local radio celeb) who was also really nice as we chewed his ear off while he was having a night off.

Cut Chemist isn’t an artist I would buy a CD of (the Mister certainly would) but his live show was very entertaining.

Crazy cat lady

Posted on March 2, 2012March 1, 2012 by bekswhoknits

So crazy cat lady is one of my beau’s nicknames for me. And I call him my crazy cat.

And then on my twitter timeline I found it! My crazy cat pattern.

So now I’ve started knitting cats.

Crazy cat lady here I come.

The black one is Snowball and the grey one is Lucille.
Snowball because of the Simpsons and because I mucked up the pattern and it looks a bit like a snowball. It’s my Buffy cat because I was watching a lot of Buffy whilst knitting it and there’s a black cat in the credits.

Lucille because of Arrested Development and because it’s fun to say ‘loose seal!’