Tiffany's in CT - Growing Up At Last

Before anyone gets excited, I am not opening a restaurant.  That's just too much work.  But Tiffany's is growing.  A couple of weeks ago, we had breakfast with my "sister" (the one who named me all those years ago as Tiffany).  Husband and I have spoken numerous times about my doing more with my chef degree than cooking for us at home, and there are a few ideas in the pipeline, but I'm not revealing all yet.

As it happened though, we decided to create a logo for Tiffany's so I can move forward and do more with the name.  That day has finally arrived.  Graphix finalised my logo last week, actually on the same Thursday that my previous blog was released, but I decided to keep it quiet for a day or two.  Below is the beautiful logo:

A House Warming Promise

My old college recipe file

Many many months ago, I made a promise to Borat and Latin Hips, the day they move into their new place and invite us for a house warming, I will make them a Greek Coconut Tart.  I haven't made this since college days (as in more than a decade ago, since I graduated in 2005).  Damn, I'm getting old.


So back to the tart, I never had a chance to buy the ingredients beforehand, as Husband had a market in Wellington (thank heaven we slept over at Froggie's place) on Friday and Saturday.  The reason I mention that is I got my hands on 4 different types of smoked salt (thank you Ronel) at that market, so all I can say is:  "Watch this space."  Interesting recipes are coming in the future.  And yes, she did say I'm allowed to mention her by name.  You can find her facebook link here.

A Last Visit

Firstly, I have to say, the day this blog was written was 21 January 2017.  The reason I didn't publish it then, is I wasn't sure if I would ever want to.

Today we went to visit a friend that has Cancer.  Not just any type, but terminal.  It is difficult, to say the least when you go visit someone you know might only live for a few more months, or even weeks.  You always hope you can see that friend again, but the truth is, there are no guarantees.  What do you take to a friend in this instance for a visit?

The Turkish Breakfast That Should Have Started It All

It has finally happened.  The Turkish breakfast I've been wanting to host since last year actually saw the light in April (yes, I know this blog is a bit late, but I was busy).  Baron Laphroaig and his wife, Dr. Pain, joined Husband and I, after a very difficult time in finding the perfect date, for this divine breakfast.  Most of you know that I love to experiment with weird and wonderful recipes, but I wasn't sure how some of these dishes would go down.  I had nothing to worry about in the end as everyone loved everything.

The Breakfast Table

I Was A Busy Person, Possibly (and Another Recipe)

Busy being the operative word, this past weekend I had a field day in the kitchen.  Amazing how creative one can get after 4 weeks of, you know, THAT word.  I decided that I am going to prep for a relaxed week where Husband and I can eat what we want, at least to a degree.  So Saturday rolled around, and the first thing I decided on was a fresh bread for the week as I have been dying to try the Aubergine Pickles (which has my approval, so here is the recipe) with Chilli Jam (which by the way, was gorgeous for lunch, especially as I added a few slices of Gouda which has been in the freezer for the past month).  The perfect sandwich for a Monday at the office.

That Thing Our Grannies Did? Oh Right, Preserves (With a Recipe)

I never thought I would see the day when I would take to the bottle.  Now wait a minute, I'm not becoming an alcoholic, oh no.  I'm referring to preserves.  In my earlier youth (as I'm really not past my youth, at least not for the next 60 years), I never thought I would get into preserves.  I always saw it as a time consuming process and it's so much easier to buy those items.

My first bout of "preserving" was when our Bishop's Hat Chilli plant gave a fair amount of chillies last year.  I came across a Chilli Jam recipe, that I wanted to try for an evening of entertainment we had planned for the same day.  What better accompaniment for a cheese platter than chilli jam, and as it is a Nigella recipe I didn't think it could be difficult.  Oh my word, what an epic royal mess.  Right there I decided to hell with preserving.  What threw me was the use of pectin, which was a, rather expensive, and b, caused me to lose 2/3rds of my jam mixture due to the pectin messing around and causing horrible gooey lumps in the jam.

I Can't Believe I'm On One

I know it's been a long time since my last blog, but bear with me.  There's a valid reason for that.  Husband and I have been on... well, let me spell it, as I shudder to say it.  D.  I.  E.  T.  I have been overweight since forever, and with Husband having found out his cholesterol is WAAAAAY to high, I decided to... THAT word, with him.  Unfortunately, by this afternoon I was having withdrawal symptoms from my kitchen.  Yes, I can get creative with food, and keeping Husband happy with dinner is difficult with the boring foods given on this... plan, however, I think I did quite well the last two weeks.