Sunday food traditions

Do you have a special Sunday food tradition? My Mum use to tell me how her family use to have a big roast for Sunday lunch. The family would all get together and enjoy a big meal each Sunday. My Dad also told stories of how when he came over for dinner my grandfather would stand on the table trying to squat the tiny moths and that no one else at the table would flinch or think it was weird. I like to imagine he even did this at the big Sunday lunches.

We didn't have these kinds of traditions growing up, but we did have food legends. Like my Mum's chicken lasagne, which was so rich that we could only eat it once a year for fear of heart failure. And always having bread with dinner, which I would make a sandwich with using anything on my plate - you bet, I double carbed, bread and potato!!

I would like to think I could start some food traditions with my son. One that I think should be pretty doable is a big meal, possibly even a roast, on Sundays. Tonight I made a roast chicken with potatoes, mustard beans and an Italian bread/curton thing. It was delicious. Then to follow, these lemon and lime tarts. Enjoy!

Julia will always make you bake!

Before we uploaded all my DVDs onto a computer connected to the TV, I had all my DVDs on display and filed them by my own categories. The unique way I categorise my DVDs was by mood. I have my horrible girly movies that I know I like to watch when I'm sick or home alone and feel like a lazy afternoon. I have some comedies. Then I have serious DVDs, ones which one might need to think about or focus on while watching. I also have an area for my son's movies, which are mostly Pixar and Disney movies. I think I need one more category - baking! There is one DVD, that every time I watch it, I feel the need to scroll through my cookbooks looking for recipes and bake something semi-elaborate. This movie is Julia & Julie. I love it! I have watched it too many times and it's at the top of my girly section, as I watch it more often than any of the others.

I recently watched it when I had a day off. I think I only got half way through before I jumped into the kitchen and made these Chocolate Rum Custard Tarts. Which was good, because then I had a delicious treat to finish the movie with. Enjoy.

Last minute chocolate pie

My sister and her boyfriend have been living in Canada for the past 18+ months and have recently come home for a whirlwind visit for a family wedding. Since they left, I have done a few fun things with my baking and created some pretty tasty treats for my family and friends. So, upon their recent return, there were a few demands. Unfortunately, my weekends have been pretty busy. The first weekend they were back in town I was making a big 30th birthday cake for a friend, then this weekend just past I was out and about too much to plan anything special. My sister organised dinner at my parent's last night. I had a small window of baking opportunity before dinner and decided to quickly whip something up. It's winter in Brisbane at the moment and I really wanted to make a pie. After a quick search online, I found a pretty quick and easy chocolate pie recipe. I fancied it up a little with a meringue topping, then wha-lah, my surprise dessert was ready! Phew!

I know I'm not off the hook for something else before they leave, but at least I've done something chocolate for them, might have to try something caramel or fruity for next weekend!

Adding a tang to Easter

So, how was your Easter? Did you eat way too much chocolate? Did you drink too much beer/wine/whatever floats your boat? Last night did you vow only to eat carrot sticks for the next month? Well, if you said yes to all of the above, sounds like you had a pretty good Easter break!

Easter for me was a little different than past years. It was the first time since my son was born that I didn't share the joys of discovering what treats the Easter Bunny had left for him on Easter morning. I have loved seeing the excitement and shock across his face when he's come out of his bedroom to find evidence that the Easter Bunny has been to our house and even better, left him some delicious chocolate. The first Easter he was only about 9 months old, so instead of lots of chocolate, he got a few toys and chocolate custard. The next Easter he was old enough to eat chocolate and of course the family took full advantage of that - he had chocolate coming out of his ears! His third Easter he got pretty spoilt again, mainly because it was around the time his Dad and I were getting separated and I think we both just wanted him to have a great day and be spoilt by everyone and anyone. This Easter we were all pretty good. He spent Easter day with his Dad, which meant the Monday was our day. Even though it was only a few people around for lunch, I wanted to make it special by baking some fresh and Eastry desserts. It was lovely and even better, the Easter Bunny made a surprise stop at our house even though Reuben wasn't there. How exciting!

It's a tarty Friday treat

You know what's really funny? Giving a child a lemon to taste for the first time. I don't mean to be cruel, but it's one of those reactions that you can't help but laugh at. The innocence as they inspect the brightly coloured fruit, then naturally raise it to their mouth to taste. Then as the juice hits their tongue, the instant screwing up of their face followed by a look of complete shock - how can you not start to giggle, at least out of recognition of the situation. 

I've never been a huge fan of the tartness of lemons, however as I get older, I seem to be more tolerant to their refreshing flavour. I also accept that most other people like lemons and citrus flavours, so thought I should probably add these to my baking list more often (and on a plus, if I don't like it, I will automatically eat less).

So, here are some lemony cheesecake tarts for my friends in the office today. They mainly act as a farewell for two wonderful people, neither from Australian so deserving of a fresh, tangy treat to remind them of their time here and working with our team.

Ladies who afternoon tea

On Friday, my friend at work was nice enough to share a lemon tart her boyfriend had made. The pastry was so delicate and the filling subtle and smooth. It made me want to bake tarts again. I had an old friend come for a visit on Sunday afternoon, so thought that would be the perfect time to make some tarts. The toddler was strangely behaving himself in the morning, so I started baking. I wanted a crumbly shell, something that wasn't too sweet, so went with the amazing Maggie Beer's sour cream pastry (I didn't roll it out as thin as I would have linked, but no worries). Then for the filling I had a massive bowl of fruit, so thought I'd do a creme anglaise with caramelised apples and pears.Accompanied with a nice hot cup of tea, they were the perfect afternoon snack to catch up over!

Something sweet to celebrate Mum

Last weekend, I asked Mum what she wanted for Mother's Day. As always, her response was "Don't buy me anything." We all know that you MUST get something though, and why shouldn't you. Being a Mum myself now, I can understand all the stress and craziness Mums go through and they deserve a day to be celebrated. So, with that in mind I wanted to make something special for my Mum.

We've put Mum through a lot over the years. I don't think you could call us bad kids, we just knew how to "work" Mum and played her... shortcomings. She's the smallest in our family but she moves fast. I like to think she shuffles around the house because she walks fast and does everything quickly. She's also the most prone to stress, so we've used that to our advantage. I remember we'd all gang up on her at the dinner table most nights and tease her so much that you could see the stress starting to build. Then there were the teenage years, which are awful for all parents. I remember having huge fights with Mum, probably over something extremely trivial, and sulking in my room. The sucker my Mum is would always come up to apologise. I'd ignore her and be awful until she felt so bad that she generally back-flipped on whatever we were fighting about.

My Mum is an amazing women. Along with my Dad, she raised 3 children while working full time, getting to the top of her field and being completely respected (and I hear from some people, feared) by her colleagues. My Mum is my role model. Thanks for everything Mum, enjoy the tart!