I feel like I have 101 photos to post from the last few weeks.  1000 projects buzzing through my head.  I am so relieved that at 18 weeks pregnant I am starting to feel like a (semi) normal human being.

My unscheduled absence from the blog is entirely due to the pregnancy.  While everything is going as it should I have been utterly shocked to my core at the physical changes exerted on my body almost from the day I found out.  I shan't bore you with tales of relentless nausea or lists of the foods which I can no longer stomach or the bone crushing tiredness which comes on about two hours after I get out of bed and lasts for the rest of the day.  Suffice to say I thought I was prepared, planned and ready for all of this.  I was staggeringly wrong.

In between times though I have had bursts of energy (most have regrettably had to be channeled at work otherwise they are going to stop paying me.) others have been more creative.  Such as the following recipe which accompanied me to a glorious cheese and wine party on 2e kerstdaag. My apologies for the terrible photo.  It was a quick snap with the iPhone before the hoards descended.

 

 

IN THE KITCHEN: Pear and Cranberry Stuffed Camembert

INGREDIENTS:

1 pack of puff pastry (I found packs in the frozen section of the local Deen supermarket.  They were only available in packs of 10 small squares so I smooshed them all together re-rolled them and it worked just fine.  Of course, if you can find prerolled puff pastry so much the better.)

1 pear, peeled, cored and thinly sliced

2 tbsp dried cranberries

1 tbsp butter

2 tbsp light brown sugar

1 camembert

1 egg, beaten

DIRECTIONS:

Pre-heat your oven to 200 degrees centigrade.

Divide your puff pastry into two pieces. 

Roll out each piece to approximately 2-3mm thick on a floured surface.

Cut 1 piece into a circle approximately 2cm bigger than your camembert.

Cut the second piece into a circle approximately 6-7 cm bigger than your camembert, reserving the scraps for decoration.

Transfer the larger circle of pastry to a baking sheet covered with baking paper/parchment/a silicon slipmat.

Cut your camembert round in half and lay the bottom half on the large pastry circle, cut side up.

Heat the butter and sugar in a frying pan/skillet.

Add the pear slices and cook for 5 minutes turning gently until softened.

Add the cranberries and cook for another 2 minutes.

Carefully pile the pears and cranberries onto the cut side of the camembert.  Try not to get too much of the cooking liquid onto the pile as it will make the pastry soggy.

Place the remaining half of the camembert onto the pear and cranberry topped half, cut side down.

Brush the edges of the lower pastry circle with beaten egg.

Gently lay the larger circle of pastry of the pile of camembert and fruit.  Press the sides down carefully onto the lower circle of pastry.

Seal the two circles of pastry together by pressing the edges with a fork.

Brush the outside all over with beaten egg.

Bake in the oven for 20 minutes.

Set aside for 10 minutes before serving to avoid burning your mouth on molten cheese and also to stop the parcel collapsing into mush as soon as you cut into it.

OPTIONAL:

• Add 1/2 tsp of ground cinnamon or ginger to the pear and cranberry mixture whilst cooking it.
• Cut shapes out of the reserved pastry and "glue" them to the top of the parcel with more beaten egg before baking.  Don't forget to brush the tops of the shapes as well.
• Try substituting the pear and cranberry mix for 1 apple and 2 tbsp of sultanas or a small handful of raspberries with toasted almonds (you will not need to cook the raspberries and almonds in butter and sugar.  Just put them in "raw".)
• For an extra glossy finish, after you have brushed the pastry once with beaten egg set it aside for 10 minutes and then re-coat with another wash of beaten egg.

PLEASE NOTE:

In the picture I had just folded one large circle of pastry over the cheese and folded the excess underneath.  This was a BAD idea as it meant that I had a lot of thick pastry areas when it was cooked which is why I have modified the instructions above to a much better (in my opinion) method.

My Chief Brideslave and I were rolling, cutting and baking 150 jigsaw shaped butter cookies.

We bagged them two to each cellophane bag, tied them with natural rafia and added a tiny Cookie Monster quote tag:

"Sometimes me think, "What is love?" and then me think "Love is what last cookie is for.  Me give up last cookie for you"

In all the mess of wedding planning, guest arrivals and general chaos, sometimes what you need is a morning in the kitchen with your favourite girlfriend, cutting and baking and making just to restore some sanity.

Of course, there are those who would say that baking 150 cookies four days before your wedding is an act of gross insanity (and by "those" I mean the Chief Brideslave), but it worked for me.

I know, I know. The whole point of chutney is to preserve the last of the season's bounty and we are supposedly at the beginning of summer. Which is all well and good unless you find your husband hunting desperately through the fridge for the last scrapings of a jar he has already finished. Then there is the sad, disappointed little "oh, I'll just have mayonnaise then..." and you find yourself whipping up a batch of tomato chutney for the store cupboad.

1.35kg RipeTomatoes, chopped (I used Roma)
225g Onions, chopped (I used red)
175g Sugar
150ml Red Wine Vinegar
12g Salt
1 tsp Paprika
1/8 tsp Cayenne Pepper

Place the tomatoes and onions into a heavy bottomed saucepan, cook over a low heat to release the tomato juices and simmer for 20 - 30 minutes until tender.
Add the salt, paprika, cayenne and half of the vinegar, continue to cook gently for 45 minutes or until it begins to thicken.
Add the sugar and remaining vinegar, stirring until they are fully dissolved.
Continue simmering, until the mixture becomes thick, stirring occasionally.
Pour into jars which are either fresh out of the dishwasher or sterlised. Don't forget to label them with the date you made them.
Store in the cupboard for 3 - 5 weeks to allow the flavour to develop.

Makes enough for two 300ml jars.

Recipe here.

Back from what may have been my best ever holiday (and the honeymoon would take some beating, let me tell you...).

I have so much to report back on and so many photos to process. We ate, we drank, we saw just about everything.

Which is to say that I am more than a little tired and my body is in need of some clean living for a while. I am craving simple tasty food after two weeks of excess. Today's lunch was just right, Molly of Orangette's recipe for Chickpea Salad served with a grind of fresh black pepper over a pile of springy, green lettuce.

Now, back to the clothes washing, errand running and food buying.