About Last Weekend ...

Last weekend was super windy, and just not very nice.  We decided it would be a great weekend to stay inside, hang around, visit, and try cooking some new dishes.

Christopher's parents bought us a pasta maker a few months ago, so we were excited to try it out!  Neither of us had ever made our own pasta before, so last Friday night we got down to it ...

Once we got it set up, it took a few tries running the dough through to get the hang of it, but I think we've got it figured out now.

We made fettuccine for our first try at pasta, and then threw together a carbonara sauce too:

It was really good, and we're looking forward to practicing with the pasta maker again.  The more we make it, the faster we'll get at it, although it really didn't take that long to make (and the boiling time is next to nothing).

Breakfast last Saturday was an omelette with herb potatoes and bacon:

For dinner that evening we made gnocchi for the first time.  Instead of just going with regular gnocchi, we decided to sass it up with beets (we're obsessed with putting beet into everything if you haven't noticed).

Much prettier than regular dough 💗

We just did a very simple browned butter sage sauce, as we wanted the flavour of the beet to come through.

Dessert was a cappuccino pavlova.  I made the a pavlova right after our coffees in the morning, and let it cool in the oven all day (baked it, then turned off the oven, but left it in there without opening the door).  After supper I whipped the cream and topped it with that and a sprinkle of cocoa.

Crunchy, chewy, marshmallowy texture, with a lovely cappuccino flavour.

It was a tasty weekend, and that was only part of it (more in the next post).

Have you ever made homemade pasta?  Gnocchi?  

Are you a pasta fan?  What's your favourite type of noodle? 

Chocolate Pavlova

This summer I made a pavlova for the first time using this recipe.  This is one of Christopher's favourite desserts, and he loved it, so I decided to try out a chocolate pavlova for my second go at it.

I used this recipe, and it turned out perfectly.

Christopher said it was the best pavlova he's ever had, and that we should definitely make it for company.  Sooooooo, our next dinner guests just might be having this for dessert ...

This is a recipe that we will be hanging on to and making again and again.  It has the most satisfying texture, and the chopped chocolate inside added to this in an unexpected way.  We topped it with very slightly sweetened whipped cream (with a dash of vanilla), blueberries, and chocolate shavings.  Both of us were sad when the last piece was gone.

What are you waiting for?  Go and make a pavlova!

What was the last dessert you made?  What is your favourite dessert?

Breakfast, Pesto, Pavlova etc.

Morning!  All of July I've been getting up at 7:00 a.m., and  I usually start making breakfast at 7:30.

A 1/4 cup of Greek yogurt with toppings, and one piece of rye toast with almond butter, cacao, and coconut, is perfect for fueling my daily walk around the lake.

Or just a yogurt bowl:

 
Or the oatmeal that I had today:

 

While walking this month I've listened to my first podcasts ever!  I'm still not really familiar with podcasts, so I've just been jumping around a bit trying to find something that I like, but they definitely make an hour walk go by fast!  I've been searching on YouTube for them. 

Other eats in the past few days have included chicken with a jalapeno cream sauce, and a grilled potato/ zucchini/ mushroom mixture.

Also salmon with a cilantro sauce, and couscous.

I made this nut-free cilantro pesto (I am allergic to pine nuts), and thought it was super bland.  I don't think it's the recipe, rather I just don't think I am a pesto fan.  In general pesto tastes like gritty oil to me (or oily herbs), and I've never had a pesto that had enough flavour for me.  After tasting the pesto a few times, I knew exactly what it needed - vinegar.  I dashed in some white vinegar and a bit of salt, tasted it, and then put in a bit more vinegar and blended it again.  It was perfect.  I suppose it's no longer pesto with the addition of vinegar ... anyway, it was delicious.

With this sauce we ate 1.5 bunches of cilantro in one sitting! (All the cilantro haters are totally cringing at that - haha!)

On Tuesday I made a pavlova for the first time.  I followed this recipe for the pavlova itself, but not for the toppings, as I figured the pavlova was sweet enough and the cream and berries didn't need to be messed with.

Before going into the oven:

After:

I topped it with unsweetened whipped cream, fresh fruit and chocolate shavings:

Yum!  Pavlova is a beautiful, light dessert.

Christopher made short work of this; there is only once slice left!

Have you ever had pavlova?  Have you made it?  Do you like pesto?  

Also, if you have any recommendations for podcasts you think I might like, I'd love to hear them!