545/1038 - Fish stock (for tomato risotto)

School holidays are my favourite time of year. Life slows down and all of my boys are around for my enjoyment. The two larger boys joined mini chef and I on our market trip last week, which pleased and surprised me in equal measure. My surprise came from experiencing two teenagers rising so happily at 6am on school holidays. A couple of special little souls right there...or perhaps they were just in it for the doughnuts. Either way, I was thrilled. 

Our fish of choice purchased on our family market trip was barramundi; one of my very favourite tastes from the ocean. We ate it simply, cooked in foil and stuffed with lemon and herbs. Not wanting my barramundi enjoyment to end, I used the carcass to make this lovely fish stock.  

I am renowned for making stock and then forgetting it is in the fridge. With this in mind I planned a risotto for the following evening, making the recipe up as I went along. It turned out beautifully, with the stock creating the most fabulous base and the final flavour featuring homegrown tomatoes, lemon verbena and nasturtium leaves and finished with a dash of smoked salt for good measure.

Holidays taste good! x

543 & 544/1038 - Profiteroles with Crème Pâtissière (Choux pastry & pastry cream)

Yesterday saw builders crawling all over our garage, working on the transformation of a boring little shell into a functional home gym. This new addition to our home is an absolute must given the ridiculous amount of food we like to consume on a daily basis!

Case in point; these little babies were created and practically devoured yesterday. Not one bit of goodness in there, these truly were little balls of heaven sent to make us all incredibly fat. 

This is not the first time I have made these, with the first attempt seeing lovely crispy profiteroles but sadly pastry cream (or Crème Pâtissière for the purists) which ended up way too thin to pipe. Delicious, but completely useless as a filling.  

I have no idea what I did wrong with the first batch and performed much internet research before the second lot was attempted. It was definitely worth my time, with my gorgeous second slab of thick custard turning out the perfect consistency. I had originally planned to whip some cream to mix with the custard to ensure a strong texture but am pleased to report that this was completely unnecessary! 

Receiving a lovely and unexpected dinner invitation last night, these were a perfect contribution to the dessert table at the end of the night....and let's face it; a reprieve from what would have otherwise been a profiterole gorging session in our own little kitchen. Bring on the home gym!