When I first started work at Greenslopes Hospital I had a Canadian born work colleague named Sonia. One day Sonia bought in an amazing rhubarb cake topped with pecans and brown sugar and of course I asked Sonia for a copy of the recipe.
As I have a self declared love for Rhubarb, it was only a matter of time before a Rhubarb cake appeared on the blog. The only problem - I no longer had Sonia's hand written recipe. I think it may still be at home in Brisbane in my old recipe box.
I have great faith in the Internet and started my quest to track down Sonia's recipe. I put rhubarb cake; rhubarb crumble cake and rhubarb cake with pecans into my search engine but I couldn't find the recipe. I had a brainwave and put Rhubarb Coffee Cake into the search engine and up came a recipe in Canadian Home Living that just about matched Sonia's recipe in every way.
I made the recipe using just a little less liquid and substituted pecans for the hazelnuts and voila, there was the cake just as I'd remembered. I took the cake into work last Tuesday and by lunch time there was only one slice left. A few of my colleagues weren't at work that day so I hid the last piece of cake so they wouldn't be left out. The things I have to do.
Next post will be from a special little photo shoot I did on Sunday. Check back Thursday Sydney time (Wednesday in North America and Europe).
Until then,
Jillian
I've always loved Italian food ever since I was a little girl. We used to eat out at a local restaurant called the Cortina Bar every second Sunday. If we didn't dine in, my Papa would return from the restaurant witha steaming bowl of pasta and sauce. When we dined in my sister and I would enjoy bowls of steaming rigatoni bolognaise followed by chocolate and lemon gelati. The Cortina Bar is long gone but I still remember when they installed a pizza oven and our menu selection expanded. My Papa was inspired to start making his own pizzas and to this day he still makes a very fine pizza.
I went to Italy a few years ago and whilst there spent a week in Sicily. I had the most wonderful time there exploring antiquities and the food markets and I have to say that the food was the best part of a fabulous trip. I chowed down on pasta at every meal and if it came flavoured with porcini mushrooms - all the better.
Our first stop was the glamorous town of Taormina where I ate Pasta Norma for the first time. I found these beautiful tomatoes whilst roaming around the town and had to photograph them because they represented to me all that was fine about Sicily.
Jillian
It's been a busy time for me in the kitchen. Last Wednesday our receptionist Irene M. turned 40. We thought one of our mega morning teas was in order, where all staff members bring something along. Mega morning teas can be a little interesting at times when hot chips and chili con carne appear on the menu.
I thought I'd bring something that was a bit more traditional than chili con carne so made a chocolate date and almond cake. I made some individual chocolate date and almond cakes a few months back but decided on the large version as it had to feed quite a crowd. It's essentially a very large meringue filled with tiny pieces of dark chocolate, dates and unblanched almonds. I decided to serve the cream on the side for all of those concerned with fat calories. My own slice is waiting in the freezer until I return from Brisbane next month. It's a very crumbly cake so I've probably already consumed a slice just by tidying up the crumbs.
Thanks for those of you who've been emailing me with your comments. I appreciate all your feedback.
Happy return to work (?)
Jillian
During my trip to Central America in 2007, I visited Guatemala and whilst there we stayed 2 nights in Panajachel, on Lake Atitlan. The night we arrived, the rain bucketed down so we literally had to wade through the streets to find a place to eat. We had a really tasty 3 course meal in a local cafe. When the curtains were pulled back to reveal the kitchen, our entire meal had been cooked on a 2 burner gas stove - amazing. Panajachel also had the best french fries I've eaten in a long time.
The next day, the sun shone brightly so a group of us boarded the ferry to cross the lake for brunch. We saw some amazing houses as we crossed the lake, the kind that would grace the pages of an architectural magazine. The brunch at Vulcano Lodge in Jaibalito was wonderful but even more so were the views. This was the site that greeted us when we were due to board the ferry and how fortuitous the placement of the young girl?
Jillian
We had the most gorgeous weather during the weekend and it was hard to believe it's autumn. Today it's grey and raining and just horrible and will probably be much the same for the rest of the week. That may put an end to my plans for a drive to the Blue Mountains on Saturday.
As it's officially autumn, my cooking style has changed. It's out with the quick and easy to prepare meals and in with the slow cooked casseroles. In the spirit of autumn I collected some leaves from Woollahra last Friday to jazz up my Little Country Apple Cakes. The recipe makes a 9 inch cake but I halved the mixture and baked 4 mini pies in Texas muffin tins inside. Each pie has a little surprise in it's base - a spoonful of apricot jam.
I'm on a self imposed "no treats" regime until my birthday in June, so these little sweeties are patiently waiting in the freezer. I keep thinking how nice they'll be for dessert one night warmed in the oven with a little tiny dollop of cream. Yum!
Jillian
My family has a thing about ginger. Maybe it has something to do with growing up in Queensland, home of the Buderim ginger factory but I like anything flavoured with ginger. When I was growing up, I used to dunk my Arnott's gingernut biscuits into a glass of milk or a cup of tea.
It's been a while since I last ate a gingernut biscuit and decided to try baking some at home. I opened my trusty Margaret Fulton Encyclopaedia of Food and Cookery and followed the recipe but added some chopped glace ginger to the mixture. The gingernuts are packed away in the biscuit tin ready to take into work tomorrow but I did try one last night with a cup of tea. The biscuits are hard, crunchy, spicy and taste just as I remember. You can find the recipe below.
Gingernut Biscuits
150g plain flour
2 tablespoons caster sugar
1 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
1 teaspoon mixed spice
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground ginger
60g butter
2 tablespoons golden syrup
55g extra caster sugar, (optional)
METHOD
Preheat the oven to 180°C. Grease baking trays or line them with baking paper.
Sift the flour with the remaining dry ingredients. Melt the butter with the golden syrup and pour into the flour mixture. Mix well and roll into balls the size of a walnut. If liked, roll the balls in extra sugar before baking for super crunchiness.
Place on the prepared baking trays and press lightly. Bake for 5 minutes, then reduce the oven temperature to 180°C and bake for a further 7–10 minutes.
Cool on the trays.
I've been searching for some new styling products so dropped by Surry Hills last weekend and visited the shop When David met Nicole where I bought the sweet little milk bottle that features in the photos.
On Friday I discovered the new Donna Hay General Store tucked in the back streets of Woollahra. It's housed in the building where The Bay Tree once lived. When I have a bit more time I'll revisit the store and take some photos for you. I can tell you that the store is filled with some beautiful products, including a floor devoted to childrens' goodies and it's not just stocked with Donna Hay products.
I'm on the hunt for a cake stand and after a fruitless search last weekend, I think I've found what I'm looking for at the Donna Hay General Store. The cake stand is on back order and won't arrive until late June so I bought a nice wooden board and a few little goodies to spice up my photos.
Lots more baking this past weekend so there'll be another post later in the week.
Jillian
I first visited Italy when I was 15. Even though it was winter and even though I had my wallet picked from my pocket in Florence, I have such fond memories of that time. I've returned to Italy on a few occasions since then - my last visit was in 2005.
I travelled from Paris to Rome on the overnight train and then another train to Sorrento. From Sorrento I joined an Intrepid trip of Sicily. Sicily was Italy as I've always imagined, with beautiful old buildings, fantastic mosaics and the food, the food! From Sicily we returned to Rome and from there I visited Venice and Florence before returning home to Sydney. Once I was back travelling on my own, I set off with my camera in hand and visited some of my favourite places, one of which was the Pantheon.
I took 2 versions of this photo - one in colour using my digital camera and this one using Fuji neopan black and white film, I think it was the 400 but I've misplaced my diary so I'll confirm that later. The black and white image blows the colour image out of the water. My sister liked the image so much she now has a large canvas of it
Happy Weekend,
Jillian
Last weekend I attended a 50th birthday party for Clive, the father of my all time favourite model, Miss B aged 3½. Clive loves his bike so it was fitting that his birthday cake was topped with a cyclist complete with Lycra.
The birthday brunch was to have taken place at Clontarf Reserve but the combination of gloomy weather and a rehearsal for the musical Grease, resulted in a last minute change of venue. There were lots children at the celebration (22, I think) and you should have seen how much cake they ate and that was following a brunch of cereal, eggs, bacon, sausages, fruit, mushrooms, bread rolls and chocolate (?). I guess it's not a party if there isn't cake and chocolate.
Happy Birthday Clive,
Jillian
Another Friday has rolled around, so it's time for another Friday favourite. We're still in Sri Lanka, this time in Polonnaruwa where I was taken with sheer size and beauty of the Reclining Buddha.
Once again this image was taken with my Nikon 801 camera using Fuji Neopan film ISO 100. The settings used were 1/60sec at f8.
Have a great weekend,
Jillian
Maybelline, the ISA Brown has been by far my most popular post to date. I thought you might like an update on her condition.
Farmer Andrew kindly took a photo of Maybelline and you can see that she has fully recovered from her moult and is refeathered or should that be replumed? She has taken her place back up the pecking order amongst the girls, so some kind of order has been restored to the henhouse. They now pick on one of the other hapless birds!
Jillian
One of my current clients originally came from Sri Lanka. She is so thrilled that I've been to Sri Lanka especially to Kandy, her home town. Kandy was such a vibrant lively place with beautiful gardens and a famous temple, the Temple of the Tooth. The lotus blossoms were photographed outside the temple.
One of the things I enjoyed most about Sri Lanka apart from the people was the food especially the fish rotties, the curries, the dhal and for dessert, buffalo curd with kitul treacle, I can't buy buffalo curd here in Sydney but Mary made a trip across town to buy me a bottle of kitul treacle. It tastes just as good poured over greek yoghurt, but I digress...
All the images were shot using Fuji Reala 100 ISO film with my Nikon F60 camera.
Jillian
