A little bit about comfort food: macaroni and cheese

This is Jamie Oliver's recipe for the classic mac and cheese in which he uses bay leaves and worchestershire sauce. I thought it sounded quite interesting so I gave it a go!

Quite simple, and you can add veges or meat to it according to your preference. I added a chopped up slice of leftover roast beef from dinner. I thought I had breadcrumbs but didn't, so I just went with a parmesan cheese topping.

Macaroni and Cheese

Pasta, doesn't have to be macaroni

20 gr butter

1 Tbsp flour

2 cloves garlic, peeled and finely sliced

1 bay leaf

1 cup milk

Grated cheese

Thyme

Worchestershire sauce

1/2 tsp nutmeg

Breadcrumbs

Parmesan cheese

1. Boil the pasta.

2. In a saucepan over low heat, melt the butter.

3. Add the flour and stir until it forms a paste.

4. Add the finely sliced garlic and bay leaf.

5. Whisk in the milk a little at a time. 

6. Bring the sauce to a boil, until it thickens. You want it to be slightly on the watery side because it will thicken up more in the oven.

7. Take the pan off the heat and remove the bay leaf. Add as much grated cheese as you like and melt it in.

8. Add thyme and nutmeg, season it well and add a splash of worchestershire sauce.

9. Pour into an ovenproof dish, sprinkle breadcrumbs and parmesan cheese over top.

10. Bake at 220 C for 20 minutes.

I modified the recipe so it serves 2. Or actually 1 cause it was delicious.

Comfort food.

And to conclude,

If, in your teenage years you read all 4 books of The Sisterhood of the Travelling Pants, the you must. must. read this final one. It is happy. And it is sad.

Signed,

Elisa

A little bit about orange apricot and chocolate loaf

I wanted to take a morning or afternoon tea snack to work.

I've been feeling peckish, staying late, writing reports before I leave in 2 weeks.

I think muesli bars are unhealthy and since tim tams weren't on special I thought I'd bake a nice loaf...

It's a very simple recipe.

Basically you put all the dry ingredients in, mix in all the rest and att all the good stuff at the end :)

I chopped up dried apricots, used some milk chooclate drops and roughly chopped some Old Gold 70% dark chocolate.

All in 

Tip: If the top of the loaf start to crispen up on the top before it is fully cooked, put some aluminium foil over top and keep it baking until a skewer comes out clean 

Leave in the pan for 15 minutes before turning out onto a wire rack to cool 

 

Slice when fully cooled 

Orange, apricot and chocolate loaf

2 cups flour
1 cup sugar
3/4 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
3/4 cup orange juice (the juice of 4 oranges)
1 tbsp orange zest (the zest of 2 oranges)
3 Tbsp vegetable oil (I used rice bran)
1 egg, lightly whisked
1 packet dried apricots, chopped (200 grams)
3/4 cup chocolate chips

1. Sift the dry ingredients into a large mixing bowl
2. Mix in orange juice, zest, oil and egg until well combined
3. Stir in apricots and chocolate chips
4. Pour batter into a lined loaf tin
5. Bake at 200C for an hour
6. Leave in the pan for 15 minutes before turning out onto a wire rack to cool

So delicious!!
I heat up a slice in the microwave for 10 seconds, just long enough for the chocolate to soften and the loaf to moisten.

I think next time I'll take it out a few minutes earlier since it's a little brown around the sides.

But other than that, perfect.



And to conclude,

I'm a little uh, up to date, with Candy Crush- so on the half hour train ride to and from Henderson I've been reading instead.

Last week I finished Arthur Conan Doyle's Study in Scarlet and The Sign of Four. I really like Sherlock Holmes stories so next up in line is Scandal in Bohemia and Red Headed League.
I also finished Persuasion by Jane Austen and currently reading Sense and Sensibility.
I find the language gets easier to understand the more further you go. It's a little hard to start up, but once you're in, you'll be wishing for a Captain Wentworth yourself ;)

Signed,
Elisa