Happy AFL Grand Final Day Everyone. It has been a productive week in Casa Di Idealiving, sorry for the lack of blogs this week, but I will say the past twenty-four hours the sewing machine has been working hard.
Unfortunately, for our house hold, there is only one football team you support (if you want to be left in my fathers will) being the Adelaide Crows. I am quite embarrassed to confess this at the current point in time, considering they finished fourteenth of the Premiership ladder. My poor Dad is so obsessed with the Crows to the point that when Oliver was born he instantly became a Adelaide Crows member and of course with all the merchandise. At three days of age he was photographed with the memorabilia...... obsessed much??!!
Luckily, the poor child starts AFL lessons next term, let's just hope he has more hand eye coordination than his mother does. My sporting experience does not extend to far, for example; tennis, I hit more balls over the fence rather than the net, netball I prefer to run from the ball as I am really to concerned about damaging my nails and even cricket involves catching a ball!! Best to put me in a dance class, in a Pilate's or yoga studio where less damage to myself or more importantly to others can be done!
So, before you all run off to the shops to buy a horrible pack of sausages to cook up at your AFL Grand Final parties this afternoon, have a look at the following recipe, its quick, yummy and I am certain sounds far more appetizing than a pack of sausages;
Mini Chicken Souvlakia
Makes 20
Prep & Cook Time 35 minutes (+ Refrigeration)
Ingredients:
1kg Free Range Chicken Thighs
2 tablespoons Olive Oil
1/3 cup finely chopped mint
2 cloves crushed garlic
1 1/2 teaspoons smoked paprika (if you like your food hot, I change it to 1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika or sweet paprika and 1 teaspoon of mild paprika)
Plus Approximately 20 bamboo skewers
Method:
Trim any fat away from the chicken and cut into 2cm thick strips. combine chicken with remaining ingredients in a bowl. Thread chicken onto bamboo skewers and refrigerate for approximately 3 hours. Note, soak the bamboo skewers in cold water for an hour before using to prevent them from scorching during cooking. Cook skewers on heated oiled grill plate, preferably barbecue, until browned and cooked through. Sprinkle with salt and pepper.**
I also like to serve these with a yogurt and garlic dressing. This is very simple, all you need to do is combine 2 cloves of crushed garlic with 1 cup of good quality plain Greek yogurt some cracked pepper and sea salt flakes. Stir to combine and serve in a nice bowl.
So, hope you all have a fabulous long weekend and Grand Final Day. As for me, well it's not officially midday yet so the lovely bottle of Elderton Shiraz (Thanks Ashmead gang xx) may have to stay unopened, well 55 minutes and counting....
Have a fabulous one lovelys.
Enjoy,
Tammy xx
** Mini Chicken Souvlakia, The Australian Women's Weekly Christmas & Holiday Entertaining 2009/2010
Happy Monday everyone!! Hope you all had a fabulous weekend and are all looking forward to the week ahead. For those of you joining me in little old Adelaide, I hope you are enjoying the beautiful 24 degrees outside, if you are stuck inside you may just need to suddenly tell your boss your not feeling so well.
Exciting things are starting to happen inside the Idealiving studio. Besides the fact it has now transformed from our formal lounge room into a home studio, there are some goodies in the making, which I will be happy to officially launch later this week.
Oliver and I had a trip to Ikea on Saturday with my mum (for moral support for trying to attempt to shop with a two-year-old), to buy some supplies for the new Idealiving studio. Well, let's say the Ikea shopping trip was as successful as last weeks market shop.
Yesterday we had a fabulous Sunday lunch with our very close friends. Alexander and I decided that we should start trial cooking in our wood oven which Alex recently built, as we will be using it for Christmas lunch. So, we took inspiration from Neil Perry's Whole roasted snapper and served it with a lemon aioli.
The snapper was purchased fresh from a fishmonger, which was a bit of a family outing to go buy the fish.
Its a big fish.....
Alex, Mat & Oliver with the fish.....
The Wood Oven.....
Lunch is served on the green...
The Lemon Aioli dressing was absolutely beautiful, so I want to share the recipe it with you:
Lemon Aioli
2 egg yolks
2 cloves of garlic crushed
3/4 - 1 cup Olive oil
1 1/2 lemons juiced
Pinch sea salt
Freshly ground black pepper
Method:
Whisk egg yolks until fluffy, add the crushed garlic. Slowly drizzle the oil to incorporate until it forms a mayonnaise-like consistency. Whisk in lemon juice and season to taste.**
Well, that's me done for another day, have to start cooking yet again. It is Monday after all, which does mean it is officially family night. Family night happens every Monday in our house with two of our close friends, a bit of a tradition we have kept up over the past few years.
Have a lovely Monday evening everyone and hope you love the Lemon Aioli as much as we did.
Enjoy,
Tammy xx
** Aioli Dressing, Neil Perry, Australian Women's Weekly Christmas & Holiday Entertaining; recipe has been slightly altered.
well that was an eventful afternoon, let's just say it is four o'clock in the afternoon and the bottle of Sparkling Pinot Noir I had in the wine cellar will be lucky to see out the night!
Many of you who have children of your own will know the challenges that you are faced with a two year old child, well let us just point out the obvious, I was the crazed woman running through the Central Markets with the possessed two-year-old screaming this afternoon, hence my desire to start drinking sparkling pinot at 4pm!
I have an absolute obsession for fresh produce which is why I love Adelaide's Central Markets. My poor husband almost shudders at the idea of Oliver and I going shopping, it really is a disaster in the making. My first stop is always the Asian grocer, for anyone who has never been to your local Asian supermarket it is an absolute must! So many fresh and gorgeous veggies and many of these grocers actually grow their own produce. A bunch of Pak Choi you will pay as cheap as 80 cents.... brilliant! My favourite, and something our family goes through very quickly is soy sauce, I buy it in a 2 litre flagon for 9 dollars. I always like to keep Miso soup, in my cupboard too, and they have a big range of different Miso soups at the Asian supermarket. The array of spices and sauces could keep me in that one little shop for hours, but my wonderful little man pulls me back to reality and as he starts to throw his first two-year old tantrum for the day the gorgeous woman serving us hands him a fortune cookie which reads:
"You were a born leader!"
If only I wasn't so superstitious!!
After meeting my lovely friend for lunch and chasing Oliver around the Chinese restaurant while Yum Cha is being served, we continue our shopping (and arguing). Meanwhile my two-year-old 'flirts' with the ladies serving us and manages to score a free gorgeous bread stick covered in Pecorino and Parmesan cheese, yum!
I am very strong about free range chicken, eggs and meats. We are so lucky to have beautiful butchers here in Adelaide, a particular Barossa based butcher which my husband and I both love.
After an exhausting afternoon, Oliver spots the mechanical cars, I had no idea when my 40 cents ran out it was the beginning of the end........
Now we are home and after a long chat from his father, I can now review my shopping purchases and decide on dinner. Alexander, after being bombarded from every member of his family has decided to go on a one month diet. I had to laugh, well remind myself internal monologue every time his dad would say; "Alexander don't you want to more like me?" So this diet basically means that, "Carbs are the enemy," well poo I say!
With all the beautiful green produce I have purchased today I am very much inspired. Chicken marinated in a ginger, garlic and chilli marinade served with pak choi and on a bed of steamed rice, ought to keep everyone happy tonight! I have to let you know that Ollie, has a separate dinner, don't stress, I won't feed my son chilli. Actually, the poor child is having a home made veal schnitzel with roast potato and a small side of a avocado salsa. Life is so hard when you are two!
Well, off I go to start cooking again for the family. Another night has approached and another day has gone.
Enjoy,
Tammy xx
Well it has taken a while, but here I am, break open the bubbly. I have actually decided to get off of my derrière and finally bring Idealiving back from the dead!!
For those of you who do not know me, let me officially introduce myself, my name is Tammy and I am in my late 20's (eeekk!) happily married for nearly five years now to my husband Alexander and we have a two-year-old little man Oliver.
I am currently a full time Mummy which I love, but have been contemplating over the past year or two bringing back Idealiving. Once again, for those of you who are new, Idealiving Homewares & Decor were two beautiful boutique shops I owned, but we chose to close the doors back in 2007 due to the economic climate, which I am sure many of you can empathize with.
So, currently let's just say I have an obsession for making beautiful things for the home and of course cooking and baking. I will introduce some of my beautiful recipes which I absolutely LOVE and some of my sneaky sneaky tips of amazing decorating tips for around the home. Many of my family and friends know that I absolutely love parties and of course WEDDINGS!!!! I am a big romantic at heart. So, I will be sharing some of my party decorating tips and the process' of which I go through to make a party a successful event.
Over the coming months I will aim to be linking up our website to bring in everything 'Idealiving', beautiful and gorgeous for you, your bubbas and your home. In the meantime, keep posted as I keep you updated with everything crazy in my life. So, for now I have a two year old who is being impatient to go kick a ball outside in the amazing 28 degree weather we are having today, then we are off to the Markets to buy all our fresh food for a yummy dinner!
Tammy xx
