the coffee smells good

i have just had breakfast and read the paper. i'm not sure how long i will be able to enjoy such a relaxed start to my day, as i will probably have to get a job. make that definitely.

i have been limiting my coffee intake severely recently, after i had to spend a day in bed withdrawing. i don't drink a lot but i find even one a day, every day means i get a thumper of a headache when i don't have a coffee for a couple of days.

we have been without ground coffee in the pantry for more than a month, now. we have got instant - eeek [for those guests who don't care] and we have got fancy schmancy for the espresso makina, which i don't know how to use, andwhich, truth be told, i don't like.

i like cafe coffee, ie a skinny latte, or at home i like plunger coffee.











i have two pots like this. one is small, good for cafe a deux. the other makes up to 6 cups.

at the prahran market on saturday i bought half a kilo of nicaraguan coffee. the girl said it was velvety, and the cup and a half i just drank now were indeed velvety.

went very nicely with my two round crumpets with slabs of BUTTER and honey on top.

i didn't feel guilty indulging because i had earlier done a big walk with the gigi. first time out with my ipod, which i am affectionately calling mypod, i strode out with alot more enthusiasm than usual.

so happy things about today: velvety coffee, crumpets and honey and mypod. and the gigi.

lamb and barley soup

ok, the cold snap is coming, if you're in melbourne. melbourne gets windy and while it doesn't have the sub-zero temperatures of other cities around the world, we have the wind chill factor. this is the time of year when you need a beanie, a scarf and a belly full of soup.

i cooked this last weekend for the fam, when they came over for lunch.

when i was a kid, campbell's had a soup called stock pot. i remember it for its lamb pieces and barley. it was my favourite soup when i was about 7.

so i tried to recreate it and think i did a fine job.

three general tips for cooking soup.

1. start with cold water. don't pour boiling or heated water into the pot.

2. don't add too many ingredients. then you end up with stew. which is fine, if it's stew. but when you want soup, you don't want stew.

3. don't boil the soup. gently bring it to the boil at the beginning, then let it simmer.

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Lamb and barley soup

Ingredients
1 small leg of lamb
2 carrots
2 sticks celery
1 large onion
2 cups pearled barley, soaked as per instructions on packet
peas [frozen or dried ok]

Cut fat off lamb as much as possible. Cut meat off bone in one chunk so you have two pieces.

Barley – once it’s been soaked it needs to be cooked in water. Follow instructions on packet.


Method
Gently saute the onion, carrots and celery. Once they are softened, about 5-10 minutes, put in the lamb pieces, fry gently then cover with cold water. Bring to the boil then simmer half-covered gently for several hours.

When the meat is tender, remove and shred. Put back in the pot.
When the barley is ready, add to pot.

When almost ready to serve, add the peas.

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we ate this with crusty bread and butter. and you know my feelings about margarine etc.

go the butter.

dumplings or WONTONS

i made wontons the other day. without one of those little machines that everyone is raving about, and of which i am not yet the proud owner.

inside my wontons i put some finely diced spring onion, some chicken mince and i think that was it. i sealed the wontons (round ones, bought from the supermarket) with a cornflour and water paste.

i cooked them in the soup, which just had some standard vegetables, ie carrot, onion, some green beans cut up and tossed in.

when they cooked in the soup they contracted prettily and turned out like REAL WONTONS.

i was proud of myself.

right now i'm cooking up a beef bourgignon type thing without red wine. it's bubbling away, but i have to turn it off in a minute and put it in the fridge while i go and get the kids, then take them all to the dentist.

it's cold, windy and rainy.