Some Hot Stove Lovin'

No, its not a Halloween monster. Those are my lamingtons!

The weather has been cold, wet and drab. Hang on, am I back in London? It sure feels like it. I like nothing more than to curl up in bed listening to the sound of rain beating on the roof. It's also the perfect weather for making pastry. I don't have a air-conditioned kitchen so handling pastry is tricky and usually done on a cool night. I had my heart set on making portugese egg tarts this weekend but what did I do? I forgot to buy puff pastry and couldn't be arsed going out again. Feeling slightly deflated, I came across Bill Granger's recipe for lamingtons instead. I love lamingtons. I could eat half a dozen of these fluffy sponges. Its the simplicity that I love. Well also when you cut them open, they look like those 80's Colgate advertisements, you know, the one with the chalk? I also like Dolly Mixture for this same reason. I bought a bag recently hoping to rekindle some childhood memories but they are well and truly nasty. I am sure they did not taste as synthetic as they do now. Anyway, the fluffy sponge squares are dipped lightly in chocolate and sprinkled with grated coconut. Simple but tricky! I have not made a single successful sponge. Oh wait, just one I think. I find sponges more temperamental than any souffle or pavlova. This time was no exception, the sponge was a little tough but at least it was tasty. I was so disappointed by them that I wasn't really paying attention when it was time to dip them in chocolate. The result was a rather messy and wet looking lamington! Oh well...

For dinner, I made Nigel Slater's zucchini cakes with dill and feta, mashed potato, bangers from Rawlin's and caramelised onions. The zucchini cakes were a hit. I actually thought the dill was overpowering. I know why my family liked it, because they were fried! They usually run away at my attempts to cook healthily. For the bangers, instead of frying the onions like I usually do, I decided to bake them with some sugar and balsamic vinegar. It was a nice change but not necessarily better. We ended the night with my luscious chocolate chip cookies which are so rich and heavy that I can only eat one! On a separate note, Hunky has recently acquired a new item to his list of recipes - Gordon Ramsay's Lemon Tart. Gone are the days where he would "cook" me fajitas from El Paso for dinner. I now enjoy various risottos and the occasional lemon tart. It is simply divine! The pastry was crisp like a deliciously fresh biscuit and the lemon curd was only just set and perfectly tart! Mmmm....