Sunday Roast Pork with almost crackling

There is nothing quite like a roast. Feeling rather sorry for myself this morning I decided to make a roast. The pork looked lovely. Now for all the trimmings. Can't resist roasted apples and potatoes. Mum never taught me to make gravy so I had to teach myself. It was a delicious gravy. Fennel would have been delicious - but finding anything exotic such as fennel (not really exotic... but to K-town it is pretty special!) is impossible on a Sunday in Kalgoorlie. I am scared of roasting beef - the timing is crucial. To overcome this problem I choose meats that benefit from long slow cooking. Five hours later - meltingly delicious pork.

PICTURE TO COME TOMORROW.... !

1 leg of pork, bone in, skin removed

Fennel seeds

1 carrot, roughly chopped

2 stalks of celery, roughly chopped

1 onion, roughly chopped

Apples, chopped into 8 wedges

Potatoes, chopped into wedges

Rub the pork with salt, pepper, olive oil and plenty of fennel seeds. Place the vegies in a baking dish large enough to have them in one layer. Place the pork on top. Pour around enough water to a depth of 1-2cm. Place the pork into the oven and switch on to 140C (fan forced). Roast for 4-5 hours, or until very tender. Keep a 1-2cm layer of water in the dish at all times to stop the vegies from burning - these will be the basis of your gravy.

An hour before serving, in a separate baking dish mix the apples, potatoes, salt pepper and olive oil. Place in the oven. Stir occasionally.

About half an hour before serving, remove the pork from the oven (keep under alfoil to keep warm). Press the vegies through a sieve and reserve all the juice. Pour the oil layer into a small saucepan. Add about 1 tbsp of flour and cook for 1 min. Add remaining juice and water/stock to give the volume you want. Cook for about 3 mins to get rid of the flour taste. Season well with salt and pepper.

To get crackling you need to start with the oven really hot. Once the pork is out of the oven turn it up as high as it will go (250C! - remove the apples now too and keep warm, the potatoes can stay to get crispy but make sure you keep an eye on them). Score the pork skin with a stanley knife into strips. Pat the skin dry with paper towel. Rub the skin generously with salt. Place on a deep baking dish on the top shelf of the oven (ours was about 3cm from the top element). Cook like this until the skin has blistered and is crackling!

The best part of ours was definitely the little trotter that snuck in and was cooked next to the leg part - so delicious. The crackling could have had another 15 minutes to really get there... but Tim still loved it.

Choose your words carefully

When I said I liked hotel shampoos and conditioners:Dad has been collecting them for me for two weeks.... now I will never have to buy them again

Procrastination

1. Make a blog

2. Edit the blog

3. Find other blogs you like online

4. Read other blogs

5. Find links to other blogs on blogs you like --> repeat step 4 and 5

6. Re-edit you blog

7. Cook dishes to put on your blog - one of my favourites!

..... ahhhh the fun of blogging

I cook because I can peanut butter choc chip cookies

From my favourite blog - Smitten Kitchen - you must check it out.

These biscuits are incredibly moreish. I think it made about 40 of the little things - so cute and tasty.

1 1/4 cups plain flour

3/4 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp baking powder

1/2 cup butter, softened

1 cup peanut butter at room temperature

3/4 cup white sugar

1/2 cup firmly packed light brown sugar

1 tsp vanilla extract

1 large egg, at room temperature

1 tbsp milk

1/2 cup peanuts, roughly chopped

1/2 cup chocolate chips

White sugar - for dipping

Preheat the oven to 180C.

Mix together the flour, baking powder and baking soda.

Cream the peanut butter and butter together until soft and creamy. Add the sugars and vanilla and then beat until smooth. Beat in the egg and milk. Stir in the flour mix and then the peanuts and chocolate chips.

Scoop out teaspoonfuls of mix into little rounds, roll in sugar then place onto the baking trays.

Bake for 10-12 minutes or until very lightly golden around the edges. Remove from the oven and rest for 2 minutes before placing onto the racks to cool completely.

Delicious!

Thank you orange custard cream star biscuits

It was my birthday party last night. I was spoilt rotten. To say thank you to all my kalgoorlie friends I made them these star biscuits. Recipe adapted from Nigella's Custard Cream Hearts from Feast.

Makes 22 full biscuits (I doubled it to make 45)

Biscuits

175g Plain flour

3 tbsp custard powder

1 tsp baking powder

100g butter

3 tbsp caster sugar

1 egg

1 tbsp milk, plus extra to bind

Preheat the oven to 180C. In a food processor whizz up the flour, custard powder and baking powder. Then add the butter - chopped into lumps. Whizz until it looks like breadcrumbs. Add the sugar. Whizz again for 10 seconds or until incorporated.

Whisk together the egg and milk. With the motor running pour down the spout of the processor. Add gradually and stop when the mixture forms into a ball. Add more milk as required.

Plonk the dough on gladwrap, wrap up tightly and put it in the fridge to rest for 20 minutes (or until you have done the washing up!).

Roll out the dough to 4mm thick on a well floured table. Cut out your shapes and place onto a tray lined with glad bake. Re-form the off-cuts and roll again. Bake for 15 minutes or until just cooked. Do not let them get brown.

Sandwich two biscuits together with the orange custard cream.

Orange Custard Cream

1 tbsp custard powder

100g icing sugar

Finely grated zest of one orange

50g butter

boiling water - to bind

Whizz up the icing sugar, custard powder and zest in a food processor - this will break up any lumps. Add the butter and whizz again until smooth. Add boiling water slowly until it reaches desired spreading consistency. Mine didn't need any water.