A little trifle,...

Trifle is this strange bitsa-style dessert that creates something far more than the sum of its parts. On their own custard, jelly, tinned fruit and old sponge cake are uninspiring,... but when you put them all together with a splash of plonk something magical happens. TRIFLE.

With that, and a half demolished trifle in my fridge in mind, I decided to have a little google for trifle recipes. One nice thing you can do with trifle is choose a theme and go with it eg. an Australia Day trifle made with lamingtons. My favourites in a preliminary web browse are the Port Wine Trifle and the Banana Caramel Trifle. I have to qualify this last link by saying that I really do NOT like trifles with Madiera cake or jam sponges or jam rolls. Any jam added to a trifle just makes it sickly sweet, whether it's spread over the cake or bought like that. Urk. Totally unnecessary. The only jam exception I will make is that some people microwave a few teaspoons of jam to stir in with their plonk if it's not a very sweet one.

There are plenty of recipes for Black Forest Trifles and chocolate trifles too. Personally, I've done a chocolate one using chocolate mousse instead of jelly, but having watched Maggie Beer do a lovely espresso jelly recently has caused me to rethink the chocolate trifle idea. I'd like to see a rich grown-up chocolate trifle with a hint of mocha ie. coffee jelly and possibly kahlua on chocolate sponge.

Now it's time to introduce you to my classic trifle method (as opposed to recipe):

1. 1 or 2 unfilled sponge cakes from the supermarket OR a packet of Savoiardi (sponge finger) biscuits - no jam rolls or Madeira for reasons already discussed.


2. 1/2 - 1 cup of plonk (suggested choices include marsala, sherry, dessert wines, chocolate liqueur, kirsch, Bailey's Irish Cream, Grand Marnier etc). For non-alcoholic versions the choices are just as endless - the liquid drained from your tinned fruit, chocolate/strawberry/banana flavoured milk, ice-cream toppings, cold coffee [nice mixed with marsala for a tiramisu flavoured trifle], well pureed fruit or fruit coulis, some brave folks even use fruit juice but I'd be wary of curdling the dairy products in the trifle.


3. Break sponge into pieces, place in a large casserole dish with a lid and drizzle with plonk. Cover cake and leave in fridge overnight.


4. Make one or two jellies in separate containers according to packet directions. Add fresh / tinned fruit or frozen berries to the jelly if desired. [Helps conceal the fruit from fussy toddlers.] Allow to set in fridge over night.


5. Make a nice thick batch of custard according to packet directions, or be lazy and buy a carton or two at the supermarket. You can buy the thick stuff, but it's a matter of personal preference how you like your custard in your trifle. Personally, if I'm using really runny custard, I'd be inclined to go easy on the plonk. If you made the custard yourself, cover the top of it with a sheet of glad wrap and put it in the fridge overnight to cool.


6. In the morning/afternoon/whenever you get around to it: compile all the goodness together in several casserole dishes or sexy glass bowls, parfait glasses or whatever is your desired serving dish. You may need to make more than you think you'll need because this trifle is damn tempting just sitting there in your fridge.


7. Once you have fairly evenly compiled the sponge, custard, jelly and fruit, you are ready to top it all with a generous layer of (barely sweetened, vanilla added) whipped cream. Do not, I repeat, DO NOT skimp on this step. This is the contrast in flavour and texture that makes it all something magical. It also hides the chaos beneath. The top can be sprinkled with something nice eg. chocolate sprinkles, coconut, nuts, cinnamon,.... try and go with the theme of your trifle.
   

[sigh] As Dora's Backpack says "Delicioso".

This is a dessert classic and even the single bloke with limited culinary skills could probably knock up a nice one to impress the ladies.

Trifle,... make one today.

Dearest Christian,...

Take your eyes off the
things of this world.

Forget their fame and fashion
and their meat pots and onions.

Jesus lives in the land
of promised milk and honey.

Jesus lives in the land
of resurrected dreams.

Jesus lives in your heart,
His truth is on your tongue.
His word is in your heart.
His Spirit broods above you
and within.

Jesus lights upon you
shining like the first rays of the day,
burning like the midday sun,
reigning like pink scars on the twilight sky.
Follow Him.

Low carbing starts next time I eat!

Low Carb starts now.

I am a failed dieter. In fact, I feel like I have been on a diet every single day since I turned 12. As a result, over time, I have just given up. I lost the will to fight with food every meal of every single day. People really annoy me when they harp on and on about my weight. Every one from work colleagues to schoolyard bullies to doctors and family members, everyone has something to say about what I'm eating. To be frank, they can shove it up their date! What I eat is none of their freakin' business.

That said, I need to lose weight. We all know that. I have PCOS and obesity, diabetes and heart related illnesses are all complications of this condition. If Grace is ever going to have a brother or sister, I'm going to need to lose around twenty kilos (preferably thirty). My endocrinologist told me not to go back to him until I've lost twenty.

Knowing I need to lose weight and the real importance of it, I've been reflecting, thinking, researching, wondering for months. I've looked into Weight Watchers, gastric bands, Jenny Craig, Mass Attack,... After months of thinking, I have decided to do low carb. It makes sense given my PCOS. Any diet that focuses on low fat and allows a lot of carbs in a day just disregards my PCOS and insulin resistance.

So, tomorrow morning I will be having a low carb breakfast and then trying to avoid the yummy morning tea treats at playgroup. I'm working from The Carbohydrate Addicts Healthy Heart book. Their eating plan allows you one meal a day where you can eat some carbs, whatever carbs you like, provided they're balanced with meat and vegetables. As far as I'm concerned, it is a concept I could live with. It takes my keenly developed sense of deprivation and addresses it in a reasonable way by allowing me one treat each day.

I know I can stick to it because I HAVE to. It will require me to give up diet soft drinks (because artificial sweeteners cause an insulin response just like sugar does!). That's going to be hard but I'm sure I'll get used to it. If I really want them, I can have them at my daily reward meal. That's quite reasonable, don't you think? We shouldn't be drinking crap like soft drink all day long anyway. I think this diet just makes sense. It just takes my out of control eating and brings it back to a reasonable level.

Here are some useful links for my benefit. If they help you, then we both win.

• Glycemic Index
• Sugar Science Diet Archive This is the old name for John Ratcliffe's Low Carb diet, one I'm using recipes and taking advice from.
• Empower Foods have a whole lot of low carb versions of yummy treats like muffins and biscuits and even tortillas. I'll suss it out some time soon.
  

I wanted to link to a cool online weight tracker but, so far, I haven't found one. They're all either crappy or they cost cash. Perhaps I'll just set up an Excel spreadsheet to keep track on my PC.

If you get a chance, please say a prayer for my success. This is not weight loss for vanity. It is for life and health and a future,... mine and my children's.

My slightly healthy tweaked Mars Bar Slice Recipe

For those of you who like a piece of Mars Bar slice every now and then, here's a new version. The benefits of this recipe are two-fold (actually, if you were to list the benefits of this recipe you could be here all day long, but I'm highlighting two.) Firstly, portion control and secondly, added fibre.

I have reduced your standard recipe down to it's lowest common denominator - a single Mars Bar. If you just pick up one Mars Bar at the corner store, you can make enough for six (approx 100 calorie) portions in a loaf tin. Alternatively, use patty pans and scoop out enough to fill six.

Traditionally Mars Bar slice is made with rice bubbles, or the Nigella version is made with corn flakes. Neither of these breakfast cereals contain any fibre. By switching Sultana Bran with either of those, I have introduced 1 gram of fibre per serve. It doesn't sound like much,.... but compare it to your average morning tea sweet treat - cake, biscuits, crackers, none of them really have much fibre. So try this recipe. It's lightning fast and eases some of the guilt of similar snacky treats.

Ingredients:
1 Mars Bar (50-60 gram) roughly chopped
30 grams (1.5 tablespoons) butter (salted or unsalted according to preference, I like the salt.)
45 grams Sultana Bran

Slowly melt butter and chopped mars bar in a medium-sized saucepan. Stir regularly and DO NOT leave unattended. When the mars bar has completely melted and no lumps remain, add sultana bran and stir quickly until combined. Spread mixture over a greased loaf tin and refrigerate. Slice will be set in about 30 minutes.

To achieve the following nutritional quantities, cut mixture into 6 portions. For a nice presentation, cut slice into six (or more) portions after 5 - 10 minutes in the fridge, before the slice has set completely. If you don't, the bars will crumble and shatter as you attempt to slice them neatly. If you're making this for a 'do', perhaps the patty pan option is slightly more attractive. You could certainly spread the mix across 8 or 10 pans, I just calculated the nutritional information on six portions.

Per Serve:

Kilojoules = 449 (107 calories)
Fat = 6 grams (50% unsaturated)
Carbs = 11.8 grams
Fibre = 1 gram
Protein = 1.4 gram

I was inspired to do this after watching Oprah's episode on tweaking kids food so that they receive some invisible nutrition throughout their day. Refer to Jessica Seinfeld's book "Deceptively Delicious".

I can just imagine Gracey telling me "Mummy have invisible nutrition too!"

PS: This was a hit with toddler, husband and in-laws. All was demolished in one sitting. Delish. Reminds me of a soft caramelly flapjack. It has the chewiness of oat-based flapjacks without all the hard work.

Surprised? I am.

Thanks for asking. My first art class today went really well.

I surprised myself with how well my first few sketches came out. I think I've spent my entire life telling myself I couldn't draw. You know, 'I'm the writer, I can't draw' or 'My sister's the artist in the family, not me' etc etc. Imagine my surprise when I was able to translate a photo I took of a beautifully gnarled hibiscus bush with a gorgeous soft flower and bud nestled amongst deep green leaves and sparse dead branches into a recognisable detailed pencil sketch. Stay tuned for the colour version. It's one that I plan to develop into a painting on canvas. I'm not in a major rush to do that though. I want to spend a few weeks learning stuff and practising on paper before I buy a canvas.

It's a funny laid-back kind of art class. Every one just works on projects and Shane, the art teacher, helps them with constructive advice and suggestions on what technique or material would be best in their projects. Shane also presents lessons for part of the session.

Today's lesson was on colour temperature and colour blending. It was great to learn and, apart from anything else, handy to learn before I dish out $$$ on paints. Knowing how to mix true secondary colours may be a cost saver because you can spend more money on better quality primary colours instead. It's not all the paint required, but I learned that a good starting point is 3 warm primaries and 3 cool primaries. I'm really looking forward to getting paint on paper, but for now I'll enjoy doing pencil sketches and surprising myself.

What is Grace?

"Grace is that most marvelous, multifaceted gemstone that sparkles, glitters, and radiates the love of God in our lives. Grace -- the favor of God by which He blesses sinful human beings -- is given according to the measure of Christ's gift (the measure of infinite love for undeserving people)."

From WordTruth.com's online sermon "God's Church is Growing Up".

I think about this every single time I say my daughter's name. She might have an "ey" on the end from time to time,.... I am Australian, after all, but it is still Grace that I say a hundred times a day. God showed us great favour. I feel like one of the most blessed women in the world because He heard my cry, He gave me a precious promise to hold on to and then He worked miracles and tip-toed a fine line between life and death to bless us with Grace.

I feel sorry for people who say there is no God because I have looked Jesus in the face as he lifted me up off the doctor's table. I remember thinking that I wasn't scared at all, but I probably should be.

Duh! Who'd be scared when Jesus is beside you reminding you to hold on.

Sparkling, glittering, multi-faceted indeed,....

Freakin' technology!

At 35, I'm too old to keep learning knew tricks. I know, I know, once upon a time I used to be able to do so much with technology. I could pre-program my parents' VCR. I could use command lines in DOS and UNIX. I was an expert in Word Perfect 5.1 and could program macros in Lotus 123. But those days are long gone, my friend.

I swear, if I have to learn how to use another mobile phone I will scream! These days, I have more of a make do approach to technology. I learn the bare minimum to do the bare necessities. I answer calls, send txt, save numbers in the contacts book.

Imagine my dismay last night when I tried to work out Face Book. At first I thought it wouldn't let me see anyone's profile unless I had in them in my profile as friends. But then, to my surprise, I was able to see my friend Phil's profile before inviting him as a friend. So, that theory was thrown out. Then, I realised that you can specify your own privacy setting so some people probably allow all to see their profile, while others only allow 'friends'. So I'm learning.

Then, I had a "Teachers" moment. I'm friendless. [sigh] Andrew Lincoln plays a grade 11 school teacher who confiscates a mobile phone from a student. During his cigarette break he flicks through the contacts in the phone and is horrified to learn that this student has more than a hundred phone numbers. Being overly melodramatic (as only Teachers can) he compares this student's life to his own. Andrew has 25 numbers in his phone, subtract two for people with mobile and landline numbers in there, subtract one for Mr Tandoori and you're left with a pretty lame guy with no life.

[This post has been interrupted to push my nose up against the glass on the back door. As I squish my nose to the glass, I get an outside glass kiss from Grace. Oh yes, that's right. I'm a mummy now. I get to fill my phone contacts up with other mummy's numbers from playgroup. I get to watch/ignore Maisy mouse 26 times a day. sigh. As you were....]

So my point? Hurry up and make friends with me so this technology doesn't continue to make me feel lame and uncool - as much as we know it's true.

PS: I seriously considered being like one of the cool people and putting an image on my profile that doesn't look like me/doesn't contain me at all. But, in the end, the whole reason I'm attracted to Facebook is the chance to catch up with some special people that I haven't seen or heard from in years. If I don't put my face on my profile, considering my name has changed, they won't know it's me. Wouldn't that be a shame?

BTW: I managed to work out how to feed my blog via Facebook so you read this via www.annaharris.com or my Facebook profile. Cooleo.