wintry delights

Somewhere south of us, much further south of us, the forecast is for snow. Here in the tropics, we're in the midst of the dry season which has a certain autumnal quality to it. And while it isn't cool by any stretch of the imagination, if you work up a good sweat and then sit under a fan in your wet tennis clothes...you can almost feel a shiver coming on with the night.

So tonight we indulged the cooler clime appetites with a potato bake.

Red bliss potatoes sliced very thin.
Cream and milk (2 thirds/1 third respectively)
olive oil to cook 1 minced onion and 2 cloves garlic, chopped
3 tablespoons of flour
a bit of salami
cheese
salt
pepper

Heat the oven to 200C.
Sweat the onion and garlic in the olive oil in a saucepan. Add the flour to coat. Stir in the milk and cream. Add the potatoes, salt and pepper. Bring to the boil.
Layer in a baking dish with cheese and salami, finishing with a nice layer of cheese.
Bake for 45 minutes or until bubbling and browned; the potatoes nice and soft.
Let it rest before you dig in for best flavour and texture.

Snuggle up in your tank top and shorts on the rattan couch with a cold beer and tuck in!

do 2 smalls make a large?

I am suddenly a fan of the piccolo latte. Something more than a macchiato, less than a latte. Coffee Snobs can tell you what I'm talking about.

I do feel a bit of a coffee snob ordering these, but they are just perfect.

I had two today, the second was better but the first came with a "buy 5 get one free" stamp. But if it wasn't as good, should I complete the card or spend my hard-earned for the good stuff?

These are the questions that try my soul, at least when I'm a little speedy from two smalls that make at least a medium when I shouldn't have any at all!


thanks to the abstract gourmet for this flickr shot.

note to self: no cheese and tennis

Okay, so I found out today that Triple Cream Brie (a lot of), bagel chips, and chocolate pastilles do not mix well with tennis...It was a quantity problem (too much tennis or too much cheese?)