Gorgeous Gifts...Panforte...

Are you stuck for a quick and easy gift for a special occasion? Birthday? Mothers Day? Fathers Day? International something-or-other Day?

This Panforte is yum, comes together in 5 minutes flat for baking, and makes a fab gift for just about any occasion.    I like to do mine in a round tin, so it slices into wedges like a regular cake. I've also found that using a spring form tin, makes it easier to remove in one piece without accidents.
Some recipes for Panforte specify certain quantities for this or that sort of dried fruit or nut, but I just use whatever I have on hand and it always turns out. We like it particularly chunky, and adore whole dried figs, crystallised ginger and walnuts, with some mixed dried fruit sprinkled between. Here's my recipe. It's evolved over a few years, and withstands all sorts of substitutions, so don't be afraid to be adventurous!     The Recipe in four sentences:

Mix 3 1/2 - 4 cups of mixed dried fruit and nuts in any combination, with 2/3 cup plain flour, and a teaspoon each of Nutmeg and Cinnamon. Bring 3/4 cup condensed milk, 1/2 cup raw sugar, a good drizzle of honey and 2 teaspoons vanilla essence to a simmer in a small pan, stirring constantly, and add to the dry ingredients. Fold until well combined and transfer to a lined cake tin, before baking in a low moderate oven (150C) for 25-35 minutes till firm to touch. Allow to cool before slicing into long thin wedges.
You can present this whole as a 'wheel' for gifting, either dusted with icing sugar, drizzled with melted chocolate or garnished with gold or silver leaf. It looks very special wrapped in tulle, cellophane or muslin, with softer fabric tied in a top knot in the middle and decorated with bells or flowers.
You can add flavoured essences such as Rum, Mint, or Almond, as well as cocoa, orange zest or candied orange pieces, crystallised ginger, choc bits or whatever you fancy to personalise this one too.
The gold and silver leaf, edible, is available at Cake Decorating Stores and in the baking aisle of your supermarket. The little silver or multicoloured cachous sprinkles are another cute idea for decorating the top of your Panforte.
Enjoy!

A Homespun Year...Lavish French inspired trimmed pillowcases...

 I've been pinning dreamy lace trimmed French linen pillowcases on Pinterest ever since Pinterest first sucked me into it's vortex caught my eye. I have hundreds of them on my Lush Bed Linen board.

They're lush and lavish and lacy, and really...what's not to like? 

But there is that one stumbling block. The ones I frequently admire start at $98 each. That's not for a pair. That's for one. Sigh.

So what could be easier than making my own?

You like?

 I can't decide whether I prefer the buttery ivory vintage styled cotton lace and chiffon flounced version above...

..or the more lavish appliqued, beribboned and muslin frilled soft dove grey one below...

 It's okay. At this price and with very little effort, I can have both...as many as I want.

I used inexpensive purchased pillowcases at around $6-$10 each, in white and soft grey.

I had on hand the following trims:

Muslin (Cheesecloth)

A remnant of cream chiffon

Ribbons in many different colors

Many lace trims

Bridal/Costume Appliques

I tend to snaffle these things from the bargain tables at my favorite haberdashery, and rarely pay more than mere cents per metre for them.

The appliques were just $1 each, as they were a shade of lilac that clearly isn't really in favor at the moment. They're the kind of thing that comes in a mirrored pair, and usually adorns the bodice of a costume or wedding dress. A dunk in a bucket of boiling water with a third of a bottle of grey Rit dye for polyester fabrics, where they swam around for several hours until I was happy with the shade of grey, remedied the less than stylish colour.

 A 20cm (8 inch) width of muslin was folded in half and stitched to create a double layer for my flounce. I gathered it slightly, and laid it along the open edge of my grey pillowcase, topping it with a sliver of pewter grey satin ribbon trim. I pinned all the layers together.

 I then added the applique`, pinning it into place.

 I carefully ran a line of small stitched along the ribbon, making sure I caught all the layers of muslin, pillowcase and ribbon with my stitching. I then stitched very slowly and carefully around the entire outer edge of the applique`.

 The white one was a little easier.

I cut a 15cm (6 inch) deep piece of chiffon, using the entire width of the fabric to create my frill. I left the edges raw to create a Shabby look, and gathered the material to make it fit the opening of the pillow case. Then this and my cotton, vintage inspired lace, were pinned to the top edge. Make sure you're pinning your trim to the single layered edge of your pillow case, not the one that's doubled, that keeps your pillow in place.

 Again, I carefully ran a line of stitching along the edge of the lace and chiffon, making sure I caught each layer in the stitches.

 A very lush and lovely result for a total spend of about $40, which was for the pillowcases, the appliques, and the grey dye. That $40 spend will yield me 6 embellished pillowcases. Even if I'd bought all of the trim, I'd have spent no more than a further $20 at the very most. So let's say I'd had to buy everything to start with, I'd have spent $60 for the six pillowcases, so that's $10 each.

That's a lot sweeter than $98 each! And I love them...

What do you think?

...Mimi...  

Super Lush Onion Confit (also known as Onion Jam)...

Here's my Onion Confit recipe.

This is a much loved family favourite and we adore it on baguette with soft cheese, with meats and roasts of all kinds, on a Ploughmans platter, with crackers on a cheese board, or with oven roasted salmon. Cooking it is a special guilty pleasure as it scents the house with the most amazing earthy aromas.

Buy up onions of any kind when they're cheap and do big batches of this to keep on hand.

You need 4 decent sized (about 250gm) washed and sterilized jars for this amount.

Note: you can also prepare this in the slow cooker, by adding 125gms of butter to encourage caramelising, but it does render a slightly softer and not quite as aromatic, result. Given the choice I'd do it on the stovetop. In my older slow cooker, six hours on high and six on low was about right.

1 kg onions (different onions give a different result. Try red, eschallots, pickling onions or brown ones)
2 tablespoons oil
250 gms sugar
300 mls vinegar (different vinegars will also give a slightly different result in colour and flavour, so try balsamic, white, apple cider, sherry or even red or white wine or sparkling wine)
3 tablespoons honey or golden syrup
1/2 teaspoon each nutmeg and cinnamon
2 whole cloves
1 teaspoon each salt and pepper

Peel and slice the onions thinly. A mandolin slicer will make very quick work of this step.

Heat a large frypan over a medium heat and slow cook the onion until it's limp, about 5 minutes.

Add the other ingredients and mix well.

Reduce the heat to very low and simmer, stirring regulary to prevent sticking for one hour.

Cover the pan and continue to cook over a very low heat for a minimum of 45 minutes but up to several hours depending upon the depth of flavour and the consistency you're after, stirring regularly. I have simmered mine virtually all day on a very very low heat, and after 10-12 hours, they are divine.

The confit is ready when there is not liquid and the onion has been reduced to a chunky paste.

Spoon into sterilised jars and refrigerate.

Keeps for up to six months.