Chicken recipes, cookies, 50s dresses and cards

I went to a trunk show for a divine Australian children's label called Olive's Friend Pop.  The talented designer whips up the most tooth-achingly sweet little frocks, nighties, shorts, coats and the like, all in a 1940s - 1960s style, but in brilliantly durable fabrics and construction, rendering her designs sturdy enough to withstand tough day-to-day wear and tear.

The trunk show was held in the designer's beautiful home - a fabulous design blend of furnishings and decor from 1920s to now - with Champagne, and lots of plates of canapes handed out by her little daughter (dressed in one of her designs, and looking cute as a button as she handed out tea cakes!).

I bought a dress and bloomers for Tabitha, and an apron.  My friend bought a pair of 50s style button-front shorts for her friend's toddler girl.

Olive's Friend Pop is certainly my new favourite label for children's wear, and I cannot wait to buy up from their next collection - and every one after!  I've just never come across anything like it - sure, there are 50s style dresses out there, but they are never in top quality, thick and durable fabrics.  The dress, below, I would feel comfortable sending Tabitha out to play in a dirty yard, knowing it will wash up beautifully.

I hope that the designer extends the range into adult sleepwear - a few people mentioned this at the trunk show - and I would be SO thrilled if she did a dress in a fancier silk or layered muslin, for birthday parties etc... Perhaps with matching hair bow?

Here is the dress I bought, called Molly - sorry for the photo, it is a little creased, just out of the package.  I've ironed it up since, and it looks amazing.  I'll snap a photo of Tabby in the dress and post ASAP.

Here are the bloomers - which can be worn under the dress, or on their own with a top in the hot weather:

And the apron!  It is tiny, it fits her properly now, and although she is too young to help with cooking, it is the cutest sight to watch her wear her apron while she potters around the kitchen waving a wooden spoon.

Speaking of things that look pretty - we went to an engagement party last week, in Brighton, at a fantastic venue overlooking the beach.   So nice to sip a Champagne and watch the sun set over the water!  Tabitha slept the night at my parents' and had a brilliant time - she loved waking up in the morning and playing with my 10 year old sister (her aunt!).  Of course, because I am breastfeeding, we still had to pick her up quite early - we headed over at 9am, by which point my chest was a little uncomfortable!

Here is the present we took to the engagement party - some Alessi kitchenware.  I love the combination of brown and blue, it always reminds me of farmhouse kitchens for some reason.

Do you like warm, freshly-baked chocolate chip cookies?  I do!  I make a nice large batch of dough, roll it into balls, then freeze them.  You can bake the balls from frozen, so you are never more than 15 minutes or so away from hot cookies!  The dough keeps well in the freezer for a month or so.

I like sending people home with a little snap lock back of frozen cookie dough balls - even someone who doesn't cook can easily put them on an oven tray.

The recipe I used for this batch was from Milk and Cookies bakery in New York.  We tried their cookies while we were there in May, and they were divine.  The recipe is from their book.  The book is excellent BUT I have to say - as many others have mentioned, online - the recipe for the choc-chip cookies seems to be off.  If you follow the recipe as it is written (I tried it three times to be sure!), the dough is really squishy and the cookies spread like mad.  Whereas the ones in the bakery were taller and thicker.  So I have come to the conclusion (as have other people) that you need to use much less butter - a third less, maybe even half - to get the cookies right, as they are in the bakery. 

I'm going to try the dough with half the butter tonight, I'll let you know how they go.

In the meantime, I have been baking the frozen dough balls non-stop.  The mixture makes a few dozen cookies at least.  They are thinner than I'd like, but gosh they are still brilliant - chewy yet still crispy on the edges, and the most divine flavour, thanks the the inclusion of the finely ground rolled oats.

Here is the recipe as it is written - like I said, I am going to try it with much less butter, and see how they turn out.  This one is just fine (more than fine) but the ones I tried in the bakery were just the BEST and I want to recreate them.  The quantities below are in ounces - my electric scale has a switch to swap between grams and ounces, most of them do.

Chocolate Chip Cookies

7 1/2 ounces old-fashioned rolled oats

8 ounces plain flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

12 ounces unsalted butter, at room temperature (I'm going to try 8 ounces next time - NOTE I have now tried this, and it's the way to go!)

7 ounces white sugar

7 ounces brown sugar

2 large eggs, at room temperature

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 cup chocolate chips

Preheat the oven to 175 degrees celcius.

In a food processor, blitz the oats until they are finely ground.  Transfer to a mixing bowl, and stir in the flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt.

Put the butter in the bowl of a standing mixer, and mix on medium speed for a couple of minutes, until light and creamy.

With the motor running, gradually add the sugars, beating until light and creamy.

Add the eggs, one at a time, and beat to incorporate, scraping down the sides of the bowl after each addition with a spatula.

Beat in the vanilla, and then slowly beat in the dry mixture and the chocolate chips.

When the mixture is still streaky, remove the mixture and lightly knead together on a well-floured board.

Form the dough into tablespoonful sized balls, and place (5cm or so apart) on a cookie sheet lined with baking paper.

Bake for around 12 minutes, or until lightly browned in the middle.  When you take them from the oven, use the baking paper to immediately remove the cookies onto a wire rack - otherwise they will keep cooking on the hot tray.

Eat as many as you can while warm, with a glass of milk.  I officially give you permission to eat a dozen if you'd like!

My friend Amy came over and we made lots and lots of Thai chicken patties (an old AWW recipe I believe) to freeze.  They are really delicious - you can make them small, and serve them as finger food with sweet chili sauce (perfect for parties) or make them large, and serve them with rice, stir-fried greens and sweet chili sauce for lunch or dinner.

They aren't too spicy - Tabitha loves them - and freeze well (defrost then reheat in a 180 degree oven for 20 minutes or so).

To make the Thai Chicken Patties, combine the following in a large bowl (this is a double mixture, but you might as well, since they freeze well):

• 1kg minced chicken
• 100g green beans, finely sliced
• 6 tablespoons chopped corriander
• 2 eggs, lightly beaten
• 6 kaffir lime leaves, finely chopped
• 4 tablespoons coconut cream
• 4 tablespoons Thai red curry paste
• 2 cloves crushed garlic
• 4 cups fresh breadcrums (e.g. stale bread turned to crumbs in the processor) or panko
• Half a cup of chopped peanuts or cashews (optional)

Combine everything well (use your hands) and form into patties - cocktail sized or larger as you wish.

Form into patties, and fry in a pan with peanut oil (or canola or whatever you'd like) until golden brown on both sides, and just cooked through.  Serve immediately, or else freeze.

Another meal I cook a lot is Oyakodon.  This means 'parent and child rice' in Japanese, named because it includes both chicken and egg.  It's the easiest thing to cook, really filling, and hits the spot when you want something full of flavour and comforting.

To make Oyakodon for two large serves (would do two adults and one or two kids) you need:

Cooked rice (we eat a lot of rice, cook however much you think is right for 2 people)

One brown onion, finely sliced

2-3 large chicken thighs, diced (you could use one or two breasts if you prefer)

4 free range eggs, lightly beaten with a fork

3 cups dashi (1 teaspoon hon dashi instant dashi powder - see below - mixed with 3 cups boiling water)

6 tablespoons soy sauce

3 tablespoons light soy sauce (you can use all dark if it's easier)

3 tablespoons sugar

6 spring onions, finely sliced (optional)

Combine the dashi, soy sauces and sugar in a medium-large saucepan, and bring to a gentle boil.

Add chicken and onion (not spring onions).  Simmer, uncovered, for about 5 minutes or until the chicken is almost cooked.

Pour in the eggs, in a steady stream, around the chicken in the simmering broth.  Do not stir.

Keep heat at medium high until the egg is almost cooked - at this point, stir once.

Add the spring onions.

Using a large spoon, scoop a portion of the chicken and broth into each bowl of cooked, hot rice.  Add more broth - you want enough sauce for the rice, but not soupy.

In the middle, below, you can see the hon dashi which is 'instant dashi powder'.  It is little granules.  It looks - and smells! - a bit like fish food.  You can get it from most Asian grocers, and I have even seen the same product, same brand, but in small rectangular boxes, in the supermarket.  Of course, you can make your own dashi - it's really, really good - but the instant stuff is fine in a dish like this.

With the egg and spring onions:

Like many of my meals, it ain't pretty but it sure is good!

I have written out all of our Christmas cards, however I am waiting to post them until Thursday.  I find that it freaks people out a little to receive Christmas cards before the 25th November!

I found these gorgeous glittery cards, made by Cavallini & Co, who are my all-time favourite card-makers.

While I was buying them, I stocked up on Thank You cards, also from Cavallini & Co.  I have been buying these glittery cake cards, below, for a few years now, and every time I write a thank you note with one, I smile.  The cake is just too pretty.

I also bought, and tucked away, a tin of glittery Valentine's Day cards - also from C&C - in anticipation of February 14.  These are postcards, just perfect for sending a little note to loved ones.

Speaking of loved ones - so many people I know are having babies.  So I have been crocheting and knitting like mad.  Putting aside all arguments about gender conditioning and the pros and cons of learning the sex of the baby in utero, I have to say that, as a knitter, it is much easier when people tell me if they are expecting a boy or a girl!  Here is something I'm working on:

I'm making my Christmas cake this week.  Only one this year - I'm not hosting Christmas day this year, so this cake is just to have on hand for the week around Christmas, as people drop by for catch-ups and gift exchange.  I'm soaking my snipped fruit, below.  I'll post the recipe and cooking instructions soon.  It's not difficult, and even doing the white fondant icing is pretty simple - it gets easier with practice.

I don't like the flavour of glace cherries, but I think the cake looks much nicer with the flecks of bright red.  So I compromise and include a small amount.

Tabitha is basically completely grown up.  Okay, that might be exaggerating, but she is a walking talking tantrum-throwing toddler!  She is just too cute for words, with plenty of kisses and giggles and cuddles and 'dog!  woof woof!'.  But she can also chuck a truly spectacular fit.  Apparently I was the same, and everyone says that you get your comeuppance when you have children, so there you go.  All you can do is laugh and remember that these days will pass so quickly, so cherish that little chubby-handed toddler and squeeze her tightly while you can.