Farm eggs and baked custard

Last week, when we were on the farm we swapped some of our homegrown passionfruit's and banana's for these fresh farm eggs, collected by Spunky Monkey on the morning that we left.

I had this pudding dish desperate to be used and this recipe book ready and waiting full of yummy goodness. I had wanted to make the baked custard recipe in the 'how to cook' section. I had never cooked one before, in truth I was a little scared of it.

But yesterday afternoon with big pot of chicken soup on the stove and just enough farm eggs left to make it, it seemed like to perfect time to try. The kids got involved and saw that there was a chocolate option. So that was the one we made. Baked chocolate custard. It was delicious and easy peasy. I think I might be making another one this week for Miss Moo Moo's birthday dinner.

I was happy with my new Gordon Ramsay pudding dish that I had bought a while back from 'Buyster'. It looked great coming out to the table, a definite improvement to my old pudding dish. And maybe even more important, it was easy to clean. Not at all like the quiche and baking dish incident that I had recently, I won't go into it, but lets just say, the dish was soaking in the sink for days!

I've been looking on 'Buyster' again today and after watching Jamie Oliver's cooking show in Spain last week, I am eyeing off this paella pan. What do you think?
Si, por favor.

Also............

Welcome to my newest follower, Melissa.

English Pub Food

(I had never heard of 'pan haggerty' before today. It is basically thin layered potatoes, onion, and grated cheddar baked in the oven, I'm sure it is really bad for you, but perfect for a cold winters day. I ate it with a salad and a crusty baguette. Yummy! - This picture is from the book)

This morning we woke to perfect sunshine and blue skies. An amazing winters day. However by midday the weather had turned bleak, overcast and cool. So, I made this 'pan haggerty' for lunch from Gordon Ramsay's book, "Great British Pub Food"

Filled with classic English recipes like Lancashire hot pot, roast beef and red wine gravy, steak and kidney pie and toad-in-the-hole. The recipes in this book are a far cry from the food that I cooked when I was working in a London pub.

Like most antipodeans, during my early twenties, I found myself with a 2-year UK working visa and a job in a London pub for a couple of months. During my interview, I thought I had landed my dream job, it didn't take very long to realize that it was not. I did not so much cook, as serve. Frozen plaice and chips, packet steak sauces, frozen pre-made lasagne, rubbery gammon steaks and my personal favourite (not) deep fried crumbed sausages, the thought of them still makes me cringe. With most pub jobs, food and board is free, hence the popularity amongst backpackers. However, I never ate a thing from that menu, not even once.

Speaking of Gordon Ramsay, I have been looking at his 'oven to tableware' and cookware ranges online at 'Buyster'. Hmmm. Time to update some of my old chipped baking dishes I think. Simple and stylish.