Several things have happened in the last week foodie wise ranging from silly to serving…

I will start with silly and hope it does not alienate me from the general populace…

My boys are becoming teenagers soon, and being the quirky characters they are, wanted to make a cake in the form and representation of a pimple.
Yes, a pimple.
OK.
So, obliging mother (and somewhat perversely excited about this challenge) got to thinking about process.
Instead of using water for making an ice bowl, I poured in strawberry jelly to make a thin outer red dome shaped layer. Into this was poured cooled thick but not solid, vanilla custard.

You’re getting it, aren’t you?                                              

We ended up freezing the pimple pudding as the jelly was not firm enough and collapsed at one place.
It came out with pretty much the desired appearance, and on letting thaw a bit, the desired oozy effect.

Next foodie thing:

Last weeks Random Lunch Challenge has not been served to date, as my lunch time onwards that day was spent with 9 other ladies from the church community cooking together for those in need of a meal. The aim was to start stocking the church freezer with different portion sized meals to be able to give to those in need.

With all the food hygiene and handling and storage practice information delivered, three teams set to work on three different recipes according to cooking equipment available–Stove top, oven, and electric frypans from home (Oh to have a better equipped church kitchen.)
One team cooked the makings of  lasagna and assembled 7 ready to bake lasagnas in foil trays. The smells that wafted through the building got your salivary glands going!
Another team cooked  chicken and leek filling and apples to make about 36 individual pies with 2 pie cookers. I was actually suprised how well they turned out.
My team made chicken cacciatore bake in the oven style, which apart from a little preparation, looked after itself. As a result of a simple recipe, I was able to cook the ladies some scones- ,tender and warm from the oven, with lashings of raspberry or strawberry jam with cream. Served in the sunny courtyard with a glass of pink bubbly and coffee/tea.

It was a fun and relationship building way of making about 15 family-sized meals to care for those in need.

Next foodie thing involved the provision of dessert for 30 or so at a luncheon hosted by the local school’s Religious Education teachers for the school teachers and office staff.

Chocolate tarts came to mind for my contribution, but  for logistical reasons, this did not eventuate. My sticky date pudding came to the rescue again, and this time I made individual serves so they could be reheated as needed for the style of luncheon it was. Another crowd pleaser.

Other dishes on offer were a minestrone soup; savoury muffins; a Thai noodle dish; pesto, tomato sandwiches; smoked salmon and spinach sandwiches. Oh, and the simplest of ideas I did (which I will share): thinly sliced pineapple sprinkled with a mixture of caster sugar and lime zest. I was pleasantly surprised at people’s responses and asking how I did this.

Simple.
Good.
Team work to serve others.
Good.
Sharing a meal.
Good.
(Having a bit of silly fun…
Good)