Marie Cookpad

  Melting moments  . . .  ahhh . . .  isn't that a wonderful name for a biscuit/cookie?  And, while I am at it, don't you just love the fact that in Britain a cookie is called a biscuit?  Mmm . . .  Biscuits.  Who doesn't love em!  Especially when they are biscuits/cookies that . . . melt in your mouth like these do!      And that is no word of a lie.  Just like the name suggests, these lovely biscuits DO melt in your mouth.   That is in part due to the combination of butter and lard which is used in the recipe.  Oh, okay . . .  I can see your face wrinkling now  . . .  lard, eww!  Trust me.  There is nothing wrong with lard, unless you are a vegetarian, and then I can't help you.   Lard is a natural fat, just like butter, no chemicals allowed.  Not artificially manufactured like shortening.  Natural, and if it is done right, it is pretty flavourless, which makes it perfect for baking things like pastries and these lovely cookies.   In fact recent research has actually

  This delicious vegetable soup is one that I have had resting in my big blue binder for many, many moons now.  The writing on the page is fading and the paper is all splattered and stained . . .  a testimony to the deliciousness of it,  as it tells the viewer that this is a much beloved and often made recipe!   It really uses nothing out of the ordinary.  In fact it uses things that more often than not I have in my kitchen, larder and refrigerator.   Cauliflower, potatoes, carrots, onions  . . .  garlic.  Some good vegetable or chicken stock  . . .   And of course a good strong farmhouse cheddar.  Oh, we do love a good cheddar in this house and this soup highlights the very best of its flavour.  It is creamy and rich and quite moreish.   Even Todd goes back for a second helping, which is really not like him.  He is usually a one serving kind of a guy, but when this is on the menu, he always goes back again.    Today I cooked some cauliflower croutons for on the top.  Simply cut a few

   I loved Easter when I was a child.  We didn't get a lot of candy really, a chocolate bunny, some coloured candy eggs, with a white nougat filling, maybe a few chocolate eggs, and coloured Real Easter Eggs. The eggs were always raw, and my mother would poke a hole into them with a darning needle and blow them out so we could have scrambled eggs for breakfast.  Then she would string the empty egg shells onto yarn and we would wear them like a necklace all day, trying to see how long we could go without them breaking up.     It was a time also of reflections on the meaning of Easter and the Saviour's sacrifice.  There would be special activies at Sunday School and church and of course we would celebrate on the Sunday with a lovely ham dinner baked by my mom.  Another of my favourite memories is of the beautiful Easter Breads that my Aunt Thelma would bake and send up to us.  They were always iced and decorated with candied fruit. We loved them.    Aunt Thelma & Mom, circa 1

  I'm almost ashamed to show you this recipe today as it is such an easy one that you will probably be smacking yourself on the forehead and saying, "Why didn't I think of that!" Easy Caesar Chops. Three ingredients and about half an hours baking time, and presto!  You have delicious pork chops that your family are really going to fall in love with.   Today I used bone in chops.  You could use boneless chops, but I actually prefer the ones with the bones attached. Almost like the T-bone equivalent of a pork chop. Mine are about 1/2 inch thick.  I love that tender meat that is next to the rib bone. Its my favourite part, so filled with flavour.   I always slash the fatty edge of my chops at intervals, which helps to prevent them from curling up when you cook them.  They stay nice and flat as you can see above.   I hate it when chops curl all up. They don't look nice and I think they are tougher.   Its as simple as laying the chops out in a single layer on a baking

   Funny how things are named different things in different places.  In Canada, we would call this a jelly roll . . . over here it becomes a Swiss Roll . . . and I have no real idea of where the name came from, but if you click here , you can find out all sorts of things about them.  I found it quite fascinating, and what was really interesting was that there seems to be a similar creation in a lot of cultures . . . a rose by any other name and all that!!  At the end of the day it doesn't really matter what it's called . . . it only really matters that it tastes good and goes down well with a hot cuppa!    Swiss Roll is the perfect cake to bake.  It goes together very quickly and you can have one done and finished and be eating it well within half an hour,seriously!!  But . . . that's not the best news.  The really good news is that . . . IT'S COMPLETELY FAT FREE!   I know . . . what a bonus!!  I am all for fat free . . . of course that doesn't mean it&#