Maudie's Meanders

  Hi, I'm Maudie, a 4yo German Shepherd dog. It gets a bit (bit? That was just a love nip) warm up here in the Dry Tropics, so my housemates keep the aircon on quite a bit (bit? I was nibbling) to keep me cool. I'm not very well, by the way. I contracted a fungal infection, common up here, especially for young female large breed dogs (that would be me), which has triggered discospondylitis. When I was first diagnosed,  the vet  thought that I wasn't long for this world, but a combination of those veterinary skills and my housemates' loving care, have brought me to a pretty OK and fun life and even to my fourth birthday celebrations. Ah, those housemates. There are two humans and a couple of cockatiels. My great grandmother, Yannie, used to live with them, but she crossed the Rainbow Bridge a couple of years ago. They were very sad. They hope to meet her again, because Psalm 36 says that God saves both people and animals. That will be lovely for me, too, because ...

  2 Tbsp olive oil 1 Tbsp unsalted butter ½ cup celery diced 1 cup carrots diced 1 onion large, diced 1 tsp Kosher salt ½ tsp black pepper cracked 2 cans crushed/diced tomato 1L vegetable broth 10 basil leaves cut into strips ¼ tsp allspice ¼ tsp cayenne ½ cup full cream milk ½ cup cream In a soup pot or Dutch oven place olive oil and butter. Sauté the celery, carrots and onions until translucent. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Add the tomatoes, vegetable broth, and basil. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium and simmer for about 10 minutes. Add the allspice and cayenne. Using an immersion blender, carefully crush all the ingredients. Stir in the half and half and cook for an additional 10 minutes uncovered.

  Potato and Leek Soup Recipe Prep Time 15 mins Cook Time 35 mins Serves 4 Ingredients 60ml (1/4 cup) Olive Oil. 1 brown onion, halved, chopped. 1 garlic clove, crushed. 4 medium (about 700g) desiree potatoes cut into 2cm cubes. 2 leeks, pale section only, washed, dried, thinly sliced. 1.25L (5 cups) chicken or vegetable stock  -  Don’t do what I did, and read that as 125ml 🙄 3 thick slices day-old white bread, crusts removed, cut into 2cm cubes. Extra olive oil, for croutons and to serve. 125ml (1/2 cup) thickened cream. 2 tbsp finely chopped fresh chives. Method Step 1 Heat olive oil in a large saucepan over medium-high heat. Add the onion and garlic and cook, stirring, for 3 minutes or until the onion softens. Add the potato and leek and cook, stirring, for 5 minutes or until leek softens. Step 2 Add the stock and bring to the boil. Reduce heat to medium and gently boil, uncovered, for 20 minutes or until potato is soft. Remove from heat and s...

I love my Scanpan Tagine pot. OK, it’s not so gaudily pretty as traditional ceramic or cast iron Moroccan pots, but it’s very handsome in its own Danish way, and immensely more practical. I also love the Moroccan-inspired recipes which abound on the ‘Net to show off what wonderful meals it produces. Oh, and I love duck. So what better than duck leg tagine! And this recipe is for two, so it could be made in a smaller pot than mine. Scale up ingredients for more. Serves 2 Prep time:   10 Minutes Cook time:   60 Minutes Total time:    70 Minutes Ingredients 2 (Around 225-250g each) Duck Legs (although the recipe would work well with breasts. Legs have the advantage of being on bone, which always adds some flavour to tagines). 1 Large Brown Onion 3 Garlic Cloves ½ cup Dried Apricots 1/3 cup Almonds (they don’t need to be blanched). 2 Tbsp Harissa Paste 2 Tbsp Water 1 Tbsp Lemon Juice Olive Oil (I haven’t specified an amount, dollop to taste) ½ Tsp Sa...

  Air Fryer Salmon and Asparagus   This was among the first meals I prepared in an air fryer. Leisa didn’t want one, thought it was a waste of bench space, “Another unnecessary gadget”. So it formed one of my Proof of Concepts in a borrowed air fryer to show what the device was capable of. Along with chips, of course, and the clincher, roast pork with perfect crackling. It’s particularly handy on Friday nights in our house. A tradition has developed that we have fish - often air fryer fish and chips - and an inexpensive bottle of bubbles to mark the onset of the weekend and the end of Leisa’s working week, or at least the desk-and-meeting-bound part of it.   Serves 2 Prep Time 5 mins Cook Time 8 mins Total Time 13 mins Ingredients 1½ tbsp Lemon Juice 1 tbsp Olive Oil 2 tbsp Fresh Dill, roughly chopped 2 tbsp Fresh Parsley 2 Salmon Fillets, 170/180gr each 1 bunch Asparagus Salt & Pepper to taste Instructions In a small bo...