It’s not a fluffy, aerated type mousse, but a rich, solid one that I swear is a smooth as silk. The secret ingredient, which I defy anyone to identify if they’re not in the know, is olive oil — yes, that’s right: olive oil.

This recipe calls for Cointreau or Grand Marnier, but I think other liqueurs would work just as well, so I  plan to experiment with some different flavours next time round — a dirty job I know, but someone has to take one for the team!

Anyway, try it out. You won’t be disappointed.

Ingredients:
350g quality dark chocolate
3 eggs, separated
1/2 cup light olive oil
1/4 cup orange liqueur

Method:

1. Melt chocolate in a heatproof bowl over a saucepan of boiling water, stirring constantly. You can also melt the chocolate in a microwave  — cook on high in 30-second bursts, stirring between cycles until chocolate is almost melted, then remove from the microwave and continue to stir until smooth. Set aside to cool.

2. Beat egg whites until stiff peaks form. Add yolks one by one, beating after each addition until well combined.

3. Add cooled melted chocolate to the egg mixture, beating as you go until mixture is smooth.

4. Gradually add olive oil and orange liqueur, beating as you go until well combined.

5. Spoon into small dessert glasses or dishes (or dainty teacups as a novelty serving idea) — you’ll only want very small servings, as it is decadently rich. Cover with plastic wrap and chill in the refrigerator for about 4 hours. Can be made the day before.

Serves 6.

However, because I thought it might be a handy resource for less experienced knitters who may read this blog, I thought I’d take a look and let you know if it was worth investing some bandwith in.

And aren’t I glad I did! I found some great knitting techniques I hadn’t come across before and will definitely give a go, and others that I had forgotten, but will definitely re-acquaint myself with in some upcoming knitting projects.

To get the ebook, all you need to do is enter your email address. You’ll also need a program to unzip the downloaded file — you can use the evaluation version of WinZip, which you can get a 45-day free trial of from here (when it expires, you can just delete it and reinstall it) .

Whether you’re a new or experienced knitter, this free downloadable ebook from the Knitting Daily Web site is a great resource to keep on hand.

Knitting Techniques for More Successful Knitting

If I had to pick my last meal, it would definitely have chocolate as an ingredient — and lots of it. Let’s face it; too much chocolate is barely enough!

One of my favourite winter ‘comfort food’ desserts is chocolate self-saucing pudding; an oldie but a goody. This one is an absolute corker — a coronary in every bowl!

Chocolate self-saucing pudding

Ingredients:
1 cup self-raising flour
1/4 cup cocoa, plus 2 tblspn extra
2/3 cup caster sugar
1/3 cup dark chocolate chips
50g butter, melted
1/2 cup milk
2/3 cup brown sugar, firmly packed
1 1/4 cups boiling water

Method:
1. Preheat oven to 180 degrees Celcius (160 degrees Celcius fan-forced).

2. Sift flour and cocoa together into a mixing bowl, then add caster sugar and choc chips and stir through.

3. Mix the melted butter and milk in a jug, then pour into the dry ingredients. Stir until combined and put into a greased ovenproof dish.

4. In a jug, combine boiling water, extra cocoa and brown sugar stir until combined. Pour over the cake batter — if you pour it over the back of a spoon, it won’t disturb the cake layer, giving a better-looking finished pudding.

5. Cook for about 45 minutes, depending on your oven. The pudding is cooked when the surface springs back when pressed lightly.

5. Let the pudding rest for about 5 minutes before serving. Transfer to bowls and top with cream or ice cream.

So, I was delighted to find this funky-looking, retro-styled bag while I was at the shops on the weekend. Now I can be virtuous as well as hip!

It’s available for $1.98 from Big W stores.

One of the quick and easy quilts

If you’re new to quilting and are looking for some patterns that are uncomplicated, but still have the wow factor, you should check out the US Better Homes and Gardens’ All People Quilt site for its 15 quick and easy quilt patterns.

Many of these quilts are great for using up some of your material stash and they are all particularly good if you need to whip up a quick gift quilt for someone. Great for beginners and more experienced quilters alike.

You’ll find patterns and instructions for these 15 Quick and Easy Quilts here.

What with it being winter and all, I was in dire need of some comfort food, so I decided to have a go at making a massaman curry myself for dinner on the weekend. I’m so good to me!

Anyway, now I’m going to be good to you, because it was delicious and here’s the recipe:

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 tablespoons peanut oil
• 600g diced beef chuck steak
• 440ml can coconut cream
• 440ml can coconut milk
• 1/4 cup massaman curry paste
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cardamom
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1 dried bay leaf
• 1 onion, peeled and sliced into reasonably thin strips
• 300g sebago potatoes, peeled, cut into 2cm cubes
• 1/4 cup roasted unsalted peanuts
• 1 1/2 tablespoons fish sauce
• 2 teaspoons brown sugar
• Steamed rice to serve (see my foolproof microwave rice recipe here)
• And you can add some coriander now as garnish if you absolutely must!

Method:

1. Heat oil in a large, heavy-based saucepan over medium-high heat. Cook beef, stirring, for 4 or 5 minutes or until browned. Transfer to a plate.
2. Reduce heat to medium. Spoon the thick top layer from coconut cream and coconut milk into pan. Cook, stirring, for 3 to 5 minutes or until oil separates and floats to the top.
3. Reduce the heat to medium and add the curry paste and half of the coconut milk and cream to  to the pan. Cook, stirring, for 2 to 3 minutes.
4. Return the beef to the pan. Add the cardamom, cinnamon, bay leaf, water and remaining coconut cream and coconut milk. Reduce heat to low. Simmer, uncovered, stirring occasionally, for one hour or until the meat is tender.
5. Add the potato, onions and peanuts. Cook for 35 to 40 minutes or until the onion is soft and the potato tender.
6. Remove the bay leaf. Stir in thet fish sauce and sugar.
7. Serve in a bowl over steamed rice.

The original recipe is from the Taste site, but I made quite a few changes to suit my own tastes.

This dish was so yummy that I got tucked into it before I took a photo of it, so next time it’s on the menu, I’ll post one for you.

In the early days of cooking for myself, I will admit to my relationship with cooking rice being a bit hit and miss — that is, until I got my first microwave.

It was an early Sanyo model and a hulking big thing that took up half the kitchen, but boy could it cook rice! I learnt to cook perfect rice with the cookbook that came with it and have never looked back — perfect rice every time.

So, if you’re a rice tragic, here’s how it’s done:

Empty one cup of long grain rice into a large microwave-safe bowl (a large microwave-specific rice cooker is perfect, but not necessary), add two cups of hot water, cover and cook on High for 5 minutes. Reduce heat to medium (50% power) and cook (covered) for a further 10 to 13 minutes (depending on your microwave) until all liquid is absorbed.

Fluff rice up with a fork and serve immediately. Serves four people.

The beauty of this method is that, besides its foolproof results, you can take the rice straight to the table to serve, so there’s only one dish to wash up — and no sticky saucepan to wash up!

Photo Collage Maker Pro

If you’re into digital scrapbooking, or you like to create your own calendars and stationery, you might like to add Picture Collage Maker Pro to your software arsenal — and it can be downloaded for free for the next 17 hours from the Giveaway of the Day site (it’s a 92.4M file).

Normally selling for $US29.90, Photo Collage Maker Pro lets you get creative with your photos. You can use the program’s hundreds of pre–designed scrapbook and photo collage templates, create your own design from scratch, and apply image frames, masks, drop shadows and other effects. You can also create calendars, cards and photo books.

The program is easy to use and particularly good for digital scrapbooking newcomers — and hey, you can’t beat the price!

Picture Collage Maker Pro

The cake has a German-style cake texture and is very moist, and because it contains buttermilk, it is quite moist and keeps well — that is, if there’s any left over at all!

You’ll find the recipe and detailed, illustrated instructions here on the Smitten Kitchen site.

Mixed-media artist Cyndi Lavin from Beading Arts has kindly made a free ebook — Every Bead Has a Story: Bead Emroidery Stitches — available for download that will take you through a range of illustrated bead embroidery techniques you can use in your jewellery making and other crafting projects.

Once you’ve got these techniques under your belt, you’re only limited by your imagination.

You can download Cyndi’s free ebook from here.