Myriad Musings

 For Gau and Me desserts are a synonym for chocolate.  Gau insists I add chocolate chips or chopped chocolate bar to anything sweet I make.  But  I have already mashed up 2 of my favourite Masterchef season 4 recipes into 1 and made a single chocolate mousse tart, and I still have the dough for 1 tart shell sitting in my chiller.  I will go back and make the orange topping for another chocolate mousse tart, but not just yet.  Oranges are just beginning to come in, once the market is flooded with Kamala Orange, I will have my pick of sweet ones for the tart. I had decided to change directions all together and tackle a fruity dessert for a change - Kylie's camera friendly Apple and Strawberry Crumble Tart.  But, Gau, after stealing his dad's slice and licking the bottom plate of the tart pan clean insisted I had to do another chocolate based one. And as it happens, in yesterdays 9 pm Masterchef Australia episode, Audra made the chocolate frangipane ...

We love watching MasterChef Australia and I love any cook show, seeking inspiration, new techniques and anything to feed my procrastination habit. I don't understand my son's fascination with it though.  Unless, he is so starved for TV time he will watch anything? MA has some things going for it; unlike American shows, the judges are not hypercritical and cold, George is a sweetheart!  He always tries to find a silver lining and comes up with ultra sappy rhymes.  Matt's foppish outfits are always amusing.  The contestants are generally supportive of each other, not nasty (again as opposed to most American cook shows).  I wish the contestants were a bit more stoic though,  they are definitely not Spartan.They frequently have a tip or technique I want to use NOW.  Season 3 seemed to feature a lot of pesto. I have always bought pesto off the shelf, never really made it from scratch.  I looked up basic pesto and I found it is just a chutney of r...