How to pop {POPCORN} in a pan

Ok ... this is a little bit embarrassing but I guess videos of yourself talking to a camera always are ! I made this AGES AGO when I had just learned this method of pop corn popping. I made it so that my friend Shay could see how easy it is !  You'll hear that I am talking to her in the video.  I thought it might be fun to post here ... this makes the best popcorn ! 

A couple of things I have tweaked since this video ... 

1.  I don't use olive oil anymore.  I use canola.  It's much lighter.  I top my daughters bowl with butter, my sons with hot sauce,  and mine I just sprinkle with salt. 

2.  I turn the heat down to medium ... I never ever have it burn anymore.  EVER.  Perfect popcorn, every time.

Making Mayonaise ~ The Video

In December of last year, I made my first batch of mayonnaise ... it was great tasting but soooo hard ! It took soooo long ! Not what you want to hear when making mayonnaise ...

After that, my Mom and my cousin had the aioli-sytle throwdown and discovered a new way to make mayonnaise ... a super easy way.

And just to clarify ... aioli and alioli are the same thing. The first is French. The second is Spanish. And I stand corrected !!

Here is the definitive mayo recipe ... the one I use all the time now ... the one I'm going to show you in this video. This 58 second video that shows making it from start to finish and even a shot of me speaking some unintelligible gobble-de-gook at the end !

It is seriously so simple. If you don't believe me ... and you have a stick blender ... try it, just to prove me wrong ! :)

Whole Wheat Flour Tortillas ~ Video Tutorial

Over the weekend, I made a huge batch of whole wheat flour tortillas and froze them ! I cannot wait to try them out of the freezer. I have high hopes that they will be WONDERFUL and make my unprocessed life much easier !! Having a supply of tortillas ready and waiting to be used .... bliss !

I did have a few issues with the dough. Turns out I had made a typo in the recipe when I posted it here and had been adding twice as much water as I should have been ! The cool thing though is that this is a very forgiving recipe and I was able to just add more flour ... knead it a bit and still make the tortillas !

(Ready to go into the freezer)

I took this little video while I was making them to show you how simple it is ! It takes a little bit of time to make as many as I made but they should last us a good while before I need to do it again !!

Go Go Gadget {chip cutter} Video

A quick, easy, yummy (and healthy - er) version of hot chips.

Super simple ... preheat oven to 200C/400F
Chop up some potatoes ... see videos below for easy chopping method !! (took me TWO minutes)
Lay on a baking tray or two ... do not overlap them ... the bottom ones don't cook well.
Drizzle with oil ... I like olive.
Bake til they are the way you like them ... mine take somewhere between 15 and 30 minutes.
Pull out of oven ... sprinkle with crushed sea salt.
Eat immediately !
We dip ours in vinegar ...

PS ... please ignore the dork factor. I have my video voice on !

THROWDOWN! Aioli-style

Aunt Kathy and I both had new aioli (garlic mayonaise) recipes to try.
So we had a throwdown!!!

My version was made according to Julia Child's very traditional French recipe.
AK's was made using a stick blender and slightly different ingredients.

We mixed both with some plain, cooked potato (patatas alioli)
and gave Uncle Jim (our judge) a blind taste test!

The verdict:
The traditional method is DELICIOUS! But it is a TON of work.
Be prepared to have your arm fall off from whisking.
On the other hand, this mayo can be eaten without guilt,
'cause you've already worked off ALL the calories!!
The stick blender method is much much much much much much easier.
It's not quite as good, but is a wonderfully acceptable alternative.

Antonio's Garlic Potatoes

The other night for 'date night', I planned a roast dinner.
I did lamb in the crock pot. I cooked it according to this recipe, but only did the lamb.
I also did Australian Roast Veggies.
Potato, Pumpkin, Onion and Garlic .... oh man, do I love roasted garlic !



We had a bit of a dilemma though ...
it was date night which doesn't involve the kids !
Roast veggies are best eaten hot
so I couldn't really feed them to the kids
first and then eat ours an hour later.

I put my thinking cap on and thought "Ahhhh yes, Antonio's garlic potatoes !"
I whipped some up for the kids ... and served them lamb, garlic potatoes on a bed of baby
spinach and rocket, with a quickie greek salad ... tomato, feta and kalamata olives.



How to make the potatoes. Peel Em. Chop Em. Fry Em. Seriously ... Olive Oil. Garlic Salt.



I did a little video because you have to hear the sizzle !