Cannelloni Al Forno...

Well my second week in and my bid to try different foods and cook them continues....

I cooked for myself and family again...well only my mom and twin who decided to pop by...

I made a dish of Cannelloni Al Forno....sounds complicated right... honestly I can't even pronounce the name, but it looked and sounded like it would be an incredibly tasty dish and once again I was glad that I chose to make it.

I feel absolutely drained now, my cooking and preparation for today's meal started yesterday as I couldn't quite see myself making 2 desserts and a main course all at the same time.

Yesterday on Valentine's Day I got up reasonably early (for me anyways) at 11:00am, I cleaned, ate breakfast then prepared myself for what was ahead. I was daunted and was not quite sure where to begin, but once the process started I realized that making ice-cream of any sort is not actually as hard as it may seem.

It is a matter of ensuring that the recipe is followed and that in the completion stages that the ice-cream is looked after i.e. taking it out of the freezer after 3 hours or there about and mashing it to get rid of any ice crystals then refreezing and doing the same again after another couple of hours.

All in all it was a success in my opinion; My guinea pig ALS did not enjoy it as much as she doesn't like ice-cream with bits, however my other guinea pig Gokhan seemed to have enjoyed it and said so, I have barely tasted it myself, only a small spoonful but I was happy with the taste and the consistency.



The Pavlova was a greater success I made 2 small meringues for mom and myself as tasters and had these with Vanilla Ice-cream, whipped cream and a splash of Baileys, I felt like I was in desert heaven. The Pavlova was left for today's dinner, and it was great the taste of the pineapple and ginger combined with the whipped cream and meringue base was just as heavenly as the combination had on Valentine's Day but more refreshingly so.


The main course: Cannelloni Al Forno is as tiring to make as its name is to pronounce, I commenced my preparation at 15:30pm today and was not able to eat until 18:40pm, and it took nearly 3 hours (Arrrrrrrrggggghhh). I did not realized it would take as long as it did and I ambitiously said to my hungry mother 'don't worry dinner should be ready by 17:30pm as per normal' was I ever so wrong. I guess I under estimated the length of time it would take to blend and mix everything; but it was worth the time, we had this with vegetables and a small helping of sweet potatoes. My mother's words after tasting it; "It tastes like something you will eat in a restaurant". Though having said that she was hungry and we all know that a lot of things taste better when you're hungry but hey whatever I now know how to make it and can do so again unaided and I enjoyed it.





I did not make any starters this week and I am absolutely glad that I didn't as I am now completely stuffed and extremely tired... cooking is tiring... but you know what it is worth absolutely every minute of time spent on it especially if it turns out well and others enjoy it.... there is then more pleasure to be gained for having tried.


Whilst it may seem that I'm commenting on the tastiness of each course with a biased view, I am honestly a very picky eater and have been known to comment on the taste of food good or bad whether I am the cook or not.

Please feel free to ask for any of the recipes that take your fancy and give it a whirl.

An update of a pic with the ice-cream to follow....

Now what should I make next Sunday?? Any Suggestions? I'm thinking perhaps something Chinese!