The Weekend Kitchen

We have just enjoyed a long weekend here in Queensland and it was a weekend filled with visitors so there was quite a bit of action in the kitchen.

Sunday saw Hubby's family gather at our place for a BBQ lunch.  I made some deviled eggs (which is something I make often for gatherings since we have lots of eggs, even though it is quite retro it seems to be something everyone likes), a vegetarian nicoise salad and a sponge cake.

My father in law thought I had added something to the sponge cake to make it so yellow and I had to convince him that it was just the yolks of the eggs.
Monday was a quite day at home but I made a pot of vegetable and barley soup that turned out to be very thick as I over did it on the barley.  We had some for dinner but I froze the rest to have on hand for easy weekend meals over the coming weeks when I know we ave things planned during the day.

Devilled Eggs



Do not use fresh eggs for this recipe.  Your eggs need to be at least 2 weeks old or you will not be able to peel them without the white breaking up.  This recipe can be be scaled up for parties and if you are not a fan of curry flavour you can use mustard powder instead.

6 Eggs
1/4 Whole Egg Mayonnaise
1 Tsp Curry Powder
1/4 tst Salt
1/4 Tsp White Pepper

Bring your eggs to the boil and boil for 8 minutes.  Drain the eggs and cool by filling your pot with cold water and changing it every few minutes until the eggs are cool.  Peel your eggs the cut each one in half length ways.  Gently pop the yolks out into a small bowl and set the whites aside to be filled.
Add the mayonnaise, curry powder, salt and pepper to the yolks and mash them together until they are smooth.
Use a teaspoon to refill the egg white halves.  You can then sprinkle the top of each one with a dusting of paprika or some chopped chives.  Cover and chill for a few hours before serving.

Sponge Cake

This is a really easy sponge cake recipe and you can double it and split the mix between 2 tins if you want a really tall sponge cake.

3 Eggs
Pinch of Salt
3/4 Cup Castor Sugar
1 Cup Plain Flour
1 Tsp Baking Powder
50 gm Melted Butter

Preheat your oven to 190 degrees.  Grease line a 20 cm round spring form tin.  When lining the sides allow your baking paper to come up above the edge of the tin by 2-3 cm.
Using an electric mixer beat your eggs and salt on high speed for 2 minutes then slowly add your sugar and beat until thick.  Meanwhile sift your flour and baking powder together.  Stop your mixer and sift your flour a second time into the egg mix and fold through until just combined.  Fold in the melted butter and pour into your lined tin.
Bake for 30 minutes and when cooked remove from the oven and leave in the tin for 10 minutes before releasing and turning out onto a cooling rack.  Once cool slice and fill with jam and cream if desired.

What did you get up to in the kitchen over the weekend?