FFwD - Chard-Stuffed Pork Roast

I entered into this week's FFwD with some trepidation.  Pork stuffed wth green stuff is not something that automatically makes me jump for joy, and I have hideous memories of chomping through tasteless, watery greenery.

However, I need not have worried - Dorie's Chard-Stuffed Pork Roast is magnificent!  I used pork steaks instead of roast, and used frozen spinach instead of chard.  I also used pre-ground pepper and cardamom to coat my pork, and as I did not have chilli flakes, I chopped up a dried chilli:  

The end result was realy tasty - the cardamom gives a pleasant sweetness to the pork, and the chilli gives a zing to the stuffing.  I also found that there was sufficient seasoning so that the stuffing was not a tasteless mass.

Would I make this again?  Absolutely! It was a pleasant surprise taste-wise, and it wasn't difficult or time consuming to make.  I loved this one - it is a real winner for me.

To check out what the other FFwD members thought of this week's dish, visit the LYL scetion of the FFwD website.  

Carrot Cake for Mark's birthday

It is my boss Mark's birthday today.  Happy birthday Mark!

Because Mark is out of the office today, we celebrated his birthday with him at our office yesterday by taking him to lunch, giving him a pressie, and by sharing some birthday cake.  The birthday cake was made by moi.  It was Carrot Cake from Allyson Gofton's Bake.  The recipe is online here.

The cake turned out beautiful and golden inside and out.  It is quite a sturdy cake, so is ideal for travelling (eg to a party or picnic).  There are walnuts and no raisins in this version of carrot cake. 

The only change I made was to the icing by mixing in around 4 cups of icing sugar, as I found that Allyson's icing tasted like licking a block of cream cheese, even with the honey and lemon juice.

I decorated my cake simply with walnut halves.

Happy birthday Mark!