I made this Indian inspired Shepherd's Pie recently from a recipe torn from a magazine (Delicious, I think). I didn't have all the ingredients to hand so I did a bastardised version and it turned out to be the Best. Thing. Ever.

I think I'm going to make it again this week. It's like an Indian takeaway, but not. So good for this weather.

Indian Shepherd's Pie

Ingredients

Olive oil
650g lamb mince
1 onion, chopped
2cm ginger, grated
2tbs korma curry paste
400g tin chopped tomatoes
1/4 cup chutney (Mine was called 'bush' chutney and was quite sweet. I'd say, use whatever's open in your fridge)
1 cup frozen peas
1kg mixed potatoes and sweet potatoes
2 tsp tumeric
1 lemon
30g butter

1. Preheat oven to 200c.

2. Heat oil and cook lamb mince until brown. Remove mince from the pan and set aside.

3. Cook onion until soft, then add garlic, ginger and curry paste and cook, stirring until fragrant.

4. Return mince to the pan with tinned tomatoes and chutney. Bring to a simmer and cook on a low heat for 15 minutes.

5. Stir in frozen peas and transfer mixture to baking dish.

6. Meanwhile, boil peeled, chopped sweet potatoes and potatoes until soft and mash. Add turmeric, lemon juice and butter to mash and beat with a spoon until smooth.

7. Spread mash over mince mixture and bake in over for 25 minutes.

Eurovision and more lemons

I've cut and squeezed lemons until my hands stung today and it doesn't even look like I've made a dent in this basketful. There are so many more on the tree to be picked. I think we'll have to start finding other homes for them. Bags of lemons for everyone.

I did this lemon cake and also a sorbet in the ice cream maker. I'll do lemon curd too as soon as I get my hands on some more eggs.

I'd love any other lemony suggestions.

The cake did not cover herself with glory in the unmolding I'm afraid.

Of course, all this baking is only a distraction from the real excitement of today, which is that the Eurovision heats start tonight! I love love love Eurovision. It is one my favourite weekends of the year.

It's being held in Baku, Azerbaijan this year. I know very little about Azerbaijan but truly this is one of the wonderful things about Eurovision. It's educational as well as sparkly.

This is the Baku Crystal Hall, built on the shores of the Caspian Sea specifically for Eurovision 2012. Nice.

If you are in Australia, you should go to the SBS Eurovision page. Do not under any circumstances visit the official Eurovision page at this late stage (I'm not even linking to it) because it will tell you the winners before they are broadcast on TV here and spoil everything.

I'll be staying away from news sites for the rest of the weekend too. Just in case.

I haven't watched any of the song clips in advance but I see those excitable puppies Jedward are singing for Ireland again.

And the UK is sending Englelbert Humperdinck. Looking forward to that.

This is Loreen from Sweden. Apparently she is the favourite to win this year and Sweden always do well.

Serious haired young women with intense stares seem to dominate the line up this year. I think Kaliopi from FYR Macedonia should be good though. Interestingly, Kaliopi isn't wearing the eyepatch in her other publicity shots. It's a fashion only eyepatch.

Anyway, must go now. Husband has been googling Azerbaijan cuisine all morning to help us menu plan. I'm thinking we might try this recipe for Plov.

Are you trying to sponsor my blog Gorman?

Gorman sent me this bottle of nail polish yesterday. I didn't order it and there were no details in the package.

Are you trying to validate my internet shopping addiction with free accessories Gorman? Or is this an overture? Do you really want to sponsor this blog and kit me out in all your new seasons collections so I can blog about them?

Call me.

Meanwhile, the bush lemon tree is groaning with fruit.

The grass between us is too long and scary for me to get a closer photo but you get the idea.

We've only picked a few so far but it signifies the start of the season in which we MUST use lemons in EVERYTHING.

I've started as I mean to go on with a lemon tart.

Do you ever go outlet shopping? Our DFO is out at the airport and I haven't been for years. Apparently they have an Oroton shop there now.

Seriously discounted, factory second, handbag LOVE.

I was feeling red and pink.

And a little leopard.

While we are on the subject of companies I think should send me things so I can endorse them, can we talk about Bonds baby gear?

I don't know if my baby is just the exact size of the Bonds baby fit model, (do they use fit models for baby clothes?) but it feels like they are the only clothes I can find that fit him properly and consistently.

Bonds Baby

Competing brand fail.

Also Bonds, your commercials made me cry all the time when I was pregnant.
I'm sure we could work something out.

NB: Yes, that is a plastic computer fan behind Baby in the photo above. His father gave it to him and it's one of his most favoured toys.

A weekend of moving things up high

Are you a fan of the triangular shouldered silhouette that an 80s bomber jacket gives? I feel like a gridiron player but it does give a certain SHAPE. I don't think anyone will mess with me while I'm wearing it.

Spinach is a little magical the way it cooks down the nothing. I think so anyway. I steamed bushels of it to make this palak paneer.

We made our own cheese too.

So rustic.

We spent most of the weekend rearranging the layout of the house against our increasingly mobile and grabby son.

Baby sonata.

The power board and delicious cables under my desk are now boxed up and safe. Until he learns how to open the box.

Or works out how to get that bin down. Soon there will be nothing left in this house below knee height.

Turkish delight ice cream

I was given an ice cream maker for Christmas last year by my Mum who knows I love a kitchen gadget. As a result we've had a completely gluttonous summer of ice cream thinking up new flavours.

Of all our experiments, I think vanilla with turkish delight has been my favourite. It has to be real turkish delight, the kind that comes in big cubes covered in icing sugar, not the chocolate covered bar kind. The chocolate covered kind is good in ice cream too but you won't get the same amazing sticky mouthfeel you get from real turkish delight.

There are so many ice cream recipes out there to choose from but this one that has become my staple because it's dead easy and happily takes most additions and flavour you can concoct.

Simple vanilla ice cream

1 cup full cream milk
3/4 cup caster sugar
2 cups thick cream (or thereabouts - I usually buy a 600ml bottle of cream and just throw the whole lot in there)
1 tsp vanilla paste

Whisk sugar and milk until sugar is dissolved. Add cream and vanilla and whisk to combine.

Chill mixture for an hour or two then churn in ice cream maker.

While the ice cream is churning you can chop your turkish delight into little nuggets. This is not as easy as it sounds as this stuff is STICKY. I find keeping it in the fridge before and after helps. I use kitchen scissors to do the chopping and find rolling the cubes in icing sugar as you go helps a little bit too.

Once the ice cream is ready, add nuggets of turkish delight and mix gently. Then freeze.

After a few hours the rosewater from the turkish delight seems to infuse the whole tub and the blobs of turkish delight go all sort of sticky/chewy. So good.

Everyone should iron their own clothes

I baked this banana bread today after Husband and I had one of our recurring discussions about my disinclination to iron. He thinks 'the majority' of men in our position are getting their work shirts ironed for them. I call bullshit to this. Everyone should iron their own clothes. He does a better job at it than me anyway.

I think my inner 50's homemaker must have been offended by the intimation of inadequacy though so I baked banana bread. Ha. That'll teach him. It has chocolate and scotch in it. I've seen this recipe all over the webs lately but I used this one.

I ended up having a pretty bonkers housewifey day all over. In addition to keeping our Baby alive ALL DAY I made lots of puree food.

Stocked the pantry. Husband gets nervous when we don't have a lot of dry pasta in the cupboard. It's part of his apocalypse strategy.

Made a freaking meatloaf.

I know. I'm practically Betty Draper.

Without meaning to I basically dressed entirely in pyjamas, but apparently it is v.trendy.

I'm in a 30's bed jacket I've had forever, Bassike slouch pants and topshop slippers.

This is my current handbag obsession. Love.