Sunday, September 20, 2015

GRAB THE JAFFAS - WE’RE OFF TO THE MOVIES!




I wanted to Scream, but I was Breathless. I felt like a Trainwreck, and that’s putting it mildly!
During the previous week I’d been to Four Weddings and Funeral. Thank goodness they were all held in and around Notting Hill because I was staying there at the time. Even so, by the end of the week, to me, it had begun to feel like Groundhog Day. 

I had been on my way to 84 Charing Road to book into a hotel; however, fortunately, on the way I ran into Georgy Girl and Billy Elliott. They’d be attending the same events as I was. When they showed me Bridget Jones’s Diary that listed our busy schedules, they convinced me I should move closer to where the venue would be held, rather than having to travel back and forth.  While we chatted they also warned me not to have my hair done by Sweeney Todd, the Demon Barber of Fleet Street.

To top things off – just when I thought things couldn’t get any worse, or better, depending which way I looked at it – I attended Muriel’s Wedding, Betsy’s Wedding and My Best Friend’s Wedding, all on the same day! Tender Mercies!

I was home Before Sunrise, though, because I had to be out again Before Sunset to meet The Great Gatsby On Golden Pond where A River Runs Through It.  No Strings Attached. We’re Just FriendsNot Friends with Benefits.  I have to admit there was One Fine Day while on A Walk to Remember we did have a romantic Breakfast at Tiffany’s; but that was as far as our relationship went. They were Days of Heaven.  He wasn’t Just a Gigolo as some ignorantly judged him to be. He was an Officer and a Gentleman.

Fortunately, that year I was on a lengthy Summer Holiday and Wimbledon had been thrown into the mix!  Young Winston had been seeded to play. He was really Brassed Off when he lost in the first round. It had gotten to Match Point, and then, due to inexperience he caved in under the pressure.

After my good friend Sabrina and I returned from our Roman Holiday, Moonstruck by the experience, we promised we’d return again Same Time Next Year. Before leaving Italy we spent a few days Under the Tuscan Sun.  The Last Time I Saw Paris I made The Vow I’d return, but I never thought it’d be Midnight in Paris when I did!

Regardless of the time, feeling carefree, I ran Barefoot in the Park, and then across Waterloo Bridge. 

I’m a Funny Girl, I know - but What’s New, Pussycat?

I had Fun in Acapulco, too; a story for Another Time. After all, this is the real deal; it’s not an Imitation of Life. I intend to enjoy life to the utmost. Pride and Prejudice are not words in my vocabulary.  I made a Titanic decision ages ago any inhibitions I’d harboured were Gone with the Wind.

For Nine and a Half Weeks I’d been Sleepless in Seattle when a dear friend said to me, “Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner?” 

I replied I was Clueless.

She told me her friend Dr. Zhivago had arrived Out of Africa.  He’d spent a few years there gathering Water for Elephants. On his return trip, while travelling through Morocco, he stopped in Casablanca briefly. It was there, by chance, he found Captain Corelli’s Mandolin. He also ran into Anna Karenina and Madame Bovary. Those two girls certainly do get around!  Apparently, they’d been travelling with The Fabulous Baker Boys of all people!

A while later I met the Object of My Affection. It wasn’t just Love in the Afternoon.  Our meeting was Serendipity; nothing like When Harry Met Sally. Ours was a brief, but intense Love Story. It was An Affair to Remember.

Together, we shared a few Nights in Rodanthe. Before we left the Beaches for the Bridges of Madison County I took The Notebook from my purse.  On a page I wrote: “Remember Me, The Way We Were. P.S. I Love You.”. I placed the Message in a Bottle. I then threw it into the ocean at Wuthering Heights.

Love Actually hung around for a while. Mysteriously, I could sense the Ghost of not only Annie Hall, but of all the Women in Love. Crazy, Stupid Love! 

With no warning, Fast and Furious, Sunday Bloody Sunday arrived.
Abruptly The Days of Wine and Roses skidded to a halt.  I had no other choice but to leave for Mansfield Park where I was told by Shallow Hal to “Just Go With It - You Will Meet a Tall Dark Stranger”.

Proof it’s A Wonderful Life, Far from the Madding Crowd while en route to The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel I met The Man from Snow River aka The Horse Whisperer. He’d just arrived Home from the Hill.

Without hesitation I told him- “This is your Last Chance Harvey!”

It was like Finding Neverland or having 50 First Dates – or both!

Jaffa Cake: Blend or process zest of 6 oranges and 6 dates; peel oranges; blend with zest/dates to smooth paste.  Melt 50g butter, 50g coconut oil with 200g dark chocolate. Beat 4 eggs until thick; fold in 200g almond meal, paste and choc-butter. Pour into greased, lined tin; cook about 1-1/4hrs at 180C. Cool; spread with Jaffa Icing – process big handful macadamias until smooth butter. Add zest of ½ orange; add 1tbs coconut butter and 3tbs cacao powder; blend until smooth; ice cake.

Jaffa Loaf: Preheat oven 180C. Butter and line base of 1.2lt loaf tin. Place 140g softened butter, 200g S.R. flour, 1-1/2tsp baking powder, 200g golden caster sugar, 3 eggs, 6tbs milk and finely grated zest of 1 large orange in bowl; beat with hand whisk or wooden spoon, 3-5mins, until light and fluffy; spoon into tin; level top. Bake 40-50mins. Heat 3tbs orange juice and 50g golden caster sugar gently; stir until sugar dissolves. Remove cake from oven; spoon over the orange mix; leave to cool in tin; then remove from tin; cool on wire rack.  Melt 50g dark chocolate; drizzle over cake; leave to set.

Jaffa Crème Brulee: Preheat oven, 150C. Bring 300ml cream, 1c milk and 2x6cm long strips orange rind almost to the boil over med-heat; remove rind. Whisk 5 egg yolks and 1/3c caster sugar until well combined. Whisk cream mix into eggs; strain into jug; place 15g piece of dark chocolate in base of 4x185ml ramekins; pour in custard mixture. Place ramekins in roasting pan; add boiling water to halfway up sides; cook for about 35mins, until just set. Cool slightly; chill 4hrs; sprinkle raw sugar over custards; caramelise under grill or with blowtorch.   

Jaffa Fudge:  Line a small brownie tin with baking paper. Place 300g dark chocolate and 395g condensed milk in a glass bowl and microwave for one minute; or melt in bowl over water (the tried and true traditional method). Stir mixture until chocolate melts; stir through 1 cup of Jaffas.  Pour into prepared tin; chill until set. Slice and enjoy!

34 comments:

  1. Goodness gracious.
    I haven't seen any of these movies (a bit of Groundhog Day when it came on TV). Love the book of 84 Charing Cross Road, and the clever way you worked these titles in.
    It is years since I have had a Jaffa. And I am going to avoid these tempting recipes too. I don't need any more sugar. Or treat food.

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  2. None of them, EC? Not even "The Notebook" or "Four Weddings and a Funeral"? My goodness!

    Ahhh....have a treat! :)

    Thanks for coming by. :)

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    1. No, none of them. Movies just don't float my boat as a rule. And I would be impossible to watch a movie with too. If it is on DVD I like to stop and think about things...

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  3. I feel like I've been Around the World in Eighty Days, whew, slightly worn out keeping up with the scenes, and have not clue about jaffa cake or otherwise.

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    1. My jewish father always said that Sabra was the only kosher liqueur. I doubt that, but we often had a bottle of it at home.

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    2. It's a very tasty drop, EC. I might just shout myself a bottle for my birthday this year...or for Christmas. I've not thought about it for ages...until today. :)

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    3. All you have to do is read the recipes and you will, Linda! lol The combination of oranges/juice and chocolate is a wonderful combination. The name "Jaffa" come from the Jaffa oranges.


      If you like to have a liqueur with your after-dinner coffee at any time Sabra Chocolate liqueur is really, really nice. I've not had it in years...but I used to like it very much.

      " Sabra Chocolate Orange Liqueur:-

      Inspired by the country of Israel, Charles Bronfman, co-chairman of Seagrams, had the idea of producing a liqueur using the sabra cactus which grows in Israel and around the South East Mediteranean. He named the liqueur "Sabra" after a nickname for native Israelis - prickly outside but sweet on the inside. The primary flavour of Sabra is a rich, bitter-sweet chocolate. The dense chocolate is cut with the sweet and sour taste of oranges. Israel is famous for its citrus fruit, especially the Jaffa oranges which are relatively complex in taste being sweet and tart at the same time. Sabra has managed to maintain this complexity".
      :)
      Further information re Jaffa for your information, Linda: "Jaffa is the southern, oldest part of Tel Aviv-Jaffa (since 1950), an ancient port city in Israel. Jaffa is famous for its association with the biblical stories of Jonah, Solomon, and Saint Peter as well as the mythological story of Andromeda and Perseus.

      Until the mid-19th century, Jaffa's orange groves were mainly owned by Arabs, who employed traditional methods of farming. The pioneers of modern agriculture in Jaffa were American settlers, who brought in farm machinery in the 1850s and 1860s, followed by the Templers and the Jews. From the 1880s, real estate became an important branch of the economy. A 'biarah' (a watered garden) cost 100,000 piastres and annually produced 15,000, of which the farming costs were 5,000: 'A very fair percentage return on the investment.' Water for the gardens was easily accessible with wells between ten and forty feet deep. Jaffa's citrus industry began to flourish in the last quarter of the 19th century. E.C. Miller records that 'about ten million' oranges were being exported annually, and that the town was surrounded by 'three or four hundred orange gardens, each containing upwards of one thousand trees'.[ Shamuti oranges were the major crop, but citrons, lemons and mandarin oranges were also grown. Jaffa had a reputation for producing the best pomegranates.

      Modern Jaffa has a heterogeneous population of Jews, Christians, and Muslims. Jaffa currently has 46,000 residents, of whom 30,000 are Jews and 16,000 are Arabs."

      Thanks for coming by.[

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    4. My response might seem out of place...it's because I found a typo in my my original comment...so I corrected it...and that's why it now sits here....after Elephant Child's second comment. I hope you can follow what I'm saying. :)

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  4. Oh Lee that was impressive ! All those movies and those Jaffa recipes , thanks so much.

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    1. You're welcome Leisha...it's all a bit of light-hearted fun...we need more of that these days, I reckon. Thanks for coming by. :)

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  5. Those movies, well written.
    Gosh, all those recipes - how cool.

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    1. G'day Margaret....I'm glad you enjoyed my bit of nonsense...I hope you enjoy the goodies. Thanks for popping in. :)

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  6. I am totally gobsmacked! How do you do it? I have seen quite a few of the movies (and heard of most of them) but there is no way I would ever be able to weave them into a story. I love Jaffa Cakes (who doesn't?) and I love crème brûlée but I've never thought of mixing the two flavours (my crème brûlées are very boring). Actually when I first saw the title I was immediately transported back to NZ where a JAFFA is something quite different!

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    1. Hey Graham....I was in the mood for a bit of fun...and I had a lot of fun playing around with this fanciful tale. My mind works in mysterious ways! ;)

      I love Crème Brûlées...and they were always on my menus when I was cooking in restaurant. I love Crème Caramels, too....delicious desserts both of them.

      Thanks for coming by. :)

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  7. 100 movies in one post! Well done. A few of my favourites there too.
    Definitely going to try the Jaffa Fudge.
    I firmly believe Jaffas are the reason movie theatres were carpeted.

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    1. Hey there River...I got a bit carried away, didn't I? lol I was on a roll!

      You're probably right about the carpeting of pictures theatres....spoil sports!

      Thanks for coming by. :)

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  8. So many of my movie friends in there! I've never heard of Jaffas, but they sure look good!

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    1. Jaffas are/were wonderful, Lynn. And when we were kids going to the Saturday afternoon matinees it was great fun by some among the audience to roll Jaffas down the wooden floor of the picture theatre. Rattle, rattle, rattle...and then everyone would start giggling or laughing. A regular sport at the movies in those years of yore! It still remains a fond memory by us oldies of those years of yore, too! :)

      Thanks for coming by. :)

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  9. After reading what you have been going through, methinks Jaffa products might be more than I can handle!

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    1. I'm not sure what you thinks I've been going through, Jerry...but after tasting a Jaffa or two, you'll be screaming for "I'll have what she's having!"

      Thanks for coming by...I hope all is looking rosier for you these days. :)

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  10. I wonder whether they have jaffas in other countries and whether they roll them down the aisles. I think a visit to the Munro Theatre in Babinda is in order for the holidays.
    Have you seen the 'poor mans' alternative ~ they are called orange choc balls. A brand name works wonders for a product.
    You are very talented Lee ~ don't let anyone tell you otherwise. I hope this little exercise helped to lift that sadness.
    My two favourites are Out of Africa (I had a farm in Africa ...) and Under the Tuscan Sun (they built a tunnel before there was a train ..). But I may have missed my absolute favourite, The Way We Were (Babs and Robert Redford).

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    1. Hey Carol...Jaffas, an Aussie invention were introduced to the Aussie and Kiwi lolly markets in 1931. Nowadays in Australia they're made by Allens, a division of Nestles, and in NZ they're made by Cadbury, and the NZ ones are also exported to here. I never shop at Coles so I've not seen their generic "Choc Orange Balls". Apparently there are other fakes around, too!! How dare they??? :)

      Here's an interesting piece of trivia - "

      Quote:- "A number of Australian and New Zealand amateur sporting groups use Jaffas as a team name. In Dunedin, New Zealand every year a vast quantity of Jaffas are raced down Baldwin Street—the World's Steepest Street, as part of the Cadbury Chocolate carnival, which is held in conjunction with the New Zealand International Science Festival. The initial number of 20,000 Jaffas has now been increased to 30,000 Jaffas." End Quote

      I love "Out of Africa"...a truly wonderful movie. I have the DVD. "The Way We Were", too, is a favourite, and I have that on DVD, too. I've many favourites...some of which are mentioned in my ramblings above. :)

      I find that very interesting, you having once had a farm in Africa. I did not know; and am keen to learn more some day.

      Thanks for coming by. :)

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    2. Well I am sure you know I didn't really gave a farm in Africa. It is one of the lines from Karen Blixen aka Meryl Streep with her Danish accent. I have three drawers of DVDs that I haven't watched in years now. I have just given away my old TV and DVD player today because they weren't getting used. Who knows whether the DVDs will survive ~ not much sense me holding on to them. You can watch anything you want on You Tube these days.

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    3. Sorry, Carol...I misunderstood. I should've recognised the quote...I've watched the movie many times (and cried many times) and have read the book.

      I prefer watching movies and TV shows etc., on my TV...the big screen. Different strokes for different folks as the saying goes.

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  11. Very cleverly constructed you silly sausage Lee! Made me chuckle.
    By the way, I am impressed by your artwork - not such a silly sausage after all!

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    1. Aha! I may not be a silly sausage, but I did have sausages in mushroom, tomato and onion gravy yesterday for lunch, Yorkie!! :)

      I'm glad you had a chuckle at my little bit of nonsense...it was meant to raise a smile or three.

      Thanks for dropping by. :)

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  12. OMG, I'm so distracted by the delish food photos.

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  13. Tuck in, Lux! Don't let it go to waste!

    Thanks for coming by. :)

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  14. Those pills the doctor gave you, were you meant to have them all at one time...?

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    1. Yep! I was, Mr. Ad-Man...they were rich chocolate, coated in a an orange-red crunchy lolly outer. Yummy! I couldn't help eating them all in one go!

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    2. Sadly, feeling as I have been this week, I have eaten my way through three such bags of various types when I ought to be avoiding them mostly.

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  15. Lee,
    You crack me up, you are so clever! I wrote something like this once, when I accidentally took too many of my steroid tablets! Love Jaffa cakes in England, your recipes look great.

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    1. Once I get on a roll, Kay...and I'm not talking about a Swiss Roll or a bread roll, there is no stopping me...well, there is, but you know what I mean! I could be still going in with the tale if I'd not stopped myself...and swallowing Jaffas by the packetful! :)

      Thanks for coming by. :)

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  16. We don't have Jaffas here...now I am hungry after reading your post!

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