Robbie Cheadle's Blog, page 49

Robbie’s Inspiration – Recipes from around the world: Oxtail casserole with red wine

My husband is an oxtail stew fan and he has passed his enjoyment of this meal on to our sons. They all asked me to make oxtail casserole in red wine sauce for our Easter celebration. Luckily, my mom and dad like this dish too. It was quite a hit with my sister and her family and her 3 year old asked for a second helping.

Ingredients

Olive oil

2.6 kg oxtail

2 onions, chopped

1 Tbspn garlic flakes

4 carrots peeled and chopped

2 Tbspn tomato paste

5 ml thyme

4 bay leaves

zest of 1/2 medium lemon

2 tsp sticky brown sugar

1 1/2 cups red wine

400 gram tin chopped tomato

6 1/2 cups beef stock

1/2 cup plain flour

Salt and pepper

8 mielies, quartered

Method

Pre-heat the oven to 180 degrees Celsius. Grease a large casserole dish.

Mix flour, salt and pepper in a bowl and then coat the oxtail with the mixture. Heat 2 Tbspn olive oil in a large pot and brown the oxtail, transferring it from the pot to the casserole dish when done. Add two Tbspn boiling water to the pot to lift the excess flour. Add more oil and fry the onions for 5 minutes. Add the carrots and fry for another 5 minutes. Add the tomato paste, garlic, lemon zest, and thyme. Add the red wine and allow to reduce for 5 minutes.

Add the tinned tomato, beef stock, bay leaves, and sugar. Bring to the boil. Carefully pour the liquid into the casserole dish. Add the chopped mielies.

Place in the oven and cook for three hours. Remove from oven and add 2 cups of beef stock, return to the oven. After another hour, reduce the temperature to 150 degrees Celsius and cook for another 2 hours.

I served this dish with rice and potato and eggplant bake.

Growing Bookworms – Sir Chocolate Saves Easter #SirChocolateStory #Childrensfiction

I am over at Writing to be Read for this month’s Growing Bookworks post with a Sir Chocolate Easter story and some ideas for painting candy coated chocolate Easter eggs. Thanks for hosting, Kaye Lynne Booth.

Writing to be Read

Easter is around the corner and it is a time for spending time with family. If you are Christian, it is also an important religious holiday. I thought it would be nice to share a Sir Chocolate story with you today. It’s called Sir Chocolate Saves Easter and you can download it as a PDF here: https://robbiesinspiration.wordpress.com/free-story-sir-chocolate-saves-easter/

Fun Easter activity

Painting Easter eggs with food colouring is great fun. I used the white candy coated ‘hens’ eggs for this activity and liquid food colouring. Be careful to use aprons as the food colouring stains. Here are the Easter eggs some of the children in my Sunday School painted a few years ago.

About Robbie Cheadle

Robbie Cheadle is a South African children’s author and poet with 9 children’s books and 2 poetry books.

The 7 Sir Chocolate children’s picture books, co-authored by Robbie and Michael Cheadle, are written in sweet…

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Robbie’s Inspiration – Recipes from around the world: Supa Topcheta (Bulgarian Meatball soup)

Last week I was reading one of Carol Taylor‘s excellent World Cuisines posts about Bulgaria. In this fascinating post, Carol mentioned a Bulgarina Meatball soup called Supa Topcheta. Her comments interested me sufficiently to look up the recipe and I decided to have a go at making it with a few Robbifications. This was the outcome:

Ingredients

For the meatballs:

1 kilogram minced beef mince;

2 eggs;

15 ml (1 Tbspn) garlic flakes;

30 ml (2 Tbspn) sweet paprika;

1 large onion diced into small pieces;

5 ml ground white pepper;

5 ml salt;

1/2 cup of cake flour

For the soup (mine was a stew):

4 stalks celery chopped;

4 large carrots chopped;

700 grams baby potatoes (cut in half);

8 cups beef stock;

1 cup (250 ml) Greek yogurt;

45 ml (3 Tbspn cornflour);

15 ml (1 Tbspn) parsley

10 ml salt

Method:

To make the meatballs:

Place the minced meat in a bowl. Add the chopped onion, sweet paprika, garlic flakes, salt and pepper and mix. Add the two eggs and mix until completely blended. Sprinkle the flour on a plate. Roll the meat mixture into 2 cm round balls and roll in the flour. Set aside.

Heat 2 Tbspn olive oil in a frying pan and fry the meatballs until the are approximately half cooked.

Make the stew:

Heat 2 Tbspn olive oil in a heavy based pot on the stovetop. Sauté the onions for 5 minutes.

Add the celery, carrots and parsely and cook for a further 5 minutes. Add the beef stock and then the potatoes and black pepper. Bring to the boil. Turn down to a simmer and leave for 25 to 30 minutes.

Add the half cooked meatballs and bring back to the boil. Place the cornflour in a mug and add 100 ml broth from the stew. Mix well. Pour the mixture into the stew and incorporate. Simmer for a further 15 to 20 minutes.

Remove from heat and allow to cool. Add the cup of yogurt and stir through. Serve.

Poetry Treasures 2: Available now!

Thank you to Kaye Lynne Booth for compiling and editing Poetry Treasures 2: Relationships, Teagan Riordain Geneviene for the amazing cover, and all the wonderful contributors for their amazing poems.

Writing to be Read

Yes! It’s finally here.

If, like me, you thoroughly enjoy Robbie Cheadle’s “Treasuring Poetry” blog series and can’t wait for her posts to come out each month, then you’ll be as excited as I am to learn that Poetry Treasures 2: Relationships is available at your favorite book distributors now!

Relationships are golden and each of

Arthur Rosch, Elizabeth Merry, D Avery, Robbie Cheadle, Harmony Kent, Lauren Scott, JulesPaige ,

Leon Stevens, Colleen M. Chesebro, Miriam Hurdle,

M JMallon, and Lynda McKinney Lambert

pay poetic tribute to their most intense

personal moments.

That’s right folks. Now you can get this wonderful collection of poetic gems by Robbie and her 2021 “Treasuring Poetry” guests all in one place. We’ll be doing a book blog tour April 25 – May 1 so you can learn more about the amazing treasures contained within, but you don’t have to wait.

Just click on the

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Robbie’s Inspiration – Poems about pain

This morning I was reading a post by my blogging friend, Bella, over at Thoughts ‘n Life blog. Her post was about how people have to learn to deal with everything life throws us on our journey. You can read Bella’s post here: https://thoughtsnlifeblog.com/2022/04/05/you-can-face-anything/. Her comments made me think about pain, especially chronic pain, and learning to live with it.

I have recorded two poems, one is called In School and is from Susan Coolidge’s delightful book, What Katy Did. The other is one of my own poems from my book, Open a new door, called Pain.

I hope you appreciate these poetic offerings.

Coming soon

Kaye Lynne Booth and I, together with 11 talented poets, have been working on a new collection of poetry by contributors to our Treasuring Poetry blog series from 2021.

The cover design is by creative dynamo, Teagan Riordain Geneviene.

Robbie’s Inspiration – Recipes from Around the World and a Book Review: The Magic Blanket by Judy Mastrangelo

Talented artist and writer, Judy Mastrangelo, has a delightful new book out. This one includes a wonderful story for children, illustrated with Judy’s fantastic illustrations, as well as some games for children and even a recipe for Honey Shortbread.

The Magic BlanketWhat Amazon says

Amy’s fantastical adventure begins when her Mother gives her a Magic Blanket that she decorated with pictures of a Wondrous Dream World. As Amy goes to bed that night, a little Elf hops out of the Blanket and asks her to go with him on an exciting voyage to this Fairy Tale Realm. She happily agrees, and upon arrival, he introduces her to the Royal King and Queen, and other whimsical little people, who invite Amy to see their incredible “Enchanted Land”. The two friends attend a Fairy Ball, go to Musical Performances of Frogs and Crickets, enjoy a delicious Mushroom Tea Party with tiny Woodland Creatures, and play tag with Pegasus as they fly through the Stars. Among other wonderful things, they also visit the Man in the Moon, slide down a Rainbow, and visit the lovely Lullaby Lady, who watches over little Children sleeping in the Clouds.

When Amy returns home from her delightful journey, she learns that, in her Mind, she can create an amazing, happy, and beautiful World of Dreams to visit at any time. Her Mother’s Magic Blanket was an entrance to this “Enchanted Land”, which is a Realm where Goodness Reigns, and all who are kindhearted are welcome to enter.

Children and Parents alike will love reading this Fairy Tale book together, with its charming illustrations and captivating adventures. And since this is part of Judy’s series of “Come Play With Me” books, along with the story, it also contains several engaging, fun filled, and Artistic things to do. Some of these Activities are: Baking Yummy Cookies, Coloring Pages, Performing a Play, Learning the Magic of Colors, and Painting Rainbows and Scenes from your Imagination.

My review

The Magic Blanket is a delightful story filled with fantasy creatures and magical events. A young human girl is given a beautiful blanket made by her mother. It is a magical blanket and if she believes in good magic, wonderful adventures await her. That evening, when the little girl goes to sleep, an elf from her blanket comes to life and offers to take her with him to Fantasy Land. The pair set off on a wonderful adventure and meet all sorts of interesting people.

My favourites were Sugar and Lollipop, a pair of imps who work as court jesters for the king and queen.

The book is filled with the most extraordinary artworks by the author. They are imaginative and brightly coloured and adults and children alike will love them. The last part of the book contains some fun and imaginative ideas for children’s play activities. There are also some design for children to colour in and even a recipe for honey shortbread.

Another beautiful creation by talented artist and children’s book author, Judy Mastrangelo.

Purchase links

Hardcover

Kindle

My recipe for Honey and Almond Shortbread

This is my recipe for Honey and Almond Shortbread. It isn’t the recipe in Judy’s book because I was compelled to Robbify it because that is what I do with recipes [I can’t help myself].

Ingredients

100 grams almond slivers

600 grams cake flour

110 grams sticky brown sugar

110 grams honey

360 grams cornflour

500 grams melted butter

Method

Heat the oven to 180 degrees Celsius. Mix cake flour, cornflour, sticky brown sugar, and almond slivers. Make a hole in the mixture. Melt the butter and pour into the hole in the mixture. Mix until all the dry ingredients are fully incorporated. Add the honey and mix well.

Scoop the mixture into prepare round baking tins and press flat. Prick with a fork up and down the flattened mixture. Bake for 40 minutes until golden brown and cooked through. Remove from oven and allow to cool slightly. cut into triangular slice while still warm. Sprinkle with castor sugar. Serve.

Robbie’s Inspiration – Covid and spiders – The Spider Ball poem

Go away Covid

Just over two weeks ago, my husband was diagnosed with Covid. We are all vaccinated and my mom had recently received her booster shot. Michael had his second jab in January. The days following Terence’s diagnosis were anxious for me as I waited to see which of us would succumb to the virus and how bad it would be.

Terence had a few days of bad cold symptoms and recovered. Michael managed to escape the dreaded lurgy (well, he had two tests and both were negative but he had an ‘unknown’ virus and spent a week coughing himself silly. He is on cortisone again!) Mom and Dad escaped virtually unscathed, only suffering mild fatigue.

Greg and I, well we got enough symptoms for everyone. I shouldn’t complain because I’m sure we had Omicron and it’s nothing compared to Delta, but ‘nothing’ is relative, especially if you are inputting into the structuring of a complex transaction and can’t take time off work. It’s 14 days since Greg and I tested positive and we are still coughing and spluttering though our days and having to rest during the day. Ugh! I hate wasting time resting. At least the miserable chronic back and other pain is gone. My goodness, that was not fun. I was forced to lie down on my back as I just couldn’t sit anymore after about 2 hours. Hence my FB comment that using mild together with Covid is an oxymoron. This ‘mild’ virus can still knock you for a loop. Anyhow, this is my story and it’s the reason I’m a bit behind with everything and haven’t posted much over the past two weeks.

Onwards and upwards

Anyhow, Greg and I are on the mend now and our energy levels are rising. Enough for me to squeeze in a new poem inspired by a post from lovely blogger, Lauren Scott, over at Baydreamer blog. If you don’t know Lauren, do go over and meet her; she has a lovely blog full of poetry and adventures and she has some lovely books too.

The post in question was about my favourite insect, spiders! Lots of people don’t like spiders, but I find them very interesting. I have respect for them as some are poisonous, but I don’t kill them or run screaming down the passage [except for one time when I accidently stepped on a rain spider as big as my hand walking down the corridor in the dark. It want crunch under my foot and that is not a good memory for me].

You can read Lauren’s spider post here: https://baydreamerwrites.com/2022/03/29/one-minute-of-freedom/

Here is my spider poem. It’s called The Spider Ball and I have a few pictures to go with it.

The Spider ball 

Behind a rotting ball 

A misshapen ball 

It pulses with life; dark silhouettes wriggling 

Protected by soft web 

A spider’s life work 

*** 

In the dimness they grow 

Increasing in strength 

Those with greater confidence start to explore 

Running along the threads 

Pushing boundaries 

*** 

Ready for life alone 

They prepare to leave 

Climbing up high they release several strands 

And float gently away 

Life’s an adventure 

Just in case you are wondering. This board was in our yard and I kept the spider nest hidden from the spider hating killers in my house. They did fly away and several found their way into the house. One or two into my bed. Luckily, I am blameless for this in the eyes of my Arachnophobic husband because only you and I know the real story of the survival of the spiders and he doesn’t like poetry [smile].

Robbie’s Inspiration – Recipes from around the world: GreeK Moussaka

I have been planning to make traditional Greek Moussaka for some time, but the recipes were fairly varied and I wanted a proper Greek recipe. I found this one: https://www.mygreekdish.com/recipe/mousakas/ and adapted it to my family’s requirements.

Fellow blogger, John Rieber, films steps in his recipes. I decided to follow in his footsteps and do the same. John has a great series where he is making an interesting dish every week. You can find the latest post here: https://johnrieber.com/2022/03/23/pulled-pork-pasta-in-almond-cream-sauce-recipe-my-52-in-22-cooking-challenge-has-me-cooking-under-fire/

Preparing the egg plant and potatoes

I followed the advice of the recipe above with preparing the egg plant and potatoes. First, I sliced the four large egg plants I had into thick slices, rinsed them in water, salted each slice and lay them in the colander for 30 minutes.

I then peeled 1 kilogram of potatoes, sliced them thickly and rinsed off the starch.

I heated the oven to 200 degrees Celsius, greased two baking pans and when the egg plant was ready, I layered the slices of egg plant and potato in the pans, sprinkled them with black pepper and drizzled olive oil over them. I then baked them for 45 minutes in my oven, turning them every 15 minutes (the original recipes baked them for a much shorter time) to part cook them. The potato and egg plant was only just cooked when I served the dish so a shorter time wouldn’t have worked well. Next time, I will parboil the potatoes to speed up the cooking process.

Making the mince sauce

While the potato and egg plant rounds were baking, I made the mince sauce. I chopped 2 medium sized onions and sauteed them in olive oil with 1 Tbspn of garlic flakes, 1 Tbspn of sweet basil, 5 ml rosemary, 5 ml of salt, and 10 ml of black pepper. I then added I kilogram of beef mince and browned it for about 15 minutes. I poured in one cup (250 ml) of red wine and allowed the sauce to simmer for 15 minutes, stirring from time-to-time. I then added two cans of chopped Italian tomatoes and left the sauce to simmer until it thickened (about 30 minutes).

Making the Greek white sauce

I made the white sauce the Greek way which reduced the flour and thickened with egg yolks instead.

I melted 120 grams of butter in a medium sized pot. I then added 150 ml of cake flour and mixed a thick paste. I slowly added one litre of cold milk, whisking continuously. I added 5 ml salt and 10 ml black pepper.

I beat three large egg yolks in a bowl and added 5 ml nutmeg. When the sauce started to thicken and the milk was heated, I added the egg mixture slowly, whisking all the time. Once the egg is added, the sauce thickens very quickly and becomes very creamy.

Assembling the dish

I greased a large baking pan and layered the bottom with the potato slices. I covered the potatoes with a layer of egg plant. Next, I poured the mince over the egg plant and patted it flat with the back of a large spoon. I then did another layer of egg plant and topped it with the white sauce.

Finally, I covered the white sauce with a layer of cheddar cheese (that’s the cheese I had on hand) and baked it in the oven for 40 minutes.

New banners for YT Channel

The lovely Bella from Thoughts ‘n Life blog has created some wonderful banners for my YT Channel. This is the first one which I will be using for April:

You can find out more about Bella’s graphics service here: https://thoughtsnlifeblog.com/services/

Robbie’s Inspiration – Book review: Billy Bean’s Ghost by John York

What Amazon says

Billy Bean lives alone in the small attic apartment of an old, unoccupied mansion. His cheap rent is subsidized by an agreement to watch over the place while the owner is away. A bank teller and chronic introvert, Billy’s life is one boring, mind-numbing day after another. Since the age of four, at the exclusion of all the normal social interaction of activities other children his age enjoyed, he worked toward becoming a concert pianist. But, at age 18, after the horrific death of his father and then a rejection from the San Francisco Music Conservatory, Billy had plunged into a deep depression. He no longer felt the passion, the drive, or the need to play the piano, so he quit.
During his weekly inspections of the old mansion, Billy discovers a treasure, a beautiful Steinway concert grand piano. He is so inspired by the magnificent instrument that he tentatively begins playing again, but there is a slight catch. Each time he plays this marvelous piano, he hears an imploring voice inside his head.
The mysterious voice compels Billy to visit psychiatrist, Abigale Applebee, who agrees to help him sort out what kind of mental health problem he’s experiencing. They soon discover the voice is not the result of a psychosis, but rather something far more sinister. Led by the voice, Abby and Billy unexpectedly uncover the horrific secrets of a long-forgotten cellar below the house. But who is going to believe them?

My review

I reviewed this book in my capacity as a member of Rosie’s Book Review Team. If you would like your book reviewed, you can contact Rosie Amber here: http://rosieamber.wordpress.com/.

I chose to read this book because I was attracted to the blurb which made it sound like a fun and light hearted read. I was not disappointed. Although this is a murder mystery novella it is told in a delightfully enjoyable manner.

Billy Bean is a young man who has been disappointed by life. His father died in a nasty work accident when he was young and his mother is over-bearing and a bit clingy. Billy flung himself into his music and piano playing as a way of dealing with his grief over his father unexpected death. When he failed to gain acceptance to a well known music school, he’s life fell apart and he spiraled into a depression. He undertook tertiary training in finance and is working as a bank teller at the beginning of the story. He finds the work mundane and unrewarding, but it pays his bills and allows him to live in a small apartment attached to a large and empty manor house.

In exchange for a reduced rental, Billy is responsible for looking over the house on a weekly basis to ensure there are no issues that require attention. The house is creepy as most of the furniture is covered with sheeting and some of the rooms are locked. Billy discovers a beautiful piano in one of the rooms and is drawn to it. He succumbs to temptation and starts playing the piano. Before long, Billy starts hearing a voice in his head asking him for help.

Naturally, Billy thinks he is having some sort of break down and he seeks medical assistance from a newly establish psychiatrist, Abigail Applebee. Gradually, it becomes clear to them both that something strange is going on in the manor house and the pair set out to unravel the mystery together.

I enjoyed the character of Billy Bean and felt sorry for the disappointment he had suffered. He was a kind soul and just needed a break to come out of his shell and show his true colours. His romance with Abigail, who sees past his shyness to the lovely person inside, is sweet and feel-good.

Abbie and Billy’s romance and the unravelling of the mystery of the mysterious voice go hand in hand and lead to a lot of personal development by Billy. His relationship with Abbie, who has been neglected by both her parents her whole life, gives him a new perspective on his own relationship with his mother and he comes to appreciate how much she cares for him. Abbie also helps him to take a step towards reigniting his musical career by performing for his mother and her neighbours.

This is an entertaining book and the author’s style of writing is interesting and enjoyable. I would recommend this book to people who enjoy a lighter styled mystery story.

Purchase Billy Bean’s Ghost

Amazon US

John York’s Goodread’s Page

Celebrating Women of Excellence #IntlWomensHistoryMonth, Day 4 @RobertaEaton17 @bakeandwrite @NonnieJules @RRBC_Org #RRBC

Thank you Nonnie Jules from Rave Reviews Book Club for honouring me with this special post as part of her Celebrating Women of Excellence series for International Women’s History Month.

Watch Nonnie Write!

Today I’m celebrating…

AUTHOR, ROBBIE CHEADLE

NJ:  Hi, Robbie!  Thanks for joining me today!  First, a few questions to warm the atmosphere and for us to learn some things we probably don’t know about you.  I’m short on time and I’m sure you are, too, so let’s make this a quick one.  First question… when is your birthday?

Robbie:  February 22

NJ: If you have siblings, which child are you (first, second, third, etc.)?

Robbie:  First

NJ:  When did you begin writing?

Robbie:  I have been writing about different things, on and off, since I was 12 years old.

NJ:  Why did you begin writing?

Robbie:  As a youngster, I wrote because I wanted to capture beautiful sights with lovely imagery. At work, I started writing non-fiction publications to share knowledge and opinions. In 2015, I started writing poetry and descriptive passages again and in…

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