experimenting- sometimes it pays off and sometimes…

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Sometimes my experimenting in the kitchen pays off, sometimes…not quite so much.

Take it from me, mashed wasabi potatoes with purple carrots doesn’t work. It should have, but it didn’t. It really, really didn’t work.

I should have taken a picture of the gluey mess that this dish was. Just for the comedic value of how badly  it lay on our plates. I’m not sure what was the clincher, but it was like eating funny tasting soupy playdough. (With out the fun of having played with it before hand.)

The Monkeys refused to go near it, purple wasn’t for them. Mr Chocolate bravely tried to plod through it until I told it was ok, he really didn’t have to be so brave.  I also gave up after the multiple sips of water in between, just trying to get the sucker down.

So no, I won’t be trying that one again, (and perhaps I shouldn’t have been experimenting on Mr Chocolate’s birthday.)

Lucky for me (and lucky for everyone else involved) these scrolls I have also been experimenting with lately didn’t have the same effect as the purple wasabi playdough.

Pesto Parmesan Scrolls

150g starter

1 tsp yeast

60mls tepid water

100g melted butter

125mls milk

1 1/4 salt

3 cups flour (450g)

pesto

parmesan

Add starter, yeast and water-  together. Whisk and leave for an hour or so. Mix remaining ingredients together and then knead for 5 minutes on a lightly floured surface or until well incorporated and dough is smooth. Leave to prove for a couple of hours. Roll out to a rectangle. Spoon pesto on, grate some parmesan. Roll up dough, slice into portions. Place on a lined tray, allow to prove for another hour or so. Bake at 190 for 20-25 minutes.

44 thoughts on “experimenting- sometimes it pays off and sometimes…”

  1. These look great…every now and then I convince myself the family is bored with my cooking and try something sure to fail, last week it was a chicken and sausage jambalaya. Looked so mushy and awful the kids just dug their heels in and wouldn’t give it a go…all that effort! Hope mr chocolate had another special birthday treat.

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  4. Oh the humble scroll……you can pack anything into these babies and pretty much get away with it. We love them here too, especially for the lunch box……yours look so yum!

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  5. I made this – but rather than scrolls- made a filled bread. Everyone loved it- but I think they would have enjoyed the scrolls even more.
    It is a brave women who admits to her awful meals/experiments.

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  6. oh I know that feeling. Funnily enough one of my dissapointments was trying to roast purple potatoes – I think these varieties of veg that we don’t eat common take us out of our comfort zone and we need to experiment to work out how they are best used. But the scrolls look delicious – I am wishing you had had those on the night of the bad mash to compensate 🙂

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  7. Ah yes, we have many disasters around here too but I tend to sweep them into the bin and quickly move on. Your parmesan scrolls look fabulous and I can think of so many things I could serve those with – soups, risottos, pastas – you’re inspiring me for what I should cook for dinner! xx

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  9. We all have those little disasters. If you doint have disasters then your not creating… never mind your scrolls have more than made up for it
    www://mykitchenstories.com.au

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  14. I am giggling a little at the failed experimenting…although as you note, really, not a thing for birthdays!! At least these worked out beautifully. You win some and lose some I suppose – if nothing else, it keeps the experimenting exciting, and makes the wins all the more enjoyable 🙂

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  15. Teehee! Thanks for the giggle. I take my hat off to you, mother with newborn who can keep a sourdough starter alive and frothing while over here, it lasts a few bakes until it is sadly nudged towards the back of the fridge..*again*.. only to repeat the whole process again. sigh.

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  16. we have so much happy basil in our garden but alas our blender has just started to make strange noises, smell very bad, and smoke just a little bit too much. so until i get a replacement we’re having ‘deconstructed pesto’.

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  17. Parallel baking… I had some purple potatoes that I grew last year, really really purple and I tried to mash them to make gnocchi and it was disastrous. What is it about purple veggies eh? And yesterday I rolled up some garlic pesto in a roll only I baked it whole, think I should have sliced it like you do, they look just great Brydie. I want your scrolls 🙂 🙂

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    • See visually, purple gnocchi would be awesome! Which was the effect I was trying to go for with the mashed potato…alas it wasn’t to be.
      …and always happy to share my scrolls with you. When shall I expect you? 🙂

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  18. Phew! I was dismayed when I saw your photos.. I thought, “No.. don’t let it be these that don’t taste good… they’re so beautiful” Lol.. glad to hear they were a smashing success.. unlike your purple carrots!!

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  19. Yummy! They look scrumptious. Thanks for telling us about your cooking disasters too ….I am glad someone else experiments with stuff- now I don’t feel so silly about putting a vitamin C tablet in something when I ran out of oranges for a recipe (it was a long time ago ,but I still get teased about it)

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  20. cool you shared the story of the disaster here. next time I want to see the pictures 🙂 lovely buns

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  21. For some reason I’ve always been a little scared of baking scrolls. They looks so simple and easy, but I can imagine having a pile of ugly shapes on my hands.

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