Yes, I want to see the dessert menu!

Happy Australia Day!

2009-01-26T12:33:00.003+11:00

Wishing you all a happy and safe Australia Day! I hope you are all celebrating with friends and/or family and enjoying the day.

I have fond memories of an Australia Day that I spent in Leicester, England. I went to work in my Aussie flag t-shirt, and took an Aussie flag to hang on the wall behind me. I then had to explain to every customer that I served that day what it was all about! The night ended with my flatmate (also Aussie) and myself drinking a couple of VB's that he had found and sharing a packet of Twisties! It was a brilliant day! So no matter how you are celebrating today, I hope it is full of fun and laughter.

Do you like chilli?

2009-01-19T12:47:00.004+11:00

These are the chillies that hang above the bench in my parents' kitchen. Every single one of them was grown in the backyard, but as they can't eat them as quickly as they grow, they are sewn onto a string and hung in the kitchen to dry. Don't they look awesome?!

She's My Cherry Pie

2009-01-18T19:29:00.004+11:00

"Tastes so good makes a grown man cry..."

Summer means a few things to me... hot hot weather, bugs, sunburn, jealousy that everyone else got holidays and fresh stone fruit. Cherries are something my family associates with Christmas particularly.
December was the last Grower's Market for the year. Greeting me when I walked in was this delicious pile of cherries. How could I resist? And with a simply enormous box for only $10, I snapped some up before they sold out.

When I got them home, BF asked if I could make cherry pie. I have never made one before, so set about searching for a recipe. Sadly, almost every recipe I found called for canned cherries, so I decided to make it up myself!

I have never made a lattice top pie, so you will notice that the two individual pies look rather different as I was experimenting! The pies were lovely, however, there was not much of a saucey consistency to the filling. Next time, I would prefer a more liquidy filling... do you have a recipe that you love? If anyone has a recipe they have used for a cherry pie with FRESH cherries (please no can fillings!), can you please post a link in the comments? I would love to see it!

Thin lattice (I like this one better)

I used this pastry base, and lined two individual pie tins with pastry. Pop the rest back in the fridge whilst you bake the bases.

Whilst the dough is in the fridge, remove the pits from 1 cup of cherries, and mix in a bowl with 2 tsp castor sugar, a good shake of cinnamon, and a splash of lemon juice. Leave to marinate whilst you bake the tart shells.

Thick lattice

Just before filling the cases, mix a small pinch cornflour through the cherries. Fill the cases with cherry mix, then use strips of pastry to form a lattice, pushing the edges onto the base.

Cook in oven at 180C for about 20 minutes and enjoy!

Peanut Butter M&Ms!

2009-01-10T10:22:00.003+11:00

I am going through a bit of a peanut butter phase at the moment. Lashings of crunchy peanut butter and honey on my toast to start the day. Brilliant chocolate peanut butter fudge that I couldn't help but keep most to myself. And then I found these...
So so good! The usual candy shell, but in the centre of the chocolate was peanut butter! My new favourite M&Ms!
Since finding these, I have found lots of other peanut butter goodies - Reece's Pieces, Peanut Butter Cups, even white chocolate Peanut Butter Cups! But alas, still no sign of peanut butter chips in Sydney. The search continues...

By popular demand *well, friend FFichiban!* here are places in Sydney that sell these yummy morsels.

The British Lolly Shop

Sugar Hit

Both are good stores, but Sugar Hit is 3 times the size and sells every US food imaginable... except peanut butter chips :(

Christmas Celebrations Continue...

2009-01-06T12:49:00.005+11:00

So after all the excitement of the Sydney Chicken Christmas Dinner, how does one continue celebrating? Easy! Head down to our hometown of Melbourne, for not one, not two, but THREE more Christmas dinners! Phew!

Me with no idea of how to cut a lobster!

First up was Christmas Day lunch. It was a delicious cold spread, consisting of lobster, prawns with avocado cream, ham, pork, tomatoes topped with pesto and bocconcini, cucumber topped with crab, fresh crusty bread, Christmas cake, pudding, fresh berries, custard and cream. Wow - I am full again just thinking about it! We spent lunch time relaxing with BF's family (those that were still in the country!) and drinking a lot of wine!

Table setting at Mum and Dad's

Then came Christmas Day dinner! We set off to my parents' house, where the three courses are always eaten at a relaxed pace, as they know we are all already stuffed from lunch!

Starter, light and refreshing

Entree was a simple, yet delicious salad of mixed leaves, pinenuts, cherry tomatoes, proscuitto and goats' fetta. The leaves and tomatoes were fresh from the garden that afternoon!

Dad preparing the bbq

Main was roast lamb, marinated with garlic and rosemary, and cooked on the barbeque.

Mmm... rare meat!

Dad was in charge of mains, so his side was potato, green beans, cherry tomatoes, olives and anchovies, roasted in the oven - yum!

Main by Dad

We followed this with dessert of more pudding and custard! And Christmas night always ends still sitting at the dinner table 5 hours after we started eating, drinking wine and laughing the night away.

Pudding with custard - my favourite!

The third Christmas meal was with the extended family - and was a HUGE buffet of roast pork, ham, Lebanese sausages, marinated chicken, whole snapper with tahini, four different salads, roast potatoes, mango salsa, apple sauce... the list goes on and on. The best part of this day was meeting my new cousin Belle, born just a few weeks before Christmas!

Belle

Our trip home was packed with fun, food, family and friends. Along with the above, there were BBQ's, yum cha, cricket... it goes on! I'm glad to see that all of you had a great time this Christmas, and hope that the new year brings you all health and happiness!

The 2nd Annual Sydney Chicken Christmas Dinner

2008-12-24T10:40:00.004+11:00

Every year for the past 12 years, a friend of ours has thrown a Christmas party. It is a major event on our calendar, about 30 of us get together and spend the afternoon/night eating, drinking and being merry.

When we moved to Sydney last year, we were the 3rd couple from our group living here. Work commitments meant that none of us would make it to Melbourne for the annual, and seeing it was the first Christmas in Sydney for both Sis and MJ, and BF and I, the 6 of us decided to start our own Sydney tradition.
You would think that between Sis and I, we would work at whipping up a big fancy feast, but no. The other couple, SteveKat, were moving back to Melbourne just before Christmas, and MJ had been raving about this amazing chicken takeaway that he and Sis had found just near their house. Boys being boys, Steve decided that he MUST try said chicken before leaving Sydney. Thus, The Sydney Chicken Christmas Dinner was born.

This year, there were just the four of us, and Sampson (Sis' cat!). After the craziness of December, it is nice to just relax with some good takeaway, a beer or two, a bottle of wine, and good company.
I know, you want to know about the food - barbeque chicken, hot chips, tabouli, toum and chilli sauce. MJ always makes sure to get extra toum and chilli sauce because we eat so much of it! Toum is a deliciously creamy garlic sauce made mostly from garlic and oil, is very pungent and addictive. A rather modest spread for Christmas, but a new tradition. It also means that by the time we all make it to Melbourne (I fly tonight!) that we have not overdone the Christmas foods early.

Sampson getting into the spirit

I'm off to finish packing now - wishing you all a very Merry Christmas full of laughter, fun and food!

The Twice (!) Baked, Not Quite Souffle, Lemon Mousse

2008-12-21T20:34:00.007+11:00

Confused?

The highlight of our dinner with Sis and MJ was supposed to be dessert. I know what you are thinking - after homemade pasta with rabbit sauce, it was the dessert that is the hightlight? But I was in the mood to impress.

Dessert did impress. But not for the right reasons! It was supposed to be lemon souffle. Not the easiest dessert to make (and definitely the hardest to photograph - apologies for the dodgy shots! They sank sooo quickly!) I got the recipe from a Commercial Cookery text book, and forgot that the cooking times would have been for an industrial fan-forced combi-oven. Basically, I should have doubled the cooking time for my home oven!

After we put them back in the oven - note spoonful missing!

I did make the mixture correctly, and had I cooked them for the appropriate time (24 minutes) I think they would have been great. Unfortunately I didn't realise my mistake until we had eaten them! I first took them out after 13 minutes, served them, and after 1 spoonful realised they were undercooked. Sis and I put ours back in the oven, but BF and MJ were enjoying their lemon "mousse" so much that they declined the extra cooking time! After 4 more minutes, Sis and I took ours back out - the edges where much more souffle-like, but the centres were still completely mousse-like. Ah well, we ate them anyway! And for warm lemon mousse, they were rather nice!

After the second bake!

I'll put the recipe here in case you are game enough to try them - you will need to cook for about 24 minutes, but I totally suggest a trial run if you don't want the same thing happening to you! All ovens are slightly different and souffles are fussy, so it may take a few tries to get the exact times for your oven.

Pastry Cream
3 egg yolks
60g castor sugar
20g plain flour
200mls milk
vanilla essence to taste

Whisk egg yolks and sugar until almost white, then mix in the flour. Bring milk to scald point (just before it boils), whisk it onto the egg mixture, return to a clean pan, and stir over medium heat until it thickens (it will start to look like custard). Add a few drops of vanilla and taste to check that the raw flour flavour is gone - if not, keep stirring over heat until it is. Pour into a bowl and cover with cling film, ensuring the cling film is pressed against the pastry cream to prevent a skin forming. If you are making this for a dinner party, you can prepare up to this point ahead of time.

Souffle
zest and juice of 1 lemon
1 egg yolk
1 tsp castor sugar
4 egg whites
butter for greasing

Preheat oven to 200C.

Add the egg yolk, zest and lemon juice to your pastry cream. Grease 4 ramekins with butter, place in fridge for 5 minutes, then remove and grease again with butter. Ensure that you do not miss any spots of the mould (this will cause the souffle to rise unevenly). Sprinkle sugar into each mould and move the mould around to ensure every inch is covered with sugar (for the same reasons as above).

Whisk the egg whites to firm peaks (add a little sugar partway through). Fold the whites into your pastry cream in 2 stages, first 1/4 of the whites, then the rest, as this helps to ensure maximum air retention.

Place into greased moulds, smooth the tops and place in oven for approx 24 minutes. Cross fingers, toes, arms etc and if successful, impress the pants off your guests!

Ooh, don't worry if the top of your souffle gets quite brown whilst cooking - it is more important the the centre is cooked. If the top is too dark for your liking, dust with generous amounts of icing sugar and ta da!

Fresh Parpadelle with Rabbit, Olives and Marjoram

2008-12-19T11:21:00.005+11:00

Below was the starter, so now on to main! I had been wanting to cook this dish for a while, but as a whole rabbit costs around $25, I wanted to cook it for more than just the two of us. So this dish was the plat du jour for our dinner with Sis and MJ.

As it is now summer, a lot of butchers do not have rabbits readily on hand. However, if you call a day in advance, the lovely boys at Hudson Meats will get one in for you and prepare it as you request. For this dish, I had the rabbit jointed (8 pieces).

Now for my grumbles. Part way through cooking, I noticed that it looked absolutely nothing like the picture in the book. Normally this isn't such a worry, but my concern was that my dish was completely the wrong colour. The photo in the book shows the sauce as having a red-ish tinge, and also there are flecks of what looks like chilli. As you can see in my picture, there is no red in sight. I read, re-read and then read it again. There are absolutely no red ingredients in either the ingredients list or mentioned in the method. Unconvinced, I then made Sis double check. She agreed with me, I grumbled some more, then finished cooking. Our thought is possibly that the recipe should have called for red wine instead of white?

As for the fresh parpadelle, upon tasting this, MJ proclaimed it the best pasta ever. He went as far to say that it craps all over the pasta that he makes at home, and that it was even better than the pasta we ate at A Tavola in July. And they make some very awesome pasta. Yay to me! All my practice making fresh pasta is paying off - this was definitely the best batch I have made. I made this dough a little wetter than usual (by adding extra egg yolks one at a time until I was happy with the dough), kneaded it a bit more than usual, and then stored the whole sheets in the fridge separated by baking paper until I was ready to cook it.

This recipe is best started the day before, to allow the meat to marinate longer, but you could marinate it for as little as 4 hours if in a pinch.

Sis learning to use the manual focus lens

Marinade
small bunch of thyme, leaves picked
6 cloves garlic, unpeeled and squashed
zest of 1 lemon
olive oil
1 rabbit, jointed

Mix the above ingredients together and rub them onto your rabbit pieces. Leave to marinate in the fridge overnight.
To cook the rabbit
olive oil
knob of butter
few sprigs thyme
2 sprigs fresh rosemary
4 cloves garlic, unpeeled
1 bottle white wine

On the serving day - preheat the oven to 180C. In a large, oven proof saucepan, heat a splash of olive oil with the knob of butter. Season the rabbit, add it to the pan and brown the pieces until golden. Add the thyme, rosemary and garlic, stir, then pour in the wine - it should just cover the meat (use more or less as necessary). Put the lid on, place in the oven, and cook for around 2 hours, or until the meat pulls easily away from the bone. When cooked, remove from the oven and allow meat to cool.

Whilst the rabbit is cooking, make your pasta.

Sauce
small handful good quality green olives, stoned and roughly chopped
bunch fresh marjoram, leaves picked
freshly grated parmesan cheese
zest of half a lemon
knob of butter

When the meat has cooled, use your hands to shred it away from the bones. Discard the bones. Remove the garlic, rosemary and thyme from the pan, then put the pan on the heat to reduce the cooking liquid until slightly thickened. Turn down to low, and stir in the rabbit meat, olives and marjoram.

Cook your pasta in plenty of boiling salted water. Drain, reserving a little of the cooking water. Turn up the heat under the sauce, add the pasta and check for seasoning. Turn the heat off, add the butter and a handful of parmesan, and stir through. Quickly add the lemon zest, and add some of the reserved cooking water if the sauce needs loosening. Serve immediately and enjoy!

Recipe adapted from Jamie Oliver's Cook with Jamie.

Spiced Smashed Chickpeas

2008-12-17T18:53:00.001+11:00

I have made this a few times now and it always goes down well. This time I made it as a light starter when I made dinner for Sis and MJ. I was making fresh pasta for main (again - I love it!), so I didn't want to serve an entree. Instead I made this and also some almonds which I panfried in a little olive oil and then tossed with some sea salt and dried chilli. They were awesome - so good that we ate them all before I realised that I hadn't gotten a photo!

This recipe is disgustingly easy. If you have a large morter and pestle, you can fit the whole lot in there, just add the chickpeas a little at a time to avoid them flying across the room! If you only have a small one, then you will need to smash them in batches. Alternatively, you lucky people with food processors could make it in there!
1 x 400g can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
1 tsp cumin powder
2 dried chillies
1 clove garlic
juice of 1 lemon
olive oil

Crush the garlic and chillies in a morter and pestle with a little salt. Add the chickpeas a bit at a time, crushing them before you add the next lot. Add in your cumin, lemon juice and season with salt and pepper, mash around a bit, then add olive oil to loosen a bit.

Recipe adapted from Jamie Oliver's The Return of the Naked Chef.

Fresh Pasta with a Ragu of Tiny Meatballs

2008-12-16T17:46:00.003+11:00

This is a really easy dish to make - it doesn't take too long and it is very tasty. I made it one lazy Saturday afternoon at BF's request. And I'm very glad I did.

The original recipe calls for beef mince, but I noticed the butcher had a pork and veal mix, and thought that would be much tastier. This was the only change that I made, and I'm glad I did, as it made the dish that little bit more than just plain old spaghetti and meatballs.

First things first, make your fresh pasta (recipe here). Either hang it and allow to dry, or place uncut sheets onto baking paper and store in the fridge until ready to cook.

Meatballs
450g pork and veal mince
1 or 2 dried red chillies, crushed
pinch of ground cinnamon
pinch of ground nutmeg
3 cloves garlic, crushed
1 egg
handful freshly grated parmesan
zest of 1 lemon
Mix all ingredients together with your hands. Shape into marble sized balls (I made mine a bit larger than this - lazy!) Place on a tray and put in the fridge.
Tomato Sauce
olive oil
3 cloves garlic, crushed
1 bunch fresh basil, leaves picked and stalks chopped
1 fresh red chilli, whole and pierced with the tip of a knife
2 x 400g tins tomatoes
small swig red wine vinegar

Heat up a little olive oil in a pan, and fry the garlic, basil stalks and the whole chilli. Add the tomatoes and vinegar, season with salt and pepper, and simmer for about half an hour.

Extras
knob of butter
handful of freshly grated parmesan

Meanwhile, heat up a frying pan with a little olive oil, then add the meatballs. Cook until they are well coloured, then add them to the tomato sauce. Remove the chilli, and continue to simmer for about 10 minutes, or until the meatballs are cooked through.

When the meatballs are almost done, cook your pasta in a big pot of salted water for 2 or 3 minutes. Drain, add the pasta to the sauce along with the butter and parmesan. Tear over half the basil leaves and toss it all around. Serve topped with extra parmesan and the remaining basil leaves. Serves 4

Recipe adapted from Jamie Oliver's Cook With Jamie.

Blueberry Pancakes

2008-12-09T13:56:00.004+11:00

A couple of weeks ago I woke up on a Sunday morning starving, and with no idea what it was that I wanted to eat. BF was very quick to suggest pancakes, and pointed out that there was a punnet of blueberries in the fridge. Problem solved. I'm not one to say no to pancakes, and definitely think they are better with fruit involved, either cooked in or served on top. My exception to this is when I am hungover - then they MUST be served with bacon, fried eggs and maple syrup!!
This recipe is just a modified version of a classic pancake recipe and will serve 4. Basically, you can just use whatever pancake recipe you usually use, and mix in a handful or so of blueberries before you rest the batter. This recipe is especially good for people that are not big fans of blueberries, like BF. He doesn't really eat fresh blueberries, but just try and keep him away from these!

2 cups plain flour
3 tsp baking powder
2 tbsp caster sugar
1 and 1/2 cups milk
2 eggs
60g butter, melted and cooled
1 punnet fresh blueberries
extra butter, for cooking
Sift flour and baking powder into a bowl and stir in the sugar. Whisk together the milk, eggs and butter, and stir into the flour mixture. Stir in the blueberries, cover and allow batter to stand for at least 15 minutes.
Heat a pan over medium heat and pop in a small knob of butter. Pour batter into pan (to desired pancake size) and cook over medium-low heat until small bubbles appear on surface. Flip and cook other side until the pancake is cooked through. Remove to a plate, cover with foil and keep warm in oven at about 150C until all batter is cooked. Serve with lemon and sugar (me), or maple syrup(BF).
Recipe modified from taste.com.au (recipe no longer available on that site - good thing I had a print-out!)

Gingerbread with Royal Icing - A Work (mess!) in Progress

2008-12-08T16:36:00.005+11:00

A couple of weeks ago I found some cute Christmas cookie cutters and snapped them up, with a plan to make gingerbread. I've seen so many beautiful iced biscuits and thought that I could make some and put them in with presents. However, I forgot that I am not very artistic and also not very good at piping!The result? A HUGE mess in my tiny kitchen! I learnt some very good lessons though, so hopefully next time round will be more successful!

Strange arms!

The gingerbread themselves taste great, however, I couldn't get the dough to chill stiff enough for the shapes to hold when I moved them to the baking trays. I even tried putting it in the freezer for 40 minutes but to no avail. You will notice that some of my angels have very uneven arms! This was also the reason why I ended up with so many crazy face gingerbreads - I moulded the circles by hand once I had given up on the cutters.

More strange arms!

I'm not sure if I will use this recipe again because of this, but if you don't want to use cutters, it should be fine. The only changes I made were to the quantities of the spices, as I didn't have any ground cloves on hand. My big cookies took about 15 minutes (for very chewy cookies) and the small ones about 8 minutes (again for very soft chewy cookies).

Crazy faces!

Gingerbread
125g butter
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup golden syrup
1 egg yolk
2 cups plain flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp ground ginger
1 tsp ground nutmeg

Mess!

Cream the butter and sugar until pale. Stir in the golden syrup and the egg yolk. Sift in the flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg and ginger. Stir into the butter mixture, cover and chill for 1 hour.

Preheat the oven to 175C. Roll the dough out between 2 sheets of baking paper until about 5mm thick. Cut with cookie cutters and carefully transfer to baking tray. Place cookies about 5cm apart.

Bake for 8 to 10 minutes (maybe longer for larger cookies or if you prefer your cookies crunchy). Cool on a wire rack. Ice when completely cool.
Recipe adapted from allrecipes.com.au

Royal Icing
1 egg white
1 and 1/2 cups icing sugar
couple drops vanilla essence
food colouring
Whisk white till soft peaks. Sift in the sugar in 3 stages, whisking after each addition. Stir through vanilla.

Separate the icing into bowls - 1 for each colour. Use food colouring to colour each bowl of icing. Fill the sink with hot water. Place cling film over each bowl, pressing the cling film down so that it is touching the icing. This helps prevent the icing from setting. Place each bowl into the sink of hot water so the icing doesn't set.

More mess!

Use a small piping bag made of baking paper or use a zip lock bag with one corner cut off to pipe onto each cookie. Decorate with sprinkles, cachous etc.

Even more mess!

My Very First Award!

2008-12-07T09:24:00.003+11:00

I woke up this morning, knowing that I had been neglecting the blogging world. I hadn't posted in almost 2 weeks (bad blogger!) and I hadn't really been keeping up with all my favourite reads. I'd completely forgotten how busy this part of the year is. Work is getting busier, which means much longer days, less days off, and there are more events/parties to attend. Add that to the horror that is Christmas shopping and I'm out of time!

So it is a great boost of confidence (read - kick up the arse!) to receive my very first award!! Andrea over at Cooking Books has sent me the Kreativ Blogger Award, which comes with the Seven Things Meme. Thanks Andrea!
It's a long meme guys, so strap yourselves in!

Seven things I say most often
1) Will you be home for dinner?
2) What do you want for dinner?
3) I need a coffee.
4) F*** I hate Sydney! (Melbourne-girl at heart!)
5) This place is such a mess.
6) I need a bigger kitchen!
7) I'm hungry.

Seven things I did before
1) Managed a fast-food restaurant
2) Backpacked in Europe for 2 years
3) Studied paramedics at university
4) Partied until morning and drove home after sunrise
5) Danced (ballroom and jazz) for almost 10 years
6) Got a brown belt in karate
7) Lived off frozen chicken nuggets for a long time (my love of cooking came as a shock to many!)

Seven things I do now
1) Eat too much
2) Neglect cleaning/washing... well, all household duties
3) Constantly spill water on the carpet, couch etc
4) Attempt to go to the gym as much as possible (note: attempt!)
5) Make BF come to the supermarket even though he hates it so he can push the trolley
6) Walk everywhere and hardly ever drive or use public transport
7) Cook!

Seven things I want to do
1) Travel again
2) Work in a hatted restaurant
3) Meet BF's newest nephew who is currently in Seattle (bring on the February visit!)
4) Design my own kitchen
5) Learn to cope with the Sydney humidity
6) Take a holiday to somewhere other than Melbourne!
7) See my brother get married (one day soon!)

Seven things that attract me about the opposite sex
1) Ability to make me laugh
2) Body hair (Men should not wax!)
3) Broad shoulders, as they make for good hugs!
4) Family-oriented
5) Kind-hearted
6) Fun-loving
7) Understands the rule "Since I cooked, you have to wash!"

Seven favourite foods (only seven?!)
1) Chocolate (not the horrible white stuff)
2) Meat pies
3) Cheese (all cheese, but goat and sheep's much more than cow)
4) Hot chips (fries but fatter and better)
5) Home made pasta
6) Chicken parmigiana
7) Anything made by my Aunty J (awesome authentic Lebanese cooking)

Seven people I am tagging
1) Jamie at My Baking Addiction
2) Jaime at Good Eats 'n Sweet Treats
3) Ja at Beansprout's Cafe
4) FFIchiban at Here Comes The Food
5) Simon at Simon Food Favourites
6) Lorraine at Not Quite Nigella
7) Renee at ...and all things nice

As with all memes, it is not compulsory to participate but it is fun!

2 Ways with Mini Muffins

2008-11-24T20:07:00.005+11:00

Who doesn't love mini muffins? Some might argue they are too small, but hey - you can have seconds and not feel bad! And they are good for feeding a crowd (the boys at BF's work in this case). They are also a great way to have a little indulgence without feeling too bad about it.
The day I made these I couldn't decide what flavour to make. I had both bananas and strawberries to use up, but wasn't feeling like mixing the two. Of course, I will do anything to add chocolate to a recipe - so banana choc chip become one choice. And I remembered that my sister had once made strawberry rose flavour... I couldn't decide between the two so gave in a made both! BF's workmates were very pleased when they realised that he had brought over 30 muffins to work! And the verdict? They actually preferred the strawberry rose! So did I, but the banana choc chip were a firm favourite for BF. Happy campers all round.
Chocolate Chip Banana Mini Muffins (makes 24)
30g butter
1 cup self raising flour
1/4 cup caster sugar
1/4 cup milk
1 egg
1 overripe banana, mashed
1/2 cup dark chocolate chips
Preheat oven to 200C. Line a mini muffin pan with liners.

Melt butter and cool slightly. Sift flour into mixing bowl and stir in sugar. Make a well in the centre.

Lightly whisk together the egg, milk and butter, and add to the dry ingredients along with the banana. Gently mix until just combined. Stir in choc chips.

Spoon mix into muffin cases and cook for 7 minutes or until a skewer comes out clean.

Strawberry Rose Mini Muffins (makes 24)
1 cup self raising flour
3/8 cup caster sugar
3/8 cup milk
60g butter
1 egg, beaten
1 tsp rosewater essence
1/2 cup chopped strawberries
Preheat oven to 200C. Line a mini muffin pan with liners.

Melt butter and cool slightly. Sift flour into mixing bowl and stir in sugar. Make a well in the centre.

Add milk, butter, egg and rosewater to dry ingredients and stir gently to combine. Stir through strawberries.

Spoon mix into muffin cases and cook for 7 minutes or until a skewer comes out clean.

Both recipes modified from taste.com.au

Warm Chorizo and Chickpea Salad

2008-11-23T17:10:00.004+11:00

I have had a lovely weekend, with plenty of time for cooking. Blueberry pancakes for breakfast, home made pasta last night, banana bread in the oven filling the place with wonderful smells.

But most of the time, this is not what my life is like. Most days I don't want to spend a long time in the kitchen after work, because I would rather be wrapped in a blanket and asleep on the couch! This meal came from a night like that. I wanted to be in and out of the kitchen in the shortest possible time, but still eat something tasty and nutritious. The result? 10 minute chorizo salad!

This salad was literally just a combination of items that I had in my fridge/cupboard at the time. I don't quite remember how much of some of the things I used, but being a salad, measurements don't really matter! This makes enough for 2 hungry people, but if you aren't huge fans of chorizo, you should cut down to 1 sausage, as 2 is a quite meat heavy salad.

2 chorizo sausages, sliced
1 440g can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
1 small block feta cheese
1 tomato
1 lebanese cucumber
1/2 red capsicum
1 small red shallot
rocket
red wine vinegar
olive oil

Heat a frying pan with a tiny amount of oil, and add the chorizo slices. Stir occasionally. Whilst cooking, slice shallot, and dice capsicum, cucumber and tomato. Put these in a mixing bowl.

When chorizo is starting to crisp up, add the chickpeas and stir to coat in the oil that has come out of the chorizo. Whilst the chickpeas are warming, make the dressing - 2 parts olive oil to 1 part red wine vinegar (or 3:1 if you like it a little less zingy).

Put the rocket on TOP of the other vegies, then pour the warm ingredients on top. This helps the rocket to wilt down just a touch. Add the dressing, season with salt and pepper and get your hands in to mix it all around.

Divide onto serving plates and crumble feta over the top. Enjoy!

A Sad Goodbye...

2008-11-16T13:57:00.004+11:00

Friday was a sad day for my family. We lost our girl, Amira, after almost 16 years to pneumonia. She was very much a member of the family, my mum's shadow, and a great source of comfort to us all.
She loved raw carrots, broccoli and zucchini, munching on apple cores, and if you blew kissy-noises at her she would come over and give you a kiss.
She enjoyed sitting on a chair at the dining room table to watch us eat as part of the family, and never failed to make us laugh. She will be well remembered and dearly missed.

Let's Play Tag!

2008-11-15T18:07:00.002+11:00

I was surprised and excited this morning to find that I had been tagged by Lorraine at Not Quite Nigella for a meme. It certainly is a confidence booster, especially as NQN is one of the very first blogs I read. Thanks Lorraine!

This meme is 6 random things about me, so... *puts thinking cap on*

1) The first time I baked a cake my brother told me that I had misread the measurement for bi-carb soda and that I was supposed to put 1 tbsp in... needless to say, the cake was inedible and my family didn't allow me to cook for them for many years!

2) I spent a month travelling around France when I was 22 and ate a fruit tartlet from a patisserie every single day.

3) Cooking injuries of mine include: quite a good slice off the side of my left thumb, minor burns on hands, arms and my stomach (rogue oven tray) and partial thickness burns to two fingers on my right hand just last week.

4) I once drove 27,000km around Australia in a 2-door Holden Barina with no air-conditioning.

5) I have the whitest legs in the world. No matter how tanned/sunburned my arms/shoulders/back/face get, my legs insist on staying whiter than white.

6) I find almost all forms of technology extremely difficult to use. I constantly yell at the computer, my mobile phone, and sometimes even the alarm clock. My i-pod shuffle was the first music player I have owned since my old cassette walkman, and I still cannot put songs onto it by myself. I can never work out which remote control I am supposed to use, or which buttons to press. Thankfully, BF is a bit of a computer/technology geek!

Now to tag 6 more people for this meme!

1) Chelle at Brown Eyed Baker
2) Mimi at Mimi on the Move
3) Jessica at Apples and Butter
4) HoneyB at The Life and Loves of Grumpy's Honeybunch
5) Ja at Beansprout's Cafe
6) Pam at For the love of cooking

There is no obligation to participate, but it is good fun!

Here are the rules:

* Link to the person who tagged you
* Post the rules on the blog
* Write 6 random things about yourself
* Tag 6 people at the end of your post
* Let each person know they have been tagged by leaving a comment on their blog
* Let the tagger know when your entry is up

So let's play tag!

Bill's Ricotta Hotcakes

2008-11-14T17:18:00.002+11:00

Way back in March, BF and I went to Bill's Surry Hills for breakfast. BF had scrambled eggs, and I had the famous ricotta hotcakes. Since then, I have been meaning to make them at home. You see, I have had the recipe for 12 months now, and just haven't seemed to get round to it.

The hotcakes from Bill's.

At the November Good Living Growers' Markets, I bought a delicious tub of ricotta from my favourite cheese shop, Formaggi Ocello. The next day, I finally made the hotcakes.

Bill serves his with banana and honeycomb butter. I had one rather overripe banana, and no honeycomb, so we settled for half a banana each and maple syrup. And thankfully, the hotcakes were just as light as I remembered. This is because the egg whites are beaten and carefully folded into the mix. The batter is very easy to make, and can be kept in the fridge for 24 hours, which is a good thing, because I only made half the recipe and it was enough to feed 4!! Also, if you don't have the honeycomb butter, the mix isn't too bad for you, as it contains no butter AND no sugar!

My hotcakes.

To serve 4 (or 2 over 2 days)
2/3 cup ricotta
3/8 cup milk
2 eggs, separated
1/2 cup plain flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
25g butter

Combine ricotta, milk and egg yolks in a bowl. Sift in the baking powder and flour, and mix until just combined.

In a separate bowl, whisk the egg whites until stiff peaks form. Fold these into the batter in 2 batches, being gentle and not over mixing.

Heat a non-stick frying pan and grease with a little bit of the butter. Drop 2 tablespoons of batter for each hotcake into the pan (don't cook more than 2 at a time as the pan cools too much). Cook over medium-low heat for about 2 minutes, or until golden underneath. Turn over and cook through. Serve with banana and maple syrup.
Recipe from Bill's Sydney Food.

Bill's Surry Hills
359 Crown Street
Surry Hills NSW

High Tea at The Tea Rooms, QVB

2008-11-13T09:13:00.005+11:00

I have said before that I don't usually take photos of food whilst I am eating out. High Tea was no exception. The food was delivered, we oohed and aahed, and then we tucked in. And halfway through the finger sandwiches, my sister whipped out the camera and decided to take some shots. Hmph. I sat back on my lounge, giggling, as I handmodelled for her with my teapot...
I'm getting ahead of myself. Earlier this week, I managed to burn a couple of fingers on my right hand pretty badly. Bad enough that the doctor gave me a week off work. I also have been struck with a nasty cough, reminiscent of the bronchitis I used to get often as a child. Whilst on the phone with Mum, filling her in on all my current afflictions, she decided to fly up to Sydney and pamper me for the week! Yay!
Sis and I hadn't seen Mum for a good 4 months or so, so as my cough was starting to ease up yesterday, we decided to take Mum sightseeing. Having not been to Sydney before, we showed her the Bridge, and the Opera House, and then went for a lazy wander through the Botanic Gardens.After working up an appetite, we decided to surprise Mum with High Tea. Sis and I had been wanting to try The Tea Rooms for a while, but had never gotten round to it, and thought this was the perfect excuse to do it on a whim. We were offered the choice of tables or lounges, and lounges were the unanimous choice. We sat, relaxed, I chose tea, the others received their glass of sparkling, and we waited for the food to arrive.

And so it goes... The food arrived, and we all tucked in to the finger sandwiches. There were smoked salmon, egg, and ham sandwiches, all done quite simply with not too much to mask the flavour of the main ingredient. The egg sandwiches were definitely my favourite, but how can you go past an egg sandwich? Halfway through them, Sis decided to take photos, so we had to do a bit of artful rearranging of the top tier of the stand to make it look full!!

The top tier also had tiny tarts of polenta and cheese - the waiter said it was blue cheese but Mum and I though it tasted more of Gruyere.
The bottom tier had small toasts topped with eggplant and chorizo - these were delicious and we all agreed that 6 more of these each would not go astray! Also on this tier were scones, 2 plain and 1 fruit scone. Sis and I allowed Mum the choice, both knowing deep down that we were about to miss out on the fruit one - it probably would have been both our first choice! The scones were just warm, a little too firm on the outside, and served with jam and cream. Mum always whips the cream when she makes us scones, so we were a little disappointed that the cream was runny. Also, they obviously recycle leftover cream from other tables, as ours arrived with little bits of someone else's scone in it! However, when pointed out, it was promptly replaced with a smile.
The middle tier was the most impressive looking. Tiny bite-sized sweets, five different varieties, and thankfully, enough of each that we didn't have to share any! With these, we sat back, relaxed and took our time. And we each had a different favourite. Sis enjoyed the passionfruit-cream filled cookies, Mum liked the orange and almond cake topped with lemon curd the best, and my favourite was the pistachio meringue stack. Also here were a pastry boat with cream and strawberry (the cream lacking in flavour) and a sponge filled with jam and custard topped with chocolate and coconut!

For the record, the tea I chose was called Keemun, and is described as a Chinese black tea with an aroma similar to rose or orchid. It was lovely, quite mild, but unfortunately my blocked nose didn't allow me to smell it properly!

All photos courtesy of my lovely sister.

The Tea Room, QVB
455 George St, Sydney

Traditional Afternoon Tea $32 (add $2 for tea for connoisseurs - I did!)
Sparkling Afternoon Tea $37 (same as above but with a glass of Australian Sparkling wine)

Cocoa Brownie Bites to die for...

2008-11-09T14:38:00.006+11:00

In need of a chocolate fix (hmmm, isn't that all the time?), I went window shopping through my favourite blogs to find a recipe. I had 3 criteria: 1) chocolate (duh) 2) quick, easy and all pantry item ingredients 3) very VERY chocolatey. If it sounds like I have a chocolate issue, I do. It would be the first item on my desert island wish list. It makes me happy. It makes sad movies better. It makes me not care that the rubbish hasn't been taken out, the dishes need washing, or that my oven doesn't work (and it should be getting fixed on Thursday - finally!)

After some searching, I found this recipe of Pam's. Although I was a bit sceptical that cocoa alone could make something as chocolatey as I was craving, Pam's recipes always make me drool onto the keyboard, and this description of her's sold me - "Beware... these are very rich, and according to my husband and daughter, very addicting. They were dense and not too sweet but totally delicious. They had a perfect soft center and a nice crispy crust on top."

Sold! What more could a girl ask for? Well, some additional chocolate chunks of course! The addition of a very heaped 1/3 cup of broken choc chunks was my only change to Pam's recipe. And these brownies were a hit! I was so reluctant to part with them that I only allowed BF to take half of them to work - the rest stayed with me!And just in case you are not already convinced that Pam makes awesome brownies, last week she made them with peanut butter chips in - click here and admire them! If anyone knows where I can buy peanut butter chips in Sydney, please let me know as I am dying to make these!

142g butter (1 and 1/4 sticks)
1 and 1/3 cups white sugar
3/4 cup plus 2 tbsp cocoa
1/4 tsp salt
2 eggs
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 cup plain flour
very heaped 1/3 cup chocolate chunks

Preheat the oven to 163C (325F). Place oven shelf in bottom third of oven. Grease and line an 8 inch slice tin with baking paper, making sure it hangs over the edge of the two long sides.
In a heat proof bowl, combine butter, sugar, cocoa and salt, place over a pot of hot water and stir occasionally until melted and mixture is hot to touch. The mix should look slightly grainy. Remove from heat and cool slightly, then add vanilla. Mix in the eggs one at a time, stirring well after each one.
When the mix is well blended, smooth and shiny, slowly add the flour and stir until combined thoroughly. Now stir vigourously for 30 strokes (I don't know what this is for but it works! Can anyone explain?) Stir in the chocolate chunks. Pour into slice tin and bake for 20 - 25 minutes, or until a skewer comes out clean.
Leave to cool completely before lifting out and cutting into bite-sized pieces. Remember, bite-sized pieces mean you can have seconds!

Anzac Biscuits

2008-11-07T10:03:00.005+11:00

I have to start by saying yum. YUM. Anzacs are really yummy. I don't think I have ever met an Aussie who doesn't love Anzacs. You can buy them from the supermarket, but they are generally the crunchy type, and I am most definitely a chewy biscuit person. They are also ridiculously easy to make, and as they have no milk or eggs, they last for a long time (not in my house!)
For a little bit of background on Anzacs, click here.
1 cup plain flour
1 cup rolled oats
1 cup desiccated coconut
3/4 cup brown sugar
125g butter
2 tbsp golden syrup
1 tsp bicarb soda

Preheat oven to 160C. Line baking trays with baking paper.
Sift flour into a large bowl, and stir in the oats, sugar and coconut.

Put the butter and golden syrup into a pot with 2 tbsp of water. Stir over medium heat until melted, then stir in the bicarb soda.
Pour the butter mixture into the dry mixture and combine. At this point I find it hard to resist eating the mix!
Roll tablespoonsfull of mixture into balls, and place on the prepared trays, about 5cm apart (the Anzacs spread quite a bit).
Use a fork to flatten slightly, don't worry if little bit break off - the Anzacs will hold together when coooked. Bake for about 10 minutes, until golden brown. Allow to cool slightly on trays, then transfer to wire rack to cool completely. Makes about 30.
Recipe from taste.com.au

I'm back... with wonton noodle soup.

2008-11-06T09:37:00.007+11:00

YAY! My partner, BF, found the camera cable last night! So I am back and have a backlog of pictures to blog about. I'm very happy, because I found I wasn't very inclined to taking photos of what I was cooking whilst I wasn't able to blog about them. So hopefully I will be back better than ever!

I've been waiting to share my wonton noodle soup for a while... and I couldn't do this one without photos. You see, I made a large batch of wontons a while ago, and popped the unused raw ones into the freezer to use at a later date. When I got them out a couple of weeks ago to use, I realised that I had packed them all into the same container, with nothing to separate them, not even a piece of baking paper. Result? One big block of frozen wonton!
There were more than I wanted to use for one meal, however, I was unable to separate them without partially defrosting them. And then when I did separate them, most of the wrappers broke, leaving the precious filling exposed. What to do? Use all of them and indulge in way too many wontons! (BF did not complain!)
Thankfully, when I cooked them, they stayed intact, and tasted just as good as usual. A lesson learnt though!

Wontons
You can put pretty much anything in wontons - prawns, crab, garlic, different sauces - these are the ones I make because they are quick and simple - and BF doesn't like prawns! The water chestnuts are important, as they provide crunch to an otherwise texturally unexciting mix.

1 pack wonton wrappers (found near the fresh pasta in the fridge section of the supermarket)
150g pork mince
2cm ginger, chopped
2 spring onions, chopped
water chestnuts, chopped, add to taste
soy sauce, to taste
rice wine vinegar, to taste

Mix all ingredients (except wrappers) in bowl. Place small amount in centre of each wrapper, wet edges of wrapper with paper, and bring all sides together and pinch shut. Aim for the look of a money bag. Makes about 30.

Keep aside 6 per person and freeze the rest, separated by baking paper, for next time.
Chicken stock
2 chicken carcasses, washed under running water, any large bits of fat removed
1 large carrot, roughly chopped
2 sticks celery, roughly chopped
1 large brown onion, roughly chopped
4 parsley stalks, all leaves removed (use stalks only)
1 bay leaf
1 sprig thyme
5 whole black peppercorns

Place all items in a large pot and cover completely with COLD water. Bring to the boil, turn down to low simmer, and simmer for 2 to 3 hours. Skim off any fat or scum that rises to the surface and discard. Strain, and discard all solids. Stock can be frozen in small portions and defrosted when required. I usually make stock in large batches, so it is always on hand when needed.

Wonton Noodle Soup
2 blocks asian instant noodles (similar to 2 minute noodles)
1 carrot, sliced very thin
2 choy sum, base removed, washed thoroughly
10 snowpeas
2 chillies, sliced
2cm ginger, peeled and cut into matchsticks
12 wontons (recipe above)
chicken stock (recipe above)
soy sauce, to taste

Bring stock to a simmer in large pot. Cook noodles in stock according to packet instructions. Remove from stock and divide between serving bowls. Put wontons into stock and cook until floating and cooked through. Whilst wontons are cooking, arrange carrot, snowpeas and choy sum on top of noodles.
When wontons are cooked, place on top of noodles. Fill bowls with the stock, top with chilli and ginger, and serve with soy sauce so you can each add as much as you like! Serves 2.

GRRRR...

2008-11-03T20:16:00.002+11:00

So I still have no oven, no camera cable and therefore not a lot to blog about. I will spend this time having fun reading other's blogs and drooling...

Check out these awesome blueberry cupcakes that I want to make when my oven is fixed.

It just keeps getting better...

2008-10-29T20:15:00.002+11:00

So to add to the woe of still not finding the camera cable, tonight whilst cooking what was going to be the best cheesy bread ever, my oven died. But because the fan in the oven continues to work, it took me over 40 minutes before I realised that it was dead. Poo. The bread came out pretty heavy, but seems to be almost cooked (and I will be eating it in protest). Guess I better call the landlord...

My blog in Paris!!!

2008-10-15T18:20:00.003+11:00

Well, not quite! But my post about Donna Hay's Meat Pies has made it onto a website for a cooking school in Paris! A World in a Pan describes itself as "Cooking classes in Paris in the warmth of a Parisian home" and "The new culture sensitive cooking school concept". You can check it out here (just scroll down and there it is!) A big thanks to Laura who posted it there.

Spoilt (and an almost proposal!)

2008-10-15T17:14:00.006+11:00

So I don't usually take photos of food at restaurants. This is for a couple of reasons - lighting isn't always that good, I'm not very good with the camera so it can take me a long time (!), I don't like to make others sit and wait, looking longingly at food that is cooling rapidly whislt I umm and ahh about how to take the picture, and most importantly, because I usually dig in before even stopping and thinking about it! Now don't get me wrong, I LOVE that a lot of other bloggers DO take photos when they are out - other blogs are one of the first places I look when thinking about where to eat. I just don't like to do it myself.

That being said, I didn't take my camera to my friend MM's house when invited for dinner. And I didn't realise that he was going to take pics - so just began eating when the food was presented (see pic below!) But the food was so good, and MM was very proud, so he whipped out his camera and took the following shots that he has been brilliant enough to provide for your viewing pleasure.

MM has just returned from a holiday in Italy, so was inspired to cook up an Italian influenced 3 course dinner for us - and it wasn't even a celebration! And just hearing what was being prepared was enough for me to ask my partner if it was okay for me to marry MM!!!

So enough waffling, on to the food.
The entree was hand-made gnocchi with tomato, basil and bocconcini. MM got the basic gnocchi recipe from Tobie Puttock. He did mention that he did not add anywhere near as much flour to the mix as Tobie suggests - and it was a great call. The gnocchi was deliciously light and the bocconcini was oozy, just the way I like it.
For main course, we were treated to pinenut and herb encrusted rack of lamb, with oven baked truss tomatoes and wilted spinach. This was my only contribution to the meal - wilting the spinach whilst MM was carving! I think MM and my partner both would have preferred the lamb a little more done, but I like a lot of blood in my meat so it was perfect for me!
As for dessert, we were truly spoilt, as MM had made vanilla bean pannacotta, with warmed strawberries. MM actually used the recipe that I used here, but substituted raspberry vinegar for the balsamic. It was brilliant! The strawberries were quite rich, but complemented the pannacotta beautifully.

All in all, it was a brilliant meal, enjoyed with a lovely bottle of Italian red (I can't recall exactly what it was!) I think now we will be forever in a battle of "trying to come up with something as good as what the other served at the last dinner party" - but boy, is it going to be a fun battle!

Bummer :(

2008-10-10T09:14:00.001+11:00

So there haven't been any new posts at the moment because I seem to have misplaced the cable that allows me to transfer my photos to the computer (and by me, I mean my partner, because I don't actually know how to do it!) When I read blogs, I find it is quite often the pictures that get me excited about the food - it is the same with cookbooks for me. So hopefully I will find the cable this weekend and get posting!

I'm dreaming...

2008-10-01T09:44:00.002+10:00

of this bacon sarnie. Whilst I sit here and have my very healthy all-bran and muesli mix with skim milk :(

Tart au Citron

2008-09-29T13:07:00.003+10:00

Recipes like this one frustrate me. You know the type. You measure everything exactly. You use the exact size tin the recipe asks for. Yet somehow you end up with almost 3 times the amount of pastry needed to make the tart. How? I do not know.

If I had been making this in the middle of the day I wouldn't have been as frustrated. I would have been excited to be able to make some mini tarts as well, with a different filling. But I was making this around 10pm (and I'm a bit of a nana when it comes to staying up late), so was merely annoyed at the waste of food.

Rant over - the tart came out really well, and actually tasted better the following day after sitting in the fridge for a while. It was pretty easy to make, and kept for 3 days (We would have eaten it much quicker but I am practising restraint - much easier said than done!)

Pastry
2 3/4 cups plain flour
150g unsalted butter
3/4 cup icing sugar
2 eggs, beaten
Sift the flour directly onto the bench. Make a well in the centre, place the butter in the well, and using a pecking action with your thumb and fingertips, work the butter only, until it is very soft. Add the sugar to the butter and mix, then add the eggs and mix. Now gradually add the flour until you have a rough dough. Bring together, knead a few times to make a smooth dough, cover in plastic wrap and place in fridge for at least 1 hour.
Preheat oven to 190C. Roll the pastry out to line a 23cm loose-based fluted tart pan. Chill in fridge for 20 minutes. Blind bake pastry for 10 minutes, then remove paper and weights and cook for a further 3-5 minutes, until pastry is just cooked.

Reduce oven to 150C.

Filling
4 eggs
2 egg yolks
1 1/4 cups castor sugar
3/4 cup double cream (thickened cream)
1 cup lemon juice
finely grated zest of 3 lemons

Whisk together the eggs, yolks and sugar. Add the cream, whisking, then the lemon juice and zest.

Put the pie tin on a baking tray and pour in the filling. Return to the oven for 35 - 40 minutes, until set. Cool before serving.
Recipe from Sweet Food.

Pork Ragu

2008-09-28T08:58:00.005+10:00

This is the recipe for the sauce that I used on my fresh pasta below. I got this from my sister (do you notice a trend here?), and she got it from Karen Martini. My sister calls this "The best pasta in the world" when she teams it with home made pasta. I have to agree.

I have played around with it a little, the main reason being that I couldn't get hold of the pork and fennel sausages that the recipe asks for. I used plain Italian pork sausages in the end, but it would definitely be better with pork and fennel. Try to find sausages where the meat is still a little chunky (and not minced), it makes the final product so much more special. The other major change I made was to the amount of liquid added to the sauce - the original recipe asks for 750ml of red wine. Yes, a whole bottle. I couldn't bring myself to add that much, and after making it, think it turned out just fine with half the amount.

300g good quality Italian pork sausages
3 sprigs rosemary, leaves removed
3 sprigs thyme, leaves removed
1 tsp fennel seeds, lightly crushed
2 bay leaves
3 tbsp olive oil
2-3 red chillies, finely chopped
1 carrot, finely diced
3 celery stalks, finely diced
1 1/2 onions, finely diced
3 tbsp tomato paste
1 tbsp brown sugar
1/2 bottle red wine
1 cup water
400g can diced tomatoes

Remove the skin from the sausages and crumble meat. Heat a heavy based pan, and cook sausage meat (with NO oil), stirring regularly until golden brown. Don't worry if it starts sticking. Add the oil and herbs, and stir for 1 minute, then add the chillies and vegetables and cook for 10 minutes, or until the vegetables begin to caramalise. Still don't worry about the sticking. Stir in the tomato paste, sugar, and season with salt and pepper.

Add the wine, and bring to a simmer. Now, scrape all of the yummy stuff that is stuck to the bottom of the pan. Add the water and tomatoes, and simmer for 1 hour, or until the sauce is thick.

Serve over your awesome home made pasta with some freshly grated parmesan cheese and the rest of the red wine.

Recipe modified from Karen Martini.

Fresh Pasta - Yum!

2008-09-25T10:01:00.005+10:00

I bought a pasta machine on Sunday, and immediately put it to good use. I have watched my mum make fresh pasta many times, but my job was usually to make a filling and then make the ravioli with it. So it is good fun now to make my own pasta. It is easy, cheap, and so so delicious.

I have seen many variations of pasta recipes... special types of flour, half flour - half semolina, so this one here is just what I find works for me. If you have a different way of making pasta, please let me know, I am happy to road test other ways!

300g plain flour (nothing fancy, just the usual stuff you have in the cupboard)
30g semolina
10ml oil
3 whole eggs
2 egg yolks
a pinch of salt
Sift the flour, semolina and salt directly onto your worktop. Make a well in the centre and crack the eggs into the well. Add the oil. Using your fingers, break the yolks and then work the eggs and oil into the flour. As the mix starts to come together, use your whole hand to scrunch the dough together. Once it has formed a ball, wrap in plastic wrap and pop into the fridge for 30 minutes.

Secure your pasta machine to the bench. Remove the pasta dough from the fridge and break into 3 or 4 pieces. Flatten out a little into a square shape. Starting with the widest setting on the machine, pass the dough through. The first few times the dough will be quite scruffy around the edges, so fold in half, turn 90 degrees and put through the machine rough edge first. Repeat this step until the edges are all coming out fairly square. (If you don't have a pasta machine, you can roll it by hand, however it can be difficult to get it thin enough. I got my pasta machine from House for only $39.95!)

Change the setting to the next width down, run the pasta through twice, then change the setting down again. Dust with a little flour if it is becoming sticky. Continue with this pattern of running the pasta twice through each setting until it has run through the thinnest setting. The pasta will have stretched to be much longer than first anticipated! Repeat for the rest of the dough.

I was making rough-cut pasta, so I then cut the pasta by hand. You could run it through the cutters on your pasta machine if you want more uniform pieces, but I quite like the fact that mine are all different size and shapes... it proves that it is home made!!
Hang the cut pasta over a coat hanger/rolling pin/broom handle if you are not cooking it immediately after cutting, otherwise it will stick together when you cook it.

Cook in plenty of well salted boiling water for about 2 minutes, and then stir through your favourite sauce and marvel at how easy it was to make!

Donna Hay's Meat Pies

2008-09-24T18:54:00.004+10:00

I love meat pies. I mean, loove meat pies. I could live off meat pies if need be. I almost think they would be one of my desert island foods (along with chocolate, ice cream and cheese of course!)

I also love making pies at home. Mince, lamb, beef, chicken, you name it, I will have probably put it in a pie. Pies are one of my ultimate comfort foods... chunks of meat, gravy oozing out, and crisp buttery pastry. Not to mention the mashed potatoes and mushy peas!

This recipe is to make 6 individual pies (9cm base x 11cm top pie tins). I prefer to have the pastry both bottom and top, but it is just as nice with only the puff pastry top if preferred... if anyone is crazy enough to give up the extra pastry! And if my partner (the mushroom hater) is not home for dinner, I add big field mushrooms to the mix - yum!

350g ready prepared shortcrust pastry
375g ready prepared puff pastry
1 egg, lightly beaten
Filling
1 tbsp oil
2 onions, chopped
1.5kg round or chuck steak, cut into 1.5cm cubes
1 tbsp tomato paste
4.5 cups beef stock
1 cup red wine
1 tbsp worcestershire sauce
2 tbsp cornflour with 1/4 cup water

Preheat the oven to 180C. Heat the oil in a saucepan over high heat, add the onion and cook until soft. Add meat and cook for 5 minutes or until sealed. Add the tomato paste, stock, wine and worcestershire sauce and simmer, uncovered for about 1 hour, or until the meat is tender. Blend the cornflour and water in a small bowl to a smooth paste. Add to the beef mix and stir until the mixture has thickened and returned to a simmer. Taste and check that the flour flavour has cooked out. Season with salt and pepper and set aside.

Roll out the shortcrust pastry until 3mm thick. Cut out 6 pie bases (size above), rerolling the scraps if needed. Spoon in the filling. Roll out the puff pastry to 3mm thick and cut out the lids. Place on top, trim if needed and press the edges of the pastry together. Brush the tops with the beaten egg, and make a small slit in the tops. Bake for 30 minutes or until the lids are puffed and golden.

You can pretty much make any size pies with these... you will know they are cooked because the lids are puffed golden domes and you will be drooling when you see them!

Peas and Spinach with White Wine

2008-09-23T10:21:00.002+10:00

This recipe is dead easy, takes about 6 minutes to make, and tastes brilliant. It is perfect for making whilst your roast is resting on the bench, as it stops the urge to carve the roast too early! (Is it just me that gets that urge? The smell of the roast is hard to resist!) I served it with the pork belly below.

2 spring onions, sliced
1 cup peas (fresh or frozen)
1 glass white wine
4 handfuls spinach
olive oil
butter (as much or as little as your hips can handle!)

Heat some oil and a knob of butter in a pot, and slowly fry the spring onions for a couple of minutes. Add the peas and cook for another couple of minutes, add the wine, bring to the boil and then simmer for a minute or two. Add the spinach, and turn over with tongs until the spinach is wilted. Add another knob of butter, season and serve.

Recipe from Jamie Oliver's The Return of the Naked Chef.

Slow Roasted Pork Belly with Baked Apples and Onions (Oh my!)

2008-09-21T09:07:00.004+10:00

I first saw this on stonesoup, and originally asked my sister to cook it for me next time I was to visit. You see, she is the much better cook when it comes to all those slow cooked, hearty comfort foods. And her oven has temperature settings.

Then came the first Saturday of Spring. I had plans to get up early and head to the Grower's Markets... but mother nature had other plans. It was just raining so much that day that I rolled over and went back to sleep. Click here to see what a much braver foodie discovered by braving the rain that day!

So what else to do on a really rainy stay inside day? Slow cooked roast of course! I huddled under my umbrella to go to the butcher (admittedly the only time I stepped outside all day!) and buy my first ever pork belly. I had the butcher score the skin, remove all bones, and he also cut a pocket into the inside of the belly so that my stuffing wouldn't fall out when I rolled it up. He was then nice enough to supply some kitchen string for trussing as well.

Home again, and I attempted to not ruin this beautiful piece of meat. The first step was to roast some garlic in it's skin... and I promptly managed to explode a clove in my oven. And I mean explode - it must have burst into a million tiny pieces. Note to self - cut small slit in garlic skin before roasting! 30 mins of oven cooling and scrubbing later (my kitchen is tiny, and the oven is in an awkward place for cleaning - especially when hot), I was ready to go again.
I stuffed, trussed, oiled and salted the belly, sliced the onion and into the oven it went. The recipe says to start with the oven at 250C then reduce to 160C. Now, since I have no oven markings, the only exact temperature I am able to get is 200C (straight down) and I have almost figured out 180C (bake much?) Everything seemed to be going along nicely, until I realised that I had waited too long to put my potatoes in the oven. Of course, 160C is pretty low for roasting potatoes, so they would need longer than usual, but I hadn't factored this in.

And then there was the blackened burnt stuff on the bottom of the pan that was supposed to be cooking juices. I was hoping to use these to make a quick sauce whilst the meat was resting, but no, there was no juice to be seen.

Aside from this, (and the slightly underdone potatoes) this turned out to be a perfect rainy day dinner. I will admit to eating WAY too much, but being very glad for it! I served it with spinach and peas cooked with white wine, which I will post the recipe of later.
Visit the stonesoup for the recipe and a lot of drool-worthy photos.

Ow!

2008-09-19T22:18:00.002+10:00

Sorry this isn't a food post... I cut my thumb today and it is quite significantly padded at the moment which makes both cooking and typing a little awkward! So instead, I relaxed at a local bar with some friends and a few icy cold brews. Will try and post something more exciting tomorrow!

Strawberries with Balsamic Vinegar

2008-09-17T17:24:00.001+10:00

I got this one from Tobie Puttock's Daily Italian. This book is supposed to be full of "cookable" recipes - not dishes that seem too complicated to make. And they do seem straight forward... if you have 5 hours for the dough to rest/rise or 2 days to slow cook your bolognaise sauce. So for this reason I was pleasantly surprised to find this simple recipe for dessert. It takes about 2 minutes to prepare, 5 to cook, and 2 to rest. I made it when my partner asked if there was anything sweet in the house, and I didn't feel like serving up plain vanilla icecream, yet was too full from dinner to make something complex!

And if the combination of flavours sounds strange to you, try it anyway. The sugar balances the vinegar and forms a delicious sauce for the warmed strawberries.

1 punnet strawberries, hulled (and halved if large)
1 tbsp castor sugar
1 tbsp balsamic vinegar

Preheat oven to 200C. Combine all ingredients in a bowl.

Take a large sheet of aluminium foil (Tobie suggests 40cm in length) and fold in half. Then fold each side in 2cm, leaving the top open. Stuff the strawberry mix in this hole, then fold over a couple of times to close and secure.

Place in oven and cook for 5 minutes. Remove and rest for a couple of minutes without opening the package. Whilst resting, spoon some icecream/cream/custard into serving dishes. Open package and share strawberries and cooking liquor amongst the bowls. Enjoy!

New Toys!

2008-09-16T10:56:00.005+10:00

Just a couple of photos of the new toys that I picked up yesterday. Lots of kitchen fun to be had with these!!

Chunky Peanut Butter and Oatmeal Chocolate Chipsters

2008-09-16T10:36:00.005+10:00

I know... just the name of these cookies is enough to wear you out. I first saw these when Steph from A Whisk and A Spoon posted about them, and got the recipe from Stefany at Proceed with Caution. I ummed and ahhed over whether to make these or not, but, as always, the cookies won out.

A word of warning - creaming this amount of butter, peanut butter and sugar by hand is very hard work. I spent at least half an hour wishing for an electric mixer whilst doing it! It wouldn't have taken as long if I had have waited for the butter to soften, but I was lacking patience when I made these.

I got about 45 cookies out of this recipe. Since I like my cookies chewy, I took them out of the oven after only 12 minutes. At this point, the cookies seemed to have not set at all, but never fear, they firm up as they cool on the rack. Just be sure to use a spatula to remove them from the tray - otherwise they will just collapse!

And thankfully, the boys at my partner's work were more than happy to make short work of these, so I didn't have to fight the temptation to eat all 45 myself - they are that good that I just might have!

True to all those who participate in Tuesdays with Dorie, I will not be posting the recipe here. Check out Proceed with Caution to see it, and enjoy!

Banana and Coconut Bread

2008-09-16T09:59:00.005+10:00

Banana bread is something I make quite often, as we never seem to eat bananas before they are over ripe. Not that this is a bad thing, because banana bread is basically just melt, sift, mash, mix and cook. No creaming butter and sugar in sight - yay!

I modified the recipe this time, as I was out of milk, and didn't feel like braving the rain to get more. I found a can of coconut cream in the cupboard, and away I went. I also added one more banana than usual, to use up all those I had, and added some desiccated coconut to make up for the added moisture. The result? A stronger banana taste and the lovely texture of coconut. I would have preferred a more coconut-y flavour, but there were no complaints when I served this for breakfast!

1 and 3/4 cups self-raising flour
1/4 cup plain flour
2 tsp ground cinnamon
2/3 cup firmly packed brown sugar
almost 1/2 cup desiccated coconut
165ml coconut cream
2 eggs, lightly whisked
50g butter, melted, cooled
3 overripe bananas, mashed

Preheat oven to 180C. Spray an 11 x 21cm base loaf pan with cooking spray and line with baking paper, allowing it to overhang the two long sides.

Sift the flours and cinnamon. Add the sugar and coconut, and make a well in the centre. In a separate bowl, mash bananas, add milk and eggs, and combine well. Add banana mixture and melted butter to the dry ingredients and stir until just combined. Pour into loaf pan, smooth the surface, and bake for 45 - 50 minutes or until skewer comes out clean. Cool in pan for 5 minutes before removing to wire rack to cool completely.

Enjoy simply sliced or toast in sandwich press and spread with butter!
Recipe modified from taste.com.au

The World's Most Amazing Food.

2008-09-13T17:13:00.003+10:00

A look at the magic that is the food of El Bulli. Click here, sit back, enjoy 9 minutes of heaven, and then attempt to convince your loved one to fly you here immediately!

Balsamic Glazed Dutch Carrots

2008-09-12T10:10:00.005+10:00

Mmm... baby carrots. These are one of my favourite things to pick up at grower's markets. They are sweeter than large carrots and look so much nicer when served.

I made these quite a while ago, and just kind of threw bits and pieces together, so will try and put some measurements in for you - just adjust the amount of sugar depending on how sweet you like your savoury dishes. I just add a little, taste, add a bit more, taste... the same process you use when seasoning with salt.

1 bunch dutch carrots
1/2 cup balsamic vinegar
1 -2 tbsp brown sugar
good knob of butter
fresh thyme

Peel the carrots and remove most of the stem, leaving about 1cm intact (it looks prettier this way!). Simmer very gently in a pot of salted water until tender but not mushy. If you boil them, you risk the outside being overcooked before the inside is ready.

Put balsamic vinegar in a shallow saucepan and bring to boil. Continue cooking until the vinegar has reduced by about half. Add brown sugar to taste, and stir until dissolved. Add a good knob of butter and stir until smooth.

Drain carrots, and coat with the vinegar mix and some fresh thyme leaves. Season and serve with your favourite Sunday roast!

Bill's Spicy Fried Chicken

2008-09-11T09:24:00.005+10:00

When my partner told me he wanted to cook me this for dinner I was in two minds. Firstly, he doesn't cook very often, so I was excited and wanted to support him in his endeavour. But secondly, the title of the recipe includes the word fried. This usually is enough to stop me from cooking a recipe at home, as I usually try to reserve my fat intake for desserts/cakes/cookies etc! I was also apprehensive as my partner doesn't like to cook chicken that contains bones (after an unfortunate incident in which he served his parents undercooked chook!) and I feared that fried chicken breast would be dry and tough. Bill swears in his book that poaching the chicken in coconut milk before frying keeps the chicken moist and juicy, but it turned out that my fears were confirmed. The centre of each piece was still moist, but the edges were quite dry. Perhaps it would have been okay if we had have used chicken on the bone?

It was, however, edible and quite tasty. We ate it with a simple salad of leaves, cucumber and cherry tomatoes and a LOT of sweet chilli sauce.

Spicy Fried Chicken

1 cup coconut milk
zest of 1 lime
2 asian red shallots, chopped
3 cloves garlic, crushed
2cm piece ginger, sliced
3 green chillies, chopped
1 tsp turmeric
1 tbsp salt
1.5kg chicken, cut into 16 pieces
veg oil for frying
sweet chilli sauce to serve

Place coconut milk, lime zest, shallots, ginger, garlic, chilli, turmeric, salt and 2 and 1/2 cups water into a large saucepan and bring to a gentle simmer. Add chicken and cook gently for 20 minutes or until tender and just cooked. Remove from saucepan and leave to cool on a wire rack.

Heat oil in a wok or deep frying pan over high heat. Cook the chicken in batches (do not overcrowd) until golden. Drain on paper towel and serve hot with sweet chilli sauce. Serves 4.

Recipe from Bill's Sydney Food.

That's what I want!

2008-09-09T19:03:00.005+10:00

This is what I would love to have in front of me right now - best espresso in Sydney from Single Origin.

Risotto with Prosciutto and Goat's Cheese

2008-09-08T11:03:00.003+10:00

This is a deliciously rich risotto - definately one for a day when you feel like spoiling yourself. Go easy on the goat's cheese if you are not a big fan, or if you are like me, go for the strongest one you can find. Also, try to chop the celery as fine as you can, otherwise, they may not soften enough and you might end up with crunchy bits in your risotto! The base risotto can be used to make any type of risotto you like - other favourites of mine are mushroom, asparagus, or just plain cheesy risotto with some lemon zest and a good squeeze of lemon juice. Yum!

Approx 1.1 litres chicken stock (substitute veg if using for a vegetarian risotto)
1 tbsp olive oil
3 shallots, finely chopped
2 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
1/2 head celery, finely chopped
400g arborio rice
2 wine glasses of white wine
70g butter
115g freshly grated parmasan cheese

2 handfuls fresh lemon thyme, leaves picked
115g freshly grated pecorino
155g goat's cheese
8 slices prosciutto

Heat the stock. In a separate pan, heat the olive oil. Add shallots, garlic and celery and cook gently for 5 minutes, until softened but not coloured. Add rice, and turn up the heat. Stir constantly for 1 minute, until the rice looks slightly translucent. Add the wine and continue stirring until the wine has cooked into the rice.

Add the lemon thyme, and then the stock one ladleful at a time, stirring until it is fully absorbed before adding the next ladleful. Have the heat at a simmer, so the outside of the rice doesn't cook too quickly. Continue adding stock until the rice is soft but with a slight bite to it.

Remove from the heat, and gently stir in the butter, parmasan and pecorino. Season to taste. Place a lid on the pan and allow to rest for 2-3 minutes. Divide into bowls, lay over the prosciutto slices, and top with a generous serve of crumbled goat's cheese. Serves 6.

Recipe from The Return of the Naked Chef

Lamb Shank and Prune Tagine

2008-09-08T10:15:00.005+10:00

Mmm... prunes. What to do with leftover prunes? Why, tagine of course!
This was a sneaky thing for me to cook, as my partner is not a fan of prunes. However, he is also not a fan of mushrooms and I manage to put them in most things so thought, why not give this a go?
The finished product was lovely and sticky, and the lamb was falling off the bone. Perfect Sunday night food.

4 frenched lamb shanks (serves 4)
1 tbsp oil
30g butter
1 onion, chopped
1/2 tsp ground ginger
2 cinnamon sticks
4 coriander sprigs
zest of 1/2 a lemon (in wide strips)
300g pitted prunes
2 tbsp honey
1 tbsp toasted sesame seeds
couscous to serve

Heat a heavy based saucepan over high heat, add oil and butter, and when hot, add the lamb shanks. Brown on all sides and remove from pot. Reduce heat to medium, add onion, and cook gently until softened but not coloured. Add 375ml of water, ground ginger and cinnamon sticks. Tie coriander sprigs in a bunch (for easy removal later) and add to pot. Stir well, then return lamb shanks to pot. Cover and simmer for 1 hour.

Add lemon zest and cook for further 30 minutes. Add the prunes and honey, stir, and simmer for another 30 mins or until meat is very tender and almost falling from the bone. Remove coriander sprigs and discard. Serve hot with couscous and sprinkle with toasted sesame seeds. Delish!

Recipe from Cooking Moroccan

Jam Drops

2008-09-08T09:57:00.005+10:00

An oldie but a goodie.
I make these whenever I'm having a cup of tea and have a sudden craving for biscuits. We don't buy biscuits in our house as they are so easy to make - although, I must confess that I am known for passing over recipes (like this one) that involve creaming the butter and sugar when I am feeling lazy. Oh, to have an electric mixer!

Basic biscuit dough

125g butter, softened
1/2 cup caster sugar
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1 egg
2 cups plain flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 tbsp milk

Preheat oven to 180C. Line 2 baking trays with baking paper.

Combine butter, sugar and vanilla until pale and creamy (use an electric mixer if you are lucky enough to have one!) Add egg and mix until well combined. Sift flour and baking powder over butter mix, add milk and stir until just combined.

Roll 2 tsp of dough into a ball, place on baking tray and flatten slightly with the palm of your hand. Repeat for all dough, allowing room for spreading. Dip the handle of a wooden spoon in plain flour, and use to make a small indentation in the top of each biscuit. Fill with 1/4 tsp of your favourite jam (I usually use raspberry but any jam would be good).

Bake for 12 -14 minutes, swapping trays from top to bottom halfway through. Remove when lightly golden. Allow to cool on tray for 5 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely. Makes 30.

Recipe from taste.com.au

Za'atar pizza

2008-05-15T09:28:00.005+10:00

This is one of our favourite breakfast recipes in my house. It is easy to make, tastes delicious and reminds me of being home with my parents. I know you don't often associate pizza with breakfast (except possibly when the pizza is cold and you are supporting the effects of a big night), but try this and I know you will love it. My favourite thing about this is that it is so easy that my partner offers to make it on Saturday mornings!

Za'atar is a middle-eastern spice mix rich in thyme, with sesame seeds and sumac. You can buy it ready mixed from many stores (I got mine from Herbie's in Rozelle) but I always find that I need to mix in extra sumac to get the right taste. The sumac gives it a lovely tangy, lemony taste, that is essential in this pizza.

Basic Pizza Dough

300g plain flour, plus extra for dusting
7g easy blend yeast
1 tsp salt
2 tbsp olive oil
225ml warm water

Place flour, yeast and salt in bowl. Combine water and oil (as much as this is possible!) in a jug.
Slowly pour oil mix into flour, and stir until you have a soft stretchy dough. Knead by hand for 10 minutes on a floured work surface.
Transfer dough to a lightly oiled bowl, rub a little extra oil on top, and cover with a clean damp tea towel. Set aside at room temperature to rise for 1 hour (or until dough has doubled in size).
Punch the dough down with a clenched fist. Remove from bowl and knead for a couple of minutes until smooth. Cut in half, and roll each half out to a 25cm circle. Place on lightly oiled baking tray.

Za'atar topping

4 tbsp za'atar
extra sumac (this really depends on your taste - have a play and see)
olive oil to blend

Combine za'atar, extra sumac and olive oil in a bowl to a slightly runny paste. Spread mixture evenly over pizza bases (you may need a little more or less mixture depending on how strong you like it!). Using your fingertips, make small indents all over the pizza dough. This helps stop the dough from puffing up whilst it is cooking.
Bake in a preheated 180C oven for 10 - 12 minutes or until the base is crisp and cooked through. Za'atar can burn quickly so keep a close eye on it.

Take from the oven and enjoy whilst hot with a strong cup of black coffee!

Chocolate and Raspberry Tarts

2008-05-14T21:28:00.006+10:00

I thought I'd start with something indulgent. These tarts are brilliantly rich and bittersweet. Unfortunately I made them before raspberries were in season, so used frozen berries. I would definately recommend using fresh berries when available, as the chocolate is very bitter, and the fresh berries stop this from being overbearing.

Sweet Shortcrust Pastry

1 cup plain flour
1/8 cup icing sugar
a pinch of salt
90g unsalted butter

Place flour, sugar and salt in a bowl. Add butter and rub through with fingertips until mixture resembles coarse breadcrumbs.
Add 3 tablespoons of cold water and cut with a knife until the dough comes together in a ball.
Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 30 minutes.

Divide pastry into 4 portions and roll each piece out on a lightly floured surface until 3mm thick. Press pastry lightly into four individual tart tins and freeze for 30 minutes. Preheat oven to 180C.

Line pastry shells with baking paper and baking weights or rice. Bake for 10 minutes, then remove paper and weights and bake for a further 10 minutes, or until pastry is golden and thoroughly cooked. Allow to cool on wire racks.

Increase oven temperature to 190C.

Filling

125g unsalted butter
200g good quality dark chocolate
2 eggs
2 egg yolks
30g caster sugar
1 and 1/2 cups raspberries
whipped cream to serve

Place butter and chocolate in a heatproof bowl over a saucepan of hot water over low heat and warm until both have melted. Stir, remove from heat and allow to cool for 5 minutes.
Place eggs, egg yolks and sugar in a bowl and beat until thick and creamy. Add the chocolate mixture and mix well. Pour into pastry cases.
Bake tarts for 5 minutes. Remove from oven and arrange raspberries on top of the tarts. Leave to cool and serve with whipped cream.
Recipe from Bill Granger's "Bill's Sydney Food".

I found these tarts amazing, however my sister thought they were a bit rich and was only able to eat half. Not something that I am known for doing!

First time for everything

2008-05-14T18:28:00.001+10:00

I am very new to the world of blogs. So new that I'm not really sure what I am doing. But basically I wanted a place to put pictures, recipes and to vent when things in the kitchen don't go the way I had planned. And the title comes from the simple fact that I love dessert and will always ask for the dessert menu. Even when I am way too full to even think about it.