A delicious. Year

February 2012 - Coppa, Peach & Buffalo Mozzarella Salad

2012-02-12T22:18:00.000+11:00

I actually made the recipe from the February issue back at the end of January. The magazine comes out a week or so before the start of the month so plenty of time to look through it and decide on what to make.

I had several things marked in this issue to try out. I am very keen to try out Belinda Jeffrey's crispy potatoes with bacon and rosemary. I think they would be the perfect side dish to a roast dinner, probably lamb I think. I also really like the sound of Belinda's Peperonata & spaghettini frittata with harissa cream. It sounds just wonderful, although it does use 10 eggs and serve 6 - 8. That is a lot of food. I might try cutting the recipe in half but not sure how it will go. The full recipe is cooked in a 30 cm fry pan, I assume that my 24 cm pan would work for half the recipe.

I was also very interested in Jessica Brook's Mixed pepper crusted steak with mushroom salad. I didn't have the dried green peppercorns though. I hope that I can find some and make it though. As it sounds really good. I also like that the mushroom salad uses char-grilled mushrooms. Jessica's Lamb burgers with buffalo mozzarella and cucumber salad. I love burgers and this sounds like a wonderful combination. I think I might make them some time this week.

My grandparents had given me some lovely peaches so I decided to make Liz Condon's Bresaola, grilled peach & buffalo mozzarella salad. Unfortunately I couldn't get bresaola so instead I purchased some coppa. I was able to get some buffalo mozzarella, it was so very good. It is a shame that I haven't been able to get it since. I hope that they will get some more in. I also added some halved cherry tomatoes and sliced red onion. It was a simple and easy salad to make and was very good.

Coppa, Peach & Buffalo Mozzarella Salad

Ingredients:

4 peaches, halved and stones removed
2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
Juice 1/2 lemon
1 bunch rocket
12 slices coppa
2 x 150 g buffalo mozzarella ball, torn
punnet cherry tomatoes, halved
1/2 red onion, sliced

Method:

Heat fry pan over medium-high heat. Brush peaches with oil and then cook until slightly charred. Let cool and peel.
Mix together oil & lemon juice and season.
Arrange all ingredients on serving plate and drizzle with dressing.

Paradise Pear, Pancetta & Camembert Tart

2012-02-03T21:38:00.000+11:00

Wow, is it February already? Hard to believe really. I haven't been all that well over the past couple of weeks so they have seemed to kind of disappear. Hopefully things will improve though.

I haven't been doing a lot of cooking but I did make these lovely little tarts a while ago. While shopping the one day I saw a package of Paradise Pears. These are tiny little pears. I remembered seeing them in stores last year too but hadn't bought them. So I decided that I would get some and experiment. I decided to use some in a savoury dish. I came across this recipe on Taste and adapted it to how I wanted them to be. I served it with a lovely little side salad. It was a perfect result, if I do say so myself. The sweetness from the caramelised onion & pears combined perfectly with the salty pancetta and silky custard. Camembert was just the icing on the cake.

Paradise Pear, Pancetta & Camembert Tart

Pastry:

1 1/2 cups plain flour
125 g butter, cubed
1/2 tsp salt
1 egg, lightly beaten
1 tbsp white vinegar
water to make up 1/2 c with egg & vinegar

Combine flour & salt, cut in butter. Combine egg & vinegar and add water. Add slowly to flour & butter mixture until you get a soft pastry. (You probably wont need all the liquid) Wrap in glad wrap and refrigerate for 20 minutes.
Roll out and line 10 cm individual tart pans. Place tart pans on a baking tray and chill in freezer for 20 minutes.
Pre-heat oven to 180 C.
Line pastry shells with baking paper and fill with pie weights/beans/rice and bake for 15 minutes. Remove baking paper and weights and return to oven for a further 10 - 15 minutes or until slightly golden.

For filling:

3 Paradise pears

30 g butter

2 tsp brown sugar

2 tbsp caramelised onions

4 very thin slices pancetta

150 g camembert

2 eggs

1/2 c milk

salt & pepper, to taste

Halve and core pears. Heat half the butter in a pan over a medium heat until foamy. Add 3 pear halves and cook until golden. Sprinkle with half the sugar and cook, turning occasionally, until caramelised. Transfer to a plate. Repeat with the remaining butter, and the remaining pears and sugar.

Wipe out fry pan and increase heat to medium high. Add pancetta slices and cook until crispy. Remove to a plate lined with paper to drain, and then crumble.

Place a small amount of caramelised onions in the bottom of each tart shell, top with some crumbled pancetta, two pear halves and some chunks of camembert.

Lightly beat eggs in a measuring jug, add milk and salt & pepper and whisk to combine then pour into tart tins.

Bake at 180 C (fan forced) for 18 - 20 minutes or until set and golden.

January 2012 - Pork skewers with peanut noodle salad

2012-01-29T20:08:00.000+11:00

Wow, it is nearly the end of the month already. It seems to have both flown by but dragged at the same time. I have a new accounting system to learn at work which has been keeping me busy. So I have been doing easy meals this month.

As usual this is a double issue so I had already made something for it for December. In previous years the December/January issues have been filled with Christmas recipes but this year there was a nice variety of other recipes. I did just realise though that both the recipe I made for December and the one for January were from the same feature by David Morgan. A variety of different menus. December was Moroccan, for January I went with the Vietnamese. These were both very good recipes. I particularly enjoyed the pork skewers. They were supposed to be barbecued but since I don't have a gas bottle for my barbecue I just grilled them instead. It was also a very thrifty meal since I had everything to make it in the house including pork fillet in the freezer.

Pork Skewers

Ingredients:

2 garlic cloves, crushed
1/4 red onion, very finely chopped
1 tbsp fish sauce
zest & juice of 1/2 lime
1 tbsp palm sugar or brown sugar
1 red chilli, seeds removed and finely sliced
500 g pork fillets, sliced into 3 cm pieces.

Method:

Combine everything in a non-reactive dish and leave to marinate for at least 1 hour.
Remove pork from marinade and thread onto skewers.
Cook under grill for 3 - 5 minutes each side or until cooked.

Peanut Noodle Salad

Ingredients:

100 g dried thin rice stick noodles
1/2 cucumber, roughly chopped
100 g snow peas, sliced
1/4 red capsicum, sliced
Handful mint and parsley leaves, chopped
50 g peanuts, roughly chopped (I used cashews)
zest & juice of 1 lime
2 tsp soy sauce
1 tsp brown sugar or palm sugar
2 tsp olive oil
2 drops sesame oil

Method:

Soak rice noodles in boiling water until soft. Drain.
Add cucumber, snow peas, capsicum, herbs and nuts. Toss to combine.
In a small dish combine zest, juice, soy, sugar and oils and mix well. Add to salad and toss to combine.

Chocolate Caramel Cheesecake

2012-01-19T11:07:00.000+11:00

Over on Taste forums a week or so ago someone put out a request for a Mars Bar cheesecake. There are plenty of recipes around for mars bar cheesecake, most of which involve chopping up and/or melting Mars bars into a cheesecake mix. However that wasn't what this person was looking for. Described as having discrete layers of caramel, cheesecake and chocolate all in a biscuit base so, looking for something creative to do, I thought I would give it a shot to come up with something.

The caramel layer was easy enough, I just boiled a can of sweetened condensed milk. Although unfortunately I didn't boil it quite long enough so it is a touch runny. The chocolate layer was simple enough, a softish ganache made from equal quantities of cream and dark chocolate. You could make a firmer ganache but I wanted something nice and soft. My main issue was how to make the cheesecake layer "Mars bar-ish". I looked at some chilled cheesecake recipes. I looked up nougat filling recipes wondering if I could combine the two. Discarded most ideas with the thought of them being overly sweet and decided in the end I to go with something really simple. I added a good slug of vanilla extract (paste would have been better but I don't have any at the moment) and used dark brown sugar in the mix instead of white or icing sugar. The result is, if I do say so myself, rather spectacular. It it doesn't quite have the taste of a mars bar, the tang of the cream cheese still there. You could add more sugar if you want, I hedged my bets on that last night when I was making it as I though maybe with the sweetness from the caramel it would be overpowering. For me personally it is perfect but please do it to your own taste. Out of this recipe I made 1 x 15 cm tart and 2 x 6 cm tarts, it would probably fit perfectly into a 20 cm round x 3 cm deep tart tin.

Chocolate Caramel Cheesecake

1 400 g tin sweetened condensed milk (you could also use Top'n'fill)

250 g butternut snap cookies

50 g butter, melted

250 g cream cheese

100 ml double cream (you could used thickened I think)

2 tsp vanilla extract

3 tbsp dark brown sugar

100 ml pure cream (you could used thickened)

100 g dark chocolate, finely chopped

Method:

Simmer tin of sweetened condensed milk in a large pot of water, making sure that the water is at least 2.5 cm over the top of the tin at all times, for 3 - 4 hours. (If you let the water level drop below the tin it can explode, please be VERY careful when doing this, other methods for turning sweetened condensed milk in to caramel are discussed here or here.

Finely grind cookies in a processor or you can put them in a bag wrap with a tea towel and beat with a rolling pin or meat mallet. (The rolling pin method is particular good if you are stress or frustrated. LOL) Combine crumbs with melted butter and press firmly into base and sides of a tart tin. Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.

Beat cream cheese in a mixer, or by hand, until light and fluffy. Add double cream and beat to combine. Add vanilla and sugar and beat until sugar has dissolved.

Spread caramel in an even thick layer in the tart tin. (I only used about 2/3 of my tin of caramel). Top with the cheesecake mixture leaving about 1/2 cm space at the top for the chocolate. Refrigerate for at least 1 hour.

Heat cream in a small saucepan until small bubbles start to form around the edges (just before boiling point). Place chocolate in a glass or ceramic bowl and pour over cream. Whisk continuously until chocolate has melted. Allow to cool slightly and pour over cream cheese layer (I ended up with quite a bit of chocolate left over perhaps try 80g/80ml) and refrigerate for at least 4 hours or overnight.

Happy 2nd Birthday - Coconut Tres Leches Cake

2012-01-16T18:30:00.000+11:00

Happy 2nd birthday to my little blog! I forgot the first birthday last year but I was determined not to forget this year. I am so pleased that I started up blogging. I know that did blog as much last year as I did in my first but I am hoping to do more this year. I am trying to keep on top of my diet this year. I did manage to lose 15 kg last year which I was so very pleased with but I still have plenty more weight to lose. I do refuse, however, to starve and/or seriously deprive myself. I know myself too well and know that if I do those things that I just rebel. So will I hope to have more healthy and lighter recipes on here this year there is still be some desserts and indulgent and luxurious meals too.

For a birthday you just have to have a lovely dessert and this one is a wonderful one. I had made it before about 3 or 4 years ago and just love it. I had a bbq with friends on the weekend and it was requested that I bring a dessert. Actually I am always requested to bring a dessert, lol. Not that I mind at all, I so love to make desserts. This one was a huge hit, everyone just raved about it and pretty much every one had seconds. The first time I made it I topped it with sliced mango and shaved fresh coconut. I think it was better with the strawberries, blueberries & kiwi fruit.

Coconut Tres Leches Cake

Ingredients

6 eggs, separated
3/4 cup sugar
1 cup plain flour
400 g can sweetened condensed milk
1/2 cup evaporated milk
1/2 cup coconut milk
1 tsp vanilla
1 1/2 cups cream
Fruit to top (eg berries, kiwi fruit, mango, passionfruit)
Shaved coconut (optional)

Method

Heat oven to 160 C (140 C fan-forced).

Grease 32 cm x 22 baking dish.

Beat yolks and sugar on high speed until pale yellow and fluffy.

Whip egg whites to peaks. With rubber spatula, stir about 1/3 of egg whites into yolks and then gently fold in remaining whites.

Sift flour over egg mixture and using a rubber spatula to gently fold in until there are no more white flour streaks being careful not to over mix.

Bake until puffed and golden and the edges pull away from the sides of the pan, 20 to 25 minutes.

Remove from oven and place pan on a wire cooling rack. With a toothpick, poke holes all over the cake. Allow to cool for 15 minutes.

In a jug combine the milks and vanilla and then pour mixture evenly over cake. Continue to cool cake for another 45 more minutes and then cover tightly with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight.

Turn cake out onto a serving plate, you may need to use a spatula to lift around the edges and then tap on the bottom of the pan, it will eventually come out. (I had the centre of the cake stick but I just lifted it out and stuck it back in place...shhh)

Whip cream and cover cake with it then top with desired fruit and coconut, if using.

Beet, Feta & Almond Tart

2012-01-15T17:51:00.000+11:00

I made this last Sunday night for dinner. I served it with a very easy Nectarine & Rocket salad. It was very good hot but quite rich. It was also very good cold for lunches during the week. In fact it may have been better cold than hot. The only thing I would change would be to use milk instead of the cream. That is definitely a personal taste thing though as I found it to be way too rich for me. I would also put a little bit less beet in next time too, although I had used 2 1/2 beets so when writing out the recipe I said to use 2. If you don't want to make your own pastry then you can just use some premade shortcrust pastry. This is my Gramma's pastry recipe and it is so easy to make. My Gramma used to make it with her own rendered lard, which of course, made an incredible pastry but butter works just as well.

Beet, Feta & Almond Tart

Pastry:

1 1/2 cups plain flour
125 g butter, cubed
1/2 tsp salt
1 egg, lightly beaten
1 tbsp white vinegar
water to make up 1/2 c with egg & vinegar

Combine flour & salt, cut in butter. Combine egg & vinegar and add water. Add slowly to flour & butter mixture until you get a soft pastry. (You probably wont need all the liquid) Wrap in glad wrap and refrigerate for 20 minutes.
Roll out and line tart pan. Chill in freezer for 20 minutes.
Pre-heat oven to 180 C.
Line pastry shell with baking paper and fill with pie weights/beans/rice and bake for 15 minutes. Remove baking paper and weights and return to oven for a further 10 - 15 minutes or until slightly golden.

For filling:

2 medium beets, roasted until tender, cooled and chopped
2 or 3 spoons of caramelised onions (I had some in the freezer, if cooking probably about 1/2 a red onion slice & cooked)
about 100 g marinated feta (I just used as much as I wanted)
1/4 parmesan, finely grated
3 eggs, lightly beaten
185 ml (3/4 c) cream, (I would probably use 150 ml milk next time it was a bit rich for me)
1 - 2 tbsp sliced almonds

Combine beets and onions and put into tart shell. Top with crumbled feta and half the parmesan.
Combine eggs & cream and pour into tart shell.
Place tart pan on a baking tray and bake at 180 C for 20 minutes.
Top with remaining parmesan and almonds and return to oven for a further 15 minutes or until set and golden.

Pork & noodle salad with pomegranate vinaigrette

2012-01-10T21:00:00.000+11:00

I am so very tired tonight. I really haven't been sleeping very well lately and it all does catch up with me after a while. Hopefully I will get some better sleep tonight. Although one night of decent sleep really doesn't make up for multiple nights of bad. So perhaps I should wish for a week of good sleep.

I made this dish on the weekend. It was very loosely based on a Jamie Oliver recipe that I made quite some time ago. I had really enjoyed that recipe and had always wanted to make it again. I recently bought a large amount of meat from my local butcher including several kilos of Aussie style spare ribs which I think is really belly slices. I thawed some of those for this recipe. I also changed the base from rhubarb to pomegranate. The rhubarb in my garden is not producing and it is so expensive to buy. I had purchased a bottle of pomegranate juice recently to make a punch but ended up not making it so thought that it would be perfect for this dish. I was really pleased with how this turned out and this and Jamie's original recipe will definitely remain in my mind for making again in the future.

Pork & noodle salad with pomegranate vinaigrette

For pork:

4 pork spare ribs, skin remove and cut into bite size pieces

100 mls pomegranate juice

1 - 2 tbsp chili garlic sauce

1 inch piece ginger finely grated

1 - 2 tbsp honey

Combine all ingredients in a bowl (glass/ceramic is probably best) and marinate, refrigerated, for at least 4 hours but overnight would be best.

Heat a wok over high heat and add 1 - 2 tbsp peanut or grapeseed oil. Drain meat and cook in batches until cooked through and starting to caramelise.

For noodle salad:

200 g packet singapore noodles

1/2 cucumber, strips peeled, de-seeded & sliced

1/2 red capsicum, de-seeded & thinly sliced

1/2 red onion thinly slice

Punnet cherry tomatoes, quartered (I had home grown)

1/4 c chopped mint & parsley

Alfalfa sprouts (or whatever sprouts you fancy)

Place noodles in a bowl and cover with hot water & stand for 5 - 10 minutes. Drain, refresh with cold water and then drain well. Combine with salad ingredients.

For vinaigrette:

1 tbsp pomegranate juice

2 tbsp olive oil

1/2 tsp mustard

Mix all ingredient until nicely emulsified.

Add pork to noodle salad ingredients and pour over dressing and toss to combine. Serve immediately.

Ham, Lychee & Baked Ricotta Salad

2012-01-09T20:30:00.000+11:00

Just a quick post tonight goes with what a quick meal this was. It was incredible though. Whilst in the supermarket getting more milk I saw that the lychees were on special so I purchased a bunch of them. I just love lychees. I love to just sit with a bowl and a paring knife and just eat them. Last year I made a tart with some of my left over ham and served it with a salad that contained nectarines and it was very good. So I wondered whether ham and lychees would go together and they did, wonderfully. I had also purchased some baked ricotta while I was in the supermarket so added that in as well. I think that perhaps it might have been better with feta although I had been worried about it being too salty with the ham. For the dressing I made a simple raspberry vinaigrette which had just the perfect amount of sweetness to go with it.

I don't really have amounts for you, I just piled some stuff on a plate until it looked right so I will just give you the ingredients.

Ham, Lychee & Baked Ricotta Salad

Shaved ham

Lychees, peeled & halved

Red onion slices

Tomato, cut into wedges

Baked ricotta, cut into wedges

Mixed salad leaves

Bread, toasted & cut into cubes (I used pasta dura)

Vinaigrette:

Raspberry vinegar

Mustard

Olive oil

Redcurrant & Balsamic Glazed Ham

2012-01-08T20:47:00.001+11:00

Happy new year to all of you that are reading my little blog. I am not sure how much I will be posting. I am still not feeling very inspired to write much about food. I wasn't really that inspired to cook much either until the past week or so. I have gotten back to menu planning and have stuck to it reasonably well so far.

Since I was away for Christmas I didn't make myself a ham before I went away however once I got home I decided that it would be a good idea to buy a ham and glaze it so that I could get some meals out of it and then slice it up and vacuum pack it in portions for me to have throughout the year. I ended up buying an exceptional ham from my local butcher. I got them to remove the skin and score the fat for me, so that was two less steps for me to do.

I decided to go with this recipe over on Taste.com.au. However, I didn't have much cranberry sauce left but I did have a jar of redcurrant jelly in the cupboard so I decided to use that as suggested in the notes. I also added some wholegrain mustard into the glaze mixture, probably 1 - 2 tablespoons. I also pour over about a third of the glaze and then basted with more every twenty minutes for an hour. It was lovely and caramelised after that. The ham itself was smoky and salty and the glaze was the perfect contrast to that. I really enjoyed this glaze. I would like to try it with the cranberry sauce as the original recipe intended.

Dukkah-Crusted Lamb with Pearl Couscous Salad

2011-12-30T15:49:00.001+11:00

I was invited to spend Christmas with friends this year and it was wonderful. I enjoyed taking a break from cooking and it was nice to be away from home for a few days. It was also terrific to spend time with my friends. However there was a bit of indulgence involved, especially with a trip to Bourke Street Bakery, along with all the other associated Christmas goodies. So I feel the need to have a few lighter meals for a while. This does not include the feast that I am making tomorrow for New Year's Eve, although I am mainly doing that for the leftovers that I can have for lunches.

I started my lighter meals last night with this lamb recipe over on Taste but I didn't really follow the recipe so will post what I did instead. It was very good, although I think that my dukkah is starting to get some age on it and therefore lose a bit of its flavour so I think I will probably toss it and make up a new lot. The couscous was very good although I think I could have made it a bit healthier if I had used quinoa instead of the pearl couscous. You really could add any salad veg that you wanted to.

Dukkah-Crusted Lamb with Pearl Couscous Salad

Serves 2

Ingredients:

4 Lamb loin chops

Olive oil

Pistachio dukkah (made with pistachios instead of almonds)

1/3 c pearl couscous

1/2 punnet cherry tomatoes, halved or quartered if large

1/4 continental cucumber, pealed, quartered and sliced

1/4 red onion sliced

1/2 avocado diced

2 slices of feta cheese, diced

Handful mint leaves, chopped

Raspberry vinegar (I bought this ages ago, it is so good and well worth it)

salad leaves to serve

Method:

Drizzle lamb with oil and sprinkle with dukkah giving it a good rub. Set aside while making salad.

Cook pearl couscous in some vegetable stock following packet directions, rinse in cool water and drain well. Combine couscous, tomatoes, cucumber, onion, avocado, feta and mint, drizzle with a small amount of raspberry vinegar and mix to combine. Refrigerate until serving.

Heat pan over medium-high heat and add a small about of grapeseed oil to pan. Cook chops for a few minutes each side or until cooked to your liking. Remove and drain on paper towel and trim fat from lamb.

Serve with salad leaves and couscous salad with an extra drizzle of vinegar.

December 2011 - Couscous salad with Honey & Saffron Dressing

2011-12-18T20:06:00.000+11:00

So, I have had a bit of a crazy weekend. Have done a lot of stuff over the past couple of days and now I am really tired. There is still some stuff I want to get done but it is not going to happen this evening. Hopefully I will get it done tomorrow after work.

I am going to be honest and tell you that I really haven't looked at this issue that closely. I have flicked through it and saw some lovely food. While flicking through I marked two recipes to make. Both were part of a Moroccan menu by David Morgan.

A couple of weeks ago I ordered a full lamb along with some pork and beef to fill up my freezer and because meat is so much cheaper if you can buy it in bulk. I picked it up last Wednesday and invited by grandparents up for a meal. I decided to do the Moroccan menu for them and it was a big hit. I made the Chermoula Lamb with yoghurt dressing. I made some changes. I marinated it and but used a on the bone roast instead of boned & butterflied. I also slow roasted instead of doing it on the barbecue. I also didn't have any preserved lemon for the yoghurt dressing (at least I couldn't find the jar I am sure that I have) so I used some fresh lemon zest in it instead.

To go with it I made the Couscous salad with Honey & Saffron Dressing. This was so good. My grandmother was really impressed with it. I did make some changes. I added in some capsicum when roasting the other vegetables. I used craisins in place of the sultanas and omitted the green olives. I didn't have enough oranges so I used grapefruit juice in the dressing instead. I will definitely make this one again.

Couscous salad with honey and saffron dressing

Serves 8 (actually I think it would feed an army...lol)

1 kg butternut pumpkin, peeled, deseeded and chopped
2 red onions, cut in wedges
1 red capsicum, deseeded and cut into chunks
2 tbsp olive oil
1 1/2 cups couscous
200 grams of chopped apricots
100 g craisins
1 3/4 to 2 cups vegetable stock, hot
2 oranges, peeled and segmented

For the dressing
100 ml grapefruit juice
1 tbsp honey
a pinch of saffron threads
2 tbsp olive oil

Preheat the oven to 200 degrees°C. Mix the pumpkin, onion and capsicum with the olive oil and roast this for 25- 30 minutes or until cooked. Let cool slightly and then peel capsicum and slice into strips.

Combine couscous, apricots, craisins and stock in a bowl and cover with glad wrap or a tight fitting lid until all liquid is absorbed.

Mix the pumpkin and onion with the couscous, apricots, sultanas and orange segments

For the dressing,

Heat the juice, honey and saffron in a small pan until it comes to a boil, then set aside to cool. Whisk in the oil and season to taste. Stir the dressing into the salad and serve.

The photograph here is from the following night when I served some of the left over salad with some lamb cutlets that had be marinated in olive oil and sumac.

Cake Decorating

2011-12-04T22:57:00.001+11:00

A couple of new cakes that I have done recently...just my standard chocolate cake. I really should break out one of these days and work out a recipe for a different type of cake. Although I am not keen on all the testing that comes with it...what to you do with all the okay but not quite perfect cakes?

A puppy dog cake for a friend's 3 year old, the paw prints were all individually cut out of fondant with 2 different sized piping nozzles. It was very hard to get them in place!

A Christmas present cake for a recent Christmas party. I was pleased with how the bow turned out, although it could have been a bit thinner. Plus I didn't make it with enough time for it to dry properly so it deflated after a while, but not until after the party thankfully.

Birdies

2011-11-24T18:14:00.001+11:00

I am not feeling very well at the moment and not up to blogging much. So have a look at some pretty birdies from my back yard until I feel up to blogging something tasty. :-)

Kookaburra:

Rosella:

Blue-faced Honeyeater:

Pumpkin Pie with Vegan Pumpkin Ice Cream

2011-11-20T16:56:00.001+11:00

I have spoken of my love of pies before. I know that this all stems from my gramma. She was the best pie maker ever. Plus she grew all of her own fruit so in the summer time it was one glorious pie after another with fresh just of the tree (or bush) fruit. My gramma would also preserve or freeze her fruit as well so that we could have her glorious pies (and other desserts) all year round.

This pie however, I remember more from Mum. It is Mum's recipe that I have. I always remember begging Mum as a kid to make pumpkin pie but it didn't very often get made so I like to make it a couple of times a year now just to savour it. If you don't tell people that there is pumpkin in it then they would never realise. It is just such a fabulous recipe, lovely and spiced with just the right amount of sweetness. This time around instead of one big pie I made some individual sized tarts so now I have a bunch of those in the freezer for any time I am feeling like it and I didn't have to eat a whole pie myself. LOL.

This time I also made a vegan pumpkin ice cream to serve with it which I found over on Tasty Yummies. I was intrigued by a vegan ice cream and was very impressed with it. I couldn't find almond milk so used oat milk and I used brown sugar as that was all I had. I really liked it a lot and it went perfectly with the pumpkin pie. It has also piqued my interest in exploring more vegan ice cream recipes.

Pumpkin Pie

Ingredients:

2/3 c brown sugar
1 1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground cloves
1/2 tsp ground allspice
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1/2 tsp ground ginger
1/2 tsp salt
2 eggs
1 1/2 c cooked mashed pumpkin, well drained (roasted and then mashed is best)
1 can evaporated milk

Method:

Combine sugar, cinnamon, cloves, allspice, nutmeg, ginger & salt.
Add eggs, pumpkin & cream and mix well.
Pour into an uncooked pastry shell.
Bake at 210 C for 15 minutes.
Reduce heat to 180 C for 40 minutes, or until knife inserted in centre comes out clean.

For my pastry I use my Gramma's recipe it is the best pastry in the world:

Gramma's Pastry (for one single crust pie)

Ingredients:

1 1/2 c plain flour
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 c butter (gramma used lard)
1 tbsp white vinegar
1 small egg
water

Method:

Combine flour and salt.
Cut in butter using a pastry blender.
Place egg in a 1 cup measure and lightly beat, add vinegar and top up with water to 1/2 cup.
Add to flour mixture and little at a time until you have a soft pastry (you probably will not need all the liquid).

November 2011 - Happy Birthday Delicious magazine

2011-11-19T23:20:00.001+11:00

Happy birthday to delicious. magazine. Imagine 10 years old now. It is almost hard to believe that it has been going for that long however as I sit here and look over at the shelf in my bookshelf full of magazine is a clear indication that it is true. It is a truly amazing collection of recipes and articles on a wonderful wide range of cuisines and topics.

What else but a fabulous dessert could be made from this issue? There was some lovely looking savoury recipes like Bill Granger's Coriander & Maple Syrup Lamb Racks, Rick Stein's BBQ butterflied lamb with olive oil chips and tomato, eschalot & basil salad or John Wilson's Chicken Kiev Burgers. While all of these sounded very good, especially Bill's recipe. I really wanted to make a sweet recipe.

Something else that was necessary, whatever recipe I made it had to be one of Valli Little's recipes. So much of what I have made out of delicious. magazine has come from Valli Little. Almost all of her recipes have been a success for me. I can't think of any off the top of my head that I would call a failure only things that I would tweak for my own tastes. It just seemed right that whatever I made from this birthday issue would be something of Valli's.

Having said that, I did for a very short amount of time consider making Christopher The's amazing Mango Meringue Birthday Cake on the front cover. I really would love to make it one day. The recipe is long and involved and I would need to buy another two 20cm round springform pans, although I suppose I could halve the recipe. It is certainly not something that you can just whip up in a few hours. One day I will make it, although I have been saying that about Adriano Zumbo's V8 cake for two years now too.

I had my grandparents and great-uncle & his partner coming up for dinner at slightly short notice and needed a dessert for the meal. I decided it was the perfect opportunity to make something from this issue. I decided on Valli's Strawberry & Rhubarb Galette. It was very easy and quite quick to make but it gave a stunning result. Everyone was very impressed with it. My grandmother particularly loved the pastry. I only made one change from the recipe and that was to use yoghurt in the pastry instead of sour cream. The yoghurt reduces the richness of the pastry a bit. The rose cream that was served with it was very good too, although I reduced the amount of rose water worried that it would be overpowering but I really shouldn't have full strength would have been better I think. It was such a wonderful dessert with really good flavour. I would definitely make this one again.

Creamed Eggs on Toast

2011-11-12T19:30:00.000+11:00

I made this ages ago and plan on making it again for breakfast tomorrow. I love a cooked breakfast especially anything involving eggs. Before I made this I had made myself some boiled eggs for breakfast one morning. While I was boiling eggs I decided to do some extra so that I could made egg sandwiches for lunches. I didn't end up getting around to making the sandwiches so I decided that I would use up the hard boiled eggs some way for breakfast. This is a really simple but very tasty dish. I think when I make it again I might pep it up a bit with a little bit of cayenne pepper or perhaps some curry powder instead of the mustard.

Creamed Eggs

3 hard boiled eggs, roughly chopped
1 green onion, very finely sliced (I cut into quarters and then sliced it)
2 tbsp butter
2 tbsp flour
1 c milk ( or as much as necessary)
1 tbsp mustard (or to taste)
salt & pepper, to taste
1 tbsp chopped parsley

Melt butter in small sauce pan over a medium heat. Add green onion and cook for a minute. Add flour and cook stirring for a further minute. Add milk slowly while stirring. Cook until it boils and thickens. If it is too thick add a bit more milk. Stir through mustard and salt & pepper. Remove from the heat and gently fold in chopped eggs and allow to warm through. Serve with toast and chopped parsley.

Chicken Noodle Soup with Lemon

2011-11-09T15:04:00.002+11:00

It has been a long week. It is lateish but I am in the middle of doing the washing. I volunteered to be a venue and cook for a family dinner tomorrow night. Now I am wondering why since I have been extremely lazy about the housework for the past couple of weeks. Oops. So I figured if I got the washing done tonight I could focus on the rest tomorrow morning. I am sure that it will be an enjoyable evening though.

To be honest I am really just filling up some space. This recipe looked nice. Photographed really well but didn't taste very nice at all. It was so disappointing. The stock was bland and really when the only things in it are a chicken, a few slices of ginger, 2 spring onions and black peppercorns how could it be anything but bland. The addition of carrot, onion, more ginger, perhaps some coriander roots might have helped things along. Since the stock was sub-par the soup made from said stock wasn't really anything to write about. I will not be making it again and after searching the 'net hoping to find someone that had already made this or the recipe on some other site I couldn't find it and since I really didn't like it I am not going to post the recipe. I would suggest finding yourself another chicken noodle soup recipe and add a bit of lemon to it and see what you think.

Chocolate Mousse

2011-11-09T12:26:00.001+11:00

Sorry, sorry, sorry I have been absent for so long. I was sick for a while and then was in Sydney for an appointment a visiting friends. Since I came home things have been difficult, depression has been nipping around my heels. Sapping my energy and making me lose interest in doing anything. I have so many things to blog about I hope that I can catch up.

I doubt that I am going to get through all of the remaining recipes in Sydney Food this year and to be honest I am not really all that worried about it now. I am getting to a point where I have made the majority of the recipes that I really want to and easily can. There are a few things that I just don't want to make, a couple of the seafood dishes. I have already said on numerous occasions that I am not keen on seafood and while I thought it would be good to make myself explore some new things I am now wondering if it is worth spending a bunch of money (seafood is expensive out here) on dishes that I am probably not going to enjoy. There is also one dish in the breakfast chapter that I have no desire to make, the jam doughnuts. I am not keen on doughnuts, I normally find them too fatty for me. I am not keen on the idea of deep frying. So I think I will leave that one as well.

Now onto this recipe, the chocolate mousse. It was like pretty much any other chocolate mousse. Standard ingredients chocolate, cream, eggs. It was way, way too rich for me and gave me an upset stomach. In the October 2003 issue of Delicious magazine there was a recipe for a lower fat chocolate mousse. I have been making chocolate mousse using that recipe ever since. It is the recipe that I will post here as it is one I would definitely recommend trying as it is easy with a great taste but without all the fat.

Low-fat Chocolate Mousse

Serves 6 - 8

Ingredients:

200 g dark chocolate (I use Lindt 70%)
2 tsp powdered gelatine
50 ml boiling water
100 g low-fat ricotta
300 ml low-fat custard
2 tbsp brandy (I prefer 1 tbsp Kahlua)
3 egg whites

Method:

Melt chocolate over simmering water (or in microwave if preferred)
Add gelatine to boiling water and whisk until it has melted. Leave to cool slightly.
Combine ricotta & custard in a processor then add gelatine mixture.
Slowly stir in the melted chocolate and the Kahlua.
Beat egg whites to soft peaks and fold through chocolate mixture.
Divide between serving dishes and refrigerate until required.

Low-fat mousse:

Bill's Chocolate Mousse:

October 2011 - Vietnamese Steak with Watercress

2011-10-22T21:32:00.000+11:00

Finally getting around to posting October's delicious magazine recipe. I made this a week ago but just hadn't gotten around to writing any posts the past week. It was a long week this past one, I hope that the next one will be better.

There were a number of recipes that I was interested in making from this issue and I hope to go back and get them made over the next little while. The first of these is Ben O'Donoghue's Yoghurt-marinated fish wrapped in zucchini. Such an unusual sounding combination. It says to use firm white fish fillets but I wonder if it could be made with salmon. I might try it out and see what happens.

I was also interested in two different dishes in the Tuesday Night Cooking feature. The first is a Thai Pork Vermicelli Salad. Made with marinated pork tenderloin and vermicelli noodles it will be a wonderful meal during summer and will be just as good cold as warm I am sure. I have made a number of different salads using vermicelli in the pasta and they are always very light and refreshing. I am sure this one will be also.

The other recipe in the Tuesday Night Cooking feature was the Middle Eastern Lamb Tart. It is a free form tart using filo spread with hummus and then topped with a spiced lamb mince mixture. It looks like it would be easy to make even though I have never had a lot of luck with filo pastry. Perhaps with something like this it would be okay since I am not having to try and line a dish with it. I think that you could probably do your mince mixture ahead of time to make the final cooking even quicker.

In the end though I decided to go with Bill Granger's Vietnamese Steak with Watercress. It was a very simple meal to make that had a lot of flavour. It was a tad oily for me so I would probably cut down on that a bit next time but it was definitely very good. I added some blanched halved sugar snap peas as well as the asparagus to up the vegetable content a bit.

Vietnamese Steak with Watercress

Ingredients:

600 g sirloin steak, cut into 4 cm x 4 cm pieces
3 garlic cloves, roughly chopped
2 tsp white sugar
1 1/2 tbsp light olive oil
Pinch ground white pepper (I used about 1/4 tsp)
2 bunches asparagus, trimmed, sliced on an angle (blanched)
handful sugar snap peas, trimmed, halved on an angle (blanched)
Large handful watercress
1/4 c white wine
2 tbsp soy sauce
2 tsp fish sauce
20 g softened unsalted butter

Method:

Crush garlic with sea salt in a mortar, combine with garlic, sugar, 1 tbsp oil, white pepper, 1 tsp salt and steak. Cover and let marinate for at least an hour.
Heat pan over high heat and add remaining oil (I used grapeseed here).
Cook beef and marinade, without touching for 1 minuted. Turn beef and cook for a further 1 minute. Shake the pan for 30 seconds to cook the sides. Remove beef from pan, keep warm.
Add wine, soy & fish sauces and butter to fry pan and cook until reduced and thickened.
Combine asparagus, snap peas and watercress on a plater, top with pieces of steak and then drizzle with the sauce.

Cake Decorating

2011-10-15T22:52:00.000+11:00

So my latest cake was a lot of fun to make. What made it even better was that I got paid for it. Not just paid for the ingredients but paid for ingredients and time, so some pretty decent money. It added some pressure but I was so pleased with how it turned out. The birthday party had a Hawaiian theme. I was given a photo and asked to do something similar. I was so pleased with how it turned out and my client was overjoyed with it.

The cake is a double layer of my standard chocolate decorating cake. The breasts are also chocolate cake baked in a couple of large tea cups. The cake was filled and coated with dark chocolate ganache then covered in fondant with fondant accents. I was particularly pleased with how well the Wilton flesh-tone colour paste turned out. I even managed to colour almost exactly the right amount of fondant to cover the cake which has got to be a first for me.

Fish with Lemon-Roasted Potatoes and Fennel Chilli Relish

2011-10-14T20:30:00.000+11:00

This is another recipe I made ages ago. Bill's original recipe was for baked snapper. However, I didn't want to cook a whole fish so I just pan-fried a fish fillet. Unfortunately the fish I picked, I can't remember what now, was just awful and I didn't end up eating the whole meal. I guess that my opinion of this recipe has been coloured by inferior ingredients. Perhaps I will give it another go with a whole fish. The potatoes were very good though.

Fish with Lemon-Roasted Potatoes and Fennel Chilli Relish

Ingredients:

2 fish fillets
sea salt
freshly ground black pepper
olive oil

Method:

Heat olive oil over a medium heat.
Season fish with salt & pepper.
Pan fry for a few minutes each side or until cooked through.

Lemon-roasted potatoes

Ingredients:

300g chat potatoes, unpeeled, quartered
1/2 lemon, finely sliced
1 bay leaf (optional)
sea salt
freshly ground black pepper
1 clove garlic, unpeeled, crushed
1 tbsp olive oil

Method:

Preheat the oven to 180C.
Place all ingredients in a bowl and toss until potatoes are coated in oil.
Spread on a baking dish and cover with foil. Bake for 20 minutes.
Remove foil and bake a further 20 minutes or until golden brown.
Serve with freshly ground black pepper.

Fennel chilli relish

Ingredients:

1/2 fennel bulb, finely chopped to 5mm dice
1 red chilli, finely chopped
juice of 1/2 a lemon
2 tbsp parsley, finely chopped
1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
sea salt
freshly ground black pepper

Place all ingredients in a bowl and combine.

Lemon Souffle Cakes

2011-10-14T00:11:00.000+11:00

I made these ages ago. The lemony flavour was great but the batter was difficult to work with. It was really runny and produced a really soft "pancake". I suppose that was the way it was supposed to be given the name soufflé cake. However for me all that meant was that they were really hard to flip while cooking. I think I would prefer to just add some lemon zest and juice to my mum's pancake recipe or to Bill's ricotta hotcake recipe.

Bill Granger's Lemon Soufflé Cakes

Ingredients :

3/4 c buttermilk
2 egg yolks
2 tbsp lemon juice
3 tsp lemon zest
1 tsp vanilla essence
25g unsalted butter, melted
3/4 c plain flour
1 tsp baking powder
3 tbsp caster sugar
a pinch of salt
2 egg whites

Method:

Combine buttermilk, egg yolks, lemon juice, zest and vanilla essence then add melted butter and mix well.
Combine flour, baking powder, sugar and salt. Make a well in the centre and gradually whisk in the wet ingredients until they are just combined.
Whip the egg whites to soft peaks then fold them into the buttermilk mixture using a large metal spoon.
Melt a small amount of butter in a fry pan over a medium heat. Add a couple spoons full of batter and cook until golden brown on the bottom, flip the cake over and cook until golden brown on both sides. Keep warm while cooking the rest.
Serve with halved strawberries tossed in a little honey.

Pecan Maple Pie

2011-10-02T20:34:00.000+11:00

Well, my cold decided to hang on a lot longer than I had expected it would. I had hoped to get all sorts of things made and done over the past week however it was not to be. It is a long weekend here and finally today I started to feel like I was getting back close to 100% although I have all of a sudden gotten very tired tonight. Perhaps I will manage an early night.

Lately I have found myself in a little bit of a slump when it comes to my plans for my little blog. I haven't made anything from Bills Sydney Food in ages. I think it started when I had a couple of things that I did make (yet to be posted about) that just did not work. I am also finding myself in a position where I have made most of the things that I really wanted to and am now left with the others that I am either ambivalent about or and really unsure about making. There are also two recipes that I did make but the photos are not up to scratch so need to be remade. I have still been cooking and have so many things that I want to post about but just haven't done the posts as yet. I may yet do a few posts of just the recipes and pictures to get them up, a bit lazy, but at least it would let me catch up. Every time I post something that I have only just made I feel a little bit guilty as there are so many other recipes with their hands sticking up saying pick me, post me! LOL.

Anyway, this is something that I did just make, well last night anyway. I just wanted to make a pie this weekend. I sat down with my mum's old recipe folder and handwritten cards and came up with a recipe for pecan pie that sounded perfect. I did make a few changes though, reducing the sugar as I usually find pecan pie too sweet. I also substituted the golden syrup in the recipe for maple syrup. I thought that this might be an interesting little twist on the regular recipe, plus I find maple syrup less sweet than golden syrup, not sure if it is or whether that is just psychological. It all came together really quickly and easily. I think next time I would use a tart tin that is a little deeper or a little bigger as I couldn't fit all the filling in although there was only about 1/2 c left over. I served the pie with a drizzle of cream today with lunch.

PecanMaple Pie

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups pecans
1/2 cup brown sugar, tightly packed
2/3 cup maple syrup
2 tablespoon Jim Beam (or other bourbon) (optional)
1/4 cup unsalted butter
3 eggs
1/4 cup pure cream
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 pie crust (see below)

Method:

Combine sugar, syrup, bourbon and butter in a saucepan over a medium-low heatand bring to the boil stirring occasionally and then remove from the heat andallow mixture to cool.
Beat the eggs with the cream and vanilla and then add to the cooled syrup.

Spreadthe pecans over the bottom of the pie crust.
Pour the syrup mixture over the pecans.
Bake at 170C for 45 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the centre comesout clean.

Pie Crust

1 1/2 c plain flour
1/2 tsp salt
125 g butter, cut into chunks
1 tbsp white vinegar
1 small egg
water

Combine flour and salt in a food processor, add butter and pulse until mixture resembles breadcrumbs.
Place egg in a 1 cup measure and lightly beat, add vinegar and top up with water to 1/2 cup.
Add to flour mixture and little at a time until you have a soft pastry.

Roll out to size required, line tart tin. Prick the base with a fork and then place in the freezer for 10 - 15 minutes.

Line the pie shell with baking paper and fill with pie weights, rice or dried beans and bake at 190 C for 15 minutes. Remove the baking paper and weights from the pie shell and return to the oven for a further 5 - 10 minutes or until lightly browned.

Delicious September 2011 - Moroccan Lamb with Carrot Salad

2011-09-25T20:55:00.000+10:00

I can't believe at how quickly this month is passing by. I all of a sudden found myself staring at not having a recipe cooked out of this month's Delicious magazine and I just couldn't let that happen. I kind of lost my cooking mojo lately. I have still been making stuff to eat but certainly nothing worth writing about. In fact not much cooking involved with pre-coated chicken breast schnitzels and frozen veg. I have, of course, had a few exceptions but I just haven't seemed to have gotten around to writing about them yet. I have a bit of catching up to do.

From this issue I had initially wanted to make Nigella's Chocol-Oat Cookies. Basically a double chocolate oat cookie having both cocoa and chocolate chips. They sounded so good but had already made some other biscuits at the time and didn't really need two different types in the house.

When menu planning for this week I decided to make two recipes from this issue this weekend. The first was Chicken with Shanghai Noodles from the Global Flavours feature. I had just scanned the recipe looking at what was required for it. Finding that I had almost all the ingredients I decided to make it for dinner on Saturday night. I, however, came down with a cold. Saturday morning I still planned on making it however by the afternoon I was starting to feel pretty awful again and on further reading of the recipe there was a lot more to it than I originally thought. So I have stuck the chicken thigh fillets in the freezer and I hope to make this on Wednesday when I have the day off and hopefully will be better.

The other recipe on my menu plan from this issue is the one that I ended up making tonight, Valli Little's Moroccan Lamb with Carrot Salad which Valli says is inspired by Joanne Weir. This was very good. Although I did have a couple of issues. The first was the "lamb neck fillets" in the recipe, my very good local butcher didn't know what they were. So on my butcher's suggestion I purchased a 400g lamb leg roast portion. It was very lean and looked like it would be perfect. Second issue was that I couldn't get Dutch carrots, so I just used some regular carrots that I quartered. Finally, there was too much salt in the spice mix. I think reducing it by half would be better. I also reduced the amount of pepper. Oh, and very last, the citrus zest in the oven....200C was way too hot.

Moroccan Lamb with Carrot Salad

Ingredients:

2 tbsp finely grated orange zest

2 tbsp finely grated lemon zest

2 tsp cumin seeds

1/2 tsp chilli flakes

2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

2 x 400 g lamb leg portions

1 cup whole-egg mayonnaise (I would use yoghurt next time)

2 tsp harissa (I used more)

Carrot Salad

4 large carrots, quartered

2 tbsp honey (I used Leatherwood)

100 ml extra virgin olive oil

2 tbsp redcurrant jelly

Juice of 1 lemon and 1 orange

1/4 tsp ground cinnamon

2 tbsp chopped flat-leaf parsley

radishes, sliced

sprouts, salad leaves, feta (I used garlic feta), to serve

Method:

Pre-heat oven to 160 C.
Bake zest and a tray for 5 - 10 minutes. Watch very carefully as it will burn quickly.
Add cumin seeds and bake a further 5 minutes or until zest is crispy. Cool.
Crush zest, cumin, chilli with 1 tbsp each of salt and black pepper (original recipe was 2 tbsp each).
Combine half the spice mix with oil and rub over lamb, cover and chill for 2 -3 hours or overnight.
Pre-heat oven to 180 C.
Combine carrots, honey and 60 ml oil and roast for 20 minutes or until just soft.
Combine jelly and juices in a pan over a medium heat. Reduce by half and then add cinnamon.
In a bowl combine parsley, radishes, sprouts, salad leaves, feta and carrots and dress with a small amount of dressing just before serving.
Heat an oven-proof fry pan over a high heat. Brown lamb on all sides and them place pan in oven and roast for 15 - 25 minutes (time will depend on how thick your lamb portion is and how well done you like it). Let rest 10 minutes, covered with foil.
Combine mayonnaise and harissa and place in a serving bowl.
Slice lamb and serve with carrot salad and mayonnaise.

Baked Raspberry Meringue Cheesecake

2011-09-17T21:16:00.000+10:00

A few weeks ago my friends and I decided that we needed to catch up more regularly. So it was decided that we would have a barbecue once a month rotating houses each month. It is kind of like a pot luck situation where each one brings something. I volunteered to make a dessert for a first gathering.

I wanted to make something a bit different but something that would be family friendly and yummy. There were a couple of choices between different tart recipes that I have had bookmarked for a while. However, I had an idea for something brand new. It was kind of based around the lemon & coconut meringue cheesecake that I made last year. However I wanted to lighten it up a bit. So I decided to add in some strained vanilla yoghurt. I made both a large one (probably too large now I look at it) and a small one for blogging and taste testing purposes of course, lol. I am very pleased with how this has turned out. The raspberry flavour is just lovely and it is not too heavy. I made sure to go easy on the sugar as it could have easily been way too sweet. I hope that it is liked by all.

BakedRaspberry Meringue Cheesecake

Ingredients:

1 packetgranita biscuits
1 packetmarie biscuits
170 g butter,softened
500 g creamcheese
250 gstrained vanilla yoghurt
1 tsp vanillapaste
2/3 c castersugar
5 eggs
4 egg yolks
400 graspberries (crushed and strained to remove seeds)

Meringue:

4 egg whites
¼ tsp creamof tartar
2/3 c castersugar

Method:

Processbiscuits until finely crushed. Add butter and mix well to combine. Press intotart tins and chill for at least 1 hour.
Place creamcheese & yoghurt in mixer bowl and beat until well combined. Add vanillaand sugar and beat to combine. Add eggs & yolks one at a time beating wellafter each addition. Add raspberry puree and mix well to combine.
Pour fillinginto tart tin bake at 160 C for 50 minutes, it should still have a slightwobble but not too much. Remove from oven and cool for about 20 minutes.
In a cleanmixing bowl beat egg whites and cream of tartar to soft peaks. Slowly addcaster sugar beating until it is stiff and glossy and the sugar is completelydissolved.
Spreadmeringue on top of cheesecake and then return to oven for a further 15 minutesor until nicely browned.

(From this Igot 1 x 24 cm (5 cm deep) round tart tin and 1 x 10 cm (4 cm deep) round tarttin)

Pumpkin Leek & Chorizo Risotto

2011-09-12T20:08:00.000+10:00

So encouraged by a friend I have started on a bit of an exercise kick. Today was the beginning of week three of swimming four days a week (actually considering going to 5 days). I am now up to swimming 30 x 25 metre laps. Today it took me about 40 minutes. I have to admit that I am really enjoying it and am pleased to have been pushed into it. I have also managed to lose some weight. Since the start of this year I have lost a total of 5.5 kg. Not a huge amount but it is certainly a start. Losing is definitely better than gaining or even just staying still. I hope that with the swimming that the weight will come off quickly to start with.

Now, I know that risotto isn't exactly diet food, however I did make this quite some time ago plus it is absolutely to die for (oh and I don't really do diet food... lol). I just love pumpkin risotto so much. In fact I really am a fan of almost any kind of risotto. I like to make my pumpkin risotto with raw pumpkin that has been fairly finely diced and let it cook in the stock as the rice cooks. Some of the smaller pieces start to disintegrate and provide a lovely orange colour while the bigger pieces stay whole and add a different texture even when fully cooked. For this one I had a leek in the fridge that needed using up so used that in place of onion and I also had some chorizo so finely diced it and fried until nicely coloured. I don't normally add the chorizo to this but it was so, so good in it and I will definitely add it in again.

Pumpkin, leek & chorizo risotto

Ingredients:

1 chorizo, finely chopped
1 leek, halved & finely sliced
Wedge pumpkin, finely diced (I am not sure how big it was, there was probably 1.5 cups of diced pumpkin)
1 c arborio rice
1/2 c white wine (or extra stock)
3 - 4 cups chicken or vegetable stock
grated parmesan (about a cup maybe)
rocket, to serve

Method:

Heat saucepan (I used my swiss diamond sauté pan) over a medium heat.
Place chorizo in and let cook. Remove from pan leaving as much oil in the pan as possible.
Add leek and cook until soft. Add rice and stir for a minute. Add pumpkin and stir.
Add wine and cook, stirring, until it is absorbed.
Add stock slowly, stirring after each addition until absorbed, continue adding stock until rice and pumpkin are cooked.
Add parmesan and stir. Season if necessary.
Serve on a bed of rocket.

Feast - August 2011 - Beetroot Salad

2011-09-11T23:58:00.001+10:00

There is a new food magazine on the Aussie landscape. Coming from the SBS stable is a wonderful magazine. It is full of some amazing recipes and wonderful articles. Recipes from many different cuisines. I have to admit to being completely engrossed with this magazine right from the start. My only small issue is with something in the editor's opening remarks:

"Some of the ingredients may not be on your local supermarket shelves, but we believe unearthing new flavours, food stores and neighbourhoods is all part of the culinary adventure".

That is all well and good if you are living in a major city or even in an area with a diverse population however there are those of us that do not live in areas where there are an Asian supermarket, Middle Eastern deli, Indian grocer etc, etc. There is only so much that can be purchased over the internet or by mail order. I am passionate about food, I love to create and try new recipes and cuisines. I make do with the resources that I have available. While I understand the desire to push people to move out of their comfort zones and explore, I would have thought that for a wider appeal for their magazine perhaps offering alternative ingredients would help people out. Yes, I can sit here and google what might be an appropriate substitute but sometimes it would be nice to have a suggestion from the author of the recipe.

Okay, now that I have vented that I will move on. I was quite taken with the feature on Argentine food in this issue. I was particularly taken with the look of two of the dishes, the Beef & Corn Pie and the Beetroot Salad. I ended up making both of these dishes on the one night. I was completely torn by these recipes. The Beetroot salad was absolutely to die for. I was so in love with it. The combination of the beetroot, potato, onion with a balsamic dressing was amazing. I have made it a number of times since and will definitely be making it again and again. The pie, however, was really not for me. The picture looked wonderful, the recipe sounded fine, I like all the ingredients in it but put it all together and I just didn't like it. There were two different fillings, a beef layer topped by a puréed corn/egg layer and it just didn't seem to meld for me. It was a lot of work and a lot of ingredients so I was really disappointed. The salad though was glorious and that is the recipe that I am going to be sharing with you.

Beetroot Salad (Ensalada de Betarraga)

Ingredients:

1 large white onion, thinly sliced (I used a red onion)
1 tbsp salt
hot water
4 beetroot, roasted until cooked
2 large desiree potatoes, peeled and diced
1 tbsp white wine vinegar
1 tbsp balsamic vinegar
1 tbsp olive oil

Method:

Combine onion and salt and then cover in hot water. Stand for 15 minutes and then drain and rinse.
Peel roasted beetroot and then dice to the same size as the potato. (The recipe said to slice thinly, I find it better diced.)
Add potatoes, 1 tsp salt and white wine vinegar to water and boil until tender and then drain.
Combine onion, beetroot and potatoes. Dress with balsamic and olive oil and season to taste.

Chicken Club with Avocado Mayonnaise, Roast Tomato and Bacon

2011-09-03T01:30:00.000+10:00

Urgh, I am so tired. I just can't sleep. So I am here typing up some long over due posts. I made a very, very average birthday cake tonight. I feel really badly about it and wish that I could start over again but it is late and I don't have everything necessary start again nor do I have the time to do it.

I simplified this recipe a bit. Instead of cooking chicken tights for it I used some of the chicken from the warm poached chicken from my last post. I just gave it a quick go round in a fry pan to warm it up and brown it a bit. I also didn't make the mayonnaise from scratch. I just used some of Neil Perry's mayonnaise and added some mashed avocado.

Chicken Club with Avocado Mayonnaise, Roast Tomato and Bacon

Ingredients:

Chicken meat, left over from poached chicken
2 slices bread, per person (I used sourdough)
Rocket
Bacon, fried until crispy and drained
Tomatoes, halved and roasted for 40 minutes in 180 C oven
2 tbsp mayonnaise mixed with 1/2 a mashed avocado

Method:

Tear chicken into chunks.
Heat some olive oil over medium heat. Add chicken and fry until warmed through and browned.
Spread bread with avocado mayonnaise top with rocket, chicken, bacon and tomatoes.

Warm Poached Chicken with Onion Rice & Fresh Ginger Relish

2011-09-02T22:19:00.000+10:00

Well, the last couple of weeks have been rather difficult. I am so tired at the moment but not sleeping well. I have had a few other things going on, including one of my cats being badly injured in a fight with another cat. She is improving but it is still worrying. Plus she escaped the house on me several hours ago and has not yet come home. I can only hope that she is not out there fighting again.

I made this dish from Bill's Sydney Food a while ago now. I used a lovely organic chicken that I had in the freezer and the chicken turned out really well. I even used the coriander roots in the poaching liquid, although I didn't use the leaves. I really enjoyed the onion rice and think that I will use it for serving with other dishes. However I wasn't overly impressed with the fresh ginger relish. It just didn't seem to be cooked properly. I doubt I would make the relish again. The poached chicken and the rice I would definitely make again. I was worried that serving it with just cucumber as a vegetable wasn't really enough so I also steamed some zucchini batons.

Recipe: Warm Poached Chicken with Onion Rice & Fresh Ginger Relish

Oxtail & Beetroot Pie

2011-08-27T18:43:00.000+10:00

The past week has been awful. It is so incredibly hard to be half a world away when you lose a family member. I wish that I could be there right now with the rest of my family. Alas, I cannot.

I made this two weekends ago. It was a lot of work but I do think it was worth it. However, it could easily be made a lot simpler with the use of chuck steak or gravy beef in place of the oxtail. This would eliminate the need for the soaking and the blanching. I will admit that I didn't make the pastry. I placed the filling in a dish and topped with puff pastry. I served it with a sweet potato & swede mash and steamed green beans

Recipe: Oxtail & Beetroot Pie

Black Bean & Vegie Nachos

2011-08-21T19:40:00.002+10:00

I can't sleep tonight. I am tired and feeling rather blah but I just cannot seem to get so sleep. I was going to start a recipe for tomorrow night but on reading over it again it had to simmer for 3 hours. While I am having trouble getting to sleep at 11 pm I don't really want to have to stay up until 2 am waiting for something to finish cooking. So it will just have to wait until tomorrow. At least not sleeping gives me a chance to get caught up on some things that have been languishing around for a while and also schedule some posts for the next few days.

I bought some dried black beans ages ago and I haven't used them very much. There are a lot of different recipes that I have come across that use them but I just haven't gotten around to making any of them. The beans work very well in a taco/nacho filling though. I have made two different ones now. I really like vegetarian mixes for nachos and tacos. I also make my own seasoning mix. So much better for you than the ones you buy in the supermarket. I made a few extra tweaks to my seasoning mix this time and was very pleased with the results. I am glad that I wrote this recipe out while making so that I could replicate it as it was very good.

Black Bean & Vegie Tacos

Ingredients:

1/2 c black beans, soaked overnight & boiled until cooked.
1 tbsp olive oil
1 onion, finely diced
2 cloves garlic, crushed
1/2 red capsicum, finely diced
2 carrots, grated
1 zucchini, grated
250 g mushrooms, finely diced
4 tsp homemade taco seasoning (or to taste)
1 can tomatoes
300g can corn (undrained)
2 – 3 tbsp tomato paste

Method:

Heat oil in fry pan over medium heat add onion and cook 4 -5 minutes or until softened. Add garlic and cook a further minute.
Add capsicum, carrot & zucchini and cook stirring for a few minutes. Add mushrooms and stir in. Sprinkle over taco seasoning and stir for a few minutes or until fragrant.
Add tomatoes, corn and tomato paste. Let simmer until most of the liquid has evaporated.
Serve with tortillas or over corn chips with grated cheese, salsa, guacamole and sour cream or yoghurt.

Homemade Taco Seasoning Mix

Ingredients:

6 tsp Chilli Powder
5 tsp Paprika (3 tsp sweet, 2 tsp hot smoked)
4 ½ tsp Cumin
3 tsp Coriander
3 tsp Onion Powder
2 ½ tsp Garlic Powder
1/8 tsp Cayenne Pepper

Method:

In storage container with tight-fitting lid, combine all ingredients and mix well.
Seal tightly. Store in cool, dry place for up to 6 months.

Honey & Mustard Roasted Potatoes and Pumpkin

2011-08-20T16:54:00.000+10:00

I have talked before about how I believe it is just as important to spend time on making good side dishes as it is to make good main meals. This potato and pumpkin dish was so easy but so very tasty. I adapted this recipe over at Allrecipes to make this. I really enjoyed it and would definitely make it again. I served this with pickled pork with mustard sauce, braised turnips and steamed broccoli. The sweetness of the honey really added something to the meal. I would highly recommend the whole combination.

Honey & Mustard Roasted Potatoes and Pumpkin

Ingredients:

4 small potatoes, quartered
Wedge pumpkin, cut into chunks
1 tbsp butter, melted
1 tbsp honey
1 tbsp wholegrain mustard
salt & pepper

Method:

Pre-heat oven to 190 C.
Line baking tray with foil (this makes clean up easier).
Combine butter, honey, mustard and a pinch of salt & pepper.
Add potatoes and pumpkin and toss to combine.
Spread onto tray and bake for 30 - 35 minutes stirring a couple of times.

August 2011 - Fish burgers with lentil dip & cucumber yoghurt dressing

2011-08-16T22:02:00.000+10:00

I have mentioned before, probably ad nauseam, that I am not overly keen on seafood. I do, however, know that it is good for me. I have also read recently that omega 3 is supposed to be very good for people with bipolar. So I have decided that I really do need to make an effort to get more fish in my diet. So have been starting slowly and incorporating it into my diet more. I hadn't exactly been going for gourmet fare with take away fish and chips and some of those crumbed frozen fish fillet things from the supermarket with vegetables. However it was fish and tasted fine to me.

Then the August issue of Delicious magazine came out with Michael Moore's Fish Burgers with Lentil Dip and Cucumber Yoghurt. The burgers looked so good. It was such a different combination of flavours that I really wanted to try it out. It was also a really big coincidence as I had just purchased his cook book Moore to Food. I had never heard of him before but that book is just incredible. So many amazing dishes in it. Very much a food for entertaining book and I can't wait to do some dishes out of it for my friends. In this issue of Delicious he talks of the new book just out called Blood Sugar full of recipes that he has come up with since being diagnosed with diabetes. I really enjoyed this. I think I will make these burgers regularly. I probably wouldn't bother to do the lentil dip all the time, although it was very good. I really loved the cucumber yoghurt, which I also used as a dressing for the tomato and avocado salad that I served with the burgers. I think I will do it as a dressing more often when the weather warms. Oh, and I found the perfect plate to serve this wonderful meal on at my wonderful local homewares store.

Fish burgers with lentil dip & cucumber yoghurt dressing

Ingredients:

470 g skinless, boneless firm white fish fillets, roughly chopped, (chilled in freezer for 15 minutes)
2 egg whites
2 tsp harissa paste (or to taste)
1/2 bunch coriander, stalks and leaves chopped (I used parsley)
Rolls and mixed leaves to serve

Method:

Place fish and harissa in a food processor and process.
Add egg whites, parsley and salt & pepper and then pulse to combine.
Form into 4 patties and chill in the fridge for 15 - 20 minutes.
Heat a fry-pan (non-stick) over a medium-high heat and cook patties for a few minutes each side or until browned and cooked through, be careful as it will not take long to cook.
Split rolls, spread with lentil dip, top with leaves, patty and top with cucumber yoghurt and serve with extra salad.

Lentil Dip

Ingredients:

1 garlic clove, crushed
1 tbsp olive oil
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp ground coriander
pinch ground fennel seeds
400 g can brown lentils
1 tsp brown sugar
1/4 c water

Method:

Heat oil in pan over a low heat.
Add garlic and cook for a couple of minutes.
Add spices and cook until fragrant.
Add lentils, sugar and water and cook until thickened.
Place in processor and process until smooth.

Cucumber Yoghurt

Ingredients:

1 small cucumber, coarsely grated and moisture squeezed out
1 c non-fat natural yoghurt, (a thick one)
Juice of 1 lemon
1/4 bunch mint (I added some parsley too)

Method:

Combine all ingredients and set aside for at least 20 - 30 minutes for flavours to combine.

Blueberry Pie

2011-08-12T21:30:00.000+10:00

I just love pie, both sweet and savoury, but sweet most of all. Pie always reminds me of my Gramma. In summer there was all kinds of fruit from their orchard and berries from their vines. My two favourite fruit pies would have to be Gramma's fresh raspberry pie and the other saskatoon pie. Saskatoons are a lovely wild berry that looks similar to a blueberry. I guess they have a similar taste but there is a definite difference. I find them to be sweeter and definitely tastier. I remember going saskatoon picking with my Gramma when on holidays. It wasn't easy work although a lot easier than picking raspberries or blackberries. Plus the bonus is that you are in Canada and don't have to worry about poisonous Aussie spiders hiding in amongst the trees/berries, which I have had occur when picking blackberries.

Another pie that my Gramma used to make was a Sour Cream Raisin pie and it is just to die for. There is one huge but when it comes to this pie. I have tried to make it myself and I discovered what the but is. It just doesn't taste the same without proper sour cream. By that I mean that my grandparents (and uncles) milked their own cows and separated their own milk producing wonderful natural untouched cream. I have to admit that there is nothing better than fresh milk and fresh cream. Gramma would allow the cream to sour naturally. Not so much that it was bad of course but just enough that you didn't want to dollop it on top of a bowl of berries. That is when you make the sour cream raisin pie. It is just not the same using the homogenised, pasteurised and cultured sour cream that you buy in stores. I would love to be able to buy real milk and cream. Alas I do not know anyone who milks their own cows (with the exception of my uncles, but they are in Canada not Australia), not that I really blame them, owning milk cows is hard work. Another problem is that it is illegal to sell so called "raw" milk for consumption. Ah, I guess that I will just have to make another trip to Canada so that I can make a sour cream raisin pie.

Now that I have waxed lyrical about my favourite pies I am going to tell you that I made something completely different. Blueberries are as close as it gets to saskatoons here and since I had a yen for pie I decided that it would be a good idea to try making one. After a quick google search I came up with this delectable looking Blueberry pie recipe over on Simply Recipes. I couldn't wait for it to cool down so the filling did run a bit when I cut into it but it was worth it to eat this wonderful pie. I didn't make the pastry recipe linked to in that recipe. I instead made my Gramma's recipe like I do for almost all pastry items that I make. It is a wonderful recipe. My Gramma made it with lard. I make it either with shortening (if I have it) but more often that not just with butter. It is best made with lard though.

Shortcrust Pastry

Ingredients:

2 c (220 g) flour
1 tsp salt

2 tbsp caster sugar (for sweet pies only, which is my addition)
2/3 c (150 g) lard, shortening or butter
1 tbsp vinegar
1 small egg
water

Combine flour, salt and caster sugar. Cut in lard using a pastry cutter, or use a food processor.

Place egg in a 1 cup measure and lightly beat, add vinegar and top up with water to 3/4 cup. Add to flour mixture and little at a time until you have a soft pastry (you probably won't need all the liquid).

Chorizo, haloumi & roasted vegetables with pearl couscous

2011-08-11T21:24:00.000+10:00

One Friday night I just wanted something easy, quick and tasty. I also didn't want to have to go to the supermarket and buying more food when I knew that there was already a bunch of stuff in my house that I could use to make something good for dinner.

I looked through the fridge and cupboards and decided to make a warm salad with pearl couscous. I do really like pearl couscous but don't use it all that often. It is very good for salads though. I also had some haloumi and chorizo in the fridge so decided to use them along with some roasted vegetables. It was so easy to just throw everything in the oven, boil the couscous and mix it altogether. It also gave me a chance to finally show off the wonderful serving plate that I bought from a lovely little kitchen store while on holidays in May.

Chorizo, Haloumi & Roasted Vegetables with Pearl Couscous

Ingredients:

1 chorizo, chopped
1/2 red capsicum, roughly chopped
small red onion, cut into wedges
1/4 eggplant, roughly chopped
1 small sweet potato, roughly chopped
half a punnet of cherry tomatoes
150 g haloumi, diced
handful of olives,
1/2 c pearl couscous
1 c chicken stock (3/4 c might have been better)
handful of torn baby spinach leaves
handful of basil leaves, shredded

Method:

Pre-heat oven to 180 C
Place chorizo, capsicum, onion, eggplant, sweet potato and cherry tomatoes on a tray. Drizzle with olive oil and toss to coat. Roast in the oven for 15 minutes. Add olives and haloumi and roast for a further 5 - 10 minutes or until everything is cooked.
Meanwhile cook pearl couscous in the stock until it has been absorbed. Drain if necessary.
Combine couscous, roasted veg, chorizo and haloumi with spinach and basil leaves. Serve immediately.

Poached Eggs with Wilted Baby Spinach

2011-08-10T21:02:00.000+10:00

A slow start to this month again. I was sick for a few days and have had a bit of writers block but for the most part I have just been a bit lazy....oops.

I love all the different breakfast recipes that are in Bills Sydney Food and I really cannot wait to make those that I haven't already done. There are only two recipes in the breakfast section that I worry about making. The first is the Jam Doughnuts. I am not particularly worried about the yeasted dough more the deep frying part of it. I don't have a deep fryer and I don't really deep fry anything. The second recipe that I have been worried about is this one.

I think that I have expressed my concern about making poached eggs having never been successful at it before. I am not sure if it was just a fluke or just that Bill's instructions really resonated or that the eggs were fresher than ones I had used before but this time it just worked perfectly. I was so pleased with the results, although I haven't tried them again yet so I am not sure if it was just a fluke. I will definitely try though. I really enjoyed the combination with the spinach as well too. This was definitely my idea of a perfect breakfast.

Poached Eggs with Wilted Baby Spinach

Ingredients:

2 eggs
10 g butter
200 g baby spinach
1 tsp lemon juice
1 clove garlic, crushed
salt & pepper
2 thick slices of toast, to serve

Method:

Fill a pan, I used my saute pan, with 5 cm of water and bring to the boil.
Immediately remove from the heat and add the eggs, cracking just above the surface of the water and letting the egg slide into the water.
Cover with a lid and leave for 3 - 5 minutes, depending on how you like your eggs.
Meanwhile, melt butter in a pan and saute spinach. Add lemon juice, garlic and season with salt & pepper to taste.
Place spinach on toast and remove eggs from the water with a slotted spoon and place on top of spinach.
Top with a grind of black pepper just before serving.

Toasted Coconut Waffles with Mango & Syrup

2011-07-31T23:09:00.000+10:00

Well, it has been a little while since I last posted. No I haven't abandoned my little blog. I have been busy at work and then the past few days I have been sick. Sore throat, no voice and headache. I am pleased to say that after some sleep and tlc I am feeling a better. Good enough that I am sitting here waiting for it to be time for me to go out for dinner. In fact, I doubt I will get this finished before I go but at least I will have made a start.

I have seemed to have slowed down a little bit in what I am making from Bills Sydney Food. Plenty of other things have been on the menu including stuff from other books and magazines or just making it up as I go along. I will have to make a concerted effort to get back to it through. There are a few recipes that I want to leave for later in the year as there are some seasonal ingredients required and while I can buy them now they are either imported or not at peak flavour. Plus there is no point making everything at once. The other reason I have started to slow down is that I am getting to a point now where I am closing in on the recipes that don't interest me as much. Instead of spreading them out a bit with the ones that I knew I would definitely like I have been a bit silly and left some things, specifically the seafood dishes until "later". Now I am heading rapidly towards "later" and having to make them and I find the prospect of several seafood dishes in a row not particularly appealing. I do know that seafood is good for me and there are things that I do like but it really isn't something that I sit down and specifically choose a recipe to make. Oh well, I will just have to bite the bullet and get a start on them.

No, I didn't get this finished before I went out last night and it was late when I got home. I had a great night out with my friends. I did mean to get back to this earlier today but have only just gotten the chance now.

I really enjoy waffles. I have an electric waffle iron that my parents bought years and years ago. It doesn't get a lot of use but I drag it out of the back of the cupboard occasionally for a lovely breakfast. These waffles were different. I am not a huge fan of traditional waffle mixes I find them too light and fluffy with the beaten egg whites folded in. I much prefer to use a pancake mixture in my waffle iron as it is that bit thicker and makes a sturdier waffle that is not only good the first time around but freezes and toasts really well. I had to have two attempts at the toasted coconut for this. It was only in the oven for half the time that Bill suggested before it was burnt so the second time around I made sure to stand and watch it. Given the time of year, I didn't have fresh mango to go with them so I used some canned ones. These might be great for a mango lassi but I wasn't impressed with them as a fruit to eat on these waffles. Instead of the palm syrup I just used some golden syrup. These were nice but I am not in a hurry to make them again. I might try adding toasted coconut to my pancake mix and doing in the waffle iron and see if that is any better.

Toasted Coconut Waffles with Mango & Syrup

Ingredients:

1/2 cup shredded coconut
3 eggs, separated
50 g unsalted butter, melted
1 cup milk
1/2 cup coconut milk
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1 cup plain flour
Pinch of salt
2 tsp bicarb soda
3 tbsp caster sugar
Fresh mango, sliced (to serve)
Syrup (to serve)

Method:

Heat oven to 180 degrees.
Spread the coconut on a baking tray and toast for 3 or 4 minutes or until golden brown. Set aside to cool.
Combine egg yolks, melted butter, milk, coconut milk, vanilla and toasted coconut.
Sift flour, salt, baking soda and sugar then make a well in the centre and then gradually stir in wet ingredients.
Beat egg whites until soft peaks form and then fold through batter.
Cook the waffles in a waffle iron according to the manufacturer's instructions.
Serve with slices of fresh mango and then drizzle with syrup.

Delicious: July 2011 - Crumbed Lamb Chops with Roasted Greek-Salad Vegetables

2011-07-23T00:04:00.000+10:00

It seems like it has been a really long week and I am having trouble unwinding tonight. I was hoping to get to bed early tonight but I wasn't tired earlier. I am finally started to feel a bit sleepy now so hopefully I will get this typed up quickly and then be able to get some sleep.

This would have to be my favourite recipe that I have made out of this issue of delicious magazine. I really, really loved the roasted greek-salad vegetables. I have made them twice since as well. The lamb when with the vegetables perfectly. I used some lamb loin chops rather than the frenched cutlets. The only reason was that the loin chops were half the price of the cutlets. I really liked the lemon zest in with the breadcrumbs. It was also a really easy meal to make. I can see this one entering into rotation on my menu planning.

Crumbed lamb cutlets with roast greek-salad vegetables

Ingredients:

1 red onion, cut into thin wedges
3 roma tomatoes, halved (I used a punnet of cherry toms)
2 red capsicum, roughly chopped
3 zucchini, halved lengthways and thickly sliced
1 garlic clove, finely chopped
1/3 c olive oil (I used garlic olive oil)
1 tsp dried oregano
200 g feta, chopped
1/2 c kalamata olives (I used pitted ones)
1 tbsp oregano leaves, plus extra to serve
1 c dried breadcrumbs (I used panko breadcrumbs)
grated zest of 1 lemon
8 French-trimmed lamb cutlets
1/4 c plain flour, seasoned
1 egg, lightly beaten
lemon wedges, to serve

Method:

Pre-heat oven to 200 C and line a large baking tray with foil.
Toss vegetables and garlic with 2 tbsp oil and 1/2 tsp dried oregano. Season.
Spread on the tray and bake for 15 minutes or until vegetables are just tender.
Add feta, olives and oregano leaves and bake for a further 5 - 8 minutes until feta is golden.
Meanwhile, combine crumbs with zest and remaining 1/2 tsp dried oregano. Coat lamb first in flour, then in egg and crumbs, shaking off any excess.
Heat remaining oil 2 tbsp oil in a fry pan over medium-high heat (I used grapeseed oil).
In batches cook lamb for 2 - 3 minutes each side for medium-rare or until cooked to your liking.
Place lamb cutlets on a serving platter with rated vegetables, lemon wedges and oregano leaves.

Blueberry Butter Cake

2011-07-18T00:23:00.000+10:00

Sigh...it is late and I have a full day at work tomorrow and here I am doing a blog post. I had gotten a couple of good nights sleep and, of course, now I am here wide awake at midnight when I really need to be sleeping. Oh well I guess it gives me a chance to get another post done.

I am also sitting here watching old episodes of my favourite show Spicks & Specks, which is kind of a music quiz show. It is finished up at the end of this year and I am going to miss it terribly. I have a number of dvds full of episodes that I have recorded over the years so they should at least keep me happy for a while.

I made this lovely cake of Bill's last weekend. It was a really nice little cake. I didn't want a full 23 cm cake so I halved the recipe and cooked it in an 18 cm pan. However that pan was still a bit small. I would like to try it again but I would divide the recipe by 3 and try it again. I do know that the reason my blueberries sank is that the tin was too small and the mixture almost rolled over in the tin. I thought for a while that it was going to actually go over the side of the tin, thankfully it didn't. The cake part of it was so nice. Lovely and smooth and dense. It is a perfect dessert cake. I am also looking forward to making it with fresh rather than frozen blueberries.

Blueberry Butter Cake

For the Topping:

1 c brown sugar, firmly packed
1/4 c plain flour
75g unsalted butter, cold

Method:

Place brown sugar and flour in a bowl, add butter and rub in with fingertips until mixture resembles coarse breadcrumbs. Set aside

For the Cake:

2 c plain flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
125g unsalted butter, softened
1 c caster sugar
3 eggs, lightly beaten
1 c sour cream
2 c blueberries

Method:

Preheat oven to 180 C.
Sift flour, baking powder and salt into a bowl.
Cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy.
Add the eggs beating well to incorporated.
Add the dry ingredients, alternating with sour cream, mixing well after each addition.
Pour the cake batter into a greased 23 cm spring form cake tin. Sprinkle with blueberries and topping mixture.
Bake the cake for 50 minutes or until a skewer comes out clean.
Leave to cool in the tin for 10 minutes, then turn out onto a wire rack, top side up.

Cinnamon Snail Scrolls

2011-07-16T14:52:00.000+10:00

I have finally managed to get some sleep and am starting to feel a bit more motivated to get things done. Although the weather isn't really co-operating with me at the moment. I had planned on gardening this afternoon but it is very cold and miserable outside although we haven't really had that much rain. However a day doing the stuff inside is a much better option and hopefully tomorrow will be a better day.

Bill's Cinnamon Snail Scrolls looked really good but this recipe had a lot to live up to for me. My Gramma made the best cinnamon buns that I have ever had and I have her recipe and have made it numerous times. So having what I already considered the ultimate cinnamon bun recipe so I was a little bit apprehensive about what these would be like. Well, they were fine, but not as good as my Gramma's recipe. They weren't nearly as light a fluffy as hers, although looking at the picture in Sydney Food I am not sure they were supposed to be but I much prefer a lighter fluffier bun. I didn't put in the currants or sultanas as I am not overly keen on them. I also didn't ice them as I thought that it would be overly sweet. These were fine but I will be continuing to stick with making my Gramma's recipe.

Cinnamon Snail Scrolls

Ingredients:

14 g dried yeast
1/4 cup lukewarm water
1 cup milk
125 g unsalted butter, cubed
4 cups plain flour
1 pinch of salt
1/4 cup white sugar
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1/3 cup currants
1/3 cup sultanas
80 g unsalted butter, melted
3/4 cup brown sugar, firmly packed
1 tablespoon ground cinnamon

Method:

Dissolve the yeast in the warm water in a small bowl, and set aside until frothy.
Place milk and cubed butter in a saucepan over medium heat until butter is melted, leave to cool slightly.
Combine flour, salt and white sugar in a mixing bowl.
Make a well in the centre, add eggs, milk and yeast mixtures, and stir until combined.
Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and kneed for 6-8 minutes, adding flour if dough is too sticky. Add the currants and sultanas during the last 2 minutes of kneading.
Place the dough into a lightly greased bowl and cover loosely with plastic wrap. Leave in a warm place until doubled in size, about 30 minutes.
Punch the dough down and turn out onto a lightly floured surface. Press out into a 23 x 60 cm rectangle.
Brush generously with the melted butter (saving some for later). Sprinkle brown sugar and cinnamon evenly over the dough.
Roll the dough up lengthwise to make a log. Cut into 2 cm thick slices and place on a greased baking tray. Brush the tops with the remaining butter and cover loosely to rise again, until doubled.
While the rolls are rising pre-heat oven to 180 C.
Bake the rolls for 20 - 30 minutes or until nicely golden.

Delicious: July 2011 - Pea, Ham & Lemon Soup

2011-07-14T21:58:00.000+10:00

I really should be in bed at the moment but isn't it always the way when you think that you are going to get some early nights other things get in the way. I was ready to go to bed over an hour ago now but have had non-stop phone calls. Strange how the phone never rings when I am sitting up until all hours but when I think that I will get an early night it just doesn't stop. I really shouldn't be complaining though, it is good to hear from people.

There is some wonderful recipes in issue #106 of Delicious magazine. In fact I have made several of them already this month. I will be posting all the ones that I have made. There is even more that I would like to make. Jamie Oliver has a feature on doing a roast chicken and what you can make with the leftovers. There are some wonderful ideas especially the chicken & pumpkin salad. The pumpkin is roasted with ground coriander seeds & dried chilli. There are toasted chickpeas & pumpkin seeds along with left over chicken and stuffing with leaves. It would make a perfect lunch time meal.

I am also keen to make Jill Dupleix's Hot & Sour Noodle Soup with Minced Chicken. It just sounds like I wonderful revitalising soup full of all those wonderful Thai ingredients. It should be easy to halve the recipe as it is probably one of those soups that wouldn't keep as well as some. What I would be really worried about is how well the prawns would reheat. Better just to reduce it then risk having rubbery reheated prawns.

The first meal that I decided to make out of this issue was Matthew Evans' Pea, Ham & Lemon Soup. Matthew said 'that it would be brilliant to enliven pea & ham soup with lemon to make it lighter and brighter'. I am not really sure how much it lightened the soup up, perhaps I needed to add a bit more liquid to make a thinner soup. Although the lemony flavour did come through and it was very good. I had the ham bone left over from my ham at Christmas time still in the freezer so I used that in place of the ham hock. I did go to the trouble of making the ham stock first before making the soup and I do think that it did make a difference. Although the problem with using the ham bone was that it was too long for my stock pot and it was mid afternoon on a weekend when I started so couldn't take it down to my butcher to cut in half for me so I had to use my giant braising pan instead. There was some meat left on the bone (on purpose) but I also had a small chunk in the freezer that I cut up and put in the actual soup after making the stock. I would definitely go with using a hock next time. I did really enjoy this soup and it has made for good lunches with some in the freezer for a later date. The recipe claims to serve 8, I have at least 10 or 12 servings from it.

Pea, Ham & Lemon Soup

Ham Stock Ingredients:

1 kg ham hock
2 bay leaves
2 thyme sprigs
2 onions, chopped
2 carrots, chopped

Method:

Place all ingredients in a large stockpot with 4 L water and bring the the boil.
Reduce heat and simmer for 2 hours or until meat pulls away from bone easily.
Strain the stock, reserve the hock but discard the rest of the solids.
Shred meat discarding skin & bones, set meat aside.

Soup Ingredients:

40 g unsalted butter
2 large onions, roughly chopped
1 carrot, roughly chopped
2 celery stalks, roughly chopped
1/4 c parsley chopped
500 g split green peas
1 lemon, sliced

Method:

Place onions, carrot & celery into a food processor and pulse until finely chopped, alternatively very finely chop.
Heat butter in clean stockpot over medium heat. Add vegetables and cook, stirring until just starting to colour.
Add parsley & cook 1 minute.
Add peas and ham stock and simmer, stirring occasionally for 1 1/2 to 2 hours or until peas fall apart.
Add shredded ham and lemon and simmer a few more minutes.
Taste and then season to taste with pepper.

It was recommended to serve with crusty bread, I served mine with chilli & cheese cornbread muffins (recipe to come).

Semolina Porridge with Caramelised Balsamic Blueberries

2011-07-12T19:35:00.002+10:00

Is there something that you used to make all the time but when you think about it you realise it has been forever since you made it. This is, sort of, one of those things. I used to make semolina porridge for breakfast all the time. I used to eat it with a variety of different fruits or even just with some brown sugar and milk like regular porridge. I have always really loved it. However, I realised that I hadn't made it in such a long time when I was in the supermarket to buy some polenta and next to that were the bags of semolina. I decided that I just couldn't leave it on the shelf and I have been eating semolina porridge just about every morning since. I am very pleased to have rediscovered this wonderfully warming and satisfying winter breakfast.

Semolina on its own doesn't have a lot of flavour so it is all about what you have with it. I have had a number of different things with it recently, banana, some canned mango diced up, sautéed apple but I think that the best that I have come up with so far was the caramelised balsamic blueberries. They were very, very good and I was so pleased with the flavour. I think it would be just as good with regular porridge or as a topping for waffles or pancakes.

Semolina Porridge

Ingredients:

1 1/4 c milk
25 g semolina

Method:

Place milk in a small saucepan over a medium-low heat.
Just before it boils drizzle in the semolina whisking continuous.
Allow to cook stirring regularly until it thickens.
Serve immediately with extra milk, fruit and syrup (if wanted).

Caramelised Balsamic Blueberries

Ingredients:

1 punnet blueberries (mine were frozen)
1 tbsp caster sugar
drizzle caramelised raspberry balsamic vinegar

Method:

Place blueberries in a saucepan over a medium-low heat with caster sugar.
Allow to cook stirring occasionally until they are thawed and you can squash some of them.
Drizzle in vinegar to taste and then let cook until thickened.

Moroccan side dishes

2011-07-11T19:35:00.002+10:00

When I decided to make Bill Granger's Moroccan Lamb Tagine I decided to go all out and make a bit of a Moroccan feast. I considered making a Jamie Oliver carrot salad which I had made previously however I didn't have everything that I needed for it. So instead I turned to google and came up with two recipes on different blogs. The first was this glorious looking recipe for mezgaldi over at Kayotic Kitchen. It was such a stunning looking dish and you could almost taste how wonderful it would be just looking at Kay's photos. The only change that I made to the recipe was to use red onions. It was so stunningly good that I will be making this side dish again and again with a variety of different meals. It has also convinced me to go looking for more onion side dishes rather than using them as just a seasoning or flavouring. Making them a star really isn't too hard if this recipe is anything to go by.

The other side dish that I found was a Moroccan cabbage dish. I made a number of changes from the original recipe. I was a bit apprehensive about the orange flower water as part of the dressing but I was very pleased with how good it was. The cinnamon was rather unusual for me too but again it was very good. The pomegranate seeds added a lovely tangy burst while eating. I just loved this however I did use up the last of my orange flower water so I will have to wait until I can get some more before I can make it again.

Moroccan Cabbage Salad

Ingredients:

1/4 cabbage, finely sliced
1 carrot, julienned
1 apple, julienned
1/4 - 1/2 cup pomegranate seeds
1 - 2 tbsp sesame seeds
1 tsp cinnamon
2 tsp sugar
1 tbsp orange flower water (or to taste, I started off slowly and added more)

Method:

Place cabbage, carrot, apple, pomegranate and sesame seeds in a bowl and toss to combine.
Add cinnamon, sugar and orange flower water and mix to combine.
Refrigerate until requires but let sit at least 20 minutes for the flavours to develop.

Moroccan Lamb Tagine

2011-07-10T00:40:00.000+10:00

Arrrrgh, I can't sleep tonight. Actually, no let me rephrase that, I was asleep and I can't get back to sleep. Normally, once I am asleep I stay that way until a series of alarms wakes me, the first being an alarm clock, the second my alarm on my mobile phone and the third being my hungry kitty cats. If, for some reason, the first two do not wake me I can be assured that my kitties will, although not always in time for things that I am supposed to be doing. What is waking me at the moment is a rather awful recurring dream about being in a car accident. It has been just awful. I told some friends about it after the second time hoping that would stop it coming again. Perhaps by mentioning it on here it will stop now.

I made this tagine a couple of weeks ago now. I have to admit I was a tad apprehensive about making it as I haven't been overly fond of the tagines that I have had in the past. This was the first one that I had made though. I will admit that there are some ingredients that I would not normally associate with a Moroccan dish but hey, I enjoyed this so much I am not going to object to them. I did make a couple of my own changes to the recipe. Since lamb shanks became trendy and popular the price of them has sky rocketed. My favourite butcher has them for $3.50 each, and I believe most of the others in town have them for around that price too. With the full recipe using 8 small ones it makes for a very expensive meal. I had 1/2 kilo of diced lamb in the freezer so I decided that I would use that instead of the shanks. The recipe had kaffir lime leaves in it, which I didn't have, so I left them out. It was so very good and the meat was wonderfully tender. I will definitely make this again.

Moroccan Lamb Tagine

Ingredients:

1 tbsp olive oil
500g diced lamb
2 cloves garlic, sliced
1 tbsp grated ginger
1 tsp chilli powder
1 tsp tumeric
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp cardamom pods
1 cinnamon stick
2 tbsp grated palm sugar
4 teaspoons fish sauce
4 large ripe tomatoes, roughly chopped
2 cups chicken stock or water
2 potatoes, unpeeled and chopped
1 sweet potato, unpeeled and chopped

Method:

Preheat oven to 160 C.
Heat oil in a flame-proof casserole dish (I used my Emile Henry clay pot) over a medium-high heat. Brown lamb in batches, remove and set aside.
Reduce the heat to medium and add onion and cook for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally, or until onion is translucent. Add garlic and ginger and cook for 1 minute longer, then add chilli powder, turmeric, cumin, cardamom and cinnamon. Cook for 2 minutes, stirring constantly. Add sugar, fish sauce, chopped tomatoes, lime leaves and stock, bring to the boil. Remove from heat.
Return lamb to the dish and add potatoes and sweet potato. Cover with lid or foil and bake for 1.5 - 2 hours, or until lamb is very tender and potatoes are cooked.
Serve with couscous, mezgaldi and cabbage salad (recipes to come)

Carrot & Beet Crumble

2011-07-03T20:52:00.000+10:00

Just time for a quick post tonight of a simple little side dish that I made quite some time ago now. I have posted before about how much I enjoyed Chocolate & Zucchini's Zucchini & Mushroom Crumble and I decided that I should be able to do it with a variety of different vegetables. I have in the past used beets and carrots together and know that they combine well so decided to try them in a crumble and it worked really well. I served it with a pork belly dish (which I still need to post about) and steamed broccoli and mash. I will definitely be making this again.

Carrot & Beet Crumble

Ingredients:

2 carrots, peeled & julienned
2 beets, peeled & julienned
1 tbsp oil (I used grapeseed oil)
1 small onion, finely diced (leek finely sliced would be nice too)
1 clove garlic, crushed
2 tsp flour
1/2 tsp caster sugar
salt & pepper, to taste
1 tbsp water (stock or white wine would be good too)
Juice of 1 lime (not necessary)
25 g panko breadcrumbs (regular breadcrumbs would be fine)
25 g rolled oats
25 g grated parmesan
25 g butter, diced
dash of dried herbs (I used Masterfoods Pizza Topper)

Method:

Pre-heat oven to 200 C.
Heat oil in a frypan over a medium heat. Add onion and cook, stirring occasionally for 5 minutes, add garlic and cook for a further minute. Add beets & carrots cook for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add caster sugar, salt & pepper, water & lime juice. Add flour and continue to cook until the sauce thickens (there isn't a lot of it).
In the meantime, combine breadcrumbs, oats, parmesan and herbs. Add butter and rub in.
Spoon beet mixture into a baking dish and top with crumble and bake for 20 minutes or until golden brown.
This should make 2 - 3 serves. You could grate the carrots & beets but just watch when you are cooking as it will cook quicker if grated.

Middle Eastern Chicken with Olive, Walnut, Pistachio & Pomegranate Salad

2011-07-01T22:43:00.001+10:00

It has been a big week at work. One that I am glad is over. Although there is still stuff that needs to be done. Records that need to be bundled up and filed. Stuff that needs to go to the accountant. One bonus though is that I can get my tax return submitted this weekend, hopefully today, and I should get a small refund if previous years are anything to go by. Anything would be welcome at the moment.

I recently decided that I needed to make more of an effort to curb my spending habits. Less buying ingredients just in case I need them. Or think that I might use them at some point. Make a point of using all the fresh produce that I buy. Actually sit down and plan meals and make lists, consider what I already have in the pantry, fridge and freezer before deciding what to cook. Make a point of coming home from work for lunch or at the very least taking food with me to eat for lunch. I have already cut back in a few other areas. I am keen to save for some improvements to my house. I would also dearly love to purchase a Thermomix. Everything that I have seen and heard about them has convinced me that it really would be an asset in my kitchen. However, first I really need to replace my dodgy electric cooktop. Going back to gas cooking is my desire, I miss it so much. Hopefully by the end of the year I should be able to replace my cooktop and be on my way to saving for a Thermomix.

Recently, while in the supermarket they had some pomegranates on special. I do love pomegranates. I have made a number of different things using them in the past. I really like them as an addition to salads. There was also a pomegranate, quince and raspberry sauce that I made to go over ice cream which I then added more sugar to and reboiled making a really lovely jam. This time I wanted to try something different so plugged "pomegranate recipes" into google to see what I could come up with. I was drawn to two recipes in particular and decided that they would work together perfectly since they had a few common ingredients and, more importantly, everything already in my fridge, freezer or pantry. The first was this recipe for Middle Eastern Chicken over on Not Quite Nigella. The flavours of this were just divine. My chicken was slightly smaller, at 1.1 kg, but I left all the rest of the ingredients the same. I was so pleased with this. I think I could easily eat it weekly. I served it with quinoa cooked in vegetable stock.

The other dish served that night was an Olive, Walnut, Pistachio & Pomegranate Salad based on a recipe over at A Life (Time) of Cooking. The original recipe had green olives but I am not a fan of green olives. I do, however, adore black olives so I decided to use them instead. This salad was just incredible. The combination was just a revelation. Even the leftovers a few days later when the nuts had softened slightly were delightful. I still have pomegranate seeds and pistachios left so I am planning on making this one again tomorrow. In fact I think that I will make it as often as possible.

Gemma's Middle Eastern Chicken

Ingredients:

1 onion, chopped
2 carrots, diced
3 tbsp grapeseed oil
1.5kg organic chicken (I used a 1.1kg)
1 tsp cayenne pepper
1 tsp ground allspice
3 tbsp pomegranate molasses
60ml brandy
1 pomegranate
salt and pepper
handful of roughly chopped, toasted pistachios

Method:

Preheat the oven to 180C.
Heat oil in a Dutch oven over a low heat. Add onion and carrot and cook until onion is soft, approx. 10 minutes, then remove and set aside.
Increase heat to medium high brown chicken on both sides being turning carefully so as not to damage the skin. Ending with chicken breast side up.
Remove from the heat and spoon carrots and onion around the chicken.
Sprinkle cayenne pepper and allspice on top of the chicken and drizzle with 2 tbsp pomegranate molasses and half the brandy.
Place lid on Dutch oven and bake for 1 to 1.5 hours. Adding water if needed to stop it drying out (I didn't need to).
Turn the heat up to 200C and baste the chicken with pan juices and cook for 10 minutes or until nicely browned.
Remove the Dutch oven out of the oven. Carefully remove chicken to a serving platter and cover with foil to keep warm
Heat the Dutch oven over a low heat on the stove then add half the pomegranate seeds, remaining pomegranate molasses and brandy. Cook for about 5 minutes. Spoon this around the chicken on the serving platter then top with remaining pomegranate seeds and chopped, toasted pistachios.

Olive, Walnut, Pistachio & Pomegranate Salad

Ingredients:

1/4 c walnuts, toasted and chopped
1/2 cup pitted kalamata olives, chopped
1/4 cup unsalted shelled pistachios, toasted and chopped
1/2 cup pomegranate arils
2 small shallots, peeled and finely diced
1 red chilli (or to taste), seeded and finely chopped
2 – 3 Tbsp shredded parsley leaves
1 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 Tbsp walnut oil
2 tsp pomegranate molasses
juice of 1/2 a lemon
sea salt
freshly ground black pepper

Method:

Combine nuts, olives, pomegranate arils, shallots and parsley in a bowl.
In a small bowl combine oils, chilli, pomegranate molasses, lemon juice, salt and pepper and whisk well.
Mix dressing with salad and let stand for 5 minutes to allow flavours to develop.

Crumpets

2011-06-28T19:45:00.001+10:00

It is coming up to the end of financial year here and since part of my job is bookkeeper it is a rather busy time for me and will probably involve a bit of overtime for the next few days. I am also planning on working Wednesday, on what is my usual day off. Although, I do have a few other things that I need to do as well, including a trip to the vet with one of my dear cats for her annual check up. Despite all of this and the extra hours on the computer at work I have really felt like blogging lately and it is so easy to sit down and write a few posts in a row and schedule them to post over 2 or 3 days. I still have a bunch of recipes to blog so hopefully I don't lose my blogging mojo any time soon.

I do love cooking breakfast however yeasty things are usually beyond me for breakfast as, to be completely honest, I am not keen on getting up early enough to make things that involve yeast. I have attempted to make crumpets twice before. The first I used a recipe of Delia's which involved leaving the batter overnight. It was an unmitigated disaster. The second time was a Jamie Oliver recipe, which didn't turn out much better. I had heard that homemade crumpets are so much better than the bought ones so I was keen to see if I could actually get something edible with Bill's recipe. They were edible and not bad but I just don't think that it was worth the effort. I didn't make the blackberry butter to go with them serving instead with butter and honey. I would really like to conquer crumpets but I think it will be a while before I attempt them again.

Crumpets

Ingredients:

1 1/2 c milk
1 1/2 tsp sugar
7g sachet of instant yeast
375 g flour
1/2 tsp baking soda
200 ml water
pinch of salt

Method:

Heat milk over a low heat until blood temperature. Pour into a bowl and sprinkle over the sugar and dried yeast and stir. Allow to stand for 10 minutes, until the milk starts to froth and bubble.
Combine flour and salt into a bowl and make a well in the centre. Pour in the yeast mixture and beat with electric beaters until smooth.
Cover in clingfilm and stand in a warm place until doubled in volume (about 1 1/2 hours).
Mix the bicarbonate of soda with the water. Pour into the batter and beat.
Place a pan over a low heat and brush with butter. Grease metal rings and place in the pan.
Spoon 2 - 3 tablespoons of batter inside each ring and cook over a low heat for 5-6 minutes. Cook the other side. Keep warm while cooking remaining batter.

Puy Lentil Soup with Parmesan Toasts

2011-06-27T19:25:00.003+10:00

I will admit it, I love winter. I am much happier layering up with clothing with the heater going. I also love winter food. All the stews, casseroles, pies and soups. All the lovely winter produce that is available. Such warming and hearty food. I had been looking forward to winter getting here so that I could make this fabulous looking soup recipe. The picture in Sydney Food just looked so warming and delicious.

Now, this soup was a bit of a conundrum for me. It has all the right things in it to make it full of flavour but tasting it during cooking I was less than impressed. It seemed quite bland to me. I decided not to wait and see and added some extra chilli, a couple of tablespoons of tomato pesto and some dried Italian mixed herbs. I was very pleased with it after those additions and some further cooking. I made the parmesan toasts my way rather than Bill's (mine is easier).

Puy Lentil Soup with Parmesan Toasts

Ingredients:

2 tbspn olive oil
1 cup chopped carrots
1 cup chopped Spanish onions
1 cup chopped celery
4 cloves garlic, finely chopped
2 small red chilli, finely chopped (original recipe had one)
2 x 400 g tin chopped Italian tomatoes
2 tbsp tomato pesto (my addition)
2 litre vegetable stock, or water
4 bay leaves
2 tbspn chopped fresh oregano
1 tbsp dried Italian mixed herbs (Masterfoods brand) (my addition)
1 cup lentils du Puy
1 tspn salt
freshly ground black pepper

Method:

Heat oil over medium heat.
Add carrots, onions and cook for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Add celery, garlic and chilli and cook for a further 5 minutes.
Add chopped tomatoes, pesto, stock, bay leaves, herbs and lentils and bring to the boil.
Reduce heat and simmer, stirring occasionally, for 30 minutes.
Season with salt and pepper.

Parmesan Toasts (my way)

sliced bread (I like pasta dura but anything will do really)
Butter one side and toast under a grill.

Turn over and top with piles of finely grated parmesan and then back under the grill until melted and browned.

Delicious: June 2011 - Steak in a Tomato & Caper Sauce

2011-06-26T21:33:00.000+10:00

I had every intention of getting something, actually several things, made from this issue of Delicious magazine early in the month. It just never seemed to happen though. I had even bought what I didn't already have for Jessica Brook & Phoebe Wood's Kumara, Chorizo & Goat's Cheese Tart. I had planned on making this one Sunday for lunch and having the left overs for lunch over the coming week. However, for whatever reason, it just didn't happen. I have decided that I am not overly keen on goat's cheese for the most part so I had decided to use some marinated bocconcini that I had found on special. When I didn't get the tart made, I used the bocconcini on a pizza and in some toasted pizza wraps so that it didn't go to waste. I still have the chorizo in the fridge but it is vac packed so it will be fine for a while yet.

I was also keen on Alice Hart's Carrot & Coriander Fritters with Haloumi and Sweet Lemon Dressing. Although I would have traded out the coriander, probably for thyme or mint perhaps even just plain old parsley. It was a bit of a reminder of Bill's Corn Fritters and I thought that you could probably make a great lunch dish or a light dinner with the addition of some saladish items.

Matthew Evans' Beef & Barley Soup was another that I had earmarked to make. I just love barley in a soup and usually make some kind of beef & barley soup each winter by just throwing things in a pot. This one was served with an orange gremolata, which seemed like an interesting addition. I will definitely be giving this one a try some time soon.

In the end I decided to make Louise FitzRoy's Sirloin Steak in a Tomato & Caper Sauce. The main reason that I chose this recipe was that time was getting on and I was starting to get hungry on Friday night and this was a very easy recipe but one that would be packed with flavour. I had a couple of scotch fillet steaks in the freezer so I pulled them out and zapped them carefully in the microwave to defrost. I don't normally defrost raw meat in the microwave as it is so easy to go over board and start cooking it. Some times it just cannot be helped though. This was such an easy dish to make and it really did pack a punch in the flavour stakes. I had some left over mashed potato that I re-heated, steamed some spinach and heated some frozen mixed vegetables to go with it. It was the perfect easy Friday night meal.

Steak in a Tomato & Caper Sauce

Ingredients

1/4 cup (60ml) olive oil
4 x 150g sirloin steaks
2 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
6 anchovy fillets on oil, drained
2 tbsp capers, rinsed, drained
Small handful flat leaf parsley, finely chopped, plus extra leaves to serve
400g can tomatoes
2 tsp dried oregano
Mashed potato, to serve

Method:

Heat 1 tbsp oil in a frypan over high heat and sear steaks for 1 minute on each side then set aside.
Reduce heat to medium, add remaining oil and cook garlic, anchovies, capers and parsley, stirring until anchovies melt.
Add tomatoes and oregano and simmer over medium-high heat, stirring occasionally, for 5 minutes or until thickened.
Return steaks and any juices to the pan cover with the sauce, simmer for 6-8 minutes.
Season, then serve with mash and parsley leaves.

Camembert-stuffed Turkey Meatloaf with Cranberry, Mustard & Balsamic Glaze

2011-06-24T19:29:00.001+10:00

I know that I have already posted a meatloaf recipe this week. I hadn't really intended on posting another one so soon but this is just so good that I have to share it. In fact it was posting about the lovely meatloaf with red quinoa that inspired me to try it out again. I was really keen to use some more of the lovely red quinoa and another meatloaf seemed like a good choice.

This time however, I wanted to try out making a meatloaf with turkey mince. This was mainly because I had some in the freezer that needed to be used up. I decided that the logical topping for a turkey meatloaf is cranberry sauce. Although I pepped it up a bit using frozen cranberries, wholegrain mustard and balsamic vinegar. It was wonderfully tangy and was the perfect accompaniment for turkey. I decided to knock it up a notch further by putting some wonderfully rich and creamy camembert cheese in the middle of the meatloaf. There is a local cafe that does a turkey, cranberry and camembert grilled sandwich that I know is fabulous so I just knew that the camembert would pair perfectly with a turkey meatloaf. The whole combination was just fabulous and I will definitely be making this one again. I didn't write this recipe down as I was going, nor did I measure anything so I am hoping that my estimates are right.

Camembert-stuffed Turkey Meatloaf with Cranberry, Mustard & Balsamic Glaze

Ingredients:

500 g turkey mince
1/3 c quinoa (soaked for 30 minutes in water) (I used red quinoa)
1 onion, very finely diced
2 cloves garlic, crushed
1 - 2 tbsp dried mixed herb (I just put some in, then added a little bit more)
1 tsp (or so) dried ground sage
handful craisins
1/4 can diced tomatoes (I get Annalisa which is quite thick, diced fresh tomato would probably be better)
couple of dashes of Worcestershire sauce
200 g camembert cheese (there are leftovers for snacking. )

Method:

Mix all ingredients together very well. It will get a bit sticky.
Spread half the mixture in a loaf tin. Top with thickly sliced pieces of camembert and then top with the remaining meat mixture.
Bake at 170 C for 40 minutes. Top with glaze and then bake for a further 10 minutes.

Cranberry, Mustard & Balsamic Glaze

Ingredients:

Handful frozen cranberries (maybe about 100 g)
1/4 c redcurrant jelly (cranberry jelly would work best but I didn't have any)
1 - 2 tbsp wholegrain mustard (I used Maille) or to taste
1 tbsp balsamic vinegar (I have an aged one at the moment that is rather thick & syrupy)

Method:

Put cranberries in saucepan over a medium heat, I did this while they were still frozen, stir then occasionally until they are squashable.
Add redcurrant jelly and stir until melted. Then stir in mustard and balsamic.
Cook over a medium heat until thickened slightly. (I cooked mine a bit long so had to add a bit of water)

Cake Decorating

2011-06-23T20:41:00.000+10:00

I love this post scheduling thing. It means that I can post a pretty little 1st birthday cake that I made last weekend for a friend's daughter on my own birthday. So happy birthday to the little one and happy birthday to me.

This cake was made from my standard chocolate decorating cake, one mix in a 23 cm pan. I split it into three layers and filled it with Donna Hay's chocolate cream cheese frosting, which is just fantastic, covered with dark chocolate ganache and then covered with white fondant. The decorations are made of fondant to represent the hungry caterpillar. I had so much fun making this cake. The smarties on the cake board were an after thought but I think that they really added something to it. I was very pleased with how it turned out, with the exception of the rather large air bubble that you can see in the icing between the apple & the pear....grrr.

Zucchini & Asparagus with Feta, Olive & Harissa Dressing

2011-06-22T20:46:00.000+10:00

Now that it is winter and the frosts are here the zucchinis have, of course, stopped producing it is nice not to have to wonder what to do with the new lot of zucchini picked from the garden. The most popular recipe over at Taste for the last few years has been this Zucchini slice. It is a good way to use up some zucchini plus it can be frozen. It is great hot and cold. I also regularly make the zucchini & mushroom crumble I posted about in yesterday's post. However, there still remains a lot of zucchinis left over to use.

Not too long ago I got my hands on several bunches of asparagus when it was on super special. I had apparently not had enough of the zucchinis over summer as I also bought some of them too. So in need of a way of using them up I turned to the net to find a different way of using them. I came across this recipe over at The Wednesday Chef. I made a few changes to incorporate the asparagus and for my own tastes. I was really please with how it turned out plus it gave me a chance to use some more of the wonderful harissa that I got from ideli.com.au. I will definitely be re-purchasing it when I have finished this jar. This recipe will also be going into the regular use pile.

Zucchini & Asparagus with Feta, Olive & Harissa Dressing

Ingredients:

Zest and juice of 1 lemon
1 tbsp harissa paste
1 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
1 clove garlic, finely diced
1 zucchini, sliced into batons
1 bunch asparagus, cut into pieces the same size as zucchini
Handful Kalamata olives, pitted and diced
1/4 crumbled feta
1 tbsp parsley, chopped
1 tbsp mint, chopped

Method:

Combine lemon zest, juice, harissa, garlic and olive oil in a bowl.
Steam zucchini and asparagus until cooked to your liking, I prefer it to still have a bit of crunch.
Toss the vegetables in the dressing.
Top with olives and feta and serve.

Pumpkin Agroldoce

2011-06-21T20:33:00.002+10:00

So what do you have as a side dish? A while ago I found that I was in a bit of a rut. Side dishes usually involved steamed broccoli or cauliflower, frozen pea/corn/carrot mix heated in the microwave, mashed potatoes etc. It was all pretty standard and... boring... for want of a better word. I decided that I really needed to make some new side dishes. I have discovered some wonderful things on other blogs. The Little Teochew's Spicy Tamarind Potatoes are a definite favourite. As is Nami-nami's Beetroot and Potato Salad and Chocolate & Zucchini's Zucchini & Mushroom Crumble. All of which have been made several times now along with a few other thing that I will post over the next few days.

The pumpkin agroldoce recipe comes from April 2007 issue of Delicious magazine. It was part of a feature on the launch of the Dutch edition of Delicious magazine and the opening of Jamie's Fifteen restaurant in Amsterdam. I was really pleased with how this turned out. It was sweet and tangy with just the right amount of spice for me. I normally just roast pumpkin, or turn it into pies. I do occasionally add it in with mashed potato but this was just so good and really complemented the roast lamb that it was served with. I also served it with sautéed spinach and Jamie Oliver's Jerusalem artichokes sautéed with bay leaves & garlic a nice change from your standard fare with a roast dinner. I would definitely make it all again, in fact I have some pumpkin in the fridge screaming out for something lovely to be made out of it. Oh and the left overs are fantastic chopped up as a topping for pizza.

Pumpkin Agrodolce

Ingredients:

2 tbsp olive oil
1 tsp ground coriander
1 dried chilli, crumbled
2 red onions, slice into rings
4 garlic cloves, crushed
6 thyme sprigs, leaves stripped
1/2 c raisins (I wouldn't bother next time)
1 tsp white wine vinegar
2 tsp balsamic vinegar
1 tsp brown sugar
800 g pumpkin, peeled, seeds removed and chopped into chunks (I didn't peel)
1/3 c pine nuts, toasted (I don't like them so didn't use them)

Method:

Pre-heat oven to 160 C.
Combine all ingredients, except pumpkin & pine nuts, in a large bowl. Add pumpkin & toss to coat well.
Spread on a large baking tray, season with salt & pepper and roast for 50 - 60 minutes.
Remove from oven, cover with foil and rest 20 minutes, then toss with pine nuts.

Meatloaf with Red Quinoa & Mushroom Sauce

2011-06-20T23:59:00.000+10:00

It is a bit late to be starting a new blog post now but my bedroom is freezing cold and I need to let the heater in there do its job for a little while before going to bed. It is probably not as cold as it could be tonight but still cold enough that I don't want to be trying to sleep in a cold room. I did finally succumb last night and pulled out my heavy wool doona for the first time this winter. I was definitely warmer last night than I had been the night before and it was definitely colder last night.

This is a recipe that I have been meaning to post for over a month now. It was the first thing that I made with my purchase of red quinoa. When I first purchased it I did a google search to see what I could come up with to make with it and I came across this meatloaf recipe over at Simple Recipes. It definitely sounded like a good way to start testing the red quinoa out. I do love meat loaf especially that you end up with a bunch of left overs that can be used to make meatloaf sandwiches for lunch during the coming week. I decided to make a few changes to the recipe. My mum almost always did a mushroom sauce with meatloaf. Hers usually involved a tin of cream of mushroom soup which is fine for family size but too much for a smaller one. I have done it with a sachet of mushroom cup-a-soup. However for this one I just sautéed a handful of mushrooms in some garlic olive oil and added some cream, a little bit of dijon mustard and some salt and pepper. It was just perfect with the meatloaf. I served this with harvard beets & carrots, peas and mash. It was a wonderful meal. I think next time I will do it in my mini loaf pans. I had intended on adding in the tomatoes, I forgot but next time would add them for a bit of extra moisture.

Meatloaf with Read Quinoa

Ingredients

450 g lean beef mince
450 g lean pork mince
1 cup red quinoa, rinsed and pre-soaked in water for about 30 minutes
1 small onion finely chopped and sautéed in some oil until soft
2 cloves garlic, crushed
1 tsp chilli paste, or to taste
2 tsp mixed herbs
Dash worcestershire sauce
½ bunch fresh parsley, finely chopped
Salt and pepper to taste

Method:

Mix all the ingredients together.
Place in a oven safe dish and bake for 40 minutes at 175 C.

Spiced Orange Pork Chops

2011-06-18T00:36:00.000+10:00

What is your favourite recipe that your mum made or you when you were a child? Do you know how to make it? Do you have the recipe memorised or written down somewhere? Perhaps this weekend is a good time to ask your mum to show you how to make it. My family owned a piggery when I was younger so our diet always involved a lot of pork. I have a number of recipes that I made up when I was younger using the large amounts of pork that was always in our freezer.

This recipe is one of my mum's. No, actually, that is not quite right. This is a version of my mother's recipe that I came up with after she had passed away. As far as I know she had made the recipe up as I couldn't find anything similar in any of her cookbooks or her many recipes cut out of magazines. I was also unable to find it amongst her hand written recipes. It took a bit of trial and error to get this right. I am not sure that it is 100% correct but I have been making it this way for about 8 years now so it is difficult remember it any other way now. I would normally use smaller pork chops than the one I used on the night I made this but some times you just have to use what you can get at the time. I don't eat near as much pork now since the piggery is long since sold. It has turned into a rather expensive meat. Although maybe it always has been and I just never realised it before. What I do know, is if I want some comfort food there is nothing that is a bigger comfort to me than this recipe.

Spiced Orange Pork Chops

Ingredients:

1 cup of orange juice
1/2 tsp onion powder
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp chinese five spice
2 tsp brown sugar
1 tbsp olive oil
2 or 3 dashes of worchestershire sauce
4 small pork chops
1 red (or brown) onion sliced

Method:

Mix first 7 ingredients together and pour over pork chops and onions. Marinade for at least 30 minutes.
Drain chops, reserving marinade.
Fry the chops until lightly browned on both sides.
Pour the reserved marinade over chops including onion slices.
Simmer until the sauces is reduced and slightly thickened and onions are soft.
Serve with steamed vegetables and rice or mashed potatoes.

Potato & Feta Pancakes

2011-06-14T19:21:00.007+10:00

I love long weekends. That one extra day off gives me the opportunity to unwind just that little bit more. The unfortunate part is that you have to head back to work. It is unfortunate that work has to be part of life. Although I do think that I would go stir crazy if I didn't work but there are still times when I think how nice it would be if I didn't have to. I dutifully buy my lottery ticket each week. Although the chances of actually winning it are minuscule and winning a substantial amount of money is even less likely, still people do win and $2.15 a week is not going to break the bank.

Another reason to love long weekends, well any weekend actually is that it gives me a chance to cook another of Bill's gorgeous breakfast recipes. This, however, ended up being lunch by the time I had decided what to make and actually got it made. I really enjoyed it though. I didn't have quite enough potatoes, not sure how I managed that, so I used some sweet potato as well. I had some dill in the fridge to use and I really like dill with potato so used that in place of the mint in the original recipe. I think next time I would add some grated parmesan to them. Since it was lunch time I served these with a salad of rocket, tomato & avocado. It was so good and I will definitely make these again. If for breakfast I would probably add a side of grilled or roasted tomato and sautéed mushrooms or some bacon.

Potato & Feta Pancakes

Ingredients:

1/2 kg potatoes, peeled and grated
1 small onion, grated
2 eggs
2 tbsp chopped dill
1/4 cup crumbled Feta cheese
1/4 cup plain flour
salt and pepper
vegetable oil to fry

Method:

Combine grated potato & onion with a little bit of salt and drain in a colander for 20 minutes.
Squeeze out excess moisture.
Add remaining ingredients and mix to combine, your hands are best for this.
Heat the oil in a large frying pan and add tablespoons of mixture (depending on the size you like).
Squash a little to make flat pancakes. Cook on both sides until golden brown.

Skewered Chicken with Crispy Coleslaw

2011-06-13T18:59:00.009+10:00

So onto the second of the meals that I made while I was away last month. The title of this one is supposed to read Skewered Swordfish with Crispy Coleslaw. I couldn't get swordfish but to be completely honest I was fine with that. I suppose I could have used some other fish but was not sure what else I could use and I didn't really want another seafood meal. So I decided to replace the swordfish with some diced chicken breast. Also, I didn't really want to buy all the individual ingredients for the coleslaw so I grabbed a bag of pre-packaged coleslaw ingredients instead. I did however have everything for the marinade and the dressing.

Now, with all my changes I wasn't sure whether to actually post this as a separate recipe or if I should wait and actually make it as written. I decided though that, while I really enjoyed it, I wasn't going to do it again with fish. I might do it again with the chicken and make up the coleslaw as per the recipe as it was all very nice however I decided that I would post what I made while I was away.

Skewered Chicken with Crispy Coleslaw

Ingredients:

2 tbsp lime juice
2 cloves garlic, sliced
2 tbsp olive oil
1/2 tsp sea salt
freshly ground black pepper
2 small chicken breasts diced (thigh would also work)
1 bag coleslaw mix (I cannot remember which one I got now)
Soy dressing (see recipe below)

Method:

Combine lime juice, garlic, olive oil, salt and pepper. Add chicken cubes and marinate of at least an hour.
Thread chicken onto skewers (I used metal ones so I didn't have to soak them).
Heat frying pan over high heat and cook the skewers for a couple of minutes each side, or until cooked through.
Serve with coleslaw and soy dressing.

Soy Dressing

1 tbsp sesame oil
1/2 c soy sauce
1 1/2 tbsp balsamic vinegar
2 tbsp sugar
3 tbsp lime juice
2 chillies, finely chopped

Method:

Combine all ingredients and let sit to combine.

Grilled Scallops with Curried Noodles

2011-06-12T21:44:00.000+10:00

When I decided to have a holiday last at the beginning of last month I really wanted to stay somewhere that was self-contained so that I could cook at least some of my own meals. It just makes things so much cheaper to go away if you don't go out for every meal. So, I sat down with Bills Sydney Food and picked out the recipes that I would make while away and packed a basket with ingredients, my knives and various other bits and pieces. In hindsight I wish I had also taken a fry pan and saucepan with me as the ones where I stayed were pretty awful.

I will admit that this is one of the few recipes in the book that concerned me. However, I was going to the coast, where seafood is more readily available so thought that I had better try out at least a couple of the seafood dishes. I am going to be blunt, this dish was weird and I didn't like it. Perhaps if it was a hokkinen noodle instead of pasta however, I still don't think I would have enjoyed it. It is not one that I will be repeating.

Grilled Scallops with Curried Noodles

Ingredients:

1 tbsp oil
2 tbsp garlic, finely chopped
2 tbsp Indian Madras curry paste (I used Pataks madras paste)
1/2 tsp turmeric
1 tsp salt
1 tsp sugar
1 c coconut milk
3 tsp lime juice
2 tsp soy sauce
250 g angel hair pasta (I took spaghetti with me)
12 scallops
vegetable oil, for frying
Parsley

Method:

Heat oil over a medium heat.
Cook garlic for 30 seconds then add curry paste, turmeric, salt, sugar, coconut, lime juice and soy sauce and simmer for 5 minutes.
Cook pasta in boiling water until al dente then drain and mix in 2/3 curry sauce.
Heat some oil in a pan over high heat and cook scallops.
Server with noodles topping each scallop with a little curry sauce and then sprinkle with parsley.

Banana Maple Porridge with Roasted Rhubarb

2011-05-29T16:23:00.000+10:00

I love breakfast in winter. I love hot breakfasts be they sweet or savoury. In the summer time it is usually too hot to indulge in a lovely hot breakfast. I particularly love porridge. In winter I have a bowl almost every day. It is a wonderful way to start the day. Last year I found a recipe that used different types of rolled grains to make porridge. Since then I have been doing the same. At present I have rolled oats, rolled barley and rolled rye. I mix then in a ratio of 2:1:1. The barley and rye certainly add something to porridge, especially the rye. It seems to be a tougher grain. It can require a bit of extra cooking. Although I prefer not to cook any longer and have some lovely chewy bits in my porridge.

I normally love my porridge served with chopped banana, sprinkled with cinnamon and drizzled with maple syrup. Another favourite is to throw in a handful of sultanas while cooking and serve with honey and a grating of nutmeg or sprinkle of ground cardamom. Bill's recipe had the banana and maple cooked in with the oats and, to be honest, it wasn't really for me. The banana flavour was a bit overwhelming and seemed to lose the maple flavour. I did like the results from soaking the oats for 10 minutes before cooking, it seemed creamier, but I will stick with adding the banana and maple syrup after cooking. Bill served his with Buttered Apple. While it looked really good but I had some rhubarb in the fridge that needed using so I chopped it up sprinkled with caster sugar and baked in the oven for 15 minutes, until tender, and served some of that with my porridge.

Banana Maple Porridge

Ingredients:

1 c. rolled oats
1 1/2 c. boiling water
1 c. milk
pinch of salt
1 tbsp brown sugar
2 tbsp maple syrup
1 banana, finely slice

Method:

Combine oats and water in a pan and let soak 10 minutes.
Add the rest of the ingredients and then bring to a boil then reduce heat to simmer and let cook 10 minutes.
Let stand 2-3 minutes before serving with roasted rhubarb.

Tomato Pesto & Feta Swirl Bread

2011-05-27T22:42:00.001+10:00

A few weeks ago I had the urge to bake something breadish. I was initially going to make some plain rolls and then thought that I could spice it up a bit by making some filled scrolls instead. I was thinking in terms of cinnamon scrolls. At the time there had been a spate of cinnamon swirl loaves on foodgawker and tastespotting. So instead of individual scrolls I thought I might make a whole loaf. However, I didn't really want something sweet, I was more interested in making something savoury. Going to the fridge I found half a jar of tomato pesto and half a block of feta cheese. They seemed like a perfect fit, although I think next time perhaps some parmesan as well.

Late in 2009 I came across the perfect bread roll/dough recipe over at Phemomenon's blog and since then it has been my go to recipe for rolls and scrolls. It is such and easy recipe, although I have tweaked it a bit over the many times that I have used it. So when I decided to make this loaf I saw no reason not to use that same recipe and it certainly did not disappoint. I was rewarded with a fantastic loaf of bread that rose and browned beautifully. The tomato pesto flavour really worked well and the little bits of feta were perfect throughout. I will definitely be using this recipe again and again and again.

Perfect Bread Dough

Adapted from Phemomenon

Ingredients:

1 c warm water
1/2 c warm milk
3 tsp instant yeast
1 tbsp sugar
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 teaspoon sea salt
3 1/2 c plain flour, lightly spooned into measuring cup, then leveled off
1/2 c extra flour if required

Method:

Combine water, milk, yeast and sugar in KitchenAid bowl and stand until frothy. This should take 5 - 10 minutes.
Add oil, salt, and 2 cups of the flour and, using the paddle attachment, beat on a low speed to combine.
Add in a further 1 cup of flour and continue beating until incorporated.
Change to dough attachment and add remaining 1/2 c flour (adding some or all of the extra 1/2 c if the dough is too sticky). Continue to mix the dough until it pulls away from the sides of the bowl.
Increase speed slightly, I don't go over 3 on mine for doughs, and let knead for 10 minutes.
Remove the dough from the bowl, oil it with some olive oil and return the dough to the bowl turning it to coat in the oil. Cover and let rise until doubled in size, approximately 20 minutes.
Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface. Press dough out into a rectangle the same width as the pan you plan to bake it in.
Spread with tomato pesto (however much you like) making sure to leave a border around the edge and top with crumbled feta cheese.
Carefully roll the dough up and place into your bread tin with the seam at the bottom of the pan. Cover with a clean tea towel and leave in a warm place to rise for approximately 20 minutes.
In the meantime pre-heat oven to 200C.
Brush the top of the loaf with either melted butter, milk or beaten egg (I forgot to do this) and bake in the oven for approximately 30 minutes or until golden. You may need to turn the pan halfway through baking to get an even colour.

This was lovely served warm or cold and even toasted up really well under the grill.

Red Quinoa, Turtle Bean & Carrot Taco Bowl

2011-05-25T23:14:00.000+10:00

On my recent holidays I was able to go to the physical stores of two of my favourite online places to buy food. Living in a smallish, rural town means that for a lot of recipes I want to make I either have to substitute or buy ingredients online. When it comes to perishable items substitution is, really, the only why to go but for non-perishables I have found a large number of Australian online stores from which to get my various ~~needs~~ wants. Two of my favourites are Essential Ingredients Online, which has physical stores in Coffs Harbour and Port Macquarie, and Kombu Wholefoods, whose physical store is in Bellingen. After trawling these websites on countless numbers of occasions and having placed a number of orders I was pleased to be able to spend time in the actual stores. I wasn't disappointed with either of them and will make a point to head to both of them again any time I am in the area.

Amongst the numerous items that I bought from the above stores were red quinoa and turtle beans (or black beans depending on where you live). I had a few ideas on what I wanted to do with them but also googled and food blog searched to see what I could make with them. I came up with a number of recipes for each separately but I decided to make something using both of them. I had a bit of a hankering for some tacos and remembering that when I was a kid mum used to make tacos with lentils and kidney beans I decided to see if I could make a taco filling using red quinoa and turtle beans. To add a bit of bulk to it I threw in some carrot, capsicum and as I had some mushrooms slowly dying a slow death in the crisper I chopped them and and threw them in too. I used some of my homemade taco seasoning, although you could use one of those packets from the supermarket, and canned tomatoes. It made an amazing filling. I felt so satisfied after eating the tacos. They really hit the spot so I think I will be making these regularly. The first night I used some warmed tortillas and just had soft tacos. For lunch the next day I draped a tortilla over a mould and put it in the oven and formed a bowl. I really enjoyed it that way, kind of a combinations between a taco and nachos. I have also had some with some rice with a bit tomato juice added in when re-heating for a kind of faux chilli.

Red Quinoa, Turtle Bean & Carrot Tacos

Ingredients:

1/2 c dried black turtle beans (soaked for at least 6 hours)
1/2 c red quinoa (soaked for 30 minutes and drained thoroughly)
1 tbsp grapeseed oil (any neutral oil will be fine)
1 onion, finely chopped
2 cloves garlic, crushed
2 medium carrots, grated
1 capsicum, finely diced
250 g mushrooms, finely diced
1 packet taco seasoning, or homemade mix to taste (see recipe below)
400 g can diced tomatoes
1/2 can water
salt & pepper to taste

Method:

Drain beans and place in a saucepan with clean water. Bring to the boil and then simmer for 20 - 30 minutes or until they still have a bit of bite. Try not to cook until too soft as they will be cooking further later on. Drain and set aside.
Heat oil in a pan over a medium heat. Add onion and cook until softened but not browned. Add garlic and cook for a further minute.
Add carrot, capsicum and mushrooms and cook, stirring, for 5 minutes then add quinoa and beans.
Add taco seasoning and stir to coat everything.
Add tomatoes & water, bring to a boil then reduce heat to simmer. Cover and cook until liquid has been absorbed and quinoa and beans are cooked adding more water if necessary.
Taste, adjust seasonings and serve with warmed tortillas, shredded lettuce, sliced tomato, grated cheese, guacamole and sour cream (or yoghurt).

Taco Seasoning

Ingredients:

6 tsp Chilli Powder
5 tsp Paprika
4 ½ tsp Cumin
3 tsp Onion Powder
2 ½ tsp Garlic Powder
1/8 tsp Cayenne Pepper

In storage container with tight-fitting lid, combine all ingredients and mix well. Seal tightly. Store in cool, dry place for up to 6 months.

Seven teaspoons of mix equal a pkg of purchased taco seasoning mix. (This will vary depending on the heat rating of you chilli powder so I suggest starting out with less and adding more if needed)

Roast Chicken with Yoghurt Garlic Sauce

2011-05-24T20:47:00.000+10:00

I am not feeling very chatty at the moment, so another post of just a recipe. This is a good one too.

Roast Chicken with Yoghurt Garlic Sauce

Ingredients

1 x 1.5 kg chicken (backbone removed & flattened out)
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 onion, finely sliced
2 lemons (one finely sliced)
1 tbsp chopped oregano (I used dried)
5 tbsp olive oil

Method:

Season chicken on both sides with salt & pepper.
Spread onion on the bottom of a roasting tray, place chicken on top of onions (skin-side up).
Top with slices of lemon, sprinkle with oregano and drizzle with 2 tbsp oil. Cover, refrigerate for 4 hours.
Pre-heat oven to 250C. Remove chicken from marinade and place on a clean baking tray and place under a very hot grill for 10 minutes or until chicken is golden brown. Turn chicken over, drizzle with another tbsp of oil and cook on the other side until golden brown.
Return chicken, skin-side up, to the tray with the onions and drizzle with remaining oil. Bake for 15 minutes.
Squeeze juice of remaining lemon over the chicken and cook for a further 10 minutes or until cooked.

Yoghurt Garlic Sauce

Ingredients:

2 cloves garlic, crushed
1/4 tsp sea salt
1 cup yoghurt

Method:

Mix all ingredients together.
Leave for at least 1 hour for flavours to combine.

Open-faced Omelette with Fresh Tomato, Emmenthal & Rocket

2011-05-21T20:29:00.000+10:00

Hope that you all had a good breakfast this morning. I made this weeks ago now...wish I had made it again this morning.

Open-faced Omelette with Fresh Tomato, Emmenthal & Rocket

Per person (I think it is enough for two)

Ingredients:

3 eggs
a pinch of salt
10 g butter
2 spring onions, chopped
1 ripe tomato, sliced
2 slices of Emmenthal (I did have this so used whatever cheese I had)
1 handful rocket, tossed in a little olive oil and sea salt
black pepper

Method:

Beat eggs, salt and 2 tbsp water until just combined.
Melt butter in a frying pan over a medium heat.
Pour in egg mixture.
As it starts to cook add spring onions then tomato slices and cheese and cook for 2 - 3 minutes.
Place under preheated grill to finish off.
Top with rocket & black pepper and serve immediately.

Parmesan Veal Schnitzel with Creamed Potatoes

2011-05-19T20:38:00.000+10:00

I am so tired and I am heading off to bed very shortly but I just wanted to get something posted. I was looking through things last night and realised that I have so many things that I have made from Sydney Food that I haven't yet blogged about. I also have a number of other things that I want to post too. It has been hard to go back to work after a couple of weeks off. Haven't been feeling well or sleeping well either so it is all just a bit of a "perfect storm" of blah at the moment.

I made this a while ago now. I couldn't get any veal at the time but my wonderful butcher gave me some wonderfully tender beef although I can't remember exactly which cut he gave me now. ***oops*** I would definitely make this again. The left overs were very good too. I served with spicy roast sweet potato and steamed broccoli & cauliflower.

Parmesan veal schnitzel with creamed potatoes

Ingredients:

8 veal escallops
1 cup fresh breadcrumbs (I made them from wholemeal bread)
1 cup finely grated Parmesan cheese
1/2 cup parsley
2 tbsp finely chopped thyme
1 teaspoon sea salt
freshly ground black pepper
1/4 cup milk
2 eggs
1 cup plain (all-purpose) flour
1/2 cup olive oil

Method:

Place veal escallops on a board and flatten with a mallet. Place breadcrumbs, parmesan cheese, parsley, thyme, salt and pepper in a bowl and mix well. Place milk and eggs in a bowl and beat lightly together. Place flour in a bowl.
Dip veal first in the flour, then egg wash and finally in breadcrumb mixture. Continue until all veal is coated.
Heat olive oil in a large non-stick frying pan over medium heat. Place veal in frying pan in a single layer, being careful not to crowd, and cook for two minutes until golden brown on one side. Turn veal and cook for a further two minutes. Remove from pan and keep warm until all the veal escallops are cooked. Serve with creamed potatoes.

Creamed potatoes

Ingredients

800g potatoes suitable for mashing
1 cup cream (I used natural yoghurt)
75g butter
1 tsp sea salt

Method:

Place potatoes in boiling water and cook until tender.
Remove from heat, drain and mash potatoes in saucepan.
Beat yoghurt & butter into potatoes with a wooden spoon until smooth. Season with salt to taste.

Delicious May 2011 - Tomato Soup with Melting Bocconcini

2011-05-15T11:10:00.000+10:00

Hmmm, I have been on holidays. I went away for a few days. I had planned on doing a lot of blogging throughout my two weeks off but it just didn't turn out that way. Oh well, I guess that is just the way that things turn out some times.

I really couldn't go past the cover recipe from this issue. Valli's Tomato Soup with Melting Bocconcini just looked so inviting. I also love making tomato soup as with the leftovers use it to make a lovely tomato risotto. I just loved this recipe it was relatively easy to make. It was rich and wonderful. Make sure to take the bocconcini straight from the oven and into the soup. Mine sat for about a minute and they were a bit rubbery. Oh, and next time I would roast the cherry tomatoes later too as they were cold by the time I served the soup. I think it would have been better to have been much better if they were hot. Although I have a recipe for tomato soup that I have made several times I think it will definitely be replaced with this one. I served it with the Parmesan & Garlic Bread recipe that followed.

Tomato Soup with Melting Bocconcini

Ingredients

1.2 kg roma tomatoes, halved
pinch caster sugar
1 tbsp olive oil, plus extra to drizzle
12 vine-ripened cherry tomatoes
50 g unsalted butter
2 each, onions, carrots, celery & garlic cloves, chopped
400g can chopped tomatoes
2 tbsp sundried tomato paste (I used tomato pesto)
1 bay leaf
1 basil sprig, plus extra leaves for garnish
1 L (4 cups) vegetable stock
12 baby bocconcini

Method:

Pre-heat oven to 160 C. Place roma tomatoes, cut side up, on a baking tray. Sprinkle with sugar, drizzle with oil and season. Roast for 30 minutes until softened.
Add cherry tomatoes to the tray, drizzle with a little more oil and season. Return to the oven for a further 10 minutes or until lightly charred and softened. Set aside.
Heat butter and 1 tbsp oil in pan over a medium heat. Cook onion, carrot, celery and garlic, stirring, for 2 - 3 minutes or until softened. Add canned tomatoes, tomato paste, bay leaf, basil, stock, roasted roma tomatoes and any cooking juices. Bring to the boil, then reduce heat to low and cook, stirring occasionally, for 20 - 25 minutes or until vegetables are tender. (I cooked about 40 minutes)
Discard basil sprig & bay leaf, cool slightly, then blend the soup in batches. Pass through a sieve into a clean pan, then cook over low heat, stirring, for 2 - 3 minutes or until warmed through. Adjust seasoning.
Place the bocconcini on a baking try lined with baking paper and bake for 2 - 3 minutes until just warm and lightly melted (do not overcook or the cheese will melt completely). Ladle the soup into serving bowls and scoop molten bocconcini into each one. Garnish with the roasted cherry tomatoes and basil leaves.

Parmesan & Garlic Bread

Ingredients:

3 garlic bulbs (skin on), halved horizontally
2 tbsp olive oil
250g unsalted butter, softened (I used 150 g)
2 tbsp chopped parsley
2 sourdough baguettes (I used regular)
1 1/4 c finely grated parmesan

Method:

Pre-heat oven to 170C
Drizzle garlic with oil and roast for 40 minutes or until soft.
Cool and then squeeze from the skin and mash together with the parsley & butter.
Cut baguettes diagonally, but not all the way through.
Spread with butter and then stuff some parmesan in and then sprinkle the rest on top.
Bake for 15 minutes or until crisp.