Smokey beans with chorizo

Over the last few months I have been trying to bulk cook either for the week ahead or to freeze leftovers for a later time. I know that I have written about bulk cooking and freezing and how it didn't really work for me. Well, like a massive amount of things my life has changed and habits change too. I usually take my lunch to work with me 4 days a week and treat myself on the 5th. Some weeks are better than others. My work place offers amazing facilities. We have a full kitchen with cook top, oven, microwave, toaster, sandwich press and I have seen one of those pizza ovens in the cupboard. Our pantry and fridge are amazingly stocked. We are provided with both fresh fruit and fresh bread each week. I tend to have my two pieces of fruit at work each day. I have morning tea of vitawheat with vegemite and sometimes with cheese. I think that the only down fall in our office kitchen is there is so much chocolate and other sweet foods. I think there is all and every type of chocolate biscuit there is in our fridge at the office. I do love a mint slice but it really isn't good to be frequenting the chocolate biscuit drawer and it would be lovely to have some healthier options, not sure what they could be.

As I said I do meals for the week or freezer when bulk cooking but I have also taken to making breakfasts as well. If I don't have breakfast ready for the week I tend to have corn thins with peanut butter and banana, not exchange bad but it could be better. I often make a baked oatmeal, which I thought I had previously blogged but I cannot seem to find so I will do that one day soon. That will usually take me through 5 - 6 days. It was time for something different though. I found a recipe for Smokey Baked Beans and the idea sounded good but not so much the recipe. My first issue with it was that it wasn't baked.... in the end mine weren't either hence there is no "baked" in the title. So I used it as a base and went my own way. I did find that part way through the cooking it wasn't really tasting all that smokey to me so I added a couple of tbsp of a bbq sauce I had in the fridge. I think part of the issue was that the recipe I was using as a guide had water and it was just too much liquid so I lost some of the flavour. As part of my bulk cooking and freezing, I cooked a large amount of kidney beans, borlotti beans and chickpeas and have them in the freezer. It makes life so much easier and so much cheaper than buying the tins. So I thawed some of them overnight and cooked it up in the morning. I think this gave me 4, maybe 5 breakfasts. I served it on a piece of toasted sourdough for the first couple of days but then just heated a bowl up in the morning and ate it without anything else.

Smokey beans with chorizo

• 1 onion, diced
• 3 cloves of garlic, chopped
• 1 chorizo, chopped into bite sized pieces
• 400g tin chopped tomato
• 2 tbsp tomato paste
• 2 tbsp smokey bbq sauce (I used Stubbs smokey mesquite which I got from Harris Farm Market)
• 1 tbsp worcestershire sauce
• 1 tsp maple syrup
• 1 tsp smoked paprika (I used a hot smoked paprika)
• 2 cups cooked beans (I used kidney & borlotti)

Method:

Heat large frypan over a medium heat and add chorizo. Cook until it is starting to brown and then remove from the pan. Add onion and cook until soft and translucent then add the garlic and cook for a further minute.
Add the tomato paste and cook, stirring for 1 - 2 minutes, I find the flavours better if tomato paste is "cooked off".
Add the remaining ingredients and reduce to a low heat until it has thickened and is the consistency that you desire.

Eggs Poached in Tomato Sauce

Hi! It's been ages, actually I don't really need to say that. I have made a bunch of things and keep telling myself "I must blog that" but never seem to get around to it but here I am. I've been on holidays for the past 10 days. Well, sort of, since I did go to work for 3 days but it was fine because I got a heap of stuff done and didn't have to put up with anyone else. Unfortunately I have to go back to work proper tomorrow. I don't really feel much like interacting with people so I might end up in my separate little office on the guise of finishing stuff I didn't get done in those three days. I suppose it will depend on how I am feeling tomorrow.

It is raining here today which makes it a lovely day to be sitting here writing. I will most likely end up on the lounge reading and/or napping at some point today. Although there is house work that needs doing. I keep telling myself that I can do it later however the problem with that is that it continues to build up. Yes, you can do it later but it becomes a bigger job. Will get out of the chair and off here soon.

I started this with this Eggs in Purgatory recipe from Nigella. As I started to cook it dawned on me that it was a pretty boring recipe so I just started adding things. It turned out really well so I thought that I should sit down & blog as quickly as possible so that I remember it. One thing I did put in it was  3 smoked mushrooms. I bought a jar of them when I was on my cruise to New Zealand. That was over a year ago now and I hadn't opened the jar. They added a lovely little smoky flavour, not too much, just a hint. I will make this again. The sauce will make enough for two eggs, possibly 3. I cooked 1 egg in it and scooped it out. I will use the sauce again, probably tomorrow. Next time I would either make half the amount or, more likely, take out half the mix before cooking the egg. I would also sprinkle with chopped parsley but I didn't have any inside and it is raining out there.

Eggs poached in tomato sauce

1/2 onion, diced

1 garlic clove, crushed

shake of chilli flakes

1/2 tsp sugar

1/2 roasted capsicum, torn into pieces

1 zucchini, grated

125g can four bean mix

3 smoked mushrooms, chopped

400 g can crushed tomatoes

1 egg

Saute onion 1 - 2 minutes, add garlic and chilli flakes and saute another minute.

Add remaining ingredients. Cook 10 minutes.

Make an impression in the sauce and crack egg into it. Cover and cook 2 - 3 minutes. Until the white is firm and yolk still runny. I cooked a little bit too far today. Serve on toast.

Pancake Sunday

Do you have any family food traditions. There are a few in our family that I think it is time that I start going through them. I am starting with the easiest one because a lot of them involve a bit of preparation. There are a couple that will not be hitting my kitchen leave alone my dining table. They can be explained along the way when it comes to supposedly "paired" dishes. Anyway, on to pancake Sunday. 

One very clear memory that I have from throughout my childhood is of pancakes. Fluffy, yummy pancakes. My mum & I lived with my grandparents for quite some time when I was young. I think I have mentioned before what a good cook my Gramma was, especially when it came to desserts. However her pancakes were the best. It was a tradition, a major tradition. I am sure there was the occasional Sunday when pancakes weren't the breakfast made however they would be the exception rather than the rule. What do I remember the most. Well, my Gramma would make the pancake batter and put the bacon on to cook. My Grampa would cook the pancakes. They had this great big huge round electric griddle (well that is what they called it) and Grampa would make four smallish pancakes at a time. As they were ready they were moved to a plate in a warm oven so that more could be cooked. When the bacon was cooked Gramma would fry eggs, fresh eggs from the hen house. When they were cooked it was just a matter of assembling it all. 

The table would be set with an array of condiments. There was maple syrup, Log Cabin syrup, homemade saskatoon syrup, jams, cream and yoghurt (especially for my uncle). We all started mostly the same. Pancake, syrup, egg & bacon. Oh, wow it makes my mouth water just thinking about it. Next, for me, was usually pancake, raspberry freezer jam and cream. If, on one of my frequent trips home in my twenties, I was late to rise I would squeeze in another pancake with saskatoon syrup in lieu of lunch. 

I don't have pancakes every Sunday anymore. They are an occasional treat here now mainly because I over eat when I make them. I do make half of this recipe but it still makes 6 pancakes. I have thought about freezing leftovers but there is nothing like fresh pancakes so it usually means that at least 3 go to waste. They aren't the same without the freezer jam or saskatoon syrup either but since neither of those are possible I make do. I have even found myself a very old electric "griddle" to cook them on. Okay, it is rectangular but it is much better than a frypan on the stove.

Gramma's Pancakes 

2 c flour

3 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt 

2 tbsp sugar

2 eggs

1 1/2 c milk

1 tbsp butter, melted

Combine dry ingredients. Whisk eggs & milk together and then combine with flour mix then add the butter. Let sit 20 - 30 minutes before cooking. 

You may need to add extra milk. I find that sometimes it is a bit thick. 

My pan

June 2014 - Palace Eggs with Caramelised Onion

Okay, so leaving things to the last minute doesn't always work out. Although, strictly, I am actually making this post in time. It is just not exactly what I was planning but it is a recipe from the June delicious magazine so it does comply with my overarching theme. 

I had plans to make the Braised beef short ribs with silverbeet and haloumi crumbs. I mean how good does that sound? Pretty awesome if you ask me. I kept putting it off and putting it off. Busy with other stuff on this day or that day. So finally on Thursday I decided that I couldn't put it off any longer as end of month was fast approaching. On Friday after work I would grab the short ribs from the butcher and some silverbeet from the supermarket, I have everything else in the house. If I had gotten myself organised I would have had silverbeet in the garden but I didn't so I don't. However, not every thing went to plan. Instead of going to the supermarket and the butcher on Friday afternoon I had a trip to the hospital in an ambulance. What did I do you ask? Well, I somehow managed to fall down 2 stairs at work and wrench my ankle into a position it shouldn't have been in. My co-worker called the ambulance and they came, gave me morphine (yay for morphine!!) and off we went. Thankfully it isn't broken but I have been rather hobbled on a set of crutches, oh and my rolling office chair. That chair by the way is pretty awesome. It means that I don't have to use the crutches to go to the kitchen. Lol. Needless to say the dish did not happen. 

I was kind of resigned to the fact that I wasn't going to get anything made. I didn't feel much like eating. Plus I have been pretty fuzzy from the painkillers. There are other things in this issue that certainly did look promising. The Moroccan spiced lamb chops with moghrabieh and roasted beetroot sounds excellent. I don't have moghrabieh but do have some of the pearl couscous which could easily be substituted. However, the lamb is in the chest freezer which is tucked away in the corner of the laundry. I also know that the lamb is toward the bottom of the freezer since I had to clean out my fridge/freezer in a hurry a few weeks ago and everything just got dumped in there. I didn't fancy balancing on one leg digging around in the freezer for some lamb chops. 

Another dish that I am keen to try is another slow cooked meal, Pork cheek with celeriac puree. Beef cheek seems to have become the in thing to use I guess that pork cheek is probably going to be next on the hit list. I am pretty sure that my butcher wouldn't have any on hand so it is a meal that will involve a little planning. As I said, planning hasn't really been my forte lately. I will also have to buy a bottle of Pedro Ximenez for the recipe. I have a pretty good idea that isn't all that cheap. Although I do have a few other dishes that use it so I am sure that it wouldn't sit in the cupboard long. One day.

This morning I decided that I will not succumb. I will not let a month go by without a delicious magazine recipe. Okay, so I have also cut back the painkillers. Anyway I was looking through the issue for something that would be easy and I came across this recipe. It is really easy. Basically 2 kg of onions caramelised and then some allspice and cinnamon added. The onion is then placed in a dish and four eggs cracked into it and then cooked until the whites are firm. 

I cheated. I made a heap of caramelised onion a few weeks ago so I grabbed a packet of that out of the freezer and heated it up. I put them in a little pan that I found in a kitchenware store a while ago, cracked in the egg and I baked it in the oven at 160 C for 9 minutes. It was probably a minute too long as the yolk wasn't really runny anymore. I tend to forget that they continue to cook once out of the oven. It wasn't the best thing I have ever eaten but it was nice  and a bit unusual. It is supposed to be a breakfast meal but I had it for lunch. I think that it would be really good on a piece of toasted turkish bread (since it is a Turkish recipe). I won't be rushing to make it again but when I do cook up another lot of caramelised onions I might give it another shot. 

Baked cinnamon ricotta drizzled with honey and berries

This was super easy to make and very tasty. Lovely little morning or afternoon tea dish. The ricotta would also be fabulous for breakfast served on toast. I made half the recipe and I easily got four servings out of it. I have noticed this a lot lately, that the suggested serving sizes are massive. Most of the time I can halve a recipe and still get plenty of food out of it. If it wasn't that bit more difficult I would start quartering recipes but it takes that bit extra work and sometimes when I have taken the time to work it out the end result isn't that great. Some recipes just aren't meant to be made in such small quantities. This one probably wouldn't have been too bad. I find that recipes with eggs are the hardest. 

I would recommend making this one. I really enjoyed it and will make it again.

Haloumi French Toast with Chorizo & Mushrooms

This is a once a year, or maybe decade, breakfast. I found the recipe over on taste.com.au and I knew that I just had to make it. It was stunning. So much flavour going on in there. Incredibly rich and ridiculously filling. It was ever so good though and I would definitely recommend trying it. Chorizo and haloumi are natural companions. I use them together regularly. The only thing I did find was that it was a bit salty. I think that would depend on the brand of cheese. Like feta the brand seems to make a difference in the saltiness of the cheese. I think some cherry tomatoes thrown in the pan with with chorizo and mushrooms would be excellent. I didn't have any almonds so didn't worry about them.

AGT April 2013 - Sweet potato pancakes with bacon & maple syrup

Okay, okay, I know this is going back a couple of months now. I was going to cook from Australian Good Taste like I do delicious magazine but I haven't really been doing that. I planned to rectify this however, I received notice in the mail that Australian Good Taste is going to cease being published. The August issue will be their last. It is sad as it is a good magazine. There has been a couple of foodie magazines shut down recently. I hope that my other favourites keep going. I would be completely lost without delicious.

When I first received this issue in the post I couldn't stop staring (drooling) over the cover recipe. It just looks amazing. The combination of the chocolate cake with ganache and malted buttercream topped with the maltesers is just a stunning combination. I really wanted to make it but there really isn't anyone to cook for. It wouldn't be a cheap cake to make. I might make it the next time I get together with my friends for a bbq. 

I also have the Smoky root vegie hash with eggs and beans marked to make. It would make either an excellent lunch or easy dinner. The only root veg in it are sweet potato and potato and I think that I would probably change that. Most likely swapping out the potato for something like celeriac, although beets would work too. The smoky flavour comes from smoked paprika, I would probably use my hot smoked paprika to add a bit of a kick. 

I ended up making the Sweet potato pancakes with bacon & maple syrup for breakfast one morning. Well, brunch really. The recipe called for the sweet potato to be boiled and then mashed. There are a lot of recipes that have pumpkin, sweet potato and the like boiled or steamed before mashing for use in other recipes. I would prefer to roast and then mash since boiling and steaming adds extra water into the vegetables that usually causes problems in the final recipe. I baked in their jackets until soft then left to cool, peeled and mashed. I really liked these pancakes, they were so light and fluffy with such a great flavour. The sweetness of the roasted sweet potato really came through. Adding bacon and maple syrup just rounded it out beautifully. 

Sweet potato pancakes with bacon & maple syrup

400g sweet potato, roasted whole, then cooled, peeled and mashed
265g (1 3/4 cup) plain flour
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp bicarb

1 tbsp caster sugar
500ml (2 cups) milk
2 eggs
40g butter, melted, cooled
Bacon, fried (or baked) until crisp

Maple syrup, to serve

Combine flour, baking powder, bicarb and sugar. Whisk together milk, eggs and butter. Add milk mixture and sweet potato to the flour and stir until smooth.
Heat a large non-stick frying pan over medium-high heat (I use an electric griddle). Melt a small amount of butter in the pan.  Drop 1/3 cup batter into pan. Spread slightly. Cook until bubbles appear on the surface. Turn and cook for 1 minute or until golden. Transfer to a plate. Cover with a clean tea towel to keep warm. Repeat with remaining batter to make 12 pancakes.
Divide pancakes among plates. Top with bacon. Drizzle over maple syrup.

Good Taste - Sweet & Sour Eggs

Hmm, I was going to post a recipe from every Good Taste magazine since I started my subscription, you may have noticed that I haven't done that. I actually hadn't realised that I wasn't cooking from them until I was going through the stack of magazines building up on my coffee table. They are filled with good food and I have good intentions of making things but just never seem to get them made, exactly what I was doing with delicious magazine before I started my blog. I admit to being rather lazy with cooking lately or should I say that I have been making rather boring things, nothing worth photographing and blogging about. 

I have marked several things that I would like to make from this issue. The first is Cauliflower steaks with olive and herb salsa. The cauliflower is cut into thick slices, browned in a pan and then finished off in the oven. The salsa is made from green olives, oil, lemon juice, capers, parsley and oregano. I would make with kalamata olives but that is only because I really don't like green olives. I think this would be perfect with roast chicken. 

A nice quick lunch or dinner could be made from the Baked spinach & cheese mushrooms. They look to be quick, easy and tasty. They are a bit light on the vegetables, just the mushroom and spinach, so serving with salad or some extra veg would be a good idea. Another quick meal would be the African vegetable stew with sweet potato & peanuts, using curry powder and coconut milk for the flavour and creaminess. Again it is a bit light on the vegetables although it does include carrot, celery & spinach as well as the pumpkin. I am sure that I could pack a few extras in there. 

What I ended up making was the Sweet & sour eggs. I wasn't exactly sure about the combination but wow, it was so good. There was a nice hit of heat, I was a bit on the conservative side but could have added more, The sour of the tamarind and the sweet of the sugar were just perfect. Pairing all of that with fried eggs was fabulous. I made it for breakfast yesterday but I easily could have made it for lunch or dinner. I just had it on its own but if I was to have it for lunch or dinner it would probably need to be served with something else, I am not sure what that would be though. It might go well with some sort of rice thing. I will definitely be making these again. 

Sweet & Sour Eggs

125 ml peanut oil (I used grapeseed) 

6 eggs 

1 brown onion

3 garlic cloves

1 tbsp sambal oelek

1/2 c water

1 tbsp brown sugar 

1 tsp tamarind puree

2 dried bay leaves 

White pepper 

Heat oil in wok. Crack in egg and fry until starting to brown and turn cooking for 30 sec, remove and cook remaining eggs. 

Add onion, cook stirring until colouring then add garlic and sambal and stir to combine. Add water, sugar, tamarind and bay leaves and boil. Return eggs to the wok and simmer until it starts to thicken. Season. 

Baked egg & chorizo tomato

Back to breakfasts, I think I may have mentioned, ad nauseum, that I love cooked breakfasts. I don't do it nearly enough. Weekends are usually when I take the time to make something delicious. During the week it is usually porridge or toast so it is always nice to have something a bit more substantial. Well, not so much substantial but more interesting. Lately I have been sticking to the toast or porridge on the weekends as well. I also had two weeks off work and did very little in the way of cooking, breakfasts or anything else. 

This was such and easy breakfast to make but every so tasty. I have used chorizo with eggs on a number of occasions. I find that it is a really good combination. Chorizo is not something that should be on the menu for breakfast every day but it is certainly nice occasionally and certainly adds some zing to the dish. 

Baked egg & chorizo tomato

Serves 1

1 large tomato

1/4 chorizo, finely sliced 

1 egg

pepper 

Slice top off tomato and scoop out the seeds and some of the flesh. 

Line with chorizo and then crack egg into the tomato and sprinkle with pepper (a sprinkle of paprika would be good too). 

Bake at 160 C for 15 - 20 minutes or until the egg is done to your liking. 

Serve with toast (sourdough would be great). 

Scrambled eggs with corn & chorizo

Back to breakfast. I love doing cooked breakfasts. I don't do them often though. It is usually because it takes me so long to decide what to make it is lunch time. LOL 

For this one though I just decided that I would through some things together. I actually really like creamed corn on toast for breakfast but I have at least 2 dozen eggs in the fridge so also wanted to use some of them. There was also a small piece of chorizo so I decided to us that up as well and so breakfast was created. It was so very good and would definitely add corn to scrambled eggs again. 

Scrambled eggs with corn & chorizo

(Serves 1)

2 eggs 

1/4 chorizo, finely chopped

1/2 a 125 g can creamed corn

1 tbsp ricotta 

salt & pepper to taste 

Sourdough toast and parmesan to serve

Over a medium heat cook the chorizo, add beaten eggs and let cook for a while then fold to scramble. Combine corn & ricotta and then fold through eggs. Serve immediately on toast. 

Millet Porridge

Have you ever bought something that you had absolutely no idea what to do with but you just think that it is really interesting and you might find something to do with it one day? I have a bunch of stuff in my cupboards like that. The millet was one of those purchases from a little Asian supermarket near a friend's place in the city. I actually got quite a few things that time, most of which I haven't used yet. Oh well, that is what this is all about. 

I had previously made a quinoa porridge, that I wasn't all that keen on, so I thought that I might be able to use millet. I had a bit of a google on how to cook the millet and then came up with the best way to made it into a porridge. I really enjoyed it. It had a slightly nutty flavour to it. However it also gave me an opportunity to use some of the maple extract that I purchased recently. So I also had this wonderful maple flavour to it. My first portion was way too big so I ended up only getting three portions out of the recipe but I think that it would easily serve 4 with the addition of fruit. It re-heated easily in the microwave with a little extra milk. 

Millet Porridge

1 cup millet 

1 cup water 

1/3 cup milk 

1 tsp maple extra (I think I used that much) 

Place millet in a sieve and rinse with water to remove any dirt/dust/debris and then put in a saucepan with the water and bring to the boil. Turn the heat down and simmer until water is almost absorbed and then add the milk and extract. Continue simmering while stirring until the mixture thickens.

Serve with fruit, nuts and a bit of extra milk if desired. (I had banana and pecans). 

Creamed Eggs on Toast

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.

Lemon Souffle Cakes

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.

Poached Eggs with Wilted Baby Spinach

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

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. 

Cinnamon Snail Scrolls

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.  

Semolina Porridge with Caramelised Balsamic Blueberries

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. 

Crumpets

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. 

Potato & Feta Pancakes

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.

Banana Maple Porridge with Roasted Rhubarb

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.