The cook's notebook.

Coles fruit & veg prices go down down down

2012-02-01T09:51:00.000+10:00

As we have seen in the media over the last few days, the retail giants (Coles and Woolworths for those of you not in Australia) have now decided to duke it out over the price of fresh fruit and vegetables. Coles started this battle when announcing yesterday that they are going to cut prices on "at least a dozen" more popular fruit and veg every week. A quick glance at the full page ad in today's Courier-Mail shows that Woolworths are matching or beating Coles prices on many of these items.

My first thought when I heard this was "jeez, the farmers just can't get a break". However Coles have been quick to say that lower prices will increase demand which will provide more certainty for farmers. Whether this actually happens remains to be seen. You can read the full media release from Coles here.

My second thought when hearing this was hmmm. Maybe there is some good here. Research shows only half of Australians eat the daily recommended allowance of fruit and veg, with many people saying they can't afford to buy fresh f&v as it's too expensive (personally I dispute this, but that's a conversation for another day!). What I'm wondering is this: now that fresh fruit and veg are cheaper, will people eat more? Especially those who have previously said it was too expensive?

There is much research that says eating 5 serves of vegetables and 2 serves of fruit a day provides significant health benefits, particularly in terms of long term disease prevention including the prevention of many types of cancer, heart disease, hypertension, stroke, cataracts and macular degeneration of the eye and type 2 diabetes. Not to mention the short term benefits. I don't know about you, but when I have a meal that contains lots of veggies, I feel a lot better after than I do after a meal of takeaway!

While Coles and Woolies fight it out, I'll continue to support my local farmers and my fabulous local fruit and veg shop (that is next door to Woolies and over the road from Coles) by stocking up at our local farmers markets and supporting small business owners in my community.

Some of my favourite fruit and veg

Do you think lowering the price of fruit and veg will entice more people to eat it? Or do you think there are bigger challenges involved?

Summer BBQ days - with mushrooms

2012-01-17T17:10:00.000+10:00

As much as I would love to say I have always loved mushrooms, that would be a big fat lie. Because I haven’t. In fact, they used to be right up there with the dreaded Brussels sprouts - I had to be bribed to eat them. Even to try them. Then one day, not tooooo many years ago, I did. And WOW! What a revelation! What had I been missing all those years!

Now I just can’t get enough of them! I happily eat a few mushrooms nearly every day - for either breakfast, lunch or dinner. Yes, that’s right. For breakfast. One of my favourite mushroom breakfast dishes is my “scrambled-omelette” - quick to make, gorgeous to eat.

The most amazing array of mushrooms I have ever seen was when I went to the Fisherman's Wharf Farmer's Markets in San Francisco a few years ago. The variety was just incredible: lobster, hedgehog, oyster, wood ear and so many more!

Amazing array of mushrooms - all colors, shapes and sizes...

As one of my food goals for 2012 is to eat less meat and more vegetarian meals, I suspect mushrooms will be making a lot of appearances on my menu!

Lucky for me, mushrooms are also one of those foods that are really good for you! A 100g serving of mushies has more dietary fibre (2.5g) than 100g of celery (1.8g) or a slice of wholemeal bread (2.0g). And also more protein than most other veggies. And let's face it. Mushrooms are soooo much yummier than celery sticks!

But the real kicker for me is that 100g of raw mushrooms only has 100kj. Yes, you read that correctly! Only 100kj! Or less than 24 calories. Which, when you love cheese and butter (two foods that go brilliantly with mushrooms by the way...) as much as me, is a REAL bonus!

I made this for a quick and simple lunch the other day - despite it being a MISERABLE day, I fired up the BBQ, but you could just as easily cook it on the stove.

Mushrooms on toast with haloumi. Boring name, mouthwatering flavours!

All you need for 1 person is:

1 slice of sourdough or other gorgeous bread
1 clove of garlic cut in half
1 slice of haloumi (yes, yes I know my pictures have 2 pieces. And yes, I ate them both...)
about 100-125g mushrooms, cut into halves or quarters (I used Swiss brown but you could use flat, button or whatever else you fancy)
1 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
1 tbs olive oil
squeeze of half a lemon
sprig of rosemary, finely chopped
salt and pepper

Pop the mushrooms, garlic, rosemary, olive oil, lemon juice, s&p into a small bowl, mix together and let it sit for 10-15 minutes.

Rub the slice of sourdough with the piece of cut garlic (I then chopped this up too and added it to the mushroom mix - according to my beloved, I REEKED of garlic that night. And the next morning. Oh well. It tasted AMAZING!)

Heat the BBQ - you need the flat plate. I use a silicone mat on our BBQ flat plate as it is easier than constantly cleaning the plate! Plus, ours is a bit rusty and manky. It's also non-stick, so you don't need to add extra oil.

Once the plate is hot, add the mushroom mix, the haloumi, and pop the bread on the grill (the grill section doesn't need to be turned on as there should be enough residual heat). TURN THE BBQ HEAT DOWN so nothing burns (learnt this the hard way the first time I cooked haloumi!).

On the BBQ

It all takes about 5-8 minutes to cook - I normally take it off when the haloumi is cooked - you want it to look a beautiful golden colour.

Cooked haloumi

Once cooked, serve it up! This is gorgeous for a quick breakfast too, especially when entertaining.

Instead of haloumi you could add a fried egg - the beauty of the silicone mat I used is that you don't need to use oil, so your fried egg is actually healthy.

A few variations to this:

use thyme or basil instead of rosemary
add some chopped red onion
add some bacon or proscuitto
pop some butter on the BBQ to cook the mushrooms (I don't think it needs it, but many disagree!)

What’s your favourite way to eat mushrooms?

Big thanks to the Australian Mushroom Growers Association for sponsoring this post and recipe as part of their Summer Mushrooms campaign. Check out these sites for many more gorgeous summer mushroom ideas.

2012 food goals

2012-01-11T16:40:00.001+10:00

Every year at about this time my beloved and I sit down to work out our goals for the year - individually and jointly. This year is no different - in fact, it's happening tonight. Hence this post, which is helping me work out what I want some of my goals to be this year. Specifically my food-related goals.

Oh, who am I kidding! I can turn any goal into something food related. The general themes we use are around our finances, health, professional development and work, personal development and our relationship with each other as well as with family and other loved ones. Typically they include saving $$; getting fitter and healthier and eating less junk; spending more time together including date nights, holidays, long weekends; etc etc...

But what do these have to do with food? I'm getting there...

For a long time I have hated our kitchen. Actually since we bought our house. There is nothing hugely wrong with it - the house was only a few years old - but it is small with limited and very pokey storage that fits a small fraction of what I have, deep cupboards so you can barely find out what is behind the first layer, an awful electric stove, bad lighting and not enough powerpoints.

The good news - the reno is happening in 2012! Kitchen designers are being spoken to AS WE SPEAK {yippie-yi-yay!!}.

Horrible pantry with deep shelves - and yes it's messy...

So onto the goals:

In anticipation of the kitchen reno and having to pack {but financial as I'll be saving $!}:

stop buying stuff that gets shoved in the pantry and forgotten! As soon I'll need to pack all this, my #1 goal is not to buy ANY pantry goods but to eat our way through what we have - including the 12 tins of salmon, 8 tins of sardines, packets of couscous, quinoa, crackers, many jars of yumminess, wild rice, dried fruits and SO. MUCH. MORE.
eat our way through the freezer - it has a similar look thanks to a few not-really-necessary visits to SuperButcher to stock up on some of their incredible beef/pork/chicken bargains, the generosity of Silverwood Organics {I won a lamb pack at a charity fundraiser in October}, and more general over-shopping
so all I am allowing myself to buy food-wise between now and the kitchen reno is fresh fruit/veg, dairy, bread and fresh fish. Of course, I may have to get the occasional chocolate bar as today I sadly discovered this house is chocolate-free :(

Kitchen benches like THIS will soon be a thing of the past!!

Food experiences {this is really health to get fitter and feel better}

eat more locally grown and produced food, and support more local small food biz
cook more at home. Especially since Kerry Heaney @eatdrinkbeKerry so kindly {note the sarcasm here...} told me of a study that shows women who eat out more than 6 times a week tally up the kilojoule equivalent of 1 kilo a month. I gained 10kg in 2011. Mostly because I ate out A LOT...
entertain more at home and have more friends over for a casual mid-week meal
eat more fruit, more veg and less meat - aim for one vegetarian day a week
visit more markets and different types of food shops, especially when I'm on holiday {this is just part of the exercise bit - walking around markets for cardio, carrying my purchases for strength!}

The rest {including education, personal development and fun stuff!}

blog more!
try new foods and cook with new ingredients
read more food books - and not just cookbooks!
try more new restaurants, not just the old favourites - and use Brisbane Budget Bites a LOT MORE!

Anyway, they are some of mine for 2012. What goals - food or otherwise - do you have?

Summer salad days - with quinoa

2011-12-01T14:03:00.001+10:00

Salads as a child tended to be the fairly dull wedges of iceberg lettuce, chunks of tomato and cucumber, with the occasional addition of some crisp green capsicum, slivers of red onion and a sprinkling of sprouts. Generally splashed with some vinaigrette. Vastly different from today. In fact, the only time I bought iceberg lettuce in recent years was when dad come for a visit as it was the only lettuce he liked. Having said that, the old iceberg is pretty good when drowned in a blue cheese dressing. Dad's favourite.

But I digress.

I was asked yesterday for some salad ideas that are more substantial than just a green salad. Two of my favourite ingredients for a salad are couscous and quinoa. And I generally use them interchangeably.

Quinoa salad

Quinoa (pronounced keen-wa) is the seed of a pseudocereal (which means it comes from a broadleaf plant rather than a grass, which most grains come from) that originated in South America. It's gluten free, and it is a complete protein source as it has a balanced set of essential amino acids, making it a great alternative for coeliacs and vegetarians/vegans. It also tastes great - slightly nutty - and is delicious used as an alternative to oats in porridge or rice in creamed rice (yuk!) or as a savoury dish.

Quinoa is cooked in a similar fashion to rice - using the absorption method

Cooked quinoa has a white edge around it with a translucent centre

This salad is pretty simple, and can be either an accompaniment to meat or fish or a meal on its own.

What you need:

1 cup raw quinoa
1/2 red onion, finely chopped
1/4 cup of pepita seeds
1/4 cup sunflower seeds
1 cup chopped basil and/or Italian parsley (about a bunch)
1 punnet of cherry tomatoes
1/2 bunch of asparagus, woody ends removed, cut into thirds
1 piece of preserved lemon, finely chopped (optional)
juice of a lemon
2 tablespoons of olive oil
cracked black pepper

What to do:

Cook the quinoa according to directions on the packet. Once cooked, put it into a large bowl to cool
Dry-fry the pepita and sunflower seeds - I just do this on the stove in a fry pan with no oil. It takes about 2 minutes, but be careful to watch them so they don't burn
Steam the asparagus - I do it in the microwave for about 45 seconds.
Once the quinoa has cooled slightly, add all the other ingredients and mix together.
Serve as part of a meal - I love it with BBQ chicken or lamb.

This makes enough for 4 people as a meal or about 8 as a side. It tastes even better the next day.

Beautiful orange balsamic (left) and blood orange olive oil (right)

Options:

I have made it before using leftover roast veggies (pumpkin, fennel and beetroot are particularly good), adding some fetta or goats cheese and olives, using flavoured olive oils (my current favourite is a beautiful blood orange oil I bought from the Black Pearl Epicure warehouse sale) or flavoured vinegars (again, a gorgeous bright orange balsamic vinegar also from Black Pearl).

While I have listed this as a summer salad, it's also great in winter.

What are your favourite summer salads?

Eat. Drink. Blog. What I'm looking forward to...

2011-10-31T19:42:00.000+10:00

Only 5 sleeps until Eat. Drink. Blog. The Australian Food and Drink Blogger's Conference.

AND. I. CANNOT. WAIT. !!!!

I have wanted to go to another food blogger's conference ever since I went to BlogHer Food in San Francisco last October {I also want to go again when it is on in Seattle in June 2012 - anyone want to sponsor me?}. I had SUCH A BLAST! I think the best part was getting to talk to a heap of other bloggers and learn what they love, what their blogs are about and, of course, getting lots of advice on how to be a better blogger. I came home so inspired!

But...

after a year filled with life, love and drama, that inspiration is waning a bit.

So I was SO EXCITED to be told I had a spot at Eat. Drink. Blog.

This is what I'm looking forward to the most:

actually getting there. Shouldn't be a problem. I now have flights booked with Qantas AND Virgin. Yes, I panic booked Virgin flights on Sunday.
meeting bloggers who to date I've only been chatting to on blogs or on twitter
being inspired by the amazing line up of speakers
learning more about food styling and food photography - two areas I am aware that I lack a few {ok, a lot} of skills in
meeting Jules from Stonesoup - her blog is one of my favourites despite my having no idea how to cook with only 5 ingredients... and her photography is just gorgeous
meeting Valerie Khoo who I sometimes talk to on twitter, because we have many mutual friends. And because I want to be a better writer.

Mostly though, I'm looking forward to being inspired again. To get my blogging - and my food - mojo back. It's been hiding for a while and I miss it.

As I sit here writing this, an email pops into my inbox from the organisers of Eat. Drink. Blog. With more information. And a list of attendees. I'm off now to check out some more blogs. And to say hi to a few new-to-me food bloggers on twitter.

Only 5 sleeps to go. Not that I'm counting.

Are you going to Eat. Drink. Blog.? What are you looking forward to?

And the winner is... {Vita-Wheat lunch slices comp}

2011-10-28T08:07:00.000+10:00

Thanks to all of you who entered! Sadly we can only have 1 winner, and the winner is...

Blithe!

I have to confess, anything with gorgonzola is a real winner for me. And teamed with proscuitto and fresh fig made it pretty compelling. I also loved that it was her fantasy topping. I have fantasy versus reality foods too. Usually at breakfast when I want bacon but end up having no-fat yogurt. *sigh*

Blithe, can you please pop me an email {mel@melkettle.com.au} with your contact details and I'll arrange for this gorgeous hamper to be delivered!

HUGE thanks again to Vita-Wheat Lunch Slices for providing the prize, and my samples. Nom nom nom...

New! Vita-Wheat Lunch Slices - and a competition {sponsored post}

2011-10-17T12:17:00.000+10:00

Argh! What am I going to have for lunch! It's a frequent question I ask myself, generally around 11.30am. As I work from home I often have leftovers, or, even better, take the time to cook something yummy. But leftovers can sometimes be a bit boring {especially on the 3rd day...}. And I don't always have time or desire to cook.

So when the lovely people at The Soup asked me if I wanted to try the new Vita-Wheat Lunch Slices, OF COURSE I said yes.

So. What are they like? Well, they are basically like regular Vita-Wheat biscuits on steroids! More than twice the size, and packed full of seeds and grains, they are a great alternative to bread for lunch.

I was sent sample packs of each of the four varieties - soy and linseed; sunflower, oats and chia; poppy, sunflower and rye; and sunflower, pumpkin and canola. I'd tell you my favourite but they are all pretty good! What I REALLY like is that I can pronounce all the ingredients. And yes, my grandmothers would have been familiar with them all too.

As well as sending me a bunch of samples, I've also been given a fabulous prize to give-away. This GREAT hamper will go to my reader who comes up with the most delicious sounding topping combo. So get your thinking caps on!

The prize!

To get you started, these are two of my favourites:

avocado, smoked salmon, red onion and capers
baba ganoush, leftover BBQ chicken and tomato

Baba ganoush, leftover BBQ chicken, tomato - I added a bit of lime salt. SO GOOD!

Avocado, smoked salmon, red onion rings and a couple of capers.

So. To be in the running to win, tell me your favourite topping combo to go on the new Vita-Wheat Lunch Slices. The best answer will win the hamper of goodies.

Competition closes at 5pm Brisbane time, Monday 24 October 2011. ENTER NOW!

Read the fine print.

P.S. Don't forget to leave me a way to contact you if you want to enter the comp {so I can contact you if you win!} - either link to your website or email me mel AT melkettle.com.au

Maple crunchola breakfast

2011-10-05T16:27:00.000+10:00

It's no secret that breakfast is my absolutely all time favourite meal. Especially when bacon is involved. Sadly though, my body rebels when I eat bacon every day. I know. I don't know why either. Pesky extra kilos. Grrr.

So in my attempt to shed a bit of bacon-induced flab and to get a few more nuts, seeds and grains into my bod, I'm eating this a couple of times a week for my break-the-fast meal.

mmmm breakfast mmmm

I first had a version of this when hubby and I had a romantic weekend at Coolum about 4 years ago. We stayed at The Dome House, an absolutely sensational B&B near the base of Mt Coolum. We had a few gorgeous weekends here, and Di and Pete were fabulous hosts. Sadly (for us, not for them) they packed up a couple of years ago to go travelling, so The Dome House no longer operates as a B&B.

But I digress.

Breakfast each morning was a total smorgasbord of delight. The type I always say I'll make at home on a Sunday but never do. This however, I have made many times. And it's always a winner.

I've always thought this was gluten free, but was horrified to read that the packets of a few ingredients "may contain gluten" when I made it recently. I can only assume that is from processing on machines that have wheat through them. Luckily I'm not a coeliac, although I have fed it to a few who are. SORRY if you had any horrible side effects...

In this version I used:

2 cups puffed corn
2 cups puffed kamut
1 cup puffed millet (this was a new addition this time - DELISH!)
1 cup rice flakes
1 cup pepita seeds
1 cup sunflower seeds
2 cups macademia nuts (or any mixed and unsalted nuts)
1/4 - 1/2 cup of pure maple syrup (none of that fake horrible kind! And definitely NOT the sugar free kind! ICK. WHO buys that? and why.......)

Preheat oven to 180c.

Put all the ingredients in a large bowl, adding the maple syrup last, mix well.

all in the bowl

and now with the maple syrup...

Spread out on a baking tray (I use the grill tray as it's a bit deeper and can hold the whole amount) covered with a silicon mat or baking paper. Bake for 5 minutes, give it a stir, bake for another 5 minutes. Remove from oven and allow to cool.

after baking

The baking makes all the ingredients lovely and crunchy.

Store in an airtight container for up at a month. If it lasts that long.

Variations:
I have used all sorts of nuts in this, and I normally use at least 2 types - other favourites are pecans, unsalted cashews and almonds.

I have also used rice puffs or any other type of puffed cereal. And if you don't have maple syrup or it's too exxy, use honey instead. Or golden syrup.

For breakfast I have it on top of plain yogurt (my current favourite is Tamar Valley - have you had it? Just sensational!) with a bit of fruit - berries, mango, banana or whatever you like that is in season. It is soooo good! While I normally have a larger serving than the one pictured above, you don't need a lot of the crunchola to get the flavour and texture.

What is your favourite breakfast that doesn't involve bacon?

Cookbook review: South East Asian Food

2011-10-03T14:31:00.000+10:00

They say never judge a book by its cover, and I really, really try not to. But for this book make an exception. Please. The cover is absolutely stunning. As everyone who has seen this book on my dining table has commented. The recipes throughout are equally gorgeous.

Other than the cover, a couple of things struck me about this book. There are no pictures. Rare in cookbooks in Australia these days. PLEASE don't let that put you off! And as I looked through it, seeking a couple of vegetarian dishes to cook for my photographer friend Jen (who took these stunning photos), I discovered that there aren't any. BUT don't let that stop you from enjoying this book either!

So many of the mouth-watering pastes and sauces can just as easily be used with veggies. Such as the couple I made. But more about those soon.

Rosemary Brissenden {read here for an interview} originally wrote this book over 50 years ago, when it was the among the first to discuss and characterise food from South East Asia. Additions to this edition - which has been completely rewritten - are sections on Laos, Cambodia and Vietnam. Countries that were less than accessible in the 1960s and 70s! Rosemary's background in international relations is apparent as each section includes a fascinating overview of the cultural and historical context of food in these countries.

While there are many books around with 30-minute Asian dinners, this book is not one of them. There are no "short-cuts" to be had with pre-made spices or sauces. All these are made from scratch, mostly with a trusty mortar and pestle {although I did cheat with one of them and used my thermomix to grind the spices}. Which means you also need to have a bit of time. And plan ahead.

Some of the spices used - ginger, garlic {grown outside Brisbane}, coriander, cardamom, cloves, cumin, chilli, fennel

The three recipes I made were all from the Malaysia and Singapore section:

Dry chicken curry
Tandoori chicken {Malaysian Indian}
Cucumber raita {Malaysian Indian}

Tandoori chicken is a favourite in this house. Usually courtesy of Patak's. But not any more! The flavours of each of the spices in this dish - coriander seed, cumin seed, chillis, garlic, ginger - were all so subtle yet blended to give a zing you just don't get with a pre-made paste.

Tandoori chicken with rice

The second dish, Dry Chicken Curry, was even more powerful on the tastebuds. The cardamom and cinnamon flavours lingered throughout our house for hours, creating a warming, Christmassy feel {which was a bit odd for an overly hot day in early Spring!}.

To make the Dry Chicken Curry:

1 chicken, skin removed, cut into curry pieces {I cheated a bit here and used 1kg of thigh cutlets}
2 tbs vegetable oil
1/2 brown onion, finely sliced
1 sprig curry leaves
1 cup water
2 small potatoes, quartered
salt to taste

Paste spices

2 tbs ground coriander
2 tsp cumin seeds
1 tsp fennel seeds
1/2 tsp tumeric powder
1/2 tsp ground chillies (or more to taste)
3 cloves
1 stick cinnamon
3 cardamom pods
2.5cm piece of ginger, chopped
3 cloves garlic, sliced
6 shallots, sliced

Quite cleverly I didn't clearly read the recipe before I shopped, so I didn't have any curry leaves {and sadly neither did the curry tree in the back yard} and I forgot to buy shallots {I used a small brown onion instead}.

To make the spice paste, grind the dry spices to a powder in a mortar or a food processor {I used my trusty thermomix}. Add the garlic, ginger, shallots {onion...} and mash to a paste. Mix with the chicken pieces, cover bowl, pop in the fridge and let it marinate for 2 hours.

This was my tandoori paste before adding yogurt. Looks good doesn't it!

Once marinated, heat the oil in a pan and fry the onion and curry leaves until the onion is golden. Add the chicken and all the spice paste and fry until fragrant {the fragrance will hit you immediately! So fry for 5-6 minutes, making sure each piece of chicken browns all over}.

Add water, salt, potatoes and cook until chicken is tender, potatoes cooked, and gravy is almost dry. Stir well and serve with rice and cucumber raita.

What I loved about this curry is that it would be equally good with a firm white fish or pork or a big mound of veggies.

Dry chicken curry - sooooo good.....

There are so many mouth-watering recipes in this book. Especially in the Vietnamese section. And the Thai section. And the Cambodian section. Oh you know. The whole book!

What is your favourite South East Asian recipe? And cookbook?

Two big thank yous:

Jen Dainer, who took all these gorgeous photos - check her out at Industrial Arc Photography
Hardie Grant - who sent me a copy of this stunning book.

THANK YOU!!!

Date and pecan loaf

2011-08-25T20:20:00.000+10:00

For those who haven't seen my tweets, this week I'm on special at Woollies. OK, so not ME per se, but this recipe is included in the recipe booklet that is included with the special offer by Lurpak - a special pack with a Lurpak branded loaf tin, 2 x 250g packs of delicious Lurpak unsalted butter and the booklet!

Lurpak special baking tin offer - at Woolworths. GO NOW!

Many of you know that I was invited to be a Friend of Lurpak, and part of this was to provide a recipe. The other part was to judge their baking competition - thanks to everyone who entered - you can see some of the amazing creations here and the winners here.

When Lurpak asked me to provide a recipe that could be baked in a loaf tin, I immediately thought of this. I made quite a few varieties of this during #bakedrelief, and it was always a winner!

However the main reason I love this recipe is that gorgeous and hard-to-pass-up combination of dates and pecans. Also because it’s easy to make and takes less than 10 minutes to mix all the ingredients together before throwing it in the oven. It’s perfect for the office morning tea, the 3pm snack, or just to have with a cuppa!

Afternoon tea.

Ingredients

200g dates, chopped

100g brown sugar

60g lightly salted Lurpak butter

1 tsp vanilla essence

1 cup boiling water

260g self raising flour, sifted

1 tsp bicarbonate soda

1 tsp cinnamon

75g pecans, chopped

Method

Assemble all your ingredients
Preheat oven to 180c
Fill the kettle with water and turn it on to boil
Grease Lurpak baking tin with Lurpak butter and line with greaseproof paper
Place the dates, brown sugar, Lurpak butter and vanilla in a medium sized mixing bowl
Pour in the boiling water and stir until the Lurpak butter has completely melted
Add in the flour, bicarbonate soda and cinnamon and mix together using a wooden spoon - be careful not to over-mix
Stir the pecans into the mix
Scrape the mixture into the Lurpak baking tin

Pre-cooked. I challenge you to resist eating that raw batter. mmmmm

Bake for 50-55 minutes.
Leave to cool in the baking tin for 10 minutes then turn out onto a cake rack and remove the baking paper.

So, so good.

Serve in slices, spread with Lurpak butter. Delicious with a cup of tea!

Store in an airtight container for up to 3 days. This also freezes really well for up to 3 months - I ALWAYS have one in the freezer for when friends unexpectedly drop in!

Note: The pecans could easily be swapped for walnuts or left out if you don’t like them

DISCLAIMER: Thanks to Lurpak for providing me with the butter and the baking tin to make this recipe. And of course, for inviting me to be a Friend of Lurpak.

Chunky oatey choc-orange biscuits

2011-07-05T12:12:00.000+10:00

These are one of my favourite bikkies and sooo easy and quick to make. And they are sort of healthy too. At least, that's what I tell myself. Dark chocolate is good for you. Right? And I love how the orange zest adds a bit of zing.

What you need:

150g unsalted Lurpak* butter
100g brown sugar
50g caster sugar
1 egg
1/2 tsp vanilla
150g plain flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
130g rolled oats
70g oat bran
200g block of dark chocolate (I like the 70% cocoa)
zest of 1 orange

What you do:

Turn the oven onto 180c to preheat
Line 2 baking trays with non-stick baking paper
Break the chocolate into chunks and set aside {this is my favourite step as I normally give it a couple of big thwacks with a heavy-duty rolling pin - great if you are irritated with anyone...}
Place the butter and sugars into a large-ish mixing bowl and beat until creamy {using an electric mixer if you have one, or a wooden spoon if you want to give those arm muscles a good workout}
Add the egg and vanilla and mix until combined into the butter/sugar
Sift the flour and baking powder into the bowl and add the oats, oat bran,chocolate chunks and orange zest {I usually zest the orange over the bowl rather than prepping it earlier}
Stir until it's well combined {I normally roll up my sleeves and mix with my hands as it's too thick for most electric mixers}
Shape the mix into walnut sized balls and place on the lined baking tray and squish them a bit with a fork {sorry - no photo of the squishy balls - forgot...}

Pre-squish.

Bake them for about 15 minutes or until a light golden colour
Once cooked, leave them on the tray to cool for a few minutes before popping them onto a wire rack to completely cool

These should last about 4-5 days in an air-tight container. Assuming no hungry kids, hubbys or girlfriends find them first. And eat them all. As once happened to me. YOU KNOW WHO YOU ARE!

What are your favourite bikkies?

* DISCLAIMER: I'm a Friend of Lurpak, but I've loved their butter for a long time. Especially on toast with Vegemite. Check out The Lurpak Challenge - entries close soon!

Veggies for breakfast - my scrambled-omlette

2011-07-01T16:07:00.000+10:00

I have a few friends who will recoil in horror from this post {no need to name names - you know who you are!} as they believe veggies are disgusting. Well, I don't. But like many, I certainly used to! When I was a kid. And yes, there are still a few that make my stomach churn. But that's a topic for another day.

Back to veggies for breakfast. I'm really lucky to work from home, which means I have the luxury of taking a bit of extra time to make breakfast. As I don't have to bolt to the train while scoffing that second piece of Vegemite on toast. Because I'm late. Again.

One of my favourite breakfast foods would have to be eggs. These little protein pellets fill my belly in a way toast or cereal never could! Especially when cooked with a few veggies. AND this helps my eat my 2+5 every day.

One of my favourite breakfasts is what I like to call a scrambled-omlette. I'll never be a chef as the perfect looking omelette has ALWAYS eluded me. Hence my scrambled-omlette.

This was todays version. And yes the photos are terrible, but I was STARVING. And it was cold this morning and I wanted to eat my breakfast while it was hot!

Feeds 1.

What you need:

small blob of butter (I love Lurpak*!) or spray of olive oil
half a zucchini, sliced thinly
3-4 mushrooms, sliced (depends a bit on size - I used button mushies today)
1 egg
splash of milk
3 teaspoons of cottage cheese
parmesan cheese for grating
salt and pepper

What you do:

Turn the stove onto a medium heat. Spray your small skillet with olive oil or melt the butter and saute the zucchini and mushrooms until soft, stirring often.

While they are cooking, mix the egg with a splash of milk {about the amount that would fill 1/2 an eggshell at the MOST}, mix in a taste of salt and pepper. Once the veggie mix is cooked {this normally takes 3-4 minutes}, turn the stove down to low, add the egg mix, plop about 3 generous teaspoons of cottage cheese on top and cover until cooked {this takes 1-2 minutes, depending on how hot the stove is and how runny you like your egg}.

Once it's cooked, serve it up and grate a bit of parmesan on top! Add extra cracked pepper and/or salt {although I find the cheese gives it enough of a salty taste}. You could have it with some toast, but I normally just have it on it's own.

Scrambled-omlette with zucchini and mushroom. Yumbo!

A few variations - I often add red capsicum instead of zucchini, or a bit of bacon, or whatever veg I have in the fridge. If I'm extra hungry I'll use two eggs {but I'm trying to limit my eggs to only 1 most days as my cholesterol doesn't like me to eat more than about 6 eggs a week ...}.

What's your favourite way to incorporate a few veggies into your breakfast?

* DISCLAIMER: I'm a Friend of Lurpak, but I've loved their butter for a long time. Especially on toast with Vegemite. Check out The Lurpak Challenge - entries close soon!

Lentil-bol

2011-05-31T20:35:00.003+10:00

I love lentils. And I really don't cook with them often enough. And I don't know why. They are easy to cook, cheap, full of fibre and other stuff nutritionists love, low in calories, and really, really yummy!

When I was a kid, mum used to always add lentils to her spag bol to add extra "goodness" and to make the mince go further. I say "goodness" because I really wasn't a lentil lover until probably my early 20s. However I did love her spag bol. Despite years of trying I've never been able to replicate the flavour. Maybe one day...

Anyway, this dish is my version of lentil-bol. Sans mince as I'm trying to cut down the amount of meat I eat.

Lentil-bol. All it needed was a glass of red!

Ingredients

1tbsp olive oil
1 onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, chopped or minced
1 red pepper, de-seeded and chopped
150g mushrooms, sliced
1 x 400g can of lentils, drained and rinsed
2 x 400g cans of diced tomatoes
1/2 cup water or red wine
dash of tabasco
teaspoon or 2 of herbs/spices - I used chipotle spice, but you could use Italian herbs, paprika, cumin or whatever takes your fancy
pasta {I like spaghetti or linguine or fettucine}
parmesan cheese for serving

What you do

Heat the oil in a medium-large frypan on medium heat
Add the onion and garlic and cook for a few minutes until pale {stir so it doesn't catch}
Add the red pepper and mushroom and stir through for 2 minutes
Add the lentils, tomatoes, water/red wine, tabasco and herbs and spices, stir to combine
Lower the heat, cover the frypan and let the mixture simmer for 30-45 minutes. Stir every 15 minutes or so
About 10-15 minutes before you want to eat, cook the pasta according to directions.
Serve up and sprinkle grated parmesan cheese on top.

This is even better a day or two after it's been made {I love it for lunch too}. It would be PERFECT with a glass of red, but as I'm trying to have 5 alcohol free days a week while I'm doing my 12 week body transformation challenge, I refrained. Yes, I know. Very unlike me.

This serves 4, and if you are doing the 12wbt, it's about 160 calories per serve - without the wine, pasta or parmesan {I know, I know, all the good stuff *sigh*}. Also very yummy served over a baked potato or sweet potato.

What is your favourite way of eating lentils?

Eating healthy - Thai beef salad

2011-05-23T17:00:00.000+10:00

So I know that it's nearly winter, and that winter is really not the time for salad, but I'm trying to be healthy and lose weight. So salads it is! And with the glorious weather we have been having in Brisbane lately, you would never know that next week marks the official start of winter. {I'm discounting that it's currently bucketing down outside, and mentally transporting myself back to yesterday when I wore shorts and a tank top. And made this salad.}

Thai beef salad - yummo!

So, the health kick. I've decided that since my hubby has recently lost a heap of weight and looks great, that I need to get into gear and play catch up. And sadly my hips seem to have found a few at least 2-3 of the kilos he lost {don't you just HATE that?}. Like many, I have signed up to do the Michelle Bridges 12 week body transformation {#12wbt if you are on twitter}.

Today is day 1. And I'm determined to get off to a good start! Despite just accepting an invitation to attend the Brisbane Cheese Awards announcement breakfast {if you love cheese then pop along to the People's Day on Sunday 5 June at Portside - it will be a great day! With a lot of cheese}.

But back to my salad.

It's sooo easy and so full of flavour.

What you need:
400g beef fillet
salt and pepper
150g Vermicilli bean thread noodles (the Asian variety - I normally use the Pandaroo brand)
1 cucumber, chopped
2 large tomatoes, chopped
1 large red capsicum, deseeded and chopped
1/2 red onion, sliced finely
1 bunch of fresh coriander, chopped (stalks and leaves only)
1 bunch of fresh Thai basil, remove the leaves and tear them into smaller pieces

For the sauce
juice of 1-2 limes (start with 1, add extra to taste)
1 tbs fish sauce
1/2 tbs palm sugar (or brown sugar)
1 tsp sesame oil
2 tsp soy sauce
1 tsp grated fresh ginger
1 long red chilli chopped finely

What you do:

Heat the oven to 180c.
Season the beef on a baking tray with salt and pepper.
Roast the beef for about 20 minutes so it is still pink (I usually use a larger piece of beef so there are leftovers, but you will need to adjust the cooking time accordingly).
Remove the beef from the oven once it's cooked to your liking (rare, medium, well done) and leave it to rest for 15 minutes while you make the salad and the sauce.
Once the beef has rested, slice it thinly
To make the sauce - stir all the sauce ingredients together in a small bowl until the sugar has dissolved. Let it sit for 15 minutes at least for the flavours to develop. Add extra lime, sugar or fish sauce as necessary to taste.
Cook the bean thread noodles according to the directions on the packet (it takes about 2 minutes in a pot of boiling water). Drain and leave to cool
To make the salad, place all ingredients into a large bowl and gently toss together.
To assemble - place the bean thread noodles on the bottom of 4 plates, add the salad, add the beef, spoon over the dressing.

This is also gorgeous as leftovers for lunch the next day.

What's your favourite healthy meal?

Bone suckin' good!

2011-05-16T16:16:00.000+10:00

OMG this stuff is AMAZING. A massive thanks to Black Pearl Epicure who invited me to trial a new product (new to them that is!) and if I liked it, would I blog it. LIKE it - I LOVE it!

IT is an American product called Bone Suckin' Sauce. Now, I hear what you are saying. It's American. It will be full of ghastly high fructose corn syrup {a scourge of waaaay too many foods}. Well, no, it's not! I know! Quel surprise! {oops wrong country. Really meant to say "holy smokes Batman!"}.

AND there are no preservatives and it is gluten free. Win all around.

There are loads of ways you could use this sauce - I kept it simple, and just used it to marinate some chicken drumsticks, so I could get the full and unadulterated flavour. Sooo simple. The 10yo stepson {readers will be aware of his pickiness when it comes to so many foods} LOVED it. And has requested it again and again.

So, what I did was this:

I scored {actually, I forgot, but you should score} the chicken drumsticks, placed them in a bowl, then added about 1/3 jar of the sauce. Rub the sauce over the chicken pieces making sure the sauce gets into the scored bits.

Cover the bowl and pop it into the fridge for 3-4 hours {I didn't actually do this bit either - it was Friday night, we were hungry, it was getting late, I was a bit disorganised - we've all been there!}.

Preheat your oven to 180c, then pop the chicken pieces onto a baking tray. Bake in the oven for about 45-60 minutes, turning the drumsticks every 15 minutes or so.

You can see here there are only 7 drumsticks. That was perhaps my biggest mistake with this dish. I should have cooked 70. Or at least 17. They were bone suckin'ly good.

I served them with roast potato pieces and a simple salad. Delicious.

There is also a hot version of the Bone Suckin' Sauce. We haven't tried that yet - will do so soon. I've also made this using chicken thigh fillets that I cooked on the BBQ instead of in the oven. They took about 15 minutes on the BBQ.

Home made baked beans

2011-03-19T16:37:00.001+10:00

OK. It's confession time. I've never liked baked beans. There. I've said it. Ick. No, double ick. Which was unfortunate growing up because they were loved by a particular member who used to "encourage" me to try them in the belief that sooner or later my tastes would change.

Well, the good news is that my tastebuds now DO love baked beans, but only the homemade variety, not the ones out of a can. Sorry Mr Heinz.

The first time I tried proper baked beans was when I lived in Brandon, Manitoba, Canada {I won't be surprised if you haven't heard of Brandon - it's a small city in the middle of Canada. Freezing in winter, very hot in summer. I loved it.}. I was there on a Rotary Exchange after high school, and one of my host mums {moms} was from Quebec where baked beans are revered.

I'm sure you can imagine my "delight" when I came home from school one afternoon to be excitedly told by my host sisters that we were having baked beans for dinner. All I could think of was "gee, yum" {insert appropriate sarcasm levels}.

Well, I was SO WRONG. They were AMAZING. Made from scratch {soaked, cooked beans and all} and baked for at least 8 hours in the oven.

My baked beans recipe below is quite a bit spicier than I remember Odette's being. I also cheated and used tinned beans, and cooked them on the stove top rather than in the oven - it was a hot day in February rather than the -30c it was in Brandon! So it took about 2 hours not 8.

Simmering on the stove - I used a flattish casserole dish

What you need:

1 tbs olive oil
1 red onion, peeled and chopped into smallish pieces
150g bacon, rind and fat removed, diced {or chopped into smallish pieces as per my description above when my brain forgot the word I was looking for...!}
3 tins cannellini beans
1 tin crushed or chopped tomatoes
1 chipotle chilli in adobo sauce, chopped finely {optional, but try and find them as they add a gorgeous smokey heat to the dish}
3 tsp smoked paprika
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tbs golden syrup
2 tbs tomato sauce {ketchup}
1 tbs Worcester sauce
salt and pepper

What you do:

In a large frypan or casserole dish heat the oil {using a medium heat}, then add the onion and bacon. Cook, stirring every minute or so, for about 5-6 minutes, until cooked
Add all the other ingredients {in the order listed above} and stir gently. Bring to the boil, then turn the heat all the way down to low so the mixture is simmering slowly.
Cover with a lid and let it simmer for 2-3 hours, stirring every 15-30 minutes. If it looks like it is drying out, add some water.
My favourite serving option is to have it with a poached egg for breakfast. You could also serve it with crusty bread or a salad.

If you are a vegetarian or don't eat pork products, just leave out the bacon. And if you require gluten free, just make sure the bacon and the sauces comply.

Makes enough for a crowd. Or breakfast everyday for a bit over a week. The next batch I'll be portioning and freezing.

With the perfect poached egg on top - a completely sensational breakfast that keeps me full for ages!

I'll be making these again this week, as the aforementioned family member is coming for a visit. Let's hope he loves this version as much as I do.

WIN Melinda's Gluten Free Goodies {SPONSORED}

2011-03-07T18:44:00.001+10:00

Did you know that about 1 in 100 Australian's have coeliac disease? And, staggeringly, 75% of people don't know that they have it! {or 157,000 of us - sheesh!}

What is coeliac disease I hear you ask - well, it's an auto-immune disease (simply, the body attacks itself - ick!). Coeliacs need to avoid gluten - a protein that is in heaps of foods including wheat, rye, barley and oats. Basically their bodies don't like these foods.

Imagine how hard it would be if you couldn't eat any of those foods! I know that I am just very grateful for my not-so-serious wheat and dairy intolerances.

But I draw this to your attention for 2 reasons. First, next week (13-20 March) is Coeliac Awareness Week.

And second {and MOST importantly}, my friend Melinda - from Melinda's Gluten Free Goodies - has launched a new iPhone app to help all of you who have friends who are coeliac {or have other food allergies}. YAY I hear you say! A simple solution for those of us who scratch our heads and wonder what to cook when entertaining our food-allergy-prone friends.

You can download the Allergy Free Entertaining app for the low, low price of $5.99 OR you can WIN a copy by entering the competition below.

But if this all sounds too hard, you can also buy one of Melinda's delicious sweet or savoury pre-mixes. Now, you mostly know that I'm not a fan of the pre-mix, but when Melinda gave me a few samples, I had to try them {actually, I delegated the cooking bit!}. My coeliac cousin was visiting, spied the pretty pink boxes, and whipped up the Sweet Caramel Cakes and the Lemon Curd Delights. In about 2 minutes flat. For afternoon tea. Her verdict - quick, easy and so, so delicious.

Melinda's savoury range - the pepper and chive crackers are my favourite!

YUM! Home-baked Melinda's goodies.

So, down to business. The competition. Tell me in 25 words or less what your biggest challenge is when cooking for people with food allergies or intolerances.

The best answer will win a $100 worth of Melinda's Gluten Free Goodies. The next 4 top answers will win a free download of the Allergy Free Entertaining App.

Competition closes on Thursday 31 March 2011. ENTER NOW!

Read the fine print.

PS Don't forget to leave me a way to contact you if you want to enter the comp {so I can contact you if you win!} - either link to your website or email me mel AT melkettle.com.au

Hear me speak - twitter for food biz

2011-02-08T11:55:00.000+10:00

Over the next few weeks I'll be speaking at events in Brisbane, the Gold Coast and Toowoomba on how businesses in the food industry can use twitter to grow, engage with clients, and increase sales.

Social Networking Connect is coordinated by Food Q and the Food and Wine Unit of the Queensland Government Department of Employment, Economic Development and Industry (DEEDI).

Details for the Brisbane event, Social Networking Connect II, are:

When: Wednesday 23 February 2011
Time: 8.45am - 1pm (includes networking lunch)
Where: Summit Events Centre, Iceworks Building, L1, 157 Given Terrace, Paddington
Cost: $59 per person {an absolute bargain!}
RSVP: by Friday 18 Feb

Payment is by EFT to The Summit Events Centre

BSB 084-424

Account 16 613 1289

Reference SNC2302

Please email David Jordan at david.jordan@deedi.qld.gov.au to confirm your registration and payment.

The program will be:

8.45am - register and connect laptop/iPad to wifi (optional)

9am - Introduction (speaker TBC)

9.45am - Simon Dell, Making the most of facebook to grow your business

10.30am - morning tea

11am - Mel Kettle {moi!}, Using twitter for business - can you afford not to

11.45am - Simon Dell, Next generation technology: what businesses can expect in the future

12 noon - Business case study and Q&A

12.30pm - networking lunch

Details are being confirmed for the Gold Coast (on Wed 2 March) and Toowoomba (Wed 9 March).

I hope to see you there!

For information on other events I'm speaking at, or for information on how to book me as a speaker, check out my marketing site, www.melkettle.com.au {my day job}.

If you are a food or wine business owner, what do you want to learn about using social media for running your business?

Food challenge - my first foray into jam...

2011-02-01T10:00:00.002+10:00

I decided that this year I would challenge myself a bit more with food. Make a few things that had previously scared me. High on that list is {was} jam.

Seriously folks, this is so easy. I don't know WHAT I was scared of!

I decided to give it a go when I received a HEAP of plums and nectarines in my CSA box. There is no way I was going to eat them all {who was I kidding - I wasn't going to eat even 1 plum! Not my favourite fruit...}, so, a perfect excuse for jam.

I also called on twitter for help! My friend Johanna (@johannaBD) who recently moved to Tassie {and who has seriously discovered her inner jam and preserve making self! Just check our HER blog!} and my BlogHer Food bus buddy, Marisa from the US, who writes the very inspiring Food In Jars blog, answered my call!

I used:

1.5kg mixture of plums, nectarines and a couple of squishy peaches {washed, stones removed and chopped}
1kg sugar
2 lemons, juiced but throw the squeezed lemon bit in the pot too!

On advice from twitter friends, I didn't bother peeling any of the fruit. However if I had more than 2-3 peaches I may have peeled those.

Everything in the pot! SO EASY! What WAS I scared of??

Throw it all in a heavy bottomed pot {I used a Le Crueset given to me a few years ago as a combined Christmas and Birthday gift for about 2 years! BEST GIFT EVER} and bring it slowly to the boil, stirring so the sugar all melts. Once it's boiling {after about 20 minutes}, turn down the heat and simmer for an hour, with the lid off, stirring every 15 minutes or so.

Bubble, bubble, bubble...

After an hour give it the saucer in the freezer test. Place a spoonful of jam on a saucer, place in the freezer for 5 minutes. If it's wrinkly when you run your finger through it, it's good to go. If it's runny, let it keep simmering. Give it the saucer in the freezer test every 20-30 minutes until it's done.

OK so technically this didn't really pass the wrinkle test, but I was ready for bed! As a result my jam is a bit runny. But just as tasty!

CAREFULLY pour the jam into sterilised jars, seal and leave overnight {take out the lemon pieces}. There are a few ways to sterelise jars - the easiest is to pop them in the dishwasher for a cycle, then fill them with jam while they are still hot.

Serve the jam on crusty sourdough with butter and a cup of tea.

A perfect Sunday afternoon snack while catching up on the papers

The only challenge I now face is what to do with my 8 jars of jam? I really don't have a sweet tooth... as the 2005 use by date on the strawberry jam in the fridge will attest to... if you're in Brisbane let me know if you want a jar.

Is there a dish that used to scare you until you made it and discovered how easy it is?

3 ways with... poached chicken

2011-01-30T15:36:00.000+10:00

I love chicken, and would eat it at least 3-4 times a week. Often for breakfast as well as for lunch and dinner {well, ok, maybe not THAT often for breakfast}.

Having a couple of poached chicken breasts in the fridge makes it super easy when it comes to throwing together a quick meal for dinner or to pack for lunch. And it's a LOT healthier than rushing to the nearest supermarket to buy a BBQ chicken {although they do taste good!}.

Poaching chicken (and fish) used to seriously scare me. Until the first time I tried. WOW! How easy was it! Made me feel a bit foolish for not trying sooner!

All you do is this:

Almost fill a skillet or fry pan with water and bring it to the boil {leave about 2cm for the water to rise once the chicken is added}.

I generally only poach in water, but you can poach in most cooking liquids including stock and coconut milk. You can also add herbs and spices such as ginger, star anise, peppercorns, fresh herbs, wine, vinegars, fruit juice or anything else to flavour the chicken.

Once the water is boiling, add the chicken breasts so they are fully submerged in the water {or at least 90%}.

These are not quite submerged, but I turned them over about 15 minutes into cooking.

Once the water is boiling again, turn off the stove, put the lid on the pan and leave it!

Allow the chicken to cook in the hot water for about 20 minutes, turn it, then give it another 20 minutes. Depending on the thickness of the chicken breast, it should be cooked. If you're not sure, give it another 10-15 minutes. As it's sitting in water it won't dry out. Once it's cooked, remove from the water and put the chicken on a plate to cool.

For food safety reasons, don't leave the cooling chicken out of the fridge for more than an hour or so

Once it's cooled, put it apart along the grain, tearing the chicken into shreds with your fingers {if it hasn't cooled that's OK, but you'll burn your fingers!}.

3 chicken breasts are a lot of shredded chicken! This container is larger than it looks.

Store the shredded chicken in the fridge in an airtight container until you're ready to cook with it - it should keep for 3 days.

NOTE - you can poach fish the same way {I love poached salmon} but it only takes about 10-15 minutes in total, and a bit less if you're poaching salmon and you like it quite rare.

One the chicken is poached, there are SO MANY RECIPES you can use it for!

Some of my favourites are:

1. On a sandwich or bread roll with lots of whole egg mayo, lettuce and a bit of salt and pepper

2. In a simple salad with sliced or chopped cucumber, tomato, red pepper, red onion, baby spinach leaves, splash of olive oil and balsamic vinegar

Those with eagle eyes will notice this is not shredded chicken! It's actually leftover BBQ chicken, but just imagine it's shredded...

3. In a toasted wrap with basil pesto, grated parmesan cheese, tomato, mushrooms

I used a lavosh style bread for this, but a tortilla works well too. Just wrap and toast in a toasted sandwich maker

Deceptively filling!

4. In a simple - and speedy - pasta sauce with sauteed mushroom, red onion, tomato, red pepper, basil pesto, grated parmesan on top - the slowest part of this meal is waiting for the pasta to cook

This is possibly one of THE ugliest photos I've ever taken, but this meal was sensational!

What's your favourite way to eat leftover chicken (whether it's poached, grilled or BBQ)?

AND the winners are... {SPONSORED POST}

2011-01-25T10:48:00.000+10:00

WOW! Thank you so much to all of you who entered my first ever blog comp! And a big thank you to Finish Quantum for sponsoring it.

And of course thank you to my guest judge for helping me choose a winner. It was HARD! I could relate to so many of your answers:

Claire @ Claire K Creations - I haven't had cheesecake issues but when you use a spring-form pan, MAKE SURE THE CAKE IS COOKED before you pop the spring. Especially when you pop it in front of a dinner table full of guest {it was messy...}
Redpene - I had a chilli incident but with a burning lip and burning hands. OUCH!
Naisargi - I love tumeric, hate the yellow. A quick tip is to spray your plastic containers with a quick burst of oil before you add the leftovers - the coat of oil will prevent staining {this also works for preventing tomato stains}
Kirsty Wallett - boiling oil terrifies me too - does anyone remember the old TV ad where a woman screams out "oh my God the chips!!" as her kitchen goes up in flames? Well, let's just say we had a similar family incident. I will hasten to add that I was not involved. I was overseas. And on the phone to the family member who screamed that out, dropped the phone and ran! And it was in the days when it cost about $5 a minute to call anywhere overseas...
Jane of Australia - I love garlic too. When I worked in retail many years ago a customer {a very cute, young male customer} stood a bit too close and said "pheewwweee I guess you ate a lot of garlic for dinner last night!" I was mortified...
Kylie C - I had your experience but with spag bol made with kangaroo mince. I was NOT expecting such a strong smell or taste!

But there can only be two winners.

First prize is awarded to Redpene: "Fresh chilli. Love eating it, but cooking with it's a serious PITA, especially making sure none of the chilli juices make contact with skin. Let me tell you, attempting to remove a contact lens from your eye after you've been cooking with the hot stuff isn't that much fun."

Second prize goes to Kirsty Wallett: "Large amounts of boiling oil! I wanted to fry calamari, I didn't have a fryer, so used a pan. Got busy prepping & heard a ‘whoosh’ sound behind me (like a nuclear mushroom I imagine) & turned around to find my oil & pot on fire! The pot never recovered."

Thank you again to everyone who entered.

Competition sponsored by Finish Quantum {SPONSORED}

2011-01-17T19:13:00.001+10:00

I'm so excited to announce my first blog competition!

This competition is sponsored by Finish Quantum - they develop dishwashing products so of course I LOVE them as I HATE doing dishes {as anyone who knows me knows!}.

The Finish Quantum product is the most premium product in the Finish dishwasher range - and designed with the latest technology that cleans even the yukkiest muck of dirty dishes. I especially love that it cleans off the remains of my scrambled egg that I cook in a bowl in the microwave {I can't believe I just admitted I cook scrambled egg in the microwave...}. My hubby loves that too (he used to be the one who scrubbed it off!

Thanks to Finish Quantum I have been given $250 worth of prizes. What do you have to do to enter?? It's simple.

Tell me, in 50 words or less {in the comments section below}, what ingredient you are too scared or intimidated to cook with and why.

The two answers I think are the best will win:

1st prize - a $150 gift voucher for your choice of Wheel & Barrow, Robins Kitchen or Taste for the Love of Cooking

2nd prize - a $100 gift voucher for your choice of Wheel & Barrow, Robins Kitchen or Taste for the Love of Cooking.

The competition closes at 5pm, AEST Sunday 23 January 2011. Winners will be notified by email and announced on this blog on Monday 24 January 2011.

One entry per person, Australian residents only {sorry readers overseas}.

Full terms and conditions can be viewed here.

Good luck!!!

Baked Relief - ADOPT A FAMILY

2011-01-17T11:03:00.003+10:00

My life has changed this week. As have the lives of many of my friends and loved ones. And it's been changed thanks to Baked Relief (or #bakedrelief if you are on twitter!).

What is it? It's a revolution that has come about to feed the survivors of the Brisbane floods. It was initiated by my friend Danielle Crismani (@digellabakes on twitter) who needed to do SOMETHING to take her mind of her boys being stranded in the Lockyer Valley (with her mum, whose property was affected by flooding - they are all safe). She came up with the idea of baking some relief for the State Emergency Services volunteers who were sandbagging around Brisbane.

Word quickly spread - via her blog Digella Emporium and via twitter - and now it is bigger than Ben Hur!

Baking with friends - in 4 hours we made 1 veggie slice, 1 veggie and bacon slice , 24 carrot muffins, 2 date and walnut loaves, 2 gf chocolate cakes, 3 banana cakes, 3 loaves of sandwiches, 1 huge ANZAC slice

Egg and dairy free date loaves, gluten free carrot muffins, veggie and bacon slice

My first baked relief - 120 pork sausage rolls

How can you help?

I'm now starting to coordinate stage 2: ADOPT A FAMILY {I'm calling it stage 2, but it's probably stage 4, 5 or 6...}.

This involves matching families in need with people who are prepared to feed them a meal a week - possibly for up to a year. Ideally this will include a meal for the host family where applicable.

If you want to be involved please email me mel@melkettle.com.au with #bakedrelief in the subject line.

If you want to cook for a family I need to know:

your name, email, mobile phone number
suburbs you are prepared to travel to with meals
how many people you are prepared to feed in a family
what days you can provide meals

If you would like to register for a weekly meal I need to know:

your name, email, mobile phone number, address where you are staying
how many people need to be fed (and this should include your host family - they will need a break too!), broken down into adults and children
any dietary requirements
any other information I might need to know (access, preferred days, etc)

I'm hoping to be able to start matching families the week of 31 January 2011.

Devastation at Fig Tree Pocket - day 3 post-flood. These friends will be lucky to be back within a year.

Friend's kitchen. It was one of the most beautiful and practical kitchen's I've ever seen.

UPDATE: Wednesday 19 January

THANK YOU to everyone who has registered to Adopt a Family. We are compiling a database and will match with families once we have been advised who needs support. As we need to work with official channels for this, it may take a couple of weeks. Please be patient. We hope to update everyone who has registered during the week of 31 January.

UPDATE: Tuesday 22 February

Thanks very much for your interest in the Adopt a Family program. At this stage we have put the project on hold. We have had a lot of people register interest, but have had difficulty in finding families who need to be adopted. Should this situation change, we'll be in touch.

However there are many other ways you can support the flood relief, including:

Check back with www.bakedrelief.org to see what is happening

Donate foods that are needed - in particular non-perishable food such as rice, pasta, tinned fruit/veg/tuna/beans/salmon, coffee, tea, milo, UHT milk, bottled drinks

Donate other goods that are needed - including toiletries for men, women and children (razors, shaving foam, shampoo, conditioner, soap, new nappies etc), and cleaning products (washing powder, sponges, bathroom cleaner etc)

Talk to your employer and see if they can help

Support our local farmers eg Lockyer Valley by buying local produce. You can do this through supporting organisations such as Food Connect (www.foodconnect.com.au). This can be an ongoing commitment.

Don’t let this fade from view.

A new year dawns.

2011-01-11T13:53:00.002+10:00

This post was originally going to be about my food goals for 2011. But as I sit here typing this, floods are ravaging Queensland, many of my friends and loved ones are frantically packing away precious possessions and Brisbane is preparing for flooding, the likes of which have never been seen before.

It's quite surreal given that barely 2 years ago the dams that provided Brisbane with water were down to 16% capacity.

Today Wivenhoe, Somerset and North Pine Dams are releasing water from storage as they are significantly over 100% capacity. In fact, Wivenhoe is at ~~140%~~ ~~160%~~ 175% capacity {I personally didn't even know that was possible!}.

The point of this is that we need to all spare a thought for our farmers. I lamented earlier today that my poor garden has drowned. It only supplies me with a few herbs and veggies to save me a few pennies. Our farmers are far, far worse off. Their livelihoods and their futures are at stake.

My soggy veggies. The front was zucchini and cucumber. The chilli and lemongrass are thriving! Everything else is weeds or mint or a few other very drowned herbs!

But Queensland {and all other Australian} farmers are a hardy bunch. In the last 10 years alone they have survived crippling drought, cyclones, dust storms, locust plagues, and now severe flooding. They will come back from this latest challenge. But they will need our help.

These are my ideas as to how we can help, other than making a financial donation to the Queensland Flood Relief Appeal:

buy from local farmers at farmer's markets - and yes, some of the produce will look a bit odd - it might be marked, it might be a funny shape, it might be a bit bruised, it might have the odd bit of extra protein {!}. But it will still taste good!
buy from organisations that support local farmers - such as your local CSA {I buy from Food Connect in Brisbane}
eat at cafes and restaurants that support local producers and growers
find out about farm tours and farm stays and do one {Food Connect organise regular Farm Tours for farms around Brisbane}
encourage your kids to eat more fruit and veg and teach them where it comes from - encourage schools to invite farmers along to talk to them and teach them.

What's a CSA? CSA stands for Community Shared Agriculture. It's when local communities buy directly from local farmers and other local producers to support locally grown seasonal produce. The benefits are many, but include reducing carbon emissions due to the food travelling fewer "food miles" and keeping money within your local community, thus benefitting the local economy and helping it become or remain sustainable.

Being part of a CSA also allows city-folk to become more aware of where their food comes from so they can become more educated consumers.

So how do you find out who supports local producers? Well, the easiest way is to ask. Talk to your local greengrocer, butcher and other retailers and ask them where they source their produce. If they don't support local then ask them why not.

My biggest food goal for 2011 is going to be to better support my local farmers. Because without farmers we WILL starve. What will yours be?

Piroshki - a Christmas tradition

2010-12-23T12:04:00.001+10:00

There are two foods that I have always remembered eating over Christmas. One is sausage rolls for breakfast on Christmas morning, and the other is piroshki. Originating from Russia, these little savoury treats were introduced to our family by a Latvian friend of my mother's, who she first met in the early 1980s when studying textiles at Strathfield Tafe. They have been a family favourite ever since.

Mushroom, bacon and onion filled piroshki. It's hard to stop at just 1. or 2. or 5.

I don't know how they came to be a Christmas tradition, but I suspect the first time mum had them was Christmas. Making these has been a bit of a tradition too. They are quite simple, but VERY TIME CONSUMING! So we have all had to make a few to help.

Sadly this year mum wasn't involved in making them as she unexpectedly passed away in August. So I was on my own. In a kitchen I have rarely cooked in since I left home aged 17. With a few helpful comments from dad {but not actual get-the-hands-dirty help}.

However I KNOW she would have been watching and laughing at me, especially when I ended up covered in flour, and with sticky dough bits all over the kitchen. And when I struggled to make little round balls of filled dough - most of mine have leakages. Oh well. They still taste just like I remembered. The test will be when the rest of the family taste them too! In about 10 minutes. Eek!

The hardest part of this was actually finding the recipe - I knew it was on a very yellowed scrap of paper, but the mystery was where! Luckily I found mum's recipe folder, and there it was - covered in much flour and oil stains (and yes, it's now been scanned and copied)!

As we eat these as part of many meals over Christmas and usually have hordes of people popping in, I made double the quantity. They also freeze well and just need about 5 minutes in the oven at about 180c to reheat.

Ingredients - dough
11g dry yeast (or two sachets)
2 1/2 tbs sugar
3 cups plain flour
1 1/4 cup milk
125g butter
2 tbs salt
1 egg yolk, lightly beaten
beaten egg to glaze

Ingredients - filling
olive oil
3 large onions, finely chopped
250g bacon, finely chopped
250g mushrooms, finely chopped
fresh ground black pepper

Method
Combine the yeast, 1/2 tbs sugar and 1/4 cup milk in a small bowl, stir and leave for about 10 minutes so it can react, become frothy and rise. {I didn't have scales OR any measuring spoons so had to guesstimate the amount! I was a bit worried I had under-estimated so added a bit extra. THAT was unnecessary! But it turned out OK. Phew!}

My frothy, yeasty mix. This continued rising to almost over the bowl!

Heat the butter, salt and remaining milk and sugar in a saucepan until it's lukewarm. Stir occasionally. {I overheated mine and then promptly burnt my hand when I started kneading it all in a later step. D'oh!}.

Butter, milk, sugar and salt - DON'T LET IT OVERHEAT!

Place the flour in a large bowl and make a well. When the milk and butter mix is ready {and not too hot!}, add it, the yeasty mixture and the egg yolk. Stir it with a wooden spoon until all the flour is incorporated. Knead it with your hands for about 3 minutes until it's smooth and elastic - note that it will be very sticky and this is how it is meant to be. Sprinkle some flour on top, cover the bowl with a tea towel and leave it in a warm-ish spot to rise, for about an hour.

This was my dough before it rose. It rose to the top of the bowl.

While the dough is rising, heat a large frypan with a tablespoon or so of olive oil, add the onion and gently fry until clear (3-4 minutes). Add the bacon and mushroom and cook through (about 5-8 minutes). Once this is cooked, let the mixture cool.

This is where I realised I had miscalculated the time as it was 4pm and we were going to a Christmas party and needed to leave at 5pm! Eek! I left the dough to keep rising and when I came home I popped it in the fridge for it to rest overnight. On the plus side, this made it a bit less sticky when I came to use it the next day. I also put the filling mixture in another container and kept it in the fridge overnight.

So the NEXT day I did this bit.

Heat the oven to very hot - about 230c (or 450f).

Crack the egg into a small bowl and mix together - this is the egg wash for brushing over the piroshki before baking.

Turn the dough onto a lightly floured surface {I just used the kitchen bench - easy to clean after!}. Knead it lightly until it comes together. Because it was still quite sticky I used a bit of flour on my hands too.

Lightly kneaded dough

Get the filling mix and give it a bit of a stir.

With the dough, tear off pieces that are a bit smaller than a golf ball and flatten it out on the bench. Add a teaspoon of filling to the middle of the dough and roll it up. In theory it should look like a ball. In practice this didn't really happen.

Squashed dough with filling in the middle, before it was rolled up

Place them on baking trays lined with baking paper (or similar) so they don't stick. Leave them for about 10-15 minutes to rise a bit more, then brush with the egg wash. Place in the oven and bake for 10-15 minutes until golden.

Yeah, yeah, they are not all round. But they still taste the same!

CAUTION - the filling takes longer to cool down that the outside once they are out of the oven {Yes, I was impatient. Yes, I burnt a few tastebuds. Yes, I RACED to get a cold glass of water. No, I doubt I learned from that moment of greed. It's the once a year piroshki after all!}.

Et voila. YUM.

Making these piroshki was a bit of a comedy of errors {if you were following me on twitter you would have felt my horror at finding the HUGE weevil at the BOTTOM of the bag of JUST PURCHASED flour immediately AFTER I had added the wet ingredients}.

Sorry loved ones who have just read this after eating. Think of the extra protein {smiles}.

Do you have any Christmas traditions? I'd love to hear them!

{And yes, I'll post a sausage roll recipe too!}

UK culinary genius Heston Blumenthal is coming to the Goldie!

2010-12-14T10:00:00.000+10:00

In today's exciting food news, UK culinary genius Heston Blumenthal is coming to Sanctuary Cove on the Gold Coast - 18-20 March 2011.

Heston Blumenthal

Heston will host In Conversation with Heston Blumenthal - an exclusive weekend event that offers participants an insight into the unique philosophies of one of the world’s most intriguing chefs.

If you have ever watched any of his TV shows, been to his restaurant The Fat Duck {and LUCKY YOU if you have!}, or read his book, you'll know he has made his name blowing up, reducing, foaming, freezing, deconstructing and reconstructing what was once mostly normal food.

According to the media release, a special feature of the weekend will be the “Evolution of Taste” sessions where Blumenthal will be sharing his unique philosophy and approach to cooking, exploring taste and flavour, and his passion for the multi-sensory experience of eating and drinking, supported by extraordinary photographic images, and clips from his renowned television shows.

Another highlight will give participants the chance to get-up-close-and-personal with Blumenthal when he hosts a dinner on the Saturday night joining his guests at their tables instead of cooking.”

Tix are $3,750 per couple, and in case all that food is too much for you, it also includes a round of golf!

For info and to book contact Events Worldwide on 1300 788 666 or visit www.events.com.au.

I'd love to go - does anyone want to sponsor me?? Pretty please?

Speedy asparagus tart

2010-12-13T10:20:00.000+10:00

I was making sausage rolls on the weekend (yes, those lamb ones for those of you sampled them!) and found myself with 1 leftover sheet of puff pastry. I really didn't want to throw it out, so I had a quick forage in the fridge to see what else needed to be used up.

A few other bits and pieces later - the remnants of a container of ricotta, a couple of eggs almost at their best before date, a scrap of parmesan, a few cherry tomatoes and some gorgeous asparagus - and I had the makings of an easy-peasy tart.

Not my greatest photo - but you get the general gist of it!

Ingredients
1 sheet puff pastry, thawed
3 eggs
1/2 to 1 cup of ricotta (I think I had something in between)
about 20g grated parmesan
1 bunch of asparagus - ends snapped off, rinsed
6 cherry tomatoes, cut in half
salt and pepper

Preheat the oven to 180c.

Place the puff pastry into a quiche or pie or flan dish - I used a long one that had a removable base. I needed to cut the pastry sheet to fit.

In a medium sized bowl whisk together the eggs, ricotta, parmesan, salt and pepper. Pour into the pastry (it won't look like a lot, but it will puff up when cooking).

Arrange the asparagus and cherry tomatoes on the eggy mixture.

Bake in the oven for about 20 minutes.

Leave in the dish to cool for 5-10 minutes before serving. You could serve it with a salad for a light lunch or dinner.

Option - to make the pastry base flakier you could pre-bake the pastry for 10-15 minutes. Cool slightly, then push the base down before you add the egg mixture. I was hungry so didn't bother pre-cooking the pastry, but the base pastry was a bit doughy. Next time I'll try not to be so impatient!

Do you have any "use up the leftovers" tricks?

Pulled pork - Mexican style

2010-12-07T16:20:00.002+10:00

This is a dish I have been hankering for since seeing pulled pork at a food truck in San Francisco in October. Which I didn't try as I had already scoffed too many other foods that night. And which I was rather annoyed about as the smells were just lip-smacking!

This version is very different as it has Mexican flavourings and not the southern BBQ I desired in San Francisco. That version will be made for another post. When we've finished eating the mound of pulled pork still in the fridge. mmmmm

The only problem with this dish (and it's really NOT a problem if you are organised) is that it takes about 8 hours to cook. And that is only a problem if you are a) impatient and b) have a serious, uncontrollable, need-it-NOW craving.

What you need:

vegetable oil - I use grapeseed or ricebran
1 onion, chopped
4 cloves of garlic, minced or chopped
2 kg boneless piece of pork (I used boneless pork leg), skin and excess fat removed
3 tsp smokey paprika
4 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp salt
2 tsp dried coriander (you could also use a handful of fresh, but I had dried that was bought in error and I wanted to use it up)
4 chipotle chilis in adobo sauce, and 2 tsps of sauce (chipotle chilis are what make the flavour of this dish so try and get them. Many good gourmet food stores will sell small tins of them)
1 cup water

What to do:

Turn on the oven and heat it to about 140c.

Heat the oil in an oven proof pot that has a lid (I used a Le Crueset casserole pot) and fry the onion and garlic on a low heat until soft (about 3-4 minutes).

Saute onions and garlic

While the onion and garlic are cooking, mix together the paprika, cumin, salt and coriander. Make deep cuts into the pork (not all the way through) and rub the spice mix all over the pork and into the cuts. Rub on both sides. Place the pork into the casserole dish and brown it on both sides (about 1-2 minutes on each side).

Pork rubbed with spice mix, in the casserole dish

Add the water and chopped up chipotle chilis, cover with the lid and bring it to the boil. Once boiling place in the oven and let it cook for about 6-8 hours. Check it every hour or so, and turn the pork over at about the 3 hour mark. This can also be cooked in a crockpot, I just don't have one!

I've just been flicking through Donna Hay's latest book. It's pretty obvious that her "cooked" shots are not actually in the pot the dish was cooked in. They look waaay too pristine! Anyway, this is the cooked pork. You can see from the waterline that the liquid has reduced, which is what you want it to do.

Once the pork is cooked, you should be able to pull it apart with two forks - which is why it's called pulled pork :)

Pulled pork - this took about 15 seconds as it just fell apart as soon as the fork went near it!

Once this has been done, I normally let it cool then pop it in the fridge overnight to let the flavours develop. It can be eaten the day it's made, but it tastes a LOT better 2-3 days later.

I served it with homemade corn tortillas (but you can buy your own from the store if that's easier - but they taste SO MUCH BETTER if you make them).

Making the corn tortillas was SO EASY. And a HUGE thanks to Natascha Mirosch for blogging this on her blog Degustation which gave me my inspiration.

I bought a tortilla press and masa flour (I bought it from Pennisi's Fine Food in Brisbane, but other good providores should have it too). Masa flour is corn flour, so great for coeliacs. Follow the directions on the flour - mix 2 cups of flour with 1/4 tsp salt and 1 1/4 cups of water. Roll into 16 golf ball sized balls, and squish each one in the tortilla press. My 10 yo step son did this bit. Cook in a fry pan with no oil until brown and a bit puffy, then turn to cook the other side. Serve warm.

Tortillas rolled into little golf-ball sized balls

I used Glad Bake so the tortillas wouldn't stick to the press.

Using this press (which cost me $35) was so much easier and quicker than using a rolling pin.

Brown in a non stick fry pan. Mine is big so I can do 3-4 at once which made it a lot quicker

The finished product - these can stay warm by covering with foil and placing in the oven on a low heat. They taste pretty yuk when they are cold, but delish when warm.

I served the pork with the tortillas, a quickly pan-fried mix of sliced red capsicum and red onion, guacamole and salad of black beans, corn, red pepper, red onion, cherry tomatoes from the garden, coriander, squeeze of lime and splash of olive oil.

My tomatoes! Am proud of these even though I did nothing to grow them! They just appeared thanks to the wonders of our compost.

Pulled pork

Red capsicum with red onion, quickly cooked in the pan I cooked the tortillas in. As the pan was still hot, I added a tablespoon of olive oil, the veggies, and it was cooked in about 2 minutes.

This is one of my favourite salads. I LOVE black beans but they are a bit of a drama in Australia as I have to buy them dried, soak them, cook them, then freeze them in ziplock bags until I want them. Well worth the monthly cookup.

Bean and corn salad

Finally, EAT!

When serving I also added some store-bought green chilli sauce for extra flavour (you could also use Tabasco).

A big thanks to Julia Birks (who was a lunch guest) who took a few of the photos and who reminded me I needed to get the final shot before we ate it all! And for providing a few boutique wines.

I also made a baked chicken dish for this meal - but that's another blog post.

QLD FBI. Not a night for spies. Or undercover agents.

2010-11-30T16:22:00.000+10:00

For a year or two now I've been hearing about the QLD FBI. As an avid reader of crime and thriller novels, I was intrigued. Would there be spies? Would there be covert operations? Would there {gasp} ... be a fugitive???

Alas, it was not to be {little sigh of relief}. QLD FBI hosts events for the Food and Beverage Industry. And yesterday afternoon I went for my first time. Along with quite a few other first-timers {waving hello}.

Held at Martin Duncan's Freestyle Tout at the Emporium, QLD FBI showcased a range of food suppliers. I'm still debating what my favourite was. A huge thanks to the suppliers who generously supplied their products for tasting:

Fino Food and Wine - cheeses and tasty little oat crackers that I SERIOUSLY NEED to buy some of
Amber Hill Wines - sadly I was driving so only tasted the chardonnay. Having seriously overdosed on chardy in 2000 I haven't really had a palate for it since. This one changed all that. If my cribbing from the website is correct, it was the 2008, which was their first chardonnay. Who says Queensland can't make wine??
Careme Pastry - I met owner and chef, Will Wood, at the Good Food and Wine Show, but really didn't know who he was {oops. I do now}. Of course I had tasted Careme Pastry, and I have 4 packets in my freezer waiting to be cooked. And eaten. Soon. Check out the website for ideas and recipes {drools}.
More Food - were showcasing Coffin Bay oysters (More Food are also the distributors for Careme Pastry). I have on good authority that these were amazing {my view on oysters will never again be publicly shared after a twitter comment that caused outrage}.
Beloka Water - sparking and still water from Beloka, on the eastern border of the Kosciuszko National Park. One of the most gorgeous parts of Australia. In my opinion. The sparkling was just as I like it. Not too many bubbles up my nose.

Cheeses - anticlockwise Camenbert (front), brie, burrata, NZ blue

Cheese - washed rind (l), blue (r)

Amber Hill wines

Beloka water

Careme pastry - sour cream shortcrust

Careme pastry - lemon merengue at the front (with vanilla bean sweet shortcrust), little chocolate tarts of oozy-goodness at the back (with chocolate shortcrust)

Martin Duncan (pink shirt), owner of Freestyle Tout; Will Wood (chef's whites), owner of Careme Pastry. Maker of all baked goodness at QLD FBI.

The wait staff were swarmed when they emerged from the kitchen with Will's baked goodies. Not shown were the little tarts with caramelised onions, blue cheese and pear slivers. OMG. These were so, so good. Actually, they take the prize as best of the day. At least for me. Sorry there is no pic. Everyone else obviously loved them too, as by the time I thought to snap away all I had left were crumbs dribbled down my top, and the sight of empty plates (I wanted seconds. Didn't get them).

If you're in the food biz in or around Brisbane, check out QLD FBI. It was a great afternoon. Martin confirmed he has 4 events lined up for 2011, and that they will be on Mondays from 3-5pm. Just in time for when Monday-itis AND 3.30-itis hits {or is it just me who finds Monday afternoons a chore?}. No other excuse needed. See you there next year.

Herbie's spices

2010-11-27T18:32:00.000+10:00

I have always loved to cook with as many different herbs and spices as I can, and to experiment with different flavour combinations. So you can just imagine my excitement when Emma from Black Pearl Epicure called to invite me to attend their cooking class with Ian "Herbie" Hemphill from Herbie's Spices. Of course I didn't need to think for long before saying yes!

I was even more excited when I found out the theme was Moroccan Spice and that our meal would be cooked by Glen Barratt from the wonderful Restaurant II. Every meal I have eaten there has been an absolute standout, with the most special to celebrate my parents 40th wedding anniversary in 2008.

But back to Herbie. I really don't think he stopped talking the whole evening (barely even to eat!), as he regaled us with stories of his life and passion. Interspersed with his stories was an outpouring of information on spices. And of course a gorgeous meal. He explained to us how there are five categories of spice, and that how we use them depends on their characteristics. The categories are:

sweet - such as cinnamon and vanilla
pungent - such as cardamom, cloves and star anise
tangy - such as tamarind and sumac
amalgamating - such as coriander and fennel seed
hot - such as pepper, chilli and mustard.

So when people say they don't like spicy food, they generally mean they don't like hot food. Think about it. How many people do you honestly know who don't like vanilla ice cream or cinnamon scented pastries??

The first food we sampled was beetroot and yogurt dip with mastic. Many readers will recall George using mastic in a couple of episodes of Masterchef. What interested me is that mastic used to be eaten as a chewing gum (in the pre-Wrigley's days of course!), and that after an hour of chewing you could still determine the flavour - something that certainly wasn't possible the last time I chewed a piece of gum! This dish used the mastic infused in olive oil so we weren't chewing, chewing, chewing!

Beetroot and yogurt dip with mastic

The Zahlouk interested me as it's English translation was eggplant salad, but it was cooked. Eggplant is one of my favourite veggies and I'm always after new ways too cook it and different flavours to add too it.

Zahlouk (eggplant salad)

Another favourite of mine are legumes in all shapes and sizes. This dish, white beans with tahini, was also absolutely gorgeous. I had to restrain myself from having thirds! I'll be making this for dinner tomorrow night and I suspect I won't show the same self-control!

White beans with tahini

Berbere chicken with spiced couscous was the main course, and smelling Glen cooking it made me very glad I didn't have thirds of the beans! We were all drooling at the mouthwatering aromas coming from the stove. I had never heard of the spice mix berbere before, and a quick read of the back of the spice packet when it came to our table showed it contains sea salt, cumin, coriander, black peppercorns, Ajowan, fenugreek, allspice, ginger, chilli, nutmeg and clove.

The Herbie's website has a recipe for an African Berbere paste and I'll be making this in the not too distant future to coat a few chicken pieces for the barbie {mouth waters in anticipation}.

Berbere chicken with couscous

Now I'm really not a lover of oranges. Unless they are fresh, sweet and eaten dribbling over a sink. This dessert converted me. The orange slices were spiced up with a syrup of orange and lemon juices, honey and Ras el Hanout. And it was delicious. Luckily we were given a teaspoon to help with the leftover syrup, otherwise I may have had to lick the plate! The dollop of sour cream helped cut through the potentially cloying sweetness of the syrup.

Spiced orange slices

I think the best tips Herbie gave us were:

trust your judgement when you are balancing flavours
smell the spices every time you use them - this will help you notice the flavour profile and gain confidence so your understanding and feeling of the spice will become more subliminal over time
roasting or heating spices will change the flavour, giving it a greater depth - just like the flavour of bread is changed when you toast it
don't over-roast spices as you will make them bitter
store your spices in a dark cupboard and in an airtight container
don't let your spices come into contact with moisture - use a DRY spoon when scooping them out of the packet and don't just wave it over a steaming pot.

After learning all this, I realised that I need to be more adventurous, and also find some room in my very overcrowded pantry so my spices can get off the kitchen bench!

My favourite spices are cumin, chilli and fennel seed. What are yours?

Comforting lasagne

2010-11-25T21:58:00.002+10:00

If you follow me on twitter you will see that today I'm wanted to have a VERY BIG RANT about a few things that seriously annoyed me.

I didn't.

Instead I jumped on my mac to blog about one of my favourite comfort foods - lasagne. Just saying the word makes me feel like I've been enveloped in a great big hug with a snuggly woolly blanket and the arms of a loved one.

Fortunately I've made lasagne twice in the last 5 days so I have had plenty of practice! I've also taken plenty of photos - in fact I've taken 70 photos just of the 2nd lasagne! And to those of you who have asked, YES, I'm POSITIVE I have taken more than 70 photos of my hubby in the last year. Just not in the last 5 days. :)

I love both meat and vegetarian lasagnes and have made a lot of both this year (it's been a difficult year). This recipe has meat, but you could easily substitute the meat for extra veggies or for lentils.

What you need:
Olive oil

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 onion, peeled and chopped

250g pork mince

250g veal mince (you can buy veal and pork mince in one packet from some supermarkets)

1 x 750ml jar of tomato passata

1 x tin chopped tomatoes

2 tsp sugar

1/2 tsp salt

pepper to taste

2 tsp Italian seasoning

4-5 shakes of Tabasco

1/2 cup red wine (or water)

200g mushrooms, sliced

1 packet lasagne noodles (fresh or dry, I used dry this time)

250g ricotta cheese

250g mozzarella cheese, cut into cubes or grated

50g parmesan or pecorino, grated

1 packet frozen spinach, defrosted and with as much liquid squeezed out as possible

cubed mozarella

In a large frypan heat 2-3 tsp olive oil. Add the garlic and onion and saute for 3-4 minutes.

Sauteeing garlic and onion - hear the sizzle!

Add the mince and cook until browned (about 4-5 minutes).
Add the tomato passata, tin of tomatoes, wine, sugar, salt, pepper to taste, Italian seasoning, Tabasco, stir to combine and bring to a simmmer. Simmer for about 30 minutes.
Heat the oven to 180c
While meat and tomato mix is simmering, mix the ricotta and the spinach in a medium sized bowl

mmm spinach. Popeye would be proud!

To assemble:

Put about 2 tsp olive oil on the lasagne dish, mix with your fingers so the bottom of the dish is lightly coated (this prevents the lasagne sheets from sticking).
Put the first layer of lasagne noodles in the dish

I used a packet of Barilla lasagne sheets this time, but usually I use fresh

Spread half the meat mix over the lasagne noodles, add half the mozarella

If you want to make it a bit healthier you could always leave out the mozzarella, but I love cheese!

Add another layer of lasagne noodles and gently press down
Spread the ricotta/spinach mix, put the mushrooms on top

This is the first time I've added the spinach to the ricotta and it added an extra dimension of flavour that really enhanced the dish

Add another layer of lasagne noodles and gently press down
Add the remainder of the meat, then the remainder of the mozzarella. Finally evenly sprinkle the parmesan cheese on the top.

My favourite bit is when all the mozzarella melts when it's cooked. I could just eat the top!

Cook at about 180c for about 30 minutes or until golden on the top and the cheese has all melted.

It looks so pretty with the layers! But not so pretty that it won't be eaten!

Serve with salad, garlic bread and a big glass of red wine (for the over 18s. Or the over 21s in America).

So OK, there's no salad or garlic bread in this pic, but there IS wine.

This is simple and a real crowd pleaser!

How do you like your lasagne? The traditional way or with a bit of variation?

Kim Thanh Restaurant celebrates 24 years

2010-11-23T09:56:00.002+10:00

Last night was the end of an era for Chieu Lu and Cuong La - owners of Kim Thanh Restaurant in West End. And it is the beginning of a new era for their son, Bao La, up and coming chef.

I was privileged to be invited to a dinner to celebrate the 24 years Kim Thanh has been open. In an age where staying in the restaurant game for 24 months is a notable feat, 24 years is truly a triumph. Sadly at the end of the meal it was announced Kim Thanh will be closing next year. If you've not been, then go, and go quickly!

Dinner last night was cooked primarily by Bao La. At only 24 years old, and in the early stages of his chef's apprenticeship, it was a big challenge to take on, and one that he excelled at.

The 5 course tasting plate was a sensory delight. As I review the menu and my photos, I'm still trying to decide what I enjoyed the most. The photos below really don't do justice to the colours and until there is smell-o-vision or taste-a-picture, you'll have to take my word on the flavours and aromas.

Nem nuong cuon cham tuong Hue (grilled pork rice paper rolls with Hue dipping sauce)

Goi ngo sen tom thit (Pickled lotus stem salad with prawn and pork belly)

Mi vit tiem (Master stock cooked duck with egg noodles in Chinese herb broth)

I haven't cooked a master stock before, and also haven't experimented much with duck. After tasting this dish, I'll be doing both. I'm pretty sure it was my favourite. But then I nearly ate all the ice cream (below) before realising I hadn't taken a photo!

Bo luc lac (Wok tossed Black Angus with Dalat salad and tomato rice)

I don't know what the flavours were in the salad, but it had a beautifully subtle sweetness that complemented the flavours of the beef.

Dua nuong trai vai ca rem (Roasted coconut and lychee ice cream)

The only part of the meal Bao didn't make was the ice cream. The roasted coconut added a completely different flavour to regular coconut, and the addition of what I THINK were crushed fortune cookies at the bottom of the glass, gave a delicious little crunch that lifted the dish.

Thank you to Bao and your family for inviting me to celebrate with you. I look forward to returning again soon. And I will listen out for your future food adventures with interest.

New blog name - please help!

2010-11-11T16:36:00.000+10:00

Right. I've realised I really DON'T like my blog name. And that I can't think of what to re-name it (well, I have ideas, but they have all been taken!).

So I'm putting out a call for help to the blogger-sphere, to the twitterverse, and to anyone else who would like to make a suggestion.

All suggestions will be greatly appreciated!

Thank you!

Brisbane's Budget Bites - book review

2010-11-07T13:29:00.008+10:00

I am just going to unashamedly say that I love this book. Even more than I loved the first and second editions - if that is possible!

Brisbane's Budget Bites 2011 makes it possible to eat out regularly on a tight budget, while exploring the culinary delights of multi-cultural cuisine. And as someone who loves food, loves eating out and loves trying new places, this book is perfect for me. All eateries in the book are budget (as the name suggests) with meals below $20.

The book first came to be when editor Mei Yen Chua moved to Brisbane six years ago and was horrified that there was no guide to budget eating places in Brisbane. So she decided to write her own. And thank goodness she did! It is easily the most used food resource in our home (yes, even more than Stephanie Alexander's ABC of Cooking!), and we've never had a dud experience from any of the recommended restaurants.

A few of my favourites are:

Cantina at West End for breakfast
Brother Espresso for coffee - conveniently over the road from a client's office!
No No's Lebanese Cuisine at Red Hill - the BEST babaganoush I think I have ever eaten
Curryville Indian at Morningside - close enough for us to roll home down the hill
all the Vietnamese places I've tried at Inala (I forget the names of them all).

Mei Yen Chua at the launch of Brisbane's Budget Bites 2011

The book is divided into geographic locations with a handy map at the front to help you work out where your suburb is (apparently I can be a bit geographically challenged...). This year it also includes budget bites on the Gold Coast. The index divides restaurants into cuisines, making it handy when you have a craving for Vietnamese or Indian, or if you are wondering where to go in Brisbane to try food from Sudan, Peru, Persia or Brazil. And if you love Chinese food, then you definitely need this book - the 2011 edition includes 28 Chinese eateries. Yum!

This year's edition of the book is bigger than ever - 95 new eateries, 16 coffee spots, 16 providores and 13 bakeries were added.

The new bakery section is going to be a much referred to section - researched and written by Julia Tuomainen, who writes the stunning baking blog Melanger (read it and drool!), it includes a few of my favourites (Leavain at Morningside - the BEST bread in Brisbane; and Jocelyn's Provisions at New Farm - the source of my baking inspiration for many years); and others that I'm going to have to try. All in the name of research of course.

Brisbane's Budget Bites 2011 is available for the budget price of $19.95 from www.brisbanebudgetbites.com.au and many bookstores in Brisbane including Avid Reader (West End) and Riverbend (Bulimba).

My advice - buy a copy today for a year of delicious eating! The biggest decision will be where to try first! I think I'll go to Mama Ferraris. No, I'll try Grub St Eatery. Or will I go to Char Char Yiros? Decisions, decisions...

What is your favourite restaurant or cafe to eat at on a budget?

Farmer's markets - San Francisco style

2010-10-28T14:57:00.002+10:00

So once again, it's been quite some time since I blogged. And a lot has happened in my life since my last post (but more about most of that later!).

I've just returned from a very short 19 day holiday in Northern California - San Francisco, Lake Tahoe, Yosemite National Park and Silicon Valley. There were so many highlights! But I have to say, that one of the biggest was visiting the Ferry Building Farmer's Markets on a Saturday at lunchtime.

I went to the markets with a bunch of wonderful women I met at the BlogHer Food conference that I was very lucky to attend (thanks to the wonderful - and I have since discovered, legendary - David Lebovitz, who at the last minute sold his ticket to me). Many of these women were from other parts of the US, parts that don't have the beautiful rich soil, the year-round warmth and sunshine and rain that we have in south-east Queensland (or that they have in Northern California). They couldn't stop marvelling at the size of the veggies, but mostly they were amazed at the range, the colours and the flavours.

I learnt that it's hard to grow a long, skinny carrot when the ground is frozen solid for a large part of the year!

I had to take loads of photos because it was EXTREMELY FRUSTRATING that I couldn't buy anything! ARGH!

So many heirloom tomatoes!

Peppers of all colours, shapes and sizes

Chilis - perfect for my new favourite food - Mexican

Pumpkins were EVERYWHERE! I loved these little babies. It's nearly Halloween...

These had me craving greens like nothing else (my mother would have been so proud to read that sentence!)

The mushroom varieties were unbelievable. I've never in my life seen so many different varieties! There is no excuse for buying the boring button mushroom at these markets!

Oh the garlic. How I wanted to bring this home!
Lucky I didn't as customs went through ALL our bags in Brisbane!

The only thing I did buy that day was lunch. A gorgeous open sandwich with the sensational flavour combination of locally smoked salmon on sourdough with heirloom tomato, red onion and cream cheese. I could have eaten 10 pieces!

I tried to recreate this yesterday, but the store-bought smoked salmon just didn't taste the same. I'll be off to the West End markets on the weekend to buy some hot smoked salmon!

This was lunch. Nom nom nom...

Where are your favourite farmer's markets? And what do you ALWAYS buy from them?

Little chocolate delights

2010-07-21T11:58:00.003+10:00

It's been ages since I blogged and I have so many things to talk about!

Not least is the dreaded 12 week body transformation challenge that I'm undertaking with Michelle Bridges - and what seems like half of Australia. It's a GREAT program, but I'm really struggling with the food side as I have realised I eat out SOOOO much! Plus it's hard for a foodie to sacrifice delicious food. Having said all that, I'm sloooowly losing weight. So yay me!

While I've never had a big sweet tooth, I do love a bit of chocolate most days - particularly around 3pm when I'm starting to fade.

These little chocolate delights are perfect for that fixing that sweet need. And they are SO simple. And under 60 calories each (which is VERY important when you're trying to eat only 1200 calories a day).

So, how do you make these I hear you ask. Easy-peasy.

200g dark chocolate - I use 70% either Lindt or Club
60g chopped pecans (about 1/2 cup)
60 g craisins

Line a baking tray with Glad Bake or some other silicone paper.

Melt the dark chocolate (I do it in the microwave, but you could also use a double boiler). Mix in the chopped pecans and craisins and stir well.

Drop teaspoon sized amounts of the mix onto the silicone paper. Place tray in the fridge to set (takes about 30 minutes).

Makes 30. Try not to eat them all at once :)

You can easily substitute other nuts for the pecans, or chopped up dried apricot/peaches/dates for the craisins.

What's your favourite way of eating chocolate - when you just need a little treat?

Feed the man - lamb shanks

2010-05-27T09:02:00.002+10:00

Lamb shanks are a long time fave of most of the men in my life - hubby, brother, father - not the mention the men connected to most of my girlfriends! It, along with lasagne, is my standard go-to meal when I'm trying to get back into the good books, or if I need a favour, or if I just want to pamper hubby.

Having said that, I don't make it all that often, because it takes HOURS to cook (but only about 10 minutes to prepare) and I don't have a slow cooker. Since I've been running my marketing consultancy, I've been making it a bit more often as I work from home and can plan a wintery day around it.

My favourite way to make lamb shanks is to slowly simmer them in a sauce with a can of Guinness. The resulting flavours are rich and velvety. Mmmm. I first had a version of this at a friend’s place on a very cold winter’s night in 2007 and it's been on the menu ever since.

I made it last week - again - when I received my box of lamb from Silverwood Organics - if you love lamb, then check out their site - the quality and flavour is so, so much better than any lamb I think I've ever tasted!

Lamb shanks with Guinness, served on polenta with steamed broccoli

Serves 4 hungry people

4 x lamb shanks
1/3 cup plain flour
Salt and pepper
3 tbs vegetable oil (I use grapeseed oil or rice bran oil – don’t use olive oil)
2 x large brown onions chopped
2 x carrots, chopped
300g button mushrooms, cut into quarters (optional)
1 can Guinness
2 cups water or beef stock
2 bay leaves
Small bunch of chopped rosemary (can also use thyme) – fresh is best if possible, otherwise 2tsp dried

Place the flour, salt and pepper to season into a plastic bag (I use a freezer bag). Coat the lamb shanks in the bag in the mix (you might need to do them 1-2 at a time depending on the size of the bag)
Heat 1 tbs vegetable oil in large pot on a medium high heat on the stove
Brown 2 of the lamb shanks in the oil, for about 2-3 minutes, until sealed all over. Remove with tongs and place in separate bowl. Add 1 tbs vegetable oil to pot and repeat with the last 2 lamb shanks.
Reduce the heat of the stove to about medium.
Add 1 tbs vegetable oil to pot, heat then add onions. Saute for about 2-3 minutes.
Return the lamb shanks to the pot.
Add the Guinness and stock/water to the pot. You want the lamb shanks to be just covered with the liquid, so you may need to add a bit more water/stock.
Add the carrots, mushrooms, bay leaves and rosemary and stir to mix in.
Bring to the boil then reduce to a simmer, and simmer for about 4 hours on a low heat.
Skim the fat and any surface scum before stirring regularly every 30-45 minutes. After about 2 hours I generally lift the lid slightly so the liquid reduces to about ½ over the remaining 2 hours of cooking time. [I find placing some paper towel on top of the pot is a great way to soak up excess fat – do this 2-3 times depending on how much fat is in the shanks].

Serve with mash, sweet potato mash or polenta and steamed green vegies.

Options and variations

This can be made in a slow cooker (I just don’t have one!). Coat the lamb shanks in flour mix, then add to slow cooker with all other ingredients. Turn on to medium and leave for about 8-10 hours.
You can also add a can of chopped tomatoes which adds a bit of texture as well as extra veg
This is also delicious with polenta (made according to the directions on the pack), or potato mash. I have also used steamed brown rice when I had a mash disaster...
You can substitute the Guinness for 2 cups of red wine – equally yummy!
It is even better when made the day before you actually want to eat it. Just skim off the congealed fat before you reheat.
The recipe is easily doubled, but you need a very large stock pot to fit 8 lamb shanks!

What's your favourite meal to cook for your loved ones?

Figs are my food porn

2010-05-19T12:30:00.002+10:00

I've long eaten - and loved - dried figs, since first being given them in my lunchbox as a child. However I'm a recent convert to the beauty and lusciousness of the fresh fig. I discovered this love when my brother cooked this recipe as part of my birthday lunch earlier this year. Of course, the addition of blue cheese was a definite winner for me :).

The following week I was overjoyed to discover fresh figs in my Food Connect fruit and veggie box, so of course I had to repeat this recipe!

6 figs
100 grams blue brie, or other soft blue cheese
6 pieces of prosciutto

Cut the figs across the top into quarters, but don’t cut all the way through. Cut the blue cheese into 6 pieces and gently put 1 piece into each of the cut figs. Wrap each fig with a slice of prosciutto and hold together with a toothpick.

Bake in the oven at 200c for about 10 minutes, until the cheese is gooey and the proscuitto crisp.

Eat and enjoy! And yes, I have been known to lick the plate to get every morsel!

PS I've just gobbled 4 fresh figs - which prompted this blog entry - and they were GORGEOUS!

PPS The dodgy photo was taken on my blackberry as I couldn't find my camera and wasn't prepared to wait to eat these delectible morsels!

Friday night pizza

2010-05-04T15:12:00.003+10:00

Friday nights at our place, like many I suspect, can be a bit hit and miss with dinner. You know how it is, it's the end of the week, everyone's tired and a bit cranky, no one wants to cook or even make a decision about what to eat - and by 5pm all I'm normally thinking of is that big G&T or glass of red!

One of the foods that we all love (well, one of my favourite foods) is pizza. I have never been a big fan of the chain-store variety (you know the ones I'm talking about), and I find it a bit objectionable to pay $20 for a better quality but often soggy take away pizza. And I REFUSE to eat a frozen pizza.

Salami, mushroom, red pepper and bocconcini pizza

For the last couple of months we've been making pizza on a Friday night. Dough and all. It's easy and it's healthy (well, healthier than takeout pizza). And thanks to my thermomix, quick. AND since I realised you can freeze uncooked pizza dough, it's become even easier. Best of all, my stepson who is 9, and not known for his easy eating habits, LOVES it, helps make his own, and eats every mouthful. And that's a big win around here.

So, the recipe. Any basic pizza dough recipe will do, but I use:

Pizza dough
1 sachet dry yeast (make sure the use by date hasn't expired)
10g sugar or honey (a bit more than a tablespoon)
250ml warm water
3 tblsp olive oil
2tsp salt
500g plain flour (I use the '00' bakers flour but you could also use 100gm wholemeal and 400gm plain flour)

As I mentioned, I make this in a thermomix which takes about 3 minutes plus rising time, but the old fashioned way is easy too - just a bit slower!

In a small bowl mix the yeast, sugar/honey, oil and about 1/3 water. Let it rest for a few minutes until it looks frothy
Mix the flour and salt in a large bowl and make a well in the middle
Add the wet mix to the flour mix and use your hands to mix it well together. Add more water and continue mixing until it comes together - you want it to be elastic but not sticky.
Tip it onto a well floured bench and knead dough for about 10-15 minutes (this would be Mr 9's job if I didn't have a thermomix). Once it's quite pliable, roll it into a big ball, place it back in the large bowl, cut a cross in the top, cover with a tea towel and let it rise until it's 2-3 times the size (this can take 30-60 minutes depending on how warm it is) (see the pics below)

Once risen, bash the dough down, knead for about 1-2 minutes, then shape into 4-6 balls (I prefer 6 so that it's a thinner and crispier base once I roll it out). To get even sized balls I roll the dough into a long sausage and cut it into 6 even looking pieces, then roll each (see the pics below)

The dough balls can now be frozen (I wrap them individually in Glad Go-between, then pop them all in a ziplock bag and into the freezer). This recipe is easily doubled, and the dough freezes well for up to 3 months. I defrost it on the bench - it takes about 30 minutes.

I pre-heat my oven to 230-250c and use a pre-heated pizza stone (I allow the stone to heat for about 15 minutes).

I usually make 1 pizza per person - whatever isn't eaten is even better the next day for breakfast.
To make the pizza, roll out each ball on a floured surface, place dough onto a piece of Glad Bake (I prefer to use a re-usable silicone sheet cut into the shape of the pizza stone so the pizza doesn't stick to the stone) cover with sauce and toppings, pop into the oven on a high heat (230-250c) and cook for until cheese has melted.

Tomato sauce
I often make my own tomato sauce too - it's pretty simple. I saute a couple of minced cloves of garlic, add a can of chopped tomatoes, simmer for about 15 minutes, add fresh (or dried) basil at the end. You can easily leave out the basil or add Italian seasoning, oregano or whatever you like.

Our favourite toppings are:

tomato sauce, salami, mozzarella, BBQ sauce (Mr 9)
tomato sauce, salami, mushroom, red pepper, mozzarella (hubby)
tomato sauce, Italian sausage, mushroom, red pepper, bocconcini (me)
tomato sauce, proscuitto, marinated artichoke hearts, bocconcini (also me)

What do you do on Friday nights for dinner? And, more importantly, what's your favourite pizza topping?

Hummos

2010-04-09T12:55:00.003+10:00

I think one of my favourite dips would have to be hummos, and this is largely for the flavour of the chickpeas, which are one of my favourite legumes. And which I definitely don't eat enough of. Chickpeas are an excellent source of protein, are fairly high in fibre and low in fat.

This recipe is very simple and quick to make - but it helps to have a food processor or a blender.

2 cups chickpeas - I used a 375g packed of dry chickpeas, which I soaked overnight, cooked for about 30 minutes, drained and cooled - you can also used 1-2 tins of chickpeas, drained and rinsed
olive oil - about 1/3 to 1/2 cup
1-2 cloves of garlic, minced
1/3 cup tahini
2 tsp ground cumin
very small amount of cayenne pepper
juice of 1-2 lemons (to taste)

Place everything in the bowl of a food processor and mix until the desired consistency - I like mine a little chunky. Add extra lemon, tahini, olive oil, cumin, cayenne to taste.

Serve in a bowl with a drizzle of olive oil and a dusting of paprika.

Hummos goes with so many other dishes - it's delicious:

as a dip with crackers, pita triangles or raw veggies (such as carrot, broccoli, celery, red pepper)
spread on bread or toast as a butter and/or mayo substitute
with roast lamb or chicken on the side
drizzled over a salad (add extra lemon juice and olive oil to get to a drizzling consistency) as a dressing
with Lebanese bread or wraps and salad.

What's your favourite way to eat hummos?

BBQ Salmon - a Good Friday feast!

2010-04-05T16:50:00.004+10:00

I had been wanting to cook a whole salmon on the BBQ for quite a while and decided that Good Friday would be the way to go! We had a friend coming for a late afternoon BBQ, and knowing how much she loves salmon, thought she would be a good guinea pig!

So on Thursday morning I wandered down to Super Butcher at Eagle Farm (yes, they now sell fish - I was intrigued - I thought I'd give it a go as their meat has always been top quality). A 4.5kg salmon later, I was home.

As I quickly realised I had overestimated how many people 4.5kg of salmon would feed, I invited a few others for our Good Friday feast! Yes, it's very convenient my brother and his family live nearby - and that they are all salmon lovers!

What do to with it was the next challenge. I decided simple would be key.

I (well, hubby) had to de-head Mr Salmon as it was too big for the biggest serving platter I had. A quick rinse later, and he was ready to be stuffed with fresh lemon (from the backyard tree), fresh dill and Italian parsley. I also put lemon, dill and parsley under and on top of the salmon so the flavours would be absorbed through. A bit of pepper, salt and olive oil and it was ready. As I was cooking on the BBQ I wanted it to be well wrapped - I used a layer of non-stick baking paper, then a layer of alfoil.

I preheated the BBQ to about 180c, put the salmon on an upturned roasting tray (so it was a few cm away from the heat), turned off the middle two burners, and closed the hood. Approximately 1 hour later it was cooked.

I served the salmon with baked potatoes and a couple of easy salads. And of course a few bottles of white wine.

Chickpea Salad
I absolutely LOVE chickpeas - and most legumes - and am determined to eat more of them. This seemed like a good excuse!

1 can chickpeas (garbanzo beans), drained and rinsed well
1 red pepper, washed and chopped
1/2 red onion, peeled and chopped
150-200g cherry tomatoes
100g baby spinach leaves

Mix all together. Add a splash of olive oil, a splash of balsamic vinegar and some cracked pepper to taste. Mix well.

Broadbean, rocket and feta salad
I had a packet of broadbeans in the freezer that I bought to make a feta and broadbean dip. However, as another friend was bringing nibbles, I thought I'd use those ingredients in a salad instead. My sister-in-law Emma gave me the inspiration for this, as she makes practically the same salad but with peas (which I think came from a Jamie Oliver book originally). Anyway, it tasted pretty good, and I'll now be adding broadbeans to a lot more salads! Even though I underestimated the time it would take to peel them - talk about fiddly!

2 cups of frozen broadbeans, cooked according to packet and peeled
100g rocket (arugula)
100g feta cheese, crumbled

Place all in a bowl, add a splash of olive oil, a squeeze of lemon, cracked black pepper, and toss to combine.

The whole meal was delicious - but as we didn't even manage to eat half the salmon, I'm looking for some creative solutions for what to do with the rest of it!

Welcome to Chocolate, Cheese and Chips

2010-04-05T14:04:00.000+10:00

After many months of talking about starting a food blog, I finally have! I must say the biggest challenge was finding a name for it - as many of my friends are aware! I was out for a walk the other day and had a bit of a lightbulb moment - why not name it after 3 of my favourite foods! So, here we are:

Chocolate - goes without saying really. I'm definitely a quality over quantity girl, and 1-2 squares of great tasting - and great quality - chocolate is enough to satisfy even the biggest of chocolate cravings. For many years my favourite has been dark Lindt chocolate (especially the Orange Intense) and the peppermint Lindor balls. Mmmm. However, after visiting San Francisco and Ghiradelli again in 2008, Lindt face stiff competition - especially from the Ghiradelli raspberry and the Ghiradelli peanut butter. I'll be stocking up the next time I go!

Cheese - a few years ago cheese took over from chocolate as my #1 favourite food. Family legend has it that one of the first solid foods I ate was blue cheese - and it's been a bit of a staple ever since! The stinkier the better. My whole family are into cheese and there were (and still are) at least 3-4 varieties in the fridge at any one time. Sadly, cheese is not great for the waistline, so my consumption has been radically reduced in recent years! Family get togethers always, always include a cheese platter. With a bottle of red or 3.

Chips - yep, I'm a chip lover. From hot and salty chips eaten at the beach to the packet of potato chips (Kettle of course - but no relation!) eaten in front of the telly. For years I have been threatening to write a book on the best hot chips in the world - not sure how I'd get funding, but I do believe it would be a public service.

Rest assured however, dear reader, this blog will not only contain posts about Chocolate, Cheese and Chips. It will include recipes I try (and experiement with), new ingredients (well, new to me - not necessarily new to you), reviews of books, gadgets, foods and the odd eating establishment, and all my other adventures in food.

I'd love to hear what you think - feel free to comment or email.