Cheese & Chutney

It’s cold in Sydney – OK, not freezing but still cold here, especially at night.  And somehow, despite my Canadian tolerance for seriously painful cold, I’ve become a wimp. My new inability to deal with cold keeps me indoors mostly - and what better thing to do when it’s chilly outside than to stay in, stay warm and eat.

The coldness urges me to grab a blanket, a glass of red wine and make a scrumptious snack of baked goat’s cheese with quince and pear chutney…so warming and decadent.

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This baked cheese is awesome -- not just good but amazingly awesome. I’ve used the same recipes on other cheeses like camembert and brie – but goat’s cheese is a nice change. Full of flavours like garlic, rosemary and wine. It's creamy, gooey goodness.

Having some fruit sitting in my kitchen, I decided to make a quick chutney to go along with my cheese. Sweet and full of earthy tastes provided by sage and the spiciness added by peppercorns, the chutney was the perfect addition to the salty and smooth texture of the cheese.  The perfect night in...

baked goat’s cheese

serves 4-6 for a party

1 package of goat’s cheese (like goat brie) – you can also use standard brie or camembert

1 clove garlic, thinly sliced

1 sprig rosemary

2 tsbp red wine – I used a full bodied cabernet

freshly cracked pepper

Preheat oven to 180 degrees C.

Take cheese out of package and place into small baking dish or foiled oven tray.  Using a knife, make a fair number of slits halfway into the cheese, making sure not to damage the rind too much.  Place a garlic slice and few pieces of rosemary into each little slit – carefully pushing down into the cheese.  Next, pour wine over the top, sprinkle with pepper and place into oven to bake for 10-15 minutes, or until oozing with delight!

Take out and serve with crackers and chutney

spiced quince and pear chutney

1 quince, peeled, cored and chopped 

2 small pears, peeled, cored and chopped

1 star anise

a few sage leaves shredded

1 sprig rosemary, take leaves off

1 tsp freshly cracked pepper

1/2 tsp sea salt

2 tsp brown sugar

1 cup water

1 wedge of lemon

Place all ingredients into medium sized pot and bring to a boil for a few minutes, reduce heat a little and let cook until flavours have blended and water has evaporated.  If not cooked enough, add more water to cook out until you reach desired consistency. Adjust for seasoning and that’s it. Let cool and serve with cheese and bread.  This chutney keeps for a few days in the fridge – unless you decide to preserve it. Enjoy!

Cold and creamy cups of custard

When you crave something creamy, sweet and smooth but also light, why not make some custard. Much like tapioca (see my earlier post) custard has a reputation as an old-school, boring pudding - but I disagree. Adding a bit of flavour and love can turn a plain egg custard into a

magical treat.

My custardly creation is based on a traditional crème caramel making process: I use a base of brown sugar caramel and then add a mix of delicious coconut cream, milk, eggs, dark agave syrup and lime zest. I bake my little pots of creamy goodness and then place them in the fridge to get a wonderfully wobbly but firm texture. 

baked coconut custards with lime

serves 6

*use organic where possible

1/3 cup brown sugar

3 eggs

pinch sea salt

270 ml coconut cream

200 ml low fat milk (any kind will do)

2 tbsp dark agave syrup (or a similarly sweet sweetner)

zest of 1 lime

Preheat oven to 180 degrees C

Add brown sugar to a small pot on medium heat and let caramelize.  Pour caramel into 6 ramekins and ensure it covers the bottom.  In a separate large bowl, beat 3 eggs, add coconut cream, milk, salt, and agave syrup and lime zest and mix well. Divide mix between ramekins and place into roasting tray – fill with 1inch of hot water (to create a water bath) and place into oven*.  Bake for 40-45 minutes or until set.  Let cool and place into fridge.  To serve carefully tip out custards onto plate. Yum!

*note – I covered the custards with foil for half the baking time – if you don’t want any colour on the top, make sure to cover the whole time.

The greatness of gourds

Australians love their pumpkins and so do I (see here and here).  This orangey gourd is a commonly used ingredient all year round; it’s in sandwiches, pastas, desserts and my favourite – soups!  Pumpkin's sweet and creamy flesh lends a great thick texture and earthy touch to any dish.

Each time I make pumpkin soup I change my recipe.  This time, I roasted the pumpkin to caramelize the sugars, adding another layer of flavour.  Additional ingredients included apples, garlic, rosemary and caraway seeds – a spice that comes from the parsley family and has a very distinct flavour that goes well with hearty foods.  I use caraway for a number of recipes (a delicious one is my rye crispbreads).

This soup is easy to make and much healthier and fresher than any store-bought variety.  It only takes 40 minutes to make and it’s perfect for lunch or dinner.  In the spirit of using everything, I cooked the pumpkin with the skin (yes, this is edible - and full of fibre!) and used the toasted seeds for a garnish.  For a final touch I added a little umami flavour with red miso paste.  The miso provided a salty, sweet and earthy taste and was an excellent replacement for the stock I didn’t have!

roasted pumpkin and apple soup

makes 8 serves or more

1 kg pumpkin

2 pink lady apples (or any other sweet apple)

2 tbsp olive oil

1 tsp sea salt and pinch of pepper

2 sprigs rosemary

1 tsp dried sage

3 cloves garlic – crushed

1 tsp caraway seeds

2 tbsp red miso paste

3 cups (approx 700ml) water

1 cup milk (any kind you like)

Preheat oven to 200 degrees C

Deseed pumpkin (reserve seeds) and apple and chop into small, even pieces.  In a bowl, add pumpkin, apple, olive oil, salt and pepper, rosemary, sage, garlic and caraway – mix well and place onto lined

baking sheet. 

Bake for 35 minutes or until pumpkin is soft.  Remove woody part of rosemary and garlic skins.  For ‘stock’ – in a bowl add 3 cups of boiled water to 2 tbsp miso paste and mix. Blend soup in portions –

adding 1 cup of miso water at a time to pumpkin and apple mix (this helps to ensure that you use the right amount of water – not too watery, not too thick).

Place blended soup into pot and add 1 cup of milk (again, this might need to be adjusted based on desired consistency).  Check for seasoning and add more salt if necessary.  I served my soups with some fresh basil and toasted pumpkin seeds. Yum!

Tapioca temptation

Tapioca needs a new image.  Considered to be one of those old-fashioned, plain and boring items, tapioca is one of those desserts that all too often appears in hospital food. But these wonderful, chewy pearls are so much more exciting thank you think.  They have serious potential.

A number of cultures use tapioca – a starch that comes from the cassava root – in their cooking and baking. Growing up in my Indian home, we used tapioca to make payasam.  A milk (cow’s or coconut) based dessert, sweetened with sugar or jaggery (a dark sugar byproduct that tastes like molasses) and spiced with saffron and cardamom, payasam is an Indian dessert staple. There are a number of different versions of payasam, depending on which ingredients you select from a long list that includes rice, lentils, semolina, raisins, and almonds.

For my tapioca image overhaul, I decided to use one of my favourite flavours: coconut. I cooked the tapioca in water and separately made a liquid mix of coconut milk and coconut sugar, vanilla and a pinch of cardamom. I served this rich, coconut infused pudding with raspberries and flaked almonds  - simple and delicious!

coconut tapioca with vanilla and raspberries

serves 4

1/2 cup tapioca pearls

4 cups water

1 1/2  cups coconut milk

2 tbsp coconut sugar (or alternative sweetner)

2 tsp vanilla extract

pinch cardamom

Bring a pot with water to boil, add in tapioca pearls and cook while stirring – about 10-12 minutes until almost transparent.  Strain and keep aside.  In another pot, add coconut milk, coconut sugar, vanilla and cardamom and mix well on medium heat.  Add cooked tapioca and cook a few more minutes (adjust for taste and thickness).  Take off heat and keep aside to cool down.  I like to refrigerate my tapioca for a few hours to let the flavours infuse and to ensure the pearls increase in volume, which adds to the creaminess of the dish. 

If using raspberries, add a bit of sugar and mix to form a delicious sweet liquid and add to tapioca and finish with almonds. Enjoy!

A little foodie photography project

Dear friends I have something excitng to share with you.  A little while ago, my new blogger friend Aurelie at Pause Gourmande (a lovely French blog) asked me to participate in an interesting blogger project.  She was going to put together an online magazine and asked me to share a few photos and recipes.

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Here is the link to the magazine’s spring issue.  I think it looks great and that Aurelie did a fantastic job of turning this project into a beautiful magazine.  I love the compositon of her photographs and the light and subject is always gorgeous.

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The magazine and all the recipes (spiced chocolate date cakes and red wine braised lentils) are in French. I adore the French language and encourage you to try my recipes out! For those who don't read French – no worries – I’ve posted everything about the recipes below…

A common dessert here in Australia is sticky date pudding – a velvety rich date cake topped with a buttery rich caramel sauce. Not that I don’t love indulging in creamy, heavy desserts (they definitely have a place in my kitchen!), but the warm and sunny weather here often inspires me to make something lighter yet still rich and generous. These spiced chocolate cakes are moist and have a great natural sweetness provided by the dried dates. I use warming and fragrant spices like cinnamon, cardamom and ginger to add a kick to the subtle flavours of dark chocolate. This may sound a little heavy but these little bundt cakes require only a small amount of flour, which makes them moist, light and airy - just perfect for a lovely sunny day! Once cooked and cooled I keep them in the fridge because I love the texture of a cooled spongy cake. You can serve the cakes on their own, dusted with cocoa or with some vanilla whipped cream and/or ice cream. Try making them and you won’t be disappointed.

spiced chocolate date cakes 

recipe makes 4 smallish bundt cakes

*use organic ingredients where possible

180g dates (pitted)

280 ml water 

1 tsp baking soda

60g dark chocolate – broken into small pieces

60 g butter, softened

20g raw sugar

2 eggs

100g self raising flour (if using plain flour make sure to add baking powder as a raising agent)

1 tsp ground cinnamon

1 tsp ground ginger

½ tsp ground cardamom

pinch sea salt

Preheat oven to 160 degrees Celsius.

Place a small pot with dates and water on medium heat and bring to the boil.  Once at boiling point, turn off the heat, add baking soda and let sit 10 minutes to cool – then blend mixture until reaches puréed consistency and stir in chocolate pieces.  In the meantime, in a separate bowl beat butter and sugar until creamy, add in eggs one at a time until well incorporated.  Add date mixture to bowl and stir well.  Sift in flour, ground spices and pinch of sea salt. Pour thick batter into greased bundt moulds and bake on centre shelf in oven 30-40 minutes until knife inserted comes out clean.  Take out and let cool on racks. To finish dust cakes with dark cocoa powder and enjoy. 

Lentils are a common dish at my house – they are not only inexpensive but they are also wonderfully versatile and can carry lots of different flavours. A lot of Indian cooking is based on the use of lentils: it not only adds protein and heartiness to vegetarian dishes but also thickens soups and sauces. There are many varieties of lentils but one of my favourites (which actually isn't that common in Indian cooking) is the Puy lentil or French green lentil. Since puy lentils hold their shape during cooking, they keep their lovely toothsome texture. The small little discs of speckled green lentils are not only useful for salad type dishes but they are also beautiful to serve on a plate. The flavours in this dish aren’t complicated –  I sautéed onions, garlic and carrots, deglazed with red wine, used lots of fresh herbs like bay leaf, rosemary, thyme and basil and finished it with a splash of balsamic vinegar for an added richness and sweet tang. I served my lentils with sautéed chicory greens and pan fried halloumi cheese.

red wine braised lentils with fresh herbs

recipe serves 4

1-2 tbsp olive oil

½ red onion, finely chopped

1 carrot, peeled and finely chopped           

2 garlic cloves, finely chopped

3 fresh bay leaves

1 sprig rosemary

1 sprig thyme

1 cup Puy lentils, rinsed

½ cup red wine (I used a full bodied wine like Cabernet Sauvignon)

3 cups water or stock

sea salt and cracked black pepper

1-2 tbsp balsamic vinegar

1 cup fresh cherry tomatoes

sprinkle of dried chili

Place a Dutch oven or sauté pan with high edges on medium heat.  Once pan is hot, add oil and onions, carrots and garlic to sauté for 5 minutes. Add bay leaves, rosemary, thyme and lentils – stir for a few minutes.  Add red wine to deglaze pan and cook off alcohol – about 1-2 minutes.  Add 3 cups of water or stock and simmer until lentils are just cooked about 20-25 minutes.  Make sure to add more water if needed to finish cooking lentils.  Season lentils well with sea salt and pepper, add balsamic vinegar and stir 1-2 more minutes.  Once off the heat, add a little extra virgin olive oil and stir through fresh cherry tomatoes and a sprinkle of dried chili. 

Serve lentils on their own or with sautéed chicory and pan fried halloumi as I’ve done. Of course, this dish must be enjoyed with glass of delicious red wine.

Distinctly different muffins

Did you know that carrots were originally purple? I remember hearing this piece of information years ago and I also remember wondering why they would ever change such a beautifully coloured vegetable. Later, when living in Holland I learnt more about the Dutch, their love of orange and the making of the orange carrot.
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After spotting these dark-purple-almost-black heirloom carrots at the store I just had to try and see what they tasted like. Besides their gorgeous indigo colour, the shape was like any other common carrot. The taste, however, was somewhat different.

These purplish carrots had a more bitter flavour than their sweeter orange cousins. Their stronger taste matched their crunchy texture well; their 'feel' resembles that of other root vegetables like parsnips. Purple carrots are thought to have many nutritional qualities and their bitterness might account for this ‘health’ factor. 

I decided to make muffins with my carrots and they turned out distinctly different than my usual recipe for muffins (click here and here for more muffins). They were tasty and their beautiful, almost beetroot-like colour, added a colourful touch to a regular carrot muffin. The recipe is simple: I used two types of flour – millet and plain – added yoghurt for moisture, coconut for flavour and finally added dried blackcurrants for sweetness and colour.

purple carrot muffins with coconut and blackcurrants

makes a dozen

*use organic where possible

1 1/2 cups flour (half millet, half plain)

1/2 cup coconut

2 tsp baking powder

pinch sea salt

1/3 cup raw sugar

2 eggs, lightly beaten

1 cup yoghurt

1 tsp vanilla extract

1/3 cup oil (non fragrant oil like canola, rice bran etc)

2 medium purple carrots, grated

1/3 cup dried blackcurrants

Preheat oven to 180 degrees Celcius

In a medium bowl, sift in flours, add coconut, baking powder, salt and sugar – stir to combine. In a separate bowl add wet ingredients. Add in eggs, yoghurt, vanilla, oil and combine well. Add wet ingredients into dry and mix well but be careful not to overwork as it will toughen the texture of the muffins. Add in grated carrots and currants. Mixture should be thick but not too dry. Place into muffin pan and bake for 25-30 minutes or until knife inserted comes out clean. Take out and let rest. I keep my muffins in the fridge – perfect for a morning or afternoon snack. Enjoy!

A crunchy craving

The other night I had a serious craving for a snack that was sweet and salty. I thought about baking but I just couldn’t muster the energy to actually get off the couch and whip, beat and mix anything in a bowl!

So my next thought was popcorn - not the regular kind, but the most deliciously sweet, salty, sticky and crunchy caramelised popcorn. I aptly named this creation: sea salt and caramel popcorn.

The combination of dark, rich vanilla-scented caramel with a hint of saltiness was the perfect answer to my lazy cravings. It was ridiculously simple to make and even easier to eat!

sea salt and caramel popcorn

70g (about 1/3 cup popcorn kernels)

50g sugar

1/2 honey

80ml water

1 tbsp butter

1 tsp vanilla extract

10 ml (1/2 tbsp) cream (you don’t need this but it adds a softness to the caramel)

1 tsp sea salt

First line a baking sheet with baking paper.  Make popcorn – I used an air popper but you can also use a stovetop method. Keep popcorn in a large bowl. For the caramel, place a small pot on medium heat. Add sugar, honey, water*, butter and vanilla and stir until sugar dissolves – let it come to the boil (don’t stir) and cook until golden/caramel coloured. Add in cream  and cook until thick.  Take off heat and add sea salt. Pour caramel over popcorn – mix through and place onto baking sheet.

The popcorn will keep for a few days in a sealed container but I didn’t have any left to keep!

Note: I used a small amount of caramel – my main reason for this is that I wanted to indulge but not overindulge. 

*not all caramels use water but I used it instead of using more butter.

Hello to halloumi

Do you know what halloumi is? If not, you are seriously missing out on this delectably delicious and ‘moorish’ treat. Halloumi is often referred to as the ‘vegetarian’s bacon’ (but it doesn’t taste like bacon!). It is a hard cheese traditionally made with goat's and sheep’s milk, but also often with cow’s milk. Its origins are Cypriot, Greek and Turkish and while I’ve combined it mostly with Middle Eastern flavours, here in Australia it is used in a variety of dishes.

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An uncomplicated way to eat halloumi is to grill or pan-fry it and serve it with fresh vegetables. I used ingredients like pumpkin, patty pan squash, red capsicum and red onion and dressed them in olive oil. Once they were cooked I added some fresh heirloom tomatoes to add colour and acidity.  I pan-fried halloumi separately and then added dried chili, a splash of balsamic vinegar and some agave syrup (you can also use honey). I added fresh herbs like thyme and basil and a squirt of lemon was the perfect finishing touch. Try it out and let me know how it goes! PS: you can find halloumi in most stores that stock Greek or Middle-Eastern foods.

Sidenote: seeing as I’m a big believer in food and education and a huge supporter of resources that help nourish our awareness of food and its natural origins, I wanted to give a shout-out to a new Wiki project called MyCityCuisine. I encourage foodies/food bloggers like yourself – who have a great deal of food knowledge and skills – to continue to share with projects like this.  

vegetable halloumi bake

serves 2/4 side serves

1/4  pumpkin (I used kent but you could use butternut squash as well), sliced

1/2 red capsicum, cut into pieces

1/2 red onion, sliced

4 patty pan squash, quartered

3-4 cloves garlic - crushed

2 tbsp olive oil

2 sprigs thyme

1 tsp dried sage

sea salt and cracked black pepper, to taste

500g heirloom tomatoes, halved

180g halloumi, sliced

1 tbsp balsamic vinegar

2 tsp dark agave syrup *

1/2 lemon

Preheat oven to 180 degrees Celsius

Place squash, capsicum, onion, squash, garlic and thyme in rectangular baking dish. Dress with oil, sea salt, pepper and sage and bake 15-20 minutes or until pumpkin is just tender. Add tomatoes and a bit more olive oil. Bake another 10 minutes or until tomatoes are just blistered.  Finish with a squeeze of lemon.

In the meantime, place a pan onto medium heat (don’t add oil), add sliced halloumi (make sure not to overcrowd pan so it doesn’t steam) and cook on one side 1-2 minutes until coloured well. Turn halloumi and cook other side. Take off heat, dress halloumi with balsamic vinegar, syrup and dried chili and then add to the baking dish to finish in oven for another 5 minutes. Take out and enjoy!

*agave syrup or agave nectar is a sweetener that dissolves easily and is sweeter than sugar so make sure to use less.  Use honey if you can’t find this product at health food stores.

Prime time for pears

It’s autumn in Sydney. The change in season has brought rainy days but also a change in the produce available. The fruits of the summer – mangoes and berries – have been replaced by apples, peaches and pears. Pears are the least expensive fruit at the moment so I buy a lot of them. What do you do with a kitchen full of pears, you ask? Try poaching them.

For some, poached pears may conjure up bad memories of old-fashioned desserts - overcooked and mushy fruits drowning in far too much sugary syrup. But don’t be fooled: poached fruit can be a light alternative to heavy and creamy desserts and it can be a beautiful dish to impress friends with at dinner parties.  

To add richness to an otherwise cheap dessert, use a delicious, dark red wine (a wine you would drink) and fresh, strongly scented spices like star anise, vanilla bean and whole green cardamom.

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When in season pears are already very sweet so I just add some honey to bring out their flavour, which also gives the perfect stickiness factor to enrich the dark red winey syrup. 

honey and wine spiced pears

serves 4

4 firm pears (use any type but I used Bartlett)

full bodied red wine* – use enough to cover pears (1/2 bottle or more)

1 tbsp organic honey

2 green cardamom pods – crushed

1 tsp ground cinnamon

1/2 vanilla bean – scraped

1 star anise

Peel pears and place into small pot.  Cover pears with red wine (dilute with water if desired), add honey and spices.  Place pot onto medium heat and simmer pears until just soft or a knife inserts easily into flesh. Once cooked, keep poaching liquid in pot, remove pears and keep aside. Reduce poaching liquid until thick and syrupy (make sure to watch as it can burn).  Plate pears and pour a little syrup on top.  I served these alone but you could also serve with gelato/ice cream and/or biscuits. Enjoy.

*if using all wine is too strong for your taste, add some water to dilute

Simple spaghetti Saturday

Spaghetti - a thin, long and stringlike type of pasta – is the quintessential Italian food. It is typically eaten with meatballs or in a tomato-based meat sauce. I love spaghetti, but I often prepare it in a non-traditional way. I enjoy cooking tomato sauce from scratch but - especially when the weather feels like spring (even though it’s autumn!) - I want something lighter and fresher but still hearty.

I used one of my favourite ingredients - the borlotti bean.  This beautifully speckled bean is full of protein and has a firm yet creamy texture. I added fresh cherry tomatoes, garlic infused olive oil, freshly shaved pecorino romano and baby basil.  I finished it with a little sprinkle of dried red chili.  I love wholemeal or wholegrain pasta – it’s healthy for one, but it also has a rich grainy texture and stronger flavour. Remember - you have to cook it (a little) longer than regular pasta.

This was a great, light dinner but would also make a tasty and filling lunch.

Rye not?

I miss a number of things about living in the Netherlands - mostly I miss my wonderful family living there.  But I also miss a couple of common or everyday Dutch items like beautiful dark bread.

Dutch people, much like other Northern Europeans, love their dark bread and take it seriously. I remember strolling markets and stores and seeing shelves stocked with many different shades of dark bread – baguettes to rolls to crispbread. Hardly any white bread was to be found. Given how healthy dark, whole grains are, I think this is a great way to approach eating.

Rye is one of those strong grains – hearty and rich with lots of flavour. I wanted to make a type of roggebrood (famous dutch rye bread), but I wanted it to be a snack like crispbread. I added caraway – a famous spice added to rye breads. Caraway lends a lovely perfume, almost like licorice but not entirely like anise seed. I also added pink sea salt before baking which added the perfect touch to the dense yet crispy rye.

I used my snack bread to create these little pink hors d’oevres. I topped the rye breads with smoked salmon, lemony cream cheese, fresh dill and shibazuke pickles (a Japanese pickled vegetable that you can find at most Asian food stores). I simply love the colour combination of the dark brown with different shades of pink and bright green. Almost looks too good to eat doesn’t it? Almost…

rye crispbread

makes approximately 24 crispbreads

recipe slightly adapted from epicurious  

*use organic if available

crispbread

1 tsp active dried yeast

1 cup warm water

1 1/3 cup rye flour

1 1/3 cup all purpose flour

1 tbsp caraway seeds, toasted

1 1/2 tsp pink sea salt

cream cheese spread

1/2 cup cream cheese

2 tbsp yoghurt

1/2 lemon for juice (1 tsp zest)

salt and pepper

topping

4-6 oz thinly sliced smoked salmon, cut into smallish pieces

24 pieces shibazuke pickles (if you can’t get these use slices of pink ginger)

sprigs of fresh dill

  

To make the crispbreads: first mix together yeast with warm water and let stand until foamy (around 5 minutes or so).  In a large bowl* add 1 cup rye and 1 cup plain flour, caraway seeds, and half the salt and mix in with yeast water mixture until incorporated. Gradually mix in remaining flour (2/3 cup).  Mix dough well until it begins to pull away from sides of the bowl, then knead/mix another 5 minutes.

Gather dough into ball and place into oiled bowl. Cover bowl with wrap and leave in warmish area to proof – takes about 1 1/2 hours.

Preheat oven to 180 degrees C.

Cut dough in half and flatten each piece with lightly floured fingers to form 2 (6 by 4-inch) rectangles. Let stand a few minutes and roll out each piece onto lightly floured surface into a 15-by-10-inch rectangle (1/8 inch thick).  Transfer each sheet to lightly oiled baking sheet. Cut edges to make it look more neat and then dock all over with tines of fork. Let rest 10 minutes, cover with damp cloth.  I made perforated lines with a pizza cutter – not cutting through all the way but tracing to ensure that it would be easy to break off once baked. You could do this with the fork as well. Sprinkle with the rest of the salt.

Bake in upper and lower thirds of oven, switching halfway between until golden and crisp, roughly 20 minutes. Take out and let cool. Break into pieces.

To make spread: mix cream cheese, yoghurt and lemon zest and juice.  At first it seems like it won’t mix smoothly but keep mixing! Add salt and pepper.  Spread onto cooled crispbreads, top with slices of salmon, a pickle and sprig of dill. Voila!

 *I didn’t use an electric mixer since I don’t have one but the old fashioned way - using my hands and muscles - worked just as well!

The end of ‘love week' and some cake

It’s the end of ‘love week’ (not the ‘end of love’ week – just to be clear). Valentine’s day this year was celebrated in usual fashion by eating delicious food and chocolate.

We started the week with dinner at Blancmange – a modern Australian restaurant.  It’s a sweet little spot in an unlikely neighbourhood. We ate three filling courses – all showcasing local and seasonal ingredients.

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By the end of the week we had lovely friends for dinner.  I wanted to make something special for dessert and stumbled on a recipe for a ‘Persian love cake’.  What a beautiful and special name – it sounded like the perfect sweet.

I changed the recipe ever so slightly and added coconut to the main base of almond meal.  The recipe called for nutmeg and of course I added some cardamom – given the cake’s Persian influence.  Yoghurt lent the perfect creaminess without adding heaviness.

persian love cake (gluten/wheat-free)
serves 8 
recipe adapted from Australian Gourmet Traveller Magazine
*where possible ingredients used were organic*

360 g/ 3 cups almond meal
100g dessicated coconut
120g/1/2 cup brown sugar
120g unsalted butter
1 tsp sea salt
2 eggs
250g greek-style yoghurt, extra to serve
1 tbsp freshly grated nutmeg
1 tsp cardamom
1/4 cup unsalted pistachio nuts, coarsely chopped

First, preheat oven to 180 degrees C. Prepare a 26 cm - diameter springform pan with baking paper and grease with a little butter.  In a large bowl - add almond meal, coconut, sugar, butter and salt - then rub butter into mix until course sand-like crumbs form.  Place half the mixture into pan - press down until evenly covering base. Next, add lightly beaten eggs, yoghurt and spices and mix until creamy.  Pour mix into the pan and place chopped pistachios around edge.  Bake until golden 35-40 minutes*. Take out and let cool in pan on wire rack.  Will keep for up to a week in an airtight container - I placed mine in the fridge and enjoyed it cold. Serve with more yoghurt. Enjoy.

*note - I baked mine longer than the recipe called for - I found the middle of the cake more moist than I wanted so baking it longer worked better. Also, I covered the cake halfway through baking time with foil so it wouldn't get too dark.

Salad night

With only a few ingredients left in my fridge and no energy to get groceries, my options for dinner the other night were definitely a little limited. Luckily I was up for a challenge and decided to throw a few things together and make salad!

A salad can seriously be anything you want it to be. You can use raw or cooked ingredients – or a combination. Often I add beans, cheese and/or nuts to add some protein, but I also didn’t have any of those ingredients. Improvisation is the key in moments like these.

So for my fantastically easy salad night I made a sautéed red cabbage salad – garlic, sage and green onions with a splash of balsamic made this perfecto! And I made a second salad using dried ingredients just sitting in my cupboard – wakame (seaweed) and sesame seed salad. I combined soy sauce, mirin, sesame oil, chili, toasted sesame seeds and rehydrated wakame. This salad was amazing too! I will definitely be making these two again.

sautéed red cabbage salad

serves 3-4 people

1 tbsp olive oil

2-3 green onions/spring onions – sliced/chopped

2 cloves garlic - chopped

3 fresh sage leaves – torn into small pieces

¼ red cabbage – shredded

1 tbsp/splash balsamic vinegar

sea salt and pepper

Place a pan on medium heat. Once hot, add olive oil, chopped onions, garlic and sage. Fry for 2-3 minutes and then add cabbage, pinch of sea salt and some freshly cracked pepper. Cook for 8-10 minutes or until cabbage is slightly wilted.  Add splash of balsamic and taste/adjust seasoning. I serve this dish at room temperature/slightly warm.  Cabbage goes well with lots of different items – I served this with baked eggs. Yum!

wakamé salad

this recipe is from Australian Gourmet Traveller – I omitted the sugar.

serves 4 people

1 cup dried wakame*

2 tbsp sesame seeds toasted

2 tbsp soy sauce

1 tsp dried chili

2 tbsp rice vinegar

First soak the wakame to reconstitute – this process takes about 10 minutes.  Drain and keep aside in a bowl.  Toast sesame seeds and let cool. Mix soy sauce, rice vinegar, chili and cooled sesame seeds and pour mixture over wakame.  Stir through and serve.  Another option is to place into fridge for an hour and serve cold.  This dish works with any asian inspired dishes – grilled snapper, dumplings, hot and sour soup….it’s so easy and so good for you!

*wakame – seasweed – can be found at any store which stocks asian imported foods or even at health food stores.

A morning of muffins

It’s been a little while since I’ve baked muffins.  It must be the heat but also that I simply forgot how easy it is to throw a few things together and, voila, you have muffins!

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After a few requests from friends looking for something healthy (not too sweet) and quick to make and take to work, I decided to try a new recipe, using some very ripe bananas in my kitchen.

I added freshly grated ginger (and ground ginger) for spiced heat and blackstrap molasses – an often overlooked and/or ignored ingredient that’s also a surprisingly good source of iron (and is a healthy way of sweetening foods).  The molasses also lends a distinct flavour – somewhat salty and rich with a touch of sweetness. For a final touch, I added nuts -- walnuts seemed to fit with the other flavours well.

I think these muffins are a healthy snack for any time of day; perfect to pick up and go in the morning or to pack with your lunch.  If you want to add protein simply spread them with peanut butter – using natural peanut butter (or almond butter for those averse to peanuts) is best. Enjoy.

banana ginger and molasses muffins

makes a dozen muffins

2 organic eggs

¼ cup molasses

¼ cup oil – any non-fragrant oil is fine

2 ripe bananas

1 tbsp grated fresh ginger

1 tsp each ground ginger and cinnamon

¼ tsp ground clove

1 cup wholemeal flour (you could also use gluten free flour or spelt)

1 tbsp cocoa powder

1 tsp baking powder

¼ cup walnuts (break up into small pieces)

Preheat oven to 180 degrees C/350 fahrenheit

First, in a medium sized bowl combine wet ingredients – beat eggs, add in molasses and oil and mix well.  Using a fork, mash bananas on a plate and then add in to wet mix.  Add in spices. In a separate bowl add dry ingredients and mix flour with cocoa and baking powders.  Add in dry ingredients to wet mix, a little at a time ensuring to incorporate everything well.  Lastly, fold in walnut pieces.

Spoon in a muffin tray and bake 15-20 minutes.  Remove and let cool - the muffins should remain moist in the middle.