More food!

Yes, ssh, I know. I'm a little behind in posting. But here's what I've been cooking....

White Peach and Fig Granita

Honey Glazed Pears

Parmesan Twists

Apricot Slice

Lots of yummy things. And more! Just need to edit a few photos...

They were all great dishes. Loved how easy the twists were! Noah loved them too, so that akes them a winner in my book.

Waldorf Salad

I love a good Waldorf Salad. Crips apples, crunchy walnuts and a smooth dressing. This one would have been my new favourite - if it wasn't for the blue cheese in the dressings.

Blue Cheese. Not a fan. Sorry.

For me, it took over the flavour of the salad. Ok, I might have gotten the wrong blue cheese, but like I've said before, good luck finding the right ingredients out here. I got the one I could afford. And it ruined the whole plate.

Still looks good though, right?

I'd like to make it again, but with my own dressing next time. Something a little tangy but not as overpowering.

Oregano and Garlic Roasted Lamb

This dish, I was quite 'meh' about. In the end, after cooking, it all seemed very bland and I don't know if I under seasoned it or there was not enough flavour... But the dish all tasted the same after the first mouthful and Hubby and I didn't enjoy it all that much.

I think it might have been the wrong cut of meat too as the lamb leg was nice and pink but there was so much fat left on it that hadn't rendered down. It would have benefited from a long slow cooking more, in my humble opinion.

So a few days later, that's what I did. Cut up all the leftovers, added a crapload of veggies and baked it with some beef stock into a pie. The meat was falling apart on our fork and the stock and rosemary I added gave it a much richer flavour.

Waste not, want not. Was a great second dish.

Grilled Prosciutto and Lemon Thyme Haloumi

So I seem to be a little lacking in the ingredients department lately. No lemon thyme out here. Not to worry, I used good old regular thyme and some lemon zest. Worked a treat.

I love Haloumi. Have I told you that yet? I mean, I seriously love Haloumi. Cheese that doesn't melt when you cook it. Furthermore, it goes crispy and golden. What's not to love?!?

I hadn't yet baked this cheese in the oven so was excited to see how it'd turn out. Carefully and lovingly wrapped in gorgeous Prosciutto and drizzled with oil with the thyme and zest tucked in there all nice and snug, I roasted them till golden.

Then gobbled them all up.

Yum. Give it a go!

Chilli and Kaffir Lime Beef Skewers

In all honesty, I've only just realised that I left out the two main ingredients in the title of the recipe.

The chilli I omitted on purpose as I'm not only cooking for Hubby and I, but also our two young kiddo's who wouldn't agree with chilli all that much. And good luck finding Kaffir Lime Leaves out there. You've got better luck growing your own than you would ever buying from the supermarket.

But, I did include the rest of the ingredients and still resulted in a nice dish. So all in all, win!

As always, I made too much noodles and while I intended on keeping the leftovers for veggie patties the next day, just because it's a good intention doesn't mean it'll happen. Which it didn't. But oh well.

Lovely BBQ recipe. A little different from your average kebabs so it's a nice spice up. You could even add in the chilli...

Pan Fried Salmon with Fennel Salad

I'm a Salmon convert. I now love it and can't believe I've lived for so long without eating this wonderful fish. What a shame! So after trying the Salmon with Lemon-Cream sauce, I started going through and looking for more Salmon dishes and found this one.

Yum! I already knew that fennel went well with fish so it was no surprise that this dish worked really well. And the mustard dressing (lemon juice, mustard, crushed garlic, caster sugar, olive oil and S&P) brought it together perfectly. I made the dressing in my pestle and mortar as I don't have a garlic crusher and I find this the best way to mix it into dressings. Love the crispyness of the pan fried salmon too. I think I made this again the next day for lunch as well.

Converted. Try it. 

Poached Chicken and Spring Onion Salad

With Summer ending I'm in a mad rush to make all the 'Summer' dishes before we just don't feel like eating salads and cold shakes in the middle of a cool day. Today we went out for lunch and I had Beef Bourguignon with Parmesan Mash and sautaed Red Cabbage. Totally hit the spot. But today is overcast and cool. Last Friday wasn't. It was a lovely warm day. So I made salad.

A few months ago I'd never poached chicken, but now having done it a few times I can see how wonderful and easy it is. And so healthy! This recipe is lovely and light, including poached spring onions (in stock before poaching the chicken), celery that's thinly peeled with a vegetable peeler, butter lettuce (I didn't have any and used Iceberg instead. Had a lovely crunch that the salad might have otherwise missed), poached chicken and a lovely light citirusy lemon infused oil dressing.

In all honesty, I stuffed the dressing having made it first and set aside as the recipe suggests then just before serving I thought I'd heat it through again so it's nice and warm and absorbs into the chicken. Bad move. Burnt the lemon rind and I had to 'wash' it off the chicken in the warm stock. Oh well. I improvised and made a lemon juice and olive oil whisked dressing which worked just as well.

As we were having this dish for dinner I added a poached egg to the top to make it a little more filling. This is HUGE for me as I don't generally eat eggs on their own at all. But I felt it needed a little more and the egg worked really nicely. Not that I'm converted to eating crap loads of eggs now. Just one a blue moon I can probably handle.

Was a lovely light meal and would make a fantastic entree! 

Striped Milkshakes

I think this will be my first real big criticism of a recipe in this book - this is not a recipe. At all. Reading it, I don't know why its included in a cookbook. Yes, I get that it's in the summer section and they might have needed to add the numbers, but I honestly think it would have been better left out.

Striped Milkshakes - buy some strawberry or lime syrup. Pour down the sides of a cup. Add milk. Drink.

Not a recipe.

So I changed it a little. I'm not for buying pre-made syrups full of sugar and nothing good, so I made a Strawberry coulis and used that instead. No lime. Milk should never be green.

If I was being picky I would've strained the coulis to get the strawberry seeds out, but I wasn't. Still tasted just as good. Noah loved it either way.

So did I.

Nice and summery and refreshing. Without all the syrup additives. Better.

Minestrone Soup (with a few adjustments)

I love a good soup. Personally, I'm over this hot hot weather and can't wait till it's cold so I can snuggle down under a blanket and enjoy a good soup, hot chocolate and some crappy TV.

A girlfriend of mine and I have been having cooking days where our kids will run ragged for a few hours while we each cook one big meal then divide it between us so we can stock pile it in our freezers to give ourselves a night off cooking. Last time we did she made a lovely big batch of bolognese sauce. I made Donna's Minestrone Soup. 

The soup itself is quite simple and lovely. Core ingredients like tomatoes and veggies. I was surprised that there was no pasta or rice to bulk it out a little, but I did leave out the beans as we don't eat them and they'd go to waste. Waste not, want not.

As I made it to share and wanted something a little more substantial, I added some Quinoa for bulk. Worked so well. Then for dinner one night I added some leftover BBQ chicken I had, heated it through and ate it all with some yummy gluten free bread. Worked really well.

I think that's the greatest thing about recipes. You can view them as a base and personalise them how you like. I wanted a little more than the simple Minestrone recipe, I could do that easily without much fuss.

Herb-Crusted Veal (...Lamb) Loin

I'm now getting into the dishes with ingredients that are completely foregin to me. Like Veal. We don't eat veal at all. Not for any reason in particular, but because it's just not something I go out to buy and eat.

That's one of the things I'm loving about this challenge, is that I'm pushed a little out of my comfort zone. I'm leaning new techniques and eating things I wouldn't generally try. And loving it all.

But, when I went to look for a Veal loin here to cook I couldn't find one. So settled on Lamb instead. I understand that the flavour is different, but I'm working with what I have available to me.

This dish I love. I'm already planning on cooking it again this weekend for guests. It was so so so easy too. Brown the loin in the pan. Cover in the mustard and lemon combo. Oven bake for 10 min. Rest for 10 min. Roll in the chopped herbs. Easy. The meat was so well rested and just blushing when I cut it, just the way it should be.

The actual recipe is just for the Veal Loin alone, so I added pureed carrots and steamed beans and asparagus to the dish for dinner. Married so well together.

And just to top it off I cooked the juices from the Lamb in a sauce pan and thickened them with some Arrowroot flour for a jus to top the lamb off. The icing on the cake. Perfection.

Salmon with Lemon Cream Sauce

Would you believe that this is the first time I have ever cooked and eaten a Salmon steak? No kidding. And I love fish, just wasn't all that turned on by Salmon before...but now I love it!

I've seen enough salmon cooked to know that they're best done a little under, which is what I aimed for. Personally I think I got it just right. Was so excited to tuck into this beautiful piece of fish once I'd cooked it. I even ate it all!!

I had a problem with the lemon cream sauce though. I followed the recipe to a tee (cook stock over a high heat, stirring for 1 min. Add lemon juice and cream and cook for 3 min or till thickened slightly) and the cream would separate. Three times. In the end I was a bit frustrated at it not working and the fish was cooling too much so I heated some cream and added lemon zest and juice (a little at a time to prevent separating), salt and pepper and that tasted great.

If anyone can tell me how to make it as above without it separating, I'm open to suggestions.

Other than that, it was a lovely dish. Since then I've bought more salmon and eaten it once a week. Loving it!

Chicken Sandwich with Rocket Mayonnaise

Who doesn't love a good sandwich?

Well, me actually. But that's because I eat a Gluten Free diet and finding decent bread for a sandwich is pretty damn hard. But thankfully, Coles have a new Gluten Free range and I've been enjoying a few more sandwiches lately.

So I thought I'd try this one out.

Its a simple recipe. Using ready made whole egg mayo. Which I cheated and bought from the store. Which I later discovered has gluten in it. Go me.

This recipe just involves cooking chicken breast with some seasoning then enjoying them in a sandwich with the yummy rocket mayo - which is made by processing mayo, rocket, lemon juice and S&P. Not really much of a recipe, but still, it's in the book so I had to make it.

And enjoyed it. Bonus!

Feta and Eggplant Meatballs with Tzatziki

I loved, loved, loved this dish!

I love meatballs because they're a quick and easy dinner for kids, not that my fussy kids always eat them, but if I offer meatballs to my kids I feel like I've made a good effort at getting decent food into them. I usually grate carrot and zucchini into my meatballs and cook them in a Tuscan sauce with rosemary and oregano and tomatoes. Not so that's its rich, but flavoursome.

Usually having a tomato based sauce with meatballs, I was excited to try these as I wanted to know how the creamy Tzatziki would go with them. And I love eggplant. I love anything with eggplant in it. And Feta. So I already knew these would be a win.

Make sure you use young eggplant or you'll need to salt (degorge) them before cooking to draw out the excess moisture and stop them from being bitter.

A friend asked for the recipe for these after I posted a photo on my Instagram account, so here it is:

Feta and Eggplant Meatballs
 
You'll need:
400g eggplant, finely chopped
2 tbs Olive Oil
500g Beef mince
1/3 cup chopped Flat-Leaf Parsley
1/3 cup chopped Mint
2 cloves of Garlic, crushed
1 tbs finely grated Lemon Rind
200g Feta, crumbled
Sea Salt and fresh cracked Black Pepper
1 tbs Olive Oil, extra
Lemon Wedges, to serve

Method:
Prehead the oven to 180C. Place the eggplant and oil on a baking tray and toll to coat. Roast for 30 Min or till golden. Remove and allow to cool.
Place the eggplant, mince, parsley, mint, garlic, lemon rind, feta, salt and pepper in a bowl and stir until well combined. Roll tablespoons of the mixture into balls. Place the extra oil in a large non-stick frying pan over medium heat. Add the balls and cook for 3 - 4 minutes or till browned. Place on a baking tray and cook for 5 - 6 minutes or until cooked through. Serve with Tzatziki and lemon wedges.

I halved this recipe and it still made heaps of meatballs. 

 Tzatziki

What you'll need:
 2 cups (560g) thick Greek-style natural yoghurt (I just used Natural Yoghurt as that's what I had in the fridge)
1 Lebanese Cucumber, grated
2 tbs chopped Mint
1 clove Garlic, crushed
1 tbs Honey
1/2 tsp ground cumin
Sea Salt and cracked White Pepper

Method:
Place the yoghurt, cucumber, mint, garlic, honey, cumin, salt and pepper in a bowl and stir to combine.

I made half of the Tzatziki recipe also, and it was great and so refreshing. Went soooooo well with the meatballs. I grated the cucumber with a really fine grater and squeezed the excess liquid out of them before adding them to the yoghurt or the dish would've been really runny. For a first Tzatziki, it tasted awesome.

This would make great party food too. A toothpick in the meatballs for individual serves. Easy peasy and so tasty!!

Choc-Chip Ice-Cream Sandwich

On these hot summer days, who doesn't like Ice-Cream? Anyone? No-one? Didn't think so.

How about an Ice-Cream sandwich? Maybe not for lunch, but a great afternoon snack to cool off from the scorching summer sun.

Best part about this easy recipe - you can use store-bought Ice-Cream!

I don't have an ice-cream maker and never remember to do the whole 'whisk every hour or so' thing. And I'm a busy Mum of two ratbags, so the easier it is for me, the more I love it.

This recipe does require you to make the biscuits for the sandwich, which was a fun afternoon with Noah as we sprinkled chocolate chips on top of measured and squared out batter. As they were so thin they didn't take long to cook too.

Noah kept asking and asking for the sandwich and I pushed it out till just before bath time as I knew it would be messy! In the end, he wasn't that keen and I'm thinking for dessert tonight I'll crunch up the remaining biscuits and scatter them over a bowl of Ice-Cream instead. Still just as yum!

Feta with Crispy Bread and Salad

If you're looking for a light lunch, this is it. It's so light and Summery and would serve as a great appetizer before a nice big dinner. And oh so easy.

After grilling some fresh Bruschetta, top it with Feta, Salad leaves, Parmesan, Salt and Pepper and Olive Oil.

See, told you it was easy.

It has a light salty taste from the cheeses and the crunchy toasted bread gives the added texture. Not to mention the oil soaks right in and mixes with the feta. Yum.

Try it next time you're in need of a quick but tasty lunch idea!!

Caramelised Onion and Anchovy Tart

I looooove caramelised onion. I love the sweetness with the strong onion flavour. On burgers. On toast. And in a tart.

I also love going to a BBQ, so I have an excuse to make lots of yummy food to share. Like tarts and cakes.

This is a beautiful and simply recipe. Cook onions sloooooowly over a medium high heat. Add Sherry Vinegar (I used Malt as I didn't have any Sherry). Add brown sugar. Cook a little more. Half a sheet of Puff Pastry and score an outline around the edge before popping the mixture into the middle. Top with anchovies, olives and thyme. Brush with beaten egg yolk then bake till golden.

So yum. Love the sweetness of the onion clashing with the salty anchovies. Or melding together. I never know, it just tastes good.

So easy and so going to be making this one again.

Please excuse the dodgy iPhone photo, I forgot to take a decent one...

Honey Cream Sponge Cake

Ok, so another thing that I can't cook apparently is Sponge Cake.

I followed the recipe. Sifted the (gluten free - maybe that made a difference??) flour over and over and over again. Then again into the beaten egg and sugar mixture.

Then folded the flour in. I think that maybe my folding wasn't gentle enough and too much air got out of those lovely beaten eggs. I noticed that it was a lot thinner then I expected when pouring it into the cake tins to cook.

I loved the honey and vanilla syrup poured over the top of the cooked sponge though. As it dried it set a little hard and gave the cake some extra texture.

The cake along with the lashings and lashings of cream just marry together perfectly. It would've been better if the sponge rose more and was a lighter cake, but it still went down well just the same.

Steak Sandwich

Every time I go out for lunch with my Mum, without fail she'll order a Steak Sandwich. I was thinking of her lots as Hubby chose this one to try out last week.

It's a lovely simple dish, with a chive and garlic butter smeared on toasted baguette, peppery baby spinnach and a well cooked steak. The recipe calls for a veal steak, but as Hubby and and I aren't all that partial to veal, we had beef instead.

I cooked it for dinner and it was a great light dinner with the hot and humid days we've been having lately. Very tasty, easy and would be a great dish with BBQ'd steak and friends over.

Scallops!!

One of the things I love about Summer and living in Queensland is the abundance of seafood. Even living two hours inland we're able to buy our weekly fill of fish and other desirable seafood. Including Scallops.

I love scallops. I love their lightness, their subtle flavour and how they'll soak up rich garlic and lemon sauces, or just a few herbs and a light grill and they're ready to eat. And quick! I've been looking forward to trying these recipes as I haven't cooked scallops before and have heard about how easy it is to overcook them, but I'm quietly proud of myself for how well I did.

With the lime, the scallops are cooked in a garlic and butter sauce then a light Wasabi and lime dressing is poured over them, topped with some chopped spring onion. I was quite apprehensive about tasting the Wasabi ones as I don't have a palate for heat in food but they were really nice and not hot at all.

The lemon scallops were cooked in a similar butter and garlic sauce, that some thyme had been pulled into. Once the scallops were cooked (both recipes read 30 sec each side but I found with my not-gas stove top it took a little longer) they were removed from the pan. Some lemon juice and chives were then added to the butter sauce and poured over the cooked scallops. These were awesome. Melt in the mouth.

Love that I've finally cooked these delicacies and can't wait to get my hands on more!

Tomato Salad with Garlic and Anchovy Dressing

Do you have something you don't eat, but don't know why? It's just one of those things then when offered, you automatically turn your nose up at and 'no thanks, I don't eat them' even though you've probably never tried it. I do. I have a few actually. Oysters. Sorry, but they just look like a pile of snot sitting in a shell. How appetizing. Mussels. Brains. And Anchovies.

When I decided to start this challenge I told myself that I would try new food. Probably not everything I cook I'll eat, but I'm hoping to be brave enough to try most of it. This is the first 'new' food thing I have cooked so I was a bit apprehensive.

It was an easy dish to make. It'd be even easier if I had've kept an eye on the oil and garlic cooking the first time, rather then burn it and have to start the dressing again. The ingredients are naturally contemplative of each other. Tomatoes, beans and basil. Oil, garlic, anchovy and sherry vinegar. I didn't have any sherry vinegar so I substituted with Balsamic. Yes, I know it has a different taste but I wasn't going to go out and buy a whole bottle for a few tablespoons. And trust me, balsamic worked. 

Cut up tomatoes and beans and set aside. Heat oil, garlic and anchovy in a pan and cook till the garlic is golden. Now, you know when you're watching a cooking show and the chef puts in anchovy and they always say 'they dissapear, you'll never know they're there, it's just for flavour.' Well, I never believed them. How could it dissapear? Seriously?

I looked. It dissapeared. So sue me.

I think the best part of this dish is what I learnt. Once the garlic is cooked, remove it from the heat and carefully pour in the vinegar. The pan and oil is still so hot that it starts cooking the sugars in the vinegar and the whole dressing becomes this lovely sweet, sticky, garlicy liquid that I could've savored for days. I mean, it was awesome. Once the dressing is ready, pour over the tomatoes and let marinate for half an hour. Add some basil, shavings of pecorino (again, I didn't have this and substituted for Parmesan) and voila! 

As with the last salad it's missing the 'you'll need a big chunk of bread to soak up the remainder of the dressing or you'll end up licking the plate clean' bit at the end of the recipe. Yes, I can see how it's healthy without it, but I think the bread would round it up nicely.

Seriously good food.