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.

Apple Puddings with Butterscotch Sauce

Did you see my post about the decadent Apple Puddings on my main blog on Tuesday? No?

Well, go look. Here.

Now.

Then go cook them. They're awesome.

Veal Cutlets with Fennel Salt

I'm a bit behind in posting the completed recipes, but trust me, there have been a lot completed!!

Obviously from the photo I didn't actually use Veal Cutlets. Because good luck finding any out here. I have since bought some veal steak things that are currently waiting in the freezer to be used for the next veal meal. I think it's on the menu for next week.

I really liked the fennel salt with this meal, and even though it was a different piece of meat all together, it still worked really well. Just added a new flavour to the already beautiful lamb cutlets I had. Would be great on a BBQ as well.

Love a good light meal.

The Blackout of 2013

I have to hand it to our parents. They managed to raise us to be good people, cook countless dinners, get all the housework done and teach us all the childhood lesson - and all without ABC2. 

Our TV isn't working. Well, that's not completely right. The aerial is broken. We've had zero TV reception since last Thursday. At first we put it down to the storm that had been raging around us for the previous few days, but when the sun came out and the signal stayed away, I figured it was more than the weather. 

Thankfully a few months ago I bought an AppleTV and that has, literally, saved my sanity. Without it, we'd be eating takeaway and I'd be saving all my toilet time till Hubby got home from work! 

But it makes me wonder, how did parents get by without the Peppa Pig distraction at 5pm so I can get dinner cooked? I know we did have kids shows on in the afternoon, was that the only time we watched TV? My sister was addicted to Pokemon in the mornings but I was too busy getting ready (doing my hair) for school to watch anything. We'd come home and have a Milo and grapes at 4pm, homework, piano, dinner and than, finally, TV before bed. 

Besides the ease of distraction when I need to do something, I'm actually enjoying not having the TV accessible so much. I know that tonight I'll curse it as I'm missing MKR and Revenge, but the rest of the time it's not that bad. I can play shows and movies through the AppleTV for Noah while I cook dinner and a movie as quiet time during the day, but knowing it's not just a click away is...liberating. Hubby and I have been watching a movie at night, rather than potato'ing in front of bad shows. We're even going to bed earlier at night.

Now I just wish Phoenix would get the memo about sleeping past 5:30am.....

But if someone had said to me, pull your aerial out and see how you go, I'd've laughed at them. Why is TV so essential?Because we all enjoy it. As much as Hubby bags it out, I love watching MKR at night, after a long day, seeing other people cook and whinge and get booted out. Not have to think about what needs cleaning and washing and be able to sit for an hour is so nice. 

And if it doesn't get fixed soon, I might get Peppa Pig withdrawals of my own! There's only so much Mickey Mouse I can take.....

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...

Crushed Raspberry Tart

Did you see my Crushed Raspberry Tart post over on my main blog The Strands of Me?

It was awesome. And yummy. And so easy! So I featured it as my Tuesday Treat.

Hop on over and check it out.

Go. Now. So you can make it for dessert tonight....

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!

Strawberry and Ricotta Tart with Hazelnut Pastry

Did you see my post on making the Strawberry and Ricotta Tart with Hazelnut Pastry over on my main blog?

No?

Go check it out here. It was awesome. And aren't I nice that I included the recipe so you can make it yourself?

You're welcome.

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!!

Spinach and Feta Pies

I'm a big fan of the spinach and feta combo. It always makes me feel like I'm eating something really healthy and I'm not bloated and super full afterwards. I've been thinking about making these pies for a little while now so finally remembered to buy some filo at my last shop and made them last week.

So so so so easy. Mixing together some spinach, feta, an egg and some orange rind (recipe calls for lemon rind but I only had an orange and I figured it'd still give that zesty fresh feel) with some mint in a bowl. Brush three sheets of filo with melted butter and layer them together. Cut to the size of the small tart tin, insert the filo, fill with the spinach mix, brush with a beaten egg and bake till golden.

Yum!

Chilli Beef and Snake Bean Stir-fry

If I'll be honest, I've been hesitant to make the 'chilli' dishes so far. While I love how chilli can transform a dish, the heat doesn't necessarily agree with me. Or my taste buds. And I like to be able to enjoy what I eat, not have my head blown off. 

So when this recipe called for 'Chilli Bean Paste' I substituted for Black Bean sauce and a finely diced and deseeded long red chilli. I marinated the beef in the sauce and chilli for a little while before cooking them on my grill pan. Once the meat was out and resting I then quickly cooked the garlic slivers and beans in a little more sauce. 

Both Hubby and I really enjoyed this dinner. There was no heat from the chilli and it was so easy and tasty, this would make a great BBQ dinner for those warm summer nights!

Panchetta, Mozzarella and Balsamic Sandwich

Substituting the Panchetta for Proscuitto, I made this sandwich for Hubby and I last weekend. I just love how the fresh basil compliments the tomato and mozerella. The balsamic addition just completes the picture.

Make sure you make it on fresh bread, as ours was a day old and in hindsight I should've warmed it as the three layers of bread made it hard to eat and we ended up pulling out the delicious filling and eating that on its own.

There's no cooking or mixing involved in this sandwich, just assembly so it's a nice and easy lunch time meal. Give it a go!

Melon with Rosewater Yoghurt

This is a beautiful Breakfast alternative for those warm summer mornings. Just be careful of the rosewater in the yoghurt. It can really HIT you!

Also, I didn't have any pistachios as the recipe calls for, so I toasted some cashews then added some honey right at the end so they caramelised a little. B-e-a-utiful! 

Really simple. Completely in the style of Donna Hay. Just beautiful food.

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.

Berry Cupcakes

Who doesn't like a cupcake? You could be a massive hard-ass grown bull of a man, and I'd bet you'd still like a cupcake.

Especially these ones.

The batter I found to be a bit plain, but a great base for flavour. The berries mixed in (I used frozen berries even though the recipe calls for fresh berries to be pushed into the top. Not spending $8 on a punnet of raspberries out here!) made the world of difference. As mine were frozen, I found I had to cook it for a little longer, but still got a great end result.

The best part about these cupcakes was the icing on the cake - or so to speak. Thick cream mixed with crushed berries (I used fresh blueberries) and meringue just worked so so well. The sweetness of the berry complimented by the smooth cream and the crunch of the meringue.

So perfect I gave some to our neighbor who'd told me our dogs had escaped earlier that day. After a mad rush around I found them safe, thankfully!

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.

Yoghurt and Passionfruit Syrup Cake

The thing I really liked about this cake was that it's made from things I generally already have in the kitchen. I love yoghurt in baking and how light it makes the final product, so was eager to try this cake out.

Loved it. And I really like that it can act as a base for a lot of different flavours. Like the passionfruit syrup.

In all honesty, I'm not a big fan of passionfruit (don't shoot me!). It makes my eyes cringe and my face squint up like I'm sucking on a lemon. I did make the syrup and was pleased with how the sweetness removed the cringe-factor from the fruit, but it made me think of other possibilities for this cake. A strawberry or raspberry syrup, even a mango one would work well.

Or if you're going to be completely indulgent, a chocolate syrup. With a little hazelnut liquor. Mmmm....

Sorry, no photo. I was too slack that week.

Frozen Yoghurt and Strawberry Milk

It's the middle of summer and so damn hot lately, so these turned out to be a fantastic afternoon cool-me-down. Even if we were in the air-con. Something sweet and cold and somewhat healthy for you, this drink went down perfectly.

I've always loved Strawberry Coulis as you don't get as many pips and seeds like you do with other berries. Plus they already have their own sweetness, so not as much sugar is needed. I've since made the coulis from this recipe again as my son loves having a spoonful in some milk as a milkshake. And I know it's nice and fresh and not full of additives.

I used natural yoghurt instead of Vanilla and froze it in my Ikea heart shaped molds. Add the strawberry coulis and pour over milk. Don't forget to give a little stir or the berry syrup will just sit on the bottom of the glass.

Enjoy!!