Bakery Bookery

the island pt 3: food memories and the beauty of less

2012-01-17T11:12:00.002+11:00

It's beginning to feel like a while ago now but whenever I look through the photos from our trip I feel myself momentarily transported back to the island.

One of the things I love most about going on holiday is that, whilst broadening your horizons, it also temporarily shrinks down your world, making you simplify and enjoy making do with less. This is something I'm thinking a lot about at the moment as we are planning to move house in the next few months.

Some of my favourite memories from Lord Howe Island have to do with simple food, especially the meals we cobbled together from what we had bought that day from the local shop, or picked from the vegetable garden - the salads, barbeques and cheese plates we prepared for ourselves, enjoyed with many a glass of red or sparkling wine.

A salad we prepared most days, with rocket and everlasting lettuce from the veggie patch, tomatoes, walnuts, grapes and parmesan.

Cheeseplates to snack on whilst we played cards at night.

An impromptu pizza picnic with my family, overlooking the water.

Amusingly named and gut-bustingly good burgers from the local store. Ned's was the fish burger, Future was Kristian's favourite - a burger featuring pretty much everything.

And then in a moment of unforgettable joy and simplicity we enjoyed the best meal of the trip - a spontaneous breakfast picnic at Lover's Bay overlooking the ocean, with vegemite toast, Lindt chocolate and grapes, a ring, a question and a resounding yes!

And then coffee and cake to celebrate.

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the island pt 2: wildlife

2012-01-11T10:35:00.000+11:00

One of the most wonderful things about our trip for me was becoming so much more aware of my natural surroundings. I was like a child excitedly pointing out interesting plants and spotting baby terns sitting on tree branches as we cycled past each day on our way to the beach.

A few wildlife highlights:
- making friends with our Woodhen neighbours in the back garden of our apartment
- encountering a chilled out herd of cows on a forest walk to the other side of the island
- baby bird spotting
- dodging the intricate webs of the Golden Orb spiders
- encountering a reef shark on our second day as we swam in the shallows (I far too calmly insisted it was a Kingfish until Kristian spotted fins).
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the island pt 1

2012-01-08T20:38:00.000+11:00

It's my first week back at work so naturally I'm thinking about our holiday to Lord Howe Island and wishing myself back there.

I used to visit Lord Howe with my family a lot when I was younger but I haven't been back in a few years and the best thing about it is that it's hardly changed. It's like a small country town from the 70s but surrounded by water and with the most beautiful forests, walks, beaches and wildlife you can imagine.

Lord Howe Island also has the most fantastic place names - Hell's Gates, Kim's Lookout, Valley of the Shadows, The End of the World, to name a few. We didn't make it to many of those spots, some are virtually inaccessible without a boat, but we did hit up Blinky Beach every day that we could and the weather permitted. A few months after my 18th birthday I got caught in a rip and nearly drowned at this beach and it still inspires my fearful respect but when the weather is right, hands down it's my favourite place to swim on Earth. Kristian became a massive fan too and over the week we caught enough waves there to ever so partially digest the amazing amounts of food and wine we consumed on the trip.

And the fish, oh the fish. From the moment we landed, I was licking my chops over that first hotly anticipated plate of Kingfish - grilled with lemon and potatoes on the side, accompanied by sparkling white wine. Our family friend Ron works as a chef at one of the restaurants and one night we headed up the hill at dusk to be treated to Kingfish and Oahu, fresh caught that day.

Walking home in the pitch dark to the sounds of Muttonbirds calling to each other in plaintive tones and seeing a million stars sparkling overhead was a pretty spectacular end to the year.

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scenes from the new year

2012-01-02T16:08:00.001+11:00

Happy 2012 to you! Hope your New Year's Eve was matched in goodness by the days that followed!
The first thing Kristian and I did on New Year's Day was to play a game of hungover celebrity heads - highly recommended!

We've had some friends Matt and Hiroko staying with us over the last few days, which has made the celebrations that much more enjoyable for us. We have snacked and chatted, drunk a medley of hilarious drinks, interpretive danced along to Kylie, watched fireworks from a nearby park, hit up DJ's for song requests, eaten late night pies and welcomed the new year with cooked breakfasts, swings in parks, picnics and drinks at dusk.

Here's to many more of these good things in the year ahead.

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happy happy

2011-12-31T11:26:00.001+11:00

A very happy belated Christmas to you and now here's to a spectacular New Years!

We just got back from spending Christmas on Lord Howe Island and I have far too many photos to share and some good food stories too...

But first have a very happy, relaxing, safe, joyous New Years celebration, wherever you are and whatever you're doing! I've got some bubbly and cheese in the fridge, ready to rock n roll!

Wishing you every good thing for the new year!
2012 here we come...

seasonal delights

2011-12-06T14:34:00.002+11:00

So I somehow managed to enter the festive season with one doozy of a two week long headcold (a summer cold of all things, although this summer so far has been rather disappointing on the warmth front to say the least!) But, as of now, I am putting sniffles and weather complaints on the backburner, dosing up on vitamins and determined to get excited about the holidays and the delicious anticipation of baking, catching up with friends and general all round festive cheer.

So I plan to get cracking on in the next few weeks about Christmas snackery, foodie gifts, side dishes and other seasonal delights.

Firstly, let's talk fruit mince tarts. Something I haven't made since we visited Japan a few Decembers ago and I suddenly started channelling Delia Smith in a big way. This time though, I did them the cheat's way, which is to say the easy far less time-consuming and curse-inducing way. I referred to this inspiring post on jam tarts for the pastry and... (here's where I whisper a little bit) then filled them with Robertson's fruit mince filling (from a jar!). No pastry lids, no fuss, just pure wanton deliciousness. Hence why there are no photos...

Anyway, whilst we're on the subject, can I also tell you that the aforementioned fruit mince filling goes alarmingly well stirred through plain yogurt. I mentioned this to Kristian the other day and his excited, wide-eyed response was: "What about if you stirred it through ice-cream with broken up pieces of shortbread?" This particular pimped up variation might be a good one to try in the post-xmas haze when you stumble upon some left-over tarts in the fridge and think, How could we disguise these into a new and rather marvellous dessert? Yup, we're a sweet-tooth household we are!

But as all good sweet-tooths know there is a cure and it is cheese. The other day I arrived home after an epic session at Harris Farm to discover I had bought five different kinds of cheese. I was a little excited and decided to have another crack at parmesan biscuits.

I first tried making these a few months ago and I was so disappointed by the result (I basically ended up with a tray-sized flat mess of buttery-cheesey gloop) that I was a little gun-shy. Empowered by my army of cheese and several conversations at work on the subject, I decided to have another crack.

Parmesan Biscuits
Adapted from this recipe

125g salted butter
250g plain flour
80g grated parmesan
1 egg
pinch salt
1 tsp sweet paprika

Rub together the butter and flour, salt and paprika then mix through the parmesan and egg. The mixture should come together to form a dryish dough. Add a little water if needed to bind it all together. Form the dough into a thin sausage about the diameter of a 50c piece and rest in the refrigerator for at least an hour. This bit is especially important and I think where I went wrong the first time I made these biscuits. The colder the dough is when it goes into the oven the better. There will be less spreadage, which is a good thing.

Preheat the oven to 180C then cut the dough sausage into coins 3-4mm thick and place on a baking tray.

Cook for 10-12 minutes until golden then rest the biscuits on a rack to cool and harden up a bit. They are great on their own but also go rather well with quince paste and seedless red grapes, which are absolutely smashing at the moment! Red fruit and festivity ahoy.

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inspiration

2011-11-18T11:00:00.001+11:00

Spring has finally sprung and in the spirit of the season I've been on a tidying and clearing out blitz around the house. It's been wonderfully cathartic. I've thrown away stuff I've been holding onto for years (old Christmas cards, cassette tapes from the 80s - the bad, embarrassing ones, school assignments and... even some cookbooks!

I was inspired by my friend Gianna, who told me all about her pre-three-month-world-tour packup. When sorting through her belongings she asked herself the question, "Does this have a role in my future life?" If it did, it stayed, if not then it was turfed. I found it to be a wonderfully effective way of dealing with the reflective, sentimental items that we (I) tend to keep.

So with this in mind, the other night I finally got up the courage and stamina to tackle my pile of Gourmet Travellers and Delicious Magazines. I cued up some bad TV and got ripping. The result was primarily a lot less bulk on my cookbook shelf but secondly, and more interestingly, a distillation of the food I'm drawn to make and eat at the moment, namely: coleslaw, salads featuring apples or figs or nuts, anything with lemon and lemon on everything, halloumi with watermelon, tacos tacos tacos, skewered things, ceviche and juicy tomato salads with basil and balsamic.

The last picture is a little experiment of mine with lemon curd (very loosely adapted from this recipe) and inspired by a visit to Newtown's Black Star Pastry.

Hope you have a lovely weekend ahead!

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jacaranda

2011-11-15T12:41:00.001+11:00

The flowers here are crazy beautiful at the moment, almost good enough to eat. With this recent rush of springy warmth, there has been an explosion of Jacaranda in the neighbouring streets near our place. My walk to work has become a fresh, new delight and I have moments where I feel like I'm in another place entirely, full of new things to be discovered.

And speaking of discoveries, I've been very much enjoying:
- vicarious travel adventures up north
- Annie Leibovitz's photographic pilgrimages
- marvelling at these edible landscapes

Hope you're having a nice week so far.

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with a fiercely confident conviction

2011-11-13T12:55:00.000+11:00

I can always tell when spring has sprung in earnest because I really start to get my salad on. I'll start lusting after juicy tomatoes, watermelon and lemon, greenery of all kinds (cue rocket, cos lettuce, spinach, peas) and crispy things like celery, sugarsnap peas, cabbage and carrot. Meals tend to become more affairs of assemblage rather than of baking and simplicity is the order of the day. This weekend I managed to cover a few of my spring favourites: frittata, coleslaw and more than a few bowls of rockmelon.

Coleslaw is one of those classics, along with potato salad, that tends to stir up fervent feelings when it comes to ingredients included and excluded, technique and most importantly whose mum's recipe is the best. I remember at several picnics and family gatherings over the years listening to my mum and other women debating herb choice and dressing style with a fiercely confident conviction that theirs alone was the correct method. Generally these debates ended with the age old assertion, 'Well, that's how my mother made it.' And that there is what I think keeps us coming back to these classic dishes - the familiar, comforting homeliness coupled with the desire to make it our own.

I say all this as a pre-cursor because below is by no means a definitive recipe it's just my current riff on a classic, done in the way my mother likes to do things - which is fly-by-the-seat-of-your-pants style, recipe-free and made with what is at hand (also, with gusto).

Coleslaw
Adapted from memory

1 large carrot, grated or chopped finely
1/2 savoy cabbage, shredded
1/4 red cabbage, shredded
1 small red onion, thinly sliced
1/2 capsicum, thinly sliced
1/2 cup whole egg mayonnaise
1/2 Tbs Dijon mustard
1/2 Tbs wholegrain mustard
zest and juice of one lemon
splash of white wine vinegar

Prepare all the vegetables and combine in a large bowl. If you have time (or the inclination) you can marinate them overnight in cold water and and a small amount of vinegar, to give them a slightly pickled, tangy edge. I'm a big fan though of adding the tang in dressing form. For the dressing, combine the mayonnaise, mustards, lemon zest, juice and vinegar, mix thoroughly and pour over the salad. Toss to combine.

Interesting side note: In the process of making this salad I thought I probably should check Stephanie Alexander's The Cook's Companion just to see if she had any definitive tips on making the classic coleslaw. I had to smile when I read the entry for Coleslaw, master recipe...
Make a mixed coleslaw of red, green and crinkly-leafed cabbage and dress with a mustardy vinaigrette.
And there you have it.

So, in an attempt to avoid over-explaining another classic, I shall just say that on the weekend I also made a spinach frittata with tomato, pesto and goat's cheese.

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putting on the spritz

2011-10-30T18:38:00.005+11:00

We're having some confusing weather here in Sydney of late - it feels almost like we're going back into Autumn, in keeping with our northern neighbours. Still after the 34 degree day we had last Monday it's almost a bit of a relief. But it made for a strange week. Monday felt like Friday, Tuesday felt like Friday... there was a bit of a pattern going on.

So you can imagine my relief when Friday did arrive and I had the day off to boot! The night before we had gotten dressed up to attend the Bombay Sapphire Design Awards and enjoyed several quite delicious gin variations, along with some pretty nice sliders, salt and pepper chicken shots and a few other tasty morsels. Amazing as those gin cocktails were, I couldn't get another drink out of my head. Just the week before I had been introduced by Deborah, a lovely colleague at work, to the Aperol spritz - the promise of summer in a glass.

The Aperol Spritz is popular in the Veneto region of Italy and is made with Prosecco (Italian sparkling wine), Aperol (an orange liquer) and a splash of soda water. As an aperitivo, it's a great way to start a meal because the Aperol has a reasonably low alcohol content and the drink tastes light and refreshing - spritz is the word. Here's how you go about making it:

Aperol Spritz

3 ounces Prosecco (or any sparkling wine)
2 ounces Aperol
a splash of soda water
garnish of orange or lemon

Pour the aperol into a glass of ice cubes. Add a splash of sparkling water then top with the Prosecco. Garnish with lemon or orange slices. Sip whilst leaning back in your chair, pretending you're looking out over the rooftops of Venice, the sounds of evening church bells ringing gently in the background.
Wonderfully refreshing! With Melbourne Cup just around the corner, I may have already found a winner...

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light

2011-10-21T11:26:00.002+11:00

The light has been amazing in the evenings of late. I'm enjoying getting home and still having time to savour it for a few hours - bless you daylight savings (for the moment at least). It's nice to have time to catch up on reading, to linger over dinner preparation. There's something about having a glass of wine whilst the sun's streaming in the back window that makes summer holidays feel that much closer. I know it's only October still but roll on the festive season!

Some things helping me get into that holiday spirit:
This upbeat song;
Vicarious travelling adventures from my desk;
Compiling summer reading wishlists - I'm especially looking forward to reading Tales from High Mountain by Tara Austen Weaver (who writes the wonderful blog Tea and Cookies) about her time spent in Japan - more vicarious travelling - can you tell I'm ready for a holiday?

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smakfulle øyeblikk

2011-10-18T18:00:00.001+11:00

It's been a little (long) while since I stuck my head out here and said hello... so hello there and hope things are going well with you.

As for me, I've been keeping busy - making salads and birthday cakes, running and reading (lots) but also suffering a mild case of bloggers block. Now and again the internet (and the world at large) can get a touch overwhelming and it's in those moments you sometimes need to take a break to refocus, to find the joy in small things again.

I think Meryl Streep said it rather well in the movie Adaptation:

There are too many ideas and things and people.
Too many directions to go.
I was starting to believe the reason it matters to care passionately about something, is that it whittles the world down to a more manageable size.

Still, sometimes it just takes making a simple cake or a rocket salad or snapping a photo or even a great phrase to get you back on the horse so to speak.

The other day I discovered the wonderfully onomatopoeia-ish phrase smakfulle øyeblikk on this great blog. It's Norwegian for tasteful moments. And my word it's those tasteful moments that you've got to savour. They're not always the big brash momentous occasions you think will be important but the quiet spaces where you feel unexpected peace - in the kitchen, on the phone, in the garden, reading a good book, holding hands. Those words acted like a smack to the head, a whimsical nudge back into the land of here.

So, whilst I'm here, a few things I've been enjoying of late:
Inspiring questions;
This book;
Salads, specifically those featuring rocket, walnuts, parmesan, apple and balsamic - our rough and ready take on the great waldorf;
Inspiring lessons in creativity.

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my plans for the weekend

2011-09-16T12:37:00.033+10:00

Hello there...

... Goodness time flies when you're a year older. I realise it's been almost two weeks and I've not written much here at all. But all is well, September is gunning on and I'm positively trembling with excitement about the extra warmth in the air and the prospects of T-shirts, sandals and salads. It's Friday now and there are supposed to be some summery temperatures hitting us here in Sydney this weekend - 27 degree type temperatures - very exciting indeed!

My plans for the weekend so far include reading more of an addictive new book, watching Daria (a favourite from high school days and a surprise birthday gift from Kristian) going on some walks and taking pictures...

Oh and I'm sure there'll be some cooking and eating too. I recently discovered the words smakfulle øyeblikk are Norwegian for tasteful moments - I couldn't imagine a more beautiful onomatopoeia-esque description of the beauty of food.

The weather is so beautiful here right now - perhaps I can throw in some beach action as well...

What are your plans?

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birthday weekend

2011-09-05T14:28:00.000+10:00

I turn 31 today - good heavens! But I'm in good spirits because Kristian and I just came back from a weekend in the Blue Mountains - a weekend of views, relaxation and lots of delicious food and drink. We stayed in a little cottage right near Echo Point and the Three Sisters and were minutes away from the breathtaking views. Looking out over the valley we felt like we were standing on the edge of the known world. It was a clear day yesterday and we could see for ever.

Although we only stayed for two nights I somehow managed to pack enough food for a least a week so, whilst there was lots of amazing snacking, great meals what not, there was also a fair bit of lying on the couch with a full belly groaning. No complaints though, it was so nice to escape from the city for a few days, to read and play cards, to wander in the bush and generally loll about.

Some highlights: the flowerpot scones at The Wayzgoose Cafe in Leura, a surprisingly good coffee at the top of Scenic World, hearing Japanese schoolgirls screaming as they went down the Scenic Railway (I screamed internally), homemade kebabs at the Katoomba waterfalls for lunch, the miner's cottage in the bush, hearing the incredible vocal mimcry of the Lyrebird and Norman Lindsay's house (and cafe - where I had to have yet another round of scones!) All in all a damn fine birthday weekend!

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bye bye winter

2011-08-31T20:37:00.000+10:00

The sun came out big time in Sydney today and it felt like Winter was already a distant memory (well it almost is - hello Spring). It was warm and sunny and I revelled in my short sleeved shirt, feeling the sun on my arms. I'm already dreaming of picnics, walks after work, long afternoons in the lead up to summer, lots of rocket filled salads and sparkling, mint filled mojitos.
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food for friday

2011-08-26T15:56:00.000+10:00

I've discovered the picturesque wonderfulness of pinterest food boards and so has my stomach.

I think I'm not alone in eating with my eyes but heavens it's becoming a bakelust expedition every time I go on there now. I've started a little file there called eat and have been enjoying adding some of my favourite things. Pinterest is also a strange and fascinating world to browse when it comes to food. You might find something beautiful and inspiring or something truly bizarre. There are some scarily over the top sugary creations on there let me tell you.

It's also interesting to see patterns in what you pin and from where. At the moment for me it's vegetables and green things of the pesto type variety, lemon and bagels. I'm finding lots of good things on some of my frequent go-to sites for inspiration - roost, green kitchen stories, sprouted kitchen, simply breakfast and whole larder love.

Happy pinning and happy friday!

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ham, cheese, chairs and lights

2011-08-24T11:35:00.000+10:00

Some photos from the weekend, a few days of being surrounded by design, people, food and drink.

Last Friday and Saturday, Kristian was involved in an exhibition, Artisan, which featured several product and furniture designers, as part of Saturday in Design. It was a massively hectic but enjoyable experience - there were more than 1000 people through the showroom on Saturday - and a great opportunity to be a part of an inspiring collaboration by young, Australian designers.

It was also quite a day for indulging in food and wine. In my role as door wench, I got to meet some weird and wonderful people during the day and to see them demolish a 10kg ham, several massive wheels of brie and gruyere and countless bottles of wine. I may have also enjoyed a cheeky wine or several but after 9 hours on my feet they were very necessary.

After the show, we kicked on at the after-party at the Piano Room, where we enjoyed some incredible canapes and by 10.30pm I was happy/tipsy crying into a burrito at Guzman y Gomez. Quite a weekend indeed!

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red

2011-08-18T10:42:00.000+10:00

I'm not sure why but I've been obsessed with red food lately. Tomatoes, strawberries, capsicum, chilli - I've been craving them all, but tomatoes in particular. Hello lycopene!

My folks came over on the weekend for lunch and it was the perfect opportunity to try out a soup recipe I've been eyeing off for a while, featuring you guessed it - tomatoes, and to get some cheese and antipasto plate action happening. Nothing quite like leisurely Sunday feasting.

Rustic Tomato Soup
Adapted from Jamie's 30 Minute Meals
Serves 4-6

1kg ripe cherry tomatoes on the vine
4 large truss or heirloom tomatoes
1 fresh red chilli, or chilli flakes
4 cloves garlic
1 ciabatta loaf
2 small red onions
4 Tbs balsamic vinegar
a small bunch of fresh basil
some shaved parmesan to serve
olive oil
pepper and salt

Set your oven to 220°C and put a large saucepan on to low heat.

Pull the cherry tomatoes off the vines (but don't worry too much if there are a few green tops left on), then quarter the larger tomatoes and put them all in together on a baking tray. Crush in the garlic along with the halved, deseeded and chopped chilli, drizzle with olive oil and season. Toss everything around together then put on the top shelf of the oven for about 20 minutes.

Meanwhile roughly slice up the ciabatta loaf and put the bread on another baking tray. Drizzle with olive oil and put in the bottom shelf of the oven. Keep an eye on the bread periodically to make sure it doesn't get too brown.

Now peel and chop your onions and put them in a hot saucepan with oil and a good pinch of salt. Turn the heat up and leave to soften, stirring occasionally. After five or so minutes, stir in the 4 tablespoons of balsamic vinegar and let it all reduce down.

Once the tomatoes are done, take the tray out of oven and pour everything in with the onions. Throw in the bunch of basil and then blend everything to a rustic consistency. Ladle into bowls and serve with some parmesan on top and your crunchy ciabatta croutons.

We demolished a fairly large antipasto plate before this and I was mistaken in thinking this soup would be a light main but trust me, it's a surprisingly full bodied little number. My Dad claimed it was like a hot gazpacho and I'm tempted to try a cooled down version of this recipe in the summer months.

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figuring it out with oregano

2011-08-12T11:11:00.000+10:00

One of the stranger weeks of my life this one. I'm still not quite sure what to make of it but I've been powerfully reminded of how important it is to appreciate the good things in life - family, loved ones, small moments throughout the day, a delicious meal.

And so, on to these tomatoes, which have been quietly looking at me all week as if to say, 'Well go on then, what wonderful thing are you going to make with us?' And last night I finally figured it out.

Baked Parmesan Tomatoes

Adapted from Eating Well

4 tomatoes, cut in half horizontally
a small bunch of fresh oregano, chopped
1/4 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese and a little grated cheddar cheese
salt and pepper to taste

This is one of those simple, delicious meals or side dishes which you can pretty well make just from a picture but, if you want a few more steps - here they are (may I first heartily recommend quite a big snippet of oregano - it's pretty hard to overdo this in my opinion and it's like having Italy punch you in the nose, but in an aromatic and flavourful way).

Preheat oven to 200° C. Mix the grated cheeses and oregano together in a small bowl. Place the tomatoes cut-side up on a baking sheet and then top with the parmesan mixture, salt and pepper. Bake until the tomatoes are tender, about 15 minutes.

We had our tomatoes with rocket, balsamic and walnut salad but you wouldn't go far wrong eating them on their own or with some crusty bread.

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hey bagel

2011-08-08T15:40:00.000+10:00

This was bagel Sunday. After a week of dreaming about them, and gazing wistfully at photos of them on my pinterest board, I finally succumbed this weekend just gone and made bagels - one of the dough wonders I had yet to try at home.

With their crisp outers and chewy interiors, it was far too easy to eat two in quick succession and then I rested, hands on satisfied belly and thought - why have I not made these before?

These beauties are not hard to make but they do take a little bit of time and preparation so they're perfect for a weekend when you're pottering around at home. You can do some prep work and then make yourself a cup of tea, do some more steps, then relax with a good movie (may I suggest The American or Submarine - two very good films I saw on the weekend).

Bagels
Adapted from Peter Reinhardt via The Wednesday Chef
Makes 6 to 8 bagels

3 1/2 cups all-purpose plain flour
3 teaspoons salt, divided
3/4 teaspoon instant yeast
1 tablespoon honey
1 cup warm water plus 2 tablespoons extra water
1 teaspoon baking soda
Poppy or sesame seeds

Firstly, dissolve the yeast together with the honey in the warm water and let rest for a few minutes. Then mix together the flour, 2 teaspoons salt, the yeast/honey/water mixture until the ingredients form a stiff ball of dough (adding a little extra water if necessary), then let it rest for a few minutes.

Knead the dough on a lightly floured surface for a few minutes until it feels more pliable and smooth.

Put the dough in a lightly greased bowl, cover in cling wrap and refrigerate for at least one hour and up to several hours.

Line a baking tray with parchment paper and remove your dough from the fridge. Divide the dough into 8 equal pieces (I just flattened the dough out and cut it like a cake into quarters and then eighths) and form each piece into a round ball by rolling it on a clean, dry surface. Now roll each dough ball into a long, sausage shape about 20cm in length. Pinch the ends together to form the round bagel shape, using a slight dab of water to get the ends to stick if necessary. You can then squeeze the bagel to even out the thickness although the unevenness gives a bit more of a rustic feel, if you ask me. Now pop your bagels onto the prepared tray, cover with cling wrap and refrigerate overnight.

Here's where you can pop in a movie and settle in for a relaxing night, knowing you'll be having fresh bagels for breakfast.

In the morning, take the bagels out of the fridge about 30 minutes before you plan to bake them. Fill a large pot with water, cover and bring to the boil. Once the water has boiled, add 1 teaspoon of salt and one teaspoon of bicarbonate of soda and reduce the heat to a simmer. Meanwhile, put the oven on and heat to 220 degrees centigrade.

Test the bagels by placing one in a bowl of cold water. You want it to float to the surface. If it doesn't, let them sit for 10 minutes and try again. Once your bagel floats, you're ready to roll.

Gently ease each bagel into the simmering water, adding as many as will fit comfortably without overcrowding. Poach for 1 minute and then turn the bagels over with a wooden spoon. Leave them in for another minute then, using a slotted spoon, remove the bagels and return to the lined baking tray. Sprinkle your bagels with poppy seeds or sesame seeds or nothing if you prefer then pop your baking trays in the oven for 8 minutes.

After 8 minutes has elapsed, rotate the sheets and continue baking for another 8-10 minutes, until the bagels are golden brown. Around this time the most wondrous bready smell will begin to permeate the house. Get your lox and cream cheese ready. Remove the trays from the oven and transfer the bagels to a rack for at least 30 minutes before serving. And oh the joys of serving and smothering in butter or cream cheese, or lox or marmalade or whatever really.

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drinking up the last of July

2011-08-01T18:32:00.000+10:00

Oh hello August, I didn't see you there.

It feels like it's been a busy time of late. Work, life in general, a wee spot of travel - it all adds up and all of a sudden you realise you haven't gone grocery shopping or written anything interesting in weeks...oops.

So July has come and gone and here we are in the eighth month. We're getting into the business end of the year now, birthday festivalling, warmer weather, spectacular amounts of sunshine, spring just around the corner... parties on the horizon. But before I get ahead of myself, let's take one last sip of July.

Yesterday we joined the entire rest of Sydney down at the Aroma coffee festival and imbibed a giddy, giggly share of caffeine and sugar before lunching down at the pub. There we enjoyed an accidental free meal featuring halloumi (the best kind of accidental free meal in my opinion) and it could only go up from there. A stellar afternoon really, the kind that holds the promise of spring and summer barbeques in its grasp. We rounded it out with some soup and toast, classic Sunday night fare, and a bit of Project Runway - hell yeah.

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a regular sight

2011-07-10T18:29:00.000+10:00

This has become a regular sight lately.

Making dough for pizza is such a lovely, quiet and meditative practice and it's easy to boot. I feel like it really started in earnest for me with the zucchini, honey and chevre pizza a year or so ago and it's just kept on going.

These days, it’s pizza at least once a month, if not more. If you have an hour or so up your sleeve on a Sunday afternoon homemade pizza is pretty hard to top. Although, add to that some Wes Anderson and you may be nearing a perfect day.

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lately, one saturday night

2011-07-09T17:04:00.000+10:00

A few pictures from last weekend when our friend Cath invited us round for a lamb roast, mulled wine and apple crumble. It was the sort of night I could happily live in for a months at a time.

We gathered in the kitchen, drinking mugs of delicious, spicy, mulled wine and chatted enthusiastically about design, furniture, food and movies - a few of my favourite topics. Then out came the roast lamb, vegetables and gravy and I entered something of a food fugue state, transported to imaginary lands of rustic farmhouses where large families gather around communal tables for festive feasts. This feeling may have been enhanced somewhat by the setting itself - at one point Cath's flatmate came in and began softly playing guitar in the corner and I sat there feeling warm in the belly, slightly mulled and very very content.

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monday monday

2011-07-04T19:19:00.002+10:00

I think Mondays have become my experimental breakfast day. There is a hangover of breakfasting goodwill from the weekend and a desire to stretch out that feeling for as long as possible. Usually by Thursday I'm back to vegemite toast but for now at least Mondays have a certain delicious promise.

This morning I made cous cous in the key of sweet, a first for me, and then ate it whilst watching a crazy cartoon Kristian and I have recently discovered, called Adventure Time. A bizarre but great start to the working week.

Cous cous with sultanas, apricots and yoghurt
Serves 2

1/2 cup couscous
3/4 cup boiled water
pinch salt
zest of half an orange and a squeeze of juice
1 Tbs chopped nuts
2 Tbs dried fruit like sultanas or currants
some sliced fruit - I used apricots but banana, berries or grated apple would all be great
dollop of yoghurt
drizzle of honey

Put the couscous in a medium bowl and add the raisins, orange zest and juice. Pour the boiled water over the top and cover for about 5 minutes. Once the cous cous has absorbed all the moisture, fluff the grains with a fork. Add the fruit, nuts, yogurt and honey then enjoy.

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morning walk

2011-06-29T08:59:00.000+10:00

Inspired by Handmade Romance's fabulous sign spotting, I recorded a few wonderful things I spied on my morning walk to work. Most exciting of which I think may have been a fantastic little cafe discovery in Cafe Hernandez. It's tiny, filled with paintings and has a piano in the corner. Oh and it sells coffee and delicious things featuring chorizo. Need I say more...

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sunshine, chai and a miraculous pie

2011-06-27T19:47:00.000+10:00

A few scenes from the weekend. It was a bit of a stunner really, bathed in sunshine and with plenty of great food.

Several coffees and a strong chai from the markets kicked things off in glorious caffeinated fashion. Then we ate lunch whilst watching a rather addictive new tv show - The Great Food Truck Race, which if you're in Oz, you can still catch on iview. It's a pretty simple premise - a bunch of food trucks racing across America competing for 50 grand by trying to make the most profit, but my god is it watchable. If you're anything like me you'll want to race out to find your nearest gourmet burger joint or vietnamese roll store.

Luckily for us we were having dinner at our friends' place (thanks guys!) where we were completely spoilt in the food department - an incredible corn chowder, made from the legendary New England Soup Factory cook book followed up by hands down the best pecan pie I've ever eaten. It was miraculous, in that way that desserts can sometimes be. I sat there afterwards bathed in the warmth and joy that was friends and laughter and pecan pie and everything was good and right with the world.

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vitamins

2011-06-23T07:43:00.000+10:00

I've been a bit sick this week so Kristian has kindly made me some wonderfully vitamin loaded breakfasts. Yesterday it was eggs on vegemite toast with a cherry blossom shaped berocca. I pointed out that it may have been the first time I've had eggs on a weekday (how indulgent!) for as long as I can remember. I think it might have trumped Monday's breakfast bigtime.

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breaking the fast

2011-06-20T09:00:00.001+10:00

I don't know about you but I'm a bit of a creature of habit in the breakfast department. Funnily enough this is not the case when I travel but when we're at home there's about three basic breakfast options on constant rotation in our kitchen: porridge, weetbix or vegemite toast. Occasionally a bit of marmalade or a piece of fruit sneaks in there but otherwise it's pretty much the standard fare. Lack of time is usually the excuse but since starting my new job I actually have more time in the morning.

So I've decided, especially during these winter months when mornings can be a dark, bleary and unappreciated time, I'm going to start jazzing up breakfast, introduce some different options: an egg or two, a fruit loaf, some hot bread rolls, even perhaps a scone or a frittata. I'm going to make the joy of breakfast signal the start of an adventurous day.

First up the challenging Monday breakfast. Here goes...

Banana, Honey and Seed Loaf
Adapted from here and here.

1 Tbs toasted sesame seeds
1 Tbs poppy seeds
1/4 cup sunflower seeds
1/4 cup pepitas
1/2 cup extra-light olive oil
1/3 cup firmly packed brown sugar
1/4 cup honey
2 eggs, beaten lightly
1/2 cup mashed banana
1/2 cup buttermillk, or an equal combination of yoghurt and milk
1/4 cup rolled oats
1/4 cup sultanas
1 1/4 cup self raising flour
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp ground ginger
1 tsp mixed spice

Preheat the oven to 160 degrees C fan forced. Grease and line the base and sides of a loaf tin.

Combine the seeds and spices in a small bowl and then place the oil, sugar, honey, eggs, banana, buttermilk, oats, raisins, sifted flour and 2/3 seed mixture in a large bowl and stir until just combined. The mixture should be fairly runny and lumpy. Pour mixture into the prepared pan and sprinkle the remaining seeds on top.

Bake for about 1 hour or until a skewer comes out clean. Turn the loaf onto a wire rack and brush the top with some extra warmed honey if you like.

I made this on Sunday, which was a wonderful way to warm up whilst I had the sniffles. This morning it was just a matter of slicing a nice wedge, toasting it under the grill, then buttering and consuming, whilst reading my book and enjoying a steaming hot cup of tea. A great way to kick off the working week. Stay tuned for more adventures in the land of breakfast.

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a delicious week

2011-06-13T11:35:00.000+10:00

Week one of my new job is finished and so far so wonderful. Thank you for your kind comments last week. It's always a big relief when you feel like you've made a positive change in your life. It has gone pretty quickly as first weeks have a tendency to do and I realise now that I've hardly cooked a thing but we have still had some amazing meals: an amazing farewell dinner for my pal Sarah at the Duke Bistro on Flinders Street in Surry Hills, a lunch with both sets of folks, yum cha with friends, tea with friends, and toast with each other.

I think this cold weather may warrant some soup making in my near future.

I hope you are keeping warm and dry out there and having a lovely long weekend (if you're in Australia) and a great start to the week otherwise:)

...

This weekend I:

2011-06-05T17:07:00.000+10:00

got up close and personal with a favourite saucepan to make moroccan stew and couscous

enjoyed coffee and toast in the park with Kristian near where I used to live

had dinner with my parents, who just got back from a month in Italy. My mum made an amazing apricot danish for dessert.

had fun with our kitchen reflections

made scones with sultanas and orange zest

toasted to a new job, starting tomorrow

had an very cute lunch made for me.

finally got around to watching Somewhere and then walked around the neighbourhood in a dreamy mood.

Gosh it went quick. See you next week!

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on the third day of june we drank coffee

2011-06-03T16:16:00.000+10:00

Just when I thought it was going to get all wintery, Sydney pulls out a stunner like today. I forget sometimes just how nice June can be. There was nothing for it but to get outside. Since I had the day off, I happily joined Kristian in a trip to the Workshopped Shop in Surry Hills and then we walked around, checking out design stores, bookshops and cafes until we found a tremendously cute little place on Albion Street for lunch, Bruschetteria. I recommend it if you're in that part of town. They serve lots of great paninis and bruschettas and a nutella coffee that was unexpectedly good. All in all a pretty fine day!

Hopefully this weather keeps up for the weekend. There was an ambitious Ikea trip planned but I suspect it'll be a low key weekend with a focus on brunching, friends and sunshine. Hope you have a lovely weekend, whatever your plans!

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winner

2011-06-02T11:56:00.000+10:00

Winter, or winner as I'm now calling it thanks to a helpful typo, is here! Historically, winter and I have a bit of a strained relationship, but this year I'm looking forward to focusing on all the good things about the season and will rejoice in the wearing of coats, scarves and boots and revel in stews, soups and hot, steamy drinks. The acquisition of several warm cardies is also helping immensely so far.

So to kick things off on a high note, let's talk risotto. It's a classic, winter favourite for all the right reasons: versatile, comforting, warming and nourishing. The other night I made it with mushrooms because they seem to have a very enduring love affair with risotto in my book but you can use just about anything - pumpkin, peas, pancetta, chicken and spinach are all firm friends with risotto as well.

Mushroom Risotto
Adapted from this recipe (incidentally, when you stumble across a recipe titled 'the infamous flickr mushroom risotto' you know it's going to be good)

200 grams Arborio rice
300 grams of brown mushrooms
a good dollop of olive oil
salt and pepper
1 litre of chicken stock
generous splash of dry white wine
25 grams of butter
a bundle of parsley, flat leaf
one leek
one garlic clove
about a tsp of grated lemon zest (my new favourite ingredient in just about everything)
as much Parmesan as you possibly dare using (I trust you'll know how much that is)

Thickly slice the mushrooms and chop the leeks finely. Meanwhile heat the olive oil in a large saucepan on medium heat. Saute the leeks and once they're softened add all of the mushrooms. Cook for several minutes, adding extra oil if necessary. Once mushrooms start to brown, add the rice and the salt and lower the heat slightly. Add the garlic and lemon zest and cook for a couple of minutes then add enough stock and wine to cover the mushrooms and rice and pop the lid on. Keep adding stock and stirring every now and again as the rice begins to absorb the liquid.

Once the rice is tender and the liquid has been absorbed, add that Parmesan along with the butter and some pepper. Give it all a good stir and then serve with some chopped parsley and extra grated Parmesan.

There were second and possibly third helpings the other night but if you do have any leftover it does very well the next day too.

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cool as a cucumber sandwich on a rainy day

2011-05-31T13:51:00.000+10:00

Usually when it's pouring with rain, like it's been these past few days in Sydney, I dream about hot, nourishing stews and cup after cup of coffee. Perhaps it was all the kale flowers and vegetables I saw on my travels today but all I could think about was cucumber sandwiches. Something simple and reassuring to be eaten quietly at the table, whilst enjoying a good book and a hot cup of something. It's a strange day that I don't still love a good coffee or several.

This is the sort of thing you don't really need a recipe for - in the manner of toast or eggs or many other of those intuitive, sort of obvious things - it is more of an exercise in assembly. I have found though, after many a cucumber sandwich, that a good level of buttering, salt and pepper and a zingy mayonnaise add very much to the enjoyment of the essential ingredients: bread and cucumber. Crusts on or off is really up to you. I cut them off but ate them anyway because white bread is such a rare childhood-esque indulgence that I didn't want to waste any crumbs.

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halloumi saturday

2011-05-29T12:14:00.002+10:00

A weekend of little delightful discoveries so far. It's not often that you think I could really handle some halloumi and realise that you have some in the fridge. That was our wonderful find on Saturday, resulting in halloumi salad to accompany our sausages for lunch.

We also walked around the neighbourhood and discovered a little patch of wilderness just off a main road, a mending wall (just like in the Robert Frost poem), a viaduct and some glorious foliage. Then we treated ourselves to coffee at Le Comptoir, a cute little cafe in Annandale, that has fantastic sandwiches and bagels.

For my part, I rediscovered an old favourite - cinnamon toast, and also found a bunch of old Japanese fabrics and placemats that I had forgotten about, from our visits there. I'm looking forward to jazzing up our table arrangements with them.

...

golden

2011-05-27T15:46:00.004+10:00

This afternoon, I was sitting in my study feeling the temperature dropping and becoming more and more hunched over and cold when I decided there was nothing for it but to run my hands under warm water for a few seconds (works wonders) and put the oven on. It was also afternoon tea time and since I've only got a few more days off before starting a new job I thought I should take the opportunity to get baking mid-afternoon, whilst I still can.

We are getting low on ingredients of all kinds in our house at the moment, but we did have some pumpkin and I had an idea. I love putting pumpkin into sweet things, being a little bit sweet itself, it adds a richness to the mix and such a golden yellowy hue. I've been enjoying the autumn colours so much lately, it feels like a visual pay off for weathering the colder temperatures. Similarly with food, there's something about eating colourful, especially golden, ingredients - it feels like you're ingesting light and warmth.

Pumpkin and ginger muffins
Adapted from this recipe
Makes 12

200g plain flour
100g wholemeal flour
75g brown sugar
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1/2 tsp ground cloves
1 Tbsp ground ginger
pinch of salt
1 lightly beaten egg
120g pureed pumpkin
dollop of honey
75ml skim milk
40ml sunflower oil
3 Tbsp chopped crystallized ginger

Preheat the oven to 175C or 350F. Line a muffin tin with baking cases.

Chop and steam the pumpkin and then puree.

In a medium bowl, combine the dry ingredients with a spoon.

In a large bowl, beat the egg, pureed cooked pumpkin, milk, oil and honey until well combined. Add the dry ingredients to the pumpkin mixture and fold together, adding the crystallized ginger in at the end, being careful to avoid over-mixing.

Spoon the mixture into the baking cases and bake for 20 minutes. Remove muffin tin from the oven and leave to cool for a few minutes. Take out the muffins and cool on a rack.

Now, here's the enjoyable bit. Make yourself a cup of tea, or a coffee could be rather good too, and find a patch of afternoon sun to sit in whilst you eat enough muffins to feel like you're glowing from the inside.

Have a happy and warm weekend!

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vegetables with a side of deja vu

2011-05-26T19:40:00.001+10:00

Today, I took a stroll around the city, spotting citrus eye candy and strange lists;
finalised details of an exciting new job;
met my friend Gianna for lunch at the building of my old job (a bizarre bit of deja vu) and enjoyed chocolate dipped ginger and coffee, as well as some laughs (hence the blur);
got out all the vegetables in the house and made vegetable and halloumi skewers with lemon rice, as suggested by a friend Jacqui a few days ago;
and enjoyed devouring the above skewers, whilst cosying up on the couch to watch Fringe with Kristian.

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southerly

2011-05-25T20:39:00.000+10:00

So very cold and windy here in Sydney today. You can almost feel the kiss of those Antarctic winds out there. I'm normally not much of a winter person but this year I'm determined to look for the good things about the colder months, to find the beauty in the season, the opportunities for enjoyment. And so, it's perfect weather really for rugging up and snuggling up and indulging in pudding or porridge - both are rather nice. Today, I hid in my jacket for much of the morning, drank several wonderfully warming coffees, kicked some Autumn leaves and then made snags and mash for dinner. I think the winter warmers have begun a week early.

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up and down

2011-05-24T10:07:00.001+10:00

Autumn is becoming one of my favourite times of the year. Much as I adore Summer, nothing quite compares to the glorious riot of colour that happens around here in April and May. The green and golds, the blazing reds - it's quite a tonic for the eyes. I don't think we celebrate the seasons in the same way that they do in Europe and Asia, but there are subtle changes happening every day.

Today I took a little stroll around our neighbourhood, coffee in hand, and marvelled at nature doing her thing. These are the best kind of walks, I think, the ones where you take the time to look both up and down. You see the most amazing things.

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a vegetable conquered

2011-05-24T08:25:00.003+10:00

I honestly never thought the day would come that would see me craving brussel sprouts, yes craving. Not thinking about in an it might be nice kind of way but positively enthusiastic in an eating straight from the oven kind of way. What brought about the change? Well, two things really - baking and balsamic. Ok, and well also possibly age. I don't know that brussel sprouts have a natural affinity with the childhood palate but maybe it's not so much that, as the fact that it seems most of our collective memories of horrible, mushy, bitter brussel sprouts seem to stem from childhood experiences of having them boiled and served on their own.

Recently, out of the blue, perhaps brought on by the colder weather and a foolhardy sense of adventurousness, I decided to give them another crack with a few tweaks, and now at long last I'm a bit of a convert. My Dad, a brussel sprouts advocate for years, will be ever so pleased.

Balsamic Baked Brussel Sprouts

2- 3 cups brussels sprouts, sliced in half
3 Tbsp balsamic vinegar
2 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 tspn honey
salt and pepper

Preheat the oven to 180 degrees C.

Whisk together the vinegar, salt and pepper together in a small bowl. Slowly incorporate the olive oil until a dressing is formed.

Place the brussels sprouts in a single layer on a greased baking tray with a small drizzle of oil. Bake for 20 minutes. Remove the tray from the oven, drizzle the oil and vinegar over the sprouts and gently toss to coat, then return to the oven for another 5 or so minutes, until the sprouts are brown and crispy.

The sweetness of the balsamic and honey cuts through the bitterness of the sprouts and goes amazingly well with the salt. They make a great accompaniment to home-made meat pie or are nice just on their own, with perhaps a nice glass of red and a few episodes of Fringe for accompaniment. Just a suggestion.

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river deep, mountain pie

2011-05-23T08:59:00.004+10:00

A few photos from the past week and a few dinner experiments too.

We've discovered that unleavened mountain bread is a fantastic and healthier substitute for pie pastry, so there has been several pies to warm our cockles: salmon and vegetable quiche and then chicken, spinach and brown rice pie with cottage cheese. The mountain bread crisps up at the edge in a most satisfying way.

I think at this rate I'll be scone-ing and pie-ing and pickling and generally baking myself warm all the way through winter.

Carry on cold snap!
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sunshine

2011-05-20T11:00:00.001+10:00

Sydney sure knows how to put on an autumnal show. It's been a bit of a sunshine party these last few days and we've been soaking up those warming rays and enjoying the amazing light at every opportunity. Yesterday I enjoyed a glass of wine in the sun with my friend Sarah at the Sydney Writers' Festival and this morning, breakfast at Clipper Cafe in Glebe, where we watched inquisitive dogs and enjoyed homemade baked beans and poached eggs. Delightful.

All this outdoorsyness has not kept me away from the kitchen though because the minute the sun goes down, the oven goes on. There have been more pies and a few more crumbles and some vegetables too, that I will share with you soon. Until then, grab some sunshine where you can and here's to a wonderful weekend!

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keeping warm

2011-05-15T18:10:00.000+10:00

A few quiet moments from the weekend.

We went north to Newcastle for a family lunch on Saturday and had our hair whipped into a lather by the onshore breeze but enjoyed delicious coffees from our favourite place, Scotties, to warm us up and then a pretty damn nice lunch at Jonahs. Our niece stole the show with her considerable excitement at being able to enjoy both fish and chips and her magnetic elmo book simultaneously. The tomato sauce was a considerable hit as well. A favourite with me too.

When we returned to Sydney, it was cold and so we indulged in vast amounts of comfort food. Vegetables will definitely be making more of an appearance this week! But first, tonight, I think spaghetti and meatballs may be on the cards.

Hope you all had a good weekend and are keeping well rugged up!

in a pickle

2011-05-08T16:20:00.001+10:00

I realised at the end of this weekend that I had entered something of a nanna state. Somewhere in amongst going out to see the excellent Smoke and Mirrors and preparing for a job interview, I managed to make pumpkin scones, a spinach and chicken pie and about 7 jars of pickles. I also somehow sprained my wrist whilst sitting on the couch. Achievements all round. But let's get on to the pickles because they were quite exciting, in a way that preserves tend to be.

My gran and I were both big supporters of pickles and cheese on toast, actually, make that most things and cheese on toast, but especially pickles. I am instantly transported back to her tiny kitchen whenever I dip into that lurid yellow preserve. There is something about pickles that is homely and nourishing and just plain good and so I thought it was about time that I made some from scratch.

This would be the point where I found Gran's handwritten long lost recipe but alas I couldn't find anything of the sort amongst all my cookbook paraphernalia and so I turned to the excellent and reliable Homecooked - favourite recipes from Australian kitchens (with recipes selected by Maggie Beer, Valli Little and Ian McNamara). It's a little hard to find but I heartily recommend owning a copy of this little gem. It has so often had a recipe for something obscure/ old fashioned that I've got it in my head that I want to make and haven't been able to find anywhere else, such as: savoury cheese puffs or passionfruit flummery or puftaloons or... you get the idea.

Anyway, there in the back was a recipe for green tomato and cucumber pickles that looked to be just the ticket. I didn't have any green tomatoes but I didn't let that put me off and instead substituted carrots and leek for the tomatoes. I also quartered the recipe because otherwise it produces 27 cups and whilst I like pickles, I probably couldn't put away that many of them.

Pickles
Adapted from Homecooked, ABC Books
Makes approximately 7-9 cups

125g salt
4 cups water
500g onions, chopped roughly into chunks
500g cucumbers, unpeeled and chopped
250g of leeks, finely sliced
250g carrots, chopped
1 1/4 cups sugar
1/2 cup plain flour
3/4 Tbs ground turmeric
1/2 tspn white pepper
3/4 Tbs curry powder
3/4 Tbs mustard powder
2 1/4 cups white vinegar
1/2 tspn ground allspice

Dissolve the salt in the water in a large (non-aluminium) saucepan on low heat. Put the vegetables into the saucepan and stand overnight. Next morning, place the pan on high heat, bring to the boil and cook for 5 minutes. Remove from the heat, drain and rinse the vegetables well.

In a medium bowl, mix together the sugar, flour, turmeric, pepper, curry powder and mustard powder and mix to form a paste with 1 cup of cold water.

Put the vinegar and allspice into a large saucepan and bring to the boil. Stir in the paste mixture and return to the boil until it all thickens. Add in the vegetables and stir through to combine. Pour into clean jars and seal immediately. Keep in the fridge for afternoon snacks or for any time you feel like a slab of bread with pickles and cheese, or just pickles, or whatever your fancy.

...

rhubarb, rhubarb, rhubarb

2011-05-05T11:31:00.000+10:00

One of the signs that you're really living in the moment is when you don't think about saving stuff for later. When we visited the Bathurst Farmers' Markets, I was so enamoured by the sights, smells and tastes on offer that I completely forgot to buy any foodie souvenirs to take home. I couldn't believe I'd missed out on all the good jams, pickles and oils, despite all the wonderful potatoes, tomatoes and bacon we did find.

But I was rewarded later. As we were just about to leave the farm, Sophie's mum Anne headed into her herb and vegie patch and enthusiastically pulled out great bundles of flat-leaf parsley, mint, rosemary and, most exciting of all, rhubarb. I was a very happy little vegemite on the way back to Sydney planning what I was going to make with it all.

The parsley was used much in the manner we had become accustomed to at the farm - as a garnish for just about everything - on eggs, in curries, atop salads. The mint was made into a Pimms cup. The rosemary took a little longer to be incorporated but I have been enjoying just lifting the lid on its container and inhaling the amazing aroma.

But the rhubarb, oh the rhubarb, was destined for greatness. The minute there was even the merest hint of chill in the air I was poised and ready to crumble.

Rhubarb and apple crumble
Adapted from this recipe

1 ¼ cups unbleached all-purpose flour
¾ cup brown sugar
½ cup rolled oats
½ tsp ground cinnamon
100g butter, chopped
3 rhubarb stalks, cut into ¾-inch pieces
2 apples peeled and chopped into cubes
¾ cup granulated sugar
zest of one lime and a generous squeeze of the juice
a splash of Pimms

Preheat the oven to 180 degrees C. In a medium bowl, combine 1 cup flour, brown sugar, cinnamon and oats and then rub in the chopped butter until the mixture resembles clumpy breadcrumbs. Pop in the fridge for about half an hour.

In another bowl, combine the rhubarb with the granulated sugar, the remaining ¼ cup flour, Pimms, lime zest and juice. Transfer the rhubarb mixture to an ovenproof baking dish, and distribute the crumble topping evenly over the rhubarb. Bake for 35 minutes, or until golden and bubbly. Serve warm, with cream or yoghurt.
...

to the country

2011-05-03T14:38:00.000+10:00

It's hard to believe it's already been a week since we got back from our little escape to the country. I promised some details on our trip to a friend's farm in Bathurst and now, after baking up a royal storm last week and eating a ridiculous number of scones and cucumber sandwiches, I'm finally ready.

So, on Good Friday, not too long ago, we hit the open road, wound our way through the beautiful Blue Mountains, discovered a magnificent pie shop in Blackheath, and emerged into sun-drenched, eye-stretching vistas on the other side. After a five hour or so drive we finally rolled up the front drive and set eyes on the farm.

It was incredibly beautiful and I could barely contain my camera snapping enthusiasm for most of the weekend, mainly because the light was just spectacular, changing throughout the day from cool tones in the misty mornings to bright gold at lunch and then deepening through the sunsets. The weather was pretty amazing as well, crisp, clear and sunny - perfect for bushwalks and some river weeding, as well as dog chasing with Tuppence, Moey and Poppy (the most hilarious dogs ever), endless cups of tea, checkers playing, wine drinking, star and planet gazing and of course cooking and eating.

Over the weekend we cooked up some big, hearty meals with produce from the local farmers' markets - spaghetti bolognese, sausages with mashed potato and peas, scrambled eggs...but some of the most memorable food was also the simplest, requiring only a handful of ingredients. The curried parsnip soup that Soph's mum made for lunch, from parsnips grown at the farm, and the corn blinis and mashed potato cakes with smoked salmon and loads of fresh chopped parsley keep coming to mind. We even enjoyed custard made with saffron we plucked ourselves from the flowers in the front garden.

It was wonderful to have such a close connection to the food we ate and it has inspired me to try and grow more herbs and vegies in our little backyard. There's something about being able to pop out and snip off some fresh parsley that is quite magical.

Now that the weather is getting noticeably cooler, I think this soup may be making a few appearances on our Saturday lunch time menu.

Curried Parsnip Soup
Adapted from Soph's mother's instructions and this recipe

20g unsalted butter
1 tbs curry powder
1/2 tsp ground turmeric
2 leeks (white part only), sliced
4 parsnips, peeled, sliced
4 cups vegetable stock
dash of milk (or pure thin cream)

Melt the butter in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add the curry powder and turmeric and cook, stirring, for 1 minute. Add the leek and cook, stirring, for 5 minutes, then add parsnip and toss well to coat. Add the vegetable stock, season, then simmer over medium heat for 20 minutes until parsnips are tender.

Cool for 5 minutes, then whiz in a blender, in batches, until smooth and creamy. Add a dash of milk or cream if you like. Return the soup to the pan to reheat through. Serve the soup with a sprinkle of parsley and some crusty bread. Now close your eyes and imagine you're in the country.

...

wedding watch, with scones

2011-04-28T14:27:00.001+10:00

I have lots of stories and recipes to share from our weekend away in the country - rolling hills, log fires, giant parsnips, farmers' markets, a dog called Tuppence and so much more - but first there is the little matter of a wedding, a royally good excuse to indulge in some of my favourite things.

The idea first occurred when we were sitting with our friend Sophie in a café in Leura and they'd run out of scones. Within seconds the word 'scones' had morphed in my mind into a full-blown marriage watching menu of favourites - English muffins, Pimms, Gin and Tonics, cider, sausages, baked beans, bread and butter pudding, scones of course (a little drinks and desserts heavy but it is a celebration after all.) I knew it was naff but I was excited nonetheless. As it happens, there were a few opportunities to practice my scones and more than one afternoon tea before the big event so, of course, the minute we crossed the home threshold, I headed straight for the kitchen.

When I think about afternoon tea I seem to channel the influence of my rather distant British ancestry. At around 3pm, I feel there should be hot, strong tea, freshly baked scones with cream and some sort of jam or marmalade and possibly a slice of a nice ginger cake or something similar as well. I think we may be starting early on the big day....

Scones with Jam and Cream
Adapted from Stephanie Alexander's The Cooks Companion

500g self-raising flour
2 tsp baking powder
100g butter
300ml milk, soured with a squeeze of lemon
extra plain milk to glaze
your favourite jam
1 cup cream

Heat oven to 220C then grease and flour a baking tray.

Put the flour, baking powder and chopped butter in bowl of a food processor and pulse until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs. Another more hands-on method is to grate the cold butter into the flour mixture and then rub into the flour with your fingertips. This is my rustic, farm kitchen approach, mainly because - are you ready for it? - we don't own a food processor. Yup, it's all good arm muscle action for me, which to be honest with you I kind of like - you feel more connected to the process of baking when you are elbow deep in flour.

After your dry mix is looking suitably crumbly, add the milk, mix together quickly to form a dough and pat into a round or rectangle about 3cm thick on a floured breadboard. It might be quite sticky at this point but don't worry, just generously coat with flour and knock it all together. Cut into rounds or squares and put close together on the prepared tray.

Brush tops with a little milk and then bake for about 12-15 minutes. Meanwhile, beat the cream until soft peaks form. Cover and store in the fridge until needed. Remove scones from the oven and allow to cool slightly on a wire rack.

Serve the scones whilst still warm with lashings of jam and cream and nice hot cup of tea, or perhaps some Pimms, depending on the occasion. I think the royal union may call for at least one or two genteel cups of Pimms, don't you?

...

rehearsal chocolate

2011-04-21T14:56:00.000+10:00

On the weekend we went to a wonderful wedding, where we partook of some delicious morsels and lots of wine, boogied down to the most classic Rolling Stones cover band (the lead singer had him some moves!) had seconds and possibly thirds of wedding cake - a giant lamington with an American Gothic pitchfork and watched the bride and groom wack chupa chup filled piñatas of themselves with loving gusto.

The weekend also marked the slow slide into Easter carbs preparation, with sides of rehearsal chocolate (those ones you have in the many days leading up to Easter Sunday) although I'm saving the very special Easter Bilby and bunnies that my boss's wife bought me from Belle Fleur in Balmain. I think they'll be joining the swag of goodies we'll be taking along with us to stay our friend's farm in Bathurst over the weekend. Winter woollies, log fire, wine, scrabble and chocolate here we come!

Have a happy Easter everyone, whatever you have planned!

....

saving the day with cornbread

2011-04-12T10:53:00.001+10:00

The weekend was a Sydney classic - sunny on Saturday, showers on Sunday - a perfect balance for breakfasting out, wandering around yard sales (where I snapped up a few cute, glass bottles), baking and then consuming baked goods on the couch with some DVDs. K was horrified to discover that I had somehow made it through my childhood without seeing Back to the Future (great scott indeed!) so all three discs were whipped out and the 80s reminiscing kicked off in earnest.

And what to eat whilst watching Michael J Fox continually save the day? Well, popcorn aside, the cooler weather on Sunday seemed like the perfect excuse to make a hearty, comforting classic - cornbread. The last and to be honest, first time I had cornbread was on New Years Eve in Japan a few years ago made by our friend's boyfriend, an American sailor. I had never had anything quite like it - essentially savoury but with an intoxicating hint of sweetness. Perfect for a mid-afternoon feast.

Cornbread Muffins
Adapted from this recipe

1/2 cup polenta
1 1/2 cup plain flour (I used half wholemeal)
1 Tbs baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup cheddar cheese, grated, reserve a small amount
1 Tbs brown sugar/ treacle
1 Tbs butter, melted
2 eggs, lightly beaten
3/4 cup milk

Preheat the oven to 200C and line a 12 cup muffin tray with muffin cases.

Combine the polenta with sifted flour, baking powder, salt and cheese. In a separate bowl, mix together the eggs, melted butter, treacle and milk and then combine it all in with the dry ingredients. Spoon the mixture into the muffin cases and top with some of the reserved cheese. Bake for about 15 minutes or until golden. Best eaten warm and with your favourite childhood movie. Next stop Willow or The Princess Bride!
...

on cake and hummingbirds

2011-04-07T12:14:00.000+10:00

This week has flown by and yet I can't really remember what I've done. So, I'm choosing instead to reflect on last weekend because it was rather nice.

On Saturday we headed down to the Pyrmont Farmers' Markets, sampled the wares and bought some fun vegies to inspire myself to make something healthy. What I did end up making though was a cake for my Dad's birthday on Sunday - one of my all-time favourites from when I was a kid - Hummingbird Cake. We used to visit a cafe called Trader Nick's when we were on holidays and they would serve great, dense, delicious wedges of this cake. I had never encountered it before then and was captivated. Recently, a friend told me she'd made it for her husband and almost instantly my tastebuds ignited with long-lost memories. So, I decided for Dad's surprise cake I'd revisit an old favourite. I'm not quite sure where the name comes from but it may have something to do with the sweetness of the pineapple and banana.

Just on the subject of Hummingbirds, I'd be curious to know if you have ever seen one and if so, where? I have a distinct memory of having seen one fluttering around a flower box out of a hotel window in Italy. I mentioned this at an English tutorial many moons ago (we were studying scientific writings by the likes of Charles Darwin) and the Professor dismissed it as geographically impossible.

Still, regardless of the geographical inclinations of hummingbirds, the cake named after them can be enjoyed anywhere. So without further ado, let's get to it eh?

Hummingbird Cake with Cream Cheese Icing
Adapted from the reliably good Women's Weekly Classic Cakes

450g can crushed pineapple in syrup
1 cup plain flour
1/2 cup self-raising flour
1/2 tsp bicarbonate of soda
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground ginger
1 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup desiccated coconut (I left this out due to family allergies but it does add a certain something to the mix)
1 cup mashed banana
2 eggs, beaten lightly
3/4 cup vegetable oil

For the frosting
30g butter, softened
60g cream cheese, softened
a nice big squeeze of lemon
1 1/2 cups of confectioner's sugar

Preheat oven to 160C fan-forced and grease and line a round cake pan.

Drain the pineapple over a small bowl and reserve 1/4 cup of the syrup.

Sift the flours, soda, spices and sugar into a large bowl and then stir in the drained pineapple, reserved syrup, coconut, banana, egg and oil, until all mixed in well.

Pour the mixture into your pan and bake for 40 minutes - 1 hour, or until a skewer inserted into the middle of the cake comes out clean. Stand in the pan for 5 minutes and then turn out onto a wire rack to cool.

For the frosting, beat the butter, cream cheese and icing together in a medium bowl, gradually adding in the lemon until a desired consistency is reached. Then slather frosting over the cooled cake. Slice up a decent wedge and enjoy with a cup of tea or, as we did, with some Tokay that my Dad had brought back from a recent trip to the wine country. Happy Birthday Dad!

...

quiet and simple

2011-03-25T11:53:00.003+11:00

I think with everything you like to do, sometimes there is a reluctance, a need for freshness or new inspiration. Even with cooking, I sometimes feel stuck in a rut, and uninclined to get my hands dirty. In these moments, I often just enjoy the beautiful, quiet moments at the table with something simple: a piece of sweet fruit, a cup of strong tea to accompany a good book. Yesterday, I enjoyed a luscious pink grapefruit and quite a nice one it was too. I think it was the first grapefruit I've voluntarily sought out since a bad experience in Italy when I was about 8. Incredible how the mind holds onto food related memories.

In that vein and because I need some travelling vistas to jazz me up today, here are a few other food related travel moments from the last few years :

2006 - A hilltop cafe in Austria and an odd but delicious coffee-milk ratio in Switzerland
2007 - The New Years Day queue for Schwartz's beef and pickle sandwiches in Montreal
2008 - Exploring the lanes in Melbourne
2009/10 - Homemade waffles in Tokyo

Have you got any favourite travel food memories? I'd love to know.

in anticipation of citrus

2011-03-20T19:56:00.000+11:00

The women in my family have an interesting relationship with marmalade. My grandmother loved it, I love it, my mother can't stand the stuff. Her condiment of choice is apricot jam which, as it happens, I don't mind either. But my first love is marmalade and when it's cold and rainy out or I'm having a bad day and having a flashback to being 10 and ardently not wanting to go to ballet class (this can sometimes happen when it rains a lot for some reason), it's marmalade on toast (with occasional cheese involvement) that I turn to. The ultimate comfort food.

That's why when I heard about a cake incorporating whole oranges, I almost gasped in excitement. It was marmalade in cake form. I was already tasting the saturated citrus flavours in anticipation. And so, when our friend came over on Friday night, I had the perfect excuse to make it.

This cake makes a great dessert, with its moist and dense texture, resembling that of a baked cheesecake, but I think it truly shines as a mid-morning tea accompaniment - a small slice to go with a strong cup of Earl Grey and perhaps an Austen or a Brontë.

Whole Orange Cake with Yoghurt Topping

Adapted from The British Larder

For the cake
2 whole fresh oranges
100ml of the cooking water from the oranges
6 whole free range eggs
250g unrefined caster sugar
100g plain flour
200g ground almonds
1tsp baking powder

For the yoghurt topping
2 Tbs natural yoghurt
3/4 cup confectioners sugar
zest of one orange

Wash the oranges; place them in a saucepan and cover with cold water. Bring the oranges to the boil and simmer for approximately 1 ½ hours, until completely soft. Let the oranges cool completely in the cooking liquid.

Preheat the oven to 150°C, grease and line a 9-inch round springform pan with baking paper. Place the boiled oranges (skin and all) in a food processor with 100ml of the cooking liquid and puree till a very smooth. Transfer the orange puree to a large mixing bowl, add the eggs and sugar and mix well. Fold the ground almonds into the batter. Sieve the flour and baking powder over the batter and fold the flour in with a metal spoon. The cake batter will be very runny.

Spoon the cake mixture in to the prepared tin, place on the middle shelf of the preheated oven and bake for 1 hour, or until a metal skewer inserted into the centre of the cake comes out clean.

Let the cake cool for 15 minutes, then turn out onto a cooling rack and cool completely. For the topping, combine the yoghurt with the confectioners sugar and spoon over a generous slice of cake and garnish with orange zest.

And another thing, this cake improves with time. Day 2 or 3 is a real treat.

puttering with capsicums

2011-03-17T09:47:00.001+11:00

Life continues to putter along here and, in light of the sad things happening elsewhere at the moment, I've been finding it helpful to focus on being grateful and appreciative for every little thing - the good weather, the fresh food and water we are lucky to have. I've been sliding a little lately in the healthy eating stakes, so that's something I'm trying to turn my mind to more.

The other night I realised that despite their obvious healthy appeal and simplicity, I have never made stuffed capsicums. It was a situation that needed to be remedied. It was also a great opportunity to use up the last bit of quinoa we had lying around - I am a total convert to the numerous ways you can use that protein filled little wonder of a seed, and here's another one for you. These capsicums should probably be classed more as 'filled' rather than 'stuffed' but you get the idea.

Stuffed Capsicums with Quinoa and Mushrooms

Serves 2-3

2 large red capsicums
2 tspn olive oil
1 small brown onion, chopped finely
2 cloves garlic, crushed
1 cup quinoa
1 cup vegetable stock
1 cup water
1 Tbs lemon juice
300g spinach, chopped coarsely
small punnet of mushrooms, chopped
2 Tbs walnuts, almonds or pine nuts, toasted
2 Tbs dried currants
1 cup low fat cheese, grated

Preheat the oven to 200°C. Halve and seed capsicums and place in a large baking dish in the oven to bake for 15 minutes.

Heat oil in a medium saucepan and cook onion and garlic until soft. Add quinoa, stock, water and juice and bring to the boil. Reduce heat and simmer, stirring occasionally for about 15 minutes or until the quinoa is tender. Add in the chopped mushrooms, spinach, nuts and currants and stir cook for a few more minutes.

Remove the capsicum halves from the oven and fill with the quinoa mixture. Top with the cheese and bake for another fifteen minutes or until the cheese starts looking amazing. You'll know when that is.

Any left-over quinoa mixture is great cold as a salad the following day, although I must admit a fair bit of sampling went on whilst I was cooking this so there wasn't a whole lot left over.

...

in the blink of an eye

2011-03-15T11:07:00.006+11:00

Before the weekend, I was going to write about chocolate biscuits, but then it seems like there are more important things to talk about right now. We have friends over in Japan so our thoughts are with them and everyone else affected by the unimaginable events of the past few days.

I've been reflecting on many good times had in Japan over the years, from when I was 10 years old, attending school (and learning how to ride a unicycle on the roof of Nagatacho Primary) to more recently when we stayed with our friend Matt, cooked up a traditional Christmas dinner (complete with turkey, fruit mince pies and peas) and then went bowling. It is hard to believe how quickly things can change in the blink of an eye. It really makes you take stock of what is important, to focus on appreciating the simple things in life and to help if you can.

Baker Street Market

2011-03-11T11:58:00.001+11:00

I dare say a few etsy shops have been founded on the grounds of space. I know this one certainly has. My growing interest in vintage kitchenware, tableware and what-not began as a little side hobby and has grown well beyond the capacity of our little (but lovely) kitchen.

So I've opened an Etsy shop - Baker Street Market, which in my imagination is located out the front of Sherlock's fabulous 221B residence and is witness to some interesting comings and goings, but most of all is a place to store some lovely old things with charm and character until they can find a new home. Please do drop in for a visit if you're in the neighbourhood.

A very passionate stew

2011-03-10T11:33:00.002+11:00

A few months back we had a run-in with one of our older neighbours over some very loud early morning phone calls conducted in her backyard. There has been a quiet simmering resentment of the non-talking variety since then until last night, when I wandered in our back gate, head full of thoughts of what to make for dinner, and it all went quickly pear shaped.

I'm not normally the sort of person who has run-ins but my wordy did it happen last night. She called me something under her breath and it was game on. The hose came out, hers mind you, which she liberally sprayed me with, insults were traded, neighbours waded in. It was all quite alarming and I will admit just a little bit exciting.

But here's the interesting part. After I had slammed the door, dumped the groceries, then headed right back outside to call a truce (this took some time as you can imagine) and returned back inside for the second time, I managed to make rather a good veggie stew. I'll share it with you now, just in case you have the odd run-in of your own or just a hard day and need something quick and nourishing, which you can bang out with minimal fuss and preparation and which tastes good.

Passionate Stew

Made with what I had in the shopping bag (with help from the freezer)

Serves 4

1 large can of whole peeled tomatoes, blended

1 can of cannellini beans, drained and rinsed

1 onion, chopped coarsely

1 large zucchini, chopped

3/4 cup frozen spinach

1 tbs paprika

1 tsp cumin

salt and pepper

olive oil to drizzle

Firstly, to really get into the spirit of things, you need to harrumph around the kitchen for a good few minutes banging down utensils and ingredients as though they are your enemy. Then, once you've cooled down a bit, cook the onions and zucchini in a saucepan on medium heat for a few minutes, then add the tomatoes, paprika and cannellini beans.

Now let it all simmer for about 10 minutes or so, like a nicely brewing rage. Thaw the frozen spinach and add in to cook for an additional few minutes.

Season with a little salt and pepper (my still slightly shaking hands added quite a lot of pepper, more than I would usually add but then maybe that's the secret) and then ladle into bowls. Drizzle a little olive oil on top and serve on its own or with crackers or crusty bread.

To be eaten with gusto and if possible, whilst recounting tales of victory.

some bookend moments

2011-03-08T17:23:00.001+11:00

Some bookend moments from the weekend. Toast featured highly and there was also some clandestine scoffing of yoghurt and lemon cakes. The sunset is from my parents' backyard (their neighbours have a rather unusual house).

Sadly I forgot to capture the magnificent dinner of roast beef and vegetables that our friends Bec, Robbie and Dash made for us on Saturday night - I was too busy marvelling at the gravy, the all round deliciousness, to remember to take photos. Thanks guys, I'm still licking my chops over that meal!

I have been busily working on a new project for the last few days so my apologies for lack of recipes. There has been cooking but it has been a bit of the rushed, necessity over excitement, variety. Never fear, I'll be back behind my apron in no time. Besides I have some new recently inherited cookware to try out. Exciting times!

...

in search of something sweet

2011-03-04T12:31:00.001+11:00

Sometimes, when you're busy worrying about what to do with your life, a whole week can go by almost without you even noticing.

I don't know where this last week went. I think it took me the best part of the week to recover from our weekend - up and back to Newcastle on Saturday - where I had the most spectacular ocean trout, a friend's housecooling, followed by the Beach Road Hotel (which was nothing short of utter madness), and a birthday party picnic at Bronte to finish it all off on Sunday, where we enjoyed cupcakes, punch and my friend Anna's spectacular rosewater, lime and semolina cake.

There were a lot of delicious and wonderful moments in there but it was a little hectic and there was some flow-over into the week itself - tears, cheesecake, wine - you know, the usual. Anyway, phew, here we are at Friday, hot on the heels of another weekend, and the first one of Autumn to boot.

And because you've indulged me thus far I'll let you in on a little recipe. This much needed dessert happened one afternoon when I'd opened the cupboards and refrigerator more than a few times in search of something sweet, an old chocolate, something...anything. A little "bing" of inspiration went off in my head as I realised that the cream cheese and lemon I'd spied could be converted into something magnificent. I wasn't about to leave the house for any missing ingredients (such as biscuits) so crustless cheesecake was born and it fitted the bill just nicely.

Crustless Cheesecakes
Adapted from Desserts, by Victoria Chow

150g caster sugar
200g cream cheese
1 egg
Juice from half a lemon

Preheat the oven to 180C/350F and grease 2-3 ramekins. Beat the cream cheese until smooth. Add in the sugar, egg and lemon juice and beat again until smooth. Pour the mixture into the greased ramekins and bake for approximately 20-25 minutes. You can chill them overnight or you can do as I did and grab a spoon, turn on Hawaii Five-O and dig right in.

Happy Friday everyone and hope you have a relaxing weekend ahead!

whilst you're singing wildly along to...

2011-02-25T15:36:00.000+11:00

Whilst I know there is technically only a few more days of Summer, I'm clinging on tight. One of my favourite treats of this Summer has been home-made mango granita.

It's easy as anything to make; something to do whilst you're dancing round the house in your coolest Summer dress listening/ singing wildly along to Queen (or whatever has been your seasonal soundtrack of choice). You just blend fresh chopped mangoes or you could use peaches, pineapple or banana. Freeze the mixture overnight in a wide, flat tray and then scrape up the ice crystals with a fork and pile into a bowl and voila! My only word of caution with this one is bowl size and restraint. I ate quite an enormous amount when I made it the first time because it was so cold and refreshing and I did not want for dinner for a long while.

Hope you've got some nice weekend plans! We're off to Newcastle on Saturday and then plan to incorporate some beach time as the weekend progresses. And if the weather is on form, more granita may be in order.

when in doubt, toast

2011-02-22T16:15:00.001+11:00

A few nice moments from Sunday - breakfast at Sappho Books in Glebe.

We were recovering from a very amusing fancy dress party the night before and one too many frozen cocktails.

Also, I can't get enough of toast and toast-like items (such as the brioche above) at the moment. Perhaps it's an early sense of the autumnals or this pocket of much appreciated cooler weather. Hmm.

I hope your week has been a good one so far. It does feel later than Tuesday somehow.
More soon.

a case of the februarys

2011-02-17T14:35:00.001+11:00

Hello there friends, and yes it's been a little quiet round here lately.

I've had a little touch of what I like to call the Februarys: you know that reflective, whirlwind type feeling that can often descend without warning after the excitement and newness of January is past and you're squarely facing down the barrel of the year thinking, 'What, what am I going to do?' I don't know if anyone else has experienced this phenomenon but it can result in a little bit of crazy and a touch of paralysis.

Still, fear not, I have been cooking and baking and entertaining and eating but there just hasn't been a whole lot of writing, which let's face it, is half the biz really.

There are a lot of delicious things to share but for the moment I'll leave you with thoughts of fresh figs with yoghurt and almonds, eggplant parmigiana, pretzels at our new local beer hall Tommys, and a few good books to sink your teeth into.

notes in front of a fan

2011-02-03T11:14:00.000+11:00

Our poor little fan is getting one hell of a work out at the moment. Like an old favourite childhood toy, it gets dragged from room to room, upstairs and downstairs throughout the day and night, depending on where we are. It has been having quite an eventful summer indeed. Last night it was witness to red wine, crafting (my friend Sarah and I made ladybug pincushions) and tomato salad.

When it is this hot, salad is just about the only thing I can face eating, excluding ice-blocks of course. The beauty of salad is that it doesn't require any possible oven involvement and can be made quickly between delicious slurps of my new favourite summer cooler: apple juice, white wine and soda water, with lots of ice.

This tomato salad is very easy to assemble and can involve little to no measurement of anything. It's best to just go with your gut and throw it all together, taste at the end and adjust your oil, vinegar, lemon, salt and pepper if needed. Roughly chop about 6 vine-ripened or heirloom tomatoes (you can also throw in some cherry tomatoes if you have them) into a bowl with a generous amount of chopped basil and mint, a clove or two of garlic and then dollop on olive oil, balsamic vinegar, lemon juice from half a lemon and some salt and pepper. Toss it all together well and serve it up with some nice pita bread on the side or a wedge of baguette. I have a strong feeling it may be on my lunch menu again today.

Incidentally, on the topic of ladybugs and wildlife, do always be sure to give your herbs and lettuces a good wash before getting into your chopping and dicing. I'm still recovering from the dramatic appearance of a small, green frog from a head of spinach that had been in my fridge for three whole days.

Hope everyone's got a friendly fan or aircon nearby today.

continually refreshed

2011-02-01T12:52:00.002+11:00

Well hello there Summer! The weather is really amping up now into full fan/beach/ice-block conditions - thirty six degrees centigrade today and counting.

What little of the past few days we haven't spent at the beach, or in front of a fan watching the tennis, has centred on making and consuming home-made ice-blocks.

I’ve seen a few articles lately about ice-blocks/ icypoles/ popsicles (whatever you like to call them) and it's little wonder because they're so easy to make and so refreshing on hot days, when you can't really be bothered doing anything as exhausting as eating but want to feel continually refreshed.

Last week, I had a sudden flash back to the pineapple pops that they used to sell at my primary school canteen for 20c and I realised that the cordial and juice in our house was being sorely under-used. I bought some ice-block moulds and so began the refreshment.

The great thing about making your own ice-blocks is that you can use just about anything to make them – juice, cordial, blended fruit, lemonade, yoghurt even. Some of the combinations we have tried so far: apple juice, blended pineapple with syrup, watermelon puree, blackcurrant cordial, lemon cordial and, for a more dessert like experience – banana, blueberries and yoghurt blended together like a smoothie and frozen.

You can get ice-block moulds from most home-wares shops or you could use small glasses, and newsagents and craft stores sell paddle-pop sticks.

Hope everyone is keeping cool out there!

and now, in the raw

2011-01-29T07:04:00.000+11:00

I wrote recently about granola, or toasted muesli as we generally call it here in Australia. Much as I love it - for a while I was grabbing handfuls of it every time I passed the fridge - it can be little harsh on the digestive system at times.

A healthier option is bircher muesli, which is simple to prepare, nutritious and delicious. The name derives from the Swiss physician and pioneer in nutritional research, Maximilian Oskar Bircher-Benner, who advocated the health benefits of raw vegetables, fruit and nuts, which was contrary to common beliefs about food held at the end of the 19th century. His theory of life was based on harmony between people and nature, apparently after observing the simple and healthy life of shepherds in the Swiss Alps. Around 1900, he introduced muesli for patients in his hospital.

The original recipe for bircher muesli included a small amount of rolled oats, soaked in water and lemon juice overnight, with added cream, grated apple and ground hazelnuts or almonds. This is the essence of bircher muesli but you can play around with what you include in it, according to your preference and what's in season.

I like to prepare mine with good quality apple juice, fresh if possible - I'm even contemplating buying a juicer for this reason alone - dried cranberries, fresh blueberries and topped with grated apple, plain yoghurt and some nuts, usually almonds.

Bircher muesli
Makes about 4 serves

1.5 cups oats
1 cup apple juice
1/4 cup dried cranberries, or sultanas

To serve
1 apple, grated
blueberries
plain, low-fat yoghurt
almonds or walnuts, or whatever nuts you prefer

Combine the oats with the apple juice and cranberries, cover and keep in the fridge overnight.
In the morning, top your muesli with some plain yoghurt, grated apple, fresh blueberries and nuts.
Grab a spoon and dive right in.

making friends with eggplant

2011-01-28T11:12:00.001+11:00

One of the many wonders of growing up is rediscovering foods that you disliked as a child. Eggplant was one of these for me, along with mushrooms, olives, avocados, artichokes - pretty much most of the foods I love to eat now. I seem to recall my Dad salting eggplants a heck of a lot when I was younger, probably because I just could not see the appeal of them. I think the main problem was the texture, that and being a kid and preferring sweet things above all else.

I'm not sure exactly when I got back on the eggplant bandwagon but it may have been around the time I first had eggplant parmigiana. Turns out eggplants and tomatoes can be very good friends indeed.

I made this eggplant pie for a dinner party a little while ago and I think it might just be my new favourite thing. What's more, it's perfect for, you guessed it... picnics.

Eggplant Pie
Adapted from Delicious Magazine, October 2010

500ml jar tomato passata
1 cup finely grated parmesan
2/3 cup breadcrumbs
olive oil to fry eggplant
4 eggplants, sliced thickly lengthways
salt
1 smallish ball of mozzarella cheese or bocconcini, sliced thickly
basil leaves, to serve

Lay the slices of eggplant on a tray and sprinkle with salt to bring out the excess moisture.

Put the passata in a small saucepan over medium heat and simmer for about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally until it has reduced by about one third. Set aside to cool.

Preheat the oven to 190 degrees C. Combine the parmesan and breadcrumbs in a bowl and set aside.

Blot the eggplant slices with a paper towel. Heat a small amount of olive oil in a pan and fry the eggplant slices in batches, a few minutes on each side. Drain on paper towel to remove excess oil.
(A healthier alternative, which I might try next time, would be to bake the eggplant on a baking tray, before assembly, instead of frying it.)

To assemble the pie, lay the eggplant slices, overlapping over the base of a 22cm ovenproof frypan or baking dish, arranging them so they reach up the sides (almost like you're making a pie shell from them). Spoon over one third of the passata, then scatter with one third of the parmesan mixture and half of the mozzarella slices. Cover with a second layer of eggplant slices, and repeat with the remaining sauce, one third of the parmesan and the remaining mozzarella. Finish off the pie with the remaining eggplant, then scatter the last of the parmesan mixture over the top. Bake in the oven for about 35 minutes.

Allow to cool to room temperature, then cut generous slices. Drizzle with a little olive oil and scatter with basil leaves to serve. This pie would work well on an antipasti platter or on its own with some salad. What's more, it is even better the next day. I sat down the morning after making this and quietly ate a slice for morning tea. It had condensed overnight in the fridge and the flavours had intensified. It was a small, delicious miracle.

mango mess

2011-01-26T08:34:00.007+11:00

I've always been a bit ambivalent about Australia Day. Historically speaking it's a bit of a mixed bag to say the least and on top of that I'm not all that great with crowds, so it's usually more of a low-key affair for us. I do however like an excuse to cook and to picnic, so I thought I'd share this dessert with you, not just for Australia day but for any time you feel the need for a fling with mangos and meringue and a picnic rug.

Like so many discoveries, this dessert was something of both accident, sychronicity and invention. K and I had been watching Nigella Express one afternoon and she made the most incredible looking Eton Mess. I resolved to make it as soon as possible. The very next day my parents took us out for dinner at their favourite restaurant, Linda's in Newtown and I spied Mango mess on the menu and it was incredible. Mango chunks, sorbet, cream, meringue. Pure bliss in a glass.

It's taken a while for me to get my act together but here is my simplified version with optional further simplication if required. Sometimes there is a need for speed where dessert cravings are concerned. However, if you do have the time to make the meringues from scratch, give them a go - they are a whole different experience, coming from your own oven, trust me. The great thing about this dessert is that it doesn't have quite the same level of pressure as the pavlova. If your meringues don't turn out great it doesn't matter because you're crumbling them in with everything else.

Mango Mess
Adapted from Nigella Express and Stephanie Alexander's The Cooks Companion

for the meringues

4 eggs whites at room temperature

1 cup caster sugar

1/4 tsp vanilla

Preheat oven to 150 degrees C and line 2 baking trays with baking paper Beat the eggs whites until stiff peaks form, then add sugar gradually and vanilla, continuing to beat. Place spoonfuls of the meringue onto the baking trays and bake for 45 minutes. Turn the oven off but leave the oven door slightly ajar to allow the meringues to slowly cool in the oven. You can store them in an airtight container in the fridge for a couple of days, although you'll probably find yourself hard pressed not to eat them all at once. Makes about 12 large meringues.

for the mess assembly

2 ripe mangos, cut into cubes
1 small carton of thickened cream (or yoghurt is a great low-fat alternative)
6 of the cooled meringues (or you can use meringue nests from a packet)

Whip the cream to form soft peaks and then fold in most of the meringues and mango. Spoon into serving glasses / bowls and top each with some of the reserved mango and meringue. Serves 4.

Hope everyone has a relaxing day, whatever your plans!

(I linked this to Sweet as Sugar Cookies)

it's pronounced 'keen- wah'

2011-01-25T14:50:00.001+11:00

It's funny isn't it how once you notice something, suddenly it seems to be positively everywhere. This has been the case for me and quinoa.

A few years ago, I dropped into a new health food shop that had opened up nearby and asked about quinoa. The woman who owned the shop said in response to my question, "It's actually pronounced keen-wah" and I was so embarrassed by my whole grain ignorance that I just bought a few dates and headed out, my adventurousness in check. But recently, I've made friends again with quinoa and now that I have, it seems to be everywhere.

If you haven't encountered it before, Quinoa is an protein rich seed that has a fluffy, creamy, slightly crunchy texture and a somewhat nutty flavour when cooked. It can be used in soups, salads, as a breakfast porridge, in risotto type dishes and a heck lot of other things. I don't know why I was reluctant to give it a go because it's dead easy to prepare and delicious to boot.

I was cooking up a vegetarian meal for some friends on the weekend and it was the perfect opportunity to make a salad with the quinoa to go with the main meal of eggplant pie (more on that later). I've also been buying up herbs like they're going out of style lately and this salad seemed to be a winner on that front as well. I might try and make it again for our next picnic.

Quinoa Tabbouleh
Adapted from Delicious Magazine, March 2010

1 cup quinoa
1 bunch flat-leaf parsley, leaves picked
2 Tbs finely chopped mint and coriander
half a punnet of cherry or grape tomatoes, halved
3 spring onions, thinly sliced
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
2 Tbs lemon juice
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp caster sugar

Rince the quinoa with water. Place the quinoa and 3 cups of water in a small saucepan over medium heat, then bring to a simmer, stirring well. Cook for about 10 minutes or until tender and a fair bit of the water has been absorbed. Drain well and set aside to cool. Add the herbs, tomato and onion to the cooled quinoa and toss to combine. Combine oil, lemon juice, cumin and sugar in a bowl and season with salt and pepper. Toss the salad with the dressing and place heaped spoonfuls on a plate and eat heartily.

Delicious on its own but if you've got some wraps, falafal and hummus nearby you've got yourself a full on meal!

breakfast, lunch and green

2011-01-20T16:53:00.004+11:00

I've been making an effort lately to change things up a bit diet-wise. In particular I'm trying to make better food choices, to try and eat when I'm actually hungry and to increase my vegetable intake. It's part of my new years push to do more this year in many different areas and food is such a big part of well, everything.

After doing some reading around the subject of nutrition and healthy eating and finding some marvellous blogs along these lines, such as Limes and Lycopene and Stonesoup, I've come to realise that I've been a bit unadventurous when it comes to vegetables and grains in particular. There has also perhaps been a teensy bit of a skew towards sweet things on this blog.

So for the last few days, I've been eating up vegies as much as I can and I have a few plans for recipes adventures to come in that area. Today though, I kept it pretty simple and for lunch I just prepared some poached eggs with spinach and avocado on wholemeal toast. This was actually a big achievement for me because I've always been a bit unsure when it comes to poaching eggs. I found some very good advice by Molly of Orangette fame and her straightforward approach, which I followed to the letter, worked a treat. I think the key is not worrying about how the eggs look in the saucepan because they usually look like a flaming mess but it all comes together when you lift them out with a slotted spoon. Bit of salt and pepper on top... delicious.

craving breakfast

2011-01-15T17:47:00.001+11:00

I've always been a breakfast person (and a cereal girl at that). When I was little I used to even have cereal for dessert, I liked it that much. Come to think of it though, there may have been some parental involvement in the after-dinner cereal action. I cannot recall ever having ice cream for dessert as a child. And interestingly, I'm still not much of an ice cream person. So there you go. Old habits die hard.

Anyway, over the past week, I've had the most amazing craving for some nutty, seedy, wonderful toasted muesli (or granola, as it's called round other parts). When I went to make it, I had a sudden flash-back of watching Juanita making muesli on Play School many moons ago. I still remember being surprised by the beauty and simplicity of assembling ingredients to make something else entirely. This recipe calls for a little more complexity than I remember in the Playschool version, but it's well worth the effort. I adjusted the Nigella recipe a bit to try and reduce some of the processed sugar and instead added more dried fruit (after I'd cooked the muesli) but you can try your own variations with different nuts and sweeteners depending on your preference.

Toasted Muesli
Adapted from this recipe and this recipe

Dry ingredients:
5 cups rolled oats
2 to 3 cups of raw almonds and walnuts (or whatever nuts you like best)
1 cup sunflower seeds
3/4 cup sesame seeds
2 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp ground ginger
1 tsp salt

Wet ingredients:
1 cup unsweetened apple sauce
1/2 cup maple syrup
2 Tbsp vegetable oil, such as canola or safflower

Fruit (to be added post baking)
An assortment of dried fruits.
I used uncrystallized ginger, dried cranberries, sultanas and chopped dried apricots.

Preheat the oven to 160°C or approx 300°F.

In a large bowl, combine all of the dry ingredients and stir well. In another bowl, combine all of the wet ingredients and stir well. Pour the wet ingredients over the dry ones, and mix it all together.

Spread the mixture evenly on two baking trays. Bake for about 35 to 40 minutes, or until evenly golden brown. Periodically rotate the pans and stir the muesli so it cooks evenly. When it’s ready, remove the pans from the oven and stir well so it doesn't cool into a hard sheet and set aside to cool.

Chop an assortment of dried fruit and stir into the cooled muesli.

Scoop the cooled muesli into to a large airtight container and store in the refrigerator. Makes lots!

a year of magical eating

2011-01-13T17:39:00.001+11:00

I don't normally get terribly inspired to set goals in the new year but this year I feel a bit more sparky. Maybe it's all the fresh air I inhaled over the last few weeks but I feel enthused and ready to try out some new things - both in and out of the kitchen.

In particular, I would like to eat more healthily and mindfully - enjoying simple things, such as seasonal vegetables and fruit without overcomplicated them, being adventurous and bold in my food choices. I've been clearing out our house like a mad-woman and rifling through old recipes and cookbooks and have made a few discoveries. There are some wonderful things just begging to be enjoyed. The idea of a pot-luck dinner appeals immensely, as do these gems - found in some of my many cooking magazines:

broadbean salad with quinoa and preserved lemon
farro with pancetta, peas and mascarpone
hanger steak with chimichurri and yogurt flatbread

Oh yes, these little beauties will be made and soon.

In the spirit of new things, today I also managed to finally check out the Blackwattle Cafe in Glebe. It's in an amazing building (the restored Bellevue House) - light, airy and with multiple rooms to choose from, all with views of trees or out onto Anzac Bridge. I just had a coffee and toast this morning (which was lovely) because I didn't have a whole lot of time but you can be assured that I will be back to try out a bigger breakfast and some of their evening tapas.

Any new years food resolutions/ adventures/ restaurants that you're aching to try?

The top photo was taken of a wall at the end of Darby street, which is part of the Clean Art Project
Oh and yes, that's a new header photo, another breakfast of wonder.

scenes from the beach

2011-01-11T16:19:00.000+11:00

And... we're back.

Hello there! Happy 2011 to all of you. After 7 days of Newcastle sights, swims and food (especially that), K and I are back and already planning more beach adventures.

It was nice to have a break from Sydney, to be able to walk pretty much everywhere and to have lots of time to read, play Scrabble and discover cute little cafes.

One of the best was Scotties on Scott Street in East Newcastle, right round the corner from the Newcastle Baths. This place was a real discovery - the sort of place you might miss if you didn't know it was there and when you do stumble upon it, you kind of feel like you've won the lunch lottery. Their burger list alone was incredible. After about 10 minutes deliberation, we settled on a Works Burger and an amazingly good Fish Burger but I could have gone back every day just to work my way through the menu. To this end, we dragged some friends back a few days later so that we could try out some other things and they do a mean corn fritter as well! Our friends' baby wholeheartedly endorsed the banana smoothie. Next time I'm trying the Banana and Peanut Butter thickshake.

In amongst all the lunching and dinnering, we caught up with friends, strolled Honeysuckle and watched the tug boats in action, enjoyed quite a few swims and then rewarded ourselves with gelato, the beach holiday dessert of choice. All in all, a pretty damn good break! Newcastle - you surprised me.

It was a great way to kick off the year and we're very much looking forward to what 2011 has in store. I'll be heading back into the kitchen soon to kick things off.

new year new castle

2011-01-08T11:46:00.000+11:00

Happy New Year everyone, hope it's been a great first week so far.

We've been hanging around in Newcastle, swimming and eating the days away, so there has been a relaxing lull in the home cooking whilst I've sussed out the best cafes and restaurants in town.

Photos and reviews to come soon. x

when too many biscuits - rumball

2010-12-24T09:34:00.000+11:00

Its feeling real now, this whole Christmas caper.

Despite having spent most of the morning chained to my desk, writing up a storm, I have found time to get my rumballin on. Alas, no they are not the home made fruit mince tarts that I may have promised scratch hoped to make, but the thing about them is these babies are dead easy to whip up in a hurry and provide the most amazing soft, dark, rummy chew – perfect for soaking up all that Christmas cheer, or wine, as they case may be.

I find that these little confections improve with time, so for maximum enjoyment, pop them in the fridge for a few days before eating. The best thing about these rumballs is you can make use of random items that may be at hand, such as the Byron Bay Cookie Co. Chocolate and Cherry Bites given to me by a customer at work, that I couldn't see myself eating my way through entirely on my own without some serious guilt attached. Transmogrified into rumballs, they are another thing entirely.

This year I've been doing my Christmas baking to the sounds of J-Pop from the 90s (Hikaru-Genji if you feel like a giggle on YouTube) which I rediscovered from my childhood stint in Japan. Truly bizarre is how I've remembered the lyrics from all this time. Anyway, I trust you’ve got your own preferred Christmas theme tunes, to heartily bake/ sing along too.

Rum Balls
Adapted from this recipe

250g sweet biscuits (Arrowroot biscuits or whatever you have in your cupboard)

1/2 tin condensed milk

1 cup desiccated coconut

1/2 cup sultanas, chopped

2 tablespoons cocoa powder

¼ cup rum

extra coconut and/or cocoa powder for rolling

Crush biscuits until fine using a food processor or rolling pin. Mix together remaining ingredients. If the mixture is a little damp you can add extra biscuits or icing sugar to firm it up. Roll into tablespoon sized balls then roll in either coconut or cocoa powder. Makes about 30 balls.

We're off to Newcastle today armed with I can't tell you how many boxes of indulgent chocolates, a few bottles of bubbly and a heck tonne of rumballs. There's going to be some serious sugar comas on Christmas day.

Merry Christmas for Saturday! Hope Santa brings you lots of nice things and delicious treats abound!

the season of mixed, minced, merriment

2010-12-21T15:16:00.001+11:00

I often get completely bamboozled by Christmas.

When I was little, Christmas day was usually spent at my Aunt and Uncle's place and was pretty stereotypical as far as Aussie Christmases go: we'd arrive late, after having endured traffic of apocalyptic type proportions, there'd be nibbles and drinks then around 1pm my Uncle would start up the barbie and by about 3pm, when the kids were beside themselves with Cheezel additives and pool fights and the adults pretty well sozzled, we'd all sit down to an assortment of meats, which always seemed far too hot for the 30 degree weather. Dessert would follow - usually a trifle (not complaining on that front!), then several people would fall asleep on couches, and eventually we'd slink home vowing never to eat or leave the house again.

Since those heady childhood days, my immediate family has honed their respective Christmas avoidance techniques down to a fine art. As a result, I often feel a little conflicted in the lead-up to Christmas - and end up ignoring the whole thing until way late in the game, such as around this time, and then I engage in something that can best be described as a restrained enthusiasm. Right now it just feels like I'm on school holidays but I still have to finish off a thesis or massive book report - a nice case of being pulled in two different (and totally competing) directions.

Still, I'm getting into the spirit gradually and have now declared it open season on fruit mince tarts. We shall yet see if I get around to actually making these by hand, but until then there is a bakery perilously close to our apartment. I'm hoping I get also get a chance to make these Gingerbread Houses before Christmas Eve!

Only 4 more sleeps...

the weekend of one hundred small delights

2010-12-14T11:28:00.000+11:00

It kicked off with grass underfoot and it only got better from there.

On Saturday, I met a host of wonderful food lovers in Centennial Park and sampled an array of amazing delicacies. We chatted, we took photos, we ate and generally enjoyed the wonders of a picnic in the park on a sunny December day. It was so nice to meet the people behind some of the many varied and wonderful food blogs out there!

And then.... because all good things come in lots, the eating adventure continued. We went out to have pizza with friends and their funny, chatty and rambunctious kids, then supper in China town with more friends and just to round things out, a beautiful afternoon tea for our good friend's birthday on Sunday with cheese, bruschetta, sponge cake and apricot tarte. Phew!

a couple of things

2010-12-09T15:10:00.000+11:00

On this strange, muggy Thursday afternoon, I've just got a couple things I'd like to say...

Happy Weekend! I know it's only Thursday but the closer you get to Christmas the more weekendy things start to feel, so I'm getting in there early. I wish you a relaxing, present wrapping, biscuit baking, picnic partaking, karaoke singing, pizza eating, movie watching weekend. Or whatever version of weekend delight suits you.

And secondly, thank you. Thank you to all the people in my life who encourage, inspire, support me and yell go G, especially when I'm going nuts from trying to finish a writing project before xmas!

And a big thank you to those of you who stop by this little patch of space and say hello, it brightens me up immensely to know you're out there.

Happy early weekend!!

xo Georgia

the ripe taste of summer

2010-12-08T10:57:00.002+11:00

And here we are again at Wednesday. How did that happen? I swear, once we hit December and office Christmas parties start a-happening, I begin to feel like everyday is Friday. I saw a very glamorously dressed girl hopping out of a cab last night and it completely threw me. It took a minute to remember it was Tuesday and not still the weekend.

The weekend itself was a bit of a spontaneous, delicious blur - we stumbled upon a random laneway architectural show which featured free wine and gruyere (heck yeah!) and then there was high tea on Saturday (featuring the most amazing mango mousse) followed up by bubbly and cheese with our friends and their adorable new baby on Sunday and finished off with tomato tarte tatin.

This is something I've been thinking about making for a while, as I have always been a fan of the apple variety. It was absolutely decided when I was in the greengrocer the other day and a man there quite unexpectedly handed me a small tomato to try. It was summer in a mouthful.

Tomato Tarte Tatin
Adapted from here and here

approximately 6 ripe tomatoes
2 Tbsp olive oil
1 Tbsp balsamic vinegar
gruyère
1 sheet puff pastry
a few fresh basil leaves
salt and pepper

Preheat the oven to 200C. Remove the stem area of the tomatoes. Cut them in halves crosswise and place them flat side up (round side down) in a pie pan. You can squeeze quite a few tomatoes in as they will shrink while cooking. Fill up the entire pan and then sprinkle them with salt, pepper, olive oil and balsamic.

Place in the oven and cook for about 30 to 45 minutes, until the tomato juice flows in the pan and the tomatoes are soft. When the tomatoes are cooked, spoon out the juices from the pan. Grate the cheese and sprinkle evenly over the tomatoes. Lay the pastry on top of the tomatoes and push down the edges into the pan. Make a small hole in the pastry to let the heat and steam get out while cooking. Bake at 200C for about 30 minutes, or until the pastry is puffed and golden.

Flip the tart onto as serving dish or board and sprinkle with some coarsely chopped fresh basil leaves.

We ate it whilst watching Inglourious Basterds but I have high hopes of making it again for a summer picnic, to be enjoyed with a nice glass of red, naturally.

I'm tempted to also try a dessert version.

commence the festivities

2010-12-03T12:46:00.002+11:00

Ok December, let 'er rip!

I've decided to stop ignoring the inevitable and to embrace the approach of the festive season with massive amounts of gusto. First stop, homemade decorations (potentially edible but hopefully pretty, regardless). I've also got a few cooking projects in mind for the coming weeks and there's nothing like upcoming christmas picnics and parties to get your hors d'oeuvring and your creative canapes flowing.

Here are some recipes I've got on my mind:

Gingerbread house

Heirloom Tomato Tarte

Turkey meatballs with cranberry sauce

Stilton and Quince Jam puff pastries

Cheese straws

Happy December!

rain brings comfort

2010-11-30T19:44:00.000+11:00

These last few rainy days have made me a little nostalgic for hunkering down in the cooler months with a bowl of comfort food. Given that today is the last day before summer officially begins, I thought I'd take this little window of opportunity to comfort it up. Call me crazy but I think you could argue that cheese is an evergreen item, good for any time of the year. I added some greens at the end because I think I've been subsisting almost totally on bread this last week.

Macaroni and Cheese

Adapted from this recipe from Epicurious

For the topping

30g unsalted butter

1 cup bread crumbs

1 cup coarsely grated Cheddar
1/2 cup grated parmesan

For macaroni and sauce

60g unsalted butter

3 tablespoons all-purpose flour

2 1/2 cups milk

3 cups coarsely grated extra-sharp cheddar cheese

1/2 cup grated parmesan

1 tsp mustard
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper

2 cups macaroni

Preheat oven to 200°C.

For the topping, melt the butter, then stir together with breadcrumbs and topping cheeses in a bowl until combined well, set aside.

For the sauce, melt butter in a saucepan over medium-low heat and stir in the flour. Cook the roux (not to be confused with La Roux, which I was listening to as I made this), stirring for a few minutes, then whisk in milk. Bring the sauce to a boil, whisking constantly and then reduce the heat and simmer, whisking occasionally for a few more minutes. Stir in the cheeses, 1/2 teaspoon salt,1/2 teaspoon pepper and a teaspoon of dijon mustard. Remove from heat.

Cook macaroni in a pot of boiling salted water until al dente and drain. Reserve 1 cup of the cooking water. Stir together the macaroni, reserved cooking water and sauce in a large bowl. Transfer everything to a baking dish. Sprinkle the topping evenly over the macaroni and bake until golden, about 20 to 25 minutes.

K and I ate this heartily, whilst watching Dexter. Nothing quite like disturbing television and comfort food - a winning combination.

a few moments ...

2010-11-25T14:46:00.001+11:00

in late November. I'm savouring these last spring days, this land of quiet salads and cool evenings, before summer begins in earnest.

in the land of weekends

2010-11-23T11:15:00.002+11:00

It's Tuesday already, I know, but my mind is still back in weekend country. There's definitely more of a summer vibe in the air now, that heady feeling which signals the lull before the rush to Christmas and holidays and what not. I have a major self-inflicted deadline to meet before Christmas so I can't fall into the great unwind just yet.

Still, the weekend was a lovely hint at things to come - we strolled down the Glebe Point Road Street Fair, indulged in baked goods and met little lost lambs, Santa and random folks. We watched Harry Potter and a whole lot of Dexter, whilst munching on chips and keeping an eye out for a little ladybird that has been living on our coffee table for a whole week.

Later on I took advantage of the blueberries in season and made blueberry muffins. I love a good muffin, especially warm from the oven and with a nice cup of tea (or coffee, depending on your preference). These ones were a little spontaneous and, as is often the case with me, there was some playing around with ingredients based on what I had at hand.

Blueberry Muffins

3 cups plain all purpose flour
1 Tbsp baking powder
3/4 cup soft brown sugar
75g unsalted butter, melted
1/2 ripe avocado, mashed*
1/2 banana, mashed
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1 cup milk
200g fresh blueberries (or frozen)

Preheat the oven to 210 degrees C and lightly grease your muffin tins, or line with cupcake cases. Sift the flour and baking powder into a large bowl. Stir in the sugar.

Add the combined melted butter, eggs, and mashed avocado/ banana mix to the dry ingredients and fold until just combined. * A note here about the avocado - it seems like an odd ingredient to include but it gives the muffins a nice texture without adding any particular taste, and it is a good substitute for a portion of the butter.

Lastly, fold in the blueberries and spoon the batter into the muffin cases. Bake for 20 minutes or until golden brown. Makes approximately 12 muffins.

I have a feeling that blueberries and I are going to become very well acquainted over the next month!

seven thing-a-ding-dings

2010-11-19T11:21:00.000+11:00

The lovely Jaclyn from Little Paper Trees recently passed on the Versatile Blog Award to Bakery Bookery. What a wonderful surprise! As a happy recipient of this award I have to share 7 things about myself and then pass the award onto 7 others. So here goes:

1. I have a pretty good memory for faces – especially for B-grade movie actors - and a sort of obsessive need to point out where I have seen them before. This can be tremendously annoying for anyone watching films with me.

2. One of the first things I can remember “baking” as a child was a "slice" with Vita Brits, hundreds and thousands and honey. My dad added flour and some other things and suddenly, like magic, it became real cooking.

3. I'm a recent convert to Earl Grey tea. Used to hate the stuff, now I can't get enough of it.

4. I have had the most incredibly lucid dreams ever since I can remember. This is something that people seem to remember about me also, which leads me to believe I've bored a LOT of people with detailed descriptions about shopping expeditions I've conducted during the zombie apocalypse and so forth.

5. I've never eaten an oyster, crazy but true. One day I'll be brave and do it, but I'm not there yet.

6. I'm fascinated by weather phenomenon such as the green flash and the belt of venus. They are the most incredible way to end the day, if you're lucky enough to see them.

7. My favourite movie is Stranger than Fiction, because it suggests the delicious possibility that baking can change lives.

I'm passing the award on to these lovely blogs: Shine little light*, The Food Rookie, Chocolate Suze, Vondelicious, Neighbourhood Foodie, A Taste of Savoie, Mr Pineapple Man

the power of suggestion

2010-11-11T13:13:00.002+11:00

When it comes to food (especially of the baked/ dessert variety) I am incredibly susceptible to the power of suggestion. Mention something involving lemon, icing or chocolate, for example, and I'm usually hard pressed not to go home and make it happen immediately, lack of ingredients notwithstanding. So it came as something of a surprise to me the other day when I had this happen with the savoury world.

Let me set the scene. Where I work, I have the opportunity of chatting with the most random array of strangers during the course of the day. On Monday, I got to talking with a nice Turkish man about food and his beautiful descriptions of grilling fish, cooking up spinach with onion, lemon and rice and dolloping it with garlicky yoghurt had me enchanted. I was busting to get home to get cooking.

It made me realise the awesome power of food to capture the imagination. Like so many good stories, some of the best food ideas and recipes are often passed down by word of mouth, and random conversations can act as portals to other worlds.

So from that mouth-watering discussion, came my own version : baked salmon with spinach risoni, salad and garlic yogurt dressing. Risoni, the small rice-shaped pasta, is a refreshing change to rice. Whilst the fish was baking, I boiled up the risoni and added it to the spinach, onion and lemon, which was sauteed in a pan. I think this assembly style of cooking will be my new friend for the warmer months. The nice thing about this dish it that it's nice cold the next day too. Hello lunch!

When you are engulfed in flames*...

2010-10-28T16:08:00.000+11:00

...remember to make sure you eat!

It's been a funny ole week this one past, as possibly evidenced by my lack of joyful baking and reporting on said baking and what not. What happened was that I got a little lost in a plethora of social engagements and work stress and completely overdid it, and repetitive bottom lip quiver, as we know, does not necessary a productive baker, or writer make!

Nonetheless, in amongst all this whirlwind, there have been moments of pause and moments of good food too. Incidentally, baby showers I have discovered are not just about the little clothes and toys - no, they are a source of insane amounts of home baked goods. At my friend's lovely baby shower on the weekend, I acted out the old 'eyes bigger than your stomach' adage to an extent I had not thought possible - I almost out-caked myself... almost.

There has not been a whole lot happening on my own home-made front in the last week but sometimes when you find yourself with a handful of lemons, you've just got to make yourself a nice gin and tonic and then go and eat out...

*With thanks to David Sedaris for the title.

scenes from a weekend

2010-10-17T19:19:00.000+11:00

This was one of those weekends when Sydney was just full of surprises - summery one minute, windy as all get out the next, summery again to close. It was confusing but sort of delicious as well.

On Saturday, the cool change swept me quite happily into the kitchen to make pizza with zucchini, mushroom, honey and chèvre* (recipe below), which was hearty preparation for a few hours of solid video game play with our friend's 5 year old son. I had forgotten how exhausting little people can be!

Sunday was game on outdoors, picnicking in the park with the birds (my god the birds!) and roast beef and green tomato relish sandwiches. Naturally, I felt the need to bake something sweet to while away the afternoon, whilst K watched documentaries. The sun was shining in the window, I had flour all over the place, the oven was on and everything was as it should be.

Pizza with Zucchini, Mushroom, Honey and Chèvre
*Adapted from a recipe in Sweet Paul magazine.

Dough (makes two pizzas, if rolled out thinly)

1 cup lukewarm water

1 tbsp honey

1 packet yeast

2 cups flour

1 tspn salt

2 tbsp olive oil

Topping

1 onion thinly, sliced

1 zucchini, sliced thinly

1 cup fresh mushrooms, sliced

1/2 cup crumbled chèvre

1 tbsp honey

salt

fresh sage

Pre-heat the oven to 220 degrees C. Mix water, honey and yeast in a small bowl and leave to sit for 5 minutes. Add the flour, salt and oil and combine together to form a dough. Knead until smooth and then leave in a warm place to rise, about an hour.

Press the dough out onto two pizza trays. Add the onion, mushrooms and chèvre and then drizzle with honey and a little salt. Bake for about 10-12 minutes, or until the crust is golden.

The honey goes alarmingly well with the goat's cheese. Be prepared to want to put the two together on a regular basis. The original pizza doesn't have zucchini but I've gone crazy for it as evidenced here and I've been enjoying putting it in everything of late. Such a versatile little vegie!