Time flies

In about 10 days I fly out to New York, then Berlin, Amsterdam, Paris, Italy and beyond! The last two weeks have flown. I've not done much else other than be caretaker to Mr T who had his appendix out last week and studied for an assessment I had today. Relief that's over! I give myself permission to get out and about again.

I did take some time out to bake this with the rhubarb that's growing happily in the garden. It is seriously delicious and goes so well with a cup of coffee.

Next week I'll do a whole lot of research in regards to the places I'm visiting, but if you have any recommendations for anything, anything at all, let me know!

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas

With the impending OS trip, my family decided on a no presents year and Mr T and I decided that instead of Christmas gifts we'd treat ourselves to a night of decadent food and wines in the new year. Of course I'd bought a couple of gifts during the year before we'd made the arrangement, so there will be a present or two opened.

However in my household, no Christmas is complete without homemade food gifts. Beer & Chili peanut brittle and Irish Cream (sans almond essence).

I will not let the fact that on the eve of Christmas eve our olive tree was stolen for the third time (this time I reported it to the police). My neighbour noticed first thing this morning and gifted me another replacement tree.

Bubble tea

While shopping for wonton wrappers last weekend, I stumbled across dried tapioca pearls used in bubble tea. This household likes bubble tea. But making it yourself means you can dial down the sweetness.

First I made tea. Any black tea will do.
I prepared the tapioca pearls according to these directions.
For best results serve the tapioca pearls slightly warm or at room temperature. When cold they're hard in the middle, not soft like they should be.

• 1-2 tbs prepared tapioca pearls • 1 cup cold tea • 1 tsp sweetened condensed milk (low fat is fine) • 1 dash milk.
Add all to a glass and stir stir stir to dissolve the condensed milk. Drink the deliciousness wishing you had one of those fat straws to assist with eating of the pearls. Though a spoon will do and it's far more environmentally friendly!

Beetroot wonton raviloi revisited

As requested, it's a little time consuming, but makes for a nice meal.

Start by roasting 200-250g beetroot wrapped in foil at 180C for ~50 mins.
At the 40 min mark, throw 2 cloves of garlic in the oven, still in their skin and a handful of hazelnuts. Roast these for 10 min.

Once done, process the beetroot, roasted garlic cloves, 200-205g ricotta, 30-40g Parmesan cheese, salt & pepper to a smooth paste.

Place a generous teaspoon of the beetroot mix onto a wonton and sandwich with another wonton wrapper, making sure to wet the edges so that they seal properly. I use a fork to press along the sides.

Cook 'ravioli' in rolling boiling water until they float. Or the wonton become translucent. It won't take long

Serve with a burnt butter and sage, and roasted hazelnuts

Hints and tips.
• You can use either yellow or white wrappers. I preferred the white, though they didn't seal as well as the yellow. Mr T preferred the yellow, he said they were richer.
• 4 per serve works pretty well, if you serve with a side of greens.
• They freeze beautifully, making for a super easy and speedy midweek meal

I might try steaming them next time. I'll update here if it works well.

Lemon passionfruit delicious

Oh yes. This will be made again. And again.
Two changes, I upped the flour to 1/3 cup and I cooked it in four ramekins for about 40 mins.
Light and fluffy on top, with a curd like consistency at the bottom. Delicious indeed.

Refreshing

Returning from overseas, Mr T thought that he'd spend his allocated duty free alcohol allowance on pear infused vodka. Sounds like an awesome idea, taste is another matter altogether. We finally stumbled on something appetizing and refreshing for stinking hot days; like today.

If you're (un)lucky enough to have a bottle of pear vodka hanging around try this:

Lots of ice
1 shot/30mls pear vodka
1 shot/30mls vermouth
top with plenty of soda
garnish with lemon, lime & pear slices.

Indoor kinda weather

It's been an easy Saturday, after brunching with friends at St Ali, we popped into the South Melbourne Market for some supplies and I then proceeded to potter in the kitchen while Mr T spent quality time in his garage.

To fuel for tomorrow we'll be having baked homemade gnocchi.

I also made this broccoli slaw but with my go to dressing of horseradish & light whole egg mayo - thinned with a bit of water.

Starting the week easy

I tend to ease into cooking for the week. Monday night is usually the simplest of them all. Particularly the case this week as I'm still reeling from Saturday's draw. We've got to do it all again next weekend!

The ricotta stuffed shells are inspired by a Donna Hay recipe.

Ingredients
Pasta: 5-6 shells per person. I cook a couple extra, because if you're not careful the shells tear or stick rendering them almost useless. These are pricey at my local deli, I'm going to try and stock up at Mediterranean Wholesalers when I finally get there.
Sauce: Onion and garlic sauteed with 400g chopped tomatoes (canned is fine), a pinch of chili flakes and a couple of anchovy fillets (optional)
Ricotta mix: 400g ricotta, sprinkle nutmeg, salt & pepper, two small squares of defrosted frozen spinach
Extras: Handful tasty cheese for the top and a pinch of pesto for each shell (again optional)

Cook tomato sauce.
Cook shells - I suggest plenty of gentle stirring to avoid sticking.
Drain shells - doesn't matter if they're still a bit wet.
Spread tomato sauce on base of baking dish, arrange shells and stuff with ricotta mix.
Sprinkle with cheese and pesto if using and bake in 200C oven for 15 mins.

I serve mine with some par boiled broccoli, toasted almonds, plenty of lemon juice and a bit of butter.

Serves 4 and is easy to scale.

Smoked fish salad

This is a keeper, from a relatively recent Donna Hay magazine. I like to start it the night before, by boiling the potatoes. It's almost impossible to find smoked trout in our poorly stocked local supermarket, so I almost always use a fillet of smoked salmon instead. The brackets indicate my deviations from the recipe. This one's for you R.

Salad ingredients:
800g baby potatoes (regular work fine too) • Olive oil • 2 bunches baby beetroot (or 2 medium beetroot) • 400g smoked trout (or salmon) fillet, flaked • 1 bunch watercress, leaves picked (or rocket & spinach mix) • 400g broad beans, blanched and peeled (I usually forget these)

Dressing ingredients, combine:
• 1/2 cup whole egg mayo (low fat) • 1 tbs grated horseradish (Yumi's is good) • 1 garlic clove crushed • 1 tbs white wine vinegar • salt and pepper • (and sometimes a dash of water to thin out the dressing)

Heat the oven to 220C/425F.
Boil the potatoes until tender, then smash/squish on a baking tray, drizzle with oil and bake until golden. Bake the 2 beetroot at the same time, wrapped in foil. ~30 mins. If you have baby beets, it's suggested that you just coat them in oil and bake.
Once tender, peel the beetroot (gloves are handy here) and chop.
Assemble salad and spoon over dressing.

In essence

This is my kind of project and it involves a cheap bottle of vodka. You start it, leave it for 2-6 months or so, then reap the rewards. Hello vanilla extract!

I have been lucky enough to have a wonderful friend bring back a whole lot of vanilla beans from Bali over the last couple of years. I had five or so left over from the last batch and they weren't going to waste. The beans were split and scraped them into the jar and topped with vodka. The jar needs to be stored in a cool dark place. You can even top it up with used (clean) beans along the way.

Apple crumble slice

I recently re-subscribed to Donna Hay magazine, but made a promise to myself that I'd actually try the recipes rather than delight in the styling and photography. I'm not sure sourcing this recipe counts... for what it's worth it makes a pretty good half time treat at the footy, even if it's not served on floral plates.

It all comes down to taste

With my girlfriends gathering for afternoon tea on Sunday I decided to make macarons. Everything that could go wrong did indeed go wrong. I took the egg whites too far and my swiss buttercream would not come together, no matter how long it was whipped (close to 45 min). It may have been something to do with the fresh strawberry puree I added.

Turns out had I stirred some air out of the meringue mixture I would have had a texture closer to that required for macarons. Because the last couple I piped did indeed develop feet with a smooth top. To salvage the buttercream I added a block of cream cheese. This did two things, smoothed out the filling and took a touch of the sweetness away.

I opted to transport the meringue/macarons by bicycle with the help of some egg cartons. They didn't look quite that good after an hour bouncing around in a basket at the back, but there were not many left!

Sweet

In the most recent edition of Donna Hay magazine there's a feature on maple syrup. I endured an incident at customs that involved me unpacking my backpack to reveal cans of the stuff upon my return from Canada, and still I hold no resentment. Such is the love. I couldn't go past the Maple syrup honeycomb.

When my bro extended an invite to his new place for dinner last night, I knew I'd be bringing dessert. This + good vanilla ice cream = a sweet end to the night.

Based on Donna Hay's Choc coated maple honeycomb (where I substituted water for butter)
• 2 cups sugar • 1/3 cup maple syrup • 1/3 cup honey • 1/3 cup water OR 180g butter• 1 tbs bicarb soda sifted • dark choc - her recipe calls for 500g, I used what I had which was a handful of choc melts.

Prepare your pan first - line it with baking paper and grease lightly.

In a large saucepan add the sugar, maple syrup, honey and water OR butter. You need to dissolve the sugar, so stir away.
Bring to a simmer and get the mixture up to 150C/300F you'll need a candy thermometer for this. It will probably take 7-8min. Once at that temperature, remove the thermometer, take off the heat, sift in the bicarb and stir. The mixture will double, very quickly. Pour into prepared pan and let it set for 30 mins. I let it sit for 10 min, melted the chocolate and spread it over the honeycomb then put it all in the freezer for 20 mins.

You know what's even sweeter? United States of Tara returns tonight on the ABC.

Comfort food

So on Friday night there was no raging for me. I had an 18km training run to contend with on Saturday morning. Instead a seriously delicious warming Cottage pie (sans the egg yolks, less butter and cheese but with added red capsicum and a couple of anchovy fillets for depth of flavour).

The macarons from Lindt were for after the run. Questionable recovery food for sure. Vanilla, Champagne, Pistachio, Passionfruit, Hazelnut and Milk chocolate. Passionfruit was the standout flavour for me in this batch.

Burnt brulee

Mr T doesn't really do sweet. Which is odd because he has a bit of a thing for brulee.* We'll just ignore the fact that there's a sugar top there won't we. And sure it's a little burnt because I don't have the luxury of a blow torch and I was a little heavy handed on the grill heat, but hey, it tastes pretty good.

Particularly after a day that involved watching the tow truck take off with the car that I've been driving for the last 12 years. So long Suzy.

* I started this recipe yesterday. It definitely needs overnight to set, because it was pretty wobbly out of the oven last night. I went by a 1 egg yolk to 100mls of cream ratio and made some guess work on the sugar as I didn't have 6 yolks to use up.

Cookies!

Last weekend Saturday night footy with the Golden Child (otherwise known as my Bro) called for dinner as well as dessert. Deservedly so given he had to work all weekend. I wanted something easy that used the ingredients in my cupboard. Thanks again Jamie. His Ministry of Food cookbook came through with the simple biscuit goods.

You'll need a food processor and 30mins to rest the dough before baking.

Ingredients
• 125g butter slightly soft • 100g caster sugar • 1 large egg (free range of course!) • 100g plain flour • 25g oats • 1/4 tsp baking powder • 1/2 tsp salt.

Additions
• lemon/lime/orange peel OR • 100g chocolate chopped OR • 50g nuts chopped/50g sultanas
Use your imagination or what's in the pantry.

Directions
Add basic ingredients to processor and whiz until smooth.
Alternatively achieve the same results with a wooden spoon, mixing bowl and a little more time.
Flavour with your choice of additions. I used a combo of walnuts, pecans and almonds. I'd like to try cranberry & white chocolate next.
Spoon onto cling film and roll into a sausage shape. Freeze the dough for 30 mins.
Heat the oven to 190C/375F.
Cut the dough into slices (Jamie recommends 1cm - mine were thinner).
Place onto tray lined with baking paper and bake for 8-10mins.
Let them cool down slightly before transferring to a wire rack.

You definitely want the edges to go a golden brown. The middle will still be chewy.

Coconut pie

Last Friday I had dinner with the girls, a fabulous Indian banquet was feasted on, complete with bollywood films playing in the background. I offered to bring dessert and opted for Impossible coconut pie, in that it's impossible for anything to go wrong. I was looking for something that would complement the meal and not be too heavy. Had it been warmer I would have gone for sorbet, but this fit the bill.

Ingredients:
• 4 eggs • 1 cup caster sugar • 100g unsalted butter, softened • 100g almond meal • 1 cup desiccated coconut • grated lemon rind (from 2 lemons) and their juice ~1/2 cup • grated orange rind and it's juice ~ 1/2 cup • 1 cup coconut milk • 1/2 cup plain flour, sifted • Cream & passionfruit to serve.

Preheat oven to 180C
Mix everything in a food processor and pour into a greased 28cm pan. (The mixture is super runny)
Bake for an hour or until golden.

My pan wasn't quite 28cm so I got a couple of small ramekins and baked them too. Which was lucky, because the nine of us polished this off easily and there wouldn't have been anything to photograph!

ANZAC biscuits

The whole reason for our long weekend is ANZAC day that falls on Sunday, this year we get Monday off in lieu. ANZAC day means footy if you're a Collingwood (or Essendon) supporter. In preparation for tomorrow ANZAC biscuits have been baked for half time.

"Keen-wa" /Quinoa

This is my version of 101 Cookbooks Warm and Nutty Cinnamon Quinoa. Generally I cook up a the quinoa and freeze it in batches for the week. Then I add whatever fruit I have on hand. This week strawberries and stewed apples. Tried toasted nuts, dried fruits, berries, stewed rhubarb, sliced banana etc. I use maple syrup as the sweetener.

As a mostly vegetarian it's sometimes difficult to get enough protein day to day. The quinoa certainly helps boost those levels and helps me feel satiated for longer.

Sweet kitchen adventure

Macarons. Where do I start? Up until last week I'd never had one. But I certainly had a craving. I remember seeing the contestants on Masterchef struggle with them and thinking I wanted to have a go. And finally two weekends ago now, I had an inkling to bake and some time up my sleeve.

I used a Donna Hay recipe for the Macaron and a Gourmet Traveller ganache recipe.

Some tips, an Australian 20c piece is a pretty good size indicator for macaroons. I traced this onto the baking paper, but be sure to pipe onto the non penciled side or your biscuits will have pencil on them!

- Apparently older egg whites are better than fresh.
- The biscuits without ganache kept well for a week in an air tight container.
- This recipe says it makes 10 complete biscuits - it made far more for me.

Onto the recipe

Ingredients
• 1 cup almond meal • 2 cups icing sugar • 1 tbs plain flour • 4 egg whites • 2 tbs caster sugar

To bake
Heat the oven to 160C/320F (not fan forced). Sift together the almond meal, icing sugar and flour. Beat the egg whites until soft peaks form. Add the caster sugar and beat until smooth. Stir in the almond meal mixture until smooth.

Pipe onto trays lined with baking paper (note: the mixture will spread, so smaller may be better) and bake for 12-14 mins. Cool and then sandwich with ganache.

White Chocolate & Raspberry Ganache
• 50ml pouring cream • 100g white chocolate •45g frozen raspberries, pushed through a sieve
• pink food colouring - optional.

Bring cream just to the boil in a small saucepan. Remove from heat, add chocolate, stand until melted (5 minutes), stir until smooth and glossy. Cool slightly and add raspberries. Cool further. Pipe mix or use a teaspoon to add ganache to one side of biscuit then sandwich together gently. Macarons will keep for 1-2 days refrigerated in an airtight container.

These were a delicious sweet treat, I got the thumbs up from 12 taste testers who said they enjoyed them. I'm not too sure how they stack up against others (might have to investigate!) They did develop a shell that was a little hollow, but did retain some chewiness.