I is for Improvisation!

I was having trouble coming up with ingredients that start with 'I' so instead I thought I would have a go at trying to improvise with what I could find in my pantry and see if I could come up with something tasty... I had just been on the phone to my awesome Nana who asked me what I had been baking lately - the answer to which is not much lately! Between my new job, moving house, and getting a puppy I barely get a chance to sleep. We have had the puppy, Tyrone, for a week now, he has settled in ok but he is one crazy little dude!

Needless to say he needs lots of my time, but he naps for a couple of hours at a time too so I got the chance to raid my cupboards and see what I could do! I haven't given up on the whole 12WBT philosophy, even that says we can have treats every now and then - and this fudge is definitely a sometimes and less is better kind of food ;)

I fudge

200g condensed milk

3 tbsp coconut oil

1 tbsp golden syrup

100g dark choc

1 tbsp cacao powder (optional)

1/2 cup oats

1 handful crushed walnuts

Combine condensed milk, coconut oil, golden syrup and dark choc over a low heat in a saucepan. Once melted and combined, stir through oats and cacao powder. Pour into small lined tin (I used a loaf tin) and sprinkle with crushed walnuts. 

Refrigerate. Score after about an hour if you want to make it easier to cut. Serve when set.

H is for Harissa, Halloumi, and HOMETIME

The last couple of months have been super busy, with lots of trips away, including two weeks at home in New Zealand for fun times in the snow and visiting friends. We were lucky enough to house sit for a good friend in Wanaka for the first week, which included their beautiful cat and dog Coco and Harlow, then a couple of nights staying with some more friends in Dunedin, then five nights in Queenstown with more snow and good times. We ate our way through way too much good food, platters and drank wine and cc CC and dry to wash it down. Highlights included Florence's cafe and Red Star Burgers (hands down better than Fergburger) in Wanaka, Mexican in Dunedin at Del Sol, and breakfast at Vudu in Queenstown (even if the food did take ages, it tasted pretty good). The whole trip made us think seriously about whether it might be worth investing in a holiday house back home in NZ, as the snow in particular is definitely somewhere we will keep going back to, but we will just have to wait and see how many pennies we manage to save now we are lucky enough to no longer be paying much rent (a whole other story). 

Anyway, I got back to Melbourne from New Zealand and realised I am well overdue for the letter H - this is one I had saved up for awhile, and it was well worth it - Halloumi aubergine burgers with homemade Harissa relish.

Harissa Paste
(adapted from taste.com.au)
 
6 fresh chillies
2 garlic cloves, crushed
1 tsp salt
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp ground coriander
1 tbs olive oil

Halve the chillies, remove the seeds and discard. Chop chilli and garlic cloves. Using a mortar and pestle, crush all the ingredients together to make a smooth paste.

Halloumi Aubergine Burgers

(adapted from BBC good food)

Serves 2

2 tbsp olive oil

1 onion finely sliced

2 tbsp dark soy sauce

4 round slices of fresh aubergine

4 slices halloumi cheese
1 tbsp soft brown sugar
1 roasted red pepper chopped
2 tsp harissa paste
2 rolls with the bread in teh middle pulled out (it's just a filler!)

4 tbsp hummus (you can use the basic TMX recipe or buy some)

Add half of the oil to a pan and cook onions until soft. Set aside. Heat remaining oil and add aubergine. Pour over soy sauce. Fry for a few mins on each side until tender. Set aside. Fry halloumi until golden. Set aside. Add the onions, pepper and harissa into the hot pan. Cook until the sugar has melted. While the relish is cooking, spread the rolls with hummus, laying halloumi and aubergine slices on top. Spread relish and serve. You should have some extra relish left over to put in your lunch the next day :)

G is for GINGER

Wow! What is happening?! The year has flown, its already August... Since my last post I have had heaps on, including a trip to tropical Samoa with my three sisters and my mum, which was super relaxing and a perfect winter break - I would highly recommend one. We stayed in a couple of cute little beach fales and did a whole lot of reading, sleeping, eating and drinking - I want to go back! But unfortunately I had to come back to reality at some point...

For this (well overdue) post I am up to 'G' - and I have chosen Ginger. Ginger is a root, and can be eaten fresh, dried, powdered, juiced or as an oil. It is packed with flavor and goodness, and has been shown and known to be an effective cancer fighting anti bacterial cancer fighting digestive balancing pain reliever (I could keep going - its pretty amazing). You can add it to your stir fry, fresh juices, or as I have chosen below to your baking. 

 

I asked my mum for her recipe for Ginger Crunch - it was a favorite of mine growing up, it reminds me of trips to my grandparents house where my nana always had her arnotts tins of baked goodness including this super yummy treat. J has also tried it and loves it! Mum and nana use powdered ginger in their but I used fresh grate ginger and in my professional opinion its just as tasty!

Ginger Crunch

(adapted from Mums recipe) 

250g butter (room temp)

3/4 cup caster sugar 

2 cups flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon grated ginger (if you don't have fresh ginger then ground is fine)

 

Icing

80g butter

4 teaspoons grated ginger 

1/4 cup golden syrup  

2 1/2 cups icing sugar

 

Preheat oven to 180. Cream butter and sugar (TMX 30 sec/Sp 5-7). Add remaining ingredients and mix until combined (TMX 1 min/Sp 5). Cook for 25 minutes or until slightly golden. Set aside to cool before icing. To make the icing, heat all ingredients, stirring until melted and combined (TMX 80 degs/4 mins/Sp 5-7 increasing), then pour over base and leave to set before slicing into squares.

 

 

 WARNING - EASY TO OVER CONSUME!!!

F is for Feijoa

I love this time of year - the beginning of winter! I am the sort of person who can't stand the heat, I much prefer the colder months, plus there are so many cute scarves and jackets around to keep you cozy, and it's not quite too cold to stop biking to work yet... and its also FEIJOA season! These are one of my favorite fruit, originally from South America and also known as a pineapple guava, they are a very unique flavor. They used to be easy to get your hands on in New Zealand, but over here in Melbourne its a little more difficult, but I have managed to track down a tree on my block which i raid on a regular basis once the fruit is ready (I swear the guy who owns the tree doesn't even know it exists, I have been swiping them for the last 3 years), I have also come across them at a few fruit and vege markets a couple of times for ridiculous prices, although St Andrews market had them for $4 a kilo, and you could buy your own tree for $10.

My favorite ways of eating feijoas include smoothies with banana, on porridge with a dash of plain yogurt, or straight up. Award winning New Zealand company 42 Below vodka also has a feijoa flavored version which is delicious with Chi and apple juice. And of course, for dessert in a crumble with some apple - YUMMM! The one I made today turned out perfect, it is sitting on the bench looking at me telling me to eat more as I am writing this but I cannot fit another bite!

Feijoa and Apple Crumble

1kg feijoas
3 red apples
250ml water
50g caster sugar
25g brown sugar
25g dessicated coconut
75g rolled oats
120g flour
150g butter (room temperature)

Preheat oven to 180degs. Scoop out feijoa pulp, and peel and slice apples. Add with water to a saucepan and bring to the boil, then simmer uncovered until the fruit softens. While this is happening, add the remaining ingredients to the Thermomix and set dial to closed lid, the set on the kneading function for 1 minute. Don't overmix the topping. Pour fruit into oven dish and top with crumble. Bake for 30 mins at 180degs. Serve with vanilla ice cream or yogurt or cream on a cold winters day or night - surely its an acceptable breakfast, its oats and fruit right?!

E is for Eggs and Edamame

There seems to be massive gaps between my blog posts, I have been super slack, I actually had the photos all ready to go for this one last week but haven't been able to find the time to sit down and actually write it, so here goes...

April was my 'fly free' month for the year with no trips away planned for a change, but it was still so busy! I had my mum, sister and a friend here for a week, and we shopped and shopped and shopped, and also managed to squeeze in a show, and a winery tour out to the Yarra Valley - highlight was definitely the homestyle cooked lunch and wine at Seville Hill, followed by some grape stomping action at Whispering Hills.

I finished another round of the 12WBT last week, with minimal physical changes, but I have learnt to manage my eating better - diet coke is not the answer if I'm hungry and craving sweet! I think we all know what is good and bad for us but sometimes need to be reminded. One thing that I eat heaps of these days that tends to have some myths associated with it is eggs - while some say they are high in cholesterol and fat, and they actually do contain these things, but in the form of polyunsaturated fats. In other words, the types of fats you should be eating rather than things like butter. The whites are also the purest form of protein you can find in food, plus they have a number of other vitamins and minerals. So eat your eggs! I am a massive fan of omlettes or poached for brekky, but for something a little different this time I tried sous-vide style eggs - cooking at a lower temperature for longer which aims to keep the food more flavorsome and evenly cooked. Well worth the one hour wait, these were so creamy and delicious. I used my thermomix but theres plenty of online recipes for using your stove top, but it might be harder to regulate your temperature.

Sous-Vide Eggs

(adapted from Themomix Recipe Community)

5 eggs
2 litres water (I used 1 L boiling, 1 L warm tap water)

Boil 1 L water in your conventional jug. Add to TM bowl with 1 L warm tap water.

Place the whole eggs (in shell) on he basket basket and place into the TM full of water.
Cook at 60degs / 60min / speed 3.

Crack the eggs over your toast, pouring them out like raw ones.

I have another 'E' food that I really want to share - Edamame. So tasty! These are a really delicious and easy snack from the frozen section at the Asian grocers, you may have seen them on sushi trains, in Japanese restaurants and the like. I have a bag in the freezer so i can put a handful in the microwave with some water, then sprinkle with salt and serve. YUM!

C is for Cacao, and Cruising back home, AND D is for Date

I spent a week at home in New Zealand relaxing for a week, hanging with family. Sometimes the best holidays are the ones when you do a whole lot of not much - this was definitely one of those. J and I spent the better part of a week hanging out in Levin, which is a tiny town in the south of the North Island, population of about 20,000, and not a whole lot going on, so we just hung out with my Nana, weeded her garden, cooked and baked - including a VERY indulgent Banana Cake (from my newly inherited old school Edmonds cookbook, with the quantities in pounds and ounces <3<3<3) with Chocolate Buttercream frosting and whipped cream filling. We also a couple of day trips, as well as having a few nights in the capital city Wellington to complete our week away.

One highlight was definitely the trip over the hill to Martinborough for the day. I was in wine and cheese heaven! If I was to go back I would stay at least a night here and adventure round a little more - you can hire bikes in the town to get around the vineyards and the town centre is so cute. We had lunch at Alana Estate, visited a couple of other wineries, then had some more local wine and cheese at Village Cafe in Martinborough, before visiting my favorite winery of the day - Loop Line in Opaki, small vineyard that produces a delicious drop.

But now, back in Melbourne, reality, the 12WBT (which has been a bit of a fail this round), and this blog... I am only up to 'C' and its already April, I figured I better get cooking and writing, so have also combined 'D' in this post...

Cacao (raw chocolate - YUM) is high in antioxidants (around 4 times the amount of cocoa powder!), has many cardiovascular benefits, AND its an aphrodisiac! There are some great cacao recipes you can try here.

Fresh dates are available in most supermarkets in the produce section. Medijool dates are a good source of fiber and contain high levels of the essential minerals potassium, magnesium, copper, and manganese.

Check out the recipe below, which produces delicious little brownie bites, a combination of these 2 super foods to have with your cup of green tea.



Raw Cacao Fudge Bites
(adapted from Melissa Ambrosini)

1/2 cup walnut
1/2 cup almonds
1/2 cup dates
1 1/4 cups fresh dates, pitted
1/2 cup cacao powder

Whizz all the ingredients together in a food processor (Thermomix 1 minute speed 9) unitil it is in small crumbs. Press into balls or a small mould and freeze for 1 hour before serving. Store extras in the fridge to enjoy with a cup of green tea as an after dinner treat.

B is for Beetroot

In case you didn't already pick from my last blog posts I am a girl who enjoys baking, and I have my old faithful Raspberry Red Velvet cupcakes that I fall back on as a crowd pleaser. But the whole idea of making red velvet from food coloring always puzzled me - a little research had me figure out that red velvet originally came about by coloring with beetroot, which is amazing, loaded with nutrients, and can be eaten raw grated on salads, is the perfect burger filling, and the canned stuff is pretty tasty in salads too.

SO here is my attempt at making baking healthy with a REAL Red Velvet recipe - a super moist ad tasty cake, more purple than red, and I think if I was to make it again I would leave out the coffee, or use less, it was a little over powering. Official taste tester PVC says "moist and palatable, had me salivating..."and we ate it so quickly I forgot to take an after photo, but its an excuse to make it again.

Beetroot Red Velvet Cake  
Adapted from "Tender" buy Nigel Slater

2 medium sized beets, rinsed and peeled
100g dark chocolate (I used 85%)
2 tbsp espresso (next time I would use water)
100g butter (room temp)
1/2 cup flour
2 tbsp cocoa powder
3/4 tsp baking powder
3 eggs (separated, room temperature)
1/2 cup castor sugar

Lightly grease a small cake pan and line the bottom with baking paper. Boil the beets in salted water until they’re very tender, about 1 hour. Drain then rinse the beets with cold water. Cut into chunks and thermomix until you get a puree. (If you don’t have a TMX, use a food processor or cheese grater). Preheat the oven to 180ºC.
In a large bowl set over a pan of simmering water, melt the chocolate. Once it’s nearly all melted, turn off the heat (but leave the bowl over the warm water), pour in the hot espresso and stir it once. Then add the butter and stir until melted. Remove from the heat.

Sift together the flour, cocoa powder, and baking powder in a separate bowl.
When chocolate mix has cooled, stir the egg yolks together and mix them into the melted chocolate mixture. Fold in the beet puree.
Whip the egg whites until stiff, gradually adding the sugar. Using a spatula, fold them into the melted chocolate mixture, being careful not to overmix. Then fold in the flour and cocoa powder.

Pour into the prepared cake pan and reduce the heat of the oven to 160ºC. Bake the cake for 30 minutes, or until the sides are just set but the center is still slightly wobbly. Be careful not to overbake, the original recipe said longer but my over tends to be hot!
Let cake cool completely, then remove it from the pan.
Serve with yogurt and/or ice with cream cheese icing when cool

YUMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM

A is for Almond

After a week in Bali, drinking my weight in cocktails and gaining a few holiday kilos, I am ready to get back on the 12WBT bandwagon! The plan for this whole alphabet cooking thing I promised in my last post was to pick a new healthy food each post, cook with it, so starting with A....Almonds are a rich source of nutrients and are really good for you. I eat them as a snack, or with yogurt, in my smoothies, on my muesli, and also in baking. They are gluten free too, so bonus for people with allergies! This week I made pita bread using almond meal. Almond meal is available in the supermarket, or you can whizz up your own (TMX, 10 sec/spd 9). These are gluten free, low carb, and delicious - winning!

Pita Pockets

1 egg
1/2 cup of water
1 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp coconut flour (I didn’t have any so I used a tbsp of dessicated coconut TMX, 15 sec/spd 9)
1 1/4 cup almond flour
1/8 teaspoon baking soda
Pinch of salt

Preheat the oven to 170. Whisk egg, water and oil together (TMX 10 sec/spd 5). Add dry ingredients, mix well till a smooth paste forms (TMX 30 sec/spd 7). Pour into 2 equal portions onto a well greased sheet tray. Bake for 15-20mins. Cool on a wire rack and they will keep for a couple of days, or eat warm from the oven, served with some TMX homemade hummus (1 can drained chickpeas, 2 cloves garlic, 2 tbsp tahini, 2 tbsp oil, juice of 1 lemon) or tzatziki, or stuff with salad for a tasty snack or meal.

2013 and more cookies

The year has begun! I have made some resolutions and intentions for the year ahead, I have signed up for another round of the Michelle Bridges 12WBT kicking off in Feb, I am looking at doing my personal training qualification at some point during the year, and I am going to attempt my first triathlon!

But before all the crazy health stuff kicks in, here is the recipe I promised in my last post. Shortbread always reminds me of my grandparents house in Levin, New Zealand, where there always used to be a tin of this in the cupboard that Nana had baked - its deliciously creamy and so super easy to make. And only three simple ingredients you are bound to have in your cupboard.

Shortbread
(from my Nana)

250g softened butter (not melted)
125g icing sugar (raw sugar in TMX 20 seconds/Sp 10)
375g flour

Rub ingredients together in a large bowl, or for TMX, 3 mins closed lid on the knead function. Roll into a log. Slice approx 1cm thick. Place on baking tray lined with baking paper, and press down gently with a fork. Bake at 160 for 25 mins. Make sure your oven is not too hot or you will over cook the shortbread and it will go brown, the result should be a creamy colored biscuit.

20 Jan - PS I tried an AWESOME variation on these today, add 75g chopped apricots (chop in TMX for 10 secs on Sp 7) and press a square of chocolate into each before baking. Dreamy.

As for my baking and blog, I have decided on a new approach, and will cook my way through the alphabet from A - Z, starting with an ingredient that begins with A, then using a different healthy ingredient each post which starts with the next letter - so watch this space...