website for the Restaurant

www.thetable.on.net

OPEN for business

I'm exhausted!

It has been a few months of blood,sweat and tears but we have reached the end of the arduous tunnel and the result is one of true happiness.

Our Italian restaurant has finally opened and the response has been very positive. My hubby and I with the help of many a great tradesman completely made over this magnificent building. We are situated in the Adelaide Hills in the leafy English style village of Stirling.

The cuisine on the menu is Italian, a dream I have had for many years.

We serve only the freshest locally sourced produce. Adelaide Hills region prides themselves on producing amazing quality ingredients for us foodies to create with.

My very dear friend Micheal Murphy ( smellier of award winning wine list fame) has jumped on board to give his guidance on the wine list. We have plenty to choose from, the area lends itself to producing great White's. The list is predominately local with a splash of the Coonawarra and the Mc Claren Vale regions.

Our pizza oven finally arrived last week!!  Very limited menu for pizza, only 6. The rule of our pizza making is LESS IS MORE... our chef ( Jim who is Italian) specialises in pizza and together we have created simple and delicious flavours to top our Lauke Flour semolina bases.

An example is the "FUNGI"  marinated Swiss brown mushrooms,spinach,tallegio cheese and a squeeze of lemon.

So this venture has been keeping me extremely hectic as well as running KINDERCHEFS and looking after my most hilarious little toddler who has the vocabulary of an english professor!

Hope to be back posting soon,

Take care and enjoy yourselves over this festive season.

Ciao.

Where Have I Been....

Well its been an embarrassingly long time between posts!

I have been very busy setting up business. My new venture is " KinderChefs"  organic cooking lessons for pre-schoolers and their parents.

We haven't started as yet but next week will be our first demo class to practice on our friends, try to iron out any creases before the REAL class begins.

The aim of the lessons is to create a fun, educational, musical environment for our children to learn about food and cooking. Our vision is for children and their parents to understand how easy it is to eat healthy with minimum fuss and time spent in the kitchen.

So far the response has been very positive and the local media has been very generous.

We are using as much organic produce as possible and our recipes are low sugar and low fat.

I have sourced great local suppliers so this will keep our carbon imprint low. Our butcher is organic and makes his own small goods with NO nitrates and sulphates or preservatives!!!

So wish me luck as I venture into the world of wee chefs.....

Keep you posted!

Where does the time go???

Dear Blog,

How very sorry I am for my lapse. I have not been nourishing you at all...you have been so good to me and I am completely taking you for granted.....

Well now I have apologised and feel better for it!  ;)

So why have I not been around???  Well where do I start...I have been very busy with motherhood and work.

The universe sent me the most perfect little cafe that is local to me and it just so happens to be on the market for sale!!  I just cant give up a bargain and this quaint little building is truly perfect for my next venture.  What will that be you ask???   (insert drum roll....) Italian Restaurant!!!

Its the next step for us after being in cafes for years we are now ready to operate a night time restaurant. We intend to do rustic, family ordinated dining serving good Nonna's food.

We are just in the process of pleading with the banks to lend us more money so we can open in October with a lovely renovated restaurant.

So this is why I have been neglecting my lovely little blog. I hope to be able to start sharing with you all some lovely Italian recipes and yummy photos soon.

"Watch this Space"

Ciao for now. 

Quarantine and Chicken Pox

Hello my lovely blog...its been too long between visits.

I have no excuses, time has been on my side. My button was exposed to chicken pox over 2 wks ago and I have had to go into quarantine mode. Alas he did not get the spots, but my poor husband did this week!!

Not a great thing to catch as an older person Im afraid. So I have been playing nurse and trying to keep a very active toddler happy and busy during the most rain I have ever seen! 

I have had plenty of time to write on my blog but to be honest I have lost my mojo...:(

So today I searched high and low for it and found it in the packet of some wonderful Pizza Flour and dried yeast.

Both my boys are having huge sleeps today. Little one is coming up to 3 hrs and My big one has been snoozing on the sofa for the last 2.

I need to make a great afternoon snack for when they wake up ravenous. Not being able to make noise I decided to go with pizzas.

My dough is proving while i write this post.

It got me thinking about our favourite foods as children and especially the food we were given when sick.

My mother always made me creamy mashed potato with chicken gravy. To this day its my favourite sooky la la food.

My husband took some soup out of the freezer for lunch today and it just so happened to be his mothers Pumpkin and Tomato. Coincidence I think not... We all revert back to our inner child when feeling poorly and there was nothing better then snuggling in to your mothers open arms for a cuddle and dozing off to the melodic beat of her heart.

I  saw a glaze go over on my husbands face as he slurped his mother's soup. Like a big warm cuddle in a bowl.

My little button loves my pizza. So today he will have some!

I always make my own dough and tomato sauce. Its really easy and very self satisfying. The romance of making dough will never be over for me. Working and kneading the dough puts me in a trance every time. Then watching the ball of yumminess grow before your eyes as it rests in the bowl will never be boring.

Today Im going to use my fresh buffalo mozzarella, salami and mint. Yes I know mint sounds strange on a pizza but I saw this combination on a TV show the other night and I have been dying to try it.

Button just likes his true Italian style...tomato and cheese.

Well the boys are stirring from their slumber so I must get on with it and be the italian mumma makin da pizza!!

Ciao.

Website is GO!

Sorry its been a long time between posts.....life has been hectic to say the least.

My business has now become techno!  I have my very own website.

www.poppyseedcatering.com.au

Its been quiet with business lately but on the home front very busy. Jackman turned 2 and we had a little party for him. What I love about this day and age is our life has become so easy to document thanks to Technology. I was able to take loads of photos and video. I'm also in the process of creating a printed photo book for each year of my sons life.He will be able to look back over the years and see his childhood.

So thanks to you brainacs out there, forever creating and upgrading our technology systems.

I often use the Internet to source recipes and different cooking methods, its quick,easy and cheap.

Still nothing beats going into a bookstore and choosing your next cookbook. I love the smell of a new book (weirdo??) I always have a good whiff then I flick through the pages.

 

My next purchase is going to be the book  "BabyCakes NYC"  an absolutely inspirational gorgeous woman who has created a cupcake bakery in New York for people with strict dietary requirements.....gluten free,sugar free,wheat free.

It hasn't been released in my town yet so I might have to get it on Amazon. I cant wait any longer. It has given me a few ideas for another cafe venture I would like to do in the next year.

I have been thinking about opening another cafe, my hubby is a bit resistant to this idea...who can blame him, we have only just sold our cafe!!

I will have to work on him gently...... ;)

Well need to start getting tonight's dinner ready while my wee button has his midday sleep. How very stepford wife of me.

Enjoy your day and remember.....

"Life is not about waiting for the storms to pass...its about learning how to dance in the rain"

Hot Chocolate and a Cookie??

Well today it is wet,cold and my little treasure has a tummy bug....I have never seen so much liquid come out of something so small. Where does he store it all?

My washing machine and dryer has been working on overtime.

I remember when I was sick as a child mum always gave me my favourite food to eat. My little button's favourite food are my home made choc chip cookies.

This recipe is a fantastic freezing cookie dough. It will make a few sausage rolls of dough but just wrap them in glad wrap and freeze for up to 5 months!!

Good for emergency drop In's. Or for bringing a plate to share...

Awesome Cookie Dough

250gms unsalted butter

1 cup caster sugar

2 eggs

splash vanilla essence

120 gms almond meal

1 cup brown sugar

3.5 cups S.R flour

This is the best part of this recipe.....

The flavours you add to your dough can be any combination you like!

But it must be 250gms  of each. Choose 2 flavours only.

Total of 500gms in weight.

So for my choc-chip cookies I add in 250gms milk choc chips and 250gms of white choc chips.

Pre-heat oven to 180.c

Cream butter and sugars till fluffy add your eggs and mix again till smooth.

Sift the flour into a large mixing bowl, add the almond meal.

Add the butter mixture to the dry and work in with your hands.

Massage and knead the dough till it starts to come together.

Add your chosen flavours and keep kneading the dough.

It should come together to a nice smooth pastry like consistency.

If its a bit dry add a splash of milk.

Separate the dough into 3 or 4 balls, and then roll into a sausage roll shape. Cover in glad wrap.

Let it set in the fridge for about 1/2 hour. If your going to freeze some of the dough then do this now.

When the dough has been rested you can unwrap it and slice it into rounds. You can make your cookie as thick or as thin as you like.

Thick cookies will take longer to bake and the centre is nice and chewy.

These cookies will spread while cooking so don't over crowd them on the baking tray.

Line your tray with baking paper. Place the cookies on it and pop into oven.

I usually bake them for 12 mins first then check. You will have to decide how long to bake them, this depends on the thickness of your cookie.

Keep in mind the cookie might be softish but it will crisp up when it cools down.

Here are some flavor combination ideas....

Macadamia/white chocolate

Pecans/dries apricots

Pistachio/ Dark chocolate

Almond/apricot

Dried Fig/ chocolate

Let your imagination go wild. I sometimes scout the cookie shelves at gourmet foodie shops for flavour ideas.

Make yourself a cup of hot chocolate, put up your feet and don't stop at one cookie!!

Or in my case make a cup of warm chocolate that will be shared and end up with soggy cookie bits in it,most definitely be spilled over me, have a cookie rubbed into my pants and sit on the floor playing trains and passengers.......bless.

In the words of the blue hairy master connoisseur of cookie eating... "COOKIES...num, num, num, I love the cookie!!"

Enjoy. x

Muffin Mania

I have a cocktail party to cater for this weekend. 80 people. I will be serving 6 hot options and 1 sweet option.

The menu is...

Chicken,leek and fetta mini tarts

Sugarcane prawn puffs w/green chilli dipping sauce

Pumpkin,sweetcorn and coriander fritters

Moroccan marinated lamb skewers w/tahini lemon dipping sauce

Beef,mushroom and lentil baby pies

Tomato & Zucchini soup served in cups with garlic toasts

Raspberry & White Chocolate Muffin cupcakes.

While I was making the muffins I thought about sharing my tips for making great muffins.

I have a good reputation for my muffins. They were the best seller in both of our cafes.

I find the best result is to not over mix, let it be lumpy and still a bit of flour not mixed in.

Melt the butter in a jug in the microwave, add your eggs to it and then beat it through in the jug then add the milk.

If you follow this sequence I promise you nothing but praise for your muffins!

If your using frozen berries, fold them in the dry mix first before you add your wet mix. This will stop the berries bleeding through the muffin mixture.

I always use white sugar, not caster. I find this gives the top of the muffin its nice crunch.

DON'T over cook them. Take them out a wee bit before you meant too. The muffins will keep cooking a little bit more as they cool down.

Well see how you go with these tips...

Well I must keep going, I'm behind a bit this week. I have had a sick little boy. Winter cold.

His spirits are good, just rough nights....zzzzzzzzzzz

Sweet Muffins & Dreams.

A Winters Pie...

Well winter is really upon us. Its mushroom season and a great time to get out for a walk and pick your own. You really need to know your mushrooms!!  Nature has a way of tricking us.

I made some mushroom and lentil pies the other day and have been asked to share the recipe. It was a recipe I just made up along the way for 80 pies. So I will try to adjust it for a serving of 4.

Mushroom & Lentil Pies.

500gms  diced mushrooms. Use what ever you like.

1/2 brown onion diced

2 cloves garlic diced

1/2 leek diced

1/2 single piece of celery chopped finely

1 carrot grated finely

1/2 red de-seeded chili diced finely

1/2 zucchini grated finely

2 handfuls chopped baby spinach

1/2 cup uncooked red lentils.

2 tsp chopped thyme

4 basil leaves chopped.

Salt and Pepper

1-2 cups of vegetable or beef or chicken stock

splash white wine

olive oil

50gms butter

Shortcrust pastry.(frozen)

Puff pastry. (frozen)

Pre-heat oven to 180.c.

Thaw out your pastry

In a heavy based saucepan put in a splash of olive oil and the butter.

Sweat all the vegetables till soft, might need to add a bit more oil as you go.

De glaze the pan with a splash of white wine, add the stock, 1 cup first.

Add the lentils and stir through.

Season to taste.

This is when you decide to add the rest of the stock, if it needs it.

Cook it out slowly till the lentils are soft. Lentils will thicken up the mixture as they cook out.

You can use cooked tinned lentils. 1 can is plenty. 

Add the end add your spinach,thyme,basil.

This mixture only takes about 30-40 mins to cook.

Make sure your mixture is moist or you will have dry pies.

Use whatever pie mold you want to. I use my Texas cup muffin tin.

Cut out the appropriate amount of pastry to fit your mould with a little over-hang.

Fill with the pie mix.

Top the pie with your Puff pastry.

Press together around the sides with a fork.

Brush with an egg wash ( 1 egg beaten with a splash of milk)

Sometimes I sprinkle the top of the pies with sesame seeds.

Bake in oven for about 20-25 mins. Till your pastry looks golden brown.

The photos of the mushrooms are in my neighbourhood. Not for eating!!

blurry thinking: more bandwidth filler

blurry thinking: more bandwidth filler

Blessed be the vegans...

 Well last weekend I had my first all weekend function to cater for. It was the Australian Home birth Midwifery Retreat. 

60 beautiful women ( and 1 man) who all gathered at this fantastic retreat in the hills. It was a cold but cosy atmosphere, lots of love,laughter,tears and bonding going on.

My job was to feed these magnificent women who are out there caring for pregnant women and giving us the best possible births. I felt honored to do so.

An email was sent out to the retreat guests to ask if anyone had any dietary requirements so I could be prepared. Most of the guests were vegetarian and a few vegans.

I panicked at first then really embraced the idea of catering a weekend for mostly vegetarians.

The menu consisted of soups,lentil burgers,mushroom pies,sweet potato lasagne's, nuts,seeds,roasted vegetables, quinoa salads,muffins,fruit,crumbles,lemon tarts.....  I had a great time cooking outside the square and really enjoyed the fabulous feedback.

I made a particular salad that was a huge hit...it was my Savoury Quinoa Salad.

Quinoa is a super food! (pronounced  keen-wah)

It comes from the spinach family and is a seed. A complex protein! 

You need to cook it like rice and a bit like cous-cous.

Savoury Quinoa Salad

1 cup uncooked quinoa ( this will feed about 4 people)

2 cups water.

1 tbs ground cumin

1 tbs ground coriander

1 tsp sweet paprika

2 cup chopped roasted pumpkin

S'n"P to season

Big splash of olive oil

Handful fresh coriander chopped

Handful fresh mint chopped

1/2 red onion chopped into thin 1/2 rings

1/2 red capsicum diced

1/2 cup currants or sultanas

1 cup slivered almonds toasted

1/2 cup sunflower seeds toasted

1/2 cup pumpkin seeds toasted

Cook the quinoa in the water. Bring to a boil then turn to a simmer, till the water evaporates and the seeds start to sprout a wee bit and its softer to chew on.

Let it cool down.

In a bowl add all the ingredients and add the cooled quinoa. Mix together. Adjust seasoning.

You can add baby spinach or rocket.

Its a great super food. Google Quinoa and see the amazing health benefits it has for you and the kids!

I make a nice cinnamon quinoa porridge with sultanas and my little boy loves it.

Enjoy and cook some vegan food sometimes...its better for you and the environment.

Namaste.

Some like it hot...

Today I had a wonderful day sharing curries and wine with a few of my fabulous friends. It was an idea I have had for sometime but was waiting for a bit cooler weather.

I invited two couples and asked them both to bring a curry each. The result was intoxicating. 

The table was heaving with exotic ingredients and the air was filled with the smell of India. We had a lamb lentil curry, beef madras, butter chicken, cucumber raita, spinach paneer, carrot sesame relish and the usual bandits...rice and pappadums.

We all ate too much and had to go for a walk afterwards to make room for my Lumberjack cake served with lashings of cream. The dogs were all too grateful for this idea. They love a good walk around our leafy neighbourhood.

One of the relishes I made was a home made chilli sambal. It is a very easy recipe and a real hit with chilli lovers.

Chilli Sambal

 1 red capsicum

3 red long chillis

2 green chillis

1/2 brown onion

3 cloves garlic peeled

2 tsp ground cumin powder

2 tsp ground corriander powder

Salt n Pepper

Olive oil

Slice it all up roughly and toss it in olive oil with all the seasonings.

Put it on a lined baking tray in the oven about 180.c

Roast them off till soft and a little bit of color happens.

Let cool down a wee bit, then put it all in your food processor and lightly blitz till your mixture becomes chunky. Don't over puree it.

Makes about 2 cups.

Will keep in the fridge for about 2 weeks. You could make it last longer if you mix in more olive oil.

Enjoy. 

Make a cake...

Today I asked my little man when he awoke from his day nap what shall we do? His reply was "make a cake" ...

He is completely hooked on cake. Everything is cake this and cake that. We went to a wedding last weekend and the cake was made up of lots of little cupcakes with magical white sparkly icing. I took one home and we shared it. It was the most deliciously moist chocolate cupcake I have ever eaten. 

I don't make sugary chocolate cakes at home because my will power to eat one wee piece doesn't exist, so I try to make healthy,fruity low sugar cake. This way I can eat more!! Right???

So I came up with this recipe today...

Banana and Apricot Cake

160ml milk

2 tsp lemon juice

150g butter, softened

1/2 cup caster sugar

1/4 cup L.S.A mixture. (this a mixture of grounded linseed,almond,sunflower seeds)

2 eggs

2 cups SR flour

1/2 tsp bi-carb soda

1 cup mashed banana

100g chopped dried apricots.

Heat oven to about 180.c

Combine milk and lemon juice. let stand for 10mins.

Cream butter and sugar till light and fluffy.

Add eggs one at a time till just combined.

Transfer mixture to a mixing bowl and add the sifted flour and soda. Add LSA mixture.

Add mashed bananas and apricots.

Add milk mixture.

Stir till mixture is just combined. It might seem a bit of a dry mix but it seems to sort itself out in the oven while cooking.

I used a slice tray to bake my cake as I wanted it to be a slice like looking cake. It's easier to freeze in portions this way.

I think it took about 40mins but check it at 30mins. I like to slightly under cook my cakes, as the heat from the cake will keep cooking it a bit more while its out of the oven and cooling down. I also put a tea towel over the cake while its cooling. I find this helps with the moisture retention.

It was a big hit with my little man. He kept saying with his mouthful " mmmm its good"

Bless his little cotton socks. 

Rainy days,Elvis movies and Soup...

Its has been raining cats and dogs today...(what a weird saying??)  I decided early on in the day that I would not be getting out of my PJ's till 3pm!

So my husband and son hung out together and made the odd visit into our bedroom to say hi and show me the playdoh creations they had made. I remained in bed snuggled under the quilt watching an Elvis Presley movie. 

It came time for lunch and my boys came into the room looking quite concerned at the fact that I wasnt getting out of bed and they might have to eat something out of a can.....Oh the terror!!

Just as well I always have a little something tasty in the freezer for such an occasion. So today we had Thai Spiced Pumpkin Soup  with a grilled cheese sandwich. Yummo!!

My favorite recipe for this soup is as follows

Its a rough measurement recipe but really foolproof.

Heat your oven to 180.c

1 smallish whole jap pumpkin ( or whatever pumpkin you like). Peeled and chopped rough

3 carrotts. Peeled and chopped rough

1 brown onion, peeled and chopped rough

3 cloves peeled garlic

Toss all of this into a mixing bowl and add enough olive oil to slightly coat ingredients.

Season with salt'n'pepper. Mix around and tip it out onto a lined roasting tray (might need 2 trays)

Roast the mixture off till pumpkin is a little bit softer.

Red Curry Paste

2 cans Coconut Cream

Vegetable Stock liquid or cubes

Fresh Corriander

In a large heavy based saucepan splash in a little olive oil and then gently fry off some Red Curry Paste ( you need to be the judge of how much spice you like). When the paste is starting to seperate a wee bit and sizzling add 2 cans of coconut cream and stir it thro to combine together. Turn your heat down to a simmer.

Add your roasted vegetables to the saucepan and then make up enough stock to give you a good soup consistency. Remember pumpkin really thickens up! 

Cook on a simmer till all the vegetables are soft enough to puree. You might need to adjust the stock and make it a bit thinner....better to add as its hard to thicken.

I use a bamix stabber to puree my soup while its still in the saucepan.

When its a great smooth consistency its ready. Check the seasoning and adjust.

I sometimes put in a tin of chickpeas or lentils after I have pureed. It gives it a nice texture.

Serve with freshly chopped corriander and crust bread.....mmmmmmm yummo.

Remember to slurp and wipe out the bowl with your bread. Its a respectful custom in some countries.

Enjoy.

Website Envy & Wholemeal Pancakes

Today it has been raining all day. Not much to do but cook. I whipped up some wholemeal pancakes for my little man, served with homemade plum jam. He thought licking off the jam and sucking the pancakes was the way to go.... cute.

My easy peasy recipe for healthy pancakes are as follows.

1 cup wholemeal organic self raising flour

1 free-range egg beaten

splash of milk.

Mix the egg and enough milk into the flour to make it a thick pouring consistency.

Heat frypan on a medium heat. I use rice bran oil spray.

Then with a dessertspoon dollop mixture into small pancakes into frypan.

You can keep the left over cooked pancakes in the fridge. Great for snacks for the wee tike's.

So after lunch I spent some time on the computer, I'm researching recipes for Quinoa ( a super food grain!!! Its the bomb! )

I stumbled across a fantastic website....   www.101cookbooks.com

The joy I got from searching this truly inspiring website, I felt I needed to share with you.

This woman is the complete package! Cook,designer,photographer..... (sigh)

I don't normally covet but man I cant help it.

So if you get the time to check out this website please do. You cant help but be blown away!

Namaste.

Bring a plate to share...

Well it has been a very busy few weeks.

 I had my two sister's and their husbands and children over on Easter Sunday.Then on Easter Monday I had my husband's family.

 I decided to scale back on the catering and welcome back the 70's tradition of "Bring a plate". I love this style of cooking and eating. It gives you an opportunity to feel less frazzled when entertaining and you also get to experience other treasures people have cooked in the kitchen.

So the Easter celebrations saw marinated octopus, a spectacular pasta salad, creamy potato salad, lemon tarts, and a huge chocolate easter egg cake all brought to the table to be admired and devoured.

My catering business had it's debut on Saturday night and it went off without a hitch. I did forget the duck cold rolls dipping sauce but with a quick mind and a gracious host I was able to raid his pantry and quickly make up a sauce from a mixture of oyster sauce,sugar and crushed peanuts....I pulled it off!!

The feedback from guests was very encouraging, my business cards were being handed out and all the plates were coming back empty.....always a good sign.

The cocktail food served was.....

Chicken,leek and feta tarts

Rare roast beef fillet on rye croutons with horseradish creme

Caramelized onion and goats curd tarts

Hoison duck cold rolls

Porcini and pecorino risotto balls

Sugarcane prawn puffs with a green chili mint dip sauce

Yellow fin tuna sashimi with wasabi soy dip sauce

Red beef curry pies

Vegetarian samosa with raita

Tuscan honey and pinenut tarts

Fresh fruit skewers with a dark bitter chocolate fondue sauce

Dolci Gorgonzola drizzled with orange blossom honey and served with turkish pide crisps

My mouth is watering as I write this.

 It took a good two days cooking in the kitchen, my husband is on holidays so he was able to look after our son. He was very happy to play with the left over pastry dough and stick it up his nose! (my son that is, not my husband...) He is now discovering he can stick things in his nose and ears....make for an interesting day.

Well I will be posting some recipes soon. I have been asked for my Lumberjack cake recipe and my Butter Chicken curry.

Take care and remember to listen to great music whilst cooking, it improves the flavour of the food!!

Chicken pies

Today is one of those days that was meant for cooking....

I had some chicken thighs to use up and decided to make some pies.

This recipe is not to the letter, I tend to improvise as I go. Sometimes the best dishes are created from a mistake.

I really enjoy making pastry but I found this incredible local company who makes the most amazing frozen pastry. I will give them a plug on my blog.

CAREME pastry. Check out there website.  www.caremepastry.com 

Its really cost effective and great for those emergency cook-offs.

I always have some in the freezer.

CHICKEN PIES   (makes 6)

olive oil

4 chicken thigh fillets

1/2 leek diced

1 clove garlic diced

1 carrot diced

6 mushrooms. (any type)

8 green beans diced

splash white wine

1/4 cup cream

knob butter

1 Tbs plain flour.

fresh thyme,tarragon,oregano.

salt'n' pepper to taste

1/2 massel chicken stock cube

1/2 cup boiling water.

Pastry:

Shortcrust pastry for the bases.

Puff pastry for the tops.

Pre-heat your oven to 180c.

-Heat a heavy based saucepan. (I like the french style cookers) splash of olive oil.

-Add your diced chicken and seal the meat. Deglaze the pan with a splash of wine. Stir and scrape all those yummy dark bits off the bottom of the pan.

-Create a slight bit of color on the chicken, then transfer to a bowl.

-Heat up the same saucepan, add more oil, add the leek,garlic,mushrooms,carrot.Sweat off till carrot is soft.

-Add the chicken to the pan and stir into the veggies.Add the stock cube that has been dissolved in the boiling water.

-Add your cream. Turn down heat to simmer. Add your fresh herbs and season to taste.

-If you find the mixture to dry add more cream, if its too wet thicken it up with a roux made from your butter and flour. ( I'm assuming you know what a roux is?? If you don't just leave me a comment and I will post this thickening technique)

Just before the pie mixture is a good consistency add your green beans. By doing this now you will keep your beans green and not a yucky grey color. ;)   Take pie mix off the heat.

 I used a Texas cup muffin tray for my pies. Grease this really well. 

Roll out your shortcrust pastry and cut out larger circles that will fit inside the muffin cup and leave you some hanging over. 

When you have made 6 put the muffin tray into the fridge to chill the pastry while you do the tops.

Roll out or defrost your puff pastry sheets. Use a bowl or cutter that is a bit smaller then the one you used for the pie bases. With your scraps of pastry get creative and make some shapes...stars,leaves,chicken....the kids love doing this part!

Now fill your pie bases with the mixture,not to full about 2/3 rds. Or the tops will separate and you will have a mess on your hands.

With your lids, give them a little egg wash on the part that is going on to the base. This is your glue to stick it together. Using a fork press around the sides so its all sealed. Egg wash the tops and stick your shapes to them and sprinkle with sesame seeds or cumin. Even a little fennel seed would be nice.

Bake for about 25mins. Till its golden brown and puffy on top!  YUM!

If you have any pastry and mixture left. Make tiny baby pies...great for the kids lunchbox or afternoon snacks.

You can freeze these pies also. Just reheat in the oven on a low temp.

I apologise if this recipe has any mistakes in it. I am an extremely sleep deprived mummy at the moment. My wee monkey has decided after a great few weeks of sleeping at night,that he would very much like to wake at least 4 times a night!!  AARRRGGGHH. Its day 4 of this so my nerves are frail. 

So here's to the elusive sleep through! Please let it visit my house tonight. (pleeeeeeese)

Im very proud of the photo of my pies. Taken on my Nikon D40x. My other baby.

Cocktail Menu for Poppyseed Catering

This is the current menu. I will probably have this menu for most of the year and just add a few more seasonal items as I go along.

chicken,leek & fetta tarts

satay chicken skewers

thai chicken balls w/sweet cucumber dippin sauce

grilled chicken,prosciutto,mushroom skewers

sticky bbq chicken drummettes w/ ranch dressing sauce

caramelized onion & goats curd tarts

wild mushroom,garlic & thyme tarts

zucchini & fetta fritters w/ basil pesto

roasted pumpkin & coriander fritters w/ sweet chili sauce

prawn & chorizo skewers w/ saffron aoli

bacon wrapped grilled oysters w/ kirkpatrick sauce

red beef curry petite pies

slow cooked beef,mushroom & red wine petite pies

mixed grill skewers ( beef fillet,bacon,chorizo,capsicum)

baby crumbed veal bites w/ lemon aoli dippin sauce  (like a baby snitzy)

middle eastern lamb skewers w/tahini & honey sauce

moroccan lamb tarts w/ raita

parmesan & olive shortbread biscuits w/basil pesto and danish fetta

white bean & sage dip on baby croutons

baked poppyseed green olive puffs

vegetarian sushi

roasted vegetable frittata w/ olive tapenade

wild mushroom pate on croutons

creamy local brie cheese,pear and quince paste on pumpernickel toasts

smoked salmon & dill caper creme cheese on croutons

prawn cocktail skewers w/ spicy seafood sauce

freshly prepared sashimi tuna, cured and served on asian spoons.

rare roast beef fillet on croutons w/ fresh horseradish creme

vietnamese poached chicken cold rolls w/hoisin sauce

5 spiced roasted duck breast cold rolls.

vanilla bean panacotta shots

lemon brulee shots

mini trifle cups

baby tiramisu in short black cups

mini lemon tarts

dark chocolate tarts

orange blossom honey & pinenut tart

fresh fruit kebabs w/ chocolate fondue sauce

petite organic vanilla bean ice cream in cones,choc dipped and rolled in crushed nuts

chocolate mud truffles rolled in dutch cocoa,pistachios or almonds

Do you think I have enough choices???

Variety is the spice of life.

A picture tells a thousand words

Im truly lucky to have a most lovely friend in my life, who happens to be a rockin' photographer.

Claude and I set out to produce some enticing stylised food shots. He needed to update his portfolio and I was more then happy to help. So the photos you see on this blog are original and the handy work of Claude Raschella and myself.

The best part was eating the props!!

I used to be involved in the advertising industry as a photographers assistant and did many a food shoot. One of my favourite hobbies is collecting cookbooks. I love the photos. My personal belief is you should be able to taste the food before its in your mouth. Vision makes up most of our eating experience. Present your food in various ways, entice your taste buds...its gastronomical foreplay!! 

I was lucky to be asked from an advertising company a while back to cook and style a bacon product. The company wanted to change its packaging. Now when I go shopping and see in the deli department, a local brand of bacon with my photo on it!! Weird.

So next time you flick through a food magazine or a cookbook try some of the presentation ideas on your dinner guests.

P.S  the kiddies love it when you jazz up a dinner plate. Veggies in a little dipping bowl, sandwiches cut into shapes, baked spud in an egg cup....let your imagination run wild.

I will post more yummy pictures soon.

Nana's Lemonade Scones

My husband the lumberjack has been very busy this weekend chopping wood getting ready for the chilly nights, I thought I had better join in and bake...

A very easy scone recipe I found in my travels. It seriously takes all of 5 mins to prepare. 

Set your oven to about 200.C

3 cups SR Flour

1 cup caster sugar

1 cup whole cream

1 cup lemonade

Sift the flour and sugar into a larger mixing bowl

Mix the lemonade and cream together in a jug.

Add the wet mixture to the dry.

Now this is the secret......use a butter knife and in a slicing motion gently mix it all together till just combined.

Use a baking tray and line with non-stick baking paper, flour the surface a little and tip out the mixture, flour your hands and then gently push from the sides of the mixture and lightly from the top till you achieve a squarish shape.

Bake for about 12-15 mins. You are looking for a light brown top and fluffy centre. Dont overcook.

This will cook in a rustic looking slab, then you can cut a scone from it when its cooked. Great to put on the table with a pot of freshly brewed loose leaf tea, jam and bowl of thickened whipped cream. Very nanna!

You can use soda water too. Doesn't need to chilled. This will cut back on the sugar content.

Can freeze cooked scones.Great for unexpected guests, just pop into the microwave. 

Lamb Shanks Recipe

 This recipe will serve 4 adults. You can also use this for the wee munchkins (delete the wine) Its great the next day. Shred the meat off the bone and put into a pasta sauce,risotto,or couscous.

4 Frenched Lamb Shanks  (ask your butcher to do this for you)

Plain flour

Salt'n Pepper

Smoked Paprika

Olive oil

3 peeled and finely diced carrots

3 stalks celery finely diced

1 brown onion diced

4 garlic cloves diced

1 small red capsicum diced

1 large leek finely diced

1/2 litre red wine

2 litres chicken stock

2 800gms tinned crushed tomatoes

Fresh oregano,thyme.

3 bay leaves

Heat a heavy based saucepan with olive oil.

Dust your shanks in the flour, put shanks into the pan and add salt,pepper,paprika.

Seal the meat, try to get a nice caramel color on the shank.

Remove from shanks from pan, turn down heat. Might need a slash more olive oil.

Add all the diced vegetables and sweat this off till the onion is creamy and a wee bit colored.

Then deglaze the pan with red wine and cook off the alcohol for about 5 mins. Stir it through and let the vegetables soak the in the red wine.

Add the chicken stock and tomatoes. Then throw in your herbs and bay leaves.

Stir through.

If you are going to be using a slow cooker follow this step...put shanks into cooker and tip the vegetable sauce over them,put lid on and set to high and go shopping for the day!

If you are using the oven or the stovetop....put shanks into your saucepan of vegetable sauce, lid on and put into oven for 2-3 hours. Keep checking that the sauce has not evaporated too much during the cooking process.

Oven temp about 160. Stove top on simmer.

Shanks are ready when the meat is tender and almost falling off the bone.

Serve with  creamy mashed potato,buttery green beans and crunchy french bread. Dont forget to drink a rocking good glass of red wine with this meal.

This is a great dish to make the day before. Then all you need to do is reheat the shanks with some of the sauce.

Its Autumn.....Comfort Food

Well its finally here....the excuse to drag out the Sunbeam Slow Cooker. Actually you should never need an excuse to slow cook. Its a truly intoxicating way to create and eat for that matter.

So today I decided to cook my famous Lamb Shanks, when I owned my cafe this was the best seller by far. I will share with you my secrets.... watch the next blog for a recipe.

First I would like to tell you all about my crush I have on my slow cooker. This love affair started about 2 yrs ago when I was a few weeks off having my baby. It was in the middle of winter and my ankles looked liked I had been hiking in sub tropical jungles, I had to get off my feet and rest. My husband is great around the house but not the best in the gourmet chef department. His speciality is crumbed chicken....great but not so great after 4 nights in a row!!!  Bless him.

My girlfriend who has had 3 children and completely understanding of my chicken dilemma, gave me the best advice I had been given as an expectant mother " Honey, you gotta get yourself a slow cooker".

I am forever in her debt.

I was able to quickly prepare soups, curries, casseroles, puddings....all in the morning while my ankles looked liked supermodel material. Turn on the cooker and forget about it. 

My husband was relived of his cooking duties and we all ate the better for it.

During those first few months of motherhood when I was a frazzled,sore,sleep deprived human being I was still able to whip up a gourmet meal to treat ourselves at the end of a very, very long day. All it took was 20mins in the morning.

Now with a busy energetic toddler at my feet, I find my cooker even more my savior. I can cook a casserole for Jackman ( my son) and freeze this in portions. TIMESAVER!!!    and whip us big kids up a butter chicken curry or my famous lamb shanks.

So ladies...... make a life time investment and buy a slowcooker.

Chicken Drumsticks with Ranch Dressing

This is a favourite when I serve it up at party's.

Chicken Drumsticks

32 small chicken drumsticks. (get your butcher to french them...otherwise you will have to do this at home, cut of the wing tip and french around the thigh knuckle)

1 Tbs cracked pepper

1 tbs garlic salt

1 tbs onion powder

Olive oil for deep frying

1 cup tomato sauce

1/3 cup Worcestershire sauce

40g melted butter

1 tbs white sugar  (can use brown sugar for extra caramelising)

Tabasco sauce to taste.

Ranch dressing

1 cup whole egg mayonnaise

1 cup sour cream

1/3 cup lemon juice

1/3 cup chopped fresh chives

Salt & Pepper to taste.

1.  Combine pepper,garlic salt, onion powder in a extra large plastic freezer bag. Give a shake.

Add the chicken drummies and toss around in the bag till coated.

2.  Fill a heavy based  pan one third full of oil. The oil is ready when you drop a cube of bread into it and it turns golden brown in 15 secs.

Cook the chicken in batches for 2 mins each. Drain on paper towels. This is to seal the chicken not cook it through.

3. Transfer the chicken to a large non-metal bowl. Combine the sauces,butter,sugar and tabasco. Pour over the chicken and stir to coat. Refrigerate, covered for several hours or better if overnight.  

4.  Cook the chicken on a hot oiled lightly bbq grill or a grill pan on your stove top. Cook about 20mins, or until cooked through.

Turn and brush with the marinade during cooking.

5. Serve with the ranch dressing dipping sauce.

7. To make the dressing, mix together all the ingredients and season to taste with salt & pepper.

This is great party food for kids too. Just eliminate the tabasco sauce.

Dont forget to pass the napkins around. 

Hope this recipe is easy to follow.....I typed it out with a toddler on my lap eating a very messy peanut butter sandwich. Thank goodness for wet one wipes!

Functions are booked

Well business is taking off!   I now have three booked functions and one pending. Two 40th birthday party's and a weekend retreat for midwifes and guest speakers. I'm very excited about this.

My business cards and letterhead artwork is looking great. I will post this up on the blog when I get it back from the printers. A wee hiccup on the printing of the cards but it should be fixed in the next week. I have a meeting next week with a potential client who is getting married.

I do love a wedding... 

On the home front my wee angel Jackman is a trick, he is so funny and makes me laugh a lot. Today I introduced him to baked pretzels (not homemade but I'm working on it...)  I asked him if he was enjoying it and he turned around, looking up at me and replied " mmmm not bad"

I nearly fell over laughing much to his delight. He is only 21 mths old!!!

Tonight I made the best organic Roasted Chicken, the secret is to squish a stick of butter up between the skin on the breasts. I usually roll this stick in chopped garlic,thyme,oregano and lemon zest first. (about 100gm sticks) on each breast.

Then olive oil the chicken skin and smother in sweet paprika,salt and pepper. Usual rule of thumb is for every 500gms of raw chicken you need to cook for 30mins on 200 degrees. I don't make stuffing, I just put in the carcass, the lemon you used to zest, a few whole unpeeled garlic cloves and 1/2 brown onion.

Well tonight I have to print up my menu. Will post this on the blog soon. Better be prepared for the meeting on Monday. 

Remember to always live in the now and lick the bowl...

My new business

I have decided to set up a catering business from home. I feel this will enable me to pursue my two passions, being a stay at home mummy and making pies.

To give you the heads up on my background, I have been working in the kitchens of many a restaurant now for 10yrs...self taught. Started scrubbing pots into the wee hours of the mornings while watching the great masters at work weaving their magic on the stove tops.

This environment was intoxicating, the smells,heat,tension and the odd crying waitress all blended together in the mixing bowl of the kitchen was way too much for me, I had to get in their and weave some magic too.

I convinced my head chef at the time to give this woman a go. He did and to my surprise I swam and kept my head above water.

The screaming waiters, the buzz of the docket machine out of control with another saturday night of excited and impatient customer orders and a chef bleeding from an insane knife wound all added to the romance. I had been bitten and it felt good!!!

I worked my around most cuisines and decided that I might give it a go setting up my own cafe.

This proved to be a very good decision and I set up two cafes with my husband. He so patiently supported my crazy enthusiasm and was a great business partner. I know we can survive anything life throws us now.

I sold our cafes in January this year after operating for 6 yrs thinking I would retire and lay low for a wee while.

Well I just cant!  I need to cook, its my life!  

I also want to stay at home and enjoy every moment with my nearly 2 yr old son.

So the best option was to cater for parties in my local area. Its only in skeleton stages but I already have 3 functions booked.  Woo Hoo!  To be paid for ones passion is a true blessing.

The birth of "Poppyseed Catering" has begun.  My business cards are at the printers, menu design has started and I have had two official meetings with clients that have booked a function.

Ok this is the part where I scream.....aaarararararaggghhh.   trust me its an excited scream!

I love cocktail party's.... the excitement of preparing morsels of pop in your mouth explosions gets me all warm and fuzzy inside.

Its a bit like that great movie "Like Water For Chocolate"  when the woman prepares food with all her emotions and this magic is passed on to her guests. 

I have had strangers come to me in the kitchen of the house I'm presenting the food to give me a kiss! 

This is what I cook for...to pass on and pay it forward.

So on this blog I will endeavor to share with you some great cocktail food recipe's