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.