tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-59540199656615925942024-03-05T19:04:39.922+11:00Frittata Etc.Home cooking using healthy whole food ingredientsLaurenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00937396627834598695noreply@blogger.comBlogger15125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5954019965661592594.post-42668041269877501812010-01-27T16:03:00.004+11:002010-01-28T15:07:31.175+11:00A Simple Chana Dhal<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjprFGRTFCjC8j-Th98XW1e0akl0RVjSDEVsoUKm8uXVXl5hobB_-CKOA00X_SgmjiNpo95feL7KpgVh0fUJO6vboc9siMiyaaVMr_T1G6_n6RRB5qllxQ3T2DVbw5LKC458AeQleP_7ozo/s1600-h/IMG_0404.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="267" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjprFGRTFCjC8j-Th98XW1e0akl0RVjSDEVsoUKm8uXVXl5hobB_-CKOA00X_SgmjiNpo95feL7KpgVh0fUJO6vboc9siMiyaaVMr_T1G6_n6RRB5qllxQ3T2DVbw5LKC458AeQleP_7ozo/s400/IMG_0404.jpg" width="400" /></a><br />
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This Simple Chana Dhal has become a new favourite in our household and I look forward to making it again and again. Partly because it is so healthy you wouldn't believe and also because it is so simple that the second time I made it I only needed to consult the recipe to confirm which spices to add. The method is dead easy, there's no need for scrutinising the recipe which means its very quick (even quicker with a pressure cooker which is how most Indians cook their dhals) which I LOVE on a weeknight and partly because it is so versatile. Add more liquid for a soupy consistency or less for a firm texture, add spinach or some other vegetables or leave it simple as I have - either way its delicious. It's traditional to serve dhal with rice and if you're having a vegetarian meal this means that you get all the protein you need but I have served it with salad and it was lovely.<br />
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First things first - chana dhal - what is it exactly? Well <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dal">dhal</a> is a generic term for the pulses (dried beans, lentils, split peas etc.) that Indians use to make soups and stews and it also refers to the stews and soups themselves. Chana dhal is a variety of chickpea that has had its skin removed and been split. So therefore chana dhal is the ingredient and also the name of the dish produced.<br />
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The great thing about chana dhal which is why, when I saw it I bought it, is that it has an extremely low glycemic index - about 8 on a scale of 100 - which is very low. It also packs a protein punch with about 25 gms per 100 grams of dried chana dhal and it has a lot of fiber in it and its very low fat. What else could you ask for?<br />
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<b>Simple Chana Dhal</b><br />
<br />
<br />
<i>1 1/2 cups split dried chana dhal, soaked<br />
6 cups water (including 1 cup of stock is optional but if you use some stock don't add salt as well)<br />
2 tablespoons turmeric<br />
<br />
2 minced cloves garlic<br />
1 tablespoon garam masala<br />
2 teaspoons cumin<br />
2 teaspoons mustard powder<br />
1 teaspoon powdered ginger<br />
1 teaspoon red chilli powder</i><br />
<i>3 tablespoons lime juice<br />
salt and black pepper to taste<br />
a drizzle of olive oil<br />
</i><br />
<i><br />
</i><br />
This step is optional - I place the dhal in a bowl of hot water and soak it overnight or for several hours. Its not necessary but it speeds up the cooking time to soften it beforehand. The whole dish takes about 45 mins and I would say about a third of the time if you use a pressure cooker. Also, I prefer to use 5 cups of water and 1 cup of vegetable stock which makes if very flavourful but that's only optional.<br />
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Put the dhal and water in a big pot with turmeric and bring to the boil, then reduce the heat and simmer until tender. Once the dhal is tender see if its the desired consistency and either drain some liquid out or add some.<br />
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In a small non-stick fry pan, drizzle some olive oil and add the garlic. Sautee the garlic for about two minutes over medium heat. Add all the other spices except the black pepper and chilli powder and fry for about a minute, stirring vigorously. Add the chilli, stir quickly, then take the skillet off the heat and dump the mix into the pot<br />
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Stir well. Taste. Add the lime juice and the black pepper to taste. Serve warm or at room temperature.Laurenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00937396627834598695noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5954019965661592594.post-27705517316946464122010-01-18T13:51:00.005+11:002010-01-18T14:13:09.730+11:00Grilled Delight<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigfmkpuCPoSmYYFb2GtdEc7SI1h5TzAFw_Zi2pgInd9_ISt-OrPSLSfoiHfHgmjs_19Ek9JpmzNaAKo59o8NAlioDiDfO_bdhuNhyphenhyphena-uNojPfAh1pUUkE_Bvm2h_B8zItAFSPPyPr4wzV6/s1600-h/grilledeggplantl_salad.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigfmkpuCPoSmYYFb2GtdEc7SI1h5TzAFw_Zi2pgInd9_ISt-OrPSLSfoiHfHgmjs_19Ek9JpmzNaAKo59o8NAlioDiDfO_bdhuNhyphenhyphena-uNojPfAh1pUUkE_Bvm2h_B8zItAFSPPyPr4wzV6/s400/grilledeggplantl_salad.jpg" /></a><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">When going to a BBQ its always hard to decide on a salad to take, or maybe I'm the only person with that problem.<br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Anyway, I've invented a new favourite which is just perfect for this purpose. The main ingredients are grilled eggplant and zucchini which I did in my griddle pan so that they get a smoky flavour which matches BBQ meats very well.<br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">By the way I have to say I absolutely love my griddle pan it is a great addition to any kitchen.<br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><b>Grilled Eggplant and Zucchini Salad with Feta </b><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Ingredients:<br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">3 small to medium sized eggplants<br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">1 small zucchini (I used a round one from the Farmer's Market)<br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">1 large mild red chilli, diced<br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">100 gms of Dodoni feta cheese<br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">1/4 of a ripe, juicy lime<br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">coriander leaves<br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">very small amount of olive oil<br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">salt and pepper to taste <br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Method:<br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Brush griddle pan with a small amount of olive oil. Place on the heat to come to temperature slowly. The pan should get to HOT temperature. Sorry I know that's not a technical term but you know what I mean - smokin'!<br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Slice eggplants and zucchini into 1 cm thick slices and season to taste. Place on the griddle pan in batches and cook until moist and tender with char lines where its touched the griddle. Taste the eggplant to be sure its cooked properly as it can taste a little funny/soapy if not cooked enough. When each batch of vegetable is cooked, place on a plate and set aside.<br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Once all the vegetables are char grilled layer them neatly on a serving plate, add coriander leaves, crumble the feta over the top, scatter the chilli over and add a squeeze lime juice all over.<br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Serve at room temperature.<br />
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</div>Laurenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00937396627834598695noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5954019965661592594.post-7316923174919276922009-11-09T13:29:00.002+11:002009-11-09T13:53:16.977+11:00The Beauty of Bircher MuesliIn our house we predominantly have cereal for breakfast during the week. During summer I favour Bircher Muesli, whereas in winter, we naturally eat a lot of porridge. I always look forward to when the time comes around to make Bircher Muesli again as there's nothing better or more suited to my tastes than having a bowl of oats, fruit and yoghurt for breakfast in summer. <br />
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As with many well known foods the modern versions that we know bear little resembelance to the original, and so it is with Bircher Muesli. The <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Muesli#Original_Bircher-Benner_muesli_recipe">original</a> actually used very little oats and was made with cream, whereas it is accepted that modern versions are made with yoghurt. Apart from the basics of oats, fruit and yoghurt you can pretty much improvise with Bircher Muesli and this is what I like about it.<br />
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I always make a large quantity of the basic mix and then I top it with whatever fruit I feel like each day. Nuts are optional but a very nice addition. The bowl of muesli keeps for several days in the fridge and couldn't make breakfast much easier to manage really.<br />
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</a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhz4k1uNJ5aP63oNE_IYmyip2BZINOZpzctFv50qbEpej0ptjYN7knQkKQpRz_I2uLXNMx5rUCWqWKiEY_NOXqn5_ftKNqkJds8SSc3CRBJjerbP2WFODlhjKmLTHQVY4xtKPJJbsJnq6gc/s1600-h/bircher_muesli4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhz4k1uNJ5aP63oNE_IYmyip2BZINOZpzctFv50qbEpej0ptjYN7knQkKQpRz_I2uLXNMx5rUCWqWKiEY_NOXqn5_ftKNqkJds8SSc3CRBJjerbP2WFODlhjKmLTHQVY4xtKPJJbsJnq6gc/s320/bircher_muesli4.jpg" /></a><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><b>Bircher Muesli</b><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Ingredients:<br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Muesli:<br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">2 cups of rolled oats<br />
</div>1 - 1½ cups of fruit juice (any flavour, but apple works well)<br />
3 tbs of slivered almonds<br />
3 tbs of sunflower seeds<br />
2 tbs of flax seeds<br />
Cinnamon, to taste<br />
2 tbs sultanas or other dried fruit (optional)<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">For Serving:<br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">2 desert spoons of low fat natural yoghurt or sheep’s milk yoghurt<br />
</div>Your choice of chopped fresh fruit, dried fruit and nuts.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Method:<br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Add all the dry ingredients to a bowl and then add the fruit juice. A pyrex bowl with a plastic lid is ideal.<br />
</div>Mix everything together so that all the dry ingredients are wet and then cover and leave in the fridge overnight.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">To Serve:<br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Add yoghurt to ½ cup of muesli and stir to combine in a bowl. Then add chopped fresh fruit, dried fruit and nuts as desired.<br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div>Some suggestions are - mango and macadamias, pear and roasted hazelnuts, apple and walnuts or almonds, barberries and pistachios, strawberries, blueberries and pecans.<br />
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</div>Laurenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00937396627834598695noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5954019965661592594.post-26365422998855560532009-11-03T08:54:00.017+11:002009-11-04T10:07:36.281+11:00Chicken and Corn ChowderI just bought the Jamie Oliver iphone application (yes I'm addicted to the app store like so many others) called <a href="http://www.iphoneappreview.com/jamie-oliver-launches-20-minute-meals-app.html">20 Minute Meals</a>. It's a good little app with easy recipes, a shopping list function, basic instructions and videos of basic kitchen techniques. Very nice if you're a fan of <a href="http://www.jamieoliver.com/">Jamie</a>.<br /><br />There was a recipe for Chilli Corn Chowder in the Soups section which I've used as the basis for this recipe but I thought it would be really nice with chicken in it and I opted for fresh corn instead of the frozen corn kernels that Jamie uses in his recipe. I also used coriander instead of thyme, because that's what I had in the fridge, as well as making some other adjustments to make it a little more healthy and low GI. For instance, I used turnip instead of potato to thicken the soup and I gave the sour cream a miss.<br /><br />The result was a tasty but quick dinner that's a prefect spring dish; fresh, with a bit of zing to it from the chilli, but completely comforting at the same time.<br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibPBk5wSUFpZDPJ6iWmg15R7hobHEaRmYz8W4Wbz-r6qfoCIk0adr6RTXBT138-SKc1Z04QNZ8DVxWW0UVyCt6oadpEQjaQUl8SkMaUa0M89VdYZdW_VwD-3MS0WWmCSqpkJzCe0jZbpvc/s1600-h/chickencornchowder3.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 249px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibPBk5wSUFpZDPJ6iWmg15R7hobHEaRmYz8W4Wbz-r6qfoCIk0adr6RTXBT138-SKc1Z04QNZ8DVxWW0UVyCt6oadpEQjaQUl8SkMaUa0M89VdYZdW_VwD-3MS0WWmCSqpkJzCe0jZbpvc/s320/chickencornchowder3.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5399628211752808898" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Chicken and Corn Chowder Recipe</span><br /></div><br /><div style="text-align: left;">Ingredients:<br /><br />4 cobs of corn<br />2 large skinless organic chicken breast fillets<br />1 litre of salt reduced vegetable stock<br />1 medium turnip, grated and the liquid squeezed out<br />1 small brown onion, chopped<br />1 stick of celery, chopped<br />2 small red chillies (1 1/2 for soup; the rest de-seeded and thinly sliced for garnish)<br />1 cup of coriander (plus extra for garnish)<br />3 spring onions (for garnish)<br />freshly ground black pepper and sea salt flakes, to taste<br />a splash of milk<br /><br />Method:<br /><br />Pour the stock into a large saucepan and bring to the boil and turn it down to a simmer. Trim the chicken fillets of any remaining visible fat and then add them to the stock to poach for about 10 to 12 minutes. When poached remove the chicken, set aside to cool a little, and then chop the chicken roughly.<br /><br />Meanwhile, in a fry pan sauté the onion, celery and chilli gently for about 10 minutes until the vegetables are soft and the onion is translucent. Also, steam the corn cobs in the microwave until the kernels are bright yellow and tender, remove, cool a little in cold water until cool enough to handle and then with a sharp knife cut off the kernels.<br /><br />Add the corn kernels to the saucepan with the stock in it, the grated turnip, the sautéed vegetable mixture and the coriander. Let it simmer gently for a few minutes, add the chopped chicken back in and let it simmer for a minute more but not more than that or the chicken will overcook.<br /><br />Take the soup off the heat and process in a food processor briefly but leave the texture so that its a little rustic. Add a little milk to get the consistency right. You could also use a stab mixer here as well. Season to taste, and then ladle into bowls. Top each bowl with coriander leaves, chopped spring onions and finely sliced chilli.<br /><br />Serves 6.<br /></div><br /><br /></div>Laurenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00937396627834598695noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5954019965661592594.post-29404530437214756692009-08-11T15:10:00.007+10:002009-08-14T16:47:03.707+10:00Toasted Muesli<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhk4_Y6IqXSzz5MEDxN4bLB9BH8qr0ARG7ldP8Se57VyupSkKL7pWB5NwNfn0N5gpSKBWXsczp9gPIbqxqNxJalTCQmEmDh8vsYLHPr8SdMlI8NLYHfkj9eP7Ja6xECfmnIe27ybTYRLTpM/s1600-h/muesli.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 238px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhk4_Y6IqXSzz5MEDxN4bLB9BH8qr0ARG7ldP8Se57VyupSkKL7pWB5NwNfn0N5gpSKBWXsczp9gPIbqxqNxJalTCQmEmDh8vsYLHPr8SdMlI8NLYHfkj9eP7Ja6xECfmnIe27ybTYRLTpM/s320/muesli.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5369636808131788098" border="0" /></a><br />I recently made a considerably healthier version of toasted muesli compared to most of the commercially produced versions. I love toasted muesli and so I decided I would make my own so I could indulge in a bowl every now and then as a treat.<br /><br />I've provided some measurements in this recipe but it really was just a case of adding things until I thought the proportions were right. So several of the ingredients below I've said to add 'to taste'. It makes for a fun recipe that you can make according to your own desires.<br /><br />Ingredients:<br /><br />4 cups premium rolled oats (not the instant variety)<br />2 cups of rolled barley<br />200 gms macadamias<br />300 gms dried cranberries (sweetened in apple juice)<br />sesame seeds, to taste<br />sunflower seeds, to taste<br />1 - 2 tsps ground nutmeg, or to taste<br />2 tsps ground cinnamon, or to taste<br />1/4 cup of honey<br />a splash of concentrated pear juice<br />1 tb of grape seed oil<br />a sprinkle of Murray river salt flakes<br /><br />Method:<br /><br />Preheat oven to 170 C. Use a shallow silicon baking tray or line a baking tray with baking paper.<br /><br />Put all dry ingredients in a bowl and mix together thoroughly. Add wet ingredients together in a small bowl and stir to combine. Add wet ingredients to dry ingredients and stir to combine. Finish mixing with hands to ensure its all worked through thoroughly.<br /><br />Spoon mixture into baking tray and spread evenly over the bottom. Bake in oven for about 40 - 50 minutes, flipping and turning the mixture every 10 minutes or so until golden brown. Let cool. Store in an airtight container.<br /><br />Serving suggestion - combine with sheep's milk yoghurt and sliced banana for a decadent breakfast or simply add your favourite milk.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8FWB-mZE14gwdFrPY_ztgbmxdtFydGuZTlYdRsGR03zzV9drbKv_oUdhTvs9u0KSbYI7AqXUg6lE8YQyyIwWThCi_zE3CZ1NLuwWL4CULw9U5gMaaPyIAhmgC3ait3_9Fk7Kil4l2gg3s/s1600-h/muesli_bowl.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 192px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8FWB-mZE14gwdFrPY_ztgbmxdtFydGuZTlYdRsGR03zzV9drbKv_oUdhTvs9u0KSbYI7AqXUg6lE8YQyyIwWThCi_zE3CZ1NLuwWL4CULw9U5gMaaPyIAhmgC3ait3_9Fk7Kil4l2gg3s/s320/muesli_bowl.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5369637069155149426" border="0" /></a>Laurenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00937396627834598695noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5954019965661592594.post-79874626287429501052009-08-04T10:28:00.014+10:002009-08-05T09:44:33.286+10:00A Crowd Pleasing Orange Cake<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsMZSAhnQDrNNN2XPAgVZIv0shrejv4IqpIyp4NzREbEQ5lgWgFxg64zuFmMyHWG-GBFQnypr99EBbdIDG9ibz91kO_yO0VRljLsHSbO_1lhe-szLkhy5x4UgWbNvxkRtRwcIkacoeflrD/s1600-h/cake+lk+cj+1.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 306px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsMZSAhnQDrNNN2XPAgVZIv0shrejv4IqpIyp4NzREbEQ5lgWgFxg64zuFmMyHWG-GBFQnypr99EBbdIDG9ibz91kO_yO0VRljLsHSbO_1lhe-szLkhy5x4UgWbNvxkRtRwcIkacoeflrD/s320/cake+lk+cj+1.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5365914283003346610" border="0" /></a><br />On the weekend my family celebrated two birthdays; my fiance's and my mother's. So of course I had to make a very special cake. I decided to make a cake that I'd been itching to make for quite a while - a flourless orange and almond cake using whole oranges. I first saw this being made while watching an episode of <a href="http://www.sbs.com.au/food/foodsafarirecipe/index/id/677/n/Orange_and_almond_cake/autoPlay/1">SBS Food Safari</a> but I soon discovered that it's quite a well known cake, apparently served quite often in cafes.<br /><br />Its origins lie in the traditions of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sephardi_Jews">Sephardic Jewish</a> culture and is a cake that is commonly eaten during passover, however, several famous cookbook authors have versions of this recipe in their books including Stephanie Alexander's, <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Cooks-Companion-Complete-Ingredients-Australian/dp/1920989005/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1249354181&sr=1-1">A Cook's Companion</a>, and Nigella Lawson's, <a href="http://www.amazon.com/How-Eat-Pleasures-Principles-Good/dp/0470173548/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1249354211&sr=1-1">How To Eat</a>, who makes hers with <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clementine">Clementines</a> instead of oranges. Probably the most famous version though, and the one that can probably take the original credit for making the recipe accessible to a wider range of people, is Claudia Roden's. She calls it Middle Eastern Orange Cake in her book <a href="http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/014046588X/202-0846762-0660652?v=glance&n=266239"> A New Book of Middle Eastern Food.</a><br /><br />I must say I was extremely impressed with this cake its texture was moist and luscious, almost creamy, and the taste was wonderfully complex with the pith and peel of the orange giving it an intriguing exotic accent. The top and bottom of the cake where it been baked to a beautiful golden brown hue had a delicate marmalade-like flavour, and in fact marmalade was the dominant aroma that wafted through the house when it was in the oven.<br /><br />This beautiful cake appealed to me with its simplicity but the result is anything but - what you get is a cake with huge depth of flavour, and is quite simply, the essence of orange.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuFjAMHotHyRZi7PcOcuO9G62v4lLughFWXpLnfGcTw1ZZu1qD9B0aBYD-5YAzaf3EGR6kVtZNYrEqJuv43kyUOljYkKBmt7YPEWjbpSlMuu7HTI4SvUMskTBcLduAd1c7pDKd2Qez5IKD/s1600-h/cake+lk+8.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 282px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuFjAMHotHyRZi7PcOcuO9G62v4lLughFWXpLnfGcTw1ZZu1qD9B0aBYD-5YAzaf3EGR6kVtZNYrEqJuv43kyUOljYkKBmt7YPEWjbpSlMuu7HTI4SvUMskTBcLduAd1c7pDKd2Qez5IKD/s320/cake+lk+8.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5365944840881368930" border="0" /></a><br />Oh did I mention that everyone LOVED it? And, as luck would it have no-one in my family knew of the cake, despite it being quite famous really, and so they gave me all the credit for it being so delicious. But the credit isn't mine at all; it was easy to cook, even in my awful oven with its inability to ever stay at a constant temperature (no-one ever ask me to make a sponge cake). Its a well circulated recipe and of course there are lots of other blog entries about it all over the internet.<br /><br />Here is one absolutely lovely entry at <a href="http://brandoesq.blogspot.com/2006/07/exoticorange.html">Kuidaore</a>, that includes a couple of other recipes that are orange related that I read while having a look around online. This site is well worth a look just for the beautiful photography.<br /><br />I consulted my copy of <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Cooks-Companion-Complete-Ingredients-Australian/dp/1920989005/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1249354181&sr=1-1">The Cook's Companion</a> to make this cake although I did follow Joycelyn's lead here and only boiled my oranges for 1 hour which I found to work very well.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgE2yldE3sb3yErXeLiI2aLOUln-uwzokPIs9ruZ7Jt4eU3JWqruWrYKQ6FjHPo-tQt6Z4KxnDBSTK5alb8ByNTm2cDvLtVe4-4jySOs8t3Q3SkSO4NRoRoeUKxCuznCUgcCjtHvaNx7Tuj/s1600-h/cake+lk+6.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 151px; height: 189px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgE2yldE3sb3yErXeLiI2aLOUln-uwzokPIs9ruZ7Jt4eU3JWqruWrYKQ6FjHPo-tQt6Z4KxnDBSTK5alb8ByNTm2cDvLtVe4-4jySOs8t3Q3SkSO4NRoRoeUKxCuznCUgcCjtHvaNx7Tuj/s320/cake+lk+6.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5365950517119035298" border="0" /></a><br />My own notes on the recipe would be to use Naval oranges if they are in season as they are the sweetest and they don't have any pips. Also, I would suggest using organic oranges from a supplier that doesn't irrigate their trees as they will be sweeter than the irrigated variety. If not using organic oranges wash the skin very thoroughly in water and vinegar and then rinse. On the cooking time; my cake took over an hour to cook completely (probably due to my stupid oven) but if yours seems to be taking a little longer too I think it would be hard to overcook it so if you're not sure its done leave it in the oven for a little bit longer.<br /><div style="text-align: right;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Ingredients:<br /></div><br />2 large unwaxed oranges<br />6 eggs<br />250 gms ground almonds or almond meal<br />250 gms (or a little less) of caster sugar<br />1 tsp baking powder<br />icing sugar to dust<br /><br />Method:<br /><br />Barely cover 2 large unwaxed oranges in a medium-sized pot with water. Bring to a boil, put a lid on the pot, lower heat to a simmer, and simmer gently for 1 hour. Lift out oranges, allow to cool, cut open, remove and discard the pips if there are any. Chop oranges up, including the rind.<br /><br />Preheat oven to 190°C. Oil and flour a 24cm non-stick springform tin. Blend chopped oranges and 6 eggs thoroughly in a food processor or blender. Stir together 250 gm ground almonds, 250 gm caster sugar and 1 tsp baking powder in a large mixing bowl. Gradually add the egg-orange mixture, stirring to combine. Pour batter into prepared tin and bake for 45 minutes to 1 hour; the cake is done when it's a deep golden brown, has come away slightly from the sides of the tin, and the top springs back when touched. If cake is still very wet, cook a little longer.<br /><br />Cool completely in tin before turning out gently. Store, tightly wrapped, in fridge until serving. This is one of those cakes that get better the next day.<br /><br />Serve dusted with icing sugar. Sift over; it will melt, and sift another layer over just prior to serving.<br /><br />I also served mine with slices of fresh peeled orange (Stephanie Alexander suggests serving it with fresh orange) and a marscarpone cream flavoured with orange blossom water and honey.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Orange Blossom Marscarpone Cream</span><br /><br />Ingredients:<br /><br />250 gms marscarpone cream<br />250 gms thickened cream<br />honey to taste (approx. 1/3 cup)<br />orange blossom water to taste (approx. 2 tsp)<br />pistachios, chopped<br />1 slice candied orange, chopped (my candied orange was about 1 year old and drier and more intense in flavour than when bought very fresh)<br /><br />Method:<br /><br />Beat marsarpone cheese and cream together in a bowl. Add honey and orange blossom to taste and sprinkle with chopped pistachios and candied orange.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpFvg86_BAi6DRVbEN0cKfVH32W6VxUrptjFTlLdxDbrybvuNCF6a_UYDuTbmp-YpLaFMFGzTC4iMCmFTOPc0yAhESuZnLeefd1n5OtG9cVGEZIJetSTYGYEw5QjSjaL__fSkcGBC0a-mg/s1600-h/cake+lk+1.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 120px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpFvg86_BAi6DRVbEN0cKfVH32W6VxUrptjFTlLdxDbrybvuNCF6a_UYDuTbmp-YpLaFMFGzTC4iMCmFTOPc0yAhESuZnLeefd1n5OtG9cVGEZIJetSTYGYEw5QjSjaL__fSkcGBC0a-mg/s320/cake+lk+1.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5365950106067434882" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><a href="http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/014046588X/202-0846762-0660652?v=glance&n=266239"></a>Laurenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00937396627834598695noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5954019965661592594.post-20669229194802134742009-05-19T14:46:00.019+10:002009-05-20T11:28:36.923+10:00Food for the Gods!<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgexamwNjgq7HXRIke3yunaCdNBFA9qLbxZwckMkZqqC-q6EkePcitLGszT3vNe7vrsC1w0gTk-6oFNSCZ4yj6BHHfT-0-X-js-_QqjmfrkHtGeIl8gJeZuZSMwV96jHmGNTaFu4ku3hcyG/s1600-h/Persimmon_5.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5337411630281652306" style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; width: 320px; cursor: pointer; height: 240px; text-align: center;" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgexamwNjgq7HXRIke3yunaCdNBFA9qLbxZwckMkZqqC-q6EkePcitLGszT3vNe7vrsC1w0gTk-6oFNSCZ4yj6BHHfT-0-X-js-_QqjmfrkHtGeIl8gJeZuZSMwV96jHmGNTaFu4ku3hcyG/s320/Persimmon_5.jpg" border="0" /></a><br />The genus name for the humble <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Persimmon">persimmon</a> actually means "food for the gods". If you're familiar with persimmons you'll know why. I just can't eat enough persimmons come Autumn and I think they might just be in the running to be my favourite fruit.<br /><br />I've only ever had the non-astringent variety often sold as "sweet persimmons" or sometimes as "vanilla persimmons" in Melbourne, because of the small dark flecks in the flesh of the fruit and the slight vanilla flavour.<br /><br />There's basically two types of persimmons available commercially - astringent and non-astringent. I'm not sure I've seen the astringent type at any of the markets, maybe they're not readily available here. One reason might be that the non-astringent variety could be more marketable, if you buy and eat an unripe astringent persimmon it apparently tastes awful, as well as being not very good for your health possibly making it less appealing to customers. I'm going to keep my eye out for them though because I'm quite keen to try the astringent ones. I've done a bit of research and everyone seems to think they are far nicer. As long as you wait until they are fully ripe of course.<br /><br />The astringent variety are inedible when not ripened to a soft jelly-like consistency but the non-astringent variety can be eaten while still firm like an apple all the way through to the point where the inside of the fruit is like a soft jelly. Just remember that the outside of the skin needs to be orange for the fruit to be ripe, and once the fruit has turned brown - don't eat it. This gives the sweet persimmon an amazingly long shelf life. I like them both ways, firm<em> and</em> soft and squishy inside, they're simply delicious. When firm they go very well in salads or anywhere you'd usually use an apple or a crisp pear and beautiful and soft they go very well scooped onto porridge or warmed through and eaten with a good dollop of creamy sheep's milk yoghurt. I'm sure you'll find your own favourite ways to eat these orange beauties.<br /><br />One thing I love to do with persimmons is to dry them in my <a href="http://www.ezidridehydrators.com.au/products.htm">food dehydrator</a>, which brings me to the reason for my post.<br /><br />Drying persimmons! Did you guess that from the photo?<br /><br />Some people peel the skin off with a vegetable peeler before eating persimmons but you don't have to, the skin is similar to apple skin and entirely edible. I think a previous time I peeled mine before drying them but this time I didn't and the result is very pleasing still, and it was a lot less work.<br /><br />One reason I'm so keen on drying my own persimmons is because they're not available here at least not that I've seen. I'm not sure I've even seen them in Asian supermarkets, but if you have please drop me a line because I'd love to try some <a href="http://www.slowfoodusa.org/index.php/programs/ark_product_detail/japanese_massaged_dried_persimmon_hoshigaki/">hoshigaki</a>, Japanese style air-dried, whole, astringent persimmons.<br /><br />Another reason to dry your own fruit is because then you can enjoy dried fruit without the nasty preservatives that <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dried_fruit">commercially dried fruits</a> have on them. A common preservative used is sulfur dioxide which is used to retain the appealing orange colour in dried apricots and is not good for you in large amounts used in commercially dried fruits. Sulfur dioxide can also trigger asthma attacks in asthma suffers.<br /><br />I dry a lot of fruits and some of my favourites other than persimmons are; banana, apple, mango and pineapple. Hopefully I'll do a post about some of these others soon. Most of the fruits I've mentioned above are exceptionally sweet (as sweet as a lolly), except the apple (although I like them unsweetened you can add a little honey and lemon juice to them which is very nice) and they make wonderfully sweet snacks to eat when you're craving a little sugar. I'm going to use mine in trail mix for when I'm skiing this year and I think they also go really nicely on a cheese platter teamed with a salty cheese such as blue vein or gorgonzola.<br /><br /><br /><p><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjaJXMqzN-iNk2AH_iv3lAHshw7Ts4Itm3fV1-zCDsZDZ5ZY7yrpX9YgVL_A1NbcE8X_WYrxv3tkio_SoTGaMVNjMp3qWHsgPaVSEhNdU_GPOeGgx-JvFi8sMESNnNtzsL8PLZgtzoImLAf/s1600-h/Persimmon_6d.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5337411998666667074" style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; width: 320px; cursor: pointer; height: 165px; text-align: center;" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjaJXMqzN-iNk2AH_iv3lAHshw7Ts4Itm3fV1-zCDsZDZ5ZY7yrpX9YgVL_A1NbcE8X_WYrxv3tkio_SoTGaMVNjMp3qWHsgPaVSEhNdU_GPOeGgx-JvFi8sMESNnNtzsL8PLZgtzoImLAf/s320/Persimmon_6d.jpg" border="0" /></a><strong>Dried Persimmons:<br /></strong><strong><br /></strong>Clean the persimmons thoroughly and dry them.<br />Cut in half and remove any pips (sometimes they have them sometimes not)<br />Cut each half into about six little wedges (or whatever size you like)<br />Lay them onto the trays of the dehydrator and dry according to the instructions of your machine.*<br />Take out and allow to cool and then store them in an air tight container in a cool dry place.<br /><br />The dried persimmons will store for many months, probably up to a year.<br /><br />* I have the Ezi Dri Snackmaker and I think it took about 10 hours to dry the whole 5 trays which was about 3 kg of fresh fruit.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpxSEj-3N4Yq1Ame0XYqnX1SpwhCeTN8sK9P4rQ4Riz72WRa1BDOEMRvNpYpQfA87ZASOWZIX9MNDmhQhpGk29mpsOV3yAr-sZH9yrJJwMiRzLYKkpRQNQ3OAZJmpEmEKxVvzaozViIWRQ/s1600-h/Persimmon_1.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5337412164649163986" style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; width: 320px; cursor: pointer; height: 240px; text-align: center;" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpxSEj-3N4Yq1Ame0XYqnX1SpwhCeTN8sK9P4rQ4Riz72WRa1BDOEMRvNpYpQfA87ZASOWZIX9MNDmhQhpGk29mpsOV3yAr-sZH9yrJJwMiRzLYKkpRQNQ3OAZJmpEmEKxVvzaozViIWRQ/s320/Persimmon_1.jpg" border="0" /></a></p>Laurenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00937396627834598695noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5954019965661592594.post-13932124102527340222009-05-04T15:55:00.012+10:002009-05-05T08:40:08.584+10:00Easter, a birthday, a picnic and a carrot cake<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiztApcdKllds8LLHlaAmdNciwGu063TnIuSFtwNlP08bQSNQp29P3Skhq5tUas0tD8DB1NJbICyj5-O9H7tDtwW0uZcK77cNaATJ3pqQgTXehNbMspU0pT1lk3cC2qLrxcZLVDU1nwy7St/s1600-h/EasterPicnic_1.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiztApcdKllds8LLHlaAmdNciwGu063TnIuSFtwNlP08bQSNQp29P3Skhq5tUas0tD8DB1NJbICyj5-O9H7tDtwW0uZcK77cNaATJ3pqQgTXehNbMspU0pT1lk3cC2qLrxcZLVDU1nwy7St/s320/EasterPicnic_1.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5331854703499044434" border="0" /></a>
<br />It was my birthday on Easter Monday and I desperately wanted to make a healthy cake for my birthday cake. Would you believe it I've never made carrot cake before, and so thinking that it would be very fitting for an Easter birthday, I decided that carrot cake would be my birthday treat.
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<br />So I shopped around for the ingredients, I mostly used organic ingredients, and had great fun sampling all the different sultanas and raisins at what is arguably my favourite stall at the farmer's market, and through that process honed in on exactly what I wanted my cake to be like.
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<br />I based the cake on this recipe at <a href="http://www.elanaspantry.com/carrot-cake/">Elana's Pantry</a>, a great site I've found that focuses on healthy food suitable to people on restricted diets, but I've changed it a little bit to make it my own. The great thing about this cake is that you can tailor it to suit your tastes or mood. Next time I might try adding a little coconut and experimenting with different dried fruits.
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<br />I can't rave about this cake enough. Its rustic, dense, full of flavour, and delicious. It didn't have any of that greasiness to it that some carrot cakes do. I was very proud of it I must say. It was the dessert at a family picnic we had for Easter Sunday!
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<br />Just one other thing - although I've named this cake Healthy Carrot Cake (and it probably is one of the healthiest versions I've seen) it still has a fair few calories in it, although it has a lot less oil and sweetener in that the normal variety. Be aware though that this cake is chockers with nuts, has a load of dried fruit in it and is made with a majority of nut flour. I mainly refer to it as healthy because it's made with whole ingredients which makes it better for your body.
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<br /></div><meta equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8"><meta name="ProgId" content="Word.Document"><meta name="Generator" content="Microsoft Word 11"><meta name="Originator" content="Microsoft Word 11"><link rel="File-List" href="file:///C:%5CDOCUME%7E1%5Clkilby%5CLOCALS%7E1%5CTemp%5Cmsohtml1%5C01%5Cclip_filelist.xml"><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:worddocument> <w:view>Normal</w:View> <w:zoom>0</w:Zoom> <w:punctuationkerning/> <w:validateagainstschemas/> <w:saveifxmlinvalid>false</w:SaveIfXMLInvalid> <w:ignoremixedcontent>false</w:IgnoreMixedContent> <w:alwaysshowplaceholdertext>false</w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText> <w:compatibility> <w:breakwrappedtables/> <w:snaptogridincell/> <w:wraptextwithpunct/> <w:useasianbreakrules/> <w:dontgrowautofit/> </w:Compatibility> <w:browserlevel>MicrosoftInternetExplorer4</w:BrowserLevel> </w:WordDocument> </xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:latentstyles deflockedstate="false" latentstylecount="156"> </w:LatentStyles> </xml><![endif]--><style> <!-- /* Font Definitions */ @font-face {font-family:"Century Gothic"; panose-1:2 11 5 2 2 2 2 2 2 4; mso-font-charset:0; mso-generic-font-family:swiss; mso-font-pitch:variable; mso-font-signature:647 0 0 0 159 0;} /* Style Definitions */ p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal {mso-style-parent:""; margin:0cm; margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:12.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman";} @page Section1 {size:612.0pt 792.0pt; margin:72.0pt 90.0pt 72.0pt 90.0pt; mso-header-margin:36.0pt; mso-footer-margin:36.0pt; mso-paper-source:0;} div.Section1 {page:Section1;} --> </style><!--[if gte mso 10]> <style> /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt; mso-para-margin:0cm; mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:10.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-ansi-language:#0400; mso-fareast-language:#0400; mso-bidi-language:#0400;} </style> <![endif]--> Healthy Carrot Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting and Nutty Topping
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<br />Cake Ingredients:
<br />2 cups almond meal
<br />1 cup spelt flour 1 tsp cinnamon
<br />1 tsp ground ginger
<br />1 tsp baking soda
<br />1 tsp freshly grated nutmeg
<br />1 tsp sea salt
<br />5 eggs 1 tsp
<br />vanilla extract
<br />½ cup brown rice syrup
<br />¼ cup camellia tea oil
<br />3 cups grated carrot
<br />1 cup chopped walnuts*
<br />½ cup sultanas
<br />½ cup currants
<br />
<br />Frosting Ingredients:
<br />440 gms low fat cream cheese
<br />2 -3 tb creamed honey
<br />1 tsp vanilla extract
<br />
<br />Nut Topping Ingredients:
<br />Cinnamon, to taste
<br />Seeds of 1 vanilla bean
<br />1 tsp macadamia oil
<br />100 gms chopped macadamias
<br />100 gms chopped walnuts
<br />spoonful of honey
<br />
<br />Cake Method:
<br />1. Mix together the flours, salt and spices in a large mixing bowl.
<br />2. In a separate bowl mix together the wet ingredients with an electric mixer; eggs, oil, syrup, vanilla. Then add carrot, sultanas, currants and walnuts into the wet ingredients.
<br />3. Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and stir with a wooden spoon to combine.
<br />4. Place batter in a deep 18 cm baking tin that has been oiled and has baking on the bottom. Cook for approximately 1 hour in a 180 C oven. After that check for 'doneness' until the cake tester comes out clean.
<br />5. Leave to cool for 5 mins and then turn out onto a cake cooler to cool.
<br />
<br />Frosting Method:
<br />Beat ingredients together with an electric mixer until smooth.
<br />
<br />Nut Topping Method:
<br />1. Add all the ingredients to a small fry pan and heat until melted and syrupy.
<br />2. Add chopped nuts and heat through until roasted and the syrup has caramelised. Take off heat to cool.
<br />
<br />Assembly:
<br />Once all the cake elements have cooled completely spread frosting over cake and down the sides until completely covered with a knife or metal spatula. Then add the nut topping, toasted sunflower seeds and toasted pepitas. Serve.
<br />
<br />* Note – I used Tasmanian walnuts they are local (relatively) and are a damn site nicer than Californian ones. They are in season now and I always choose these over their American counterparts when I have the opportunity.
<br />
<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiu7jYAiL0XRUjuaPFbTyJvZhtiPxx67kephwdX6QLaF6Jd9mDGcfRrSsI6qENiQdKHVNSNdoXJvod0ErJaA7H-CPn1t709bW5a9gMBAKINUAaxzzcevp5onzR6hVNVlO2Z96IJs3k2LJ62/s1600-h/CarrotCake_003.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiu7jYAiL0XRUjuaPFbTyJvZhtiPxx67kephwdX6QLaF6Jd9mDGcfRrSsI6qENiQdKHVNSNdoXJvod0ErJaA7H-CPn1t709bW5a9gMBAKINUAaxzzcevp5onzR6hVNVlO2Z96IJs3k2LJ62/s320/CarrotCake_003.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5331856580403291698" border="0" /></a>
<br />Laurenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00937396627834598695noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5954019965661592594.post-80610799988413428212009-02-26T12:40:00.008+11:002009-02-26T13:02:17.636+11:00Spinach and Feta Frittata<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj33J4ig8Iydy5Hx2blyrsaZTQXS0vRFtmy4W41aIHXoai5ZYhh9ZXsIJyfXBIiZ3Bcq2vjBEmKljIvuBmo8IL1S9KTzZriSE8fux94jbaMULVvXSj9ZcWQ_jpUHB8poyuRqOJnLlrv8mmv/s1600-h/frittata&salad.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj33J4ig8Iydy5Hx2blyrsaZTQXS0vRFtmy4W41aIHXoai5ZYhh9ZXsIJyfXBIiZ3Bcq2vjBEmKljIvuBmo8IL1S9KTzZriSE8fux94jbaMULVvXSj9ZcWQ_jpUHB8poyuRqOJnLlrv8mmv/s320/frittata&salad.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5306916478423307682" border="0" /><br /></a>This is a staple dinner in our house. It's delicious and extremely easy to make because I cheat and use frozen spinach. It may not look that pretty but the taste more than makes up for it.<br /><br />Ingredients:<br /><br />10 eggs<br />1 packet of frozen spinach<br />1\2 block of fat reduced feta cheese, chopped into small chunks<br />some toasted pine nuts<br />salt and pepper<br /><br />Method:<br /><br />Put spinach in the microwave and defrost according to the directions on the packet. Then set it aside to cool a little bit. Beat eggs briefly in large bowl. Add salt and pepper to taste although remember that you'll be adding feta which is salty so go easy on the salt. Squeeze all the water that you possibly can out of the spinach and add to the eggs, followed by the cheese and a couple of small handfuls of pine nuts. Stir to combine all the ingredients nicely and then pour into a shallow fry pan or casserole dish. Cook in a moderate oven for about 25 minutes or until firm and browned on the top.<br /><br />This recipe should make about 8 pieces of frittata.Laurenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00937396627834598695noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5954019965661592594.post-65773891822927721762009-01-29T10:07:00.011+11:002009-02-26T12:40:08.234+11:00Blackberry Jam<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgS-boCtivaWe625oIx-9-iOq_jecjDr8V1ZvKQrJZY1CGoSOkUskMiq9_tjo1MGuiEFoL_BgoVUdPo1BCCtyvy-FzcX-7AmnDmn4Xuiln5POYuSdR3ioQjo6XT2sS-EYljV3Dy0VZfCclW/s1600-h/autumnblackberries.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgS-boCtivaWe625oIx-9-iOq_jecjDr8V1ZvKQrJZY1CGoSOkUskMiq9_tjo1MGuiEFoL_BgoVUdPo1BCCtyvy-FzcX-7AmnDmn4Xuiln5POYuSdR3ioQjo6XT2sS-EYljV3Dy0VZfCclW/s320/autumnblackberries.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5296486109361845778" border="0" /></a>Part 1.<br /><br />We went berry picking on the weekend. We picked purple raspberries, red raspberries and new season autumn blackberries which looked so good I took this photo of them.<br /><br />One thing I've been quite interested in recently is making jam or fruit conserve with no sugar added. So now's my chance to give it a go. Unfortunately I don't have a recipe I'm happy with yet and although I've decided to add some apple for the pectin I'm not sure if this alone will make my jam set or if the sugar in regular jam helps with the setting as well as the preserving. Stay tuned.. hopefully I can report on the results soon.<br /><br />Part 2.<br /><br />Well after a bit of research I discovered that making no sugar jam should be easy, but was in fact, a little bit trickier than I had anticipated. The main reason being, I couldn't find any no sugar pectin, or low-methoxyl pectin, to purchase.<br /><br />Low-methoxyl pectin is basically a pectin that doesn't need added sugar in order to set (it uses calcium) and it seems to be available commercially but not really available to retail customers anywhere that I can find in Melbourne. I think the best thing to do will be to purchase <a href="http://www.pomonapectin.com/">Pamona's Universal Pectin</a> online so that I have a supply of it. Then I'll already have some on hand the next time the opportunity to make jam arises.<br /><br />So lacking the essential ingredient for setting my no sugar jam, I divided the blackberries in half and decided to make two lots of jam. The first one, for me, would be more like a fruit compote rather than a jam since it wouldn't set to jam-like consistency and the second one, for my partner, would be a normal jam, albeit with less sugar than most regular jams. Using just slight less sugar makes jams taste beautifully fruity rather than just tasting like sugar.<br /><br />Blackberry and Apple Fruit Compote<br /><br />Ingredients:<br /><br />500 gms black berries<br />2 granny smith apples<br />juice of half a lemon<br /><br />Method:<br /><br />Put blackberries, apple and lemon juice in a large saucepan and bring gently to a simmer. Simmer for 10 minutes or so and then pour into sterilised jars and seal.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Important</span> - Since this has no sugar to act as a preservative you must store the jars in the fridge.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhodyJJNC7AO162D1DIqNd0bgLLbgdQ3IPuzjlVj1aIhvcoSXu854QkV-vWlSAqEYeOoOekrFRqKKtmiSCU5hgUbFAftVtkyjBGIxGsusVe8A-4zjLd6tZ5Xqa2l4VFtskvSaz6u3qW71Wl/s1600-h/jam_blackberry.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 301px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhodyJJNC7AO162D1DIqNd0bgLLbgdQ3IPuzjlVj1aIhvcoSXu854QkV-vWlSAqEYeOoOekrFRqKKtmiSCU5hgUbFAftVtkyjBGIxGsusVe8A-4zjLd6tZ5Xqa2l4VFtskvSaz6u3qW71Wl/s320/jam_blackberry.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5303257228740917362" border="0" /></a><br /><br />Blackberry Jam (Pictured above)<br /><br />Ingredients:<br /><br />6 cups blackberries<br />4 cups white sugar<br />juice of half a lemon<br /><br />Method:<br /><br />Add blackberries, sugar and lemon to a large saucepan and bring gently to a simmer until all the fruit has dissolved. Simmer until it reaches a point where the jam will set.<br /><br />To test this have a cooled saucer or plate on hand, then drip some jam on it, place in the fridge to cool it and once cool, run your hand through the jam. If the jam doesn't run together again but stays separated its ready. If the jam runs together again, keep simmering and then test again until it reaches setting point.<br /><br />Once the jam has reached setting point, take it off the heat and carefully pour through a funnel into sterilised jars, then seal and leave to cool.<br /><br />I used lots of different sized jars to store this jam but I would say that if you used regular small jam jars you'd probably get 6 jars out of this quantity of jam. My lot made the jars pictured below as well as a really large jar. These ones are destined for jam appreciating family members.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEkZQLkNr8DuhzZwFkv-39ixn2aytAV4mWwnyEMsAyd2gMsY9o5fhq9iTJmApRB0WbbOrTBBJik-KJMwiDy0JuJvvt3X_ts5HvJdLLEzZmwcuGAWO2fIpbTYlWdswCRUzGuEE-NtqCShC0/s1600-h/jam1.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEkZQLkNr8DuhzZwFkv-39ixn2aytAV4mWwnyEMsAyd2gMsY9o5fhq9iTJmApRB0WbbOrTBBJik-KJMwiDy0JuJvvt3X_ts5HvJdLLEzZmwcuGAWO2fIpbTYlWdswCRUzGuEE-NtqCShC0/s320/jam1.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5303260873018760370" border="0" /></a><br /></div>Laurenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00937396627834598695noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5954019965661592594.post-76188210441701870082009-01-27T11:34:00.014+11:002009-09-15T11:43:41.840+10:00Asian Style Chicken Soup<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCxwpCYEc-8FeIsfLiXBFab9Do9-knHj7G-84FkR0hZ2NcYbBKkGoY5HwxRKlfh0HDiQZvOIB2Cl8WMK8v4AvZOtWulMc9yN95-EO_0Cm-s-39C0xInkEc3xr_X5f6mpdYdyj4BezFwqcb/s1600-h/Soup02.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 288px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCxwpCYEc-8FeIsfLiXBFab9Do9-knHj7G-84FkR0hZ2NcYbBKkGoY5HwxRKlfh0HDiQZvOIB2Cl8WMK8v4AvZOtWulMc9yN95-EO_0Cm-s-39C0xInkEc3xr_X5f6mpdYdyj4BezFwqcb/s320/Soup02.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5295765829764539778" border="0" /></a><br />This soup is really easy, really yummy and really healthy! In other words it's great and it only takes about 30 minutes to make so it's a good dish for a busy weeknight dinner! I usually make this in a large amount and then we just eat it over a couple of days (three at the most). I estimate that the amount of soup in the recipe below would end up being about 10 servings. There's only two of us so that's a lot of meals of eating this soup but that's okay because we love it. But I'm sure it would freeze well although I haven't tried it yet. You could also reduce the quantities to suit.<br /><br />One of the ingredients in this soup is one that some of you may not have used before, and that's <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wakame">wakame</a>. It's dried seaweed which doesn't sound very appetising I know, but it re-hydrates beautifully, and the end result is that it tastes like a luscious green vegetable but a little different. I would urge you to try it out. You can purchase it from any Chinese supermarket and for those of you who frequent the Queen Vic Market in Melbourne there's a few different sorts available at Minh Phat on Thierry Street.<br /><br />One of the good things about this soup though is that you can add whatever you want really. Sometimes I add peas and soba noodles are a good addition as well.<br /><br />Ingredients:<br /><br />1 1/2 litres of good quality chicken stock<br />700 mls of water<br />1 small red chilli<br />1 tbs of dark soy sauce<br />5 cm piece of ginger, grated<br />1 clove of garlic, minced<br />2 large organic chicken breast fillets<br />1 red capsicum, cut into thin strips about 3 cm in length<br />1 punnet or small bag of shitake mushrooms, stalks removed and sliced<br />1 punnet or small bag of ennoki mushrooms, gently broken apart<br />2 bunches of bok choy, washed and torn or chopped into smallish pieces<br />a couple of handfuls of cut wakame*<br />3 small carrots, cut into thin strips about 3 cm in length<br />handful of baby corn, chopped into chunk sized pieces<br />1 small tin of water chestnuts, drained<br />half a bunch of spring onions, chopped<br />roasted cashews<br />handful of coriander leaves<br /><br />* Available from Asian grocery stores.<br /><br />Method:<br /><br />Pour stock and water into a large saucepan, add ginger, chilli and soy sauce and bring to a simmer. Trim chicken of any fat or sinew and add to the pot and simmer gently for about 20 minutes. Remove and set aside. Add the carrots to the saucepan, then the seaweed, then the capsicum, water chestnuts, mushrooms, bok choy, and half of the coriander leaves. Then tear or chop the chicken fillets into small pieces and add them back into the soup along with the spring onions. Serve immediately and add the remaining coriander leaves and some roasted cashews to garnish each bowl.<br /><br />Enjoy!Laurenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00937396627834598695noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5954019965661592594.post-21160280361717226102009-01-19T08:43:00.011+11:002009-05-04T16:53:29.747+10:00Mushroom and Tomato Bread Casserole<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjP4Z6YR6D8C0hQV-ibqHJJ01zy803X35a4FqXhyphenhyphenV5FROUGwyb93iuv49dzk_ISG2PPk_v_1NKrIYLDLanbPJq0ozw4_mH1QuKnKUJpo8JX1bZxJWMWq02T3iL5-h6pByu6LJTvY1jnZ4S/s1600-h/casserole+001.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjP4Z6YR6D8C0hQV-ibqHJJ01zy803X35a4FqXhyphenhyphenV5FROUGwyb93iuv49dzk_ISG2PPk_v_1NKrIYLDLanbPJq0ozw4_mH1QuKnKUJpo8JX1bZxJWMWq02T3iL5-h6pByu6LJTvY1jnZ4S/s320/casserole+001.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5325092505851390162" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><span><span>This easy casserole was inspired by a recipe that I found on the <a href="http://www.wholefoodsmarket.com/">Whole Foods Market</a> (a US organic and whole foods supermarket chain) web site. It's supposed to be a breakfast casserole but we haven't managed to have it for breakfast yet, I'm not organised enough. For the best results it really should be left in the fridge for a few hours or overnight so that the flavours infuse and the egg fully soaks into the bread which would mean making it the night before - way too much work! I've only managed to make it in the morning and cook it for dinner. But it's great as an evening meal. I've used two different cheeses on the top simply according to what I've had on hand and I think crumbled feta cheese works equally as well as shaved parmesan in my book but if you don't mind making a more calorific version by all means use Gruyere.</span></span><br /><h4 style="font-weight: normal;"></h4><h4></h4>Ingredients:<br /><br />2 slices dark rye bread<br />a drop of olive oil<br />2 cloves of garlic, diced<br />1 punnet cherry tomatoes, halved<br />several large swiss brown mushrooms, chopped<br />Salt and pepper to taste<br />splash of red wine vinegar<br />fresh oregano leaves<br />4 eggs<br />splash of low-fat milk<br />bunch of chives, chopped<br />small piece of parmesan, shaved<br /><br />Method:<br /><br />Tear the bread into pieces and press into the bottom of two individual casserole dishes; set aside.<br />Heat oil in a medium fry pan over medium heat. Add garlic and saute for a minute, then add tomatoes, mushrooms, salt and pepper, vinegar, and oregano, and cook, stirring occasionally, until tender and liquid is thickened, 8 to 10 minutes. Spoon tomato mixture evenly over the top of the bread in each casserole dish; set aside to let cool.<br /><br />In a small bowl, whisk together eggs, milk, salt and pepper and chives. Pour evenly over tomato mixture. Cover casseroles and chill overnight in the fridge.<br /><br />To cook, bring casseroles to room temperature and preheat oven to 180°C. Sprinkle casseroles with parmesan and bake, uncovered, until puffed, cooked through and cheese is golden brown, 45 to 50 minutes. Let cool slightly before serving in the casserole dish. Don't forget to warn unsuspecting diners that the dish is hot!<h4 style="font-weight: normal;"><p><br /></p></h4>Laurenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00937396627834598695noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5954019965661592594.post-13072698163761016352008-12-19T11:06:00.010+11:002009-01-19T09:49:26.173+11:00Christmas Chocolate Rum and Raisin Balls<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrIK-TrstMBafnlWf4BRXFtzC-6kB0MR0YKfdRiwf1FfBf_eDKW3guWRmOmWg1h089h78fwRIxwZ0rCdAXbgXYM_Zv2vlHKNEZ1glAA8xkagtvCQVWL0JfJfz-0rFURcbWiV0T9Xrl_Rq9/s1600-h/blog_tart_001.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrIK-TrstMBafnlWf4BRXFtzC-6kB0MR0YKfdRiwf1FfBf_eDKW3guWRmOmWg1h089h78fwRIxwZ0rCdAXbgXYM_Zv2vlHKNEZ1glAA8xkagtvCQVWL0JfJfz-0rFURcbWiV0T9Xrl_Rq9/s320/blog_tart_001.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5285422996944896338" border="0" /></a><br />Now this recipe doesn't exactly fit into the health food category but it's Christmas time so it's a time to treat friends and family. I usually like to make something yummy for gifts at this time of year and this time I decided to make rum balls because I used to make them as a kid. But the search for a recipe didn't yield any recipes that I liked. I knew I wanted them to be chocolatey with real chocolate and not cocoa powder and I wanted them to have quite a lot of rum in them as well and also not be too sickly sweet. So I decided to invent my own recipe in an effort to achieve this goal.<br /><br />The basis of the mixture is basically a dark chocolate ganache mixed with Arnotts Chocolate Ripple biscuit crumbs, with rum soaked raisins added. I finished the balls in two types of coatings. The first one, some good quality cocoa powder, and the second, some moist flaked coconut. I <span style="font-style: italic;">hope</span> the rum balls have a texture that is fudgey and biscuity with luscious intensely rum flavoured raisins every now and then but I wont know until Christmas Eve if I've made a winner or not because I'm not going to eat any until then.<br /><br />Merry Christmas!<br /><br />Christmas Rum and Raisin Balls<br /><br />Ingredients:<br /><br />500 gms bittersweet dark chocolate<br />250 mls heavy cream<br />4 cups of chocolate ripple biscuits crumbs<br />1 cup of raisins (soaked overnight in 1/2 cup of good quality dark rum)<br />a splash more rum<br />moist flaked coconut<br />good quality dark cocoa powder<br /><br />Method:<br /><br />Chop the chocolate into small pieces of about the same size. Bring the cream to almost boiling point and then pour over the chocolate, stirring until all the chocolate is melted and smooth. Add the biscuit crumbs and the raisins that have been soaking overnight, together with the remaining rum, as well as a splash more rum. Then mix it all together until it reaches the desired consistency which should be like a loose cake batter. <br /><br />Scoop mixture into a 1/2 tablespoon measure and roll into a neat ball. Repeat until all the mixture is gone. Leave to set slightly and then roll half in cocoa powder and half in coconut or whatever else you like. eg. chopped nuts.<br /><br />Makes about 110 rum balls<br /><br />If you make this recipe don't worry if the mixture appears too soft you can put it in a cool place for a few minutes or in the fridge and it will harden up enough to be able to roll into balls. You should probably store these in the fridge and take out a few hours before you need them. The cocoa covered ones also could need to be re-dipped to make the surface look nice again.Laurenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00937396627834598695noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5954019965661592594.post-58351820213471944502008-12-10T12:30:00.002+11:002008-12-30T15:17:03.447+11:00The best way to eat broccoliI'm normally not such a big fan of broccoli. I don't mean to say that I hate it but in it's original state, simply steamed or stir fried, I think it is a little lacklustre, I certainly couldn't say it was amongst my favourite vegetables. Even so, I usually made it a frequent part of my diet because of it's health giving antioxidants. That was the state of affairs until recently when I first made it into soup. Now I genuinely look forward to eating it and I would be happy to eat it every day of the week. There's no secret ingredient in this recipe I just think it is far more enjoyable in liquid form. See what you think.
<br />
<br /><meta name="Generator" content="Microsoft Word 11"><meta name="Originator" content="Microsoft Word 11"><link rel="File-List" href="file:///C:%5CDOCUME%7E1%5Clkilby%5CLOCALS%7E1%5CTemp%5Cmsohtml1%5C01%5Cclip_filelist.xml"><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:worddocument> <w:view>Normal</w:View> <w:zoom>0</w:Zoom> <w:punctuationkerning/> <w:validateagainstschemas/> <w:saveifxmlinvalid>false</w:SaveIfXMLInvalid> <w:ignoremixedcontent>false</w:IgnoreMixedContent> <w:alwaysshowplaceholdertext>false</w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText> <w:compatibility> <w:breakwrappedtables/> <w:snaptogridincell/> <w:wraptextwithpunct/> <w:useasianbreakrules/> <w:dontgrowautofit/> </w:Compatibility> <w:browserlevel>MicrosoftInternetExplorer4</w:BrowserLevel> </w:WordDocument> </xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:latentstyles deflockedstate="false" latentstylecount="156"> </w:LatentStyles> </xml><![endif]--><style> <!-- /* Font Definitions */ @font-face {font-family:"Century Gothic"; panose-1:2 11 5 2 2 2 2 2 2 4; mso-font-charset:0; mso-generic-font-family:swiss; mso-font-pitch:variable; mso-font-signature:647 0 0 0 159 0;} /* Style Definitions */ p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal {mso-style-parent:""; margin:0cm; margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:12.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman";} @page Section1 {size:612.0pt 792.0pt; margin:72.0pt 90.0pt 72.0pt 90.0pt; mso-header-margin:36.0pt; mso-footer-margin:36.0pt; mso-paper-source:0;} div.Section1 {page:Section1;} --> </style><!--[if gte mso 10]> <style> /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt; mso-para-margin:0cm; mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:10.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-ansi-language:#0400; mso-fareast-language:#0400; mso-bidi-language:#0400;} </style> <![endif]--> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 72pt;"><u><span style=";font-family:";" ></span></u></p>Ingredients:
<br />
<br />3 small heads of fresh broccoli
<br />1 litre of vegetable stock (1 tb Vegeta stock powder dissolved in 1 litre of hot water)
<br />1 brown onion
<br />Milk, to taste
<br />Salt and pepper, to taste
<br />
<br />Method:
<br />
<br />Chop onion and heat gently until translucent in a large pot. Add vegetable stock and bring to a simmer. Cut broccoli into florets and cut the stems into pieces of equal size. Add broccoli to the pot, season with salt and pepper, and simmer for about 5 minutes or until just tender. Ladle soup into a food processor in batches and process until smooth, adding some milk to each batch, and pour into a large serving bowl or soup tureen. Taste and adjust seasoning before serving.
<br />
<br />Serves 6
<br /><meta equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8"><meta name="ProgId" content="Word.Document"><meta name="Generator" content="Microsoft Word 11"><meta name="Originator" content="Microsoft Word 11"><link rel="File-List" href="file:///C:%5CDOCUME%7E1%5Clkilby%5CLOCALS%7E1%5CTemp%5Cmsohtml1%5C01%5Cclip_filelist.xml"><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:worddocument> <w:view>Normal</w:View> <w:zoom>0</w:Zoom> <w:punctuationkerning/> <w:validateagainstschemas/> <w:saveifxmlinvalid>false</w:SaveIfXMLInvalid> <w:ignoremixedcontent>false</w:IgnoreMixedContent> <w:alwaysshowplaceholdertext>false</w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText> <w:compatibility> <w:breakwrappedtables/> <w:snaptogridincell/> <w:wraptextwithpunct/> <w:useasianbreakrules/> <w:dontgrowautofit/> </w:Compatibility> <w:browserlevel>MicrosoftInternetExplorer4</w:BrowserLevel> </w:WordDocument> </xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:latentstyles deflockedstate="false" latentstylecount="156"> </w:LatentStyles> </xml><![endif]--><style> <!-- /* Font Definitions */ @font-face {font-family:"Century Gothic"; panose-1:2 11 5 2 2 2 2 2 2 4; mso-font-charset:0; mso-generic-font-family:swiss; mso-font-pitch:variable; mso-font-signature:647 0 0 0 159 0;} /* Style Definitions */ p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal {mso-style-parent:""; margin:0cm; margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:12.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman";} @page Section1 {size:595.3pt 841.9pt; margin:72.0pt 90.0pt 72.0pt 90.0pt; mso-header-margin:35.4pt; mso-footer-margin:35.4pt; mso-paper-source:0;} div.Section1 {page:Section1;} --> </style><!--[if gte mso 10]> <style> /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt; mso-para-margin:0cm; mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:10.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-ansi-language:#0400; mso-fareast-language:#0400; mso-bidi-language:#0400;} </style> <![endif]--><meta equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8"><meta name="ProgId" content="Word.Document"><meta name="Generator" content="Microsoft Word 11"><meta name="Originator" content="Microsoft Word 11"><link rel="File-List" href="file:///C:%5CDOCUME%7E1%5Clkilby%5CLOCALS%7E1%5CTemp%5Cmsohtml1%5C01%5Cclip_filelist.xml"><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:worddocument> <w:view>Normal</w:View> <w:zoom>0</w:Zoom> <w:punctuationkerning/> <w:validateagainstschemas/> <w:saveifxmlinvalid>false</w:SaveIfXMLInvalid> <w:ignoremixedcontent>false</w:IgnoreMixedContent> <w:alwaysshowplaceholdertext>false</w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText> <w:compatibility> <w:breakwrappedtables/> <w:snaptogridincell/> <w:wraptextwithpunct/> <w:useasianbreakrules/> <w:dontgrowautofit/> </w:Compatibility> <w:browserlevel>MicrosoftInternetExplorer4</w:BrowserLevel> </w:WordDocument> </xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:latentstyles deflockedstate="false" latentstylecount="156"> </w:LatentStyles> </xml><![endif]--><style> <!-- /* Font Definitions */ @font-face {font-family:"Century Gothic"; panose-1:2 11 5 2 2 2 2 2 2 4; mso-font-charset:0; mso-generic-font-family:swiss; mso-font-pitch:variable; mso-font-signature:647 0 0 0 159 0;} /* Style Definitions */ p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal {mso-style-parent:""; margin:0cm; margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:12.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman";} @page Section1 {size:595.3pt 841.9pt; margin:72.0pt 90.0pt 72.0pt 90.0pt; mso-header-margin:35.4pt; mso-footer-margin:35.4pt; mso-paper-source:0;} div.Section1 {page:Section1;} --> </style><!--[if gte mso 10]> <style> /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt; mso-para-margin:0cm; mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:10.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-ansi-language:#0400; mso-fareast-language:#0400; mso-bidi-language:#0400;} </style> <![endif]--><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 72pt;"><i style=""><span style=";font-family:";font-size:10;" ><o:p></o:p></span></i></p> Laurenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00937396627834598695noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5954019965661592594.post-73365642424433426572008-12-05T13:26:00.000+11:002008-12-10T12:28:08.705+11:00An Italian TwistThe frittata recipe I'm going to share with you today makes me think of summer. Mainly because of the tomatoes. The first time I made this frittata I made with them with the sweetest tasting organic cherry tomatoes that I had picked that day from my Dad's overgrown vegetable garden. Now every time I make it I remember those sensational tomatoes.<br /><br />But don't worry if you don't have the best tomatoes, all tomatoes improve in flavour when sauteed a little with bacon. This dish is a great way to use left over pasta if you happen to have it but I think it's worth cooking some if you don't.<br /><br />Ingredients:<br /><br />10 organic free range eggs<br />500 gm spelt pasta, cooked<br />4 slices of rindless bacon, trimmed & chopped<br />1 cob of sweet corn, steamed<br />2 spring onions<br />100 gms reduced fat feta cheese<br />100 gms natural yoghurt<br />10-15 organic cherry tomatoes<br />50 gms toasted pine nuts<br />2 red chillies<br />Sea salt<br />Pepper<br />Chives<br />Parsley<br />Parmesan cheese<br /><br />Method:<br /><br />Beat eggs in a large mixing bowl or jug and season to taste. Sauté bacon and tomatoes in a large non stick pan. The tomatoes will need to be removed from the pan before they start to break down and the bacon left to crisp. Remove kernels from corn by running a sharp paring knife down each side. Add tomatoes, bacon, corn and other ingredients to the egg mixture.<br /><br />Rinse non stick pan and pour in egg mixture. Cook on stove top over a medium heat for about 3 – 5 mins and then finish off cooking in the oven. Remove from pan and cut into slices.<br /><br />Serve with salad or roast vegetables.Laurenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00937396627834598695noreply@blogger.com2