So easy to make...

Continuing in my "breads of the world" series..ok..I made that part up, I wanted to feature a simple no yeast bread that can really be enjoyed at any time. Many are familiar with naan bread as an accompaniment to Indian food. It has a perfect softness that allows you to tear it up and scoop curries with it. I also don't mind it on its own as long as it has some kind of flavour attached to it. Traditionally it is cooked in a tandoor oven but it can easily be made at home. I tell you, when I get my perfect kitchen designed it will have a tandoor in it!

This recipe came about in a number of ways. I wanted to indulge in some traditional Indian fare, namely curries so I could experiment with all the wonderful flavours and spices. Also, don't forget with winter approaching here in Australia, a curry is the perfect winter warming cuisine. Anyway, Allen had recently been doing a series of posts on Indian food after he had discovered the wonderful Anjum Anand. I was fascinated with her very easy approach to Indian food and how simple she made it look. At around the same time, Mango Power Girl, who is one of my favourite foodie bloggers did a post on making naan bread following Anjum's recipe. So the signs were there! Talk about criss cross blogging!..or whatever you want to call it! Anjum is really wonderful. After a bit of research I discovered she was being referred to as the "Indian Nigella"....ummm..I don't think so. Maybe the glamour factor might come into play in the comparison, but I certainly didn't see Anjum in a "summery dress" twirling about the English countryside making strawberry lemonade and sipping it seductively, as the camera pans on her red lips! (don't get me wrong..I like Nigella, I just wish the camera would focus on her food rather than her body parts!).

But I digress...

Dress the naan up with a number of spices

The recipe for the naan bread can be found here. There really isn't any reason for me to repeat it as I followed Anjum's to a tee. I only doubled the ingredients to make more (yes the king of carbs like his breads!) and I varied the spices a little. Some I topped with caraway seeds, others with cumin....Just get creative. In fact this bread is so easy to make you could even add Mediterranean toppings to it...think oregano/thyme/basil garlic etc...I ended up serving mine with some North Indian curry, which I also made using Anjum's recipes. It was great but I didn't really want to focus on the curry. As you know, there are thousands of recipes for that in the blogosphere. Also, just a side note be sure to consume the bread on the day. It doesn't do too well the day after...

Tags:recipes recipes baking Bread

Plump Kalamata olives with herbs

Call me "King of The Carbs!". That's right. If there is one simple pleasure I cannot live without it has to be bread. Whether it be a sourdough with its crusty exterior and sour like taste, a good golden brioche from Germany or Australia's very own "damper" . I'm a sucker for it! It was always present at the dinner table growing up. Whilst bread has received a lot of negative press in recent years due to the "no carb" following it was never going to disappear completely. These days I vary the types I eat depending on my mood. But I usually end up with a wholemeal sourdough loaf. I love it toasted and dipped in extra virgin olive oil and dipped in za'tar . Or I end up making bruscetta. Or paninis...the list goes on and I don't want to bore you!

I've managed to make bread from scratch a few times. With varying mixed results. I got into a period a few years back where all I did was bake bread for a whole week and gave it to all the neighbours...all for "testing" of course! It was only recently when I made tsourekia, that I got inspired again. And it sort of freaked me out. My first batch turned out like bricks. Of course on closer inspection I had been using out of date packet yeast, so there was my answer. All the memories came flooding back about how bread making from scratch is like an exact science. The environment has to be warm enough to let the bread prove, the water can't be too hot when you blend it with the yeast, using the correct flour with a high gluten content etc...But nonetheless I enjoy the challenge and the feel of kneading the dough and giving it a good bash about! Nothing like letting your frustrations out!

A few loves for all to enjoy

When I picked up some Kalamata olives up the other day, I knew that i wanted to make some kind of olive bread with these. I looked through my extensive library of books and mags but in the end I settled for a recipe on an Australian website found here. This website is an archive from all the foodie magazines released here in Australia with tons of free recipes. I pretty much followed the recipe except for a few things: I didn't use fresh rosemary on mine. I just used a mixture of dried herbs that I scattered over the flatbread. Also, they call theirs a "focaccia" whereas mine didn't really puff up on the second proving as much. It still worked out ok and was a little flatter, hence me taking the creative licence to name it a flatbread. It kept for a few days too. All I did was reheat it in the oven wrapped in foil and drizzle it with some extra virgin olive oil again. I just love biting into it and feeling the plump, salty taste of the olives and the distinct taste of the olive oil.

After this little experiment. I got crazy again and decided to make some Indian flatbreads or naan...we'll save that for a few posts time.

Tags:recipes recipes baking Bread

Parsley Pesto...very versatile

I came back from the markets the other day with bunches of fresh parsley wanting to make the classic Lebanese dish "tabouleh". A good look at the weather had me thinking otherwise. So after a change of plans I utilised the fresh parsley by making a gremolata for my lamb shanks. With the remainder of the bunch I decided to make a pesto. I had never ever thought about using parsley as a herb in pesto before. After a quick google search I found this recipe on the "Country Living" website. It sounded so fresh and I also had a whole heap of walnuts that were waiting to be used.

Let me start off by saying that I have never really had an opinion on parsley before. I always remember the "curly" variety being the star for garnishing a lot of dishes in the 70's....(yes I'm that old!). Then I discovered the "flat leaf" variety or "Italian" parsley as it was referred to. It was only until I got older and a lot more adept in the kitchen, that I truly discovered its many versatile uses. Tossed through pasta with a Napolitana sauce, used with lemon to flavour dish and of course tabouleh! It has a lot of health benefits and is very rich in anti oxidants and iron. Reading through Wikipedia I also discovered a lot of medicinal uses for it. You can see a lot more information here.

Anyway, back to the recipe at hand. This was by far one of the most tastiest pestos I have tossed through pasta in a long time. The lemon, provided the perfect zing and the toasted walnuts gave it an extra crunchiness that was just magical. Apart from being used in pasta I also smeared it on warm, freshly toasted pita bread as well. Highly addictive and dare I say delicious. So this is my entry for this week's Weekend Herb blogging event hosted by Laurie. This woman should be named Queen of the Herbs! She has so many delicious recipes and I always learn something when I read her very informative and delicious posts.

Double dipping anyone?

RECIPE FOR PARSLEY PESTO WITH WALNUTS

Again I varied the original recipe slightly. Not by much. I always encourage people to play around with their food!

• 1 cup of parsley leaves tightly packed or a big bunch with all the stems removed
• 1 cup of slightly toasted walnuts (shells removed of course!)
• 1/2 a cup of grated Parmigiano Reggiano cheese
• 1 clove of crushed garlic
• juice and zest of half a lemon
• 3/4 cup of extra virgin olive oil
• salt and pepper to taste

Place all ingredients except for oil in a food processor or blender. Once the ingredients have been pulsed a few times proceed to add the olive oil in a thin stream. Scoop out the mixture and toss through some warm, freshly cooked egg noodle pasta. Or smear it lavishly over flat bread or pita.

Tags:recipes herbs

Melt in the mouth shanks with soft polenta

I was looking to make a dish to unleash the carnivore within. One that would suit the current "cold snap" as it's referred to on the news. What's better than slow cooking some meat on the bone and mopping up all the juices with some crusty bread? Nothing! I really wanted to embrace the cooler weather with a hearty dish. I love lamb and when I saw these beauties on sale I couldn't resist. It's quite an inexpensive meal overall and paired with polenta even better. I thought about using mashed potatoes with the lamb shanks but instead paired with some really high fibre cornmeal a.k.a polenta. Polenta can be quite "bland" on its own so I jazzed mine up with some good Danish butter and some Grana Padano cheese. The final touch being heaps of cracked pepper. Jut be let it known that I used "instant" polenta. There was no way you were going to catch me sitting at the stove stirring for 45 mins. I understand that a lot of Italians consider the instant variety a "sin". Well, it was the quickest sin I've ever committed! Five mins to be exact...LOL I also forgot to mention that I garnished my lamb shanks with some gremolata. Gremolata is a blend of finely chopped flat leaf parsley, garlic and lemon zest. Its traditionally spooned on that other Italian classic osso buco. I made mine without the garlic. It gave the dish an added lift and some extra zing!

RECIPE FOR LAMB SHANKS

Again, let me emphasise that I have no "set" amount of ingredients when I cook winter type stews. I always fry my meat off first ensuring it browns all over and seals the falvours. I also make a "base" by sauteeing some diced onions or leeks with some carrot and celery in some olive oil. To this dish I also added a fresh chopped chilli and some pancetta. Once the base had become translucent I added my browned shanks in along with their juices. I then placed in a can of chopped tomatoes, about 2 cups of chicken stock and a decent amount of red wine to cover the shanks. My herbs of choice were some fresh thyme and oregano and a few bay leaves. Once this had come to a boil on the stove, I placed my "oven friendly" (no plastic handles!!!) pot into a pre heated oven. I let it sit in there for about 2-2.5 hours at 160 deg C. The result were soft, "fall of the bone" cooked shanks.

RECIPE FOR SOFT POLENTA

It's almost like watching a science experiment. The moment you take the polenta off the stove it starts to "firm" up on the plate. This is my quick and easy way to cook it.

• 2 cups of water
• 2 cups of full cream milk
• 1 cup of instant polenta
• 50 grams of butter
• 1/2 a cup of grated Grana Padano
• salt and pepper to taste

Tags:recipes lamb

Rice puddings infused with vanilla, cardamom and topped with mango

Its time again for the Royal Foodie Joust. I've been participating in these for the last few months and I thoroughly enjoy them. You can read all about the joust here. The winner of last month's Joust, Michelle chose her three ingredients for the challenge. She opted for cardamom, brown sugar and mangoes. A very "exotic" combination! As usual, I stewed about what I was going to cook and only decided once the activities for Greek Easter had quietened down.

In the end I opted for individual rice puddings. Rice puddings are pretty much a staple in a lot of cultures. The Greek version, a.k.a. "rizogalo" uses cinnamon as the topping and is highly addictive. The Spanish have their version, known as arroz con leche, enriched with condensed milk. I love rice pudding and I wanted to somehow combine the Joust ingredients in one. After a bit of "research" I found a recipe that had featured over 7 years ago in a local newspaper and it utilised all of the Joust items. A bit of tweaking by moi and my version of the rice pudding was born.

Leave it infuse for at least two hours...

The original recipe called for regular full fat milk. I changed that and used a combination of coconut milk and water. Instead of using cardamom powder I crushed a few pods for a milder flavour. Overall, it was delicious but a little too rich for my liking. Its quite easy overall and once you mix all your ingredients you just "set it and forget it". For a couple of hours anyway. The final touch is to top it with freshly sliced mangoes and a brown sugar caramel! Its not for the diet conscious!

RECIPE FOR VANILLA AND CARDAMOM RICE PUDDING

* 1 cup of arborio rice
2 cups of coconut milk
2 cups of water
* 1 vanilla bean, split in half
* 1/3 cup brown rice syrup or sugar
* pinch of sea salt
* 3-4 cardamom pods, crushed
sliced mangoes
banana leaf for decoration

For the brown sugar caramel blend 2 tbsps of brown sugar with a knob of butter over a medium heat. Allow it all to melt and serve immediately.

Mix all the ingredients (except the mangoes and banana leaf) in a non reactive pot. Allow the mixture to come to a boil and then leave it on the lowest possible heat for about 2 hours. Stir it occasionally. We're looking at a gentle infusion of flavours. Most of the liquid should be absorbed and the mixture should resemble a very cooked risotto. Allow it to cool slightly and place in individual moulds. Turn out onto a plate that has been decorated with cut banana leaves. Top with sliced mango and drizzle with brown sugar caramel.

Tags:recipes recipes baking Sweet Treats recipes desserts

Tsourekia and Eggs

This Sunday coming, Greeks all over the world will be celebrating Easter. Its a very big event in Greek culture with many traditions and religious rituals. There's Lent with the fasting, the many cakes, breads, biscuits and of course the dyed eggs. Its a wonderful time with Easter Sunday being the "big day". Everyone feasts and eats so much food!!!

The week leading up to Easter Sunday is termed as "Holy Week" with church services on every night. Its a busy week with the majority of the food preparation being done during this time. I remember when I was growing up the house being so frantic. "Koulouria" (the traditional Greek Easter cookies), "kourabiethes" (icing sugar covered almond crescent biscuits) and "tsourekia" (Greek Easter Brioche bread) were staples for us during the lead up to Easter. And the eggs. And the offal soup a.k.a "magerista"...and the lamb ready for the spit....you get the idea! There is so much food surrounding you, it made fasting during this time all that much harder!

This year, I set out for the first time to make my own "tsourekia" and dye the eggs red. Well lo and behold I got mixed results! The first batch of tsourekia turned out like bricks! On closer inspection I realised I had been using an old packet of yeast! So of course they didn't rise. Oh well you live and learn! Eventually I made them and they turned out gloriously plump and golden. My eggs turned out ok. A few blemishes here and there but otherwise fine. They're probably not the traditional version but they certainly tasted as I remembered. I love eating tsoureki in the mornings, toasted with some marmalade on top. I'm actually going to use the recipe for this and make something else in the near future. Tsoureki are traditionally made with a 3 plait twist. Each plait symbolising an element of the Holy Trinity. They are also baked with an red egg in them as a symbol for the blood that Christ spilt dying on the cross. They are similar to brioche and can store for a few days (if they last that long).

Delicious with a spread.

RECIPE FOR TSOUREKIA

• 250ml of milk
• 80g of unsalted butter
• 750g of plain flour
• 1tsp of salt
• zest of 1 grated orange
• 3/4 cup of caster sugar
• 1 packet of instant dried yeast
• 1/2 a cup of orange juice
• 3 eggs

• 1 egg yolk
• a splash of milk
• flaked or slivered almonds

1. Warm the milk in a saucepan over a very low heat. Add the butter stirring it into the milk so it will melt. Allow to cool.
2. In a large mixing bowl place 100 grams of the flour with the yeast, salt, orange zest and a tsp of the sugar.
3. Pour in the cooled milk/butter mixture in and beat with a wooden spoon to obtain a lovely batter.
4. Cover with a saran wrap and a towel and leave it for about half an hour.
5. When you return you should have a lovely bubbly mixture. Place in the remaining flour, sugar, orange huice and eggs.
6. Mix until you have a lovely soft dough. If you find its sticky add more flour. But be careful not to add too much. We're after an elastic, silky dough.
7. Give it a good bash and knead for about 5 mins. Work that gluten baby!
8. Once kneaded place in an oiled bowl and lightly oil the top of the dough. Cover with saran wrap and a few tea towels and leave it to do its work. (I left mine for about 2 hours in a very warm room and it more than doubled! It was glorious!).
9. When you notice it has doubled take it out and divide the mixture in two. With one of the halves, divide into three equal portions and shape these three portions into "ropes". They should be of equal width and length. Now, remembering scouts, form a plait, tucking the ends in underneath on the top and bottom.
10. With the remaining dough, I played around a did a few double twists and whole loaves.
11. Brush with the egg yolk/milk glaze and sprinkle with the almonds.
12. Bake in a 180 deg C pre heated oven for about 25 mins. They should be golden and sound hollow when you tap them underneath.
13. Leave to cool and transfer them to wire racks

Tags:recipes recipes baking recipes Greek

Warming Pea and Spinach Soup

I always keep frozen veggies on hand. They come in very handy when a quick meal is needed and can rescue a dull meal. My "always on" stand by frozen vegetables are peas. They're great for a quick pea mash to accompany a roast or grilled meat and I love their use in pasta. They're sweet, juicy and full of flavour. It's a vegetable that doesn't lose any nutrients from being frozen. I made a batch of this soup the other day and it was all done in about half an hour. I had some leftover mint and threw that in as well. Peas and mint are a classic combination and the flavours marry well together. A big hunk of crusty bread for dunking (and to make some cheesy croutons) and I was set. You may choose to add cream at the end for a bit of a "lift" but the soup also works well without it (so does my waistline!).

RECIPE FOR PEA AND SPINACH SOUP

• 2 cups of frozen peas
• 1 big bunch of coarsley chopped spinach leaves
• 1 small bunch of finely chopped mint leaves
• 1 small red onion finely diced
• 1 clove of garlic finely diced
• 2-3 cups of chicken stock
• salt and pepper to taste
• a "splash" of cream

1. In a medium sized pot fry off the onion and garlic on a medium heat till they become translucent
2. Add the peas and give everything a good stir. At this stage you can also place in the mint leaves.
3. Add the chicken stock and let the peas simmer for 10-15 mins
4. Add the spinach towards the end and let it all soften
5. Whizz with a stab blender in the pot or use a blender or food processor
6. Add the splash of cream and salt and pepper and give it all a good stir

Top with cheesy coutons and serve. N.B. The croutons or toasts are very easy to make. Cut some small pieces of bread and top with parmesan or cheddar cheese and place under a griller to melt or alternatively bake in a hot oven for about 5 mins.

If I'm having guests over for dinner and I'm not serving a soup as a starter I serve this soup in a shot glass as a canape. Its a great way to receive "oohs and aaahhs" from your guests and it also warms them up a little (especially in the cooler months). Try it...its so easy!

On another note I got tagged by Pixie to play along in a meme. I had to compose a 6 word memoir about myself and tag some other bloggers in the process. Whilst I'm not a huge fan of memes myself, this one's quite quick and I suppose I can do it. I won't tag anyone else to play but what I'll do is give you a list of SOME (there are so many!!!) blogs that I really enjoy reading over my morning coffee here in Australia. If any of you are reading this then its up to you if you wanna play. There is no pressure at all! Ok here's my memoir:

• Hungry..all the bloody time
• Passionate...about all my activities
• Funny...when the occasion strikes
• Stubborn...my way or no way
• Ostentatious...you gotta stand out
• Talkative...love a chat..did I say how much I love to talk?..no really..I do!

• Heather from Gild The Voodoolily for the most entertaining read on the web. Ever. Period. (and her recipes are A++)
• Ben from What's Cooking for real Mexican food.
• Laurie from Mediterranean Cooking in Alaska because I could eat at her place the whole year and never go hungry!
• Ivy from Kopiaste...right from her kitchen we get to see the Best and Tastiest Greek and Cyprian recipes
• Allen from Eating Out Loud because he always tries something different. His latest experiments with Indian cooking had me inspired!

Tags:recipes peas quick

Pixie from "You Say Tomatoh, I Say Tomayto" and Rosie from "Rosie Bakes, A Peace Of Cake" are holding a food blogging event titled "Putting Up". These lovely lasses are asking for us to submit recipes relating to home made preserves, jams, jellies, curds, butters etc... I recently had the pleasure of making my first curd using passionfruit. It was received with wonderful success and I enjoyed using it in a variety of sweet dishes. For this event I wanted to try something a little different. I searched long and hard and found a wonderful recipe from fellow Australian blogger Matt who writes a blog called Abstract Gourmet. He featured a wonderful jam made with bananas and I thought "Yes!".

First off, let me say that I was worried about sterilising the jar and lid. In the end it was quite easy, actually. I boiled them and once the water had drained I filled them with my banana jam mixture. Also, make sure you use a non reactive pot, like stainless steel when making the jam. This jam is absolutely delicious and very addictive. I made one batch and plan on a few more with some slight variations. Its wonderful over buttered hot toast and I think it would work well with scones. Make sure your bananas are quite ripe as their flavour will be stronger and the jam will be more pungent. The recipe has cinnamon added to it and I also used some vanilla bean to further enhance the flavour.


Banana Jam...everywhere!

RECIPE FOR BANANA JAM

• 4-5 medium to large ripe bananas
• juice of one lime
• 1 1/2 cup of castor sugar
• 1 cup of water
• 1 tsp of ground cinnamon
• 1/4 of a vanilla bean

1. Chop up your bananas in small chunky pieces and place in a bowl with the lime juice.
2. Bring the sugar and water to a boil over a medium heat.
3. Once the sugar syrup is bubbling away, lower the heat, add the chopped bananas and stir everything up.
4. Add the cinnamon and vanilla bean.
5. Keep stirring to make sure things don't get too sticky!
6. Keep an eye on things, (constantly stirring) for about half an hour.
7. The jam is ready when it coats the back of a wooden spoon and it sticks well.
8. Store in a sterilised jar.

Tags:recipes recipes Sweet Treats fruit

Chicken drumsticks with rosemary and lemon

The weather's gone haywire. Here we are midway through autumn and its gloriously warm with temperatures in the mid 20's. A few weeks ago I started to see brown and red leaves on the trees and today I see flowers in beautiful bloom! Anyway, I was in no mood for soups or stews so I decided to roast some chicken drumsticks. I could have done a "whole bird" but opted for those instead as I wanted a quick roast. Actually, if you're after a fantastic roast chicken recipe with great commentary head on over to "Gild the Vodoolily" and read Heather's post on the perfect roast chicken. Highly entertaining and delectably delicious!

I decided to roast the chicken "drummies" using rosemary, olive oil and cut lemon pieces. The flavour of rosemary is pungent and suits the chicken well. When the lemons roast in a hot oven they release all of their juice and create a lovely sauce combined with the olive oil. The final touch was to dot the drumsticks with some sun dried tomatoes approximately 15 mins before the they are due to come out of the oven. The sun dried tomatoes crisp up slightly and provide another element to the dish. I love picking up the drumsticks with my fingers and chewing through the perfectly cooked flesh and tasting the medley of flavours created by the oil, rosemary, lemons and tomatoes. Please note. This isn't a recipe as such. It's a "put together with whatever's on hand" type of meal. You could use other chicken parts, maybe substitute the rosemary for thyme or oregano. You could use some roasted capsicums instead of the tomatoes. You get the idea.

Packed with flavour

RECIPE FOR ROSEMARY CHICKEN DRUMSTICKS

• 4-5 chicken drumsticks
• 4-5 rosemary sprigs
• 1 whole lemon cut into 8ths
• a handful of sun dried tomatoes
• extra virgin olive oil
• salt and pepper to taste

1. Preheat oven to 180 deg C
2. Arrange all ingredients, except the sun dried tomatoes (add these about 15 mins before the taking the chicken out)
3. Cook for about 45 mins...keep a check on this because every oven is different
4. Let these rest for about 5 mins
5. Serve with some freshly steamed asparagus and crusty bread to mop up all the juicy goodness.

Tags:recipes recipes chicken quick herbs

Some of the ingredients for the recipe

Ben over at Whats Cooking is holding another food for plastic challenge this month. This is a fun event that also offers great prizes. You can't beat that can you? This month's challenge focuses on cooking something that you loved from your childhood or something that kids love. And because April is kids month, Tupperware (who are supplying the gift) are donating $1 of every sale to the boys and girls clubs of America (the bgca). A great cause!

I thought about cooking something that I loved from my childhood but there were so many choices! Instead, I opted to make something sweet that I have served for my friends' kids and make it often with great success. Honey and oat cranberry bites. The beauty of this sweet treat is that adults can enjoy it too. It has oats, honey, dried cranberries and the final touch is drizzled white chocolate! A nice little decadent touch.

Before it goes in the oven

RECIPE FOR HONEY AND OAT CRANBERRY BITES

• 250 g of unsalted butter, cut into small cubes
• 2/3 cup of honey
• 1/2 cup of brown sugar, tightly packed
• 3 cups of rolled oats
• 3/4 cup of triple sifted plain flour
• 1 cup of dried cranberries
• 100 g of white couverture chocolate , roughly chopped

1. Grease a 9 inch square baking pan and line with baking paper. Preheat the oven to 170 deg C.
2. Place the butter, honey and brown sugar in a small pan and melt gently till it all starts to foam.
3. In a separate bowl, stir together the oats, flour and cranberries. Add the melted butter mixture and combine thoroughly.
4. Press the mixture into the lined baking pan, like in the second photo above.
5. Bake in the oven for 30 mins.
6. Let it cool and cut into small squares.

When melting the chocolate for drizzling, you may choose to use the "double boiler" method (place chocolate in a heatproof bowl on top of simmering pot of water) or use the microwave. I prefer the microwave. Just be sure to melt it in 30 second intervals on the HIGH setting. Once melted drizzle the white chocolate over the squares, using a piece of baking paper as the base to catch the leftover melted chocolate bits.
These will store in an airtight container for about 5 days.

Tags:recipes baking recipes recipes baking Sweet Treats

Steamed Baby Bok Choy

Time for some vegies. I have been craving steamed, green vegetables for a few days now. So, instead of heading down the asparagus/broccoli route I opted for some good ol' Chinese cabbage. Other wise known as bok choy or Pak choi. There are so many names and spelling variations of this vegetable I can't cope! Its very simple to make and very high in antioxidants and all those other good nutrients. Whilst is easy to pick up the phone and order this at a local Asian restaurant nothing beats making this easy delicacy at home.

Chinatown is about 10 mins walk away for me and I love going there to pick up foods, exotic ingredients and cooking utensils. I picked up the bamboo steamer (which will definetly be used for other future steaming) some Chinese spoons, chopsticks and bowls all for under $20. What a bargain. Today I picked up the baby variety of bok choy. Little cute miniatures. They're easier to eat and quicker to prepare. I paired them with some oyster sauce and fried eschallots/onions on top. Some steamed rice on the side and dinner was served!

STEAMED BABY BOK CHOY WITH OYSTER SAUCE

• 1 bunch of baby bok choy...my bunch had 5 in each
• 2 tbsp oyster sauce
• 2 tsp Soy sauce
• 1 tsp of sesame oil
• fried onions/eschallots (bought ready made form the Asian grocer)
• Steamed rice to serve

1. You may choose to cut the baby bok choy in half but I prefer them whole. Make sure you clean them thoroughly to remove any gritty bits in the stalks.
2. Boil a pan of water and when the water comes to a boil place your bamboo steamer with the clean bok choy over the water. Cover it with the lid and leave it for about 5-10 mins. (this will vary depending on the size of bok choy).
3. Heat the oyster, soy and sesame oil over a low gentle heat.
4. Pour over steamed bok choy
5. Garnish with fried onions

Tags:recipes asian quick

Fried eschallot encrusted tuna with limes and coconut..the Joust ingredients

It's that time of the month again. The Royal Foodie Joust is being held over at Jenn's. Well ok, it runs for the whole month but its time for me to enter my recipe for the competition. Val, who won last months competition chose seafood, lemons or limes and coconut. As per usual, I had a whole heap of things I wanted to make and "ummed and aahed" until I decided to try something a little different. I'm doing a tuna carpaccio. Carpaccio traditionally uses beef as the protein. It's finely sliced (shaved?) and dressed with extra virgin olive oil, balsamic vinegar and parmesan. Recently I've seen tuna used in carpaccios but always done with Italian ingredients. By using the RFJ's ingredients I could play with the whole carpaccio concept by adding an Asian twist to it. The Asian ingredients lie somewhere between Thailand and Vietnam. I wanted to use sashimi but I wasn't game to get up at 5 am and brave the Sydney Seafood Markets!

Instead, I bought small fresh tuna steaks from my local Greek fishmonger, Nick (there's always called Nick!). Before i sliced them I rolled them in fried eschallots and this provided a nice crust for the tuna. I wanted to use toasted sesame seeds but I had run out! No problem. It's all about being creative and thats why I like the Royal Foodie Joust. I dressed the thinly sliced tuna in a coconut vinaigrette. I made the dressing using a splash of olive oil, a small knob of grated ginger, a finely diced chilli, a teaspoon of palm sugar, fish sauce , soy sauce, the juice of half a lime, a tablespoon of coconut cream and some of the coconut water from my freshly cracked coconut. Phew! It sounds very complex but really its very complementary to the tuna. Its fresh, tangy and the coconut cream adds a subtle richness. The final touch was to garnish each tuna slice with a fresh mint leave and some finely sliced chilli. Hope you enjoy and good luck to everyone!

Tags:recipes Seafood royal foodie joust

A variety of mushrooms

Mushrooms have often been labelled as "meat for vegetarians". They do tend to have a "meaty" like texture and they are another versatile ingredient that can be enjoyed either hot or cold. When I was at the local markets the other day, I saw a whole variety on display. I picked up a some swiss browns, the good ol' button variety and the very large portabello. I couldn't decide how I wanted to "play" with them but in the end decided to use them in an open tart or pie...whatever you want to call it!

The recipe is really easy and its my fool proof way to even out the earthy flavour of the mushrooms. In a large pan I melted some good Danish "Lurpak" brand Butter with a splash of olive oil and fried off some eschallots till they became translucent. I added my wiped clean, sliced mushrooms (don't wash them...they'll absorb all the water!). I added some Maldon sea salt and freshly ground pepper. I poured in half a cup of leftover Sauvignon Blanc and let the mixture cook off till about half the liquid had evaporated. I then added some basil paste, which is basically some fresh basil leaves, garlic and olive oil whizzed in a food processor. The final touch was adding some fresh cream. I waited till the mixture became thick and the kitchen had become aromatic. I took it off the heat and let it cool slightly.

Mushroom Tarts with freshly chopped arugula as a garnish

For the tart cases I admit I cheated. Well sort of. I purchased some ready made short crust pastry because basically I find making pastries a tricky hit and miss kind of thing. Don't get me wrong, I've done it before but I always find an element missing or not quite right with the final result. I have these medium sized tart pans that I used in this instance. I cut some circles out of my ready pastry and lined them up in the tart pans. I covered the tart pans with baking paper and filled them with uncooked rice. I blind baked them for 12 mins and then removed the rice and put them back in the oven for another 8. (The oven was pre heated to 180 deg C). Once they were cooked I let them cool down before filling them with my mushroom mixture. The final touch was to add some chopped arugula as a garnish. The arugula was perfect as it provided that really nice pepperiness on top. I gotta say, so far I'm enjoying autumn!

Tags:recipes mushrooms

Beautiful pork fillets with potatoes

I've been a little quiet here recently. I've had commitments in a friend's wedding party and also working on an autumn theme for my website. It should be up in at least a few weeks time. So back to my recipe. I found some beautiful organic pork fillets at the butchers the other day and I couldn't resist picking up a few to play around with in the kitchen. I personally find pork a little bland as a meat and to me it screams "I need flavour!". I thought about sweet and sour but applying it in a different dimension. I like the flavour of balsamic. It can be quite tangy and sour when applied on its own to a salad but it can take on sweet properties when paired with say, strawberries. I also like soy sauce. Its dark, mysterious and full of salty goodness. So I paired these two dark liquids with some honey, garlic, chilli and white pepper. I marinated the fillets for about 5 hours and seared them in a hot pan and finished them off in a pre heated 180 deg C oven for 10-15 mins. I let the meat rest before cutting it and it had turned out beautiful and pink inside. The soy and balsamic had caramelised and created a beautiful crust over the pork.

Greek style potatoes with lemon and oregano

I paired this dish with some "Greek style" potatoes. I used some beautiful "chat" potatoes I found at the markets. They are smaller in size and cook quite quickly in the oven. I prepared the potatoes by peeling and slicing them in half and mixing them with liberal amounts of olive oil, the juice of one lemon, dried oregano, coarse sea salt and black pepper. For an extra lemon kick I sometimes grate some lemon zest through the potatoes to give them an extra lift. I placed them in a baking pan and had them in the oven for half an hour and then moved them to the second shelf as I cooked the pork for 15 mins. In total they took about 45 mins and they turned out crispy on the outside and soft in the middle.

Tags:recipes pork potatoes

"Baileys" ice cream with home made almond tuile cones

When Emiline decided to hold a blogging event to celebrate St Patrick's Day she decided to go "all the way" by hosting a pub crawl! What a great idea! And she's also offering a whole swag of prizes for the event. So get yourself on over there and submit your entries. You have until Monday the 17th to participate.

Since this is for St Paddys Day I couldn't think of anything more Irish than Baileys Irish Cream. This great tasting liquer is a mixture of Irish whiskey and cream and is often served in a number of cocktails or for an after dinner drink, usually with ice. I've seen a lot of sweet recipes that use this product and rightly so. With its caramel after taste it works like magic on the taste buds. I decided to blend mine with ice cream and serve it with a home made sugar cone. Or should I say an almond tuile. I must admit, I didn't make the ice cream. As in, I bought a good quality vanilla ice cream and blended it with the Baileys and refroze it. If I had a fancy ice cream maker I would certainly give it a go as I found the Baileys to marry really well with the ice cream. I made the cones following a recipe from an old cooking magazine and the final touch was to drizzle it all with a good melted couverture chocolate. Maybe we could enjoy this treat at the end of our pub crawl. What do you reckon?

So delicious and creamy

RECIPE FOR BAILEYS IRISH CREAM ICE CREAM with ALMOND TUILES

For the ice cream
Half a tub of a good, premium Vanilla ice cream
Half a cup of Baileys Irish Cream

Blend the above ingredients thoroughly. Be wary of adding too much liquer as tempting it may be! We want a nice taste not an overpowering one! Refreeze the mixture and its best to use it the next day.

For the almond tuiles:
* 2 eggwhites
* 1/3 cup (75g) caster sugar
* 1/3 cup (50g) plain flour, sifted
* 50g unsalted butter, melted, cooled
* 2/3 cup (50g) flaked almonds

Preheat your oven to 200 deg C. In a bowl combine the egg whites and sugar. Mix in the flour and the cooled, melted butter. Stir through the flaked almonds. Once the batter has been incorporated thoroughly, scoop 2 tablespoons of the batter onto a pre lined (with baking paper) flat baking tray. Swirl it around with the back of a spoon till you get a largish circle. Place it in the oven for 7 mins. You may need a minute or two less depending on your oven's persona. Now, the tricky part. Let them cool for one minute (yes time it!). Using a flat spatula lift the "biscuit" from the tray and shape it into a cone. They are quite pliable when they're hot so move quickly. I rested mine in champagne flutes to let them cool down and achieve their cone shape. Repeat with the rest of the batter. The recipe should yield about four cones. If you find they lose their cone shape as you make them, pop them back into the oven for about a minute to reheat and rework them into their cone shape.

Scoop the Baileys ice cream onto the cones (that have cooled) and drizzle with a good quality melted couverture chocolate. Serve with extra Baileys if you like! Cheers Emiline!

One, two or three!

Tags:recipes drinks

Plump and juicy chorizo

There's a whole lot of chorizo lovin going on in the blogosphere. Jerry's recent post got me thinking about what I could do with some of these lovely plump beauties. Just to set the record straight, I love all kinds of sausages. From the Greek "loukaniko" often made with pieces of orange peel (from the Southern regions of the Peloponnese) to the German Bratwurst served simply with "sempf" (german mustard) wedged i a crusty roll. And chorizos are another definite favourite. There is a big Spanish and Portugese community here in Sydney, all providing beautiful foods and small goods from their respective regions. I could eat them all the time but you know there's a thing called weight gain as you approach your 40's! Nevertheless, I decided to make a stew with some chickpeas (or garbanzo beans) and some ground spices. It was the perfect meal for the coolish weather (although you wouldn't know it from the current situation...we're back on a mini heat wave!). I used a few Moroccan inspired spices including some of that wonderful pepper paste known as harissa. I served it plain with some crusty bread, hungrily mopping up all the "saucy" goodness. You could serve it with some cous cous or soft polenta but I just wanted to enjoy it on its own with some bread.

Hearty chickpea and chorizo stew

RECIPE FOR CHICKPEA AND CHORIZO STEW

• 1 red onion finely diced
• 1 clove of garlic finely minced
• 1 grated carrot
• olive oil for cooking
• 1 tbsp of Moroccan harissa paste
• *ground spices*- This consisted of 1tsp each of ground coriander, fennel, ginger, turmeric, smoky paprika, cumin and a pinch of cinnamon
• 1 1/2 cups of Italian passata (pureed, sieved tomatoes...a pantry staple!)
• 2 cups of chicken stock
• 2 cans of rinsed chickpeas
• 3-4 plump, fresh chorizo sausages

1. Place the carrot, garlic and onion in a pot with a good splash of olive oil. Hey I'm Greek, I tend to sometimes get carried away! Cook it off on a medium heat until the mixture becomes translucent.
2. Add your chorizo with the skins removed and proceed to squash it down with a wooden spoon breaking it up into smaller bits.
3. Add your harissa and ground spices and give it all a good stir ensuring that the kitchen becomes aromatic!
4. Add the passata and chicken stock. Season with a LITTLE salt and freshly ground pepper.
5. Allow the mixture to come to the boil and then set it on a low heat.
6. Let it simmer gently away for at least 2 hours allowing all the flavours to come through.
7. About 15 mins before you switch it off place your chickpeas in the mixture. Allow them to cook and heat through (I used canned because I find the fresh ones too fuss to prepare)
8. You may also want to add some spinach or chard at this point and fold it through. A bit of green never hurt a recipe!
9. Serve with crusty bread and a nice shiraz, merlot etc...

Tags:recipes Spices

Tags:recipes vegetables Thai

A great appetizer or starter

As the summer months finally wind down here in Sydney, admittedly a little earlier than normal, I seek to take advantage of the last of the summer fruits and vegetables at the markets. The figs I cooked the other day were fantastic and very tasty. On that same day I noticed a stall selling a variety of tomatoes in all shapes and sizes. This guy had it all. Cherry, "teardrop", heirloom, amoroso...all were there. My eye spotted the "grape" variety. Shaped liked grapes, I was informed that these were juicy and packed a lot of flavour. Great, time to get experimenting. I like playing with food so I wanted to use these a little differently. I mean I could have used them in a salad with some red onion and a simple dressing but I thought it would be fun to change the elements a little. So I skewered them! I basically made them into vegetarian "souvlaki". LOL! I paired them up with some bocconcini, drizzled some extra virgin olive oil over them and some basil pesto. They were fun to eat and very fresh. One bite had creamy, soft mozzarella and the next bite was a juicy grape tomato. A perfect appetizer or starter for your guests.

A simple pasta dish with roasted "grape" tomatoes.

For my next "experiment" I simply roasted the leftover grape tomatoes. I placed them in an oven dish, drizzled them with some olive oil, a god splash of balsamic and seasoned them with some salt and pepper. My oven was smokin hot (about 200 deg C) and I let them roast for about half an hour. The tomato skins will be blistered but they will be plumper and full of extra juiciness. Once they had cooled I tossed them with some spaghetti (my favourite!), a little extra virgin olive oil and grated some Parmigiano Reggiano cheese over them. Simplicity and taste in its purest form. Nothing is better. I love playing with food...

Tags:recipes Summer quick

I only realised the other day that I had officially forgotten to thank Ivy on my own blog, for giving me an "excellent Blog" award. Oops! I'm so sorry for that. I know I left a comment in your comments section but I realised I hadn't done that here. Thank you again and it is really nice to be appreciated. All the other bloggers that I would have liked to award it to have already received one! So much love in the foodie blogosphere at the moment!

Tags:recipes fruit recipes baking quick

• 1/2 a bunch of coriander (cilantro) roots, cleaned and scrubbed
• 2 escallots finely chopped
• 2 whole chillies , ends removed
• 2 cloves of garlic
• 2 tbsps of peppercorns, preferably white
• 1/3 of a cup of tamarind puree
• 2 tbsps of Thai fish sauce
• 3 kaffir lime leaves finely sliced
• 2tbps of grated palm sugar

• Iceberg lettuce
• peanut oil for frying
• 250g of pork mince (not too lean...we want a little flavour here!)
• 1/2 a cup of Thai Basil leaves
• Freshly squeezed limes

Tags:recipes royal foodie joust Coriander Thai

Tags:recipes Salad Summer

• Preheat your oven to 180 deg C
• Make the tart shell as explained above. Once it has achieved a goldenish colour take it out of the oven and let it cool. Mine took about 20 mins.
• While the tart shell is cooling whip you cream with the sugar, zest and vanilla extract. Once its whipped add the mascarpone and fold through until you have a silky, thick rich mixture.
• Fill the tart shell with the cream mixture.
• Add your strawberries on top.
• Dust with icing sugar and serve it up.

Tags:recipes recipes baking Sweet Treats dessert

Tags:recipes recipes Sweet Treats dessert

Just before I start this post let me say a big thank you to all the readers who have joined me here recently. I appreciate all your comments and I sincerely thank you all. I was having trouble leaving replies due to an issue with the commenting system. All is fine now and I will try to respond if I can in future posts. Again a big thank you and I hope you keep on enjoying my pictures.

• Make sure you eggs are at room temperature
• The flours need to be sifted at least three times! Well I cheated on this step and bought triple sifted flour
• Folding the flours into the batter requires the use of a large metal spoon.
• No overbeating
• Patience...especially about opening the oven door to "check". This was hard for me!

• 1/3 cup (50g) cornflour
• 1/3 cup (50g) plain flour
• 1/3 cup (50g) self-raising flour
• 4 x 60g eggs, at room temperature
• 2/3 cup (150g) caster sugar

1. Grease a 20cm cake tin with real butter. Line the bottom of it with some baking paper.
2. Preheat your oven to 180 deg C
3. Beat the eggs and caster sugar using a mixer. Beat them until they triple in volume. We are after thick and pale looking mixture at this point.
4. Take a large metal spoon and gradually mix in the pre sifted flours.
5. Mix the flours until just combined.
6. Place batter in cake tin and place it in the oven.
7. Leave for 20-30 mins depending on your ovens personality.
8. The cake will be ready when it has shrunk away from the sides, a skewer inserted comes out clean and it springs back when touched on top.
9. Leave the cake to cool in the tin for about 5 mins and then turn it out on a wire rack to cool.
10. Once cake has cooled slice it in half and fill with whipped cream and the delightful passionfruit curd.
11. Dust with icing sugar.

Tags:recipes recipes baking Sweet Treats recipes desserts