Hot Cross Buns

Hot cross buns,

Hot cross buns,

One a penny, two a penny,

Hot cross buns...........

They weren't quite ready for breakfast as I decided a sleep in was required, however, morning tea was graced with delicious hot cross buns. 

I used the recipe I adapted in 2009 and am pleased to report it worked it's magic for another year.

Don't you just love the look of raw dough once it has finished proving. It reminds me of a fluffy pillow that smells of yeast and sugar.......so good!

Happy Easter and take care over the break

Christmas Cakes are done

I think it is a first for me to have the Christmas cake baked and decorated before December. Last year I managed to make it and decorate it about a week before Christmas. The brandied soaked fruit didn't really have enough time to soak but that didn't stop us from enjoying this very moist and delicious cake while sipping cups of tea.
Christmas cake is something that you either love or hate. I must confess I was never really much of a fan, however, I married a man that gets excited in October just thinking about the slices of cake he'll be eating in the coming months. Nic LOVES fruit cake!

My mum used to send us a fruit pudding every year no matter where we lived in the world (actually she still does), something my family always looks forward to every December. For me it helped that we were living on the other side of the world and eating Christmas pudding when it was cold outside, it seemed much more appropriate to eat a warm pudding in the winter months. For these warmer Australian Christmases I think I would rather have something a little lighter, fresher and maybe even a little lemony, however, I know that wouldn't sit right with the boys so just like last year I have made a fruit cake, mum's bringing the pudding (right mum?) and we'll be eating pudding and cake with the best of them.

Another reason I want to make our Christmas cake this year is to do so out of respect for the lady who gave me her recipe. Wendy, my dear neighbour in Virginia promised me it was a winning fruit cake and one she has made for years (I wasn't about to argue with an English woman over a good fruit cake!).
 Sadly Wendy lost her battle with cancer earlier in the year and passed away. So Wendy, I know your family will be missing you more than ever this December and missing your wonderful laugh and smile, not to mention your wonderful baking. The only way I know how to honour you is by recreating the recipes you passed on to me. We couldn't live without your bread and now that Christmas is upon us, I really don't think it would feel the same if I didn't make "the Wendy bird's" Christmas cake...I just wish it was that simple for the rest of your family x.


Wendy's Christmas Cake
1 large egg and 3 egg whites
1 3/4 cups packed light brown sugar
1/2 cup canola oil

1/2 cup honey
1/3 cup apple juice
2 cups apple sauce/puree
2 teaspoons vanilla essence
3 1/4 cups plain flour
1.5 kg mixed dried fruit (approx 52 oz)
1 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
pinch salt
1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon
1 teaspoon nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
1/3 cup toasted wheat germ
1 1/4 cups brandy

Soak fruit in brandy for 24 hours.

Preheat oven to 190 degree (350).
Grease and line one loaf tin and one cake tin then place to the side.
Combine all dry ingredients except wheat germ.
Combine egg, whites, sugar, oil, honey, juice and apple sauce.
Set a sifter over a large bowl and add dry ingredients to wet, then add the wheat germ and mix until blended.
Add the fruit and mix until well combined.
Divide batter among pans up to 3/4 full.
Small tins will take 50-60 minutes while large cake tins 1-1.5hours.
When cooled, wrap in brandy soaked cloths and foil until ready to decorate with royal icing.

Snack time for the kids

I'm sure you all get the same looks as I do when you go and pick the kids up from school. The grumpy face stares up at you like it was all your fault the school bell didn't chime an hour ago.

"Hello boys!" is 9 times out of 10 met with....

'Ohhh I am soooo hungry, did you bring anything to eat?' where the answer is always 'no, but I'm sure there is something at home'.

It's when we get home I then realise there really isn't anything amazing to eat (surprise, surprise because if there was, I would of polished off a piece before I picked them up!).

Yesterday was a little different and I am wondering if it was a good or bad thing to do?

The cupboards were open then closed and then reopened in search of food. I looked in the fridge and declared I might have something. I pulled some bread out (thankfully Nic baked the day before) at the same time Alex found the leftover lemon curd. We decided to put them together and finish with slices of strawberries (I think that was my 'healthy' contribution).

I'm not to sure if it's a good school snack or not but one thing I do know, it kept them quiet for the rest of the afternoon and that can't be to much of a bad thing....right?

Preserved lemons

I decided to try something different today.  I've been meaning to preserve myself some lemons for about a year now but just never got around to having ALL the ingredients in the house at one time. It really hurt when I was making the lamb tagine last week and I had to use fresh lemons instead. Even though I still got a beautiful lemonly flavour it wasn't nearly as intense as it could of been if I had of used preserved lemons!

So with that in mind I set about buying a bunch of lemons, a massive bag of table salt and got to work.  I am also trying to break out on my own and start opening up new branches of my website. I am in the process of writing a menu for a home delivery meal service and a few other bits and pieces so I have been trying to get a little more savvy when it comes to self promoting.....I have a long way to go, but we all have to start somewhere!

OK, so with the help of my 9 year old, I decided to video my recipe of preserved lemons and see how that went. Max, I have to say did a sterling job at videoing my efforts, however, after looking back at the video I left out a lot of info! I have added the video for a bit of a laugh, however, if you'd like some actual information on preserving lemons please read on.

As I forgot to mention in the above video, you need to leave your preserved lemons for a minimum of 10 days for a good flavour. They will last for months and months if you have a sterile jar and the lemons are always covered with salt and juice to prevent mould.
When you want to use the lemon; simply pull out a piece, wash it under cold water to remove excess salt, remove the middle and then slice up the skin as thin or as thick as you would like.

I love to use them in loads of dishes from summer salads to slow braised lamb, pork or chicken dishes. Veggie hot pots also are a winner with some chilli flakes and slices of preserved lemons added. I'll post this in a few weeks time when I can finally use my stash.

I have already opened the jar and added a couple extra lemons and more salt then pressed them down again to squeeze out a little more of the juice. Now all I have to do is leave them until needed. Have a go, you'll be blown away with the flavour it adds to your next meal.

My birthday trifle

I was supposed to write this and say, "it was my birthday yesterday....."
That was seven days ago.
What can I say, November/December is the time of year when people like to eat/party/celebrate and generally have fun. This is a good thing seeing as I have built a business around it, however, it also means a lot of early mornings and late nights rolled into one. This is my excuse for having my Thanksgiving turkey post up for over two (or is it three?) weeks.

A tradition in our family for whoever happens to be having a birthday, is for them to choose whatever cake he/she desires. Nic usually goes for gold and I have to spend at least two days in the kitchen putting it all together while I love a good lemon, orange or chocolate cake with rich frosting and not much else.
This year however, was a bit different and I blame it on this months issue of Saveur!
That's right, when you put a photo that yummy and delicious on the front cover I had no other option BUT to say "I want that for my birthday cake".

Nic was taken aback, he could almost have thought I'd been abducted by aliens instead of spending all those hours at work- I NEVER, EVER want whipped cream, chocolate custard (and this sweet, sweet dessert had white AND dark chocolate custard!). I was quite surprised myself but it was my gut feeling and I went with it.

I am happy I gave him a few days notice because it wasn't a day job. The trifle was made over two days and Nic even came home early on my birthday to finish it. To say it was a mission would be an understatement!

I don't think our photos do it justice; we don't own a see through trifle bowl like the one in the photo above, but if the one on the front cover of Saveur tasted anything like the one Nic made then it would of been outstanding.
 Biting into the ginger cake soaked in sherry was pure delight. Adding the blueberry white chocolate custard kicked it into third gear, while the dark chocolate and raspberry custard blew it out of the park!!

We all loved this divine invention, Alex has asked for it next year and we all wrapped our spoons around the final crumbs. Nic had totally out done himself and impressed me to no end.
I am a year old, a little greyer and so, so happy.

Blueberry pancakes

It was a beautiful, sunny morning here in Sydney this morning. I awoke to a quiet house. The boys were still sleeping and my tummy was grumbling. When I first wake up and the only thing that pops into my mind is food, there is no way I can lounge around and try to go back to sleep.

Pancakes were calling me. Because I have been working the last 3-4 weekends, we haven't been able to have our regular weekend family breakfast where we knock around in our jarmies until mid morning (Nic doesn't, he thinks we are all quite mad and can't understand why we don't want to jump in the shower, dress and then eat). Sunday for me is all about relaxing and part of my relaxing is having a shower when I feel like it....it's not my fault the boys followed suit.

Anyway, back to pancakes. I have a great recipe for fruit pancakes, the mixture is a lot thicker than my regular pancake recipe and I make it with a mixture of Greek style yogurt and milk. Being almost summer, I have blueberries and mangoes greeting me every time I open the fridge, so this morning was time to devour that sweet, succulent fruit.

As you can see the recipe is pretty easy, you just need to fold the mixture instead of stirring, for a lovely fluffy pancake. I add the blueberries to the mixture and then drop them into a frying pan, they explode into the pancake and you end up with lovely bubbling juice sticking to your pancake...it doesn't get better than that.
Both Alex and Max adore mangoes, whenever I cut one up I always hear one of them slurping away on the stone, sucking every ounce out of it. Waking up to the smell of blueberry pancakes and then seeing it served with mango, I didn't hear any complaints about 'boring old breakfast' this morning. As you can see by the picture, nothing but sweet, sweet happiness on these faces.

Blueberry pancakes
1 egg, lightly beaten
1/2 cup natural Greek yogurt
1 cup milk (you might need to adjust this, add the milk and yogurt together to get no more than 1 1/4 cup of liquid)
11/2 cups plain flour
2 tablespoons sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
3/4 teaspoon bi-carb
pinch salt
1/4 cup melted butter
1 punnet blueberries

In a medium size bowl, combine the liquids and stir to mix.
Add dry ingredients to above, folding to combine.
Once well combined add butter and blueberries, fold to combine and then begin to cook.
On medium heat, add four spoonfuls to the frying pan and spread out a little with your spoon. Place a lid on and cook until they begin to puff slightly.
Turn over and cook until done.

Baked apples with Agave and fennel

My kids love green apples, they'll choose them over golden delicious, pink lady's, galas etc....any day. I think it is the sweet/sour flavour that draws them in. I however am not that much of a fan. For me the pure sweetness of a pink lady is delicious, no to mention the sweet juices of a hand picked gala apple dripping down your face. I tend to reserve the greens for cooking (if the boys haven't eaten them all!).

Last night I pulled some pork chops out for dinner and was trying to think outside the box to make dinner a little more exciting yet healthy. Nic loves fruit with pork, so I started poking through the kitchen to see what I had. Prunes were first to show themselves, I thought about it but then decided against them. Alex and I love prunes and tend to eat most of the packet before they can get into a sauce.

I bought a big bag of Granny Smith apples and thought I'd introduce the boys to baked apples.
When they saw me grilling them in the beginning, they didn't seem to impressed so I decided to sweeten them up a little with agave nectar. I love this stuff, it is totally natural; produced from the blue agave plant. If you have never heard of it before, it is crossed between maple syrup and caramel. It is cheaper than pure maple in Australia and is seriously good.....even better it has fewer calories than sugar. It is really low in G.I. but high in fructose, so I think that means guilt free??

Anyway, once I cut the apples in half, took out the core (but left the bottoms in tact) and lightly grilled them; I then smashed some fennel seeds, sprinkled them on top of the apples along with some salt, then drizzled on some agave and popped them in the oven (temp 180) for about 25 minutes to soften.

I wasn't sure how they were going to work out, but that is half the fun. When I served them with a juicy pork chops smothered in seeded mustard and some greens, I was looking forward to our feast....the boys however were a big dubious!
'What is that?' was their first question, and the look on Max's face was pure disdain.

When I explained it was apple- green none the less, they didn't quite believe me so I had to put on my annoyed and irritated voice and say something like...
'Oh just try it, it is apple for goodness sake! and I baked it with syrup, what is there not to like?'

That seemed to do the trick, Max took the first bite and announced to the table that, actually it was pretty good (however you'd never know from the face he was pulling while swallowing his mouthful, I had to think of bad thoughts to stop myself from laughing!).

 I'm not so sure Max was sold on the baked apple part of his meal but he sure gnawed that pork bone down to splinters!

Berry and lemon pound cake

I know it has been an age since I last blogged but to tell you the truth, I haven't really felt like the last dozen meals we've eaten to be blog worthy. I'm in a rut you see. I seem to be on auto pilot making the 'no brainer' family meals and not being to impressed with the out come.

I mean they taste fine, it's just that I think I can do better, what I really need to do is get over this hump and start making interesting and delicious family meals again!

What better way to start my new food week with a delicious family favourite- the pound cake. 

It has been the first Sunday in a very long time that all four of us have been at home together.....for the whole day none the less. A game of Monopoly was on the cards. But before we started playing I decided to bake a cake so there was something to look forward to when the stakes were high and we started bulldozing one another. On this occasion we were all crushed by Nic. Max was the first to bail out while Alex kept on making money hand over fist while running around the lounge room pretending to be  Han Solo in his spare time and screaming at us to 'pay up' when we landed on his property (if he can only keep this skill when he is out in the real world!). 

I managed to hold on for a few more rounds until hotels went up on every corner......he got me bad. We only play Monopoly once in a blue moon and it always ends with one of us destroying the other three, to say we are a little competitive would be putting it mildly! The cake went down a treat and prevented tears of displeasure when knocked off the board.

Anyway here is to a new week with yummy meals and the Monopoly board packed away for another day.

Berry and lemon pound cake

175 grams (6oz) unsalted butter

1 cup castor sugar

3 eggs

1teaspoon vanilla essence

zest of one lemon

2 cups plain flour (all purpose) 

2 teaspoons baking powder 

2 tablespoon milk

1 cup mixed berries (fresh or frozen)

Preheat oven to 180 degree (350)

Cream butter and sugar then add eggs one at a time, beating well between each egg.

Add vanilla essence and lemon zest.

Fold through sifted flour and baking powder, followed by the milk.

Once just combined, place into a cake tin (approx 6 inch tin) and pour on mixed berries, slightly pushing into batter.

Pop in the oven for 45-50 minutes or until skewer comes out clean.

Cool and serve.

Apple and rhubarb slice

It is wet, cool (I just can't say cold when the highs are still around 20 degrees during the day) and clouded over here in Sydney. Winter is coming and I for one am getting excited about winter warmers around the dinner table. One of the great things about reading blogs from all over the world is my  massive recipe collection I now have at the touch of a few buttons. I have written down ideas over the past year of recipes I must try when the weather gets a little cooler and when it starts to warm up again. There are so many fantastic blogs out there and some extremely creative bloggers!

Today's slice comes from my mate over at armchairchef-bryan. A few weeks ago he dug up a favourite post of his for his 1 year blogger anniversary, so I thought to myself, well if he thinks it deserves more love and attention then I should really give it ago, after all, apples are everywhere and it hasn't stopped raining in the past 5 days, so what else am I suppose to do but cook?

Now Bryan I have to warn you I did play around with it a little and I may have tried to make a few short cuts due to me being me.... so please take no offence when you see my end result. Talking of my end result, at first glance pulling it out of the oven I was a little disappointed as I had your buttery looking version in my head and when I pulled mine out of the oven, I knew instantly I shouldn't of put the bread in the toaster to colour and then turn it into breadcrumbs (I know, I know but I was rushing Bryan!).

 OK, so on to the most important factor- flavour.
OMG!!!! So, so yummy. I didn't end up pulling it out of the oven until late at night and the house was filled with beautiful caramelizing butter and sugar aromas with pangs of apples and rhubarb running through the  house. In Bryan's original recipe he used three different types of apples which gave me the idea of using granny smiths and rhubarb- why not?

It is general consensus in our house that this slice is awesome! however I am deciding weather or not to stick with the toaster breadcrumbs or following Bryan's recipe and making it look more appetizing and this is why.... When some of the boys friends came over last week I sliced up a few pieces for a snack. My boys knowing how good it tasted gobbled down their pieces greedily while their friends eyed off the rest and said thanks but no thanks. I'm thinking the darker crumbs of 'toast' didn't sell the slice to them which means more for us!
Which ever version you think is better my only advise is to MAKE IT. We are down to the last few pieces and I'm already wondering when I can make it again.

Apple and rhubarb slice
3 slices bread- make into breadcrumbs and then toast in oven for 5 minutes
(Or my version, pop bread in toaster then turn into bread crumbs- this is uglier but faster)

 Shortbread Base

2 cups plain flour

1/2 cup brown sugar

1/2 teaspoon salt

110g Unsalted Butter, cubed

Preheat oven to 180 degrees. Toast bread crumbs then set aside.

In a food processor add flour, sugar and salt, pulse until combined, then add cold butter and pulse until you have what looks like a breadcrumb mix. ( should take about 20 seconds)

Line a 25 x 36cm lamington tray with baking paper and lightly press the shortbread mixture over the bottom of the tray.

Bake for 20 minutes.

While the base is cooking prepare the topping

Apple Topping

125g unsalted butter, melted

5 Granny Smith apples, peeled, cored and finely sliced

400g rhubarb, peeled and thinly sliced (approx. 4 sticks)

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon, ground

2/3 cup castor sugar

2 tablespoons plain flour

Melt your butter on medium heat then leave to one side until needed.

Place sliced apples and rhubarb in a large mixing bowl and add cinnamon, toss to combine.

In a small bowl add sugar and flour together then take the crust out of the oven when ready.

Sprinkle half of the sugar and flour mix on top of the shortbread; add your apple and rhubarb mixture to the shortbread then sprinkle the rest of the sugar flour mix on top. Sprinkle on your breadcrumbs then drizzle the melted butter on top of the whole thing.

Pop it back in the oven and bake for 50 minutes. About 1/2 way through you will want to pull it out and press the filling down with a spatula to even it out. Cool for about 20 minutes.

Apple turnovers for you and a four year old

Alex has been nagging me senseless to come and cook at his school. I have promised him I will, just as soon as I have a spare afternoon (something a 4 year old gets very tired of hearing!).

Last year when I was working 3 days a week, I spent one morning at Alex's then preschool 'cooking' with him and his class. It was great fun. At first I had a bit of a panic attack because cooking with 18 three to four year olds wasn't something I ever thought would be fun, let alone think of doing more than once in my life.
However, when your son keeps on going on about the apple turnovers he once made, while at the same time staring up at you with his big blue eyes and pulling on your jeans saying, 'let's make those again, can we, can we, can we mum?', you have to resign to the fact that it WILL happen again and sometime soon.

To make life easier I decided to come up with a fool-proof recipe so the kids can do more of the work and I can be more of a 'helper'.
 The kids can make one each and take it home for their whole family to try (I can't run the risk of eating some other kid's booger smeared turnover- a little lesson I learned from the last time!).
If all goes well I'm planning on doing the class next week so I'll let you know how it goes but until then, if you have a youngster floating around or just want an easy recipe to whip up in under 20 minutes then pre heat your oven, pull a sheet of puff pastry out of your freezer and get to work!

Apple turnover
3-4 sheets of frozen puff pastry or sweet short crust
50 g unsalted butter, melted
4 small granny smith apples, peeled and sliced
2 teaspoons lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1 tablespoon heaped brown sugar
1 egg, beaten
1-2 tablespoons demerara or raw sugar (optional)

Remove sheets of pastry from freezer, preheat oven to 180c and spray oven tray with cooking spray.

Place the next 5 ingredients into a medium bowl, stir to combine.
With a small knife (butter knife is fine if kids want to do it), make slits in the middle of the pastry like goal bars, leaving about 5cm from each end of the pastry.
Place apple mixture on a 1/3 of the pastry long ways, brush one end of the pastry with egg wash then fold over opposite end to make a fold.
Once ends are joined, grab a fork and press down edges to seal.
Brush the top of pastry with more egg wash then sprinkle on demerara sugar.
Place back in fridge for 5 minutes to firm up pastry.
Once pastry is firm, bake until golden in colour.

Cool, dust with icing sugar and eat as is or with your favourite custard, ice cream or cream

Day one of detox & chicken and veggie dumplings

Well, not the best start to my new day of detox, health, and wellbeing but it was the start I had, so there you go!
Instead of waking up to my juice being on my front doorstep I told Schkinny Maninny to leave it at work so I could have it first thing as I am usually there around 6.30am. All well and good for MOST days but I had a last minute order to deliver early into the city and I had to leave from home so I didn't end up getting my first juice until 8.45am and by then I  was well and truly ready for it.
First juice out of the esky (cooler) was the Schkinny Leap Frog- bright green and everything you would think a 'detox' drink should look like. First taste- AWESOME, it was cold, light, sweet and extremely refreshing with kiwi fruit, spinach, parsley and a few other bits to get me going.
 My mid morning bottle (I was wondering if I had enough time in the day for this one as I was so late with my first!) was Pine Grapple, a light, refreshing burst of mint, pineapple and  a few other bits and pieces, which tied me over until 1.30pm when lunch was calling.
I got to turn it up a bit and heated the spicy tomato and lentil juice (soup) which actually felt like a real treat.

Verdict so far....I was really impressed. I didn't feel hungry, if anything I felt full as it is more than I usually eat when I'm at work (which is NOT good, I know, I know). After lunch I still had three more juices to get through and I have to say by the time I got around to my nutty almond milk and brazil nut concoction I was well and truly full! Something I really wasn't expecting to feel.
Because I was by myself most of the day it was pretty easy not to think about food but I must say when I was whipping up the chicken and vegetable dumplings for the family I did want to sneak one- alas, I was strong and busy, too busy in fact to sit down with the family for dinner and I think that was a blessing in disguise as I didn't have to watch everyone chew!

Verdict on the dumplings and rice.......delicious, the boys ate it all up, Alex even managed yoghurt after dinner which isn't very common these days, while Max insisted he ate at least 7 dumplings!
Feeling full and ready for bed was not a combination I was expecting which made me wonder if I was detoxing properly- I was sure I was meant to be starving or maybe that starts tomorrow?

Crab and mango salad

On Saturday night we were having dinner guests. Our first dinner guests since we moved into our new apartment back in December. I hate to think we have been here for over 6 weeks and we haven't entertained......then again who am I kidding, days have been running into weeks without me knowing!

When we first moved to Sydney the lovely Nerida took us under her wing; she fed us beautiful dinners at her home, let the boys play with her sons 'transformers' collection for hours on end, she let us borrow chairs so we didn't have to sit on the floor while we were waiting for our furniture to arrive, etc, etc. We were always wanting to invite Nerida around for dinner but a year passed and it still hadn't happened so when Nic told me we were having dinner guests I was delighted to finally have Nerida come to our house.
As you can imagine, I felt I needed to make something delicious, exciting and worth waiting for!

In my mind I had a feast planned however in reality I had just finished a big week. I had to get up and start work at 4.20am on the Friday morning, followed that afternoon with a phone call from Alex's school saying he had a temperature, thus ended up staying up half the night to keep him settled, went to the cafe at 6am the next morning to open for breakfast......yep, the last thing I felt like doing was cooking a feast, BUT there was no way I was going to have a boring meal.
I was always thinking crab- it's summer, hot, humid and what better way to start an evening sucking on a crab claw while drinking a cool glass of vino bianco. Thanks to Brett's wonderful idea of taking home some pre-prepared, slow cooked lamb shank and pesto parcels we had at the cafe for the main meal all I had left to do was make a crab salad and dessert- no worries!

Finishing work early I drove to the fish mongers, picked up three delicious looking blue swimmer crabs then headed to the fruit and veg store to put the final touches together. I knew I desperately needed to sleep so I was thinking quick and simple on the prep front. I boiled my crabs (a sight the boys were delighted with however didn't want anything to do with when it came to trying the meat!) in a lime leaf, chili and garlic infused stock, popped them in the fridge to cool and headed for the bedroom for a quick power nap.

It still impresses me how a 30 minute power nap can stop you looking and feeling like a zombie! I was refreshed and ready to pick at my crabs- probably the hardest part of the whole dish. Anyway once the meat was all picked through I prepped some diced mango, nice and small so it complemented the crab meat. Nic picked the watercress while I made a chili, caramel and citrus dressing where by you heat up some palm sugar in a saucepan until it starts to bubble and go sticky (on a very low heat). Once liquified you add freshly squeezed orange juice and stir over a low flame until sauce is all smooth. Add a couple splashes of fish sauce, chopped Thai chili (green) and then once cooled add chopped coriander (cilantro). It is a flavour sensation and will keep for about 5 days in the fridge.
Ok so all the prep is done, boys have eaten early (thought they were lucky having noodles and chicken rather than crab) and I was feeling almost a million dollars. It was a great night, the salad was the perfect way to start the meal and the best part was I got to sleep in on Sunday morning.....

Florentines

The other day at work I had a request for Florentine biscuits from one of my clients. When I saw the email I thought for a minute on what to do. Do I go and buy them or make them? The only reason I thought this was because EVERY time I have made Florentines they end up dry and terrible. It's baked goods like these that have kept me out of the pastry section of kitchens for years!

 I ran down to our local patisserie shop and saw their florentines and pretty well made up my mind to make them as soon as I saw them. For 80 cents you got a florentine about as big as a 20 cent piece which looked like no love was put into them at all- I just couldn't do it.
Scanning the internet for a recipe was an interesting venture, a lot of recipes with cornflakes and condensed milk (which just didn't seem right to me), looking further I found a few recipes that just sounded like all the other florentine recipes I had used to no avail. Finally I came across one on www.cooks.com

The recipe looked like it was going to be sticky (due to the fact it had honey, cream and butter in it) so I thought what the hey and got down to business. I have to tell you when I look through recipes I usually only look at the ingredients and if they seem OK I'll then buy the bits and bobs then read the method just before I begin. Quite silly really, I think is has something to do with me never really following a recipe to a T (sadly I do the same with my own recipes!). A bad habit that was just about to teach me a lesson.

You see I weighed everything out and was ready to go- put the sugar, cream etc into saucepan and on the heat before reading any further. "...boil until the candy thermometer registers 240 degrees...."
Dammit! I have always meant to buy a candy thermometer but never really got there.
What to do? They were due out within the hour and I didn't have time to buy a thermometer so I bit the bullet, through caution to the wind and trusted my instinct to not stuff up.
 The recipe did state ".....or until a firm ball is formed". I waited for the 'firm ball' HA what a joke. I had a lot of bubbles but nothing looked like a firm ball to me so again I trusted my gut and  took it off the heat when I thought it was best.
I am not sure if I was 100% right BUT they looked a beautiful golden brown when the almonds were thrown in and the honey, butter combo was intoxicating- I felt I did OK.

Following the rest of the recipe I was feeling pretty good until I took the trays out of the oven and found my little teaspoon sized balls had all run into each other and all that was left was a thin toffee, almond layer.

Nothing a cookie cutter couldn't fix so after getting toffee burns on 80% of my finger tips I finally had these little babies kinda looking like Florentines and the best part was they set!
Of course Sydney being Sydney the day was humid and heavy so once I brushed on some chocolate it was straight into the fridge with them.
I managed to deliver them to the client on time and held my breath that the chocolate didn't melt entirely. Of course there were left overs so the family and I have been enjoying Florentines with our cup of tea in the mid afternoon- so very civilised!
 If your in the mood for a challenge then go ahead and make a batch but probably a good idea to nip out and grab a candy thermometer or blow the dust off the one you have in your bottom draw.
Good Luck!

Florentine cookies
1/2 cup castor sugar
1/3 cup heavy cream
1/3 cup honey
4 tablespoons unsalted butter
120g (4oz) dried fruit finely chopped (I used dates and cranberries)
2 teaspoons grated lemon rind
160g (6 oz) blanched sliced almonds
3 tablespoons plain flour
1/2 cup dark chocolate buds, melted with 1 tablespoon butter

Combine sugar, cream, honey and butter in a small saucepan and bring to the boil
Once boiling place in candy thermometer and wait for it to register 240 degrees, or until lots of big bubbles form and it turns a light golden brown colour.
Remove from heat and stir in dried fruit, lemon rind, almonds and flour.
Stir until well combined.
Drop small teaspoons of batter on greased proof paper leaving room between each spoonful.
Flatten each cookie with a fork dipped in milk (very helpful)
Bake for 8 minutes or until they look golden and bubbly.
Remove and immediately shape with a round greased cookie cutter.
When cookie rounds are firm, remove from sheet and cool completly.
Coat back of each cookie with the melted chocolate and butter. Leave to set (fridge works really well!)
Makes about 14-16
Note: I have changed a few ingredients, original recipe uses 4oz ground candied orange peel instead of lemon zest and dried fruit.

Boxing Day leftover brioche

Today, or should I say this evening (due to internet overload this has been the first time I've been able to get on!) is Boxing Day, the day after Christmas. I can't wait to share in the delights of our Christmas lunch with you all but I feel I have to tell you all about our traditional Christmas day berry brioche which really needs a whole page to itself.
From the time Nic and I got together 10+ years ago and I learn't how to make a really yummy brioche dough (thanks to my dear friend Ant) we have celebrated every Christmas morning with a batch of brioche and a bottle of bubbly. One of the best parts about making this recipe is the fact that we get to have 'leftovers' on Boxing day so this morning after a gruelling hill run (that would be me dragging my sister up and down the hills of North Sydney), we got to sit down for the second time and eat our wonderful, buttery delights.

I make the dough the night before then after the boys have ripped into their santa stockings I roll in the berries and prove the dough while I make a quick dash for the shower. By the time the brioche have puffed and are ready to be baked we have opened presents, showered and are ready to pop the cork on the bubbly and tuck into the brioche.
Another plus for boxing day is the fact that they are all ready to go, all you need to do is to turn on the  oven and warm through. Tarsh thinks they taste even better on the second day however I am a purist and love the fist bite just after baking. I think the brioche is about the only thing my 4 year old eats on Christmas day. The excitement (not to mention all the chocolate they get to eat Christmas morning) is all to much for him (and I remember Max doing the same thing between the ages of 3-5) so he devours a brioche and  then basically nibbles at the rest of the daily feast. If he is anything like his brother, by the time he is 7 he'll be eating me out of prawns and turkey.......

Berry brioche
5 tablespoons warm water
pinch sugar
2 tablespoons dry yeast
60g sugar (approx. 3 tablespoons)
600g plain flour
2 teaspoons salt
6 eggs
350g unsalted cold butter, diced

1/3 cup extra sugar
2 cups frozen mixed berries

In a medium bowl add yeast and sugar to warm water, stir with wooden spoon then leave for 5 minutes to ferment.
In a mixing bowl add remaining sugar, flour and salt.
With dough hook slowly turning add fermented yeast then one egg at a time.
When all eggs are added, add cold butter cubes and mix until well combined.
Butter will still be in lumps but that is all OK.
Once well combined (after 3-4 minutes) remove dough hook, cover with glad wrap and pop in the fridge until needed. Minimum 4 hours.
Preheat oven to 180 (350), turn out dough, sprinkle flour on board and roll into a log. Cut into 12 equal parts, with a rolling pin, roll into discs, sprinkle with 2 teaspoons of extra sugar then add mixed berries (approx. 2 tablespoons per disc).
Spray a muffin tin then add each folded brioche to tin.
Prove dough in a warm place for 20-30 minutes then bake for 20 minutes or until golden.
Serve warm.

Banana Bread

I have had the same 4 bananas sitting patiently in my fruit bowl for the past dare I say it 7 days!!!

Alex spotted them and said "I am NOT eating those mum, no way" then tries to throw them out just in case I sneak one into his food (what kind of person does he think I am?). I quickly jumped in and promised him I'd make some banana bread with them and all would be OK. He gave me a look as if to say- you seriously are going to use them for cooking? your nuts!

As any good banana cake/bread/muffin cook knows, the browner (or in my case blacker) the banana the better. I figure they weren't yet oozing and had no mould so I was good to go.

One of my favorite bloggers is Thekitchwitch and recently she blogged about a white trash cookbook found in the bowels of her cookbook collection. She is a great writer who tells very funny stories about food, life and family. I decided to try out the white trash version of banana bread and see how it worked out. To be fair to the recipe I couldn't get buttermilk, for some reason the local Woolies had run out and an American friend of mine once told me you could substitute natural yogurt and milk if you are without buttermilk, which is what I did.

When I first pulled the bread out of the oven I was really impressed with the delicious sweet smell wafting through the house and couldn't wait to cut off a slice and try it- this is where I learned a valuable lesson......DO NOT DO THIS CAMILLA! It was so hot when I went to eat it I burnt the roof of my mouth and secondly it didn't taste as good as it smelled. I washed my disappointment down with a cuppa tea and then proceeded to follow the rest of the directions and pop it in the fridge.

Day two of the bread I was cutting slabs for afternoon tea for the boys and I, scraped on some butter (because that is what you do diet or not!) and proceeded to munch away. To my delight and surprise I was eating a full flavoured, delicious banana bread. It was perfect- denser than banana cake (as it should be), sweet yet not to sweet and more importantly tasted wonderful!

Thanks TKW for a yummy recipe, I have now learned a valuable lesson and will always keep my banana bread in the fridge and cold before devouring.

Below I have written down my version of the recipe but for the real deal click onto the link above or just click on the link if you want to read a funny well written blog with great recipes.

Banana Bread

1 cup castor sugar

2 eggs

1/4 cup butter, softened

3 large brown (or black) bananas, mashed

1/4 cup natural yogurt

1/4 cup + 1 tablespoon milk

1 teaspoon bi-carb soda

1 teaspoon vanilla

1/2 teaspoon salt

2 cups + 2 tablespoon plain flour

Method:

Combine your yogurt and milk in a bowl and mix well then set aside until needed.

Preheat oven to 180°C.

Line a loaf tin with baking paper and spray with cooking spray.

Mix ingredients in the order outlined above.

Pour into loaf tin and bake for 1 hour, remove from oven COOL and store in the fridge until all eaten!

Father's Day French Toast

Today is Father's Day this side of the world- Happy Father's Day to all the dads in Australia!

Nic doesn't really celebrate Father's day but I do so I will always try to make it a day where the boys at least have a smile on their dial for dad and treat him with kindness and goodwill for the first part of the morning. Being at such a young age it really isn't that hard, it also helps when they have ready made school cards to give dad.

Alex was bursting at the seams waiting to give Nic his homemade tie card, while Max casually throws Nic his 'give a hand' card trying not to exert to much emotion (you really get so cool when your 7 and I believe it doesn't change until your late twenties!)

After Nic was well wished and the cards tossed to him the boys told us of their deathly hunger pains and asked when were we going to get up and make breakfast??

I simply replied "Your making breakfast for your dad".

Alex was totally amped and wanted to race into the kitchen and use every sharp knife available, while Max was deep in thought wondering what it was that he and Alex could make. I suggested French toast seeing as that was one of their dad's favorite breakfasts. Alex cheered and screamed something at us in full volume while Max told me they needed an adult to help. I agreed and told them we'd meet in the kitchen in 5.

Sadly I wasn't over organized so I didn't have any delicious homemade bread left, instead I had a stack of wholemeal sliced bread that would have to do. To add to my yummy father's day breakfast I'd run out of maple syrup and of course there was no bacon in the house (Can you tell I have just gone back to full time work not to mention my own business?).

Not to worry, I decided to make an Australian French toast with oranges and golden syrup!

The boys were great at cracking the eggs into the container; brilliant at measuring in the milk, and sprinkling in the cinnamon, Max even buttered the bread while Alex zested the orange with glee but when it was time to actually cook the toast there were no boys in sight. After calling for help I was simply told I could do the rest because the good stuff was all done and they were really hungry so could I please just cook it already!

With that said who was I to argue? Even though it was store bought bread and I only had a third of the ingredients we managed to make a really tasty brekky and Max told me we should make french toast like this all the time so if your looking for something a little different you should give this a go as it works a treat.

French toast- Australia style

8 slices wholemeal bread (buttered both sides with butter)

4 eggs

1 cup milk

zest one orange

2 teaspoons orange juice

a sprinkle of cinnamon

pinch salt

50g butter

golden syrup

1 orange, peeled and cut into slices

In a long container (one big enough to hold two slices of bread) crack in the eggs.

Add milk, zest, orange juice, cinnamon and pinch of salt.

Gently whisk with a fork until well combined.

Add two slices of bread at a time to mixture and leave to soak for 2-3 minutes.

Heat a frying pan on medium heat and add 1/3 of the butter.

Once butter has melted remove bread from mixture, drain slightly and fry until golden in colour, flip over and repeat.

Place toast into warm oven and repeat process with remaining slices of bread.

To serve place on orange slices and drizzle with golden syrup.

Serve warm

Cucumber and Melons

Alex and I share a great love for cucumbers. They have a crisp, watery flavour that goes with just about any salad combo I know. If Alex asks for a 'salad' he usually means cucumber rounds, carrot and olives. When I tell him a salad usually has some type of lettuce in it he reassures me I am completely wrong and not to speak of lettuce again!

 With Sydney's fantastic weather 90% of the time my taste buds with the Mexican flare suit this climate very well. When cooking in summer at Campagnola you'd get hot, when working on the grill section your body would boil. Many a night servers (waiters) would ask me if I was OK due to the redness in my face and sweat running down my back. As uncomfortable as it got at times I wouldn't swap it for any other spot in the kitchen. Working the grill was one of the best parts about a restaurant kitchen. If you were having a good night, the whole restaurant was running well, if you started to go down then you'd pull the whole restaurant with you- yep it is all about the control factor!

Anyway I am getting side tracked- on summer nights the prep guy would usually have a few spare minutes before or after service and would peel and scrape out cucumbers 2-4 at a time then soak them in lime juice, chilli flakes, lots of salt and then we would all dig in. It was such a refreshing snack; reviving you while leaving a refreshing flavour in your mouth. 

I started this at home and the family hasn't looked back. Along with cucumbers, any melon gets a good going over with lime/lemon juice and a shake or two of chilli. It's a bit like eating peanut butter- very nice on it's own but when spread with jam (jelly) it is just delicious!

For a family friendly recipe visit kidspot

Pear & Pine nut cake

Have you ever gone to make something at home and find you only have half the ingredients, or your one egg to short? It drives me to distraction!  I usually always check ingredients before I start anything so I don't have the disappointment half way through and find I have to abandon my efforts. However, on the day I decided to make the pear cake I was a little blase´, the phone rang as I was heading into the kitchen to begin. Instead of finishing my conversation and getting on with the cake I decided (as every mother does I am sure) to do two things at once for a time saver- hmmmm!

Firstly I have to grate the pears- no worries, then soak them in brown sugar along with the pine nuts, first problem. I only have half the amount of sugar that is required, what do I do?

 a) abandon the recipe and feed the kids grated pear

 b) get off the phone and go to the shops or

 c) continue with the phone call and use what I have.

That's right, I choose C

Next step- sift all flours and put to one side. Right about this time my friend was at a good point in her story so I had to decide weather or not to cut down the amount of flour I am using to balance out the sugar or do I keep on going with the normal recipe because I have all the pears? I decided on a lesser amount of flour and hope for the best while totally engrossed with the story at hand.  I am almost at the end of the cake when I go and get the three eggs required only to find two left in the fridge- a slight freak out! So I go to the cupboard and get out the oil to finish up the recipe- we have none. By this stage it was time to get off the phone and concentrate on the cake!

Long story short, I got Nic to pick up some oil from the store on his way home and decided to go with what I had and see what happens.

The cake was made, it rose beautifully, looked good and I have to say it was pretty yummy. The texture wasn't as even as it usually is, however I think I might stay with cutting back the sugar due to the fact that it is much better for the family with half the amount and it still tastes yummy.

Below is the original recipe for all those of you out there who check your cupboards FIRST and wouldn't dream of making a cake while chatting on the phone! The lime and cream cheese frosting is delicious also, however Nic didn't think it went well with the cake- I disagree, so see what you think?

Pear and Pine nut Cake

3 pears,grated with skin on

2 cups brown sugar

3/4 cup pine nuts

3 cups all-purpose flour

4 tsp baking powder

2 tsp cinnamon powder

23o ml vegetable oil

3 eggs

Preheat oven to 350 and spray a 9 inch spring form cake tin with cooking spray, set aside.

In a large bowl place in grated pear, brown sugar and pine nuts, stir to combine and leave to sit for 20 minutes.

Meanwhile sift flour, baking powder and cinnamon together in a separate bowl and put aside.

After 20 minute, add eggs and oil to pear mixture, stirring to combine, once all mixed add flours and fold into mix.

Pour into sprayed cake tin, place on a oven tray and bake in  the oven slowly so the cake isn't heavy. Cooking time is around 1 hour, maybe a little longer depending on your oven.

Cool in tin for 5 minutes and then remove side and continue to cool.

Lime and Cream cheese frosting

5 oz cream cheese

zest of one line

juice of half lime

1 Tbsp salted butter

1/2 cup powdered sugar

Place all ingredients into a food processor and blend until well mixed. Spread over cool cake and serve.

Bread and butter pudding

During my pregnancy with Alex I was the pastry chef at Campagnola restaurant in Evanston, Il. Before that I was known as the 'grill bitch' in the main kitchen. I guess you can't be to nice when working in a male dominated work place AND get what you want! I absolutely LOVE working the line and my favorite position is in fact the grill. The thrill of seeing all the tickets lining up, meat searing on the wood fired grill and servers screaming in pre-orders for the last three tables they just picked up- makes me feel alive. The adrenalin is frightening at times, yet totally intoxicating, especially when you get through the service and no one has sent food back or you've lost a ticket on the line (which we all know happens!). 

I didn't give up the grill willingly I have to say and I also didn't give it up to reduce my stress levels (although all good arguments). I had to give it up in the end due to being way to big for the space. Doing a 360 turn from the grill to plating the food when you have a very large baby growing in your tummy doesn't leave a lot of room to move. I'd have to back up to let the other guys out- it was time to change jobs.

For the good part of my 15 years in cooking I have managed to avoid two areas of a professional kitchen I loathed. The pantry (salads) and pastry. I always felt my hands were much to clumsy for the delicate works of a pastry kitchen and I also wasn't happy about being so accurate around food. When the head chef, Vince suggested I try the pastry section I thought he was deranged and told him it properly wasn't a good idea but I'll give it a go because clearly I was not going to fit on the line for much longer!

 To cut a long story short I took up the post and was happy to be cooking yet feeling totally out of my depth. I was actually glad to finally pop Alex out. I didn't really learn to LOVE the pastry section until we went to live in Florence Italy for ten months (Alex was 6 weeks old when we left). Being surrounded by delicious cakes and pastries, being able to walk around the corner and buy fresh bread and sweet rolls from our house slowly changed my perspective on the dessert station. In the end I was dying to get back to the kitchen and reproduce the wonderful desserts and cakes we bought in Italy.

After being back at Campagola, full of ideas and recipes I'd picked up from friends in Florance I was raring to go and create. I found with the right passion and enthusiasm I wasn't to bad at the pastry thang and I even got a bit of a following. One of the dishes I made for the Fall/winter menu was bread and butter pudding. Restaurants always seem to have an abundance of stale bread and I thought it a waste to use it all for bread crumbs or throw it out. This recipe is very adaptable. When I made it for the restaurant I wanted it to be creamy and rich without making patrons wish they hadn't had it (for obvious reasons!) so I made it with half & half and a little cream. 

I didn't think my family and I needed that much fat in our diet so I made this one with full cream milk and a little cream. Play around and use what you feel most comfortable.

In the restaurant I also served it with a caramel sauce but I wasn't about to make the sauce at home because I had used up all my brownie points with Alex making the pudding, so I served it with Breyers praline ice- cream and I have to say it worked a treat! 

Seriously give it a go and change it around a bit. Instead of using banana, throw in some white chocolate and fig (that was another combo I did at work) or raspberry jam and chocolate- the combinations are endless!

Banana Bread and Butter Pudding

Preheat oven to 350-degree and have two ovenproof dishes ready for baking (you need a water bath to cook in so you don't make scramble eggs!)

1 loaf of stale bread (about 9 oz in weight)- crust removed, diced and browned in 350-degree oven until golden in color

Meanwhile in a medium saucepan heat

1-2 tsp. vanilla essence or 1 scraped vanilla pod

700ml  Whole milk

300ml heavy whipping cream

Heat but DO NOT BOIL.

Once milk is scorched cut off the heat.

In a separate large bowl combine

4 eggs

1/2 cup granulated sugar

Whisk until well combined and thick (approx 30 seconds)

Gradually pour in your scorched milk mixture with eggs until you have a custard.

Add your toasted diced bread and leave to soak for 30 minutes.

After you have soaked the bread make your banana mix so the flavors can meld.

In a medium bowl ADD

2 bananas- mashed, the older and blacker the better

1/2 cup brown sugar

1 Tbsp. brandy or Bourbon

Mix until combined then leave until your ready to form pudding

Meanwhile in a small oven proof dish go around it with butter giving it a good coating, leaving chunks of butter in for added flavor. Personally I like to use a salted butter (kerrygold being my fave) the salted butter gives it a distinct flavor of salty sweet adding another flavor layer to the dish.

OK, so you have your bead soaking and it is spongy and ready to go, your container is buttered up and the banana mix is all ready to go.

Pull out half the bread and cover the bottom of your dish- don't worry about the custard mix it all ends up in the dish.

Once you have the bottom layer in- pour over the banana mix and finish with covering the banana mix with the remaining bread. Pour remaining custard over bread until all gone or dish is full.

Place dish in a larger dish (water bath) and fill it with water until is comes up about an inch on the sides. Place in 350-degree oven for about an hour. 

When all custard is set remove from oven an let stand for 10 minutes before serving.

Banana & Coconut muffins

Nic is having a 'boys day out' on a friend's boat today. They are heading down to Chicago to the Air and Water show- they will have a blast for sure. I felt like I needed to pack him off with a little something under his arm to snack on. I know Phil's wife will be making some fabulous sangos (sandwiches for those feeling confused) so I decided to go the muffin route. I feel I have done the cinnamon ones to death so looking around the kitchen I spot two very black bananas and decide on banana muffins with a pinch or two of coconut just for the fun of it.

 I feel very hard done by due to the fact I have never owned a food mixer. I refuse to buy a cheap hand held one because I am waiting for the mother of all mixers- the standing, kitchen aid mixer...I am still waiting but that is another story. Anyhow I want to make the muffins and I don't want to beat the butter and sugar by hand so I pull out my trusty and faithful Cuisinart food processor. Hands down it has to be one of the best gifts I have ever received. I use it to death and for everything. I know you shouldn't use it for cakes but when that is all you have, you make do. I have to say it makes wonderful banana muffins!

 There is a lot of stop and starting to 'cream' the butter and sugar but when that is all done and you have added the bananas- a few quick pulses to add everything else and there you have it, a great batter ready for the cake tin or muffin pan. As you can see from the photos, you really do end up with a light, fluffy muffin. Alex has been driving me bonkers all morning wanting to know when it is his turn to have a muffin. I am sure I did the same with my mum seeing as she first introduced me to this recipe (minus the coconut) when I was three so it is pay back time!

I finished them off with a quick lemon, icing sugar and butter glaze. I never measure this one out. I find a knob of butter, zest of half a lemon, add juice of half a lemon and then keep on adding icing sugar (sifted to reduce lumps) and stirring until thick enough to spread. It is a great quick alternative if you don't have any cream cheese. If you have any blackened bananas lying around, don't throw them out give this recipe a go and enjoy- with or without the coconut.

Banana and Coconut muffins

1 stick (125g) butter

1 cup sugar

3 black bananas- mashed

1/4 cup dessicated coconut

2 eggs

1&1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1 heaped tsp baking powder

1 tsp baking soda

2 Tbsp milk

Preheat oven to 350 and spray tins/ muffin tray with cooking spray oil- set aside.

In a mixer or food processor (or by hand) cream your butter and sugar until light and fluffy.

Add eggs one at a time, mix until well combined then continue with remaining egg. Add mashed bananas and coconut (if using). Mix until well combined.

Add remaining ingredients and stir on LOW until combined (or a few short pulses in the food processor). Once all mixed, pour into muffin tins and bake for about 20 minutes.

Once baked, turn out onto a cooling rack. 

When cool add lemon glaze or your favorite cream cheese icing. 

This mix usually makes 16 muffins.