Kitchen Therapy

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Chocolate Lime Cake with Margarita Cream – Valentine’s Day

I came across the “Nigella Forever” at Maison Cupcake and I it was the perfect excuse to cook something totally indulgent!
(I seem to need a good reason to do things just for the fun and pleasure of it, contradictory I know!
However I’ve noticed that something as simple as having a deadline legitimises all my worries away!)

Nigella’s Flourless Chocolate Lime Cake with Margarita Cream really struck a chord with me!
Margarita cream! Really! How flamboyant!
And in addition to a very real deadline I had an even better excuse… Valentine’s Day!
I couldn’t wait!

I made the cake…

It turned out absolutely perfect!

I made the Margarita Cream…

 

And since I was on a roll and loving it I decided to make Margaritas!

And I remembered a few things in the process…
It’s perfectly okay to have fun for the sake of fun!
And when you relax and enjoy yourself, everyone else around you relaxes and has fun.
Isn’t that what life’s about?

 

Happy Valentine’s Day!


You can read the recipe for yourself by clicking on Flourless Chocolate Lime Cake with Margarita Cream or by visiting Nigella.com

 

 


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Orange-Hazelnut Tart

I found this tart really easy to make.
Maybe it’s because I was prepared and organised.
I read the steps, organised my self and over a couple of days I completed one stage at a time.

I made the dough after picking up the 10 year old from school with a bunch of his friends.
As they ran riot around the house, I whizzed up the dough, pressed in the crust and placed it in the freezer before dragging them all off to karate.

I cut and dried the oranges that same night while negotiating with my 13 year old daughter a camping trip being planned on facebook with 7 boys and 7 girls at a site only accessible by boat or an hour and 1/2 bushwalk!
The next morning my 10 year old had early morning try outs for the school Eagle Tag team so we were up early and I had time to blend up the hazelnut cream and leave it in the fridge to chill.
(My 13 year old is allergic to most nuts, so swapped the almonds for hazelnuts which she can actually eat!)
And while waiting for the 3 year to finish dance class in the afternoon, the tart was easily assembled and put in the oven to bake!

I am never organised or prepared!
Most things I squeeze in at the oddest moments with never enough time or the right equipment and ingredients at home!
So this was such a pleasant experience!
Until I decided to go through the 13 year old’s closet and pull out clothes she no longer wears while the tart was baking.
I lost track of time and burnt it lightly singed the edges.

Conclusion:
The tart tasted delicious!
I do think almonds would have been better, the hazelnuts have a very strong and distinct taste.
But well worth the time and effort.

For the almond version and many more variations check out French Fridays With Dorie!

 


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Chorizo and Capsicum Frittata & Basque Potato Tortilla

We had a week of record hot temperatures in Sydney.
High 30’s to over 40 degrees Celsius.
Living by the beach we get a cool breeze at some point in the day, however this week the humidity was high and any breeze we had was hot.
The nights were incredibly still, not a breath nor a whisper of a breeze.
We had broken restless sleep, often waking to find ourselves thirsty and our pillows damp from sweat.

We ate out a lot.

We hung out at the beach a lot.

Being home was hot and uncomfortable.

Turning the oven or stove on was not even to be contemplated!

French Fridays With Dorie was postponed for us this week as we eagerly waited for the cool southerly breeze to hit.
It finally arrived late Sunday afternoon and we all slept in the next morning.
Ahhhh, sweet sleep!

I was really looking forward to making the Basque Potato Tortilla and better late than never!

I started with the original recipe by Dorie and followed it exactly (except for the size of the skillet! I just used my frying pan which was much bigger!)

I chopped the potatoes about 1/2 an inch maybe a tad bit smaller (as I had read from the P&Q pages they were taking a while to soften).
I fried them with onions and as they were cooking I decided to make another tortilla with chorizo and capsicum. I’ll call the second one a frittata to differentiate between the two.
I boiled the potatoes first in the second version to cut down on frying time and increased the number of eggs to accommodate the extra ingredients and also my larger size frying pan!

Chorizo and Capsicum Frittata Recipe

(Adapted from Dorie Greenspan’s Basque Potato Tortilla Recipe)

500g potatoes chopped to 1cm to squares
2 chorizo sliced in half length ways and then sliced in half again before chopping into smaller cubes
1 red capsicum cut into thin strips
1 onion diced
2 cloves of garlic, crushed
12 eggs

 

Method

1. Boil potatoes in salted water until they just begin to soften.
2. While they are cooking, fry the chopped chorizo and sliced capsicum in some oil.
3. When the chorizo begins to turn brown and the capsicum softens, place into a large bowl and put aside.
4. Drain the just softened potatoes and fry them with the onion and garlic until golden and soft enough to eat.
5. Add them to the chorizo and capsicum mixture.
6. Beat the eggs with salt and pepper and add to mixture.
7. Pour the entire mixture into a clean frying pan and cook over medium heat for a couple of minutes.
8. Lower heat, place a lid on the frying pan and cook for another 10 minutes until the centre pulls away from the edges but the centre is still wet.
9. Turn grill on while the frittata is cooking and position the rack so it is about 15-20cm away from the heat.
10. Place frying pan in oven and cook until the top of the frittata is set and golden.

 

Conclusion: The Basque Potato Tortilla tasted really nice on its own.
However it paled in comparison to the flavour packed frittata!
We decided the only way we could do both versions justice was to eat the tortilla first and enjoy it’s simple flavours before turning our attention to the frittata!

And back to the beach!


I really enjoyed reading all the different posts at FFWD!

 


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Fresh From The Oven – Khrushchev Rolls

After I came across a recipe for Kiflice, I joined Fresh From the Oven.
A monthly baking group.

I was ready and excited to learn! You see, I love bread recipes but avoid them. Like the plague. Not sure why!
Habit?
Fear?
Yeast?
A habitual fear of yeast?!
Dunno…
Nevertheless, it was a habit and a fear I was prepared to face and work through!
Cos I love bread!
(Unlike my crazy fear of snakes that I have decided does not need to be addressed. Ever.)

Anyway…

The challenge was Khrushchev Rolls by Mushitza (click to see recipe).

I made the dough very late one night after another hectic, school holiday day at the beach with all the kids and their friends… (and that’s just half of them, the other half were riding the waterslides around the corner!)

After our 8 hour day at the beach we were exhausted.
However, I was determined to participate in this month’s challenge and psyched myself up to bake!
I began… and within minutes it was over!
The dough was made and resting in the fridge overnight!

I was thrilled with how easy it was and convinced myself I must have messed it up and surely missed something in my bleary eyed enthusiasm!

The next day I wasn’t expecting much.

My first batch I rolled around a thin beef sausage.

We ate these for lunch.
I put all the sauces out for the kids, who were happy to eat the ‘sausage rolls’.
I found that the sauce detracted from the wonderful taste of the bread!
The dough smelled amazing while baking and it tasted too good to hide under any sauce flavouring.

For the rest of the dough, I followed the cutting and rolling style of the Kiflice.

I filled half with crumbed goat’s feta…

And the rest with Nutella…

I rolled them up. Baked them…

And for such little effort what an amazing result.
I can’t recommend the flavour of the pastry enough.
The smell and taste was so good, the kids actually fought over them (especially the Nutella ones).

The following day we had a futsal gala day and my only regret was not making enough of these to feed the team.

And the younger sibling (supporters) that get dragged around to watch their older brothers!

With school around the corner, I will definitely be making batches of these rolls to put in lunch boxes and have ready for after school snacks.


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Chicken B’stilla

I love cookbooks! I love to read them, take in the photos and then stack them lovingly on the bookshelf, full of good intentions to return soon and often!

But if I’m to be honest, I don’t return soon enough or often enough. And if I’m to be really honest, when I decide to make something from one of my beloved books, it’s usually something I am comfortable with. You know… we all have our comfort zones. Our grooves… Okay! Our ruts! I admit it! As much as I like to think I’m open minded and expose myself to new experiences, my initial reaction is “play it safe!”

Now that’s no way to live life!

And that’s why I joined French Fridays With Dorie. I knew myself enough to know that I would follow through on a commitment and I would cook recipes that I would normally dismiss.
Recipes like this one!

A “sweetly spiced” chicken pie which has “as it does in Morocco, a dusting of cinnamon sugar over the crust.” Ummm… no thank you!

But I made a commitment…

So I found myself marinating the chicken in onions and spices.

 

Boiling and simmering ’till “falling-off-the-bone tender.” Then whisking, reducing and thickening some more.

 

Spooning into stacked and buttered filo sheets.

 

Then topping with some more stacked and buttered filo sheets before tucking the edges in “as though you were making a bed.”

 

Baking ’till golden brown and serving warm.

 

Yes, I skipped the dusting of cinnamon sugar on the top (what can I say?! I really wanted the kids and husband to eat it!).
I also skipped the almonds (my daughter is allergic).

The final result… everyone loved it! Even my 3 year old!

The only issue we had was that it was so rich and flavourful we couldn’t eat too much of it so I had to make sure we had other bits and pieces to fill up on.

Best of all… feeling amazingly good about myself for stepping out of my comfort zone!

Thanks French Fridays With Dorie!


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Australia Day Classic: Pavlova

What is more Australian than a BBQ and Pavlova?

I’ve made many (oh so many!) different pavlova recipes from a variety of books and magazines but have found the following works best.

Firstly, my recipe has 12 egg whites, it makes a decent sized pavlova. I wouldn’t even bother making a smaller size!

Once I’ve added all the caster sugar to the egg whites I let the Kitchen Aid mixer run for a good 10-15 mins, beating the mixture until it’s fairly glossy and firm.

Once it’s baked, I turn the oven off and open the door slightly and then leave it until it gets cold in the oven.

Most of the time I bake the shell the day or night before and decorate it with cream and fruit the next morning.

Ingredients:

12 Egg Whites

1 2/3 cups Caster Sugar

300g Thickened Cream

2 Tbsp soft icing sugar

1 Punnet Strawberries sliced

4 Kiwi Fruit diced

4 Passion Fruit

 

Method

1. Pre-heat oven to 150 degrees.

2. Whip egg whites until firm.

3. Add caster sugar a spoonful at a time until it has all been incorporated.

4. Set the Kitchen Aid at a speed of 6 (medium) and leave it! I walk away and check on how it’s going every few minutes. You want the mixture to be thick and glossy. (I’ve walked away and forgotten the mixture many times and have returned each time scared of over-beating, but it has never happened).

5. Pile the mixture onto a baking tray lined with baking paper.

6. Place into oven and after about 10 minutes, lower the temperature to 120 degrees and cook for about 75-90 minutes.

7. I turn oven off after this time and open the oven door a fraction. I leave the pavlova in there until it goes cold (a few hours or overnight).

8. Once cold, I whip the thickened cream until stiff peaks form then add icing sugar.

9. Spread the whipped cream over the pavlova.

10. Scatter strawberries and kiwis on top then spoon passion fruit over pavlova.

ENJOY!


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Australia Day 2011: Dee Why Beach

We get up early and head down to Dee Why beach along with thousands of others.

It’s tradition.

Bacon and egg rolls, sausage sandwiches, swimming, cricket on the beach, BBQ’s and beer!

January 26, 1788, Captain Arthur Phillip, commandeered 11 convict ships from Great Britain into Sydney Cove.

Today, we celebrate everything Australia stands for.

The outdoors, our beaches, our families, friends and community.

So, with the local band belting out AC/DC.

BBQ sauce dripping down our wrists.

And a killer rip dragging us like rag dolls into the surf so huge waves can spit us back out into the sand, we celebrate another Australia Day!




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Michel Rostang’s Double Chocolate Mousse Cake

Just joined French Fridays with Dorie! Very excited!

I’m kind of new to this whole blogging thing. However it didn’t take me long to find some amazing sites!

And even less time to work out what most of these guys had in common was an appreciation for Dorie Greenspan.

I have to admit I had never even heard of Dorie prior to this but after looking at pics of some of the amazing stuff being cooked from her books, I found myself eagerly awaiting my Amazon delivery of a few of her books!

So this is my first French Fridays post and I just discovered the Problems and Questions page which I read in retrospect.

I was lucky the one cake pan I had was exactly the right size and my cake didn’t leak!

And while I’ve been reading about the all the baking being done in snow storms and oohing and aahing over fairytale pics of snow-covered fields and trees, I forgot that I live on the Northern Beaches of Sydney Australia! Our 6 week summer school holidays are coming to an end with the kids back at school Jan 31st but most of our days are spent here…

Doing this…

You may be wondering what in the world I am on about!

What I’m trying to say is… it is hot down under in Oz!

So to complete this week’s recipe I started cooking after 9pm when the humidity and heat isn’t so bad (sometimes) and chose the option to chill it over night.

I was up and baking the rest of the cake at 6am the next morning before another full day at Manly Beach and the water slides!

The kids were exhausted and famished after another 10am-5pm beach day so they devoured the cake.

The final verdict was “delicious!” from myself and my 10-year-old son, while my husband and 13-year-old daughter thought it needed to be more sweet!? (Each to their own I guess!)

Thoroughly enjoyed taking part in this week’s event and I found that while participation is voluntary having some accountability and a set day and time to complete the recipe by, motivated me into action.

Have been enjoying reading all the other posts on Michel Rostang’s Double Chocolate Mousse Cake at French Fridays With Dorie!

And loving the snow pics, but still stopping to appreciate this…

The Aussie summer and Manly Beach at dusk!




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Tasmania Day 1 (Part 1): Launceston and the Tamar Valley Resort

As the plane descended into Launceston my husband, Emily (13 and jumping above) and

Todd (10) strained their necks to look out of the tiny plane window. They took in the the endless, rolling, green hills with a random farm house scattered here and there. They all turned to me and said in awed wonder “Where the hell did you take us?!’

“We flew over a town back there! Seriously!” I defended my choice of holiday destination.

They weren’t really complaining I realised, just slightly concerned and bewildered about about finding food and lodgings amongst so much emptiness!

After a short wait, we were told our rental car was going to be upgraded from a full size sedan to a full size sports model. And in no time at all my husband was loving the empty freeways that he could “play” on with his new toy!

Launceston was a short 15 minute drive from the airport and our accommodation, the Tamar Valley Resort, was another 10 or so minutes after that.


Seriously, this place is real!
I was half expecting to see the Griswold’s kitted out in their Bavarian slap-dancing polka outfits strolling through the putt putt golf course!

Our two room lake-view cottage was picture perfect and newly refurbished (so we were happy to overlook the fact we weren’t on the lake along with the paper thin construction of dwelling until we froze our arses off the first night there).

However all was forgotten when the kids discovered the jumping pillow.

And putt putt golf, kayaks, paddle boats and trikes.

The Tamar Valley Resort was a bit out of the way however I think it’s part of being in Tasmania. There is a lot of empty space, as long as you have access to a car though, it’s really no issue as the roads are pretty good and empty!

Overall, a pretty good choice of accommodation for a family staying a few days in Launceston and a great start to our Tassie vacation!


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Golden Cheesy Bread Rolls (Kiflice)

“Until you know that life is interesting – and find it so – you haven’t found your soul.” – Geoffrey Fisher

Why does baking feel so incredibly satisfying and nourishing to the mind and the soul?

Or is that just me?

I get excited finding and planning my next cooking project, buying the ingredients and then carving out the time to play!

I wrote about Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi and his studies about being in what he calls “flow”. Being engrossed in an activity that causes time to disappear, our problems and worries to melt away and we are no longer aware of our surrounding other than as they related to what we are doing. Being engaged in an activity that both challenges us and rewards us, an activity that gives us a sense of accomplishment and improvement, this is his definition of happiness.

Given this definition, then baking, cooking, creating something from scratch, is so wonderfully important to me because it makes me happy!

It’s as simple as that!

Could there be any better reason?!

Making these kiflice, which are Serbian bread rolls, brought back so many childhood memories, they made me feel closer to my Serbian dad who is in rehabilitation after suffering a heart attack and a stroke and they helped me feel closer to my heritage and my family!

Amazing that these little golden bread rolls could do so much!

I saw them when they were featured on FoodPress by Things We Make and followed their link to Maja from Cooks and Bakes who posted her recipe in Serbian and English!
They wouldn’t leave my thoughts and I knew I had my next baking project!

I made them with feta and they turned out magnificent! These little cheese rolls brought happiness not just to me but also my dad!
I’m already planning my next batch with fried leeks and goat’s cheese feta!

As the quote from Geoffrey Rush says, I hope you find that special something which makes your life interesting and in turn find your soul!