Kitchen Therapy

Tag Archives: food


by 17 Comments

Best Ever Brownies

Maybe it’s just me, but I can’t help think “best ever” claims just invite trouble!
I mean, we’re all different, with different taste and preferences…
It’s what makes life interesting.

However when it comes to these brownies, I kinda sorta feel the claim is justified.
These really were the best brownies I’ve ever had!
And I’m not even a chocolate lover.

I followed the recipe to the letter.
I knew these brownies were meant to be gooey and fudgey so I fought my natural inclination to keep cooking them until I felt comfortable.
I took a deep breath and removed them from the oven at 28 minutes.
I figured my husband and kids fight over cake batter, so barely baked brownies would not go to waste!

I did not expect to love these so much!
And we all agreed the wet gooey bits were far superior to the better cooked cakey edges.

I used 2 ounces of Cadbury Milk Baking Chocolate and 4 ounces of Lindt 70% cooking chocolate.
So I’m not sure if my milder, sweeter choice in chocolate made a big difference.
But I’ll be definitely making these again.
The entire tray was gone by the next day!

If you would like to try these for yourself, Monica from  A Beautiful Mess is this week’s Tuesdays with Dorie: Baking with Julia host and has the recipe available on her site!


by 12 Comments

Goat Cheese Mini Puffs

 

 

 

These cheese puffs almost didn’t get made because I got carried away watching season 3 of the Vampire Diaries.
My husband told me anyone my age watching the show should be just plain embarrassed!
In my defence, I wanted to check out what my 15 year old and her friends were watching…
and I kind of got hooked!
Like when I joined Facebook a few years back so I could understand what it was all about before I let my daughter join.
Come to think of it, I got a bit carried away back then too…
But if it wasn’t for the kids I would never, ever have read Twilight, The Hunger Games or know what Gangnam Style was!
And there’s nothing wrong with that!
Right???

 

I managed to tear myself away from the Stefan, Damon, Elena love triangle long enough to get this week’s French Fridays with Dorie recipe done.
And lucky I did, because it’s now almost midnight and I’ve just come back home from picking up my daughter and her friends from the cinema.
They watched the last Twilight movie and are sitting with tear stained faces telling me about the “horrible shocking twist at the end” while snacking on these bite sized puffs of cheesy comfort.

 

(Clearly now I have to go and see the movie!)

To see more golden cheesy filled puffs click here!

 

 

 

 

 


by 13 Comments

Neapolitan Cake & My 100th Post!

It’s my 100th post!

Yay!

I’ve always wanted to be consistent and persistent.
I hear they are wonderful qualities.
Unfortunately they have never been qualities used to describe me!
Until now.
And it’s all thanks to this blog.

I guess when you find something you enjoy, you want to keep doing it.

I’m learning to not question (too much) why I enjoy doing this?!
To not try to dissect and understand it.
To just accept that it makes me happy.
And enjoy it.

I made this cake for my son’s 5th birthday.
The recipe is from Heather Baird’s SprinkleBakes book.
The kids loved it!

It’s such a great party cake!

It occurred to me it was also the perfect cake to celebrate my 100th post!
And my venture into the crazy new world of consistency and persistence!


by 19 Comments

Chocolate Mousse

I like chocolate.
However I need my chocolate to be part of something bigger.
It can be the star of the show. Definitely.
But there needs to be a show. (No matter how small!)

I prefer it’s sweetness be offset with the tartness of fruit. Strawberries. Raspberries. Pineapple.
It’s texture elevated with the addition of nuts, coconut, honeycomb, popcorn.

I’ve come to believe my chocolate preferences are an extension of my personality.
The part of me that gets bored quickly.
The part that says too much of anything (even if it’s good), can become dull and monotonous.

My husband and daughter do not share my opinion.
To be honest they passionately disagree with me.

So for them, this dessert was perfect.
They thoroughly enjoyed it.

I on the other hand struggled.
I followed Dorie’s recipe and then promptly threw it out.
I did not like it! Actually none of us did.

I turned to my collection of cookbooks and searched the internet to see what I was doing wrong and how I could improve the flavour.

I noticed a few of the recipes had butter added to the melting chocolate and cream mixed into the final product.

I ended up following Dorie’s recipe and then adding the extra’s from Donna Hay’s recipe I found here.

My hybrid mousse was much nicer.
And the raspberries took the taste to another level.
Delicious!

I’m looking forward to reading what the rest of the French Fridays with Dorie group thought of this one!


by 20 Comments

Buttermilk Crumb Muffins

This muffin was simple, sweet and easy.
The way life is meant to be.

Don’t get me wrong, I love fancy cakes.
With layers, fillings and frostings.
They’re stunning to look at and exciting to cut into.

But after dealing with the everyday dramas of life, every now and then you can’t beat simple.

It’s predictable.
Comforting.
Satisfying.

The perfect snack to come home to after school.
To fill up on after jumping on the trampoline with friends.
To pick at while catching up with friends over a cup of tea.
And to grab before heading out to the evening’s futsal match.

So when you are ready for some sweet simplicity in you life, head over to Alisa’s blog, Easier Than Pie to get the recipe.


by 9 Comments

Mushroom and Shallot Quiche

This week’s French Fridays with Dorie recipe is now one of my all time favourites!
The smell and taste of this quiche was divine.

It’s been a busy few weeks with birthdays and friends…

Halloween…

… and just life in general.

What a great week I chose to return though!

We loved this dish!

Looking forward to catching up with the rest of the French Fridays with Dorie group and reading their thoughts on this recipe!


by 18 Comments

Spur of the Moment Vegetable Soup

 

When I initially saw this week’s French Fridays with Dorie recipe, I made a mental note to myself to give it a miss.

 

We had just returned from a weekend in Melbourne and after spending time in shops like these…

I thought this recipe sounded… boring.

 

In addition to this, is the fact that it’s spring here in Australia.

And when you spend your days like this…

 

 

Soup is kinda the last thing you want to go home to!

A BBQ dinner is where your mind’s at!

But then something happened that made this week’s recipe exactly what we needed.
My 12 year old son had oral surgery.
We noticed a while back one of his baby teeth broke the skin but then disappeared again.
X-rays revealed the tooth beneath it was growing vertically!
The surgeon had to pull out the baby tooth and put in chains to help the tooth beneath it come up.

So with a strict diet of fluids for the next few days, Dorie’s Spur of the Moment Vegetable Soup sounded like a great idea!

 

I followed Dorie’s recipe and then added broccoli, leek and extra potatoes.

This soup was exactly what we needed!
It was tasty, simple to make and everyone enjoyed it.

I am curious to see how the rest of the French Fridays with Dorie group went with this week’s recipe!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


by 24 Comments

Hummus with Grilled Vegetables

This was the perfect recipe to come to home after a week away in Queensland.

Chickpeas.
Tahini.
Garlic.
Lemon.

And if you like it a little spicy, add a dash of cumin or chilli powder.
(Or hungarian paprika like I did)

I grilled some chicken strips to make chicken and hummus wraps for dinner.

 

Then I started to think about how good some grilled zucchini would be with that wrap.
And some eggplant.
And mushrooms.
And wouldn’t it be great to dip some asparagus spears straight into the hummus.
Just for the heck of it!

 

Dinner was amazing!
Dorie Greenspan’s hummus recipe was a hit!

I am looking forward to reading what the rest of the French Fridays with Dorie group thought!

 

 

 

 

 


by 15 Comments

Raisin, Walnut and Pumpkin Loaf

I left out the cranberries from this week’s Tuesdays with Dorie recipe. I couldn’t find fresh or frozen ones anywhere! To be honest, fresh cranberries are not something I see too often in our stores. Plenty of dried cranberries! Especially Craisins! They’re actually very popular as a healthy snack. But no fresh ones, so I left them out!
I’m also writing this waiting in line to go on the Arkham Asylum ride at movie world on Queensland’s Gold Coast…
20121001-155453.jpg
So it’s going to be short n sweet!
I didn’t particularly like this bread.
I was excited to make it, baking with pumpkin isn’t a big Aussie thing (unless I’m missing something?)! I love the idea of desserts with pumpkin! We tend to keep pumpkin as something you serve alongside a meal or in a salad. So this recipe was new and exciting for me!
Having said that I found the taste bland. Maybe more sugar would have helped? I’m looking forward to reading everyone’s tips once we get back!

Rebecca has the full recipe for you at This Bountiful Backyard if you’d like to check it out!


by 8 Comments

Endives, Apples and Grapes

I’ve never had endives.
And to be honest I’m not sure how I feel about them…

I served this dish with pork and baked potatoes.
It was a good combination.
The apples and grapes gave the endives flavour and the pork moisture.
On their own, they tasted like… boiled cabbage.

While I was making dinner a friend came over to pick up her son and she said she cooks with endives regularly.
It gave me confidence to persevere with the dish.
She also said she uses it raw, adding it sparingly to salads.

And there ends my entire experience and knowledge of endives!

We are flying to Queensland as I post this week’s recipe.
A week of theme parks, beaches and galleries!

But I’m curious to see how the rest of the French Fridays with Dorie group felt about this dish and I am already looking forward to catching up when I return!