Kitchen Therapy

Tag Archives: Tuesdays with Dorie


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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…
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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!


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Apple Upside Down Chiffon Cake

I really enjoyed making this week’s Tuesdays With Dorie: Baking with Julia recipe.

Life is usually chaotic.
Running from place to place.
Rushing through as many things as possible.
Thinking about what needs to be done next.

My 15 year old daughter came home from a week at the snow…
So a week’s worth of washing is what needs to be done next!
(And fixing a washing machine that broke the night she arrived home!)

Grand finals week…
So extra training sessions, gifts for coaches and managers, end of season get togethers were next!

My friend’s 50th birthday…
What to wear? Buy something new or grab something from the closet? What present to give? Working out what time I will realistically be able to get to party as the kids need to be fed and showered and ready for bed to make life easy for their grandparents who will be at home with them before I even think abut getting myself ready is next!

It’s all little things.
There’s just a never ending stream of ‘little things’!
And planning for ‘what’s next’ takes up a lot of ‘what’s actually happening now’ time!

I decided I didn’t want to rush through another recipe (or life!)
So every time I had a few moments to myself, instead of planning for what’s next, I decided to get familiar with this week’s recipe.
I read the entire recipe, from beginning to end. I read all the incredibly useful comments under the P&Q section. I took on board all the advice and experiences that other group members generously took the time to share. I found this invaluable.
I got my baking tins out and since I didn’t have a 10-inch pan I decided to use my 8-inch tube pan and used the excess mixture to make another 6-inch Apple Upside-Down Chiffon Cake (I even googled the volume of different pans to help me make this decision!)
I also googled upside down chiffon cakes to decide on a topping. The original recipe uses nectarines which are not in season here in Sydney, so I decided on Granny Smith apples.

This cake turned out amazing.
We had a BBQ for Father’s Day and this cake was the perfect ending to an amazing spring day.
(I gave the 6 inch version to my mum to take home in the pan so I have no photo!)

This cake wasn’t a chore.
It wasn’t another recipe to rush through.
It was a delightful break from the constant chatter of my monkey brain.
It reminded me why I started this blog and joined these wonderful groups.

Marlise of The Double Trouble Kitchen and Susan of The Little French Bakery are this week’s hosts and have the full recipe on their websites if you are interested in having a look…

 


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Hazelnut Biscotti and Getting My Mojo Back!

You know that feeling?
The one where you know you are kind of… sort of… off track?
You can feel it.
It’s real and it’s… well… frustrating.
You try and work out how and why you got off track.
But you can’t quite put your finger on it.

There’s been all day futsal championships…
All day soccer championships.
Weekend sports.
And, oh, don’t forget the mid week training sessions for the weekend sports.
And speaking of weekends, there’s birthday parties to attend…

Concerts to get ready for…

And the endless driving!
Now don’t get me wrong… I’m not complaining.
I actually enjoy the chaos.

But I think I’ve forgotten what gets me through the chaos.
Through the swimming lessons, band, homework and the never ending housework!

Cooking.
Baking.

This is what I enjoy. What makes me happy.
But I guess when there’s so much of everything else to do, cooking, baking and blogging just feels like more work.
And here’s where I went off track!
I stopped doing the things that feed my soul! (Dramatic, I know! Sorry! Occupational hazard!)

I realised this while I was blanching and peeling the hazelnuts for this week’s Tuesdays with Dorie recipe!
The nuts were doing my head in.
I mean, come on! I don’t have better things to do than stand here rubbing the skin off hazelnuts?!?!
And can’t you just buy these little suckers skinless???

Then it hit me and I started to laugh.
The reason I called my blog Kitchen Therapy was because my own therapist pointed out to me that cooking is my form of mindfulness training.
My way to be fully engaged and in the present moment.
Sort of like my meditation.
(And we all now know how good meditation is for you!)

So I stopped thinking about how much I’d like to cook something and I just started doing it.

It felt good!
The hazelnut biscotti smelled amazing and I felt happy!
It was that simple!!!

It’s almost midnight and I’m snacking on these as I type.
My husband is next to me watching the latest season of Dexter complaining about not being able to stop eating them cos they taste sooo good!
I will definitely make these again, my daughter requested a choc-chip filling next time!

I can’t wait to see what the rest of the Tuesdays with Dorie group thought.
If you would like to check out the recipe, head over to this week’s hosts who have the full recipe on their websites.
Jodi of Homemade and Wholesome and Katrina of Baking and Boys.


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French Strawberry Cake

We moved house about 6 weeks ago and finally, FINALLY… we have internet!
I brought over our mini modem however reception at our new place (which is only 2km from our old place but at the end of a cul de sac) is pretty much non existent.
Posting my Dr Who Tardis Rainbow Cake and Dalek Cupcakes was an act of sheer will power!
Remember dial up internet speed?
That’s what I had to work with, I’d press a button and then go and do a few jobs as I waited for the page to load.

After many many many many many many hiccups (as my 4 year old likes to say in order to emphasise his point) our ADSL modem finally arrived on Friday.
The first thing I did , was look up the recipe schedule for Tuesdays with Dorie: Baking with Julia!
And oh what a great week to return!

This cake is delightful.
It’s perfect in its simplicity.
It makes me happy! 🙂
And I will make it again and again and again!

P.S. Notes to self next time you try and make this cake…
The recipe calls for one recipe Perfect Genoise.
ONE.
Don’t think you know better and decide to quickly whip another (cos one just seems way too flat to divide into 3 equal parts) when your husband leaves to pick up your almost 15 year old daughter from a birthday party at 11pm. It’s almost midnight, you’re not thinking clearly or rationally and they will look at you with worry in their eyes when they walk in at midnight to find the house smelling delicious and you sitting on the lounge with a glass of wine and a smug and satisfied look on your face…

Two cakes look about right (for what I had imagined it would look like)…
However, the recipe clearly tells you the Perfect Genoise “is drier than most American cakes”.
I baked two, split them in half to make four, but luckily, I ran out of my sugared strawberries and ended only using three layers.

I broke bite sized bits off the fourth layer and dipped these into the strawberry juices and then scraped the last bits of cream on top before popping them in my mouth.
I kept going until both bowls were clean.
If there was more I would have eaten more.
Instead I had to wait until after dinner for more.

Here is where the lesson comes in.
This cake is dense (as the recipe says!).
There was too much sponge for the amount of strawberries and cream in it.
So (in hindsight) one genoise split into three (as the recipe says!) would have tasted better.

I can not wait to see what the other members of Tuesdays with Dorie thought of this recipe.

And if you would like to check out the actual recipe and give this cake a go for yourself, head over to Sophia’s Sweets or Think, Love, Sleep, Dine.
And follow the recipe!


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Hungarian Shortbread with Rhubarb Jam

I think I have food ADD. Is there such a thing? Well if there is, then I’ve got it!
Too much of any single taste and you’ve lost me. It could be the most amazing tasting thing ever. BUT…
if it’s just sweet, just salty, just sour… then after about 2 or 3 bites, I am bored. I don’t want to eat it anymore.

I blame my mother for this! She used to serve all our meals with grapes or cantaloupe “to break up the taste”. She rationalised that by having a few bites of something sweet between mouthfuls of dinner it would encourage you to eat more. Is that weird?

Who would have thought something so simple would shape my entire approach to food… FOR THE REST OF MY LIFE!

Black forest cake and pavlova are my absolute favourite! I need those plump tart cherries to cut through the chocolate cake and the sour passionfruit, strawberries and kiwi to compliment that sweet meringue. The balance of sweet and sour is what makes it exciting. The food comes alive for me.

I love to dip salty pretzels in nutella (especially late at night as I’m watching TV!) and as my husband looks on at me shaking his head. But I don’t care. I am in taste heaven!

Which brings me to this week’s Tuesdays with Dorie recipe.

I combined the rhubarb with the sugar, vanilla bean and water to make the jam filling.

And the hit of sourness that greeted me amongst the sugary sweetness of the jam excited me! This was going to be good!

I made the dough. Chilled it in the freezer. Then grated half of it into the pan. (I’ve never, ever grated dough before!) I then spread every last drop of the rhubarb jam over the grated dough before grating the other half of the dough over the layer of jam.

I baked it for 40 minutes and then sprinkled a generous amount of icing sugar over the top.
I have to admit I couldn’t wait for it to get cold before I dove into it!

My daughter (who has inherited my eating habits) loved this as much as I did.
The smooth, tart, rhubarb jam cut nicely through the sweet shortbread.
My husband, who has tamer taste preferences when it comes to his food, loved the shortbread but found the rhubarb jam a bit too sour for his liking. He fixed this easily by scraping off half the jam before going back for more, again and again!

To get the full recipe head on over to this week’s hosts, Cher from The not so exciting adventures of a dabbler… or visit Lynette at  1smallkitchen .

You can also visit Tuesdays with Dorie and check out what the rest of the group thought!


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Pizza Rustica

It’s been almost a month since I last posted anything!
One of my kids picked up a bug and then generously shared it with the rest of the family.
So for the past few weeks I’ve either been unwell or been looking after unwell kids.
Even as I write this, I can hear the chesty cough of one of my boys coming from upstairs.

This week’s Tuesdays with Dorie recipe, Pizza Rustica, almost didn’t happen.
It was easy enough to motivate myself to take part in this week’s recipe.
I really enjoy being a part of the group!

I picked the day to bake.
I organised myself and planned things so the day would be relaxed and leisurely.
I had three loads of washing done and hanging before 8.30am.
I was feeling good and on track!

As we walked out to the car to leave for school, we could hear a loud engine starting next door. We sat in the car and watched workmen with generator powered hoses strip the paint off the house next door and land all over my three loads of washing.

It’s okay, I kept telling myself.
No big deal.
You’ll just run the clothes through the wash again…

Then, my 4 year old, who seemed like he was finally getting better, began vomiting.
When we arrived at the doctor, he told me we had to go back home “NOW” so he could go to the toilet.
We made it back home just in time!
Then back in the car and back to the doctor!
But it’s okay!
REALLY!

Finally, after a stop at the chemist for medication, we were back home and I was ready to cook!

I made the dough, it was incredibly easy.

I opened the ricotta to prepare the filling and  quickly realised I picked up a tub with an expired date.
It smelled bad!
BUT REALLY, IT’S OKAY!!!

I raced back to the store and picked up the last two tubs of ricotta, yay!
They had just the right amount of ricotta I needed!
Raced back home to find the seal on the second tub was broken!
Seriously!?! 

After a minute or two of contemplating giving up, I decided to just add the block of Philadelphia cream cheese I had in the fridge.
As the kids say, booyah!
Problem solved!
I was feeling pretty pleased with myself!

All the running around meant my pizza rustica was ready much later than planned.
Which was no big deal.

Until I realised it was the first day of daylight savings in Sydney and by the time it came out of the oven it was pitch black outside and I had no chance of taking a decent photo of the finished product!

I wasn’t happy with my photos and I honestly contemplated not posting at all!

But I really enjoyed the taste of the pizza rustica and felt it would be crazy to have gone through all that and not post!

The dough was so deliciously sweet. I loved it.
The filling was incredibly salty and cheesy. .
Whoever thought of putting the two together was a genius!
What a wonderful balance of sweet and salty!
I am so glad I persevered!

If you want to try it for yourself, Emily of Capitol Region Dining and Raelynn of The Place They Call Home, are this week’s hosts and will have the full recipe on their blogs.

If you would like to check out what other members of Tuesdays with Dorie thought of this week’s recipe, head on over!


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Rugelach

I was very excited when my Baking with Julia book arrived!
And in plenty of time to join in on this week’s recipe scheduled for Tuesdays with Dorie!

I planned to enjoy making this recipe.
I set aside the last weekend of summer to take my time and play in the kitchen.
And this recipe fit the bill perfectly as it could be stretched over a couple of days.
No rush.

I made the dough and placed it into the fridge.
I had a two days up my sleeve until I had to cook it, so how easy was step 1!

In fact, it was so easy and stress free I decided to start on the prune lekvar.
(The prune lekvar is made with walnuts while the apricot lekvar has almonds. Two of my children are allergic to almonds while only one is allergic to walnuts, so prune lekvar it was!)
Harm minimisation!

We went on to have a great weekend at the beach with the kayak and the kid’s various boards.
Relaxing and leisurely!

It’s amazing what kids can do with boards when there are absolutely no waves around!
Creativity can be expressed in so many ways!

It was great knowing that whenever I was ready, my dough and lekvar were there, waiting for me.
No pressure.
And breaking the steps up like this, made what initially looked like a daunting recipe, into something manageable.
Easy even!

Processing the nuts, cinnamon and sugar was where I seemed to fall apart…
My food processor was sealed but somehow I ended up with a fair amount of this nut dust all over the kitchen.
It was a deliciously nutty, sugary, cinnamon-y mixture.

Unless you’re somewhat allergic to nuts!
Then it’s just a nerve wracking experience with kids coughing and complaining of heavy chests.

I used a mixture of hazelnuts, walnuts and pecan (the least allergic of all the nuts to our family).
But I guess with 3 kids, all allergic to various degrees to different combinations of nuts, it was going to be disastrous to some degree!

So after dosing kids up on antihistamines, I decided to skip the dried fruit and finish as quickly as possible!

I loved these!
I’m kind of glad I skipped the dried fruit.
I could really taste the prune butter and it was balanced beautifully with the nuts. Any more dried fruit and I think it would have been too sweet for my taste.

Granted, they’re not the prettiest looking things, but I loved these.
You can find the full recipe at Jessica of My Baking Heart and  Margaret of The Urban Hiker blogs. Our hosts for this week!

To see what others thought of this recipe head over to Tuesdays with Dorie and check them out!