Blueberry Bagels or have stuck to 2 out of 4 new years resolutions! YAY!

i am a bit excited. i have managed to successfully keep 2 out of my 4 new years resolutions.
 well, i'll give myself some credit make that 2.5, but that is another story.
so my resolutions for this year were to:
1. do something 'crafty' each week
2. bake something i've never tried to create before, every week
3. organise & file all my paperwork & other general paper detritus
4. go to bed every night by 10.30pm

well, this blog entry is purely relating to point 2.

in the first week of january i whipped up a batch of blueberry bagels.
i love blueberry bagels! i could not believe how easy they were to make.
i sourced the recipe from Food Coma
the recipe is simple  & easy to follow. totally check it out!
my bagels don't quite look as pretty as the groovy ones from Food Coma, but gee they were tasty. as you can see- i devoured mine with jam & butter. so good! :)

last week i created chocolate & beetroot muffins. they were fabulous!. i actually created the recipe myself. however, it is based on one from my current favourite cook book- High Tea (thanks again, Pebbie- it was a fab birthday present! )

i'll have to post the recipe tomorrow, as it is now 10.45pm...and well i kinda want to get to bed, so that i'm not swerving too far from resolution 4! :)

how have you been going with your new years resolutions?

thanks for dinner, pip

mmmm...last night for dinner i whipped this up.
what i loved about the recipe was that i pretty much had all the ingredients in the house! yay!
well, except for onions, which i substitued with leeks.
and i used curry paste, instead of powder.
oh yeah, and i added good ole corriander in tube as well! :) i just can't seem to grow corriander.
what i really loved about this recipe was that it has a really nutty flavour, but is entirely nut free.
i think you should try it too.
a big thumbs up for pip's mee rebus!

muffin anyone?

guess what?
my sister ( who is also my lovely Camelia Sisters co- founder ) is in town. YIPPEE! :)
really, her arrival is my best excuse this week for stopping to have cake, or in this particular instance- a muffin!
(usual excuses range from 'too many eggs, so i had to bake a cake' to 'it is what Marie Antoinette would've wanted!' )
this batch of muffins were an experimental recipe that i whipped up today. i'm hoping that they'll have a 4-5 day 'shelf life' as i've substituted butter for olive oil & they are milk free.

Banana & Peach Gluten Free Muffins

1 mashed Banana

1/2 cup of chopped fresh Peach

1 cup of Coconut

1/4 cup of Olive Oil

1/2 cup Brown Sugar

1/2 cup of Caster Sugar

2 Eggs

1 tsp Maple Syrup

1 tsp Vanilla Essence

1 cup of Gluten Free Plain Flour

1 tsp of Baking Powder

1. chuck everything into a bowl. grab a fork & mix mix mix

2. once everything is mixed, spoon batter into an oven tray

*TOP TIP: ditch your metal tray & embrace silicone. silicone muffin trays are tops! 

3. bake @ 180 degrees for 30ishmins. Prod with a skewer just to be certain they are cooked through

4. leave to cool in the tray for a bit, before swiftly & almost effortlessly plopping each little muffin onto a wire rack!

this recipe makes 10.

they are super tasty on there own, but i intend to cover them in cream cheese icing tomorrow for the 'official tasting'!

rocky road

i LOVE rocky road!
i also LOVE this slice. it is so easy & doesn't require any baking.
my aunty lynn makes awesome rocky road (very superior to my effort) which i also LOVE!

no yukky glace cherries in this house!

 take nearly a packet of both marshmellows & one of berry lollies & chop them all in half.  add some chopped apricots & a handful of blanched almonds. MIX.

while chopping, melt 400g of chocolate.

then bash up a pack of bickies.

add bickie bits to lollies & apricots & then cover & smother with firstly a tin of condensed milk, followed by all the chocolate.

smooth everything into a lined slice pan or two & leave in the fridge to set for 2+ hours. then unveil, slice & devour! :)

two wins in the kitchen in one day!

loads of eggs & loads of lemons, but what to do? lemon butter of course! :)
after a quick scroll through 'goggle' i found a recipe & then adapted it a bit to ensure the final product was extra lemoney. (totally unrelated- did you know there is a microwave method for lemon butter?!)

Jules's Lemon Butter

8 Egg Yolks

2 cups of Caster Sugar

200g Butter

Rind from 2 Lemons
Juice of 7 Lemons

1 eye of Newt

*whisk egg yolks & sugar in a saucepan

* once the sugar is dissolved, chuck the saucepan onto the stove & stir on a low heat.

* mix in butter & lemon juice

*stir stir stir

*stir some more until it thickens up & will coat the back of a wooden spoon. 

(kinda like a custard consistency)

* pour into sterilized jars, allow to cool & then store in the fridge

* depending on how quickly you hoe into it, the contents shouldn't expire for 3ish weeks.

 this recipe made approx 5ish cups worth

then i was left with 8 egg whites. and what does one do when they find themselves faced with not one, not two, but 8 egg whites? well i whipped them into CHOCOLATE MERINGUES!

i am so excited by this recipe. could you tell 'coz i was typing in capital letters? :)

it is dead easy to follow & modified ( like almost all of my recipes) from '2011 high tea: recipes with a sense of occasion, NSW, Murdoch Books', which is also known as 'the fab cook book Pebbie gave me for my birthday this year'! which is also often shortened to 'my fab high tea book'! :)

Chocolate Meringues

 8 Egg Whites

Pinch of Salt

1 cup Caster Sugar

300g Milk Chocolate- coarsely grated

* pre-heat oven to 120 degrees

*  slowly add egg whites into the Electric Mixer bowl. Chuck in the salt & mix mix mix until the contents starts to turn fluffy.

*add sugar gradually. mix mix mix until soft peaks form

*remove from Mixer & fold Chocolate into the egg white mixture.

*spoon out mixture onto lined baking trays. 

(the mixture will spread as it cooks so don't place the little meringuey mounds too close together!)

* reduce temperature of oven to 100 degrees. wack in your trays & cook for 1-1.5ish hours 

(i cooked mine for just over an hour to ensure the meringues would be gooey inside...mmm chocolate gooey-ness!:) )

*finished meringue should be hard on top & sound kinda hollowish if you tap them on the bottom.

* turn off oven & leave the door slightly ajar & allow the meringues to cool.

some of these are sprinkled with coco powder. next batch will be loads more decadent- am thinking will drizzle them with melted chocolate!

now, how will i get all the crumbs out of the gaps on my keyboard?

what shall we have for morning tea today? magic monkey bananas?

well, bananas were on special. in the kitchen we had already whipped up a cake & experimented with a few varieties of banana/fruit combo smoothies. what to do next?
it was an easy call. i can never say no to chocolatey fun in the kitchen! :)

MAGIC MONKEY BANANAS!

it is the easiest recipe ever:

bananas, paddle pop sticks, 100g of melted chocolate for 3 bananas & 100's&1000's

peel your bananas & cut them across the middle

poke a paddle pop stick in one end of each banana

dunk each banana in melted chocolate. watch out for wonky bananas!

sprinkle the chocolatey bananas in 100's&1000's

try to distract yourself for at least an hour while the bananas are setting in the fridge!

hmmm....what to do with the leftover chocolate & sprinkles?!? :)

yippee! magic monkey bananas for morning tea...and maybe lunch too! :)

jules X

to be or not to be...dairy free

i am rapt!
created my own dairy free recipe for banana cake. it worked really well.
on the shelf life stakes, well it was only out for two days- got gobbled up by my household! :)
however i did freeze a slab & that defrosted quite nicely.
i didn't capture any pics documenting its evolution, but here is the finished product...

2 mashed bananas
1/3 cup of olive oil
1/2 cup of brown sugar
1/2 cup of white sugar
1/2 cup of wholemeal self raising flour
1 1/2 cup self raising flour
2 eggs
1/2 cup of soy milk
1 teaspoon of cinnamon

mix it all together, wack in a lined tin & bake for 30ish mins @ 180 degrees C

yet another adaptation of a donna hay recipe

i snack constantly throughout the day! that is why these bickies are great. not really very nutritious, but the combo of chocolate & oats really fills you up. or at least that is how i justify wolfing a couple down every afternoon!

choc chippy bickie anyone?

125g soft butter

1& 1/4 brown sugar

1 tsp vanilla essence

1& 1/2 cups of plain sifted flour

1/2 tsp baking powder

100g dark choc chips

100g milk choc chips

1/3 cup of oats

 fire up the electric beaters & mix the butter, sugar & vanilla in a bowl until it is light & creamy.

add the egg & beat some more.

 now wack in the flour, baking powder & continue to mix.

better just test the mixture...quality control & all that!

 add all the choc chips. to be honest, i always use way more than 100 grams of each variety. how can you stop at 200grams of choc chips?

better just test these too!

roll up the mixture into little balls & pop onto a lined baking tray. bake for 10ish minutes or until goldy browney.

all done? cool on a wire rack & then sit down for a bit of much 'n' dunk time with a cup of tea!

these spread a bit- suspect i may have overestimated the weight of the butter i hacked from the block!

jules X

winter time= pudding time

this is the easiest pudding to make. it combines the magical three ingredients (sugar, butter & eggs..so so good!) with peaches. as per usual this pudding is based on a recipe & then i have adapted it a bit to suit what i could raid from the pantry. my tweeked recipe was taken from  'Sheila's Pudding' which you can find in Jamie Oliver: The Return of the Naked Chef.

love ya work, jamie! :)

Pudding tonight was...

1 large tin of peaches (in natural juice)

3 teaspoons of sugar

125g butter

125g caster sugar

3 eggs

125g self raising flour

i'm not the only fan of the magical three ingredients!

1. mix the peaches, three teaspoons of sugar & 4 tablespoons of water in a saucepan at medium-ish heat. simmer for 5 mins until the sugar has disolved & the peaches are a bit soft

i've used tinned & fresh peaches- both work well & are just as tasty!

2.while the peaches are bubblin' away, beat the butter, sugar & eggs until fluffy, then gradually add flour & mix some more

3. plonk the peaches into a greased ovenproof dish. spoon the spongey cake mixture over the top

4. bake in the oven for 40-45 mins

have discovered, after lots of experimentation, rage & smoke detector dramas, that my oven only seems to cook evenly when i keep the door slightly ajar & don't pre-heat it before wacking in my baking

 

 

 

 

 

5. all cooked? remove from the oven & serve either warmish or cold.

i couldn't quite wait- started hoeing in without bothering about icecream or cream! :)

jules X

Gluten-free Fruit bread

I love toasted fruit bread for breakfast on the weekends....mmm yum. So simple to make - just a tiny extra to the normal bread recipe:

410ml water
3 eggs
45 ml canola oil (or other vegetable)
5 ml apple cider vinegar
2 tsp xanthum gum
1 tsp salt
25 g caster sugar
1.5 tsp yeast
500 g gluten-free flour*
PLUS
30g sultanas
pinch nutmeg
pinch cinnamon

*my own gf flour mix = 200 g rice flour, 100 g tapioca flour, 100 g chickpea flour &
100 g soy flour

So yummy that even the boy, who hates fruit bread, went back for thirds! (Apparently they are normally too sweet - this one is not).

Next time I'm going to double the amount of sultanas and maybe even add dried apricots.

Is it wrong to have fruit bread toast for dinner too?!

hmmm...so is 8.15am too early for choc peppermint slice?

thought for the day:
'is it ever too early to crack into the choc peppermint slice?'

i waited until 8.35am!

jules X

Yummy gluten-free bread

Look at this gorgeous yummy loaf of home made gluten-free bread! mmmmm

I'm one of the growing number of people discovering they are intolerant to gluten. Here in HK you can buy GF bread...but it costs around AUD10! So my new baby is a bread maker :)

Here's the recipe I used to make my loaf of delicious white bread:

410ml water
3 eggs
45 ml canola oil (or other vegetable)
5 ml apple cider vinegar
2 tsp xanthum gum
1 tsp salt
25 g caster sugar
1.5 tsp yeast
500 g gluten-free flour*

*my own gf flour mix = 200 g rice flour, 100 g tapioca flour, 100 g chickpea flour &
100 g soy flour

My trusty Kenwood breadmaker has a GF function on it so I'm not sure what temp & time a normal oven requires. In the bread maker it takes about an hour to bake a lovely, dense & tasty loaf.

did someone mention bickies?

there is a blog that i have been sourcing recipes from a fair bit this year.
(check out the link below)
'Nest' is written by a mum in brisvegas.

i found this recipe the other day & followed it to create my own version of 100’s & 1000's bickies.(not only are these bickies easy to make, but they are fun & yummy too!)

everyone loves a bit of 100's & 1000's action bickies

60g soft butter

1/3 cup of caster sugar

1 beaten egg

½ teaspoon of vanilla essence

1 teaspoon of milk

2/3 cup of self raising flour

½ cup of plain flour

100’s & 1000’s

extra milk

cream the butter & gradually add the sugar. Mix well.

Wack in the egg, vanilla & milk & mix some more

Add both flours (sifted first) gradually. Mix, mix, mix until you have a firmish dough.

Wrap the dough in gladwrap & chuck it in the fridge for at least an hour

(or in my case: 1 ½ days!)

Roll the dough out between two sheets of baking paper & then attack it with cookie cutters

Brush each shape with some milk & then cover it in 100’s & 1000’s

Bake for 8ish minutes & then remove from the oven & cool on a wire rack.

I recommend dunking in cold milk or as the perfect companion

while slurping a banana milkshake!

is april too late to create a new years resolution?

i have decided that i am going to bake almost every single cupcake in this book by the end of the year!

disclaimer: EXCEPT for the coffee flavoured ones!

my inaugural cupcake will be the hummingbird cake (fingers crossed!)
the plan is to load up the kitchen with a dozen this weekend.

(rik- just in time to celebrate the birth of baby annabelle! XX)

stranded indoors on a rainy day

this is my favourite little cake of all time. to be honest, it can't go wrong as the 3 main ingredients are the best food combination ever- butter, sugar & flour!
i would probably whip up more cakes in a batch if i didn't scoff down so much of the mixture!

nanna's patty cakes
125g butter
3/4 cup of sugar
2 eggs
1 1/2 cups of self raising flour
1/2 cup of milk
sultanas, sultanas, sultanas!

cream butter & sugar until light & creamy.
continue to beat while adding the eggs one at a time until mixed in.
stir in half the flour & then half the milk, then a bit more flour, bit more milk...
stir in the sultanas & load into the oven
cook for 10-15 minutes @ 180 degrees

today i made a mini batch with sultanas & a batch without.
the sultana patty cakes are delicious hot or cold, in summer or winter...i really don't need an excuse to gobble into them!

jules X

ch ch ch chai!

i'm without a car at the moment, which unfortunately means that i can't indulge in my regular thursday montie soy chai fix!
am trying to combat the cravings by experimenting in the kitchen with different chai blends of my own.
my first attempt was a winner. unfortunately i forgot to record the recipe.
second batch was a bit too strong- suspect i used too many cardamon pods, and a bit too much tea. ( i really needed 'Gus the Chai Expert' to comment on the brew)
really, it was nothing a bit of honey and some easter eggs couldn't fix!

my 'it's a bit strong' chai recipe
2 tablespoons of T2 red chai mix
3 tablespoons of formosan tea
1 tablespoon of cardamon pods
1 teaspoon of ground nutmeg
1 teaspoon of chilli flakes
1 bay leaf
4 little stars of star anise
1 knob (2cm) grated ginger
8 cups of water
4 cups of milk

simmer for at least 30 minutes, with no lid.
stir occasionally to prevent milk from sticking.
taste sporadically & start slurpin' when you're happy with the flavour!

totally unrelated: i found some divine easter eggs today 'pink lady' white solid eggs. so so good!
jules X

Japanese Curry

While skiing in Niseko, Japan, in Feb this year, I had an injury day (stupidly embarrassing - bruised shins) so decided to stave off boredom in the ugly little kitchen of our lodge.

Thanks to So.Moo.Food I got the instructions to make a quick Japanese curry and headed off to the local supermarket in Kutchan. (Thank goodness I checked her site first - the curry box was completely in Japanese! not that I should have been surprised...).

In case you haven't had a Japanese curry before here's my disclaimer - its a really yummy meal but not in the slightest spicy (if you're thinking Indian or Thai curry, think again).

Anyway, here's the happy snaps I took of my adventure.


Ingredient: Golden Curry packet*, 6 potatoes, 4 carrots, 3 capsicums, 1 onion, 1 veggie (argh I forget what its called...like a turnip), buckwheat noodles (soba) and 600g of chicken (serves 10...seriously)

*you can get this in the Asian isle of Aussie or HK supermarkets - there's lots of brands but apparently this is a good one


Nope, not chocolate - that's the curry!


Cook the onion & chicken, throw in all the other veggies, add enough water to cover (like a stew) and add 2-3 curry cubes per pot (note: I had waaaay too much and had to split the ingredients over 3 pots!)


Simmer for 20-30 mins (so the veggies cook) then throw the noodles into boiling water for 3 mins.


Drain noodles, add curry & EAT!

Have you made this curry before?

(Pam)