Tag Archives: recipes

Frugal Friday #2

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Its the end of the week again, and the fridge is looking a bit slim. I actually don’t mind when it comes to Frugal Friday, as it’s a bit more of a challenge to make something tasty out of not much.

I have a few different breads on my brain this week. Flicking through the lovely ‘Bourke Street Bakery ‘ cookbook there is much to be inspired by. Each recipe makes my heart swell. If there is any cookbook to lay under my pillow at night this would be the one I would choose.

I have been toying with the idea of making a sourdough starter, but have been holding back as it just seems so much work for something I’m not sure of what I am doing- lazy I know. Also lack of space in this little kitchen. Also lack of time, the monkeys they take a lot of it. Excuses, excuses I know. Who knows maybe next week I will change my mind.

I ever entered a bread phase. All I feel like doing is surrounding myself with beautifully risen doughs. There is something quite soul uplifting in kneading, proving, baking, and then eating a food that has been around for ever. I love the science of it and the fact that one tiny little change can completely change the end result.

I grew up with the smell of fresh bread in the air. My mother would make it every third day for the majority of my child hood. When I think of bread, I think of huge rising mounds of proving doughs, rising on the same table that I made pasta on 2 weeks ago. Filtered winter sun coming through the windows, and the kitchen already warm from loaves already baked. It’s such a feeling of comfort to eat bread still warm from the oven.

So I settled on a olive oil bread recipe in the cook book. A little different to any bread that I had made before, but timing it with a monkey nap I could actually put in the mindful attention that it needed and ‘voila‘. Some happy little bread rolls. Sure they didn’t look exactly like the picture- but thats a only a guide right?… and I reckon the next time they just might though.

So budget meal- yes indeed. Resourcefully using a few ingredients that are floating around the fridge with mutterings of”eat me, please eat me”.

Leek and Potato Soup– In a pot put a lovely dollop of olive oil, 2x sliced leeks, 4x potatoes, some vegetable stock, a little  seasoning- and whizz it up. Doesn’t get much easier than that.

Serve with some delicious warm bread.



Running to the beat of a birthday cake

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It all started with grappling with my ipod. It wasn’t behaving, wouldn’t go to the next song and was trying to deafen me with the volume. That ipod had firm ideas of what it wanted to do and didn’t want to involve me. It wanted it loud and not to skip any songs. Once I had shown it who was boss, and my running had got some sort of rhythm my thoughts turned to cake… as it so happens sometimes.

As my knees began to complain, and my lungs heaved under the strain, my brain was in its happy place. I was thinking about what cake to make my husband for a birthday coming up. See these sorts of things need a lot of thought time to put in to it. I can’t just make ANY cake. I’m the sort of person that starts planning the week AFTER his birthday what sort of  cake I could make for next year. Odd I’m sure. But I like birthdays, I like making cakes and like thinking about  what sort of deliciousness I can make for the following year… a birthday is a lovely excuse to make an effort.

Something that you are not going to find in the cake tin on a Thursday afternoon, (unless your birthday falls on a Thursday of course.) Last year I made an adapted version of a Tiramisu Cake from Smitten Kitchen- oh my! That was a good one.

As my thought were firmly on cake, (and keeping one foot in front of the other) I did think briefly that there was rather a lot of fog about for this time of year. As the sun rose, it was filtering through looking all mystical and lovely. Fellow exercisers ran on regardless, looking like Tolkien’s orcs running a silent battle run through the mist.

Then my thoughts turned back to the cake.

This year had to involve chocolate (of course.) The man had only one requested key ingredient. As long as it involved chocolate he was happy. Who am I to argue?

Running… what about a simple mud cake….

Running…. doesn’t the sunrise look beautiful….

Running….should the cake have different layers.…

Running….darn ipod.…

Running….butter icing?….

Running….oh look the sun is glinting off the city sky rises- so pretty!….what cake would look pretty?

On it continued until I finally thought of….

A FLOURLESS CHOCOLATE CAKE…. Of course.

Dense and moist, chocolatey but delicate.

Chocolate Hazelnut Flourless Cake

200 grams chopped dark chocolate (50%)

150 grams unsalted chopped butter

3/4 cup raw sugar

1/2 cup buttermilk

5 eggs separated

250 grams ground hazelnuts

1/2 tps baking powder

1/3 cup cocoa powder

1 tps cinnamon

1/2 tps nutmeg

Melt the chocolate. set aside to cool. Cream the butter and sugar in a large bowl until pale and fluffy. Add the egg yolks one at a time. Add buttermilk. Fold in melted chocolate. Add all dry ingredients into the chocolate mixture.

Whisk the egg whites in a bowl until stiff peaks form. Fold egg whites into the chocolate mixture. Pour into 20cm lined cake tin. Cook for about an hour at 170C or until skewer comes out clean when inserted into the middle.

The secret of the picnic

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To me the perfect Sunday is spent under a shady tree in the park, in the company of wonderful people, and with a  scrumptious selection of delicious-ness spread out on a picnic rug before me. Lucky for me this was just how Sunday was spent.

A group of people not seen for 5 years, but the conversation commenced like it was just the day before that we had all gotten together. We had all changed a little. Three little ones that weren’t there last time, some hair was lost, some hair was greyer, some weight was gained, and some was lost. The minor details were incidental, the excitement of being there and not a phone call away was wonderful. Catching up on events, news and wishes. Monkey Boy made a campfire of twigs and cooked us some ‘soup’ and the Little Monkey flaked out in his pram with his little monkey pal.

A gorgeous day followed by coffee and hysterical monkey giggles back at our place.

Thats what I love the most. Easy conversation amongst people that I respect and value their company… (with a little cake on the side.)

Orange and Coconut Cake

Serves 8-10.

2 oranges

185g butter

1  cup sugar

3 eggs

1 cup desicated coconut

1 1/2 cups of self raising flour

Preheat the oven to 160C. Cook the chopped orange flesh up a little until soft, add the grated rind of the two oranges. Process them until lumpy consistency. In to the processor add the butter, sugar, eggs, coconut and flour. Process until smooth.

Line a 22cm round cake tin with non-stick paper. Bake for 1 hour 20 mins.

(Adapted from a Donna Hay magazine recipe)

You say Barfi I say Burfi

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Now it could be said, that I am a fan of all things Indian… and yes it would be true. From Bollywood to Indian sweeties and much in between. I love it all.

These were made yesterday, to end the week off well. They are so simple to make but are utterly delicious as well.

Barfi (or Burfi) is a delicious sweet from India. You can get many different types both in looks and flavours.

You are expecting a small sweet coconut flavoured morsel as you pop it in to your mouth and then you bite down. The chewyness of the pistachio, the sweetness of the condensed milk, the texture of the coconut and the comfort of the cardamom.

Comfort from cardamom?… A bit odd, but thinking about it… No, I will still stick by that one. Eating or drinking things with cardamom gives me comfort. (Nutmeg does it too, but nutmeg doesn’t go into these Barfi’s.)

I’m yet to take these little beauties anywhere where they haven’t been demolished within a short space of time. And that’s exactly what the woman said from Gourmet Food Safari when she made them- which is where I got the recipe from.

250g desiccated coconut
395g can sweetened condensed milk
10 cardamom pods – grind/crush seeds into a powder (already ground cardamom works fine I think as well)
Handful of pistachio nuts, roughly crushed

Mix 200g of the coconut and the remaining ingredients in a bowl.

Heat a non-stick pan on low heat and add mixture to the pan. Stir over low heat until the mixture starts to dry and rolls easily into a ball. Remove from the heat. Cool for 5 to 10 minutes until cool enough to handle.

Place the remaining coconut onto a plate. Using damp hands, roll the mixture into balls and then roll in coconut to coat. The coconut balls can be refrigerated for up to a week.

All though they certainly don’t last a week here!