Lazy weekend breakfasts are my thing.

It took me a while, but I’ve learned to love breakfast. It should be special and I think that people don’t celebrate it enough anymore. It should be the highlight of the weekend, a time to congregate around the table with your loved ones, reflect on the week and unwind while enjoying scrumptious food.

Our Saturday morning breakfast was messy, runny and ever so delish. The Challah was the perfect bread for these thick slices of French Toast- soft yet absorbent, it mopped the cinnamon-scented egg and milk mixture right up and even after the frying process, it was beautiful and soft and melt-in-your-mouth.

INGREDIENTS

For the French Toast:

• 3 large eggs
• 1 cup whole milk
• 1 tsp sugar
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1 Challah or Brioche loaf, cut into 6-8 thick slices
• 3 1/2 tbsp unsalted butter

For the blueberry compote:

• 2 cups frozen blueberries
• 3 tbsp water
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 2 tsp lemon juice

METHOD

1. First, get your blueberry compote started. Combine 1 cup of the blueberries, water, sugar and lemon juice in a small saucepan.
2. Cook over a medium heat for about 10 minutes.
3. Add the rest of the blueberries and cook for 8 minutes more, stirring frequently. Cover and keep warm until you’re ready to serve it over the French Toast.
4. Meanwhile, whisk together eggs, milk, sugar, cinnamon and salt in a large, shallow bowl.
5. Dip each slice of bread into the mixture, ensuring that both sides have soaked up the liquid.
6. Heat a large frying pan on medium heat and melt a tablespoon of butter.
7. Cook the bread in batches until both sides are golden. Transfer them to a baking dish and keep warm in the oven while you cook the remaining slices.
8. Serve the French Toast with a few spoonfuls of the warm blueberry compote. If you’re feeling extra naughty, a scoop of ice-cream or whipped cream and maple syrup would be perfect too.

The original post continues below.

————————————————————————————————————————————————————–

When I go out to eat, I always, without hesitation, order the fanciest, most overdone, pretentious, bordering on ridiculous dessert I can find on the menu.

A part of me takes joy in the destruction of such works of delectable art. It’s a power trip of epic proportions. I break the desserts apart, burrow through them with my spoon like I’m digging for long lost treasure and smoosh everything together on the spoon while trying to get a bit of every single flavour into my mouth at once (always attempted in a lady like fashion, of course). That is part of the fun of eating out.

So when I’m home it’s quite the opposite. I don’t have the time, energy or patience for intricate desserts. Rough and dirty baby, that’s how I like ‘em. Unlike the awful things I do to the pretty restaurant desserts, mine look ravaged prior to being served up. Cue recipe for the Chocolate Peppermint Log.

I like to think of this one as an Aussie Christmas tradition- someone will undoubtedly bring one to every Christmas lunch. Now, we can turn our noses up at the chocolate biscuit and whipped cream creation and act like we’re way above it all, but deep down, we’d all happily sit down and demolish a slice of this log without hesitation. I’ll keep your secret if you keep mine.

The chocolate peppermint log may not be ostentatious, it may not take half an hour to plate up or present as delicately and intricately as some of the other desserts out there, but it’s flavourful, quick, easy and the kids love to help make it. See, that’s what I’m all about. Bringing the family together. For sugary, chocolately, fat-laden treats. That’s me. I’m going to be a great mother one day….

Ingredients

• 1 packet of Chocolate Ripple biscuits (plain chocolate biscuits can also be used)
• 450ml thickened cream
• 1/4 cup cocoa
• 2 tbsp caster sugar
• 1 Peppermint Crisp chocolate bar, finely chopped or grated
• 1 Cadbury Flake chocolate bar, finely chopped (I also use Peppermint Aero instead of Flake)

Method

1. Combine cream, caster sugar and cocoa in a large bowl. Mix with electric beaters on med-high setting until  peaks form and cream is whipped enough to spread with a knife. Add half of the chopped/grated Peppermint Crisp chocolate.
2. Take a chocolate biscuit and spread thickly with whipped cream. Repeat with a second biscuit. “Glue” the biscuits together and repeat the process, spreading whipped cream on one side of each biscuit and gluing together to form a log shape.
3. Once you’ve formed the log, take the remaining whipped cream and smother all over the log, covering it generously. You dont want to see any of the biscuits peeking out. Make sure you smooth the cream down the sides and all the way to the bottom.
4. Sprinkle remaining Peppermint Crisp chocolate down the middle of the log and top with Flake chocolate. Refrigerate for 6 hours.
5. To serve, slice the cake on a diagonal angle so you can see all the lovely layers of chocolate and cream.

These pancakes were a nice change and perfect for a warm, sunny summer brunch. Next time, I’ll do just pineapple and coconut. It will be like a pina colada pancake! Ok. I’ll stop.

You can put the pineapple chunks or ring into the batter if you like, but I couldn’t be bothered. Maybe next time!

INGREDIENTS

I’ve always wanted to make brandy snaps. For years, they’ve been a Christmastime treat, but they always struck me as too difficult, too fiddly, too poncy to make.

So this year I decided I am going to make them myself for next Christmas, but knowing me, I’d need a bit of practice because they just seemed too hard, so I propped myself on the couch and watched an hour of Youtube videos on how to shape them. That’s an hour of my life I’ll never get back, but it gave me some confidence to try it!

Mine are not perfect by any stretch of the imagination, some were deformed and I struggled a little with consistency, so next time I’ll try to perfect those things, but overall, it wasn’t as bad as I thought it was going to be! I recommend you giving it a try if you’ve been reluctant like I was. It totally opened up a new door to me once I did it and I got excited thinking about all the possible future recipes I could create after learning such a simple technique.

For a spin on the traditional whipped cream filling, I chose an orange and ricotta cream- orange and brandy seem to go well together and I chose to halve the whipped cream intake by adding ricotta… I’m not sure if a dietician would approve, but it sounded good in my head. And tasted even better on my lips! MM MMM!

INGREDIENTS

For the brandy snaps:

• 1 stick of salted butter (about 1/2 cup)
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 1/3 cup golden syrup (or molasses)
• 1 cup plain flour
• 1 tbsp brandy or cognac

For the filling:

• 1/3 cup butter
• 1/2 cup ricotta cheese
• 1/2 cup whipping cream
• 1/4 cup caster sugar
• 2 tsp orange zest
• 1 tbsp orange juice or Cointreau

METHOD

1. Preheat oven to 160°C.
2. To start on the brandy snaps, place butter, sugar, syrup and brandy in a medium saucepan over low heat; cook and stir until butter is melted. Stir in flour slowly and mix until it’s smooth.
3. To ensure consistency, use a measuring spoon for 1 tbsp of batter. Drop the batter about 3-4 inches apart on a lined tray. Bake for about 10-12 minutes or until golden brown.Keep an eye on the oven because everyone’s oven is different and these can go wrong so fast…I should know!
4. Remove from the oven and allow to cool enough to touch- about a minute or so. Gently peel the ‘biscuit’ from the tray and quickly wrap it around something with a tubular shape- a fat wooden spoon or cooking utensil, etc. If they get hard and uncooperative, pop them back in the oven for about 10 seconds and they’ll be pliable again.
5. Allow the biscuit to cool around the mould and then gently remove and set aside.
6. While the biscuits are cooling, start on the filling. Beat together butter, ricotta, cream, caster sugar, orange zest and orange juice/Cointreau until it’s smooth and glossy and beautiful. You want the cream to be light and fluffy.
7. Get your piping bag ready! Pipe the filling into cooled brandy snaps just before you’re ready to serve them.
8. Sit back and enjoy praise from husband while telling him how difficult they are to make and hinting you need a foot massage.

“Wine improves with age. The older I get, the better I like it.” – Anonymous

I never thought it would happen, but somehow I turned into one of those people that love and stockpile wine.

If you had told me this during my tequila-soaked early twenties, I would have laughed and said something along the lines of “Wine is for old people… [hiccup]“.

Now, not only do I like to drink wine, but I’m cooking with it more than ever! My husband says this is bordering on alcoholism. I think he just needs to pour me another glass and shut the hell up!

Truthfully, I’m not a big drinker anymore, but I do enjoy my wine on ocassion, especially in cooking. Wine lends a beautiful flavour to sauces, hearty stews and marinades and almost any meat cooked in wine is delish and tender, melting in the mouth.

This recipe suits a dry white wine. I’ve made this with sweeter, fruitier wines like Moscato before, but the sweetness overpowers the dish, so I’d suggest a dry white. You can use red wine also, but since I break out in hives when I drink red, I stick to white!

When it comes to cooking to wine, it’s tempting to use the cheapo bottle you got as a birthday present from your mother in law  the neighbour you don’t like, but the better the wine, the better the taste. If you wouldn’t drink a glass of it, don’t pour it into your food!

INGREDIENTS

• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 4 Chicken Breasts, skin off (trimmed and cut into palm sized pieces)
• 1 small brown onion, diced
• 1 sprig rosemary, chopped finely
• 3 tbsp plain flour
• 2 cups dry white wine
• 1 tbsp chopped parsley

METHOD

1. Heat the oil in a frying pan on a low heat, add onions and rosemary, cook it gently then remove it from the pan once it’s translucent and soft.
2. Once you’ve removed the onion from the pan, turn the heat up high and drizzle with a little extra olive oil if required.
3. Coat the chicken pieces in flour, add them to the hot pan, seal them quickly on both sides until they are browned. Toss in any excess flour from the bowl and cook it off to remove that floury taste.
4. Reduce the heat to low and pour in the wine, enough to ensure the chicken is covered. Add the cooked onion and rosemary back into the pan.
5. Cook on low heat, covered for about 40-45 minutes minutes, stirring occasionally or until the liquid has reduced and becomes thick. Alternatively, you can also pop a lid on this (if you’re using a casserole-type dish and pop it in the oven at 160C for about an hour) to let it marinate and cook gently in the beautiful wine.
6. Sprinkle with parsley a few minutes before turning the heat off.
7. Serve with lightly dressed salad greens or mashed potato.

I’ve always said I could eat potatoes everyday, in every which way, I just love them so much. Roasted, baked, mashed, boiled, fried- it doesn’t matter, I’d gobble it down.

So recently, with the New Year excesses behind me, I had been a good girl but a recent drive past the potato farm had me weak at the knees. All those beautiful, fresh potatoes, straight from the farms, caked in soil and smelling of the earth, I HAD to have some.

I picked up a huge 10kg bag of spuds and managed to wrangle it to the car (my daily exercise) and started plotting all the delish ways I was going to eat these babies.

One of my favourite foods is mash. I’m not gonna lie. Some of my winter dinners have consisted solely of mashed spuds and some gravy poured over the top.

This recipe is for anyone who is open to trying something new with their mash. For me, I had a hankering for roasted garlic and potatoes so I combined the two together. It’s delish, decadent and smells ever so seductive.

The slower and more gently you roast the garlic, the sweeter it will be so if time is on your side, get it started earlier in the day or use it leftover from another roasting session.

Also, if you have a potato ricer, you’ll get a smoother, more creamy mash.

Don’t laugh, but I had the leftovers today spread across some bread. A mashed potato sandwich. Please tell me I’m not the only one who does this!

INGREDIENTS

• 1 head of garlic, top sliced off
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 6-8 potatoes, washed, peeled and quartered
• 1 tbsp Dijon mustard
• 1 stick of butter
• 1 cup milk
• Salt & Pepper, to taste

METHOD

1. Preheat your oven to 160C.
2. Place the head of garlic on a tray lined with baking paper, generously drizzle with olive oil. Roast in the oven for about 45 minutes-1 hour, until golden, soft and fragrant. Allow the garlic to cool for about 20 minutes.
3. Meanwhile, bring a saucepan of salted water to the boil and cook the potatoes for about 15-20 minutes. Do the ‘Prick Test’ (Don’t you wish you could do this with some men? lol) with a fork to ensure they’re cooked.
4. Drain the potatoes and return back to the saucepan. Add the Dijon mustard, milk, butter and seasoning and mash over low heat until smooth.
5. Once the garlic has cooled, peel off the outer skin and gently squeeze the gooey roasted garlic out of about 3-4 cloves. On a chopping board, smoosh it out with the back of a spoon until it becomes a smooth paste. Mix this in with the potatoes until well combined.

Use the leftover roasted garlic cloves to spread on toasted bruschetta or Ciabatta bread or even rub it onto some beef/steaks before cooking for your next dinner.

The food back then was so simple- my grandparents and parents were raised in a simpler time, where they had to be resourceful with the meat and vegetables they had and would sometimes have to stretch those meals over long periods of time.

And yet, some of their food is the most delicious! Simple recipes, with few ingredients and uncomplicated methods. Sometimes I wonder what the hell we are doing these days with all this deglazing, flambe-ing and tomato-rose garnishes- we need to go old school and just pick a couple of ingredients and cook them simply and season them properly! That’s it! There’s no magic, you won’t die of starvation and the food is healthy, fresh and delish.

Peperonata is one of those favourites. There are lots of variations depending on where you come from and the one I was raised with was a tasty concoction of slow cooked red capsicum, onions, wedges of potato and some peeled tomatoes. You can add basil, garlic and a bit of oregano for extra flavour too (I do, but my grandma won’t- in fact she’d disown me if she found out I was telling people to put them in it, sorry Nonna!).

This is delicious on it’s own with some crusty Ciabatta bread on one of those CBF days. It smells AMAZING while it’s cooking away, so if you’re having people over, they automatically think you’ve been working your butt off in the kitchen because it smells so damn good.

It’s versatile too. Without the potatoes, it would be good tossed through some penne with some Parmesan cheese, in a lasagna, alongside a beef or chicken dish or even as the basis for a good Cacciatore- just add some olives and a few other veggies, some more Passata and slow cook your chicken in it. Delish.

INGREDIENTS

• 1/4 cup of olive oil
• 4 red capsicums, sliced into thick strips
• 2 onions, quartered
• 1 tbsp minced garlic
• 2 potatoes, cut into wedges
• 1/2 bottle tomato passata/ 1 can peeled tomatoes
• 1/3 cup basil, chopped
• 1 tsp dried oregano
• Salt, pepper to taste

METHOD

1. Combine all ingredients in a heavy-based pot (non-stick preferred)- a Dutch oven, slow cooker or crock pot, cover and cook on low heat on the stove for 1-2 hours, stirring occasionally, until the sauce has thickened significantly and the capsicums are soft and fragrant.
2. Serve with crusty bread and a salad or as a side dish for beef or chicken.

Finally, the last of the festivities has passed on by. Routines are back to normal, leftovers in the fridge have dwindled and fruits and veggies that you stockpiled in preparation for the big feasts are either overripe or ready for the bin!

It’s a shame to see produce go to waste and one of my new year’s resolutions is to try not to be so wasteful in the kitchen. So I had some overripe bananas that were facing a death sentence straight into the trash- but they were saved at the eleventh hour by some quick thinking and a sweet tooth.

Summer sure didn’t miss the memo that it’s now January, it showed up bright and early on New Years Day and we’ve been suffering through some scorching heat ever since. So what better way to make the most out of this stinking weather than with some tropical flavours? Pina Coladas are frowned upon at 10am, but I still managed to get my tropical flavour cravings sated with the delightful combination of banana and coconut.

For consistency to ensure they all came out the same size, I used a vintage Margaret Fulton Bessemer pikelet/egg frying pan, handed down to me from my mum (pictured right).

I’m not sure if you can still get them (they have some on eBay, I checked!!), but they’re the best thing since sliced bread and perfect for these sorts of recipes! Pikelets, fritters, eggs, blinis, you name it

INGREDIENTS

• 1 ripe banana, sliced
• 1 egg, beaten
• 1 cup (250ml) coconut milk
• 1 cup SR flour
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 2 tbsp canola oil
• 2 tbsp maple syrup, plus extra for serving
• Melted butter, for greasing

METHOD

1. Place egg, coconut milk, canola oil and maple syrup in a bowl and beat until well combined.
2. Sift flour and baking powder into the mixture and mix well until the batter is smoothe and glossy.
3. Brush the pan with butter and ladle a few tablespoons of batter for each hotcake. Wait about 1 minute, until the mixture has firmed up and isn’t a sloppy, runny mess and then gently lay a few banana slices in the batter (for presentation purposes in future, I would add mashed banana into the batter mix to prevent this).
4. Cook until golden underneath and then gently flip and cook for a brief period banana-side down  (if you cook them too long, the banana will caramelise and quickly burn).
5. Serve with maple syrup and a dollop of cream or ice cream.

I’m not expecting it to be big and grand but if you would like to show your support by liking the Delish Dinners page or would like to stay updated via Facebook instead of email, click away!

Click here for the Delish Dinners Facebook page. While I’m at it, I want to say thanks for your support. I love reading your emails and comments and chatting about food with other food lovers! My friends get bored of me talking about slow cookers, calzone dough and herbs so I unleash it on you guys

I’m hoping that 2012 will be a better blogging year for me (unless the Mayans were right and it really is the end of the world as we know it…In that case, eat and be merry I say!).

I’ve got a heap of recipes I want to try out and a willing guinea pig of a husband who’s happy to try them all in the name is research for you guys It’s a hard life!
So stay safe and eat plenty over the New Year celebrations and I will see you in 2012 with some new recipes.

I hope you are all sufficiently pot-bellied and relaxed after your delish Christmas lunches and dinners. What was on the menu at your feast?

I had the pleasure of putting on the Christmas feast this year and even though I made a selection of desserts for the family to enjoy, we all were excited about mum’s trifle.

Trifle is of English origin and a great Aussie fave. To the uninitiated , it can be a little frightening at first glance. A right royal mess- layers of booze soaked sponge cake, custard, jelly, cream and fruit. Haven’t you ever heard that sometimes the most unappealing looking food is the tastiest? Well, it’s definitely true in this case!

This dessert is fairly easy to prepare, with basic ingredients. Presentation can be a bit of a challenge, but if you have a pretty bowl and layer everything as neatly as possible, it can look great.

No matter who you talk to, they will all have a different Trifle variation. Do you have a family Trifle variation?

Ours has remained constant throughout the years with only a few tweaks here and there.

Here’s the recipe for my mum’s trifle. Love it or hate it, Trifle combines all my favourite things- custard, cream, fruit, booze and jelly in a layered wonderland of flavours.

INGREDIENTS

• 1 Jam Rollette sponge or sponge cake, sliced into 2-3cm pieces
• 2 cups prepared custard (we make ours from custard powder, the pre-made one in cartons can be a little too sweet, but certainly useable)
• 1 packet of port wine jelly
• 1 packet of raspberry jelly (make ahead if possible)
• 1/2 cup marsala
• 1 can sliced peaches
• 2 cups double cream
• 2 tbsp icing sugar
• 1 Flake chocolate bar, crumbled
• 1 punnet strawberries, washed, hulled and halved

METHOD

1. Arrange sliced jam roll or sponge in the bottom of a deep glass bowl.

2. Prepare packet of port wine jelly according to directions, stirring to dissolve well. Add marsala and pour over the sponge to soak.

3. Arrange sliced peaches over the sponge.

4. Pour cooled custard over the sliced peaches. Refrigerate until the custard has set.

5. Break up refrigerated raspberry jelly with a fork and layer it on top of the cold custard.

6. The next layer is the cream. It can be whipped or you can use thicker double cream. Stir the icing sugar into the cream and spread it evenly over the jelly.

7. Top with crumbled flake chocolate and sliced strawberries and refrigerate at least 1-2 hours before serving.

Yes the photos are crap.

No I was not drunk when I took them.

So when I say that on one particular afternoon, I was craving the flavours of rum and lime, I don’t mean it in a Lyndsay Lohan kind of way, it was more of a craving for the flavours of the tropics, of sun, cocktails and warmth and all that good stuff. The alcohol factor wasn’t my motivator. Although, if you’re that way inclined, this is a perfect recipe for a ‘One for the bowl, one for me’ game.

This meal can’t get any simpler. Marinating overnight is ideal- I did and my chicken was foodgasmically tender.

Ingredients

• 1 teaspoon cumin seeds
• 3 cloves garlic, chopped
• 1 fresh red chilli pepper, chopped
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 5 teaspoons orange juice
• 5 teaspoons lemon juice
• 2/3 cup rum
• 2 (8 ounce) boneless, skinless chicken breast halves
• 1/2 cup orange juice
• 1 teaspoon lime zest
• 1 teaspoon honey
• 1 teaspoon sweet soy sauce

Method

1. Combine all ingredients in a large mixing bowl or into a large zip-lock bag. Coat the chicken breasts well and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes (but 24 hours is better).
2. Preheat oiled grill pan and cook chicken for about 6-7 minutes on each side and basting with leftover marinade until cooked through.
3. Serve with a big healthy salad or some crispy stir-fried vegies with lime butter.

I’ve been working on my cookie technique lately- as we all know, baking (especially presentation) hasn’t been my strong suit and I have been practicing a lot lately. I’ve realised that my subconscious has hatched a devious plan to purposely sabotage a large percentage of the cookie mix to make ugly, misshapen lumps of sugary goodness because I always make a point of eating ‘The Ugly Ones’- because we wouldn’t want to photograph them now, would we?

So imagine my annoyance when even moi, the self-proclaimed Forest Gump Of Baking, pulled these babies out of the oven with only 1 or two ugly ducklings on the tray for my chewing pleasure. So I ate those two ugly ones. And then another two. And then another one. And then I photographed what was left…. Ooops.

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
• 1 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• a pinch ground cloves
• a pinch cayenne
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2 sticks (1 cup) unsalted butter, softened
• 1 cup packed brown sugar
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 1 large egg
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 3 cups old-fashioned or quick-cooking rolled oats
• 1 cup raisins

Method

Recipe Source

So after picking up some lovely mushrooms at the local farm, I decided to bite the bullet and get on with it and make my first real stuffed mushrooms. AND I LOVED IT!

This recipe is so versatile- the basic premise for each variation is to include some sorting of melting gooey cheese to bind the filling, fresh herbs and crunchy breadcrumbs on top.

My concoction had a mixture of oozing mozzarella and creamy Camembert cheese with the tiniest sprinkle of grated Parmesan cheese, fresh rosemary and parsely, spring onions, lemon zest for a little bit of sunshine and crispy bits of bacon, which of course can be omitted for vegetarians.

I’m really not sure how many people this recipe will serve, this made about 4 big mushrooms, which I happily devoured myself, so the portion sizes are completely up to you. This is one of those moments where measurements go out the window and you work by touch and intuition of sorts…. and well, let’s be straight, you can’t really ruin it. It’s mushroom. And cheese. And crumbs.

• Ingredients
• Large field mushrooms
• Mozzarella, sliced thinly
• Camembert, sliced thinly
• Spring onion, sliced
• Fresh parsley, chopped
• Fresh rosemary, chopped
• Chopped/minced garlic
• Lemon zest
• Bacon, diced and fried
• Grated Parmesan cheese
• Olive oil
• Garlic & Herb store-bought breadcrumbs (or make your own)
• Salt and pepper, to taste.

Method

1. Preheat oven to 180C.
2. Remove the stalks from the mushroom and chop finely.
3. Combine chopped mushroom stalks, cheeses, spring onion, herbs, garlic, lemon zest and crispy bacon, stir well. Season to taste.
4. Spoon the filling into the mushroom caps, sprinkle with breadcrumbs and drizzle with olive oil.
5. Bake in the oven for about 20 minutes until the tops are golden.
6. Serve with lightly dressed salad greens.

The slow cooked beef shreds perfectly and just falls apart after 6-8 hours soaking up the beautiful tomato sauce. A great,easy mid-week dinner and the leftover sauce is great for a variety of meals too! Add some Mexican spices, jalenpenos and Tabasco and use the sauce for nachos or burritos.  You can use it in a pasta bake or lasagna or in arancini rice balls. The possibilities are endless! So if you have leftovers, don’t fret.

Ingredients

• 2 tbsp olive oil
• Flour, for dusting
• 1 onion, diced
• 2 tbsp chopped garlic
• 1 tbsp rosemary, chopped
• 1 tbsp parsley, chopped
• 1/2 cup red wine
• 2 bottles of passata /approx 3-4 tins of tomatoes
• 1 Porterhouse steak
• 1/2 cup Italian olives
• 2 cups penne
• Salt and pepper, to taste
• Freshly grated Parmesan cheese, to serve

Method

1. Coat beef in seasoned flour.
2. Add oil to frying pan and heat until oil is hot. Seal the beef quickly on all sides until a brown crust forms, but don’t be too concerned about cooking the inside. The quicker it’s sealed and browned, the better.
3. Transfer the meat to the slow cooker and add a touch of olive oil to the base.
4. In the same frying pan, add a touch more oil and cook the onion and garlic for approximately 3-4 minutes, until onion starts to soften and become fragrant. Transfer the onion and garlic to the slow cooker.
5. Deglaze the pan with some red wine to get all those yummy crusty bits and then transfer to the slow-cooker dish.
6. Add the remaining ingredients, pop the lid on and cook for 6-8 hours on low heat.
7. 1/2 hour before serving, remove the steak and on a clean chopping board, shred the meat with 2 forks or chop it roughly until all the meat has fallen apart.
8. Transfer the shredded meat back to the slow cooker for a remaining 30 minutes and cook your pasta.
9. When the pasta has been cooked and drained, return it to the saucepan and ladle some of the sauce over the pasta, tossing to coat. Serve immediately with freshly grated Parmesan cheese.

It may be winter, so you may be WTFing my dish of choice today. I know it hardly seems like the kind of warming, hearty, lava-ish kinda recipe you might be craving during the winter months, but as much as I love winter, I was feeling a tad nostalgic about all the fresh fruit I used to eat in summer time and I realised how the main source of my fruit intake in winter was baked, crumbled, poached or caramelised. I simply wanted fruit, in it’s natural form, untouched and uncomplicated.

This may have also had something to do with my recent visit to the farmer’s market nearby where I came home with lots of locally grown fresh berries and other produce and couldn’t wait to use them….

Ingredients

• 1 punnet strawberries, sliced
• 1 banana, sliced
• 3/4 canteloupe, chopped into bite-size pieces
• 1 cup fresh pineapple (if available, if not, use canned pineapple pieces and drain them well)
• 1 apple, chopped into bite-sized pieces
• 4 passionfruits, halved, pulp scooped out
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 3/4 cup water
• 1 lime, zest and juice
• Toasted pecans (optional, I had a craving for pecans so that’s why I included it).

Method

1. Assemble the chopped fruit into individual serving dishes or into one large serving bowl and set aside.
2. In a small saucepan over medium heat, combine water, sugar, lime zest and juice and passionfruit pulp.
3. Allow to cook for approximately 10 minutes or until the syrup has reduced by half and thickened significantly. Stir from time to time and when the syrup starts to coat the back of the spoon, it’s ready.
4. Allow the syrup to cool, then pour over fruit salad.
5. Top with toasted pecans.

These baked eggs are perfect for a mid-week breakfast when you want something warm and nourishing without having to set your alarm an hour earlier to cook something delish.

The perfect thing about this dish is that you can pop it in the oven and resume your morning activities- iron your outfit, put your face on or even jump in the shower quickly. You still get to enjoy a warm, oozing cooked egg brekkie without standing over the stove in your sleep-zombie state.

You can also use wholegrain slices of bread or even tortillas as your ‘ramekin”. If using bread, simply cut off the crusts, flatten with a rolling pin and place in a muffin tin to form a cup. Pre-bake the bread/tortilla for a few minutes before adding the egg to make sure the base stays crispy.

This recipe serves 2.

Ingredients

• 2 eggs
• 2 tbsp grated parmesan cheese
• 2 tbsp milk or cream
• 2 tbsp chopped chives
• 2 tbsp spring onions, sliced
• 2 tbsp parsley, chopped
• butter
• salt & pepper, to taste

Method

1. Preheat oven to 180C.
2. Grease 2 ramekins with butter. Crack one egg into each ramekin, taking care to keep the yolk whole.
3. Add 1 tbsp of milk/cream to each ramekin, the divide the parmesan, chives, spring onion and parsley amongst both serves.
4. Season with salt and pepper and bake until the egg white has just set.
5. Eat it quick, before the yolk sets!

Enjoy with toast soldiers for lots of dipping, gooey fun. Just don’t put on your work shirt till AFTER breakfast.

You might have seen these Smoothie Cubes in the frozen section at your local supermarket.

I’ll admit, when I saw them, I squealed with excitement. I love smoothies and fruit juices but I’m always too lazy to make them myself because I never have all the fruits and veg handy at the same time…and I just cant be bothered.

These cubes are pureed fruit packed with nutritional goodness- antioxidants and omega 3s and all that good stuff and come in different flavours. So I bought a packet of each to try them, enchanted by the concept of just adding milk and having a delicious fruity treat.

The premise is simple, you just blend 2-3 Smoothie Cubes and 200ml of milk or juice.

My favourite combination is 2 Tropical cubes and 1 Berry Antioxidant cube plus a few little extras.

These little cubes are a tad on the pricey side so I probably couldn’t keep buying them weekly, so this is the part where the little light bulb pings above my head and I have the great idea of making my own smoothie cubes so I can stockpile all these delicious cubes of fresh fruit goodness. YUM.

I’m going to stock up on fresh and frozen fruits, go on a pureeing frenzy and freeze them into ice-cube trays (albeit they will be smaller in size than the supermarket ones which will mean you will probably need a few extra per smoothie).

You can blitz them up with milk, sorbet, yoghurt, fresh fruit juice, fresh fruit, honey or even use them in cocktails.

Tropical Berry Smoothie

• 2 Tropical Smoothie Cubes
• 1 Berry Antioxidant Smoothie Cube
• 1 tsp honey
• 150ml milk
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon

So easy and it literally took 1 minute. AWESOME

I like it so much, I joined a Big Breakfast appreciation group on Facebook. Because you know, these days, that’s how you show your affinity for something. Like That awkward moment when you finish a TV show series and you don’t know what to do with your life anymore group. Couldn’t have said it better myself!

Speaking of which, now that I’ve see all of the Keeping Up With The Kardashians, Modern Family and The Real L Word episodes, I go to bed when I’m actually tired and rise early in the morning, eager for a cooked breakfast.

Sometimes a girl needs a change from eggs and bacon on a plate, it doesn’t feel half as interesting as serving up a big breakfast served on butter-slathered wholemeal toast with sauteed mushrooms or oozing out of a yummy bagel. So today, here are my two new favourite ways to eat a delish cooked breakfast. Nothing fancy, but what a way to start a day!

These recipes serve 2.

Big Breakfast with Sauteed Mushrooms

Ingredients

• 2 eggs, poached or fried *(I’m sure you all know how to do this…)
• 4 slices wholemeal or wholegrain bread, toasted and buttered
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 1/2 brown onion
• 1 3/4 cups mushrooms
• 1 tbsp butter
• 4 rashers rindless bacon *(you can also use prosciutto or pancetta)
• 1 large tomato, thickly sliced
• 2 tbsp chopped chives
• Salt & pepper, to taste

1. Using the oven grill, cook bacon and tomato slices on a tray lined with baking paper until the bacon is crispy and the tomatoes are soft but still have some shape.
2. In a frying pan, heat olive oil and butter. Add onion, mushrooms and 1 tbsp chopped chives. Cook the mushrooms for about 7 minutes.
3. To serve, stack 2 slices of toast on each plate. Layer the bacon, eggs and tomatoes and serve the mushrooms separately in a little ramekin or pot so you can enjoy them with the second slice of toast!

* I also like this breakfast with sliced avocado and occasionally baked beans and hash browns if I’m feeling extra oinkish.

Big Breakfast Bagel

Ingredients

• 2 plain bagels
• 4 rashers rindless bacon
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 1 cup mushrooms
• 2 tbsp dried chopped onion
• 1 slice Tasty or Cheddar cheese
• 1 tomato, sliced
• 1 tsp chopped chives
• 2 tsp Ranch dressing
• 2 tsp Dijon mustard

Method

1. Preheat a sandwich press or oven.
2. Split the bagels in half and spread the bottom half with a thin layer of Ranch dressing and then Dijon mustard (sounds eww but it’s so good!).
3. Cook the bacon until crispy, drain off excess fat.
4. Fry or poach the eggs and set aside.
5. Cook mushrooms in a frying pan with 1 tbsp olive oil, dried chopped onion and salt and pepper.
6. Drizzle tomato slices with olive oil, sprinkle with chives, salt and pepper and roast in oven until collapsing or fry in the same pan as the bacon.
7. To assemble, first lay the cheese slice on the bottom part of the bagel. Add bacon, mushrooms and tomato and finally top with the egg. Place the top slice of the bagel on and transfer to the sandwich press.
8. Try not to cream your pants as you watch the delicious yolk ooze out of the hole in the top of the bagel and dribble down the sides.Head for 2-3 minutes until bagel is crispy on the outside.

I love that my days now revolve around slow cooking tender meat until it falls apart on your fork and melts in your mouth.

I love that I’ve swapped disappointing cafe food for home-cooked lunches and even tastier leftovers.

I love that if I spill sauce on my shirt, it’s not a catastrophe.

I love the intoxicating aroma of anything that is slow-cooked, sauces bubbling away, packed with mouth-watering flavour and any excuse to use wine in my cooking- I’m sold.

No more rushing home, exhausted, brain-dead and desperate for food like a zombie in a Resident Evil flick.

I know not everybody has the luxury of time during the working week, so if you’re wanting to enjoy the beauty of braises without the time factor, invest in a slow-cooker if you haven’t already. They really are a saviour for everyone, from busy working people to parents on the go. Unlike braising on the stove-top or in the oven, you don’t need to periodically check on the food and the best part is…you can leave it to do it’s thing while you go to work or spend time with the kids. And let’s not forget the smell. Ask anyone who swears by slow-cookers- the smell that fills your house is heavenly- almost as good as a freshly baked loaf of bread…or better?

This week I adopted a slow-cooking technique and paired it with a quick and easy dinner- the best of both worlds. Everyone knows that tacos are a staple for time-poor people and people who just CBF! I tend to fall in the latter however this time around I was getting a bit bored of beans out of a can with some taco seasoning and wanted a rich, flavourful chili con carne style filling for my otherwise simple tacos.

The meat can be cooked ahead of time and refrigerated, perhaps perfect for cooking on a Sunday afternoon before the work week begins. Then all you need to do is just chop up some vegetables and heat some tortillas after work for an easy, delish dinner.

This recipe serves about 4 people, or 2 with leftovers for lunch, NOM NOM!

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 large Porterhouse steak *(I only used this because it was what I had available, you can use a cut more suitable for braising)
• 1/2 cup plain flour
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 1 brown onion, chopped
• 2 tablespoons chopped garlic
• 1 green chilli, sliced
• 3 tablespoon taco seasoning powder
• 1 tbsp Tabasco sauce
• 1 can diced tomatoes
• 2 cups beef stock
• 1 can kidney beans
• 1/2 cup wine
• 2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
• 8 corn tortillas
• 2 tomatoes, chopped
• 2 cups lettuce (I used mesclun leaves)
• 3/4 Tasty or Cheddar cheese *(I used a combination of grated Tasty cheese and Monterey Jack cheese)
• Sour cream, to serve

Method

1. Heat oil in a hot pan or casserole dish over a high heat.
2. Season the steak with salt and pepper and coat in flour. When the oil is hot, put the meat into the pan and cook until browned and a nice crust forms on both sides, 3 to 4 minutes per side.
3. Remove the meat from the pan and set aside. Into the same pan, add a little more oil and cook the onion, garlic, chilli, seasoning powder and Tabasco sauce. Cook for 5 minutes, until onion has softened. Add the diced tomatoes, kidney beans, wine and beef stock, stir to combine and cook for about 2 minutes.
4. At this point, you can do one of three things:

• If you’re using a casserole dish, place the meat in the dish and pour over the tomato and bean mix. Cover and cook in a low oven (150C) for 2-3 hours.
• If you’re slow cooking, combine the meat and sauce in the slow-cooker bowl and cook on low for 6-8 hours
• If you’re using a frying pan/skillet, transfer the meat into a heavy, ceramic baking dish, pour the liquid over and cook in a low oven for 2 hours, covered with foil for the first hour. Stir periodically once the sauce starts to thicken.

5. Once the meat has cooked, remove from the beans and shred it with a fork or chop it finely, it should collapse and be oh-so-mouth-watering.
6. Wrap the tortilla shells in foil and warm in the oven a few minutes before serving.
7. You can serve all your fillings in individual bowls at the table, family style or make up the tacos yourself.
Spread some of the bean and meat mixture into the base of the taco. Top with chopped tomatoes, squeeze of lime juice, grated cheese, lettuce and sour cream.
8. You can use the leftovers, if there are any, for nachos, baked potatoes or burritos.

Ingredients

• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 2 1/4 cups plain flour
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2 sticks butter, softened
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 1 egg
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 cup quick cooking oats
• 3/4 cup shredded coconut flakes * (I used dessicated coconut because it was all I had handy)
• 1 cup white chocolate bits

Directions