We’ve been living in Australia for eight years in December. Eight years!!! It feels like a life time ago that we packed up our then family of six, with our meagre belongings stuffed into four suitcases, to embark on a new and exciting life. We’d never travelled overseas before our move but we had itchy feet and were not overly daunted by such a drastic shift. Yes we were sad at leaving behind loved ones, but excitement filled us at the adventures that lay ahead. The first two years were spent living in sunny Queensland but we still felt a little unsettled so after a bit of discussion we decided to hightail it over the country to Western Australia where we’ve been living somewhat blissfully, ever since.
Despite having lived here for so long I still haven’t gotten used to the heat. Winter is only fleeting compared to my country of birth but summer…holy, you ain’t ever experienced summer until you have suffered through a Western Australian one, it’s a total scorcher! and every summer that follows seems to be getting hotter than the last. I am already bracing myself for this year and we’re still in spring. A day when the temperature is over the mid twenties sees me cringing…I am a total heat wuss which is ironic given where we live…so you can imagine how bad I am at summers height.
Speaking of heat, please tell me I am not the only one who struggles to eat when it’s so hot outdoors and in? (we have no air-con so there’s little relief) About the best I can do is slurp on a smoothie or eat ice cream like it’s going out of fashion. The great thing about a smoothie is that they are a meal in themselves, unlike a heaving bowl of ice cream, and no rules apply as to what you can add. Some of our better concoctions have been those that we’ve haphazardly thrown together.
I’m on a bit of a ginger bender at the moment and throwing it in to everything I make. It’s zing rounds out the sweetness of the mango and banana quite nicely here.
Mango, banana & ginger smoothie – serves 3-4
Ingredients:
I ripe mango - preferably frozen
2 banana’s - preferably frozen
1 1/2 cups coconut milk
1 Tbsp flax meal
1 Tbsp coconut oil
1 – 2 tsp grated ginger
topping:
chopped glace ginger – optional
toasted/raw desiccated coconut – optional
Method:
Place all the smoothie ingredients into a blender and blend till smooth. You may have to scrap down the sides of the blender bowl a few times. Serve topped with glace ginger and toasted coconut
Notes:
- 1 tsp of ginger gives a subtle taste, for a bit more zing add another tsp or more
- I prefer to use frozen fruit in my smoothies for a thick cold mix, feel free to use unfrozen fruit in which case you may want to add a few ice cubes to thicken and chill
- I used home made coconut milk but any coconut/nut or dairy milk would work fine
- I don't tend to sweeten many of my smoothies unless the fruit is particularly tart, feel free to add it to your liking
I kind of put my foot in it last week. I was bragging about how amazing a brioche loaf would be in a request for bread and butter pudding without even knowing how to make brioche. I’m certainly not new to bread making, I used to make bread by hand on a regular basis until I found out I am gluten intolerant and it lost it's appeal, so I thought to myself ‘how hard can it be?’ Have you ever made brioche? Well let me tell you that it would be a piece of cake if you have a mixer of some sort but to make it by hand takes c o m m i t t m e n t ! It’s messy, time consuming and somewhat tiring!! Don’t be put off by the messy hard work though, the rhythmic kneading action is kind of therapeutic and the mix does eventually come together into a soft, smooth, pliable dough. I'm also told that the effort I went to was well worth it *wink
This brioche was used to make the most luxurious bread and butter pudding – recipe coming soon, and I think it would make an equally delectable french toast.
Brioche – makes one large or two small loaves
(recipe from Gourmet Traveller but the method is my own)
Ingredients:
160ml warm milk
1 1/2 tsp yeast
5 egg yolks – lightly beaten
375g flour, plus extra for dusting
30g sugar
150g butter – cubed
1 egg – egg wash
Method:
Sprinkle the yeast over half of the milk and mix gently. Set aside till frothy, approximately 5 minutes. Whisk egg yolks into the remaining milk and set aside.
Mix the dry ingredients in a large bowl then pour in both the yeast and yolk mixtures and mix till well combined and dough like. Tip out onto a lightly floured bench and knead for approximately 10 mins. Once you have a nice dough, flatten out and place half of the cubed butter on one side of the dough then fold the remaining dough over the top of the butter. This gets messy but you need to work the butter into the dough. Knead the dough, working the butter in, till it is well combined and then repeat with the remaining butter. Trust me, it does come together but requires a good 15-20 mins of vigorous kneading.
Once you have a nice smooth dough place it into a butter bowl, cover and leave to rise until doubled in size. Once doubled, gently fold the dough over on itself a few times then cling wrap and place in the fridge overnight.
In the morning remove the dough from the fridge and allow to come to room temperature before placing into a lined loaf tin (this is where you can divide the dough to make two loaves). Leave the dough to rise for a second time. Preheat oven 180° and brush the loaf/loaves with the egg wash. Bake for 45-50 minutes until golden brown and hollow sounding when tapped. Cool briefly in the tin before turning out onto a wire rack.
Winter has arrived with a scattering of rain but judging by the warmth of the last week you’d be forgiven for thinking otherwise. The seasons are rather strange here in Western Australia. The warmer months, which are excessively hot, seem to drag on f.o.r.e.v.e.r and a day while the cooler months that are over in the blink of an eye have ‘chill factor zero’ days that are somewhat few and far between. Talk about being ripped off! Give me hail and a bit of snow…..please? I want to hibernate for a week at least.
Despite what the mercury shows, porridge is on pretty high rotation in these parts. It’s only been in the last six months or so that I have started venturing away from traditional oat porridge in favour of other nutritious grains and while I enjoyed a bowl of porridge before I am well and truly head over heels for it now!
This banoffee buckwheat porridge, because who doesn’t love a dessert inspired breakfast, was inspired by Kelly’s creamy spiced version that we had a few weeks ago and fills the gap quite nicely with it’s nutty, creamy texture and subtly sweet fruity taste. Buckwheat does require a little forethought with soaking the groats overnight but the end result is so satisfying that it is well worth the effort.
Banoffee buckwheat porridge – serves 3-4
Ingredients: (porridge)
1 cup buckwheat groats – soaked in water with a Tbsp of apple cider vinegar overnight
1 cup coconut milk/cream
1/4 cup water
2 tsp coconut oil
1 tsp vanilla
2-4 fresh dates – depending on sweet preference, chopped finely
1 tsp cinnamon
pinch salt
2 bananas – one mashed, one sliced
small handful of chopped walnuts/nuts of choice
Ingredients: (caramel sauce)
1/4 cup coconut milk/cream
2 Tbsp rice syrup/honey
1 Tbsp coconut oil
Method:
Rinse off the buckwheat groats and place them into a pot with the remaining porridge ingredients (except the banana and nuts) and simmer gently over a medium heat for approximately 20 minutes, stirring occasionally. Once all the liquid has been absorbed, stir through the mashed banana and heat another minute or two.
While the porridge is cooking place the caramel sauce ingredients into a small pot and over a low heat simmer gently for 3-4 minutes, stirring often.
Place porridge into bowls, drizzle with caramel sauce then top with sliced banana and chopped nuts.
Notes:
- be adventurous and use this recipe as a starting point for other flavour combinations
- store any remaining caramel sauce in a small jar in the fridge for a few days, heating through before using
In her younger days, my mum was never very adventurous when it came to cooking. Yes, she cooked everything from scratch but tended to stick to a handful of tried and trusted meals which we had on high rotation. I think trying to satisfy the fussy needs of her six children put her off extending her recipe repertoire. Curry wasn’t something we had very often and when we did it was good old curry sausages or eggs made in a white curry sauce (white sauce and curry powder) *yuk! I should add that as a child I disliked both eggs and sausages so those meal times were a test of my mothers patience and my will power.
As us kids grew older mum did start expanding on her culinary efforts, she makes a mean thai chilli chicken dish, but the running joke when we now come together as a family is just how bad her cooking was. Unlike my mum I tend to follow in my fathers footsteps when it comes to cooking and am not afraid to experiment and push the boundaries. That said, I do know what it’s like to cook for a fuss pot or two so can empathise with what my mum had to deal with but by the same token, I always encourage our children to try something at least once before they turn their noses up at it and I don't allow their fussy tendencies, which change on any given day, to dictate what I cook - bad mother!
Gone are the days of a white sauce based curry, I left that behind with my childhood. These days I’m all about a homemade curry paste that allows me the flexibility to tweak the flavours to suit whatever ingredients I have on hand. The beauty of a curry dish is that it is versatile, hearty and a one pot meal that is super simple and fast to make…win/win in my books.
Eggplant and capsicum curry – serves 2-3
Ingredients: (curry)
1 small eggplant – diced
1 choko – peeled and diced
1/2 each of a red, yellow and green capsicum – diced
1.5 cups coconut milk/cream
1 tsp coconut oil/ghee
2 Tbsp curry paste – recipe below
cauliflower rice/rice of choice/quinoa to accompany
Ingredients: (curry paste)
2 Tbsp coriander seeds
1 Tbsp cumin seeds
1 tsp fennel seeds
1 tsp mustard seeds
1/2 tsp peppercorns
1 tsp Himalayan/rock salt
1-2 fresh chillies – chopped - can use 1-2 tsp chilli flakes
3 cloves garlic – crushed
1/2 onion – finely diced
1 cm piece each of grated tumeric and ginger - can use 1 tsp each of ground
1 Tbsp apple cider vinegar
Method:
For the paste, place the seeds and peppercorns into a dry frypan and toast gently, swirling the pan often, over medium heat until fragrant and starting to brown. Remove from the heat and allow to cool a few minutes. Add the seeds to a mortar and pestle with the salt and grind till fine. Add the remaining paste ingredients to the mortar and pestle and continue to grind until you have a somewhat smooth paste.
For the curry, heat the coconut oil/ghee over medium heat. Add the curry paste and cook, stirring, for a minute or so. Pour in the coconut milk/cream and the vegetables and turn down to a gentle simmer. Cover and simmer for 10-12 minutes until the vegetables are tender then serve in bowls with quinoa or rice of choice.
Notes:
- diced or tinned tomato can be used as a base instead of coconut milk/cream
- use whatever vegetables you have on hand, sweet potato and spinach is a particular favourite
- beans or chickpeas are a nice addition as is finely sliced cooked beef or chicken strips
- I tend to use the whole amount of curry paste above if I am cooking for my entire family of ten and up the vegetables and liquid accordingly but if I am making enough for 2-3 serves, I generally put any remaining paste into a small glass jar and cover with a thin layer of olive oil before lidding and refridgerating for up to a week
- use more or less chillies depending on the amount of heat you can tolerate
- serve alongside naan and greek yoghurt for a more substantial meal
- don't let the amount of ingredients in the paste intimidate you, it's well worth the effort of making your own paste
The seasons are slowly but surely changing and with the drop in mercury I find myself reaching for woollen jumpers, long pants, socks and slippers. Winter blankets that have been collecting dust bunnies during the warmer months are being pulled out, washed and aired ready to adorn our beds. Hot water bottles have been rescued from the back of the linen cupboard and flannelette sheets are making an appearance. Stews, casseroles and soups are making their way onto our menu and the kettle is rarely off the boil in anticipation of the next cuppa. As desperate as summer was to hang on by a bare thread, autumn is making her presence known while winter is whispering that she’ll soon be on the heels of autumn.
I’ve been lingering in bed in the mornings lately, enveloped in the warm cocoon of my blankets. Not yet completely dreading the idea of rising as I do in the midst of winter when the chill factor is numbing but enough that I prolong the inevitable and the patience of by belly grumbling children.
Now that the weather is decidedly cooler first thing, we’ve been starting our day with a bowl of warm porridge. Where once I would soak the oats overnight trying to emulate the porridge of my youth, I now favour a speedier somewhat healthier version. In my humble opinion, if you are yet to try flaked quinoa porridge get in that kitchen pronto! This porridge has a different texture to traditional porridge, it is smoother, silkier and creamier. It is also much lighter than oats but just as filling and we find it doesn’t require the addition of milk though you could add a splash of milk of your liking. I encourage you to play with the topping, you are only limited by your imagination.
Flaked quinoa, chia and flax meal porridge with caramelised pear and walnuts – serves 2 but can easily be halved or doubled.
Ingredients:
1 cup flaked quinoa
2 Tbsp chia seeds
2 Tbsp flax/linseed meal
1 cup coconut milk/cream
1 cup water
1 pear
1/4 cup walnuts
10 g butter or 2 tsp coconut oil
honey to serve
Method:
Place the quinoa, chia, flax meal, coconut milk/cream and water into a small pot and place over a low to medium heat. Stir occasionally for 4-5 minutes until thick and creamy. While the quinoa is doing it’s thing heat the butter in a small pan and quarter, core and chop the pear into small bite size pieces. Cook the pear over a low heat for 2-3 minutes tossing the pan a few times then add the walnuts and cook a further minute or so. You want the pears to be caramelised and sweet but still intact and the walnuts to be lightly toasted.
Half the quinoa porridge between two bowls, drizzle with honey or maple syrup and top equally with the pear and walnuts. You are good to go.
Topping suggestions
- Caramelised or stewed apple with cinnamon
- Caramelised or mashed banana with lightly toasted slivered almonds
- Chopped date and toasted walnut
- Berry compote with greek yoghurt
