Sausage & Caramelised Onion Quiche

Sausage & Caramelised Onion Quiche

2 sausages

8 sundried tomato strips, sliced into small chunks 

1 brown onion

5 basil leaves

3 eggs

1/2 cup cream

1 piece short crust pastry (I used frozen)  

Cheese 

Chop the sausages into small chunks (remove skins if you wish) and fry in butter until cooked through and beginning to crisp.

Slice the brown onion and lightly fry on a very low heat until soft, golden and beginning to caramelise (will smell and taste sweet) - don't allow onion to burn or crisp. 

Lay the pastry into a tray (I used a round 20cm pie dish). Arrange sausage, sundried tomato and onion to fill the base of the pastry. 

Whisk the eggs and the cream and carefully (and gently) pour over pastry filling. 

Top egg with cheese and chopped basil leaves.

Bake in 180 degree oven for 30minutes. 

Oat Slice

This slice has become my go to afternoon snack. Over the Easter break we disappeared into the Australian outback to Carnarvon Gorge for a wonderful week of trekking and camping.  The smell of the trees and the fresh air and the colours in the gorge right on sunrise and sunset….the words to describe the kind of "beautiful" that exists in Australia….I seriously can't even deal. I get the most intense feeling of calm when I'm surrounded by all that nothing. Maybe one day I can just give it all up and escape to the bush……with my baking pans, mixer and carefully labelled ingredient containers….

Back to reality, this slice was the essential reenergising snack over my 30km walk through bush, rocks and dirt. I've made it an essential part of my afternoon, probably not so much for the reenergising factor but for the memories.

Oat Slice
1 cup rolled oats
1/2 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 cup desiccated coconut
1/3 cup brown sugar (or less depending on how sweet your fillings are)
1/4 cup canola oil
2 tablespoons water
2 tablespoons golden syrup
1 teaspoon baking soda

Combine the oats, flour, coconut and sugar in a large bowl.

In a microwave safe bowl add the oil, water and golden syrup. Microwave on high for about 30 seconds. Remove from microwave and mix/whisk in baking soda. The mixture will fizz up.

Pour syrup mixture into dry ingredients and mix through any fillings. Spread into an baking tray and bake until golden brown on top.


Fillings
1/4 cup each of sultanas, pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds
6 dried figs diced & 1/8 cup sliced pecans
6 dates diced, 1 teaspoon ginger, 1/4 cup sliced walnuts
1/8 cup dark chocolate chips, 1/8 cup sliced peanuts

Banana Oat Slice

I'm so in love with oats and bananas. This is delicious and freezes well for a midweek breakfast treat.

So lets talk about sugar. Are you aware of the extremist anti-sugar regime? Do you have an opinion about sugar? Apparently everything is loaded with it and it will kill us all. Then theres all this nonsense about not eating fruit. I just don't have enough facts and there are actually too many opinions on the internet and in overpriced books for me to formulate a well educated and unbiased opinion about sugar.

I would like to say that this slice has zero added sugar, as the only sweetness comes from those deliciously stinky smooshy overripe bananas that are sitting in your fruit bowl. I sure don't mind sweetening up my mornings with some oaty banana love and blueberries….and pure maple syrup….just a tiny bit won't hurt right?

Banana Oat Slice
makes 4 slices in a 1.5L baking tray 
150g-200g mashed over-ripe banana (I found this was about 2 small/medium)
1/2 cup milk
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla essence
3/4 cup rolled oats
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda

Whisk the egg, milk, vanilla and then mix through the mashed banana. Add the oats, baking powder and baking soda and mix through. Let the mixture to sit for about 10 minutes then pour into an oven proof dish and bake at 180 for about 30 minutes.

Choc Drops

I think I wanted Jam Drops but this seemed much more Friday. After another long week, I'm almost hoping I can't go to work on Monday due to death by chocolate. As always there are more important things in life than wearing a two piece….like chocolate smothered in chocolate.

Choc Drops
2 tablespoons cocoa powder
1 cup plain flour
3 tablespoons caster sugar
100g butter
1 egg
Nutella or Nutino

Sift the cocoa powder and flour into a bowl, add sugar and mix to combine.

Chop the butter into small cubes and microwave on a low heat until melted, tip into the dry mixture and crack the egg over the top. Whisk the mixture until combined.

Roll small balls of the mixture in your hands then flatten and press your thumb into the centre to make an indent. Fill the indent with Nutella and bake in a 180 degree oven for about 10 minutes.

Mashed Pea Fritters

A great money saver for us has been incorporating a vegetarian meal into our weekly meal plans. I'm always on the look out for vegetarian dinners that aren't totally pasta based but are also filling. These fritters tick all those boxes and are amazing served with salsa and sour cream.

Mashed Pea Fritters
2 cups frozen peas
2 eggs
100g crumbled feta
1 cup self-raising flour (or just less than a cup of wholewheat flour)
1/2 cup milk

Cook the peas in boiling water until bright green (3 to 5 minutes) then drain and cool.

Whisk the eggs then mix in the flour, milk and feta. Using a potato masher or hand held mixer, mash the peas until they form a chunky paste then add to the egg and flour mixture. This will form quite a thick batter, be mindful not to mix it too much or you will lose the texture of the peas and end up with green mush.

Spoon portions of the mixture into a medium heat frying pan (lightly sprayed with oil). Cook on both sides until golden brown and cooked through. Serve with salsa and sour cream.

Upside Down Berry Crumble

It's the start of the new school year so, obviously, I am spending copious amounts of time preparing, planing, printing, laminating, goal setting, timetable making and searching for a new job.

Every year around this time I decide I need to renew my seek.com account and peruse endless university courses thinking, "What do I really want to be when I grow up?" Inevitably I decide I like my current job enough before I find my new one. In between this realisation, however, sweet food is my one true constant and comfort….that's bad huh.  Oh well, it's Sunday night and my sanity and happiness is found smothered in berries and cream. 

 Upside Down Berry Crumble - for two

100g mixed rasperries and blackberries (I used frozen)

1/2 teaspoon white sugar 

1/4 cup rolled oats

1 tablespoon brown sugar

1/4 cup plain flour (if using wholewheat flour use just less than 1/4 cup as it tends to be drier)

25g butter, melted

a couple of chopped walnuts

Whipped, thickened cream for topping

Mix the berries and the white sugar until combined then pack the berries into ramekins.

For the crumble, combine the oats, brown sugar, flour and walnuts. Then add the butter bit by bit mixing after each addition to ensure the crumble does not become to wet. Pack the crumble on top of the berries and compact with a spoon (not super tight, but just so it forms a "topping" more than just a loose crumble)

Bake for 15minutes until crumble is browned, Allow to cool slightly then turn the ramekin upside down, tap the base and remove to reveal a perfectly formed berry crumble tower (or more likely, a partially collapsed berry crumble tower). Top with whipped cream. 

Be happy, things will surely get better. 

Lime Curd

It's that time of year again when the limes are ready to be picked and the little tree chopped back for the cooler months. Previously I have made things like Lime Chiffon Pie and Lime Meringue Pie and it was awesome but this year was time for something new. Enter Lime Curd. Where you been all my life?

Seriously.

How did I miss this?  It's straight forward to make, easy to store and you can put it on…..everything? It is full of tart sweet goodness.

Lime Curd
1/2 cup lime juice
125g butter
1 cup caster sugar
3 eggs
lime zest

Combine lime juice, butter and sugar in a bowl over gently simmering boiling water. Mix until the butter is melted and the sugar is dissolved.

Whisk the eggs until frothy then slowly pour into the sugar and lime mixture.

Stir the mixture continuous and watch that it doesn't get too hot (or it will curdle). Cook for about 15 to 20 minutes until the mixture is thick.

Remove from the heat, stir through the lime zest and pour into a jar.

 Also Lime Curd Cheesecake will be happening soon.

Nostalgic Vanilla Slice

Vanilla Slice was my dad's favourite bakery treat. When I was in primary school, on Wednesday afternoon dad would come to pick me up and we would go to the bakery and get sausages rolls and vanilla slices and then go to the park.

Dad would always bring along my dog, Scampy, who was allowed to eat the pastry crumbs. The park had two big ponds that my dad said were craters made by meteorites….though on reflection I'm sure they were made by the City Council.

We would eat, then walk around the ponds and look at the ducks and water fowl and turtles. There were even eels in the pond. The ponds had a bridge between them and a gazebo nearby. Around the edge were huge bullrushes and in the centre of the pond there was a little island where ducks would lay their eggs. Scampy sometimes became over excited and chased the ducks. One day she even fell into the water. Wednesdays were always the best afternoons.

Lately I've been craving vanilla slice. I didn't realise how nostalgic this sweet bakery-style treat was until I had my first bite for dessert tonight.


Vanilla Slice with Passionfruit Icing
2 sheets puff pastry
1 cup milk
1 teaspoon vanilla essence (* or 1 vanilla bean)
1 cup corn flour
3/4 cup caster sugar
2 cups thickened cream
3 egg yolks
35grams butter, cubed

Slightly thaw the puff pastry sheets, line a baking tray with one piece of baking paper, place one puff pastry sheet on the paper. Place another piece of baking paper on top of the puff pastry sheet. Top the second piece of baking paper with the other slice of puff pastry. Top this puff pastry sheet with another sheet of baking paper (yep, that's 3 sheets of baking paper, 2 sheets of puff pastry!) Then on top of it all place another baking tray to weigh it all down. Put this layered ensemble into a 180 degree oven and allow to cook until the pastry is just puffed and lightly brown.

Combine 1/2 cup of milk and the vanilla essence (*if you have vanilla bean, at this point, in place of the essence, pour the milk into a small saucepan cut the vanilla pod and scrape the seeds into the milk then add the vanilla pod. Cook on a low heat for about 5 minutes, then discard the pod).

In a large saucepan combine the other 1/2 cup of milk, sugar and flour. Whisk until smooth. Add the milk and vanilla to the flour mixture and cook on medium heat on the stove.

Stir constantly and allow to simmer. The mixture will become very thick (it's kind of like scrambled eggs/béchamel). Remove from the heat when thickened. Mix in the egg yolks and butter.

While the mixture cools, assemble one of the cooked puff pastry sheets on the base of a deep dish (about the same size as the puff pastry sheet but cut to size if necessary). Top the puff pastry sheet with the egg mixture. Place the other puff pastry sheet on top and refrigerate.

Passionfruit Icing
2 tablespoons passionfruit pulp
1 cup icing sugar

Slowly add the passionfruit pulp to the icing sugar, stir after each addition until icing is spreadable and at desired consistency. Pour and spread icing over the top layer of puff pastry and refrigerate. If icing is too thick, add a little water or melted butter. 

Christmas 2014

It wouldn't be Christmas without an update from the kitchen. In the past I have embarked on quite elaborate Christmas projects (which might not look like much, but after 2 bottles of bubbles it was a real effort) but this year I decided to avoid disaster and go with something more low key…..of course it was still wrought with disaster but on a much smaller scale.



Armed with my very Merry Mojito, I decided my baking gifts this year would be in the form of balls (insert mandatory "hehehe"). The standard Rum Balls of course, but I added in Timtam Balls and Mars Bar Balls as well. I think the Rum Balls were my best ever, the Mars Bars Balls were pretty plain but the Timtam Balls…..hold the phone Santa! These were TO DIE FOR.




I've had a lot of chocolate over the past few weeks. My birthday comes just a little to close to the end of the school year and Christmas so between November and January I am basically forced to push my body to the brink of diabetes. Timtam Balls = worth it!

I wasn't sure how to present all the balls (hehehe) but came across these cute little boxes in a party shop. The fact that they match my personal favourite Christmas colours was an absolute bonus.

The final part of my Christmas baking was to provide desserts for the family. I went with my Chocolate Mint Tart, Passionfruit & Mango Trifle and a standard Pavolva.

Merry Christmas! 

Chicken, Bacon & Corn Salad

Summery salads have been a bit of a thing in my kitchen lately. I'm loving this one. It's a salad that certainly doesn't leave me hungry and the honey mustard dressing is to die for. 

Chicken, Bacon & Corn Salad

1/2 cup frozen corn

mixed lettuce leaves

4 bacon rashers

chicken, cooked and shredded 

1 avocado, sliced

coriander to garnish

Cook corn in a frying pan until lightly toasted. Remove from pan and allow to cool. Dice bacon and cook in frying pan. While cooking make the dressing. When cooked, allow to cool then combine and toss all ingredients.

Dressing

1 teaspoon dijon mustard

1 teaspoon honey

1 teaspoon lime juice

olive oil

In a small bowl, add mustard, honey and lime juice, whisk until creamy. Slowly add olive oil while whisking, keep adding olive oil until dressing is at desired thickness, taste and quantity (don't add more than 1/4 cup or other flavours will be lost)

Baked Chocolate Cheesecake

The smooth combination of white and milk chocolate cream on a dark chocolate base makes this a deliciously rich and sweet dessert.

Baked Chocolate Cheesecake
Base
250g chocolate ripple biscuits
70g melted butter
Filling
2 x 250g cream cheese
1 cup thickened cream - divided into 1/2 cup and two 1/4cups
1/2 cup caster sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 eggs
180g milk chocolate
100g white chocolate

To make the base, blend the biscuits in a food processor until they are fine crumbs. Mix in the melted butter then press into the base of a spring-form pan and refrigerate while making the filling.

Preheat the oven to 160 degrees.

For the filling: in a mixer combine the cream cheese, 1/2 cup of thickened cream, caster sugar and vanilla. Mix until light and smooth. Beat in the eggs, one at a time. Divide the mixture between two bowls.

Place the milk chocolate and 1/4 cup of thickened cream into a heatproof bowl and melt over a saucepan over simmering water. Once melted allow to cool then combine with one of the cream cheese mixtures. Pour over the base and bake in the oven for 15 minutes.

While cooking make the white chocolate layer. Place the white chocolate and 1/4 cup of thickened cream into a heatproof bowl and melt over a saucepan over simmering water. Once melted allow to cool then combine with the other cream cheese mixture.

Remove milk chocolate cheesecake from the oven and pour white chocolate cream cheese mixture over the milk chocolate layer. Return to the oven for a further 20 minutes.

Allow the cheesecake to cool and then set in the fridge over night.

Bircher Muesli

Do you like breakfast? I have a love hate relationship with this morning meal. I despise cereal. I get bread guilts with toast. I'm finicky about eggs and bacon. I'm fussy about pancake toppings. Breakfast is a tricky thing.

I was one of those kids that took 45 minutes to eat one piece of toast and then spent the morning being lectured by mum about being late and wasting time. Stupid breakfast, getting me in trouble. In a bid to get me out the door in time each morning, mum forced boxed cereal down my throat (mostly in the form of Weetbix and Cornflakes). Child Me thought cereal was just tasteless mush. Adult Me thinks cereal is sugar fill expensive mush. I went through the liquid breakfast phase. Adult Me shakes my head pitifully at this, again such a waste of money and so much senseless sugar consumption.

So what's the solution? My perfect world? Eat banana bread for every breakfast! Reality: variety. I try to pre-plan all of my breakfasts. If I have variety I actually have something to look forward to instead of the same old box of expensive sugar coated processed grains.

While I hate cereal I LOVE oats. Porridge is my winter love. Bircher Muesli is the summer version. This is the perfect pre-plan breakfast because, to get the full flavour and texture development, it needs to sit in the fridge overnight. It is lovely with some dried fruit and seeds mixed through or topped with fresh fruit and honey.

Bircher Muesli
1 cup yoghurt
1/2 cup wholegrain oats
1 tablespoon orange juice
1 apple, grated
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
sprinkle nutmeg

Combine all ingredients in a large bowl, cover and refrigerate overnight. Simple, easy breakfast is done!

Banana Bread for Two

Banana Bread For Two
My Banana Bread love affair has been documented in the past (and even past-er past) and honestly I am a little ashamed of this recipe. To me, banana bread is one of those things that there should be more of, not limited "for one" (or in this case "for two") portion sizes. Actually, that's how I feel about most food.

Anyway, this came about due to the fact that my poor body becomes a trash compactor on the weekend. I seem to fill my weekdays with smoothies, nuts and vegetables but in contrast, on the weekend, I am transformed into a sugar guzzling, carb craving maniac. I spend the majority of my weekends in stretchy pants and an awful mood brought about by a combination of sugar-crash and food guilt.

Enter portion control and a perfectly sized banana bread for a normal sized breakfast with a reasonable amount of sugar.

Banana Bread for Two
3 tablespoons wholemeal flour
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 tablespoon brown sugar
1 egg, whisked
1 banana, mashed
1 tablespoon butter, melted
scattering of chopped walnuts
splash of milk (if necessary)

Pre-head the oven to 180s degrees.
Combine all the ingredients and spoon mixture into muffin or loaf pans.
Bake for 15 to 20 minutes until browned and cooked through.
Serve topped with yoghurt or ricotta, honey and more walnuts.

Prawn Chop Salad

Prawn Chop Salad
I'm really becoming an advocate of the spring/summer salad trend. It's a bit new for us as my husband has so frequently booed salads off our menu but he's somehow become more open minded and accepting of leaves for dinner.

This one was especially popular as he is a huge fan of prawns. I am not such a huge fan of prawns….or any seafood for that matter (see the fish taco saga of Hawaii) so this was a gamble for me from the very beginning. It worked out surprisingly well and was a quick and tasty weeknight dinner.

Prawn Chop Salad
Prawns
1 teaspoon minced garlic
1/2 teaspoon paprika
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
prawns
1 tablespoon butter

Melt butter in a frying pan. Add prawns and spices. Cook until prawns are golden in colour.

Salad
Avocado, sliced
Chopped baby spinach leaves
Chopped coriander leaves
1 zucchini, shredded
toasted peanuts

Combine all ingredients.

Dressing
1/4 teaspoon minced ginger
1 tablespoon oil
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 teaspoon brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon minced garlic
sprinkle salt

Combine all ingredients.

Assemble prawns and salad components into sections of a serving bowl. Top with dressing when ready to serve.

Chocolate Dream Tart

Chocolate Dream Tart
Be ready. You will need strawberries. You will need whipped cream. You will need willpower. It's a miracle this lasted in our fridge for more than several hours. It's one of those desserts that you portion out carefully after dinner because you certainly don't want to "over do it"….and by the morning, somehow, mysteriously, there is far less left in the fridge. The strawberries and cream really just serve to break through the rich, creamy, ganache like filling and the buttery chocolate base. Drool.

Chocolate Dream Tart
Base
250g chocolate biscuits
125g butter, melted

Line a spring-form pan with baking paper and butter. In a food processor, process the biscuits until they are fine crumbs then mix through the melted butter. Press the mixture in to the base of the pan and allow to set in the fridge for at least 15 minutes.

Filling
250g dark chocolate
1/3 cup thickened cream
125g butter, chopped
2 eggs
3 egg yolks (preserve the whites for a pavlova!)
1/3 cup white sugar

In a large bowl, whisk the eggs and sugar until light and fluffy.

Place the chocolate, cream and butter in a meltproof bowl and place over a pan of boiling water. Mix until the chocolate and butter are melted and combined.

Gradually mix the chocolate mixture into egg mixture. Pour on top of the biscuit base and bake for 15 minutes or until top is starting to set. Allow to cool and then refrigerate until set through.

Thai Beef Salad

Summer is coming….which, as Game of Thrones has taught me, indicates that the weather will be warm, people will be prosperous and the snow loving walking dead will stay on their side of the wall. It also signals the time of year when salads are an acceptable dinner option. For many people I'm sure salads are an all year round affair but we consistently fall into the pasta, pastry, potato slump of winter. Which is amazing, but also has to come to an end. So salads. This is a thing now.

Thai Beef Salad
Beef
Sliced beef
1 tablespoon vinegar
1 tablespoon soy suace
1 tablespoon brown sugar
1/4 teaspoon chilli flakes
1 teaspoon minced garlic
1 tablespoon sesame seeds
splash olive oil

Combine all ingredients and allow to marinate. Cook over a low heat until sauce has reduced and beef has browned slightly. Rest and let cool.

Salad
Capsicum, thinly sliced and lightly cooked
Spinach/kale, shredded
Carrot, thinly shredded
Zucchini, thinly shredded
1/2 red chilli, thinly sliced
Cashews, crushed
Edamame

Lightly boil the edamame let cool then shell the beans. Combine all the ingredients apart from the cashews in a large bowl.

Dressing
1 tablespoon soy sauce
2 cloves of garlic
1 tablespoon honey
1 tablespoon water
1/2 tablespoon vinegar
1/4 teaspoon ginger
splash olive oil
splash lemon juice

Process all ingredients until combined.

When ready to serve, layer the salad into a bowl and mix through the cashews, top with the beef and dressing.

Tiramisu

Earlier this year, on our "Italian Adventure" we visited beautiful Venice. It was only an overnight stay because Venice is expensive and after you've visited the main square and the Doge's Palace there are only so many shop filled, tourist crammed, cobbled stoned alleys you can handle before your feet fall off and you find you've eaten 12 different flavours of gelato in one day…..what?

We arrived on some kind of environmental day so none of the ferries were operating. Somehow, we (husband) decided it would be best to embark the 40 minute trek across San Marco to drop off our bags then head out on to the tourist packed streets. We visited a few sights and did some people watching. As the sun began to set we purchased a big bag of strawberries from a market and sat on a pier to watch the gondolas and the sun dance on the water. 

After sunset we walked by the main canal and examined the overpriced menus of several waterfront restaurants overflowing with loud tourists. Uninspired, we walked two streets back from the water down a random alley that, as we so often found in Italy, opened into a beautiful courtyard that housed a lovely little restaurant. It was just us. According to all Australian restaurant logic, minimal occupancy indicates that the restaurant serves poison as a main but this, thankfully, was not the case. We were served large jugs of wine and ate lashings of spinach and ricotta cannelloni. 

And then came dessert. Throughout our trip we tried to make a point of eating dishes that were traditional to the region. There is some debate regarding the origins of Tiramisu. Some say Tuscany, others Veneto but I have read enough convincing accounts that Tiramisu originated in Venice and that was where I ate it and loved it.  

It sure wasn't pretty but I have no regrets about eating at a non-mainstream, non-waterfront, non-tourist hotspot restaurant.  

During our trip we made many promises that when we came home we would recreate the delicious, regional flavours of Italy and this is one promise I came good on.  This is a cheats version as I chose not to make my own sponge but that will be a challenge for next time 

Tiramisu

3 eggs, separated

3/4 cup white sugar

250g mascarpone cheese

250ml espresso coffee, cooled

3 tablespoons sherry (or any sweet fortified wine or even brandy)

pre-made sponge cut into fingers 

thickened cream, whipped to serve

80g dark chocolate, finely grated to serve

Beat the egg yolks with the sugar until the sugar has dissolved and the mixture is a light yellow and fluffy then beat in the mascarpone until smooth.

Whisk the egg whites until soft peaks form then fold into the mascarpone mixture. 

In a shallow bowl combine the espresso and sherry, then dip the sponge into the liquid until it is just wet but not falling to pieces (try to do this as evenly as possible so you don't end up with some saturated sponge and other dry sponge). After dipping each sponge finger place it into a dish, pack them quite tightly. 

After the base layer of sponge is formed, top with the mascarpone mixture then make another sponge layer and top with mascarpone. This is best left to sit in the fridge and allow the flavours to develop for a few hours (or overnight if you can wait that long). Before serving top with whipped cream and dark chocolate. 

Chocolate Smothered Banana Bread

It's been quite a while since I've been on/seen my blog. Of course lots of things have been happening, the biggest and most time consuming of which has been the building of and moving into our new home. It's amazing how many weekend hours are gobbled up visiting furniture stores and deciding on colour schemes and towels and cutlery and…everything that fits in a house. 

When I reflect on my posts of 2014 I see this: fish, marshmallows, yoghurt cake and mango trifle. Perhaps the only positive to come out of this is the fact that it is almost mango season again. Clearly, time has been fragile. When I reflect on my life of 2014, the last weekend I remember enjoying was spent watching 2 entire seasons of Game of Thrones (yep, discovered!). Also we went to Europe at some point for 3 weeks and backpacked (ate our way) through Italy and a bit of France. Then there is just a crazy blur of house building related……bits and pieces (of astronomical proportions). 2014 has been a time vortex. 

So, this sounds like I'm having a very big whinge "my new house means I didn't do anything on my blog whaa" and this is really not what it is about at all. I love my house. I love every painstakingly selected item within my house. I love the fact that when I was a kid I used to dream of living in a fancy house and the house that I now live in infinitely surpasses those dreams. In short: I love it and….I la-OVE the kitchen, which is really what it's always been about. Let's talk about that. 

Today is not about whinging, today is about two things - banana bread and Nutino - and the excessive amount of joy these two things (and my new kitchen) bring to my life. 

Let's start with banana bread. I don't remember when banana bread became part of my life. It is so integral to my overall wellbeing that I feel like it has just always been there….at least from the time I started regularly frequenting coffee shops so let's say 14 or 15. It's my go to breakfast, morning tea and afternoon tea and all the other small meals that fit in-between those meals - you have those too right? The only deal breaker is when it lacks walnuts. It also has to be toasted and if you let it go just a little bit, almost to the point of burning, you can create the most amazing caramelised flavour. Are you drooling on your keyboard too? 

I have had a shot at a few different banana bread recipes but this is it for me now. I have gone back to this one all year. 

Let's talk about Jamie Oliver. Love him or hate him? I enjoy his t.v. programs. I find his cookbooks have over stuffed ingredient lists and too much reading. I find his website difficult to navigate. I find many of his recipes are either epic win or epic fail. This one is epic win. An additional bonus, it can be made as a half loaf and still tastes amazing and is still a reasonable size. This is just sugary, nutty, banana goodness and it only gets better with the addition of Nutino.

As a kid I did not grow up in a Nutella household. I remember having tiny snack pack Nutella in my lunch box on very rare occasions, that I'm pretty sure I often switched or threw away. Of course when my husband hears these stories he almost goes into a fit of rage, "WASTING NUTELLA??? WHAT'S WRONG WITH YOU??". I just never really understood it. Then we went to Italy, where everything comes smothered in Nutella or the Italian version - Nutino. 

On our European vacation we booked all of our accommodation through Air BnB, which meant we spent three weeks living in family homes, most of the time with the family themselves. Without sounding like a total hipster, it was very authentic. It's fine, I hate how I sound when I say that as well. 

We spent out first few days in Rome. We stayed in a little apartment which, according the the Air BnB website profile, belonged to an Italian adonis named Dario. I swear even my husband thought he was dreamy. Of course when we arrived, Dario was in Milan at Fashion Week and (after a gruelling 34 hour fight through Brisbane-Singapore-Frankfurt-Rome, a train ride, a walk from Roma Termini and 5 flights of stairs) we were greeted by a woman who spoke zero English and simply introduced herself as "Dario Mama". 

We loved Rome. We loved Dario's place. We loved Dario Mama. We especially loved the flaky, buttery croissants she fed us each morning that were smothered in Nutino. 

So the rest is history right? It just makes sense. And I'm totally fine with never wearing a two piece again, there are just more important things in life.

Fish Tacos

 When we were in Hawaii we stayed across the street from the Cheesecake Factory or, as it is commonly understood in Australia, "the place where Penny works". Obviously this place rated highly on my list of holiday must dos. 

Suffering a severe case of jetlag we headed out to dinner around 8pm. After a 45 minute wait outside to get a table we were greeted by a stressed out and busy waiter. He left us to peruse the tome they call "menu" and eventually returned to take my order of chicken tacos and something covered in cheese for my husband. Perhaps another 45 minutes later he reappeared more stressed than ever and full of apologies that our food would still be some time. We were on holidays, we had another fancy multi-coloured drink and continued to people watch. Some time later a manager appeared with our waiter, equally full of apologies. At this point, in normal world, we would no doubt be fuming but, we were on holidays...in Hawaii....at the Cheesecake Factory...with chicken tacos pending. What could go wrong? 

Fish Tacos.

Of course, by this time, we had been lavished with praise. We had been told we were the "coolest customers ever" (a rarity for us). We had been gifted a multi-coloured drink. There was no way I could now turn my nose up, point a finger in the waiter's face and demand a chicken be murdered, smothered in salsa, wrapped in a tortilla and arrive at my table immediately.

As the waiter rushed away I looked at the husband and tentatively said, "I think it's fish"....at this point I was hoping he would say, “Oh so it is! I know you hate fish so here, you have my cheese covered cheese with cheese and I’ll have the dregs of the ocean that have been served up in front of you.”  Naturally, through a mouthful of cheese, my husband said, “That’s hilarious, you hate fish!”

So that is where this post originates. Six months on I decided to give the fish tacos another go because fish is actually pretty good for you …or something to that affect. I headed to this website for inspiration.

Slightly Edible Fish Tacos

1 cod fillet cut into 6 small pieces

1 teaspoon paprika

1 teaspoon cumin

½ teaspoon cayenne pepper

corn tortilla wraps

salsa

coleslaw with herb dressing

Rub the spices onto both sides of the fish pieces and grill until cooked through.

On a tortilla layer salsa, fish, coleslaw and serve with rice combined with black beans, parsley, coriander and lime juice. 

Smores Slice

These bad boys have been sitting in the back of my mind for a while now. Being an Australian, I feel like I've really missed out on the "smores culture". Apparently smores is an integral part of a North American upbringing......I can totally see why. Take your kid into the wild outdoors, light a fire and fill them full of sugar. What could go wrong? Ummm.....no really, what could go wrong? My future children will not be deprived of smores. This is a cheats version that does not require a camp fire, or the great outdoors, it's probably not half as good as a real smore but for an Australian version it'll do.

Smores Slice
I used a very small baking tray for these as I reasoned that smores would be quite decadent. My reasoning was confirmed once my mouth was coated in sticky marshmallow goodness.
90g Biscuit crumbs
30g Butter
Chocolate drops - milk and dark
Large marshmallows

Combine the biscuit crumbs and the butter and press into the base of a baking tray. Bake in a 180 degree oven for about 5 minutes. Remove the tray from the oven and scatter the chocolate drops over the base (I used only one layer of chocolate, being new to smores I figured it was mostly about the marshmallow and less about the chocolate?) The chocolate will begin to melt on the hot base, top the melted chocolate with marshmallows and return the tray to the oven. Change the oven setting to "grill" to allow the top of the marshmallows to become brown and crisp (obviously, watch this intently). Allow to cool slightly before cutting otherwise you will end up with a (delicious) mess.