Filling in the blanks

Sorry I've been crap again with keeping up with the recipes. But to be honest I haven't come with with many new ones lately which is a little depressing. I am going to make a conscious effort to get in the kitchen more over the next few weeks but in the meantime I will post some old favourites.

We've made it through the year from hell. The city is slowly re-opening small bit by bit and water just stopped being chlorinated which is a huge step forward. Made it through my 3rd and final compulsory year of law. I feel like I'm over the hump now and things get easier now.

Also going on an exchange to Paris next year. Mmmmm french food!

In a month's time I am off to Kenya to help build an orphanage which is super exciting. On the way we will stop in Thailand and I hope to be able to visit a Thai cooking school and bring home some sweet tips. Kenyan cuisine looks really cool too so will try get some nifty recipes to bring home with me.

We've been fundraising heaps and have finally reached $6800 with the help of all our awesome supporters. Sending it away tomorrow will be a big milestone and I can start getting excited about our trip. 

We then fly straight back into Wellington for Camp A Low Hum which is back at Wainui this year.

And next week I'm off to Melbourne for the Meredith Music Festival which I've been attending (or its sister festival Golden Plains) for the last 5 years. Pretty exciting stuff lined up...

#thisisgonnabethebestsummerever!!!!!

Fun with icing

Here's some fun I've had with icing recently...

I made Fionn a cake a while ago for his birthday. The different colours were all different flavours...

I also made T'nealle a cake for her birthday and it matched the card I gave her which was made by one of the Kenyan orphans we are going to visit. Pretty cool huh?

Cake becomes art. Thinking of ideas for cool and creative Christmas cakes now (but not those gross fruit cakes!)

Tofurkey

This has got to be every vegan/ vegetarian's dream...

While this seems like something that The Simpsons would come up with I first came across a real life tofurkey at an Orphans Xmas in Melbourne a few years ago..

The local paper had run a Christmas dinner on a budget special and the tofurkey was the centre piece.

I still have a cutting of the article somewhere but have adapted and refined mine over the years...

Its a hit with both non-meat and meat eaters as long as you make sure the tofu has some serious flavour to it. Plus the novelty factor is always a bonus.

The 'Turkey'

700g firm tofu

2tbsp vege or fake chicken stock

lots of pepper and a bit of salt

The Stuffing

2 grated carrots

1grated courgette

1 finely chopped green pepper

1tbsp soy sauce

1tbsp oregano

1tsp cayenne pepper or other chilli powder

100g Cranberry sauce

1 cup cous cous

1 cup breadcrumbs

1/3 cup shelled walnuts

Marinade

100g cranberry sauce

2tbsp balsamic vinegar

1tbsp olive oil

3 sprigs rosemary

lots of cracked pepper

Method

1) Foodprocess the 'turkey' ingredients until a thick paste. Line a colander with cheese cloth or other thin fabric. Spread 2/3 of the mixture around the inside of the colander to make a 1inch thick lining.

Use a heavy glass bowl to keep the shape by placing it inside the colander. Just make sure it leave about a 1 inch gap of tofu between the colander and the bowl. Leave for minimum 2 hours to drain (I leave overnight for best results)

Drain the rest through cheese cloth and leave to the side for the wings later.

2) Fry up the veges and soysauce and herbs and spices until soft and aromatic. Add the cranberry sauce and then the cous cous and crumb. crush the walnuts into small pieces and add them too. Combine well.

3) Pour stuffing into the tofu line colander and press firmly.

4)Tip the colander onto a baking tray so that the whole body slips out and carefully peel away the fabric careful not too peel off any tofu. This is your turkey body.

5)Mould the body so one end is more narrow than the other and take some of the extra tofu and shape a neck. Then shape the legs and wings onto the body and use your fingers to smooth over the lines so it looks like one single object. (I find google image searching "roast Turkey" helps with this lol). Don't be disheartened if it doesn't quite look right, my first attempt looked like a turtle! In the end its the thought that counts

6)Using a pastry brush generously lather the marinade all over the turkey and place fresh sprigs of rosemary on it. Use about half the marinade.

7)Bake in a preheated oven at 200 degrees Celsius for about 40 mins taking care to baste the tofurkey every 10 mins until the marinade is all used up.

Leave to stand for ten mins before eating!!

Easiest to cut it like a cake as taht way you get an even tofurkey to stuffing ratio. Best with some vegan gravy! (the instant brown onion one works a treat)

Chickpea cutlets

Apologies for no posts in ages. You know how life gets away on you sometimes. Anyways, the other day foodblog got contacted by Taste of New Zealand inviting us to meet some celebrity chefs cause they love our work. Not too sure of the details but that's very exciting for us!! It has motivated us all to post more because we have been pretty negligent lately... Also, summer is almost here which means I go on holiday and will have way more time! And T & J are opening a new bar which means more food and drink recipes are on their way. its all very exciting. Anyways, here's a favourite at the moment. Try it out and let me know how it goes. YUMMMMMM!

Chickpea cutlets

A friend of mine linked this recipe to me and I tried it one night when we have some people over. Now I'm crazy about them and it seems all my friends are too! I cannot take credit for this (original link at end of page) but I have altered it a bit. These are delicious and great for non meat and meat eaters alike. The gluten give them a nice chewy texture and the chickpeas give them a delicious flavour. Great source of protein too! Hope you enjoy and get creative with them!

1 can chickpeas or 1.5 cup chickpeas cooked

4 cloves garlic
1TBSP Sesame oil
1 cup gluten flour

Bit of salt and lots of pepper
1 cup plain breadcrumbs (use storebought)
1 TBSP cumin
1 tsp paprika
1 tsp grated lemon zest

1/2 cup water
2TBSP soy sauce

1 egg- beaten or soymilk if vegan

More breadcrumbs and sesame seeds

Heat chickpeas in microwave for 1 min in brine. Then drain and rinse and chuck in a food processor. Add Garlic and oil and blitz for a few pulses until you have small chunks of chickpeas (you don’t want to end up with a paste so check it after every pulse). Transfer to a bowl and add flour, crumbs, spices and zest. Mix well. Then add the liquids and mix with a spoon until you get a dough like consitenancy. Knead for a few mintues until the gluten starts getting stringy. Separate into palm sized balls and then flatten.

Dip each one into the beaten egg or soymilk until covered and then coat in breadcrumbs and seasame seeds. Easiest way is to pour ½ c of breadcrumbs and 1/4c seeds onto a small plate and then drop coated pattie on each side in the mix.

Then fry for a couple of mins on each side until the coating browns. To cook thoroughly don’t make patties too thick. Also you can press down on them using your spatula.

Put on a plate with a papertowl to squeeze out excess oil.

Eat warm in burders or with mash. So meaty!!

Also can be frozen for later or even cooked on the bbq. YUMMO!

Source: http://www.theppk.com/2010/11/doublebatch-chickpea-cutlets/

Red Velvet Cupcakes

Last weekend T'nealle and I did a stall at the Gapfiller Fair and the cupcakes I made were quite a hit! We also sold clothes, crafts and lots of other baking. Almost all the baking sold out and most of the other stuff was sold too. A very successful and fun day. Thanks Gapfiller!

(Foodblog at the Gapfiller fair)

Red velvet cakes always intrigued me so I did a little research and discovered they are from Southern USA and the red is just food colouring which seems a little pointless to me but with the cocoa they come out a beautiful maroon colour.

This recipe is an amalgamation of a few recipes I found online. I have tried it twice now so it should be pretty accurate now.

Red Velvet Cupcakes

3 cups white flour
5 tbsp Cocoa powder
2 tsp Baking powder
1 tsp Baking soda
½ tsp Salt
4 tsp Red food colouring.
1 tsp White vinegar
1 tsp Vanilla extract
1½ cups Sugar
½ cup Butter or margarine
1 egg

1 cup Buttermilk

Prepare 2 muffin tins by lining them with cupcake cups or lightly greasing them

Preheat your oven to 180°C

Sift flour, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda and salt into a mixing bowl.

Add food colouring, vinegar and vanilla to a seperate bowl and whisk / blend.

With an electric mixer mix together sugar and butter, then add egg, mixing well. Now mix in dry ingredients in 4 additions alternately with buttermilk mixture in 3 additions. Add a little extra buttermilk if mixture is too dry.

Bake for about 15 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean when skewered.

Once cool you can ice them!

Combine 1/3 c margarine and 3/4 c cream cheese with an electric beater. add icing sugar gradually using the beater to mix it in until you a thick consistency. I estimate it takes about 2 cups.

Spoon into a piping bag with a star nozle and aply to each cake in a spiral motion starting from the outside with a large dollop in the middle.

Optional- melt chocolate in a double boiler and pip into nice shapes on some baking paper using a thin line nozzle. refrigerate for 2 hours or until hard. gently ease off paper using a thin metal spatula and arrange on the icing as a nice decoration.

Enjoy!

These last about 4 days if kept in an airtight container.

Baked Orange Cheesecake

This a simple baked cheesecake recipe I devised last night. Its based on the traditional New York cheesecakes with a citrus flavour. I love using marscapone but it is hard to find in New Zealand so riccota will also work. If you want to make the base more interesting you can add some rolled oats and coconut but for a cake like this i prefer it to be simple.

If you are feeling extra indulgent then you can make an orange caramel sauce to go on top!

Crust:

1 packet of wine biscuits

3 Tbsp margarine

Filling:

2 eggs separated

1 250g punnet of marscapone or riccota cheese

1/2 c sugar

1 orange zested and juiced

1tsp vanilla

Crush the biscuits in a food processor, add margarine and mix util it starts to form like a dough. Press the mixture into a pie dish to form a bottom and crush that is about a cm thick. Bake in a 180 degree oven for about 12 mins. Leave the oven on but take out the crust.

To prepare the filling, beat the egg whites until the peaks are stiff. Combine the yolks, cheese, vanilla, sugar, zest and half the juice. fold the egg whites into this mixture and ppou into the prepared crust.

Bake in the oven for about half an hour or until the filling looks solid. it will brown a little and when you shake the dish little it shouldn't wobble.

I try to leave a couple of slices of orange on the top as garnish- an optional caramel sauce can be made as a topping.

Combine 1/3 c of sugar with 2 tbs of water and bring to the boil. allow to boil for 5 mins or so or until the mixture gains an amber colour. add the rest of the orange juice and let simmer for a few more mins. You can do the drop test by dropping one drop in a saucer of cold water to check that it is ready. it the drop solidifies somewhat then the caramel is done.

Remove from heat and allow to cool completely. When the cake is out of the oven, arrange the orange pieces and drizzle the caramel sauce on top.

Can be kept in the fridge for up to 4 days- but I doubt it will last that long!

(Subject enjoying said cake)

Cannelloni!

Pretty proud of this one. Went up to Kowai after the quake and just took what we had in the cupboard and managed to make a pretty decent dinner out of it!

CARROT AND COURGETTE CANNELLONI

A twist on a popular Italian dish- not as rich and full of more veges! Quick and easy to make and delicious! The feta adds a surprisingly creamy element to it.

3 carrots

3 courgettes

6 cloves of garlic

half a packet of feta

1 bottle of passata or 2 cans of diced tomatoes

2 capsicums (any colour)

1 chilli

1 packet of canneloni tubes

Grate the carrots and corguettes, dice the garlic and saute the mixture until the veges are soft. They will release a lot of liquids, thats fine just save it and add it to the sauce.Remove mixture from the heat and transfer to a bowl. Crumble and add the feta to the mixture and let cool.

Thinly slice the capsicum and the chilli- if you don't like spicy food then remove the seeds but i keep them in. In the same frying pan fry up the peppers an hilli until almost soft. Add the tomatoes and let simmer while you stuff the tubes.

By now the mixture should have cooled enough for you to handle it. I use my fingers but a piping bag if you have one is also an option. Stuff the tubes evenly with the filling mixture and assemble in a shallow baking dish in rows (you may have a bit left over- its ok to make a second row above. when all the tubes are full, pour the sauce over everything ensuring that all the tubes are covered so they will cook. Sprinkle cheese on top and if you are feeling adventurous you can put blobs of cream cheese on top of that!

Bake in the oven at 200 degrees for roughly 30 mins or until the pasta is soft when you poke a knife through it.

Leave for 10 mins before serving to allow it all to consolidate so it is easier to serve!

Apologies I did not have my camera on me when making this so no pictures but I will make it again soon and will be sure to add the images then!

Good to be back

Came back to Melbourne to escape the Christchurch chaos of the earthquake. Its nice to be somewhere where everyone isn't always on edge but at the same time I feel for my friends who are still in town and having to face the repercussions (like Fionn being made redundant this morning via text message (brutal!!)).

Uni looks like its going to be off for a few weeks still so I'm going to try and enjoy myself here while I can.

Currently staying in Joff's apartment in the QV right in the centre of the CBD. Lovely view of the public library from here which I plan to visit today- really reret not going there more when I lived here.

Last night Shak picked me up from the airport and we went to go on an adventure with his friend Marc but that turned out to be a bit of a failure with no one else being awake.

His mum made me a delicious salad which I plan to review on foodblog later on. It had candied pecans and pumpkin and goats feta and beetroot and this amazing mustard dressing. SO GOOOOD. Big ups to Mrs Shachter for making me a takeaway dinner!

After dropping my stuff at Joffs we went to find something to do and just as we left QV ran into a couple of french exchange students who were looking for a bar. We tagged along and ended up at Cookie which isn't a very good bar but IS open until 3am on a Tuesday. After one cider I realised that with the time difference it was about 3.30 am an I was pooped after a long day of flying in crappy budget airlines. The French guys were a little annoying too. We were talking about music festivals and one guy was telling us about how he saw Muse and Lenny Kravitz at this big French festival and that was our queue to wrap things up and go home.

After a night sleeping on a cramped couch trying not to wake up Fran who has made the other couch her temporary home I'm feeling not a lively but definitely ken to get out there (which I will do as soon as this is posted)

Now I plan to wander around town, hit my favourite cafes etc today and get that out of the way so I don't have to spend too much time in the CBD. Will try post on here most days with what adventures I get up to.

Quake!

Big quake in Christchurch on Tuesday. I was halfway through a very boring lecture desperately looking for an excuse to leave- that was as good of one as any. At uni it was relatively calm. Some people panicked, but most just filed out and left. But by the time I got into the car the news was already reporting deaths. It took me over an hour and a half to drive what is usually a 10 minute drive. everyone around me looked so haggard. Cars covered in rubble were driving past. I was getting more and more distressed trying to get home. Driving during aftershocks is a pretty surreal. all of the sudden your car shakes side to side and you rock back to forth.

Luckily I came home to a house still standing and all my loved ones are safe and sound. We were one of the first to get power and water back so we have had heaps of friends and some strangers come over to use our power and to sleep somewhere safe. Last time there was a big quake we went out with the "student army" and shoveled silt but this time they seem to have so many helpers I feel like the best I can do is open my doors to anyone who's house didn't make it through as well as ours. Its been great having everyone around us but now the reality is setting in.

The city is in ruin, all the gig venues in town are gone, Christchurch is a small place and these deaths our going to hit our community hard.

I'm going to Melbourne for a couple of weeks, get out of here, have some fun and come back refreshed for when uni starts back.

It will be a trying year for us all as we rebuild our city but I guess there are always opportunities that arise from these sorts of situations. It will be interesting to see what Christchurch becomes after this. Here's hoping that all the gaps left by building will be filled with public spaces, community gardens and sustainable housing. But the current mayor and half the Councillors are either developers or in bed with developers who are never up to any good so I don't have much faith.

Here are a few pics I got of the quake (coming soon). Didn't want to be rubbernecking so didn't take many but there's some good ones here.

UGLY BUDDAS

This is a recipe my friend Andy gave me. I met Andy at Campus A Low Hum. On the last night we stayed up all night and talked about a whole load of crap about our childhood and politics that we didn't really understand (an awesome way to start a friendship FYI). Anyways I told him about Foodblog and he shared with me his own recipe. When his band came down to play a show in Chch I made them all dinner and I made these.

They are very easy and tasty. Feel free to tweak the recipe and add any of your favourite pizza topping in them.

1 packet of puff pastry (Pams do a pre rolled one which makes it easy)
a small can of tomato paste.
Cheese (I used mozzarella to be legit)

I also used Homemade pesto
tomatoes
pinenuts

but any pizza toppings can be used.

optional- sesame seeds

roll out the pastry, spread the tomato paste across it. sprinkle cheese over it and the toppings. roll up width-ways. slice inch thick slices. put on a greased baking tray on their side so they can puff out. Brush with water and sprinkle sesame seeds on top. Bake in a 190 degree oven for 20 mins or until the pastry browns.

Enjoy!!

Can be eaten hot out of the oven or they will keep for a couple of days. Also good if you freeze them and pop one in your lunch box every morning. Yummo- Thanks Andy!

Thai Pumpkin Soup

My friend Simon recently had to have surgery on his face and couldn't eat anything but soup. I took this as an opportunity to make my favourite pumpkin soup. Because its summer soup isn't really on my agenda but this one is perfect even in the heat!

I love having it really spicy and chunky because often people label soup as not a real meal but this one will definitely satisfy you.

Thai Pumpkin soup

1 small pumpkin peels and chopped into small pieces

2 onions (diced)

6 cloves of garlic (finely diced)

3-5 chilis (depending on how hot you want it)

1tbsp grated ginger

2 tsp vege stock powder

1 can coconut cream

Split red lentils (optional)

1/3 c fresh coriander

2tbsp lime juice

Boil the pumpkin until it is soft (Can also microwave it). Fry up the onions, garlic, chilli and ginger until soft and fragrant. Using a potato masher or a whizz stick break down the pumpkin (leaving most of the water it was boiled in- how much depends on how thin you want it). I tend to leave a few lumps in the soup but if you like it smooth then whizz it lots- careful it can get messy! Add the onion mixture and mix well. Simmer soup for a while until you feel all the flavours have mixed. Add a can of coconut cream, the stock and half the coriander finely chopped. Mix every couple of minutes. If the soup is too runny you can add some split red lentil to thicken it. After about 20mins the soup should be ready and the lentils cooked. Add the rest of the coriander, the lime juice and if you want a little more ginger.

If the soup is very thick it is nice to serve with rice. I like to drizzle some coconut cream on top and eat it with bread. YUM!

Simon said it was the best soup he had receoved and he'd gotten about 4 kinds of soups so I'm pretty stoked with that critique.

Bananananana LOAF

We went to Campus A Low Hum and it was amazing. Go figure. But the night before I stayed up til 2am making treats to eat. They were very handy- especially for that 2am regroup at the campsite. This is one of the recipes I made. A couple more are coming up soon!

Banana Loaf is the best! Its so easy and yummy and a great way to use bananas that are overripe or frozen ones. Its nice on its own or with spreads or toasted when its stale.

Banana Loaf

2 ½ c flour (white or wholewheat is good depending on personal preference)

1 c sugar

3 tsp baking powder

1tsp cinnamon

2-3 mashed bananas

3 tbsp oil

1/2cmilk

Sift together dry ingredients. Add mashed bananas and oil and half the milk. Mix together. Add rest of milk or if still too dry add a little more milk. Poor into a loaf tin. Bake on 180 for about 30 mins or until knife comes out clean.

Can be frozen in slices so you can make it last longer. If you leave it for a few days and its stale it will make amazing French toast!

Postscript: At camp we had it with peanut butter spread on it,.AMAZING!!!!

Pie pie pie

Spicy Vege Pie

A pie is always a nice thing to make for guests- looks impressive but it relatively easy. I love combining lots of fresh veges and spices in pastry. Delish!

With this one feel free to substitute with any veges you have lying around but the ones I used all went together very well. You can make your own pastry but I find puff pastry a little cumbersome and you can pick up a packet from the supermarket for under $2.

2 Onions

2 Peppers (red and green)

1/4 of a pumpkin

1 1/2 c tomatoes or canned tomatoes

2 c Spinach (frozen ok)

Feta (optional)

1/2 tsp cayenne pepper or chilli

1 tsp dry basil

1 tsp smoked paprika

1 Pkt pastry (Pams ist he best or your own)

milk or egg for brushing the pastry

sesame or sunflower seeds

Finely slice the onions and gently fry. Dice peppers, pumpkin and tomatoes to bite size pieces, shred the spinach.

Add to the onions and fry until almost soft. Add spices and feta and take off the heat. Roll out 2/3 of pastry to cover the base and side of your oiled pie dish, fill with vege mix, roll out other 3rd and lay on top. Wet your fingers and press the two parts together (the water helps the two sides stick together). Prick the top with a fork a few times. Brush with milk of oil (gives the pastry a nice colour) and sprinkle with the seeds. Bake for 40 mins or until top browns. Let cool for 20 mins before serving so the filling can solidify.

Orange Almond Syrup Cake

I had this once at a cafe and it was amazing so I ended up replicating it and now its one of my favourite recipes to bring to dinner parties and BBQs. Its important you pour the syrup on while it's still hot so it sinks in and makes the whole cake gooey.

Orange Almond Syrup Cake

2c Flour
3tsp baking powder

3/4c sugar
1-2 oranges (depends how juicy they are)
1½ tsp almond essence
32Tbsp light oil
1 egg
Milk (if needed)

Syrup
1 orange
2 Tbsp sugar

Pre heat oven to 180c. Sift flour and baking powder, add sugar. Juice oranges and grate the rind. Make a well in the dry mixture. Pour in orange juice and rind, essence, egg and oil. Mix until combined. Add milk if needed to get a thick batter consistency. Not too thin or cake will take too long to cook on the inside. Pour into oiled cake tin. Bake for 30 mins or until knife comes out clean. Prepare syrup by heating orange juice and sugar and mixing. This can be done in a microwave or on the stove. The juice will turn translucent when sugar has dissolved. While cake is still hot in tin, pour syrup and let cool

Enjoy!

A summer treat!

My dad is an organic grower which means every summer I get inundated with hoards of beautiful and fresh organic veges. The most exciting thing I think is the amount of basil I get my hands on. The only thing I ever use it for is to make pesto (except Bloody Marys- but that's another post coming soon!).

This recipe is easy and can be frozen so you can relive the summer deliciousness when it grey and dreary in the winter. I like to eat it on spaghetti or linguine with fried courgettes on top and a good dose of grated Parmesan or Grano Padano cheese. Also amazing in toasted cheese sandwiches!


Basil Pesto

2 cups of basil leaves (stalks removed and washed)
3 cloves of garlic
2 TBSP olive oil
1/4 c pine nuts
1/4 c Parmesan
Salt and lots of pepper

Put into a small food processor or use a whizz stick in a deep dish to whizz the crap out of it all. Whizz on a high sped to get a smooth consistency. Serve immediately or seal in an airtight container. Will keep in the fridge for up to 5 days or in the freezer for up to 3 months. You will notice it oxidize very quickly if there isn't much oil in it but the bright green colour remains underneath that dark layer.

You only need about 4 TBSP for a decent pasta dish. it should cover all the noodles in a thin layer but don't use too much or it will be overpowering.

If you are broke and can't afford pine nuts roasted sunflower seeds work too but lack that punch that pinenuts give.

Another idea (thanks T) is to freeze it in ice trays and just use a couple of cubes at a time. 1 cube could be good for a sandwich and 3-4 for a pasta dish.

Welcome

This blog is something I have been meaning to do for quite some time now. I will mainly fill it with recipes and craft/ gardening projects and the occasional tidbit. Expect this to be very prolific around exam times (I am a very skilled procrastinator by now)and very ad hoc the rest of the time. Once I get a working camera the posts will have nice pictures to accompany them. Well here's hoping the next one isn't too far off!

Good day to you.