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Crunchy Peanut Butter Oat Cookies
2010-10-30 04:25:00
Ever notice how a homemade cookie kicks the crumbs of a store-bought one? I notice it all the time and despite all my efforts to have a batch of homemade cookies on hand at all times, I take the easy route and buy [gasp!] a packet of biscuits or a bag of cookies from the local Cookieman store. One of the reasons for turning my back on homemade cookies was a recent cookie baking disaster which I promptly fault the recipe for. Another was lack of time and yet another was the extreme state of fussiness my boys had descended into.    Then out came the sun [well, not literally; the weather is as drab as they come towards the wane of winter in Sydney] and my first-born proclaimed that he would like me to make some yummy cookies. This time I turned to a book I have used and  swear by, Michele Cranston’s Comfort from the Marie Claire Series of cookbooks. I added in some extra fibre in the form of rolled oats and the peanut butter cookies were very very nice indeed. &nb...
More About: Peanut , Cookies

Chana Masala – North Indian Spicy Chickpeas
2010-10-29 02:48:00
Masquerading under the moniker of Chola Bhatura, the quintissential street food king of Punjabi cuisine is the humble Chana Masala which loosely translates to North Indian Spicy Chickpeas, well not really. It basically means Spicy Chickpeas, I just added the North Indian bit. I have always loved this very fragrant, very spicy dish. It is responsible for my love affair with the mighty chickpea. My mum used to make this with a lot of love and care, slowly simmered over low to medium heat for almost 2 hours and it was absolutely gorgeous in its complexity and flavours. She always soaked the chickpeas overnight with a dash of bicarbonate of soda or baking powder. And I continued that tradition for a long time before I developed the ease of canned chickpeas. Shame on me! Because, I do believe that dry chickpeas that are soaked impart a more robust, more authentic flavour to this wonderful dish than the canned chickpeas swimming in some sticky liquid (which has to be completely rinsed of...

Wholemeal Rosemary And Raisin Rounds
2010-10-11 03:50:00
We started a compost bin in our backyard last week and have been watching our veggie, fruit and herb patch grow as the weather warms up here in Sydney. I have been experimenting with wholefoods and heathier snacking options over the past few weeks and having been putting my rice bran oil bottle to good use.  A recipe for wholemeal rosemary cookies in the Australian Women’s Weekly Cookie cookbook has been nagging me for a while and this weekend I decided to make it healthier by making my own tweaks. This cookie is incredibly light, wonderfully crunchy and has a burst of different flavours and textures in every bite. I cannot even begin to explain the amount of anti-oxidants and fiber each cookie has. It makes you feel wholesome and good, almost like eating a home made muesli bar, but with little green flecks of freshly chopped rosemary leaves that give it an amazing flavour. There is orange peel, rosemary, coconut, oats, walnuts and raisins in this little power packed nib...
More About: Raisin

Buttermilk Banana Walnut Bread
2010-09-30 04:29:00
As bakers, we underestimate the value of having a frozen loaf of a delicious cake or bread in the freezer. A frozen slab of something spongy and fluffy, just waiting to be heated or toasted in the oven will cure those midday blues and save your skin when you have to magically conjure up a treat for unexpected guests late one evening.  In addition to vowing to replenish my cookie jar every week with freshly baked cookies, I have decided to bake a bulk lot of some bread to have as a backup in my freezer. As I have mentioned before that there is no lack of overripe bananas at any given time in this household, different kinds of banana breads and cakes seem like the most logical thing to bake.   Today I doubled a basic banana bread recipe from Marie Claire’s Kitchen cookbook. I wasn’t sure how the doubling would work and I was right, the batter was a tad dry. So I added some fresh buttermilk. I divided the batter in 3 parts. I baked a big loaf of plain banana brea...
More About: Banana , Bread , Walnut

Cornflake Choc Chip Cookies
2010-09-14 08:16:00
Finding a cookie recipe that is like a blank canvas that you can paint  on with different colours every single time is like finding the treasure at the end of the rainbow, rare but so worth it. The recipe I am about to share is that blank canvas for me.    I found this recipe in a very old cooking magazine, late 90s I think. It looked relatively easy, so I made it and it was the perfect crumbly cookie recipe a baker could ask for. I loved it even more because it didn’t have egg as an ingredient, which meant my cookies would be crisp and would not go bad for a very long time, if they managed to survive being eaten for that long.  Looking at the ingredients, I felt that the two main stars of the recipe "cornflakes" and "chocolate chips" could be easily replaced for other ingredients to get variations and I was right. So began a week long cookie fest to fill up my Maxwell & Williams’ Old English Cookie Jar.      &...
More About: Cookies

Baker’s Delight Cape Seed Loaf Recipe Review And Giveaway
2010-09-13 07:01:00
I must be very honest here. I had never tried the Baker’s Delight Cape Seed Loaf before receiving an email about its benefits. For the past two years, in my quest of eating healthier and getting fitter, I have switched to a predominantly high fibre, high protein, low-fat and nutritious diet. So reading about the "multi-vitamin" of bread alerted my "always on the lookout for fresh healthy eating options" antenna. Baker’s Delight is Australia’s most successful bakery franchise and their mantra is "If it is not sold today, It is not sold!". I have been buying from Baker’s Delight for almost 5 years and apart from the wicked scones and rolls that their smiling staff serves up, they are always coming up with these delicious and healthy options that make you feel lighter and healthier by just looking at the loaves. The invention of the Baker’s Delight Cape Seed Loaf, their caped crusader as they call it, is perfect for Spring. Th...
More About: Recipe , Review

Healthy Cardamom Teacake
2010-09-11 11:45:00
For almost a year I have stored in my pantry a bottle of rice bran oil that happened to be in one of the show bags at the Good Food And Wine Show. We are prolific olive oil users in this house with the exception of chili oil and sesame oil for asian cuisine. So rice bran oil just sits there all by itself not knowing what to do with itself.   Over the recent weeks, I have undertaken the extremely fun task of emptying my pantry of long forgotten [but still edible] ingredients and using them to make my weekly cooking adventures more interesting. This exercise not only ensures that we have something fresh and exciting every single night for dinner, but also saves some dollars. I came across a recipe for Cardamom teacake in a recent cooking magazine. How can you not make something that sounds as fragrant as a cardamom teacake, right? And then I saw rice bran oil on the ingredient list and I was whisking and beating within minutes.   I swapped some ingredients and in...
More About: Healthy

Simple Onion And Rosemary Focaccia
2010-08-23 07:04:00
Rosemary is a beautiful herb and it grows like a weed. My front yard has a sparse rosemary bush with leaves as fine as needles. My backyard on the other end has a lush, native variety of rosemary that has thrived in the past 2 years with flushes of beautiful blue flowers and is now the proud parent of 6 little rosemary bushes that have sprung from cuttings I took. An interesting little fact that not a lot of people know is the importance of rosemary and Anzac Day in Australia. After the battle of Gallipoli, there were no flowers in the sparse terrain surrounding the graves. The only greenery around was rosemary bushes and so that was used to adorn the graves. As a remembrance of that time, sprigs of rosemary are worn on Anzac Day. Winter truly set in this time. I believe it was colder than last year. On the onset of July in 2010, we had our coldest day yet with sleet on our skylights and windscreens as temperatures dropped to 1 degree. Nothing says winter like open fires and warm, c...
More About: Simple

Apple Fritter Donuts
2010-08-03 01:14:00
My first taste of apple fritters was when Nick was trying to charm my socks off back in 1995. It was the first thing he ever cooked for me. As I watched him wield a whisk and crack eggs on the rim of the bowl, I knew I had found a keeper. The fritters were golden to a perfection and by the time he finished plating them with a dusting of sugar, I literally had stars in my eyes. They remain till date, the best fritters I have ever had. And Nick has not made them in almost 15 years. That is why I savour truly special sights, tastes and moments. You never know if you’ll ever experience them again. This is my version of that glorious apple fritter, an ode to that confining moment of our relationship. I call it a donut, because that is exactly what it looks like and the kids find it amusing that a donut has an apple inside.   recipe APPLE FRITTER DONUTS Preparation Time – 20 minutes | Cooking Time – 10 minutes | Serves 4 Ingredients 1/4 cup cornflour 1...
More About: Apple

Have You Ever Had A Crab Muffin?
2010-07-14 02:54:00
I had never had a crab muffin till insanity struck earlier today as I prepared to make cheese, corn and bacon muffins like my friend Petra makes. The story behind those muffins is a long one but to sum it up, Petra made these delicious savoury muffins for a toy-clean up session at our local playgroup a couple of years ago. It was the first time I had met her and she stuck in my head, mainly because she is a lovely lady but also because she introduced me to the wonderful world of savoury muffins. Believe it or not, I had only sampled sweet and gooey muffins right up till that day. After I got back home that day, I had to try the muffins out. I just had to. So I did and began a month long obsession of whipping up savoury muffins of all kinds. A few years passed and every time I made a savoury muffin, I thought of Petra. I find it amazing how some people touch your lives by the simplest acts and gestures and never realise it. Earlier this year, I regrouped with her because both our f...
More About: Crab

Green Eggs And Ham
2008-03-18 00:00:00
Have you seen Horton? I mean, have you really taken a long, good look at him? Beside the fact that he is the cutest animated elephant I have ever seen, he also manages to resemble Jim Carrey a bit....
More About: Eggs , Green

Rose Petal Ice Cream
2008-03-11 00:00:00
Roses grow in abundance in India. The concept of using fresh roses in cooking is probably as ancient as Indian cooking itself. A favourite ingredient to spike delicate desserts for the Rajahs and Maharajahs, rose; its aroma and flavour...
More About: Ice Cream , Rose , Cream

Things I am loving right now - A foodoholic's list for March 2008.
2008-03-11 00:00:00
Autumn is officially here since the onset of March . So while most of the rest of the world gets ready to pack away their woolens and potter out in their spring gardens, we in Australia are dreaming of chilly...
More About: List , Loving , Things , March 2008

A loaf of rustic Ciabatta does an antipasto platter make
2008-03-07 00:00:00
It is the age of artisan breads. They are quite the rage among food bloggers all around the world. I too seem to have been bitten by the bug and want to badly to bake my own loaf, but...
More About: Make

Whisk & Pin Organic Blueberry Pancakes.
2008-03-06 00:00:00
In 2007 I had my first taste of the "Whisk & Pin" products when I came across their stall at the 2007 Sydney Good Food & Wine Show. It is not everyday that you come across an artisan business...
More About: Organic , Pancakes

A buttercake called Mango ....
2008-03-02 00:00:00
I have been baking for a few years now, but it wasn't until recently when I ate a gorgeous buttercake made by a neighbour that i realized the importance of using good quality, no skimping, golden wholesome butter. For...
More About: Mango

My one occasional sin - Oaty Chocolate Caramel Slice
2008-02-28 00:00:00
How many times have you overlooked those little pull-out cards accompanying a product advertisement in a cooking magazine? Well I have plenty of times, until one fine day last year I paused over one that caught my eye. It...
More About: Chocolate , Caramel , Slice

Step By Step : How to make a traditional Pavlova
2008-02-28 00:00:00
Step 1 Line a baking tray with baking paper. Mark a 23 cm circle onto the paper. Use a plate as a guide. Step 2 Beat eggwhites until stiff peaks form or they hold their shape. Use a clean, dry...
More About: Make , Step , Traditional

Thai Pineapple Fried Rice : The textures and flavours
2008-02-21 00:00:00
Nick loves Thai Pineapple Fried Rice , the singular thing on any thai menu that jumps out and calls out to his taste buds. It is a shame then that ever since moving to Sydney he has been searching in...
More About: Fried Rice

Fast Stir-Fry for the kids : Spinach Fried Rice
2008-02-13 00:00:00
Feeding my 4 year old is becoming more and more of a challenge with the ever looming dilemma of trying to sneak in healthy ingredients. Sometimes I wonder why he can't expand his mind's horizon beyond the noodles, yoghurt...
More About: Kids , The Kids , Rice , Fried Rice , Fast

Nick's Lamb Kofta Curry
2008-02-09 00:00:00
For those of you who don't know Nick, he is my significant other and a good cook. He particularly enjoys picking up a cookbook and trying out a new recipe every once in a while. He was the one...
More About: Curry , Lamb

Chunky Chocolate Chip & Cashew Nut Cookies
2008-02-08 00:00:00
While perusing the Australian Women's Weekly "Cookie s " cookbook yesterday, the 'Slice and Bake cookies' caught my eye. Actually it was the photography that drew me to this particular recipe. Who can resist a motley of various shaped glass cookie...
More About: Chocolate , Chip , Chunky

Krups GVS2 Ice Cream Maker Reviewed with Mango & Toasted Coconut Semifreddo
2008-02-08 00:00:00
I was very excited to try the new Krups GVS2 Ice Cream Maker when it arrived the day before. After unpacking and the box and making sure everything was in place, I briefly browsed through the manual. As per...
More About: Mango , Coconut

Hummingbird Cuppycakes with lemon cream cheese frosting
2008-02-05 00:00:00
A couple of months ago I made a Hummingbird cake following a recipe for hummingbird cupcakes. It turned out to be quite scrumptious ... very moist and delectable. Then yesterday with the "The Cuppycake Song" doing its rounds in...
More About: Lemon , Cheese , Cream , Rosti

Snapshots of a Sydney Summer Garden ...
2008-02-02 00:00:00
This summer I was a busy bee in the garden, quite literally. An initial active working period was toned down to make allowance for my lumbering, pregnant self. We made a sandstone bed, smack dab in the center of...
More About: Garden , Summer , Sydney

Heirloom Chocolate Cake with Chocolate Ganache
2008-02-02 00:00:00
Summer is on a slow decline here in Sydney. Thunderstorms cool the spiking temperatures every few days and tease you with the anticipation of autumn. On days like today when the sun is on vacation and there is a...
More About: Cake , Chocolate , Nach

MEAL IDEA OF THE WEEK - Casual Indian Entertaining
2007-12-07 00:00:00
Indian meals are very unique, with the hosts going all out to make their guests feel like royalty ..literally! Even in this day and age of casual dining and entertaining amongst friends and family, when you are invited to...
More About: Indian , Idea , Week , Entertaining , Casual

Little Miss Chocolate Madeleine
2007-11-21 00:00:00
I don't remember whether I have mentioned this before but I have Donna Hay's "Chocolate " cookbook personally signed by her and it is a well put together little cookbook with simple and brilliant recipes and absolutely gorgeous photos. A...
More About: Miss , Madeleine

Green Mango And Prawn Curry
2007-11-21 00:00:00
Rummaging through the vegetable compartment of my fridge today, I saw some shiny eggplants and fresh basil. My mind drawing a blank, I opened the freezer door, staring at the contents in there. Two things that instantly jumped out...
More About: Mango , Green , Curry

Paper Scraps Vol 15 : 5 ways with semi-dried tomatoes
2007-11-14 00:00:00
Don't you just love those 5-ways with and 10-ways with pages in food magazines, packed with brilliant and quick recipe ideas for a pantry staple or for that opened jar in your fridge waiting to die a slow death. Here...
More About: Paper , Semi , Tomatoes , Scraps