Recipe For Change

I recently participated in an event called 'Recipe for Change', a campaign organised by 1 Million Women. It's about changing your lifestyle to reduce waste and pollution, save energy and save money. I discovered some great ideas to reduce food waste and wanted to share some tips which you can start right away, you may already be doing some, which is great!

Plan your meals and write a shopping list – check what ingredients you already have in the cupboard and only get extras you need.

FIFO first in first out – when putting ingredients in the fridge/freezer/pantry move older ingredients to the front so these get used up before the expiry date.

Compost or get a worm farm – you don’t need to buy something expensive from the shop, try making a DIY compost bin. This provides fantastic food for your plants and if you don’t have space outdoors get one that you can store under the kitchen sink.

Be creative - before throwing out food consider what else it can be used for – broccoli stalks or ageing celery can be used to create vegetable stock, over ripe fruit can be used to make smoothies and stale bread can be wizzed into breadcrumbs.

Portions - serve smaller meals and freeze leftovers, or create a yummy leftovers sandwich for the next day.

Grow your own food, gardening is therapeutic and you will save money by reaping the rewards of your edible garden.

Reduce food miles by shopping at local famers markets. This produce will last you longer because it’s fresher too!

Bag free - invest in reusable shopping bags to avoid using plastic bags. Where possible buy products with minimal packaging or recycled packaging. Ecosilk bags are my favourite as they fold up really small and are made from super strong parachute silk.

Store food properly and use food safe practices to ensure your food lasts.

Here is a quick recipe which users stale bread, perfect for an indulgent weekend brekky.

French Toast with banana and frozen berries

serves 2

3 eggs, lightly beaten
1/2 cup cream
1 tsp vanilla essence
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
4 slices thick day old bread
2 tablespoons butter
1/2 cup frozen berries, thawed
1 banana, sliced
Pure maple syrup
1 tbsp icing sugar

1. Combine eggs, milk, vanilla, and cinnamon in a large jug. Whisk with a fork until well combined. Pour mixture into a shallow bowl.

2. Dip bread slices in milk mixture until well soaked. Heat butter in a large frying pan over medium heat until bubbling. Add soaked bread. Fry for 1-2 minutes each side or until golden.

3. Place French toast on plates, serve with banana, berries, maple syrup and dust with icing sugar.

If you have any more tips to reduce food waste please share in comments below.

Passionfruit Cheesecake with Homemade Shortbread

It's been one year since I started this blog so I thought I'd bake something sweet to celebrate. Good excuse right?

There are many different approaches for making the classic dessert - cheesecake, my favourite is the fruity and baked variety. Passionfruit are available in Australia all year round, however they are in season and most affordable from December to April.

I love the gorgeous deep purple and red flesh inside the Passionfruit and glossy, golden pulp, perfect for decorating a fruit salad or baked treats.

In this recipe I have made my own shortbread base which is super easy. If you don't want to make your own, crushed up biscuits and butter work just as well.

Passionfruit Cheesecake with Homemade Shortbread

makes 4 x 200ml ramekins or 1 x 20cm flan tin

Shortbread base
100g butter
2 tbsp caster sugar
3/4 cup plain flour
1/4 cup rice flour

Filling
250g cream cheese
1/2 cup sour cream
1 tbs lemon juice
1 cup caster sugar
1 tsp vanilla essence
2 eggs

Topping
6 Passionfruit
1 tsp arrowroot
40ml water

1. Preheat oven to 200°C. Grease ramekins or line with baking paper (if you would like to remove from the ramekin to serve).

2. Combine shortbread mixture in food processor until it forms fine crumbs. Press into base of ramekins and bake for about 15 minutes or until golden. Remove from oven to cool. Reduce oven to 150°C.

3. To make the filling beat cream cheese, sour cream, lemon juice and caster sugar until smooth. Add vanilla essence and eggs, beat again. Pour into ramekins leaving 1cm to the top. Bake for 25 minutes.

4. Remove pulp from Passionfruit and add to saucepan, heat, stirring until slightly simmering and frothy. Combine arrowroot and water and add to Passionfruit to thicken. Stir for 2 minutes over heat until thick and syrupy. Leave to cool.

5. Turn oven off and leave cheesecakes in oven to cool so they don't collapse or split. Add cooled Passionfruit topping and refrigerate for a couple hours to set.

6. Serve with ice-cream and fresh berries.

Happy Birthday Delicious Moments!

Australian Favourites

Australia Day is on its way, whether you’re planning an alfresco lunch, classic barbecue, cricket in the back yard, cooling off with a pool party or picnic in the park, let’s relax and enjoy the summer sun.

This is a very simple recipe for Sausage Rolls with pork, lamb and some veggies to make them a little bit healthier than your average treat wrapped in pastry. You can freeze them in advance and are fun to make with kids. For are vegetarian option replace the pork and lamb with some spinach and ricotta, which is also delicious.

Sausage Rolls
500g pork mince
200g lamb mince
1 onion, finely diced
1 clove garlic, finely diced
1 carrot, grated
1 zucchini, grated
1/2 cup parsley, chopped
1 cup breadcrumbs (I keep crusts, freeze them then wizz in food processor)
Sea salt & cracked pepper
1 tsp curry powder
1 egg
3 sheets puff pastry
sesame seeds to sprinkle on top before baking

Makes 30

1. Preheat oven to 200°C. Line baking trays with baking paper.

2. Mix both minces, onion, garlic, carrot, zucchini, parsley, breadcrumbs, curry powder, salt and pepper together. Whisk 1 egg and add half to mince mixture, keep the rest to brush pastry.

3. Slice pastry sheets in half. Roll mince mixture into a log and lay out in centre of pastry. You'll need 6 portions of mince to fill pastry sheets.

4. Brush edges with egg and enclose filling. Slice into 5 pieces and place on baking trays. Brush with egg and sprinkle with sesame seeds.

5. Bake for 20 minutes, reduce heat to 180°C, and cook for a further 10 minutes until golden.

Sunday Schnitzels

It's Sunday afternoon - what better way to relax than with a refreshing cocktail. I recently ventured over to Paddington, one of my favourite spots for food, drink, vintage shopping or a stroll around the leafy suburbs. One particular place which I love to visit for a luscious cocktail is the The Lark, on Given Terrace.

Nestled between many trendy shops and restaurants this gorgeous converted two story cottage offers innovative cocktails, a great wine selection by the glass and tasty share food. Launched in 2007 by Perry Scott, talented bartender previously of The Bowery, Lychee Lounge and London’s Match Bar Group, The Lark is unique and has received many rave reviews.

Sunday’s at The Lark also happen to be the very popular ‘Schnitzel Sundays’ with three great value schnitzels on offer alongside the regular menu.

The courtyard area is perfect for summer time alfresco dining, and on this particular warm Sunday arvo I welcomed sitting outdoors with the breeze.

I ordered a 'Strummer', which was the official cocktail of the Splendour in the Grass Festival; ingredients are vodka, falernum syrup, passionfruit, lime, ginger beer, topped with aromatic bitters. Falernum syrup has flavours of ginger, clove almond and lime, originating in Barbados it was widely used in the Caribbean. That’s my food trivia for the day. I requested gin instead of vodka, and it was just what I wanted on a hot day, icy and fresh, but not too sweet.

I love the crumbed variety of schnitzel so ordered the 'Russian' - crumbed pork, stuffed with Dijon mustard, caramelised onion and served with potato chips. It was a big serving, but I eagerly cleaned my plate with no room for dessert.

My dining companion chose the Florentina Schnitzel which is veal stuffed with spinach, gratinated with tomatoes and manchego cheese served with roast potatoes. We also ordered an Avocado salad with Buffalo Feta, fresh basil, rocket and soft poached egg, which perfectly combined the fresh basil and rocket with the soft creaminess of feta and oozing egg yolk.

All in all it was a very satisfying meal to enjoy on a lazy Sunday. Although I had no room for dessert on this occasion I can vouch for the Lark's dark chocolate fondant with amaretto liqueur cream. So if you're looking for a place to impress a date or catch up with friends the Lark is a great spot just out of the city.

Edible Chrismas Gifts

I recently participated in an event called 'Recipe for Change', a campaign organised by 1 Million Women. It's about changing your lifestyle to reduce waste and pollution, save energy and save money. I'll do a post on it soon as I discovered some great ideas to live more sustainably which you can do too!

One of my suggestions was to make your own Christmas presents as this time of year can be very wasteful purchasing gifts, wrapping paper, decorations, food etc.

Here are two recipes of edible gifts you can make yourself without having to fight the crowds at the shopping centres, save money and recycle. I've been saving jars all year and have recycled them to make candles, marmalade, Dukkah and Granola.

There are many different versions of Dukkah, a very aromatic Egyptian spice blend, this is my take on it:

Egyptian Dukkah
2/3 cup hazelnuts
1/2 cup pine nuts
1/2 cup sesame seeds
2 tbs coriander seeds
2 tbs cumin seeds
2 tsp freshly ground black pepper
1 tsp flaked sea salt

1. Preheat oven to 180°C. Toast hazelnuts on a baking tray for about 15 mins, be careful not to burn.

2. Remove from oven and let cool, once cooled rub to remove as much skin as possible.

3. Place hazelnuts and pine nuts in a food processor until coarsely chopped. Transfer to a bowl.

4. Heat a medium frying pan over medium heat. Add the sesame seeds and cook, stirring, for 1-2 minutes. Add to bowl with nuts.

5. Fry coriander and cumin seeds in the same way as sesame seeds until aromatic. Transfer to a mortar and pestle and pound to a fine grind. Add to the rest of the mixture and combine. Transfer to jars using a funnel.

Dukkah can be served with olive oil and crusty bread or as a season for meat or vegetables.

Granola is fantastic with yoghurt and with all these nuts and seeds is pretty good for you. Thanks to my friend Bec for sharing this recipe with me:

Granola
2 cups rolled oats
5 cups puffed millet (this can be found in the health food section of the supermarket)
1 cup whole almonds
1/2 cup sunflower seeds
1/2 cup pumpkin seeds
1 cup shredded coconut
1 1/4 cups maple syrup (good quality, not maple flavoured)
1/2 cup rice bran oil
1/2 cup water
1 tblsp brown sugar
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp vanilla essence
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp nutmeg

1. Pre heat oven to 150°C and grease two baking trays

2. Combine, oats, puffed millet, almonds seeds and coconut in a large bowl.

3. Heat rice bran oil, maple syrup, water, sugar, vanilla, nutmeg and cinnamon in a saucepan until it boils, stirring constantly.

4. Pour over dry ingredients and mix.

5. Spread onto baking trays and cook in oven for 1 hour. You may need to swap trays and stir mixture intermittently depending on your oven.

6. Reduce temp to 140°C and continue cooking for another hour until golden.  Turn oven off and leave overnight in oven to dry out.

You can decorate jars with handmade gift tags. This is a very thoughtful gift that is kind to the environment.

Hope this inspires you to get creative this Christmas.x

Brandy Brownie Pops

This is a twist on my regular brownie recipe to create cake pops or brownie pops! I made these for an early Christmas lunch today. They are very rich and perfect for a Christmas dessert or even to give as gifts.

Brandy Brownie Pops
100g butter, chopped
300g dark chocolate (for brownie mix)
400g dark chocolate (to melt and coat brownie balls)
1 cup brown sugar
3 eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
3/4 cup plain flour
1/3 cup cocoa
30ml brandy (rum would also work well)
150g chocolate sprinkles
you will also need wooden skewers and half a polystyrene ball

1. Preheat oven to 170°C/150°C fan forced.

2. Melt butter and 300g dark chocolate in saucepan over low heat. Set aside to cool for 5 mins.

3. Stir in sugar, eggs, vanilla extract and brandy.

4. Add sifted flour and cocoa.

5. Pour mixture into rectangle slice tin lined with baking paper. Bake for 30 mins covered with foil, bake for a further 10 mins uncovered. Ideally the brownies should still be moist inside.

6. Remove from oven and let cool for approx 1 hour. Once cooled break up into small pieces in large bowl or wizz in a food processor.

7. Roll mixture into small balls and refrigerate.8. Melt 100g dark chocolate in a heatproof bowl over a saucepan half-filled with simmering water. Stir with a metal spoon constantly.

9. Dip the end of wooden skewer in chocolate then insert into a brownie ball. Stick into polystyrene ball. Repeat with remaining balls. Refrigerate for 15 mins to keep firm.

10. Place chocolate sprinkles in a bowl or plate. Melt remaining dark chocolate. Dip brownie pops into the melted chocolate, turning to coat. Dip into chocolate sprinkles and roll to coat. Insert the brownie pop in the polystyrene and return to refrigerator to set. Tie a ribbon around sticks when ready to serve.

Makes 30

Merry Christmas!

Vive la Rosé Revolution

Celebrating dry Rosé wines, the Rosé Revolution aims to bring our palates into summer with gorgeous pink, savoury wines.

Forget the sickly sweet Rosé wines you may have tasted, the ones which taste like raspberry cordial. There are some fantastic Rosé drops made by winemakers all over the world, they're complex, savoury and sophisticated, perfect for summer drinking and also make brilliant food matches.

I was lucky enough to attend a launch party tasting at Cover Bar + Dining, River Quay. I'm a huge fan of the new dining precinct, right on the river in South Bank. There are five restaurants in this intimate and stylish location, situated at the southern end of the river front promenade.

Cove, a contemporary oyster and champagne bar, is in prime position and stands out with its gorgeous bar constructed from 231 vintage drawers.

The wines were matched with divine, freshly shucked Coffin Bay oysters.  Here is a quick rundown of my tasting experience at Cove.

2010 Jamsheed “Jose the Rosé” Yarra Valley - 50% Syrah and 50% Pinot Noir, this was one of my favourites.  Pretty pink with a slight orange tint, it's quite dry on the palate with fresh berry fruit flavours.

2011 Kellybrook Yarra Valley - made from Cabernet Sauvignon grapes, another dry style with strawberries and cream aroma.

2010 Domaines Ott “Domaniers” Provence, France - Syrah and Grenache grapes are balanced perfectly with flavours of stone fruit and orange.

2011 Woodstock McLaren Vale - hot pink, this wine is slightly sweet, and tastes like Turkish delight, which I love. Predominately Grenache, with some Shiraz and Cabernet Sauvignon, this would go great with some spicy Thai food.

2011 Red Claw ‘Pink Claw’ Mornington Peninsula - this variety made from Pinot Noir grapes was created by Yabby Lake to help raise breast cancer awareness and a portion of profits from every bottle are donated to the Breast Cancer Network.

2011 Alta ‘for Elsie’ Pinot Noir Rosé, Adelaide Hills - another Pinot Noir variety it tastes of berries and has a soft, dry finish.

2011, Chateau Pierre-Bise “Cabernet d’Anjou, Loire, France - this one was quite sweet, almost like a dessert wine with honey flavours, it went well with the cheeses we were treated to at the end of the evening. I'd also like to make special mention of the Chef's Pumpkin & Currant Marmalade, made in house with figs, shallots and orange zest.

Cove will have a brilliant selection of rosé available until the 14th of February if you'd like to experience some different styles yourself. Or you can check out the Rosé Revolution website for other pink inspired events.  There are also some great prizes to be won if you take a pic of yourself drinking Rosé over the next few months.

Happy quaffing.x

Images courtesy of Cove Bar & Dining