Do you like beetroot? I love it any way – fresh, cooked, canned (yes, I know), in burgers, in cakes, in soup, in salads. And after being inspired to create this recipe by Nigel Slater, I now also love it in meatballs.
Sure, beetroot can be a pain in the arse because it stains almost everything, but they’re also rich in vitamins, carbs and proteins. They do have a very high sugar content – about 10% of a beetroot is sugar – but fortunately it’s released slowly into the body.
Hmmm this post has been sitting in my drafts for months. Remember when Celeste, Penny and I were doing Meal to Share? It seems to have fallen by the wayside – totally understandable because we’ve all had so much going on in our lives. But perhaps after things settle down next year we may resurrect it…?
How long can a cake stick in your mind for? In the case of this cake, it was weeks. Several long weeks.
Something about the dark cake, the creamy looking cream cheese icing – as soon as I saw the post on The Kitchn, I couldn’t get it out of my mind. Despite the fact that this cake is in no way paleo, I knew I had to make it.
I’m trying to get rid of my bad freezer habits. In the past, the poor freezer has been a dumping ground for bits and bobs – leftovers, citrus rinds, unidentifiable meat, and other random items. But with some discipline, I’m slowly getting it under control. All new things that enter the freezer are now labelled (no more random meat!) and I’ve been clearing it out by using what’s in there.
What a surprise – beef jerky really doesn’t photograph well. So thank you dear instagram filters making shitty photos look still shitty but in a retro way.
Did you know you can make beef jerky at home? And it’s REALLY easy?? I just about fell off my chair when I found out. It’s one of those things I’d NEVER thought to try making.
(more…)
Cookbook Challenge 2011: Fortnight 13, Dessert
Recipe: Warm apple cake with brandy butterscotch sauce
Cookbook: AWW Bake
How on earth did it become August already? June and July passed by in a blur, and I didn’t spend much (any) time cooking or baking anything blog worthy. Unfortunately, August will be the same – my parents are visiting for a month, and next week we’re ON A BOAT (minus the excessive swearing and auto-tune…).
It’s not good for the blog, but it’s good for me. Because we all know what happens when my mum and dad visit – I get a holiday due to them taking over all the housework and kitchen duties. 😀 And mum really does take over the kitchen – we picked them up on Sunday, and within three hours of them being in the country, she had already planned dinner for the coming three nights.
It’s not all roses though, before their arrival I kill myself cleaning – always a fun way to spend a Saturday! The boys and I scrubbed the house from top to bottom – even fitting in a trip to the tip – but it took me the whole day, to the point where I was still wiping down all the kitchen cupboards at 10pm at night…
Theme: Spice
Recipe: Spiced red lentils with cucumber yoghurt
From: Ottolenghi’s Plenty
Do you ever have those instances when you have a very firm idea of a dish in your head? You know the ingredients you want, you know what the texture should be like, and you know what it should taste like. It sends you off to find a recipe to try and create it, hoping that it will meet your expectations.
The theme for this fortnight’s Cookbook Challenge is “spice” and I knew immediately that I wanted to make dal. And I *knew* what this dal was going to be like. I could see it, I knew the texture, and I could almost taste it.
(more…)
Cookbook Challenge 2011: Fortnight 11
Theme: Cup
Recipe: Peanut butter cupcakes
From: Primrose Bakery Cupcakes
On to fortnight 11 of the Cookbook Challenge. With the theme being “cup” I pulled out one of my cupcake cookbooks to make peanut butter cupcakes. I had a lightbulb moment when I realised that not only do cupcakes fit the theme, but I could also top the peanut butter cupcakes with a mini Reese’s peanut butter cup. Genius! (Thank you, thank you.)
Meal to Share: Pub Food
Our fine trio are late for this month’s Meal to Share, because one of us (ahem Penny) has been eating it up in America and Canada. Naturally, Celeste and I don’t mind that Penny was having way too much fun overseas to cook her part of the meal, though I’m not sure we have forgiven her for not taking us on her trip! 😉
But better late then never! Meal to Share is our monthly collaboration where the three of us each cook a course for a themed meal. The theme this month is pub food, and I’ve made dessert.
(more…)
Cookbook Challenge 2011: Fortnight 10
Theme: Blue
Recipe: Lemon and blueberry teacakes
Cookbook: Ottolenghi
I made a big order on Amazon over Easter, picking up cookbooks and food books that had been on my wish list for a while. The free shipping and insanely high Australian dollar was just too tempting to pass up! 😀 On Friday, the last of my order arrived, and one of the books I received was Ottolenghi, the cookbook.
I only had a quick flick through the cookbook, but the photos of teacakes caught my eye almost immediately. There were three recipes for teacakes, and with one of them being lemon and blueberry, I decided to bake them this weekend to tick off my Cookbook Challenge for the fortnight.
(more…)