Recipe | Broccoli & Bacon Salad

 Hi lovelies! Now I may not have mentioned it before on the blog, but I am a broccoli nut. I cannot get enough of the stuff and a favourite snack of mine is a whole bowl of steamed broccoli with oyster sauce. I wanted to spruce up my usual snack and turn it into more of a lunch time salad. To be honest you can't really go wrong when bacon and pesto are involved. 

Recipe | Edamame

Just a super quick recipe post from me today. I've been recovering from a hectic week of partying and dancing at Woodford Folk Festival with Jess and some of our dearest chums. We are both addicted to steamed soy beans (otherwise known at edamame in Japan) but neither of us have ever cooked them before. After finding them in an Asian grocer in Richmond, Melbourne, I have successfully brought my addiction into my parents home. This is a great healthy snack food but also makes for a great meal if you're feeling lazy. 

Recipe | Mac and Cheese Dreams

Like I said in my last recipe, I've been in a cheesy world the last week or two. I threw a classic macaroni and cheese recipe together which turned out pretty well and thought I'd hone it down a little more before I presented it to you. This is my second attempt at the classic dish and I'm pretty impressed with myself. I've had a look at other simple recipes online and this seems fairly on par with them too. You'll notice a little greenery mixed in as well which is my attempt to make this semi-nutritious. 

Serves 4

Ingredients

350g small elbow pasta/macaroni/liscio piccolo, uncooked

1/3 cup unsalted butter

1/3 cup plain flour

450ml milk

1 egg, whisked

1 1/4 cup strong vintage cheddar, grated

1 1/4 cup parmesan cheese, grated 

1/2 zucchini, grated

Preheat oven to 180°C. Place a large pot of water onto boil with a pinch of salt. Once boiling add pasta and cook until when tested, is slightly too chewy to serve. Drain and drizzle with a small amount of olive oil (if you like) and set aside.

Meanwhile, in a smaller pot melt butter over a low heat. While continually stirring, slowly add flour. A gooey paste should form. In a similar method to the flour, slowly pour in milk and stir until it starts to thicken. The gooey paste formed by the flour and butter should be dissolving into the milk and a beautiful white sauce should be appearing. Momentarily remove pan from the heat and slowly add the whisked egg. Once thickened, add 1 cup of grated strong vintage cheddar and 1 cup of parmesan. Continue to stir until it almost becomes too thick to stir and quickly remove from the heat. 

This next step is entirely up to you in the way in which you do it but this is my method. Slowly, adding a large spoonful at a time, add the cooked pasta into the cheese sauce until it is all combined. If the sauce looks to be running a bit low, you've added enough pasta and the rest can be used for another dish. I find this quantity of pasta to work fine though. 

Add in the zucchini and combine. Decant into a baking dish and cover with the remaining cheese for a beautiful crispy finish. Place in the preheated oven for 15-20minutes or until golden brown on top.

Serve up and enjoy the cheesy goodness!

Happy Holidays! 

Erin xx

Recipe | Cayenne Chicken and Salsa

I have been becoming rather obsessed with the concept of salsas as sides lately and have been experimenting with many different variations. This recipe includes a very traditional salsa but traditional does not imply it is any less amazing. The cayenne pepper I used in my version of this recipe was incredibly hot so the tomato and avocado act as a delicious cooling agent. 

Ingedients
2 chicken breasts, halved
1 tsp cayenne pepper
4 tsp sea salt
1 cup uncooked quinoa 
2 tomatoes, roughly diced 
1 avocado, roughly diced
1 red onion, roughly diced
1 lime, juiced
1/2 lemon, juiced
sea salt and cracked pepper
sour cream

In a bowl, coat each piece of chicken in 1/4 tsp of cayenne pepper and 1 tsp of sea salt. Cook the chicken in a large fry pan with a small coating of vegetable/sunflower/rice bran oil until cooking the whole way through.

Pour the quinoa in a small saucepan and cover with 2 cups of water. Place over a low heat and cover until the water has been absorbed into the quinoa. Take off the heat once cooked. 

Meanwhile, in a bowl, coat the diced red onion in the lemon and line juice and let is soak for 5-10 minutes or until the chicken is almost cooked. Add the remaining tomato and avocado and mix through. Season with salt and pepper.

The chicken and quinoa should be cooked by now. To serve, place a spoonful of quinoa as a bed in the centre of the plate followed by one half chicken breast. Spoon over some of the salsa with a dollop of sour cream on the side. Again, season with salt and pepper to taste. 

Serve and enjoy! Tara and I found this to quite a hot dish so feel free to change the quantities of cayenne pepper you use. I loved the flavour and will probably the use the same amount again and continue to use a lot of sour cream. My preferred brand of sour cream is actually the one by Weight Watchers - it tastes the same has a lot less fat than other brands.  

Erin xx

Recipe | Super Easy Rice Paper Rolls

I was feeling particularly domestic last night and after cleaning my entire house decided I would prepare this delicious and easy to share meal. Much like other recipes I've posted it is entirely open to interpretation and I only work with the ingredients I have on hand. Your favourite ingredients may differ so feel free to use what you like. The most important thing to make this process easy is preparation. 

Makes 15 

Ingredients

a packet of 22cm round rice paper sheets

1 skinless chicken breast, cooked and sliced

1 carrot, cut julienne (into thin sticks)

1/2 cucumber, cut julienne

handful of fresh bean sprouts

handful of fresh coriander

100g vermicelli noodles  

fried shallots

Recommended dipping sauce

2tbsp sweet chilli sauce

1tbsp soy sauce

1/2tsp fish sauce

1 drop pure sesame oil

The most efficient way of creating these little rolls of joy is to prepare everything before starting assembly. I like to get my chicken in a grill or fry pan first and cut up the vegetables while it is cooking. Then cook your vermicelli noodles as per instructions on the packet (generally a few minutes in boiling water does the trick and then drain well).

Once the chicken is cooked all the way through, slice it up in a similar style to the carrot and cucumber so it fits in the roll.  

Now the next step is entirely up to you. In a social gathering it is really fun to lay out the ingredients for everyone to create their own but because I was alone I set up my own production line. You'll need a large bowl of close-to-boiling water either way you do it to soften the rice papers. I like to take the, now floppy and translucent, rice paper and lay it as flat as I can on a round plate and start to get the ingredients in a quickly as possible. Start with a small amount of vermicelli and then layer on the ingredients in small amounts. I used about two pieces of the chicken, carrot and cucumber per roll. Follow with a small portion of the bean sprouts, a sprig or two of coriander and a sprinkle of fried shallots.

The step that scares some people is the rolling. If you've put the right amount of ingredients in the paper it should come very easily i.e. if you have great difficultly change the filling size. Start by covering the ingredients with the bottom of the paper, fold in the sides and continue to roll through the middle. The first few are a little tricky but you find what portion sizes work and get into a good rhythm (especially if you're making them all yourself).  

Making the sauce is exceptionally easy - put all the ingredients in a jar, shut the lid tight and shake until combined. Feel free to alter the quantities to taste and if you have a lime on hand, half or a quarter of that would be brilliant in it too (sadly, I had no lime for mine). 

These are probably one of my favourite summer foods because they taste good with all the ingredients slightly cooled. Beware of putting them in the fridge though because the rice ingredients do tend to harden up again as I just discovered eating my leftovers. They work great as entrees and as party food and are less messy than you think. 

As a side note, this is our 200th post! We've almost been blogging for a year now so look out for something special as we approach that milestone. Thanks for reading our rambles, we really appreciate people joining us on the journey that is life. 

Erin xx

Recipe | Insalata Caprese

After a big weekend travelling by coach up and down the coast for my cousin's wedding the last thing I wanted to do come Sunday night was cook dinner. Tara was over and suggested bruschetta when this dish (that we love to eat at our favourite Italian restaurant, Vapianos) sprang to mind. It is so simple to put together for those times when you really can't be bothered but can't bring yourself to eat junk OR when you're looking for a quick easy starter dish for a dinner or party. 

Recipe | Rice Noodle Salad

Weekend lunches growing up were always a bit of pot luck in my household. This isn't to say they weren't always amazing but because she was home my mum would get crafty with whatever was left in the house after the week or with some bits and pieces she had picked up on the weekend grocery shop. One of many dishes she excelled was a healthy vermicelli rice noodle salad with a variety of different ingredients. As it gets hotter here I've been trying to cook dishes that require a lot less cooking and this is one of them. 

Recipe | Sea Salted Rosemary Pita Chips

Here in Australia, where the summer starts early and our culture is largely outdoors, having a few nibbles at dusk on the veranda, balcony or by the pool is ritual. I've recently been trying to make a lot of basics for my friends and I to enjoy and I realised that chip and bread components are ridiculously easy and simple to make in bulk and keep for when you need them. It can also be a lot healthier when you know what ingredients are used and eliminate the nasty artificial flavouring that is in much of the similar products you purchase from the grocery store. 

Recipe | Green Chicken Curry with Hokkien Noodles

In the last year or so my tolerance my chili and spice has increased immensely. Additions of intensely hot chili to my meals has become a slight obsession. I'm currently living and sharing meals with family who do no appreciate such hectic spice (understandably) and so whenever I get the chance I go a bit nuts. This was a curry I created when my mum was up visiting recently. It's fairly simple and can be altered with whatever meat, and vegetables and noodles that you prefer.

Death by Chocolate: Cheesecake Style

It was my brother's birthday recently and being the good (baking addict) sister that I am, I always like to make him a special birthday cake. I was a bit unsure about how this would work out - as I've never made a cheesecake lacking side crusts - but I was beyond impressed with the result. If you're a chocolate lover, like the members of my family, you will love this cake. Don't be frightened by the overwhelming amount of 70% cocoa cooking chocolate, there is more than enough sugar in the recipe to counteract the bittersweetness of the chocolate. 

Flour-less Dark Chocolate Brownie Cups

I am a self confessed chocoholic. However, the chocolate has to be dark for me to really enjoy myself. There is something sickeningly sweet about milk chocolate that allows me to easily push it aside (mostly). This recipe is my own creation from years of fiddling with dry brownie and cake recipes that don't press my buttons.  

Sweet Potato, Prosciutto and Quinoa Salad

It's been a while since I brought you all a new recipe, and well this isn't new but it's my own variation on what is quickly becoming a very popular grain. Quinoa (pronounced anyway you feel like it) is one of my favourite things to eat. Never having been a big fan of couscous, simply because it's too easy to make a mess, quinoa has filled that gap in my life. It used to be quite expensive and only available at heath food stores but it has made quite a headway in the market in recent years. You caaaan find it in normal grocery stores now but it is more likely to be cheaper, and probably better, from a health food store. It really depends where you live as to what your supermarkets stock. 

Anyway, here is my most recent salad creation with the delicious quinoa. 

Serves 2-3 people for lunch

Ingredients

2/3cup quinoa

1 1/3 cup water

1 lebanese cucumber, finely diced

1 tomato, finely diced

1 red chilli (as hot or mild as you like), chopped roughly with out without seeds

3 shallots, finely chopped

1/2 sweet potato, chopped into bite size pieces and roasted (can be done anytime before)

250g prosciutto, chopped and briefly warmed in a frying pan

Dressing

1/4 cup tahini

juice of one lemon

salt and pepper

water to thin mixture