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Sunday, September 4, 2011

Wednesday, August 24, 2011

Woolworths Apple & cinnamon tea cake

Ingredients
  • 125g butter, softened
  • 2/3 cup caster sugar
  • 1 tsp vanilla essence
  • 2 eggs
  • 1 1/3 cup self-raising flour
  • 2 tbs custard powder
  • 1/3 cup milk
  • 4-5 granny smith apples, sliced finely 
  • 2 tsp melted butter
  • 2 tsp caster sugar, extra
  • 1/4 tsp ground cinnamon

  • Method
  • Preheat oven to 180 degrees celcius. Grease and line a deep 20cm springform round cake tin.
  • Cream butter, sugar and vanilla with electric beaters until light and fluffy. Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition.
  • Sift flour and custard powder together and fold into butter mixture in batches alternately with milk.
  • Spread half of the mixture into prepared tin. Arrange half of the apple slices over batter. Cover with remaining cake mixture. Decorate top with remaining apple slices. Brush with melted butter and sprinkle with combined sugar and cinnamon
  • Bake for 50 mins or until skewer comes out clean when tested. Cool in tin for 10 mins before turning out.



  • Wednesday, August 17, 2011

    Saturday, April 23, 2011

    melanzana salata from meltemi, rodos

    Meltemi on the beach in Rhodes makes the most beautiful melanzana salad (remember they call dips salad so it's really a dip).
    It's cooked eggplant (I think they cook them in the oven like you do with a babaganoush) and then roughly broken up into chunks and they serve it drizzled with olive oil and parsley, pine nuts and red onion sliced thinly. It's delicious.

    Thursday, April 14, 2011

    Cretan food

    Boureki - like a moussaka but with zucchini and potato.  Pastry on top.  Delicious.

    Mum's favourite - Cretan salad.  With dakos (softened bread with pureed tomatoes) and mizithra (a creamy mild cheese, generously served)

    The language school gang

    YUM - cheese filled pastry rolled in honey for dessert.  Cretans ALWAYS give you raki and glyka (sweets) complimentary after every meal.

    Fishies

    μελιτζάνα IMAM

    Serves 8-10


    6 diced tomatoes
    7 pulsed tomatoes
    3-4 red onions chopped into wedges (may be too much. Depends on your taste)
    1 head garlic, sliced

    400g tub feta
    10 Eggplants cut in half horizontally


    Bunch parsley, rip ends off. Leave some small stalks on. Chop up into small pieces.



    Stage 1: Slice eggplants in half horizontally.  Drizzle with olive oil and salt and put in an oven at 200C until soft not black.

    Stage 2: Fry onions in a saucepan with lots of oil on a gentle heat.


    Stage 3: Add garlic.  Add salt and pepper.


    Stage 4: Add pulsed tomatoes when onions are a little soft (not brown).

    Stage 5: After ten mins add the chopped tomatoes.

    Stage 6: Put lid on and keep letting tomato mixture boil. Add a good amount of dried oregano.

    Stage 7: Add parsley.



    Step 8: Take off the heat. Leave to cool a bit.  Crumble a 400g tub feta and stir in. *It is important to let the mixture cool before adding the feta so it doesn't just melt - you want it to remain whole.


    Step 9: When eggplants are soft take out of the oven. Not black. Squash the flesh down in them with a fork.

    Step 10: Spoon tomato mixture into the eggplants.



    Step 11: Put back in the oven for about 10 minutes.

    Step 12: Serve with some crusty bread and a simple salad.

    Any leftover mix? Stir it with egg to make a yummy scram/omelette.

    Saturday, March 19, 2011

    Friday, March 11, 2011

    Creepy...

    Looks like a science project. China town.

    Bartersea pie shop, Covent garden

    Delicious pies! But you have to eat with k&f they fall apart. Steak and Guinness!!!

    Thursday, March 10, 2011

    me on the set of market kitchen

    Such a funny day!

    Met the guys from this blog - sorted - it's actually a great idea, really awesome format and it looks like fun: www.sortedfood.com

    Wednesday, March 9, 2011

    Edith's Aubergine Parmigiana

    From Market Kitchen today radio one presenter Edith was on.  She made a really nice chicken kebab - chicken chunks marinated with yoghurt and spices, alternated with onion and cherry toms on the skewer, then grilled on a griddle pan.

    Aubergine parmigiana
    Slice aubergines lengthways
    Roll in flour and then egg
    Fry in oil

    Sauce
    Slice 2 cloves garlic finely
    Bunch of parsley - break the stalks off and chop finely
    Fry garlic, then add parsley, then add a couple of cups passata
    Can add chilli also

    Layer tomato sauce, then aubergine, then fontina cheese.  Keep layering, spinning aubergine so you get more in.  End with parmesan and fontina.

    Put in oven.

    Deutsche essen und trinken

                   Düsseldorf's Killepitsch
    Mandatory late night wurst
    Ilse's pork stroganoff, heavy on the senf
    Ilse is the most fantastic cook!!! And she loves it so much
    Apfel strudel - mum you would have loved it!

    Sunday, March 6, 2011

    Wednesday, March 2, 2011

    Monmouth Original Store, Covent Garden

    Monmouth is the coffee that has taken over London.  They make the yummiest coffee and all the good coffee shops (including Fleet, Flat White, Foxcroft and Ginger) have it.  They also have a store at Borough Market.

    The original store is in Monmouth Street Covent Garden.


    They sell their beans in store.

    Really nice coffee - rice, creamy, delicious.  Probably about an 8/10.  My only criticism is they only serve full cream milk - not even soy.  Not very nice for the lactose intolerant.  But I guess they are just intolerant to the lactose intolerant.

    A nice selection of pastries - the almond croissants really tempted me...but they'll do that.

    Heading to Deutschland today for the Karneval - so get ready for some posts on bratwurst, spetzle and all other fabulous things German.

    Monday, February 28, 2011

    Testing London's best



    I downloaded the app 'London's best coffee' and am now working my way through the listed establishments.

    Today it's Kaffeine on Great Itchfield St in Soho.

    Coffee about 7/10. It's nice and beautifully presented but a bit bitter and not as full and creamy as I like. ]

    Atmosphere really nice - good space with exposed brick etc reminds me of the front room in Zekka, King Street.  The food looks ok - lots of sweet stuff - pastries, friands etc. One Brekky style sandwich with omelette and pancetta in ciabatta.

    Sunday, February 27, 2011

    Jamie's Italian Round 3

    Went to Jamie's Italian with Georg Mont.  Absolutely fantastic food as always (but still a bit of a wait for a table - 1 hour on a Wednesday...)

    We had:

    entree...

    HERBY MARINATED WHITEBAIT
    £4.10
    Whole whitebait pickled with chilli, capers and parsley. Served chilled

    Marinated whitebait - yum but I prefer crispy

    ITALIAN NACHOS
    £3.55
    Crispy, fried four cheese ravioli with 'angry' arrabiata sauce


    DELICIOUS Italian nachos 


    mains...

    COCKLES LINGUINE
    £8.20/£13.35
    Sweet cockles steamed open with garlic, chilli and parsley tossed with linguine, butter and lemon - beautiful.


    cockles linguine



    RABBIT RAGU PAPPARDELLE
    £7.15/£11.35
    Slow braised wild rabbit finished with mascarpone, lemon and crunchy herby breadcrumbs

    and for dessert...

    AMALFI LEMON CURD
    £4.95
    With toasted pistachios and English raspberries

    wine


    PRIMITIVO DI SALENTO, CANTINE LUIGI SCRITTI 13% 2008 PUGLIA
    £16.75
    Primitivo is the father of the zinfandel grape. Notes of cherries, cloves, wild blackberries and spice. Delicious!

    Chorizo and Cannellini bean stew

    Serves 4-6

    glug olive oil
    1 chorizo sausage, diced
    1 large red onion, thinly sliced
    2 stalks celery, diced
    2 carrots, diced
    2 crushed garlic cloves
    2 teaspoons fresh thyme, chopped
    1 teaspoon paprika
    1 can chopped tomatoes
    1 L chicken stock
    800g tinned cannellini beans, rinsed
    salt and pepper
    (parmesan and sour dough for serving)

    Heat the olive oil in a large pan over high heat and cook the chorizo for 3–4 minutes until crisp. Drain on kitchen paper.

    Reduce the heat to medium-low, add the onion, carrot and celery to the pan and cook, stirring occasionally, for 6–7 minutes until softened.





    Add the garlic, thyme and paprika and cook, stirring, for 1–2 minutes until fragrant. Add the tomatoes and cook for another minute.

    Return the chorizo to the pan with the stock and bring to the boil, then reduce the heat and simmer, stirring occasionally, for 10 minutes. Add the beans and cook for another 5 minutes. Season with salt and pepper before serving.

    Serve with a crusty sourdough and some grated parmesan.

    Grublover comment
    This stew is really yum and easy - just a joy to cook and eat.  I will definitely be making it again.

    Thursday, February 17, 2011

    Saturday, February 5, 2011

    Bella Napoli



    The food in Napoli was divine. They are famous of course for their pizza and we tried it on the street (for just 1 euro for a mouth-watering slab of margherita), and at the restaurant made famous by 'Eat, Pray, Love': Da Michele. We had to line up for about half an hour to get a table but it was worth it. They only sell pizza - margherita or marinara - beer and water. My dream restaurant!

    Like all Italians simplicity is the key - the margherita was to die for with fresh tomato, creamy mozzarella and a single basil leaf.



    Mailie eating Pizza Margherita in the old town

    We had an amazzzzing dinner at Taverna do re - a little restaurant we stumbled on while looking for a late night wine.  We were really looked after with complimentary champagne to start and a bottle of limoncello to drink at the end! Lovely!  The food was fantastic - I had a dish that was a specialty of Napoli - Pasta Genovese - it is a meaty pasta dish with lots and lots of onions!  Very rich and absolutely delicious.

    Salad - divine

    Penne genovese

    Tortellini funghi


    Wednesday, February 2, 2011

    Pho at Song Que

    I love Kingsland Road aka the Pho mile. The Pho at 134 Kingsland (supposedly best in London) did rival our favourite little spot in Perth, Dao Vien - the broth fresh and clear. As always quick as a flash (we had to laugh when they seated us and said 'Can you be done in one and a half hours?', as we all knew it would take less than 15 minutes to nail a pho).




    Saturday, January 22, 2011

    I bought this tortellini at borough market - it is fresh pasta stuffed with wild boar. You serve it simply with olive oil, parmesan and lots of black pepper. Belissimo!!!