Beans

I love beans - much to my boyfriends disgust - he doesn't really dig my hippy bean meals.  I love that they're a cozy pantry staple, and can be a meal on their own, or an accompaniment.

Last Saturday I had some friends round to enjoy our shade dappled backyard with drinks and nibbles.

I made some home made hummus and another bean dip.  Now I'm sure everyone knows how to make hummus, but this was the second time I'd made some and I was really happy with the results.

Hummus - my style

2 cans chickpeas

5 cloves garlic chopped in half and skinned

A few springs of rosemary

Olive oil

Salt and pepper

Pour out the juice from one can of chickpeas and leave one can with about half the juice.  Pop in a food processor.

Get a heavy based pan going with the oil, garlic and rosemary.  Cook the garlic till it starts to go brown and squish it down a bit to make sure it's nice and soft.

Pour this into the food processor and blend with additional oil till you get your desired consistency.

Don't forget to season.

Borlotti chilli dip

2 cans of borlotti beans

1 chilli chopped

Teaspoon of sugar

Salt and pepper

Olive oil

Do the same as above with the beans - and pour into food processor.

Fry off the chilli in oil then stir in the sugar and continue to fry gently for a bit.

Throw into the borlotti beans mix and combine.

Bruschetta

French bread

Olive oil

Pastry brush

Cut the bread into 1-2 cm wide chunks and place on a tray.

Turn on your grill.  Warm the oil in the pan you've been using for the above.

Brush the warm oil over the bread and grill till lightly browned.

I only did one side, as I found this made the bread crispy, but still had a softness so it didn't shatter when you were trying to eat it.

I served the above with a bowl of rocket dressed with a little oil, red wine vinegar and lemon juice.

I sadly have no pictures - but next time I make it I will take some and include fun cocktail recipes to quench your thirst.

xx

Best french toast

This french toast is soft and velvety and almost like big thick pancakes.  It uses crumpets, cos I was addicted to them for about a month during winter.

4 crumpets (your general store bought kind)

1 egg

milk

cinnamon

vanilla

1 T sugar

pinch salt

Mix together the egg, and all the other ingredients except the crumpets is a shallow wide bowl.

Start soaking your crumpets. the longer the better, both sides. 

Get you pan nice and hot and drop the crumpets in, bubbley side down, cook both sides till golden.

Drop on a plate, and serve with bananas panfried in butter and golden syrup.  Goes with all your usual french toast bits and pieces too.

On the cake decorating missions

Yeah so I'm nannering it up, baking cakes then decorating them.

Here are some pics of what I've been up to.  All rather beginner at the mo - but I'm well inspired and will be completeing another this week.

PS sorry the blog looks ugly.  Must fix.

Final cake decorating class cake

Abel's third B'day cake

Cake wrapped in chocolate with chocolate sea shells

Tony's B'day cake

If anyone needs a cake made let me know!  Ingredient cost only.

Apple pie wontons
And no posts lately - I'm learning how to cake decorate.  It's freaking hard.  Might post some stuff up at some point.  Right now I'm trying to complete a giraffe shaped 3d cake.  More later...

Another post on chocolate

Today I happened by Kokako cafe in Parnell.  Jacquie and I were off to the museum for the Kai to pie exhibition and we stopped by the cafe for coffee beforehand.


While I was waiting for my coffee I noticed their boxes of hot chocolate - which I had only heard good things about. So I picked up a box for Jacquie and I at the modest price of $7.50 each.


This evening, after dinner, I whipped William and I up a batch.


In a large mug combine 1 T of Kokako hot chocolate, 1/2 T of sugar and a little hot water to combine.  Fill with milk and microwave (sorry I know evil - I was feeling very lazy though)  once hot throw a layer of marshmallows on top.


It was definitely enough sweetness for dessert.  However perhaps I'll try a less sweet version next time - to try and get some more of that deep chocolate flavour I was hoping for.

Best chocolate cake

This is the very best chocolate cake recipe ever.  Fullstop. Can't believe I'm sharing this little beauty.  I've had it for over 10 years and it never fails to impress.
Enjoy.


Best chocolate cake


125 gms butter
1c sugar
2 eggs
2 T golden syrup
1t baking soda
2c flour
1/4c cocoa
1t baking powder
1c milk
1t salt


Cream butter and sugar, make that butter white.  Add golden syrup and eggs, try and keep all the ingredients at room temp - to avoid curdling the batter.  In a separate bowl sieve the flour, cocoa and salt.  Warm the milk and add the baking soda.  In batches add the flour mix and milk mixing gently in between.  Finally stir through the baking powder.


Don't over mix. Pour into a greased pan and bake at 180 for 45mins.  Or until the cake springs bake lightly.
Don't forget the cake will continue to cook with its latent heat once it's out of the oven, so don't overcook.


Favourite butter icing


I also made proper butter style icing for the first time.  Totally worth it.  Get your beater out again and get 50gms of butter all creamy.  Add a cup of icing sugar and 1/4 cup of cocoa, large pinch of salt and some vanilla.  Keep beating as it will combine to a creamy texture after awhile, it will look like it's not going to happen but keep beating. You can then add milk a teaspoon at a time til you get the required consitancy.  This mixture is forgiving, add more cocoa or icing suar or milk to get the consistency you want.  Do not leave out the salt, the juxtaposition of it and the chocolate and sugar is mouthwatering.


Wrap that icing around the cake in a delicious chocolatey hug.


Slice up and delight your friends and family.


xx

Another musing

Mmm earl grey tea ice cream, with some sort of crispy apple thing, or perhaps the ice cream is with a caramellised hazelnut and pastry tart.  Add a spoonful of apple compote on the side.


Seared tuna on a deep fried sticky rice ball.  With either a tomato consume or a pea sauce.


Fried circle of polenta with juicy roast chicken and onion gravy piled on top.


Teriyaki tofu with a crispy coating, on fluffy rice and asian greens.


Thats all for now.