Test Blog

 Just wanting to write this blog test.

it's all white...

I am just about to hang some white frames in my lounge room. I have about 9 frames of different sizes and have been collecting them for the past few months and putting them together with my favourite family pictures. My lounge room is quite a large room with over-sized furniture and I've been desperate to lighten the room and create a more 'homely' atmosphere.

I am really looking forward to walking into my lounge and seeing photos of my family and some priceless kids snaps.

It will warm my heart!

A simple idea. Brings so much joy.

xx

Orange, Carrot and Almond Cake

We all love a quick recipe with not a lot of washing up. This is a great cake that is really moist and super easy to make.

Ingredients (serves 10)

• Melted butter, to grease
• 1 orange, unpeeled, coarsely chopped, deseeded
• 150g butter, melted
• 155g (3/4 cup) caster sugar
• 2 eggs
• 2 (about 320g) carrots, peeled, coarsely grated
• 225g (1 1/2 cups) plain flour
• 1 x 110g pkt almond meal
• 3 tsp baking powder
• 50g (1/2 cup) flaked almonds
• Double cream, to serve

Method

1. Preheat oven to 180°C. Brush a round 22cm (base measurement) cake pan with melted butter to lightly grease. Line the base and side with non-stick baking paper.

2. Place the orange in the bowl of a food processor and process until finely chopped. Add the butter, sugar and eggs and process until well combined. Add the carrot, flour, almond meal and baking powder and process to combine.

3. Pour the mixture into the prepared pan. Top with flaked almonds. Bake in oven for 1 hour 10 minutes or until a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean. Set aside for 1 hour to cool. Cut into wedges and serve with cream.

Meaty Mushrooms

When I was pregnant, I found myself going off meaty dishes. Something to do with the morning sickness, but meat never made me feel good. Only recently, I've found myself watching programs on animal farming and its made me think about the amount of meat we eat in a western society. So, I've decided to try and do my bit by cutting down the amount of meat my family eats. We are really enjoying it so far and have been eating vegetarian dishes about 3-4 times a week.

Here is one I tried last week that came out beautifully. It was really satisfying and even my husband is who an avid meat eater, said it was a great lasagna!

Mushroom lasagne

Ingredients (serves 8)

* 10g dried porcini mushrooms (see note)
* 2 tbs olive oil
* 2 onions, thinly sliced
* 2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
* 500g Swiss brown mushrooms, sliced
* 1 bay leaf
* 2 thyme sprigs
* 500ml good-quality tomato passata
* 200g buffalo mozzarella (see note) (or bocconcini), sliced, drained on paper towel
* 375g pkt fresh lasagne sheets
* 1/2 cup (40g) grated parmesan, plus extra to serve
*
Bechamel sauce
* 1L (4 cups) milk
* 1 onion, halved
* 1 bay leaf
* 1 thyme sprig
* 50g unsalted butter
* 1/3 cup (50g) plain flour
* Pinch of nutmeg

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 180°C and grease a 30cm baking dish.

2. Soak the porcini in 1/2 cup (125ml) boiling water for 10 minutes.

3. Meanwhile, heat oil in a large pan over medium heat. Cook onion, stirring, for 5-6 minutes or until softened. Add the garlic, Swiss browns, bay leaf and thyme, then cook, stirring, for 2-3 minutes until mushrooms start to wilt and caramelise. Add porcini and soaking liquid, then cook for a further 2 minutes until most liquid has evaporated. Stir in passata and 1 cup (250ml) water and season well. Set aside.

4. Meanwhile, for bechamel, place milk, halved onion, bay leaf and thyme in a pan over medium-high heat and bring to just below boiling point. Remove from heat and stand for 15 minutes to allow flavours to infuse. Melt butter in a pan over medium-low heat. Add flour and stir for 2 minutes until smooth and combined. Strain milk through a sieve into a jug, then gradually whisk into butter mixture until smooth. Add nutmeg, season, then stir over low heat for 3-4 minutes until thickened.

5. To assemble lasagne, spoon half the mushroom sauce in the baking dish, spread with one-third of bechamel, then top with half the mozzarella. Cover with pasta sheets, then repeat with remaining mushroom mixture, half the remaining bechamel and the remaining mozzarella and pasta. Finish with a final layer of bechamel, scatter with parmesan, then cover with baking paper and foil. Bake for 45 minutes, then uncover and bake for 15 minutes more until golden and cooked. Rest for 10 minutes, then slice and serve with extra parmesan.

Inspiration

I am sorry for my absence. Life has just been so hectic the last few months and having any time to sit down and spend time on my blog has been a luxury. But I am back, and hopefully will be able to stay on track and post some great recipes for you to try!

First up is a recipe I have made over and over the last few weeks. It's for a healthy muesli slice. It is so easy to make and very easy to eat...so lovely with a cup of tea.



Muesli slice

15 squares
Ingredients

* 50g butter
* 110g (1/2 cup) raw sugar
* 60ml (1/4 cup) honey
* 125 gms pepitas (pumpkin seeds)
* 1 Sanitarium Weet-bix, crushed
* 90g (1/2 cup) sultanas
* 50g (1/2 cup) rolled oats
* 75g (1/2 cup) self-raising flour


Method

1.Preheat oven to 170°C. Line a 20cm (base measurement) square cake pan with non-stick baking paper. Place the butter, sugar and honey in a saucepan over medium-low heat. Cook, stirring, for 2-3 minutes or until the mixture is smooth and the sugar has dissolved. Set aside to cool slightly.

2.Combine the pepitas, Weet-bix, sultanas, oats and flour in a large bowl. Add the butter mixture and stir until combined.

3. Spoon the mixture into the lined pan and use the back of a spoon to smooth the surface. Bake in oven for 25 minutes or until golden. Set aside in the pan for 30 minutes to cool completely. Cut into slices to serve.

Summer dreaming...

I was meant to go off to work today from 10 am till 6.30pm. Coming home just in time for the masterchef grand finale. However, at 3 am this morning, my little 8 month old was up crying with a blocked nose, chesty cough and was refusing to drink anything. Needless to say, we didn't get much sleep and she is miserable. My husband is sick with a cold, my toddler has had a runny nose for the last week and all I can say is that I'm so sick of winter! Bring on some warmer weather where the only problem you have on your day off is deciding on whether you should get out of the pool.

I need to escape from this Melbourne weather! When reminiscing over last summer, I remembered a lovely dinner I had with friends where I tried this dessert which has become one of my favourites. It's fresh, easy and absolutely divine. I know mangoes aren't in season at the moment, but hey...we all need some 'summer love' on this cold Melbourne day...so keep this recipe in mind when the weather gets warmer and you're doing some summer entertaining.



Mangomisu

Ingredients (serves 6)

* 500g mascarpone cheese
* 600ml thickened cream
* 1/3 cup (50g) icing sugar
* 2 egg yolks
* 1 vanilla bean, split, seeds scraped
* 1/2 cup (125ml) Grand Marnier
* Juice of 2 oranges
* 300g savoiardi (see note) (sponge finger biscuits)
* 3 mangoes, flesh sliced 1cm thick
*
Raspberry sauce
* 1/4 cup (55g) caster sugar
* 250g fresh or frozen raspberries
* Juice of 1 lemon

Add above ingredients to your shopping list
Method

1.

Line the base of a 22cm springform cake pan with plastic wrap or baking paper. Place the mascarpone, thickened cream, icing sugar, egg yolks and vanilla seeds in the bowl of an electric mixer and beat on high speed until thick and well combined.
2.

Combine the Grand Marnier and orange juice in a separate bowl. Dip half the sponge fingers into the juice mixture and layer in the base of the cake pan. Spread with one-third of the mascarpone mixture, and top with one-third of the mango slices. Repeat the process, then top with the remaining mascarpone mixture, reserving the remaining mango slices to serve. Cover the cake and chill for 2 hours or until firm.
3.

Meanwhile for the raspberry sauce, place the sugar and 2 tbs water in a small pan over medium heat, stirring to dissolve the sugar. Cool slightly, then add the berries and lemon juice. Whiz in a food processor until smooth, then pass through a sieve. Chill until ready to serve. (You can store the sauce, covered, in the fridge for 3-4 days).
4.

To serve, carefully remove the sides and base of the cake pan and transfer the mangomisu to a platter. Decorate with curls of the reserved mango, then slice and serve with berry sauce.


Notes

* Savoiardi (sponge finger biscuits) are available from delis and supermarkets. I bought them from Safeway.

Blackberry and Almond Slice

Almond & blackberry slice



Makes 20 squares

200g flaked almonds
2 tbs milk
225g unsalted butter
3/4 cup (165g) caster sugar
2 tsp vanilla extract
11/2 cups (225g) plain flour
1/3 cup (50g) cornflour
1/2 cup (160g) blackberry jam
1 cup (150g) thawed frozen or fresh blackberries

Preheat the oven to 180°C. Lightly grease a 20 x 24cm slice pan and line the base and sides with baking paper.
Place the almonds, milk, 60g butter, 1/4 cup (55g) caster sugar and 1 teaspoon vanilla extract in a saucepan, and stir over very low heat until the butter has melted and sugar has dissolved. Remove from the heat and set aside to cool.
To make the shortbread base, place the remaining butter, sugar and vanilla extract in the bowl of an electric mixer and beat until thick and pale. Sift the plain flour and cornflour together into a bowl, then in 2 batches, add to the butter mixture and beat on low speed until just combined.
Press the dough into the prepared pan and bake for 10-12 minutes until light golden. Remove from the oven and allow to cool for 10 minutes.
Place the jam and blackberries in a bowl and lightly crush with a fork. Spread the jam mixture over the base, then pour over the cooled almond topping. Bake for 25 minutes or until
the topping is golden brown.
Cool the slice completely in the pan, then remove from the pan, cut into twenty 5cm squares and serve