Where in the world is the little red jar?

It was about a year ago that the little red jar went from a ‘that would be a fun thing to do’ to actually being something I did. I have a great love for food and cooking and very much enjoyed finding new recipes and challenges to tackle in the kitchen.

But as time passed I became distracted with the biggest distraction of all…life!

It’s been a busy 6 months in my world and that meant that my blog fell by the wayside a little…ok a lot. My family and I also started to explore the paleo world and the world of clean eating…and whilst that has been an awesome journey, posting recipes of steamed veg and grilled kangaroo steak does not necessarily make for the most interesting of reading.

But after a short(ish) break I am feeling the urge to get back into the kitchen and share some more recipes that I’ve discovered with you all.

Some naughty, some nice, all delicious. 

Happy eating!

-Sarah

10 Things I hate about food Challenge 2: Cooking a roast

It’s that horrifying feeling that you get when someone you’ve invited over for dinner says the following thing:

“hmmm it’s very pink isn’t it?”

That dreaded feeling of missing that medium rare benchmark is perhaps the reason that has prevented me from making Sunday roast a tradition in our house. That and the fact that even though my Husband does love meat, eating a 2kg roast between the two of us does seem a little bit excessive…

But nevertheless this is definitely a concept I want to master for the future, so why not start now? I was feeling good after last week’s pass with pastry, could I go 2 for 2?

Here’s the recipe (thanks Jamie Oliver!) and here are the results….

Sunday Roast Lamb

Ingredients

1.5kg leg of lamb, on the bone

3 cloves of garlic, peeled and crushed

1 bunch rosemary, half leaves removed and chopped, half in sprigs

zest of 1 lemon

olive oil

salt and pepper

10 kipfler potatoes, washed with skins on

Any other roast vegetables (I did some roast beetroot in an alfoil parcel and some butternut pumpkin)

Mint Sauce

4 tbsp fresh mint, chopped

1 tsp sugar

2 pinches of salt

1 tbsp hot water

3 tbsp wine vinegar (I used white wine vinegar)

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 200 degrees Celsius. If you are cooking beetroot, peel them and wrap them in alfoil with some oil and sit them in a foil lined baking dish on the bottom tray of the oven.

2. Prepare the marinade by combining garlic, rosemary, lemon zest and oil.

3. Wash the lamb and pat dry with paper towels. Cut small slits into the top of the lamb about 2cms apart and season with salt and pepper. Rub the rosemary marinade over the entire leg and into the slits. Place the lamb in the oven on the hot bars of your rack over the baking tray. Cook for 1 hour 15 minutes for medium rare, 1 hour 35 minutes for a more well done roast.

4. Slice in kipfler potatoes in half lengthways, season with salt, pepper, oil and rosemary sprigs and place in baking tray under the lamb to catch any juices. Vegetables need at least one hour to cook.

5. Prepare the mint sauce by combining all ingredients together in a small bowl.

6. Now comes the interesting part: testing to see if the meat is ready. I had a meat thermometer and the ideal temperature for medium is 70-75 degrees Celsius for the internal temperature of the thickest part of the lamb (make sure you don’t go right down to the bone.) If you don’t have a meat thermometer, then you can remove it from the oven and insert a knife – if the juice runs clear it is finished, if the juice is pink then pop back in for a bit longer.

7. Once the meat is cooked remove it from the oven and cover in alfoil to let it rest for 10 minutes. Carve and serve lamb with vegetables and sauce.

Verdict: Incredible! I couldn’t believe how well it worked; the middle was a bit pinker than expecting, but the outer edges were beautifully cooked. You’ll love how this recipe retains the juiciness of the meat and the rosemary garlic combo could not be better.

Only 5 days left until the next Sunday, so buy a lovely cut of meat, invite over some company and enjoy the last moments of winter!

Happy eating!

-Sarah

10 Things I hate about food Challenge 1: Pastry from Scratch

Well here we are, starting another series. 10 weeks of recipes or concepts I’d love to master, but haven’t attempted (or even had the courage to look at the recipe.)

I have had only one attempt at pastry before and it was to make an apple pie. The pastry was soggy and didn’t have that golden puff that pastry should. So what better way to start this treacherous navigation through food fear than to revisit the dish I’ve never gotten right.

Classic Apple Pie

Ingredients

1 cup plain flour

1/2 cup self raising flour

1/2 cup corn flour

125g unsalted butter, chilled and chopped

1/4 cup caster sugar

1 egg, separated

1/3 cup chilled water (plus a little extra)

For the apple filling

9 medium Granny Smith apples, peeled, cored and chopped into chunks

2/3 cup water

1/3 cup brown sugar

1 tsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp nutmeg

2 tsp lemon juice

Cream or ice cream, to serve

Method

1. Place flours, butter and sugar into a food processor and process until the mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs.

2. Add the egg yolk and the water to the mix and process until the mixture just starts to come together. You may need to add a little more water to the mixture but add in very small increments so as not to make the mixture too sticky.

3. Gently knead dough on a lightly floured surface until smooth. Don’t overwork the dough; the less you touch it the better. Divide your dough into a ‘two thirds one third’ split (my dough weighed 600g, so a 400g piece and a 200g piece.) and shape each dough into a thickish disc. Wrap in glad wrap and place in the fridge for 30 minutes until firm.

4. To make the apple filling, combine apples and water in a saucepan over high heat. Bring to the boil and reduce heat to medium low to simmer for 7-10 minutes until the apples have softened. You may have to stir the apples a couple of times to ensure they are all cooked.

4. Drain the apples and return to the saucepan. Add the brown sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg and lemon juice and ensure that the apples are thoroughly coated. Set aside to cool.

5. Lightly grease a 20cm round fluted pie dish (ceramic or glass) with some cooking spray. Roll out your larger disc of pastry between two sheets of baking paper (add a little flour if your dough is too sticky. Roll your dough into the pie dish and press lightly into the bottom of the dish. Lightly prick the base with a fork.

6. Add the apple filling, then roll out the smaller pastry disc to make the top. Roll the disc onto the apple filling and ensure there are no gaps around the edge. Cut a small vent into the middle of the pie and brush with the remaining egg white.

 

7. Bake in a preheated 180 degree oven for 40 minutes or until golden brown. Serve with cream or ice cream.

Verdict: Success! The pastry wasn’t overly sweet (you can add more sugar if you desire) but that apple filling combined with an almost shortcake like biscuit pastry was simply beautiful. This recipe is a keeper, try any kind of fruit combo. You could ever make the pastry in advance, freeze it and save it for a rainy day when only the warmest of desserts will do.

So far 10 Things is one for one…can the streak last until another week? Check in soon to find out!

Happy eating!

-Sarah

Pork Chops with Cider Vegetables

For me, cider is a summer beverage. Sit back on a warm summer evening with some friends, some amazing cheese and rosemary rock salt crackers and cider. And there are so many different types; it could be straight up apple, or perhaps pear, or maybe you’re feeling fruity with a strawberry and lime?

So if you’re still feeling the cold, why not create this quick dish at home, and bring some of that summer warmth back into your kitchen (BYO friends, cheese and rosemary rock salt crackers.)

Pork Chops with Cider Vegetables

Ingredients

600g sweet potato, peeled and chopped into batons

2 red onions, cut into wedges

option: you can also add some small cubes of potato if desired

2 tbsp olive oil

2/3 cup apple cider

4 pork chops (I used 2, but kept the vegetable quantity the same)

3 apples (I used royal gala, but any type will be fine)

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 200 degrees Celsius. Place sweet potato and onion into a roasting pan and drizzle with half the oil and season with salt and pepper. Pour cider over the top and roast for about 30 minutes.

2. Season pork chops with pepper and cook in a non stick frypan over high heat for 1-2 minutes until all sides are seared.

3. Cut up the apple into slices and add into roasting pan and place the pork chops on top of the vegetables.

4. Roast in the oven for a further 10 minutes until pork is cooked through. Serve with vegetables (I also steamed some broccolini for extra veggies)

There’s not much more that you really need: juicy pork with vegetables that are full of flavour. Bring on summer, I say!

-Sarah

Spinach and Ricotta Frittata

I love a good quiche.

I know what you’re thinking….”every time Sarah posts about her new recipe it all starts because she loves some kind of food.” Well ok, that’s true, but better to cook things that you love, as opposed to things you don’t.

But strangely enough, I don’t actually make quiche at all. I think it’s partly driven by my fear of pastry. I know you can buy pastry from the supermarket, but it’s just not the same.

So when I get the idea that I should make quiche, I usually end up making a frittata instead. Same concept, no scary pastry in sight.

Here’s a recipe for my fave frittata!

Spinach and Ricotta Frittata

Ingredients

2 tbsp olive oil

1 onion, finely diced

2 cloves garlic, finely chopped

1 bag baby spinach, ends picked off and washed

200g light ricotta

5 eggs

8 cherry tomatoes, halved

sprinkle of chilli flakes (optional)

parsley, to season

pepper, to season

Method

1. Preheat grill on high (200 degrees if you need an exact temperature) Preheat oil in a non-stick frypan over medium low heat. Cook onion for about 3 minutes until translucent. Add garlic and continue to cook.

2. Add the spinach in two batches and cook until it is mostly wilted. Remove from the heat.

3. In another bowl combine ricotta and eggs until mostly smooth. Season with chilli and pepper. Add in spinach mixture and cherry tomatoes and fold in.

 

4. Pour mixture back into the frypan and cool for about 5 minutes until the outer edge has set. Place frypan under grill (you can leave the door open, particularly if your frypan has a plastic handle…) and cook for about 5 minutes until the frittata has set.

5. Serve warm or cold (you can refrigerate for up to 4 days.)

 

You’ll love how versatile this dish is: it really is a winner for breakfast, lunch or a late night snack. And the flavour combinations are endless: try adding capsicum, mushrooms or even asparagus, and play in the herb garden by adding some dill, rosemary or maybe cumin.

Happy eating!

-Sarah

Little Red Velvet Pancakes

My favourite kind of icing is definitely cream cheese icing. It’s so versatile; pair it with vanilla cupcakes, banana cake, pineapple cake or an invisible cupcake (that’s where you get a spoon and eat it straight out of the bowl because it’s so damn good…)

The best pairing, in my opinion, is with red velvet cake. Something about it is just so right. The tangy cream cheese paired with dense cake just works and I like it.

So I started to have a look around what other things I could ‘red velvet.’ Naturally, I went straight to my next favourite sweet: pancakes. So here’s a twist on pancakes that will get your frypan red hot (Ha!) in no time!

 

Little Red Velvet Pancakes (with cream cheese icing)

Ingredients

1/2 cup wholemeal plain flour

1/2 cup oat bran

2 & 1/4 tsp baking powder

1/2 tbsp raw cacao powder

1/4 tsp salt (optional)

1/4 cup raw sugar (substitute natvia if desired)

1 egg

1 cup almond milk

1 tsp vanilla extract

tiny splash of red food colouring

Cream Cheese Icing

3 tbsp cream cheese

1 tsp honey

1 tbsp natural yoghurt, if desiring a runnier icing

pinch of cinnamon

Method:

1. Mix the flours, baking powder, cacao and salt in a large bowl until combined.

2. In a separate jug, dissolve food colouring in milk and whisk in egg and vanilla.

3. Add wet ingredients to dry ingredients and mix until well combined.

4. Heat a non stick frypan on high heat and spray with some cooking spray. Spoon a ladleful of mixture into the pan (depending on how big you like your pancakes) and cook until bubbles start to form. Now this is where it gets tricky: don’t try and flip the pancake before the bottom crust has set, but don’t be alarmed if your pancakes look ‘burnt’ they aren’t, it’s just the cacao powder. Cook the rest of the batter.

5. Combine all the icing ingredients in a small bowl until thoroughly combined. Stack pancakes and spoon icing on top and serve warm.

 

 

What’s not to love about these tasty treats? And the best part? They are actually good for you (so don’t hesitate to say yes if someone offers you another one!)

It’s great to be back after my short hiatus – looking forward to starting the 10 things i hate about food very soon!

Happy eating!

-Sarah

Lamb Shanks with Rosemary Mash

Following my winter warmers theme, there has got to be one dish that never fails to satisfy. No, I’m not talking about candy bars, I’m talking about mashed potato.

I’ve always loved mashed potato and have spent a great deal of time perfecting my mash, which does also then mean I get to spend a lot of time eating mashed potato, which I don’t have a problem with whatsoever. Mash is an excellent accompaniment to any dish, particularly lamb shanks.

Pop down to the Market, or even your local butcher and grab a couple of shanks. The best part about this recipe is that you can add whatever you like into your slow cooker to give it a bit of a kick, but also just chuck your ingredients into the cooker in the morning, set it to low and thank yourself for being such a genius when you get home because your house smells amazing from all the delicious aromas.

This recipe serves 2-3 people, adjust accordingly to allow 1 shank per person and up the vegetable content. When chopping your vegetables, larger chunks are better than a fine dice because they will soften during cooking and you don’t want them to disintegrate.

Lamb Shanks with Rosemary Mash 

Ingredients

splash of olive oil

1-2 large brown onions, chopped

2 garlic cloves, chopped

2-3 large carrots, peeled and chopped into chunks

2 celery stalks, chopped

3 lamb shanks

1 40g tin tomato paste

1/2 cup beef stock

400g can of diced tomatoes

1/4 cup red wine

1 bay leaf

mixed herbs such as oregano, basil, parsley and salt and pepper

For the mash

5 potatoes, peeled and chopped

1 tbsp dried, or a sprig of fresh rosemary finely chopped

1 tsp butter

splash of milk, about 1/4 cup (add it gradually as you continue to mash until you get a smooth consistency that’s not too runny, you may need to add a bit more)

Method

1. Turn the slow cooker onto low, place oil, onions, garlic, carrot and celery in the bottom of the bowl and stir to combine.

2. Place lamb shanks over the mixture and add tomato paste, stock, tomatoes, red wine, bay leaf and herbs over the top. You may need to top up with some extra water to ensure the shanks are totally covered in liquid.

3. Place the lid on the slow cooker and cook for 8 hours on low, or 4 hours on high until the meat is tender and falls off the bone. If your liquid is too soupy for your liking, you can mix in a tbsp of flour into the sauce to thicken it.

4. Prepare the mashed potato by placing potato chunks in cold water  in a saucepan and bring to the boil. Simmer potatoes until well cooked and they break apart when pierced with a fork. Drain and place back into saucepan.

5. Add the butter, milk, rosemary and salt and pepper and mash until smooth with no lumps. If you want ultimately smooth potatoes you can whip them with a hand mixer or whiz them in the food processor

Served this dish to Husband and what did he say? “Shanks for a great dinner!”

Of course.

-Sarah

AloHappy Birthday!

My Dad is off to Hawaii in a couple of weeks. I’m just a little bit envious…but it’s ok, I get to be here in the delightfully cold weather, not going swimming, or hiking or eating pineapple with everything…

He had a Hawaiian themed birthday party and asked if I would make some cakes. I was only too happy to oblige, and decided to make cupcakes to suit the theme.

These cupcakes have an amazing flavour hit; you can almost feel the sand between your toes (although in my case it’s usually the brown sugar I’ve spilled on the floor…)

Sarah’s Aloha Cupcakes (this recipe makes 10-12 cupcakes)

Ingredients

1 cup plain flour

3/4 cup caster sugar

1 & 1/2 tsp baking powder

45g unsalted butter, at room temperature

1/2 cup of coconut milk

1/2 tsp vanilla extract

1 egg

1 small tin crushed pineapple, drained

zest of 1 lime

For the icing (gives you a generous serve)

150g unsalted butter, softened

1 tbsp coconut milk

1 tbsp lime juice

3 cups icing sugar

 

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 180 degrees Celsius. Combine flour, sugar, baking powder and butter in an electric mixer on slow speed until the mixture is sand like in consistency and everything is combined.

2. Mix the coconut milk and vanilla extract in a separate bowl then add to the flour mixture until smoothly combined.

3. Add the egg and continue to beat well. Fold in lime zest  and crushed pineapple with a spatula.

4. Spoon mixture into cupcake papers and bake for about 20 minutes until the tops are golden. Allow the cupcakes to cool in the pan before turning onto a wire rack to cool fully. To make coconut lime icing, beat all ingredients until smooth in consistency and pipe onto cupcakes. Sprinkle with desiccated coconut if desired.

You will definitely want to say ‘Aloha’ to these cupcakes, and one simply isn’t enough….Isn’t it a good thing you can indulge when you’re on holidays?

Happy eating (and Happy Birthday Dad)

-Sarah

Sweet Potato, Pear and Ginger Soup

Souper excited for this one!

I was in the supermarket and was looking at the new Maggie Beer range and saw a sweet potato, pear and ginger soup. It sounded amazing, and rather than buying it straight away, I decided to give this one a try myself (thanks Maggie for the inspiration.)

How hard could it be? Not very, apparently.

The best part about this is you prep all the ingredients at the start of the day, set the slow cooker going and then when you get home, a quick whizz through the food processor and dinner is served, no fuss.

Perfect for these cold winter nights with some crusty bread, I’m defrosting just thinking about it!

Sarah’s Sweet Potato, Pear and Ginger Soup

Ingredients

2 large sweet potatoes, peeled and chopped (you don’t have to be too fussy with this one because it’s all getting blended in the end!)

3 celery stalks, chopped

3 packham pears, peeled, cored and chopped

1 onion, diced

1-2 tsp of powdered ginger (depending on how you like your taste. You can also grate up to a tablespoon of fresh ginger if you prefer)

2 cups chicken stock

2 cups water

3 tbsp natural yoghurt or cream (this is just to cream up the soup a bit, feel free to add more or less depending on how creamy you like your soup.)

coriander, to garnish if desired

Method

1. Place all ingredients (excluding the yoghurt) in a slow cooker and cook on low for 8 hours (or high for 4 hours)

2. Once vegetables are tender, place soup mix and vegetables into a food processor (or blender, or use a stick mixer in your slow cooker pot) and blend until smooth. Gradually add the yoghurt or cream until smooth.

3. Serve with crusty bread and garnish with coriander if desired.

Store it in individual portions for a lunch time meal that will definitely kick the chills of winter!

Happy eating!

-Sarah

Announcing….the new series!

It all started with cupcakes. Having a very limited knowledge I had seen these fancy cupcakes with lots of icing that was swirled on top. They looked so different from what my Mum made; they had flat white icing, which she sometimes added passionfruit to (totally delicious)

I wanted to make these cupcakes. I thought it would be so easy. “Just pipe the icing on from one of those bags that Mum has at home,” I told myself.

This was the result of my first solo cupcake adventure:

Buttercream icing that just didn’t work and was so sickly sweet that it was inedible anyway, not to mention the fact that it developed a crust on the outside so it was more crunchy than smooth. Cakes that felt, and tasted I might add, like rocks. (Don’t ask me how I know what rocks taste like.)

Not giving up, I made so many cupcakes until I had perfected the art of the crimpy swirl, the artful blob, and the smooth swirl:

So I’m glad I stuck it out to produce some amazing cakes.

But where does food hesitancy come from? The fear of cooking the unknown?

Perhaps it is simply a failed previous attempt (hello pastry from scratch) or perhaps a cooking injury? (That’s right salted caramel, I’m looking at you!) Or could it be, that these recipes are so time consuming that we put them in the too hard basket and hope that they’ll never come up in our everyday Pressure Test?

So with this in mind, welcome to my new series:

That’s right, each week for 10 weeks I will be looking at one of the recipes (or concepts) that I have always wanted to master, but haven’t/couldn’t/don’t even want to know about…

What’s in my top 10, you ask? Well here they are (in no particular order)

– Pastry from scratch

– Sponge cake

– Cooking with gelatine

– Cooking a roast using a meat thermometer

– Caramel from scratch

– Souffle

– Macarons

– Gnocchi

– Croissants

– Mud cake with ganache

Starting in August, 10 things I hate about food promises potential disaster, possible success, and plenty of kitchen mess. You won’t want to miss this one!

-Sarah