Summer Dining

The other night I went for an outdoors feast chez Sally & her family.  Sal & her brother had been busy in the kitchen preparing some side dishes to accompany the main event of a big baked fish for five hungry hedgehogs / humans.  The meal was incredibly good, simple, fresh & a perfect way to welcome in the warmer weather making its way (albeit a little tentatively this year) to Melbourne.

Not only was this an opportunity to eat well, it also served the purpose of teaching one of the Hayes' pals how to cook like a pro . . . 

The preparation of the fish dish was far simpler than the final flavours would suggest.  As long as you have an oven preheated to say, 150-190 degrees C (dependant on fan force being set or not), all there is to do is line your tray with baking paper; lay down the fish fillets; sprinkle with a healthy dose of sea salt, pepper, spices, fresh coriander/cilantro & thinly sliced lemon. 

The spice mix we used hailed from the range at Gewürzhaus - their Chermoula, to be precise, which hit the spot perfectly.

Cover the whole arrangement with foil & in the oven for 20-30 minutes or until fish is cooked through.  A slice into the centre of a fillet should give this away.

Serve with some fresh salad and/or roast veggies & you're away!  Just like these chickadees.

Accompanied by a gingham table cloth, tea light candles in recycled jars, & a lovely drop, one can safely say, "Welcome, Summertime" :-)

The Grand Ole Granola Bar

This is no hippie café, nay, although if I ever open one I lay claim to that name as of now. Rather, as the photos would suggest, I have been adventuring in the kitchen to finally try my hand at homemade muesli bars.

I wanted something simple & straightforward,  so I google-ized muesli bars & found this dandy recipe on several links.  I am now going to share with you my version, so get ready, 'cause it's crunch time!  

(. . . Pardon the awesome pun, I couldn't help myself.)

What ye shall need:

1 cup pitted dates, packed nice & cosy

1/4 cup syrupy sweetener (I opted for maple)

1/4 peanut butter (any nut butter would probably work wonders)

Couple pinches of salt

1 cup roughly chopped nuts of your choosing, raw or roasted

1 1/2 cup rolled oats

Any additional ingredients that you fancy: dried fruit, extra nuts, seeds, spices, etc.

First off, have your oven set at about 190 degrees C if you fancy toasting the oats and/or nuts.  You can leave them in there anywhere from 5 to 15 minutes.  I would keep an eye & a nose on alert so as to keep track of their progress.  Bitter almonds or burnt oats will lower the tone of the whole affair & who wants a muesli bar faux pas?  (Last one, promise ;)

On the stove, melt together your peanut butter, salt, & syrup in a small saucepan.  When they form a paste-like consistency, turn off the stove & allow to cool.

Pop the dates into a blender or food processor & whiz them up until they too transform to a paste-like texture.

Toss all the dry ingredients in large bowl until you have yourself a confetti of bits & bobs . . .

When you have these components prepped, mix all the ingredients together in a bowl.  My additions consisted of goji berries, some orange chocolate shavings, raisins, & chopped dried figs.

Once well combined, have a baking tray at the ready, lined with parchment, into which you can pour or scoop your mixture.

With the mixture pressed into a flat slab within the baking tray's walls, you can pop it into the fridge or freezer for at least 15-20 minutes.

When you're ready, remove the slab to slice into the portion size of your preference.  Some like squares, some like rectangles, some may go for triangles or have the patience to carve out circles!  A favourite mantra of mine, "hip to be square" had me on team square.   

And that, folks, is my version of a more or less raw, vegan, muesli bar.  Hip to be square, amiright?!  

Foodie Friends II

Last Saturday night was a big one.  A big one in terms of lovely company, delicious food, a great film & lots of laughs.  

Zoë offered to whip us up some dinner before we made an excursion to the cinema to see About Time, which turned out to be a gem of a film.  

Having lived in Italy for a time, Zoë is a bit of a master chef in the way of pasta dishes.  Her mushroom spaghetti is simple yet oh so delicious & in true Italian style, Zoë keeps the ingredient lineup to a minimum, allowing the natural flavours to speak for themselves.  The pasta, cooked to perfection, caps off the whole ensemble texture-wise, its form in tact as its mild aroma allows the buttery-sweet notes of the mushrooms to rest on your palate.  Di-vine.

Begin by prepping your ingredients:

A generous amount of garlic, finely chopped
Big pinch of dried chilli flakes
Extra virgin olive oil
Mushrooms, chopped as large or as small as you like
Pot of boiling water
Pasta of your choosing (Zo goes for spaghetti in this instance)
Finely chopped parsley for a final garnish
Grated cheese (Parmesan is always a winner but my newest love combination is Tasty / Cheddar)

While you have your water on the stove heating, toss the the garlic, chilli flakes & oil into a large fry pan to sizzle.  When the garlic is golden & aromatic, add the chopped mushies & stir altogether.
Mushrooms softened, allow them to rest on a low heat, giving the flavours opportunity to mingle & caramelise.
Meanwhile, add a pinch or two of salt to the boiling water, followed by your pasta, & allow to cook for as long as directed.

When the pasta is al dente, drain the water & mix the moistened threads through the mushrooms.  Keeping the heat on, drizzle a healthy glug of olive oil over & stir until deliciously combined.

Scoop it into bowls, garnish with as much cheese & parsley as you see fit & you know the drill after this . . . 

. . . Take a photo of an old-fashioned teapot & an indoor plant . . .

Once you're all fed & feeling fine, you can do whatever you choose.  Zoe & I frolicked amongst the neighbourhood flower vines on our way to the cinema.  As it's racing season in Melbourne, we thought these made adequate flower crowns for fascinators.  Floating fascinators, granted, but you get the gist . . .

Follow all this by a good rom com & a choc top for dessert, & I'm a happy chappy!

A Classic Crumble

As far as dessert goes, a crumble of any sort is simply the bomb diggity, is it not?  It's not fancy, it's not necessarily glamorous, but it has the makings of a dessert that ticks all the boxes: it's got crunch, it's warmth & sweetness, it's golden & comforting . . . basically a melt-in-the-mouth type of affair.  

So, without further ado, I'll present to you my own go-to recipe for a classic crumble.      

Now, as far as I'm concerned there are no hard & fast rules for what you put beneath the crunchy canopy.  Only, I would advise fruit, and being a bit of a traditionalist & a romantic, my first choice is most certainly, the humble apple.  And then, Bill Granger, via a sweet pie dish of his introduced me to the valuable veg, rhubarb.  So with the apples providing a mellow sweetness, the rhubarb adds a slight tang & bite to balance it all out.

So first up, preheat your oven to 200 degrees C. 

Then gather & prep your ingredients:

For the filling:

1kg Granny Smith apples, peeled, cored & sliced thinly

juice & zest of 1 lemon

50g butter,

300g rhubarb, diced in inch pieces

250-300g sugar (to taste)

2 tbsp flour 

1 tsp ground cinnamon

For the crumble:

250g plain flour

175g brown sugar

2 tsps baking powder

6 tbsp rolled oats

200g butter, chilled & diced into cubes

Start off by tossing your apple slices with the lemon juice & rind in a large bowl.

Over a medium heat on the stove, melt the butter in a large saucepan or fry pan & once liquid, add your apples.  Cook for 5 minutes of until slightly softened.

Then add your rhubarb & sugar, cooking for a minute further.  Next add your flour & cinnamon, mix it up, put to the side & allow to cool.  Et voilà!  Filling. Done.

Now for the fun part!  Get ready to get those fingers messy because, I believe, for a winning texture this is quite necessary.  Plus, it shows the crumble you care - at least enough to get your hands "dirty".  But beforehand be sure to have freshly washed hands, now!  And resist diving back in their once you've licked 'em clean.

The method to my madness?  Throw all the ingredients, happy as Larry, on top of each other in a generous sized mixing bowl, and then get to work!  It's fun & kinda magic because it seems like it's not going to all come together but then inevitably it always does.  Like an impossible pie!  But that's another dish for another day . . . 

And boom goes the dynamite.  Now all you have left to do is arrange your filling in a baking dish & smother it in the crumble topping.

Cook in the oven for 20-25 minutes or until golden brown & bubbling.  Doesn't it sound dashing already?

Whip it out - you don't even have to wait before serving (not in my books, anyway).  The ultimate combo is crumble with cream or ice cream  . . . or both.  Just heavenly.

'til that impossible pie, guys!

Crunchy Cacao Nib Cookies

Why hello, stranger.  Yet again, some time has elapsed since last I wrote.  However, I am here because these cookies are pretty dang good & their recipe is worth sharing.  

As a young'un, I was a major fan of the chocolate chip cookie - the USA's special gift to the world.  My earliest cooking experiences mainly involved baking, from recollection, because this was clearly top priority for my taste buds.  Dad would have me assist him in measuring out the ingredients & taught me not to be afraid to do away with the wooden spoon & plunge my hands straight into the ingredients awaiting a good mix.  Of course, our hands were squeaky clean before doing this.  But then your fingers would be caked in cookie dough . . . not a crying shame.

In any case, I decided to whip up some chunky crunchy crumbly goodies based on ingredients I had to hand & inspired by some recipes I've spotted round the blogger traps lately.  Here's what I came up with:

Perfect beauties, I'd say.

So, to get down to business, you will need to preheat that oven to 170 degrees C & gather these ingredients:

1 cup almond flour

1/2 cup coconut flour

1 tsp baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

2 TBS melted coconut oil

2 eggs

1/3 to 1/2 cup sweetener of choice (I was experimenting with xylitol - grand success. Alternatively, you could use coconut sugar, cane sugar, maple syrup, but may need to start lower & add according to the scale of your sweet tooth :)

3 TBS almond butter

3/4 cup walnuts or pecans

1/3 cup cacao nibs or dark chocolate chips

To begin, you'll want to mix all your dry ingredients together in one bowl, save for the walnuts & the cacao nibs.

Then you can whisk up your eggs, coconut oil, almond butter, & sweetener.  Pour this gooey mix into the dry ingredients and dive in.  

Admittedly, I was more civilised this baking session & used my trusted wooden spoon.  This mixture is especially moist due to the almond butter which makes for a soft & chewy centre, *cue heavenly voices from on High*

Finally, you can mix in your nuts & chips/nibs.  

Now, you will have to get your fingers a bit caked for this next step.  Grab a little pinch of the mixture & test if its sweetness is to up to scratch.  If so, grab a tablespoon & scoop out portions of the cookie dough onto a lined baking tray.  The dough will probably stick to your fingertips & you might need to lick it off pre hand-wash.  Lucky!

Flatten out your golden goo balls.

These little guys will take approximately 10-15 minutes to cook.  I like an underdone cookie, myself, so I went for the lesser time.

Allow them to cool for a few minutes & they'll be ready for lift-off-the-tray-and-pop-in-your-gob time.

Happy baking!