A Day in the Vines.....

There is something so soothing to the soul when you spend a wonderful day with good friends, in a beautiful setting, with the sun shining, wonderful wine and delicious home-cooked food.

This was how I spent my Saturday.

In the lush and beautifully green Yarra Valley. Who couldn't relax with views like this.


After a little wine tasting test on the bus to warm us up, our first stop was Coldstream Hills.

This would have to be one of my all time favourite wineries in the Yarra Valley, off the main road, away from the crowds and views to die for. Imagine waking up to this view every morning.


Our next stop......bubbles, bubbles, and more bubbles....


Domaine Chandon was calling, and a little relaxation in their beautiful gardens was also in order.


Our final stop - St Huberts.


Where after a little more tastings we got down to the serious business of eating..
lunchtime!


One of the wonderful things about St Huberts is that they have bbq facilities, so the boys fired up the bbq while we all relaxed under the huge oak trees with some beautiful salads and their delicious chardonay.


No day would be complete without a little sweet touch to finish off, and my litte coconut and mint syrup cake did just the trick (more to come on this little beauty soon)...


...along with the very talented Ms A's yummy caramel slice...

Told you.....it doesn't get much better than this!

DARING BAKER CHALLENGE: Biscuit Joconde Imprime

It's Daring Baker time again, and I'm ashamed to say that I almost pulled the pin on this month when I heard what we had to bake…….I panicked!

How the hell could I make something I didn't even know how to pronounce……finally, the Taurean bull inside of me made its way to the surface and I plowed ahead, determined to at least give it a try.


The challenge was hosted by Astheroshe of the blog accro, and her dish was a scary Biscuit Joconde Imprime to wrap around an Entremets dessert.

Yeah….now you can understand my fear!

The recipe we used came from Chef John O. while Astheroshe attended The International culinary School in Atlanta, Georgia USA….yep, another reason to be scared!

Broken down, however the joconde imprime (French Baking term) is basically a decorative design baked into a light sponge cake providing an elegant finish to desserts/torts/entremets/ formed in ring molds. It was then our choice of filling.


For me, I made my patterned Joconde using the cocoa decor paste and then filled the little cake (using large size cookie cutters as my mold) with a vanilla and lavender Bavarian custard.


I have to say, it wasn't nearly as scary as I first thought.


My Jaconde imprime baked really well, although my pattern came out extremely faint (not sure if this was due to over baking or perhaps making the pattern too thin).


The vanilla and lavender Bavarian custard was superb! Light, not too rich and subtle in flavour...lovely. I think it also worked really well with the cocoa flavoured sponge.


All in all - a much simpler recipe than I anticipated which in turn made it a real joy to prepare, but probably not one I would make again. I'm personally not a huge fan of this type of cake/dessert but am very proud of myself for not giving up.

Yay me!


To check out my fellow challengers, click here.

The Cookbook Challenge No. 2: Citrus

Whether it’s lemons, limes, oranges or even mandarins – I’m a huge fan!

I love my salad dressings to be heavy on the acid. I like my lemon tarts to be as tart as they can be. And I love, love, love lemon gelato. So as you can imagine, I loved this theme.

I’ve been following this blog for quite some time and when she posted the recipe for this gorgeous treat, I knew I had to make them one day…..and today was the day…..


Lemon, Yoghurt and Coconut Cupcakes
Cookbook: Tartelette Blog
Author: Helene


2 eggs
1/2 cup sugar
3/4 cup olive oil
1 cup yoghurt
zest/juice lemon
1 cup rice flour
1/2 cup plain flour
1/2 cup desicated coconut
1 tbsp baking powder
pinch salt

Preheat oven to 190 degrees.

Whisk together eggs and sugar until light and fluffy, adding in olive oil, yoghurt and the zest and juice a a lemon. Once mixed add the flours, coconut, baking powder and salt and mix until smooth.

Fill cupcake papers no more than 2/3 of the way.

Cook for approximately 15-20 minutes.


For the frosting
115g unsalted butter, room temperature
230g cream cheese, room temperature
2 cups of icing sugar

Whip together the butter and cream cheese then slowly add the sifted sugar.


Yummmo!

I was a little concerned at first as the recipe calls for 1 tablespoon of baking powder…..yep, a whole tablespoon….but my mind was put to ease with the first bite....


A big lemony punch with a nice tart/sourness which I think came from the yoghurt.

The cake itself was really soft and moist (not crumbly like most cupcakes) which I think came from both the yoghurt again and the olive oil, and of course you can’t go wrong with a cream cheese frosting in my book!


Spread the world with cream cheese and all will be ok....I reckon so anyway!

Click here to check out my fellow challengers' dishes.

Lord of the Fries

On behalf of Keep Left PR, I’ve been given the opportunity to have a look at Lord of the Fries, and in particular their “Sauce of the Month”.

Unfortunately, due to the mad rush leading up to Christmas and then going interstate, I missed trialling their Christmas “Sauce of the Month” which I’m very sorry about. However, it’s a new year and I’m back on track…so far.

To be honest, I have never eaten anything from Lord of the Fries as I’ve always tried to avoid fried food outlets (unless I’ve had one too many champagnes, of course). However, having done a little reading about LOTF, I kinda liked the idea that they use fresh NOT frozen chips/potatoes, and that they are hand-cut NOT machine-cut.

Something that seems to be all too rare these days.

Something else I found interesting is that they are 100% vegetarian. I never knew that!


As January is well and truly upon us and Australia Day (which commemorates the arrival of the Fist Fleet at Sydney Cove in 1788) is only around the corner, LOTF has decided to celebrate this day with their aptly named "Sauce of the Month" - The Outback!

A zesty tomato mayonnaise, blending free-range egg mayo, ketchup, cream-style horseradish, paprika, salt, garlic, oregano, ground black pepper and cayenne pepper.


First impression - The fries were nice and hot (which is something that always seems to be missing from take-away outlets).

Second impression - On first glance they didn't look too appetising, however I had to correct myself here as I had completely forgotten that they are cooked with their skins still on (which explains the look).

Third impression - I really enjoyed the "sauce of the month" as it was nice and creamy with a bit of a kick, however I really wasn't won over by the actual fries themselves. What I did like was that they tasted of real potato and the inside was nice and soft, however I found them a little too soft overall - not crisp on the outside at all. My boss ate the remainder and loved them - he said they reminded him of the chips from his childhood. Just goes to show that everyone's taste buds are different!

Looking forward to next month!

A birthday, a beach and a good cup of coffee

A big Happy Birthday to my wonderful mum for today which we celebrated down by the beach - Barwon Heads beach to be exact.

I have a lot of childhood memories of Barwon Heads where we would spend Summer holidays at the local caravan park. The most vivid being the little milk truck that would drive past all the caravans and tents delivering milk for the week, and where I would be allowed to get a Chocolate Big M as a special treat if I was good.

Days were spent playing mini golf or jumping for hours on the trampolines, as well as, of course, making sandcastles down on the beach. Being the youngest, I was only ever allowed to go to the beach by the river - never to the 'big people' beach with the huge waves where my sister and brothers would run off to with all the cool kids....I'm not bitter.


Anyway, today was spent having a leisurely and casual lunch at a little cafe situated right on the water called By The Heads. This is the one made famous by the TV show "Sea Change".


We munched on baked salmon, linguine marinara, and seafood chowder....to name just a few....


We then headed into the main street for some dessert at a little place called Annie's Provedore.

Such a sweet little cafe filled with everything you'd love to have in your own pantry (they didn't have cafes like this when we use to visit).


Here I was served a delicious cup of coffee which I had with a wee little treat - custard filled cupcake....divine!

I hope you had a wonderful birthday today mum with your family, some yummy food, and finally, some sunshine!

Love you lots!
xx

A touch of magnolia....

I recently picked up the cookbook "At Home with Magnolia" by Allysa Torey. Allysa is the woman who founded the Magnolia Bakery in New York - I place I very much enjoyed visiting on my last trip over, however I have to be honest and say that I bought this cookbook purely for the photo's of her home in upstate New York, not the recipes. Her rural Victorian home and garden is my dream home!

When I finally took notice of the actual recipes inside, I was surprised to find quite a few that I'd be interested to cook (especially as I'm not a huge fan of the American style of cooking), including this.....


Apricot Cream Cheese Tart with Gingersnap Pecan Crust!


What captured my attention with this recipe was that it is what American's call an "icebox dessert". No cooking required. Even the crust goes into the freezer instead of being baked.

Perfect for this muggy weather we're experiencing in Melbourne at the moment.


And if I needed any other excuse to make this - it's my mum's birthday this weekend, so after a leisury lunch at Hellenic Republic with my mum and aunty, we trundled back to my place for some tea, coffee and a BIG slice...


I loved it!

It was a true cheesecake - Rich, creamy and a little tart all at the same time.

I couldn't really taste the gingersnaps in the base, although it was still lovely and crunchy with that buttery/nutty texture that I love.


Thanks Allysa! Not only do you live in my dream home and make a living doing something I would love to do one day (cooking), you can also create a beautiful cookbook. Don't know whether to love or hate you?

The Cookbook Challenge #1: Stone Fruit

It's back!

The start of a new year and the start of a new Cookbook Challenge - 26 themes over 52 weeks.

I had actually picked up a variety of stone fruits from the fruit & veg market one morning to bake for dessert that night, only to later find out that Theme #1 is Stone Fruit. My sixth sense must have kicked in....now to find the recipe....

I hadn't opened up this particular cookbook for quite sometime but inside I found what I was looking for.....


Rosy Plum Crumbles
Cookbook: Marie Claire - Seasonal Kitchen
Author: Michele Cranston


10 blood plums (unfortunately I hadn't picked up this many plums, so I used a mix of stone fruits including nectarines, cherries and apricots)
80g caster sugar
1 tsp rosewater
115g brown sugar
60g plain flour
45g desiccated coconut
75g unsalted butter
Cream/Double cream/Ice-cream to serve


Preheat oven to 180 degrees. Slice the plums (or other stone fruit) removing the stones, and put them in a bowl. Add the caster sugar and rosewater and toss until well coated. Set aside for 10 minutes.

Toss the brown sugar flour and coconut together in a bowl. Rub the butter in with your fingertips until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs. Set aside.

Stir the plus again to ensure they are well coated then divide among 6 150ml ovenproof bowls, piling the plums above the top of the bowls as they will cook down quite a bit.

Top the plums with the coconut mixture, then set the bowls on a baking tray and bake for 30 mins, or until the crumbles are golden and the juices are bubbling over the sides of the bowls. Serve warm with cream, or at room temperature with ice cream. Serves 6.


This was the perfect recipe as I had everything already in my cupboard, and the smell of the rosewater once the crumbles were in the oven was delicious!

And the taste....


O.M.G! If you like rosewater, you're going to LOVE this dessert. The syrup that bubbles out of these beauties mixed with the caramelised brown sugar and coconut is out of this world.

Such a quick and easy dish to whip up at anytime, and I intend to whip it up again and again!

For a look at everyone else's dishes, please click here.
Ahh..it's good to be back!

The breakfast dilemma....

Without a doubt, breakfast is my favourite meal of the day.

Whether enjoying it at a local cafe with the newspaper, or cooking it myself - I love it.

During the working week I tend to stick with porridge, yoghurt and fruit or even toast, but when the weekend arrives, out comes the good stuff. My favourite at the moment is soft boiled eggs with soilders....the way the melted butter from the toast mixes with the yolk.....

However being on holidays is like one looooooong weekend, and I'm actually needing a break from my usual (didn't think I'd ever say that), so when standing in front of the fridge this morning trying to decide what my taste buds felt like eating - I was stuck.

What to eat? I couldn't waste good breakfast time on simple porridge - there will be plenty of that when I head back to work next week - so I found myself cooking something I never make for myself....

Pancakes!


My taste buds lean more towards savoury than sweet foods, especially in the morning, however a change was needed in the form of......


Pancakes with Butter, Lemon & Sugar - Bill Granger style.


Only problem - I found myself brushing my teeth twice after eating them.


Tomorrow....?