muppys

Chai Smoked Duck Breast on Soba Noodle Salad

2012-02-18T07:50:00.000+11:00

You will not be surprised to read that this is yet another recipe of Anna Gare's.

My smoking technique was not done as Anna describes in the recipe and I suggest you don't follow my method!

I did not have wood chips or a smoker, instead I heated up this gorgeous mix of chai tea, sugar and rice in our baby weber Q.

It certainly produced some lovely smoke but our bbq doesn't seal so our duck did not really retain that smoky flavour. I would love to buy a smoker and have a real crack at it.

After smoking the fat was rendered down and the duck breast finished in the oven.

Served with the salad of soba noodles, fresh enoki and shitake mushrooms, capsicum, spring onion, snow peas, basil and coriander.

The dressing consisted of mirin, rice wine, garlic, ginger, sesame oil, soy and sweet soy.

The whole dish is then drizzled with some pomegranate molasses.

It was certainly beautiful in taste and looks.

Honeyed Pear and Macadamia Tart

2012-02-08T08:05:00.000+11:00

This is a really simple delicious tart recipe.

It requires no pastry and is easy to assemble.

It is yet another of the amazing Anna Gare's recipes.

The pears are cut into even chunky slices and assembled on top of butter, honey and lime zest.

A few macadamias are sprinkled around before spooning over the tart base.

The base is a delicious mix of pureed macadamias, butter, sugar, a little flour, egg and lime zest.

Bake in the oven for about 45 minutes until very golden and let rest for about 20 minutes before turning it upside down and carefully removing the foil.

I was actually surprised at how tasty this tart was.

The honey really came through with the juicy pears and the crunchy macadamias, it was good!

Jaffna Goat Curry - My Sri Lanka

2012-02-01T08:36:00.000+11:00

This recipe of Peter Kurivita's for Jaffna Goat Curry was another from his show on SBS My Sri Lanka.

I have eaten goat but never attempted to cook it before. And since I loved other recipes from My Sri Lanka (pork curry, cashew nut curry and prawns with black pepper sauce) I knew I had to try it.

Fortunately I live in an area in Sydney where Sri Lankan ingredients are easily come by, and that includes goat! In fact goat brains, tripe, liver.....

The spices are prepared and mixed with the meat along with tomato paste and coconut milk.

Then the aromats. I tried this technique Peter shared of making garlic paste with salt. He made it look very easy and although I was pleased with the result it was nothing on Peter's effort!

The garlic, ginger, onion, green chilli, pandan, curry leaves and lemon grass are all fried initially in some oil until the onion is translucent and the aroma incredible.

Then in goes the meat and its sauce along with water.

Now this is where my problems started. The recipe says to cook for 30 minutes or until gravy thickens and meat tender. Well the gravy thickened beautifully and I tested a piece of meat, it seemed quite tender. But when we served it most of the meat was quite tough.

I am assuming that the cut of meat I used was not right. Anyway I tried using the same cut again 'goat curry on bone' and it took two hours to become tender adding extra water at intervals.

But the sauce was incredible. Oh my goodness it tasted like a real curry!

Served with some string hoppers made at our local Sri Lankan takeaway, it was amazing.

The goat flavour wise was fantastic, suited the sauce perfectly, but mastering the cooking time is an issue.

Next time I'll probably just use lamb!

Anna's Lamb Rack with Ratatouille

2012-01-25T10:12:00.000+11:00

Honestly I have cooked so many recipes of Anna Gare.

They are amazing simple recipes packed full of flavour and fresh ingredients, her cookbook homemade is a must.

This recipe for Lamb Rack with Ratatouille was no exception.

The fresh eggplant, capsicum, tomato, onion, whole garlic, herbs.....whatever you like really.....are cubed up, seasoned and tossed in olive oil, then baked.

I baked mine for about an hour as I love them getting all soft and caramelised.

The lamb rack is trimmed and rubbed with a paste of garlic, rosemary, thyme, lemon zest, olive oil, salt and pepper.

Then simple, just pop it in the oven with the veges and bake for about half an hour.

Be sure to let the lamb rest.

What a beautiful meal of roasted vegetables and beautifully moist succulent lamb.

The 'muppy' house could not have been happier!

Whole Snapper stuffed with Olives and Anchovies served with duck fat potatoes

2012-01-10T10:09:00.000+11:00

I scored in my work 'secret santa' this year with a cook book!!! Gordon Ramsay's World Kitchen - sounds like my sort of recipes hey :)

Well my daughter has chosen the first recipe that we should cook, Stuffed Red Mullet. It looked delicious but Red Mullet is a Mediterranean fish and so we used snapper.

Olives, anchovies, sundried tomatoes and garlic are pureed.

The potatoes I parcooked before tossing in warm duck fat and baking with rosemary, whole garlic cloves and lemon wedges.

The snapper was seasoned and stuffed with the delicious puree.

Then baked for 20 minutes.

Served with the crisp and incredibly tasty potatoes.

The soft moist fish was perfect with the rich olive puree.

After eating this meal I was looking at Australia's Sustainable Seafood guide. Did you know that snapper is not a better choice when it comes to seafood?

In the muppy household we try to make sensible ethical and environmental choices.

So from now on I am going to check before buying my seafood that I am making an appropriate choice by looking up this guide and chatting to my local fish monger.

Slow baked Bloody Mary Lamb

2012-01-05T08:17:00.000+11:00

Hope you all have had a great start to the New Year, lets hope its a good one.

I spent my New Years Eve wandering the aisles of a bottle shop with many others, but unlike everyone else I was only interested in buying vodka to cook my lamb.

And to make raspberry, rose and vodka jelly I must add (it was delicious!).

Most of you would know I am a huge fan of Anna Gare's recipes, many of them favourites in my home.

I finally have her book 'homemade' now, it is almost shocking how many recipes I have cooked (and loved!).

This Bloody Mary Lamb recipe, named of course after the drink, is a slow cooked lamb dish served with rigatoni.

The lamb is slow cooked with leeks, carrots and celery, topped with a sauce made up from passata, chicken stock and vodka. The recipe I linked to is slightly different to the one in her book.

Considering this was a rather wintery dish, it really was quite light to eat.

The flavours were refreshing but did not offer as much depth and guts as I usually find in Anna's recipes. We did really enjoy eating it but I probably wont cook it again, not sure it was worth that much vodka!

Triple Chocolate Mousse Cake

2011-12-27T21:29:00.000+11:00

I hope you all had a lovely christmas that was filled with lots of love and food!

And I'm hoping you are looking forward to the new year to come.

If you feel anything like me and have over-indulged the past two weeks you probably should look away.

This was a delicious chocolate cake I made for one of the many christmas celebrations we went to this year.

A fudgy dark chocolate cake topped with delicious milk and white chocolate mousse.

I was inspired by this recipe I found at Annie Eats where the bottom layer of the mousse cake was indeed cake rather then a classic mousse.

Egg whites are beaten with brown sugar.

Egg yolks are whisked with vanilla and then the melted chocolate and butter.

The eggs are from my parents chooks - such yellow yolks!

The thick ganache is folded with the egg whites and a little flour.

The cake once removed from the oven looked glorious, but way too big for my bottom layer.

It didn't take long to sink to a thick fudgy chocolate cake.

Once it was cooled I prepared the mousse layers.

For the mousse I based it on a recipe found at Fiona Likes Food.

A custard is prepared with egg yolks, cream and a little sugar.

You also dissolve some gelatin that is mixed through the completed custard which is then poured over the chocolates. They are stirred until smooth.

Meanwhile some cream is whipped and folded through the cooled smooth chocolate mixes.

The milk chocolate mousse was poured over the cake and popped in the freezer for fifteen minutes. Then the white chocolate mousse is poured on top.

I refrigerated overnight making it a great prepare ahead dessert.

A delicious chocolate cake for any chocolate lover.

The mousse was beautiful and soft, the fudgy chocolate cake on the bottom a perfect platform.

Triple Chocolate Mousse Cake

Dark Chocolate Cake Base (adapted from Annie Eats)

6 tbsp butter

150g dark chocolate

4 large eggs separated

1 tsp vanilla paste

1/3 cup brown sugar

1 tbsp flour

Preheat oven to 180C. Grease and line a 23cm springform tin.

Melt butter and chocolate gently in bowl over saucepan of simmering water until smooth. Allow to cool slightly.

Partially beat the egg whites and slowly incorporate the brown sugar before beating to stiff peaks.

Whisk the egg yolks with the vanilla, then whisk in the melted chocolate and butter.

Whisk through about a 1/3 of the stiff egg whites and the carefully fold through the remainder with the flour.

Pour into prepared tin and bake for 20 minutes or until springs back when gently touched in the centre.

Leave cake to cool in the tin.

Mousse Layers (adapted from Fiona Likes Food)

2 tsp gelatin powder + 1 tbsp hot water

100g white chocolate, broken

100g milk chocolate, broken

4 egg yolks

2 tbsp castor sugar

500 ml thickened cream

Dissolve gelatin in the water.

Beat the egg yolks with sugar until pale and thick.

Heat half the cream in a saucepan until hot and then remove from heat and whisk in egg yolk mixture.

Return saucepan to low heat and whisk the custard until it just starts to thicken.

Remove from heat, whisk in gelatin and then strain the custard. Pour half the custard over the white chocolate and half over the milk chocolate.

Mix until smooth.

Beat the remaining cream until thick and then divide evenly between the chocolates, carefully folding through.

Pour the milk chocolate custard over the dark chocolate base.

Put in freezer for fifteen minutes or until firm.

Pour the white chocolate mousse over the top, cover with cling wrap and refrigerate overnight.

Flying Fish Degustation & One year of blogging!

2011-12-18T13:52:00.002+11:00

Can you believe it, muppys is one!

It has been an incredible journey so far. I started my blog while on maternity leave to record all the many different recipes I had been cooking. Little did I know that I was joining a whole new community of amazing people sharing their food and lives.

And now I am back at work part time and my posts have slowed down but I still am here, alive and well, and still loving this little place I can escape to. Thanks to everyone for joining me.

Now I wanted to do a special post, and what more special then to share my 10th Wedding Anniversary lunch at Flying Fish.

The meal went for four hours, and I did have matching wines with every course.

Our young children really enjoyed themselves and we were complimented by fellow diners on their behaviour.

We loved every single course.

Crostini with salmon mousse

Ocean Trout with apple and pear vinaigrette.

Soft shell crab sushi

After the waiter had read us the specials and disappeared my daughter lent over 'mummy, i heard that man say sushi'. So yes we obliged and our daughter was very happy with her soft shell crab sushi.

Heirloom tomatoes with tomato cloud, sheep's milk labneh and olive

This was our official first course and it was so refreshing and light.

The tomatoes were just incredible.

Seared yellow fin tuna with ruby red grapefruit, sweet pork crackling and black pepper caramel

This was my husbands favourite course, it really was a delicious combination of flavours and a very popular dish, we saw many plates of it being brought out.

Of course we had the most beautiful view of Sydney harbour right next to our table.

The boats brought much joy to my little boy.

Confit of Petuna ocean trout with pea mousse, whey, puffed skin, trout roe, nori and pea crumb

This course was heavenly, the trout melted in your mouth and the roe was magnificent.

The pea mousse was full of air and the pea flavour balanced perfectly.

Crispy soft shell crab with black pepper curry leaf sauce and crispy shallot and coconut salad

I really loved the way each course brought you something different but yet was in harmony with the rest of your meal. We were pleased this one included the Sri Lankan flavours.

The crab was amazing, so succulent.

Ruby red grapefruit and orange palate cleanser

Ice cream!

My daughter with her delicious ice cream, I did sneak a mouthful :)

Wagyu sirloin with miso braised short rib, pickled shitake, radish, edamame beans and yuzu butter

This was my favourite course (I think, it was all SO good), which is surprising as I would probably not have ordered it from a menu.

The short rib was bursting with flavour, the steak so so tender, the whole dish was just divine.

Holy goat, Brigid's well, white peach

This was our cheese course.

My daughter loves goats cheese so we very kindly shared some with her but I didn't want to!

Peanut butter parfait, lime curd, banana mousse

This was not actually on the degustation menu but I am so pleased we were fortunate enough for the kitchen to offer it.

Urban Garden

Our dessert was really alot of fun. We were quite amused when we were given this 'ash tray', our waiter almost seemed embarrassed.

It was passionfruit brulee on the bottom, topped with a watermelon rockmelon layer, and a crumb.

It was really delicious, and not too sweet.

Urban Garden

As you can see my little boy probably ate half of mine, he loved it!

Petit fours!

We were given a beautiful tray of petit fours with coffee but we all jumped in and gobbled them up so quick.

It really was a beautiful day to spend on the harbour enjoying the most amazing lunch with my family.

Flying Fish

Jones Bay Wharf
19-21 Pirrama Rd, Pyrmont

http://flyingfish.com.au/

Chocolate Raspberry Tartlets

2011-12-08T21:16:00.000+11:00

This sweet treat came about after we were given these beautiful raspberries from Orange.

As nice as they were to just eat, I wanted to make something a little special.

Firstly the pastry is prepared by combining flour, butter and icing sugar to a crumb.

The cold egg yolk then brings it all together.

The dough then rests in the fridge. You may notice my dough has only just come together but I find the rolling out completes the process.

Roll out the dough, I often do so between grease proof paper.

Put in very well greased tins, rest again in the fridge, then prick lightly and bake until golden.

I would like to try the baking beads but am yet to buy some....

Once cooled I added some raspberries which I had warmed in a saucepan to soften, and drained most of the liquid away.

To make the ganache simply heat cream then remove from heat and stir in the chocolate, I used half dark and half milk.

Spoon on top of your raspberries and allow to set.

So yummy! The tart raspberries went perfectly with the deep chocolate and the crispy pastry.

Would make a lovely christmas treat :)

Chocolate Raspberry Tartlets

(makes approx. 1 dozen)

Pastry

90g salted butter

1 cup flour

2 tbsp sifted icing sugar

1 egg yolk

Rub the butter, sugar and flour until like bread crumbs. Add in the egg yolk to bring it together, you may need a little cold water. Wrap in plastic wrap and rest in fridge for half hour. Roll out and and cut to size, place in well greased tins. Rest in fridge for 10 minutes. Prick pastry and cook in a preheated 200C oven until golden (about 10-15 minutes)

Filling

200g raspberries

Warm in a saucepan and then strain.

Once cool spoon into tart cases.

Ganache

1/4 cup cream

50g dark chocolate

50g milk chocolate

1tsp butter

Heat cream until hot, take off the heat and add the broken up chocolate, stir until thick and smooth.

Stir through butter.

Spoon over the top of raspberries and refrigerate until firm.

Tea Country Pork Curry with Pol Rotti and Coconut Sambol - My Sri Lanka SBS

2011-12-01T08:21:00.000+11:00

This is another of Peter Kuruvita's recipes from his new television show My Sri Lanka.

If you click here not only will you get the detailed recipe but will also be able to watch him cooking in Sri Lankan tea country complete with a waterfall in the background and the mist coming and going. It is an amazing show to watch as Peter really shares himself and his love for the country and of course its food.

If you missed my previous post on My Sri Lanka I have also cooked prawns and a cashew nut curry.

I am going to share this recipe as I cooked it.

So firstly the pork was marinated with cardamon, roasted fenugreek seeds, cracked cardamon pods, chilli powder, curry powder, salt, pepper, cinnamon and goroka.

I must confess I skimped alot on the chilli as my children are not so keen on the heat.

Next you prepare the Pol Rotti with atta flour, finely chopped onion and green chilli, salt, ghee and freshly shredded coconut (I used frozen).

Curry leaves are also meant to be added but my local shops were all out today.

Enough water is added to knead a smooth dough which is then rolled into balls and allowed to rest.

As you can see my daughter helped me prepare this meal, one her many additions was rolling out 'cute' rotti balls.

Meanwhile you start the curry by heating ghee (I used oil and butter) in a pot.

I went all out and bought a gorgeous clay pot at one of our local spice shops.

First add pandan and curry leaves (I used dry and I was unable to get fresh today).

Followed by onion, green chilli, garlic and ginger.

Then in goes the marinated pork, covering with water, and cook until it thickens up.

My pot is so huge I could have cooked 10x as much!

Once the curry is on you move on to the carrot sambol which is simply grated carrot, finely chopped onion, garlic and green chilli, fresh coconut, salt and pepper, lime juice and crushed maldive fish.

I bought this down at the spice shop, another interesting ingredient to add to my pantry!

You use your hands to flatten out the pol rotti and cook both sides over high heat with a little oil in a flat pan.

It is served with more fresh coconut on top.

Alongside the carrot sambol.

You can see I used a beautiful golden carrot bought at the markets on the weekend.

And of course the pork curry.

It was really incredible, every component of the meal complimented the next.

The whole family really enjoyed it.

The sambol added the zing and freshness to the tasty pork and incredibly moreish rotti.

Can't wait until the next episode, need some more recipes for my new pot, and maldive fish, and goroka.....

Texan Beef Ribs with Bourbon Sauce

2011-11-23T09:54:00.000+11:00

This is an amazing recipe of Anna Gare's Texan Beef Ribs with Bourbon Sauce.

The ribs are rubbed in a intense mix of smoky paprika, salt, cumin seeds, pepper corns, fennel seeds, chilli flakes, brown sugar and olive oil.

The ribs are then slow roasted for four hours, we did it on our baby Weber Q.

Yes it is meant to be blackened!

Served with honey roasted vegetables and couscous.

A perfect summer dinner to be shared with friends.

The bourbon sauce is quite expensive, requiring two cups of bourbon, but the results were outstanding.

A sweet bbq sauce that was perfect with the flavoursome fall apart beef just asking to be chewed off the bone....

And of course I made dessert, my rhubarb obsession continues. This one inspired from the "Great British Menu" where instead of using lemon juice in a custard style tart use rhubarb juice. Along with a layer of cooked rhubarb and then topped with a caramelised white chocolate crumble.

The crumble was amazing. I firstly baked a basic crumble of butter, flour and a little sugar in a tray, once it just started to brown I mixed in melted white chocolate and then returned to the oven for two minute stints, giving it a good mix in between. Will definitely be using it again -yum :)

I want to eat this meal all over again.....

Cherry & Rhubarb Clafoutis Tart

2011-11-15T22:04:00.001+11:00

If you visit my blog often you would realise I really love to bake tarts!

This one came about after my husband brought home some lovely rhubarb and juicy cherries from the markets.

I have made a clafoutis before but was not overly excited by it so i decided to bake it in a pastry shell.

I made my pastry with a little almond meal to add a nice texture and flavour.

I also kept the custard not to sweet so that the rhubarb was not overpowered.

Well it baked beautifully, the pastry came out brown and crisp.

The soft custardy filling went perfectly with the tart rhubarb and the juicy sweet cherries.

I loved it and will definitely bake it again.

It seems I am losing my sweet tooth as more and more I am loving desserts that offset the sweetness with tang or salt.

Rhubarb and Cherry Clafoutis Tart

Pastry

90g salted butter

1 cup flour

1/3 cup almond meal

1 egg yolk

Pitted cherries (i actually like leaving the pitts in but due to kiddies and hubby took them out)

Rhubarb cut into 1.5cm pieces

Rub the butter, almond meal and flour until like bread crumbs. Add in the egg yolk to bring it together, you may need a little cold water. Wrap in plastic wrap and rest in fridge for half hour. Roll out and line a 23cm greased tart tin. Rest in fridge for half hour. Preheat oven to 200C.

Top the pastry with the cherries and rhubarb.

Custard

1 cup milk

2 eggs + 1 egg white leftover from pastry

1/3 cup brown sugar

1/2 cup flour

vanilla to taste

Whisk the eggs, vanilla, milk and sugar then add to the flour and whisk until smooth.

Pour over the prepared pastry and fruit.

Carefully place in oven as it will be quite full and bake for about 45minutes or until custard is set and pastry is brown.

Prawns with Black Pepper and Curry Leaf Sauce and Cashew Nut Curry - My Sri Lanka

2011-11-09T21:49:00.000+11:00

I have a place in my heart for the country Sri Lanka. Years ago my husband and I booked our first ever overseas holiday - to Sri Lanka. It was called a 'Helping Hands' tour run by NRMA and included times in the trip that helped out those in need. We were so excited but then I received a phone call telling me the tour had been cancelled due to the war, it was no longer safe for us to travel. I was truly devastated and my heart went out to the people who had to live in this 'unsafe' country.

So when I saw advertised the new television series My Sri Lanka by one of my favourite chefs Peter Kuruvita I was so pleased. And I was not disappointed, it really felt as though you were seeing and experiencing a piece of the Sri Lanka Peter knew and obviously loved.

And I was inspired to cook more of this amazing cuisine.

So here are two recipes from the first episode - first a Cashew Nut Curry and the second Prawns with Black Pepper and Curry Leaf Sauce

This curry recipe was really quite simple.

The onions, green chilli, pandan and curry leaves are cooked before adding in spices of cumin, coriander, turmeric and cinnamon.

The cashews and coconut milk are then added and the curry allowed to reduce and thicken.

Finally at the end add some coconut cream.

It was delicious and really did taste fit for a priest!

The flavours were rich and slightly sweet from the coconut with all the underlying flavours allowed to come through.

Just had to include my 'griddled' flatbread, worked a treat, they were perfect.

The sauce from the prawns included a base of chilli. curry leaves, garlic, onion and ginger.

They were cooked over high heat before turning it down and adding lots of butter.

This was allowed to simmer down after adding soy sauce, fish sauce, oyster sauce, sugar and of course black pepper. I actually had trouble with my lowest heat being too hot and ended up having to drastically reduce my cooking time.

The result was a very thick and intense sauce that was amazing with the prawns especially topped with some freshly shredded coconut and some fresh curry leaves.

So I was able to have a little Sri Lankan adventure in my kitchen and one that was greatly enjoyed at our dinner table.

Looking forward to the next episode (thursday 7:30pm SBS).

I am also so excited as for our 10th wedding anniversary next month we are having lunch at Peter's restaurant Flying Fish.

Nigella's Guinness Gingerbread

2011-11-03T11:04:00.000+11:00

This is Nigella's recipe, from Nigella Kitchen.

I've been wanting to bake it for ages but decided to save it for my husbands birthday.

But I forgot, ooops (baked him chocolate quinoa cake instead!).

Anyway I finally tried it and thought it was really good.

Of course Guinness was the star of the show, warmed up in a saucepan with butter, golden syrup, brown sugar, with ground ginger, cinnamon and cloves.

Then simplicity in Nigella style, just whisk in the flour and bi-carb until you have a smooth batter.

Whisk in sour cream and eggs.

Pour your surprisingly runny batter into a prepared lined pan and bake.

The texture was very soft although I think I slightly undercooked it.

But the flavour was the stand out to me, so deep and left lingering tastes to keep you wanting more.

I think it would taste exceptionally good after a couple of days.....

Pink Checkerboard Biscuits - Breast Cancer Awareness

2011-10-30T21:06:00.000+11:00

Pink is becoming so recognisable as a symbol for Breast Cancer.

I believe its important to come together as a community and help raise awareness and funds to continue our battle against this devastating disease.

So I thought I would share these gorgeous biscuits, the recipe adapted from the cookbook Australian Women's Weekly Cookies.

Firstly you make a simple cookie dough and divide it in two.

To one batch I added beetroot powder, to the other I added 'fairy dust' sprinkles.

They are shaped into logs and refrigerated until firm.

Then cut into lengths and create your checker logs before refrigerating again.

The logs are then sliced and baked.

They are so pretty and fun to make.

And they tasted delicious.

And to put my money where my mouth is I will donate 20cents for every page view on this post over the next three days!

Prosciutto wrapped chicken with sage, rainbow chard and pine nuts

2011-10-27T12:53:00.000+11:00

This recipe is just so simple and incredibly delicious.

It is from Tobie Puttock's Cook like an Italian.

And if this is how you cook like an Italian I am one happy girl!

The boneless chicken thigh is rolled in prosciutto with sage in the middle.

You then just pop it in the oven for about 20 minutes.

Meanwhile warm some garlic and orange zest in olive oil.

Then pop in some rainbow chard or silverbeet and cook for about 5 minutes.

Next pop in your chicken and its cooking juices, orange juice and some pinenuts.

You then just allow this to cook so all the flavours meld together until the chicken is cooked through.

It really is a beautiful dish to eat and one that will frequent the dinner table in the muppy house!

Cambodian Spicy Sour Beef with Tamarind Sauce

2011-10-23T20:51:00.000+11:00

This is yet another recipe from SBS Feast.

My parents have travelled to Cambodia with Operation Christmas Child, an organisation that delivers gifts for children at christmas, the only gift that most of these children will ever receive.

I bought my mum for her birthday the cambodian recipe book From Spiders to Water Lillies. The book is produced by a restaurant in Phnom Penh that is run by ex-street kids, and it turns out my mum ate there.

So when I saw Cambodian recipes in the this months magazine I knew I would have to try them.

I couldn't find all the ingredients I needed, so I substituted my vegetables for more readily available ones. And I could not find pickled mudfish at the asian grocer so I used shrimp paste.

The base to this dish was a mix of lemongrass, kaffir lime leaves, galangal and garlic.

Other ingredients included this beautiful piece of steak, turmeric, tamarind, pickled mudfish (I used shrimp paste), fish sauce and palm sugar.

After cooking the lemongrass mix and turmeric you add the fish sauce, tamarind and shrimp paste that have been mixed with water.

Once this is simmering you add the beef and sugar and cook briefly before adding the blanched vegetables.

It was a really interesting dish and quite different to dishes I normally cook.

The tamarind broth was quite delicious, packed full of flavour.

Such a simple dish but healthy and tasty.

Layered Rhubarb & Lemon No Bake Cheesecake

2011-10-20T21:05:00.000+11:00

This is a delicious dessert that I grew up eating as it is a recipe from my mum. Well her recipe is for lemon passionfruit cheesecake so I did experiment a little!

The base is made by crushing up sweet store bought (or homemade) biscuits and mixing with butter before pressing into a tin with a removable base. I should have used a little extra butter as mine is a little crumbly.

I made this for my lovely sister in law who had a birthday on the weekend.

It is a great cake to make as it is best made a day in advance.

I made the base mix of cream cheese, cottage cheese, vinegar and condensed milk before splitting the mixture in two. I then added lemon juice, rind, gelatine and whipped cream to make my first layer.

For my top layer I added pureed cooked rhubarb, gelatine and whipped cream.

Then you just refrigerate.

It was delicious, still one of my favourite desserts.

It is so soft and light, very much like a mousse but cheesecakey.

Layered Rhubarb and Lemon No Bake Cheesecake

(adapted from muppys mum)

Base

185g biscuits (I used 'nice')

90g butter

Crush Biscuits and combine with melted butter then press into greased tin (removable base)

Topping

250g cottage cheese

250g cream cheese

400g tin condensed milk

2 tsp white vinegar

2 tsp gelatine dissolved in 1/4 cup boiling water

Juice and rind of 1 lemon

Pureed cooked rhubarb (I cooked 4 stalks with one tsp sugar)

300ml cream, whipped softly

Beat cheeses until light and creamy.

Add condensed milk and vinegar and continue to beat until creamy.

Divide the mixture in two.

To the first mixture beat in the lemon juice and rind and half the gelatine.

Fold through half the whipped cream.

Pour into the tin.

To the second mixture beat in the rhubarb and remaining gelatine.

Fold through the remaining whipped cream.

Carefully pour on top of the lemon layer.

Refrigerate, best eaten the next day.

Kids Crazy Island Tea Party - Crave Sydney

2011-10-18T21:13:00.000+11:00

The Kids Crazy Island Tea Party is an exciting adventure for any child.

This event for Crave Sydney Food Festival was a like a dream come true for the kiddies!

The event is free but tickets were snapped up quickly, we were fortunate enough to be allocated some tickets through Twitter.

Firstly you wait at the spectacular Opera house "Man O'War Steps" wharf to be ferried to historic Goat Island.

From the moment you arrive you are greeted by enthusiastic staff.

The Island is set up with multiple activities.

Our first stop was the enchanted tea party where the kids were able to decorate their own little treasure boxes.

And have their face painted by a fairy!

Then we were off to the Sparkle cupcake factory, complete with a Lindt chocolate fountain.

And of course cupcakes were decorated.

We then headed to the marketplace.

Crazy coconut cakes were decorated.

Who can say no to fairy floss?

Along with flavoured ice,

and the kids were able to choose their own fruit to be blended into a delicious drink.

Plenty of fun was had decorating Mr Potato head.

The kids were also given a pot to add soil to and choose vegetable seeds to plant and water.

Then off to the Pirates cave where they were able to make and decorate their own pirate hats.

Of course there was dancing and a live show performed by Alice in Wonderland.

And a Lindt Teddy Bears Picnic.

Don't forget the balloon swords.

That was until Evie's popped, one sad very tired little girl!

Lindt gave out cute little teddy bear chocolates and hosted a colouring competition.

They gave prizes for the best ones which was great until they called out Evie

(9 months) so our Evie (who should know she is not 9 months!) very proudly went to collect her bag....once again we had tears.

The big Lindt teddy still got a big hug on the way home.

Evie gave the day a big thumbs up.

Saag Paneer on a Pumpkin Rosti with Tamarind Glaze and Coconut Cream

2011-10-13T20:16:00.000+11:00

This recipe for Saag Paneer is from one of the contestants, Jackie, off Masterchef UK.

I really enjoy Masterchef UK version, to me it really is all about cooking, rather then the social experiment Australian Masterchef seems to tend towards.

So if your looking for an interesting vegetarian dish then look no further, this one was really really good.

There are a few elements to prepare but it so worth it.

Firstly the pumpkin rosti is made up from grated pumpkin and potato, chilli and coriander leaves. It is fried in a pan before finishing in the oven.

After blanching the spinach and pureeing it you move on to cooking off the spices, cumin and mustard seeds, and onion, garlic, ginger and chilli.

The spinach and tomatoes are added and allowed to meld together.

Meanwhile you fry your paneer cubes in some butter.

Then you also need to prepare the tamarind glaze from tamarind puree, water, sugar and red wine vinegar.

And finally soften some coconut cream with warm water.

It was delicious, the tamarind glaze is put on the plate and topped with the rosti. Then you place your saag on the rosti topping with the paneer. Finish with a drizzle of coconut cream.

It was an amazing dish, every element had its place.

I will definitely be cooking it again.

Orange Cake

2011-10-08T20:59:00.000+11:00

This recipe is from the lovely Ellie at Gourmand Recipes.

I was totally convinced to try the recipe and I was not disappointed.

I love finding an excuse to bake so when we had guests over for dinner this was one recipe close to the top of my list.

The cake came out beautifully.

It is covered with icing tinted with orange juice.

It was delicious, the cake so soft and delicate yet robust!

Perfect for an afternoon tea treat.

Black Sesame Tagliatelle with Puttanesca Sauce

2011-10-03T20:32:00.000+11:00

Just last night on Junior Masterchef Australia one of the gorgeous kids, Aya, cooked this incredible pasta dish of black sesame tagliatelle with puttanesca sauce.

We liked the look of it that much we cooked it for dinner tonight!

We really love puttanesca and usually use an Anna Gare recipe. If you don't know puttanesca is a simple bold sauce usually consisting of anchovies, capers, olives, tomatoes. garlic and parsley.

But what made this recipe interesting was the addition of toasted black sesame seeds to the pasta dough. I also used half spelt flour and half plain flour.

The sesame seeds actually tasted delicious and complimented the sauce really well.

I think my pasta was too thin, looking at the photo of the original, but I was silly enough to follow the recipe rather then using my instinct.

It was delicious, I loved the black sesame seed pasta.

I will try it again but making my pasta thicker and then the sauce will be more saucy!

Chicken Cheese Empanadas - cooking with Evie

2011-09-30T21:43:00.000+10:00

One gorgeous present my daughter received for her birthday was a "Cook with Dora" set.

I let her choose a recipe for us to cook together.

Not a bad choice hey.

First we made pastry by crumbling butter with flour, then adding cold water to bring it together.

While the pastry rested we headed off to the garden to pick some fresh herbs for our filling.

The filling called for cooked chicken so I diced up a chicken breast and browned it before deglazing with white wine. I reduced the juices down to make a tasty sauce for our filling.

The chicken was mixed with the sauce, some grated cheese and our freshly picked oregano and parsley.

The circles of pastry are filled with some filling and sealed with egg wash.

Evie loves 'painting' with the egg wash!

And while they were baking we made a strawberry banana smoothie.

They were delicious, though a little more browning would have been nicer - I had hungry tummy's waiting for them to be cooked.

Chocolate Quinoa Cake with Rosewater Ganache

2011-09-28T08:12:00.000+10:00

Can you believe it - we had another birthday in my household, this time my husband.

I decided to cook him this rich gluten free chocolate cake made with quinoa, the recipe from the Better Homes and Garden magazine. It is covered in a rosewater chocolate ganache.

Birthdays become such a special occasion again when you have children, the joy it brings having a beautiful cake with candles.

I filled the cake with whipped cream and sliced strawberries.

The cake itself was so rich and yummy. It was quite dense and sticky yet soft.

The strawberries worked well with the rich cake.

I wasn't sure about the rosewater ganache but tasting when freshly made I was very impressed, it was gorgeous with the subtle background of rose.

But I poured it over and refrigerated the cake overnight and the next day the ganache was much stronger in rose flavour and although still nice it was not as good as when first made.

I would suggest pouring the warm ganache over the cake just before serving.

Rich Chocolate Quinoa Cake with Rosewater Ganache

Ingredients

Cake

3/4 cup quinoa

1/2 cup milk

5 eggs

1 tsp vanilla paste

3/4 cup melted butter

1 1/2 cups raw sugar

1 cup almond meal

1 cup cocoa powder

1 1/2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp bicarb. soda

pinch salt

Filling

1 cup cream

sliced strawberries

Ganache

1/2 cup cream

1 tbsp glucose syrup

1 tsp rosewater

100g 85% dark chocolate

100g milk chocolate

Topping

halved strawberries

Grease and line two cake tins . Preheat oven to 180C.

Put quinoa in saucepan on high heat and add 1 1/3 cups water. Bring to boil, reduce heat and cover for 10 minutes. Remove from heat leaving covered for a further 10 minutes. Fluff with a fork.

Combine milk, eggs and vanilla and use a stick blender briefly to combine.

Add quinoa and butter and puree mixture until smooth.

Combine sugar, almond meal, cocoa, baking powder, bi-carb soda and salt in a separate bowl.

Pour in the quinoa mixture and combine well.

Divide mix into the two prepared tins and bake for 45 minutes. Should be cooked when skewer is clean.

Leave to cool in tins.

Once cakes are cool whip cream.

Spread over one cake, add the sliced strawberries and top with second cake.

Finely chop the chocolates.

Combine cream, glucose syrup and rosewater over heat and bring to a boil.

Remove from heat and add the chocolate. Leave for twenty seconds before whisking until smooth and thick.

Pour and spread over cake, top with halved strawberries and serve.

Evie's 4th Birthday Party

2011-09-25T09:18:00.000+10:00

We celebrated my daughters 4th birthday last weekend and as promised here is her castle cake.

I made the towers from milo cake (Raspberri cupcakes) with white chocolate ganache made pink with beetroot powder. The middle of the cake was lemon yoghurt cake (Donna Hay) covered in a lemon cream cheese frosting. We used white Arnott's Tim Tams for the steps and found the purple wafers in an asian supermarket.

And of course the cake was finished with a real prince and princess complete with horse and carriage - makes one very happy little girl.

I love craft and made many aspects for the party but sadly did not spend the time capturing them beautifully with my camera.

As well as this bunting I decorated paper cups, made paper weaved lolly bags filled with shortbread and had prepared a make-your-own crown table.

I have to share some of the food we had, this one being salted caramel peanut popcorn (Anna Olson).

I've made this many times and it is always tasty.

Lemon jelly yoghurt cups, the bottom layer was made from condensed milk, lemon juice and zest and gelatin.

We ordered a tray of Sushi by request from Evie, she loves it!

And what party is complete without fairy bread!

Buttermilk scones with strawberry jam and whipped cream.

The make-your-own-crown table.

Evie and her completed crown.

Of course there was dancing.

And even a song performed by Evie with her brand new birthday guitar!

She had a fabulous day and so did I.

Chicken Wonton Noodle Soup

2011-09-20T21:05:00.000+10:00

For those of you who watched Masterchef Australia you would know Dani, one of the top eight contestants.

She posted this recipe for Chicken Wonton Noodle Soup on her blog and so I thought I would try it out.

Whilst watching the show I often questioned her cooking abilities compared to some of the other contestants, but I now need to eat my words - because this was an amazing meal.

The soup stock is prepared quite simply simmering softened onion, garlic, and ginger with star anise, cinnamon, sugar, fish sauce and chicken in water for an hour and a half. I actually used some of my homemade chicken stock as well as water.

The wonton filling is prepared with chicken mince, sesame oil, sugar, fish sauce, spring onion, soy sauce, coriander roots, lime juice and white pepper. It is marinated for an hour before making your wontons.

The soup is then served over fresh egg noodles and the cooked wontons.

Top with mint, coriander and chilli.

We loved this meal and I will be cooking it again.

My daughter asked shortly after we started eating "can we have this for my birthday mum?"

That, by the way, is the reason for my absence, we had my daughters 4th birthday on the weekend. I will have to post some of the photos, including the castle cake!

Homemade Bagels with Smoked Salmon and Lemon-Herb Schmear

2011-09-13T07:42:00.000+10:00

These lovely bagels were featured in the new edition of SBS feast to celebrate New York Jewish deli classics.

The recipe was quite similar to a basic bread recipe except it called for barley malt syrup, I did not have any so I substituted with treacle.

After the dough rises you shape them and let rise again before cooking them one minute each side in boiling water. I was amazed as I plopped my bagels in and watched them instantly double in size!

Brush with egg, sprinkle with seeds and bake. Maybe not quite as pretty as ones you find in the shops but I was really pleased.

Until my husband came home and asked me if I'd cooked donuts!

Schmear is apparently the deli slang used for something spread onto a bagel.

This schmear was delicious made from cream cheese, dill, chives, spring onions, lemon juice and zest.

I loved them.

The bagel had that chewy crust with a soft but dense filling, and it had that slight sweetness.

Spread with the schmear, smoked salmon, capers and spring onions it was delicious.

Stuffed Mushroom & Zucchini

2011-09-06T21:35:00.000+10:00

Tonight my husband cooked dinner, and what a delicious dinner it was!

He is an excellent cook, much better palate then me. I rely (as you all know!) on recipes.

The mushrooms have a filling that is cooked onion, garlic, mushroom stems, parsley, and white wine, mixed with dried oregano, grated cheese and sourdough breadcrumbs. Top with a piece of cheese and bake.

The zucchini is partially cooked and then stuffed with the zucchini middle, garlic, onion, sourdough breadcrumbs, parsley, tomato paste and dried oregano. Cover with grated parmesan and bake.

Both were delicious but the mushroom was my favourite. The stuffing was loaded with flavour that perfectly complimented the juicy mushroom. I will be making sure it is cooked again very soon.

Stuffed Mushrooms

Ingredients

5 large mushrooms (We used swiss brown - I think!)

1/2 onion finely chopped

1 clove garlic finely chopped

1 tbsp butter

1 tsp olive oil

couple sprigs parsley finely chopped

1/4 cup white wine

handful breadcrumbs (we used frozen sourdough grated)

1 tsp dried oregano

1/4 cup grated cheese (aged cheddar) + slices for top

Method

Preheat oven to 200C.

Remove mushroom stems and chop finely.

Cook the onions in the butter until soft.

Add the garlic and cook for a minute.

Add the mushroom stems, a little olive oil and the parsley.

Splash in the white wine and reduce by half over medium heat.

Stir through the breadcrumbs, oregano and cheese until melted.

Season to taste.

Fill the mushroom cups and top with a slice of cheese.

Bake for 20 minutes.

Beef, Spinach and Peanut Sudanese Stew

2011-09-05T20:19:00.000+10:00

The latest edition of Feast, the new foodie magazine by SBS, arrived in the mail last week.

It has some delicious recipes, this one a stew from south Sudan.

Not only a simple dish it was full of flavour.

The beef is browned and then slow cooked along with the softened onions, garlic and tomato paste in beef stock. Sweet potato is added until tender and then add in cooked spinach (I used silverbeet), fresh tomatoes and ground peanuts. Serve with couscous.

I loved this dish, the taste was amazing. The peanut added a really interesting flavour and made it quite unique.

Pumpkin Apple Spice Cake

2011-09-01T08:29:00.000+10:00

On Tuesday my baby boy turned one.

We had a little party for him on the weekend and I made him a koala chocolate cake but I wanted him to have a cake for the actual day too.

We have an abundance of apples in our house and I have these memories of a delicious apple spice cake my mum baked when I was a child. There was a layer of apple baked right in the middle.

I also chose to incorporate some puree pumpkin and diced apple in the spiced batter.

I tossed sliced apple in cinnamon, butter and sugar before layering in the middle of my cake.

The result was a moist cake full of apple, that was enjoyed by all (well except my daughter who did not even try it - she very strangely does not like cake).

I topped it with a glaze of vanilla cream cheese icing.

Instead of sugar I used rapadura, it is dehydrated cane sugar juice.

My little boy who is sick with an ear infection actually had a moment of happiness in the cake cooking process.

And for those of you who are interested this is his 'brown' koala cake (I didn't want to use black food colouring), a layered chocolate cake filled with chocoalte ganache, cream and strawberries, and milk chocolate buttercream.

It is the first 'kids' cake I have ever attempted, so yes your allowed to laugh at it!

But you must smile when it is cut :)

Apple Pumpkin Spice Cake

(adapted from this recipe)

Ingredients

Cake Batter

2 eggs

1/2 cup rapadura

1 cup pumpkin puree

1/4 cup milk

1/2 cup macadamia oil

1 cup wholewheat flour

1 cup plain flour

1 tsp cinnamon

1/4 tsp nutmeg

1/4 tsp allspice

1/4 tsp ground cloves

1 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp baking soda

pinch salt

2 apples, peeled, small dice

Apple Filling

1 tsp rapadura

1/2 tsp cinnamon

2 tsp melted butter

2 apples sliced

Glaze

40g cream cheese

1/4 tsp vanilla paste

1/4 cup icing sugar

Method

Preheat oven to 180C.

Grease and line the bottom of a 23cm round cake tin.

Prepare the sliced apple filling by tossing the apple through the mixed butter, rapadura and cinnamon.

Sift the dry ingredients together.

Beat the eggs and rapadura together well.

Turn the speed down and add the pumpkin, oil, and milk until well combined.

Fold through the dry ingredients followed by the diced apple.

Spread half the batter in the prepared cake tin.

Top evenly with the apple slices.

Spread over the remaining batter and bake for 40 minutes.

Let cool in tin for about 5 minutes before turning out gently onto a cake cooler.

Mix the cream cheese, icing sugar and vanilla together.

Spread over the cake while still warm.

The Heart of Food Photography Course

2011-08-25T15:34:00.000+10:00

I really love beautiful photos.

I wish I could take them.

Before blogging I was interested in photography. Now that I have joined the realm of blogs I have an increasing desire to be able to capture the food I have created in a real and appetising way.

The Heart of Food Photography course was a good overview of photography.

Simon inspired us to try and think outside the box and be creative with the way we capture a moment in time.

We also covered aspects of how to manually use our cameras and different angles we should try.

In this I need a lot of practice.

As part of this blog I really want to share with you the meals we share together as a family.

I felt encouraged to continue to include that in my photos, and to try and improve on capturing these special times.

He also shared the importance of post editing of photos and how that can make an amazing difference. At the moment I don't have a program to allow me to but hopefully in the future I will.

Some fantastic bloggers attended, Everybody Loves Ramen, Nic Cooks, Sweet Life by Mel, Wholesome Cook, Sugarpuffi, Berry Butter, it was great to meet you!

And I shall not forget the food!

Mumu Grill gave us some beautiful dishes, perfect for practicing on.

Dessert I found a little bit disappointing.

For this photo, using the colour accent feature on my camera, I selected only the red.

I really enjoyed the day, found it a great overview and although I need much practice in manual photography at least I know where to start. Thankyou Simon.

Fig Jam Tart

2011-08-21T10:30:00.000+10:00

Yesterday we had an unexpected visit from my parents which gave me the perfect excuse to bake.

I bought some delicious fig jam at the farmers markets recently and have been wanting to put it to good use. This recipe is based on a bakewell tart, a delicious treat we discovered in England.

It was so delicious with the buttery, crumbly, crispy, slighty sweet base lined with a thin layer of fig jam and then topped with a soft and luscious almond filling.

It was equally delicious served warm as it was at room temperature the next day (tasted for blogging purposes of course).

Fig Jam Tart

Pastry base (I use this recipe for most of my sweet tarts) - makes one 23cm diameter tart

Ingredients

90g softened butter

Almost 1 cup plain flour (I use an organic unbleached freshly milled flour - it is amazing)

2 tbsp sifted icing sugar

1 cold egg yolk

Method

Preheat oven to 200C.

Mix the butter, flour and icing sugar until you get a crumb-like mix. I usually use my hands but try to do it reasonably quickly so as not to warm it up. Then add the egg yolk which will bring the dough together, again I use my hands. If the mixture is too sticky add extra flour, if its too dry add a little cold water. Once it has formed a dough you can wrap in cling wrap and place in fridge to rest for about 20 minutes, or even freeze it for another day (something I have done plenty of times).

But for this tart I was short on time (as I often am) so I simply rolled out the pastry so that there is enough for your tin with a bit of overhang, and place in a greased round tart tin with removable base. At this point you can once again pop the tart in the fridge to rest for about 20 minutes as it helps reduce shrinkage. I skipped this step and just pricked the bottom lots with a fork and baked for about 10 minutes. Remove from oven and prepare filling.

Filling

Ingredients

1/3 cup castor sugar

100g butter softened

1 tsp lemon rind

2 large eggs

1 cup fine almond meal

1/4 cup fig jam

Method

Turn oven down to 180C.

Whisk (or beat) the sugar, butter and lemon rind until its creamy and pale. Add one egg at a time whisking well.

Fold through the almond meal until all combined.

Spread the fig jam on the base of the partially cooked tart base.

Top with the almond filling being sure to spread it evenly and to the edges.

Bake at 180C for 40 minutes or until firm to touch. Be sure to keep an eye on it as all ovens are different and if it is like mine you will need to turn it halfway through.

Let rest for 10 minutes before serving.

I kept mine on the bench overnight covered and it was still perfect in the morning.

Simple Chorizo and Seafood Soup

2011-08-18T11:12:00.000+10:00

Again I am sharing a recipe that I have cooked from a book I received for my birthday.

One of my gorgeous friends gave me Marion Graspy's cook book the day before my birthday when she accompanied me to The Heart of Food Photography Course at Mumu Grill. And now she has started her own food blog Berry Butter where she shares some of her sweet treats. Please go and check it out.

We had an excellent day at the course trying to figure out our cameras and being inspired to ~~take~~ attempt to take beautiful food photos.

Marion's style in this the book is so creative and interesting. I really love it.

Firstly she gets you to make your own prawn stock by peeling raw prawns and simmering the heads and shells in water for 15 minutes being sure to skim off the top. So simple yet the results were excellent (and that was still the case when we very stupidly strained some of the stock down the sink! and had to add more water and start again).

The recipe really is simple, start by cooking chorizo with onion, garlic and ground fennel.

Stir in tomato paste allowing to cook for about a minute then let it all bubble up with some white wine. Add the prawn stock, tinned tomatoes and a little sugar.

Let this simmer for about 20 minutes before adding a chopped up snapper fillet for about 2 minutes and finally squid rings and the prawns for another 3 minutes. Garnish with fresh parsley and your done.

We were so impressed by the flavours of this dish. It was amazing for such little effort, I will definitely be picking this book up again very soon to cook another recipe.

Roast Chicken and Parsnip Soup

2011-08-15T21:09:00.000+10:00

Another fantastic gift I received for my birthday was a subscription to the magazine SBS Feast. There are certainly some recipes that are a feast for the eyes.

This is the first recipe I have made, a roast chicken and parsnip soup, by Matthew Evans, the gourmet farmer.

This is definitely not a weeknight meal although you could always reheat some for a quick dinner.

The chicken and parsnips are firstly roasted. The meat is then taken off the chicken and the bones put in a big pot with leek trimmings, celery, parsley stalks, herbs and pepper. This is covered with water and simmered for a couple of hours.

The soup is then prepared by softening leeks before adding the chopped parsnips and stock. Once this has simmered away for about half an hour add the chicken and some parsley.

It needed plenty of salt to bring out the flavours but otherwise was really quite tasty. Yes I am slowly being converted to a soup fan.

The recipe suggested you serve the soup with turkish bread so I made my own wholemeal version. It wasn't quite like the shops but it was still yummy.

I bought this butter at the farmers markets on the weekend.

I had to include a photo of the Chocolate Cinnamon Popcorn I made, it was so delicious - an adult popcorn (although my daughter loved it). You can find the recipe at Gourmand Recipes.

Duck and Mushroom Tortellini with Caramelised Pears

2011-08-13T21:14:00.000+10:00

I celebrated a birthday last week and was given the cookbook Top Chefs Recipes Made Easy by Virginia and Lisa Hellier. It is full of some great sounding recipes but no pictures so its up to your interpretation.

So tonight I cooked duck using a Guy Grossi recipe, you can find the recipe here at SBS (although slightly different to the one I used).

Firstly a whole duck is roasted.

Wholewheat pasta is made.

The filling is made by softening garlic and shallot in olive oil. Add mushrooms, duck, parsley and sage followed by tomato paste, marsala and chicken stock. Simmer and reduce right down.

I definitely need some practice at making tortellini.

The pears were caramelised by mixing the pear slices with brown sugar and cooking with white wine.

It was really delicious, the filling was extremely tasty and went perfectly with the caramelised pears.

I really wanted to use the breasts after roasting such an amazing duck. So I made a pumpkin puree and served the breast on top with a fig sauce made using shallot, fig jam, marsala, chicken stock and butter.

It was delicious, the sweet sauce was amazing with the duck and the pumpkin balanced out the sweetness.

Drunken Noodles

2011-08-10T08:38:00.000+10:00

I noticed this recipe for Drunken Noodles by Peter Evans when I was checking out the Lifestyle Food web page recently. Since acquiring my new wok I am on the look out for more stir fry dishes.

I basically followed the recipe except using cooked dried rice noodles instead of delicious fresh ones.

It was really quite simple once you had everything in place for the action.

First in is garlic, red eschallots and banana chilli to hot peanut oil. Then sliced chicken followed by 2 eggs. Next the vegetables (capsicum, tomatoes, cabbage) and the sauce (oyster sauce, fish sauce, rice wine vinegar, lime juice, palm sugar). Right at the end put in some spring onion, coriander, basil and peanuts.

It was really delicious and light tasting with all the different elements adding to the dish.

Also you may have noticed my lack of posting lately. I have been cooking lots of new dishes and taking photos but have been trying to be less obsessed about blogging. I return to work next week (after a year of maternity leave) and know that I wont be dedicating my time to 'muppys' so much. I really love reading all your blogs and love that you visit mine. So I will be hopping over soon but not as often as I have in the past. Hope you all have a good day.

Tandoori Chicken Pizza

2011-08-06T17:54:00.000+10:00

We were originally inspired to make this pizza after eating it at the restaurant Pancakes on the Rocks (at Northmead).

I was fortunate enough to receive a Baker's Delight voucher recently from The Food Mentalist and was keen to test out their new pizza bases. When I picked up the bases I was pleasantly surprised at how good they looked. I think they are great product and will definitely buy them again for those times when time doesn't permit to make my own pizza dough.

I made my own tandoori paste using this recipe and then mixed it with a generous amount of yoghurt to use as the base to my pizza.

The rich sauce is perfectly complimented by chicken, roasted sweet potato, roasted capsicum, red onion and mushrooms.

Serve with extra yoghurt and you have a delicious meal.

Slow Cooked Chipotle BBQ Pork

2011-08-04T10:49:00.000+10:00

A while back an awesome recipe for smoky pulled pork was posted at Morsels and Musings. Yesterday I had planned to cook my pork in the slow cooker using this recipe but realised I was missing ~~some~~ lots of ingredients - menu planning translated to shopping list fail by me!

Not willing to change my plans I went with my instinct and used ingredients I thought would work. And gee am I glad, it was awesome.

In the morning I cut up my pork meat into chunks and added to the slow cooker along with onion, tomato sauce, tomato paste, worcestershire sauce, garlic, apple cider vinegar, red wine, carrot, celery, oregano, chipotle powder and bay leaves. I left this to cook on low all day. I took the pork out and poured the sauce into a saucepan with some brown sugar and reduced it right down. I then mixed this back through the pork I had pulled apart with a fork.

We served it with guacamole (made by my lovely husband) and oven toasted multigrain tortillas. It was sensational. The chipotle added that element of smoke and heat perfectly matching the bbq flavours of the sauce. It was all toned down against the cooling guacamole and crispy tortillas.

Slow cooked Chipotle BBQ Pork

500g pork cut into 4cm chunks

1/2 onion sliced

2 cloves garlic sliced

1/2 cup tomato sauce (ketchup)

1/2 cup water

1/3 cup red wine

1/4 cup worcestershire sauce

2 tbsp apple cider vinegar

1 grated carrot

1 stick celery diced

1/2 tsp chipotle powder

2 tbsp tomato paste

1 tsp dried oregano

2 bay leaves

1 tbsp brown sugar

Put all ingredients except brown sugar in slow cooker and mix well. Cook on low for about 6-8 hours. Remove pork and shred with a fork. Pour sauce into saucepan, add the brown sugar and reduce down until thick. Mix the sauce back through the pork and serve with guacamole and oven toasted tortillas.

Sri-Lankan Fish Curry

2011-08-01T17:10:00.000+10:00

A few years ago we were fortunate enough to live in England for a few months. One long weekend we stayed in Cornwall. We hired bikes and road along the water to visit the little town of Padstow.

It was a lovely sunny day (well most of it, it did rain a couple of times!), and I remember sitting by the water enjoying Cornish tea, which is scones with jam and Cornish clotted cream. I am reminded of this as we bought our Cornish tea from Rick Stein's little Deli in Padstow.

This is the first of Rick Steins recipes that I have ever cooked, and I only happened to stumble upon it whilst looking for a fish curry recipe.

The onion is softened in oil with garlic, curry leaves and pandan leaves.

Then in goes the freshly ground spice mix (cumin, coriander, fenugreek, fennel, cinnamon, cloves cardamon, pepper), some turmeric and chilli.

After a minute or so add the tomatoes, salt, tamarind and coconut milk allowing this to simmer away for about 15 minutes.

Finally add the salmon covering with the curry sauce and cook for about 5 minutes. Cover the pan and allow this to sit for almost 30 minutes. I actually left it for 20 minutes and then turned the heat on for a couple of minutes before serving.

I also made some eggplant chutney using this recipe except I added a handful of sultanas with the eggplant and tomato. It was really delicious, made with a base of mustard seeds, curry leaves, chilli and turmeric.

I really loved this dish, the salmon was so juicy and flavoursome. The curry sauce was gentle and the eggplant chutney sweetened the dish up, complimenting it perfectly. I will definitely have to cook some more of Rick Stein's recipes.

Pink Sour Cream Cake Cookies

2011-07-29T09:19:00.000+10:00

Yesterday my daughter and I did some baking.

I had some sour cream in the fridge and wanted to incorporate it. I also have some beetroot powder that I have been experimenting with to use as a colouring.

And this was the result, very cake like pink cookies that were soft and slightly sweet.

We topped them with a white chocolate drop or some magic fairy sprinkles!

Pink Sour Cream Cake Cookies

1/2 cup softened butter

2/3 cup caster sugar

1/2 cup sour cream

1 egg

1 tsp vanilla paste

2 cups plain flour

1 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp beetroot powder

Preheat oven to 180C. Mix the beetroot powder with the sour cream and vanilla. Cream the butter and sugar together. Mix in egg until combined. Fold through the sifted dry ingredients and pink sour cream mix alternately. Roll into balls, place on lined baking tray and flatten. Decorate with sprinkles or chocolate. Bake for 8 minutes, cool on wire rack. Makes about 30 and best eaten day of baking.

Gang Bao Chicken

2011-07-27T08:10:00.000+10:00

This recipe for Gang Bao Chicken was posted on Everybody Loves Ramen. Now I really love a stir fry but I must confess they are not my strong point. But this one looked soooo good I just had to try. Fortunately the fantastic Shaun told me I needed a wok, and that I needed to season it (isn't twitter a wonderful thing!).

My new 'seasoned' wok

Otherwise words of advice were to be organised, so organised I was.

Check out my new knife thanks to TheIntolerantChef :)

The chicken is marinated in a mix of oyster sauce, soy sauce and sesame oil.

Then the cashews are toasted. I attempted to do this in my wok and it took about 2 seconds so watch them!

The chillies are soaked and then dried. Prepare garlic (I actually used fresh garlic - you can pick up amazing bunches of fresh garlic at the markets), spring onions and onion. Measure out the Szechuan pepper. Mix up the sauce of raw sugar, sesame oil, soy sauce, and Shaoxing wine. Prepare a little cornstarch with warm water. And finally coat your marinated chicken in a little flour.

Then go go go. Add oil to the hot wok, throw in your pepper and chillies briefly. Remove the chillies and add the garlic. After a few seconds add the chicken separating out the pieces with some tongs. Once the chicken starts looking crispy add the sauce allowing it to deglaze the pan. Throw in your onions and chillies. Finally thicken the sauce with a little of the cornstarch and then add the cashews.

I was so happy, it was delicious. The chicken was melt in your mouth moist and tender. The sauce was so so tasty. I am so pleased, my first ever truly successful stir fry. I love my wok :)

Bean and Vegetable Stew

2011-07-26T07:49:00.000+10:00

One of my good friends said they loved this recipe for Bean Stew found on Taste in her household so I had to try it.

The red onion is sauteed to soften. The recipe says very little oil but the moment I was pouring the oil in my baby distracted me (he was attempting to eat a 5c coin he found on the floor) so I actually used a good helping.

In goes a garlic and middle eastern spices. I chose to use this spice blend Ras El Hanout that we found at the markets on the weekend. Usually we don't buy blends but toast and grind our spices. But we have never used this particular blend before and now we have bought it we know what goes in it and can experiment a little with our own blend. Plus the man who sells it is so friendly!

Next goes in diced tin tomatoes, tomato paste, zucchini, mushrooms and capsicum. I also half filled my tomato tin with water and added this. The whole thing is then simmered for about 15 minutes, I actually covered it for 10 minutes and then uncovered for about a further 5 minutes.

Add a drained and rinsed tin of cannellini beans and some pre-cooked pumpkin. Simmer this for a further 10 minutes.

Remove from heat and stir in some shredded basil. Pour into a serving dish, cover with cheese and grill.

Serve with some crusty bread.

It was a really delicious and satisfying dinner. The spices add a depth to the dish but were not a prominent flavour. The basil really freshened it up and the grilled cheese on top was a great addition. And it was easy, quick and healthy.

Seared Tuna and Avocado Salad

2011-07-25T10:15:00.000+10:00

This is an Ina Garten (or 'In a Garden' as we like to call her ;) ) recipe for Grilled Tuna Rolls. I have actually tried it a couple of times, the first being way too salty and that was adding much less salt then the recipe suggests. So now I just season the tuna and add no extra salt to the dressing.

It is the easiest quick tasty dish to prepare and we just buy one piece of beautiful fresh tuna to sear (only cost $5 for about 200g I think).

I give the kiddies the 'well done' end!

The dressing is oil, lime zest, lime juice, wasabi powder and soy sauce. The recipe also says hot sauce but because of the kidlets I leave that out (the sacrifices we make......).

You then mix the dressing with avocado, red onion, scallion (or shallot/spring onion), toasted sesame seeds and the seared tuna. Serve on some toasted bread with rocket. Delicious!

The wasabi hit is not as big as I would like so I'm not sure if you need to dissolve the powder in water before adding to the dressing?

Cuban Street Tacos

2011-07-23T13:57:00.000+10:00

This recipe for Cuban Street Tacos is from the amazing blog of Sweet Pea's Kitchen. It really caught my eye and I was keen to try it. I have been fortunate enough to do a little travelling but would love to do more. Fortunately due to everyone sharing such incredible recipes we can still experience a little bit of a different culture right in our own home.

In this recipe the pork is slowly cooked in the oven with a complex mix of flavours including stock, orange, lime, oregano, bay leaves, cumin, pepper, chillies, garlic and onion. It smelt incredible and once cooked was so incredibly soft.

The pork is removed and the sauce reduced before recoating the pork and grilling it to a lovely brown. The pork is then broken up and served with warm tortillas, sliced red onion, cheese and coriander. We also scraped up the extra sauce and served that too!

It was so delicious, although a little salty (My stock must have been a too salty). But wrapped up in the tortilla it was so good.

I even cooked some Cinnamon rolls to make it a Sweet Pea day :) yum.

Nigella's Venetian Lasagne

2011-07-22T10:06:00.000+10:00

I'm not sure if my brain is working properly, I just seem to keep stuffing up!

My daughter has requested a princess castle cake for her 4th birthday (as all little girls do!) and I had this great idea to buy a little princess and prince to put on top. In fact I saw a disney set that included a tiny Cinderella and her prince, and a horse and carriage. Can you just picture it, a pink castle topped with a prince and princess and a little horse and carriage waiting at the bottom of the stairs. Well it was quite an expensive set so when I saw it half price in the recent toy sales I took Evie to the shops and we were lucky enough to find it.

But its not a happy ending as we stopped in the food court for a little snack but walked away leaving our brand new package on the table....realising quite quickly we did not have it we rushed back but alas it was gone. We asked everywhere but no one had handed it in. This resulting in one very sad little girl and one very upset mummy.

I'm not sure what to do now, should I see if I can find it again? I know in the big picture it really is not that big a deal, I just feel so silly for making such a stupid mistake.

Sorry to burden you with my sad story but that was my day yesterday, anyway we came home and I pulled out my Nigella Kitchen to cook Venetian lasagne.

The minced beef sauce is prepared with loads of finely chopped veges and porcini mushrooms, simmering away for an hour. The polenta is cooked and then spread out on trays to make the layers of the lasagne. And then assemble.

It was an interesting concept and it tasted nice but I prefer my 'normal' lasagne.

Hope you all have a lovely weekend.

Rhubarb, Mandarin and Chocolate Tart

2011-07-20T08:35:00.000+10:00

This wonderful recipe for Rhubarb Mandarin and Chocolate Tart I saw at Fudgy Goodness and was immediately sold. I really love rhubarb and my rhubarb loving Dad was coming to stay so I wanted to bake something nice.

Firstly I made a sweet shortcrust base that I pre-cooked and somehow managed to burn on one side (not a good start!).

I used four mandarins off our little tree, deseeding every piece making sure the juice all went in the bowl. The mandarins and their juice were then mixed with an entire bunch of rhubarb (inch slices), 50g raw sugar and a dash of water. This was simmered on the stove top until nice and soft. I actually cooked it down further then I meant too. Then strain the fruit from the syrup.

The chocolate topping was a simple mix of eggs, butter, sugar, almond meal, cocoa powder and vanilla paste.

The tart case was topped with the rhubarb and mandarin mix, then layered with the chocolate filling and baked.

I served with the slightly reduced syrup and vanilla icecream.

It was so incredibly delicious. It was a gorgeous balance between sweetness and tart with the rich chocolate.

Vegetable and Gouda Stromboli

2011-07-19T11:56:00.000+10:00

My last few days have been so busy. We have had family staying, I had all my hair cut off, I was able to catch up with some good friends, you get the picture. Amidst all of this I have been cooking and baking and taking photos but not sure when they will make it here!

This dish for vegetable stromboli, which is essentially a rolled up pizza, I saw at Cinnamon Spice and Everything Nice. Once again Reeni did not let me down :)

The pizza dough is rolled out and filled up with lots of delicious vegetables that are pre-cooked on the stove top. First the zucchini.

Then the mixture of onion, capsicums, silverbeet, garlic, olives and capers.

Topped with some delicious gouda cheese.

It is then rolled up, brushed with egg wash, sprinkled with sesame seeds and baked.

What a delicious dish, I loved the fresh tasting vegetables in the filling and the dough was cooked perfectly.

My little nephew was staying and was not so happy to be served up so many vegetables. Often people say how lucky I am my family appreciates all the food I cook for them. I realise I am very lucky that my family is happy to eat so many different style meals and that my little girl loves vegetables, and all sorts of interesting ingredients such as goats cheese, olives and wood ear fungus.....

Leek, Carrot and Goats Cheese Tart

2011-07-15T08:44:00.000+10:00

This winter tart was posted by The Kitchen of Oz way back in April but I was immediately in love with it and knew I would make it when the weather was cold. It is such an attractive dish and does not let you down on flavour.

Firstly I made a basic shortcrust pastry and rested it in the fridge before rolling out, putting in the tin, lots of patching ;), and then resting again.

The pastry is then baked for about thirty minutes.

I prepared some purple potatoes to roast.

After caramelising the leeks and slightly precooked carrots I added a little vegetable stock and allowed them to braise and really cook through.

The goats cheese (my favourite Willowbrae) is mixed with eggs, rosemary and milk (I used soy).

Then simply top your cooked base with the vegetables.

Pour over the goats cheese filling, sprinkle with some extra rosemary and bake for about 30 minutes.

I really loved this. The crisp buttery pastry with the smooth custard like filling and the delicious soft vegetables. The goats cheese flavour was there as a perfect balance.

Mushroom Ragu on Polenta

2011-07-13T08:34:00.000+10:00

Well this is the first recipe I have tried from Tobie Puttocks book Cook Like An Italian and I am very happy, it was delicious.

I love buying mushrooms at the farmers markets, they have so much flavour and the textures are perfect (nothing like what you find in the supermarket). So when we saw the recipe for mushroom ragu I knew it was a must.

You start by melting butter and cooking prosciutto (can easily be left out) with the mushrooms which are chopped into large pieces. I used a mixture of mushroom types. Once this has cooked for 5 minutes or so you put it in a bowl to rest before returning to the pan with all the juices and adding garlic and shallot. Finally add some vegetable stock and fresh oregano and leave to simmer for about 20 minutes. When serving mix through butter and parsley.

We served with a polenta and semolina mix that I cooked on the stove top for about 40 minutes, adding some parmesan and butter right at the end.

I also roasted some carrots and steamed some beans to serve.

I adore mushrooms and this is the perfect way to eat them. It was so delicious and all about the mushroom.

Bunny Chow (a South African curry)

2011-07-12T08:33:00.000+10:00

No this recipe is not made from rabbit, it is the name of a dish that my sister-in-law tried when she recently travelled around the southern parts of Africa. There does not seem to be one excepted theory to the origin of the dish. One idea suggests it was an easy way to serve the excluded people out of a restaurant window as no plate was required, you simply just hold the bread loaf as a bowl and eat with your hands.

So last night for dinner I attempted to recreate this dish for my lovely sister-in-law. I used this recipe, opting to make it with beef.

The recipe was a reasonably straight forward curry with loads of spices being fried with onion before adding tomato and beef. This is then simmered for a while and then add the potatoes. I made a few changes as apparently the curry tasted in Africa was sweet so I added some palm sugar and a tin of light coconut milk. I also added carrots and green beans.

It was really delicious, I was surprised at how well it went with the classic white bread. It was a interesting tasting curry that obviously had Indian origins but yet was different.

And yes my guests loved it.

Snapper and Scallop Pie

2011-07-11T09:15:00.000+10:00

Last night I made Not Quite Nigella's Scallop and Snapper Pie. I have been wanting to try a fish pie for a while as it is something I have never eaten before so when this amazing looking dish was posted by the lovely NQN I had to try it.

It is so simple. Golden eschallots are cooked down before adding fish stock, reducing and then simmering with cream until thick and a lovely golden colour. This is then pureed to make a delicious sauce then stir in some diced golden eschallots that have been softened.

Then just add half the sauce top with the snapper skin side down, add the scallops and then the remaining sauce. Top with some broccoli and then cover with puff pastry and bake.

Well it was incredibly delicious. The fish was so moist and soft. The sauce was so flavoursome and complimented the fish perfectly.

I really loved this meal and will definitely be cooking it again.

Broad Bean and Freekah Salad

2011-07-10T08:26:00.000+10:00

Finally broad beans are popping up at the markets and I am able to try this recipe for broad bean salad by Janella Purcell from Good Chef Bad Chef. The seller said they were very young and so no need to peel the beans. I have never eaten them before so I am assuming that the outer skin becomes tough with age? They are so much prettier on the inside, brilliant green.

So this salad was quite simple, healthy and delicious. Just toss mint and parsley leaves with diced cucumber and tomato, sliced red onion, cooked freekah and broad beans. The dressing is a mix of garlic, olive oil, lemon zest and umeboshi vinegar. It tasted light and healthy, although it was not the best salad I've ever had. It makes an easy meal with loads of fresh produce, perfect meal after a trip to the farmers market.

Smoked Salmon and Asparagus Pasta

2011-07-08T08:58:00.000+10:00

I stuffed up yesterday, in fact I have had a pretty ordinary week all round! My pasta was a disaster, I had the dough completely wrong and it would not roll out. I tried to rescue it but couldn't and not having a enough time to make a new dough I ended up using some from the cupboard. I always laugh when I see that happen on the cooking shows as its never happened to me but now I understand their pain.

The recipe was from Cook and Feed, a blog that always posts lots of delicious and inspiring recipes. We bought some gorgeous smoked salmon at the Good Food and Wine Show and this recipe came to mind. It had an amazing colour and the smokey element was slightly different to other smoked salmon.

The spring onions are sliced and softened in butter before adding white wine and lemon juice and reducing this right down. In goes the blanched asparagus followed by dill, smoked salmon, cream cheese (about 150g, the original recipe calls for cream) and some pasta water. Once its all warm just mix through the pasta. So easy and so delicious.

I really enjoyed this dish, the flavours were rich but yet the salmon really came through. My husband thought there was a little too much dill but I really liked it. My daughter loved it.

Tobie's Chicken cooked in milk

2011-07-06T08:28:00.000+10:00

Another of the recipes that Tobie Puttock cooked at the Good Food and Wine Show was a chicken cooked in milk. Sounded interesting and looked delicious.

The whole chicken is seasoned and browned. Some lemon peel, garlic and sage is then added to the hot pan before putting the chicken back in and then the milk.

The lid is put on and then it goes in to the oven to cook.

We prepared some polenta to serve with the chicken and also roasted some carrot and parsnip. Just yesterday the gorgeous Maria over at ScandiFoodie posted a recipe for roasted vegetables and so I tried her dressing of lemon and orange juice, honey, verjus and nutmeg to bake my vegetables in.

What a delicious meal, in fact my daughter declared it was the best dinner ever! The chicken was soft and tasty, the polenta was really tasty. But to be honest the vegetables were the star. They were so delicious with their sweet coating.

Some great recipes, I am looking forward to trying some of them out.

Tobie's Apple Strudel

2011-07-04T08:44:00.000+10:00

On the weekend we went to the Good Food and Wine Show and were fortunate enough to see Tobie Puttock cook in the celebrity theatre. He is such an inspiring chef, and shares similar passions to me in regards to using fresh local organic produce.

He demonstrated three dishes and I do plan to try them all! Last night I made his apple strudel.

We bought Tobie's book Cook Like an Italian

For the strudel you knead a dough from flour, egg, olive oil and water to make it smooth and elastic.

The apples are prepared with some almonds, raisins (i left these out), almonds, cinnamon, sugar and lemon juice.

The dough is then rolled out and stretched using the back of your hand until it is almost see through.

The apples and dough are sprinkled with bread crumbs before you roll it up. Tobie used this interesting method where he didn't actually touch the dough but used a table cloth to roll it up, by picking up the cloth he gently forced the strudel to roll over itself. I recruited my husband to help as he was able to see what Tobie was doing better then me.

The strudel is covered with an egg wash and baked.

It was delicious. The pastry tasted very familiar when I tasted it, reminded of something similar I have eaten in the past. It was kind of chewy but not in a bad way. It works perfectly with the apple filling.

We served with some homemade vanilla custard, yum!

My daughter enjoyed herself, especially as her Uncle was there to spoil her!

Beef Rendang

2011-07-01T08:11:00.000+10:00

This recipe for Beef Rendang was posted recently at Not Quite Nigella. I love cooking curries, and I am always keen to try new ones, especially ones that are "my Mother's".

I have to confess I did not use as many chillies as the recipe suggests, in fact I only used two versus fourteen. This results in a much paler and less spicy curry, I did this mainly for my daughters sake.

To make the curry the beef is mixed with salt, sugar and tamarind then coated in toasted coconut. The paste consists of onion, chilli, ginger, garlic, galangal and coconut. The paste is then cooked with lemon grass, turmeric, kaffir lime leaves, palm sugar and soy sauce. Followed by the coconut cream and beef. It simmers away making the house smell amazing before adding more of the coconut cream.

It was so tasty, the beef was meltingly tender and the flavour of the curry was rich and delicious. We really enjoyed this meal.

Watalappan

2011-06-30T08:01:00.000+10:00

Recently on Twitter a photo of the Sri-Lankan dessert Watalappan was posted by Flying Fish. It looked delicious and different to desserts I normally make so I did a search to find so many variations of the steamed custard. I confirmed with Peter Kuruvita from Flying Fish that you need kithul treacle. This I was able to find at our local spice shop imported from Sri-Lanka.

Firstly I whisked 4 eggs very well. I then added 200ml of the kithul treacle, 200ml of thick coconut cream, 1/4 cup well smashed cardamon pods and 1/2 tsp vanilla paste. I whisked well before straining into a dish for steaming. It took about 1/2 hour to be set.

For the top I put some kithul treacle in a pan until caramelising and then mixed in cashews until well coated. I put the cashews on some grease proof paper to set.

We tried the Watalappan while still warm and it was really lovely, the texture was so silky soft and it was quite sweet.

The next night we had some cold and it was even more delicious. The flavours had developed and the sweetness toned down. My cashews still had a lovely crunch since they were coated in the treacle toffee. I'm assuming that it is meant to be eaten cold the next day!

I really loved it and will have to cook a Sri-Lankan themed meal one night with this as dessert.