Relishing Royalty

Finally Summer has hit with a vengeance, and I’m loving it. My social life is crazy right now, as everyone is just happier in the warmer weather and there are so many outdoor things to enjoy in Perth when the sun is shining :), not to mention the silly season is upon us – Christmas parties, lunches, concerts, street festivals – so much is going on right now and I’m really having a ball.

I was recently reading historian Kate Williams‘ book Young Elizabeth : The Making of Our Queen, which mentioned the dish created by royal chefs to be served at the Queen’s coronation lunch in 1953. Aptly titled Coronation Chicken, this dish has become an iconic British chicken salad dish, with many variations.

Basically this is poached chicken, dressed with a mixture of mayonnaise, curry powder and fruit chutney.

You can see both the original recipe and a healthier, modern take by Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall, here. I made mine above by taking elements from both – I used low-fat mayonnaise and Greek yoghurt for the dressing base, and fruit chutney rather than apricots, but I did poach 2 chicken breasts rather than use leftover cooked chicken. I also topped with shaved parmesan to cut through the sweetness, but actually it was still too sweet for me – too kind of “fruity” in an overpowering kind of way.

I like the concept, and it was easy to make, but I will try it again with just yoghurt and no mayo next time, and chopped dried fruit instead of the very strong fruit chutney.

Happy Summer Fooding!

 

Another Quick Salad

Creating a healthy meal in a hurry does not have to be complicated. This salad incorporated what I had on hand at the time, as well as including beetroot and pear, two things that (according to practitioners of Chinese medicine) are very good for the skin. As I have had rosacea for years, I try anything and everything to give my skin a helping hand.

Steam 1 whole beetroot in the microwave (skin on or off, up to you). Trim roots and cut into wedges.

Place a heap of baby spinach leaves on your plate, and top with beetroot wedges, chopped pieces of ripe pear, chopped avocado, bits of cheese of your choice (I used torn bits of shaved Jarslberg as that’s what I had, but I also like feta or blue, or sauted cubes of yummy haloumi) and a sprinkling of walnuts.

For a dressing, just whisk together some extra-virgin olive oil, sherry vinegar (use balsamic if you can’t find sherry vinegar, which is expensive but lovely for this kind of thing) and a bit of dijon mustard – drizzle over the salad and tuck in!

Happy Summer Fooding!

The Warmth Hath Arriveth

I should have mentioned about the lack of Summer weather earlier, because as soon as I posted about how cold and wet it was, the heat arrived! And I am certainly not complaining now – it’s quite lovely and should remain so now for the next 5 or so months. Hooray!

So……salad time.

After a couple of days of not eating proper meals, in fact not eating much at all I have to say, as well as too much wine consumption (what can I say, my friends are a bad influence….), I was badly in need of something healthy and vibrant. This dish, adapted from a recent Super Food Ideas recipe, fit the detox bill perfectly – light and crunchy, great colours, full of vitamins and goodness, and tasting great too.

Chicken & Broccolini Salad

2 tbsp olive oil

1 tbsp light soy sauce

2 skinless chicken breast fillets (about 500 gms)

2 bunches broccolini, cut into 3cm pieces

⅓ cup pine nuts

¼ cup dukkah (whatever flavour you like – I used Hot Chilli by Gourmet Spice Blends from Mt Tamborine, Queensland)

zest of 1 lemon

juice of 1 lemon

1 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil

60 gms baby spinach leaves

Heat 1 tbsp of the olive oil in a deep fry pan or wok. Add chicken fillets; brown on both sides then add the soy sauce, cover and cook for 15-20 minutes until cooked all the way through (add a splash of water if it starts to stick). Remove from pan, cover with foil and let rest for 5 minutes then slice and put aside.

Steam broccolini pieces in microwave for 2 minutes on HIGH; let stand for a few minutes then drain.

Heat the other tbsp of olive oil in the same frypan or wok; add pine nuts and dukkah and stir frequently for 1-2 minutes until starting to toast and become aromatic. Returned sliced chicken to pan along with all remaining ingredients. Mix thoroughly and gently heat through until spinach wilts.

Serves 2-3

Happy Summer Fooding!

Quorn Pad Thai Noodles

This easy Quorn based Pad Thai dish was not quite as flavoursome as it could be, and the egg made it look a bit gluggy – not like the perfect bowl of rice noodles featured on the website! It is also not of the same WOW Factor quality as the yummy Salmon Pad Thai recipe that I absolutely adore making. It was satisfactory enough however. With the addition of some extra chilli or other sauces, maybe some chopped bok choy, and perhaps 1 egg instead of 2 next time, it is a great dish for after work when you just want to collapse in a chair with a bowl of something and a glass of wine.

Actually, the glass of wine goes without saying, no matter what the meal…..

I used cashews instead of peanuts, as I don’t like peanuts much. My local Coles supermarket has this great new thing called Scoop & Weigh, where you measure out your own nuts, fruits, seeds etc and weigh the little bag on a self-serve scales, then print out your own barcode sticker, just like the girls behind the deli! I’m having fun buying lots of bits & pieces, just cos’ I can! It’s so cool, just like playing shops when I was 6…..

Source: http://westender.com.au/coles-gets-a-market-style-facelift/

I added extra spring onion to the dish, and lots of coriander, for which a quantity wasn’t specified. I also added some lime zest, mainly because I paid $2 for one lime so I was determined to use every bit of it. Why do I not have any friends with a lime tree in their garden….

Happy Fooding!

Failures…..

Crappy Cake!

It hasn’t been a great week for me as far as successful new recipes goes……I made an apple & pecan cake in the bread machine, which as you can see just did not want to come out of the machine! This is the first time I’ve ever had something stick like this – it was not saveable at all and went in the bin. I could have broken it up and used it in something I suppose, but I’m not a sweet eater and was not going to have the opportunity any time soon so it would have gone stale and horrible.

Then I made these Parmesan Zucchini Strips. They worked well theoretically, but just didn’t taste overly fabulous – the coating was yummy, but the zucchini inside really was just mush and pretty tasteless.

They do look good though, right? I ate some cold the next day and they were just soggy “things”. I think the concept would work much better with something a bit firmer, like sweet potato or carrot. I’ll try the idea again, but not with zucchini.

I have also failed with some easy choc hazelnut muffins recently……but I’m determined to get those right, so I will show you the failure photos when I can also show you the good ones!

Happy Non-Failed Fooding!

Zucchini Bread (Cake?)

It’s interesting that carrot cake is always cake, but banana cake and zucchini cake are often called breads. The ingredients for all of these are very similar, but we never say carrot bread (or beetroot bread!) do we! I think they’re all really cake, because bread in my view is generally a savoury thing. But who am I to argue with the masses…….

Anyway I came across this great looking zucchini “bread” recipe a couple of weeks ago via a Food.com e-newsletter, and decided to make it for morning tea at work, last week. As I had successfully made my usual carrot cake in the bread machine the week before, I looked at the zucchini bread ingredients and thought hmmmmm they’re very similar in quantity etc. so I’ll do this one in the bread machine too.

It worked, but it was not as moist as the carrot cake, so I think this one would be better eaten straight after cooking (I made it the night before taking it to work). Also it didn’t rise quite as much and I think would have been better on the medium crust setting, which would have baked it about 8 minutes longer. It was good enough to be a “keeper” though, so I will change the baking time slightly next time.

Below is my bread machine version for 1 cake – if you want to do it the original, oven way, here is the website I got it from – which is in fact quantities for 2 loaves.

The Ultimate Zucchini Bread (CAKE!!)

In order, place the following ingredients in bread machine bowl:

2 eggs

1/2 cup sugar

1/4 cup vegetable oil

1/2 cup walnuts, coarsely chopped

1 1/4 cups grated zucchini

1 tbsp orange zest, grated

1/2 tsp ground cinnamon

1/4 tsp freshly grated nutmeg

1/8 tsp ground cloves

1 3/4 cups plain flour

1 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp bi-carb soda

1/2 tsp salt

Bake on bread machine’s Cake setting, with Medium crust and 750gm loaf settings.

If you’re feeling like a more savoury bread, try this lemon & dill bread, also in the bread machine. I made this again recently and we had it at work with apricot & almond cream cheese on top – a great combination with the bread flavours.

Happy Fooding!

Carrot Cake Bread Machine Style

Ready for morning tea at work

My lovely bread machine, best friend for years, also has all those fancy functions like jam and cake. I’ve never tried making jam in it, mainly because I’m just not a sweet eater and wouldn’t really use it – I am a definite Vegemite Kid and the idea of eating sweet stuff for breakfast is, well, just plain full of wrongability, as the smegheads  from the Dwarf would say!

I have, however enjoyed making this carrot cake recipe in my current bread machine (which is my second one as my first, beautiful, trusty Sanyo died 3 years ago after 15 years of faithful service and being used to death, literally).

I do have a great non-bread-machine carrot cake recipe, but really this is so easy to do that I haven’t made the other one for years. It is from the recipe leaflet that came with the machine, and works a treat.

I have a Sunbeam Quantum Smartbake – but I’m sure if you have a different machine the same or similar settings and quantities will work just fine. I transferred all my favourite old recipes from my old machine to the new one without a problem.

Carrot Cake

2 eggs

3/4 cup brown sugar

1/2 cup olive oil

1/2 cup walnuts, chopped

1 1/2 cups grated carrot

1/2 tsp ground cinnamon

1/2 cup SR flour

1/2 cup plain flour

1 rounded tsp bi-carb soda

Place ingredients in bread machine in the order listed. Bake on the CAKE setting, with light crust and 750 gm loaf size chosen.

Ice as desired, or if you can’t be bothered making icing, sprinkle with icing sugar through a sieve.

I made this the evening before I wanted it for work, and it was still beautifully moist the next morning – and disappeared very quickly!

Happy Fooding!

Caramel, Macadamia & Coconut Slice

You can see the burntish bits!

I made this very-bad-for-you slice for morning tea at work this week. It’s from the April 2013 issue of Super Food Ideas.

Speaking of magazines, Australian Good Taste, the Woolworths-affiliated food magazine, is ceasing publication shortly – they announced this on Facebook but with no actual reason, so I’m not sure if it’s a financial-based decision or what. It is a great magazine, that I have been buying each month for about 10 years – but I don’t think it’s the “best” – too many of what I call “human interest” stories. I just like my food magazines to have lots of recipes, and I don’t mind advertising at all, as long as the ads also feature a recipe using their product. Gadget reviews are okay by me too, but I can’t stand “meal planners”, letters to the editor, stories about farmers growing their produce, and monthly shopping lists etc. No one ever makes every single meal or recipe in a month, from one magazine – apart from not liking them all (or their kids not eating them all), if they’re that stumped for ideas of what to cook and need it spelled out for every day of the month, they are probably not the type who would buy a food mag in the first place. Just my 2 cents worth anyway…..

So, back to the slice…..once I’ve got it in my head to make a specific recipe NOW, I do not like to be thwarted – but I could not find caramel bits, nor are Scalliwag biscuits anywhere to be seen around here. For those of you not in the know, Scalliwags are the politically correct version of what we all grew up with as Golliwog biscuits! Despite the name change, they are not easy to find, not here in Perth anyway. They are fairly plain biscuits, a bit like Teddy Bears, so I figured I could use any plain biscuit and settled on Malt-o-Milk. For the caramel bits I used choc bits.

The slice was very easy to make, but I overcooked it a tad as my overly-hot oven has a mind of its own sometimes, and the edges came out quite browned. When I took the slice out of the fridge the next morning, to cut up, it was SO heavy – felt like a brick! I thought, uh-oh, this is going to be as hard a rock and break people’s teeth! I even cut off the harder brown edge bits and threw them away, worrying about it. In fact it was great and received lots of praise (although I think my fellow co-workers will eat anything sweet and are quite often just being polite, to make sure I keep making stuff haha).

Caramel, Macadamia & Coconut Slice

250 gm pkt chocolate Scalliwag biscuits (OR whatever plain sweet biscuits you like)

125 gms butter, melted

395 gm can sweetened condensed milk

2 cups desiccated coconut

100 gms macadamia halves

250 gm pkt caramel bits (OR use choc bits)

Line a 20cm x 30cm lamington/slice pan.

In a food processor, process biscuits until they are fine crumbs. Add melted butter and mix well. Press mixture into base of pan. Refrigerate for 30 minutes.

Preheat oven to 160C (140C fan forced).

Combine condensed milk, coconut, macadamias and caramel bits in a large bowl. Spoon over prepared base and spread evenly with the back of a spoon, pressing down to level slightly.

Bake for 30-35 minutes or until top is golden and just firm. Cool in pan. Refrigerate for at least 2 hours or until set.

Cut into squares to serve.

Makes 24 pieces.

Happy Fooding!

Restaurant Review: Hyde Park Hotel

Lamb Pot Pie

Had a yummy lunch on the weekend at the Hyde Park Hotel in North Perth.

This pub is only 5 minutes drive from my house, yet I’ve never been there before in almost 4 years here. I was going to the Perth Mint (having a play-tourist moment!), so looked up the Entertainment Book to see what eating places were nearby, that I had a voucher for. I decided to try something new, and it turned out to be a great decision. The food was truly fabulous, in looks, portion size and taste. These mains were both about $25 each, standard pub prices, but as I had a voucher it was 25% off.

Baked Coriander & Pistachio Nut Crusted Chicken

Service was excellent and staff friendly – and the place was seriously renovated (apparently it used to be a bit of a dive – not so now, it is very upmarket) in 2011 and still looks brand new. It was my first time there, but it won’t be my last!

An added bonus is that there is a very large Dan Murphy’s bottle shop next door, so I made the most of that and stocked up on wine bargains while I was there.

Happy Fooding!

Tower of Taste!

I have had the most delicious baguette I’ve ever had in my life! This was at the Tower of London, in their New Armouries Cafe, which only opened a year or so ago and is much, much more gourmet than the usual fast food rubbish you get at tourist venues – but with very reasonable prices.

I’m having all sorts of trouble pasting links into their usual place on my iPad, and in fact am finding the app very un-user-friendly, but if you search for Tower of London you’ll have no trouble finding the restaurant details.

This baguette was called a Wensleydale Waldorf, and contained: Wensleydale cheese, walnuts, celery, cranberries and apple. All but the cheese, was bound into a spreadable mixture with creme fraiche. It worked brilliantly and I am taking this combination home as something to definitely try for myself. It helped that the baguette was super fresh and soft, as I am having a lot of teeth problems and can’t cope with crunchy, hard bread at the moment!

I’ve done absolutely no cooking whilst here, but I have eaten a lot! In particular I have had some wonderful cheeses – too much really!

Happy Holiday Fooding!