Christmas Time Again….

Christmas Cake

I’m not hosting Christmas this year, in fact I have a very relaxed and slack time planned, which is good as my social life is currently over the top and full on! It is nice to leave the planning and organising and most of the cooking, to others for once, although I will be contributing by probably making a dip or some other nibbles. The weather is stinking hot where I live, but right now freezing and horrible where I’ll be on Christmas Day – I hope that changes as we always like to have our Christmas dinners outside.

The only specific Christmas baking I’ve done this year is my dairy-free, low-fat (no fat in fact!) Christmas cake – sooooooo simple. Only 3 ingredients, although I did then liberally pour brandy over the top to soak in afterwards, but you don’t have to do that!

Here is the cake recipe, and below are a few other Christmas recipes in case you’re in need of some last minute inspiration:

Christmas Pudding (microwave)

Christmas Truffles

Christmas Turkey (crockpot)

Stuffing

Gingerbread

My little tree!

Happy Christmas Fooding!

 

Not For The Calory Counters Amongst You……

Lots of rich, dark chocolate!

Rich. Decadent. Fattening. Very Fattening. But…..to balance that….CHRISTMAS!

You can be forgiven for many foodie indulgences at this time of year, so I make no apologies for leading you astray with this bewitching balls recipe!

Anything with six, yes SIX, Cherry Ripe bars in it has to be a great thing, right? Damn straight. Chuck them all in the food processor along with cocoa and a packet of Nice biscuits (ouch, more sugar), blend to a pile of powdery goodness then mix through a can of condensed milk. OMG. This is so full of yum-ness that you just have to rush out buy Cherry Ripes right now and make this! I made them for a Christmas party (also made my yummy Teriyaki Chicken Bites, perfect for taking a plate of nibbles to a function at any time of year, and always popular), but really you don’t need an excuse, at this time of year, to spoil yourself with something so sweet and delicious.

The full recipe can be found here……and whilst it can be quite an expensive recipe to make, with all of those chocolate bars, I was lucky enough to get them on special for half price this week, yay.

Apparently Cherry Ripes are now Australia’s oldest chocolate bar, having been around since 1924. I didn’t know that until today, although I knew they were my very favourite 🙂

Happy Christmas Fooding!

Zucchini Slice

I know there are a LOT of versions of this yummy quiche dish. It’s such a great standby recipe to whip up when zucchinis are plentiful – lovely cold or hot, cut into squares as an appetizer or in larger serves as a main course. I’ve made versions with carrot or pumpkin in as well, coriander instead of parsley, and I’ved used polenta instead of flour, for a gluten-free version.

This is my “basic” recipe, which comes from my aunt and is the one I’ve been making since Zucchini Slice became trendy about 20 years ago (or longer – don’t know where all those years went).

Zucchini Slice

2 cups grated zucchini

3 spring onions, finely chopped

1 cup grated tasty cheese

1 cup SR flour

1/3 cup olive oil

4 eggs

cracked pepper, to taste

3 tbsp fresh parsley, chopped

Mix all ingredients together in a bowl. Spoon into a 20 x 30cm dish lined with baking paper, and level the top. Bake in 200C (190C for fan forced) for 20-25 minutes, until a light golden colour on top and just firm to touch. Cool in the tin and cut into squares.

Makes 24 appetizer-sized squares.

Happy Fooding!

Balls That Once Were Burgers

I love to cook, but sometimes I am also pretty lazy. I also don’t eat “fried” food much – never deep-fried, and minimal oil in any other kind of frying. So when I saw this great looking Cashew & Lentil Patties recipe at Weekend Notes, I really wanted to make it. Loved the simplicity of it, ease of preparation, vegetarian-ness (I can’t quite do it fully, but I can’t cope with lots of meat either), health benefits (nuts! lentils!) and combination of flavours. But then I thought hmmm maybe I could bake this instead, then thought hmmmmmmmmm if I make it as a “burger” then I have to have a side, or make it into a proper burger…..so because I’m feeling lazy, what if I just roll it into balls instead and bake them?

So that’s what I did. I just scoffed myself stupid on these, for dinner, dipping them in sweet chilli sauce. So it was like a main course and I didn’t feel I needed to make any silly old side dishes to go with it!

It worked brilliantly – very impressed with this recipe. Chuck it all in the food processor and roll it into balls – what could be easier than that? And a lot of scope for experimentation – you could add grated zucchini, carrot, feta, haloumi, tahini…..the list goes on.

Makes 28-30 balls.

The only thing I changed was that I thought the mixture looked a bit dry so I added a splash of milk – which in fact made it very sticky – so I probabably didn’t need to do that.

Although I ate this as my dinner, of course it would be perfect finger food for an appetizer. Win-win all the way really.

Happy Fooding!

Party Nibbles 2

Also for Christmas, I whipped up these little beauties!  Haha, they look so professional, but in fact this is a complete cheat’s canape……I got this idea a few months ago at an afternoon tea put on by my lecturers when I finished my Diploma.

All this is, is 2 packets of those little vol-au-vent cases that you buy ready-made, and in them I have spooned red and green Wattle Valley crunchy dips – half are red with a spot of green on top, and half are green with a spot of red on top – all nice and Christmasy looking! I used Chilli dip for the red, and Basil for the green, but you can use whatever flavours/brands you like.

These bought vol-au-vent cases are pretty dry tasting, so you need to make sure you put as much dip inside as you possibly can. This is not easy without making a big mess and getting dip all over the bench – you need a couple of tiny teaspoons and you must hold your tongue the right way lol.

Happy Summer Fooding!

Party Nibbles 1

I made a batch of mountain bread rollups on Christmas Day – these little savoury bites always go down well and you can put whatever fillings in you like. In this case I made some with smoked salmon, some with asparagus, and some with both.

These are quite suitable for making the day before and then just slicing up when you are ready to serve – always a plus at party time.

There aren’t really proper quantities here – just make as many as you like. I usually keep going ’til I’ve run out of cream cheese.

Rollups

lavash/mountain bread (you could also use thin tortillas, but you get a fair bit of wastage by the time you trim them into a rectangle/square shape)

cream cheese (I use low-fat)

smoked salmon

fresh asparagus spears (I prefer to use them raw, for a bit of crunch, but if you prefer you can blanch them in the microwave for 1 minute per bunch)

cracked pepper, to taste

Spread each sheet of bread thickly with cream cheese. Lay fillings on the lower half, topped with cracked pepper and then carefully roll the bread up as tightly as you can.

Wrap the “log” in cling wrap and refrigerate for a few hours (or overnight). Thinly slice and arrange on a plate to serve.

Other filling ideas: grated carrot, thin slices of ham or turkey, shredded lettuce, alfalfa sprouts, canned tuna, cucumber (skip things like avocado, tomato etc as they will just go soggy or discoloured by the time you slice them up).

Happy Summer Fooding!

2012 In Review

The WordPress.com stats helper monkeys have prepared a 2012 annual report for my blog (oooooo an annual report, how professional that makes me feel lol). So here are a few stats for you, the readers who have helped create the stats in the first place!

There were 8,500 views in total during the year, and these are the posts that got the most views:

• 1 The Easiest Cake You Will Ever Make! (originally posted April 2011)
• 2 No-Bake Slice Using Mint Aero! (originally posted September 2011)
• 3 Yummy “Sausage” Rolls….Shhhhh, your friends won’t even know….  (originally posted May 2011)
• 4 Marvellous Mars Bar Slice (originally posted May 2011)
• 5 Cookery The Australian Way…..Chow Mein (originally posted August 2011)

As a bit of random trivia provided by Word Press, apparently if every person who reached the top of Mt. Everest in 2012 viewed this blog, it would have taken 14 years to get that many views (we needed to know that didn’t we!!!).

My viewers came from a total of 112 countries (wow!), with Australia having the highest number of viewers, followed closely by USA and UK.

And finally, the highest number of comments made by an individual viewer, were made by my mum!! Aaaaww, thanks for your support Mum.  My mum made me the most STUNNING Michele Hill quilt for Christmas (see pic below). It took her almost 2 years to make, and is completely hand-stitched, right down to the applique and the quilting. I have the best mum!

I wish you all a very merry New Year’s Eve tonight (I’m going to an Hawaiian themed party at the Oxford Hotel, where I expect to consume a fair bit of champagne and eat deep-fried snacks, so ending the festive season/year with a decidedly unhealthy evening!), and a happy, health 2013 filled with love, laughter and of course lots of FOOD!

What my mum made me for Xmas!

And The Winner Is…..

Despite my lack of decoration, and concern about the lack of sweetness, all of the gingerbread I made last weekend was chomped up and pronounced quite edible. Phew!

I’ve been very busy working a lot this week, plus attending a work Christmas breakfast and library Christmas party last night. I made spinach bites and vegetarian sausage rolls to take to the party, which was a casual bbq and loads of fun. Jane, who hosted, made some fabulous salads, including things like haloumi, roasted vegies, brown rice, and 3 dishes of potato bake that disappeared very rapidly! As a couple of people there could not eat eggs, I replaced the egg with milk, in the spinach bites, and it worked just as well, so that’s good to remember. As usual, everyone was surprised to find that the sausage rolls were vegetarian, as they taste so “meaty”.

I also made a batch of Christmas truffles – very boozy and rich – which I will share with you later.

Thank you to the 14 entries in my cookie cutter giveaway! I drew 2 names out this morning, and the lucky winners are….. Chris, from here in Perth, and Lindy, from Melbourne. I will be in touch with the winners privately to arrange their cookie cutter deliveries in time for Christmas.

I felt a bit post-Christmas-party-seedy this morning lol, but I’m sure I will have recovered by the time I get home from work tonight and be ready for a glass of wine again……

Happy Christmas Fooding!

Roast Veg Frittata

This frittata was SO easy, I was very impressed. It is based on a recipe from the new River Cottage Veg cookbook, and this particular recipe was recommended to me by a work colleague.

The vegies you use are completely up to you, and I didn’t have the right size baking dish as most of mine are currently still packed (and will remain so while I am living where I am at the moment – no room to put them anywhere!). This is a very forgiving dish though – you could make it in a dish of any shape or size I reckon and it would still come out fine.

 I do love roast beetroot and it was perfect in this; I was thinking maybe I’d make one just with beetroot and pumpkin next time, as the two go well together and the colours look great too.

Roast Veg Frittata

~600 gms mixed Winter veg (I used beetroot, pumpkin, carrot & potato), cut into 2-3cm chunks

2 cloves garlic, crushed

1 tbsp olive oil (or use olive oil spray)

7-8 eggs

3 spring onions, chopped

1/2 cup fresh parsley, chopped

1/2 tsp dried thyme

cracked pepper, to taste

30 gms parmesan cheese, finely grated

Preheat oven to 190C.

Toss the vegies in a bowl with oil and garlic, then spread out on a baking tray. Roast for about 40 minutes, until vegies are all tender and starting to caramelise in places.

Beat the eggs together with the herbs and cracked pepper.

Transfer the vegies to a 23cm square ovenproof dish, and pour the egg mixture evenly over. Scatter the parmesan cheese over the top and return to the oven for 20 minutes, until the egg is all set and the top is puffed up and starting to colour.

Serve warm or cold.

Serves 6

The original recipe called for the vegies to be roasted in the ovenproof dish, and then the egg mixture simply poured over the top; however, I wanted to spread my vegies out more, so I have cooked them on a separate oven tray first and then transferred to the final dish. I do think this would be a great party or picnic dish, as you could quite easily double it and make it in a large lasagne type dish, and cut it into small squares. A good one to make ahead too, as it’s yummy cold (I should know, I had a leftover bit for brekky the next day!).

Don’t forget to enter the Poachies giveaway, by liking my previous post!

Happy Fooding!

Vegetarian Nibbles…

 

I tweaked this recipe from one in a Spanish food mag when I was living in Chile. Actually to have deciphered the Spanish and worked out how to follow the recipe is something I am pretty happy that I could do! Now that I’m starting to think of Christmas and all the food-related activities that go with that time of year (yay!), I’m practicing a few things. I need to decide what to make for a NYE party I’ll be having, as well as Christmas itself. These little balls are easy, healthy and quick to make, and are great for vegetarians at a party. Use gluten-free breadcrumbs to make them okay for your wheat-free guests as well.

Pea & Feta Nibbles

350 gms frozen peas

150 gms feta cheese, finely crumbled

1 tsp sesame seeds

1 egg

1/2 tsp ground cumin

1 tbsp light soy sauce

cracked pepper, to taste

1 cup breadcrumbs

Cook the peas in a little water in the microwave; drain and blend in food processor or with handheld blender, until a paste forms.

Place peas in a bowl with the remaining ingredients. Mix well and form into 3cm balls.

Place balls on a greased or lined oven tray, and spray lightly with olive oil spray. Bake at 190C for 15 minutes. Turn the balls over and spray again with oil spray, then cook for a further 15 minutes.

Serve with sweet chilli sauce for dipping. Serve warm or at room temperature (ideal for making the day before).

Makes about 28.

Happy Fooding!