In My Kitchen - December 2013

Just as I sit down to write this post, which I have been trying to get to all week, Blossom wakes up early from her nap....
....and now I have her on my lap as I type. While Chicky and Poppet giggle hysterically, telling "poo jokes" and chasing each other around the kitchen, Blossom watches longingly. If only the chubby 10 month old was mobile, she'd be able to join in. One day soon, before I have toddler-proofed my house no doubt, she'll be on the move.

But I digress. My kitchen this month hosts several new additions. Some edible, some not, and some in preparation for the holiday festivities.

The girls and I had fun making a gingerbread house last year, and while I made a paper template for the walls, the template didn't move house when we did. I saw this cookie cutter set in Kmart for around $5 (the exact figure escapes me) and couldn't resist. This way the girls can get involved in cutting the walls as well as mixing and decorating. 

I don't really like shop-bought fruit mince pies, but have made my own for the last couple of years and really enjoyed them. In preparation, I have a jar of Robertson's Fruit Mince. This is the only fruit mince that was in my mum's pantry when I was a kid, and it has never even crossed my mind to purchase a different brand.

 

I am yet to pluck up the courage (or find the time) to attempt chocolate tempering, but I figure if I own a digital thermometer, I may be more likely to give it a go. Celia makes it look so easy, maybe this holiday season is the time to try. I picked up this nifty little thermometer from JayCar for less than $25. It is accurate to 1 degree Celsius and can tolerate up to 300C. Unless something goes terribly wrong, my tempering attempts won't reach such extreme temperatures!

I have my eye on a raw carrot cake recipe that I'd like to try. The recipe I saw on a Facebook page, but can't find a direct link to the recipe. When I make it, I'll be sure to blog. The recipe uses raw agave nectar, which I've had my eye on at our local grocer, Malibu Fresh Essentials, for a few months. This was the perfect excuse to pick some up.

Something else I've been keen to pick up, and another ingredient in the carrot cake, is extra virgin coconut oil. I hear this stuff makes a great moisturiser too!

 

Yet another Malibu Fresh Essentials purchase which makes it into my kitchen regularly is pre-packed dried fruit and nuts in various shapes and sizes, these are Nature's Delights brand. Hubby loves cashews, and will often use my measuring cups to hold his post dinner/pre-bed snack of cashews.The "Delicious Mix" of almonds, pistachios, cranberries and white chocolate buttons isn't a regular in our house because it's a bit too naughty, especially at the rate I go through the bag. I prefer a similar mix with raw macadamia nuts and pepitas.

Coffee pods to suit my Map coffee machine are ALWAYS in my kitchen. I normally buy the Gloria Jean's Smooth Classic Blend (pictured right), but Woolworths have started stocking a variety by Macro. Macro make some pretty tasty stuff, so I thought I'd give them a go. I still prefer the Gloria Jean's variety. 

This one was in my kitchen on Monday, then I cooked it, then we ate it. While I often make Teresa Cutter's "healthy schnitzel", I've never made a generic chicken schnitzel before. True story. I saw this simple recipe on Better Homes and Gardens a few weeks ago and gave it a go. The (not-so)shallow frying part made me a little uncomfortable, but damn it was tasty. Served with some oven baked chips and salad, it made a hearty dinner for a balmy summer evening.

Finally, in my kitchen is an assortment of things that really don't belong in the kitchen. For some reason my Garmin has taken up residence on the kitchen bench. This is usually where I dump it after coming in from a run and immediately taking up parenting duties, often before a shower. The teddy has a hole, but I can't for the life of me find it. Until I can remedy the leaking beads, he is off limits for little fingers. Having a house full of girls, there is always nail polish around, and toy jewellery, and hair accessories, and glitter (the remains of a Christmas ball decorating session are in the little container). The white-board marker is to write on the lists I have stuck to the pantry door; one for hubby, one for myself. These lists consist of non-urgent jobs that need doing, that we know in the back of our minds are there but keep putting off. So far the list technique is working wonders. We only put a few things on at a time so it's not too daunting, but wiping things off is very satisfying, as is seeing the work get done.

That's what's going on in my kitchen this month. To see what's happening in some other kitchens around the world, head over to Fig Jam and Lime Cordial. I may not be back before the fat man comes, so Merry Christmas everyone!

In My Kitchen - April 2012

This is a very exciting In My Kitchen post. My much anticipated food processor has arrived! A local electrical store had the Kenwood Multipro on sale so I spoilt myself. Isn't she pretty? Beauty is not just skin (or plastic/stainless steel) deep however, she is oh so functional! I could not believe the size of the box when I first saw it. This baby has got every attachment you could possibly dream of. It has two bowl sizes each with their own blade, a glass "liquidiser" (or a blender jug for us commoners), a citrus press, a centrifugal juicer and a grinding mill to name a few. You can also chop your carrots any way you choose with one of four cutting discs, mix dough, whisk eggs and process to your heart's content. I'm sure I won't use ALL of those features, but I could if I wanted to right?


And she has variable speed, so I can do all those things as fast or as slow as I like.


So, as promised, the first thing I made (or possibly the second) was chocolate macadamia nut butter. This is super easy to make. All that was involved was 3 cups of macadamia nuts (I probably could have gotten away with 2 for my first batch as I had a little more than would fit into one jar), 2 tbsp of dutched cocoa powder and about 2 tbsp of honey. Process the nuts until the oil breaks down and they become creamy, no added liquid or oil required. Once the mixture is a paste, add the cocoa and honey and process. I really had no idea how much cocoa or honey to add so I just kept going until I liked the taste. Because there is no sugar, it's not overly sweet, but the macadamias are quite sweet in themselves. It tastes more like a peanut butter than a nutella, but with the cocoa and honey it has replaced nutella on my morning toast and I feel much less guilty.


Also in my kitchen is some lovely basil pesto which until now, I have been unable to make. I have an abundance of basil in the garden so I was very excited to put it to good use. This is great stirred through spaghetti, or even on toast. I am a huge parmesan fan, so this is a big winner in my kitchen. Like the Aussie that I am, I stored my pesto in a Vegemite jar.


I have some muesli bars in the oven, but they're not ready and I've been trying to get this post out for long enough, so I'll save muesli bars for another day. It's kind of nice to dedicate this month's In My Kitchen to the food processor anyway, given how much I have anticipated its arrival. Take a look at Fig Jam and Lime Cordial to see what's happening in some other kitchens around the world!

In My Kitchen - March 2012

While I would love to be able to showcase a shiny new food processor this month, I haven't got one yet. Maybe next month. In its absence, here's a peak at what you'll find in my kitchen this month.

My dad is Portuguese, and the Rooster of Barcelos was always present in my home growing up. I particularly remember having a wooden letter holder, and several china ornaments. When I first moved out of home, my brother gave me this Portuguese-made rooster as a housewarming present. It lives on the glassware shelf in my kitchen and reminds me of my heritage.



With my recent interest in raw food and higher protein, lower calorie snacks, I found myself stocking up on a whole host of interesting ingredients over the last few weeks. I bought some quinoa flakes to make a quinoa porridge. Quinoa is a complete protein source, so it contains a whole set of essential amino acids. It's also low GI which is great for sustained energy needed for lots of exercise and chasing my little lovelies.




I am a little ashamed to admit that we eat a lot of Nutella at our house. We all love it. I've read a bit about macadamia nut butter lately, and think that I could make a version of Nutella from macadamia nuts. I still need to get my food processor, but I thought maybe if I bought some macadamia nuts that it might start the ball rolling. If I get it to work, I'll be sure to write a post.




I love cranberries and like to throw them in muesli bars or biscuits, but struggle to buy dried cranberries that haven't been sweetened. I thought I'd try some goji berries as an unsweetened replacement. That and they have a very cool name.




My girls both love dairy and thankfully have no intolerance to cow's milk protein. They eat a lot of yoghurt and about a year ago I bought an Easiyo System for making "our own" yoghurt. I put that in quotations because it's not really our own. I buy the sachets of yoghurt powder and let it do its thing in the big plastic insulated container. It makes beautifully smooth yoghurt. I mostly make natural yoghurt which gets used in baking, cooking and dressings, or flavoured with fruit puree, but occasionally we indulge in the boysenberry flavour sachet which is really quite nice. My Easiyo System is a well loved addition to my kitchen.



Hopefully next month I'll be able to show case a new appliance in my kitchen, then in May my kitchen will change dramatically. Stay posted.

Take a look at what's going on in other people's kitchens around the world. Follow Celia's link at Fig Jam and Lime Cordial.

Raw Chocolate Brownies

A few weeks ago my sister in law came over with some "raw brownie" which she had made. I was a bit sceptical that something which had no butter, sugar, flour or chocolate, and with a "frosting" made almost entirely of avocado, could even vaguely resemble a brownie. I sampled it none the less, and was surprised at both the taste and the texture. It tasted chocolatey, it was moist, the frosting was soft and tasty and it left a nutty taste in my mouth, all assets of a good brownie. It didn't taste conventional but it certainly did give me a brownie fix.

I didn't think much more about it until I stumbled acrossed Teresa Cutter's website, The Healthy Chef, a few days ago and read about many more "raw" ingredients and recipes. She has a Chocolate Fudge Brownie recipe which I gave a shot today. Making this brownie, which involves processing nuts and dates together, has re-enforced the need for a food processor in my kitchen. The processor attachment to my stick blender, which comes in useful for occasional processing, doesn't quite cut it for recipes like this. I was also unable to add the frosting because I couldn't make the macadamia nut butter Teresa used on her brownies, without a decent food processor. I think that will be the next addition to my kitchen. An alternative to the macadamia nut butter can be made by blending the following in a food processor (this is what my sister in law made for hers):

1 avocado
40ml honey
30ml cocoa powder (raw if you like)
2 tsp vanilla extract
pinch salt
pinch cinnamon

I didn't have any avocado, so my brownies remained frosting-less.


The combination of walnuts, almonds, fresh dates, raw cacao and vanilla extract produced something unbelievably healthy and mighty tasty. The only part I didn't consider when using my homemade vanilla extract was the fact that this recipe is not cooked, therefore the vodka used for the extract has full potency. It's only 2 tbsp for about 12 pieces of brownie, but still more than I'm willing to let the littlies sample. If you want to make this for the kids, I'd recommend getting some imitation stuff from the supermarket.

Watch this space for some more raw recipes!