baking challenge #2: vanilla muffin birthday cake

One of the ladies at work is having her birthday tomorrow and we’ll both be working the weekend, so I decided it would be nice to whip up some vanilla birthday-themed muffins tonight to serve at morning tea. This was a first, as I’ve never made a cake for a colleague before, and also never made icing that was any good before (let alone figure out how to use a piping bag without destroying it!!). It was also an important hurdle to jump in terms of cooking the muffins without burning them.

I used the same ingredients and method from the blueberry muffin recipe I made last week, but omitted the blueberries, and added about 2-3 times the amount of vanilla essence. I also added a couple of teaspoons of maple syrup to the mix. I topped them with two icings - one made from butter, icing sugar, vanilla essence, lemon juice and a few drops of chocolate essence, and the other from butter, icing sugar, vanilla essence, lemon juice, and the tiniest drop of almond essence. I iced half the muffins with the chocolate, half with the almond, sprinkled them with some 100s & 1000s, and then piped details on them with the opposing colour icing. The result? A beautifully fluffy, vanillery, and scrumptiously buttery muffin. I’ve arranged them all in a container, with a little extra icing piped on the centre muffin and a ‘Happy Birthday’ flag added for decoration. Lined up like this it looks a bit like a birthday cake in itself, but all portioned up neatly ahead of time! (Meaning no slicing and less dishes for us lazy people! )

To make the flag, cut a small piece of paper and fold it in half. Write the greeting on the front. Opened up and brush the inside lightly with PVA glue. Line up a toothpick in the crease, and close the paper over it. Press to seal. This dries quickly & can be used pretty much immediately.

All packaged up, it’s ready to go! Now I just hope I didn’t go too overboard with the vanilla essence…

blueberry muffins for mum and me

I received a Mother’s Day -themed newsletter from recipezaar today, which featured a fantastic looking picture for “Melt in Your Mouth Blueberry Muffins”. I followed the link trail to find the recipe, and was stoked to see that it was really really simple. I generally suck at baking, and my oven burns pretty much everything that goes in it, so my baking mantra is ‘the simpler the better!’

I haven’t ever made blueberry muffins before, but I’ve eaten them now and again at cafe’s and the like. They are always a bit sticky and gooey for me, and as such a bit on the heavy side. For this reason I have to admit I’ve never found them that appetizing. They’re often also either too sweet or too bland. These are all reasons why I’ve probably never made them.

This recipe is amazing though. It goes to show that the best things in life are often the most simple. I am so impressed. I made this batch tonight to test them out, with the plan to make some more on Saturday to give to our Mums on Sunday. I’m glad I decided on doing that now, because it turns out that in an attempt to brown the tops a little bit more, I left the grill on too long and they got a bit tooo brown. I was sitting right in front of the damn oven, too, but our oven doesn’t have a glass window on the door, so it’s hard to monitor what you’re baking without letting the heat out.

Anyway, although I was sure they were burnt, they actually aren’t. They’re just well coloured!

The consistency is absolutely beautiful, you take a bite and its all melty and perfect, and the blueberries are sooo good. It doesn’ stick to your teeth like most blueberry muffins do; but its not too dry or bready either. It’s hard to explain - it’s just perfect. I will definitely make these again - and perhaps alternate what berries I put in now and then, for some variety.

So do try the recipe out - you won’t be disappointed! Great served with a cuppa

22 years of good food

After the turbulence of the weekend, my birthday didn’t really turn out as I had planned, but overall it proved to be one of the most memorable, albeit very laid back. The boy ’schwein woke at 5.15am for work, and before leaving made me a breakfast of the best homemade granola with a small jug of milk and a bowl of King Island Dairy yoghurt. I was so impressed - his granola is good! If he wants to make me that every day, I won’t complain!! Then he brought me a warm plate, fresh from the oven, with two croissants from the local bakery which he filled with honey ham, Swiss cheese, and Dijon mustard. Although I was initially a bit grumpy because I had to wake up at 6, everything tasted fantastic and I felt very spoilt.

The house was in dire need of a clean, so seeing I was up early I decided to tidy up, which eventually got extended to a full-blown dust, vacuum & mop. Then I gave the cat a bath, gave the bathroom a scrub, and then a shower for myself. Because I started so early it was all done by 10am!

We had initially planned to go out for lunch, so he came home from work early. But after the huge breakfast I wasn’t really hungry enough. So instead we stayed home. We bought some organic potatoes and 2 leeks from the supermarket the other day, and it was a chilly enough for something warm, so I decided on a dinner of potato and leek soup. It turned out really really well, and tasted pretty luxurious once topped with a slice of bread and cheese, and toasted under the grill.

Today we continued the birthday celebrations with an extravagant afternoon tea with his Mum (who also had a birthday recently) & her partner. We made homemade scones with strawberry jam and whipped cream, and bought a coffee & walnut cake, and another cake that was kind of like a giant Swiss pastry filled with custard and walnuts. With a few plungers of good coffee, a few cruisy records on in the background, and some great conversation, it turned out to be a nice and relaxing arvo for all.

Ah, the power of food to make things seem brighter.

Potato & Leek Soup

1. 1 medium saucepan - fill 2/3 with potatoes, roughly cubed; cover with water; boil until softened.
2. Tip out 1/2 the water, and replace with approx 1 litre milk.
3. In a separate pan, saute finely sliced leeks in some butter until translucent. When ready add to potatoes.
4. Add 2 stock cubes.
5. Use a potato masher to break up the potatoes.
6. Cook and mash until soup is thickened - by this time the potatoes have broken up enough to no longer be lumpy.
7. Add salt and white pepper to taste.
8. Ladel into bowls. Top with a peice of crusty bread, sprinkled with a generous amount of grated cheese and a crackling of pepper.
9. Toast under grill.
10. Serve and enjoy!

wildschwein’s easter eggnog

Our chooks are laying like mad at the moment, meaning we have a HUGE surplus of eggs to get through! Lastnight it was on the chilly side, and I felt like something warm and sweet, so I pulled out the Kenwood Chef and whipped up this creamy and slightly addictive batch of eggnog. Was so proud that it worked out!!!

This recipe was inspired by one of Alton Brown’s, available on the Food Network website, however I’ve made a few alterations to both the ingredients and method, which probably produced a slightly different result. I also doubled the recipe so I would have plenty of leftovers to refrigerate (and also to use up more eggs!!). My altered recipe is below!

finally proud to be australian

National Apology 2008

new year salmon skies

This evening a beautiful purple, pink, orange and yellow sunset filled the sky. The colours deepened over time to a lovely rich blend of purple and orange.

Happy New Year!

the day after boxing day bubbles and squeaks

Today we decided to make a hash for brunch, in an attempt to dispose of the final remnants of Christmas lunch. Some people would call it a hash, others would call it ‘bubble and squeak’. Overall it’s just a mishmash of all the leftovers from a roast dinner, with a couple of additions to bulk and bind it. Ours included leftover duck, turkey, ham, steak, potatoes, carrots, peas, and squash. To this we added some coarsely mashed potatoes and a little salt and pepper to season, and a well beaten egg. It was then fried up in a pan (using a small amount of the leftover duck fat) until a nice crust developed. Delicious served with leftover gravy!

Enjoy!

the best trifle i’ve made

Yes, it looks a bit like spew, but it’s in fact a deliciously moist Christmas trifle. This was my first ever attempt at making a trifle and I was happy to find out that they are pretty difficult things to stuff up. I didn’t even follow a recipe per se - I just asked family and friends what their own methods were and compiled them. The following ingredients and method that resulted made us a gigantic 3-4 litre trifle. The quantities could of course be decreased or increased according to how many mouths you’ll be feeding and whether you want leftovers! I definitely think that the jelly quantities should be kept the same, though, regardless of the size trifle you’re making. You can never have too much jelly!!

christmas curry egg salad

The photos don’t do this justice. This dish is a Christmas-time favourite in my family. The creamy curry mayonnaise completely envelops the scrumptiously hard-boiled eggs and crunchy iceberg lettuce, making your guests wonder what on Earth lurks beneath. You would think that the mayonnaise and sour cream content would make the dish overbearingly creamy and rich, but in fact the lettuce and egg whites help to refresh the palate and make the salad incredibly delicious and moreish. Here is the recipe I used…

festive feast with fowls, family, fullness, and fans!

Mmm… Christmas-y booze… (Left to right: Sherry, Marsala, Brandy).

This year we unofficially decided to host Christmas. A duck, some turkey, a ham, some roast veg and a few salads did the trick, followed by my Nanna’s famous Christmas pudding, a gigantic trifle and a Christmas ice-cream bomb (both first-attempts for me which thankfully turned out great!!), and enough cupcakes to feed an army (the latter carefully prepared by my little sister ). Aside from being the first time we’ve hosted Christmas, it ended up pretty much like every other Christmas we’ve had - full of food, family and post-feast fullness! Oh, and fans - it was another sweltering hot Western Australian Xmas day. The turkey, ham, roast spuds, prawns and egg salad were savoury highlights!

Left to right, clockwise: pickled beetroot, cooked prawns, cocktail sauce, green salad, tomato salad, pickled onions, corn kernels, butter, curry egg salad, cranberry sauce, maple syrup glazed ham.

Left to right: pulled lemon and sage turkey in gravy, roast duck.

Left to right: apricot sauce (to serve with the duck), roast carrots and squash (oops! a touch burnt!! but still delish), gravy, roast potatoes, peas, crusty white bread and butter.

Yummy cupcakes: chocolate, blueberry, carrot