Mario mushroom cake and an R2D2 cake

Do you love Super Mario?Veruca Salt made not one, but two character birthday cakes last weekend. Pocahontas wanted a Super Mario mushroom cake, the special 1Up power up mushroom that gives you an extra life extra power/health in everyone's favourite childhood video game. [Thanks to fushmush and FFichiban for the correction]This cake was reasonably easy to construct - butter cake cut to size and

Maple walnut bread

I haven't always been confident with yeast. The thought of working with something that's alive, that grows, that expands, that could die if not treated carefully, it a petrifying thought for someone who has a reputation for being an accidental assassin when it comes to tending herbs and pot plants.But yeast is sturdier than you'd think. All it requires is time and a little TLC.It was Not Quite

Prize giveaway #8: A $200 dinner voucher for two from Ocean Room, Sydney

Grab Your Fork is celebrating 1,000 posts this week and you're invited to the party! This is the final day of a week-long competition frenzy, and it's concluding with a bang!It's lucky prize number eight, and the winner will be very lucky indeed. The final prize has been kindly donated by Raita Noda, owner and head chef at Ocean Room.PRIZE #8: A $200 dinner voucher for two at Ocean Room, SydneyIf

Prize giveaways #6 and #7: $50 home delivery vouchers from Menulog

Grab Your Fork is celebrating 1,000 posts this week and you're invited to the party! This is the fourth day of a week-long competition frenzy. Don't forget to check back here Friday lunchtime for the final prize worth $200!Today's competition is brought to you by Menulog, and it's ideal for anyone who has ever sighed at the thought of having to cook dinner.PRIZES #6 and #7: A $50 home delivery

Prize giveaway #5: A gift pack from SWEETNESS The Patisserie

Grab Your Fork is celebrating 1,000 posts this week and you're invited to the party! This is the third day of a week-long competition frenzy and it's perfect for all the sweet tooths.Today's competition is brought to you by SWEETNESS The Patisserie, the stall that is usually over-run with fanatic customers at the Pyrmont Good Living Growers Markets, desperate to stock up on Gena's award-winning

Chinese New Year dinner

Do you like pig?We love pigs, especially ones that come with crackling. Thin bubbling shards of crisp crunchy shattering crackling that cannot be eaten quietly. That's the kind of pig I love.One of three queues at Emperor's Garden on Chinese New Years EveIt was Chinese New Years Eve on Sunday, and you could feel the excitement in the air in Chinatown, particularly at Emperor's Garden BBQ House

honey update.

After all your awesome suggestions on what to do with this honey, I have to admit we've taken the simple approach. We've just been drizzling it on stuff. This morning, my son enjoyed some on his wheat toast.



Some of you might have noticed that Summer and I have all but given up on trying to make daily posts. We're both very busy and it's getting harder and harder to make time to get together and bake. That doesn't mean we've given up on the blog, it just means that we've got a lot of projects in the works! I'm trying to keep things going over here, but if you get bored in the meantime, make sure to head over to Design Is Mine, which is sporting a new layout and as usual, pointing out all the goodies Summer comes across online.

Look forward to seeing more guest posts in the future from some of my buddies, and the last few soups of the season before it gets too hot to make it. (yeah, like that's ever going to happen. IT SNOWED AGAIN TODAY.)

Prize giveaway #4: Kei's Kitchen cooking class

Grab Your Fork is celebrating 1,000 posts this week and you're invited to the party! Yesterday's competition has spread like wildfire - seems like a lot of you want to win a Global knife, with 68 entries received already! The demand for the digital scales and the cupcake carrier isn't too far behind either.Today's competition is brought to you by Kei's Kitchen, a mother and daughter team whom you

Spicy-Salty Tiger Prawns

You may have noticed that there aren't many shellfish recipes on this blog. Fish recipes, yes, but not recipes involving mussels, shrimps/prawns, scallops etc. There's a good reason for that, but it doesn't mean I don't cook them at home. Contrarily to me, K. adores shellfish, so every now and then I try a new recipe. This recipe is an adaptation of Jamie Oliver's, who uses small prawns and eats them with shell and all. I much prefer cooking with large tiger prawns - they look more decent to me. K. wholeheartedly approved, and considering it took about 5 minutes in total, then it's a good recipe indeed :)

Spicy-Salty Tiger Prawns
(Soolased krevetid vürtsidega)
Serves 3 to 4

400 g unpeeled fresh tiger prawns (headless, thoroughly defrosted and drained, if frozen)
2 generous pinches of sea salt flakes
a generous pinch of fennel seeds
a generous pinch of coriander seeds
a generous pinch of cumin seeds
a small pinch of dried chilli flakes

Place fennel, coriander and cumin seeds into a pestle and mortar and bash them couple of times (just enough to crush them, no more).
Heat a large wok or frying pan until very hot, add sea salt flakes, crushed spices and chilli flakes and heat for about half a minute, until they're all aromatic.
Add the tiger prawns and shake the pan, so the spice mixture would cover the prawns nicely. Dry-fry for 2-4 minutes, depending on the size of your prawns, until they've all turned pink with golden brown, indicating that they're cooked.
Peel the prawns while eating them.

Grab Your Fork reaches 1,000 posts - with a week of competitions to celebrate!

Congratulations dear reader. You are officially reading the 1,000th post by Grab Your Fork.It's been almost five years of feasting and what a delicious ride it's been. Having a blog has prompted me to explore all of Sydney, to embrace its multicultural flavours, to support local producers and to share it all with you.Not only have I relished the perfect justification to eat 'just a little bit

A Vietnamese engagement party

I feel like I'm back in Vietnam, even though I'm in a household in Sydney's inner west. It's not just the round folding tables covered with plastic tablecloths, the bottles of soft drink waiting on each table, or the collection of plastic stools. It's the fact that there are five tables of ten set up in the living room and the tantalising smells of seafood and hot oil coming from the

Food Blog Awards - GYF only 5 votes off the lead

Voting polls close in less than 24 hours and Grab Your Fork is currently running 2nd in Best Blog City, at this minute only 5 points off the lead.VOTE NOW if you think Grab Your Fork deserves to win Best Food Blog - City.Polls close at 12 noon Sunday 25 January 2009 (Sydney-time).Thank you for your support!

Mustard bread for mustard lovers

You're probably wondering why the bread on the photo looks so yellow. No, it's not me and K. mishandling the white balance on our camera. It's just that this bread is so exceptionally yellow in colour (mustard powder + ground turmeric), as well as mustardy in flavour (whole-grain mustard + mustard powder + mustard seeds). Definitely (or perhaps?) too mustardy to be your daily bread, but it would make a lovely loaf to accompany a simple vegetable soup, and perhaps even a cheeseboard.

The recipe is adapted from an Estonian supermarket food magazine Toit & Trend.

Mustard Bread
(Sinepisai)
Makes 1 loaf



250 ml (1 cup) lukewarm water
2 Tbsp vegetable oil
2 Tbsp whole-grain mustard
400 g plain/all-purpose flour
1 packet active dry yeast (app. 11 g)
3 tsp mustard powder (I used Coleman's English)
0.5 tsp ground turmeric
0.5 tsp salt
1 egg, whisked, for brushing
2 Tbsp brown mustard seeds, for topping

Mix the water, oil and whole-grain mustard in a large bowl.
Mix the flour, dry yeast, mustard powder, turmeric and salt in another bowl, then stir into the water mixture and knead, until the dough breaks loose from your hands (or dough hook, if using a mixer).
Cover the bowl with a clingfilm or a clean kitchen towel and leave to prove for an hour in a warm, draft-free place. It should pretty much double in size.
Knead the dough once again, then form into a round loaf. Transfer the loaf into an oiled oven sheet, cover again with a piece of clingfilm or a kitchen towel and leave to prove for another hour.
Cut few slashes on top with a sharp knife, then brush with egg and sprinkle with mustard seeds.
Bake in the middle of 200 C /400 F oven for about 30 minutes, until the bread is lovely golden and crispy on top.
Let it cool for about half an hour after taking out of the oven, then slice as thinly or thickly as you like.

Other bread recipes @ Nami-Nami:
Estonian Soda Bread with Ricotta Cheese
Tender Potato Bread (a Daring Baker challenge)
Fennel Seed Bread
Georgian Cheese Bread Hatchapuri

ned ludd: holy crap.

I don't mean to get all Portland-centric on here, but we've been meaning to get to this place since we first heard it was opening, and tonight we finally got a chance. Ned Ludd is our buddy's restaurant on MLK & Failing, and it is awesome. Located in a former pizza joint, they are making use of the built in wood-fired oven and roasting up a variety of awesome shit. (Blog here.)



I was too busy downing Laurelwood Pale Ales and chatting up my husband (this was our first date in ages!) to get any pictures of what we ate, but everything on the menu looked great, and what we chose was phenomenal. We shared a baked pasta and braised lamb dish, I had roasted mussels served on top of a tasty broth with chunks of crusty bread soaking it up (damn, dude) and Jason had pork with a spicy orange sauce with rosemary (they called it a stew but it was kind of saucy?) over the fluffiest polenta I've ever seen. We polished everything off with our eyes rolling back in our heads, and then the people next to us got their dessert and we did the full on horny wolf cartoon thing with the giant eyeballs popping out of our skulls and our tongues lolling out on the floor and, well- you get the idea. It smelled amazing, so we ordered the same. What? You can't say no- they have a big ass fire going, and yes- they're serving:



S'mores, WHAT! Hellz yeah. Seriously? How many times can I say the word awesome in this post? I know that Portland is experiencing what the Willamette Week called a "restaurant apocalypse" but I personally believe the cream is just rising to the top, and I can only hope that Ned Ludd continues to do well. The dudes running the show are awesome, the location is cozy and I love the decor, (and holy crap, I love being able to actually see my food. Not every place needs to be as dim as a dive bar.) and the food is seriously top tier, topping out at only about 15 bucks for the most expensive entree (though the menu does vary, of course).

Ben and Jason, if you're reading this- it was worth the wait, and we are already eager to come back in. Thanks for a great meal.

Caramel Banana Cake

So I have a bit of a thing for banana cake.But what's not to love? Moist cake, the creamy fragrance of banana and surprise crunchy nuggets of walnut. Bliss.This version takes banana cake to a new level of decadence with the addition of caramel icing. The icing isn't sickeningly sweet, but adds a slight toffee sweetness that matches well with the banana and walnut.With a healthy dollop of sour

Use your noodle: Top 15 Ramen Dishes in Sydney

Remember my post on the Top 15 Ramen in Sydney?Two wonderful Grab Your Fork readers, YZ and AN, have come to the rescue by translating the Japanese text within the article. So it turns out the article isn't talking about ramen houses overall, but specifically the Top 15 Ramen Dishes in Sydney.Want to know what they are? Click on the revised post to find out.Of course I must extend a public and

Food Blog Awards - vote now

The top 5 nominees in each category and have been announced and Australian bloggers are proudly carrying the flag. Yay!Show your support for Aussie bloggers this Australia Day long weekend by voting now. Voting ends 12 noon Sunday 25 January 2009 (Sydney-time).Congrats to all the Australian food blog finalists!VOTE Best Food Blog - City: Grab Your Fork and Not Quite NigellaVOTE Best Food Blog -

85 Degrees (85C) Bakery Cafe, Chatswood

Strawberry cardina $4.00Austrian-style cake covering with fresh strawberry flavoured milk mousse enables itself to be one of our most popular choices for satisfactionForget the economic downturn -- it seems as though chocolate and dessert are the new "me" indulgences to defend us from sorrow.The first 85 Degrees Cake Shop opened in Sydney just over two years ago. Its second fourth outlet (

Fancy an After Dinner Mint Mousse?

Here's a clever way to combine the dessert and the after dinner mints served with coffee. The recipe is inspired by a British one using unwhipped double cream (fat content 48%, but not available in Estonia), so I've played around with quantities and serving sizes a bit. It's very-very minty and rather chocolatey - not perhaps everybody's cup of tea. But if you do fancy an after dinner mint, then you'll love it..

I used After Eight Dinner Mints, just because it's a classic, but you could try with some of the other mints instead..

After Dinner Mint Mousse
(After Eight šokolaadivaht)
Serves 6

200 g box of After Eight chocolate mints
2 Tbsp cognac or brandy (I used Georgian Gremi brandy)
300 ml whipping cream (35%)
1 Tbsp caster sugar
0.5 tsp vanilla extract (I used Pure Madagascar Bourbon Vanilla)
fresh mint, for garnish

Put six chocolate mints aside for decorating later.

Place the rest if the chocolate mints and cognac/brandy into a small heavy-bottomed saucepan and heat on a low heat, stirring every now and then, until chocolate has melted. Remove from the heat and cool a little.
Whip the whipping cream and sugar until soft peaks form, then fold in vanilla extract.
Stir one-third of the whipped cream into the cool melted chocolate mixture, to soften the latter. Then gently fold in the melted chocolate into the whipped cream, until combined and fluffy.
Divide into small dessert bowls or glasses.
(If necessary, you can cover the portions with a cling film and put into a fridge for a few hours).
Before serving, garnish with a chocolate mint square and a pretty mint sprig.

chicken and dumplings

When I was a kid, I was a picky eater. The type of picky eater who would look at a plate of food and turn my nose up at it just because it looked weird or gross- kind of embarrassing to admit now. The first time I ever tried a pickle, I was 17. How pathetic is that? Guess what, PICKLES ARE AWESOME. I wasted 17 years avoiding pickles for NOTHING. So stupid. Ever since then, (and more so since I met my husband, many years ago) I've attempted to be a more adventurous eater. Sometimes I find myself too grossed out (DANISH CHEESE? My best friend offered me this Danish cheese when I went to visit for her wedding and I almost barfed when I smelled it. I couldn't get it in my mouth.) but I make it a point to try a bite of whatever is in front of me, because you only live once.

All that said- I'm 25 years old, and (until this evening) I've never eaten dumplings. That doesn't mean I've never been served chicken and dumplings- far from it. My mom made chicken and dumplings on a regular basis growing up, using big cans of Swanson's broth and Bisquick for the dumplings. She even made it a few months ago when we all got together for dinner at my sister's house! For some reason, I've just always avoided the dumplings and spooned myself big bowls of plain ol' soup. "I don't like dumplings!" Whatever, dudes. Guess what, DUMPLINGS ARE AWESOME.



My husband came home with a copy of Cook's Illustrated the other night, an issue devoted entirely to soups and stews. First of all- I've never looked at an issue of Cook's Illustrated before, but right in the front, there's a page of "Quick Tips" that are pretty awesome and handy. Some of them are kind of dumb (Snipping off a piece of a plastic bag of frozen veggies to use as a bag tie? Just use a rubberband, dumdums. Or even simpler- twist the bag and then fold it over. Duhhh.) but one that blew my mind that I have to share is to invert the lid on your dutch oven to create a rack for roasting vegetables in tinfoil. Space-saving! Anyway, after perusing the magazine for soup ideas, he settled on chicken soup with dumplings. The recipe in the magazine wasn't anything to write home about- it was billed as a "Quick and Easy!" recipe (lame!) touting the benefits of store-bought broth, and omitting celery just to save time. (!?! like chopping celery takes SOOO long. Crybabies.) So we just based our recipe on the one in the magazine but went ahead and did our own thing.



So- start with a basic Chicken Soup recipe, and then add some other goodies:

6 or so cups of broth (we made our own chicken broth last night.)
2 large carrots, diced
2 stalks of celery (oh my god, try not to freak out about how LONG IT TAKES TO CHOP IT), diced
1 med-large yellow onion, diced
handful of minced garlic
2 chicken breasts, chopped into bite sized pieces
Oil, butter, flour
about 1/3 cup (or like, a glug) of heavy cream

Saute vegetables in a good sized hunk of butter and a drizzle of olive oil (starting with onions & garlic) for a few minutes until they begin to soften. Throw in a handful of flour and stir in quickly to make a roux. Toast for a moment, then add stock. Stir rapidly until liquid begins to boil, then drop to a simmer. Add the chicken breast, and a glug of heavy cream. Toss in a bay leaf, and let simmer for a few minutes.

In a mixing bowl, prep your dumplings:

2 cups of flour
1 tbsp. baking powder
generous dash of salt
1 to 1 1/2 cups heavy cream
fresh thyme leaves
lemon zest

Mix together dry ingredients, then add cream until "desired consistency" is reached. Jason didn't tell me what the 'desired' consistency is, but I'm guessing something thick enough to spoon into the hot soup that will keep its shape. Cook's Illustrated describes is as "very thick and shaggy." I like describing dough as "shaggy."

Spoon dumplings into the soup pot, covering the entire surface of the soup. Put a lid on the pot and let simmer for 20-30 minutes until dumplings puff up.



We ate the soup right away, but I found that by the time I got to my second helping a few minutes later, the texture of the dumplings had noticeably improved. They started out rather silky and creamy- very delicious, but maybe a little mushy? As the steam escaped the pot after removing the lid, the tops of the dumplings began to dry out a little bit and the texture became a little firmer as the soup thickened. Having never actually eaten a dumpling, (I'm so lame!) I asked Jason if the texture was right, and he said it felt perfect to him. He described it as being a little gelatinous on the outside, and biscuit-like on the inside. We had enough of this soup to really fill up about 4 people, and since I assumed the dumplings probably wouldn't keep well overnight (I imagine they'd soak up the soup, right?) I called up my buddy to join us for dinner and she headed over. She's from Texas, and she declared the texture of the dumplings perfect. It was Jason's first time making chicken and dumplings and I consider it to be a roaring success- we don't have any leftovers. I think it would be super easy to make a vegan version of this- just sub chicken stock for vegetable, and replace the heavy cream with some soy half & half? Give it a try, if you want.

Sydney's Top 15 Ramen Dishes

Edited 21 Jan 2009: GYF reader YZ has kindly translated the entire article so it all makes sense now. The article is about Sydney's top 15 ramen dishes, each pictured and with an accompanying blurb. Translated text has been added in green below. Thanks so much YZ, and GYF reader AN, who also provided translations of the dish names. Been curious about the list of Sydney's top 15 ramen dishes we've

Zenya Noodle Bar, Eastwood

Gyoza, included in the $3 ramen upgrade for 3 gyoza & salad, (otherwise order separately for $5.80 for six)Pork and vegetable dumpling with Japanese soyand citrus dipping sauceThe ramen adventure continues.K & M are still making their way through their photocopied list of Top 15 Ramen in Sydney, photocopied from a Japanese community magazine. They've already eaten at Zenya and are keen to go back

Oxtail braised in dark beer

Have you ever cooked oxtail before? 

Until mid-November, I hadn't. I had eaten it before (for example during our trip to Spain last March-April), but never actually handled uncooked oxtail in my kitchen. Then, back in November, we had a Offal and Alternative Cuts Cook-Off on my Estonian site, and upon K's insistence, I decided to make an oxtail stew. If you get hold of good-quality oxtail (e.g. with lots of juicy soft meat attached), then there's not much you need to do with your oxtail. Basically, I had to decide whether I want to braise mine in beer or wine (I chose dark beer, Saku Jõulupruul) and which vegetables to go for (carrots, celery and turnips were my choice). Once you've made those decisions, you're well on your way to a beautiful dinner with friends.

PS I will be eating some again tonight. K. has just informed us that our friends P&K have invited us for a dinner of oxtail tonight. Mmmmm... :P

Oxtail braised in beer
(Õlles hautatud härjasaba)
Serves 2-3 (generously)

1 kg oxtail, cut into chunks
1 to 2 Tbsp oil
200 ml (just under a cup) of dark beer
500 ml (2 cups) good-quailty beef stock
2 carrots
2 small turnips
2 celery sticks
2 to 3 smaller onions
1 bay leaf
2 thyme branches
1 Tbsp sugar
1 tsp salt
freshly ground black pepper

Heat the oil on a large frying pan, add the oxtail pieces and brown them on all sides on a high heat. Transfer into a large heavy-bottomed oven dish with a lid (f.ex. a Dutch oven).
Pour the beer and stock into the pan, and bring into a boil. Simmer on a low heat for about an hour, skimming any froth and impurities that appear on the surface during the beginning. When no more froth is appearing, then cover the stockpot with a lid.
Peel the carrots and turnips and cut into chunks. Cut the celery sticks into an inch-long pieces, the onions into quarters. Dry-fry all vegetables on a frying pan, until they're lovely golden brown on all sides (this considerably improves the flavour). Add the browned vegetables to the stockpot alongside the spices.
Simmer for another 2-3 hours, until the meat easily falls off the bones.
Season and serve with my caraway-roasted potatoes.

China Grand Restaurant, Haymarket Chinatown

It took me a while to realise that Dragon Star was no more. This behemoth of yum cha, characterised by huge crowds and female 'bouncers' calling table bingo at the top of Chinatown's Market City, used to be one of our favourite haunts on Sunday mornings.So it's been about a year since Dragon Star closed and was reborn as China Grand, a befitting name for one of the biggest single floorspaces in

Fortune cookies, this blog and Catholic Tibetans in China

A short anecdote.We snapped open our complimentary fortune cookies after our dinner at Rhodes recently. It was funny but each of our fortunes seemed highly appropriate. The pragmatic side of me, however, was convinced we were just gullibly buying into statements that could actually apply to anyone, a phenomenon also known as the Barnum effect. The above fortune was mine. Veruca Salt was convinced

blueberry scones.

I am not a morning person. Over the years I have fallen in love with the idea of being one, but my body just will not give into it. I used to think this was merely due to the fact that I tend to go to bed very late at night, but I realized that even when I go through periods of falling asleep at a reasonable hour, I still cannot function prior to about ten in the morning. This got even worst after I had children, since now I am required to crawl out of our warm bed, carry the kids downstairs, prepare breakfast (albeit usually just a couple of toaster waffles and microwave veggie sausage), fill cups of milk, and do other various parental duties. In between all this, I am usually either stumbling around with an angry look on my face or falling in and out of consciousness while sitting up on the sofa. Coffee can usually help all of this, but truth be told, it usually takes me about two hours after waking up to gather the energy to make some myself.

This all being said, every once in awhile something unusual happens. The kids will wake me up and I will hop out of bed with a smile and an odd amount of fuel. I have absolutely no idea what brings these rare days on, but I truly appreciate them. The other morning, I had such a day- I awoke feeling refreshed and ready to start my day. After getting some blogging done and spending some time playing with the boys, I decided that I wanted something more than a bowl of cereal for breakfast. We have had a lot of blueberries around here lately since London is obsessed with them, so I chose to go with some fresh blueberry scones, courtesy of the Rose Bakery cookbook. They came out perfect- tart from the orange zest and sweet from the coating of brown sugar on top. I enjoyed mine with a cup of steaming hot black tea and a pile of dried cranberries on the side.

Now, if only these mornings could occur more frequently, then I'd be happy.



Blueberry Scones: recipe from Breakfast, Lunch, Tea: The Many Little Meals of Rose Bakery

Ingredients:

3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, plus extra for dusting
1 handful of wheatgerm, whole wheat flour, or cornmeal (optional)
2 very heaped tablespoons baking powder
2 heaped tablespoons of superfine sugar
1 teaspoon salt
grated zest of 1 lemon or 1 orange
scant 1/2 cup unsalted butter, cut into small pieces, plus extra for greasing
2 handfuls blueberries
2 eggs
about 1 1/4 cups whole, semi-skimmed, or soy milk
1 tablespoon demerara (light brown) sugar
cream fraiche, to serve

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F and grease a baking tray with butter.

Sift the all-purpose flour into a bowl and add the wheatgerm or whole wheat flour or cornmeal, if using. Mix in the baking powder, superfine sugar and salt, then add the butter and rub in with your fingers until the mixture resembles fresh breadcrumbs. Mix in the lemon or orange zest. Add the blueberries and mix well.

Beat one of the eggs in a measuring cup, then add enough milk to reach the 1 1/4 cup level.

Make a well in the middle of the dry ingredients, pour in the liquid, and use a fork to work in the dry ingredients. Finish by hand but without overworking the mixture- just lightly bring everything together to form a softish but firm dough If it is too dry add a little more milk, and if it's too sticky add some more flour. It must not be sticky at all.

On a lightly floured surface, pat or roll the dough into a solid shape about 1 1/4 inches thick. Using a 2-inch cutter, cut the dough into rounds and place them on the greased baking tray so that they almost touch. Beat the remaining egg and use to glaze the tops of the scones.

Sprinkle with the demerara sugar and bake for 15-20 minutes until lightly golden.

The scones will stick together, so take them gently apart when they have cooled a little.

Serve warm with creme fraiche.

Pomegranate syrup cake recipe

When it comes to cakes, I do like a bit of culture.I'm talking about natural yoghurt, that thick and somewhat sour dairy product, packed with good bacteria, which is so easy to make. I've only just discovered the joys of Easiyo, and a good friend let me in on the DIY recipe details. It's so cheap and easy to make your own!With a large tub of yoghurt and a few bottles of POM Wondeful pomegranate

guest blog : minaste, an italian new year's meat soup.

photos taken by my Aunt Gina

I'm back! I cannot believe that it has been over three weeks since I last posted on here. I was out-of-town until the beginning of the month, then I got sick, and then my computer was hit by a deadly virus. But now I am feeling much better and I have a brand new computer, so posts should be coming much more frequently. I have missed all the baking.

To start, I would like to share a recipe that comes from my mother, something that has been made in my family for years. It was made yet again this New Year's day and it filled the whole house with a mouth-watering smell. Luckily for me, a vegetarian version was also made and I was able to enjoy a delicious and hearty meal with everyone else. Thanks Mom for guest blogging and to my aunt for taking photographs.



"My Italian family is from Benevento, a little city about 50 miles from Naples. There are many dishes that come from that region, some that are only served on specific holidays. Minaste, or as my aunts pronounce it, “ah minaste,” is a dish served on New Year’s Day. It is incredibly delicious and hearty, but quite heavy due to the amount of meat used to prepare it. It is the meat cooking for hours that creates the wonderful broth. I eat very little meat these days but decided to prepare it for the men in my life who can’t imagine their lives without dead pig in it. For the more health conscious, I attempted a vegetarian version. This dish is best served with crusty Italian bread to sop up the juice, and a variety of mustards to squirt your favorite on top. Don’t forget the glass of red wine or cold dark ale."

Minaste : Italian New Year's Soup

Ingredients:

1-2 pounds beef short ribs
1 small cooked ham, chopped in large pieces
2 sticks of pepperoni
Head of cabbage, chopped
3 garlic cloves, chopped
2 heads of escarole
5-6 large potatoes, peeled and chopped
Salt
Pepper
Olive oil
Parmesan cheese
Crushed red pepper flakes

Directions:

Brown garlic in enough olive oil to cover the bottom of a very large pan. Add short ribs and brown on all sides. Add ham and brown, and then cover with water – approximately four cups. Be sure there is enough water to create a soupy broth. Add a couple of pinches of salt and some black pepper. Bring to a boil, cover, and simmer on low for at least two hours. Add water if it begins to evaporate.

In separate pot, cook potatoes and cabbage until tender. Add escarole once potatoes and cabbage are done, and cook for an additional three minutes. Drain all and combine in meat mixture. Stir gently and serve. Be sure to put a little bit of each meat in bowl. Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese and crushed red pepper flakes.

Vegetarian version

Ingredients:

Pack of vege ham
Pack of vege beef
Pack of vege pepperoni
Head of cabbage, chopped
3 garlic cloves, chopped
2 heads of escarole
5-6 large potatoes, peeled and chopped
Salt
Pepper
Olive oil
Parmesan cheese
Crushed red pepper flakes

Directions:

Brown garlic in enough olive oil to cover the bottom of a very large pan. Add all vege meats and sauté with garlic. Cover with water – approximately two cups- and add 2-3 cans of vegetarian broth. Add a couple of pinches of salt and some black pepper. Bring to a boil, cover, and simmer on low for at least two hours. Add water if it begins to evaporate.

In separate pot, cook potatoes and cabbage until tender. Add escarole once potatoes and cabbage are done, and cook for an additional three minutes. Drain all and combine in vege meat mixture. Stir gently and serve. Be sure to put a little bit of each vege meat in bowl. Top with crushed red pepper. If not serving to vegans, the Parmesan really adds needed flavor to the dish.

secret aardvark sauce.

Do you miss us? I have a photo date with Summer in just about an hour, so fear not- your baked goods jones will be fulfilled later today (hopefully)! But, until then- may I sing the praises of Secret Aardvark Sauce? They don't seem to have a proper website, but I think you can find all the information you need through that link to their myspace page.



Listen, dudes- I'm not a Hot Sauce Person. I've never been one of those people who will sully a perfectly good omelette with tabasco (ahem- Jason?) and I rarely reach for the sriracha unless I'm cooking at home (I keep things somewhat mild for my son, so we do have to add spice to our own plates). I like spicy food, but I don't need spice for the sake of spice. Most of the Hot Sauce People I know are now, or have been vegan- a defense mechanism against bland tofu and unattractive piles of hippie chow? Maybe! I mean, I know hot sauce is good- but you don't have to put it on EVERYTHING, ALL THE TIME, right? Right?



So let's say that a large bottle of Sriracha or a medium-sized bottle of Tapatio takes several months (or up to a year!) for us to go through- okay? We like hot sauce, we keep a space clear for it on our condiment shelf, but we aren't HOT SAUCE PEOPLE. Or rather, we weren't. Dudes, this shit is so bomb, OH MY GOD! Jason used to have it on his food when he worked at the Paradox Cafe (a vegan/veggie joint- see? See? Vegans need hot sauce to survive.) but I had never tried it before. Because, you know- I'm not a Hot Sauce Person.

Anyway, long story short- I've been eating so many damn burritos since we picked up this bottle, just so I have an excuse to plop hot sauce all over them. It's a habanero sauce, so it's rather spicy, but it has something smokey to it that is really tasty. I have eggs for breakfast so I have an excuse to drizzle them. We've had this bottle for a couple of weeks and it's already 3/4 of the way gone. It has earned a permanent place on our condiment shelf, next to the Sriracha, ketchup, and stone ground mustard. Welcome to the family, Secret Aardvark! I love you.

The Sanctuary, Sydney

Oven-roasted kingfish $17.00with caramelised eggplant, garlic and tomato and chive vinaigretteIt's the little things.The Sanctuary Hotel has become a little like Old Faithful. Fast, affordable, reliable. And I've yet to endure an overcooked steak. In fact we find the steaks here are still so very good. No horrid bits of gristle, and the steaks are always seared to perfection.I had the

Home-made granola recipe

I'm not sure why it took me so long to make my own granola to sprinkle on yogurt for breakfast, considering how incredibly easy it is! The recipe below is a mixture of various ideas, and it's pretty simple. I'm especially fond of the addition of malt extract* that I got from Moosewood granola recipe included in the Moosewood Restaurant New Classics - it adds a lovely, well, malted flavour to the end product. I've used a mixture of chopped apricots, seedless raisins and dried cranberries to 'buff up' my granola, but the choice of dried fruit is obviously yours.

What do you do? Make your own granola/müsli or buy from a shop? If you buy, then what's your favourite brand/type? Just curious :)

Home-Made Granola
(Kodune krõbe müsli)
Makes enough for 2 persons for a week



100 g old-fashioned rolled oats (about 1 cup)
3 Tbsp dark muscovado sugar
5 Tbsp unsweetened coconut flakes
1 Tbsp flax seeds/linseeds
1 tsp cinnamon

3 Tbsp neutral-flavoured oil
2 Tbsp water
1 Tbsp malt extract

To 'top up':
half a cup or so chopped dried apricots or prunes or dried cranberries or seedless raisins

Mix the oats, sugar, coconut flakes, linseed and cinnamon in a bowl. Stir in molasses extract, oil and water, stir to combine.
Line a small baking tray with a parchment paper and spread the granola mixture on top.
Bake in a pre-heated 200 C/400 F oven for 15 minutes, stirring once or twice while baking, until the granola is golden and very aromatic (it will crispen up after you take it out of the oven).
Take out of the oven and cool completely, then stir in the chopped dried fruit.

Keep in a closed jar and serve with your breakfast yogurt or milk.

* Moosewood recipe uses "barley malt syrup or unsulphured molasses", explaining that "Barley malt is a liquid made from fermented barley and often used in baking bread. We use it here for sweetness and moisture. If unavailable, any unsulphured molasses except blackstrap will work fine". I used a local product which is meant for brewing your own beer at home, but is also widely used for baking bread at home. 

All About...Romana's, Balmain

Campos coffee - large flat white $4.00I'm not really a breakfast out person. I'd much to prefer spend breakfast asleep and wake up just in time for lunch. A late lunch is even better.But on a gorgeous summer's day, a weekday when most people are working, even I can appreciate the little bit of luxury that a cafe breakfast can bring.It can't start any better than with a Campos coffee. I'm

spring roll dip/marinade.

Man! We have sort of dropped the ball with posting this year. Between Summer's computer issues, (it's ugly, from what little I've heard.) me going out of town, and this awesome flu I've been saddled with since midway through my trip, not a lot has gotten done. And frankly- I greatly prefer it when life gets in the way of blogging rather than vice versa, what can I say? I've been busy and there's not a lot else to say about it.

But here, let me offer you this simple concoction. One of my oldest, dearest friends got married last week at San Francisco's beautiful city hall building. I spent a few days crashing in her apartment with her, and on the first night in, we scoured her cupboards trying to find a snack to hold us over for a few drinks before we went out to dinner with future in-laws. We found enough ingredients for some tasty salad rolls, and she tossed together this little dipping sauce. Usually, when Jason and I have salad rolls, he makes a little peanut sauce. I've never been a huge peanut fan, so this soy sauce based dip ended up being more my speed- I can't wait to make it this summer when we dive back into our tradition of eating salad rolls whenever it's too hot to cook.

In a small bowl, stir together soy sauce, slivers of fresh garlic, a drizzle of agave nectar (or honey), chili flakes, and thin slices of fresh scallions, "to taste." Dana tells me she also uses this as a tofu marinade, but I can imagine it just about anywhere- can you imagine marinating a flank steak in this, then grilling to perfection, served on top of a noodle bowl?

And now, excuse me while I nurse myself back to health on a bowl of my husband's chicken soup (last night, made with big, chewy hunks of mitake mushrooms, a pinch of cilantro, and a small squirt of sriracha. mmm, fortifying.) and a cup of chamomile tea.

Temasek, Parramatta

Look! Look! Say hello to the crabs, kids!Master Four is silently petrified, shrinking back into his chair, but Miss Two is instantly alert and more than a little curious. I feel a little cruel about introducing the little 'uns to our soon-to-be-dinner but the waiter is more than obliging, beckoning Miss Two to come a little closer and touch its shell."Okay, now say goodbye..." The kids start

Multekrem or Cloudberries with Whipped Cream

I've sang praises to cloudberries before on this blog, including recipes for Goat Cheese Mousse with Cloudberry Compote, Home-Made Cloudberry Jam, Squeaky Finnish Cheese with Cloudberries and Mascarpone, Rye Bread Canapés with Cloudberries and Blue Cheese. And I must admit that most of these recipes are extremely simple. But then when you've got such delicious and luxurious ingredients in hand, then there's no need to really get finicky, is there?

Here's a dessert I served couple of weeks ago at a dinner party we cooked when catching up with an old friend and her husband. Apparently it's very popular in Norway during the festive season, but serving cloudberries - either fresh or as a jam or compote with whipped cream is typical at home, too. I used a jar of cloudberry compote that K's mum had graciously given us.

A true Nordic summer in one serving. 

Multekrem or Cloudberries with Whipped Cream
(Murakad vahukoorega)
Serves 4

200 ml whipping cream
2 Tbsp caster sugar
a 0.5 tsp vanilla extract
100-200 ml cloudberry jam or (drained) compote
lemon balm or mint for garnish

Whip the cream with sugar and vanilla extract until soft peaks form. Fold in the cloudberries (if using compote, then drain it first) and divide the dessert between small serving bowls.
Garnish with couple of cloudberries and a lemon balm or mint leaf.

New Star Kebabs, Auburn

Oh I do love Auburn.

It's not a sentiment one often hears in the media, but sitting here, on an aluminium chair at a metal table amidst the hubbub of Auburn Road, I drink in the palpable energy and buzz about the place. The street is filled with passing kids and shoppers, the air is thick with the smell of charcoal and barbecuing meats, and middle-aged men all around me, sit, chat and

Ginger cupcakes with chai icing

I know. The icing does look a little poo-like.I decided to use my plain icing nozzle on a whim. Next time I'll only use it for icing that isn't any shade of brown, even if it does bear a resemblance to the Japanese golden poo good luck charm.But the cupcakes were a hit anyway, a variation I made on Nigella's cupcake recipe. I've also started baking this recipe at a slightly lower temperature,

Basil pesto (and what my mother taught me)

My fridge is slowly breeding jars of pesto.No, I haven't found a magical cloning forcefield (hello Zumbo macarons!), but I have started a mini-processing factory in the kitchen - one that converts abandoned bunches of basil into that gloriously green paste: pesto.My mother always taught me to 'waste not, want not'. As a kid, it was an oft-heard lecture about starving children in China, about the

Egg White Cake Recipe

Have you been making ice cream or perhaps zabaglione recently? If yes, then you're left with lots of egg whites. Last weekend we had blackberries with zabaglione at friends' place, and were left with 6 egg whites after that. K. had already made the most beautiful macarons for the New Year's Eve party (see Flickr photo set here), so I had to come up with another idea. Meringues or pavlova are always an option, but then I remember an egg white cake recipe my schoolmate Kristel had shared on my Estonian site, where it had got good reviews. I decided to give it a go.

It's a bit similar to the famous Angel Cake (heavy on egg whites, no egg yolks), but it's not as virtuous as it contains almost a stick of butter. Psst - don't tell anyone! :)

And it was lovely. Very simple to make (especially with the help of my trustworthy KitchenAid Stand Mixer), and I loved the dense, moist and small crumb of the resulting cake. I made a plain version, but would consider adding some Nielsen Massey Madagascar Bourbon Vanilla Extract or real vanilla seeds, or perhaps couple of drops of Boyajian pure orange oil next time.. In any case it's a good recipe to have on hand when you've got lots of egg whites but don't feel like making meringues..

Egg White Cake
(Munavalgekook)
Serves 8-10



6 large egg whites
250 g caster sugar
160 g plain/all-purpose flour
1 heaped Tbsp potato starch or cornflour
1 tsp baking powder
100 g melted butter (just under a stick), slightly cooled

Whisk the egg whites with 2 Tbsp of sugar until thick and pale and very foamy. Mix the rest of the sugar with flour, potato starch and baking powder, then sift into the egg mixture and fold in gently.
Finally fold in cool melted butter.
Pour the batter into a buttered bundt-form and bake in a pre-heated 180 C oven for 30-40 minutes. Test for doneness with a wooden toothpick.
Cool slightly before turning out of the cake tin.

Growing your own oysters with The Oysterfarm, Wooli

They're here!The G-man's email was simple. Oysters. His place. Wednesday.I still remember the mobile phone call earlier this year. "Helen?" he'd asked, his constant smile audibly playing in his voice. "You like oysters, don't you...""Err... yes," I'd replied."Would you be interested in five dozen? Ones you grow?"It didn't take me long to realise he was talking about The Oysterfarm, a system where

mom pizza.

Man, when it rains, it pours, right? RIGHT? First, Summer's laptop pooped out a few weeks ago, and now she's got some kind of crazy virus on her desktop computer and she can't get online. Regular posting will resume... as soon as we can get it going, haha. Stuff happens, dudes.

Anyway!



The other day, I dropped in on some friends (actually, their 7 year old spied me walking down the street past their house and they waved me down and invited me in.) around lunch time and they made these simple little snacks. It was one of those DUH moments- something I'm sure everyone has experienced, right down to the first time someone dipped a french fry in ketchup. DUH! I watched them spend all of 3 minutes in the kitchen preparing "pizza" and when it came out, there it was- DUH DUH DUH!



I am sort of starting to think I should maybe get Trader Joe's to sponsor us (yeah, right) since I'm always namedropping, but what can I say? They're in my neighborhood, they're cheap, and they have all kinds of awesome crap. So anyway, I pointed at the pizzas and said, "Wait, are those-" Yes, just prepackaged flatbreads, a dollop of sauce, some cheese, ta-da. Pizza.



I always think of food like this as mom food, or bachelor food- just any kind of food that requires almost no effort whatsoever. Boiled hot dogs? Delicious! Mac & Cheese from a box? Okay! When I got pregnant, of course I was convinced that I'd never feed my kid gross kid food (he's going to have a REFINED palate! HA. HA. HA.) but then I find myself asking him if he wants a cheese burrito with ketchup. (He doesn't like quesadillas. Just cheese burritos. Okayyy.) So, anything that gets us out of our regular lunch rut, AND is super easy and tasty- totally fine with me.

So, in case you're way out of the loop like me, here's a heads up. Flatbreads. Sauce. Cheese. Today I layered thinly sliced zucchini on mine because I love zucchini and pasta sauce- for my son's pizza I did finely chopped zucchini so he wouldn't have to bite through the slices. Put them in your oven for a few minutes and then gobble them down. The easiest snack ever.



Okay guys, this new year is already a little hectic but we do have plans for some fun stuff in the future. Look for more healthy fare (Summer's hopping on my hippie bandwagon, it seems). I'm headed to San Francisco tomorrow morning for a few days to celebrate my best friend for many years getting married, and I'll be back in business by Monday at the very latest.

mushroom quinoa stew.

This. Soup.



This soup was phenomenal. We had soup on the menu for this week, and when Jason told me what he wanted to do, I was just kind of like, "Oh, that sounds... pretty good, I guess." I like mushrooms okay, but I've had my share of lousy mushroom experiences so I wasn't super pumped about it or anything. I also like quinoa, (that's pronounced keen-wah, by the way) but I wasn't sure how excited I was to have it in a soup. My reservations couldn't have been more misplaced, this might have been the best soup my husband has ever made for me.



The soup began a few days ago when Jason made a large batch of chicken stock. It simmered for a few hours and the onions on top began to caramelize, lending a deep golden hue. For this soup, I would HIGHLY recommend starting with your own stock rather than store-bought. Just get a large pot, roughly chop 3 large stalks of celery, 3 large carrots, 3 medium yellow onions, smash some garlic, and throw it in the pot on medium-high heat for a few minutes and let the vegetables sweat for a moment or two. Then add a chicken carcass (or if you don't feel like, or know how to hack up a whole chicken, get some cow bones from the meat dept. at your grocery store and use those. Unroasted beef bones make a "white stock" that tastes a lot like chicken stock.) and cold water. Bring to a boil and immediately turn the heat down, simmering at a low temperature for 4-5 hours, skimming frequently. Jason's culinary school textbooks say to blanch the carcass first by covering it with cold water, bringing it to a boil, and then pouring out that water, but we've never had any problems doing it our way, so whatever you'd like, I guess.



Mushroom Quinoa Stew:

About 8 cups of chicken stock
A heaping plateful of mushrooms, chopped into bite-sized hunks. (we used shiitake, portabella, and criminis)
1 yellow onion, cut in half then slivered
a few cloves of garlic, finely minced
Juice of half a lemon
Brown mustard (something fancy, if you've got it. Stone ground whatever.)
Large handful of fresh spinach
1 cup of quinoa (Jason suggested subbing barley if you can't find quinoa, but barley will thicken your soup a LOT, so use it sparingly, like half a cup or less for the whole pot, I'm guessing.)
Fresh Thyme
Hunk of butter

In a large stock pot, saute onions & garlic with chopped mushrooms. Squeeze in juice of half a lemon, a generous squirt of brown mustard, and throw in a chunk of butter. Stir frequently while sauteing, and when everything begins to cook down and soften, add 6 cups of chicken stock, and a few sprigs of fresh thyme.

In another pot (or you can just use a rice cooker, like we did) cook 1 cup of quinoa in 2 cups of chicken stock. Keep to the side until the end.

To the soup pot, add 2 whole chicken legs (thigh & drumstick, bone-in, skin removed.) and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer, skimming the soup every so often. When meat is cooked, remove chicken legs, shred meat, and return to pot.

Add cooked quinoa, a handful of fresh spinach, and more mustard and lemon juice (and zest, if you'd like) to taste.



You guys, I know it sounds kind of weird. I totally balked at the idea of mustard in soup, for instance. I don't know WHERE he came up with this shit, I was bugging him about it the whole time we were eating. The conversation sort of went like this:

"So, where'd you come up with the idea for this soup, honey?"
"I don't know, it just sounded good."
"Well, is it based on any traditional type of recipe?"
"No, I just kind of wanted a mushroom soup that wasn't too thick."
"What on earth gave you the idea to put mustard in it!?"
"Mustard tastes good on mushrooms!"



Seriously, though- this is one of those recipes that had me making involuntary noises the whole time I was eating it. The flavor is almost impossible to describe, but I can tell you that it struck a perfect balance between hearty and light. The flavors were rich and complex without being muddled, the mustard and lemon juice lent a brightness without overpowering or turning it sour. It felt substantial, but it was still brothy enough to feel like a soup. The quinoa gave it an extra dimension of texture without being mushy or overcooked. In short, it was the perfect soup. Starting with a good stock and then cooking the soup with bones in it made it incredibly savory, and left the meat tender and juicy. This soup is going straight on a recipe card and into my box for safekeeping.

Seven-Layer Salad, Estonian style

HAPPY NEW YEAR TO ALL READERS OF NAMI-NAMI - AND WISH YOU A DELICIOUS AND EXCITING 2009!!!



Here's another 'Estonian-style' dish for you, dear readers. But let me first take you back to my first trip across the big pond..

When I was in the US last summer (in June 2008), I spent a few days with a lovely foodblogger Alanna in St Louis, MO. Alanna took very good care of me, and fed me well. One of the dishes she introduced me to, was a Classic Seven-Layer Salad. Last night, at the New Year's Eve party at our place, I served an Estonian equivalent of that salad - which, rather appriopriately for a Beet Princess, also contains a generous beetroot layer. A recipe is adapted from an Estonian cookbook (Pereköögi kokaraamat, 2007).

It's best to use a straight glass bowl for this salad, so you could see the pretty layers. Also, make the salad at least the night before to allow the flavours to meld and develop.

Estonian Seven-Layer Salad aka Layered Beetroot and Cheese Salad
(Kihiline peedi-juustusalat)
Serves 8 to 10 as part of a buffet table



400-500 g boiled beetroot, coarsely grated
250 g coarsely grated cheese
4 hard-boiled eggs, finely chopped*
4-5 pickled cucumbers, finely chopped
200 g frozen petit pois peas

Dressing:
250 g mayonnaise
250 g sour cream
1 tsp coarsely ground black pepper

Garnish:
chopped herbed
hard-boiled quail eggs

Mix the dressing ingredients together.
Place the frozen peas on a colander and pour over boiling water to 'cook' them (or you may want to actually blanch them for a minute, if you prefer). Drain thoroughly.
Layer the ingredients in a glass bowl in a following order: place peas on the bottom, top with grated egg. Spoon about a third of the dressing on top.
Then add the grated cheese, then beets and cubed pickles. Spoon the rest of the dressing on top, covering the whole salad thoroughly.
Cover with a cling film and place into a fridge until serving.
Before serving, garnish with peeled and halved quail eggs and some fresh herbs of your choice.

* Here's my tip for 'finely grating' hard-boiled eggs. I simply peel them, place in a deep plate and mash with a fork into fine crumbs :)


(The salad just after layering - you can already see the beetroot seeping through the layers).