Gemma Chew

Super Fudgy Almond and Pecan Brownies

2016-06-15T21:16:00.000+10:00

I have always been a big believer that warm brownie + vanilla ice cream = the only way to eat brownies. I am not the biggest chocolate fan, so I've always felt that the chocolate-y-ness of the brownie needs the ice cream to cut through it. Plus nuts, of course.

I've always eaten my brownies that way and I probably wouldn't elect to eat a brownie just by itself. Because I'd be missing the ice cream.

Until one day, I was trying to use up some leftover ingredients and trying to make do without the essentials (it's always flour and butter in this house, there's never enough so I always have to substitute (in this case: cornflour and almond meal for flour; a random mix of nuts; half butter and half coconut oil for the tiniest bit of butter left in the fridge) which usually leads to something either magical or horrible...) and came up with these brownies.

And they are magical.

I cut a small slice when it was fresh out of the oven just to try (I was hesitant about the cornstarch usage and minimal butter) and it. was. delicious.

Super fudgy. Not too chocolatey. Not too sweet.

No ice cream needed.

I could not believe it.

I accidentally ate way too much of the pan before I remembered that I hadn't photographed, so I had to make another batch and tweaked the recipe a little bit - but here it is.

I promise that it is delicious, I'm not sure how everything works together and what magical thing happens without the flour situation and butter.. But it does. And I didn't need ice cream with it at all.

BONUS. These brownies are (accidentally) gluten free! So go nuts ;)

Super Fudgey Almond and Pecan Brownies

Ingredients

1/4 cup cornstarch
1/4 cup almond meal
1/4 cup cacao powder
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon pink salt
1 cup chocolate chips
1 cup pecans, toasted and roughly chopped
1/2 cup sugar
3 tablespoons butter
3 tablespoons coconut oil
1 tsp vanilla bean paste
3 eggs

Preheat oven to 180C and grease and line a brownie tin with baking paper.
Melt the butter and coconut oil in a microwave in 10 second bursts in the microwaves. They should be liquid, but not bubbling. Set aside to cool.
Combine the dry ingredients together in a large bowl. Mix well and make small well in the middle of the dry ingredients.
Crack the eggs and vanilla into the well and whisk until combined.
Add in the butter and coconut oil mixture and mix well.
Pour mixture into tin and bake for 25-30 minutes or until a skewer inserted into the middle comes out clean.
Cut into squares and serve.

Let me know if you try it and what you think!
xx gee

Five No Bake Desserts to Try

2016-04-06T08:54:00.001+10:00

The summer season is approaching quickly and none of us want to even go near anything that is hot. Trying to cook will ultimately make us end up in a pool of sweat and we really do not want that. Since we need to cool down desperately, here are 5 dessert ideas which don’t require you to even go remotely close to an owen. A refrigerator, however, will be your best friend.

You can also make use of Aucouponcodes in order to make these quick recipes by spending as less as you can on their ingredients.

1. Lime Pie: This easy dessert is not only requires no baking but is also prepared with under a total of 5 ingredients. All you need to do is beat condensed milk, limeade concentrate and heavy cream in a bowl. Pour it all in the pie crust and refrigerate it overnight. Sprinkle lime zest over it when it’s set and ready to be eaten.

2. Berry Bites: This dessert is not only a quick fix to your dessert craving but is also pretty healthy for just about everyone. All you need to do is take all sorts of berries such as strawberries, blueberries, raspberries and slice them up. Mix them with required sugar and refrigerate them for about 4 hours. Beat some heavy cream with sugar and pour it over the frozen berries. It’s definitely going to take you to cloud 9.

3. Coconut Snowballs: It’s nearly impossible to believe it but this dessert is just a two-ingredient recipe. Amazed, aren’t you? Well, all you need to do is get yourself your favorite ice-cream, split it into equal sized scoops and roll them up in shredded coconut and freeze. This recipe puts your imagination to work as it’s not necessary to just use coconut for the covering. You can use anything that goes well with the ice-cream that you are using.

4. Strawberry Orange Milkshakes: What’s a better way to beat the heat than downing a cold milkshake? This 5 minute recipe will change the way you look at desserts. Simply blend vanilla ice cream, strawberries, orange liqueur and some milk together to get your chunky and instant milkshake.

5. Nutella Truffles: Who doesn’t like nutella? Everyone does! This recipe is quick and will satisfy your sweet tooth greatly. All you have to do is blend oats, nutella and a pinch of salt in a mixture, make small cookie balls out of it and roll them into cocoa. Finally put them into the refrigeratorand enjoy. It’s that quick.

Celebrity Chef Restaurants at Sea

2016-03-29T19:55:00.000+11:00

When you think about food on cruise ships, you might imagine standard buffet fare with the occasional fine-dining restaurant thrown in. But did you know that most Australian cruise lines also have restaurants from world-famous celebrity chefs?

That’s right – taking a cruise holiday doesn’t mean foregoing amazing first-class food! In fact, it can be the perfect way to experience celebrity chef dining. From Jamie Oliver to our very own Curtis Stone, there’s a whole host of amazing celeb chef offerings on Australian cruise ships.

If you’re having a hard time choosing which voyage to take, perhaps talk to some experts at a cruise specialist like CruiseAgency – they’ll know just which foodie cruise is best for you. In the meantime, let’s take a look at the who’s who of cruise celebrity chefs.

Jamie Oliver

Everybody knows Jamie, but have you had the chance to eat at his world-famous restaurant, Jamie’s Italian? If not, a Royal Caribbean cruise could be the next holiday for you. RC’s newest ship, Ovation of the Seas, sails into Sydney in December this year – and it features the British foodie’s take on rustic, hearty Italian fare. Bellissimo.

Curtis Stone

Australian celeb chef Curtis Stone has recently partnered with Princess Cruises to offer a unique dining experience on-board. SHARE by Curtis Stone is a brand-new restaurant specially designed to bring friends and family together for a memorable meal. Share plates are its particular focus, served family-style at long, communal tables to encourage engagement and conversation between diners. SHARE is available on Ruby, Emerald and Sun Princess ships.

Luke Mangan

Leading Aussie chef and restauranteur, Luke Mangan, lent his magic touch to P&O Cruises in the form of the exclusive Salt Grill. Found on all five of P&O’s Australian ships, Salt offers a high-seas dining experience with all the deliciousness of Mangan’s land-based Salt grills. Think fresh seafood, fancy high teas, and signature dishes like Luke’s famous liquorice parfait with lime syrup.

Guy Fieri

With a Food Network TV series and six restaurants in California, Guy Fieri is the definition of celebrity chef. You can get a taste of his signature American BBQ food at Guy’s Pig & Anchor Bar-B-Que Smokehouse and Guy’s Burger Joint, both found on Carnival Australia cruise ships. Smoked meats and Southern sides are the name of the game at Pig & Anchor, while juicy burgers and hand-cut fries steal the show at the Burger Joint.

Are your foodie senses tingling and your mouth watering yet? Keep a cruise in mind for your next getaway – it might turn out to be a holiday dining experience you’ll never forget.

Mocha Cholate Chip Hot Cross Buns

2016-03-27T10:45:00.000+11:00

Happy Easter!

My best friend said the other day that she was really excited because it was almost time to make sticky date pudding. We were a little confused, and she explained that sticky date pudding is a winter dessert. I had never thought that it was, and always order it whenever it's on the menu because it's my favorite dessert.

But it's interesting how some things are considered seasonal, when you can really make it anytime you want.

For me, it's gingerbread, pavlova, this special vegetarian dish that we only eat at Chinese New Year (actually, there are a bunch of dishes that we only have at Chinese New Year), and hot cross buns.

Did you know that you can get mocha hot cross buns at Baker's Delight? I had no idea until a girl at work told me last year. I was very disbelieving as I had never seen them before and thought maybe it was a Melbourne thing (she was from Melbourne and moved to Sydney) - but then, on her lunch break she went to buy me one (okay maybe she bought a six pack and maybe we ate them all) and came back to work, heated it up in the microwave for 15 seconds and put Nutella on it (?!?!) and I have never spent so much time during the rest of the year craving mocha hot cross buns.

I now realize that I could have been making these all year round. So I'll definitely be doing that from now on. They are a little time consuming in that you have to let the dough rise, but apart from that they come together quite easily, and are so fluffy and delicious.

Mocha Hot Cross Buns
Makes 24 small buns

2 cups milk
1/2 cup rice bran oil
1/4 cup brown sugar
1 tbsp instant coffee
3 tsp active yeast
4 + 1/2 cups plain flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
2 tsp pink salt
1/4 cup sugar
1 tbsp coffee powder
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp nutmeg
1 tsp cardamom
1/4 cup dark chocolate chips

Glaze

1 egg white
1 tsp milk

Crosses

1 tbsp plain flour
3-4 tbsp water
1 tsp cinnamon

In a medium saucepan, heat half the milk and the coffee, sugar and oil until sugar is dissolved - it should not be boiling. Turn off the heat and then add the remaining milk and stir to combine and cool for 10-15 minutes.
Sprinkle the yeast over the milk mixture and stir to combine before adding 4 cups of flour. Mix well and then cover with a tea towel and set aside for 1.5 hours.
Mix together the remaining flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt and stir until combined.
In a small bowl, combine the remaining sugar, coffee, and spices, mixing well.
On a flour dusted surface, remove the dough and press down so it is slightly flattened.
Sprinkle the sugar mixture all over and a third of the chocolate chips, then fold the dough in half and flatten again. Continue until all the sugar and chocolate chips are used up, and then flatten the dough into a symmetrical, circular shape.
Cut the dough into even squares. I made tall, thin hot cross buns so mine were small squares, but feel free to make your buns as large or small as you like. Quickly roll each square into a ball and place on a greased baking tray with the seam side down. Cover with a damp tea towel and let rise for about an hour.
Preheat oven to 180C.
Prepare the glaze by beating the egg white and milk, and brush over the risen buns.
Prepare the cross mixture by whisking the flour, cinnamon and water together. Start by adding 1 tbsp of water to the flour mixture at a time, to make sure your crosses are the right consistency. It should not be too runny, but thin enough to pipe.
Pipe the crosses onto the buns.
Bake for 20 minutes or until the tops of the buns are golden brown, and then let sit in the oven with the door open for 15 minutes.
Eat the hot cross buns warm, or with butter or Nutella.* Enjoy!

* in the future I am going to incorporate Nutella into my hot cross buns.

Sweet Potato and Ricotta Gnocchi with Lamb Ragu

2016-03-18T11:59:00.000+11:00

Making any kind of pasta from scratch is always daunting, because of all the equipment and ingredients and kneading and time and effort involved. You have to have the correct 00 pasta flour and lots of eggs and lots of kneading room and hands are sticky and you need a hanging surface area. I love it, but as you all know, I'm lazy.

Enter this sweet potato and ricotta gnocchi. Which comes together with a fork, in one (big) bowl, and requires minimal sticky hands. Minimal!

We just had leftover baked sweet potato from dinner, which is what I used for this. If you don't have sweet potatoes handy, not all is lost. To stick with the one bowl-ness, though, simply peel and roughly chop up two sweet potatoes, and microwave with 2 tablespoons of water in a large bowl in 5 minute bursts until fork tender. Let cool, and then add in all the other ingredients. Alternatively, you can boil them like a normal, non-lazy human. Your call.

The ragu is even simpler: I used lamb, chilli and rosemary sausages from the deli, squeezed out of the casing. All flavour and seasoning included. Simmered with some garlic, bay leaves, more rosemary and tomato paste, and that's it!

Sweet Potato and Ricotta Gnocchi with Lamb Ragu

Serves 4

For the Gnocchi

2 medium sweet potatoes, cooked, mashed, and cooled to room temperature
3/4 cup ricotta, drained
1 egg
3/4 cup plain flour, plus 1/2 cup for extra/dusting
pepper, nutmeg, and cinnamon to taste
1 tablespoon rosemary leaves, chopped up very finely (optional)

In a large bowl, mash together the potatoes and egg with a fork. Slowly sift 1/4 cup flour into the bowl, using a fork or spatula to fold the mixture over and over on itself. Add in 1/4 cup of ricotta and continue folding the mixture over. Add in the pepper, nutmeg, cinnamon and rosemary, if using. Repeat with the remaining 1/2 cup of flour and ricotta, making sure everything is fully incorporated. It should be light and fluffy and not sticky. If the mixture is too wet, keep adding in tablespoonfuls of flour until it comes together, away from the sides of the bowl. Gather the dough together and shape a soft, pillow ball.
Dust a clean bench, or a large chopping board with flour. and turn the dough pillow out onto it. Cut the pillow into equal quarters, and then roll each quarter into logs. Leave to rest for a few minutes.
Cut each log into one inch segments, dusting with more flour if it is too sticky. When all the dough has been used up, use a fork dusted in flour to press lines into the gnocchi.
To cook, add the gnocchi into a large pot of salted, boiling water. Don't overcrowd the pan, or the gnocchi may stick together. Drain and serve. I put the drained gnocchi into a large non stick pan just to give them some crunch - completely optional, but it gives it an added texture.

For the Ragu

3 cloves garlic, crushed
1 brown onion, diced finely
1 tablespoon of oil
6 lamb sausages (or sausages of your choice, I used lamb, chilli and rosemary)
2 tomatoes, diced (alternatively, 1 tin of diced tomatoes, and omit the tomato paste)
250g tomato paste
2 sprigs rosemary
2 bay leaves
1/4 cup red wine

Heat the oil in a large saucepan, and add the garlic and onions, stirfrying until fragrant. Cut one end off from a sausage, and squeeze out the filling into the frying pan. Keep stirring. The sausage meat can be in chunks or broken up into tiny bits like mince, whichever you prefer. Repeat with remaining sausages.
Add the tomatoes and tomato paste, rosemary, and bay leaves, stirring to combine. Deglaze with the wine, and let simmer for about 15 minutes on a very low heat.
Serve with gnocchi, top with parmesan cheese and cracked pepper.

Cinnamon Cream Cheese Pancakes with Apple Chia Compote

2016-02-29T13:38:00.000+11:00

Confession: I had some pancake disasters before coming up with these. I just wanted some pancakes for breakfast, like any normal person. I also wanted to use up some healthy ingredients that we have that I can't seem to use up (coconut flour - the packet is so small but seems limitless? And cacao nibs?), so I started to make these banana quinoa pancakes (by this I mean I just started taking out the ingredients), but then realised I didn't have bananas (sorry for super long run on sentence).

Anyway, I'm not sure what happened next but I then had the clever idea to start with a chia pudding base and somehow that would turn into pancakes (because I remember reading somewhere that chia pudding can be substituted as eggs? I didn't research it or anything... why, you ask?... I have no idea) and I just started adding things to it... It did not turn out well.

So then I was started getting ~~super~~ a bit frustrated, and then remembered that I had some pancake shake mix leftover from a camping trip! Why didn't I just use this in the beginning? One, I forgot about it, and two, I just wanted to do something fun and new and creative and interesting (which is also why I didn't just use my standard base pancake recipe). Yes, sometimes I struggle.

ANYWAY, I really don't know what happened this time but it was an epic fail. I think it is because I started filling up the jug with water, then remembered that I was supposed to shake the mix before doing that to loosen the mix, but I had already started filling it up, so I screwed the lid back on, shook it, then continued filling it up to the line. Maybe that meant I added too much water? Because it was a very runny mess, and then I almost cried while throwing it all out. And then had toast for breakfast instead.

But never fear, because apparently I just don't know when to give up and attempted round three. Finally, success! These were dinner pancakes. Cream cheese because we had it in the fridge (I originally wanted ricotta pancakes). Very easy, very quick, comes together in a food processor. And very delicious! Yay!

Cinnamon Cream Cheese Pancakes with Apple Chia Compote
Serves 2

For the Pancakes

125 g cream cheese
2 eggs
1/4 cup coconut flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp maple syrup
1 tsp cinnamon

Combine all ingredients in a food processor/blender.
Whiz until combined, and let sit for a few minutes to settle.
Cook 1/4 cup at a time on a non-stick (or buttered non-non-stick) frying pan. (I use this cute little mini egg frying pan)

For the Apple Chia Compote

1 apple, diced
2 tbsp chia seeds
1 cup water
1 tbsp currants
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp nutmeg
2 tbsp honey

Add all ingredients into a saucepan and simmer until apples are soft and liquid has thickened.
Pour on top of pancakes.

Bonus: Whipped Cinnamon Cream Cheesse

1/4 cup cream cheese
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp honey

Combine all ingredients in a bowl, whip until light and fluffy.
Dollop on top of pancake/compote + serve.

Cauliflower Mac + Cheese

2016-02-19T11:26:00.001+11:00

In spite of all the bad rep that the blue Kraft Easy Mac mac + cheese boxes with the orange flavouring get, I actually really liked them in my youth. In fact, if someone served me some today I would probably happily eat it. ("Dude, macaroni + cheese is food of the gods" - Haley James Scott) It has a very nostalgic/early high school vibe to it which is very comforting. Even if it isn't the healthiest meal (:

I remember when we first moved into our current house, we were unpacking boxes and one of my friends was over to hang out and help. We didn't have a microwave yet. My friend and I decided to make it on the stove (thinking 'how hard can it be?') and it was very disastrous. I'm not even sure what went wrong but it was just terrible - I don't think it got burnt, but anyway, I think that was the last time I had it.

Anyway, I would still eat some today, but I would eat this cauliflower mac + cheese every day! The cauliflower addition is not just a way to make this healthy (it isn't really, because there's still a bunch of cheese in it, because, cheese) but it makes it more delicious and filling.

I think you could probably add in any other vegetable (carrot, pumpkin, zucchini, anything!) and it would be equally as delicious but I'm a big fan of cauliflower and so we always have heaps at home. The cauliflower is roasted with salt, pepper and rosemary and then pureed and added in in place of the roux that's normally in mac + cheese.

Cauliflower Macaroni & Cheese

1/2 head cauliflower, in small pieces
1 brown onion, diced
3 cloves garlic, smashed
2 tbsp olive oil
2 sprigs rosemary, torn into pieces
salt + pepper to taste
2 cups macaroni (any kind), cooked
1/2 cup corn kernels (optional, but delicious)
1/2 cup milk*
3 tbsp cheddar
3 tbsp pecorino
2 tbsp cottage cheese
1/4 cup breadcrumbs**
1 tsp paprika
1 tsp thyme
1 tsp oregano
1 tsp parsley

Preheat oven to 180C. Line a baking tray with baking paper and then scatter cauliflower, onion, garlic, and rosemary. Drizzle with olive oil, salt + pepper to taste, and bake for 20 minutes until browned.
While waiting, you can prepare your mac + cheese pan by spray-oiling it. I used this lil cutie roasting pan.
Once cauliflower + friends are done, allow to cool for a few minutes. Remove the wooden rosemary bits if you have any, before transferring to blender. Add in milk and blend to desired consistency. I left mine quite chunky because I ~~was impatient~~ like the texture. Add cheddar, pecorino, cottage cheese to cauliflower puree. Reserve some pecorino for later.
Mix breadcrumbs, and assorted herbs, and reserved pecorino together.
Add the corn to the macaroni, stirring to combine. Pour cauliflower + cheese mixture in and stir to combine. Transfer into mac + cheese pan. (If you are lazy like me, you can just do the mixing all in the pan) Sprinkle herbalicious breadcrumb mixture over, and put tray back into oven for 15 minutes or until it is a bubbling pan of deliciousness with golden breadcrumb crust.
Serve happily.

* I am slightly lactose intolerant (will eat dairy if it is delicious enough to override queasy stomach feelings - cheese and ice creams are my exceptions to my lactose rule), so we don't have milk at home. I used almond and it was perfectly fine, so please feel free to sub milk of your choice.

** I would ideally have used Panko, but we didn't have any, so instead I tore up one slice of rye + quinoa bread (any kind will do), and pulsed in the food processor.

Review: Schkinny Maninny Juice Detox Program

2015-12-21T16:23:00.002+11:00

The team at Schkinny Maninny kindly sent me some (adorable) eskies of fresh juices to try out their detox program. Every day, a cute mini esky gets delivered to your doorstep with six bottles of fresh juices (and soups or even salads, depending on what program you choose) and for either 3 or 5 days, you do a cleanse with just juices.

As some of you know, when I was in Nepal doing yoga, I did a 'cleanse' as well. It was basically - apples for three days (6 apples on day 1, then 3, then 1), then a day of no foods, and then a day of 'cleansing' via a salt-water flush. It's an ancient yogic intestinal cleansing process called Shankaprakshalana, and I really do think it's super helpful, but would probably not do it at home. (Read more about the whole process here and here)

Anyway - compared to that, I thought this juice detox would be way easier, so I happily agreed to do it. There are a bunch of different programs you can pick from and all you do is decide what you want to have, order it, and it gets delivered to your doorstep (or your workplace, wherever you want). I leave for work quite early in the morning, and was worried that my juices would get delivered too late (there's a 5-10 am delivery window), so I let them know and my mini esky was at my front door before 6 am every day.

I did the Active Juice and Soup Cleanse, and was super excited when my mini esky arrived on Monday morning. I loved most of the juices and soups, which come in 500ml bottles and a sticker which tells you what order to drink them in. As a person who drinks a lot of water, I thought that 500ml of juice would be really easy to consume, but they were surprisingly really filling. Most of the time I couldn't finish my juices, so kindly donated the rest to my family, but I also never had 6 bottles in a day, because I was so full.

On day 1, the juices came with a little gift pack with a welcome card, and some detox tea bags, foot bath salts.

While I did miss the actual sensation of chewing/eating (although you do get a tiny container of seeds to chew on if you need it!) and also cooking food, it was really nice to know that my day's meals were sorted and ready to go. Each day, the esky comes with a little card which debriefs you, and outlines how you might be feeling or side effects. I had a strong headache on the second/third days which was really strange for me, but the info card let me know that it was a common side effect. I also got support emails ['Day 1 - it has begun!', 'Did you sleep okay last night?'] which were really cute to read.

In terms of the juice flavors, I wasn't a huge fan of some of the juices, like the ones with sesame seeds and brazil nuts (so the breakfast and night time juices). The spinach soup was good for a bit was too lemony so I could only eat a bit of those. Apart from those, however, everything was really delicious. My favorites were probably the Pine Root (beetroot, carrot, apple, ginger, and pineapple) and the Rocky Orange Show (orange, rockmelon, mint, apple, cucumber). The soups were also really good. I heated half up in a bowl and then poured the remaining cold juice over, so it was kind of gazpacho tasting with lots of herbs and spices for flavour.

At the end of the cleanse I felt really fresh and energetic. I found that the third day was the most difficult, not because I was actually hungry but I just wanted to eat something. All in all, it was a really good way to detox, especially when the juices were so good. Check them out on Schkinny Maninny and get your own mini esky :)

Here's a sample of the menu!

Monday
Schkinny Banana Smoothie - banana, almonds, sesame seeds, oats, almond milk
Schkinny Leap Frog - cucumber, kiwi, spinach, parsley, apple
Schkinny Carrot and Cashew Soup - carrot, pear, cashew nuts, ground coriander seeds, ginger
Schkinny Beet Froot Tingle - beetroot, carrot, apple, ginger
Schkinny Rockin Tomato Soup - tomato, chickpeas, rocket, celery, tuscan spices
Schkinny Sleep Well - almonds, brazil nuts, water, cinnamon, Medjool date

Tuesday
Schkinny Banana Smoothie - banana, almonds, sesame seeds, oats, almond milk
Schkinny Water Frog - watermelon, orange, spinach, kiwi, parsley
Schkinny Lentil Luncheon - tomato, carrot, lentils, Moroccan spices
Schkinny Rocky Orange Show - orange, rockmelon, mint, apple, cucumber
Schkinny Colly, Meg and Lee Soup - cauliflower, butter beans, celery, parsley, nutmeg
Schkinny Sleep Well - almonds, brazil nuts, water, cinnamon, Medjool date

Wednesday
Schkinny Banana Smoothie - banana, almonds, sesame seeds, oats, almond milk
Schkinny Leap Frog - cucumber, kiwi, spinach, parsley, apple
Schkinny Spinach Soup - cashews nuts, spinach, celery, lemon, leek, almond milk
Schkinny Pine Root - beetroot, carrot, apple, ginger, pineapple
Schkinny Vego con Carne - tomato, kidney beans, parsley, celery, Mexican chilli
Schkinny Sleep Well - almonds, brazil nuts, water, cinnamon, Medjool date

Thursday
Schkinny Banana Smoothie - banana, almonds, sesame seeds, oats, almond milk
Schkinny Leap Frog - cucumber, kiwi, spinach, parsley, apple
Schkinny Lentil Luncheon - tomato, carrot, lentils, Moroccan spices
Schkinny Beet Froot Tingle - Beetroot, apple, carrot, ginger
Schkinny ButterSeed Soup - pumpkin, butterbeans, parsley, cumin, coriander, onion
Schkinny Sleep Well - almonds, brazil nuts, water, cinnamon, Medjool date

Friday
Schkinny Banana Smoothie - banana, almonds, sesame seeds, oats, almond milk
Schkinny Pine Ginger Splice - pineapple, apple, ginger, spinach, parsley, kiwi
Schkinny Carrot and Cashew Soup - carrot, pear, cashew nuts, ground coriander seeds, ginger
Schkinny Cage Fighter - carrot, celery, cucumber, apple, ginger
Schkinny Rockin Tomato Soup - tomato, chickpeas, rocket, celery, tuscan spices
Schkinny Sleep Well - almonds, brazil nuts, water, cinnamon, Medjool date

Raw Salted Caramel Slice

2015-07-06T14:23:00.000+10:00

This slice is raw and vegan. It is also delicious, rich, creamy and decadent, and very easy to make. I basically only use a few key ingredients: raw cacao, coconut oil, medjool dates, and nuts, and process it in my food processor. Use any nuts that you like, I used walnuts as it’s all we had, but it’s also delicious with pecans or almonds, anything goes!

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I highly recommend a high-powered food processor for this, otherwise this 5 minute recipe is going to take a long time. Trust me, I speak from experience.

You can add or decrease the amount of maple syrup (or any other sweetener of your choice) in each of the layers, depending in your sweetness preference. You could also add in other dried fruit like sultanas or apricots, or put in frozen blueberries in the coconut layer, mix in jam, do whatever you feel like!

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BASE LAYER

¼ cup walnuts (or any nut of your choosing)
4 medjool dates, soaked in hot water for 30 minutes, and then drained
2 tbsp coconut oil

Prepare the tray of your choosing by lining with baking paper. I have a small, 8 x 5” slice tray which I use, but you may need to adjust the recipe if your tray is bigger or smaller.

If your coconut oil has solidified, put the jar in a bowl of hot water and leave until the oil melts into clear liquid.

Process the nuts first, and then add the dates, and pulse until your desired textured level is achieved. I like my base layer semi chunky, so I don’t process it for too long, but if you want yours smooth, keep pulsing. Add the coconut oil to pull it all together, and press evenly into your tray. Put the tray into the freezer while you move onto the next layer.

SALTED CARAMEL LAYER

8 medjool dates, soaked in hot water for 30 minutes and drained
2 tbsp coconut cream
1 tsp salt
2 tbsp chia seeds, soaked in 2 tbsp of hot water for 10 minutes

The chia seeds should have absorbed the water so pour in half of the coconut cream and let sit. Process the dates and remaining coconut cream until creamy, and then add in the chia mixture and the salt. Pour onto the base layer, smooth, and return to freezer.

COCONUT LAYER

¼ cup dessicated coconut
2 tbsp coconut cream
2 tsp maple syrup

Process the coconut until it is fine and sand-like. Add the coconut cream and maple syrup, and pulse until combined. Pour into the pan, smooth, and return to freezer.

CHOCOLATE TOPPING

1 tbsp cacao powder
2 tbsp coconut oil
1 tsp maple syrup
2 tsp coconut cream

In a small bowl, mix together the oil and cacao until combined and smooth. Add the maple syrup and cream and stir until thick and smooth. Pour over the salted caramel layer and tap the pan on a benchtop to ensure it is smooth and flat. Freeze for another 15 minutes, and slice with a knife dipped in hot water, and dried. Serve immediately, or store in the freezer.

Chocolate Fudge Cake with White Chocolate Malt Ganache

2015-06-05T14:39:00.002+10:00

I made this cake for a friend’s birthday a few weeks ago. It’s three layers of very moist and fudgy chocolate cake, sandwiched between layers of Milo white chocolate ganache, covered in vanilla buttercream with chocolate sprinkles, drizzled with dark chocolate ganache, and then topped with edible flowers, mint leaves, meringue, edible glitter, a Snickers bar, a flake, desiccated coconuts, rose tea, hibiscus tea, some peanut M&Ms, and some pastel sprinkles.

It took me so long to find edible flowers in Sydney, so for a while I was just using normal flowers with the stems inside a bit of straw and wrapped in foil/cling wrap, if they were going to be poked into the cake, or just placing the flowers on top of some parchment paper on top of the cake, and removing everything before serving. Luckily I managed to find some at Harris Farm, which sources them from Byron Bay Organic Produce. If your local doesn’t, you can try calling them to order some in for you. Or you can order directly from here. A small 20g box costs $7.95, and is enough for me to cover one cake.

The flowers come pre-packed in an assortment, so you may not get a choice on what coloured flowers are available. This box I used was very yellow/orange, so I added in some other colours by using the rose and hibiscus tea, mint leaves, and the sprinkles, just so it was more colourful.

I’m such a huge fan of flowers to decorate, because it’s just so beautiful. I’ve been decorating all the cakes I’ve made for the past few months with flowers and it just makes me so happy, especially because it’s so simple but so beautiful.

Guest Post: The Tastes of Sicily

2015-05-23T09:17:00.002+10:00

Hi everyone! The lovely Hanna is guest blogging today. She's a freelance editor who is living in Italy, and she's going to introduce some of the typical dishes in Sicily. Make sure to leave her a note to say hi in the comments (:

Every year, Sicily attracts thousands of tourists to its shores. This island is not just a place for getting tanned in the summer – it offers a complete package to interested travellers. It is chock-full of archaeological treasures, the history is rich, the panorama is stunning, and the cuisine is just divine. These are all reasons to get a holiday villa in Sicily full of facilitiesand close to central areas. There is so much to do and see to ensure that you will have some of the best times ever.

Sicilian cuisine is complex. This is evident in the various dishes to be found there brought about by its history of interracial influences and the fertility of its land and marine life. Every dish is a poetry and every wine a song. From the slopes of Mount Etna down to the pristine shores, there is food to taste and a wine to match it. A gastronomic experience in Sicily is a perfect way to have a perspective about the island’s cultures and traditions. Culinary tours are some of the most typical ways to do this where one can get hands-on cooking classes and taste wines and dishes of the regions.

Participants visit areas to know local products and have a bite or two of local dishes or drop by wine cellars for wine tasting. If you like this idea, check out italyandwine.info for more wine tasting trails in Sicily. While it is impossible to know all the dishes in just a few days, at least you can get to know the more popular ones. Meet the popular arancini, which are fried rice balls with some filling inside like ragù or mozzarella. Also snack on sfincione, a typical Sicilian type of pizza that has tomatoes, anchovies and onions which you can buy from the local bakery. Caponata is a famous salad-appetizer, with ingredients of eggplants, capers, olive and celery, and sometimes artichokes are used.

Renowned for seafood dishes, you will discover that swordfish is a typical ingredient used in pasta or as a main course. Pesce Spada alla Ghiotta is a swordfish dish typical of Messina. Pasta con le Sarde uses sardines, preferably fresh, and flavored with wild fennel, to name a few. Dine on salame di tonno, dried fish roe, or bottarga. Recipes go on and on and ingredients used are always seasonal and varied. Pasta alla Normawhich is perhaps the most popular Sicilian pasta dish, is macaroni with eggplant cooked in a light tomato sauce and topped with grated salted ricotta. There is also Sicilian couscous which reflects the Arab influence in the place. If you happen to be in Santa Cristina Gela or in Piana degli Albanesi, try the Likengewhich are pork sausages flavored with fennel, salt and pepper, similar to the Italian luganega.

Sicily is also a place to taste different cheeses. There is Pecorino with variations flavored with peppercorns and other spices. Cacciocavallo is a favorite to use with pasta and is perfect to complement stronger wines. Aged, salted cottage cheese, ricotta salata is a popular cheese often used with dishes. There are a lot of other cheese products such as provola, tuma and primo sale, to mention a few.

Desserts. Sicily is a haven of sweets. Cannolo, perhaps the most sensational, is filled with ricotta cheese and candied fruit and even dark chocolate. Cassata is a sponge cake drenched in liquer and contains ricotta, vanilla and candied fruit. Granita Siciliana comes in many flavours and variations as well as their gelato. Try the ones of pistachio! Frutta martorana resembles fruits and vegetable and are made with almond flour and vanilla can be perfect gifts back home.

The dishes of Sicily are varied and rich and there’s wine to match each. For culinary tours , you get to visit wine cellars and taste some wines such as Mamertino di Milazzo and Nero d’Avola . There are also olive oil tasting itineraries. Before booking your holiday, you might need a Sicily tourism guide to plan everything you need to know about your holiday and your adventure into Sicilian cuisine.

Pink Salt, Double Bay

2014-09-20T11:00:00.000+10:00

Pink Salt is located on the corner of Cross Street and Bay Street in Double Bay, and is open and airy and pink. While I would go to it purely because of its name (inspired from the pink sunsets that set over the salt water of Sydney's beautiful beaches), the food is amazing, and we also had the best service.

We went for an early lunch, so it was very quiet and we had the waiter's attention all to ourselves. I'm usually an annoying patron and I love asking the waiter what their favorite dish is, because I'm super indecisive about my food.

The table had fresh wildflowers in mason jars, which I always love, and of course, little dishes of pink Murray River Sun Salt.

I had a great chat with the owner, Evan Hansimikali, who shared with me some of the secret tips that are used to create such delicious food. The calamari, for example, is soaked in kiwi to make it tender and not chewy before being battered and fried. And it was really, really good.

He also told me about the fried chicken that they do, which we didn't have, unfortunately, which they sous vide for ages before battering and deep frying. On top of that, they churn their own ice cream, and have home grown herbs, and house baked bread, so it is all very natural and organic, with fresh, quality produce.

The best part is that Pink Salt has great lunch specials, and sometimes deals on Groupon or LivingSocial. A friend of mine recently asked me if I thought restaurant deals on sites such as these were good, or if you got different or smaller portions of food. I thought about it for a while and I think good food is good food, and discounted (or free!) food is always the best food ;)

Anyway, that aside, the next time I see one for Pink Salt, I'll be snapping it up. But even if I don't, I'll be back.

My indecisiveness = tasting platter for our entrees. Yes? Yes. I wish you could get tasting platter everything. Tasting platter entree, tasting platter main, tasting platter dessert. For the indecisive souls in the world like me.

Tasting Plate: $22/person

Three Cheese Zucchini Flowers with Romesco
These were absolutely heavenly. Crisp and crunchy on the outside and creamy and cheesy and just so good on the inside. And deep fried veggies are the best - like veggie chips, and they remind me of the deep fried kale or basil you get when you have Thai fish cakes in Thailand. Mmm.

Pink Salt & Pepper Squid with Chilli & Coriander
The special kiwi trick obviously worked (apparently the acid breaks down the tough/cheweiness of the squid) because these were just the right amount of chewiness but not squishy and powdery, and the seasoning and perfect were just (insert Emoji of thumb and forefinger touching for universal symbol of 'okay'). Can't describe it any better than that. Perfect kick of spiciness with the chilli.

Pan-fried Tiger Prawns with Virgin Mary Shot & Celery Salt
A Virgin Mary shot is like a little shot of gazpacho with a little bit of spice, and the lemon for extra tanginess. It was delicious. I wish there was more. The prawns were good, with the crispy fried noodle bits that come with Chinese food.

Goats Curd & Baby Beets Salad with Spinach, Sweet Potato, Candied Walnuts & Hazelnut Vinaigrette
I loved this so much that I went home and replicated it for my lunch for the next three days. Yes, I have obsessions. Goats cheese + beets + candied walnuts = the top three best salad ingredients in the world. I encourage you all to add caramelized walnuts into everything you ever eat.

And onto the mains.

Grass Fed Fillet of Beef (200g) $39
with paris mash, mushroom duxelle, wilted spinach & merlot jus

I really love mash. I used to say that potatoes were my favorite vegetable (so versatile! so easy! so delicious!) but it's now broccoli, which I eat almost every day. But anyway - the mash was good. Creamy, delicious, smooth, buttery. Super healthy.

And the beef - perfectly medium rare, succulent and juicy, and those grill lines. (insert above Emoji again)

Confit Duck Leg $34

with paris mash and steamed greens

I had a lot of trouble picking my main, and in the end I had to ask the waiter to tell me his favorite. He said the duck, and there was no duck on the menu for lunch! But the way he had described it made me really, really, really want it, so he went to ask the chef if she could make it... and she said yes!

The verdict: The waiter was correct, and it was every bit as delicious as it looks in the picture, maybe even better, and I loved it and want more.

In summary, always ask your waiter for help because they know what's best. He recommended the dessert as well.

Chocolate Ganache Bar $14

with vanilla ice cream, vanilla sauce, berry compote and walnut powder

So deliciously rich, and the acidity of the berry compote balanced it perfectly.

In (a final) summary, I loved eating here and would definitely go back again. It was lovely at lunch, with all the light streaming in from the giant glass windows, and Evan said that there's a lunch special at least once a week.

Discover Rome through Italian Cuisine

2014-09-08T10:53:00.002+10:00

Hello!

I'm so sorry about the very long delay between posts! Thanks to everyone who has messaged me privately to see what I've been up to - it's very much appreciated! I'm back and promise regular updates (:

I have for you today a guest post from Emily Jones, a freelance travel writer, who has kindly written about Italian food in Rome.

I loved Rome, and Italy as a whole because the food was so, so, so good. The pasta. And the pizza. And the cheese. Anyway, I'll let Emily take it from here!

Rome is known for its ancient history, architectural beauty and most importantly, the Italian cuisine. Roman dishes are wonderfully unique as they are delicious, making it a culinary experience as much as it can be an artistic or historical journey. Traditional Roman food is rich and delicious, made from the freshest local ingredients that come from the Lazio region. Many people have yet to discover what Roman cuisine truly is, and just like you won’t find in Rome a truly authentic Bolognese sauce or Neapolitan pizza, it is definitely the right place to indulge in real Roman food. So take in the true flavors of the city and if you are traveling to Rome in the near future check this site for accommodation.

Roman food is delicious yet simple, and this mantra is perfectly embodied by the dish known as tonnarelli cacio e pepe. Made up of only Pecorino cheese, black pepper and leftover pasta water it is much more delectable than it should be. All of this comes together to create a cheesy creamy pasta dish without any oil added, truly an artistic balanced creation when cooked to perfection. Two of the best places to try this eternal dish are Felice on Via Mastro Giorgio and Antica Pesa on Via Garibaldi.

The most savory Roman dish is by far saltimbocca alla romana, made with veal medallions skewered together with prosciutto crudo and sage, covered with a white wine sauce. Try this at Ristorante Hostaria Romana on via del Boccaccio to get the best experience. Another savory dish is the ever-famous spaghetti alla carbonara, a rich pasta dish with a sauce made from eggs, pecorino cheese, pancetta and black pepper. Go to La Carbonara on via Panisperna for some truly authentic and delicious Roman carbonara.

Roman cuisine has also been defined by the Jewish population, which has inhabited the city since the age of antiquity. One of the most Jewish Roman dishes is carciofi alla giudea, a wonderful way of preparing artichokes. It is made by beating the artichoke against a hard surface until the pedals open, and then deep-fried to perfection. The Jewish ghetto in Rome has some of the best carciofi and site seeing, so be sure to find this Roman treat there.

Game of Thrones Dinner at Gastro Park

2014-07-18T17:50:00.003+10:00

Every year, for a few weeks, Gastro Park does a special Game of Thrones themed dinner to celebrate the season premiere. In March I checked the website constantly to find out when the dinner was but there were no details at all so I thought they must have decided not to do a GOT dinner, and was very sad and consoled myself by going back and stalking Lorraine of Not Quite Nigella’s photos from 2012.

Luckily I was wrong!

They had GOT dinners in June, and then one final one on Tuesday, which I was lucky enough to be able to go to.

Gastro Park is in Potts Point, just down the road from Gazebo, and there was a movie/TV show/something being filmed on the corner so we had something interesting to watch in between courses. The restaurant is dimly lit with appropriate music from the GOT soundtrack playing. A tree sits on a table in the middle of the room, with a jug leaking dry ice smoke to impressive effect.

Our menus came rolled up in scrolls, coffee-stained and tied up with twine, as GOT menus should be, on dragon's egg shaped plates.

I really loved all the table settings at Gastro Park. The food descriptions were deliciously vague and we spent a good amount of time debating what we thought each course would be.

The first course comes fairly quickly, in about ten minutes.

We have house baked sourdough, whole roasted garlic, and ‘dripping’.

This is not a candle. It is the dripping. Beef fat (yeah, what?) that they have somehow candle-ised, and you eat it as it melts into the balsamic vinegar. It is delicious, and 100% unhealthy.

The garlic is soft and mushy from being roasted, and we smear it onto the sourdough (crunchy on the outside, super soft on the inside) before dipping it into the fat. I’m not even going to pretend to call it anything else, because it really is. When some drips onto the table, it hardens into a small, round pool of wax-fat, and we pretend not to think about it going down. It’s worth it.

Earth tarts and raw flesh.

The earth tart shell is made of thinly shaved truffle with cheese gratin and is the most heavenly little bite.

And the raw flesh kangaroo carpaccio is just as good, perfectly flavored and not too chewy.

We can’t wait for the next course – ‘Fish on hot rocks (you will cook your own)’. We speculate – maybe it will be like a bibimbap? Maybe we will get a tiny stovetop grill?

After 30 minutes, the fish arrives, and it is literally, on rocks. Thin sushi-like slabs of jewfish on large, smooth pebbles, in a bowl of smaller pebbles, with half a king prawn for each of us. There is also ‘broccoli mud’ that looks like tiny godswoods. We are told to flip the fish so in 30 seconds so it can cook, so we do just that.

The jewfish is delicious – melt in your mouth. We only get one little slice each, so we savour it as much as we can. The broccoli is perfectly crisp and goes perfectly with olive tapenade mud, which is just the right amount of salty.

When we came in, there were a table in front of us who had started just before we did, so their courses were coming a few minutes before ours, so we could see and speculate what everything was before ours came. A second table arrived midway through the bread and dripping, so their first and second courses were about 10 minutes behind us. However, the arrival of our third course represented a shift in our food order for the rest of the night. Half an hour after the fish on rocks, a waitress comes out with three platters of the third course, but our table had not yet been cleared, although we had finished quite a while ago.

Instead of putting our dishes down and clearing the table, which would have taken about a minute, she gave our food to the next table, who somehow had already had their fish on rocks cleared. She left, and ten minutes later our table was cleared. It was another 15 minutes before our blood cake and bitterness arrived, and the other table had already finished eating. By this time, it is already 8.30 pm, which meant it had taken 2 hours for 3 courses to arrive. Don't worry, I assured everyone else. It'll be fine, we only have two more courses left.

The blood pudding and roasted beetroot is served on a stone chunk of treetrunk, and is not bitter at all, but really delicious. The boys, who declared that they had been apathetic to beetroot, confessed that they enjoyed it thoroughly, and gleefully examine the blood red colour of the dish.

Another 45 minute wait before we finally get onto our main course. The kill of tonight is goat, quail, and lamb. The meats are served with a barley risotto and sautéed kale.

The goat is absolutely divine. It is in some sort of heaven sauce (really, I cannot describe, and we weren't given anything more than a rudimentary elaboration of 'it's goat', so I really have no idea. But trust me, it was good), which goes perfectly with the warm and comforting barley risotto.

The quail (we were apportioned half a quail each) has crispy skin and is perfectly cooked, and we speculate over the decorative leaves on the plate (probably picked from outside?).

The lamb doesn't arrive until we are almost done with the goat and the quail, without an apology or explanation, but we are more preoccupied with how it is served. On a stone, but there are only two cutlets for three people. It takes five minutes to flag down a waiter, who confirms that there should be three, and disappears into the kitchen. A replacement lamb dish arrives 15 minutes later, after we have awkwardly divided the two cutlets into 3 portions. It is very rare, but good, and I find myself almost full after it, but I'm much smaller than the boys. They discuss stopping for kebabs on the way home. By this time, the two tables that were in front of us, were onto their 'Final Bites'.

The super rare replacement lamb.

Dessert arrives half an hour later, at around 10 pm. It's a chunk of the wall, with the menu printed on it, which the waitress extracts from a smoking container of dry ice and places onto our plates.

The menu is printed on rice paper, which is then placed on top of meringue and then frozen. Unfortunately two out of three of our menus are broken, but is still delicious. The dish also incorporates yuzu ice cream, coconut foam, pineapple and basil seeds, and is absolutely divine. The flavours are perfect, and the chunk of wall, has to be broken up into little chunks due to how frozen it is, so you get a little mouthful in every bite.

We wait excitedly for our final bite, as it is getting quite late. The two tables in front of us have paid and gone. The two tables on either side of us, who arrived an hour after us, are onto their dessert by now. Still no final bite. At 10.30 pm, a waiter emerges, and serves the table to our left their final bite, and we finally decide to ask where ours were. They're on the way, we are promised.

Fifteen minutes later, our final bites emerge. The couple on the left have already paid and gone. The final bite is carrot sorbet with toasted marshmallow, served on a tiny stone pillar. I think by this time I was too tired and frustrated to enjoy it properly, and found the sorbet to be too overly carrot-y, and the toasted marshmallow tasted like Pascall's.

Another 5 minutes of hand waving to get someone's attention to ask for the bill, another 10 minutes before the bill actually arrives. We left Gastro Park at around 11 pm, from a 6.30 pm reservation. While the food was amazing, bar the carrot sorbet, the service was unfortunately, quite horrible. There was no explanation or reason as to why tables that had arrived later than us were served quicker, and managed to leave significantly earlier than we did. The mess-up with clearing the tables was one problem, later exacerbated by giving us 2 lamb cutlets although we were a table of three. So while I really enjoyed the ingenuity and deliciousness of the food, the competency of the front of house staff make it doubtful that I will ever eat at Gastro Park again. Which is a shame, since I love A Game of Thrones, and the feast was delicious.

The Game of Thrones menu costs $110 per person,

not including drinks.

A glass of Vale Ale cost $10 each.

Gastro Park

5-9 Roslyn Street, Potts Point

Sydney, Australia

Ph: 02 8068 1017

Carrot, Walnut and Oat Muffins with Cream Cheese Icing

2014-06-10T17:10:00.000+10:00

My best friend's mom made the best carrot cake when we were in junior high. And I mean the best. I don't know why, and I don't know how, but it was the perfect mixture of carroty-walnut-moist-spongy goodness. And that icing. So. Good. We would just sit in front of the TV eating it before we had Science tutoring classes, and it almost made those lessons worth it. Almost. I was/am terrible at it.

Her mom made amazing food generally as well, but I can't pinpoint exactly what, only that it was good. One of my clearest memories, though, is that we used to eat spoonfuls of condensed milk, straight from the tin. Judge me, I don't care. It was delicious. I feel happy thinking about it. Although I do remember that we were only limited to one spoonful each. If that counts for anything.

Anyway! They now have a bunch of restaurants with lots of amazing Malaysian treats and food, but no carrot cake, as far as i know. And, there aren't any branches in Australia. Sad face.

These cupcakes are not quite as good, sorry, but they are still good. And you can smother as much cream cheese icing on as you like. I decided to make these because:

(a) I have four big end-of-semester essays to write;

(b) In my procrastination I made some juice (apple, orange, carrot, strawberry, pineapple - it's delicious, and you'll feel much better making it at home than paying $7 at a juice bar) and felt bad about wasting the juice pulp/whatever that leftover stuff from juicing is called, so had to use them for something.

So these are made with that pulpy stuff! You can, of course, just grate some carrots, but if you have a juicer and you like carrot juice, go for it. Also, I'm a very lazy human. I though the muffins might be a bit dry because the pulp is de-juiced, but they weren't at all. So that's good.

You can substitute a lot in this recipe. Walnuts can be substituted for almonds, or macadamias - probably any kind of nuts, but I've only tried it with those two so I can only guarantee they are great. But I'm sure any nuts would be fine. I used honey because I didn't have enough sugar, and I used oats because I didn't have enough flour. So, yes, that was probably a sign for me to get back to writing my Environmental Law essay, but I didn't take it and these turned out great. Anyway - you can substitute honey for sugar, and oats for flour, if you like.

Enjoy!

Mixed Noodle Salad Bowls

2014-05-27T16:53:00.000+10:00

This is a really easy and delicious dish that was created when I was about eight years old. We had leftovers that had to be used up, and I really loved grating things.

It became a staple for many years, until somehow we forgot about it and it wasn't included in any meal rotations while I was in high school. I think this was because when we moved to Australia, chilli oil was not as readily available as it was in Malaysia, and my mom couldn't be bothered making it from scratch.

But one day a few years ago, my chilli plant had an abundant flowering and fruiting one summer, and we had an overload of chillies. So I made some chilli oil and it was delicious, and sparked memories of these noodles. So they're a frequent and much loved staple now.

(And yes, I do realize now that you can just buy chilli oil at an Asian store or at some fancy delis. But home made is always better!)

You can basically add whatever you like to these bowls, depending on what you have. The staples are the noodles, cucumber, carrots, some kind of protein, and the sauce - particularly the chilli oil and garlic. In a dire situation, you can just use these, and it will still be delicious.

Enjoy!
xxx

Almond, Cranberry and White Chocolate Chip Muesli Bars

2014-05-20T23:39:00.000+10:00

When I was in school, I was always really excited to go away on school trips - especially camping. Not because I love camping (I do) but because I was allowed to buy whatever I wanted for snacks, and it would be that single, rare occasion where I would be allowed to buy all sorts of junk food/unhealthy treats that I wouldn't usually ever be allowed to have.

Instant cup noodles? As many different flavours as I liked! Pringles? Why not! Marshmallows! To make s'mores, of course! It was fantastic. I also used to get Uncle Toby's Yoghurt Topped muesli bars when I went camping. Strawberry. And I really loved them, but they were, very decidedly a "treat". So once every year (or maybe twice, if I was lucky) I could have all these treats and it was a really exciting moment for me.

Strangely, even now that I am an adult, I avoid all these "treats" (except, they're not, really) unless I am going camping. Or on a road trip. I seriously just bypass them in the grocery aisle, although it is one day my desire to go to an Asian shop and try all the flavours of instant noodles.

I guess it's because I just prefer making my own food (cooking for me is ultimately the best form of procrastination. Because you have to eat, so why not do it in the most excessive way possible? .... Right?) and maybe a little bit of classical conditioning due to my mom's strictness when I was little.

Anyway these muesli bars are definitely not a "treat", but they are a treat! Super easy to make and very delicious, and customizable! This batch is almond, cranberry and vanilla, but you can use whatever nuts and dried fruit you like. They are also no-bake, which is always nice. So once they are set, you just slice them up, and then grab them whenever you need. I love them for breakfast on the run, or with steaming cup of tea for an afternoon snack.

Almond, Cranberry and White Chocolate Chip Muesli Bars

- 1 1/2 cups old fashioned oats, toasted*

- 1/4 cup desiccated coconut, toasted*

- 1 cup whole almonds, toasted*
- 2 tablespoons sesame seeds, toasted*

- 1 cup pitted dates

- 1/2 cup dried cranberries
- 1/4 cup goji berries

- 1/4 cup chia seeds
- 1/4 cup white chocolate chips

- 1/2 cup honey

- 1/2 cup peanut butter

- 1 vanilla bean or 2 teaspoons vanilla bean paste or vanilla essence

Heat the honey, peanut butter and vanilla in a small saucepan on low heat until it is runny. Set aside to cool.
Put the oats, coconut, almonds, white chocolate chips, chia seeds, sesame seeds, goji berries, and cranberries into a large bowl.
Pulse the dates in a blender until it can be shaped into a ball.
Mix the dates with the remaining ingredients in a bowl and then press loosely into a slice or brownie pan lined with baking paper.
Pour the honey mixture over and then let it set in the fridge for 4 hours or overnight.
Cut into bars and wrap in baking paper. Store in an airtight container for up to a week.

*I just throw the oats, coconut, sesame seeds, and almonds onto a baking sheet and put it in the grill for about 5-10 minutes, shaking the pan occasionally, or I put them into a large frying pan and heat.

xx gee

Mini Chocolate Malt Cakes with Salted Dulce Du Leche

2014-05-10T13:37:00.000+10:00

Once, I was making banana bread, and was really distracted so I made a very silly and very rookie mistake. I forgot the eggs. So I'd creamed the butter and mashed up the banana with the cinnamon and nutmeg, mixed everything up, and it was in the oven in a nice little loaf tin, when I turned around I saw the eggs just sitting on the counter in a bowl.

I didn't know what to do, so I just left it in the oven to bake. And you know what? It was surprisingly okay.

Anyway. This cake is eggless - on purpose. It's called a Crazy Cake or Depression Cake, which I found on Pinterest, and it is also dairy free. No milk. No butter. I still don't understand how. And I guess, makes it vegan.... ? The ingredients: Flour, sugar, salt, baking powder, cocoa powder, vinegar, vanilla, oil and water.

This recipe was created during the Great Depression with minimal ingredients as they were difficult to come by. I have no idea about the science behind this - how does it work? Does the vinegar somehow do something to make up for the egglessness? Who knows. This is delicious, and its super simple, and you can bake the entire cake from start to finish in a single pan. Amazing.

I decided to make mini cakes, so I cut out 7 cm rounds with a cookie cutter to make them tall and skinny.

I used Milo because 1. It's delicious; and 2. I thought we were out of cocoa powder (found two tins as soon as I put it in the oven, typical), but I thought it was even more delicious. Since we always have a jar of dulce du leche on hand, the icing was really easy to whip up, and extremely delicious. Here's how I make mine.

Depression Chocolate Malt Cake

Adapted from Sweet Little Bluebird

1 1/2 cups plain flour
1/2 cup Milo
1/2 cup sugar
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon white wine vinegar
1 teaspoon vanilla bean paste or vanilla extract
5 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 cup water

Preheat oven to 180C and grease your cake pan (unnecessary, but I felt strange not doing it).
Combine the dry ingredients in the cake pan and mix thoroughly. Make three wells in the flour and then add the vinegar, vanilla, and oil in their own wells. Pour the water over and mix until combined well with a fork.
That's it. Bake for 20-25 minutes or until a skewer comes out clean.

Salted Dulce Du Leche

1/2 cup butter
1/2 cup icing sugar
1 cup dulce du leche
3 teaspoons rock salt or sea salt flakes

Beat the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add the dulce du leche and combine well. Stir in the salt and then dollop onto the cakes.

Honeycakes with Blackberries and Almond Brittle

2014-04-24T23:08:00.000+10:00

'In the Queen's Ballroom they broke their fast on honeycakes baked with blackberries and nuts...' - A Storm of Swords

I know those are raspberries on the top, but I ran out of blackberries because I didn't think what I would do with the extra baby cake, so had to make do. They are equally as delicious, and anyway the blackberries are inside the cake.

These honeycake like mini soufflés, and were deliciously light and fluffy, and they also happen to be gluten free! Whaddayaknow.

We had them with vanilla and honey whipped cream, berry compote, and almond brittle. Why settle for one treat when you can have four. Right?

Really, though, this recipe has so many elements that are really quite unnecessary because the honeycakes are delicious on their own.

Serve them straight from the oven or with some ice cream, everyone will still love them. Or go all out, because it was even more delicious with everything.

Blackberry and Almond Honeycakes

Makes 16 mini cakes or one small cake

- 2 cups almond meal

- 4 eggs, separated

- 1/2 cup Manuka honey

- 1 vanilla bean, halved and deseeded or 1 teaspoon vanilla bean paste or essence

- 1 teaspoon bicarb soda

- 1/2 teaspoon salt

- 1 cup blackberries (or raspberries or any berries)

1. Preheat oven to 180C. Grease a muffin tin and line the bottom with some baking paper. (I cut off the pleated part of cupcake liners because I wanted it the cakes to be smooth. Alternatively, use ramekins)

2. Beat the egg whites until stiff peaks form, or until you can hold the bowl upside down over your head and nothing falls on you.

3. Beat the yolks, honey, vanilla, bicarb, and salt together until thick and creamy. Fold in the berries.

4. Gently fold the egg whites in, one spoonful at a time. Be really careful to not squash the air out of it (like a soufflé).

5. Bake for 10-15 minutes or until golden and a skewer comes out clean.

* To make a cake, grease two 6" cake pans. Don't put in the berries. Fill up both cake pans evenly and bake until the cakes are golden. Leave to cool for 10 minutes in the pan and then invert onto a cooling rack, so that the top gets flattened down. Cut the cakes in half if you want a four layered cake, otherwise fold the berry compote with the vanilla and honey whipped cream and sandwich between the cake layers. Top with cream and berries, and press toasted almonds into the sides of the cream.

Berry Compote

- 1 cup mixed berries

- 2 tablespoons lemon juice

- 2 tablespoons sugar

In a medium saucepan, combine all ingredients on medium heat. Stir until sugar has dissolved and berries are broken down (about 8-10 minutes).

Vanilla and Honey Whipped Cream

- 1/2 cup thickened cream

- 1 teaspoon vanilla bean paste or essence/extract

- 1 tablespoon honey

Whip all ingredients together until soft peaks form.

Almond Brittle

- 1/4 cup almond slivers

- 1/4 cup sugar

- 3/4 cup water

1. Toast the almonds in a frying pan over low heat or in the oven until they are golden brown.

2. Spread nuts out evenly in one layer on a baking tray covered with baking paper. Make sure the tray is on a trivet, cooling rack or a coaster.

3. In a medium saucepan, heat the sugar and water. Stir continuously until sugar has dissolved. Brush down the sides of the pan with a brush dipped in water to ensure no sugar granules are getting stuck. When the liquid is light golden, take the pan off the heat immediately, and then quickly pour onto the nuts. There is a small window of time between toffee and burnt sugar, so watch that pan really carefully and pour the toffee out as soon as it turns a light, pale, golden colour.

4. Using oven mitts, tap the pan onto the kitchen counter a few times to make sure the toffee sets evenly. The toffee should cover all the nuts, if it doesn't, move the nuts around with a skewer or a fork.

5. Leave to cool for 10 minutes, or if you're impatient, like me, stick it in the freezer for 5 (keep it on the cooling rack still though).

6. When it is cooled and hardened, break into chunks with a knife or your fingers, and then serve with the honeycakes.

Simple Green Smoothie Challenge

2014-04-16T16:40:00.000+10:00

I'm participating in the Simple Green Smoothie challenge this month! I love smoothies/juice and it always makes me sad when I have to pay $8 to buy one, so I'm going to make one every day for this month. These are some of the smoothies I've been having. It's not really a challenge at all, really, because it's so easy and quick to make, and if I'm not feeling hungry enough to have one at breakfast, I'll have it at lunch.

The key to ensuring your green smoothies are smoothies and not watery salads is blending the greens with liquid before adding in everything else. So for every recipe, blend the greens first for about 2 minutes until there are no leafy chunks. I've made the mistake of doing it all in one go and it was not very fun... I had to chew each chunk of kale....

Enjoy!

Raspberry, Mango and Banana

1/2 cup baby spinach leaves
1/4 cup water
1/4 cup milk
1/2 cup frozen raspberries
1/2 cup frozen mangoes
1 banana
1 tablespoon chia seeds

Peach, Coconut and Mint Smoothie

1/2 cup baby kale leaves
1/4 cup coconut water
1/4 cup milk
2 peaches, quartered and de seeded
1 banana
1/4 cup mint leaves
1 tablespoon chia seeds

Strawberry, Watermelon and Carrot

1/2 cup baby spinach leaves
1/4 cup water
1 carrot, chopped into 4 or 5 pieces
1 cup strawberries
1 cup watermelon

Passionfruit, Mango, and Strawberry

1/2 cup baby spinach leaves
1/4 cup orange juice
pulp of 3 passionfruit
1 cup mangoes
1 cup strawberries

Blueberry, Banana and Watermelon

1/2 cup baby kale leaves
1 cup water
1 cup blueberries
1 banana
1 cup watermelon

You can basically put whatever you want in your green smoothie - any combination of fruit, liquids, and greens.

Two Ingredient Chocolate Cupcakes with Peanut Butter Mousse

2014-04-14T12:00:00.000+10:00

These cupcakes are technically two ingredient, but they aren’t really. I was really skeptical about trying this out, because they are often pinned with the tags ‘low calorie’ and ‘diet’ and ‘healthy’, and because the two ingredients are… boxed cake mix and a can of diet soda.

I know right.

So anyway, I put it out of my mind as an ‘Eh, it could be yummy but I don’t need to try it’ fad.

Then one night last week as I was at a petrol station looking at the $2 nail polish bin, there was a $1 box of Green’s chocolate cake mix. And then a whole stack of soft drink cans next to it. So I decided, why not.

So I bought these very expensive ingredients, and drove home.

I was still skeptical. I haven’t used a boxed cake mix since I was twelve, and it felt a little traitorous to being a foodie.

But anyway.

I got out a mixing bowl. Poured out the chocolate icing sugar – sorry, I mean cake mix, and then opened up my can of Coke Zero and poured it in.

It fizzed and bubbled and I could just smell the Coke-y smell and felt very confused about how it would turn out.

Anyway, so I preheated my oven. Prepared my cupcake liners. Spooned the batter (which is really liquid-y) into them. The Coke/Cake Mix batter makes a lot more than the dozen cupcakes the box is supposed to yield. I still felt unsure, so I pressed in a Hershey’s Cookies and Cream kiss in the middle of each cupcake. Why not, right?

Chucked them in the oven. And in about 5 minutes they were done. Skewer came out clean and everything.

The verdict?

They’re delicious. Moist with just the tiniest hint of Coke, and the melted Kiss in the middle was a happy surprise treat.

I didn’t fill them up enough, though, because they didn’t rise at all. So I had to make some icing to go on top.

I picked peanut butter mousse. I could have used the chocolate icing that also came in the box but… That felt like a bit much.

The end result was a quick, easy, supposedly healthy (well, maybe not because of the mousse) treat that I would probably make again. Maybe with a different flavor combination in a few months.

Has anyone tried this recipe before? What did you think?

Two Ingredient Cupcakes

1 box cake mix (I used Green's Chocolate Cake)
1 can soft drink of your choice (I used Coke Zero)
Optional: Hershey's Kisses, or anything else you would like to mix in

Preheat oven to 180C. Line two baking trays with cupcake liners (this makes a lot).

In a large bowl, whisk these two ingredients thoroughly. It will fizz and look like a Science experiment, but it'll work.

Fill your cupcake liners until almost full, because these won't rise. I would say 7/8ths full. Or 3/4 full if you are going to put Kisses/what-have-you in.

Bake for 10-15 minutes or until a skewer comes out clean.

Peanut Butter Mousse

1/4 cup peanut butter*
1/4 cup thickened cream
2 tablespoons icing sugar
1 teaspoon cocoa powder

Whip the peanut butter, icing sugar and cocoa powder in a medium bowl until combined. Add in the cream and beat until light and fluffy (like how you would normally make icing).

Put into a piping bag and pipe onto your cupcakes, or just dollop them on with a spoon. Or just eat it. :)

* I used crunchy Kraft peanut butter, but the nuts kind of got in the way when I was piping the icing out. If you're going to pipe the icing, use smooth peanut butter, otherwise, use a bigger nozzle.

Garlic and Herb Crusted Rack of Lamb with a Mint and Honey Glaze

2014-04-12T16:23:00.000+10:00

'Her cooks had prepared them a magnificent meal of honeyed lamb, fragrant with crushed mint and served with the small green figs she liked so much.' - A Dance with Dragons

As promised, here is the recipe from our feast last Monday! It was incredibly delicious, the insides still a little pink, and really flavorsome because of all the herbs.

If you aren't a fan of garlic, feel free to halve the amount used, but it's not overpowering especially when combined with all the herbs and the sweetness of the glaze.

Garlic and Herb Crusted Lamb with a Mint and Honey Glaze

- 2 racks lamb

- 10 cloves garlic, minced

- 1/4 cup Panko breadcrumbs

- 1/4 cup mint leaves, chopped finely

- 1/4 cup rosemary, thyme and oregano leaves, chopped finely

- salt and pepper

- 2 tbsp honey

- 2 tbsp Dijon mustard

- 1 tbsp barbecue sauce

For the glaze

- 1/4 cup honey

- 1/4 cup mint leaves or 1/4 cup mint sauce

- 1 tbsp Dijon mustard

Preheat oven to 180C fan-forced.

Mix together the honey, mustard and barbecue sauce.

Mix together the breadcrumbs, garlic and herbs and salt and pepper in a bowl (or blitz everything, leaves whole, in a food processor for a few seconds).

Brush the honey-barbecue-mustard on the lamb, and then crumb it. You can do this super professionally by grabbing handfuls of the breadcrumb mixture and patting it onto the lamb. I leave it to sit in the fridge for at least 30 minutes, but that's optional. I also put in a few extra sprigs of rosemary, because we have a very determined rosemary bush that likes to take over the herb garden.

Bake for 20-25 minutes until the crumb coat is golden.

Meanwhile, heat the glaze ingredients in a small saucepan. Brush over lamb and then return to oven for another 20 minutes. Serve.

Game of Thrones Feast 2014: All Men Must Die

2014-04-08T16:21:00.000+10:00

Season 4 of Game of Thrones premiered yesterday! I was so sad that we missed the Gastropark Game of Thrones feast last year and was determined to go this year... But it doesn't seem to be on? Come on, Sydney! Singapore has a Michelin-starred chef making a feast. We had to make do without, so like last year, we had a feast at home to commemorate.

The worst thing about Game of Thrones is the waiting game. There are only ten episodes a season and a whole year's wait in between. The books are a whole other story. Luckily we have George R. R. Martin's surprise spoiler chapters to look forward to, and his regularly updated blog and numerous games and such. And re-watching the episodes and rereading the books helps when you're feeling too sad in the interim. But once you get to the last book, you're back where you started and wanting more.

I would highly recommend having a Westerosi feast should you be feeling resentful toward G R R Martin, and HBO, as a reminder that this incredible man dreamed up not only this food but this entire world. With different languages and seasons and a political system that I sadly understand more than I do my own. Just please don't kill anyone else (: thanks!

'The stewards began to bring out the first dish, an onion broth flavored with bits of goat and carrot. Not precisely royal fare, but nourishing; it tasted good enough and warmed the belly.' - A Dance with Dragons

For starters, we had a dish from the Wall - onion broth with goat and carrots. This recipe was inspired by Inn at the Crossroads, the official Game of Thrones food blog (can I come and work for you?). I learned from last year that there is a GOT food community that has thousands of inspiring recipes based on real medieval recipes. Amazing.

I have only ever eaten goat in curry, so was a bit unsure about this and was going to substitute for lamb. Luckily I didn't. The goat is slow cooked with speck so the meat falls off the bone, and tastes like Icelandic Lambmeat Soup. It is delicious and wonderfully comforting.

'And they dined in the solar with cheese, capons and brown oatbread'. - A Clash of Kings

The broth is supposed to come with 'loaves of coarse brown bread, warm from the oven. Salt and butter sat upon the tables'. I wanted to make breadrolls instead Oat breadrolls. I could have bought these but because I have three essays due this week I made them from scratch, and they were fluffy and light and delicious and oaty.

'Her cooks had prepared them a magnificent meal of honeyed lamb, fragrant with crushed mint and served with the small green figs she liked so much.' - A Dance with Dragons

Dany feasted on this with the Green Grace in Meereen, and when I made it was as delicious as it sounds. The lamb is crusted with garlic, mint, rosemary and breadcrumbs, and glazed with minted honey and mustard.

'This evening, they had supped on... quails drowned in butter. Lord Janos allowed that he had never eaten half so well.' - A Clash of Kings

I couldn't find quails so I used spatchcock instead, swimming in butter and lots of paprika. It was the most buttery, melt in your mouth piece of poultry I have ever had.

'Then came lamprey pie, honeyed ham, buttered carrots, white beans and bacon, and roast swan stuffed with mushrooms and oysters.' - A Clash of Kings

White beans and bacon is yummy. White beans, bacon, and onion.

Dutch carrots always looked so rustic to me, so I roasted them with coconut oil and cinnamon, because the quail had enough butter in it.
'My fellow magisters have doubled the size of the city guard,' Illyrio told them over platters of honey duck and orange snap peppers one night at the manse that had been Drogo's.' - A Game of Thrones

Pentoshi honeyed duck, from before the wedding to Khal Drogo. Adapted from The Inn at the Crossroads. The duck is glazed with a mixture of honey, orange, lemons and butter, on a bed of sweet potato purée. and is so deliciously divine. I imagine this is what duck a l'orange tastes like, and everyone were all pleasantly surprised by how much we liked it that I might even try making duck a l'orange one day. Maybe.

'In the Queen's Ballroom they broke their fast on honeycakes baked with blackberries and nuts...' - A Storm of Swords

Dessert. The honeycakes are airy and light, made with almond meal and served with berry compote and fresh whipped cream with vanilla and honey, and almond brittle.The blackberries were freshly picked from Duffy's Forest, because I didn't know they could be bought and I am a master procrastinater.
Full recipes to follow.

What did everyone think of the first episode? xx

Corn and Quinoa Polenta Fritters with Smoked Salmon

2014-04-01T23:25:00.000+11:00

Brunch is my favorite meal. I can't even describe why. It's at the perfect time, and you can eat basically everything and anything and it's delicious, and then you can just do nothing for the rest of the day. I think that's probably the most appealing thing about brunch! It's weekend-y and luxurious and just a little bit more special than breakfast.

These corn fritters are really easy to make, and in no time any day could be a brunch day, not just on weekends. You could even have them for dinner :)

The quinoa and polenta are completely optional, as the corn fritters are still delicious without. My mom used to make fritters with just corn, eggs, and flour as a base, and then just add in whatever she felt like that day - carrots, zucchini, mushrooms (delicious), leftover chicken and fish (not so delicious). I'm a big fan of polenta so I like putting it in anything that I can. The first time I tried it was on a flight from Hong Kong to San Francisco when I was six, and I remember thinking it was mashed potato, or maybe an omelette. (It was for breakfast, with two little mini sausages and I was so excited) I'm not sure if I can say polenta is better than mash, but it's delicious and I'll find any excuse to eat it.

Corn and Quinoa Polenta Fritters with Smoked Salmon

Serves 4

1/2 cup polenta
1/2 cup boiling water
1/4 cup milk (I use almond milk because I can't have lactose, so feel free to substitute with whatever you would like)
1/2 cup quinoa flakes
2 eggs
1/2 cup corn kernels
1 lime, juiced
1 teaspoon sugar
1 clove garlic, minced
1 small chilli, chopped finely, or 1 teaspoon dried chilli flakes (optional)
1 tablespoon olive oil
10 cherry tomatoes, quartered
2 cups baby rocket, spinach or kale
250 g smoked salmon
Greek yoghurt or ricotta
salt and pepper, to taste

In a large bowl, mix the polenta with the water and then cover and leave to stand for 10 minute.
Meanwhile, put the oil, lime, sugar, garlic and chilli (if using) in a jar, screw shut, and shake well to combine. Add in the cherry tomatoes and give a firm shake to coat and let sit.
Add the milk, eggs, corn, and quinoa to the polenta. Beat well until combined. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
Heat a non-stick skillet (or oil a non-non stick one) and then fry heaped tablespoons until golden brown on each side. Shape them with a silicone spatula so they are even circles, or make any shape you like.
When all the batter is used up, serve on top of some baby rocket, or any greens you like, add the tomatoes. Put the salmon on top, a dollop of yoghurt or ricotta, and then drizzle with the dressing. Salt and pepper to taste. Eat.

Happy brunching!

Dry Wonton Noodles

2014-03-25T17:00:00.000+11:00

If you didn't already know, I love dumplings. Anywhere, anytime, any kind. Wontons are probably my favorite because they are so deliciously easy to make and you can put anything in it. Although, I guess you could say that about any dumpling. But still. They were one of my favorite things to make as a child. The three things I loved to cook (or was allowed to, anyway) were: coleslaw (I really liked grating and felt really professional in my little chef's hat and matching apron), curry puffs (I had to practice with Play-Doh before I could graduate to using actual pastry) and wontons.

You can get wontons everywhere nowadays, especially those deep fried ones (that have now become available at my local chicken shop), and wonton noodle soup. But dry wonton noodles, or kon loh, its Cantonese name as I know it from growing up in Kuala Lumpur, are a million times better. Kon loh basically means something like dry-sauce-stirred, so all the deliciousness is in the noodles and we aren't relying on MSG-up'd broth that makes you super thirsty an hour after eating (although it is delicious).

The best part? The noodles are super simple to make and you can eat them with anything, or with nothing at all. But like sprinkles and cupcakes, the noodles go best with wontons. You could of course, buy pre-made wontons from the freezer aisle of Woolworths, but they won't be as delicious. Trust me (;

Dry Wonton Noodles

For the wontons:

1 pack wonton wrappers (you can use any kind as long as they are square)
1 egg, beaten
1 cup minced pork (or any mince, really)
1 cup carrot, finely grated
1 cup mushrooms, diced
1/2 cup spring onions, chopped finely
1 onion, diced
5 cloves garlic, minced finely
1 tablespoon cornflour
2 tablespoons dark soy sauce
2 tablespoons light soy sauce
2 tablespoons sesame oil
1 tablespoon Shao Xing wine
salt and pepper to taste (I use a mixture of black, white, and Szechuan pepper, but any old pepper will do)

In a large bowl, mix the mince, carrots, mushrooms, spring onions, onion, garlic, and cornflour together. You can use your hands - just make sure everything is blended well and there are no chunks. Add in the soy sauces, sesame oil, and wine, and then season liberally with salt and pepper. Leave to marinade in the fridge for an hour or so, so that the flavours blend together.
To assemble, place a wonton wrapper in the palm of your hand, or on a plate. Place a teaspoon of the filling in the middle, and using your finger or a pastry brush, moisten the edges of the wrapper with the beaten egg. Fold diagonally in half, like a triangle. And that's your wonton done! To make it more fancy, you can seal the side corner-edges of the triangle together, but you don't have to.
Continue until you run out of mince and/or wrappers. If you run out of wrappers, make meatballs with the remaining mince. If you run out of mince, put Nutella and marshmallows in the wrappers and deep fry them for three seconds. You won't regret it.
To cook, bring a large pot of water to boil with a pinch of salt. When the water is bubbling, put in the wontons. They are ready when they float.
If you've made far too many wontons, line them up on a parchment-paper lined baking tray so they are not touching, and freeze them for an hour. Once they are hard, you can put them in a ziplock bag and store in your freezer. The pre-freezing is to ensure that they remain single rather than an unbreakable lump of frozen dumplings, so you can use them as you need.

For the noodles:

1 packet of egg noodles (the thinner the better)
1 tablespoon shallot oil*
1 tablespoon chilli oil*
1 tablespoon sesame oil
2 tablespoons dark/thick soy sauce (sometimes also known as caramel sauce - if you can't find it, dark soy sauce is fine)
1 tablespoon light soy sauce
1 tablespoon oyster sauce
1 head of baby bok choy, cut into quarters
1 birds eye red chilli, sliced
2 pickled green chillies, sliced*
1 tablespoon fried shallots*
1 teaspoon toasted white sesame seeds
2 spring onions, sliced thinly

For the sauce, mix together the oils, soy sauce, and oyster sauce in a large bowl. It should be very thick and dark and smell delicious.
Bring a large pot of water to the boil. Quickly blanch the baby bok choy in it for less than a minute, and then quickly rinse in cold water to refreshen it.
In the same pot, cook your noodles following the packet directions. You want to have a lot of water in the pot, otherwise the noodles tend to clump together. Drain and rinse so that the sticky starchiness is gone.
Put the noodles into the sauce bowl and mix very thoroughly. The noodles should become very brown. Ideally they would be almost black, but I don't put in enough dark soy sauce. You could though if you like.
Assemble. Noodles, bok choy, wontons. Sprinkle with the chillies, fried shallots, sesame seeds and spring onions. Drizzle on some more chilli oil. Feast.

* Lots of asterisks in here. These are all easily-bought ingredients, but I'm going to tell you how to make them anyway, because home made is best.

For the chilli oil:

1 cups olive oil (for less spicy oil, add more oil)
1 tablespoon sesame oil
1 packet/bottle of dried chilli flakes (about 40g), or 10 small, fresh chillies, finely chopped
2 tsp Szechuan peppercorns
3 cloves garlic

In a mortar and pestle, crush the chilli, peppercorns and garlic.
In a medium saucepan, heat the oil and add in the chilli mixture. Keep it at a low, low simmer for about 10 minutes or so and then leave to cool in the pan.
Pour into a jar/bottle to store and use liberally when wanting deliciousness.

For the shallot oil:

5 shallots, sliced finely
1 cup olive oil

(Optional) Dry out the shallots on a baking tray in the oven at a low temperature of about 50C for fifteen minutes, or leave out in the sun for a few hours.
Heat the oil and fry the shallots until golden brown.
Remove the shallots and let drain on paper towels.
Store shallot oil in a jar/bottle.

For the pickled green chillies:

2 fresh green chillies, sliced
2 tablespoons white vinegar
2 teaspoons sugar
1 teaspoon soy sauce

In a little bowl/jar, dissolve the sugar in the vinegar. Add in the soy sauce and then the chillies.
Let it pickle for a few hours or overnight in the fridge.

You may be wondering what the extra thing in the bowls are - leftover mince meatballs :) Just roll the leftover mince into balls and then fry.

Let me know if you give it a try!
Hope everyone had a wonderful weekend :)

xx