Delicieux

Spicy Pumpkin and Bean Soup

delicieux — Fri, 24 Feb 2012 05:11:22 +0000

It’s been raining again, a lot, and that usually leads to cravings for soups. Soups are infinitely comforting as there is nothing like slurping on a hot soup when it’s wet and miserable outside. Add a touch of spice and they somehow become more comforting through a double dose of heat both from the hot liquid and the spices.

The spices in this case come from what is commonly known in the Delicieux house as “Magic Sauce”. Magic sauce came about when I needed Harissa for a recipe I was putting together and couldn’t find Harissa paste in any of the supermarkets or grocers I visited. So I had to come up with my own. I looked at at lots of recipes and saw the main ingredient was chili. With Troy and I being weaklings when it comes to chili’s I subbed in red capsicum (peppers) for some (ok, a lot) of the chilis. And it worked out beautifully. So beautifully in fact it’s since shown up in a number of recipes, which I will share with you later, hence the name “Magic Sauce”. Essentially magic sauce is a weaklings version of harissa, but regardless it’s still magic to me due to it’s versatility.

Knowing how wonderfully versatile this paste has proven to be I thought I would apply it to a soup and see how it turned out. The soup is a simple combination of onions, magic sauce, butternut squash, vegetable stock, cannellini beans (for a protein boost) and coconut milk. But it’s the magic sauce that is the key here and really is the highlight of the soup.

So tell me, do you have a special recipe or ingredient in your home that is magic to you? What is it?

By the way, don’t forget to enter my fantastic ice cream maker giveaway for your chance to win your choice of ice cream maker from the lovely people at Kitchenware Direct.

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WIN an ice cream maker of your choice from Kitchenware Direct!!

delicieux — Tue, 21 Feb 2012 22:42:13 +0000

Were you disappointed you didn’t win the beautiful red Cuisinart Ice Cream Maker giveaway I ran last month? I know a lot of people were. Well, I have some good news for you! I spoke to the wonderful team at Kitchenware Direct and mentioned how many people wanted to get their hands on an ice cream maker – which was clearly evident from the whopping 1,103 entries received in the last giveaway – so guess what? I’m giving away another ice cream maker!!!!!

But it gets better! This time around you get to choose which ice cream maker you will receive! That’s right, you can win ANY of the ice cream makers list here on the Kitchenware Direct website!!! How amazing is that? You might choose the beautiful red Cuisinart Ice Cream Maker I gave away last time, or perhaps you might choose the cute pink ice cream maker below, or you might want to go for the soft serve maker. The choice is yours!!

So, if you would like to win your choice of ice cream maker from Kitchenware Direct simply follow the instructions below.

Competition is only open to Australian residents only.
You will need to log in to enter using the entry form below. Either using your Facebook account or name and email address (you can find this below the Facebook login button).
You will receive ONE (1) entry for each task you complete below. For example if you leave a comment below you receive 1 entry. If you leave a comment and Like Kitchenware Direct on Facebook you will receive 2 entries. If you leave a comment, Like Kitchenware Direct on Facebook and Like Delicieux on Facebook you will receive 3 entries. In total there are 14 different ways you can enter with DAILY entry options to increase your chances of winning!
Additionally, if you Tweet about this giveaway on Twitter every day or share this post on Facebook every day you will receive one (1) EXTRA entry for EVERY day you do this.
To enter select the entry option and click on the +1 Do It button to follow the entry instructions and record your entry. This step is important otherwise your entry won’t count!!!! And don’t forget to do this for EACH task you complete!
The more times you enter the greater your chance of winning!
The winner will be able to choose from ANY ice cream maker listed on this page from the Kitchenware Direct website.

Good luck!!!

Continue reading WIN an ice cream maker of your choice from Kitchenware Direct!!

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Delicieux is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 3.0 Unported License.
Based on a work at www.ledelicieux.com.

Chocolate Beetroot Marmalade Cake

delicieux — Sun, 19 Feb 2012 21:30:03 +0000

I don’t know about you, but a few years ago I would never have thought of combining chocolate and beetroot in a cake. It sounds strange, and the look on my fiances face when I told him I had made a Chocolate Beetroot Cake proved my point. He looked at me dubiously and said “sounds interesting”, which is his polite way of saying I’m not sure I like the sound of this. When I handed him a piece to try he looked at me worryingly and I could tell he wasn’t too sure if he wanted to try it. But my ever faithful and supportive taste tester plucked up the courage to try this strange sounding cake. To his surprise, and I must admit mine too, he really enjoyed it. The word delicious was even uttered! Score one for the Chocolate Beetroot Cake!

Googling Chocolate Beetroot Cake you will actually find the concept not all that strange, with numerous recipes coming up in search results. I’d bookmarked a chocolate beetroot cake recipe some time ago, thinking, sounds different but I’m willing to give it a try, but had never actually gotten around to it. So, when I had some leftover beetroot marmalade from making the Beetroot and Goats Cheese Jalousie I posted last week and was stuck for ideas on how to use it I recalled that long neglected chocolate beetroot cake recipe I had bookmarked and I thought I’d see how the marmalade would go in a chocolate beetroot cake. And you know what? It works amazingly well! The beetroot adds a subtle earthy depth and the spices from the marmalade add another delicious dimension.

So, this rather strange sounding Chocolate Beetroot Marmalade Cake is my submission to the latest Sweet Adventures Blog Hop. This months theme, hosted by the lovely Nic from Dining With A Stud, is Love At First Bite. While it might seem obvious to go down the romance path given the theme, and the fact it was Valentines day only a few days ago, I wanted to do something a little different. And chocolate is one of my great food loves, especially dark chocolate – as you can probably tell from the numerous chocolate recipes here on Delicieux – so I really couldn’t go past sharing this delicious, yet different chocolate cake with you. Also apparently beetroot juice has long been considered an aphrodisiac since the Roman times, and well, we all know the seductive powers of chocolate, so in this cake you get of a double dose of lovey goodness!

So tell me, what is the strangest sounding cake you have eaten, and did you like it? Have you ever made or tried a chocolate beetroot cake?

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Blogging 101 – Getting Started

delicieux — Thu, 16 Feb 2012 23:58:38 +0000

I’ve been surprised, honoured and humbled recently to receive a number of emails and tweets from people wanting advice starting out in the blogging world. While I’ve been blogging for a number of years I certainly wouldn’t say I’m an expert, which is why I’ve been so surprised that I’ve been asked for advice. But, I am extremely honoured that I’ve been asked and I am only too happy to share my take on blogging.

As I’ve said I’m not a blogging expert, far from it in fact, and what I’m sharing is based on my opinion and experience, however I hope you will find it useful.

Settle on a topic

Being vegetarian I write about vegetarian food. I also love facts so I really enjoyed writing this post and sharing 10 amazing facts about Quinoa

What will the theme or topic of your blog be? This may seem a fairly obvious question, but it’s important to spend some time thinking about what you want to blog about. Do you want to write about vegetarian food, gluten free food, asian food, baking, food in general, fashion, interior design or some other topic? I also think it’s important to ask yourself why you want to write about that particular topic. Is it because you are truly passionate about it or is it just because it’s popular at the moment? If you are passionate about your topic that will be evident to your readers. It will also make it easier to write about as it will come from your heart.

In addition to my love of vegetarian food I also love to bake. So naturally I feature both on Delicieux

Selecting a theme will also help when it comes to choosing a name for your blog. Ideally you want a name that is easy to remember and catchy. If I started out again I certainly wouldn’t have chosen Delicieux as most people have trouble spelling it let alone pronouncing it. That is unless you are French of course! Choose a name that is easy to pronounce and easy to remember.

Research

Once you’ve settled on a topic do your research. Have a look at other blogs on that topic. What do you admire about those blogs? Is it the writing, the photography, the design of the blog? What don’t you like? What would you do differently? Identifying what you do and don’t like will help you set the tone and style of your blog, and assist in differentiating you from the already crowded blogsphere. Most importantly, if you like someones blog DON’T steal. Find your own voice and style. Stealing in the blogging world, as with life in general, is a big no no! And don’t think you won’t get found out, because you will!

The other important research you need to undertake is into the name you plan to give your blog. The last thing you want to do is start your blog and find another blog with the same name. A great tool to check your name availability on Social Media Networks (note it will also check WordPress.com too) is Namechk. All you need to do is enter your preferred name into the field at the top of the page and this handy little tool will then run checks against each of the social networks and show you whether the name is available. Neat huh?

After this step I suggest Googling your preferred blog name (or names) and to double check no-one else is using the name for their blog. Once you are satisfied you are ready for the next step – creating your blog.

Continue reading Blogging 101 – Getting Started
© Delicieux, 2012.
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Delicieux is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 3.0 Unported License.
Based on a work at www.ledelicieux.com.

Lime Olive Oil Cupcakes

delicieux — Tue, 14 Feb 2012 23:32:12 +0000

I absolutely adore citrus fruits. Lemons, limes, grapefruits, oranges…I love them all. There is almost something magical about them. Their heady perfume that is emitted the moment you begin zesting them or peeling them, and then there is that flavour zing that you only get from citrus. In the case of lemons it can be somewhat mouth puckering, but you see, that’s what I like. I like big bold flavours, and as far as I am concerned, there is absolutely nothing better than that delicious lemon tang. From Lemon tarts and candied lemon cake through to lemon spaghetti, it’s equally at home in both sweet and savoury dishes. I love this versatile fruit and I’m never without it in the kitchen.

Limes are another favourite as well, which I’m rarely without. From their beautiful aroma, to the way it seems to pair so well with the beautiful herbal qualities of Bombay Sapphire Gin, to that fresh burst it gives marinades and dressings, it’s another amazingly versatile fruit that I adore. So, after making Martha Stewart’s delicious Orange Scented Olive Oil cake recently my mind immediately began thinking of a lime version. To make things a little more tropical I substituted coconut milk for the buttermilk in the original recipe, and used brown sugar to add richness in place of the original white sugar.

The result is a gorgeous tropical cupcake that reminds me of being back in Fiji, sitting by the pool sipping Mojito’s with my fiance.

By the way, I’ve put together a recipe index of all the recipes I have shared on Delicieux over the years. I have to admit I was quite surprised by how many recipes there are! So, if you are looking for a particular recipe you will find it here. Recipes are grouped by category, and to make it easier to navigate the long list of recipes, if you click on a category at the top of the page you will be taken to the recipes in that category.

So, tell me, do citrus fruits evoke any particular memories for you? What are they?

Continue reading Lime Olive Oil Cupcakes

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Delicieux is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 3.0 Unported License.
Based on a work at www.ledelicieux.com.