Guacamole!

I got this recipe from a friend who grew up in the South of America.  She always said that the South had the best guacamole outside of Mexico.  She brought this recipe with her to Australia and I copied it down as soon as I put one dip covered chip in my mouth.  The original recipe has a few ingredients that are hard to source so here is my favourite way of making it.  Please bare in mind though that it is a recipe that can come down to personal taste.  I love being able to taste all the ingredients - but I am also a big fan of garlic, lime and chilli - so what I recommend is to start with the flavours you know you like and add more of what you like.

Guacamole
1 1/2 avocados
1 tbs red onion, finely chopped
2 garlic cloves
1 small tomato (half a large one)
1 birdseye chilli, finely chopped
2 tbs fresh coriander, finely chopped
Big splash of lime
Salt to season

Mix all the ingredients together in a bowl and smash the avocado.  Don't over mash so that it still has some chunky bits.

Pavlova and Meringues

Pavlova and meringues are kind of my specialty.  I don't mean to brag, but they are seriously good.  And what makes them even better is that they are really simple especially if you follow my few little tips!  When making a pavlova I use vanilla creme and I like keeping the fruit simple - just berries or passionfruit but you can decorate it however you like!

Pavlova with Vanilla Creme and strawberries

Meringue

6 egg whites

300g castor sugar

A pinch of salt

Preheat oven to 150 degrees.  Place the egg whites in the bowl of an electric mixer and whisk on medium speed until light and frothy.  Gradually add the sugar and pinch of salt to the egg white mixture a tablespoon at a time.  Continue mixing until the mixture is white and glossy and smooth when the mixture is rubbed between your fingers, approximately 5 minutes.

To make meringues: Spoon big dollops of the mixture on a baking tray lined with baking paper spaced two inches apart - they expand as they bake!  Bake for an hour or until lightly coloured.

To make pavlova: Spoon big dollops of mixture in a circle making sure they just touch.  Spoon some mixture into the middle and spread it over the bottom - about an inch.  Bake for an hour or until lightly coloured.

Leave to cool on tray before removing from the baking paper.

Vanilla Creme

250g creme frais

250g mascarpone cheese

1 tbs castor sugar

1 tsp vanilla extract

Mix all the ingredients together in a medium bowl until combined.  It's that simple!  Spoon the vanilla creme into the centre of the pavlova and cover in fruit.

Meringues in the oven

My helpful meringue hints:

#1 It's all about the eggs.  If possible, always use fresh eggs!  I buy my eggs the day I am going to use them and try and get them local and organic.

#2 If you get a chance, use a metal mixing bowl and chill the bowl in the refrigerator before using it.

#3 Rubbing the mixture between your fingers is vital - otherwise you will end up with grainy meringues.

#3 Open the oven after about 30 minutes to let out the steam.

Brooklyn Apricot Jam Drops (Dairy-Free)

The recipe for today makes my travel bug itch.  Through my years at university I have spent many holidays travelling, with many trips to the USA, in particular New York City.  This one is from a wonderful bakery in Brooklyn, NYC called One Girl Cookies.  I stumbled into this one-stop cookie shop on my second trip to NYC in the Fall of 2012 when I got lost trying to find my train station.  It was cold and the funky wall decor, aroma of coffee and friendly faces welcomed me in.  I got 3 different cookies, the "Penelope" (Apricot Jam-Filled Almond Butter Cookies), the "Alice" (Decadent Chocolate Coins) and a Chocolate Whoopie Pie.  I loved the cafe - but I didn't live in Brooklyn so my visits back here and across the bridge were limited.

Christmas rolled around and I organised with some friends to do a present swap.  Five of us were all living or travelling all over the world, away from our families and I thought it would be nice to have something underneath our trees to open come Christmas morning (my first real tree! It's usually a little hot in Australia and they drop their needles a little too soon).  So come Christmas morning I was absolutely overjoyed that a friend had found the One Girl Cookie cookbook in a remote little bookstore in Melbourne, Australia and had sent it all the way to me without even realising that the cafe was in 'ma hood' (well, across the bridge...).

I have been loving recreating all their wonderful, easy to follow recipes and tweaking them a little to what I have in my pantry.  Today we have the "Penelope" - however these guys are dairy-free and a little different with Australian ingredients!

Even now I'm working out plans to travel overseas again and I'm sure somewhere along the way I will make my way back to One Girl Cookies in Dumbo, Brooklyn.

1 3/4 cups of plain flour

Good pinch of salt

1 cup (225g) of Nutellex

1/2 cup brown sugar

2 organic egg yolks

1 tsp of vanilla bean paste (though extract/essence is completely fine)

1/2 cup whole raw almonds

1/3 cup of walnuts

1 cup of good quality apricot jam

* In a large mixing bowl sieve the flour and salt together and set aside.

* In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment (or hand beater), beat together the brown sugar and Nutellex on a medium speed until the mixture is pale and fluffy, about 2-3 minutes.  Add the egg yolks one at a time followed by the vanilla and mix on a medium speed for 1 minute.  Reduce the mixer speed to low and gradually add the flour mixture.  Remove bowl from mixer, cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for an hour.  This recipe does not contain the usual butter so it is not as vital to refrigerate as the mixture will remain sticky, doing so just makes it a little easier to roll into balls.

* Preheat oven to 180 degrees.  Place almonds and walnuts on a baking tray covered with baking paper and roast for 10 minutes or until golden and fragrant.  Remove from oven and leave to cool.  Once cooled chop nuts until just thicker than almond meal.  I like doing this process by hand as it gives the cookies a different texture, however, blitzing them in a food processor is a faster option.

* Remove the dough from the refrigerator.  Using approximately 1 1/2 teaspoons of mixture roll into small balls using your hands.  Dip each ball into the chopped nut mixture and then place on a baking tray lined with baking paper.  Space each cookie approximately 2 1/2cm apart.

* Using the tip of your ring finger, make an indentation into the middle of each cookie, pushing almost through to the baking tray.

* Bake the cookies for approximately 10 minutes or until starting to golden.  Remove baking tray from oven and using two spoons carefully spoon small amounts of jam into the indentation holes in the cookies.  Return cookies to oven for approximately 4 minutes or until golden.  Then remove again from oven and cool completely on tray before transferring to a wire cooling rack.

Fresh out of the oven.

Rustic Spaghetti Meatballs

Today we had dinner guests.  We had friends staying with as they passed through town from a Summer festival on their way back home.  They arrived unshowered, full of "festival food" (apparently this is a mix of satay sticks, nachos and over-priced drinks) and had spent the last 10 hours driving in a badly air-conditioned car.  Safe to say they were keen for a big feed - and no other country quite gets that 'home comfort' food like the Italians.

So another savoury one for you today - Rustic Spaghetti Meatballs.  These guys are super super delicious!  The secret.. the zest of one lemon and a good handful of chopped fresh parsley.

Rustic Spaghetti Meatballs

Meatballs

500g Organic Beef Mince

2 eggs

1 tsp Dried Basil Leaves

Rind of one lemon

1 tbs of lemon juice

3/4 cup breadcrumbs (I used 3 slices of gluten free bread and crumbled it by hand)

A good handful of parsley (about a quarter of a bunch)

Salt and Pepper to season

1 tbs Olive Oil

1tbs Butter

Sauce

1/2 red onion, diced

4 cloves of garlic

700g Passata Tomato Sauce

Salt and pepper to season

A packet of dried spaghetti

Parmesan and extra chopped parsley to serve

In a large mixing bowl combine the mince, eggs, basil, lemon rind and lemon juice and mix well with your hands.  It should feel quite wet and gooey - I love this part - I love working with my hands when cooking!  Add the breadcrumbs and the fresh parsley and stir until just combined.  Set aside in the refrigerator for 30 minutes or until the mixture has chilled.

Remove from fridge and roll into small balls and set aside- I tend to make mine on the slightly smaller side as it produces more meatballs and takes less time to cook.

In a large frypan heat the oil and butter.  Cook your meatballs in batches making sure that they are brown all over before removing them from the heat and placing on a plate covered with paper towel.  Meanwhile fill a medium saucepan with salted water and bring to the boil.  Once boiling add your spaghetti and cook for 8 minutes, stirring frequently so it doesn't stick.

Meatballs after being cooked waiting to be added to the tomato sauce.

Once all of your meatballs have cooked, return the frypan to the heat and saute the onion and garlic until clear.  Pour in the Passata sauce and bring to a simmer before returning the meatballs to the sauce and cooking for approximately 10 minutes.  Drain pasta and put in a big serving bowl.  Pour meatballs and tomato sauce on top. Season with salt and pepper.  Serve with extra parsley and shaved parmesan cheese.

The Humble Crouton

So day two strikes and how do I tackle it?  With the humble crouton.  The delicious little chunks of bread found in soups and Caesar salads all over the world.  But I wanted to do something different to jazz up my salad this evening.  So here are three different recipes for croutons - and one is gluten free!

Garlic Croutons - my personal favourite!

Using a bread knife slice up a baguette into pieces about half a centimetre thick.  Place slices without overlapping onto a non-stick baking tray.  Cover with a good drizzle of good quality olive oil - enough to make sure that each crouton gets at least a little.  Then cut a head of garlic in half and scatter amongst the croutons - to get a really strong taste try squashing garlic cloves onto a chopping board with the back of a knife.  Place in an moderately hot oven - between 180 and 200 degrees and let them toast in there for about 10 minutes or until crunchy.  Leave to cool on tray.

Brown Butter Croutons

Same as above in preparing the bread.  Brown a good dollop (at least a tablespoon) of butter in a saucepan on high heat and allow the butter to change from a yellowy colour to brown.  This process is called browning the butter.  Doing this makes the butter have a more nutty and solid flavour.  Place croutons in the butter and toss quickly to make sure they are covered on both sides - they will absorb the butter very quickly!  Allow to cook slightly in the pan before removing croutons and placing them on a non-stick pan.  Repeat this step enough times to cover and cook all your croutons.  Sprinkle croutons with Herbs De Provence Sea Salt - a mix of salt, thyme, rosemary, basil, tarragon, lavender and fennel (you can get this at most supermarkets or at specialty food stores).  Bake croutons in a moderately hot oven - between 180 and 200 degrees for 10 minutes or until browned and crunchy.  Leave to cool on tray.

Gluten-Free Croutons with Sea Salt

When I make anything gluten-free I try to find great products.  Gluten-free baked goods have a reputation of tasting and having the texture of cardboard - if you do a little research and are happy to spend a few extra dollars there are some great gluten-free alternatives out there!  For this recipe I used Lifestyle Bakery's White loaf.  Rip up approximately 6 slices of the bread into smaller chunks and place on a non-stick baking tray.  Cover bread with good quality olive oil and a very generous pinch of coarse sea salt and dried rosemary.  Place the tray in a moderately hot oven - approximately 180 to 200 degrees for approximately 15 minutes or until golden.  My experience with gluten-free croutons is that they tend to take a little longer in the oven - so keep an eye on them!

Tonight I had the Brown Butter Croutons with a very basic and thrown together Caesar Salad.

Basic Casear salad with Brown Butter Croutons.

2014 The Year of "What Liz Ate"

Happy New Year!

I hope that your 2013 was filled with great food, strong coffee, grand adventures and wonderful company.  My 2013 was filled with just that.. I started this website and sharing my food experiences, found fantastic cups of coffee in over 20 different cities in three different countries and shared all this with my beautiful family and friends.

So how can 2014 top that? With a new post every day.. Yes.. You read correctly. I'm giving myself the challenge of a new post everyday for 365 days.  New recipes, trialled recipes from cookbooks and well known chefs and cafe/product reviews are coming your way, everyday! It's going to be a year of "What Liz Ate".

So what makes this blog different to others out there? Well firstly it's going to be all Australian and focused on seasonal and organic product.  I am going to take on the challenges of the food-challenged (intolerances) as well as vegetarian and vegan recipes.  I am going to hold dinner parties every month with new recipes and share my finds with those around me.

I'm also taking requests - is there a recipe you want me to try?  Or something that you just can't seem to get right?  Or a cafe you recommend? Leave me a comment and I will try and get to it!

So where should we start - it is the first day of 2014. Day One of this project..

Just something simple for the New Year:

Vegeroni Spiral Pasta - yum yum!!!

Vegeroni Spiral Pasta with Chilli Tuna and Olives
Serves 2

200g (approximately half a packet) of Vegeroni Spiral Pasta (you could easily use regular pasta)
1/2 Red Spanish Onion finely sliced
1tbs Olive Oil
180g Can of Chilli Tuna (I use Sirena Tuna)
100g Grape Tomatoes halved
10+ Olives (I used a mix of green and black)
100g Danish Feta
Salt and Pepper to taste


Fill a medium saucepan with water and a pinch of salt and bring to the boil.  Meanwhile in a small frypan lightly saute the onion in the olive oil until cooked, remove from heat.  Once water is boiling pour in the pasta and give it a quick stir.  The pasta will take about 6 minutes to cook - though this can vary depending on the type of pasta you use so make sure you check regularly.  Once cooked, remove from heat.  Using a colander drain pasta and return to saucepan.  Add the onion, tuna, tomatoes and olives to saucepan and stir until combined.  Season well with salt and pepper.  When ready to serve crumble the feta on top of pasta.

Bon Appetit!

Marshmallows are Sticky Business!

So like many foodies, I see a cookbook or a magazine and before I know it it has made it's way into my carry bag and having coffee spilt on it while I indulge in every recipe from the ingredients list through to it's storing instructions.  I saw this recipe in the "Gourmet Traveller; Annual Cookbook 2013 Collectors Edition" I picked up earlier in the week while grocery shopping.  My ritual for new books and magazines is to wait until I have enough time to be able to read large chunks of glorious pages at a time.  Last Wednesday I had the day off -- perfect! I packed it in my handbag and walked down to my local coffee shop and I slowly made my way through all 250 pages of delicious sounding recipes and mouth-watering photographs.  I write down all the recipes I want to try and ideas I get while I turn all the pages in a little notebook - safe to say this book is already overflowing with ideas and things I want to try.

Homemade Vanilla Marshmallows

Before Wednesday I had never made marshmallows before.  As of Wednesday I now know that I might not be making them terribly frequently.  Though the recipe is delicious and not particularly hard to whip together - the mixture is SO incredibly sticky.  I am still finding sticky sections on the kitchen benches 3 days later!!  The recipe for the marshmallows actually comes from a larger recipe for "Dolce de Leche Marshmallow Biscuits", a 'love child of the Spanish alfajore and the good old Wagon Wheel'.

So what I have for you is a wonderful recipe that I recommend you to try.  I am certainly and going to try and make them again as they were delicious - I'm just going to factor in that they take three times longer to clean up as they do to make! I have taken the recipe out of the magazine and added a few little tips that I found useful while whipping them up (my tips will be in red) - Enjoy!!

Marshmallows - Gourmet Traveller, 2013 Annual Cookbook

2 tsp liquid glucose
375g castor sugar
3 egg whites
9 titanium-strength gelatine leaves, soaked in cold water for 5 minutes
Seeds from one vanilla bean
Icing sugar for dusting
200g dark chocolate - optional

To start with, I recommend getting all the ingredients ready and measured before even starting heating anything up.  Depending on your cooktop you could find yourself with a very hot sugar syrup and egg whites still snuggled up with the yolks in the fridge!

• Stir the liquid glucose, 250g of sugar and 100ml of water in a small saucepan over a medium-high heat until sugar dissolves.  Bring to the boil and cook until sugar syrup readers 118°C on a sugar thermometer (if you don't have a sugar thermometer then wait until the sugar syrup starts to boil with very thick bubbles - it then has another 5 or so minutes before it reaches 127°C). 
• When syrup reaches 118°C, whisk egg white and a pinch of salt with an electric beater until soft peaks form, then gradually add remaining sugar and whisk until glossy (to test whether it has been whisked enough, rub a small amount of mixture between two fingers it should be smooth and not grainy).  Continue cooking syrup until it reaches 127°C.
• Squeeze excess water from gelatine, stir into syrup, then gradually add syrup to egg white mixture, whisking continuously on medium speed.  Add vanilla seeds and whisk at high speed until mixture is cool and thick (10 minutes) (This is the super sticky part.  Gelatine is kind of like a cooking glue, as you are mixing it it sticks to itself as the beaters go around and around gradually picking up more and more mixture - if you don't keep an eye on it before you know it the marshmallow mixture is up onto the top of your hand mixer and slowing taking over your arm.  Beat on an angle and move the mixer up and down to stop this from happening). 
• Spoon into a 20cm x 30cm cake tin lined with baking paper, smooth top with a wet rubber spatula and stand at room temperature until set (approximately 2 hours). Turn out of tin and cut into desired shape with a biscuit cutter dipped in icing sugar (I used a small love heart).  Coat marshmallows in icing sugar.  If desired melt chocolate and allow to cool before dipping or coating the marshmallows.

They will keep for up to a week in an airtight container at room temperature.