September | 2012 | girl in a food frenzy

The Keen Bean…

These lovelies are hearty, healthy and keep your insides happy…what’s not to love!

I love these beans! They’ve made a guest appearance on the menu of late, in the form of this Ribollita and currently star on our breakfast plates at home as these, Home Style Baked Beans.

It’s a great recipe to make ahead as you can presoak the beans overnight to make the next morning. You could make it with pre brought beans from a can, then add the condiments and cook for the next day slow cooker moment perhaps? Any impromptu camping or fishing trips ahead? Imagine pulling some of these out of the zip locked bag and eating your fancy beans under the starts, sigh, blissful moments are made of this!

Whichever way you eat these or cook these Home Style Baked Beans, you’re sure to appreciate the authentic BBQ tang. Free to omit the salty prosciutto and (substitute your other favourite flavours.) For me though, I’m going to crown my bowl with an ooezy egg, some golden brown spuds and I’ve got brunch fit for a queen or this girl

Like this, you might want to see:
Easy Breakky Marmalade
Stewed fruit baked with toasted muesli
Bubble & Squeak

17 comments

September 27, 2012

Slap it with honey and let’s call it lunch…

Time to bake?

How about some soft, fluffy, yeasted rolls, with the addition of some caraway seeds and fennel seeds for their fragrance? Often or not, I find that enriching the dough with a little butter and some eggs, adds a nice texture and airiness to the batter, so let’s do that too…

I’ve often described my breakfasts as lazy. By this I mean slow, because by the time I wake up (often after a late night shift at the theatre) it might be towards mid morning and I’ll probably be more inclined to lunch. If I’m smart enough (which I’m often not) I might remember to mix a little starter dough the night before so that I can let the yeast do all the work whilst I snooze, only to have freshly baked goods the next day.

Actually, this might be the only way I can actually have freshly baked goods at all, aside from heading out to buy them of course! But who doesn’t want to make their neighbors jealous with the smell of yummy goods

The recipe is definitely adaptable. Don’t like caraway seeds? Then substitute for some oats, or walnuts. Can’t have nuts? Then how about some fruit in the form of sultanas or dried figs (which would be lovely with blue cheese in place of the cheddar of course!)

If you’d prefer not to do the slow rise overnight and just want to make up something quickly, by all means there are a plethora of muffin recipes, some here, but to be truthful this is far more similar to a soft, eggy roll that you might find in those Asian bread shops.

ready for the close up Mr DeMille…

So in short, here’s a slow rise, yeasted roll with 3 seeds best topped with some crumbly cheddar and drizzled generously with honey. That’s right, we’re going to slap these with honey and call it lunch!

Like this, you might want to see:
The Plastic Bag Bread
Spring Onion Pancakes
Fruit & Nut Pastry Scrolls

31 comments

September 25, 2012

Snap, Crackle & Pop part II

There aren’t too many meals out there which can bring a grown man to his knees. Though one of these, might just be a Pork Belly roast.

Glistening jewels of juicy pork, braised apples & fennel and the crisp crunch of the snap, crackle & pop when you bite into the perfect pork crackling. Ok, it’s enough to bring even me to my knees!

It’s a simple love story of a Pork Belly married with apples & braised fennel. Lovingly put to bed for a few hours after which, the said ingredients magically meld and become a caramelised braise and crunchy mass of goodness!

Tell me, is this the kind of meal that could bring you to your knees too…

Like this, you might want to see:
Pork Meatballs with roasted tomato & chilli sauce
BBQ pork ribs with cocoa spice rub
Braised Ham Hock with Cider

34 comments

September 24, 2012

Brunch crostini platter & frenzy free weekends!

Happy Weekend everyone! Woke up this morning full of energy. A perfectly sunny day with not much to do. By this I mean no more moving, no cleaning or tidy ups of the old apartment and no boxes left to unpack hurrah!

So it’s time for a few favourite tunes in the background, a strong cup of tea and a cook-a-thon! To kick off a few of the recipe ideas in my head, I’ve decided on something quick and frenzy free for breakky today!

Even better, there are a few ingredients here which you probably already enjoy, but perhaps not in this combination. I’m hopeful that you’ll get to try these crostini soon and revel in these simple yet tasty flavours.

Crostini:
You’ll need some olive oil and a nice crusty bread (or sourdough) for the crostini,

Drizzle the bread with olive oil before grilling or toasting, be as frugal or generous as you like. Toast until ultra crisp and golden brown, the firmer the better as it will hold the toppings without getting too soggy later on.

1) Homemade Za’atar, greek yoghurt & olive oil crostini,

My version of the Home made za’atar mix includes Coriander seeds, Fennel seeds, Caraway seeds and Sesame seeds. Along with some good quality sea salt and cracked pepper you’ve got a pretty close substitute. Optional You can smash up the za’atar mix in a mortle & pestle or use as is, hint I find rubbing the mixture in a brown paper bag helps to release those aromas and break up the bigger spices.

Spread the Greek yoghurt generously onto the crostini and sprinkle lightly with the Za’atar mix and a drizzle of olive oil.

2) Smashed peas with lemon zest & Fetta crostini,

Take a handful of frozen peas blanched in hot water and drained. Add some salt & pepper, mix in and using a fork, mash with some grated lemon zest. Lastly spread on the crostini and serve with the crumbled Fetta.

3) Glorious fluffy clouds of Ricotta spread thick on the crostini, topped with a generous drizzle of honey and sprinkle of cinnamon.

Hopefully all breakfast cravings have been cured…till next time!

Like this, you might want to see:
Ricotta Fritters-2 ways!
Crab cakes with corn, coriander & ricotta
Pancake Formulae

36 comments

September 19, 2012

The Faux Pho!

Here’s some gratuitous foodporn! lots of fresh, lovely flavours and a bit of time spent on the stove stop which frees you up to do other things. Perhaps there’s a book you wanted to read with that spare time when you weren’t cooking. Or a catch up phone call to your bestie whilst you chat and this pot simmers away!

It’s a bit of a Faux Pho, which you can find out a little more about here. A lovely braised beef dish in which that gorgeous lemongrass permeates every cube and oozes a fresh, vibrant, spicy flavour.

It’s not dissimilar to the Asian Master Stock but somewhat more nourishing and hearty in a way. Again you can mix up these flavours with rice, noodles and more veg, but when it comes to a braise, simple is always better I’d say.