For The Vegetarian Footballer In Your Life!

 

Yes, Yes You Are, CAPTAIN!

Vegetable, Sage & Parsley Gnocchi with Butter, Garlic & Pine Nuts

 

For The Gnocchi

I made a massive batch so I could snap freeze half for a different sauce in the future. The KEY to good Gnocchi is it needs to be light and fluffy not heavy like a dumpling. How to do that is to not overwork the dough, mix it with your hands gently and knead it gently.

 

Ingredients

 

3 kilos of potato, peeled, cubed and steamed.

3 Free range Eggs

1-2 Cups of 000 Flour

Extra Flour for rolling

1 Cup of Flat Leafed Parsley Chopped (Italian Parsley)

 

 



 

 

Once you have steamed the potatoes, lay them out on a tray and allow them to sit for a good 15 minutes to cool and to dry out. Then put them through a potato ricer. The good thing about a potato ricer is that it keeps the potato light and fluffy. If you don't have one, I would use a colander and push the potato through using a spatula. Mashing them is not a good idea as it seems to make the dough a lot heavier. 

 

 

In a very large bowl, add the potato, the cup of chopped parsley, three eggs and about a cup and a half of flour. I also added a good grind of black pepper.

 

 

Mix with your hands nice and gently to form a ball, this is when you will assess if you need more flour. If it is really sticky add some more as you go. Once it has come together in a nice ball, put on a floured bench.

 

Knead the dough not for long until the ball looks like below.

 

 

Cut dough into Quarters, each quarter you roll into long ropes about 1 inch thick and cut the dough into about 3 quarter and inch pieces, then place them on a lined tray.



 

Remember to be gentle with it. They are like light fluffy pillows.

 

 

I left mine out for an hour or so just to rest. Then I froze half of them on the tray, after they were frozen for a good few hours, I popped them into a freezer container for a later date. Half the Gnocchi will feed 4 large eaters ( Footballers)

 

They are so beautiful.

 

For the Sauce

 

Ingredients

 

Cup of Chopped Sage

Cup of Chopped Flat Leafed Parsley (Italian Parsley)

3 Large Cloves of Garlic Chopped

Cup of Toasted Pine Nuts

2 Punnets of Cherry Tomatoes Cut in Half

3 Zucchinis Chopped into uniformed pieces

75 grams of good Quality Butter

A Good First Pressed Extra Virgin Olive Oil

Salt and Pepper to Season

 

Now I made this in two batches, the reason I did that was so I could keep the Gnocchi light and fluffy without crushing it all together in one massive pot. But after doing it in two batches, I look back and think I probably could have done it in one.

You decide how you would like to do it.



 

Before you start you need to have a massive pot of well salted boiling water on the stove for the Gnocchi. In a separate large pan on a medium to high heat pop in half the butter and a really good splash of the olive oil. Use a good olive oil, it's about taste and you want that lovely fruity pepperyness from the oil.

Fry off half the garlic until translucent and then add half the zucchini. Cook on a medium high heat until the Zucchini has just become translucent as well. Add half the cherry tomatoes and half the sage. Give it a quick stir.

 

Gently place the half the Gnocchi into the salted boiling water, they only take 30-60 seconds to cook. They will sink to the bottom when you put them in. Once they start floating they are done. Use a slotted spoon as they come to the top and gently place them in the pot with the herbs and vegetables.

 

 

Gently stir them through the sauce, with half the parsley and add half of the pine nuts. Season to taste, lots of pepper and I used quite a bit of salt.

Serve Immediately.

 

Like I said, I did it in two batches that's why each measure is half of what is in the ingredients list. It was delicious. My Vegetarian Football Captain loved it!

The flavor is just lovely.

Enjoy!

Lasagne, Football & Red Velvet Cupcakes

Well its the end of the football season and I must say I am very sad. I have had such an amazing time being the Team Manager for My Chopper and Sons Footy Team! Can't wait for it to start again! I would have to say that my boys have spoilt me rotten with their love and it has been so much fun! The year has gone by so quickly and I have not had time to scratch myself, but I couldn't be happier. Saturday was our last presentations for our B Grade and our C Grade so I volunteered to do the dinner for my boys. Lets just say Lasagne and Red Velvet Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting is the way to a mans heart and I think I won the boys hearts. Yes they are spoilt :)

 I am really looking forward to watching our A Grade in the finals this weekend!

So now that I have a bit more time I should be getting some more recipes and stories out! No I have not dissapeared, just been busy.

I am loving life, man it's just so sweet at the moment, fingers crossed that it stays that way. My Gorgeous Husband, Beautiful Kids, what more can you ask for really!

I can't get the photo of the Red Velvet cupcake to be the right way up. This new layout on Blogger is confusing. This is a Martha Stewart Recipe and it is bloody sensational. Wen't down like a treat. Enjoy the recipe, thanks Martha, it is awesome!!!

Ingredients

2 1/2 cups cake flour (not self- rising), sifted
2 tablespoons unsweetened Dutch-process cocoa powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 1/2 cups vegetable oil
2 large eggs, room temperature
2 tablespoons red food color
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 cup buttermilk
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
2 teaspoons distilled white vinegar

Directions

1.Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line standard muffin tins with paper liners. Whisk together cake flour, cocoa, and salt.

2.With an electric mixer on medium-high speed, whisk together sugar and oil until combined. Add eggs, one at a time, beating until each is incorporated, scraping down sides of bowl as needed. Mix in food color and vanilla.

3.Reduce speed to low. Add flour mixture in three batches, alternating with two additions of buttermilk, and whisking well after each. Stir together the baking soda and vinegar in a small bowl (it will foam); add mixture to the batter, and mix on medium speed 10 seconds.

4.Divide batter evenly among lined cups, filling each three-quarters full. Bake, rotating tins halfway through, until a cake tester inserted in centers comes out clean, about 20 minutes. Transfer tins to wire racks to cool completely before removing cupcakes. Cupcakes can be stored overnight at room temperature, or frozen up to 2 months, in airtight containers.

5.To finish, use a small offset spatula to spread cupcakes with frosting.

Cream Cheese Frosting   Ingredients

8 ounces (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
12 ounces cream cheese, room temperature
1 pound (4 cups) confectioners' sugar, sifted
3/4 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Directions

1.Beat butter and cream cheese with a mixer on medium-high speed until fluffy, 2 to 3 minutes. Reduce speed to low. Add sugar, 1 cup at a time, and then vanilla; mix until smooth.

For The Love of Doughnut Babies!

Ingredients

7g Dried Yeast

3 Tablespoons of warm water

1 1/2 Cups of Luke Warm Milk

1/2 Cup of Castor Sugar

1 Teaspoon of Salt

2 Eggs

75g Butter Softened in little cubes

625g Plain Bread Flour + 3 Extra Cups for security purposes

Cinamon Sugar - 2 Cups of Sugar & 2 Tablespoons of Cinnamon

Sprinkle yeast over warm water and allow to sit until bubbly.

In a large bowl or in your mixer with the dough attachment add the yeast mixture, milk, sugar, salt, eggs, butter and half the flour. Mix on low for a few minutes. Scrape down the sides of the mixture and give it a good stir. Add in the remaining flour and mix on low until a dough forms. Now for the extra flour. I have modified this website recipe as it did not come together into a nice dough. I had to add 3 extra cups of flour to get it to come together. I also only used half the butter that they recommended. (I hate it when you google a recipe and it's not right, drives me batty!)

Place the dough in a bowl and cover. Allow to double in size. Then tip it out onto a floured bench, bash out all the air and roll it out like cookie dough. I had it at about 1cm thick. We used cookie cutters dipped in flour to make shapes. But Alex like the little doughnut men so we mostly used those. Keep the bits and pieces left over. I used them to test the heat of the oil and they were just as delicious also. Place them on a lined baking tray and allow them to proof until they puff up like the photo above.

Now for the frying. I used my electric Wok. It was excellent and a great way to keep the oil the right temperature about 175 degrees. I hovered mine between the 8 & 10 setting on the Wok. Use one of the test pieces and if the oil is bubbling away nicely round the edges your set. Once browned to golden on one side, flip them over with a slotted spoon and allow them to brown on the other. Pull them out, drain on absorbent paper and while still hot dump them in Cinnamon sugar. We used one cup of sugar to every tablespoon of Cinnamon.

They were delicious. I had Kids and Husband in toe grabbing them before I could even finish the next batch. Enjoy them!

Knife Skills

When it comes to children and cooking when is the right time to introduce them to a very sharp knife. I asked myself this question this morning when Alex wanted to help me make Bacon and Eggs. His interest in cooking with me has picked up in the last month or so and he is asking me every time I cook if he can help.

This morning I taught him how to use one of my chefs knives. I was nervous, as any mother would be. But he took it all very seriously. I showed him how to hold it, where the sharp bits are and how to carry it. I explained to him about how we clean up after cutting any meat and he washed his own knife and cutting board, under my supervision of course. He really surprised me. At 5 years old there are so many things his little hands can't coordinate yet, but he was quite skilled using a knife.

So I I will be introducing him to allot more things in the kitchen from now on. He's really building an appetite for cooking from what we are going to cook, picking the right produce at the supermarket and how we make it all come together for a lovely meal. So I will keep you updated from time to time on his progress as my Little Chef as I call him.

My next post is an amazing recipe I have been working on. Braised Ox cheeks in a red wine ragout on garlic mash. I'm having a dinner party on the 30Th of April that I am doing 4 courses for.

I have made the decision that posting from now on, due to the limited time I have with work and with children will not be as often as I used to but I want to maintain my food blog so I say it will be every six weeks or so. I hope you enjoy my recipes and continue to come back and have a look from time to time to see what I am up to. Thank you for stopping by.

Blackberry, Lime, Goats Cheese & Chocolate Crusted Baked Cheesecake

Seriously this is Bloody Awesome, So Yummy, Oh My Happy Aunt!

I took a standard baked cheesecake recipe and turned into something very special. As if baked cheesecake wasn't special enough.

It's not too sweet and not too sour..........it's just right!

Ingredients

1. 300g Plain Chocolate Biscuits
2. 100g Melted Butter
3. 2 x Punnets of Blackberries
4. 380g Cream Cheese
5. 120g Fresh Goats Cheese
6. 200g Caster Sugar
7. 1 Tablespoon of Cornflour
8. 3 Eggs
9. 2 Tablespoons of Lime Juice
10. Pinch of Salt
11. 400ml Sour Cream
    
    

Preheat your oven to 180c You will need an average size spring form cake tin. Line the base with a double thickness of aluminum foil, then with a layer of baking paper. Clip the spring form tin together with the base and fold the sides of the foil up the side of the pan. This will give you extra security for baking. Brush the insides with melted butter.

Crush the chocolate biscuits in a food processor until nice and fine. Then add the melted butter and process until well blended. Press the mixture into the bottom of the spring for cake tin evenly.

Beat the cream cheese, goats cheese and sugar in a mixer until soft and well combined. Add the cornflour and mix well. Then add the 3 eggs one at a time, mixing in-between each addition.

Add the lime juice, the pinch of salt, sour cream and one punnet of the blackberries. Mix well again, try and get the blackberries to squish a bit so it bleeds their beautiful colour into the mixture. Then just fold through the other punnet of blackberries.

Boil a full kettle of water ready to go. Pour the cheesecake mixture into the cake pan and spread out evenly.

Place the cheesecake into a baking dish lined with a tea towel. Pour enough boiling water into the baking dish to fill half way up the cake pan.

Bake for 50 minutes and then turn off the oven. Allow the cake to stay in the oven for another hour. Do not open the door!

Then take your cheesecake out of the oven and allow it to cool to room temperature. Remove the spring form tin. Refrigerate for a couple of hours or for best results overnight.

This is a cheesecake that does not need to be served with cream or any other embellishment. This one stands alone and proud.

Oh and delicious!!!!

A New Beggining

It has been 20 months since my last post. Where did the time go and what happened? Well you could say that life has taken over! Work has been an undeniable factor in the missing presence of my blog posts.

I've moved from one side of the country to the other. Now in Adelaide, South Australia, Food and Wine Country. So a food bloggers dream come true.

Work has taken over my life and I forgot about my blogging for a while, not because I don't love it but because it was getting to hard. I'll do it tomorrow, I'll get to it on the weekend, but no, I didn't get to it.

So my new years resolution is to go back to it, a new chapter in my life, a new beginning. Of course there is still work and being busy but I have vowed to get back to the old me and do the thing I love . I think I have grown in the last 20 months. I have perfected the Creme Brulee which I will share with all of you. I have achieved some amazing cooking milestones. Those recipes will come out through the next series of posts on this new beginning of mine.

I hope that you will all enjoy this next chapter in my blogging life. So I will see you soon with a new South Australian inspiration. With the amazing quality of food and wine here, the Central Markets one of the best food markets in Australia, the restaurants here, how could anyone not be inspired.

Cheers

Squishy

Mitch's Fish Part 2

I cooked Mitch's fish Asian style. I stuffed it with lemongrass, ginger, garlic, lemon slices, lime slices, chili and coriander. I topped it with lemon slices, lime slices, chili, coriander leaves, garlic, salt flakes, fresh ground pepper. Drizzled it with sesame oil and light soy.

Then I wrapped it in a double layer of foil and baked it for an hour on 180 degrees.

When it was unveiled in all it's marvelous glory the smell roamed through the house. It was amazing.

I served it with bokchoy that I lightly stir fried with ecshallots, sesame oil, soy sauce and oyster sauce. Heaven.


I served it on a bed of fragrant jasmine rice that I cooked in the rice cooker with a cup of shredded coconut. I topped the sweetlip with chopped chili, eschallots sliced fine and a little light soy. It was so moist and so delicious and just so refreshing. Not heavy but very satisfying. You will just have to wait and see what I do with the long nose fish.

This post is dedicated to Mitch and his beautiful fish :)

Mitch's Fish

Our friend Mitch went on a charter boat fishing for the last two days. Look what he brought home for us!!!!! One is a long nose snapper or sweetlip and the other one is a regular sweet lip........I think, I have a memory like a sieve sometimes. They were caught yesterday. How awesome is that. I would say they weigh about 4 kilos each. So what to do.......what to do with these amazing fresh fish. Well I am going to cook one of them whole and the other I am going to fillet. The sweetlip is going to be baked with some excellent Asian flavours. Mitch mentioned to me yesterday that I should cook them in an Asian style, so I will do justice to his amazing catch and do that for him. I am going to be honest I have never cooked a whole fish this big before, ohhh so scary, not as scary as making puff pastry from scratch but still scary. I will keep you posted on how the fish goes and what I do with them. Thank you very much Mr Mitch, you have a heart as big as Pharlap for thinking of us :)

Also I have not really been blogging for the last few months it's been so hectic and full on that I just honestly have not had the time. I have been meaning to I just have been extremely tired. So hopefully I can get back in the swing of things again. I hope everyone is safe and well.

Cheers

Squishy

Townsville is an Island

Today our trip to the supermarket was the worst we have seen in the past five days of the flooding. It is amazing how reliant you become on what they provide. Due to the constant rain and the horrific flooding Townsville is once more an Island. Today was quite frightening and we are not out of the woods yet. There is a low that just does not want to dissipate and these monsoon rains are now fully taking their toll. With king tides and more rain predicted this weekend, people have been warned to prepare for more flooding. In Charters Towers, locals asked for emergency supplies of food but ended up receiving 7 pallets of beer. Mind you alot of people probably enjoyed that LOL. You have to laugh otherwise you would cry. We have had 763 mm of rain.

It been has two weeks of one extreme to the other for me. Last week I was in Melbourne for training and the overwhelming heat wave was stifling. Looking at the drought ravaged land as I flew over Victoria nearly had me in tears. Then I come home last Friday to more rain than you can imagine and I wish I could push alot of it down to the thirsty Victorians and South Australians. Now with the Souths devastating bush fires, I ask the question??? What the Hell is going on????

Go and have a look at what is happening in my neighborhood click on the link Townsville Bulletin

My heart goes out to all of us during this time here in North Queensland and to the people in Victoria and South Australia. All of us are dealing with the most extreme weather and here's hoping this will subside soon.