Category Archives: recipe

A list of things I’ll eat at Regional Flavours, Brisbane

You may remember that I recently spent a weekend gorging myself on the best produce, meals and drinks that Brisbane and the Lockyer Valley have to offer, all in the name of research for the Regional Flavours event, held at Southbank Parklands in Brisbane.

I am pleased to say that the festival is this weekend, and I will be in Brisbane from this Friday evening until Sunday – ostensibly to attend an industry dinner with my husband and to celebrate my birthday week – but we all know it’s to eat my way through Regional Flavours, right?
Here’s a little list of deliciousness that I’m planning on eating and drinking at Regional Flavours 2016:
QLD pork belly and black garlic dumplings with XO sauce from Stokehouse at River Quay

Crumbed Mozzarella with local thyme-infused honey from Popolo at River Quay

Chocolate macarons from Aquitaine Brasserie at River Quay

Fresh pumpkin dishes fresh from the Lockyer Valley at The Picnic Patch

The very freshest fruit, vegetables and condiments from the Producer Showcase – berry me up!

And of course, a flight (or three) of excellent James Squire beers at The Hunting Club
If that little taster (see what I did there?!) has whet your whistle for a weekend of amazing food and drink – as well as celebrity chef features, edible garden treats food trucks galore and just a really supportive environment for people who like to eat their way through life – pop over to the Regional Flavours website (here) to check out the final program and plan your visit and if you see me hanging suspiciously around near the Food Trucks, come say hello. My mate Brooke of Blonde Ambition will also be cruising through Regional Flavours, so there’s a red hot chance you’ll find us both entertaining a crowd with some top-notch karaoke at The Hunting Club at some point!

Regional Flavours is on this Saturday 16 and Sunday 17 July 2016 from 10am to 5pm at Southbank Parklands, Brisbane. The Hunting Club will open 4pm to 7pm on Friday, 15 July and 10am to 7pm on 16 and 17 July. Parking in the area will be limited so your best bet is to catch a train, bus or CityCat.

Stretching it out – my 34th birthday festival

There are so many benefits to a belated birthday celebration. I don’t know about you, but I always feel very pressured and overwhelmed when I have to see all my loved ones (family, friends, colleagues, etc) in one day. It’s intense and there’s a lot of expectation on the birthday girl to be ‘on’ all day long, and be sweet and appreciative.

Honestly, it’s hard for me, and it’s a horrid feeling being ungrateful and wanting to just be alone or curled up on the couch with my husband while everyone has already decided that you’re going to have a great and super-social day… which brings me to the awesomeness of having belated birthday celebrations with family and at workplaces.

My birthday is right smack in the middle of July, which means that I was mighty surprised on the 17th of JUNE when my colleagues at school started singing Happy Birthday one lunch time in the staff room, and brought out cake, lollies and cinnamon scrolls! Turns out my boss (who basically hired me to organise him better, haha!) had incorrectly told the team it was my birthday and put the girls to work making me a spread of sweet treats. There was even a double layer chocolate cake with blue cream, chocolate frosting and popping candy on top!

A very merry un-birthday, indeed!

Fast forward to mid-July, and after this very surprising and early start to the birthday celebrations, I was lucky enough to have the actual day off work with my husband and we spent a very relaxing day together – with a surprise flower delivery YAY – and dinner out at a special restaurant that we love visiting for fancy occasions.

I received the prettiest Columbian roses from BB

A stroll with BB and Stevie down to the park and lake was perfect for a quiet birthday afternoon.

My mother-in-law’s floral-giving game is strong!
Cheers to 34 – it’s going to be an amazing year!

The day after my birthday I worked at school, and the team outdid themselves again, providing MORE sugar in the form of a donut cake and lollies. Here in the Health and Physical Ed department, we are all for upending the healthy food pyramid!

The Sports Department really does shine when it comes to providing excessive quantities of sugar. We’re all about healthy living here, folks!

I was spoilt with birthday messages from my Lorna Jane colleagues all week, then when I finally worked there after 12 days away… the girls threw me a mini-party. I figured that since I was going to be scoring awesome presents (and yes, I knew beforehand that they’d go the easy option and choose something pineapple-ish), I should provide a cake. And not just any cake, but a very MNB cake.

Stripes and sweets with my adorable LJ girls xox

I had an Orgran chocolate cake mix floating around the pantry and after reading the ingredient list, I knew it would be perfect for a team of health-conscious young women who are all about finding balance between green smoothies and salted caramel macarons.

I whipped it up late the night before, and it was as easy as a packet cake mix can be. There were instructions for both regular and vegan (egg-free) versions of the cake. I’m all about protein and taste, so I went for the add-egg option.

Even the mixing bowl was smiling at me for my birthday!

Gluten free, 97% fat free, dairy free, yeast free, egg free and can be made suitable for vegans.

The cake was a hit at work with the bliss-ball-loving crew, and even me (the sweetest tooth of them all) enjoyed a nice big wedge.
The best part of my birthday is that it’s not even over yet! I’ve still got gorgeous friends to catch up with to celebrate, and there will surely be more wine and treats on the cards.
Do you like to stretch a birthday celebration out, or get it over and done with quickly?

The big freeze – slow cooked shredded beef taco recipe

If you’re anywhere in Australia and have watched the news over the last few days, you’ll know that apparently there’s a gigantic cold trough moving up from Antarctica, ready to freeze us all.

(Sidenote: the next weather reporter who says Antarctica without the first C will possibly be responsible for me through the remote through the tv screen. Just sayin’.)

Since it’s going to be ugg boots on, stay in pyjamas all day kinda weather, I think there’s a red hot chance that we’ll pull our new slow cooker out. And once that happens, there’s an even greater chance that we’ll be enjoying Slow Cooked Shredded Beef Tacos.

I first saw this recipe over at Fat Mum Slim, and it was the first slow cooked meal I’ve ever cooked (Yes, my husband was aware that finely tuned domestic skills weren’t on my resume when we married.) I love this meal because it cooks away all day in the slow cooker, makes the house smell amazing and festive, and then comes together in no time, with the simplest of ingredients. And by ‘comes together in no time’, I really mean that. Because there’s nothing worse than deciding on a slow cooked meal for dinner, but it’ll take 8-9 hours to cook… when you only decided at 1pm.

I am loving our new slow cooker too, and trying to use it at least once a week. It’s an upgrade from our previous smaller appliance, and this new Russell Hobbs one is great! It’s a hefty 6L, and is designed so that you can brown meat in the removable cooking pot on the stovetop, then transfer the pot into your slow cooker. (Less washing up will always get my vote!)

SLOW COOKER BEEF TACOS (adapted a teensy bit from Fat Mum Slim)
{Makes 12 Tacos}

INGREDIENTS
For the beef
800g chuck steak (in one piece)
1 cup passata (tomato puree)
1 cup beef or chicken stock (can use water if you’re out of stock)
2 tsp paprika
2 tsp ground cumin
Pinch of chili powder
1 tsp sea salt

For the Lemon/Lime Sour Cream
½ cup sour cream
Juice of 1 lime or lemon
1 tsp salt

To serve
12 soft or hard tacos
Shredded cabbage
Shredded iceberg lettuce
Coriander leaves or any other toppings you like

METHOD
Place the beef {make sure you keep it whole}, spices, salt, passata and stock in the slow cooker.

This slow cooker pot is the cats pyjamas. Super easy to use on the stove or in the slow cooker, and washes up like a dream!
Cook on high for 4-5 hours or until the meat easily shreds.
Prepare the fillings including the lemon/lime sour cream by combining the sour cream, salt and lemon or lime juice in a small bowl.
Remove the steak from the slow cooker, shred on a chopping board then place in a serving bowl.
Top with about ½ a cup of the remaining cooking liquid to moisten the beef (be careful… this liquid will stain white plastic spoons and all fabrics!)
Warm the tacos according to the packet instructions.
Lay out all the ingredients, let everyone assemble their own and tuck in!

For our first slow cooker night, I set the table with some new PartyLite Discovery votives, colourful Mexican servingware and tablerunners, and coral roses (of course). It was an easy and fun way to make a regular weeknight meal special!

What’s your go-to slow cooker meal? I really want to expand my repertoire and try some different (yet easy) recipes!

Homemade Creamy Chicken Ravioli – it’s easier than you’d think!

Pasta is my happy place.

Yes, I know that lots and lots of women say this, but it truly, rooly is. My husband works away often, and when I’m cooking for one, 99 percent of the time, I make myself pasta. It’s filling and full of carbohydrates which I need to eat regularly to function. Don’t believe me? Keep bread, potatoes and pasta away from me for a week, and I’m a mess.
For convenience, most often I use bought dried pasta, but I occasionally make my own pasta, as it’s incredibly easy and quite therapeutic. One of these days I’ll actually make enough to freeze and then I’ll be super-organised-housewife of the year.
This is a pasta and sauce recipe which I adapted from a whole lot of others, so I can assure you that you can’t go wrong with pasta and filling… just throw in whatever you like!
Basic Pasta Dough
serves 3-4 (Or two, if you’re hungry people. I won’t judge your portion size.)
200g white flour (I prefer to use 00 pasta flour)
pinch of salt
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1 tbsp olive oil
Sift together the flour and salt onto a work surface and make a well in the centre with your fingers. Pour the eggs and oil into the well, then using the fingers of one hand, gradually mix the flour into the liquid.
Knead the dough on a lightly floured bench until it is completely smooth. Wrap in clingwrap and leave it to rest for 30 minutes (if it’s hot where you are, pop it in the fridge on the top shelf). If you’re filling the pasta (ravioli, tortellini, etc), then jump on down to the filling and sauce recipe below. If not, then roll the pasta out through a pasta machine a few times, starting with the widest setting and finishing with a finer setting. How thin you like your pasta rolled out is completely personal preference, the Italians won’t chase you down and shake their rolling pins at you.
Yes, I have a pretty red pasta machine. My husband is awesome like that.
Creamy Chicken Ravioli

1 quantity Basic Pasta Dough
115g cooked chicken breast, coarsely chopped
55g cooked spinach
55g prosciutto, coarsely chopped
handful of basil leaves, torn roughly
1/2 cup grated parmesan (NOT the powder stuff, although that has a special place in my kitchen)
pinch of nutmeg
2 eggs, lightly beaten
flour for dusting
300ml cream (regular, pouring, whatever floats your boat)
2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
115g sliced mushrooms (I like Swiss Browns because they look cute)
salt and pepper
Place the chicken, spinach, prosciutto and half the basil  into a food processor and pulse until completely chopped and blended. Transfer to a bowl, stir in 2 tablespoons of the cheese, the nutmeg and half the egg. Season with salt and pepper.
Tasty layered ingredients, then…
… whiz bang – it’s all green and mushed!
Divide the pasta dough in half. Roll one piece out using your pasta machine or rolling pin (go muscles!), cover with a damp tea towel and roll out the other piece of dough to approximately the same size. I often use a ravioli press, but today I decided on cookie cutters because I wanted round ravioli. Place small mounds of filling, about 1 teaspoon each, in rows 4 cm apart on a sheet of dough. Brush between the mounds with the remaining egg. Lift the second sheet of dough on top of the first, and press down firmly between the pockets of filling, pushing out as many air bubbles as you can. Use your cookie cutter or a pizza wheel to cut the ravioli into individual pieces.
Your ravioli does not, I repeat, does NOT need to look round and even.
This is not MasterChef, people. This is dinnertime.
Bring a large saucepan of water to the boil. Add the ravioli in batches, return to the boil and cook for five minutes. Remove with a slotted spoon and drain on paper towel, then transfer to a warmed dish.
Meanwhile, pour the cream into a frying pan, add the garlic and bring to the boil. Simmer for 1 minute, then add the mushrooms and half the remaining cheese. Season to taste and simmer for 3 minutes. Stir in the remaining basil, then pour the sauce over the ravioli. Sprinkle with the remaining parmesan, garnish with extra basil if you’re fancy – I’m not – and serve to ravenous people.
Serve with wine. Wait, what am I saying? Serve every home-cooked dinner with wine.

Do you make homemade pasta? Or are you of the opinion that it’s more hassle than it’s worth? Can I change your mind?