Gels Kitchen Blog

Green Eggs And Ham

Have you seen Horton? I mean, have you really taken a long, good look at him? Beside the fact that he is the cutest animated elephant I have ever seen, he also manages to resemble Jim Carrey a bit. I have been eagerly awaiting the release of "Horton Hears A Who" for a while now. I will have to curb my excitement and continue waiting patiently for the DVD release as it is Nick's turn to take our firstborn to the movies while I babysit our little one. I have also been reading Dr. Seuss to my older son in the hope that he warms up to it and sees the hilarity it presents. Not yet though, I think he might not be old enough to grasp the madness that ensues in the books.

With Dr. Seuss so much in your face everywhere, it can become very hard to ignore it. So continuing along those lines I decided to do a dish which honors his stories, at the same time trying to entice my fussy eater to brave something out of the story book ..... "Green Eggs And Ham"!! It is a simple dish and has been done a million times before. But I believe that every person who cooks it can make it his own. I have used spring onions for the "green" and honey soaked ham for the "ham". I baked the eggs in the oven and then grilled them with the cheese browning on top to add crunch. They tasted just right, soft on the inside and browned on top with a dash of barbecue sauce.

GREEN EGGS AND HAM
[Prep Time : 10 mins/CT : 30 mins/Serves : 3]

Ingredients
4 eggs
1/2 cup honey soaked ham, finely diced
1/2 cup spring onions, finely sliced
1 small brown onion, finely sliced
1/2 cup mozzarella cheese, shredded
salt to taste
freshly ground black pepper
barbecue sauce to serve
olive oil

Method
Heat oil in a medium, oven proof frying pan on low. Swirl it around gently to coat. In a medium bowl combine eggs, onions, spring onions, ham, salt and pepper. Beat well. Pour into the frying pan. Cook for a minute till slightly set. Remove and sprinkle with cheese. Place in a preheated oven and bake for approximately 25 minutes at 160 ^oC. Remove and place under the grill for 5-8 minutes until browned on top.

Cut into wedges and serve hot with barbecue sauce.

Rose Petal Ice Cream

Note : I have decided to submit this entry to my first ever Weekend Herb Blogging hosted this week by Kel at Green Olive Tree. Thank you White On Rice Couple for directing me there and suggesting I enter!! Here goes ...

Roses grow in abundance in India. The concept of using fresh roses in cooking is probably as ancient as Indian cooking itself. A favourite ingredient to spike delicate desserts for the Rajahs and Maharajahs, rose; its aroma and flavour were explored by the Ayurvedics and Naturalists to concoct everything from plain rosewater for skin remedies to the fragrant "gulkand" [rose petal jam] to be used for stomach ailments. The fragrance of rose is unlike anything you will ever smell, it lifts you up and fills you with visions of beauty and etherealism.

When my summer garden exploded in roses this year, I started toying with the idea of using it to cook something unique. I gave rose jam a miss since I have plenty of that stocked in my fridge [and you should try it at your health store next time because it works miracles for your skin].

Dessert!! I thought. But what?

Every single dessert idea that popped into my head would need infusing with rosewater or making rose syrup. These sounded very superficial, tried and tested numerous times before. What i was looking for was more guttural, not just skimming the rose plant but exploiting the very essence of it ... its petals! Now what could I do with rose petals that would be totally fantastic?? Kulfi [a creamy, milk based Indian ice cream chockful of chopped nuts, delicately flavoured with saffron with a hint of rose], my mind suggested. No! admonished my heart. We want more flavour, we want more texture! Rose Petal Ice Cream would be perfect then, i decided. No artificial essences, no whiffs of fragrance. Just an abundance of pure rose petals through and through.

So I went to my garden and plucked two of the rosiest blossoms, one red and one baby pink. Then taking care so as to not destroy the stamens, I sat and began an exercise of "He loves me! He loves me not!" [well not really, but it felt like it when I was gently pulling out the petals]. Once the petals were plucked, I gathered the ingredients I would need. Within half an hour the ice cream mix was ready and cooling in the fridge. Later that evening I churned it in the ice cream maker and froze it for several hours. At night, just a day after the roses began their journey to the ice cream maker, we had the most delicious ice cream that wove an exotic web between our senses, tantalizing us with the beautiful creamy and grainy texture of crushed nuts and the loving aftertaste of endless tiny crushed petal pieces.

ROSE PETAL ICE CREAM
[Makes 1 litre | Preparation Time 25 mins | Cooking Time 20 mins | Chilling Time 6-8 hours]

Ingredients
1 cup fresh rose petals
3 cups full cream milk
1 cup sweetened condensed milk
1 cup pouring cream
2 tbsp sugar
1 tbsp milk masala*
1/4 tsp cardamom powder
1/2 tsp grated orange rind

Method
Bring milk, cream, condensed milk, sugar and rose petals to a boil in a heavy bottomed saucepan. Add ground cardamom and milk masala. Blend with a hand blender. Mix well and set aside to cool in the fridge for 1 hour. Add orange zest and churn in an ice cream maker following the manufacturer's instructions. Alternatively cover with cling film and freeze in the freezer for 6-8hours. Garnish with fresh rose petals before serving.

I use the Everest brand for milk masala which is available in most Indian grocery stores. If you don't have milk masala at hand, try making it at home with 1tbsp slivered almonds, 1 tbsp pistachios, 1 tbsp unsalted cashew nuts, 1/4 tsp cardamom seeds and 7-8 strands of saffron. Assemble all ingredients in a mortar and pestle. Grind them well till the mixture reaches a couscous like coarseness.

Things I am loving right now - A foodoholic's list for March 2008.

Autumn is officially here since the onset of March. So while most of the rest of the world gets ready to pack away their woolens and potter out in their spring gardens, we in Australia are dreaming of chilly evenings and warming broths. I have a lot on my mind. Amidst infusing the blog with some design elements and improved photography, I am constantly browsing new cookbook releases and bargain hunting for interesting props to photograph with. I am also trying to venture out to our Thursday farmer's market eager to score some great fresh produce to cook with. On my list of things to do is acquire some prized Martin Boyd or Guy Boyd pottery, explore the new tea parlor at the mall and sample their endless treats, propagate some new rosemary cuttings from the overgrown bush in my garden and test out some more fun ice cream recipes before the chill really sets in. Some other things that have me excited ...

Piri Piri Starfish by Tessa Kiros
If you are a fan of Tessa Kiros and her brilliant books that warm your soul and draw you right in, then you can't miss her latest offering. Piri Piri Starfish, her latest book is about her experience in Portugal .... about family, old traditions, fresh food and slowing down your pace. The beautiful, duck egg blue toned cover with a picture of a glass with a fish sticking out just calls you to pick up the book. I had a browse at our local bookstore and have ordered my copy. I can't wait to explore it.

Produce Bible by Deborah Madison and Leanne Kitchen
Mine is named Grower's Market but is the same book. Produce Bible is a brilliant addition to your cooking library. It is an invaluable source of information with almost 200 recipes accompanying fresh seasonal produce categorised cleverly. Who knew that undressed, raw and totally natural food could look so good? The photography is brilliant!

Scalloped Edges
Scalloped edges have an old worldly charm about them .... whether it is a lace or a plate or just plain paper. I have been experimenting photographing with cute little Robert Gordon patty cases with polka dots and scalloped edges. They look very naughty! I also have a few dinner plates in solid colors with scalloped edges distressed with a dusting of gold. Very elegant, these make the simplest of dishes appear very special. So if you don't have scallops, get one today and feel the Victorian charm come over you.

Ramekins
I am thinking ramekins .... perfect for individual little serves of hot puddings and poached fruits topped with crumble. Ramekins are autumn's little helpers. Just like cupcakes, there is something very satisfying about having your own little dessert rather than digging into a communal plate of sweetness. I recently got some vintage Raynham pottery square ramekins in pastels. They make even the blandest of desserts [not that desserts are bland really] look gorgeous.

Artisan Bread
They are crackling, they are comforting and they are addictive. They make you want to explore more farmer's markets in the hope of finding more advanced textures and all sorts of wholesome nuts and grains embedded in their sourdough greatness. Artisan is such a wonderful word. Like the bread it is used to describe, I can't get enough of just rolling it off my tongue every chance I get. There are heaps of websites, dozens of books and even more blog excerpts on the joys of artisan baking. One could get lost in all the intriguing information. I would recommend Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day: The Discovery That Revolutionizes Home Baking and the blog Zoe Bakes. Artisan Baking and The Bread Baker's Apprentice: Mastering the Art of Extraordinary Bread are also worth checking out.

Maxwell & Williams - Stoneware that looks like cast iron
Can you say cute? On my day of retail therapy last weekend I chanced upon these gorgeous Maxwell & Williams oven ware in brilliant reds and muted blues. When I touched these Le Creuset wannabes with their pretty handles and cute lids, my heart skipped a beat! Could it really be, I asked myself? For they were not cast iron at all, but pottery at it clever best. The size, shape and tint would have you believe that it was a heavy, cast iron utensil. But it was light and extremely pretty stoneware at bargain price. I got 2 small red cocottes and a square baking dish. Another brand that I swear by for beautiful and elegant dinnerware is Casa Domani. See the lovely, handpainted Portofino pebble bowl and you will know why. I have been collecting exquisite pieces from their Chantilly and Baya range for a while.

A loaf of rustic Ciabatta does an antipasto platter make

It is the age of artisan breads. They are quite the rage among food bloggers all around the world. I too seem to have been bitten by the bug and want to badly to bake my own loaf, but more about that later. I scored a handsome, rustic ciabatta loaf at the organic farmer's market today. Yes the crust crackled and the yeasty loaf dusted with fresh organic flour was baked to perfection. Ciabatta [pronounced cha-BAT-ta] happens to be my favourite type of bread ever since I first had a chicken sandwich made using a mini version of this loaf at Deli France in Singapore. I love the shape, love the taste and don't even get me started on the texture..

I had been thinking about trying to assemble an antipasto platter for a while and this loaf was the perfect excuse to do so. When I got back home, I sawed off a few thick slices [ no perfect thin slices mind you, a loaf as rustic as this deserves to be eaten in a similar fashion ] and popped half of them in the oven after drizzling them with olive oil. The remaining half landed in a pan heating up slowly with a good dash of olive oil and a generous sprinkling of dukkah. I slowly pan roasted the bread making sure that the dukkah was nicely toasted and sticking to one side of the slice. The olive oil not only speckled the slice with nice bits of golden brown but also helped bring out the gorgeous aroma of the dukkah. While the slices were cooking, I thickly sliced some red capsicum and sent them to brown in the grill with a spray of canola oil. Taking multitasking to new heights [ I love this about assembling platters] I neatly diced some spring onion and chilli cream cheese and popped open a bottle of kalamatta olives. A trip to my backyard was fruitful in producing a handful of homegrown cherry tomatoes. Some seaweed crackers, carrot sticks and tatziki dip landed on the plate and I was good to go. The bread was pan toasted to perfection, the capsicum charred around the edges and heavenly. I also did another batch of pan toasted slices, this time with pizza sauce. Presto .... we had a delightful vegetarian antipasto for lunch.

The star of the show was the ciabatta and the stall I got it from belonged to Brasserie Bread. With a motto that says "honouring the traditions of artisan baking", Brasserie Bread specializes in sourdough organic baking and is the brainchild of Tony Papas of the Bayswater Brasserie fame in Sydney and Michael Klausen. Their fantastic range of sourdough breads is sheer delight and it is always a pleasure to shop at their stalls, chatting with their friendly staff.

Whisk & Pin Organic Blueberry Pancakes.

In 2007 I had my first taste of the "Whisk & Pin" products when I came across their stall at the 2007 Sydney Good Food & Wine Show. It is not everyday that you come across an artisan business that has become famous on muesli alone. Their handmade gourmet muesli and cookies have fast become a rage amongst serious foodies here in Australia. With a whisk and pin for a logo, the stress on organic handmade products and a fabulously simple yet kitsch packaging, owner Kerry Caloyannidis strikes all the right cords. I can rave about their organic muesli range till kingdom come but their baking mixes are what really gets my cooking juices flowing. I bought a couple of their organic baking mixes at the food show and have loved them. They are simple to make and have a subtly rich flavour riddled with spices and organic fruits. If you follow the instructions on their glazed white packaging to a T, you will end up with exactly what was promised to you, which is a great thing as most instructions on read-mixes don't know what they are talking about. Loved the scones, loved the cupcakes but the pancakes ... oh my, you should really try them. The Blueberry pancakes I made turned out to be light and fluffy, the texture just right and the taste so breakfasty. I topped them up with some gorgeous blueberries and maple syrup.

A buttercake called Mango ....

I have been baking for a few years now, but it wasn't until recently when I ate a gorgeous buttercake made by a neighbour that i realized the importance of using good quality, no skimping, golden wholesome butter. For health reasons and out of sheer laziness, I have been using margarine or spreads that call themselves butter, just so that I can start baking at the drop of a hat and not have to wait to soften the butter for the recipe. Yes, the cakes always turn out light and fluffy and yes, they are always cooked to perfection, but there is something missing. It is the rich homemade buttery taste that comes from using real butter. So, I decided to make a butter cake using real butter, but I wanted to try out something different from the same old boring butter cakes of the past. Browsing through the fridge I came across the mango puree left over from the mango and toasted coconut semifreddo and instantly made up my mind to make a mango butter cake. I googled it and didn't come across anything good, has no one out there ever tried out this delightful combination I wondered? So I settled on the sofa with my ever trusted copy of Donna Hay's "Modern Classics 2" and studied her butter cake recipe. After tweaking it mentally, I started assembling the ingredients. It was important to have the amount of liquid right, so I halved the milk and substituted it with mango puree. I also replaced vanilla essence with lemon and skipped the bicarbonate of soda, using more baking powder instead. I was quite happy with the result, finally a butter cake that was pure mango in the most basic sense ... no mango fillings, no mango toppings ... just plain buttery, mango flavour through each gorgeous browned crumb. [Note : I might substitute milk for buttermilk next time to try to enhance the sour tangy flavour of mango.]

MANGO BUTTER CAKE
[Serves: 8-10/Preparation Time: 15 mins/Cooking Time: 1 hour 10 mins]

Ingredients
1 1/2 cups plain flour, sifted
1 cup caster sugar
125g butter, softened
3 eggs
1/4 cup mango puree
1/4 cup milk
1/2 tsp lemon essence
1 tsp baking powder
pinch of salt

Method
Preheat oven to 150^oC. Combine all ingredients in a large bowl and whisk with a hand blender for 8 minutes until light and fluffy. Pour in an 8 inch square tin lined with non-stick baking paper. Bake for 1 hour and 10 minutes. Cool in the tin for 5-10 minutes before turning out and cooling completely on a wire rack.

More Notes : Go crazy with toppings and fillings if you may before serving but this cake deserves to be eaten as is and warm from the oven. I would even slice it, toast it and butter it some more for an extra kick.

Step By Step : How to make a traditional Pavlova

Step 1
Line a baking tray with baking paper. Mark a 23 cm circle onto the paper. Use a plate as a guide.

Step 2
Beat eggwhites until stiff peaks form or they hold their shape. Use a clean, dry bowl to beat eggwhites as any water or fat will reduce the volume of the eggwhites. Spoon the eggwhite mixture onto the circle.

Step 3
Using a palette knife or spatula, mold the eggwhite mixture to fit inside the circle.

Step 4
Make furrows or grooves along the sides of the circle. These will help support the pavlova and prevent it from cracking or collapsing.

My one occasional sin - Oaty Chocolate Caramel Slice

How many times have you overlooked those little pull-out cards accompanying a product advertisement in a cooking magazine? Well I have plenty of times, until one fine day last year I paused over one that caught my eye. It was a totally random occurrence and now when I think back, I am glad I did. The product was Nestle's dark chocolate bits and they had a recipe for "Chocolate Caramel Slice" featured on the card with a gorgeous photo of the most perfect slice I had ever seen. The inclusion of oats in the recipe sold it to me really fast, as I thought to myself "Ah well, a little bit of healthy breakfasty with a whole lot of sinful chocolatey and caramelly!!".

So, then I made it for a Playgroup breakfast one morning and it was a hit. I tweaked it a bit and tried it again for a barbecue get-together the following weekend. It was devoured in seconds. Then for a picnic lunch the following month and then one morning for no simple reason at all, since Nick kept asking when I was making it next. I have forgotten the countless times I must have made it since first laying an eye on that card which is now pinned to my recipe diary. It is simple and brilliant in its sinful taste. I am playing around with the idea of making it this week, since I haven't made these in a while. Just the thought of sinking my teeth through a well set, thin layer of dark chocolate to the gooey, buttery caramel and ending with an oaty, coconutty crunch is making my taste buds tingle.

OATY CHOCOLATE CARAMEL SLICE
[Makes 20/Prep Time : 20mins/Cook Time : 25 mins]

Ingredients
1 cup self raising flour, sifted
1 cup dessicated coconut
1 cup rolled oats
1/2 cup brown sugar
150 g butter, melted
350 g sweetened condensed milk
2 tablespoons golden syrup
30 g extra butter
200 g dark couverture chocolate, melted

Method
Preheat oven to 180ºC. Combine flour, oats, coconut, butter and sugar in a bowl. Mix well.

Press into the base of a 18cm x 28cm lamington/slice pan lined with non-stick baking paper hanging over the edge. Bake for 10 minutes until golden. Combine condensed milk, golden syrup and extra butter in pan and bring to a boil stirring constantly. Reduce heat, simmer for 5 minutes stirring until it reaches a light brown colour. Pour caramel over cooked base, return to the oven and bake for a further 10 minutes. Cool. Spread the melted couverture chocolate over the caramel filling in swirling motions. Chill in the fridge for at least 1-2 hours before slicing into neat squares.

Thai Pineapple Fried Rice : The textures and flavours

Nick loves Thai Pineapple Fried Rice, the singular thing on any thai menu that jumps out and calls out to his taste buds. It is a shame then that ever since moving to Sydney he has been searching in vain for a decent bowl of pineapple fried rice. Strange as it may seem, not all thai joints offer this simple delicacy. I remember back in Singapore we had dinner at a beautiful Thai restaurant called 'Parkway Thai' in Marine Parade. Not only did the gorgeous decor of gold figurines, bamboo lights and artistically cut fruit centerpieces delight us but we were thoroughly impressed with the friendly and sweet waitresses all clad in traditional garb. And then their pineapple fried rice served in a scooped out pineapple just exceeded all our expectations. I would love to go there the next time I am in Singapore and I am sure Nick wouldn't mind a taste of their fantastic fried rice.

So today with a hankering for this very simple yet special dish, I cooked a batch of fragrant jasmine rice early in the morning to be used later. Then I browsed Vatcharin Bhumichitr's "Vatch's Thai Street Food" for inspiration and did indeed find a recipe for 'Fried Rice With Pineapple' that called for dried black fungus mushrooms. Not entirely satisfied with the list of ingredients I persevered and delved into the "Australian Women's Weekly Thai" and "World Food Thailand by Judy Williams". After taking comfort in the fact that I could safely substitute the exotic mushroom with fish sauce without compromising the taste much, I was ready to begin. I assembled ingredients in two lots, one for the flavour and the other for texture. After seasoning my wok and smoking it on high heat, I had the pineapple fried rice ready in just under 10 minutes. Now isn't that simple?

THAI PINEAPPLE FRIED RICE [Serves 4/Prep Time : 1 hour/Cook Time : 10 mins]

Ingredients
2 cups fragrant jasmine rice [I use the golden umbrella brand]
2 1/2 cups water
1 tbsp ginger garlic paste
1 tbsp chicken stock powder
1 tbsp olive oil

1 cup frozen prawn meat
1 cup finely diced pineapple pieces
1 medium white onion, diced
1/4 cup finely sliced garlic chives
1/4 cup finely sliced spring onions
1/4 cup freshly chopped coriander leaves
1 tsp dried red chilli flakes
2 tbsp fish sauce
2 tbsp light soy sauce
1 tbsp sugar
1 tsp salt
1/4 tsp ground white pepper
1 tbsp oil

Method
Soak rice in water for 1/2 hour. Add chicken stock, ginger garlic paste and olive oil. Cook in a rice cooker. Set aside to cool.

Smoke a wok on high heat. Heat oil. Add onions and prawns and stir fry for 2-3 minutes till prawns are cooked and onions start turning golden. Add pineapple pieces, stir-frying for another 2 minutes till some of the pieces are singed around the edges. Add cooled rice, soy sauce, fish sauce, salt, sugar and white pepper. Stir-fry for 2 minutes, mixing well. Add garlic chives, spring onions, coriander and chilli flakes. Stir-fry for another minute. Remove from heat and serve hot.

Fast Stir-Fry for the kids : Spinach Fried Rice

Feeding my 4 year old is becoming more and more of a challenge with the ever looming dilemma of trying to sneak in healthy ingredients. Sometimes I wonder why he can't expand his mind's horizon beyond the noodles, yoghurt and cheese that he seems to have an unfaltering devotion for? What I have figured out is that he gets excited about colour and itty bitty little pieces. Doesn't make sense I know but that is the mind of a 4-year old for you. So one wet, dreary afternoon when I had enough of the goopy, mess of noodles that he seems to love for lunch everyday, I decided to give him something colourful and yep you got it .... with itty bitty little things in it. With rice leftover from dinner, my mind immediately thought of fried rice. With little wheels turning in my head, I started picking out colourful, nutritious ingredients from the fridge .... a cube of frozen spinach, some frozen green peas, a pork sausage, a carrot, spring onions, ginger garlic paste and egg. A quick trip to the pantry and I had soy sauce and chicken stock. Within 10 minutes I had a plate of steaming fried rice speckled with red and green.

The beauty of fried rice lies in the fact that it uses up leftovers and produces brilliant results ... a different one each time as you play around with what you throw into the wok. I find that using powdered chicken stock adds a very authentic salty chinese flavour to the dish without overcompensating on the soy sauce. I served it to him on a blue IKEA plate with a bright yellow fork. I think all the colours sold it to him and he was very excited. For once he acted upon his excitement and enjoyed the meal instead of pushing it around his plate.

SPINACH FRIED RICE
[Serves : 2/Prep Time : 5 mins/Cook Time : 5-8 mins]

Ingredients
2 cups cooked leftover jasmine rice
1 small pork sausage, finely diced
1/4 cup frozen green peas
1 small carrot, neatly diced
2 small frozen spinach cubes
1 egg, lightly beaten
1 tbsp chicken stock powder
1 tsp dark soy sauce
1 tsp ginger garlic paste
1/4 cup finely sliced spring onions
1 tbsp olive oil

Method
Heat oil in a wok on high heat. Add ginger garlic paste and stir fry for a few seconds. Add sausage, carrot, spinach and peas. Stir-fry for a minute. Add rice, soy sauce and chicken stock. Stir-fry for 2 minutes, mixing well. Push rice to one side in the wok and pour in the egg slowly on the other side, stirring rapidly till it resembles cooked scrambled egg. Mix it with the rest of the rice. Add spring onions and remove from heat. Serve hot.

Nick's Lamb Kofta Curry

For those of you who don't know Nick, he is my significant other and a good cook. He particularly enjoys picking up a cookbook and trying out a new recipe every once in a while. He was the one who introduced me to this lovely dish called "Parsi Egg" back when we were still at university. And he mastered the famous "Singaporean Chilli Crab" when we were living in Singapore. His "Paneer Bhurji" is to die for and he can dish out a mean "Lamb Kheema". But more about those later, because today I am about to share one of his latest experiments "Lamb Kofta Curry".

A couple of months ago I bought "The Food Of India" off ebay. It is a brilliant book and when I say brilliant, I mean it. It is hard to beat the authenticity of the recipes, the tastes of signature Indian dishes true to the versions dished out in restaurants in India on a daily basis. We have tried quite a few recipes from this book and they have never failed to satisfy our palates. Over the Christmas break, Nick had a hankering for lamb and wanted to do something different from the usual roasts and kebabs. A few minutes after browsing the book, he came into the kitchen a merry twinkle in his eye and told me that he was going to whip up something exciting. So off I went to put my feet up and wait. Within the hour delicious smells were tantalizing my taste buds and come lunchtime he had managed to lay out the table with a plate of Lamb Kofta Curry beautifully presented. Koftas are essentially meatballs and when gently simmered in a cream or yoghurt based gravy/curry become oh so tender and infused with the flavours of a million spices.

NICK'S LAMB KOFTA CURRY
Recipe courtesy 'The Food Of India' by Priya Wickramasinghe and Carol Selva Rajah
Serves : 4 | Prep Time : 30 mins + 2 hours to chill the koftas | Cooking Time : 1 hour

Ingredients for Kofta
500g minced lamb
2cm piece of ginger, grated
3 garlic cloves, finely chopped
2 green chillies, deseeded and finely chopped
1 onion
1 egg
1/2 tsp salt

Ingredients for the Curry
200g tin chopped tomatoes
150ml thick natural yoghurt
1 onion, finely chopped
2 tsp coriander seeds
2 tsp cumin seed
10cm piece of cinnamon
6 cardamom pods
6 cloves
1/2 tsp ground turmeric
1 tsp garam masala
1 tsp paprika
1/2 tsp salt
3 tbsp oil
freshly chopped coriander leaves

To Make the kofta,
grate the onion, put it in a sieve and use a spoon to press out as much liquid as possible. Put it in a bowl and combine with the lamb, ginger, garlic, green chilli, salt and egg. Mix well, and divide into 20 equal portions. Shape each into a ball. Cover with clingfilm and refrigerate for 2 hours.

To Make the curry,
place a small frying pan over low heat and dry-roast the coriander seeds until aromatic. Remove, then dry-roast the cumin seeds. Grind the roasted mixture to a powder using a mortar and pestle. Heat oil in a karahi or heavy bottomed frying pan. Add the cinnamon stick, cardamom pods, cloves and onion. Fry until, the onion turns golden. Add all the ground spices and salt. Sauté for 30 seconds. Stir in the tomato and remove from heat. Slowly stir in the yoghurt and mix well. Return the pan to heat, slide in the koftas and bring to a boil. Simmer uncovered for 50 minutes over very low heat. Gently shake the pan from time to time to prevent the koftas from sticking. If the curry starts drying out add a little bit of water and continue cooking. Serve hot garnished with coriander leaves.

Krups GVS2 Ice Cream Maker Reviewed with Mango & Toasted Coconut Semifreddo

I was very excited to try the new Krups GVS2 Ice Cream Maker when it arrived the day before. After unpacking and the box and making sure everything was in place, I briefly browsed through the manual. As per the instructions I placed the main tub in the freezer where it would sit for the next 24 hours. A couple of hours later I had been through "Iced" and a couple of cooking magazines waiting to be inspired by an ice cream recipe, inspired enough to try it out instead of just drooling over the pictures and fantasizing about the taste. When I came across the "Mango & Toasted Coconut Semifreddo" recipe in the launch issue of Donna Hay's magazine, I found the inspiration I was looking for.

The Krups manual did not have any instructions on different operations for different kinds of iced treats like ice cream, semifreddo or granita. I figured that the machine would churn them all just the same, but the different ingredients in different recipes would produce a whole new end-result. I prepared the semifreddo mix and popped it in the fridge to chill for 12 hours, again as per instructions. Once the tub had been in the freezer for 24 hours, I got it out and poured in the mix following all the steps in the manual. 25-30 minutes later the semifreddo was ready, a runny albeit very creamy and slushy treat. I scooped it out in a tupperware freezer container and stuffed it on one of the shelves of my exploding freezer. Overnight it transformed into a firm, delicious dessert. The recipe was fantastic and I had followed it to a T with a minor addition and a slight tweaking, I kid you not but it was the most gorgeous ice cream ... oh sorry .. semifreddo I have ever tasted. The Krups GVS2 passed with flying colours. For the price it comes at, it provides fantastic value. Some might say that the entire process takes too long, and they won't be wrong but even if you were to skip using an ice cream maker and make iced treats from scratch the old-fashioned way [see my sweet corn ice cream recipe], it would probably take you the same amount of time plus more effort. I think a little bit of extra time and effort is a small price to pay for the deep rooted satisfaction of making ice cream at home. That being said, I now leave you to enjoy the recipe.

MANGO & TOASTED COCONUT SEMIFREDDO
Adapted from Donna Hay's "Holiday" Launch Issue Magazine
Makes 1 litre/Serves 6-8| Prep Time : Forever | Making Time : 25 minutes

Ingredients
1 1/4 cups store bought mango puree [I used a can of pureed 'Kesar' mangoes from India]
1 3/4 cups cream
1/2 cup caster sugar
1 cup caster sugar, extra
3 eggs
3 egg yolks, extra
1/2 cup toasted shredded coconut [I lightly toasted moist, shredded coconut in a dry pan on low heat]
1 tbsp milk powder

Method
Place the mango puree and sugar in a saucepan over medium to low heat. Allow to simmer for 5 minutes until the sugar dissolves and mixture thickens. Set aside to cool.

Place the eggs, egg yolks and extra sugar in a heatproof bowl. Place over a saucepan of shimmering water and whisk the mixture for 5 minutes until heated through and frothy. Remove from heat, add milk powder and beat with an electric mixture for 5-6 minutes until pale and thick. Gently fold through the mango mixture.

Beat cream in the bowl of an electric mixture until very soft peaks form. Fold the egg mixture and coconut through the cream. If not using an ice cream maker, pour mixture in a metal pan lined with non-stick baking paper, cover with foil and freeze for 4-6 hours until firm. If using an ice cream maker, follow manufacturer's instructions.

Chunky Chocolate Chip & Cashew Nut Cookies

While perusing the Australian Women's Weekly "Cookies" cookbook yesterday, the 'Slice and Bake cookies' caught my eye. Actually it was the photography that drew me to this particular recipe. Who can resist a motley of various shaped glass cookie jars stacked randomly with cookies filled in some, a cute little wooden pinnochio figurine resting in one? On examining the recipe further and assuring myself that I had all the ingredients, I decided to make one of the four variations given along with the recipe. Although interesting I wasn't in the mood for 'orange and poopy seed', 'lemon and craisin', 'pecan and cinnamon' or m&m's. Digging into my baking stash, I came up with a half used bag of dark chocolate chips and a small packet of dry roasted, unsalted cashew nuts which seemed like a great combo. After preparing the cookie dough and chilling it for the said amount of time, I found that it was quite difficult to slice the cookies as the chunky bits of chocolate chip and cashew nuts would interfere and fall of the slice in the process. So I rolled out the dough and cut round shapes with a cookie cutter that sliced through the chocolate bits and cashew nuts around the edges with perfection. What started out as a plain slice and bake cookie eventually became a non-sliced chocolate chip and cashew nut cookie.

CHUNKY CHOCOLATE CHIP & CASHEW NUT COOKIE
Makes : 24 | Prep Time : 30 mins | Bake Time : 20-25 mins

Ingredients
2 cups plain flour
1/2 cup rice flour
1/3 cup cornflour
1/2 cup dark chocolate chips
1/2 cup coarsely chopped cashew nuts
250g butter softened
1 1/4 cup icing sugar, sifted
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 tbsp milk

Method
Beat butter, sugar and extract in a small bowl until light and fluffy. Transfer to a large bowl. In a separate bowl combine sifted flours, chocolate chips and cashew nuts. Add the butter mixture to the sifted flour in batches, mixing well. Then add milk and mix well.

Knead the mixture on a well floured surface until smooth. Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 1 hour. Remove from fridge and divide into 4 equal parts. Roll out each part into a 1cm thick disc. Cut out cookie shapes with a round cookie cutter and place them about 3 cm apart on a cookie sheets lined with non-stick baking paper. Bake for 20-25 minutes in a pre-heated oven at 160^oC. Cool on wire racks before storing in air-tight containers.

Hummingbird Cuppycakes with lemon cream cheese frosting

A couple of months ago I made a Hummingbird cake following a recipe for hummingbird cupcakes. It turned out to be quite scrumptious ... very moist and delectable. Then yesterday with the "The Cuppycake Song" doing its rounds in my head [thanks to a very musical little boy who keeps humming it all day long], I decided to take a shot at the original recipe. The cupcakes tasted exactly the same as the cake, but there was a big difference in texture. The cake was moist whereas the cupcakes turned out to be a wee bit dry. That was rectified by a generous dousing of delicious lemon cream cheese frosting. The overall effect was lemony, feel good and very satisfying. I might even add 1/4 cup pineapple syrup leftover from the canned, crushed pineapple for a moister texture.

Click here for the recipe.

Over christmas I bought some good kitchen props and pieces off ebay. I was particularly excited about trying some Robert Gordon polka dot patty cases in pink, green and blue [I use the green ones here]. They are the cutest, wispiest cupcake cases I have seen with scalloped edges and a deep-fill capacity .... just tear and dig in! My new microplane grater came in handy to zest the lemon. When I started assembling the ingredients, I realised that I was missing pecans. I substituted them with walnuts instead ... good idea but I prefer the taste of pecans which I had used in the original cake recipe the first time around. They marry well with pineapple and coconut as opposed to walnuts. If you want a lighter treat, skip the frosting and go with a dusting of powdered sugar.

Snapshots of a Sydney Summer Garden ...

This summer I was a busy bee in the garden, quite literally. An initial active working period was toned down to make allowance for my lumbering, pregnant self. We made a sandstone bed, smack dab in the center of our frontyard and planted a gorgeous "Magnolia Soulangeana" there. I populated the bed with some "Kew Lavender" bought from Bunnings and 3 packets of pink and purple paper daisies. The paper daisies grew amazingly fast and were almost a meter tall within a couple of weeks with papery thin and wispy little blooms that I just have to touch every time I pass by. The Magnolia seems to have established itself and is taller than me [I am barely 5 feet tall]. I am anxiously waiting for autumn and then winter when it will shed its leaves and give birth to those glorious pink goblet blooms.

My newly planted frangipani has sprouted 4 new leaves very late into summer. I can't help but wonder what went wrong when all around me frangipanis are already flowering and thriving. The rosemary in my frontyard has grown a lot over the summer and I have started thinking about cutting and propagating it to try and tame it a bit. After a flush of crimson red blooms, the bougainvilleas are quite dried up now with tiny little greenish brown leaves. The Salvias in full red blooms and the Murrayas in flushes of fragrant white blooms have given new life to our backyard. There have been lots of chillies, lemons, oranges, ginger, curry leaves, thyme and coriander growing through the end of spring and all through summer. The agaves and rhoeos have started becoming bigger. Our date palms are proving to be a nuisance with thousands of unusable dates littering the lawn and pool area. Some bulbs planted by the previous owners have produced lovely flowers and I have no clue what they are. The French marigold seeds I scattered everywhere are so cute with tiny little tight blooms of yellow sprouting as far as the eye can see.

The rose cuttings that I planted in early spring have produced several flushes of gorgeous white, peach, yellow and crimson blooms. Once they finish flowering I go snip snip snip with my secateurs, removing dead heads and within a week or two have new buds thriving. I think roses are like little treats for the gardener and nothing compares to the emotion that swells in you when you see a full bloom and breathe in their heavenly scent.

We were very excited about the strawberry seeds we sowed, especially when the leaves filled up the wooden barrel and began sprouting tiny white flowers. A few days later out came teeny weeny little green strawberries and then they started turning red ... aaahh the wonders of nature! Then yesterday morning on our routine inspection of the plants, the strawberries were gone ... all but one. What was even more baffling was that it was an extremely neat job, no damage to the leaves or soil visible at all. We were debating on whether the culprit was a possum or a bird, but couldn't reach a verdict. Then this evening when we were out and about in the garden we heard our 4 year old say "Rivvy eating strawberries" and he came right upto us and opened his mouth. There crushed between milky teeth lay the answer to "Who ate our strawberries?". Needless to say we had a good laugh and rested easy with the thought that neither birds nor possums have gained the expertise that man possesses in picking fruit from tiny vines flawlessly.

On a personal note Rish was born on the 6th of Jan and will be a month old soon. I can't wait to get cooking and gardening again ....