‘I’m going to turn into a burrito soon.’ That was Will last night. I’ll admit, I have been on a bit of a Mexican roll lately. We had it last Tuesday, then twice on the weekend and again last night. In the last 10 days I’ve made 48 tortillas!

Last Friday night’s Mexican feast (the largest of the dinners) for Jamie Oliver’s Food Revolution Day was a rip-roaring success (well I think so anyway). I thought I’d over-catered as I usually do but in the end Will and I were left with only just enough fajita filling to have a repeat dinner the following night.

The aim was to serve a dinner that was easy to make and was made from scratch, or as close to from scratch as possible. I served corn chips and guacamole to start with and I’ll admit that the corn chips weren’t homemade but they were an Aussie brand. For dinner we had shredded beef burritos and chicken fajitas and the only things I didn’t make were the salsa and taco shells.

I borrowed the sombreros and Mexican flag from mum which she got from a Mexican restaurant we used to visit all the time in Sydney. Would you believe I actually own the rest of the Mexican goodies. The taco stand and cute little cactus candles were a gift from my lovely mum, the placemats I bought in Peru (ok so technically not Mexican) and the rest of the serving ware were Birthday gifts from my friends.

Aren’t my friends good sports? Not only did they put on their hats without me even asking, they all gave me the ok to post the photo. My photographer husband on the other hand wasn’t so keen on me sharing the solo photo of him even though he’d probably never see it. Maybe I’ll share it later.

Probably the highlight of the night was when the boys dared each other to eat a chili. I picked them from the garden that morning and had them as table decoration but the challenge was set. These are no ordinary chilis. The little baby ones are hot hot hot. Even mum, who could eat fire such is her tolerance, thinks they’re hot. About 10 seconds after they’d bitten into them I was in hysterics. I’m talking laugh-until-you-cry hilarity.

Later they bet two of my girlfriends to eat them for payment and they obliged. Some of my favourite quotes were:

- To our doctor friend ‘do you think I need to go to the hospital?’

- ‘I think I need to go to the emergency room.’

- ‘Just when you think it’s gone it’s like they come back even angrier!’

After the entertainment it was time for dessert. I didn’t go all out plating up something extravagant. After such a feast, I thought a little something to nibble on would be more appropriate (plus I knew there’d be leftovers!). There was one authentic Mexican recipe – Mexican wedding cakes – but there needed to be chocolate.

I played around a little with my raspberry and pecan brownie recipe to Mexican-ify it by adding a little chili, which I probably could have added more of and a nice spoonful of cinnamon.

Instead of making them with butter, I used coconut oil and the result was perfect. They were still gooey in the middle with the essential crunchy bits on top. A sprinkling of cinnamon-laced icing sugar finished them off nicely. Enjoy!

What about you? Do you know of any Mexican desserts?

5.0 from 1 reviews

Mexican chocolate cinnamon brownies

 

Author:

adapted from Raspberry and pecan brownies

Serves: 12

Prep time: 10 mins

Cook time: 35 mins

Total time: 45 mins

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Ingredients

• 90g coconut oil
• 120g dark chocolate
• 1 small chili split down the middle and de-seeded
• 2 large eggs, lightly beaten
• 225g caster sugar
• 1 tsp ground cinnamon
• 90g plain flour
• 50g almond/pecan/hazelnut/macadamia meal
• Icing sugar and cinnamon to dust.

Instructions

1. Pre-heat the oven to 160C fan-forced.
2. Grease and line a large loaf tin so that the paper extends over the long sides of the tin.
3. Place the coconut oil, dark chocolate and chili in a large heat-proof bowl and zap in the microwave 20 seconds at a time until the chocolate has melted and the mixture is smooth.
4. Leave the mixture to cool for a few minutes then removed the chili and whisk in the eggs.
5. Stir through the sugar, cinnamon, flour and almond meal.
6. Spread the batter into the tin.
7. Bake for 30-35 minutes.
8. Leave to cool completely in the tin.
9. Slice up into generous squares and enjoy warmed a little sprinkled with cinnamon and icing sugar.

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Cheese cheese as far as the eye can see. I was in a little bit of sensory overload walking into this room. I’ll admit, when I received an invitation to the Royal Queensland Food and Wine Show’s Cheese and Dairy Produce awards (what a mouthful!) I wasn’t going to go. I thought it would just be a lot of announcements but then I saw ‘please let us know if you have any food allergies.’ Well if I’d be tasting the produce as well then I was there.

Could you imagine being one of the judges trying the 300+ dairy products and 200 ice-creams? What a job! According to the judges it was stiff cheese competition this year with some outstanding entries. Just shows we Aussies are becoming pretty wonderful cheese-makers. Maybe one day I’ll be in there when I get around to making my own feta?

For the third year in a row the Rowefords Blue from Berrys Creek Gourmet Cheese. My description, cheese pro that I am (am not!) is a subtle, smooth blue with a flavour that lingers in your mouth (in a good way). The pro’s description – ‘It has a firm and slightly crumbly texture with even blueing throughout the cheese which results in a subtle, complex and balanced blue flavour with a long back palate.’

I wrote my description before I read that but I’m pretty sure all those fancy words more or less mean what I said. I especially love the story behind the cheese. Berrys Creek is a small cheese producer run by a close-knit team, most of them being family and they source their milk from local farms. They’re just the kind of company I love.

Unfortunately, it looks like their cheeses – they make a range of blues and two types of feta – are only available in New South Wales and Victoria at the moment. You can find a list of stockists on their website.

It seems my dad could have been one of the judges because his two favourite cheeses – both from Tasmanian Heritage - won awards. I love them both, the camembert especially. It’s really creamy and quite strong, but not bitter and it softens really quickly meaning you don’t have to take it out of the fridge too early. The best part is that we can get it at IGA for about $9. It comes in fancy packaging in a little timber crate and looks very expensive.

I’ll get on my soap box and say the thing I don’t like about it is it’s not Australian owned. It’s made by Lion Dairy & Drinks which is a subsidiary of Lion Nathan which is owned by Kirin, a Japanese company. I discovered this one day when I was trying to find a grated mozzarella that was actually Austrlalian owned. FYI, Devondale was one of the only ones you can easily find in the supermarkets.

(steps off soap box)

One cheese I was really surprised by was the Bega Heritage Vintage Cheddar. It was seriously good. Nice and creamy with a bit of crumble and sharp but not bitter. You could totally serve it on a cheese platter. I wouldn’t mind a giant wheel of Old Telegraph Road OTR Brie. Would you believe it comes in a 2.5-3kg wheel?

I also enjoyed their gruyere which would go very nicely in mum’s fancy potato bake.

According to the judges ‘the white mould cheese classes were also above average and there were some fantastic products in the stretched curd classes also.’ There really wasn’t a single cheese I didn’t like. If you wanted to make a cheese platter, I’d recommend any of them but dad’s Tasmanian Heritage is a very good camembert and readily available.

We didn’t get to sample any of the yoghurts but Maleny Cheese’s natural yoghurt and gourmet mango yoghurt won two awards. I can personally vouch for those guys. Their Greek yoghurt is one of my favourites.

There were scoops of gelato to sample but I made the rookie error of eating my whole scoop which was the size of an Asian soup spoon and could only get through two (disappointing I know but I did have a Mexican feast later that night). I didn’t get to sample any of the winning Very Chocolate gelato from Brisbane’s Sugo Mi. It took out 5 of the 6 gelato and sorbet awards would you believe?

Must make the trip across the river asap. Their pizzas look pretty amazing too.

I’ve included a list of the winners at the bottom of the post but my tip for you is to look out for the gold, silver or bronze sticker when you’re next buying cheese in Australia and know you’re buying one of Australia’s tastiest!

What about you? What’s your favourite cheese?

Major competition winners:

Palatable Partners Champion Cheese Of Show: Berrys Creek Gourmet Cheese – Bellingham Blue
Champion Dairy Dessert or Yoghurt of Show: Maleny Cheese – Maleny Gourmet Mango Yoghurt
Most Successful Exhibitor (Desserts): Maleny Dairies – Maleny Dairies Natural Yoghurt
Champion Milk or Cream of Show: Bulla Dairy Foods – Bulla Crème Fraîche 200ml
Most Successful Exhibitor (Milk and Cream): Lion Dairy and Drinks Malanda – Dare Mocha
Champion Buffalo, Goat or Sheep Milk Product: Berrys Creek Gourmet Cheese – Rowefords Blue
Most Successful Exhibitor (Buffalo, Goat or Sheep Milk): Woodside Cheese Wrights – Monet Curd
Champion Queensland Cheese or Dairy Product of Show: Emmos Fine Foods – Nannybert
Dairy Australia Grand Champion Dairy Product of Show: Berrys Creek Gourmet Cheese – Rowefords Blue
Majors Group Champion Vanilla or Chocolate Ice-Cream or Gelato of Show: Sugo Mi – Very Chocolate
Majors Group Champion Flavoured Ice-Cream or Gelato of Show: Sugo Mi – Very Chocolate
Majors Group Champion Ice-Cream or Gelato of Show: Sugo Mi – Very Chocolate
Majors Group Champion Sorbet of Show: Gelateria Dolce Follia – Coconut Milk Sorbet Gelato
Majors Group Champion Queensland Ice-Cream, Gelato or Sorbet of Show: Sugo Mi – Very Chocolate
Oppenheimer Grand Champion Ice-Cream, Gelato or Sorbet of Show: Sugo Mi – Very Chocolate

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To my mum, walking into Shucked Newstead was like entering the house of her aunt in the 60s. To my grandma it was a bit of a hotchpotch but to me it was eclectic. Everything old is new again is a bit of a theme at the moment but I never really thought about how it must appear to people who were around when the type of decor was actually new.

They must think we’re all quite odd and nowhere near as creative as we think we are. I still love it though. I wouldn’t want my house to be quite as eclectic but  for a breakfast spot, I love the cosiness and warmth and the fresh flowers on every table were beautiful.

Parking was a bit tricky the day we went (a Friday morning), which I imagine it probably is most days. It’s just one of a few cafes popping up (actually it has been there a while but lots are emerging) behind the car-yard strip in Newstead. Mum dropped my grandma and me at the door and we were the only ones there at that stage and weren’t exactly warmly welcomed.

The one waiter that we could see, barely acknowledged our arrival from behind the counter. The music was extremely loud, more like a trendy clothing store than a casual cafe but as soon as my sister arrived she asked them to turn it down which they did.

Mum was still trying to find a park 10 minutes later and seeing as no one had approached us to take a coffee order we went up to the counter ourselves. Apparently the soy late was the best my sister has ever had. We later asked the secret of the soy and the manager (she arrived later and was much more efficient and friendly than the coffee guy) admitted that they get it from Aldi. She sampled all different brands and found theirs the best.

My rose, white and jasmine tea was a delicate blend and not too strong. They willingly obliged when I asked for a re-fill of my pot too which I always like.

Middle Eastern fruit and nut toast with housemade jam $7.50

Onto the food. When mum finally arrived it was still just the one waiter behind the counter and he still hadn’t made any approach (other than to delivery our coffees) nor told us how to order so I went up and asked him what the go was. It was then that another very enthusiastic and friendly waiter appeared from out the back and brought us menus. I guess the coffee guy is good with the coffee machine but not so good on service. I’ll give him the benefit of the doubt and say maybe he was having a bad day or was distracted.

Mum’s fruit toast was nice and thick with a generous amount of fruit including juicy figs. Her only complaint, which is her usual complaint, was that there wasn’t enough butter.

Macadamia toasted muesli with yoghurt $12.50

The Birthday girl aka my sister ordered the muesli which came out beautifully presented. She requested some extra fruit on top but they only had oranges in the kitchen. I may have stolen a little spoonful of the stewed berries. A bowl full of them topped with a little yoghurt would have satisfied me.

FLIP SIDE – ricotta hotcakes with salted caramel, ice-cream, chocolate & berry garnish $18

I can’t wait to get a waffle maker and try making these myself. Isn’t it a clever way to make hotcakes? The narrow plate made eating them a little bit tricky but my grandma said they were pretty good (although not the best she’s had). Her mother made the world’s best butterscotch sauce so it’s hard to beat.

THE FUN GUY – baked field mushrooms with housemade lemon ricotta on organic sourdough with a side of avocado $18

I on the other hand thought my breakfast was perfect. The one on the left was how it came but with a little twist of the lemon I made it into a real ‘fun guy.’ I definitely have to give this one a go at home too. The housemade ricotta was nice and tart and the bread soft with a crunchy crust. The avocado was lightly flavoured and creamy and together with the big meaty mushroom it was the perfect breakfast. I think they should adjust the menu to include avo as standard.

If you Instagram Shucked while you’re there and tag them (hastag them? what’s the correct lingo?) you get 5% off the bill which was a nice treat.

On Sunday afternoons, Shucked plays host to Sunday Session with live, relaxed music in the casual atmosphere. I’ve heard that it’s a very popular spot for breakfast and lunch on the weekend. Shucked is open Tuesday to Friday 7.30am-2.30pm (kitchen closes 1.30pm), Saturday 7.30am-2pm and Sunday 7.30am – 4pm.

It is located at 9 Creswell Street, Newstead.

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I love olives and I love chocolate but I’ve never loved the two together in one mouthful. Stay with me I’m going somewhere good, somewhere wonderful in fact because combined in baked-good deliciousness, these two are an unlikely but perfect pair.

The matchmaker extraordinaire, Mr pine nut, brings them together in crunchy harmony. If you do choose to trust me you’ll think I’m a little nuts as an unusual aroma drifts from your oven while your chocolate biscotti with olives are baking away.

Don’t dismiss me though, let them cool and take a bite. You will need a little force to bite off a piece but as you start to munch all the seemingly-strange ingredients meld together into something pretty amazing. The olives provide a saltiness that makes the chocolate (make sure you use the good stuff) taste even better and somehow the pinenuts ground the whole biscuit.

If you want to be outrageously adventurous, while you’re at your local deli buying your olives (because you’re going to race out and get some right now aren’t you?), pick up some creamy brie and try it spread on a choc-olive biscotti. Thank me later. Enjoy!

What about you? Have you ever tried olives with something sweet?

p.s. Want to go to the Good Food and Wine Show in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane or Perth? Fiji Water is giving you the chance to win tickets for two including accommodation  Enter on the Fiji Water Facebook page.

5.0 from 1 reviews

Chocolate olive biscotti

 

Author:

A piece of cake by Leila lindholm

Serves: 40

Prep time: 20 mins

Cook time: 1 hour

Total time: 1 hour 20 mins

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Ingredients

• 1 organic egg
• 135g (4.8oz) caster sugar
• 210g (7.4oz) plain flour
• 25g (1oz) best-quality cocoa powder
• 1 tsp baking powder
• ½ tsp sea salt
• 65g (2 oz) pitted black olives (I used Kalamata), chopped
• 50g (1.7oz) pine nuts
• 100g (3.5oz) good-quality dark chocolate, chopped
• 50ml (1/5 cup) good-quality olive oil
• 1 tbsp cold water

Instructions

1. Pre-heat the oven to 150C fan-forced and line a baking tray with baking paper.
2. In the bowl of an electric mixer, beat the egg and sugar until it is pale and light and voluminous.
3. In another bowl, mix the flour, cocoa, baking powder and salt together and then sift it into the mixer bowl and mix it through.
4. Add the olives, chocolate and pin enuts and mix them through.
5. Add the olive oil and keep beating, slowly, until it all comes together.
6. Add the water if you need a little more liquid.
7. Divide the dough in half and shape each one into a log about 20cm long and 5cm wide.
8. Bake for 25 minutes.
9. Take the logs out of the oven and slice them up to about 1cm thickness then lay them on their sides on the baking tray.
10. Turn the oven down to 120C fan-forced and pop the tray back in.
11. Bake for another 20-30 minutes or until they are firm.
12. Transfer them to a wire rack to cool completely before devouring.

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Cute little cupcakes for a friend’s friend’s bridal shower.

A little edible gift from my garden.

A pretty flower on my morning walk.

My sister’s creative bread presentation on Mother’s Day. See that bowl beneath? Mum and dad bought it on their honeymoon and it still looks like new 30 years later!

A double-yolker quail egg. Isn’t it cute?

Another beautiful photo on my morning walk. I think it looks like an exotic bird.

The post Silent Sunday – pretty pink & gifts from my garden appeared first on Claire K Creations.

Chewy, no-bake biscuits crusted with coconut and topped with a smooth, rich, chocolate ganache finished with a dusting of desiccated coconut. Sounds mouth-watering doesn’t it? It sounds like something you could only have one of because they must be seriously naughty. It would appear that if you have a lack of self control when it comes to chocolate you, you shouldn’t have these in your fridge. Right?

I certainly was feeling pretty guilty savouring the chocolate flavour still in on my tongue after eating 3 in quick succession. They’re so rich and moreish you’ll be forgiven for grabbing for a second before the first has even been swallowed.

What’s this photo got to do with these naughty little morsels? That’s all that’s in the base! My no-bake coconut macadamia biscuits with chocolate icing are actually really good for you. Surprise! They started out as an attempt to make a ‘chocolate cheesecake’ recipe from Super Food Ideas.

Can you say failure? I don’t know what I did wrong but my cheesecake bases looked absolutely nothing like they did in the magazine. They tasted amazing but there was no way they were going to hold their shape as a base and support the filling. ‘Come on Claire, think!’ Yes I actually said that to myself. I grabbed a little bit and smeared it with icing. Oh yes there was no way any of this was going to waste, just had to think of a pretty way to present it.

What’s with the banana and avo? That’s what makes the icing so wonderfully creamy. Seriously, this stuff is so good I ate the leftovers by the spoonful. It would make a very luscious pudding. I rolled little portions into balls then flattened them a little and coated each one with desiccated coconut. They’re pretty soft so make sure you keep them in the fridge until just before serving.

I piped on a pretty little rose of icing then a sprinkle of coconut topped them off nicely.

I’m not on any particular diet but these happen to be gluten-free, dairy-free, refined-sugar-free and vegan. I think that ticks a box for nearly every allergy (except nuts). Enjoy!

What about you? What would you have done with the failed bases? Would you try something ‘chocolate’ made with avo and banana?

4.5 from 2 reviews

Coconut macadamia biscuits with chocolate icing

 

Author:

Adapted from Super Food Ideas May 2013

Serves: 40

Prep time: 25 mins

Total time: 25 mins

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Ingredients

Biscuit

• 2 cups raw unsalted macadamias
• 100g fresh dates, seeds removed
• ½ cup shredded coconut
• ½ cup desiccated coconut

Icing

• 2 avocados
• 1 large banana
• 2-3 tbsp cocoa powder
• ½ cup pure maple syrup

Instructions

Biscuit

1. Place the nuts, dates and shredded coconut in the bowl of a food processor and process until the mixture comes together (stop it and scrape down the sides a couple of times).
2. Refrigerate the mixture for 30 minutes.
3. Take it out of the fridge. Place the desiccated coconut in a bowl.
4. Using a teaspoon of mixture at a time, roll it into balls then press into a disc and press in the coconut to coat.
5. Place on a plate.

Icing

1. Place the avocado, banana, cocoa powder and maple syrup in the food processor and process until smooth like ganache.
2. Spoon it into a piping bag fitted with a start tip.
3. Pipe the ‘icing’ on top of the ‘biscuits’.
4. Sprinkle with a little extra desiccated coconut.
5. Refrigerate until just before serving.

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Hola amigos y amigas. Why the Spanish? Today is Mexican fiesta day. It may not be an internationally-recognised day but Jamie Oliver’s Food Revolution Day is.

‘Food Revolution Day is a global day of action for people everywhere to celebrate real food, where it comes from and how to cook it. It’s a day to come together to keep these cooking skills alive, improve our food knowledge and share it with others.’

That could almost be the mission statement for Claire K Creations don’t you think?

I love Jamie Oliver and everything he stands for. He says:

Learning how to cook is one of the most valuable skills you can ever learn. These skills used to be passed down from generation to generation, but now millions of people lack even the most basic skills – as a result, it’s costing millions of lives and billions of (dollars) to cope with the increase of diet-related diseases. We need to get back to basics and share our cooking skills and knowledge so everyone has access to good, nutritious food, made from scratch.

In the last six months I’ve been teaching myself all about how what we eat can effect our health (Food Matters is a great starting point if you’re interested). To me, it’s not really about diet or weight or anything like that, it’s just about eating real, fresh, local (organic if possible) and delicious food, made from scratch as much as possible. You know me, I even make my own tortillas!

Tonight we’re having some friends around for a Mexican feast made from scratch. Sure, I’ll be taking a couple of short cuts (like store-bought corn chips, because you know I’m addicted to CCs) but for the most part, everything will be home made using the best ingredients I can get. It’s not about being fancy or spending hours in the kitchen. You know I’m all about quick and easy which describes pretty much all my recipes.

I’m going to challenge you to join in tonight. Pick a recipe from my blog and whip it up for some friends or family then share it over on the Facebook page. Enjoy!

I’ll be sharing the night and a few new Mexican recipes next week.

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This time in three weeks, Will and I will be on a plane heading over to New York City! We’re more than a little excited. The planning is well and truly underway and we’ve gone so overboard as to plot every place we want to go on a map. Restaurants have their own colour so as you can imagine it is dominating (really must make some bookings!).

The only thing I’m not too excited about is American bread. Love you guys as I do, your bread is just too sweet for me. I think the first thing I’m going to want to do when we get home is bake up my own. When I first started baking bread it seemed pretty daunting. I had no idea what I was doing and let’s be honest, my first few  (ok maybe more than a few) loaves were pretty rubbish.

Now I’ve got the hang of it, apart from the odd failure (we had some under-cooked bread the other day thanks to my lack of patience), I think the bread we eat at home is quite often better than some of the stuff you can buy. To a lot of people, the idea of baking bread seems way too hard or too time consuming but I promise you, it really is easy. If you have a stand mixer with a dough hook the actual hands-on time is about 5 minutes. 5 minutes!

The rest of the time you can do your thing while the yeast works its magic.

I have learned a few things in my bread adventures. If you know these tips first up you can probably skip the door-stop-bread-phase and go straight to nice edible loaves:

• Make sure the water is at the right temperature. You need it to be at about 100-110F. Too hot and it will kill the yeast. Too cold and it won’t come to life. Once you’ve made a bit of bread you’ll be able to tell just by sticking your finger in it.
• Use baker’s flour. It has a higher gluten content and turns out much tastier bread than regular flour.
• Dough needs to be kneaded (don’t we all!). You’ll know when it’s ready for resting when it’s nice and smooth and not sticky.
• As Celia’s friend says ‘slash with panache.’ Don’t be wimpy about cutting your slashes. The quicker and more brutal the better. Ok maybe don’t attack it
• It’s ready when you tap it on the bottom and it sounds hollow inside. The best way to do this is to pick it up with an oven mitt or tea towel and tap it with a knife.

I’m still relatively amateur at bread baking but I find if I stick to those rules I pretty consistently turn out decent bread. Last week, I thought I’d try my hand at little easy dinner rolls. This is what I should have/was going to bake for my shredded beef sliders and they would have been perfect with their fluffy insides and thin crust.

I dressed them up with poppy seeds and sesame seeds to add a bit of interest but you could leave them plain or perhaps dust them with a little bit of flour before baking. They always look more authentic with flour. Make sure you add the seeds/flour and then slash so you have that nice break in the middle. Some of them actually look like little bottoms don’t you think? No? Just me again?

Even if you’re terrified of bread baking or have a fear of yeast, you can make bread. Go on. Try it! Let me know how you go. Enjoy!

ps These guys freeze really well so you can make up a big batch and have them on hand.

Easy peasy dinner rolls

 

Author:

adapted slightly from Women’s Weekly – Bake

Serves: 16

Prep time: 2 hours 10 mins

Cook time: 15 mins

Total time: 2 hours 25 mins

Print

 

Ingredients

• 2 tsp (7g) dried yeast
• 1 tsp honey
• 2 cups (500ml) warm water (100-110F)
• 4 cups (640g) baker’s flour (you may need a few extra tbsp)
• 2 tsp sea salt flakes
• spray oil
• 2 tbsp milk
• seeds if desired

Instructions

1. In a small bow or jug, whisk the yeast, honey and water together until combined then set aside for a few minutes until it starts to froth.
2. Place the flour and salt in the bowl of an electric mixer and pour in the yeast mixture.
3. Using the dough hook, mix on low speed until combined then increase the speed a few notches and let the mixer knead the dough until it is nice and smooth (about 5 minutes). You may need to add a little extra flour if it is too sticky.
4. Test if the dough is kneaded enough by pressing quickly with your finger. If your finger comes away clean then it’s ready.
5. Spray a large bowl lightly with oil.
6. Shape the dough into a ball and place it in the bowl then cover it with plastic wrap.
7. Set the bowl aside in a warm place until it doubles in size (about an hour).
8. When the dough has risen, punch it down to expel the air and give it a quick knead. Technique doesn’t matter just smoosh it around a bit.
9. Divide the dough into 16 portions then roll each one into a ball and place on a lined baking tray leaving about 3cm between each one.
10. Spray a piece of plastic wrap with oil and lay it lightly over the balls then leave them to double in size again. This takes about 30 minutes but be careful not to let them rise more than specified.
11. After 10 minutes, preheat the oven to 180C fan-forced.
12. When the balls have risen, lightly brush the top of each one with milk then sprinkle with seeds.
13. Take a sharp, serrated knife and slash the top of each bun.
14. Bake the rolls for 12-15 minutes or until golden.
15. Transfer the rolls to a wire rack to cool completely.

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Let’s be honest, when I started Claire K Creations way back in 2010 I really didn’t know what I was doing (my first post was about macaroons – they were macarons! Oh the horror!). I knew that I loved food and I wasn’t bad at whipping up tasty meals and treats but when it came to blogging, I was totally feeling my way through the dark. The writing part was ok but the photos, well, lets just say I don’t think they were making anyone rush to their kitchen to recreate my recipe.

There are a lot of recipes on regular rotation in our house and they seem to be the ones that I shared back in the early days so I thought I’d do a bit of revisiting so I can make them look a bit more appealing.  I still make a lot of those recipes but over the last year or two I’ve tinkered and tweaked our weeknight staples and have simplified the recipes so much I could make most of them in my sleep.

Tomato chicken risotto was one of the recipes mum made a lot of when I was still at home. I’m not sure where she got the original recipe but with mum’s experimental cooking style, I’m pretty sure she made it up. In the original recipe there were a few annoying things like one and half tins of crushed tomatoes (which I think was my addition – mum wouldn’t do something so wasteful) so consider this the new and improved version.

It’s easy, super tasty and pretty family-friendly. Even when I was a fussy eater I loved this.

When I make risotto, it’s nice and firm and not sloppy like you see in most restaurants. My version is really quite lean and if you bulked it up with spinach you could call it diet friendly. I will advise you not to skimp on the parmesan though. I used to buy the grated stuff in the packet. It’s pretty flavourless and I used nearly a whole packet to get the boost I needed.

Now I buy the best chunk I can find and grate it myself as needed. It may be more expensive but you need so much less to get the same flavour, I’d say it works out equal in cost.

Until it came time to edit the photos I didn’t realise I’d made a little chicken and basil strawberry on top. Isn’t it cute? I like to make up a big batch of tomato chicken risotto and freeze it for nights when I don’t feel like cooking. Just a quick zap in the microwave and a sprinkle of parmesan and dinner is served. Enjoy!

What about you? How do you like risotto? Do you have weeknight staple recipes you’ve changed over the years?

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Tomato chicken risotto

 

Author:

Claire K’s mum

Serves: 6-7

Prep time: 15 mins

Cook time: 30 mins

Total time: 45 mins

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Ingredients

• 300g chopped chicken breast, cooked
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 1 large onion, diced
• 2 cloves of garlic, crushed
• 2 cups arborio rice
• 2 cups chicken stock mixed with two cups of water (1L liquid total)
• 1 tin of chopped tomato
• ½ cup frozen peas
• ¼ cup grated parmesan
• a few basil leaves and extra parmesan to serve

Instructions

1. Heat 1 tbsp of the oil in a large pan over medium heat and cook the chicken until sealed and just turning brown.
2. Remove it to a plate and keep warm.
3. Heat the rest of the oil then add the onion and garlic and cook until transparent. Add the rice to the pot and stir until glistening.
4. A little at a time, add the hot stock/water, waiting until each addition has been absorbed before the next is added. Make sure to stir regularly (pretty much the whole time and scrape the bottom so it doesn’t stick).
5. Add the tinned tomato and stir it through.
6. Stir through the cooked chicken then add the frozen peas.
7. When the peas are heated through, add the parmesan and season to taste.
8. Serve piping hot with a sprinkle of parmesan and a couple of basil leaves.

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The post Tomato chicken risotto revisited appeared first on Claire K Creations.

I’m a bit of a hermit when it comes to my home town. Not hermit as in a person who never leaves their house but I don’t actually venture too much away from the area we live or where our friends live.

It had been years since I’d ventured over to the south side of Brisbane but a little birdie told be about a new cafe and you know me, I always follow my stomach. My friend Kristin was in town visiting from Sydney so we made the drive (it’s about 20 minutes from my house) over together.

Driving through the leafy suburb we thought we might have been steered in the wrong direction by Siri but sure enough, like an oasis, a little row of shops appeared, with Leaf espresso bar on the corner.

Now I’ve told you about Kristin before and we are friends for many many reasons but just one of them is her belief in breakfast dessert. You can imagine we were both in sensory overload walking past the display of baked goodies as we made our way to our booth table in the back of the cafe.

Fresh flowers adorn each table, no two being the same and should you feel like a little fresh air, there are spots out the front and on a deck overlooking the tree-tops out back.

I’ll be honest with you. I can be a bit lazy which generally means I’m not too keen on ordering at the counter but in this case it’s a good move on their part. You line up down the cabinet displaying all their wares and I’m sure most people find themselves ordering a pastry or two that they hadn’t planned on ordering.

I struck up a conversation with a local while commenting on how busy it was. Apparently it had been like that since they opened. Clearly it was just what the area needed.

As we were having breakfast dessert I went for a lighter option for my ‘main.’ While the avo was blemish free and nice and soft I think this could have been a little more exciting. When I read avocado and fresh ricotta on toasted Turkish I was expecting it to be more of an avo salsa type thing stacked up and ready to eat. Ok so maybe it’s my laziness coming in but out to breakfast I’d prefer not to make it myself. Add condiments yes, make it, no.

Kristin’s meal was quite the opposite with two perfectly poached eggs perched atop a generous serving of smoked salmon, crispy baby spinach leaves and a lightly toasted English muffin.

Look at that ooze. Isn’t it beautiful? I wish I could get fabric in such a vibrant egg-yolk colour.

Now onto the most important item – dessert! Unfortunately our blueberry and banana bread came out quite a while before our meals so it was more like entree (although I made Kristin save a bit for dessert) but it was wonderfully soft and fluffy inside with a nice crunchy crust. A few days later I bought a punnet of blueberries on sale and just remembered I have them hidden away in the freezer ready to recreate this luscious loaf.

Overall Leaf has a great atmosphere and tasty fresh food. They could get a bit speedier on the service although I’m not entirely sure how long we waited for our meals because we were chatting so much but I think we got through a few big topics before we were fed. They are open for breakfast and lunch 7 days a week and located at 8 Denham Terrace, Tarragindi.

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Claire K and Kristin dined as guests of Leaf espresso bar. 

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