This is another recipe from Nigella Express - even quicker and easier than the chocolate mousse, believe it or not (and, I think, a lot summerier). I am usually a jelly-in-the-trifle kind of girl - I know it can go both ways, and some foodie folks seem to abhor the wobble factor of jelly, but I love it. This, however, is a jelly-free trifle, which I wasn't sure about, but ginger wine is a fabulous thing so I figured it was worth a whirl.
While you could do things properly, making your own sponge and custard and poaching some pears, this is supposed to be quick so I think the "proper" way here is in fact whipping down to New World and rounding up the relevant ingredients. Who wants to spend their whole summer indoors baking? ;-)
The assembly takes all of five minutes, and though you can feasibly prepare it as little as an hour before eating the flavours do develop a little so I recommend planning ahead if you can - ours was nicer the second day.
The pears were my addition (I think it would also be great with fresh peaches or nectarines), as while I was willing to let the jelly go, I couldn't bear not to have any fruit nestling in the spongy layer. Leaving them out won't be a problem, but I did like having the fruit factor - in fact, I thought there wasn't enough pear in ours so have increased the quantity for the recipe below.
I bought the Meadow Fresh creamy custard, which is pretty darn good for what it is (and nice and thick, great for trifle) - definitely recommend that one. I don't even consider the other options anymore! Nigella's recipe actually only called for cream, but how could you have trifle without custard?
The recipe calls for a passionfruit topping, but I couldn't find fresh passionfruit (I didn't try terribly hard, but the supermarket I was at weren't stocking any) so I used a dessert topping, which was more sugar than passionfruit and really didn't add anything (except prettiness!). I think next time I'd grate a tiny bit of chocolate over the top instead, or just leave it plain.
I guess this is actually pretty different from Nigella's original recipe, but it was super yummy and I definitely don't regret any of my changes (and definitely appreciate the ginger wine inspiration!). How do you like your trifle? Jelly or no jelly? Fruit or no fruit? Cream, custard, or both?
Ginger and Pear Trifle (adapted from Nigella Express)
Ingredients
1 large trifle sponge
250ml ginger wine
2 tins of quartered pears, in juice
1 litre custard
passionfruit syrup, 6 fresh passionfruit, or shaved chocolate to decorate
Cut the sponge into rough 5cm cubes. Place in a trifle bowl. Reserve the juice from one tin of pears, and scatter the drained pears over the sponge.
Mix the ginger wine together with the reserved juice and pour evenly over the sponge. Pour the custard on top and spread evenly to cover the sponge. Top with passionfruit syrup, the flesh from fresh passionfruit, or shaved chocolate, and chill for at least an hour (preferably four or so, as the flavours will deepen). Serves 8.
Thursday, December 30, 2010
Tuesday, December 28, 2010
Greek Salad with Fried Feta
Sometimes it's nice to skip the heavy stuff and stick with something light and healthy for dinner - this salad isn't exactly healthy but it's definitely nice and light, and tastes like summer to me. I've become a bit obsessed with Greek salad lately - so fresh, simple, and delicious. I often make a simplified version for my lunch - lettuce, tomato, cucumber and a little feta; easy to assemble, healthy (except the feta, which I try to go light on if it's an everyday lunch) and tasty.
Tonight's evening meal was our first escape from Christmas leftovers - there was so much leftover turkey, ham, and miscellaneous other bits and pieces that preparing new food really hasn't been required at all - and hence we didn't really want anything meaty or heavy. It also didn't really appeal to spend too long in the kitchen, so this seemed perfect - about 5 minutes to put the salad together, which I did in the afternoon, then 5 minutes to fry the feta just before serving.
If you're not an olive fan you can definitely omit them - and I used nice, strong goat feta (I looooove goat's milk cheese) but it will work perfectly with the milder (and cheaper) cow's milk feta. In fact, you can change in and out whatever you like - that's the beauty of salad - so I almost feel silly giving you a recipe, but I particularly like this combo so if you want to do it my way you can. ;-)
What do you sub in for normal dinner over the summer? Have you got through your Christmas leftovers yet?
Greek Salad with Fried Feta
Ingredients
about 150g mixed salad leaves (I just get the mixed stuff, but whatever you like)
1 small red onion, sliced
4 tomatoes, cut into wedges
1/3 telegraph cucumber, cubed
200g olives (I usually get a mixed pot from the deli)
300g feta
Layer the leaves, onion, tomato, cucumber and olives in a large bowl. Slice the feta into square or rectangular pieces, about 1cm thick. Heat a small amount of olive oil in a large non-stick frypan and fry the feta for a couple of minutes on each side, or until golden brown. Turn carefully to avoid losing the crust. When fried on both sides transfer into the salad bowl and serve immediately. Serves 4.
Tonight's evening meal was our first escape from Christmas leftovers - there was so much leftover turkey, ham, and miscellaneous other bits and pieces that preparing new food really hasn't been required at all - and hence we didn't really want anything meaty or heavy. It also didn't really appeal to spend too long in the kitchen, so this seemed perfect - about 5 minutes to put the salad together, which I did in the afternoon, then 5 minutes to fry the feta just before serving.
If you're not an olive fan you can definitely omit them - and I used nice, strong goat feta (I looooove goat's milk cheese) but it will work perfectly with the milder (and cheaper) cow's milk feta. In fact, you can change in and out whatever you like - that's the beauty of salad - so I almost feel silly giving you a recipe, but I particularly like this combo so if you want to do it my way you can. ;-)
What do you sub in for normal dinner over the summer? Have you got through your Christmas leftovers yet?
Greek Salad with Fried Feta
Ingredients
about 150g mixed salad leaves (I just get the mixed stuff, but whatever you like)
1 small red onion, sliced
4 tomatoes, cut into wedges
1/3 telegraph cucumber, cubed
200g olives (I usually get a mixed pot from the deli)
300g feta
Layer the leaves, onion, tomato, cucumber and olives in a large bowl. Slice the feta into square or rectangular pieces, about 1cm thick. Heat a small amount of olive oil in a large non-stick frypan and fry the feta for a couple of minutes on each side, or until golden brown. Turn carefully to avoid losing the crust. When fried on both sides transfer into the salad bowl and serve immediately. Serves 4.
Monday, December 27, 2010
Quick and Easy Chocolate Mousse
I know, I know, you're probably all completely sick of eating but I just can't resist posting a good recipe when I find one, and this is a fabulous and really easy dessert, and not only that but it avoids any raw egg concerns you might have with chocolate mousse (me, I don't mind raw egg, but in midsummer it's nice to have something that refrigeration really doesn't matter for). It is super rich - as chocolate mousse should be - and I do recommend reasonably dark chocolate, since the marshmallows make it pretty sweet and that helps balance it out.
The recipe is from Nigella Express, which was one of my Christmas pressies (thanks Mr Cake!), though I've actually made this dessert before, so I knew it was yummy in advance. ;-)
It's not quite instant, but it only takes a few minutes to whip up, and then perhaps an hour to cool and set up nicely. You just melt chocolate and marshmallows with a little butter and hot water - into a delicious chocolatey soup. I used only the white marshmallows (since the pink ones are faintly raspberry flavoured) but I doubt it would make much difference if you used both - but I happen to like eating the pink ones. ;-)
And then whip the cream and fold the chocolate through - just make sure you let the chocolate cool a little first (I may have done this a little too soon - it'll still work out fine but won't be quite as fluffy since the air will escape from the cream). Pretty simple, right? And it only takes one bowl and one saucepan - not four bowls, like my standard chocolate mousse.
You can set it in a big bowl and allow people to scoop servings out at dessert time, but it will look prettier if set in individual servings, and as a bonus smaller dishes will set faster. Naturally, berries are glorious with this (it is very rich!) and since it's prime berry season I highly recommend you source some to serve with your dessert. We had it with a little extra cream as well. Yum!
Nigella claims this recipe serves 4-6, but we divided it six ways and I felt I still had a bit too much - and I'm definitely not a stingy dessert server - so I reckon you can make it go further.
Instant Chocolate Mousse (adapted from Nigella Express)
Ingredients
150g marshmallows
50g butter
250g dark chocolate
60ml boiling water
250ml cream
1 tsp vanilla essence
Stir together the marshmallows, butter, chocolate and hot water over a low to medium heat. When smooth, transfer into another bowl to cool the mixture slightly.
Whip the cream with the vanilla intil thick, then fold in the cooled chocolate mixture. Spoon into bowls or glasses and chill for an hour before serving. Serves 6-8
The recipe is from Nigella Express, which was one of my Christmas pressies (thanks Mr Cake!), though I've actually made this dessert before, so I knew it was yummy in advance. ;-)
It's not quite instant, but it only takes a few minutes to whip up, and then perhaps an hour to cool and set up nicely. You just melt chocolate and marshmallows with a little butter and hot water - into a delicious chocolatey soup. I used only the white marshmallows (since the pink ones are faintly raspberry flavoured) but I doubt it would make much difference if you used both - but I happen to like eating the pink ones. ;-)
And then whip the cream and fold the chocolate through - just make sure you let the chocolate cool a little first (I may have done this a little too soon - it'll still work out fine but won't be quite as fluffy since the air will escape from the cream). Pretty simple, right? And it only takes one bowl and one saucepan - not four bowls, like my standard chocolate mousse.
Nigella claims this recipe serves 4-6, but we divided it six ways and I felt I still had a bit too much - and I'm definitely not a stingy dessert server - so I reckon you can make it go further.
Instant Chocolate Mousse (adapted from Nigella Express)
Ingredients
150g marshmallows
50g butter
250g dark chocolate
60ml boiling water
250ml cream
1 tsp vanilla essence
Stir together the marshmallows, butter, chocolate and hot water over a low to medium heat. When smooth, transfer into another bowl to cool the mixture slightly.
Whip the cream with the vanilla intil thick, then fold in the cooled chocolate mixture. Spoon into bowls or glasses and chill for an hour before serving. Serves 6-8
Sunday, December 26, 2010
Pita Pit in Christchurch - on shaky ground!
Despite having been in Christchurch a couple of times since the big quake in September I hadn't felt any aftershocks until 8am today - but the earth has been very active today, and the wake-up call at 8 was far from the last. Mr Cake and I left just before 10.30am to go to a BodyAttack class at Les Mills, to help mitigate our delicious Christmas dinner, and a couple of minutes along the road Mr Cake commented that he thought there had just been a quake, as the car had swerved slightly unexpectedly - initially he thought it was the car alignment but then realised, and moments later when we came to an intersection and saw that the lights were out we figured out it had been a decent one. Several sets of lights were out - which made for some interesting interpretations of the give way rules - and a couple of fire engines, including the hazmat control unit, passed us on the way into town. There were quite a few bits of obvious damage - though the quake wasn't that large (magnitude 4.9) it was centred right under the CBD, where the buildings are more vulnerable (more of them are brick and stone), so there was quite a bit of damage.
Unfortunately Les Mills had closed, as there was no power or water to their building, but they confirmed the Ferrymead gym was open, so we got our Boxing Day workout in, albeit with a slightly longer journey at either end. Once we'd worked off yesterday's sins we had planned to grab a bite to eat at the Pita Pit on High Street (thanks to a GrabOne deal I nabbed a while back) so headed back into town. Unfortunately navigation was a bit of a challenge as lots of the streets were closed, and our first two attempts at parking (in the Lichfield St/Ballantynes carpark and The Crossing) were scuppered by people ushering us away. We did manage to find a spot on the street a little further down, though, and wandered down High Street, finding that thankfully (Mr Cake was pretty desperate for his lunch!) Pita Pit was still open.
Pita pit is pretty much like Subway, except with pita pockets instead of bread. One of my colleagues gets his lunch from the Wellington one pretty much every day, but the queues (well, and that I tend to bring my lunch most days since it saves me lots of money!) put me off doing that. There was a small queue for us but since we hadn't tried the pitas before it was good to have a couple of minutes to figure out what we wanted.
The main menu lets you choose the protein - I opted for chicken caesar (i.e. chicken and bacon) and Mr Cake chose felafel - and then you pick your spread, salads, cheese and dressing.
The meat is put on to grill as you work your way along the salad bar, and if you want you can have your mushrooms, onion and capsicum fried on the grill if you choose - a great option to have, I thought. Once its all wrapped up you also have the option of having your pita toasted, for some extra yum-factor. And then it gets all wrapped up ready to go - or if you opt for "have here" they rip the top off so you can bite straight into it - easy access. ;-)
We didn't even get as far as the door before we were both chomping into our lunch, and it was delicious - pretty much spot on for a post-Christmas post-workout lunch - both healthy and very satisfying. The salad was great, the dressings were nice (I would have been happy with a little less but then I'm not a big dressing person) and I was really impressed with the chicken and bacon - it actually tasted like what it was, which is no mean feat for a takeaway. Definitely a recommended option for lunch - it's a bit pricey, up to $10.90 for a large pita, but I'd be happy with a smaller one for every day (I actually didn't finish my large one, and I had just come from the gym). Just watch the dressing doesn't leak out the bottom as happened to me!
And as we ate we got to watch workers scurrying about rolling out emergency tape and scrutinising buildings - not our ideal lunchtime entertainment (we'd definitely prefer the ground stayed put and buildings didn't crumble!) but interesting all the same.
What meals do you have to "recover" from your Christmas enjoyment? Do you stretch out the deliciousness or resume normal mealtime transmission immediately?
Pita Pit is located at 250 High Street, Christchurch, ph 03 377 7485, pitapit.co.nz
Unfortunately Les Mills had closed, as there was no power or water to their building, but they confirmed the Ferrymead gym was open, so we got our Boxing Day workout in, albeit with a slightly longer journey at either end. Once we'd worked off yesterday's sins we had planned to grab a bite to eat at the Pita Pit on High Street (thanks to a GrabOne deal I nabbed a while back) so headed back into town. Unfortunately navigation was a bit of a challenge as lots of the streets were closed, and our first two attempts at parking (in the Lichfield St/Ballantynes carpark and The Crossing) were scuppered by people ushering us away. We did manage to find a spot on the street a little further down, though, and wandered down High Street, finding that thankfully (Mr Cake was pretty desperate for his lunch!) Pita Pit was still open.
Pita pit is pretty much like Subway, except with pita pockets instead of bread. One of my colleagues gets his lunch from the Wellington one pretty much every day, but the queues (well, and that I tend to bring my lunch most days since it saves me lots of money!) put me off doing that. There was a small queue for us but since we hadn't tried the pitas before it was good to have a couple of minutes to figure out what we wanted.
The main menu lets you choose the protein - I opted for chicken caesar (i.e. chicken and bacon) and Mr Cake chose felafel - and then you pick your spread, salads, cheese and dressing.
We didn't even get as far as the door before we were both chomping into our lunch, and it was delicious - pretty much spot on for a post-Christmas post-workout lunch - both healthy and very satisfying. The salad was great, the dressings were nice (I would have been happy with a little less but then I'm not a big dressing person) and I was really impressed with the chicken and bacon - it actually tasted like what it was, which is no mean feat for a takeaway. Definitely a recommended option for lunch - it's a bit pricey, up to $10.90 for a large pita, but I'd be happy with a smaller one for every day (I actually didn't finish my large one, and I had just come from the gym). Just watch the dressing doesn't leak out the bottom as happened to me!
And as we ate we got to watch workers scurrying about rolling out emergency tape and scrutinising buildings - not our ideal lunchtime entertainment (we'd definitely prefer the ground stayed put and buildings didn't crumble!) but interesting all the same.
What meals do you have to "recover" from your Christmas enjoyment? Do you stretch out the deliciousness or resume normal mealtime transmission immediately?
Pita Pit is located at 250 High Street, Christchurch, ph 03 377 7485, pitapit.co.nz
Saturday, December 25, 2010
Merry Christmas from the Cakes!
I hope today has been a day full of great food, much merriment and not too much stress or bellyache (though a small amount seems only right!) for you all. It certainly was for me - just the right amount of bellyache!
I finished up at work on Thursday and flew to Christchurch, and spent yesterday preparing for our Christmas dinner with my sister. We had a very home-grown Christmas - my Dad grew a lot of the vegies (and the piles of glorious cherries) which appeared on our dinner table, and the lamb came from his aunt; he and my brother-in-law got the honoured job of killing and hanging it on the 23rd, then butchering it yesterday.
We set the table all pretty - we went from this:
To this:
We used some ivy to decorate the table, along with cherries, peas in the pod, and homemade rosemary and parmesan breadsticks so that people could nibble while we put the finishing touches on dinner. We used some of Grandma's lovely depression glass to hold these - they're so lovely and worked a treat in amongst the trailing ivy. My sister's recent trip to Israel yielded a lovely wooden nativity scene which we set up on the mantlepiece in the dining room to complete the scene.
Our dinner included some things I've given recipes for, and some which might show up at some later date. We had some cute little canapes - beetroot hummus and goat cheese tartlets, and caprese salad skewers:
The lamb was beautiful - a combination, I think, of the super-fresh, tender meat, and a wonderfully buttery walnut and almond stuffing which fed deliciousness into the meat. Our roast consisted of both flaps from the lamb and the eye fillet, butterflied, and then all three laid together so we had a substantial rolled roast. The stuffing also gave the gravy a delicious nutty flavour, which was a bit different.
And of course the best part was being able to share a nice long leisurely lunch with the whole Cake family:
Clockwise from front left - Mr Cake, Dad Cake, Mum Cake, Grandpa Cake, Grandma Cake, Baby Sister Cake, Sister Cake (with in-utero Macgyver Cake), Brother-in-law Cake and Uncle Cake! Oh, and if you look really carefully there's a portrait in the background of my sisters and I when I was about eight - I have the frizziest hair in the world in that photo, thanks to my excellent childhood strategy of putting about eight braids into my hair while it was wet and then sleeping on it to make my hair "curly." Stunning... Fortunately my idea of ways to make my hair look good (and also ways-to-get-a-decent-night's-sleep!) have progressed over the years. ;-)
Most notable present: our brand new his'n'hers aprons. Check them out:
Aren't they awesome? Thanks to Aunty Cake for making them for us. I'm sure they'll be covered in cakey smudges in no time!
So I hope you all had a fabulous Christmas - what did you do? And what was your most fabulous foodie pressie?
I finished up at work on Thursday and flew to Christchurch, and spent yesterday preparing for our Christmas dinner with my sister. We had a very home-grown Christmas - my Dad grew a lot of the vegies (and the piles of glorious cherries) which appeared on our dinner table, and the lamb came from his aunt; he and my brother-in-law got the honoured job of killing and hanging it on the 23rd, then butchering it yesterday.
We set the table all pretty - we went from this:
To this:
We used some ivy to decorate the table, along with cherries, peas in the pod, and homemade rosemary and parmesan breadsticks so that people could nibble while we put the finishing touches on dinner. We used some of Grandma's lovely depression glass to hold these - they're so lovely and worked a treat in amongst the trailing ivy. My sister's recent trip to Israel yielded a lovely wooden nativity scene which we set up on the mantlepiece in the dining room to complete the scene.
Our dinner included some things I've given recipes for, and some which might show up at some later date. We had some cute little canapes - beetroot hummus and goat cheese tartlets, and caprese salad skewers:
And of course the best part was being able to share a nice long leisurely lunch with the whole Cake family:
Most notable present: our brand new his'n'hers aprons. Check them out:
Aren't they awesome? Thanks to Aunty Cake for making them for us. I'm sure they'll be covered in cakey smudges in no time!
So I hope you all had a fabulous Christmas - what did you do? And what was your most fabulous foodie pressie?
Wednesday, December 22, 2010
Last Minute Christmas Treats: Easy Peanut Butter Fudge
Still looking for a last minute treat to package up and give to all your aunties and second cousins? Look no further! I stumbled upon this recipe the other day and it looked too easy not to try. The finished product looks like fudge, has the consistency of fudge, and tastes - well, mostly like peanut butter, but in a fudgey way. A good way. ;-)
Like the chocolate stuff, this isn't real fudge, so if you're a die-hard fudge fan you might be disappointed - but if you're just after a sugar hit (or you love peanut butter) this is pretty good stuff. And, better still, it takes maybe 15 minutes to make, plus an hour to set and a little bit of time to hack it into bite-sized morsels and wrap it up nicely.
Step one is bringing the peanut butter and butter to the boil - you don't need to stir constantly but definitely don't stray far from the pan. I may have gotten slightly distracted reading a funny story and possibly-just-a-little-bit burned the bottom of the pan. Oopsy. That looks like this, just so you know what to avoid:
Step two is mixing in the other ingredients - you'll get a bit of an arm workout getting the sugar all mixed in, but that's okay, because step three is pouring it into pans to set, and then you're all done.
And pour is a bit generous - more like scoop and press. I'm sure you could also roll it into truffles, though it is pretty crumbly so might confuse people since truffles are usually quite smooth.
I also spread chocolate over one pan-ful - I made lots so both Mr Cake and I could take some to work and we could get the neighbour kids nice and hyped up on sugar (sorry neighbour parents! Hopefully you ate enough yourself that this didn't eventuate...). The chocolate wasn't super fantastic as it didn't really stick to the fudgey stuff, so I wouldn't bother with that again.
Peanut Butter Fudge (adapted from Brown Eyed Baker)
Ingredients
230g butter
1¼ cups smooth peanut butter
1/2 tsp salt
1½ teaspoons vanilla extract
4½ cups icing sugar
Line a brownie pan or square cake tin with baking paper. Heat the butter and peanut butter over a medium heat, stirring regularly, until the mixture comes to the boil.
Pour into a large bowl, and add salt and vanilla and then the icing sugar. Mix until smooth, then press into your tin. Chill for 1 hour to set then cut into pieces. Can be stored at cool room temperature once set.
Like the chocolate stuff, this isn't real fudge, so if you're a die-hard fudge fan you might be disappointed - but if you're just after a sugar hit (or you love peanut butter) this is pretty good stuff. And, better still, it takes maybe 15 minutes to make, plus an hour to set and a little bit of time to hack it into bite-sized morsels and wrap it up nicely.
Step one is bringing the peanut butter and butter to the boil - you don't need to stir constantly but definitely don't stray far from the pan. I may have gotten slightly distracted reading a funny story and possibly-just-a-little-bit burned the bottom of the pan. Oopsy. That looks like this, just so you know what to avoid:
Step two is mixing in the other ingredients - you'll get a bit of an arm workout getting the sugar all mixed in, but that's okay, because step three is pouring it into pans to set, and then you're all done.
And pour is a bit generous - more like scoop and press. I'm sure you could also roll it into truffles, though it is pretty crumbly so might confuse people since truffles are usually quite smooth.
I also spread chocolate over one pan-ful - I made lots so both Mr Cake and I could take some to work and we could get the neighbour kids nice and hyped up on sugar (sorry neighbour parents! Hopefully you ate enough yourself that this didn't eventuate...). The chocolate wasn't super fantastic as it didn't really stick to the fudgey stuff, so I wouldn't bother with that again.
It's pretty tasty stuff - you won't like it if you don't like peanut butter, though, let it be said. And it is pretty sugary, too - but tasty and quick. And you'll need quick if you're still seeking inspiration at this late hour. ;-)
Peanut Butter Fudge (adapted from Brown Eyed Baker)
Ingredients
230g butter
1¼ cups smooth peanut butter
1/2 tsp salt
1½ teaspoons vanilla extract
4½ cups icing sugar
Line a brownie pan or square cake tin with baking paper. Heat the butter and peanut butter over a medium heat, stirring regularly, until the mixture comes to the boil.
Pour into a large bowl, and add salt and vanilla and then the icing sugar. Mix until smooth, then press into your tin. Chill for 1 hour to set then cut into pieces. Can be stored at cool room temperature once set.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)