Cooking Eating Storytelling
Smashed pumpkin on sourdough with poached egg, truffle oil and feta is the perfect weekend brunch idea. It also makes a nice change from the traditional smashed avo on toast.
You can use left over roast pumpkin from the previous nights roast dinner or roast some pumpkin ahead of time. Finish the dish off with a drizzle of vino cotto, a sprinkling of parsley for freshness and I guarantee you will walk straight past the avo in the shopping isle!
Your taste buds will love it!
Apple Galette aka The Easiest Apple Tart Ever is a recipe that you will use continuously from this point on … I promise!
A lot of people feel there is too much time and effort needed in making their own pastry, let alone a flaky pastry, but, being a rather lazy cook myself I know that this one will turn you into a pastry maker forever.
The pastry is done in a food processor in under 1 minute. It is then pressed into a ball and placed into the fridge till you are ready to roll it out and add the filling… See! So incredibly easy. You really can’t mess this pastry recipe up.
Once you’ve got the pastry, the filling combinations are endless; peach, berries, rhubarb, whatever.
If you want to make a savoury filling, say a mushroom galette, then omit the sugar and use half a whole wheat flour for added savouriness. Cook down the filling so as to not make the pastry soggy, making sure the filling is completely cold before placing on the pastry and cook for the 40 minutes or so.
Tip: cover the base of the rolled out pastry with a thinnish layer of flour that will absorb any excess liquid from your filling.
This is an amazingly simple recipe for an end result that is an incredible centrepiece.
Happy pastry sculpting, Blondie 🙂
Spinach Saag with Handmade Paneer, Who doesn’t love Indian, especially when it’s so easy to make a feast of food to satisfy anyone.
As my family chooses to have at least one meat free day a week (part time flexitarians if I choose to hop onto a bandwagon) coming up with tasty, satisfying meals is always fun and inspiring.
What I find though, when doing a cuisine like Indian or asian food, I need to have several dishes – at least two curries with samosas or dumplings and condiments. When I cook with meat I seem to be happy to plate up just one bowl. I don’t know why that is but no one’s complaining 🙂
This spinach saag is creamy, spinachy and full of delicious spices, including my absolute favourite herb, fenugreek aka methi. The aroma is just insane… it gets added to most of my Indian meals. Add the golden panfried, handmade paneer and you have meal that will sit pride of place at the dinner table.
Enjoy with family and friends… Blondie
2 Cheese & Spinach Rolls, I love these sooo much that I make a big batch of them and freeze them for lunches. They work really well as a dinner also! Just leave them the full size rather than cutting them in half or thirds and serve with a crisp garden salad and a Balsamic Mustard Dressing.
Good eating… Blondie 
Gow Gee Silverbeet & Ricotta Ravioli – I have a soft spot for pasta, especially when it is filled with cheese & spinach / silverbeet!
Where possible I do try to make my own pasta dough but there are occasions when time is of the essence! It was a few years ago when talking to mum I found out that she sometimes makes pierogi (Polish dumplings) & other ravioli type things by using Gow Gee pastry. Gow Gee pastry can be found at your local Asian supermarket or grocery store in the fridge section.
So I am stealing her idea! Don’t get me wrong…absolutely nothing beats fresh home made pasta…but when you are pressed for time…this is almost just as good!
I serve this with my favourite creamy pink sauce…my question to you is…what is YOUR favourite pasta sauce?
Look forward to hearing from you!
Bella
These Individual Chocolate Chip Cookie Pots are microwave cookies baked in seconds with only minutes of prep work required. They are insanely good and just perfect for those moments when a few mouthfuls of something warm, soft and slightly gooey is all that’s needed to satisfy your sweet tooth.
Just picture yourself sitting on the couch, all rugged up with woollen socks on and a blanket draped over you, slowly eating this freshly made warm chocolate chip cookie cup. Maybe you have a dollop of ice cream on top, which is gently melting from the warmth of the cookie adding another delicious element of languid creaminess to each mouthful.
Go for it, you know you want to… Blondie
Simple Indian Flat Bread – A wonderful addition to any curry is the flaky flat bread that you use to sop up all the delicious sauce.
This recipe is a quick version that works beautifully, especially if you roll it out nice and thin so you get the thin crispy, nicely tarnished bits on it.
You can also make flavoured butters to brush over the cooked bread, such as garlic or coriander melted butter.
This recipe can also be used for any recipe that requires a bread wrap such as gyros or falafel wraps.
Happy sopping! Blondie