Taste Bud Pleasures

With Autumn getting into full swing, so are our cravings for comfort food (quietly we hope that we are NOT the only ones who feel this way). For all the “snackers” out there, we’ve come across an easy peasy autumn snack that is sure to satisfy your taste buds! The plus side of it – you will not have to take up extra boot camp classes to burn it off!

Apple & Blue Brie Cheese Stacks

PREP : 10 minutes

MAKES : 16

INGREDIENTS :

• 2 Pink Lady apples
• 1 x 200g packet of Blue Brie cheese, chilled & thinly sliced
• 300g of Walnuts, finely chopped

METHOD :

1. Use an apple corer to remove the cores from the apples. Cut each apple crossways into 5mm-thick slices.
2. Arrange the apple slices on a serving platter. Top with a slice of blue cheese and sprinkle with the walnut.

NOTE :

• Make this recipe up to 15 minutes before serving. Cover with plastic wrap and store at room temperature.

ENJOY!

x x x

Grecian Paradise

It may look easy,

but what is the secret to the perfect Greek Salad??

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 1/2 tablespoons lemon juice
• 1 garlic clove, crushed
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh oregano leaves
• 250g cherry tomatoes, halved
• 1 large Lebanese cucumber, quartered lengthways, chopped
• 1 small red onion, chopped
• 1 small red capsicum, chopped
• 1/2 cup kalamata olives
• 100g Greek feta cheese

Method

1. Place oil, lemon juice, garlic and oregano in a screw-top jar. Season with salt and pepper. Secure lid. Shake to combine.
2. Combine tomato, cucumber, onion, capsicum and olives in a large bowl. Top with feta. Drizzle with oil mixture. Serve.

   And as you know, we always applaud creativity in the kitchen!

   Check out these bite size salads!

   

   Delicious and healthy!

   Perfect!

Inspire Us Jamie!

It’s the dilemma we’re faced with every night:

what to have for dinner?

Well we are taking the bull by the horns and looking to the greats to inspire us.
Jamie Oliver has countless recipes, tv shows and books – and he’s a cutie pie!
How could we go wrong?!

“This dish is fantastic and you can literally have it ready in just over 5 minutes. Use either wild mushrooms that are in season, like girolles, trompettes de la mort and pieds de mouton, or more readily available farmed mushrooms like field, chestnut or oyster, as these are really tasty when cooked properly.” – Jamie

Best lamb cutlets with special basil sauce

Ingredients

• 12 lamb cutlets
• a small handful of fresh thyme, leaves picked
• extra virgin olive oil
• sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 400g mushrooms, brushed clean and torn
• a small handful of fresh flat-leaf parsley
• 1 lemon
• 2 handfuls of pine nuts
• 2 large handfuls of fresh basil
• 3-5 tablespoons balsamic vinegar

Method

These lamb cutlets are best cooked on a hot barbecue with wood or charcoal, to give you a wonderful smoky flavour. Otherwise use a preheated ridged griddle pan. Slap the cutlets with the heel of your hand to flatten them slightly. Then bash up your thyme in a pestle and mortar and add a little olive oil. Mix together, then rub the oil over the cutlets and season both sides of them. Put to one side.

Cook the mushrooms dry on the bars of your hot griddle pan. This is quite an unusual way to do it, but it gives you a nutty flavour that you wouldn’t get otherwise. Just grill them on both sides to mark them and put them into a large bowl. Once the mushrooms are done you can put the lamb on the barbecue or griddle pan. If the cutlets are about 1.5cm thick, just give them 3 or 4 minutes on each side until they’re really golden. This should cook them medium. (To be honest, I’m not really into rare lamb cutlets, but if you prefer them like that then cook for a little less time.)

When cooked, put the lamb cutlets into the bowl with the mushrooms and drizzle with a little olive oil. Tear over the parsley, in quite large pieces, and add a good squeeze of lemon juice. Season lightly and toss around. Place to one side to rest, to allow all the lovely juices to get sucked up by the mushrooms.

Meanwhile you can make a really quick sauce. It looks a bit like pesto, but although it contains basil and pine nuts it has no similarity in flavour. In a pestle and mortar pound up the pine nuts until you have a mushy pulp – this will give the sauce a creamy flavour and texture. Remove the mixture to a bowl, then use the pestle and mortar to bash the basil up into a pulp. Add this to the pine nuts and loosen with extra virgin olive oil so that the sauce easily drops off the end of a spoon. Now you need to balance it with quite a lot of balsamic vinegar to give it a good zing, almost like a mint sauce, but add it to taste. Give the lamband mushrooms a final toss. I like to serve this up on a big platter and let everyone help themselves. Have the sauce and a simple watercress salad on the side.

To see more from our fav British Chef check out his website!

x x x

The Master

Who doesn’t LOVE the whole Masterchef epidemic? We’ve fully embraced it and all it’s delicious glory!

An easy recipe we love, straight from the Masterchef kitchen :

Harissa chicken skewers with sheeps milk yoghurt raita

Ingredients

Harissa chicken skewers

• 2 tablespoons dry harissa spice mix, toasted
• 200g 200g sheeps milk yoghurt
• 500g chicken thigh fillets, cut into thick strips

Sheeps milk yoghurt raita

• ½ teaspoon ground cumin
• ½ teaspoon ground coriander
• 300ml 300ml sheeps milk yoghurt
• ½ cucumber grated and drained
• Lemon juice, to taste
• Coriander leaves, to serve

Method

1. Mix harissa and yoghurt in a glass bowl and stir well to combine.

2. Place chicken in a bowl, add harissa yoghurt, stir to coat, cover and allow to marinate in the fridge. Thread pieces of chicken onto pre-soaked bamboo skewers.

3. Preheat a greased barbeque plate  or grill plate on medium-high heat, cook for 3-4 minutes on each side or until cooked through.

4. For raita, place spices in a small frying pan and cook over medium heat until toasted. Transfer to a bowl with remaining ingredients and stir to combine. Season with salt, pepper and lemon juice to taste.

5. To serve, arrange cooked skewers on a serving plate, garnish with coriander and raita.

ENJOY!

x x x

A Cosy Night In

Wanting a cosy night in??

We found the perfect desert for rugging up on the couch!

PLUM CRUMBLE

INGREDIENTS

10 small (800g) plums
1/3 cup (75g) caster sugar
1/2 cup (110g) firmly packed brown sugar
1/2 cup (75g) plain flour
1/2 cup (40g) desiccated coconut
75g unsalted butter, chopped

METHOD

1. Preheat the oven to 180°C (160°C fan-forced).
2. Halve the plums; remove stones. Slice the plums; place in a large bowl. Add the caster sugar; toss until the plums are well coated in the sugar. Stand for 10 minutes.
3. Meanwhile, combine brown sugar, flour and coconut in a bowl; rub in the butter.
4. Stir the plums again to ensure they are well coated, then spoon into the base of six (2/3 cup/160ml) ovenproof dishes or a 1-litre (4-cup) ovenproof dish. Top the plums with the crumble mixture, place dishes on an oven tray. Bake for about 30 minutes or until golden and the juices are bubbling over the side.
5. Serve warm with whipped cream, ice-cream or custard, if desired.Suitable to freeze. Not suitable to microwave.

Mmmm… definitely yummiest when served warm!

x x x

Orange Morange

Caramelised oranges

You will need: a small sharp knife, a saucepan, a hob and a serving dish

8 oranges
75g light brown sugar
½ table spoon of orange juice
long strips of orange zest

Segmenting is when you cut citrus fruit in such a way that you are left with each section of the flesh without any pith, seed, skin or membrane, it takes a bit of practice but once you get the knack it is a very satisfying process.  You can always slice the oranges if you are in a hurry, it will but much quicker, but not as pleasant to eat.

To segment cut off both ends of the orange with a small sharp knife.  Place the orange on a chopping board and slice off the remaining skin by working the knife down the sides of the orange, follow the rounded shape of the orange with your knife.  Once all the skin is removed slide your knife into the side of one of the segments then gently flip the segment out from its casing of membrane.  You should be left with an oblong slice of orange flesh with nothing else attached.

Lay the orange segments into your serving dish.

Melt the sugar in the small amount of juice. Add the slivers orange zest, these are made either with a zester or by cutting up a thin slice of orange peel with a knife. You can also add a small splash of Grand Marnier, orange liquor, if you have some on hand.  Let the sugar melt over a medium heat until it has turned golden brown. Pour the syrup over the oranges when it is still warm.  It will form a sugary, crunchy crust.

The caramilised oranges are delicious served with a good vanilla ice cream or with pancakes for crepe suzette.

Or they can make the perfect garnish for your main meal!

But our love for oranges goes beyond the caramelised kind!

TOMMY top in Sky & AMALA skirt in Tangelo

AMON maxi dress in Tangelo

Feed My Belly!!

Watching that weight?
Never fear, you don’t have to skip on good tasting food!

Karen Martini’s delicious salmon and crispy flat bread salad is a delicious and healthy
meal to get you going as Summer comes closer.

Ingredients

1 round flat bread, cut into 2cm cubes
3 pinches ground cumin
1 tsp sweet paprika
Pinch salt flakes
100ml extra virgin olive oil
2 small Lebanese cucumbers
210g can pink salmon
250g punnet cherry tomatoes, halved
½ red onion, sliced into half-moons
Splash sherry vinegar
Tabasco, to taste
10 large pitted green olives, thinly sliced
1 bunch flat-leaf parsley, leaves picked and torn
½ bunch mint, leaves picked and torn
Juice of ½ lemon
Freshly ground black pepper, to season

Method

1| Heat a large frying pan over a high heat. Add flat bread, cumin, sweet paprika, salt and 1 Tbsp of the oil and cook,

tossing for 2 minutes or until bread is crispy. Remove from heat and set aside.
2| Peel cucumbers, then slice in half length ways. Remove seeds with a small teaspoon, then slice thinly.
3| Drain salmon and remove any small bones. Break up into large chunks.
4| Combine cucumber, salmon and remaining ingredients in a large bowl, then season with pepper.
5| Add bread mixture and toss to combine. Transfer to a platter and serve immediately.