Taro Ice Cream

Taro ice cream 

Hello Fellow Nom  Seekers!

I have been Googling recipes for taro ice cream ever since my Aunt was reminiscing about eating a taro flavoured ice cream bought from a street vendor over 40 years ago.  She was waxing lyrical about how absolutely delicious it was.  Whilst I have never come across taro in ice cream form, I surmised it would taste awesome.  Taro itself once cooked down takes on a creamy consistency and it has a mild macedemia nutty taste to it.  With the addition of coconut, it was a tropical South East Asia holiday in a bowl.

I discovered this wonderful site, called Serious Eats which had an easy to follow and easy to make taro ice cream recipe.  I was sold on the idea.  What's particularly great about the recipe (apart from it's fool proofiness), was that it used real taro versus the alarmingly coloured purple taro powder commonly found in bubble teas.

Here are a few pics of my taro icecream making experience.  For recipe details from Serious Eats, go here. 
I followed their recipe to the letter with the exception of straining the mixture as I rather liked having little niblets of taro speckled in my ice cream.  I replaced sugar with stevia in a 1:1 ratio - I rationalised I cam eat more ice cream as it's sugar free!  Another wonderful thing about this recipe is that it is egg-free so for anyone with egg allergies, eat away with abandon.

Shredding the taro - a good arm workout

Cooking down the egg-free mixture

The churn-inator

A bowlful of yum

I also recently made Matcha (green tea) ice cream.  Recipe here. Matcha ice cream is a lot cleaner in flavour than the taro.  But I think I prefer the taro because it's like a frozen tong shui.  Yum.

Until next time...

Bone Broth

Hello Fellow Nom Seekers!

I have Bone Brothed!  I'm a relative newbie at this kinda thing.  I was researching recipes for nourishing soups and came across all these blogs extolling the virtues of bone broth.  Apparently it is very good for your gut, chocked full of minerals leeched from the said bones and absolutely jiggling with gelatinous goodness.  

I like the sound of that.  So I tried.  The traditional method of bone broth production requires you to cook the broth over 24 hours on the stove top.  Being an already highly strung individual, I knew the traditional method would not work for me.  I would not be able to sleep or leave the house knowing the stove is on.  So after some more googling, I came across this excellent site by Nom Nom Paleo.  Michelle Tam, the author of Nom Nom Paleo had very easy to follow recipes for slow cooker and pressure cooker versions of bone broth.  (Nom Nom Paleo is a great site - very well written and crammed with do-able recipes, even if you are not a paleo)

Being an impatient person, I gave the pressure cooker bone broth recipe a go first.  See here for Nom Nom Paleo's recipe.  It worked out very well and it eliminated the interminable slow cooking involved.  It took about 50 minutes in the pressure cooker once it has reached full steam.  Being a first timer, I did end up doing some running around to source good organic, grass fed bones.  At first, I came across a big bag of soup bones in Woolworths (supermarket) however the lady stocking the shelves was rather bemused when I quizzed her on the diet of the cows.  So off I trotted to Camberwell market and the lovely butcher guided me to some good quality bones and sawed them up for me to fit my pot.  I more or less followed Nom Nom Paleo's recipe to the letter.  I added a few kale stems only because I had them lying around.  The resulting broth was viscous, not fully jelly-like but full bodied if you know what I mean.  It was definitely beefy in taste.  I threw in some sprouted barley once I have strained everything and simmered over a low heat until the barley cooked.  The barley gave me something to chew on.  

Since kiddo had a head cold, my first batch was gone in a matter of days.  I then tried my hand at the slow cooker version.  See recipe here.  I like the electric slow cooker version better.  I am always a bit anxious when operating my pressure cooker as I irrationally fear that it would explode. The electric slow cooker minimised my anxiety somewhat.  The quality of the broth is similar.  

Here are a few tidbits re bone broth I came across in my googling and in my own limited experience in bone brothing:

• roast the bones in the oven at the highest temperature setting for 15 mins to get reduce the boney soap factory smell.  I did  this but found the beef bones still smell a bit boney and soap factory-ish.  
• chicken bones did not stink as much as beef bones
• throwing in a pair of chicken feet or pig trotters help with the gelatinisation process
• if using pig trotters, must must must, refrigeration before drinking so that the fat can be skimmed off easily
• seasonings such as sprigs of thyme, bay leave, peppercorns seem to work well
• the vinegar is used to leech the minerals out of the bones so must not omit!

So there you have it - bone broth!  I am a convert and have started the practice of stock piling bones in the freezer specifically for this purpose.  

Until next time...

Preserved Figs

Hello Fellow Nom Seekers!

It was an exceptionally hot dry summer this year and as a result, the fig yield has been a little on the scarce side.  What I didn't realise until recently was that figs ripen on trees, so there was no point in picking them green to 'beat the birds' because they will remain like hard little nuggets.  So with a bag of hard little green nuggets which refused to ripen, I did a bit googling and came across this site called the Urban Outdoor Skills which had a great recipe for green unripe figs.

The recipe was very easy to follow with clear photos as each major step.  Here are mine:

They taste very similar to a ripe fig with a hint of cloves.  I used Stevia instead of sugar.  It was not overly syrupy (a good thing in my book).

Serving ideas:

• with yoghurt or ice cream
• topped with cream cheese and almonds and warmed in the oven
• with muesli
• and of course, on it's own

Oven roasted figs with cream cheese and almond flakes

Until next time...

Paleo Hot Cross Buns

Hello Fellow Nom Seekers!

I have a love/hate relationship with hot cross buns.  That is to say that I love them to distraction and can eat half a dozen in one sitting smothered with butter.  Which brings me to hating them and myself as I ride the sugar rush that goes with consuming vast amounts of them.  This year I issued an embargo on them in my household.  I felt virtuous with a bit of self pity thrown in.  I just can't trust myself in their presence.

That was the state of play until I discovered this little gem of a recipe on online for Paleo Hot Cross Buns from I Quit Sugar.com.  See recipe here.  I road tested this recipe and followed it more or less with the omission of chocolate (I am the only person on this planet who doesn't like the stuff) and I couldn't be pfaffed about creating the cross on top but I threw the coconut flakes which would have constituted the cross into the actual batter.

I have to say they smell great baking in the oven - just how a hot cross bun would smell.  Divinely spicy.  But I don't know what happened to the texture of mine.  They turned out more like a dry crumbly cookie.  Like with many things in life, it's all about perception.  So I have decided to call mine Hot Cross Cookies and they taste great with a cup of tea.  I get the flavourings of a spice filled hot cross bun just minus the fluffy wheaty texture of the actual bun.  Oh well, the trade off is a nice cookie to dunk in my tea.  C'est la vie.

Until next time...

My First Foray Into Fermentation

Hello Fellow Nom Seekers!

I love my sauerkraut, dill pickles and kim chi and they all happen to be fermented foods.  So in my mind, fermented foods = yum.  And another equation to add to this is:  fermented foods = convenience = veggies in a jar which stays fresh for weeks and weeks on end!  My fridge is full of spoiling vegetables which I go to grab to make something out of only to be disappointed that what was once a crisp produce has liquified to mush because I didn't get to it quickly enough.  Well I don't suffer from that sort of disappointment with fermented veggies!

What I didn't discover until recently was the health benefits of fermented foods.  I bought the Sarah Wilson, I Quit Sugar For Life, wellness code and cookbook in which she introduced the concepts of fermentation. It's like a whole new world has opened up for me.  I thoroughly recommend Sarah's blog and her books, particularly the bits on fermentation, the benefits and how to go about it.

Anyway, the whole point of this post is to report back on my first fermenting experience - and I'll get to the point right now.  I dutifully followed Sarah's guidelines.  I made my own whey from taking a tub of organic full fat yoghurt, wrapping it in a towel and hanging the yoghurt so that the whey drips down into the receiving bowl.  The whey I used to start my fermenting project.

I chose to ferment purple Dutch carrots because I found their colour to be irresistible.  Surely a veggie so vibrant in colour is full of goodness?  The whole "eat your colours", blather? The hard thing about fermenting carrots was that they were, um hard, really hard.  It was really difficult to pound them hard enough to extract enough juice to cover them.  So I ended up adding copious amounts of water to cover them which I then countered by adding more salt.  They eventually looked like they were suspended in some briny soup which didn't look anything like the fermented veggies photos on Sarah's blog.  Umph!  But I'm hoping the health benefits would all be there even though mine were a bit waterlogged. I also threw in a clove or two and half a star anise in each jar for flavour.  I left them out for four days on the kitchen and they were ready to eat/go in the fridge thereafter.

How did they taste?  Well they didn't taste carroty.  It was slightly briny and clovey.  It wasn't as salty as I expected given the amount of salt I threw in. The texture was a bit like sauerkraut.  There was a slight yoghurty taste which I may be imagining because I'm aware it's got whey in it. I have been having a tablespoon or two of this with my dinner and treat it like one of the side veggies.

I enjoyed making it (there is an element of mad scientist to it and science is fun!) and am currently brainstorming the next thing to ferment.

Until next time...

This post is shared at Healthy, Happy, Green & Natural Party Hop

Paleo Inside-Out Bread

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Hello Fellow Nom Seekers!

For this Recipe Roadtest post, I had to share my recent new love of my life - Paleo Inside-Out Bread.  It is from Sarah Wilson's I Quit Sugar For Life, wellness code and cookbook.  She also has a great blog which covers all this and more, here.  

I have made three loaves of this bread so far.  It freezes very well pre-sliced and I pop these in the sandwich press in the morning for a breakfast which I look forward to every morning.  I have had this every morning for the past fortnight and I'm not sick of it yet!  It is filling and when toasted, it emanates the most delicious hammy, cheesy aromas.  It is quite an eggy mixture so there is almost a quiche-like quality to it as well.  It is also dead easy to make - bonus!

Here is the recipe from I Quite Sugar For Life:

Ingredients for 1 loaf:

• 1.5 cups almond meal
• 3/4 cups arrowroot
• 1/2 tsp sea salt
• 1/2 tsp bicarb of soda
• 5 eggs
• 1.5 tsp apple cider vinegar
• 1 tbs flat leaf parsley chopped
• 1/2 cup pitted olives chopped
• 3/4 cup grated zucchini
• 1/3 cup finely diced ham
• 1/2 cup finely grated parmesan cheese
• 2 tbs pepitas

Method:

• Preheat oven to 160 degrees C and line a tin loaf pan with baking paper
• In a large bowl mix almond meal, arrowroot, salt and bicarb
• In another bowl, beat eggs with apple cider vinegar.  
• Add parsley, ham, cheese to the egg mixture and mix the egg mixture with the dry ingredients
• Mix well and pour into tin.  Sprinkle with pepitas
• Bake for 30 - 35 mins or until top starts to turn golden and skewer comes out clean
• Allow to cool, remove from tin.  

I've added fresh thyme in my mixture as I have heaps growing in the garden - it makes it smell even more heavenly when baking.  I have also substituted parsley with spring onions and that also works very well.  

Hope you guys enjoy as much as I do!

Until next time...

Dora Empanadas

Hello Fellow Nom Seekers!

I called these Dora Empanadas as embarrassingly, the recipe comes from an old Dora the Explorer cooking book which kiddo had when she was a toddler.  We've had the book for years but have never made anything from it.  Flipping through the other day, kiddo convinced me to make these vegetarian empanadas for her lunch box.  It was a good idea. These were filled with veggies, travelled well and would be an ongoing lunch box staple as well as a picnic option for us.

I tweaked the Dora recipe a bit, namely I put the veggies in a food processor so that they are nice and fine.  And I sauteed the veggies in a little oil for flavour rather than just boiling them.

Ingredients for 24 empanadas

• Store bought short crust pastry
• 1 cup of broccoli florets
• quarter cup of carrots
• half cup of shredded cheddar cheese
• salt and pepper to taste
• a little bit of olive oil for sauteeing.  

Method:

• Pre heat fan forced oven to 160 degrees C.  
• Blitz the broccoli and carrot in the food processor
• On a medium heat, heat a little oil in a pan and sautee the vegetables until al dente
• In a large bowl, mix the cooked veggies with the cheese and season to taste
• Cut out 24 circles (I used a large tumbler glass as a template) in the short crust pastry.  
• Place a little bit of the filling in each circle of pastry, fold over into a half moon shape, seal the edge.  Use a fork to crimp the edges and to poke a few holes into the body of the empanada to let steam escape later.  
• Bake for 20 - 30 minutes until pastry is cooked and achieves a toasty brown colour.  

Nom away.  The Dora the Explorer cookbook suggested serving this with salsa.  So I did.

Cheerio.

Recipe Roadtest: Ballistic Elvis Sammich

Hello Fellow Nom Seekers!

I'm an avid fan of Man Vs Food series and was particularly enraptured by an episode featuring the Ballistic Elvis Sammich.  It looked so truly terrifying - such a mishmash of flavours, that I had to make this.  And at first I was going to eat this as a bit of a joke, but after the first few bites, I realised I LOVE it!  I get it!  I now understand the allure!

It involves the following:

• 2 slices of bread
• peanut butter
• jam
• cheese
• chilli flakes
• caramelised banana
• loads of butter for frying

Here is a short clip on the creation of:

Let me explain the allure:  it is cheesy, it is salty, it is sweet, it is spicy and yes, it is buttery.
I have made it a few times since and have modified it slightly so that it is less calorific and evil.  I did this by using wholemeal bread, light peanut butter, low fat cheese, light jam and no butter.  Instead of frying it in the pan with heaps of oil, I put the whole thing including the non caramelised banana into the sandwich press.  No, it does not taste as good as the evil original but it's a lot better for my health.

Get on board with the Ballistic Elvis Sammich.  The King was right - this is seriously good.

Cheerio

Recipe Roadtest: Spring Onion Pancakes

Hello Fellow Nom Seekers!

My grandpa used to make these spring onion pancakes for me to eat as a snack. They are the most delicious things - salty, flaky, crispy.  As a kid, I ate them as an after school snack.  As an adult, I was thinking these will go down very well with a beer or two.  I was indulging in a bout of nostalgia the other day and looked up a recipe for these from A Little Taste of China cookbook which I had gathering dust in my library.  These turned out rather well and very close to what I remember them to taste like.

The recipe from A Little Taste of China is as follows:

Ingredients for 24:

• 2 cups of plain all purpose flour
• half tsp of salt
• 1 tbs oil
• 3 tbs of roasted sesame oil
• 2 spring onions, green part only finely chopped
• oil for frying - I used olive oil

Method:

• Place the flour and salt in a mixing bowl.  Add the oil and 1 cup of boiling water.  Using a wooden spoon mix to a rough dough.  Then turn the dough out onto a floured work surface to knead for 5 minutes or until smooth and elastic.  Cover the dough with a cloth and rest it for 20 minutes. 

• On a lightly floured work surface, roll the dough out into a long sausage then divide the roll into 24 pieces.  Working with one piece at a time, roll one piece out to a 10cm circle.  Brush the surface with sesame oil and sprinkle with chopped spring onions.  Then starting with the edge closest to you, roll up the dough into a cigar shape (see below). Taking the cigar shape, curl it up like a snail.  Then using a rolling pin, roll the snail shape flat.  Proceed to do this will all your 24 pieces of dough.  

• Heat up oil in a fry pan a fry a few pancakes at a time.  The outer should be crispy and the inside should come out flaky.  

Enjoy these while they are hot.  I had to slap people away to ensure I got my fair share.  They smell wonderful when frying and it is bound to bring in the vultures.  

Until next time,

Nom Seeker, Glutt

Recipe Roadtest: Thai Breakfast Soup

Hello Fellow Nom Seekers!

I was watching Marion Grasby's Thailand on tv the other night and she made a delicious looking fish and rice soup which the Thai's eat for breakfast.  There is Marion's recipe. It is served with garlic oil and chilli vinegar - all very yum condiments.  Can't go wrong.

I substituted baby calamari for fish as I much prefer to eat calamari.  And I also used a short grain sushi rice instead of long grain rice only because that is all I had in the pantry.  I like my rice soups or congee quite runny so mine is a lot less thick than her's.

Thai Breakfast Soup with Garlic Oil and Chilli Vinegar

My egg with a ladle of soup is starting to cook.  

The verdict:  Really easy to make soup which I actually had for lunch.  I don't think I'm organised enough to make this for breakfast!  My kiddo loved it too - she had 3 bowls!  I will definitely be making this one again.

Until next time,
Nom Seeker, Glutt.

Recipe Roadtest: Red Velvet Cake

Hello Fellow Nom Seekers!

I suck at baking.  Sorry for my bad language but really there is no other way to describe my ineptitude.  However, I have discovered a new cake recipe that even baking dunces like myself can execute with reasonable success.  Here is my creation!

I'm so proud of it, it's like I gave birth to it.

The cake recipe is from Taste.  Since I am totally incapable of following instructions to the letter, I could not help but tweak a few things.  My recipe is below. 

Ingredients:

For cake:

• 180g softened butter
• 1.5 cups caster sugar
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 2 eggs
• 2.5 cups of sifted self raising flour
• 2 tbs cocoa powder
• 1 cup of buttermilk
• 1tsp of bicarbonate of soda
• 1 tbs of red food coloring
• fresh berries to decorate
• 1 tsp of white wine vinegar

For icing:

• 250g of cream cheese
• 60g of softened butter
• 1 cup of icing sugar
• zest of 1 lime
• juice of 1 lime

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 180 degrees Celsius.  Grease and line two 20cm round cake tins. 
2. Beat softened butter and caster sugar together with an electric beater until light and fluffy. 
3. In a separate bowl, combine eggs, flour, cocoa powder, buttermilk and vanilla.  Add this to the butter and sugar mixture batches at a time beating in between. 
4. Stir in bicarb, red food coloring and vinegar. 
5. Pour mixture evening between the two cake tins and bake for 25 minutes or until skewer comes out clean when inserted in the centre. 
6. Let cakes cool for a few minutes before inverting onto wire rack. 
7. Make the icing by combining all the icing ingredients
8. Once cake is cooled, use a quarter of the icing mixture to sandwich the two cakes together.  You can sandwich a few berries in there too.  The remainder and majority of the icing and berries go on top. 

Enjoy!

Until next time,
Nom Seeker, Glutt

Recipe Roadtest: Vietnamese Rice Paper Rolls

Hello Fellow Nom Seekers!

I'm roadtesting what I figured is the recipe for BBQ chicken rice paper rolls served at Roll'd restaurants around town.  Although Roll'd is not exactly handing out their recipe, it is not hard to figure what they put in it.  The hard part is the actual rolling... so please pardon my rather ham-fisted attempts.  Whilst they might look at bit like I rolled them with my feet instead of my hands, let me assure you they tasted great!

I made a few tweaks to the traditional rice paper rolls to make it less carb-y.  Namely I substituted half of the rice noodles with bean sprouts. I also added chopped Vietnamese mint into the actual chicken mixture for extra green stuff. 

Ingredients for approximately 15 rolls (depends on how fat you roll them):

• 15 sheets of rice paper
• 2 cups of rotisserie chicken, shredded
• bunch of Vietnamese mint, chopped
• half a bunch of coriander, chopped
• 3 tablespoon of fish sauce
• Rice noodles, I used two patties
• 2 cups of bean sprouts
• 5 tablespoons of hoi sin sauce
• 1 tablespoon of sesame oil
• 3 tablespoon of egg mayonnaise
• 1 tablespoon of Sriracha chilli sauce

Method:

• Bring water to a boil in a large pot.  Once boiling, put your noodles in and cook for the duration specified on the packet. 
• Once the noodles are cooked, place your bean sprouts into the hot water with the noodles.  Let this sit for 3 - 4 minutes before rinsing with cold water.  Drain both noodles and bean sprouts. 
• Mix coriander, mint, chicken and fish sauce in a large bowl. 
• Place tepid water in a shallow dish.  Dunk one sheet of rice paper into the water to rehydrate.  Once soft, take rice paper onto another dry plate. 
• Place a spoonful of the chicken and herb mixture and bean sprouts and noodle mixture onto the rice paper. 
• Fold up the sides and the end closest to you.  Roll away from you until you end up with a little cylinder. 
• Place onto clean plate and cover with cling film until you have completed all your rolls. 
• To make the hoi sin dipping sauce:  mix hoi sin sauce, a few drops of hot water and sesame oil. 
• To make chilli mayo:  mix mayo and chilli sauce together. 
• Enjoy! 



Until next time,
Nom Seeker, Glutt

Recipe Roadtest: The Best Fish Baps with Mushy Peas and Tartare Sauce

Hello Fellow Nom Seekers!

Another day another recipe roadtest.  I'm doing another Jamie Oliver's recipes from 15 minute meals tonight at Bubbachuck's special request.  I figure if a child is putting her hand up to eat fish voluntarily then as a parent, I stand and deliver! 

Here is the link to the recipe.

Jamie's version - picture from his 15 minute meal cookbook

My attempt.  Ok, so mine didn't photograph as nicely as his but it not about looks, it's about substance!  The mushy peas were diabolical though. 

What I liked about this recipe:

• It's quick and easy.  It really only took between 15 - 20 minutes to knock up.  I'm so bloody proud of myself.
• It's damn tasty.  Even Obelix who usually makes up some excuse about not eating the fish was enjoying it.  The fish has a parmesan crust melded into it.  So good.  Could eat it every day. 
• The tartare sauce is low fat.  It's made of yoghurt and has hidden vegetative content.  Jamie used parsley.  I also threw in a handful of spinach for no other reason than I had it languishing around the fridge. 

What didn't rock my world:

• Mushy peas.  That is through no fault of the recipe.  I just don't like mushy peas.  I know an English expat who goes nuts over the stuff.  I guess it's an acquired taste. 

Will I make it again:

• Absolutely!  This would is definitely going on the rotation. 

Ciao for now,

Nom Seeker, Glutt