Recipe: Carrot and Zucchini Fritters

I adapted a recipe from the very wonderful Hungry Girls Cook Book 2, last night.

Here's my version (it was TOPS):

Carrot and Zucchini Fritters

1 x medium - large carrot
1 x medium zucchini
1 x egg
25g (about 2 generous table spoons) plain flour
1 tsp (nice) curry powder or just cummin powder
1 x tsp of ground coriander OR some lovely fresh coriander
1/2 tsp salt
Olive oil
lemon wedge to serve

Grate the carrot and zucchini.
Combine well with the other ingredients.
Put a nice heavy bottom frying pan on the stove at a medium heat and dollop in some olive oil. Swirl it around to coat the pan.

Drop in a tablespoon-ish of mixure in the corner of your pan and spread it out thinly. Repeat. I got 4 fritters in my pan at once.

Cook one side until you see it browning around the edges and flip to cook the other side. Once cooked set aside and keep warm while you do the next batch.

Serve with lemon wedges.

We had ours with smoked salmon, pea sprouts (with lime and ginger balsamic vinegar) and some (stale. oops.) sourdough slices (toasted). YUM.

Quince Paste

Quinces - They make the house smell like a home.

Yes autumn is here, always my favourite time of year, as birthday season is just around the corner and quinces are at the farmers market (or ripening up on a tree near you).

I cannot remember who gave me this recipe it may have been my aunt it may have been my mums friend Gail - either or thank-you it’s lovely and so easy which makes it all the better.

Ingredients:

4 or more Big Quinces

Lots of sugar

Wash the fur off the quinces, but do not peel them.

Put them whole into a pot; add enough water to cover them by about 3cm.

Bring to the boil. Reduce heat medium, cook for about 30 minutes, just until they begin crack open and the peel starts to come away. Remove from the pot and set them aside to cool.

When the quinces are cool enough to handle, peel them, and remove the seeds and cores, I found it easiest to carve the soft flesh away as opposed to cutting them up like apples.

Now weigh the quince flesh, and then mash them up (with a potato masher) or whiz them in a whizzer (thank-you really wonderful boyfriends mum) until smooth.

Transfer flesh to a saucepan, and add the same weight of sugar as fruit, Mix. Cook at a very low heat for about 1 hour, stirring often with a wooden spoon, until the mixture blushes red and gets very sticky, and there is no visible liquid left.

Transfer it to a shallow dish (or if you are super cool some really cute jelly mould), and let it cool.

Once cool it should solidify and you can cut it up and portion it up for your true friends.

Its meant to last for up to 2 months in the fridge but I've never had it last that long. I brought stacks of Quinces in my excitement - so if anyone knows any more recipes please don't hesitate to share.

Recipe: Sam's chicken balls of goodness

This recipe was a wedding offering from our friend Sam (partner-in-crime of Pony Parade). He's a real-live chef, so we try to invite him over for dinner as often as possible!

I made these for some other friends last night and they disappeared in seconds (they were also a hit with the teenagers).

Ingredients:
500g chicken thigh (I used chicken mince because I don't have a food processor)
1 x bunch coriander (use leaves)
2 x birds eye chilli
4 x lime leaves (I used lime juice as a subsitute)
3 x garlic cloves
1 thumb ginger
10 shakes of fish sauce

Blitz the lot until fine and with wet hands roll into teaspoon sized balls. Steam or bake 15 minutes. (I didn't blitz mine, just moshed it together well and rolled into balls)

Dipping sauce:
50ml fish sauce
50ml lime juice
1/3 cup grated palm sugar
1 chilli shredded
coriander roots
1 tsp shredded ginger
1 tsp shredded garlic

Allow to dissolve for one hour.

(image: low revolution)

WE LOVE BANANA CAKE

fruit bowl
Originally uploaded by olivia_marie

I was hoping this afternoon to make my nana's banana cake recipe but it was not where I thought it was so I made a very simple one up.

I had 3 super ripe bananas the kind that have no yellow left
I mashed these up.

3 super ripe bananas
150g unsalted butter
3/4 cup of sugar
2 eggs
1 table spoon of honey
2 1/2 cups of plain flour
2 tea spoons baking soda
2 teaspoons of cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1 teaspoon of salt
1/4 cup of soy milk

turn oven to 170C
cream butter and sugar
add banana, eggs and honey.
Sift in all the dry ingredients and mix. Add milk.
Grease tin, pour batter in and pop in the oven.
bake for about 40 min and then pop a skewer in to make sure its done.
Leave to cool for about 20 min and then serve warm with a little cream and a nice cup of tea.

Rhubarb Strawberry Crumble

I brought some rhubarb and some strawberries from a local farmers market, then I got home and found a recipe on Smitten Kitten entitled Strawberry and Rhubarb Crumble, meow that's totally purr-fect.

I changed the recipe a tad to suit me more, let me know what you think.

Rhubarb with Strawberry Crumble

Topping:

1 cup flour

1/2 cup of oats

1 teaspoon baking powder
3 tablespoons sugar

1 tablespoon of golden syrup
Zest of one lemon
125g butter

For the filling:
1 1/2 cups rhubarb, chopped into 1cm pieces
1 punnet of strawberries plus a few extras, hulled, quartered
Juice of one lemon (pinched from the neighbours tree)
1/2 cup sugar
2 teaspoons of custard powder
Nice pinch of salt

1. Heat oven to 150C.

2. Prepare filling: Toss rhubarb, strawberries, lemon juice, sugar, cornstarch and a pinch of salt in a deep little pie dish and Mix.

3. Prepare topping: In bowl, sift in flour, baking powder, add sugars and lemon zest and add the melted butter.

4. Cover fruit with topping. Bake until crumble topping is golden and fruit is bubbling beneath, about 30 to 40 minutes.

Let it rest a little and then add some ice-cream or something else even naughtier.

We like: Trotski and Ash

Trotski & Ash are Sarah Trotter and Romy Ash.

They write about their life with food - replete with yummy recipes and gorgeous photos by Lauren Bamford.

mmm its muffin time

I found a recipe on Just Bento entitled Earl Grey Tea Muffins and I was a bit excited,

tea in muffins, muffins made of tea...thats just crazy enough to work and it did. I've made three different types and I changed the recipe a tad to suit my tastes. I made a really lovely apple tea cake with this details below.

Earl Grey Tea Muffins

3 little blue eggs - Araucana Chooks (go look just for the pic)

1/2 cup brown sugar

1 tsp vanilla essence or 1 tbs of maple syrup or both

2 cups of flour

1 & 1/2 tsp baking power

1 tbs butter

1/2 cup milk

1 tbs of apple cider vinegar

4 tbs of sunflower oil

2 big pinches of salt

4 tea bags of my lovely natures cuppa earl grey tea

Preheat the oven to 180ºC

Whip eggs with sugar and vanilla in a bowl until thick and creamy.

Add sifted four and baking power, and mix to incorporate (don't over mix).

Add milk, vinegar and the oil, and stir till smooth.

Add salt and tea leaves.

Butter the tin and pour in the batter.

20 min mini muffins

30 min regular muffuns

45 min if you pure it into a cake tin and arrange some sliced golden delicious apples on top.

remember to pat dry the apples, sprinkle with sugar and dot with butter.

Enjoyed with a perfect cup of tea and made the best in the afternoon.