Banana Cake

Here is something my little boy likes! Ah, success! And it isn't coated in chocolate.

I set out to make banana bread but after defrosting three bananas instead of two, which the recipe called for, what came out of my oven was definitely banana cake. I didn't mind, and neither did little man and baby girl, or my BFF who now works on the other side of my building (hip-pocket and waist line most certainly affected with spontaneous coffee breaks and long lunches!).

There is something about banana cake that says 'I'm made with love, best served warm with butter and a cup of tea'. It reminds me of my mum and her baking, although I've not seen her make a banana cake for a very long time. Hint, hint!

Here is a recipe I found via The Cake Mistress. Along with the extra banana I've also changed the quantity of sugar as I always like to decrease the amount. This cake was moist and yummy and easily lasted for three days.

3 bananas, mashed
120g unsalted butter
2 tablespoons milk
1 teaspoon bicarb soda
3/4 cups caster sugar
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
1 1/2 cups self raising flour

Preheat the oven to 180 degrees celsius. Grease a loaf tin with non-stick spray - a large tin will give you a low cake - a medium tin will give you a higher cake. I used a large tin because my medium one was ready to be thrown out!

Place butter and mashed bananas into a saucepan on low heat until melted. Stir in the caster sugar, bicarb soda and milk until the sugar appears to have dissolved. Let mixture cool to room temperature before stirring in the beaten eggs and flour - you don't want to cook the eggs!

Pour mixture into your loaf tin and bake for 40-45 minutes. Cake is done when a skewer inserted into the middle comes out clean. Allow to cool on a wire rack.

Serve with butter if you're not worried about your waist line :)

Spaghetti Omelette

This cheesy, fluffy omelette, entwined with spaghetti, takes me back to the very first share house I ever lived in. I was 21, had finished a graduate diploma at uni and had moved two and half hours away from home to start my first full time job.

I didn't have an extensive repetoire of meals at the time. I especially had no idea how to cook meat, unless it was in a casserole. My two housemates and I didn't cook and share. We prepared food for ourselves and had our own shelves in the fridge. Sound familiar? :)

I remember cooking myself a lot of pasta, a lot of salads and eggs - eggs in many different ways.

I came up with the idea of adding spaghetti to my omelette just because it was hanging around in the fridge from the previous night. I doubt I have done this more than once or twice since then (because I never have leftover pasta1), but there was some spaghetti leftover a few weeks back and I thought the kids would think it fun to have spaghetti in their eggs. They didn't. I ate the omelette and they left it behind. Oh well, more for me!

There is something so very comforting and homey about this omelette.

3 eggs

1/2 tomato, diced

1/4 cup frozen peas

1/4 cup grated cheese (cheddar or parmesan)

1 cup cooked spaghetti

Salt and pepper

1/2 tablespoon butter

Break the eggs into a bowl and whisk until combined. Add a dash of water, the tomato, peas, cheese, spaghetti, salt and pepper and mix well.

Heat a small frying on the stove and add the butter. When melted, pour in the egg mixture, poking it a bit with a fork or knife to make sure the strands of spaghetti are lying flat.

Cook until set and browned on the bottom, then wack it under a hot grill to set and brown the top. I guess in this way it really is a frittata!

Eat with some buttered toast or salad leaves if making it for brunch/lunch.

Orange and Fennel Salad

I have never been a huge fan of fennel. In fact, I can't really say I've been a fan at all. My dad has always enjoyed it, so it could be found every now and then in our house and the houses of my relatives throughout my childhood.

Dad loves to eat it raw and that is how I always thought it was to be eaten. Its only recently I've discovered it can be roasted! (I tried this myself, baking it with a dash of balsamic vinegar and served under steamed Atlantic Salmon - not bad!)

I do quite like fennel when it is eaten with other ingredients, such as in this salad. It marries perfectly with the sweet oranges, the crunch of the nuts and the zinginess of the mint. This is a great salad to serve at a barbecue, or with a roast, as it complements meats very well. My mum makes her own version of this salad, where I caught my inspiration, but this recipe is the result of a Google search, made to tie in with my Spanish themed menu a week or so ago.

Recipe adapted from My Recipes

3 large oranges, sliced

2 medium fennel bulbs, thinly sliced

Half large red onion, thinly sliced

80g pinenuts, toasted

1/2 cup mint, shredded

2 tablespoons orange juice

2 tablespoons red wine vinegar

4 teaspoons extra virgin olive oil

1/2 teaspoon sea salt

1/4 teaspoon ground pepper

Combine the orange juice, vinegar, oil, salt and pepper in a small jar and shake vigorously to mix.

Arrange orange slices on a platter. Sprinkle over the red onion and the fennel. Scatter the pinenuts and mint. Just before serving, pour over the dressing.

Jaffa Chocolate Pots

I'm staring at the photos of these chocolate pots, remembering the flavour and texture on my tongue. Wanting one now!

I made these for a dinner party on the weekend, however the dinner party never eventuated (due to our guest's illness) so poor hubby and I had to demolish them ourselves. Boo hoo. Yum, yum!  The theme I was going for was Spanish (as my entree and main were Spanish inspired), and although not a Spanish recipe, I think orange and chocolate lend themselves well to Spanish flavours (am I right? No?)

I did make some adjustments to the original recipe which you can find at Ohh, Look. Basically I increased the quantities and added some pure cream and a choc-coated candied orange segment for garnish. 

Its really important not to chill this dessert for too long, because it becomes thick and almost claggy in the mouth. It is not as airy and light as a mousse but still very delicious, especially if you are a lover of jaffas!



Serves 4

90g dark chocolate, roughly chopped
250g mascarpone cheese
100ml pure cream
2 tablespoons grated orange zest
chocolate coated candied orange and pure cream, to serve (optional)

Melt the chocolate in the microwave. 40 second bursts on medium power should do it. Cool slightly so its no longer piping hot.

Add the mascarpone and the cream to the chocolate along with the orange zest. Stir until well combined.

Spoon the mixture into small pots or glasses and chill for not more than 30 minutes.

Serve with or without a dollop of cream and a chocolate coated candied orange segment.

BBQ Chicken Pizza

I first ate this pizza at the Body, Mind and Psychic Expo in 2008. I was pregnant with little man and helping out hubby who was exhibiting there. We grabbed these pizzas literally from a truck called 'Wicked Pizza'. We fell in love with the flavour combo, and it wasn't until years later we replicated the recipe at home. We now eat it regularly! Here it is, total yumminess!

Inspired by the BBQ Chicken Pizza from Wicked Pizza

I haven't given quantities because homemade pizza is something you can throw together.

1 pizza base (for our pizzas we use Boutique Bread's piadina or mediterranean grilled flat bread)

BBQ sauce

Parmesan cheese, finely grated

Store-bought BBQ/rotisserie chicken, shredded

Red onion, thinly sliced

Red chilli, finely chopped

Greek yoghurt

Basil leaves

Preheat your oven to 250 degrees celcius. 

Spread as much BBQ sauce over your pizza base as you desire. Sprinkle over some chicken, some parmesan cheese and some onion slices. Cook in the oven until the crust of your pizza is golden brown and the parmesan has melted. Remove pizza from the oven.

Sprinkle as much chilli over your pizza as your like, scatter some basil leaves and plop on some yoghurt blobs. Drizzle with olive oil to serve.

Chocolate Chip Cookies made in the KitchenAid

I am one happy lady. I now own a KitchenAid. I seriously never thought I would own one, what with the $700 price tag. However hubby decided to cash in some Qantas frequent flyer points around Christmas and my new mixer became my Christmas present. Yippee!!

My chocolate chip cookies have always been made by hand. I thought I would bake them another way - in the KitchenAid. Do you know what? They turned out exactly the same! Here is the recipe again anyway, if you so desire to mix the ingredients in your own (?) KitchenAid!

And for those cookie connoisseurs, these are thick, fudgey and cakey.

P.S. My baby is red!

1/3 cup caster sugar

1/2 cup firmly packed brown sugar

125g melted butter, cooled

1 egg, lightly beaten
2/3 cup self-raising flour
1 cup plain flour

200g choc chips - milk or dark or white or a combo

Preheat your oven to 160 degrees fan forced or 170 degrees without the fan. Line two baking trays with baking paper.

In a medium bowl combine the flours. Set aside.

In the bowl of an electric mixer with the paddle attachment fitted, mix both sugars with the melted butter until the sugar dissolves. Add the egg and mix well. Add the flours and on low speed combine with the wet ingredients. Fold in the choc chips by hand. Chill the bowl in the fridge for 10 minutes to make it easier to work with.

Remove the bowl of dough from the fridge and roll into twelve balls, arranging six per tray. Do not flatten or you will end up with giant cookies! Cook in the oven for 10-12 minutes or until the edges are firm but the middle is still soft. Allow to cool then eat!

Raspberry Muffins

It is so handy having frozen berries in your fridge. You can whip up a smoothie, add some to your pancakes or make a tangy coulis for a dessert. And of course, throw them into some muffins.

Since having children (and thus less time!) I make sure my pantry is always stocked with all the baking essentials, plus there is always lots of fruit lying around. If we have friends coming over for a play date or its our turn to go and visit, it makes life easier knowing I can easily bake something to serve rather than worrying about taking kids into a shop.

I made these raspberry muffins to take along to a friend's a few weeks ago. I've always struggled to find the perfect muffin recipe and I think these were spot on. They were extremely light and fluffy and very tasty! 

Recipe from here

2 cups plain flour
4 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup caster sugar
100g butter, melted and cooled
1 cup full fat milk
1 egg
1 cup or more frozen raspberries
Preheat oven to 220 degrees celcius. Grease a 12 hole muffin tin.

Mix together the first five ingredients in a bowl and set aside.

In a separate bowl or jug, combine the butter, milk and egg. 

Incorporate the wet ingredients into the dry, folding gently until just combined. Divide mixture into muffin tin. Bake for about 15 minutes or until the tops spring back when pressed.