Gold Coast Restaurant Review: Vintage Espresso: 29 December 2010

We returned to our fave new cafe on the Goldie, Vintage Espresso.  The courier new typeface sign welcomes the diner into a retro world of chandeliers, old furniture and gilt-edged mirror walls.  Sure, this look has been done before in larger cities, but it's such a welcome sight on the Gold Coast, which is usually known for its shiny newness.

Decor aside, the best thing about this cafe is the food. And the coffee. And the staff.  And the patrons. Oh, and the interior.

As we queued for take away coffee, however quickly snapped up an eat-in table, yey, so decided to stay for breakfast.  He ordered pumpkin toast with field mushrooms, persian fetta & rocket.  Topped with a sprig of thyme, nice touch.  I ordered the fruit platter with yoghurt.

The mushrooms were big and fresh, the persian fetta delightfully creamy.  And the pumpkin toast was a nice variation.  My fruit platter was sweet, juicy & delicious.  It made a welcome change from the "fruit salad" we'd ordered from a strip cafe at Broadbeach the previous day which consisted of granny smith apples, orange, grapes & 2 slices of banana.  I mean, who still makes fruit salad like that? Not the folk at Vintage, I can tell you that.

This is also the sort of place you can get naked.  That got your attention.  Not naked, naked.  You can pick up a copy of the Naked City Guide to the Gold Coast.  Of  course, Vintage is featured in the cafes section and we plan on trying some of the others if the standard is as good as Vintage.

The staff are all smiley and friendly and almost a reason in itself to return.  However the coffee & food will see a few more visits before we leave.  Personally, I can't wait to try their bircher muesli and down a few more coffees.

Vintage Espresso
1/43 alfred st, Mermaid Beach 
Gold Coast, Australia

Ph: 55 277878

Another visit to Vintage Espresso on Tuesday 4 January ;-)

Couldn't help ourselves. Along with more coffee, we ordered yet another fruit plate (my fault)

 
and a scrambled eggs with Persian fetta with pumpkin vienna, roast tomato & spinach.  Oh and follow up to my comments on limited or drab selections of bread.  Vintage Espresso have Turkish; megagrain; sourdough; English muffin; gluten-free rice and pumpkin spelt; bagels, fig, fruit & hazelnut toast; olive & rosemary toast; and walnut toast.  That's 9 types of beautiful, breakfast-worthy toast.  See.  It can be done.

Sydney Restaurant Review: Souk in the City, Darlinghurst: 29 September 2010

We originally sought one of our fave Vietnamese restaurants in the St Margarets complex in Darlinghurst, An Nam, but were crushed to find it had closed.  A cold wet winter, combined with a too-large restaurant sadly spelled disaster for the lovely folk at An Nam.

Despondent, we sulked into Souk in the City, about which we had heard good things.  One thing we failed to hear about was the rose petals in the face when you walk in.  Pfft, pfft. A nice idea but it did catch me by surprise.

A cocktail was just what the doctor had ordered.  On the recommendation of the waiter, my hubby chose something a little uncharacteristic of him: a girlie drink: Pomegranate & Rose Water Martini: vodka, pomegranate liqueur, pomegranate juice shaken with fragrant rosewater. This is usually something I would love and he would hate.  But it was a little too sweet and perfumey for me.  Too sweet for me? That's saying something.

We loved the menu.  It was adventurous and promised much.  We ordered the Ras el hanout cured ocean trout, rose water pickles with sumac spiced croutons and the spiced seared scallops, zaater crumble, vanilla & watercress, lemon & pear, orange oil.  Both were divine.

Leaving enough room for dessert we ordered the Moroccan version of a sticky date: Moroccan pudding
with dates and figs.  We fought over it.

Uncharacteristically, we ordered less than we actually needed to eat (what's need got to do with eating out?) so vowed to return with friends so we could sample more of the menu. 

Souk in the City
st margaret's | shop 5
'henry' 431 bourke st
surry hills sydney

Tel (02) 93 577 577
dining@soukinthecity.com

Sydney Restaurant Review: Ms G's, Potts Point 17 November 2010

When friends drop in from London, its always a good excuse to go out and try and new restaurant.  The risk of course, is that if it's an ordinary meal it can take the shine off the excitement of catching up with old buddies.  However if its a cracker nosh-up, well, then you have all the makings of an awesome night.

It was a Monday, so not many restaurants are open on a Monday.  I decided to risk good friendship by suggesting a new Merivale Restaurant which I read about in my daily email from Daily Addict.  I've always had good experiences in Merivale Restaurants: the food, service and decor is always great, so I decided to chance Ms G's, their new baby in Potts Point.  I hadn't heard anything about it yet, but figured if Dan Hong and Jowett Yu were at the helm, it should be memorable.

Red neon lights at the door.  I like it already.

The first impression as we stepped through the door as we walked past the bar was that of a terrace-come-tree-house.  There were lovely big trees out the back window with hanging ropes.  Very Famous Five.

The rest of the interior is what could be described as a stylish mish-mash.  Later, we would discover the sheer delight of recipes plastered on the walls of the ladies loos from the early 70's. Awesome. We were led downstairs and chose a booth rather than a window table.  There's something comforting about booth seating.

We were starving, but eager to catch up, so across the top of our conversation we turned our attention to the menu, which looked amazing.  Between 4 hungry, enthusiastic diners we had nominated around 8 dishes we wanted.  We were a little excited to see one another and eat this food.  Our waitress Lauren was smiley and helpful.

We were given mis-matched crockery, in keeping with the decor, which was quite beautiful.  Mis-matched crockery doesn't anything remotely cool or beautiful in my house.  But that's the point I guess.

Amongst us we ordered 2 cocktails: an Aloe Vera (which sounded suspiciously similar to Zeta Bar's New York Foam with Absolut Vanilla vodka, limoncello, crushed lemons, Aloe Vera foam) and the impossible-to-pass-up Ms G's Famous Yuzu Slushee (with Limoncello, Russian Standard Vodka, yuzu juice & Regan's Orange Bitters).  The slushee arrived, trumping the Aloe Vera on presentation.  Because it looked exactly like a slushee, complete with plastic on top. I am, after all, a child of the 70's:

As we had a vegetarian amongst us, the first dish to arrive was Ms G's grilled corn on the cob with parmesan & lime.  The photo and description doesn't do the taste justice.  It had a definite tex/mex flavour going on, not at all what we had expected but was so delicious I could have happily sat down to a meal of Ms G's grilled corn and nought else.  The corn was juicy and combined with the aioli & parmesan, was a little messy and possibly not first date material (unless you wanna get down and dirty early on) but ahhhh, I know immediately that I will return to Ms G's if only for the corn.

The next dish comes quickly: Mini bánh mì- 2 crisp pork belly and 2 chicken katsu.  Not at all how we expected it to look.  We didn't have a clue what bánh mì were, thinking they would be skewers or similar.  However since then I have brushed up on my Vietnamese cuisine and found that bánh mì are actually baguettes with pickled veggies, coriander and usually pork or chicken.  I used to eat these a lot when I worked in Redfern and loved them. These little guys, masquerading as burgers, looked fab, but I would say at the time in my muddled-bánh-mì-skewer-head I thought they could have done without the buns.  Ha!  Imagine popping downstairs to the kitchen and telling Dan Hong I would have preferred to have his bánh mì without the buns.  This is why I tend not to speak to chefs. If you are a chef and see me coming, hide. I'm the one with my foot already in my mouth.

The next dish to swiftly arrive was the “Buddha’s Delight” - A textural vegetarian salad with tofu, seaweed, bean sprouts and some sort of jelly situation, the details of which I have since forgotten (sorry).  Clean, healthy, crunchy, tasty. I wanted more.

Hot on the heels of Buddha's Delight was the prawn toast with yuzu aioli and herbs.  I hasten to add that I would never have ordered this from the menu, however one of our companions was dead keen on it. I tried it and it was a tasty turn on the old favourite, but having just lost 5 kilos I was a bit gun-shy of the sordid, but come-hither deep-friedness of it.  But man oh man, the crunch! The sesame!  The prawny toast!

Our next dish arrived at the same time as the toast and hubby already started complaining that the dishes were coming too quickly... the stress of trying to finish off the preceding dish was interfering with his enjoyment of the meal.  He was right.  The dishes were coming a little too quickly, however as I was S T A R V I N G, I didn't mind so much, it was a great excuse to hoover quickly.  The grilled calamari, black pudding & coriander salsa verde is also something I probably wouldn't have ordered due to the inclusion of blood sausage, but I was convinced to try it and it was heavenly.  The calamari was tender, the sausage didn't taste like blood but a tasty, well..... sausage, and the coriander lifted it with a zing! But then I thought too long about the blood sausage being a sausage filled with congealed blood and left the rest for the boys to demolish.

Goodness.  There was more food? The egg noodles with XO sauce, braised duck and soft poached egg promised to be right up my alley.  I heart duck, I heart egg. What else could I want?  Sadly, this was my least favourite dish.  When I think about it, I prefer a roast duck so the braising possibly didn't float my boat.  Dunno.  Hubby pronounced it his favourite, so I bequeathed my unfinished portion to him.  Which was a good thing, as I was running out of tummy real estate.

Did I mention we were boisterous? Lauren, took our noise in her stride and with good humour.  She answered all our inane questions and offered suggestions.  She also highly recommended the crispy spiced tofu and fried eggs, cherry tomatoes, coriander and thai basil and said she thought it would make an awesome breakfast.  We complimented her on her knowledge of the menu and she said that even though the restaurant had only been open 4 days to the public, the staff had sat through explanations of all of the dishes on the menu and were encouraged, over these 2 nights, to try everything.  Lucky gal.  However this also explains why Merivale do hospitality so well.   And 4 days?  How did I end up being such a finger-on-the-pulse chick?  Thank you, Daily Dose.

Anyhoo, this dish ROCKED. Second favourite dish of mine.  That poached, then deep fried egg was un-be-lieve-able.  Lauren was truly awesome herself as this would indeed be a spectacular breakfast. The fried egg is that big lump on the right hand side.  The yolk was gooey but not too gooey.

Incredibly, there was yet another dish which arrived.  Stir fried rice noodles, wagyu beef, chilli, herbs and peanuts, minus the beef.  Our veggo friend declared this to be her favourite, and we ordered a second plate of it, which was quite a feat given how much food we had ploughed through.

And, I'm ashamed to admit, we ordered 2 desserts, to share.  One decadent, one no so.  We hoed into the “Stoner’s Delight” first: banana ice cream, chocolate, rice bubbles, pretzel, peanut brittle and marshmallow. Oh my freakin god.  I needn't describe the sheer indulgence and deliciousness of that one.  It was magnificent. 

We lamented the fact that we ate that one first but quite honestly, the “Splice” pine-lime granita with lychee sorbet and whipped cream was a perfect palate cleanser to finish off the meal.

As we'd broken all world speed records eating that much food in so little time (1.5 hours?) we tumbled (or should that be waddled?) out on Victoria Street by 8.30pm in time to linger over cocktails at Jimmy Liks for a cheeky nightcap. The tall cocktails at Jimmy Liks were $18 each and full to the brim with ice, so not particularly good value.  For my money, I prefer the bar area at Ms G's. Next time, we will linger longer.  We'll definitely be back.  The only criticism was the speed of the dishes, but Ms G's definitely deserves another visit. And soon!

Ms G's
155 Victoria Street
Potts Point
Reservations: 8313 1000
Open Mon-Sun dinner; Fri & Sat lunch
Food menu
Wine list

Sydney Restaurant Review: Guillaume at Bennelong: 23 November 2010

We were tempted to return to the Oyster Bar just one week after our last pre-theatre visit, however we needed to collect our Ballet tickets from the Opera House prior to that night's performance. A little voice from Guillaume at Bennelong was calling us.

Again: we had no booking and thought we'd just wing it.  If there was a table it was meant to be.  If not, we had a booking we'd try the Oyster Bar again.  And order the coleslaw without the onion ;-)

As our (good) luck would have it, they had just received a cancellation.  We were in! Yippee!

Our maitre'd was an absolute delight.  The type you want to be friends with.  We decided on the 2 course pre-theatre menu.  For a restaurant of this calibre, $66 we thought was excellent value for 2 courses.

Being a recent expert in the field of oysters in and around Circular Quay, my date ordered 6 freshly shucked oysters with shallot vinegar.  I tried one and OMG.  These oysters were SO fresh, so plump and so.... oysterish.

I ordered King Salmon Sashimi with a brunoise of cucumber, apple and finger limes, on a bed of white peach puree.  The salmon was melt-in-your-mouth tender, creamy and perfectly accompanied by the brunoise (small, cubed food).  The only problem was that it was such a breathtakingly beautiful work of art I was reluctant to eat it, especially the gorgeous pink translucency of the white peach puree with the micro herbs as a colour counterpoint. But I got over that and ate it anyway.  The sweetness of the peach was brilliant with the creaminess of the salmon and the bitey herbs and (dare I write this) raw onion.

Yes folks, I am sheepish to report there were small pieces of raw onion in the brunoise but it was actually perfectly balanced and didn't over take the dish.  I am a hyporcrite, I admit it.  But I'm ok with that ;-)

I'm a big fan of the 2 entree option, so I ordered an entree dish, the scallops gently sealed & served with cauliflower puree, shitake mushrooms and chicken jus.  I could have eaten a main sized serving of this dish.  I LOVE scallops and these babies were perfectly cooked.  They were seared lightly so they were cooked on the outside, but were beautifull tender on the inside.  Scallop heaven. The freshly sauteed baby spinach in the middle was a wonderful accompaniment, because I do love my greens....

My date ordered the barramundi on a bed of carrots and ginger puree, coriander and pomme allumette (potatoes, in the shape of matches).  The barra was firm yet moist, and the skin was extra crunchy.  The dish was exquisite.  We died a little that night and went to eating heaven.

And we ordered a side of green beans with pesto.  I want to learn how great restaurants do their beans so they're still dark green but they're tender and cooked right through.

Ok, so there were more raw onions perched atop the beans.  I skillfully removed these but they did remain on the plate.  I should discount half a point for the inclusion of the beans, but the beans were so heavenly I can't quite bring myself to do it.  Besides, our waiter smiled so sweetly and told us a lovely story about the Brasserie Bread they use, so how could I take points from Guillaume?

The desserts looked so good that we ordered the pavlova with passionfruit cream, mangoes, mixed berries and vanilla bean ice cream to share.  Needless to say, there was a bit of push and shove over the pav.  I just can't go past a pav at the best of times.  And these were certainly the best of times as far as pavlova was concerned.

So Guillaume was an absolute stunner, especially considering it was such an unexpected surprise.  And although I feel unfair comparing the oysters at Guillaume with the Oysters at the Oyster Bar, the oysters at Guillaume definitely win.  Hands down. By a long way.  However Guillaume offers a different dining experience.  It's definitely more formal and more grown up, and doesn't offer the immediate harbour view like the Oyster Bar.  And the Oyster Bar is probably better for a group of people who want a more relaxed, casual experience right on the harbour.  But I do know where I'll be going again, very soon.  Next time I'm anywhere near the Opera House....

Guillaume at Bennelong
Bennelong Point, Sydney
Phone: +61 2 9241 1999
Email: reservations@guillaumeatbennelong.com.au

Sydney Restaurant Review: The Sydney Cove Oyster Bar: 17 November 2010

One evening before the theatre at the Opera House after weeks of cold and rainy weather, Sydney put on a magic day reminicent of the spring weather we were usually treated to in years gone by.  Arriving at Circular Quay nice and early we intended to go to the Opera Bar, but alas, it was already full to the brim with a large gaggle of Sydney-siders equally thrilled with the turn in the weather.  So a'wandering we went, and decided to give the Sydney Cove Oyster Bar a whirl (aka the Oyster Bar).  The last and only other time I had been there was around 1990 so it was time to give the old girl another go whilst not wearing shoulder pads and a bouffant fringe.

The signs were good, the stars were aligned.  We fronted up with no reservation but big smiles and a huge amount of optimism and bagged the last available table.  Score!  It had a beautiful view of Sydney Harbour.  Double score!  Now, to order, eat and get to the theatre within an hour, that was our challenge.

We started with 2 glasses of Veuve for no other reason than it was on the wine list and we wanted it.  Mmm.  Veuve. I believe that was score number 3.

We ordered all of our food to come at the same time.  I started with half a dozen Wakame oysters, topped with wakame seaweed & soy mirin.  My dining partner ordered half a dozen wakame, half a dozen natural with red wine eschallot vinegar.  I loved the combination of the saltiness of the oyster with the sweetness of the mirin and seaweed, whereas my partner preferred the natural oysters with the vinegar (which was slightly too acidic & not sweet enough for me).  The oysters were fresh, plump and as you'd expect in an establishment calling itself the Sydney Oyster Bar. All good.

Then came the Cured Hiramasa kingfish, pickled cucumber & mint salad.  It was fresh, light and everything I didn't realise I wanted until I crunched my first forkful.  I love it when a salad is perfectly balanced with sweetness, freshness, crunch and bite.  It was delicious and healthy, which makes me happy.

I had searched the menu for a salad-salad.  You know, the kind with lots of raw veggies, lettuce, herbs and a light dressing without anything meaty or proteiny in it.  Not the kind which is something else with a few leaves around it.  And definitely not the kind with a heavy dressing.  Sadly, my only criticism of the Oyster Bar was that there was a limited selection of fresh salad-salads available.  I didn't want a pretend caesar salad (Baby cos leaf salad, coddled egg & croutons) or anything with onion.  Perhaps it was the lack of food prep space, the lack of refrigeration behind the scenes, but I was a little disappointed as I am a salad-salad gal from way back. 

The waitress, who was helpful, suggested I order the baby coz leaf salad but with the dressing on the side, a la Meg Ryan in When Harry Met Sally.  It sounded like a reasonable, yet slightly unsatisfying compromise considering I didn't want a pretend, dry caesar salad.  What was delivered however was the herb & radish coleslaw, with an acceptable light dressing but (unfortunately) harbouring quite a lot of shaved raw onion amongst the cabbage and carrot. 

A word on raw onion.  I am a hater of raw onion.  A strong word, I know, but it flavours everything within a 1 metre radius and MAKES YOUR BREATH SMELL, NOT TO MENTION OTHER AREAS!  I'm ok with non-raw onion haters, even those who love raw onion.  I can overcome my raw onion prejudices and share a table with such folk.  You just won't catch me kissing them or sharing a bed with them.  Or a salad.

After poking through the entire salad very OCD-style to retrieve EVERY SINGLE SLICE OF RAW ONION and put it on the side of my plate, what was left of the herb & radish coleslaw was actually very tasty.  Crunchy, light, fresh & herby.  It was actually exactly what I wanted.  It was just a pity this slightly obsessed raw onion hater had to spend my time on a search & destroy mission. 

So how would I rate the Sydney Oyster Bar now, in 2010, 20 years after my first visit?  Despite the onion incident (which actually, wasn't really that bad) I'd give it a good 7 out of 10.  The view is spectacular, the service was attentive (enough) on a busy night.  We got the wrong salad, and there was onion in it, but hey, I actually enjoyed the coleslaw post the raw onion removal.  And we got to the theatre on time.  Score!


Sydney Cove Oyster Bar
No.1 East Circular Quay, Sydney.
8am til late, 7 days.
Phone: +61 2 9247 2937
info@sydneycoveoysterbar.com

Recipe - Moroccan Quinoa Salad

Quinoa (pronounced "keen-wah") is apparently an ancient grain that has been rediscovered and found to be a super food, because it has a low glycemic index and is full of protein.  So immediately we were skeptical as to its taste. 

So after obsessing about it for a few days we bit the bullet and wondered where keeen-wah had been all our lives?  What a tasty little grain you are, keeen-wah!  Try this Moroccan Quinoa Salad, we guarantee you won't be disappointed.

Kind to the waist too, if you don't eat the lot ;-)

Ingredients - Salad

1 1/2 cups fresh chicken stock

1 1/2 cups water 

3 cups cooked quinoa (1 cup dried)

1 1/2 cups canned black beans (from health food stores or you can substitute borlotti or kidney beans)

1 1/2 cups corn kernels (fresh is best but you can use canned or frozen)

1 cup cherry tomatoes, quartered

1/4 cup chopped kalamata olives

1/4 cup fresh chopped mint

1/4 cup fresh chopped coriander

Ingredients - Dressing

2 teaspoons ground cumin seeds

1 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon sugar
1/3 cup lemon juice (juice from about 2 lemons)

Method

Cook quinoa in chicken stock and water for around 12-15 minutes depending on the directions on the pack, it generally needs 3 times the amount of liquid to dry ingredient. Stir to ensure it doesn't stick to the saucepan.  

While quinoa is cooking, whisk together lemon juice, cumin, salt & sugar into a small bowl.

Combine cooked quinoa with remaining ingredients (except fresh herbs) into a medium sized bowl & refrigerate for an hour so the flavours combine.  Add fresh herbs just prior to serving.

The whole salad contains 1340 calories and will serve 5 people easily.  So that's around 258 calories per serve.  We served with a healthy green salad.

Bircher Muesli: the healthy version

I’ve been making this bircher muesli for a few years now and still love it.  In fact, anyone who tries it becomes instantly hooked.  As it’s made the night before with a lot less yoghurt than its traditional friend, its a super-quick & healthy breakfast.  If you're rushing to work, take it with you for a guilt-free desk-breakfast.  And because it contains strawberries & blueberries, its high in anti-oxidants.  Anti-wrinkle & cancer fighting. Yeah!

Ingredients

1/2 cup natural (untoasted) muesli (172 cals)
1 large apple, grated (106 cals)
1/2 tub low fat, fruit yoghurt (83 cals)
3 strawberries, diced (21 cals)
1/2 cup blueberries (39 cals)
1/4 cup unsweetened apple juice (27 cals)
2 dates, chopped (52 cals)
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon (negligible)
TOTAL cals (500)   

 Serves 2.

Combine all ingredients in a bowl.  It should be quite wet.  Cover with cling film overnight in the fridge.  Serve in a bowl the next morning. Dead easy!

TIPS: when berries aren’t in season experiment with other seasonal fruit, like cherries, nectarines, or mango in summer; pears in winter.  Anyone not watching their weight  can drizzle honey over the top to make it extra-special & add some extra fruit.  Enjoy!!

Back in the kitchen! Healthy jaffa bombs

Truth be told, we never really left the kitchen, but our blogging and eating out was temporarily put on the Miele back-burner because we launched our new Bondi Junction Village Markets in Sydney and all our energies were focused on launching 3 consecutive weekly markets.

What a ride it has been.  However, this post isn't about our Sydney market journey, its back to what we love most: food!!!

Whilst we love all types of wonderfully indulgent, fresh seasonal food, we're always on the look out for banging healthy recipes that are good for our bodies but also taste better than a cardboard box.  And after we discovered & fell truly, madly & deeply in love with Emma & Tom's Orange & Cacao Live Fruit & Nut bars, we decided to have a little dabble in the kitchen to see if we could make something that was just as healthy and half as delicious.  And something we could make with the ankle-biters.  Result?  Our Healthy Jaffa Bombs are truly da bomb!

Can we just say how excited that we are to have found something so yummy, sweet & chocolatey that isn't bad for us??  Doing a little jaffa happy dance....

Healthy Jaffa Bombs

Ingredients

10 medjool or California dates, pitted
1 cup raw cashews
1/2 cup seedless raisins or sultanas

3 tablespoons cocoa powder

20 drops sweet orange oil (available from good health food stores, usually in the aromatherapy section). You could also substitute peppermint oil if you were keen on choc-mint bombs.

Olive oil

Method

Using a food processor or hand held whizz stick, process cashews until finely ground, but with still a few smallish pieces in the mix.  Set aside in a separate bowl.  And while you're looking at the photo, pause a moment and take in the glory of our new Kitchenaid Food Processor . Its our new baby and we love it ;-)

Pit 10 dates and place in food processor.  Add raisins & orange oil.  Process until thick and smooth.  Then add cocoa and blend again. 

Finally, add cashews, leaving some aside to roll the balls in, and process again for a minute or two.

Add a little olive oil to your palms.  Using a teaspoon, take teaspoonfuls of the mixture and roll into balls.  The oil will stop the mixture from sticking to your hands, although you may need to 'oil-up' a couple of times. Makes about 20 balls

Refrigerate for several hours so they harden a little. Voile!  You now have a scrumptious, healthy snack that everyone can eat, sans the guilt.  They're also a bit of fun to make.  Enjoy! About 70 calories each.

Recipe - Haloumi, fig & pomegranate salad

On the same page of the Donna Hay cookbook, Seasons, as the Fig & Goats Cheese Tarts, is this recipe for a haloumi, fig & pomegranate salad.

Ingredients

1/4 cup (60ml) olive oil
250g haloumi, thinly sliced
1 cup mint leaves
100g rocket (or arugula if you're American)
8 green figs, halved (I used ripe lovely brown ones)
1 pomegranate, seeds & juice removed (Warning: wear an apron!! Pomegranate seeds jump further than beetroot)
1 tbsp red wine vinegar (I used the fabulously delectable Italian vino cotto)
2 tbsp olive oil, extra

Method

Heat the oil in a large non-stick frying pan over high heat.  Cook the haloumi for 2-3 minutes each side or until crispy.  Place the haloumi, mint, rocket, figs, pomegranate seeds & juice in a bowl, drizzle with vinegar and extra olive oil and toss to combine. Serves 4.

Recipe - fig and goats cheese tarts

 I reckon Eve was tempted not by an apple or a pomegranate, but a fig.  If Adam was waving one of those babies at me I'd think that original sin was a good idea too.  I love figs and I love goats cheese, so when I saw this recipe in Donna Hay's beautiful Seasons cookbook I had to make it.

All the ingredients are available at our wonderful farmers markets (bar the frozen pastry). Figs are in season NOW so make the most of their availability, I promise you won't regret it!

Ingredients

2 x 200g sheets store-bought shortcrust pastry.  I used puff and it worked just fine
125g goats cheese
4 black figs, halved
3 eggs
3/4 cup (185ml) single (pouring) cream: next time I will just use organic milk & see what happens
1 tbsp chopped chives
1/4 cup (20g) finely grated good quality parmesan cheese
sea salt & cracked black pepper

Method

Preheat the oven to 180 degrees C (355F).  Cut each pastry sheet into 4 squares. Line 8 lightly greased 8cm-round, fluted tart tins with pastry.  I had a pie maker with ceramic tart cases so I used those instead.  If you have them, you should ensure they're dusted with flour so they don't stick.  I had to spear mine out with a sharp knife....

Trim excess pastry and lightly prick bases with a fork.  Divide the goat's curd and fig halves among the cases.  Place the eggs, cream, chives, parmesan, salt & pepper in a bowl and whisk until well combined.

Pour the egg mixture into the cases and bake for 25 minutes or until puffed and set.

 The recipe says to cool to room temperature, but I like them a little warm.  Makes 8.  Serve with rocket, parmesan and pine nut salad.

Recipe - Marshmallow cupcakes "for the kids"

I'm not sure if this recipe exists in its pure form somewhere (I assume it does), however today I achieved two momentous things:

1. I successfully baked; and
2. I created my own recipe, and it not only worked, but was damned delicious!

Nigella Lawson had a theory that you were one of two people: a baker or a cook and never the twain shall meet.  Well, until she mastered the art of baking.  So I figured if an international cook with a swag of cookbooks, TV shows and years of experience can do it, so can I.  Right ?!?!?!

I, like Nigella used to be (before she mastered both), regard myself as a cook.  I can taste something in a restaurant and pick the flavours and sometimes if I'm lucky enough (and the dish isn't too complicated or elaborate), I can cook it at home.

However, give me a shortbread recipe and I develop recipe dyslexia.  Huh?  How many grams of unsalted what?

So today, after having created these incredibly delicious and decadent baby cakes, I was so excited with my efforts I had to blog the recipe immediately.  After all, if I can bake it, anyone can.

I adapted the Taste Basic Cupcake Recipe. Click here for the cupcake recipe.  I also referred to the Exclusively Food Vanilla Cupcake Recipe and adaped the icing recipe. Click here for the icing recipe.

Ingredients
Cupcakes

• 200g unsalted butter, softened
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 cup caster sugar
• 3 eggs- I brought them to room temperature
• 2 1/2 cups self-raising flour, sifted
• 1/2 cup milk
•  My addition: 1/4 to 1/2 packet marshmallows, quartered (with about 12 aside for icing). I am a cook after all, just throw in as many as you want!

Icing

• 175g (1 1/4 cups) pure icing sugar, sifted
• 5g (1 teaspoon) butter, softened
• 22ml (1 tablespoon plus 1/2 teaspoon) boiling water
• My addition: couple of drops of cochineal
• My addition: couple of drops of strawberry essence (entirely optional as it is quite OTT)

Instructions
Cupcakes

Preheat oven to 180°C/160°C fan-forced oven. This is the first time I've seen an alteration for a fan-forced oven.  No wonder I had been going wrong.  Line muffin or mini-muffin pans with paper cases.

Using an electric mixer, beat butter, vanilla and sugar in a small bowl, starting on low speed and increasing to high once the sugar is mixed in.  Beat until the mixture is light and fluffy.  Add eggs, 1 at a time, beating after each addition (mixture will separate at this stage). Transfer mixture to a large bowl. Stir in half the flour. Stir in half the milk. Repeat with remaining flour and milk until combined.  Add marshmallow pieces.

But don't overmix, just combine.

For 1/3 cup-capacity muffin pans use 2 level tablespoons of mixture. Of course, I was liberal with my spoon measurements. I just kind of plonked it in. Almost to the top but not bursting. More of a respectable fill.

Bake for 15 to 17 minutes. Alternatively, for 1 tablespoon-capacity mini muffin pans use 1 tablespoon mixture. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes.

If you filled your cupcake cases as much as I did, some of the marshmallow near the top will have oozed out over the edges.  It becomes very sticky and toffee-like, so you should hoik them out of the muffin tins asap.  Try not to squish them too much.  Hoiking them out is a fine art. 

Transfer to a wire rack to cool. You can see that I am sprung.  I hedged my bets by halving the mix & making choc-chip cupakes as well.

Icing

Stir icing sugar, butter, cochineal, strawberry essence and boiling water together in a small bowl until smooth.  Ice immediately, adding a marshmallow on top.  If you're like me, you'll need to add the occasional extra teaspoon of boiling water if the mixture sets mid-glazing.

Happy baking, from a newly crowned baker ;-)