Anzac Biscuits

I have to start by saying yum. YUM. Anzacs are really yummy. I don't think I have ever met an Aussie who doesn't love Anzacs. You can buy them from the supermarket, but they are generally the crunchy type, and I am most definitely a chewy biscuit person. They are also ridiculously easy to make, and as they have no milk or eggs, they last for a long time (not in my house!)
For a little bit of background on Anzacs, click here.
1 cup plain flour
1 cup rolled oats
1 cup desiccated coconut
3/4 cup brown sugar
125g butter
2 tbsp golden syrup
1 tsp bicarb soda

Preheat oven to 160C. Line baking trays with baking paper.
Sift flour into a large bowl, and stir in the oats, sugar and coconut.

Put the butter and golden syrup into a pot with 2 tbsp of water. Stir over medium heat until melted, then stir in the bicarb soda.
Pour the butter mixture into the dry mixture and combine. At this point I find it hard to resist eating the mix!
Roll tablespoonsfull of mixture into balls, and place on the prepared trays, about 5cm apart (the Anzacs spread quite a bit).
Use a fork to flatten slightly, don't worry if little bit break off - the Anzacs will hold together when coooked. Bake for about 10 minutes, until golden brown. Allow to cool slightly on trays, then transfer to wire rack to cool completely. Makes about 30.
Recipe from taste.com.au

I'm back... with wonton noodle soup.

YAY! My partner, BF, found the camera cable last night! So I am back and have a backlog of pictures to blog about. I'm very happy, because I found I wasn't very inclined to taking photos of what I was cooking whilst I wasn't able to blog about them. So hopefully I will be back better than ever!

I've been waiting to share my wonton noodle soup for a while... and I couldn't do this one without photos. You see, I made a large batch of wontons a while ago, and popped the unused raw ones into the freezer to use at a later date. When I got them out a couple of weeks ago to use, I realised that I had packed them all into the same container, with nothing to separate them, not even a piece of baking paper. Result? One big block of frozen wonton!
There were more than I wanted to use for one meal, however, I was unable to separate them without partially defrosting them. And then when I did separate them, most of the wrappers broke, leaving the precious filling exposed. What to do? Use all of them and indulge in way too many wontons! (BF did not complain!)
Thankfully, when I cooked them, they stayed intact, and tasted just as good as usual. A lesson learnt though!

Wontons
You can put pretty much anything in wontons - prawns, crab, garlic, different sauces - these are the ones I make because they are quick and simple - and BF doesn't like prawns! The water chestnuts are important, as they provide crunch to an otherwise texturally unexciting mix.

1 pack wonton wrappers (found near the fresh pasta in the fridge section of the supermarket)
150g pork mince
2cm ginger, chopped
2 spring onions, chopped
water chestnuts, chopped, add to taste
soy sauce, to taste
rice wine vinegar, to taste

Mix all ingredients (except wrappers) in bowl. Place small amount in centre of each wrapper, wet edges of wrapper with paper, and bring all sides together and pinch shut. Aim for the look of a money bag. Makes about 30.

Keep aside 6 per person and freeze the rest, separated by baking paper, for next time.
Chicken stock
2 chicken carcasses, washed under running water, any large bits of fat removed
1 large carrot, roughly chopped
2 sticks celery, roughly chopped
1 large brown onion, roughly chopped
4 parsley stalks, all leaves removed (use stalks only)
1 bay leaf
1 sprig thyme
5 whole black peppercorns

Place all items in a large pot and cover completely with COLD water. Bring to the boil, turn down to low simmer, and simmer for 2 to 3 hours. Skim off any fat or scum that rises to the surface and discard. Strain, and discard all solids. Stock can be frozen in small portions and defrosted when required. I usually make stock in large batches, so it is always on hand when needed.

Wonton Noodle Soup
2 blocks asian instant noodles (similar to 2 minute noodles)
1 carrot, sliced very thin
2 choy sum, base removed, washed thoroughly
10 snowpeas
2 chillies, sliced
2cm ginger, peeled and cut into matchsticks
12 wontons (recipe above)
chicken stock (recipe above)
soy sauce, to taste

Bring stock to a simmer in large pot. Cook noodles in stock according to packet instructions. Remove from stock and divide between serving bowls. Put wontons into stock and cook until floating and cooked through. Whilst wontons are cooking, arrange carrot, snowpeas and choy sum on top of noodles.
When wontons are cooked, place on top of noodles. Fill bowls with the stock, top with chilli and ginger, and serve with soy sauce so you can each add as much as you like! Serves 2.

GRRRR...

So I still have no oven, no camera cable and therefore not a lot to blog about. I will spend this time having fun reading other's blogs and drooling...

Check out these awesome blueberry cupcakes that I want to make when my oven is fixed.

It just keeps getting better...

So to add to the woe of still not finding the camera cable, tonight whilst cooking what was going to be the best cheesy bread ever, my oven died. But because the fan in the oven continues to work, it took me over 40 minutes before I realised that it was dead. Poo. The bread came out pretty heavy, but seems to be almost cooked (and I will be eating it in protest). Guess I better call the landlord...

My blog in Paris!!!

Well, not quite! But my post about Donna Hay's Meat Pies has made it onto a website for a cooking school in Paris! A World in a Pan describes itself as "Cooking classes in Paris in the warmth of a Parisian home" and "The new culture sensitive cooking school concept". You can check it out here (just scroll down and there it is!) A big thanks to Laura who posted it there.

Spoilt (and an almost proposal!)

So I don't usually take photos of food at restaurants. This is for a couple of reasons - lighting isn't always that good, I'm not very good with the camera so it can take me a long time (!), I don't like to make others sit and wait, looking longingly at food that is cooling rapidly whislt I umm and ahh about how to take the picture, and most importantly, because I usually dig in before even stopping and thinking about it! Now don't get me wrong, I LOVE that a lot of other bloggers DO take photos when they are out - other blogs are one of the first places I look when thinking about where to eat. I just don't like to do it myself.

That being said, I didn't take my camera to my friend MM's house when invited for dinner. And I didn't realise that he was going to take pics - so just began eating when the food was presented (see pic below!) But the food was so good, and MM was very proud, so he whipped out his camera and took the following shots that he has been brilliant enough to provide for your viewing pleasure.

MM has just returned from a holiday in Italy, so was inspired to cook up an Italian influenced 3 course dinner for us - and it wasn't even a celebration! And just hearing what was being prepared was enough for me to ask my partner if it was okay for me to marry MM!!!

So enough waffling, on to the food.
The entree was hand-made gnocchi with tomato, basil and bocconcini. MM got the basic gnocchi recipe from Tobie Puttock. He did mention that he did not add anywhere near as much flour to the mix as Tobie suggests - and it was a great call. The gnocchi was deliciously light and the bocconcini was oozy, just the way I like it.
For main course, we were treated to pinenut and herb encrusted rack of lamb, with oven baked truss tomatoes and wilted spinach. This was my only contribution to the meal - wilting the spinach whilst MM was carving! I think MM and my partner both would have preferred the lamb a little more done, but I like a lot of blood in my meat so it was perfect for me!
As for dessert, we were truly spoilt, as MM had made vanilla bean pannacotta, with warmed strawberries. MM actually used the recipe that I used here, but substituted raspberry vinegar for the balsamic. It was brilliant! The strawberries were quite rich, but complemented the pannacotta beautifully.

All in all, it was a brilliant meal, enjoyed with a lovely bottle of Italian red (I can't recall exactly what it was!) I think now we will be forever in a battle of "trying to come up with something as good as what the other served at the last dinner party" - but boy, is it going to be a fun battle!

Bummer :(

So there haven't been any new posts at the moment because I seem to have misplaced the cable that allows me to transfer my photos to the computer (and by me, I mean my partner, because I don't actually know how to do it!) When I read blogs, I find it is quite often the pictures that get me excited about the food - it is the same with cookbooks for me. So hopefully I will find the cable this weekend and get posting!