Although I’ve flirted with coffee over the years I am, at heart, a tea drinker.
I like English Breakfast or Japanese green tea in the morning, Earl Grey or Lady Grey in the afternoon and Rooiboos (African bush tea) or peppermint tea after dinner. Not to mention the endless cups of Gook Bo – a heady mixture of whole chrysanthemum flowers and pu-erh tea – I consume when enjoying yum cha (literal translation: ‘drink tea’).
So I was quietly thrilled when we decided to go with a tea theme for this month’s Sweet Adventures‘ dessert-themed blog hop hosted by the lovely JJ from 84th & 3rd. Check out JJ’s post for all the details of how to join in the fun. We also have a special give-away this month courtesy of Australia’s Biggest Morning Tea – scroll to the bottom of this post for all the details.
I want them to have a positive, interactive relationship with food. I want my children to eat seasonally, ethically and sustainably. I want them to understand that the choices that they make at the market or grocery store have consequences, both for themselves and for those that produce, promote and sell food.
I want. I want. It sounds all so self-centred and self-righteous, doesn’t it? It’s all about me, not them.
But I want my children to recognise and respect the cyclical nature of life. I want to share with them the warm glow of satisfaction gained by planting, tending and picking your own fruit and vegetables, and the thrill of catching your own food.
We grow lots of herbs and some fruits and vegetables at home but our backyard is not ideal for a vegie patch (not enough free space and not enough sun). So I look for other opportunities to teach my children about food. Last summer we caught crabs and cockles (pipis) with them and went strawberry and cherry picking, too.
A couple of weekends ago, my parents invited us to go apple picking with some friends.
I’m a Virgo – as if you couldn’t tell – so I love making lists. Here’s my (inaugural) monthly list of things, foods, events and experiences that I’m loving this month.
1) Tasting Australia
The recent Tasting Australia 2012 drew some 50,000 international and Australian chefs, food media, food producers and food lovers to Adelaide, South Australia, for an 8-day festival featuring 80+ events. I’ve already posted a recipe – Red Quinces, Haloumi & Rye – inspired by my Tasting Australia media trip and will be posting many other write-ups over the next few weeks.
2) Cooking with inspirational pros
I’ll never forget chopping pears for a pear tart with bubbly Australian food legend Maggie Beer – see photo above – and learning how to bake bread with the charming Mark McNamara, outgoing Head Chef of Appellation at The Louise. Two extraordinary and inspiring food lovers, they’re also two of the most professional and hard-working people you’ll ever meet.
3) My new gig as Australian and New Zealand Food Expert at About.com
My love affair with all jeans skinny continues with my new J Brand jeans and Ksubi jeans bought on sale at David Jones. Guys, I’ve been waiting for you my whole life.
6) MAC ladybug lipstick
If there is a more genius red lipstick than MAC’s Ladybug lipstick on the market I’ve yet to meet it.
7) Coffee
After a week of drinking coffee twice a day on the Tasting Australia media trip I am now addicted to the little brown bean again. The jury is still out on whether this is a good thing or not…
7+1) New foodie friends
I’ve made so many new food-loving friends this month via Tasting Australia, this blog, the Adelaide Food Bloggers Group and my new About.com gig. A shared love of food is such a great way to start a friendship, don’t you think?
So what are you loving this month? Hit me with your tips and suggestions!
After a week spent travelling around some of South Australia’s most wonderful food regions on the Tasting Australia media famil, I’ve been dying to get back into the kitchen.
In particular, I’ve been keen to make this dish – Red Quinces, Haloumi & Rye – inspired by the work of two different Chefs – Mark McNamara, outgoing Head Chef of Appellation at The Louise and Simon Burr, Head Chef of Kangaroo Island Sailing.
Last week I found myself sailing around the Fleurieu coast on Lady Eugenie, Kangaroo Island Sailing’s 21 metre long ketch rigged yacht with a dozen international food media. While we sipped sparkling wine and enjoyed the sun and spray, Simon prepared delicious canapés in the small kitchen below deck.
When I started The Hungry Australian last June, I had few expectations other than getting in the habit of writing again and easing my way back into the workforce after an extended maternity break.
Along my blogging journey I found my voice again. Not the self-conscious voice I had been using to pen my short stories and literary non-fiction (memoir) essays but my true voice, my authentic voice. One of the greatest compliments I’ve had about my blog has been from one of my oldest friends who told me, “it’s just like having a conversation with you.”
That’s exactly how it should be.
Why all this talk about writing and voice, I hear you ask. Isn’t this a food blog?
Well, yes it is, but I have always considered myself a writer first and a food blogger second. Blogging was simply a new way of publishing my work, one that I became instantly addicted to for its immediacy and sense of community.
So I’m thrilled to (finally) let you know about my new gig as Australian & New Zealand Food Guide for About.com, part of the New York Times Company. I’ll be producing eight recipes, reviews and articles for my own section – Australianfood.about.com – each month, showcasing the best of Australian and New Zealand food to a whole new, international readership. It’s a marvellous opportunity and I’m sure I’m going to have a lot of fun with it.
This has been the strangest year, weather-wise. The temperature has veered from the 40s to the low teens, without any particular rhyme or reason. One day I’m in a Sophie Loren-esque red sun dress and sandals licking gelati by the beach and the next day I’m in my black skinny jeans, long-sleeved Ts and trench coat, with both hands wrapped around a mug of hot chocolate.
All this unpredictability plays havoc with my cooking. I spot some lovely watermelon at the markets and decide to make a watermelon, mint, fetta & black olive salad but when the time comes to eat it the skies are grey and a brutal wind is shaking the trees. Who wants to eat a salad then? Not me. I’m craving slow-cooked casseroles, spicy curries and steaming hot noodle soups to warm me up from the inside.
Today was such a day. I had a day of writing and cooking planned and got straight into the writing part. But after two hours of fairly solid work I was chilled to the bone.
So I decided to warm myself up by cooking a spicy red lentil dahl. After a few minutes chopping and then frying the garlic, onion and ginger, I added some turmeric. The minute the golden spice hit the pan, the glorious fragrance filled the kitchen and instantly the house seemed infused with its warmth. I added lentils, tomatoes and garam masala before leaving the dahl to simmer while I heated up some rice and unhurriedly fried some pappodams.
After having to miss the Sweet Adventures Blog Hop in March, I’m happy to be back on board this month with this lemon-icious recipe.
I’ve actually used lemons picked from our own lemon tree, which I thought was a write-off after the plasterers decided to empty their buckets around it when we were renovating. Turns out our tree is a lot harder to kill than I thought – hurrah!
Regular readers will know that I’ve been blogging only occasionally lately, rather than my usual 2-3 posts a week. I had been unwittingly hijacked by a number of work projects and family issues and didn’t have the time or energy, much less the inspiration, to blog.
As we all know, inspiration is essential to the success of any creative endeavour. Without it, I ended up standing in front of the pantry and fridge, waiting for the ideas that never came. It was a completely depressing state of affairs: the kitchen, usually one of my happiest spots at home, started to feel lonely and neglected.
One day late last week, I found my passion for food again. I wanted to celebrate its return by cooking something special as I joyfully reclaimed my kitchen.
So I chose this recipe – Malaysian Sambal Udang (Prawn Sambal) – which was created by my paternal Grandmother (my popo) and pieced together painstakingly by my cousin Carina. I’ve adapted it further, as the ingredients are a little different in Australia, to recreate the taste I remembered.
I only have my memory to guide me as my grandmother passed away a few months ago. She was 93 when she died and had lived a long and full life, with mostly good health. She left behind four children, eight grandchildren, seven great-grand children, and a wealth of memories and recipes.
While it’s never easy to say goodbye to those we love, I am comforted by the fact that people live on forever in your heart and memories. It doesn’t make the absence of them any easier, but it does mean that the most important part of them – their spirit, their essence, their soul – remains and that they can continue to impact on your life in all sorts of good and helpful ways.
In my grandmother’s case, she was an excellent and thoughtful cook. Every time we visited Malaysia we would be treated with a smorgasbord of our favourite foods – fried chicken, sambal hebi (dried shrimp sambal), fish head curry, Penang Asam laksa, pineapple fried rice, yong tofu (stuffed beancurd), water spinach fried with sambal belchan, and fried eggplants stuffed with minced prawn.
It was completely excessive but cooking was her way of demonstrating her love. It’s something my dad learned from her, and something I in turn picked up from my parents.
When I surprised them with this dish last week the look on their faces said it all.
“You’ve just gone to the top of the class,” my dad declared, as he hugged me.
“It’s just like I remember it,” smiled my mum.
Thanks, folks. That’s high praise indeed, but I’m just passing on the love.
INGREDIENTS
3 medium onions, peeled, and chopped roughly
4 cloves garlic, peeled
2 lemongrass stalks, white part only, chopped roughly
2-5 Birds Eyes chillis
1 tablespoon belcehan (fermented shrimp paste)
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1/2 teaspoon ground turmeric
500 grams raw, peeled prawns
1/3 cup water, just boiled
3 tablespoons tamarind concentrate
2 teaspoons sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons light soy sauce
METHOD
Process onions, garlic, lemongrass and chilli until finely diced. Use 2 chillis for a mild-medium curry, 4 for a hot curry and 5 for an extra hot curry.
Heat up a wok until smoking and then add oil. Heat for a few seconds until it starts to shimmer then add processed mixture and belcehan.
Fry over a medium heat for a few minutes, stirring all the time, until fragrant and starting to ‘split’.
Add turmeric and fry for another minute, stirring briskly, and then add the prawns and 1/3 cup just boiled water.
Stir to combine, coating the prawns with the mixture.
Add tamarind, sugar, salt and soy and continue stirring, until prawns are pink and cooked through.
Serve with steamed rice and fried Chinese vegetables.
My article on persimmonsincluding my favourite ways to eat this gorgeous fruit, is out now in the latest issue of Sumptuous. I’m also a featured contributor this month – thanks guys!
I was also happy to learn this week that Honest Cooking, the American online food magazine that I contribute to, has been nominated for ‘Best Group Blog’ in the prestigious 2012Saveur Food Blog Awards. Honest Cooking is less than a year old so it’s a wonderful achievement for editor Kalle Bergman and the international team of contributors. If you enjoy my writing, please do take a moment to head on over to the site and vote for us.
I’ve visited the lovely island country of Singapore at least a half dozen times over the years and have always considered it to be a foodie’s paradise. After all, Singapore boasts a wonderful mix of Singaporean, Malaysian, Chinese and Indian food, remarkably good food courts and colourful open-air hawker centres.
I’ve never thought of Singapore as a fine dining destination, however, so I was a little intrigued when an invitation to Singapore Takeout in Sydney popped into my inbox a few weeks ago.
While I always enjoy visting Singapore, die-hard travellers have been known to dismiss it as a safe but boring place – they say it’s hot, it’s humid, it has great hawker stalls and lots of shopping malls but that’s about it. It’s a perception that Singapore Tourism is determined to change with their provocative, new ‘Get Lost’ campaign, which targets both new and returning visitors:
Working in conjunction with ‘Get Lost’, Singapore Takeout is a travelling pop up food event, aimed to show a select audience a different, more sophisticated side to dining in Singapore.
Singapore Takeout has showcased the work of some of Singapore’s top chefs to leading media, food bloggers and competition winners in London, New York, Dehli, Paris, Moscow, Shanghai, Hong Kong, Dubai and, most recently, Sydney (12-14 March). The take-away message is clear: Singapore has evolved. It’s way more interesting and sophisticated than you may think.
At the Sydney event I attended, two dozen Aussie food bloggers were treated to a five course degustation by Ignatius Chan and Head Chef Akmal Anuar from Iggy’s, ranked 27th in The San Pellegrino World’s 50 Best Restaurants 2011 and listed 1st in The Miele Guide 2011/2012 Asia’s Top 20 restaurants.
Simon from Simon Food Favourites has made a fantastic video of the night, which pretty much sums it up. Nice work, Simon! You can spot me in the front row in the aqua dress and white jacket.
For those that prefer old-school blogging, first up was nasi lemak, the classic Malaysian hawker dish. Iggy’s version was a nod to the authentic flavours of the dish (coconut milk, pandan, fish, peanuts, tamarind etc) while reinterpreting it in a completely modern and playful way. I actually liked this a lot although I really felt the lack of the usual sambal kick.
Next came sushi, Iggy’s style. Beautifully fresh fish was wrapped around a soy meringue base topped with wasabi paste – an intriguing concept that actually worked very well.
The next dish, cold capalleni, was a delightful dish inspired by the Chinese New Year dish, yu sheng (raw fish salad). It pleased on many fronts: the presentation was lovely, the flavours (sesame oil, yuzu and horseradish) were wonderfully pure and the ponzu granita and deep-fried quinoa added welcome textural and sensory contrasts.
The next dish, the slow-cooked beef cheek marinated in Bass Phillip pinot noir for 40 hours, was outstanding. The meat was melt-in-your -mouth tender, falling apart with a mere nudge of my knife, and presented on a gorgeous wedge of white radish. Top marks, team.
The final dish was a fantastic fusion of East and West. A funked up version of kaya toast (kaya is a coconut, egg and pandan jam) was accompanied by Teh Tarik (‘pulled’ tea with condensed milk) flavoured ice cream and deep-fried tea leaves. It was so good Penny from Jeroxie and I are going to attempt to make our own versions at home.
During the dinner the friendly bloggers at my table – Simon from The Heart of Food, The Food Pornographer, Thang from Noodlies, and Penny from Jeroxie – reminisced about our favourite Singaporean hawker dishes. Many expressed regret that dishes like Haianese Chicken Rice, Curry Laksa and Har Mee (prawn noodles) were not on the menu that night.
So after the Singapore Takeout dinner a bunch of us – my whole table plus Helen from Grab Your Fork, Susan from Chocolate Suze, Thanh from I Eat Therefore I Am, and Tina from Food Booze Shoes – went to Mamak, a Malaysian restaurant in Chinatown. We ordered way too much – namely, sweet and savoury rotis, satays, fried chicken, Teh Tarik, and Ais Kachang (red bean, coconut milk sweet corn and rosehip syrup on crushed ice) – and then proceeded to eat it all.
Afterwards, uncomfortably full and unable to sleep, I pondered. When I am next in Singapore would I do something similar? Could I imagine treating myself to a a fine dining experience and then following it up with a late-night supper at a hawker centre?
Of course I could.
Bloated belly aside, that’s having one’s cake – or kaya toast – and eating it, too.
Christina Soong-Kroeger visited Sydney as a guest of Singapore Takeout, part of the Singapore International Culinary Exchange (SPICE), a joint initiative of the International Enterprise (IE) Singapore, Singapore Tourism Board (STB), and SPRING Singapore. Thanks to Laura Barette at Frank PR for organising my flights and accommodation.
There’s something about a layered dessert that speaks of thoughtfulness. It’s an indication that someone’s made an effort to make you feel special.
There are so many different layered desserts, too, such as trifle (check out the Mini Apricot Trifles with Cardamon and Pistachios above), baklava, cheesecake, ice cream or yoghurt sundae, layered Asian jelly, multi-layered cake or a layered ice cream dessert.
It’s been raining steading all day. The air is chilly and an unfriendly wind is tormenting all the trees in the garden, blowing them from side to side without mercy.
I don’t like this weather. I’m like a cat: I don’t like being cold and I hate getting wet. So I am going to stay inside, work on my laptop and bake a pie.
Not just any pie though; this pie was inspired by my mother in law’s chicken pie or huehner pastete, originally found in France and England and enthusiastically adopted by the Germans. Please note my use of the word ‘inspired’ – I don’t want to cause any more sleepless nights for German blogger Bertl from Zwiesel, a small town in the Bavarian forest.
At the risk of sounding like a telemarketer, have I got the pudding for you!
This mini berry pudding only has five ingredients and takes less than 10 minutes to make. Two of the ingredients are merely bashed into pieces and there’s hardly any cooking to speak of. You could serve this up at your next dinner party and people would ooh and ahh, little knowing that you whipped it up as they were pulling into your street.
Sometimes one bite is all it takes for you to fall in love.
I should know. I fell head over heels the first time I tasted Floating Islands or île flottante.
I first experienced the delectable French dessert while holidaying in Paris with my dad in the early 2000s. I was working in London at the time and my dad had come to visit me. We spent 10 days travelling around the UK before taking the Eurostar to Paris.
We ate croissants, confit de canard (duck confit), soupe de fraises (strawberry soup), foie gras, plateau de fruits de mer (seafood platter), pommes frites (French fries), bouillabaisse (fish stew), macarons, mousse au chocolat, crème brûlée, coq au vin, boeuf bourguignon, cassoulet and Niçoise salad.
One day we were sitting in a bistro, having finished yet another wonderful dish when I spotted île flottante on the dessert menu.
If you’re a new, emerging or aspiring food blogger, you’ll have lots of questions that need answers.
I know because I am an emerging food blogger myself. I started The Hungry Australian in June 2011 but didn’t start blogging more frequently until September 2011.
While I’d managed websites for previous employers, worked as an editor and freelance writer, I had no experience of blogging itself. Prior to starting my own blog I barely knew what a food blog was.
So why did I start my own food blog? A conversation with my good friend Kerina stimulated my interest and once I started reading them I was hooked. I felt like I did when I started university and discovered the university newspaper produced by the students: I wanted to be part of it.
As I began blogging I had lots of questions. How did I get people to comment on my posts? What should I write about? Do I need a decent camera? How did I make a header on my site? What are plugins and widgits? How do I get that ‘more’ symbol on my posts so people have to click through? How do I create a collage of photos?
So I started looking for articles and posts that could help me. I found so many useful articles I started compiling a list, which lived on my site for a while as ‘Resources for Food Bloggers’. I’ve now decided to turn that page into this post, along with my top tips. You can scroll to the end of this post for my 100 Useful Links for Foodbloggers list.
With only eight months of food blogging under my belt I am still finding my feet. However, I have picked up some knowledge along the way and am more than happy to share it. So, for what it’s worth, here it is.
I never imagined that I’d be the type of person to make jam.
People that make jam have immaculately kept gardens, submit their tax return on time, never lose library books, and never turn up at their child’s school on a scheduled day off. They don’t stay up all night writing when the muse hits and then read for a further hour when they eventually go to bed. They don’t destroy the kitchen – my husband’s exact words – when making a simple meal.
People that make jam are sensible.
I am definitely not sensible, according to my mother.
However I’ve always liked the idea of home-made jam. Making jam is an act of defiant domesticity in this age of instant-everything-have-you-got-the-latest-tech-gizmo-multi-tasking insanity.
So when we had a glut of onions and tomatoes in the house a couple of weeks ago, I decided to take the plunge.
Last November I was lucky to attend the second Australian Food Bloggers Conference in Sydney – see my write up here. This invite-only event was a fantastic way to glean blogging tips and advice from the experts and meet food bloggers from all over Australia.
Although I was a new food blogger at the time, I remember the thrill of being in a room full of people taking photos of food, and talking about all the issues that come up when you embark on a food blogging journey.
The sense of camaraderie was wonderful and I made many friends who I’ve continued to stay in touch with. We share tips and advice, feedback on each other’s work and provide support and encouragement. I also knew just who to call for advice when I started getting approached to sell my photographs and when sponsorship and advertising opportunities presented themselves.
Back in Adelaide, I was aware of a number of other food blogs but there was no sense of community as I had experienced in Sydney. So after chatting to a number of Adelaide food bloggers online and organising a couple of meetups I decided to set up the Adelaide Food Bloggers Group on Facebook. Here members post details of meetups, food news and food events and share tips and advice.
Silky Chinese Chicken was inspired by a dish my dad once made when I was still living at home. I made it recently for our Chinese New Year family dinner and it was received with surprise and delight.
Well, to be perfectly frank, what my dad said was,”this is actually quite good” in tones of sheer amazement.
Being an Australian Born Chinese or ABC, my response to his lukewarm praise was, “well, thanks a lot, Dad. Glad I could make something edible for you.”
Dad laughed and explained that he had to temper his praise because I’m his daughter. To the Chinese way of thinking, it would have been unseemly to praise me too much.
So him saying, “this is actually quite good” could be translated to mean, “wow, this is sensational! You’re a rockstar!” in Western terms.
Lessons in cultural differences aside, Silky Chinese Chicken dish is delicious and very easy to make. You poach a chicken gently until it is moist and succulent. Then you simply spoon over a sauce made from oyster sauce, chicken stock, soya sauce and sugar before garnishing with sauteed onions, deep-fried shallots and fresh coriander. And that’s it. Too easy.
This is Chinese comfort food, but comfort food that could equally hold its own as part of a dinner party menu. Serve it with plain rice and fried Asian greens for a simple, everyday feast.
How does it work in your family, dear reader? Do your parents gush or are they more restrained in their compliments?
I love their colour, their flavour, and their texture. I die for their sensual shape and the way their demure green and purple exterior splits open to reveal a striking red and gold centre.
How can you fall in love with someone from across the room? You may think he or she is absolutely stunning, but you don’t really know him or her. You’re in love with a vision, not a real person.
Love at first bite, on the other hand, is a no-brainer.
We’ve all experienced the heart-stopping moment when our teeth sink into a new dish and our taste buds do the equivalent of a foot-stompin’, hip-gyrating happy dance in our mouth.
My children love ice cream. In this hot weather, they’re having it at least once a day, usually twice, and sometimes even before breakfast. (Shhh! Don’t tell grandma!)
So I was thrilled to discover a great recipe for healthy ice cream by the lovely JJ from 84th & 3rd. JJ made a Vegan Chocolate Ice Cream for our recent Death by Chocolate bloghop, made of only bananas, avocado, chocolate and maple syrup. I made it the other day and was amazed by how good it tasted. It wasn’t exactly ice cream but it was a damn fine substitute and one I’d be happy to eat any day of the week. And I wasn’t alone in liking it either – my kids absolutely loved it.
So today when I spotted some lovely strawberries at my greengrocer I decided to make a strawberry version. I only had half an avocado in the fridge so it ended up being midway between a sorbet and an ice cream.
This Strawberry Sorbet is refreshing, delicious and very pretty. It’s healthy, too – it’s literally only fruit with a couple of spoonfuls of jam added. You could even omit the jam if you wanted it to be completely sugar-free.
Best of all, it’s a cinch to make. So I can give this healthy, homemade snack to my children once or twice a day feeling quietly satisfied with myself rather than guilty.
I’m excited to be guest posting for Kristy Bernado at The Wicked Noodle this week.
Kristy began cooking seven years ago after her children were born and she had to adjust from a life of DINK (Double Income No Kids) to OIWK (One Income With Kids). Prior to having kids she was VP of Human Resources at a large restaurant chain and ate out every meal so it was quite a lifestyle change, but one that led her on a journey to where she is today – a successful private chef and award-winning blogger.
Of her new, food-focused life, Kristy says she finally understands the old saying: “if you find a job that you love, you’ll never work another day in your life”.
I was recently chuffed to be contacted by The Hoopla to provide a canapé and drink recipe for their Happy Hour section.
I immediately knew that I wanted to do my Mini Vietnamese Pork Buns, which are so easy and unbelievably delicious, but which cocktail would go well with them?
Eventually, I settled on a summery watermelon daiquiri. They taste great and are such a pretty party drink – watermelon daiquiris immediately make you want to kick up your heels and throw your head back with laughter.
There are times when a little restraint is called for. After all, too much of a good thing can get you into all kinds of trouble.
Happily, this is not one of those times. For too much of a very good thing – in this case, chocolate – is what this Sweet AdventuresDeath by Chocolate bloghop is all about.
It was my turn to host this month and as I scanned our lengthy list of theme ideas I realised there was one glaring omission: Death by Chocolate.
Why Death by Chocolate? Well, if you’re going to indulge in chocolate you might as well go all out, right? There’s no point in the single square of chocolate, the lone chocolate truffle, the tiny chocolate brownie, the mini chocolate biscuit or the slender piece of chocolate cake. Worst still, are diet versions: I’d rather go without than eat some kind of ‘lite’ chocolate abomination.
So for my Death by Chocolate entry, I wanted complete chocolate decadence. I wanted creamy pillows of velvety chocolate-ness. I wanted a dessert that would have me swooning over its richness.
I trialled a multi-layered chocolate cake, which fell well short of expectations, before deciding to make a classic chocolate mousse instead.
I’ve always been a pushover for chocolate mousse made with top quality chocolate. I love its intense chocolate flavour, silky texture and the way it melts away into sublime nothingness in your mouth. It’s an incredibly sexy dessert and perfect for a romantic supper but you could also serve it in shot glasses for a cocktail party or hen’s night.
This chocolate mousse is made with standard pantry ingredients, and in under 20 minutes, but tastes like a dessert that you’d enjoy in a fine dining establishment (with the addition of a few ‘dirt’ crumbs and flowers sprinkled artistically around the plate, natch).
Is chocolate mousse a dessert to die for? No, it’s better than that: it’s a dessert to live for.
INGREDIENTS
350 grams top quality chocolate (I used a mixture of dark and white this time but would ordinarily use only dark) 175 grams unsalted butter 7 large, room-temperature, free-range eggs, separated 100 grams raw caster sugar 1 tablespoon vanilla essence Pinch of salt
METHOD
Melt the chocolate and butter together in a double boiler and then let it cool down off the stove.
In a large bowl, beat the egg yolks and sugar until thick and creamy, like home-made mayonnaise. Stir in the vanilla and salt and then the cooled chocolate mixture.
Beat the egg whites in another large bowl until soft peaks form. Add one spoonful of egg whites to the chocolate mixture and briskly stir it in – this lightens it – before gently folding the rest of the egg whites in. Try not to bash all the air out of the egg whites.
Use a ladle to pour the mixture into glasses and chill in the fridge for a couple of hours or until required.
Remove from the fridge 10 minutes before serving and decorate with raspberries – their beautiful red tones are the perfect visual contrast while their tartness cuts through the richness of the mousse.
Makes 10 glasses.
Don’t forget to scroll to the end of this post to check out all the delicious Death by Chocolate entries
If you blog about food we’d love you to join this hop. Simply follow the steps below and join the fun!
Publish your Death by Chocolate post on your blog sometime between 16th January 2012 (9am Sydney time [AEST]) and 23rd January ( 11:59pm Sydney time [AEST]). Entries are linked in order of submission so try to get your entry in on or as close to the 16th as possible. Only new posts featuring chocolate are eligible.
Click here for the Link Code. Copy the code and add it to the bottom of your Death by Chocolate post (you will need to do this in HTML view). Adding the code will create the thumbnail gallery of all the other entries and let visitors hop from other blogs to your blog and vice versa. If you are on wordpress.com (i.e. not self hosted) the list will not show on your blog so please create a text link back to this post instead.
Grab the SABH Death by Chocolate badge and add it to your post. Just right click on the image, ‘save as’, upload to your site and add it to your Death by Chocolate post. Link the badge or a line of text to this page so that others can view the instructions on how to join.
Click here to Enter the Hop. This is the really important bit! The badge and thumbnail list are on your post so make sure to enter the hop so that you appear in the list. For question 1: add the URL of your Death by Chocolate Post, not your homepage. For question 2: for caption/title add the name of your dessert. For question 3: for ‘your name’ please enter your blog name. For question 4: your entry is automatically submitted when you click ‘crop’.
Your linked post WILL NOT appear straight away in the blog hop thumbnail list. To combat spam this is a moderated hop. Your post will be visible in the list after approval.
Hop around to all the other entries in the blog hop, sharing the comment love.
If you are on Twitter use the #SABH to tell the world about your Death by Chocolate post. Follow us @SweetAdvBlogHop for new hop announcements and general deliciousness.
If you aren’t sure how to do something please leave a comment or get in touch.
For The Hungry Australian’s first guest post, I’m delighted to hand the reigns over to JJ from 84th & 3rd.
I knew JJ’s delightful blog before I met her in person at Eat Drink Blog, the second Australian Food Bloggers Conference in November last year. I remember telling JJ how much I liked her blog header and how impressed I was when she told me she designed it herself.
Afterwards, I got to know JJ better when we decided to organise the Sweet Adventures monthly dessert-themed blog hop together, along with Delicieux, Dining With a Stud, and The Capers of the Kitchen Crusader. On our lengthy email group discussions, JJ’s contributions are always helpful, diplomatic, dry and smart: she is definitely the kind of person you want on your team.
I didn’t need further evidence of JJ’s competence but I was extremely touched when she sensed I was being overwhelmed by family matters this week and kindly offered to help out with a guest post. So, without further ado, please read on and enjoy JJ’s Mac-n-Cheese guest post. And then head on over to 84th and 3rd for more deliciousness covered with “a good dusting of cocoa powder”.
Fish and eggplant may sound like a bizarre combination, but trust me, this curry is fantastic.
When our daughter was due to arrive my mother came to stay with us in Shanghai. Every day she did the shopping and cooking and this was one of the dishes she cooked for us after our daughter was born. I remember wolfing it down for dinner and then eating another huge bowl at 2am after a lengthy breastfeed.
This Fish & Eggplant Curry is super easy to make and incredibly rich, hearty and sustaining. Sardines are high in omega-3s and calcium and low in mercury. They also contain iron, magnesium, phosphorus, potassium, zinc, copper and manganese, as well as all the B vitamins, so this curry really does make you feel very good.
I love eating curry in cooler weather as it warms up your bones from the inside, but I also like eating it in summer, as it reminds me of eating curry in the sweltering humidity of Malaysia.
Serve it with plain rice and pappodams for a simple, everyday feast.
One of the wonderful things I love about food blogging is that you meet all kinds of people who are mad about food: chefs, producers, restauranteurs, home cooks, people who love to eat out, people who love to entertain, and, of course, other food bloggers.
I’ve been especially happy to discover new food bloggers from around the world via our monthly Sweet Adventuresblog hop events.
We are excited to announce that the theme for 2012’s first Sweet Adventures blog hop will be Death By Chocolate. And it will be hosted by me, The Hungry Australian!
Opens: 16th January, 2012 Deadline for entries: 23rd January, 2012
As 2012 dawns I’m feeling optimistic. Onwards and upwards will be my mantra this year.
However, I am a realist: I understand that we don’t get the highs without the lows. Moreover, the highs and lows are more frequent if you’re someone like me who thrives on challenges and new adventures.
So at the dawn of 2012, when opportunities and possibilities abound, I’m reminded of the poem, The Road Not Taken, by American poet Robert Frost:
Two roads diverged in a yellow wood, And sorry I could not travel both And be one traveler, long I stood And looked down one as far as I could To where it bent in the undergrowth;
Then took the other, as just as fair, And having perhaps the better claim Because it was grassy and wanted wear, Though as for that the passing there Had worn them really about the same,
And both that morning equally lay In leaves no step had trodden black. Oh, I marked the first for another day! Yet knowing how way leads on to way I doubted if I should ever come back.
I shall be telling this with a sigh Somewhere ages and ages hence: Two roads diverged in a wood, and I, I took the one less traveled by, And that has made all the difference.
After paying homage to the Vietnamese pork roll in my last post about Mini Vietnamese Pork Buns, it’s now time to honour the simple and delicious Vietnamese Chicken Salad (Goi Ga).
Vietnamese salads always taste so amazing, and they’re so healthy and low-fat, too. In fact, I wouldn’t be surprised if you burn more calories eating this dish than are actually in the dish. This is even more so if you cut the cabbage too big like I did as your jaw will get a real good work out. (Hot tip: grate the cabbage with a vegetable peeler).
This Vietnamese Chicken Salad would serve two as a light lunch or four as a side dish. If I was making this for dinner I would add steamed rice and one extra dish for two people (add one extra dish per additional guest). Ideally, I’d sweet-talk Mr Hungry Australian into cooking Vietnamese Beef in Betel Leaves (Bo Nuong La Lot) and Vietnamese Spring Rolls (Cha Gio), two dishes he learned to cook with with Meera Freeman (author of The Flavours of Vietnam) many moons ago in Melbourne.
This post, my last post for 2011, has been written for the final Delicious Vietnam, a monthly event celebrating Vietnamese food created by A Food Lover’s Journey and Ravenous Couple. Thanks Anh – I’m glad I made the last one!
The combination of Asian ingredients and cooking styles with French influences and fresh herbs makes it one of my all-time favourite cuisines. Some of my ultimate Vietnamese dishes are phở (a simple but stunning beef noodle soup dish), sugar cane prawns (minced prawn wrapped around sugar cane and grilled, served as make your own cold rolls), salad (resplendent with fresh mint and dressed with fish sauce, lime, sugar and chilli), and the pork roll. (Read about my experience with what may be Adelaide’s best pork roll here.)
When my adorable niece turned one 18 months ago, my brother and sister in law celebrated with a big party. As part of a stunning buffet spread, they served make your own Vietnamese pork rolls and they were hugely popular.
So when we recently hosted a pre-Christmas gathering I decided to serve Vietnamese pork rolls. However, I opted for a mini version, as the full-size roll is usually enough for a meal.
Instead of the usual crusty rolls, I decided to use soft buns from the Asian grocer. Asian bread rolls are quite unlike Western bread rolls, being soft and slightly sweet and much less messy to eat.
These Mini Vietnamese Pork Rolls are super easy to prepare, but should be made up just before guests arrive (or on the spot) for best results. At our get-together, Mr Hungry Australian, my brother and my mother took turns making them up on the spot, to the delight of happy guests.
I advise you to make more than you think you’ll need, because people are very likely to come back for seconds. And maybe thirds.
