Chinese Herbal Tea

A couple of months ago, I had a bad migraine and so I went to visit my Chinese therapist.  Along with acupuncture, cupping and a massage, he also gave me a selection of different Chinese herbs which would help with the recovery.  I was instructed to put it in a little pot and slowly let it simmer for a couple of hours.  I was to then drink it that afternoon, before I went to bed and the next morning.  It was extremely bitter but not terrible at all.  Upon researching it, I found that migraines can be caused when there is too much heat in the body and the herbs are used to bring some ‘coolness’.  It’s all to do with balance! 
It’s definitely an area I’m very interested as I’m always keen to try alternative treatments besides medications and drugs from my usual doctor.  Even though it’s not really cooking, I still thought it was interesting, so here’s some photos!

Happy New Year!

Happy New Year Everyone!

I hope you had a great Christmas and New Years!  What delicious creations did everyone make for the holiday season?

I’ve got a few posts to catch up on and heaps of new recipes to try out, so stay tuned for those!

Caramel Parfait Glace with Salted Peanut Caramel and Milk Chocolate Mousse

As seen on MasterChef Australia

After watching this being created on MasterChef during the celebrity chef challenge, I just knew that I had to attempt to make this stunning dessert myself.  I can definitely say that this is by far the most complicated and time-consuming dish I have ever made.  I honestly started it yesterday afternoon, got to step 5 after almost two hours and then worked on it for another hour and a bit tonight.  I’m putting some of the longer cooking time down to lack of bench space and pots as I was constantly stopping to clean utensils before I could move on. 
I really enjoyed the challenge of making this though and the flavours and giddy-feeling felt when finally eating it made it all worth the effort.  Seriously, if you’re considering making this, definitely give it a try but my tips are to be patient, follow the recipe exactly and expect to take longer than the 90 or so minutes that they’re allocated on the show.
Please excuse the slightly sloped appearance of my mousse and chocolate on top but I think considering this was my first time ever making something this complex, I did a pretty good job (if I do say so myself!).

Find the recipe at the MasterChef site: http://www.masterchef.com.au/caramel-parfait-glace-with-salted-peanut-caramel-and-milk-chocolate-mousse.htm

Pork Fillet with Apple and Leek

Poppit’s Creative Cooking – Tuesday Night

Poppit – As promised, here is my dinner creation for my creative cooking night this week.  It’s from the AWW 100 Meals in Minutes recipe book that I mentioned in my previous post. 
Although I may have overcooked the pork just slightly, the overall flavours from the caramelised apple and leek were just lovely!  It was also fairly quick to make which is good considering the title of the book it came from!  It looks like the meal is absolutely huge but I just had heaps of squash to use which is hiding underneath making it look like quite a tower!

Poppit’s Love of Recipe Books

Poppit – As you may already know, my husband (Puppet) and I decided that we should each cook one new meal every week from my huge selection of recipe books.  For someone so young, I’ve already acquired quite a number of different recipe books and it really has become a hobby and fun thing to collect (for me anyway!).  I’ve got a number of ‘fancier’ books with lots of lovely photos and tempting ideas, but my ultimate favourite has to be any of the Australian Women’s Weekly (AWW) A4-sized recipe books that you can find in Coles or Woolworths for around $12.95.  Not only do they have so many of these books in so many different themes, but as each recipe is “triple tested” by the Women’s Weekly cooks, they will almost always work if you follow the steps. 

So, as I was waiting for Puppet to have a haircut over the weekend, I busied myself in the newsagent looking through the many different recipe books.  After only a few seconds of glancing over the covers, a brightly coloured AWW book jumped out at me with a title that was just too much to resist – Macaroons and Biscuits! 

I quickly bought a copy to add to my collection and spent the rest of my waiting time looking over each of the mouth-watering recipes.  I’ve already made the Raspberry Macaroons which worked out quite well – still some changes I’ll have to make for my next batch though in relation to my oven and cooking times.  I forgot to take photos though as they were eaten up almost as soon as they were made!  I’ll definitely get some of my next batch, I promise!

My recommendation though, if you love baking and all things sweet, then this new book is definitely for you!

Now, you’d think one new recipe book for the weekend would be enough, but while we were doing our grocery shopping the next day, I noticed that Woolworths was offering a 2 for 1 deal with the AWW books.  Although it probably wasn’t necessary, I had been eyeing off another one of their books, Wok Simple which had many different stir-fry meals.  And then to find another one to go with it, I decided on 100 Meals in Minutes which also looked great (and I made my new meal of the week from this one – coming in the next post).

So, as my recipe book collection continues to expand, so does my love of cooking, baking and discovering all the different foods and techniques involved with each and every idea.  Although some people may think that this hobby of mine is a little crazy, I love the fact that I’m being inspired by something which involves trying new things while at the same time involving my husband, family and friends.  And let’s not forget, all of this and getting to eat delicious food…what else could someone ask for?

 I’ve got another amazing, very cute book which I can’t wait to tell you about, but that can wait until next time.  It’s definitely one of my favourites though!  Stay tuned!

Pavlova – Donna Hay (As seen on Masterchef)

Fluffy White Pavlova

As seen on Masterchef Australia – Created by Donna Hay

Poppit –  
We are loving Masterchef Australia at the moment!  As we were already on a roll with our cooking adventures in the kitchen, the newly started 2010 series is great to catch new ideas and fresh inspiration.  Something I have always wanted to try but just never have is the all-time Australian classic, the Pavlova!
Last week, Donna Hay was a guest on the show and this favourite dessert was used in the pressure test.  It looked glossy-white and was perfectly shaped.  After making my own, I now know what people mean about pav’s cracking and sinking but seriously, with a bit of patience, this can be quite a simple dessert to make.

My tips:
– Make sure the egg whites are forming peaks before adding the sugar.
– Very slowly add the sugar to the egg mixture while beating.
– When assembling on the tray, don’t flatten or pat the mixture down (as I learnt!).  My Women’s Weekly recipe book gives more detailed instructions than the Masterchef one and says that you should shape the mixture up and in towards the centre, like a mound and to make furrows up side of meringue using spatula.

Otherwise, that’s about it!  As you can see from my photos, it didn’t turn out perfect but I have definitely learnt that you have to shape it up and higher for next time.  It tasted just fine though and was a huge hit with our family.  Have a delicious filling prepared for when your Pavlova has fully cooled in the oven and is ready to serve.  I chose fresh strawberries, kiwifruit, passion fruit and whipped cream.  Yumm!!

Recipe found at: http://www.masterchef.com.au/recipe-donna-hay-pavlova.htm

 

 

 

Eye Fillet on bed of Potato Mash with Broccolini & Baby Carrots

Eye Fillet on bed of Potato Mash with Broccolini and Baby Carrots
Served with homemade Mushroom Sauce

With only a little time to cook before racing off to see How to Train your Dragon at the movies, we quickly worked together to create something easy but that would also satisfy both of our cravings for some good protein!
Although it would have been pretty easy just to eat somewhere before the movie, unless you’re going to a more refined restaurant (where you don’t want to be rushing), it’s pretty hard to find a decent steak.  Plus, we were more than happy to have a delicious home-cooked meal (for probably half the price too!)

There’ll be no recipe to go along with this meal as it’s all very simple.  Make the mash, steam the broccolini and baby carrots (or however you want to cook them), make the mushroom sauce, cook the meat to your preference and serve!