Chilli cheese burgers

July 20 2014
3 Comments

I love a good burger!  I don’t know if I’ve ever said on here (probably but then I have a tendency to repeat myself) but years ago, when I was in my late teens, I became a vegetarian for around 5 years.  I really didn’t miss meat at all except for the odd bit of fish, but one day I went out for lunch with my dad and the menu had a burger and chips with the works on offer.  I remember saying, I really feel like a burger dad!  So I ordered this massive burger bigger than my head, ate the whole thing and that was that.  Five years of vegetarianism down the drain!

Ok I still eat mainly vegie now (it’s healthy and like a lot of people, I prefer it) but can’t really commit to being a vegetarian completely as I’d miss those classics like burgers and roast chicken.

So these burgers are pretty basic although I like to add little bits and pieces like diced olives and sweet chilli sauce to step things up a bit; I made ours pretty thick and cooked them a bit slower so they turned out juicy and full of flavour.  One thing I’ve learned from making meatballs and rissoles is that you need to season really well, more than you usually would in this day and age of reducing salt intake.  The melted cheese and spicy tomato sauce with a few pieces of frilly lettuce on a fluffy burger bun was a hearty lunch on a recent long weekend.

chilli cheeseburgers

chilli cheese burgers

chilli cheeseburgers
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Broccoli with chilli, garlic, lemon & toasted walnuts

July 13 2014
7 Comments

I mean I like broccoli; green, crunchy, good for you but it’s not exactly the most exciting food on the planet to prepare or eat, so finding a way to dress up ye olde steamed broccoli is always good.  The classic flavours of chilli, garlic and lemon go brilliantly with this rustic vegie and I’m guessing even the most hardened of broccoli haters wouldn’t mind eating it this way.  Adding a bit of Parmesan and a handful of toasted walnuts added some extra flavour and crunchiness.

This is a great side with steak, Atlantic salmon or chicken although I have to admit to eating a bowl of this on it’s own for lunch.  I felt quite annoyingly smug for the rest of the day!

chilli lemon broccoli

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Postcard swap

July 12 2014
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postcard

One of the best things about the internet is engaging with people you wouldn’t have had the opportunity to before we all went online, which is lovely and so easy.  Still, there’s nothing quite like receiving something handwritten in the mail is there?  Particularly from overseas.  Anyway, Jen from Grits & Moxie is offering a postcard swap so check it out if you’re keen and have a read of her awesome blog; I’m planning on sending mine soon and I also have a heap of cute and vintage style postcards if anybody wants to do a swap with me.

Oh and Jen hails from Georgia in the USA!  You could say I’m fascinated by anything southern.

Postcard purchased from: Zazzle

British crime dramas

July 9 2014
6 Comments

Wallander
British crime and mystery is one of my favourite genres in TV watching.  I love how realistic English TV and movies are; refreshingly ordinary characters who are captivatingly flawed and often showing violence in a non-gratuitous, particularly subtle yet unnerving way.  The main characters are usually always troubled or dark, in a way the average person can relate to.  You could say I’m addicted.

Here are my favourites I’ve been watching lately:

Wallander – Kenneth Branagh is depressed yet empathetic as a detective in a permanent existential crisis in this crime series remake set in a beautifully haunting Norway (renewed for 2015).
Happy Valley – a strong female lead and supporting roles in this mini series focusing on a police officer living in Yorkshire dealing with her own dysfunctional family, disaffected youth and an abducted young woman.  This is one of those domino effect storylines with one action causing numerous consequences (renewal possible).
Five Days – a young mum randomly goes missing with no clues or reason, leaving her children abandoned with no way home in this five part mini series.  Something which stood out to me in this was (paraphrasing) the DSI asking if the abducted woman was attractive, going on to say that the media would only pick up on the story if she was.  Jarring but true.
The Fall – Gillian Anderson stars in this psychological drama as a senior police detective hunting a serial killer in Northern Ireland (renewed for 2014).
Prime Suspect (old school but I love re-watching it) – Helen Mirren playing DCI Tennison and kicking arse (in a very British way), what can I say?
White Heat – ok, perhaps not a crime drama but I felt it deserved an honourable mention.  Spanning 4 decades, this six part historical drama series focuses on a group of 7 friends who first meet as university housemates in 1965, their personal lives and the changing social structures over that time, finally meeting up when one of their group dies.

Oh and feel free to recommend any you’ve seen!

Wallander promotional image from TV series: Wallander, UK

from → TV

Black sticky rice pudding with caramelised bananas (vegan)

July 6 2014
16 Comments

I’ve wanted to make this black sticky rice pudding for ages but had trouble sourcing the black glutinous rice in an actual store.  I originally tried making a similar dessert with black rice and although it tasted nice, it wasn’t the same, I really feel it needs the glutinous rice for that gloriously sticky texture.

And this dessert or breakfast (I even had leftovers for a quick dinner one night) is gorgeous – darkly rich and sweet, velvety smooth with subtle vanilla and coconut flavours.  You could easily have this on it’s own, I mean the purply/dark colour and flavour is enough on it’s own to make this an exotic dessert, but the caramelised banana served on the side just made it a bit more special.

FYI,  I ended up buying the black glutinous rice from My Asian Grocer, along with the coconut cream, coconut milk and palm sugar.

In the interests of full disclosure, I used Kara brand coconut cream which is perfect for desserts; as you can see in the photos, it’s creamy, thick, snowy white and doesn’t separate.  However, it does include an additive called carrageenan which helps give it the creamy, smooth texture (I won’t bore any of you/freak you out with the details, just research carrageenan if you want to know more about additives which may have an impact on folks with digestive issues/conditions).  If you have any concerns, it’s probably best to use coconut cream which consists of pure coconut.

You could also try whipping your coconut cream instead.  I haven’t tried this but have always wanted to because it sounds so rich and decadent and is a really inspired idea.

sticky black rice pudding

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What I’m reading

July 2 2014
8 Comments

So the other day I went ballistic and ordered a bunch of books from the Book Depository (I love clicking on their live feed and seeing what people all over the world are reading!).  It’ll take me about 1000 years to finish them but I don’t care, I just don’t feel like myself if I don’t have a stack of books on my bedside and coffee tables.

Anyway I thought I’d do a reading list of my epic purchases.  If you want to check out what they’re about click on the books.

The LeftoversWhat Alice ForgotThe Forever GirlThe Book ThiefThe Little Paris KitchenThe Little FriendThe Days of Anna MadrigalLove and ChaosThe Husband's SecretThe VacationersThe Reece Malcolm List

 

Slow cooked French chicken casserole

June 29 2014
13 Comments

Whenever I throw together a casserole I always seem to under-estimate the ingredients – moral of the story, find your biggest cast iron casserole dish for this recipe, around 6 litres or so, or even halve the recipe if there’s only a couple of you (we were eating chicken casserole for days!  Not a hardship but in retrospect I made too much and had to literally stuff everything into my 4.5 litre French oven and fretted about that while it was cooking).  Or is it a Dutch oven .. I never know the difference.  Also, I happened to have a red capsicum in the fridge and included that, however it’s not something you’d necessarily use in a French casserole so feel free to leave it out.  It does add a bit of sweetness to the base flavours though, along with the leek and celery.

I just happened to make this for a Sunday lunch which was a sunny, but cold and windy day so the tender, falling-apart, herb scented chicken and hearty vegetables were perfectly mopped up by a warm, crusty bread roll.  This is a lighter, more delicate option for the usual hearty beef casseroles we see at this time of year but was warming and comforting nonetheless.

french casserole
slow cooked french casserole

mushrooms for french casserolechives

french chicken casserole

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