An Aussie Breakfast

Once upon a time we had the time to cook ourselves a scrumptious breakfast on a lazy weekend morning. These days are we are super busy and prefer to get eat brunch out at one of the many foodie spots in this city before we leave for good - this way we can avoid washing dishes, get out of the house, save some time, and enjoy the increasingly pleasant/warm weather. 

Blood oranges have been in season lately and they are my favorite, Juiced by hand. One day we'll get a proper juicing contraption.

I found this recipe through another Melbourne foodie blog Wotsfortea for homemade Crumpets online and wanted to try them. The crumpets you can buy in the shops are cheapo and this recipe seemed really easy only requiring flour, yeast and milk. Here in Australia you can buy both English Muffins and Crumpets, but the English Muffins are nothing like in the states, they don't have very many nooks and crannies, while the Crumpets are light and full of holes - they kind of look like American style English muffins, but more spongy if bought in the store. This was my first attempt at making Crumpets and was pleasantly surprised by the outcome. They are like really holey pancakes. You have to have a bit of time and patience in the morning hours to be able to let the yeast work its magic for an hour. (Which doesn't usually work for me because I sleep in so late, that by the time I am up I am starving and can't wait for the cooking process.) They cook up fast once the batter has bubbled up. You are instructed to use egg rings to make the round shape, which are kind of tricky so I might look for other, more manageable alternatives. Serve hot with butter and jam.

Moms potato roll recipe

Cinnamon rolls

Monkey Bread

Potato rolls

Recipe:

7 tsp yeast dissolved in 3 cups of warm water for 15 minutes

Add:
1 3/4 cup of sugar
2 eggs
1 1/3 cup veg oil
1 cup of potato flakes (or I used 1 cup of freshly mashed potatoes which makes for a slightly lumpy mixture)

Slowly incorporate 6-8 cups flour
Knead and let rise twice
Bake at 350 degrees F until brown

Moms potato roll recipe makes a ton of dough. What to do with it all when all I wanted was some gooey, cinnamony buns?. I ended up with all of this... And am now feeling quite the baker.

Amy help! How do I make milk pie

Oh I wish you were awake right now cause I can't for the life of me remember how to make milk pie like when we were little. It's a rainy, dreary day - my favorite- and I had a hankering for something crunchy and caramely. But settled on trying to recreate this. It's still a bit soupy though after one hour of baking. Are you supposed to add an egg? I rembered the can of evaporated milk (always a staple in house when we were growing up) and sugar inside my rapid pie crust. Was gonna call you or mom but it's 2 am your time so I hope this will suffice.

More Carrot Cupcakes (w/ the Recipe this time)

Best way to get rid of the extra carrots going bad in the fridge. I am liking the idea of sneaking vegetables in desserts, probably get more vitamins in my diet this way. Can't possibly be losing any nutrients in the baking process either, since its a closed system.

Carrot Cupcakes, with Cream-cheese frosting:

Oven at 160 degrees C (about 375 F)

Mix: 1 1/2 cups plain flour

1 1/2 tsp baking powder

1 1/4 cups brown sugar

1/2 tsp cinnamon

3/4 cups raisins

1 carrot, peeled and grated

3 eggs

3/4 cups milk

100g butter, melted

Bake in muffin tin for 20-25 minutes or until cooked through (test with a skewer).

Cool on a wire rack

For a Dessert, if you so choose, top with cream cheese icing: 250g cream cheese + 50g softened butter + 1/2 cup icing sugar

But I'm not a fan of cream cheese.

For breakfast, Richard will probably just smear plain cream cheese directly.

An exploration into Granola

I know, its not a very exciting post, but this is what I get up to these days and its been frustrating not being able to find the things that you prefer in a foreign country. You learn to improvise. One thing you can't find here is Granola. You can't find granola anywhere in this country, its ridiculous! They tend toward muesli, which almost always has nuts in it (I am not allergic, I am just not a fan). Not to mention I can't find honeynut cheerios either, but thats another story. So I supposed that making granola is easy enough, found a simple recipe online and threw something together yesterday so that I can have something to eat on my morning probiotic-rich breakfast yogurt. Ran out of honey though, so I substituted brown sugar melted in the microwave. Oats, sesame seeds, flaxseed meal, cinnamon, coconut, raisins, cranberries all baked in the oven with a little veg oil and the honey/brown sugar goo - pretty healthy. Could use a bit more sweetener though, but that can always be added later on. It was pretty easy and I'll be sure to whip some more when I run out of this batch. All set for breakfast.

This version of granola is a combination of ideas taken from Epicurious.com, my reliable one-stop search engine for recipes of anything I happen to fancy. Its not as comprehensive a recipe library as one one think, but it rather stocks only the best, tried and tested, recipes published in the likes of Bon Apetit and Gourmet magazines, featuring celebrities and chefs like Nigella Lawson and Jamie Oliver (my two favorite) I love their nonchalant, non-apologetic, and trendy vibe that they bring to their kitchen making tasty, fast treats. Although their food can be a bit British (and in the metric system), so you'll have to sift through that stuff and learn how to convert (or buy a scale). You can create your own profile and store the recipes that catch your eye, print out grocery lists, and read pretty reliable and up-to-date reviews, making the research process of cooking/baking a breeze and taking the risks associated with new baking trials away. There's even an iPhone app to gain easy access on the go.