Food | Lani Says

May 28, 2013

Talias Treats : Pumpkin, Feta & Caramelised Onion tarts

pumpkintart2

Slice the onion thinly. Coat the bottom of your pan with oil, heat over a med-high heat. Add onions, stir to coat the onions in the oil, season with salt, then reduce heat to low-med. Stir occasionally, cooking until the onions are brown, juicy and sweet, and starting to stick to the bottom of the pan approx 30-45mins.

While those are cooking, preheat your oven to 200C. Chop the pumpkin into small cubes, cook in the microwave for 5 mins to soften. If you’re using silverbeet (I did cos we have tons of it growing in the vege garden at the mo) remove the white stalk as its quite bitter. Slice into smaller pieces.

Divide your pastry into four even pieces. Place on a lined tray. Score a line 1 cm in from the edge to create a border, taking care not to cut right through the pastry. Layer the silverbeet (or spinach), caramelised onion, pumpkin and feta cheese on top of the pastry, staying within your border. Season w salt & pepper, drizzle w olive oil. Bake for 12-15 mins or until pastry is golden brown.

Serve hot.

April 22, 2013

Delicious Dishes – Cereal Killa

Today I’m busy doing a fun photo-shoot for the blog that I can’t wait to show you. What I can show you now though, is a couple of delicious dishes I discovered on the weekend at Cereal Killa on Dominion Road. For a sweet fix, their French toast and pancakes are mean. The best french toast I’ve had in a long time, and my girl Shirl swears by the pancakes.

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March 28, 2013

Talias Treats: Easter Baskets

Whip these up tonight, or over the long weekend as a super special treat for your loved ones.

“These are really just those choc krispies that everyone grew up on as kids but with a bit of an easter twist…”

250g Kremelta
4 cups cornflakes
1 cup icing sugar
4 tbsp cocoa
1 cup coconut

Melt Kremelta either in microwave or on low heat in a saucepan. Add the icing sugar, coconut & cocoa, mix well. Stir the cornflakes through until well coated. Spoon into cupcake cases. Refrigerate until set.
Remove cupcake cases and place mini easter eggs on top. Serve.

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March 12, 2013

Talias Treats : Homemade Muesli

Lucky for you guys, while I’m off galavanting in the tropics, Talia stays on her grind. Today she gives us her recipe base for her homemade Muesli. She explains :

“It started out because I was trying to be good and eat a healthy breakfast so I didn’t snack all day. I don’t know how healthy it is in the end, lol, but it does fill me up till lunch. It also gives me my sweet fix so I’m not craving chocolate all day, so in that sense it works.”

Muesli’s something you can tailor to what you like. The base is:

3 cups rolled oats

1/2 cup olive oil (you can use canola etc but olive oil makes it crunchier)

1/2 cup honey

1/3 cup brown sugar (cos I like it sweet. If you like it more savory, leave out the brown sugar)

1/2 tsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp nutmeg or cardamom

1 tsp salt

1/2 tsp vanilla

plus your choice of:

2-2 1/2 cups nuts and seeds (if they’re already roasted you add at the end) 1 cup dried fruits

I use:
1 cup raw mixed nuts, chopped roughly, 1 1/2 cups energy booster mix OR heart smart mix (chopped roughly) chopped dried apricots, chopped dried cranberries, sultanas

Optional:

1 cup coconut (I use) / 1 cup bran flakes (for a healthy option lol)

I get the raw mixed nuts, energy booster, heart smart mixes from the Alison’s Pantry pick n mix aisle at Pack n Save or New World – not sure if Countdown stocks them.

Raw mixed nuts = almond, brazil, cashew, hazelnuts, walnuts, pecans

Energy booster mix = roast peanuts, raisins, sultanas, sunflower seed, diced apricot, fruit medley, papaya, pineapple, chocolate raisins, roasted cashews and pecans plus raw pumpkin seed

Heart Smart mix = roast pistachios, almonds, brazil nuts, dried cranberries, sultanas, strawberries and dark chocolate chunks

Mix together the base ingredients and any raw nuts & bran. I like toasting it with some raw nuts as I like the flavour it gives the oats versus just adding at the end.

Spread evenly across a baking tray. Bake approx 40 mins at 180C – stirring the mixture every 10mins so it toasts evenly – or until golden brown. Keep a close eye on it cos it quickly turns from toasted to burnt.

Once cooked, remove from oven and stir the roasted nut mixes, dried fruit and coconut through the muesli while still warm. Let cool completely. Store in an airtight container.

The muesli above is using the heart smart mix, which I like to eat sprinkled on top of lo-fat strawberry yoghurt. The muesli below is using the energy booster muesli served with milk, sliced peaches and bananas.

2 comments

February 12, 2013

Home-made Marvellous Creations !!!

yep, we made these marvellous lil chocolates at home

So, not so long ago, this amazing package was sent to me by Cadbury.

It’s part of their promotion, where they have hidden six golden keys to ‘Joyville’ inside their Marvellous Creations blocks. The lucky key finders will be able to mix up their own Marvellous Creations at the Cadbury factory, as well as win $10,001.

Last night, I got to whipping up my own crazy, delicious combos in Talia’s (of Talia’s Treats fame) kitchen. It was so much fun coming up with ideas you’ve always wanted to try but you just can’t find in the supermarket. Even better than it being fun, it was EASY!!! My biggest worry was melting the chocolate (yes, I am a total kitchen novice) but Talia taught me the easiest way to melt chocolate is in the microwave in 30 second bursts, until it’s melted enough to stir. It’s so satisfying when the wacky flavours you put together taste great.

You can buy super cheap chocolate moulds at your local dollar shop, I got a packet for $3, or just spread the chocolate out on a tray and cut into pieces, or use cookie cutters to cut shapes.

While Cadbury gave me a bunch of stuff to give me a head-start, we bought a lot of our own stuff too to make our creations ‘our own’ haha. We also grabbed dark & white chocolate, partly because I’d eaten most of the dairy milk before I started making these hehehe, and partly because we thought it’d taste better with the dark/white.

ANYWAY, here are the maaaaarvelous home-made creations Talia and I came up with last night. Both of our faves are the ‘Dark chocolate, Nerds & Popping Candy’ combo and the ‘Dark chocolate, Popcorn, raisins, coconut & chilli’ mixture. Yummo!

First up, probably our most ‘traditional’ combo : dairy milk chocolate, crunchie, toffee & fudge.

melt chocolate, mix all in, teaspoon into chocolate moulds & put in freezer

melt chocolate, mix all ingredients in, teaspoon into chocolate moulds & put in freezer

Creation 2: dark chocolate, coconut, chopped raisins, popcorn & chilli. This is delicious.

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February 5, 2013

Salty lemon vodka tonic

This is my favourite alcoholic drink right now, possibly ever. It’s so simple, which is why I can make it, ha. It’s basically just vodka, tonic water, a dash of fresh lemon juice, and salt, but it’s so refreshing. The perfect no-fuss summer relaxation drink. The mother in law will often ask me at night if I want a drink at night, and I will often say yes, because I know this is what she’ll make.

All you have to figure out for yourself is how much salt you like, and how much vodka you want in it. Her instructions to me were: Pour enough vodka in to ‘float the ice’ or, 3 – 4 caps. Cut a slice of fresh lemon and squeeze into the drink, and leave the slice in the glass. Pour tonic water, and then mix in salt. Start with maybe a quarter teaspoon, and add more to taste. I like it really salty so it’s close to a teaspoon for me. *Drink responsibly, don’t drink and drive, etc*

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January 31, 2013

Talia’s treats: Strawberry ricotta tart

Talia says “This ones yummy and so far everyone I’ve tried it on thinks its really good and very moreish … “. I thiiink, but am not sure (google has been of no help) that strawberry season is pretty much over, so, get in quick to make this!! Or, just substitute with your fave fruit or berries. Chur.

For the base:
1 cup flour
1 cup ground almonds
1 cup raw sugar
1/2 tsp baking powder
100g butter
1 tbsp lemon zest
juice of one lemon

Mix the dry ingredients together, then add butter and beat till mixture resembles breadcrumbs. Add zest and lemon juice and mix till forms a soft dough. Press into a lined tray, chill in fridge for 30mins. Bake 15-20mins at 180C or until golden brown. Let cool completely.

For topping:
250g ricotta cheese
2-3 tbsp icing sugar
1 tsp vanilla bean paste

Beat till smooth. Spread over tart base. Place sliced strawberries over top. Cut and eat…

2 comments

December 22, 2012

Talia’s Treats : Peppermint Crunch

Today, I am braving the cruel world that is Christmas shopping, welp! If you’re all sorted in that department, or feel like procrastinating, you should have a go with this delightfully easy Peppermint Crunch recipe. I’ll let Talia explain :

“Our Nana Joy always passed around a bowl of After Dinner mints at the end of our family Christmas feast, or any special meal. They’re the perfect bite to finish with. I first made this version for a special dinner for Lani & Dave at the beginning of the year. These have the taste of After Dinner mints – dark choc and peppermint but with the added texture of crushed cookies. They’re super easy and you only need four ingredients.”

1 King size block of dark chocolate (I prefer Whittakers 50% cocoa Dark Block)
1 King size block of white chocolate
1 packet of Oreo cookies
2 tsp Peppermint Essence

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December 12, 2012

Talia’s Treats: Kumara Salad

Talia adapted this slightly from a recipe she begged off her friend Susie, who got it from someone else …

3 large kumaras, peeled & diced
1 onion, chopped
4 rashers of bacon, chopped
100g feta cheese
2 spring onions, sliced finely
parmesan

Boil diced kumara til cooked but still firm, then drain and place in large bowl. Fry onion and bacon together. Add to kumara along with crumbled feta and sliced spring onions. Mix together equal portions (about 1 tbsp each) of Best Foods mayo, ranch dressing and a vinaigrette. I just use whatever vinaigrette we’ve got on hand (apart from French, I don’t know if that’d work) So far we’ve used balsamic, caramelized onion, and honey mustard, all quite nice.

Mix dressing through the salad, sprinkle with parmesan. Serve either warm or cold, both are good. It’s usually served with a BBQ but equally good with roast chicken.

2 comments

December 6, 2012

Wellington Eating: Six Barrel Soda Co.

It was after reading about Six Barrel Soda Company over on the ever-adorable Pocket Witch site that it was decided a weekend vacay to Welli was essential. This lovely cafe tucked away a little alley way and up some stairs on Eva Street, was our prime reason for being in Wellington, and it did not disappoint. We enjoyed mid-afternoon cocktails infused with Six Barrel’s own soda syrups and haloumi sliders, finished off with caramel sorbet sundaes with salty pretzels on top. I lingered about all afternoon to take full advantage of the bottomless filter coffee. It really is the perfect way to spend a day.