Vanilla Bean Panna Cotta with Summer Fruits

Happy Australia Day everyone! We're doing the traditional laze around at home followed by roast lamb on the BBQ thing today. Absolute bliss. Although it does make for a strange week having a public holiday in the middle.

I'm a little late jumping on the panna cotta bandwagon but better late than never. This is something you find on restaurant menus a lot but after seeing just how simple it is you'll be making it for yourself instead.

I couldn't think of anything more perfect for an Australia Day lunch than this cool and silky panna cotta paired with fresh pineapple and mango. If you're somewhere cold at the moment (lucky you!) than this would work wonderfully served with a warm fruit compote.

"A panna cotta should wobble like a Rubenesque woman wearing 5 inch heels"

Matt Preston on MasterChef Australia

As you can see from my photos the mixture split into 2 distinct layers while it chilled in the fridge. Apparently this is really common and can be caused by over-heating the cream (which did happen when I turned my back for a moment) and not allowing the mix to cool sufficiently before pouring it into the moulds. I actually quite like the effect although it does make the creamy bottom layer VERY creamy.

Vanilla Bean Panna Cotta
Recipe adapted from taste.com.au

1 1/2 cups (375ml) cream
1 1/2 cups (375ml) milk
1 vanilla bean (I used 1 ts of vanilla paste)
1/2 cup (115g) caster sugar
2 1/2 tsp gelatine powder

Place the cream and milk in a saucepan. Use a small sharp knife to split the vanilla bean lengthways, then scrape the seeds from inside the bean. Add the seeds and bean to the saucepan. Slowly bring to the boil over a medium heat. Remove from the heat and set aside for 10 minutes.

Discard bean from cream mixture. Add sugar and return to a low heat. Cook, stirring, for 5 minutes, or until sugar dissolves.

Place 2 tbs of boiling water in a small heatproof bowl. Sprinkle over gelatine. Bring a small saucepan of water to boil. Remove from heat. Sit the bowl of gelatine in the water and stir until dissolved. (I microwaved the combined gelatine powder and water in 5 second bursts until dissolved). Cool slightly, then stir into the cream mixture.

Lightly oil 6 x 1/2 cup (125ml) plastic dariole moulds or ramekins (I used spray oil). Place on a tray and pour in cream mixture. Refrigerate for 4 hours.

To serve, break the seal by inserting a small knife between the panna cotta and the mould. Turn onto a serving plate and shake to release.

Ten in 10 Update 3 and Garlic Bread

It's usually about this point into a diet that I start to lose motivation and this time is no different. There's nothing I can really put my finger on, I'm just a bit over it all.

I chose not to count calories this week so paid extra attention to how much I ate and exercised 6 days out of 7. I also made sure we ate less red meat and more veges with dinner. The end result? I gained 200g. Could it be 200g of muscle? I hope so! My fitness is definitely improving and I feel I have more muscle tone.

I'm thinking maybe I won't weigh myself at all for the next 2 weeks but rather will focus on how I feel and how my clothes fit.

And now onto something that makes me smile just thinking about it ...

Cheesy Garlic Bread

I made this absolutely delicious garlic bread to accompany some leftover spaghetti. Now I know that sounds like a very carb heavy meal (and it was!) but the pasta was jam-packed with veges. I have to admit I'm not great at sitting down to a plateful of unadorned vegetables. So I tend to 'sneaky chef' myself and fill everything I cook for dinner with hidden veges.

If you have a favourite vegetable recipe please let me know! I'm definitely looking for inspiration :)

I have been continuing to bake from the fabulous Healthy Bread in 5 Minutes a Day cookbook. I made this garlic bread using 1/4 of the master recipe found on p53. But you could use your own favourite bread dough and do the same thing.

Cover a baking tray with a good dusting of cornmeal. Using as light a touch as possible, flatten the dough into a large circle, about 1/2 inch thick. Place on the tray. Sprinkle with 2 cloves of finely minced garlic, a handful of mozzarella cheese and any fresh or dried herbs you like. Dot with butter (about 1 tablespoon total) and then roll up the dough into a sausage shape. Fold under the ends to seal. Using a sharp knife, slash the top of the loaf.

Once again, I won't post the full recipe because I think you should get the book!

My baking hiatus is now almost over. Come February I will be back in the swing of things. It will be interesting to see how that impacts on my Ten in 10 program!

Chicken Noodle Soup

It's official. Oscar has his first cold. I think he's done really well to get to 9 months without picking up any bugs, particularly as both hubby and I had the flu a few months ago.

Despite it being the middle of a hot summer, chicken noodle soup was definitely in order. While Oscar only got a little of the broth and some finely chopped chicken, the rest of us got the whole deal including noodles made from scratch.

Chicken Noodle Soup

For the broth:

1 x 2kg chicken, preferably organic
1 carrot,
1 stick of celery
2 cloves of garlic
1 red onion
2 bay leaves
water

Rinse the chicken under cold water and place in a large stock pot.Chop the onion, carrot and celery into large chunks. Add to the pot with the garlic and bay leaves. Cover with cold water and place over high heat. Bring to the boil then reduce the heat and simmer gently for 1 hour, skimming any scum that comes to the surface.

Remove the chicken from the broth and refrigerate. Remove and discard the vegetables and bay leaves (you may need to strain the broth to remove the onion and any sediment). Pour the broth into a large jug and refrigerate for at least a few hours. Once cold, remove most of the fat that has risen to the surface and discard. If you don't do this the soup may be too oily.

Once the chicken is cool, remove the meat from the bones and shred or chop it into pieces. Refrigerate until needed.

For the noodles:

Recipe adapted from Romaine's Chicken and Dumplings

1 1/2 cups plain flour
1 egg beaten
1 tbs butter
1/2 ts salt
5 tbs cold water

Add the flour, salt and butter to the bowl of your food processor and blitz until the mixture resembles course sand. Add the egg and pulse a few times to combine. Add the water 1 tablespoon at a time, pulsing in between additions, until the mixture starts to form a ball.

Remove from the mixer, cover with plastic wrap and let rest for 10 minutes.

Flour a large board or work surface and roll out the dough into a thin sheet (basically as thin or thick as you would like the noodles to be). Use a sharp knife to cut into the desired shape. I cut long ribbons about 1/2 inch wide, then cut each ribbon into 4 inch strips.

Cover with a tea towel and allow to dry for 20 minutes.

For the soup:

1 large carrot, finely diced
1/2 onion, finely chopped
1 zuchini, finely diced
salt and pepper to taste
Your cooked chicken and cooled broth
Noodles

Pour the cooled broth into a large saucepan and bring it to the boil. Check for seasoning at this stage and add salt and pepper to taste. Once boiling, add the vegetables and noodles and cook for about 10 minutes, or until the vegetables are tender. Add the chicken and stir through until hot.

Serves 6.

It doesn't matter how hot the weather is, there is just something so comforting about chicken noodle soup, and the homemade noodles really made this dish something special!

Ten in 10 Update 2 and Jam Drops

Well, another week done and it's been really up and down. We had some sad news on Thursday when we found out my uncle (Dad's brother) passed away suddenly overnight. Totally unexpected and I still can't believe it.

I'm the sort of person who cooks and cleans when I'm upset so the house looks great and I made some yummy cookies which I will get to in a moment.

First an official update for Ten in 10...

Things I did well this week:

1. Exercised 5 days out of 7. I was aiming for 7 days this week but overslept 2 mornings after being up a few times in the night with Oscar.

2. Switched workout dvds. The old one was becoming too easy so I guess that means my fitness is improving!

3. Weighed myself once! Lost 0.6kg which I am really happy with.

Things to work on for next week:

1. Eating consciously/watching portion size. I ate 4 jam drop cookies before I even knew what I was doing. Oh well.

When the urge to bake struck I was going to make Moogie's chocolate-filled poppyseed cookies but I think my poppyseeds were rancid. Ugh.

But I love these jam drops. Very homey and comforting. They are really sweet though so I would use only dark chocolate and a tart jam or marmalade. The flavour is more mellow the second day but they don't hold together as well. That's if they last that long!

Jam Drops/Choc Drops
Recipe adapted from Modern Classics #2 by Donna Hay, p18

180g (6oz) softened butter
1 cup caster sugar
1 egg
1 ts vanilla essence
2 cups plain flour
1/2 ts baking powder
jam and chocolate melts to decorate

Preheat the oven to 180 degrees C. Place the butter and sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer and beat until light and creamy. Add the egg and vanilla and beat well. Stir through the flour and baking powder and mix to a dough.

Roll tablespoonfuls of mixture into balls. Place on a baking tray lined with non-stick baking paper, allowing room for each biscuit to spread, and flatten slightly. Press a finger into the middle of the dough to make an indent.

Fill the hole with jam (preferably something tart like raspberry or rosella) or a chocolate melt. Bake for 10 minutes or until golden brown. Remove from the oven and add a little extra jam or another chocolate melt to each biscuit while they are still warm. Allow to cool completely before serving.

Makes approx 30 large or 60 small biscuits.

Homemade BBQ Sauce

We have recently discovered a super butcher near us (literally called Super Butcher) where they have wonderful quality meats like wagyu roasts at great prices. A few years ago I could have easily become a vegetarian but I've since discovered a taste for red meat. We have had the most amazing grilled steaks, pork belly and roasts I've ever eaten and they all came from the super butcher.

On the menu tonight were Black Angus beef sausages and I was looking for some way to spice them up a bit. This recipe falls into the always-wanted-to-make-but-never-got-around-to-it category. I think most of us have a list like that and while a lot of wishlist recipes tend to be extravagant, expensive or just downright decadent, this was a great addition to a weeknight meal.

I know there are a million other bbq sauce recipes out there, some sweeter, some hotter, some that take days to make in a slow cooker ... but this was perfect for us and I will definitely be making it again!

BBQ Sauce
Recipe adapted from Taste.com.au

2 tbs olive oil
1 small onion, peeled, chopped
2 garlic cloves
1 x 400g can diced tomatoes
2 tbs tomato puree
1 heaped tbs brown sugar
1 tbs Worcestershire sauce
1 tbs sweet chilli sauce (I used a tomato, capsicum and chilli salsa)
2 tbs white wine vinegar
1 tbs Dijon mustard

Place the oil in a saucepan over low heat, add the onion and cook for 5 minutes until softened slightly. Add all the other ingredients and bring to the boil. Reduce heat to medium and cook for 5 minutes, stirring, until thickened slightly. Set aside to cool slightly. Place in a blender and blend until smooth. Store in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 2 weeks.