IGEC : Food

Perhaps you are feeling a bit like me at the moment? A bit like a stuffed sausage? After all the entertaining and being entertained I am craving a month of eating nothing but steamed greens and watermelon. 

But that won't happen, because I adore food. And I adore these three Instagrammers who always inspire me with their gorgeous looking creations. Luckily they are all fans of good, wholesome, healthy deliciousness so you can drool with a clear conscious and a happy belly. 

Ruth, aka Gourmet Girlfriend, is a ridiculously good cook based in Melbourne with a gang of kids who seem to be equally talented in the kitchen. I love her honest, from the heart, all hands on deck approach to cooking. And I'm a wee bit jealous of her crochet skills. And her wardrobe...

Every time I look at @kenokitchen's feed I feel healthy and hungry all at once. Thoughtful, nutritious, tasty - what more could you possibly want? I'm super excited that a) I'm doing one of her whole food cooking classes later this year, and b) she's releasing a cookbook soon!

Another foodie who makes healthy look seriously delicious (and often a whole lot of fun too!) is Martyna, Wholesome Cook. I'm a long way from paleo, and I really do adore sugar, but I still find her posts inspiring. In fact, I could go some of those icy poles right now. And maybe some of that spaghetti too. Oh yes!

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Instagram is chockfull of the some of the most inspiring, creative, hilarious, clever people I've ever had the pleasure of encountering on the internets. IGEC is my chance to share some of those inspiring, creative, hilarious, clever people with you! Oh and you can find me on Instagram here. 

Three Simple Xmas Day Recipes (For Making Anytime!)

If I had of thought about writing this post before we all tucked in on xmas day there might be some better photos to go along with it. But I didn't and there's not, so you'll just have to settle for my marvellous pavlova, our colourful, eclectic table and Ferdi in a santa costume! 

This was our first xmas in our first proper house and it was ace. We have the step-sons staying with us right now, so their Mum came over for lunch and present opening. We stuffed and roasted a turkey and served it with roast potatoes, Yorkshire puddings, buttery peas, fig salad, gravy and cranberry sauce. For afters we had pavlova with whipped cream, berries and pomegranate. It was a team effort, and it was all quite delicious. 

Here are three super simple yet super tasty recipes we used on the day:

Duck Fat Roast Potatoes 

1. Preheat your oven to about 190˚C or so. Put a biggish metal roasting pan in there to heat it up. 

2. Give your spuds a good scrub. Don't peel them - they're tastier with the skin on, plus it saves a heap of time and mess! 

3. Chop them into cubes; not too small but not too big. 

4. Throw the cubes in some salted, boiling water. Leave them in for about 7-10 minutes.

5. Drain your spuds really well, then put them in the hot metal roasting pan. 

6. Sprinkle liberally with chunky sea salt. Daub liberally with duck fat. 

7. Roast for 45-60 minutes, adjusting the temperature and oven position as required (ie. if they are browning too quickly drop the temp, if they're not crisping up enough give them a blast of heat). 

It's pretty hard to overcook these guys so don't fret too much. On the flip side, if it looks like they're going to be ready early don't be afraid to pull them out of the oven for a rest. 

From my head and years of trial and error. 

Fig + Mint Salad 

1. Halve 8 figs and arrange them in a bowl. 

2. Whisk together the juice of 1 orange, juice of 1 lemon and 50ml extra virgin olive oil. 

3. Add 1 loosely packed cup of mint leaves, roughly chopped, and 1.5 thinly sliced golden shallots. 

4. Season to taste then spoon over the figs and eat! 

This was delicious with the roast turkey, I think it'd go well with roast pork as well. Oh, and maybe barbecued prawns. And some kind of chicken. Actually, it'd go with pretty much anything!

From the December 2014 edition of Australian Gourmet Traveller. 

Never-Fail Pavlova 

1. Preheat oven to 200˚C. Line an oven tray with baking paper. 

2. Place 4 egg whites in a bowl. 

3. Combine 1 tablespoon cornflour and 1.5 cups of sugar, then add to the bowl with egg whites. Next - add a pinch of salt and 5 tablespoons boiling water. 

4. Beat on high until the sugar has dissolved and the mixture holds its shape well. You'll know it when you see it! 

5. Important! Half way through beating add a teaspoon of white vinegar and a teaspoon of vanilla essence. 

6. Pile the mixture on the oven tray, shaping with a spatula. I made two pavlovas - one was low and wide, the other thick and high. I think the low and wide one turned out better; it had a good ratio of crisp outside to soft, marshmallowy inside.

7. Place in the oven and drop the temperature down to just under 150˚C. Bake for about an hour, until it's dry to the touch. If your meringue starts to tinge drop the temperature down some more.

8. Once cooked, leave the oven door ajar and allow to cool completely before removing.

9. The meringue can be stored for a day or two. Before serving top with your favourite topping. 

I went for a classic whipped cream and berries combo - one with pomegranate and one with passionfruit. Although I adore pomegranate, I do think the passionfruit one was better - a pav really needs the tang of passionfruit to cut through the sweetness of the meringue. 

From the CWA Classics cookbook. 

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I was pretty pleased with how my pavlovas turned out. I'm pretty sure they're going to become a new xmas tradition. I'm already looking for inspiration for next year so please tell me - what are your favourite pavlova toppings? 

ps. I hope you had a delicious day too!

TICOW* : The Food Edition

Do you ever get overwhelmed by a craving for a particular food or ingredient? When the desire, the need, for that particular thing is so strong that you have no choice but to go out and procure it, and possibly waste a day googling related recipes? This happens to me on a fairly regular basis. So here's some *Things I'm Currently Obsessed With, the food edition.

Silver beet and fennel. I don't think I've eaten silver beet (aka chard) since I was living at my Mum's house (and that was quite some years ago!). But lately I can't get enough of the stuff, especially when it's paired with fennel. I love chopping them both up and sautéing them in some olive oil and butter until the silver beet starts to wilt and the fennel starts to soften. It's become my go to home alone meal when served with brown rice and quinoa, a fried egg, tomato relish and a bit of feta crumbled over the top. So freaking yum! 

Soup. The colder weather just screams for soup doesn't it? And they are so quick and easy to throw together (unless you're tackling one of those two day recipes involving oxtail...). I usually make a giant batch and freeze several portions so they're on hand when I'm home alone and a bit over the idea of cooking (a frequent occurrence).

The current favourite - which is actually a contender for my most favourite soup ever - combines silver beet and fennel (hurrah!) with chicken and chickpeas, and a squeeze of lemon juice. It is very, very good. The recipe is from Bi-Rite Market's Eat Good Food, and you can find it here if you want to make it yourself. Note: I poach chicken breasts in the soup and then shred them. Also, I've tried adding some torn fresh basil just before serving and that was super tasty too! 

The second soup I'm currently obsessed with is a spicy and sour 'detox' soup bought from a local deli. It's a simple broth with fresh herbs, cherry tomatoes, noodles, tofu, chilli and lemon.

Fruit salad. Especially with loads of watermelon; I could eat all the watermelon right now. Which is a bit weird because it's winter. I should be craving slow roasted veggies and mash, and citrus fruits... But, we are blessed to live in a country that can accommodate my non-seasonal cravings, so fruit salad it is. Made all the better when you add Yalla's stewed rhubarb and ginger to the mix.

Chocolate. Nutritionists and health freaks cover your ears please because I'm about to make a confession: I eat chocolate every, single day. Often with my breakfast. I'm partial to a mini Milky Way, and lately I've also been loving a bit of Old Gold rum and raisin (so retro!), but this Koko Black macadamia and cranberry bar had me swooning. So creamy! And I've just discovered you can buy them on line. Dear lord. Help. 

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What are you currently eating? Do you have any odd cravings? Care to share a favourite soup recipe? 

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ps. I started drafting this post a few weeks ago, which was quite fortuitous as if I had of written it all today it would just be twenty photos of bread, pasta, rice and more bread. You see, I'm currently at the tail end of a grain free week (part of a challenge from a Facebook based nutrition course I've joined for some ridiculous reason). I've spent the week feeling very hungry and faintly nauseous, and weeping whenever I've seen a sandwich or a noodle. It's been an interesting experiment, and has made me rethink my severe grain dependency, but grain free won't become a habit for me. Whatever the opposite of coeliac disease is, I'm pretty sure I've got it.