In full swing...

I certainly feel alive these days!! so much going on, so many cake bookings and everything is just crazy!
My big girl is settled in nicely at school and eagerly anticipating her first full week of school. Business is coming along nicely with lots of cake bookings for the coming months, so life is looking quite exciting really!
The rain has been crazy on the gold coast in the last week... dirty clothes are piling high, kids are feeling very restless being stuck indoors and we are quickly running out of wet weather activities to keep them happy! "movie day" just doesnt sound as exciting for the 8th day running!!

Waking up to yet another rainy day I decided that it was a french toast and Nespresso kind of morning, i meandered around the kitchen cooking my breakfast when I was presented with  a rare oportunity to sneak out of the house without a baby or two in tow!! My sister and I headed to the local farmers markets to grab a weeks supply of fresh fruit and veges... half of the stall holders were missing and the lack of crowds meant that we could grab ourselves a bargain without fighting through the crowds! We scored a heap of yummy fruit and veges for less than $20 and finished off our trip at the french bakery stall...$6 and two delicious loaves of super fresh bread later we made our way home.

I didnt have to think long about what I was going to do with these:

Basil, beef and Vegetable soup!!

Wet weather makes me a bit soup crazy... well to be honest, any excuse is a good excuse for soup! there is something very homey and calming about cooking and eating soup... any kind will do! But today with a huge bunch of basil and some fresh silverbeet growing in my garden there was no other option for me.

For the soup you'll need:

1 large carrot
2 medium zuchinnis
2 spring onions
1/4 cauliflower
2 tsbp olive oil
1tbsp minced garlic
200gms diced rump steak
1 tbsp turmeric
1tbsp cummin
can of chickpeas (juice as well)
2L of water or vegetable stock
1 cup of passata.
large handful of fresh basil leaves (plus some to garnish)
3 leaves of silverbeet
parsley and chives (optional)
fresh crusty bread to serve.

Here's how to do it:

1. Slice and dice your zuchinnis, carrots, spring onions, cauliflower and throw into a stock pot with the olive oil and minced garlic, brown well.
2. sprinkle in the turmuric and cummin and add the diced rump steak, brown well.
3. pour in the stock and chickpeas and bring to the boil.
4. add the cup of passata, sliced silverbeet and rip up the basil leaves and add to the pot. boil for 20-40 minutes.
5. just before you serve throw in some more basil and the finely sliced parsley and chives, serve with fresh crusty bread and ENJOY!

HAVE A FABULOUS WEEK!!

My new kind of normal...

Reality has finally hit me and it feels like this whole "school mum" thing could definitely be my new kind of normal! We had our first day today and, surprisingly, there were no tears from either of us!

Packing her lunch and doing her hair I felt so incredibly proud to be her mumma! I knew when we arrived and she jumped straight into playing and drawing without any backwards glances that we had done our job right! We nurtured her and encouraged her every step of the way and now we just need to sit back and watch her do her own thing. It is beautiful to watch!

And as the school year starts and my cake making calender is filling up fast it is time to share some food love!
here is my first lunchbox recipe for 2012!

Bacon, Zucchini and cheese muffins:
(makes 18)

You'll need:


3 rashers of bacon
1 small onion
1 cup of self raising flour
2/3 cup of olive oil
2 small grated zucchinis
4 eggs
1 cup of grated cheese


How to:


1. grease or line two muffin trays and preheat the oven to 160 degrees Celsius.
2. dice your bacon and onion finely and brown in a frypan with a tbsp of olive oil until tender and the bacon is cooked.
3. in a bowl sift your flour and add your grated zucchini.
4. in a seperate bowl add the eggs, bacon and onion together and whisk well.
5. add the wet ingredients to the dry and mix until well combined but be careful not to over stir or your muffins will be tough.
6. spoon mixture into the muffin trays and top with grated cheese.
they should look like this;

7. cook in the oven for 18-22 minutes or until they look like this:

These muffins freeze perfectly and are great for lunchboxes!!
I serve them cut in half and spread with low fat cream cheese and serve with salad so they are great for Mum's and Dad's too!

Reality is setting in...

My baby is growing up. I cant stop it, all I can do is stand and watch. My mind is full of the logistics of morning drop offs, lunch menus and ironing uniforms. I cant stop thinking about how its all going to work out having a set routine for the first time in my adult life! Never before has my life with children been dictated by a routine... my children eat when they are hungry, sleep when they are tired and most days our outings were planned at a moments' notice; choosing to accept last minute offers and sieze the day! Through all the years my beautiful big girl has been the perfect companion; she appreciates a quite and reflective coffee in a cute cafe, loves miso soup at a crazy-busy sushi train, we would be in an out of the car all day running erands without complaint from her... she is the perfect side-kick! Next tuesday morning I have to farewell our old lifestyle and im feeling very nolstalgic to say the least! I'm going to miss my big girl terribly, and everytime I remind her of this fact she pauses as if to find the nicest way around what she is going to say..."but I have to go mum, its ok if you're sad". Such a diplomatic answer, im so proud of you Aalliyah. You make everyone so happy and I know youre going to do amazing things.

So to celebrate the start of the school year, 6:30am rises, plaiting hair, green ribbons and ironed uniforms I am going to be writting up a few recipes a day to help all those with kiddies like mine. The goal is to prepare some delicious and *mostly healthy lunches for their growing minds and bodies.
Recipes to come include:

banana muffins
carrot cupcakes
blueberry pikelets
mini cinnamon donuts
caramel slice
toffees
strawberry puff pastries w/ chocolate sauce
sushi pockets
zuchinni and bacon muffins
vege sticks and yoghurt dip
mini sausage rolls
mini ceasar salads
rice noodles and veges.

I'm off now to enjoy my last thursday afternoon at home with my girl before her first ever term stars next week! I'll be back later with some photos and recipes.

Love rainy day cooking...

There is something very comforting about waking up to grey skies, rain pounding on the tin roof, pulling the doona up and enjoying the cold weather. Hard to believe when only a week before it was nearly too hot to move, let alone sleep!

Our day started slowly and i decided it was the perfect morning to enjoy bacon and eggs with a yummy soy chai latte... it was going to be a slow kind of day.

I love rainy days, something about them makes me want to go a little slower and enjoy the cooking process a little more than normal, and nothing screams 'take your time' quite like a pork roast!

Here is my favourite roast pork recipe, Im finishing it tonight with grilled zuchinni, roast potato and sweet potato and a very yummy apple and onion gravy.

You'll need

For the Roast:
1x pork roast (I use a shoulder roll)
2 x apples (green or red, personal preference)
1 big onion
2 cups of water
1x tbsp of rosmary
2 cloves of garlic, crushed
salt and pepper.
olive oil.
paper towel


To prepare the roast:


preheat the oven to 250 degrees celcius.

1. Place the roast in a decent sized roasting pan and cut the string tying the roast together, you can leave it together if you like but I find that the crackling works better without it. score the skin down to the fat layer and rub dry with the paper towel, ensuring that you dry it very well, the drier the skin; the better the crackling will be. once you've finished drying the skin, rub some salt into the scores and all over the top of the roast. sprinkle on the rosmary and pepper and drizzle on a little bit of olive oil.
2. pour the water into the pan, making sure that you dont get it on the top of the roast.
3. slice up the onion and cut the apple into wedges and arrange around the pork. throw in the crushed garlic and place into the oven.
4. leave the pork in the oven at 250c for 30-40 minutes or until the skin starts to blister and colour.
5. peel and cut up the potatoes and coat in olive oil, salt and pepper and place into the oven.
6.  before you put the potatoes in (after 30-40 minutes0 reduce the oven to 180 degrees and cook both for a further 45-60 minutes depending on the weight and size of the roast. you'll know its done when the fluid runs clear when you insert a skewer.
7. once the roast is done, remove the pork from its juices and put on a plate. remove the crackle and then cover the roast with foil and set aside to rest.

To prepare the apple and onion gravy:

you'll need:

1 cup of water
1 stock cube (any flavour)
1 tbsp cornflour
salt and pepper to taste.

How to make the gravy:

1. remove the apple from the pan juices and put aside until you are ready to serve.
2. scrape down the sides of the pan with a spatula to remove the caramalisation from the sides. Pour the juices and onion into a saucepan and put on the heat to reduce.
3. pour in half of the water and add the stock cube, whisk until well combined.
4. once the gravy is reduced you can make a cornflour paste with the water and slowly pour in until the gravy is the desired consistency. make sure to whisk well after each addition of paste as the gravy will thicken quickly. Keep warm until you serve.


To prepare the grilled zuchinni:


you'll need:

2 large zuchinni
1 tsp of rosmary
1 tsp garlic
3 tbsp of olive oil.

How to make the grilled zuchinni:

1. slice the Zuchinni on an angle to make thin discs.
2. heat a grill plate or pan and add the garlic and olive oil, once hot you can add the rosmary and zuchinni and grill until the zuchinni is tender and caramalised.


Once everything is done you can plate up and ENJOY! Serve with the apple on the side and a nice chunk of fresh bread to mop up the gravy!!

Pushing forward...

True to form, I have become obsessed with writing down ideas, lists, plans and recipes to help make sense of the jumble in my brain, so many lists, and consequently, very little sleep!!

Today saw me dragging two little girls around my local coles grabbing all sorts of exotic ingredients and forgetting to pick up the bread! way over budget but very happy, I came home to get straight into cooking up a recipe that haunted me last night! blueberries. lemon. cinnamon. maple syrup.

My kitchen is now a bomb site but my belly is full of delicious pancakes and thats all that really matters!
So without further ado, here is todays recipe.

Lemon Blueberry pancakes with cinnamon butter and maple syrup.

You'll need:

1.5 cups of plain flour
1 tbsp baking powder
2 tbsp white sugar
1 tsp of salt
1.5 cups of buttermilk
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla essense
2tbsp melted butter
juice and zest from one lemon
1 cup of blueberries
maple syrup
1/2 tsp cinnamon
butter to serve.

How to:


1. In a medium bowl, mix together the flour, baking powder, white sugar and salt.
2. in a seperate bowl, mix the buttermilk, egg, vanilla, melted butter and the zest and juice of the lemon. mix until well combined.
3. pour the wet mixture into the dry mixture and very gently stir until just combined. (add more buttermilk at this stage if the batter is too thick.)
4. at the last minute pour in the blueberries and cook over a low/medium heat until golden brown on both sides. add a pat of butter to the pan each time for those yummy, buttery crispy edges!

5. while the pancakes are cooking combine the butter and cinnamon together. when the pancakes are cooked plate them and put a chunk of cinnamon butter on the top and cover in maple syrup.
6. ENJOY!

This recipe is great for breakfast or lunch and for a lighter option you can remove the butter from the batter and instead serve with light ricotta and passionfruit pulp.

Welcome to Fascination Creations!!

I am a 23 year old mother to two beautiful girls... Aalliyah Darrach (4.5 years) and Addison Chloe (8 months) and the time has come for my big girl to start the newest chapter of her life- SCHOOL!! its been an amazing 4.5 years staying at home and raising the girl who made me a mumma! kind, rational, independent, creative, outspoken...this girl was born to live a big life, I know it!! The new year has created a shift in the routine of my life and as we embark on this new journey it has got me thinking... I have been doing this SAHM gig for quite a while now, always talking about how 'when my girls go to school' ...I will be better/live fuller/do more and the time has arrived... its time to BE MORE!

My passion is food. Recipes are my addiction and my kitchen is my happy place! I have toyed around with ideas for years about my own catering company, cake making and decorating, high teas, home-made condiments and all things fresh and wholesome and I've decided that 2012 will be the year that I jump into life head first and let the moment take me! My big girl is off to school and it is time this mumma stopped letting the fear of failure hold me back. 2011 was a year of soul searching; I birthed my second (and last) baby into this world and I am growing more and more everyday into the person that I want to be. I want to be the kind of person who appreciates every second, who watched the grass grow and rain fall, the kind of person who takes pleasure in cooking for the people I love and sharing these good moments with anyone who wants to join in. My goal is to make more people WANT to join in!

Fascination Creations is all about my fascination with life, productivity, energy, creativity and of course, FOOD! I believe in being the barer of positive energy in my life and creating a beautiful home for my children. Setting a good example when it comes to healthy food choices and teaching that there is a place for indulgence, with everything in moderation! I know as a mother that this life is a learning curve and I am not perfect; I struggle daily with the things I SHOULD be and some days I just cant manage to do whats right! But ill never stop trying to better myself so that I can show my children how to walk in this crazy world! I will try to be a braver person and encourage my children to follow their passion and I aim to lead by example... I believe that from here, the rest will just fall into place.
So here I am, passion at the forefront for 2012 and I will be exploring all things food!!! At this stage I am choosing to focus on family meals from scratch, low fat and healthy meals, vegan meals, healthy and easy school lunches and of course, my speciality, all things SWEET! what is life without a little indulgence? If its all about balance then I feel it is my duty to share the indulgence, even if it is only so I don't eat it all myself! I must remind myself... Moderation is the key!!

So begins this new chapter of my life and I want to kick it off with my very first recipe of 2012!!
I know its still summer, but the rain is pounding against my window and im feeling very warm and fuzzy and there is nothing I enjoy more than a nice big bowl of home-made soup and fresh bread with lots of butter!
I made this soup last night... cheap, quick, easy and most importantly, DELISH!!
so here goes, my first recipe for 2012:

Creamy pumpkin and bacon soup.
Feeds 5. 

You'll need:

1 butternut pumpkin- medium size. 
1 stick of spring onion.
1tbsp olive oil.
3 whole rashers of bacon- rind removed, fat left on.
2tsp minced garlic
1/2 tsp nutmeg
2 cups of water 
1 cup of chicken stock.
salt and pepper to taste
1/4 cup of thickened cream
sliced spring onion for garnish.
favourite fresh bread and butter to serve.


To make:


1. remove the skin on butternut pumpkin and deseed. dice into small pieces and throw into a stockpot with the olive oil.


2. cut spring onion and bacon into small pieces and place in the stockpot with pumpkin on high heat. throw in nutmeg and garlic.. let it brown for about 5-7 minutes, stirring constantly. 

3. after browning, pour in stock and water and let it reduce for 10-15 minutes or until pumpkin is soft.

4. pour in cream and stir through. once cream is well incorporated you'll need to use a stick blender to blend the soup until there are no chunks of bacon or pumpkin left.

5. salt and pepper to taste and serve with spring onion garnish alongside your favourite buttered bread!

ENJOY!


note.
This recipe is the perfect starter for any occasion! the key to this recipe is to brown the onion, bacon, pumpkin, garlic and nutmeg until it is really fragrant and quite brown (but not burnt) it really will make the world of difference to your soup so dont be too quick to add the stock and water.
Freezes well if you want to make a double batch.