Banana pancakes with golden syrup

Salutations readers.

Firstly, I must apologise for the minimal posting of late. You see, November is a very busy time for me as it contains not only mine, but also my husband's birthday. My birthday falls on the 11th, commonly known in Australia as Remembrance Day. This year I celebrated my birthday over four consecutive days (well nights really), shared with my husband, mother, father and in-laws - all that celebrating and eating out left me too tired to cook (as well as a few pounds heavier...)

This morning, however, I got back into my regular programming and whipped up some pancakes. Nothing special, just a fluffy pancake dotted with bananas that caramelise and soften, smothered in sticky, golden syrup. I've linked the recipe, but I shall save my usual ratings and descriptions for my next entry :)

Banana pancakes

Rose & pistachio nougat

I always stop to smell the roses.

My husband and I, weather permitting, occasionally walk around our neighbourhood to get some fresh air and sunshine. What I love most about these walks (apart from being with my husband, naturally) is the opportunity to smell the dozens of roses growing in people's gardens. There is one house in particular that, with the right breeze, I can smell a block away. The front yard has more roses than blades of grass. The petals beam with every shade of a sunrise and sunset, but to me, the ones that stand out the most, are the blood-red beauties. All operatic in their dramatic shade. Simply breathtaking.

Roses are a triple win for me - they are beautiful to look at, lovely to smell and sublime to eat. I adore rose perfumed foods, they are so heady and intoxicating with their aromatic flavour.

I had excess egg whites (as you do) to use so I searched for a nougat recipe. The minute I found a rose flavoured one my search was over.

ease: 4.5/5.
prep time: 20mins.
cooking time: 3hours setting time.
total: 3 hours & 20mins.


taste: 4/5. As soft and delicate as a floral breeze.

These looked so adorable and sweet and they tasted the same. I used 1tbs and 1tsp rose water rather than rose petals as I wanted the perfume but not the petal. After the saccharine honeyed sweetness the rose came through like a soft whisper and lingered until the crunchy pistachios finished the bite. This nougat wasn't as firm as store bought, the texture was more akin to a fudge which I didn't mind, but I do prefer the chewier kind.

I became addicted to these, and due to their extraordinarily high sugar content, I almost sent myself into a sugar coma. Hubby could only manage half a square at a time.

would I make it again: No - simply because I do not want the sugary temptation - but then again it would make a nice gift...

recipe: Rose petal & pistachio nougat

Pomegranate, cucumber, feta & mint salad

Do Not Disturb.

If you could read my thoughts, that would be orbiting around me in neon lights like Saturn's belt. No subtle pastels or Miss Universe sashes, just a CLUB X style, in-your-face sign. The phone is on vibrate, so don't bother callin' either because as the GaGa would put it, I'm kinda biz-ay...doing crap all.
That's right folks, today I am doing neither housework, paid work, errand work or even brain work (apart from typing these few words). I have two weeks worth of tv shows lined up and mugs of tea to drink during and I do not wish to be disturbed.

All was going well until hunger managed to knock on my tummy door persistently enough halfway through finding out Castiel is now human (wtf?) to get me off my bottom and into the kitchen. I had three decent looking guys to get back to in my living room so I wanted something quick, yet tasty and satisfying. This salad was exactly that....as were Dean, Sam and Cas...


Pomegranate, Feta, Cucumber & Mint Salad
serves 4 - 6

    * 2 pomegranates
    * 200g feta
    * 2 Lebanese cucumbers, diced small
    * 1/3 cup mint leaves, roughly chopped
    * 2 tsp sumac
    * 1 tbsp red wine vinegar
    * 3 tbsp extra-virgin
    * olive oil
    * Salt

Break open pomegranates and remove seeds (I like to whack mine with a rolling pin). Crumble feta (I prefer to use creamy Greek) into largish pieces. Combine seeds, feta, cucumbers, onion and herbs in a large bowl.

When ready to serve add the sumac, vinegar, oil and salt and toss to combine. Best served cold.

ease: 4.5/5.
prep time: 10mins.
total: 10mins.

taste: 4/5. Never a dull mouthfull.

I knew from the ingredient list alone I would love this. (Side note: how much does that green plate NOT go well with the salad, this is what happens when you rush things, live and learn).

The first taste I got was the cool, crunchy cucumber flecked with salt bathed in the lemony-dressing. Then came the creamy, tangy goat's cheese followed by the juicy, tartly sweet pomegranate rounded off with the refreshing mint. Like the Awesome Foursome, there's no odd ones out. I enjoyed eating it so much I went back for seconds, and my husband's left over firsts.

I omitted the red onion, tomato and corainder from the original recipe.

would I make it again: yes.


recipe: Pomegranate, Feta, Cucumber & Mint Salad

Chocolate & vanilla puddings

My love for all animals (except most insects butterflies and lady bugs get a free pass) is one that is deeply tethered to my heart. Whenever I see an animal hurt or in pain, it pulls on that tether, and each time I can feel my heart tear and bleed. The depth of my compassion for them is even a mystery to me.

What's with all the 'animal love' talk you may wonder. Well, it has to do with my bedroom windowsill, or more specifically, what's on my windowsill.
I creature I have a fondness for is birds; I have three feeding trays on my porch that I fill with wild bird seed or sometimes bread and fruit. Watching birds twittering away (the non-tech kind) and zipping about here and there brings me joy. What brings me even more joy is baby birds (even baby alligators are kinda cute).

As a child, whenever I found an abandoned bird egg I tried my best to take care of it and hopefully hatch a baby bird I could one day set free (I could never keep a caged bird) not knowing that the egg had probably been abandoned a long time ago, and the little birdie inside would not hatch, no matter how hard I tried. Another sight I'd love to spy would be a birds nest, whether occupied or vacant.

The day we moved into our current home I spied no less than three empty birds nest, one nestled into thick pine needless, the other wedged between a crawling rose and our garage bricks, and the third was camouflaged between large leaves of ivy above the external laundry door.

Now imagine my delight, when one Spring morning, I clearly heard the tiny tinkling of baby bird's chirping. Tiptoeing closer to the sound I found myself standing before the closed cobalt drapes of my bedroom at 8am. They had been permanently closed for the last three weeks to guard against the sun's intense heat. I tentatively reached out and tucked the edge of the heavy drapes between my fingers, and as carefully as I could, as if there were made of gold leaf, I began to pull them aside, held against my face, as I peered through my window. It only took a few inches of them being parted for me to see a well woven nest snuggled in between the window sill and the luscious green ivy running up beside it. In the nest I spied four, perhaps five tiny birds, their skin the colour of a pink nose in winter, naked and bumpy, with their little belly's moving to the flutter of their chirps. I looked up and noticed a petite black bird with an apricot beak, wriggling worm in its grasp, darting straight towards the nest, so I hastily shut the curtain lest I frighten it with my enormous eyes and smiling teeth.

It has been three weeks since I first discovered the babies, and oh my how fast they grow. Already they have almost woven themselves jackets of feathers and have begun to lift their heads to peak over to what lays beyond their home. A few of my family members have caught glimpses and each time their eyes find the tiny feathered creatures, they light up and sparkle with the glee of a gold digger finding gold.


To celebrate the impending departure of my windowsill youngsters I invited those of us who have watched their progress with happiness over for the best kind of parting gift, a chocolate pudding with a molten center, something to sweeten the sadness of 'empty nest syndrome'.

ease: 4.5/5.
prep time: 25mins.
cooking time: 12mins.
total: 37mins.

taste: 4/5. The softest chocolate taste, like a feather to the cheek.
When I checked on these at the 12minute mark, the top hadn't cracked so I left them in for another 4 minutes - as a result I did not have a molten center as much as a sticky, gooey center. Although there was no lava like oozing, they were still delectable. The outer layer of cake is spongy with a thin chocolate and sugared crust that breaks away to reveal its tender middle.
Inside the cake goes beyond moist to an airy fudginess. The chocolate does not march onto your tongue, it gently sashays with a nice sweetness and a hint of vanilla.
There is that unidentifiable strong note playing in the background, which I would guess is the Brandy.

Lovely, moist puddings that would appeal to most with their un-confrontational disposition.

would I make it again: Yes - when I am in the mood for a milder form of chocolate and a quick dessert, although I would probably decrease the sugar a touch next time.

recipe: Chocolate and vanilla puddings

Chocolate fudge brownies

When I began this blog, I intended to photograph and enter at least one of the meals I make each day. Looking back, Issometimes achieved this, but most often fell short.

The biggest hurdle of blogging each dish was writing the actual post, most days I just simply could not think of anything new to write and therefore chose not to write anything. Talking about weather and particular ingredients became a little repetitive after a while. If something really deserved to be posted, and my mind was still blank, it would be a 'short and sweet' post - I think there may be quite a few of those.

At the moment I am in a 'reading' stage - voraciously devouring tens of library books each week, with little desire to do anything else, especially write. Too much effort, I thought. Why write when I can read someone else's writing?

Well, it has been over a week since my last post, and only eleven this whole month (granted Mr Salmonella kept me busy and eating nil for one week). No where near my desired thirty which saddened me. And then I thought, well perhaps I am trying to achieve too much at the detriment of the posts and the meals they showcase. Perhaps three, at the most, four dishes a week would be more manageable, more fun and less taxing on my limited creative thinking funds.

And so I return, with a new aim of three/four posts a week, to start on a Friday with a decadent but comforting chocolaty treat.


ease: 5/5.
prep time: 20mins - includes cooling chocolate.
cooking time: 40mins.
total: 1 hour (plus brownie cooling time).

taste: 4/5. Your teeth crackle the chewy crust to sink deep into fudgy, sweet chocolate, occasionally grazing past a crunchy walnut buried beneath the deep brown gooeyness. The texture is divine, not too sticky but with enough moistness to avoid becoming cake-like - I do not like my brownies to be springy or crumbly, they must be able to make your lips smack with their density. They are a touch of the sweet side, with the unmistakable caramel streak of brown sugar.
I did not cover the brownies with foil and bake for an additional 20mins, after 40mins in the oven they were already starting to burn so I took them out and cooled them in the tray.
I substituted the macadamias for walnuts.

would I make it again: Yes. Whilst not the best brownie I have ever eaten, they are the best I have made so far. I would decrease the amount of brown sugar next time though.

recipe: Chocolate fudge brownies

Lychee and coconut tapioca pudding

The weather today was like the twilight zone.

I had just let my little furry munchkin out to pee when hail stones began to pelt down from a blue sky. I have never seen my dog run so fast in his life, I don't think he has ever been outside when it is hailing before, so he got a bit of a fright, and heavily drenched.

I sauntered into the bedroom to wake my sleeping husband to witness the sight. From the bed all he could see was sunshine and azure skies, but he heard the racket of the little drops of ice against the windows and roof and got up to see what was going on.

Lately our weather has been quite erratic and irregular, we have had gale winds for the past week which has caused extensive damage and the loss of life. I have heard that Adelaide has been experiencing 100kmh winds, crazy stuff, especially for the beginning of Spring.

The government has suggested people stay in their homes if possible, and away from their windows. Luckily I'm as happy as a Larry to stay indoors, I can cook and eat to my hearts content.

I'm expecting my dad to drop by and as he has taken a liking to tapioca, I fixed up another pudding, this time with a tropical twist using lychees, a flavour he loves in his juice drinks.


ease: 5/5.
prep time: Overnight to soak tapioca.
cooking time: 10mins plus cooling time in the fridge (at least 1 hour).
total: 1 hour & 10mins plus overnight (but just 10mins actual work).

taste: 4/5. This would be heaven on a hot day. The first flavour you get is the sweet brown sugar, followed by the refreshingly sweet lychee, then the tart crunchy passionfruit before the creamy coconut tapioca and then the lychee coming in again at the end. The flavours go well; the passionfruit is essential as its sharp acidity helps to cut through the other different types of sweetness. The only downside was at the end, when it was just the coconut tapioca, it left a powdery residue in my mouth, which was weird. Otherwise a nice, light, cooling treat perfect for a hot night's dessert.

would I make it again: Yes - in hot weather, and hopefully with fresh lychees rather than canned.

recipe: Lychee and coconut tapioca pudding

Poached quince with spices

Today is QUINCE day.

I had half a quince and a hankering for some Greek yoghurt topped with something sweet and spicy.

ease: 5/5.
prep time: 5mins.
cooking time: 1hour.
total: 1hour.

taste: 3/5. Despite adding more spicing when I halved the amount it lacked spice for me. It was quite sweet, almost like honeydew.

would I make it again: No - not interesting enough for me.

recipe: Poached Quince with Spices

Chocolate macaroon delice

Waste not, want not.

Nothing saddens me more than food spoiling and having to be thrown away. In the beginning my disorganisation led to a lot of waste, which forced me to plan in advance what I would make each week in an effort to avoid buying superfluous produce. This has been effective however certain issues arise such as having leftover egg whites that you did not plan to use.

With bowls of viscous fluid I searched for a recipe that would use them all up without creating other leftovers. This recipe was not planned, and in a way, it was extra special because of its spontaneous creation.


ease: 4.5/5.
prep time: 20mins.
cooking time: 12mins and 1hour refrigeration.
total: 1hour and 32mins.

taste: 4/5. Ryan loved this but for me the chocolate and cream was incredibly overpowering and dehydrating. I could feel my heart accelerating with each bite; I actually only used the ganache to fill and top the delice, as I ended up with more than needed and felt the chocolate icing wasn't necessary. I also used a smaller tray, I would not recommend the size they stipulate as you will end up with very thing layers and too much ganache.

would I make it again: No - too rich and sugary to appreciate the chocolate.

recipe: http://www.cuisine.com.au/recipe/chocolate-macaroon-delice

Figs, prosciutto, buffalo mozzarella and vino cotto

Figs are fickle things.

I often hear people complaining about the cost of figs despite it being fig season. The reason for their expense is due to their fragility. It is hard to transport figs without them bursting or bruising. Most often if I do find them being sold they are almost always a little mushy and soft - although the green figs do seem to travel better.

My grandmother used to have a fig tree so I grew up on honeyed figs. As my lemon tree is plagued with gall wasp I am deeply considering replacing it with a fig tree...we'll see.

Whenever I do find some figs that have survived their ferry over to the suburbs I buy them up and decide what to do with them later. Tonight I made a Parmesan risotto (a go-to recipe) and thought a fig salad might compliment the cheesy main well.


ease: 5/5.
prep time: 8mins.
cooking time: 1min to mix and drizzle dressing.
total: 9mins.

taste: 2/5. For some reason this didn't taste that nice or go well with the risotto. I used mixed leaf salad which may have been to leafy to work. The figs didn't impart much flavour and the buffalo mozzarella was very watery. I could not find fig vin cotto on short notice so I used grape vin cotto.

would I make it again: No.

recipe: http://www.cuisine.com.au/recipe/figs_prosciutto_buffalo_mozzarella_and_vino_cotto

Haloumi with basil & tomato

A very belated Valentine's day to all - there hasn't been a post for a while as I have been super busy with last minute wedding errands, BBQ's and organising donations for the current Bushfire crisis in Victoria.

The heat wave caused ravaging fires which destroyed over 750 homes and so far has taken 189 lives in Victoria - absolutely devastating falls short of describing what has happened. Ryan and I have done what we can in terms of monetary, clothing and animal supplies for donations. Victoria is not the only state dealing with natural disasters. Although there are around 14 fires still burning other states like Queensland are experiencing extreme floods.
I am a second generation Australian, and what I love the most about this country and the main reason I want to raise my children here is the generosity, kindness and perseverance of the Australian spirit - in times of great strife and sadness Australians do not hesitate to help those in need whilst managing to maintain a positive attitude; we are a tough bunch, us Aussies.

We nibbled throughout the day so dinner was somewhat skipped. At 9:30pm we felt a little hungry so I whipped up something quick and light, and although initially there were protests ('I hate when you cook cheese like it's meat') the plates were licked clean.

ease: 5/5.
prep time: 5mins.
cooking time: 4mins to cook haloumi.
total: 9mins.

taste: 4/5. Really lovely and fresh dish with clean classic flavours. I skipped the lemon as I felt the sumac and vinegar would make it quite tangy and acidic as is - I didn't miss it at all. One 250g hunk of haloumi feeds two well.

would I make it again: Yes.

recipe: http://www.cuisine.com.au/recipe/haloumi-with-basil-and-tomato

Sugar plum crumble

Years ago, when I still believed in Santa and wore pink tutus, I had a tiny porcelain baby (also in a pink tutu) with alabaster skin and sandy hair. She was my favourite baby doll; her name was Sugarplum. I would read bed time stories to her, feed her milk and tuck her in next to me while I slept. And after 4 years (until I was around 6) she was still in one piece.

So I make this crumble in remembrance of her and of all the wonderful times I had in my childhood playing make-believe.

ease: 4/5. prep time: 10mins.
cooking time: 25mins.
total: 35mins. Only 10mins hands on time with little clean up, can't beat that.

taste: 4/5. I found this really lovely. I thought perhaps the spices wouldn't come through but they do and they work wonderfully with the plums, really gorgeous flavours. The crumble was a little crumblier than I would have liked - might use less flour next time. Some found the plums tart but I think they worked well with the crumble and spices. Not a super sweet dessert.

would I make it again: No. Only because my partner thinks plums are too tart, otherwise I definitely would have.

recipe: http://www.cuisine.com.au/recipe/Sugar-plum-crumble

Chicken with Calvados & Creme Fraiche

The weather was restless today. Intermittent rain and humid heat, not to mention brief moments of cool breezes - a taste of Melbourne's renowned all-4-seasons-in-a-day.

The erratic weather made it difficult to chose what to make for dinner. I had a few handfuls of shallots I wanted to use up, as well as some chicken pieces, so I thought the following recipe would be perfect, I only needed to grab some calvados.

Four different liquor stores later, still no calvados. At the 5th liqueur shop I gave up and bought St Remy French Brandy - hopefully it will still work out right, just with no hint of apple.

ease: 3/5. Brown chicken and onions, place in ovens, then use cooking juices to make sauce.
prep time: 12mins.
cooking time: 1hour mins. I cooked the chicken for 55mins - it was already a little dry. The sauce took about 3mins.
total: 1hour 12mins.

taste: 4/5. The boys liked it; I used 2 chicken breasts and 4 drumsticks which fed 3 well. I served it with mashed potatoes and garlic bread.

would I make it again: No. They didn't like it enough to warrant over an hour of cooking time, plus there was quite a bit to clean up.

recipe: http://www.cuisine.com.au/recipe/Chicken-with-calvados-and-creme-fraiche

Pistachio & lemon-crusted lamb with buttered spinach with pine nuts & sultanas

For lamb:
ease: 4/5. Make topping and put into the oven. It's a cinch.
prep time: 5mins to make topping and press onto lamb.
cooking time: 12mins. I cooked mine accidentally for 15mins and it was well done - would take it out at 10 next time for medium.
Total: 17mins. Minimal mess and not that hard to mess up (apart from leaving it too long in the oven).

taste: 3/5. The meat was overcooked so the boys didn't like it that much. Tried to get them to separate the meat from the topping to rate the topping but I think the overall feeling was 'nice, but had better'. I used 600g of meat and halved the topping mixture. It fed three boys ok.

would I make it again: No. Boys liked their meats with spices rather than fresh herbs.

recipe: http://www.donnahay.com.au/recipes/196-pistachio-and-lemon-crusted-lamb

for spinach
ease: 4/5.
prep time: 4 mins to wash spinach and prepare butter mixture to pour over the top.
cooking time: 6mins. 5mins to boil water, 1 min to blanch spinach.
Total: 10mins. Boiling the water takes the longest.

taste: 4/5. I liked the flavour combinations. Couldn't really taste the Parmesan surprisingly. sultanas were the biggest flavour.

would I make it again: No. Spinach with garlic is still what I prefer.

recipe: http://www.cuisine.com.au/recipe/Buttered-spinach-with-pine-nuts-and-sultanas

Orecchiette with broad beans, butter & parmesan

Ease: 4/5. If I didn't have to shell the broad beans this would be super easy.prep time: 2mins to slice butter and get ingredients ready.
cooking time: 15mins to cook pasta and toss through butter and parmesan.
Total: 17mins. Pretty quick and little hands on work.

Taste: 3.5/5. If I only used broccolini, then 4.5/5. I used shell pasta as I couldn't find orecchiette, and frozen broad beans as I couldn't find fresh at Coles. This turned out to be a nightmare though as the broad beans still had a shell around them and I had to peel them after cooking. As this was taking forever I sauteed some broccolini in butter and garlic and tossed them through. Thank God I did as the broad beans were really bitter and mushy.

Would I make it again: No. I would use the recipe and substitute with garlic broccolini though.
Recipe: http://www.cuisine.com.au/recipe/orecchiette-with-broad-beans-butter-and-parmesan

Pepper Steak with red wine, parmesan and chilli

EASE: 5/5. Few ingredients and one pan.
Prep time: 2mins. To get everything ready.
Cooking time: 10mins. 8 mins for steak and 2mins for wine reduction.
TOTAL: 12mins. I only rested the steak for 2mins while the wine was reducing.

TASTE: 3.5/5. Ryan liked it. I served it with mashed potatoes.

Would I make it again: Yes. Easy and quick - pretty cheap too.

Recipe: http://www.cuisine.com.au/recipe/Pepper-steak-with-red-wine-parmesan-and-chilli

Honey-baked pear breakfast crumble

Saturday morning breakfast time! (Well 11pm would make it more a brunch thing). Although I usually reserve the big brekky's for Sunday I thought I'd make it today instead. I got ready to make it and realised I did not have the mandarin juice - so I substituted by adding extra lemon juice, which may have changed the taste of the recipe.

EASE: 3/5. Middle of the road - crumble was fairly easy, but the pears were a little bit of a pain in the ass.
Prep time: 12mins. Preparing the pears and getting all the ingredients ready is time consuming.
Cooking time: 40mins. The pear syrup takes around 25mins - mine didn't work as written, I was a little too cautious so I kept the heat low and ended up with a liquid rather than a syrup. The crumble only takes around 6mins to nuke the butter and brown the bread before tossing together (which is done while the syrup is on). And it took around 15mins to brown and crisp in the oven.
TOTAL: 52mins. Almost an hour - and you have to let it cool a bit before eating.

TASTE: 4/5. Very sweet, I imagine it would be sweeter with mandarin juice rather than lemon. Mine was more soupy rather than syrupy, but it still tasted great. I used organic Australian Rainforest honey - I originally wanted to use orange blossom honey as I thought it would compliment the pear better (but I accidentally dropped it). The crumble is not as crunchy and hard as most crumbles. I doubted the use of bread and therefore used only 40grams and increased the oats to 70g. The bread however was quite nice. I used an organic wholemeal sourdough. If you like a more generous coating of crumble double the amounts as it is quite a sparse covering. It is nicer served with yoghurt as you need something to cut through the sweetness.

Would I make again: No. A little too sweet for me and I do prefer apples to pears when used in a crumble. But I would recommend it. Perhaps more as a dessert than a breakfast.

Recipe: http://gourmettraveller.com.au/honeybaked_pear_breakfast_crumble.htm

Banana Pancakes with Golden Syrup

We needed a big breakfast this morning to start the renovations on our new place. But something pretty quick as we had an early start.

Some Facts About MACADAMIA:

• The macadamia nut is the only plant food native to Australia that is produced and exported in any significant quantity.
• They have the highest amount of beneficial monosaturated fats of any nut.
• Macadamia nuts are often used by law enforcement to simulate crack cocaine in drug stings. When chopped, the nuts resemble crack cocaine in color.

EASE: 3/5. A little more complicated for a pancake recipe - involves beating eggwhites.
Prep time: 15mins. To slice bananas, get ingredients, prepare dry mixture, wet mixture and beat eggwhites.
Cooking time: 10mins. To cook 5 pancakes. Recipe makes 5 normal size pancakes.
TOTAL: 25mins. It should really be 45mins as you are supposed to rest the batter for 30mins.

TASTE: 4/5. I enjoyed these, Ryan did not like the macadamias on the top. I found that in some of the pancakes the batter surrounding the banana slices didn't cook. The pancakes were fluffier than the ones I normally make.

Would I make again: Yes/No. I would make the banana pancakes but not the macadamia topping.

Recipe: http://www.cuisine.com.au/recipe/banana-pancakes-with-golden-syrup

Pasta with Tuna & Tomato Sauce

Some Facts About Tuna:

EASE: 4.5/5. Few ingredients and two saucepans used.
Prep time: 5mins.To dice onion, peel and slice mushrooms, boil water and get ingredients ready.
Cooking time: 15mins. To cook pasta and sauce.
TOTAL: 20mins. Very quick dish with minimal active cooking.

TASTE: 3/5. Not bad, a little bland and watery.

Would I make again: No.

Recipe: http://www.cuisine.com.au/recipe/Penne-with-tuna-and-tomato-sauce

Grated Potato, thyme and Gruyere Gratin

Some Facts About POTATO:

• Potato is the world's most widely grown tuber crop, and the fourth largest food crop in terms of fresh produce — after rice, wheat, and maize (corn).
• There are about five thousand potato varieties world wide
• A medium potato (150g/5.3 oz) with the skin provides 27 mg vitamin C (45% of the Daily Value (DV)), 620 mg of potassium (18% of DV), 0.2 mg vitamin B6 (10% of DV) and trace amounts of thiamin, riboflavin, folate, niacin, magnesium, phosphorous, iron, and zinc.

EASE: 3.5/5. Few ingredients and only one bowl, a spoon, a grater and a peeler needed.
Prep time: 10mins. To peel and grate potatoes, grate cheese and combine all ingredients.
Cooking time:40mins.
TOTAL:50mins.

TASTE: 3/5. The dish was unevenly cooked - I used 1tsp dried thyme which was the main flavour. It was ok but I much prefer the taste and texture of a sliced potato gratin with just cheese and cream.

Would I make again? No.

RECIPE: http://www.cuisine.com.au/recipe/grated-potato-thyme-and-gruyere-gratin

Caramel Bananas on Brioche

After a successful furniture shopping day another Sunday Brunch was in order.

Some Facts About PECANS:

• Pecans are a good source of protein and unsaturated fats.
• They can be eaten fresh or used in cooking, particularly in sweet desserts but also in some savory dishes.
• In addition to the pecan nut, the wood is also used in making furniture, in hardwood flooring, as well as flavoring fuel for smoking meats.

EASE: 3/5. You have a few things going at a time.
Prep time: 5mins. To slice bread and bananas, toast pecans and get ingredients ready.
Cooking time: 5mins. The bananas, caramel mixture and brioche take 5mins each - I had them on at the same time.
TOTAL: 10mins. Pretty quick and easy. A lot of washing up though.

TASTE: 3.5/5. Very heavy, rich and sweet. The caramel sauce and pecans were lovely I found the banana a little mushy though and would probably not bother frying it next time. The brioche was sweet worked well. I originally used two slices but one is definitely enough. Would use less pecans and banana next time. I bought a large brioche from Laurent Patisserie. I didn't serve it with cream or yoghurt but might next time to cut through the sweetness.

Would I make it again: Probably. Very rich though - need to be super hungry.

RECIPE: http://www.cuisine.com.au/recipe/Caramel-bananas-on-brioche