Baking for Breast Cancer

As mentioned in yesterdays post, a number of us at work baked pink-themed goodies for a morning tea in aid of The National Breast Cancer Foundations Pink Ribbon Day. Virtually everyone in the office (30 or so people) sampled our collective wares, and proved that 10am on a Monday morning is plenty late enough for cake...

Naturaly, I tried to be a little different from the usual suspects of pink icing and berries, instead making a couple of things using Pink Peppercorns, which still have that peppery flavour, albeit with a slight citrus tinge. They also look pretty damn cool.

(Top Left)

EL BULLI's WHITE CHOCOLATE AND FENNEL LEAF 'FOSSILS' WITH PINK PEPPERCORNS
(From El Bulli 1998-2002 via Hungry in Hogtown - Makes 24 (approx))

1. Arrange small fennel leaves on a transparent sheet and add lightly crushed pepper.
2. In a small Ziploc bag, heat approximately 100 grams of white chocolate in the microwave until is just melted.
3. When just melted, snip off a corner of the Ziploc to make it a pastry bag.
4. Squeeze white chocolate over each leaf, then cover with another transparent sheet and press until "it is like a fossil."
5. Chill.

(Bottom Left)

CHOCOLATE, LIME CURD AND PINK PEPPERCORN MERINGUE TARTLETS
(From Bron Marshall's Website, makes 24 mini-muffin (i.e. tiny) sized tarts)

Chocolate Pastry

1 cup of plain white flour
2 tablespoons of quality cocoa
a pinch of salt
85 grams of butter
½ cup of caster sugar
1 small egg or 1 large yolk

1. Sift the flour, cocoa and salt into a large bowl or food processor.
2. Cut the butter into small cubes and rub into the flour either with your hands or using a food processor, until it resembles fine breadcrumbs.
3. Whisk the castor sugar and egg together and add to the mixture to make a firm dough.
4. On a lightly floured bench or board knead the mixture until it forms a smooth ball.Handle as little as possible to prevent the pastry from becoming hard when baked.
5. Cover the pastry with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 20 minutes.
6. Preheat the oven to 180°C, 350°F or gas mark 4.
7. On a lightly floured board or bench carefully roll out the pastry.
8. With a round cookie cutter cut the dough into rounds to fit patty or mini muffin tins.
9. Bake blind for 6 to 8 minutes and remove from the oven.

Lime curd

¾ cup of white sugar
1 ½ tablespoons of cornflour (cornstarch)
½ cup of water
½ cup of lime juice
grated zest of two limes
2 egg yolks
30 grams of butter, cubed

1. Stir the sugar, cornflour, water, lime juice and grated lime zest over a low heat until all the sugar has dissolved
2. Continue to heat gently until the mixture has thickened somewhat.
3. Remove from the heat and whisk in the egg yolks and butter.
4. Continue to cook over a bain marie until the desired, fairly thick consistency has been reached.

Meringue

2 egg whites
pinch salt
½ cup of caster sugar
1 tablespoon of pink peppercorns, crushed

1. Beat the egg whites and salt in a extremely clean bowl until soft peaks form.
2. Gradually add the sugar, beating well until all the sugar is dissolved and the meringue is glossy.
3. Fill the baked tartlet shells with a spoonful of lime curd and then pipe the meringue on top of each tartlet.
4. Finally, sprinkle with a few crushed pink peppercorns.
5. Place them back in the oven for 5 minutes until the meringue is cooked through and slightly golden.

-------

The White Chocolate 'Fossils' looked amazing, but took a couple of bites to get used to - the combination of the chocolate and fennel is very unusual. Those at work who were willing to take the plunge and tried them said much the same. Yes, they're a little gimmicky, but it was worth it for experimentations sake...

The tartlets were a roaring success. Sure, it took me two goes to get the meringue right (the first batch wasn't thick enough) but I surprised myself with my pastry skills, considering I'm not that much of a baker. The sweetness of the meringue contrasted nicely with the tartness of the lime curd, with a little bit of spice from the peppercorns to round things off.

Brunch: Baked Chickpeas with Maple Syrup and Bacon

Being English, Heinz Baked Beans (with an 's', not a 'z' thanks) on Toast (hereafter BoT) holds many memories. Sometimes I'd spice them up with another iconic British foodstuff, Lea & Perrins Worcestershire Sauce, sometimes it was Tabasco. Occasionally I'd grate some Cheddar Cheese onto the toast as well. Of course, beans are also an obligatory part of the Full English Breakfast, otherwise known as Heart Attack On A Plate.

I'm a nightmare at breakfast because of my dislike of eggs in their natural from, but this also means I'm guaranteed to gravitate towards the slightly less 'standard' options. Aside from my benchmark brunch (Corn Fritters with Bacon, the best being at Replete in Kew), I've seen numerous variations of BoT over here, one of the best being at my local, New York Tomato. Yesterday I decided to put my own twist on matters, using Chick Peas.....

BAKED CHICKPEAS WITH MAPLE AND BACON

(Serves 2)

INGREDIENTS

400g can of Chickpeas (drained and rinsed)

4 rashers streaky bacon

2 tsp olive oil

1 onion, finely chopped

1 garlic clove, crushed

400g can Diced Tomatoes (or equivalent of Passata)

100ml Vegetable Stock

1 tbs Worcestershire sauce

1 tbs pure maple syrup

2 tsp Dijon mustard

Salt & freshly ground pepper

1 or 2 baby bocconcini

1tsp Green Pesto

METHOD

1. In a saucepan, heat oil and cook bacon, onion and garlic for 3 minutes until soft.
2. Add chickpeas, tomatoes, stock, Worcestershire sauce, maple syrup and mustard.
3. Simmer for a 30 minutes until thick and chickpeas are tender. Season with salt and freshly ground pepper.

4. Transfer to small earthenware dishes, scatter with sliced bocconcini and grill until melted.

5. Drizzle with pesto (thinned out with olive oil if needed)

Serve with chargrilled sourdough bread.

------

Today has been a day of cooking and baking, with the result being a whole load of recipes that I'll write up over the rest of the coming week. We're having a fundraising morning tea at work tomorrow in aid of The National Breast Cancer Foundations Pink Ribbon Day, with all food having to have a pink theme...so I've been messing around with Pink Peppercorns. More of that another time....

Lunch #1 (Brown Rice, Lentil and Feta Salad)

As previously mentioned, I'm on a mission to reduce my propensity for unhealthy snacking during the working week. This means plenty of wholegrains such the aforementioned Bircher Muesli for breakfast (I added shredded coconut this time), followed by a brown rice salad for lunch. I've made this numerous times before, and it's received good feedback, so here it is

(4 serves)

INGREDIENTS
2 cups cooked and cooled Brown Rice
1 can cooked brown lentils, rinsed

75g crumbled feta

1/2 diced red pepper (Capsicum for all you Aussies and Americans)

1/2 diced cucumber

a large glug of Olive Oil
Juice of 1 lemon
Lots of chopped flat parsley
blanched broccoli (1-2 minutes in boiling water, then under cold water to stop them cooking)
pinch of some vaguely Middle-Eastern/North African spices (cumin/coriander/Ras el Hanout etc)
salt and black pepper

METHOD

Mix it all together.

---

To be honest, it's one of those recipes constantly evolving, and I'm very much of the "see what's lying around and throw it in if it might work" school of cookery. Diced fresh tomatoes would also work, and in a way it's becoming a bit like tabouleh without the couscous. It's also good with some grilled, marinated chicken or lamb skewers if you're looking for a more substantial meal.

I made a big batch of this (which should see me through lunch this week) and loaded it into my Tiffin this morning. That's good eatin'...

Breakfast #1 (Bircher Muesli)

They say that breakfast is the most important meal of the day. 'They' are probably right, but I am a big fan of lie-ins, and are therefore notoriously bad at finding the time before I head into work.

I am also a compulsive snacker, and not always a healthy one. I think these two things are connected somehow, so I have started to make a conscious effort to try and eat a tasty, healthy breakfast that provides the necessary sustenance until lunch. And I'm not talking about Shreddies.

On Thursday evening, after suffering pangs of guilt for not making it to the gym, I made Bircher Muesli, named after Swiss Physician Maximillian Bircher-Becker. I'm not one for boxed muesli normally as I have an aversion to almonds, but my creation turned out remarkably well, and I made it through to Friday lunch without reaching for the snacks, so I thought I'd post it on here.

I'm not one for following recipes to the letter, so inspiration was gathered from various sources, and then I made something up. This does 4 serves, and is stupidly easy to make. And yes that photo is of mine.

INGREDIENTS

3 large handfuls of coarse oats.

30g (ish) Pumpkin seeds

30g (ish) Sunflower seeds

30g Crushed Mixed Nuts (I used Peanuts)

50g Sultanas (or other mixed dried fruit)

2 Granny Smith Apples

Drizzle of Honey

Pinch of Cinnamon

Apple Juice and/or Milk

METHOD

1. Combine all dry ingredients in a bowl, and top with enough Apple Juice/Milk to just cover them. Mix thoroughly.

2. Soak overnight so that oats soak up all the liquid.

3. The next morning, coarsely grate the apples (leaving the skin on) and add to the muesli with the honey (if mixture needs sweetening). Mix.

Serve with a dollop of Natural Yogurt topped with some fruit (I used defrosted frozen mixed berries).

Inspiration*

Hello again. It's really about time I wrote something else of substance. Recent efforts from Vic, Josie and Renee have provided the catalyst. More later. Gym first.

*Sources of Inspiration will remain. Based on previous form, my motivation to write in my own blog ongoing may not....