I love baking, and in fact baking is not as difficult as you think it is! One of my favourite recipes of late is this orange chiffon cake which is really light, fluffy and delicious and most importantly, really really easy to make as well!

This recipe is a hit among our family! Everyone loves it and have it really often!
If you love eating cakes, the citrus fragrance of oranges and have a sweet tooth this is the absolute perfect recipe for you!

Let's just jump right to it then!

Orange Chiffon Cake

I always loved my little egg seperator, it really comes in handy if you aren't a pro at cracking eggs right down the middle, saves tonnes of time as well! You can easily get them in Target or Big W or here!

Heh, apologies for the messy cake tin, I was rushing (:

Mum didn't like too much hazelnuts in the cake so I added them sparingly, you can always add as much as you want!

My Home-Made Chirashi Sushi

Even though the name implies a 'sense of randomness' these dishes can be considered as works of art.
Each restaurant produces their own art piece and I will always order a Chirashi-zushi if it is on the menu  and compare these edible masterpieces.

• Purchase a variety of sashimi grade fish and seafood at your local fish markets. I purchased salmon, tuna and kingfish sashimi, seaweed and and a jar of salmon roe at the Sydney Fish Markets in Glebe. (If you havent been to Sydney Fish Markets it really is worth the visit!) 

• Cook sushi rice as per instructions on the packet. Once cooked, place in a non-metalic bowl and sprinkle over Japanese powdered vinegar onto the rice, fanning and turning until rice reaches room temperature. Cover until ready for use

• Using a very sharp knife, cut fish into even sized strips and place on a board ready for assembly.

• Mix three eggs with some salt, sugar and mirin. Beat eggs well. Cook omelet in a non-stick pan. Fold the egg as it sets. Once cool slice into thin strips.(The Japanese use a special rectangular pan for this).

• Heat a sheet of Nori over a gentle flame, this will make the nori nice and crisp! Cut into thin strips. At this stage all your ingredients for your Chirashi-zushi should be ready for assembling.

• The trick to Chirashi-zushi is to have a balance between fish and rice. There should be a good combination of flavours, textures and colour. I placed the vinegared rice in the bottom of each bowl and topped it with a combination of the fish, seaweed, egg and finally topping with the luscious looking salmon roe and crispy nori.

Most of my family live overseas, scattered across different islands and areas of Greece. My grandmother is a very inspirational and wonderful woman. I don’t get to see her much except through the occasional Skype dates that we try to set up. Last year, however I was able to go to Greece to visit her and spend some time with my distant relatives.

INGREDIENTS 3 bunches of fresh spinach 1 onion (chopped finely) 6-8 spring onions (chopped) 150g feta cheese 35g freshly grated parmesan   1 tablespoon fresh dill (chopped) 1 generous pinch of nutmeg 1/2 cup fresh parsley (chopped) 12 sheets of filo pastry (thawed) 3-4 tablespoon unsalted butter (melted) + some olive oil

METHOD 1. Trim the stems of spinach and clean them well in cold water. Drain. Roughly chop them and place in a steamer. 2. Steam for 5-8 min or until the leaves are wilted 3. Drain. Squeeze out the excess water from the spinach. 4. Take a skillet and heat 1 tsp of olive oil and sauté the onion until tender. 5. Add the spring onion and cook for another 2-3 min. 6. Remove from heat and then add spinach, herbs, cheeses and nutmeg. Season with salt and pepper if required. 7. Preheat oven to 180C. Place the 3 sheets of filo at a time. Mix the butter and 2 tbsp olive oil in a small bowl. Brush each sheet with the butter mixture and lay on top of another. 8. Cut into equal thirds lengthwise. 9. Spoon a little filling on an angle at the end of each strip. 10. Fold the pastry over to enclose the filling to form a triangle. 11. Brush the top lightly with the butter mixture. 12. Place triangles on a baking tray to bake for 20-25 minutes or until golden brown

Okay so these two recipes also work for afternoon tea, but if you make them for breakfast you can enjoy the leftoevers in the afternoon:)


Happy cooking!
Foodling 2

The way my family and I eat is pretty interesting, we eat according to craves. Yes thats right, cravings. It's just like when all of a sudden you have a sudden craving for pie, you can't seem to stop thinking about them, so why not just make it!

Just last week, I was having a sudden urge to have pie so I went to the all famous MasterChef website and pulled out what seemed to be the easiest and most doable pie recipe there which is their Beef and Potato Pie and I really really enjoyed it!

So I was savouring it with mum the other day and she said she had a similar recipe but she prefers her's way more (obviously!) and true enough, I really like her Pork Mince & Potato Pie more! Maybe because it has mum's magical touch! And it's really quick and easy!
Let's get to it then!

The ingredients listed here make a delicious pie good for 4 people

Minced Pork & Potato Pie
Ingredients:
4 Medium Sized Golden Delight Potatos (or whichever potatoes you prefer or are available)
1 Carrot - Diced
1 French Shallot Onion
250-300g Pork Mince
2 Cloves of Garlic 
2 Tablespoons of Oil
3-5 Mushrooms
1 Tablespoon Cornflour
3-4 Tablespoons of Butter 
1/4-1/2 Cup of Milk
3 Hard-boiled Eggs
2 Tablespoons Soy Sauce
3/4 Cup Grated Cheese

Procedure:
1. Skin the potatos and dice one of the potatoes into small cubes, boil in water until soft. Drain and set aside.

2. Cut the other 3 potatoes up and boil seperately until soft. Drain and set aside.

3. Marinate the minced pork with soy sauce along with 1/4 teaspoon of salt and 1/2 teaspoon of sugar with a dash of pepper
Cooking Tip: When marinating meat, the sugar quantity should always be double the quantity of salt! 

4. Chop the garlic and shallots into fine pieces and heat the oil in a saucepan
Health Tip: You can substitute your daily oil with olive oil for a healthier pie!
 
5. Once the oil is heated, stir fry the shallots until golden brown and add the minced garlic.

6. When slightly browned, put in the minced pork and stir fry the pork till evenly cooked. Add carrots, chopped mushrooms and diced potatos. Add a little bit of water if minced pork filling is dry. 


7. Add salt, sugar and pepper according to your taste.

8. In a small bowl, add the cornflour to 3 tablespoons of room-temperature water. Mix well.


9. Add the cornflour mixture to the filling at small intervals until the sauce starts to thicken. Set filling aside.

10. Preheat oven to 180 Degrees fan forced mode


11. In a seperate saucepan, mash the remaining 3 potatos evenly and add in the butter. Mix well and add milk at slow intervals till you feel that the mash potato is creamy enough.  Add salt, sugar and pepper according to your taste.

12. In a casserole, spread a thin layer mash potato on the bottom and scoop the minced pork filling onto the mash potato base.


13. Slice the 3 eggs and put them on top of the filling and cover it up with the remaining mash potato.


14. Spread the grated cheese on top of the pie and bake it in the oven for 10 minutes, turning the oven to grill mode for 5 minutes after that.


15. Take out from the oven, serve and enjoy!


 
I know there may be quite a number of steps but it's really fast and easy to prepare! Mum and I were making this pie this morning and I couldn't wait to blog about it! It takes less than an hour to make, so I really hope you guys could try it out one day!

Feel free to comment if you have any queries!


Have a great weekend everyone!

Foodling 3

Being a novice foodling my adventures in the kitchen have been somewhat mixed.


2 tablespoons of finely chopped fresh 'chives'



Now as you can imagine cinnamon didn't really cut it as a substitute, one being a herb and one being a spice.

Cinnamon

Chives

FOOD TIP 2: Never replace cinnamon for chives..... :)


I hope your enjoyed this story as much as my family likes to tell it!

Hope these tips help!
Foodling 4

5-6 whole black peppercorns

Roast the dry ingredients of the marinade and grind them together. Add ginger and garlic until you get a thick paste

Other Ingredients

1kg boneless chicken fillets
800g tomato puree
200g butter
400ml fresh cream
200g plain yogurt
3-4 sticks of cinnamon
1 teaspoon red chilli powder (optional)
salt to taste

Recipe

Cut the chicken into cubes

Mix the yogurt with 4-5 tablespoons of the marinade and marinate the chicken in the mixture. Add salt to taste

Allow the chicken cubes to marinate for at leaste 6-12 hours.

Grill the marinated chicken on a very hot barbeque or under the grill or in a wok. Do not overcook as it should be juicy.

For the sauce add butter to heavy based pan. Add the cinnamon sticks and saute lightly. Do not allow the butter to burn.

Add the tomato puree and simmer gently for five minutes.

Add the chilli powder and salt to taste.

Finally add the cream and cooked chicken pieces and simmer for five minutes. Save some cream for garnishing the dish just before serving.

Serve hot with naan bread or basmati rice.