When my brother said we were meeting for lunch for his wife's birthday I decided to make a rice krispie riff on the classic Chocolate Caramel Slice for my sister in law who loves traditional Aussie slices. It was not perfect but it was gelatine free, gluten free, almost dairy free and avoided all the nut allergies in the family.
With just one look you can see I could do better. There is the tell tale chocolate bloom. And not enough chocolate. I think I would double it next time. Underneath this is a caramel layer that was so chewy I called it "the jaw breaker". Then there was the rice krispie layer which was good but perhaps when I decided to use more coconut I might have used less rice krispies. Alas, it didn't look as impressive as the slice that inspired me.
At least it wasn't a melting 42 C like today! And the almond butter worked just as well as the cashew butter in the previous rice krispie slices I have used before. I hope to experiment more with this idea. Cooling the caramel on a plate while cooking seemed helpful in getting a sense of how far the caramel had cooked. Having complained about cooking it too much, the coconut condensed milk made a nice caramel but I wonder if it did not colour up as much as the dairy condensed milk.
I only needed part of the rice krispie mixture and then ants have
attacked leftover candy canes so I used the two or three that I salvaged
to make a peppermint version with the rest of the slice. It was good
but again the coconut made it a bit dry and I think stopping to bash up
candy canes (on a folder tea towel so we didn't pock mark the kitchen
table like last time) meant that it didn't hold together so well.
We took it down to my brothers' place where a bbq was held but the main
event was the sweet food. My sister in law made gorgeous gluten free
cupcakes and a yummy clinkers slice. My mum made a dependably good
gluten free chocolate cake and an impressive gluten free pistachio and
pomegranate cake. My sister had had a birthday celebration for her
boyfriend the previous night and brought along leftover chocolate layer
cake. It was a tyranny of choice. Which is no bad thing at a birthday celebration.
More rice bubbles slices on Green Gourmet Giraffe:
Chocolate almond rice bubble slice (gf, v)
Jeanette's coconut date slice (gf, v)
Mars bar slice
Monster rice krispies (gf, v)
Nutella rice bubble slice
Pooh bear honey slice
Chocolate caramel rice krispie slice
with a Peppermint candy cane variation
A work in progress recipe by Green Gourmet Giraffe
1⁄2 cup almond nut butter*
1⁄2 cup rice malt syrup (or brown rice syrup)
3 tbsp brown sugar
1 tbsp margarine or butter*
pinch of salt
1 cup desiccated coconut*
4 cups rice bubbles (ie rice krispies, or other puffed rice)*
For Chocolate caramel variation:
400ml tin condensed milk*
125g dark chocolate chips*
1 tsp neutral oil
For Peppermint candy cane variation:
3-4 tbsp crushed peppermint candy canes
1/2 tsp peppermint essence
75g dark chocolate chips*
1 tsp oil
Put nut butter, rice malt syrup, brown sugar, margarine and salt into a large microwave proof bowl and heat in microwave until warm and gooey (about 1 minute). Mix in coconut and rice bubbles.
To make the Chocolate caramel rice krispie slice:
Press 2/3 of the mixture into a 22cm square tin lined with baking paper. (I found using my hands was the best way to press it firmly and that the quicker this was done after mixing the better.)
Gently simmer the condensed milk for 10 to 15 minutes until it changes colour and when cooled on a plate is soft but holds its shape. I boiled my coconut condensed milk for 15 minutes on medium heat, bubbling it along the whole time and at the end of these time it was really really chewy. Pour hot caramelised condensed milk over the rice krispies. Cool.
Heat the chocolate and oil in the microwave until mostly melted and stir to completely melt. Spread over cooled caramel layer.
Cool in the fridge and cut into squares to serve. I found that small squares were required because it was quite intense. Keeps in an airtight container for at least 4-5 days.
To make the Peppermint candy cane rice krispie slice:
Mix remaining mixture with crushed candy canes and peppermint essence. Then press into a lined loaf tin. Do this as soon as possible after stirring.
Melt the chocolate and oil in microwave until mostly melted and stir to complete melting. Drizzle over peppermint slice. Cool in fridge to set chocolate and then cut into squares.
*NOTES: For vegan slice check that the margarine, condensed milk and chocolate is vegan. I used nuttalex margarine and coconut condensed milk. For gluten free slice, check that the rice bubbles are gluten free. For a nut free slice, you could try using this date and coconut slice as a base. If you don't have access to coconut condensed milk at the shops, you could try this vegan condensed milk recipe with coconut milk or milk of choice.
On the Stereo:
Best of Bowie: David Bowie
Wednesday, 13 January 2016
Monday, 11 January 2016
Krishna Indian Restaurant, Footscray - vegan buffet
In the week before Christmas, Krishna Indian Restaurant offered a vegan buffet for a week. Above is the menu on the night we went. For $28 per person it was excellent value and the food was delicious. I loved being able to have lots of small dishes. It was also interesting to go with a group and see that everyone had different preferences.
First up we had a Lentil soup. I love lentils so this was very pleasing. It was quite thin but tasty and a light start to the meal.
For Entrees we had Samosa, Onion Pakora and Veg Manchurian. I could have stopped right here and just kept going back for more. The samosa was perfect triangles of fried filled pastry with a sweet and very spicy dipping sauce. The manchurian were wonderful - dumplings in a sweet and spicy sauce. The onion pakora was crisp and delicious. I regretted not going back for more of all of these but I did want to keep going through the whole menu.
The main course had lots of curries to taste. I was very excited by the sound of the Shahi Tofu (Tofu in a creamy cashew nut sauce) [top right] and surprised to find that the sauce was not quite as creamy as I expected. It was more tomatoey than creamy and I loved it but wished I had asked for more tofu chunks. Top left is the Soy Nugget Masala which was my least favourite. I enjoyed the creamy sauce but the chunks were a bit too mock meat, which is just not my thing.
In the middle right is the Eggplant and Potato Curry and bottom left is the Potato and Chickpea Curry. These dishes made less impact on me. I enjoyed them but just as part of the mix rather than as stand out dishes. It is great to go out with a group but I find that I get caught up in conversation at times rather than focusing on the food. A couple of the dishes were a bit spicy but generally it was not too spicy for me, which was a relief as I don't eat lots of spicy food.
The curries were accompanied by Garlic Naan and Saffron Rice. Both were very very good. I also tasted some of the Gluten Free Naan which was lovely though a bit less chewy and tasted like it had besan in it. When we were quite full, the owners brought around Kashmiri Naan. I am very partial to this flatbread stuffed with nuts and dried fruit. How could I refuse! It was excellent. Hot and buttery straight from pan with that wonderful sweet nutty filling. Is it any wonder that I was too busy scoffing it to take a photo.
I had decided beforehand that I would not have dessert. I've never been very interested in Indian sweets. But somehow I found myself taking a bowl of dessert. Perhaps it was curiosity. And indeed I was glad I did. The vegan Gulab Jaman was amazing. It wasn't as sweet as when I have tasted it before and had all the comfort of a good pudding. I was not so interested in the Rice Pudding but was very surprised to find that I really enjoyed the Mango and Coconut Ice Cream. Despite not liking mangos or being much of an ice cream person, I found I could not stop eating the ice cream.
By the end of the meal I was well and truly stuffed, but with such good food. It was a really lovely night out. Great to catch up with some of the lovely bloggers that it has been wonderful seeing online and offline this year. And the family that runs Krishna is so friendly and welcoming. We had a chat about making our own yoghurt and sourdough and the owners gave us little Christmas gifts. Check out Veganopoulous and Where's the Beef to see more about the regular Krishna menu. I am looking forward to returning there soon.
Krishna Indian Restaurant
Shop 3, 578 Barkly Street
West Footscray
(03) 9687 5531
www.krishnapaitpoojawestfootscray.com.au
Sunday, 10 January 2016
One pot pasta with chickpeas and zucchini
I am excited to find a one pot pasta that works after a few failed experiments. I have seen lots of one pot pastas online. The idea of throwing all the seasonings and vegetables in the pot with the pasta seemed brilliant. It was just a matter of getting the seasonings right and enough vegies to make a healthy meal.
One of the main reasons I wanted to make the one pot pasta is that it always looks so pretty online in the before photos. So I made sure I arranged mine to please the eye. This might be one of the reasons it wasn't quite as quick as I had hoped it might be. It meant I was a little late to visit a friend after dinner but at least I was quite satisfied by my meal.
When I had a taste of it lukewarm upon arriving home, I could taste the undercooked onion slightly and did so again the next day. I had chopped my brown onion fairly fine so perhaps a red onion would be better here. I had also thought of adding spinach at the end but was feeling too rushed by the time it was cooked to do this. Some fresh basil at the end would also be great. And E added grated cheese but I did not think this was necessary.
This was a great tasty dish to slurp up quickly before heading out of the house. I can see this becoming a regular meal. It didn't take too long and mostly used ingredients I regularly have in the house. It had a good amount of vegies which could be increased by spinach at the end. And I am sure with practice I could make it even quicker.
I am sending this to Meat Free Mondays, Healthy Vegan Fridays, and Cook Once, Eat Twice.
More quick pasta recipes on Green Gourmet Giraffe:
Angel hair pasta with feta, sun-dried tomatoes and spinach
Avocado Pasta (v)
Fettuccine Napoletana (v)
Hurry up pumpkin alfredo (v)
Pasta with mint and parmesan
Spaghetti hoops (v)
One pot pasta with chickpeas and zucchini
Adapted from Yup It's Vegan
Serves 4
350g spaghetti
400g tin chickpeas, drained
400g can diced tomatoes
1 zucchini, halved and sliced thinly
1/4 cup sliced black olives
2 tbsp capers
1 small onion, finely chopped
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 tsp dried mixed Italian herbs
1/4 tsp ground pepper
3 cups vegetable stock
Place pasta in a large saucepan. If it needs to be broken up to fit that is fine. Place remaining ingredients in the pot finishing with the stock. Cover and bring to the boil. (Check and adjust seasoning at this point.) Cook for about 8-10 minutes, stirring occasionally. I simmered mine for about 8 minutes and then took the lid off and cooked it on high for another 2-3 minutes with lots of stirring to boil off a little bit more liquid but not all as it will thicken to make a tomato sauce. Serve hot. Leftovers are good to serve the next day.
On the Stereo:
Who killed Amanda Palmer: Amanda Palmer
One of the main reasons I wanted to make the one pot pasta is that it always looks so pretty online in the before photos. So I made sure I arranged mine to please the eye. This might be one of the reasons it wasn't quite as quick as I had hoped it might be. It meant I was a little late to visit a friend after dinner but at least I was quite satisfied by my meal.
When I had a taste of it lukewarm upon arriving home, I could taste the undercooked onion slightly and did so again the next day. I had chopped my brown onion fairly fine so perhaps a red onion would be better here. I had also thought of adding spinach at the end but was feeling too rushed by the time it was cooked to do this. Some fresh basil at the end would also be great. And E added grated cheese but I did not think this was necessary.
This was a great tasty dish to slurp up quickly before heading out of the house. I can see this becoming a regular meal. It didn't take too long and mostly used ingredients I regularly have in the house. It had a good amount of vegies which could be increased by spinach at the end. And I am sure with practice I could make it even quicker.
I am sending this to Meat Free Mondays, Healthy Vegan Fridays, and Cook Once, Eat Twice.
More quick pasta recipes on Green Gourmet Giraffe:
Angel hair pasta with feta, sun-dried tomatoes and spinach
Avocado Pasta (v)
Fettuccine Napoletana (v)
Hurry up pumpkin alfredo (v)
Pasta with mint and parmesan
Spaghetti hoops (v)
One pot pasta with chickpeas and zucchini
Adapted from Yup It's Vegan
Serves 4
350g spaghetti
400g tin chickpeas, drained
400g can diced tomatoes
1 zucchini, halved and sliced thinly
1/4 cup sliced black olives
2 tbsp capers
1 small onion, finely chopped
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 tsp dried mixed Italian herbs
1/4 tsp ground pepper
3 cups vegetable stock
Place pasta in a large saucepan. If it needs to be broken up to fit that is fine. Place remaining ingredients in the pot finishing with the stock. Cover and bring to the boil. (Check and adjust seasoning at this point.) Cook for about 8-10 minutes, stirring occasionally. I simmered mine for about 8 minutes and then took the lid off and cooked it on high for another 2-3 minutes with lots of stirring to boil off a little bit more liquid but not all as it will thicken to make a tomato sauce. Serve hot. Leftovers are good to serve the next day.
On the Stereo:
Who killed Amanda Palmer: Amanda Palmer
Labels:
beans/lentils/legumes,
blog events,
original recipe,
pasta,
vegan
Friday, 8 January 2016
In My Kitchen - January 2016
The fireworks crackle in the night air and yet another year begins. Almost all the Christmas decorations are away. I've started cleaning out the kitchen but not got very far. I've carted a load to the op shop today. The school holidays are whizzing by and we still haven't finished the holiday giant crosswords from The Age newspaper.
Early summer means apricots. On New Year's Eve we passed a fruit and veg shop with cheap apricots. I bought a bagful and stewed them up for breakfasts and snacking. My mum tells me she has some off her tree waiting for me! Fresh apricots make me very happy.
We are just about through all of our Christmas gift chocolates and biscuits. This cup of chocolates was given to me by a gorgeous little boy. Kids are so cute with presents.
Sylvia received quite a few activity presents that have amused her over the holidays. This drawing set required tracing pictures onto plastic and shrinking them in the oven. I might just have been more excited than Sylvia because it reminded me of my childhood when we would shrink chip (crisp) packets in the oven for fun. That was before chips came in that crinkly foil paper that doesn't shrink. Sylvia also had lots of fun with it. (Thanks Anne.)
We have had a few mornings of making "squeezy bottle pancakes". I had fun with Christmas themed pancakes. Sylvia is keen to make more. Not quite sure what pictures will appear in the frypan next!
I made these spicy noodles from Eats Well With Others. They were good but had a bit too much soy sauce. I think I probably used a lot less noodles than Joanne. I suspect I didn't do a good job of converting from emperial into metric measurements!
A peek into my groceries! I haven't been baking much lately. So ready snacks have been quite welcome. Roasted chickpeas and broad beans (fava beans) are always great to have in a bag when we are out. We really liked the salt and vinegar flavoured ones. The Nairns stem ginger oat biscuits were surprisingly spicy. E loved them with butter and jam. Sylvia and I have been quite into the energy bars made with dried fruit and nuts - she likes apple rumble and I love the chocolate mud bars. And I had a moment of needed ready meals just before Christmas because I had no time to cook so I bought lots of instant meals like the Dhal Tadka.
We have had a few pizzas lately. I am quite adept at making fast track pizza with sourdough (see the notes section of the recipe). This pizza has to be a favourite. It is tomato sauce, vegan omelette, tofu bacon and cheese. It was so delicious in a comfort food sort of way.
My sister brought these crisps to E from Ireland. They tasted quite like sour cream and chive crisps. But it was fun to think that they had real shamrocks. I guess I should have checked the ingredients because it does seem a bit weird to think they put shamrocks in crisps. Now the packet is in the bin and I will never know!
Another presents for Sylvia that provided lots of entertainment was this magic garden. You put the water in the base, the cardboard soaks it up and grows crystals. This is not the fully grown garden. However it is the best photo. By the time it was fully grown, little fingers had fiddled with trees and knocked them over and few times and it was moved to the verandah and as soon as little fingers in question had gone for a sleepover the garden found its way to the bin!
Tonight's dinner was inspired by Recipe Yum's Potato Quesadillas. With lots of changes! I mashed the potato with some guacamole spices (kindly given to me by my friend's mum who is selling them), fried the onion and added garlic, spinach, plum vinegar and smoked salt, and added some pizza cheese that I had bought a while back and needed using. Delicious.
We have had dinner outside quite a bit while the weather has been nice. One evening we were enjoying sitting outside when E sunk very low very suddenly. His seat had given way. I have had these chairs for 25 years so I feel I have got good value out of them. But I am very sad they are giving up the ghost.
And I will finish with a close up of ripening cherry tomatoes in our garden. Unfortunately I can't show you a handful. As soon as any have ripened, Sylvia pops them in her mouth. Though perhaps tomorrow I will have a few because she is at my parents' house on a sleepover.
I am sending this post to Maureen of The Orgasmic Chef who is hosting the wonderful In My Kitchen event while Celia takes a break. It is an event where bloggers around the world share what is happening in their kitchens. Please head over to Maureen's blog and visit some other bloggers or even join in (by 10th of each month).
Early summer means apricots. On New Year's Eve we passed a fruit and veg shop with cheap apricots. I bought a bagful and stewed them up for breakfasts and snacking. My mum tells me she has some off her tree waiting for me! Fresh apricots make me very happy.
We are just about through all of our Christmas gift chocolates and biscuits. This cup of chocolates was given to me by a gorgeous little boy. Kids are so cute with presents.
Sylvia received quite a few activity presents that have amused her over the holidays. This drawing set required tracing pictures onto plastic and shrinking them in the oven. I might just have been more excited than Sylvia because it reminded me of my childhood when we would shrink chip (crisp) packets in the oven for fun. That was before chips came in that crinkly foil paper that doesn't shrink. Sylvia also had lots of fun with it. (Thanks Anne.)
We have had a few mornings of making "squeezy bottle pancakes". I had fun with Christmas themed pancakes. Sylvia is keen to make more. Not quite sure what pictures will appear in the frypan next!
I made these spicy noodles from Eats Well With Others. They were good but had a bit too much soy sauce. I think I probably used a lot less noodles than Joanne. I suspect I didn't do a good job of converting from emperial into metric measurements!
A peek into my groceries! I haven't been baking much lately. So ready snacks have been quite welcome. Roasted chickpeas and broad beans (fava beans) are always great to have in a bag when we are out. We really liked the salt and vinegar flavoured ones. The Nairns stem ginger oat biscuits were surprisingly spicy. E loved them with butter and jam. Sylvia and I have been quite into the energy bars made with dried fruit and nuts - she likes apple rumble and I love the chocolate mud bars. And I had a moment of needed ready meals just before Christmas because I had no time to cook so I bought lots of instant meals like the Dhal Tadka.
We have had a few pizzas lately. I am quite adept at making fast track pizza with sourdough (see the notes section of the recipe). This pizza has to be a favourite. It is tomato sauce, vegan omelette, tofu bacon and cheese. It was so delicious in a comfort food sort of way.
My sister brought these crisps to E from Ireland. They tasted quite like sour cream and chive crisps. But it was fun to think that they had real shamrocks. I guess I should have checked the ingredients because it does seem a bit weird to think they put shamrocks in crisps. Now the packet is in the bin and I will never know!
Another presents for Sylvia that provided lots of entertainment was this magic garden. You put the water in the base, the cardboard soaks it up and grows crystals. This is not the fully grown garden. However it is the best photo. By the time it was fully grown, little fingers had fiddled with trees and knocked them over and few times and it was moved to the verandah and as soon as little fingers in question had gone for a sleepover the garden found its way to the bin!
Tonight's dinner was inspired by Recipe Yum's Potato Quesadillas. With lots of changes! I mashed the potato with some guacamole spices (kindly given to me by my friend's mum who is selling them), fried the onion and added garlic, spinach, plum vinegar and smoked salt, and added some pizza cheese that I had bought a while back and needed using. Delicious.
We have had dinner outside quite a bit while the weather has been nice. One evening we were enjoying sitting outside when E sunk very low very suddenly. His seat had given way. I have had these chairs for 25 years so I feel I have got good value out of them. But I am very sad they are giving up the ghost.
And I will finish with a close up of ripening cherry tomatoes in our garden. Unfortunately I can't show you a handful. As soon as any have ripened, Sylvia pops them in her mouth. Though perhaps tomorrow I will have a few because she is at my parents' house on a sleepover.
I am sending this post to Maureen of The Orgasmic Chef who is hosting the wonderful In My Kitchen event while Celia takes a break. It is an event where bloggers around the world share what is happening in their kitchens. Please head over to Maureen's blog and visit some other bloggers or even join in (by 10th of each month).
Wednesday, 6 January 2016
Caramel apple trifle made with salted caramel sauce
As the end of the year rushed towards me, I looked in the fridge at the salted caramel custard I bought on sale which sat in the fridge next to the butter and cream that I had bought for Christmas. Then it struck me! Trifle! Caramel sauce! And so dessert for New Year's Eve was conceived.
This was not to be the sponge cake, custard and jelly trifle my mum excels at. I decided upon a salted caramel and apple flavour. Sylvia and I trawled the supermarket for pannetone and only found madeira cake. I went to a nearby Italian shop where I bought a large pannetone for $10 and had a small plain one thrown in for Sylvia. She is not keen on sultanas, peel or any other bits!
This was my first trifle I had made. I avoid them because I don't make jelly. Unlike my mum. I do love pannetone in trifle. I decided to make a caramel sauce and then was overwhelmed by the online tyranny of choice. Fortunately I had recently seen an easy one on Munchies and Munchkins. And so once Sylvia was finally asleep I made one. It was so thin and I was tired. Finally I reasoned it would cool on the pannetone.
I bought a tin of pie apples. They were ok but could have been better. I decided more caramel sauce would make them better. I had visions of beautiful layers of trifle. (Too much pinterest!) So I tell you what I will do next time.
We sort of enjoyed the trifle but I was pretty full from haggis tacos and it was such a mess. I think the best bit was that I was really proud of my salted caramel sauce. I could have just had the sauce and been very happy. It was great drizzled over the trifle. Then I had to lie on the couch and groan because I was so very full. We forgot to put brandy cream on E's serving but I think he was so full he didn't mind.
We had heaps of trifle leftover. I decided to take over half the trifle to my parents house the next day. I know my dad likes trifle and, at a pinch, their chooks will eat anything. I was very pleased that the trifle was served for dessert and polished off. My dad ate his serve happily but was so surprised to offered more "trifle" that he had to google trifle to check if it was indeed a trifle. Google said Yes!
We finished the rest of it off that evening at home. Then we just had some caramel sauce leftover. It lasted us about a week. I kept it in the fridge where it was quite thick. It could be gently warmed to pouring consistency in the microwave. I will admit to sneaking the odd spoonful straight from the jug but it was also very good drizzled over ice cream.
More chilled desserts from Green Gourmet Giraffe:
Caramel chocolate cheesecakes
Choc-nut banana and fruit kebabs (gf, v)
Cranachan
Pine-berry fruit salad (gf, v)
Strawberry soup (gf, v)
Vegan peach cheesecake (gf, v)
Caramel apple trifle
An original Green Gourmet Giraffe recipe - work in progress
serves 8-12
1/2 pannetone, cut into chunks
1/2 cup apple juice
2 cups salted caramel custard
400g tin of pie apples, drained
1 batch caramel sauce (see recipe below)
Fudge chunks
Line the bottom of a serving bowl with pannetone. Pour apple juice over pannetone then pour 1/2 cup of caramel on top. Now arrange apple slices to cover the pannetone. Pour 1/2 cup of caramel over the apple. Pour custard on top. Refridgerate overnight (or at least a few hours). Scatter with fudge chunks before serving.
Salted caramel sauce
Adapted from Munchies and Munchkins
Makes 400ml
75g soft brown sugar
75g caster sugar
75g golden syrup
110g butter
3/4 cup cream
1 tsp of sea salt
Cook brown sugar, castor sugar, golden syrup and butter in a medium saucepan until melted over medium low heat. Reduce heat to low and cook for about 10 minutes until slightly darker and bubbly. The sugar should have mostly melted when you hold up a spoon.
Remove from heat and stir in cream. Return to heat for a few minutes to warm it up (but not bring to the boil). Stir in the salt about 1/2 tsp at a time and tasting as you go. It will be very thin but will thicken as it cools and will be quite thick in the fridge.
On the Stereo:
Swell Season - self titled
This was not to be the sponge cake, custard and jelly trifle my mum excels at. I decided upon a salted caramel and apple flavour. Sylvia and I trawled the supermarket for pannetone and only found madeira cake. I went to a nearby Italian shop where I bought a large pannetone for $10 and had a small plain one thrown in for Sylvia. She is not keen on sultanas, peel or any other bits!
This was my first trifle I had made. I avoid them because I don't make jelly. Unlike my mum. I do love pannetone in trifle. I decided to make a caramel sauce and then was overwhelmed by the online tyranny of choice. Fortunately I had recently seen an easy one on Munchies and Munchkins. And so once Sylvia was finally asleep I made one. It was so thin and I was tired. Finally I reasoned it would cool on the pannetone.
I bought a tin of pie apples. They were ok but could have been better. I decided more caramel sauce would make them better. I had visions of beautiful layers of trifle. (Too much pinterest!) So I tell you what I will do next time.
- I will make the caramel sauce further ahead so it thickens more.
- I will do on top layer not two layers of custard and I will not use a tub of custard that is too soft (and will remember that is probably better to have had a look in the tub before making the trifle).
- I will fry fresh apple slices in butter and brown sugar to caramelise them.
- Finally on top will be a heap of caramelised walnuts (1/2 cup walnuts and 1/4 cup brown sugar on the fry pan) with fudge chunks tumbling over them and caramel sauce drizzled all over.
We sort of enjoyed the trifle but I was pretty full from haggis tacos and it was such a mess. I think the best bit was that I was really proud of my salted caramel sauce. I could have just had the sauce and been very happy. It was great drizzled over the trifle. Then I had to lie on the couch and groan because I was so very full. We forgot to put brandy cream on E's serving but I think he was so full he didn't mind.
We had heaps of trifle leftover. I decided to take over half the trifle to my parents house the next day. I know my dad likes trifle and, at a pinch, their chooks will eat anything. I was very pleased that the trifle was served for dessert and polished off. My dad ate his serve happily but was so surprised to offered more "trifle" that he had to google trifle to check if it was indeed a trifle. Google said Yes!
We finished the rest of it off that evening at home. Then we just had some caramel sauce leftover. It lasted us about a week. I kept it in the fridge where it was quite thick. It could be gently warmed to pouring consistency in the microwave. I will admit to sneaking the odd spoonful straight from the jug but it was also very good drizzled over ice cream.
More chilled desserts from Green Gourmet Giraffe:
Caramel chocolate cheesecakes
Choc-nut banana and fruit kebabs (gf, v)
Cranachan
Pine-berry fruit salad (gf, v)
Strawberry soup (gf, v)
Vegan peach cheesecake (gf, v)
Caramel apple trifle
An original Green Gourmet Giraffe recipe - work in progress
serves 8-12
1/2 pannetone, cut into chunks
1/2 cup apple juice
2 cups salted caramel custard
400g tin of pie apples, drained
1 batch caramel sauce (see recipe below)
Fudge chunks
Line the bottom of a serving bowl with pannetone. Pour apple juice over pannetone then pour 1/2 cup of caramel on top. Now arrange apple slices to cover the pannetone. Pour 1/2 cup of caramel over the apple. Pour custard on top. Refridgerate overnight (or at least a few hours). Scatter with fudge chunks before serving.
Salted caramel sauce
Adapted from Munchies and Munchkins
Makes 400ml
75g soft brown sugar
75g caster sugar
75g golden syrup
110g butter
3/4 cup cream
1 tsp of sea salt
Cook brown sugar, castor sugar, golden syrup and butter in a medium saucepan until melted over medium low heat. Reduce heat to low and cook for about 10 minutes until slightly darker and bubbly. The sugar should have mostly melted when you hold up a spoon.
Remove from heat and stir in cream. Return to heat for a few minutes to warm it up (but not bring to the boil). Stir in the salt about 1/2 tsp at a time and tasting as you go. It will be very thin but will thicken as it cools and will be quite thick in the fridge.
On the Stereo:
Swell Season - self titled
Labels:
desserts,
festive/Christmas,
fruit,
sauces/condiments
Sunday, 3 January 2016
Reflections on 2015: most popular, blog overview etc
Dolly and Frozen receded into the background of Sylvia's life, to be replaced with the likes of Taylor Swift and Katy Perry. Sylvia kept us busy with her netball, basketball, tennis, swimming, gymnastics and ukulele lessons. She is now reading chapter books and anything she can.
We went on holidays to Ocean Grove and Echuca, saw more movies this year, enjoyed lots of days out, and had fun at lots of E's ukulele gigs.
I had a new part time work, continued volunteer work, took up body balance classes, took part in a book club and occasionally attended a singing group. Which meant I didn't have as much blogging energy as I would like. With photos, I was frustrated by Apple changing the photo editing software and excited to experiment with a light box.
2016 was also the year of aquafaba, nutella doughnuts and vegan degustations.
![]() |
| My two special people! |
Thanks to everyone who has featured Green Gourmet Giraffe on their blog from event organisers to columnists to ordinary bloggers sharing my recipes to those on social media. Everyone except the people who shared a pre-blogging photo under the title of cake fail! Moving along swiftly! Here are a few of the places online you could find links to GGG:
- Almond and coconut flour pancakes in 20 Low Carb Almond Flour Pancakes on Paleo Grubs
- Baby.co.uk (thanks Jac) featured me in 15 Scottish recipes for Burns Night, 20 edibld gifts to save you money this Christmas, 25 Quick lunches for Busy Mums.
- Chocolate cranberry scones in Scones that could really use a drink on BuzzFeed
- Chocolate salami in 40+ of the Best Recipes that Use Chocolate on A Worthy Life
- Orange and carrot mmoothie in 13 Bright + Healthy Winter Produce Smoothies on Brit+Co
- Peppermint-filled chocolates in February 14th is National Cream-Filled Chocolates Day – Best 35 Recipes on The Food Explorere
- Pumpkin, pecan and poppy seed scones in The Top 6 Extraordinary Health Benefits Of Poppy Seeds (+ 6 Easy, Nutritious Recipes) on Bembu
- Sticky toffee pudding in 10 wonderful ways with parsnips in Readers Digest
- Also had posts featured in Elle (Netherlands), Wheat free meat free round ups, Coburg Love My Suburb Facebook Page,
![]() |
| One of my favourite books of the year at Green Refectory in Brunswick where I discovered what might be the best vegan sausage rolls on sale in Melbourne! |
So here are some of my favourites of 2015. Bear in mind that it was very hard to decide in most of these categories.
- Favourite Film: The Imitation Game
- Favourite Children's Film: Minions
- Favourite Overseas TV: Humans (UK)
- FAvourite Australian TV: Please Like Me
- Favourite Children's TV: Hank Zipster and Curious George
- Favourite Book: All the Light We Cannot See
- Favourite Young Adult Book: Bright Young Things
- Favourite Children's Books: Lob, Seven Little Australians and The Naughtiest Girl books
- Favourite Cafe meal: Moroccan deli-cacy
- Fabourite Restaurant meal: Bar Idda
- Favourite Gig: Blur
![]() |
| CERES organic market. A place I have visited quite a lot this year. |
I know it looks like a long list but this is only a fraction of the food I ate and posted this year:
- Most regular recipes: Mee Goreng, Pizza, Chocolate muesli, Tofu bacon, Vegan omelette, Banana oat pancakes, Celia's overnight sourdough bread
- Amazing aquafaba: Meringues, Mozzarella, Marshmallow frosted cupcakes, Chocolate banana swiss roll
- Fun food: Lego biscuits, Jelly bean flower cupcakes, Rainbow cupcakes, Frozen castle birthday cake, Watermelon monster, Spiderweb pizza, Gingerbread houses
- Mmmm chocolate: Nutella rice bubble slice, Chocolate pancakes, Coconut and chocolate chunk cake, No bake chocolate oat slice, Hedgehog
- Pleasing pastry: Apricot and almond tart, Vegan quiche with tofu and besan, Treacle tart, Cheese, onion and potato pasties, Beetroot and caramelised onion galette
- Healthy food: Chocolate bliss balls, Vegan salmon pate, Caramel chocolate chunk muffins, Carrot almond sauce, Pumpkin, almond and quinoa soup
- All hail kale: Kale scones, Kale pizza, Tomato and kale soup with pistachios, Kale cheesecake surprise choc mint cupcakes
- Celebration food: Cashew cheese stuffed dates, Ombre potato and cheese torte, Stuffed nut roast, Salted caramel popcorn, Caramel chocolate cheesecakes
- Great flavour combinations: Pumpkin, pecan and poppyseed scones, Strawberry and smoky chickpea salad, Honey parsnip cake
![]() |
| We have been quite taken with Minions this year. Though our cat Zinc is not impressed! |
There has been a little tinkering with my blog over the year but not as much as I would wish. I continue to try and take some good photos but FoodGawker and I continue to often disagree on what makes a good photos though I have learnt to try and lighten my photos in the photo editing more. I continue to participate in blog events (where bloggers share posts) and find these a great way to connect with other bloggers. Here are a few numbers:
- Number of posts this year was down to 160, though I am happy with this averaging 3 posts per week.
- On aussiefoodbloggers.com.au/, I was no 64 in Australia and no 9 in Victoria.
- Foodgawker shared 35 of my posts, and rejected more than I thought reasonable!
- I now have 294 FaceBook likes.
- I have shared 23 cafe reviews on Zomato (formerly UrbanSpoon).
12 most popular posts of 2015
According to Google Analytics
- Celia's overnight sourdough bread - step by step photos
- Japanese curry
- Whole roasted cauliflower with tomato broth
- Vegan meringues - made with aqua faba (chickpea brine)
- Jeanette's coconut and date slice
- Living Candida-Free, Asian Napa Cabbage Salad and recipe testing
- Vegan quiche with tofu and besan
- Apple rose tarts, a woven paper box and random moments
- Lime and coconut cake, glazed tofu and mistaken identity
- Frozen castle birthday cake - step by step
- Pea, quinoa and feta fritters and random bicycle moments
- Stuffed nut roast for Christmas in July dinner party
![]() |
| A sneak peak of our New Year's Eve trifle. |
Thanks to family and friends for sharing so much good food this year, for comparing recipe notes and giving feedback on recipes. A special mention to E for being great company, being willing to try lots of new food and for all those dishes; and to Sylvia for making my meals interesting and reminding me that plain vegetables are yummy.
I am fortunate to have met up with bloggers online at picnics and restaurants this year. It has been great fun and I am so delighted to spend time with such interesting and generous friends. Most of my blog interactions however are online and I thank you for reading my blog, for commenting or emailing, and making my blog a friendly place where I love to hang out. I also thank those other bloggers who keep me inspired with great recipes, beautiful photos and honest writing. I look forward to reading more of it this year.
I wish you a great 2016 filled with good food, good company and good cheer. It seems that this year will give me less energy for blogging but I have much to share and plan to continue posting here as much as possible. I hope that the new year will bring more healthy bowl food, more aquafaba experiments, more blogger meet ups, and a few spectacular cakes!
![]() |
| Onwards and upwards! |
Friday, 1 January 2016
Creamy red pepper dressing for bowl food
Happy new year! Hope you had a good one last night and are recovering from the shock that it is now 2016. I am working on a 2015 reflections post to upload soon. Meanwhile I will share a lovely red pepper salad dressing we have been enjoying over the last few days.
New year is a time to review and renew. After all the festive indulgences, some lighter food is required in our house. One of the dishes that I loved in 2015 was "bowl food". By which I mean arranging separate grain and salad components in a bowl with a dressing.
I've decided 2016 needs more bowl food. It is a great way to include lots of vegies in dinner. For us it means I can serve E and I similar dinner to Sylvia whose dinners are quite similar to bowl food. (I've got her tasting iceberg lettuce by serving her dinner with hummus.) All it needs is different dressings to keep it interesting.
Above is a bowl of falafel, lettuce, red pepper, grated carrot, snow peas, tomato and dressing.
Here is another healthy bowl. This one is filled with chickpeas, tofu bacon, lettuce, red pepper, grated carrot, snow peas, tomato and dressing.
The dressing made a delicious meal of simple ingredients. It was made because I bought a bag of red peppers cheaply and roasted them before Christmas. We had some in wraps but when I tired of them I blended them up with lots of seasoning, nuts and tahini. It was slightly reminiscent of muhammara and also inspired by a ranch dressing recipe. A little tangy, a little sweet and slightly spicy.
I served it last night on New Year's Eve though you might find it harder to spot. I put together a selection of toppings for haggis tacos. The haggis filling was made by frying up cherry tomatoes, kidney beans, smoked paprika and cumin and then mixing with my regular haggis recipe. I had intended to make guacamole but decided mixing avocados with some of the red pepper dressing would do just as nicely.
The tacos were very filling. It was followed by trifle (which I will share soon), a stretch on the sofa and a post prandial walk to the park. We had intended to go to local fireworks but they were cancelled due to the heat. And after a day of 39 C, even with a trip to the Sun Cinema to see Love the Coopers, I didn't have a lot of energy by evening.
We also ate the dressing like a dip with crackers and spread on salad sandwiches. The final dregs of the dressing were used up tonight on another bowl of food. It was a pretty lazy meal of leftovers.
Today we went to Geelong to see my sister and family who have arrived from Ireland last night. It was lovely to share lunch and a swim at the pool. My sister made a delicious brown rice salad and gave me the leftovers. We ate it tonight with leftover taco haggis, tomatoes, cheese, lettuce and red pepper salad dressing. Just lovely.
I am sending the dressing to Kimmy for Healthy Vegan Fridays #80.
More interesting salad dressings on Green Gourmet Giraffe:
Avocado dressing
Blueberry dressing
Carrot almond sauce
Maple sesame dressing
Tomato pomegranate vinaigrette
Vegan buttermilk dressing
Yoghurt taco dressing
And for more: salad dressings ideas
Creamy red pepper salad dressing
Inspired by Green Gourmet Giraffe and Healthy Blender Recipes
1 cup of roasted red pepper strips
1/2 cup walnuts
1/4 cup red wine vinegar
2 tbsp pomegranate molasses
2 tbsp olive oil
2 tbsp tahini
1 garlic clove
1 1/2 tsp salt
1 1/2 tsp maple syrup
1 tsp smoked paprika
1/4 tsp chilli sauce
1 small spring onion, chopped
Blend until smooth. (I used a high powered blender.)
On the stereo:
A Sesame Street Christmas
New year is a time to review and renew. After all the festive indulgences, some lighter food is required in our house. One of the dishes that I loved in 2015 was "bowl food". By which I mean arranging separate grain and salad components in a bowl with a dressing.
I've decided 2016 needs more bowl food. It is a great way to include lots of vegies in dinner. For us it means I can serve E and I similar dinner to Sylvia whose dinners are quite similar to bowl food. (I've got her tasting iceberg lettuce by serving her dinner with hummus.) All it needs is different dressings to keep it interesting.
Above is a bowl of falafel, lettuce, red pepper, grated carrot, snow peas, tomato and dressing.
Here is another healthy bowl. This one is filled with chickpeas, tofu bacon, lettuce, red pepper, grated carrot, snow peas, tomato and dressing.
The dressing made a delicious meal of simple ingredients. It was made because I bought a bag of red peppers cheaply and roasted them before Christmas. We had some in wraps but when I tired of them I blended them up with lots of seasoning, nuts and tahini. It was slightly reminiscent of muhammara and also inspired by a ranch dressing recipe. A little tangy, a little sweet and slightly spicy.
I served it last night on New Year's Eve though you might find it harder to spot. I put together a selection of toppings for haggis tacos. The haggis filling was made by frying up cherry tomatoes, kidney beans, smoked paprika and cumin and then mixing with my regular haggis recipe. I had intended to make guacamole but decided mixing avocados with some of the red pepper dressing would do just as nicely.
The tacos were very filling. It was followed by trifle (which I will share soon), a stretch on the sofa and a post prandial walk to the park. We had intended to go to local fireworks but they were cancelled due to the heat. And after a day of 39 C, even with a trip to the Sun Cinema to see Love the Coopers, I didn't have a lot of energy by evening.
We also ate the dressing like a dip with crackers and spread on salad sandwiches. The final dregs of the dressing were used up tonight on another bowl of food. It was a pretty lazy meal of leftovers.
Today we went to Geelong to see my sister and family who have arrived from Ireland last night. It was lovely to share lunch and a swim at the pool. My sister made a delicious brown rice salad and gave me the leftovers. We ate it tonight with leftover taco haggis, tomatoes, cheese, lettuce and red pepper salad dressing. Just lovely.
I am sending the dressing to Kimmy for Healthy Vegan Fridays #80.
More interesting salad dressings on Green Gourmet Giraffe:
Avocado dressing
Blueberry dressing
Carrot almond sauce
Maple sesame dressing
Tomato pomegranate vinaigrette
Vegan buttermilk dressing
Yoghurt taco dressing
And for more: salad dressings ideas
Creamy red pepper salad dressing
Inspired by Green Gourmet Giraffe and Healthy Blender Recipes
1 cup of roasted red pepper strips
1/2 cup walnuts
1/4 cup red wine vinegar
2 tbsp pomegranate molasses
2 tbsp olive oil
2 tbsp tahini
1 garlic clove
1 1/2 tsp salt
1 1/2 tsp maple syrup
1 tsp smoked paprika
1/4 tsp chilli sauce
1 small spring onion, chopped
Blend until smooth. (I used a high powered blender.)
On the stereo:
A Sesame Street Christmas
Labels:
gluten-free,
nuts,
original recipe,
salads,
sauces/condiments,
vegan
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)













































