Breakfast Update

Anyone who knows me well, knows that one of my favourite past times is to watch cooking shows. In fact, it’s one of the only things that can keep me stationary for long periods. I was watching Rachel Khoo’s Little Paris Kitchen and she made these delightful oeufs en cocotte. The following Saturday I gave them a go, with just a few slight variations from the original recipe (she topped them off with fish roe but I left it out as my caviar taste buds haven’t quite kicked in by 9am).

Oeufs en cocotte (Eggs in a pot)

Ingredients: crème fraîche, nutmeg, dill, 2 eggs per person

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 180 degrees Celsius.
2. Place a teaspoon of crème fraîche in the bottom of a ramekin, crack 2 eggs on top, add a second teaspoon of crème fraîche, pinch of salt, pepper and nutmeg. Repeat!
3. Place the ramekins in a baking dish and pour lukewarm water in to the dish so that it come halfway up the sides.
4. Bake for 15 minutes (the yolk should still be runny).
5. Finish with a sprig of dill and serve with crusty baguette and ham if desired. 

Foxy Bean (Wooloongabba)

Having brunched at its neighbour Pawpaw many times, we thought we’d give Foxy Bean a shot. The cafe was busy and the service friendly and efficient. The menu had all of the usual favourites.

Between us we had the crushed avocado (my sister said the fried manchego accompanying it was super tasty albeit slightly superfluous), bacon and egg toastie on a brioche bun (on the small side but only $10), nicely scrambled eggs and the haloumi, avocado and tomato salsa on sourdough looked the winner. The coffees (Genovese) were nicely made with lots of chocolate on top just how I like my cappuccinos!

Sol Natural Foods (Fortitude Valley)

I was excited to hear this new Sol Breads venture had opened up just down the road. I’ve now been twice and the spacious, industrial style fit out is a welcoming space. The display cabinets are packed with a selection of salads, filled croissants, quiches and sweet treats. For breakfast we re-fueled after a morning jog/walk in the increasingly intense Brisbane morning sun. The eggs were a vivid yellow & maintained the slight fluidity that I like in my scrambled eggs. My sister’s avocado on toast with the addition of fresh tomato was generous and hit the spot. The spiced mince with poached eggs, slightly more hearty but well portioned.

Not just a breakfast spot, they’re open in to the evening as well and I’m keen to return to try their pizzas and organic wine, perhaps along with a spot of trivia! Overall, a welcome food addition to the neighbourhood.

Lazy Loaf

I am a loaf lover. Not the overly processed ones, but lovely home baked, not so sickly-sweet versions. Yes they are essentially cakes without icing, but perhaps the fact that a loaf doesn’t need to be overly sweet makes it my kind of perfect morning or afternoon tea treat. Much like muffins, the flavour combinations are endless, with my mum’s trademark zucchini and hazelnut loaf ranking right up there in my loaf hierarchy. She always has a fresh one baked when we come home and I always bring the leftovers back to Brisbane and freeze them for times when I just need that little bit of home comfort.

You might think from my glowing praise for mum’s loaf that I’m about to share it with you. I should, and one day I will, but today is about something I created recently. A couple of weeks ago I baked a spiced carrot loaf with juicy dates and walnuts. It was lovely and moist and the flavour combination worked a treat; the carrot offset the sweetness of the dates with the walnuts adding that bit of texture I think loaves need.

Ingredients: 1 cup pitted dried dates, 150g unsalted butter, ¾ cup brown sugar, 2 eggs, 1 ½ cups SR flour, ½ teaspoon mixed spice, 1 teaspoon cinnamon, 1 cup rolled oats, 2 large carrots (grated) & 1 ½ cup walnuts (chopped).

NB The butter and eggs should be at room temperature and the brown sugar, firmly packed.

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 180 degrees Celsius. Grease and line loaf pan with baking paper.
2. Place dates in a small bowl and cover with 1 cup of boiling water – stand for 15 minutes, then allow to cool.
3. Place butter and sugar in a bowl and beat with an electric mixer until light and creamy. Add eggs one by one and beat well after each addition.
4. Add flour, mixed spice, cinnamon, oats, carrot and walnuts and stir until combined. Add date mixture and fold until just combined.
5. Spoon into prepared tin. Bake for 60-70 minutes or until a skewer comes out clean.
6. Cool in the pan and turn out on to a wire rack.

My loaf took the full 70 minutes to cook although the recipe suggested 50-60 minutes in the oven so keep an eye on it! Make sure you store it in an airtight container. I was taking mine away and it froze really well. Usually I slice it before I freeze it to make for easy serving. Please excuse the not so great snaps, we may have eaten our way through more than half the loaf before I remembered to take a photo.

Perfect for your next work morning tea, I hope you enjoy!

Lamb & Leftovers

Sometimes in life, the simple things are best and this is absolutely the case when it comes to food. Roasts in particular provide maximum reward for minimal effort. This week I was hit with a craving for roast lamb, so with the addition of some home made mint sauce, creamy polenta and roast vegetables we were happy campers.

With no fancy cooking involved, the flavour boosting points were:

• allowing the lamb to rest after roasting;
• using fresh mint from our “garden” (plus sugar, white wine vinegar & a pinch of salt) for the mint sauce;
• adding plenty of S & P + parmesan to the polenta to make it that little bit more decadent; and
• seasoning the roast vegies with EVOO, S&P and fresh rosemary.

The extra bonus with roasting is that there are often leftovers and we used the remaining lamb & roast vegetables in two ways:

1. Roast lamb, polenta, mint sauce and cheese toastie(!)

2. Roast vegetable frittata.

The toastie is fairly self explanatory, so I will focus on the frittata. There is no need to be exact with the measurements – essentially fill the bottom of a prepared tin with roast vegies, add sautéed silverbeet and top with egg mixture! I’ve given a rough recipe below as a guide but you really can’t go wrong.

Ingredients: roast vegetables (around 3 cups total – sweet potato, eggplant, zucchini, red onion and capsicum), 3 shards of silverbeet, 6 eggs, ½ cup of milk and a handful of parmesan.

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 200 degrees Celsius.
2. Grease and line baking dish – I used a large square cake tin but a slice tin would work well.
3. Sautee silverbeet in olive oil and season well.
4. Spread vegetables over the base of the tin. Top with silverbeet.
5. Whisk eggs, milk, parmesand and season well. Pour mixture over base, making sure it spreads evenly.
6. Bake for 30-40 minutes or until set!

I like it best once it has cooled and firmed up little. Enjoy with a side salad and a dollop of Dijon mustard.

Bri xx