Update...more than 12 months on

It has been quite a log time since I have posted anything on this site - and no one is probably checking any longer! But Lani, I know you have been asking a lot about it - sorry about the delay!

I found that the blog was consuming all my thoughts and so I needed a bit of a break. Also, I recently realised that my stopping the blog coincided with when Mark and I became very serious about having a baby (which became all consuming and was very stressful), and also when we bought our two gorgeous dogs - Georgie and Daisy (who now take up a bit of our time).

Well, I am now (finally, after IVF) almost 18 weeks pregnant (YAY!!) and have been wanting to get back into the blog again.

I have made a few interesting recipes lately - strawberry, prawn and haloumi salad - tomato and caper salad (just to name a couple) - and also want to buy an ice cream maker so I can experiment with different ice cream flavours.

So, I am hoping to start posting recipes again more regularly very soon. Scott and Amber are coming over on Saturday night so I'll try and start with my menu for that dinner...I suspect it may involve a souffle.

Crusted BBQ Fish

We recently had barramundi cooked over an open flame BBQ with some friends that was absolutely delicious. I had been wanting to recreate that meal at home, but decided to add some spices from my extensive collection.

I was not disappointed. The BBQ adds such a deliciously smoky flavour and the spices created a crust that became beautifully blackened and crunchy. The mango and avocado salad was the perfect accompaniment.

We also had a few scallops cooked on the BBQ with this one - a lovely Sunday night meal...

Ingredients (serves 2)

1 teaspoon amchur powder

1/2 tablespoon ground cumin

1/2 tablespoon ground coriander

1/2 tablespoon ginger

Salt and pepper

2 firm white fish fillets

Method

Combine the spices in a small bowl. Sprinkle over the fish. BBQ the fish over high heat for a few minutes each side until cooked through. Serve immediately.

Mango and Avocado Salad

I know, I have not been posting regularly. I apologise to anyone (maybe there is at least one...?) who has been checking regularly hoping for new posts. We have been very busy lately. This time last year we were in the midst of planning our own wedding and attending lots of friends' weddings. We thought this year would be quieter...we were wrong! Now we're in the midst of 30ths, our 1st wedding anniversary, baby showers and so on. But we're having a lot of fun.

Now back to food. I have always had an aversion to salads with fruit in them. I have no idea why, other than that for some reason it seemed wrong to me. Mum used to make an avocado and mango salad that I never really liked. Turns out, that it was me who was wrong.

I think this salad is a new favourite of mine! It is so fresh and light - just delicious! It went beautifully with the Crusted BBQ Fish.

Ingredients (serves 2)

75g baby rocket

1 avocado diced

1 mango diced

Zest of 1 lime and the juice of 2 limes

2 tablespoons olive oil

Salt and pepper

Finely chopped mint to taste

Method

Just before serving, combine all ingredients in a bowl and toss well.

Rich and Decadent Chocolate Cake

I am quite intrigued by devising baking recipes. This is because baking is much more of a precise science than I am used to with the rest of my cooking. Normally, I just throw things in and hope for the best. But with baking you have to use precise measurements and add the right ingredients to allow, for example, the cake to rise, or be moist enough, etc etc.

But I decided to have a go. And I was quite pleased with this one.

I wanted to create a rich, but light in texture, dessert cake. It was probably not exactly as I imagined, but lovely all the same.

Ingredients

200g butter

300g dark chocolate

6 eggs, 5 separated, and one extra

4 tablespoons caster sugar

1/2 cup self raising flour

3 tablespoons cocoa powder

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 cup almond meal

Creme fraiche and raspberries to serve

Method

Preheat the oven to 160 degrees. Grease and line a 20cm spring form tin.

Place the butter and chocolate in a heatproof bowl over a saucepan of boiling water and heat until melted (don't let the bowl touch the water). Allow to cool slightly and then whisk in the egg yolks, extra egg, 2 tablespoons sugar, flour, cocoa, baking powder and almond meal.

Meanwhile, beat the egg whites until soft. Beat in remaining sugar until firm peaks form.

Fold the egg whites through the chocolate mixture (it is easiest to fold through half to loosen the mixture and then fold through the rest).

Bake for approximately 30-40 minutes until still moist in the middle. Serve with creme fraiche and raspberries.