The inspiration for his salad came from a girls night out last weekend. A girlfriend and I went to the Sydney Opera House to see Stephen Hawking speak and went to a great little Italian restaurant beforehand. My little man loves lentils and he is a huge fan of goats cheese so I thought of…
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This is my version of a recipe that I have made many time from the Vanilla Bean Blog. I have simplified the recipe significantly, but the idea is the same and they are equally as delicious. I use store-bought puff pastry to speed things up, rather than use the homemade honey spelt pastry in the original recipe (which is…
I love to make my own pastry and when I came across this recipe in one of my favourite cookbooks I couldn’t wait to try it out. It is very simple and sugar-free. I have added a little orange blossom water because the combination of that with the strawberries is heavenly.
The only sugar in these jam filled ricotta pastries comes from the strawberry jam filling which adds a lovely sweetness, but if you were after an even healthier option, you could use fresh fruit in place of the jam or possibly a sugar-free chia jam? Both would work well.
Not really looking for a healthy treat! What about adding a few square of good quality dark chocolate instead? Yum…
They are best serve on the day of making but an option would be to make the pastry a day or so in advance and keep it in the fridge until you are ready to roll out and bake on the day.
These jam filled ricotta pasties are based on one of my favourite cookbooks called Twelve by Tessa Kiros – a Tuscan cookbook. I have made so many of the recipes and they all work out well.
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200 g (7oz) butter; softened
300 g (10 1/2oz) fresh ricotta cheese
300 g (10 1/2oz) plain all purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon vanilla essence
1 tablespoon orange blossom water
pinch of salt
Strawberry jam
*optional – icing sugar to dust on top
Add the butter and ricotta to a bowl and mix with a wooden spoon until combined. Add the sifted flour, baking powder, vanilla essence, orange blossom water and a pinch of salt. Tip out onto a bench and knead together with your hands until the mixture comes together into a soft ball of pastry. (If not wanting to do it by hand, I have made this recipe in my Kitchenaid with a dough hook attached, it works out perfectly)
Cover dough with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 30-60 minutes.
Pre-heat oven to 180 C/350 F. Roll out pastry with a rolling pin on a lightly floured surface, to a thickness of about 3mm, and into 10cm (4inch) squares.
Put a heaped teaspoon of strawberry jam in the middle of each square and pinch the opposite ends together with a little water.
Line an oven tray with baking paper and bake for about 20-30 minutes, or until golden brown. Serve warm or cold, and dust with icing sugar if using.
If the pastry feel a little wet just give the bench and your hands a good dust before rolling out it out.
Why not alternate the flavours and try strawberry jam, apricot jam, fresh fruit or even chocolate. It’s a great excuse to try all the flavours 🙂 Adapted from Twelve – a Tuscan cookbook by Tessa Kiros
Now that Big H is 10 months old it won’t be long before he is eating dinner with the family (no separate kids meals for us!). So as often as I can I like to give Big H what we are having for dinner – only puréed.
It has been a challenge to avoid adding salt/sugar to recipes and instead substituting with fruits and other ingredients to add sweetness or saltines.
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1 duck breast
2 figs
1 large potato
balsamic vinegar
5 dates
pinch of bi-carb soda
Tiny splash dry sherry (optional)
1/2 cup of water
3 duck breast
6 figs
balsamic vinegar
10 dates
pinch of bi-carb soda
Splash dry sherry (optional)
3/4 cup of water
I removed the fat from the duck and chopped it into pieces before adding to the steamer basket along with the potato. Depending on what type of steamer you have, you could steam the duck breast as a whole. Steam for approximately 15 minutes or until cooked through.
Once cooked add duck and potato to the blender along with the cooked figs (see below) and two teaspoons of the date sauce.
Chop dates and add to a saucepan. Add water and bring to the boil. Remove from of the heat and add bi-carb soda. Stir until dates start to breakdown. Allow to cool a little and add dry sherry and extra water if the consistency is too thick. Pass through a sieve.
Chop the figs in half and add to a baking dish. Drizzle with balsamic vinegar and grill for approx. 5 minutes. You want them to be tender but still holding their shape
Use a sharp knife to score the skin of the duck breasts (without slicing all the way into the flesh)
If using a sous vide – vacuum breast and cook for 40 minutes at 64 degrees C (147 degrees F). Once cooked sear the breast in a frying pan skin-side down over medium-high heat to render the fat. Allow to rest
Alternatively – Heat a little oil in a frying pan over medium-high heat. Sear the duck, skin-side down, for 7 minutes reduce the heat to medium-low after 3 minutes. Turn the breasts over and place the pan in the oven for a further 5 minutes. Transfer to a plate and let rest for 5 minutes.
While the duck in resting place figs in the oven.
Slice duck and add to a serving plate along with the figs. Drizzle some of the remaining balsamic from the fig pan and top with the date sauce.
This post has been a long time coming. I usually have 3 or 4 recipes ready to go but I have had a number of flops recently and have become a little over it! First there was my lemony asparagus pasta that I make often but turned to mush on this occasion. Then I attempted a…
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We eat a lot of fruit in our house. The little dude just loves it, so I always like to mix things up a little. This fruit salad has a lovely orange vanilla glaze drizzled over the top, then I added a dollop of my homemade mascarpone and some toasted almonds. It would make a…
I’m super excited to be part of the healthy kids community this week on Instagram. My recipe is this mini egg-free quiche. It’s really simple to make and great for babies and toddlers that have allergic reactions to eggs. To replace the eggs I have used tofu. Not a tofu fan either? Don’t worry, once…
This is such as a simple salad and could be made with any tomatoes, but these gorgeous heirloom tomatoes were just too beautiful to walk past. As you are all probably aware, I make a lot of dishes with tomatoes! I know H is going to love it and I get so much joy watching him enjoying good food. This salad was no exception. H was ready in his high chair while I was getting the other dishes on the table, and like most nights he likes to serve the salad or vegetable dish. Unfortunate for us (myself and my mum) he had eaten a quarter of the salad and had taken a bite out of all the tomatoes that remained by the time we sat down, and all of the blueberries were gone – it’s a good thing he’s cute!
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Heirloom Tomatoes in a variety of colours and shapes
1 large Buffalo Mozerella
Handful of blueberries
A few parsley leaves; finely chopped
2 tablespoons olive oil
Juice of half a lemon
Salt and pepper to taste
Thickly slice the tomatoes and arrange on a platter. Tear mozzarella in half; place on top of salad. Scatter with blueberries and the chopped parsley.
For the dressing, combine all ingredients; taste and adjust if necessary. Lightly coat the salad and serve
I have been a little sweet potato mad lately – but it has to be roasted. Something really magical happens when veggies are roasted and I can’t get enough of them. H on the other hand has decided he likes everything served raw. Now I’m not complaining. He will happily sit down and eat…
This is a great cake to get the kids involved. All ingredients go into the one bowl, mix, bake and you’re done. Simple but truly delicious.
I’ve added some fresh rhubarb, one of my favourite ingredients – It reminds me of my dad. He used to grow it in the backyard and would always cook some for me when I went home. We would have it with ice-cream or custard. In this recipe it gives it a bit of a tang.
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3/4 cup natural yoghurt (or use you favourite fruit yoghurt and use only 3/4 cup sugar)
1/2 cup oil
1 cup sugar
1 1/2 cups self raising flour
2 eggs
pinch of salt
2 handfuls of white chocolate chips
1 bunch rhubarb
Pre-heat oven to 180 degrees C (350 degrees F)
Combine all ingredients in a large bowl (excluding the rhubarb), stir with a wooden spoon until thoroughly combined
Grease your cake pan, either individual like I’ve used, or a single loaf tin
Add half the batter to the tin and then add a few pieces of rhubarb. Add another layer of batter and then a single piece of rhubarb on top
Bake for 25 minutes. (If using a single loaf tin, baking time can increase up to 45 min depending on the thickness of the mixture). Test by inserting a skewer into the centre. If it come out clean its ready
Turn out onto a cake-cooling tray; best serve warm
Suitable for children 12 months plus, due to the sugar
These little cakes freeze really well. Simply let defrost on the bench before serving.
I would love to experiment a little and make this recipe with a sugar substitute. Any ideas?
What a treat these mini chocolate meringues are! They are not something I would offer my toddler regularly but they are a nice little treat, and would be great for special occasions such as birthday parties or at Christmas.
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2 egg whites
1/2 cup caster sugar
2 teaspoon cocoa powder + a little extra for dusting
(dark chocolate for dusting – optional)
Preheat oven to 160 degrees C (320 degrees F). Place the egg whites in a clean dry bowl. Whisk with an electric mixture until soft peaks are formed. Then gradually add the sugar and 1 teaspoon of the cocoa powder while you continue whisking until stiff peaks are formed (about 10 minutes). The sugar should be incorporated and the mixture should appear nice and glossy. Fold through the remaining teaspoon of cocoa powder to create a bit of a swirl
Line a baking tray with baking paper. Using a spoon and your finger, take a spoonful of the mixture and push it off onto the tray with you finger and shape it into a rough ball. Dust with the extra cocoa powder and grate a little of the dark chocolate on top if using
Bake for 20 – 25 minutes. They should be crispy on the outside and cracks should be visible
Makes about 6 – 8 mini meringues. Double the recipe if you would like more
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