Holidays and the new year

So I need to apologize for being MIA. Christmas and the holidays have been hectic to say the least.
Lucky for me, my family and I are holidaying in Bali. Woah, what a beautiful place. Yesterday we headed up from Seminyak to a beautiful beachside town called Lovina, or in my eyes, paradise. If you ever get a chance to come to Bali I can highly recommend you visit this beautiful town. We have been swimming with the dolphins, ridden a Camel and even went for an Elephant ride.
The food here is amazing,the red snapper is simply incredible.
Surprisingly, Bali is home to some incredible restaurants. Ku de ta and La Lucciolas are the two standouts for me. Definitely worth a visit.
Enough about my holiday I have some exciting new things coming this year.
Like many New Year resolutions im sure, I made a vow of health and fitness. I even joined a boot camp. Ahhhhhh scary stuff!
So in the coming weeks and months you can expect to see lots of great clean recipes and links to work outs etc
I'm aiming to create clean versions of the food I like to indulge in. Having said that, you can expect some good old favorites too.
On that note ill wrap it up and hope you all had a wonderful Christmas and are enjoying the holidays.

Spiked Lemon Curd Ice Cream Sundae

People are always giving me lemons at this time of year, its kind of lucky really, since every attempt at growing our own lemon tree has ended up with a dead tree. Im surprised my children are happy and healthy, I mean, don't they say that you shouldn't get a pet until you can look after a plant? And you shouldn't have children until you can look after a pet?

Anyway, my husband has this theory that if you wee on the lemon tree it will make the lemons grow. He is full of theories that man, did you know, BP petrol makes your car go faster but Shell petrol gets you more mileage *rolls eyes*. 

Well it seems my dear husband has passed on this tradition to our 3 1/2 year old son. Every time we visit my Mum's house, he insists on doing a wee on the lemon tree.

Can you imagine his delight when the last time we went to visit and my Mum handed us a big bag of lemons. Bless his soul, the boy looked super proud of himself. The entire trip home he explained to me how he grew the lemons.

So I guess that is the story of how I ended up with a bazillion lemons. You know what they say, when life gives you lemons, make lemonade.

Well I made lemon curd instead. And then I mixed my lemon curd with some Greek yogurt and cream, spiked it with half a bottle (ok not that much) of lemoncello and put it in the freezer.

The result, to die for lemon curd ice cream.

But I mean why stop there. So I scooped it into a glass, topped with crumbled meringue and topped with more lemon curd. AH MAZE ING

I originally intended to serve this with a raspberry coulis but I couldnt resist more lemon curd. It really is the best.

Anyway, for this recipe, you can use store bought meringues which is what I did.You can also use store bought lemon curd or you can find the recipe I use HERE.

Spiked Lemon Curd Ice Cream Sundae

Ingredients

Ice cream

250mls thickened cream

250 grams full fat plain Greek Yogurt

Lemon Curd from recipe or 2 jars of store bought

60mls Lemoncello (optional) - or more if you like, I know I do

1 lemon

1 packet meringue nests

Directions

1. Lightly whip the cream until soft peaks form. Fold in yogurt and lemon curd (1 jar or half the quanitity of lemon curd recipe) until combined.

2. Slowly pour lemoncello whilst slowly stiring until combined.

3. Pour into a freezer safe container and freeze overnight.

* If you have an ice cream churning, then churn for 10 mins. 

Assemble

Place ice cream in fridge for 10 mins to soften

Layer scoop of ice cream, crumbled meringue and a dollop of lemon curd.

Add more lemoncello if desired

ENJOY!

 

Thermomix Lemon curd

This is the lemon curd recipe I have used since I first made lemon curd in the thermomix. The recipe is from the "Everyday cooking, for every family" cookbook that I got with my Thermomix.
I have adapted the quantities to suit me as I always want alot of lemon curd. It never last long in this house.

Lemon Curd

Ingredients

Juice of 3-4 lemons + rind of one lemon

275 grams raw sugar

250 grams unsalted butter

5 eggs

Directions

1. Weigh 275 grams raw sugar into the tmx bowl and grind Speed 9 for 30 seconds

2. Attach butterfly to the bowl and add remaining ingredients

3. Cook for 14-16 minuets at 80 degrees and speed 3

4. Place into sterilized jars with the lids of until cooled. Once cooled, add the lid and refrigerate.

I cant tell you how long this lasts, because, like I said, they don't last long at all in my house.

Buttermilk waffles with caramelised bananas, whipped cream and milk chocolate

So who doesnt love waffles? Honestly, they may be the best food in the world.
Eat them in the morning and its like eating dessert for breakfast. Except, its perfectly acceptable because waffles are totally a breakfast. Dontcha know.
I was pretty excited when I came across a cheapy waffle maker last week and after a weekend of work christmas parties for my husband, I now had the perfect occasion to whip some up. I mean, what better hang over cure then waffles?
I used buttermilk in this recipe because buttermilk just makes everything better. All fluffy and soft kind of better and, on this occasion, it didn't disappoint.
You can serve these waffles on their own with a bit of ice cream and a drizzle of maple syrup, but if you really want to go all out, I highly recommend you make the caramelised bananas to go with it.

Now if you dont have a waffle maker, my bad. I bet you want one now.

Buttermilk waffles with Caramelised Bananas, whipped cream and milk chocolate

Ingredients
Waffles

340 grams plain flour

2 Tbs raw sugar (castor sugar if not using tmx)

1/2 tsp salt

2 cups buttermilk

50 grams unsalted butter melted

2 eggs

Topping
2 Tbs unsalted butter
2-3 Bananas, sliced
1/4 cup (loosely packed) brown sugar
300 mls whipping cream
200 grams milk chocolate

Directions
1. Place the sugar in thermomix and process for 20 seconds on speed 9
2. Add flour, salt, butter and eggs and process for 30 seconds on speed 6
3. Slowly pour the buttermilk into the tmx bowl whilst processing on speed 5.
4. Scrape down the sides of bowl and process for another 5 seconds on speed 5
5. Heat up waffle maker and spray with oil. Cook in batches

To make the topping
6. Melt butter in a fry pan with brown sugar, add sliced bananas and cook until caramelised (about 2 mins).

7. Pour cream into a bowl and whip until soft peaks form

6. Place milk chocolate chips in a microwave safe container and heat for 30 seconds. Stir and repeat until melted

Assemble

To assemble, pour caramelised bananas over a waffle, dollop some cream and drizzle the milk chocolate

Big Fat Greek Salad

Ok, so let be honest, this isn't really a Greek salad. Not in the traditional sense at least. But it has some of my favourite Greek food ingredients. And, it sounded better then Marinated Octopus, Grilled Haloumi and Pomegranate salad with a tangy yogurt dressing.

Marinated Octopus has to be one of my favourite foods.  My Dad pretty much always had a jar of this in the fridge when we were growing up. And Olives. Mmmmm
I havent come across a jar of marinated octopus at a supermarket for sometime, so when I was shopping the other day and found some, I may or may not have actually squealed a little bit. I know, I totally need to get out more.

Im aware that not everyone is a fan of eating marinated octopus, or seafood for that matter, so if you fall in that category just replace with lamb or chicken.

This is a hearty salad and is definitely fit for a main course. Try it, I think you will love it. If not, send me your marinated octopus =)

Grilled Haloumi, Octopus and Pomegranate Salad

Ingredients

For the Salad

1 Jar (300grams) Marinated Octopus

180 grams Haloumi cheese

150 grams Rocket and Spinach Mix

100 grams sun-dried tomatos

150 grams fetta stuffed bell peppers (can find these in the deli) sliced in half

100 grams your favourite olives

1 tomato cut into wedges

1/2 Pomegranate 

1/2 Lemon

For the dressing

Juice of half a lemon

5 Tbs Natural Greek Yogurt

1/4 tsp Minced Garlic (Optional)

Method

1. Slice haloumi cheese in half so each piece is 1cm thick. Spray pan with oil and grill for 2-3 mins on each side or until golden brown. Once cooked, squeeze half a lemon over the top and slice into bite sized pieces

2. Place washed rocket and spinach in a bowl or plate. Add sundried tomatos, olives, tomato and bell peppers. Sprinkle the pomegranate seeds over the top.

3. Add the marinated octopus and haloumi cheese.

4. In a small bowl, combine the yogurt, lemon and garlic. Dollop over the salad

ENJOY!

*Variation

If using chicken or lamb in place of octopus, coat with lemon juice and sprinkle with dried oregano before cooking.

Instant Summer Slushie less then 10 calories

So yep, I think its official, summer is here. I cant say its not a welcome delight, but sheeez, im not exactly summer ready.
My thighs are bearing the hallmarks of my winter indulgences, and well, its just not a good look.
To make matters worse, im stripping down into my togs in 10 DAYS to get my picture taken. It was a gift, so I cant even get out of it.
So today, Thursday 29th of November marks day 1 of my rather panicked 10 DAY get into shape regime. I let you know how it goes.
Thing is, its 38C right now and all I want to do is munch my way through an extra large slurpee from 7/11. But for over 200 cals per serve, it doesnt quite fit in with my get in shape regime.
So whilst I was sweltering out daydreaming about slurpees, I had this idea to make my own diet slushy/slurpee concoction in the thermomix.
This my friends was the result, and I must say, satisfied those cravings perfectly. And I didnt have to drive anywhere for it. Winning!

You can change the cordial to fruit juice if you are making it for the kids, I promise, they will love it

Instant Summer Slushie - Low Cals

Ingredients

1 cup ice
30mls diet cordial (I used orange and mango)
*you can adjust quantities to suit your taste

Method

Add ice and diet cordial to Thermomix or food processor and blend at top speed for 30 seconds

Scrape down sides and repeat

*Depending on how powerful your food processor is, you may need to repeat this step a few times until you get the right consistency

Chinese Crispy Skin Pork Belly

Maybe I was a little brave trying to cook belly. I mean, my MIL is known for her pork belly.
Until I met my husband, I had never actually tried it, but when I did, boy was I in love.
I've tried making the traditional Filipino version which involves boiling it first, drying out for several hours and then deep frying it, but it was pretty much too much effort for me.
So you can imagine my delight when I came across this version.
I mean sure, you have to prepare it the night before (although you can skip this step and still have great results) but basically, if you can operate an oven, then you can enjoy this simple, tasty succulent pork belly with the most amazing crispy, crackling skin ever.
Best of all, its super super easy.
Enjoy!

Chinese Crispy Skin Pork Belly

Ingredients

For the Pork

1.5kg boneless pork belly (with skin)

2 Tbs sea salt

2 Tbs ground white pepper

2 Tbs Chinese 5-Spice mix

1 Tbs Raw Sugar (Castor Sugar if not using Thermomix)

Dipping Sauce

1 Tbs minced ginger

1 Tbs minced garlic

1 small red chilli (finely chopped)

100mls soy sauce

100 mls vinegar

1. Pierce the skin of the pork with a fork or knife until covered in small holes

2. Place a roasting rack inside a baking dish and lay the pork rind side up on the rack. 

3. Bring a large saucepan of water to the boil. Using a ladle, pour hot water over the skin of the pork several times. Empty the water from the baking dish and place pork back on the rack.

4. Place raw sugar and salt into the thermomix and process on speed 9 for 30 seconds. Add ground white pepper and 5-spice and process for 3 mins, speed 1 Varoma temp.

*If not using a thermomix, place castor sugar, salt, white pepper and 5 spice in a hot wok and cook for 2 mins.

5. Once mixture has cooled, rub 1 Tbs of spice mix into the skin of the pork and rub the remaining mix onto the meat side of the belly. Place a tea towel or cloth over the pork and place in refrigerator over night

6. Preheat oven to 200C. Remove pork from refrigerator and fill the 1/3rd of baking dish with water. *Pork should be rind side up on the wire rack inside the baking dish

7. Roast for 20mins at 200C, then lower temp to 180C and roast for 2 hours. After 2 hours, turn heat back up to 200C and cook for a further 15mins

9. Remove from oven and rest pork for 15mins.

Dipping sauce

10. Place soy sauce, vinegar, chilli, garlic and ginger in a small bowl and stir. Adjust amounts to suit your tastes

*Serve with white rice