Squid salad with roast eggplant, baby carrots and rice wine vinagrette

{squid salad}

Whenever we make the trip out to the Pyrmont fish markets, we're never disappointed. There's always taste testing and various specials on really fresh seafood. Sometimes I buy salmon, kingfish and tuna sashimi thinly sliced so I can make lots of nigiri (my favorite). This time we picked up a few hoods of Australian squid, as well as the freshest Aussie tiger prawns they had.

This recipe was inspired by all the eggplant and baby carrots we found on special at the fruit and veg store. You can use whatever salad ingredients you have in your fridge. Cherry tomatoes, cucumber, roast zucchini or capsicum would also go really well.

Squid Salad

1 large squid hood, cleaned
1/4 cup plain flour
1 tablespoon chilli flakes
pinch of salt & black pepper
Oil for frying

1 medium eggplant, sliced thinly
10 baby carrots
salad greens (I used baby spinach and rocket)

Vinaigrette
juice of 1 large lemon
2 tablespoons rice wine vinegar
2 tablespoons olive oil
salt

Heat oven to med-hot. Rub salt and olive oil into the eggplant, and place on a baking tray. Bake for 15-20 minutes, turning once.

Blanch carrots in boiling water for about 5 minutes until slightly tender but still bright orange.

Fill a supermarket fruit and veg bag with the flour, chilli flakes and S&P. Open up the squid tube by slicing length ways. Score the inside of the tube so it's all criss-crossy, then chop into pieces 1 by 2 inches. Put all the pieces in the bag and give it a good shake to coat.

Heat oil in a frying pan so it's nice and hot, and lay out the squid pieces (but don't overcrowd them). After about 3 minutes the pieces should be browned on one side, so turn them over. When the other side is brown, remove from the pan and place on a plate lined with paper towel.

For the vinaigrette, put all ingredients into a jar and shake well.

Assemble greens, eggplant, carrots, squid in a nice salad bowl, pour over the vinaigrette and enjoy!

Makes dinner for two big eaters!
Takes 30 mins
Cost $10

The most amazing chocolate chip cookies ever.

{cookies}

These cookies are devine... They are everything I love in a cookie. Soft, melt-in-your-mouth, with nutty chunks and lots of chocolatey goodness.

1/2 cup butter
2 tbsp peanut butter
1 cup sugar (I use 3/4 brown sugar and 1/4 white for a more caramely taste)
1 egg
splash of a good vanilla essence
1 and 3/4 cup of plain flour (you can make part of this psyllium husk or wheat germ for a bit more texture)
good pinch of salt and baking powder
1/2 cup walnut pieces
1/2 cup milk chocolate chips (or more if you want it more chocolatey - who doesnt?!)

Preheat oven to hot (around 250 degrees).
Melt the butter and peanut butter so its nice and soft (I just pop it in the microwave if I dont have time), add the sugars and mix well with a hand-held beater. Add the egg and vanilla and beat for 5 minutes, or longer, until pale and fluffy.
Add flours and salt and baking powder, and with a wooden spoon, stir until just combined.
Mix in the walnuts and chocolate chips.
Scoop out about a tablespoon's worth of the cookie dough and place onto a tray lined with baking paper. If you want them to be pretty, shape into balls, and make sure there are choc chips on top. Repeat with the rest of the dough.

{ready to go}

This bit's the most important: Place the tray in your oven on the top shelf, and keep an eye on it. When the cookies become a little browned (mine takes about 8 mins), remove, place on the middle shelf, and put your next tray on the top shelf. Continue to watch them, and pull the first batch out when they are thoroughly browned, but not too dark. They will still be really very soft (its molten sugar and butter) so wait for them to cool, and in time they will harden up enough for you to cool on a rack, or just leave them to cool on the tray (or you could eat it warm with a bit of icecream - YUM!)

When cool, carefully place in a container. Or wrap them up in cellophane, tie a bow at the top and give to friends!

{presents!}

Marshmallow and Caramel Slice

{marshmallow and caramel slice}

I was craving something deliciously rich and marshmallowy so I searched around the web for a marshmallow slice. None of the recipes I found were exactly what I wanted, so I did a bit of a combo and came up with this little beauty...

The trick with the marshmallow is to keep on beating it with your hand mixer even when you lose all hope its going to fluff up. Even better if you have one of those stand alone mixers.

This makes about 30 big slices.

Biscuit layer

4 Weetbix (or plain biscuits), crushed

1 cup dessicated coconut

3/4 cup brown sugar

1 cup SR flour

salt

1/2 cup butter

1 egg, whisked

Mix dry ingredients together. Add butter, then egg and mix to combine. Press into slice tray lined with baking paper. Bake for 15 min in a moderate oven (or until browned).

Caramel Layer

2 cans condensed milk

tsp butter, melted

2 tbsp maple syrup (or brown sugar)

In microwave safe bowl, add all ingredients, mix around with a fork and microwave on high for 1 min. Pour over Biscuit Layer and bake until just golden.

Marshmallow Layer

1.5 cups boiling water

1.5 tbsp agar agar* (or gelatine)

3 cups caster sugar

vanilla essence

While the slice is cooling, make the marshmallow.

Disolve agar agar in the water. Add the sugar and beat with your mixer until it triples in size. Add vanilla essence.

Pour the marshmallow over the slice and refrigerate until set (about 1 hour).

{slicing the slice}

* vegetarian substitute for gelatine. You can get it in your asian supermarket.