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

Bliss Balls

{blissed out}

These little truffles are so easy to make and make a good after dinner treat. And you know that blah feeling you get after downing half a block of cadbury? None of that here. All natural, vegan and so yum...

1 cup shredded coconut
7 dried dates chopped finely
1/3 cup walnuts chopped finely (i just use a mortar and pestle)
3 tablespoons tahini
2 tablespoons peanut butter
2 tablespoons honey
2 tablespoons cocoa powder + more to coat
1 tablespoon brown sugar

You can substitute the walnuts with any other crushed nuts, and almond meal is a good addition. Sesame seeds would also go well in these. I added a bit of brown sugar because I love the taste, but you can replace with more honey or whatever you like best.

Combine all ingredients in a bowl and mix well. If its too runny, add more dry ingredients like coconut and if its not moist enough then add more honey or tahini or even a bit of water.

Roll into little balls and then roll in extra cocoa powder. Allow to set on a plate in the fridge for 30 mins. Store in a container in the freezer for a yummy treat whenever.

Makes about 30
Takes 30 mins
Cost around $5

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!}

Pizza with Italianos'

Excitement was building as we were approaching 5 pm Friday after a long week in the office, when plans for our beachside BBQ that evening were suddenly put off due to a thunderstorm warning. We were to have a farewell BBQ by Bondi Beach for a friend, R, who was scheduled to go back to Italy on Sunday. The evening's events were suddenly shifted to my tiny but very warm and cozy apartment a few beaches down the coast. All good except the apartment was an absolute mess, and we had no food in the house! Luckily, T was at home, so he could get onto the mess and pick up a few ingredients. So the frantic menu planning began.

What to cook for a bunch of Italian and Aussie friends on such short notice? I decided on a selection of dips and quesadillas with guacamole (recipe to come), and some home cooked pizza. T suggested we could take the easy option and just order in, but it didnt feel right to serve Italians their native dish out of a box. So home cooked it was. Since we needed to make it veggie and meat lover friendly, two pizzas were on the menu: feta and roasted butternut pumpkin pizza with pine nuts, and prosciutto and ricotta pizza.

I left the office as soon as I could, and I spent the bus ride going through my mental list of things to do before everyone arrived, so when I got home I jumped straight into it.

Pizza Ingredients

Dough*: Theres nothing better than a fresh, crispy yet soft and chewy, base for your pizza. I just pop the dough ingredients into our rickety old $4-from-a-garage-sale bread maker and it does the job nicely, or you can do it by hand. Check out this recipe. When the dough has risen enough, roll it out onto your pizza pan and bake until just crispy. Now its ready for toppings to be added.

* I've also seen some pretty decent ready made bases at the supermarket.

Caramelised onions: Thinly slice 5 brown onions into half-moons, and fry in a hot fry pan with a bit of oil. Turn it down to med-low when the onions become translucent and fragrant, add about a tablespoon of brown sugar and continue to cook, stirring for about 15 minutes.

Roasted Butternut Pumpkin: Peel and chop the pumpkin into inch sized cubes and put into a banking dish. Rub salt and olive oil into them well and bake until soft and golden

Garlicky Mushrooms: Thickly slice about a kilo of your favorite mushrooms, and put them in a fry pan. Coat them in olive oil, and cook for about 5 minutes, stirring so they don't burn. You may need to add more olive oil if they look dry. When they have softened up a bit add your crushed, roughly chopped garlic, and cook for another 5 to 10 minutes on medium until the garlic is browned.

*I use a small to medium sized bulb (mushrooms looove garlic!), divide into cloves, crush with the side of a knife, pull the skin off and any hard bits, and chop.

Other toppings: The rest of the ingredients need no further prep than picking them up at the supermarket or deli - pesto, ricotta or feta, greens (i used rocket and baby spinach), pine nuts, and some lovely sliced prosciutto from our local deli.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Everyone arrived, bringing with them some delicious bottles of vino and warm cheery vibes despite the developing storm outside. All the ingredients were ready and waiting to be added to the pizzas. We snacked on the dips and quesidellas, and tasted the selection of wines while we chatted the night away. When everyone was ready for the pizzas, I quickly put it all together and popped it in the oven - so much better than takeaway!

Each pizza had a base coated with pesto, and then a layer of caramelised onion and garlicky mushrooms. A scattering of the greens, then the pumpin or procciutto. I found the butternut pumpkin needed the salty bite of the feta, while the prosciutto pared well with the mild creaminess in the dollops of ricotta. You could assemble these these ingredients in any combination you like. Just make sure you drizzle a good balsamic over your slice... Bellissimo!!

 {Leftover pizza}

Hiding in and staying dry from the awful weather outside we listened with full bellies to the talented muso's among us play us some tunes and conversation went well into the early hours of the morning.

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.