Brownies with Coconut and Walnuts

In the quest for a quick and egg-less baked good to take to a friend’s lunch, I was put on to this delectable brownie recipe. I made it for a second time today, and took out the ‘chewy’ component (Rolos – which are also amaze to use) of the original recipe and replaced them with walnuts.

The brownies are very easy to make, and sure to win over crowds wherever they make an appearance.

I thought this would be a good first recipe to blog as part of my new year’s resolution to blog a whole lot more in 2012!

Quesadillas with Black Beans and Avocado Salsa

There isn’t an abundance of tasty vegetarian friendly mexican food to be found in Melbourne. The few exceptions being Mamasita (provided you can get a seat)  for amazing corn on the cob and Trippy Taco for their smoky Tofu Asada tacos. So I thought that instead of trying to find spicy mexican fare in a restaurant, I would have a crack at creating it at home instead.

My man Ottolenghi delivered once again with this excellent recipe from his cookbook Plenty. These quesadillas were relatively easy to make, the most time-consuming step being cooking the black beans. You can adjust the spice level by reducing/increasing the amount of chilli or have a handy bottle of hot sauce nearby to add that extra kick (the El Yucateco Green Habanero Sauce is my fave!)

The balance of the fresh salsa and the melted cheese and sour cream made these quesadillas a brilliant start to my mexican cooking adventure.

Zucchini and Parmesan Soup

As the temperature drops and the skies darken at an earlier hour there is nothing more comforting than a bowl of creamy soup to nurse while watching some good Sunday night TV.

This recipe was in yesterday’s The Age Good Weekend liftout. I usually cut out interesting recipes from the weekend papers and file them away, but I was able to put this one to good use the very next day.

I substituted evaporated milk for cream, and vegetarian stock for the chicken stock, but retained the simplicity of the rest of the original recipe. I even resisted the urge to add chilli and was more than happy with just a generous grind of pepper.

The garlic infuses the delicate zucchini wonderfully, and the butter adds a decadent flourish at the end.

Definitely a soup I will be revisiting again.

Layered Bean Dip

One of our family friends has been making this dip for years and when I hosted a BBQ last weekend, I knew i had to get the recipe off her and make it – pronto! The photo doesn’t really do this dip justice as all the goodness is hidden beneath the cheesy surface.

The only (minimal) work required is in the prep of the various ingredients, leaving you to assemble the layers in a matter of minutes.

The creaminess of the sour cream and avocado goes really well with the crunch of the capsicum and spring onion, making it a sure-fire hit at your next party.

Coriander Ravioli with Pumpkin and Ricotta Filling

I’m not going to make any excuses for my prolonged absence from the interwebs and instead I’ll launch immediately into this delightful recipe. Yay.

My friend Emma from work (who provides me with many delicious recipes) took the time to type this one out for me by hand from her book The Cook’s Encyclopedia of Vegetarian Cooking by Linda Fraser. As soon it landed in my inbox I knew I had to try it. As per her suggestion I’ve left out the sun-dried tomato that was in the original recipe, and served it with a spicy red chilli and pinenut oil dressing of my own creation.

It is good to be back =)

Sticky Date Pudding

This is one of my all-time favourite desserts – I absolutely love the combination of the moist date cake drenched in warm butterscotch sauce.  I’ve always adored the sticky date pudding you can get at the Melbourne Supper Club, and while this doesn’t quite compare to the bar’s lofty standards, it was still a worthwhile effort for a home experiment.

I found the recipe on www.taste.com.au and followed the suggestion of baking the pudding in muffin tins so it came out in individual serves. I found that easier to serve when entertaining my dinner guests, and overall I think the dessert went down quite a treat.

I have to thank my cousin for taking the mouth-watering picture, sure does look good doesn’t it?

Indian Spiced Potato Loaf

There’s nothing quite like the smell of bread baking fresh in the oven, the aroma wafting through the kitchen and overtaking the whole house. I found this recipe in the book Bread: Breads of the world and how to bake them at home and i’ve made it countless times and it has never failed to deliver a deliciously spicy loaf. Making bread from scratch requires a generous dose of patience, with all that kneading and waiting for the dough to rise, but the end result is all the more rewarding for it.

I used a mixture of plain white flour and ’00′ italian bread flour but feel free to use just the plain white flour.

As the bread is loaded with potatoes and spices I find it’s best served on its own – lightly toasted , with just a smear of butter.

Antipasto Pizza

Making homemade pizza is a great chance to be creative, and use up ingredients in your pantry and fridge. I love nibbling on delicious morsels on an antipasto platter, and when combined on a pizza base they turn into a cohesive, yummy whole. Most of the toppings are out of a jar – which really cuts down on prep time. The only real bit of cooking (apart from baking the pizza) is sauteing the eggplant in harissa paste to tenderise the eggplant and add a chilli kick to the pizza. In keeping with the antipasto theme you could also add roasted red capsicum or kalamata olives.

The pizza dough recipe was from Yotam Ottolenghi’s Plenty cookbook, and I have to say it produced the best pizza base I’ve ever made. I used a pizza stone as I’ve found they help to ensure you get a crisp base, but a normal baking tray would also be fine.

Makes 3 large pizzas.

Spicy Hummus

I’ve had a jar of tahini (sesame seed paste)  in my pantry for quite awhile, and last week i finally got around to using it to make some delicious hummus. This was my first attempt at ever making it and I was surprised at how quick and easy the whole process was. The taste of homemade hummus is infinitely better than the store-bought stuff, so it’s really worth giving a shot. You are most likely going to have all of the ingredients in your kitchen already, except for the actual tahini paste – but if you stock up on that it keeps for ages.

This hummus has quite a strong flavour, that’s punctuated by the chilli flakes and garlic.I love eating hummus as a dip with warm pita bread, but my favourite way to eat this was for breakfast slathered on multigrain toast, topped with avocado. Absolutely delectable.

Amazing Chocolate Chip Cookies

I’m not much of a baker, and I tend to stay away from baking sweet goods, but these cookies are way too easy and awesome to not give a go. I made them on a lazy Sunday with my friend Ruba, and I have to thank her for introducing me to this delicious recipe (although I don’t want to thank her too much as they are too damn addictive).

It’s a recipe slightly modified from 101 Cookbooks (and originally sourced from David Lebovitz’s Great Book of Chocolate). Based on Ruba’s experience in making these cookies countless times we decided to halve the quantity of sugar in the batch we made today, as the original recipe can cause a bit of sugar overload.

These cookies are wonderfully nutty and I think best enjoyed  still slightly warm from the oven, when the chocolate is warm and gooey.