How To Make Labneh

Some days are not magic. Some days you will wake up sure that your jeans have mysteriously shrunk at least one size, your brioche bread will not rise properly, you will look at the clock at least five times every hour, only to find that time has decided to slow down at work today. Some days you will have a headache, you will eat too much chocolate at work, and all the coffee in the world could not wake you up. Some days you will realise you have made a dreadful mistake dyeing your hair brown and decide to cheer yourself up by spending way too much money on goats cheese, smoked chicken and heirloom tomatoes, making you afraid to look at your bank account. 
Today was one of those days, where the mundane ho hum of life took over all the magic. Everyone has these days. Looking ahead at my nine day work week to come I have been thinking long and hard about what things keep us afloat in life when we are feeling a little flat. What are the beautiful things that keep us with a cheeky smile on our face and the will to push through a long eight hour day of rolling bread dough and organising functions? 

The thing I've been learning lately is that life doesn't always just feel great on its own, and no amount of coffee, wine or chocolate can fix a thing. I think its so important to keep inspired creatively when things are starting to feel a little gloomy. This week coming I've been setting myself some little goals to pull myself though the work week. I've been very inspired by the book 'Homeward Bound', which is about women feeling empowered to learn new skills and promoting more environmental awareness in the home. It makes me want to run outside and plant a garden, start a home business, and learn how to forage for mushrooms and wild herbs. These things aren't super practical for my life at the moment however; so I'm starting small, with a project of making some home made labneh.

For those of you who don't know Labneh, it is a strained yoghurt. It'

s a little like a cheese, and seems to be popping up all over the city on breakfast menus. It can be made sweet to serve with muesli or savoury to serve with bread. I thought I'd give the sweet version a go so that I could eat it as a cheering breakfast before I trundle off to the city at 5am.

The best thing that I've learnt from all of this is, the more creative and inspired I push myself to be, the more inspired I get. One thing leads on to another good thing and before you know it long days at work don't matter too much and you're glad you spend too much money on heirloom tomatoes so you can cook your boyfriend a beautiful dinner. You can put a ribbon in your brown hair to cheer it up. You can be thankful you have a job to go to at all, and you can enjoy the naughty amounts of chocolate you ate that day, and if your jeans feel too tight, you can buy new ones. You can put on some music and be glad you're alive, and feel happy to be the sort of person who wants to be inspired on a daily level.

Sweet Labneh


You will need:

• 500g of yoghurt
• 3 tbs sugar
• 1 tsp vanilla bean paste
• One small piece of muslin cloth
• Kitchen string
• A large bowl 
• A colander

What to do:

• Mix together the yoghurt sugar and vanilla.
• Give your muslin cloth a wash and place it in the colander.
• Pour the yoghurt mixture into the middle of the cloth.
• Gather together the edges of the cloth so that the yoghurt forms a small ball. 
• Wrap the string around the fabric at the top of the ball of yoghurt and tie a knot.
• 
  Place the colander over the top of a large bowl so that all the liquid can drain out of the yoghurt and into the bowl. 
• Place a plate and something a little bit heavy (such as a can) on top of the little parcel to add some extra pressure.
• Place in the fridge and leave to drain for 24 hours.
• Once the majority of the liquid had drained from the yoghurt you can remove it from the cloth to find a little bundle of labneh!
• Serve on top of granola with poached fruit and it will be truly wonderful.  

Home Made Olive and Rosemary Bread

"What should I wear?" This is a question all girls ask themselves when they have a date. My main question however is "What should we eat?" Just as the perfect outfit says something about your personal style, your life, your choices, and who you are so does the food you make. Im insanely superstitious about the first meal I cook for a boy. Firstly I want to know what kind of message the meal will it send. You can't go all out and cook a roast on a first date....its much too serious, and to settled. Fish is weird for a first meal, don't ask me why, it just it (with the exception of cured fish....thats romantic.) Chicken is boring. Red meat is usually pretty safe. Its warm, and sort of sexy. If the man is vegetarian however you are really going to run into trouble there. Im all for home made breads and pastas but only if you really like the boy. You don't want to be spending hours kneading and proving a beautiful loaf of bread, to go and waste it on a fling.

The meal needs to be romantic (of course), interesting, and in some way a little hint of how you might feel for that person. In saying this though, you cant go all out. Serving a boy a seven course degustation meal pared with wines in the same as turning up to a casual date in a prom dress.....just a wee bit too much. On the other extreme, if you don't put in effort it would be the same as turning up in track pants and a jumper (which lets be honest, I couldn't do as I don't own either.)

Another awful mistake would be to cook a meal for a boy that you have cooked for an old flame. Its like taking him to a special place you had with an ex. It just feels weird. New memories must be made.

I know this all sounds terribly complicated, but in reality its one of my favourite parts of the start of a relationship. When recently talking to a friend about their desire to meet a man one of their main reasonings for needing a relationship was so that they would have someone to go to brunch with. In the same way I feel there is nothing quite so beautiful as cooking a meal for someone.

Whatever you decide to cook for your gentleman or lady caller, I firmly believe that making home made bread is one of the most romantic things to cook, even if its just for yourself. Today I made myself a beautiful loaf of bread to eat for my breakfast in the morning and share with my housemate. I always fall a little bit in love with the process of watching it rise and grow into something truly beautiful.

This olive bread recipe Im giving you today is quite stunning. I was so very pleased with the way it turned out and its pretty simple to make. I know some people find bread making intimidating, but really its not. The main thing is to make sure you have plenty of time. I usually make bread when I know I'll be home all day, that way if it takes longer to rise then I expected, it doesn't matter. Don't rush the bread. Just let it do it thing. Remember that yeast is a living organism and be prepared to let it do its thing....however fast of slow it may decide to be that day.

 Olive and Rosemary Bread

You will need:

• 600g of strong (or bakers) flour
• 400g of wholemeal flour
• Big splash of olive oil
• 7g dried yeast
• 1tsp of honey
• 625ml of warm water (not hot) 
• Large pinch of salt
• Cracked pepper to taste
• 3 tbs of dried rosemary
• 1 large handful of pitted olives that have been cut up. 
• Semolina for dusting.

What to do:

• Mix together yeast, half the water and honey. Set aside until it has bubbled.
• In a separate bowl mix together flour, salt, olives, pepper and rosemary. Make a well in the middle of the mixture and add oil, yeast mix and the remaining oil. 
• Mix together until a dough forms and then place on a floured bench. 
• Knead the dough for 10 to 15 minutes. This is really good for your arms (builds great muscles) and my favourite time to think.
• Place the dough in an oiled bowl and cover with a damp tea towel. Place in a warm spot and allow to rise until doubled in size. 
• Knock back the dough and then shape into whatever shape you want the bread to be. I usually make a large oval shape. Place loaf onto a large tray dusted with semolina.
• Allow the loaf to rise once more until it is doubled in size.
• While it is rising preheat your oven to its highest temperature with a flat tray inside. 
• Once your bread is all lovely and big, very very gently transfer the loaf onto the hot tray and slash it with a knife a few times across the top to make 3 or 4 deep incisions. This helps the loaf to cook evenly, but also just looks damn pretty.
• Place the loaf in the oven (do this so carefully so as to not knock any air out of the bread) and spray the oven with some water. This is actually a really crucial step that a lot of home bread makers don't know to do. It gives the yeast the perfect environment to grow one last time (and make your bread really big) before it dies off. The best way to do this is with a little spray bottle but as I dont have one, I usually just throw 1/4 cup of water into the bottom of my oven to create the steam. This of course isn't practical if you have a gas oven! The spray bottle is probably the safest option. 
• Spray the oven 3 times within the first ten minutes of cooking and then turn the heat back down to 190 degrees. 
• Cook the bread for around 34 to 40
  
  
  
  
  
  minutes. To be honest I cant really give you a time as it all depends on your oven and how large the loaf grew and what not. You can check to see if its ready though because the bread will have a lovely golden crust and when you pick it up, and top on its bace it will sound hollow. 

Home made Coconut and Lime Ice cream.

Sometimes it is much easier to write when you are feeling melancholy. Life feels a little bit more poetic when your sad, and words seem to flow quite naturally. I often used a little bit of sadness as inspiration to write when Im feeling a little down or have a bad case of the winter blues. These days however I just dont seem to get the 'winter sads' and life is flowing along quite beautifully. So writing has not been at the front of my mind.

Cooking however has been (of course), and I have been going through such a lovely experimental time in the kitchen making home made ice cream, fresh breads and pastries. Our whole house has been filled with such lovely smells and it wont be bizarre for me to be casually eating quail on a wednesday night for dinner with a good glass of wine.  

Something lately has changed, where all the recipes that used to intimidate me a little now seem so logical and simple. Thats not to say everything works out perfectly, but complicated recipes no longer seem scary. 

Im at a little bit of a loss for words....all I can tell you is everything is splendid. I hope you're feeling the same. 

Heres a super simple ice cream recipe to get you inspired.

Lime and Coconut Ice cream.
(From Gourmet Traveler)  

You will need: 

• 100g of white sugar
• 25g of liquid glucose
• 200ml of coconut cream
• 50ml of lime juice

What to do:

• In a small pot combine 100ml of water, sugar and glucose and stir until sugar dissolves. Set aside to cool.
• Stir together remaining ingredients and churn in an ice cream maker. 

Winter treats

Today I have gone back to bed. I have turned on the heater to warm up a bread dough I was resting in the fridge over night, and decided that maybe I'd just take a rest along with it. Melbourne winter has really settled in and I've realised how much I love this season, with its clear sunny days, crisp air and freezing nights to curl up under loads of blankets. Everything is prettier in winter and I have taken to baking some beautiful treats to keep my little house warm, and my friends full. 

Last week one of my good friends had an engagement party and I was lucky enough to be able to get envolved by making a cake for the night. I had such a wonderful (and stressful) time working out how to cover the cake in ruffles and keep all the tiny pearls from falling off.

Winter has really felt like the perfect season for making bakery goods. After spending my last two days off fussing over a cake, I really wanted to get stuck into making some rustic breads and pastries on my weekend. Making bread is just so very wonderful, and a bit like falling in love, as you watch your dough puff up all light with air, get knocked back, puff up again, get shaped, and then finally be baked into something so beautiful.

I also made a batch of homemade pies with a rough puff pastry which was surprisingly easy to make. I have to say though....this is NOT a diet food (but then little of the food made in this house is.........actually none of it is.) There is so much butter! While making it I felt a little bit horrified, but after I tasted that flakey pastry, I sort of forgot. I have adopted a new strategy to dealing with such things lately anyway. I have decided that if I gain a little bit of winter weight I will simply buy a new dress. In turn if I loose a little bit of winter weight I will also buy a new dress. See where Im going with this? New dress! And of course.....if I just stay the same, I'll probably just buy a new dress? 

I've also ventured into the world of ice cream making lately. It was something we used to do a bit at culinary school but only recently since finding a little ice cream maker at the second hand shop have I really started to get back into it. Whenever I make ice cream I always thing back to the scene in the movie 'Its Complicated' where the fifty year old leading ladies' ex husband comes to visit, and sadly tells her how much he misses her lavender ice cream that she made from scratch.This scene always makes me laugh, and reminds me of my boyfriend from when I was twenty who still calls me from time to time to say "Cherry I've fallen in love with this beautiful girl, she is so pretty and funny......but she cant cook. Wont you come back and cook me dinner? I miss your cooking. I love this girl, but I miss your cooking." To me this was the greatest compliment. 

Im not quite sure what recipe to leave you with this week, as I have been testing out so many new ones. I think for now I best get back to curling up in bed with a book and cup of tea. I promise to post something yummy for you to cook soon.....bed bed is calling. 

Earl Grey Tea and Chocolate Tart

I feel like I never really learnt to appreciate days off until I became a chef. Yes, it is always lovely to have a little rest and realax but a free days never really rated as a big deal for me. Being a little bit of a workaholic I even found it stressful at times having free days with nothing planned to do. Now though I cant wait for my 'two days of treats.' They really never do seem to be as relaxing as I plan for them to be, but I appreciate them so much more now. 

So this is what I do..... without fail I will always bake some sweets. It might be a cake or a tart, or cupcakes. Then I will have a friend over for dinner, or maybe six friends over for dinner and we will drink a lot of wine. I will always go out to breakfast at least once. Usually I will go to a local cafe where I know all the staff, other times one of my best friends will drive around and pick me up, so he and I can go try somewhere new. There will be a lot of coffee involved. As in multipal trips to cafes 'just for one more coffee' or I'll brew a large pot of coffee and drink it in bed while I read cooking magazines. I will talk to my parents. We may chat on the phone for half an hour to an hour, and I'll tell me mum about my dating life, a boy who I might like, a boy who I dont like, or no boy at all. She will offer simple solutions to simple problems such as "why dont you just call him?" And I will jokingly rage at her saying "I cant just call him! He will think I like him....even though I do. Things have changed mum! Things have changed. One doesn't just call someone." Then I will consider her advice.....and call the person. I will watch a movie in bed and not care that usually at this time of day I would have normally baked at least 20 cakes at work. 

Days of are really just bliss. I do adore them.

I made this recipe on a day off....Its incredibly good.

Earl Grey Tea and Chocolate Tart

For The Pastry:

• 280g plain flour
• 20g coco
• 200g butter
• 100g of icing sugar
• 2 eggs

For The Filling:

• 300g of dark chocolate
• 350ml of cream
• 100 ml of milk
• 2 egg yolks
• 2 whole eggs
• 4 tablespoons of loose leaf earl grey tea 

What to do:

1. First of all the pastry! Rub together the sugar butter and flower with your fingertips until it resembles almond meal or bread crumbs. This can be done by hand, with a paddle attachment of a kitchen aid or in a food processor. I like to use my fingers because its a good time to stop and think.

2. Add the eggs and mix to incorporate. What ever you do, dont overmix! The dough should be smooth, but you dont want to knead it too much or it will shrink when it is baked.

3. Wrap the dough in cling wrap and place in the fridge to rest for half an hour.

4. Once the dough has rested roll out on a floured bench and use to line a circle tart tin. Once the tin has been lined place it back in the fridge for another forty minutes to rest. 

5. Remove pastry from fridge and prick all over with a fork. Line the tin with some baking paper and add baking weights. Bake for 15 minutes at 180 and then remove the weights. Bake for a further 5 minutes and then remove from the oven.

6. To make the filling place the cream and tea in a pot and bring to a simmer. Take off the heat and leave the tea to infuse. 

7. Once the tea has infused for 15 minutes bring the cream back to the boil.

8. Strain the tea from the cream (and discard).

9. Pour the boiling cream over the chocolate. Stir so that all the chocolate melts.

10. Add the milk and mix

11. Lightly beat eggs and then add to the mixture.

12. Pour the chocolate mix into the tart shell and bake at 140 for 20 to 30 minutes or until the edges are slightly firm looking but there is still a wobble in the middle of the tart. 

13. Allow to cool and then remove from the tin.  

How To Make Home Made Bagels

I walked into the cool room at work yesterday and was greeted with the sight of a large box of quinces. They were all beautiful in their wonky looking glory, and wrapped in purple tissue paper.....Im not quite sure why? I was so excited seeing them there ready to be poached and made into a tart to go on our winter menu. Its such a wonderful feeling knowing that people are coming into a restaurant and eating deserts that I have been dreaming up. Its also lovely to just know that the box of quinces are there because I ordered them. 

I really have been falling a little bit in love with my job lately. Dont get me wrong it is NOT all sunshine and roses, but there are just some days where I am so happy to be baking treats for other people to delight in. 

Maybe its not just work that is making me so cheerful. Maybe its this wonderful feeling I have that something grand is about to happen. Im not sure what yet....but Im very certain. I think its the cold weather inspiring this idea. Everything just feels so charming and clean in the cold that you cant help but feel like there is something good just waiting to happen. 

One small lovely thing that happened this week was making bagels. I was surprised at how easy they are to make, and it feels like such a treat having freshly baked breads in the house. Like living in a bakery!

One of the girls doing work experience at my work gave me the recipe. I hope you enjoy it. Dont be intimidated by using yeast. Its really quite easy....just dont worry if it takes longer to rise in the cold weather. 

Home Made Bagels

Ingredients:
300g plain flour
4g salt
15g sugar
3g dry yeast
160 to 170g water (warm)

What to do:

• Mix all ingredients together to form a ball. The mix should be soft but not too sticky. I added a little extra water. Just make sure you have a nice elastic dough.
• Knead dough for five minutes and then place in a bowl covered with a wet towel to rest for 20 minutes.
• Divide the dough into four balls and cover with a damp towel to prove. They should grow about 30 percent. 
• Next shape the dough into balls with holes in the middle. Leave in a warm place to prove for 20 minutes to an hour or until they have nearly doubled in size.
• Bring 1.5 liters of water to the boil in a pot along with 1 tablespoon of honey.
• Gently add one bagel to the water and cook for 30 second on each side. Remove from the water and repeat with the remaining bagels. 
• Once all the bagels have been boiled place them on an oiled tray and bake in a preheated oven at 210 for 12 to 14 minutes.
  
  

Green Tea Cupcakes

Life has been so beautiful lately and filled with so many treats. Im really starting to get into this whole 'winter' thing. I remember my last two years here being so miserable and just wanting to crawl into bed for six months until it was over. This year however, Im delighted with it. There are so many lovely winter things to do, and I really do like the rainy weather. 

Lately I've been inspired to make some big warming braised meat dishes and there is nothing more lovely than sitting down to a hearty meal and a glass of red wine at night. I also just really enjoy going to the butcher to purchase the meat. In my life, I have never yet met a rude butcher. They are always so very charming and helpful and give wonderful cooking tips. I dont know if this is because all butchers are just good people or if it has something to do with being a young blond haired girl? Either way its always kind of lovely. 

The highlight of this week though was a little surprise tea (and by tea we mean champagne)party I threw for one of my oldest friends. It was her birthday a couple of weeks ago and everyone got so busy it just sort of slipped by. So I decided something must be done about it and invited all the ladies around for cakes and drinks. We had such a good time. It can be so nourishing just getting together with a group of your best friends and talking about whats going on in your life. I really had the best time making cupcakes for the party and styling the table. Everything from my favourite bottle of bubbly (from Paris!) to the pretty tea cakes felt like a special treat. Its such a blessing to have wonderful people to share treats with. 

I made quite a few different sweets for the occasion, but I'll share with you the one that everyone liked the best. 

Green Tea Cupcakes 

(This recipe is from the Hummingbird Bakery Cookbook)

You will need:

120 ml of milk

3 green teabags (I used jasmin because its my favourite)

100g plain flour

20g coco powder

140g caster sugar

1 and 1/2 tsp of baking powder

A pinch of salt

40g unsalted butter, at room temperature

1 egg

Half a tsp of vanilla essence

For the frosting:

250g icing sugar

80g unsalted butter

20g matcha powder (plus extra for decorating.) 

25ml of milk

Method:

1. Soak teabags in milk overnight or at least for three hours to infuse the milk with a green tea flavour. 

2. Combine all dry ingredients.

3. With a paddle attachment of a kitchen aid or with your finger tips add the butter and rub into the flour until the mix resembles sand and has no lumps of butter. 

4. Remove tea bags from the milk.

5. Whisk together egg and milk.

6. Slowly add the milk to the dry mix, and stir to combine. 

7. Half fill patty pans with the mix and bake at 170 for 20 to 25 minutes

8. Allow cupcakes to cool. 

9. To make the frosting cream together the butter along with the icing sugar and catch powder until it is creamy and soft.

10. Slowly add the milk and stir to combine.

11. Pipe or spread the frosting on top of the cooled cupcakes. 

12. Sprinkle with some extra matcha powder