Too much of a good thing (read: this will be an epic post)...

...can be, as they say, wonderful.

I'm always at my most content when I'm baking. So I'm going to make a day of it. Well, half a day...it is well past midday-which means the sun is past the yard arm! Time for a drink!

Ah, Marlborough Sav Blancs, you can do no wrong...

My bread is mixed and rising (hopefully). I'm a bit bored of my usual recipe:

Ancient grains bread

(Mixer method)

1 cup sorghum flour

2/3 cup amaranth flour

1/2 cup mix of pepitas, flax seed and sunflower seeds

¼ cup quinoa flour

1/3 cup tapioca flour

1/3 cup packed brown sugar

1 tbsp guar gum

1 tbsp instant dried yeast

1 ½ tsp salt

2 eggs

1 egg white

1 cup tepid water

2 tbsp rice bran oil

1 tsp apple cider vinegar

Grease 9- by 5-inch (2L) loaf tin. Sift and mix all dry ingredients in a large bowl. In a separate bowl (of mix master etc) combine all wet ingredients until well blended. With the mixer on its lowest setting, slowly add the dry ingredients. Scrape the sides and with the mixer on medium, beat for 4 minutes. Spoon into prepared pan. Allow to rise, uncovered, in a warm, draft-free place for 60-75 minutes, or until dough has risen to the top of the pan. Meanwhile, preheat oven to 180°C. Bake for 35-45 minutes (I find it actually normally takes about an hour!), or until loaf sounds hollow when tapped on the bottom. Remove the pan immediately and let cool completely on a rack.

So I've tried a different flour combination.

1 cup quinoa flour

1 cup amaranth flour

1/3 cup arrowroot flour

1/3 cup white rice flour

We'll see how it goes. I'm bit sick of the flavour of sorghum but love quinoa, I hope it stands out more.

Ooh, it's rising! Half-way there.

She is risen!

Time to make some banana bread.

This is my G F adaption of Bill Granger's recipe-minus the chocolate. I know what you are thinking:

Who are you and what have you done with, Esther.

But I like banana bread for breakfast and I can't face chocolate for breakfast all the time, unless it is Nutella.

80 grams salted butter
2/3 cup raw sugar
2 large eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
4 large over ripe bananas, mashed

1 cup sorghum flour (I know-after all just said-but the other flavours are sufficiently overwhelming)
1/3 cup arrowroot flour
1/3 cup white rice flour
1/3 cup amaranth flour
1 tbsp guar gum
2 tsp baking powder

Grease 9- by 5-inch (2L) loaf tin. Preheat oven to 180°C. In a mixing bowl sift and combine all dry ingredients (except sugar). In a separate larger bowl, cream the butter and sugar. Mix in vanilla and eggs. Then mix in bananas. Gradually add flour mixture. Spoon into tin and smooth top - G F things won't necessarily even out when baking. Bake for 1 hour and 15 mins or until a skewer comes out clean. Leave in tin for 5 mins then turn out on to wire rack to cool.

The bread is done.

Quinoa-y goodness

Time to cook dinner. Being lazy and making napolitana sauce to go with already cooked chicken breasts and G F spaghetti.

1 large brown onion, chopped
6 cloves of garlic, roughly chopped
1/2 cup red wine
500 gram tin of diced Australian tomatoes in (hopefully also Australia) tomato puree
2 tsp dried thyme
2 tsp dried oregano
2 tsp dried basil
2 tsp Murray River salt
1/2 tsp sugar

Pour in hot saucepan a TV chef's drizzle of olive oil, brown onions. Add garlic and cook until softened. Add red wine, bring to boil. Add tomatoes and herbs, give a good stir. Bring to the boil and then turn down to a simmer. Leave for as long as possible. I'm letting it go for two hours.

Meanwhile, back at the ranch...

The banana bread is done.

Could've put it in a smaller tin, it looks rather
flat. It tastes fabulous regardless.

Now, I'm giving myself a challenge: making french almond macarons. I know, I know, because of Master chef Australia they are so in right now. But I love anything meringue.

It is particularly challenging because it is raining today and rule #1 of meringue-making is:

1. don't make meringues in humid weather

Bah, I flout the rules! But I could just be setting myself up for failure, although they aren't exactly meringue-like, so it could be okay. But, definitely following the recipe this time.

French Almond Macarons

1 1/4 cups pure icing sugar

1 cup almond meal

3 egg whites

2 tbsp caster sugar

Preheat oven to 150°C. Line two biscuit trays with baking paper.

In a large mixing bowl sift the almond meal (I did not and they look lumpy) and icing sugar. Combine with a whisk to prevent lumps.

In a separate bowl, beat the egg whites until they form peaks. Then, gradually add the caster sugar. Add the egg white mixture to the almond mixture. It will be quite stiff. 

The recipe I had said spoon it onto baking trays but I new that would not make them look as pretty as the picture. I know they cheated!

So I decided to look up different recipes to freak myself out!

But ended up going with the latter half of this recipe.

So spoon into a piping bag and pipe into 1.5 cm rounds on the trays.

Pink poos!

Actually, I lie. I only let them sit for 10 mins-like the first recipe I looked at said and didn't have a problem with cracking.

But I did go with their baking timing. 10mins, swap shelves and further 10mins.

While they were baking I read the comments and discovered they weren't macaroons (I thought that was wrong - macaroons have coconut!) and so Googled macarons and found this recipe, which is scarily much more elaborate than the one I had, but I will try it next time.

Now for the filling

Raspberry chocolate ganache

100 ml cream (the recipes said thick, but I didn't have any and it still worked, so there)

100 grams fair trade 70% cocoa chocolate, finely chopped or grated

30 grams butter

In a saucepan bring the cream to the boil. Pour over the chocolate (in a mixing bowl) and stir until smooth, gently so as not to create any bubbles. Let rest and after 1 - 2 mins stir in the butter. Let sit until set, this will be at least half an hour. Then spoon onto the flat side of one and sandwich with another of the same size.

The finished product.

I feel sick...

Too much of a good thing...can make you feel slightly nauseous...

This year's love

Yes, the blog title is a reference to the incredibly morose David Gray song, which for me is thoroughly connected to missing my girlfriend. For reasons we are both struggling to remember (at this very moment) we are spending this year apart. So while I do not doubt our love shall last this year I am hoping this blog will also.

I shouldn’t set such a gloomy precedent. I will be using this blog to write (obviously), to find my writing voice, to share my year’s culinary adventures, to explore my own opinions about feminism, politics, art.

But to start…a recipe, because my priorities are thoroughly in order, I assure you.

My own adaptation of Nigella Lawson’s Gooey Chocolate Puddings with a gluten-free twist

Ingredients

3 large eggs

125 grams dark chocolate (I use Lindt- a mix of 70 and 85% cocoa)

125 grams of butter (her recipe calls for unsalted but I think salted is better- that sweet/salty thing)

2/3 cup of sugar

½ cup of hazelnut meal* **

Pre-heat the oven to 200 degrees.

Nigella says this serves four, sometimes it serves four, but sometimes it’s way too much. Last night I spread this over ten little ramekins and one was sufficient for mum…but I had two. So it just depends on your ramekin situation. However many you chose, grease them. It makes them easier to take out if there are leftovers so you can eat them cold the next day.

Melt the chocolate and butter in a bowl over water on the stove. While they are melting mix the other ingredients together in a separate bowl. Once the chocolate and butter is melted add it slowly to the other mixture. Divide amongst ramekins.

Now pop them in the oven. How long they will take depends upon how thick the ramekins are etc. So keep an eye on them, they could take 10 to 20 minutes. Last night they took 15 minutes.

Best served with double cream.

* I don’t know if you can buy hazelnut meal but I make it myself. Just toast some hazelnuts quickly in a fry pan till they brown a little. Then crush in mortar and pestle or food processor etc.

** Look at the Post-modernism in action, by changing one ingredient I am not plagiarising…I hope.