13. Homegrown veggies and a gingerbread army

So I have given my new raised a garden a chance to produce some produce and I am happy to say I have two Ox heart tomatoes which are growing well and my first cayenne pepper. I did have a mass of chervil growing but after some battering rain and wind it lost all its leaves!

I have also decided to develop my lacking skills in baking and give cakes and biscuits a try. Slowly getting the hang of it and can feel the need for some more challenging recipes to give a go. Today's attempt was a combination of baking skills and may opportunity to get creative with decorating my fresh gingerbread men. Since not all of my gingerbread army turned out bakery perfect I decided to transform some of my mutants into zombies and aliens.
Cannot believe Christmas is almost here again, need to start designing a menu.

12. Vodka and pasta

I recently discovered a new recipe in my Silverspoon Pasta cookbook for vodka and penne.

At first I wasn't too sure, but upon making and tweaking around with it last night in the kitchen, I can confess I am a very big fan.

 makes 4

3/4 packet of organic Penne

300ml double cream

just under  1/2 cup of vodka

pre-made meatballs

garlic oil

1 can of tomato paste and vegetable mix

salt and pepper

fresh parsley to taste

grated parmesan cheese

11. Leftover mash on toast

I have to admit I love it when I have leftovers. They always taste so much better the next day and seem to develop in flavour over night.
I recently made a garlic and sea salt mash and had some leftover on toast this morning.

It was one of the best breakfast I have had for a long time, I think because it was a nice change from eggs.

All you need is leftover mash, toast, truffle or any flavored oil, garlic oil would go beautifully as well, parsley and pimento.

Makes for a tasty and impressive breakfast toast idea.

10. Masterchef Live

Had a fantastic day on sunday at Masterchef Live Sydney. It turned out to be a stunning day with the sun shining and not a cloud in sight. It was not only a great opportunity to see the past contestants and they have been upto since the show, but a great chance to try and buy some wonderful products. The food vans and stalls all offered something different and amazing, deciding upon lunch was a tough choice! 

I am loving the natural and vivacious flavours of the Truffle oil and Pesto dressing from the guys at Rich Glen Olive Oil. Really high quality and great to be supporting the Australian produce market.
And as always I could not go past the legendary Maggie Beer's stand without stocking up. A great array of products to choose from and of such amazingly fresh quality. 
Here are some happy snaps from the day :

Busy on lookers

The lovely Amina cooking her Arabic doughnut recipe

Fresh Paella and Sangria

Beef and spinach gozleme

Maggie Beer's Burnt fig, honeycomb and caramel icecream is to die for

Woodfire pizza and a Sauv Blanc in the sun

9. My sisters birthday banquet

I love birthdays, especially family ones. They are a great opportunity for everyone to get together and catch up and have a wonderful home cooked meal. 
There is nothing more rewarding then creating menu that is the birthday girls favourite. Making a collection of meals that bring great memories and flavours in the one place. Here are a few happy snaps from last nights feast.

 Birthday cake in the making

8.Maple salmon. Brocolini. Wild rice and salad

I know I've made a post before about my mirrin sauces and salmon with wild rice, except this is with a twist.

For a change and a break from the lemon pepper flavoured seasonings I usually use with salmon, today I made a simple maple syrup, sea salt and sesame oil glaze. It makes the skin crispy and sweet and a wonderful match with wild rice.

The combination of wild rice dressed with the mirrin dressing, freshly sliced cucumbers with mint and chilli, steamed brocolini and salmon was so fresh and one of those meals you instantly feel healthier for eating.

7. Warm Greek salad, Tex-Mex Steak and Parsnip Chips

I have a new love for parsnips. They give a wonderful earthy flavour and complement powerful and punchy flavours like chilli. Simple to cook and make for a wonderful crispy topping. The warm Greek salad is fantastic for this time of year, using seasonal veggies with a slight twist.Please see below for my easy warm Greek salad recipe:

Warm Greek Salad

2 baby eggplants
3 roma tomatos
1 leek
1/4 cup of Kalmata black olives (pitted)
two handfuls of button mushrooms
100gm of Haloumi cheese
50gm of Greek feta cheese
2tsp of dried oregano
handful of basil
Black pepper and sea salt to taste
Olive oil
1/4 cup of red wine
2 cloves of garlic
optional : Fresh basil leaves

Preheat the oven to 200 degrees (c).
Slice all veggies into bite sized pieces.
Combine all vegetables into a bowl and dress lightly with a drizzle of olive oil, salt and pepper to taste and the dried oregano.
Place in a lined baking tray and roast for 20min.

Meanwhile blend the chopped garlic, and additional olive oil with the red wine.

Take the vegetables out, toss and add the cheeses and garlic, red wine oil dressing.

Drop temperature to 180(c) and continue to cook for an additional 25-30min.

Ready to serve with fresh basil leaves scatted on top

This salad goes well with Tex Mex rubbed sirloin steak and parsnip chips.

6.Herbed leg of lamb

Today I am marinating a leg of lamb with some of the most delicious and fresh spring flavours.
It's easy and rustic and makes for a wonderful weekend roast.

Herbed Lamb Marinate

a spring of thyme
handful of parsley
six leaves of tarragon
half handful of sage
half handful of marjoram
1/4 cup of good quality olive oil
2 teaspoons of white peppercorns
2 teaspoons of good quality rock salt
4 cloves of garlic

Place all ingredients into a mortar and pestle ( or food processor when in a hurry).
Ground into a fine paste, removing any stems from the thyme springs.

With the lamb place several slits into the skin, this allows for the marinate to get through the lamb and adding flavour.

Rub the lamb all over with the marinate, cover and place in the fridge for 4-5hours.









Ready to roast!

5.Sausage Cabonara

This is one of my alltime favourite comfort food dishes, and it is probably one of the most simplest to make too.

It is from Jamie Olivers jamie's italy cookbook, and great for a mid weeknight dinner.

You can find the recipe here

I added some of the basil from my garden to give it another layer. I think oven roasted roma tomatoes would go really well with some rocket as a side salad.

Egg mixture before being poured over the pasta to cook into a silky sauce

Sausage and bacon fry up

4.Wasabi +mirin salmon

I've made the decision of having healthier lunches and today was a start.

I used Atlantic salmon grilled and then boiled up some wild rice, sliced cucumber and served with my wasabi and mirin dressing:

wasabi + mirindressing

-2tsp of wasabi paste
-1/4 cup of mirin
- 1tsp grated fresh ginger
-1tsp sesame oil
-sprinkle of sesame seeds

Stir all ingredients together and serve over the salmon

3.Szechuan

Tonight's dinner Szechuan pepper beef stir fry.

The Szechuan was really zingy and gave it a great lift.

2.Sunday in the herb patch

As I continue to be inspired by growing my own produce, I thought I would share with you the latest growings of my mini urban garden patch.
I have a variety of herbs which are starting to sprout, with rocket plants, Ox Heart and Cherry tomato's yet to be potted.

I have been getting great inspiration and helpful tips from Stephanie Alexander's :Kitchen Garden Companion
a must have for anyone wanting to learn more about growing their own produce with some healthy, delicious recipes too.

Another form of inspiration I have found is in the edible garden concept developing in Sydney. The Edible garden on Foster Street, Surry Hills, Sydney is worth checking out Edible Outdoor Garden.

These are some snaps of what I have growing in my backyard mini garden:

My Lemon tree finally in bloom, second year in a row, just hoping I get some lemons before the bugs  get them first.

Rocket growing from seed in my recycled container planters

My first attempt at growing fennel

Red Cayenne Pepper plant, looking forward to getting some chilli's!

1.Fish Taco's

Fish Taco's from Thursday night.

Recipe from Curtis Stone:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/curtis-stone/curtis-stones-fish-tacos-_b_1068153.html

One of the easiest and most healthiest takes on a Mexican favourite. 

Welcome

A big hello and welcome to everyone, this is my new blog The food leafed clovar.

I am still getting use to all these html codes and gadgets and things so please excuse any little glitches which may appear.

Here you will find post of my food photography journey, mostly of meals I have cooked at home or of delicious meals I have spotted out and about or on the web.

I look forward to sharing a piece of my world which motivates me, and makes me want to do this everyday.

bon appetit

xo clo