Breakfast Muffins: Pumpkin & Cheesecake with a Brown Sugar Streusel

October 30, 2014December 31, 2018 amcarmen2 Comments

Hello Everyone! First off I just want to say that I was meant to write up and post this recipe last night, but with interning all day, going for my first boxing class, preparing my pictures to print for photography class, and preparing for my visual communication class all in one day yesterday, it was hardly possible to squeeze blogging in.

It’s been a while since my last post, and we should all know why by this time as I mention it in almost every blog post, especially if I haven’t posted in a while. But before I get onto today’s recipe, I just want to let you all know that I am officially done with formal classes! Not just for the semester, but for my whole degree as well! Yay me! I only 2 more assignment submissions, one for photography worth 40% and the other an essay for my visual communication class worth 50%! After that, I have my internship to power through until mid-February and if all is good, I can kiss uni goodbye (unless I decide to come back for Masters or a second degree in Culinary Arts) and graduate from my Bachelor’s Degree in Design!

Also, once the assignment wave is over, I hope to upload more regularly. I hope to cook more often too but because I will still be interning, I can’t guarantee that I’ll be cooking and experimenting much, as sometimes after spending the whole day in front of the computer and a workout at the gym, I just want to lie down. Now, this doesn’t mean not eating at all, it just means that on days like this I either have a very quick and simple meal, or I prepare and make dinner for the next few days or so and store it in the fridge so that it’s just ready for consumption.

Anyway, as the title states, 3 days ago was yet another Muffin Making Monday with Jialing. For those of you who don’t know, every 2nd Monday my friend Jialing and I bake muffins for ourselves to take to work with us in the mornings. It started off as Jialing just wanting/needing to come over to bake muffins because she doesn’t have an oven at her place. I also remember saying to myself that I wasn’t just going to sit around and watch her bake, so I decided to bake muffins that day too, and now it’s become a tradition for us. I also asked Jialing on Monday, what we would do if we started interning full time? Would we move our Muffin Making Mondays to the weekend? She was actually quite sad at the idea that it wouldn’t be called Muffin Making Mondays anymore – so she said that we should just work from Tuesday-Friday and take our Mondays off! Hilarious; but not a bad idea.

Okay, enough story time (Vidhya). Let’s get onto today’s recipe where the original cane be found on Sally’s Baking Addiction. I am seriously in love with her recipes. I think I’ve attempted a fair share of recipes from her, and this one just called out to me. Also, in spirit of Halloween, I decided to make her Pumpkin and Cheesecake Muffins with a Brown Sugar Streusel. Today’s recipe has three components to it, which doesn’t seem a lot but it can be a handful especially for inexperienced bakers. But don’t be frightened about the amount of work it will take to make these muffins because trust me, they are so worth the effort! This is probably my favourite muffins to date, and even Lydia’s (maybe; she actually cannot decide between my Banana Crumb Top Muffins and this). If you had to pick a recipe to follow from all the muffin recipes that I have posted, pick this one for sure. Happy Baking!

PREP TIME 10 MINS | COOKING TIME 25 MINS | MAKES 12 MUFFINS

INGREDIENTS

For the crumb topping

1/2 cup plain flour
1/4 cup dark or light brown sugar
1/4 cup unsalted butter, melted
1 tsp cinnamon

For the pumpkin muffin batter

1 & 3/4 cups plain flour
1 cup pumpkin purée (canned or from scratch, I used a butternut pumpkin)
2 large free range eggs
1/2 cup dark or light brown sugar
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1/3 cup milk
1 & 1/2 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp pumpkin pie spice*
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 tsp salt

For the cheesecake filling

1 block (8oz.) cream cheese, softened to room temperature
1 free range egg yolk
3 tbsp granulated sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract

*If you can’t find pumpkin pie spice at your local grocers, you may use 1/4 tsp ground cloves, 1/2 tsp ground allspice, and 1/4 tsp ground nutmeg.

METHOD

Preheat oven to 180C. Line a 12 hole muffin pan with paper cases.
Pumpkin Purée: Cut the butternut pumpkin into small chunks and distribute onto a baking tray lined with aluminium foil. Drizzle with a bit of olive oil and season with salt. Roast in the oven for about 20-25 minutes or until soft and tender. Once done, remove from the oven and set aside to cool before puréeing (purée just enough pumpkin chunks to make a full cup and save the rest for a nice roasted pumpkin salad). Turn the oven heat up to 220C.
Crumb Topping: Add the brown sugar, flour, and cinnamon to a small bowl and mix until combined. Add the melted butter and mix until crumbs form. Set aside in the fridge so that it stiffens up a bit.
Pumpkin Muffin Batter: Toss the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon and pumpkin pie spice together in a large bowl until well combined. Set aside and then, in a medium bowl, whisk the brown sugar and eggs together until combined. Whisk in the pumpkin, oil, milk, and vanilla extract. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and stir until just combined, being careful as to NOT overmix the batter.
Cheesecake Filling: In a medium sized bowl, beat the cream cheese with an electric mixer on medium-high speed until creamy. Add the egg yolk, vanilla extract, and sugar in, and beat until combined.
Spoon about a tablespoon of pumpkin muffin batter into the cups and layer another tablespoonful of of cheesecake filling. Top with another tablespoon of muffin batter, filling the cups all the way to the top. Sprinkle each muffin evenly with crumb topping and press the topping down into the muffin so it sticks.
Bake the muffins for 5 minutes at 220C. Then lower the temperature down to 180C and bake for an additional 15 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean (try not to overbake though; mine needed an extra 8 minutes or so). Allow the muffins to cool for 10 minutes in the muffin sheet, then transfer to a wire rack to cool until ready to eat.

I say again, yes it does look like that there are a lot of ingredients to handle, but most of them are repeated through each layer. You won’t regret these super-moist spiced pumpkin muffins stuffed with cheesecake filling and topped with brown sugar cinnamon streusel! Muffins taste best on the same day, though they may be stored covered tightly at room temperature for 3 days or in the refrigerator for 5 days.

BON APPÉTIT

– Ally xx

The Ultimate Brekkie

October 19, 2014December 31, 2018 amcarmen1 Comment

Hello Everyone! Back with a quick one since I feel like you guys deserve another upload after being away for so long. Today I wanted to make a really filling and unforgettable brekkie where I can just sit down and enjoy it instead of packing it with me to bring to the office or even just skipping breakfast altogether. Well okay, I ended up having these for lunch after a deserved Sunday sleep in, but breakfast for lunch (even for dinner) is just the best thing ever!

So after my visit to Paper Plane Café 2 weeks ago or so (again as I mentioned in the previous post, I will do a review soon-ish), I really wanted to recreate their breakfast board at home. It looked simple enough to be able to do so just by glancing at the board and even pin-pointing the obvious ingredients. I must say that it was a huge success in the kitchen this morning, even though I may have burnt my balsamic reduction and the other side of the toast, oops! But nonetheless a brekkie so worth the time and effort spent in the kitchen. I invited my housemate Lydia as well for breakfast/brunch/lunch, so basically today’s lunch was a joint effort between the two of us. She’s now a professional chef! Under my guidance and supervision, as well as the Taste recipe being read to her, she made the Hollandaise Sauce all by herself for the very first time to go with the poached eggs. Her sauce was to die for! Apart from that, she helped wash and cut up the tomatoes, mushrooms and chorizo sausages, and also did a fair bit of the cleaning up. I took care of the rest. (This note is for Vidhya – don’t stop reading here, there’s a small paragraph/story at the end of the post!)

PREP TIME 10 MINS | COOKING TIME 30-35 MINS | SERVES 2

INGREDIENTS

2 hash browns
2 hickory-smoked bacon rashers
2 large free range eggs
2 slices of Country Grain bread
2 field grown tomatoes, quartered
1 chorizo sausage, sliced diagonally
250g cup mushrooms, quartered
1 cup balsamic vinegar
2 tbsp fresh lemon juice
Handfull of rocket leaves
Small thumb-sized ginger, grated
Fresh Thyme Leaves
Olive Oil

For the Hollandaise Sauce

3 large free range eggs, yolks separated
175g unsalted butter, cut into cubes, at room temperature
2 tbsp water
2 tbsp fresh lemon juice
Fresh Thyme Leaves
Ground salt and black pepper to taste

METHOD

Preheat oven to 180C. Place the hash browns and slices of bread on a tray lined with baking paper. Drizzle the slices of bread with a bit of olive oil and bake for 10-15 minutes. Turn the oven heat down to about 50C to keep the food warm while you prepare and cook everything else.
Balsamic Reduction: Next, pour a cup of balsamic vinegar in a small saucepan over medium heat. Bring the vinegar to a boil, then turn down the heat down so that the boil reduces to a simmer. Stir occasionally and allow to simmer until the vinegar has reduced by at least half (for a thinner reduction) or more (for a more syrup-like consistency). If you are a hopeless impatient person like me when it comes to food, do not increase the heat at this point! Your reduction may burn and you will be left with a stiff, hardened mess – basically what I did for the first batch of balsamic reduction. I was also stupid enough to try it and see if it was still edible, and it ended up sticking to the front of my teeth (not a very pleasing experience might I add).
Meat, Tomatoes, and Mushrooms: Heat a grill pan over high heat. Add the bacon and chorizo and cook for about 3-4 minutes per side. Place on a dish lined with paper towels to drain the excess oils. Next add the tomatoes and grill for about 3-4 minutes per side as well. Place the bacon, chorizo slices, and tomatoes in the oven to keep warm. Add the mushrooms to the grill pan with a bit of olive oil and sauté for about 2-3 minutes. Add the grated ginger and lemon juice, and cook for a further 3-4 minutes. Sprinkle with fresh thyme leaves and then set aside in the oven to keep warm.
Hollandaise Sauce: While the balsamic reduction is underway and slowly simmering, start on the Hollandaise sauce. Place a heatproof bowl over a medium saucepan that is quarter-filled with water. Make sure that the bowl should fit snugly into the pan without touching the water (lift the bowl to check and remove some water if it does). Bring the water to a boil over high heat, then reduce heat to very low so the water is barely simmering (there should be almost no movement at all). It is important that the water is barely simmering while making the sauce – if it is too hot, the egg yolks will cook too much and the sauce will curdle.
Place the egg yolks and the 2 tablespoons of water in the heatproof bowl and place over the pan. Whisk the mixture constantly for 3 minutes or until it is thick and pale, has doubled in volume and a ribbon trail forms when the whisk is lifted.
Add the butter a cube at a time, whisking constantly and adding another cube when the previous one is incorporated completely (about 10 minutes to add it all in). If butter is added too quickly, it won’t mix easily with the egg yolks or the sauce may lose volume. At the same time, it is important that the butter is at room temperature and added a cube at a time, so that it doesn’t take too long to be incorporated – if the sauce cooks for too long, it can curdle.
Remove the bowl from the pan and place on a heatproof surface. The cooked sauce should have the consistency of very lightly whisked thickened cream. Whisk in the lemon juice, fresh thyme leaves, and season with salt and pepper.
Poached Eggs: Bring small saucepan of water to the boil over medium-high heat, then reduce the heat to low-medium – the water should be just simmering. Add in the vinegar and stir. Crack one egg into a small bowl and quickly, but gently pour it into the water. Repeat with the other egg. A really soft poached egg should take around 2 minutes, but if you want it a bit more firm, it will take about 4 minutes. To check if they’re cooked right, carefully remove the egg from the pan with a slotted spoon and give the yolk a gentle push (you can tell just by your instincts if it is under or overcooked – or perfect)!
Assembly: While the Hollandaise Sauce and Poached Eggs are almost done, assemble your dish, this part is entirely up to you on how you wish to present it. Drizzle your balsamic reduction over your rocket leaves. Use a slotted spoon to carefully remove the eggs from the saucepan. Place on top of the toast and bacon. Then top with a generous amount of sauce to your poached eggs. Crack a little salt and pepper and serve immediately!

While having our lunch, all Lydia could talk about was how good it all tasted. She was already full, but she still wanted to eat more. We also talked about how in cafés you’d get an average dollop of hollandaise sauce, which is sometimes not enough with the amount of serving your get from the rest of the food. We had a whole bowl of it and basically drowned our eggs in them, and had them with everything basically. Also, the best thing about eating at home is that we get to be barbaric in a sense that we didn’t care about using our forks and knives, we ate our toast with our hands and weren’t afraid to have them smothered over the sides of our mouths or dripping down the side of our fingers.

BON APPÉTIT

– Ally xx

Breakfast Muffins: Bacon, Cheese & Zucchini

October 18, 2014December 31, 2018 amcarmen4 Comments

Hello Everyone! Yes I am back and I do apologise for not posting a recipe or review for over 3 weeks now I think! I’ve been busy, with work, uni, and mainly procrastinating really. I haven’t stopped cooking though, in fact I have quite a few dishes to post – I just haven’t had the time to sit down and actually write a post for it. I know, you’re probably thinking that it’s not so hard writing up a recipe especially if it’s one that I followed from a book or online. Writing up the recipe isn’t the hard part, what’s sort of hard for me is spending time writing about let’s say a back story or just a story in general. I know this is a food blog but I do like to share a few things about myself, or my day/week etc.

Anyway, before I get to today’s recipe post, I just want to update all of you, about what’s been going on lately – also because I think my housemate Vidhya deserves a story to read after she was falsely mislead from my previous post. Now that I think about it, there’s actually nothing much to talk about – I know I have such a boring life! Just kidding! Otherwise I would’ve had all the time in the world to keep this blog updated. I mean, between uni and work, I do go out and see my friends over the weekend. I don’t even think that I’ve spent a lazy weekend at home just sleeping in and doing nothing all day for quite some time.

Two weeks ago I had a mid semester break, which really meant that I only had 2 weekdays off from classes because I still had to go in for my internship. And even so, those two days were spent out eating, shopping, and going to the cinema with friends. I went to Parramatta with Marissa and Jialing to check out this place called Paper Plane Café and the trip there was worth it all especially aster we massacred our brunch. I will get into more detail with this when I get around to posting a review on the place. I also recently joined the gym with Jialing! We’ve probably been going for three weeks now, basically just adding exercise into our daily life, toning the muscles, and overall staying fit (we have to burn all the brunches somehow)! I also hosted a dinner party probably 2 weeks ago or so for my COFA friends; a great success in terms of food and laughter. Those were probably the highlights of the past 3 weeks. Oh I almost forgot, the public holiday after the mid semester break, Edison, Jialing, and I had a photo shoot at the Royal Botanical Gardens, well more like Edison needed a new profile picture before he turned 23 and of course asked me to take the photos. Jialing and I had to join in the photo shoot fun of course! This photo shoot happened last week Monday which interrupted Muffin Making Mondays with Jialing and I – which is why we had our muffin session this Monday instead!

Today’s recipe post was actually requested by my mother. She told me she watched a cooking show with Chef Michael Smith in which he made mini bacon and cheese muffins. She told me to give it a go and tell her how it went and if it tasted good or not. I went online and found a recipe from Taste – Bacon, Cheese, and Zucchini Muffins! They taste so good! And I definitely made a few people in the office jealous I think as the smell of bacon travelled around. Jialing on the other hand made Orange, Lemon, and Poppy Seed Muffins – also so good! So good that I think I may make them for our next Muffin Making Mondays. I also baked some Macadamia and White Chocolate Cookies that Monday, but I will save the recipe for another time.

PREP TIME 10 MINS | COOKING TIME 22 MINS | MAKES 12 MUFFINS

INGREDIENTS

4 hickory-smoked bacon rashers, diced
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1 cup milk
1 cup plain flour
1 cup self-raising flour
1/2 cup tasty cheese, grated
1/2 cup zucchini, grated
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp olive oil

METHOD

Preheat oven to 190C. Line a 12 hole muffin pan with paper cases.
Heat olive oil in a frying pan over medium-high heat. Add the bacon bits and cook for 5 minutes or until crisp. Once crisp, transfer the bacon bits to a dish lined with paper towels to drain off all the excess oils. Allow to cool.
Meanwhile, squeeze the excess liquid from zucchini, this will prevent your muffins from becoming soggy. Tip, place the grated zucchini in a clean tea towel and squeeze – otherwise you can also just use your hands like what I did, working in small batches.
Sift flours and baking powder into a bowl and make a well in the centre. Add in the vegetable oil, milk, and egg. Mix well until combined, and then fold in bacon, cheese, and zucchini.
Spoon the mixture between the paper cases (makes 12 muffins). Bake for 20 to 22 minutes or until golden and just firm to touch. Stand in pan for 5 minutes and then transfer to a wire rack to cool.

BON APPÉTIT

– Ally xx

Breakfast Muffins: Banana & Cinnamon Crumb Top

September 23, 2014December 31, 2018 amcarmenLeave a comment

Hello Everyone! Sorry for not posting in a while, and I’m pretty sure my regular followers should know by now the reason for it. Just because I haven’t been uploading, doesn’t mean that I’ve stopped cooking and experimenting in the kitchen. I actually have three dishes that are waiting to be posted (basically I have the photos, I just haven’t had the time to do a write up). I know for sure that I have a handful of readers out there (or maybe just Vidhya), who actually like reading this part of the post. She was upset that the last post I made was short and had no back story. Well, I guess I won’t disappoint her here!

Anyway, today’s recipe is part of what I think will start becoming a regular thing, which is Muffin Making Monday’s (fortnightly) with Jialing. For those of you who don’t know Jialing (and basically haven’t read ANY of my previous posts because her name comes up almost ALL the time), she started this whole idea of making muffins on Monday’s because she wanted to be able to have a quick breakfast, be it at home or at the bus stop, or even at work. Since she doesn’t have an oven at home, she asked if she could bake at my place. That’s when I thought, what a great idea for breakfast on the go, because as you may/may not know, I am pretty bad at breakfast – meaning that I just altogether skip breakfast and go straight to brunch/lunch. Also, I wasn’t just going to sit around and watch her bake muffins, so I decided to bake a batch myself.

Two weeks ago I made a batch of savoury muffins with Prosciutto & Chives, while Jialing made a sweet batch with Apple, Pear, and Sultanas. Yesterday we unintentionally switched and this time I made a batch of sweet muffins with Banana & Cinnamon Crumb Top, while Jialing made a batch with Turkey, Pesto, Sun-dried Tomatoes, and Cheese. I followed a recipe from allrecipes, and I think I might recommend adding a little less salt than said because I found my muffins just a tad salty. Who doesn’t? Otherwise, the result was amazing! Tasted really good, especially the crumb topping! Which also reminds me, I added a tad more cinnamon because I LOVE cinnamon. I didn’t realise how much these muffins were going to rise – I didn’t even peak through the oven door while they were cooking because I was busy washing up all the bowls and utensils that Jialing and I used. So to my surprise, when my timer rang and I looked at them I said out loud and in a shocking tone “OH MY GOD! THEY ARE SO FAT!” It was pretty hilarious, and priceless might I add.

PREP TIME 5 MINS | COOKING TIME 18-20 MINS | MAKES 12 MUFFINS

INGREDIENTS

For the muffin batter

3 large bananas, mashed (plus one extra banana, sliced)
1 & 1/2 cups plain flour
1 egg, lightly beaten
3/4 cup white sugar
1/3 cup unsalted butter, melted
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt

For the crumb topping

30g unsalted butter, chilled and cut into cubes
1/3 cup packed brown sugar
2 tbsp plain flour
1/2 tsp cinnamon

METHOD

Preheat oven to 190C. Lightly grease a muffin tray, or line with muffin paper cups.
In a large bowl, mix together the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. In another bowl, beat together the bananas, sugar, egg, and melted butter. Stir the banana mixture into the flour mixture until moistened. Spoon the batter into the prepared muffin cups, about 2/3 of the way full.
In a small bowl, mix together the brown sugar, flour, and cinnamon. Add the cubed butter and using your finger tips, quickly mix the ingredients together until looks like rough bread crumbs. If your mixture is too warm, put the bowl into the refrigerator for 15 minutes and start again when it has chilled.
Sprinkle the crumb topping over the muffin batter and top with a slice of banana.
Bake in preheated oven for 18 to 20 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into center of a muffin comes out clean. Makes about 12 muffins.
Store any leftovers in the fridge and remember to warm slightly before serving.

BON APPÉTIT

– Ally xx

Baked Eggs with Chorizo & Red Capsicum

September 11, 2014December 31, 2018 amcarmenLeave a comment

Hello Everyone! So I actually cooked up these bad boys over the weekend for a lovely Sunday brunch. I honestly did not intentionally make it look like a face – it just so happened that when I pulled them out of the oven and was taking photos of the outcome did I realise it was smiling back at me. A happy Sunday indeed (even though it’s like Thursday already). Also, don’t forget to check out the original recipe on SBS.

PREP TIME 5 MINS | COOKING TIME 20-25 MINS | SERVES 4

INGREDIENTS

250ml tomato passata
4 free range eggs
2 cloves garlic, diced
1 chorizo sausage, sliced
1 brown onion, diced
1 red capsicum, cut into slices
1 bay leaf
2-3 tbsp olive oil
Ground sea salt and pepper to taste

METHOD

Preheat oven to 200C.
In a small frypan, heat the olive oil over medium heat and gently sweat the onions and garlic. Add the sliced capsicum and cook for another 4–5 minutes to soften them a bit.
Add the chorizo slices to pan with the vegetables and stir to cook until the capsicum and onions are really soft. Add the bay leaf, passata, and a splash of water. Cook for a further 10-15 minutes. Season with salt and pepper.
Transfer the sauce to 4 individual shallow ramekins and crack an egg in each. Bake for about 5–10 minutes, or until the eggs are cooked to your liking. Serve immediately with a side of soldiers.

BON APPÉTIT

– Ally xx

Breakfast Muffins: Prosciutto & Chives

September 9, 2014December 31, 2018 amcarmen2 Comments

Hello Everyone! So as you all probably know by now by mentioning it in previous posts, I am interning at a company know as Hello Social three times a week from 9am-5pm. On top of that, I have two days of classes, both of which start at 9am as well. This means that I really only have my weekends of having the pleasure of snoozing my alarm and enjoying a good sleep in – which is usually 1-2 hours after my alarm goes off. Having 9am starts 5 times a week is starting to get exhausting. Last week I started snoozing for an extra 10 minutes and I actually cannot believe what an impact those 10 minutes have had; basically a domino effect. Getting up 10 minutes later made me found myself debating whether I should still sit down and have a quick breakfast, or just head out immediately to get to uni/work on time. I ALWAYS choose breakfast. Choosing breakfast meant that I would miss the buses that I usually catch, and would have to wait an extra 10 minutes at the bus stop (and even sometimes the buses that do come 10 minutes later are packed that I end up waiting an extra 3-5 minutes for one that is not full). Extra waiting time last week meant that I was either 10 minutes late to class, or that I would have to race through the packed city and pedestrian crossings to get to work on time – practically two things I hate; being late and running.

Sometimes I wish that my Mom was here with me. I miss the days where I would still be able to snooze a few extra minutes, get ready and come down to have a decadent breakfast ready for me, and the same goes for lunch and dinner. Now when I get up in the morning and get ready, I still have to prepare a simple breakfast (usually toast or cereal). I sound like such a princess, but I really do miss having everything ready, and fresh from the stove too!

So how do I solve this issue of needing and wanting breakfast without being late or having to race through the morning? Easy. BREAKFAST MUFFINS ON THE GO. Now, this wasn’t my idea to begin with. On Saturday, while shopping with Jialing and Lydia, Jialing mentioned that she wanted to come over and make breakfast muffins so that she could start either taking them to work or eating them while waiting for the bus – and I thought, what a great idea? I mean, I wasn’t just going to watch her bake muffins at my place knowing that I wouldn’t have a batch for myself, so I decided to make some too and they are so great! I snoozed an extra 10 minutes, got ready, grabbed my muffins and lunch, and got to work with still about 15 minutes to spare (the thing about getting into the city before 9am is that I am either super early, or super late because of the bus schedules and everyone wanting to go into the city at the same time, so obviously super early is the better option). Got to work and still had 15 minutes to eat my muffins. I made a few other interns jealous of the delicious smell circulating the office though!

I might start a series on Breakfast Muffins for this blog for those who think they might find this helpful – I mean, day 1 and I am already finding it super helpful! Since I get off from uni at 12pm on Monday’s, I basically have the whole afternoon to make these muffins to last the working week. So, enough babbling, let’s get on with the recipe! But first, please do check out the original recipe on the kitchn.

PREP TIME 10 MINS | COOKING TIME 30-35 MINS | MAKES 12 MUFFINS

INGREDIENTS

4 large free range eggs
75g prosciutto, roughly chopped
1 cup almond meal (the one I bought from the store had quinoa in it)
1 cup cottage cheese
1/2 cup Parmesan cheese, grated
1/4 cup chives, finely chopped
1/4 cup water
1/4 cup whole wheat flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika
1/4 teaspoon salt

METHOD

Preheat oven to 200C. Grease the muffin tray with a little bit of butter and line each hole with baking paper (the butter will help it hold in place while you prepare your batter).
Whisk the cottage cheese, Parmesan cheese, eggs, and water together in a large bowl. Then add the flour, almond meal with quinoa, baking powder, smoked paprika, and salt. Whisk until no lumps remain.
Fold in the prosciutto and chives, whisking one more time if necessary to break up the clumps of prosciutto.
Then, divide the batter between the muffin cups and bake for about 30 to 35 minutes or until puffed and golden brown. Makes about 12 muffins.
Store any leftovers in the fridge and remember to warm slightly before serving.

BON APPÉTIT

– Ally xx

Blueberry & White Chocolate Pancakes

September 1, 2014December 31, 2018 amcarmenLeave a comment

Hello Everyone! Again apologies for the lack of posts, but I already explained my situation in the last post so I won’t be going through all that again! Anyway, apologies as well as this post was supposed to go up last night but I got so caught up in the kitchen the whole day from morning to afternoon, and night. Basically cooking all day long, firstly because I promised my housemate pancakes, and promised Jialing a baking session to drown her sorrows in, and then an impromptu homemade dinner session with Jialing as well. Recipes will be posted hopefully within the next few days, if I can get them all written up by tonight and just post over the coming days. I was also helping my lover Jialing to prepare her for her interview today, and also helped a fellow housemate with his internship application. The night flew by so quickly that it was way past midnight – I hadn’t written a post, and I needed to go to bed for an early 9am start. But don’t worry, because here it is now for you!

So, I actually promised my housemate Lydia that I’d make pancakes for her for breakfast on Saturday morning, but because I had a pretty rough night on Friday/early morning Saturday, I didn’t end up making pancakes for her. Long story short – it was a friend’s birthday party, things got out of hand, ended up spending my early weekend morning in the hospital until 3:45am. Don’t be alarmed! I was totally fine and sober (even after so many drinks, more than I thought I could handle), it was my friend who was totally out of it and I stayed by her side and made sure she was okay.

Anyway, so yes, pancake making day was pushed to yesterday morning. It was a great success in my opinion – especially since that this was the first time I was trying out this recipe, I mean, I’ve made my fair share of pancakes before, but not particularly with blueberries and white chocolate. So a little back story (because I know a few people out there who enjoy a few creative words on my posts), my housemate Lydia was trying to flip pancakes one night, prepping for breakfast the next day of course, and her pancakes crumbled. She got a few good ones though, but all in all she labelled them as fail pancakes. So the next time she made pancakes again… Well, it was hilarious! Basically we were having lunch together one day or more like our lunch times crossed at one point because I finished eating before her and I went back to my room. To my surprise when I came back down, I saw her in the kitchen and she was flipping pancakes. I asked her how she was going with them, and she replied “not so good. I actually waited for you to go upstairs so you wouldn’t see my fail pancakes!” How cute! So funny!

So basically, I decided to show Lydia how to flip pancakes yesterday. She tried, but still couldn’t flip them – so we made a deal that she will, by the end of the semester, be able to flip pancakes properly and cook me some! She did however participate in the making process – she was in charge of measuring out the dry ingredients while I worked on the wet, flipping of pancakes, presentation, and photography. And before I get on moving with today’s recipe, please check out the original recipe that I followed over on Oh Sweet Basil.

PREP TIME 15 MINS | COOKING TIME 45 MINS | SERVES 3-4

INGREDIENTS

2 cups plain flour
2 cups buttermilk*
2 free range eggs
1 cup fresh or frozen blueberries
1/2 white chocolate chips
2 tbsp white sugar
2 tbsp unsalted butter, melted
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt

*I didn’t have any buttermilk in the pantry so what I did was for every cup of milk I added a tablespoon of vinegar. Buttermilk has enzymes and lactic acid, which will react with the baking powder to create a light and fluffy texture with lots of little pockets of air for the pancakes. The vinegar in the milk will help to ensure this. Using just regular milk will not give you this result.

METHOD

Preheat oven to 100C. Start by adding all the dry ingredients into a large mixing bowl and whisk to combine.
Separate the egg whites and egg yolks in two small bowls. Using an electrical mixer, beat the egg whites until stiff peaks form.
In the other bowl whisk the egg yolks until light in colour. Then add in the butter and whisk. Finally add the buttermilk and whisk to combine altogether. Add the egg yolk mixture into the dry ingredients and stir with a wooden spoon.
Fold in the egg whites gently together with the blueberries and white chocolate chips. Be careful as to not to over mix the batter.
Lightly butter a small fry pan over medium heat and add about half a cup of batter. Allow it to cook until the bottom begins to turn golden and bubbles just start to form on the top. Flip and cook until set on the other side. Repeat with remaining batter – should make about 9 pancakes. Place the cooked pancakes on a baking tray lined with parchment paper and place in the oven to keep warm until all the pancakes have been cooked. Serve immediately.

BON APPÉTIT

– Ally xx

Bar Indigo

July 24, 2014December 31, 2018 amcarmenLeave a comment

Hello Everyone! Today’s post won’t be a recipe, but instead I want to share with you this gem of a place that I recently visited with my ladies for what was supposed to be a nice Sunday brunch, but instead turned out to be a late lunch. In a nutshell, my friend Yvonne wanted to try this place out and recommended it to both Jialing and I. So Jialing and I planned our trip since we live in the same area, just a suburb away. We decided that we would get into the city at around 10am and meet Yvonne there to arrive at Double Bay by 10:30am and hoping to start eating by 11am. Yvonne then said it was too early and told us to come into the city around 11am, and I was like, what?!

Ally: But the whole point of brunch is that it is in between breakfast and lunch! Brunch for me is like 10am… 11am is already pushing it because it’s close to noon which is lunch for me!
Yvonne: When I said brunch, I actually meant lunch!

God bless her haha! Anyway, so we then decided to push it to meet up at 11am in the city, to be at Double Bay by 11:30am and have ‘lunch’ by noon. As usual, Jialing and I got to the city just 2 minutes past 11 and Yvonne was still at home. So we waited around for another 20 minutes for her and finally got on the bus to Double Bay. At this point I was super hungry also because I didn’t have anything to eat beforehand. We got to Double Bay at roughly around noon and when we got to Bar Indigo, man was it busy! We still had to wait for a table, another half hour. As we waited, we went through the menu and it was sounding so delicious – and a bit torturous being very hungry and all as we watched dishes go by. Finally we sat down and ordered and I can say that the wait was all worth it! The food was absolutely amazing (but then again I find EVERYTHING amazing, especially when I’m super hungry).

The food did not disappoint at all. The portions were massive! Actually their plates were massive as well that it could barely sit on the table we sat at! Also, their plates – loved them. I have a new sense of appreciation for plates ever since taking up an intro to ceramics class last semester – which by the way I got an overall High Distinction for (you know, those Lovelily plates I posted about probably weeks ago, yes those)!

The one thing I love about going out with my girls is that we all decide one one dish that we like most, and once the food arrives, we split our dishes into three, and share – which I think is the best thing to do if you want to be able to try more than one dish, especially if it’s your first visit. Simply amazing! I say this in particular because I do have other friends who don’t like to share dishes – that is if it is a dish that is not meant to be shared.

FROM THE FARM: Argentine Salmon Omelette
Oven-roasted salmon, bell peppers, spring onion, flame-grilled corn & coriander salsa, sweet potato, fresh aversana mozzarella & chimichurri sauce ($19.90)

This was the dish that I ordered, and for one very particular reason as well which was the description. It just screamed my name! Salmon, eggs, and chimichurri?! Why not!

FROM THE GARDEN: Grilled Lamb Salad
Crispy flat bread, sweet yoghurt, baby carrots & couscous ($29.90)

A dish that Yvonne ordered. The description isn’t as fancy as the others only because I completely forgot to take a photo of the menu description for this! And it wasn’t on their website as well because they changed their menu I think for the season. Nonetheless, that lamb was cooked to perfection and the flavour combinations went really well together. Loved the presentation as well (you can’t really see it in the photograph above, but those crispy flatbreads standing tall from the plate looked so majestic)!

INDIGO LUNCH FAVOURITES: Free Range Victor Churchill Duck Sausage Risotto
Chicken stock, thyme leaves, spring onion, white truffle oil, garlic, chives, mascarpone, sliced asparagus, parsley, aged parmesan & asparagus crisp ($28.90)

And finally the dish Jialing ordered (or more like I recommended since the description appealed a lot to me as well). The risotto was really rich and creamy, packed with lots of flavour and just… SO yummy. And those duck sausages, just WOW.

After our lunch, we still had space for a yummy warm dessert (since it was freezing cold out). It was probably one of the best decisions we made together as a group only because I know for a fact that we usually go for a walk first after a meal to clear our bloated tummies, and then get dessert elsewhere, but this time around we decided to go for some fluffy pancakes because they looked oh-so-good on various Instagram accounts.

INDIGO BREAKFAST FAVOURITES: Fluffy Buttermilk Pancakes
Maple syrup, caramel-glazed bananas & vanilla whipped mascarpone ($18.90)

The winner for me, hands down. I actually wanted these pancakes to begin with but I thought starting the day (in terms of the first meal of the day) with sweet pancakes just didn’t quite fit with me, needed something savoury. JUST LOOK AT ALL THAT FLUFF!

One of my favourite spots indefinitely. Great food, great company. The bill scared me a little bit, but otherwise affordable, just not a place to eat at every single week – for me that is. Be sure to check this place out if you haven’t already done so! Cheers!

Bar Indigo
15 Cross Street
Double Bay, New South Wales
Australia, 2028

– Ally xx

South American Style Eggs with Fresh Tomato Salsa & Turkish Bread Roll

June 2, 2014December 28, 2018 amcarmen3 Comments

For brunch yesterday I had planned to make a sandwich with my Turkish bread roll. I had bought some Hungarian salami, tomatoes, rocket leaves, and a spicy capsicum spread to go with it. When I actually started to gather the ingredients for my sandwich I realised I had an untouched carton of a dozen eggs, I then decided to poach an egg or two to go with my sandwich. I then also spotted chorizo sausages at the back of the refrigerator and I instantly wanted to fry those up too with some caramelised onions.

I then ended up completely changing what I had in mind as I started to chop up the ingredients. I slowly craved for scrambled eggs with chorizo on the side… And then I thought of those South American Style Eggs that I had at Café con Leche about a month ago. I stopped there – I scrapped the salami and decided scrambled eggs with chorizo it was! I didn’t want the bread to go stale as well so I ended up toasting those in the oven and having them with my lunch. I also wanted to use the tomato and rocket leaves I bought so I ended up making a fresh salsa with it. My simple sandwich turned into something so epically large that it left me 5-months pregnant with a food baby (an expression that I always use to describe a very good, but gluttonous, meal).

PREP TIME 10 MINS | COOKING TIME 10-15 MINS | SERVES 1

INGREDIENTS

For the eggs:

2 large free range eggs
1 Mexican chorizo sausage, sliced
2 tbsp milk
1/2 spanish red onion, diced
2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
Ground salt and pepper

For the tomato salsa:

1/2 large tomato, diced
1/2 spanish red onion, diced
1 lime, juiced
2 tsp extra virgin olive oil
Handful rocket leaves
Ground salt and pepper

Turkish bread roll

METHOD

For the tomato salsa, combine all of the ingredients in a small bowl and toss to mix. Let it sit for an hour for the flavours to infuse (this is entirely optional, I let mine to sit for about 10-15 minutes and it still tasted amazing).
Preheat oven to 180C. Slice the bread roll in half and drizzle with olive oil. Place in the oven and toast for about 10 minutes or until golden brown (mine were a bit overdone only because I completely forgot about them in the oven).
In a small bowl, whisk together the eggs and milk, and season with salt and pepper. Heat the oil in a medium-sized frying pan over medium heat. and sauté onions until soft, about 2 minutes. Add the chorizo and cook, stirring, until just beginning to brown, about 5 minutes. Bring the heat down to medium-low and add he egg mixture and cook, stirring, about 3 minutes (or more depending on the desired firmness of the eggs). Transfer to serving plate with bread roll and tomato salsa.

On a side note, while attempting to give this recipe a fancier name than just Scrambled Eggs with Chorizo, I came across a Spanish recipe called Migas con Chorizo. Migas meaning a dish of eggs scrambled with torn-up corn tortillas, with Chorizo sausages. I am definitely keeping this in mind the next time I want to make eggs with chorizo.

BON APPÉTIT

– Ally xx

Banana, Blueberry & Peanut Butter Teddy Toasts

May 12, 2014December 28, 2018 amcarmen2 Comments

Good afternoon everyone! Maybe still morning for others, even maybe early morning or late evening. Today’s post is very simple, no method needed really. I made this a while back and was inspired by an Instagram photo that my sister tagged me in. A creative fix to shake away the Monday Blues! That’s really all I have to say today 🙂

PREP TIME 5 MINS | COOKING TIME — | SERVES 1

INGREDIENTS

3 slices of Wholemeal Omega-3 Chia Bread, from Baker’s Delight
1 large banana
1 punnet (125g) fresh blueberries
Crunchy peanut butter
Honey & maple syrup blend, to drizzle

I just realised when writing the ingredient list out, how stupid it looked when I first wrote “9 slices of bananas” and “9 blueberries” 😛

BON APPÉTIT

– Ally xx

AMCARMEN'S KITCHEN

A Third Culture Foodie

Tag: Breakfast

Breakfast Muffins: Pumpkin & Cheesecake with a Brown Sugar Streusel

PREP TIME 10 MINS | COOKING TIME 25 MINS | MAKES 12 MUFFINS

The Ultimate Brekkie

PREP TIME 10 MINS | COOKING TIME 30-35 MINS | SERVES 2

Breakfast Muffins: Bacon, Cheese & Zucchini

PREP TIME 10 MINS | COOKING TIME 22 MINS | MAKES 12 MUFFINS

Breakfast Muffins: Banana & Cinnamon Crumb Top

PREP TIME 5 MINS | COOKING TIME 18-20 MINS | MAKES 12 MUFFINS

Baked Eggs with Chorizo & Red Capsicum

PREP TIME 5 MINS | COOKING TIME 20-25 MINS | SERVES 4

Breakfast Muffins: Prosciutto & Chives

PREP TIME 10 MINS | COOKING TIME 30-35 MINS | MAKES 12 MUFFINS

Blueberry & White Chocolate Pancakes

PREP TIME 15 MINS | COOKING TIME 45 MINS | SERVES 3-4

Bar Indigo

South American Style Eggs with Fresh Tomato Salsa & Turkish Bread Roll

PREP TIME 10 MINS | COOKING TIME 10-15 MINS | SERVES 1

Banana, Blueberry & Peanut Butter Teddy Toasts

PREP TIME 5 MINS | COOKING TIME — | SERVES 1