Hole-y Mother of Cream Cheese - Homemade Bagels!

I spent a fabulous fortnight in the U.S.A. last December and hands down the best thing I ate for breakfast was the humble bagel. Bagels in the past had always underwhelmed me - I really just thought of them as doughnut shaped bread rolls. But that's essentially what they are this side of the Pacific. Which is a shame because they make a fantastic vehicle for glorious swirls of cream cheese; flavoured or plain. Ever since I got home, I've been on the look out for the 'real thing' here in little old Perth. With no luck, I decided to take a stab at making my own. Read on for my recipe!

The Only Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipe You'll Ever Need

 Question: What makes your ultimate chocolate chip cookie? Mine is crispy on the edges, soft and fudgy in the centre, bursting with chocolate chips and with a salty kick to it. That sweet and salty thing that's so trendy right now definitely blows my skirt up! I actually developed this recipe based on the Momofuku Milk Bar method of making cookies. I love, love, LOVED the Milk Bar Corn Cookies but I wanted to make my own version of a classic Chocolate Chip Cookie. Read on for my recipe!

Better than yo' mama's Hot Cross Buns!

 Well hello there! Long time no see! I'm back from my self imposed blogging exile and come bearing gifts! Specifically, this kick ass recipe for hot cross buns in honour of the Easter holidays. These are big fat squishy buns and you should definitely give them a go this long weekend!

Lady Grey Tea Cookies

Good Lord, I've been a terrible blogger! Resolving to try harder as of...now! I've had these cookies hidden up my sleeve for almost a month now (not literally up my sleeve, because that would just be messy) and I'm a horrible person for withholding because believe me when I say; you need these in your life! They're buttery, delicate and utterly decadent because I dipped them in dark chocolate like the excessive person I am. And in a bid to be more twee and kitschy (twitschy?); I shaped them like teabags and threaded them with twine. I like cute stuff... so sue me! Read on for the recipe.

Moroccan Shakshuka

 Can you imagine a more perfect breakfast than runny eggs, poached in a zingy tomato sauce laced with spicy chorizo and topped with creamy nuggets of feta cheese? Didn't think so! I first fell in lust with this dish at the Twilight Hawkers Markets, held every Friday night in the CBD during the summer months, last year and I've been perfecting my own version ever since. Shak Shuka - Moroccan Experience is the place to go for shakshuka in Perth. They serve theirs with a side of harissa mayo and crusty french baguettes. Truly excellent. If you ever spot them around town, I'd definitely recommend giving them a try! Read on for my take on this iconic Moroccan dish.

Chocolate Crinkle Cookies

Am I the only one that thinks these cookies look Christmassy? There's something about the snowy white icing sugar that makes me think of Yuletide. Every November, I tell myself I'm going to be super organised and do the whole homemade, personalised Christmas gift thing and then spend December in a state of relaxation and poise. Instead, I always find myself getting sucked into the shopping spirit and spend December running around malls like a madwoman, snapping up Christmas presents left, right and centre! However, these cookies are amazingly easy and so pretty that I may be able to inject a little homemade love into my Christmas gift giving this year. These cookies are known as both Chocolate Crinkles or  Chocolate Crackles. Personally, when I think of Chocolate Crackles, I think of the treats made out of Rice Bubbles, Copha and cocoa so to me, these are Crinkles! Read on for the recipe!

Spicy Coconut Prawns (Ginataang Hipon)

 This is one of my absolute, hands down, favourite Filipino dishes. Fresh prawns, poached in a spicy coconut milk sauce, served over fluffy jasmine rice - can't beat it! It's known as Ginataang Hipon in the Philippines; ginataang means to cook in coconut milk and hipon means prawns, ergo prawns cooked in coconut milk. With this dish; be prepared to get messy! You'll also need asbestos fingers to handle peeling the steaming hot prawns. Totally worth it though, I promise! When my dad would make this for us as kids, he would always tell us to suck on the prawn heads before discarding them. The thought of sucking on prawn brains used to gross me out to no end but I eventually gave it a shot and wouldn't you know? Dad was right. The broth soaks into every nook and cranny and you'll want to get to every last, delicious drop. Read on for my recipe!

Homemade Cacao-Coconut Body Butter

Have you ever had a lipgloss or a shampoo or something that smelled so good you just wanted to eat it? This is exactly like that... except you probably could eat it if you really wanted to! I've never really been one to worry about the effects of chemicals on my skin (in my own twisted logic I figured the more preservatives in my cosmetics, the more preserved I would end up. WRONG!) but lately I've been more and more interested in natural beauty alternatives. Not to say I'll be turning my back on lab produced goodies but once in a while, it's nice to give your skin a bit of a break. After all, it does such a marvellous job of holding in all your organs, the least you could do is feed it something good! This lush body butter has only 3 ingredients; cacao butter, coconut oil and sweet almond oil. It smells like a coconut truffle. If you've ever wanted to smell like an expensive box of chocolate then this is for you! Read on for my recipe.

Sticky Honey Soy Chicken Wings

Are you a drumstick or a flat person? I've found when it comes to wings, you're either one or the other. Personally I'm a drumstick girl; it's ever so slightly easier to eat in a daintier fashion. Although I suppose the concept of daintiness doesn't exactly go hand in hand with the act of eating chicken wings. These wings are so easy to make, they don't need to be marinated for ages and are a total hit with just about everyone that encounters them! They're great party guests; you can make an absolute truckload with no effort at all. Once you try these, you'll never buy those sugary pre-marinated chicken pieces at your local deli counter again. 

Garlic & Chilli Labneh (Strained Yoghurt)

I have an unhealthy obsession with Greek yoghurt. Truth. I always have a big tub of it in my fridge and I'm constantly finding delicious new uses for this miracle dairy product! It's my secret ingredient for moist cakes, it's an awesome, healthy substitute for sour cream on tacos and nachos or stir in some garlic and herbs to make a truly yummy vegetable dip. I've even heard that it makes an excellent hair mask but I'm usually too busy eating it for breakfast to have enough for my hurr! Read on for my recipe for labneh!

Instant Gratification Brownies

Once, during my younger, less dignified days, I had a chocolate craving so intense I actually sucked the chocolate coating off a jar of chocolate covered peanuts. Sad to say, I left the nuts in the jar to be consumed by an unfortunate bystander. I'm not proud of it. Luckily, I now have this awesome recipe up my sleeve for when the chocolate haze descends! I've discussed my love of one bowl recipes before and this definitely qualifies. All you need is a microwave, a brownie pan and a spatula. Amazingly, this  recipe doesn't use melted chocolate as many brownie recipes do. Instead, they get their deep chocolate flavour from dutch cocoa! This recipe is actually from Smitten Kitchen as the Best Cocoa Brownies and let me tell you... they are. I consider them my Instant Gratification Brownies as it takes barely 30 minutes from when a craving hits to being able to stuff a fresh, warm brownie in my mouth. What more could you ask for? Read on for the recipe!

Momofuku Milk Bar Corn Cookies

Continuing my Momofuku Milk Bar obsession; I recently tried my hand at making these Corn Cookies!  They're salty, sweet and totally addictive. They get their flavour from freeze dried corn kernels, which are blitzed into a fine powder. Freeze dried food is a little hard to come across in Australia and I spent far more time than I care to admit trying to track this stuff down. It's readily available in the U.S. (Amazon.com has your back there) but Aussies will pay through the nose looking for dried corn. I finally found it on iHerb.com, which has awesomely cheap shipping rates as well. These cookies also use corn flour, not to be confused with cornstarch; which can be found in health food shops as maize flour (the type used for making tortillas etc.). Read on for the recipe!

Momofuku Milk Bar Bagel Bombs are 'Da Bomb'!

I've finally got my mitts on a copy of Christina Tosi's book; Momofuku Milk Bar Cookbook. It's been on my wish list for a while in lieu of legging it over to NYC to try these goodies in person. The recipes can be a little convoluted, in that recipe within a recipe within a recipe sort of way (Recip-ception... Coming to a theatre near you!) but otherwise they're very easy! Tosi guides you through every step of the way and everything in the book just sounds so delicious!

The book is very dessert focused but has a great chapter on savoury goods in the back as a respite from all the sugar. I love making sweets and desserts but my sugar tolerance levels usually peak at half a cupcake. However, put me in front of a bowl of fries and that thing is demolished before you can say 'Pass the salt.'.

With that in mind I thought I would break in my new book with some savoury awesomeness. I present to you... The Bagel Bomb! Cream cheese, bacon and spring onions wrapped in squishy bread and topped with EVERYTHING! Read on for the how-to!

Salted Caramel, Chocolate and Popcorn Cupcakes

These nutty little beauties are cupcakes I made for a competition in the newly launched Taste Magazine. The idea is to 'cook the cover' and share the results on their social page. Let me just say... I love this new magazine! It's beautifully designed and the food photography is gorgeously styled. It reads like your favourite food blog and the contributors are all well known Australian food personalities. In fact, Adriano Zumbo gives up his recipe for his famous Zonuts, his riff on the notorious Cronut. Awesome!

Coconut & Mango Victoria Sponge

This week, I've been re-watching old episodes of The Great British Bake Off in search of inspiration. Safe to say, 'soggy bottoms' and 'good bakes' have become part of my day to day vernacular. Another side effect of my 'Bake Off' binge is my brand new girl crush on Mary Berry. Girlfriend knows her stuff! I've tried a few of her recipes and let me tell you now... they DO NOT disappoint! This recipe is inspired by her Perfect Victoria Sandwich; an absolute classic. I, of course, had to put a tropical spin on it. Result: Coconut and Mango Victoria Sponge!

Cathedral Window Jelly

I love this recipe! Straight out of the 1970's...it's so hilariously retro. This is a Filipino dessert, usually served at Christmastime (hence the festive colours). The adorable cubes of fruit jelly, suspended in sweet, pineapple flavoured cream jelly make for a very refreshing dessert. You can see where we get it's namesake from too. Don't let jelly's unfashionable reputation put you off; embrace the delicious irony and make this ridiculously easy dessert NOW!

Dark Chocolate & Coconut Macaroons

This week I tried my hand at making good old fashioned coconut macaroons. Sure, they're not as pretty or colourful as their French counterparts; le macaron, but gosh darn they're tasty! They're also naturally gluten-free which is awesome news for my gluten intolerant brethren. If you make them with a meringue base then they're also dairy free...Bonus! I make mine with condensed milk and a whisked egg white to lighten them up a little.

Homemade Pulled Pork & Carnitas Tacos

Welcome to part dos of my Mexican fiesta! I made a huge batch of pulled pork which is a. delicious, b. so freaking easy to make it actually embarrassing and c. so versatile it can be the base of at least four different dishes! I made it quite basic in terms of flavour in keeping with the versatility theme but you can definitely jazz it up to suit your tastes.

Viva Mexico! Guacamole, Pico De Gallo and Sweetcorn Salsa

Buenos días! Growing up, I thought Old El Paso was the epitome of Mexican cuisine. Just goes to show what I know! Now that I've wised up a little check out these colourful kiddies I made to go with some pulled pork tacos (recipe to be posted later this week) I made yesterday. Clockwise from the top we have Pico De Gallo, Sweetcorn Salsa and Guacamole.

Idiot-Proof Muffins

Let me begin by saying, I hate doing the dishes. Yet, a pile of dirty dishes in the sink drives me to distraction. It's a terribly vicious cycle of annoyance. So, when I first began baking on my own (in other words, doing more than waiting to lick the spoon), the main selling point of a recipe was how little washing up there was to do after. Words like one-bowl and melt & mix were a siren song to my dirty dish hating ears. These muffins were one of the first things I ever learnt to make and as such; I dub them Idiot-Proof Muffins! This recipe uses exactly one bowl, one jug and one spoon. Period.