WIAW - Going Home

I am writing this post Tuesday night as tomorrow I have an incredibly busy day. I have to be up at five to finish packing, and then I have my final shift at the radio station where I am an intern and then I have to rush to the airport to catch my flight home. I cannot wait to get home tomorrow - I've missed my family tons. It is sad to be finishing my internship, I've had so much fun working with the guys there and it was a great experience. I don't know if I want to work in radio when I graduate, but it has definitely made me want to be journalist.

Also, Jamie Oliver is currently on Masterchef Australia. He is calling the girls he is competing against 'babe' and 'sweetheart' in his gorgeous accent. He is so humble, and so lovely. My roommates and I are sitting here swooning.

So, enough talking. Onto the eats for this week - and this month WIAW is focusing on sensible snacking. As usual, to check out other WIAW, go to our lovely hosts website - Peas and Crayons. Thanks for hosting Jenn!

Breakfast: Peanut butter, banana and honey on wholemeal toast

Lunch: Brown rice and salmon, followed by fresh cut pineapple and the last of my sugar coated almonds

Snack (unpictured): Weetbix and a little bit of brownie

Dinner: I tried a new pasta tonight - if you want the detailed recipe let me know! It involves whole wheat pasta, zucchini, tomato, sauteed mushrooms, spinach, flaked almonds, and good amounts of garlic, lemon juice and onion (and good herbs - basil, rosemary, oregano and coriander). Topped with parmesan, obviously.

Dessert: Greek yoghurt with a healthy oatmeal chocolate chip cookie (Skinnytaste recipe slightly adapted) and a brownie. It is possible another brownie was consumed after the photo was taken. I am sorry about biting the brownie - I got ahead of myself.

I think overall I did a pretty good job - four lots of veggies, two lots of fruit, a good amount of dairy and whole grains. Maybe a little too much sugar was consumed for my tastes - I shouldn't have had the brownies after dinner, but overall, I think I did sensibly snack.

Hope you are all having a fantastic week! 

The Best Brownies - one bowl, fudgy, double chocolate brownies

I'm pretty excited I get to go home on Wednesday. I haven't been home in six months, so this is exciting. I have been lucky enough to see both my parents in this time, but not my brother. We talk mostly to send each other funny things we have found on the internet. But lately I've actually had conversations with him and its cool - my roommates have been so busy studying lately I'm glad I've had him to talk to. It's going to be good to see him again - I've already planned out some stuff to bake - he's not big on sweet things, so this was hard.

He sent me this picture and said he thought of us when he saw it:

I'm not sure what to say to that.

Also my roommates introduced me to this incredibly funny tumblr - whatshouldwecallme. Seriously, go check it out. These are three of my favourite gifs (mostly because they apply directly to my life):
- My relationship with my siblings
- When you're alone in public
- When I see someone eyeing my food

Also the entire time I've been writing this post I have been listening to the same two songs. And singing along. Loudly. My roommates probably want to kill me. 

I thought, given the insane number of brownie recipes I have bookmarked, it was about time I actually did one. This recipe is pretty much a combination of most recipes out there - I've made it about every second day for the last couple of weeks, and I can assure you of its brilliance.

These are one bowl brownies, quick to both make and bake, and deliciously rich. You can use a microwave to melt the butter and chocolate - hell, I advocate doing it this way instead of taking your time over the stove. No need to mess around here. They are dense, fudgy and not remotely like cake. There is a lot of chocolate, but less sugar than in some other brownies. Also, use the best chocolate out there - at least 75% cocoa. This means the chocolate does all the talking in these brownies. They are very rich - just how I like them!

This will probably be the first thing I make my brother when I get home on Wednesday. They are perfect if you are craving chocolate or need to whip up something quickly for a party or an afternoon snack.

And I swear - these are way better than any package mix (and package mix brownies are my guilty pleasure). I hope I did a good job selling these in the title of the post, and in the post itself, because I swear, if there is one unhealthy thing from this blog you should treat yourself to - it is these. You won't regret it.

Level of Difficulty: Super easy – they are one bowl!

Average Cost: $ - the good chocolate is often expensive though – I buy a ton of blocks when they are on special. I admit people do stare at me when I load my trolley with chocolate blocks.

Menu Options: You can change the recipe rather easily – the amount of chocolate and chocolate chips can be changed to suit your taste. If you prefer milk/sweet chocolate, you can change the type of chocolate.

Makes 21 small brownies – this is how I cut them to restrict how many I eat, but you can cut them into however many brownies you want.

What you need:

-          100 – 200 g dark chocolate - depending on how rich you want these. In all honesty, I use 200 g of 85% cocoa chocolate. Use unsweetened or ‘dark’ chocolate. For the best results, make sure the chocolate is at least 75% cocoa.

-          ¾ cup butter

-          ½ cup brown sugar

-          1 cup sugar

-          3 eggs

-          1 tsp vanilla

-          1 cup flour

-          1 tsp salt

-          ½ cup of dark chocolate bits (unsweetened chocolate bits work best)

What to do:

Preheat the oven to 200 degrees Celsius. Grease a brownie pan and line it with parchment paper. I always advise this because it so easy to remove the brownies from the pan.

Break up the chocolate and place in a large, microwave proof bowl with the butter. Microwave the butter and chocolate in 30 second increments until the butter and chocolate have melted together.

In the same bowl, provided it is large enough, add the sugars. Whisk until the mixture is well combined.

Add the eggs and vanilla at once and whisk until well combined.

Sift the flour and salt into the mixture and using a wooden spoon, stir the mixture together. Be careful here not to overmix the brownie batter. You want to mix until the last of the flour strands are fading because you will mix the mixture again in a minute.

Stir the chocolate bits into the mixture. This won’t require a lot of stirring – make sure the chocolate bits are evenly spread throughout the mixture and there are no flour streaks.

Pour the batter, which should be heavy and thick, into a brownie pan. Place in the oven and cook for 20 – 25 minutes. Keep an eye on the brownies after 20 minutes because you don’t want the edge of the brownies to burn. The mixture may seem slightly undercooked when you first take it out of the oven, but once it has cooled the brownies remain fudgy yet firm.

Allow the brownies to cool for 10 minutes before slicing. Of course, I rarely follow this advice. Usually I take the brownies out of the oven and cut them and then burn my mouth when I eat them straight away. These would make the great basis of a sundae when hot (and cut into larger squares then usual) – paired with ice cream and caramelised bananas. I find these brownies are amazing hot and would make a perfect dessert, if cut into bigger sizes. They are pretty good at room temperature – not quite as brilliant as when the chocolate bits melt in your mouth. But once cooled completely and put in the fridge, they are dense, fudgy and still rich. And better than any package mix. They make the perfect snack, and if cut into 21 small pieces like I suggest, you will be able to stop yourself from eating too many.

Salmon and Potato Pizzas

I wonder what it says about my personality that my two bookmarks with the most pages bookmarked are 'pasta' and 'brownies'.

I also wonder what it says about my personality that today, at one of the best markets in Australia (in my opinion, and I have been to a few markets), I bought no things, just food. Dutch pancakes, so light and fluffy, drowned in maple syrup. Sugar roasted almonds, so sweet and crunchy. Two bagels, claimed to be as good as those in New York (this was claimed by an actual New Yorker buying them in front of me). Raw honey, made by a woman who kept bees in her backyard. Mango chutney, homemade with Indian spices for a tang. Greek yoghurt, made with half goats cheese yoghurt, by a woman who bred the goats and made the yoghurt at her home.

In my defence, I did not eat all of this in one day - obviously the honey, chutney, almonds and one bagel is leftover. Obviously.

Now this pizza here; it is refreshingly easy, wholesome and wonderfully sweet. There is a delicious crunchiness to the dish, as the base is thin and nutty. The potatoes are soft, yet slightly crunchy, while the cheese melts over the pizza. The salmon is light, refreshing and sweet, contrasting with the hard taste of the base and potato.

I cannot tell you how much I want you to make this. It is absolutely wonderful. It is even roommate approved, and I had one roommate never eat salmon until I made this.

Level of Difficulty: Easy – slicing the potatoes is the hardest part of this.

Average Cost: $$$ - damn you, salmon. Of course the cost depends on the type of salmon you get. If you buy real, fresh salmon, it is incredibly costly. If you are like me and buy frozen salmon which requires you to cook the salmon in the microwave for a few minutes, it’s much more affordable. The salmon I buy involves no cooking, but trust me, it doesn’t taste as bad as it sounds.

Menu Options: You can change the cheese, you can add other types of cheese, more oil, change the type of base, etc. Like most of my recipes, this is very simple, not so much a recipe as more of a throw-together kind of meal, and is definitely something I recommend trying this way first. Like all my recipes, it can be changed easily and to your taste. This will, of course, change the nutritional values.

Adapted from: Taste.com

Makes 4 pizzas.

What you need:

-          4 wholemeal pita breads

-          Canola oil spray (other ones will work too)

-          4 -6 potatoes, depending on size and how many potatoes you want on your pizzas

-          3 tsp dried thyme

-          3 tsp dried rosemary

-          1 cup grated low-fat mozzarella cheese

-          2 – 4 salmon fillets, depending on size (I used 3, and mine were average sized fillets)

-          2 tbsp sour cream

-          1 tbsp  lemon juice

-          4 tsp oregano

What to do:

Preheat the oven to 200 degrees Celsius. Place the pita breads on a tray and spray them each with canola oil.

Thinly slice the potatoes and arrange them on the pita breads so the slices overlap or closely touch.

Divide the thyme and rosemary over the four pizzas. Be sure to spread the herbs evenly over each individual pizza.

Divide the cheese over the pizza. Ensure the cheese covers all the potato.

Place in the oven for 20 minutes. Check frequently from 10 minutes on, to make sure the cheese and pita bread doesn’t burn, but you want to make sure the potatoes are cooked through. Remove from oven when cheese is golden and bubbly, potatoes are tender and base is crisp and not burnt.

Meanwhile, cook the salmon fillets over medium heat in a frypan. Season with salt and lemon and cook for 3 minutes on each side or until the salmon is cooked through and tender. I personally buy packaged salmon which requires 2 – 3 minutes in the microwave to cook. You can do either method – this is how I cook salmon if I buy real salmon, but I don’t do that often (okay, so I’ve only done it once), and this is how I cook frozen salmon. The point is cook the salmon however you want or however instructed to by the package.

Using a fork, flake the cooked salmon into chunks.

In a small bowl, combine the sour cream and lemon juice and mix until well combined.

Remove the pizzas from the oven and divide the salmon chunks equally between the pizzas. There should be a lot of salmon on each pizza. Also divide the sour cream mix between the pizzas. Finally, top each pizza with a teaspoon of oregano, spread over the surface.

Serve hot.