Kale chips
There are so many recipes out there for this simple superfood snack but I never believed they were truly that simple until I tried them for myself. All you need is 20 minutes up your sleeve, a bunch of kale, spray oil and a little seasoning. And there you have it – crunchy, light, ‘healthy’ chips.
Kale chips
1 bunch kale (I used purple), washed and woody stalks trimmed
olive oil spray
1-2 teaspoons of your favourite seasoning mix (I used za’atar and sea salt but you could use any pre-made dry seasonings that you find in the spice aisle such as Mexican, spicy barbecue, Mediterranean harissa etc. Just bear in mind that if it is salt based use a little less or you will overpower the kale)
Preheat oven to 180°C (fan-forced). Line two large baking trays with baking paper. Spread kale evenly over trays, tearing up any really large leaves. Spray lightly with oil. Sprinkle with seasoning and toss to coat. Bake for 10 minutes. Turn kale and bake for a further 5 minutes or until crispy. Allow to cool.
The chips are best eaten the same day.
oOo These chips do tend to leave green bits in your teeth! So take a peek in the mirror before heading off to a date.
The blog turns 1!
Goodness, I only just realised over the weekend that the blog is a year old this month. Happy birthday to me! Wow that year went fast. Anyone else find that? Here’s to many more happy blogging years ahead.
Carrot cake with cream cheese frosting and a DIY fringe cake topper
I recently hosted a friend’s baby shower which was lots of fun. She had mentioned she liked carrot cake and I had never made one before so gave it a go. It was really delicious, moist and sweet with a nutty walnut crunch. The recipe was adapted from The Hummingbird Bakery cookbook.
In this scene: Peach cake stand, DIY fringe cake topper (how-to below)
Carrot cake with cream cheese frosting
300g brown sugar
3 eggs
150ml olive oil
150g butter, melted
300g plain flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
300g carrots, grated
100g walnuts, chopped
Cream cheese frosting
450g icing sugar, sifted
75g butter, softened
190g cream cheese, cold
1 tablespoon lemon juice
Preheat oven to 170°C (conventional). Grease and line 2 x 20cm round cake tins with baking paper. Place the sugar, eggs, oil and butter in electric mixer and beat until well combined. Add the flour, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon, ginger, salt and vanilla and beat until well combined. Fold through the carrot and walnuts. Pour into prepared tins and bake for 35-40 minutes or until golden and the cake bounces back when touched. Allow to cool in the tins. Spread a cooled cake with half the frosting. Top with the other cake and spread this with frosting.
To make the cream cheese frosting, beat the icing sugar and butter together in an electric mixer on medium until well combined. Add the cream cheese and lemon and beat until completely incorporated. Increase the speed and beat for 5 minutes or until light and fluffy.
Serves 12
DIY fringe cake topper
To make the sweet cake topper all you need is:
2 x wooden skewers
2 x 15cm lengths tissue garland
superglue
Place a dot of glue at each end of one of the tissue garlands and attach to the tops of both skewers. Repeat with remaining garland and stick to the other side of the skewers. Allow to set somewhere flat.
Keep an eye out as I will be posting more recipes from the baby shower very soon!
Some of my favourite things this month
1. Love Bake Nourish from Bookworld (my new Australian go-to site for well-priced books). I love this book as the recipes are all based on a healthier way to bake. She uses interesting flours like rye, spelt and buckwheat and does not use any white sugar, preferring maple, honey and fruit to sweeten.
2. Rainbow chard is in season at the moment and is also growing in my garden. I like how it brightens up my vege drawer. I am going to try a chard, tomato and pearly barley risotto with it this week. (Image from No Pasta for Penguins).
3. Rifle Paper Co. iPhone covers come in a variety of patterns but I really love the florals the best.
4. Wedge sneakers from Target. Wouldn’t these add a pop of colour to your Autumn wardrobe?
5. Pomegranate molasses can be found at supermarkets and specialty food stores. It is a sweet and sour syrup that is delicious in marinades and dressings.
6. The mortadella plate at Buffalo Dining Club. I wasn’t sure what I was expecting when I ordered this but it definitely exceeded any possible expectations. It was golden and crispy on the outside and soft and salty in the middle. Definitely not your average luncheon meat.
Succulents in jars
I love indoor plants but sometimes I forget to water them and only notice when they start to look a bit brown and tired. Which is kind of weird because I really enjoy watering my vege garden. Go figure. So the other day at Bunnings I picked up some little succulents as they need almost no watering, the perfect indoor plant for me! Don’t you think they look sweet in these jars?
How to plant succulents
They are pretty hardy little plants so don’t need a lot of attention but here are a few things to keep in mind.
1) Place some pebbles or stones in the bottom of your jar for drainage.
2) Use a sandy potting mix. I live near the beach so our soil is really sandy. I combined regular potting mix with some of the soil from my garden. You could always just grab some sand from the beach and mix it through too.
3) Place the succulents in a sunny spot or they will become long and skinny.
4) Water very rarely as soggy soil will cause the roots to rot. Avoid watering in winter.
Wouldn’t they make great gifts too? Just tie a bow around the jar and you have an instant house-warming or hostess gift.
