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How the past few weeks have flown by, and foodmage.com has layed neglected in cyberspace as a result of my real life distractions of a sore throat (woe is me) and university examinations.

Exams mean two things - barbeques and procrastination. It is the second semester examination period when the sun finally creeps out and shines hardest, beaming away the chillest of breezes that sweep down from the Brindabellas. This change in climate combined with the excitment of end of year activities makes for the BBQ invitations to flow thick and fast, after all, who doesn't like a BBQ. (We like them so much, our household is in possession of three!)


And, procrastination. It's great isn't it. All you need is a couple of exams ahead and your bathroom will never be cleaner, your pantry never tidier, your ebay research skills never so finely honed. After seven years of university I feel I have really nailed the art of procrastination. I recently combined my love of procrastination with the asforementioned BBQ love. The result? Spending hours workshopping salad ideas by pouring over lavish recipe books with fabulously glossy photos. The next result? Realising I am still a povo uni student who can't afford to buy smoked trout and potato's I can't even pronounce the name of to faff into a fashionable salad to take along to a BBQ. Not deterred, I made do with what was in my now very tidy pantry- I suggest that if you are indeed off to a BBQ that you give it a burl...

PROCRASTINATION SALAD

In a frying pan on medium heat, tadd some olive oil and crushed garlic, throw in a handful of soaked or tinned black eyed beans, and stir around

Add some white wine to the pan and let the beans simmer for a while until the liquid has been absorbed and the beans have softened


Take the beans off the heat and let cool

While the beans are simmering, chop up a few tomatoes and spring onions, combine in a bowl and add the cooked cooled beans

Top with a good splash of olive oil, with salt and fresh black pepper.

Too easy! I think a creamier bean like Cannenelli or Bortoli would also work with this. I seem to talk about beans alot - I'm always on the pulse like that!
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Pancakes from scratch!

October 6th 2008 01:08
So, I know it's been a little while since I have written. Based on stat's though, it seems the frozen mince post was quite the conversation starter. Seems that lot's people out there have been faced with the same old icy-beefy conundrum. Potentially, there is the idea of dedicating an entire blog to frozen mince - but quite frankly, I'm not that cool.

(I know you secretly enjoyed that Dad joke)

Right, so I have been in the midst of assessment - which means one thing: PROCRASTINATION!

Yep, whilst I should be attempting to pump out 2000 well researched words with footnotes and all the et als, ibids and N Supras - I sit here instead - thinking about pancakes.

Pancakes are the ultimate food really. 3 ingredients. Can be done sweet or savoury and can be enjoyed anytime of the day or night.

I offered to cook a friend lunch today, and having forgotten about the public holiday I'm not in a position to run to to the shops. So, pancakes it is!

Get a big bowl
Throw in a cup of flour (You could sift it if you really wanted, and some people bang on about different types of flour - but I think whatever you have on hand will do)

If you don't have a cup measure, just use a kitchen cup or coffee mug as your base measure. Fill up the cup you used for the flour with milk.

Make a well in the flour and crack one egg into this. Beat the egg a little into the well, and then slowly fold the flour from the sides in.

Before folding all the flour in, start adding the cup of milk slowly, and giving it a good stir each time you add a bit more milk. This way, your batter will be nice and smmmmooooottthhhh.

If you have added all the milk and still aren't happy with the batter consistency, add a bit more milk. It's tempting to add lots of milk at once - but you get far better pancakes taking it easy on the milk front.

The pan is the really the thing that can make or break the success of a pancake. Non stick is your friend, and I am a big fan of the electric pan too. Whatever you use, make sure the pan is hot (but not too hot). Drop a bit of butter in to coat the pan, and then use a ladel to pour on the pancake mix.

Gently roll the pan so the batter evens out into desired pancake shape - when small bubbles start to form in the middle of the pancake it is time to flip it.

Let it cook for about a minute on the other side and then - you are done (well, for that panckae at least, you need to repeat the whole pour batter, cook, flip, cook process to make more).


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In the spirit of wasting less, not spending any more than necessary and attempting to cull the freezer of it's many unmarked bubbles of frozen plastic covered mysteries - I took out a kilo of mince and attempted to make it into dinner.

Of course, I could of defrosted it. But that would have taken time. So I just cranked up the burner, and bunged the whole rectangle slab right into the frying pan. I was somewhat enthusiastic in my cranking of said burner - and the icy chunk began to let of some carbony wafts rather than gently defrosting and turning into crushed meat of the more pliable variety.

The mince chunk was too large for the pan, and the bit over the end was bothering me. I had envisaged the solid rectangle breaking up into smaller bits, and then smaller and smaller again. To facilitate this plan, I thought i'd soften the meat brick with some boiling water. This just made the top layer turn a nasty shade of grey and the pan franitcally emit hisses of steam. Not wanting to be deterred, I thought adding more water would do the trick. Not learning from my prior mistake was clearly rubbed in when the meat morphed into futher greyscale and then appeared to be boiling in what now was a full pan of water.

I was boiling a kilo of frozen mince. Trying my best to view this experience as a crazy cooking experiment rather than a 'Jesus, I'm hungry, when is this going to be over' way. I decided to let in boil for a bit longer - then I had a change of heart (or stomach perhaps) and took the pan of the heat and poured the foamy, meaty liquid down the sink. With the pan back on the stove top, I attempted to mash the crap out the meat - but the best I could get it down to after all my wooden spoon efforts were mangaled thumb size chunks. It was then I attempted the taste test - which proved that it tasted as good as it looked; grey, rubbery and souless.

A rescue mission to salvage my revolting mince began with a hefty dollop of tomato paste,, allsorted pinches of mystery herbs, a cup of wine (going on the theory that wine makes everything better) and a generous dose of other freezer goodies in the form of peas and corn.

To be honest. It was still revolting.

Next time, I'll definatlely take the time to defrost the mince.
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Canap-ers!

September 7th 2008 04:46
Who doesn't love a canape! Not that long ago - sitting through a rather dull public lecture the promise of finger food at the end was the light at the end of my great boredom tunnel- when the speaker finally retired and everybody politely clapped, I said to my friend in true Kath and Kim tonality 'Let's get into the Ca-napes!' The girl sitting next me, turned around and sneered 'It's pronounced can-a-pay' . I refrained from explaining my postmodern use of the vernacular - and drowned my laughter at her horror in free champagne and ciculating nibblies...Call them what you will - Canapes are cute, bite sized parcels of goodness that can be made out of all sorts of foods. This recipe is quick, refreshing and a crowd pleaser.

You will need


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Budget food- Rice and Beans

September 2nd 2008 09:19
As my grocery bill keeps reaching new and amazing heights, and with the constant media bombardment saying we should all be eating less processed foods I have become a keen advocate of the humble rice and beans - a dish that costs only a few buckaroonies to make, tastes good and is like totally good for you!

(for the grammar Nazi's out there, I used 'like' in the previous sentence in an intentionally ironic way


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Stewin!

August 19th 2008 08:01
Stew comes in many great forms, notably the one you can eat, and the hilarious angry, gay baby from Family Guy - this post will be focusing on the former, as I even have one on go as I type. Too bad smell-o-net hasn't been invented yet cos this bad boy packs a fantastic olfactory punch.

I am a firm beliver, that like the curry, a stew can be made out of anything. It's also an awesome way to make all that left over crap in the pantry cooperate to form a decent meal


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Making Moules Mmmmm

August 18th 2008 08:23
I've recently discovered Moules, really that just is the fancy (read: french) way of saying mussels. I first had them at the Belgium Beer Cafe in Canberra, where for about twenty bucks you can get a big bowl of them, fresh and steaming served with another big bowl of crisp and salty frites (that's right, the fancy way of saying hot chips, or french fries if you will). They also have lots of great beer, served in fancy cups, which can be hard to replicate at home.

Word on the street is that in all their shellfishy glory, Moules are the national dish of Belgium. When I think of this little country, another type of mollusc springs to mind, but of the chocolate seashell variety. I have never got my head around the concept of shaping pralines into the fruits of the sea- but those flemish kids seem to love it. But I digress, here is how to save yourself twenty bucks and make your own moules


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This humble italian restaurant gracing Sargood St, at the O'Connor shops in Canberra is somewhat of a mystery, shrouded in intrigue, wrapped in an engima. Luckily, on the whole all such ambiguities are downright delicious- Marinetti delivers fantastic food at very reasonable prices. The traditional italian fare is both hearty and fresh. Generous portions, cooked to perfection without any pretentions at all.

In fact, ja ja chi chi pretensious wank is something that Marinetti is certainly sans. The decor is basic - unadorned orange walls looms over a scattering of non descript tables and chairs. There are no gentle grooves pulsing from the speakers to alleviate ambience- rather the sound of this place is of a hundred laughs and chatters of the guests that regularly pack this place out. If you want to have a talk with someone, this might not be a good place to come, as it is pretty noisy- but if you feel you have the vocal capacity to get over that slight hurdle and are after a looooooooooonnnnnnnng talk- then this is it- because it seriously will take well over an hour for you to get served


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Pumpkin and Two Pea Curry - Recipe

July 28th 2008 11:08
Fresh from the success of a cupboard forage feast I write this post. The feast was one very tasty Pumpkin and Two pea Curry, a dish I have long regarded a staple and has a base for easy improvisation. Even for a vegan dish it is surprisingly delicious - and it is quite possible to serve it to anti-veganites without them realising the meal is sans meat. So, here's the curry crunchdown;

1. Get home from work and realise only have a pumpkin


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Welcome back boys and girls to the second round of the Foodmage Cookbook Off! (insert wooting here). Today we will be looking at the "complete book of ingrediants and recipes for the Australian kitchen" which is none other than The Cook's Companion by one Stephanie Alexander.

This really is a great cookbook. If you could only ever have one cookbook for your entire life, this would be the one you want. In fact,I just had a look at the backcover and it has 'The book for a lifetime of cooking' written on it. At over a THOUSAND pages it might come across a bit scary, but the beauty of this book is it's designed for kitchen novices and masters alike


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