Green Tea Lamingtons

Lamingtons are Australian tea cakes. They are generally vanilla sponge cake squares, covered in a frosting glaze and dipped in desiccated coconut. They are usually double layered and the filling is usually either chocolate or jam. I really wanted to make a traditional Aussie dessert before I left Australia. Originally I wanted to make Pavlova, which is a meringue with creme and fruit, but without an electric blender that was out. So I decided to do Lamingtons, but with a twist! And that twist is matcha! I made green tea lamingtons, and they were amazing. No seriously, they lasted about a day and a half before my housemates and I devoured them. The baking part of this recipe was easy, it was the assembly that was difficult.

I baked the cake using a box mix and added matcha powder, I didn't have as much as I wanted so the cake ended up with this cake that had a slight matcha taste, it was nice but I would use more next time. For this recipe it requires that I cut the cake into easily dippable squares. Due to this I had to be strategic with what pan I baked the cake in. I decided on the bread pan, rather than our round cake pan. This ended up being a good idea. The first step to the squares was to trim off them rounded top of the cake (above), I think next time I'll trim the sides to make it more even as well, the reason I didn't this time is because I was worried about not having enough cake.

The next step was to do the layering. I sliced the cake into two layers, which was harder than expected to cut evenly, so the top layer was a bit thicker than the bottom (above left). Next I melted dark chocolate in the microwave and spread it on the bottom layer of the cake (above right). I tried to do this quickly before it hardened up again. Then I stuck the top layer back onto the cake. Next I cut the cake into 15 squares (below left). The next move was to arrange them for the dipping. So I covered a baking sheet in baking parchment and then arranged them on the tray. 

The next step was to dip them in frosting and then cover them in desiccated coconut. Now desiccated is a fancy word for dryed and dehydrated. This is a special type of shredded coconut and in order to really make this treat work you need to buy this kind, it prevents the cakes from getting soggy. What I did was buy some store bought vanilla frosting, I then microwaved it for about 20 seconds (below left) and dipped each individual square in the frosting. I tried to make sure that it was completely covered. Next I quickly moved the cake to a bowl with the coconut in it and covered the frosted cake in the coconut, once again trying to cover it completely. Then I set it on the baking sheet to harden. While my fingers got really messy during this process, it actually worked out so much easier than I expected. First of all, the heated frosting turned into this glaze that sticked really well, and the coconut adhered to it amazingly. And then when it was covered in coconut, I could move it around and set it down without it sticking (below right). Also, as one of my housemates pointed out, I got better at it as I went along so the later squares were easier and prettier.

These cakes tasted amazing. The matcha, vanilla, coconut, and chocolate each added their own texture and flavor to the dessert, and meshed really well together. These are perfect with a cup of tea (or matcha haha) after dinner. Or with a cup of coffee for breakfast! Lamingtons are classic Australia and it makes me happy that I will be able to make these anytime I want at home and bring Australia with me!

Thoughts on this Dessert:

• Like I said, next time more matcha is going into this recipe.
• I would like to try different flavors for these. My sister makes this awesome cake called 'Blush Cake' and I think that it would be great with this recipe, but with rose jam filling. Also I'd try them with taro cloud cake for sure!
• I think that next time I'd use chocolate frosting instead of vanilla.
• When doing the dipping step, its important to reheat the frosting for 5-10 seconds or so after each cake to make sure the consistency stays right. Also to add more frosting to the bowl when it starts to get low so that you don't have to scrape the cake on the bowl. 

Really happy that my last dessert here is a really cool Australian one, and one that I could make my own. I found it really fulfilling to be able to make a recipe that was complicated but turned out well. 

Sweet Apple Sangria

So for my Birthday I was given a bottle of Savigon Blanc. Since we are getting down to the wire and I needed to drink it, and a couple of ciders that I still had, before we all leave I decided to use it to make sangria! Basically, this is an extremely simple, but very tasty Sangria that you can make in a matter of minutes. I sliced up 4 small apples, 1 pear, and 2 mandarin oranges. Then I poured the bottle of wine, as well as 2 bottles of cider over them. I mixed the entire thing with 3 shot glasses worth of orange juice. Mix this carefully because the cider will fizz up. Then I stuck it in the fridge or 5 hours or so. We enjoyed our tasty drink/dessert while watching the Disney movie Frozen :P An excellent way to end a day! We all agreed that the ranking of the fruit was the pear, then oranges, then apples. Really the pears stole the show here, they sucked up the wine in a perfect way and were really wonderful. I think that I should have mixed this a little better because a bunch of the alcohol sunk to the bottom. However, even with that it really didn't taste alcoholic despite it mostly being wine and cider. A dangerous drink indeed :) I really enjoy sangria, and I look forward to making it more now that I can legally buy alcohol in the states!!

Quorn Fajitas

Quorn is a meatless protein that is synthesized from fungi. One of my vegetarian friends had been telling me about it for awhile now. They don't sell it in the states, but they do in Australia so I decided to get some to try as my last involved meal here. I got the fajita kind, it was sliced into strips and marinated in this awesome fajita seasoning (below). I fried up some peppers and onions in olive oil and bbq seasoning and then added the quorn at the end. It really was like making a fajita with meat, and was really simple.

To add to the meal I made some homemade refried beans… these were kinda guess work than anything else. I basically smashed up kidney beans with a fork and mixed in some cheese and heated them up (below right). I then assembled my fajita! I had mild salsa, shredded mozzarella, retired beans, and the fajita mixture. 

I assembled my beast (below) and as per usual with fajitas, it was an incredible mess, but it was a delicious mess! I really liked the Quron. I tasted like the seasoning and the consistency as actually like chicken. The peppers were cooked perfectly too. My only compliant is that it could have used so avocados, guac, or sour cream to even out the spiciness of the seasoning and the salsa. The reason I didn't buy any is because there is so little time left I didn't really want to buy too much extra food. It was still a great meal though. And I have enough fajita mix for 2 more meals. I used it to make a fajita salad last night and tonight I'm going to make a fajita quesadilla. This was a great way to get some protein and this is a really interesting way of getting it since it doesn't involve any chemical intensive agriculture. Right in line with my flexitarian ideals!

Balsamic Sweet Potato Chips

Snacks for dinner! After I made the Tim Tam Truffles I was not in the mood to make anything complicated for dinner. So I opted to try and make sweet potato chips. Super east and quick, they turned out pretty well. Basically I sliced 2 small sweet potatoes rather thinly (after steaming them in the microwave for about 2 minutes). Then marinated them in Balsamic vinegar with garlic salt, by shaking them in a tupperware container until they were covered (below left). I then arranged them on a plate and microwaved them for about 8 minutes, sprinkling more garlic salt before doing so. The before and after pics are below right, they shrink up and get crispy. Also I found letting them sit for a minute or so after the microwave helps them crisp up even more (as tempting as it was to just go ahead and eat them). This was a delicious and easy meal that I would usually do as a snack, but it also sufficed for a light dinner. 

Dark Chocolate Tim Tam Truffles

Volia! I give you the ultimate Tim Tam dessert, Tim Tam Truffles! One of my friends in the Pathfinder Program at Wash U makes these AMAZING oreo truffles, so I was inspired by her to do the same thing, but with Tim Tams. This recipe is actually really simple, but seems sophisticated. It's only 3 ingredients. Tim Tams, cream cheese, and melted chocolate. The result is a truffle that looks (if you roll it correctly) and tastes like something you would buy at a gourmet candy store (below). 

I used 1.5 packs of dark chocolate Tim Tams for this recipe, but in retrospect I would have used 2 whole packs instead. I blended the cookies (entire thing) until it was crumbs (below right). Then I added the cream cheese and blended that as well. This took awhile because I was using a magic bullet blender, which is rather small and really isn't made for this kind of mixing. When it was completely mixed to the desired consistence (bottom below), I stuck some dark chocolate into the microwave, for 4 30 second intervals, stirring in between. Then I rolled the Tim Tam mixture into balls and dipped it into the chocolate. This worked really well at first and I got about 3 completely covered truffles, but then the chocolate started to harden again, and it got a lot more difficult. 

I did eventually manage to roll them all. There were 15 truffles in total. After they were rolled I placed the cookie tray they were on in the fridge for about 3 hours. Then consolidated them in tupperware (below) and placed them back in the fridge. The refrigerator keeps the chocolate from melting and keeps the truffles together, so make sure you store them this way. My housemates and I agreed these were absolutely amazing. Yet another of my favorite desserts that I've made here, and it's so fun to bake with Tim Tams!

Thoughts on this Dessert:

• What a winner! Super easy and unique
• I would love to try these with other Tim Tam flavors. Mainly the Mint Slices, Caramel Tim Tams or the Orange ones. Unfortunately, I think that once I get back to the states I'm not going to want to waste my precious Tim Tams on baking… so while I might not get a chance to try these ideas, readers with access to Tim Tams should! Wish I had tried this earlier in the semester
• Next time I think I'm going to roll the truffles and stick them in the fridge before rolling them in the melted chocolate. This will help them stay together better and hopefully cut down on the time between rolling, so the chocolate won't solidify as quickly.

This were so fun to make and even more fun to eat. And a great twist on an Aussie favorite during SWOTVAC here at UQ. 

Maxibon Honeycomb Ice Cream Bar

Sooooo, I may have been craving ice cream earlier tonight. And I may have indulged in that craving, by going to the grocery store a block from our house to get an ice cream bar. But, I'm justifying it because I get to share some more Aussie food culture with you guys! So when we were at the zoo a couple of weeks ago we got ice cream bars (it's really common for snack bars/convience stores/resturants to stock ice cream bars all around Australia). I've been trying a bunch of kinds since I've been here, and besides the Milo Cups, which are actually kinda rare, I hadn't found one that I loved. That was, until the zoo. I got a Maxibon, and it changed everything! Maxibons are basically half ice cream sandwich half chocolate covered ice cream bar… so you don't have to choose! Whoever invented this was a legit genius. At the zoo I got a caramel flavored one, which I loved. But I wanted to try the other flavors as well. And today I finally got to! I tried the honeycomb one, and it was AMAZING. 

So first I should explain honeycomb. The same way that there are certain flavors that people LOVE in America and they have lots of sweet products with them (i.e. peanut butter and Red Velvet) Australia has flavors like that too. Two of the most prevalent are Turkish Delight, and honeycomb. They have honeycomb chocolate bars, and of course, honeycomb ice cream (I also saw online they have honeycomb tim tams but haven't come across any here :( ). Honeycomb is great and is sometimes mixed with chocolate crunchies or caramel. In the case of the Maxibon, there were chocolate chunchies in the honeycomb flavored ice cream (see below). It was so good. I loved the combination of the chocolate crust and crunchy ice cream of the bar part (see pic below on the left), but I have to say nothing beats the cakey cookies of an ice cream sandwich, so I think I may actually have liked the sandwich part better (pics below on right), but really the best part of this ice cream is that you get both and don't have to choose a favorite! 

Kinda sad I didn't get around to tasting these until the last month I was here, but at least I got to it before I left. Seriously, the inventor of this kind of ice cream bar should get a medal. Why don't we have these back in the states?!

Feta Chickpea Salad

I've seen a couple of vegetarian recipes that use chickpeas as a veggie substitute for tuna and chicken salads. I love chicken salad (especially my mom's), so I decided to try something along those lines but with a Mediterranean twist. I bought two cans large chicken peas (which happened to be on sale for 80 cents each!), a block of low fat feta cheese, some spinach, a capsicum and a cucumber. I drained the chickpeas, and then mixed them with the feta (chopped), 3 heaping handfuls of fresh spinach, 1/3 a cucumber (the seeds were taken out and the excess water dried), 1 chopped capsicum, and 5 chopped semidried tomatoes (also dried of oil). I mixed this together extremely well in a large bowl. When I first thought of making this recipe I was planning on either added hummus or coleslaw dressing to give it a creamer texture, turns out that wasn't necessary. The feta turned out to be a lot softer and creamier than expected and that mixed with the chickpeas being damp and soft from the can, meant that the salad had a wonderful texture without any additions. I made this with the intention of taking it to the library for lunch for the next three days, I did so today and I was the perfect thing to eat. It was portable (see below) and filling and tasted amazing. Seriously, I felt like I had made something that you would buy out of a salad case in the gourmet section of the grocery store. I was super happy with how this recipe turned out, it's something I would made for a BBQ side or bring to a potluck, full of protein and hopefully enjoyed by vegetarians and meat eaters alike!

Spinach and Feta Muffin + Finals Studying

So I returned from a live aboard dive trip on the Great Barrier Reef yesterday… and immediately headed to the library because it is actually reading week and I had to get started on finals studying. I've got one on June 14th so now it's basically crunch time. This morning I went for a run, showered, and then booked it back to the library, where I have now been for the past 6+ hours. Of course, a long day of studying means appropriate study foods are needed. Number 1: Coffee!!!!! I got myself my typical large skim flat white (notice that the 'large' size here is a medium in the states) at Darwin's and also grabbed a feta spinach muffin. They heat the baked goods up for you there, which is great, it was a really nice and filling treat for breakfast. I also brought with me yogurt, kiwi, and my Just Right cereal so I had yogurt and cereal for lunch later in the day. And I also brought a can of soup with me, so I can eat it later if I get hungry. Basically, I did not want to have to give up my spot because I got hungry so I brought enough food for the entire day if need be. I also brought water in my new Prodive water bottle (above) that I got on the dive trip! I was properly prepared and have gotten through all of my material for my first two finals today, I may go through some paleoceanography material again, but I'm pretty much done for the day. I find that if I don't have excuses to end my studying I'm able to plop myself down for hours and just power through it. Guess that's one of the perks of being a Junior and going through the hell that is finals 6 times now...

Vegetarian Pho at Chez Tessa

Oh yum! Finally got around to getting back to Chez Tessa, the vietnamese place a block from my house. A friend and I went there for a quick dinner after our trip to the Australia Zoo. We both got the same thing, the Vegetarian Pho. Pho is vietnamese noodle soup, and its amazing. This one was a gigantic bowl, with rice noodles, bok chou, onions, broccoli and cauliflower (I didn't eat these because I don't like bushy veggies) and the best cooked tofu ever! The tofu was crunchy without being dry and flavorful too!! I thought the soup itself needed a little something extra so I added some hosin sauce and that made it absolutely perfect. I was super hungry and leaving Brisbane the next day so instead of leaving some for leftovers, I ate most of the bowl. It was the perfect comfort food. I love vietnamese (I say it every time I post about it lol) so this was such a treat as my last meal before I left Brisbane to head back to Cairns for more diving on the GBR!!

21st Birthday Cupcakes!!!

My twenty first birthday day was yesterday, June 4th. Usually, my birthday falls at the time where I'm back in Chicago after the end of the semester and celebrate with my high school friends, and of course, my family. This is actually the first time I haven't been in Chicago with my family on my birthday. However, my parents managed to make it special even half a world away. They had cupcakes sent over to our house from the Cupcake Parlour in West End, which I blogged about months ago! In fact, my sister referred to that when picking flavors, which is why there were 5 Turkish Delight cupcakes, because I had expressed my love for that cupcake in my previous post. They were even better than I remembered, I really really like them :) And the Tim Tam cupcakes were really cool as well, perfect for a birthday in Australia. My family coordinated with my housemates to get them delivered to the house. The Cupcake Parlour kinda messed up and had them delivered 3 hours early, so I was the one who came to the door to get them. I was still really surprised and it was wonderful, but we couldn't help but laugh because there was a note on the box that said to deliver them between 1-2 and they came at 10 :P The surprises didn't end there! Apparently my parents also had balloons sent to the house (this time when I was at class) and my housemates surprised me with the balloons and a cupcake with a candle in it later that day! It so nice of everyone. 

That night I then went out to dinner with friends at the club and restaurant Cloudland in Fortitude Valley. We had some wonderful Italian food, and an AMAZING apple-pear sangria. I wasn't really taking food pics because I was just trying to enjoy the night instead, but take my word for it the food was splendid. The highlight was the pumpkin ricotta tortellinis in brown butter sauce. Also the decor at Cloudland is the coolest thing ever. It's full of feathers, leaves, and crystal chandeliers! After dinner we ended up going to the RE, one of the UQ student bars, because it's the place to be on a Wednesday. It was really great because a bunch of other people I knew were there as well so it was a great place to drink and dance, and ultimately end the evening. It was such a wonderful way to spend a birthday, and it was so cool to be able to celebrate in Australia!

Apple Quiche

So I've been wanting to make this for awhile,  but have been trying to wait until I finish the chili first (spoiler: the chili is still not finished I made enough for me to eat it every night for 1.5 weeks). Eventually, I just decided to make this anyway. This apple quiche is based on this recipe. I basically followed this exactly but added a lot more cheese. Specifically, smoked gouda on top of the cheddar the recipe calls for. I cooked 2 large and 1 small pink lady apples on the stove in a cup of hard cider, with sprigs of rosemary. This was done for about 10 minutes or so. I mixed skim milk with 4 eggs, and whipped them together, layered phyllo dough on this pie pan, and shredded the gouda cheese. When the apples were done I poured most of them and the cider into the phyllo. Then added all the gouda and some of the cheddar, as well as some rosemary. Then I added the rest of the apples, more rosemary, and poured the egg mixture on top. The eggs sunk through, layered into the dish. Lastly I topped the entire thing with more cheddar and put it in the oven at 375 F for 35 minutes. It turned out fabulously. The cheese and apples went great together, and the cheese had kinda melted into the eggs. The cheese on top was nice and crispy. All together this was a really great dish and the best part is that you can have it for any meal of the day. I had a slice for dinner last night with a salad (below), but also had one for breakfast this morning and it was wonderful in the morning too! A really great, unique, and versatile meal. 

Aussie Chocolate Bars Take 4: Boost and Picnic

Okay, let me start off this post by saying that these are my FAVORITE two chocolate bars that i've had here. So good were they, that I think I'm adding them to the list with Tim Tams and Just Right Cereal, as things I'm going to be taking back to the states with me. Let me explain why I liked these so much. The Boost bar is one that I had been avoiding because on the wrapper it looks like it had solid crunchy in the middle. Well serves me right for judging a cary bar by it's wrapper. The inside it a heavenly mix of creamy chocolate, caramel, and some rice krispies (below). The whole thing is then covered in chocolate. The texture as well as the way the chocolate and caramel messed puts this guy at the top of the list. Absolutely amazing bar, the only thing that would make it better is some dark chocolate.

The Picnic bar was also amazing. I delicious combination of nugget, wafer, caramel, and rice krispies. This had a much chunkier texture than the Boost, but less chocolate. The peanuts and the caramel made this combo so great, that I didn't mind that it had less chocolate. It's also a super filling bar, and great it you're hungry and craving sweet and salty.

These bars were both amazing, and now I'm going to have trouble trying more because I'll just want to keep buying these two!

GIANT Dark Chocolate Truffle

After seeing the new X-men movie, a friend and I decided to grab some dessert at Max Brenner's. This time I got this gigantic dark chocolate truffle that was in the case. I was basically chocolate mousse, rolled in coco powder with chunks of dark chocolate mixed in throughout. It was super rich, but amazingly good. I ate every bite and was full for hours after, but it was totally worth it. Love me some chocolate :)

Egg and Cream Cheese Sandwich

This was my lunch yesterday. Super simply but yummy and nutritious! I made a fried egg sandwich with rice cakes. In addition to the egg I put light cream cheese, cucumbers, and smashed avo on the sandwich. This added a lot of flavor and helped keep the sandwich together, it was absolutely awesome. I haven't had something with cucumber, avocado, and cream cheese since last summer, and it's one of my favorite things, so this made me really happy. A nice light breakfast or lunch, that's quick to prepare and delicious to eat!

Cinnamon Glazed Apple Banana Muffins

Every once in awhile I actually have some time on my hands. And last week I felt like using some of this time to make dessert! I went to our local grocery store and told myself i'd spend $10 on baking supplies. I ended up decided to make these muffins from a honey banana muffin mix. But I wanted to spice them up so I bought some apples and frosting ingredients as well. My general thought was to cook apples into the muffins and then frost them with a cinnamon cream cream frosting. The apples worked outstandingly. I cut a large pink lady apple into small pieces and then simmered it in a pan of apple cider, brown sugar, and cinnamon. I cooked them at a high simmer for around 15 minutes or so. Basically until they got soft and brown (below right).

As the apples were cooking, I prepared the cake mix. I added water and eggs as it said on the box, but I noticed that it would only make 8 muffins. I decided to add flour, sugar, and eggs to the mix to make the recipe bigger. This worked out well because I had enough batter for 15 muffins instead of 8 them. another thing to note was when I was mixing the apples in, I wanted to pout the excess cider/sugar mix in too, but the batter started to get watery so I stopped. However, the muffins got a bit spongier than expected when I baked them, so I would add the cider mix next time. I baked them for 20 minutes and that was the perfect amount of time. The rose quite a lot and resulted in this wonderful muffin top shape (below).

As I let them cool, I started to make the frosting. I added 1/4 a cup of skim milk to 1 block of light cream cheese. I then added 3/4 a cup of brown sugar and lot and lots of cinnamon. I beat this mix together. Then I added powdered sugar, until I had the consistency I wanted. What ended up happening is that I added the entire bag of powdered sugar, a little bit a a time, and didn't actually get frosting. The mixture I ended up with was more of a icing or glaze than a frosting (below left). While unexpected, it was actually delicious so I had no problems. I was pretty liquidy when I spread it onto the muffins, I tried a frosting bag, but it broke, so I ended up spooning it on and that worked really well. Though, it was a really really messy process.

These muffins were stellar! The apples added so much to the cupcakes, they were sweet and whenever you got one in a bite they made it amazing! The banana, cinnamon, and apple flavors went really well together, and the glaze helped keep the muffins from drying our and really took them to the next level! The icing actually solidified a bit the next day which was perfect and made less of a mess. I had these for breakfast the next two mornings with coffee with cinnamon in it. They were the perfect morning treat! My housemates also really liked them and they disappeared quickly.

Also I had a TON of  icing left over. My housemates and I had some spoonfuls of it and discussed good ways to eat it. Our brainstorm came up with these ideas. Eating it by the spoonful (classic), spreading it on toast, raisin cinnamon toast is the best, drizzling it on a piece of toast with Nutella, and dipping fruit in it. I sliced up when of my left over apples a couple of days later and dipped the pieces in the icing, which was much more solid after sitting in the fridge (below). It was amazing!!!! Also a "healthy" way to eat the left over icing. This was a really successful on the whim dessert. It might be good with actual banana chunks, as well as apples to make the muffins even fruitier!