Tuesday, November 22, 2011

Breakfast Muesli Scones


Before I start on my next post, I need to mention a few things. I'm trying to change the look of Spotted Banana for a more personal feel and reflect who I am a little more. If you've already noticed, there are a few minor changes to the layout of the page already. I'm not a computer person by any means and trying to understand all this computer stuff is mind boggling. But nonetheless, it's a good start for me to try to up my computer knowledge. So, that being said, it'll be a slow work in progress. Now that I've got that out of the way, let's get to the good stuff...

There's one specific brand of muesli Jeremie and I always buy that has a bit of fruit and nuts, and honey toasted until it's nice and crunchy. When our local supermarket stopped carrying our favorite brand, we've been buying all different brands of muesli to find one we both liked. Still no luck.

Tuesday, November 15, 2011

Finding Beauty In What We Eat




I'm very fortunate as a cook to see so much beautiful produce coming into the kitchen everyday.  Whether it be a case of sunshine coloured Meyer lemons, deep blue coronation grapes, bundles of carrots so colorful they resemble crayons, or quince so fragrant they perfume the whole walk in cooler. I take for granted how easy it is for restaurants to access produce this special (it literally is a phone call away) that I get disappointed when I go to the supermarket and see the same boring stuff.

Sunday, November 6, 2011

Lemony Buttermilk Dressing



What to do with that little bit of buttermilk left over? After using it to make some breakfast muesli scones (recipe coming up soon), I've only used half of the carton. I always buy buttermilk for a recipe with good intentions of actually using all the buttermilk. But each and everytime I have failed. Slowly day by day as I rummage through the fridge looking for other things, it gets pushed to the back and eventually I forget about it... until I find it a few weeks later to discover that its gone bad. So my buttermilk repertoire never expands.

This time it's different. I actually made an effort to use up the buttermilk. A lemony dressing kissed with delicate herbs and just a hint of garlic.

Thursday, November 3, 2011

Feathery Light Pavlova





I adore Pavlova. It is one of my all time favorite desserts. A soft and spongy meringue base with a crispy exterior, topped with whipped cream and fresh seasonal fruit. This dessert is so feathery light, you'd think you were eating air. In fact, it was created to honor the Russian ballerina, Anna Pavlova.

You can even find pavlova bases in the supermarket. (Aussies love their meringues and pavlovas). But it tastes so much better home made.