Ginger, Walnut, Date cake... with a twist...

Hubby is learning to bake.  

He's an amazing cook but baking is his next Everest.

Over the weekend he treated me to a Walnut, Ginger and Date cake that was so delicious I asked him if I was allowed to share the recipe with blogland. You see even though he used (and improved) a basic Date Loaf recipe from bestrecipes.com he added a little magic.....

Lemon Thyme ... in the icing!

And oh boy does it work. 

Melted couverture/ quality organic white chocolate and fresh lemon thyme buds.

Crushed and sprinkled on top before the chocolate hardens.

Genius.

Here's the recipe if you'd like to try it....

Ingredients

1 cup chopped dates

1/4 Cup chopped 'Naked' Buderim Ginger - (Glace Ginger will work, though)

1/4 Cup Chopped walnuts - Chunky is great!
1- 1 1/2 teaspoons bicarbonate of soda 1 cup boiling water

1 x tsp cinnamon

1 x tsp ground ginger
2 tablespoons soft butter
3⁄4 cup sugar (I like to use brown sugar)
1 beaten egg
1 cup self-raising flour
1⁄2 cup plain flour

Method 

1. Grease a loaf tin. or use baking paper
2. Place dates, cinnamon, ground Ginger, Naked Ginger, walnuts, soda and hot water in a bowl and stir - allow to thicken and cool  slightly.
3. In another bowl,mix butter & sugar,  add egg and mix until creamy.
4. Add date mix to butter mix, then add flours and mix well.
5.  Bake at 180°C for about 45 minutes or until skewer comes out clean.
6. Melt some good quality white chocolate to spread in a thin layer on top
7. Sprinkle with fresh thyme buds before chocolate hardens

The Beach and Chocolate Chorizo...

Firstly I'd like to thank all the gorgeous ladies who left comments on my last two posts. They moved me and made my heart sing. Although I usually like to keep things light around here I never want to shy away from being authentic. The internet is a crazy place and even though we choose what we want to share we can never be completely sure of how it will be received. Face to face communication gives you that instant feedback whereas with blog land there's a leap of faith involved when you push that "publish" button. So many thanks to those who read and responded with love. 

Anyway today I decided to go light and easy and share my weekend with you all. Myalup is a very special place - stunning beaches, an awesome holiday house (which belongs to my in-laws) and great company that makes a quick jaunt down south an ever worthwhile expedition. To top it off it's just over an hour away...  the perfect weekend destination.

We explored the beach, lit the fire pit, toasted marshmallows, cooked yummy food, slept in and even went out for lunch on the Saturday. 

My Dad is a diabetic so I took down a sweet treat that fools the tastebuds with it's decadence but in fact is packed with nutrition (as well as having complex sugars for a lower glyceamic index) As you can see in the last image - it looks a bit like a fatty Spanish sausage (the white bits are chopped cashew nuts) yet fatty is not what this sinfully delicious desert is all about. What's the down side you ask? Well to be honest I don't actually have a specific recipe to follow. I tend make it up as I go along. I wanted to share the basic ingredients though and that way you can adapt it to suit your taste. I think the only ingredient you wouldn't want to leave out is the coconut oil - it's really the glue that helps bind the roll.

Chocolate Chorizo 

Medjool Dates  - remove the pips before you process

Cashew Nuts  - chopped first 

Almond Meal - about three or four desert spoons

Instant Oats  - small amount to help bind it - I used about a desert spoon

Raw Cacao - this is pretty strong stuff so go easy (you can always add more if you prefer)

Maca Root Powder - A desert spoon should suffice

Maple syrup - just a drizzle 

Coconut oil  - a few tablespoons melted

Glace Ginger - I looove ginger so I went nuts here but you could use dried berries, apricots etc

Cinnamon  

Mix everything in a food processor (except the chopped cashews - mix them in by hand afterwards so they aren't completely ground up) form it into a log shape, wrap it in wax paper followed by cling film then refrigerate so it will firm up and slice easily.

Go on peoples - give this recipe (or your own modified version) a go and let me know how it turns out. I'm a particular fan of the caramel flavour that Maca Root powder gives it, so you may want to go the extra mile and source this stuff (it's a bit pricey here in Oz, I know - but you don't need much) from a health store. 

Enjoy! ♥

Jaimie's Italian - Perth

Warning food porn coming up....

Don't say I didn't warn you...

I might as well have had "BLOGGER" tattooed in the middle of my forehead. 

(I would've taken even more pics of the sexier than allowed waiter but y'know... ahem...)

We thought we'd have to return after an hour and a half, maybe two - the average waiting time for a place at this establishment (and it hasn't changed in three months)

Hubby was a genius - asked if we could sit at the antipasto bar - perfectly adequate ... if not a tad more exciting (you can watch the chefs work their culinary magic) ... for a party of two.

A toss up between two wines - we went with the Grotta Rossa ... the right choice for sure.

A meat slicing machine (i'm sure there's a proper name for it) that had me mesmerised.

A truffle risotto, a beef special, a pasta, crispy squid, mocktails, beer and a sour cherry bakewell you'd sell your mother for  .... oink oink.

Waiter staff that all look like they've stepped off a catwalk... clever marketing.

Jaime love runs big (HUGE... MAHOOSIVE actually) in our house. We fell for this Essex dude years ago when he was just starting out and since then our admiration has only grown. We were lucky enough to dine at Fifteen in London and my son has always referred to that meal as "the best he's ever had"... that is until we took him here to Jamie's Italian in Perth ..... oink oink that day too as I recall. 

I'm not a food or restaurant critic so I wont pretend. I just know that I love food (correction  - good quality food, locally sourced produce, excellent flavours ... you know the drill), I love a great atmosphere and I love people who wear their passion on their sleeve. 

In the words of Arnie... I'll be back. ♥♥♥

... and THIS is how the night ended....

"Daisy Werthan: Hoke?

Hoke Colburn: Yes'm.

Daisy Werthan: You're my best friend.

Hoke Colburn: No, go on Miss Daisy.

Daisy Werthan: No, really, you are...

[Takes Hoke's hand]

Daisy Werthan: You are.

Hoke Colburn: Yes'm.

*****

Ignorance is NOT bliss...

Yotam Ottolenghi. Heard of him? Of course you have.

Confession time:

I'm a vegetarian - the lax kind that indulges in seafood.

Have been for over two decades.

Yet....

I had not heard of this vegetable genius until just recently.

(two months ago to be precise)

His famous cookbook Plenty sounded & looked familiar but all else was, as they say, 

news to me.

Wowsers!!

We are now the proud owners of both Plenty and his new release - Jerusalem.

Stunning with a capital S. 

S for sexy food, sexy photos and very very sexy flavours.

I'm making Daal .... 

...... I'm dry roasting veggies, 

I'm mixing up spice concoctions....

I'm INSPIRED.

If you love food peoples - and I know you do - then this one is a must.

What the man suggests possible with Beetroot alone will have you rethinking these

pink (tinned & brutalised) babies.

****

On another note - but still drooling over food.

The Stables Bar in Perth

(Yes it was once a working stable)

Funky setting, decor, feel, vibe? Check✓

Reasonably priced? Check✓

Vegetarian options? Check✓

I had the ...

Warm salad of Beetroot, Farro, Goats Curd and Candied Walnuts

Hubby had the ...

Salad of Roasted Cauliflower, Pearl Barley, Poached Quince and Dukkah

We shared a bowl of Eggplant Chips w/ Toasted Cumin salt (evil!) 

I'll give my final verdict when I sit down to a two/three course meal on a busy evening.

For now though I see real promise! 

Well people I'm off to Indonesia on Saturday morning.

I will try to cope with delicious food, massages, beaches, art and culture.

I will try.

It's only for a week (only she says sheepishly - she's truly VERY grateful)

Young Prince has never been, so we are excited to share this with him.

I have thought about all the photo opportunities and I'm pretty sure I'll have to force myself to 

just stop clicking and simply "be in the now"...

I have trouble with that sometimes (very often) so I'm going to set myself the limit 

of only one image per day. So 8 images that sum up my quick jaunt to Tropics.

Can I do it?

Hmmmmmm.....

Have a great week peoples.

A safe, special, cosy (southern hemisphere) bright (northern hemisphere) happy, loving, interesting and truly relaxing weekend won't you? 

♥♥♥

Good times....

Warning...

Gratuitous shots of adults at a birthday party. A dress up party. No theme. Just silliness....

 

It was Hubby's birthday and as you can see there was silliness aplenty!
We were overwhelmed by every one's enthusiasm and there were even prizes. For the most unique  - our resident assassin with a briefcase full of murder! Our basketballer took best costume (sheer effort!  - although Papa Smurf made his own cap so it was a VERY close tie) and our french maid (aka my brother in drag) took worst - a title he was proud of!

Lucky I was a judge - just between you and me I thought my Mrs Havisham deserved a prize.

We finished off the weekend with our first visit to Jaimie's Italian. Amazeballs. My favourite was the Truffle Risotto and Hubby could not get over the Sour Cherry Bakewell. Young Prince devoured all three courses (as teenagers do) declaring it one of the best meals he's ever had.
If you're a *Perthon then I highly recommend a visit.

All in all a winning weekend.

What about you peoples? How was your weekend? Get up to much? Come to think of it we are fast approaching another weekend! Mothers Day weekend at that. Hmmm ... maybe a I can try and wrangle another meal at Jaimie's ... oooh yeah.

* A person who lives in Perth