Desserts and Sweet Treats | Finding Feasts

Kids Christmas Trifle – the cheats version

Easy Christmas trifle — Click image for recipe

Kids Christmas Trifle – the cheats version … Sometimes you just need to have something on the table, especially when you’ve forgotten or have no time to think. This is where this great looking but super easy dessert comes in… I was in need of a kid’s dessert for Christmas and I had run out of time to really sit down and plan something.

You can certainly make your own jam/jelly rolls and custard. Even take the time to make a true fruit jelly but if the last thing you have is time then this is it, just perfect for the kids christmas table.

This is a feel as you go type recipe as everyone will have a different size vessel, just buy a little more than you expect.

Tips:

If you don’t have a large, clear trifle bowl (and who does really) then pop into your local St.Vincents de Paul or Salvos or any op shop and buy a glass vase for next to nothing, which is what I did… At least you can use it for flowers afterwards.

Assign your kids to making it as they will love the sculpting and designing of such a centre piece.

To hasten the setting time of the jelly be sure to use a shallow tray (roasting tray if need be) rather than a deep bowl.

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Book Review – A Table in the Orchard, My Delicious Life + a yummy biscuit recipe!

A-Table-in-the-Orchard-My-Delicious-Life-Cover1 — Click image for recipe

A Table in the Orchard, My Delicious Life by Michelle Crawford

It’s funny how getting married and having your own family can change you completely.

I have been a city girl for most of my adult life, loving the fast paced mood that our beautiful coastal city, Sydney has to offer however since meeting the Hubby and having Mini Me my outlook on living in the city and future aspirations have changed considerably.

For a number of years I have been longing for a life in the country. A warm and cosy farmhouse overlooking expansive mountain ranges. A place where I can sit on my wooden deck sipping my favourite Sauvignon Blanc (New Zealand Marlborough region of course!) whilst I ogle over the latest cook book with Blondie. Yep, her family will be on the farm next door!

So it’s no wonder that when I stumbled upon Michelle Crawford’s memoir, A Table in the Orchard, My Delicious Life I instantly knew that the book had to come home with me!

“I dreamed of a rambling old farmhouse where I could grow my own food, learn how to bake cakes and make jam. I wanted to wear gumboots. Every day”.

Michelle Crawford

That’s me! The little voice inside me said instantly. I echo those exact thoughts and I also happen to wear gumboots!

A-table-in-the-Orchard-My-Delicious-Life-Michelle-Crawford

Michelle’s book is beautifully written with each chapter taking you on a very special journey into her sea change.

After leaving her job with the Sydney Symphony Orchestra where she was kept busy organising fundraising events, Michelle and her family settle in Tasmania’s Huon Valley where she gives the readers an insight into her new life, a life in the country away from the hustle and bustle.

Whether it be it be setting up house and looking for a Rayburn oven, the roys royce of ovens which is now on my own wish list, to stories about apples, potatoes, lemon trees dying and being reborn, long hot summer days spent by the river, or foraging for dinner when the kitchen is a little bare, Michelle makes you feel very much apart of her journey.

Of course no country farmhouse would be complete without a few chickens that lay some farm fresh eggs and trust me Michelle get’s a little more than she bargains for with these ones!

My favourite chapter would have to be ‘Autumn’, which also happens to be my favourite time of the year.

“The leaves are turning gold, there is a distinct dampness in the air and fog has started to settle in the valley. I love this time of the year; cosy log fires and favourite woollen cardigans pulled from hibernation”.

Michelle Crawford

The book is gorgeously illustrated with picturesque images of a place that boasts beautiful local produce. It will evoke your sense of adventure and inspire the foodie within you.

A-table-in-the-Orchard-My-Delicious-Life-Michelle-Crawford1

There are 34 lovely recipes to road test from salted apple caramels, campfire roast chicken, overnight baked beans and this one for chocolate wheaty biscuits which my own Mini Me just loves. They are quick and easy and hit the spot with a warm cup of milk or hot chocolate.

A special shout out to Michelle Crawford for allowing me to use her images from her book for this post and for the encouragement to make my own sea change. If you are ever back in Sydney over autumn, come wild mushroom foraging with us!

Book details:

ISBN: 9780857983626

Published: 01/05/2015

Imprint: Ebury Australia

Extent: 320 pages

Available from all good book stores and very highly recommended!

Bella Hyde 🙂

Bella2 Comments

Healthy Coco Pops

Healthy Coco Pops, Yes, believe it! A healthy version of your favourite sneaky snack. It’s crunchy and chocolatey and oh so good.

I came across this recipe yesterday from Whole foods Simply (so many wonderful recipes) and was intrigued by the simplicity of it.

The thought of making Coco Pops had never entered my mind so I was really excited by it. This recipe opens up a pandoras box of ideas to use this with; mix with crushed nuts and flattened rice for a light snack, use it as a crunchy topping for cakes and ice creams, add some coconut and dried fruit for a tropical hit or just straight up in a bowl with cold milk … so many delicious ideas.

Snap, crackle and pop to your hearts content – Blondie 🙂

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Nut Free Chia & Sunflower Seed Bliss Balls

Finding Feasts - Nut Free Chia and Sunflower Seed Bliss Balls — Click image for recipe

Nut Free Chia & Sunflower Seed Bliss Balls … Naturally sweet with a gorgeous ‘pop’ from the chia seeds, these are a great snack to have on hand for a quick boost of energy or naughty indulgence without too much of the guilt.

Diary of today… so far: Get out of bed, with my cold, lovingly given to me by my darling husband. Make lunches. Throw on jeans (leave pyjama top on as will hide under a jacket). Drop Master S off at school. Come back home to get cleaned up as just been reminded by Master S that I need to actually GO INTO the school for some event. Go to event. Come home and wait for hard drive delivery (long story). Receive delivery and take to data recovery place. Get nails done … 11:00am Coffee time!

… and here we are, it’s always amazing how time flies by, and it’s exactly this type of day where extra energy is desperately needed. These are super fast to make as it’s just a matter of throwing everything into the food processor then rolling into balls.

This volume makes about 16 20g Bliss Balls and can easily be doubled or tripled as they freeze really well. To freeze them, place them on a baking sheet lined with baking paper and leave overnight. Once completely frozen you can place them in a ziplock bag. This technique works well for school or office lunches as they will remain firm without the need of a ice-pac in the lunch bag … they will naturally defrost by lunchtime.

Power up!… Blondie 🙂

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Bread & Butter Pudding w/ Banana Bread

Bread & Butter Pudding w/ Banana Bread is a delicious way to use up leftover, stale banana bread… Upcycling food in a sense. This is the recipe that my son told me last night that I should use as my entry recipe to get onto Masterchef, so it must be good.

We all get to the point were we’ve had the bread out for days and it’s getting stale, it’s now too late to freeze as it will forever be stale banana bread that will need to be toasted (although that’s not too bad if you have the freezer space). So making it into a pudding will extend the life of the bread for a few more days – if it lasts that long.

There are no hard and fast rules to this fabulous recipe other than the egg and milk ratio for the custard, but even then you can add a bit more cream or add and egg yolk for extra richness. I prefer a firm custard to a wet one for these puddings.

The size of your pudding will be determined by the amount of banana bread you use. I had just under half a loaf left and it was perfect for a 22x15x6cm baking dish.

It’s delicious served warm with ice cream or a dollop of cream and if you were feeling so inclined to be decadent, a light drizzle of Salted Caramel Sauce will top it off nicely.

Enjoy with family… Blondie 🙂

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Nutella Puff Pastry Rolls

FinSki's Nutella Pastry Roll 1 — Click on image for recipe

Good coma! That is the only way that I can describe how I felt last night so making nutella puff pastry rolls was the last thing on my mind.

My day started yesterday with a lovely cup of my favourite Roobios and Vanilla bean tea which was enjoyed with a chocolate croissant. I really should have stopped there but three hours later it was out for lunch with work for our annual team birthday lunch at Jagos on Miller. Instead of celebrating a birthday a month, or in some cases a few birthdays in a week we take ourselves out once a year and celebrate everyone’s birthdays at the same time.

Jagos on Miller is a lovely little cafe/restaurant which does good basic meals. Their menu doesn’t really change much but why fix something when it’s not broken right? The service is quick and friendly, perfect for a work lunch, especially when you have to go back to the office. I had fish cakes with asian herb salad and sweet chilli sauce. A very substantial dish composed of two fish patties. I was adamant that it would end there but nope, the whole team was having desserts and as much as my tummy was saying no the left side of the brain took over. As soon as the waitress asked me to take my order I blurted out…yes please I will have the chocolate mousse tart which I have to say was pretty ahhhmazing!

I don’t have a photo to show you because it literally lasted only a few seconds on my plate!

Walking home at aerobic pace so that I could work off the brick in my tummy I promised myself that I would stay away from all food until the morning. I found myself however making these nutella puff pastry rolls for the teams morning tea! Sugar over load right!

I love nutella. We always keep a jar of it in the cupboard however as silly as it sounds it never occurred to me to make a dessert with nutella until a few months back when I came across these very delish but very filling nutella scrolls at our local coffee shop, Cafe Andiamo in North Sydney. They are so filling that when we get one at work, we share it amongst 4 staff members and two of them are blokes!

My nutella puff pastry rolls are what I call the lighter alternative, if there is such a thing with puff pastry and nutella! Quick and easy to make with literally only two ingredients needed. Three if you decide to count the icing sugar!

So as you can see, it definitely was a chocolate/sugar indulgent day, but as Blondie said to whilst I sipped my glass of wine…we are allowed to splurge now and again.

Bella 🙂

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Carrot & Ginger Cake w/ Pineapple Flowers

Carrot & Ginger Cake w/ Pineapple Flowers is a cake I designed for Mother’s Day. Yes, this post is a little late for this years Mother’s Day but lets think of it as getting in early for next year and it doesn’t even need to be just for Mother’s Day, this cake can fit all types of celebratory occasions. What could be more occasional than edible flowers strewn across the top of a delicious carrot cake? It looks impressive and tastes divine.

Designated with doing a dessert I knew instantly what I was going to do. The cover of the April’15 Gourmet Traveller magazine had a picture of what I originally had thought was a hummingbird cake, but on closer inspection realised it was in fact a carrot cake, a deliciously moist looking layered cake that I knew would be the perfect platform for some edible flowers and crunchy nuts, which I had been eager to do for quite some time – not unlike a hummingbird cake.

I’m not a cake construction type person so if I can pull it off, anyone can (and I was so impressed with myself, which is why the following paragraph is all about how fabulous a job I did)

Once completed and placed on a rightfully deserved pedestal it was a breathtaking piece of sweet art. I had achieved what I had planned to do and that was to deliver a beautiful looking centrepiece for mum and nana for Mother’s Day. Now I fear I may have set a benchmark to what could be years of trying to one-up myself.

There are alot of steps in the preparation of the cake but you start doing elements of it in the days prior so you aren’t rushed off your feet; the candied nuts and flowers can be done before hand.

Happy whichever day it is you are celebrating… Blondie

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