Finger Food | Finding Feasts

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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Tofu San Choi Bao w/ Dipping Sauce

Can you believe that there are 18 top ranking ways to spell San Choi Bao so I have decided to use the very top one. This is Tofu San Choi Bao w/ Dipping Sauce.

This is a much loved dish for many people as it’s very mild in flavour so appeals to those who don’t go out of their way for asian food. It’s also a hit with kids as they get to play with their food… and who doesn’t love doing that?

For a strong flavour punch then make a dipping sauce, or three. One can be a blow-your-head-off chilli one, another can be a sweet chilli and other can be this soy, lime and ginger one.

If you have never had tofu this way then you are going to be in for such a surprise. It’s a game changer, really. If you are looking for tasty, meat-free alternatives then this is your saving grace as the tofu ‘mince’ can be used in replacement of meat mince in recipes that use it in loose form such as spaghetti bolognese or chilli con carne to name a couple. It’s has the same texture and soaks up all the flavours making tofu mince extraordinarily versatile.

The surprising trick to getting the texture right is freezing it. This process alters firm tofu slightly giving it a bounce or slight chewiness that so closely resembles meat mince. So do as I do now and always keep a slab of firm tofu in the freezer.

Happy eating! Blondie 🙂

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Zucchini, Spinach & Dill Fritters

Zucchini, Spinach & Dill Fritters are a delicious pancake style dish that perfectly compliments a light salad or as a side dish to a curry buffet.

My family is still on our alternative day meat free lifestyle, which is going really well. Maybe more so for me as it now gives me a guideline to work with. There really is something to be said about having restrictions to help motivate and encourage new ideas and strategies; whether it be needing to include an ingredient for your diet or remove an ingredient due to allergies, or perhaps it’s even a budget necessity but each one means putting more thought into what you actually eat and stock your fridge and cupboards with.

I was thinking about this recently, as I was going through my ever growing cookbook library, about how, in our mother’s time they would have had two maybe three cookbooks. Cookbooks that would have been worked through thoroughly, family discussions about what was liked and what didn’t really work. Favourite family meals would have be discovered and made often – Sausage Casserole Tuesdays for instance. If you wanted to change it up you would open one of your favourite cookbooks (out of the three) and pick a recipe to make, it was certainly an easier time.

Now, everyone has so many books, so many recipes in printed form, most books of which would be lucky to get one recipe made from it … Perhaps I’m feeling the loss of the simplicity and romance of times gone by… perhaps I need to do a cookbook cull?

This recipe has probably been around in some form or another for many decades. It is full of flavour, especially with one of my most favourite herbs, dill, and can easily accommodate more herbs and spices depending on the style of meal you are serving.

Enjoy, Blondie 🙂

PS: I would never/ could never get rid of my cookbook babies… I think I just need a coffee!

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Wild Mushroom Mini Arancini

Wild Mushroom Mini Arancini or mini deep fried mushroom rice balls for the uninitiated are such a great food to have on hand in the freezer.

Not only are they a great ‘fast food’ to pad out a salad but they are also fantastic to have for emergency nibbles when friends or family pop around.

This volume makes about 60 arancini but this will depend on how big or small you make each ball. To freeze the remaining arancini you simply take the recipe up to the breadcrumb coating stage and then place them on a lined baking tray so they aren’t touching each other and freeze overnight. You then place them into a ziplock bag till required. Cook them from frozen, do not defrost.

Serve them with a garlic aioli and a harissa paste or similar spicy, hot sauce.

… would love to be serving these out of a food truck. You know what they say, put the wish out there, the dream may come true – Blondie 🙂

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Pine Mushroom & Pork Pot Stickers

Pine Mushroom & Pork Pot Stickers… Dumplings have always held a soft food spot to my stomach, and luckily for me they are found in most countries around the word in some form or another – ravioli, ebelskiver, pierogi, gyoza or samosa just to name a few.

These pot stickers are one of my favourite dumplings with the crusty, browned base and the soft, velvety top. What happens inside almost takes second place to the perfectly cooked skin.

These pot stickers can be eaten straight up, but I choose not to flavour the filling too strongly with seasonings so as to keep the flavour of the mushrooms. The flavour boost comes in the form of the dipping sauce. This is where you can go wild with flavour, maybe having several different sauces to dip into.

Happy dipping! Blondie 🙂

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Pine mushroom Okonomiyaki

Pine mushroom Okonomiyaki came about after a lovely forage with our first tour for the year. It’s always fun coming up with new recipes to use these glorious mushrooms in.

This is a Japanese pancake and can have any ingredients you want… this is up there with some of the best ever fridge clearer meals you will make.

The best way to serve Saffron Milk Cap Mushrooms is by keeping the flavours simple and clean. A quick sauté to get some caramelisation on them bumps the flavour up enormously.

Happy foraging! Blondie

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Tippaleipä – Finnish Funnel Cakes

Finding Feasts | Finnish Funnel Cake — Click image for Tippaleipä – Finnish Funnel Cakes recipe

Tippaleipä – Finnish Funnel Cakes… Every year I have been meaning to get these up on the website and every year I miss the 1st of May by a day. But not this year! Here it is, finally.

The 1st of May is a huge event in Finland; it marks the beginning of spring (amongst other things) with large festivities in the towns and cities. Lots of drinking and lots of food is consumed from May Day Eve (it’s as big as Christmas for the Finns). It’s a time for friends, family, students, workmates to get together and party.

These deep fried fritters are consumed by the truckload and are perfect street food. One hand holds a fritter, the other hand holds a glass of Sima – a Finnish fermented lemon drink. With their slightly crispy outside, they are soft and warm inside with a dusting of icing that looks like snow sitting on an odd shaped snowflake.

But who needs a party?… These take but moments to whip up and only moments to devour.

Happy Vappu! Blondie 🙂

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