Dreams, cheesecake filled strawberries and ricotta zucchini rolls

When a dream becomes reality, these tasty finger delights are a must to help you celebrate.

Cheesecake filled strawberries

We've all had dreams, and I'm sure many of you have even had some of them come true. Often the bigger the dream the harder we have to work to see them grace the light of day.

Recently I was very proud to witness a dream become a reality for my dear friend Sonia and her husband Ian. And it was fantastic!

First, let's turn the clock back to 2003. Sonia and Ian purchased an old (and I mean old) Queensland cottage in Paddington, Brisbane, to turn it into their dream home. Now I remember this 'old' house. I would happily liken it to a block of swiss cheese; especially when I had the pleasure of sleeping in it one winter thinking I was going to wake up in the morning with hypothermia. You think I'm being dramatic...but I tell you the truth.

Over the years I have watched Sonia and Ian slowly, patiently - and sometimes not so patiently -renovate this house into a beautiful, cosy, blissfully warm home.

All those that have renovated, or those that have had the pleasure of hiring trades people, will understand the stress, frustration and expense you are confronted with when dealing with people you do not know, about a subject matter that you do not know, and about things, that frankly, you also do not know. Or is that just me?

Here enters reviewatradie.com.au. This brain child has been 12 months in the making and will benefit all of us in Australia to provide us access to reviews about tradies and also allow us to write those reviews ourselves.

Looking for a plumber? Check out reviewatradie.com.au

Looking for a carpenter? Check out reviewatradie.com.au

Now please remember this is in early stages so Sonia and Ian need your help. If you have a tradie that you think is fantastic and would like everyone in your area to know about them then jump on to the site and write a review. The more people who do this, the more we give those good people some work.

So where's the food in all of this? Well, I got to make a couple of tasty treats for Sonia and Ian's big launch afternoon tea that I have just had to share with you. They are simple, delightful and positively scrump-diddly-umptious. I made cheesecake filled strawberries and ricotta zucchini rolls. Both were thanks to my new found addiction to pinterest.

Ricotta zucchini rolls
Adapted from Apple pie, patis and pates blog

makes approximately 24 zucchini rolls

Ricotta zucchini rolls

Ingredients

4 small zucchinis

salt and pepper

extra virgin olive oil

For the ricotta filling:

ricotta cheese, about a cup

juice from about half a lemon

mint leaves, about a handful (the original recipe uses basil)

roasted slivered almonds, about a handful

Method

This is one of those recipes where exact measurements do not matter. Add more or less of anything that is to your liking.

Cut off the stem end of the zucchini. Using a mandolin or a vegetable peeler, slice the zucchini lengthwise into thin strips.

Season with salt, pepper, and olive oil. Leave to marinate in the refrigerator for at least 20 minutes. The zucchini strips will be more translucent and pliable after resting.

Zucchini strips marinating in extra virgin olive oil.

Mix the ricotta cheese with the lemon juice. Season with salt and mix vigorously until thoroughly incorporated.

Finely chop the mint leaves. Add the mint and almonds to the ricotta mixture and mix until evenly distributed.

Fresh ricotta mixture

Place about 1 tablespoon of the ricotta filling on the cut end of the zucchini strips.

Roll the zucchini strip over the filling and plate.

So easy and healthy: Ricotta zucchini rolls.

Cheesecake filled strawberries
Adapted from The Sweets Life blog

Tasty little morsels of cheesecake filled strawberries

Ingredients

4 punnets of strawberries, washed and top cut

125g cream cheese, softened (or spreadable)

1 tbsp caster sugar (to taste. Add more if you want a sweeter mixture)

½ tsp vanilla extract

zest of one small lemon

about 5 crushed biscuits of any sort. I just used a honey oat biscuit.

Method

Prep all strawberries and set aside.

In a food processor, blend cream cheese, caster sugar, vanilla and lemon zest until creamy. Add a little cream or milk, as I had to, to get a smooth enough consistency to get through a piping bag.

Cheesecake mixture piped on to strawberries

 Add cream cheese mix to a piping bag or a freezer bag with the corner snipped off. Pipe mixture onto strawberries. Dip the top in your biscuit crumbs. If not serving immediately, refrigerate until serving.

Dipping the cheesecake filled strawberries into the cookie crumbs

Cheesecake filled strawberries - they look good enough to eat!

Wishing you all happy cooking adventures!

Turkish Sausage Rolls & Red Velvet Cheesecake Brownie

Once upon a time, not that long ago, I was considered one of the most technologically inept persons around.

From the days when I couldn't work out how to get photos off my digital camera, to absolutely despising getting a new phone because I would have to learn (once again) how to do the most simplest of tasks (like ring someone). I would wait for the very last spark of life from the thing before I would relent and reluctantly walk - with the fear of new technology weighing upon my shoulders - into a phone shop.

But now, my dear friends, I'm a technological Goddess. Okay, I exaggerate but I have improved. A necessity when I ventured into the virtual world of the blog.

Not only have I had to grapple with horrible things like HTML coding and widgets (ekkkk!), but I've also had to learn about the art of food photography. Which, quite frankly, I suck at.

However, I'm not one to give up easily. I'm thoroughly enjoying this little blog world of mine and the fabulous people I'm meeting through it; so I must improve.

I've recently joined Pinterest (you can find me there as The Self-Raising Kitchen) to gain a little inspiration from other people and how they make 'stuff' look amazing. (For the social media virgin: Pinterest is like your old cork board where you once used a drawing pin or thumbtack to pin inspirational photos, articles or pictures on the board. Now it's all online; no hunting for thumbtacks, no pricking yourself while digging around in the bottom of a draw feeling for the tack that you just know is in there.)

Let me share with you my attempts to improve my food photography - all taken on my iPhone - by using applications provided on my Mac and with the thanks to instagram (another very cool photo application that can help filter photos to make them look a little snazzier).

Please, let me know what you think or drop a comment and let me know how I can improve. And for your troubles I've linked to an AMAZING red velvet cheesecake recipe that I found on Pinterest, courtesy of Lick the Spoon blog, followed by a recipe for a Turkish sausage roll that is so delicious and so easy you will undoubtedly knock the socks off your friends at your next afternoon tea.

Once you have made the red velvet brownie mixture
and the cheesecake mixture, separately, place the red velvet
mixture in your tin, then gently place the cheesecake mixture on top

Make sure you leave a little left over red velvet brownie mixture
so you can make beautiful swirls on top.

I used a chopstick and had fun making swirls out of the amazing
red velvet brownie mixture in a backdrop of creamy cheesecake mixture. 

Red velvet cheesecake brownie

thanks to Lick the Spoon blog

Turkish sausage rolls
by delicious. magazine, March edition

Turkish sausage rolls, drizzled with pomegranate molasses

Ingredients
500g lean lamb mince

2 garlic cloves, crushed

1 tsp ground cumin seeds

1/4 tsp ground nutmeg

1/4 tsp ground cinnamon

1/2 tsp chilli flakes

1 tsp sweet paprika

1/2 tsp ground coriander

1 tsp dried mint

1 tsp dried oregano

2 sheets frozen puff pastry, thawed

1 egg yolk

1/2 tsp sumac

*Pomegranate molasses, to drizzle

*Pomegranate molasses is available from delis and Middle Eastern food shops. Some IGAs (Greenslopes, Brisbane) also stock it. Don't want to buy it for one dish? Then try my tasty duck recipe that uses it, too.

Method

Preheat the oven to 200°C. 

Combine lamb, garlic, spices and herbs in a bowl and season. I simply cut the pastry sheets in half to make up a sausage roll. Divide filling between the pastry, shaping it into a log along one side. Roll up to form a roll, brush pastry edge with water (if needed, I found it stuck together without the water) and press to seal. 

Rolling up the sausage roll. You can see where I cut
the pastry to make up one roll.

Brush with egg and sprinkle with sumac. Place, seam-side down, on a baking tray and bake for 20-25 minutes until golden.

Sausage rolls ready for the oven. I scored the pastry
for ease in cutting once cooked.

Once cooked, slice, then drizzle molasses over the sausage rolls. No tomato sauce is needed with this sausage roll.

Turkish sausage rolls - so simple, so yummy!

Thanks, once again, for joining me on my technological and cooking adventures.

60th celebrations: Char-grilled chicken with corn salad and buttermilk dressing

In between my beloved and I searching for our first house and going through the marathon of getting finance - whoever said buying a house is one of the major stresses in life was spot on, dealing with bankers, brokers, lawyers and real estate agents all at once is not my idea of fun - we managed to hold a 60th celebration for my father.

It was a great evening with family and a few dear family friends. My dad hates fuss, especially when it comes to himself and his birthday. So my sister and I tried to make the evening as fuss free and relaxed as possible.

We started with simple canapes, sparkling wine for the girls and beer for the boys.

Watermelon and feta squares

Homemade walnut crisps with goat's cheese and pear

Artichoke tartlets

Main meal was simply char-grilled chicken - that my beloved kindly cooked on the barbecue for me - and the loveliest salad with char-grilled corn and a winning buttermilk dressing.

Char-grilled chicken
from Gourmet Traveller's Annual Cookbook
I used two whole chickens for 10 people

Char-grilled chicken marinated in lemon, cayenne
pepper, thyme, garlic and white peppercorns

Ingredients
1 chicken (about 1.8kg)
2 tbsp thyme
2 garlic cloves, coarsely chopped
2 tsp white peppercorns
1 tsp cayenne pepper
Finely grated rind and juice of 1 lemon
1/3 cup olive oil
1 bunch spring onions, trimmed

Method
You need to spatchcock the chicken. To do this cut down each side of the chicken's backbone with kitchen scissors or a sharp knife (discard bone of reserve for stock). Turn chicken over and press firmly on the breastbone to open out and flatten. I have actually found it helpful to slightly cut the bone on the non-skin side to help you flatten the bird. It is really important to do this so you can cook the meat more evenly on the barbecue. Score the thickest part of the breasts and thighs.

You can process the marinade in a food processor, however, I find pounding it in a mortar and pestle not only helps me relieve the tension built up from frustrating real estate agents, but it also produces a far richer flavour. Place thyme, garlic, cayenne pepper, lemon rind in your mortar and pestle and pound to your heart is content…or until you have a coarse paste. Place peppercorns in a spice grinder and grind. Add the white pepper, lemon juice and olive oil to your paste, mix together.

Pour marinade over chicken, rub into every little crevasse as the lemon will start the cooking process and make your meat lovely and tender. Cover with plastic wrap and leave to marinate in the refrigerator for 2-3 hours.

When ready to cook, drain the chicken and char-grill, turning frequently and basting with the marinade until golden and cooked through. Add the spring onions to the hot plate at the end and char-grill for about 2 to 3 minutes until wilted. The spring onions are a fantastic edition to any barbecue.

The char-grilled chicken with spring
onions on top

Corn salad with buttermilk dressing
I doubled this recipe for 10 people

Corn salad with buttermilk dressing

Ingredients
3 corn cobs
olive oil
1 baby cos
1 cup mint, roughly chopped
1 bunch asparagus, trimmed and blanched
1 punnet cherry tomatoes

Buttermilk dressing
100 ml buttermilk
2 tbsp sour cream
2 tbsp mayonnaise
50 ml lemon juice
1 tbsp sherry vinegar
1 small garlic clove, crushed

Method
Get your barbecue on so you can cook the corn and allow it to cool before you do anything else.

Once corn is cool enough to handle, cut the kernels from the cob and please in a bowl. Separate and coarsely tear cos leaves, add to corn along with cherry tomatoes, asparagus and mint.

To make the dressing, whisk all ingredients in a bowl until smooth, season to taste, refrigerate until required. Just before serving the meal, drizzle a little of the dressing over the salad, tossing to combine. Leave the rest in a dish for people to add more if they like.

The best part...we even got leftovers the next day.

Char-grilled chicken and salad leftovers