Quinoa Salad

Dressing

• 1 cup orange juice, reduced by half and let cool
• 1/3 cup olive oil
• pinch of cumin 
• zest of 1 orange

Combined  the juice, cumin and rind and slowly pour in the olive oil while wisking. Season to taste.

Salad

• 1 cup white quinoa
• handful of mixed herbs- Mint, basil, Italian parsley, coriander
• 1/2 cup sultanas or raisins
• 1/2 a diced Spanish onion
• segment of one orange 
• small bunch of rocket leaves, torn. 
• seeds of 1/2 pomegranate
• 1/4 flaked almonds
• 1 tsp cumin
• pinch sea salt

Cook the quinoa with 3 cups of water for 15 minute.
Roast the almonds with the cumin and sea salt with a light spray of canola oil.
Let the quinoa cool slightly and combined all ingredients together and toss with orange dressing.
 

My favourite part of this salad is the sweetness of the sultanas with the herbs and crunchy cumin roasted almonds.
I made this for myself for lunch while Michael wasn't home because he hates everything that I've used to make this salad! It's also very, very healthy.

Erica.

Chocolate & Mandarin Brownies

Recipe

• 250g dark chocolate
• 1/2 cup castor sugar
• 2/3 cup cocoa
• 1/2 cup plain flour
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 4 eggs beaten
• 250g melted butter
• 2 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 1/2 cups mandarin jam  

Preheat oven to 140°C.

Melt the chocolate with the butter.

Sift together into a bowl the flour, cocoa & baking powder.

Whisk together the eggs, sugar and vanilla extract.

Stir together the chocolate mixture with the egg mixture then add the flour along with 1 cup of mandarin jam and stir until combined.

Pour the mixture into a lined 22cm square tin and bake for 45 minutes.

Serve warm with remaining mandarin jam.

Mandarin Jam

 Recipe

• 10 mandarins
• 250g castor sugar

Peel and segment the mandarins and cook over a medium heat until the fruit is very soft.

Add the castor sugar and stir until its completely dissolved.

Cook until the jam is thick. 

Let cool and store in a sterile glass jar in the fridge.

I've been given lots of fruit and vegetables this last week- pomegranates, pumpkins, grapes and mandarins.
I plan on baking beautiful chocolate brownie that needs this mandarin jam.

Erica.

The cook & the chef

Michael's parents are staying with us from Tassie so my Mother In-law, Lorraine and I whipped up a beautiful sponge cake for morning tea to test out my new Kitchenaid.
Apart from making lamingtons I had not made a proper sponge cake before so Lorraine showed me, the chef , how to make one. 

whipping the eggs

We used a Women's weekly Perfect sponge cake recipe and filled it with freshly whipped cream and raspberry jam.

It didn't last very long and was enjoyed by all.
I need to buy another tin so I can bake two halves at the same time, we cheated by cutting the one in half. (it still worked)

Erica.