I’ll admit it – when I lived in the US, it was all too easy to resort to spice mixes for making chili, marinades, etc. That was until I realized just how many preservatives, dyes, and sugars are in many of those mixes. Price wasn’t a factor until I moved to Australia and the prices of those same (imported) spice mixes started making them all the more unappealing. If you’re willing to spend a short amount of time, you can make a lot of the most popular spice mixes out there from scratch – thus saving you money and the hassle of reading all those tiny labels.
This site has shortcuts to recipes for many of the most popular mixes out there. In this case I’m happy because Old Bay Seasoning isn’t even available in Australia, and now I can make it myself.
Savoury Spinach Muffins
These make a fantastic addition to any brunch, or a great side dish for pretty much anything. They’re incredibly versatile and I’ve also made this with zucchini, if you’re not a fan of spinach. They’re fluffy, hearty, and have a lot of flavour without a lot of work.
Banana Coconut Chocolate Chip Cookies
My oven is back in working order! I regret not coming up with more recipes in the meantime, but this recipe is extra good, so now I don’t feel bad. I was of the mindset that overripe bananas = banana bread, or banana muffins until I found this recipe. I find most banana bread or muffins heavy and overpowering, so finding this recipe was extra exciting. These are cakey, fluffy cookies that aren’t too sweet and have a light hint of banana. (Don’t worry, the coconut is optional, if you don’t like coconut.) Next time you have leftover bananas and don’t want bread, give this a try!
RIP Ye Olde Convection Oven
Well, fellow cooks, something quite unfortunate has happened. Our oven went kaput last week, and it won’t be fixed until next Wednesday. We’re renting, and of course the owner of the apartment HAD to have the most obscure oven ever, which is probably from the 1960s, so of course it’s difficult to find parts when something goes awry. So I wait. In the meantime, I have to try to come up with more recipes that don’t involve baking. That, in itself, is probably a good thing. Now that I’m slowly getting over the trauma (yeah yeah dramatic, I know), I’ll come up with some recipes that are oven-free. Besides that, it was my birthday on Wednesday, so I haven’t been home too much. Time to pick up the slack, however…
American vs Australian Tablespoons
I learned something new the other week – and hope I haven’t mislead too many of you in the process. I realized that Australian tablespoons are different than American tablespoons in terms of measurement. Teaspoons are the same, but it’s just tablespoons that are different. All of my recipes thus far have used American tablespoons, which are 15ml. Australian tablespoons are larger, 20ml. Why did it take me over a year of living here to notice this, you may ask? Well it doesn’t help that both types of tablespoons are sold here. The first measuring spoon set I got when I moved here was with American measurements, just out of pure coincidence.
From now on I’m putting the ml amounts next to tablespoons just to ease any confusion. If you’re in the US, just use your tablespoons normally. If you’re in Australia, you may have to scale it down a bit. It wasn’t until someone gave me some feedback on a recipe that I realized they were using Australian tablespoons instead of what I assumed was the standard. Like I said, teaspoons are the same in both places, so it hasn’t been that big of a deal in my recipes anyway. It certainly makes cooking interesting when I have to make sure the recipe came from Australia or someplace else before deciding which tablespoon to use.
Now on Tumblr!
I’ve started a Tumblr page! I often come across funny and weird news stories, images, and other misellany on the internet, and wanted to have a place to share it with everyone. I’d been using Twitter for that up until now, but it only caters to a limited audience. If you’re interested in following me, the site is tumblr.ninjapenguin.net. I am definitely going to be updating this blog with more photos and cookery, but I’ll keep my sillier stuff on the Tumblr site. There may occasionally be some overlap, though, I imagine.
Snickerdoodles
What is a snickerdoodle, you may ask? Just picture cinnamon toast in cookie form. It’s a type of light, fluffy sugar cookie coated in sugar and cinnamon, and I grew up loving them. Naturally kids would like a cookie with a name like that! Now, as a grownup, I love them with a cup of tea. (Also, though it isn’t the season, these also make great Christmas cookies, if you choose to use colored sugar.)
Chocolate Chip Oat Squares
I’ve been on a chocolate chip kick here, obviously, so here’s a dead easy recipe for delicious oat bars. When I say easy, I mean 4 steps easy. They’re great for a mid-day snack, and offer a (slightly) healthier alternative to brownies!
Chocolate Chip Espresso Shortbread
I’ve heard people say that these cookies will, at some point, replace currency. That’s how good they are. They are crunchy, smooth, buttery, and not mind-blowingly sweet. They’re a hit at parties and are decadent in their simplicity.
I’m Back!
Hello everyone. I can’t say I’ve done any blogworthy cooking lately, but do I have a nice batch of photos from my mom and brother’s visit. We went all around the Sydney area, out to the Blue Mountains, to the Taronga Zoo, and the Featherdale Wildlife Park. I’ve been living in Australia for just over a year, and having my family visit really showed me just how acclimated I’ve gotten to my new home. They asked all the questions I asked when I first got here… basically what half the signs meant, or what half the food items were. Granted, it’s not all that foreign, but Australian slang is known far and wide as being pretty baffling if one hasn’t heard it before.
It was a very busy few weeks and it was quite sad to see them go. Delta mucked up their flights back to the U.S. VERY badly, both ways, and this was their first international trip. My brother took it all in stride, as a 19 year old would do, but I think it’ll be a bit before my mom will set foot in a plane again. Ah well, much fun was had and many photos were taken. Now that life is getting back to normal, and we’ve caught up on all our household chores, I’ll be sure to start posting more recipes now that I’ll be cooking again.
If you’re interested, here are the photos I took… they’re mostly of fuzzy animals, as if that’s a bad thing! Thanks for standing by, everyone. Expect some new posts from me soon.
