Monthly Archives: April 2013

Shortlisted!

This calls for cake.

Some weeks ago a friend of mine drew my attention to the Taste Master job and said “this has your name all over it”. The widely advertised ‘Best Jobs in the World’ promotion by Tourism Australia was certainly creating some buzz.

When I finally got around to putting my always opining, often unhelpful, rational mind to one side, my heart had a chance to be heard; and, to agree with my friend. And so, I submitted an entry.

Late last night, just before my head hit the pillow, I checked my iPhone for new email messages. To receive the ‘ping’ of e-communication highlighting that 600,000 applicants had submitted entries for the World’s Best Job and that I had made the top 25 shortlist was surreal to say the least. It still is… my heart is peering smugly up at my disbelieving head. It is however, true. I’m on the shortlist. Woop!

Oh, yes. Cake. I wouldn’t leave you without something scrumptious to eat… let there be cake!

Carrot Cake

Ingredients

250g soft brown sugar
120ml vegetable oil
250g ground almonds
250g grated carrots
3 eggs

Method

1. Preheat oven to 180C and line a 20cm cake tin with baking paper.

2. Mix together the sugar and oil, then add the eggs one at a time, mixing to combine. Stir in the almond flour and the carrots.

3. Pour the mixture into the cake tin and bake for 50mins to 1hour until the top has turned golden brown and is firm to touch.

 And let’s not pretend I didn’t eat it straight from the oven tray. I totally did.

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Spring Salad

I’ve decided, despite the stubborn persistence of my winter wardrobe, that spring is here. And I am marking it with this beautiful salad.

And, well, a new blog post. I have not written in this space for some time, as my sister very kindly pointed out. It is not because I haven’t been indulging in the delights of culinary experiences. Far from it. There was the cheese trail at Borough Market; the buckwheat chocolate pancakes I cooked for supper… with the hot chocolate maple syrup sauce that I most definitely did not eat straight out of the warm jar. There was the walk around Denbie’s Wine Estate; the vanilla fudge experiment that went, um, slightly wrong. Then there was Jade’s spiced apple cake with salted caramel frosting, and the Italian homemade raw honey and pistachio spread that I near inhaled in one sitting, and the late night love affair I’ve been having with dark chocolate truffles, and then… this. Like spring itself; unexpected, yet a colourful, surprising, delightful reminder of life, newness and things bursting into bloom.

It would be something of an understatement to say that I’m not a fan of red cabbage. Ordinarily, just one slither of its bitter crunchiness has me reaching spoon-first for the aforementioned jar of pistachio honey. We don’t get along, red cabbage and I. And yet, having sat so patiently on my kitchen worktop all week, I thought to do something with it. I don’t know what got into me. It must have been the spring air. In any case, once I thinly sliced the cabbage and tossed it with some salad leaves, coriander, apples and some dressing…. it transformed into spring in a bowl. And with that, I am bouncing into Monday morning.

Asha’s spring salad

1 medium sized red cabbage
2 pink lady apples (or other sweet apple variety)
1 handful fresh coriander
3 cups salad leaves of your choice

2 tbsp white wine vinegar
pinch of salt
1 tsp honey
1 tsp wholegrain mustard
4 tbsp olive oil

Thinly slice the red cabbage and the apples. Combine with the salad leaves and coriander.
For the dressing place the vinegar in a jar and the salt. Shake and let stand for two minutes. Then add the honey and the mustard. Lastly, add the oil and shake again. Drizzle over and welcome spring :)

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