Who knew that hedgehogs were so tasty?

Ah, the Hedgehog slice... it's a childhood favourite for me. I love that fact that you get to bash a whole heap of biscuits to make biscuit crumbs and that it is no bake! I have to admit that I have had my fair share of kinda dry and tasteless hedgehog slices so here's my recipe for delicious, chocolatey and nutty goodness!

I base my Hedgehog slice recipe on the never fail one from Cookery the Australian Way Book.

Miss Mardi Hedgehog goodness: (I use a baking paper lined 27 x 18cm tray for this recipe
Ingredients:

• 240g of sweet biscuits crushed, I use one packet of Arrowroot biscuits, generally the Aldi brand ones.
• 3/4 cup of well chopped walnuts.
• 1/2 cup of caster sugar
• 2 heaped tablespoons of good quality cocoa powder (I use cadburys)
• 1 egg beaten
• 2 tablespoons of shredded coconut
• 1-2 teaspoons of vanilla essence.
• 175g of margarine (I use an olive oil based one)

How to:

1. pop your biscuits into a plastic bag, then beat with a rolling pin to make crumbs. I like a combination of breadcrumbs and some chunkier pieces.
2. put crushed biscuits into a bowl with the chopped walnuts and the coconut.
3. in a small saucepan add margarine and caster sugar, heat gently until the margarine has disolved.
   
4. take off heat and add the cocoa and vanilla. Stir well until shiny and well combined. During this time, the mixture is cooling. When slightly cooler, add the beaten egg and quickly combine.
5. add the wet mixture to the biscuit mixture and combine well.
6. press mixture into the pan with a metal spoon, press well so it is flat!
7. place in the fridge until chilled and hard.
8. remove from pan and cut into squares.

I keep my hedgehog in an airtight container in the fridge for a few days. Trust me, it will be eaten well within 2 days!

I have often wondered why this slice is called Hedgehog? Does anyone know?!

The joys of a perfect martini...

I'm going to slightly blame my New York City friend Billy for this as I got a message from him saying "I'm drinking a Belvedere with soda and thinking of you". My mind went back to all those times that I've enjoyed Belvedere vodka in my favourite city and wouldn't you know it, I was craving a perfect dirty Belvedere martini!

What is a girl to do when this happens? Well lucky for me, I could pop across the road to Baranows Lounge and get the delightfully cheeky Leigh Oliver to whip a couple up for me. I have to say that it had been awhile since I have enjoyed a dirty martini seeing the vodka gibson has been my drink of choice for awhile but that slightly salty, yet creamy from the grain vodka liquid sure hit the spot. I may have enjoyed three but I'm sure a bartender never tells? (Right Leigh!)

I don't even remember when I first started drinking martinis. I can remember some badly made martinis and I can remember when I get perfection in a glass. I believe that everyone enjoys their martinis differently. Some people prefer really dirty, others heavy on the vermouth. So for me, here is what I call a perfect martini.

1. It must be made with Belvedere vodka... the grain based alcohol gives a slightly creamy nature to the drink.
2. light on the vermouth. I often at home pour it into the glass, run it around so it coats, tip it out and then ice the glass.
3. lightly dirty. I like around 2 bar spoons of brine from the olives. Just remember that they can't be any oil in that brine! You don't want an oil slick on your martini.
4. I always have 3 olives in my martini, it's part superstition and part aesthetics. The olives can't be too big (like giant Greek olives) they must be green olives too. My favourites are a Turkish olive stuffes with an almond. The flavour and brine added to the dirty martini gives a slightly nutty effect which I go crazy about!
5. Glassware. It's a martini as it's in a martini glass... the glass must feel good in your hand, have an appropriate thickness to the glass but not too thick and it must be classic looking.
   

Gosh, all this talk of martinis is making me thirsty! I think I'll be heading back to the bar about now! (Leigh, you can start getting one ready... I'm heading over! )

Home made granola goodness

I've always been a fan of a toasted muesli with yogurts. While I was on long service leave in the USA for three months, I became besotted with granola. I ate it everywhere, I even had granola coated french toast (which by the way is awesome!) So seeing I've had all these ingredients floating around for muesli bars, I thought I'd try my hand at my own granola.

As a starting point, I found these great website and used the recipe they posted as a starting point. You can check the original recipe titled Easy Homemade Granola
from "Baked: New Frontiers in Baking" by Matt Lewis and Renato Poliafito on The Amateur Gourmet here! I recommend looking at their site... very cute!

My ingredients:

2 cups rolled oats
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon salt
3 tablespoons or good quality olive oil
1/4 cup honey
1/4 cup firmly packed dark brown sugar
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/3 cup slivered almonds
1/3 cup macadamia nuts
1/4 cup sunflower seeds

then sprinkling to taste of shredded coconut, linseed and pumpkin seeds, craisins and chopped dried apricots.

How to!

Preheat the oven to 165 Celsius. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

In a large bowl, toss the oats with the cinnamon and salt.

In a medium bowl, stir together the oil, honey, brown sugar, and vanilla. Whisk until completely combined.

Pour the honey mixture over the oats mixture and use your hands to combine them: Gather up some of the mixture in each hand and make a fist. Repeat until all of the oats are coated with the honey mixture.

Pour the mixture onto the prepared baking sheet. Spread it out evenly, but leave a few clumps here and there for texture.

Bake for 10 minutes, then remove from the oven and use a metal spatula to lift and flip the granola. Sprinkle the almonds over the granola and return the baking sheet to the oven.

Bake for 5 minutes, then remove from the oven and use a metal spatula to lift and flip the granola. Sprinkle the nuts and seeds over the granola, stir in and return the baking sheet to the oven.

Bake for 10 minutes, then remove from the oven. Let cool completely. Sprinkle the dried fruit over the granola and transfer it to an airtight container.

The granola will keep for 1 week.

I love mine with just plain yogurts and some poached fruit on top... delicious!

Recipe Remix: A nutty take on Anzac biscuits...

I really do love Anzac biscuits. I picked up a large packet of macadamia nuts really cheaply at the supermarket and I've been trying to think of what to make with them!

I decided to lightly roast some of the macadamia nuts in the oven for a few minutes, crush a little bit and add about 1/2 cup of them to my existing Anzac biscuit recipe. Click here to get a refresher on the recipe!

The result? Pretty darn delicious! I don't think that they will be lasting long in our house. I think I've already eaten three!

What do you do when you grow loads of rocket?

The rocket that we are growing in our front garden is going crazy! It is growing at such a rate that we are trying to eat rocket just about every day. It's great though, having your own salad in the front yard where we just pop out with scissors, grab some and make a delicious salad.

I've always been a bit of a rocket fan. I love the slight peppery taste and it's lovely just as a simple leafy salad or slightly cooked in a warm salad.

To use some of rocket supply today, I made this very quick and simple warm salad that comprised of:

• rocket (duh!)
• finely sliced red onion lightly cooked
• roasted kent pumpkin
• pine nuts
• potato gnocchi

This was lightly tossed and seasoned with olive oil and lemon juice (to cut through the 'roastiness') and served with fresh shaved parmisan cheese.
A great way to start using up that rocket and also a great Easter Sunday brunch dish.

I want a Japanese Iceball Maker!

(image from here - thank you!)

While researching our Pimm's winter cup recipes, we stumbled upon this Japanese iceball maker. They create a perfectly spherical ball of ice in this machine without using electricity. The only downer is that you need to have a supply of chunks of ice but I think that the outcome is pretty spectacular! I can just imagine myself sipping a Belvedere vodka on 'the rocks' but rather it would be a Belvedere on the iceball or just a Belvedere on the rock (singular!)

The amazing thing is that apparently there were guys who used to make these balls of ice using knives! It was a very dangerous practice and obviously required much skill. This machine means that you won't lose any fingers in the process.

Yep, I definitely want one of these gadgets for my bar!

(thanks to Drinksology for the awesome Youtube clip on how it works!)

Pimm's Winter Cup

Mark and I went on a little adventure last weekend to restock our bar. It was starting to look a little low so we popped by our favourite little European style bottle shop and picked up some goodies. We then ventured to Acland Street Cellars in St.Kilda, who are apparently opening up an on-line store soon, very exciting! Anyway while we were in Acland Street Cellars, we discovered that they had not just normal Pimm's Cup #1 but also Pimm's Cup #3!!!

A little educational lesson here... Pimm's #1 is made from a gin base, Pimm's #3 is a brandy base, lending itself to a variety of other drinks; including the Pimm's #3 Winter Cup!

To make yourself a Pimm's #3 Winter Cup you will need:

• 150ml / 5oz Pimms No. 3 Winter Cup
• 400ml / 14oz apple juice
• 1 apple, sliced in to small chunks
• ½ an orange, sliced in to chunks
• 1 cinnamon stick

Add all ingredients to a pan and gently heat until just simmering. Remove cinnamon stick and pour mixture in to a large jug. Serve in heat-proof glasses or mugs.

(Thanks to the amazing Oh Gosh website for the above recipe, I recommend you check them out!)

While researching more above the spiced and warming Pimm's #3 Winter Cup, we discovered the lovely Pimm's teapot cosy as seen above! They were promotional gifts in the U.K but I may have to pull my knitting needles out and make my own!

So if you are looking for a lovely winter drink to warm you in the cooler months, give this one a go!