Gyros Party At Home

Hello Fellow Nom Seekers!

It was my niece's 10th birthday a few months back (Happy birthday M!) and I was so impressed with the house party her parents threw for her.  They managed to feed a crowd the size of a small army (I estimated at least 50 people) and managed to do this without seeming too flustered or resentful (as I tend to get in a similar situation).

The clever parents decided to serve gyros which they cooked over coals in the backyard.  The meat itself (chicken, lamb, beef, pork - all domesticated animals were well represented) were purchased pre-skewered at the Greek shop, salads and accompaniments were easily pulled together from the supermarket.  The tzatziki was bought - and voila! - a fun meal where everyone can assembled their own gyros to their liking.

Is there anything better than the smell of chargrilled meats? Wait, yes there is - chargrilled cuttlefish! Cuttlefish on the open flame is the ultimate in smell-unami.  It is reminiscent of holidays in South East Asia, strolling pass street vendors selling their wares on a balmy night.  Put a few cuttlefish on the barbie and it would blow your mind.  My brother in law, two of his friends and I quickly snaffled up the coveted crispy cuttlefish between us before anyone else gets their paws onto it.

An incredibly meat-ccentric gyros assembled by Kiddo. 

A more balanced gyros

 Anything goes...

I have been informed that the spit is purchased from Bunnings for $80 or thereabouts.  I found YouTube clip of the spit in action by Vinygee if you would like further details.



In summary - a great idea for feeding a crowd.

Until next time...

Fiesta Malaysia 2014

Hello Fellow Nom  Seekers!

Sally Li from RMIT New International Students blog clued me into the whole Fiesta Malaysia experience.  You can read about her 2013 Fiesta Malaysia post here.

It's a whole lotta fun at Federation Square.  Essentially it is a celebration of the Malaysian food and culture which does highlight all the different cultures and ethnicities that make up modern day Malaysia.  There were traditional dances, traditional games, yummy food stalls... the air was thick with the aroma of delicious satay grilling and the sound of music.  I have tried to capture a bit of the atmosphere in the photos below but it's really got to be experienced first hand.  I understand this is a yearly thing so "Like" the Fiesta Malaysia's official Facebook page to get up-to-date info on the next one.

Melbourne turning out a fine Autumn day for Fiesta Malaysia 2014

One of the many food stalls

Roti with chicken curry

Char Kwai Teow 

Curry puff and spring rolls

Beef Rendang

Lion dancers and plenty of balloons for the kiddies

Folk singers

Mah jong for the public

Traditional marble game

A very enjoyable day out.  It's like having a little Malaysian sojourn without leaving Melbourne...will definitely be going to the 2015 one.

Until next time...

Sugar Free Baking Masterclass at Cupcake Central

Not So Devilish Chocolate Cupcakes

Hello Fellow Nom Seekers!

As some of you may know, I am on the I Quit Sugar program which essentially boils down to the fact that if I want to eat a sweet treat of sorts, I will have to make it from scratch and use sugar alternatives, namely stevia (if you are interested, see my previous posts on sugar free preserved figs and tong yuens).  To date I have never attempted making a sugar free cake with frosting because I thought sugar free icing sugar was as mythical as a leprechaun....until now!

I was very fortunate to be invited to a sugar free baking masterclass at Cupcake Central using Natvia products.  Natvia is made with a blend of organic stevia and erythritol which is a naturally occurring fruit nectar.  Natvia has come up with a sugar free icing mix.  So for sugar free peeps like me, I can literally have my cake and eat it too.  Likewise for the diabetics and those seeking a healthier lifestyle without the sugars and artificial sweeteners.

Natvia Sugar Free Icing Mix (blue) and baking pack (pink)

Sheryl from Cupcake Central demonstrated the ropes of making a pro-batch of cupcakes.  She even shared her recipe for Not So Devilish Cupcakes (see below).  We got to ice our cupcakes using the new Natvia Sugar Free Icing Mix which handled just like regular icing mixes and tasted exactly like sugar...only better for you.  Sheryl has advised that you can substitute Natvia for sugar in a ratio of 1:1 for most recipes.  This is because it is not overpoweringly sweet nor bitter like some sugar free alternatives.

NOT SO DEVILISH CHOCOLATE CUPCAKES, courtesy of Cupcake Central

Ingredients:

• 1.5C plain flour sifted
• 0.5C cocoa sifted.  The Cupcake Central uses the Callebaut brand which is 100% cocoa
• 1C Natvia sifted
• 1 tsp bicarb
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 2 large free range eggs
• 0.5C vegetable oil
• 1C cold water
• 2 tsp white vinegar
• 1 tsp vanilla extract.  The Cupcake Central uses the Nielsen Massey brand.  
• You can make an egg free version by omitting the eggs and adding in 2 tsp of vinegar. 

Method:

• Pre heat oven to 165 degrees C fan forced or 175 degrees C conventional
• Combine all the dry ingredients in a large bowl or in the stand mixer bowl
• Whilst beating add oil and vanilla.  Then add water, mixing and scraping down the sides of the bowl as you go.  
• Add eggs one at a time beating as you go to combine
• Lastly add vinegar and beat at medium to high speed for 30 seconds
• Put in little patty cake tins and bake for 18 - 21 mins.  

Icing (enough to ice 12 cupcakes):

• 125g of unsalted butter.  The Cupcake Central uses New Zealand butter as it is much creamier
• 225g of Natvia Sugar Free Icing Mix
• 1 tsp vanilla extrac
• 1 pinch of salt
• Combine all icing ingredients using a beater / mixer.  

Ta-dah!  The finished product

Sam and Mark - founders of Natvia.  Apparently the sugar free icing mix took two long years to perfect.  

Sheryl teaching us how the pros ice.  

Ban-Arnie cupcake from Autumn 2014 collection - high protein, sugar free, gluten free cupcakes!  Sheryl advised that Cupcake Central do strive to cater for people who would like a less sinful treat.  Could have easily eaten a dozen.

Some extra Natvia baking tips:

• Natvia can soak up some of the moisture in your batter, Sheryl recommends using vegetable oil in the cake mix instead of butter or add in a touch more liquid eg 1 - 2 tablespoons extra of milk/water for a batch of 12 cupcakes

Natvia Sugar Free Icing Mix is now available at Coles and selected independent grocers.  It will be in Woolworths in a week.  I can't wait to create my own sugar free frosted cakes at home!

Until next time...

#pizzacomp @hotelgrosvenor

Hello Fellow Nom Seekers!

I was very lucky to be invited to participate in the 2014 pizza competition at the Hotel Grosvenor with a bunch of other fellow food bloggers.

The night entailed much pizza consumption and merriment.  The idea was that we all get to create a pizza each;  we all taste test each other's creation and give each pizza a score out of ten.  Not only did we get to tap into our creative channels in creating our entries, we also got to watch a master pizza chef, Stefano in action.  Stefano was amazing. He can roll out pizza dough in literally seconds  and it came out in perfect uniform size and thickness.  Stefano also gave us a quick tute on what to look out for when cooking pizza in a wood fire oven.

After much pizza stuffing and deliberation, three finalists were selected:

• a Whoopsie Daisy pizza - chilli choc, strawberries, coconut, icecream - OMG, it was divine
• a Rocky Road pizza - more icecream, chocolate, marshmallows...drool
• a savoury meatball and artichoke pizza aptly called "That's not the choke" although I suspect you can play around with the words of it in all sorts of permutations...smuttiness much encouraged

The prize at stake is a trophy!  A gold one at that and a month's supply of free pizza.  Now that the three finalists have been selected, it's over to you, the public to vote.  I understand voting will soon be available at the Hotel Grosvenor Facebook page.  See here.  The three finalists' pizzas would also be placed on the menu so you can vote in person when you order a pizza, or two, or three.  

There were heaps of photos of this great night.  It was just easier to throw these all in a slide show for you.



Until next time...

Food Fun: Metamucil Flubber

Hello Fellow Nom Seekers!

With the school holidays rapidly coming up, I came across a recipe for Metamucil Flubber and thought I will give it a go for entertainment purposes for young and old.  The Alchemist's Cookbook gives a scientific explanation of how this experiment works.  You can look them up here.  I tweaked their methodology a wee bit. 

One of the alleged pros of this recipe is that it is a non sticky so hopefully it stays clean.  I'm not sure about you but every time we open a tub of slime or play dough or similar in this household, every loose strand of human hair, dog hair, every particle of grit in a 5km radius seem to get stuck in it.  Ick.  Another pro is that almost everyone has a tub of Metamucil languishing in the pantry and you only need a small amount to make yourself a batch, ergo dirt cheap to make. 

Ingredients:

• 1 tablespoon of Metamucil
• 1 cup of water 

All the ingredients you need

Method:

• Mix Metamucil and water in a large microwave safe bowl
• Zap in microwave for 2 minutes (1200 Watt microwave) until it starts to almost bubble over the bowl
• Take out of the microwave and cool for a minute or so.  Give it a stir. 
• Repeat zapping in the microwave for one minute at a time then stirring until a flubbery consistency is achieved.  The number of times you have to do this varies depending on the power of your microwave.  Go by eye and don't walk too far away whilst it's cooking in case you nuke it.  By the way, do take care as it is molten when it comes out of the microwave!

Ready for the zapping

After the first 2 minutes of zapping it has a slightly gloopy consistency

A total of 5 minutes of zapping - flubber achieved

In the hands of the child

There you have it - DIY flubber.  Wait for it to cool before handling.

This flubber keeps in a zip lock bag in the fridge 'for months'.   

Until next time,
Nom Seeker, Glutt



Food Fun: Mentos and Diet Coke Geyser

Hello Fellow Nom Seekers!

Introducing our Food Fun posts.  Food Fun is about doing fun things with common fun stuff you may find in your pantry or local supermarket with the aim of proving food can be fun even though you may not necessarily be nomming it.  For our inaugural Food Fun post, I would like give the infamous Mentos and Diet Coke Geyser trick a whirl. 

Recently Bubbachuck has been obsessively watching Wreck It Ralph.  When she decides to like a movie, we end up having to sit through it on loop.  This was where I was first introduced to the possibility that a chemical reaction occurs when a mentos is introduced to a bottle of diet coke.  One of the characters, Vanelope lives beside an underground lake filled with diet coke and mentos stalactites.  After googling this to ascertain whether it was a bit of make belief in a children's movie or whether it is a hard scientific fact, I came across this YouTube clip by the Mythbusters which explains all the science behind this phenomenon.  So essentially a chemical reaction occurs between carbonated drinks and mentos candy producing an eruption of sorts.  The porous surface of the mentos catalyses the release of carbon dioxide resulting in massive amounts of foaming. 


In the spirit of exposing my 7 year old to the wonders of science and to the dangers of a chemical explosion, I thought why not replicate this for a bit of fun at home?!  Here is a clip of our attempt.  It did not foam up in the explosive way that I had envisaged.  I'm suspecting the makers of mentos may have altered their formulation since news of this phenomenon broke.  I'm having visions of litigious parents following an explosive children's party.  I should add that Bubbachuck and I conducted this experiment in the rain as we were that excited that we couldn't wait until the rain stopped.  I don't think the rain would have affected our results too much. 

I also read on trusty Wikipedia that rock salt accelerates the reaction.  So here I am adding fuel to the fizzling fire. 

A bit of fun for young and old. 

Until next time,
Nom Seeker, Glutt.