"You'll Never Guess" Brownies

You'll never guess the secret ingredient in this delicious brownie!  It's free from gluten, dairy and refined sugar if you wish.  It's super easy and the kids will never know they're eating vegetables!

Ingredients
250g cauliflower
1 cup gluten-free self-raising flour
1/2 cup cocoa
1/2 cup coconut sugar or brown sugar
1/2 cup olive oil or coconut oil
1/2 cup water
pinch salt
1 teaspoon cinnamon

Method
Preheat oven to 180 degrees celsius/160 fan-forced.

Steam the cauliflower until tender.  Place in a food processor and mix until smooth.

Add remaining ingredients and process for 1 minute, until smooth and well combined.

Pour into a lined 20cm square baking tin.

Bake for 30 minutes.

Sprinkle with cocoa and serve.

Brown Rice Tuna Cakes

Here's a perfect, healthy, budget lunchbox or picnic idea - enjoy!

Ingredients
1 1/2 cups cooked brown rice
3 eggs, lightly beaten
1 carrot, grated
1 zucchini, grated
1/2 brown onion, chopped finely
1/2 cup corn kernels
1/2 cup parmesan cheese
1/2 cup tuna, drained and broken up
1/2 cup milk
fresh or dried herbs, to taste

Method
Preheat oven to 180 degrees celsius/160 fan-forced.

Combine all ingredients in a bowl.

Spray a 12-hole muffin pan with oil, or 24-hole mini muffin pan (or you can even do one big one!)

Divide mixture between holes.  Bake for 20 minutes for mini size or 30 minutes for larger size, until set and golden brown.

Serve warm or cold.

Mango, Lime & Passionfruit Jam

A beautiful fusion of flavours - this one's a real treat!

Ingredients
500g mango flesh, chopped
1 lime
2 passionfruit
500g caster sugar

Method
Slice two pieces (about 4cm long) of peel off the lime.  Place them, along with the juice of the lime, the passionfruit pulp and seeds, and mango, in a medium saucepan.  Bring to the boil and simmer, until mango is tender and fairly broken down.

Warm the sugar in the oven or microwave.  Add to the fruit and stir well to combine.  Return to the boil, then simmer for about 30 minutes.

Pour into hot, sterilised jars and seal well.

Cupcakes

This is one of those basic recipes that you need on hand, especially when you're a mum!  These cupcakes turn out perfectly every time and are always a hit with the kids :-)  This recipe makes 2 dozen.

Ingredients
200g butter, softened
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup caster sugar
3 eggs
3 cups self-raising flour
1 cup milk

Method
Preheat oven to 180°C/160°C fan-forced oven. Line 2 muffin pans with paper cases.

Beat butter, vanilla and sugar until light and fluffy. Add eggs, 1 at a time, beating after each addition.

Mix in half the flour on low speed, followed by half the milk, then repeat.

Divide mixture evenly between pans. Bake for 18 minutes, until cooked through and lightly browned.

Transfer to a wire rack to cool.

Buttercream
150g butter, softened
3 cups icing sugar mixture
2 tablespoons milk

Method
Beat butter in a bowl until pale.

Gradually add icing sugar mixture and milk, beating constantly until combined.  Add colour if desired.

Spread cooled cupcakes with icing and decorate.

Love Bites

These gorgeous little bites are not only delicious, but practically guilt-free!  A perfect Valentine's treat for those wanting to be good!

Ingredients
1 cup desiccated coconut
1/2 cup cocoa
1/2 cup sunflower seeds
1/2 cup pepitas
1 cup dates
1/2 cup sultanas
2 teaspoons chia seeds
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 teaspoons cinnamon

Method
Combine ingredients in a food processor or blender and mix for about a minute, until it all comes together and is well combined.

Press into mini love heart-shaped silicone molds.  Refrigerate until firm.

Summer Brunch Menu

Summer brunch in the backyard with friends...it doesn't get much better than that.

This was an Aussie-themed spread, inspired by some beautiful tableware from www.kitchenwaredirect.com.au.

The gorgeous coloured serving plates and bowls are from the Ecology Beach range, made from bamboo fibre.  It's lightweight, has that unique "recycled" look and is simply stunning on the table!

On the Ecology Beach Charger Plate, I made a basic damper, served with breakfast bruschetta-inspired accompaniments: smoked salmon, diced tomato tossed with balsamic vinegar, and a freshly-made pesto.  These were served in the divine little Ecology Beach Snack Set.

Pesto
In a food processor, combine 1/2 cup cashews, 1 clove crushed garlic, 80g feta, 1 cup fresh herbs, 1/2 cup parmesan cheese and 1/2 cup oil.

I wanted something delicious, fresh, colourful and "brunchy" to serve in the Ecology Beach Salad Bowl.  The result was a hit - this gorgeous Brunch Salad.

Brunch Salad
Toss together 80g salad leaves, 4 rashers of cooked, chopped bacon, 1 cup mushrooms, sautéed with 1 clove crushed garlic, 10 baby bocconcini, 1/2 punnet halved cherry tomatoes, 4 boiled eggs, quartered and 1/2 sliced avocado.  Serve with home-made tomato relish.

I always get nervous when I'm entertaining outdoors and using my fancy glassware.  Especially when young children are around!  But neither do I like tacky, plastic, disposable glasses.  Enter: the Swish Plastic range.

This range gives you all of your favourite styles of glassware, in an unbreakable plastic - genius!  The quality is amazing, but you still get the look and feel of glass.

I wanted to get creative with my Swish glassware and had to think outside the box.

So here it is: 3 different glasses, used in 3 different ways.  They went down a treat!

First of all, Swish Plastic Martini Glasses filled with layers of Home-made Muesli, Yoghurt and Spiced Stone Fruit, topped with berries.  Divine!

Vanilla & Cinnamon Spiced Stone Fruit
Place 500g fresh, sliced stone fruit in a small saucepan over medium heat.  Add 1 teaspoon vanilla bean paste, 1 teaspoon cinnamon and 1/2 cup water.  Stir gently, bringing to the boil, then reduce heat and simmer for about 10 minutes.

Now, I've decided that chocolate is perfectly acceptable for brunch - it's never too early!

So, using the Swish Plastic Highball Tumblers, and continuing the Australian theme, I decided on Lamington Trifles.  These were probably the hit of the morning, and we so easy to make!

Lamington Trifles
16 small laming ton
200mL whipped cream
1 cup chocolate sauce (combine 1.5 cups icing sugar, 1 cup cocoa, 1/4 cup coconut cream and hot water to reach desired consistency)
1/4 cup shredded coconut

Break up the lamingtons and divide half of them between 4 glasses.  Drizzle with half of the chocolate sauce and dollop with half of the cream.  Repeat with remaining ingredients, then top with coconut.

And to finish up the brunch, we needed an actual beverage to serve in the glasses!

So I used the Swish Plastic Champagne Flutes (teamed perfectly with my Juice Jar!) to make a fresh and fruity drink.  It was a lovely mix of flavours and not too sweet to serve in the morning.

Raspberry and Lemon Refresher
Combine
1Litre raspberry iced tea
1.25L sparkling mineral water
3/4 cup lemon cordial
Juice of 2 oranges
1/2 cup fresh or frozen raspberries
1/2 cup chopped mint
crushed ice
1 sliced orange
1 sliced lemon
and serve!

So there you have it - a simple and delicious Summer Brunch, perfect for the Aussie back deck.  When are you hosting yours?!

*Thanks to www.swishplastic.com.au and www.kitchenwaredirect.com.au for the glasses & platters*

Savoury Pinwheels

Ingredients
400g lean beef mince
2 carrots, grated
1/2 cup baby spinach, finely chopped
1/4 cup fresh herbs, finely chopped
1 tablespoon tomato paste
1 egg, beaten (split use)
1 sheet puff pastry, defrosted
1/4 cup parmesan cheese, grated

Method
Preheat oven to 200 degrees celsius/180 fan-forced.

Combine mince, carrot, spinach, herbs, tomato paste and half the egg in a small bowl.

Spread out on the puff pastry, pushing to the bottom and side edges, but leaving a 2cm gap at the top.

Sprinkle with parmesan.

Brush top edge with a little of the remaining egg.  Roll up tightly from the bottom to form a long log.

Slice into 12 even rounds.  Place on a lined baking tray and bake for about 25 minutes, until mince is cooked and pastry is golden brown.