Anzac Biscuits

I have become a fan of Anzac Biscuits

 ANZAC (Australia and New Zealand Army Corp) Biscuits/Cookies date back to World War I.  Wives and mothers would bake these biscuits and mail them to their soldiers in the trenches.  They do not contain eggs and therefore would keep fresh longer.  

photo

As you may imagine, these are not soft, chewy cookies.  They are crispy and rather hard.  I like crispy cookies and these appeal to me.  They have oats and a bit of coconut as well.  I've checked out lots of recipes on line and they are all the same.  I have included the recipe at the end of this post.

This is one ingredient that is a bit unusual to American bakers.  Lyle's Golden Syrup is called for in the biscuit recipe.  You may substitute Karo Syrup or light molasses but discussions on the internet say the taste will be compromised.  Lyle's Syrup is not difficult to find.  In may be in the international aisle of the grocery store in the British food section.

ANZAC Day, similar to Memorial Day in the US, is April 25.  ANZAC biscuits are a very popular treat on that day.

ANZAC BISCUIT RECIPE

1 cup rolled oats

3/4 cup desiccated coconut

1 cup all purpose flour

1 cup sugar

4 oz butter

2 tablespoons golden syrup

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1 tablespoon water

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F or 180 C.

Mix flour, sugar, oats and coconut together.  

Melt syrup and butter together.

Mix baking soda with water together and then add to butter/syrup.  Add this mixture to the dry ingredients and mix to blend.  

Roll by 1 tablespoon of dough to form balls and place on greased cookies sheet or parchment paper lined sheets, allowing space for spreading.

Bake 13 - 15 minutes.  Cool on sheet for 5 minutes then remove to rack and cool thoroughly.  

Avocado and Smoked Salmon Breakfast Idea

While in Sydney, I've been enjoying some wonderful, Australian grown avocados.  

Food always tastes better when it is harvested ripe.  In Michigan, I usually find that the avocados are as hard as a rock at the grocery store and I take a chance on whether it will ever ripen. 

I love smoked salmon for breakfast.  I usually do the lox and bagels with cream cheese thing at home, but my son taught me to substitute avocado for the cream cheese.  Calorie wise, they are about the same but avocado has more vitamins and fiber than cream cheese.  I like my avocado mashed on a toasted whole grain muffin with red onion.  
Bon Appetit!

Denim Jacket Trend

Do you have a denim jacket in your closet?
A denim jacket is a very versatile piece to have in your wardrobe.

Here is how a few celebs wear the jacket.

photo Reese Whitherspoon

photo Rachel Bilson

photo Jessica Alba

Denim Jackets by spiralstyle 

These are a few suggestions for wearing the jacket.

Things to wear with a denim jacket by spiralstyle 

A broken-in denim jacket is like a best friend, the first thing you reach for.  Do you have one?

Outback Weekend

Happy Monday

I had a most spectacular weekend, a once in a lifetime kind of experience.

Aerial shot I took from a helicopter tour

I spent the weekend in the middle of Australia, in the Northern Territory, visiting the Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park.  This park is a sacred site of the Anangu, indigenous people of Australia.  Uluru is the world's largest monolith and Australia's most famous landmark.  The red color of the rock is due to the high iron content in its sandstone composition.  You may know Uluru as Ayers Rock.  In 1872, the European explorer, Ernest Giles, who sighted the rock, named it after the South Australian premier at the time, Sir Henry Ayers.

I did a sunrise base trek around Uluru.

Those on the trek were provided a pouch containing these items for breakfast. 

We started our 12K trek in the dark and were treated to lovely color changes of the rock and sky with the sunrise.

Our guide provided us with lots of folk lore and we got to see these paintings in a cave.  The paintings do not tell a story but were more like a "blackboard" for teaching children.

A post trek view from a distance.

Aerial shot taken from a helicopter

Not far from Uluru is Kata Tjuta.  This area is comprised of 36 domes.  Much of this land is considered sacred and visitors are not allowed to explore.  I did take a sunset trek to the area, however.

Hubby and Me in the Valley of the Winds, Kata-Tjuta

Post trek, the tour group was treated to champagne, wine and snacks while viewing sunset.

Kata-Tjuta at the "golden hour".

I feel so fortunate to have been able to experience this magnificent natural landmark in such a grand manner.  

bills for Brunch and Coconut Bread

I first became aware of bills when flipping through the cookbook,  Tyler Florence's Real Kitchen.  

He gave the recipe for coconut bread, a signature feature on the menu of this extremely popular restaurant in Sydney, AU.  Here is bills recipe.

bills has a cool vibe, with a communal table adorned with a heaping platter of brown eggs and a glass cylinder containing "bottle brush" branches.  Simple white walls, light furniture and lots of natural light makes this a very congenial spot for breakfast, brunch or lunch. (no dinner served)

bills takes scrambled eggs to a new level.   A NY Times article claims that bills scrambled eggs are perhaps the best in the world!  Quite the claim, but I must say that after tasting this velvety goodness, I agree.  At equal parts egg to cream, do you wonder how they couldn't be amazing.  Click here to see how they do it. 

I had a savory sweetcorn fritter loaded with meaty bacon and spinach.   Another signature dish is the Ricotta Hot Cakes with Honeycomb butter.

I've got another 10 days in Australia.  I may just find my way back to bills.  Oh, and I bought the cookbook, one signed by bill himself.

Coconut Bread

Tyler Florence's Real Kitchen  cookbook

1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, melted, plus more for greasing the pan

3 cups flour

1 tablespoon baking powder

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon  (bills uses 2 teaspoons...I would too)

1 cup light brown sugar, packed

2 eggs, slightly beaten

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

zest of 1 lemon, finely grated

1 1/2 cups unsweetened coconut milk

1 1/2 cups shredded coconut, toasted *

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F

Grease 9x5 inch loaf pan with butter.  In a large mixing bowl, mix flour, baking powder, salt and cinnamon.  Set aside.  In another bowl, whisk together, sugar, melted butter, eggs, vanilla and lemon zest.  Pour in coconut milk and whisk.  Add wet ingredient mixture to dry ingredients and fold together with a spatula.  Gently fold in coconut.  Pour into prepared loaf pan, set on cookie sheet and bake 1 hour to 1 hour 15 minutes.  Cool in pan 20 minutes then remove to cutting board and allow to cool completely.  Slice and serve.

* To toast coconut, preheat oven to 315 degrees F.  Spread coconut on cookie sheet and bake about 10 minutes.  Watch to be sure coconut does not turn brown.  Cool.

Do You Know Donna Hay?

Have you ever seen a Donna Hay magazine?

Donna Hay is like an Australian Martha Stewart but only the food part, no crafts, gardening or other non-culinary endeavors.  Her recipes are simple and the photographic illustrations beautiful.  You will notice that the seasons are reversed with fall recipes being featured now since that is the present season in Australia.

If you cannot find a magazine or would like to visit the Donna Hay website, click here to view the website.  Here are some recipe examples.

Chili chicken with snow pea salad

Slow-cooked beef ragu pasta 

Greek salad

Brownie cookies with peanut butter frosting

Lighten Up Makeup for Spring

I have started to wear spring clothes, when the weather permits, and brighter colors.  Something just seemed wrong.  My makeup was still in winter mode.  I needed a lighter approach and brighter colors.

I've often read about Tarte cheek stain in magazines.  I checked it out at Sephora and it was just what I was looking for.  The product is a gel stick with a transparent sort of color that looks very natural, like a bit of sun or natural blush on your cheek.  I find the surface area of the stick to be a bit large so I apply the gel to my cheeks with my fingers rather than stick to cheek.  This stain looks great on bare skin or over tinted moisturizer.  I highly recommend this product.

Now my lips needed some attention.  I shy away from bold lip color but I needed some color in a desperate way.  I think it is a matte formula that I don't like or anything too thick or opaque.  These are the three lip colors I'm using now.  MAC See Sheer, a Lustre lipstick. Laura Mercier, Apricot and Rose Hydratints which give your lips a color tint but are very sheer.

Now my make up Spring ready.  My eye makeup has lightened up a bit too but I love playing up my blue eyes.  

What are your Spring makeup tricks?