Watermelon Milkshakes

Throughout the history of cooking, there has been one essential tool in the hand of every chef the knife. Without it, we couldnt cut through meat or vegetables to get them down to the right size for cooking and eating. I suppose we could just gnaw on a whole, roasted chook or a huge head of cauliflower, but that would look kind of .. weird. No, we definitely need knives in our kitchens!

Ive been a little bit on the cheap side of things when it comes to knives. I will admit that the three big cooks knives that I have, I bought from Kmart. I do have 2 Scanpan colored knives (green santoku and pink paring), however, and use at least one of them at least once per day. Ive never owned a real official cooks knife before, that is until Kitchenware Direct, my go-to online shop for kitchenware supplies in Australia, offered to send me one to review. And not just any knife; a world-renowned Global brand 20cm cooks knife. I was ecstatic!

This Global knife looks so professional in fact, this exact knife is the one used in the MasterChef Australia kitchen. Its lighter than it looks, feels good in my hand and glides effortlessly through meat and veggies. I chose to slice through a watermelon for my review post, as during the summer our family basically survives on watermelon. Slicing through whole watermelons is often a tricky, and dangerous, task with our cheap Kmart knives and I always tell the kids, who are at the ready to grab fresh, juicy slices of watermelon, to stand far back! With my new cooks knife, however, cutting through a whole watermelon is just about as easy as cutting through fresh apple pie.

There is no way on Earth I could be more happy with my new cooks knife. Its sharper than any knife Ive used and basically slices my vegetable-cutting time in half (no pun intended, really!). I also love the fact that the knife is entirely stainless steel, which means that its easy to clean (although the knife is not dishwasher friendly) and more hygienic than knives with wooden handles.

Note that it is not recommended that this particular knife be sharpened with regular/traditional knife sharpeners; youll need a ceramic sharpener/stone or a water stone. I dont have either of these, but if I want to keep my knife sharp, Id better invest in one soon.

Okay, so Ive told you how much I love this knife, but this review post wouldnt be complete without a recipe. I could make a bunch of things with sliced watermelon, but Ive chosen my familys favorite summertime milkshake to share with you.

You might not imagine that watermelon and milk would be a perfect combination, but I can assure you, it is. Its a match made in heaven and the perfect way to cool down on a hot summer day. Not only does it taste lovely, it also looks lovely with its light pink color and a layer of bubbly froth!

This is so easy to prepare, but you will need to start the recipe about an hour or two before you want to enjoy it. Youll need to cut watermelon into cubes (3 cups of watermelon cubes & remove any black seeds), place them in a single layer on a baking tray lined with baking paper and freeze them for 1-2 hours. If you want to have a thin consistency milkshake, freeze for about an hour. If you want a thicker consistency, freeze for about two hours. I usually freeze them for about 1.5 hours, for somewhere in between!

When your watermelon cubes are ready, place them in a blender along with 1 cup of very cold milk (whole or skim is fine, whatever your preference is, but I havent tried this with rice or nut milk yet so cant advise on how that would taste) and 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract (although I usually use vanilla bean paste). If your watermelon isnt ripe/not very sweet, add up to 2 tablespoons of sugar. If your watermelon is nice and sweet, you can skip the sugar (I usually dont add sugar unless I really need to). Then, turn on your blender until the milkshake is completely smooth. The white seeds should break up and you shouldnt be able to see any pieces of seeds at all.

Just a side note. I dont have a blender, so I use an immersion/stick/hand blender which works just as well.

How gorgeous and delicious does that look! We love these milkshakes so much and couldnt imagine summer without them! Now the preparation for this recipe is made heaps easier with my new Global cooks knife. And yes, Im constantly making excuses to slice food now, just so I can use my knife!

A big thank you to Brad from Kitchenware Direct for sending me the 20cm Global cooks knife!

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No-Bake Espresso Walnut Brownies

Valentines Day isnt really very special in our family; its just any other ordinary day. My daughter made everyone a heart-shaped card this morning, though, and I stuffed heart-shaped watermelon pieces and heart-shaped sandwiches into my kids lunch boxes for school today. Otherwise, I hadnt planned on making anything to celebrate the occasion.

However, a failed attempt at raw brownies yesterday pretty much meant I had to re-attempt the recipe the next day. They had potential, but I wasnt happy with the cocoa powder I used (it was Dutch-processed and too dark, ie Valrhona!) and I had to substitute pecans for the walnuts. I just didnt like the brownies, and they left my mouth and tongue with a powdery feeling that wasnt very pleasing. I decided to try a different recipe, so I turned to Minimalist Bakers 5-minute espresso walnut brownies. They looked absolutely delicious. And you know what? They taste awesome!

You may have noticed, especially if youve been following me on Instagram, that Ive had a thing for raw (or in my case, no-bake) recipes lately. I cant officially call them raw, even if the original recipe is raw, because Im not using officially raw ingredients. For example, in the case of these brownies, I just bought a bag of walnuts from the grocery store. They werent roasted or anything, but I still dont think theyre officially raw. I havent jumped on the raw bandwagon as of yet, but the recipes are healthier and so much more easier and delicious than I ever imagined.

This recipe is perfect for vegetarians and vegans, and is also gluten-free, refined sugar-free and dairy-free. And if youre just looking to eat healthier, definitely give this recipe a go. Its the best alternative to the real thing!

These brownies, while they do require a rather large amount of ingredients, can be prepared in almost 5 minutes flat (Id say 10 minutes, tops), just as the title of the recipe suggests. No baking necessary!

I substituted almond meal for the chopped almonds in the recipe, as I knew this would result in a smoother texture. I also used non-Dutch-processed cocoa powder, which eliminated that powdery feeling I experienced after my first go with raw brownies using a different recipe. I didnt use a pan to press the brownies into, but instead just shaped the mixture into a square on a piece of baking paper. I didnt measure it, but it was probably between 6 and 7 inches square. What Ive also found is that you really need to press the mixture together firmly and tightly, otherwise the slices of brownies that you cut will crumble.

The original recipe would have you transferring mixtures from food processor to bowl a couple of different times (transfer nut mixture to a bowl, process the dates, put them in a bowl, add the nut mixture back to the processor, then add dates one a time), but I skipped all that to make it less time-consuming and also to save on washing up; I had already chopped the dates in half when I removed the pits, so I just simply threw them down the chute one at a time after processing the nut/cocoa mixture.

Since its Valentines Day, I decided that these healthy guilt-free brownies would be my chocolaty sweet treats for today!

How sweet do they look! This would be a perfect (and quick!) treat for any Valentines Day gift as you know that what youre giving your special Valentine is super healthy! If you follow the original recipe and use all raw ingredients, itd be even healthier!

They are so delicious that it feels like Im being naughty by even eating just one slice. I have to keep reminding myself that its okay to indulge in another slice these brownies are not full of sugar, butter, oil, eggs and flour; theyre full of good stuff!

I might also note that this mixture would probably make nice truffles!

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Chili-Lime Popcorn

Did you know that popcorn has been around since 4700 BCE? Popcorn sure has a long history, with the knowledge of it having spread north from Guatemala to the Native Americans, who then taught the practice of making popcorn to the English in the 16th century. Little did they know, back then, how popular popcorn would become; Americans alone shovel in 17 billion quarts of popcorn every year!

I, myself, have a sort of love-hate relationship with popcorn. I have to really be in the mood for it to actually like it, and you probably wouldnt find me with a box of popcorn at a movie theater. Recently, however, Ive seen a lot of homemade flavored popcorn and I decided to have a crack at it and see what I could come up with. I first tried cinnamon-flavored popcorn, but we didnt like it. For my next go, I decided to go all out with a flavor that would have its own bite chili and lime!

This was also a perfect opportunity to try out and review my new Microplane zester that Kitchenware Direct sent me last week! Ive never owned a real zester before and have been barely scraping by (so to speak) with a dull $2 grater. Microplane boasts a range of graters to deal with any kind of grating, shredding or zesting you may need to do. Theyre pretty much top of the line and sharper than any grater youd find at the dollar store.

I was awed by how easy it was to zest this lime, compared to my old, dull grater. In fact, I kind of zested my thumbnail a little (oops).

Chili and lime is one of my favorite combinations, and really make a batch of popcorn come to life. Its much healthier than a lot of other flavored popcorn out there, as it is coated with a sprinkling of olive oil, rather than soaked in melted butter.

Popping your own popcorn at home is actually really easy. I use my biggest stainless steel pan to cook it in, and just as cooking it in the microwave, it only takes a few minutes. Youll end up with 8 cups or so of an empty canvas where you can create any flavor combination you currently desire. Itll also be healthier because there wont be any additives, preservatives or a sinful amount of butter.

A bit of lime zest, easily sprinkled on top with my new zester (minus fingernails), completed this healthy snack.

In conclusion, this post contains two wonderful things delicious popcorn and a very useful kitchen tool. Im now sold on Microplane and look forward to many zestings in the future; itll also prove to be a big help with my favorite citrus French toast! Note to self: cut fingernails before zesting.

A big thank you to Brad from Kitchenware Direct for sending me the Microplane classic zester!

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Nutella-Stuffed Browned Butter & Sea Salt Chocolate Chunk Cookies

Its that special day of the year again, when people around the world unite to share their love for Nutella thats right, its World Nutella Day!

Almost everyone loves a bit of Nutella now and then (or all the time). Personally, I havent enjoyed anything with Nutella in it for a while, except a lick of the knife when Im making a sandwich for my children, who sometimes even indulge in a slice of Nutella fairy bread! So Ive used the excuse of World Nutella Day to make something absolutely extravagant.

Extravagant, and also humongous, at over 3-inches across. These beauties are bursting at their seams with warm, gooey Nutella. Surrounding the sweet center of Nutella is a browned butter and sea salt-infused chocolate chunk cookie, made with pure Lindt 70% chocolate chunks. On top of each morsel is a sprinkling of sea salt.

So extravagant, its not even funny. I actually felt guilty making these.

What I loved about the cookies: they are delicious and bursting with amazing flavors of toffee-ish brown butter, dark Lindt chocolate, gooey Nutella and flecks of sea salt. The flavor simply could not be improved on as its absolutely perfect. What I didnt like about the cookies: crispy edges. I know how not to overbake a cookie, and trust me, I didnt overbake these. The edges were just crispier than I prefer. The middles, though, were lovely and gooey.

I saw these cookies originally on FoodGawker, posted by Annies Eats, and this is the recipe that I used. I only made some minor alterations, which were using vanilla bean paste instead of vanilla extract, chocolate chunks instead of chocolate chips (although admittedly, I dumped in about a tablespoon of leftover chocolate chips that I had in the pantry), and lastly, letting the dough flavorize (is that a word?) in the refrigerator for 24 hours.

It appears that the original recipe originated from Ambitious Kitchen, which is a perfect place for such an ambitious cookie like these.

This is one amazing cookie and I would highly recommend making these when you really feel like indulging in something so delicious. Sure, theyre packed full of unhealthy things, but come on, its World Nutella Day. Live a little.

I used my new double-layer cookie sheet for the first time to make these, and the cookies baked up gorgeous and puffy, unlike my first test batch on a regular old baking tray. However, accidents do happen.

A batch of these cookies fell straight on to the floor, bending the corner of my brand new cookie sheet. I was just setting the tray down from taking it out of the oven, when I realized my 8-month-old baby had used the knobs of the kitchen drawers to stand up; I knew that in one second his little hand would accidentally pull the drawer out and hed crash down on to the hard tile floor, and probably would hit his head very hard. I sat the tray down, not even looking where it was going, but just going by feel that it was on the trivets on the counter, and not taking my eyes off that little boy. I reached him in time, but as I pulled him off the drawer knobs, I heard the tray crash. I must have set the tray off-balance on the trivets, and as I turned to get bubba, it made its way off the trivets and over the edge of the counter. Sigh. Oh well, I didnt need a full 2-dozen of these cookies anyway, but I am a bit upset about my bent cookie sheet.

For the recipe, I will refer you to either Annies Eats or Ambitious Kitchen. Enjoy!

World Nutella Day is brought to you by Ms. Adventures in Italy and Bleeding Espresso.

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Blueberry Muffins

My daughter, whos seven, is the average girl she loves Barbies, puppies and babies. Shes silly, giggly and sometimes just plain crazy. Shes also very clever and artistic. One of the funniest things about her, though, that makes her stand out from her peers, is her love for armadillos. Yes, its true, my daughters favorite animal is the armadillo. Shes never even seen one in real life, but while her classmates draw pictures of horses, dogs, birds or dragons, my daughter draws armadillos.

Shes recently became interested in cooking and baking, even watching and becoming engaged in MasterChef. A couple of weeks ago, I posted a recipe that she loves which she actually prepared by herself tuna pasta salad. She then wanted to try to make muffins or cookies on her own. We chose blueberry muffins from Inspired Taste to start with. She has helped me prepare batter or dough in the past, but Ive never actually handed her a recipe and said go for it! (I dont have that much patience!). It was a very exciting time for her!

I wrote down her recipe and with a bit of help on how to measure flour, and which was the baking powder, she did a brilliant job preparing the batter (while wearing my Jessie Steele apron that I won from Iron Cupcake: Earth!).

She also learned a few things, like how to let cold ingredients come to room temperature, not to over-mix the batter to ensure shell have soft, tender muffins, and to know when the muffins are done without having to use a toothpick or cake tester (muffins should spring back when lightly touched on the their tops with a fingertip).

We didnt change much about the recipe, except using vanilla bean paste instead of vanilla extract, and we sprinkled the tops of the muffins with demerara sugar instead of regular sugar.

I placed the muffin tin in the oven for her and then we waited, watching excitedly as the muffins rose and turned golden. Their aroma was heavenly as they were baking. I just couldnt wait to take pictures of them, because they looked gorgeous in the oven!

They did, in fact, turn out to be quite photogenic! These lovely muffins, with fresh blueberries, have a perfect golden and crunchy top. My daughter was quite pleased with herself and could barely wait for them to cool down to sample one.

The insides of these delicious muffins were so soft and tender, filled with beautiful juicy blueberries. We all fell in love with these little morsels and Im sure this is going to be a staple recipe from now on. Next time, I may try adding a bit of white chocolate chunks to the batter!

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Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies

Around 25 years ago (give or take a year or two), I ate the best chocolate chip cookie I have ever had in my life. I was young and spent time with an elderly babysitter during the summer and after school. My elderly babysitters mom, who, of course, was even more elderly, lived just down the road from her. On one occasion, I was able to visit my babysitters mom. Her house was the classic elderly home; it even smelled elderly. But it was a lovely home, and this aging woman was even lovelier (I, unfortunately, do not remember her name). I wasnt allowed to touch anything, so instead I wandered about with my hands clasped behind my back. She had her front door blocked off with furniture, which I thought was odd. I think she had a birdcage hanging from a stand, but there wasnt a bird inside. I dont remember much about her home. What I do remember, however, and have remembered for 25 years, is what I ate there. This little old lady had been baking homemade chocolate chip cookies. She offered me one, lying the tray on the table and winking at me. I was shy, but my babysitter encouraged me, so I grabbed one off the tray and sank my teeth into the chewiest, meltiest, gooiest chocolate chip cookie that has ever existed. I might have even had two of them.

25 years later, I am still talking about these chocolate chip cookies. Every time I try a version of homemade chocolate chip cookies, or bake a batch myself, I always compare them to the cookies that my babysitters mom made upon my visit to her house when I was little. And in the past 25 years years, no cookie has ever compared. Ive tasted wonderful chocolate chip cookies, of course, but none of them have brought me back to that time I took my first bite of the best chocolate chip cookie in existence.

Recently, on FoodGawker, I saw a recipe for chewy chocolate chip cookies. The cookies themselves looked completely unassuming and not exactly spectacular, but the description claimed that these were the most amazing chocolate chip cookies ever, thanks to a special ingredient. I shrugged the recipe off at first, but bookmarked it for future reference.

The secret ingredient was cornstarch. What good could cornstarch do in a cookie recipe?

I chose the cornstarch chocolate chip cookie recipe for my 7-year-old daughter to prepare on her own. She had been wanting to make chocolate chip cookies since she successfully prepared a wonderful batch of blueberry muffins last week.

And so, she began work on these cookies, with a bit of help from me now and then. The dough was so delicious that I kept stealing bits of it as she was dropping it onto the cookie sheet.

Yes, she learned how to use my digital scale to make sure all the cookies were the same size.

The first batch we put straight into the oven. While this batch baked, we refrigerated the rest of the dough. We discovered that we preferred the look of the finished cookies from the very first batch, rather than the refrigerated dough, so we left the dough out for the final batch (we had three batches go into the oven). Oddly enough, the chilled dough seemed to flatten out more than the unchilled dough! So we had some wider, flatter cookies and also some not-so-wide, thicker cookies. I mainly chose the thicker ones for the photos youll see below.

We used exact ingredients and only changed the preparation method slightly; instead of adding the flour, cornstarch, baking powder and salt separately, we combined them in a small bowl and whisked them together before adding these ingredients to the dough.

When measuring out the cookie dough, we used 30g of dough to make each cookie. We rolled them into a rough-shaped ball, and pinched the tops in a few different places to get a rustic look on the finished cookie, as you can see above. Our chilled dough didnt hold the pinches as well as the unchilled dough.

We could barely wait to taste these. It was excruciating, waiting to take the cookies off the baking sheet and placing them on the cooling rack. My daughter got first pick. I saw the chocolate ooze out of the bite she had taken of the cookie. My turn! I chose my cookie and took a bite.

You know how on movies sometimes, when someone remembers something, and a flashback scene dramatically appears with flashes of light? Thats what happened to me when I took my first bite of this cookie. Everything about it, right down to the flavor, reminded me of my babysitters moms chocolate chip cookies. Warm, soft, chewy, gooey; in other words, perfect. I was shocked. And floating dreamily in heaven.

I couldnt believe it. Now Im left wondering if, perhaps, my babysitters mom knew the secret of using cornstarch in chocolate chip cookies. It couldnt just be a coincidence that the cookies my 7-year-old daughter made ended up being my legendary cookie. Ive eaten and baked dozens of chocolate chip cookies, none of them anything like the cookies I remembered, then a recipe appears that uses cornstarch as a secret ingredient and suddenly I am transported back in time, standing shyly in that old womans kitchen, with chocolate smeared on my lips, not even knowing that 25 years in the future that that moment would be one of the highlights of my foodie life.

I dont know what cornstarch did to these cookies did it make them chewier, fluffier, tastier? What would these cookies be like if I left out the cornstarch? No idea, but Im not going to fix whats not broken. For me, this recipe ends all other chocolate chip cookie recipes.

Upon the second day of life for these cookies, I can tell you that while they still tasted nice, they were nothing like they were on the day they were made. Upon the third day, despite having been in an airtight container, they began to taste and feel a little stale. So, my recommendation is to make these cookies on the day you want to serve them and make sure youve got friends around to eat them all up, fresh from the oven. Theyll disappear like Houdini.

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Raspberry-Brownie Cheesecake Pots

Its been very hot in Sydney lately. I dont mean to complain, but weve had days where its been near (or right at) 110F; thats seriously crazy! As you may understand, I havent been baking very much because of this heat. Instead, Ive been trying out an assortment of chilled sweet foods, such as cheesecake pots (todays post), yoghurt parfaits, sorbet and cool drinks.

In December, delicious. magazine released its first ever Summer Special issue. Unfortunately, this issue didnt make its way to subscribers as we actually to buy it in the shops! There are a lot of lovely things inside this issue, though, such as the recipe Ill be sharing with you today for raspberry cheesecake pots with a brownie base!

This is a recipe you can prepare with a snap of your fingers and is perfect for entertaining. The base of these cheesecake pots is pure brownie. I didnt even turn on the oven to bake a batch of brownies; I just bought a package of brownies from the bakery department of my local grocery store. On top of the brownie base is a smooth, luscious filling of cream cheese, cream, vanilla beans and fresh raspberries. Each cheesecake pot is topped with a few toasted hazelnuts and extra raspberries.

Simple, beautiful, elegant and delicious!

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Raw Peanut Butter Cookies

I dont have any New Years resolutions. Im not sure whether that portrays me as lacking initiative or rather being happy with where I am. Ive enjoyed reading and hearing about other peoples resolutions, however; check out Google Zeitgeist to read resolutions from all over the world. No junk food, Propose to Dawn, Quit Facebook, Get into shape, Tell my family every day that I love them, Play better golf, and heaps more. Good luck to those of you who have resolutions!

With todays post, I hope to encourage those of you who have goals of eating healthier, eliminating junk food, and perhaps going vegetarian, vegan or gluten-free. I have a friend who is vegan; she eats some crazy food, but the photos she posts on Instagram look spectacularly delicious. It appears that its actually quite easy to achieve a healthy and balanced diet without using refined sugars, processed foods and meats. She inspired me to try out a recipe I found for healthy peanut butter cookies via La Mesa that uses no sweeteners except medjool dates and almond meal instead of flour.

This simple recipe, which results in a cookie dough-like texture, uses only 4 ingredients and can quickly be prepared in your food processor.

Youll need almond meal (whole almonds, raw or dry-roasted, will also work), pitted medjool dates, natural peanut butter (although you can use any type of peanut butter, or other nut butter such as almond, cashew, etc) and pure vanilla extract. The ingredients are processed in a food processor, then formed into balls. You could probably leave them as balls and call them bites instead of cookies, or you could flatten them with a fork for that classic peanut butter cookie look. And thats it. Thats all there is to it. You dont even need to turn on your oven.

A word of warning processing the dates can put a bit of strain on a food processor, so process the mixture with caution. If you have a strong processor, you should be fine, but if you have a cheaper brand or if its just not a good processor, well, youve been warned! Remember to remove the pits from the dates before processing.

As I mentioned, these cookies have a cookie dough-like texture, and Im sure theyd be perfect to use as cookie dough truffles, or buckeyes, if you formed the dough into balls and dipped them in chocolate. You could even add some chocolate chips to the dough, if you felt so inclined. Id suggest mini ones, as the cookies themselves arent very large. Theyre not the type of cookie youd want to make large anyway as the cookie would just fall apart if it were any bigger, and the texture is very chewy; its best that the cookies are formed into a smaller size.

I admit, I was a little bit scared of tasting these because Im not real keen on dates. But, I love peanut butter, so I had to give it a go. I fell in love with these little cookies and couldnt get enough of them. The taste of the peanut butter overpowers the taste of the dates, so the cookies basically tasted like raw peanut butter cookie dough. I was so excited and immediately proclaimed my love for them! This is one recipe Ill be making again and again, and I would highly recommend it to anyone.

These particular cookies may or may not be labelled as raw, depending on the ingredients you use. If you prefer raw food, just make sure the ingredients you use are raw. In my case, I used store-bought almond meal and peanut butter, so I doubt Id be able to officially call these raw! However, these cookies are perfect for vegetarians, vegans, people with a gluten/sugar-free lifestyle and those just simply looking to eat healthier. Heres to eating right in 2013!

If you loved these peanut butter cookies, visit Megan at La Mesa for more delicious healthy and vegan-friendly recipes!

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