2 min chocolate mug cake

You know when that desire hits to eat something special but you don't have the time to wait for it to be made? We have found the best little treat that you can make in minutes. Morgan and I have loved whipping up this gooey cake in the evenings when craving a little sweet something, and one is perfect to share. This recipe is based on the 2 minute chocolate & salted caramel mug cake

What you need for 1 mug cake:
- 4 tablespoons flour
- 4 tablespoons sugar
- 3 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1 egg – beaten
- 3 tablespoons skim milk
- 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
- chocolate squares and/or caramels

What to do:
1. Into a small bowl add: flour, sugar, cocoa, baking powder, salt, egg, milk, and vegetable oil. Mix to combine.

2. Pour mixture into a regular sized coffee mug. Drop chocolate squares and/or caramels into center of mixture.

3. Microwave on high for one minute and 30 seconds. If needed {if cake batter is still gooey}, microwave on high for up to an additional 30 seconds.



ps. Guess who made their first gif

goûter

In French culture, as a young child you learn quickly that at 4pm most days, to fight off the pre-dinner hunger pains, you will eat a little something called 'goûter'. Directly translated as tasting this is often a chocolate biscuit, a cake of some sort, a fresh treat from the bakery or in my case a fresh baguette with a few squares of milk chocolate smacked in the middle. As we work big days on the farm we are eating more carbohydrates than ever and Kim has quickly learnt the art and joy of le quatre heur (the four o'clock). Everyday we stop work at 4pm, have a tea or coffee and a little sweet bread or chocolate. This is one of the many eating habits of the French that Kim hopes sticks around with us for the rest of our lives.
-morgan

Les Petit Pois

It has been a really great experience working here on the farm. Over these last few days I have had a great "revolutionary" experience in the way I view produce. On Tuesday we were out in the rain pulling out all the pea and broad bean plants, as they were ready for harvest and a new plant would be placed in the ground. We were out for hours in the mud pulling them all out and collecting them up to bring back to the shelter. Once we were back and in dry clothes we proceeded to pull the beans from the stalks, a process that was long and messy. In total we had 65kg of beans and about the same of broad beans. The next day after they were washed they were sorted into good and bad and ready to be distributed to the customers. The bad beans were to go to the house for us to eat, so morgan and I then spent the afternoon shelling the peas and in the evening we ate them.
This whole process took 4 people over 2 days to complete, and it was a good reminder where my food comes from and the process it takes. I usually buy bags of frozen peas, all ready to cook in 1 kg bags. To get that 1kg of peas takes a long process on an organic farm, which I have never even considered.
As someone who loves good food, it has been so good to get a reality check on where our food really comes from and all the work that goes into it.
-kim

bread

Since arriving in France, morgan and I have used our extra time to explore bread making. Yesterday we tried Moro's wet bread for the second time, and we love the results. Its a simple recipe, which just uses dry yeast, but turns out similar to a sourdough. Its super tasty, and well worth giving it a go.
-kim

Macaron

Today we bought Macaron's for the first time since we have been in France. This is also only the second time ever I have eaten them in my life. They are so beautiful and delicious.
enjoy
-kim

Crème Chocolate

Bonjour. Mon ami, Bibi, a donné moi la recette pour le Crème Chocolat. Ce tres bon. Je suis désolé pour la mauvais photograph. Nous mange trot rapidement. Voila.
-kim

1L lait
4c à soupe maizena
6c à soupe cacao
8c à soupe sucre poudre

[1] Faire chauffer le lait pas trop chaud.
[2] Dans un saladier, maizena, cacao, et sucre poudre à mélanger
[3] Mélanger le lait et le mélanger
[4] Faire chauffer doucement jusqu'à cela sait dure
[5] Mettre au frigidaire

-----

Hello. My friend Bibi was kind enough to share with me her recipe for Crème Chocolate. I'm sorry for the bad photo. We ate it really fast. Enjoy.
-kim

1L milk
4 Tbs cornstarch
6 Tbs cocoa
8 Tbs sugar

[1] Heat the milk in a pan, but not too hot
[2] In a bowl add cornstarch, cocoa and sugar and mix
[3] Mix the dry ingredients with the milk
[4] Heat in pan until it thickens
[5] Place in the fridge to cool

ps. If any of you try this recipe please let me know. I would love to know how you go.

lunch.

One of my favourite things about living in France is lunch time. Here, lunch is the main meal of the day and it is usually separated out in to different sections and can take up to 2 1/2 hours to complete. To begin you have the main meal, often paired with either red or white wine, then you have salad and cheese, a sweet or dessert and finally a coffee.



Our main meal this day was Beef Bourguignon (one of my favourite meals Morgan makes) with steamed Potatoes.



The common salad is just lettuce and an olive oil dressing. The cheese we ate this day was some Camembert, Roquefort and Goats cheese with crackers.



After the cheese and salad is dessert. Sometimes this would be a clementine, sometimes a yoghurt. Today we were treated with a lemon meringue tart which I gobbled up before I could take a photo.



Then, to finish the meal, we drink a short black and a square of dark chocolate. This is a great way to finish off a big meal.



Everyday, since we have arrived in the south, after lunch we play cards. We are legitimate unemployed now.



I hope you enjoyed this glimpse into a French family meal. It is pretty special living here and there are many beautiful things quite unique to this part of the world.
-kim

i made: dinner

So these last few months I have been setting weekly goals. Each week I am trying to focus my time and energy to achieve things that enrich my life and bring me joy. I have been using irunurun to help me achieve this, and it has been so exciting tracking my weeks as I work to reach my target goals.

One of my goals is to cook two things each week. As you can imagine, it is tough getting into the kitchen with a talented chef as a husband, but I am trying to overcome this fear. I don't know if you struggle to get into the kitchen, but I thought I would share some inspiration, and some dishes I have made over the last month or so.

I made the vegan avocado wasabi salad
This was delightful, except I went a little overboard with the chickpeas.

I made a yummy lentil loaf.
Unfortunately, this wan't a massive hit with the husband.



I made a buckwheat salad
This was delightful. I will definitely make this again.



I made some no-bake granola bars
These weren't as healthy as I anticipated, but were very yummy to eat.



I made a heap of Vegetable calzones.
These are great for an easy lunch. Just wrap them indervidually and chuck them in the freezer.



and I also made a Pumpkin, Carrot and Beetroot Soup [aka Porsch soup]
This is such an incredible soup recipe which my friend Warwick created but he let me share it here for you all to enjoy.



ingredients
1 onion
2 cloves garlic
3 tbs olive oil
2 tbs butter
1 shake of cumin, turmeric, cayenne pepper, paprika, dry chilli
1/2 a pumpkin
2 carrots
2 beetroots



what to do
fry up onion, garlic, oil and butter in a large saucepan. once it is softened add the spices and continue to fry until it starts to smell amazing. add the chopped veggies and stream them for ages, stirring occasionally, until the pumpkin starts to fall apart. At this point you should add as much stock as you desire. blitz/food process the soup to make it nice a smooth, add salt and pepper and any fresh herbs you may have and serve.
makes appox 5 servings.

happy cooking..
-kim

ps. if you need some inspiration i share heaps of good looking recipes on pinterest here

entering the kitchen...

Being Married to an ex-Chef is a hard thing sometimes. I have never really been passionate about creating great food, but always loved eating it, I guess this is my Morgan and I work so well together. These last few months I have been more and more inspired to learn how to cook better and experiment more with food. I've been finding many exciting recipes and ideas online and saving them on Pinterest. Here are some I want to make over the next month.
- kim

Zucchini Oven Fries

Source: prairie-table.com via morgan & kim on Pinterest

Avocado Wasabi Salad

Source: veganyumyum.com via morgan & kim on Pinterest

Homemade mozzarella sticks

Source: foodpeoplewant.com via morgan & kim on Pinterest

No-bake granola bars

Source: fooddoodles.wordpress.com via morgan & kim on Pinterest

Blueberry Hand Pies

Source: veganyumyum.com via morgan & kim on Pinterest

Chocolate and Salted Caramel Pudding Pop

Source: endlesssimmer.com via morgan & kim on Pinterest

... yummy things are on their way... i hope.

black star coffee..

Over the Easter weekend I went on a little day trip down to Brisbane with a couple of friends. One of the first places we stopped at to fuel our bodies was a little cafe/roastery called Black Star Coffee. This lovely little place roast their own beans and make a very lovely brew which is both organic and fair trade. They even sell their own cold press coffee in bottles, which is what I had since I am totally loving cold press at the moment. I also brought some beans home to try out our new grinder morgan brought back from the op shop the week before. It works a treat and you can totally taste the difference with freshly ground beans and fair trade coffee. There is nothing better than a good cup of Fair Trade coffee. enjoy.
-kim

Picnic Loaf

A while back I saw this in a magazine and decided it might be a nice dinner to make. To make the picnic loaf is easy enough, for a recipe go here.

You pretty much hollow out a cob loaf, fill it with your favourite food (I chose capsicum, pumpkin, salami, smoked ham, danish feta, mushrooms and eggplant), put the lid back on, cover it in al-foil and bake for 30mins. It makes heaps of food and was great for lunch the next day. Next time I make it, I might just have to take kim on a picnic.
-morgan-

Indians vs Cowboys

This past friday night Kim's sister had a cowboys and indians party for her birthday. I took care of the food and music.




Claire made some amazing 'scenery' and really set the scene using nothing but cardboard and sharpies


I made a blue cheese dressing and served licorice bullets (get it, bullets)


I made buffalo wings


I served corn chips in a hat with guacamole, we had steamed corn on the cob and served samosas (get it, indian)

kim suggested I make mini hamburgers, she also made sheriff star cookies.
With alot of Johnny Cash, Nickel Creek, R.L Burnside, She and Him and Avett Brothers the night was amazing. Good food, good music, good company.





-morgan-

i made: iced tea

So I don't drink alcohol, which can make things tricky when having people over for dinner. So instead of always drinking nasty soft drink I have dabbled in the arts of iced tea making.
I've narrowed it down to a few favourites. I have no links to recipes because all of them are from the top of my head, but I'll give it a go.

1. Sweet Apricot Tea
This one is nice and fruity, almost Caribbean. Just make 2 cups of black celylon tea (using about two/three tea bags per cup depending the cup size), pour into jug with a tray or two of ice. Then add 1 cup of cranberry juice (optional-you can use apple juice) and around 1 cup apricot nectar. Done!

2. White tea, Apple and Lime
Make 2 cups white tea(which is really healthy for you) and pour into jug with one tray of ice. once cooled pour one cup of apple juice over top with a whole sliced lime mixed through.

3. Green Tea and Lemonade
This is the easiest and by far our favourite. just make equal parts green tea (iced as previous recipes) and lemonade. Done. Super refreshing and it's nice to think that the healthy green tea outweighs the sugary lemonade.



These are great for warm weather and always go down a treat. If you have any tea in the cupboard, odds are you can make iced tea. Kim and I buy flavoured fruity teas, and if in doubt simply ice a nice tasting tea and you'll be on to something. Feel free to share any of your favourite homemade drinks.

I made 50 litres of homemade lemonade for Kim and my wedding which to this day is still the nicest drink I have ever made, it's just a shame I didn't keep track of what I made it with because I think I will never be able to replicate it.



-morgan-

strawberry jam

so this week was a big first for me.. I made my first batch of homemade jam!! woo hoo! It was so fun, and i'm really excited to try some other mixes of fruit.



We got a big box of strawberries on a whim at the markets on Sunday, and just found a random recipe to try. It was pretty easy, but a real SLOW process. I want to start doing more things like this. Making our food from scratch. It was kinda scary as there was the same amount of fruit as there was sugar. Morgan's mum told us she uses half the amount and added some natural gelatin to hold it all together. I might try this next time

[kim]



I like the fact that kim is taking more interest in making food from scratch and doing a lot more baking now that we're married. I used to be a chef so I am used to making things like sauces, pasta and pestos from scratch. I now am going to enjoy coming up with a few concoctions of fruit mixes for jam, I'm thinking strawberry and black olive.
(morgan)



The final result... yummy SWEET homemade STRAWBERRY JAM!