The Corkless Mind

Tag: Foodie

  • Chocolate brownie waffle sticks

    Chocolate brownie waffle sticks

    We all have that one or in most cases, couple of kitchen appliances that gather up dust in a room or at the back of a cupboard becoming more of a clutter issue than something that can add value to your daily cooking lifestyle. Mine shamefully, is my slow cooker, vegetable steamer and waffle maker. All very useful and handy in their own rite! But take up far too much space on my already tiny kitchen counter. 

    This week, I’ve cracked out the waffle maker and challenged myself to use each appliance at least once a week for something different, something unconventional. I got the idea from a Food network show called ‘The Kitchen’, Sunny(one of the hosts) made the most delicious looking brownie waffles in a waffle maker! I of course had to try this out with one of my favourite brownie box mixes, I usually don’t do box mixed goodies, but I am such a fan of Nomu, I couldn’t resist the temptation to skip a few steps 🙂 


    The waffle machine I used is an electronic one. If you hate mess, this comes with a caveat. This might be because I put a little too much batter into the machine, or might be the machine itself, I found the batter drips and funs along the sides of the machine on to my counter. The result however, is a crisp on the outside and pillowy soft on the inside type of texture. I of course added a little bit more chocolate chips to my batter, because chocolate!  Chocolate will always be a vice that I would have no restraint over.I made a quick chocolate ganache and a strawberry coulis/syrup to dip the brownie waffle sticks into. You can of course add your own dipping. 



    Chocolate brownie waffle sticks:     

    Ingredients    : 
    – 1 chocolate brownie box mix 

    – Extra chocolate of your choice 

    – 1 punnet of strawberries 

    – 1 cup of sugar 

    – 1/2 cup water 

    – 4 eggs 

    – 140g butter melted 

    – dipping of your choice 

    Method    : 
    Mix the brownie mix per instruction. Gently stir in extra chocolate chips. Lightly brush the waffle machine with oil or butter to ensure the waffle will easily pull apart from the edges. Heat waffle machine per manufacturers instruction using a big spoon, spoon in a bit of batter in each section and close until the machine notifies you it is ready and cooked. Set aside to cool and serve with a dipping of your choice. To make the strawberry coulis/syrup. Cut the strawberries in quarters and add to a small pot with sugar and water. Cook until macerated  and a syrupy consistency is achieved. Drizzle over the waffle and cut into sticks. 

    **This post is in no way sponsored and projects my honest opinion**

  • Spiced date and pecan nut pudding

    Spiced date and pecan nut pudding

    This gorgeous dessert is straight out of this month’s issue of PnP’s Freshliving magazine, and oh what a decadent treat it is for the cold days that are still ahead!

    I don’t get to shoot much these days, it however feels amazing to be back behind the lens and it feels like second nature to me. There is no better reminder of your passion than to constantly put it to practice. This I am glad I made the time for. We all need reminders of what we love doing or what we are good at when times are turbulent.

    This dessert is a spectacular as a hearty addition to any Sunday lunch or dinner for that matter. I love that the flavour reminds me of Cinnabon, especially with the caramel sauce I added, crushed pecan nuts and subtle notes of cinnamon. Eat with caution should certainly be the caveat that should accompany this dessert.

    I wanted to serve this dessert with a molten, salty, dripping caramel sauce to complement the nutty sweet flavours of this pud. I improvised and made a smokey salted buttermilk butterscotch sauce to drench the pud with. Butter being the key in this recipe 🙂 butter indeed does make everything taste so much better!



    Spiced Date and Pecan nut pudding with a salted buttermilk butterscotch sauce. 



    Ingredients:
    – 150g Medjool dates

    – 100g Butter, melted.

    – 250ml Milk

    – 2 free-range eggs

    – 8ml vanilla extract

    – 125g caster sugar

    – 3ml salt

    – 300g self-raising flour

    – 50g pecan nuts, chopped

    – 10ml cinnamon

    – 5ml ground ginger

    – 5ml ground cardamom

    – 250ml sugar

    – 310ml boiling water

    – 60ml sherry or clemengold mandarin juice (I used a combination of both)

    – Smokey salted buttermilk butterscotch sauce to serve.
    Method:

    Preheat oven to 180 degrees C. Lightly grease any dish. I used a Bundt mold.

    Whisk eggs and sugar until light and fluffy. Using my NutriBullet or you could use any other blender, blitz half of the dates together with the melted butter until a paste-like consistency is achieved. Roughly chop the rest of dates, I did this for extra texture in the pud. Add this to the date paste.

    Add the date mixture, milk, vanilla extract to the egg mixture. Combine the flour, salt, nuts and spices together then fold into the egg mixture.

    Pour the batter into the prepared baking tin or dish, sprinkle over brown sugar evenly over the batter.
    To make the topping: 

    Mix together the water and sherry/mandarin or orange juice, pour over the back of a spoon to cover the pudding. Bake the pudding for 35 minutes or until just cooked. Serve with cream and the salted buttermilk butterscotch sauce drizzled over.

  • Aubergine fries with a honey balsamic drizzle.

    Aubergine fries with a honey balsamic drizzle.

    I’ve recently started to  broaden my food magazine perusing to international territory, reading online is one thing but I’m a sucker for good old paging through an actual book/magazine. Yes, I know not very Eco-friendly, but I’m tradionalist at heart! Sadly, we don’t have much of a wide selection of food magazines here in South Africa, so because I scour Delicious Australia’s site on a weekly basis, I spotted the UK version and rushed home to immediately page through it( I do love the smell of fresh magazines) I am quite proud of our food mag scene in S.A but there are so many fresh ideas in the international ones  I am so excited to try out all before reading the entire magazine, my excitement seems to get the better of me sometimes… 

    This recipe comes straight out of the September issue of Delicious UK, chosen and submitted by a reader, she described the fries as ‘light, crisp, but not greasy’. 

    Ingredients: 

    • 3 medium aubergines/eggplants sliced into batons
    • 1Tbsp of Salt
    • 1 medium free-range egg
    • 250ml iced water
    • 90g plain flour
    • 1/2 tsp baking powder
    • 1 litre sunflower/canola oil for deep frying
    • Balsamic glaze to drizzle 

    Method: 

    Place aubergines batons in a colander and sprinkle over salt.set over a bowl, then place in a fridge for 1-2 hours so the aubergines can release some of their juices and firm up. When ready, lay out on a kitchen towel/paper, and blot firmly and rub to remove excess salt, then set aside.For the batter, whisk the egg and iced water until frothy. Sift the flour and baking powder into a mixing bowl with a pinch of salt, then slowly add the egg mixture in a thin stream into the flour, whisking to combine. Immediately stop whisking when combined.Heat the oil in a deep large pan, the oil should be approximately 180 degrees Celsius, reduce heat to keep at this temperature. In batches, dip the batons in the batter, and with a slotted spoon lift out to place gently in the oil(always away from you) and fry for 4-5 minutes until golden and crisp. Drain on kitchen paper. Serve with balsamic glaze, or like me, you can mix a little balsamic vinegar with honey and drizzle over the fries. As an extra special touch I finely grated Grana Padano Parmesan cheese over the fries, because why not, right? 

    These fries are life-changing, and such a great substitute to potato fries. The crunch on these fries are incredible, the flavour is that of a natural umami coupled with a sweet twist! I’m hooked! And definitely making these  for when I have friends or family over. 

    Let’s all make Meat-free Monday’s exciting again! 

    Dominique x

  • Nostalgia

    For most of my life I have had no idea where I was going or where my passion lies. As recent as 5 years ago, I fell in love with the Gastronomic arts. Yes! I believe it is just that, Art. I adore how beautifully vibrant in colour and taste an organic Blood Orange can be, or how crisp, fresh bread with melting  golden butter evokes a warm and comforting emotion and memory. Food has the ability to be centered around a reconciliation, a celebration or bring comfort to those in mourning or distress. No matter where we are in our lives, how busy we get, food always seems to be bringing people together. Food is about telling a story, creating or sharing a memory and breaking bread with those closest.

    My earliest and most vivid food memory  from my childhood,  I remember impatiently sitting in the kitchen watching my mother prepare supper, filling the air with the rich scent of Tomato Bredie (still a favourite dish of mine) and the afternoon autumnal sun beaming into the kitchen, reliving this memory right now I feel the warmth on my skin and inhaling deeply the glorious smells emanating from that kitchen, a memory frozen in time. A dish so simple and not a very spectacular food memory, but a beautiful one. The significance of food, the fact that we are able to pour our hearts into creating simple or even extravagant dishes to show those we love most just how much we care, has to be one of many reasons why I love food so much.

    I would love to know what’s your food memory (that is frozen in time)

    Happy eating and sharing!

    Dominique x