I had an awesome day at the Good Food and Wine show on Friday. I've been to a few shows now but this was the first time I also participated in a cooking lesson. I am definitely going to do a cooking lesson every year. It was such good value and so much fun. For $50 we learnt how to cook 4 different dishes in groups of four. We then got to eat our delicious meal with a complimentary glass of sauvignon blanc and were given the recipe cards and 4 tubes of gourmet garden herbs in a cute little cooler bag. FDB!

The ingredients for each dish were chopped and laid out on the cooking benches and we had 2 ‘apprentices’ to help us out.

Our menu was Italian style breakfast tort, Greek chicken casserole, Fisherman’s pie & Aromatic steamed fish with warm Asian salad. All incredibly easy, very tasty and I will be making them again very soon.

I usually use fresh or ground herbs so using these herb and spice blends from tubes was a new experience for me. They made the cooking very fast and easy but this may have been because all the other ingredients were also already measured, chopped and ready to go.

The Italian style breakfast tort. We only put the prosciutto on half the tort.

The recipe card for the breakfast tort.

Most of the ingredients (minus the chicken) for the Greek chicken casserole.

The Greek chicken casserole.

The recipe card for the Greek chicken casserole.

Fisherman’s pie before the bread crumb/ cheese mixture was added.

Fisherman’s pie before baking.

Fisherman’s pie. Yum! This was my favourite out of all 4 dishes but probably the least healthiest.

Mmmm showing the yummy inner goodness.

The recipe card for the Fisherman's pie.

Fish covered in marinade in the bamboo steamer.

Fish and Vege’s in the bamboo steamer. I only have the small steamer baskets at home so I need to go into Chinatown to get some big ones like this.  

Aromatic steamed fish with warm Asian salad. 

The recipe card for the Aromatic steamed fish with warm Asian salad.

A day at the good food and wine show would not be complete without ‘showbags’. I tried not to go too crazy this year and I think I did pretty well. I think the Good Food and wine show is the Easter Show for adults. I get so excited like a little kid and then when I get home I lay out all my purchases on the coffee table, take photos and smile coz I am in foodie heaven. Some people may think this is weird but it’s all part of the experience.

My first purchase was this sample of products from Always Fresh for $10 all coming in a handy carry bag.  The only product I’ve tried so far is the beetroot relish and it is really nice.

Another showbag for $10. I got to choose 4 Ayam products out of a big selection. It was a tough choice but I had to have another jar of sago. It is such a nice, tasty, quick dessert when added to some cold coconut milk. I was impressed when I opened the bag at home to discover the free bowls, spoons and chopsticks. The spoons are those special laksa spoons. Can’t wait to use them.

I was initially only going to buy the dark chocolate coated honeycomb from the treat factory but they had a show special of 5 choices for $20. How could I refuse? BRW has already eaten the Vienna almonds. I tried to have some of the chocolate coated honeycomb but it was all one block so it took a lot of effort to break chunks off.

These are the gourmet garden tubes I got with my cooking lesson. The other ladies in our cooking group said we would get all the ones we used in our lesson so I was a bit disappointed when I opened the little cooler bag at home. At least we got to keep the apron too.

The Good Taste showbag is always full of surprises. They were $10 each or 2 for $15 with the Super Food Ideas bag so GR and I only paid $7.50 each. Some of the stuff is totally useless, like the cat and dog food but most of it we will use.

My impulse buy of the day were these 2 bottles of Moscato for $20. So light and refreshing. Perfect for a summer’s day, althought I don’t think they will last that long.

Overall another absolutely fantastic day even though I was so exhausted by the end of it. I've got some new products to try and some new recipes to make again. Can't wait until next year.

Mmmmmmm warm, cheesy vege’s. Enough said. Can be served as a side dish to complement Chilli coriander salmon or as a meal on its own.

Cheesy broccoli and cauliflower bake (Serves 4-6 as a side)

½ cauliflower, trimmed and cut into florets

small head of broccoli, trimmed and cut into florets

25g butter

25g plain flour

½ tsp mustard

250ml milk

75g cheddar, grated

pinch of cayenne pepper

1.   Blanch the cauliflower florets in a pan of well salted hot water for 2-3 minutes, until just tender when pierced with the tip of a small knife. Drain, reserving the water and refresh in iced water (or under a cold running tap) to stop the cooking. Use the reserved hot water to soak the broccoli for a few minutes. Alternatively you can microwave the vege’s for 2 minutes.

2.   Preheat the oven to 200°C. Melt the butter in a saucepan and, as it begins to foam, add the flour and mustard. Blend into a paste and cook over a medium heat, stirring constantly, for about 2 minutes, to cook out the rawness of the flour.

3.   Gradually whisk in the milk and continue to stir for about 5 minutes until thickened to a smooth sauce. Add the cheddar, cayenne and some seasoning and stir until the cheese has melted.

4.   Arrange the broccoli and cauliflower in a baking dish and spoon the sauce over the top.

5.   Bake for 20-25 minutes. Serve hot from the oven.

I absolutely love love love Salmon. Knowing that it is packed full of Omega 3’s somehow makes it taste better knowing that it is good for me too. For a quick weeknight meal after a PUMP class when I want to have some protein to rebuild my tired muscles I cook this. I use a chilli coriander sauce from Costi’s to make it really quick. If it isn’t a school night and I have more time I sometimes make my own sauce but this marinade/ sauce is awesome. It tastes great and saves a lot of time.

Chilli Coriander Salmon (Serves 2) 

2 salmon fillets

¼ cup Chilli coriander sauce from Costi’s (pictured above)

 Spoon sauce over the top of each fillet.

Seal foil package tightly. Bake for 15-20 minutes depending on how you like your salmon. Serve with whatever vege’s take your fancy.  This time I made a cheesy broccoli and cauliflower bake, which BRW loved. Usually I bake some red capsicum, zucchini and squash at the same time so it’s nice and colourful and very healthy.

I like my salmon well done so I bake mine for 20 minutes. I use the white juices as an indicator for when it’s ready.

I read an article on Annalise Braakensiek a few months ago and was extremely impressed with both the types of food she eats as well as her business initiatives. She eats similar foods to what I eat and she has her own garden including a kaffir lime tree. Awesome!

Annalise has an organic catering company, Love lunch, which specialises in delicious organic, low fat, dairy, gluten and meat free recipes. Just after I discovered Love lunch Annalise went on holidays and since she has been back is looking for a new kitchen so I am yet to taste one of her lovely creations.

However she shared one of her recipes in a local magazine I received in my letterbox so without hesitation I cooked up a storm, especially since I already had a Rogan Josh curry sauce waiting to be used. It was very easy to make, packed full of flavour and knowing that it was fat free and healthy made it even better. I simply love kaffir lime leaves. They brighten and take food to a whole new level. I’ve never used organic chickpeas before. They are smaller than normal chickpeas and just as tasty.

Thank you Annalise for sharing this recipe. I will definitely be cooking it again and I look forward to tasting more of your beautiful creations packed full of love.

I usually make this recipe quite a lot in summer since it is a nice light, meal but I had a few avocado’s left from my fruit and veg box I got from Fruitman Sam so I thought I’d whip this up and it is still just as nice and delicious in winter.

It is pretty easy to make and tastes sensational. The hit of wasabi adds a nice tang but doesn’t overpower the dish. The creamy avocado complements the crab perfectly.  

I found this recipe in the November 2007 issue of Delicious magazine but it is from Nigella Lawson’s Nigella Express. The recipe says serves 4 as a starter but I think it can serve 2 as a main, depending on how hungry you are.

Crab and avocado salad with Japanese dressing (serves 2)

2Tbs mirin

½ tsp wasabi paste

1Tb rice vinegar

few drops sesame oil

1 long red chilli, finely chopped

200g fresh crabmeat (I use a pack of Phillips crabmeat, near the smoked salmon section in Coles)

1 tsp lime juice, plus extra to drizzle

2 handfuls rocket

1 ripe avocado

1.      In a bowl that will take the crab later, whisk together mirin, wasabi, rice vinegar, sesame oil and ½ tsp sea salt

2.      Remove about 4 teaspoons to another big bowl large enough for the rocket.

3.      To the first more generous amount of dressing, add chilli, then crabmeat and mix thoroughly.

4.      To the small amount of dressing add lime juice and rocket and toss well to mix, before arranging on serving plates.

5.      Spoon half the crab mixture into a 1/3 cup mould, squishing down to get it all in. Unmould in the centre of a salad lined plate. Repeat with remaining crab and another plate.

6.      Using a teaspoon, scoop out curls of avocado and dot them around the salad.  Spritz with a little lime juice and serve.