Spinach and Fetta Rolls

theme song for today’s post: (click the link to listen) AC/DC : It’s a Long Way to the Shop if You Want a Spinach Roll.

Whaddaya mean, those aren’t the words? ok, you’re right, it should be sausage roll, it’s true. But today this version is very apt, because the inspiration for making spinach and fetta rolls came from the amazing ones we ate at the Beechworth Bakery in North Eastern Victoria. Which really is a long way to the shop - about 7 hours drive!

We stopped in at Beechworth on the car convoy back from our summer holiday in Bright, Victoria, having read about Beechworth Bakery in Australian Gourmet Traveller. Some of us may have been feeling a little under the weather (look, there are a lot of wineries in that part of Victoria, OK?) and the delicious spinach and fetta roll perked me right up. It was, even through the hangover, the absolute best spinach and fetta roll I have ever eaten (and as a former vego, I have eaten plenty!). They sold out, and I waited until the next batch came out of the oven and brought another one for the car (the car didn’t want it, so I ate it. boom-tish!). So not surprisingly, I was keen to try and recreate them a bit closer to home.

I used the cheater’s puff pastry recipe I found over at the lovely Cook & Eat. Cheat sounds like my kind of puff pastry. And it is SO easy.

the filling: crushed garlic, finely chopped onion, sauted, then chopped English spinach added to the pan just to wilt. Into a bowl, then add crumbled fetta, some cottage cheese, salt, pepper, nutmeg. This mixture was quite sticky, so I didn’t add egg, but one could.

Roll pastry into longish strips, fill, roll pastry around filling, with sealside ending up down, and cut into portions. I gave the tops of the rolls a milk wash, and sprinkled with sesame seeds. I made small rolls, and baked for ~25 mins @ ~180 degrees C.

The pastry was lovely and flakey, and the filling was tasty, but to be honest these were no comparison to the Beechworth Bakery’s ones. I’ll try making them again, but if you’re ever in Beechworth, I recommend the spinach and fetta rolls, hangover or no!

WBB - a healthy eats breakfast

I love breakfast.. well, I love going out for breakfast and lounging with coffees and friends and the paper and, admittedly, pork products. I’m less keen on the cereal-before-trudging-to-work-early-in-the-morning kind of breakfast, though I do try, because it is a Good Habit.

Because I am currently not doing any trudging to work in the morning or at any time, my breaking of fast is a little haphazard. If I’m going to the gym early, I might have some fruit first, then come home and be starving and eat lunch early, but if I’m going to the gym late, I slip into old Bad Habits, and don’t eat until 11am or even well past ‘lunchtime’. Bad Habit!

Here is a morning feast from the other day, that was easy to put together, with minimal dishes, not too full on either in the kitchen or in the puku (tummy), but tasty enough to motivate actually cooking and eating, while also being really very healthy, and looking kind of substantial, in a lazy weekend kind of way.

I can’t think of where it was, but I must have heard/read about some sort of middle easterny influenced egg breakfast recently, which niggled in the back of my head when I was looking for inspiration in the morning. I have no idea if there is any resemblance to the original, apart from the cumin/chilli/paprika and egg combo, but if I remember or find it again I will reference back to it to see.

in the meantime, this is so bloody simple, but really quite delicious and light.

Spiced Egg with Hummus on Toast

In a non-stick frying pan, crack as many eggs per person as each person wishes to eat, and sprinkle liberally with ground cumin, paprika, chilli flakes, cayenne, salt, pepper, sesame seeds (or of course, anything else really, as your tastebuds/pantry dictate). toast your bread of choice - mine was a thickly slice of poppyseed vienna loaf, and I toasted it over the bare flame, because our toaster is broken, and I couldn’t be assed turning on the grill for one piece of toast. It imparted a lovely smokey flavour in fact. Spread said toast liberally with hummus, place eggs (cooked to your liking) on top. eat.

In the photo, it does not appear to be a very liberal sprinkling of spices, and I think it could have managed a bit more kick, but it was really very tasty. This would make a very easy breakky to serve a large-ish group, especially as the chilli kick will ensure your guests are not turned off, if their eggs are less than piping hot when they get to the plate. Not that I’m saying you will serve them cold eggs (I’m sure you wouldn’t!), but chilli does trick the brain a bit on temperature, so you won’t be stressing as the plates go out.

I am putting this forward as my first entry for Weekend Breakfast Blogging, which is hosted for February by Tasty Palettes. WBB is focusing on healthy breakkies this month, and this gives a great protein boost via the egg and the hummus, was cooked without oil, and could further be improved by a nice wholegrain bread, so it really is a healthy eat!

7 (Random) Things about Me Meme

I’ve been tagged by Bron for the puku’s very first meme; the 7 Things About Me meme.

here’s the deal with the meme ‘rules’:

1. Link to the person that tagged you and post the rules on your blog.
2. Share 7 random and/or weird things about yourself.
3. Tag 7 random people at the end of your post and include links to their blogs.
4. Let each person know that they have been tagged by leaving a comment on their blog.

Usually I would ponder over the 7 things to reveal and dither around for an age, and maybe never do it, but since I am currently in Townsville (for uni) and therefore not really doing much blogworthy cooking or eating (packed lunches and quick dinners), and since Tom has started food blogging both of our food creations over at tomandzoe.com, well, I’m a bit short of other things to blog.

so here are 7 truly random things about me, with minimal editing (I’m sitting at a cafe, purportedly preparing uni assignments):

1. I quit my 16oz+ (yeah, I don’t know why, in our metric country, we buy coffee by the oz) a day coffee habit last year. I went from being pretty reliant on my large morning soy flat white to get through the day, to being quite fine for days sans caffeine. I’m now a recreational coffee taker, and enjoying it more and feeling less skattery.

2. I like taking photos of my feet, and have pics from age ~12 to present. I do not have them in an album. maybe I should start a feet photo blog? no?

3. I was born in Gisborne, NZ, the first city in the world to see the sun each morning.

4. I hate rubber foam. especially dusty foam. it’s so gross, but also so random.

5. I cut my own hair, and have been on and off for about 10 years. I’m colouring it myself at the moment too, b/c I can’t justify paying someone else to do it when I know how.

6. I go through obsessive cooking phases, and have in the past been into making muffins, bread, noodles, hainanese chicken rice, sweet potato wedges, burritos (oh, etc etc ad infinitum) where I cook and eat very little else. everyone does this, right?

7. I pretty much live in black drawstring pants (Tree of Life ones are great), and sometimes have to really force myself to wear them with something other than a black or white top and thongs (JANDALS). when I packed for this trip to Townsville I bought 2pr black drawstring pants, 3pr thongs/jandals (different colours) and a selection of tops in black or white + 2 coloured tops, and a black cardigan and some sarongs (good as scarves in the air-con). but I wear very colourful underwear!

thats it. 7 (random) things. I am a bit reluctant to tag anyone, b/c I am a bit shy and I know others have probably done this one already, but I will try a few names and see how we go.. no pressure!

1. Aria @ Melonfish (formerly Passionate Nonchalance)

2. Gattina @ Kitchen Unplugged (I checked, she’s only done the 4,3 & 5 things memes! this one is TOTALLY DIFFERENT!)

3. Raging Yogurt (such a great name)

4. Sophie, who is Mostly Eating

5. Steph @ BackInSkinnyJeans

6. the lovely Umami

7. Stephanie @ Cumin & Coriander and look, some evidence - pic of feet, black pants w thongs, and the freakiest giant gum leaf ever. the tropics are wild, I tells you.