Simple Chicken Noodle Soup

The weather here in Australia is blessedly taking a turn for the cool. The days are still wonderfully warm and beach-worthy, but evenings are beginning to beg for warm soups and casseroles again. Or at least, it doesn’t feel like such a heinous crime to want to turn my stove on! On the other hand though, we’ve recently moved house and are currently without reliable internet, so my posting has been a bit lax the last little while. Sorry guys!

So, until I’m able to properly update again, this is a recipe from the Three Cheeses Free Christmas Cooking eBook—chicken noodle soup is great for leftover chicken or turkey at Christmas, but of course we all know it as a great kind of comfort food any time of the year. You can use last night’s leftovers or roast a chicken or simply buy a barbecued chicken from your local grocery store on your way home from work. Whatever your method, this soup is sure to satisfy.

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Edited: March 7th, 2011

Beer Stovies

A few weeks ago now, I made a very impulsive purchase—I found two Jamie Oliver cookbooks on sale for $15 each. I had to get them! Ever since, I’ve been trying all sorts of new recipes. I love his emphasis on using fresh, organic, and locally sourced produce and meats, as well as making things from scratch. This recipe is from Cook with Jamie, though I’ve well and truly altered it. Certainly not because I can do better, but because I just like being adventurous now and then!

Jamie Oliver’s version of this recipe first drew me because of its inclusion of celery leaves. I had just bought a giant head of celery that had these beautifully lush leaves—it broke my heart a little bit to think about just tossing them in the bin. Celery has such a delicate flavour that it’s difficult to find recipes that do it justice—its leaves are a bit tangier than the stalks, fortunately, and help to cut through the sticky potato flavour in this dish.

Even though this is just potatoes, this is surprisingly tasty on its own. Serve as a part of a balanced meal, but don’t underestimate how easily these potato morsels get gobbled down!

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Edited: March 19th, 2010

The Best Chocolate Cake Ever

If you haven’t guessed already, I’m not someone to joke about chocolate. Ever. If it’s good, it’s worth eating–if it’s not, toss it out the window before it dimples your thighs. Chocolate cake comes in a myriad of recipes, and a lot of them are pretty darn good, but this recipe, my friends, is the best.

I found this recipe in the Elle Canada magazine, and it just goes to show that good recipes can crop up in the most unlikely of places. I knew it would be good because of the ingredients: butter, sugar, plenty of cocoa, and the two most important ingredients of all, the beer and the sour cream. See what I mean? There’s just no rivalling this cake for decadence and deliciousness.

The recipe is a pretty basic one, and so quite flexible. You can add nuts, berries, chocolate chips, flavourings, or whatever else catches your fancy. I’ve left notes at the bottom for making a chocolate ganache to top the cake with, which is easy to make and adds that je ne sais quoi of moistness and richness.

This cake keeps and travels well for lunch. Wrap up a few pieces in tin foil and take ‘em to work! …If your willpower lets you, anyway.

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Edited: February 14th, 2010

Chocolate Raspberry Dessert Cake

Darryl and I are spending our Sunday indoors. The rain has swept through Vancouver again after an unseasonably warm January, and reignited our hunger for decadent comfort food. While Darryl planned our dinner of beef short ribs and mashed potato this morning, I hunted down a dessert recipe that looked equally rich and indulgent to follow.

I found today’s recipe, a dense Chocolate Raspberry Dessert Cake, in Donna Hay’s entertaining a gorgeous (Australian!) cookbook that I purchased quite optimistically five years ago. Nothing about a university student’s lifestyle calls for Hay’s recipes for fig and brioche pudding, duck liver paté, or sesame-crusted ocean trout, and the book has sat entirely neglected on my bookshelf since I bought it. But now, as formal entertaining becomes a more desirable—and realistic—pursuit, I’m glad that I have this book on hand to show me the ropes.

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Edited: January 24th, 2010