Domestic Goddess: Eggs Benedict

Ellya Sam:

I decided to go a bit fancy today and step it up with an awesome start to my day. Eggs Benny Brunch. I got Chongster to come over early in the morning, not to help me cook, but to join me on my pre-jog. I planned to jog off all the fat we were going to consume later with my sinful Ebenny. We jogged about 1km to and from IGA to get some groceries and boy, was I glad Melbourne was on our side. The weather was BEAUTIFUL! So sunny. Perfect for a morning jog.

Check it

After coming home, I immediately started.

This recipe makes two serves.

You will need:

Poached eggs, smoked salmon and crumpets

• 4 eggs
• 100g smoked salmon
• 4 crumpets (toasted)

Hollandaise Sauce

• 4 egg yolks
• 2 tbsp white vinegar
• pinch of cayenne, salt and pepper to taste
• 200ml melted butter

Directions:

Poaching the eggs. I found an easy method for poaching eggs! :D 

1. In a microwavable cup, add 2/3 water and then one egg
2. Microwave on high for 50 seconds
3. Once done, strain the water, and add again 2/3 water back into the cup and half cooked egg
4. Pop it back in the microwave for 20 seconds

You'll thank me for awesome, EASY, poached eggs. ;) Say goodbye to the simmer, vinegar, stir, egg in cup, pour, stir, sieve method. You know what I'm talking about, chefs. 

Perfecto! DONE.

Hollandaise sauce. This I found so tricky. My sauce separated, possibly because of overbeating or overcooking? The taste was not compromised but just the look. It looked... weird... as opposed to looking like runny mayonaise. :( Fail on my part! I'll try making hollandaise again and see how it goes, but for now, here's my recipe on excellent tasting (not so excellent looking) hollandaise.

1. Prepare your double boiler. This is a pot of simmering water on your stove, and a metal bowl on top. Make sure the water DOES NOT touch the metal bowl
2. On top of the simmering pot, add your egg yolks to the metal bowl and whisk it till it reaches a pale yellow colour
3. Remove from the simmering pot and slowly add melted butter, while whisking. You want to emulsify the two fats. So keep going back and from the simmering pot to slowly cook the yolks and emulsify the butter with the yolks
4. Keep doing this bit by bit. In between each addition of the melted butter, add your vinegar
5. Stop whisking when your hollandaise has reached runny mayo consistency. DONT OVER BEAT. This is why mine separated and failed to look somewhat presentable. If this happens, it's ok. The taste is all that matters, really. HAHA
6. Add your cayenne, salt and pepper to taste

Now, always remember, you are the boss of your sauce. Test to taste is a must! Your hollandaise should taste citrusy, soury, but not to the point of eye squinching. It should have the consistency of runny mayo. If you lift your whisk up, the hollandaise should be smoothly dripping.

URGH. Fail. :P

The next step is to toast your crumpets!

Then, assembling your eggs benedict!

1. Toasted crumpet
2. Smoked Salmon Slices
3. Poached Egg
4. Drizzle of Hollandaise Sauce
5. Cayenne Pepper sprinkle
6. Devour

AND... devoured! 

If you do happen to try this recipe, let ProofThatDancersEat know how you went with a comment down below! Alternatively, you can instagram us a photo and tag @ellyasam and @mealors! :)

Also, click onto Domestic Goddess on our labels section on the right hand bar for more recipes. Feel free to suggest recipes as well!

Domestic Goddess: Berry Pavlova

Ellya Sam:

After making eggs benedict for brunch, I had an excessive amount of egg whites waiting to be used up.  The only option I had in my head was to use the remaining egg whites to make macaroons or.. pavlova.  That's right. My head systematically went.. 'hmm macaroons will take a lot of work, so why not just a simple pavvy.' It's seriously so simple!

You will need:

Oh, and a tablespoon of all purpose flour :)

• 4 egg whites
• 1 cup caster sugar
• 1 tsp white vinegar
• 1 tbsp all purpose flour

Directions:

1. Preheat your oven to 150C fan- forced
2. In a mixer, whisk the egg whites until they have become foamy
3. At this point, slowly add the caster sugar bit by bit until the meringue has stiff peaks
4. Add the flour and vinegar and continue mixing till the mixture looks glossy
5. Turn your oven down to 120C
6. Transfer your meringue to a baking tray lined with baking paper
7. Bake for 1 hour and 15 minutes 
8. Leave the pavlova in the oven to completely cool
9. Add berries on the top!

Slowly adding sugar

Stiff peaks!

Adding Vinegar

Adding Flour 

Done!

Transferring onto 

Leaving inside to cool

Crispy on the outside: sort of like a candy floss texture when eaten as the crispiness dissolves 

Soft and airy on the inside: like marsmellows but lighter?

The acidity of the berries gives balance to the meringue

Devoured! 

Enjoy!

If you do happen to try this recipe, let ProofThatDancersEat know how you went with a comment down below! Alternatively, you can instagram us a photo and tag @ellyasam and @mealors! :) 

Also, click onto Domestic Goddess on our labels section on the right hand bar for more recipes. Feel free to suggest recipes as well!

Domestic Goddess: Eggplant Chips

Ellya Sam:

I can dare say. Fry anything and you will definitely see me eating it. Frying however, is super unhealthy and I subject to oven- baking as a healthier option. Tastes just the same, but better for you.

A few days ago, Chong and I decided to celebrate the end of a stressful Semester by making a hearty lunch! He prepared Angus Parmesan Meatballs which turned out sooooo good! I don't have the recipe with me, but if you're interested, pop in the comments that you want it and I'll get that arranged for you ;)

Anyway, I made eggplant chips. Super easy and quick to do. All you need really, is an eggplant, some olive oil, some herbs you have hanging around the kitchen and bread crumbs! If you are vegan, substitue the breadcrumbs for sesame seeds, crushed cornflakes or any kind of chopped up nuts, really! 

Let's get into it!

You will need:

• 1 eggplant (cut transversely)
• 2 cups store bought breadcrumbs/ sesame seeds, cornflakes or chopped almonds
• 1 cup olive oil
• herbs to taste: I used cayanne pepper, chili flakes, oregano and rosemary
• 1 tbsp salt (to sprinkle after)

Directions:

1. Preheat your oven to 200C fan- forced
2. Line your baking trays with non- stick baking paper
3. In a bowl, combine your dry ingredients (breadcrumbs and herbs) and in another bowl, prepare your olive oil
4. Take one eggplant disc and soak into your olive oil until both sides are completely covered. Dunk it into your dry ingredient mixture until it is covered with your breadcrumb mixture on both sides.
5. Place your eggplant disc on your baking tray and sprinkle with a punch of salt
6. Repeat to remaining eggplant chips
7. Bake for 13 minutes or until crispy. Depending on how thin you cut your discs, be careful and be aware that the thinner your slices, the faster they will cook.

Our little Movie Marathon

Enjoy!

If you do happen to try this recipe, let ProofThatDancersEat know how you went with a comment down below! Alternatively, you can instagram us a photo and tag @ellyasam and @mealors! :) 

Also, click onto Domestic Goddess on our labels section on the right hand bar for more recipes. Feel free to suggest recipes as well!

Domestic Goddess: Berry Smoothie

Ellya Sam:

Easy, fresh and tasty. Definitely what would comfort you this winter... or not. :P 

Well, contrary to HATING the cold weather (and feeling cold), I'm a big fan of cold drinks during winter. I'm just weird like that. Don't get me wrong, I do enjoy a hot cup of tea or hot chocolate, but I would much rather sip on something ice cold. My theory is that if you drink something cold during winter, it gets your body up to the freezing temperature so you don't feel as cold. That's just me. :P

I love enjoying this drink especially when I'm relaxing in a hot bath or even after a nice run outside.

You will need:

1. cup frozen or fresh strawberries. You can use store bought ones like Creative Gourmet which you can get at Coles in the frozen section. Or you can just buy fresh strawberries and pop them in the freezer for 2 hours.
2. 1/2 cup frozen or fresh raspberries
3. 1/2 cup skim milk
4. cup frozen berry yoghurt. I used Bulla's fruit n' yoghurt in the flavour wildberry
5. 2 tbs honey

Directions:

1. Dump ingredients in and blitz in a blender till whatever consistency you like!

It's as easy as that! :)

If you do happen to try this recipe, let ProofThatDancersEat know how you went with a comment down below! Alternatively, you can instagram us a photo and tag @ellyasam and @mealors! :) 

Also, click onto Domestic Goddess on our labels section on the right hand bar for more recipes. Feel free to suggest recipes as well!

Domestic Goddess: Oven- Roasted Chickpeas

Ellya Sam:

In all honesty, I do not know anyone who does not like chickpeas. They have this amazing texture when bitten. When cooked right, the outside is meant to be nice and firm and the insides are meant to be mushy like mash. They usually come hard and wrinkled when uncooked, then when you steam them, they get all soft and nice :3 I'm not too sure exactly where they originate from but I'm sure you can google that.

Anyway, I usually get my chickpeas out of a can. Just because it's convenient, and I dont have to spend much time steaming them. Also, because I usually only want a handfull, and I dont want using one whole big steamer just to cook a cup of these boys.

You can get many different brands of canned chick peas. I use the ones from Edgell. They're not particularly different from any other brands, but I use them cause I'm just used to using them. LOL. You get what I mean, yeah? 

So anyway, I like the taste of chickpeas just as it is, but sometimes to add a bit of an extra, I roast mine so they get all crunchy. I also add a bit of kapow to it, just cause I can. ;) They're so amazing as snacks. 

Here's my recipe on how I oven- roast my chickpeas!

You will need:

1. 125g Edgell Chick peas
2. tsp cayenne pepper
3. tsp cajun spice
4. pinch salt
5. tbs cracked chilli flakes

Steps:

1. Pre-heat your oven at 200C fan- forced.
2. Drain a can of Edgell Chick Peas in a strainer and put them in a stainless steel bowl. I find when using a stainless steel bowl, the dry ingredients dont stick so much to the walls of the bowl. 
3. Add your cayenne pepper, cajun spice, cracked chilli pepper and salt. 
4. Mix them all up in the bowl and transfer them onto a flat baking pan with a baking sheet on it. Make sure they are totally spread out so that they will be evenly roasted. 
5. Pop them in the oven for about 15 mins
6. Turn your oven to the grill setting 
7. Grill these boys for about 5 minutes and then transfer into a ramekin bowl! 

This is best eaten when hot. 

Enjoy! :)

If you do happen to try this recipe, let ProofThatDancersEat know how you went with a comment down below! Alternatively, you can instagram us a photo and tag @ellyasam and @mealors! :)

Also, click onto Domestic Goddess on our labels section on the right hand bar for more recipes. Feel free to suggest recipes as well!

Domestic Goddess: Packed Lunches @ VCA

Ellya Sam:

Students live on tight budgets. So, packing lunches from home is always the option Mealor and I go for  when we go to uni. Here is my weekly packed lunch. :)

Monday Blues:

Chicken and Avocado sandwich

I prepare this the night before for a quick get-away the next morning when I head off to uni. It's as easy as assembling half an avocado and boiled chicken (shredded after) in between two wholemeal toasts. Drizzle that with some Kewpie Japanese Mayo and you're good to go. Also, I would totally crack some pepper on that. ;) I leave this overnight in the fridge and bring it to uni the next day! Easy as.

Tired- ass Tuesday:

Ham Avocado Salad Wrap

I use the Mission lite wraps and top it with 3 slices of honey- baked ham, fresh garden salad, tomatoes and the other half of the avocado from the day before. Again, with my trustee Kewpie, I wrap and I'm good to go!

 Wednesday hump- day:

Salmon, avocado and cream cheese on toast.

Another yummy favourite. To last me for my longest day of the week, I have here some slices of smoked salmon, a FULL avocado and some generous amounts of cream cheese on a multigrain toast. :) Yum!

 Thursday almost-there:

Indomie with egg and cracked chilli

I take advantage of the fact I start late on Thursdays. Well, not late, but like an hour later. Which is a huge deal. Dont judge meh.

Ah, the indomie. My go- to lazy food. How I prepare my indomie isn't that spectacular, really. Standard procedure of boiling a pot of water and dumping the noodles in the pot. I then prepare my condiments that will mix with my noodles later on. I put everything in my bowl from the packet of indomie. The salt powder, oil, chili and dark sauce. I then add an extra teaspoon of cracked dried chilli and wait for my noodles to reach the al-dante stage. ;) I strain my noodles and then dump them onto my bowl on top of my condiments. 

I like to leave the noodles in there to soak up the powder and oil and also, I find it mixes better when I leave the hot noodles in my condiments for a while before mixing it. 

Anyway, then I get onto my egg. I crack a nice large egg onto my tiny fry pan and cook it till the whites have turned solid. I add a bit of cayenne  pepper and serve it on top of my noodles. I bring this to school in a microwavable container and reheat it during lunch. :)

 Fat- food Friday:

Nutella on toast.

Such a classic. I love nutella in tubs however, I always find myself digging my spoon into the huge tubs whenever I need my fix. VERY bad. So, I found a solution. These 20g packets are the way to go! It keeps me in control of my portions.

Hope this gives you a few ideas on what to bring to school for lunch! :)

As always...  

If you do happen to try this recipe, let ProofThatDancersEat know how you went with a comment down below! Alternatively, you can instagram us a photo and tag @ellyasam and @mealors! :) 

Also, click onto Domestic Goddess on our labels section on the right hand bar for more recipes. Feel free to suggest recipes as well!