Sonnet 163- To the carbohydrate!

Weight- 10000 calories    Exercise- 10 km marathon run   Books- 1Pandemonium   Holidays- 13 days left   Carbs- too many   Days till health kick- 1

"Be not afraid of carbohydrates: some are born addicted to carbs, some achieve this obsession, and some have carbs thrust upon them."

Weekend food is usually NAUGHTY food. In this household anyways. There's just something about finishing a week of work and craving all things that surely must go straight to the hips, tummy and thighs! It's compensating for the good work we do on the other nights and allowing some freedom and guilty pleasure in eating what YOU want. Moderation is the key right?


On Master Chef they had an invention test where they had to cook "dude food." I personally don't understand why it's called that, as as a definite girl I also crave salt, carbs, grease and savoury delights.  Especially after watching the mouth watering concoctions they produced to satisfy these late night cravings. So instead of dining out this weekend (clap clap) we decided to create our own version of these challenges. Apart from the mess and time, the advantage is that you are getting exactly what you feel like. Minimal health benefits but soul comfort food.


We made crunchy onion rings- deep fried of course. After many previous failed attempts this batter is the easiest and has made the best onion rings. We cheated and bought aioli to dip them in too. So yummy but so bad! 

Onion rings

• 1L vegetable oil                                                                   
• 200g plain flour
• 200-250ml soda water
• 2 brown onions, sliced into 1/2cm rings

Kewpie slaw

• ¼ red cabbage, finely shredded
• 2purple carrots, julienne
• 2 spring onions, sliced
• 150ml kewpie mayonnaise
• Juice of one lime

We complimented this with little ranch sliders (mini burgers). We bought little panninis from Coles, made some pork/beef/bacon patties and made coleslaw from red onion, wombok and carrot. We tossed the coleslaw through kewpie mayonnaise, an idea stolen from the 'dude challenge,' a Japanese condiment. And because we couldn't be bothered to make George's bacon mayonnaise from Masterclass (as delicious as it looked) we tossed some bacon through it for the flavour. Then we assembled them together with some added sliced cheddar cheese and there we had it. The perfect late night hunger quencher. 




Carb Verdict- Guilty!

love choosing wines by their labels

Don't keep calm he just called you carrots!

During the week we used all of our left overs to make Roast Chicken Thighs Wrapped in Pancetta served with Baby Carrots, courtesy of Billy Law from MasterChef season 3.
Really tasty and easy to make- we rolled the chicken up and wrapped it in the pancetta and made a bit of an apple/carrot slaw, using some of the purple carrots we had bought and used during the week, plus carrots we have been growing in our garden....Nom NOM.
Would you believe we even saw purple and yellow cauliflower at Coles when purchasing purple carrots!!! Even used the carrot peel by throwing it in the deep fryer and making crisps- not sure how good for you that is but it added a crunchy texture atop the chicken......and we felt quite "gourmet" making it. Might look like there's lots of ingredients in this recipe but its mainly spices and herbs! Way to spice up your chicken!!

• Carrot and apple salad
• 60gbutter, diced
• 1 clovegarlic, minced
• 1sprig lemon thyme, leaves picked
• 1carrot, peeled and 1cm diced
• 1apple, peeled and 1cm diced
• Roast chicken roulade
• 4 slicespancetta
• 3chicken thighs, bone removed, fat trimmed
• 1 clovegarlic, minced
• 1 spriglemon thyme, leaves picked
• 20gbutter, long rectangular piece
• 20mlolive oil
• Carrot crisps
• Vegetable oil, for frying
• 2baby carrots, peeled
• Roast carrots
• 1 tablespoonextra virgin olive oil
• 1 bunchbaby carrots, peeled and tops trimmed
• 10gbutter

• Preheat oven to 200°C.
• For carrot and apple salad, heat butter, garlic and thyme in a small frying pan. Add carrot and apple and sauté until golden. Set aside.
• For roast chicken roulade, lay pancetta, slightly overlapping, on a clean chopping board. Lay two chicken thighs next to each other on top of the pancetta. Sprinkle garlic and thyme and a lay long strip of butter on top. Lay the third piece of chicken thigh over the dressed pieces. Gently roll up pancetta around the chicken and truss firmly with kitchen string to hold roulade together.
• Add oil to a hot frying pan and sear parcel all over until evenly golden. Transfer to a baking tray and bake for 20 minutes or until firm to the touch. Rest under loosely wrapped foil.
• For carrot crisps, heat oil in a small saucepan to 190°C. Peel carrot into thin strips using a vegetable peeler and fry until golden, drain on paper towel.
• For roasted carrots, heat a small roasting pan over medium heat, add oil and carrots and toss until just golden, add butter and toss until melted. Transfer to the oven and roast for 10 minutes or until cooked through.
• To serve, slice roast chicken roulade into 2cm slices. Place a bed of carrot and apple salad and serve alongside roast carrots and carrot crisps with a drizzle of the butter sauce from the carrot and apple salad.