 I love ghee. Its rich flavour, high smoke point and shelf stability (i.e. it lasts for ages in the pantry) make it the secret weapon to so many dishes. Use it for frying, roasting, baking, & smothering corn on the cob, asparagus, baked potatoes and popcorn. Recently I was horrified to see a 300g jar of ghee selling for about $20 and I thought: it's time to share another great thing about ghee, which is just how easy it is to make yourself! If you have a block of butter, a small saucepan, a strainer, a piece of kitchen towel and 30 mins, you can make a jar of ghee.
So let's get started. Make a jar for yourself, and one for a friend…homemade ghee makes a fantastic gift for your keen cook friends.
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 Homemade muesli bars are such an underrated treat. I forget how delicious they are, and so cheap and easy to make. No matter the state of my pantry, I will always have ingredients to cobble together a tray of muesli bars.
This recipe was inspired by the newest product to hit the Village shelves: white couverture chocolate drops. This is the first white chocolate that swayed me from my anti-white chocolate stance. Sumptuous and silky, with a delicate creamy flavour that doesn't hit you with over the top sweetness. The addition of the greek yoghurt in the topping adds a touch of tartness that balances the white chocolate perfectly.  Pasta salad is a crowd favourite, so we thought it high time we added one to our Village Wholefoods recipe collection. This one is a cracker.
The best thing about a Pasta salad is it's versatility. You are only limited by what's in your fridge and pantry. Feel free to use this recipe as a springboard, and make it your own! When I created this recipe I wanted to tick all the boxes, and I think I've done that. It's a hot weather food in that it's full of crunchy, raw veg and zesty flavours. But it's also comfort food due not only to the starchy, cuddly nature of pasta itself but also the creamy dressing. I even gave it a nod to retro pasta salads of the 1970s and 80s, by adding a little sugar to the dressing. Trust me, it works! You may notice another quirk in my recipe - there's no uniformity in the sizes I chop the different ingredients. The carrots are finely diced, the tomatoes and cucumber get a medium dicing, the olives are halved and the fresh herbs are coarsely chopped. There is a method to my madness. I like the woodier, fibrous ingredients like carrots cut in smaller pieces so their flavours more readily combine with louder, showier ones. But really, none of it matters. If you've no patience for fine-dicing carrots, go chunky and call it rustic! Or you can even use a potato peeler to make some thin carrot ribbons. More about the dressing: I use greek yoghurt mixed with mayonnaise. I think it makes for a lighter, more 'grown up' flavour. But sometimes the mood calls for all mayo, or even sour cream. Much like the salad vegetables I included in this recipe, let your mood - and fridge - decide!  1. Popcorn Parmigiana, 2. Fairy Bread Popcorn, 3. Chocolate Popcorn, 4. Salty & Sweet Smokey BBQ Popcorn. This summer, whether you are enjoying the easing of restrictions, holidaying and visiting friends and family, or relishing the peace of a staycation, one thing is a given: most of us have a little extra downtime. Sydney summers mean long (so very long) school holidays and stifling weather that makes it hard to think about turning the oven on to prepare hot food & complicated meals. And if you're like me, you're also looking to tighten your financial belt after the silly season blowout.
Enter homemade popcorn. Delicious, nutritious (hello, high fibre wholegrain!) and cheap. It's the perfect companion to an evening watching a movie, a rainy afternoon playing board games, a quick and impromptu snack when guests - or late night hunger - descend without warning. This week we've been busy in the Village test kitchen coming up with some scrumptious popcorn flavourings. We worked tirelessly, testing batch after batch of hot, buttery popcorn gussied up with a variety of spices and flavours. Here are our finalists. You're welcome.  It's days till Christmas! Come Saturday, some of us will be brimming over with holiday spirit, others will be counting the minutes til it's over. To be frank, I think I have a foot in both camps!
If you're hosting a get-together or looking for inspiration for your Bring-a-Plate event, I hope I can give you a recipe that will be crowd pleasing in every way. Sweet Potato with Pecans and Maple Syrup ticks so many boxes: it's a modern, lighter twist on a time-honoured Northern Hemisphere favourite - Candied Yams. It's vegetarian and gluten free. The ingredients make it feel festive to the max - once you inhale the scent of the cinnamon, maple, butter & sweet potato you'll want to dive in. It's an easy recipe too, with very few ingredients. Make extra. You'll want to dig into the leftovers right up until New Year's eve! |
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