Beach Cottage Decor with Love

Sometimes it is difficult to find the kind of beach cottages I love to show you on here, but not this week Beach Dwellers.  This one has everything I love in a beachy abode.  Lime washed floors, loads of Sydney sandstone set on a big block, beautifully styled with a northerly aspect.  If you would like to know more about her you can look here.  This cottage had me at exposed roof trusses, one of the most elegant design features in a house, I do believe.

She is on a huge block and was built in the 1940's by the original owner, a stone mason, who carted the quarried rock from a neighbour's property.  What a labour of love this gorgeous beach cottage is.

On another note.  Thanks for all your interest and lovely words about the Gourmet Garden cook off, you are such a sweet bunch.  Mr Beach House is particularly thankful that my cooking has been so inspired.  I attempted a Neil Perry recipe last night and it was lovely.  Tonight is something from Vali Little.  Now if only I could get my tax done, all would be right with the world.
Today I am linked up here
Wow Us Wednesday

Ginger Chicken with Lemon Grass, Almonds and Snow Peas and The Gourmet Garden Cook Off Final

Season  Restaurant Noosa on the Beach, where we had a lovely dinner together the night before the cook off

Up early for the second day of the tour, I shot off down to the beach again to people watch and shoot a few decor pics.  My favourite homewares store in Noosa was closed when we left Noosa in the morning and closed when we got back at night, so unfortunately, I never did see inside.  Next time Beach Dwellers and there will be a next time. I instagramed a shot of the store to Facebook and my mum commented she had walked through the door to that store, many many times over the last 20 years.  Me too, and I want to get back in there some day soon, as they always have so many fabulous pieces.

Our entre of Duck and Mushroom Dumplings in broth with Shiitake Mushrooms and Duck Skin Garnish

After a big breakfast we jumped aboard our transport and headed up into the hills to SJW Mushroom Farm in Woodford for a tour and lunch.  We were booked in to have a beautiful mushroom inspired meal cooked by our judges for the following days cook off, Sammy and Bella of My Kitchen Rules fame.  After a tour of the farm, we were handed a glass of Moet and invited to take a seat.  I had to pass on the champagne, as I am not one to start drinking at 11am in the morning.  God knows where it would have ended up if I'd started that early.

A Main Course of Mushroom and Mussel Egg Nest Salad with Braised Pork Belly and a Caramelised Jus

The tables were beautifully laid and I loved the floral centre pieces with mushrooms on skewers to accent the lovely food.  This would be a fabulous idea with a strawberry or another fruit or vegetable theme too.

Forest Floor Dessert: Chocolate Mushroom Dirt with Meringue Mushrooms and Ginger Creme Garnished with Native Violets

It was the coldest day of the year so far, in this part of Queensland and I was completely under dressed for the chilly wind.  But I slid out of there with a warm glow after some fantastic food and conversation, with a really interesting bunch of food lovers.  Sammy turned to me as I was leaving and asked, "Are you nervous about tomorrow?"  I said "No, it's in the lap of the Gods", which was true at the time.  I was however, beginning to think if this kind of food is the standard, I am toast.

Up again early the next morning, packed and on the road by 7.45am, this was the day, that a year long competition was going to be over.  I still felt very little tension, which was because I knew I couldn't change much now.

I had a lovely chat on the 40 minute drive up to  Spicers Tamarind Resort to UK Gourmet Garden winner, Filipa from Gourmet Mum.  She is a very nice and well grounded girl and I can see why she is now also the international winner.  She writes the UK Gourmet Garden Newsletter each month, as part of her Ambassadorship role.  I told her if it was up to me, I'd employ her too as she's a terrific girl.  She didn't believe me when I told her my age.  Even though it was dark at dinner, it made me like her even more.

As we walked into the resort cooking school, I was thinking just one thing.
 I didn't want to cook off in the first group.  But as luck would have it,  I saw my ingredients all laid out and ready to go.  Nothing like getting it over with I guess.

There was a bit of confusion about prep time verses cooking time, but either way I ended up having way too much time to cook my dish.  My strategy was to do a family meal, which someone could just about do with their eyes closed, because as was explained to us by Nick White Gourmet Garden CEO, the product is not trying to replace fresh herbs and spices, but is an alternative to them.  It's about the convenience of time poor cooks going to the fridge and being able to add flavour and a bit of zing to their cooking, without having to plan much in advance.

I decided to cook Ginger Chicken with Lemon Grass, Almonds and Snow Peas   It's an easy dish, which is low in fat, full of nutrients and something the entire family can enjoy together.

Ginger Chicken with Lemon Grass, Almonds and Snow Peas

400g (4) Chicken thigh fillets trimmed of fat

1 onion diced

2 tablespoons Peanut oil

1 tablespoon soy sauce

1/4 cup dry sherry or Chinese Cooking wine

3/4 cup Chicken Stock

1 tablespoon corn flour

3 tablespoons Gourmet Garden Garlic

3 tablespoons Gourmet Garden Ginger

2 tablespoons Gourmet Garden Lemon Grass

200g snow peas topped and tailed

100g Slivered Almonds toasted

1 green onion finely sliced diagonally to garnish

1 long red chill deseeded and finely chopped to garnish

Heat oil over a medium heat.  Add 1 tablespoon of Gourmet Garden garlic and 1 tablespoon Gourmet Garden ginger. Stir to combine.

Add Chicken in batches.  Brown and set aside in a bowl.

Make the sauce by combing the soy sauce, sherry, chicken stock and cornflour.  Whisk to combine and set aside.

Heat 1 tablespoon of oil to the pan, add the remaining garlic and ginger and the lemon grass and fry onion until soft.

Add the snow peas,  almonds and sauce mixture.  Stir for a minute or so, over a high heat so the sauce thickens.

Toss cooked chicken through the sauce.

Serve immediately over rice cooked in chicken stock

Garnish with green onion and chilli

The verdict was that the chicken was moist, the snow peas were crisp, the herbs came through (an important factor in this competition), and the presentation in a shell was great, but Sammy would have liked to see something a little more complex for the final of a cooking competition than, a stir fry.  Fair enough too.  What this wonderful experience has shown me, is that I do need to get out there and push myself much much more.  I am a good home style cook, but the whole scene has moved on big time since I was really interested in cooking to impress.  I am now inspired to do much better and looking at some of the other competition dishes there is a wonderful world of cooking out there to discover and inspire. Check these out.

Lisa's Herbed Risotto with Scallops and a Chorizo Crumb and Amanda's Fish Balls in Asian Broth

Jae's Steamed Ginger Pudding with a Lemon Grass Syrup and Ginger Cream

L to R Margan's Barramundi with Herbed Hollandaise Sauce and Curly chips
Filipa's Piri Piri Chicken with Herbed Sweet Potato Chips
Tam's Herbed Raviolli with Roast Pumkin
Anne's Thyme, Ginger and Pear Pudding with Ginger Creme and a Walnut Praline

Apologies to the contests whose food I didn't get to photograph.

Sammy and Bella said they would be happy to eat any of the dishes in a restaurant, which was very kind. But there can only be one winner.

Drum Roll please

The winner, Laney from Crash Test Mummy.
The judges said Laney chose a dish which home cooks would be able to master and each element to the dish was beautifully executed.  They loved that she used pancetta instead of pastry to encase the quiche.  All the other parts of her dish made good use of the herbs and it was beautifully presented.

Congratulations to Laney, whom I think will make a terrific Ambassador for the company.  

Pancetta Herb and Garlic Quiche with Mushrooms, Tomatoes and a Basil Salsa

So that's it from me today Beach Dwellers.  I have been treated to an amazing experience and I would like to thank Gourmet Garden Herbs and Spices for supporting bloggers in this way.  It is unusual that a brand puts so much into running a competition.  I am so very glad I participated and am very grateful for the fabulous time we were shown.

Thank you.

Today I am linked up here
Coastal Charm
Metamorphosis Monday
Essentially Jess
Inspire Me Tuesday
Take a Look Tuesday
Wow Us Wednesday

Easy Creamed Corn and Chicken Soup with Lemon Grass and My Gourmet Garden Noosa Adventure Day 1

Noosa Hinterland

Hello Beach Dwellers

I am still on a high from my fantastic adventure in Noosa and surrounds.  If you followed any of the social media surrounding the event, you will know that  Laney from Crash Test Mummy, was a most deserving winner.

More on the cook off,  and all the gorgeous dishes next time, but first I want to tell you about the lovely afternoon we spent in the Noosa hinterland on day one of the final.

 I learned so much across the three days and had a fabulous expereince, mixing with some truly fantastic cooks.

I have been inspired to be more adventurous in my cooking and whilst easily doable, yummy weeknight wonder type dishes will always remain my signature, I plan to branch out a bit in my weekend cooking and try new ingredients and cuisines and improve, like I used to do want to do before children.

So after a very early start and feeling a little bit like 'mutton dressed as glam' at the airport in florals and hot pink,  I was whisked away and driven up to Freestyle Escape in the Noosa Hinterland for our first day of cooking and blogging inspiration.  The road in to the property was 4 wheel drive affair and my driver was advised to call from the front gate for a lift up to the outdoor kitchen and not to drive in himself.   So yes, I was standing in the middle of nowhere, at the farm gate in heels and florals.  Not very appropriate, but funny all the same.

I was the last blogger to arrive.  There was media waiting to film our every move and I am somewhat dreading the posting of the video on You Tube.  I did try to remain a lady at all times, so we shall see.

A tissue box coated with tin foil, is a great way to add a pop of light to your photography subject.

Once we conquered the off piste driveway and made it up to the out door kitchen, we were treated to some mini master classes before lunch.  One of great interest to me, was creative food styling by food stylist, chef and food writer, Jacki Passmore.

We also met and listened to Jody from Stay at Home Mum who has over 138,000 likers on her Facebook page alone.  She does not understand how it took off initially, but I think it is a brilliant example of choosing a name that is relevant and being a very searchable phrase on Google.  Jody, from Gympie (above shot 2nd from the right) now employs 27 people to assist her in the running of her online business including a website.  Her Facebook page is run by about 15 (I think) mums globally, who work in shifts over a 24 hour day posting updates to cater for American and international fans as well.  

Amanda from Cooking for Busy Mum's (right) 

One of the highlights of the whole trip, was meeting girls with whom I have developed a friendship online, but I had never met before.  Anne from Domesblissity  (centre) who is so kind and friendly.

The lovely Alberto all the way from Spain who runs the blog Mucha Vida

Amanda from A Cooker and a Looker a fantastic local girl, who knew loads about the area. Amanda entertained us with stories of her foray into the wonderful world of Masterchef and auditioning for that gig.

Lorraine from Not Quite Nigella was also there to do a Q and A with us.  There was lots of interest in how she secured her book deal with Penguin.  She spoke about bidding wars and how most smaller publishers know they won't win against Penguin, so pull out when they enter the fray.  Lorraine also said that the average Australian book deal is about $5000, which seems very little, considering all the work involved.  So what agents try to achieve for their clients, is a bidding war to drive up the price of the manuscript.

Lorraine told a funny anecdote about how she thought it was her job to impress the big wigs at a publishers meeting.  She attempted to do this by making some beautiful fudge to take along..  Her agent set her straight and told her "no it is the publisher's job to woo you Lorraine". She took the fudge along anyway and they loved it.

 She is such a sweetie and left a lovely comment on my blog that evening after the lunch.  How gracious and sweet of her to bother!!!!!!

Also at the lunch that day,  was Kim McCosker of 4 ingredients fame.  A delightfully friendly lady, who is decidedly down to earth and sweet.  I have to say that, when my mum gave me Kim's first book 10 or so years ago, I flicked through it and never used it.  I now realise what a mistake that was.  The entire lunch was prepared by us bloggers, using Kim's 4 Ingredients recipes and Gourmet Garden Herbs and Spices and they were fantastic.  So simple and delicious.

Kim and I decided to style tea cups with Baby's Breath for the soup

I was left to prepare the Creamed Corn and Chicken Soup with Lemon Grass, for the luncheon which literally look about 10 minutes and feeds about 20 people.  This is a double quantity of the recipe, but just halve it for a hearty family sized pot of soup.

Easy Creamed Corn and Chicken Soup with Lemon Grass 

8 Chicken thigh fillets trimmed of fat and diced

600g canned cream corn

10 dessert spoons Gourmet Garden Lemon Grass

2 litres Chicken Stock (Campbells Brand)

salt and pepper to taste

Bring Stock to the boil

Add Chicken and creamed corn

Simmer for 15 minutes

Add lemon grass

Simmer for a further 5 minutes

Serve in a teacup with crusty herbed bread.

We had a lovely trio of dips.  The 4 ingredients Salmon Dip was fantastic and I will make it at home soon for the blog.  That salad was beetroot and apple and was terrific.

Here are some more of the dishes

Here's what I chose for lunch.

There were some lovely prawns with chorizo and some delicious chilli chicken wings.  I will definitely be using some of Kim's lovely recipes.

Especially this incredible chocolate mousse dessert made using avocado instead of cream.

Last up was a great SEO talk from Edmund Pelgen, who made that set of slides under my dessert there.  I always love learning about how to blog better and I think there's a whole post in that itself.  The importance of Google + cannot be underestimated and I shall be working on that too.

After dessert we were whisked away back to Noosa.  We were each given  our own lovely town house to stay in, right on Hastings Street.

The Hastings Noosa

I dumped my bags and headed straight across the road to the beach to catch the sunset and people watch, one of my favourite past times.

Then it was back to the town house to dress for dinner with a group of lovely foodie bloggers.  A great end to a fabulous day.

Next up the cook off and how it all played out.

Today I am linked up here

Sundae Scoop

Say G'day Saturday
Under the Table and Dreaming
Coastal Charm
Metamorphosis Monday
Inspire Me Tuesday
Take a Look Tuesday
Wow Us Wednesday

Gourmet Garden Bloggers Cook Off In Noosa

Isn't it amazing where blogging can take you?  The opportunities can be wonderful, but no one is going to hand you anything on a platter, you have to get out there and chase it.  I learned that very early in life and it has served me well.  And so it was that I entered the Gourmet Garden Herbs and Spices search for Australia's "Best Blogger come Cook" competition.  That was over a year ago and it will culminate in the final later this week on the Sunshine Coast, to be held in conjunction with the Noosa International Food and Wine Festival.

For the next three days, I will be enjoying this opportunity that blogging has presented me with.  I like this kind of competition, because it is based on merit.  It's not a popularity contest, where I have to ask anyone to vote for me.  I have never been good at popularity contests on this blog nor in real life, because I cannot sustain being something I am not, for long.

This competition is all about the cooking, the Gourmet Garden Herbs and Spices and how we put it all together.

I have finally constructed a nice tasting dish as my entry, which at least now puts me in the ball park.  I have a 1 in 9 chance of winning the $2000 in cash and the $5000, 12 month ambassadorship witrh Gourmet Garden.  It's going to be difficult to pull off, but whatever happens with regards to my result, it will be entirely up to me.

Here's how I did it last time in the semi finals, encapsulated in a little 6 minute video.  It is the professional me, not the mummy me, screeching around the Beach House after the kiddos.  It will give you some idea what I will be up to in Noosa this week.  Click on the photo below to see the video.

The Chinese Pepper Steak recipe I cooked for the semi final, is here.

I have some wonderful competition.  We have been chatting on Twitter this week and have arranged a couple of dinners at some of Noosa's top restaurants. This being Noosa International Food and Wine Festival week, I expect the buzz in town will be up beat. The business end of the event comes on Friday, when we all prepare our dish to be judged by Sammy and Bella, winners of the first series of My Kitchen Rules.  There will be an Australian winner and an international winner.

You can check out the blogs and the cooks behind them, who have made the final, by clicking on the shots of the bloggers or their logos below.

Somewhere Around Here Blog

You can follow all the antics of the final in Noosa on twitter and instagram @desireempire  The hash tag for the event is #ggcookoff and you can view the 3 day program of events here.

So off we all go Beach Dwellers, into the flames of cooking craziness. 

Til next time 

Today I am linked up here

Essentially Jess