Sweet and Savoury's vlog

Our blog has been all about featuring our favourite dishes and restaurants we wanted to share with everyone and recommend. It has been really enlightening, especially learning about some of the cultural dishes that I'm sure a lot of us haven't heard of before. So to finish of our blog, instead of focusing about us, we decided to go around Macquarie University and interview others what sort of foods they enjoy. We would love others to join in and share their opinions too!

In making our vlog, once we decided on the focus, we brainstormed what questions to ask. Once we narrowed down the questions to a small list, the whole group worked together in filming the interviews as we went around the campus finding people to star in our vlog. Megan then edited together all the separate clips and turned it into our final video.

Hope you enjoy our vlog!

No-Bake Chocolate Truffles

It's finally Friday and it’s time to party! When going to house parties, the favourite my friends love me bringing is my amazing chocolate truffle balls. You’ll be blown away of how easy it is to make with just 3 core ingredients and no need to bake. These even work out to be given as great homemade gift come Easter, Christmas or any other occasion. I have experimented a lot with these, trying different biscuits, especially using the different variety of Tim tams, even Mint Slice works well.  For a special ‘grown up’ treat, you could add in some of your favourite liqueur. Just watch out, they are known to be a perfect bite size of sinful decadence. Go ahead and give them a go!

 Ingredients:

• 250g Cream Cheese, room temperature
• 250g Chocolate Biscuits, or your choice of Tim Tams
• Liqueur (optional)
• Chocolate melts, melted for coating
• Additional toppings for decorating eg. Coconut, sprinkles, nuts, .

 Method

• Crush biscuits in a food processor until turned into crumbs.

• Mix together the biscuits and cream cheese in a large bowl. Time to get messy and use your fingers to combine well. By having the cream cheese at room temperature it makes it much easier to mix thoroughly. For those using Tim tams or adding some liqueur you may need to change quantities of the biscuit or cream cheese, or place the bowl in the fridge to firm up so the mixture is able to be handled easier

• Roll the mixture into balls and chill in the fridge (or freezer depending on the heat) until ready to coat in chocolate. The longer you leave it to set, allows the balls to keep their shape when adding into the hot melted chocolate.

• Melt the chocolate, and dip the balls into the chocolate one at a time. This can be a tricky step, some use forks to help dip, a couple of times I have used toothpicks inserted into the ball to dip and coat the chocolate to make sure it's evenly coated. Let it drain for a couple seconds before letting it set on a tray covered with baking paper. If you wanted to add extra toppings this is the right time to add before the chocolate sets, or you can drizzle some extra chocolate on later.

• Place the chocolates back in the fridge to allow the chocolates to continue to set.

Check this link if you're looking for an extra step by step tutorial to get tips from:

http://www.mrscake.co.nz/2010/10/tim-tam-truffles-and-candy-melts-winner.htmlhttp://www.mrscake.co.nz/2010/10/tim-tam-truffles-and-candy-melts-winner.html 

Macadamia Fudge Fingers

I was trying to think of a great sweet recipe to share with all of you, and when I thought of what my family and friends love every time I knew I had to share with you all a recipe to make Macadamia Fudge Fingers. It’s a great slice that my Mum always loves to make for a plate to take to parties, and I have learnt myself just how quick and easy it is. Perfect for those that are looking for something to make that’s delicious and not too overwhelmingly sweet. 

Ingredients:

•  250g plain sweet biscuits, crushed
• 1 cup dessicated coconut
• ½ cup cocoa powder
• 1 ¼ cups (150g) crushed macadamia nuts
• 400g can condensed milk
• 60g butter, melted
• 80g dark chocolate melts
• 80g white chocolate melts

          Makes 40 depending on cut sizes

Method:

1. Line base and sides of a shallow 30 x 20cm cake tin with foil, extending over 2 sides. Brush foil with oil or melted butter. 

2. Place crushed biscuits, coconut, cocoa and nuts in a large mixing bowl making a well in the centre. Add condensed milk and melted butter, stirring well until combined.

3. Spoon mixture into the prepared tin and press in firmly. Use the back of a metal spoon to smooth the surface. Refrigerate for 2 hours.

4. Using the foil, lift the slice from the tin, and then gently peel away foil. Using a sharp knife, cut into fingers.

5. Melt chocolate melts in 2 separate heatproof bowls. Stand bowls over pans of simmering water, stirring until chocolate has melted and is smooth. Cool slightly before piping over each finger- this is where you can be creative with piping the chocolate if you like. Many times we have piped stars or other shapes for Christmas for something different.

If it hasn't been all eaten straight away, you can store these in an airtight container in a cool, dark place or in the fridge in hot weather and they can last up to 2 weeks. 

(Unfortunately despite making this many times before I have no photos to share with you, luckily I have found this one to give you an idea. Image sourced from: https://ivarthesalacious.com/2013/07/01/power-of-cake/79-slices-macadamia-fudge-fingers-2/)

Easy Beef Stir Fry

Beef Stir-fry 

Looking for a quick and easy stir fry to cook up then why not give this a go. Now usually I'm one for shortcuts and resorting to ready made sauces from the supermarket, but this one honestly is just as easy made from just a few ingredients and is fresh and flavoursome. I’m not professing it to be a 5 star Masterchef dish by any means, but it’s good home cooking that will warm your stomachs, especially as we get into these colder nights.

Ingredients:

• Olive Oil
• Garlic
• Ginger
• Beef strips
• Oyster sauce
• Fish sauce
• Capsicum red or green
• Snow peas
• Zucchini
• Rice or noodles to serve

Method:

1. Heat oil in pan with chopped garlic, then add beef strips and cook until browned.
2. Grate ginger and add to pan
3. Add sliced zucchini and cook for 1-3 minutes
4. Add sliced capsicum, cook for a further 1-3 minutes
5. Add a splash or 2 of fish sauce (2 teaspoons) and half a bottle of oyster sauce (roughly 150ml)
6. Toss thoroughly so meat and veggies are well coated and cook for a further 3-5 minutes.
7. Add snow peas and cook until snow peas are cooked
8. Serve with rice or noodles

Of course feel free to change up the vegetables to include your favourites and Enjoy!

Grill'd Burgers

So you're looking for a burger? Typically you have two choices; grab a quick, basic and greasy burger from a fast food chain, or pay out the nose for a fancy, over the top gourmet burger. Personally, I prefer the middle ground, and for me there's no better place for that than Grill'd


For those that haven’t been there yet, you have no idea what you’re missing out on. They are famous for their amazing, gourmet burgers with a great selection of beef, chicken, lamb and even veggie burgers for the herbivores among us to choose from. Personally, I am just in love with their ‘Baa Baa Burger’, complete with lamb, avocado, cheese, salad, relish and herbed mayo. While it doesn't seem like much on paper, it comes together magnificently, making it the best lamb burger I've found in Sydney


And Grill’d doesn’t stop just there, even their buns are great. Of course the regular buns are more than fine, but if you’re willing to try something different, try their low-carb super bun a go. This unique bun is also gluten free, grain free and dairy free for those out there with dietary requirements. If you put looks aside and leave judgement till you’ve tried it, you realise it’s actually really tasty. It's naturally slimmer, letting you savour those mouth-watering insides, instead of other burgers where the bread ends up taking over.


To top it all off, why not add some of their great chips to complete the meal? Unlike thin, unsatisfying french fries, Grill'd chips are thick, hearty, and you can actually taste the potato. If regular chips aren't to your taste, why not try their healthier sweet potato or zuchini chips.

So go ahead and treat yourself to some Grill’d. Just one time will keep you coming back for more!

Grill'd: www.grilld.com.au/
Photos from their facebook page: www.facebook.com/GrilldBurgers/

~ Sweet Potato Chips ~

Hi all, it's Megan here to kick off our blog with a delicious snack.

I'm sure there's lots of you out there that can empathise with me when i get those little guilty cravings for hot chips. I can be a real sucker for them; despite knowing they really aren't the healthiest. So of course I got excited when, eating out one night, I decided to experiment with some sweet potato chips. Whilst unconvinced at first, once you have a couple amazing, tasty, crispy, salty chips- AND discover they were actually much healthier than an ordinary potato I was ecstatic; even more so when later on I realised just how easy they are to make at home. So now I have found a new favourite snack to make at home that not only taste sensational, but I don't have to feel so guilty about it since sweet potatoes are much healthier and tastier too. Not to mention they are oven baked so they aren't drowned in oil. It’s easy enough to make in 4 simple steps!

1. Cut up your sweet potatoes however you want- thin, chunky, small chips or big wedges.

2. Lightly coat the potato with some oil, salt and pepper and any other spices you want- I like to add some mixed herbs to give that extra flavour.

3. Spread out onto a baking tray and put in the oven to cook, turning them over halfway through.

Disclaimer! Now you need to understand that I am still an amateur at these so I haven't perfected the right timing or temperature, so you should experiment as well. It all depends heavily on how big you've made them, how crispy you like them and how desperate you are to quickly eat them. I've found 40 minutes at around 200 degrees works well.

4. Enjoy your delicious healthy, oven-baked Sweet potato chips. My personal favourite is dipping them into my special homemade sweet chilli mayo sauce- which seem to complement each other perfectly.

I hope you enjoyed this as much as I have, it’s made me hungry just thinking about it… Time to turn the oven on. 

Welcome to our food world!

Welcome everyone, to our brand new blog: Sweet and Savoury. Here we have Agnieszka, Japneet, Megan and Wendy to guide you around our food lives. 

As the name might suggest, this blog is about all things food! You can’t live without it, and life just isn’t worth living without good food. So what’s better than capping off the day with your favourite dish. Everyone knows that warm, satisfying feeling when you bite into something so good you can’t help but smile. Everybody knows that extra pep in your step when you’re coming home to your favourite meal after a hard day’s work. That excitement as you satisfy your sweet tooth with a special treat. Or you come together with your family, and enjoy those traditional hearty meals. So sit back and relax with us as we share our Sweet and Savoury favourites that will get your mouth watering and your stomach growling. With our group members, from different cultures and backgrounds, we hope you enjoy as we recount our favourite dishes that warm our hearts and stomachs. 

Ladies and gentlemen, Sweet and Savoury is served. Bon appetite!