Microwaved porridge

July-August, 2025

   

Getting a microwave in the past year has been handy for leftovers, heat packs, and the odd meal. It's also inspired me to circle back to porridge as a winter breakfast, after at least a decade's lapse. It's fast, it's filling, and it doesn't create a messy saucepan to clean up!

I also find it's a handy way to use up pantry odds and ends as toppings. This bowl included brown sugar syrup, chia seeds, chopped dried figs and walnuts. More recently I've switched to dried apricots and flaked almonds.

Microwaved porridge

(a recipe gleaned from some general online searching)

Use a mug to measure out your desired quantity of quick oats, and place them in a microwave-safe serving bowl. Fill the mug with a equal volume of liquid and stir it briefly into the oats (I use an even mix of milk and water). Microwave the mixture on a standard setting for 1:30 minutes. Stir the mixture, then return it to the microwave for 30 seconds. Stir the porridge again.

Add your toppings. I drizzle over a sweet syrup, sprinkle on some seeds, often add some extra cold milk, and finish with dried fruit and nuts.

Some slice with some crunches

July 13, 2025 

   

On a mini weekend away in Castlemaine during July, I had the perfect piece of slice at Stak's Cafe. It was a bit biscuity but more chewy caramel, with big chocolate buttons melted into the top and lots of roasted peanuts. It made me want to bake something similarly chaotic and sweet and salty, so I pulled out a recipe for 'quadruple crunch bars' from Hungry & Frozen. It smashes together potato chips (ever heard of 'em?), rice bubbles, butterscotch lollies and chocolate into a biscuit slice base.

I have to admit up front that I let down this recipe before it let down me. I melted the butter instead of creaming it with the sugar because I'm lazy about using electric beaters, this is a slice, and I wasn't convinced that it was needed. Then I used a medium-large bowl that was way too small for all the dough and the gentle folding needed here. From there I think the recipe needs to take some responsibility: there was way too much mixture for a 25cm square baking tray, perhaps even too much for the 25 cm x 30 cm tray I tried after that. There was so much chocolate (complimentary) that it wasn't to be drizzled about playfully, but instead thickly spread across the entire slice.

Honestly, this was not quite the crunch-a-thon I was hoping for (although the height of the slice certainly did have it crashing into the roof of my mouth). I was surprised how much the potato chips, rice bubbles and butterscotch melded into the biscuit dough. The slice did get a bit crunchier after storage in the fridge. I think these were originally intended to be cookies and I'm tempted to backtrack to that version... rolling the biscuit dough into loose balls and shoving chunks of the crunchy ingredients (choc chips included) into it. This was a sweet, fun slice and yet I hold out hope that there is an even more brilliant recipe lurking within it. 

Some slice with some crunches

(slightly adapted from this recipe on Hungry & Frozen)

250g butter

300g brown sugar

2 teaspoons vanilla

1/2 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

300g plain flour

2 tablespoons milk

150g plain salted, ruffled potato chips

60g rice bubbles

140g bag Werther's Originals butterscotch lollies

200g chocolate

Preheat an oven to 190°C. Line a walled baking tray with paper (at least 25 cm x 30 cm).

Melt the butter and place it in a very large bowl. Stir in the brown sugar, then the vanilla, then the bicarb soda and baking powder. Sift and stir in the flour and then the milk, mixing until well combined. 

Crush the potato chips and add 3/4 of them to the bowl, along with the rice bubbles. No need to stir them just yet!

Unwrap and roughly chop the Werther's butterscotch lollies and add them to the bowl. Now it's time to carefully fold the crunchy things through the dough, mixing until just combined.

Transfer the mixture to the baking tray and use the back of a spoon to spread it out as evenly as you can. Cut slices into the dough where you plan to portion it later. Bake the slice for 25-30 minutes, until golden on top. Allow the slice to cool.

Melt the chocolate using your preferred method and spread it over the slice - the original recipe suggested decorative drizzling but I had plenty for a full layer across the slice. Sprinkle over the remaining chips so that they're caught in the chocolate as it sets. Cut and serve the slice after the chocolate has set.

Cheesy scone wedges

June 29, 2025

   

I was not planning to blog this recipe. It was a spontaneous after-work thing, just a little something to eat with the potato and leek soup that Michael was planning and one quick, poorly composed photo for the groupchat. But these cheesy scone wedges, with a bit of leftover chopped chives thrown in, were so incredibly good that I don't want to forget them.

This might be the first time that I've stumbled upon achieving the flaky texture of an American scone. Even better, I achieved it with a food processor and minimal mess. I think the key is not overworking the dough, which keeps some little pockets of butter distinct from the flour. I have very little experience with RecipeTin's famous recipes since they're not vegetarian but these scones are clear evidence that they know what they're doing. 

Cheesy scone wedges

(slightly adapted from a recipe on RecipeTin Eats)

1 3/4 cups plain flour, plus a little extra for working the dough

3 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

100g butter, cold and diced

2 cups grated cheddar (I used Damona pecorino and it was brilliant)

1/4 cup chives, finely chopped (optional)

3/4 cup milk

Preheat an oven to 200°C. Line a baking tray with paper.

Place the flour, baking powder and salt into a food processor. Pulse briefly to mix. Add the butter and pulse just a few times until it's down to pea-sized pieces (don't overdo it - I think is where the flakiness comes from). Add 1 1/2 cups of the cheese and the chives (if using) and pulse just once to partially mix. Gradually add the milk through the top tube and pulse intermittently, until the mixture just comes together.

Sprinkle a little flour onto a clean work surface and turn the dough onto it. Bring the dough together into a very thick disc (maybe 5 cm?). Slice the disc into 6 wedges and place them on the baking tray with a 2 cm gap between pieces. Sprinkle the remaining cheese over the scone wedges and lightly press it in. Bake the scones for around 20 minutes, until they're cooked through and the cheese on top is golden.

Etta 5

June 25, 2025

   

When we visited Etta for Michael's birthday this year, owner Hannah excitedly shared that they'd be offering $30 laksa bowls very soon, including a veg*n option. We kept a keen eye on their social media and booked in a table for 4 as soon as we could.

Unsurprisingly, the standard advertised version of the laksa wasn't vegetarian at all but we were able to confirm vegetarian and vegan versions with a follow-up message. Instead of crispy prawn lok-lok, we were served skewers of mushroom. Us two vegetarians received the standard bowl of coconut curry laksa with rice and egg noodles, golden tofu, cucumber and bean sprouts, while our vegan companions skipped out on the egg noodles and received regular (not golden) tofu. It was complex, tasty and a fun little diversion on a weeknight - not the best of Etta's eating, but the best of their service (which never wavers).

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You can read about one, two, three, four of our more elaborate previous visits.

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Etta 

60 Lygon St, Brunswick 

9448 8233 

laksa on a Wednesday $30 

http://ettadining.com.au/ 

Accessibility: The entry is flat and there is one step up from the bar area to the dining area. Tables are moderately spaced and lighting is quite dim. We received full table service. Toilets are unisex and spacious, but we didn't notice handrails or other mobility aids.

Golden syrup potato dumplings

June 21, 2025

   

While the potato chip Florentines were fast and fun, this idea rattled around in my head for a while before I was ready to get a saucepan out. I don't have a history with golden syrup dumplings though I feel as if I should. They're surely a cousin to the self-saucing puddings I know, with the golden syrup hinting at a British-Aussie lineage, easy to imagine either of my grandmothers making even though I don't think they did! (There's a little more about golden syrup dumplings on Green Gourmet Giraffe.)

I was thinking about how gnocchi are dumplings, and initially imagined that I might simply cook gnocchi in a golden syrup sauce as a potato-themed tribute to golden syrup dumplings. Then I thought about the savoury potato dumplings we love atop this mushroom casserole and figured I could go a step further, making my own potato scone dough instead of buying vegan gnocchi. This called for a couple of test batches. The first round was pretty good, but a bit rubbery due to my use of gluten-free flour. The second wheat-flour batch was noticeably better, and I went ahead and doubled it on potluck day, preparing them at home, then microwaving them at our host's house after dinner.

As a golden syrup dumpling novice, I struggled to judge when they were ready. I was very worried that the ones I took to the potluck had completely disintegrated into the sauce and I'd just be ladling out lumpy caramel soup for dessert. Thankfully I was mistaken, there were spoonable dumplings still to be found, and everyone (non-coeliac) took them on with enthusiasm and a scoop of vanilla icecream. The mashed potato renders their texture a little less cakey and more fudgy than a traditional dumpling but it's a standard texture scale for brownies that I'm happy to transfer to another dessert.

Golden syrup potato dumplings

(a meld of this savoury potato dumpling recipe and this golden syrup dumpling recipe)

dumpling dough

1 medium potato, to make 1/2 cup mashed potato

1 1/2 tablespoons margarine

3/4 cup plain flour (can use gluten-free but the texture is more rubbery)

2 teaspoons baking powder

1 tablespoon brown sugar 

1/4 cup water or milk

caramel sauce

1/2 cup brown sugar

1/4 cup golden syrup

2 tablespoons margarine

1 1/2 cups water

Fill a saucepan with water and set it over medium-high heat. Peel and roughly chop the potato, and gently drop the pieces into the saucepan. Bring it all to the boil, then reduce the heat to a simmer and cook the potatoes until tender, about 15 minutes. Drain the potatoes but keep them in the saucepan. Mash the potatoes until there are no lumps, and stir in the margarine. Stir in the flour, baking powder and sugar, then the water/milk to make a dough.

Fill a larger saucepan with all of the sauce ingredients, stirring them together. Set the mixture over medium-high heat and bring it to the boil. Drop generous spoonfuls of the dough into the sauce. Reduce the heat to low and place a lid on the saucepan, cooking the dumplings until they pass the skewer test, about 15-20 minutes. Serve two dumplings each to four people, accompanied by a scoop of icecream.