He hauled my sleepy ass out of bed today, to drive me all the way to Burwood so that I could finally buy myself a cleaver. Pathetically grateful after a successful shopping trip I had grumbled all the way to, I later bought him a pork bun and a ham/shallot bun from a nearby bakery. They do say a way to a man’s heart is via his stomach!

Filed alongside ‘wok’ and ‘ice-cream machine’, a cleaver is something I’ve always wanted to get. Ever since I put a dent in my Global knife, trying to open a deceptively simple looking coconut, many months ago. It’s not really something I envisage myself using on a daily basis but I can see it coming in handy every now and again. I mean, have you seen the fine and intricate work Chen Kenichi can do with a bear-claw of a cleaver on Iron Chef?

Leung Tim Choppers in Burwood is just the place to visit if you want to buy a chopper. They have a whole wall spanning the length of the shop, devoted to all kinds of cleavers (as well as smaller display cases for Japanese and German branded knives). Forged from different steels into different lengths and widths, they have cleavers for just about any job, including cutting grass! Also, the wonderful lady behind the counter is incredibly nice and friendly. She passes on a few little handy tips about the knives we’ve just bought. The two knives I pick, are an every day household cleaver (not too big, not too heavy, and very very sharp) and a ‘watermelon’ cleaver – one that is long enough to deal with large, unwieldy melons, or in my case, large baked tarts and slices. At first glance it looks too ridiculously big, but we found it immensely useful in the previous kitchen I worked in, and the knife belonged to A, so I thought it was about time I bought one for myself.

Aside from knives, they also have a wide range of restaurant grade utensils. From chopping boards the size of tree trunks and steamer baskets so big you could sleep in them, to nicknacks like an onion slicer and corn cutter. There’s a whisk in the display window that’s just about my height and a big metal cooking vessel sits outside the entrance to the shop. I’m not sure what it’s for, but it looks like a windowless spaceshuttle.

The watermelon cleaver will come in handy this week. I have been instructed to make some gluten-free chocolate brownies for a special event. At first I was sceptical. Is it even possible for chocolate brownies to be gluten-free? Don’t they need that tiny bit of flour in them to hold everything together? Then I stumbled across a recipe by Karina over at Gluten-free Goddess that was written up so enthusiastically that I just had to give it a go. And the results are : stunning. It’s quite close to my favourite (non gluten-free) brownie recipe which also uses brown sugar for that extra depth in flavour and wonderfully moist texture.

If you want to try it for yourself, you can find the recipe here. The only slight change I made was to use gluten-free plain flour (readily available at supermarkets) instead of the specified brown rice flour (which I thought might be harder to find). And check out Myriam’s BrownieBabe event for more Brownie goodness – gluten-free or otherwise!

Leung Tim Choppers Co.
198-200 Burwood Road
Burwood 2134.

Glenna of A Fridge Full of Food is hosting this week’s WHB, and I’ve got cranberries on my mind. Not the Dolores kind, more the dried fruit sort. As one of my favourite pantry items, I’ve used them pretty frequently over the week, and thought I’d share one my recent recipe discoveries.

There are two explanations for the origin of the name, cranberry. These berries are apparently a favourite food of cranes, and the flower from the cranberry plant is also said to resemble the upper body of a crane. Being unique to the Northern Hemisphere, I have yet to see fresh cranberries being sold here. I’ve heard that these red berries are also nicknamed “bounceberries” because when fresh, they should be firm enough to bounce if dropped!

Here in Sydney, you can get frozen ones from some supermarkets or speciality stores, or processed versions such as cranberry juice and sauce. The dried version is wonderful because they have a condensed sweetness, offset by a slight natural sourness, which pairs well with buttery, creamy foods such as cheesecake. I love adding them to home made muesli bars, little butter cakes, muffins, chocolate puddings and chewy biscuits. Rich in antioxidants and purportedly useful in fighting against tooth decay, you could almost say that adding cranberries to your cakes could reverse the negative effects of eating sugar-laden baked goods! Well, not quite, but making a batch of Julie Le Clerc’s lovely couscous cakes would certainly put a smile in your day.

Instead of the suggested rum or brandy, I have used whisky which I think goes rather nicely with the orange juice. The cakes are chewy from the dried cranberries that dot the interior, and fluffy with some texture from the couscous that turns crunchy around the edges of the cake during the baking process.

Couscous Cakes :

1/4 cup whisky
1/2 cup grapeseed oil
finely grated zest and juice of 2 oranges
1 cup couscous
2 eggs
3/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup flour, sifted
2 tsp baking powder
2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp salt
3/4 cup dried cranberries

Preheat oven to 170’C. Grease a 12-hole muffin tin.

In a saucepan heat whisky, oil, orange zest and juice. Place couscous in a bowl and pour over hot liquid. Cover with plastic wrap and leave to steam for 10 minutes. Uncover and fluff up couscous with a fork.

Whisk eggs and sugar together until thick and pale. Fold this mixture into couscous along with remaining dry ingredients and cranberries.

Spoon into prepared tins and bake for 15 minutes or until cakes spring back when touched.

Even though it’s now officially autumn, it still feels a bit in-between seasons to me. The ever changing weather means a jumper gets stuffed into my bag each morning as I walk out the door, “just in case” it’s cold, but I rarely use it. In fact, the major stores started advertising winter wear at least two months ago, and I wondered how many people could actually contemplate purchasing thick, long coats while still in their singlet tops and shorts. Despite what the fashionably inclined might say (and some might argue however that it’s not so much a need, as a want), Sydney to me just never seems to get cold enough to warrant wearing trenchcoats or knee length boots. And this is coming from someone who loves shoes. Although, like the seasons, my interest in shoes have waxed and waned of late. The last pair of shoes I bought were some gorgeous lollipop striped Marc Jacobs pumps. These could quite possibly have been obtained as far back as a year ago.

Several things have always remained a constant though : music and cookbooks. The two seem to feed off each other. This week’s kitchen soundtracks of choice have been Beirut’s Gulag Orkestar and the Black Sheep Boy album by Okkervil River. I especially like the track A Stone:

…And I think I believe that, if stones could dream, they’d dream of being laid side-by-side, piece-by-piece, and turned into a castle for some towering queen they’re unable to know. And when that queen’s daughter came of age, I think she’d be lovely and stubborn and brave, and suitors would journey from kingdoms away to make themselves known. And I think that I know the bitter dismay of a lover who brought fresh bouquets every day when she turned him away to remember some knave who once gave just one rose, one day, years ago…

Which brings us (not really), in a sort of round about way to the subject of brownies. Brownies : one of those easy-to-whip-up yet decadent treats; a dark chocolate hit disguised in the form of a small, unassuming brown square of cake. The ones I like best usually have a crusty top and a nicely fudgey interior, occasionally flecked with walnuts or macadamias. Brownies are a constant because chocolate is a constant in my life. Sometimes, an unavoidable one. Last week I walked into Tiffanys on Castlereagh St on my way home to browse for a present. The store was very busy, so I didn’t get so much as a raised eyebrow in my direction despite actually wanting a bit of help. Could have been the way I was dressed, or perhaps the streaks of chocolate I realised were stuck to the undersides of my arms when I propped them up to study a display case chock full of glitter. Never mind that I had been working with chocolate all day, it’s a bit like missing a spot behind your ear when you wash.

This brownie recipe, from Julie Le Clerc’s Little Cafe Cakes, is a triumph of simplicity. It’s one of those recipes where you seem to just dump everything into a bowl, stir, and everything turns out alright in the end, with nary a smudge of chocolate to be found in any place it shouldn’t be on. I baked these as part of Myriam’s BrownieBabe event, but really, who ever needs an excuse to whip up a batch of brownies! Some will certainly say, it’s not so much a need, as a want.

Little chocolate brownie cakes :
(the original recipe says this mix is enough for 12 brownies, but I’ve found that it makes 9 of what I deem to be adequately sized brownies)

100g butter
200g quality dark chocolate, roughly chopped
2 eggs, lightly beaten
3/4 cup caster sugar
1 cup flour, sifted
1/2 cup white chocolate bits (I substituted with walnuts)

Preheat oven to 180’C. Grease and base line a muffin tray. Melt butter and chocolate together in a double boiler; or microwave for 2 minutes. Cool a little then stir in the beaten eggs and sugar.

Stir in the flour and beat to combine. Stir in the white chocolate bits. Spoon mixture into prepared tins and bake for 25 minutes or until a skewer inserted comes out clean.