I took the Kellogg’s 7 day challenge and kicked off with a high in fibre Breakfast Barley (this recipe is now available on All-Bran.com.au) and I’m pleased to report that it seems to be working.

Combined with eating better and a sprinkle of All-Bran Fibre Toppers™ over a meal every day, I really am starting to feel better and All-Bran-new ;)

I was amazed at how I could easily include a couple of spoonfuls in most meals, be it sweet or savory. For example, my favourite Banana and Cinnamon Smoothie (substitute full cream with low-fat milk and ice cream). Fresh fruit with reduced, low or no fat yoghurt and a drizzle of honey. But All-Bran Fribre Toppers™ were especially good sprinkled over my 5 minute Fancy Fig Salad – truth be told, I did make a couple of minor adjustments in that I ditched the butter and reduced the amount of cheese, but it still tasted equally good.

So just by watching what I’m eating and adding Kelloggs’ All-Bran Fibre Toppers™, which I should remind you is low in fat and has the Heart Foundation Tick, I’m feeling much healthier.

Now that the Orthodox Easter egg cracking competition is done and dusted, what does one do with all those hard boiled eggs??

You can always make lots of egg sandwiches, but my family prefers this yummy and very simple egg salad that can be enjoyed all year round!

……………………………………………………………………………………

Recipe

Serves 4

Ingredients
4-6 hard boiled eggs, peeled and cut into quarters
Olive oil
Red wine vinegar
Sea salt
Freshly cracked black pepper (optional)

Method
1) Arrange egg slices on a plate. Drizzle over olive oil, vinegar and sprinkle with sea salt to taste.

2) Serve with fresh crusty bread.

Happy Orthodox Easter!!

This heavenly recipe arrived earlier in the week from Effie in Adelaide, just in time for Easter Sunday. Effie’s mum has always baked a big batch in preparation for Easter, and the smell of freshly baked biscuits lets everyone know that the festivities are on their way. These days Effie bakes Koulourakia with her youngest son.

Personally, I have always loved these biscuits, so I made a big batch this morning for my family to enjoy!!

Making biscuits
 

……………………………………………………………………………………

Recipe

Makes around 40 biscuits

Ingredients
250g unsalted butter, room temperature
1 1/4 cup (275g) caster sugar
1/2 cup (125ml) milk, warmed
6 eggs, at room temperature, separated
1 teaspoon vanilla essence
3 – 4 cups (375-500g) self raising flour, plus extra for dusting
1 teaspoon baking powder
2 egg yolks, whisked
Sesame seeds (optional)

Method
1) Pre-heat oven to 180C. Line baking trays with baking paper.

2) Beat butter and sugar in a large bowl with a mixer/hand beater on slow until pale and creamy.

3) Add egg yolks one at a time and ensure they are mixed well.

4) Meanwhile, in a separate bowl beat egg whites with a hand mixer until soft peaks form.

5) Add vanilla to butter and sugar mix and combine well.

6) Combine baking powder and flour together and set aside.

7) To the butter and sugar mix alternately fold in milk, egg whites and flour until a soft but still slightly sticky dough forms (the amount of flour can vary but around 3 – 4 cups can be used). Check the consistency of the dough before adding more flour (a tablespoon at a time), and when you can pick a bit into your hands and roll it into a small ball without it sticking to your fingers, it’s ready to shape!

8)  On a lightly floured surface roll 1 tablespoon of the dough into a 20cm log and shape into swirly ‘S’ shapes, bows, plaits or snails.

9) Place on baking tray and brush with egg yolk, the egg coating will give your biscuits a lovely gloss. If using sesame seeds, add a light sprinkling.

10) Bake for around 8-10 minutes, or until lightly golden, but not brown.

11) Cool slightly on baking tray, then move to cooling rack to cool completely.

12) Store in airtight container for up to 5 days.

Tip: Eggs and butter at room temperature beat better!

My little monkey Bastian will be 10 months this week – I keep asking myself where on earth the time went?!?! It’s been a crazy journey, and I hate to sound clichéd, but I’m enjoying every minute, well almost every minute…the sleeplessness has its moments ;)

In an effort to keep up with my little man I’m taking the 7 day All-Bran challenge. All I have to do is top up my fibre intake and see if it makes me feel different after 7 days. I know there’s a lot of products on the market, however, I’m going with a great new Kellogg’s product called All-Bran Fibre Toppers™ – they’re made with natural wheat bran, oat fibre and psyllium, and all I have to do is sprinkle a 25g serve over at least one meal a day. Easy peasy!

My aim is to eat more wholesome food whilst doing the All Bran 7 day challenge, especially for breakfast. Something I love having for breaky is my baba’s sweet pearl barley. Traditionally shared at church for important Saint days, my grandmothers pchenica also makes for a quick and tasty morning meal. It’s a nice alternative to bircher muesli or porridge, and with a sprinkling of extra fibre tops up the fibre content.

Baba’s recipe doesn’t include lemon zest so this is optional, however, I like the freshness it adds. Similarly, a sprinkling of Kellogg’s All-Bran Fibre Toppers™ is something I decided to add for a little extra fibre.

My little helper

……………………………………………………………………………………

Recipe

Serves 6
8.9g of fibre/serve
30% Recommended Daily Intake

Ingredients
1 cup (200g) pearl barley
3 cups (750ml) water
2 tablespoons (40g) caster sugar
2 teaspoons (4g) vanilla sugar
Zest of 1 lemon (optional)
170g (1.5 cups) walnuts, chopped
1 cup (50g) All-Bran Fibre Toppers™

Method
1) Wash pearl barley and pick out any discolored grain. Place washed barley and water in a saucepan, bring to the boil and simmer for 30 minutes. Allow to stand for 15 minutes then drain any excess liquid. In a medium bowl or container mix together drained barley, sugar, vanilla sugar and lemon zest. Stir through walnuts and serve warm, at room temperature or straight from the fridge.

2) For extra fibre and crunch sprinkle over All-Bran Fibre Toppers™ before serving.

Tips:
- Store in fridge in sealed air tight container and enjoy within a couple of days.

If you haven’t yet had a chance to grab a copy of the April issue of Australian Good Taste magazine, I’ve uploaded a pdf of the story.

For the Kozinjak recipe click here.

For more information about the magazine head on over to the Australian Good Taste website australiangoodtaste.com.au

I’m a little bit excited, because tomorrow will be the first time a Village Feast recipe will be published in print!!!

Good Taste magazine is featuring my Baba Tala’s famous Kozinjak recipe. I’ll be sure to upload the story, but if you live in Australia head out and buy a copy and let me know what you think.

For the recipe click here 

I feel silly that it’s taken me this long to try pickling – especially since my family has been pickling and storing things under the house for as long as l can remember.

The truth is, I love almost anything pickled – carrots, cauliflower, green tomatoes and especially cucumbers!

Given pickling vegetables is one of the only ways vegetables could be enjoyed during the cold European winter months, this age-old method is a village specialty. It’s resourcefulness at its best, as the pickling brine can be used to re-pickle a few times over.

The recipe, as I’m told by mum is Italian, however, it has been in the family for so many years that I reckon it could pass as Macedonian ;)

……………………………………………………………………………………

Recipe

Serves 4

Ingredients
3 medium or 2 large cucumbers (use garden or Lebanese), washed and sliced
1 teaspoon black peppercorns
3 small garlic cloves, peeled and  sliced
3 cups (750ml) water
1 cup (250ml) white vinegar
1 tablespoon fine sea salt
1 teaspoon caster sugar
1 sprig Italian basil

Method
1) Wash and dry cucumbers. Slice into thin rounds and layer in a clean 3 litre glass jar or airtight container. Sprinkle over peppercorns and sliced garlic.

2) In a large jug combine water, vinegar, salt and sugar and stir well until salt and sugar disolve. Pour over cucumbers in the jar and place basil sprig on top. Seal the jar or container and leave overnight at room temperature. In the morning place the cucumbers in the fridge for at least 2 days before serving.

3) Serve as a salad or an appetiser with a rakija, if you’re that way inclined.

Tips:
- Once you have eaten the cucumbers, use the leftover brine to pickle other vegetables like carrots, cauliflower and green tomatoes.
- The cucumbers will keep for up to 1 month in the fridge, or if the jar is heat sealed cucumbers can be stored  at room temperature for up to 6 months (once opened, keep in the fridge for up to 4 weeks).

If you’re a Village Feast Facebook follower you may have noticed a recent post about working on a new version of the Village Feast website for iPhone, or any smart phone for that matter…well it’s finally here!

What this means is that following recipes from your phone is much easier, you no longer have to zoom in on the text, or drag  a computer into your kitchen when trying out one of the recipes. Oh, and if by chance you prefer the full Village Feast website, you can always revert back (there’s an on/off option at the bottom of the page).

Anyhow, I hope you like it…and be sure to let me know what you think.

P.S. We’re also working on an iPad version which hopefully, shouldn’t be too far away.

Nothing could be more refreshing than a crisp cucumber salad – perfect for Australia’s sticky and humid summer days.

Served as a pre-meal appetiser with a ‘rakija’ if you so desire, or simply in place of a garden salad with whatever you’re having for lunch or dinner, I could easily eat this salad every night of the week during summer, and the beauty of it is that it only takes a few minutes to whip up.

The secret to a really good salad is super fresh and cold cucumbers, old and rubbery ones that are served at room temperature just don’t seem to have the same impact. The cucumbers I often use are from my mum’s veggie garden, they’re a long white fruit with thin skin that doesn’t require peeling (although I prefer them peeled), I think the variety is called ‘Armenian cucumbers’. You can also use nice fresh Lebanese cucumbers as most supermarkets don’t seem to stock the Armenian variety.

……………………………………………………………………………………

Recipe

Serves 4

Ingredients
2 large cucumbers, peeled and sliced into thin rounds
2-3 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon red wine vinegar (or to taste)
Sea salt to taste

Method
1) In a bowl add sliced cucumber, oil, vinegar and salt. Toss to dress evenly and serve immediately.

Tips:

- Use fresh cucumbers that are stored in the fridge.

Not for the faint hearted, a big Macedonian breakfast is just that, BIG. Big flavours, big servings and definitely big on calories. Eggs, kolbasi, bread and feta, balanced with the sweetness of fresh tomato. Of course there are no hard and fast rules, depending on the season extras can include grilled or fried  chillies, ajvar, fried tomatoes and ham.

According to my dad, the Macedonian breakfast is a meal fit for a king, in fact, he’d often exclaim to my mum “Vesa, even the Prime Minister doesn’t eat this good!”.

……………………………………………………………………………………

Recipe

Serves 4

Ingredients
350g kolbasi, cut in 3cm lengths (approximately 2 large homemade kolbasi or try csaba, chorizo, pepperoni sausages)
2-3 large tomatoes, cut into segments
4-8 large free-range or organic eggs
8 slices of thick bread (use homemade bread or Vienna, ciabatta or sourdough), toasted (toasting is optional)
80g feta cheese
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

Method
1) Arrange kolbasi in medium non-stick frying pan, cut side down over a low-medium heat. Allow the natural fats to release and fry until browned all over (10-15 mins). Remove and rest on plate with 2 paper towels to drain, keep warm.

2) Wipe frying pan clean and place on medium heat, add 2-3 tablespoons of olive and crack open eggs, sprinkle with sea salt and freshly ground black pepper. Fry sunnyside up or to your liking.
Note: Wiping the frying pan clean is optional, if you prefer use the left over oil to fry your eggs.

3) Arrange tomato wedges, cheese, kolbasi, bread and egg/s on each plate, serve while hot.

Tips:
- Cut kolbasi while very cold or slightly frozen to help hold their shape when frying.
- During winter replace fresh tomato with fried tomatoes or ajvar.