ISSUE TWO
minimax.com.au
CONTENTS Chocolate Rasberry Slice 4 Introducing Berndes 6 Meet Lilli Reed 8 Pumpkin & Red Lentil Soup 10 European Made 12
A SWEET TREAT FOR MUM
Chocolate Rasberry Slice BY LILI REED Sure breakfast in bed sounds just like what mum would love for Mother’s Day, but let’s face it toast crumbs in the bed and balancing a hot cup of tea isn’t exactly decadence so perhaps our Chocolate Rasberry Slice might be the indulgence that Mum would love.
INGREDIENTS
METHOD
BOTTOM LAYER
1. Mix the thawed raspberries and chia seeds together in a bowl. Set aside. Continue to stir whilst making the base.
1 cup cup dates, pitted, soaked in boiling water for 2 minutes and drained 1 cup cashews, raw or roasted - unsalted 1 cup coconut – dessicated, shredded or flakes 1/3 cup cacao powder 2 tbsp coconut oil 1 tbsp maple syrup pinch of salt MIDDLE LAYER 1 cup frozen raspberries, thawed 2 tbsp chia seeds
2. Add the drained dates, cashews, coconut, cacao, coconut oil, maple syrup and salt into a food processor and process until combined. You’ll know when it is ready when you can press some of the mixture together and it doesn’t fall apart. The best way to explain this is slightly moist but sticky. 3. Pour the mixture into a lined square 14 x 14 cm cake tin/pan (or similar) and press down with your hands until compact and even.
TOP LAYER
4. Pour the raspberry chia mix over the top, and spread evenly. Pop in the fridge while you make the top layer.
100g dark chocolate 1 tbsp coconut oil 1 tbsp maple syrup pinch of salt
5. For the top layer. Melt the chocolate in a small bowl, whisk in the coconut oil, maple syrup and salt until combined. Pour over the slice, spreading evenly with a spatula. 6. Return the slice to the fridge for at least an hour or until the chocolate is set and cool. 7. Slice using a hot, sharp knife. To heat knife, run it under hot/boiling water. It will help to not crack the chocolate. 8. Store slice in the fridge for up to a month.
HELPFUL HINTS Cut the slice before the chocolate fully sets to avoid any cracks. A warm knife helps too. Run it under hot water and dry before slicing. Clean or wipe between slices. The recipe called for regular pitted dates for ease. Have a bag in the pantry ready to go. Medjool dates are great too, 8-10 would do the job!
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INTRODUCING EUROPEAN MADE
Berndes Cookware For nearly 100 years Berndes has been manufacturing quality cookware in Europe and selling it successfully around the world. Berndes is now available at Minimax in 2 distinct ranges: The Smart collection and the Balance collection. The perfect marriage of German Design and Italian manufacturing air. Quality + Style = Berndes
Berndes Balance Collection
Berndes Smart Collection
Hard wearing triple layer reinforced 'skin technology' non-stick surface.
Environmentally friendly chemical free ceramic surface, perfect for the health conscious cook.
What's better than preparing and enjoying a meal with family and friends? But cooking is not just an event. It is above all about working with the best ingredients, because sustainable cooking and an awareness of healthy nutrition is ďŹ nding ever increasing importance. Ingredients should be natural and wholesome. It is important what goes into the pan - and where the pan comes from. Berndes has its roots ďŹ rmly in the Sauerland Region and its products couldn't be more characteristic: reliable, durable with robust in quality. Berndes places particular value on sustainability and safety of its products. Cookware from Berndes is designed in Germany and manufactured in state of the art production facilities in Italy.
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MEET OUR CHEF
Lilli Reed is our resident recipe queen and food blogger (lilseats.com), she supplies us with the great recipes we bring to you each month, so we thought you might like to get to know this amazing talent and where she draws her cooking inspiration from. Can you tell us how you got interested in food? My interest and love for food has been passed down for generations on my mum’s side of the family. Grandma is an amazing baker and cook, and my mum is a cooking class teacher, former caterer and self-published cook book author. I was the lucky one to inherit the cooking gene. Growing older, I became more interested in the nutrition side of food as well as cooking which is why a lot of my recipes cater for dietary needs and concerns.
Have you always been passionate about cooking? Yes, for a long as I can remember, cooking has always been a huge part of my life. I used to spend my weekends baking or reading through our million and one recipe books. At the school library, I used to sit reading the same cook books over and over learning recipes off by heart. I made a cake for every one of my friend’s birthdays in high school, carting them on the bus and slicing them up at recess to share.
What is your earliest and fondest food memory? When I was little, I used to sit up at our families kitchen bench making mini jam tarts. They are the simplest recipe, just 2 ingredients - puff pastry and a good quality homemade jam. It was my favourite thing to make and looking back, it was probably a tactic to get me to stop talking for a while!
“When I’m in the kitchen, I can really zone out and just focus on the food, get busy and messy and as a result, eat something delicious!” How did the journey come about to starting your blog? I started my blog toward the end of high school to document the food I was creating and share it with the world. That was when I started to experiment with my diet more and I found a great online community whose passions aligned with mine. Initially, all I posted was pictures of my breakfast because that was all I had time for! Lilseats has definitely come a long way since posts of porridge and yoghurt.
What’s the best part about creating different dishes? I love the creative process of developing a recipe. When I’m in the kitchen, I can really zone out and just focus on the food, get busy and messy and as a result, eat something delicious! That’s probably the best part - eating and sharing with friends and family.
Where do you go for inspiration? I follow a lot of creative and amazing cooks, bloggers and chefs on Instagram and I’m forever scrolling - so I get a lot of inspiration from there. Often, I try something when I’m out and I just want to go home to see if I can re-create it myself. I really enjoy eating out and trying things that I wouldn’t normally make myself to spark inspiration.
What do you love most about what you do? Sharing the food I make with friends and family. Especially baked goods. Often, the things I make are better fresh out of the oven - like buns or cookies. I’ll pull them out of the oven, then run around our neighbourhood delivering to friends that live nearby.
What are you loving at the moment? Am I allowed to say my own recipe? Because I am totally obsessed with the Chocolate Raspberry Slice - it is SO addictive! Other than that, my favourite Melbourne bakery (Baker Bleu) makes these dark chocolate and cherry sourdough buns which are heaven on earth.
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WINTER WARMER
Pumpkin & Red Lentil Soup BY LILI REED As the days grow shorter and the nights grow colder, there is nothing quite like warming up on a Sunday evening with a warm cup of a hearty soup. Our pumpkin and red lentil soup is a meal in its own right, bring on winter!
INGREDIENTS
METHOD
1 tbsp olive oil 1 onion, diced 2 carrots, diced 2 garlic gloves, minced 2 tsp cumin, ground 2 tsp curry powder 1 kg pumpkin, diced 150g red lentils 400ml tin coconut milk 600ml stock, or water 2 kaffir lime leaves, optional 1 lime, juiced salt, to taste
1. Prepare all the ingredients. Deseed and skin the pumpkin.
yoghurt, to serve pumpkin seeds, to serve
2. Heat a large Le Creuset French Oven over mediumhigh heat. Add oil. Add onion and carrot and sautĂŠ for 5 minutes or until softened. Add the garlic and spices and sautĂŠ until fragrant. 3. Add pumpkin, red lentils, coconut milk, stock/water, kaffir lime leaves. Stir and bring to the boil. 4. Reduce heat to low and simmer for 15-20 minutes or until the lentils and pumpkin are soft. Add lime juice and salt to taste. 5. Serve in bowls, top with yoghurt and pumpkin seeds.
HELPFUL HINTS If you like your soup thinner, add extra stock or water. For an extra creamy soup, add half sweet potato, half pumpkin. A soft pumpkin like Jap or Butternut works best in this soup.
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THE BEST THE WORLD HAS TO OFFER
European Made The Buying team at Minimax are constantly searching the world to bring you the best in all we have to offer. Time and time again we find the finest cookware and kitchenware is made by European brands and manufactured in their home countries. This month we bring you a small selection of some of our favourte European made kitchen essentials where style and quality is guaranteed.
EUROPEAN MADE German Made Woll Cookware Woll represents the epitome of German design excellence. From the PFOA-free, non-stick surface created from genuine sapphires to the heat tolerance as high as 450ºC (the highest in the world). Woll’s frypans, woks, and sauté pans not only deliver unbeatable durability, but also near-perfect searing capabilities. A great investment for the passionate cook. 13
EUROPEAN MADE French Made Pillivuyt Porcelain Pillivuyt is one of the few porcelain makers to develop its own porcelain compound on-site in its factory and one of the last porcelain manufacturers to maintain a 100% French production. Located in the town of Mehun-sur-Yevre which has been home to the factory for nearly two centuries, Pillivuyt has preserved its strong sense of tradition whilst staying relevant through innovation that suits our changing food and serving trends. You’ll find it on some of the best restaurant tables around the world.
EUROPEAN MADE German Made Wusthof Knives Wusthof is a family business, founded in 1814 in Solingen, Germany. With its iconic trident marque, Wusthof focuses on what it knows best. The precision forging and finishing of the world’s finest blades. It’s the name relied upon by the world’s leading chefs to deliver a smooth, effortless cut every time, and the perfect balance between blade and handle ensures that every slice is a breeze. 15
EUROPEAN MADE French Made Le Creuset Cast Iron Cookware Since 1925, world-renowned Le Creuset has been producing the world’s finest and most trusted cast iron cookware. Minimax has proudly stocked this iconic brand since we opened in 1967. Hand-crafted in France, Le Creuset’s signature porcelain-enameled cast iron pots are individually forged and finished to ensure you enjoy a lifetime of quality and reliability.
EUROPEAN MADE Italian Made G.A.T. Coffee Makers Prepare authentic Italian style coffee at home with the Italian manufactured G.A.T Coffee Makers. These aluminum or stainless steel coffee pots will impress you with their quality.
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EUROPEAN MADE English Made Emma Bridgewater Ceramics
INTRODUCING
Emma Bridgewater All Emma Bridgewater pottery is made from cream-coloured earthenware in their factory in Stoke-on-Trent, the home of British pottery. One day in 1984 Emma was hunting for a birthday present for her Mum. She wanted to give her two cups and saucers that would say 'I love you. I miss you'. She went into a china shop and looked around, hoping to see some china that would capture the warm and welcoming spirit of her mother's North Oxford kitchen. But in those days, the Great British high street seemed to have only two offerings: dainty and formal or robust and decidedly unromantic. Emma suddenly had a vision of the dresser from her mother's kitchen. She imagined it here in the china shop, laden with a wonderful array of colourful, mismatched pottery. It was clear that the only way to make the vision a reality would be to start making china herself.
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