Cinnamon Rolls | In Cold Blood

The travellers stopped for dinner at a restaurant in Great Bend. Perry, down to his last fifteen dollars, was ready to settle for root beer and a sandwich, but Dick said no, they needed a solid 'tuck-in', and never mind the cost, the tab was his. They ordered two steaks medium rare, baked potatoes, French fries, fried onions, succotash, side dishes of macaroni and hominy, salad with Thousand Island dressing, cinnamon rolls, apple pie and ice-cream, and coffee.
In Cold Blood
Truman Capote

In Cold Blood is renowned for being possibly the best crime novel ever written, and there’s a reason behind that. It is such a compelling read and demands your attention after every page. I read this book probably almost a year ago and was reminded of it when I noticed it balancing precariously at the top of a book pile at a local opshop.

There are a number of interesting meals within its pages, notably the last meal that Richard and Perry choose. I think though, I was interested in the idea of what they would have eaten on their journey - and the almost calculated and calmness that comes with a meal like that. Instead of making their entire dinner I chose to just make the cinnamon rolls. Partly because I have just, so much bread flour to use up. And also because cinnamon rolls are delicious and I generally can eat around 5 in one sitting.

The road trip journey is something that I did recently (not with murderous intentions), taking a long weekend to go and stay at a tiny air bnb that had been built on the bush property I grew up on in rural Victoria. We had no wifi or phone reception for our time there and spent all of it reading books, drinking wine, and watching seasons of Xena.

Cinnamon Rolls
Makes approx. 9 rolls
Ingredients
2 tsp instant yeast
2 tbsp caster sugar
275ml water, lukewarm
100ml milk, lukewarm
525g bread flour + 2 tbsp for dusting later
2 tsp salt
60g butter
Filling
60g butter, softened
2 tbsp brown sugar
2 tsp ground cinnamon
Glaze
2-3 tbsp milk
400gm icing sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract

1. Combine the lukewarm water, milk, yeast, and sugar together in a bowl. Leave to sit for 5 minutes or until the yeast becomes frothy.

2. In another bowl mix together the flour and salt, pour in the frothy yeast mixture and combine until a rough dough comes together. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and begin kneading. As you do so begin kneading the 60g of butter into the dough.

3. Continue kneading for about 10 minutes or until the dough has become soft and elastic like. Place the prepared dough into a lightly greased bowl, cover with a damp tea towel and place into a warm place for around an hour or until the dough has doubled in size.

4. While the dough is rising is a perfect time to make your filling. Combine the softened butter, brown sugar, and ground cinnamon together and mix. Put to the side.

5. Remove the doubled dough from the bowl onto a lightly floured surface and gently roll the dough out until it is a few cm’s thick, and in a rough rectangular shape. Spread the butter / cinnamon filling onto the rolled out dough, evenly spreading it across.

6. From the longest side of the rectangle begin to tightly roll the dough up into a spiral. Once it is all rolled up use a sharp knife to evenly cut rolls that are 1 1/2” thick. You should get about 9 rolls from it in total. Line a baking tray with baking paper and place the prepared rolls on it, with the spiral facing outwards. Cover with a damp paper towel and leave for another hour to rise again.

7. While the cinnamon rolls are doing their second rise, preheat the oven to 180C. When the rolls have risen again, place them into the oven to bake. They should take around 15 - 20 minutes, depending how gooey you like your cinnamon rolls.

8. Leave them to cool, and make your glaze while they do. Combine the milk, icing sugar and vanilla and mix until it reaches the consistency you prefer. Drizzle over the cinnamon rolls and enjoy!

Egg Muffin | The City We Became

‘Right,’ I say, biting into the egg sandwich and damn near wetting myself. Actual egg! Swiss cheese! It’s so much better than that McDonald’s shit.
The City We Became
N.K Jemisin

This entire recipe is possibly a touch ironic considering the sandwich within The City We Became is lorded for having real egg and real cheese! My version basically had the opposite to real egg and real cheese. Or real bacon for that matter. However, it is still so delicious and according to my dedicated taste tester - genuinely has the texture and taste of omelette.

I picked up The City We Became a few days ago, half because I had seen a few great reviews floating around, and half because the cover jumped out at me from the shelves. I know many say to not judge a book by its cover but, come on, look how great that cover is.

If you’re looking for an almost subdued sci-fi/fantasy this novel is fantastic. A world in which certain cities when they become a size become sentient. Their spirit and force envelops a human avatar who becomes the city. It’s a weirdly fun read - and I can only imagine that native New Yorkers could only love it more.

Egg Muffin
Makes approx. 8 - 9
Ingredients
Muffins
2 tsp instant yeast
1/2 tbsp white sugar
400g plain flour
120ml warm milk
120ml warm water
2 tbsp butter, melted
50g polenta
Sea salt
Eggs
100g chickpea flour
80g firm tofu
1 tsp ground turmeric
1 tsp black salt
1 tbsp nutritional yeast
120ml water
Seal salt
Cracked pepper
2 tsp butter
+ bacon/plant based bacon of your choice
+ cheese of your choice
+ sauces of your choice, tomato and hot sauce is particularly delicious

Muffins

1. Combine the warm water and yeast in a bowl, leave to sit for around 5 minutes or until it becomes frothy.

2. Once the yeast mixture is nice and frothy add in the warm (not too hot!) milk and melted butter. Also add a pinch of salt and two cups of the flour - mix until it becomes a dough. You will likely need to add more flour as you go along.

3. Lightly flour a clean surface and turn the dough out onto it, kneading it until it becomes smooth. Place the dough into a clean bowl and cover with a damp tea towel (this will help stopping the dough drying out) and leave in a warm place for around an hour or until the dough has doubled in size.

4. Once the dough has doubled in size turn it back out onto a floured surface. Roll it out to about 1/2 inch thick and use either a biscuit cutter or a jar/glass to cut out your muffins. Ball up the scraps of dough and roll them out again, continue to cut them out and roll the scraps until you’ve used it all.

5. Scatter the polenta over a baking tray, placing the cut out muffins onto it before covering with a damp tea towel again. Leave the prepared muffins for another hour to rise again.

6. Heat a heavy bottomed frying pan on a medium heat, once the pan is hot carefully transfer a few of the muffins into the pan. You want to cook them for around 5 minutes before flipping them to cook another five minutes on the other size. Once each side is a golden brown place them onto a cooling rack.

7. Repeat the process with the remaining muffins and leave them to the side to cool.
   Egg

8. Combine the chickpea flour, water, tofu, black salt, nutritional yeast, turmeric, a pinch of sea salt and some freshly cracked black pepper into a blender. Blend until the tofu has been well blended and all you have remaining is a yellow-y mixture. It shouldn’t be too watery but also not super thick. Add a little more water if necessary.

9. Melt the butter into a frying pan, moving it around to coat the surface. Once the pan is hot pour in the ‘egg’ mixture. It will take a few minutes to cook, try and avoid touching it or moving it until it firms up.

10. Once the ‘egg’ mixture has solidified and you can easily get a spatula beneath the edge, flip it over in the pan and leave it to cook for another 30 seconds on the other side before removing it from the pan.

11. Either use a biscuit cutter to cut out exact circles from the ‘egg’ or just cut it up into squares to assemble the egg muffins.

12. You can really do whatever you want from this stage. I cut up my muffins and lightly grilled them with cheese before adding on bacon, egg, tomato sauce and hot sauce. Enjoy!

Hot Dogs | A Confederacy of Dunces

'Then why don't we stop and eat something?' Ignatius pointed to the cart at the corner. It was shaped like a hot dog on wheels. 'I believe that they vend foot-long hot dogs.'
'Hot dogs? Honey, in all this rain and cold we gonna stand outside and eat weenies?' '
It's a thought.'
A Confederacy of Dunces
John Kennedy Toole

It’s taken me so very long to finally read A Confederacy of Dunces. I found a copy at a secondhand store years ago, and I’m just slightly disappointed at myself that I didn’t read it the moment I got it. The history of the book is fascinating, only published eleven years after the author’s death - it went on to earn John Kennedy Toole a posthumous Pulitzer Prize. Nearly every list of 100 Books to Read before you die has it appear somewhere, and it’s one of the books that I’ve made more people comment on than anything else, every time I read it in public.

Hot dogs felt like the item I had to create from the pages of this novel - a food item that is referred to and focused upon many times. I really didn’t have the patience to try and attempt to make my own hot dogs for this as well - plus my googling for any potential recipes to see what others had done left me in the possession of far too many pages of ‘carrot’ hotdogs as a vegan alternative. I do love a good carrot, and I’m all for good substitutes but there are so many good plant based hot dogs out there, do we really need to just use a carrot instead?

Instead I decided to make the hotdog buns, and the toppings. I did attempt a mustard but unfortunately it turned out particularly vile and basically inedible. I invited some friends over and we spent a sunny day in the front yard munching on hotdogs as they waited for my approval to take a bite once the photos were satisfactory.

*Note: yes I could have attempted to make the hotdogs but I honestly couldn’t be bothered. I had some plant based hot dogs from Moving Mountain in my freezer and this seemed like the perfect opportunity to use them.

Hot Dogs
Ingredients
Makes approx. 5 -6 hot dogs
Buns
500g bread flour
150ml warm milk + extra for a wash
120ml warm water
2 tsp sugar
2 tsp dry active yeast
Sea salt
3 tbsp butter
Sauce
2kg ripe tomatoes, roughly chopped up
1 onion, roughly chopped, 2 garlic cloves, sliced
10 whole cloves
1 tablespoon paprika
2 tbsp salt
1 cinnamon stick
130g white sugar
500ml apple cider vinegar
+ hot dogs of your choice *see note

Buns

1. Start by preparing the dough for the hot dog buns. Combine the flour, sugar, pinch of salt, and yeast together in a bowl. Add in the warm milk and water and mix together until a dough begins to form. If it’s too dry you can add a little more water as if necessary.

2. Bring the dough out onto a lightly floured surface, using the heel of your hand to press it down and away from yourself. Knead the dough for around 10 minutes or until it becomes smooth and malleable.

3. Lightly oil a large bowl and place the dough it in, ensuring that the surface of the dough is also spread with oil. Cover with a clean tea towel and leave in a warm place for around an hour or until the dough has double in size.

   Sauce

4. While the dough is rising you can make the tomato sauce. Place the tomatoes, onion, cloves, paprika, garlic, cinnamon and salt into a saucepan on a medium heat.

5. Bring to the boil and then reduce to a simmer. You want the tomatoes to break down almost completely - this will take around an hour of cooking.

6. Once the tomatoes have broken down into the sauce, you can add in the sugar and vinegar. Continue to simmer until the mixture reduces and thickens into a sauce consistency. Make sure you stir occasionally.

7. When it is ready you can strain the mixture through a sieve to remove the bits of cloves and tomato skin residue. I ended up doing this, getting the cloves out and then blending the tomato pieces in with the sauce I had gotten out, I prefer a much chunkier sauce. Bottle your sauce and seal until ready to use.

8. Your dough should be well and truly ready at this stage. Bring it out onto a lightly floured surface and roll it into a rectangle. Here is a good guide to the various ways you can shape the rolls as well - I ended up just shaping each individually.

9. Place the shaped buns onto a baking paper lined oven tray and cover with a clean tea towel. Leave for another hour to rise again. You can preheat the oven to 180C when you have about 30 minutes left of the second rise.

10. Once the buns have doubled in size using the remaining milk to glaze the tops of them before placing them int the preheated oven. Cook for about 15- 20 minutes or until the tops have turned a light, golden brown. Leave to cool before cutting into them.

11. Cook your chosen hot dogs however the directions say, and enjoy with your homemade buns and tomato sauce! Also delicious with mustard, pickles or onion!

Lemon Cardamom Buns | Normal People

Beside her on the desk is her breakfast, which she just purchased from the supermarket across the street: one black coffee with brown sugar, one lemon pastry roll.
Normal People
Sally Rooney

I'm sure many people were inspired to pick up the story of Normal People recently, with the release of the brilliant television adaptation. I was one of those people, I had read Normal People probably a year ago or so - but realised I remembered little of the plot when the ads for the show started to emerge. I think it's a bit of second read phenomenon but I utterly devoured the story this second go around. I couldn't tell you of any significant parts the first time I read it, with most of the plot seemingly a blur in my head. The second time though, I went back to read over paragraphs again and again, inhaling the words at a frightening speed - and connecting far more than I would have thought.

Moral of the story here is basically - don't give up on a book the first try, sometimes the second read if what you need.

Normal People is lacking a little in the delightful mentions of food that other authors tend to do so well with, but the lemon roll that Marianne snacks on carefully in Sweden was the only dish that really caught my attention. Possibly because I'm eternally jealous I haven't yet been to Sweden - or really anywhere in Europe. Either way, this recipe below is a bit of a twist on the classic Swedish cinnamon bun, introducing a good amount of lemon into the glaze that really left the final product as a delicious, sticky, sweet and slightly tarty treat.

Lemon Cardamom Buns
Makes approx. 7 - 8
Ingredients
Dough
385g plain flour
2 1/2 tsp dried instant yeast
60g caster sugar
240ml milk, lightly warmed
60g butter, melted at room temp
1 tsp ground cardamom, or finely ground if using pods
1/4 tsp sea salt
Filling
40g brown sugar
60g butter, softened
1tsp ground cardamom
1 tbsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp ground nutmeg
Glaze
60g caster sugar
80ml water
Zest and juice of 2 lemons

1. To make the dough place the yeast, flour, cardamom, sugar and salt into a bowl - mixing well. Add in the melted butter and milk at intervals, mixing the dough together until all liquids have been added and the dough is coming away from the sides of the bowl. You may need to use your hands for this to properly combine everything.

2. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and knead for about 8 minutes, until the dough softens and becomes quite smooth and stretchy. Lightly oil a bowl and place the dough inside, turning to cover it with oil - this will help stop the dough from drying out. Cover with some cling wrap and leave in a warm spot for around an hour or until the dough has doubled in size.

3. During this time is a good opportunity to prep the filling. Combine the butter, brown sugar, nutmeg, cinnamon and cardamom together, mixing until it is all combined into a paste and is easy to spread.

4. Preheat oven to 180C and prepare an oven tray with a layer of baking paper (you may need two trays depending how big they are).

5. Once the dough has doubled in size, tip it out onto a lightly floured surface and roll it into a square that is around 25cm by 25cm. Gently spread your filling onto it, so it is evenly distributed.

6. Fold your square of dough into thirds - like a business letter. Using a sharp knife, cut strips length ways down (ensuring you're cutting to get the longest possible strips of dough), each strip should be around 5cms wide.

7. I recommend looking up some Youtube tutorials for shaping these as it helped me a lot initially. One strip of dough at a time, you want to hold each end and twist gently while slowly stretching it out a little. One the strip of dough has spiralled, gently wrap it around your hand twice, tucking the end of the dough into the middle of the spiral as to seal it off.

8. Place on the oven tray, leaving as much distance between them as possible and cover with a clean tea towel. Leave for an additional 45 minutes to allow the shaped buns to rise some more.

9. While the second rise is happening, it's a good time to prepare the glaze. Combine the sugar, water, lemon juice and lemon zest in a small saucepan and cook on a medium heat until the sugar has dissolved and the mixture is lightly bubbling. If you want it quite sticky and thick, you can leave it on the stove for longer to cook - otherwise remove it and leave it to the side to cool.

10. Once the formed buns have risen, bake them in the preheated oven for around 15 - 17 minutes, keep an eye on them as it's easy for them to start browning very quickly.

11. You can leave the buns to cool - but it's more fun to glaze when hot so you get the lovely sizzle. Use a pastry brush to spread your prepared lemon glaze all over the buns. Enjoy!

Devonshire Splits | The Little White Horse

Plum cake. Saffron cake. Cherry cake. iced fairy cakes. Eclairs. Gingerbread. Meringues. Syllabub. Almond fingers. Rock cakes. Chocolate drops. Parkin. Cream horns. Devonshire splits. Cornish pasty. Jam sandwiches. Lemon-curd sandwiches. Lettuce sandwiches. Cinnamon toast. Honey toast...
The Little White Horse
Elizabeth Goudge

I went to my first proper high tea recently, killing time in Sydney after the Mardi Gras parade and waiting till we could head back to the airport. Our group headed to a quite fancy looking tea room, that just so happened to offer vegan options with all their menu items. We spent two hours drinking endless cups of earl grey, eating delicate sandwiches and gorging ourselves on scones with coconut cream and jam. Though I do quite earnestly defend Melbourne as a much more liveable city than Sydney, I do have to admit the inclusion of a vegan high tea and an entirely vegan yum cha restaurant did win me over slightly. Unfortunately there is no vegan yum cha that I've found yet in Melbourne, but there appears to be at least a a few places that offer a vegan high tea.

I had just finished a re-read of Elizabeth Goudge's, when my mind started wondering back to the thought of high teas, but, mainly that tiny sandwiches are close to the best food in the world. The afternoon tea that Marmaduke Scarlet dreams of, before making a reality, is one of every child's (and probably some adults) dreams. Only one item made me wonder though and do a subsequent Google search. Devonshire Splits, something I had never heard of or seen before. After having made them - yum. I see why they could be a favourite during a high tea.

*Note: I used whipped coconut cream for this. If you want to d the same, make sure you use full fat coconut cream and chill the can in the fridge for at least 12 hours before hand, scooping off the solidified cream on the top to whip up, making sure you don't get any of the liquid mixed in. 

Devonshire Splits
Makes approx. 15 buns
IngredientsBuns
530g of plain flour
50g of raw caster sugar
2 tsp dry yeast
85g of butter
180ml milk + 1 tbsp extra for glazing
180ml warm water
Pinch of sea salt
Filling
Jam, you can use store bought or if you want to make your own my recipe is here
Whipped cream *see note
Icing sugar, to serve

1. Combine the butter, milk and water together in a saucepan and heat until the butter has melted, place to the side and leave until it cools. It should still be warm, but not too hot.

2. In a large bowl mix together the flour, yeast, sugar and salt and add in the warm butter and milk mixture, stirring together until a sticky dough has formed.

3. On a lightly floured surface knead the dough until smooth, it will take about 10 minutes or so. You don't want to add too much flour into the dough and ruin it during this time, I recommend flouring your hands lightly as well to stop the dough sticking. when the dough is smooth and elastic-like, shape it into a ball and place into a lightly oiled bowl. Cover with cling wrap or a clean tea towel and leave in a warm place for around an hour or until the dough has doubled in size.

4. When the dough has risen, deflate it by pressing into the middle. Turn it out onto the counter and divide it into 15 equal pieces. Using a clawed hand, roll each piece of dough on the bench beneath your fingers to form a smooth ball.

5. Place all the shaped buns into a baking tray lined with baking paper and cover again with cling wrap or a clean tea towel, leave to rise again for around another hour.

6. While the dough is on its second rise, pre-heat the oven to 190C.

7. Bake the buns for around 15 - 20 minutes each, but keep an eye on them so that they don't overcook. You want them to be golden brown on top, with a hollow sound when lightly tapped. Transfer to a wire rack and leave to cool completely.

8. Slice the buns about 2/3rds of the way through, placing a generous spoonful of jam into each bun, along with a good serving of whipped cream. Dust with some icing sugar to serve and enjoy with a cup of tea!

Currant Buns | The Tale of Peter Rabbit

Then old Mrs. Rabbit took a basket and her umbrella, and went through the wood to the baker's. She bought a loaf of brown bread and five currant buns.
The Tale of Peter Rabbit
Beatrix Potter

This year's Easter weekend is slightly different from the rest. It's probably the first one that I haven't had to work, standing behind a bakery counter and selling boxes upon boxes of hot cross buns. Instead I can join the masses that take these four days to relax, visiting family (not so much this year, obviously) and generally spending the time eating countless buns and drinking endless cups of tea.

I used my time stuck at home this year to experiment with making my own hot cross buns, which proved a bit more a challenge considering that everyone in the country seems to have had the same idea this last few weeks and all the yeast in stores had disappeared. After a few days of searching I was able to find a stall at a local market selling fresh yeast, and after using the fresh stuff, I can't believe I ever used dry yeast. I've made so many batches, the last few days have been spent doing nothing but eating buns, reading books and enjoying lounging on the couch.

I did a few variations of hot cross buns these last few days, the below recipe with currants and sultanas, one with sour cherries and chocolate and another with figs and cranberries. I used the hot cross bun recipe from Natalie Paull's cookbook Beatrix Bakes - which is filled with amazing recipes from her cafe Beatrix. A tiny corner shop that I used to frequent far, far too much before I went plant based. I made same alterations to the recipe, leaving out orange (I had none in the house and forget to get any) and the dry milk powder. Having tried her buns before at the cafe, I highly recommend getting a copy of the book here, as there are many more amazing recipes within.

*Note: you can use dry yeast instead of fresh, just follow the measurements of how much to use on the box. Also the mixed spices, you can use whatever you like - I recommend cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, but just go with whatever you enjoy.

Currant Buns
Makes approx. 12 buns
Ingredients
100g currants, sultanas and cranberries mixed
540g plain flour
60g caster sugar
3 tsp mixed spices *see note
1 tsp sea salt
170ml warm water
20g fresh yeast *see note
70g soft butter
Oil, for brushing pan and dough
Crosses
60g plain flour
1 tsp icing sugar
2 tsp oil
50ml water
Glaze100ml water
100g caster sugar
1 tsp vanilla essence, or one vanilla bean

1. If you're using the fresh yeast, pop it into a large bowl and add a teaspoon of sugar, smushing it down into the yeast with the back of a spoon - leave for a few minutes and it should turn into a liquid, add in the warm water. If you're using dry yeast - do the same, minus the smushing, and add in the water and leave it to go frothy.

2. Combine the flour, spices, salt, sugar and add into the yeast mixture - mixing well to form into a dough. Add in the dried fruits as you're mixing the dough. At around this stage it's a good time to remove from the bowl onto a lightly floured surface, kneading to incorporate the fried fruits. You want to knead the dough for around ten minutes or so, until it's smooth - it should still be quite moist at this stage, you don't want it too floury.

3. Lightly oil a large bowl and place the dough inside, covering with plastic wrap or a clean tea towel and leave in a warm place for an hour or so, or until the dough has doubled in size.

4. While the dough is rising, it's a good time to make the glaze. Put the water, vanilla and caster sugar into a saucepan and bring to the boil - the longer you cook it, the stickier the glaze will become, so do it as you like. Remove from the heat and leave to cool.

5. Prepare a baking tray by oiling it lightly, and lining it with baking paper. Depending on the size of your tray you can squish the buns together so they can be pulled apart, or you can have them seperate.

6. Turn out the raised dough onto a lightly floured surface and press down lightly to deflate it. Split it into twelve even pieces (depending on how big you want your buns) and shape them into a ball by rolling them under your clawed hand on the bench. Place them on the baking tray and cover again with plastic wrap or a clean tea towel and leave for another hour or so, or until the buns have risen again.

7. Preheat the oven to 190C.

8. During this time, make the mix for the crosses on top. Combine all the needed ingredients - it's gonna be a bit of a gloopy mix, add more flour or water as you think is necessary and put the flour mixture into a piping bag with either a thin piping tip, or snip the end of the bag off so only a thin line will come out.

9. Once the buns have risen, pipe the crosses on top - it's easiest to do them all in one row, doing long lines across all buns at once.

10. Bake for about 15 minutes, but keep an eye on them as they can burn very quickly (as my second batch showed).

11. Remove and leave on the tray, and spread the prepared glaze over the top of them thickly, ensuring that the tops are covered and nice and shiny.

12. Enjoy with a spread of a butter and tea!