I experiment in the kitchen all the time, I can’t help myself.  I’m always tweaking recipes, adding this, taking away that, using different flavours.  One of my favourite recipes is one that was handed down to me by my mother, Biscotten Torte.  She does not claim fame to its invention, and we aren’t sure where the recipe was originally sourced.  All I know is that when I make it the boys go bonkers, they love it.

I have never played around with this recipe.  I have thought on the odd occasion of how I could make it more ‘Christmassy’, but never went any further than that.  That is, until I was seeking out Spekulatius cookies for Christmas.  Having Spekulatius in the pantry at Christmas time is a tradition in our household.  Come to think of it, they are always bought, never made.  May have to change that next year.

As I picked up the packet of Spekulatius to purchase, a giant light bulb appeared on top of my head, bells went off, an idea was born.  Why not use Spekulatius in my Biscotten Torte?  With that thought I picked up another packet and added it to my shopping basket.

Spekulatius were an obvious substitution in the original recipe.  The cookies are rich in spices, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, ginger and cardamom.  The filling of the torte is almond, and I feel a perfect match with those flavours.

I was right, the Spekulatius worked perfectly.  I did add an extra layer of filling to the torte, to  give a denser texture than the original.  The filling is slightly different, but all the key ingredients are there. Read more →

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This is the last Sydney Weekly Rumbles for 2012.  I do hope you have enjoyed the weekly roundup each week of food fun and festivities.  I am not sure if Weekly Rumbles will return next year, I am having  a good hard think about it.  It takes me a lot of time each week compiling the information and I need to work out if it is worthwhile.  It may come back in a new format, it may come back as it is, it may not come back at all.

What I would love my very valued readers to do, is to either send me an email (sara@bellyrumbles.com), leave a comment, or even tweet me, and let me know you thoughts.  Are you enjoying the weekly roundup?  Do you find it useful?  What would you like to see included or what would you like to see go?  Would you prefer it on a monthly or fortnightly basis?  Please share your thoughts with me.  I put together Weekly Rumbles for you guys, my readers, and your input is extremely valuable to me.

Sara xxx

SalvosGiveaLunch.org.au
Only 12 days to go to reach our target of filling 8,000 empty plates this Christmas for Aussies who need a bit of help. It’d be great if you could help spread the word about the campaign amongst your friends about donating.
Every tweet, post and snap makes a difference. To keep the momentum going, the Salvos are asking people to share a foodie photo each day in the lead up to Christmas with a message about donating. It would be great if you could too.
To keep the goodwill and money flowing, share a foodie pic every day for the next 12 days (starting Thursday 13^th) with a message about donating to SalvosGiveaLunch.org.au
The more photos shared in the last few weeks before Christmas, the more donations they’re sure to inspire. Just $10 provides one meal, and the more donations we receive, the further we make them go.
Tweet  #SalvosGiveaLunch  Instagram  #SalvosGiveaLunch  Facebook.com/SalvosGiveaLunch

The Village
Leading up to Christmas, The Village, are holding Xmas Ladies Lunches on Saturday’s and Sunday’s.  Well worth considering for a lunch catch up accompanied with a quenching  jug of Pimms and lemonade.  $39/person.    More Info

Local Farmers’ Markets
Don’t forget to check out the weekly farmers’ markets in your area here.

Have a Heart and Dine Smart
Dine Smart over the next six weeks!  For the six weeks in the lead-up to Christmas, StreetSmart partners with restaurants to ask diners to make a small donation to StreetSmart on their bill. Every table is asked to add $2 or more to their bill, not even the price of a coffee or mineral water. It’s a simple idea that adds up to a big impact on the lives of people who are homeless.  More Info

Don’t forget to enter the Wonderful Pistachio giveaway we have on at the moment.

Read more →

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Why is the mixture inhabiting within a mince pie called fruit mince?  The ingredients that make up fruit mince don’t include minced meat.  The fruit itself is finely chopped,  not put through a mincer.  Why is it not called mixed spiced fruit or similar?

Our modern day fruit mince may not include meat, but traditionally it did.  Mince pies, as we know them in Australia, are British in origins.  They can be traced back to the 13th Century when European crusaders returned from the Holy Land and brought back with them middle Eastern cooking methods.  Originally mince pies had a mixture of minced meat, suet, various dried fruits and spices.  The use of mutton was common, but also veal, goose or even beef tongue. Read more →

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When my home fills with the smell of baking gingerbread cookies, I know Christmas has arrived.  Of course in my household the cookies disappear as quickly as they are baked.  Therefore I tend to put off baking until a few days before Christmas.  The ones in these pictures have been greedily devoured already and we still have a week to go until Christmas.  Looks like I will be busily baking more.

I like to use treacle as well as golden syrup to give more depth to the flavour of the biscuits.  The addition of allspice brings a little more ‘Christmas’ to their taste.  Use your favourite cookie cutters and decorate as you desire. Read more →

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It has been giveaway central at Belly Rumbles leading up to Christmas.  This is our third and final for the year, but before I tell you about this one, a bit of housekeeping on the last few competitions.

Appletiser PeepToe Voucher Giveaway:  The $200 voucher was won by Dilhara.
Gloria Jean’s & Caffitaly Giveaway:  The two major prize winners were Michele T & Rachel R , the runner up prize goes to Kaya.
Congratulations to all the winners.  I have been in contact via the email address you provided.

I always have a stash of roasted salted pistachios at home.  You could say I am a little addicted to this particular nut.  I recently found out that pistachios are naturally cholesterol free, are one of the nuts lowest in kilojoules, lowest in fat and highest in fibre, as well as on e of the most nutritious nuts you can buy.

Who knew I was making the right decision all these years over other nuts!

I did spy the Wonderful Pistachio range when I was doing my weekly shopping, but declined on buying any of their flavoured nuts, instead I stayed true to what I like and purchased the Roasted & Salted variety.  By coincidence a week later Wonderful Pistachio contacted me.  Having enjoyed their Roasted & Salted nuts, I was quite happy for them to send their flavoured ones to me to sample.

Beside the Roasted & Salted, Wonderful Pistachio is also available in Sweet Chilli and Salt & Pepper flavours.

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I hadn’t heard of the Great Food Blogger Cookie Swap (GFBCS) until it was bought to my attention via a tweet from Julie of Gourmet Getaways.  I must admit, I didn’t immediately jump at getting involved.  Mainly due to the time of the year, right when you are running around like a goose for Christmas.  Curiosity got the better of me, and I signed up.

This was the second year for GFBCS.  A USA based event, which includes a few countries, like Australia.  There is a US$4.00 charge to participate and that money is donated to charity.  The charitable cause is Cookies for Kids’ Cancer.  Money well spent as far as I am concerned.

So how does it work?  You sign up on the GFBCS website.  Once you confirm your participation you are instructed to make a US$4.00 taxable donation (if in the USA) directly to Cookies for Kids’ Cancer.  100% of your donation goes to the cause.

Once the deadline for signing up has passed you will receive the names and addresses of three other participants who you will send your cookies too.  It is all hush hush, they have no idea you are their cookie provider, and you have no idea who you will be receiving cookies from. Read more →

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Caffitaly Coffee Machine, Gloria Jeans Capsules & Hamper Giveaway
The lovely people at Gloria Jean’s are giving away prizes to three lucky Belly Rumbles readers, in order to celebrate the launch of their new high quality coffee capsules.  There are two major prizes of a coffee machine and hamper as well as one runner up prize to giveaway.  More Info

SalvosGiveaLunch.org.au
Only 12 days to go to reach our target of filling 8,000 empty plates this Christmas for Aussies who need a bit of help. It’d be great if you could help spread the word about the campaign amongst your friends about donating.
Every tweet, post and snap makes a difference. To keep the momentum going, the Salvos are asking people to share a foodie photo each day in the lead up to Christmas with a message about donating. It would be great if you could too.
To keep the goodwill and money flowing, share a foodie pic every day for the next 12 days (starting Thursday 13^th) with a message about donating to SalvosGiveaLunch.org.au
The more photos shared in the last few weeks before Christmas, the more donations they’re sure to inspire. Just $10 provides one meal, and the more donations we receive, the further we make them go.
Tweet  #SalvosGiveaLunch  Instagram  #SalvosGiveaLunch  Facebook.com/SalvosGiveaLunch

The Village
Leading up to Christmas, The Village, are holding Xmas Ladies Lunches on Saturday’s and Sunday’s.  Well worth considering for a lunch catch up accompanied with a quenching  jug of Pimms and lemonade.  $39/person.    More Info

Local Farmers’ Markets
Don’t forget to check out the weekly farmers’ markets in your area here.

Have a Heart and Dine Smart
Dine Smart over the next six weeks!  For the six weeks in the lead-up to Christmas, StreetSmart partners with restaurants to ask diners to make a small donation to StreetSmart on their bill. Every table is asked to add $2 or more to their bill, not even the price of a coffee or mineral water. It’s a simple idea that adds up to a big impact on the lives of people who are homeless.  More Info Read more →

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I cut this recipe out of the paper years ago.  It looks like it came from the Sydney Morning Herald, but not 100% sure on that, and I have no idea of who the chef of the original recipe is.

These onions have become a family favourite and have been made at Christmas time over the past few years.  A big thank you to whomever the original chef was, as this recipe is a winner.

There onions are rich and hearty.  They go perfectly with a roasted Christmas dinner.  As they are stuffed, they are just that little more special as well.  We also indulge on these in winter with a roast as Christmas is only once a year, and these onions deserve to be eaten more than once. Read more →

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Amongst the sophisticated hors d’oeuvres that may grace your Christmas table, it is always nice to have something for the kids.  The only thing that really makes these sausage rolls festive is the use of cranberry sauce in the filling.  I feel it is enough of a ‘Christmas’ ingredient to slide these in to my Christmas recipes, just.

As easy as this recipe is, the sage and cranberry sauce does take the humble sausage roll to a new level.   The beauty of this recipe is the sausage rolls can be made in advance and frozen once they have been assembled.  If not used for Christmas day, they really are great to have on hand in the freezer to pop in the oven when unexpected guests pay a visit.  Trust me, big kids will devour these just as quickly as the little ones. Read more →

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