By KATRINA BRANDON
IN recent years, people have taken to takeaway rather than cooking for themselves.
Churchill local Noelene Marchwicki hopes to change that with the release of her new cookbook, Cooking with Noelene.
All cookbook profits will go towards Churchill and District News, which helped print the book.
“You don’t need to spend a lot of money to make a decent meal,” Noelene said.
“It’s about flavour. It’s about sharing it. The best thing about food is sharing with friends and family.
“I really hope the book does well because I want the Churchill and District News to do well. It is so supportive of the community. That is what we are about. Food is a community. It feeds people. It nurtures people.”
Noelene has a long connection with food, starting with being a stay-at-home mum of five kids. She talked with a neighbour and friend and then thought of starting her own catering business, Dial An Occasion. Mortified, the friend went along with Noelene’s enthusiasm. Later, Noelene applied to be on My Kitchen Rules and was accepted, but she decided to step down as it wasn’t what she was looking for.
In 2013, when her youngest son, Dale, moved out of home, he delivered Noelene with paperwork for MasterChef, which she was accepted for. The 20-week journey brought Noelene to being one of Australia’s Top 10 cooks.
The long journey wasn’t just hard for Noelene; she said it inspired her to return and follow her dream of cooking fulltime.
Neolene has also shared her recipes online through her blog, and has lived in the local area all her life. As a child, she started at Jeeralang Junction, before moving to Churchill, where she attended the Gippsland Institute of Advanced Education, now known as Federation University.
Churchill and District News and Noelene held a book launch with a signing, allowing locals to chat with Noelene and buy the book. Member for Morwell, Martin Cameron was one of many who attended the event.
“The younger generation nowadays don’t spend a lot of time cooking. They would rather UberEats or order it online and have it delivered to the door,” he said.
“We need to put our trust in people like yourself, who can actually have the passion, the time, and to want to be able to come up with cooking books that we can all read, share and teach our younger children that you can stay at home and make your food that you prepare yourself and get the ingredients out of that.”
The book contains recipes for egg dishes, lemon dishes, desserts, mains, bread, cakes, and preserves, with cooking tips. One of Noelene’s sons, Paul Mercey, described the book as a reflection of her love, creativity and generosity.
“The kitchen has always been her heart and her haven,” he said.
“(It’s) a place where she is not only creating dishes but also creating laughter and moments that have brought family and friends together. Whether it is her perfectly balanced flavours or her ability to turn a simple ingredient into something magical.”
WITH the release of a book, there is always a review to follow.
And when it’s a cookbook, recipes are a must.
Express journalist Katrina Brandon has selected the following as her top picks:
CRANBERRY CHEWS
Ingredients: 60 grams of flaked almonds; 3 egg whites; 110 grams of caster sugar; 1 tablespoon of cornflour; 1 teaspoon of finely grated lemon rind; 105 grams of dried cranberries; 1 tablespoon of icing sugar.
Method
– Preheat your oven to 160 degrees C.
– Line two oven trays with baking paper.
– Beat the egg whites until soft peaks form, using your electric beater.
– Gradually add the caster sugar in tablespoon increments, beating after each addition until the sugar has dissolved.
– Now fold in the cornflour, lemon rind, cranberries and nuts in two batches.
– Drop heaped tablespoons of mixture onto the trays about one and a half inches apart.
– Bake in the preheated oven for 30 minutes.
– Let stand for five minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.
– Dust with sifted icing sugar.
CHOCOLATE MAYONNAISE CAKE
Ingredients: two cups of all purpose flour; 3 tablespoons of cocoa powder; 1 dessert spoon of baking powder; 200 grams of caster sugar; 225 grams of whole egg mayonnaise; 1 dessert spoon of vanilla extract; 200 millilitres of warm water; icing; 100 grams of softened butter/ margarine; 100 grams of cream cheese; 250 grams of icing sugar; 2 tablespoons of cocoa; 1 teaspoon of vanilla essence; a couple of drops of coffee essence.
Method
– Grease and line the base of a 23 centimetre springform cake pan.
– Preheat your over to 180 degrees C.
– Place in the bowl of your electric mixer; all purpose flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, caster sugar, whole egg mayonnaise, vanilla extract, warm water.
– Now beat with your electric beater until smooth.
– Spread into the prepared pan.
– Bake for 40 minutes or until a skewer inserted in the centre comes out clean.
– Remove from the pan and allow to cook completely on a wire rack.
– Dust with icing sugar or ice with a butter and cream cheese icing.
Icing Method
– Process softened butter/margarine with cream cheese, icing sugar, cocoa, vanilla essence, a couple of drops of coffee essence.
– Process until smooth.
– Spread over cooled cake.
CHICKEN TIKKA STARTER
Ingredients: 700 grams of chicken breast; marinade; 150 millilitres of natural yoghurt; 2 tablespoons of minced garlic; 1 teaspoon of chili powder; 1 tablespoon of ground coriander; half a teaspoon of salt; juice of one lemon; 2 table spoons of canola oil; 4 metal skewers.
Method
– First step is to skin, bone and cube the chicken breasts.
– Mix all of the marinade ingredients together in a bowl, add the chicken cubes, stir well, cover and leave in the refrigerator overnight.
– The next day thread the chicken on to four skewers and cook under a hot grill for five minutes turning frequently.
– Remove the chicken from the skewers and arrange on individual serving plates.
– Serve with sliced onions, tomatoes, lemon wedges and parsley leaves.
