Lemon Braised Artichoke Hearts

Adapted from a Michael Chiarello recipe - this was delicious; thick and creamy the next day, lemon balancing the richness well. Next time I'd add more garlic :)


~Lemon-Braised Artichoke Hearts~
1 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice
fine zest of 2 lemons
4 teaspoons stripped or finely chopped fresh thyme leaves
3 large garlic cloves
3 teaspoons kosher salt
freshly ground pepper
8 medium to large artichokes

Preheat the oven to 190 degrees C.

Crush garlic with salt in a mortar and pestle. Combine with olive oil, lemon juice, zest, thyme, and pepper in a saucepan and set aside.

Thia is a good description with pics of preparing artichokes.

Or you can follow these directions :
Snap outer leaves from an artichoke. Cut off the top half, and then use a paring knife to trim down to the heart, rubbing cut surfaces with the leftover juiced lemon halves as you work, to avoid discoloration. Cut the heart in half and scrape out the choke with a spoon (I used a circa 1960s apple corer and it was brilliant). Cut each piece in half again.

As each artichoke heart quarter is completed, immediately turn it in the marinade to coat completely. When all the artichokes are trimmed, put the pan over high heat and bring to a boil. Pour the artichokes and marinade into a baking dish, cover with foil, and cook until the artichokes are tender when pierced with a fork, about 35 minutes. Remove from the oven and let cool in the cooking liquid. Store in the fridge when cooled.

Michael Chiarello served this over fettucine

We tried it warm as a side to baked potatoes and roast topside, but after having it the next day on thick toast for breakfast, the flavour and texture was so much better. It would be delicious on pizza, in risotto, with fish, or on crusty bread.

20/11/08 editing to add that this was utterly divine - sorry if I've already used that phrase - on pizza, with sauteed leeks and spinach and a little cheese.

Really good stuff :)

Cherry Almond Cake

This came from a card sent to me by a friend. I've been wanting to make it for ages and we went to a friend's place for dinner on the weekend, so I didn't need any further excuse. It's quite easy and is very rich - lovely for a treat. I made half and put in a 20cm tin and it served 8 - 10, used the left over cherries for serving.

...Cherry Almond Cake...

You need:
250g butter
500g caster sugar
6 large eggs
1 tspn vanilla essence
400g plain flour
1 tspn baking powder
200g ground almonds
400g strained (pitted) preserved or tinned cherries

Preheat oven to 180 degrees (160 if fan forced). Prepare a 24cm tin by greasing and flouring sides and putting baking paper on the bottom.

Cream butter, sugar, eggs and essence in the large bowl of a mixmaster and beat until sugar dissolved (5 - 10 min depending on softness of butter). Turn off mixmaster and fold through flour and almonds by hand, then last of all cherries - just enough so they're fairly evenly spread. Pour into tin and bake for 55 - 60 mins (about 45 min if making half).

Serve with extra cherries, cherry syrup drizzled over and cream.

Chicken and Spinach Pie

This is a yummy recipe I found on the ABC website some time ago from their 'Sunday Chef' program. Can't find it there now so I'm not sure who created it.
It is reasonably easy. The pastry takes a lot of punishment when being rolled out but still tasting good (pastry isn't my forte) and the cornmeal in it is quite delicious. I've made a few changes from the original.

...Chicken and Spinach Pie...

You need:
1 2/3 c plain flour
1/4 c polenta
pinch of salt
100 g butter
1 egg
2 tspn white vinegar
4 tbspn of iced water (or enough to bind)
Filling:
breasts from a cooked chook, chopped
1 bunch silverbeet or spinach, stalks removed and leaves chopped
1 tbspn olive oil
1 tbspn butter
1 clove garlic
1/4 c pinenuts
100 g chopped pancetta or bacon
2 eggs
3/4 c of cream (or ricotta)
salt, pepper, fresh herbs like thyme for seasoning

Mix the flour and polenta. Rub in the butter. Mix wet ingredients and add to dry, mixing until binds together. Divide in 2 and chill for 30 mins (or longer is OK).

Preheat oven to 180 degrees. Fry garlic in oil and butter in medium frypan or large saucepan, then add bacon, then spinach. Cook until excess moisture has reduced. Add chicken and pinenuts, transfer to bowl to cool. Add eggs and cream, mix, then seasoning if desired.

Roll out pastry and line bottom of greased pie dish. Spoon in filling. Place lid over top and cut off excess. Brush with water or eggwhite and pinch sides together. Cut vents in top and bake for 45 mins. Lovely warm or cold with a green salad.

Sweet Soy Beef with Cabbage

Finally, Em, I have made time to sit down and type up my first recipe!!

This recipe comes from an interesting book called 'Zest', which a dear friend gave me last Christmas. You can buy the book here. With a little person now hanging around my legs, I am often on the lookout for quick recipes that are still tasty and healthy. This one is perfect, and said little person even enjoyed it too. Even if cabbage isn't a part of your normal shopping list you will probably enjoy this...

...Sweet Soy Beef with Cabbage...

1/4 c dry sherry (original - sake)
2 tbspn light soy sauce
1 tbspn sugar
1 tbspn grated ginger
1 tspn sesame oil
500g beef mince (see note)
1 tbspn peanut oil (original - rice bran oil)
1/4 cabbage, shredded (original - chinese cabbage, thickly sliced)
1 tbspn sesame seeds
udon noodles, cooked according to packet

Combine sherry, soy, sugar, ginger and sesame oil.

Heat oil in a wok or large frying pan on high. Stir fry the mince and sherry mixture for 4 - 5 minutes or until meat is browned. Add the cabbage and sesame seeds, stir-fry for 2-3 minutes until the cabbage begines to wilt. Serve straight away with the noodles. Serves 4

Note for variation - beef strips can be used instead. Marinate in sherry mixture for 15 minutes, then drain and stir fry in oil. Add the reserved marinade when the cabbage is added.

Yum! How easy too. I served it with coriander as well. We used left overs as the base for spring roll filling the next night, and they would be yummy in wraps or similar things as well. I think the boys would like this Em, enjoy! Jules xox

Classic Mint Jelly

This is a late winter-early spring preserve for us; Granny Smith apples grown in the next shire are still plentiful and cheap, our friends and neighbours are swapping lemons for broccoli, and we have lots of fresh mint.

The recipe is from this book which I bought at a clearance sale a while ago. It's a clearly written book, with a good collection of basic preserves and detailed advice about how to troubleshoot.

~Classic Mint Jelly~
1.6kg green apples
5 cups water
1 cup chopped fresh mint
1 cup lemon juice
about 1kg sugar
1/3 cup finely chopped fresh mint, extra

Cut the apples into chunks (do not remove skin or seeds) and place in a heavy based stock pan with the mint, lemon juice (I left pulp and seeds in this), and water. Slowly bring to the boil, then simmer until the apple is very soft. Stir to squash lumps. When it is mushy, allow to cool a little.

To make a "jelly bag", place a large clean piece of muslin or thin cotton (I used old sheeting) in a bowl and pour boiling water over it. Line a large seive with the wet fabric and place over another large bowl. Gently pour in the apple mixture and allow it to drain into the bowl.

When the pulp has drained most of the liquid, tie the corners of the fabric together, poke a long wooden spoon under the tied corners, and lift the "bag" out of the seive. Place a bowl inside a clean bucket and position the spoon so that it is across the top of the bucket - allowing the bag to hang freely from the spoon and drip into the bowl below.

Or if you own a jelly bag, simply use this to drain the liquid from the pulp.
Allow the bag to drain overnight and do not squeeze or force liquid out. If you do, the jelly will be cloudy. Our liquid looked cloudy, but it cleared on boiling. Store the drained liquid in the fridge overnight.

When you are ready to boil up, place 2 small plates in the freezer. Sterilise your jam jars. I wash them in hot soapy water then place in a 110 C oven for around 20 min. I pour boiling water over the clean lids just before sealing.

Discard the pulp from the bag. Measure the final amount of liquid. We had 1.75L. Pour the liquid into a large heavy based pan, and add 1 cup sugar to every cup of liquid. Heat gently, stirring to dissolve sugar. Bring to the boil and boil steadily for around 15 minutes, stirring often and skimming any scum from the surface.

Test for the setting point by pouring a spoonful onto one of the chilled plates. A skin will form on the surface - setting point is reached when the jelly wrinkles as you push your finger through it. When it is setting as you want, remove from heat and stir through the extra mint. Allow it to continue cooling a little and keep stirring every few minutes - when the mint leaves stay suspended in the jelly, instead of floating to the top, it is ready to pour into jars.

Pour boiling water over any of the equipment you use to transfer the jelly from the saucepan to the sterilised jars. Fill the jars to leave 1/2cm space at the top. Seal the jars immediately and turn upside down for 2 minutes. Invert and allow to cool.

Store in a cool dry place for 6-12 months. Refridgerate after opening.

Braised Silverbeet

Writing this down reminds me of Michael Caton in The Castle.
"What do you call this love?"
"It's rissoles darling. Rissoles."

----------------------------------

But it's here for the days my brain is like custard and I need to stir it together without any thought.

~Braised Silverbeet~
3-4 large leaves silverbeet
1 garlic clove, crushed
slurp olive oil
1 scant teaspoon brown sugar
good pinch salt
large slurp of sweet balsamic vinegar or white balsamic condiment
chunk of butter, if you like

Wash and devein silverbeet. Finely chop the stems and leaves and keep seperated.

Heat a large heavy based pan on low, and saute garlic and silverbeet stems. When softened, add all the other ingredients and let it cook down until the silverbeet leaves are softened and the liquid is syrupy.

Serve as a side dish or eat a big pile on its own :) This amount serves 3 as a small side.

Chicken & Puy Lentil Soup

This is a quick outline of our chicken and puy lentil soup. I love the texture and nuttiness of puy lentils, and the creaminess of well cooked barley.

~Chicken & Puy Lentil Soup~
1 large chicken carcase or 2 small
salt
water to cover chicken
olive oil
1 onion, finely chopped
1 large carrot, finely chopped
2 small parsnips, finely chopped
3 sticks celery, finely chopped
2 handfuls of green puy lentils
2 handfuls of pearl barley

Place chicken carcase(s) in a stockpot and cover with cold water. Bring to the boil and add a good pinch of salt. Allow to simmer gently until meat shreds are soft, then turn off.

Remove carcases and pick off all meat. Shred meat then return it to the stock and discard the bones and any skin. If you want to remove the melted fat, allow the stock to cool then chill in the fridge overnight and skim off the fat.

Heat a sploosh of olive oil in a large heavy based saucepan and sweat onions over lowish heat. When onions are translucent, add the other veges and continue to cook slowly to allow the onions to caramelise. Add back the stock with the puy lentils and barley.

Add more or less water/veges/lentils/barley according to how thick you prefer soup. I like ours quite thick.

Bring soup to the boil and simmer until lentils and barley are soft.

I like to add any extra seasonings, like black pepper, salt, chopped herbs, olive or sesame oil etc to individual bowls when serving.

Silverbeet & Chickpeas with Chorizo

This is one of our regulars in the meal plan, adapted from a http://www.taste.com.au/ recipe; it's easy and delicious, and makes good use of that perennial garden green, silverbeet.

We ate steamed silverbeet regularly growing up, and I wasn't fond of it. This recipe, however, allows the silverbeet to become something else - the rich tomato, garlic and chorizo partner the earthiness of silverbeet well.

We use bacon instead of chorizo sometimes, and I like to finely chop the silverbeet stems and add them after the onion is cooked - they add a lovely crunchy texture, but you need to halve the amount of silverbeet if adding the stems. Spinach is interchangeable with silverbeet in this. We have also used our summer tomato reduction from the freezer - around the same quantity as a tin of tomatoes, but there's no need to reduce it any further. Thick, rich and sweet, with plenty of tomato skin and seeds for texture :)




~Silverbeet & Chickpeas with Chorizo~
2 chorizo sausages sliced (or 4 rashers bacon)
1/2 onion, thinly sliced
2 garlic cloves, crushed
1 tsp smoked paprika
1 tin tomatoes, crushed
1 tsp mixed dried herbs
1 tin chickpeas, drained
1/2 tsp sugar
about 6 stems of silverbeet, stalks removed and shredded (or 3 stems, leaves shredded and stems finely diced)

Heat a heavy based pan and fry off chorizo over low-med heat, until crispy. Remove and rest.

Add onion and cook till soft and golden, then add garlic and cook a bit longer. (At this point add silverbeet stalks if using, and cook a little longer.) Stir through paprika and allow to fry off until fragrant.

Add all ingredients except silverbeet leaves, and simmer until it thickens.

Add silverbeet and stir through until wilted, then add back in the chorizo or bacon. Serve with toasted pide or fresh crusty bread.

The boys both scored this 10!

Apple & Olive Oil Cake

This came via Nourish Me - a wonderful spot to read at cup of tea time :
http://nourish-me.blogspot.com/2008/08/thirty-seven.html

And happy thirty seven Lucy! Almost 40 is a great age :)

I've tweaked things a bit, but we all loved this, so here is the amended recipe :

~Apple & Olive Oil Cake~
120g sultanas
freshly brewed tea
750g granny smith apples – about 6 med apples
150ml olive oil
200g rapadura
2 eggs
350g wholemeal spelt flour
1 teaspoon cinnamon
2 teaspoons bi-carb soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon salt

Cover the sultanas with warm tea and leave to soak for 20min - several hours. Drain and reserve liquid.

Peel and core the apples and dice small-med.

Preheat the oven to 180 C. Line a 20cm square cake tin.

Beat the oil and sugar together until the sugar begins to dissolve (check by rubbing a little between your fingers). Whisk the eggs with a fork and add them slowly while beating all the time. Depending on the temperature of your eggs and the grade of oil you have used, this mixture will thicken quickly to a creamy consistency.

Sieve the flour, cinnamon, bi-carb soda, baking powder and salt into a large bowl and add the apple pieces. Mix to coat them in flour.

Add the drained sultanas with the sugar/oil/egg mix and fold to combine. This batter will be quite stiff; add a little of the reserved soaking tea to bring it together if you need.

Turn into the cake tin, cover loosely with alfoil with a slit for steam escape, and bake for 1 hour. Check with a clean skewer and turn tin around and bake for another 15-25 minutes, as required. Cool in the tin, uncovered, then allow to cool completely before storing.

This cake is very moist and filling - fantastic for school lunches, picnics and cup of tea time, and a wonderful way to appreciate the seasonal apple glut.

Sesame greens

So simple it's rediculous, but never mind. We had this again tonight with greens picked straight from the garden and it was deliciously fragrant, crunchy, sweet, salty.

~Sesame Greens~
broccoli, cut into bite size florets, stems peeled and cut up
sugarsnap peas, topped
snowpeas, topped and sliced a bit
pod peas, shelled
sesame oil
seasalt

Steam the greens until tendercrisp. Remove any caterpillers (yes).

Sploosh on a bit of sesame oil to coat and sprinkle over a good pinch of salt.

Serve immediately and make a lot of noise about homegrown veges.

Pumpkin, Leek, Mint & Spinach Tart

This is several evolutions from the original recipe, which involved ricotta and far less veges. Mint works so well with both spinach and roast pumpkin.

T scored this recipe a 9.5 but D said it was minus 1000. I liked it, so poor old D will have to suffer again.


~Pumpkin, Leek, Mint & Spinach Tart~
6 sheets filo or 2 sheets puff pastry, or some alternate base, like coca flatbread
800g butternut pumpkin, peeled, seeded and cut in 1.5cm dice
olive oil
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
about 10 baby leeks (1cm diameter, 10cm length), cut into 2cm pieces
salt and pepper
200g fetta, crumbled
2 eggs, beaten
2 cups firmly packed, chopped spinach or silverbeet
2 tab finely chopped mint
2 tab grated parmesan

Preheat oven to 180 degrees.

Combine pumpkin, garlic, leeks, olive oil, salt and pepper, and bake for about 20 min or until pumpkin is browned. In the last 5 min of cooking, make space for the spinach on the tray; pile it on and loosely cover with alfoil to allow it to steam and wilt slightly. Remove veges from oven and cool slightly.

Lay the base on a flat tray and curl the edges up to hold the filling. If using filo, spray with olive oil between layers. Bake for a few minutes to help cook the base.

Combine the eggs with 2/3 of the fetta and spread over the base.

Layer the spinach over the egg mixture. Sprinkle over the mint. Arrange pumpkin and leeks on top, then crumble over the remaining fetta and sprinkle with parmesan.

Reduce heat to 170 degrees and bake for about 20 minutes or until egg mixture is set and all is golden brown.

This would work well as a cocas/pizza topping.

Georgie's Chocolate Cake

This cake recipe has been our family birthday cake since I was about 8. It is dead easy and always works.

~Georgie's Chocolate Cake~

4 tablespoon soft butter

1 3/4 cups SR flour

1/2 teaspoon bicarb soda

2 tablespoons cocoa

1 1/4 cups caster sugar

2 eggs

1 cup milk

vanilla

Sift flour, bicarb and cocoa, stir through sugar. Whisk milk, eggs and vanilla together and pour into flour with butter.

Beat until smooth (packet cake setting on mixmaster) and you can't feel the sugar granules when you rub some mixture between your fingertips.

Bake at 175 degrees for about 3/4 hour or until skewer comes out clean.

I like to ice this with chocolate icing made with icing sugar, cocoa, butter, orange zest and orange juice to moisten.

Mum's Pea & Ham Soup

Finally, mum made this on her last visit, so we could write the recipe down. It's all things winter, thick and delicious. Years ago, before we knew what cholesterol was, we ate it with crunchy fried bread croutons, heaven.


~Mum's Pea & Ham Soup~

1 bacon hock/ ham bone
about 5L water

Cook slowly until the meat falls off the bone. Remove meat, cool liquid and skim fat from the top. Chop meat and return to the stock. Discard any fat/skin and bones.

Add about 2 - 2 1/2 cups green split peas and reheat. Simmer.

Roughly chop and add :
2 medium carrots
2 medium onions
3 medium parsnips

Simmer until peas are soft, then blend till smooth.

Serve with cracked black pepper and thick bread - with butter if you aren't worried about fats! ;)

Leila's Quick Fruit Loaf

Quick and easy. D declares it "the best thing I've ever eaten".

~Quick Fruit Loaf~
1 cup spelt flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 cup processed bran (any cereal like AllBran)
1 cup dried fruit (any sort, chopped if needed)
1/4 cup sugar
1 large banana, mashed**
enough milk to mix

Sift flour and baking powder together. Stir in bran, fruit and sugar.

Mix through banana and enough milk to bring it together into a muffin-mix consistency.

Pour into a loaf tin and bake in a moderate oven for about 25-30 min, or until a skewer comes clean. Eat warm or cool.


**I use frozen over-ripe bananas (defrosted) for cooking and these work very well - you can build up a stash of frozen black bananas over summer when they seem inevitable, then use them when needed. Freeze in their skins in a sealed container.

Pot Roast with Sweet Onion Jam and Poached Pears

We had this tonight and it was so good I'm jotting down the ingredients. Will try to repeat this, it was delish.


~Pot Roast with Sweet Onion Jam and Poached Pears~
1.5kg topside roast, trimmed of most fat - leave some on for flavour
1 medium onion, sliced
olive oil
about a tab fresh thyme
about 200ml red wine
about 1 tab brown sugar
about 1 cup chicken stock
2 Buerre Bosc pears

Heat a large frypan over med-high heat and drizzle with olive oil. Brown roast on all sides then place in crockpot or casserole dish.

Turn down heat and add onions. Cook till soft, then deglaze pan with stock.

Pour stock, red wine, brown sugar and onions on top of roast, then sprinkle over thyme.

Cover and cook in preheated oven or crockpot until meat is tender. Turn the roast once during cooking to keep it moist and cook evenly. Remove meat to rest and keep covered.

Pour cooking juices back into frypan. Peel and halve pears and place flat side down in the pan juices. Poach pears and reduce liquid until it is thick and syrupy and pears are cooked.

Serve with jacket potatoes and fresh steamed greens.

Neverfail Vegetable Muffins

The original recipe for these surfaced in my consciousness at a bush BBQ about 30 years ago, but since it is in imperial measures it must be a bit older than that. I've seen it in so many places since; it would be fascinating to know the origins and how it spread across Australia...

I haven't come across anyone, man, dog or child, who won't eat these :)

~Zucchini Slice~
12oz zucchini, grated
1 large onion, finely chopped
3 rashers bacon, chopped
1 cup grated cheese
1 cup SR flour
1/2 cup oil
5 eggs, beaten
black pepper

Mix zucchini, onion and SR flour, until veges are "coated" in flour. Mix in bacon and cheese, then stir through oil and eggs until it's all well combined.

(Original recipe says - Pour into well greased tin and bake in mod oven about 30-40 min until firm.)

But I like to make muffins b/c they freeze well for school lunches, and use less power to cook - Spoon into silicone muffin trays and bake in a moderate oven (about 150 degrees) for about 15 minutes. Turn tray around at 10 minutes and check if they're cooked by poking a knife into the centre.

Remove from oven and leave in the tin for 10 minutes, then turn onto wire racks to cool.

Variations :

Silverbeet & Corn
replace zucchini with :
4 leaves silverbeet (deveined & chopped finely)
1 tin of corn (drained)

Leek & Semi Dried Tomato
replace zucchini, onion and bacon with :
2 leeks, washed and finely sliced
6 halves of semi-dried tomato in oil, sliced
2 tab chopped parsley

Substitutes :
you could probably substitute whatever you wanted into this, in the way of veges, or meat instead of bacon, or different cheeses, but I'd recommend that the ratios of flour:eggs:oil be left somewhat similar to the original.

White Bean Dip, Beetroot Dip

We made these over the weekend - delicious, easy, yum :)


~Rosemary, Lemon & White Bean Dip~
2 cups cooked cannellini beans (or similar)
2 cloves garlic, crushed with salt (or less if you prefer)
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
2 teasp rosemary, finely chopped
grated zest of 2 lemons
salt & black pepper

You can use canned beans, but I prefer freshly cooked. Place beans in food processer with garlic and process till fine. Add olive oil while motor is running and keep going until it is smooth.

Stir in rosemary & lemon zest and season with salt and pepper to taste.

I can't remember where this recipe originated -it's very good ;)



~Roast Beetroot Dip~
600g raw beetroot, trimmed and washed
1 clove garlic, crushed with salt
2 tab tahini
6 tab extra virgin olive oil
2 tab fresh mint
2 des spoons red wine vinegar

This is from Moro East by Sam&Sam Clark - the only change was that I roasted the beetroot instead of boiling, because we had roast lamb a few nights ago and we have masses of beetroot in the garden, so it followed that roasting beetroot while the oven was on would be a good thing...

So - take the cooked and cooled beetroot and slip the skins off. Place in the food processer with garlic, tahini and oil and whizz until smooth.

Stir through mint and vinegar and season with salt and pepper.

Eat with bread or flatbread and enjoy the earthy richness. This would be delicious with freshly fried haloumi and lemon juice.

Sweet Potato & Buckwheat Rissoles

This was delicious! The uncooked mixture (prior to eggs and breadcrumbs addition) was so yummy that I'd use it again as a "mash" on the side for a meal, or as a Friday night quick meal.

Original recipe from Diet Dessert & Dogs http://dietdessertndogs.wordpress.com/2008/05/20/sweet-potato-and-kasha-burgers/

We made one panful of rissoles as per the original recipe, but they were very fragile and fell apart easily (not sure why), so I added egg and dry breadcrumbs to the rest of the mix to make them hold their shape - as per below. I used quite a lot more oil, and a bit more basil, but otherwise the original balance of flavours is the same - deliciously smoky and sweet.


~Sweet Potato & Buckwheat Rissoles~
1-1/2 cups dry buckwheat
3 cups vegetable stock
1 large onion, finely chopped
8 tab sesame oil or extra virgin olive oil
2 small celery stalks, finely chopped
1 large carrot, grated
2 large sweet potatoes, cooked and mashed
1/4 cup tahini
1/3 cup chopped fresh basil
1 entire spring onion, finely chopped
2 tab tamari
3 slices dry bread, made into crumbs
2 eggs, beaten
flour to dust (I used cornflour but any would do)

Dry-roast the buckwheat in a heavy pan over medum heat for 5 minutes, stirring often with a wooden spoon.

Add stock; bring to boil over high heat. Reduce heat; cover and cook over low heat until water is absorbed and buckwheat is tender, about 15 minutes.

Cook onion in 1 tab oil over medium heat until softened. Add celery and carrot; cook for another 5 minutes until softened.

Stir together all ingredients (except remaining oil and flour) until combined. Form rissoles and roll lightly in flour, then flatten to about 1.5cm thick.

Heat 2 tab oil in heavy frying pan over medium-high heat and cook in batches, using more oil as needed. Cook until one side is dark and crispy, then turn and cook other side until similarly black-brown.

Quick Sweetcorn and Chicken soup

This is quick comfort food. We made it tonight b/c I have a cold and feel like wet cottonwool.

Adapt it according to what you have that suits. Tonight we added beansprouts and poached egg, which, according to the boys, was very good. I had a second bowl and added lots of chilli, which overpowered the original flavours, but was very good for my sinus :)


~Quick Sweetcorn & Chicken Soup~
peanut oil
1 finely sliced spring onion (green tops too)
1 teaspoon grated fresh ginger
1 tin creamed corn (or 5 fresh cobs grated)
handful of shredded cooked chicken meat
1 tab rice wine vinegar
600ml chicken stock
2 tab light soy
1 tablespoon cornflour
2 teaspoons sesame oil
1 tablespoon sweet balsamic vinegar

Heat oil in a heavy pan, and add spring onion and ginger. Stir briefly, then add chicken, corn, vinegar and stock. Bring to the boil, then reduce to a simmer.

Blend cornflour with a little water and stir into soup. Allow to continue cooking a few minutes, then stir in sesame oil and balsamic.

Serve immediately.

(This was adapted from a Stephanie Alexander recipe involving crab, far more subtle and authentic...)

Ginger Garlic Red Lentil Soup

We tried this recipe recently onehttp://vegeyum.wordpress.com/2008/05/17/gingergarlicsoup/ for a Friday night quickie. I made a few minor changes, as per below :

~Ginger Garlic Red Lentil Soup~
2 cups red lentils
1.75 l vegetable stock
2 bay leaves
5 cloves of garlic, peeled and mashed
5 cm piece of ginger, grated
2 carrots, grated
1/2 cup diced tomatoes
1 medium sliced onion
1/2 cup sliced scallions, green tops as well
sploosh olive oil
2 tspn ground cumin
2 tspn ground coriander
1/2 tsp dried chilli flakes
juice of 1 lemon
salt and black pepper

Wash the lentils, and add to vegetable stock, bay leaves, garlic and ginger in a large pan. Bring to the boil and simmer for 10 minutes. Add the carrots and tomatoes and simmer until the soup thickens to the consistency you like (mine was around 20 minutes).

Heat the olive oil in a frypan and sauté the onions and scallions until translucent. Add the spices and sauté a further minute. Remove the bay leaves from the soup and add the onion mixture with the lemon juice. Serve and add salt and pepper to taste.

Lovely and fragrant, super quick to prepare, nourishing, cheap, easy ingredients - but eating this reminded me that I'm not so keen on the texture of cooked red lentils. Somehow they seem a bit like cardboard-ish, and I forget that between times. Maybe that is the quality of the lentils or my ignorant cooking? I'd make this again though - the ginger/garlic was lovely on a winter night, and if you increased the heat it would be a very good soup for headcold days.

Spinach & Pinenuts Coca (Flatbread)

There is a spinach glut in our garden right now, so we tried this for dinner last night, and it was delicious and simple - and used lots of spinach ;)

Coca are a type of Spanish flatbread pizza. The recipe was adapted from Moro East by Sam&Sam Clark.

This is their flatbread recipe for the coca base :

~Flatbread dough~
225g unbleached strong white bread flour
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon dry yeast
150ml tepid water
1 tablespoon oilive oil

I mixed and kneaded the dough in the breadmixer and took it out before it rose; then allowed it to rise for 2.5 hours (probably too long but we went out visiting and returned late).

They make their dough by placing flour and salt in a bowl. Dissolving yeast in water, adding oil, then pouring this mixture a little at a time into the flour, mixing constantly. When all is mixed, knead for 5+ minutes until it is elastic and smooth. Leave to rise 1-2hrs in a warm place until doubled in size.


~Spinach, PineNuts & Anchovies Coca~
4 tab olive oil
1 large onion, finely chopped
2 tab fresh oregano, chopped
around 500g spinach, washed, dried adn chopped
handful pinenuts
crumbled fetta
anchovies, sliced into thin slivers lengthwise

Heat the oil in a large saucepan on medium, add the onion and cook until golden. Add oregano, then spinach, and stir through until it is all wilted. Set aside to drain in a colander. (the original recipe then added 50g currants plumped in water)

Heat the oven to its hottest setting. Line 2 baking trays with paper, or flour lightly.

Divide the dough into 4 balls and roll each out on very thin, to around 20cm square, on the baking trays. Spread the spinach mix over the top, lay the anchovies across, as much as you like, then scatter pinenuts and fetta. Press the mix down onto the dough with your hand and drizzle a bit more olive oil over so it doesn't burn.

Bake for 10-15 mins until it is crispy and brown underneath and the pinenuts are golden.

This was very good, but you could leave out the anchovies or use salty olives instead, and probably use whatever topping you like - very good for using up garden greens and leftovers from the fridge!

Preserved Olives

There are 5 small olive trees in our garden; when we moved here 2 yrs ago they were laden with olives, tempting and beautiful. I've been an olive scoffer since we stayed in Italy with my aunt when I was a child; somehow the taste of thick coffee, salty sweet proscutio, and rich olives stayed long after our holiday. Having our own olive trees is a delight :) What to do with them is another matter, with which I've experimented over the last few years. I'm still working on it ;) In the meantime here is a little WIP update on our olive preserving journey : From what I can read, preserving olives involves 2 steps - curing to remove the bitter oleuropein, then preserving for either a short or a longer period. Longer storage requires more precautions. Because olives are a low acidity food they are susceptible to bacterial contamination, so each step of preserving needs to be mindful of this. I'm not so keen on a dose of botulism. The first time we cured and preserved our olives I was blithley unaware of botulism risks, thinking that olives have been preserved for thousands of years in the mediterranean, so it can't be unsafe. So I cured them (mostly black) in brine, changing the brine daily for about 2 weeks, and allowing the salted water to go through the greywater onto our garden (yuck). Then bottling in a heavier brine solution with a layer of olive oil on top to keep the olives submerged. In the cupboard for a few months, and they were good; after 6 months they were darn good :D There was a slimey kind of layer on the top that creeped me out a bit, but I asked my Italian aunt and she said that was normal and it didn't harm you. The scientist in me says a Marg Simpson hmmmmm (I'd like to know what that slimey stuff is please), but they were delicious, no-one got sick, and obviously the slimey layer isn't uncommon. (Is this a head in the sand moment?) Last season there weren't many olives and they were shrivelled and dry so I composted them. Later someone said you can irrigate the trees prior to harvest to plump them up; I'll save that info for future drought years. This season the trees didn't flower at all; possibly due to extended drought, or maybe the serious haircut I gave them - they were covered in sooty mould and scale so I cut out a lot of growth from the middles to thin them and let the airflow through. Anyway they didn't flower last spring and there was no fruit this Easter. But friends have olive trees so we raided their orchard and picked a huge bucket recently. We didn't pick as many as I'd have liked b/c their horse kept threatening to trample the children; what a dilemma, to pick olives or let a large horse stand on your babies. This is what we've done this year : Cracked Green Marinated Olives Preserved Mixed Colour Olives Previously I had tried : Salted olives Brine cured olives This link is one of the most useful I've found http://anrcatalog.ucdavis.edu/pdf/8267.pdf It explains the different curing methods - water, brine, lye and dry salting. And the preserving methods - brine or oil for short term, and very strong brine, freezing, drying or pressure canning for longer storage. There are many other links and recipes around the net that use quite cursory curing and preserving methods, which don't sit so comfortably with me after reading about botulism. But everyone has a different level of risk assessment. We have begun eating this season's olives, and they are very good. So here is this year's recipe that we will use again : ~Cracked Green & Mixed Colour Olives~ green-ripe olives lemons cooking salt good quality white vinegar clean water 1. Use a full beer bottle to squash each olive on a cutting board, so ithe flesh is cracked open. This is far easier than making 3 slits in each olive, as we did the first time. 2. As you crack the olives, place them in a bucket of cool water, with a sliced lemon (or several) in it. When you are finished, drain the water, remove the lemons, and cover the olives with cool clean water. 3. Place a plate or something similar on top of the olives to hold them under the water surface. Drain the water and replace with clean cool water every morning and evening for around 12 days. Taste them towards the end of this time to check the bitterness and when it is mostly gone, it's time to move to the next step. The preserving brine will continue to remove bitterness, so it's ok for them to still taste a little icky. 4. Drain the olives and place in a large shallow dish. Sprinkle liberally with salt and leave, covered, for 24 hours. 5. Wash and drain the olives again and place in clean container. Cover with vinegar and place a plate or similar on top to submerge them. Leave for 24 hours. 6. Drain the olives and pack into sterilised jars. Pour over a strong brine, made from 4 cups salt dissolved in 4.5L water, leaving some space at the top to pour on a layer of olive oil. The olive oil should be about 1.5cm thick and should help keep the olives submerged. These will keep for a long time; I'm not sure how long as we eat our olives too fast! 7. Seal the jars and store in a dark place for at least 6wks. Place in the fridge after opening. The olives will be very salty in this heavy brine, so I like to drain and soak the olives in warm water, then marinate them with olive oil, citrus zest and fresh herbs.

Beetroot & Haloumi salad w Walnut dressing

We had this again last night with a few variations - salted green olives instead of capers, and no haloumi. Still delicious :) And with the beetroot in our garden swelling larger and spinach threatening to shade out all else, it will be around a little more over the next few months.

So here it is again :

~Haloumi & Beetroot salad with Walnut dressing~
6 large beetroot, trimmed
500g haloumi, drained
2 tabs olive oil
100g baby spinach leaves, washed and dried

Walnut dressing
1/3 cup walnut halves
1/2 cup drained capers
1/2 cup olive oil
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
1 garlic clove crushed
salt & black pepper

Preheat oven to 180 degrees. Wrap beetroot in foil and place in roasting pan. Cook for an hour or until tender.

Place walnuts on baking tray and cook in oven about 10 minutes or until lightly toasted. Set aside to cool.Chop walnuts coarsely; place in a bowl with capers, garlic, oil and vinegar. Season with salt and pepper. (I would leave out salt as it is quite salty already, and I left pepper out of the kids' portions as they don't like it).

Remove beetroot from the oven and cool for 10 minutes or until you can touch it. Use gloves if you don't want beetroot stain on your hands (I don't bother), and slip skins and stems off. Slice beetroot into thick slices.

Cut haloumi into slices - I like about 3/4cm, but whatever you prefer. Heat oil in non-stick pan to high heat. Cook haloumi in batches, until golden brown on each side. Cut into smaller fingers when they are cooked.We served this on a big platter and ate with out fingers - but you could serve individually. Lay spinach on plate first, then layer beetroot and haloumi and drizzle dressing over the top. Serve immediately.

Warm Artichoke Dip

This is Nellup's incredible version of Phoebe's warm artichoke dip :)

~Warm Artichoke Dip~
1 tub Mainland Spreadable special reserve Extra Tasty cheese
about 120g jar artichokes, drained
big splash of red wine
2 cloves garlic, crushed

Puree all together.
Warm in the microwave about 2-3 minutes, stirring after 1 min. Don't overheat.

I couldn't find the spreadable cheese, so made up a mix of grated strong extra tasty cheese, Philly cheese, and marscapone.

We had this with crackers and it was good!

Sunbeam Buckwheat Pikelets

Mum had a Sunbeam mixmaster and a Sunbeam frypan so it's uncertain which instruction book this recipe came from, but curious that it calls for sour milk. We didn't generally have any sitting around so added some vinegar.

Pikelets were a quick last-minute smoko that we kids could help cook; they were made often. We liked them with sugar and lemon juice on top, but golden syrup or treacle is good too. T trialed peanut butter but rated it as only ok. He was going to try tomato sauce.

The boys helped make them this morning, leaving trails of batter across the stovetop, licking their fingers, and wriggling with excitement at the bubbles rising before the Flipping of the Pikelet. They even helped flip and lift, not bad fine motor skills boys, I was impressed. But just in case you're mislead to think that I let them do this for longer than a few batches, don't be ;) It's quite challenging to my bench wiping fetish.

We used buckwheat flour for something different and added 2 tsp baking powder per cup of flour to make it self raising.

~Sunbeam Pikelets~

1 cup SR flour (or buckwheat or other, with baking powder to suit)

1/2 tsp bicarb soda

pinch salt

2 tab sugar

1 egg

1 cup sour milk (or add 1 tsp vinegar)

60g butter and a little extra for the pan

:::Sift flour, salt and soda.

:::Add sugar, egg and milk and beat well for a few minutes.

::: Fold in melted butter and leave to rest for a few minutes.

:::Heat pan to medium-hot. Grease it with a little melted butter and place spoonfuls of batter around the pan, leaving plenty of room for them to spread, and for later flipping.

:::Wait for the big bubbles to burst then flip each pikelet with a spatula. If the cooked side is golden brown then temperature is just right; if not, adjust accordingly.

:::Cook the other side briefly, peeking under to see when it's done.

:::Lift out and eat warm. Or cold. With whatever you like. Even tomato sauce :)

:

Easiyo Yoghurt

http://www.easiyo.com/

We have always eaten a lot of unflavoured yoghurt - dessert or snacks for the kids, as a substitute for cream or sour cream, in dips etc.

I bought an EasiYo maker when T was a baby, but frequently ran out of the sachets, so it didn't get a lot of use. When we moved to live in town it was used again, but for a while now I've used powdered milk with a little of the starter in the sachet and it works well.

This is it :
*half fill the container with cool clean water - I use a water purifier, but if that wasn't available I'd boil it first as our mains water is truly foul.
*mix in 1 1/2 cups total of powdered milk (I use a combination of full fat and skim) plus 2 rounded dessert spoons of EasiYo mix.
*shake well then top up with water and place in the thermos section (after pouring boiling water in)
*leave for 5-6 hours and check for setting - leave until it is set to your preference, but I like to leave it the minimum amount of time as it is sweeter (more acidic the longer you leave it)

We use at least 1kg of this yoghurt a week; it costs around $1.35 for 1kg

Labneh is a yummy thing to make with plain yoghurt - line a seive with thin cotton fabric (an old linen teatowel is perfect) and pour in the yoghurt. Tie off the top to make a pudding shape and leave it in the fridge with the seive over a bowl. Leave for 24hrs to 3 days then use as a spread for bread, a dip (tzatziki made with this is divine), or make balls rolled in fresh herbs. Yum!

January 2008 - edited to add - I now use a yoghurt culture starter from Cheeselinks http://www.cheeselinks.com.au/ instead of the Esiyo sachet cultures. A few grains of this makes a batch of yoghurt, and one small packet will make up to 250L of yoghurt! It keeps in the freezer, but not indefinately, so is something to share with friends when you buy.

Cream of Broccoli Soup

This recipe was adapted from a Sunbeam food processor book circa 1997. For years we used Oskar to grind up peanuts at harvest time. Shell and all, processed fine, so the moisture level of each truckload of nuts could be monitored - moisture content of the peanuts was a critical factor affecting quality, for both grades and contamination, and we managed our harvest around it. In the off-season, after some scrubbing, Oskar did duty in the kitchen, and this recipe was one of my favourites. My ex-husband didn't like it much because he was a fussy beast, which only adds to it's appeal ;)

The kids and I love it, so this is dinner tonight for us. I'm hoping to grow lots of broccoli in our vege patch this year :)

~Cream of Broccoli Soup~

1 clove garlic, crushed

1 large onion

1 large potato

1 tab butter

1 tab oil

750g broccoli florets

6 cups chicken stock

1/2 teaspoon thyme (I use fresh)

black pepper

1/2 cup skim evaporated milk

Roughly chop the onions and potatoes and saute gently in the butter and oil, with the garlic, until the onion is soft.

Add broccoli, thyme, stock and pepper and bring to the boil, Simmer until all is tender.

Puree until smooth (I like to use a hand blender these days).

Add evap milk (or cream or milk or whatever you like) and reheat gently to serve.

Old Dani's Chinese Plum Sauce

Isn't plum the most beautiful colour? You could wear it. Actually I did at a few points during the process, as did the kitchen walls; it was a little sad wiping them down.

A big bowl of plums has been resting on the bench, waiting for this recipe. Yesterday we finally squeezed it into a space and there are 3 big jars of red sitting where the plums were. It's delicious, thanks Dani :)

The school asked us to bring a box of collage material next week, so while it simmered away I sorted through a tea chest of fabric scraps... and time slipped away until the faint smell of burning filtered through my fabric daydreams. Oops. A bit burnt on the bottom, but the burn hadn't tainted it so it was rescu-able.

~Chinese Plum Sauce~

8 cups plums, pitted, halved

1 cup onions, chopped

1 cup water

1 teaspoon ginger, minced

1 clove garlic, minced

3/4 cup sugar

1/2 cup rice vinegar or cider vinegar
1 teaspoon coriander, ground

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper

1/4 teaspoon cloves

*In large saucepan, bring plums, onions, water, ginger and garlic to boil over medium heat; cover, reduce heat to low and simmer, stirring occasionally, until plums and onions are very tender, about 30 minutes.

*Press through sieve and return to pan; stir in sugar, vinegar, coriander, salt, cinnamon, pepper and cloves.Bring to boil, stirring; reduce heat to low and simmer until mixture reaches consistency of applesauce, about 45 minutes.

*Fill and seal jars.Makes about 4 cups

I doubled the garlic and ginger :)

For more food inspiration go visit Dani at http://www.thekitchenplayground.com/

Sweet Chilli Sauce

This recipe is from a Charmaine Solomon's Gourmet Barbeque book; I add more sultanas. It's sweet and hot enough to zing but not hot enough to burnyour tastebuds off. I've been making it for a long time and I love it; we made another batch this week. I like it with lime over chicken and prawns. And snags and chops. And mixed with sour cream on anything.

~Sweet Chilli Sauce~

250g fresh red chillies

750g sugar

750ml white vinegar

400g sultanas

3 garlic cloves, crushed with salt (below)

1 tab salt

1 tab finely grated fresh ginger

*Split the chillies lengthwise and discard seeds and membrane (unless you like it hot).

*Chop the chillies roughly, then place in a food processer or blender with enough vinegar to cover. Blend till fine.

*Place all ingredients in a large saucepan and bring to the boil. Simmer gently until the sultanas are very soft and the sauce has thickened.

*Cool then puree with FP or a hand blender (or rub through a seive if you like smooth sauce).

*Pour into sterilised jars and seal.

Fig & Ginger Jam

Grandma's southern garden grew ancient fig trees; imagination wrapped in the gnarled branches. They were fascinating plants to my northern eyes; trees didn't drop their leaves in our winter and very little in my childhood world resembled European fairytales.

She made fig jam each year. Our occasional visits south were punctuated by fig jam experiences; luscious chunks of fig in syrup with thick cream on fresh bread.

Figs do grow in the North, albeit for only few years before they die, as I found when we lived in the Top End. Each year the roadside F&V stalls outside Darwin would sell figs for a few brief weeks, so one year on the way home from "town" I bought a bag and rang Grandma for her recipe. This is what she told me :

"Use 3/4 pound of sugar to each pound of prepared figs. About 6 pounds of fruit takes half a cup of vinegar, and you can add 2 tablespoons of sherry or brandy if you like. Boil the fruit in a bit of water, then add the sugar when it starts to thicken - about an hour. Take off the stove and add the vinegar and sherry, then boil until it's thick enough - test in a saucer. Bottle it while it's hot."

We live further south now, where fig trees are plenty. Ours is only two feet high, but we are blessed with neighbours who are over-figged, so they've given us a few bags this season already.

Last night we had Dani's Fig, Feta & Bacon Salad http://kitchenplayground.wordpress.com/2008/03/11/while-the-cat-is-away/ and it was good :)

And we've made a version of Grandma's jam :


~Fig & Ginger Jam~
2lb prepared figs - trimmed and quartered
1 1/2 lb sugar
1/6 cup apple cider vinegar
1 tab sweet cream sherry
2 tsp grated fresh ginger
2 tab glace ginger, finely chopped

Cover the figs and gingers with as much water as you like - I prefer a runny fig jam with plenty of syrup to soak into the bread, but if you like thick jam you can cut into cubes (like the store-bought stuff), then use less water and add some Jamsetter with the sugar.

Bring to the boil, then add the sugar (and Jamsetter if you are using) and simmer until the syrup starts to thicken. Add the vinegar and sherry, then simmer until it jells - use a saucer in the freezer to test.

Let it cool a few minutes before bottling in sterilised jars.

The amounts above made 3 medium sized jars.

eta March 2009
Since this seems to be a popular page in search engines, I need to add that my mum advises to add lemon juice to help set the jam. And I've found it doesn't keep indefinitely in the pantry; needs refridgerating after a few months.

Tahini dressing

When I first read this recipe http://www.kathrynelliott.com.au/blog/2007/11/19/tahini-salad-dressing on Limes & Lycopene blog, I knew it would come into our kitchen at some point.

Tonight we roasted our own organic potatoes, carrots and corn and dressed it with this - really good. I didn't have shoyu so used organic tamari instead. My boys loved it, so it might be a good addition to their school lunch menu.

~Tahini Dressing~
2 tab tahini
2 tab lemon juice
1 tab tamari
1 tab Dijon mustard

Stir lemon juice into tahini, then tamari and mustard in. Done :)

Roast Leek, Garlic and Potato Soup

The plan was to make roast leek and celeraic soup, but somehow celeraic was unavailable in all the places I searched. Maybe because it's an autumn vegetable and even though our weather is decidedly autumn-like here on the mountain right now, it is in fact summer...

The leeks and garlic were roasted last night while the oven was on for roast lamb. I did a tray of roast pumpkin for the freezer as well - very handy to have in store and we are about to overflow with pumpkins from the garden.

So, this is what was mixed up and it's pretty good :

~Roast Leek, Garlic and Potato Soup~
3 leeks
1 head garlic
olive oil
1kg potatoes
7 cups stock - chicken/vegetable
1 cup cream
parmesan and black pepper to serve

Split white part of leeks lengthwise, wash if needed, then chop into 5cm lengths. Place in tray with unpeeled garlic bulb and drizzle with olive oil. Roast at 200 degrees until they are roasted looking. Leave the garlic in for longer if needed. It needs to be soft.

Place leeks and garlic pulp (squeeze out cloves) in a heavy based saucepan with stock and peeled, roughly chopped potatoes. Bring to the boil and simmer until the potatoes can be squashed easily with a wooden spoon.

Remove from heat and cool for 5 minutes. Whizz with a stick blender to puree, then stir through cream.

Serve with finely grated fresh parmesan and lots of black pepper.

Boston Baked Beans

This recipe may have come from a Super Food Ideas mag years ago, but I'm not sure at all. I love baked beans. Comfort food, yum scrum.


~Boston Baked Beans~

350g dried haricot/cannellini beans, washed and soaked overnight
2 onions, chopped
250g bacon or ham, chopped
2 tab treacle
2 tab tomato paste
2 tab white wine vinegar
1 tab Keens mustard powder
1 tab brown sugar
2 cloves garlic, crushed with salt
1/2 tab Worcestershire sauce
few whole cloves
black pepper
fresh parsley, finely chopped

Drain beans, place in large pan, cover with cold water and bring to boil. Simmer about 30 min. Drain and reserve liquid.

Mix beans, onions and bacon/ham in a large casserole dish.

Mix all the sauce ingredients together, plus about 2 cups of reserved bean liquid, and pour over bean mix.

Cover and bake in a slow oven (150 degrees) for 4-7 hours, depending on the beans used. Test to see when they are soft and done.

Serve sprinkled with fresh parsley.

You can use any beans you want really, just need to adjust cooking times to suit. The cooked beans can be frozen for reheating later as a quick meal with wholemeal bread and salad.

Mum's Tomato Relish

As a child, we killed our own beef on our station, so we ate a lot of beef. There is a lot of meat on an entire beast, and a most of it isn't fillet steak; lunch usually consisted of sliced cold meat and salad. With relish. When we packed lunches to take mustering, meat and relish sandwiches were the first choice; by the time we stopped riding for lunch (bottom numb, legs chaffed), the butter and relish would have soaked into the bread, making a delicious combination of buttery sweet and tart to wrap around the slabs of beef. My memories of mum's tomato relish come with the powdery dust of cattle camps and the smell of horse sweat, baking heat and tired muscles.

Mum had a vege garden that supplied us with enough food to last year round. We bought fruit, potatoes and onions, but the rest was from her garden. Lots of tomatoes, and every year she'd make a large batch of relish. She still does, and now we do too. This recipe would have come from her mother or her mother in law.

Mum's Tomato Relish
4 lb tomatoes
4 onions
salt
vinegar (approx 750ml)
1 lb sugar
1 1/2 tab Keens mustard powder
1 tab Keens curry powder

Chop tomatoes and onions, place on separate plates and sprinkle with plenty of salt. Stand covered on the bench overnight. Drain in a colander or seive the next morning and discard the juice.

Place in a large saucepan and cover with vinegar, then add sugar and bring to the boil. Cook at a bit hotter than simmer for an hour or so - until the liquid has reduced and the relish is thick enough. Mix the mustard and curry powders with cold vinegar and stir through. Allow to boil a few more minutes, then remove from the heat. Bottle and seal.

You can eat this straight away but the flavour improves with age.

Rocket Pesto

This recipe was adapted from one I found on google. There is a commercial dip of rocket/cashew nuts that I like, so I tried cashews but the walnuts were nuttier and more peppery so I'll stick to them in future.

Rocket Pesto
3 cups rocket
4 cloves garlic
1/3 cup walnuts, toasted
1/3 cup parmesan, grated
200 ml olive oil

Whiz the first 4 ingredients in the food processer, till chopped, then slowly pour in the olive oil.

Most of what I made was frozen, for using on pasta and as dip when summer is gone.

Basil Pesto

This recipe was given to me by a girl who had the most glorious wild tangly hair. She looked like Helen Bonham Carter. I've changed it over the years because I like less oil and garlic.

The basil bushes are enormous after a month of summer rain. So over the last few days I've made many batches of this and frozen most of it for later in the year. A lot has been frozen in icecube trays to use in cooking. The rest will defrost well for pasta, dips and winter breakfast on toast. I've made so much that I'm sick of the taste of it. Because you have to taste test each lot. With homemade bread of course.

Basil Pesto
100g basil leaves, picked
50g pinenuts, toasted
4 tab parmesan, grated
3 cloves garlic, peeled and chopped
150 ml olive oil
juice of 2 small limes or one lemon

Place basil, pinenuts, parmesan and garlic in a food processor and process till mostly chopped. Pour the oil in with the motor running. Add the juice and process briefly to combine. Stir through salt and pepper if you like it.

Ginger beer

The original recipe came from Down To Earth http://down---to---earth.blogspot.com/2007/05/ginger-beer.html

This is my version of Rhonda's recipe :


Ginger Beer Plant
1 dessertspoon of brown sugar (could use rapadura, white, raw)
1 dessertspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon dry yeast
300mls filtered water or rainwater

Mix all these in a jar with a largish open top. Place a piece of clean thin cotton fabric over the top and secure with a rubber band. Leave it on the kitchen bench and feed it every day with 1 teaspoon of brown sugar and 1 teaspoon of ground ginger, stirring well.


This stage of the process is to grow the yeast population in the ginger beer plant. Yeast will come from the dry yeast you have added and wild yeasts from the air in your house. The cover needs to be breathable to allow air in for the yeast to live and ferment, and temperatures need to be moderate - not too hot or cold. The yeast use the sugar you add to breed more yeast. After a few days (or even one day) you'll see the top looking bubbly and a little scummy. You might even be able to see bubbles rising from the sediment at the bottom - this means that the yeast are alive and breeding and that fermentation is occurring, which is what you are aiming for.


To make the Ginger Beer :
After 7 days of feeding the plant, you need to strain the sediments from it in order to use the yeast-rich liquid. I use a 30cm square piece of old cotton sheeting and place it in a seive over a bowl. Pour in the plant and allow it to drain. You will need to squeeze the last liquid out by twisting the fabric tightly.


Dissolve 3 cups of sugar in 20 cups of water and allow to cool. Add the juice of 2 lemons and the liquid plant. Stir well.


You could bottle in sterilised glass bottles, which is what we did as kids, but overfermentation can cause them to explode. So I use clean plastic softdrink bottles (although the next batch I'll try glass Grolsch bottles with the swingtop lids as well). I pour a little near-boiling water into the bottle through a funnel before using them, but you need to use a funnel or the plastic on the sides will melt and deform as the hot water touches it. As you pour the water out, try to run it over all the sides of the bottle. Pour the ginger beer in and leave a couple of inches space at the top.


Screw the caps on and leave them to ferment undisturbed for a few days in a warmish place (but not too hot). The yeast will continue to multiply in the sugar-rich mixture, and will use the sugar to breed; the byproducts of this process are alcohol and carbon dioxide, which will give the beer fizz when you open it. The longer you leave it the more fizz and alcohol content the beer will have. I've left mine 3, 6 and 10 days, and the 10 day brew was good for a real beer; the 3 day brew was fizzy but no detectable alcohol content (using my 1 pot screamer alcohol detector).


If you want to re-use the plant sediment to start a new batch, use half of the sediment in another 300ml water/dessert spoon of sugar, and feed each day with sugar and ginger, as before. The longer you keep a ginger beer plant alive by re-using it after each batch of beer, the more wild yeast it will grow and the more complex the flavour will become - or so the story goes ;)

Welcome to my recipe book :)

I love food. Love eating and love cooking. Growing our own food matters to me; somehow it connects me to the earth, pulls me back to the soil. Stops me from floating away and becoming lost entirely.

This is a place to store the recipes we use, those we find, and to record the moments of discovery or rediscovery. Sometimes those moments are as simple as tomatoes for breakfast; the richness of homegrown cherry tomatoes bursting in your mouth, alongside hoummus and toast; or the tart caramel deliciousness of grilled grosse lisse tomatoes with bacon and rocket.

I love the process of food, the sharing and appreciating. It connects me to my children, my old friends and new friends, and to the generations of people before me. The history of recipes and the stories surrounding cooking intrigues me.

One of the most beautiful things in my kitchen is my grandma's sifter. She doesn't remember when it was aquired, too long ago. Knowing that her hands held it for so many years and knowing that my hands touch where hers have been is something wonderful.