Eat Me

Carrot, Pineapple, Coconut and Walnut Cake

2006-09-04T18:41:00.000+10:00

Is it cheating just to link here? Then cheat I must, for I cannot type it all again!

mtc
bec

Catch-up Day 76 - Jelly cakes

2006-05-25T21:10:00.000+10:00

These come from Australian chef Kylie Kwong. The boys love them and they are great to make with their help. But come to think of it, I love them. Make them in those shallow cupcake trays (a bit like Madeliene tins in depth, but just round in shape) and don't overfill - you want little cakes you can just pop in your mouth. Go crazy with different coloured jellies.

Cake
125g butter
1/2 cup caster sugar
1 egg
1 1/2 cups SR flour
1/2 cup milk
1/2 tsp vanilla

- Preheat oven to 180C
- Cream butter with sugar
- Add egg
- Fold in flour, milk and vanilla
- Spoon into greased patty-pan tins
- Bake for 10 minutes

Jelly
1 cup boiling water
1 packet jelly crystals
3/4 cup cold water
2 1/2 cups dessicated coconut
- Make jelly and chill for 2-2 1/2 hours

- When cakes are cooled and jelly is sort of half set, roll cakes in the jelly, then in the coconut.
- Gobble gobble gobble!

Catch-up Day 78: Mint yoghurt dressing

2006-05-23T22:26:00.000+10:00

I'm not a big fan of cooking fish, even though it is quick, easy and highly nutritious, and the kids love it. Having just written that I realise just how stupid it sounds that we don't eat fish at least three times a week. I guess it's having to buy it fresh all the time and adding that step to the process - as opposed to just staring into the pantry - puts it in the too hard basket. Slack I know.

Anyway, when I do cook a lovely bream, snapper or flathead fillet, the following is a lovely accompaniment. It is also great with some grilled chicken or even just brown rice if you're having one of those nights.

1 cup yoghurt
2 tblsp lime juice
2 tsp fish sauce
4 tblsp finely chopped fresh mint.

That's it.
You can also season it with salt and pepper if you wish. Go on, knock yourself out.

Catch-up Day 77: the best sticky ribs ever.

2006-05-23T21:52:00.000+10:00

This comes from Nigella. I love Nigella. I won't hear a bad word about her. Although once she made a dish with squid ink noodles, prawns and chilli and it just looked wrong wrong wrong. But I love her. I covet her waist, her skin and her ability to triumph over adversity to marry again into some serious shit money of a stratosphere I can only imagine.

Anyway, this is her ribs recipe and my GOODNESS it is good.

4 tblsp vinegar
3 tblsp soy
dash sesame oil
2 tblsp honey
cinnamon stick, crumbled
star anise - a few
lots and lots of ginger cut into sticks
4 spring onions
3 fat red chillies
Pork ribs - on the bone

Combine the marinade with the ribs
Cook in a covered baking dish at 200C for an hour
Uncover, raise the heat to 230C
Add another good slug of honey and 2 tsp five spice
Cook for another 30 minutes.

They'll be charred in places and sticky all over.

Seriously, these are so very very good.

Catch-up Day 65: Artichoke Dip #2

2006-05-03T21:28:00.001+10:00

This is really called artichoke and white bean puree, which is nice if you're trying to be fancy.

400g can of artichoke hearts, drained (I use marinated ones for more flavour)
400g can of drained and rinsed cannellini beans.
1 1/2 tblsp olive oil
1 tblsp lemon juice
2 tblsp coarsley chopped marjoram

Process until smooth.
Serve with lavash or raw veggies.

Catch-up Day 64: Artichoke dip

2006-05-03T21:28:00.000+10:00

This is another recipe from my American friend Lynda. I love these US recipes that basically see how many forms of saturated fat they can get into one dish.

1 cup mayonnaise
1 cup shredded parmesan cheese
1 410g can of artichokes, drained and chopped
1-2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
paprika

- Preheat oven to 180C
- Combine the mayonnaise, parmesan, artichokes and garlic
- Pour into shallow ceramic dish
- Sprinkle over paprika
- Cook until golden and bubbly.
- Serve with selection of raw vegetables and lavash crackers.

I can eat this until I have to undo my jeans and my head falls off, and not necessarily in that order.

Catch-up Day 63: Basic tomato sauce

2006-05-03T20:28:00.000+10:00

Again, this is from my heroes - Curtis and Campion in the Kitchen. It seems ludicrous to follow a recipe for a basic tomato sauce for pasta, but you know, some people need hand holding from the very beginning, and if it means they are in the kitchen having fun and success, then that is what it takes.

Olive oil - a few good lugs
garlic - several cloves, smooshed with the side of your chef's knife, then chopped/minced with a good pinch of sea salt
410g tin chopped roma tomatoes
good handful basil or flat leaf parsley

Heat the oil
Saute off the garlic until golden, not brown
Add the tomatoes and basil and simmer

It's that easy folks.
Go crazy and throw some olives in with the tomatoes.
Lose your head and add some anchovies or rinsed salted capers with the garlic.
The options are limitless.

I use this, then after browning off the meatballs add them in and simmer until the pasta is cooked.

Catch-up Day 62: Spaghetti w/ meatballs

2006-05-03T20:26:00.001+10:00

I made these for the first time a few weeks back on Felix's request. He has a food-memory association with them from a time Chef cooked them and they played Xbox together for the first time. What a treasured childhood time. Anyway, I didn't like Chef's. No real reason, they just didn't do it for me. So I found a recipe from my favouritist cookbook in the world - Campion & Curtis in the Kitchen - and made them. Then Felix uttered a phrase I never thought I'd hear, "Mum, this is better than spaghetti bolognese". And I agree.

I make a big batch and then freeze portions for during the week or quick dinner options.

500g pork mince
500g beef mince
2 eggs
a good 2 handfuls or so of breadcrumbs
a good handful or 2 of parmesan
a good handful of chopped basil and parsley
1-2 onions, finely chopped
2-4 cloves garlic, smooshed
seasonings

- Cook off onion and garlic
- Mix minces together
- Add everything else. If too wet add more breadcrumbs
- Roll into small balls. (Don't do them too big, I don't like them)

Heat some olive oil in a fry pan, brown them, then add to the basic tomato sauce that you've got simmering and cook for as long as you have.

Catch-up Day 61: Baby baked custard w/ stewed apple

2006-05-03T20:26:00.000+10:00

This comes from Robin Barker, the doyenne of all things baby in Australia. I made double this the other day and Jasper didn't even get any. The boys scoffed the lot.

1 cup apple puree
1 cup milk
1 tblsp sugar
1/2 tsp vanilla
1 egg

- Preheat the oven to 180C
- Mix the apple with the milk, sugar and vanilla
- Beat the egg and stir through the mix
- Pour into a greased ovenproof dish
- Bake for 20 minutes or until set.
- Eat hot or cold.

(You can apparently substitute banana for the apple, but I hate bananas, so don't look to me to see how that would work.)

Catch-up Day 60: Baby tapioca

2006-05-03T20:25:00.000+10:00

You have to indulge me here. You see, the New Recruit is in that land between just eating pureed vegies and stewed apple and not quite being up for me mashing up whatever it is we're eating for dinner.

We love tapioca in this house - I'll post our favourite dessert here soon - and this is a great first introduction to the food we affectionately call frogs eggs.

1 tblsp tapioca
1/2 cup apple juice
2 tblps stewed apple, pureed

- Put the tapioca and juice in a small saucepan.
- Stir over low heat until the juice is mostly absorbed.
- Add the apple.
- Cool and serve.

You can freeze this. It makes about 2 serves, depending on the age of the baby.

Catch-up Day 59: Quick and easy spinach pie

2006-05-03T20:24:00.001+10:00

This is actually based on a recipe in a baby and toddler cookbook I own. I'm not kidding. I've made it more fancy with the addition of pine nuts, fresh mint and breadcrumbs on top to go crispy and yum.

But yeah, I'm posting baby food.

250g packet frozen spinach - thawed and all the water squeezed out
1 cup cooked rice
3 eggs, beaten
1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
1 cup fetta, diced
1 tblsp butter, melted
handful chopped fresh mint
handful pinenuts
fresh breadcrumbs

Preheat oven to 200C
Combine everything
Press into a 23cm pie dish
scatter with pinenuts and breadcrumbs
Bake for 25 minutes or until set.

I'm serious, it is SO good.

Catch-up Day 58: Chicken rissoles

2006-05-03T20:24:00.000+10:00

It is quite bizarre how much chicken (organic mind you) we eat, considering when I was preggers with Jasper I couldn't come at it in any way shape or form.

I whipped these up the other week, even making a mega-batch so there were some in the freezer for dinners when Mum was on duty.

500g chicken mince
1 onion, finely chopped
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 large field mushroom, finely diced
fresh breadcrumbs - a good couple of handfuls
a egg
a good dollop of dijon mustard
fresh herbs - tarragon or thyme works well.

saute off the onion and garlic, add the mushroom
cool - if you have time.
Combine everything in a bowl.
If too wet add more breadcrumbs.
Shape into patties
Coat in more fresh breadcrumbs
Pan fry
Serve w/ salad and bread rolls.

How easy is that!?!

Catch-up Day 57: Super quick and easy chocolate sauce

2006-05-03T20:22:00.000+10:00

I can't believe I'm actually going to list this as an actual recipe.
On the rare occasions I crave ice cream, I often crave a chocolate sauce to go with it. After a weird obsession with Ice Magic soon after having Jasper, I now need something a little bit better quality.

So:
Take 250g choc chips and 300ml pouring cream.
Combine in a dish
Microwave for about 30 seconds
Stir
Then keep microwaving in 10 second bursts until the chocolate is melted and it all combines into a chocolate sauce.

I have no idea how long it would keep in a fridge, the longest it's lasted in our house is two nights.

Catch-up Day 56: Five-spice beef stir-fried w/ noodles

2006-05-03T20:21:00.000+10:00

I'm nutty for noodles. Egg noodles, vermicelli, hokkien noodles, you name it. In fact, the last trimester of my pregnancy with Jasper was largely fuelled by Singapore noodles from the food court at Grosvenor Tower. With extra chilli sauce on the side.

The chilli factor is tricky in our house as Oscar classifies ginger as spicy. Felix has inherited a palate from Chef's side of the family and was known to tuck into a Thai green curry sauce from around the age of 4.

The following - with the wondrous aromatic flavours of Chinese Five Spice, is a happy medium.

one large piece of rump - coated in a good dose of Chinese Five Spice and freshly ground pepper. Sear on each side, rest, then slice thinly.
(Alternatively, take a semi-frozen piece of rump, slice thinly, toss in five spice and pepper then wok fry)

mix up a sauce of
4 tblsp soy
4 tblsp oyster sauce
1 tsp - a dash - sesame oil
pinch of sugar

Heat some oil in a wok. Stir fry a selection of vegies. In our house it's normally onion, broccoli, carrot. If they're in the cupboard, water chestnuts and baby corn get tossed in as well. If we're cashed up there are snow peas and shallots and maybe even (gasp) cashews.
If I can be bothered I'll add some cloves of garlic, finely chopped and some grated ginger.

Add the Hokkien noodles
Toss through the sauce
Add the meat and fresh coriander.

Delicious, nutritious and fast.

Day Whatever - Anzac Biscuits

2006-04-25T21:38:00.000+10:00

Bec requested a one bowl biscuit a few weeks ago and I've been drawing blanks except for the mighty Anzac. But Bec said she hates Anzacs. She obviously hasn't tried mine.

1 cup rolled oats
1 cup plain flour
1 cup sugar ( I normally use brown, but Chef had used it all making his caramel wannabe milkshakes, so I used caster, and I think they are better)
3/4 dessicated coconut
125g butter
2 tblsp golden syrup
1/2 tsp bicarb
1 tblsp boiling water

- mix dry ingredients together
- melt butter with golden syrup
- mix bicarb with boiling water, add to butter mix
- mix wet with dry - it will be quite dry
- form rounds in your hand, about half way between the size of a twenty cent and fifty cent
- bake in a slow (150C) oven for 20 minutes.

Day 74 - Good Friday - Hot Cross Buns

2006-04-14T11:59:00.000+10:00

Good Friday is my idea of bliss. A day off work, no need for gifts. Just a day to h.a.n.g. o.u.t. And bake. Behold, Hot Cross Buns. . .

Buns
2 tblsp dry yeast
1/4 cup caster sugar
1 1/2 cups warm milk
4 cups plain flour
2 tsp mixed spice
2 tsp cinnamon
85g butter, melted
1 egg
1/3 cup caster sugar
1 1/2 cups sultanas (or 1 cup sultanas, 1/2 cup raisins and/or currants)
1/3 cup candied peel (or finely grated rind of an orange and a lemon)

- Combine the yeast, sugar and milk until bubbles form
- Add everything else
- Mix with a palate knife to combine, then knead for 5-10 minutes
- Place dough in an oiled boil and set aside for 30 mins

- Knock back, divide into 12 (or 24 to make mini-buns), place in a greased 23cm square tin (or place close together on a baking tray for freer form), cover and let rise until doubled.

- Top with cross paste

- Cook in 200C oven for 20 mins
- Brush over glaze.

Crosses
1/2 cup plain flour
1/3 cup water
- mix together into a paste
- put into a bag of some description (I use a snaplock bag, then cut off one corner)
- draw crosses over the top

Glaze
2 tblsp sugar
1 tsp gelatine
2 tblsp water
- combine over heat and cook until the gelatine dissolves
- brush over warm buns

Day 71 - Roast Lamb with coffee

2006-04-11T21:38:00.000+10:00

Terry Durack and Jill Dupleix are an Australian cooking couple that used to have a stranglehold on all forms of food media in Australia. It would have been more annoying, had their recipes and love of food not been so accesible, understandable and delicious.

This is a unique way of cooking lamb that adds a depth of flavour to a family favourite. Not to mention a sense of oohlala.

salt and pepper
1 tblsp fresh rosemary sprigs
1 boned and tied leg of lamb - about 1.2kg
1 tblsp mustard
1/2 cup strong coffee
1 tblsp cream
1 tblsp sugar
1 tblsp brandy
1/2 cup chicken stock

- Preheat oven to 190C
- Rub salt, pepper, rosemary into the lamb
- Spread mustard over lamb
- Combine coffee, cream, sugar and brandy in a pot, stir over gentle heat until sugar is dissolved
- Place lamb in lightly oiled baking dish and pour over coffee mixture
- Roast for 30 minutes, then reduce heat to 160C for 15 mins
- Rest for 15 mins before carving
- Add chicken stock to juice and heat until bubbling.

Day 70 - dinner and an Italian coffee custard

2006-04-11T21:30:00.000+10:00

Dinner was honey soy chicken wings, rice, vegies - which were delicious and perfect after a long day at work and a hard night the night before spent trying to sleep in Felix's bed because he had requisitioned mine.

While I was looking for the pecan pie recipe I found this. I've only made it once but think of it often.

Piedmontese Coffee Custard
1 1/2 cups milk
1 cup cream
1 cup freshly brewed espresso coffee
1 cup caster sugar
8 eggs, lightly beaten
100ml dark rum (although I've made it with Cointreau, which was fabulous)
100g amaretti biscuits - finely chopped

- Combine milk, cream, coffee and sugar in saucepan and heat for 5 minutes
- Stir in combined eggs and alcohol
- Mix in chopped biscuits
- Pour into ramekins or one large dish, then into a baking dish in the oven. Fill baking dish with water until half way up side of ramekins
- Cook at 160C for 45-50 mins
- Cool to room temperature, then refrigerate.

They're sweet, but not too much. The coffee is strong but not overbearing. The biscuits form this crunchy sort of top. It is really lovely.

Day 69 - Pecan Pie and Caramel Bourbon Vanilla Sauce

2006-04-11T21:15:00.000+10:00

This is Chef's favourite. I have only made it three times in 15 years. Twice in the last 6 months. What's the saying? Treat 'em mean...

This is actually Martha Stewart's Maple Bourbon Pecan Pie
1 cup sugar
4 tblsp unsalted butter, melted
4 large eggs
1 cup (+2 tblsp) dark corn syrup
1/2 cup maple syrup
2 tblsp bourbon
1 tsp vanilla
1 1/2 cups pecan halves - chop half into smallish bits

Whisk together the sugar, butter, eggs, corn syrup and maple syrup, bourbon and vanilla.
Add the chopped pecans.
Pour into a chilled pie shell (in a 9 inch pie plate), arrange remaining pecans over the top
Bake for an hour.

Caramel Bourbon Vanilla Sauce - this is DIVINE
2 cups sugar
1 cup heavy cream
1 vanilla bean - split and scraped
2 tsp lemon juice
2 tblsp unsalted butter
1 tblsp bourbon

Combine sugar with 1/2 cup water in a saucepan over medium heat
Cook until dark amber (takes about 20 mins)
Reduce heat, slowly add cream, stirring with a wooden spoon
Scrap in vanilla seeds and add pod
Add lemon juice, butter and bourbon
Stir to combine
Will last up to a week if you don't - on your own- eat it in one sitting over icecream, off the spoon, with the pie, straight out of the jar...

BTW - Chef had today off - his first in over three weeks. It returned to Monday night, pizza night. Nice.

Day 68 - Apple Pie

2006-04-09T19:46:00.000+10:00

Take some pastry from the freezer that you'd prepared earlier (like, for fruit mince tarts at Christmas) .

Peel 6 granny smith apples. Cut into quarters, remove core and seeds. Cut each quarter into thirds lengthwise.

In a saucepan melt a little nob of butter.
Add apples and a dash of lemon juice, cook for about 5 minutes.

Add a cup of berries (tonight I used frozen cranberries - about 125g)
Add a handful or two of sugar, to your liking
Cook for a further 5 minutes

Sprinkle through 1-2 tblsp plain flour.

Pour into pastry case.
Put pastry over the top. Cut slits in pastry, brush with mix of egg yold and milk, sprinkle with sugar if desired.
Bake at 200C for 1 hour (cover if pastry starts browning too quickly).
Let sit for 15 minutes before cutting.

Eat with lashings of ice cream, cream, custard or all or whatever you have or prefer. Divine.

Days 56 through 66: merely proof that I am correct never to start a craft project

2006-04-07T22:06:00.000+10:00

because quite frankly, it's obvious I am incapable of sustaining anything for an extended period of time. G'ah, it's remarkable I haven't sold the children after tiring of them.

Day 55 - Kitchen Sink Cookies

2006-03-29T21:09:00.000+11:00

You all know I don't really need an excuse to bake, but really, if I did, being broken into would probably rank as a good one. These cookies are big, fat, juicy chunks of comfort, only improved by being consumed with a big, hot cup of properly brewed tea.

1 cup softened butter
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
2 large eggs
1 tsp vanilla
2 cups plain flour
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp baking powder
2 cups rolled oats
2 cups choc chips
1 cup shredded coconut
1 cup raisins
1 cup walnuts (optional)

- Preheat oven to 160C
- Cream buter and sugar
- Add eggs and vanilla
- Add dry ingredients
- Drop tablespoons of mix onto lined baking tray
- Cook for 15 to 18 minutes
- Cool slightly and eat eat EAT.

Day 54 - Honey soy chicken wings

2006-03-27T22:49:00.000+11:00

Hah! From running behind to getting ahead of myself. I marinated the wings and froze them - tonight, at friggin' 9:30pm, I've cooked rice and wings, so all Mum has to do tomorrow night is reheat and cook some broccoli to go with them.

It alleviates the guilt just a little.

Day 53 - Corned beef

2006-03-27T22:33:00.000+11:00

This comes back into high circulation in winter. We're certainly not in winter yet, but I saw some nice pieces of corned beef at Woolies the other day and thought "oooh, white sauce and cauliflower." That's right, corned beef, the perfect excuse for calorie laden vegetable dishes.

1 piece corned beef - about 1.5kg
1 onion, cut into chunks
1 carrot, cut into chunks
a few peppercorns
2 bayleaves - fresh or dried

- place beef and other ingredients in a pot in which the beef is snug
- cover with cold water
- bring to the boil
- reduce to a simmer, and cook for 1.5hours
- let rest in water while you do the rest

potatoes
- cut into chunks and cook
- blend in blender with loads of butter, salt and pepper and milk

cauliflower
- I cook this in the same pot as the potatoes, just adding later in the cooking process

broccoli
- because you definitely need greens with corned beef. Green beans are also good.

parsley sauce
1/2 red onion, finely diced
1 clove garlic, finely chopped
good handful of parsley, finely chopped
large teaspoon horseradish cream
butter
flour
milk*
- melt butter - a large nob - in saucepan
- add onion, garlic, parsley and cook off until onion is cooked
- add a big tablespoon of plain flour and cook out
- add milk, stirring to get rid of lumps - adding more until it thickens and you get a good consistency.
- add horseradish cream to taste. Season.

* it's impossible for me to give accurate quantities here as it varies every time. But you won't get away with using less that about 2 cups of milk.

DIVINELY comforting.

Days 42-52: famine

2006-03-25T16:50:00.000+11:00

I'm just writing these days off. There were no posts because of myriad reasons:
- working
- Chef opening his new restaurant
- working
- tiredness
- repetition of meals (it's getting embarrassing how often we eat chicken, corn and rice; spag bol; lasagne and stir-fry)
- tiredness
- upsetting people
- being upset
- social activism
- life

Something happened back on Day 42 that just took the fun out of this for me.
It still has.
A bit.
It was just easier not to post at all.
It's made me second guess every single word I write here and that defeats the entire purpose of its existence.
Frankly, I'm quite pissed about it.
Still.
That is the main reason for the famine.

I'm hoping there will now be a bounty. But there's no promises. OK?

But to fill you in:
Day 43 - pork stir fry
Days 44-47 - can't remember...
Day 48 - chicken corn and rice
Day 49 - spag bol
Day 50 - lasagne
Day 51 - dinner at FF
Day 52 - dinner at Nana & Grandpa's (which I believe was spag bol again, in keeping with the high carb week!), I had a rissoles made by Grandmama
Day 52 - dinner at FF: boys had fish and chips, I had thai chicken salad.
Day 43 - roast lamb by Grandmama

Day 41 - Monday night is pizza night

2006-03-13T21:36:00.000+11:00

For Chef's birthday two years ago I got him a session of how to make pizza at Napoli in Boca - a wondrous pizza restaurant in Sydney's Haberfield. He has broken the cone of silence to share:

600ml warm water (44C)
50ml milk
1tsp dried yeast
1.1kg plain flour

(Please note this is a Chef estimating amounts he just sort of guesses at...)

Put it all in the Kitchenaid with a dough hook and mix for about 7 minutes.

Let it rise - it should about double.

Then, pull off a piece, roll out and top with whatever you like.
Chef: salami, pepperoni, cheese, cheese, cheese, anchovies, olives, more saturated fat in whatever form he can find
Me: mushroom, garlic (sometimes artichokes, capsicum, onion)
Felix: ham, pineapple (I know) olives
Oscar: anything, but normally ham, pineapple and mushroom

Day 40 - Banana Cake

2006-03-12T20:48:00.000+11:00

Sometimes I am convinced the boys refuse bananas so they will go off and I'll have to make this. This is a recipe from AB's first boss when he (finally) decided he was going to be a chef. She ran this fabulous little deli called The Wild Gourmet in one of Sydney's gently rich suburbs. You know, the ones where people would drop in a pick up something for dinner because they were running late from tennis, the beautician or bridge. It should only be made in a ring tin, and certainly not iced. I have no idea why, it's just the rule.

2 tblsp butter
1 cup sugar
1 egg, lightly beaten
3 very ripe bananas, well mashed
1 1/2 cups flour
1 tsp bi-carb
1 tsp baking powder
2 tblsp milk

Preheat oven to 190C
Cream butter and sugar
Add egg, bananas and sifted dry ingredients a bit at a time
Add milk
Cook in well greased ring tin for 35-40 minutes.

Day 39 - Cinnamon Scrolls

2006-03-12T20:36:00.000+11:00

These are a Kim signature dish. Originally a Donna Hay recipe, I have modified it slightly by adding sultanas and nuts to the filling. I always roll it so I get more than 8 too as really, they are sooooo filling, particularly as part of a brunch spread. I made these a few weeks back and got 24 mini ones out of this batch.

The scrolls
3 cups plain flour
1/4 cup sugar
3/4 tsp salt
1 1/2 tsp dry yeast
1/3 cup lukewarm milk
2 tblsp lukewarm water
2 eggs
120g butter, softened

Filling
100g butter, softened
1/2 cup brown sugar
3 tsp ground cinnamon
3/4 cup ground hazelnuts
generous handful each of sultanas and walnuts or chopped almonds

Preheat oven to 170C

For the scrolls
Place flour, sugar, salt, yeast, milk, water and eggs in either a food processor or with the dough hook on your KitchenAid. Process until it comes together
With motor running, add pieces of the butter one at a time until it's all incorporated. Beat for approx 7 minutes.
Place in a well oiled bowl and proof for 1 1/2 hours.

For the filling
Mix everything together.

To make
Roll dough out on a floured surface to 45cm x 25cm.
With long side facing you, cover with the filling
Roll up
Cut into 8 pieces, or alternatively, make two smaller rectangles, and make mini ones
Bake for 25 minutes or until golden.

If for a fancy brekkie, you can glaze them as well:
2 tblsp sugar
1tsp gelatine
2 tblsp water
Combine over heat and cook until the gelatine dissolves.

Day 38 - Roast chicken

2006-03-12T20:26:00.000+11:00

I love roast chicken. I ocassionally make it so often I do get over it and won't do it for months, but normally, there is roast chicken about once a fortnight.

Selection of vegetables cut into same size chunks
Toss w/ some olive oil, salt, pepper and fresh herbs (ideally sage and tarragon)

Clean the chicken.

Cut up an onion and saute with some garlic until translucent. Toss through some herbs.
Get a couple of handfuls of fresh breadcrumbs and finely grated lemon rind. Fold through the onion and add some water until it's all moist and holds together.
Somtimes I put pine nuts in and add a mushroom or two when cooking the onion.

Stuff the cavity with the stuffing. If you've got loads left over, gently form a cavity between the breast meat and skin and shove up under there as well.

Preheat oven to 220C
In a large baking pan put the chicken in and surround with the vegetables.
Drizzle a bit of oil over the bird and rub in some sea salt.

Cook for an hour.
Remove everything.
Drain off excess oil, then over a flame add 2 tablespoons of plain flour and brown, scraping up the bits stuck to the pan.
Add 750ml boiling water in batches, stirring vigorously to avoid lumps. If you're as hopeless at this as I am, add all the water and whisk the shit out of it. That or add it, scrap into a jug, blend with a hand held blender, then return to baking dish and cook until it thickens slightly.

Serve with steamed broccoli or green beans, or other veggies.

Day 37 - Fried Rice

2006-03-10T19:05:00.000+11:00

Take leftover rice (day old rice is better. I have no idea why)
Dice an onion and a carrot or two, dependent on how many you're feeding and how much rice you have.
Finely chop a clove of garlic and grate some ginger (although for this batch I didn't have any. This batch was seriously a case of - I can make fried rice or vegetarian tacos with a large tin of Four Bean Mix, which I will one day explain for being in our cupboard.)
Get a cup or so of frozen corn kernels and baby peas from the freezer. (You can run these under cold water for a second to defrost or just do so in frypan)
If you have it, I throw in some dehydrated Chinese mushrooms that I've reconstituted, a tin of bamboo shoots, water chestnuts, champignons, baby corn - you name it. As I have already implied, this was a mean, lean, cupboard is bare fried rice.

Heat a little oil in a wok
Lightly beat eggs, pour into wok and swirl around so it forms a thin pancake. Fold over on itself and remove, slice into strips
Stir fry onion and carrot in a little oil
Add garlic and onion
Add peas and corn
Add rice
Add egg back into the mix and some soy to taste. Grown-ups and big kids might like some sweet chilli over it.

(I also added some chopped up honey soy chicken and left over sauce from this as well.)

Day 36 - the day before payday lunch

2006-03-08T20:20:00.000+11:00

Take $2.20.
Go to the canneen (that would be a staff canteen at an office across the street from us - but come on, no one calls the canteen the canTeen, it's a canneen).
Purchase steamed rice and veggies.
For a whole $2.20.
Return to desk.
Open can of Sirena Puttanesca Tuna - tip over rice and veggies.

I'm not sure if it's because I'd scoffed a can of baked beans for breakfast a few minutes before a meeting at 9.15, but my GOD it tasted good.

Day 35 - Honey soy chicken wings

2006-03-08T20:10:00.000+11:00

Take about 8 wings.

If you've got a good Chinese mallet knife (you know, the one with the super wide blade and the whole thing is made from one piece of metal) chop them up into bits along the joints.
(I like cooking the little pointy ends as well because they go nice and crisy and blackened. I also just love chewing on chicken bones, crushing them up in my mouth and sucking the marrowy goodness from their tiny little wings. Sorry...where was I?)
If you don't, cook the wings whole and then, when cooked, use kitchen shears to cut up - they're much easier to cut up once cooked.

In a bowl combine:
a good few glugs of soy sauce
a few tablespoons honey
1-2 smooshed cloves garlic
1 tsp or so of crushed ginger, or powdered ginger
1 good sprinkle of Chinese five spice powder

Add the wings and marinate for as long as you have.

Preheat oven to 220C
Tip everything into a baking dish and bake until chicken is browned and cooked through.
Make up a runny cornflour paste - 1tblsp or so with some water.
Pour into tray and cook for a few more minutes until the sauce thickens and goes glossy.

Cook rice, steam broccoli.
Serve the wings.

Day 34 - a mixed bag

2006-03-05T21:30:00.000+11:00

Lara came over and played today - delightful. So there were bacon and egg rolls on toasted Turkish bread, roasted tomatoes and a delightful Clare Valley Reisling. Not to mention the best ciabatta bread I've had in quite some time.

I put the left over tomatoes back in the oven after we'd eaten and cooked them down even more. They were even better than the best.

Dinner tonight was toasted sandwiches and potato gems because you know, sometimes there just isn't enough carbohydrate in one meal.
Felix: plain toasted cheese
Oscar: cheese and baked beans
Me and Chef: cheese, finely diced Spanish onion and dill pickles

Dessert - Chocolate custard cups I'd bought as a treat for the family bbq thingy that didn't get eaten because when you're tearing all over your school like an idiot, who needs food?

Day 33 - Picnic food

2006-03-04T22:06:00.000+11:00

Yesterday was the welcome bbq at Felix's school - there were about 600 people there and I saw people I haven't seen in ages that made me feel part of a community and well, quite nice really.

But Ingrid* brought her chicken salad. Which is stupidly easy so naturally delicious.

1 bbq chicken, meat shredded
1 cos lettuce, chopped up
1 punnet tomatoes, chopped up
1 lebanese cucumber, sliced up
1 avocado, chopped up
1 bottle Paul Newman's Ceasar dressing

Combine all in a large plastic container. Eat.

Divine when sitting on a picnic blanket with friends, kids running around feral and a glass of wine in hand.

* Otherwise known as mother to Liam, Felix's best friend and partner in all manner of Star Wars recreations.

Day 32 - Lemon Sauce Cake

2006-03-04T22:01:00.000+11:00

I've referred to this before, but here is the actual recipe

125g butter
3/4 cup caster sugar
finely grated rind of 1 lemon
2 eggs
1 1/2 cups SR flour
1/2 cup milk

1/3 cup lemon juice
1/3 cup caster sugar

Preheat oven to 180C
Grease and line loaf tin

Cream butter, sugar and lemon rind
Add eggs one at a time
Fold in flour and milk
Pour into tin
Bake for 50 minutes

Mix lemon juice and sugar together in a saucepan, and cook until sugar is dissolved.
Pour over hot cake.
Eat.

As easy and delicious as that.

Day 31 - Hokkien noodles w/ beef

2006-03-02T19:39:00.000+11:00

This was very thrown together and considering how bare the cupboard was, delightfully tasty.

Steak. I can't remember what sort but it was lean.
When it was frozen I sliced it very finely then marinated it in some chopped up garlic, Chinese five spice powder, soy and worcestershire sauce.
If I'd had it, I would have thrown in some Chinese rice wine and sticks of ginger here as well.

Then I finely julienned carrot and onion and broke up some broccoli into little florets.

I seared the meat in batches in a wok, adding a dash of sesame oil here and there, and removed each batch after it was cooked.

I cooked the carrot, onion and broccoli
Oh yeah, found a tin of water chestnuts and added them as well
Then I added the steak back in
Added a 600g packet of hokkien noodles
and soy sauce.

See, by rights it should have tasted nasty. But the five spice and sesame oil added some nice flavour to it all and it was lovely.

So there you go.

Day 30 - this weeks version of spaghetti al'oglio

2006-03-02T19:23:00.000+11:00

Spaghetti al'oglio is an institution in this household. I mean, pasta, oil and galic with loads of salt and pepper. Does it get any better?

Here is this weeks version:

1x500g packet Barilla Bavette pasta

Extra Virgin Olive Oil
8 cloves (or so) garlic, smooshed* with loads of salt
1 head of broccoli, cut up into small florets
left over oven roasted tomatoes
250g ricotta
rind of 1 lemon
lemon juice

sea salt
pepper

Cook pasta and the broccoli together
drain, reserve some cooking water
in the pot you cooked the pasta, pour in a few good glugs of evoo
add garlic until nicely cooked - NOT brown on any level.
add the tomatoes
Toss through the spaghetti and broccoli that, being cooked that way, has broken up beautifully through the pasta.
add some of the cooking water to loosen.
Put the lid on and let sit for a minute or five.

Mix the lemon rind and juice to taste through the ricotta. Season.

Serve the pasta.
Put a big glob of ricotta on the pasta and mix through - it imparts a beautiful creamy texture without the calories and the lemon lifts it all in that lovely way lemons do.

When I say smooshed this is what I mean:
smack the clove with the side of a chefs knife - this breaks the skin off and breaks up the clove.
roughly chop
add a big pinch of good quality sea salt
keep chopping
then turn the knift on the side and press down and across the garlic - this makes the juices start to flow and makes a sort of crushed garlic paste that is divine. I've been known to just eat it raw on white bread when I'm sick in winter.

Day 29 - Make your own hamburgers

2006-03-02T19:04:00.000+11:00

This is a B clan institution. I used to hate it because the hamburgers were overcooked by Chef's dad on the barbie and not very tasty. I don't know what's happened over the years, but they are now delicious, juicy and very tasty indeed. But this recipe is my own. A bastardised version of Jamie Olivers. Of course.

500g good quality mince (not too lean)
1 onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, smooshed
good handful or two of fresh breadcrumbs
big dollop of mustard, I used dijon
a good squirt of tomato sauce
a dash of Worcestershire sauce
1-2 dill cucumbers, finely chopped
fresh herbs - whatever flavours you fancy
good handful grated parmesan
1 egg

Mix everything together (but not too much, the burgers will get tough. Trust me, I've overmixed burgers and they're hard word.)
If too wet add some more breadcrumbs
Shape into patties as big or as small as you like.
Put some breadcrumbs down on a sheet of baking paper on a tray, place burgers on tray, sprinkle some breadcrumbs over the top.
Cook for about 7 minutes on the first side and then about 5 on the other. Even though it's good quality mince, I'm not for a rare burger. Ever.

While someone else is (preferably) cooking the burgers on the barbie out the back, do a big platter or individual bowls of stuff you want to put on your burger. Our spread goes something like this:
- cheese slices (we've picked up the trick of putting these on the burgers in their last minute of cooking so it goes all melty)
- beetroot
- pineapple rings (I still can't bring myself to put it on a burger, but on the side makes for a very sunny plate)
- sliced tomato
- lettuce
- sweet and sour pickled cucumber slices
and a selection of sauces, mustards, pickles and chutneys
- breadrolls

It is great fun and has been one of those lovely things to watch as it went from a too-hard dinner for little boys to eat to one where they put their own ones together and eat two of them.

Chef's Mum has become more and more adventurous in her cooking as I've known her and we've even been known to have chicken burgers, made with chicken mince, loads of coriander and sweet chilli sauce. Delightful.

Day 28 - Chocolate Birthday Cake

2006-03-02T18:31:00.000+11:00

I LOVE this cake because it's chocolatey but doesn't have that whole palaver of having to melt chocolate. I believe this is the perfect recipe for a child's first cake that they make on their own. It is a Royal Easter Show Award winning recipe that I got out of Delicious magazine a few years back. I can't remember it's owner, but I do know it was a bloke.

2 cups SR flour
2/3 cocoa powder
1tsp instant coffee powder
185g butter - v soft but not melted
2 tsp vanilla
1 3/4 cup caster sugar
3 eggs
1 cup water

- Preheat 170C
- Grease a 26cm round tin, or a 9x19cm loaf tins or patty cake pans
- Put all the ingredients in a bowl and mix until smooth and pale.
- Bake for 1 hour or until cooked. Cool
Ice with chocolate butter icing or lemon icing.

Chocolate icing (quadruple for the cake in the picture you see above)
1 1/2 tblsp cocoa powder
1 tblsp milk
75g soft butter
3/4 cup icing sugar
1/2 tsp vanilla
Combine all together in an KitchenAid or equivalent and beat until pale, light and fluffy.
When the cake is completely cool, cut it in half
Put about half the icing in the middle of the cut cake, smooth but not right to the edge, put top half of cake on it, cover with icing and decorate according to your personal preference. I literally 'dropped' handfuls of Smarties, Jaffas and Freckles onto it.

Eat EAT EAT!

Day 27 - Lynda's brekkie egg and sausage slice

2006-03-02T16:47:00.000+11:00

The name makes it sound oh-so-seventies. The picture makes it look like vomit. I believe it's an American (Lynda is from the U S of A) thing called a strata, which from my understanding is like a quiche mix with bits of bread through it.

This is a showcase of how many forms of saturated fat you can consume in one dish, but my GOD it tastes good.

1 loaf sliced bread (I know I know, you could use an artisan loaf but really, its for breakfast people so who could be bothered), buttered and cut into 1cm cubes
12 eggs
4 1/2 cups cream (or 1/2 milk, 1/2 cream)
2 cups grated cheese
6-8 sausages, squeezed out of its casing into smallish bits (about half the length of your thumb) (use a spicy one to make it a bit more grown up or plain beef or pork ones to make it really 70s)

- Grease a deep baking dish
- Lay down half the bread
then half the cheese
all the sausage
the remaining bread
remaining cheese
- Pour over the egg and cream mixture (seasoned and also good with some fresh herbs through it)
- Sit for at least an hour or in the fridge overnight
- Bake at 175C for about 45 minutes or until the egg mix is set and the exposed bread cubes are nice and browned and crunchy.

Cut into squares and serve for brekkie/brunch.

Day 26 - slow roasted tomatoes

2006-03-02T16:40:00.000+11:00

This is my latest craze. Make that obsession. I almost get a twitch if some aren't sitting in the fridge. Which they don't get to do because I stand at the fridge with chunks of fresh sourdough gouging my way through it.

Lots of Roma tomatoes - normally I do between 12 and 18 - cut into halves or quarters, depending on their size.
A few glugs of olive oil
A few cloves of garlic, finely chopped
A few slurps of balsamic vinegar
Lots of sea salt
Lots of freshly cracked pepper
Fresh basil

Mix the lot together
Bake in a 150-160C oven for as long as you like, but normally a minimum of an hour.

Is sublime as part of a brekkie/brunch spread but it has myriad applications:
- tossed through pasta with pan-fried prawns
- tossed through spaghetti al'oglio
- tossed with chick peas and tuna and served w/rice or a green salad

But is best with fresh sourdough to slurp up the oily juices and as an edible plate for the gooshy tomatoes.

OK OK

2006-02-27T21:40:00.000+11:00

I know, what has happened to Day 25, 26 and 27... I've been busy having breakdowns and kids parties people. Work with me.

Day 25 - happened to also be the 25th of Feb (I didn't even plan it that way but there you go) which happened to be Oscar's birthday.

I have to go to bed now, but these will be posted over the next few days to make up for my absence:

slow roasted tomatoes
brekkie egg strata
chocolate birthday cake

see - they sound so good I know you'll be back....

Day 25 - Macaroni Cheese and something just for Blackbird

2006-02-24T14:47:00.000+11:00

Blackbird had a meal as show and tell this week, I simply deferred her to this site as my contribution. But then felt slack and offered a pasta recipe I would normally turn my nose up to had I not seen Jamie cooking it on TV and it looking sublime. Yes, another Jamie Oliver recipe but adapted to not have the fancy name or tasteless, stringy mozzarella...

Rigatoni w/ tomatoes, eggplant and bocconcini
500g rigatoni

1 firm, ripe eggplant cut into 1cm dice sized pieces
extra virgin olive oil
2 cloves garlic, smooshed
1 onion, finely chopped
2x400g tins chopped tomatoes
1 tblsp balsamic vinegar
bunch of fresh basil - stalks sliced, leaves ripped
4 tblsp double cream
200g bocconcini, or mozzarella

Heat a few big glugs of oil in a frypan
Add eggplant and stir as you do so it all gets coated with oil
Cook for about 8 minutes
Add onion and garlic and cook until they start to colour
Add balsamic, tomatoes and basil stalks
Season with sea salt and freshly cracked pepper
(You can add some crumbled up dried chillies at this stage)

Simmer for around 15 minutes
Cook the pasta during this simmer stage

Drain pasta (at this stage, Jamie 'dresses' the pasta with some of its cooking water and a drizzle of oil - while this is, naturally, delicious, I hardly ever bother)
Add cream to sauce
By this stage, the eggplant is reduced to this tomatoey, creamy pulpy sauce that is simply divine. No big chuncks of eggplant to gag on, no bitterness, just this kind of infused flavour.
Add pasta to sauce
Stir through bocconcini and basil leaves for the leaves to wilt and the cheese to start melting.
Serve w/ freshly grated parmesan

Divine.

But tonight, as Chef got carried away making bechamel for the lasagne earlier in the week, we're having macaroni cheese. Hardly the most nutritious of dinners, but in light of my chronically crying state, highly suitable. He's even added some leg ham, off the bone, from Christmas that I had stored in the freezer.

Day 24 - Choc chip cookies for afternoon tea

2006-02-24T09:30:00.000+11:00

There has to be an upside to working from home above and beyond being able to wear daggy clothes and use your own toilet. Making afternoon tea for the boys was it yesterday.

This biccie recipe has been a foundation stone of my baking repertoire since around 1986. So in honour of their 20 year anniversary, here they are: (btw: it's a failproof Women's Weekly recipe)

125g butter
1/2 cup caster sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
vanilla
1 egg
1 3/4 SR flour
125g choc chips
65g nuts

Preheat oven to 160C
Cream butter with sugars
Add egg and vanilla
Stir in flour
Fold through choc chips and nuts

Roll into teaspoon sized balls
Bake for 10-12 minutes.

They are, as easy as that.

Options: yesterday I didn't do nuts, couldn't be bothered and didn't have any (milk choc with walnuts, white choc with macadamias is the standard rule). I did, however double the recipe and make half white choc and half with milk choc.

Day 22 is followed by day 23. I think

2006-02-22T21:02:00.000+11:00

Day 22 was spag bol as Chef is still working on the restarant opening ie, still at home.
Day 23 follows Day 22 and if Day 22 was spag bol, Day 23 MUST be lasagne.
And it was.
Followed by icecream with a very big spoon of milo.
And a few little spoons of icecream dipped directly into the milo tin...

Did you plan ...?

2006-02-21T22:25:00.000+11:00

"Did you plan to have such a social weekend?" said The Prof, after a Saturday with an extra child (the lovely Morgan who we are about to lose back to the Land of the Long White Cloud), a fabulous visit from the Palmer Berrys on Saturday afternoon, an evening out at the movies after babysitter Ben forgave the Gorgeous Boy for pooing all over him a year ago and came back to us, and then realising that I'd asked our favourite neighbours over for dinner on Sunday...

Consequently we have a fridge full of leftovers including:

Tarama from the deli closest to us, Before I lived in Greeksville I used to call it taramasolata - that is SO not cool with the Greeks.
Roast chicken bought for the children and babysitter. This too comes from Marrickville Road and a place that may or may not be franchised called "Munch".
The brown rice salad from the weekend magazine but minus the chillies because I wanted the kids (on Sunday) to eat it, which they mostly did, with GB declaring "Cos I'm your doodest rice-eating boy aren't I Mummy?" Yes, GB, yes you are.
Neil Perry's Morrocan Eggplant. This recipe must be googleable by now but I will endeavour to post it because it is So Damn Good. Plus, it made my vego guests very happy indeed.
Just two slices of Kim's Christmas fruitcake which is eerily resembling the fruitcake I dreamt of as a child: ie, MOIST and No Peel!

Too tired to do more right now, it's kind of a leftover life this week, of which, I can say only, moretocome.

Bec

Day 21 - a very basic day

2006-02-20T22:09:00.000+11:00

Breakfast - tea in one of those hideous thermos-cup thingys that Chef made for me.
Lunch - salad sandwich on multigrain.
Dinner - two bowls of Chicken , corn and rice (at this rate probably a deserving name of this entire blog), and a spoon of ice-cream.
(Boys dessert: jelly and ice cream.)

Day 20 - Pancakes

2006-02-19T11:19:00.000+11:00

There is a bit of an institution in this household for Sunday breakfasts to be a little bit spesh. I have gone through the waist-expanding cinnamon scroll phase, am gearing up for the annual Hot Cross Bun phase (I glaze them and everything) but normally it is either a bacon and eggs kind of morning or a pancakes one.

I've followed this pancake recipe since the early 90s. It comes from Pancakes on The Rocks - an ill-fated outlet of which (Pancakes at The Movies) was one of my first jobs and also the catalyst for meeting my first boyfriend. Ahh, the first in so many ways.

Anyway, it appeared I believe in an early edition of a weekend newspaper magazine and is one of the few recipes cut out and stuck into my recipe book (only recipes made several times and loved make their way, handwritten, into the recipe book) and is on about page 5, so as I said, its been on the cooking scene since around 1992. It has slightly modified over the years, I got rid of the oil and simplified it by using SR flour rather than plain (although this does make them even fluffier). Afterall, Sunday morning cooking shouldn't be hard.

2 cups buttermilk (it works equally well with milk or milk with a squeeze of lemon juice in it and left to sit for a minute or two)
2 eggs
2 cups SR flour (alternate: 2 cups plain flour, 3tsp baking powder, 1tsp bicarb)
2 tblsp caster sugar

Beat the milk and eggs together
Whisk in the flour and caster sugar

It should be quite thick and lumpy.

Ladle some into a hot frypan in which you've melted a little knob of butter.
Cook over a moderate heat.
Turn when bubbles appear.
Cook for another minute or two.

Serve with:
lemon juice and caster sugar (the favourite way of me and the boys)
maple syrup (Chef's fave)

Sometimes I put some blueberries in as they cook, or sliced banana.

Today I had thinly sliced white peach between two pancakes and maple syrup. If the boys knew nutella or chocolate sauce was an option there would be no return to normal breakfasts I am sure.

If there is any batter left over I make some pikelets to have with a bit of butter and jam for morning tea. Sometimes my ability to channel the Country Womens Association astounds even me.

Day 19 - Quick and tasty almost copycat pasta

2006-02-19T10:28:00.000+11:00

Today was a scorcher which we weren't really prepared for. The day before had been hot as well, but somehow we'd missed it until we got in the car to pick the kids up from school and the air in the car was molten.

Anyway, we hauled our emotionally wrecked collective carcass over to Bec and the Prof's place to hang out, eat, drink and really, just share the joy that is parenting on the weekends. First challenge - roadworks. A 50-60 minute car trip to about 90. The boys were angelic in trying conditions and it also meant they got a decent sleep on the way there as a good approach to reducing potential feralness.

But man, it was hot. It felt cruel watching the Winter Olympics and all that snow, all those layers.

We had an exquisite spread of greek cheese, stuffed peppers, pate, dips, and awesome bread (I am a bread freak - give me fresh artisan bread with butter or a dish of extra virgin olive oil, salt and pepper and I am one happy little vegemite) and just chilled as the kids demolished Bec's house. Sweet.

I fell asleep in the car on the way home.

Dinner therefore had to be quick, easy and palatable to all. Bec's puttanesca provided the inspiration.

1x500g packet of Barilla Tortiglioni (big penne with grooves in it. I intensely dislike smooth penne, almost as much as Chef thinks Fusilli tastes different to other pasta. I know.)

1 onion, finely chopped
3 cloves garlic, smooshed
handful salted capers, rinsed
glob of tomato paste
tin of chopped tomatoes
few handfuls of kalamata olives, pits removed, cut into quarters, or you know, however you like.
heaps of fresh basil

Saute the onion, garlic, capers in some oil
Add paste, cook off a little
Add tomatoes and a can or two of water
Add olives and basil

Simmer for as long as you have.
Cook pasta
Mix together
Eat.

Very tasty, comforting, relatively few pans to wash up, not to hot to cook on a hot day and just very satisfying.

Day 18 - a barbie

2006-02-18T08:07:00.000+11:00

take some top chicken sausages from Bert's
some divine steak, again, from Bert's (with a little soy and worchestershire sauce drizzled over)
thick cut mushrooms
onions

give to Chef to bbq

Make very simple salad with some cos lettuce, halved mini-Roma tomatoes, chunks of cucumber and seeds. Dress with extra virgin olive oil, balsamic, salt and pepper.

Eat.

Fall asleep in child's bed, putting him to bed as collective internet world of Dude, three nights of being woken at.least. three times coupled with emotional messness means sleep is the only answer.

Bec's pasta puttanesca plus...

2006-02-17T22:10:00.000+11:00

Just a classic puttanesca (olives, anchovies, capers, chillies) plus fresh, fresh tomatoes from here:

It started out this way many years ago when the straight puttanesca was too much for the Prof's tender insides. Now I do it whenever the tomatoes are too good to resist.

mtc
bec

Day 17 - Lemony chicken with white beans

2006-02-16T21:37:00.000+11:00

After a day of many tears, a lot of stress and many tears once more over myriad things, I made this. It is a Jill Dupleix recipe from the SMH's Good Living and has her name all over it. Her style of recipes are always fresh clean flavours, ease of preparation and maximum taste. This lived up to every other recipe of hers I've ever cooked.

It was d.i.v.i.n.e. and really quite restorative.

2 chicken breasts fillets, halved horizontally
2 garlic cloves, finely sliced
1 tblsp rosemary leaves
3 tblsp olive oil
sea salt and pepper
150ml white wine
400g tinned white beans, drained
2 tblsp mint leaves, finely sliced or torn
2 tblsp lemon juice

Combine the chicken with the garlic, oil and seasonings. Marinate for 15-30 minutes (I didn't have time for this and it was still very tasty indeed).

Drain the marinade into a frypan and, when hot, sear the chicken on both sides.
Add the white wine and bubble for 30 seconds.
Then add the white beans, mint, and lemon juice and simmer for 5 minutes. Add a little water if necessary (I tasted it and added some more lemon juice as I'd just guessed the original quantity).

I served it with carrots, which I cooked for a minute, then added broccoli into the same water and cooked for a further minute, then asparagus added for a final minute. They were a perfect accompaniment.

Day 16 - Quick Crumble

2006-02-16T08:00:00.000+11:00

Tonight was chicken corn and rice - I added a clove of crushed garlic to mix it up a bit but no one noticed. Chef added so much chilli oil to his that he couldn't taste anything anyway.

But to herald survival of the week of trial daycare, I made a quick crumble. This comes from the column in the Sun Herald's magazine which makes three different dishes with one major ingredient. I've altered it of course.

1 825g tin of sliced peaches or halved apricots
2 tsp cornflour

Crumble topping from my standard crumble recipe
(Here for those readers too lazy to click:
The crumble
1 cup plain flour
1/2 cup brown sugar
3 tblsp rolled oats
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground ginger
Combine all the dry then rub in the butter until it clumps. )

Preheat oven to 200C
Drain peaches or apricots, reserving the juice and placing the fruit in shallow baking dish
Mix cornflour well (I use a mini-whisk) with 1/2 cup of the juice (although last night I used more like 3/4 cup and it was good - it could even be 1 cup to the same amount of cornflour)
Pour over fruit
scatter over crumble topping
Bake 15-20 minutes until juices are bubbling and topping is browned.

Very comforting indeed.

Day 15 - when all you have is dry pasta and a head of broccoli

2006-02-14T21:54:00.000+11:00

The title is misleading but I'm too tired and emotionally fragile to care.

Tonight was going to be chicken, corn and rice. Felix cried. He wanted noonoos like last night.

So, spaghetti al'aglio with basil from the garden (and broccoli cooked in with the pasta) it was.

Delicious. And restorative

There was ice cream.

Which I declined as I had bought some Godiva chocolates for me and Chef to share as a token nod to Valentine's Day.

Day 14 - So very tired leftovers of sorts

2006-02-14T21:50:00.000+11:00

Tonight was the first day of our trial run at daycare for Jasper.

Just quietly, I feel like the.most. negligent parent for putting my child into care at 4 months. I know this is baloney, but there it is. I feel negligent.

Anyway, the emotional energy expended today, combined with the sleeping issues of the last few nights means tonight I was so very tired I contemplated not eating anything.

Instead, the boys got left over bolognaise sauce on Barilla's Bavette pasta.
I ate pasta with that fake cheap shredded parmesan, butter, salt and pepper.
Chef made his own spaghetti al'aglio with basil and sage from the garden later on.

There was icecream for dessert.

Day 13 - Cumin lamb on couscous

2006-02-14T21:44:00.000+11:00

Yes, tardy I know. For those looking at the day posted and the day that Day 13 was. But Day 13 went from being a fun! day at friends to four hours at the hospital.

The lamb fillets were tossed with crushed cumin. This is a direct flog from Bec, albeit with a different protein base. Chef cooked it on the bbq.

The couscous was prepared with a little stock, pine nuts, cracked pepper and mint from the garden. There's a distinct lack of fruit and vege in my cooking at the moment because.we're.broke.

I tasted this at about 11pm on my return from the hospital. Too much cumin, too rare lamb, too dry couscous.

The end.

Day 12 - Ode to Turkish bread

2006-02-11T21:45:00.000+11:00

I don't know what it is - the spongey texture, the wholey nature of it that catches melted bits of butter, but Turkish bread ROCKS.

I had it this morning with a soft boiled egg, which I smooshed over it with sea salt and freshly cracked pepper.

Oscar had a jam sandwich on Turkish at lunch (with left over Arancini risotto on the side).

And after an afternoon of scones (I had a Learning Ladder party for a friend of mine this afternoon which was just a lovely gathering of friends and no freaking out about sand on the floor) I didn't feel like a dinner of any major sort.

So I had some turkish toast with a smear of horseradish cream and slices of tasty cheese.

Simple, tasty and satisfying.

Day 11 - Arancini

2006-02-11T21:09:00.000+11:00

This was prompted after my trip to Haberfield the other day (you'll have to scroll down through the spider phobia story) where I purchased, still warm from the frypan, arancini for Chef and myself. Chef then mentioned them to Felix who has requested we make them every single day since.

So, I made a bolognaise (different from the lasagne one as I wanted to get the subtle, creamy, almost sweet taste of the one I had bought - and has subsequently revolutionised my bolognaise recipe) sauce, a basic risotto and let Chef do the rest.

Bolognaise
1 red onion, diced
4 cloves garlic, finely chopped/crushed
500g mince
1 jar sugo
1 tin crushed tomatoes
big handful of basil, sliced thinly

Saute the onion in a little olive oil
Add the garlic, cook for a minute
Add the meat, brown
Add the sugo, tomatoes and basil

Simmer for as long as you have - it ends up with an almost creamy consistency.
Season

Risotto
Glug of olive oil
knob of butter
2 cups arborio rice
Glass of white wine
1 litre chicken stock

Melt the butter with the oil
Add the rice and cook for a minute or two
Add the wine - cook until absorbed, stirring often
Add the stock a bit at a time, stirring until absorbed, then add more

Mix the meat sauce through the rice (we had a bit - probably 1.5 cups - of meat sauce left over)
Add a cup (I'm guessing this amount - it was probably closer to two cups now I think about it) of frozen peas.

Now, ideally you leave to cool in the fridge.
Stir through chopped up bocconcini cheese - we used a whole tub.
(this mix makes a LOT - we had a lot left over today which we were going to roll into balls and then freeze, but ended up eating as a risotto for lunch)

When cold or at least cool enough to handle, mix into balls of any shape and size you prefer.
Dip into a beaten egg
Then into fresh breadcrumbs

Then fry

Eat - divine crispy crunchy golden bits, melty cheesy bits, green peas. SENSATIONAL.

Things to eat in blissful solitude: Part I

2006-02-11T17:36:00.000+11:00

My own little occasional series, inspired by the sheer joy today of eating my own lunch in my own time with not even a comment from shorter passers-by.

Simply put:

One ripe tomato, cut into eight segments
Some chunks of Bulgarian goat's cheese, salty, soft and sparkling on the tongue
Fresh sprigs of basil, oregano and thyme from the garden

Voila.

mtc

bec

Day 10 - Linguine with oven roasted tomatoes

2006-02-09T21:52:00.000+11:00

Continuing a week of international culinary variety, tonight I cooked for us and Chef's sister and husband. They are fellow lovers of the carb.

2 500g packets of linguine

1 dozen roma tomatoes, cut into quarters
4 cloves garlic, finely chopped
big glugs extra virgin olive oil
a big dash basalmic
swathe of good quality sea salt
freshly groud black pepper
big handful basil leaves, torn

Preheat oven to 200C
Place tomatoes in a ceramic baking dish with everything else except the basil.
Toss it all together.
Bake for 30mins, turn occassionally.
A few minutes before they're done, add the basil leaves.

Cook pasta.
Drain, reserving some of the cooking water.

Toss tomatoes and all the juices and oil in the dish with the pasta.
Add the water to loosen.
Put the lid back on and just let sit for a minute.

Eat two bowls, a few slices of sourdough, a glass of red wine and watch your girth grow.

Day 9 - Chicken, corn and rice

2006-02-08T22:41:00.000+11:00

This must be said like doing the conga, so rice goes ri -i - ce! with a kick of the leg

Introduced to our family by my SIL. Requested by boys at least twice a week.

1 packet chicken thigh fillets
soy
worchestershire

corn cobs, 2-3

rice

put rice in cooker and cook
put corn on to cook and cook. Cool slightly or if you have asbestos fingers like we do, do it straight away and take corn off the cob
cut chicken into small cubes, drizzle over oil and worchester
heat oil and a dash of sesame oil in frypan
add chicken - cook over high heat, add more soy.

Toss cooked rice and corn in with chicken. Serve with extra soy and steamed greens on the side - NEVER mixed through.

Serve to children.
Serve second helpings.
Give left-over peach crumble.
Breastfeed
Get depressed at no clothes fitting and hair with weird kink from being in ponytail for last four months.
Spray on perfume - L'Occitane Verbena - to mask b/o and lack of shower
Attempt to apply mascara that has dried out
Console child crying that "but only you know how to sing "close eyes", the best song in the world"
Leave
Eat great Japanese food
Drink white wine
Get drunk
Write blog posts
Go.to.bed.

Day 8 - Peach crumble

2006-02-07T20:58:00.000+11:00

For those of you on the cold side of the world, we are currently in that glorious glut called stone fruit. This year the white nectarines have been to.die.for.

Anway, back at Australia Day I bought a tray of large freestone yellow peaches, thinking I would do a fragrant platter of them for the table. Naturally I forgot about them in Mum's fridge and that is where they've been for almost two weeks.

So tonight, on inspiration from today's Good Living, I made a peach crumble.

The filling is Stephanie Alexander's, the crumble topping one from my own recipe book, which I think is a Bill Granger special.

The peach compote (how fancy! a compote. ie, stewed peaches)
8 ripe freestone peaches (or nectarines apparently)
30g butter
1/3 cup caster sugar
2 tblsp water

Score the peaches around the natural seam of the fruit, and place in boiling water for a minute or two until the skin comes away easily. (you don't need to skin nectarines if using them)
Slice peaches into thick wedges
Combine peaches, butter, sugar and water in a saucepan.
Cook for about 10 minutes, stir once or twice.

Preheat oven to 200C

The crumble
1 cup plain flour
1/2 cup brown sugar
3 tblsp rolled oats
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground ginger
Combine all the dry then rub in the butter until it clumps.
Grease a 1 litre baking dish Pour in peaches (I had some left over that the boys will get on their brekkie tomorrow morning)
Strew topping over the fruit (they are SA's words. Strew.)
Bake 20-25mins until topping is golden brown and the fruit is bubbling.

Serves 4.

The compote is absolutely divine. Not too sweet, just enough to heighten the peaches. Very very lovely.
The dinner preceeding it was snags, steak and mushrooms on the barbie, mash (after all that talk about potatoes and mash, and an unseasonally cool day, mash was on my mind) and blanched sugar snap peas.

The steak was thick cut scotch fillet and just sensational. I'm not sure if its the breastfeeding thing or what but it is highly unusual for me to ever even feel like steak, let alone crave it and eat a whole piece. It was magic.

Day 7 - Stir fried prawns with mungbean vermicelli

2006-02-06T19:55:00.000+11:00

Today I caught up with a friend I met when our eldest children were at preschool together. One of those people you just feel easy around. Delightful

At one stage we were talking about that slow surfacing from a long cold winter of chronic poverty, and how it is the little things that the newfound money go on. Not flashy holidays or a new car, no. But spending 80 bucks on fruit and vege when your entire allocated grocery spend in poverty time was 100. Buying things like frozen, peeled and cleaned green prawns. I did this for the first time two weeks ago. Sure, there is still poverty frost on the ground, but man, I feel as rich as royalty having green prawns in the freezer.

Tonight I stir fried them with tons of garlic and ginger and a dash of sesame oil. I am currently in a fixation with sesame oil. It comes and goes.

Then I added water chestnuts, baby corn, julienned snow peas and soaked mungbean vermicelli noodles. I added some soy and hoisin and voila.

There is none left.

Day 6 - a day of rest

2006-02-05T20:42:00.000+11:00

Today is Sunday and we had a quiet day at home. All day. This was a mistake. The boys were loud and boundy, like a new puppy. They got under my skin. They woke the New Recruit twice this morning with their fighting, or simply their noise. At 10.30 I took him back to bed and myself with him. I was woken up three times over the next 15 minutes. Cranky does not even cover the emotion I was feeling in my pinky.

Anyway, I did make a delightful bowl of porridge for breakfast - I simply use 1/2 cup organic rolled oats to enough water that I think will do. That's right, I don't make it with milk. It was just what I needed, with milk and brown sugar.

Lunch was Cruskits with pre-sliced Coon cheese. No, I'm not kidding. There were also some with Vegemite.

Dinner was Mum's roast leg of lamb. This means the meat is cooked right through to the bone, no pinkness for her, that would mean it was not cooked and trigger all manner of tsking under her breath and whatnot. But it does mean 'proper' gravy (made from pan juices, flour and water - the first time I saw someone use Gravox as a serious gravy was Chef's mum and I was amazed - like someone first tasting Deb and being amazed that you can make mash from powder. Yes, that someone was me at I think the same meal as the Gravox) and roasted veggies done the old fashioned way.

I just bung everything in the one baking dish and it all turns out delicious. But mum parboils the potatoes, gets a baking dish FULL of olive oil, heats it gently on the stove then adds the potatoes, carrots, pumpkin and sweet potato and the puts it in the oven. These are, naturally, fabulous.

Dessert was homemade fruitsalad with carton custard (I declined. It's real or not at all for me when it comes to something like custard) and 'lite' icecream (again, it's real or nothing, but we were all out.).

And that, as it is said, was that.

2006-02-04T23:14:00.000+11:00

Friday night desertion: I don't drink-and-food-process

2006-02-04T22:19:00.000+11:00

(picture above - I've given up battling Picasa and Blogger to join a photo to a story tonight)

Ok - babe, I can rise to the occasion because, yes, for two food-obsessed, cook-til-you-drop-and-beyond, chronicling over-achievers, we have shamefully neglected this little sister site of ours.

Tonight, oh shit, tonight is a bad night for me to start because Chris and I just said fuck it and got fish and chips... albeit from an uber-UNtrendy F&C shop on the southern end of King Street that lets you (get this) ring ahead to order!

However, last night I was unexpectedly alone with three children and no desire for take-away and, while I fed the littlies leftover pasta and salad the big one came home late from Guides and had eaten nothing. So as the Prof partied on down at the head teacher farewell at the Marrickville Tennis Club, I made the big girl (and me, half-cut) this:

Non-food processor Shortcrust Pastry Quiche

are you wondering yet what the secret is to non-food processor pastry? Could it be ice cubes around the mixing bowl? Pre-buttered fingers? A dash of cornflour?

As Eliza Doolittle would say: "Gaaaarrrn!!"

1 sheet Pampas extra large shortcrust pastry
7 eggs
5 slices pancetta
100g nice thick ricotta, Brancourts by preference
fresh thyme
salt and pepper

Pre-heat the oven to about 200 C and let the pastry defrost on the benchtop while the oven heats.

Oil a pastry dish: my current favourite is rectangular with an oval cut out for the base.

Squoosh in the pastry sheet, cutting and pressing as required.

Blind bake: this can obviously be a pain but I have a jar of coup mix beans that I have been using for this purpose for at least eight years. Throw something similar on top of baking paper or some kind of greaseproof paper and stick it in the oven until the corners of the pastry start to brown.

Remove pastry from oven

Mix eggs. If you're not sure how many eggs your favourite dish can take, mix 2 or 3 first and tip them in to get a sense of proportion.

Neil Perry says don't add your salt and pepper to the eggs before cooking as it toughens them, and my own experience backs this up, so throw in a stack of herbs like fresh thyme (oregano, marjoram, basil, parsley, chives etc) to soak through the eggs while cooking.

Pour enough eggs into the par-cooked pastry to cover the base, then spread out the pancetta and top it with big crumbly bits of ricotta (and, if I hadn't been cooking for the Pea Princess, semi-dried tomatoes) and top up with more beaten eggs.

Bake until set and golden brown on top.

mtc
Bec

Day 5 - Gooey chocolate biscuits

2006-02-04T20:06:00.000+11:00

Today we had Felix's best friend over from 7.30am until 6pm as his mum is o/s at a conference and his Dad had to work. It rained nearly all day. Not hard rain, just that weird mist that eventually, they just ignored and played in as seriously, enough of inside already.

I made these to appease the restless monkeys. It's from Jamie Oliver's Happy Days with the Naked Chef.

Gooey Chocolate Biscuits
140g butter
140g caster sugar
2 egg yolks
255g SR flour
30g cocoa powder
30 squares of chocolate

Cream butter and sugar
beat in egg yolks
add flour and cocoa powder
knead slightly then refrigerate for a while

Preheat oven to 190C.
Roll out one third of the dough until it's quite thin.
This was a bit fiddly, the dough is sort of crumbly and breaks a bit, but as it came to room temperature it became easier to work with. You still need to fridge it as it would be too sticky otherwise.

Use a smallish cookie cutter - I used a 5.5cm one as it was what I had, and stamp out shapes - I got about 25 but the aim is 30 (Jamie used a 4cm cutter, but using the squares of Cadbury chocolate and Nestle white melts I used, they wouldn't have fitted on that size).
Place on a lined baking tray. They don't spread much so can be quite close together.
Place a piece of chocolate on each disc.
Roll the rest of the dough out quite thinly, use a bigger cutter (I used 6.5cm) and cut out the same number of discs. Put over the top of the other discs and chocolate, press gently around the edge to seal and keep the chocolate in.

They crumble a bit and look a bit rough and ready. Jamie assures this is what they're meant to look like, and they do work. See:

Bake for 10 minutes. Eat hot from the oven (they fall apart a bit but the chocolate is moltenly divine) or cold (it's sort of gooey).
they were a BIG hit.
Felix's friend: These are even better than the biscuits your mum made last time!

Day 4 - Chocolate sludge

2006-02-03T23:25:00.000+11:00

This comes from my friend Sook and the worst part about it is that it takes 40 minutes to cook.

1 cup flour
2 tsp baking powder
3/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup cocoa powder

1/2 cup milk
1 tblsp melted butter
3/4 cup pecans

3/4 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup cocoa
1 cup boiling water

Preheat oven to 160C
Grease a small ceramic baking dish
Combine dry ingredients
Make a well in the centre of dry ingredients and add the milk, butter and nuts
Stir - it will come together as a very thick batter
Tip into baking dish
Scatter over sugar and cocoa
Pour over boiling water
Bake for 40-45 minutes

You will get a dark crusty pudding top with luscious chocolate sauce underneath. Sublime with Cookies 'n Cream icecream or even better a berry icecream.

Day 4 - Lasagne

2006-02-03T23:10:00.000+11:00

Lasagne is a favourite food in this house. Personally, I don't like it that much, but I still make it because I know I do it well and it is loved like a baby. This was tonight's version, quite different from usual because we've got no money until next week so I had to work with what I had

4 onions
1 large carrot
6 gloves garlic, crushed/chopped
170g tomato paste (a small Homebrand tin)
1 big glass Shiraz (tonight it was a 2002 Audrey Wilkinson - very nice)
1kg mince (I used decent hamburger mince from Bert's, our legend butcher)
1 tin crushed tomatoes
1 punnet cherry tomatoes
stock

butter
flour
water
parmesan cheese
ricotta

Heat a little oil in a big saucepan
Add the onions and carrot and sweat off slowly. I'm talking 20 minutes at least.
Add the garlic about half way through.
Keep it quite wet, if it dries out add some water
Then add the tomato paste and cook it out for a minute or so
Add the wine and cook off the alcohol
Add the mince, brown and break it up as you do so. I hate big chunks of mince, they make me gag.
Add the tomatoes, tinned tomatoes and enough stock that it gets good boiling/simmering movement.
Cook for about 2 hours, 'pop' the cherry tomatoes with the back of a wooden spoon against the side of the saucepan if they don't do so themselves.
Near the end of cooking I added a big handful of fresh basil from the garden (covered attractively with chookwire to stop the possums eating it), some sage leaves from the garden (which the possums don't touch) and a fresh bayleaf (from the garden, which today I noticed has something that looks suspiciously like miele bug on it...).

To make the bechamel
Melt two hefty tablespoons of butter
Add enough flour that it goes crumbly
Cook for a while until it gets a bit of colour
Add boiling water with a whisk to make a paste, then keep adding - for that amount of flour/water I use about a litre. (normally I use milk, but we were all out)
Bring to the boil but whisk fairly constantly.
Season with salt and pepper
Add a shitload of shredded parmesan (I used the crap pre-shredded stuff as it was all we had)

Cook lasagne sheets. I don't care what you say, the sheets you have to cook taste so much better in the end product. I use this awesome brand La Lavigna or something - its a red and white clear packet from Livoti's, my Italian deli haven in Dee Why.

Layer as follows
meat
pasta
bechamel
pasta
meat
pasta
ricotta (a 500g tub)
bechamel
pasta
meat
pasta bechamel

That's right people - LOTS of layers. This is important. As important as a slow long cooked sauce.

Even though I used water in the bechamel rather than milk, it tasted OK. Weird huh.

Day 3 - Pasta with stuff

2006-02-03T23:05:00.000+11:00

Think no money until next payday because of multiple bills and direct debits all going out at once. And then the quarterly health insurance going out too. Ouch. It becomes a what is in the cupboard dinner.

Take one packet of Barilla Tortollini (big penne)

Put a large saucepan full of water on the stove and bring to the boil.
In a frypan heat a little olive oil
Add a red onion, finely chopped, two cloves of garlic, finely chopped/crushed* and the stalks of one bunch of broccolini, chopped.
Saute until soft and the onion starting to colour.
Add a glass of white wine and reduce a little.
Add some finely chopped mushrooms and two tomatoes, seeded and chopped.
Add 1 300ml carton of pouring cream, salt, pepper and torn up basil leaves
Bring to the boil and then reduce to a simmer
Cook pasta
Three minutes before it's done, add the tops of the broccolini
Drain pasta and broccolini
Add to sauce, let sit covered in the saucepan for a minute or three
Eat

Delicious.

Day 2 - Vietnamese Spring Rolls

2006-02-02T07:43:00.000+11:00

It was hot (again) today and is meant to be even hotter tomorrow (which is actually today as I forgot to post this last night), so that means finding dinner options that don't involve turning the stove on.

This was a bit of a hybrid version of these rolls but they were scoffed with Felix saying words to the effect of , "my God woman, you are the best cook in the whole world, these are awesome."

I had a pork fillet which I drizzled some Worchestershire Sauce, Soy Sauce and sesame oil on before searing in a skillet. It was cooked beautifully with 4 minutes on either side. Nice seared lines and pink inside. Anyway, after resting it I sliced it quite thinly.

I finely sliced cucumber, shallots (our shallots, not the little sweet onions we call eschalots or the ones with onions attached to the green stems that we call spring onions), carrot, capsicum and snow peas. There were mint leaves from the garden and coriander. And Felix's favourite ingredient of all, rice vermicilli noodles, soaked for a few minutes and then rinsed under cold water.

For the dipping sauce I simply provided soy for the boys and soy mixed with sweet chilli for us. See, nowhere good as a sauce made with lime juice, palm sugar, fish sauce and soy, but there you go.

Then it was all in the centre of the table for people to make their own rolls. Delish, light, very healthy and no oven required!
And then,

Day 1 - Scones

2006-02-01T00:06:00.000+11:00

The first day back at school. Oscar at a new school in Year 2 and in a mainstream class. Felix in Year 1.

2006 is pretty darn exciting for all of us. What with the boys above, I return to work and Jasper starts 3 days of daycare at a wonderful centre in three weeks. But the biggest adventure of all is Chef opening his own restaurant. This is due to happen by the beginning of March. A monumental thing of excitement to say the least.

Anyway, back to the first exciting thing, the first day of school. I thought it would be nice for a fancy afternoon tea. So I made scones. Not that fancy, but delicious and very moreish.

I have a recipe from my Nan, but this recipe is from a very productive couple in Melbourne - Allan Campion and Michele Curtis - and their book that is one of my kitchen bibles, Campion & Curtis in the Kitchen

Scones

300g self raising flour
pinch of salt
2 tsp caster sugar
125 ml cream
125ml milk

Preheat the oven to 200C
Mix together the SR flour, salt and sugar
Make a well in the centre, pour in the liquids, then mix using a palate knife until just combined
Turn out onto a lightly floured surface and push mixture out to a 2cm thickness
Use a cutter or a small glass (like the small vegemite jar glass you used to get) and cut out rounds
Place on a lined baking sheet, touching each other
Brush with a little cream
Bake for 12-15 minutes - they should sound hollow when tapped
Remove from oven, cover with a tea towel until cool - if they last that long.

Whip the remainder of the carton of cream with a tsp of brown sugar
Serve scones with jam and cream.

Makes about a dozen, depending on your cutter.

Today

2006-02-01T00:04:00.000+11:00

I decided to up the ante here.

Each and every day I have to write something here about what I ate, what I feel like eating, ideally include a recipe and if feeling particularly energetic, a photo.

So there.

Pastry 101

2005-11-18T14:15:00.000+11:00

The year before last, my new years resolution was to master pastry. I didn't care about fancy stuff like chouff or puff, hell, if I ever feel like a profiterole I'll head to La Bretone or La Renaissance for a fix and well, Pampus do a good enough puff for me.

But this here is a good, fail-proof pastry recipe I use for sweet and savoury recipes. Although more for sweet as we all know my love of baking. For savoury I tend to use a hot water pastry recipe but more on that later, like in a few months after I've survived summer and make meat pies again in Autumn...

2 cups flour
1/4 cup icing sugar
160g butter
1/4-1/2 cup water

In a processor (I'm not one of those traditionalist 'it's better made by hand' kinda girls either), combine the flour, sugar and butter
Add water until it forms into a ball.
Refrigerate for 30 mins or until you need it. Sometimes mine doesn't make it to the fridge (gasp! quell'horror!) and guess what... it still works and doesn't shrink blah blah blah. Sometimes I hate cookery police more than that speed camera on Macpherson Street in Mosman.

Here it is getting made:

The Cheesecake

2005-11-18T13:52:00.000+11:00

It ended up a little dark as the friend of ours who also owns the cleaning business we employ turned up to clean our house today (which is seriously weird. Almost as weird as the fact that next week one of the mothers of a girl in Felix's class last year who owns her own beauty salon will be hanging around my netherbits in what will come to be known as The Great Defoliation of 2006.) so I sort of forgot about it as we cooed over a sleeping Jasper.

Still, the house now smells all lemony and cheesy. . . in a good cheesy way, not a stinky blue cheesy way.

The base
1 packet Nice biscuits - crushed
butter, melted - enough to make biccie crumbs stick together, I'm guessing its about 100-125 grams.

Mix together and press into base and up sides of tin. Now, I'm not precious about this - in terms of an even edge or anything - I always operate on a 'rustic is good' kinda mentality.

The cheesecake
250g cream cheese
400g sour cream
300g ricotta
100g sugar
grated rind of 2 lemons
juice of 3 lemons
3 eggs
1 tblsp plain flour

Beat together the cheeses
Add the rind and sugar
Add the eggs and juice
Add the flour
Pour over base and bake at 180C for about an hour.

If you're like me, you'll now eat it until you feel sick and/or need to undo your jeans. I have the benefit at the moment that my jeans still.don't.fit, so say hello to elasticised waisted pants and pass me a spoon.

For Bec...

2005-11-07T13:26:00.000+11:00

Pink-peppercorn meringue with passionfruit curd and strawberries
Pavlova
4 egg whites
1 1/2 cups caster sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 tsp white vinegar
1 tblsp cornflour
2 tsp pink peppercorns, crushed

Strawberries
500g ripe small strawberries
3 tsp caster sugar

Passionfruit curd
6 egg yolks
1/2 cup caster sugar
120ml passionfruit juice (about 12 passionfruit - strained)
150g butter, chopped

Preheat oven to 200C
For the Pav
Beat egg whites w/ a pinch of salt until soft peaks form.
Add 1/4 cup sugar and beat for about 3 minutes until sugar dissolves.
Add remaining sugar, 1/4 cup at a time, making sure it's dissolved before adding next amount.
Beat until smooth and glossy.
Add vanilla and vinegar, then fold in cornflour and peppercorns.
Spread mixture into a 15x20cm rectangle.
Reduce oven to 120C and bake for 1 hour. Turn off oven and leave to cool in oven.

For the passionfruit curd
Whisk egg yolks, sugar, passionfruit juice in the top of a double saucepan or heatproof bowl over a pan of simmering water until well combined.
Add butter, piece by piece, whisking constantly until each piece has melted.
Stir until mixture thickens enough to coat the back of a spoon. Don't boil.
Remove from heat, cover with plastic wrap and cool, then refrigerate.

For the strawberries
Thinly slice half the strawberries lengthwise, place on a baking paper lined tray.
Sprinkle with extra sugar, bake at 100C for 1 hour or until dry.
Remove and cool on a wire rack.

To serve
Spoon cooled passionfruit curd over meringue and top with fresh and dried strawberries.

Serves 4-6
From: Australian Gourmet Traveller, September 1999. Recipe by Lynne Mullins

Ode to baking

2005-11-03T11:33:00.000+11:00

If presented with the opportunity, I will gladly give up sleep for the opportunity to bake. I know, you are all rolling your eyes going, 'that is why you go mental when you have kids - you.need.to.sleep., not bake sweet tasty morsels and then eat them for breakfast and wonder why that baby fat (who am I kidding I've been carrying this gut around since my mid-teens) isn't budging.'

Still - yesterday saw me baking an old favourite (ie, been baking it since 1988) - a lemon sauce cake. Take one simple buttercake recipe, turned all lemon and limey with the addition of finely grated lemon (and lime) rind. Add a syrup of sugar and lemon juice, poured over the cake once it's cooked and voila - the perfect entree to breakfast (which was the health option of allbran, stewed apples and skim milk).

Monday's Fresh Asparagus Goes With Everything: Discuss.

2005-10-31T06:01:00.000+11:00

As we settle into the season where fresh green shoots of asparagus are so abundant that you can even get them at Woollies, let alone a 'good' grocer or the markets, I have to ask the question: is there anything asparagus does not make better in spring?

Leaving out desserts (asparagus ice cream?) and other silliness (asparagus muesli bars?), consider please the following:

Salads: yes.
Stir fries: yes.
Curry: cautious yes.
Tarts, omelettes, char-grills, dips, soups, yes, yes, yes, yes and yes!

And it's soooo pretty. Bright, bright green on the outside and pure white on the inside and just a blush of purple on the tip. Sigh.

Maybe I love the fresh so much because, growing up, I understood asparagus to be khaki in colour, mushy to the mouth, requiring drainage before use and always, always to be obtained from the inside of a tin can.

In fact, the only method of using asparagus that I was aware of before my 20s was to slide its long drained lengths carefully from the tin and into an oval dish, ready to be speared and added to one's salad plate along with the tinned pineapple, canned beetroot and carefully quartered tomatoes.

Sometimes there were little dill pickles too.

None of it was too bad, because we didn't know better, but none of it compares with the glorious spring of 2005 and its particularly fine crop of juicy, crunchy, sweet, colourful, FRESH asparagus!

Cheat's Monday night dinner for two weary adults.
Why is it that Monday can be the most tiring night of the week?

1 sheet puff pastry (that's the cheating part done)
A little milk
Fresh ricotta cheese
Tomatoes of any kind but I prefer semi-dried (if fresh, remove a lot of seeds so not too mushy)
1 bunch of fresh, thin asparagus spears
Fresh herbs, thyme is excellent with this.
Extra virgin olive oil
Salt and Pepper

Pre-heat oven to about 180 degrees C.

Cut the sheet of pastry in half. You can also trim each half and stack the trimmed edges around each piece to build up a 'puffed' border.
Give a quick brush of milk to the outer edges, just for shine.
Spread ricotta over the base, not too thick or thin
Scatter a few tomato pieces over the ricotta
Prep the asparagus by holding each spear toward the end and bending until it snaps - see how easy that was? No scraping or peeling required as it snaps at the point where any woodiness ends.
Lay a few spears on each pastry base - a Sydney bunch of fresh thin asparagus usually has about 8-10 spears. If you have to settle for thick ones, slice them in half lengthwise so they cook faster.
Top with fresh thyme or other herbs (basil is good too, as are finely chopped rosemary, italian parsley, chives or oregano - also, the herbs can be mixed with the ricotta beforehand).
Drizzle with extra virgin olive oil, grind some fresh salt and pepper over the top.
Bake 'til pastry is cooked and ricotta is starting to show golden brown spots.

DON'T overcook it - better to have a slightly soggy pastry base than overcooked, dried-up, tasteless asparagus!

Cut each Fresh Asparagus Tart (for this is what you have made) in half again and artistically tilt them across each other on a plate with a very simple bit of green something. eat with fingers and forks in front of your favourite Monday night tv...

Best addition to this dish: a couple of slices of prosciutto draped across each piece will add some carnivorous joy.

mtc

bec

My Nan's Vanilla Biscuits

2005-10-16T09:28:00.000+10:00

This recipe is in ounces as well, its my Nan's and it just seems wrong to transpose it to grams...

The biscuits
6oz butter
6oz sugar
3 egg yolks
1/2 tsp vanilla
12 oz plain flour

- cream butter and sugar until pale
- beat in egg yolks until well incorporated
- add vanilla
- fold through flour
- turn onto a floured kitchen bench, roll out until about 1/2 cm thick (you can do them thinner if you like a crispier thinner biscuit)
- cut out into shapes, place on baking tray and bake for 10-15 minutes until lightly browned around the edges.
- Cool
- Ice with traditional lemon icing.

The Icing
I don't have measurements for this as I've been making it since I was about 8 and the quantities vary every single time:

A good amount of icing sugar (probably 2 cups)
A lump of butter (probably a big heaped teaspoon) - melted
Lemon juice
Boiling water

- mix the icing sugar, butter and a swig of the lemon juice - add more juice and/or water (taste as you go along and you'll know which one to add) to get a good spreading consistency.

Eat until you feel a bit sick from all the buttery, sugary, lemony goodness.

Wednesday Night Tuna Pasta

2005-10-12T22:43:00.000+10:00

In the business of Tuna Pasta - that family staple - the critical edge is BRAND.

My brand of tinned tuna of choice, and I think Kim's too, is SIRENA - known by my children as the Mermaid Tuna for the picture on the tin.

I'm not a huge fan of packaged shortcuts like tinned tuna with pesto, or lemon pepper, or sun-dried tomatoes. In my opinion they all come with a strange taste underneath whatever 'fresh' flavour they are supposed to have, maybe it's the preservatives? And besides, it is so easy to add any of those flavourings for real, it's hardly a time saver. Here endeth the sub-sermon.

The exception that proves the rule is Sirena's tuna with chili and olive oil, which has a real chili inside it and tastes great. We keep both the plain and the chili and sometimes add the springwater variety for salads and sandwiches (although I admit the Pea Princess, a tuna fiend, often gets the pre-shredded cheaper brand sandwich tuna for her lunch).

Wednesday Night Tuna Pasta goes like this:

Cook the pasta, loads of it and add plenty of salt to the water.
While it's cooking, smash some garlic and throw it into a pan WITH the sirena tuna and its oil, let it all warm through.

Now, depending on how you feel you could then make:

Tomato Tuna Pasta, by adding real or tinned tomatoes to the tuna and garlic and heating to bubbling stage
Lemon Tuna Pasta, by squeezing in lemon juice and a good herb, like lemon thyme (always growing at my place because the snails don't like it) or chopped italian parsley (ditto)
Chili Tuna Pasta, by using the chili tuna in the first place (chop the supplied chili finely) or adding fresh - I often make one of the top two options, serve the kids' meals, then add the fresh or dried chili to the pot for the grown-ups

... combine everything, mix well, add more salt and pepper, serve up.

You can of course cheat even more and use a good pre-made pasta sauce, just depends how crap you are feeling mid week - and whether the kids are so starving that an extra minute of chopping or stirring really is too long to wait.

Embarassing, really, to even call it a recipe!

mtc

bec

Saturday Night with Salmon in Cumin and Tomato/Asparagus Warm Salad

2005-10-05T14:33:00.000+10:00

Take salmon fillets - not cutlets, cutlets blow. All that bone, for what?

Put fillets in a bowl with olive oil, ground black pepper and salt, lots of cumin powder.

Leave them mixed together while you feed the kids sausages and mashed potato. Just kidding. One of mine also had salmon. The others held out for ice cream and jelly cups.

When children have finally gone to bed, pour a glass of wine and do the following in quick succession:

Heat a fry pan, grill pan or barbeque* and put the salmon fillets in skin-side down. They should carry enough oil from the marinade, but add a little more if necessary.
Don't wash out the marinade bowl.
Add some thick-sliced Spanish (red) onion.
Roughly chop garlic and ginger; slice some asparagus spears into diagonal chunks; quarter or eighth some firm tomatoes. Mix all together in remaining marinade. I'm also on a Sumac kick so added some to the marinade. This was delicious but not essential.
By now the salmon should be firm and crispy on the skin side. Turn the fillets over and move to the sides of the pan.
Throw the tomato/asparagus mix into the centre of the pan and stir fry until the tomato skin has just started to soften but the pieces still have their shape.
Take everything out and serve with lime or lemon quarters.

We had ours with the leftover mashed potato, revived under the griller with a little olive oil on top so it crisped over and went fluffy underneath.

Serve with pretty much anything lighter than a shiraz, but the reisling we had was especially good.

mtc

Bec

* Barbeques and unattended children do not mix