Honeycomb

I made another batch - I tell you I love this stuff ;-)

Some of the girls from Ballas were with us this week and although we did make the necessary stop off at the 'lolly shop' for supplies, when I suggested it, making some of Donna's honeycomb was greeted with a resounding yes! Now admittedly these girls have never tasted said honeycomb before so all understandable really – especially after hearing me talk about it!

 

This iteration I think was the best yet – even H'o'M, previously not a big fan, enjoyed this batch! My strategy was a little more particular this time I think. Deciding when the sugar was completely dissolved into the butter, honey and maple syrup is clearly a crucial step and one I have been a tad cavalier about in the past! Also, once the bi-carb is added – making a fantastic chemical reaction – I was more precise when I stirred them all together, and mixed for a longer time.

End result – more even and crunchier honeycomb

Sadly I forgot to take a photo and have sent the results back to Ballas with the girls. Sorry!

The sweetness of spring!

I'm back at the farm revelling in the large kitchen again ;-)

Last night I made a 'free form apple pie' for dessert. This is a fantastic recipe because it really doesn't matter what it looks like as a final result.... it's supposed to be like that!

Just make the pastry - gotta love those food processors which make a mockery of all pastry techniques ;-) - then roll it out, pile all the apples on top and fold/pleat/stretch the pastry over the apples to make the free form part of the pie! So easy and it looks pretty too!

Served with ice cream or cream or indeed whatever dairy product takes your fancy, it's perfect ;-)

We're having some more teenage visitors for a couple of days this week, so I thought I'd make some of the necessary sweet things today - won't have time tomorrow as am being 'a lady who lunches' with friends ;-)

It's always nice to have some biscuits in the house, so I decided to make some ANZAC biscuits. I love the crispiness of these biscuits and I also love the story behind them. They were a favourite of my friend D in America too ;-)
I have taken to making quite small biscuits these days. Instead of a large tablespoon of mixture I'm now using a small teaspoon of mixture. I like the bite size-ness of them, plus it means you can have more ;-)
I have an ice-cream scoop about the size of a teaspoon which is perfect for this job. So much simpler than scooping with a traditional spoon shaped implement. Just scoop, squeeze and drop ;-)

To satisfy the chocolate cravings of said visitors - and I know there will be a need for chocolate - I thought a 'raspberry brownie' would be nice. This is a favourite of the mob in Ballas.
It's a very very chocolatey, gooey brownie studded with the rich red jewels of raspberry. I'm not sure what makes it so rich....could be all the butter or the 250g of dark chocolate or could it be the sour cream?

It's really good!

Pilaf

We were having dinner with mum the night before her big trip to Africa, so I wanted something light, quick and filling. Pilaf!

For those who don't know, pilaf is basically a rice dish cooked in a flavoured broth - hence its ability to be transformed according to what flavours one adds to it! A pilaf can be made in so many different varieties, with so many different tastes, but we have a couple of favourites. This one, first cooked many many years ago when we lived up in the big smoke, is not a regular one, but it is tasty.

To make this pilaf I simply browned a red onion with carrot and chorizo sausage for several minutes. To that, I added garlic, chilli, ground cumin and chopped coriander root and cooked this mix for several more minutes. In goes the rice, which is stirred to make sure that all the rice grains are covered in the seasonings, then hot stock is poured in. Boil it, then bake it for 30 minutes and you're good to go! 

As is my wont I served it with some steamed broccoli and steamed green beans 

lunch w Ms Maxam

My friend came for lunch on Thursday. It was quite a treat as we don't get too many visitors down in our resort town, and also I haven't seen Ms Maxam for quite a while! She has been a keen follower of this blog and comments regularly, so I felt like I wanted to cook something for her.

A light lunch was in order because we're both fairly conscious of fat content, and also we were planning a beach walk after lunch! Mmmmm, so many factors to consider.

Well firstly I made some focaccia again! The last bake was such a success that I felt sure I could replicate it. So.... I made them (I didn't halve the recipe this time so ended up with 2 loaves),  but as I was kneading the dough I realized I had forgotten to add the small amount of sugar required to the yeast. No wonder it wasn't bubbling like last time, those poor little yeast molecules had nothing to feast upon!
I had to keep going as it was far too late to do anything about it now. I left the dough to prove for an hour and it did rise, so I was thinking it all might be OK! It *was* OK too!
As last time, I sprinkled some salt, basil, oregano & chili flakes on top of the uncooked bread to add a touch of pizazz to the finished bread!
The bread cooked beautifully and the only thing I noticed was that there weren't as many focaccia type bubbles in the bread this time. It was more loaf than focaccia perhaps.

We ate both loaves though ;-)

I whipped up a 'tomato and ricotta tart' for the lunch too. I made a few renovations to this recipe... I had a little feta left in the fridge so I mixed it in with a low fat ricotta. Also the recipe asked for puff pastry, but I used a few sheets of filo instead. I know one is supposed to layer filo pastry with melted butter, but I just gave each layer a quick spray of canola oil instead. It clearly was a bit crunchier than it should be, but far less oily!
Next time I make this tart though, I would add a little more zing to the ricotta mix. I felt it lacked a little something, although Ms Maxam and H'o'M disagreed with me.
I served the tart with a green salad consisting of lettuce mix, avocado, cucumber and broccoli drizzled with some balsamic vinegar and lime oil mix.

I think we ate well ;-)

Mussel Soup

I did it, I finally made the ginger and mussel soup from Donna's Magazine!

A few issues along the way...
         firstly I had or remember how to clean mussels properly - it's clearly been a long time since that seafood course in London ;-) Once I had all the beards pulled out - remember people, it's a quick tug down, not up or the whole mussel comes out too - I scrubbed those little suckers well and they were ready for the stock pot!

I sautéd me some ginger, garlic and onion then added the mussels to steam in some fish stock and coconut milk. Add some chili and coriander and served 'em up!

Sadly, as with many of these quick soups of Donna's, it was not a resounding success. The stock just hadn't had time to develop any flavours and so tastes like a nonblended mix of the various ingredients! The mussels were good though - very fresh from the local area - and we ate them all!

 but the broth.... not so much!

No photos

I did make a quite a few meals this weekend - it's amazing just how hungry study can make a person ;-)


Breakfasts were easy, we had pancakes for two of the three mornings - these were eaten with strawberries for those who like them, maple syrup and ice cream. Perfect! The other morning cereal, porridge and toast were on the menu!


For lunch one day I served scrambled eggs, bacon, sausages, my home made baked beans, and chopped tomato. Served with lots of toasted baguette!
Another day we had 'Jo's Mediterranean chicken wraps'. These consisted of some chicken breast cut into strips and dredged in flour and some dried herbs...basil, oregano, thyme... and pepper and salt. There was a variety of fixin's on the table to add to the chicken, including lettuce, cheese, tomato, cucumber, mayo, and beetroot.
For lunch today I made some of 'Jo's minestrone soup'. This is the easiest and often the tastiest of soups really. It is just a matter of chopping up every left over vegetable in the bottom of the fridge and cooking it in some stock, tinned tomatoes, dried herbs, and throwing in some pasta towards the end. Today's variation had zucchini, capsicum, onion, garlic, carrot, broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage, leek, sweet potato, tinned lentils and pumpkin. Basically everything in the fridge!
I served it with some dense wholemeal, seeded bread and a dollop of pesto on the top for those interested!


Along with the paella, for dinners we ate homemade pizza one night, and the other was a really tasty spagheti and meatballs. The taste of this meal was really all in the meatballs as the sauce was very basic - the only ingredients being tomatoes, fresh basil and chilli.
To make the meatballs though I mixed the beef with dried red chillies, ground cinnamon, grated nutmeg, garlic salt, black pepper, egg, Parmesan and lemon zest. It all worked out really well and of course I got the fun of squishing all the ingredients together with my hands. So tasty was this dish in fact that my S-i-l wants the recipe! 


Of course what would a weekend away be if there were no sweet thing on hand. I made the 'never fail chocolate cake' again - but this time in muffin size. I also made some choc chip biscuits using both dark and white choc chips, and an apple crumble!  


There was a request for yo-yos this morning. Mmmmm, the last time I made these biscuits 6 years ago they were a disaster and I clearly am still bearing the scars as I have never tried them again! What else can one do though...can't disappoint a niece! 
I went straight to Donna - not the winter magazine - and she didn't let me down! My yo-yos were *very* rustic looking, but they tasted fine! 

Alright I do have one photo. These are the left over sweet things I was taking over to mum after the visitors left. Sorry ;-)

Paella

We had some visitors staying this weekend - Rachie and Lestie came back to OG for a study break this weekend.  I made a few meals - naturally - but forgot to take photos of them all weekend. Until last night. Then I remembered ;-)

Now this is by no means a classic paella, but a mixture of many recipes that through trial and error I have found suits our taste buds best.  

As is my wont, I chopped up all the ingredients before hand! I use red onion and garlic - of course - and then brown some Spanish chorizo and chicken - a mixture of both breast and thighs works well I have found.

For the spices I use both cayenne pepper and paprika. There are quite a number of different paprikas around in the markets, but I use either a sweet paprika or the smoked one, having good results with both.    

For the vegetable component of the paella I add some green beans and red capsicum - for a better impact in terms of colour, the green one would maybe be a better choice though.
I couldn't find any specific paella rice in our little market here in OG, but arborio rice, which is available everywhere, is fine! I add enough stock - with a pinch of saffron - to cook the rice and also a tin of chopped tomatoes!  

A few minutes before the rice is cooked I add a tin of drained butter beans and some green prawns! I've discovered in a dish like this it is always of benefit to leave the tails attached to the prawns. It just creates a built in handle to assist in eating said prawn - and looks pretty too ;-)

At the very end I stir through a couple of handfuls of chopped coriander and serve it with some slices of lemon!

As I was making the paella for 4 people last night I had to use 2 pans - once again I miss the size and convenience of my Le Cruseut dishes! It added a little extra maneuvering to the cooking process to cook in separate pans, but I managed. I just had to keep switching the pans between the big 'wok burner' and the regular pan size burner, and make sure the rice in both pans was cooked through.



The end result looked like this ;-)

Another one down

I remembered yesterday that I still had my cooking challenge to complete – oops! Lucky there are still a few days left until the spring equinox. Today I made the 'spinach, bacon & lentil soup'. It was quite tasty actually and … yet again ....easy to make.

I am a big fan of the pre prep for making meals. I like to cut everything up and have each ingredient in a separate bowl ready to throw into the pan at the correct time! A little on the obsessive/compulsive side I know, but it does make the cooking process much smoother!

Thank goodness for those ubiquitous IKEA plastic bowls – we even have a couple of sets in our beach house. Of course they are meant to be used for the kid meals, but I have hijacked them as prep bowls!

This soup only had a few ingredients so here they are:

A quick sauté of the onion, bacon and garlic, then pour in the chicken stock and simmer for 10 minutes. Add the beans, spinach and lentils and cook for another 2 minutes and it's all done!

I told you it was easy ;-)

Never fail chocolate cake

I really do mean NEVER fail!!!!

This recipe was given to me by my mother in law (I'm not sure where she sourced it) and I have used it regularly with complete success for many years! I would like to share it with you today safe in the knowledge that Agnes won't mind!

I made this cake tonight using only half the recipe as I'm off to the 'Big Smoke' tomorrow and am having dinner with the co-tenants, 2 of whom have had birthdays this week. I am confident the cake will be well received ;-) Mmmm I wonder why I decided to halve the recipe???

Agnes's chocolate cake with Ganache

1½ tablespoons white vinegar

375mls milk

250g softened butter

2 teaspoons vanilla

385g caster sugar

335g plain flour

75g cocoa

2 teaspoons bi-carb

4 eggs

preheat oven to moderate – slow (around 140C for fan forced)

grease 22cm deep square cake tin lined with 2 layers of paper

Combine vinegar and milk. Place butter, vanilla, sugar, sifted dry ingredients, eggs, and the milk mixture in bowl of mixer.

Beat on low speed until ingredients are combined, then beat on medium for 2 minutes. Do not over beat.

Spread mix into pan and bake for 70mins or until cooked when tested. Cool cake in pan for 5 minutes before turning onto wire rack to cool completely.

Ganache

400g milk chocolate

160ml thickened cream

Combine chocolate and cream in double boiler. Stir occasionally until mixture is smooth.

Cover and refrigerate stirring frequently until spreadable. Spread ganache over cooled cake – decorate.

This recipe can be made up to 2 days ahead and can be halved successfully!

I don't usually make the ganache for this cake as I find it is a little like gilding the lily! I do make a quick icing though and for the birthdays tomorrow I've iced it with some special coloured writing!

I also made a perfect cupcake size for H'o'M to have tomorrow as he can't make it up to the city to celebrate with us. 














 

MFM 3

I can not believe it's Meat Free Monday again already. Where do the weeks go???

So for MFM tonight, I'm making a 'Sweet Potato Tagine'. I do love a good Tagine – clearly ;-)

It's simply a few vegies sautéd briefly – red onion, sweet potato and garlic, then add a pinch each of some yummy tagine type spices - cinnamon, cardamom, chilli, paprika, coriander with a chopped zucchini, and a diced tomato (I also added a carrot for some extra sweetness) with 100mls of hot water.

Simmer gently for 10 minutes or until the vegies are cooked!

I served it over some fruity couscous with a sprinkle of pistachios and a dollop of yoghurt on the top! 

It was tasty but next time I'd add a little more than a pinch of the spices. Could have done with a little more pazzazz!

A cereal by any other name....

Granola Vs Muesli

What's the difference exactly? I am under the impression it's just an American name and an English name for the very same cereal.

Doesn't really matter I guess, the point is I love it and regularly make my own low fat version to sprinkle on the rest of my cereal in the mornings! I realized today I was running a bit low so this afternoon I made some more.

It's full of crunch, taste and of course my favourite food of all – sultanas! ;-)

Mmmmm sultanas ;-)

Tagine

As there are now only 4 recipes left to be cooked from Donna's magazine, I am branching out and cooking some of our regular favourites as well as trying new recipes. Last night I tried a new recipe for a favourite dish. A lamb tagine.

I do have a tagine to cook in, but of course, along with every thing else I own it's in storage – a familiar refrain from me I know ;-)

As a substitute I simply used a casserole dish from the beach house kitchen and proceeded as usual.

The recipe asked for a multitude of spices … sweet paprika, ground coriander, ground cumin, ground ginger, chilli powder, cinnamon, pepper, ground cardamom, allspice, lemon zest and salt. I mixed them all together with some olive oil and lemon juice and covered the chunks of lamb. Then marinated them in the fridge for the day to combine all the flavours! Can you imagine the wonderful spicy aroma coming from this bowl as I put the plastic cover over it?

It was simply a matter then of adding some stock, more lemon juice and cooking in the oven for 1 hour. To add to the Moroccan flavours, I added some dried apricots and dates ( the recipe asked for raisins, but I prefer dates) and cooked for another 40 minutes.

To serve I ladled the lamb over some couscous, dolloped on some thick Greek yoghurt and sprinkled some pistachio nuts and parsley.

We both really enjoyed it!

A new ingredient

Firstly ... let me tell you that my broccoli pasta the other night was yum! I thought it was even better than what I paid for at the posh Italian restaurant in Lygon St Carlton! Of course I might be blowing my own trumpet here ;-)

One issue did arise from this dish though. Does it actually qualify for 'Meat Free Monday'?

H'o'M thinks *NO* as anchovies are actually the meat from said fish. I say *YES*, because there's hardly any anchovies in the dish at all and seriously – anchovies aren't meat! Right?

Next … today I used a new ingredient. Broad beans. Have you ever used this vegetable? Check them out

Initially I had to order them because no-one in my little resort town stocked them regularly. Thank goodness for 'Elvis Parsely and Grapesland' our funky little produce/juicery store here in town. Not only did he order said vege for me, but when I went to pick some up he explained how to shell them and double peel them! What a lovely service – ya gotta love small town living!

So with my new ingredient all shelled I finally made one of the last dishes in the 'winter challenge' for lunch today - 'broad bean and spicy chorizo soup'. I liked it! It was hearty and tasty and definitely 'do-again-able'

My soup with Donna's soup! 

Next time though I would double shell the beans – as instructed by 'Mr Elvis Parsley'. Donna doesn't use the term 'double shell' as he did, but on a second reading – and after having tasted the soup - I think when she says 'blanched and peeled' she does mean to double peel!

There was nothing particularly wrong with the dish as it was, but I think the taste and texture of the beans would have been better if they were rid of both their skins!

Oh well, you live and learn! ;-)

MFM no 2

Meatfree Monday has come around again, and I've decided it's going to be a pasta tonight. I've been wanting to try this recipe for a long time, but couldn't get H'o'M very interested. Tonight is my chance!

I ordered a similar recipe at an Italian restaurant we went to recently, but was sadly, a little disappointed!  It's a simple broccoli, anchovy, chili number so you'd think it would be hard to get it too much wrong. Well in the dish I was served the broccoli was well over cooked and the orriechete was a little too watery as if the pasta hadn't been drained enough!  Of course, let me hasten to add, I ate it all ;-)

My pasta of choice tonight is linguine as there are times when only a long pasta will do! This seems to be a very simple dish but I hope it will be laden with flavour.


Stay tuned for the end result ;-)

Chicken and paprika

After a 'no cooking' evening last night which I will freely admit was the culmination of a particularly lazy 'pyjama day', I thought I'd better lift my game tonight.

One of our regular meals is a 'lemon chicken paprika bake'.

It's really tasty... think chicken sprinkled with olives, chorizo, sliced lemon, garlic, chicken stock and a sprinkle of paprika. It's a case of bung all the ingredients into a dish and bake it for 30 minutes.

I serve it with greens - tonight's were 'fresh from the farm swiss chard' and some green beans. Of course, because H'o'M must have them, I also served potato of some description - tonight's were wedges.

Just looking at this picture though makes me think how perfect this dish is for a post-ski dinner. It consists of easy to find ingredients that most people eat, it's simple to ramp up or down for any number of eaters, it's filling and full of protein to assist in the next day's exertions down the runs! I really must remember this one next time we go skiing!

The bread of life

As I was up this morning at 4am - who knows why?! - I had a lot of time on my hands and decided to bake foccaccia.

I have been meaning to bake some bread for a long time, but have always left it too late to prove the dough - clearly not an issue this morning.

What a lovely recipe this was. I decided to halve the recipe as I figured one loaf of foccaccia would do the two of us for a while - big mistake!
The result was such a success that I wish I had doubled the recipe not halved it.  The outside was nice and crusty, the inside was fluffy and bread-y, and I had sprinkled a mixture of salt, oregano and a touch of chili over the top of the oiled dough.

The bread went beautifully with the 'curried carrot soup' I made yesterday. A Thai red curry paste with some stock, carrots and red lentils all blended together with those magical 'stab mixers'.

 I wish I could be sure it will ever work so well again ;-)

I forgot

to blog about this salad I made way back in the middle of August.

Of course it's from Donna's magazine and is called 'white anchovy winter salad'. It was particularly tasty actually, made with roasted beetroot, roasted potato and roasted carrots served over salad greens with some white anchovies and a simple vinegar dressing.
As a sneaky addition I pan fried a chicken fillet, sliced it and threw it into the mix as well ;-) I know it wasn't part of the original recipe, and therefore technically not allowed,  but it was really wintry outside and a salad just wasn't going to cut it.

I liked it and would definitely serve it again - perhaps with a little less of the anchovy though as they did tend to dominate the plate and the palate.