It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas

Noosa's Christmas Tree - Hastings St, Noosa Heads

Christmas for those of us in the southern hemisphere is a time of heat, humidity, thunderstorms, baking sun and the summer school holidays.  This means lots of time at the beach and in the pool, and in days long gone, running in the sprinkler.  It means mangos and stone fruit are plentiful in the shops and iceblocks are plentiful in the freezer at home.

What this also means is it's time to plan your family Christmas lunch/dinner.  And so begins the perennial struggle between cold meat, seafood and salad vs a traditional (northern hemisphere) baked dinner, pavlova or trifle vs hot Christmas Pudding.  Or do we do the lot and spend far too long in our hot kitchens, when we really should be out on the deck with a cold drink.  Most families struggle to combine the traditions of both spouses to keep everyone satisfied and in touch with their own little ways of doing things.

The key, as with most big events, is to plan ahead and get your shopping and baking done early, then you can relax and enjoy the day. In my family, we usually choose to serve cold meats (including a baked ham) and salads, followed by Christmas cake and slices, with the addition of a few items that give a nod to our Polish heritage. Some of my must haves on Christmas Day include:

• Ham off the bone, and yes it's more than okay if it's cold!
• Potato Salad - using Grandma M's recipe, which we think we have nearly worked out - and you must use Miracle Whip as the dressing
• Pierogi - Polish dumplings (think semi-circle shaped ravioli) which I can usually get at my local markets from the 'Polish lady'.  Interestingly though there's now a company in South Australia making them commercially.  We'll be trying their pork and beef, and potato and cheese flavours this Christmas.  There's not too much preparation for pierogi - boil them up in a large saucepan of salted boiling water, when they float to the top let them got for another 2-3 mins, then serve with a melted butter, crispy bacon and sauteed onions.  You can even drain them and then throw them in the pan with the bacon and onions to get a bit of colour and crispiness.
• White Christmas - best Christmas slice ever - see below!
• Rum Balls - my brother is the master at these, and eating more than 2 could put you way over the limit!
• Mangos - eat them for breakfast, make a smoothie for mid-morning whilst you're waiting for everyone to arrive or blend into a daiquiri (later in the day!)
• Stone fruit - plums, cherries, apricots

What are your family Christmas 'dinner' traditions?

The recipe below is attributed to my Mum, 'Tricia, in my recipe book.  I love the lemonyness of White Christmas.  It makes a great contrast to the sweetness of everything else we consume on Christmas Day.  Don't be fooled, there is plenty of sweetness in this with all the dried fruit.

Mum's White Christmas
2 cups Rice Bubbles
1 cup dessicated coconut
2 cups powdered milk
1 cup icing sugar
1 cup mixed dried fruit and cherries (I always use a whole 375g box of mixed fruit and add a few more glace cherries if there doesn't look like enough)
125g copha, melted
1/2 cup lemon juice (2 - 3 lemons)

1.  Combine dry ingredients and mixed fruit.  Mix well.
2. Add copha and lemon juice.  Mix well.
3. Press into a slice tin, lined with baking paper.
4. Refrigerate until set. 
5. Lift from tin and slice into squares.  Dust with icing sugar.

I'm Baaaaa-aack!!

Hi, after a bout of the dreaded whooping cough and more than a few weeks of not cooking, I'm back. Thanks to Rose for keeping the home fires burning while I have been crook. I had plans of doing some experimental cooking while I was off work but due to exhaustion I decided against it lol.
For my first dish of my return I decided to make Spicy Chicken with Spoon Salad. As i was looking for something to cook i came across this little dish in Delicious Magazine. Being intrigued with what Spoon Salad is I took the plunge and bought the ingredients.

4 chicken breasts

4 tsp harissa
1/3 cup olive oil
5 vine ripened tomatoes
1 red capsicum - roasted, peeled and chopped
2 small red chillies finely chopped
1/2 red onion finely chopped
1/2 telegraph finely chopped
1 tbs finely chopped mint
1 tbs cherry vinegar or red wine vinegar
couscous, thick greek yoghurt and pita to serve

1. Score chicken breasts 3 times. COmbine 2 teaspoons harissa and 2 tablespoons of oil in a bowl, then brush all over the chicken. I threw my chook in a zip lock bag with the combined harissa and oil and tossed in the bag and then chilled in fridge.
2. Bring saucepan to boil. Cut crosses in the bas of the tomatoes and place in boiling water for 30 secs. Remove from water and place in ice water bath till cool. Peel the tomatoes and halve. Remove the seeds and finely chop. PLace the chopped tomatoes in a bowl with the capsicum, chilli, onion, cucumber, parsley, mint, vinegar and remaining oil. Season well with salt and pepper and toss to combine. Place in sieve set over bowl and allow to drain for 30 minutes to remove excess liquid.
3. Pre heat chargrill pan and cook the chook. Slice the chicken, then serve with spoon salad, cous cous yoghurt and pita.

Enjoy

The most underwhelming name

At a cooking class I attended a little while ago, there were four dishes on the menu, and this one sounded the least exciting - Chicken Braised with Rice, Turmeric and Spices.  I think I can speak for all of us at the class when I say that our expectations of this dish were completely wrong. In the end, this is the dish that has become a part of my fortnightly repertoire.  It is so easy and so tasty, especially for lunch over the next few days. 

You could start this in the morning or the night before, and then come home from work and chuck it in the oven and then 30 mins later it's ready to eat.  The curry powder I used is from The Spirit House (where we did the cooking class).  If you're ever near Yandina, on the Sunshine Coast, I would highly recommend popping in to their little shop at the cooking school, and picking up a jar.  The original recipe calls for 3 cups of jasmine rice and 1/2L each of coconut milk and chicken stock.  Rice actually triples when it's cooked, so I actually only use about 1 1/2 cups instead, which is more than enough for everyone.  Which means then that I've also adjusted the liquid quantities accordingly, to match the coconut milk tin size and the lesser amount of rice.  The recipe below will feed at least four hungry mouths.

There is an amazing cucumber pickle to accompany the chicken, which would also be very tasty with fish cakes.  The pickle needs to be consumed then and there.  If you do happen to have left over pickle, drain off most of the liquid before refrigerating, other wise by the time you go to eat it the next day your cucumber will be well and truly pickled!  For those who are not cucumber fans, you could serve with a wedge or two of lime instead, which would give you a similar flavour sensation to the pickle.

Golden crispy shallots

If you've got time, make your own crispy shallots to sprinkle on top.  Just slice a golden shallot or two as thinly as possible.  Then fry them in vegetable oil.  The oil should be at about 160C.  Watch them closely, as they will suddenly colour, and then burn if you're not quick enough to scoop them out and drain on paper towel.  Any left over crispy shallots can be put in a jar in the pantry for another time.  You can then use the oil from this, to cook the chicken in.  Crispy shallots can also be found in the aisles of most supermarkets as well.

I've shared this recipe with a number of friends in the past month or so, and one thing is for sure: it's a crowd pleaser!  Enjoy!!!




Chicken Braised with Rice, Turmeric and Spices

4 chicken thighs, cut in chunky pieces
4 cloves garlic, peeled
2 tbsp ginger, finely chopped
1 tbsp fresh turmeric, finely chopped (or 1/2 tsp dried turmeric)
1 tbsp curry powder
1 tspn salt
1 cup vegetable oil, e.g. Rice Bran oil (you only need 4 tbsp if not making your own crispy shallots)
4 golden shallots, finely sliced (only needed if making your own crispy shallots)
1 1/2 cups jasmine rice
1 tin (390 - 400mL) coconut milk
1 cup chicken stock (add more stock to the pan later, if it looks too dry)
1/2 cinnamon stick
6 kaffir lime leaves

Chicken pieces braising

1. Make a paste with garlic, ginger, turmeric and salt.  Then mix in the curry powder.
2. Place chicken in a plastic bag and spoon the spice paste in.  Rub it all over the chicken, then seal the bag and set aside for an hour or two in the refrigerator.  (I marinade in bags where I can because it saves washing up and is a lot less messier!).
3. Place 4 tbsp of oil into a heavy-based saucepan and brown the chicken (in batches).  Return all the chicken pieces to the pan.  Add the rice, coconut milk, stock, cinnamon and torn kaffir lime leaves. Gently stir.
4. Bring to the boil, stirring once or twice, then turn down to a low heat, cover and cook for 20 minutes, or until rice is cooked.  You could also transfer it to an ovenproof vessel and bake at 200C for 20 minutes.
5. Allow to stand for 10 minutes, then transfer to a serving plate and garnish with crispy shallots.  Serve with Cucumber Pickle (see below).

Cucumber Pickle
1/2 cup coconut or rice vinegar
1/4 cup caster sugar
1 tsp salt
1 lebanese cucumber (peeled if you like)
2 small golden shallots, peeled and thinly sliced
2 - 4 small red chillies, thinly sliced (taste test your chilli's heat before using four, just in case!)
handful of coriander leaves, finely chopped (optional)

1. Combine vinegar, sugar and salt in a saucepan and place on stove over a med-low heat.  Take off heat as soon as sugar has dissolved.  Allow to cool completely (otherwise you'll cook the cucumber - yuck!  It will have enough time to cool on the bench, whilst you do the chopping.)
2. Cut the cucumber lengthways, deseed, then finely dice.
3. Combine in a bowl with shallots, chillies and cooled vinegar syrup.  Serve in a small bowl as accompaniment to Braised Chicken (above).

One more chat...

I've been thinking a lot about my Grandparents lately, and remembering all the stories, games, laughs, smiles, hugs and love.  I think about them a lot, and I'm not sure why they've been more in my mind over the past couple of weeks.  Perhaps it's because of the new additions/inclusions to the family since they've been gone or the new additions to the family soon to arrive/be included who will make their mark?  Or perhaps it's because I just had another birthday and that always makes me think about things.  I do know it's definitely because I miss them, and miss being able to pop in and have a quick chat and a laugh, ask questions and talk about silly or serious things.

A work colleague was telling me last week that during the school holidays, that he was off way down south, taking his whole family 'back home' to visit his grandparents.  He was moaning about how long it was going to take and what a hassle it was.  I stopped him and said "What I wouldn't give for one more conversation with each of my Grandparents!"  He just laughed this off.  My off the cuff statement has really made me think - what would I ask or tell them if I could just have one more chat.

Anyway, the following day, we were having a shared staff breakfast, and with the thought of one more conversation with my grandparents still fresh in my mind, I made Grandad's scones.  I guess for me now, with all of my grandparents gone, the best thing I can do to live out their legacy is keep sharing their stories, their recipes, their games and their love with everyone.

As I've said in a previous post on this blog, Grandad was not the most conventional cook and certainly didn't ever write down his recipes.  You just learnt them from watching, being involved and hearing the stories of their creation.  This recipe came to be written down several years ago when my Mum sent it to one of my cousins.  Grandad would never have given exact quantities, so if you make these scones feel free to just chuck quantities in as you see fit.  Grandad's scones are something of a legend in our family - see step 1!  Enjoy!!!

Grandad's Scones (makes about a dozen, depending on size)
1 egg
1 tablespoon sugar
1 cup sour milk or cream (ie milk/cream which has passed it's used by date and is souring)
Self Raising Flour (several cups - you'll have to work this out as you go along)
1/3 cup warm water
extra milk (for brushing top of scones before cooking)

1. BEAT THE HELL OUT OF AN EGG! (exact words!)
2. Whisk in the sugar. 
3. Add sour milk/cream.  Combine.
4. Start adding in flour and mix.  Keep adding flour till you get a good dough consistency.
5. Grandad's 'trick' - when the dough is a good consistency, add in the warm water.  Combine. Then add more flour to bring back to good smooth dough consistency.
6. Roll out on a floured surface.  Cut scones out (with a cutter or a small glass dipped in flour).
7. Place on a floured baking tray.
8. Brush the top with milk (helps them to brown).
9. Cook for 12 - 15 mins in a hot oven (220C), till they have popped and are brown on top.

Eat them fresh and warm from the oven.  Grandad used to say that the best scones were the ones you could just break apart, ie don't cut them open with a knife!

A sweet little thing

Lemons beginning to fruit

And it's back to the kitchen, as Spring takes hold of our weather here in south-east Queensland.  Not long now till the rains will arrive (we hope) which will freshen everything up, and help us all to stop watering less.  Whilst we've been away from the blog, I've planted a little garden at my back door.  Winter is probably not the best time to do that, but nevertheless all the herbs and chillies have thrived in the cooler conditions, and are all set now for the warm spring and hot summer heading our way.  Even better news, is that the chillies and lemon tree have been flowering and now the fruit is coming on.  If only my poor old lime tree would catch on to this idea!  Anyway, I'm very much looking forward to using my own chilli and lemons very soon.

My co-conspirator in the kitchen has been laid low for almost 40 days now with the dreaded whooping cough.  So in an attempt to lift his spirits, I cooked dinner my house then took it to him!  The Indonesian Beef Rendang that I made was the perfect dish for a moveable dinner challenge. I did up to step 4 of the rendang, then bundled it up to transport.  Finally adding the coconut when I was ready to serve.

You'll need to find the biggest mortar and pestle you can to make this rendang paste.  It makes enough for 4 curries - you use about 1/2 cup per curry.  I ended up blitzing several ingredients in the food processor and had numerous bowls of these covering the bench.  The softer ingredients I pounded in the mortar and pestle, then combined everything at the end.  The rest of the paste that you don't use for this recipe can be frozen for up to 6 months, in 1/2 cup portions.

When you eat this curry, the first taste you get will be a sweet one (due to the addition of kecap manis - sweet soy sauce).  Shortly thereafter you will get the slow burn of the chilli.  Remember to always taste the chilli as you're chopping it up, and adjust the overall amount to suit your own tastes.  And, as with all curries this rendang is even better the next day for lunch!

Indonesian Beef Rendang

Rendang Paste
2.5 tbspn black pepper (whole)
2.5 tbspn coriander seeds, roasted and ground
50g fresh ginger, peeled and roughly chopped
50g galangal (this is a really tough ingredient, so be prepared for a wrestle when chopping it up)
250g large red chillies, seeded, chopped (taste a piece to check for heat, and adjust quantity to taste)
40g bird's eye chillies, finely chopped
50g garlic, peeled and roughly chopped
200g shallot, peeled and roughly chopped
100g candle nut (can substitute macadamia nuts)

1. Roast the coriander seeds and peppercorns.
2. Then pound spices, ginger and galangal in mortar and pestle.
3. Add both chillies, garlic, shallots and candle nuts and pound to form a coarse paste.


Rendang
2 tbsp vegetable oil (eg Rice Bran oil)
1/2 cup rendang paste (see above)
750g chick beef, cut into 2.5cm cubes (use any type of braising beef)
2 stalks lemongrass, bruised
1 tumeric leaf (substitute 2 kaffir lime leaves - tear/squash them a little to start to release the flavour)
4 slices galangal
1 cup water
500mL coconut cream
2 tbspn dark palm sugar
1/3 kecap manis (sweet soy sauce)
3/4 cup dessicated coconut, toasted

1. Heat oil in heavy based pan or wok and fry paste for 2-3 minutes.
2. Add meat, lemongrass, tumeric leaf and galangal and cook until meat is sealed all over.
3. Add water and simmer gently for 40 minutes.  Give it a stir every now and then.
4. Add coconut cream, palm sugar and kecap manis.  Stir to combine.  Simmer for further 45-60 minutes until meat is tender and sauce is very thick.
5. Stir in half the toasted coconut (it will soak up some of the sauce) and stir to combine.  Add remaining coconut a few minutes later if needed.
6. Serve with steamed rice, and garnished with crispy fried shallots and coriander leaves.

Tips from the masters (no not me!)

Recently I attended a cooking class at the Sunshine Coast's Spirit House Cooking School.  Every one I talk too has either eaten there, done a class there or it's on their to do list.  Can I say.... do not wait any longer, get down to Yandina and get eating and get cooking.  It is the best way to learn great recipes and pick up nice little tips from the professionals.

Here are a few little tricks that we learned throughout the day.  You probably know them, but they were 'aha' moments for us:

• don't ever use white wine vinegar in Asian cooking as it's far too strong
• only use vegetable oil in Asian cooking, e.g. Rice Bran oil
• use white peppercorns, as the black ones are too strong
• in working out how many serves a recipe makes have a look at the protein, in Australia we allow 150g or so per person
• lime juice loses it's flavour and colour very quickly, so don't squeeze them too far ahead of time
• to 'peel' ginger, just scrape a teaspoon along the skin
• use coconut cream for curries and coconut milk for desserts
• use your mortar and pestle to grind things up for quick cooking curries, as you've already started to break them down and release the flavour; use your food processor to blitz things for longer cooking curries as they will have longer to break down
• with a master stock, strain it after using, allow to cool, scrape off the fat and freeze; you must boil it each time you re-use it.  If it starts to thicken make a new batch and add it in to the original batch, and it will keep on getting better and better each time.

Happy cooking!
P.S. I'm not responsible for making that pineapple look that beautiful, but I did chop it up later!

Just like a bought one, only better!

Looking for something easy and tasty to cook for dinner tonight?  Chicken Parmy is the answer, with a beautiful creamy mash and whatever other veges you've got.  I'll bet you've got everything you need, already in the fridge and pantry, and there are a multitude of things you can substitute.  Instead of making your own tomato sauce for the top, why not use a tin of tomatoes with basil and garlic already in it.  Don't have Panko Breadcrumbs (they're just a little coarser than normal ones)?  Toast a piece of bread and crumble it up with your rolling pin or mortar and pestle.  Don't be put off by doing your own crumbing - it's not that hard or messy.  Just remember to keep one hand for dry (flour and breadcrumbs) and one had for wet (egg).  Really there's no excuse.  It's just too easy.  Enjoy!

Chicken Parmigiana
(Serves 4)
150g (2 cups) panko breadcrumbs
1 lemon, zested
1/4 cup flat-leaf parsley, finely chopped
150g (1 cup) plain flour
4 eggs, lightly beaten
2 large chicken breasts, halved lengthwise
1 tin (400g) chopped tomatoes (or get the tin that has the basil and garlic in it, and skip step 4!)
handful basil, chopped
2 garlic cloves, crushed
100g grated mozarella

1. Combine breadcrumbs, lemon zest and half the parsley, in one bowl.  Season flour with salt and pepper, in second bowl.  Lightly beat eggs, in a third bowl.
2. Arrange bowls - flour, egg, then breadcrumbs.  Dust 1 piece of chicken with flour, then dip in egg, then coat in breadcrumbs.  Repeat for all pieces of chicken.  Try to keep one hand for dry (flour, breadcrumbs) and one hand for wet (eggs) - it makes everything a lot less messy!
3. Heat some oil or butter in a large, heavy-based fry pan over medium heat.  Cook chicken, in batches (depending on size of pan) for 3 - 4 minutes each side or until golden.  
4. Mix chopped tomatoes with basil and garlic.
5. Preheat grill to high.  Place all chicken pieces in a large oven-proof dish (or use the frypan you cooked them in).  Spoon tomato mixture over each piece of chicken and top with mozarella.
6. Grill for 3 - 5 minutes, until cheese is golden and chicken is cooked through.  Allow to stand a few minutes before serving.
7. Serve parmigiana on top of creamy mashed potato and snow peas/green beans, with lemon wedges.  Garnish with remaining parsley.

Chilly nights = chilli nights

So it's winter in my part of the world.  Compared to a lot of other places, winter in south-east Queensland is usually quite mild, averaging 9C over night and about 21C during the days.  This past month though has seen some very cold nights (4 -5 C) following clear crisp days.  This kind of weather says chilli to me!  Below is my favourite Chilli Con Carne recipe.  No need to buy the recipe base mix in the supermarket, you just need chilli powder and ground cumin instead.  Add as much or as little chilli powder and fresh chilli to suit your taste - you do need some though, otherwise it's just savoury mince!  As always, with fresh chilli, taste a small piece as you are chopping it up so you can gauge the heat level.

To follow this chilli, why not calm down the taste buds and keep the insides warm with Rhubarb and Apple Crumble - a winter favourite!

Chilli Con Carne

500g lean beef mince
2 medium onions, finely chopped
2 cloves garlic, crushed
3 long green or red chillies, seeded, finely chopped
1/2 teaspoon chilli powder (to your own taste)
1 teaspoon ground cumin
2 tablespoons tomato paste
2 tins (400g - 410g) chopped tomatoes
400g tin red kidney beans, drained and rinsed
250mL Beef (or vege) stock
1/2 bunch coriander leaves

1. Heat some oil in a large heavy based pan over high heat.  Cook mince, stirring, to break up lumps, until browned.  Remove mince from pan and set aside.
2. In the same pan, add another splash of olive oil and cook onion, garlic, chillies and spices, over a medium heat, until the onion has softened and the spices are fragrant.
3. Add the mince back into the pan and stir in the tomato paste.  Add chopped tomatoes and kidney beans.  Stir well.  Season with salt and pepper.
4. Carefully stir in the stock.  Cover and allow to simmer for about 45 minutes.  (You can also do all of this in a heavy-based oven-proof casserole dish, and at this point bake at 180C for 45 minutes).
5. Whilst it's bubbling away, cook/steam rice.  You might like to make a quick guacamole at this point too - mash an avocado or two, add in 1 - 2 finely diced tomatoes, 1 small red onion finely diced, the juice of half a lemon or lime (to your taste) and a splash of tobasco sauce (to your taste).
6. Serve the chilli on steamed rice, garnish with coriander leaves.  Also serve with corn chips, sour cream and guacamole on the side.

Rhubarb and Apple Crumble
6 - 8 stalks rhubarb, leaves discarded (they are poisonous!)
2 apples, peeled, cored, roughly chopped
1/4 cup caster sugar
1/3 cup rolled oats
1/3 dessicated coconut
1/3 cup brown sugar
50g butter
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

1. Roughly chop the rhubarb stems.  Add rhubarb and apple to a small saucepan with the caster sugar.  Add a little water, and allow to stew till cooked through.  Keep an eye on it!
2. To make the crumble: mix together the oats, coconut and brown sugar.  Rub the butter through the dry ingredients.  Mix in the cinnamon
3. Once the rhubarb and apple is cooked taste it for sweetness, add more sugar if necessary (remembering there is sugar in the crumble as well).  Then pour it into an appropriate sized baking dish.
4. Loosely place the crumble over the top.  Bake at 180C for 10 - 15 minutes or until crumble looks brown and crunchy.  Serve with cream or icecream.

Warm winter wonder Part 2

Inspired by some fresh produce from the local farmers market - very ripe tomatoes, aromatic basil and garlic - this was either going to be a rich tomato sauce for pasta or tomato soup.  In the end the weather helped make the decision.  So on a cold (well for Queensland anyway), rainy winter's day, it was time to make some warming soup.  This Tomato Bisque is simple,  delicious and takes very little time.  It certainly warmed me up for lunch today.

Tomato Bisque (serves 6 - 8)

1kg vine ripened tomatoes
2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
50g unsalted butter
1 Spanish onion, finely chopped
1 clove garlic, finely chopped
1 fresh bay leaf
2 basil stalks (leaves and stalks)
1 cup (250mL) dry sherry
1 tbsp caster sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon freshly cracked black pepper
300mL tomato water (the water the tomatoes were blanched in, plus skins and seeds)
300mL cream

1. Score base of tomatoes and blanch in boiling water, till skin starts to split and peel away - about a minute.  Remove, drain and peel tomatoes.  Cut each tomato in half and de-seed.  Reserve the seeds and juice.  Chop tomatoes roughly.  (I usually peel and de-seed the tomatoes into the saucepan lid, then you can easily tip them into a sieve to drain the juice off.  Add water from the pot you blanched the tomatoes in, to the drained tomato juice to make up the 300mL 'tomato water', which you add to the soup later on. Then discard the seeds and skin.)
2. Heat a large saucepan, add olive oil and butter.  Lightly fry onions, garlic, bay leaf and basil stalks.
3. Once the onions are translucent pour in the sherry and allow to boil.
4. Add sugar, salt, pepper and chopped tomatoes.  Stir to combine, then pour in the tomato water (the juice from the drained skins and seeds, topped up with water from the blanching pan), bring to the boil.
5. Allow to cool slightly, remove the bay leaf (leave the basil in) and blend in batches until smooth.  (The soup could be chilled and frozen at this point.)
6. Return to saucepan add cream, stir, bring to boil.
7. Serve with crusty bread and a sprig of basil on top.

1 + 1 = 3 (courses)

Last Wednesday night was a hectic one with a 3 course dinner planned for Rose and I. First things first in the morning, I dash off to Woollies and purchase ingredients and dash home. I get home and there is a message on the machine from Rose, I ring Rose, "DOn't you remember I'm going to Brisvegas today," she says. "No," I reply. "Bugger," I say to myself. Oh well, not to worry I will cook 3 course dinner for myself. SO off I trot and start to cook.
The planned menu was Ricotta and pancetta Cabbage Rolls, Baked Gnocchi Spanakopita with currants and Pine Nuts with Winter Salad, and Caramel Dumplings. All three dishes are extremely easy to make and twice as easy to eat.

Ricotta and Pancetta Cabbage Rolls

8 Chinese cabbage leaves
250g Ricotta
100g Feta, crumbled
1 tbs fine lemon zest
sea salt and cracked pepper
8 slices of pancetta
2 cups of chicken stock

Preheat oven to 180 deg.
Add cabbage leaves to a large boiling pan of water a few at a time for 1-2 minutes or until tender.
Drain well and pat dry.
Place ricotta, feta, lemon rind and S&P in a bowl and mix to combine.
Place a slice of pancetta on a cabbage leave and top with a spoonful of ricotta mixture.
Fold up the ends and roll to enclose the filling.
Place the rolls in an oven proof baking dish and pour over the chicken stock. Bake for 15 minutes or until mixture is cooked through.
Serve with pan juices.

Baked Gnocchi Spanakopita with Currants and Pine Nuts

500g Gnocci
1 bunch of silverbeet, stems trimmed leaves roughly chopped
80g unsalted butter
1/2 cup plain flour
1 2/3 cups of grated cheddar cheese
1 cup finely grated parmesan cheese
2 tbs finely chopped dill
2 spring onions chopped
2 tbs currants
2 tbs toasted pine nuts

Pre heat oven 180 deg.
Cook gnocchi in saucepan and remove with slotted spoon and set aside.
Add silverbeet to the pan and blanch for 1-2 minutes. Drain then refresh under cold water.
Using same saucepan, melt butter on medium heat, then addd flour and cook stirring for 1 minute. Gradually whisk in the milk until smooth. Add both cheeses and cook and whisk until smooth. Season well. Then stir through the dill and spring onion.
Spread half of the bechamel sauce in the base of a 2.5 litre baking dish, then top with the gnocchi and silverbeet. Sprinkle over the currants and half of the pine nuts.
Cover with the remaining bechamel and sprinkle over the remaining pine nuts and extra parmesan.
Bake for 20-25 minutes until golden. Spoon onto plates and serve.

Caramel Dumplings

2 cups of plain flour
1/4 cup brown sugar
2 tsp of baking powder
150g butter
1/2 cup milk
1 tsp vanilla extract
double thick cream to serve
caramel sauce
40g butter
1 1/2 cups brown sugar
2 1/2 cups water

Preheat oven to 180deg.
To make the caramel sauce put all ingredients in saucepan over medium heat and and bring to boil. Remove from heat and set aside.
Process the flour, sugar, baking powder and butter until the mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs. Gradually add the milk and vanilla with the motor running until a smooth dough forms.
Turn the dough out onto lightly floured surface and divide into portions.
Place into 1 litre capacity ovenproof dish, pour over caramel sauce and bake for 30 minutes.
Serve with cream.

After cooking all of this food I was thinking that it was way too much for just little ol me so I invited my neighbour over for this feast. On all accounts Sandie enjoyed it. (As did I). Hope you enjoy it all as well.

I got a letter!

When was the last time you actually got a card or a letter in the mail that wasn't for your birthday or a bill or some sort of sales pitch?  For me, excitingly this happened just the other week!  I received a handwritten card from my Aunty Marg with a little note and her recipe for Mushroom Bacon Soup.  I was so surprised to receive such a gift so unexpectedly.  There's nothing better than something that's been handwritten just for you.  Every time you look at it, you know that that person was thinking of you at that time and wanted to share something with you.  We don't write enough cards and letters to our friends and families 'just because' any more.  We email, we text, we skype, we facebook.  We've never before been so connected and yet we are so disconnected at the same time.

My challenge to you... dig out your dusty old address book and send a card with your favourite recipe to someone you know.  If it's a recipe that's been given to you, acknowledge the source and tell the story of how you came to get it.  When I say send, I mean actually go to the post office, stand in the line and buy a stamp!  And when I say send a card, go and buy a card (or make one?) and actually write it with a pen yourself, no computer allowed!  Don't tell them that you're doing it, just do it and see what happens.  And just so we all feel connected to you, share your results virtually on the OITC Facebook page.

So, in the spirit of handwritten recipes (via my scanner), below is my Aunty Marg's Mushroom  Bacon Soup.  It is delicious any time of the year - we've eaten it this week (winter), and I've also eaten it on Boxing Day (summer).  It takes no time at all and you'll certainly enjoy the creaminess!

Aunty Marg's Mushroom Bacon Soup

As well as making Aunty Marg's Mushroom Bacon Soup this week, I also made a stuffed chicken breast with creamy mashed potato and green beans.  You can stuff chicken breasts with whatever flavour combinations you like.  I used wilted baby spinach, roasted red and yellow capsicum (thinly sliced) and slices of creamy camembert cheese.  This also works just as well with de-boned chicken thighs.  You need to have something moist in the middle of the chicken (I had the spinach this time), so it doesn't dry out.  Other flavour combinations you could use would be basil pesto, sun-dried tomato pesto or a chunky tomato chilli jam or salsa.  You want a cheese that will melt well, so you could also try a goat's cheese or feta.  Experiment with what you put in the middle, till you find something that works for you.

Spinach, capsicum and camembert stuffed chicken breast

 To assemble, all you need to do is slice the chicken breast lengthways, but don't cut all the way through, then open it out.  Lay your fillings on one side, season with pepper, then fold the other side back over the top.  Then roll it up in several slices of overlapping prosciutto, to secure it in place.  To cook, seal each side for 4 - 5 minutes, in an ovenproof fry pan with a splash of olive oil in it.  Then place the pan in the oven at 180C - 200C, for 10 - 12 minutes (depending on the thickness of the chicken breast).  If you don't have an ovenproof fry pan, then once they are sealed place on a baking tray and then into the oven.  Once they are cooked through, slice each in half and serve on top of creamy mashed potato, with some green beans and drizzle some pan juices over the top.  This dish takes 30 minutes from beginning to end so is a good standby meal, when someone pops in unexpectedly for dinner or if you just have no time.

Oh, fudge!

Inspired by a friend, who recently bought me some old-style proper cooked coconut ice (thanks Lisa) I was tempted back into the world of cooking with sugar.  And oh boy, it's tricky.  I decided I want to make chocolate fudge - not just with condensed milk and put it in the fridge (although there's nothing wrong with that), I wanted the cooked stuff, where it's a little bit crunchy, just like you used to get at school fetes.  So to the recipe books I went.

Just about everyone of my cookbooks had the condensed milk/fridge version, I had to look harder.  Eventually I found a handwritten recipe in one of my cookbooks and it's in my handwriting so I can't be sure where it came from and whose recipe it was.  Last weekend was the perfect cooking weekend - cold, wet and miserable.  So with wooden spoon in hand and lots of sugar, away I went.  The results of this first batch (yes I made several), weren't too bad.  It was smooth and held it's shape once cooked, but it wasn't as firm and 'crunchy' as I was looking for.  That didn't stop me eating it.  I realised that I had stirred the fudge too much whilst cooking and upset the whole sugar/caramel/toffee scientific thingy - see the Science of candy  and Stages of cooked sugar for more information.

As always, I was determined to get it right. This week I bought a new candy thermometer, instead of the regular kitchen thermometer I used previously.  The candy thermometer shows the smaller graduations you need from 110C - 120C.  I was aiming for soft ball at 116C.  The scientist in me decided to remake the recipe I had made last week and just not stir it once the sugar dissolved.  But also, just in case something was actually missing from that one, to use an alternate recipe with a few different ingredients (see below).

I'm pleased to say that both fudges were successful this week.  Both have the slight crunch factor I'd remembered and both were extremely delicious.  My top tips for you when making cooked fudge: spend $10 and buy a candy thermometer; use a bigger saucepan than you think you need (from the quantities) as the sugar expands and you don't want to have to stir it; only stir over a low heat till the sugar is dissolved, then turn up the heat and put the spoon away; be patient with the cooling process - don't try and speed it up in anyway (bad things happen - just ask my sister Sue), be patient, be patient, be patient.  Enjoy!


Chocolate Fudge (Australian Women's Weekly)
1 1/2 cups (330g) caster sugar
1/2 cup (110g) firmly packed light brown sugar
60 g (2oz) dark eating chocolate (semi-sweet), chopped coarsely
2 tablespoons glucose syrup
1/2 cup (125mL) pouring cream (the really thin one)
1/4 cup (60mL) milk
40 g (1 1/2 oz) unsalted butter, chopped coarsely

1. Grease deep 15cm (6 inch) square cake tin; line base and sides with baking paper which extends over the sides (you need this extra paper to pull the fudge out of the tin).
2. Combine sugars, chocolate, glucose, cream and milk in medium heavy-based saucepan; stir over low heat, without boiling, until sugar dissolves. (Now put the spoon away!)
3. Bring to a gentle rolling boil; boil uncovered, WITHOUT STIRRING, about 10 mins or until mixture reaches 116C (235F) on a candy thermometer.
4. Remove pan from heat immediately, once it reaches temperature; leave thermometer in mixture.  Add butter, do not stir.
5. Cool fudge 20 - 30 mins until the temperature of the mixture drops to about 40C (80F). This can seem to take an absolute age, but this is where you have to be patient, seriously go and do something else!
6. Stir fudge with wooden spoon for about 10 mins or until a small amount dropped from spoon holds its shape (and the butter is incorporated).
7. Quickly spread fudge into pan; cover with foil.  Stand at room temperature about 3 hours or until set.  Lift fudge out of pan; cut into squares approximately 2cm.

Warm Winter Wonder

Hi all, thought I'd post this little pumpkin soup that I whipped up this afternoon. Such a nice little simple dish bursting with lots of flavour. After a chilly day at work I needed something warm and hearty to devour. This is a basic roast pumpkin soup with a few twists and flavours.

1/3 Pumpkin
1 Onion
1 Capsicum
1 bulb of garlic
1 med potato
2 cm of ginger (grated)
chicken stock
evaporated milk (lite and creamy)
sour cream
cinnamon

1.Throw chopped up veges into a roasting pan, toss in olive oil and roast in med to high oven until veges are cooked through and soft.
2. While the veges are in the oven mix cinnamon and sour cream till well combined and put back in fridge to let flavours infuse.
3. Once veges are done put them into a big soup pan and then put in some chicken stock. Not quite covering the veges, bring up the heat and then blitz with a blitz stick till smooth.
4. Once smooth add some evaporated milk to thin it out a little, but not too much.
5 To serve add a dollop of sour cream and sprinkle with chopped chives.

Hope you enjoy and stay warm over winter.

Looks can be deceiving...

Due to end of term reports and lots of PD I have stood in and said I would throw together a meal for Wednesday night. After some quick thinking and from watching Masterchef  the night before I had planned a menu of Pumpkin Risotto and something to do with Kiwi Fruit. The challenge from the Masterchef episode was to create three dishes using Kiwi Fruit. I decided to dabble in a kiwi fruit dessert. The pumpkin risotto came from a masterclass in the first series of Masterchef.

Pumpkin Risotto
(I just throw together ingredients - so not sure on proper quantities)
1/2 butternut pumpkin
a knob of butter
1 bunch of shallots
2 cloves of garlic
Arborio Rice
1 small red capsicum (roasted and peeled)
some mushrooms (sliced)
Slices of proscuito
vege stock
dry white wine
parsley

1. First off, fry off thinly sliced shallots and crushed garlic.
2. Grate your pumpkin and sweat it in a saucepan with the knob of butter till tender and squashy (LOL)
3. Put the arborio rice into the frypan with the shallots and garlic and coat with oil.
4. Pour in some vege stock and let the rice absorb. Alternate with wine and stock till rice is tender.
5. Mix through pumpkin, sliced capsicum, mushrooms, parsley and proscuito.
6. Serve.

Kiwi Fruit Cream Debacle

5 Kiwi Fruit
punnet of raspberries
Blood Limes
Roasted Walnuts
Thickened Cream
Marscapone

1. Blitz 2 kiwi fruit through processor with some cream
2. Roast up some walnuts and blitz them in processor
3. chop up some more kiwi fruit
4. layer a martini glass with ingredients - I started with the crushed walnuts
5. I topped my sarcastically delicious dessert with the blood limes (scraped out the pips) (at that point in time i thought they tasted nice and bitter)

Plating up risotto is never an easy thing to do because it is not the most exciting thing to look at. However the taste of this dish I really enjoy. I think it is a light risotto because of the wine, I use lots of it lol. The Kiwi dessert looks very nice plated up in layer but OMG!!!!!! it was foul. I suggest you do what we did and give yourself a shotglass full of whatever you drink and down it as soon as you finish.


Enjoy the risotto folks!

The herbs have taken over

This week was a hectic week for us at work. NAPLAN had taken over and some of us were more busy than others. So it was a good thing that I was cooking and Rose was sampling (LOL). I decided to go with nice and light this week and it proved very delicious.  This week I decided to do all my shopping at B FRESH and I'm glad I did. I don't mind plugging a good store haha. Rose had given me, via text, my core ingredient: Chinese Five Spice. After a few days of scouring the recipe books and Delicious Magazines I came up with my menu of Warm Salad of Brie and Roast Cherry Tomatoes, and Crispy Chicken on Asian Rice Noodle Salad.

Warm Salad of Brie and Roast Cherry Tomatoes

Punnet of Vine ripened cherry tomatoes
200g mixed salad leaves
1 1/2 cups kalamata olives
1 red onion thinly sliced
1/4 cup olive oil
2 tbs red wine vinegar
1 tbs Dijon mustard
1 tbs chopped basil
2 tsp chopped chives
1 tbs chopped flat leafed parsley
          plus extra to serve
8 baguette slices chargrilled and kept warm
400g brie (at room temperature)

Preheat oven at 180 deg. Roast tomatoes for 5-10 minutes until starting to split.
Meanwhile, combine salad leaves, olives, and onion. Whisk together oil, vinegar and mustard, then stir in herbs and season. Toss with salad, tomatoes and parsley leaves. Serve with baguette and brie.

This was a light and delicious starter. The texture contrast with the brie and the baguette was great against the crunch of the salad and the tang of the roasted tomatoes.

Crispy chicken on Asian Rice noodle salad

100g vermicelli noodles
1 red capsicum
2tbs chopped chives
1/2 cup chopped coriander
1/2 cup chopped mint leaves
1/2 cup chopped thai basil leaves

Dressing
1 1/2 tbs lime juice
1 1/2 tbs fish sauce
3 tsp caster sugar
1cm piece of ginger finely grated
1/2 long red chilli seeded thinly sliced

Crispy Chicken
1 egg
1 cm piece of ginger finely grated
1 garlic clove crushed
110g plain flour
2 tsp Chinese five spice powder
2 tsp sea salt
1 tsp freshly ground pepper
2 chicken breasts thinly sliced
vegetable oil to shallow fry

To make dressing whisk all ingredients in a small bowl until sugar dissolves.
Place noodles in a large bowl and cover with boiling water and stand for 5 minutes. Drain, then return to bowl. Add dressing and toss to combine. Add capsicum and herbs and toss to combine.
To make the crispy chicken, whisk egg, ginger and garlic in a large bowl until just combined. Combine flour five spice and S&P in another large bowl. Dip chicken into egg mixture, drain off excess, then toss in the flour mixture.
Fill wok or deep frying pan halfway with oil and shallow fry chicken in batches for 2-3 minutes or until golden and cooked through.
Place noodle salad on serving plates and top with crispy chicken to serve.

This was a very tasty dish, but could have had more kick in the chilli and a bit more dressing in the noodles. I thought the chook was tasty. I do need to work on my portions and my plating up lol.

Next week promises to be delish as Rose's task is to cook something Moroccan. YUM.

I did it!

A few weeks back I made polenta and it didn't quite work out to be soft and silky like it should have been.  After seeking your advice, the consensus was to just keep stirring.  And then, even when I thought I should stop, to stir some more.  Those who know me well can understand the irony of me being told to keep stirring!

Sausage, fennel seed and mushroom ragu

Anyway, I'm pleased to say this week I managed to make soft, smooth, velvety polenta - with the help of some butter and parmesan.  This was the base for my Sausage, fennel seed and mushroom ragu with parmesan polenta.  Use the best pork sausages you can find/afford for this ragu. Mine were from the butcher in Noosa Junction (near Coles) and the spices he had in there complemented the fennel and mushrooms beautifully.  Also, don't stick to just swiss brown mushrooms - I used a combination of oyster (kept these whole), shitake (sliced) and swiss browns (sliced).  This adds a few more textures and shapes too.

When I made this I changed the order of cooking things, see my steps below.  The original recipe used 2 pans to cook up the ragu - one with the ragu, and then another to cook off the mushrooms before adding them in. I've changed the order so you only need the one pan.  This also keeps  the mushroom 'juice' and cooked on bits in the ragu, and not down the sink.

The ragu recipe came from my annually anticipated May Delicious magazine, the annual Italian issue.  Even though I'm not Italian, I find myself drawn to the flavour combinations in Italian food wherever I am and whatever mood I'm in.  The fresh herbs, tomatoes, mushrooms, meats and of course the cheese, draw me back in time and time again.  I never get sick of it.

The other dish I cooked this week was an old favourite - Manchego and Chorizo Croquettes.  This recipe came from a cooking class at Noosa Springs, many years ago, with two then, up and coming chefs Justin Miles (now back in Adelaide at his own acclaimed Windy Point Restaurant) and the other, a Noosa local and favourite, Matt Golisnki, then working at Ricky Ricardo's (now Rickys).  I'm sure you all saw on tv the tragic fire which claimed his family last Boxing Day.  The news on Matt is that he is out of hospital and physically on the road to recovery.  It will be a long, slow, painful process - physically and mentally.  Our hearts go out to him.

I have been making these tasty morsels, since doing the cooking class nearly 10 years ago, but apparently never for Andy!  Manchego is a sheep's cheese, from a certain breed of sheep on the side a hill in Spain - or so we were told at the cooking class. At the time, it was hard to get.  Now, my favourite place in Noosa, Belmondos, can usually be relied upon for Manchego, but alas not this time.  I asked for a substitute and was offered a french cheese cured in red wine!  Whilst this sounded interesting, it wasn't quite hard enough and didn't have the flavour I was looking for.  Then I saw the Lamb Chopper - an American Sheeps milk cheese.  Right animal, right texture, right flavour.  It worked into the croquettes beautifully.  The chorizo came from Andy's new favourite shop B-Fresh in Warana.  The chorizo was a beautiful firm, smoky flavour, with just the right amount of spice.  I served these on roasted capsicum and rocket, with a balsamic glaze and Chilli Jam (from Noosa Chilli).

To make a balsamic glaze, just pour a bottle (or half a bottle) of balsamic vingear into a pan and reduce it.  It will thicken as it cools, so don't let it cook till it is completely thickened.  As my sister Sue told me: turn it off and let it cool and if it's not thick enough you can always turn it back on and keep reducing.  Wise words!  Pour what you don't use into a sterilized jar or squeeze bottle, and store for another time.

I've been trying to think of another name for croquette that starts with ch for a completely alliterated (obliterated??) name for these Chopper and Chorizo croquettes.  Leave your suggestions in the comment box.

Chopper and Chorizo Croquettes

Chopper and Chorizo Croquettes (makes heaps!)

2 large potatoes, peeled, chopped, cooked and mashed
4 tbsp butter
4 tbsp plain flour
1/2 cup warm milk
1 cup chorizo - skinned, chopped finely to almost a minced texture
1/2 - 1 cup Lamb Chopper Cheese grated (or Manchego, parmesan or other hard flavoursome cheese)
2 tbsp chopped flat leaf parsley
3 eggs (and a splash of milk)
1 cup flour
2 cups coarse breadcrumbs

1.  Cook and mash potatoes.
2. Make a bechamel - melt butter in small pan, add flour and cook over low heat 2 mins.  Slowly add warm milk (you get a less lumpy sauce!), until thick and smooth.  Cook, stirring, for 5 mins.
3. Fold bechamel through mashed potato, mix well and chill.
4. When cold, work in chorizo, cheese and parsley.  Season with salt and pepper.  Take spoonfuls and turn into barrel shapes.
5. Whisk together eggs and a splash of milk. 
6. Dust 'barrels' in flour, dip in egg wash, roll in crumbs. Try to keep one dry hand (flour and crumbs) and one wet hand (egg wash).
7. Deep/shallow fry a few at a time until crispy and golden.
8. Serve with chilli sauce (or your favourite dipping sauce).

Sausage, fennel seed and mushroom ragu with polenta parmesan (serves 6 - 8)
20g dried porcini mushrooms
1/4 cup (80mL) olive oil
800g pork sausage, casings removed, broken into small pieces
1 onion, chopped
3 garlic cloves, finely chopped
1 rosemary sprig, leaves finely chopped
2 tsp fennel seeds, lightly crushed
1/2 tsp chilli flakes
150mL dry white wine
2 x 400g cans chopped tomatoes
3 fresh bay leaves
450g swiss brown mushrooms, thickly sliced
Chopped flat leaf parsley, to serve

1. Soak porcini in 1 cup (250mL) boiling water for 30 minutes.
2. Cook sausage meat in batches, in LARGE saucepan over medium heat, for 5 - 6 mins, until golden brown.  Remove and set aside. Drain porcini, reserving the liquid.
3. In the same pan, add some oil, add sliced mushrooms.  Cook over high heat for 3 mins until lightly golden. Remove, cover, set aside.
4. In the same pan, cook onion over med-low heat, stirring occasionally, for 10 mins, or until soft and lightly golden.   Add drained porcini, garlic, rosemary, fennel and chilli.  Cook, stirring, 1 - 2 mins.  Add wine and simmer for 2 - 3 mins, until almost evaporated.
5. Return sausage meat to pan, with tomatoes, bay leaves and all but 1 - 2 tsp of porcini liquid (in case there's grit/sediment in the bottom).  Simmer stirring occasionally, for 20 mins, or until ragu is reduced and thickened.
6. Stir mushrooms into ragu, cover and simmer a further 5 mins.  Season.

Parmesan polenta
6 cups (1.5L) chicken stock
1 1/2 cups (250g) instant polenta
50g unsalted butter (the chicken stock takes care of the salt requirement!)
2 cups (160g) finely grated parmesan

1. Bring stock to boil.
2. Reduce heat to low then pour in polenta in a slow steady stream, stirring constantly.
3. Cook, stirring for 5 minutes or until thick.  KEEP STIRRING!
4. Stir in butter and parmesan, then season if necessary.
5. Spoon polenta into bowls or onto plates, then top with mushroom ragu and parsley.

Dov'è la crema - parte 2?

Our first visit back to "core ingredients" task was PORCINI MUSHROOMS. It was really good to revisit the core ingredient. I kind of felt like i was in the Masterchef kitchen doing one of the challenges. The first part of the challenge was to source the Mushrooms, after several visits to mainstream supermarkets this proved mushroomless (fruitless). I must thank two collegues, Therese and Rachael, from work who put me onto a fantastic shop called B fresh, this shop has it all so will be doing some more shopping there from now on. B fresh had my porcini mushrooms so I was now set to go.
My menu for Wednesday night was steak with porcini and roasted garlic butter with Sweet potato puree and for dessert, Sticky date pudding. This was an easy meal and quick to make.
For the butter I roasted one head of garlic and soaked the porcini mushrooms for 30 minutes in boiling water. Once roasted and soaked I placed this in processor with 250g butter and a handful of Italian parsley. Once blended place into cling film and roll into sausage shape and refrigerate. For the puree I mashed up some sweet potato and added butter, cream and the juice of half a lemon. I have never added lemon into a puree before, I will definitely be doing this again. I used rump steak for our cut of meat and simply fried this up on the grill and let it sit for 10 minutes, I then sliced the steak into 5mm thick slices. I served with a stack of broccolini.
Place the steak on top of puree and then cover with slices of the butter. A very quick and simple main course.
For dessert I boiled up some dates and the added some bi-carb soda to the water and let sit to cool. Mixed up butter, caster sugar till creamy and added 2 eggs, one at a time and blended. I added some self raising flour  and mixed with a teaspoon of vanilla bean paste. Then pour in the mixture of dates and water. I baked in a loaf tin for 40 minutes. For the butterscotch sauce, put 500ml of thickened cream, 110g of demerara sugar and 2 tbs of treacle. Combine this over med heat in saucepan. To serve I cut the pudding into thick slices and poured over sauce. I was going to serve with cream but I forgot to by extra for serving, hence "WHERES THE CREAM".

A Collective Sigh

This week my challenge was to cook with Quinoa. It wasn't so much a challenge, as a request. I had wanted to cook Quinoa for quite some time, seeing as it seems to be popping up everywhere these days. Quinoa is touted as a 'superfood' and is a grain-like food. It can easily substitute in recipes for cous cous or rice. I found the texture to be softer than cous cous, probably because it swells up, when cooked, a little more like rice. For many people one of the advantages of quinoa is that it is gluten free, and thus far easier to digest. You will definitely pay more for quinoa (around $6 for a box of 3oog at my local Coles), than rice or cous cous, but I think it is worth it for a change every now and then, for a texture part way in between those two.

So what did I cook? First course was a Carrot and Ginger Soup. And then being my first test (and taste) of quinoa, I simply boiled it up and served it as a side with some beautiful Lamb steaks, a lemon and fennel salad, and home-made harissa.

Carrot and Ginger Soup (serves 6)
2 tbsp butter
1 onion, chopped
1 celery stalk, chopped
1 medium potato, peeled, chopped
5 1/2 cups chopped carrots
2 tsp minced fresh ginger (I used heaps more than that)
1 1/2L chicken stock
150mL whipping cream (optional) nutmeg chives salt and pepper

1. As with all soups, melt the butter, then add the onion and celery and cook for about 5 minutes, until softened.
2. Add potato, carrots, ginger and chicken stock. Stir, bring to the boil, then reduce heat to low and simmer for 20 mins, until all veges are cooked.
3. Blend/puree/process the soup till it's smooth.
4. Grate fresh nutmeg over the top. Stir. Season with salt and pepper.
5. Add the cream to the soup and stir to combine, or just add a dollop as you serve, topped with chives.

This soup certainly did the trick. I had actually made it a few days earlier, and in a triple batch. We have a tradition at work to share a soup/curry/risotto etc on a Tuesday and I was first cab of the rank. I used a huge nob of ginger from my garden, as I didn't think that only using 2 teaspoons would be anywhere near enough.

Ginger from my garden

Ginger is one of the easiest things to grow yourself. Next time you buy some from the supermarket or fruit shop, snap off a bit and put it in a snaplock bag on your bench until it starts to produce a shoot. Then plonk it in a pot or straight in the ground, and give it a good drink of water. It will do it's think and keep growing and growing. Wait till you see the tall green shoot come up - the taller it is the bigger the ginger underneath I've found. So when you need some ginger, pull it up, snap off what you need, and rebury it. Keep dividing it up and your ginger will just keep re-generating and you'll never have to buy it again.

Thyme Lamb with fennel and parsley quinoa (serves 2)
100g quinoa
2 lamb backstraps (150g - 200g each) - I used lamb sirloin steaks
1 - 2 tbsp Dijon mustard
1 - 2 tbsp thyme leaves (could use lemon thyme if you can find it)
1 small fennel bulb, trimmed, thinly sliced
1/4 - 1/2 cup chopped flat-leaf parsley
olive oil
1 garlic clove
1 lemon - finely grate rind, then juice it
lemon wedges and harissa (to serve)

Lamb sirloin steaks

1. Cook quinoa in pan of boiling water for 12 minutes or until tender. Drain, cover and keep warm.
2. Rub lamb with mustard (use more if you need it), then roll in thyme, salt & pepper. Heat large lightly oiled pan over med-high. Cook lamb for 3 mins each side (med-rare) or to your like. Remove and rest, covered for 5 minutes.
3. Toss fennel with parsley, lemon rind, lemon juice, garlic. Add in quinoa or serve separately.
4. Slice lamb thickly and serve on quinoa and salad, with lemon wedges and harissa (see recipe below)

Neil Perry's Harissa
4 hot red chillies, coarsely chopped with seeds
2 red capsicum, roasted, thinly sliced
2 cloves garlic, roughly chopped
2 tsp cumin seeds
1/2 tsp coriander seeds
Sea salt and olive oil

1. In a mortar and pestle pound up the chilli, garlic, cumin, coriander and salt. Taste the chilli to check how hot it is! Add a bit of olive oil if you need to, to make a smooth paste.
2. Add in the thinly sliced capsicum and pound till it has broken up and is well combined with the chilli mixture.
3. Serve immediately, or spoon into sterilised jars and cover with some olive oil. Refrigerate.

Thyme lamb with fennel and parsley quinoa

This harissa is one of my stand-by favourites. It is quick and easy, and oh so tasty with lamb, fish, chicken, silverside, any meat really. It is also good as a dip for veges or with some cheese. Many many uses, I think you all should add it to your repertoire.

The whole dish was amazing. The quinoa was surprisingly light and fluffy. I thought it would be a little coarser like cous cous. The harissa had a beautiful hit of chilli and balanced out the lemon and fennel in the salad. The lamb was perfect - so tender, so juicy. If I do say so myself, this was brilliant. I give myself 5 out of 5 wooden spoons!


Lucky me I had the leftovers for lunch, the next day in the form of a quinoa harissa salad. I mixed the remaining quinoa with the remaining harissa, then added a whack of chopped flat leaf parsley. I had some left over silverside, which I chopped up and threw in as well. It was so good. You've just got to love a dinner, that keeps on giving.

Three Little pigs went to the Market

So it was my turn to make a holiday 3 course meal this week. I had made the decision to do a slow roasted pork belly after reading this months edition of Delicious magazine. This was going to be my "main event" and I needed to have a starter and dessert (pondering, pondering, pondering) then i saw the new "Donna Hay" magazine which had caramel desserts in it so, not being the best caramel chef i thought why not, give it another go. So dessert was planned in the form of a rhubarb Tarte tatin. After further reading of the "Donna Hay" my starter was chosen in the form of Black bean pork and Wombok dumplings.

Thank goodness for holidays. I had all day to prepare and boy did it help LOL.

To start with made the Rhubarb Tarte Tatin. We have worked out that when I do my caramels I have the stove on too high therefore the caramel turn to toffee. (Yay we have finally worked that one out). The Tarte Tatin is very simple to make - Gently dissolve 3/4 cup caster sugar in 1/4 cup of water. Once sugar is dissolved bring temp up to med and bring to boil till light and golden. Add 50g of butter and 2 cinnamon sticks stir till well combined. Pour caramel into into greased tin and arrange rhubarb pieces into caramel. Top with puffy pastry and fold in edges around the rhubarb, cut into top 3 small piercings. Bake for 30-35 minutes. Turn out to serve.

The Pork dumplings were just as easy. Thinly slice a Wombok chinese cabbage and fry up with 2 crushed cloves of garlic till wilted and softened. Allow to cool. Place 400g pork mince, 1 egg white, 2 tbs of black bean paste and chopped chives with cabbage and mix until well combined. Thanks to Rose for the dumpling crimper machine thingy, it made making the dumplings so much easier. Place a gow gee wrapper on crimper thingy and put a teaspoon of pork mixture on and crimp together. To cook the dumplings I put water into bottom of fry pan and steamed the dumpling for 5-7 minutes and then transferred them into another fry pan to crispen one side. To serve the dumplings I put some Chinese Black vinegar and chilli oil onto plate and placed dumplings on top.

The Pork Belly was again simple yet time consuming (only in the baking). Mix 2 cloves of garlic, 2 tbs thyme leaves, 1/2 tsp caraway seeds, 1/2 tsp dried chilli flakes, pinch of ground cloves in a mortar in pestle. Add 1 tbs of lemon juice and 2 tbs of olive oil, mix into a paste. Rub this paste onto the rind of a scored pork belly. Let this stand for 30 minutes. Preheat oven to 220 deg. Arrange some onion slices in a roasting pan and sit the pork on top. Roast at 220 deg for 30 minutes then reduce temp to 170deg and roast for 3 hours. Rest pork belly for 20 minutes. I removed the rind and put it under the grill for a few minutes to crispen up the crackling. I served the slow pork with an autumn salad (baby spinach, radichio, pancetta, red onion, swiss brown mushrooms, roasted hazelnuts, dressing honey, red wine vinegar and dijon mustard, olive oil) and pea mash.

This dinner was very simple to make and very nice to eat. We both enjoyed a glass of sav blanc which went down well with each course. The 3 pigs refers to the pork mince, slow roasted pork and the pancetta (thanks Rose). Look out for next week when the structure of our Wednesday night dinner changes. We are going back to our old ways where we choose an ingredient that must be used for the meal. I have chosen Quinoa for Rose. I wonder what she will decide to make - tune in next week to find out.

I'm going to score this 3 course meal 4.5 wooden spoons - just because.

Where's the cream?

I’m on holidays at the moment, so I thought a 3 course meal was in order. As I was flipping through the current (April 2012) of the MasterChef magazine I came across these three dishes courtesy of Matt Moran. All in all these three courses worked well together. They were all light and flavoursome in their own special way. It was a good combination of flavours to welcome in the new cooler season of autumn. This is a long post – three courses to get through, you may want to get a coffee or a wine (depending on your time of day) before you start! Enjoy….

First course – Fennel, lemon and orzo soup with aioli toasts (Serves 6)
The soup couldn’t have been easier to make. Sweat off a finely sliced leek with two cloves of chopped garlic. Add finely sliced fennel from two baby bulbs. Cook over medium until fennel is beginning to soften. Meanwhile cook orzo (risoni) for 5 mins in boiling water, it will finish cooking when you add it to the soup. Add the risoni and 1L vegetable stock to the soup and allow to simmer about 10 mins, until fennel is softened. Finally add the juice of a lemon and it’s lemon rind. Season, with salt and pepper, as you go. At first I only added half the lemon juice, and then tasted the soup – it definitely needed the rest. Serve with reserved fennel tops, any left over lemon zest and aioli toast.

For the aioli toast – diagonally slice a fresh baguette and toast under the grill or on a grill pan. For the aioli either buy the best one you can find, or use 1/3 cup egg mayonnaise, add to it 1 crushed clove of garlic, and a squeeze of lemon juice. Stir it up to combine and taste. Don’t add too much lemon juice or it will turn into a sauce and be far too sour. You want enough lemon juice to ‘loosen’ the mayonnaise and to add that little tang to the aioli. Spread the aioli on the toasted bread, and serve with the soup.

This soup was light in colour, texture and flavour. There was the right amount of lemon, to match up with the crunchy aioli toast. A lovely way to start the meal – we had to be careful not to eat too much. There’s more than enough soup in this recipe to feed 6 using these quantities, or add more stock and risoni to feed more hungry mouths.

Second course – Roast duck with lentils, pumpkin and orange (Serves 2)
I have to say straight up that I’m not a massive fan of lentils, but I didn’t let it deter me. This dish also includes Brussels sprouts, which I then found out Andy had never eaten. I tried to describe the flavour, but it’s kind of hard to. In his favour, the sprouts are deconstructed for this dish, so it wasn’t like he was facing a whole bowl of boiled ones!

I started by rinsing then cooking 100g green lentils in boiling water till al dente (15 – 20 mins), then draining them and setting aside. Whilst they were cooking I diced 200g butternut pumpkin, and mixed it with the zest of an orange and a dash of olive oil. This then went on a lined tray into a 200C oven for 20 mins to roast. After scoring the skin of 2 duck breasts, I placed them skin-side down in a cold fry pan, and cooked them over medium heat for about 8 mins, until the skin was golden and crisp, and most of the fat was rendered. The duck breasts then went on a pre-heated oven tray into the oven (once the pumpkin had come out) for about 5 – 6 mins (cooked to medium). They then rested, covered till I was ready to slice and serve.

Meanwhile, leave only about 60mL (1/4 cup) of duck fat in the fry pan and add 1 thinly sliced red onion and 1 crushed garlic clove. Cook over low heat for 10 mins, until lightly caramelised. Trim bases of 125g Brussels sprouts and place in colander in sink. Pour over boiling water to lightly wilt, then refresh in cold water, and drain well. They will then be bright green and looking like mini lettuce cups! Add the juice of the orange you zested earlier and 2 tablespoons of red wine vinegar to the onions, simmer and cook for 2 mins until nearly evaporated. Add 60 mL red wine and 60mL chicken consommé (or stock, don’t tell Matt Moran!) and ½ - 1 tablespoon of wholegrain mustard to the onions. Simmer and cook for 8 mins or until syrupy and reduced. Add lentils, pumpkin and Brussels sprouts leaves, simmer for 1 minute to warm through. Slice duck and serve on top of the lentil mixture.

As I said above, whilst not being a lentil fan, this was indeed quite tasty. The deconstructed Brussels sprouts were an interesting flavour, and not at all like Brussels sprouts really. That being said there were too many lentils and not enough pumpkin for my liking. So, next time I’d halve the lentils and double the pumpkin and onion.

Third course – Apple and Polenta Tarts with Apple Caramel
These were easy, quick and delicious. Start with the caramel – 40g butter, 2 tablespoons cloudy apple juice and 2 tablespoons of brown sugar, in a small pan. Bring to simmer over medium heat, stir till sugar is dissolved. Peel and core 1 granny smith apple, and thinly slice it. Add the pieces to the caramel once it is simmering, toss to coat and leave for 2 mins, till apple starts to soften. Remove apple and set aside. Put the apple skins in the caramel and turn it off, till it’s time to serve.

Meanwhile, grease the base and sides of 4 x 8cm (3cm-deep) tart pans with removable bases. Line the base too. Beat 50g softened butter and 55g (¼ cup) caster sugar until light and fluffy. Add 1 teaspoon vanilla extract and 1 egg, and beat until combined. Add 55g (1/3 cup) polenta and beat until combined. Sift 75g (½ cup) plain flour, ½ teaspoon baking powder and ¾ teaspoon salt in a bowl, and then add to polenta mixture alternatively with 60mL (¼ cup) cloudy apple juice. Divide amongst pans (they will be half full). Place apple slices, overlapping, in a single line on top of each tart, and press slightly into batter. Bake 20 mins at 180C, until golden. Cool on a wire rack, then remove from pans.

And this is where the title might start to make sense…. Serve with a dollop of cream (or scoop of ice-cream) and drizzle with apple caramel (remove the skin from it before drizzling!). As I was serving this up I naturally went to the fridge to get the cream I had bought, and could not find it! I looked and looked, and finally remembered I’d been cleaning out the fridge earlier in the day and remembered throwing out what I thought was old cream, alas it turned out it was not. Anyway, I didn’t miss the cream on my plate as the apple caramel sauce was more than enough for me. I enjoyed this dessert – it was light, and had a slightly crunch to it because of the polenta. Next time (as well as cream/ice-cream), I was thinking it could maybe do with a hint of cinnamon or cloves or mixed spice. Something to ponder...