Mussel Saganaki

Most of you would know that I am an amateur beekeeper.  This is a hobby that hubby and I share together, it is very rewarding and it is wonderful to give back to nature and help the struggling bee population.  These lovely bees pollinate all of the flowers within a 3km area and people are always happy to report that they have seen bees on their citrus flowers, broad bean flowers or native flora.  Bees usually make people smile as they know how vital they are to our ecosystem and how the bee population has suffered world wide and that there is a reduced honey supply available in Australia.  

Everybody, except one neighbour who complained to our local Council that the bees are a nuisance. 

So yesterday we had an inspector from the Council come to see our bee hives and are now waiting to receive notification from them which will in all probability suggest that we reduce the number of hives we own.   What a sad state for the bee population when this can occur because one neighbour has a 'bee in her bonnet'.   It is another strike against the already struggling bee population.

At least we can cook and be happy.  There is only one store in our town that sells fresh mussels and you have to be very quick to purchase them.  Last week when I was checking what day they were due to come in the sweet lady at the seafood counter suggested I phone in the morning and ask them to reserve a packet on the day they arrived in store.

This time I thought to try mussel saganaki, as I am so fond of prawn saganaki.  The word 'Saganaki'  actually means in Greek 'Little frying pan' but the most famous saganaki dish of all is fried cheese, traditionally Haloumi.

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Mussel Saganaki

• 1 kilo fresh mussels, rinses, cleaned and debearded
• 1/3 cup white wine
• Freshly ground black pepper
• Small amount of sea salt
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 1/2 cup chopped flat-leaf parsley, plus more for garnish
• 2 cups tomato passata
• 1 tablespoon tomato paste
• 2 cloves garlic, finely choped
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano 
• 200g feta cheese, rinsed

Rinse the mussels; discard any damaged or open ones that don’t close when tapped. Place in a saucepan and add the white wine. Cover and bring to a boil over high heat, shaking the pan occasionally; cook for 4 minutes. Remove the mussels and keep the cooking liquid. Discard any unopened mussels.

Strain the cooking liquid through a fine sieve and reserve.

Heat the oil in a medium frying pan over medium-low heat. Add the garlic and fry  for 1 minute.  Stir in the tomatoes, tomato paste, oregano, parsley and black pepper to taste.  Only add a tiny amount of salt as the feta can be quite salty.

Add the reserved mussel cooking liquid to the frying pan bring to a boil then lower the heat and simmer for about 15 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the mixture has slightly thickened. 

Add the mussels to the tomato sauce, stir and make sure every mussel is covered with the tomato sauce, heat through for about 3 minutes.  Rinse the feta and crumble the feta over the top.  Remove from the heat and sprinkle with chopped fresh parsley.

Serve directly onto the table with a pot of hot pasta, some crusty white bread and a fresh garden salad.

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Buon appetito, enjoy Merryn xx

Are you fond of bees?  Do you think their survival is vital for our eco system?

Easy Kim Chi

Now that it is Spring we spend hours in the garden every weekend.  Planting seeds and seedlings, improving the quality of the soil and yesterday Hubby put another layer of wooden planks on top of the existing ones to build up the asparagus bed an extra 20cm high.  Topping up the just peeking through asparagus spears with chicken manure and compost before layering with moisture saving straw.   We also have red and white cabbages planted but these plants are only infants at this stage.  We are also growing tomatoes, beans, bok choy, leeks, spring onions, chillies, lettuce, corn, butter squash, strawberries, spinach, rocket. capsicum, eggplant and many herbs.

Imagine my delight when I saw beautifully formed, huge womboks for sale at our local vegetable shop.  Kimchi immediately comes to mind for it's delightful flavour and fermented goodness.  I cannot fully share my excitement at the prospect of making a batch of kimchi.  My children (young adults) all love kimchi as well so it is a joy that can be spread through the family.

I have created a simplified version over the years, one that is full of flavour with enough moisture but with some texture and a beautiful aroma.   Inspiration comes from this Traditional Kimchi recipe but I like the simple flavours of my own version, without adding any shrimp or squid to the mixture.  I find the process of making kimchi enjoyable and relaxing.

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Kimchi (Tongbaechu)

1 wombok cabbage, approx 2kg
3/4 cup natural fine sea salt
1 bunch radishes (about 8)
2 carrots, peeled
10 spring onions (green shallots)
12 cloves garlic
1.5cm piece of ginger
1 onion
1/2 cup fish sauce
1 1/4 cups gochujang chilli paste  (Korean red chilli paste)
1 tablespoon dried chilli flakes
Porridge:   1 cup water
                  1 tablespoon rice flour
                  1 tablespoon raw sugar

Firstly slice the cabbage lengthwise into 4 quarters.  Remove and discard the hard core.
Then slice each quarter in half again before slicing into roughly 2.5cm pieces.  Place in a colander and rinse well with water.
Then place into a large bowl, sprinkling each layer with a little of the 3/4 cup salt.  Scrunch it all with your fingers and leave to rest at room temperature for at least 2 hours, 4 hours is better.  While it is resting, occasionally give it a stir to distribute the salt evenly.
After it has rested pour it all back into the colander and rinse well with fresh water to remove the salt.
For the porridge mix 1 cup water with 1 tablespoon rice flour (glutinous ground rice) in a small saucepan and stir whilst bringing to a simmer for 5 minutes.  It will thicken during this time.  Then mix in 1 tablespoon raw sugar until dissolved.  Take off heat and place into a large bowl.  Let cool.
Blend the garlic, ginger and onion until finely minced, in a blender or mortar and pestle.  Add to the cooled porridge with the fish sauce, gochujang and dried chilli flakes.  Add the cabbage and mix well.
Chop the carrots, radishes and spring onions roughly (I do this in blender for about 20 seconds) and also add to the cabbage mixture.  Mix it all together and pour into fermenting vessels or in jars with the lid slightly ajar and allow to ferment for up to one week at room temperature before moving into the refrigerator.

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Do you also enjoy the process of making dishes like kimchi or sauerkraut?

Buon appetito, enjoy Merryn xx

Potato fried with Chorizo and Garlic

Today is a great day for cooking.  It is a long weekend with rain drizzling continually.  Yesterday was hectic with three of us pruning trees and bushes then dragging the branches to one big pile where they can rot down in the fullness of time.


Our wood fire is blazing early as it is Tiger's bath day and I worry about him drying at 16C  - Alex and I tried a hair dryer once but the dear kitten was terrified, scrambling to escape our insistent clutching.  So hubby dutifully lit the fire at 10am in preparation for bath day.

  

There are slow cooked beef short ribs smelling delightfully in the corner, which will be perfect for dinner tonight with sweet potato  mash and steamed greens.  Shortcrust pastry is resting in the refrigerator for an accompanying apple pie.  Honey, vanilla granola has been baked in the oven and is cooling on oven trays.

For lunch and my hard working hubby who is still pruning despite the inclement weather I have fried potato slices with garlic and chorizo.  Accompanied by some crusty bread this will be delicious and sustaining.  Comfort food.  Our house is currently an aromatic delight.

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Fried Potato with Chorizo and Garlic

500g peeled potatoes

2 chorizo sausages

2 cloves garlic

1/4 cup Olive oil

Chop potatoes in half lengthwise and then slice across into 4mm slices.

Heat a large non stick frying pan over low - medium heat and add olive oil with potatoes.  Fry for 5 minutes whilst slicing chorizo into 3mm rounds.   Turn over potato and fry for a few more minutes before adding chorizo and chopped garlic.  Don't continually stir or your potatoes will turn mushy.  Occasionally turn over or toss the pan to redistribute the potato and chorizo slices.  Total cooking time is 12 - 15 minutes.

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Do you also like to cook on a wet, rainy day?

Buon appetito, enjoy Merryn xx

Gluten Free Bread - Moist, flexible and delicious

I have been quiet lately and taking a break from blogging as life has been so busy.  With working long hours and helping my parents to move house the last few months have passed like clouds in the sky.

  Last night I stopped by my pottery class to pick up some items that had been previously glazed and fired, and watching all of the people working on different projects I realised that I have missed attending pottery classes.

So I have made a date to create a chorizo pot next Wednesday.

Just like pottery, I enjoy blogging so I will continue to 'blog' my happenings and share my love of cooking with you all.

 I decided to avoid eating products containing gluten for one month to see if I would feel any different.  The result is that yes that I do feel better for varied reasons and have decided to continue with my gluten free diet.

Gluten is contained in so many food items but is easy to avoid apart from bread.  The gluten free bread you can buy is generally heavy, thick and non appetising.

Gluten free fried garlic bread

After doing some research I amended the recipes to one that suited the ingredients that appealed to me and also that I had in my pantry.  This recipe is adapted from Quirky Cooking and also King Arthur fine gluten free bread creations.

The resulting loaf is lovely, light and flexible, tasty and desirable.  It is a great for and everyday loaf of bread.

It is also delicious brushed with a mixture of butter and crushed garlic and lightly fried for garlic bread to accompany a gluten free pasta dish.

Here is the dough, resting for 2 hours.

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Gorgeous Gluten Free Bread 

 Ingredients

2 Tablespoons chia seeds mixed with 6 tablespoons water

Dry Ingredients
. 300g gluten free flour (purchased from supermarkets or health food stores)

. 220g sorghum flour (found in health food shops)                                          

. 380g tapioca starch (tapioca flour)                                                                
. 2 Tablespoons instant yeast                                                                           

. 1 Tablespoon fine sea salt (you can use Himalayan to taste)                        

Moist Ingredients
4 large eggs

670g lukewarm water

70g light oil (eg. macadamia, grapeseed, sunflower)

30g honey

Method

Firstly, mix the chia seeds with the water and put aside.

In a large bowl combine the dry ingredients and mix together.

In a separate bowl mix all of the wet ingredients together and add the chia seed mixture.  Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and stir until combined.   The dough will look sticky but don't knead it, place a tea towel over the top and let rest at room temperature for 2 hours.

You can cook it now, line a loaf pan with baking paper, sprinkle with a little cornmeal (polenta) and pour enough mixture to come three quarters of the way up the sides and allow to rest, loosely covered for at least 40 mins. 

Make several slashes across the loaf at 2cm intervals.  Brush with a little water.

Preheat oven to 180C and place on lower shelf, bake for 35 minutes or until the sides of the bread leave the pan.

This is enough mixture to make 3 loaves of gluten free bread.

You can refrigerate the dough loosely covered for the next 7 days, although the flavour gets stronger each day.  If refrigerated the dough will need to rest for about an hour and a half, or even 2 hours before baking

 It will rise a little in this time, but it won't double like regular bread dough does.

Allow bread to cool in the pan for 5 minutes before inverting onto a rack to finish cooling.

This freezes beautifully, sliced and stored in a plastic bag.
You can refrigerate slices for a few days in the fridge in an air tight container.

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Have you ever tried a diet to specifically avoid certain food groups?
Did you notice a difference?

Buon appetito, enjoy Merryn xx

Christmas Prawns

The best part of Summer is the ready supply of Seafood.
Living in a seafood town we have plenty of choice from the school prawns to the locally caught flat head and beautiful oysters.
Here is a simple prawn dish full of flavour and incorporating the Christmas colours of red and green which is sure to impress your guests.

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Christmas Prawns

1/4 cup olive oil

500 g fresh green prawns, shelled with tail intact

2 cloves garlic, chopped

1 red chilli, chopped

handful of continental parsley, chopped

1/4 cup lemon juice

1/2 cup white wine

salt and pepper to taste

Heat up a frypan or wok to medium high, add oil, garlic and chilli, fry for 1 minute or until garlic just starts to turn brown.

Add the prawns and cook, stirring constantly for 2 minutes.

Add lemon juice, wine and parsley then keep stirring for 2 more minutes.

Season to taste with salt and pepper and serve.

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Happy Christmas to you and your family.  I hope you have a relaxing and festive break.

Buon appetito, enjoy Merryn xx

Prawn Risotto for One

It's a usual day at work; customers, phone calls, paperwork, internet browsing, ordering and lunch. 

Lunch is definitely the highlight of the working day, a brief repose between the morning and afternoon. 

 A time for reflection, meditation and an opportunity to refuel your body.

I try to plan my lunch the evening before, or at least in the morning before leaving for work.

Last night was a late evening due to my monthly amateur beekeeping meeting, which is always a stimulating,
entertaining and educational evening.

Even though I have been beekeeping or 8 years there are always new ideas and methods to learn from other beekeepers.





When I opened the freezer door for ice cubes I saw a bag of cooked prawns with tail on and knew this was going to largely be my lunch today.
Grabbing an onion, a tomato, garlic and long grain rice (I know there is Arborio rice in the pantry - somewhere) I had already decided it would be prawn risotto lunch.
Such simple flavours but so delicious and healthy, this is a lunchtime treat which will keep you full of energy for the rest of the working day.

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Prawn and Tomato Risotto for One

12 large cooked prawns, tail on
2 Tablespoons olive oil
1/2 white onion, chopped
1 clove garlic, finely chopped
1 tomato, chopped
1 red chilli, deseeded (optional)
1/2 cup rice, preferably short grain, rinsed
1/3 cup white wine
1 1/2 cups hot vegetable stock
salt and pepper to taste, dried chilli for garnish

In a rice cooker, or a non stick saucepan add the olive oil, onion and garlic, fry 1 minute,
Add the chilli and chopped tomato, fry 1 more minute.
Add rinsed rice and the white wine and fry for a further 1 minute.
Add the vegetable stock and black pepper then bring up to a simmer, cooking for approximately 10 minutes or until rice is just cooked.  Taste to see if it needs salt as vegetable stock is quite salty.
Add the cooked prawns and cook for another 4 minutes, or until heated through.

Serve, with some extra dried chilli sprinkled over top, or grated fresh parmesan if you have some.

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Is lunch a highlight of the day for you or is it just another meal?

Buon appetito, Enjoy, Merryn xx

Chickpea and Vegetable Curry in a Hurry

I decided it would be delightful to cook a Chickpea and Vegetable Curry for lunch and proceeded to chop the onion, garlic, ginger and chilli to start frying.

I have the most amazing Malaysian curry paste my friend gave me which is simply 1 cup blended spices, pureed lemon grass and onion cooked for 20 minutes with 1 cup water.  It is fat free with a purely wonderful flavour different to any other curry I have every enjoyed.    She won't give me the recipe but is happy to offer me Malaysian spices she brings from her home so I can make my own.
I reached into the fridge for my jar of curry paste only to discover it was vegetable stock paste and the special jar of Malaysian curry was still at home in that fridge!  Oh dear ....
Luckily my long suffering husband abandoned painting our daughter's bedroom just long enough to drive me down the curry paste but by this time I had given up on the idea of having a curry and had loaded so much garlic, ginger, chilli and sriracha into the pan thinking this would have to suffice that it was going to be a flavour overload.

He brought me red curry paste instead of the Malaysian one, but who was I to complain?
Needless to say, my curry was amazing and a welcome blend of fresh vegetables and legumes.

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Chickpea and Vegetable Curry in a Hurry

1 onion, finely chopped

1 clove garlic, finely chopped

1 inch fresh ginger, finely chopped

1 chilli, seeds intact, roughly chopped

1 Tablespoon Sriracha paste (optional)

2 Tablespoons Malaysian curry paste (or any other curry paste you have nearby)

400ml coconut milk

100ml water

400g fresh vegetables, broccoli, cauliflower, capsicum, snow peas, beans or whatever is on hand

chopped into med-large pieces approx 5cm in length

1 x 400g tin chickpeas, drained 

Fry the onion, garlic, ginger and chilli in a little olive oil for 2 minutes in a saucepan.

Add the sriracha if using, the coconut milk and water then bring to a simmer.

Add the freshly chopped vegetables, bring back to a gentle simmer, cover and cook for 4 minutes.

Add the chickpeas, cover and cook for another 5 minutes.

Test to ensure the vegetables are soft.

Serve with extra sliced chilli if desired.

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Buon appetito, enjoy Merryn xx

Have you ever needed friends or family to come to your rescue with essential ingredients?

Cumquat Wine Home Made

Anything is possible when you master the basics of home brewing.
With 5kg fresh cumquats picked from my friend Belinda's tree, 6kg sugar, 8g fruit yeast and 15 litres of cooled boiled water I have created this amazing Cumquat Wine.

This gorgeous cumquat wine is very pleasant to drink now but of course I will see how some ages in a cool room.

It's very drinkable and at 8% ABV - alchohol content

It is the perfect summer drink.

Buon appetito, enjoy Merryn xx

Mushroom Luncheon Surprise

What is Mushroom Luncheon Surprise (I hear you ask)

This is what is created when you take ingredients to work too cook a rich mushroom risotto only to find that the packet of rice you bought, less then 2 months ago, has weavils .... and you're hungry.
No I am not eating weavils, so into the bin goes the rice and I am left with a basic mushroom, onion and garlic stir fry.  Luckily there is a huge jar of braised artichokes in the fridge, and a block of parmesan cheese.  Dressed with a sprinkle of dried chillies and seasoning and it seems, we have lunch!

Follow this up with a plate of apricot, coconut logs and the meal is complete.

Let's just say, dinner tonight will be HUGE

Here is the recipe for these gorgeous apricot logs.

This is so funny, seriously, you have to laugh.

A mid week vegetarian luncheon creation.   It's serendipity!

Buon appetito, Merryn xx

Chocolate Brownie Cookies

You know the saying 'when life hands you lemons - make lemonade' 

when you are handed chocolate, make chocolate brownie cookies.

We had the pleasure of dear friends from interstate recently visit us.  At times like these you have to offer home baked goodies for dessert.    My friend bakes amazing rhubarb cakes and muffins so I had to cook something just as homely.

Chester

It always rains when these friends visit and this time was no exception.     The temperature dropped and the rain came down.

Although it did clear up the day before they left and we managed a 3km walk with their dogs in the sunshine.



 These chocolate brownie cookies are delicious and moist and will be welcomed by all of your visitors.

You can find the original recipe by Thermobliss here.

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Chocolate Brownie Cookies

• 115 g butter , chopped
• 300 g dark chocolate melts
• 3 eggs
• 1 cup (240g) caster sugar
• 2 tbs . cocoa powder
• 2 tsp . vanilla extract
• ½ tsp . salt
• ½ tsp . baking powder
• ¾ cup plain flour
• 3/4 cup chocolate chips/peanuts (or whatever you like!) 

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 180 degrees celsius.
2. Line 2 flat cookie baking trays with baking paper and set aside.
3. Place the chopped butter and chocolate melts into the TM bowl.
4. Melt on Speed 2, 80 degrees for 3 minutes (or until melted) - you may need to scrape down the bowl partway through.
5. Remove melted chocolate/butter and set aside.
6. Place the eggs, caster sugar, cocoa powder and vanilla extract into the TM bowl (no need to clean it).
7. Insert the butterfly and mix on Speed 4 for 2 minutes.
8. Reduce to Speed 1 and slowly add the melted chocolate mixture to the egg mixture through the MC hole.
9. Increase to Speed 3 for 20 seconds.
10. Reduce to Speed 1 and add the salt, baking powder and plain flour through the MC hole.
11. Mix until just combined.
12. Add the white chocolate chips/peanuts (or whatever add-ins you like) and fold through with a spatula.
13. At this stage the mixture will be very thin (almost like a cake batter).
14. Place tablespoonfuls of the mixture onto the prepared trays.
15. The cookies will spread so make sure you leave a 3-4cm gap between each cookie.
16. Bake for 12 minutes.
17. Remove from the oven and leave on the baking trays for a further 10 minutes (they will continue to cook).
18. Use a flat spatula to transfer the cookies to a wire rack to cool completely
    
    
    

    

    Leo

    Conventional Method:

In a bowl placed over a pan of simmering water, melt chocolate and butter together.
Let cool while you  beat the eggs with sugar and vanilla until light and fluffy in your mixer bowl.
Add cocoa powder.  Mix on low speed and pour in the melted chocolate and butter mixture.
Remove bowl and fold through flour, baking powder, salt and either white chocolate chips or nuts.
Fold until just combined.
Place heaped tablespoons onto the lined cookie trays leaving a 3-4cm gap for them to spread and bake for 12 mins at 180 degrees celsius.

Buon appetito, enjoy Merryn xx

Fried School Prawns in a Curry Coating

It was my friend Kathy's birthday last Wednesday and we usually get together each year to celebrate our birthdays.     This time we had a very busy day with work and thought we would pop around after dinner to wish Kathy a Happy Birthday rather than organising a mid week dinner.    I had purchased some local school prawns as they have been scarce this year due to the white spot disease with Australian prawns so whenever they are available I always make sure to buy some.   I had seen this recipe before and always meant to try it so this seemed like the perfect time to give them a coating and a quick fry before popping them into an insulated container so they arrived hot when we arrived at our friends house.

Trust me, these are delicious.  Much like deep fried white bait you eat them whole.   Shell, head and tail complete. They are crunchy and delightful.  Sprinkled with sea salt and a little lime juice, they are the perfect accompaniment to a cold glass of white wine and some lively company.

We arrived, unannounced at around 6pm, in the pouring rain to find our homely friends all rugged up.... there was Kathy in her polar bear pyjamas which one son had bought her for Mothers Day and there was her husband with his beanie in place.  Luckily we were welcomed and the heater was blazing.  We all had an enjoyable evening and suitably celebrated another year on.  Mind you, I did feel a touch overdressed.

Next time you get some small school prawns, fry them like this, you will be pleasantly surprised 😊
Here is the original recipe by Billy Law from 'Man Food' and next time I might make the aioli as well but they were delicious served alone with a sprinkling of lime juice.

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Fried Curry School Prawns

vegetable oil, for deep frying 

200 grams plain flour

2 tablespoons curry powder

1 teaspoon cayenne pepper

1 tablespoon sea salt flakes, plus extra to dust over cooked prawns

1 egg white

500 grams small school prawns, shrimp (already cooked is fine)

lime halves to serve

Combine the flour, curry powder, cayenne pepper and salt in a large bowl.

Whisk the egg white and combine with the washed and drained prawns in another bowl.

Heat the vegetable oil in a saucepan to 180C.

In batches, place some prawns into the flour, coat lightly and then dip into the hot oil.

Fry for 2 -3 minutes, stirring occasionally.

(The whiskers get dissolved so if they go in in a clump they will separate).

Remove and drain on paper towels whilst you cook the next batch.

Sprinkle with extra sea salt whilst still hot.

Serve hot with the lime halves to drizzle over.

 

(Please note I had 1kg school prawns and doubled the ingredients and used a whole egg.)

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Do your friends ever greet you in their pyjamas?

Buon appetito, enjoy Merryn xx

Simple Seafood Paella

We have a council clean up happening in our area during the coming week.  We culled, sorted and dumped out the front so much 'stuff' it was quite liberating, but also very tiring.  Two old double beds, a few boxes of kitchen implements, more boxes of garage junk and we had quite a large assortment of household objects waiting for collection.  During council clean ups people drive around with their utes and trailers collecting items that other people don't want so it is also a good way of recycling goods within our community before the council comes to collect what is left behind.




What do you cook when you don't feel like cooking?  A lovely simple Seafood Paella (pronounced pay-ee-ya) that is always a family favourite.  I take out a portion of the rice mixture before adding the seafood and place it in small pan and add 2 chopped chicken thighs for my daughter who doesn't like seafood, except for smoked salmon (no I don't understand this choice either) but she has recently become a vegetarian so smoked salmon and chicken are now off the menu.


I was too tired to cook even this so we ordered home delivered pizza thus it was an easy night and the finale of My Kitchen Rules was on and there were no distractions in the kitchen.

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Simple Seafood Paella

1 red onion, finely chopped

3 cloves garlic, finely chopped

1 small red capsicum, diced

2 chorizo, diced

2 tomatoes, also diced

1 cup peas

1 1/2 cups arborio rice

3 1/2 cups hot chicken stock

Seafood of your choice; I used 700g white fish fillets cut into 2.5cm pieces

                                       1 squid tube cut into rings aprox 1/2cm wide 

                                       400g green prawns, vein removed, tail intact

Serves 6

Fry the onion for 5 minutes at a gentle heat, add garlic, capsicum and chorizo.  Fry for another 5 minutes then add the tomatoes and cook until the tomatoes have broken down, about 5 minutes.  Add the peas and rice, stir until the rice is well coated.  Add 1/2 cup white wine and cook for 2 minutes before adding the chicken stock.  Stir well and then leave untouched for 15 minutes, adding a little more stock if needed.

Then add the seafood, slightly pushing the pieces into the rice.

Cook for 5 more minutes, check seafood is cooked, sprinkle with chopped parsley and serve in the pan in which it was cooked.

                                       

Optional;  some people like to shave fresh parmesan over the top or add some dried chilli flakes.

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Do you have a free council clean up in your area and do you take advantage of this by spring cleaning?

Buon appetito Enjoy Merryn xx

Baked Custard Tart - a family tradition

When we were small children we had the occasional holiday at my Nana's (my Mother's Mother) home in Moorland.

There was a big swamp at the back and we would climb trees to try to get over it without walking through it and getting our feet wet. These were fantastic holidays as we had cousins who would come from near and far and my Great Aunt Betty lived across the road from Nana.  Playing hide and seek in the small town was an endless source of fun too, it was only a small group of houses in those days.

In season we would pick blackberries or macadamias and stay out until it was definitely dark.
Great Aunt Betty even had an outdoor toilet, it was so 'country'.  Even though a modern bathroom was installed inside during the 70's inside the house the good old 'thunder box' was quite a novelty.

The garden was filled with fruit trees which backed onto the forest and then the large swamp. My mother told me she had seen small fairies in the swamp when she was young so I was always keeping an eye out just in case I was lucky enough to see a fairy go flying by...

My wonderful Nana would alternate between cooking baked custard and creamed rice pudding for desserts when we visited her and it was always welcomed after a busy day playing outside.  Nana, her name was Doris Belle did not make a pasty case but baked the custard in a glass pie dish and it was amazing.  I think many of us can remember baked custard tarts from way back when we were young.

This is a modern twist on this classic family tradition.

On the left is the pastry case lined with baking paper and baking 'beans' (weights) to keep the pastry from rising during the initial bake.  To the right is the uncovered pastry case after 5 mins more of cooking.

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Baked Vanilla Custard

Pastry

200g plain flour

100g butter, cubed

1/2 tspn salt

50 - 60g iced water

Custard

4 eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla extract or vanilla paste

1/3 cup castor sugar

1 1/2 cups milk

1 teaspoon nutmeg

Place flour, butter and salt into a food processor.  Whizz until it resembles fine breadcrumbs.

Then add the water with the motor running, until it comes together in a ball.

Knead lightly and place in a bowl, covered in the fridge for 30 minutes.

Turn your oven to 180C fan forced and line a pie dish with non stick baking paper.

Roll out pastry until 3mm thick and place in your lined pie dish with the pastry up the sides.

Place baking paper inside and fill with baking beans, then bake for 15 - 20 mins.  Remove paper and weights and cook for another 5 minutes.

While the pastry is baking prepare your custard filling.

Whisk 4 eggs with a 1 teaspoon vanilla extract or paste and 1/3 cup sugar. 

Slowly pour in 1 1/2 cups milk and keep whisking until combined.

Remove pastry tart from oven and carefully pour in the custard mixture.

Sprinkle with a little grated nutmeg and bake at 180C for 20 minutes or until just set.

Remove from oven and try to wait until it cools before cutting - well at least 10 minutes.

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Tell me, do you have fond memories of holidays with your grandparents?

Buon appetito, enjoy Merryn xx

Quick and Easy Jamu - a traditional medicinal drink from Bali

If you have ever been to Bali the chances are you have tried Jamu, a lovely turmeric and ginger infused drink that is good for your immunity and health.   Cafes and street stalls alike offer this refreshing and healthy turmeric based drink.

The weather is turning cooler in Australia. Although Autumn has just started soon there will be winter diseases spreading and the better equipped our bodies are to deal with germs the better off we will be.

This is the wikipedia explanation of jamu.  Here is my friend Karen's recipe for Jamu and she makes an excellent, delicious version.   This is absolutely beautiful but last night I wanted to make some and did not have any fresh turmeric on hand so I created an 'instant' version which is also amazing.

Karen's JAMU
200 – 250 grams grated or finely chopped fresh Tumeric
200 - 250 grams grated or finely chopped fresh Ginger
2 heaped Tablespoons Tamarind Paste – or if no Tamarind paste you can use lemon juice or lime juice. Probably juice of 3.
2 ½ ltrs water - approx
2 teaspoons or so of ground black pepper
2 heaped tablespoons of honey
Put it all except the honey into a large saucepan or boiler and Boil in pot for at least 30 mins – (I will do it for say 45mins.)
Cool then strain and stir in honey.

Bottle up and it keeps for a couple of weeks in the fridge quite well.
(Tip – if you are grating –then wear some gloves – your fingers will be orange for at least a day otherwise)     Enjoy K

Just look at the beautiful colour of this turmeric and ginger Jamu drink.

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Quick Jamu

1 tablespoon organic dried turmeric

2 small knobs of fresh ginger about 5cm each, peeled and finely chopped

A few grinds of black pepper

2 tablespoons tamarind puree

1/3 cup raw, organic honey

1 litre water

Place the turmeric, ginger, pepper and water into a pan and bring to a boil then lower heat and simmer with lid on for 15 minutes.    Add tamarind puree and cook for another 5 minutes.  Turn off heat and add honey to your taste - between 1/3 - 1/2 cup.

Let cool, then strain into a bottle and refrigerate.

This will last about a week in the fridge.  

Drink at least 150ml daily for maximum health benefits.

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What is your best defence against winter germs?
Do you have a go to tonic to boost your immunity?

Buon appetito, enjoy Merryn xx

Ricotta Gnocchi in tomato sauce with parmesan cheese

Ricotta Gnocchi with Tomato Sauce and Parmesan Cheese

It is the simple things in life which often give us the most pleasure, like walking on the beach, singing along to music or watching a magnificent thunderstorm roll in ....

Eating Ricotta Gnocchi is like having a chat with an old friend who is comfortable and familiar.

We had a visit from some lovely friends who were visiting from France last Saturday night.  We dined at a local Thai Restaurant as they had never eaten Thai food before but thankfully they enjoyed the meal and not a grain of rice was left behind.

 
Then we went to our house for coffee, liquer shots and copious amounts of green tea.
  
Shortly after coffee a lightening storm came over accompanied by gentle drizzle of rain and our guests were so excited they kept taking videos and photographs as their storms are very different to our own storms.

It reminds me how we take the smallest things for granted which really give us great pleasure.


 

Whilst grocery shopping on the weekend I saw a 1 kilo tub of ricotta and immediately thought to have ricotta gnocchi.          

Although ricotta is easy enough to make yourself sometimes ready made is convenient and saves time.

This wholesome meal is always appreciated in our house.

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Ricotta Gnocchi

500g fresh ricotta

2 eggs

1/2 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese

1 cup flour

salt and pepper to taste

In a large bowl mix everything together gently until combined.

Divide mixture into 4 rounds.

On a lightly floured surface take 1round and roll into a log shape 20cm long.

Cut into 2cm lengths and light press with a floured fork to make a light pattern.

Place onto lightly floured large plate.

When you have completed rolling all of the gnocchi dough cover and place in fridge for at least 1 hour.  You can leave overnight if you plan to cook it the next day.

Bring a large pan of salted water to the boil and gently drop in about 1/4 of the mixture, cook for 3 -4 minutes.  They will rise to the top of the water.  Gently scoop out with a sieve and place in a warm serving bowl while you cook the remaining gnocchi.

Drizzle over your favourite freshly made tomato passata and sprinkle with sliced parmesan.

Serve with a fresh garden salad and a loaf of crusty bread.

Bellissimo!

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Tell me, what's your favourite homely meal and what are the simple pleasures that you really enjoy?

Buon appetito, enjoy Merryn xx

Spinach and Ricotta Polpettine in Tomato Passata

The temperature is between 25 and 30 Celsius at the moment and my spinach was looking a bit sad and droopy. 

I picked all that I could, washed it and cooked these delicious polpettine - a vegetarian delight.

This is a quick but delicious luncheon or entree dish that looks very impressive yet remains rustic.

 spinaci e ricotta polpettine di passata di Pomodoro

During the supermarket shop on Saturday morning I noticed 3  bottles of goats milk on sale. Because I make soap and cheese I always keep an eye out for milk specials and this was a great bonus!

I made some goats milk cheese, chevre which is basically a firm, moulded ricotta with a superb flavour.  While that was cooling in the fridge I proceeded to blanch the spinach to make the polpettine.


 I kept a few lovely polpettine aside planning to have them for lunch the next day.  One youngster came down for a midnight snack and told me the next morning that they were really nice.  "I felt a little ripped off when I realised they weren't meat balls Mum," he said " but they were good anyway".

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Spinach and Ricotta Polpettine

1 bunch of spinach, blanched in boiling water for 1 minute, then cooled and drained.

200g ricotta cheese

1/3 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese

1 egg

1/3 cup fresh breadcrumbs

2 Tablespoons chopped parsley 

salt and pepper to taste

1/2 onion, finely chopped

2 cloves garlic, finely chopped

375ml tomato puree (passata)

1/4 cup water 

salt and pepper to taste

 Extra grated parmesan for garnish



Squeeze the excess water out of the drained spinach and roughly chop before placing into a bowl.

Add the cheeses, egg, breadcrumbs, parsley and seasoning (remember that ricotta is salty so go easy with the salt).

Fry the onion in a pan in a little olive oil with the garlic and fry for about 5 minutes.  Add the tomato puree and water and bring to a light simmer.   

Roll small balls of spinach mixture lightly with your hands and place into the tomato sauce.  When they are all rolled and placed on top of the tomato mixture grind a little black pepper and a tiny sprinkle of salt over the top.    Gently spoon a little sauce over top of the balls.   Turn pan to very low, cover and let cook for about 8 minutes. 

Remove lid and let cook for 1 more minute for the excess water to evaporate (only if needed).

Sprinkle with extra grated fresh parmesan.

Serve with crusty bread and a fresh green salad.

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Does your family go searching in the refrigerator for the evening leftover food dishes?

Buon appetito, enjoy Merryn xx

Sake - Cultured and Home Made

I have had so much fun creating the most amazing Sake in my pantry and then my laundry.
It is enjoyable producing products at home but even more so when you have to research the ingredients and method and still occasionally have to improvise to create perfection.
I wish I could attach a small cup of Sake to this post so you could enjoy the magnificent taste and aroma.


Every good idea starts with a dream or a need ... for example;

 I commented "oh darn it honey I'm out of sake"
followed by "I know you can't even buy it in our town".
"That's a shame "my very patient and long suffering husband replied
"can we pick some up in Newcastle next time?"
Knowing how keen I am to get ingredients when I need them, not in 3 months time.   I replied "surely we can make Sake?"



"Considering I brew wine, mead and limoncello and you make other alcohol surely between us we can make sake - what's the difference?"  I asked my now intrigued husband.

"Of course you can make sake" hubby replied, "we can do anything".

So here I am, the proud owner of 5 litres of divine home brewed Sake, well actually only 3 as I have already given away 2 litres of Sake.

As with all new recipes or hobbies you research the method and ingredients.  Luckily we have the internet and interest pages where we can talk to like minded people about our hobbies.
So I read on how to make sake.  It seemed all a bit too difficult, so I read some more, asked friends and ordered the one ingredient that seemed easier to order than to make at home called 'Koji'.
Koji looks very much like rice bubbles as I ordered it in the dried form as it was sent from interstate.

Koji is innoculated rice spores, an essential with which to make sake, miso or shubo miso.

I found the recipe for sake that I followed here;
http://homebrewsake.com/home/recipe/
and I will not reproduce it here, but the instructions are very involved and I treated this sake like a baby from start to finish.  Treating it with respect, dignity and ever so gently.

I stirred vigorously and measured the temperature of the liquid morning as well as night, adding a frozen ice brick underneath when it was time to cool the liquid down.  It went from bench top to laundry floor and then into the laundry sink at times and it was always covered by a towel in a darkened room to keep the light out.

This was truly a labour of love and I was so happy with the end result and when the ABV measured 17% alcohol with a pleasant rice flavour, I deemed it to be a huge success.

It is definitely best to make over winter in the cooler months.

My son brought back 2 expensive bottles of sake from Japan in December and although they are smoother than mine; my sake is still very acceptable and most pleasantly drinkable by comparison.

The liquid is so clear it could be mistaken for water.

You have a small amount in a kind of cupped saucer to drink for a quick pick-me-up.

By the way, I predominantly made this Sake to have on hand for cooking so it will last many years.

Buon appetito, enjoy Merryn xx

Simple but delicious Pork Sausage Rolls

It was my hubby's birthday recently and as we were going out for dinner that evening I suggested afternoon tea to family and friends to celebrate his day.  I made sausage rolls and red velvet cake as well as spending the previous afternoon cooking crostoli so there were all on the menu.
Afternoon tea was better than the meal out we had at a local restaurant in town (it happens) so I am glad we ate well beforehand.

Sometimes you hit onto a winner, simple comfort food that is perfect for parties or dinner with family.  Home made sausage rolls are amazing and even better when you use pure free range pork mince and add your own flavourings to create an amazing filling for the pastry.

I occasionally make my own puff pastry but the convenience of store bought frozen puff pastry is great and hard to pass up, especially in the heat of summer where you have to work quickly with pastry.

This recipe is a variation of the classic Bourke Street Bakery sausage rolls recipe but I have tweaked it to suit our taste.

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Pork, Vegetable and Fennel Sausage Rolls

This recipe will make 4 trays of sausage rolls, approximately 60 sausage rolls of 6cm lengths.

1 kilo pork mince, preferably free range
4 celery stalks. finely chopped
2 carrots, finely chopped or grated
2 rashers bacon, finely chopped
4 garlic cloves, minced
2 white or brown onions, finely chopped
1/3 cup olive oil
4 teaspoons fennel seeds, whole
1 teaspoon dried, mixed herbs
1/2 cup fresh breadcrumbs
salt and pepper to taste
6 sheets frozen puff pastry, thawed
1 egg mixed with a little milk for an egg wash.

Heat the olive oil in a sauce pan over medium heat.  Add the onion, garlic, celery, bacon, carrot and cook for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally until the onion and carrots are softened.
Take off the heat and mix in the herbs, breadcrumbs and seasoning.
Let cool.
Mix the pork mince into this cooled mixture until well combined.
Heat oven to 200C
Place the thawed puff pastry sheets on your bench and cut each sheet in half so  you have 12 rectangles of roughly 15cm x 30cm.
Place mixture  in the middle third of each sheet using 2 spoons to spread a rough line in the middle of each sheet about 4 cm wide.  Roll one side of the pastry on top of mixture, brush with beaten egg and fold the other side of pastry on top to just overlap so you have your filling enclosed with pastry.
Cut each roll into 5 pieces and place onto baking paper lined baking tray.
Brush with egg wash and place into hot oven for about 15 - 20 minutes, rotating trays half way through until the sausage rolls are puffed and light golden brown.
Serve with sweet chilli sauce or tomato sauce.
These also freeze well and can be reheated from frozen in your oven for 45-50 minutes at 170C.

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Do you find occasionally that your home cooked meals can be better than restaurant dishes?

Buon appetito, enjoy Merryn xx