Peta Eats

Love At First Bite - Muesli Bars

2012-02-21T20:46:00.000+10:30

This month's Sweet adventures blog hop is hosted by Nic of Dining with A Stud.
I had great intentions of doing something wonderful. Time was not my friend. Sometime in the future I will post the cake I planned. In the meantime here is my favorite muesli bars recipe.

Have you noticed that food doesn't taste like it used too? I am not sure if this is a case of selective memories or fact. We seem to be paying more for our food, getting less and what we do get is so often full of additives and cheap bulkers.
The price of snack foods like muesli bars is getting ridiculous.

Muesli Bars started in Europe and the United Kingdom as a traditional slice or tray bake called 'flapjacks', made mostly of ground rolled oats, butter and honey or brown sugar, baked, then cut into bars and intended as a simple snack.

Muesli is a Swiss invention and traditionally was uncooked rolled oats, bran threads, wheat germ, dried or fresh fruit and nuts. This is credited to Dr Bircher and his sanatorium.
Way back in the 1850’s Granula was developed as a health food by Dr Caleb Jackson. It was made of whole wheat flour, sugar and water.
Kellogs, of course, soon created something similar and called it Granola to avoid any messy legal stuff with Dr Jackson. In the 1960’s they revamped the product by adding fruit and nuts and calling it Granola, specifically aiming the product at the health food (hippy) market.

Granola bars, as we know them, appeared on the supermarket shelves in the early 1970’s and are credited to Stanley Mason who sold the idea to American food company ‘Sovex’.
Mason was an amazingly prolific 20^th century inventor who is credited with inventing a plethora of other things including the disposable diaper, form fitting sanitary pads, the squeezable sauce bottle, the muesli or granola bar, Mason ware - the first microwave cookware, foaming toothpaste, self-heating shaving cream, the "Wow" Playtex plastic under-wire bra and the doorknob mounted burglar alarm. His company Simco (a think-tank of inventors) is credited with another huge range of products including an easy-to-open, stringless Band-Aid package; surgical masks; plastic dental floss and a new dental amalgam system; adult Depends diapers; a new method for making cat litter; a self-heating pizza box; a sonic method of sealing chip packages; hair dye; designs for Tupperware; and invented packaging for cookies, baby wipes, shampoo, and so on and even more so on.

The modern muesli or granola bar varies from a fairly healthy snack to a cereal bar full of sugar, preservatives and anything else the maker cares to throw in.
Finding one that is low in both fat and sugar is not an exercise for the faint hearted. Finding one that is peanut and soy free is another challenge. Good luck if you also need gluten and egg free. The solution is obvious. Make your own. There are a lot of recipes on the net, I didn’t want one that used eggs or peanuts. If it didn’t need baking - Even better.

I, of course, went on a web surf and spent quite a bit of time perusing the many recipes available. This is a combination of many and what I had in the pantry. It could be made just using a pre-packaged good quality baked muesli. I mix up my own cereal mixture to give us more variety and still cater for No 2 son who is allergic to so much stuff. This isn’t particularly low in fat or sugar however it is tasty and then if you are concerned about it making you fat get outside and run around a while, or cut it into smaller pieces. Husband and No 2 son are those irritating people who always look half-starved so it isn’t a big issue in our house.

Muesli Bars

1 cup flaked almonds
1 cup coconut flakes or dessicated coconut
1 cup LSA (I buy this pre-ground mix of linseed, sunflower seeds and almonds in my local health food shop)
½ cup cold pressed macadamia oil, margarine or butter
½ cup organic maple syrup or honey. (Pure maple syrup is better for you than honey but that’s another story)
½ cup brown sugar
2 teaspoons mixed spice or cinnamon
2 1/2 cups toasted muesli
½ cup chopped dried fruit such as dried apricots, apples or sultanas.

Line a 30cm x 25xm baking dish with bake paper.

Spread the nuts and coconut in this dish and roast in a 180° Celsius oven until just golden.

Add the LSA and mix with the nuts and coconut. Return to the oven and cook until the nuts and coconut are golden (They change colour quickly so don’t wander off while you are doing this).

While this is happening combine the maple syrup (or honey), oil (or margarine or butter) and sugar in a small saucepan.
Melt, while stirring, over low heat and when the sugar has dissolved turn it up slightly and let it bubble for 2 minutes. Keep stirring it regularly so it doesn’t stick and burn.

Combine the spice, muesli, dried fruit, roasted nuts and coconut in a large bowl. Add the melted mixture and stir well.

Quickly press into the lined dish and leave to cool overnight. If it is hot weather you can put it in the refrigerator but otherwise room temperature is OK.

When it has cooled and set cut into bar sizes and enjoy.
I store it between layers of the bake paper from the tin so it doesn't stick together.

Love at First Bite - Sweet Adventures

2012-02-07T22:14:00.000+10:30

Don't panic I am not about to review some sort of vampire romance. I am going to share with you Sweet Adventures . This is the name given to the bloghop started by a group of 4 sharing, wonderful, weight increasing (mine, not theirs) women. Damn them all. (Not really who doesn't love food porn).
"When Jen Le Delicieux, JJ 84th & 3rd, Christina Hungry Australian, Heather Kitchen Crusader and I were chatting one evening about a blog hop, we had no idea it could turn in to Sweet Adventures."
That's how Nic of Dining with a Stud put it.

Interested??? I was. I didn't go in any of the previous hops due to firstly not knowing and then last month, when I did know, I was in the middle of the DIET and not game to cheat at all. This month I am 8 kilos down and running - well learning how to run safely. This means running a bit, then walking and gasping for air, then running again. It works, you can read about that on my other blog under the posting Run, Fat Bitch, Run

Any way back to Sweet Adventures and 'Love at First Bite'.

Ever stuck something in your mouth and thought - after some stunned seconds - 'I don't ever need to have sex again!!! I just need to eat this regularly instead'. Or thought 'Oh thank you GOD for giving me this'.

You have to think all these things because you can't risk opening your mouth and loosing a crumb of this miracle you are eating.

I have, we all have. That's the theme/challenge that the wonderful bloggers want us to share on the Blog hop at Sweet Adventures.

Want to join up or look at the previous challenge entries? Last month was Death by Chocolate, December was Festive favorites and November was the great Pavlova Challenge.
Simply click on Sweet Adventures and you are there. Or go to Dining with a Stud for all the details for this month.

I'll be there. I am so in on this. I know just the thing. It's sort of inspired by the Lemon Overload Cake I made for my Daughter-In-Law's Baby Shower. Only this will be better!!!! Curious? Check back on the 16th of February for the details.

Winter Is Coming

2012-01-30T19:35:00.001+10:30

I'm dreaming of winter. Ilove winter. I get to rug up and walk about in the wind and (last winter) rainthen come home to snuggle up in front of the (gas) fire with my ugg boots, adaggy tracksuit, and a blanket to read a book without feeling guilty. No Guiltbecause the weather is terrible outside.

Of course it should bemandatory that while relaxing with a good book in front of the fire, listeningto the rain outside there should be a pot of really good tea and scones.Fresh, fragrant, delicious smelling, warm scones with home-made chunky jamand lashings of whipped cream.

This weekend the temperatureplummeted to 30° Celsius. Jam Time. The local Farmer’s Market had beautifulstone fruit and citrus amongst its other offerings.

So in anticipation of winter Imade a batch of one of my favourite, incredibly easy, never fails jams - Peach,Nectarine and Citrus Jam.

Peach, Nectarine and Citrus jam

About 1 litre

Preparation time 20 minutes

Refrigerate overnight beforecooking.

Cooking time 60 minutes

Extreme care should be taken withthe boiling jam. It may spit when stirred.

Equipment Required.

5 x 200 millilitre jars withtight fitting lids

1 sharp knife

1 cutting board

1 food processor

1 large stainless steel, glass orplastic bowl

1 large wide heavy bottomed pot.

Ladle

Jar filling funnel

Ingredients

750 grams each of 'ready to eat' peaches and nectarines

1 kilogram white sugar

2 oranges and 1 lemon

6 cloves or ¼ teaspoon of ground cloves

Method

Scorethe skin of the peaches and then blanch them until the skins split (30-40 seconds). Refresh (cool) in cold water until you can handle them. the skins should pull off in your hands. Other wise peel them as finely as you can.

Slice up the citrus and remove the seeds. Chop the flesh and rind in a food processor until only small 2 - 3 mm size bits of rind are left.

Combine cloves, sugar, pureed oranges, lemon and all the juices from the food processor in the bowl. Break peaches and nectarines into smallish chunks over the bowl so you catch the juices. Stir, cover, refrigerate overnight. Stir regularly to dissolve the sugar.

Transfer the fruit/sugar mixture to the saucepan. Bring to the boil over medium heat. Stir about every 30 seconds until it boils and then stir frequently until mixtures forms a gel on the back of a wooden spoon and fruit breaks down (50 - 60 minutes). Regular stirring will prevent it sticking to the bottom of the pot and burning.

To test setting point, remove the jam from heat and spoon some onto a cold saucer. Return to freezer for 30 seconds and then draw a line through it with your finger. If it doesn’t run back together, it’s ready. If not, cook another few minutes and then test again. If you can find them remove the cloves.

Ladle hot jam into warm sterilised jars and wipe them clean with a hot, damp cloth. Seal the bottles as soon as you can, and cool completely. The lids should vacuum seal as they cool. Store any that don’t in the refrigerator and eat those first.

To sterilise the jars, wash them well in hot soapy water. Rinse in hot clean water and turn them upside down and allow the jars to drain. Don’t wipe them dry. Turn them back up the right way and put on an oven tray. Place into a 100° Celsius oven for at least 10 – 15 minutes. Dry the lids with a lint free cloth.

Daring Kitchen Scones

2012-01-29T16:20:00.003+10:30

This month Audax Artifex was our January 2012 Daring Bakers’ host. Audax worked tirelessly to master light and fluffy scones (a/k/a biscuits) to help us create delicious and perfect batches in our own kitchens!

I do consider myself an above average scone cook so I am happy to say my recipe is the same as Audax's. I never use lard as he did as The Husband is a vegetarian and I son't like the taste either.

I am also a champion scone eater which is one of the reasons I got up to over 100 kilos.
Happily after 2 years of real effort I am down to just under 80 kilos and to stay that way I have had to limit my scone intake.

The husband is one of those horrible males who still weighs the same as he did the day we got married. Damn his metabolism. No 2 son has inherited those genetics, so these days I make scones for them and just have a mouthful. It's hard to just have a mouthful of a warm scone.

For the challenge I made the plain scones supersized and The husband No 2 son had them as hamburger buns.

I also made a cheese and chive scone round and they ate that "As Is" claiming it needed nothing with it. As they ate the whole thing who am I to argue.

The crumb was fine and bread like, which is how I like my scones. If you would like to read the whole detailed, I can safely say, scientific research that Audax went through he has blogged about it on his blog Audax Artifex

These recipes are as Aidax wrote them and are his work not mine. Thank you Audax for all the hard work.

Basic Scones (a.k.a. Basic Biscuits)
Servings: about eight 2-inch (5 cm) scones or five 3-inch (7½ cm) scones
Can be doubled

Preparation time: Preparation time less than 10 minutes. Baking time about 10 minutes.
Equipment required:
Large mixing bowl
Baking dish
Measuring cups and spoons (optional)
Flour Sifter (optional)
Board (optional)
Scone (biscuit) cutter (optional) or knife (optional)
Dough scraper (optional)
Spatula (optional)
Weighing scale (optional)
Cooling rack (optional)
Pastry brush (optional)

Ingredients
1 cup (240 ml) (140 gm/5 oz) plain (all-purpose) flour
2 teaspoons (10 ml) (10 gm) (1/3 oz) fresh baking powder
¼ teaspoon (1¼ ml) (1½ gm) salt
2 tablespoons (30 gm/1 oz) frozen grated butter (or a combination of lard and butter)
Approximately ½ cup (120 ml) cold milk
Optional 1 tablespoon milk, for glazing the tops of the scones

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to very hot 475°F/240°C/gas mark 9.
2. Triple sift the dry ingredients into a large bowl. (If your room temperature is very hot refrigerate the sifted ingredients until cold.)
3. Rub the frozen grated butter (or combination of fats) into the dry ingredients until it resembles very coarse bread crumbs with some pea-sized pieces if you want flaky scones or until it resembles coarse beach sand if you want tender scones.
4. Add nearly all of the liquid at once into the rubbed-in flour/fat mixture and mix until it just forms a sticky dough (add the remaining liquid if needed). The wetter the dough the lighter the scones (biscuits) will be!
5. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured board, lightly flour the top of the dough. To achieve an even homogeneous crumb to your scones knead very gently about 4 or 5 times (do not press too firmly) the dough until it is smooth. To achieve a layered effect in your scones knead very gently once (do not press too firmly) then fold and turn the kneaded dough about 3 or 4 times until the dough has formed a smooth texture. (Use a floured plastic scraper to help you knead and/or fold and turn the dough if you wish.)
6. Pat or roll out the dough into a 6 inch by 4 inch rectangle by about ¾ inch thick (15¼ cm by 10 cm by 2 cm thick). Using a well-floured 2-inch (5 cm) scone cutter (biscuit cutter), stamp out without twisting six 2-inch (5 cm) rounds, gently reform the scraps into another ¾ inch (2 cm) layer and cut two more scones (these two scones will not raise as well as the others since the extra handling will slightly toughen the dough). Or use a well-floured sharp knife to form squares or wedges as you desire.
7. Place the rounds just touching on a baking dish if you wish to have soft-sided scones or place the rounds spaced widely apart on the baking dish if you wish to have crisp-sided scones. Glaze the tops with milk if you want a golden colour on your scones or lightly flour if you want a more traditional look to your scones.
8. Bake in the preheated very hot oven for about 10 minutes (check at 8 minutes since home ovens at these high temperatures are very unreliable) until the scones are well risen and are lightly coloured on the tops. The scones are ready when the sides are set.
9. Immediately place onto cooling rack to stop the cooking process, serve while still warm.

Variations on the Basic recipe
Buttermilk – follow the Basic recipe above but replace the milk with buttermilk, add ¼ teaspoon of baking soda, increase the fat to 4 tablespoons, in Step 3 aim of pea-sized pieces of fat coated in flour, in Step 5 fold and turn the dough, rounds are just touching in the baking dish, glaze with buttermilk.

Australian Scone Ring (Damper Ring) – follow the Basic recipe above but decrease the fat to 1 tablespoon, in Step 3 aim of fine beach sand sized pieces of fat coated in flour, in Step 5 knead the dough, in Step 7 form seven rounds into a ring shape with the eighth round as the centre, glaze with milk.

Cheese and Chive – follow the Basic recipe above but add ¼ teaspoon of baking soda, after Step 2 add ½ teaspoon sifted mustard powder, ¼ teaspoon sifted cayenne pepper (optional), ½ cup (60 gm/2 oz) grated cheese and 2 tablespoons finely chopped chives into the sifted ingredients, in Step 3 aim of beach sand sized pieces of fat coated in flour, in Step 5 knead the dough, rounds are widely spaced in the baking dish, sprinkle the rounds with cracked pepper.

Fresh Herb – follow the Basic recipe above but after Step 3 add 3 tablespoons finely chopped herbs (such as parsley, dill, chives etc).

Sweet Fruit – follow the Basic recipe above but after Step 3 add ¼ cup (45 gm) dried fruit (e.g. sultanas, raisins, currents, cranberries, cherries etc) and 1 tablespoon (15 gm) sugar.

Wholemeal – follow the Basic recipe above but replace half of the plain flour with wholemeal flour.

Wholemeal and date – follow the Basic recipe above but replace half of the plain flour with wholemeal flour and after Step 3 add ¼ cup (45 gm) chopped dates and 1 tablespoon (15 gm) sugar.

Summer meals

2012-01-28T18:25:00.002+10:30

It is hot, hot, hot, here today. I've been making jam so the house is overheated . I had no choice. The peaches and nectarines, at the Farmers Market, were to good to pass up. I'll tell you more on those when the jam is finished.

So for dinner tonight I wanted something quick involving minimum mess and fuss.

I am trying to cook my food using minimal oil and fat so while I was at the Farmers Market I decided that a warm eggplant salad, cous cous and chicken tenderloins would be just the shot.

This is it without the chicken (for the vegetarian of the house).

Warm Eggplant Salad with Cous Cous, Tomato Kasundi and Baba Ganoush.
Serves 2

Equipment

1 sharp knife
1 cutting board
1 frypan with lid
1 sandwich press (electric grill)
1 metal bowl
plastic wrap
bake paper

Ingredients

Eggplant salad
1 small eggplant
2 small onions or 1 large
1 zuchinni
2 large ripe tomatoes - diced
1 teaspoon ground coriander
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 cup chopped parsley

Cous Cous

1/3 cup dry cous cous
1/2 cup chopped parsley
1 tablespoon preserved lemon skin - finely chopped
boiling water

1 jar Tomato Kasundi
1 tub Baba Ganoush

300 grams of chicken tenderloins.
1 teaspoon Lemon pepper

Method

Preheat the sandwich or electric grill.

Cut the eggplant into 1 cm slices and cook between 2 sheets of bake paper in the grill.

While it is cooking put the cous cous in a metal bowl with the parsley and lemon and just cover with boiling water.
Cover with plastic wrap and set aside.

Cover the bottom of the fry pan with water or vegetable stock.
Slice the onion and zuchinni into thin slices and heat covered in the frypan.
When the eggplant is cooked add it to the frypan with the cumin and coriander. Cover with the lid and allow it to steam over a low heat until the liquid is nearly gone.
Add the diced tomato and parsley and cover again. Turn off the heat. Leave it to sit while finishing up.

You could also do all this is in a plastic bowl in a microwave if you wanted too.

After the eggplant is cooked add the chicken tender loins to the grill press.
Sprinkle with the lemon pepper.
Cover with a piece of bake paper and cook until golden, about 5 minutes.

Pile the cous cous and vegetables on a plate add a big spoon of baba ganoush and tomato kasundi.
Top with chicken if you want it.

Cooking the vegetables in water or stock rather than oil gives this dish a fresh and different flavour. Tradition tells us to fry in oil but try this method and see and taste the difference.

Fruit Mince

2011-12-28T14:04:00.001+10:30

Jamie Oliver made a new version of mince pies on his Christmas Special. He used a bottle of fruit mince. I know he is often about quick cooking and some people don't have a lot of time.

People, it isn't hard to make a batch of fruit mince and it keeps really well in the refrigerator. I made some last Christmas and it sat in the fridge until this December, it was just as good as when I made it.

Quick Fruit Mince

1 cup sultanas
1/2 cup chopped dried apricots
1/2 cup chopped dried apple

½ cup chopped driedfigs
1/2 cup currants
1 cup chopped walnuts or pecans
½ teaspoon ground cloves
1 teaspoon nutmeg
1 teaspoon cinnamon

½ teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 cup brandy

Grated rind of 1orange and 1 lemon
Juice of 1 lemon and 1 orange

½ cup water

80 grams butterchopped into pieces

½ cup dark brownsugar

Combine allingredients in a saucepan and heat over a low heat until the butter and sugarmelts.

Place into a sealablecontainer and refrigerate at least overnight.

I have kept this inthe refrigerator for 12 months and it keeps really well.

To make my version of JamiesMince tarts

3 sheets of filo pastry

80 grams butter melted

2 sheets premade puff pastry

1/2 quantity of the fruit minceabove

1/4 cup slivered almonds

2 tablespoons icing sugar

Preheat the oven to 180° Celsius.

Brush a Muffin tin with lots ofbutter, inside the dips and on the top.

Lay one piece of filo pastry onyour bench, brush with melted butter and lay another piece of filo on top, dothis again so you have three sheets of filo. Brush the top with more meltedbutter. Drape it over the muffin tin, now carefully and gently poke the pastryinto the holes.

Lay the two sheets of puff pastryon your bench

Spread evenly with the fruitmince.

Roll like a swiss roll.

Cut each piece into 6 and put onepiece into each hole. Brush with more butter and sprinkle with the almonds andthen a thick layer of icing sugar.
Bake for around 30 minutes or until the pastry is golden and the puff looks cooked. I had to put some foil over mine as it as the filo was cooking to fast.

Hot Smoked Salmon Quiche

2011-12-08T20:50:00.003+10:30

I love hot smoked salmon, I buy it in the supermarket already smoked and vacuum packed ready to eat. My favorite is the Huon Aqua brand. The flavour is different, richer and deeper than ordinary smoked salmon with more of the texture of cooked salmon. Delicious.
For this version I use Alexandrina Cheese Creme Fraiche and organic eggs.
I use powdered milk in my quiches and baked custards. I believe I get a better mouth feel from powdered milk and compliments fly when I feed them to friends and family.

Hot Smoked Salmon Quiche

Ingredients

Pastry

100 grams butter
150 grams plain flour
50 grams cornflour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 egg
1 teaspoon lemon juice
30 mls water (If needed)

Filling

3 x 70 gram eggs
250 mls Alexandrina Cheese creme fraiche or sour cream
1 cup water
1/2 cup powdered milk
1 teaspoon dried dill
1 cup green part of spring onion chopped
150 grams Huon Hot Smoked Salmon flaked
1 cup grated cheddar - I prefer a mild cheddar rather than an aged or tasty variety.

Line a 30 cm x 18 cm tray with bakepaper.
Preheat your oven to 160 degrees Celsius (If your oven is not fan forced raise the heat by 10 degrees)

Combine the flours and butter in your food processor and blitz until the butter is the size of grains of rice
Add the salt, egg and lemon juice and blitz until the pastry comes together.
You might need to add a little or all of the water to get it too come together.
Roll the pastry out and line the tin.
Sprinkle the salmon, dill and spring onion over the pastry evenly.
Mix together the eggs, creme fraiche, water and powdered milk in the food processor and blitz together until smooth. Carefully pour over the salmon and spring onion.
Sprinkle the cheese over the egg mixture and place in the oven and bake for 45 - 60 minutes or until the egg mixture is set and the pastry golden.
Allow to sit for 10 minutes at room temperature before serving.
This is delicous served warm or cold with a dressed green salad. I like to use a Honey, Lemon and Mustard Dressing on the salad.

1 tsp finely grated lemon rind
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
1/2 tablespoon of your favorite mustard
1 teaspoon honey
100ml olive oil
Salt & freshly ground white pepper

Place the lemon rind and juice, mustard and honey in a small bowl and whisk with a hand whisk or your electric beaters, drizzle the olive oil in and beat until combined.
Pour it over your salad and enjoy.

I don't receive anything from these companies to promote their products.

Almond Lemon Biscuits (Slice)

2011-12-03T18:55:00.001+10:30

I have been creating a lot of egg-free recipes lately and this is NOT one of them. As I was going to spend time with friends at a workshop (See my other blog for the details) I decided to make some morning tea. One of my favorite recipes is from this Womens Weekly Cookbook.

On page 52 is a recipe for Hazelnut Lemon Biscuits. I call this recipe a slice but who am I to argue with them. I didn't have any ground hazelnuts so I substituted ground almonds instead and it is delicious with both.

Almond (Or Hazelnut) Lemon Biscuits.

Pastry

1 cup plain flour
2 tablespoons caster sugar
90 grams ground almonds or hazelnuts
125 grams butter
1 egg

Filling

60g (2oz) butter
1/2 cup caster sugar
grated rind of 1 lemon
1/4 cup lemon juice
2 eggs

Topping
1 cup flaked or slivered almonds

Place flour and chopped butter in food processor and blend until crumbs (Or rub the butter into the flour).
Add the sugar and egg and pulse until it starts to come together.
Press half the pastry into a 28cm x 18cm tin.
Combine all the filling ingredients in the food processor and blend until smooth. It might be a bit curdled looking like this but it is fine.

Grate or crumble the remaining pastry evenly over the filling and then sprinkle over the almonds.

Cook for 30 -40 minutes. Cool in the tin, cut into 3cm squares when cold and enjoy.

100th Raspberry

2011-11-17T19:21:00.002+10:30

In just a couple of weeks we (that's the royal we as I have had little to do with it) have harvested 100 raspberries from this little patch.

Greg has netted it to stop the birds taking them as they can become a weed. Still it is worth it to have them planted. The strawberries are bearing beautifully too but the hot weather is coming and they are slowing down.
I am not sure what to do with this bounty, we have been eating them fresh with some cream or ice cream and that is good enough for me. I'll have to think of something special for them. In the meantime fresh is best and there is nothing quite as sweet as a raspberry picked and eaten within a few minutes.

Banana and carrot Cake Eggless and Egg less Chicken Schnitzels

2011-11-16T15:25:00.002+10:30

I have had two days off in a row this week. As No 2 son is not the greatest eater in the world I have been tempting his appetite with things I know he likes. His egg allergy means he misses out on a lot of things like cake. Yet you can make cake without eggs and they are good. Here's my latest attempt inspired by several recipes so I am not giving one source in particular.

Egg Less Banana and Carrot Cake

2 overripe bananas
1 large carrot - cut into chunks
200mls milk
5 teaspoons baking powder (use the recommended amount for that amount of flour of your favorite brand I think it varies depending on brand)
1 teaspoon bi-carb (baking)soda
1/4 cup brown sugar
1 teaspoon mixed spice or cinnamon
125 grams melted butter
1/2 cup pecans or walnuts
2 1/2 cups plain flour (I used wholemeal but you could use any)

Place carrot, banana and milk in food processor and blitz until carrot is finely chopped.
Add all the other ingredients and process until smooth and lightened in colour.
Pour into lined 15cm x 30 cm tray and bake for 30 minutes at 180 degrees C or until skewer inserted comes out clean.
Cool in tin for 5 minutes and then remove onto airing tray.

Egg less Chicken Schnitzels.

4 Chicken thigh fillets
1 cup cornflake crumbs
1/2 cup favorite dukkah
milk or cream about 1 cup

Combine the crumbs and dukkah, toss the chicken fillets in the mix.
Dip in the milk and return to the crumb mix. Repeat until well coated I did 3 coats.
Spray with olive oil and bake on a lined tray in 180 degree oven for around 45 minutes.
Serve with mashed potato and peas or salad
I had mine with salad No 2 son just had peas. I was going to take a wonderful photo and show you but I was really hungry and so you just got a photo of the leftovers.

Eggless Pancakes

2011-11-15T16:40:00.002+10:30

Our search for egg free food has lead me too this recipe for Eggless Pancakes.
I got up this morning and all I could think about was pancakes. A bit cruel to cook my usual recipe when No 2 Son can't eat them, so I surfed the net and found this recipe from Cooks.com.
I don't remember visiting this American site before but there is a treasure trove of info there.
I did adapt the recipe a little as I am trying to cut ~~out~~ back on sugar. I substituted maple syrup which is slightly better.

FLUFFY EGGLESS PANCAKES

1 cup plain flour
1 tablespoon maple syrup
1 teaspoon cinnamon
2 teaspoon baking powder
1 cup whole milk
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 tablespoon water
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 tablespoon butter

Combine milk, maplesyrup, oil, water, and vanilla. Add dry ingredients.

Whisk together until just combined. Be careful not to over mix - it should still be slightly lumpy. Set aside to rest for a few minutes.
Heat a large frypan over medium-high heat until hot. While pan is heating, add butter. As soon as the butter is melted, add melted butter to pancake batter.
Return pan to stove and stir butter into batter.
When pan is hot, place tablespoons of batter in the pan.

Cook over a low heat until bubbles form on the surface.

Carefully flip pancakes with an eggslide and cook until golden brown.

These pancakes were made with wholemeal flour and were just as good hot as egg pancakes. They were a little heavier when they were cold but still great. I cooked them on my new cooker. More on that later.

Everybody Needs Cake - Eggless Chocolate Cake.

2011-10-26T20:14:00.001+10:30

As No 2 son has moved back in and has a myriad of allergies my cooking style has undergone a forceful change. We decided yesterday that what we really need is cake. Everybody needs Cake.
One of my favorite blogs is Art of Dessert.
Rianne shares lots of delicious recipes and great photos for those with allergies.
One of her recent posts was Chocolate Wasted Cupcakes
I had grand plans of making the cupcakes but laziness set in and I just threw the whole lot into a pan and baked it whole. It is delicious. I did have to substitute some stuff so I have given my recipe below. The original is on Riannes site.

Egg Less Chocolate Cake

2 cups gluten free flour
1 cup coconut flour
3/4 cup brown sugar
1 cup cocoa powder
2 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. salt
2 cups milk
1 cup butter, melted
4 teaspoons maple syrup
2 tsp. vanilla extract
1/2 cup Beach Organics cacao nibs

I bought these at the Good Food And Wine show and they were delicious.
1 teaspoon mixed spice

Mix wet ingredients well.
Sift the flours and cocoa together and add other dry ingredients. Mix well.
Add wet ingredients to dry ingredients. Mix well.
Place into lined baking tin and bake in 180 degrees Celsius oven for 40 minutes or until skewer comes out clean.
I had my piece with coffee icecream and mango.

Wasabi Leaves Salad

2011-10-18T20:07:00.000+10:30

We ate the rest of the wasabi leaves tonight. The flavour of the raw leaves is very different to wasabi paste. The closest comparable flavour is rocket. I made a fridge salad. That's a salad made with whatever was in the fridge.
In this case toasted almonds, chinese cabbage, wasabi leaves, boiled potato, carrot, celery and cucumber. I also pan fired some chicken for No 2 son and I. The dressing is lemon infused olive oil, lemon juice and seeded mustard.
It was fresh, light and delicious. Just the thing for our first hot day. It got to 28 degrees celsius here today. Summer is coming. I prefer Winter.

Wasabi Leaves

2011-10-17T20:06:00.000+10:30

No 1 Son, Favorite Daughter In Law and No 1 Grandson dropped in for lunch today. We'd been with Favorite Daughter to look at a Church for her wedding next year. No 1 Son is an Uniting Church miniister and will be performing the ceremony.
No 1 son and family live at the beautiful Victor Harbour and there is an excellent Farmers Market there on Saturday mornings. Last Saturday No 1 Son bought some wasabi leaves so he brought a few up to me to try.I was a bit hesitant however they don't have that blow off the top of your head and clear your sinuses while you scream for mercy taste either.
A local farmer at Victor Harbour has started to grow the wasabi. The largest and possibly only commercial grower of Wasabi in Australia is in Tasmania, Shima Wasabi so there is still room in the market for some more growers.
Shima Wasabi do a pack for home shoppers it contains 2 fresh wasabi stems (minimum weight 150g, enough for 12-15 servings, 12 fresh wasabi leaves, 12 wasabi leaf stalks and postage for $42. Understandable why there are others looking at getting into the market.
to correctly make your own paste you really need either a sharkshin wasabi grater or a creamic one. Shima Wasabi have those too.

The ones I got were crisp and green. They have a similar apperance to coltsfoot and these were begging for a bit of experimentation so I whipped up a tempura batter and threw them in.
They didn't like being tempura'd. The batter was crunchy and just as it should have been but the leaves were tasteless after cooking.

I can see why people would pay 50 cents a leaf for them but next time I'll try something else. They were great raw and I think they will be excellent in a salad. If they last till Sunday and are not eaten before I might try them in some sushi. Sushi is the plan for Sunday. I'll show you what I do then.

Tempura Batter
1 1/2 cups of flour
1 1/2 cups of ice water

Mix together until smooth and refrigerate until you are going to use it. If the batter gets hot it will not be crunchy.
The batter should have the consistency of cream. This amount is enough for tempura for 6 people.

Toss whatever vegetables, fish or meat you like in a little bit of flour and drop in the batter.
Heat your rice bran oil to 180 degrees Celsius and drop the battered whatever into the hot oil. Don't overcrowd your pan or your batter might not get really crisp. It is the extremely cold batter hitting the hot oil that gives you your crisp delicate coating.

Adelaide Good Food and Wine Show

2011-10-09T20:34:00.002+10:30

Today off I went to the Adelaide Good Food and Wine Show. The Husband sort of grunted and frowned everytime I mentioned it. "V8's....Bathurst....Mumble, mumble don't want to go.... mumble, mumble..."
Now I too am a fan of V8's and spending a day in front of the telly to catch any really good car crashes is a day well spent. It certainly is how I spent the weekend last year.
This year I decided that V8's couldn't compete with the allure of a show dedicated to Good Food and Wine. I certainly was not disappointed. Well, a little disappointed. In a whole huge pavilion dedicated to wine and food there were certainly those. There were nibbles, crackers and a happy abundance of liquers and spirits. I happily sipped on lots of really excellent wines. There were little pots of pastas one enterprising company had bought along one of their pasta machines. That was really interesting and the pasta was delicous. I had lots of breads, dukkahs galore and some really excellent wines. I sipped a lot and was praying I wouldn't run afoul of a booze bus (breathalyser) on my way home. I was pretty sure I hadn't over indulged to the point of being over the limit but who wants to chance that.
I bought a bottle of St Germains elderflower liquer, the bottle is a work of art and the liquer isn't bad either. Some really excellent Pama pomegranate liquer, a bottle of the lovely Glayva whiskey and a bottle of Hpnotiq - a blend of exotic juices, vodka and cognac found their way into my shopping bag. I succumbed to neccessity and bought myself a granny shopping trolley. apparently everyone in Europe regardless of age has one...so I am actually being Continental. Chocolate abounded.

What was lacking from the Good Food and Wine show....Cheese, not a skerrick, there are so many fantastic cheese makers in South Australia.
Cake....really lacking as well, surely someone like St George Cakes or those of that ilk could have been there.
On the whole though a great day out with my friend from work. We saw Manu and Ainsley so Yay for us.
Oh and the new upgraded Goyder Pavilion is great - these kids had so much fun in the fountain in the beer garden I wanted to splash in the water too...But people frown on that.

Preparing for the Zombie Apocalypse

2011-10-08T16:12:00.000+10:30

Is there a 12 step program for compulsive shoppers – You know the kind where you stand up and say I am a kitchen stuff junkie. If there is I bet they are all really well fed. I love all sorts of stuff, books, cooking paraphenalia, anything that is food related has a place in my house.
I know my husband shakes his head and wonders if it will ever stop. He used to ask when I would stop buying books, gadgets, stuff my answer the last time was “When I have them all”.
He’s stopped asking me now. There are reasons why I shop.
I have always been a stress shopper. I am also a stress eater.
Yes, I am potentially a fat person with a house full of stuff. I can control my eating enough to stay at the top of my ideal weight range (I believe those weight ranges are done by anorexics with low self-esteem who want everybody to be hungry and miserable).
I am also a compulsive shopper. I am not as bad as I used to be, I do have some self control. Always remembering that I might never see that thing again…. I have a million reasons I can give you for shopping and eating. I know it and I don't care.
If I am asked for a reason I now say “Because I want too”.
Yes that’s right I buy because I can, there are a lot of shop-keepers who see me coming and their heart and wallet sings a happy “Ka-Ching”.
I am supporting the economy. I am stocking up for the zombie apocalypse. The economy might crash and there I would be without a dozen rolling pins. How embarrassing would that be.
Today I went shopping with my favorite daughter, we were looking for inspiration and a plate cake to sit her wedding cake on. Off we went with the granddaughters who started saying how bored they were before we got out of the drive way. First stop was Creative Cooks - A great kitchen stuff shop at Melrose Park. There are millions of us cooks searching for that perfect rolling pin, I wanted one that I could put rolling pin rings on. They make it easier to get perfect evenly rolled icing, pastry, whatever you are rolling.

That’s what I bought today, a lovely 70 cm long Italian beech rolling pin. It is the perfect size for the Wilton rolling pin rings I also bought. The Wilton Rolling pin I didn't buy was over $65. I ended up spending less than that on everything I bought. So I actually saved heaps of money…. Yes really… I did.
I also bought some new kitchen scissors – the pink breast cancer ones, that’s a donation to charity.
Some cupcake shaped cookie cutters because they were really cute.
A new bottle sealer cause mine is old, ugly and the sealing rings are sort of sticky.
A new small whisk because I don’t know where my other one is.
An agnolotti cutter and shaper because I don’t have one.
We also went to a cake decorating shop, I was very controlled there. I only stocked up on essentials there.
Potato flour because I ran out of that and it is really handy to have some potato flour on hand.
Star icing cutters for Christmas cookies I ~~might~~ will make.
Stamens for fake flowers they were 5 for $4 and they are usually $4 each. So another $16 saved. Wow my husband should be thanking me for saving me so much money.
I didn’t spend thousands of dollars, that thermomixer is still in the shop that is another thing that will have to wait for the big Lotto win.
My compulsive shoppers heart is happy. I am going to the Food and Wine Show tomorrow. Can you hear my wallet groaning. I will only buy essentials there... I promise... Really I will.

I Really Need A New Oven

2011-10-04T18:23:00.001+10:30

I really want and sort of need a new stove. I have had my current one for 11 years and it was second hand when we got it.
I deserve a new one. I'd really like one of these

But lets be practical and sensible, until I win Lotto, which ~~could~~ will happen anyday, my Kitchen just isn't big enough. But one day I'm going to have one of those.

At the moment I would like to have this

which is the modern version of the one I currently have.

We used to have one of these (below) wood burning stoves and it cooked like a dream, cutting the wood, cleaning the stove and being cooked yourself in the Summer was a bit of a pain. But a dream in the winter. I'd have one again. Perhaps when I win the Lotto.

So the search continues for the new stove. I'll let you know what happens.

Eggless Almond Tarts - Baklava Inspired Or I need a new oven

2011-10-03T21:05:00.028+10:30

I have been yearning for a new stove for quite some time. My oven is being uncooperative. It has been a loyal kitchen appliance since I bought it second hand back in 2000. But lately it has started to play up. It did this some years ago and I got a man in to look at it who did his best and said don't bother calling us again buy a new stove. Greg fiddled with it too and I don't think that helped a bit.
So I did a bit of window shopping for a new stove. WOW they are expensive. Of course the one I fell in love with wouldn't fit in my kitchen and cost over $7000 so I am lowering my goals.

What do I want in an stove.

1. Gas hotplates but not necessarily a gas oven.
2. It has to fit in a 60 x 60 cm hole and be at least 83 cm's high so it clears the bench tops.
Other than that the sky is the limit.

I would love a combitherm steam/heat combined oven but that is out of the question I am afraid. Oh well perhaps one day.

Tonight I cooked this quick dessert. No 2 son is allergic to eggs so I am inventing some desserts that are eggless.

Eggless Baklava Inspired Almond Tarts

Makes 4 tarts

Requirements

4 x 8 cm tartlet pans
Bake paper
Bowl
Spoon
Pot
Scales
Measuring jug
Measuring cups
Measuring spoons

Ingredients

2 tablespoons honey
2 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons water
2 tablespoons lemon juice
2 tablespoons self-raising flour
1 teaspoon lemon rind grated
¾ - 1 cup Ground almonds
½ teaspoon cinnamon
1 sheet puff pastry

Method

Preheat oven to 200° C
Thaw pastry and cut the edges off.
Cut the pastry into 4 squares lay on a piece of bake paper that is slightly larger than the pastry.
Line each tartlet dish with the pastry on bakepaper.

Combine honey, lemon juice and rind, water and butter in a small pot and bring to the boil.
Mix cinnamon, ground almonds and flour together.
Add hot mixture. mix well. The mixture should be thick enough to hold on the spoon for 1 or 2 seconds and then fall off.

Divide equally between the dishes and fold the edges back over the top.

Bake for 15 minutes at 200° C then lower the heat to 180° C and cook until firm and the pastry is browned underneath. About 30 minutes. My oven is dying so I took them out of the tins after 40 minutes and turned them upside down and browned the bases.
Cover with foil if they are going too dark (like this) they should be golden brown without the dark bits mine have.

Serve with cream or ice cream – warm or cold.

Croissants - A Little Taste of France.

2011-09-27T20:38:00.000+09:30

The Daring Bakers go retro this month! Thanks to one of our very talented non-blogging members, Sarah, the Daring Bakers were challenged to make Croissants using a recipe from the Queen of French Cooking, none other than Julia Child!
It’s a long time since I made a croissant. They are well worth the effort and I had grand intentions of doing another batch but yet again life got in the way. I did make one batch and they were delicious.
The croissant is not instant food. It takes a long time but not a huge amount of effort. Most of the time is used in resting the dough.

I used the bits I cut off the edges, sprinkled with cinnamon and sugar and rolled into the scroll. The twist is 3 layers of the dough with chopped honey glazed macadamias. The long ones are two types - the larger one was spread with nutella and chopped hazelnuts and the other is sprinkled with dukkah. The horn shapes are just the dough. I didn't make those big enough but they were so good. I am going to make them again, soon.

The crumb was just perfect in my humble opinion and they were a hit with the Ktchen Hand and No 2 son.

Preparation time: In total, 12 hours.
Making dough, 10 mins
First rise, 3 hours
Kneading and folding, 5 mins
Second rise, 1.5 hours (or overnight in the fridge)
Rolling in the butter (turns one and two), 15 mins
First rest, 2 hours
Turns three and four, 10 mins
Second rest, 2 hours (or overnight in the fridge)
Forming croissants, 30 mins
Final rise, 1 hour (or longer in the fridge)
Baking, 15 mins
Equipment required:
• Measuring cups
• Measuring spoons
• Mixing bowls of numerous sizes
• Rubber spatula
• Plastic bag
• Pastry scraper
• Counter space or board for rolling and kneading
• Rolling pin
• Plastic wrap
• Baking tray

Croissants
Servings: 12 croissants

Ingredients
¼ oz (7 gm) of fresh yeast, or 1¼ teaspoon (6¼ ml/4 gm) of dry-active yeast (about ½ sachet)
3 tablespoons (45 ml) warm water (less than 100°F/38°C)
1 teaspoon (5 ml/4½ gm) sugar
1 ¾ cups (225 gm/½ lb) of strong plain flour (I used Polish all-purpose flour, which is 13% protein)
2 teaspoons (10 ml/9 gm) sugar
1½ teaspoon (7½ ml/9 gm) salt
½ cup (120 ml/¼ pint) milk
2 tablespoons (30 ml) tasteless oil
½ cup (120 ml/1 stick/115 gm/¼ lb) chilled, unsalted butter
1 egg, for egg wash

Directions:
1. Mix the yeast, warm water, and first teaspoon of sugar in a small bowl. Leave aside for the yeast and sugar to dissolve and the yeast to foam up a little.
2. Measure out the other ingredients
3. Heat the milk until tepid (either in the microwave or a saucepan), and dissolve in the salt and remaining sugar
4. Place the flour in a large bowl.
5. Add the oil, yeast mixture, and milk mixture to the flour
6. Mix all the ingredients together using the rubber spatula, just until all the flour is incorporated
7. Turn the dough out onto a floured surface, and let it rest a minute while you wash out the bowl
8. Knead the dough eight to ten times only. The best way is as Julia Child does it in the video (see below). It’s a little difficult to explain, but essentially involves smacking the dough on the counter (lots of fun if you are mad at someone) and removing it from the counter using the pastry scraper.

9. Place the dough back in the bowl, and place the bowl in the plastic bag
10. Leave the bowl at approximately 75°F/24°C for three hours, or until the dough has tripled in size.
11. After the dough has tripled in size, remove it gently from the bowl, pulling it away from the sides of the bowl with your fingertips.
12. Place the dough on a lightly floured board or countertop, and use your hands to press it out into a rectangle about 8 by 12 inches (20cm by 30cm).
13. Fold the dough rectangle in three, like a letter (fold the top third down, and then the bottom third up)
14. Place the dough letter back in the bowl, and the bowl back in the plastic bag.
15. Leave the dough to rise for another 1.5 hours, or until it has doubled in size. This second rise can be done overnight in the fridge
16. Place the double-risen dough onto a plate and cover tightly with plastic wrap. Place the plate in the fridge while you prepare the butter.
17. Once the dough has doubled, it’s time to incorporate the butter
18. Place the block of chilled butter on a chopping board.
19. Using the rolling pin, beat the butter down a little, till it is quite flat.
20. Use the heel of your hand to continue to spread the butter until it is smooth. You want the butter to stay cool, but spread easily.
21. Remove the dough from the fridge and place it on a lightly floured board or counter. Let it rest for a minute or two.
22. Spread the dough using your hands into a rectangle about 14 by 8 inches (35 cm by 20 cm).
23. Remove the butter from the board, and place it on the top half of the dough rectangle
24. Spread the butter all across the top two-thirds of the dough rectangle, but keep it ¼ inch (6 mm) across from all the edges.

25. Fold the top third of the dough down, and the bottom third of the dough up.
26. Turn the dough package 90 degrees, so that the top flap is to your right (like a book).
27. Roll out the dough package (gently, so you don’t push the butter out of the dough) until it is again about 14 by 8 inches (35 cm by 20 cm).

28. Again, fold the top third down and the bottom third up.
29. Wrap the dough package in plastic wrap, and place it in the fridge for 2 hours.
30. After two hours have passed, take the dough out of the fridge and place it again on the lightly floured board or counter.
31. Tap the dough with the rolling pin, to deflate it a little
32. Let the dough rest for 8 to 10 minutes
33. Roll the dough package out till it is 14 by 8 inches (35 cm by 20 cm).
34. Fold in three, as before
35. Turn 90 degrees, and roll out again to 14 by 8 inches (35 cm by 20 cm).
36. Fold in three for the last time, wrap in plastic, and return the dough package to the fridge for two more hours (or overnight, with something heavy on top to stop it from rising)
37. It’s now time to cut the dough and shape the croissants
38. First, lightly butter your baking sheet so that it is ready
39. Take the dough out of the fridge and let it rest for ten minutes on the lightly floured board or counter
40. Roll the dough out into a 20 by 5 inch rectangle (51 cm by 12½ cm).
41. Cut the dough into two rectangles (each 10 by 5 inches (25½ cm by 12½ cm))
42. Place one of the rectangles in the fridge, to keep the butter cold
43. Roll the second rectangle out until it is 15 by 5 inches (38 cm by 12½ cm).
44. Cut the rectangle into three squares (each 5 by 5 inches (12½ cm by 12½ cm))
45. Place two of the squares in the fridge
46. The remaining square may have shrunk up a little bit in the meantime. Roll it out again till it is nearly square
47. Cut the square diagonally into two triangles.
48. Stretch the triangle out a little, so it is not a right-angle triangle, but more of an isosceles.
49. Starting at the wide end, roll the triangle up towards the point, and curve into a crescent shape.
50. Place the unbaked croissant on the baking sheet
51. Repeat the process with the remaining squares of dough, creating 12 croissants in total.
52. Leave the tray of croissants, covered lightly with plastic wrap, to rise for 1 hour
53. Preheat the oven to very hot 475°F/240°C/gas mark 9.
54. Mix the egg with a teaspoon of water
55. Spread the egg wash across the tops of the croissants.
56. Put the croissants in the oven for 12 to 15 minutes, until the tops are browned nicely
57. Take the croissants out of the oven, and place them on a rack to cool for 10 minutes before serving.

Lazy Sunday Salmon

2011-09-25T19:13:00.000+09:30

We've had a lazy Sunday, sort of. O.K. I had planned a lazy Sunday. We started off with the granddaughters for a sleepover. Miss 4 decided at about 7pm last night that she wanted her Mother. After some tears and drama I bribed her with Banana and Blueberry pancakes. It's a simple recipe handed down from both of my grandmothers who, in hindsight, probably didn't like each other as they always called each other Mrs (Insert relevant surname) and while they didn't say anything nasty about each other neither did they have anything good to say.
So breakfast was Banana and Blueberry pancakes with Maple Syrup. I'll give a recipe another time because I didn't take any photos as they disappeared as quick as I made them. Miss 4 told me they weren't real pancakes because I didn't use the shake it up bottle like her mother does???

Then they ran around the back yard like a pair of maniacs while Husband mowed the lawn and I vaccuumed out my car.
After Favorite Son-In-Law picked them up and No 2 Son emerged from his cave (bedroom) we set off to Victor Harbour for lunch with No 1 Son, Favorite Daughter-In-Law and No 1 Grandson.
After a very nice lunch at The Beach House Cafe at Victor Harbour and some quality time with No 1 Grandson oh and his parents we wandered home via the hardware shop and the drive through car wash.

None of us was in the mood for a heavy meal, as I forsaw, so we had the Fresh Salmon I bought yesterday from our local fish shop aptly or ironically (depending on your sense of humour) "The Octupuses Garden".

Fresh Tasmanian Salmon with Warm vegetable and herb salad.

This is one of the simpler meals in my repertoire. Its simplicity is part of its brillance.
So technique - I take whatever vegetables there are in the refrigerator in this case
2 Carrots peeled and sliced
1/2 a red capsicum
1 cup cauliflower florets cut into bits about as big as the capsicum
1 cup broccoli same size bits as the cauliflower
1 zuchinni cut into bits the same size as the carrot
1 cup snow peas broken into 1/3s
1/2 bunch basil leaves stripped and cut into shreds
1 bunch of coriander (cilantro) roots finely chopped and the stems and leaves cut into bits
1 bunch garlic chives cut into 2 cm bits
1 Cup shredded chinese cabbage
1/2 bunch chopped spring onions
Juice of 1 Lemon

I throw the carrot and coriander roots into hot olive oil. At the same time I light the flame under another pan with the oil for the salmon.
I put the capsicum, cauliflower and broccoli into the wok at the same time as I put the salmon into the frying pan. I use a pair of tongs to toss the vegetables. then I put a lid on it so they sort of steam a bit to soften them.
Just before I turn over the salmon I throw the rest of the vegetables and the lemon juice into the wok with 1/2 cup of water and put the lid back on it.
By the time the salmon is cooked the vegetables are ready.
Hot and just cooked as a salad should be. The lemon juice and oil make a great dressing you could drizzle over a bit more olive oil if you wanted too. But I don't, I think it is great the way it is.
Just the right meal to finish off a Not quite as lazy as I wanted Sunday.

Geeks and Nerds Love Banana Caramel Self Saucing Pudding

2011-09-17T19:42:00.003+09:30

Our youngest son is fondly referred to on my other blog as "The Computer Nerd" I am not sure if he is a nerd or a geek so I had to do some research.
The Jargon File said 'Originally, a geek was a carnival performer who bit the heads off chickens. (In early 20th-century Scotland a ‘geek’ was an immature coley, a type of fish.) Before about 1990 usage of this term was rather negative. Earlier versions of this lexicon defined a computer geek as one who eats (computer) bugs for a living — an asocial, pasty-faced monomaniac with all the personality of a cheese grater. This is often still the way geeks are regarded by non-geeks, but as the mainstream culture becomes more dependent on technology and technical skill mainstream attitudes have tended to shift towards grudging respect. Correspondingly, there are now ‘geek pride’ festivals (the implied reference to ‘gay pride’ is not accidental).'
I promise I've never had cause to think No 2 son would bite the head off a chicken. One of the main reasons being he can't stand the sight of blood, another reason I doubt he could run fast enough to catch a chicken and thirdly he would think that unacceptably cruel.
So for the meaning without the chickens - A person regarded as foolish, inept, or clumsy or a person who is single-minded or accomplished in scientific or technical pursuits but is felt to be socially inept.

As for the word nerd - There are those who credit Dr. Seuss and his book 'If I Ran the Zoo: "And then, just to show them, I'll sail to Ka-Troo And Bring Back an It-Kutch, a Pree,p and a Proo, A Nerkle, a Nerd, and a Seersucker, too!" as the true originator of nerd. Legend has it that the word nerd spread to teenagers who applied the meaning to those downtrodden members of their peers the "square."
They are also regarded as socially inept, single-minded and accomplished in scientific endeavours. The main distinction seems to be that nerds have low levels of personal hygiene and geeks wash. So No 2 son is officially a Geek and will be here after referred to as No. 2 Son. Much easier than keeping up with the jargon.

Why has the subject of No 2 son been raised? Well I am glad you asked. No 2 son has returned to our empty nest, lots of reasons and we are happy to have him home. Unfortuanately he has lots of allergies so I am having a good hard look at what I cook.
All our kids were here for dinner this week and I cooked Roast Lamb and veggies. For dessert we had Banana Caramel Self Saucing Pudding and cream. This is an eggless dessert. I started with No 2 son's recipe and expanded on it. Here it is, you could also substitute gluten free flour and a milk alternative with good results.

Egg Less Banana Caramel Self Saucing pudding.

3 Mashed Bananas
1/2 cup full cream milk
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
3/4 cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup Self Raising flour

3/4 cup brown sugar
2 1/2 cups boiling water

Grease an 8 cup baking dish.
Preheat oven to 180 degrees celsius
Mix the banana, milk and vanilla, add the sugar and cinnamon
Then add the sifted flour. Mix together until smooth.
Pour into the greased baking dish.
Sprinkle over the brown sugar then carefully pour over the boiling water.
Place into hot oven on a tray and cook until skewer comes out clean, about 45 - 60 minutes depending on your oven.
Best served warm with cream and ice cream.
The nerds and geeks will love it.

THE DARING COOKS’ SEPTEMBER, 2011 CHALLENGE: STOCK TO SOUP TO CONSOMMÉ

2011-09-16T19:12:00.000+09:30

I am a happy camper, I hosted the current Daring Cooks Challenge on The Daring Kitchen usually you would have to be a member to get the full recipe but I am so happy to have people visit my blog that I will give some of it. If you join the Daring Kitchen then you get the whole thing as a downloadable PDF, including all the photos. I have given you some of it here but there is lots more so go join the Daring Kitchen.
I love the Daring Kitchen, I haven't completed all the challenges this year but I am changing my life and I will get to them from now on. So in the meantime here's my soup article.
I have to say thank you to everybody who participated I was going to pick my favorites but I just can't settle on a few. I love you all.

I made lots of stock over the last month which is no hardship, I made Vegetarian French Onion soup with herb and garlic brioche,

Then I turned it into consomme

I also made Fish consomme with fish and coriander wontons,

I based this on the Golden chicken broth with coriander wontons from the PDF of the full recipe.

below is an extract from the whole pdf.

G‟Day – (a stereotypical Australian greeting I don‟t think I have personally ever used but I am Australian nonetheless) – my name is Peta of Peta Eats, I care about food, passionately, obsessively nearly hysterically at times (and don't get me started about margarine). I am pleased to bring you our latest challenge.
A long time ago in a far away (from most of you) place I jumped into Adult Education. I had always wanted to be a chef but this was not to be. I had worked for many years as a cook. Not the same thing at all. A chef is professionally trained. A cook hasn‟t been formally trained.
When the opportunity came to apply I did and was accepted for a six month full time Commercial Cookery Certificate. This course was designed to give experienced cooks the chance to study and then eventually gain their trade papers. We spent the first week cutting vegetables and the second week making stocks, soups, consommés and sauces. Two basic yet vital skills for any chef or cook to have.

When I volunteered to host this month's challenge I looked back through all the challenges and wanted to do something different. No one else had done soup so „ah ha‟ thought I and put it to Lisa how about soup. Lisa approved and here I am.
Along with your soup I challenge you to make your favourite accompaniment. Your favourite cracker, bread, dumpling etc.
Lisa and I think it would be great to see soups (savoury or sweet) from around the world. We all benefit so much from the wonderful international group that is the Daring Kitchen and a repertoire of tried-and-true soups from different food cuisines around the world would be amazing.
The first thing I want to do is thank Audax of Audax Artifex for his help, he is my hero. I asked Audax to edit and try the recipes. As always he came through and helped me with so much including lots of fascinating web links.
As this is a Daring Cooks' challenge I want to take it a step further and invite you all to make your soup into a consommé. This is not mandatory though so do as much as you are comfortable with.
The Escoffier Cook Book tells us that traditionally a consommé is a type of clear soup made from richly flavoured stock or bouillon that has been clarified usually through a fining process involving egg protein. It usually requires an advanced knowledge of cooking and past experience to create a high quality consommé. Consommé has maintained its place as one of the most highly regarded and appreciated soups in the world.
I do agree with the sentence “Consommé has maintained its place as one of the most highly regarded and appreciated soups in the world.” I poke my tongue out and make a childish noise at the sentence “It usually requires an advanced knowledge of cooking and past experience to create a high quality consommé”. Consommé takes time, patience, good ingredients and knowledge. The trick to making a high quality consommé is to follow the instructions. I believe we can do it.
A consommé is usually (and traditionally) made by adding egg whites with ground meats or fish (no bones) and/or vegetables for flavour to a base of good quality stock. These solids form a floating mass called a 'raft', which is caused by the protein in the egg whites adhering to each other forming a fine matrix with many small cavities. The consommé is then gently simmering for 45 minutes to over an hour which percolates the liquid through the raft which captures and filters out the impurities of the liquid leaving a clear flavoursome consommé.
Remember, this is not trade school. You will not be graded and nobody who tries fails. Even if you try the consommé and the end result is cloudy (it is the reincorporation of the "impurities" into the stock that makes it cloudy) the taste of the resulting soup will convince you that the result is worth the effort.
If the thought of the egg white raft freaks you out there is an alternative, freeze filtering (or gelatine filtering or agar-agar filtering). By using the freeze filtering method you can make any liquid into a consommé. Everything from a roast dinner to wine, fruit purées to cream soups even soup and bread. Anything really that can be puréed to a liquid, thickened (using gelatine or agar-agar) and frozen can be clarified using this method. Some cookery professionals say that the freeze method produces an
essence and not a consommé and they may well be right but the general eating public doesn‟t know what an essence is but most people know what a consommé is.
This consommé

was made by Audax when he proof read and tested the recipes for me. The photo to the right is the Golden Chicken Broth turned into consommé using the gelatine filtration method.
To quote Audax “The two glasses are the BEFORE and AFTER photos. The soup is in the left glass and the consommé is the other glass. The consommé was made using the gelatine method, it was almost clear! It was so strange to see the clear liquid and to know it was golden chicken consommé yet taste a full bodied broth with thick mouth feel and it was CHICKEN flavoured also.”
Recipe Source: I am giving you some of my own recipes
No 1: Vegetarian French Onion Soup or Consommé
No 2: French Onion Soup or Consommé
No 3: Herb Brioche (I use this for the bread for the croutons when I make French Onion Soup)
No 4: Golden Chicken Broth or Consommé
Olive Oil crackers from 101 Cookbooks
I am also providing a link for Chicken and Prawn Consommé
And Chilled Tomato Consommé
My recipes are based on knowledge garnered from my own experience, the internet and the large number of cookbooks I have collected in particular
Escoffier, A (1941). The Escoffier Cook Book. New York, NY, USA: Crown Publishers.Fannie Merritt Farmer (1896). The Boston Cooking-School Cook Book. Boston, MA, USA: Little, Brown and Company.Beck, Simone; Louisette Bertholle; Julia Child (1961). Mastering the Art of French Cooking. New York, NY, USA: Alfred A. Knopf.
H.L Cracknell and R.J Kaufmann ((1972) Practical Professional Cookery. London. United Kingdom: The MacMillan Press

Peta, of the blog Peta Eats, was our lovely hostess for the Daring Cook‟s September 2011 challenge, “Stock to Soup to Consommé”. We were taught the
meaning between the three dishes, how to make a crystal clear Consommé if we
so chose to do so, and encouraged to share our own delicious soup recipes!

Mandatory Items: You must make a stock and turn it into a soup (savoury or sweet). You must also make an accompaniment for your soup.
Optional: Turn your stock into consommé. If the thought of the clarifying stage is too much for you don‟t worry about it but I do encourage you to have a go.

Variations allowed: If you don‟t want to use one of my recipes or links that is fine. Please make your favourite (savoury or sweet) soup and accompaniment and (if you want to) turn the soup into a consommé. Please don‟t forget to share your recipe! :)
Preparation time:
Stock Preperation:
Preparation Time: 30 minutes
Cooking Time: 3 hours to 10 hours depending on the type of stock and amount made.
Consommé:
Preparation time: 30minutes
Cooking time: 45 minutes
Setting time: Until solid.
Freezing time: at least over night
Brioche :
Preparation Time: 3 hours, 30 minutes
Cooking Time: 40 minutes
Crackers:
Preparation time: 15 minutes
Resting time: 60 minutes
Cooking time: 10 minutes
Equipment required:
Stock/soup/consommé
Large, flat-bottomed pan or pot with lid. I use my large pasta pot.
Food processor or a V-slicer or mandolin (not necessary, but handy)
Knife
Cutting board
Whisk
Bowls
Sieve
Clean tea towels or muslin that have been well rinsed in hot water.
Bread and/or Crackers
Knife
Cutting board
Whisk
Bowls
Loaf tin or baking tray

Notes:
August Escoffier said that “The sign of a great Chef is a great stock”.
Let me assure you that you cannot have a great consommé without a great stock. I recommend that those who haven‟t made their own stock before start with beef, chicken or vegetable. Seafood stocks have hazards of their own and aren‟t as forgiving, more on that later. I haven‟t given a recipe for a fruit stock but it can be done.
Let‟s start with some terminology.
Agar-Agar it is essential that you add it to already warmed ingredients. Agar-agar starts to set as soon as it hits cool liquid.
Bloom – to bloom gelatine (or agar agar) – blooming gelatine is an integral step ensuring the smooth texture of the finished product. It involves sprinkling the powdered gelatine onto a liquid and letting it sit for 3 to 5 minutes. Then, when the mixture is heated, the gelatine will dissolve evenly without lumps.
Bouillon is French for Broth. In French the verb bouillir means to boil.
Bouquet Garni (or bundle of herbs) consists of parsley, bay leaves, a sprig of thyme, and whole peppercorns, wrapped in one of the outside layers of a leek, a large teaball looking device you can buy in a Chinese grocer or in a little cheesecloth bag tied with string (called a "sachet d'epice"). You can just throw it all in the pot separately but if you do this you cannot take out the bouquet garni part way through the cooking process if the flavours get too strong. You will be straining and then clarifying the end result.
Broth is a basic soup made from stock where the solid pieces of flavouring meat or fish, along with some vegetables, remain. It is often made more substantial by adding starches such as rice, barley or pulses.
Consommé is a type of clear soup made from richly flavoured stock or bouillon that has been clarified traditionally through a fining process usually involving egg white protein forming a 'raft' which filters the impurities from the stock. Also consommé (technically an essence) can be made using the newly discovered (2004) freeze (gelatine) filtration method. Using this technique you can obtain a clear liquid from any puréed liquid. Fruit, stock, vegetables, bread, cookies even coffee since the matrix formed using this method traps all particulate matter (impurities) giving a clear liquid.
Fond is French for stock. Stock is produced by simmering raw ingredients in water or a mixture of wine and water, after which the solids are removed, leaving a thin, highly-flavoured liquid. Classic stocks are made from beef, veal, chicken, fish and vegetables.
Gelatine- Gelatine strength varies between brands and types i.e. leaves to powdered. Using gelatine leaves in gelatine filtering is a waste of an expensive item. Please read the directions on your chosen setting agent packet and use sufficient for a hard set of your amount of liquid.
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Glaces – Glazes Are prepared by reducing a finished strained stock to a thick (think cream) consistency. This needs to be done slowly at a simmer and skimmed as required. As the amount reduces it needs to be transferred to smaller and smaller pots. Five litres of stock can be reduced to as little as a quarter of a litre (250 millilitres). The glaze can be heated and a small amount of butter can be whisked in for a lovely sauce.
Ice - The ice slows the liquid reheating and allows the raft to form into a more cohesive mass. I don‟t know if it is vital but that was the way I was taught at trade school and the chefs there thought it was important. I have done it with ice and without. While learning it was better with the ice.
Jus - is a rich, lightly reduced stock used as a sauce for roasted meats. Many of these are started by deglazing the roasting pan, then reducing to achieve the rich flavour desired.
Mirepoix - is a combination of chopped onions or leeks, carrots and celery in the ratio 2:1:1 by weight, it adds a lovely fresh note to soups. A white mirepoix is onions or leeks and celery. Some recipes use the peels, stalks, etc. of the mirepiox vegetables these must be of excellent quality or the result will be affected. If you add other vegetables to your mirepoix this changes it from a mirepoix to a bowl of finely chopped vegetables. To make 500 grams (1 pound) of mirepoix use 2 medium onions, 2 medium carrots and 2 large (12 inch/30 cm) celery ribs. To make 500 grams (1 pound) of white mirepoix use 4 medium onions and 4 large celery ribs.
Mirepoix has an 'evil' twin it is an aggressive flavour base for soups and consommés it is called Pinçage (pen-sazsh) and it is all about darkness – you slowly cook mirepoix (with the addition of tomato paste (just enough to coat the vegetables) for more sweetness, balancing tartness, and oomph) to concentrate, soften and caramelise the sugars for an incredibly complex brown flavour.
Raft - a mixture consisting of finely chopped vegetables and minced (ground) meat with egg whites whisked vigorously into simmering broth and cooked over a low heat so that the proteins coagulate and form a 'raft' on the surface that traps the impurities (but not the flavour) of the broth thereby clarifying it.
Remouillage - is French for rewetting, which refers to a stock made by re-simmering bones that have been used to make stock once already. Restaurants who make their own stock often start off the new stock with a remouillage.
Soup is a food that is made by combining and cooking ingredients such as meat and vegetables with stock, juice, water or another liquid.
Sweat to cook (chopped vegetables etc) covered over medium heat until soft but not coloured. This process intensifies the flavours.
Vegetables As we discussed earlier good ingredients make good stock. The fresher and tastier the vegetable, the better the stock. Unless you particularly want a strong flavour in your stock strong tasting vegetables such as fennel can change the flavour of a stock in an unwanted way. Use of starchy vegetables will ruin your stock, potatoes, pumpkin, etc have no place in a clear stock.
Unless you are going to use the gelatine filtration method.

Types of Stock
Fond Brun or Estouffade, or brown stock. The brown colour is achieved by roasting bones and mirepoix. This adds to the flavour. Tomato is added to help break down the connective tissue so the stock will set and to add flavour. Any type of bone can be used or a combination e.g beef and chicken.
Fond Blanc, or white stock, is made by using raw bones. The bones are not roasted, chicken bones are the most common for fond blanc. For an even clearer soup no carrot is used.
Fumet - Fish/seafood stock is made with fish bones or the shell sucks of prawn or lobster and finely chopped mirepoix. Fish stock should be cooked for 30 – 40 minutes at the most or it gets bitter. This is caused by the bones overcooking. August Escoffier uses pounded caviar in one of his fish consommés. Concentrated fish stock is called "fish fumet."
Vegetable stock is made only of vegetables.
Master stock is a special Chinese stock used primarily for poaching meats, flavoured with soy sauce, sugar, ginger, garlic, and other aromatics. It would make an interesting addition for a consommé though.

Preparing stock
For best results there are rules.
Start your stock in cold water. Hot water seals everything in including the flavour. Even if you have fried/roasted the bones for flavour use cold water. After adding the cold water it is vital that you do not put the lid back on the pot – this can cause cloudiness.
Stock should be simmered over a low heat, very gently. The bubbles should just break the surface. If it is boiled, it might became cloudy.
 After you add the cold water DO NOT STIR IT. You will need to keep the bones etc covered. After the stock has started to simmer if you need to add water use hot (not boiling) water.
Your stock is only going to be a good as your ingredients. A good stock is made from carefully selected meats and vegetables not from the kitchen scraps and rubbish. Fresh meat and bones make better stock. You can use leftover carcasses from your roast chicken if you want to. The stock will be better if you keep the fat to a minimum. You will need a ratio of at least 1 part meat and bones to 2 parts water (by volume). You can increase that ratio to 1:1 if you want. The flavour of the stock comes from the cartilage and connective tissue in the bones. Connective tissue has collagen in it, which gets converted into gelatine that thickens the liquid.
Stock made from bones needs to be simmered for longer than stock made from meat. If you are tempted to get those big beef leg bones with marrow don‟t bother. The marrow in them is a type of fat which will make your stock cloudy. Bones from young animals contain a higher percentage of connective tissues than older ones. This type of connective tissue is what makes a rich, full bodied stock that will gel beautifully if you want a cold stock.
Chop the bones (or get the butcher to do it) into small pieces. Wash the bones.
Remove as much fat and marrow as you can. Fat will make your stock cloudy and make it a lot harder to clarify the stock. If you are not cooking the bones in the oven first blanch them in boiling water for 3 minutes. Strain and proceed.
The meat or bones (cooked in the oven, raw or blanched), vegetables and flavourings go in with the cold water. After it has gently reached boiling point reduce the heat to a low simmer and skim off as much fat and scum as you can. The fat, scum and foam contributes to the cloudiness and may make the stock bitter. If more water is required during the cooking process use hot (not boiling) water.
For a base stock fry your vegetables in organic rice bran, grapeseed or sunflower oil. I prefer the rice bran oil since it has a higher smoking point and little to no flavour. However if you are using the freeze method use cold pressed olive oil or butter if you are not confident in your skimming abilities.
Don‟t add any salt. As the stock reduces it will become too salty. Season the dish not the stock.
The herbs and spices you use will flavour the finished product. If I want a good base stock just use a bouquet garni and add any other flavours later.
Cool the stock as quickly as you can. I put the whole pot in a laundry tub and run cold water around it.
The type of meat and bones is optional. A mixture of different types of bone can be used or just one type i.e. all chicken or beef or a mixture. For the seafood stock a mixture of bones and prawn or lobster shells can be used depending on the result required.
When cooking your stock it is best if it is cooked for the recommended time. Over-cooking can result in a deterioration of flavour and under-cooking does not allow time for the flavours to develop fully.

Below you will find amounts for 5 litres (5 quarts) of water the amounts of ingredients are a guide. Ideally you want your pot to be one third to half full of bones and then add your vegetables and other flavourings and then add your cold water. The ingredients are a recommendation only.
Fonds Type
Ingredients – Recommendation only.
Blanc – white
Cooking time
4-9 hours
2kg (4½ lb) meaty beef, veal and chicken bones
250gm (½ lb) stewing beef
½ boiling chicken or 1 Maryland or 4 chicken wings
500gm (1 lb) mirepoix - 2 med onions, 2 med carrots, 2 large celery ribs
bouquet garni – ½ bayleaf, 2 stalks parsley, sprig of thyme, 4 peppercorns
White Chicken
Cooking time
3 – 4 hours
2kg (4½ lb) chicken and/or veal bones
500gm (1 lb) boiling chicken or wings
500gm (1 lb) white mirepoix – 4 med onions, 4 large celery ribs, finely chopped
bouquet garni
Brun – Brown
Cooking time
4 – 9 hours
2kg (4½ kg) meaty beef and/or veal bones
250gm (½ lb) stewing beef or chicken wings
500gm (1 lb) mirepoix – 2 med onions, 2 med carrots, 2 large celery ribs
bouquet garni
1 clove garlic
1 or 2 cloves
2 tablespoons oil or butter (If necessary)
Brown Chicken Cooking time
3 - 4 hours
1kg (2 lb) chicken and/or veal bones
1 boiling chicken or 2 kgs (4½ lb) chicken wings
500gm (1 lb) mirepoix – 2 med onions, 2 med carrots, 2 large celery ribs
bouquet garni
oil or butter
De Legumes
Vegetable stock
Cooking time
40 minutes - 1 hour
400 gm (14 oz) onions, about 3 medium
400 gm (14 oz) carrots, about 6 medium
200 gm (7 oz) celery, about 4 large ribs
2 leeks
50 gm (1¾ oz) dried mushrooms, about 12
250 gm (9 oz) tomatoes, about 2 medium
200 gm (7 oz) broccoli stalk, 2 large stalks
bouquet garni
De Poisson (Fish or seafood)
Cooking time
20 - 30 mins
5 litres (5 quarts) water
75 grams (5½ tablespoons) (2 ⅔ oz) butter
250 grams (9 oz) onions
1 bayleaf, peppercorns to taste, parsley stalks
juice of 1 lemon
3 kilograms (6½ lb) white fish bones and heads
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Now on to the type of filtration you want to use for your consommé.

First there is the traditional method using egg white

Protein Raft Filtration
To get most of the fat out of a stock, you can simply chill it. The fat will harden and float on top of the stock where it can be scooped off easily. A fat separator, which looks like a big measuring cup with a spout at the bottom, allows you to pour the stock out while trapping the fat. Or you can carefully drag a piece of really top quality paper towel over the top of the stock.
To completely clarify stock, use the following method:
Prepare your extra meat, vegetables and flavourings as per the recipe. The meat can be raw or cooked.
Never use bones or shells to enrich your consommé.
Beat egg whites until they are frothy, one for each litre/quart/4cups of stock. Combine with your flavourings.
A pot that is higher than it is round improves your results, because the consommé percolates through the raft in a more efficient way.
Stir the mixture into the hot stock and bring it back to a simmer, do not let it boil. The egg-whites will coagulate, rise, and take any particles and cloudiness out of the stock.
Keep a close eye on the consommé (push the coagulated egg whites to the side a bit to see) let it simmer 10 to 45 minutes.
The raft is a delicate thing. It is vital it doesn‟t break apart (if it breaks apart it will all mix back into the soup and you‟ll have to strain it and start again with just the egg whites.). You want to bring the liquid up to a simmer very slowly. Keep a close eye on it. Once the raft is substantial, break a little hole in it if there isn‟t already one.
As the consommé simmers, you will see bubbles and foam come up through your hole. Skim it off and discard. When the bubbles stop coming and the consommé looks clear underneath, then you‟re ready to take it out.
Removing the consommé from underneath the raft is another nerve racking procedure. You want to break as little of the raft as possible, but you have to get underneath it to remove the liquid.
Remove the pot from the heat and let it sit for another ten minutes.
Enlarge your hole with a ladle and spoon it all out as gently as you can. Once you‟ve removed all of the consommé from the pot discard the raft (you cannot use for another purpose). You could try siphoning it out. Some chef‟s say this is possible but they are using great big pots or steam kettles. I haven‟t tried this so good luck and let me know if you do it and it works.I filter the finished consommé again through a coffee filter.

Freeze Filtration or Gelatin Filtration
Many Chefs are using a technique called Freeze filtration or Gelatine filtration. It is also used in wine making.
For our purposes you take stock, strain it, add 0.007% dissolved gelatine (that is 7 grams (¼ oz) (1 tablespoon) (1 envelope) of gelatine for each litre (quart) of stock unless you are in Australia then you‟ll need double the amount) or use the recommended amount of agar agar or another vegan setting agent (not guar gum).
You can also thicken the stock with cornflour or tapioca flour. Use the same amount you would to make a pouring cream consistency.
Freeze it in a tray so the layer is not too thick. You are going to chop it up.
Next line a colander or sieve with at least one layer preferably 2 or 3 pieces of muslin or for a small amount you can use coffee filters.
Chop the frozen stock into chunks, put it into the sieve and put in the fridge over a bowl and let it defrost. It is vital that the stock thaws in the refrigerator, this cannot be hurried. The gelatine and fats need to stay solid and thawing at room temperature could melt the gelatine depending of course on where you live.
The resulting strained liquid should be clear you then heat it and serve.
Below is vegetable stock before setting and freezing and after.
If you have ever frozen a jelly or a sauce you have thickened with tapioca or cornflour you will know what happens. The thawed product separates into lumps and liquid. The freezing forms ice crystals. This is the liquid expanding in volume. The ice crystals tear through the bonds made by the thickening agent, breaking through the thickening matrix. If the soup is put into the freezer before it sets solid it will not separate properly when you thaw it. As the stock slowly thaws the muslin catches the gelatine net and it filters out the sediments, solids and impurities leaving the clear liquid to filter through. This has to be done in the refrigerator as the gelatine and any fats need to stay solid so they will be captured by the muslin. The process cannot be hurried.
You can use most vegetarian substitutes but not guar gum. Guar gum doesn‟t de-stabilise on freezing like the gelatine and other thickening agents do.

Vegetarian French Onion Soup/Consommé
(For a vegan option do not use the egg white technique use the freezing method).
Servings: 6
Ingredients:
Step 1 - Stock
5 litres (5 quarts) water
400 gm (14 oz) onions, about 4 medium
400 gm (14 oz) carrots, about 6 medium
200 gm (7 oz) celery, about 4 large ribs
2 leeks
50 gm (1¾ oz) dried mushrooms, about 12
250 gm (9 oz) tomatoes, about 2 medium
200 gm (7 oz) broccoli stalk, two large stalks
bouquet garni
Step 2 – enriching your stock to a bouillon
80 gm (5½ tablespoons) (3 oz) butter
1 kg (2 lbs) brown onions, sliced in rings
20gm (1½ tablespoons) (¾ oz) brown sugar
60 ml (4 tablespoons) cognac or port
200 ml (¾ cup + 1 tablespoon) red or white wine
3 sprigs fresh thyme
2 fresh bay leaves
30 gm (2 tablespoons) (1 oz) Dijon mustard
2 litres (2 quarts) mushroom/vegetable stock
Step 3 – Consommé (Using the egg white raft technique)
1 clove garlic - finely minced
500 gm (1 lb) dark coloured field mushrooms
2 large egg whites – beaten
1 cup crushed ice
Step 3 – Consommé (Using the freezing technique)
1 clove garlic - finely minced
500 gm (1 lb) dark coloured field mushrooms
Sufficient setting agent or tapioca or cornflour to set or thicken 2 litres/2 quarts of stock
To Serve
 6 slices of brioche, sourdough or French baguettes
 1 cup grated gruyere cheese
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Directions:
Step 1 – Stock
1. Sweat the vegetables in the oil or butter until soft. Add the dried mushrooms
2. Cover with cold water.
3. Bring to a boil on medium-high heat.
4. Reduce heat to medium-low. Simmer uncovered, skimming foam from surface, for 1-2 hours.
5. Strain stock through a muslin-lined sieve. Discard solids.
Step 2 – Soup
1. Melt butter in a large saucepan and add the onions.
2. Add sugar and a little salt to help the caramelisation process.
3. Cook over medium to low heat until the onions caramelise to dark brown. Stir regularly. This can take hours so don‟t be tempted to increase the heat to speed it up.
4. Deglaze the pan with cognac, port and wine and then pop in a couple of sprigs of thyme, bay leaves and the mustard and cook together.
5. Pour in the stock and reheat.
6. To make this soup into a consommé proceed to Step 3.
7. For the soup - taste it and adjust the seasonings. (For Australians you can add ½ to 1 teaspoon of vegemite or marmite at this point if you want a little more flavour kick.)
8. It is now time to either strain out the solid bits or blend the whole lot or if you like chunky bits don‟t bother. Ladle into hot bowls.
9. Top a thick slice of bread that will fit into the bowl with grated tasty or gruyere cheese, a pinch of pepper and chopped thyme and grill the top until the cheese is melted and the crust is golden. Put these on top of your hot bowl of soup.
Step 3 – Consommé (clarified with egg whites)
1. Fry the mushrooms until brown and cooked. Allow any juices to cook off.
2. Add garlic and cook gently for 1 minute. You don‟t want any burnt bits it will make your stock bitter.
3. Strain off any fat or remaining juices.
4. Allow the mushrooms to cool. (This is so your egg whites don‟t cook).
5. Strain the soup to remove onions etc.
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6. Place egg whites in a bowl. This is the time to taste your stock and decide if it needs salt and pepper. Add seasoning to the egg whites.
7. Whisk the whites to a bubbly froth and add the crushed ice.
8. Add the cooked mushrooms. Mix together.
9. Add this mixture to the simmering stock. Whisk for a slow count of three.
10. Let it heat slowly back to a simmer. Don‟t stir it again.
11. The raft is a delicate thing. It is vital it doesn‟t break apart (if it breaks apart it will all mix back into the soup and you‟ll have to start again with the egg whites), you want to bring it up to a simmer very slowly. Keep a close eye on it. I try to push the middle back so I get a good hole. Once the raft is substantial, break a little hole in it if there isn‟t already one.
12. As the consommé simmers, you will see bubbles and foam, come up through your hole. Skim it off and throw it away. When the bubbles stop coming and the consommé looks clear underneath, then you‟re ready to take it out. Remove the pot from the heat and let it sit for ten minutes.
13. Removing the consommé from underneath the raft is another nerve racking procedure. You want to break as little of the raft as possible, but you have to get underneath it to remove the liquid.
14. Enlarge your hole with a ladle and spoon it all out as gently as you can.
15. You can strain it if you want too but hopefully the liquid is clear. Once you‟ve removed all of the consommé from the pot discard the raft. If you have never made a consommé before Victory dances and loud cheering are totally appropriate.
16. Now you are ready to serve. You can add a crouton as you would for the soup but I would put the crouton on the side so as not to interfere with the beauty of a bowl of crystal clear consommé.
Step 3 – Consommé (Using the gelatine technique)
1. If you think your soup is not as flavourful as you would like go to the next step. If you like the flavours skip adding the extra mushrooms.
2. Fry the mushrooms until brown and cooked. Allow any juices to cook off.
3. Add garlic and cook gently for 1 minute. You don‟t want any burnt bits it will make your stock bitter.
4. Strain off any fat.
5. Deglaze the fry pan with a little of the stock and add the mushrooms to the soup.
6. Simmer gently for 30 minutes, taste and adjust the seasonings. This is your last chance to do this.
7. Take the pot off the heat and carefully ladle out the stock. Strain through a sieve lined with muslin or a coffee filter.
8. Measure the stock, you need 8 cups/2 litres in total. The rest can be frozen for other uses.

9. Take 1 cup/240 ml of that liquid and sprinkle the setting agent on top and allow it to bloom.
10. While the stock is still hot stir through the setting agent and make sure it dissolves. You may need to heat it slightly – don‟t let it boil. If you are using corn or tapioca flour mix the flour with enough water to form a smooth paste and stir it into the hot stock. Return to the heat and bring to a boil, gently simmer until it is the consistency of cream.
11. Quick cool the stock by placing the whole pot into your sink and running cold water around it.
12. Pour it into container and place in the refrigerator.
13. Allow the soup to set fully (this is really important) then place it into the freezer to freeze solid. If the soup is put into the freezer before it sets solid it will not separate properly when you thaw it.
14. Chop the frozen jelly into chunks and put them into a lined sieve in the refrigerator.
Allow to thaw in the refrigerator. This cannot be rushed. It has to happen in the refrigerator so the gelatine and any fat solids don‟t melt and run through your filter cloth.
15. You should have a crystal clear liquid. Congratulations you have made a consommé. If you have never made a consommé before victory dances and loud cheering are totally appropriate.
16. Your consommé is now ready to serve. Reheat and serve. With the crouton on the side.

Beef French Onion Soup/ Consommé
(Equal amounts of chicken can be substituted for the beef)
Serves 6
Ingredients:
Step 1 – Stock
5 litres (5 quarts) water
2 kg (4½ lb) meaty beef and/or veal bones (browned in the oven or in a pan)
500 gm (½ lb) diced stewing beef or chicken wings (browned in the oven or in a pan)
500 gm (½ lb) mirepoix – 2 medium onions, 2 medium carrots, 2 large celery ribs, finely chopped
1 bouquet garni
1 clove garlic
1 or 2 cloves
1 or 2 tablespoons oil or butter
Step 2 – Enriching your stock to a bouillon
80 gm (5½ tablespoons) (3 oz) butter
1 kg (2 lb) brown onions, sliced in rings
20gm (1½ tablespoons) (¾ oz) brown sugar
60 ml (4 tablespoons) cognac or port
200 ml (¾ cup + 1 tablespoon) red or white wine
3 sprigs fresh thyme
2 fresh bay leaves
30 gm (2 tablespoons) (1 oz) Dijon mustard
2 litres (2 quarts) brown beef stock
Step 3 – Consommé (Using the egg white raft technique)
1 clove garlic - finely minced
250 gm (½ lb) best quality beef mince (ground beef)
2 large egg whites - beaten
1 cup crushed ice
Step 3 – Consommé (Using the gelatine technique)
1 clove garlic - finely minced
250 gm (½ lb) best quality beef mince (ground beef)
14 gm (2 tablespoons) (½ oz) (28 grams if you are in Australia) gelatine
To Serve
6 slices of brioche, sourdough or French baguettes
1 cup grated gruyere cheese

Directions:
Step 1 – Stock
1. Cook your bones and meat until brown.
2. Sweat the vegetables in the oil or butter until soft.
3. Put ingredients in a stockpot and cover with cold water.
4. Bring to a simmer on medium-high heat.
5. Reduce heat to medium-low. Simmer uncovered, skimming foam from the surface, for 4 - 8 hours or until meat falls from bone.
6. Strain stock through a muslin-lined sieve.
7. Discard solids. (I don‟t throw the solids away, as I am frugal. There is still a lot of flavour in the vegetables and bones. I pick the bones out and make a curry, thick soup or stew out of the leftovers.)

Step 2 – Soup
1. Melt butter in a large saucepan and add the onions.
2. Add sugar and a little salt to help the caramelisation process.
3. Cook over medium to low heat until the onions caramelise to dark brown. Stir regularly. This can take hours so don‟t be tempted to increase the heat to speed it up.
4. Deglaze the pan with cognac, port and wine and then pop in a couple of sprigs of thyme, bay leaves and the mustard and cook together.
5. Pour in the stock and reheat.
6. To make this soup into a consommé proceed to Step 3.
7. For the soup - taste it and adjust the seasonings. ( you can add ½ to 1 teaspoon of vegemite or marmite at this point if you want a little more flavour kick.)
8. It is now time to either strain out the solid bits or blend the whole lot or if you like chunky bits don‟t bother. Ladle into hot bowls.
9. Top a thick slice of bread that will fit into the bowl with grated tasty or gruyere cheese, a pinch of pepper and chopped thyme and grill the top until the cheese is melted and the crust is golden. Put these on top of your hot bowl of soup.
Step 3 – Consommé (clarified with egg whites)
1. Fry the mince until brown and cooked. Allow any juices to cook off.
2. Add garlic and cook gently for 1 minute. You don‟t want any burnt bits it will make your stock bitter.
3. Strain off any fat or remaining juices.
4. Allow the meat to cool. (This is so your egg whites don‟t cook).
5. Strain the soup to remove onions etc.
6. Place egg whites in a bowl. This is the time to taste your stock and decide if it needs salt and pepper. Add seasoning to the egg whites.
7. Whisk the whites to a bubbly froth and add the crushed ice.
8. Add the meat. Mix together.
9. Add this mixture to the simmering stock. Whisk for a slow count of three.
10. Let it heat slowly back to a simmer. Don‟t stir it again.
11. The raft is a delicate thing. It is vital it doesn‟t break apart (if it breaks apart it will all mix back into the soup and you‟ll have to start again with the egg whites.), you want to bring it up to a simmer very slowly. Keep a close eye on it. I try to push the middle back so I get a good hole. Once the raft is substantial, break a little hole in it if there isn‟t already one.
12. As the consommé simmers, you will see bubbles and foam, come up through your hole. Skim it off and throw it away. When the bubbles stop coming and the consommé looks clear underneath, then you‟re ready to take it out. Remove the pot from the heat and let it sit for ten minutes.
13. Removing the consommé from underneath the raft is another nerve racking procedure. You want to break as little of the raft as possible, but you have to get underneath it to remove the liquid.
14. Enlarge your hole with a ladle and spoon it all out as gently as you can. You can strain it if you want too but hopefully the liquid is clear. Once you‟ve removed all of the consommé from the pot discard the raft. If you have never made a consommé before Victory dances and loud cheering are totally appropriate.
15. Now you are ready to serve. You can add a crouton as you would for the soup but I would put the crouton on the side so as not to interfere with the beauty of a bowl of crystal clear consommé.
Step 3 – Consommé (Using the gelatine technique)
1. if you think your soup is not as flavourful as you would like go to the next step. If you like the flavours skip adding the extra mince.
2. Fry the mince until brown and cooked. Allow any juices to cook off.
3. Add garlic and cook gently for 1 minute. You don‟t want any burnt bits it will make your stock bitter.
4. Strain off any fat or remaining juices.
5. Put the meat aside and deglaze the fry pan with a little of the stock and add the meat and the liquid from the pan to the soup.
6. Simmer gently for 30 minutes, taste and adjust the seasonings. This is your last chance to do this.
7. Take the pot off the heat and carefully ladle out the stock. Strain through a sieve lined with muslin or a coffee filter.
8. Measure the stock, you need 8 cups/2 litres in total. The rest can be frozen for other uses.
9. Take 1 cup/240 ml of that liquid and sprinkle the gelatine on top and allow it to bloom.
10. While the stock is still hot stir through the gelatine and make sure it dissolves. You may need to heat it slightly – don‟t let it boil.
11. Quick cool the stock by placing the whole pot into your sink and running cold water around it.
12. Pour it into a container and place in the refrigerator.
13. Allow the soup to set fully (this is really important) then place it into the freezer to freeze solid. If the soup is put into the freezer before it sets solid it will not separate properly when you thaw it.
14. Chop the frozen jelly into chunks and put them into a lined sieve in the refrigerator. Allow to thaw in the refrigerator. This cannot be rushed. It has to happen in the refrigerator so the gelatine and any fat solids don‟t melt and run through your filter cloth.
15. You should have a crystal clear liquid. Congratulations you have made a consommé. If you have never made a consommé before victory dances and loud cheering are totally appropriate.
16. Your consommé is now ready to serve. Reheat and serve. With the crouton on the side.

Herb and Garlic Brioche
Ingredients:
2 cups (480 ml) (280 gm) (10 oz) all-purpose plain flour
2 teaspoons (10 ml) (7 gm) (¼ oz) active dry yeast
2 tablespoons (30 ml) (28 gm) (1 oz) granulated sugar
½ teaspoon (2½ ml) (3 gm) salt
½ cup (120 ml) milk, warm
½ cup (1 stick) (120 ml) (115 gm) (4 oz) unsalted butter, softened
3 large eggs
1 teaspoon (5 ml) (1 gm) chopped chives
1 teaspoon (5 ml) (1 gm) chopped parsley
1 teaspoon (5 ml) (2 gm) Italian mixed herbs
1 teaspoon (5 ml) (2 gm) freshly crushed garlic
Directions:
1. In a medium-sized bowl, stir together the flour, yeast, sugar, and salt.
2. Slowly mix the warm milk, butter, mixed herbs and 2 of the eggs into the flour mixture
3. Knead until the dough is smooth. The dough is ready to rise when it is completely smooth and pulls away from the sides of the bowl.
4. Cover the bowl and allow the dough to rise until it is doubled in size.
5. Transfer the dough from the bowl onto a floured work surface and punch it down a few times.
6. Finely chop the fresh herbs and mix with the garlic.
7. Press the dough out into a rectangle then spread with the chopped herbs.
8. Roll up like a Swiss roll and place on a lined baking tray.
9. Cover the pan and allow the dough to rise until it is doubled in size.
10. Preheat the oven to moderately hot 200°C/400°F/gas mark 6.
11. Remove the dough covering, gently brush the loaf with the remaining beaten egg, bake for 10 minutes. Reduce the heat to moderate 180°C/350°F/gas mark 4 and bake for an additional 25 minutes, until the brioche is golden brown. Allow it to cool for 5 minutes in the pan, and then transfer it to a wire cooling rack.

The Daring Bakers’ July, 2011 Challenge: Fresh Fraisiers

2011-08-23T21:37:00.000+09:30

Jana of Cherry Tea Cakes was our July Daring Bakers’ host and she challenges us to make Fresh Frasiers inspired by recipes written by Elisabeth M. Prueitt and Chad Robertson in the beautiful cookbook Tartine.
I am really late posting onthis but I got there in the end. I made a large strawberry fraisier for my granddaughters birthday cake. She was suitably impressed.
This cake was simply wonderful. The Chiffon cake was easy to make and was beautiful. The pastry cream was insanely great. I covered the top with chocolate ganache the remainder of the pastry cream and I made fresh strawberry gelee and chocolate gelee and chopped them into chunks and put on the top with the rest of the blueberries.
I have copied the recipe from The Daring Kitchen site but tweaked it a bit for my own changes. I made the chocolate chiffon cake, the pastry cream as is. I used the sugar syrup recipe and added two tablespoons of black currant jam to it.

Preparation time: The traditional recipe I am providing can be made in stages. As a whole the recipe requires at least 4 hours of time, and 4 hours of refrigeration, BUT the cake, pastry cream and syrup can be made days ahead of assembly to help ease the time burden. Once these three are made, the cake will take about half an hour to assemble followed by 4 hours of refrigeration.

Equipment required:

● measuring cups and spoons for liquid and dry ingredients
● cutting board & knife to prepare the fruit
● electric mixer or stand mixer
● wooden spoon
● rolling pin
● plastic wrap
● parchment paper
● cooling rack
● serving platter of your choice
● 8 inch (20 cm) spring form pan
● 2 large mixing bowls
● small mixing bowl
● whisk
● rubber spatula
● toothpick
● butter knife
● heavy sauce pan
● fine mesh sieve
● small dish
● 2 small sauce pans
● small stainless steel bowl or double boiler
● pastry bag
Basic Chiffon Cake:

for gluten free and vegan options see the links at the end

Ingredients:
1 cup + 2 tablespoons (270 ml) (5½ oz/155 gm) all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon (5 ml) (4 gm) baking powder
3/4 cups (180 ml) (6 oz /170 gm) sugar
1/2 teaspoon (2½ ml) (1½ gm) salt, preferably kosher
1/4 cup (2 fl oz/60 ml) vegetable oil
3 large egg yolks
⅓ cup + 1 tablespoon (3.17 fl oz/95 ml) water
1 teaspoon (5 ml) pure vanilla extract
3/4 teaspoon (3¾ ml) (3 gm) lemon zest, grated
5 large egg whites
¼ teaspoon (1¼ ml) (1 gm) cream of tartar

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to moderate 325°F (160°C/gas mark 3).
2. Line the bottom of an 8-inch (20 cm) spring form pan with parchment paper. Do not grease the sides of the pan.
3. In a large mixing bowl, stir together the flour and baking powder. Add in all but 3 tablespoons (45 ml.) of sugar, and all of the salt. Stir to combine.
4. In a small bowl combine the oil, egg yolks, water, vanilla and lemon zest. Whisk thoroughly.
5. Combine with the dry ingredients and mix thoroughly for about one minute, or until very smooth.
6. Put the egg whites into a stand mixer, and beat on medium speed using a whisk attachment on a medium speed, until frothy. Add cream of tartar and beat on a medium speed until the whites hold soft peaks. Slowly add the remaining sugar and beat on a medium-high speed until the whites hold firm and form shiny peaks.
7. Using a grease free rubber spatula, scoop about ⅓ of the whites into the yolk mixture and fold in gently. Gently fold in the remaining whites just until combined.
8. Pour the batter into the prepared pan. Bake for 45 to 55 minutes or until toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
9. Removed the cake from the oven and allow to cool in the pan on a wire rack.
10. To unmold, run a knife around the sides to loosen the cake from the pan and remove the spring form sides. Invert the cake and peel off the parchment paper. Refrigerate for up to four days.

Variations to the Basic Chiffon Cake:
Lemon Chiffon Cake

Ingredient Alterations:
Reduce water to 1/4 cup (60 ml)
Add 1/8 cup (30 ml) lemon juice
Increase lemon zest to 1½ teaspoon (7½ ml) (5 gm)
Remove the vanilla from the recipe

Direction Alterations:
Follow the directions, same as above, adding the lemon juice and zest to the oil, egg yolks and water in step 4.
Orange Chiffon Cake

Ingredient Alterations:
Replace the full amount of water with orange juice
Replace lemon zest with the zest of one orange
Remove the vanilla from the recipe

Direction Alterations:
Follow the directions, same as above, adding the orange juice and zest to the oil, and egg yolks in step 4.
Coconut Chiffon Cake

Ingredient Alterations:
Add ¼ teaspoon (1¼ ml) (1 gm) freshly ground nutmeg
Reduce oil to 1/8 cup (1 fl oz/30ml)
Reduce water to 1/8 cup (1 fl oz/30ml)
Add 1/3 cup (2 ⅔fl oz/80 ml) unsweetened coconut milk
Remove the vanilla from the recipe

Direction Alterations:
Follow the directions, same as above, adding the nutmeg to the flour mixture in step 3, and the coconut milk to the oil, water and egg yolks in step 4.
Chocolate Chiffon Cake

Ingredient Alterations:
Reduce all-purpose flour to ¾ cup + 1 tablespoon (195 ml) (4 oz/110 g)
Add 1/4 cup (60 ml) (3/4 oz/20 g) cocoa powder

Direction Alterations:
Follow the directions, same as above, adding the cocoa to the flour mixture in step 3.
Pastry Cream Filling:

Gluten Free! Vegans see the links at the end!

Ingredients:
2 cups (16 fl oz/500 ml) whole milk
1/2 teaspoon (2½ ml) pure vanilla extract
1/8 teaspoon (1/2 ml) (¼ gm) salt, preferably kosher
2 tablespoons (30 ml) (10 gm)cornstarch
1/4 cup (60 ml) (2 oz/55 gm) sugar
1 large egg
2 tablespoons (30 ml) (1 oz/30 gm) unsalted butter
1 tablespoon gelatin
2 tablespoons water
1 1/2 cups (12 fl oz/375 ml) heavy cream

Directions:

1. Pour the milk, vanilla, and salt into a heavy sauce pan. Place over medium-high heat and scald, bringing it to a near boiling point. Stir occasionally.
2. Meanwhile, in a stand mixer add the cornstarch and sugar. Whisk to combine
3. Add the eggs to the sugar and cornstarch and whisk until smooth.
4. When the milk is ready, gently and slowly while the stand mixer is whisking, pour the heated milk down the side of the bowl into the egg mixture.
5. Pour the mixture back into the warm pot and continue to cook over a medium heat until the custard is thick, just about to boil and coats the back of a spoon.
6. Remove from heat and pass through a fine mesh sieve into a large mixing bowl. Allow to cool for ten minutes stirring occasionally.
7. Cut the butter into four pieces and whisk into the pastry cream a piece at a time until smooth.
8. Cover the cream with plastic wrap, pressing the plastic wrap onto the top of the cream to prevent a skin from forming. Chill in the refrigerator for up to five days.
9. In a small dish, sprinkle the gelatin over the water and let stand for a few minutes to soften.
10. Put two inches (55 mm) of water into a small sauce pan and bring to a simmer over a medium heat.
11. Measure 1/4 cup (2 oz/60 ml) of the chilled pastry cream into a small stainless steel bowl that will sit across the sauce pan with the simmering water, without touching the water.
12. Heat the cream until it is 120 F (48.8 C). Add the gelatin and whisk until smooth. Remove from the water bath, and whisk the remaining cold pastry cream in to incorporate in two batches.
13. In a stand mixer, fitted with the whisk attachment, whip the cream until it holds medium-stiff peaks. Immediately fold the whipped cream into the pastry cream with a rubber spatula.

Simple Syrup:

gluten free and vegan!
You may choose to flavor the syrup. One way is to use flavored sugar (for example: apple cider sugar, orange sugar, or vanilla sugar) or to stir in 1-2 teaspoons of flavored extract. You may also infuse with herbs or spices, if desired or add four tablespoons (60 ml) of fruit juice or liqueur while the syrup is cooling.

Ingredients:
1/3 cup (2⅔ fl oz/80 ml) (2⅔ oz/75 gm) of sugar, flavored or white
1/3 cup (2⅔ fl oz/80 ml) of water
2 tablespoons of blackcurrant jam
Directions:

1. Combine the water and sugar in a medium saucepan.
2. Bring the mixture to a boil and let the sugar dissolve. Stirring is not necessary, but will not harm the syrup.
3. Remove the syrup from the heat and cool slightly.
4. Transfer syrup to a lidded container or jar that can be stored in the refrigerator. Simple syrup can be stored for up to one month.

Fraisier Assembly:

Components:
1 baked 8 inch (20 cm) chiffon cake
1 recipe pastry cream filling
⅓ cup (80 ml) simple syrup or flavored syrup
2 lbs (900 g) strawberries
confectioners’ sugar for dusting
½ cup (120 ml) (5 oz/140 gm) almond paste

Directions:

1. Line the sides of a 8-inch (20 cm) spring form pan with plastic wrap. Do not line the bottom of the pan.
2. Cut the cake in half horizontally to form two layers.
3. Fit the bottom layer into the prepared spring form pan. Moisten the layer evenly with the simple syrup. When the cake has absorbed enough syrup to resemble a squishy sponge, you have enough.
4. Hull and slice in half enough strawberries to arrange around the sides of the cake pan. Place the cut side of the strawberry against the sides of the pan, point side up forming a ring.
5. Pipe cream in-between strawberries and a thin layer across the top of the cake.
6. Hull and quarter your remaining strawberries and place them in the middle of the cake. Cover the strawberries and entirely with the all but 1 tbsp. (15 ml) of the pastry cream.
7. Place the second cake layer on top and moisten with the simple syrup.
8. Lightly dust a work surface with confectioners' sugar and roll out the almond paste to a 10-inch (25 cm) round 1/16 inch (1.5 mm) thick. Spread the remaining 1 tablespoon (15 ml) of pastry cream on the top of the cake and cover with the round of almond paste.
9. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 4 hours.
10. To serve release the sides of the spring form pan and peel away the plastic wrap.
11. Serve immediately or store in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.

Daring Kitchen

2011-08-16T09:32:00.000+09:30

I have been a general slacker where my blogs are concerned. I have noticed though that so many of my friends are struck with the same afflication. I can only call it Contagious Apathy or perhaps Life getting in the way. work, family etc have to come first and sometimes the only energy I have left is enough to read a book.
I am over it I hope. The Daring Kitchen have two challenges a month and I have been participating but getting them on my blog has been harder.
So what I have I done?
I did do the pasta challenge Steph from Stephfood ,
was our Daring Cooks' July hostess. Steph challenged us to make homemade noodles without the help of a motorized pasta machine. She provided us with recipes for Spätzle and Fresh Egg Pasta as well as a few delicious sauces to pair our noodles with!I made fettucine and crostoli.

I promise to get my act together and get back into cooking. Hopefully life won't keep getting in my way.

Piped Shortbread Cookies

2011-05-31T14:00:00.000+09:30

Piped Shortbread Cookies.
I have written another article for Food Talk on the Daring Kitchen. Here it is for you.

An invaluable part of every cooks repertoire are small things like cookies. As a light snack, after dinner with coffee or a thoughtful hostess gift when visiting friends, the thoughtfulness of something handmade lets others know how much we value them.
One of my favourite cookies is shortbread. If I am out and there is a plate of cookies I will go for the shortbread (if it is homemade I am not a fan of the Danish ones in the blue tins).
While shortbread has its origins in Scotland other European countries have a long history of making similar cookies. For example in Sweden another popular shortbread type recipe is called ‘drömmar’, literally meaning dreams. The main difference between the Scottish shortbread and the Swedish ‘drömmar’ is the butter is browned by placing the butter in a large heavy pan and cooking it over medium-low heat without stirring for about 15 minutes, or until butter is a light tan colour.

Scottish shortbread is a type of unleavened cookie which was traditionally made from one part white sugar, two parts butter, and three parts oatmeal flour. Today plain white (wheat) flour is most commonly used. Adding other ingredients such as cornflour alters the texture. You can substitute gluten free flours very successfully.

Shortbread was named because of its crumbly texture (from an old meaning of the word short). The cause of this texture is its high fat content, provided by the butter. The short or crumbly texture is a result of the fact that the fat inhibits the formation of long protein gluten strands. The related word "shortening" refers to any fat that may be added to produce a short or crumbly texture. That’s why you can beat it for ten minutes and it doesn’t get tough. Shortbread cookies hold their shape under pressure, if you just combine the mixture until it holds together you can press it out into large rounds or slabs cut to shape and cook it and it will be a delicious solid cookie that is perfect for lunch boxes.

For something a bit special you can pipe it. To do this you have to beat it. What is the difference you might ask? My favourite recipe says to beat it for ten minutes. I wondered ‘is that was really necessary?’
After some experimentation I can say yes it is.
I mixed the ingredients in the recipe below until just combined. This took about two minutes.

It hadn’t changed colour as you can see but it was holding together. It was really hard to pipe and after cooking the cookies were flatter. This is the stage I would press it out into a disc or slab, cut and cook. Traditionally the slabs and discs were cut after cooking but I like to cut it before.

After five minutes of beating the mixture was lighter, easier to pipe and held their shape a little more.
After ten minutes of beating it was very pale, light, easy to pipe and it held the ridges from the piping much better during the cooking.

As the mixture in the bag and bowl warmed it held its shape less while cooking so next time I will put it in the refrigerator between trays.

After about eight minutes in my oven the cookies were ready. Below is the finished result.
The photo below shows the results of the different amounts of beating after the cookies are cooked. Above the number 2 are cookies after two minutes of beating, above the 5 the five minutes of beating and the ones on the right are the after ten minutes of beating.

Piped Shortbread Cookies/Biscuits
When piped to about 2.5 cm/1 inch this recipe makes approximately 120 cookies.
Ingredients
• 1 cup, 250 grams softened butter
• 1 ¼ cups, 185 grams all-purpose flour
• ½ cup, 75 grams confectioners' sugar
• ¼ cup, 45 grams cornflour
• 2 teaspoons vanilla essence
• Nuts, chocolate chips, maraschino cherries
Directions
1. Preheat oven to 350 ° F (180 °C.)
2. Combine butter, flours, vanilla and confectioner's sugar and beat for 10 minutes.
3. Drop from teaspoon onto cookie sheet or pipe a shape. Decorate with maraschino cherry pieces or something else tasty.
4. Bake in preheated oven for 15 to 18 minutes, or until bottoms are lightly browned.
Drömmar
Makes approximately 100 cookies
Ingredients
• 1 1/2 cups, 375grams butter
• 3/4 cup, 150 grams white sugar
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 2 ½ cups, 375 grams all-purpose flour
• 50 -100 blanched whole almonds, toasted
Directions
1. Preheat oven to 350 °F /180 °C.
2. Place butter in a large heavy skillet and cook over medium-low heat without stirring for about 15 minutes, or until butter is a light tan color. Pour all of it, including the solid bits into mixing bowl. Cool at room temperature until firm.
3. Place browned butter, sugar, vanilla and cinnamon into your mixer bowl and beat until combined. Stir in flour and then beat for 3 minutes. If you want too pipe the cookies beat the dough for 10 minutes.
4. Shape dough into 1-inch balls. Place 1 inch apart on an lined baking trays. Top each with an almond; press almond slightly into dough.
5. Bake for 12 - 15 minutes or until golden brown. Remove to wire rack and cool.

Lemon, Passionfruit and Almond Slice

2011-04-26T19:15:00.000+09:30

Did you know that NewsPoll did a survey on the effects of the economic downturn on peoples eating habits. The survey, commissioned by Taste.com.au, found that more than half of all Australians are eating out less often, while 44 per cent of us are more likely to prepare meals at home. The economic downturn means we eat out less, cook at home more and ask friends to bring a plate when they come round for dinner. Since the beginning of the global financial crisis, 18 per cent of us are more likely to entertain at home than we used to, and when we do have people round, 17 per cent of us are asking our guests to bring a plate.

This isn't a new thing people. There is a long tradition in Australia of taking a 'plate' to an event. I remember as a child going to community events such as dances and school functions and everybody took a plate of food to share for supper or lunch. As an adult I often go to meetings and get togethers and take a plate. If instructions are given they often includes things such as surnames from A to M bring a savoury, N to Z bring a sweet or vica versa. Sometimes the advice might be bring a salad or a sweet and the meat for a barbeque is provided. There are hundreds of variations to the instructions to bring a plate.
In our younger and poorer days we would often have bring a plate dinner parties. The hostess would cook the main course and direct the guests what to bring i.e. one would bring the starter, another the dessert or some cheese or a bottle of wine.

In the distant and not so distant past community event announcements might say "Ladies please bring a plate". I imagine if this was put on anything today the outcry against such a sexist comment would bring down the roof. It wasn't regarded as anything incorrect in the past. It was merely an indication that prior to the late 70's more women were domestic engineers/home managers whatever you like to call it. The men worked and women stayed home.
I grew up in a rural community and neither my own or any of my friends mothers worked away from the family home or business. That is not to say they didn't work very hard on family farms and in businesses most of them did. Any country wife would never admit she didn't have time to produce a plate for a morning tea or community event. That would be a sin up there with serving store bought biscuits (Cookies) to someone dropping in for a cuppa.

So these days times are tough, money is short and community groups and everyone else is counting their pennies. Asking people to bring something to contribute to a meal is on the upturn.
I don't wait for a request to be given. I like to cook for people. It is something I do well. The affirmation and enjoyment of others while they are eating something I have made makes me feel good. Plus I hate stale biscuits and see no reason for them. If we go to family or friends for a meal I always offer to take something if I have time to make it.

Tomorrow I am going to the South Australian Embroiderers Guild for a workshop with Gary Clarke. I had plenty of lemons and passionfruit to make lemon and passionfruit curd so a slice including those ingredients was a natural idea.
I chose a recipe from The Australian Women's Weekly Home Library Biscuits and Slice Cookbook. The recipe is called Sticky Lemon and Pecan Slice. I've made it before and I knew it was a great recipe.
I changed it to fit in with what I had on hand and doubled the topping part. I am providing the recipe as I made it.

Lemon, Passionfruit and Almond Slice.

Base
250 grams, 1 cup butter
50 grams, 1/4 cup caster sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
200 grams, 1 3/4 cups plain flour
30 grams, 1/4 cup cornflour
1/3 cup ground almonds

Topping
4 eggs
300 grams, 1 1/2 cups caster sugar
30 grams, 1/4 cup cornflour
30 grams, 1/4 cup plain flour
2 teaspoons grated lemon rind
1/4 cup lemon juice
1/4 cup fresh passionfruit pulp
1 cup flaked almonds

Method
Preheat oven to 180° C / 360° F
Line a 20cm x 30cm lamington tin (8” x 12” x 2” baking tray) with bake paper.

Base
Beat butter, sugar and vanilla essence until light and fluffy.
Stir in sifted flours and ground nuts.
Press mixture evenly into prepared pan.
Bake for 20 minutes in oven. Remove and allow to cool while preparing the topping.

Topping

Beat eggs in mixer bowl until thick and foamy.
Gradually add sugar beating well between each addition.
Stir in remaining ingredients pour over pastry base.
Return to oven and bake for 20 minutes or until set.
Cool in tin for several hours or overnight. Cut into 5 sm/2” squares.

Daring Kitchen Edible food containers

2011-04-25T16:00:00.000+09:30

This month’s Daring Kitchen Challenge comes from Renata of of Testado, Provado & Aprovado! was our Daring Cooks’ April 2011 hostess. Renata challenged us to think “outside the plate” and create our own edible containers! Prizes are being awarded to the most creative edible container and filling, so vote on your favorite from April 17th to May 16th at Daring Kitchen

Time has not been my friend and every idea I came up with had already been done. Early on I made a pie not terribly original but made and that has to count. Despite my intentions this proved to be my only piece for this challenge.

One of the original edible food containers surely is pastry such as a pie, pasty or dumpling. There is evidence of pies in the Eygptian tomb of Pharaoh Ramesses II, 1304 to 1237 BC. The 1st century Roman cookbook Apicius make various mention of various recipes which involve a pie case. The earliest European pie-like recipes refer to coffyns (the word actually used for a basket or box), with straight sealed sides and a top; open top pies were referred to as traps. Asian dumplings and wontons are said to date back over four millennia. However, the first mention in literature dates back to the Song Dynasty (960-1280 AD) in ancient China reporting the guotie (pot stickers) as being exceptionally good for the human soul.
The Cornish and Welsh miners wives invented the pasty, down the mines the miners ate the inside and threw away the part of the pastry that had gotten dirty from their hands. Some of that dirt was coal dust and arsenic.
All this information comes from Wikipedia so if it is not 100% accurate sorry about that.
My first piece is a pie. Moroccan Chicken with Almonds and Currants in shortcrust pastry.
My favourite shortcrust pastry recipe is
200 grams plain flour
50 grams cornflour
125 grams butter
pinch of salt
I put all this in my food processor blitz it until the butter is combined enough to look like bread crumbs.
then add 1 egg and 1 tablespoon of water and blitz again until it forms a ball. This is enough for a 10" 25cm pastry base.
for a lighter base add 1 teaspoon baking powder.
For a sweet base add 2 tablespoons of caster sugar with the flour.

Moroccan Chicken
• 1 kilo chicken thighs diced and tossed in plain four
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 2 tbsp butter
• 1 tsp cayenne pepper
• 1 tsp ground black pepper
• 1.5 tbsp paprika
• 1.5 tbsp ground ginger
• 1 tbsp turmeric
• 2 tbsp ground cinnamon
• 1 tsp strands saffron, soaked in cold water
• 1 large onion, finely diced
• 1 cloves garlic, finely chopped
• 570 ml tomato juice
• 50 g currants/100 grams diced dried apricots/100 grams dates diced soaked in chicken stock
• 600 ml chicken stock
• 1 tbsp clear honey
• 85 g blanched flaked almonds toasted
• ½ cup freshly chopped parsley
Fry floured chicken in oil and butter, add spices and vegetables cook until onion is cooked add the rest of the ingredients (except the almonds and parsley) and simmer gently until liquid reduced and thickened.
Sprinkle with toasted almonds and parsley and serve with rice or cous cous. Or chill and then put into pastry cases for a pie.
To make the pies either line greased muffin tins for an individual size pie or just one big pie plate with shortcrust or puff pastry. For the individual pies sometimes I use premade puff pastry. I simply cut the squares into ¼ ‘s and put them into ½ cup size muffin tins, fill and fold the edges in. For a large pie roll out ½ the pastry into a 20 cm pie plate.
Chill it well and then fill with the cold pie filling.
Brush the edge with egg wash then put the rolled out pastry top on. Cut a 2 cm or 1” slit in the top. Brush with egg wash and cook for 45 minutes in a 180° Celsius oven or until the pastry is cooked.
Serve the pie with a green salad.

How too Smooth Seized Chocolate

2011-04-25T14:10:00.001+09:30

I feel like a celebrity, my article on How too Smooth Seized Chocolate is up on The Daring Kitchen Food Talk.
I thought I'd give you a copy. let me know if you make any of the recipes.

Let’s be honest here, we’ve all done it. Been going for that euphoric experience only to be disappointed and let down. That moment of panic and shame and then the sick feeling in the stomach as you stare at the results and think ‘What the hell will I do now’ and then, depending on who is home, a house full of rude words you’d never say in polite company.
I had that recently while making my Lemon Overload Cake.

The white chocolate I was using to cover up the pieced together outside of the cake seized. I thought I had done it right. I put the white chocolate in with the cream and put it over a barely simmering pan of water and as soon as the chocolate started to melt it seized. I have made ganache before. Lots of ganache and I did it wrong this time. My son and daughter in law married last year I made 90 individual banana sour cream cakes . Half were covered with dark chocolate and half with white chocolate ganache with chocolate shards topped with a hand made icing rose. I melted kilograms of chocolate and not one bit of it seized, what the #@$%.
I should have reread the post about the litres of ganache I made then. The other thing that was different this time was the chocolate. For the wedding I used chocolate from a professional cake decorating shop. This time I just used supermarket chocolate. It wasn’t the cheap one though it was the good stuff.

Basically, very basically, dark and milk chocolate is made of tiny particles of cocoa, sugar and cocoa butter. White chocolate doesn’t have the cocoa.
If the particles mix with a liquid or steam after they start to melt they turn into a dull, dry, grainy mass. This is called seizing.

White Chocolate

Dark Chocolate

I made the ganache the proper way that time,
200 grams dark or milk chocolate or 300 grams of white chocolate buttons or chopped
100 ml cream (Not low fat, you really need full fat cream)
1 teaspoon butter (If you aren’t going to use butter leave it out. Don’t use margarine)
1 teaspoon caster sugar

Place cream, butter, sugar in a pot and stir over low heat until butter and sugar melts then raise heat and bring to a boil, stirring constantly.
Place chocolate in a stainless steel bowl. When the cream boils pour over the chocolate. Let it sit for a couple of minutes and then stir until smooth. If the chocolate has not fully melted place bowl over a pot of simmering water and heat gently until it melts.
After the chocolate/cream mix is smooth beat for a couple of minutes. Then spread over the top of the cake and let it run down the sides.
While not vital if the ganache is refrigerated overnight then placed over a pot of simmering water and gently heated until smooth it will be much shinier than if used on the day it is made. This also means you can make sure it is thick enough to set.

Seizing happens for a couple of reasons.
1. The first is that moisture has gotten into the chocolate after it has started to melt. Chocolate is a temperamental ingredient. The tiniest amount of liquid, just a drop of water or steam can give you a grainy horrible mass. Sources are varied and include wooden spoons, wooden spoons hold moisture; never use one in your melted chocolate.
Another source of liquid can be when you are dipping fruit and it isn’t completely dry.
Under no circumstances put a cover over your bowl of chocolate while it is on top of your double boiler. Any condensation that forms may get into the chocolate and seizing follows before you can blink.
Be really careful while taking your bowl off the top of your double boiler too. I always turn off the heat first. The steam that escapes from the pot can burn you or make your chocolate seize.
2. The second prime source of seizing is adding a liquid to your melted chocolate that is cooler than the chocolate. If you add cooler cream or milk for example. So if you are going to add liquids to the melted chocolate it must be the same temperature as the chocolate.
3. Chocolate is extremely sensitive to rapid temperature change. Melting over direct heat is really risky. The safest way is in a double boiler. Things can still go wrong so some rules need to be followed.
Care needs to be taken that the water in the bottom does not touch the top bowl. The water should be at a bare simmer not a boil.

So what can you do with it?
Choose a recipe. Chocolate that has seized is not good to use for coating or decoration it won't have the same shine or delicate texture. It can be used with other ingredients to make sauces, icings, ice cream or baked goods.
Gather some equipment - Equipment required to bring the chocolate back
• Spoon
• Whisk
• Butter, vegetable oil, milk or cream
• Double Boiler or a pot and a heat proof bowl.
For every ounce (30 g) of chocolate, you will need 1 tbsp. of one of the liquid ingredients from the chosen recipe. Butter, vegetable oil, water, milk or cream is suitable.

Water is often used in recipes that include chocolate, (See Chocolate sauce recipe below) it is the way you use it that determines if the chocolate will seize or not. Do remember though sometimes you do everything right and it will still seize.
If the seized chocolate has hardened chop or grate it and put into the double boiler (if it hasn’t hardened just put it in the double boiler).
Add butter, vegetable oil, water, milk or cream. Put it over the simmering water in the base pot of the double boiler. If the recipe calls for more than 1 tablespoon (per ounce or 30 grams chocolate) of whatever you are restoring the chocolate with that is alright you can use more. Just don’t exceed the amount.
For example in the cookie recipe below I restored the chocolate by melting it with the butter. I then allowed it to cool to room temperature. The mixture of chocolate and butter was around the consistency of soft butter. Then I creamed it with the sugar as I normally would for just butter.
Do not allow the water in the bottom pot to touch the bottom of the top bowl or pot. Stir as the mixture heats and then whisk gently until smooth. You can slowly add more liquid if it is too thick but you should only use the amount of liquid in the recipe. For the ice cream recipe below I used the full amount of milk to restore the white chocolate, this was more than 1 tablespoon. The main point is not to use more than the recipe calls for.

And after- the white chocolate was restored with milk and the dark chocolate with butter.

What to do with it now?
Recipe Source: These are my own recipes (except for the link to David Lebovitz’s German Cake). One of the things I learnt at trade school was development of my own recipes. Any similarity to others work is coincidental or that the basis of my recipes is in a combination of so many recipes that I am claiming them as my own.
David Lebovitz’s German Chocolate Cake is indescribably decadent and so wonderful I could rave about it for hours. The recipe calls for two types of chocolate you can substitute your seized dark chocolate for the amount of chocolate in the recipe. I didn’t have the two types of chocolate called for when I made it so I just used dark chocolate and it was beautiful. I didn’t include photos there are plenty with the recipe.
Rich Chocolate Sauce
Ingredients
6 oz /170 g chocolate of your choice
6 fl oz /170 ml water
½ cup/ 4 oz /125 g brown or white sugar, glucose, agave syrup or maple syrup
2 oz /55 g butter or butter substitute
1 teaspoon of vanilla extract

Method
1. Cut or grate the chocolate and butter into small pieces.
2. Place all of the ingredients in a double boiler over a low heat, stir continuously until all the ingredients have melted and blended together.
3. As it cools it will thicken to a pouring consistency. This keeps in your refrigerator indefinitely.

White Chocolate and Mulberry Ice Cream

Ingredients
1 egg
1 teaspoon cornflour
1/4 pint (125ml) fresh milk
1/4 pint (125ml) double/heavy cream
1 oz (37g) caster sugar
1 teaspoons vanilla paste (or according to taste)
4oz (125g) white chocolate (you don’t have to seize it first)
2 cups mulberries or berries of choice fresh or frozen

Chop the white chocolate into small pieces and put to ½ to one side.

Pour the milk into a saucepan stir in the cornflour until smooth. Place on heat and bring the pan slowly up to boiling point, let it boil a little stirring constantly.

In a bowl, beat together the egg and sugar until thick. Pour the hot milk into the mixture of egg and sugar whilst stirring.

Pour the mixture back into the pan and heat gently, stirring until the custard thickens. Adding the cornflour stops the eggs curdling if the mixture boils and doesn’t affect the taste. Remove from the heat and stir in the vanilla extract and 1 portion of the chopped chocolate pieces. Keep stirring until all the chocolate has melted. Leave to cool.
Whip the cream until it forms soft peaks. Fold the custard into the cream.
Put the mixture into a bowl in the freezer and let it half freeze. Beat it with electric mixer or put it into an ice cream maker. Fold the other portion of chocolate and 2 cup of fresh or frozen mulberries through the ice cream before it goes hard. Place in small molds or a loaf tin lined with plastic wrap. Freeze until solid and then turn out and slice if a log.

Chocolate and Peanut Butter Cookies.

White dough
4 ounces, ½ cup 125 butter, room temperature
4 ounces, ½ cup 125 super crunchy peanut butter
1 cup white sugar
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 ½ cups plain flour
¼ cup cornflour
½ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon baking soda

Chocolate dough
4 ounces, ½ cup 125 grams butter, room temperature
½ cup white sugar
½ cup brown sugar
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla
1¼ cups all purpose flour
½ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon baking soda
1 cup chocolate chips or 200 grams seized chocolate
2 tablespoons baking cocoa
White dough
Cream the butter, peanut butter, sugars, egg and vanilla until light and fluffy. Add the flour, soda and salt and beat well. Chill while making the chocolate.
Chocolate Dough
If you are using seized chocolate chop the chocolate and melt with the butter or if using chips just melt the chips; let this cool to room temperature.
Cream the butter, chocolate, sugars, egg and vanilla until light and fluffy. Add the flour, cocoa, soda and salt and beat well. Chill for about 30 minutes. If you chill it too long it gets rock hard and then breaks up when you try to roll it.
Roll out each half of the dough to roughly 10" x 14" (roll it on waxed paper and it will "behave" better when it is time to assemble).

Flip the chocolate cookie dough (using the waxed paper to hang on to) over on to the peanut butter dough (or vise versa) and press together lightly; peel off the top waxed paper.

Roll the two doughs together, jelly roll style, starting with the long side and lifting the waxed paper away at every revolution. Wrap the rolled log of dough with waxed paper or plastic wrap and chill for half an hour before cutting. The cookie dough may be a bit soft from the handling, and it will either flatten a bit and/or it will get little ridges from the shelf. To keep the dough log round, place the wrapped logs of dough inside a piece of PVC pipe, lay the pipe on its side in the fridge this will help to keep the dough in shape.

Alternatively lay the chocolate over the peanut butter dough and then cut into equal size pieces and layer. Chill really well, you can put it in the freezer for about 30 minutes.
Slice cookies about ¼" thick and bake on a baking sheet lined with bake paper, in a 375°F/180°C oven for 10-12 minutes (watch carefully after 10 minutes). Let these cookies cool on the cookie sheet for about a minute before removing them.

Spice Cake

2011-04-09T19:16:00.002+09:30

I have been out today making a doll with friends. Textiles is my other love, I offered to bring along something for morning tea. An offer gratefully accepted by the hostess.
I made my Spice Cake, I got the recipe from my Mother and changed and fiddled with it until I had something I liked.
We had the leftovers tonight with some Creme Anglaise (custard). This is a quick melt and mix cake. I have also served the cake with pineapple poached in a rum syrup and cream.

Caribbean Spice Cake
Ingredients
1 cup sultanas
1 cup water
125 grams butter
½ cup brown sugar
½ cup white sugar
1 teaspoon ground cloves
1 teaspoon mixed spice
½ teaspoon cinnamon
1 cup chopped walnuts or pecans
1 ¾ cup self-raising flour
2 eggs

Method

1. Preheat oven to 180° Celsius. Grease and line 15cm x 30 cm tin.
2. Simmer sultanas in water for 15 minutes.
3. Stir in butter, sugar and spices. Leave to cool.
4. When cool stir in beaten eggs, nuts and flour.
5. Pour into tin and bake for 25 minutes or until cooked.
6. Leave for 5 minutes and then remove from tin and cool on rack.

Breakfast Cake

2011-03-30T15:50:00.002+10:30

Sometimes you just want a simple something that is quick and easy. Today is one of those days. I am home alone. I like to be home alone. I don't have any sound on I like the house to be quiet. I did some washing, relaxed with the latest Anne Bishop. It's an anthology of Black Jewels stories. So about 1 pm I figured I really needed something to eat. Yes I hadn't had breakfast and here it was past lunch. I have found when I am home I often don't feel like eating, I am not sure why this. When I am at work I have to concentrate on not eating or I would eat all day.
So on my way to having some cheese and biscuits and an apple I spotted some bacon I bought a couple of days ago. Better eat that I thought. I did toy with the idea of a Bacon Lettuce and tomato sandwich, No lettuce.
Bacon and Eggs, definite possibility. Thats when I remembered a concoction I came up with last year. At that time I was on my way to making omelettes for my self and The Husband when I realized that I only had 4 eggs.
That resulted in "The BreakFast Cake"
The original breakfast cake is a cross between an omelette and a pancake.

Equipment required
bowl
whisk
frypan - 1 person uses a 15 cm pan for 2 a 30 cm pan
knife
cutting board

Ingredients

Serves 1 person (for 2 people double all the quantities)
2 eggs
1/2 cup milk
1/2 cup self raising flour (or 1/2 cup plain flour and 1 teaspoon baking powder)
1 tablespoon of olive oil
3 rashers of bacon - rinds off and sliced up into strips
1 tablespoon of chopped green herbs of your own choice. I used parsley and oregano. I also use chives sometimes but I was too lazy to walk down to the garden and get some.
1 tomato - diced
1/4 cup grated cheese.
You can add whatever else you like in an omelette.

Method

Beat the eggs, milk and flour together until smooth.
Fry the bacon in the oil until cooked and crispy.
Sprinkle over the tomato and herbs.
Pour over the batter and cook over medium heat until it has bubble all over like a pancake.
Turn off the heat and sprinkle over the cheese and put it under a medium griller and leave there until the cheese is browned.
Eat straight away

The result is an easy tasty all in one meal. Enjoy.

Please send me a photo if you make this and remember if you use my recipes or content I think it is good manners to link back to my blog. I have noticed that someone did use one of my techniques. That is something I do and they did not and they did not link back to me. They, who shall remain nameless, has a very popular blog and many followers. I know I do not have many followers and my blog is not as widely read however good manners is still good manners and copyright is still copyright. I do not mind if soemone uses my recipes for private use, or passes them on to others for private use. Any other use is not permitted. One day I might write that cook book and I don't want others using my recipes for their cookbooks.

A Little Bite of Heaven

2011-03-28T20:18:00.001+10:30

In life there are defining moments, those ‘light bulb coming on’ times. For a food lover, you put something in your mouth and you have to stop, close your eyes and just be in the moment with that little piece of heaven that just hit your taste buds.
There are two types of people in the world. Those who eat to live and those, who are lucky enough, to live to eat.

There are so many people who through desire or circumstance eat whatever comes to hand just too keep their body ticking over. They are the ‘eat to live’ people. Nutrition and to some extent taste are not really an issue. They are often fussy eaters who will drop into the local chainstore junk food shop for a sugar/fat/chemical additive laden meal. They will either ignore their poor health or just complain about it and do nothing to change their lot. They will eat a slice of that horrible plasticised cheese on white bread spread with margarine teamed with a cup of cheap instant coffee or generic brand soft drink, chase it down with a cigarette and count themselves well feed.

As one of the other group, those who “Live to Eat” I think “WHAT IS WRONG WITH THEM!!!!”

So why am I pondering this today. The introduction may not inspire the reader to wonder what has brought about this pondering. The recipe for this month’s Daring Kitchen Bakers Challenge is the answer. I had one of those defining moments when I put this wonderful bread in my mouth. I knew in my heart and stomach this was going to be wonderful, just the recipe had me salivating. I mixed the dough and then had to wait for it to rise. I wanted it to be ready. I didn’t want to wait. But I am getting ahead of myself.
The March 2011 Daring Baker’s Challenge was hosted by Ria of Ria’s Collection and Jamie of Life’s a Feast. Ria and Jamie challenged The Daring Bakers to bake a yeasted Meringue Coffee Cake. Jamie found this recipe on a piece of yellowed paper in her dad’s collection of clipped out and hand-written recipes from the 1970’s, no source, no date, and she tried the recipe and it was brilliant!

For their versions of the challenge Jamie’s All-American versions featured cinnamon, chopped pecans and chocolate and Ria’s Indian-inspired version had saffron added to the sweet yeast bread dough and garam masala and cashews flavoring the filling.

Preparation time:
For the dough:
10 - 15 minutes preparation of the dough
8 – 10 minutes kneading
45 – 60 minutes first rise
10 – 15 minutes to prepare meringue, roll out, fill and shape dough
an additional 45 – 60 minutes for second rising.
Baking time: approximately 30 minutes
Equipment required:
Measuring cups for dry ingredients
Measuring cup for liquid
Measuring spoons
Cutting board and sharp knife for chopping nuts & chocolate if using
2 large mixing bowls
1 small mixing bowl
1 medium mixing bowl for beating egg whites, preferably plastic or metal
1 medium saucepan
Electric mixer or stand mixer
Wooden spoon
Rolling pin
Spatula
Clean kitchen scissors or sharp knife
Plastic wrap & clean kitchen towel
Parchment paper
2 medium-sized baking trays (or 1 large if your oven is large enough)
Cooling racks
Serving platter
Vegetable oil to grease bowl
FILLED MERINGUE COFFEE CAKE
Ingredients
For the yeast coffee cake dough:
2 cups (300 g) flour
2 tablespoons (27 g) sugar
½ teaspoon (2 g) salt
2 teaspoons / 4 g) active dried yeast
1/3 cup (90 ml) whole milk
1 tablespoon (30 ml) water (doesn’t matter what temperature)
¼ cup (70 g) unsalted butter at room temperature
1 large egg at room temperature

For the meringue: 2 large egg white at room temperature, ½ teaspoon salt ½ teaspoon vanilla ½ cup (120 g) sugar
1 cup dried apricots diced
½ cup apricot jam
½ cup (50 g) chopped almonds, pecans or walnuts
¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 cup (170 g / 6 oz.) semisweet chocolate chips or coarsely chopped chocolate

Directions:
Prepare the dough:
I used my mix master with the dough hook to make the dough. In the bowl, combine ½ of the flour, the sugar, salt and yeast.
In a saucepan, combine the milk, water and butter and heat over medium heat until warm and the butter is just melted.

With an electric mixer on low speed, gradually add the warm liquid to the flour/yeast mixture, beating until well blended. Increase mixer speed to medium and beat 2 minutes. Add the eggs and the rest of the flour and beat for 2 more minutes.
Process the dough until it is soft, smooth, sexy and elastic.
By using the mixer I don’t have to add anymore flour. If you don’t have a mixer then hold back some of the flour to put on your board for kneading.
Place the dough in a lightly greased (I use vegetable oil) bowl, turning to coat all sides. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and a kitchen towel and let rise until double in bulk, 45 – 60 minutes. The rising time will depend on the type of yeast you use and how warm the room is.
Prepare your filling. Chop the apricots, nuts and chocolate.

Once the dough has doubled, make the meringue: In a clean mixing bowl – ideally a plastic or metal bowl so the egg whites adhere to the side (they slip on glass) and you don’t end up with liquid remaining in the bottom – beat the egg whites with the salt, first on low speed for 30 seconds, then increase to high and continue beating until foamy and opaque. Add the vanilla then start adding the sugar, a tablespoon at a time as you beat, until very stiff, glossy peaks form.

Assemble the Coffee Cakes:
Line a baking/cookie sheet with parchment paper.
Punch down the dough. On a lightly floured surface, roll out the dough into a 20 x 10-inch (about 51 x 25 ½ cm) rectangle. Spread the jam and then the meringue evenly over the rectangle up to about 1/2-inch (3/4 cm) from the edges. Sprinkle the filling of choice evenly over the meringue. I used cinnamon, apricots, almonds and chocolate.

Now, roll up the dough jellyroll style, from the long side. Pinch the seam closed to seal. Very carefully transfer the filled log to one of the lined cookie sheets, seam side down. Bring the ends of the log around and seal the ends together, forming a ring, tucking one end into the other and pinching to seal.

After the roll has risen Use kitchen scissors or a sharp knife (although scissors are easier), make cuts along the outside edge at 1-inch (2 ½ cm) intervals. Make them as shallow or as deep as desired but don’t be afraid to cut deep into the ring.

Cover the coffee cake with plastic wrap and allow it to rise again for 45 to 60 minutes or until doubled in size.
Preheat the oven to 350°F (180°C). Brush the tops of the coffee cake with the egg wash. Bake in the preheated oven for 25 to 30 minutes until risen and golden brown. The dough should sound hollow when tapped.
Remove from the oven and slide the parchment paper off the cookie sheet onto the table. Very gently loosen the coffee cake from the paper with a large spatula and carefully slide the cake off onto a cooling rack. Allow to cool.
Just before serving, dust the tops of the coffee cakes with confectioner’s sugar as well as cocoa powder if using chocolate in the filling. These are best eaten fresh, the same day or the next day.
The one I made I spread with apricot jam before I put on the meringue, chocolate, nuts and cinnamon. It was amazing, perhaps the nicest bread I have ever eaten in my life.
We ate all of it. It was best on the day I made it but it was still delicious the next day. By the third day it had started to dry out a bit so I made bread and butter custard with the last of it.

Bread and Butter Custard.
3 eggs
1 cup milk
300ml pure cream
¼ cup caster sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Method
Preheat oven to 180°C/160°C fan-forced. Grease a 5cm-deep, 28cm baking dish.
Whisk eggs, milk, cream, caster sugar, vanilla and cinnamon in a bowl.
Arrange half the sliced bread in rows in prepared dish.
Pour egg mixture over bread. Bake for 30 to 35 minutes or until golden and just set. Serve.

Name of my blog

2011-03-22T09:44:00.002+10:30

I have a little dilemma, and I would love to hear what you think. Should I change the name of this blog. Originally I called it Peta Eats because this blog is about what I eat and my name is Peta.
The other PETA is People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals. I am all for the Ethical and humane treatment of animals even though, and don't tell PETA this, I am not a vegitarian and they definitely are. Lots of the members are vegans and that is way to hard for me to consider. I know of what I speak. I am trained in Special Diet Cookery.
Now back to the topic as you may be wondering what am I blathering on about.
I did a little experiment by googling my blog name and the first thing that comes up is PETA, I do get a mention on the first page just above a eye catching link to Peta eats babies....No I don't, well actually depending on what sort of animal it is I do. Eggs, etc you get the picture.
So should I distance myself from the reputable (If sometimes a little over the top) work of PETA or just stick with it and not worry.
I have to wonder am I obsessing over something not worth obsessing over.
I also wonder if I should have put more thought into the name of my blog... oh and of course those age old questions that every blogger ponders from time to time...
"Is any one actually reading this as the comments I get are few and far between" and do I let it worry me. Well actually I would love to have a huge audience that hang on my every word but that isn't going to happen any time soon so in the interests of my own mental health I don't worry about it.
If you are reading this then let me know should I change the name of my blog.
The other question I sometimes ponder is "why do I write in my blog when I am really tired and should be in bed?"
550

The Fundamental Techniques of Classic Pastry Arts from the French Culinary Institute,

2011-03-21T19:18:00.000+10:30

I am so excited I have had this book on my wish list at The Book Depository the French Culinary Institute has teamed up with Judith Choate to produce a must have text. the description with the book says it all "An indispensable addition to any serious home baker's library, "The Fundamental Techniques of Classic Pastry Arts" covers the many skills an aspiring pastry chef must master. Based on the internationally lauded curriculum developed by master patissier Jacques Torres for New York's French Culinary Institute, the book presents chapters on every classic category of confection: tarts, cream puffs, puff pastry, creams and custards, breads and pastries, cakes and petits fours. Its each chapter begins with an overview of the required techniques, followed by dozens of recipes - many the original creations of distinguished FCI graduates. Distilling ten years of trial and error in teaching students, "The Fundamental Techniques of Classic Pastry Arts" is a comprehensive reference with hundreds of colour photographs, a wealth of insider tips and highly detailed information on tools and ingredients - quite simply the most valuable baking book you can own."
The Fundamental Techniques of Classic Pastry Arts won 2010 Best Book for Cooking from a Professional Point of View by the James Beard Foundation and 2010 Cookbook Award by International Association of Culinary Professionals (IACP).”
Judith Coate is an American Cooking Celebrity and French Culinary Institute is one of the top American cooking schools so that speaks for itself.
and it is on special from the Book Depository so yay.
The Book Depository is an English website. Prices include postage and they mail the books individually so they come really quickly.

The Haus - Hahndorf South Australia

2011-03-19T15:29:00.004+10:30

We had dinner out on Thursday, so I thought I'd give you my unsolicited and unpaid for opinion. We had been to the Hospital to see our new grandson. On our way home we went to our favorite restaurant.
"The Haus" is one of Hahndorfs newer restaurants. The owners gutted the building that, for a long time, was Muggletons and built a beautiful bar/cafe/restaurant.
Decor is what I call modern/simple/upmarket, there is a openfire look gas fire, comfortable seating indoor and out, interesting painted stencils on the brick walls and lots of timber. Importantly it is not noisy, you can have a conversation with your table mates and not feel like you are part of the other tables. There are a couple of indoor seating areas including high tables and chairs around the wall which is our favoured place to sit and an outdoor area for those who like to polute their fresh air with a cigarette. Parking is plentiful out the back and we have always found a parking spot there or close by on the street.

The menu is described as Modern Country. There are in fact 4 menus, breakfast, lunch, dinner and drinks. You can get food there from breakfast to their 'late night grazing plate' or a variety of pizzas any time of the day.

They have a cake display case that could use a bit more oompf in my humble opinion. There are desserts on the specials menu and while I can speak with the voice of experience on how much work it is too have a restaurant, I still think the cake display case is fairly typical of cake offerings everywhere and could be made a bit more individual and exciting perhaps through a daily or weekly special cake or pastry. Still saying that I can always find something in there that tempts my taste buds.

We started with the Haus Garlic Pizza bread always excellent with its crisp base, very nice balance of garlic and cheese and dusting of salt.
For our mains The Husband and I pertook of the Salmon special.

Dukkah crusted Atlantic Salmon served with spinach and oven roasted baby tomatoes with a pesto dressing and a cheek of lime that was perfect with the salmon.

We teamed that with a bowl of Haus fries and Aioli. I had a glass of Vertigo Reisling. For dessert we shared a generous piece of Fresh Fruit Sponge. I had an excellent latte with it and The Husband stuck with his usual water.

We usually go out for lunch and then have eggs on toast for tea so although this was our 4th visit to the Haus it was our first dinner. Every meal we have had there has been excellent and this one was no exception.
So my opinion
Food 9/10
Service 8/10
Coffee 10/10
Menu and specials well if you can't find something on there you like then you must be on a really strict diet, vegans, vegitarians and gluten frees all catered for. You can get a grazing plate all day but there is no vegetarian option on that and, as I said, the cake display could use some work but not much and that is just the opinion of someone who likes a lot of variety. But overall I would still give it a 8/10.
Wine/Drinks list - The coffee is excellent, the decaf actually tastes like coffee not weak and washy as I've had elsewhere. There are 80 wines on the list and a good variety of style, taste and price. I'd like to see a few more offered by the glass in the sweeter end of the wine spectrum and The Husband who only drinks water would like to see an Australian still and sparkling water along with the Italian ones on the menu but that is purely personal opinion and those available are excellent.
The Haus has a variety of special nights and live entertainment on Sundays, they have gone out of their way to cater for locals along with tourists and in my opinion have succeeded on that front. We do not hesitate to recommend them to others and will continue to do that.
The Haus has not paid or asked for my opinion. We are members of their HausMates club which is open to anyone.

Clafouti - Fig and Ginger

2011-03-16T18:52:00.002+10:30

I am in desperate need of some comfort food. My new grandson, Aaron, had trouble breathing last night. Luckily he was still in the NeoNatal nursery at Flinders Hospital. He was five weeks early and only 5 pounds. He's off the ventilator now but it was a huge worry for a while.

He has been doing really well but last night things went haywire. The doctors say he will be fine, they aren't sure what caused the problem so he may not be going home this weekend like planned. To top that off I have the flu and although I really want to go to the hospital I don't want to give Aaron or any one else my bugs so I am staying home.

Therefore I am really in dire need of comfort food. I had some figs that I bought at the Farmers Market on the weekend and they need to be used. I decided to team them with my long term love of Baked Custard in any form.
Creme Caramels, Pannacotta, Bread and Butter Pudding, Custard Tarts and of course Clafouti.
Clafouti is a baked custard type of dessert, traditionally it is made with cherries. You can substitute nearly any fruit for the cherries. My standard recipe is always successful with whatever fruit I have on hand and a complimentary spice. Figs and ginger, apples and cinnamon, plums and cloves you get the idea.

1 cup milk
1/3 cup of full fat cream
3 tablespoons plain flour
3 tablespoons caster sugar
3 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla paste

Beat all these ingredients together.

For my fig and ginger version I cut 6 figs in half and put them in a buttered baking dish and added 1 teaspoon dried ginger into the egg/milk mixture.

Pour this over the figs.

Put into a 160° C oven bake for 60 minutes or until it sets, start to check it after 40 minutes.

The clafouti is done when a metal knife inserted off center comes out clean or if you'd like another way to test it, hold the edge of the dish with a cloth and give a gentle shake. If the center couple of centimeters wobble just a bit you can remove it from the oven. The very center still may not be quite done, but the heat retained in the mixture will continue to cook it after removal from the oven.

Making a baked custard, either a clafouti or any other, can go wrong. Overcooking or heating it too quickly before the mixture starts to thicken can mean that you have a watery result even when you have added the starch.
Flour helps to stabilise egg proteins but you still need to take some care. If you are cooking a custard on the stove top adding the starch will help to ensure it doesn't curdle.
Baked custard mixtures are different, even with the flour added they can overcook and you end up with the watery bits.
The best way to avoid that is too cook it in a bain-marie. Simply put a bigger baking dish in the oven and put your dish of uncooked custard in it. Then pour hot tap water around the custard dish until it is 1/2 to 2/3's of the way up the dish. This is a simple safegaurd that you don't really need to do with a clafouti unless you are worried and you can do it anyway. A clafouti will sometimes have a little moisture around the fruit, that comes from the fruit rather than the egg.

As to why this happens Harold McGee says the different proteins in the albumen of eggs coagulate at temperatures ranging from 141.8° to 183.2°F (61° to 84°C); just a few degrees difference in cooking temperature will greatly affect just how much the egg white solidifies. While Ovotransferrin begins to set at 140°F/60C, it only comprises 12% of egg white. The major protein of egg white, ovalbumin, makes up 54% of the white and doesn't coagulate until the temperature reaches 80 °C. The yolk begins to thicken around 65 °C and sets around 70 °C.
The yolk proteins begin to thicken at 65 °C and set at 70 °C. Further heating to around 80-90 °C produces the crumbly texture typical of hard boiled eggs. (McGee, Science of Cooking, pp 85).
Egg White Components:

Egg white contains approximately 40 different proteins. Below is a list of major proteins found in egg white by percentage, along with their natural functions.

Ovalbumin 54% Nourishment; blocks digestive enzymes--Begins to set at 180°F/80C
Ovotransferrin 12% Binds iron -- Begins to set at 140°F/60C
Ovomucoid 11% Blocks digestive enzymes
Globulins 8% Plugs defects in membranes, shell
Lysozyme 3.5% Enzyme that digests bacterial cell walls
Ovomucin 1.5% Thickens egg white; inhibits viruses
Avidin .06% Binds vitamin (biotin)
Others 10% Bind vitamins, block digestive enzymes.

Egg Yolk Components:
The two major yolk proteins are lipovitellin (LV) and phosvitin (PV) --(HDL). Lipovitellin is one of the two lipoproteins contained in hen's egg yolk and comprises about one sixth of the yolk solid.

Egg Yolk Composition:
Egg yolk is a complex mixture composed of granule and a water soluble fraction, plasma. Each fraction contains a lipoprotein as the main constituent. Granules contain mainly 70% high density lipoprotein (HDL), 16% phosvitin and 12% low-density lipoprotein (LDL). Plasma is composed of 85% LDL and 15% livetin.
Proteins (16.4%):
Water (48-50%)
Lipids (32 to 34%)
plasma : livetin & LDL (protein content ) triglycerol (66%) phospholipid (28%) including lecithin (has remarkable emulsifying ability) cholesterol (3%, or 250 mg)
granular fraction: phosvitin (16%, carrier of Fe), lipovitellins (70%) & LDL (12%) Note: The color of yolk depends on the presence of carotenoids. xanthophylls not carotene (Lutein and zeaxanthin)

Protein molecules are made up of many strands. In raw egg the protein strands are bound little bundles. The bundles are separate from each other and light passes between them, that's why raw egg whites are transparent.
Coagulation: When eggs are heated, the protein in the white and yolk starts to coagulate. This means that the liquid egg becomes firmer. As heating continues the egg eventually becomes solid.
Eggs coagulate at (as measured with an Instant Read Thermometer):
Whites: 70 degrees C 140 degrees F
Yolks: 75 degrees C 150 degrees F

When heated the proteins being to unwind and unstick from one another. As they do so, the bonds begin to wave around and the loose protein strands run into each other and stick to each other. Then they mass together into something like a spider web. This web is doesn't have the spaces that let light pass through and that is is why cooked eggs whites are white. The web also traps moisture, which is why eggs cooked to just the right point are moist and tender.

If you keep cooking the eggs too long, though, the protein strands dissolve and let the liquid out. That’s why if you over cook a custard (which is thickened with eggs) the custard gives off liquid.

So all you have to do is keep a close watch on your custard until you know how your oven works and cook the custard until just set and not overcooked.
Take care not to have the oven to hot. 180 degrees is to hot. In a fan forced oven lower the temperature by another 10 degrees.

THE DARING COOKS’ MARCH, 2011 CHALLENGE: ¡ME ENCANTA PERÚ! CEVICHE & PAPAS RELLENAS

2011-03-15T11:32:00.000+10:30

I am really enjoying being a member of The Daring Kitchen even though I have a lot of professional and home experience in the cooking department sometimes it is just too hard too come up with new ideas so having someone give them to me is really great.

Kathlyn of Bake Like a Ninja was our Daring Cooks’ March 2011 hostess. Kathlyn challenged us to make two classic Peruvian dishes: Ceviche de Pescado from “Peruvian Cooking – Basic Recipes” by Annik Franco Barreau. And Papas Rellenas adapted from a home recipe by Kathlyn’s Spanish teacher, Mayra.

Recipe Source: Ceviche de Pescado from “Peruvian Cooking – Basic Recipes” by Annik Franco Barreau. Papas Rellenas adapted from a home recipe by my Spanish teacher Mayra. Vegan Papas Rellenas recipe adapted from the Vegan Good Eats blog (http://vegangoodeats.com/2010/05/papa-rellena/), written by Joel Luks. The Salsa Criolla recipe also comes from Joel’s blog.

Papas Rellenas, Kathlyn referred to them as 'essentially a clever way to use up leftover potatoes. The filling is usually made with beef, but I’ve got an alternative recipe that should work for both vegetarians and vegans'. they are so much more, in our house there are no leftover potatoes unless they are planned leftovers. so I jumped into these pretty damn quick let me tell you.
I didn't make the ceviche, I don't mind this type of seafood but The Husband is not a fan so I didn't do it yet. There were a few variations done by members where they cooked the seafood first and that is certainly on the cards for the future.

I did however make three variations of the Papas Rellenas. All I can say is "WOW". they were so good. Stuffed Fried potato croquettes is the closest thing to these but these were so much better. I am putting these on the top of the favorite comfort food pile let me tell you.
So let me present to you Papas Rellenas

Time taken/needed
Papas rellenas – total time, 5+ hours - There is a lot of cooling/setting time in there.
Boiling and cooling potatoes: 2 hours
Preparing filling: 1 hour (can be done as potatoes cool)
Preparing dough: 30 minutes
Shaping and filling papas: 30 minutes
Chilling in the refrigerator to set the crumbs: 30 - 60 minutes
Frying papas: 20-30 minutes (depending on how many batches)

Equipment Required
For the Papas Rellenas
Potato ricer (recommended) or a potato masher
Pan capable of holding 2” (50 mm) of oil for frying the Papas (small dutch oven is ideal)
Frying pan for cooking filling(s)
Medium mixing bowl
Three smaller bowls or pie pans
Measuring cups and spoons
Pot for boiling potatoes

Papas Rellenas (de carne):
Makes 6
Ingredients
For the dough:
2¼ lb (1 kg) russet or a good mashing potato (Theres a table here to give you some information)
1 large egg

For the filling:
2 tablespoon (30 ml) of a light flavored oil
½ lb (250 grams) finely chopped mushrooms or fine mince steak
6 black olives, pitted and chopped (use more if you love olives)
1 small onion, finely diced (about 1 cup (240 ml))
½ cup (120 ml) (90 gm) (3 oz) sultanas, soaked in 1 cup (240 ml) boiling water for 10 minutes, then chopped
1 finely diced capsicum (ok to sub jalapeño or other pepper – if you are shy about heat, use less)
2 cloves garlic, minced or passed through a press (if you love garlic, add more)
1 teaspoon (5 ml) (4 gm) (1/8 oz) ground cumin (use more if you like cumin)
½ teaspoon (2.5 ml) (2 gm) (1/16 oz) sweet paprika
¼ c. white wine, water or beef stock for deglazing
½ cup tomato chutney
Salt and pepper to taste

For the final preparation:
1 large egg, beaten
1 cup (240 ml) (140 gm) (5 oz) all-purpose flour
Dash cayenne pepper
Dash salt
1 cup dry (240 ml) (110 gm) (4 oz) or fresh (240 ml) (60 gm) (2 oz) cornflake or bread crumbs (you can use regular, panko, make your own or use store-bought. I used the cornflake crumbs, mainly because I had them in the pantry.
Rice Bran Oil for frying (enough for 2” (50 mm) in a heavy pan like a medium sized dutch oven)

Directions:
For the dough:
1. Boil unpeeled potatoes whole until tender when stuck with a fork. Let potatoes cool.
2. When potatoes are cooled, peel them and either mash them with a potato masher or force them through a potato ricer (preferred).
3. Add cornstarch, salt and pepper and knead “dough” thoroughly to ensure that ingredients are well combined and uniformly distributed.

While potatoes are cooling, make filling:
1. Caramelize onions in olive oil for about 5 minutes.
2. Add the garlic and chili pepper and cook.
3. Add the cumin and paprika and cook briefly (a few seconds).
4. Add the mushrooms or meat and cook until soft.
5. Add the sultanas.
6. Deglaze the pan with white wine and chutney.
7. Season with salt and pepper.
8. Allow filling to cool before forming “papas.”

Finishing the dough and forming the papas:
9. Use three small bowls (or other shallow containers) to prepare the papas. In one, combine flour, cayenne and salt. In the second, combine the egg replacer and water. Put bread crumbs in the third
10. Flour your hands and scoop up 1/6 of the total dough to make a round pancake with your hands. Make a slight indentation in the middle for the filling.
11. Spoon a generous amount of filling into the center and then roll the potato closed, forming a smooth, potato-shaped casing around the filling. Repeat will all dough (you should have 6 papas)
12. Heat 1 ½ - 2 inches (4 – 5 cm) of oil in a pan to about 350 – 375° F (175 - 190°C).

13. Dip each papa in the three bowls to coat: first roll in flour, then dip in egg replacer, then roll in bread crumbs, then repeat the egg and bread crumbs

14. Fry the papas (in batches if necessary) about 2-3 minutes until golden brown. Flip once in the middle of frying to get both sides.

15. Drain on a cooling rack over paper towel, this stops them going soggy and keep them warm in a low oven 200°F (95°C) (gas mark ¼) if frying in batches

For my second version I used some lentil burgers I had frozen earlier in the year. This is the best Lentil Burger Recipe ever. I got it years ago from my sister in law and it is a staple in our house. Even our carnivore friends love it.

Lentil Burger Recipe.
500g/1 pound Green-Brown Lentils (this is a type of lentil it doesn't mean green or brown. If you can't get these use a mixture of green and brown lentils)
1 kilogram/2pounds Potato (ponitac,pink eye or sebagoes work best)– peeled, cut into large chunks
375 grams/12 ounces Crunchy Peanut Butter
500 grams/1 pound Onion – Peeled and finely diced
60 mls/2 tablespoons Olive Oil
1 teaspoon Crushed garlic
1 teaspoon Powdered cumin
½ bunch Fresh coriander – washed and finely chopped
2 Eggs – beaten or for the vegans if the mixture is not holding together add 1/2 cup plain wheat, cornflour or tapioca flour. Mix until it does hold together.
Chilli - optional To taste

Directions
Put potatoes into a large pot and cover with plenty of cold water and bring to the boil.
When the water boils add the lentils and cook until the potatoes are soft enough to mash. Drain off excess water.
While the potatoes and lentils are boiling fry onion, cumin and chilli until the onion is cooked.
Add to drained and mashed potato/lentil mix with coriander.
Mix well and allow to cool.
Add egg and mix well.
Form into patties. Freezes well. Can be panfried or reheated in oven. Also good cooked in a loaf tin in 180° C oven and then sliced.
* If just using brown lentils add ½ cup plain flour with eggs.

I used these the same way I did the mash potato dough.

For the third variation I used the mashed potato dough and stuffed them with creme fraiche sprinkled with dried dill and wrapped in smoked salmon.

We had them as is, with a dollop of creme fraiche and lemon. They were so delicous.
I do love The Daring Kitchen. If you want to see more I keep telling you if you haven't already joined then you'll just have to go and do so.

Food Photography

2011-03-13T13:40:00.001+10:30

I am toying with the idea of a new camera. I found one at one of the camera shops in Adelaide that ticks all the boxes. Image stability, lots of settings, good brand. It is a Panasonic DMC FZ100 with a 24 zoom and 14 megapixels. It does cost about the same as my first car $700 but hey I spent more than that on my last car and I want to take better photos.
I have been reading a lot on photography and I am going to go and do a couple of classes to improve my skills.
Until then I am still using my Fujifilm 5500. It takes good photos but I am ready to move on to something a little better.
Yesterday I went to the farmers market and got some lovely salad greens, a very nice honey mustard dressing and ripe peaches. Just the thing for a salad with a bit of cheese thrown on.
I decided to try out a bit of a photography experiment regarding backgrounds. Here are the results.

I've had a look at a lot of food photography blogs, here's a few. If you google food photography blogs you get a lot more.
Food Pixels , La Tartine Gourmand, Lara Ferroni and a really great one is FoodPortfolio.

I also love landscape photographs, here's a photo of the view from my window, I took it about ten minutes ago. This morning it was sunny and now look at it.

My overall favorite photography and food blog at the moment is Eat Real Butter you'll appreciate why I am sure if you go and have a little look.

Daring Bakers Challenge 52 Pannacotta.

2011-02-27T11:00:00.001+10:30

The latest Daring Kitchen Challenge is Pannacotta and Florentines, I was a bit slack with making mine which gave me the opportunity to read Audax’s notes.

The result was Vanilla Pannacotta with Caramel Poached Pears and Hazelnut Florentines.

Blog-checking lines: The February 2011 Daring Bakers’ challenge was hosted by Mallory from A Sofa in the Kitchen. She chose to challenge everyone to make Panna Cotta from a Giada De Laurentiis recipe and Nestle Florentine Cookies.

Recipe Source: Mallory used a Giada De Laurentiis recipe for PannaCotta and Nestle Florentine Cookies.

I decided to simplify the pannacotta recipe a little and leave out the honey, I also wanted to do some poached pears and found the perfect ones at our local farmers market.

Paradise pears are only 3 or 4 centimeters high about 1 to 1 1/2 inches with all the flavour of a full size pear packed in.

Preparation time:
20-25 minutes to prepare the Panna Cotta - at least 6 hours to chill
20-25 minutes to prepare the cookies 6-8 minutes to bake
Equipment required:
Small mixing bowl
Two medium sized heavy bottom pot or saucepan
Wooden spoon and/or whisk
Glasses or ramekins - something to pour and serve your Panna Cotta in
Measuring cups
Measuring spoons
Silpat or wax paper or parchment paper
Baking sheet
Small bowl

Ingredients
1 cup (240 ml) whole milk
1 tablespoon (one packet) (15 ml) (7 gm) (¼ oz) unflavored powdered gelatin
3 cups (720 ml) whipping cream (30+% butterfat)
2 tablespoon (15 ml) (15 gm) (½ oz) granulated sugar
1 teaspoon Natural Vanilla Extract
Pinch of salt
Directions:
1. Pour the milk into a bowl or pot and sprinkle gelatin evenly and thinly over the milk (make sure the bowl/pot is cold by placing the bowl/pot in the refrigerator for a few minutes before you start making the Panna Cotta). Let stand for 30 minutes to soften the gelatin.
2. Pour the milk into the saucepan/pot and place over low heat on the stove. Heat this mixture until the gelatine has dissolved then leave it aside to cool to room temperature while you do the next step.
3. Whip the cream to soft peaks then fold in the gelatine/milk mixture.
4. Remove from heat, allow it to sit for a few minutes to cool slightly. Then pour into the wine glass or ramekin.
5. Refrigerate at least 6 hours or overnight.
I made the Pannacotta mid afternoon and we ate it about 3 hours later. It was amazing, the texture was so smooth and silky it was incredible.

I also poached the Paradise pears

1 cinnamon stick 5 cm
2 cups water
1 cup brown sugar
2 cloves
2 pears or 6 small paradise pears
1 teaspoon vanilla paste

Heat all ingredients except pears to a simmer, add pears cover and cook over low heat until just soft. After I took the pears out of the syrup I gently simmered the remaining syrup until it was thick and used this over the pears.

The amazing Audax always gives us the most useful of information and to get the whole lot you'll just have to go and join Daring Kitchen however in a nut shell he gave the following recommendations (This is a direct quote)

"Conclusion
So to obtain the most flavoursome with the best melt-in-your-mouth textured panna cotta
1. Steep the flavouring up to 48 hours in the milk
2. Bloom your powered gelatin in the cold milk until it is full hydrated at least 30 minutes
3. Gently heat the bloomed gelatin and flavoured milk until the gelatin is fully dissolved (do not boil)
4. Let the dissolved flavoured gelatin mixture cool slowly to room temperature which allows for the protein bonds in gelatin to slowly rearrange and form a tight structured web. If gelatin is cooled too quickly the protein chains form a bulky weak-crossed web which has an unappealing mouth-feel.
5. When the flavoured gelatine mixture has cooled to room temperature heat 3/4 of the cream to blood heat (do not boil) add 2 tablespoons to the cooled gelatin mixture to temper it, then add the rest of the warmed cream
6. Gently whip the other 1/4 of cream (that is very cold) until thickened avoid air bubbles then fold into the gelatin mixture. Let cool 15 minutes then pour into moulds and then place into refrigerator.
7. Don't use any fruit such as fresh or frozen pineapple, kiwi fruit, papayas, pineapple, peaches, mangos, guavas, and figs because the gelatin won't set. They contain enzymes which break apart proteins like the collagen in gelatin. When the fruit is canned or cooked before using, it is heat treated, which destroys the enzyme and the fruit can be used. More acidic fruit, such as strawberries and citrus fruit may require more gelatin to set."

The florentines made a delicous dessert just bloody amazing. I cannot rhapsodize enough about how good this dessert was.

Hazelnut florentines
Ingredients:
75 gm unsalted butter
75 grams ground hazelnuts
75 grams granulated sugar
50 grams plain (all purpose) flour
30 ml golden syrup
30 ml whole milk
1 tsp (5 ml) vanilla extract
pinch of salt
3/4 cup chocolate of choice

Directions: Preheat oven to moderately hot 375°F (190°C) (gas mark 5). Prepare your baking sheet with silpat or parchment paper.
1. Melt butter in a medium saucepan, then remove from the heat.
2. To the melted butter add hazelnuts, sugar, flour, syrup, milk, vanilla, and salt. Mix well. Drop a tablespoon full, three inches (75 mm) apart, onto your prepared baking sheet. Flatten slightly with the back of your tablespoon, or use a spatula.
3. Bake in preheated oven for 6-8 minutes, until cookies are golden brown. Cool completely on the baking sheets.
4. While the cookies are cooling melt your chocolate until smooth either in the microwave (1 1/2 minutes), or stovetop (in a double boiler, or a bowl that fits atop a saucepan filled with a bit of water, being sure the water doesn't touch the bottom of the bowl).
5. Peel the cookies from the silpat or parchment and place face down on a wire rack set over a sheet of wax/parchment paper (to keep counters clean).
6. Spread a tablespoon of chocolate on the bottom/flat side of your cookie, sandwiching another (flat end) cookie atop the chocolate.

I didn't do the chocolate and the sandwiching. I am watching my weight and honestly they didn't need it.

Memory Food

2011-02-15T14:26:00.000+10:30

I am feeling a bit nostalgic today, thinking on things I would like to change and things I wouldn't change. All the steps that have led to me being who I am. Memories good and bad. That led me to thinking on when I worked as a chef in an Italian restaurant,how we would start each day with a loaf of fresh bread and butter and a big mug of freshly brewed coffee. Lunch time was either really early or after the lunch rush and usually pizza. My favorite was a simple base with some olive oil and cheese grated over, when it came out of the oven the pizza guy would spread it with freshly sliced tomato, anchovies and basil and we would stand in the kitchen and eat it straight away. Good times, back when I was 15 years younger and could still eat whatever I wanted.
This led to me having a huge desire for just that pizza, but I certainly didn't want to wait for the dought to rise etc, so I pulled out a tried and true recipe.
Savoury Scone Loaf.
1 1/2 cups self raising flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon mixed italian herbs
1 cup full fat cream
2 tablespoons grated parmesan
1 cup grated tasty cheese
2 tomatoes finely sliced
3 leaves of basil shredded
anchovies to taste
Set aside 1/2 the grated cheese.
Mix all the other ingredients together. Mix well and knead it lightly in the bowl.

Press out onto a sheet of bake paper and sprinkly the top with the reserved grated cheese.

Bake in a 200° Celsius oven on the top shelf for 15 - 20 minutes or until cooked.
As soon as you take it out of the oven spread the basil, tomatoes and anchovies if you are using them onto the hot scone loaf. Eat straightaway

World's Easiest Lemon Curd/Butter

2011-02-14T16:37:00.006+10:30

The Passionfruit and Lemon curd I made a couple of weeks ago is all gone. It was fabulous even if I do say so my self. I had a lot of lemons and a low grade yearning for more so I made Lemon Curd instead, I also wanted it for the cake for Kristens baby shower. So here is the recipe.

Lemon Curd

Ingredients
1 cup lemon juice
200 grams butter
1 cup (220 grams) white sugar
Grated lemon rind of however many lemons you used for the juice
2 eggs
6 egg yolks

Method
1. Check your jars for chips, cracks and nicks. Wash the lids. Wash, drain and preheat your jars in 100° Celsius oven for at least ten minutes.

2. Zest or finely grate the rind from enough lemons to make the 1 cup of juice.
Heat lemon juice, sugar and butter in a small saucepan and simmer until butter and sugar has melted.

3. Whisk the eggs and yolks until smooth and pale (you can use an electric mixer is you want to). Continue whisking slowly and pour the melted butter,sugar, juice,rind mixture into the egg and yolks. Return to the pot and cook over very low heat, whisking continuously until mixture becomes thick and just coats the spoon or is at a temperature of 75° C on your sugar thermometer.

4. Strain into stainless steel bowl.

Immeadiately put the hot put hot curd into the hot jars. Fill to within 1 cm of the lid. Put the lids on tightly immediately. Allow to cool and then refrigerate. Some of the lids will not vacuum seal. Use these first.
Makes approximately 3 cups curd.

Daring Cooks Tempura Challenge

2011-02-14T11:24:00.000+10:30

The February 2011 Daring Cooks’ challenge was hosted by Lisa of Blueberry Girl. She challenged Daring Cooks to make Hiyashi Soba and Tempura. She has various sources for her challenge including japanesefood.about.com, pinkbites.com, and itsybitsyfoodies.com
I didn't make the Soba Noodle Salad but I have made it before. It is delicous. I did make the Tempura - vegetables, fish and prawns. So delicous. I used Lisa's recipe exactly and it worked perfectly.
Preparation time:
Soba
10 Minutes for the sauce
10 Minutes for the noodles
30 Minutes for Vegetable Preparation
5 Minutes to Serve
Depending on you, I can make this meal, from walking in the door after work to sitting down to eat in under 30 minutes, so it should be pretty quick.
Tempura
20 minutes vegetable preparation
10 minutes making the batter
30 minutes frying time
Again it depends how much your making and what equipment your using.
Equipment required:
 A Saucepan
 A colander
 Large Bowls
 Small bowls
 Ice
 A Knife
 A chopping Board
 A Deep pan for frying
 Oil for frying
 Small tongs or Chopsticks
 Covered container for shaking dipping sauce

Hiyashi Soba:
Recipes courtesy of Globetrotter Diaries and About.com-Japanese Food
Serves 4
Soba Noodles:
Ingredients
2 quarts (2 L) water + 1 cup cold water, separate 12 oz (340 g) dried soba (buckwheat) noodles (or any Asian thin noodle)
Directions:
Cooking the noodles:
1. Heat 2 quarts of water to a boil in a large pot over high heat. Add the noodles a small bundle at a time, stirring gently to separate. When the water returns to a full boil, add 1 cup of cold water. Repeat this twice. When the water returns to a full boil, check the noodles for doneness. You want to cook them until they are firm-tender. Do not overcook them.
2. Drain the noodles in a colander and rinse well under cold running water until the noodles are cool. This not only stops the cooking process, but also removes the starch from the noodles. This is an essential part of soba noodle making. Once the noodles are cool, drain them and cover them with a damp kitchen towel and set them aside allowing them to cool completely.

Mentsuyu - Traditional dipping sauce:
Ingredients
2 cups (480ml) Kombu and Katsuobushi dashi Or a basic vegetable stock.
1/3 cup (80 ml) soy sauce or a low sodium soy sauce
1/3 cup (80 ml) mirin (sweet rice wine)

Directions:
1. Put mirin in a sauce pan and heat gently. Add soy sauce and dashi soup stock in the pan and bring to a boil. Take off the heat and cool. Refrigerate until ready to use.
Spicy Dipping Sauce:
Ingredients
¾ cup 70gm/2½ oz spring onions/green onions/scallions, finely chopped 3 tablespoons (45 ml) soy sauce 2 tablespoons (30 ml) rice vinegar ½ teaspoon (2½ ml) (4 ⅔ gm) (0.16 oz) granulated sugar ¼ teaspoon (1¼ ml) (1/8 gm) (0.005 oz) English mustard powder 1 tablespoon (15 ml) grape-seed oil or vegetable oil 1 tablespoon (15 ml) sesame oil (if you can’t find this just omit from recipe.) Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste - roughly 1/3 a teaspoon of each
Directions:
1. Shake all the ingredients together in a covered container. Once the salt has dissolved, add and shake in 2 tablespoons of water and season again if needed.
Common Hiyashi Soba Toppings:
Thin omelet strips
Ham
Boiled chicken breasts
Cucumber
Boiled bean sprouts
Tomatoes
Toasted nori (Dried Seaweed) Green onions Wasabi powder
Finely grated daikon (Japanese radish)
Beni Shoga (Pickled Ginger)
All toppings should be julienne, finely diced or grated. Prepare and refrigerate covered until needed.
Serving:
Traditionally soba is served on a bamboo basket tray, but if you don’t have these, you can simply serve them on a plate or in a bowl. Divide up the noodles, laying them on your serving dishes. Sprinkle each one with nori. In small side bowl or cup, place 1/2 cup (120 ml) of dipping sauce into each. In separate small side dishes, serve each person a small amount of wasabi, grated daikon, and green onions.
The noodles are eaten by sprinkling the desired garnishes into the dipping sauce and eating the noodles by first dipping them into the sauce. Feel free to slurp away! Oishii!

Tempura
Recipes courtesy of pink bites and itsy bitsy foodies
Serves 4
Ingredients
1 egg yolk from a large egg
1 cup (240 ml) iced water
½ cup (120 ml) (70 gm) (2½ oz) plain (all purpose) flour, plus extra for dredging
½ cup (120 ml) (70 gm) (2½ oz) cornflour (also called cornstarch)
½ teaspoon (2½ ml) (2½ gm) (0.09 oz) baking powder
oil, for deep frying preferably vegetable
ice water bath, for the tempura batter (a larger bowl than what will be used for the tempura should be used. Fill the large bowl with ice and some water, set aside)
Very cold vegetables and seafood of your choice ie:
 Sweet potato, peeled, thinly sliced, blanched
 Carrot, peeled, thinly sliced diagonally
 Pumpkin, peeled, seeds removed, thinly sliced blanched
 Green beans, trimmed
 Green bell pepper/capsicum, seeds removed, cut into 2cm (¾ inch)-wide strips
 Assorted fresh mushrooms
 Eggplant cut into strips (traditionally it’s fanned)
 Onions sliced
Directions:
1. Place the iced water into a mixing bowl. Lightly beat the egg yolk and gradually pour into the iced water, stirring (preferably with chopsticks) and blending well. Add flours and baking powder all at once, stroke a few times with chopsticks until the ingredients are loosely combined. The batter should be runny and lumpy. Place the bowl of batter in an ice water bath to keep it cold while you are frying the tempura. The batter as well as the vegetables and seafood have to be very cold. The temperature shock between the hot oil and the cold veggies help create a crispy tempura.

2. Heat the oil in a large pan or a wok. For vegetables, the oil should be 320°F/160°C; for seafood it should be 340°F/170°C. It is more difficult to maintain a steady temperature and produce consistent tempura if you don’t have a thermometer, but it can be done. You can test the oil by dropping a piece of batter into the hot oil. If it sinks a little bit and then immediately rises to the top, the oil is ready.
3. Start with the vegetables, such as sweet potatoes, that won’t leave a strong odor in the oil. Dip them in a shallow bowl of flour to lightly coat them and then dip them into the batter. Slide them into the hot oil, deep frying only a couple of pieces at a time so that the temperature of the oil does not drop.
4. Place finished tempura pieces on a wire rack so that excess oil can drip off. Continue frying the other items, frequently scooping out any bits of batter to keep the oil clean and prevent the oil (and the remaining tempura) from getting a burned flavor.
5. Serve immediately for the best flavor, but they can also be eaten cold.
Additional Information:
Great instructions on preparing the noodles
http://www.justhungry.com/basics-cold-soba-noodles-dipping-sauce
How to make Tempura Soba
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RD6Ut0JTZhs
Tempura
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tempura
Someone who did it well
http://globetrotterdiaries.com/recipes/zaru-soba-cold-soba-noodles-eating-japan
A collection of videos on how to prepare the vegetables for Tempura
http://www.ehow.com/video_2298709_ingredients-japanese-vegetable-tempura.html

THE DARING BAKERS’ JANUARY, 2011 CHALLENGE: BISCUIT JOCONDE IMPRIME/ENTREMET

2011-02-13T18:56:00.000+10:30

The January 2011 Daring Bakers’ challenge was hosted by Astheroshe from the Blog, accro. Accro is French for addicted.
She chose to challenge everyone to make a Biscuit Joconde Imprime to wrap around an Entremets dessert.
Joconde imprime /entremets. A joconde imprime (French Baking term) is a decorative design baked into a light sponge cake providing an elegant finish to desserts/torts/entremets/ formed in ring molds. A joconde batter is used because it bakes into a moist, flexible cake. The cake batter may be tinted or marbleized for a further decorative effect.
This Joconde/spongecake requires attentive baking so that it remains flexible to easily conform to the molds. If under baked it will stick to the baking mat. It over baked it will dry out and crack. Once cooled, the sponge may be cut into strips to line any shape ring mold.
Entremets (French baking term)- an ornate dessert with many different layers of cake and pastry creams in a mold, usually served cold. Think Trifle in a mold vs. a glass bowl.
A joconde imprime is the outside cake wrapper of the Entremets dessert.
Equipment required:
 Silpat
 ½ baking sheets or a 13” x 18” jelly roll sheet (rimmed baking sheet)
 Mixer (optional)
 Bowls
 Knives
 Offset spatula
 Regular spatula
 Pastry comb (optional)
 Rulers
 Spring form pan
 Biscuit cutter (or ring mold, or cut PVC pipe, or whatever else you can think of to mold individual desserts)
 Torte/ Entremets mold/ Springform pan/ Trifle dish (for larger desserts)
 Cling wrap
 Parchment paper
 Gel, paste or liquid food coloring (optional)

Joconde Sponge
YIELD: Two ½ size sheet pans or a 13” x 18” (33 x 46 cm) jelly roll pan
Ingredients:
¾ cup/ 180 ml/ 3oz/ 85g almond flour/meal - *You can also use hazelnut flour, just omit the butter
½ cup plus 2 tablespoons/ 150 ml/ 2⅔ oz/ 75g confectioners' (icing) sugar
¼ cup/ 60 ml/ 1 oz/ 25g cake flour
3 large eggs - about 5⅓ oz/ 150g
3 large egg whites - about 3 oz/ 90g
2½ teaspoons/ 12½ ml/ ⅓ oz/ 10g white granulated sugar or superfine (caster) sugar
2 tablespoons/ 30 ml/ 1oz / 30g unsalted butter, melted

Directions:
1. In a clean mixing bowl whip the egg whites and white granulated sugar to firm, glossy peeks. Reserve in a separate clean bowl to use later.
2. Sift almond flour, confectioner’s sugar, cake flour. (This can be done into your dirty egg white bowl)
3. On medium speed, add the eggs a little at a time. Mix well after each addition. Mix until smooth and light. (If using a stand mixer use blade attachment. If hand held a whisk attachment is fine, or by hand. )
4. Fold in one third reserved whipped egg whites to almond mixture to lighten the batter. Fold in remaining whipped egg whites. Do not over mix.
5. Fold in melted butter.
6. Reserve batter to be used later.

Patterned Joconde-Décor Paste
YIELD: Two ½ size sheet pans or a 13” x 18” (33 x 46 cm) jelly roll pan
Ingredients
14 tablespoons/ 210ml/ 7oz/ 200g unsalted butter, softened
1½ cups plus1½ tablespoons/ 385ml/ 7oz/ 200g Confectioners' (icing) sugar
7 large egg whites - about 7 oz / 200g
1¾ cup/ 420ml/ 7¾ oz/ 220g cake flour
Food coloring gel, paste or liquid
COCOA Décor Paste Variation: Reduce cake flour to 6 oz / 170g. Add 2 oz/ 60 g cocoa powder. Sift the flour and cocoa powder together before adding to creamed mixture.
Directions:
1. Cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy (use stand mixer with blade, hand held mixer, or by hand)
2. Gradually add egg whites. Beat continuously.
3. Fold in sifted flour.
4. Tint batter with coloring to desired color, if not making cocoa variation.
Preparing the Joconde- How to make the pattern:
1. Spread a thin even layer of décor paste approximately 1/4 inch (5 millimeter) thick onto silicone baking mat with a spatula, or flat knife. Place mat on an upside down baking sheet. The upside down sheet makes spreading easier with no lip from the pan.
2. Pattern the décor paste – Here is where you can be creative. Make horizontal /vertical lines (you can use a knife, spatula, cake/pastry comb). Squiggles with your fingers, zig zags, wood grains. I spread the chocolate paste quite thin and dragged it with a toothed pastry thingy I have.
3. Slide the baking sheet with paste into the freezer. Freeze hard. Approx 15 minutes.

4. Remove from freezer. Quickly pour the Joconde batter over the design. Spread evenly to completely cover the pattern of the Décor paste.
5. Bake at 475ºF /250ºC until the joconde bounces back when slightly pressed, approx. 15 minutes. You can bake it as is on the upside down pan. Yes, it is a very quick bake, so watch carefully.
6. Cool. Do not leave too long, or you will have difficulty removing it from mat.
7. Flip cooled cake on to a powdered sugared parchment paper. Remove silpat. Cake should be right side up, and pattern showing! (The powdered sugar helps the cake from sticking when cutting.)

I used this for a cake for my daughter in laws baby shower.
I made a quarter of the decor paste and half the joconde sponge recipe to make the my tray full and then used the finished sheet of joconde to line a 9" springform tin.
Next I used a recipe from Renata's blog Testado,Provado e Aprovado for Tangerine Cake I didn't have any tangerines and I wanted to make a lemon cake so I substituted lemon for the tangerine. I didn't have any of the peel and I just used grated lemon rind. I also added a 1/4 teaspoon of natural lemon flavour as the lemons weren't as tasty as I would have liked.
Renata used a ring tin, I didn't want a ring tin as my plan was to cut the cake into layers so I used a 8 1/2" tin which was a perfect size to fit in the 9" springform tin after it was lined. One quantity of this cake was perfect.

I also used lemon curd, lemon pannacotta and in the center there is a layer of almond dacquoise. This used up the whites from the lemon curd.
The finished result is from the bottom up - a layer of lemon cake, a layer of lemon pannacotta, a layer of lemon curd, the almond dacquoise, lomon pannacotta, lemon curd, lemon cake, lemon pannacotta, lemon curd, joconde on the top and sides, yes I did make it upside down.
I didn't make enough of the joconde to line the sides of the ring properly. I patched together the bits. After the layering I covered the whole lot in gladwrap and let it set overnight. The last step was to turn it out and cover the sides of the cake with white chocolate ganache and ran lines of dark chocolate over it too echo the top which is the plain joconde.
Daring Bakers in a great web group, I have made things I haven't made before and things I have made and screwed up I have made successfully with the guidance of the wonderful members of this group

Cassolet

2011-01-14T21:00:00.000+10:30

This month the Daring Cooks are making Cassolet. Which is a huge pot of meat slow cooked in fat and then mixed with beans and cooked again. It is a classic French dish but I piked out and didn't make it. I did do a slow cooked vegie casserole. No fat involved. I will not maintain my weight loss with food like this and G won't eat it at all so I just couldn't face it here in the middle of Summer. I might make it in the middle of winter when the kids are all coming for dinner. They'll love it.

Recipe Sources:
Cassoulet by Anthony Bourdain and Michael Ruhlman as featured on the Travel Channel’s “No Reservations”
Vegetarian Cassoulet by Gourmet Magazine, March 2008
Thirty Minute Cassoulet by Jacques Pepin’s Fast Food My Way, KQED
Chicken Confit (Using Olive Oil) by Emeril Lagasse, via Food Network
Garlic Confit from Saveur, Issue #129
Leek Confit by Molly Wizenberg, as seen in Bon Appetit

Blog Checking Lines: Our January 2011 Challenge comes from Jenni of The Gingered Whisk and Lisa from Parsley, Sage, Desserts and Line Drives. They have challenged the Daring Cooks to learn how to make a confit and use it within the traditional French dish of Cassoulet. They have chosen a traditional recipe from Anthony Bourdain and Michael Ruhlman.
You can go to the Daring Kitchen and have a look at it if you want too but I couldn't stand the thought of it at the moment.

The Daring Cooks October 2009 Challenge: Macarons

2011-01-09T16:59:00.000+10:30

When I made Lemon and Passionfruit Curd I ended up with a lot of egg whites. The recipe calls for 9 egg yolks and 3 whole eggs so I knew I was going to end up with 9 egg whites.
I would really like to cook all the Daring Kitchen Challenge recipes so this seemed the ideal time to start with the Macarons. Macarons are so popular at the moment. They are supposedly difficult to make so I think I got really lucky. Ami of LAMonkey Girl used a claudia Fleming recipe that has a yeild of 120. I decided to use the recipe from "The MasterChef Cookbook volumn 2".
Callum has a recipe in there for Chocolate Delice served with Almond Macarons. They look lovely in the book and on the show. Other recipes are really complicated but this one is easy but a bit too sweet.
I used hazelnuts instead of almonds. I changed the amount of icing sugar in the recipe below from the original. The original recipe has double the amount of sugar and were too sweet for us and my taste testers at work. Ami of LAMonkey Girl hosted the Macaron challenge. The Daring Kitchen recipe has much less sugar but makes a larger amount. Mine made 60 halves so when they were sandwiched I ended up with 30.

Hazelnut Macarons

Ingredients

120 grams ground hazelnuts
215 grams icing sugar
3 egg whites (Room Temperature)
55 grams caster sugar
1/4 teaspoon creme of tarter
(There was supposed to be a drop of red food colouring but I left it out)

Method
Preheat the oven to 120° C.
Sift the nut meal and icing sugar three times. (My nut meal was too coarse even after blitzing in the food processor so I only sifted it once).
Whisk the egg whites to soft peaks. Gradually add the caster sugar, cream of tarter and food colouring. Whisk to stiff peaks. Fold in the nut/sugar mix until just combined (don't overmix).

Spoon into a piping bag with a plain 1 cm nozzle. Pipe 3cm rounds 3 cm apart onto 2 oven trays lined with bakepaper.

The recipe says it makes 40 I got closer to 60. Leave for 20 minutes and then bake for 30 minutes or until the macarons are easily moved on the paper. Remove from the oven and leave on the tray to cool.

I should have smoothed the tops more, it wasn't so obvious without my glasses that I still had a little peak on some of them. Oh well next time. They taste great.

Chocolate Italian Meringue Buttercream

1 egg white
55 grams sugar
1 teaspoon liquid glucose
60 grams butter
60 grams chocolate

Combine sugar, glucose and 2 tablespoons water in small saucepan.

Bring the sugar and water to a boil in a small saucepan. Cover with a lid and let boil for 2-3 minutes. Remove the lid and cook the sugar to 244 degrees, F.

While your syrup is boiling, whip the whites on medium speed of your stand mixer to soft peaks. This is a timing issue, so watch them carefully. If you overbeat your whites before your syrup reaches temperature, they'll be grainy. Adjust the speed of the mixer up or down and try and get your whites to the perfect consistency at the same time your sugar reaches 244F.

When the syrup is ready, with mixer on medium low, pour syrup in a thin stream down the inside of the mixing bowl. This will give the syrup a chance to cool off a bit as well as keeping the syrup from getting spun all over the sides of the mixer by the whisk attachment.

Turn mixer to high and whip until whites are completely cool and hold firm peaks.

Add the softened butter, a bit at a time making sure one addition is blended in before adding the next. After the butter add the cool melted chocolate and whisk until it is smooth and thoroughly incorporated. It might look a little curdled but just keep the mixer going and it will smooth out into a silky delight. Refrigerate to set and then pipe with a star nozzle onto half he macarons or jsut spread it on with a knife. You can leave a gap in the middle and fill it with your favorite jam.
I froze some of the filled macarons and they freeze beautifully and we eat them straight out of the freezer. The buttercream softens in our Australian heat and is a bit messy to eat. I will definitely made these again perhaps almond next time.

Going out to Eat

2011-01-06T09:07:00.000+10:30

We went out for lunch yesterday. I had a superior Mediterranean Vegetable and Chicken Salad. I should have taken a photo but I was nearly finished it before I remembered. Well about to give the rest to G as I had eaten all the chicken and he cleaned up the rest.
I devoted some day dreaming time today to where I would really like to have a meal. If I could go anywhere I would go to Bill Jones’s place and let him cook for me. I’d even wash up. It is most likely not the top of most peoples wish list for meals but I really like the man, his cooking and his principles
What does make a great meal. Fantastic food of course but just as importantly is the place and the people. I would love to go to Paris and visit Le Bristol restaurant of chef Éric Frechon. Then on to Bernard Pacaud at Restaurant L'Ambroisie for a 3 Michelin Stars meal or to The Fat Duck Restaurant, so I could sit in the kitchen and watch Heston Blumenthal create and then eat it of course.
Truthfully though if I could choose only one then Vancouver Island here I come. Vancouver Island is one of the places I would most like to go too. I love the sea, the smell of ocean and open space after the rain and of course to just watch the water. A natural extension of that is my deep affection for islands especially when they have great food.
So it is that I will sit here and day dream of winning Lotto or perhaps get a job as a writer for Gourmet Traveller. You know something along the lines of Grey Nomad Travels. Then as soon as possible it will be a plane and off to Vancouver Island and British Columbia. G doesn’t want to go out of Australia so I just have to find someone to tag along with me.

Lemon and Passionfruit Butter/Curd

2011-01-04T13:17:00.002+10:30

In our house we, G and I, have a deep and abiding love of Lemon Butter. So much so that I will buy a small jar at the Farmers Market and happily pay $6.00 for it. Curd is a time consuming thing to make so I felt that the price was worth it.
On Junior MasterChef on of the twins made Lemon Meringue Cupcakes. I had to have them so I made a batch. Just before starting on her lemon curd recipe I remembered the recipe my mother gave me that my Grandmother used to make. She didn't use a double boiler just cooked it on a low heat and watched it carefully.
Before starting I thought "Self why not melt the juice, butter and sugar together and then beat it into the egg yolks and then put it back on the heat....So I did and it worked.
That batch was wonderful. I had to try it again to make sure it wasn't just insanely good luck.
I was going to make Lemon Curd Pie and put the passionfruit on the top but decided to put the passionfruit in it.
It is addictive.
I am eating it with a spoon straight out of the jar. I will not be stopped. Be grateful I am giving out this recipe. I was so tempted to just hog it to myself.

Lemon and Passionfruit Curd
This curd is made in a pot on direct heat. Have the heat as low as possible or use a double boiler after adding the eggs. Heat to between 75° C(170°F) on your sugar thermometer.
Water in the double boiler should be just simmering and not touch the top pot or bowl.

Ingredients
1 cup lemon juice
½ cup passionfruit pulp
300 grams butter
1 ½ cups (330 grams) white sugar
Grated lemon rind
3 eggs
9 egg yolks

Method

Wash, drain and preheat your jars in 100° Celsius oven for at least ten minutes.

Zest or finely grate the rind from enough lemons to make the 1 cup of juice.

Heat lemon juice, passionfruit, sugar and butter in a small saucepan and simmer until butter and sugar has melted.

Whisk the eggs and yolks until smooth. Continue whisking and pour the melted butter,sugar, juice,rind mixture into the egg and yolks. Return to the pot and cook over very low heat, whisking continuously until mixture becomes thick and just coats the spoon or is at a temperature of 75° C on your sugar thermometer. Strain into stainless steel bowl.

While the jars are hot put hot curd into the jars. Fill to within 1 cm of the lid. Put the lids on tightly immediately. Allow to cool and then refrigerate. Some of the lids will not vacuum seal. Use these first.
Makes approximately 6 cups curd.

Vary amount of lemon juice and passionfruit or change to another citrus. Do not exceed total of 1 ½ cups juice. If it is not as lemony as you like add 1 drop of natural lemon oil stir and taste, repeat until it tastes as you like.

177

Cupcake or Pie

2011-01-03T13:07:00.000+10:30

There is a lot of talk on the web about Cupcakes being a dying fad. What are they on about. I don't really care about fads and trends. I do care about food, passionately, obsessively nearly hysterically at times (don't get me started about margarine I can get really hysterical about the yellow poison).
Anyway back to cupcakes or pie. That would be like trying to choose between cream and ice cream. Both should be able to co-exist or as CakeSpy recomends put them together.
Maids of Honour meets the criteria and there are heaps of recipes on the web. This is an easy recipe that is nut free. So it could also be called a Bakewell Tart. Traditionally the English Maid of Honour has nuts usually almonds in it and that is delicous. So forget about one or the other and have one or the other or both together. Oh and put cream and ice cream on top.

This recipe is from Celtnet Recipes

How to Make: Maids of Honour

These dainty, melt in the mouth tarts are named after the ladies in waiting (attendants) of Elizabeth 1st. The origins of these biscuits are very old indeed, though the form presented here is the modern version.
Ingredients:

125g plain flour
2 tsp caster sugar
60g butter
up to 4 tbsp milk

2 tbsp butter, softened
150g caster sugar
2 tsp plain flour
generous pinch of freshly-grated nutmeg
2 eggs, beaten
2 tbsp cream sherry
130g ground almonds
40g fruit preserves (traditionally strawberry or raspberry, but any flavour will do)

Celtnet recipes chicken recipe divider

Maids of Honour Preparation:

Method:

Add 125g flour and the caster sugar to a bowl and rub in the butter with your fingers until the mixture comes together as coarse breadcrumbs. Add just enough of the milk so that the dough comes together as a ball. Transfer to a floured surface and knead until elastic then roll out to 3mm thick.

Using a pastry cutter cut into 6cm circles. Press these into the base of lightly-buttered tart tin cups and set aside.

Meanwhile, cream together the remaining butter and the sugar along with the flour. Beat in the eggs and sherry then add the ground almonds. Stir to combine then place 1/4 tsp of the jam or preserve in the base of the pastry in the tart tins. Cover with 1 tbsp of the almond mixture then place in an oven pre-heated to 180°C and bake for about 20 minutes, or until the tops are just golden brown.

Allow to cool before removing from the tart tin wells then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

The photo is from All Recipes.

Christmas Pudding

2011-01-02T17:35:00.000+10:30

In our house one of the things we always have no matter how hot it is is Christmas Pudding and Custard. I am assured by my darling husband that I make a spectacular Christmas pudding. He was raised with a traditional family and the Christmas Pudding was a big deal so high praise indeed.
The fruit and nut types change without notice but the pudding basics stay the same. This year I didn't use pineapple I used dried plums (yes prunes, my husband hates prunes but he never notices the dried plums).

Aussie Christmas Pudding
This pudding should be cooked no more than 2 weeks before Christmas then placed in an airtight container in the refrigerator. May also be frozen for 1 month.

Ingredients
100 grams sultanas
100 grams currants
100 grams dried apricots
50 grams dried apple
100 grams dried pineapple
50 grams dates
(Total of 500 grams dried fruit of any choice or commercial mixed fruit can be used.)
½ cup brown sugar
¼ cup orange juice
¼ cup rum (Alcohol of choice can be used i.e brandy or grand marnier)
125 grams butter (or that yellow poison margarine)
¼ teaspoon nutmeg
½ teaspoon cinnamon
¼ teaspoon cloves
1 teaspoon vanilla paste or 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 cup plain flour (Gluten free flour is fine, also almond or coconut flour)
1 teaspoon baking powder
2 cups fresh cake crumbs (Or fresh bread crumbs)
1 green apple peeled, cored and grated.
2 eggs - beaten
Grated peel of 1 orange
1 cup macadamias –chopped
½ cup ground macadamias
Grease and flour a 2 litre pudding bowl or stainless steel bowl.
Chop fruit into pieces the size of the sultanas. Place all fruit in a large saucepan with sugar, juice and brandy.
Heat to a simmer, heat and stir well for ten minutes. Remove from heat.
Chop butter into pieces and mix into hot fruit. Add spices and vanilla and mix well. Put a lid on the pot and leave to cool.
Add all other ingredients to fruit mixture and mix well. Place into greased and floured basin. Cover with lid or with circle of bake paper and three layers of foil. If you are using the paper/foil cut a piece of string long enough to go around the basin three times. Tie tightly and knot.
Fill a large pot with boiling water. I use my large pasta pot with the insert in place. Carefully place the pudding in the boiling water cover with a lid and boil. Water should be 2/3 to ¾ up the basin. Replenish boiling water as necessary. Pudding should be boiled for 4 hours.
The pudding can also be cooked in a slow cooker. Place the basin in the slow cooker add 1 litre of boiling water. Put the lid on and put the cooker on high and cook for 6 hours. Replenish water as required.
After time take the lid or foil off the basin let it stand until cool. Cover and refrigerate or freeze.
On day of service recover tightly with foil and steam for two hours or put it in the slow cooker with 1 litre of boiling water for 2 hours.
This pudding doesn’t really need this unless you want it hot.
Turn out onto serving plate and serve with custard and cream.

2011

2010-12-30T19:28:00.000+10:30

I am setting myself small goals for 2011. I am not going to chase anything instead I will let the universe bring what I need to me.
I will eat well but not too much.
I will try new things and let go of old things that are not good for me.
I will eat chocolate, drink coffee and relax.
I am going to cook my way through the Daring Kitchen Challenges. But only the ones that appeal to me.
My favorite meal of 2010 was a platter we had at The Hub, a restaurant in Port Fairy Victoria. It had smoked salmon, some cheeses and olives and a few other bits and pieces. Really lovely.
But the best meals were the ones we had at home with all our children and grandchildren.
So bring on 2011 and goodbye to 2010.

Ice Cream

2010-12-27T20:08:00.000+10:30

Ice Cream is a favorite food for so many people. My youngest son is a big fan but has allergies. Eggs tops the list of many. He can tolerate A2 milk. I googled A2 Milk and found this website and here is an excerpt -
The Origins of a2 Milk™

There are two main forms of the important cow's milk protein beta-casein found in the cow's milk that you drink. These two forms are known as A1 and A2 beta-casein.

The A2 form of beta-casein has been identified by scientific research to be the original form of beta-casein that would have been produced by cows thousands of years ago.

At some point in history, owing to natural genetic mutation, the A1 form appeared in dairy cattle and was spread throughout dairy herds across Europe, becoming the common form of beta-casein in many breeds of cows.

Traditional cattle breeds such as the zebu, the native Asian cattle and closely related animals such as the water buffalo and yak all still only produce the A2 type of beta- casein.

Some dairy cows still only produce the A2 type of beta casein and these can be identified and milked to produce a2 Milk™.

by Professor Keith Woodford.
2007. Craig Potton Publishing (Christchurch)
"Devil in the Milk"

No 2 Son can drink A2 milk and cream and the Jersey (cow) milk man at the local farmers market was sure that he would be alright with his product. So I made an eggless batch for Christmas.. I detailed my adventures on buying an ice cream churn here

Audax Artifax cook extraordinaire details lots of info about ice cream making on his blog and with a bit of inspiration from him I wrote my own recipe and have done several test runs and I have tweaked it enough to be delicious.

I made two batches one with eggs that I folded fresh raspberries and 1/2 cup of raspberry jam through. Using the same recipe minus the eggs I made a second batch and folded 2/3 cup nutella and 125 grams of chopped toasted hazelnuts through that. I sent the leftover nutella/hazelnut variety home with No 2 son or I would have eaten the whole lot, it was fantastic.
My granddaughters loved both and No 2 Granddaughter has a slight intolerance to some dairy but she is fine with the A2 as well.
By adding the tapoica flour I was able to boil the egg mixture and not risk curdling it. Favorite Daughter in law is having our No3 grandchild in March and is very careful with her diet so I didn't want to risk undercooking the egg custard mixture. After making ice cream with and without the flour only the most rabid of ice cream connisours would know the difference. Also the tapioca adn corn cornflour is low allergenic. Fine almond flour would work too.

Easy Vanilla Ice Cream
Ingredients
2 cups (500ml) whole milk
A pinch of salt
3/4 cup (150g) sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla paste
300ml heavy cream
2 eggs
1 teaspoon tapioca flour or 2 teaspoons cornflour.

Method 1 With eggs
Heat the milk over a low heat until just starting to simmer.
In a separate bowl, beat the eggs with the sugar, using an electric whisk until thick and pale. Add the tapioca or cornflour and beat until smooth. While whisking or beating slowly pour in the hot milk.
Place mixture into pot and stir over low heat until the mixture is thick and starts to boil.
Strain the custard into the heavy cream. Stir over the ice until cool, add the vanilla paste, then refrigerate to chill thoroughly. Preferably overnight or put it in the freezer to chill.
Freeze the custard in your ice cream maker according to the manufacturer’s instructions. I have a cheap version of an ice cream maker. You put the bowl in the freezer and then put your custard in and put the stirrer section where the motor is on it and churn away. It works like a charm but I find it works best if the custard has started to freeze a bit.

Method 2 Without Eggs
Omit the eggs and use the following method.
Blend the tapioca flour and milk
Place mixture into pot and stir over low heat until the mixture is thick and starts to boil.
Strain the custard into the heavy cream. Whisk gently until smooth. Stir over the ice until cool, add the vanilla paste, then refrigerate to chill thoroughly. Preferably overnight or put it in the freezer to chill until it starts to freeze.

Freeze the custard in your ice cream maker according to the manufacturer’s instructions. I have a cheap version of an ice cream maker. You put the bowl in the freezer and then put your custard in and put the stirrer section where the motor is on it and churn away. It works like a charm but I find it works best if the custard has started to freeze a bit.
We are headed for a bit of hot weather the TV tells me. I might be able to put my winter dressing gown and ugg boots away. I am wearing them tonight while Western Australia has 40 degrees Celsius. It's a funny lot of weather this year. Ice cream weather is coming though and that is the main thing.

Christmas for vegitarians

2010-12-26T20:57:00.000+10:30

My darling husband is a vegitarian this is a fairly new thing for him and if that is the extent of his mid life crisis then yay.
I don't have a problem with him being a vego, I like vego food too just not all the time and often with a big lump of steak. So what did I make for him for Christmas dinner I hear you ask?
Well one of his favorite foods before he was a vego was bread stuffing and he will still eat it. However this year I delved into the wall of cookery books and then made up this recipe with a bit of help from the cake world.
I could have made a tray of bread stuffing and cooked it in the oven but I find that without the meat juices it can be dry. So I made this

Zuchinni and Carrot Loaf.

Ingredients

1 large onion diced
olive oil
1 cup grated zuchinni
1 cup grated carrot
3 eggs
240 mls milk
1/2 cup oil
3 cups Self Raising Flour
1 cup almond slivers
grated rind of 1 lemon
1 teaspoon mixed spice
1 tablespoon mixed herbs

Method.

Cover the bottom of a pan in olive oil and fry the onion until cooked but not coloured. Allow to cool slightly.
Mix eggs, milk and oil in a bowl. Add carrot, zuchinni and onion. Mix well. Add remaining ingredients and mix until well combined.

Grease and flour a large ring tin. Spoon in the mixture and bake in a 180° oven for 45 minutes or until cooked.

We had this with baked potatoes, pumpkin, baby parsnips, and carrots. Beans, peas and corn. Lots of gravy. The non- vegos also had roast lamb and chicken and there was ham too.
Then we had dessert, Pudding and custard, summer pudding made with some of last years mulberries and home made ice cream. Recipes for all those will be in a future post.
We had a lovely Christmas and I hope yours was the same. Back to work tomorrow Summer Solstice is just past us and I am still wearing my ugg boots.

Christmas Food

2010-12-24T21:36:00.000+10:30

The cooking is done. The house smells amazing. The last batch of almond gingerbread has just come out of the oven.

The pudding is cooked and on the plate. I will leave it there covered overnight. As it is going to be 29° C here tomorrow it will be fine cold with hot custard.

The mince tarts are just out of the oven as we speak. I had run out of enthusiasm by the time I got to them and just used some filo out of the freezer and made a dozen.

They look a bit overdone but that is my camera in fact they look delicious.
The rest of the fruit is in the fridge for another time. The kids, apart from the youngest, will have been to at least one other Christmas Family meal by the time they get to us and probably won't be that hungry.
The fruitcake is made and the summer pudding is setting nicely. I made two lots of ice cream. Vanilla with nutella ripple and toasted hazelnuts and the second batch is vanilla raspberry ripple. The first lot is egg less for Troy but the second batch is cholesterol city and tastes amazing. I am going to do a whole post on ice cream soon, recipes then I promise. I also have mango sorbet and coconut/apple sorbet in the freezer. doesn't every house have four types of frozen dessert. There will be custard and cream too.
The meat is defrosting in the bar fridge. Greg went out to the vegie patch tonight and dug potatoes and everything else is waiting to be prepared tomorrow. Santa has been and like so many men, ate his cookies and left the washing up. The Christmas tree is practically buried in presents. Is it going overboard to buy half a dozen presents for a baby that isn't going to be born until late March. I don't think so. Don't ask me how many I bought for the granddaughters I didn't count. I just have to find a big empty box now. Christmas tradition in our house is to unwrap everything and then make balls of the paper and see who has the best aim.
We will be having a great day and I send happy Christmas thoughts and love to you all praying your day will be the same.

Christmas Spirit

2010-12-23T10:42:00.000+10:30

I have nearly finished the Christmas Shopping just a couple of more Santa gifts to buy, wrap the presents, do some cooking, decorate the tree and tidy the house. Our gift giving for Christmas is smaller than the birthday gifts we give.
For us a Christmas gift is an acknowledgement of our Christian beliefs and therefore is a special thing.
Mind you we do go crazy over the grandchildren mainly because there is no joy compared to seeing the pleasure on a childs face when they receive a gift they love and no fun as great as a little one with a great big box and a pile of Christmas paper balls to throw around.
Sharing food and feeding family and friends is a great joy for me. I love my cook books and the whole cooking process. For me there is no greater thrill than having someone say unprompted "This tastes great I love it".
Sharing with others should be what Christmas is about and yet every holiday is becoming more and more about what is given. Commercialism, shops and the media pressure us to prove our love by buying big.
Personally, I find the best things are knowing my family are around me, we are blessed to live in a country at Peace, we have an abundance of food and what could be better Peace, Joy, Love, and Faith.
I was reading a newsletter from Punch with Judy a really great on line craft shop. Judy gave an excerpt from "All I Really Need To Know I Learned in Kindergarten" by Robert Fulghum. If the whole world lived by these simple guidelines we would all have Peace, Joy and love. The faith part is a personal thing and each to their own. Robert has the important bits though.

All I really need to know about how to live and what to do and how to be, I learned in kindergarten. Wisdom was at the top of the graduate school mountain, but there in the sand pile at school.

These are the things I learned
*
Share everything
*
Play Fair
*
Don't hit people
*
Put things back where you found them
*
Clean up your own mess
*
Don't take things that are not yours
*
Say you're sorry when you hurt somebody
*
Wash your hands before you eat
*
Flush
*
Warm cookies and cold milk are good for you
*
Live a balanced life - learn some and think some and draw and paint and sing and dance and play and work every day some
*
Take a nap every afternoon
*
When you go out in the world, watch out for traffic, hold hands and stick together
*
Be aware of wonder. Remember the little seed in the Styrofoam cup: the roots go down and the plant goes up and nobody really knows how or why, but we are all like that
*
Goldfish and hamsters and white mice and even the little seed in the Styrofoam cup - they all die. So do we
*
Remember the Dick-and-Jane books and the first word you learned - the biggest word of all - LOOK!

Take any one of those items and extrapolate it into sophisticated adult terms and apply it to your family life or your work or government or your world and it holds true and clear and firm.

I really love all these rules but for my food blog I think that "Warm cookies and cold milk are good for you" should be the beginning of every meeting of every group be they government, social or anything else. If they started off with a big warm cookie and a glass of milk the World would be a happier place.
I will be making cookies or biscuits later today. My family have some very firm favorites. Cat Biscuits are at the top of the list. Gingerbread is a close second and the Taste website has lots of Christmas Gingerbread recipes Lebkuchen is a real favorite of mine and I'll be making those as well.
I'll make lots and send them home with the kids and take some to work.
That's the other kindergarten rule, Share Everything.
Merry Christmas

Daring Bakers Poach

2010-12-15T14:42:00.000+10:30

Jenn and Jill have challenged The Daring Cooks to learn to perfect the technique of poaching an egg. They chose Eggs Benedict recipe from Alton Brown, Oeufs en Meurette from Cooking with Wine by Anne Willan, and Homemade Sundried Tomato & Pine Nut Seitan Sausages (poached) courtesy of Trudy of Veggie num num.
The 1st recipe is one of the most well known poached egg dishes: eggs benedict – an open sandwich of English muffin, Canadian bacon, poached egg, and hollandaise sauce. This rich and decadent dish can be served as a really nice breakfast or brunch for having company over, and is sure to impress! The “daring” with this dish is in successfully poaching an egg in water, as well as making one of the famed mother sauces of France, the hollandaise.
The 2nd recipe, oeufs en meurette (eggs in meurette sauce), is a classic dish from the region of Bourgogne (Burgundy) in France. It involves poaching an egg in a red wine/stock, which will then turn into a fabulous reduction sauce. One serves the poached egg on top of fried croûtes with sauce, bacon, mushrooms and pearl onions. This is also a great dish for breakfast/brunch as well.
For the vegans they decided that Instead of poaching an egg, they found a delicious poached homemade seitan sausage recipe that we think you will love!

I decided to do the Eggs Benedict and as Greg is a vegitarian who eats fish I didn't want to use bacon. We make our own bread so I didn't buy english muffins.
I had a packet of Huon Smoked Salmon from Tasmania, local eggs (they come from the herb farmer from Murray Bridge and have the most beautiful yellow yolks). Paris Creek organic butter, the flour for the bread is grown here in South Australia and milled by Laukes flour mills at Strathalbyn. The lemon for the hollandaise and poaching liquid is from the tree in our backyard.
I think I should have cooked the hollandaise a bit longer but it was delicous.

I simply toasted slices of our homemade bread and topped it with slices of smoked salmon, poached the eggs which were perfect and then topped it with hollandaise and fresh chives from our garden.

I like my eggs fairly firm but for this I left the yolks a little runny.

Peta’s Easy Amazing Incredible Jaffa Fruit Cake and Mince Pies

2010-11-30T15:52:00.000+10:30

For Christmas each year and quite often through the year I make this fruit cake.
This is my own recipe. Please read all the instructions before starting too cook this cake.
This is a moist dense fruit cake that is incredibly more-ish. It is great with custard. It is really better if made with the fruit I have indicated rather than pre-packaged mixed fruit.

Ingredients
1 orange and 1 lemon
100 mls brandy or cointreau
Water
100 grams dried apple
100 grams dried peaches
300 grams sultanas
100 grams currants
200 grams dates chopped
100 grams raisins chopped
100 grams dried figs or glace fruit (cherries if you like them) chopped
1 cup walnuts or pecans chopped
½ cup brown sugar (Optional – but better with than without)
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1 teaspoon mixed spice
½ teaspoon ground cloves
100 grams dark cooking chocolate broken into chunks.
3 cups (450 g) plain flour
2 eggs beaten

Method
Grease and line a lamington tin 12” x 9” or a 12” square tin with baking paper.

Puree the oranges in a food process until finely chopped.

Strain off and save the liquid in a measuring jug.
Add the brandy to the juice and then make up to 600 mls with water or more juice.

Place the pulp and juice into a large pot. Add dried fruit and spices. Gently bring to a simmer and stir regularly for 15 mins.

Remove from heat. Add the nuts, chocolate and sugar and stir into hot fruit until melted.

Cover and cool. When cool or nearly cool add the flour and eggs and stir well. Place into tin and bake in a 160 °C oven for 1 to 1 ½ hours until cooked You may need to place a piece of foil loosely over the tin after 45 – 60 minutes to prevent top drying out.

Substitutions
substitute 1 kg mixed fruit if you don’t care about taste. I personally never use it.

You can decorate the top with glace fruits and almonds if you want to before you cook the cake.

If the top gets to dry warm ¼ cup of apricot jam and add 2 tablespoons of brandy. Mix well and then brush this across the top of the hot cake. Cover and cool.

My favorite mince pies are mince pies with a twist. Here is the recipe.
Marvelous Mince Pies.
Pastry
3 cups plain flour
1/2 cup cornflour
2 teaspoon baking powder
300 grams butter
1/2 cup caster sugar
3 eggs
1 tablespoon lemon juice (Optional)
Rub the butter into the combined flours. Add sugar and baking powder. Mix in beaten eggs and lemon juice. You might have to add a bit of water to get it together. chill in the refrigerator for 1 hour.
Roll out and line greased and floured patty cake tins.
Filling
1 cup sultanas
1/3 cup chopped dried apricots
1/3 cup chopped dried apple
1/2 cup currants
1 cup chopped walnuts or pecans
1 teaspoon ground cloves
1 teaspoon nutmeg
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 cup brandy
1/4 cup orange juice.
Grated rind of 1 orange
Mix all these filling ingredients and refrigerate overnight. Stir regularly.
the next day stir in
300 mls sour cream full fat not the skim kind. If you must use the skim then add an extra egg.
2 eggs
1 cup brown sugar.
Mix well and spoon into the pastry cases and bake for 30-40 minutes.
This makes a lot about 5 dozen.
Alternatively just mix 2 1/2 cups of fruit mince with the 300 mls sour cream, a splash of brandy, 2 eggs and 1 cup brown sugar.

Crostata

2010-11-30T13:00:00.000+10:30

The 2010 November Daring Bakers’ challenge was hosted by Simona from briciole. She chose to challenge Daring Bakers’ to make pasta frolla for a crostata. She used her own experience as a source, as well as information from Pellegrino Artusi’s Science in the Kitchen and the Art of Eating Well. This is crostata (tart), an Italian dessert. The base of a crostata is pasta frolla (or pastafrolla), sweet short crust pastry (or sweet tart dough) made of flour, sugar, butter and eggs. Pasta frolla is versatile: it provides the base to make crostata with fruit preserves, pastry cream, fresh fruit, ricotta, and other ingredients, and, by itself, it makes very nice cookies.

I made the pastry but did substitute 1/2 the flour for gluten free. I am not coeliac but I am wheat intolerant so I use a mix. I made a pumpkin crostata
I steamed the pumpkin and it was a bit watery so I added cinnamon, nutmeg, 2 beaten eggs and 2 tablespoons of plain flour. then baked it for 45 minutes. It was beautiful and a blackberry crostata rustico, the berries where frozen so I tossed them with a tablespoon of tapioca flour and a tablespoon of sugar

The Rustico is just a big circle of the dough rolled out with the fruit tossed in cornflour and sugar piled in the middle and the pastry turned back over and then cooked.

Family favorite - Cat Biscuits

2010-11-24T19:55:00.000+10:30

My husband and kids have a favorite biscuit, Cookies for my American friends. It is a recipe I got from my Mother-in-law a lot of years ago. Greg's family always called them Cat biscuits I am not really sure why and neither are they. In Greg's Mothers cook book they were called Foaming Biscuits.
It is a great recipe, easy to make and keeps really well in an airtight container. It doesn't have any eggs and can be made with any type of flour including almond or coconut. It can be made with margarine or butter (not oil) and changed really easily by adding chocolate chips, chopped nuts or dried fruit or flavorings such as spices or lemon or orange peel. Anything that takes your fancy.
This is the basic recipe it makes a lot. They are nice with some icing drizzled over.

Foaming Biscuits or Cat Biscuits.

4 cups plain flour
1 cup butter
1 1/2 cups white sugar
1/2 cup milk or water
1 teaspoon bi-carb soda (In USA it is called baking soda not baking powder)
1 tablespoon hot water.

Method
1. Put the butter and flour into the food processor or rub the butter into the flour if you don't have a food processor.
2. Put the flour and butter mixture into a bowl. You can't leave it in the food processor trust me.
3. Place the milk and sugar into a pot and heat over a low heat until the sugar melts.
4. Dissolve the bi-carb soda in the hot water and add to the pot of sugar and milk.
5. Quickly pour it into the dry ingredients and mix it until it is smooth. It will look runny but will thicken up and it cools.
6. Either put it into the fridge in the bowl or once it has cooled roll it into logs wrapped in gladwrap. Chill in fridge or freezer until firm. It can be left in the freezer and used over the next month but this is not really required as they keep really well cooked and in an airtight container.
7. Once chilled and firm either roll 1 teaspoon size balls and squash with a fork or roll out and cut into shapes. Or cut the chilled logs into slices.
8. Place on trays that have been greased and floured or on trays lined with baking paper. Bake at 180 degrees C until golden. about 10 - 15 minutes.

For flavoured biscuits
- For chocolate add 1 teaspoon cinnamon and 2 tablespoons cocoa at step 2 and top with a chocolate button just before cooking. If you want to add chocolate chips do it after the mixture has cooled or the chocolate melts and the biscuit are chewy

- Lemon and Currants - Use lemon juice instead of milk or water in step 3 and add grated lemon rind and 1 cup of currants at step 2. After cooked and cooled ice with lemon icing.

- Orange and almond - Use orange juice instead of water or milk in step 3 and add grated orange rind and 1 cup of chopped almonds at step 2.

- Coconut and Jam - At step 1 use only 3 and 1/2 cups of flour and add 1 cup dessicated coconut. At step 7 roll the chilled mixture into golf ball size balls and squash down a bit. Make a hole with the handle of a wooden spoon and put 1/2 teapsoon of your favorite jam or nutella in the hole and cook.

These are only a few of my favorite flavour combinations the sky is the limit.

Cheap Food

2010-11-24T15:21:00.000+10:30

I love to take advantage of bargains. I was in Woolworths yesterday and the fruit and veg department had a big trolley of produce for $2.00 a bag.

I bought 4 bags of mainly limes, mangoes, bananas, peaches and nectarines.
From those I made 10 jars of mango chutney, 6 jars of peach, nectarine and orange jam., a banana cake, 2 litres of mango and lime sorbet and I am going to freeze the rest of the mango flesh for later. I also gave my daughter some of the fruit.
I love bargains.

Blue Cheese and Mustard Souffle

2010-11-23T13:45:00.001+10:30

Dave and Linda from Monkeyshines in the Kitchen chose Soufflés as our November 2010 Daring Cooks’ Challenge! Dave and Linda provided many of their own delicious recipes plus a sinfully decadent chocolate soufflé recipe adapted from Gordon Ramsay’s recipe found at the BBC Good Food website.
I am late with the challenge as always. My excuse this time is we were on holidays.
Audax Artifex had heaps of advice too and I read it with great interest after I read Dave and Lindas advice. Of course I ignored most of it and well the result while not the prettiest however it rose like magic and tasted great.
My recipe is a bit of a mixup of both.

Blue Cheese and Seeded Mustard.

3 oz / 90 g blue cheese
3 tablespoons Milk
2 Tspns seeded Mustard
1 1/2 tsp corn or tapioca flour
Salt and pepper to taste
2 egg yolks
2 Egg whites
pinch cream of tartar
1 oz Butter

Prepare 2 1-cup soufflé dishes by buttering them, put them in the refrigerator while you do the rest.

Chop up or grate the cheese.

Heat the milk gently in a medium saucepan. Stir in the starch and stir to dissolve thoroughly. Add the cheese and mustard and stir until the cheese melts. Remove from heat. Keep beating with a spoon until it cools a bit then add the egg yolks,mix thoroughly and salt and pepper to taste.

Beat the egg whites and a pinch of cream of tartar until they are stiff peaks.
Scoop up a small amount of the egg whites with the beaters and mix it into the cheese mix with the beaters. With a metal spoon, fold the remaining egg whites through the cheese mix.

Remove your prepared soufflé cups from the refrigerator and gently spoon the soufflé mix into them. smooth the tops with a spatula and clean thoroughly around the rim – if you don’t do this last step the soufflés will rise at a rakish angle.

Bake 20 - 25 minutes or until golden brown. Serve immediately.

So what did I do that would cause one to be a little volcano? I thought the mixture was too thick and added a bit more water. It would have been perfect without this. Also as I hadn't spilt any of the mixture on the edge of the pot I didn't worry about wiping them. Another mistake. Oh well I'll know better next time. Infact I knew better this time but didn't worry about it. Still they were really good with ratatouille and a big glass of red wine. Yum.

Peta Eats

2010-11-23T12:45:00.000+10:30

I have decided to have two blogs. You might be thinking what is she thinking. Well I am thinking that I have two obsessions - Textiles and Food and my textiles blog is getting so overloaded with food and it is time to seperate them. So I hope you will join me here if you like my food stuff and I will be putting more textile stuff on my textile one.

Peta Eats

Love At First Bite - Muesli Bars

Love at First Bite - Sweet Adventures

Winter Is Coming

Daring Kitchen Scones

Summer meals

Fruit Mince

Hot Smoked Salmon Quiche

Almond Lemon Biscuits (Slice)

100th Raspberry

Banana and carrot Cake Eggless and Egg less Chicken Schnitzels

Eggless Pancakes

Everybody Needs Cake - Eggless Chocolate Cake.

Wasabi Leaves Salad

Wasabi Leaves

Adelaide Good Food and Wine Show

Preparing for the Zombie Apocalypse

I Really Need A New Oven

Eggless Almond Tarts - Baklava Inspired Or I need a new oven

Croissants - A Little Taste of France.

Lazy Sunday Salmon

Geeks and Nerds Love Banana Caramel Self Saucing Pudding

THE DARING COOKS’ SEPTEMBER, 2011 CHALLENGE: STOCK TO SOUP TO CONSOMMÉ

The Daring Bakers’ July, 2011 Challenge: Fresh Fraisiers

Daring Kitchen

Piped Shortbread Cookies

Lemon, Passionfruit and Almond Slice

Daring Kitchen Edible food containers

How too Smooth Seized Chocolate

Spice Cake

Breakfast Cake

A Little Bite of Heaven

Name of my blog

The Fundamental Techniques of Classic Pastry Arts from the French Culinary Institute,

The Haus - Hahndorf South Australia

Clafouti - Fig and Ginger

THE DARING COOKS’ MARCH, 2011 CHALLENGE: ¡ME ENCANTA PERÚ! CEVICHE & PAPAS RELLENAS

More Food Photography Links

Food Photography

Daring Bakers Challenge 52 Pannacotta.

Memory Food

World's Easiest Lemon Curd/Butter

Daring Cooks Tempura Challenge

THE DARING BAKERS’ JANUARY, 2011 CHALLENGE: BISCUIT JOCONDE IMPRIME/ENTREMET

Cassolet

The Daring Cooks October 2009 Challenge: Macarons

Going out to Eat

Lemon and Passionfruit Butter/Curd

Cupcake or Pie

Christmas Pudding

2011

Ice Cream

Christmas for vegitarians

Christmas Food

Christmas Spirit

Daring Bakers Poach

Peta’s Easy Amazing Incredible Jaffa Fruit Cake and Mince Pies

Crostata

Family favorite - Cat Biscuits

Cheap Food

Blue Cheese and Mustard Souffle

Peta Eats