Soilduck. Kitchenology.

Oranges and Poppies

2011-08-12T11:34:00.000+07:00

After almost of year of complete non-existence on this blog, here I am posting again for the second time in one week.

I was joking on Twitter (@soilduck) that PhD's make terrible housewives. I spent most of Monday on the internet, researching, doing 'other' work, watching TV and a few minutes tidying the house. Not very housewifey. Today has been quite the opposite. Four loads of washing, baking for a bushwalk tomorrow and the Make Hack Void build-day, shopping, cleaning, handy-womaning... the list goes on. Maybe there is hope for me yet?!?

I wanted to make something for a bushwalk tomorrow, as well as for Angus and the MHV crew as they get the fake wall installed (which I don't get to help with :( ). Still had a few oranges kicking around from the last bushwalk that I decided to turn into one of my all-time-favourites! Orange and poppy seed muffins!

You will need:

2 cups SR flour
1 tsp baking soda/powder
1/2 cup oil or butter
3/4 cup sugar
Juice and rind from 3 medium oranges
2 eggs
1 packet almond meal
2tbs poppy seeds
Milk/water, just in case

Heat oven at 180*C and grease/line a 12x muffin tray. Sift and mix the flour and baking soda and put aside. In another bowl, mix/cream the sugar and butter. Add the rind and orange juice and mix well. Add the eggs one and a time and beat through. Finally, mix in the almond meal and poppy seeds, and then fold the flour mix through gently (until just mixed through). It will be a fairly stiff mix. If you are worried it is a bit dry, add a tablespoon or two of milk. Bake for about 20-25 minutes, or until a skewer comes out clean.

Delicious by themselves or with cream/ice cream/sour cream frosting. Best served after a day of hard yakka or a long walk ;)

Veggie Spag-Lasagna

2011-08-08T06:49:00.000+07:00

Almost a year since I last posted on here. And to be honest, I haven't really made anything very adventurous until last night.

I am getting closer to the end of my PhD (see my other blog), and been so super busy and stressed that there has been little time for creativity in the kitchen. However, I am taking a months leave so hoping to get some delicious food cooked and blogged!

One of my Soil Friends, Hannah, made us a Kangaroo Lasagne the other week. She used spaghetti instead of lasagna sheets, which allowed all the sauce to permeate through the pasta and create a thick cheesy sauce on the top. I decided to give it a go with a vegetable version. Also because we didn't have any lasagna sheets, but I was craving it!

1 packet organic spag, cooked
Tomato sauce (I made my own with 3 cans toms, onion, garlic, spinach, spices, salt and pepper)
Mixed veggies, sliced (I used mushrooms and zuchinnis, but eggplant and sweet potato are also faves)
White sauce (flour, butter, milk and cheese, salt and pepper)

Turn the oven onto 200C. Oil a large deep dish and make a layer of sliced veggies. Pour 1/2 tomato sauce over the top. You can use two jars of sauce instead, but I like making my own sauce as I can have chunks of tomatoes and additional ingredients like spinach. On top of that, place 1/2 spaghetti in a layer that almost (but not quite) hides the vegetables below. Then, do the same thing again. On a moderate stove, melt a large knob of butter (about 100g). Take off the heat and stir through 4 tablespoons of flour. Add 500mL milk and 200mL water and stir constantly on the moderate heat. When the flour lumps have disintegrated (this may take some beating), then add the cheese. I used a Danish style feta last night, as we didn't have any other cheese. I totally recommend this; some of the feta melts, and the rest stays in tact and becomes a delicious tasty cheese surprise! Pour over the top of the spag and make sure it covers all the corners. Place the dish in the oven and bake for about an hour or until the white sauce has browned slightly. You can serve the spag-lasagne with bread or salad. Hannah made us a tasty pear, rocket and parmesan cheese salad!

Nom nom.

Scram those Eggs

2010-10-02T19:09:00.000+07:00

Spending so much time cooking in the lab doesn't give me much energy to create something in the kitchen when I get home, but I did make this yummy breakfast the other weekend.

The Golden Rule is butter. Eggs in butter. Mushrooms in butter. Everything cooks better in butter. Except tomatoes; they cook better in olive oil. So, make sure you leave your dietary concerns out when you make a cooked breakfast and pull out the butter. It is totally worth it!

Special Scrambled Eggs with Buttered Mushrooms
Serves 2

1 bunch English spinach, chopped
8 mushrooms, sliced
4 eggs, whisked with 1/3 cup milk
1/2 block of feta or another white cheese (Goat's etc)
Butter
4 slices of crusty Italian bread
Salt, Pepper and Chili Flakes

Boil a pot of water on the stove. When it is at a roiling boil, add the spinach and blanch. Remove the spinach as soon as the water becomes green. Drain and put aside.

On a medium stove, melt some butter in a pan and add the mushrooms. Make sure they have plenty of room to go golden brown. Add salt and pepper to taste.

While the mushrooms are cooking... In a frypan at medium heat, melt some more butter and add the egg/milk. Constantly move the egg with a spatula until it is cooked. Add the spinach and feta to the egg and mix through. Constantly mix on the stove for 2-3 minutes or until cheese has softened slightly. Add pepper, chili and salt to taste.

Toast the bread and butter. Place the scrambled eggs on top of the toast and some of the golden mushrooms on top.

I wish I had something this delicious this morning when I struggled out of bed. However, I did have Papa Rellena at Gorman House. So tasty, especially with the creamy chili sauce... Will cure any last-night blues.

Secret Strawberries and French Toast

2010-09-05T13:41:00.000+07:00

This weekend has been filled with delicious breakfasts! Although, I am feeling guilty for missing Sunday Pancakes (sorry Edrina). Stupid half-hearted virus.

Even with lethargy, I had stewed strawberries on my mind. They are so simple and quick to make, and the sauce can go with just about anything! I can't do pancakes on Sunday's unless it is with the gang; would be committing a sin. Undecided about what to have the strawberries with, I reflected on a recent post about Bacon Crusted Madeira French Toast by Cooking Asshole. Considering my fate (fat and heat disease), I decided to go the Ye Olde French Toast styles. Although, I may have to whip out the cake-bacon for Electric589 sometime. I know you want it...

French Toast with Stewed Strawberries (Serves 2 and a bit...)

1 punnet strawberries, sliced
1 orange, squeezed
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1 tbs sugar

Now, this is my secret recipe, so don't going telling everyone! In a small saucepan, combine all the stewing ingredients. Put on the stove at half-heat and stew for 10-15 minutes. When the strawberries are still partially in tact (you can see lumps of them) and the sauce has reduced and is nice and thick, it is ready to serve! You can always put it in the fridge/freezer and use it later too. You also may want to add a bit more sugar if you like sweet; acid oranges can make the strawberries a bit tart.

4-5 slices of bread (preferably not grainy)
2 eggs
1/4 cup milk

Heat up an electric or stove top pan. If it is non-stick, don't worry about additional grease. Whisk egg and milk together. Place one piece of bread at at time in the egg mix. Coat both sides, and before it gets too soggy put it straight into the hot frypan. Repeat until all the egg mix is gone. Brown both sides of the bread. You can put the slices of toast into a warm oven until they are all done.

Serve two slices of toast with a scoop of ice-cream, and generously pour strawberries and sauce over the top. Oh, and a bit of booze always makes stewed fruit taste better ;)

A Seedy Cure

2010-09-04T11:28:00.001+07:00

A few too many beers last night? Well, do I have the breakfast to solve all your seedy, hungover blues!

Well, sort of. I think the problem with this breakfast is that you need to be somewhat coherent to make it (I was this morning, Angus was more the seedy-sit-on-couch kind), or have all the ingredients ready to go. Either way, it is hearty, fatty, a bit creasy and salty and will make those head-pains disappear! Introducing Corn Cakes, with bacon and maple syrup with a side of pan-fried tomatoes.

Corn Cakes (Makes 8 - 10, 2 per person is stacks!)

3 cobs corn, corn cut off and cooked (boil on stove for 2-3 minutes)
2/3 cup polenta
4 tbs flour
Pinch salt, sugar and baking soda
1 1/3 cups milk
1 egg
1/3 cup oil
Bacon
Maple Syrup, to serve

In a bowl, combine the polenta, flour, salt, sugar and baking soda. In another bowl, whisk the milk, egg and oil. Add the wet mix to the dry mix and combine. Add the corn to the mix and stir through. No neat to beat, just get it evenly mixed. Heat a skillet or frypan with veggie oil. Spoon out a tablespoon of mix to make the corn cake. Brown each side of the corn cake, and place in oven to keep warm. You can cook bacon in the same pan for some extra flavour.

I am pretty fussy about cooked tomatoes, especially for breakfast. Going out for breakfast, they always seem to be underdone, tasteless or acidic and generally unpleasant. To make really good tomatoes you have got to use olive oil, and alot of it!

Halve some tomatoes and put them cut-side up in the base of saucepan. Drizzle a generous amount of olive oil over the top, along with some salt and cracked pepper. Turn hot plate onto medium and let them fry! When they are starting to fall apart, turn over (cut-side down) for 2-3 minutes. Turn back over again and let them simmer for another 2-3 minutes. Serve when they are almost falling apart. They will be a bit 'saucey', but will be great with bacon, eggs and other tasty breakfast treats.

Serve two corn cakes with bacon, tomatoes and green garnish. Don't go overboard with the maple syrup, just a bit on top of the corn cakes is plenty. Would also be awesome with mushrooms, cheese, sausages and eggs, and served with chutney or BBQ sauce. You could make this vegan (no meat and with soy milk) or gluten free by using gluten-free flour mix.

Lazy Sunday Soup: Sustainable Eats

2010-08-29T11:25:00.000+07:00

Today has been the first time in ages I haven't had anything planned to be done. Just pottering around the house, watching some Dr Who and going for walks in the sun. It has also been at least a year since I made a tasty winter soup.

I don't know why I haven't made a soup this winter. Lack of time (not that chopping and boiling is that hard). Failed veggie garden (soil too cold and no sun). My new obsession with stews and curries. Or perhaps it is simply because there aren't any Black Mountain pumpkins for the stealing. Although winter is near ending, I made this soup from some local and organic vegetables. It has a protein source as well; yellow split peas (yellow dal).

1 tbs cumin, cracked
2 tsp minced ginger
Oil
1 onion
1 cup yellow dal/split peas, soaked overnight
1/2 butternut pumpkin, cubed
2 large carrots, sliced
1/2 cauliflower, chopped
2-3 chicken (in my case, fake chicken) stock cubes

Into a stew pot, add your oil, cumin and ginger and fry lightly until fragrant. Take off heat and add all your veggies and dal. Pour water over the top of the vegetables until they are about 2cm below the water. Add stock cubes and boil!When the peas are starting to fall apart and generally nice and soft, take off the heat. By now, the soup should have reduced to about 1/2 of its original volume. Let it rest for 15-20 minutes before using a hand blender to puree. You could also use a potato masher.

Don't have those veggies? Try combinations of cauliflower, pumpkin, potato, sweet potato, carrot or other yellow/white veggies. And you can always through in some bacon if you really really want too.

To go with the soup, I made some cornbread using a recipe from Taste. You could serve it with any type of bread, especially crusty italian, flat bread or pappadums! I would also try some Greek Yogurt, Coconut Milk or Sour Cream swirled into the top with a bit of parsley too.

Everyone but Coles

2010-08-24T19:45:00.001+07:00

You may all remember the Mexican cooking challenge I did not so long ago...Well, my co-chef has written a post about it, and how sneaky Coles and it's poor effort at teaching people to cook and eat both healthily and cheaply.

You can check out her blog at http://everyonebutsix.com

Everyonebutsix, Electric589 and myself intend to do a 3-way challenge, possibly comparing the Coles goodies with Aldi and markets.

Winter Warmers: Rhubarb Crumble Muffins and Veggie Tart

2010-08-08T14:05:00.001+07:00

Heading over to Paul, Lee and Dave's at some point to see their new house! Kara is also in town, so there will be a few people around. I made some winter warmers to share with the gang and help to warm the new house.

Rhubarb Crumble Muffins (Makes 12)

1 bunch rhubarb
1 lemon wedge
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup water

Chop up rhubarb and add to a saucepan with other ingridients. Boil on stove for about 15 minutes, or until rhubarb is falling apart. Put to one side.

1 1/2 cups SR flour
1/2 cup oil
3/4 cup sugar
1 cup milk
2 tbs maple syrup (you could use vanilla essence here, but I didn't have any)
Pinch bicarb soda
Strawberry jam

Combine flour, oil, sugar, milk, maple syrup and bicarb in a bowl. Grease muffin tin, and spoon out batter. Onto the top of each muffin, place 1/2 tsp of jam and 1 tsp of stewed rhubarb. Lightly mix through batter to create a swirl. You can use any type of plum or berry jam.

1/2 cup oats
1 tbs butter
2 tbs sugar

Combine in a bowl until it forms a crumble. Spoon over the top of muffins. Bake in oven at 180C until tops are brown and skewer comes out clean. Even though they smell great, resist from eating immediately! Let them sit to cool for a little while before eating. This is to stop from burning your mouth on hot jam/fruit!

Roast Veggie Tart

Chop up some of your favourite veggies (enough for a full tray) into cubes and roast until soft with salt and olive oil. Today I used pumpkin, beetroot and jerusalem artichokes. You could use eggplant, zucchini, capsicum or any other veggie that roasts well.

Meanwhile, you can make the pastry. Chop up 200g butter and place into a large mixing bowl. Add 1 tbs of lightly crushed cumin seeds and 2 cups plain flour. I used wholemeal flour for added nutty taste. Combine by hands until you form breadcrumbs. Slowly add some warm water to the mix until the dough is brought together in a ball. Knead for 2-3 minutes until dough is elastic. Cover and refigerate until use.

Today I pressed out the dough into a flan dish, and cut off excess pastry. You can roll it out or make a rustic style tart. Place the roast veggies on the top of the tart and some grated Parmesan cheese on the top. Bake in oven at 200C until pastry has browned. Serve with greens! :D

I have previously made this as a rustic tart with roast pumpkin, fetta cheese and caramelised onions on the base. Yum yum!

Tarty Tales: A Bush-Farm Christmas in July

2010-07-20T18:28:00.000+07:00

Does it get any better than bottles of wine, good company and pork belly? Angus and I spent the weekend in the Blue Mountains enjoying our first Christmas in July. There was the signature pork belly, beef racks, roast chickens, mini-kegs, red wine and tarts! Of course, there was also great company, animals to feed, bushwalking and exploring and many games of charades.

We drove to Duckmaloi Farm near Oberon for the festivities; it is about a 3 1/2 hour drive north of Canberra, up some steep and windy roads. We wouldn't recommend driving this road at night, but it was pleasant during the day. The other Christmas Guests drove out from Sydney with a plan! The plan was to celebrate Divya's first Christmas in Australia, with full authenticity of a farm, the bush and alot of booze and food! Everyone brought things to contribute. Sunny brought pork-belly and other delicacies; Ruth brought some fruit and vegetables; Brady and Alex brought the wine. Then the cooking began! It was a great opportunity for some pantry-chefing! Limited ingredients needed some creativity. I had full inspiration on Saturday morning, and lept out of bed to create three desserts: Baked Banana Custard Tarts; Rustic Apple, Pear and Strawberry Tart and Pear Tart with Ginger and Blood Orange Glaze.

Pear Tart with Ginger and Blood Orange Glaze

2 cups of flour
200g room-temperature butter
1/2 cup sugar
Warm water
2 woody pears
Small knob of ginger
1 large blood orange
1 cup sugar
1 cup water
Extra sugar for sprinkling on top

Preheat oven to 180C and grease a tart/flan dish. To make pastry, place sugar and flour in a large bowl. Chop up the butter and add. Combine the butter/flour and sugar until bread crumbs form. Slowly add the warm water until all the crumbs are form a dough. Kneed for a couple of minutes, then roll out until 5mm thick. Place in the bottom of the greased dish and cut off excess pastry. Blind bake for about 20 minutes. If you don't have rocks/rice, use a oven proof dish that is a bit smaller than your tart dish, and place directly on the top - it seemed to work for me! Get the glaze going by cutting the orange in half, keep one slice from the center, and squeeze the rest into a saucepan. Add the peeled and roughly chopped ginger, sugar and water and place on a medium heat on the stove. When it starts boiling large bubbles, take it off the heat. Now, cut up the pears into thin slice. Arrange in a spiral pattern (or whatever takes your fancy) in the baked tart case, place the slice of orange on the top and sprinkle with sugar. Pour or spoon the glaze over the top of the fruit, and bake in the oven until the pear starts to turn golden brown. Check on the tart on occaisions to make sure the pastry doesn't burn. If it is looking a bit brown, cover with foil.

Should be served warm or cold with cream/ice-cream and good company! I was really pleased with how well this tart turned out, and would even serve it to my food-critic parents-in-law :D

Rustic Apple, Pear and Strawberry Tart

With the leftover pastry, I made the rustic tart. Hand flattened the pastry and put on a greased tray. I then chopped up 1 1/2 apples, 1 pear and 1/2 punnet of strawberries and combined with 1 tsp cinnamon, 1 tbs sugar and 1 shot bourbon. All the fruit was then mounded in the center of the pastry and the sides folded up around it. Cooked at 180 until fruit was soft and pastry golden. Again, check it doesn't burn. I really liked this tart too! Best thing is, that rustic is the new food-chic. It looks like you have spent ages baking when it really only took a few minutes. Bang on some fresh strawberries on the top, and serve with cream/ice-cream and it looks delicious!

Thanks for a great time all, and especially to Head Chef Sunny! Photos are courtesy of Dave.

Mexican Madness: Cookoff Win or Cookoff Fail?

2010-07-13T14:17:00.000+07:00

Saturday afternoon and evening was spent shopping, cooking, chatting, dinner-partying and laughing as part of the Co-Pilot Cookoff!

A few weeks ago I nearly shut-down my blog. However, I promised to keep it open if people helped to inspire me. I received inspiration from three lovely people to do a challenge which had to include:
* Guacamole
* Flat Bread
* Cost $2.50 per moderate serve.

My co-blogger, muse and cooking friend Cheney also decided to get in on the challenge. She was particularly interested to see if we could make a meal for less than $10, with all ingredients bought at Coles. This was apart from herbs, salt, sugar and oil which we could use from home. This idea has come from a promotion by Coles, by which Cheney (and myself) were uncertain of its credibility.

With bags in tow, we were off to Coles to purchase our $15 of items (6 people at $2.50 a head). We soon realised that avocados were not only expensive, there were none ripe enough to use. We immediately scrapped that idea, and focused on the flat-bread and a main. Tossing between the idea of indian and mexican, we headed to the bean isle to determine the cheapest option. In the end we opted for Mexican: 4 cans of beans, 2 cans tomatoes, 2 red onions (on special), 2 red capsicums (on special), 3 cobs corn, 2 cans of sweetened condensed milk (on special), and 1 kg plain wholemeal flour. The total was $14.50, coming under the $15 we allowed ourselves. Dana and Scott - you will both be happy to know that it was indeed a vegan evening. Meat and animal products were too pricey for us!

Kitchen-Goddess Cheney steamed ahead with planning. Her flair for spices and know-how was invaluable. I learnt how easy it is to make dulche de leche, and the art of Cooking-Zen. I poked around the kitchen for various items, and even found some Wattle Seed lying about.

The recipes we came up with from this challenge were:

Never cook without a trusty frog-flipper!

Flatbread (16 medium sized)

4 1/2 cups of wholemeal plain flour
3 tsp salt

3 tbs of wattle seed and chili flakes

3 tbs olive oil
2 cups warm water
Vegetable oil

Flour, salt and herbs were added to a bowl and a well made in the middle. Water and oil was added to the well and stirred with a knife until it all came together. Extra water or flour can be added to get a nice soft, not too dry -not too wet dough. Turn the dough out onto a floured surface, knead for a few minutes until smooth. Cheney rolled the dough into a log and cut into even-sized pieces, whilst I wrapped each piece with clingwrap and put them into the fridge to rest before cooking. To cook, preheat a frying pan, in our case an electric one, until it is hot. Roll or handpress the dough until a couple of mm's thick. Add some oil to the pan and slide the dough over the top. Done when both sides are browned. Put on a tray in a warm oven to keep them fresh whilst the chili is cooking.

Vegetarian Chili

2 large-ish red onions, chopped
1 tbs olive oil
1 tsp sugar
1 tsp paprika
1 tsp dried chilli flakes
1 tsp ground coriander
1 tsp nutmeg
1 tsp cumin seeds, cracked

2 cups chicken/vegetable stock

2 tins diced tomatoes
2 tins 4-bean mix, drained
1 tin kidney beans, drained
1 tin butter beans, drained

2 medium red capsicums, diced

Add sliced onions and olive oil into a stock-pot over medium heat. Carmelise the onions on a moderate-low heat (adjusting as required). You can add sugar or balsalmic vinegar and butter for more carmelised onions. When the onion is soft, add the spices. You can adjust the flavour to your liking later on. Cook the onions and spices for a minute, then add 3/4 of the stock, plus tomatoes, kidney beans and 4-bean mix (or whatever beans takes your fancy). Bring it to the boil, turn down to a good simmer and put a lid on it. Puree the white beans with a few tablespoons of stock until smooth. Add the puree to the chili about 10 minutes before serving to add creamyness and thickness to the sauce. You can also adjust your seasonings now as well.

Stir-fried Corn

1 tbs vegetable oil
3 large cobs' corn, stripped from the cob

2 tsp cumin seeds (cracked)
1 tsp dried chilli

Put the vegetable oil in a frypan on high heat and add the spices. When they have cracked and spluttered a bit, add the corn stir-fry for about 5 minutes or until some of the bits of corn go a little brown. Easy as bro and ready to serve!

Serve chili in a bowl with flat bread to one side, and delicious juicy corn sprinkled on the top. Yum yum! If we could have afforded sour-cream, guac or cheese, it would have been even more marvelous!

Whilst I was partially able to succeed in my challenge (flat bread: check. Cost under $2.50 each: check. Guacamole: Fail), did Cheney succeed in hers? Can you really make a healthy meal for less than $2.50 per person? You can read about the success and failures of the challenge on Everyonebutsix.com

A big thanks to Cheney for a wonderful afternoon, and full-credit to her for these ideas.

Torte Sue: Almond, Honey and Prune Cake

2010-07-08T19:30:00.003+07:00

Yesterday, my friend Sue helped me sort through some things rolling-around in my brain. I have a habit of caring too much about too many things. Especially when it involves people I care about or some sort of injustice. This creates stress. Although it would be easier to care less, it isn't who I am. Instead, I do things to relax; cooking being one thing that always puts me into a calm and reflective mood.

I decided to bake Sue something special to say thanks for the help. I love Catalan hazelnut cake, but the shop didn't have the hazelnuts. Instead, I walked out with almond meal and prunes; a craving. I have also been diagnosed with an iron deficiency and it turns out these two things are high in iron. Random cake items that my body is telling me to consume!!! Using the hazelnut cake recipe as a guide, I created Torte Sue.

Warning!! This cake is not for the health conscious. However, you can reduce butter and sugar by 1/4 cup each.

4 big eggs
1 cup sugar
250g butter, room temp cut into pieces
1 tbs honey, preferrably dark honey
1 1/2 cups plain flour
1 cup almond meal
Bicarbonate soda
1 1/2 packets prunes

Preheat oven to 180 celcius and grease a cake tin. Line the bottom of the tin with prunes in any arrangement that takes your fancy. Wisk eggs and sugar until light coloured and mousse-like in consistency. Add butter a bit at a time, still whisking, then the honey. Stir through flour and almond meal. Add some milk if batter is too thick. You want it plopping off the spoon. If the eggs are old or you had trouble beating, add 1tsp bicarb. Spoon batter over the top and smooth out. Cook until skewer comes out clean.

This is a rich caramelly cake! It would be great with cream or a cup of tea. I overcooked mine (too busy with Dr Who) and it was still ok- just more caramellised! A fool (Jess)-proof recipe.

Dessert Fail and Dessert Win

2010-07-03T19:54:00.001+07:00

Always read the ingredients. If there are no eggs, it is unlikely to set.

I bought some UHT custard awhile ago now; for a dinner or something. I have never been a fan of custard apart from Portuguese tarts. Having it in the house means it was likely to stay on the shelf for sometime. Racking my brain for a use, I decided to try baking it. Dish, cinnamon, sugar, 1/2 filled tray with water, 180 degrees until bouncy...

An hour in, nothing. Just hot, runny custard. Being a 'tard, I failed to read the packet. No eggs. No wonder it wasn't setting. I immediately pulled two eggs out of the fridge and whisked through. The end result was abismal in appearance, but tasted fine. The custard had seperated.

To make a good baked custard, start from scratch! You will be handsomely rewarded. In this case, the custard seperated because I added the eggs after it was hot. So, you could try adding eggs to packet custard (before cooking) if you can't be bothered to try from scratch. But, dont blame me if it seperates!

I served the custard with stewed mandarins and prunes. 6 mandarins, peeled and segments pulled apart with 1/2 cup prunes, 1tsp cinnamon, 1/4 cup sugar, 1/4 cup water and 1/4 cup of sherry/brandy/fortified wine. Simmer on moderate heat until mandarins are bloated and liquid reduced. Serve on top of custard with some of the sauce, and cream if you dare!

All in all, Angus said it was a win; good flavours. Next time, eggs FTW!

Co-pilot Challenge!

2010-07-03T07:04:00.000+07:00

Today is the day of truth! I must choose my next food adventure.

Many thanks to my three co-pilot cooks: Fuz, Cheney and Jim.

Fuz suggested that I cook him a burger with guac. I seem to recall doing this already (for Mr Fussell). Yet the idea has merit.

Cheney suggested I try to cook a main and one side dish for 4 people which must total no more than $10. This seems to be a warped claim by Coles Supermarkets.

Jim is obsessed with his local cafe serving flat-bread and baked pancakes.

So, pulling all this together... I am going to make:

A meal under $10, which will serve 4 people. It will include flat-bread and guac. The only things I can use from home are: salt, pepper, dried herbs and cooking oil. This is going to be a challenge.

Cheney: should we do this together?

Co-pilot Cookoff!

2010-06-28T15:35:00.000+07:00

I have been a bit slack with the cook-update. Being run ragged with uni duties (students! lab!), my mid-term review, conferences, soil blog and general lethargy means my creativity has come to a bit of a standstill. Even though I made some yummy Daal Makhani with spinach and pumpkin, and a Rustic Roast Pumpkin tart with basil-pesto greens, they somehow didn't seem inspirational enough to blog about. Especially after eating Angus' delicious pork ramen *drool*

So, given my lack of inspiration and readers keen for me to keep blogging, I thought you all might like to help me get my cooking-groove back on! I am asking you to give me some ideas, as my cooking co-pilots, and I will randomly choose a combination of ideas and create. A dinner party (in our tiny flat) may also have to coincide with the event (if I am not dead from writing my epic thesis... blurgh).

Help me come up with a new idea by submitting in the comments section below one idea for each of the following:
1. Meal type (breakfast, lunch, dinner, break, snack etc)
2. Preferences (vegan, gluten-free, vegetarian, % sustainable, under $X)
3. One ingredient you want me to use (please, no offal)
4. One condiment you want me to use
5. Cooking style (wok, oven, microwave etc)

You have until Friday 2nd July to submit comments. I will draw them (out of a hat, random generator, blind twirl and point?!?) on Saturday to make something amazing!

Happy eating!

Hubble Bubble Brew and Bubble

2010-06-01T10:23:00.000+07:00

I miss my brew kit.

Moving into a flat this meant that I firstly had to downscale my veggie garden to pots (!!), but I also had to sell my home brew gear. I made some great brews including a caramel stout, ginger beer and honey wheat beer. However, it went to a good home. My friend Paul is now making Gluten Free beer with the kit, and saving a tonne of money. Plus, he is having a great time learning and being creative! So many recipes, such little drinking time.

The weekend just passed was spent in Melbourne visiting our old friend James. He lives just around the corner from Chapel St, and its marvelous Chapel St Cellars. On the Friday night, we wandered past and saw fridge after fridge after fridge of amazing beers and ciders. Not only were we dumbstruck at the selection, but you could purchase a beer and sit down in the shop (on a couch, stool or crate) and drink your selection! This is something that would never happen in rule-central Canberra. In a giddy daze of awesomeness, the five of us chose our vice and sat down happily. Here is our evenings selection:

My favourite was the Meantime Chocolate Stout. The first stout that actually honestly tasted like real chocolate, and not like some strange chocolate flavouring. The Rekorderlig Strawberry and Lime cider was also divine. Honorable mention to the St Ambrose Stout (caramel!!) and Crack Shot, which claims is a drink for someone "who does not believe in the phrase 'the better sex' ". Now Canberrans just have to picket Plonk to order some of these tasty beers...

Contrary to peoples beliefs, the beer consumption on Friday night did not cause the bump on my head, nor the concussion. That was all pure Jess.

Twice-Stirred Upsidedown Carrot Cake

2010-05-23T16:00:00.000+07:00

A 'delicious mess' is this cake.

I made a vegan carrot cake the other week which accidentally got mixed twice (in an upside-down fashion) as entering the oven. My wrist gave way, and the cake landed face down on the oven door. Batter poured down the door onto the floor, under the oven and through the seals in the glass window. In shock, I just stared. It was messy. I managed to salvage the batter (spoons and spatulas helped) not immediately touching the oven door surface, and it actually ended up quite a nice cake in the end...

500g carrots, grated or finely chopped in a food processor
2 bananas, mashed
1/2 cup saltanas
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1 orange, squeezed
1 tsp allspice
1/4 cup milk-of-your-choice
1 1/2 cups wholemeal flour or 1 cup flour and 1/2 cup oats

Chuck everything into a bowl and mix well. Add some extra milk if mix is too dry or too thick to be poured out. Grease pan and pour in cake. As you go to put it into the oven, drop it on the door! Scrape up the batter not directly touching the oven door, and put back into the pan. Clean the oven door and floor. Cook the cake in the oven at 180C until skewer comes out clean. Eat while still hot, or as a breakfast bread!

Orangey Roast Chicken

2010-05-10T07:41:00.000+07:00

As a child, we very rarely had roasts. It was mainly kept to special occasions, such as Christmas, New Years, and Birthday's (on request). Now I am much older, it seems to be the same. Apart from tonight, when I craved a pipping hot roasted meal.

One of my jobs was to clean out the Turkey or Chicken and fill it with stuffing. My traditional family recipe for stuffing (seasoning) included dried fruit, nuts of some description and sherry. I have kept to this tradition, tweaking it with things I have around the house or trying new flavours.

I keep on watching shows with fancy recipes for Roast Chicken. However, most of the ingredients you generally don't have lying around the house. Well, not unless you have a fully stocked French and Italian pantry! I felt like making something a bit more fancy, and have tried to just use things most people have around their house for this particular version of a roast-c.

Serves 4 - 6

1.5kg Free-Range Organic Chicken
Olive Oil
2 pieces of bread
2 cloves garlic
handful of dried apricots
handful of sultanas
handful of pepitas/cashews or almonds
1 orange
1 egg
1/4 cup sherry
Thyme
Salt and Pepper
2 tbs Orange Marmalade/Apricot Jam
Roasting veggies and greens (enough for 6)
Gravy Powder

Secret Stuffing!

Clean and dry the chicken. Grease a roasting tray with olive oil and place chicken on top. To make the stuffing, use a food processor to crumb the bread or chop finely. Remove and place into a bowl. Into the food processor, add the sultanas, garlic and dried apricots. Chop roughly. Add to the bread crumbs. Add the pepitas, egg, 1/2tsp thyme and sherry to the bowl. Cut the orange in half and squeeze one half into the stuffing mix. Stir well. If the stuffing is to dry, add more sherry. Stuff the chicken with small handfuls at a time, and then sew up by covering the stuffing with the excess skin and using skewers or toothpicks.

On the top of the chicken, spread the jam or marmalade. Cut up the other half of the orange into crescents and place on the top of the chicken with skewers. Sprinkle some thyme, salt and pepper over the top. Roast at 180C with foil for 50 min, uncover and add the vegetables and roast for a further hour. Serve pipping hot with the veggies, gravy made with the orange and chicken juice, steamed greens and a good glass of red.

Soup to Stew: Sustainable Eats

2010-05-02T15:52:00.000+07:00

With the winter months approaching, pumpkins a plenty and apples to spare, soups and stews start being boiled in our households.

The food is orgasmic! Gorman House Markets has a new local-produce vendor: Soup in the City. They sell soup and other delights, such as Breakfast Burritos, using only locally sourced produce. Richard, the vendor, told me that everything he sourced this weekend was from Hall. He had delectable tomato soup with fresh croutons and basil you add yourself. There was also some great smelling carrot and coriander soup. Look out for Soup in the City @ Gorman House and Southside Farmers Markets.

Stews of all varieties make a hearty meal in the cold months. We make lots of chili based stews, like Mussaman Curry or Beef Rendang for a warming meal. However, I also make alot of stewed fruit. Apple season means boxes and boxes of several varieties from Angus' parents. Most of the time they end up stewed and at a friends place for Pancake Sunday. This weekend I added locally-grown rhubarb to the mix for something a bit different:

Serves Many!

6 large apples
1 bunch rhubarb
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup of either Rum, apple/butterscotch schnapps, port, sherry or something similar
1 lemon
1 tsp cinnamon

Dice up the apples (no need to peel skin) and add to a big pot with the sugar and booze. Fill the pot with water until it is about 1/2 the level of the apples. Boil. Whilst the apples are boiling, prepare the rhubarb by cutting both ends off and washing. Cut into 3 cm lengths. Grate the zest of the lemon and squeeze out its juice. When the apples are almost cooked, add the rhubarb, lemon juice, zest and cinnamon and cook for a further 10 minutes. Keep an eye on the mix and make sure it doesn't burn or get too dry. Add more water if required.

The booze really is my secret to making delicious stewed fruit. It just gives it that extra flavour that makes it go so well with ice cream, pancakes or in crumbles/pies.

$3 bag of Okra

2010-04-29T18:38:00.000+07:00

It must be unusual vegetable week.

When I was hunting around for artichoke the other day, I saw Okra on special for $3 a bag. Usually I can't afford to buy okra, but I do enjoy it when we eat out. Impulse buy means I now have about 500g of Okra to cook.

Spicy is the way to cook okra. Or that is how I have had it previously. Hunting around I found a new Vegetarian Indian Blog: Manjula's Kitchen. She had a great recipe for Okra that looked familiar to Okra I have had in restaurants. I decided to have a go. Although in typical fashion, modifying to what I have in the house. I have also reduced the size of the recipe to deal with a smaller volume of okra (not a giant $3 bag!)

Serves 4 as a side

250g Okra
Oil
1/2 tsp whole cumin seeds
1 tbs ground coriander seeds
Cayenne pepper (as much or as little as you like)
1/2 tsp tumeric
Salt
1/2 tsp brown sugar
1 onion
1/2 can tomatoes

Wash and pat dry the okra. Discard the ends and slice in half. Heat a pan with oil and add the cumin seeds. When they crack, add the okra and stir for 1 minute. Reduce heat and cover for 3 minutes. Add the remainder of the spices /sugar and stir. Finally add the onion and tomatoes and then simmer until the okra is tender.

You could have it with other Indian dishes, seafood or with meat.

The Art of Artichoke

2010-04-27T17:57:00.000+07:00

I am obsessed with artichokes. Lee made the most amazing meal the other night. One of her entrees was a divine basil-tomato-olive oil-lemony artichoke. I do really love them, but haven't really thought about how to incorporate them into my cooking. Other than pizza, pasta or antipasto, I have no idea what to do with artichoke. So, I am now on a mission to make more use of this forgotten vegetable!

Amazing artichokes by amazing Lee

Hunting online, I found all sorts of artichoke recipes. Many included how to prepare fresh artichokes. I also found the Artichoke Advisory Board of California, who also had a list of interesting recipes. With a bit of reading, I worked out that you can steam, boil or bake fresh artichokes. Tuesday nights are one-pot meals (Angus is out until late, so it needs to stay warm), so baking sounded like the way to go.

Artichoke is very difficult to find. I scoured the City to try and find fresh artichoke, and none to be found. Lee - if you are reading this, I want to know where you found yours! I had to buy artichokes in brine. You want to buy them in brine so that the other flavours from pickling don't mess up your meal! After being disappointed at Canberra's lack of artichokes, I eventually decided on a chicken and artichoke bake. This bake is modified from several recipes I saw on the web, as well as a recipe from one of my fellow academics who bakes a traditional Italian chicken meal. The modifications created a fusion of the traditional Italian with the artichoke recipes. I like colour in a meal, and this it what this recipe is all about!

Artichoke and Chicken Bake
Serves 6

6 Chicken Drumsticks or Thigh Fillets
1/2 punnet cherry tomatos, split down one side
1 onion, roughly diced
2 cloves garlic, diced
1 can/bottle of artichokes in brine, halved
1 bunch fresh tarragon or 1 tbs dried
1 lemon
Salt and pepper
Olive oil

6 large Potatoes, diced
Butter
Milk
2 bunches green beans/brocolini or asparagus

Grease a baking tray with oil. Line chicken on the base of the tray. Roughly through in the onion, garlic, tomatoes and artichokes around the chicken. Pour 1/3 brine from the artichokes over the top. Squeeze the lemon over the top. Sprinkle the tarragon, salt and pepper and drizzle olive oil. Cover and bake at 200C for 45 minutes. Remove cover and bake for a further 15 minutes, or until chicken has browned.

Whilst the chicken is baking, you can get your sides prepared. Tonight I felt like mashed potato. However, you could have baked potato, wedges, chips, bread or pasta with this meal. You can also choose whatever green veggie you like! We are having brocolini tonight (it was on special).

No need to peel the potatoes if you don't want too. Skins are good for you, and you can say they are 'rustic mashed potatoes'. Fancy! Boil the potatoes until falling apart. Drain and roughly mash. Add 1 tps butter and 1/4 cup milk and mash again. Keep on adding milk until you like the texture of the mash. I prefer a stiffer, soft mash. Steam up your green veggie, and put to one side. This will go on top of your chicken bake!

You can assemble with whatever artistic fancy you feel. I laid my potato on the base, followed by chicken and some of the sauce, then the brocolini on top. A shave of parmesan cheese also never hurts anyone!

Buon appetito!

Korean Yum: Chicken Kalgooksoo

2010-04-24T07:18:00.000+07:00

Dave, Mattie, Cheney and London all came over for dinner the other night. I decided to experiment with Korean again. I decided to make a tasty Korean-style chicken noodle soup, with spicy Kalgooksoo sauce.

I got the idea for this recipe from The Food and Cooking of Korea, by Young Jin Song. However, I also got some ideas from my favourite Korean Blog: Korean Cuisine. I find the cookbook frustrating. It is only partially translated into ingredients you can find in western-culture, and it doesn't taste quite right. Further to that, they don't use the Korean names for things, making a trip to the asian grocer annoying. It also becomes a guessing game as to what exactly we are eating: Chicken Noodle Soup is what in Korean when we go out??? Korean Cuisine blog still sticks to tradition, uses Korean names/words, but also uses western ingredients to get authentic flavours. She really should write a cookbook.

This recipe has several parts and steps. The cookbook didn't divide it up very well, so I am going to give it a go...

Serves 4 - 6 (generously)

Broth - Part 1
500g Chicken thighs or chicken drumsticks
2 leeks, chopped
6 cloves garlic, peeled
1 knob ginger, peeled and chopped into chunks

Place all ingredients into a pot and cover with water. Boil for 30 minutes. Drain stock through a sieve and collect the broth in a bowl and put to one side. Keep the chicken, and throw out the remainder of the ingredients.

Chicken Marinade
60mL light or Japanese soy sauce
2 shallots, chopped finely
2 cloves garlic, chopped finely
30mL sesame oil
1 tbs sesame seeds
1/2 tbs honey

Combine all ingredients in a bowl. Roughly chop up the chicken and place in the bowl. Stir to cover chicken in the marinade. Cover and put aside.

Kalgooksoo Sauce
60mL light or Japanese soy sauce
2 shallots, chopped finely
2 cloves garlic, chopped finely
30mL sesamee oil
1 tbs sesame seeds
1/2 tbs honey
1 tbs korean chili paste or dried chili powder

Combine all ingredients in a small bowl. If you are using the chili paste, you may want to add some water to make it more runny.

Vegetables
2 carrots, finely sliced
6 shitake mushrooms*
6 black fungus mushrooms*
1 bunch chinese brocoli
1 onion
Sesame oil
Light or Japanese Soy Sauce

Stir-fry the vegetables in the sesame oil and add a dash of soy sauce. Sit to one side when done.

Broth - Part 2

Empty the broth back into the pot. Add a dash of soy sauce, salt, pepper, one chili chopped roughly and bring to the boil. Do a taste test and add more salt if required. If it is too strong, add some water until you get the right flavours. Once the broth is at the stage you like it, add noodles for four people and cook. Take off the heat when done and remove the noodles from the broth into four bowls.

To assemble - into each bowl with the noodles, place a heap of vegetables and some of the chicken. Pour broth over the top. Serve to your guests and allow them to add their own Kalgooksoo sauce. The sauce should be stirred through before slurping! :D

Enjoyed with a delicious light white wine or Korean beer. Hite is my favourite and is available in Australia.

* Bad Fungus: I am allergic to sulphur dioxide, Preservative 220. That night I discovered, and I am pretty sure, that 220 is in these dried mushrooms. Avoid if you have this sensitivity and use fresh asian mushrooms instead.

Polish Potato Pancakes

2010-04-19T18:14:00.004+07:00

Jola just gave me a massive bag of parsley that she grew. Seeing as she is of Polish-decent, I thought I would have a go at making something polish with the parsley.

I was thinking of making pierogi and adding parsley to the mix. However, Jola makes the most delicious pierogi, and it just wouldn't be the same. I also found potato and dill soup, and heaps of other polish soups that parsley would go with. In the end, I came across potato pancakes or Placki. I have adapted this recipe to also include parsley, and give them a tasty topping!

Placki:
6 medium potatoes, grated
1 onion, finely chopped
1 clove garlic, finely chopped
1 bunch parsley, finely chopped
1/2 tsp paprika
Salt and pepper
1-3 tbs flour (of your choice)
Oil for frying
Sour Cream
Pepperoni

Salad:
2 tomatoes, diced
1 avocado, diced
1 chili, sliced
Lemon
1 tsp sugar
Lettuce or parsley

Place all ingredients for the placki in a bowl and mix well. A comment on the website also said you could blend it all together in a food processor. Just don't let it get too fine and sloppy! Heat up a pan with oil and cook a large spoonful of the batter at a time. Done when gold and crispy! Sit in the oven until the topping is ready.

Using the same pan, fry the salami. When browned, drain fat and put aside. In another bowl, combine avocado, tomato, chili, salt and a squeeze of lemon juice to make a salsa.

To assemble, take 1-2 placki and place on a plate. Top with pepperoni and a dollop of sour cream. Place salad on top or to one side, whatever takes your fancy!

This is definitely not traditional polish! The polish-food websites I read just said to serve with sour cream. However, I think polish sausage, cabbage dishes or meatballs could also go well with the pancakes. Could also be great for breakfast with eggs, bacon, mushrooms and tomato!

Ghetto Update

2010-04-13T12:21:00.000+07:00

I just heard from Pat that Gateaux in the Ghetto will be filming the second episode on May 8th!

The first episode is available at Vimeo.

Keep an eye out for release dates and events!

Very Vegetable Pasta

2010-04-08T18:11:00.001+07:00

Having a cold for the last few days, I know I need to get some vitamins into my system. Inhaling large quantities if vegetable and fruit is not exactly possible, so I decided to make a batch of my vegetable pasta.

This quick and easy vegetable pasta can use ANY combination of veggies you have lying around your house. You could roast up pumpkin, use beans, peas, broccoli, cherry tomatoes, spinach, capsicum... really, whatever you have. Vegans and vegetarians can add nuts for protein. I particularly like almond, cashews, macadamias or pine nuts. If you are a have-to-have carnivore, try adding some cooked chicken, ham, bacon or slice cooked sausages. Cubed chunks of feta are always fun too. Overall, the idea is to use as many vegetables as possible. The ratio of veggies to pasta should be at least 1:1, but if you ask me (and I love my veggies) it should be closer to 2:1 :D

Trofie pasta (Photo from Eliza Domestica)

The type of pasta you use is also up to you and whatever you have around the house. I usually like to use gnocchi, spiral or penne. Today I am using some fancy Italian Regional pasta that I was given: Trofie.

Sauces are also up to the individual, and again, whatever you have at home! I usually like to use Basil of Tomato pesto. However, you could use a stir through sauce, ricotta with salt and pepper, a bottle of cooking sauce stirred through, homemade pesto or whatever takes your fancy!

Serves 4
2 bunches broccolini
1 eggplant
Pasta
1 tbs butter
1 clove garlic, diced
1 onion, diced
2 Handfuls of button mushrooms, sliced
Small handful of semi-sun dried tomatoes, cut into thirds
2 small avocados or one large, peeled, stoned and cubed
1 packet pine nuts
Sun-Dried Tomato Pesto
Salt and Pepper
Grated Parmesan cheese

Cut up the broccoli and eggplant and steam until tender. Steam any vegetables that won't cook in the fry-pan now. Whilst the veggies are steaming, put a pot of water on boil and cook up about 250g of dry pasta or 1 packet of gnocchi. Cut up the remaining veggies. In a fry-pan, melt the butter on a medium heat. Fry the onion and garlic until just translucent. Add the mushrooms and brown. Once brown, add in the tomatoes and steamed vegetables and stir. By this stage, your pasta should also be done. Drain and add to the fry pan. Take off heat and stir through 1 Tbs pesto, salt and pepper to taste, plus the nuts and avocado. Do a taste test, and add more pesto if not quite strong enough. Serve in a bowl with Parmesan.

Kangaroo Bibimbap: Sustainable Eats

2010-04-01T18:37:00.000+07:00

We <3 Korean Food! It is some of out tastiest treats. We particularly like kimchi and chili based hot pots and other delicacies that can be bought at Godori in Garema Pl, Civic and Kimichi Restaurant in Dickson.

We have also been making our own Korean meals. Dumplings and pickles on hot nights, stews and soups for the cold, and plenty of beef and tofu dishes. However, I have been meaning to try kangaroo instead of beef. I checked out my favourite Korean Food blog, Korean Cuisine, and found a great bibimbap recipe that I am going to give a shot!

For this dish, all ingredients are Australian, sourced from local farms or relatives backyards and/or organic. Costs for a meal can go up when buying sustainably sourced foods. However, this meal cost about $5 per person.

Roo Bibimbap - It doesn't look like much, but it sure is tasty!

2 Kangaroo Fillets
1/2 red and 1/2 yellow capsicum
3 stalks of Enkoi Mushrooms
1 onion
Lightly steamed asian greens or Mixed lettuce leaves
3 eggs
Vinegar (rice if possible)
Soy Sauce
Chili Paste/Ground Chili
Honey
Ginger
Garlic
Sesame Seeds
Vegetable Oil
Lemon pepper
Rice, preferably brown

The night before, prepare the Roo by placing into a sealed container with 2 tbs soy sauce, 2 tbs vinegar, 2 gloves garlic (chopped), 1 tps minced ginger, 1 tbs honey and some sesame seeds. Shake well and leave in the fridge to marinate. To assemble the dish, firstly cook the rice and put to one side. To make the sauce, mix 2 tbs chili paste, 1 tbs honey, 1/2 tbs oil (sesame if you can), 2 tbs vinegar and sesame seeds. Put aside. Chop up the capsicum, mushrooms and onion into slices and stir-fry with lemon pepper. Put aside in a warm oven. Beat the eggs and fry an omlette. Cut up and also place in warm oven. To stir-fry the roo, get your wok or pan very hot. Fry the roo until it is just cooked through. Don't leave it too long, or it is likely to toughen. To assemble, place a portion of the vegetables, egg, greens and roo on top of a bed of rice. The chili sauce can be added by the will of the diner. Stir it all together and eat with a spoon.

If you don't fancy kangaroo, use beef or pork instead. :D

Canberra Harvest Festival

2010-03-24T16:37:00.000+07:00

This weekend is the Canberra Harvest Festival!

It is a day for celebrating organic gardens, good food, and great company! There are organic veggie burgers for all, organic wine and beer sampling, and delicious locally sourced cakes :D

There are competitions for those with a green thumb, or gardening workshops and raffles for those that want to improve. There are some harvest cooking workshops too - like making the most of all those zucchinis and tomatoes or even trying your own kimchi! If you want a quieter festival, you can just sit back, relax, enjoy the atmosphere and some local music.

Kids are more than welcome to come along!

Saturday 27th March from lunch-time
Canberra Environment Centre
Cnr Lennox Crossing and Lawson Cres (near the museum), Acton.

See you all there.

Chestnut Mushroom Risotto

2010-03-23T18:18:00.001+07:00

Recently, Lee and Jola came over for a girls dinner. Lee brought an amazing chocolate bavarian tarty-thing with marshmellow and biscuit base! It was amazing! My main meal was far less interesting, apart from some interesting mushrooms I bought at Choku Baijo.

Chestnut mushrooms are long thin brown mushrooms with a flat brown top. I found some other links which describe the mushrooms very differently - more like a swiss brown mushroom or a brown button mushroom. However, the ones I bought look the same as the photo. They have a nutty flavour to them, which makes them a perfect match for a creamy risotto!

Chestnut Mushrooms growing in jars

1 onion, diced

2 cloves of garlic, finely chopped

1 tbs butter

1 pkt chestnut mushrooms

1 pkt button mushrooms

1/3 cup dry sherry or white wine

2 cups arborio or risotto rice

2 chicken or veggie stock cubes

Boiling water

1/2 bunch english spinach

Salt and pepper

Grated parmesan cheese

On a medium hotplate, fry the onion and garlic in the butter until onion becomes clear. Add the mushrooms and stir continuously for 3 minutes. You can use any mushrooms you like! Mix and match varieties for flavours. Add the rice and stir through the vegetables. Add the sherry/white wine and continuously stir until the sherry has steamed off. Add the veggie stock cubes and 1 cup of water and continously stir. Keep on adding water (slowly) until the rice is done. I am a fan of constantly checking the rice via the 'taste-test' until it is done to your liking. Make sure you keep some liquid in the pot to form a thick sauce over the rice. Stir through the spinach. Serve with salt/pepper to taste and grated parmesan cheese. Perfect with a good bottle of white wine and friends :D

Tips for an awesome risotto:

* Always use white wine or sherry at the beginning

* You can add cheese at the end, the same way as the spinach, for a richer option.

* Substitute veggies and meats. Try snow peas, chicken, prawns, peas, cherry tomatoes (at the end), bacon, roasted pumpkin or sweet potato, artichoke, sundried tomatoes etc. You can add nuts too, such as pine or cashew.

* Continuously stir. I have tried the one-pot-no-stir recipes a few times, and they never work out as well.The time and effort will pay off!

* I would like to acknowledge Fuz, the Master of Risotto, for showing me how it is really done!

Vegan Chocolate Raspberry Cake

2010-03-16T18:26:00.000+07:00

I must have a sweet tooth. Last night, I attempted to make a Vegan Chocolate Potato cake for my lactose intolerant father and brother in-law. Failure. Too much potato? Can't do it without eggs? Too wet? I think my Mum must be hiding the secret recipe.

A few weeks ago, I had the most amazing Chocolate Raspberry Cake, made by the fantastic chef Arko. He sent me the recipe, and I decided to have a go at adapting to recipe to being more vegan friendly. My mother in-law also gave me some of her delicious raspberry jam. We don't eat much jam, so this is a good use!

A Fine Vintage: Homemade Raspberry Jam

Topping
2 tbs raspberry jam
2 tbs soy milk

Cake Batter
1/2 cup vegan butter
1/2 cup sugar
2 tbs raspberry jam
1 cup soy milk
1 1/2 cups SR flour
1 tbs baking powder
1 block vegan dark chocolate, melted

Grease a cake tin. Mix up the raspberry jam and milk, and pour it on the bottom of the tin. This will act as the 'topping'. In another bowl, cream the butter and sugar. Mix through the jam and milk, followed by folding in the flour and baking powder. Thoroughly mix through the melted chocolate, and add a bit more milk if the batter is too stiff. Pour the batter over the topping mix and bake @ 180 degrees until skewer comes out clean. Delicious with thick cream or ice cream :D

The recipe also called for some chocolate in the topping mixture. You could add some of your melted chocolate if you wanted more decadence. It also suggests 1/2 tsp of vanilla in the cake batter, as well as some fresh raspberries. I had neither, so they were skipped!

This cake also goes well with sci-fi (Dr Who), girls nights, or as a guilty pleasure ;)

Giveaway: 3 Cookbooks!

2010-03-14T13:23:00.001+07:00

I have three cookbooks, pretty much never used, that I am giving away to a new home. Check out the details @ Yoink!

Quick Mix Cakes

2010-03-14T12:25:00.001+07:00

Just a couple of quick cake recipes this week.

First I made cup-cakes with a vegetable twist for Sunny and Divya. Finally, the last of the marrows are gone!

1/3 cup butter
1/3 cup sugar
1/3 marrow or 2 zuchinnis, peeled and grated
1 lemon, juiced
1/2 tub low fat sour cream
Self-raising flour

Beat the butter and sugar. Stir through the marrow, lemon juice and sour cream. I peeled the marrow first so that you can't see the green skin in the cakes. Without the skin, you can barely tell there is marrow! Slowly add flour to the mix, beating each time you add flour. The amount of flour needed will be dependent on the moisture of the marrow. When you get a consistency that can be poured, but not thin, it is ready to go! Bake in an oven @ 180 degrees until skewer comes out clean. The top may not brown due to the low fat content. Perfect as muffins, or as cup cakes for the kids. Serve with lemon and sour cream icing.

The second cake has been dubbed the 'Scana Cake'. I made this special vegan cake for Scott + Dana = Scana.

2 ripe or over ripe pears, mashed or pureed
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1/2 cup sugar
1/3 cup dried ginger pieces
1 tsp allspice/cinnamon
1 tbs Baking Powder
SR Flour

Mix the oil, pears and sugar together. Add ginger pieces. In lieu of ginger pieces, you could use other dried fruits or raw nuts. Add spices and baking powder to the mix. Slowly add flour to the mix, beating each time you add flour. The amount of flour needed will be dependent on the moisture of the pears. I used about 1 1/2 cups for the two pears. When you get a consistency that can be poured, but not thin, it is ready to go! Bake in an oven @ 180 degrees until skewer comes out clean. Awesome hot or with butter.

Tips for an awesome Vegan Cake:
* Use a mushed fruit or vegetables as the base. Works great if you don't have almond meal and it will help bind it all together. Some fruits or veggies include: apples, pears, bananas, peaches, potatoes, marrow...
* Use alot of oil, don't feel shy.
* Add extra baking powder. As you are not adding eggs, you don't get the cake rising to its full potential. For every 1cup SR flour you use, add 1/2 tbs of baking powder, or double the baking powder for recipes that use plain flour.
* Wicked vegan chocolate cakes should use vegetable oil, Whittakers dark chocolate and mashed potato. I think I will try this one soon...
* You could also make a vegan fugde cake with oil, Whittakers dark chocolate, vanilla and vinegar> Marshmallows on the top for a fun moon-crater effect.

Bengali Chapati

2010-03-07T17:07:00.013+07:00

"Moving to Sydney would make me fat," I said to Dave as we wandered King St looking for dinner. I later said to Lee that if I did move to Sydney, I would have to live next to a gym. Angus said that was ok, provided a bakery was next door.

In less than 48 hours, I ate Indian @ Faheem's in Enmore, Cake in Newtown, Ramen at Menya Noodle Bar hidden on the corner of Kent and Market St, Organic Pancakes @ Scrambled (also in) Enmore and Bourke Street Bakery goods from their secret baking shed in Marrickville. Lee is lucky enough to back onto the Bakery and be tempted by their bread, delicious ginger creme brulee tarts and amazing sausage-rolls.

The highlight of the gluttony was traditional Bengali, with cross-european flavours at Sunny and Divya's. Our mate Sunny is a superb cook! He spends hours in the kitchen working on recipes and getting the flavours right. He has previously made many a feast, including roast goat, traditional Bengali seafood curries and all sorts of Daal. Our recent feast was pepper lamb in red wine with daal and chapatis.

Divya and Sunny have spent ages perfecting chapatis on their home stove. Sunny showed me how it is done.

First step is to place 2 cups flour in a bowl. Make a well in the centre, and add 1 tsp vegetable oil and some salt. Slowly pour in water a bit at a time and knead. You want the pastry to be fairly dry and tough to knead. When it is all collected together, and a bit 'plastic' to pull, break off small pieces. There should be about 12 pieces all together. Roll each one into a ball and then roll out as thin as you can get them, without breaking. Sunny is the rolling-pin master, as shown in the video I took of him rolling the chapatis:

To cook you will need a gas stove or open flame of some sort. In a pan, you let them cook slightly (go white) on both sides. When they have 'whitened', quickly place them on the open flame. Continuously move them around the flame so they don't burn. Do this on both sides and then place into a container with a tea-towel to cover them. Make sure you keep them warm and eat them as fast as you can with your meal. The fear of burning meant the open-flame-cooking was definitely the hardest part. However, they tasted delicious! Thanks Sunny and Divya :D

The chapati becoming white and ready for the open flame

Fast open-flame cooking

Some secrets to Bengali cooking include:
* Pressure cooking meat in some spices before using in dishes. This makes the meat tender and irresistible!
* Use onion and garlic sparingly.
* Tumeric, mustard seeds and poppyseeds are the spices of love.
* Coriander is a personal choice.
* Fish and seafood are the meats of choice and play a large role in Bengali cuisine.

Corin-baking

2010-03-02T18:12:00.000+07:00

We spent the weekend in a sea of happy people, music, dancing, art, environment and fun in the bush of ACT at Corinbank Festival.

Not only was there some fantastic music, but also fantastic food. There was Mayan Coffee and Xocolat, Chicken Mole, a Chai Tent, Organic Slow-Cooking, Woodfired Pizza, Noodles, Okonomiyaki and fantastic local beer from Wig and Pen and Zeirholz. The festival also had some cooking and food workshops. Most of these were based around Sustainable Eating and growing organic food in your own back yard with Canberra Organic Growers. On Sunday, they had a Organic Foods Cook-Off! Anyone could write down their name and enter the cook-off.

Makeshift Kitchen Stadium

Four lucky contestants were chosen - two male, two female. They had a few ingredients (list below), a stove, one fry pan, one bowl, oven and 15 minutes to make a dish. Like Iron Chef, they also had to use a secret ingredient: Zucchini! Each chef took a turn to cook, sequence drawn by straws. The advantage of being first was variety of ingredients and more ideas. Disadvantage was the limited time to think out ideas. The advantage to being last was time to think about what to cook and how to do it in the short time allowed. However, the disadvantage would be lack of ingredients by the end. It was going to be a stressful and hectic hour ahead!

First Chef

The first chef grabbed the meat and started to cut a slab off and cook it. Simultaneously, he opened a beer. A man of my own heart. He then crushed hazelnuts with a honey container and fried them on the stove with some garlic and honey. Then the eggplant came out, was cut in half and its innards scooped out. Looks like a stuffed eggplant was to be the dish. More rapid chopping, boiling of water, frying of vegetables, including the zucchini. Was he going to get it done in time? As the clocked ticked, he frantically moved from stove to oven, dicing all the cooked ingredients finely, ready to assemble the eggplant when the time was up! The stuffed eggplant became 'Eggplant, vegetables and meat, with egg'. The contents tasted fantastic by themselves, particularly the hazelnut mix.

Eggplant, Meat and Veggies with Egg

The Second Chef looked like he had been in a kitchen before. Perhaps it was his fantastic French Moustache, or his finesse with knives! Who knows!! However, he used his mad carving skills to prepare a beautiful eye fillet. Seared and allowed to sit in the oven. He then cut julienne zucchini and tossed with cream, onion, garlic and pepper. The mixture was allowed to rest whilst the fry-pan was heated with olive oil. Meanwhile, he cooked up some diced apple, crushed hazelnuts, sugar, balsamic vinegar all briefly tossed and heated in a metal mixing bowl. When the fry pan reached temperature, the zucchini mix was fried. It was placed on the centre of the plate, with strips of the organic beef fillet carefully layered on top. The sweet apple mixture was spooned over, with a drizzle of sauce around the side. It was a spectacular feast for the eyes!

Offering Number 2

The third chef was in a state of Zen. She knew exactly what she was doing, and did not seemed to be concerned about the time. Chopping of vegetables, onion and garlic, then frying in the pan. Simultaneously, she whisked some eggs and cream. Looked like a fritatta to me! There was a momentary pan-fail as the egg was poured into the frying pan. Realising that she would have to bake it, a makeshift baking tray was made by folding an aluminum tray in half. She was allowed cooking time in the oven past the 15 minutes, allowing the egg to cook. She did a fantastic job of presentation in a long bowl with some organic cabbage.

Chef Number Three with her Fare

The final chef had to struggle with the left-over ingredients. However, her confidence and time in thought led her right into her dish. She picked up three apples, chopped them in half and scooped out the middle with a large serving spoon. Sprinkled with brown sugar, they were placed into the oven for later. Immediately, she started chopping zucchinis. Some with skin, some without. The ones with skin were tossed into a fry pan with veggies. The other lot was combined with hazelnuts, honey and cooked on the stove. The veggies were sauteed and stacked with yogurt and sunflower seeds, and the sweet zucchini was dished into the apple bowls and topped with cream. Yum!

The competition was tough. The ingredients, time and space even tougher. Both contestants and onlookers exhausted, but happy with their efforts. There were even some casualties from the event! The final contestant cut herself in the midst of dicing. A makeshift bandaid and glove for protection had to be employed.

In the end, the final judgement was difficult. All the onlookers who tasted the food were partners or friends of the Chefs! One of the Corinbank's chefs had to make the final and very hard decision. She said she would serve them all up as meals, however the best dish was by Chef 2!! The French Master did it with style and deliciousness :D

Happy Corin-Baking!

List of Available Ingredients:
Hazelnuts, sunflower seeds, sugar, apples, lemons, yogurt, olive oil, tomatoes, eggplant, red and green capsicum, onions, cream, organic beef, garlic, salt, pepper, eggs and honey.

I was thinking of a quick apple and zucchini crumble with hazlenut and honey topping, covered in cream.

I hope to see you all there again next year <3

Green Tomato Plague

2010-02-23T15:27:00.001+07:00

I never want to smell tomatoes or sage again. My Mum has been busily moving house. Her landlord politely asked her to 'remove her vegetable garden and turn over the soil'. After months of hard work, watering and the beginnings of a bountiful crop, I had to pull it all out.

Some plants were lost and some were saved. The saddest part was pulling out a 5 year old sage plant. It was heavily rooted and took alot of digging and pulling. On the positive side, I managed to replant two eggplants and five capsicums into pots. Not sure if they will survive. I also stripped all the tomato plants of fruit. I came home with about 5kg of green tomatoes, 2 kg ripe tomatoes, two zucchinis and one small eggplant.

Pulling out the giant Sage plant

I had Green Tomato Pickle at Jola's house a few weeks ago. It was delicious and perfect with cheese and biscuits. Never making any kind of preserve before, other than jam, I thought I would have a go. I scoured the internet for some ideas. All recipes had very different ways of cooking the pickles; length of time, when you add spices, how 'mushy' the tomatoes should be etc. I decided to combine them all together, and came up with my own recipe! I have two recipes; one hot and one sweet.

Manly Green Tomato Pickle - Hot

3 kg Green Tomatoes

4 Onions

1 Handful Salt

1 L White Vinegar

1 kg White Sugar

16 Green Chilies, Whole

1 Tbs Mustard Seeds, Cracked

1 Tbs Tumeric

Corn Flour

Water

Sweet Chutney (Back) and Hot Pickle (Front)

Ladies Green Tomato Chutney - Sweet

2 kg Green or Red Tomatoes

4 Onions

1 Handful Salt

750 mL Cider Vinegar

1 kg Brown Sugar

1 Cinnamon Stick

2 tps Allspice

2 tsp Cloves, ground

1 Tbs Curry Powder

Corn Flour, made up with water

Water

For both recipes: Cut up tomatoes and onion and place in bowl or saucepan. Mix through salt and stand in the fridge overnight. I left mine for two nights, and it was ok too. Before cooking, drain off any liquid. Add vinegar to the tomatoes. If the vinegar does not cover the tomatoes, add some water so it just covers them. Boil rapidly for 10 minutes, then add the spices and boil for 1 - 1 1/2 hours. You can reduce the cooking time or increase it depending on how chunky you want the pickles/chutney. Some recipes recommended 30 minutes only. When you are happy with the chunkyness, add some cornflour and allow to simmer and thicken. Gradually add the cornflour until you get a consistency you like. While the tomatoes are cooking, place your jars in an oven at 120 degrees to sterilize. When you are ready to bottle, pull them out of the oven, fill them up and cap! You can eat them straight away, but I suggest putting them in a dark cupboard for a month to improve the flavours.

Green Tomato starting to turn red

Pancakes with Saffron Poached Pears

2010-02-20T18:03:00.002+07:00

Diets are dreadful things, and even worse when it is forced upon you. My friend Jane emailed me early last week about her elimination diet. She sent me a list of foods she is allowed to eat and asked me to come up with some recipes.

Her list is very limited, and so are the dishes she can make. The only fruit she can eat are pears, and very few vegetables. She can have no gluten, no additives, and very few spices or herbs. For the full list, scroll to the bottom of the page. I came up with a few ideas, mainly asian and indian. She could have things like noodle soups, stir-fry, daal, biryani, home-made dumplings, Chinese cakes and fried yum-cha treats. If she wanted more european style meals, risotto, pasta, stews, roasts, fish and chips, carob or pear cakes/cookies, potato cakes, quiche and fritata would all be suitable. The meal she said was hardest was breakfast. So, I came up with a delicious breakfast treat!

Saffron Poached Pears

6 Pears, just ripe
3 Cups water
100g Sugar
1/2 tsp Saffron Threads
1 tsp Vanilla

Cut pears in half and core. Try not to use very ripe pears, as they will fall-apart too easily. Boil water, saffron, sugar and vanilla. Once boiling, add the pears. Add more water if required to cover the pears. Simmer until pears are soft and just before they start breaking apart. Take off stove and let them sit for 10 minutes. Refrigerate in juice for at least 5 hours and preferably overnight.

3/4 Cup Rice Flour
1/4 Cup Tapioca or Corn Flour
1 Tsp Baking Soda
2 Eggs
1/2 Cup Rice Milk
2 Tbs Oil
1/4 Cup Sugar

Makes enough pancakes for 2-3 people. Combine all the dry ingredients, and fold in the wet ingredients. Wisk until smooth. Allow the mixture to sit in the fridge for at least 20 minutes before cooking. I like to sleep in, so I make mine the night before and just add a bit more milk if the batter has gone dry. Cook on a moderate non-stick hotplate with no butter or oil. I prefer to use an electric fry-pan.This batter will make thin pancakes or crepes. Add some more Tapioca flour to have thicker pancakes.

You can just use normal wheat flour and milk instead of the gluten-free variety. Vegans, add more oil instead of eggs. The pears and pancakes will also go well with a big helping of vanilla ice-cream! :D

Jane's Foods: What she is allowed to eat
Fruits: Pears
Vegetables: potato(white, peeled) lettuce(not the fancy types) Bamboo
shoots, beans(green, butter), Bean shoots, Brussels sprouts, celery,
chives, leek, garlic(small amount), shallots, swede, cabbage
Meat: Chicken, lamb, veal, Beef (freshest only)
Fish: White fish (fresh not canned)
Eggs
Beans: pretty much everything except broad beans and anything canned in
sauce
Nuts: cashews
Baking aids: Salt, Bicarb soda, carob powder, cream of tartar, gelatin.
parsley(small amount), poppy seeds, saffron threads(not powder), vanilla
Oil: Canola, rice bran, safflower, soy, sunflower, milk free
butter/margarine
Sugar: white, brown, castor, golden and maple syrups
Rice milk only
Rice is ok except for basmati jasmine and wild
Flour: buckwheat, rice, corn potato
Noodles/pasta: gluten free pasta is ok, buckwheat noodles, vermicelli

Summer Vegetable Ragout

2010-02-16T18:15:00.001+07:00

Feeling the pinch of my purse at the end of pay week, it is time to scrounge through the pantry and fridge. The (unusually) cold weather has brought on the need for something homely and tasty.

A few weeks ago, I saw Lizzie mention ragout. I have not had a good ragout for awhile, and it is perfect for summer vegetables. Ragout is a traditional Italian sauce, made with a tomatoes, vegetables and meat. It is a rich sauce, like bolognese, and often served with pasta. As it has a tomato base, you can pretty much modify to whatever vegetables and meat you have lying around the house! Ragout is really easy to make. All you have to do is dice, chuck in pot and leave alone for a couple of hours. At the end, it will taste fantastic and you would have hardly done a thing!

So, what do I have around the house? Angus bought some salami for pizza the other day and it is still sitting in the fridge. Unopened polenta sitting next to the pasta. The fridge is still full with the glut of summer vegetables from various relatives gardens; eggplants, zuchinnis and a tonne of tomatoes. Perfect! All I need for a tasty summer vegetable ragout.

Summer Vegetable Ragout with Salami, served on Polenta (Photo by Angus Gratton)

Olive Oil
1 onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, diced
2 zucchini, diced
3 carrots, diced
1 eggplant, diced
1 red capsicum, diced
1 stick salami, diced
1 1/2 kg tomatoes, diced or 3 x 400g cans tomatoes
1 1/2 cups red wine
1 cup stock
2 bay leaves
3 sprigs of rosemary or 1 tsp dried rosemary

Heat oil in a stock pot and add vegetables and salami. Cook until the onion is clear and the vegetables slightly soft - around 5 minutes. Add the tomatoes, stock, wine, and herbs and simmer for about 1 1/2 hours or until vegetables are falling apart and sauce has thickened. Stir occasionally. To make Polenta, use this recipe from Taste.

Alternatives:
If you you are a polenta free house, instead use pasta, coucous, crusty white bread, baked or creamy mashed potatoes.

Any cheapish red wine will do. For best results, try a cabernet sauvignon, merlot, sangiovese or a blend. I used Moppity's 2008 Cab Sav, because I also wanted to drink it with the meal! :D

I used hot salami in this recipe, but whatever preference you have will work. Instead of salami you can also try 500g beef or lamb.

Use whatever vegetables you have! Celery, squash, suede, green capsicum, mushrooms etc can all be used.

Vegans and Vegetarians: Just skip the meat! To add fullness, try adding a variety of mushrooms. Button and Swiss Brown would go well in a ragout. You could also try fake vege meat, such as sausages or bacon.

For Kids: reduce the amount of wine and increase stock to compensate. Use less herbs.

Feel Good about Eating

2010-02-13T05:17:00.002+07:00

Kangatarian, Vegetarian, Vegan, Carnivore, Omnivore... it doesn't matter what you label yourself, everyone has the choice to eat sustainably and feel good about eating.

Lyndsey posted an article about Kangatarians. A movement of of people who avoid all meat except for kangaroo 'on environmental, ecological and humanitarian grounds'. My friend Cheney was also lamenting about being a failed vegan. This got me thinking about my own eating habits and the choices I make when I eat.

Tandoori Kangaroo: Courtesy of Macro Meats

For 11 years, I was a vegetarian. Two years ago, I started eating meat for health reasons. As an environmental scientist, I understood the environmental, social and humane implications of eating meat. It was not something I was entirely happy about. However, one of my Professors in land management and farming systems always lectured us about making 'the best and most sustainable choices when you go to the shop'. I realised that it doesn't matter what you choose to eat or not eat, it was about making choices that were sustainable.

Eating sustainably means choosing products that are environmentally, socially, and humanely responsible.

Environmentally friendly foods are those which have the lowest impact on the environment. Commercial farming and production systems use lots of inputs (fertilisers, pesticides) and can be harmful to environmental health (soil, water, animals, plants). So, by choosing products that are better for the environment, it means choosing products that come from an environmentally friendly farming system, such as organic and biodynamic.

Biodynamic Jalna Yogurt: Good for the Environment and your Tummy!

Organic goods are those that only have natural inputs into their farming system. You can buy organic milk, meat, vegetables, fruit, grains, flour, yogurt, cheese, chocolate etc. Biodynamics is very similar to organics, apart from only using organic fertilisers produced on the farm and they have strict environmental rules. Some biodynamic products include dairy, chocolate, meat, eggs etc. Look out for organic and biodynamic labelling.

Choosing locally produced products is also important. Products can be shipped from all around Australia and the world. The cost of refrigeration and transport is massive to the environment, with tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions. Products that are produced locally will have less emissions, and are therefore better for the environment. Some stores will now have food miles labeled. This includes Choku Baijo in Canberra.

Socially Responsible Eating: Look out for Oxfam and Fair Trade Logos

Socially responsible foods are when companies purchase goods from producers at a fair price. Many products that you purchase from overseas may only pay their producers a small amount of money, keeping them in poverty. Fair Trade, Oxfam and Rainforest Alliance are some of the badges on brands that purchase products from people in Developing Countries for a socially responsible and fair price. They pay producers a fair amount of money, that helps to improve their lifestyle. This beaks the cycle of poverty. These companies are also interested in community development, such as schools and health care. Some products that have these brands include Coffee, Chocolate, Spices, Sauces and Noodles.

You can also make more Humane choices when purchasing animal products. Conditions that animals are kept in for food production can mean they have suffered during their lives. Chickens kept in cramped cages, cattle crammed into sheds never setting hooves on grass. However, you can make choices that are more humane. I choose Free Range eggs and Organic free-range chicken instead of Cage. I eat sustainably farmed and free range organic or biodynamic beef and avoid feedlot beef. You can tell feedlot beef, as it will have alot of marbled fat in the meat. I also eat alot of Kangaroo which is environmentally and humanely responsible. It is also low in fat and high in iron, making it good for us too.

Watch out for Marbled Fat. This is an exaggerated example from a Wagyu cow.

Sustainable Eating is about choosing environmentally, socially and humanely sensible products to put in your shopping basket, no matter what you choose to eat or not eat! We all have the power to make a decision between buying Fair Trade or Regular coffee, Organic or Feedlot meat. Not only is it delicious, but we know we are doing the right thing for people, animals and the environment. Just choosing a few sustainable items in a shopping trip will make a difference and make you feel good too.

Thanks to Lyndsey for the idea to write about Sustainable Eating. I will post a special monthly about Sustainable Eating and include a recipe for people to enjoy.

Managing Marrow Mania

2010-02-09T14:49:00.003+07:00

Zucchinis (courgettes) have taken over half of my Mum's veggie garden. If you don't pick them when you see them, they are likely to become watery, tasteless marrows overnight.

Beware: The Tasteless Marrow in Your Backyard

My Mum and I planted a veggie garden together this year. I do all the heavy work on weekends. Mum waters and keeps and eye on things during the week. We have had a bountiful harvest of tomatoes, basil, parsley, zucchinis and corn. Unfortunately, we have also had some overnight rain which lead to two marrows growing in less than 10 hours.

I can't waste anything, marrows included. Typical marrow recipes include stuffing them with meat or cheese and nuts. I am not a fan of stuffed marrow. The stuffing itself may be delicious, but you are still left with tasteless marrow shell. Other ideas include grating for zucchini fritters, zucchini balls and zucchini slice. Dicing them up and adding them to pasta, soups and stews is also a favorite. However, I was on the search for something different, unusual even.

My Mum always used to make the most amazing potato and chocolate cake. When I was a kid, I always thought it was odd to have a vegetable in a dessert. However, it always seemed to work. So when I saw a zucchini and chocolate cake for sale at a Harvest Festival, I knew I had to try it myself.

1/2 cup butter
1/2 cup sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
2 cups, piled, grated zucchini or marrow
2 1/2 cups self raising flour
1 bag or block of dark cooking chocolate
Milk

Melt the chocolate on a low heat in the microwave, checking every 20 seconds or on the stove using a water bath*. Whilst chocolate is melting, cream the butter and sugar, then fold in eggs and vanilla. Carefully fold through the zucchini and self raising flour. Add about 1/4 cup milk and stir though. Add the melted chocolate and quickly stir though. The cake mixture may be 'sloppy' enough if the marrow is particularly watery. However, if it is too think and not easily poured, add some more milk until the mixture can be poured into a cake tin. Grease a cake tin and pour in batter. Cook @ 180 degrees until skewer comes out clean.

This is a rich, dense cake. Have it warm or room temperature, alone or with ice-cream or cream. For something fun, bake some of the chocolate chips into the top of the cake.

For a vegan spin: Use Vegan dark chocolate, soy milk or water and instead of eggs, use a tablespoon of Baking Powder and 1/4 cup of almond meal.

* Water bath: Pot of boiling water with a bowl over the top which is used for melting chocolate.

Ghetto Style Cooking

2010-02-06T11:07:00.000+07:00

Thursday night at The Front was canapes, champagne and the World Premier of Gateaux in the Ghetto.

The Ghetto is an alternative phat cooking show. Three mates, Pat, Steve and Tim, saw something lacking in the average cooking show. Unless you are a really keen foodie, most cooking shows are bland and boring. They aimed for something more entertaining, a bit of a plot and some laughs. Of course, also great food and bikini girls. A hilarious story line, and many mangos, it certainly was entertaining and educational.

Gateaux in the Ghetto Episode 1: Mango Salad and Blood Orange Creme Brulee from Stevie Easton on Vimeo.

The three friends produced, directed and starred in the first episode on a $2 budget, which was allegedly never spent! Patrick and Tim are more than the average pantry chef. Both have served in some of Australia's finest restaurants and the quality of the food reflected their experience.

Ghetto Style: Blood Orange Creme Brulee

Before the film, plates of canapes were passed around. Beautiful butterfly-figs with cream cheese and nectarine. After the viewing, we were delighted to have the opportunity to try the two recipes they created for the film: Blood Orange Creme Brulee and Mango Salad. The Mango Salad was a summer delight and would go well at a BBQ with fish, prawns, chicken or lamb. Creme Brulee is something I usually avoid. I am not a fan of heavy creamy desserts. However, the sweet juice of the blood orange lightened up the brulee, and gave it depth of texture.

The show has been designed for internet viewing, and the three are hoping it goes viral. The second episode of Gateaux in the Ghetto is currently being recorded.

Plumtastic!

2010-02-03T18:49:00.001+07:00

It is that time of the year when the sight of a plastic bag held by a neighbour, friend, family member or co-worker causes panic and fear. It is plum season.

No need to fear the coming wrath of plums. Instead, plum-up your pantry!

Within the last few days I have been given Plum Chili Sauce from Jola and Plum Jam from Alex. On Monday, my mother (out law) gave my partner and I some eating and cooking plums. I love being able to use plums in both sweet and sour dessert recipes. Sour Plum Muffins were a favourite as a teenager. Made as a basic muffin recipe with no extra sugar and diced plums.

In desperation as the over-ripe plum smell wafted through the house, I made two plum-based desserts this evening.

Plum Strudel a la mode

Plum Strudel - Serves 6-8, Suitable for Vegans!
1kg of pitted and diced plums
1/3 cup Sugar
1/4 cup Plain Flour
1 tps Ground Allspice
4 tps Plum Jam
Dairy Free Butter or Canola Oil Spray
Filo Pastry

In a bowl, toss the plums with sugar, flour, allspice and jam. Allow to rest while preparing the pastry. Grease the bottom of a baking tray and place 2-3 sheets of filo pasty over the top. Spray or brush sheets with butter/oil and place another 2-3 sheets over the top. Repeat twice more. In the middle of the sheets, place the plums. If your plums are very ripe, there may be alot of juice. Only include about 1/2 of the juice with the plums. Fold up each end of the pastry and the two sides. Brush oil/butter on the top of the strudel. Cook @ 180 degrees until the pastry starts browning. Increase the temperature to 200 degrees for another 5 minutes. After removing from oven, allow to rest for a few minutes. Cut and serve warm with cream or/and ice-cream. There may be some leaking of plum juice into the tray. However, this can be used as a sauce for the strudel.

Line the base of a cake tin with halved fresh plums, sugar and allspice.

Upside-Down Plum Cake

Fruit Base:
9 - 10 Plums, cut in half and stoned
1 tbs Sugar
1 tps Allspice

Cake:
1/2 cup Butter
3/4 cup Sugar
2 eggs
1 tps Vanilla
2 cups flour
1 1/2 cups milk

For Fun:
Plum Jam or leftover plum juice from the strudel

Grease a cake pan and line the base with the plums (cut side down), sugar and allspice. In a bowl, beat butter and sugar until creamy. Add the eggs and vanilla and stir through. Fold in flour and milk and beat well. Pour over the top of the plums. For a bit of fun, you can pour leftover plum juice or plum jam on the top of the batter and swirl though. Bake @ 180 until top is golden brown and bounces back quickly when touched. Serve warm with cream or ice-cream.

Sweet or Sour Plum Tip: If you like it sweet, add more sugar or try 'marinating' your plums in sugar and spices before using. If you like them sour, reduce the amount of sugar in the recipe.

I also apologise for the poor photo quality. Every time I go to grab my camera or my partners, both of them seem to have flat batteries. My camera phone will have to suffice for a bit longer.

Decadent Girls Night In

2010-02-02T12:58:00.002+07:00

Saturday night girls-night-in was all about dessert.

I arrived at Jola's house with a tray of Chocolate Triffle's and a spicy bean dip. Jola had been busily cooking Fudge and Berry Coulis Cheesecake. A hard night ahead of us ;)

Jola, pantry chef alike, loves to cook. Work can be tedious. Jola says that coming home, creating and achieving something delicious gives so much satisfaction. It is therapeutic.

Before we got stuck into the desserts, Jola made us a low-fat, high taste potato bake.

Potato Bake with Tarragon Vinegar Green Salad. Drinking Brown Brothers Moscato.

Jola washed, peeled and thinly sliced potatoes. A double layer was placed on the bottom of a casserole dish. She then topped the potato with homemade (by her mother in law) tomato relish and sliced vintage tasty cheese. The layers were repeated two more times. The final layer was topped with Greek Yogurt and more cheese. Casserole dish was then covered and baked in a 200 degree oven for 40 minutes. Lid was removed and a further 20 minutes was allowed for browning.

A fantastic light potato bake. Great for lips and the hips! Most of the potato bakes I recall from younger days had loads of cream and cheese. Not really something I enjoy anymore. My primary school used to make a potato bake with french onion soup mix made up with cream and thick cheese layer on the top. It certainly was delicious, and great for kids.

Another tasty, and reasonably guilt free treat are Individual Chocolate Triffles.

Chocolate Triffle

For about 8 - 10 trifles, you will need:

1 x Chocolate Cake - sponge roll, left over cake, whatever you have!

1 x Jar or packet of mixed berries. Keep the juice.

6-8 serves of Light Chocolate Mousse. I used a packet mousse and made it up as per directions.

1 x miniature bottle of Baileys/Tia Maria or Kaluha

Light Whipped Cream

Chocolate Shavings

Glasses - the ones shown are plastic wine glasses.

Stack it all! Cover the bottom of the glass with cake. Pour a teaspoon of preferred booze over the top. Place 1 tablespoon of berries over the cake, along with some of the juice. Dollop mouse over the top of the berries, and then follow again with the cake, booze and berries. Style the top with whipped cream and shaved chocolate. Allow to set in the fridge for at least 6 hours before serving.

Portions can be controlled by the size of the glasses you choose. They look pretty, so are great for entertaining and kids love them as well!

Thanks to Jola for the great night and letting me post your tasty bake!

Iron Chef-u!!!!

2010-01-23T14:04:00.000+07:00

Iron Chef is one of my favourite cooking shows. The drama. The crazy commentators. The American dubbed English. And the food masterpieces! Iron Chef is really what I do everyday at home. I have one key ingredient, and I have to make something out of it, just without the cameras and Kitchen Stadium!

A few years ago, my friend David (a fine cook indeed) challenged me to an Iron Chef style cook-off. David and I chose my house as the battle ground. The kitchen was basic. One old oven and stove-top from the 60's, a single sink, no bench space, kitchen table in centre, small fridge, microwave and some bits and pieces of cooking equipment. We invited a group of friends over to partake in the eating and judging of the battle. They also got to choose the secret ingredient. In fact, they could not decide on what it should be, so instead chose several: fish, cheese, leak, oranges and sweet potato. At least one dish had to be made using fish.

The battle was on! We had 30 minutes to go to the shop and buy everything we needed. We had a set budget of $60 and needed to create at least 3 dishes. Bonus points if you could combine at least 2 of the ingredients in the same dish. I also made a pact with Dave. He had the stove, I had the electric wok and one shelf in the oven. It was going to be tough.

Canapes (Photo by Angus Gratton)

As we wandered through the supermarket, I decided on what to cook:
1. Brie, caper and smoked salmon canapes.
2. Leek and Feta Mini-Quiches
3. Orange Ocean Trout and Sauteed Capsicum on Greens
4. Three Mushroom Risotto

Dave loves French Cuisine, and threw his experience into the mix:
1. Leek and Sweet Potato Soup
2. Salmon and Creamy Tomato Fettucine
3. Caramelised Sweet Potato Dessert with Orange

Cooking began - One hour to create! The kitchen got tough. Dave was running around manically to the stove and table, chopping frantically and scraps being flung onto the floor. I was using the wok for the fish and the rice cooker for the risotto. I was unsure how well this would work, but I knew I had to stay zen. After the hour of frantic cooking, the dishes were done. We plated them and served for all our friends to try. I nervously stood back, as I watched them all scoring, sipping at my glass of wine. The announcement. Who's cuisine reigns supreme???

Mine!

I was amazed. I was sure Dave, with his fancy knife and French-flair would outweigh my rough and ready Pantry-Style.

Friends Judging David's fare (Photo by Angus Gratton)

I think the Ocean Trout was the biggest success. Until living in the Solomons, I had not eaten much fish, nor new how to cook it. However, after relying on fish as a main protein source, I have some fail safe tips:

1. Like meat, try to only turn it once.
2. Steam! Don't just sear your fish, but add a bit of liquid, close the pan off and let it steam.
3. Keep checking it. Fish is easily overcooked.
4. Flavour - try a combination: garlic and soy, ginger garlic and lemon, orange ginger and garlic, orange and honey, lemon myrtle and lime. Don't over flavour.
5. While cooking, add a sprinkle of sugar to a heavier fish, like tuna or salmon. Soy and garlic is my favourite combination for fresh tuna steaks.
6. Moderately hot pan or a covered tray @ 180 Celsius.

Solomon Islands Pawpaw Curry

2010-01-20T19:35:00.002+07:00

A few years ago I lived in the Solomon Islands. I was living there as a volunteer with an environmental NGO. My mind often wanders back to trips in leaky canoes, chewing betel nut, sitting in a leaf-house stori-ing (talking) or riding in a Toyota Hilux tray with chickens, coconuts, rice, babies and 10 adults for 5 hours in the rain. Part of volunteering is to get to know culture, language, country, customs, people and food! I was fortunate to not only eat some delicious island food, but also learn how to cook it.

I lived with a local family in Honiara. They were traditionally from Roviana Lagoon, near Munda in the Western Province (New Georgia). I was invited to an Uncle's wedding along with my housemate Sue. It is tradition for the entire family to help with preparing the wedding celebrations. I helped the women with some of the cooking duties. This included scraping coconuts, preparing food and woven containers, feeding the army of family-workers. I was also privy to see some of the men's duties. This included pig sacrifice, motu (earthen oven - below) and making a traditional war ship as the dinner table.

I also ventured to Rennell and Bellona; two small islands to the south-west of Honiara of Polynesian descent. When I arrived at the island, it was 'taem no kaikai' or time of no food. These particular islands have a few months every year when it is too wet for anything to grow. However, I soon realised that there was plenty of food out there, it was just learning how to use it! Some of the delights I tried included slippery kavis (slippery cabbage), fern salad, coconut crab and taiyo (tuna) curry. Fern salad was a particularly delicious dish and fantastic with taro or another potato. Coconut crab looks like a land-lobster (below), but tasted like mud. They wanted me to dip rice into the stomach and intestines of the creature. Unfortunately, I just couldn't do it, fearing it would be even more mud-like. Although, I was told it was 'creamy'. However, my favourite and most long-lasting in my memory is the pawpaw (papaya) curry that a local lady made at the school. It was a beautiful blend of sweet and juicy with creamy coconut and salt; very homely. I have adapted the recipe slightly to ingredients available in Australia.

2 x Green Pawpaw or Papaya
2 Cans coconut cream or milk
1 Onion, chopped
2 Cloves Garlic
Oil
Yellow Curry Powder
Salt
Rice

Prepare the pawpaw by cutting it lengthwise and scooping out seeds. Cut off skin and dice flesh. Heat a saucepan with oil and fry the onion and garlic for a couple of minutes. Add the pawpaw, coconut cream and curry powder. Simmer until the pawpaw is about to fall apart and the sauce has thickened. Add salt to taste. Serve with rice.

Find a green pawpaw if you can, or a pawpaw that is not too ripe. Do not use over-ripe pawpaw. Cooking times will vary dependant on the ripeness of the pawpaw.

Roo Burgers

2010-01-15T12:35:00.002+07:00

Kangaroo is getting increasingly easy to find. We now buy it from our local Woolworths, Coles or Supabarn in vacuum-sealed packs courtesy of Macro Meats. There have been some unfortunate health scares with roo in more recent months. However, cook it properly like any other meat, and it is fantastic! The mince is great in spag-bol, tacos, burritos or any other recipe that uses beef mince. If you are after a steak or stir-fry, always marinade for 24 hours before cooking. Some of my favourite marinades include Char Sui Sauce, Korean Chilli-BBQ or soy and garlic. The pre-marinaded Macro Meats BBQ or garlic-wine packs make great steaks when cooked medium-done.

One of my supervisors, an academic in sustainable land management and farmer, makes the most amazing roo burgers. His secrets include red wine, lots of garlic, onion and oats. He usually lets it all sit together for at least 24 hours. The garlic and red wine mask the game flavour, whilst complementing the kangaroo.

My mate Dave invited us to a mid-week BBQ. Only roo or chicken in the freezer. I realised I didn’t have all the ingredients I needed to make my supervisors famous burgers. However, I did some cupboard and fridge poking and came up with the following.

500g Kangaroo Mince
½ Onion, chopped finely
½ bunch spinach, chopped finely and cooked to wilting point
1 tbs Basil Pesto *
1 egg
Oats
Dry Sherry

Place mince, onion, spinach, pesto and egg in a bowl. To the bowl add oats to match the volume of the mince. Add enough sherry to soak into the oats, but not to make the mixture wet. Stir thoroughly. You can allow the mix to sit in the fridge for 24 hrs to marinate. However, I left it for about 2 hours this evening and it was fine. Pre-heat a pan or BBQ with some oil until hot. Place spoonfuls of mixture on to the plate and shape or flatten as desired. Try to only turn once during cooking and don’t turn the heat down. Burgers will be ready when browned through.

Try serving with BBQ sauce (my favourite is Walsh’s Homemade Backyard Barbeque Sauce), fresh bread and green salad.

* Any other tomato or garlic rich pesto could also be used.

Tired-Veggie Quiche

2010-01-13T13:28:00.000+07:00

Quiche is so simple and you can add almost anything! For left-over meat, roast veggies or near-retiring veggies, quiche is a great way of using things up. If you make a Tired-Veggie Quiche it can always be jazzed up. Try feta, Parmesan, Brie, or herbs. Sundried tomatoes or fresh basil also help to give it some more flavor.

Ingredients can be altered depending on the size dish you have. This recipe is for a medium quiche which would last Angus and I for 8 individual serves.

1-2 Sheets of Puff Pastry
8 eggs, beaten
1/2 Cup Milk or cream, skinny or fat
3 medium zucchinis, sliced
1 bunch asparagus
1/2 block feta, cut into small cubes
2 tbs fresh thyme, chopped
Salt and pepper

Pre-heat oven to 200 degrees. Grease quiche dish and line with pastry. Take care to cover any holes. Place zucchinis on the pastry. Cook asparagus until tender, chop into 2cm pieces and place onto pastry. Scatter feta, thyme and salt n pepper over the top of the veggies. Beat eggs and cream together and pour over veggies until covered. Bake until skewer comes out clean.

Everyone has their own steadfast, ancient quiche recipe passed down generations. The egg and cream ratio is usually what differs for the texture of the quiche. I feel milk and cream is up to the individual. I am not a fan of rich food, and prefer a lighter style quiche. If you like a heavy quiche, add more cream.

I also like making party sized quiches when we have guests. Some of my most popular combinations include:
- Cherry Tomato, Feta and Pesto
- Smoked salmon and capers
- Caramelised onion with anchovy and blue cheese
- Brie and spinach
- Grilled capsicum or sundried tomatoes with feta and fresh basil

Chai and Chocolate

2010-01-12T13:32:00.000+07:00

From years of being a hungry student, I was forced to make the most delicious food with whatever I had lying around. All the recipies in this blog must be inspired from something in my pantry, freezer, fridge or fruitbowl.

I needed a cake to take to our new neighbors evening picnic. Not something too dense in the warm weather, but summery and light.

My attention was drawn to the tea shelf. I recalled a light and fluffy chai muffin from a cafe in Newcastle. We had some Hari Har Chai in the house, and plenty of Green and Black's Chocolate left from Christmas. It was a match made in heaven!

1/2 Cup Butter
3/4 Cup Sugar
1 egg
1 tsp Vanilla
1/2 tsp Cinnamon
1 Plain Chocolate Bar, roughly chopped
2 Cups Self Raising Flour
1 1/2 Cups Milk made up on the stove with strong Chai Tea, strained

Cream sugar and butter. Add egg, vanilla, cinnamon and chocolate and fold through. Add flour and pour chai-milk over the top. Stir until smooth. Bake at 180 degrees until skewer comes out clean. Best served right out of the oven with Vanilla Icecream/Cream.

Modifications: Sugar can always be reduced to 1/4 cup per cup of flour. Try to use either milk or dark chocolate. You could melt the chocolate and stir it through as an alternative to chopped. If you have tea bags, cut them open and place contents in the milk, followed by straining. I also want to try this cake with roughly-chopped walnuts. I think it will be fabulous!