Bizarre gnocchi and strange crumble

We have just finished watching our Tripods DVD boxset. It was a strange BBC adaption of a science fiction novel about aliens who have stopped the human race from their dangerous technology by using caps to make them docile. The outfits look like the sort of fancy dress that my friends and I might have come up with when we were kids (eg a blanket tied with a dressing gown cord) but the scenery is superb. The tripods are wonky models but their city has a sense of wonder. Unfortunately the third series was cancelled due to the series being too expensive and too slow. The ratings showed that it was not to everyone’s taste.

Not everyone appreciates something a little different. Some people are happy to have meat and potatoes every day, or so I am told. I am not one of them. I love having lots of variety in my diet and experimenting with different ingredients and flavours. No could accuse me of being boring on the weekend when we had a bizarre gnocchi and a strange sort of crumble.

Would you be excited if told I was making gnocchi with mouldy cheese and bitter lettuce? I don’t know that E was overly enthusiastic after I gave him a piece of radicchio to taste. It was horribly bitter when raw. I've never used it before so I didn’t feel brave enough to chop it into 6 wedges and instead I sliced it into ribbons. Cooked, it actually was quite mellow and flavoursome. As for blue cheese, it never loses its taste. I was a little worried how the gnocchi would taste so I added some roasted cauliflower I had on hand and chopped up a pear.

Once I looked at my gnocchi I realised that the little pillows of semolina had disappeared under all my toppings. Oops. I don’t think that was meant to happen. The picture of Karen Martini’s recipe in the Age’s Sunday Life magazine showed lots of crispy gnocchi. Mine was a pile of crispy and interesting vegetable toppings with soft gnocchi underneath. I also found out I had run out of parmesan cheese and decided I should use some of the nutritional yeast in the gnocchi mixture. It gave a nice flavour but I would probably prefer the parmesan.

We served the dish with Brussels sprouts and a warm beetroot dip. The recipe’s suggestion of serving this with meat seemed odd. It needed vegetables! I don’t think we ate the gnocchi as intended but it was surprisingly pleasing.

I served a gluten free dessert so if you wanted a gluten free meal, you could substitute cheesy polenta slices for the semolina. Of course, you also would not serve it with bread like we did. And in case you are curious, the photo at the top includes an apple and date cake that I recommend you try because it was so good.

Dessert was a berry and coconut crumble I had found in the Women’s Weekly. It appealed because I have been interested in gluten free crumble toppings and trying out different ideas lately. Berries, coconut and lime is a tropical summery combination which seemed a little odd in a warming winter dessert. Nevertheless I enjoyed it.

I couldn’t resist substituting some banana for the berries but didn’t chop it up enough. I had naively thought that it would break down more over an hour in the oven but it didn’t so next time it will be in smaller pieces. The recipe was next to another one for rhubarb and white chocolate crumble, but the chocolate idea seemed more appropriate for the berries so I threw in a handful of white choc chips.

I love berries and could have just eaten the lime flavoured berry mixture. It was deep red and full of delicious juice. The crumble was particularly light rather than the dense oaty crumbles I usually make. And I loved the creamy white chocolate oozing between the fruit and crumble in small pockets of sweetness. E found the crumble a bit intense – I think there was a bit too much fruit for him. He found it more palatable the second night when he had bought some cream to serve with it. But I think it was delicious without cream. The leftovers were very tempting but I was glad we left it for the next night because there is only so much one can eat of such berry goodness.

Baked gnocchi with radicchio, gorgonzola and walnuts
(from Karen Martini in Sunday Life, The Age, July 2009)
Serves 4 as a main

650ml milk
175g semolina
2 eggs
100g parmesan cheese, grated (I used ½ cup nutritional yeast and couple of handfuls of grated cheese)
1 radicchio, sliced
1 pear, cored and diced (optional)
¼ cauliflower (1 cup), chopped in small florets and roasted with lemon juice and kecap manis (optional)
50g butter, diced
100g blue gorgonzola, crumbled
2 tbsp walnuts

Blanch radicchio by placing in a bowl and pouring boiling water over it. Leave two minutes and then drain.

Bring milk to boil in a medium saucepan and slowly add semolina over medium heat, whisking as it is added. Cook stirring frequently for about 15 minutes or until mixture comes away from the side. Remove from heat and whisk in eggs and half parmesan cheese (or nutritional yeast). Spread into a lined lamington tin (28 x 18cm or 11 x 7 inch). Use the back of a spoon to smooth as much as possible (this wasn’t easy for me). Place in the fridge to cool. (Just an hour or two should be fine).

Cut gnocchi into squares. Arrange on a baking dish – I used the same lined lamington tin (Karen Martini says to use a ceramic dish). Sprinkle toppings over gnocchi, radicchio, pear, cauliflower, butter, gorgonzola, walnuts and remaining grated cheese on top. Bake in 220 C oven for 30-40 minutes or until golden brown and crispy.

Berry and coconut crumble
(adapted from Women's Weekly magazine May 2009)
serves 4-6

500g mixed berries, frozen
3 bananas, peeled and chopped into small pieces
⅓ cup sugar
juice of 1 lime
¾ cup white choc chips
100g unsalted butter, diced
1½ cups shredded coconut
½ cup soy flour (or wheat flour)
1 tsp ground ginger
¼ tsp cinnamon
zest of 1 lime

Mix berries, banana, half of sugar and lime juice in the bottom of a baking dish (mine is about 22cm round). Sprinkle with white chocolate chips. Place coconut, flour, spices and lime zest in a medium mixing bowl. Rub butter into this mixture until it is coarse and lumpy. Sprinkle crumble over the choc chips. Bake at 160 C for about a hour til crumble is golden brown and fruit is bubbling. If topping is browning too much, cover towards the end of cooking. Serve with cream if desired.

On the stereo:
Ultravox: the Island Years

Balancing Soup and Scones

It has always been a bit of a mystery to me why sometimes we put bicarbonate of soda (a.k.a. baking soda) into some baked goods and baking powder into others. Of course I know that self-raising flour is made with 2 tsp baking powder to a cup of plain flour. I also know the bicarb soda is more fun because it froths up so easily. Only recently have I discovered that this reaction is why we use both these powders in baking.

There was a time when I didn’t use any commercial cleaning products. Just a sprinkle of bicarb and a squirt of vinegar created a wonderful fizzing reaction and was finished off by a little elbow grease. That was mostly when I was a student and lived in environmentally conscious share houses where we made our own laundry detergent, our own tofu and even cleaned our hair with the whey leftover from the tofu. I remember in one house some enterprising soul had heated a skewer over a gas stove flame and used it to pierce holes in the top of a (Jalna) yoghurt container to make a container for sprinkling bicarb. They had then used the hot skewer to make a hole in a plastic bottle top and put vinegar into the bottle so it would squirt vinegar.

Then I went to an Enjo demonstration and was won over by the idea of microclothes eliminating the need for many chemicals, as well as reducing the amount of water and time needed to clean. (Thanks Kathleen) So now I have given the bicarb the heave-ho but confess I do use some commercial chemicals now.

My other use of bicarb is of course in baking. It made baking more exciting when I was little. I loved helping my mum make ANZAC biscuits or boiled fruit cake and watching the bicarb being added to the mixture. It delight me as it frothed up like fizzy drink.

I know that bicarb has a funny soapy taste and am careful when adding it to ensure that there are no lumps. (Although I don’t like sifting flour I often just sprinkle bicarb with my fingers to check there are no lumps.) A housemate once made a cake with the bicarb in lumps only to have others make faces at the taste. That experience told me to beware the bicarb.

I am not sure where I heard about the difference between bicarb and baking powder – perhaps the radio – but it suddenly made sense. It was like my baking version of the road to Damascus. I found a few explanations on the web. The best one is from the Joy of Baking.

Bicarbonate soda is an alkaline leavening ingredient and needs to mix with an acidic ingredient to create the chemical reaction to make the food rise. Acidic ingredients include buttermilk, yoghurt, sour cream, vinegar, lemon juice, fruit, honey, molasses, maple syrup, cocoa (not Dutch processed) or chocolate. (Ah-ha – is that why some recipes suggest that we don’t use Dutch processed cocoa!)

Baking powder is a mixture of bicarb (alkaline) and an acid (such as cream of tartar). There is all sorts of interesting information about double acting baking powder (which is what most of us use now) so it reacts to liquid and heat at different stages, and cornstarch to keep the baking powder dry. Fascinating stuff. And useful information for when you aren’t quite following a recipe.

Not only has this information solved the mystery of bicarb vs baking powder but also the previously unexplained milk vs buttermilk/yoghurt decision. So baking powder and milk are neutral friends whereas bicarb and buttermilk or yoghurt react with each other to get a rise. Which is why soda bread has buttermilk in it. It makes sense of some of the baking I have been doing lately. It is all about balance.

I recently made spinach and feta scones which had both baking powder and buttermilk – just to show that they can still be friends. But now I have a little more understanding of these. However even without this additional knowledge I appreciated the lovely green appearance, the intense salty flavour of the feta, and the short buttery lightness of the scones. These are not the scones I grew up with - mine never had any egg or so much butter – but they are fantastic and worth trying.

I had wanted to try these scones for ages but I finally made them to eat with a Broccoli, Zucchini and Blue Cheese Soup. It was a lovely marriage of textures and flavours. The soup used up some blue cheese I had as well as some leftovers of a cauliflower gratin with blue cheese that my mum had made for me. (It was made with cauliflower and beetroot but I ate all the beetroot as I loved the taste of that with the blue cheese but found the cauliflower a bit more challengingly intense.) I made a few changes, leaving out cream and adding some walnuts and yoghurt.

The only problem with the soup and scones was the lack of red, orange and yellow coloured foods. I love green foods but also love balance. Given that I have a large blog backlog, I thought I would also include a recipe for a beetroot, goats cheese and onion bread below that I served with Potato, Bean and Kale Soup recently. It was made because I suddenly couldn’t bear to have the tin of beetroot in my pantry any longer. But if I were to try this again I would prefer to use freshly grated beetroot. Nevertheless, it produced a pleasingly pink dough that become a golden bread with ruby studs of beetroot. Enough deep red to provide another option that would satisfy my need for some colour contrast with the soup.

Broccoli, zucchini and blue cheese soup
(Adapted from Notebook Magazine, July 2009)
Serves 4

1 tbsp olive oil
1 leek, sliced
1 large creamy dutch potato, peeled, finely chopped
1 clove garlic, roughly chopped
1 head broccoli, coarsely chopped
1 zucchini, trimmed, chopped
2 cups vegetable stock
½ cup white wine
25g castello blue cheese, crumbled*
1 cup cauliflower gratin with blue cheese (optional)
chopped walnuts to serve
yoghurt to serve

*The recipe called for 75g mild blue cheese. I am not familiar with blue cheese but the one I used seemed very strong so we used less. But if you don’t happen to have leftover cauliflower cheese about or if your cheese is mild, you might want more blue cheese.

Heat oil in large saucepan. Cook leeks for about 5 minutes. Add potatoes and cook about 3 minutes. Add broccoli, garlic, zucchini, stock and wine. Bring to the boil and simmer for 12 minutes or till broccoli is just cooked. Add blue cheese and cauliflower cheese, if using. Simmer about 2 minutes just to warm through. Blend. Serve with walnuts and yoghurt.

Spinach and Feta Scone
(adapted from Bella Eats via Two Spoons)
makes 8 scones.

¾ cup buttermilk (or milk)
1 egg
1 cup white flour
2 cups wholemeal flour
4 tsp baking powder
100g unsalted cold butter, cubed
100g crumbled feta
2 good handful (about 2 cups) fresh finely chopped spinach (or silverbeet)

Preheat oven to 220 C. Lightly grease a baking tray. In a medium bowl whisk together buttermilk and egg. Prepare feta and spinach.

Mix flours and baking powder in a large bowl. Rub butter into flours until the mixture resembles coarse breadcrumbs. Mix in buttermilk, egg, spinach and feta gently til just combined and still a little shaggy. Turn out and lightly knead on a floured board just til dough is smooth(ish). It is quite a soft dough. Don’t knead more than you need or the lumps of feta disappear.

Gently flatten into a circle with dough about ¾ inch (3cm) thick. Transfer to a baking tray. Use a large sharp knife to score lines to make 8 wedges. Bake for 20 minutes until lightly golden. Then take out of the oven and cut into the 8 wedges along the scored lines. Return to the oven and bake for a further 20 minutes or until golden brown. (I think I returned mine for another 10 minutes to make sure it was cooked enough). Best eaten warm. Can be frozen and heated in the microwave.

Beetroot, Goat Cheese and Onion Bread
(adapted from this bread)

1 cups self-raising flour
½ cup wholemeal flour
1 tsp salt
½ tsp caraway seeds
½ x 400g tin of pickled beetroot, drained and finely chopped (or 200g fresh beetroot peeled and grated)
120g goats cheese torn into small pieces
1 onion, finely sliced
1 tbsp walnut oil
2 tsp walnut oil
1 egg
3½ tbsp yoghurt
1 tsp seeded mustard
poppy seeds, for sprinkling

Heat oven to 190 C. Cook onion in 1 tbsp walnut oil for 10 minutes til golden brown.

Place flour, salt and caraway seeds into medium mixing bowl. Mix in ⅔ of the cheese and onions. Lightly beat the egg, beetroot, 2 tsp oil, yoghurt and mustard. Add to the flour mixture and and mix everything together thoroughly until you have a sticky shaggy dough.

Transfer the dough onto a greased baking tray – use floured hands or just scrape it out with a spoon. Form into a rough round. Dot the remaining cubes of cheese over the surface, and sprinkle with poppy seeds. Bake for 45 minutes. Cool on a wire rack.

On the Stereo:
Assembly: John Foxx

Pudding, Parties and Plate Smashers

I may have mentioned once or twice that E’s favourite dessert is treacle pudding with custard. We had a similar version when I was young that I loved but my mum put jam in the bottom of the pudding dish rather than syrup. She recently told me that the ingredients are the same as for apricot sponge but with jam instead of apricots. We always called it steamed pudding but I have also seen it called college pudding.

I loved steamed puddings but it does take a considerable amount of time and some foutering about. Last year I tried making treacle pudding in the microwave but, as I mentioned in my previous post, I make things once and then when I go to revisit them months or years later, I can’t find the recipe. I did however find my photo (below). And a similar microwave pudding recipe can be found here. Mine was a bit dry so I felt it needed work and I am determined to try it again – I just feel it is an unnecessary luxury to make puddings over and over.

Meanwhile, I was interested to find a baked treacle pudding recipe while browsing magazines in the library. It seemed easier than steaming so I thought I would give it a whirl. These puddings were good but there were too problems – the neighbours and the duplicity of the food photography in glossy magazines.

It is probably a couple of months since I made this and yet the night is still crystal clear in my memory. A Saturday that found us having a quite night at home in front of the television (as usual). Unfortunately our neighbours had decided it was party night.

On one side of us we had the hoons holding a 21st party, booming out retro classics that I remember being hits in their first journey round the charts (Abba, Gloria Gaynor, Village Men). That made me feel old. On the other side were the Greek neighbours who started quietly and got louder and louder. We could hear them dancing, yelling ‘opa’ and smashing plates. If we looked out the window we could even see heads bobbing up and down.

It reminded me of a party I attended as a student when the next door neighbour came over to join in and kept saying, ‘the neighbours are complaining, turn the music up.’ (I think I am telling you this to show that I once was the one partying instead of next door with my hands over my ears.) Only we wanted the music turned down from ear-bleedingly loud to a mere roar. Unexpectedly, it was the younger crowd who turned their music off first.

Add a crying baby into the mix, a cat trying to climb into the pram, and this was not the best night to indulge in pudding covered in custard. The stress was not even eased by watching our favourite British police show, the Bill. In fact the Bill has some of E’s favourite cockney phrases that would have been quite useful that night - ‘leave it out, guv’, ‘shut it, you slag’ and ‘he’s dun a runner’! Fortunately, we had leftovers for the following night which was enjoyed in a much more relaxed fashion.

So while I am having a whinge about the evening, I will share my gripe about pudding pictures. The photo in Delicious Magazine showed gooey berry syrup cascading down the side of the pudding. That is my image of treacle pudding. However, whenever I have made treacle pudding, the syrup soaks into the pudding. It happened when I made the microwave pudding, the steamed strawberry pudding and this treacle ginger and berry pudding. So the picture left me a wee bit disappointed.

Outrageously loud parties and misleading pictures aside, the pudding was delicious. It was soft, sweet and warmly spiced. The custard was made while trying to calm Sylvia and consequently was a little lumpier than usual but we still covered the pudding with it. I am not sure that the berries made much impact – although I used raspberries rather than blackberries, which might have made a difference. I also didn’t have stem ginger so used ground spices. I loved baking the pudding in the ramekins. It was simpler than steaming, looked pretty and was easy to store leftovers. In fact, I imagine they would freezer in ramekins. I loved these puddings and hope to try them again in peace and quiet.

Baked Treacle, Ginger and Berry Pudding
(from Delicious Magazine Dec 07/Jan 08)
serves 4

100g unsalted butter
½ cup castor sugar
2 eggs
⅔ cup self raising flour
grated zest of 1 orange
4 pieces of stem ginger (I used a mix of ground ginger, cinnamon and mixed spice)
4 tbsp golden syrup
12 plump blackberries (I used raspberries)
Custard or cream to serve

Preheat oven to 180 C. Grease 4 ramekins. Cut out circles of baking paper to line the bottom of each ramekin. Place a tablespoon of golden syrup and sprinkle berries on top of the syrup.

Cream butter and sugar. Add eggs one at a time, mixing after each addition. Stir in flour, zest and spices.

Divide batter among the ramekins. Cover each ramekin loosely with a piece of greased foil. Bake for 30 minutes or until a skewer comes out cleanly. Turn ramekins out into dessert bowls and serve with cream or custard.

On the stereo:
Down Colourful Hill: Red House Painters

Frugal Freezer Stock and a WIP Stew

I hate throwing out anything. It all began when I was traumatised by my mum and my baby sister throwing out my favourite doll, April. She is the one in the dolly bouncinet in the photo (apologies for poor quality) and the taller doll is my Brandy doll. Actually, I think it might have gone back even further.

Last weekend I dug out a box of childhood stuff from my parents' garage. It included some school exercise books. In one I had written the chores that everyone in the family did. It amused us to see that next to my brother Andy, I had written ‘no work’. He is 8 years younger than me so probably would have been quite young when I wrote this but we still teased him about it.

Spending my life resistant to throwing out anything did not help in my first job after I finished studying. I worked for an archival organisation that was processing the records of the State Electricity Commission (SEC) in the city prior to privatisation. The work wasn’t very exciting but I found it fascinating to be in a building in the midst of closing down. One day we'd see a bustling office and then next day that floor would be deserted.

During this job I learnt a valuable lesson. I wanted to keep some annual reports that had really interesting information. My supervisor told me that they had also been kept elsewhere and storage space was so expensive that we couldn’t afford to keep multiple copies. It is a hard lesson to learn that you can’t keep it all, but when your parents have a double garage and floor to ceiling wardrobes, it is hard to believe. You see I studied history not archives so I had been taught how useful relics of the past were for historians rather than how to process and store them.

Moving into our small unit, the lesson that you can’t afford to keep everything should have been valuable. One glance at our place shows that keeping stuff is prized far higher than order in our household. I don’t know how I missed the neatness gene that my sisters all have. They have spotless minimalist rooms whereas our house is full of homely clutter that makes them throw up their hands in despair.

As a student of history, I believe in the value of keeping a connection with our past but hoarding is about more than that. Anyone who has kept clothes for long enough knows that fashions that go will often come again. The greenie mantra ‘reduce, reuse and recycle’ seems anti-hoarding but it is not quite. Doing my thrift badge as a girl guide, I learnt that old socks can be used for polishing shoes or dusting shelves. It made me inclined to become the type with cupboards full of stuff that just might come in handy one day.

I am no different in the kitchen. When it comes to food, I hate to throw anything out. Even the scraps. This year I finally got a compost bin. But I was delighted to find there are even better ways to recycle trimmings from vegetables. They make wonderful home made stock. What you need is a freezer, a plastic bag and a stockpot.

I came across a post on 30 Bucks a Week (via Bitten) about keeping a bag in the freezer to put vegetable scraps in for making stock. Making stock at home has always seemed a worthy but demanding endeavour. I don’t have lots of vegetables hanging around that need using in stock (I put them into other recipes) and I hate the idea of buying vegetables to cook and throw away. I have read that you can use vegetable scraps but I never seem to have enough to use. Hence my delight at the suggestion of using the freezer.

The method is simple and thrifty. As I chop up vegetables I sometimes put some of the ends and peel in the freezer in a bag. This way, I have it there for when I am ready to make stock, rather than feeling pressured to make stock before the scraps succumb to mould. When I make the stock, I throw all the vegetable scraps in a pot with some water, salt, garlic and some herbs from the garden. Then it goes into containers in the freezer to be there when I need them for cooking.

So I have been able to use my own stock in many dishes lately. As an aside to this rambling post, one of the things that annoyed me about Masterchef most was the advertisement for a commercial stock in the breaks. A very annoying woman, Tessie, did her best to convince us that her stock was real because she was real and so was her kids and her mess and her vegetables. I am not against buying commercially made stock, and do it quite regularly, but to try and convince us it is real or fresh or authentic or genuine is to treat the viewers like fools.

When I look at the stock that I can make from a bag of scraps in the freezer, it seems incredible that commercial manufacturers can charge us for it. Of course, like many others I am often too busy or disorganised or lazy to make my own stock. But now I am quite pleased to be using my freezer and my scraps more effectively. I would encourage others to try this. Not everyone can have a compost bin but most of us have a freezer in which they can keep scraps for stock. Mark Bitten even encourages this with his advice that a full freezer works better than an empty one. Below I have given you an example of what I use but it changes every time.

The first meal that I made with stock was a stew based on Gordon Ramsay’s Pork with Cider and Honey. I have decided in the interest of not throwing out anything – not even a blog post – I need to post the occasional work in progress (WIP) recipe. I know there are bloggers who make dishes over and over til they are just right but that is not my way. I make it, then am distracted by other recipes and when I come to try it again I have forgotten last time. So in the interests of recording what I am doing, I am posting this recipe even though it is not perfect.

I loved the idea of the cider and honey but wanted more vegetables. The main problems with the stew were that the beans were a little tough-skinned and the vegetables cooked into a mush. I don’t often soak and cook beans but am a little confused because I have been told that you shouldn’t salt them while cooking but then some recipes call for to cook them in stock, which is salty. I wondered if cooking the beans in stock was why the beans had tough skins. As for the vegetables, I have amended the recipe with a suggestion that the vegetables are roasted and added later when I make it next time.

The stock is going to Michelle for the Budget Friendly Foods theme for this month’s Heart of the Matter. She has chosen the theme for these days of the Global Financial Crisis but I am sure it are also useful to anyone trying to live a greener life. It seemed a nice coincidence that I made this on World Environment Day. So in this spirit, I would like to share an interesting post with you by No Impact Man reflecting on What I’d Say If I Was Wrong About Climate Change. It is worth reading, just as this freezer stock is worth a try if you are trying to tighten your belt and look after the environment.

Frugal Freezer Stock
(Inspired by 30 Bucks a Week)
Makes about 3 litres

Bag of scraps:
7 onions skins and ends
7 carrots peelings and ends
1 old celery stick
peelings of 1 beetroot
ends of kale
peelings of 1 parsnip
peelings of 1-2 potatoes
a bit of pumpkin skin

3-4 cloves of garlic
3 bay leaves
2-3 sprigs of rosemary
2-3 sprigs of thyme
4-5 sprigs of parsley
4 litres water
4 tsp salt (or to taste)

Bring to the boil in a large stockpot. Reduce heat and simmer for about 20 minutes. Cool slightly - I think I waited about 30 minutes). Sieve into a large bowl or jug. Discard vegetable scraps. Use within a few days or freeze in small tubs.

Bean Stew with Cider and Honey (WIP)
Adapted from Gordon Ramsay (BBC Australian Good Food Guide June 2009)
Serves 6-8

500g dried cannellini beans
1 tbsp olive oil
1 onion, chopped plus one piece of onion set aside
8 cloves
2 cups (500ml) medium cider
600ml vegetable stock
1 tbsp tomato paste
⅓ cup (120g) honey
2 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
1 bouquet garni (bay leaf, sprigs of thyme and parsley tied together with string)
2 carrots, chopped
1 parsnip, chopped
2 sticks of celery, chopped
2 medium leeks, chopped
½ tsp smoked paprika
3 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
1 large aubergine, chopped
2 medium zucchini, chopped
800g pumpkin, chopped
5 vegie sausages, grilled and chopped
1 tbsp cornflour

Soak beans overnight in water. Heat oil in a large stockpot and add onions. Fry for about 5 minutes or till onions soft and golden. Stick cloves into the large piece of onion.

Add clove studded onion, cider, stock, tomato paste, honey, Worcestershire sauce, bouquet garni, carrots, parsnip, celery, leeks, smoked paprika and garlic. Bring to the boil and simmer about 1 hour.

I added aubergine, zucchini and pumpkin and simmer an additional 20 minutes, then added the sausages. I think I would next time simmer the mixture an additional 15 minutes without these veggies and sausages. I would roast the aubergine, pumpkin and zucchini and add these with the sausages and just cook an additional 5 minutes to warm them through.

Then mix the cornflour with a little of the liquid from the pot and add to the pot. Bring to the boil so the mixture thickens.

It is best served with brown rice and green vegetables such as Brussels sprouts.

On stereo:
Best of Bach

Andre's: our friendly local café

I first came across Andre when he had a fruit and nut shop where he now has his café. I especially loved the sesame seed, honey and nut treats he sold. But recently all the bins of beans and nuts were cleared out and replaced by a modern café full of pretty cakes and baskets of dense bread. I’ve been buying bread there for some time but today was the first time we have eaten in.

The café is quite small with just a few tables and chairs but people come and go a lot so it is easy to get a seat. It is just opposite Elli’s Deli at the entrance to Coburg Market and so it a great place to people watch. Andre is a laidback friendly guy who enjoys chatting with his customers. His cheery manner makes everyone feel welcome.

E and I walked in with Sylvia in the pram and caught Andre cursing his coffee grinder. No matter, E assured me that the coffee was lovely. Andre suggested that we try a pumpkin and spinach filo savoury. I ordered one. E chose to have toast with his mother's spice mix (I didn’t catch the name but will find out) which had zumac, oregano, rosemary, thyme, sesame seeds, among other things. He didn’t have any cold drinks for me and suggested I run across to the next door Deli for a bottle. He plans to have a cold drinks cabinet in soon.

My pastry was filled with lots of soft pumpkin and a handful of spinach but it was surprisingly tasty. E loved his toast with the spices although it could have had it a bit less toasted. I overheard Andre saying he also served his mum’s silverbeet, sultana and sumac pastry but when I expressed interest he said they had sold out and, due to a bereavement, his mum wasn’t able to make any more for today.

The pastry was quite light so I still had lots of room for a sweet treat. I chose a cherry ripe slice, party because of the colourful coconut on top. It was nice. The chocolate topping was a bit hard after being in the fridge but I did enjoy the occasional pieces of tart cherry through the sweet coconutty filling. E had a pecan tart and took home half of it. Tasting it at home, I found it very pleasing with a soft sweet filling. I have also tried the rich gluten free chocolate cakes and can highly recommend them.

But if you don’t want any cakes or fancy pastries, then I could highly recommend the toast. This is why I am familiar with Andre’s. If you want a look at it, I have featured his spelt bread in my last post, plus you can see his caraway rye bread and another sourdough (maybe the honey and oat) in other posts. They really are worth trying if you are in the neighbourhood. At the moment he is selling them on Thursdays and Saturdays but will sell any unsold bread for less in the next day or two.

We left with a loaf of the honey and oat bread. It is superb. Soft, substantial, malty, with a chewy oaty crust. Then we went off to get our freebie CD that was given away with The Age newspaper today, to talk about curious bric-a-brac with the women in the op shop, and pace the aisles of the supermarket.

The oddest thing about the high street today was seeing people wearing santa hats. When I first saw a santa hat on an old woman spruiking outside a clothes store, I thought she might be away with the fairies (or the elves as the case may be). Then we passed buskers playing brass instruments and wearing santa hats. Then we saw Santa Claus himself over the road. It must have been Christmas in July. Sylvia smiled and so did we. Perhaps we were imbued with the community spirit from Andre’s. Or perhaps we were just looking forward to getting home for a slice of his wonderful bread.

Update (Sept 2009) - he now has a drinks cabinet and serves foccaccia with cheese/tomato/ham combinations. I have tried his mum's silverbeet, sultana and sumac pastries and they are superb.

Andre’s Coffee House
421 Sydney Rd
(by the entrance to Coburg Market)
Coburg VIC 3058

Pear and Walnut Chutney

I’d like to believe that if I wasn’t at home with a baby that I would be going out and seeing everything I am missing right now but I know the reality is that many events would still slip by in the whirlwind of everyday life.

The difference at the moment is that I have a lot of time to listen to the talkback radio and find out about events I would love to see. Michael Nyman is in town and I would love to see him play. It is the Melbourne International Film Festival and I have heard quite a bit of discussion about the premiere of an Australian film called Bailibo , about the murder of journalists in East Timor in the 1970s. I also would be interested to see another Aussie film, Beautiful Kate, which is at the cinema soon and stars some of my favourite actors.

But the most fascinating event I have heard about lately is the Bobcat Ballet performed to Bohemian Rapsody. I mentioned it to E and he made me laugh with his guesses. So I thought I would do a ‘One out of Three Aint Bad’ question for my favourite quiz show, Spicks and Specks. Below is a list of the real performers and the ones that E guessed. Can you guess which one is correct?

a) Wild cats
b) Bob Dylan fans
c) Construction vehicles

Yes, it is C. What a bizarre idea! It is happening in Mackey in Queensland but may come to Melbourne. If it does I would love to be there but probably wont make it.

Although I am missing some events, there are others that I can go with a baby, of which I had previously been ignorant. One of these is Rhyme Time at my local library. It is a morning session where babies get to sing and dance to nursery rhymes. It is noisy and fun but the most fascinating aspect of it is to see the librarians directing mothers where to park their prams in the foyer and beside the bookshelves.

Afterwards I often go to Andre’s for his lovely sourdough bread. A few weeks back I had a yen to make pear and walnut chutney from a recipe I had jotted down years ago. Pears are in season right now and often reside in my fruit bowl. I had the pears and walnuts but no sultanas. The recipe called for firm pears so I didn’t think I could put off making it too long before I had soft juicy pears. If I made it before Rhyme Time, I could enjoy it on fresh bread at lunchtime. I remembered my tomato chutney that had cranberries in it. This seemed an appropriate substitution for the sultanas.

I set about preparing the ingredients in the morning and it took longer than I anticipated. As usual, I found myself rushing and barely had time to simmer it as long as the recipe said. I had to turn off the heat as we were running out the door. I left it to cool while we were out. I returned with some dense spelt bread at Andre’s. Lunch was a simple repast of good bread, good cheese and excellent homemade chutney.

It looked a little like fruit mince, but it was spicier. I added a few more spices than in the recipe but nevertheless it was a sweet chutney and more chunky than other chutneys I have made lately. The addition of walnuts was surprisingly pleasing. It was great with bread and cheese, lovely stirred into a curry, but not so good with vegie sausages.

I was curious about the combination of pear and walnuts. It is such a lovely winter pairing. It seems I am not alone in my appreciation. There were many great ideas on FoodBlogSearch, so I have listed just a few below.

Savoury Recipes:

• Stuffed pears: Green Gourmet Giraffe
• Pear, Gorgonzola and Walnut Salad: Inn Cuisine
• Mixed Greens with Pear, Walnut and Maple Vinaigrette: Janet is Hungry
• Pear pizza with red onions and walnut pesto: the Rustic Kitchen
• Stilton and Pear Tart with Walnut Pastry: Food Stories
• Roasted Brussels Sprouts and Pears: Food Blogga

Sweet Recipes:

• Pear and walnut muffins: Green Gourmet Giraffe
• Pear and walnut sponge pudding: Cook (Almost) Anything at Least Once
• Eggnog Pancakes with Pear and Walnut Compote: To be Mrs Marv
• Pear & Walnut Gingerbread Pudding with Butterscotch Sauce: Home MadeS
• Pear Maple Walnut Muffins: Limes and Lycopene
• Baked Pears with Calvados and Marscapone Cheese: French Kitchen in America
• Dessert walnut soup with pear: French Laundry at Home

Chunky Pear and Walnut Chutney
Makes 2 medium jars

70g dried cranberries
Zest and juice of 1 orange
600g (4 or 5) firm pears, peeled and chopped
1 granny smith apple, peeled and chopped
1 onion, peeled and chopped
1 cup (250ml) cider vinegar
200g sugar
1 tsp salt
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp mustard powder
1 tsp allspice
1 tsp ginger
¼ tsp cayenne pepper
60g roasted walnuts, chopped

Pour orange juice and zest over the cranberries. Set aside.

Bring cider, onions, apples and pears in large saucepan. Bring to the boil, reduce heat and simmer for about 30 minutes. Add cranberry mixture, sugar, salt and spices. Stir an additional 20-30 minutes until the mixture has thickened. Add the walnuts and leave to cool slightly. Store in sterilised jars. (I just poured boiling water over my jars because I knew it wouldn't last too long.)

On the stereo: All of this and nothing: Psychedelic Furs

Morning Rush Muffins

Today I had a friend from work coming over. I was all prepared for her to visit in the afternoon. I had planned to bake for her but I needed to buy ingredients I was short on. Then I checked my emails and found I had not read her last email properly about her coming in the morning instead of the afternoon. She was to be here in about an hour. I shot into the shower and then I baked some muffins based on what was in the house.

I never even looked at a recipe but just threw in what was about. I was quite pleased with the results given that I had no cookbook propped up anywhere or note from the net to help me. The end of the box of raspberries from the freezer, an apple and some shredded coconut were the main players. The muffins weren’t too sweet but full of chunky texture and fruity flavour.

When Penny arrived I was dressing Sylvia and so she went into the kitchen, turned on the kettle and sniffed at the muffins with pleasure. We had a cuppa, and a plate of muffins while we caught up and Sylvia played on the rug. You just have to look at my photo of the plate when she left to see that my muffins were appreciated. They were very small so we had to have a few!

Raspberry, Apple and Coconut Muffins
Makes 28 mini muffins

½ cup raspberries, frozen or fresh
1 apple, peeled and grated
2 tbsp honey
2 tbsp raw sugar
¼ cup buttermilk
1 egg

½ cup white self raising flour
½ cup wholemeal self raising flour
½ cup shredded coconut
1 tsp cinnamon

Mix dry ingredients and wet ingredients separately and then mix together till just combined. (If you want the raspberries to stay whole then stir these in last - I didn't as I was hurrying and not thinking.) Spoon into prepared muffin pans and bake at 180 C for about 25 minutes til a skewer comes out cleanly. Cool on a wire rack.

On the Stereo:
(Mojo presents) Island Folk: Various Artists

GF Pumpkin choc chip muffins

I have been enjoying experimenting with gluten-free flours lately. I remember when I went vegetarian and reading about how many vegetables there were compared to meats in our diet. So when people asked what did I eat, I felt like I had more to enjoy rather than less. In a similar way, gluten-free cooking has opened up a whole new world of flours for cooking.

Recently I have had great success with different flours in brownies, an apricot and cranberry cake and banana and coconut cupcakes. I particularly like the soy and buckwheat combination in the cupcakes and wanted to try this with ground walnuts. The strong nutty flavours of buckwheat and walnuts seemed destined to be paired together. I had planned to try this in the banana and coconut cupcakes with walnuts instead of quinoa. But I am easily distracted.

I was tempted by a favourite vegetable, pumpkin, and couldn’t resist experimenting. I added some spice, chocolate chips and molasses. It ended up tasting a little like gingerbread. The pumpkin didn't add a lot of obvious flavour but it did contribute moisture and sweetness. If I was to make it again I think I might reduce the tablespoon of molasses, which gave quite a strong taste. But overall, the muffins were a success. In fact, E was asking where they were once they were all eaten.

I feel lucky to be able to eat wheat flour, but also lucky to be introduced to so many alternative flavours and textures thanks to gluten-free family and friends. The only problem is finding enough space in my pantry.

I am sending these muffins to Shirley of Gluten Free Easily who is hosting this month’s Go Ahead Honey It’s Gluten-Free, an event founded by Naomi of Straight into Bed Cakefree and Dried. This month the theme is Make Me a Happy Camper. I don't go camping but I do love a picnic and muffins are always great to take along so I am sure these will be welcome. Update: The round up is now posted and I encourage you to read one of the most entertaining and creative round ups I have seen.

Pumpkin Choc Chip Muffins
Makes about 30 mini muffins

I cup soy flour
½ cup buckwheat flour
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp cinnamon
½ tsp ginger
¼ tsp allspice
½ cup dark choc chips
½ cup ground walnuts

1 cup mashed pumpkin (approx 300g raw)
1 egg
⅔ cup raw sugar
½ cup buttermilk
1-3 tsp of molasses, to taste
1 tsp vanilla essence

Mix dry ingredients in a mixing bowl. Light whisk wet ingredients in a large jug. Pour the wet ingredients into dry ingredients and mix to combine. Spoon into greased or lined mini muffin tins. Bake at 180 C for about 20-30 minutes or until a skewer comes out cleanly. Cool on a wire tray.

On the stereo:
The best of Rolf Harris

SHF Apricot sponge – by any other name

When I was little, my mum made apple sponge all the time. Less frequent was apricot sponge but when she made this for sweets I got very excited. I have written before of my love of apricots so I wont go into it again, suffice to say that apricot desserts delight me as much as chocolate desserts.

Recently I was talking to my mum about desserts. She said she had made a steamed pudding with jam recently. I said she must give me the recipe because I have fond memories of these. She wrote down a list of ingredients for me. I then asked if she could give me a recipe for apricot sponge while she was at it. She told me that I just had to use the same recipe for the cakey sponge and put some apricots in the bottom of the dish. (Actually it has quite similar ingredients to my Chocolate Pudding and Butterscotch Pudding but with fruit instead of sauce.)

I couldn’t wait to try it. A few more conversations with my mum followed. Such as, how long do you cook it? She said if I heated the apricots while I made the batter it would take 30 minutes and if not then it would take 45 minutes. It took me 75 minutes, which maybe because I have a doddery old oven and my mum has a new burn-baby-burn model.

I found that a tin of pie apricots is 100% apricots, unlike the tinned apricots in syrup I had to drain to use for my apricot crumble. I used two tins, which gave a lot of fruit, perhaps too much for E but I love it. Afterwards I checked about what apricots she used. She said pie apricots were fine but if they weren’t sweet enough then just add some sugar. Such common sense goes out the window sometimes when I am trying to follow a recipe. I hope to one day stew my own apricots for these desserts. Of course, this sponge recipe can be used with other stewed fruit such as apples.

I did enjoy the apricot sponge but it wasn’t quite the nirvana I had been expected. The extra cooking time was frustrating because I was worried Sylvia would wake up. I also think the apricots were a little tart. But I still really enjoyed that soft meeting point between the cake and fruit. The contrast between the fluffy sponge and refreshing juicy apricots is also something I love. I served it with honey and cinnamon yoghurt but when I was little I ate it with no accompaniments.

I have called the below recipe, Apricot Sponge Pudding, but in our house it was always just Apricot Sponge. Just as ‘A Sponge’ was a sponge cake. But when I met E, it all got very confusing. In the UK his sponge is more like a butter cake or pound cake whereas my mum’s sponge is light and fluffy with lots of eggs, no butter and so little flour that she leaves it out to make it gluten free for my niece these days.

We called dessert, ‘sweets’ but, to E, sweets were what we call lollies and Americans call candies. Lollies to E were what we called icy poles and Americans call popsicles (so I don’t know what he made of our ‘boiled lollies’, which are those hard sweets you can such all day like gobstoppers). And if I said I had a bag of chips he thought I meant hot chips rather than what he called crisps.

I was thinking of this gap in translation when I was recently reading Susan’s post on the differences between crumbles, crisps and cobblers and I realised that my sponge pudding is probably what Americans call a cobbler. Their idea of a pudding seems to be cold and creamy whereas my pudding is a warm cake (although we also have chilled ‘summer pudding’ so I don’t know where that fits). But the Brits use pudding to refer to all desserts, which we call sweets, which, as I mentioned above, E calls lollies. It is all so confusing but all tastes so good.

I am sending this apricot sponge to Sweet Tooth who is hosting Sugar High Friday, the event founded by Jennifer of Domestic Goddess. Sweet Tooth has asked for our favourite dessert. I confess I don’t have just one favourite. But I thought she would like one of the many wonderful desserts that I love .

Apricot Sponge Pudding
From my mum
Serves 4

65g softened butter
½ cup sugar
1 egg
¾ cup self-raising flour
¼ cup milk
2 x 400g tins of pie apricots (or 1 will be enough)
Extra sugar, if required

Mix the butter, sugar, egg, flour and milk to make a thick batter. Check apricots for sweetness – if they are not sweet enough, stir in some sugar to taste. Spread apricots at the bottom of a greased medium sized baking dish. Spoon the batter over the apricots and smooth. Bake for 45-75 minutes at 180 C till the batter is cooked (I checked with a skewer but the ultimate test was digging the serving spoon in and finding it was uncooked).

On the Stereo:
The Velvet Underground and Nico

PPN Winter Ravioli Salad

E has been watching far too much MasterChef and his conversations about food all seem to begin ‘Tell me a story about this…” (insert cheese, bread, potatoes, apples or whatever food you have in front of you). Of course that is what my blog is about and today I will tell you the story about the finest salad I have had all winter.

It started last week when I was shopping at Queens Parade in Clifton Hill and happened upon some Yarra Valley Caramelised Onion, Goats Cheese, and Almond Ravioli. I get fed up with the same old ravioli fillings. It is usually either spinach and ricotta or roasted vegetables. So this filling seemed new and fancy. It was ridiculously expensive, but that was why I passed up cute but pricey babies wear for Sylvia. Far better to spend it on food! Beside, the Yarra Valley was affected by the bushfires in February so it seemed a good way to support the survivors.

I took the ravioli home, put it in the freezer and sought some inspiration for how to use it. Often I serve ravioli with a plain tomato sauce but I wanted to showcase this one. I had seen an inspiring ravioli salad but couldn’t remember where. A search of the internet threw up Heidi’s Hazelnut, Chard and Ravioli Salad. I think this was the one. The photo was certainly enticing enough.

But I had some other ideas for a salad. I had found a bunch of Tuscan kale (cavolo nero) in one of the fruit and veg shops in Clifton Hill on that same expedition. I had also found a good feta at O’Hea Street Bakery and Victorian walnuts in their shells in a local shop. Most walnuts I find are American so it was exciting to find some local ones even if they needed shelling. Finally I had some pumpkin and beetroot from the supermarket. I also had some walnut oil at home that was in need of a salad to dress. The pieces of the jigsaw puzzle were falling into place.

Heidi’s salad proved to be a helpful springboard to propel me into many flights of fancy about the salad I might make. While I too had ravioli, roasted pumpkin, nuts, cheese and citrus, the similarities ended there. Most useful was the way her recipe helped me think about salad.

I get a little concerned that we are overusing the word ‘salad’. I questioned what makes a dish a salad instead of just pasta. I never intended this to be cold or room temperature. It isn’t summer. And there is not a tomato nor lettuce leaf in sight. What I decided made it a salad was that the main ingredients were separate components that were brought together to be tossed in a dressing and gently warmed. If I had cooked them all together I am not sure they would have been a salad. I liked the idea of the kale taking the place of the bed of lettuce leaves that is often seen in salads. The oil, vinegar and citrus juice combination is characteristic of vinaigrettes. After some thought, I felt I could claim it to be a salad.

I made my salad last night. Of course there was drama. Having a small baby around always helps. When I had bought the walnuts in their shells I had been concerned that I didn’t have a nutcracker. But I have fond memories of cracking fresh walnuts with the heel of our shoes when we were little. I asked the guys behind the counter and they told me I could crack them with my bare hands. I am not so hardy (or skilled). Instead I used the end of my large chef’s knife to bang them till they cracked. Poor Sylvia was having her bath nearby and jumping at the sound. I also had to send E over to the oven to stir the kale (Is it reducing? I asked and got a confused answer) and check the roasting vegetables (and being brought the roasting tray to inspect) while I fed Sylvia.

It was lovely to finally sit down to eat. The salad was heavenly. Far more robust than your typical salad, it was full of sturdy flavours and textures that reflected our wintery weather. The ravioli was unlike any other I have tasted. Never before have I had such a soft fluffy melting filling. I was pleased that the accompanying salad gave it such body and boldness. Sweet, tart, salty, nutty, oily, spicy and full of the soft yielding roasted vegetables. We both had to have second helpings. Me, because it was so good. E, because he didn’t get enough ravioli in his first helping. But he was impressed with it.

Before making the salad I had made a big batch of Vegetarian Sausage Rolls to take to my parents’ place for my brother Andy’s birthday. Mum was making a roast dinner and I had a yen to make these after seeing the picture of Shauna’s on The Amazing Adventures of DietGirl. While sausage rolls are not a traditional part of a roast dinner, I thought of them as nutroast en croute. Everyone loved them. My brother, Dave, who loves his meat, said he wouldn’t have known they were vegetarian except that I made them. High praise indeed! The roast dinner was great, followed by Erica’s gluten free chocolate cake.

We got home just in time for the MasterChef final but I was prepared not to do any cooking for dinner. We had some sausage rolls with leftover salad. It was an excellent end to the day.

I am sending this pasta dish to Pam of Sidewalk Shoes who is hosting this week's Presto Pasta Night (#123), an event founded by Ruth of Once Upon a Feast.

Winter Ravioli Salad
(Inspired by 101 Cookbooks)
Serves 2-4

3 medium beetroot, peeled and diced
600g pumpkin, peeled and diced
2 sprigs of rosemary
1 bay leaf
1 bulb of garlic
½ tsp salt
4 tbsp olive oil
2 onions, finely sliced
300g kale (about ⅔ bunch), chopped
400g ravioli (and extra salt and oil to cook)
100g feta cheese, crumbled
⅔ cup walnuts

Dressing:
Juice of 1 orange
2 tbsp red wine vinegar
1 tbsp honey
1 tbsp walnut oil
¼ tsp cayenne pepper

Heat oven to 220 C. Place beetroot, ¼ tsp, salt, 1 rosemary sprig, 1½ tbsp olive oil and bay leaf in a roasting dish. Roast for 1 hour and 20 minutes til soft inside and crispy outside. Place pumpkin, ¼ tsp salt, 1 rosemary sprig, and 1 tbsp olive oil in another roasting dish and roast for 40-50 minutes until soft inside and crisp outside.

Meanwhile lop the pointy top of the garlic clove. Make a little bag out of foil, place garlic in it and drizzle with about ½ tbsp of olive oil. Place in on one of the roasting trays and roast for 30 minutes. Cool a little and squeeze the soft garlic bulbs out of the skin. Set aside.

While the vegetables are roasting, heat 2 tbsp olive oil in your largest frypan over low heat. Toss the onion slices in and fry for about 30-40 minutes. When they are ready, set aside in a bowl and add the kale to the same frypan. Fry for about 20 minutes.

Cook the ravioli in salted water with a slurp of oil, according to the instructions (mine were simmered 5 minutes from frozen).

Mix all the dressing ingredients together.

To assemble, arrange kale, onions, pumpkin, beetroot, garlic, most of the walnuts (set some aside to scatter) and ravioli in the large frypan. Drizzle with dressing and toss to coat. Warm gently over low heat (about 2-5 minutes). Scatter with feta and remaining walnuts. Serve warm.

On the stereo:
Seasons in the Sun: Spell

From Disaster to Parfait

Yesterday morning I had a kitchen disaster. Ever since seeing that Frances had made Heidi’s Animal Cracker Cookies, I have wanted to make them. I am not keen on plain cookies or biscuits (as we call them) but I loved the idea of almond meal and coconut in the biscuit. I made a disastrous attempt to bake them yesterday in which I broke every rule in baking. Fortunately in the evening I had an epiphany and turned them into a wonderful parfait that was pronounced ‘splendid’ by E.

I had initially got excited about this recipe because it looked like one that I could make with my new icing gun which doubles as a cookie press. I wrongly assumed that any biscuit dough that is rolled out would be piped out through the cookie press. I also was shamefully slapdash about the recipe and method.

It was not my finest moment in baking. I just put everything in a bowl and mixed it together – rather than mix the wet and dry ingredients separately first. I decided to substitute canola oil for coconut oil. The dough was too dry to come together in a ball. I added more oil and then a dollop of molasses. It was a greasy mottled-patterned ball. I mixed and kneaded it too much in an effort to get the it all mixed and smooth. All this was done in a rush while Sylvia was playing on the rug. So I didn’t let the dough sit at least 1 hour.

By the time I got to my cookie press I wasn’t surprised it wasn’t working. Nothing else had gone right. I got a few crumbly blobs of mixture and a dribble of oil before I gave up and just made round discs.

I then scrubbed the shower while they baked. I tell you this so you understand that my mind wasn’t really on timing. I heard the timer buzz but spent a few more minutes finishing up, then rushed to take them out of the oven and give Sylvia my attention. I left them to cool on the oven tray rather than on a wire rack.

When they came out of the oven it was obvious that I had added too much oil because they had little crusty oil rings around them. Nevertheless I tasted them while holding Sylvia. Warm, they tasted lovely –yet again supporting my belief that everything tastes good freshly baked from the oven.. The texture was interesting and the molasses added nicely to the flavour. But when they cooled the ones that had been at the edges of the baking were a little too crisp.

Then inspiration struck as I was preparing dinner in front of MasterChef. I have been eating quite a bit of King Island Honey and Cinnamon Yoghurt lately but didn’t have any on hand. I did however have plain yoghurt and frozen strawberries. So I added my own honey and cinnamon, crumbled the biscuits and layered it all together in a large wine glass before we sat down to dinner. After dinner we had the parfaits. The presentation wasn’t up to MasterChef standard but they were delicious. Sweet. Tart. Creamy. Crunchy. Smooth.

These parfaits were also very filling and, while they served the two of us, they could have served four people. These made a quick and easy dessert for a summer evening. But great in winter too. I am not recommending you make such a bodgy job of the biscuits but if you have any disasters baking them, you could rescue them in just such a way. I have written what I did below as a reminder of what not to do. In future I will need to find a more satisfactory way of substituting for the coconut oil that Heidi used, or purchase some.

Parfaits are not something I am very familiar with. When we were young we used those long handled parfait spoons for spooning tinned food into the dog’s bowl. So in our house they were called ‘Pal Spoons’. No one wanted to use them for anything else. (Just like we had avoided the cup that the dog once drank out of.) I remember once going to my nan’s place and being served a dessert with parfait spoons. We looked down and started laughing at the Pal Spoons.

I’d like to say that I am older and wiser now. I’m not sure I want to make such claims but I can face a parfait spoon without giggling. And I am glad that it was the biscuits rather than me that crumbled under the pressure of the kitchen disaster. It all seemed worthwhile once I tasted that parfait.

Raspberry and Yoghurt Parfait
Serves 2-4

Biscuits
(adapted from 101 Cookbooks)
Makes 20 – you will need 4 for this recipe

1 cup wholemeal plain flour
¼ cup ground almonds
½ cup desiccated coconut
⅓ cup plus 1 tbsp olive oil
⅓ cup raw sugar
1 large egg, lightly beaten
1 tbsp molasses
pinch of salt

I cup yoghurt
5 tsp honey (or to taste)
¼ tsp cinnamon
1 cup raspberries (I used frozen)

To Make Biscuits:
Mix all ingredients together til they stick together enough to roll into a ball. Knead briefly and make into two long cylindrical rolls. Slice into discs and place on a greased or lined baking tray. Bake for about 15-20 min at 180 C. They are best to eat alone if still a little soft when they cool but excellent in the parfait if a little crisp.

To Make Parfait:
Mix the yoghurt, honey and cinnamon together. Finely chop or crumble 4 biscuits. Layer yoghurt, biscuits, raspberries, yoghurt, biscuits, raspberries, yoghurt and then decorate with raspberries and biscuits and a sprinkle of cinnamon as desired. I left mine to sit at room temperature about an hour because the frozen berries kept it cold.

On the Stereo:
The Crane Wife: The Decembrists

Sour Skon

We went to Ikea for a new high chair on the weekend (in preparation for when Sylvia is eating solids). It is always a big undertaking to make our way through the superstore. We can’t seem to make our way to the cash register without buying something we really don’t need like a giraffe driving a strawberry. I knew you wouldn’t believe it unless you saw it so it is in the below photo.

On returning home we needed food that was simple to make and comforting to eat. I made some pumpkin soup that wasn’t great. I just didn’t put in enough seasoning but, after tossing in some cumin and dukkah, the soup was finally made edible with the addition of some honey and cinnamon yoghurt. The second night when the yoghurt was gone, I rescued it by adding vegie salt, fresh ginger and lemon juice. What really makes any soup excellent, though, is a satisfying bread. This meal was made delicious by the accompaniment of a lovely sour skon.

I found the sour skon recipe on My Kitchen in Half Cups where Tanna regularly bakes wonderful breads. Most seem too challenging for me but this one appealed because it was so simple. All it needed was a little preparation. The buttermilk and oats have to be in the fridge for a few days and stirred every day. I put mine in the fridge for four days and only forgot to stir them on one of these days. Then on the day of baking you just stir in flour, sugar, baking powder and salt and pop the dough in the oven.

The sour skon was delicious. Dense, oaty, porridgy wedges with craggy chewy crusts. They were best hot but still good the next day, if you have any left. It was great with soup but just as good with butter and honey. Tanna added caraway seeds but I left these out because I wanted them plain. I might try it with carraway or other flavourings some other time. I would love to try it with more toppings such as the blue brie that looked so meltingly good in Tanna's photo. It is so good, it would go with any topping, any meal, at any time of day.

When I told E they were from the Orkney Islands of Scotland he wanted to know where I got the recipe. ‘From a blogger?’ he asked, knowingly. But of course. ‘Is she Scottish?’ Nope. Tanna is from Dallas, Texas. Not at all where you would expect to source fine Scottish scones. But E was well impressed (although he says he has never seen scone spelt 'skon' so maybe this is an Orkney term). I know these scones will be welcome in our house any day, and will always rescue an ordinary soup.

Sour Skon
(Adapted from Bernard Clayton’s New Complete Book of Breads via My Kitchen in Half Cups)
Makes 8 scones

1 cup rolled oats (not instant)
1¼ cup buttermilk
1 cup wholemeal flour
1 teaspoon sugar
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt

Mix oatmeal and buttermilk together. Cover and refrigerate for 2 to 3 days, stirring once a day. Tanna advised that this time was flexible if you need to leave it another day or two. It will be quite thick and claggy.

When you are ready to bake, place remaining ingredients in a bowl and pour in oat mixture. Mix just until the flour is absorbed. The dough will be very firm and thick.

Pat into a round disk of about 8 inches diameter and less than an inch thick. I did mine on a (greased) baking tray but Tanna used a cake tin. Use a sharp knife to score lines across to make 8 wedge shaped pieces.

Bake at 220 C (425 F) for about 30-40 minutes. A skewer inserted in the middle should come out clean when it is ready – mine took 40 minutes and the skewer was still a little moist but it tasted good. (That is - the skon tasted good not the skewer!) Apparently, you could also cook it on top of the stove on a griddle. Break along the scored lines to serve.

On the Stereo:
Mozart’s Requiem and Masonic Music

GYO Potato, bean and kale soup

While feeding Sylvia a few weeks back, I read a silly article in the weekend newspaper about a guy who has a little book with a list of 28 things he looks for in his ideal woman. He is still looking. One of his uncles told him that he is like a man going through the forest looking for a straight stick but that no sticks are completely straight.

The idea of searching for an ideal made me think of surfing the net and diving into all my cookbooks in search of a dish I have in my head. A dish such as an Italian potato, bean and kale soup. I swear I have seen it written down but it was nowhere to be found. (Update: I think I was thinking of Portuguese soup called Caldo Verde.) So I was delighted to finally do away with recipes and find that my own version was exactly what I was seeking. The potato and beans created a pale flavoursome creamy soup that had dark ribbons of kale and bright chunks of carrot. I felt like I had found a straight stick in the forest! Or maybe I am just easily pleased.

Not only was the soup hearty and satisfying, but it was an excellent use for some of my home made stock from the freezer and the tuscan kale (cavolo nero) that my mum had brought me in a pot. It was quite exciting to be using a vegetable from the backyard even if it had been nurtured to maturity by my mum. I think Zinc also approved of it as it gave her an opportunity to slip out the door as it was getting dark when I headed outside to ‘harvest’ my kale for dinner.

I thought this would be a good time to show you a photo of one of the roses in our front garden. One of the advantages of living in a unit is sharing the roses that our neighbour has planted. They have flowered all year despite the drought. So we have the pleasure of being able to stop and smell the roses as we step outside our front door.

I am sending this soup to Andrea’s Recipes for the Grow Your Own Event, which is for bloggers who have used produce from their garden or is gifted to them from a friend or family’s garden.

Potato, bean and kale soup
Serves 3

1 tsp olive oil
2 onions, chopped
1 carrot, chopped
6-8 small potatoes, chopped
3 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
400g tin of cannellini beans, drained and rinsed
500g vegetable stock
1 tsp dried mixed Italian herbs
1 bay leaf
6-8 kale leaves, chopped
lots of black pepper
parmesan cheese to serve

Fry onions in oil for about 3-5 minutes. Add carrot, potatoes, garlic, beans, stock, herbs and bay leaf. Bring to the boil and simmer about 20-30 minutes or until the soup has thickened and the potatoes are soft. Add the kale and cook another 3-5 minutes. Remove bay leaf and check seasoning. Serve sprinkled with parmesan cheese.

On the Stereo:
Beethoven’s 5th Symphony

They Who Dare: Masterchef and Ricki’s Tagine

A few weeks ago I had a dream of a reality cooking television show. The décor was a student share house and the judges were prevaricating proctors. It was all about students learning to cook. When I woke up I wished I could remember more details because I thought I could make my fortune with the idea.

Australian readers might recognise this dream as one of the side effects of watching too much Masterchef Australia. I don’t like reality television but this show which combines 'reality' with cooking, has got me hooked. I haven’t watched every episode but as the final week rolls around I am curious to find out who wins.

I love watching others cooking so couldn’t resist this show but, as well as being fascinating, it also has many frustrations. For a start, what does it say about our world when the judges are three men there for their skills (although some might argue that Matt Preston is there for his cravats) and the compere is a glamour girl who seems just there for her looks because she says very little of interest.

I get annoyed at the dramatic pauses by the judges and, in particular, the ‘sudden death’ tastings. In these tastings, two contestants are given a dish such as moussaka or sri lankan curry and one by one they identify ingredients in the dish. It is a tortuous piece of showmanship but not a learning experience. When they get it wrong, they just are told that is the end of their journey with Masterchef. There is too much luck and not enough nurturing of skills on camera, whatever happens behind the scenes. Although there is a lot of encouragement from the judges along the way.

Let’s be honest. It isn’t really about cooking. The show is more about entertainment than education, about creating celebrities as much as chefs, and about showing off rather than showing how.

The highlights of the show are the classes on Fridays. I loved last week’s Chocolate Cigars with Sabayon. But even though these are interesting, I often find the judges are smug about how much they excel at what the contestants didn’t do so well. I was really annoyed at one demonstration of a dish a contestant had messed up which was concluded with a simple ‘you’ll never make a bad version of this again’ rather than the exhortation to go away and practice, practice, practice.

For me, one of the most tempting and innovative dishes on the show, Poh’s Deep Fried Meringue filled with Chocolate, Chestnut and Orange, was all the more impressive because she was revisiting a dish she had failed with previously and had practiced it off camera. Of course I am more interested in desserts because so much of the mains are meaty. That said, I do admire Chris for his strong vision of opening a bar and microbrewery with a restaurant attached, even though he loves his meat.

One of the other contestants, Julie, comes across as a real home cook and I am sure the producers love her as the everywoman that viewers identify with. She was so sweet when she was terribly excited about cooking for Australian cookbook guru, Margaret Fulton. But she has also helped to illustrate the point that home cooking is very different to being a chef. Not just in how interesting a meal is but also in how it looks.

For the viewer at home, there is little watching of skills develop, although the master class on Fridays can be a good learning experience. I find it fascinating to see how they plate the dish because presentation is not my strong suite. It is also interesting watching how people develop ideas and there are some interesting ideas to pick up along the way.

But frankly, I learn so much more from blogs than I could ever expect to from Masterchef. One blogger I always love reading is Ricki of Diet, Dessert and Dogs because I love the way she develops recipes for the food she wants to eat using the food she is able to eat. A case in point is her Tagine with Chickpeas, Olives and Prunes. It began with a yen for Chicken Marbella from the Silver Palate Cookbook, which she had enjoyed years before but she wanted it without the chicken. Adding quinoa and chickpeas was a stroke of genius.

I’ve had my eye on this tagine for some time but last week suddenly the pieces fell into place like a jigsaw that has been waiting to be put together. I had just bought some quinoa and realised I had olives that I had never used for the dish they were bought for, prunes lurking at the bottom of the fruit bowl, capers in the fridge that needed to be used, white wine I bought for risotto that E said tasted like Bulgarian paintstripper and home made stock in the freezer. It was all there. I just needed a side dish. In the fridge were some spinach, feta and carrot. I decided to make a green puree inspired by previous dips. The carrots would be ribbons of colour on top.

The tagine seemed very strong in flavour. Before I went vegetarian, I much preferred a stew with lots of vegetables rather than meat and that is still true of my taste. So I toned down a few of the flavours – capers, oregano and sugar. I also had pumpkin in the fridge but decided I needed more and stopped at the shops on the way home from eating indulgent cake with Yavanna at the Vegie Bar.

The tagine was easy to cook. It was just a matter of throwing everything in the pot and bunging it in the oven. It reminded me a little of Kathryn’s Greek ‘Chicken’ Casserole. In typical slapdash style, I didn’t read the recipe and just saw that Ricki said to put it in the oven for 40 minutes, failing to see that after checking and adding water if necessary, it had to be returned to the oven. So I was a little impatient with how long it took until I re-read the recipe.

The tagine tasted wonderful with the sharp almost grassy green puree and the fresh carrot ribbons. I loved the chewy quinoa and soft chickpeas. The pumpkin added flavour and moistness. There were so many flavours that it was good to have some simplicity in the puree and ribbons. The tagine was more salty and slightly bitter than it was sweet. In fact the prunes weren’t as prominent as I expected and the olives were less prominent than I expected. But when I asked E if I should make it sweeter like Ricki’s, he said no. I think the tagine would be too intense for me without some sort of side dish but with the puree and ribbons it was excellent.

I was also pleased with the presentation. ‘I’m just plating up the meal,’ I said to Ewan, showing the indeed I have watched too much Masterchef. He said he would be judge. He has also watched too much, but I am praying he doesn’t start to wear cravats like Matt Preston.

Finally, it seemed fitting that the meal had many Mediterranean flavours because that evening we sat down to watch 1950s war movie, They Who Dare, which was set on the Greek island of Rhodes. After practicing sleeping through the noisy music at the Vegie Bar that afternoon, Sylvia soundly slept through it, even when all the bombs exploded. Dinner and drama! Sounds very like Masterchef!

Quinoa and Pumpkin Tagine with Green Puree and Carrot Ribbons
(Adapted from Diet, Dessert and Dogs)
serves 4

Tagine:
700g pumpkin, trimmed, peeled and diced
½ cup white wine (I used Chardonnay)
400g tin of chickpeas (garbanzo beans), rinsed and drained
2 cups vegetable stock
½ cup mixed pitted olives, to your taste
1 Tbsp dried oregano
1 Tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
2 Tbsp capers, with juice
3 bay leaves
1 cup dry quinoa
2 Tbsp red wine vinegar
1 Tbsp honey
1 cup prunes, roughly chopped
1 tsp coriander
1 tsp cumin
¼ tsp cayenne pepper
6 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
pinch (3 ground) cloves

Green puree:
1 cup frozen peas
125g spinach
1 large handful of parsley
100g feta
½ medium lemon juiced
1 small garlic clove, chopped
4 tbsp pinenuts

To serve:
carrot ribbons,
squeeze of lemon juice
extra feta, crumbled
chopped chives

Preheat oven to 175 C or 325 F. Grease a large casserole dish or tagine. Place all Tagine ingredients in the dish and cover. Ricki baked hers for 1 hour and 10 minutes at 175 C, checking every 15-20 minutes after about 40 minutes, and adding ½ cup of water if it was drying out. I baked mine for 1 hour and 25 minutes with half of this time at175 C and half the time at 220 C (I turned the oven up out of impatience).

While the tagine is cooking, place al the green puree ingredients in the food processor and blitz till you have a lovely vivid green puree. (You can also prepare the carrot ribbons – I made mine with a vegetable peeler.)

Once tagine is cooked, place a couple of serving spoons of the tagine on a place, then a couple of dessertspoonfuls of green puree on top. Arrange carrot ribbons on the puree, squeeze some lemon juice over and sprinkle with fetta and chives.

On the Stereo:
The hall of the mountain grill: Hawkwind

AWED Butterscotch pudding

When I made butterscotch surprise cake a few months back, E was delighted. It was just his sort of thing. But the only surprise wasn’t in the soft sweet creamy butterscotch filling. It was also that E started to complain that no one made him butterscotch baked goods. Huh! I never bake anything with butterscotch and he doesn’t seem to mind but when I do he says I don’t do it enough.

I think it is a case of being easily distracted when it is not right in your face. After all, he likes lots of other things. But late at night a few weeks back after I made the chocolate mug cake, I was saying ‘wasn’t that fantastic!’ and he replied, ‘it would be better if it was butterscotch’.

Rather than feel unappreciated because he doesn’t love chocolate as much as I do (ok, I did a little), I channelled my energies into taking up his challenge. I didn’t find or invent a butterscotch mug cake – not yet anyway! But I sat up in bed feeding Sylvia late at night thinking about all the butterscotch things I might make him.

Although I was tempted by Ilva’s Pear and Banana Crumble with Caramel Sauce (because caramel is very like butterscotch), I decided to make a butterscotch pudding like my family’s favourite chocolate pudding, which is self-saucing. The sort with a cake-like sponge on top and gooey sauce underneath. So I set off searching the net and found butterscotch puddings with apple, banana and walnut.

Whenever I make a pudding, E always likes to say it would be better without the fruit. So I decided to start with plain butterscotch pudding and maybe try the others later. There is something so comforting about digging a serving spoon into a steaming pudding and watching the sauce ooze through the bottom of it, even if it is not chocolate. This one got a thumbs up from E. I can’t say it was the best pudding ever but it is a delicious, quick and easy pudding to make on a winter night.

I am sending this to Simran at Bombay Foodie who is hosting Dhivya’s AWED Event this month. The country is Britain so I thought a butterscotch pudding would be perfect, particularly as it is endorsed by our resident Scotsman.

Butterscotch Self- Saucing Pudding
(from Best Recipes)
Serves 4-6

1 cup self-raising flour
¾ cup sugar
60g butter, melted
½ cup milk
pinch salt

Sauce:
2 tbs golden syrup
1½ cups (375ml) boiling water
30g butter

Stir together pudding ingredients and spoon batter into a baking dish – it will be quite a stiff batter. Then stir together the sauce ingredients and pour over batter. Bake 30-40 minutes in a moderate oven (about 180 C). Serve hot or warm with cream, custard or honey and cinnamon yoghurt.

On the stereo:
The Definitive Simon and Garfunkel

Breakfast Burritos – My Way!

I’d never heard of breakfast burritos until I made burritos last year and was seeking information on Wikipedia. The idea of a tortilla filled with bacon and eggs did not enthuse me at all but I had visions of an egg-free tofu scramble full of all the things I love in a veggie fry-up when we eat out for brunch. Once the idea got under my skin it was like an itch I had to scratch.

What a perfect breakfast it would be. There was one problem! I rarely put a lot of energy into breakfasts these days. . I’ve never been a morning person but in my life before Sylvia, I would enjoy making a nice brunch and the weekend newspaper. Now that we have a baby who also loves a sleep in, my mornings start with feeding her and then I grab a piece of toast and some fruit. No pancakes or potato scones have graced our mornings lately. The most effort goes into an interesting smoothie.

When E asked for burritos for dinner recently, it seemed time for the breakfast burrito. After all, if you can’t have it for breakfast, dinner is the next best thing. Actually, it is a bit of an all day project so unless you rise particularly early, preparation is needed whether you make it for breakfast or dinner.

I wanted my breakfast burrito to reflect the best of veggie fry-ups and to have a Mexican flavour as well. So my recipe involves four components for assembling and serving. The refried beans were inspired by an Alison Holst recipe and quite smoky and spicy with a chipotle chilli in adobo sauce. The tofu scramble had fried potato, mushroom, spinach and facon. I decided to add some facon for a bit of fun, although the smokiness of the chipotle means it is by no means essential. The beans and scramble are stuffed into a burrito that is then served with a tomato sauce, guacamole and some yoghurt.

You can see from the long list of ingredients and many instructions in the recipe that this is no quick and simple meal. It was a lot of work, but worth it. The main effort went into preparing the fillings and assembling the burritos. I started cooking the beans and fried potatoes early in the day. All the components can be made ahead, especially if you want to have it for breakfast, but if you have the energy, the tomato sauce and guacamole can be whipped up while the burritos cook. I had a leftover burrito for lunch the next day with some yoghurt, tomatoes and cucumber if you want a simpler version.

The impression I have got of the breakfast burrito is that it is full of protein and fat. I wanted one that was healthier while still tasty. Both E and I were impressed with my breakfast burrito. It was full of complex flavours. The chipotle chilli made it rather spicy despite not much heat in the rest of the dish. I wish I could have stuffed more filling in the burritos. They were delicious but not as chunky as I had hoped. Though, I was glad not all of the scramble was used in the burritos as I enjoyed eating some of the leftovers on toast. Now I am looking forward to the day I organise myself enough to eat these for breakfast!

I am sending this to Jenny of All Things Edible who is hosting Meeta’s Monthly Mingle this month. The theme is Mexican Fiesta.

Johanna’s Breakfast Burritos
Makes 6

Refried Beans:
1 tbsp olive oil
1 onion, chopped
3 garlic cloves, finely chopped
½ red capsicum, diced
1 small carrot, diced
1 tbsp tomato paste
1 tsp ground cumin
1 chipotle chilli in adobo sauce, chopped
400g tin of kidney beans, drained and rinsed

Breakfast Tofu Scramble:
350g firm tofu
2 tbsp oil
2 cups diced potato
1 tbsp oil
1 onion, chopped
2 rashers facon (vegetarian bacon), chopped
2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
handful of spinach, chopped
1 large field mushroom, diced
2 tsp soy sauce
1 heaped tbsp chilli jam
splash Tabasco sauce
seasoning
couple of handfuls cheese (optional)

Tomato sauce:
1 tsp oil
2 onions, chopped
2 x 400g tins of diced tomatoes
generous dash each of cumin, salt, agave, oregano, Tabasco sauce

Guacamole:
1 avocado, peeled and pitted
squeeze of lemon juice
½ tomato, finely chopped
1 garlic clove, finely chopped
generous dash of cayenne pepper
pinch of salt

To assemble:
6 jumbo tortillas
Yoghurt (optional)
Fresh chopped parsley

To make the Refried Beans: Heat olive oil in a small saucepan. Add onion, garlic, capsicum and carrot. Stir over low to medium heat for about 10 minutes or until vegetables soften. Add tomato paste, cumin, chilli and beans. Heat through and the remove from heat. Roughly mash with a potato masher.

To make the Scramble: Start by pressing the tofu while you prepare the rest of the meal. I place my tofu in a colander and put a bowl and some heavy tins of vegetables on it. Then in your biggest frypan, heat 1 tbsp oil and fry the potatoes for about 45 minutes til cooked and golden brown. Set aside. Heat the other tablespoon of oil and fry the onion for about 10 minutes til soft and golden. Add remaining ingredients except cheese and stir for 5-15 minutes til mushrooms are cooked and spinach is wilted (I didn’t note how long it took so can’t quite remember). Remove from heat and stir in cheese.

To assemble the burritos: firstly preheat oven to 180 C and prepare a large baking or roasting dish to cook them in. Place a tortilla on a flat surface and dollop a large spoonful of refried beans in the middle. Then place a large spoonful of tofu scramble on the beans. Wrap up the burrito (fold top and bottom together and then fold the sides in is the way I do it). Place in a large greased roasting dish with the folds on the bottom. Repeat with 5 other tortillas. Spray with olive oil and bake at 180 C for about 15 minutes or until starting to brown. While the burritos are in the oven, make the tomato sauce and the guacamole.

To make the Tomato Sauce: Heat oil in a small saucepan. Cook the onion a few minutes and then add the tomatoes and flavourings. Taste to check if you need to adjust the flavours. Bring to the boil and simmer for 10-15 minutes until sauce thickens but still spreads easily. I did this while the burritos were cooking in the oven.

To make the Guacamole: Mash the avocado in a small bowl. Add remaining ingredients and mix to combine. Taste and add more salt and cayenne if required.

To serve: Spread a few spoonfuls of tomato sauce on a large plate. Place a warm burrito in the middle. Dollop on top a spoonful of guacamole and a spoonful of yoghurt. Garnish with chopped parsley.

Notes: For a vegan version, the dish would not suffer by leaving the cheese and yoghurt out. For a gluten free version, you should leave out the facon and use corn tortillas.

On the stereo:
Bleecker Street: Greenwich Village in the 60s – Various Artists

NCR Quinoa, Cabbage and Corn Soup

Last year when I first tried quinoa Lisa recommended I try her Quinoa Soup with Corn. And I did. It was very good. I had some lovely colourful red quinoa. I added a few vegetables and ate it for lunch. I dug out an old photo and it felt like a journey back in time to go through some old photos.

It was a soup good enough to blog but I felt I needed to try it again. That took me almost a year. Then a few weeks ago my sister Fran and my mum were coming over for lunch. I cooked up a big pot of it with lots of lurking vegetable from the fridge the night before. It is a good feeling to wake in the morning and have lunch ready to heat and serve. Fran brought over some lovely ciabatta. We heated up bowls of soup, cut big chunks of bread and chatted over lunch.

My mum noticed that the corn was fresh and commented on what a difference that made. I agree and feel that there could be even more corn in this soup. It was a great way to use up my cabbage, which gave it heaps of flavour, although after a few days it was a bit smelly, though still very tasty. I used herbs from the garden and some baby turnips that my mum had bought me in a moment of curiosity. The quinoa added a pleasing chewy substance. I did prefer the colour of the red quinoa but I don't think the colour affects the flavour. E liked it with a handful of grated cheese but I don’t think this is at all necessary as there was enough flavour without it.

Lisa is right in advising that quinoa makes a great addition to a soup. So I am now returning the favour and sending it back to her for the No Croutons Required Event she founded with Jacqueline. This month Lisa is hosting and the theme is grains in a vegetarian soup or salad. I just know she will love it.

Quinoa, Cabbage and Corn Soup
(adapted from Lisa’ Kitchen)
Serves 8 (4 dinners and 4 lunches)

1 tbsp oil
2 onions, chopped
2 carrots, chopped
2 stalks of celery, chopped
¼ cabbage, chopped
2½ litres of water
bouquet garnet (bay leaves, rosemary, parsley, thyme)
2 tsp salt
2 small potatoes, peeled and chopped
6 baby turnips, trimmed and chopped
5-6 cloves of garlic, chopped
kernels of 3 cobs of corn
2 small zucchini, chopped
1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp smoked paprika
½ tsp chilli paste
1½ cups (300g) dried quinoa
juice of half a lemon
handful of chopped fresh parsley, to serve
cheese to serve (optional)

Fry onions in oil in a large stockpot for 3 minutes on a low heat. Add carrots, celery and cabbage, and fry for 7 minutes. Then add water, bring to the boil and simmer while you prepare the rest of the ingredients (in the order on the list), placing in the pot as you go. This should take about 20-30 minutes, some of which is while the water is coming to the boil. I placed the quinoa in the pot last and turned off the heat. Then I left it overnight and when I warmed it the next day the quinoa was cooked. If you want to serve straight away, you could add the quinoa in with the water and check it is cooked before serving. Stir the parsley in just before serving. Sprinkle with grated cheese if desired.

On the stereo:
The World of Michael Nyman

Slideshows, Nostalgia and Hedgehog

“Teddy told me that in Greek, nostalgia literally means the pain from an old wound. It’s a twinge in your heart, far more powerful than memory alone. This device… isn’t a spaceship, it’s a time machine. It goes backwards, forwards. It takes us to a place where we ache to go again.”

We watched the final episode of Mad Men on the telly last week. It had a brilliant scene where Don Draper, the creative genius in the advertising agency where the show is set, gave a presentation on the slide show carousel. The above quote gives a taste of his mesmerising words.

I turned to E and asked if he remembered his family having slide shows. He said that only his Uncle Bill, the traveller in the family, would shows slides of his adventures. I was surprised. We grew up with the joy of slide shows and I thought it was a part of every Generation X childhood.

Until I was in my teens, my parents had their photos developed into slides. Every now and again they set up the slide projector – we didn’t have anything as fancy as the carousel – to shine on a blank section of wall. My parents always had lots of pictures about so this was a challenge in itself. They would dig out their collection of little slide boxes. We would make ourselves comfortable to watch the slides my dad was projecting onto the wall.

These evenings were a special time to spend together as a family. As we watched photo after photo appear before us we wove our stories. There were mum and dad, carefree and happy as a young couple, then my mum with her bouffant hairdo at their wedding (see the photo of their wedding cake), our old car called Squeaky, Fran as a baby in the bassinet on the beach, the horse called Beaver, at the zoo, the ‘car’ my dad made for us to play on by the cubby hut, standing in a dam, eating lunch outside, little Dave with his gorgeous blonde curls, Paul cheekily sitting in the pusher long after he had outgrown it, Susie in her fairy dress, Andy patting the kangaroo. It was a family joke that in many photos my dad was pointing at the imaginary koala in the tree to make us look up. We knew all the photos and would beg for dad to search for a box of our favourites.

There are seven kids in our family and the littlies, Susie and Andy, would get impatient at the slide nights. They say that by the time they came along no one was interested in taking photos of them as babies. Of course this is not true, but there are a lot of photos of me with my older sister Christine. I was the petite cute baby beside my toddler sister with her large head of blonde hair, with quite a few of our pram which you can see in the photo – it looks like an antique these days compared to modern prams! By the time the youngest kids were around, mum and dad were getting less slides developed and more printed photos.

Our slide nights became less and less frequent as we grew older until the slide projector broke and was no longer used at all. Seeing the carousel presentation on Mad Men made me ache with nostalgia for sharing slide shows as a family. Fortunately my brother Dave has scanned some onto the computer so we haven’t lost the photos altogether.

In a similar way food also brings my childhood back to me with an aching longing. Not only the tastes of yesteryear, but the memories of cooking with my mum. So today I am sharing with you one of my favourite childhood recipes – hedgehog. It is one of those recipes that has been always been part of my life and never ceases to cheer me up and delight me.

Yesterday I made hedgehog (as well as cupcakes) for my nephew Cooper’s first birthday. I knew it would be welcome. To illustrate just how much my family love it (and how the way we view photos has changed), I was showing my niece, Quin, some photos on my digital camera and she saw my photos of the hedgehog. ‘You made hedgehog!’ she exclaimed and rushed off to find a piece.

When I posted the the Women’s Weekly 'imposter' version of hedgehog (which was really fudge with biscuits) there were requests in the comments for the real version and an explanation of the name. I don’t know where the name came from but Nathalie at Spaced Law has an amusing suggestion in her version of hedgehog.Maybe the chunks of biscuit poking out of the gooey chocolateyness may have reminded someone of a hedgehog. Any other ideas are most welcome.

My hedgehog is made with cocoa not chocolate. It is not overly rich, although it is filled with butter and is delightfully soft if you don’t put it in the fridge. The biscuits we use are Marie biscuits. In the UK they call them rich tea biscuits. In America I am not sure what biscuits to suggest – maybe graham crackers? I have noticed that my mum’s recipe calls for half a pound of biscuits. This is 225g but the packets of Marie biscuits come in 250g packets. I wonder if they used to be only 225g, which would make sense of this measurement. I have tried putting in a whole packet (250g) but it doesn’t work as well.

You can buy hedgehog in many local cafes but it often is served in ridiculously large slabs that would feed a small nation. Often it has a chocolate icing or even a rich chocolate ganache frosting which is delicious but unnecessary. Some people even sprinkle coconut or hundreds & thousands on it. What I particularly dislike is buying a large slab that is cold and hard or, even worse, is dry and crumbly. I like it plain without icing and at room temperature. It is delicious enough to be enjoyed on its own. As you will see in my photos, it is quite gooey when fresh.

Yesterday, I sprinkled coloured chocolate rocks on it to brighten it up for the party. You can see a messy pile of it in the photo of the party feast. I daresay it cuts a bit neater if cold but doesn’t taste as good. My last reason for recommending this delicious slice to you is that I made it in the morning before getting Sylvia to the party by 11.30am. Yes, it is quick and easy to make with no baking involved.

You might not spy hedgehog in our old photos but it is imbued with the spirit of my childhood. I can’t eat it without feeling a little nostalgia, a little home comfort and a little sad for those not with us who can’t share it. No wonder it is a classic family recipe!

Hedgehog
(From my mum)

125g butter
½ cup sugar
2 heaped dessertspoons of cocoa
2 heaped dessertspoons of desiccated coconut
½ lb (225g) marie biscuits (rich tea biscuits in the UK)*

update - 30/10/09 - yesterday I made hedgehog with 225g of biscuits and it was much too dry so next time I will be adding a few less - though the biscuits weren't broken up a lot so maybe that was also why it was so dry. Further update 4/11/09 - made hedgehog again and found I had forgotten the egg last week which was why they were so dry - not the amount of biscuits. Today I forgot the coconut, a more forgivable omission.

Met the butter, sugar and cocoa in a large saucepan. Cook on low for about 2 minutes. Cool. Meanwhile crush the marie biscuits. You can do it in the food processor but this makes them a bit fine for my liking – I prefer to put them in a plastic mixing bowl and use the bottom of a drinking glass to crush them so there are still small chunks of biscuits (about the size of a 5 cent piece). Stir the egg into the cooled cocoa mixture and then add coconut and biscuits.

Now this is where I get even more imprecise. I spread it in an 18 x 28 cm slice tin but it doesn’t quite fill it so I only spread it in two thirds of the tin. (I put baking paper in the tin but it would work with no greasing or lining the tin because of all the butter.) Leave it for a few hours to firm up and for the biscuit to soft a little. Cut into squares or bars. Keep it in an airtight container for quite a few days if you can resist eating it all at once.

On the Stereo:
A Martyrium of White Roses: Die Weisse Rose

Banana and Coconut Cupcakes

Children parties can make the most confident of bakers quake in fear when it comes to nuts. They have become a no-go area. My niece Quin, who started high school this year, told me they are not allowed to bring any food with nuts in it to school because one of her classmates has such extreme allergies. I can’t help feeling sad about all these childhoods bereft of peanut butter sandwiches. But, there is good reason, as demonstrate by the recent local news story of the boy with nut allergies on cadet camp who died when his rations included peanuts.

As regular readers would know, my wee niece, Grace, is a celiac and so I am always on the lookout for a good gluten free recipe. Her mum (and my sister, Susie) is also on the gluten free wagon at the moment. There are many flourless cakes and cupcakes which use ground nuts. I love them but am aware that they are no good for taking to kids parties for Grace.

So last week when I spied a gluten free banana and coconut cupcake recipe on La Tartine Gourmande, I wanted to try it out for Grace and Susie this weekend. But it was my nephew Cooper’s first birthday party and I was worried lest any of the other kiddies had nut allergies. So I wasn’t brave enough to bake them with ground hazelnuts.

The other challenge in the recipe was quinoa flour, which I don’t have in my GF flour repertoire. When baking gluten free, I try to bake food that everyone will love and that does not have too many unusual flours for me (or other home bakers). These cupcakes also have buckwheat flour, which I quite like. The other gluten free flour I love baking with is soy flour. I decided to substitute it for quinoa flour and, inspired by Ricki’s quinoa cupcakes last year, I decided to try substituting cooked quinoa for the hazelnut flour.

For those who have not yet encountered it, quinoa is a small grain, a bit like rice but chewier and more nutritious. The quinoa I have used previously has always been fine when cooked without rinsing but the one I bought last week was organic Royal Quinoa grain (‘a protein superfood from the Andes Mountains’). When I started tasting it to check if it was cooked, it was quite bitter as I have read that quinoa can be. It was fine once I rinsed it but begs the question, how do you know if the quinoa is bitter or not? After all, who wants to taste dried quinoa!

Lastly I iced the cake with my new icing gun. After my first attempt at using this icing gun with my nutella cupcakes, I am now starting to get the hang of the toy. It was much quicker than using a piping bag, although it was a bit tricky to take apart at the end to wash it. I love the look of a fluffy pile of frosting even though I am not so keen on eating all that icing. But for a kids party, I thought these pretty cupcakes were just the trick.

The party was this afternoon and chaotic but fun. Cooper is too young to really understand but he couldn’t resist sampling some of the birthday cake. His parents had bought him a very groovy Wiggles birthday cake. It looked so cute and the dense flourless chocolate cake tasted delicious. And that lovely red icing was just too tempting. It amused us to find him with red icing smeared all around his mouth. The wee rascal!

The table was groaning under the amazing array of food. Dips, spring rolls, arancini balls, cheese, vegetable sticks, grubs, cupcakes, chocolate sponge cake, hedgehog, fairy bread, chocolate peanut butter slice, scones, caramel tart, honey joys and I am sure I have missed a few others. The Wiggles were the theme of the day with lots of wiggles plates and cups etc.

Sylvia (who was in her harness the whole time I made the cakes, but not when I was icing) is now an old hand at parties after her first one last week. She wore her little red dress and breeches that my sister, Chris bought her in Paris and looked very smart. She even got a party bag of lollies at the end of the day with all the other kids. In fact, there was so much food that no one left without a swag of goodies.

I found the banana and coconut cupcakes a little sweet but I think that this is needed with gluten free baking because the flavour of the wheat flour is missing. For that reason, the classic flavours of banana and coconut also enhanced the taste of the cupcakes. The dessicated coconut gave a nice texture which I suspect hid the quinoa as everyone who tasted them was surprised when I mentioned it. I think the quinoa gave them a bit more body and I liked it so much I would like to try it in savoury muffins.

Grace turned her nose up at them when I said they were banana and wouldn’t taste them but Susie thought they were great, especially the icing. Others seemed to like them too. I really enjoyed the cupcakes but would probably prefer them without the icing or with cream cheese frosting. Icing is mandatory at a kids party unlike nuts. I am sure Cooper would have enjoyed smearing it across his face if given the chance.

In an ironic twist, I am sending this to PJ of Seduce Your Tastebuds who is hosting the Let’s Go Nuts event, founded by Aqua. Yes, after all my talk about nut-free baking, I have realised that coconut might be considered a nut as it is the theme of the event this month.

Banana and Coconut Cupcakes
(adapted from La Tartine Gourmande)
makes about 36 mini muffins

Wet ingredients:
¼ cup dried quinoa
½ cup water
3 bananas, mashed
2 eggs
⅔ cup packed (100 g) dark brown sugar
¼ cup canola oil
½ cup coconut milk
1 tsp vanilla essence

Dry ingredients:
1 cup soy flour
½ cup buckwheat flour
⅓ cup dessicated coconut
2 teaspoon baking powder

To decorate:
2¼ cups icing sugar
¼ cup coconut milk
2 tbsp butter
few drops yellow food colouring
banana chips
extra dessicated coconut

Preheat oven to 180 C. Prepare cupcake trays by greasing or lining with cupcake papers. If you use silicone trays like me you don’t need to prepare at all – other than hunting down where the husband last hid them when putting the dishes away!

To cook the quinoa, place in a small microwave proof container and cover. Microwave for about 2 minutes at a time until the quinoa is cooked. Mine needed rinsing and took about 7 minutes and needed to be drained a little. Alternatively cook quinoa as you usually do.

Place quinoa and remaining wet ingredients in a bowl and lightly whisk with a fork. Mix with the dry ingredients til combined. Spoon into cupcake trays. Bake for 20 minutes or til a skewer inserted in the middle of a cupcake comes out clean. Sit 5 minutes, turn out and cool on a wire tray.

To make icing, mix together icing sugar, coconut milk and food colouring to make a fairly stiff paste. Pipe or spread on cupcakes. Break up the banana chips and place a piece in the top of each cupcake. Sprinkle with coconut.

On the stereo:
Spektral Magik: Art Abscons

A Tale of Carrot and Feta Dip

Once upon a time I worked washing bottles in a scientific laboratory (soaked in soapy water, 15 rinses under tap water and 4 under distilled water, baked in a hot oven). I got paid to get up early and wash dishes. But today I did it for love (rinsed once in soapy water) while reciting Spike Milligan silly verse, On the Ning Nang Nong to Sylvia in the rocker beside me while Zinc miaowed at the door and the Reindeer Selection played on the stereo. How times change.

I rarely do the dishes early in the day, or any time of day but the head dishwasher, E, is still poorly. I had thought it was a man-cold but he spent yesterday in bed and never once turned on his computer or picked up a guitar. Now that is a serious cold! (Don’t worry the doctor has ruled out swine flu, which is just as well given that The Australian newspaper has declared Melbourne the swine flu capital of the world!) Meanwhile I have had a pressing deadline with a work project that never seems to end. So the house has been a bit more chaotic than usual.

But at the end of the dishes when I put Sylvia down to sleep, I was able to enjoy some carrot and feta dip on Andre’s Honey Wholewheat Sourdough Bread for breakfast. I have been in need of a good healthy dip but this one appeared on my bread through serendipity. So while I eat my breakfast I thought I would share the tale of the dip.

It started when I was skimming the search terms on my stats and saw someone looking for a recipe for a sweet potato and feta risotto. While I don’t have such a recipe on my blog, I thought it might be about time I did. (I haven't made the risotto yet but I am planning to.) So feta went on the shopping list.

Then I saw that Lysy had made a carrot and basil soup with roasted carrots. This seemed an exceedingly wise way to get the best flavour out of carrots and would be perfect paired with some of the feta I was buying for the risotto. Mmmm Carrot and Feta Soup. Righto, in they go (as the Dingo says in Wombat Stew)!

Then I thought that I might add some walnuts to the risotto because they went so well in my beetroot risotto. I heard someone recently saying that they always had walnuts in the pantry and it occurred to me that this is a nut I just don’t eat enough. The walnut takes me back to my childhood when I often encountered it in cakes or ate it crushed with vegemite in a sandwich. Fresh local walnuts in their shells are in the shops right now and I just need a nutcracker so I can buy some. Alternatively, I have considered using a heavy heel of a shoe as we used to do sometimes when I was young. Mmmm. Carrot, Walnuts and Feta Soup. Righto, in they go!

Then Cindy and Michael of Where’s the Beef have clocked up 800 inspiring posts and asked for ideas for warming winter recipes for winter, with the winner getting a giveaway. The winning recipe was Jo‘s Roasted Cumin and Pumpkin Soup. The idea of roasting cumin with the carrots appealed. Mmmm. Carrot, Walnut and Feta Soup with roasted cumin. Righto, in they go!

Then it occurred to me that it might be even better if I used chickpeas rather than walnuts because I decided I needed the walnuts for baking and pesto and other yummy recipes. Chickpeas are lower in fat and go so well with carrots in falafels. Mmmm. Carrot, Chickpea and Feta Soup. Righto, in they go!

Then I remembered sprinkling dukkah on carrots after being inspired by a meal at Rumi. I still have the jar of dukkah and always need excuses to use it. This seemed an excellent opportunity. The middle eastern spice mixture would go well with the carrots and feta. It would also make a lovely garnish for the soup when I photographed it for my blog. Mmmm. Carrot, Chickpea and Feta Soup with Dukkah. Righto, in they go!

Then yesterday I was all prepared to make my soup for lunch. But I decided to take Sylvia to the library in the morning for Rhyme Time.Afterwards I bought a few bits and pieces including a loaf of lovely sourdough from Andres to go with my soup. Alas, I was tempted by a cauliflower cheese pastie and was hungry enough by the time I got home to eat it for lunch. It wasn’t until later in the day that I started roasting the carrots in a wave of procrastination. By then, lunch had well and truly passed. So had my urge for soup. I decided to make a dip. Mmmm Carrot, Chickpea and Feta Dip! Fickle? Moi?

The dip was a huge success. The carrots were roasted until they were a soft charred shadow of their former selves. The roasting cumin smelled glorious. The dip was pleasingly orange and full of texture. The spice was a little warmer than I would prefer (maybe a bit less cayenne pepper next time) but not overwhelming. It spread nicely on a slice of bread and was great with a vegie burger and some roasted onion, mushroom and kale (which got a little charred while being abandoned in favour of feeding Sylvia) in a sandwich. So I will leave you with some doggerel about my dip, with apologies to Wombat Stew (just to prove I have been awake too early, too long and should be in bed).

Carrot dip, feta dip
Beany, cheesey
Oh so pleasey
Carrot dip

Carrot dip, Feta dip
Tasty, spicy
Oh so nicey
Carrot dip

Middle Eastern Carrot and Feta Dip
Makes about 2-3 cups

7 medium carrots (about 750g)
1 tbsp olive oil
½ tsp cumin seeds
seasoning
3 garlic cloves, finely chopped
400g tin chickpeas, drained and rinsed
100g feta
1 tbsp lemon juice
1 tsp dukkah (optional)
¼ tsp cayenne pepper

Trim, peel and roughly chopc carrots. Toss carrots with oil, seasoning and cumin seeds in a roasting dish. Roast for 1 hour at 220 C, giving the dish a good shake about every 20 minutes. Add chopped garlic and roast an additional 15 minutes. Cool slightly. Blend all ingredients in food processor til mostly smooth with just a little texture. Eat with Andres wholewheat honey sourdough loaf.

On the stereo:
Son of Evil Reindeer: the Reindeer Selection