WHB Purple carrot soda bread, wildlife and sandcastles

My sister has come to visit from Ireland with her husband and son for a couple of weeks.  Her little boy Dash is the closest cousin in age to Sylvia.  It has been great to see them together.  They have had fun playing in the sandpit in our backyard, playing with a parasol at a wildlife park and making sandcastles at the beach.   They don't always get along.  A bit like me and cooking this week!

The purple carrot and chia soda bread, based on a Carrot and sunflower seed recipe from Haalo seemed like a miss at first, but ended up the welcome backbone of many meals this week.  I have also had great success with some mock tuna salad, soba noodle salad, hot cross buns (more on them soon) and a smoky stirfry of zucchini, cabbage and capsicum.  E said the latter was quite salty but when he tasted tonight's gnocchi with kale and pesto, he found out how horribly salty dinner could be.  The shop bought gnocchi was unbearably salty and my idea of adding chopped green tea pumpkin seeds made it taste like it had cardboard shrapnel in it.  Enough about bad food, let me tell you about some of the adventures and the lovely soda bread!

On Wednesday Sylvia and I went to the Jirrahlinga Koala and Wildlife Sanctuary with the family.  We have been before and seen koalas up close but this time the little fur balls were asleep and hard to spot in the trees.  We did enjoy seeing kangaroos, wombats, dingos, a kookaburra, emu, goannas, and wallabies.

I am not usually an echidna fan but I really loved this cute little fellow and the way he was looking up at the onlookers when I took his photo.  Jirrahlinga is right by Barwon Heads so we went to the beach there after seeing all the animals.  It was nice to go there because E and I have been working our way through the Sea Change boxset.  The tv show was set in the town.  It is hard to look at the iconic bridge (see top photos) without thinking of the show.

For lunch we had fish and chips overlooking the below playground.  For Sylvia and me that meant chips and potato cakes, which were very good (once she got over falling off the picnic seat).  Then Sylvia's cousins got their bathers on and went for a swim in the mouth of the Barwon River.  Sylvia refused to go in.  She loved the huge sandcastle they built with a moat that was continually refreshed with buckets of water from the river.  Finally she decided to go in the water in her t-shirt and skirt.  Fortunately I had some clean clothes for her to change into afterwards. 

Sylvia was so tired out by all the fun with her cousins that she fell asleep in the car and tumbled straight into bed when she got home.  I was quite tired too and was glad to have some easy dinner to dish up.  Soda bread, mock tuna salad and some spinach and feta pie that my mum had made for me (see bottom picture). 

I had made the soda bread the previous evening with some purple carrots that I found at the Queen Vic Markets.  When I told my nieces that we had purple carrots they thought that I was making it up.  I wouldn't have believe it when I was a kid either.  Those of us who know our food history know that carrots were eaten in many colours up until a few centuries ago.

The purple carrots reminded me of beetroot with their readiness to stain anything in their path.  In fact, in the middle of grating the carrots for the soda bread, my neighbour visited with her 3 year old.  I loved the delight that both Sylvia and Gordon took in my purple stained hands.  The colour was even more interesting than beetroot because once it dried my skin took on blue and purple hues like a bruise.

And if you don't get excited by coloured hands, then perhaps check out the purple marbling of the dough when the bread was ready to go in the oven.  The colour when it came out was even more startling.  A dark deep colour that seemed to shift between purple and blue.  The bread was soft and pleasing.  My only criticism is one that I have addressed in the recipe below.  I only put a pinch of salt and then bread needed more seasoning.  It was delicious when topped with promite, cheese or cream cheese and jam.

As I originally was inspired to make this bread by Haalo's post, it only seems right to share it with her.  Hence, I am sending this risotto to Haalo of Cook Almost Anything.  She is this week's host for Weekend Herb Blogging #328, and the coordinator of this event which was founded by Kalyn.

Previously on Green Gourmet Giraffe:
This time last year: Strawberry muffins, new oven and an allergy
This time two years ago: WHB Easter nut roast and reflections
This time three years ago: Carrot Miso Soup
This time four years ago: Tartan Day Stew

Purple Carrot and Chia Soda Bread
adapted from BBC Olive Magazine via Cook Almost Anything

350 g plain white flour
150 g wholemeal plain flour
2 tbsp chia seeds
2 tsp bicarbonate of soda
1/2 to 1 tsp French lavender salt (or regular salt)
150g purple carrots (or use orange carrots)
300 grams plain yoghurt
½ cup milk, approx (I used soy milk)

Preheat oven to 180°C.  Grease an oven tray (Haalo suggests warming an ungreased tray in the oven and playing baking paper on it when bread is ready.)

Mix flours, bicarb soda, salt and grated carrots in a large mixing bowl.  Make a well in the centre and gently stir in the yoghurt and most of the milk.  The dough should come together into a soft and slightly sticky ball.  Add more milk if needed.  Turn out onto a lightly floured surface.  Knead for about a minute or two until it is a smooth ball.

Place the dough on the prepared tray.  Flatten slightly and cut a cross in the top with a sharp knife.  Bake for about 30-50 minutes.  (I thought mine was ready after 35 minutes because it had a good crust on it but when I opened it the middle was still a bit doughy and because it was still hot I could put it straight back in the oven to cook further.  Perhaps I could have stuck a skewer in the middle to check if it was cooked through.)

Serve warm.  If you have any left, cool on a wire rack and it will be delicious kept in an airtight container and eaten at room temperature or toasted over the next two to three days.

On the stereo:
The Sound of Music soundtrack