Pumpkin Pancakes on Parade

When Susan at The Well Seasoned Cook announced an event called Pancakes on Parade, I immediately knew that my contribution would be pumpkin buckwheat pancakes. Pumpkin because I had craved Lisa’s gorgeous Spiced Pumpkin Waffles but I don’t have a waffle iron and I love anything with pumpkin. Buckwheat is something I don’t usually use but I had bought some intending to make Hippolyra;s healthy sticky toffee pudding (yet to come to our kitchen).

'Buckwheat pancakes' had a strangely familiar ring to it that was echoed in the many recipes on the internet. Of course I couldn’t find a recipe for pumpkin buckwheat pancakes. I found a recipe for buckwheat pancakes that were wheat free but had too many eggs. It seemed easier to amend a recipe for pumpkin pancakes so that is what I did. I made pancakes that were large and fluffy, just as I like them.

The wet ingredients mixture was nice and orange but the pancakes didn’t take on the bright colour of pumpkin scones . They flipped nicely on my new scanpan frypan and did retain some pleasing orange marbling in the finished result. My main reservation was the spices. If I make them again I will either add choc chips or to do away with the spices. But with a rosy raspberry sauce and lashings of maple syrup, I wasn’t complaining.

It is always a treat to have pancakes for brunch. Which is odd because when I was young the very idea of pancakes for brunch was quite foreign to us kids who started the day with cereal, toast and vegemite. We mostly had pancakes for sweets (dessert). My mum would sometimes bring the electric frypan to the dining table and we would take our turns getting hot pancakes fresh out of the pan. Our pancakes were quite small and served with either lemon and sugar or butter and sugar. Occasionally mum cut up banana into the pancake batter or gave us jam and butter.

On the weekend I was talking about cooking with mum and she reminded me that she used to cut up chunks of leftover meat and mix them into pancake batter which she fried and served with tomato sauce for dinner. I quite liked these. When I became vegetarian, I found all manner of recipes for savoury pancakes meals and was surprised at how versatile they can be. I really should try more of these recipes rather than just drooling over them.

I find that I mostly make pancakes for brunch every now and again because one of my favourite childhood memories is of Pancake Parlour fluffy buttermilk pancakes with whipped butter and maple syrup. As a child we never used buttermilk or maple syrup at home (nor buckwheat for that matter) so it seemed quite exotic. But the idea of buttermilk in pancakes still seems so right. I am not sure why, but now maple syrup on pancakes and lazy luxurious mornings are inextricably linked in my mind.

In fact the only time I can remember eating pancakes for breakfast while still living with my parents was the morning after my last day of high school. I can’t remember what we did but I know we stayed up all night and decided to have pancakes for breakfast at the Pancake Parlour as soon as it opened. Come to think of it I am not sure if I had them even on that occasion. All I can remember of that night is the delicious anticipation of waiting to eat those wonderful pancakes. Maybe it was closed that day. Or maybe the anticipation was much better than the pancakes.

Even today I consider pancakes an extravagance because I love lots of butter and maple syrup on them. I don’t feel I can or should indulge in such luxuries regularly but every now and again a little pampering is good for the soul.

Pumpkin Buckwheat Pancakes
(adapted from Pinch My Salt)
Makes 5 largish pancakes

180g pumpkin (a bit more than ½ cup) peeled, cooked and mashed
1¼ cup buttermilk
1 egg
1 tbsp oil
1 tsp dark brown sugar
½ cup buckwheat flour
¼ cup plain flour
½ tsp bicarbonate of soda
1 tsp. baking powder
Pinch of salt
1 tsp mixed spice (cinnamon, nutmeg and mace)
Pinch of ground ginger
⅓ cup choc chips (optional)
Butter for frying
Raspberry sauce and maple syrup to serve

Mix together the first 5 ingredients in a small bowl or measuring jug with a fork or whisk (don’t worry if the pumpkin hasn’t cooled). Place remaining (dry) ingredients in a large mixing bowl and add the wet ingredients. Mix well but don’t worry if there are a few pumpkin lumps. Add more buttermilk or liquid if the batter is too thick.

Heat a little butter in a non-stick frypan over medium low heat. Use a brush or paper towel to make sure butter evenly distributed. Drop about 3 generous dessertspoons of mixture into frypan and spread it out to about 15-20 cm diameter. Fry about 2 minutes or until bubble begin to appear and the mixture seems to just thicken (or start to cook). Flip and fry another 1-2 minutes on the other side.

Serve with raspberry sauce and maple syrup. (I made the raspberry sauce in the same way as I made berry sauce for my oaty pancakes.)

On the stereo:
A Brief History of the Twentieth Century: Gang of Four

Sparkles the Rabbit Cake

My niece Maddy has a favourite old pink rabbit called Sparkles. So this year when she was planning a pink party to celebrate turning six, she chose a pink bunny rabbit birthday cake. I couldn’t get to the party but most of the fun is in the decorating so I went to Geelong beforehand to help create the Sparkles the Rabbit Cake. We based the cake on a Maisie the Rabbit cake we found at http://www.coolest-birthday-cakes.com/ but made a few changes including deciding against the ribbon in the hair.

I made the cake at home the night before so it was easier to cut and ice. I used a double quantity of this butter cake recipe. Before adding the flour I put a few spoonfuls in a small bowl and added Casalare gluten free flour, baking powder and a bit of milk. This gluten free cake was baked in a greased and lined ramekin. The remaining mixture had the flour and milk folded in (making allowances for the small bit removed) and I divided it between two tins but I think a swiss roll or lamington tin might also suit the needs of this cake.

In Geelong it seemed like there was an army of helpers (apart from my sister and her husband who were cleaning up for the party). My sister-in-law Erica mixed a large bowl of pink icing which was quite an achievement with my two 3-year-old nieces Ella and Grace helping her. She also helped Ella and Grace decorate the ‘candle cake’ or ‘Grace’s special cake’. I like the idea of a separate small cake for the candles rather than having to find a place on a novelty cake. But my main inspiration was to make sure Grace has something gluten free so she doesn’t miss out.

As I have written before, Grace has celiacs disease and consequently has a gluten free diet. In the past I have tried baking gluten free cakes and she has not been interested. But when I made the Green Giraffe Cake in April and did the little separate GF cake for her, my mum said that later on she was requesting the rest of her ‘special cake’.

I also took down some GF cornmeal choc chip biscuits and told Grace they were ok for her. When Maddy was eating one of my mum’s baked treats (possibly the hedgehog), Grace helped herself to one of my cookies and seemed to enjoy it. I wasn’t sure anyone would like them as they have a much coarser, heavier texture than traditional choc chip cookies but they were easy to make with ingredients from the supermarket and surprisingly pleasing. When I asked E how many I should take to Geelong, he suggested that two might be sufficient as he had taken an unexpected shine to them too. I have included the recipe at the end.

My dad also was a willing helper who would probably do more cake decorating if it involved power tools. When we were working out about doing the eyes, he thoughtfully offered to drill some holes in some lollies (when I say lollies I mean candy in America and sweeties in the UK). I declined but it reminded me of one Christmas when we were young. He spent time drilling holes in fruit tingle lollies to make a necklace for my sister. It was the year we each got a packet of fruit tingles for a present in amusing and creative ways. Dad also contributed with cutting up liquorice, offering his pliers to manage the liquorice and cleaning up the mess we left in the kitchen.

Number 1 helper was the birthday girl who remained by my side up to her elbows in pink coconut, selecting the right lollies, sprinkling coconut and pressing on the lollies. Her little sisters also gave a bit of help with the decoration. By the end, it seemed that every time I turned my back there was another little hand sprinkling a bit more pink coconut on the cake. They were thrilled with the cake. Before I left, there was a lot of joy and pride in the cake that looked just like Maddy’s Sparkles. By all reports the party was a great success and very pink!

Sparkles the Rabbit Cake
You will need:

- double batch of butter cake batter divided into a 15cm (6 inch) square cake tin, and a 23 cm (9 x 9 inch) square cake tin and baked as per the recipe
- pink icing (frosting) made with icing sugar (confectioner’s sugar), a bit of melted butter and some pink food dye
- desiccated coconut
- extra pink food dye
- black liquorice
- red liquorice
- round brown lolly (candy or sweetie) or biscuit for the nose – we used a choc mint patty but I also considered a disk of milk chocolate
- two large white lollies for the eyes (we used discs of white chocolate)
- two smallish flat round red lollies for the eyes (we used jubes which I think are also called jellies)
- two long thin lollies for teeth – Maddy wanted pink so we chose some candy coated liquorice

How to make the cake:
First take a sharp knife and trim the corners of the small square cake so the edges are more round as this will be the face. Then cut two long ears from the large tin and a small oblong snout with a little dip where the teeth will be (see picture). Leftover cake can be used in cake crumb cookies or truffles.

Make the icing if it is not already made. It should be thick enough that it wont drip over the sides of the cake. Colour the coconut by placing it in a large shallow bowl with a fewdrops of pink food dye. Using your hands rub the food dye into the coconut (and don’t worry if your fingers stain – it comes out after a day or two). Be generous with the amounts of icing and coconut because if you run out it is difficult to match the colours. Luckily my mum was making jelly cakes and other pink party food and happy to use up the leftover icing and coconut.

Now assemble the cake. We used an oven tray covered in foil for the tray. The small square is turned to make it a diamond and placed at the bottom of the tray. The ears are placed at the top of the head. We trimmed the ears because they were a bit long. Then the oblong snout is placed with the top just above the halfway mark on the face (see picture). A little icing can be used to ‘glue’ the ears and snout to the face.

Use a butter knife to evenly spread the icing over the top and sides of the cake. If it is difficult to spread (especially where the cake has been trimmed) the icing knife can be wiped and dipped in a mug of boiling water to help spreading or smoothing icing. While icing is still wet sprinkle it with coconut. As it will take a while to spread the icing over the whole cake you will need to sprinkle coconut as you go or use the knife dipped in hot water and run over the surface of the icing to lightly moisten it.

To finish the ears, I rubbed a bit more pink food dye into some of the leftover coconut. I used a finger that had been rubbed with the pink dye while doing the coconut and dipped it in the hot water. Then I rubbed my finger over the ears to wet the icing, leaving about a 1cm margin around the outside. (alternately you could use a pastry brush but you should be careful not to wet the icing too much). I then sprinkled the wet darker pink area with some of the darker pink coconut.

For the face, I used a little icing to ‘glue’ the round brown nose onto the snout, the round white discs for eyes just above the snout and the teeth just below the snout. I glued red lollies to the whites of the eyes and then a little bit of black liquorice as the inner eye. We had to cut black liquorice into thin strips for the outline of the eyes, the eyebrows and the whiskers, plus red liquorice for the outline of the mouth. I wet the areas I was pressing the liquorice into but found it quite hard to get the outlines of the eyes to stick. Maybe next time I will wet it before putting the eyes on. Use a dry pastry brush to brush away the extra coconut from the cake and then from the tray. Now your rabbit is complete and looks a little crazy but likeable.

Cornmeal Choc Chip Cookies
(From Vegetarian by Nicola Graimes)
Makes 16-18 cookies

75g (6tbsp) soft butter or margarine
50g (¼ cup) brown sugar
50g (¼ cup) caster sugar
1 egg
Few drops vanilla essence
75g (¾ cup) rice flour
75g (¾ cup) cornmeal
1 tsp baking powder
Pinch salt
115g (⅔ cup) chocolate chips

Cream butter and sugars till light and fluffy. Beat in egg and vanilla. Fold in rice flour, cornmeal, baking powder and salt. Then fold in chocolate chips. Drop teaspoonfuls on a greased/lined baking tray leaving space in between for them to spread. Bake at 180 C for 10-15 minutes or til slightly browned. Cool on a wire rack and store up to 1 week.

On the Stereo:
Sergeant Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band: the Beatles

Airport Novels and Comfort Food

I spent last week in Darwin and was glad to get home. I didn’t eat as badly as I sometimes do when away from home but it is nothing like eating home-cooking. I had Thai stirfry on the Wharf one night, vegies and tinned soup in my room another and the hotel’s pizza on the last night. But the culinary highlight had to be the warm choc chip scones with jam and cream which we had for morning tea both days of our meeting.

Flying to Darwin, I did what I think is a first for me. I bought a novel at Melbourne airport and finished reading it just before the plane landed in Darwin. Not bad for about four and a half hours of flying plus sitting around in airports. (These days it is difficult to get a direct flight from Melbourne to Darwin unless you want to fly overnight.) I enjoyed escaping from the people with no idea of personal space, the chirpy air stewards, the bad food and the anticipation of a few nights staying at the airport hotel for a planning meeting. It made me realise why people buy novels at airports.

The book was one I found on the new releases shelf and had never heard of before. It is called Before I Wake and is the first novel by Canadian writer, RJ Wiersema. The novel is about a little girl in a coma whose parents make the difficult decision to turn off the life support but she continues to live while not waking from the coma. It is an engrossing story about how this affects the lives of those around her. I don’t think it is spoiling the story to reveal that it has some great scenes in a library (I was going to link to Amazon but I think their review does give away too much). The role of the media in the plot is interesting and I liked the touches of both magical realism and myth.

I particularly liked the description of the couple cooking together so I copied it before I passed the book to my mum to read. It makes such an everyday act seem full of beauty and meaning:

Simon was chopping vegetables on a maple block on the kitchen table when I got there, carrots falling under a large chef’s knife, a tea towel draped over one shoulder. The kitchen was bright and clean, large and well organized. Karen was at the stove with a wok. …

As Simon finished chopping the carrots and swung toward the stove, Karen stepped away, leaving a space between her body and the wok, allowing him to slide the cutting board through and to empty the carrots in, never breaking Karen’s stirring. It was a dance between two people who had been partners for years. (pp 131-2)

I also noticed that macaroni cheese is one of the comfort foods mentioned in the book. Lately E and I have discussed how his mum would make it for him as a child. It was not part of my childhood but I understand the attraction and it was on my mind when I got back to my own kitchen.

I have made some fancy versions of macaroni cheese but it is not something I make often. Many months ago I bookmarked a vegan macaroni cheese from Get Sconed. I have been curious to make a vegan version and was then further tempted by a vegan and gluten free sauce for macaroni cheese in the June 2008 edition of the Vegetarian Times. Then I got honest with myself and admitted I wanted the comfort of being at home. I needed something cheesy with a crispy breadcrumb topping after my body was dragged from Darwin’s tropical warmth (32 C) to Melbourne’s winter (17 C).

I didn’t follow a recipe but just made a rich cheesy sauce, tossed with cooked pasta and topped it with more cheese and breadcrumbs. I baked it till it was crisp on top and oozing rich sauce inside. We agreed it was one of my best, despite not being what E's mum used to make. I have written what I did, though I know others all have their own versions of this classic and if I made it again I might make it differently. My use of dessertspoons and dessert bowls is included in the instructions to remind us that it is not a meal where exact measurements matter. (To see my photo of a dessertspoon, go here.)

But while I love the indulgent comfort of macaroni cheese, I also craved some nice vegetables after my trip away. The first night I served it I tried a salad of grated carrot and mushy apple that was a disaster so the second night I found a recipe for a cauliflower and pecan salad that caught my eye last year. But after the wonderful description of chopping carrot in the novel, I had to have carrots. I also wanted to showcase my black sesame seeds and use up vegetables in the fridge.

By the time I finished my vision of the salad the only thing it had in common with the inspiring recipe was the cauliflower. I realised it was my own recipe, probably drawing on other recipes I have read and made. Tahini is a favourite flavouring of mine and always pairs well with cauliflower. I used limes from Yaz's tree that I think are quite tart so others might not need as much sweetner as me. It was exactly the pile of healthy vegetables with an interesting dressing that I needed.

I wanted to send something to Heart of the Matter. This event is being hosted by Ilva of Lucillian Delights this month and she is asking for healthy salads, so my salad seemed perfect. And because it has been a while since I have participated, I am sending the Macaroni Cheese to Ruth at Once Upon a Feast for Presto Pasta Nights.

Macaroni Cheese
Serves 4

1 dessert bowl of dried pasta
2 dessertspoons of butter
2 dessertspoons of wholemeal flour
2 cups milk
1 tsp seeded mustard
¼ tsp smoked paprika
¼ tsp turmeric or saffron (for added colour)
50g gruyere cheese, grated
165g tasty cheese, grated
1-2 tbsp breadcrumbs
1-2 tbsp parmesan cheese, grated

Cook pasta according to instructions.

Melt butter in a medium saucepan over low heat. Mix in flour and stir over low heat for 1-2 minutes. Add milk gradually, mixing as you add it. Bring to the boil so that the roux thickens slightly. It does not need to be really thick because the cheese will help it thicken. Add mustard, paprika, turmeric, gruyere and tasty cheeses. Stir in cooked pasta.

Tip mixture into a 20cm diameter round ovenproof dish. Sprinkle with parmesan and breadcrumbs. Bake at 200 C for about 20 minutes and then turn up the heat to 230 C for about 10 minutes or til the top is crisp and starting to brown.

Cauliflower and Sesame Salad
Serves 2 hungry people or 4 normal people as a side

½ cauliflower
1 carrot, chopped into matchsticks
1 spring onion, finely sliced
1 small tomato, diced
1-2 handfuls spinach, shredded
2 tbsp parsley, finely chopped
1 mild green chilli, finely chopped
1 tsp dried garlic flakes
1 tbsp pumpkin seeds
1 tsp white sesame seeds
1 tsp black sesame seeds (or more white seeds)
Extra black sesame seeds for garnish

Dressing:
1½ tbsp lime juice
1 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp cider vinegar
1 tbsp tahini
1-2 tsp agave nectar (or other sweeter)
1 tsp seeded mustard
Pinch salt

To make dressing: use a small whisk to blend all ingredients or use blender.

To make salad: chop cauliflower into florets and steam til just tender. I did mine in the microwave for about 3 minutes on high. Cool if desired or use warm. Add remaining ingredients and toss through with dressing. Garnish with black sesame seeds if desired.

On the Stereo:
New Gold Dream: Simple Minds

Winter Solstice Galettes

Last weekend we had a winter solstice dinner party. Celebrating the shortest day of the year requires rich dark festive food. My regular readers will not be surprised to hear that nut roast immediately springs to mind for me and that is what we had last year. But this year required new challenges.

Yarrow came over to cook with me and we decided on a dish out of the inspired Wild Garlic, Gooseberries … and Me for the centre of the meal. Denis Cotter calls it Galette of Braised Turnip, Portobello Mushroom and Pecans with a Red Wine Sauce. I used Scottish turnips (known as swedes or rutabaga elsewhere) but mostly stuck with the recipe. Cooking together means I am a bit vague on some of the steps but have tried to write notes on how we made them.

It is always nice to cook with an old friend. When it came to sieving the sauce, Yaz looked at me and said, do you remember pushing chickpeas through a sieve for falafels? That night, in a student house where we both lived, was one when we ate very late because those little blighters just didn’t want to go through that sieve. No wonder we both shuddered at the thought of sieving anything. We don’t always agree on everything in the kitchen but we were both happy to just blend the sauce. It was only when we were spending too long searching for the cloves to discard, that we agreed we couldn’t avoid the sieving.

The sweating over the sieve was worthwhile. This is a dish I would recommend you keep for a special occasion as it requires some time and patience to prepare. It is perfect for a dinner party because it can be prepared earlier and then popped in the oven to warm through just before serving. But it is worth every bit of effort and looks spectacular (although foolishly I chose the one imitating the leaning tower of pisa for my photographs). It was absolutely delicious and intense but less filling than a nut roast. It had the rich meatiness of nuts and mushrooms and a dark brooding sauce.

Here is our menu:

Main Course:
- Turnip, mushroom and pecan galettes
- Red wine sauce
- Brussels sprouts with Cointreau
- Sprouted green lentil and bulgar bread

Dessert:
- Winter fruit platter with chocolate fruitcake

To Drink:
- Warmed meade

We set table with my good linen. Yarrow did some fancy napkin folding and brought over a candle with coloured flame that he had bought at MoMA in New York. Before eating, we raised our glasses of meade and made a toast to the solstice. A fine way to celebrate the darkness of winter and look forward to longer days.

Turnip, mushroom and pecan galettes
(from Denis Cotter)
Serves 4

2 large turnips (or swedes), peeled
60g butter, melted
100ml white wine
100ml vegetable stock or water
Salt and pepper
4 large portobello mushrooms
Extra melted butter or olive oil
100g pecans
100g cream cheese
Sprigs of fresh thyme for garnish

Preheat oven to 170 C or 325 F. Cut the turnips into thin slices. Denis says to make them square but this seemed too wasteful to us and our turnips were not that big to start with. Place in a large roasting dish. Mix together melted butter, wine and stock (or water) in a small bowl. Season. Pour over the turnips.

Place roasting dish in the oven and bake til tender. This took us about 90 minutes. You can cover with foil as Denis suggests but we didn’t. I wonder if they would have cooked quicker if we had covered them because Denis suggests about 30 minutes. He also says that the liquid should all be gone but ours wasn’t. I used it up when cooking the brussels sprouts with Cointreau.

Place mushrooms in a baking tray and spray with olive oil (as we did) or brush with butter or oil. Turn up the oven to 190 C or 375 F and cook the mushrooms for 10-12 minutes or til tender - you will know they are done by the heavenly smell. If like us, your turnips are not yet done, then place mushrooms on top shelf and turnips on a lower shelf.

Chop the pecan nuts roughly in a food processor. Add the mushrooms and process briefly til just coarsely chopped. You want some texture rather than to make a puree. Alternately you could roughly chop the pecans and mushrooms with an old fashioned knife and chopping board. Transfer to a medium bowl and stir in cream cheese.

Now assemble your galettes. First divide the turnip slices into four piles (about 4 per stack) on a baking tray. If they are of different sizes as ours were, stack them largest on the bottom and smallest on top. Starting with one pile, evenly spread a layer of mushroom and nut filling on the largest slice, and repeat til you place the last slice on top. If your slices have gone slightly concave during braising, it is easiest to spread the filling on the concave side. Press down gently on the galette. Repeat with three other stacks. Brush tops with melted butter.

Place the baking tray with the galettes in the oven for about 7-10 minutes to heat through before serving. Serve with red wine sauce and brussels sprouts or cabbage cooked with a bit of orange zest and juice. Garnish galettes with sprigs of fresh thyme.

Red wine sauce
(from Denis Cotter)
Serves 4

400ml red wine
200ml tomato passata or pureed tinned tomatoes
1 small red onion, finely chopped
2 garlic cloves, chopped
½ stick of celery, chopped
1 sprig fresh thyme
2 whole cloves
4 tbsp cold unsalted butter (optional)

Place all ingredients except butter in a small saucepan and bring to the boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 15 minutes. Blend (we used a hand held blender) and push through a sieve. Return to the pan to simmer and reduce by half. Just before serving, reheat and whisk in the butter (but I can’t remember adding butter so am not sure if we did).

On the stereo:
Best of: Blur

Philip Island Pleasures

Philip Island is a magnet for lovers of wildlife and surf, and is easily reached in just a couple of hours drive from the hustle and bustle Melbourne. Apparently it gets overrun by tourists in the summer. If, like E and myself, you want some peace and quiet, I would highly recommend that you visit in winter, make sure you visit Churchill Island, take binoculars, and avoid the crowds viewing the famous fairy penguins.

We visited a couple of weekends ago and had a wonderfully relaxing time. Our B&B (Genesta in Steele Street, Cowes) was a nice old building but there were staffing issues due to the regular person not being available (matching pillow cases and how to work the stereo were challenges facing our host). I had a good breakfast of baked beans on toast with fried tomatoes and mushrooms each morning.

My favourite place was Churchill Island, a small island reached by a bridge off Philip Island, which has a heritage homestead and nature walks - see above photo. (My dad visited in the late 1960s when the last resident had lived there.) The homestead owner in the 1870s was Scottish and had Highland Cattle so we were able to see some mournful hairy coos that have been returned to the island. We had great fun walking about the homestead, feeding the chickens and the horses, patting Mary the lamb, talking to George the cockatoo, laughing at the galahs and walking around the island by the spooky Moonah trees.

It will not be surprising to hear that one of my favourite meals of the trip was a pleasing plate of gnocchi at the Churchill Island Café (which is the only place to eat on the island). The café is filled with pale pine tables and chairs around a woodburning fire that gave out a very welcome warmth. In summer the seats outside would be preferable as the views down the paddocks to the sea were lovely. My pumpkin and potato gnocchi was served with a generous dollop of rich tomato sauce.

Other places we loved were the Koala Conservation Centre where we saw lots of koalas high in trees and the one in the photo which was only a couple of paces from us and looked so snuggly; Rhyll Inlet where we walked through the mangrove swamps on duckboards and then watched the bird in the bush; and the gorgeous sandy surf beach at Woollamai.

The holiday really was about getting away from the rat race but I was surprised not to find more gourmet food. Quite possibly there are other places we missed (for example the intriguing Pink Castle on Steele Street near our B&B which had a good write-up in our Lonely Planet but was never open.) But a cafe inside a real estate agent's is not where I would expect to find the finest food - we didn't go there but did marvel at the concept. It felt like I was living on chips, pasta and pizza. So when it was done well, I was grateful.

We went to Gullivers (Thompson Avenue, Cowes) a couple of times which had both a casual fish and chip shop and a proper restaurant. It was too cold to sit outside and the interior was pleasant with unadorned brick work, a fireplace, standard lamps and a large window for people-watching. Plus they did play enough Nouvelle Vague on the stereo for E to curse them for tempting him to run out and buy the CD.

On our first day we had pikelets with jam and cream. ‘Oh just little pancakes,’ exclaimed E who is not familiar with pikelets! A couple of days later, I was pleased to be able to order a decent vegie burger, chips and a potato cake in a traditional fish and chip shop style. Again E doesn’t understand this type of place but it is where Catholic families like mine would head to on a Friday for some fish and chips wrapped in paper to take home to their families. His UK equivalent would be the chippie. I had enough of this sort of food as a child for it to be comforting, if not healthy, and to get excited where there is anything more than deep fried potatoes on offer for vegetarians.

A place that did pasta well was a place named Hotel (cnr Thompson Avenue and the Esplanade, Cowes). E thought it was decked out to attract the yoof crowd but the only other people there the night we visited was a family group. If only they would paint the black walls a warm or cheery colour it would be a welcoming space with its Ikea-style pine light shades and tables and chairs. They served quality pub grub. Basic food that was cooked and presented well. My vegetarian lasagne that was covered in melted cheese but full of vegetables. It was served with chips and salad and hugely superior to a lasagne stuffed with fetta cheese that I had had recently when eating out.

On our final night we went to Isola de Capri (cnr Thompson Avenue and the Esplanade, Cowes). By then I just needed some vegetables so I ordered pumpkin soup and steamed vegetables. It was delicious and so filling that I couldn’t fit in dessert. E had pizza which he said was excellent and seemed much better than pizza we had elsewhere. The staff were friendly, the restaurant bustling and it felt like it was run by an Italian family rather than teenagers on holiday. The grand prix memorabilia reminded us that this is one of the other attractions for visitors. I was glad of my warming meal after sitting in the cold waiting to see the famous penguins.

We felt we should see the fairy penguins but after walking through such peaceful natural settings with only a few other people about, we were most unimpressed to be suddenly thrust into a place crowded with busloads of tourists. Unlike other places, the humans easily outnumbered the wildlife. The little penguins are cute but there were just too many people and too much hype. My mum says she took me there when I was two and that we just sat on the beach. I wish I could remember that visit which wasn't a maze of ticket stalls, gift shops, tiered seating and duckboards.

As well greats places to get close to wildlife, we did find some lovely gift shops, a trash and treasure of hidden gems, and an excellent health food store in Cowes. After finding it near impossible to find unsweetened dried cherries in Melbourne, I was surprised to discover a packet from a local source. A bridge from St Remo on the mainland makes Philip Island easily accessible. In the shadow of the bridge was a small shopping strip with more gift shops of beauty and curiosity.

It was here that we found one of the best meals of the holiday at Nude Food (141 Marine Parade, San Remo, 03 5678 5530). This was the sort of little hippie, arty, student café I thought we might have found on the island. It had purple walls with unframed local artwork and notices about musical evenings. The staff were friendly, the food was imaginative and alternative diets were well catered for. I had a vegetarian gluten free frittata with chickpea crust which was served with a salad garnished with nuts and seeds. I didn’t think that frittatas had crusts but am no expert. It was light and tasty. This meant I could finally have a proper dessert. I had a slice of the magnificent chocolate cheesecake. It looked a bit rustic but the chunky chocolate biscuit crust and a baked filling with hint of citrus were delicious. All washed down with a fruit smoothie called Nectar of the Gods which I think had peach, raspberry and banana.

Then we headed homeward, stopping at Wicked Sensations (shop 6, number 1, High Street) in Cranbourne for a bite sized mini choc chip muffin drizzled in raspberry sauce for me and a small berry chocolate for E. After that we hit the freeway and drove til we arrived at the Cat Motel where Zinc was eagerly waiting to come home with us.

Pumpkin chutney

In hindsight it seems fortunate that I made some pumpkin chutney before we went to Philip Island a couple of weeks ago. At the Cowes Trash and Treasure I bought 500 Recipes from Australia by Marguerite Patten which was written in 1965 (See photo in my solstice cake post). It seems that older cookbooks are the best place for advice on preserves but they can be a little scary too.

Marguerite gives some rules for making chutney. She advises that malt vinegar is best (these were the days before an awareness of gluten-free diets), that the pan should be uncovered because chutney thickens through evaporation, and that the right proportions of sugar and vinegar is important for preserving the chutney. There is also advice about not bottling chutney in jars where the metal is uncovered and using aluminum rather than copper, brass or iron pots.

I was glad not to have read this before I started meddling with ingredients in chutney on a whim. I saw a Gingered Pumpkin Chutney recipe in Denis Cotter’s Wild Garlic, Gooseberries… and Me. It was quite simply spiced with ginger, coriander and fennel. I also have a Nigella recipe for Spiced Pumpkin Chutney which uses mixed spice, cloves and ginger. But I wasn’t quite convinced these were the flavours for me. A quick search of the internet found that cinnamon, cloves, and ginger were quite common. The recipe that grabbed me was flavoured with mustard, cloves, ginger and apricot jam, although I made a few changes.

It was quite simple to make. Both Denis and Nigella really just simmered all the ingredients together. But this recipe didn’t make as much, which I like. I also didn’t add the onion as I worry sometimes that it adds an odd flavour to chutney. I did look in amazement at the instructions to simmer for 45-60 minutes. Pumpkin usually cooks so quickly that this seemed wrong. But it did really need this time on a low heat. Denis says to simmer til thickened. Nigella says to cook til thickened but the pumpkin not soft. I disagree. The pumpkin should melt under a knife. Mine was cooked but not as soft as I would like it.

So while I am confessing to not following a recipe and probably failing in Marguerite’s eyes, I might as well admit to not being a domestic goddess lately. I broke two of my favourite sunflower bowls on the weekend while washing up. And I have made a few meals I thought I might blog but they just didn’t turn out as I’d hoped.

One was smoked tofu and bean burgers which Lysy posted. Since I have seen this post, all smoked tofu has disappeared from Melbourne and so I thought I could try it with firm tofu and some liquid smoke but it didn’t work. The taste wasn’t quite right and the texture was so soft that I baked them as muffins rather than burgers. Once Melbourne is over its smoked tofu drought I might try again.

The other meal which just was not quite right was a vegan lasagna. I tried a vegan cheese sauce from Dr Furhman and I foolishly followed the recipe and added half a cup of lemon juice. It was so tart that, for once, E’s suggestion of tomato sauce on lasagna sounded quite sensible.

But the chutney has rescued both these meals, as well as adding some zing to my Sicilian drowned broccoli. Its sweetness, with a little bit of acid, spice and heat, was exactly the thing to made amends to any failings in flavouring. But it is not just useful for fixing kitchen disasters. It also is delicious on toast with sliced cheese. Unlike many preserves, the vegetables are not sweetened beyond recognition so it feels a little healthy. But I don’t know if Marguerite Patten would approve.

Sweet Spiced Pumpkin Chutney
(Adapted from Three Monkeys)
Makes about 2-3 cups

1 kg of pumpkin flesh, cut in small chunks
1 tsp yellow mustard seeds, ground
5 cloves, ground
½ tsp ground coriander
1 medium red chilli, finely chopped
2 tbsp finely grated fresh ginger
300ml white wine or cider vinegar
⅓ cup (lightly packed) brown sugar
⅓ cup apricot jam (or substitute fresh or dried apricots)
½ tsp salt

Place all ingredients into a medium-large saucepan and bring to the boil. Simmer on a low heat for 45-60 minutes, stirring occasionally until pumpkin is quite soft and the sauce had thickened slightly. Add a slurp of hot water if it begins to dry out.

When chutney is ready, spoon into plastic tubs if you will be eating within two weeks - we have gone through at least half of it in a week. If you want to preserve it longer than two weeks, spoon into sterilised glass jars.

NB: I just ran my jars under boiling water because I am no expert at sterilising jars. Nigella suggests sterilising them in a low oven or a hot dishwasher but don’t use plastic lids. I think for preserving, that you should seal the jars while the chutney is hot but am not quite sure.

On the stereo:
Burial: Death in June

BBD #11 Sprouted Bread

When Zorra asked us to make sprouted bread to celebrate a year of her wonderful Bread Baking Day event I thought I should bow out gracefully. I love baking bread but I have never made my own sprouts (unless you include growing some wheat grain in a piece of wet cotton wool at primary school).

Sprouted bread is mentioned in the Old Testament of the Bible and apparently is less processed and full of nutrition. (These links give interesting information on sprouting wheat and biblical or essene sprouted breads but a quick search of the internet will turn up more.) Encouraged by Zorra, when Yarrow and I were planning a winter solstice meal, I suggested we try some sprouted bread. He is an experienced bread baker but hadn’t encountered such recipes. However Yaz is always up for a challenge and was willing to join me in the adventure.

The first hurdle was getting organized enough to get some sprouts happening before Saturday. Yaz offered to do the sprouting. Phew! One day I will get into sprouting but life is too busy for me to get my head around it right now. On Thursday evening, he rang to check what was needed.

I read out the list of possible grains to sprout – kamut, quinoa, rye, spelt, wheat, triticale. Yarrow had been thinking along the lines of sprouting legumes. As that was all he had on hand, he sprouted some green lentils and added some bulgar wheat. Since then I have checked Zorra’s instructions. She suggests sprouting grains, legumes, nuts, seeds. But at the time, all I had was a recipe I found on the net.

Sprouting done, it took us over 5 hours to bake the bread. But we were happy to chat and surf the net. When I mentioned vintage vegetarian cookbooks to Yaz, he helped me search for some online while the dough was rising. It was hard to tear ourselves away from the fascinating books we were discovering and return to the risen dough. We also had other cooking to do for dinner, dishes to do, and at one stage cycled back to his house for some extra bread tins.

When we arrived back at my place with the tins, we were greeted by dough that was bulging over the edges of the bowl. It looked more like a monster in a sci-fi movie or yet another media report on Australia being the most overweight country in the world. My mixing bowl looks huge until it is dwarfed by such large quantities of dough. Yaz has decided he doesn’t like oiling the bowl for the rising dough and was quite pleased with the difference this made to the feel of the dough.

Once the loaves had risen in their tins they went into the oven. It all seemed perfect. The three tins fitted on the top shelf of my oven while slices of turnips cooked in a buttery liquid below. Yaz said this was good for giving some moisture to the bread.

Unfortunately, I had impressed upon Yaz just a little too much how my slow-poke oven always seems to be lacking in fire power. So he turned up the heat and when we commented to each other just how good the bread smelled early in the baking, neither of us thought to check it. Usually I turn around cakes and bread midway, but I was too distracted by other foods we were preparing. I probably should have also told him that my oven bakes unevenly!

It was close to the end of baking that I thought to check and found the loaves were quite burnt on top because they were so close to the top of the oven. Much huffing and swearing followed. We turned the bread upside down in the bread tins for the rest of the baking time to make sure the tops had minimal additional colouring and that the bottoms crisped up. It worked but we couldn't fix the damage already done. However, we got away lightly considering Yaz was working with an unfamiliar oven and we were juggling lots of dishes.

Despite some burnt tops, the bread was a great success. It was light, airy and fluffy with the occasional nubbly sprout in it. The crust was mostly crisp and chewy, apart from the odd bit of charcoal. My timing was unfortunate because yesterday I had to fly to Darwin for a business meeting. Here I am stuck with ordinary bread while my lovely homemade bread is many miles away. I have put some in the freezer which gives me even more reason to look forward to getting home in a couple of days.

Now that I have a taste of sprouted bread, I think I should learn to do some sprouting. Thanks to Zorra for another great theme for Bread Baking Day! If you are after more interesting bread recipes I would recommend you head over to Wild Yeast where Susan has started a YeastSpotting round up of recent posts by bloggers on baking bread.

Sprouted Green Lentil and Bulgar Bread
(Adapted from Sprout People)
Makes 2 - 3 loaves

2½ cups warm water
2 scant tbsp (2 x 7g pkts) dried yeast
½ cup oil
¼ cup honey (or alternative sweetener)
1 tbsp salt
2½ cups sprouted green lentils and bulgar wheat*
9 cups flour**

Combine yeast and warm water in your largest mixing bowl for about 5 minutes to proof (or bubble a little). Stir in 2 cups of flour and leave to proof for about 30 minutes. Add oil, honey, salt, sprouts and 2 cups of flour. Mix well. Place in unoiled bowl and cover with a damp teatowel. Set aside in a warm place to rise for about 45-60 minutes.

Add about 4-5 cups flour to make a dough. Turn out onto a lightly floured board and knead for about 10 minutes or til it feels a little elastic (ie the gluten will begin to develop). Our dough was a little sticky and needed a little flour as I kneaded it. Return to the bowl, cover and set in a warm place to rise for 60-90 minutes until doubled.

Punch down the dough and cut into three pieces (or two if you are making two loaves). Place each piece into an unoiled loaf tin or onto a baking sheet. We flattened each piece into a long oblong and folded in half and then in half again and sealed the edges which Yaz says gives it more air but this method is optional. Cover and set aside to rise for 60 minutes until doubled.

While loaves are rising, preheat the oven til 190 C or 375 F. When loaves have risen, spray bread with some water to make it more crusty. Bake for 35-40 minutes. Some moisture in the oven (such as simmering vegetables) is helpful but not necessary. The bread is ready when the loaves are golden brown and sound hollow when tapped. Cool on wire racks.

NOTES:
* Sprouted from ⅔ cup green lentils and 1⅓ bulgar wheat soaked overnight on Thursday and then sprouting a day. Other sprouted grains or legumes could be used but these were chosen because they don’t take long to sprout. We used a bit more sprouts than the recipe called for which meant we also used a bit more flour. Yarrow also noted that the bulgar wheat just held the water rather than soaking it up so it probably needed more flour.

** We used mostly white bread flour with a little rye flour but other wheat and rye flour combinations could be used. The recipe suggests if you use whole wheat or rye flour you could add 1/8 wheat gluten per cup of flour to give a better result.

On the stereo:
Viva Hate: Morrissey