In My Kitchen: March 2021

It is March and life fails to calm down.   February was an eventful month.  Sylvia was settling into high school and so am I with trying to keep up with all the parent activities.  It was nice to talk to some of her teachers at a meet the teacher session.  I bought a new computer and a new car.  I sold my old car for scrap.  We had a snap 5 day lockdown during which Sylvia got sick and had a covid test.  I got sick and had a covid test the next week.  It was not a good time for me to be sick, having just been out for a fun hotpot meal at work and then having to miss our first big Centre face to face meeting since lockdown in March last year.  Both of us are fine and there are now only a few cases of Covid in our state that came from international travellers in hotel quarantine.  But a few weeks back there was great concern about Covid as the Australian Open in tennis was held with crowds and workers were told they could go back to work.  And as if that wasn't unsettling enough, there has been a huge media storm over sexual abuse at the highest levels of power in our government.  Time to take a deep breath and have a good laugh at the Princess Bride!  And let's look into my kitchen.

There has not been much cooking in the kitchen but sometimes inspiration is still nipping at my heels.  More often than not, I am keeping it simple.  The above platter was put together when a friend and her family came for lunch.  This was indeed a simple matter of dips, cheese, rice crackers, vegetables and dolmades.  Plus some delicious bakes by Kerin.  I was so disorganised that we were just back from the shops and they arrived so I had extra help putting the lunch together.

This walnut fudge cake was made for my birthday, which was pretty lowkey this year with a Nourish bowl at The Boot Factory with a friend, mac and cheese salad rolls with this fudge cake for dinner with Sylvia, and then a fancy restaurant meal a few days later with my parents.  I have had this cake on my birthday before and am rather fond of it.  It was very good with lots of berries.  Quite a lot went into the freezer and I still have a few pieces left there.

I was sad when a crack became too great to hold one of my favourite bowls together.  This bowl was one of the first bowls I bought when I moved into my first share house in Fitzroy in the 1990s.  I still have a few let but it is a sad sight to me.

I made this stew to clean out the old vegetables in the fridge.  It had a lovely tomato tahini sauce with smoked paprika and honey.  It was served with haloumi, broccoli, corn and rice.

My mum gave me some basil for the garden.  Luckily it has been a very cool summer so my garden is doing ok, despite my neglect.  We have had very few really hot days but days in the 20s have been lovely.  But I have still managed quite a bit of swimming in the outdoor pool and some beach swimming including a chilly swim at Jan Juc beach last weekend with my visiting brother at 5pm on a cool day.  Back to the basil.  It grew like crazy and finally I pruned it and made pesto with all the trimmings.  I mixed the pesto into brown rice and at it for days.  Above is a meal made with pesto rice, chickpeas, red cabbage, spinach, red capsicum, and olives.

These yoghurts were like the Muellers corners yoghurts in the UK that we love.  The yoghurt comes with crumble, dried fruit and chocolate pieces.  It was delicious: lots of crunch and chewiness with the creamy yoghurt.

Summer is time for ice creams.  Sylvia is very partial to ice creams.  I love chocolate.  So I wanted to try the Magnum Luxe Caramel Ego.  It was very decadent with layers of chocolate and caramel around the ice cream.  Sylvia's choice was the Proud and Punch vegan chocolate and banana smoothie.  She was rather fond of it but I preferred the Magnum!

 

One of my sentimental weaknesses are the Golden Gaytime ice creams that I loved as a kid.  So when we saw this Golden Gaytime flavoured popcorn, I had to try it.  It was delicious though a little moreish with alternate caramel and chocolate covered popcorn.

Our supermarket had these stainless steel pegs so I bought a packet.  I have seen other brands advertised as a sustainable alternative to plastic pegs.  They seem to work quite well.  I wonder if these will become as easy to find in the shops as plastic pegs.

 I cleaned out my fridge.  Life does not leave me with long hours to do such things but I cleaned it in a few installments.  It was very satisfying and a little sad to throw out lots of my gluten free flours, which ironically had been stored with my gluten flour that also was binned.  I found a lot of the due dates were 2010-2014.  It made me feel quite old that so many years had passed since I bought them but I decided that if they hadn't been used in that time, they might as well go!

These packets are of crackers that I bought to try.  I loved the Gourmet Crackers with aged cheddar and caramelised onion.  The Natural Cracker Co Crispy Taco crackers were a little over seasoned for me.  And I am yet to try the Grainz brown rice snacks with parmesan and herbs.

I was also quite curious about this Whittakers ginger caramel filled chocolate.  It was nice but I prefer their caramel filled chocolate without the ginger.

Here are a few presents I received for my birthday from Scotland.  I really love the thistle doilies and the deer tray.  The cards will be very useful too.  

I am sending this post to Sherry of Sherry's Pickings for the In My Kitchen event, that was started by Celia of Fig Jam and Lime Cordial,  If you would like to join in, send your post to Sherry by 13th of the month.  Or just head over to her blog to check out her cute hand drawn banner and visit more kitchens.

Street Art in Melbourne: Hosier Lane 2021

 Life is busy.  We are out of the snap 5 day lockdown from last week.  It is amazing but it seems weeks ago.  So these photos from Hosier Lane on the weekend before lockdown seem to have been with me a long time but in terms of my slowness to blog, actually they are pretty recent.  The street art seemed to encompass so many current issues: Trump, Australia Day controversy, renewable energy, lockdown, diversity, FaceBook bullying, ScoMo at play and more!

 

See previous posts on Hosier Lane:

• Street Art in Melbourne #9 Hosier Lane June 2014
• Street Art in Melbourne: Hosier Lane 2015 
• Street Art in Melbourne: Hosier Lane 2018-2019 
  

Fruit mince sourdough bread rolls, Tennis, and Lockdown 3.0

What a week it has been.  It started with transferring all my data to my new laptop computer,  and ended with a shared cheese and biscuits lunch at work while we listened to a press conference about going into a snap 5 day hard lockdown and at home my mechanic checked my new car that I had picked up on Thursday.  My mechanic loved the car.  The computer is great.  Lockdown is not too bad for 5 days but brings some degree of anxiety about rising cases and the UK strain of covid19.  Today we heard that one of the infected people had visited out local area.  And today I indulged in the classic lockdown activity of sourdough baking.

I remember Adam Hills on the Last Leg saying that 1st lockdown was a novelty where you try and get everything right, in 2nd lockdown you feel like you know how to deal with it but in 3rd lockdown you just don't care any more.  In Australia where we have managed to keep covid numbers to zero for weeks - or even months - on end in each state, the short sharp lockdown to manage a small outbreak seems to be effective.  So I hope in Victoria this third lockdown will be indeed just 5 days and can be considered a blip rather than the slog we endured last year.  All going well, it will be bookended by my niece's high school graduation on Thursday and my brother's visit from interstate next weekend.

Victoria eliminated Covid in November, had an outbreak in December, dealt with diagnoses in quarantine among Australian Open tennis players and entourage, and we now have 20 active cases in Melbourne.  These numbers might seem small to people living overseas with much higher numbers but as we all know, from little things, big things grow!  Despite all of this, the Australian Open started this week and I have watched bits of a few matches.  It went from the distraction of a woman in the crowd heckling Raphael Nadal on Thursday to an odd moment mid way through the Djokovic-Fritz match when at 11.30pm the crowd was told to go home so they were not out when the lockdown started at 11.50pm.

I put on the bread last night while watching the tennis and let it rise overnight.  I was a little worried after baking some terrible bread recently but this one was just lovely.  It rose well and was light and fluffy inside.  I used leftover fruit mince from Christmas baking.  My mum gave me some fruit bread a while back and I found the last piece in the freezer last week, which renewed my desire to try making fruit buns.  I often make enough dough to make 2 loaves or a loaf and 8 rolls.  Today I decided to make just rolls to put in the freezer so I can eat them gradually while spending more time at home.

As usual I made my regular overnight sourdough bread dough and added in some extras.  The dough was quite sticky but when I cut it up and shaped it into rolls, it was pretty easy to handle.  It was one of those lazy weekends where we had nowhere to go and took it easy.  I didn't start shaping the rolls until 12 noon.

The rolls were larger than I usually make so next time I might cut them slightly smaller.  Writing up the recipe I found I had forgotten that I usually slash my bread rolls though it did not make much difference.  But they tasted delicious.  These are barely sweet and taken most of their sweetness from the dried fruit.  Because the dried fruit in in the mince, it is actually really soft.  And as fruit mince keeps well, you can save it to make months after you have recovered from Christmas baking.

The rolls are delicious warm from the oven.  Too tempting not to try one or two.  I also had one with my dinner and then put the rest in the freezer for later.  Meanwhile I have been watching the quiet tennis with no audience applause and reactions.  It is odd to see.  However there is still the twack of the ball on raquet and the squeak of sneakers on the court.  Not to mention the players grunting.  Even before lockdown the crowd was more spaced out than usual, mask wearing is not uncommon and there are no lines people calling the ball out.  Just holding the Australian Open has been a massive operation to beat Covid but it is not like other years.

Likewise life is still not normal, despite the diagnoses being so low here.  There is constant politics about how to manage hotel quarantine for international arrivals, of Australian citizens struggling to get home due to lack of flights, and ventilation.  At work we have to remember to check in and out on QR codes, hand sanitiser stations are all over the building and trying to organise a face to face meeting with external visitors is challenging, even before the latest run of community transmission.   Going to cafes and shops we are greeted by QR codes and sanitiser.  Masks are still being worn in shops and public transport even before the restrictions tightened recently.  No wonder lockdown is not quite so odd.  

Despite this, saying goodbye to colleagues at work on Friday was odd as we felt like we couldn't really be confident we would see each other on Thursday when the 5 days of lockdown should be up, all going well.  One of my colleagues took a project home just in case the lockdown lasted weeks.  We've had an infected person visit out local area.  I have changed medical appointments, am yet to postpone a tradie and am sad we wont get to go swimming this weekend.  But we can still shop and we can exercise (walk or ride) for up to 2 hours a day.  It is not so bad but it would be nice to return to a real normal.

More fruity bread baking on Green Gourmet Giraffe:

• Cranberry nut rolls
• Freshly fruited yeast bread
• Malted loaf with chocolate, figs and brazil nuts
• Overnight sourdough fruit bread (v)  
• Sourdough fruit bread with poppy seeds

 

Fruit mince sourdough bread rolls
Adapted from Green Gourmet Giraffe
Makes 16-20 rolls

300g of bubbly starter
570g water
18g salt
400g fruit mince
1/2 tsp mixed spice
1 tbp golden syrup
2 tbsp treacle
3 tbsp olive oil
1 kg flour
fine semolina (or flour or fine polenta) to dust

[A few hours before making the loaf, take sourdough starter out of the fridge and feed it so it gets nice and bubbly.]

About an hour before going to bed (or first thing in the morning) mix everything together.  It is easiest to mix everything except flour first and then add flour.  Use hands to mix if required.  Set aside covered with a tea towel for half an hour.  Knead in the bowl for about 15 seconds.  Cover with greased clingwrap or a bowl cover and leave at room temperature for 8 to 12 hours.

Sprinkle semolina or flour generously onto table or board.  Scrape dough out onto this surface.  Cut into 16 or 20 pieces.   I use a plastic cutter but a large sharp knife will do - and might need some flouring.  The dough will probably need some flour to make it easier to handle it.

Gently roll each piece into a ball.  Do this by putting the corners as tightly as possible around the bun (without squishing the bun) so the floured/semolinaed bottom of the bun is like a little blanket around the bun.  Turn it over so the floured bottom is a smooth top.  Toss in flour/semolina to stop it being sticky but treat it as though it is very fragile just using finger tips.  Then use your hands to shape as much as possible but don't worry too much if the bottom looks like a scrunched blanket.

Grease or line the bottom of a casserole dish with a lid (mine is enamel).  Sprinkle with some semolina or polenta.  Place rolls here as you shape them.  They can be either close together or have space between - if they are close together they can lose their round shape.  Let them rise in the casserole for 30 minutes with the lid on.  While the rolls rise, preheat oven to 240 C. 

Bake for 20 minutes with lid (or foil cover) on.  Remove lid and bake another 10-20 minutes.  Bread is ready if it sounds hollow when tapped.

Cool on a wire rack or eat warm.  Can be frozen on the day of baking and then microwaved on 30 seconds at 50% power in the morning and used to make rolls for lunch.

On the Stereo:
Duckworth Lewis Method - self titled

In My Kitchen: February 2021

February is the month when life gets back to normal after the summer holidays.  This year it is not quite as normal as we would normally expect.  Tennis players have been quarantining in hotels so they can compete in the Australian Open.  Sylvia has started high school and a recent outbreak in Melbourne means she is wearing a mask during her school day.  I have started spending 3 days a week in the office and the other day and a half working from home.  Masks are back at work too.  It is odd to be back in the office for the first time since March.  But I am pleased to have a job, especially as I have just bought a new car and new computer.  Both are still being sorted.  Which is how life goes at the moment but there is hope!

It was lovely to have a break over summer to slow down, spend time swimming laps, head outside out on my bike, watch movies in the cinema, buy school supplies for Sylvia, lie in bed in the morning reading books, and starting to get back into socialising.  Catching up with friends still feels a bit slow after the crazy last year.  Above is an afternoon tea platter I shared with a friend from work.  I wanted to share some of my Christmas goodies with her: Christmas cake, panforte, mince pies, nougat, cherries, strawberries and apricots.

I picked up these apricots when catching up with a some friends who have kids at school with Sylvia

Sylvia and I met up with a friend and her daughter from the other side of town at the Botanic Gardens.  It was lovely to wander through the shady grounds of the gardens.  We spent too much time in the gift shop and could not resist this gum leaf plate and the pink grapefruit, lemon myrtle and eucalyptus soap.

I baked bread a couple of weekends ago and made some of the worst soudough bread I have ever made.  It was oddly textured with quite a sour taste.  It was not my finest moment in bread baking.  I was not thinking when I decided to add some gluten free flour and I left it 24 hours not 12 hours as it did not seem to be rising.  Not to mention that the starter has been a little neglected.

Kombucha seems to become more and more popular if the amount of bottles in the shops is anything to go by.  And now they are selling kombucha icy poles!  I was amazed at these!  And I had to try them!  The ingredients include kombucha, apple juice and fruit juice.  They are so refreshing on a hot day!

And as if I hadn't had my fill of kombucha, one of my colleagues brought me in these Kombucha flavoured jellies.  The verdict at work was that they didn't taste much of kombucha.  They were less sweet that the usual jubes.

Sylvia requested mac and cheese cupcakes for her first school lunch of the year.  I made a mac and cheese and baked it in muffin cups.  They were delicious  hot or cold.

We have a new local IGA supermarket.  The salad bar was very tempting.  (Is that an odd thing to say?)  I tried the avocado grain salad, the tumeric couscous salad, and the beetroot, carrot and feta salad for lunch.  It was delicious but the medium cup had a lot in it.

My brother in law has lots of fruitful stone fruit trees.  When he gave my mum a load of plums she made plum and raspberry jam and stewed some of this plums and brought me some fresh plums as well.  Photographed here with the lilies from the top photo when they were opened!

My bread baking might not be crash hot lately but the pizzas are always great.  This pizza was delicious served with a vegie-laden rice salad that lasted for days.

This dried pineapple and bananas from IGA comes in big slabs that did not impress Sylvia.  We had hoped they were freeze-dried but they weren't.  I am not sure how I will use them but I think perhaps in a salad might work.

The IGA sells the cutest mini tomatoes called Tomberries.

The Tomberries were great on a pizza with mozzarella, pesto and mushrooms.

Lastly I tried a Warm biryani salad from the Woolworths Fresh Magazine of December 2020.  It was a matter of caramelising some onions, cooking some spiced rice - and I added a tin of brown lentils.  Then I added in the caramelised onions, some cucumber, parsley and cashews.  It was really nice but needed a curry with it or some more vegies.  I took it into work with peaches and red capsicum.  And enjoyed it for dinner at the end of the day too.  The last day I had it with pesto, baby spinach and tomatoes.  You see, it wasn't really spiced enough, partly because there was no fresh ginger in the supermarket and the bottle I bought instead was actually garlic not ginger when I got home.  Oops!  But you can't go wong with rice and cashews and caramelised onions!

I am sending this post to Sherry of Sherry's Pickings for the In My Kitchen event, that was started by Celia of Fig Jam and Lime Cordial,  If you would like to join in, send your post to Sherry by 13th of the month.  Or just head over to her blog to check out her cute hand drawn banner and visit more kitchens.