tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3598409317274853822024-03-13T18:39:01.550+11:00eat it goodeatitgoodhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00248764550631380732noreply@blogger.comBlogger25125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-359840931727485382.post-31770858725907317672011-12-11T03:48:00.003+11:002011-12-11T04:12:20.657+11:00A few of my favourite things...It´s been more than a year. <br /><br />Of that year, I have spent almost half travelling through Europe, and still, not a peep.<br /><br />While I can´t begin to make up for all the missed meals, I can start up again now and let you know about a few of the absolute stand out,(food) experiences that I have had this trip.<br /><br />Chronologically, because I could not even begin to order things otherwise, these have been a few of my favourite things:<br /><br />- Cote de Provence Rose sitting at an outdoor table in the Parisian summer<br /><br />- Spinach (or other wild greens) and cheese burek washed down with cold natural drinking yoghurt in Belgrade (and all through the Balkans)<br /><br />- Peaches, quite simply perfection, from the market in Montenegro<br /><br />- Eating $2 bowls of borscht with a hard boiled egg at a plastic table in Poland´s soviet hangover `milk bars`<br /><br />- Organic blueberry, pomegranate and pear gelati (separately, but at the same time) in Bologna.<br /><br />- French "hyper" markets, with 4 cheese sections, 2 aisles for butter, beautiful yoghurts in tiny glass jars, artisan ciders, cans of everything from ratatouille to duck confit, 38 cent baguette perfection... I could go on.<br /><br />- Olive oil that makes everything else look like a poor imitation, bought from a lady´s garage at the side of the road in Puglia<br /><br />- Everything with lemon juice, olive oil, salt and a sprinkle of oregano in Greece<br /><br />- Naples. Pizza. Perfection.<br /><br />- Naples. Sfogliatelle. Perfection. <br /><br />- Tapas, clearly from a can, and at $5 a bite, a total rip off, but coupled with a glass of cava and a crowded bar, deliciously worth it. <br /><br />- Coffee in the early morning sun at 3000m in Andorra<br /><br />- Gluwine at Christmast markets everywhere from Bern to Baden.<br /><br />That brings us about up to the present, though I´m sure I´ve missed at least two dozen unforgettable experiences. <br /><br />For now at least, I feel better about having gotten some of that down. <br /><br />Stay tuned... I won´t make you wait a whole more year for a new post this time.eatitgoodhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00248764550631380732noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-359840931727485382.post-39090179156637664512010-11-17T18:24:00.004+11:002010-11-17T18:32:14.902+11:00A la naturaleI’ve been gone. That’s what happens when you decide to take up a masters course and continue with your day job. But I’m back. It’s late spring, and there are lots of delicious things to eat. <br /><br />As a quick catch up, so you can have some idea of all the exciting things you missed out on when I wasn’t posting, over the past couple of months I’ve been eating a lot of:<br />- sautéed broccoli, kale or other green with lots of garlic, a bit of chilli, and poached egg and lots of parmesan cheese plopped on top.<br />- Miso soup with soba noodles, steamed vegies and a poached egg on top<br />- Boiled artichokes/baby leeks/asparagus with vinagrette and a hard boiled egg on top<br /><br />And that’s pretty much about it. So don’t worry, you haven’t missed anything, except perhaps an inordinate number of eggs. <br /><br />This recipe comes from<a href="http://www.thewednesdaychef.com/the_wednesday_chef/2010/10/gabrielle-hamiltons-soft-zucchini-with-harissa-olives-and-feta.html"> Luisa at The Wednesday Chef</a> – she wrote about it whilst lamenting the last days of summer over in Berlin. Back on this side of the world, this dish is a perfect celebration of what can be called, “pants off weather”. It’s not as outrageous as it sounds, it’s just that we’re finally starting to get those evenings that are warm and slightly sticky. Those evenings when catching the train is like a Dali painting, everything slowly melting. Those evenings when you drag yourself up the three flights of stairs to your apartment and the first thing you do is pull off your jeans to cool down, and they stay off. <br /><br />Even when you know full well your neighbours can see into your apartment, there’s nothing quite like sitting down to dinner in your undies. <br /><br />This recipe is quick and simple, light and summery and works perfectly whether you are dining solo a la undie or have some company and more clothes on. I ate it sitting on the couch, in my undies, with the end of a fresh sourdough rye loaf, frantically reading my bookclub book (got to be finished by tomorrow night!!) <br /><br />I could see it going just as well as a side dish for a more substantial meal or served as part of a mezze/range of salads type dinner. <br /><br />Whatever you do, try it once just in your undies, for me. <br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_oEFelnuTyxs/TOOEkYnbQqI/AAAAAAAAAJ0/S3abJLZIugQ/s1600/100_1977.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_oEFelnuTyxs/TOOEkYnbQqI/AAAAAAAAAJ0/S3abJLZIugQ/s400/100_1977.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5540417727213814434" /></a><br /><br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Zucchini salad with harissa </span><br />I’ve tweaked the salad a bit to make it for one person and also to match what I had in the fridge. Feel free to play around with it – the amount of harissa will make it quite spicey which is great in the warm weather, but not everyone’s cup of tea. <br /><br />3 small zucchini cut into 1cm thick rounds<br />Juice of ½ a large lemon<br />1-2Tbs harissa (taste and see how you go)<br />3Tbs good olive oil<br />1 small garlic clove minced<br />Handful of olives, pitted and roughly chopped (Luisa used Kalamata but I only had Spanish green in my fridge, they worked well)<br />¼ cup roughly chopped feta cheese<br />Small handful of flat-leaf parsley roughly chopped<br /><br />Steam the zucchini over simmering water until tender but not falling apart (about 7-10minutes)<br /><br />In a small bowl whisk together lemon juice, harissa, oil and garlic. <br /><br />Once zucchini is done, transfer into serving bowl, pour over half the dressing and slowly toss through. <br /><br />Sprinkle olives, feta and parsley on top, add a little more of the dressing (to taste) and toss gently. <br /><br />You can serve it immediately as a hot side dish or at room temperature.eatitgoodhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00248764550631380732noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-359840931727485382.post-2476830495926515222010-06-12T11:59:00.005+10:002010-06-12T12:31:18.527+10:00Rosy<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_oEFelnuTyxs/TBLsT-Od1-I/AAAAAAAAAJU/TmTEEpib2zQ/s1600/quintpretty.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 264px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_oEFelnuTyxs/TBLsT-Od1-I/AAAAAAAAAJU/TmTEEpib2zQ/s400/quintpretty.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5481703524328658914" /></a><br /><br />Our parents help shape who we are. Some of their influence comes through genetics (e.g. my bizarre mixture of pale, freckled skin and afro hair) and some through years of successful brainwashing (e.g. my love of all things <a href="http://eatitgood.blogspot.com/2009/08/all-things-green-and-leafy.html">healthy and green</a>.) I’m not sure which one of these powerful sources has influenced the way I feel about winter…<br /> <br />As we edge further and deeper into the winter months, I worry not so much about the cold, as the dark. I think about the next couple of months less as “the big freeze” and more as “the long dark”. Like my father, I’ve taken to counting the days until we reach the official shortest day of the year, and then breathe a sigh of relief as the days continue to get colder but start brightening a little more each day. <br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_oEFelnuTyxs/TBLvUzt3LkI/AAAAAAAAAJc/Ag-LjUGzHis/s1600/rawquint2.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_oEFelnuTyxs/TBLvUzt3LkI/AAAAAAAAAJc/Ag-LjUGzHis/s400/rawquint2.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5481706837222305346" /></a><br /><br />I think the thing is that there’s always a cure for the cold. Crank up the heater or light a fire, throw on an extra jumper, pull out your winter pajamas, wrap yourself in a woolen blanket and read your book. There is no cure for dark mornings, grey days and afternoons like midnight. Or is there? How about something that heats your house as it cooks on the stove at a bare simmer, or in a very low oven for hours? That fills the house with smells of vanilla and spices? And that most importantly splashes cheerful bright pink all over your morning porridge? How about gorgeous ruby red poached quinces!? <br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_oEFelnuTyxs/TBLw41pZT9I/AAAAAAAAAJk/khiSfb5oDvY/s1600/quintpottage3.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 390px; height: 400px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_oEFelnuTyxs/TBLw41pZT9I/AAAAAAAAAJk/khiSfb5oDvY/s400/quintpottage3.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5481708555727359954" /></a><br /><br />Before it’s cooked to pink perfection, the quince is quite an unprepossessing fruit, yellowy-green, lumpy and sporting some sort of unidentified dusty <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tuberculous_cervical_lymphadenitis">scrofula</a>. (Dave’s choice of word, not mine!) The smell is another thing altogether. Pop a couple of quinces in a bowl in your living room (or along the windowsill for lack of space as we have) and they will reward you with a heavenly slightly apple, slightly tropical altogether other-worldly air-freshener for weeks for before you actually get around to cooking them. <br /><br />When you do get around to cooking them, it’s a slow and gentle process – that will transform slices of hard, dry apple-like fruit into glorious, fragrant, tender fruit pieces, pink enough to brighten up even the darkest of winter days.<br /><br />I’ve only really just gotten onto cooking quinces so I’m still in the experimental phases. Below are a couple of different methods for cooking. I’d be happy to hear about any other favourites. <br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Simple Stove Method<span style="font-style:italic;"></span></span><br /><br />4 cups water<br />1 cup sugar (most recipes call for much more than this but I find for breakfast quinces once cup is plenty)<br />½ vanilla bean pod, split<br />3-4 medium quinces<br />1 lemon<br /><br />Gently dissolve the sugar in the water on a low heat. <br /><br />Peel, core and chop the quinces into about eighths – be sure you get the whole core out, they’re quite deep and very woody.<br /><br />Pop the vanilla pod and quince slices into the simmering sugar syrup.<br /><br />Cover and allow the quinces to cook at a bare simmer for about 1 ½ hours until they are soft and slightly apricot in colour. The pink will develop over the next couple of days in the fridge. <br /><br />Take the quinces off the heat and squeeze in the juice of one lemon. <br /><br />That’s it – they’ll store in a jar in the fridge for a week or two (if they last that long.)<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Slow-baked spices quinces<span style="font-style:italic;"></span></span><br /><br />7 cups water<br />1 cup sugar<br />½ cup honey<br />Mixed spices of your choice – star anise, cardamom pods, cinnamon sticks, cloves, fresh ginger – just don’t go too crazy, you still want the flavour of the quince to be the star<br />½ vanilla pod<br />6-8 quinces (they vary a lot in size!)<br />1 lemon - juiced<br /><br />Preheat the oven to 150.<br /><br />Gently dissolve the sugar and honey in the water on the stove in a heavy pot that can be put in the oven.<br /><br />Add the spices, vanilla, lemon juice and quinces to the pot. Cover tightly and pop in the oven.<br /><br />Cook for at least 4 and up to 8 hours. <br /><br />The quinces will come out heavenly and rosy. <br /><br />So start poaching, and start each deep dark winter morning with a splash of pink.eatitgoodhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00248764550631380732noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-359840931727485382.post-63751294118192265642010-05-19T11:43:00.005+10:002010-05-19T12:04:36.759+10:00Soups on Sundays (or how to avoid porridge)<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_oEFelnuTyxs/S_NDpgGZJ_I/AAAAAAAAAJM/9iDyASq7XcY/s1600/100_18042.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_oEFelnuTyxs/S_NDpgGZJ_I/AAAAAAAAAJM/9iDyASq7XcY/s400/100_18042.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5472792352455731186" /></a><br /><br /><br />As an independent adult living out of my parents' home, I get to choose whatever I want to eat for dinner. Weeknight dinners are usually quick, healthy and something which will make good leftovers for lunch at work the next day. Saturday night dinners are usually out. Sunday night dinners are either one of two things – a complex, new recipe that’s taken all day to cook and makes the most out of the fresh and exciting ingredients I get at the farmer’s market on Saturdays, or greasy take away recovery food (this past Sunday was definitely the latter!) <br /><br />But that’s now, rewind about 15 years and Sunday night dinner was a very different choice - porridge, or tuna pattie melts. Perhaps I should explain...<br /><br />As a kid Sunday afternoon was more often than not spent at the house of cousins, friends, family friends etc. The general scene was this: at least 10 screaming kids running wild in someone’s backyard, and parents sitting around inside eating afternoon tea. Sure, we’d eat a bit, grab a biscuit here, a scone there but food was never the main attraction for the under-16s at these afternoon gatherings, we were too busy running amok and teasing parents' friends' weird kids. (Hey - don't judge me, some of them were seriously wacky, and kids can be cruel!) The parents on the other hand, ate, lots! Afternoon gluttony led them to believe that Sunday night dinner wasn’t required, and we were duly offered porridge, or tuna pattie melts. <br /><br />I had forgotten all about this Sunday night tradition until Mother’s Day. Having spent the afternoon at Nana’s for an afternoon feast, my little sister begged me to stick around at my parent’s place for dinner and order some take away or cook something delicious to avoid being told “you can’t possibly be hungry after that afternoon tea! Let’s just have porridge or something for dinner!” I realised with some shock that I wasn’t hungry either, I didn’t really feel like any dinner – I had crossed over. <br /><br />Adult (afternoon tea-wise at least) or not, I would never return to porridge for Sunday night dinner. Surely there’s something else quick, easy, savoury, comforting and light that can be whipped up without too much effort? Of course there is, there’s always soup! <br /><br />This is a slightly special soup, in fact it’s fancy name is “Roasted Carrot, caramelised garlic and red lentil soup” which I think sounds like a very special Sunday night dinner. But it's pretty simple really - the carrots and garlic are roasted in a hot oven until sweet, brown and caramelised and then whizzed up with some stock, a few aromatics and some simmered lentils. It’s also probably very easy to modify according to what veggies you have in the fridge – a wedge of pumpkin, some sweet potatoes, even cauliflower would probably work well here (although give it a shorter blast in the oven.)<br /><br />So without further ado, I give you what is possibley the perfect Sunday night dinner (plus delicious leftovers! What a bonus!)<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;"><br />Roast Carrot, Caramelised Garlic and Red Lentil Soup</span><br /><br />1kilo carrots (about 5-6 carrots)<br />4 cloves garlic (skin still on)<br />2Tbs olive oil<br />2Tbs butter<br />1 brown onion chopped<br />2 stalks celery chopped<br />1 red chilli finely sliced (optional but highly recommended)<br />1tsp ground cumin<br />1tsp ground coriander<br />1/4tsp cracked black pepper<br />1tsp salt<br />4cups veggie stock<br />½ cup red lentils<br />3Tbs quark/yogurt/sour cream (optional but again delicious)<br />Salt and black pepper to serve<br /><br />Preheat the oven to 200c<br /><br />Roughly chop the carrots and pop them in a baking dish with the garlic and toss through the olive oil. Pop the whole lot in the oven – they should take about 20-25 minutes to cook through.<br /><br />While the carrots are roasting, pop a big pot on a medium heat, melt the butter in and slowly fry off the onion, celery and chilli till soft and translucent – obviously the chilli won’t go translucent, but you know!<br /><br />Tip in the spices, salt and pepper and fry off for about 30 seconds. <br /><br />Rinse the lentils under cold water and then throw them in the pot and fry off for a bit (like rice in a risotto) <br /><br />Pour the stock into the pot and turn up the heat to bring to the boil then reduce to a simmer<br /><br />While the lentils are simmering, pull the carrots out of the oven.<br /><br />Remove the garlic cloves from the dish and squeeze the mushy, brown, sweet delicious garlic out of their skins and into the pot, then throw in the carrots too, and any juices/oily bits left on the bottom of the baking dish, they’re the most delicious! <br /><br />Continue to simmer until the lentils are soft (15-20mins)<br /><br />At this point I pull out my handy bamix and give the whole lot a good whizz till it’s smooth and creamy. If you don’t have a bamix, you can whizz in a blender, but make sure you don’t overfill it! Hot liquid expands when whizzed – dangerous stuff! <br /><br />I love to stir in a couple of tablespoons of delicious organic quark to round out the flavours. As I mentioned in the ingredients, you could use yogurt or sour cream here too.<br /><br />This makes a very thick soup. One that will keep thickening in the fridge overnight, but it’s also very flavoursome, so don’t be afraid to thin it out to your desired consistency with a bit of water. I personally like my soup almost like a thick puree. Yum! <br /><br />Enjoy with some buttered toast on the couch, watching masterchef – and say goodbye to Sunday night porridge forever.eatitgoodhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00248764550631380732noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-359840931727485382.post-28275954313604960192010-05-10T09:00:00.005+10:002010-05-11T11:52:37.605+10:00Breakfast DessertMe: So, can I please have the sautéed mushrooms with dukkah and goats cheese and a strong soy cappuccino.<br /><br />Waitress: Yep<br /><br />Sister 1: I’ll have the baked beans and a skinny latte please<br /><br />Waitress: sure, no problem<br /><br />Sister 2: And I’d also like the baked beans, but with no feta, plus a poached egg and a soy latte thanks<br /><br />Waitress: Ok<br /><br />Me: and then for breakfast-dessert we’ll have the gingerbread with poached plums and mascarpone<br /><br />Waitress(eyebrows raised in judgemental disbelief): huh? Breakfast what now? <br /><br />...and so it goes, most Saturday mornings. <br /><br />I’ve never understood why breakfast is the only meal of the day when it’s unacceptable to have dessert. Want a brownie with your post-lunch espresso? Go for it! Scoop of ice-cream on the couch after dinner? By all means! Gingerbread and poached plums after poached eggs? You must be mad! <br /><br />You see, I never want a full sweet breakfast – the thought of going out and ordering bircher muesli makes me shudder – I can soak my own oats in apple juice thank you very much! But I do like something sweet in the mornings, thus breakfast-dessert was born. <br /><br />Now don’t get me wrong, it’s not like we order a slice of Bailey’s cheesecake each at 9am (urgh, who would ever eat Bailey’s cheesecake, but I digress!) we tend to share one sweet dish off the menu after our eggs. That sweet thing often tends to be banana cake, or bread – if you want to delude yourself that because something is shaped like a loaf it’s not full of butter and sugar. <br /><br />Banana bread is fairly ubiquitous on breakfast menus in Melbourne – some incarnations with spiced honey labne, pistachios and poached rhubarb (for example) are more adventurous than others, but generally, all are delicious, and make a perfect sweet ending to breakfast. <br /><br />Banana bread is also incredibly easy, and should by no means be something that is only eaten in cafes. Everyone should have a foolproof, quick and easy banana bread recipe at home for when they don’t quite get through that bunch of bananas before they get overly brown. In fact, to be honest, I usually buy more bananas than we could possibly eat in a week just so I can make banana bread (or <a href="http://herestheveg.blogspot.com/2010/03/march-12-13-2019-choc-banana-icecream.html">choc-banana ice-cream</a>.)<br /><br />This recipe is from Stephanie Alexander’s bible The Cook’s Companion which I love, love, love! (Did I mention I love it?!) I have tinkered with the recipe a bit – largely health-ing it up a tad, using much less sugar, substituting some of the flour for wholemeal and reducing the butter a bit to make it a more versatile, every day cake. In my humble opinion, this is one of the best versions of banana bread out there - it’s not only the perfect breakfast-dessert, it’s also a delicious afternoon snack with a cup of tea, a breakfast in itself toasted and topped with a blob of greek yogurt or even a bit of a sneaky light lunch smeared with some ricotta and sprinkled with extra cinnamon – the possibilities are endless!<br /><br />So head out, buy some bananas, twiddle your fingers while they go nice and brown and mushy, then make yourself some breakfast-dessert at home, and avoid the judgemental raised eyebrows of the waitress at a cafe near you. <br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Breakfast dessert banana bread</span> <br /><br />100g softened unsalted butter<br /><br />1 cup of raw sugar (normal sugar would work fine too)<br /><br />2 eggs<br /><br />3 medium overripe bananas mashed<br /><br />1/2tsp pure vanilla<br /><br />1 cup plain flour<br /><br />1 cup wholemeal flour (you could just as easily use 2 cups plain - but not 2 cups wholemeal)<br /><br />1 tsp bicarb soda<br /><br />1/2 tsp salt<br /><br />1 tsp ground cinnamon<br /><br />1/4 tsp ground ginger(you could also use allspice or a tiny pinch of nutmeg)<br /><br />1/2 cup of plain yogurt or buttermilk (you can make buttermilk easily by putting 1Tbs lemon juice in 1 cup of milk and leaving for 10mins)<br /><br /><br /><br />Preheat oven to 180c and butter and flour your chosen baking tin. I used a 25cm loaf tin. <br /><br />Cream butter and sugar until fluffy and pale - if you're using raw sugar it won't get as pale as normal sugar.<br /><br />Beat in banana, vanilla and eggs, one at a time. <br /><br />Sift dry ingredients and add to mixture alternately with yogurt/buttermilk.<br /><br />Stir until combined.<br /><br />Pour into your tin you are using and bake for 45 minutes to an hour or until cake tests clean when skewered. My oven leaves a lot to be desired and it usually takes my cake at least an hour. <br /><br />The top should be nice and brown and a bit cracked - you can always tent with foil if the top is getting too brown. <br /><br />Cool in the tin for a few minutes before turning out onto a wire rack.<br /><br />Cool completely before storing in an airtight container - alternatively, you can slice it up and freeze it for easy long term access! <br /><br /><br />P.S. I realise I owe you a photo, but it's been a month since I last posted and banana bread waits for no one. I promise next post will have at least 2 photos to make up for the omissioneatitgoodhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00248764550631380732noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-359840931727485382.post-89939058708640170482010-04-07T14:32:00.012+10:002010-04-08T09:15:38.902+10:00Make like a mushroom<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_oEFelnuTyxs/S7wNytVH-iI/AAAAAAAAAIc/nQ7Ty_0QcxY/s1600/shrooms.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_oEFelnuTyxs/S7wNytVH-iI/AAAAAAAAAIc/nQ7Ty_0QcxY/s400/shrooms.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5457252013279017506" /></a><br /><br />“If you call yourself gruzd, then get into the basket.” Is an old Russian proverb which, as far as I’m concerned could mean anything from “May you become old and toothless like a donkey” to “May your daughters prosper and never cost you a dowry” but apparently it’s actually got to do with mushrooms; very special orange mushrooms which are found only under pine trees, are absolutely delicious, and called gruzd in Russian. <br /><br />Wikipedia has it that mushroom hunting is a very popular and common family activity in Slavic countries, and that the Poles and Russians adore wild mushrooms. So I guess it should have come as little surprise over the weekend when Dave (descendant of Polish grandparents and a Siberian born father), who had wandered into the pine forest adjacent to our campsite to relieve himself, returned a short while later, wild eyed and grinning, arms full of bright orange mushrooms. <br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_oEFelnuTyxs/S7wN6nIjQDI/AAAAAAAAAIk/Sg2F8MoU0hg/s1600/3shroom.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_oEFelnuTyxs/S7wN6nIjQDI/AAAAAAAAAIk/Sg2F8MoU0hg/s400/3shroom.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5457252149054619698" /></a><br /><br />Turns out the pine forest around our campsite was a veritable hothouse for gruzd, or red pine mushrooms, or lactarius deliciosus if you want to get serious. So it wasn’t long before we chopped up the delicious specimens, threw them in a pan with some oil, garlic and chilli and chucked the whole lot over some hot coals. What resulted was some of the most spectacularly meaty, smokey, juicy mushrooms I’ve ever eaten, and a whole lot of interest from our fellow campers. <br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_oEFelnuTyxs/S7wOFDyqiDI/AAAAAAAAAIs/xiCXbM-ZzFI/s1600/slicedshroom.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_oEFelnuTyxs/S7wOFDyqiDI/AAAAAAAAAIs/xiCXbM-ZzFI/s400/slicedshroom.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5457252328546142258" /></a><br /><br />Dave quickly became the local mycologist (mushroom expert) instructing kids around the campsite to search for the fluted orange mushrooms with pale rings on the cap, bled orange sap when cut open, and bruised a strange greenish blue colour when damaged. Upon reflection, encouraging kids to search for mushrooms in the forest and then eat them may not have been the wisest idea, especially considering our four year old tent-neighbour Hugo picked a seriously deadly looking red and white toadstool and proudly brought it back to camp. In fact, now that I mention it, unless you happen to have a father who regularly goes mushroom hunting, you have generations of mushroom picking in your blood and you’re 110% sure that the mushrooms are safe, I would recommend NOT picking wild mushrooms and eating them, no matter how delicious they may look. <br /><br />That having been said, 4 days and about 4 large servings of foraged mushrooms later and here I am, still typing away. <br /><br />I sadly didn’t manage to take any photos of the mushrooms we ate while camping, but in a happy coincidence, upon our return, it turned out that Dave’s dad had spent the day in his favourite (and top secret) mushrooming spot near Daylesford, and had bags of them for us to take home. Yum! <br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_oEFelnuTyxs/S7wOPLINX0I/AAAAAAAAAI0/IN8tVbUbeVo/s1600/knifeshrrom.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_oEFelnuTyxs/S7wOPLINX0I/AAAAAAAAAI0/IN8tVbUbeVo/s400/knifeshrrom.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5457252502314245954" /></a><br /><br /><br />So last night, Dave set to work preparing the mushrooms, and I made some potato gnocchi. I’m not going to bother with a gnocchi recipe here, partly because they were really just a vessel for more mushrooms, but also because there’s a wonderful step by step recipe for perfect gnocchi at <a href="http://tummyrumbles.com/2008/01/gnocchi-di-patate.html">tummyrumbles</a> which I would recommend to everyone wanting to make their own. <br /><br />This is a very simple recipe, but there’s just something about mushrooms; they’re not quite plant, not quite animal, mysterious, often poisonous and supremely delicious – so if you can get your hands on some interesting wild mushrooms, then make like a gruzd and get into this recipe. <br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_oEFelnuTyxs/S7wOYG459qI/AAAAAAAAAI8/6ioH0tAoJgo/s1600/finsihsedshroom.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_oEFelnuTyxs/S7wOYG459qI/AAAAAAAAAI8/6ioH0tAoJgo/s400/finsihsedshroom.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5457252655795140258" /></a><br /><br />Oh and by the way - I've decided to enter this post in Weekend Herb Blogging #228 (even though mushrooms are technically a plant, they're a fungus.) WHB was started by <a href="http://kalynskitchen.blogspot.com/2008/06/new-rules-narrowing-focus-for-weekend.html">Kalyn</a> and is now organised by <a href="http://cookalmostanything.blogspot.com/2009/11/whb-year-5-archives.html">Haalo</a>. This week the event is being hosted at <a href="http://logomachia.blogspot.com/">The Cabinet of Prof. Kitty. </a><br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;"><br />Panfried wild mushrooms</span><br /><br />500gm wild mushrooms <br />¼ cup good olive oil<br />3 cloves garlic<br />2 sprigs thyme<br />¼ tsp cayenne pepper<br />½ tsp paprika<br />1tsp salt<br />1tsp fresh black pepper<br /><br />Prepare the mushrooms by wiping them down with a paper towel to remove any dirt and grubs. Check the stems of the mushrooms, many of the larger ones will have been eaten by bugs, so remove the stems that look a bit rotten through the middle. <br /><br />Thinly slice the mushrooms – your hands, the knife and the chopping board will be stained a lovely bright orange colour – don’t fear, this is normal!<br /><br />Heat the oil in a pan over a medium high heat and add the garlic, paprika, thyme and cayenne and fry for about 30 seconds until fragrant but not burnt. <br /><br />Throw the mushrooms into the pan along with the salt and pepper. <br /><br />Continue to cook the mushrooms, tossing occasionally for about 10 minutes or until well cooked through. (These mushrooms should not be eaten raw!)<br /><br />Serve the mushrooms over potato gnocchi, polenta, on toast or just eat them as they are with a fork, from the pan – preferably sitting in front of a campfire, next to a running stream, in the shade of the enormous pine forest you gathered the mushrooms from.eatitgoodhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00248764550631380732noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-359840931727485382.post-83865747896375096822010-02-19T21:55:00.002+11:002010-02-19T22:00:35.588+11:00Summertime.......and the living's easy. <br /><br />For the past couple of weeks, I’ve felt like this song should be playing on repeat.<br /><br />Back when I moved into my new apartment 8 months ago, the mornings were dark, the evenings were darker and howling winds blew straight from Antarctica into my bathroom window (which never closes properly). The whole place shuddered and groaned with cold, and my little faux-fireplace gas heater became my best friend. But I knew then that the time would come, in late summer, when the decision to live directly opposite the beach would be the one of the best I ever made. And indeed it was.<br /><br />We have now entered late summer, or, as it seems in Melbourne, true summer. The days are ridiculously long, the days are hot, the nights are warm and the beach beckons every day as I trudge home from the station. There’s nothing quite like scurrying across the hot bitumen in nothing but a bikini and bare feet, having a quick dunk and splash in the cool sea, and then scurrying home again for a cold beer – especially if the whole exercise takes you no longer than about 5 minutes.<br /><br />Of course, the one downside to all this glorious weather is that it’s just too too hot to cook anything. Believe me, last night I made a bit of a Lebanese feast, which required 3 burners on the stove and the oven on – it was about 50 degrees in that little kitchen of mine! Remind me not to do that again, and rather, to stick to cold beer, juicy peaches, homemade banana ice-cream (recipe to come soon) and the occasional refreshing, crunchy salad – just to even out the sweet/savoury ratio.<br /><br />This salad is the perfect summer salad – cool, fresh, easy to put together, and with enough substance to pass as a proper meal when served with some crusty sourdough bread.<br /><br />I’m usually all for innovation and creativity in the kitchen, and fully support making substitutions and experiments with basically every recipe I post – this one is different. I wouldn’t change a thing, ever. The flavours couldn’t be more perfect if they tried. So throw one together, as soon as the next hot day comes along (which will probably be tomorrow around here) and enjoy a clean, crunchy, fresh salad for dinner.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_oEFelnuTyxs/S35vFKO42zI/AAAAAAAAAHg/lpTlvviZuUo/s1600-h/100_1521.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_oEFelnuTyxs/S35vFKO42zI/AAAAAAAAAHg/lpTlvviZuUo/s400/100_1521.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5439907534346967858" /></a><br /> <br /><span style="font-weight:bold;"><br />Fennel Pea and Ricotta Salad</span><br /><br />Inspired by an old Karen Martini recipe<br /><br />Serves 1<br /> <br /><br />1 small head of fennel<br /><br />¼ cup peas (I used frozen, but fresh if you’ve got them)<br /><br />Juice half lemon<br /><br />100g ricotta<br /><br />Small handful mint leaves<br /><br />Olive oil<br /><br /><br />Bring a small pot of water to the boil. Drop in the peas and let them cook for 30 seconds – no longer or they’ll get shriveled and sad rather than sweet and juicy.<br /><br />Drain the peas, pour over the oil, lemon juice and season well with salt and pepper.<br /><br />Coarsely chop the mint leaves and add them to the peas<br /><br />Trim the stalks and fronds off the fennel<br /><br />Shave the fennel as thin as possible cross-ways with a sharp knife if you want to hone your knife skills, or a mandoline if you’re lucky enough to have one and haven’t chopped your finger off on it yet – thereby swearing off mandolines forever.<br /><br />Toss the shaved fennel and reserved fennel fronds through the minty peas.<br /><br />Smear the ricotta onto a plate and top with the salad.<br /><br />Drizzle with a bit more olive oil.<br /><br />And that’s it, you’re done! Best enjoyed sitting on the balcony in still slightly damp bikini bottoms on a warm evening.eatitgoodhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00248764550631380732noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-359840931727485382.post-60274780352437957892010-01-22T14:51:00.005+11:002010-01-22T15:04:10.924+11:00Beans glorious beans<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_oEFelnuTyxs/S1kjAcgcAdI/AAAAAAAAAHQ/DNHbL2tQmbQ/s1600-h/carrotclose2.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_oEFelnuTyxs/S1kjAcgcAdI/AAAAAAAAAHQ/DNHbL2tQmbQ/s400/carrotclose2.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5429409316331061714" /></a><br /><br />This is going to have to be a short one... Busy seems to be my default setting at the moment. <br /><br />This is not the sort of salad that you just throw together while the pasta's boiling as a cursory nod to health, greenery and convincing your mother you're eating well. With sweet, golden roasted baby carrots and earthy beetroot and it's more serious, wholesome and interesting than that. It's the sort of salad that you can pack up and take to work with you for lunch all week, and rather than getting soggy, it will actually improve. <br /><br />This recipe was inspired by a recipe I picked up at <a href="http://www.101cookbooks.com/archives/carrot-dill-white-bean-salad-recipe.html">Heidi's 101 cookbooks</a> - I've made it a couple of times now with slightly different variations on the herbs, veggies and beans used, I'm pretty sure this one though is my favourite - although get back to me in a week or two and I may very well have a new favourite - after all, with bean salad, it never pays to be closed minded. <br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Carrot, Beetroot and Cannellini salad</span><br /><br />1 bunch baby carrots<br />3 small/medium sized beetroots<br />2 cans cannellini beans - drained and rinsed<br />1/2 bunch of fresh parsley or dill - washed and roughly chopped<br />1/2 red onion - quartered and finely sliced<br />1tbs balsamic vinegar<br />1/4 cup good olive oil<br />Juice half a lemon<br />Salt to taste<br /><br />Preheat the oven to 200c<br /><br />Wrap the beetroots tightly in silver-foil, place on a baking tray and pop in the oven for about an hour (or until a knife goes in easily)<br /><br />Meanwhile scrub the baby carrots and trim off the leafy bits<br /><br />Pop these in a roasting tray or baking dish and toss with 1tbs of olive oil and the balsamic - these go in the oven too for about 30mins or until just tender and golden. <br /><br />Place the beans in a large fry pan or pot with a splash of oil and some salt and heat gently until warm. <br /><br />Remove beetroot and carrots from the oven <br /><br />Chop beetroot into approx 1cm chunks and carrots in simliar sized rounds<br /><br />Quickly throw all ingredients (while still warm) into a bowl and toss well with the remaining oil and lemon juice. <br /><br />Serve immediately with a <a href="http://eatitgood.blogspot.com/2010/01/quiche-that-wasnt.html">savoury ricotta tart</a> or on its own for a healthy, beany and satisfying lunch.eatitgoodhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00248764550631380732noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-359840931727485382.post-5824218133514599272010-01-13T16:04:00.001+11:002010-01-13T16:06:05.785+11:00Holey crumpet!<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_oEFelnuTyxs/S01UneQZJBI/AAAAAAAAAHI/Ufc4NpDAhx4/s1600-h/photo.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 300px; height: 400px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_oEFelnuTyxs/S01UneQZJBI/AAAAAAAAAHI/Ufc4NpDAhx4/s400/photo.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5426086163164767250" /></a><br />I know I promised salad recipes, and salad you will get, but let’s be honest, who wants salad when you can have crumpets?! Yes, you heard me – moist, fluffy, crunchy, buttery, melty HOMEMADE crumpets. Oh yeah. <br /><br />I don’t know if you’ve bought crumpets recently, but it seems like the only ones available at the supermarket are made by Tip Top (urgh) and have that slightly sour, smelly chemical taste that characterises all highly processed supermarket bread – no wonder I never really liked crumpets and always picked an English Muffin over its holey cousin the crumpet. My years of crumpet-avoiding is a shame, because crumpets should be a delicious thing, and if you take a little time and effort and follow this recipe you too can be converted, or even better, if you already like crumpets, you’ll be in soft crumpety heaven. <br /><br />These delightful little jam and butter vessels (because let’s be honest – the reason a crumpet has holes in it is so it can suck up more butter and jam than toast ever could) are not your everyday sort of breakfast food, not just because of aforementioned butter-sucking, but also because they use yeast, and therefore, take a serious time commitment. <br /><br />Being uncharacteristically well organised and forward thinking – these crumpets were started the night before, and instead of leaving the mixture to rise in a warm place for 1 to 2 hours, it was stuck in the fridge overnight for about 12 (we were on holidays and doing a lot of sleeping, ok!?) and then pulled out in the morning, finished off and cooked. Unless you want to be eating breakfast at least 2 hours after you start cooking, I can highly recommend this overnight method.<br /><br />These crumpets were enjoyed in the perfect setting, on my parents’ deck, watching the sea, where, like the crumpet, life is slow, and watching a container ship move across the horizon is sufficient for a morning’s entertainment. <br /><br />Crumpets<br />1tbs caster sugar<br />7g/1 sachet dried yeast<br />250ml warm milk<br />250ml warm water<br />2 cups plain flour<br />1 cup wholemeal flour (I ran out of plain flour and substituted wholemeal – I think it really added something to the crumpets, but it’s totally optional)<br />1tsp salt<br />250ml water<br />1/2 tsp bicarb soda<br />Butter to grease<br />Butter, honey, jam etc to serve<br /><br />Combine warm milk and water in a medium sized bowl. <br /><br />Dissolve sugar and yeast into the liquid – put aside for about 10mins until the mixture starts to bubble and froth. <br /><br />In a separate bowl, combine flour and salt.<br /><br />Make a well in the center and gradually add the milk/yeast mixture – stir until well combined.<br /><br />Cover with plastic wrap and either a) leave for 1 hour or until doubled in size or b) chuck it in the fridge and go to bed – when you get up, pull it out of the fridge, let it warm up to room temperature and then continue with the recipe. <br /><br />Combine extra water and bicarb soda in a jug and slowly add to the mixture, beating well until smooth. The mixture should be pourable - if not, add some extra water. <br /><br />Cover batter and leave to rest for 30mins.<br /><br />Heat a large non-stick fry pan and melt in a knob of butter over medium heat.<br /><br />Grease as many egg rings as you have and place them in a pan. <br /><br />Turn down heat to medium-low and pour about ¼ cup of mixture into each ring. <br /><br />Allow each crumpet to cook for about 7mins or until it looks dry and bubbled on the top.<br /><br />Use tongs to remove the egg rings and flip the crumpets.<br /><br />Cook an extra 30secs to 1min on to brown up the other side.<br /><br />Enjoy a well deserved breakfast of butter-sucking fresh crumpets.eatitgoodhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00248764550631380732noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-359840931727485382.post-6946818234821154462010-01-11T11:21:00.001+11:002010-01-11T11:28:11.156+11:00The quiche that wasn'tOk, so I’ve been fairly slack lately with the whole blogging thing. What, with all the Christmasing, camping, beaching, beering and sleeping, there’s been little time for computers. Luckily though, that doesn’t mean that I’ve been slack on the cooking, in fact, I’ve got quite a backlog of photos and recipes to share with you guys, which is also lucky, because the last couple of days have brought the sort of weather that makes you want to run screaming from the kitchen and eat cold watermelon for breakfast, lunch and dinner – which although delicious, does not make for particularly interesting blog material! <br /><br />One of these backlogged recipes is a savoury ricotta tart. I feel a bit silly calling it a “savoury ricotta tart” – considering it’s made up of eggs, cheese, herbs and a bit of asparagus in pastry, it’s probably more suiting to call it quiche, but the thing is, I hate quiche, and I love this! Well, I don’t flat out hate quiche – as a kid I used to eat it fairly frequently as part of Sunday lunch at my grandparent’s farm and I used to really enjoy picking off the pastry crust and eating it with tomato sauce – it was just the gluggy, eggy middle bit that turned me off. Luckily quiche was always served with at least three different salads at my grandparents’ – a green, a coleslaw and a brown rice salad, I was hardly deprived, starving child, forced to pick at quiche crusts for lunch. <br /><br />Anyway, I digress – the point is that this tart is really delicious! It’s a bit rustic, light, fresh and even works beautifully when you slip into holiday laziness and use (gulp) bought pastry. I think the thing that really distinguishes it is that the majority of the filling is beaten ricotta, rather than eggs, the eggs are really just used to hold the whole mess together, this makes for a much lighter filling, both in flavour and texture. <br /><br />This is the perfect sort of food for summer, it’s quick to make, doesn’t require the oven to be on for too long and tastes even better eaten cold the next day, so if you’re sweltering in summer heat, get to it! <br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_oEFelnuTyxs/S0pvoA7DYOI/AAAAAAAAAHA/7qlnW-74I6M/s1600-h/photo.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_oEFelnuTyxs/S0pvoA7DYOI/AAAAAAAAAHA/7qlnW-74I6M/s400/photo.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5425271434354319586" /></a><br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;"><br />Savoury Ricotta Tart<br /></span><br />Also, I should say, feel free to be imaginative with the herbs and veggies that you put in this. The first time I made it was with spring onion and fresh thyme and a sprinkle of dried oregano, which was very good, but simpler than the recipe given here. I think I’ll be making this again a far bit and will be experimenting with throwing in some spinach and dill, and maybe some peas and fresh mint in the future – really, the possibilities are endless. <br /><br />1 sheet/1 quantity shortcrust pastry*<br />200gm ricotta cheese (preferably not from the tub)<br />150gm soft goats cheese**<br />2 eggs lightly beaten<br />1 bunch spring onions – finely chopped<br />¼ cup flat leaf parsley – finely chopped<br />1 bunch asparagus - trimmed<br />1tsp dried thyme or a couple of springs fresh thyme, leaves removed and chopped, stems discarded<br />Salt and pepper <br /><br />Preheat the oven to 180c<br /><br />Line a 24cm tart tin (or springform cake tin) with the pastry and blind bake (quick refresher – blind baking is when you pop the raw pastry in the tin, then a sheet of baking paper over the top and fill the tin with raw rice or beans/chickpeas and bake for 10mins or so, then remove from oven, take out weights and paper and pop it back in the oven for 5mins. This cooks the pastry through a bit before filling and stops it from getting too soggy or puffing up too much.)<br /><br />Bring a pot of water to the simmer, salt well and drop in the asparagus. Pull them out again after just 30 seconds and refresh in cold water.<br /><br />Beat together all remaining ingredients with a fork.<br /><br />Chop the asparagus into 2cm pieces.<br /><br />Pour half the cheese mixture into the pastry crust.<br /><br />Throw the asparagus on top of this – try and create an even-ish layer<br /><br />Pour remaining cheese mixture into the crust<br /><br />Pop the whole thing in the oven for 25-30mins or until it’s brown on top and just set in the middle – so it will still jiggle a bit. <br /><br />Serve warm with some delicious salads (recipes to come soon) for a light summer dinner, or cold, from the esky, in the car on the way to a music festival the next day.<br /><br />* As I mentioned, I was lazy and used bought shortcrust pastry - it actually worked really well, but if I was feeling more energetic I would use this <a href="http://www.marthastewart.com/recipe/pate-brisee-pie-dough">pastry recipe</a>, without the sugar.<br />** You could substitute a number of things for the goats cheese here, cream cheese or some grated aged pecorino. I'd love to get really decadent and use Meredith marinated feta in this - YUM!eatitgoodhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00248764550631380732noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-359840931727485382.post-51982026104583240412009-12-13T16:45:00.004+11:002009-12-13T17:52:58.300+11:00You don't make friends with salad!Or so the saying goes. So it's lucky that last night when I had a couple of people around for dinner, they were all already old friends, because basically all I served was salad. <br /><br />In my defense, I had spent the better part of the afternoon drinking beer and eating BBQ shapes in the park for my sister's birthday, so it's not that I didn't <span style="font-style:italic;">want</span> to cook up a storm, so much as I just didn't have the time. <br /><br />That having been said, it was a very successful dinner. I love having friends who love to eat - not in a really foodie, always searching out the hottest new chef or fanciest, most obscure ingredient kind of way, but in the, let's sit down and consume lots of tastey food and delicious wine all together kind of way. <br /><br />Unfortunately I didn't manage to get many photos of the dishes I prepared, and the ones I did take weren't fantastic. But, in the interest of conscientious food blogging. Below is a shot of all the dishes served last night (except for dessert.) Clockwise from far left we have:<br />- roast beetroot, goats cheese, walnut and mixed leaf salad<br />- homemade humus (I haven't quite perfected that yet)<br />- zucchini and ricotta tart in a parmesan crust<br />- white bean, carrot and dill salad<br />- homemade roast eggplant and yogurt dip<br />- cheese<br />- cabbage, raddish apple and mustard seed coleslaw <br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_oEFelnuTyxs/SySD7sCDuEI/AAAAAAAAAGw/ra-Nwo-m2XY/s1600-h/100_1451.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_oEFelnuTyxs/SySD7sCDuEI/AAAAAAAAAGw/ra-Nwo-m2XY/s400/100_1451.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5414597713461491778" /></a><br /><br />The only non-salad item on the menu was a the savoury tart. Adapted from one of Heidi's recipe at 101 cookbooks - I'd made it once before with a wholemeal flour and olive oil crust but decided to get a little bit more decadent this time around and use another of Heidi's recipes for a parmesan crust. Sadly, even with the helped of a loaned food processor, the pastry dough recipe just didn't work for me. My dough never really came together properly and stayed kind of pebbley and sandy even when I was trying to squish it into the pie dish. Hmmm - so the recipe that I've given here is with a couple of my amendments to the pastry recipe and a couple of additions to the fillings.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Zucchini and Ricotta Tart</span> <br /><span style="font-style:italic;"><a href="http://www.101cookbooks.com/archives/lasagna-tart-recipe.html">Adapted from 101 cookbook</a>s</span><br /><br />Pastry:<br />1/2 cup plain flour<br />1/2 cup wholemeal flour*<br />120g cold, unsalted butter chopped into 1cm cubes<br />120g good parmesan, finely grated<br />1/2tsp salt<br />2tbs ice cold water<br />1 egg yolk<br /><br />Preheat the oven to 180c<br /><br />Put the flours, salt, butter and parmesan in the bowl of a food processor and pulse a couple of times till it's just combined and some of the butter is still in pea sized pieces. Add the iced water 1 tablespoon at a time, and pulse a couple of times after each spoonful. Now add the egg yolk and again pulse until just combined. <br /><br />The dough should come together when you pinch it between your fingers. <br /><br />Pour the dough into a pie dish and quickly and firmly press it into the shape of the dish, pushing the dough up the sides of the dish as well. <br /><br />Pop the dish in the fridge for 15 minutes. Pull it out, prick with a fork a couple of times, place a piece of silver foil over the pastry and weigh down gently with pie weights or dry beans. Pop it into the oven for 15 minutes. Take the pastry out of the oven, remove the foil and weights and continue baking for another 10 minutes or until the pastry is golden brown and smells delicious!<br /><br />Allow to cool at least a little before filling. <br /><br />*You can always use just plain flour for this recipe - the wholemeal flour just makes it a little bit more rustic. However, if you do use only plain flour I would omit the egg yolk from the recipe because it will probably make the dough too wet. <br /><br />Filling:<br /><br />2 medium zucchini - sliced into rounds as thinly as possible<br />2 cans chopped tomatoes<br />2 cloves garlic -sliced<br />2tbs olive oil<br />300g fresh ricotta<br />1tsp salt<br />1/2tsp red chili flakes<br />handful fresh basil<br /><br />Either keep the oven hot from baking the pastry or preheat again to 180c<br /><br />Place the chopped zucchini in a colander and sprinkle on a fair amount of salt. Leave the zucchini to sweat while you start the sauce. <br /><br />In a small pot, heat up the oil, garlic and chili until it starts to get fragrant, but not allowing the garlic to burn. <br /><br />Dump in the cans of tomato and simmer for 15 minutes. Salt to taste. <br /><br />Pick up handfuls of the zucchini and squeeze them well to try and get rid of any excess moisture that's in them. <br /><br />Take your cooked pastry crust and spread about half the ricotta on the bottom. Then spread about one third of the tomato sauce, followed by about half the zucchini and half the basil, roughly torn. Repeat this process and finish with the last 1/3 of tomato sauce on the top.<br /><br />Pop it in the oven and let it cook for about 30mins. <br /><br />Serve warm to friends or cold, directly from the fridge the next morning when you're faced with a sink full of dishes and need some courage!<br /><br />For those of you who have perservered with this post all the way to the end of the recipe - you will now be rewarded with another photo - nothing food related, just some lovely flowers that have been sitting on the ledge above my kitchen sink the last couple of days... they're really very pretty! <br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_oEFelnuTyxs/SySKtgGEVDI/AAAAAAAAAG4/56u3D6NmAnY/s1600-h/100_1432.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 300px; height: 400px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_oEFelnuTyxs/SySKtgGEVDI/AAAAAAAAAG4/56u3D6NmAnY/s400/100_1432.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5414605166320309298" /></a>eatitgoodhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00248764550631380732noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-359840931727485382.post-7201720590903925512009-12-04T12:16:00.012+11:002009-12-04T12:53:12.950+11:00Didn't your mother ever tell you...That too many cherries will give you a tummy ache?! <br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_oEFelnuTyxs/SxhjdwBmipI/AAAAAAAAAFY/FUDxpFilZ8M/s1600-h/110.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_oEFelnuTyxs/SxhjdwBmipI/AAAAAAAAAFY/FUDxpFilZ8M/s400/110.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5411184315044629138" /></a><br /><br />Mine did – but that didn’t stop me gorging myself on kilos of them last weekend when we went cherry and berry picking in Silvan, near the Dandenongs, about 45 minutes outside of Melbourne.<br /> <br />We paid $7 entry to cover the cherries that we would eat whilst picking (oh boy did I make sure I got my money’s worth), were handed a bucket and pointed in the direction of heavily fruit-laden cherry trees at the end of the track. <br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_oEFelnuTyxs/SxhjOw3qCPI/AAAAAAAAAFQ/MKvVd4MFgxQ/s1600-h/109.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_oEFelnuTyxs/SxhjOw3qCPI/AAAAAAAAAFQ/MKvVd4MFgxQ/s400/109.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5411184057573312754" /></a><br /><br />Ever wondered why cherries are so bloody expensive? It’s because picking them is a seriously labour intensive activity! It takes a loooong time to fill 2 buckets with cherries, especially if like me, you adopt the “one for you, one for me” method of picking.<br /><br />After the cherries came the blackberries and raspberries. What a revelation! What amazing, beautiful, tasty little morsels! I hate to sound so much like an inner-city girl, but seeing those deep red berries peeking out from behind the bushy leaves, looking like, well, flowers, and then popping them in your mouth and realising that it’s actually a raspberry, like, the same thing that comes in punnets at the supermarket seemed a little ridiculous but very wonderful! <br /><br />We headed home with our bountiful bounty, stuffing a few more cherries and berries into my mouth on the way. Once home, I had rolled around on the floor for a while emitting cherry-tummy-ache induced moans and groans, and then decided that 7kg of fruit is too much for regular human consumption. There was only one thing for it – a jam session! After a quick tribute to Bob Marley, we got down to business: the very messy business of pitting cherries and the very dangerous business of sterilising jars. <br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_oEFelnuTyxs/Sxhjxpr2NaI/AAAAAAAAAFg/6A1FU-5iD1k/s1600-h/125.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_oEFelnuTyxs/Sxhjxpr2NaI/AAAAAAAAAFg/6A1FU-5iD1k/s400/125.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5411184656940152226" /></a><br /><br />Jam is really an incredibly easy thing to make – it’s really just equal quantities of fruit and sugar, juice of a lemon or two (and if it’s fruit without a lot of natural pectin – like cherries) a bit of extra pectin or jamsetta which you can easily pick up from the supermarket. <br /><br />To quote my fellow jammer, “jam-making is an easy but fraught process” – so I’ve taken lots of photos for you to follow. <br /><br />Home-made jam is an entirely different thing to supermarket jam! For one thing, it tastes like fruit rather than sugar, for another it's totally natural and therefore healthy ;) - so what are you waiting for? Don an apron, boil some jars, and get jamming!<br /><br />For cherries, and all stone fruit the first step is to pit all the fruit. With cherries this can be a very <span style="font-style:italic;">messy</span> business. I was lucky enough to be using an olive pitter which made life much easier, nevertheless it took about an hour to pit 3kg of cherries!<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_oEFelnuTyxs/Sxhk2m5_OkI/AAAAAAAAAFw/TpDwTykV9QM/s1600-h/113.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_oEFelnuTyxs/Sxhk2m5_OkI/AAAAAAAAAFw/TpDwTykV9QM/s400/113.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5411185841605130818" /></a><br /><br />Next, throw all the fruit in the biggest pot you have along with an equal quantity of sugar - so we had 3kg of pitted cherries and 3kg of white sugar.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_oEFelnuTyxs/SxhlZ0_gIxI/AAAAAAAAAF4/BYuNO5pOBoc/s1600-h/115.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_oEFelnuTyxs/SxhlZ0_gIxI/AAAAAAAAAF4/BYuNO5pOBoc/s400/115.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5411186446681776914" /></a><br /><br />Put the pot onto a very low heat - you don't want the sugar to burn at all. Let the whole thing heat up very very slowly, stirring occasionally. The sugar will begin to dissolve and the cherries to release juices so it will start looking delicious and syrupy. At this stage, squeeze in some lemon juice - we used 2 lemons. <br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_oEFelnuTyxs/Sxhl9nHcqZI/AAAAAAAAAGA/HuevGok1aYo/s1600-h/119.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_oEFelnuTyxs/Sxhl9nHcqZI/AAAAAAAAAGA/HuevGok1aYo/s400/119.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5411187061432297874" /></a><br /><br />Continue to heat it all up, stirring to make sure it doesn't stick to the bottom and eventually the mixture will begin to hubble and bubble. At this stage, if you're using jamsetta/extra pectin, throw it in. Also, you'll find that the boiling produces a fair bit of foamy "scum" that rises to the top. Even though for us it was a hot pink foam that looked quite delicious, we skimmed it off because that's what you're meant to do when you're jamming. <br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_oEFelnuTyxs/Sxhmlew_uFI/AAAAAAAAAGI/yv0VfGa6klA/s1600-h/123.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_oEFelnuTyxs/Sxhmlew_uFI/AAAAAAAAAGI/yv0VfGa6klA/s400/123.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5411187746385410130" /></a><br /><br />To test if the jam is ready, splodge a bit on a plate and pop it in the freezer. If, after about 30secs the jam comes out set (no longer liquid but not quite a solid) your jam is ready. And so begins the dangerous part!<br /><br />Gently and carefully remove all the jars that you've been sterilizing (by boiling on the stove for a while) from the hot water and place on a heat-proof surface. <br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_oEFelnuTyxs/Sxhp81Ct5rI/AAAAAAAAAGg/wbDNeWDTHtc/s1600-h/129.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 300px; height: 400px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_oEFelnuTyxs/Sxhp81Ct5rI/AAAAAAAAAGg/wbDNeWDTHtc/s400/129.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5411191446037194418" /></a><br /><br />At this stage you want to act as quickly as possible to make sure the jars are still hot and sterile when you pop the jam in. Quickly and carefully ladle the jam into the jars and wearing gloves or using a couple of tea towels, screw the jar lids on tightly. <br /><br />Give the jars a good clean (because they'll inevitably get disgustingly sticky) and leave them on the benchtop to cool over night. <br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_oEFelnuTyxs/SxhqJxUJEGI/AAAAAAAAAGo/ldhEArp1Ur8/s1600-h/131.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 300px; height: 400px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_oEFelnuTyxs/SxhqJxUJEGI/AAAAAAAAAGo/ldhEArp1Ur8/s400/131.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5411191668374835298" /></a><br /><br /><br />And taadaa - Jam!<br /><br />Enjoy on toast, in baking, from a spoon or any other usual jam enjoyment activities which I will leave up to your imagination.eatitgoodhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00248764550631380732noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-359840931727485382.post-48270145227530578012009-11-25T21:05:00.004+11:002009-11-26T11:36:51.978+11:00I love you, dessert.On my 20th birthday, one of my oldest male friend proposed marriage to me – quite seriously. <br /><br />We were sitting on my parent's porch, enjoying the sunshine after a particularly indulgent Italian feast in honour of my birthday, and he just popped the question! I looked at him, somewhat startled, and then my eyes rested on the now scrapped clean dish sitting next to him on the table – it was the dish that once contained tiramisu – my tiramisu – and it all made sense. After all, while the old saying might be “the best way to a man’s heart is through his stomach”, I think “the best way to a man’s heart is through his taste buds” might be more accurate!<br /><br />Lunch that day was a seriously Italian affair that I had spent 2 days cooking up. Bruschetta, homemade pasta, cherry tomato sugo – which required the painstaking de-seeding of about 2kg of cherry tomatoes, homemade pesto, cheese plates, salads and the crowning glory – two enormous tiramisu! Tiramisu good enough to make you fall in love! <br /><br />To be completely honest, unlike some of my other Italian fare, I didn’t pick up my tiramisu recipe from anywhere authentic, but rather from a beautiful Italian cookbook my sister gave me.. Nevertheless, it's a recipe that proved seriously successful time and again, and now that I’ve moved out of my parent’s home and that cookbook sadly remained behind (I really should remember to re-claim it next time I’m there) its simple perfection has stayed with me and I no longer even need the recipe to whip one up. <br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_oEFelnuTyxs/Sw0CWg6wKWI/AAAAAAAAAFA/J8Z-r2-_4tQ/s1600/yolks.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 300px; height: 400px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_oEFelnuTyxs/Sw0CWg6wKWI/AAAAAAAAAFA/J8Z-r2-_4tQ/s400/yolks.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5407981313358571874" /></a><br /><br />So, for a while, I made my tiramisu at every opportunity, every birthday, picnic, family dinner or general event that called for dessert, I beat some eggs, brewed some coffee and dunked a couple of savoiardi. And then I don’t know what happened but tiramisu kind of disappeared from my repertoire, that is, it had disappeared, until last weekend, when another old friend who was obviously missing the good old days of layered Italian desserts, requested a tiramisu for her end of exams/birthday dinner party. <br /><br />Even without the cookbook – the tiramisu came back to me like an old friend, once again I beat some eggs, brewed some coffee and dunked a couple more biscuits.<br /><br />When dinner time came around, my tiramisu was delicious as ever, slightly sweet, a little bitter, lightly boozed and very creamy. In fact, I think it was probably delicious enough that those left over biscuits in my pantry will making another appearance as tiramisu in the not too distant future!<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_oEFelnuTyxs/Sw0ClMYHskI/AAAAAAAAAFI/_GfeJIp8Oqs/s1600/100_1395.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_oEFelnuTyxs/Sw0ClMYHskI/AAAAAAAAAFI/_GfeJIp8Oqs/s400/100_1395.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5407981565542642242" /></a><br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;"><br />Tiramisu</span><br /><br />Makes 1 enormous tiramisu, 2 smaller ones or about 15 individual tiramisu if you want to do them in pretty glasses or ramekins. <br /><br /><span style="font-style:italic;">Ingredients</span><br />8 eggs separated (the eggs in tiramisu are raw, so get the freshest possible free range eggs you can – like those gorgeous yolks you can see in the picture above)<br />150g caster sugar<br />750g mascarpone<br />3 cups strong brewed coffee (plunger or espresso coffee diluted)<br />3tbs brandy, sweet Marsala or booze of choice<br />100g dark chocolate, finely grated<br />2 packs Savoiardi (lady/sponge finger biscuits) – about 40 biscuits<br /><br /><span style="font-style:italic;">Method</span><br />Beat the egg yolks with the sugar until it becomes thick and pale.<br /><br />Beat the egg whites in a clean, dry bowl with a pinch of salt until it forms soft peaks. <br /><br />Whip the marscapone (about 1/3 at a time) into the egg yolk mixture.<br /><br />Gently fold the egg whites into the yolk/marscapone mixture (you probably need to do this in about 4 batches) Be as gentle as possible at this stage, try and keep as much of the air in the mixture as possible. <br /><br />Mix the brandy into the coffee – it should taste like very strong coffee and quite strongly of brandy, the flavour of the alcohol will mellow as the tiramisu sets in the fridge. <br /><br />One at a time, dunk the biscuits into the coffee mixture. The trick is to get them nice and sodden without them falling apart. I like to do 4 seconds on each side, although it probably depends on the size and brand of your biscuits. <br /><br />Layer the bottom of a clean baking dish with the soaked biscuits.<br /><br />Spoon over about half of the marscapone mixture.<br /><br />Repeat in layers until all biscuits and marscapone are used up (the last layer should be <br />marscapone not biscuit) I usually only do two layers of each. <br /><br />Pop it into the fridge for at least 2 hours, but preferably 8 or even overnight. <br /><br />Sprinkle the grated chocolate over the top just before serving.eatitgoodhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00248764550631380732noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-359840931727485382.post-37052919259446360362009-10-26T13:27:00.008+11:002009-10-26T13:40:33.420+11:00A neanderthal dessertThere’s a story that my grandmother tells that has been told so many times that I can’t remember whether it was about me or my sister any more. My Savta (Hebrew for grandmother, and the only name I’ve ever known my paternal grandmother by) is a marvellous baker – she has ways with yeast that would make some of the fancy artisanal bakers popping up these days weak at the knees! So, she used to come to our primary school every now and then and do baking classes with the kids. We all loved it, but when Savta introduced herself to the class: “Hi everyone, I’m Savta”, the little girl in the story (me or my sister) became quite distressed claiming, “you’re not everyone else’s Savta, you’re only mine!”<br /><br />So, we’ve obviously become more generous with our Savta-sharing over the past 20 years because last week we shared a special and all too rare baking afternoon with a couple of friends who were dying to learn her magical ways with yeast. <br /><br />The cake of the day was Caveman Cake – which I think is actually supposed to be called something like Dumpling Cake – a Hungarian specialty that we have thus named because you never cut the cake, but rather rip off chunks with your hands and gobble as quickly as possible. <br /><br />Thea brought along her wonderful fancy camera and was nice enough to take photos of the whole process for me – so I’ll try to illustrate the recipe as best I can with her gorgeous shots. <br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Caveman Cake</span><br /><br />The thing with this cake is that it’s about perfecting the dough, which isn’t hard work but might mean a couple of failures and a couple of mediocre cakes before you get things right. The wonderful news is that when you’ve got this dough right, you can also use it to make delicious homemade donuts!<br /><br /><span style="font-style:italic;">Dough</span><br /><br />6g dry active yeast<br />1 tsp sugar<br />2tbs warm water<br />400g flour<br />2 egg yolks<br />50g butter (although Savta always uses margarine to make the cake suitable for eating after a meaty Friday night dinner, in accordance with Kashrut laws around mixing meat and milk)<br />250ml tepid water (for a richer cake you could substitute this with milk)<br />1 tsp salt<br />2 tbs caster sugar<br />¼ cup canola oil plus a bit more for greasing<br /><br /><span style="font-style:italic;">Filling</span><br /><br />120g walnuts<br />4-5 tbs apricot jam<br />100g sugar<br />Zest of 1 lemon<br /><br />Mix the yeast, tsp of sugar and warm water in a large bowl and leave aside to proof. <br /><br />Add all other dough ingredients to the bowl.<br /><br />At this stage if you’re lucky enough to have a bench-top mixer, stick it in there with the dough hook attachment and let it go on medium for about 3 minutes.<br /><br />After 3 minutes, slowly add the oil in a thin stream and let it be incorporated into the dough. <br /><br />If you’re doing this by hand, it will be quite a wet, sticky and soft dough, so rub a bit of oil onto your hands as you work. You’ll probably have to knead for about 10 minutes and then slowly incorporate the oil.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_oEFelnuTyxs/SuUJcerEIoI/AAAAAAAAADE/boXWzV4DDnI/s1600-h/IMG_2656_2.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 267px; height: 400px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_oEFelnuTyxs/SuUJcerEIoI/AAAAAAAAADE/boXWzV4DDnI/s400/IMG_2656_2.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5396730113348084354" /></a><br /><br />Now it’s time to leave the dough alone in a warm place, let the yeast do its work and relax with “something prepared earlier” and a cup of tea.<br /><br />Although there is a little bit of work to be done now – grind up the walnuts in the food processor and mix it with the sugar and lemon zest. Also, preheat the oven to 200c.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_oEFelnuTyxs/SuUJrQpQqZI/AAAAAAAAADM/1KGAd-3YMLs/s1600-h/GetAttachment.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 266px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_oEFelnuTyxs/SuUJrQpQqZI/AAAAAAAAADM/1KGAd-3YMLs/s400/GetAttachment.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5396730367280458130" /></a><br /><br />Once the dough has doubled, or even almost tripled (usually about 1 - 1.5 hours), tip it out of the bowl onto a well floured surface.<br /><br />Handle the dough as little as possible because you want to keep all that precious air in there but flatten it out a bit to about an inch thick.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_oEFelnuTyxs/SuUKUlX6F1I/AAAAAAAAADU/0L1mz-IEHAs/s1600-h/rolling.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 266px; height: 400px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_oEFelnuTyxs/SuUKUlX6F1I/AAAAAAAAADU/0L1mz-IEHAs/s400/rolling.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5396731077219456850" /></a><br /><br />Using a cookie cutter or glass cut circles of dough out – make sure you use all the dough, fashioning odd shaped bits out of the cut-offs - because Savta would be very disappointed if you threw anything out! <br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_oEFelnuTyxs/SuUKfgbqGII/AAAAAAAAADc/W0oCZmtPQP0/s1600-h/doughballs2.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 266px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_oEFelnuTyxs/SuUKfgbqGII/AAAAAAAAADc/W0oCZmtPQP0/s400/doughballs2.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5396731264871569538" /></a><br /><br />Take a large, deep cake tin (any shape will do, Savta always uses a big square one) and sprinkle a bit of oil on the bottom. <br /><br />Place a layer of the dough rounds on the bottom of the pan – they don’t need to overlap, and don’t even really need to touch because it’ll grow again before it goes in the oven. <br /><br />Pop about a teaspoon sized blob of apricot jam on each round and sprinkle over half of the walnut mixture.<br /><br />Repeat until all dough rounds have been used up – don’t put jam or walnut on the top layer, just brush it with some egg white or milk. <br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_oEFelnuTyxs/SuUKtSckjAI/AAAAAAAAADk/yLhjent9F_4/s1600-h/intin.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 266px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_oEFelnuTyxs/SuUKtSckjAI/AAAAAAAAADk/yLhjent9F_4/s400/intin.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5396731501635472386" /></a><br /><br />Leave the cake like this for about 20 minutes to rise a bit more and pop it into the hot oven for about 30mins or until it’s golden brown and springy to touch. <br /><br />Pull it out of the oven, turn out onto a cooling rack. <br /><br />Enjoy, tearing apart with your fingers as soon as it’s not going to give you third degree burns (although, even that would be worth it!)<br /> <br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_oEFelnuTyxs/SuUK3a6lrnI/AAAAAAAAADs/UeU7OnB9RoY/s1600-h/finished.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 266px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_oEFelnuTyxs/SuUK3a6lrnI/AAAAAAAAADs/UeU7OnB9RoY/s400/finished.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5396731675707551346" /></a>eatitgoodhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00248764550631380732noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-359840931727485382.post-8890917112526240162009-10-17T15:18:00.002+11:002009-10-19T09:21:34.786+11:00Cheesy Potato CureUpon reading a title like “Cheesy Potato Cure” you could be forgiven for thinking that this post would contain stories of cold weather, long days in the office and the need for rich, stodgy comfort food, like Cheesy Potatoes to cure all the ills in the world... but you would be wrong. In fact, it is a post about what to eat as a cure when you've eaten too much greasy food and feel like, well a cheesy potato. I think I should go back a little bit and explain...<br /><br />The term “Cheesy Potato” was coined what seems like an age ago when my lovely sister flew half way around the world to save me from dying of a broken heart, all alone, in Italy. Ok, so I was nineteen and probably a little melodramatic, but it was definitely a sad and lonely place to be. <br /><br />We met up in Barcelona for what turned out to be a wonderful 10 days or so of touring, talking, drinking, healing and, of course eating. Only problem is, Spain is not such a friendly place for the vegetarian and over the course our time there we ate more bread, egg, potato, cheese and miscellaneous fried stuff than anyone could ever wish to. Not to mention all washed down with plenty of cerveza (which is really just more bread in liquid form!) <br /><br />It was one day when we'd been wandering the Alhambra in Granada for untold hours and the lack of food was beginning to make us both a little hangry (hungry-angry) that we relented and ate a boccadillo (don't be fooled by the fancy name it is, you guessed it, bread filled with egg and potato) from the touristy food stall just outside the Alhambra. It was gross – stodgy, dry and greasy all at the same time. After inhaling the whole thing, Thea groaned “Urgh, I feel like a cheesy potato!” And so, a legend was born – from that point on, whenever too much unhealthy food has been consumed, we cry “Cheesy Potato”!!!<br /><br />Now, there are a number of ways to cure this particular feeling. Often something as simple as a tart apple or a stick of celery will suffice to freshen up your insides and make you feel clean and sparkly again, but sometimes, a quick fix just won't do and a whole meal must be devoted to scrubbing the cheesy potato out of your system. These times call for something that make you feel virtuous and taste delicious, something that tastes green, something like the salad I made this week for dinner, and then again for lunch. Inspired by the sorrel I bought from the farmers market and the red quinoa bestowed upon me by Dave's mum, this salad was the perfect cure for my cheesy potato feeling brought on by an indulgent weekend in Tasmania and too many lunches and dinners out and about.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_oEFelnuTyxs/StlGIgFRBwI/AAAAAAAAAC8/szB5vFA53_M/s1600-h/100_1384.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_oEFelnuTyxs/StlGIgFRBwI/AAAAAAAAAC8/szB5vFA53_M/s400/100_1384.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5393419140617799426" /></a> <br /><br />The beauty of this salad is that it is substantial enough to eat for dinner, stays fresh left overs, and lends itself very nicely to whatever variations of vegetables you have in your frigde – although I would have to say that if you can find a nice bunch of sorrel, use it – it's tangy and zingy yet earthy flavour is really something special. <br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;"><br />Cheesy Potato Cure Salad – or Sorrel and Red Quinoa Salad</span><br /><br />1 bunch fresh sorrel, washed, dried and cut into ribbons (you could also use rocket, spinach or a mixture of all three)<br />1 cup red quinoa (or other quinoa)<br />1 bunch spring onion, chopped into 1 cm pieces<br />½ avocado, sliced<br />1 small cucumber, chopped into half circles<br />1 tomato, diced<br />1 bunch asparagus, briefly blanched or steamed and chopped into 2cm pieces<br />100g feta cheese (optional)<br /><span style="font-style:italic;"><br />Vinaigrette</span><br /><br />1 tbs dijon mustard<br />3 tbs white wine vinegar<br />5 tbs olive oil<br /><br /><br />Rinse the quinoa well under running water for a minute or so (then take a shorter shower that night to off-set the guilt of running the tap for so long)<br /><br />Pop the rinsed quinoa and 2 cups of water in a pot on the stove. Bring to the boil, stirring occasionally then reduce to a simmer, pop on a tight fitting lid and let it cook until almost transluscent and tender and all the water is absorbed. My packet of quinoa said 10-15 minutes but it took more like 20mins. <br /><br />In the meantime, prepare all the veggies and whisk together all ingredients for the dressing in a small bowl. <br /><br />Dump everything (except feta) into a big bowl, and pour all the dressing on top – toss well – at this stage, if you're not going to use the feta, add some salt to the salad too.<br /><br />Crumble some feta on top and enjoy straight from the serving bowl.<br /><br />Serves 2 people for a light dinner and the perfect cure to cheesey potato guilt.eatitgoodhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00248764550631380732noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-359840931727485382.post-18744087305900381692009-10-13T15:46:00.003+11:002009-10-13T16:01:45.840+11:00Many kinds of happinessThere are many things in life that can make a girl happy; clean white sheets, dark chocolate, warm weather, dinner parties, just catching the last train, overalls, <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Badedas-Classic-Original-Vital-750ml/dp/B0007CZVGE">badedas bath gel</a> and of course dumplings. <br /><br />The wonderful thing about dumplings is that they come in so many different types and appear in so many different cuisines that you can be dumpling happy almost anywhere at any time of day!<br /><br />There are dumplings that you eat down laneways in the city, drowned in vinegar and shared with friends, beer and a couple of rats. There are dumplings that you eat at your grandmother’s house which are doughy and crumbed and filled with sour plum jam so you’re never entirely sure whether they’re sweet or savoury. <br /><br />And then there are dumplings that are more your style, full of ricotta, silverbeet and swimming in rich tomato sauce. Dumplings called malfatti that you make yourself and serve at home, inflicting serious dumpling happiness on your family and friends. For me they are the best dumplings of all!<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_oEFelnuTyxs/StQGcHPXNSI/AAAAAAAAACs/rdeHJDhijHA/s1600-h/malfatti.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_oEFelnuTyxs/StQGcHPXNSI/AAAAAAAAACs/rdeHJDhijHA/s400/malfatti.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5391941733918913826" /></a><br /><br />Last night I cooked dinner at my parent’s place for my family and thought that these delicious (mostly) light little balls of ricotta and silverbeet would be the perfect food to serve up to a big hungry crowd. As it turns out, making these en masse is a fairly arduous task that included almost a kilo of ricotta, de-stemming steaming and chopping about 2 kilos of silverbeet and lots and lots of ball rolling. While some of the gorgeous little dumplings came out a bit soft and others a bit hard, they were, on the whole very yummy – particularly when paired with <a href="http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/member/views/MARCELLA-HAZAN-SIMPLEST-TOMATO-SAUCE-EVER-1273750">Marcella Hazan’s Crazy Tomato Sauce</a> and some freshly grated parmesan. Here, I've been realistic and given a recipe that will generously serve 2 rather than 6 people. <br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_oEFelnuTyxs/StQGtEdL-cI/AAAAAAAAAC0/hGcX8upcpGY/s1600-h/malfatti2.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_oEFelnuTyxs/StQGtEdL-cI/AAAAAAAAAC0/hGcX8upcpGY/s400/malfatti2.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5391942025229367746" /></a><br /><br />Like all things dumpling, these should probably be enjoyed in moderation, but will more likely be scoffed and result in sighing and belly grabbing. It’s worth it, but don’t say I didn’t warn you!<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Ricotta and Silverbeet Malfatti*</span><br /><br />1 small(ish) bunch silverbeet (or rainbow chard or spinach etc)<br />350g fresh ricotta (not from the tub, it’s too wet)<br />2 eggs<br />1 ¼ cup plain flour<br />¼ cup grated parmesan<br />Salt, pepper and nutmeg to taste<br /><br />Trim the silverbeet to remove the stems and any thick white veins so that you’re left just with the leafy bits. <br /><br />Steam or briefly sauté in a bit of water for about 5 minutes until properly wilted. <br /><br />Transfer to a bowl to let it cool until you can handle it then squeeze out as much moisture as possible. Finely chop the silverbeet and squeeze again (and again and again) to make it as dry and finely chopped as possible. <br /><br />In a clean bowl mix together all the ingredients (but only a small amount of flour, about ½ cup)<br /><br />Once well combined it should be wet but not too sticky, keep working in flour bit by bit until you have a dough that you can work into little balls without making a massive mess. At the same time, the more four you add, the chewier the dumplings will be, so this may take a couple of attempts to perfect. <br /><br />Lay out a sheet of waxed baking paper, sprinkle with flour (I used semolina because I ran out of normal) and pop on a large pot of salted water to boil.<br /><br />Take approximately ½- 1 tsp size pieces of the dough and roll into little balls, place on the baking paper - don't be tempted to make them bigger because they will swell a bit and these are the sort of thing that you just want to pop into your mouth, not cut in half first. <br /><br />Once they’re all done, sprinkle a bit of extra flour on top of them all. <br /><br />In two batches, gently plop the dumplings into lightly simmering water. When they bob up to the top, leave them for a minute and then pull them out with a slotted spoon. Repeat with the remaining dumplings. <br /><br />Serve with rich tomato sauce, or some brown butter and sage and be dumpling happy. <br /><br />* Malfatti means badly made in Italian - but I think mine looked lovely ;) these are also called Gnudi because they're like ravioli filling without the "jacket" of pastaeatitgoodhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00248764550631380732noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-359840931727485382.post-32897923094340479722009-09-30T21:23:00.005+10:002009-10-01T16:44:47.317+10:00There's ricotta in my sausage!Woe is me, or rather, woe is my camera, which is forever finding new ways of driving me nuts - so there will be no photos this post, but there will be not one but two delicious recipes!***Revision - there are now photos! Woohoo<br /><br />Football in Melbourne is like fashion in Milan, or patisseries in Paris, or super-whitened teeth in LA, everyone should know something about it, and the more the better. So when the AFL Grand Final rocked around last Saturday I thought I should throw some sort of celebration for those of us who may otherwise be shunned for asking questions like "What happens when the ball hits the goal post and then goes through?" (That question really was asked, but I will save the offender mortal internet embarrassment and not reveal their name.) Plus, throwing a little party allowed me to experiment with cooking a bunch of party food that I would never otherwise make.<br /><br />For the St. Kilda v. Geelong clash, Melbourne served up some classic freezing and hailing then sunny and shiny football weather and I served up some classic football party fare, complete with sausage rolls! Oh yeah! After all, who can watch the footy, drink beer and not eat something meaty wrapped in puff pastry - well, as it turns out, us! The entire party was veg friendly "sausage rolls" included - there were many who never even guessed at the deceit. Mwahahahaha.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_oEFelnuTyxs/SsQrr-Q8fJI/AAAAAAAAACc/cYS2TIRmJm4/s1600-h/sausage.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_oEFelnuTyxs/SsQrr-Q8fJI/AAAAAAAAACc/cYS2TIRmJm4/s400/sausage.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5387479088690396306" /></a><br /><br />As it turns out, we all ended up glued to my tiny, fuzzy TV screen by the last quarter, yelling at the players, calling the umpires rude names. As BJ pointed out, even if you don't care about footy, it is strangely addictive. Kind of like my other party snack success; cheese thins. (Good little segue there huh!?) <br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_oEFelnuTyxs/SsQr6LUOvkI/AAAAAAAAACk/DA5O7yS9hQA/s1600-h/cheesethins.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_oEFelnuTyxs/SsQr6LUOvkI/AAAAAAAAACk/DA5O7yS9hQA/s400/cheesethins.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5387479332712005186" /></a><br /><br />So, with a nail biting finish, and the last of the snacks polished off, my guests headed home for the evening - except for when we re-grouped about an hour later at 400 gradi in East Brunswick to munch down some pizza (like we hadn't eaten enough already!) but that my friends, is for another post.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Sausage Rolls</span><br /><span style="font-style:italic;">Adapted from Where's the Beef</span><br /><br />"Sausage"<br /><br />250g ricotta cheese (fresh not the one from the tub, it's too wet)<br />3 eggs<br />1 cup chopped pecans<br />1 medium onion finely diced<br />1 clove of garlic minced<br />3tbs soy sauce (don't leave this out, it's what makes it brown and look really authentic)<br />1 cup rolled oats<br />1/2 cup breadcrumbs <br /><br />Puff pastry (if you were a wonderful person with bucket loads of time, you could make your own, but as it happens, due to an incident earlier in the day when I dropped an entire 6 pack of little creatures in Dan Murphys and had to flee the scene in tears of embarrassment, I had neither the time nor the will power to start the pastry process, so I bought some, and it was damn fine!)<br /><br />Thaw out 3 pieces puff pastry and preheat the oven to 180c<br /><br />Mix all the ingredients (except the pastry) together in a large bowl till it's at an eerily similar consistency to mince meat.<br /><br />Take one piece of pastry and chop it in half.<br /><br />Using one half at a time, put the filling down the centre of the pastry longways, then fold the long-side of pastry closest to you over the filling once, and then again, so it makes roll... You need to fold it in thirds like this, rather than just in half to get the sealed "roll" that you want. <br /><br />Seal with a little milk or beaten egg if it's not sticking closed.<br /><br />Repeat with the rest of the mixture and pastry.<br /><br />At this stage your could cut some slits in the pastry and bake as is, but because mine were for a party I cut them into party sausage roll sized pieces, brushed them with a beaten egg and baked for about 20 mins. <br /><br />Serve to unsuspecting carnivores with lots of dead 'orse.<br /><br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Cheese Thins</span><br /><span style="font-style:italic;">Adapted from Chocolate and Zucchini</span><br /><br />These were given the ultimate compliment at my party of tasting "exactly like those Phillipa's parmesan sables!" What else can I say but woohoo! Except for maybe, if something made with butter and cheese as its two main ingredients isn't drop dead delicious, you're probably doing something very wrong!<br /><br />170g grated hard aged cheese (I used a particularly crumbly vintage cheddar that I buy from the market but the original recipe uses comte and I think pecorino or parmesan could be equally if not more delicious)<br />55g softened butter cubed<br />100g plain flour<br />1/4tsp salt<br />1/4tsp smoked paprika or freshly ground pepper or 1tsp carraway seeds - basically be imaginative, whatever goes well with cheese (um, everything!?) throw in a tsp <br />dash of milk (or I used a tsp of natural yogurt) <br /><br />Pop all the ingredients (except milk) in a bowl and rub the butter into the flour and cheese like you're making pastry. It will start to resemble fine breadcrumbs. At this point, if your mixture comes together nicely as a dough, that's it, you're done. But if it doesn't quite come together, add a tiny bit of milk or yogurt just to bring it together into a ball of dough.<br /><br />Form the dough into a nice log - it can be as fat or thin as you'd like, depending on how big you'd like your biscuits to be - mine where about the size of a 50cent coin.<br /><br />Wrap the log in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 2 hours and up to 24 hours. <br /><br />Preheat the oven to 180c<br /><br />Pull the log out of the fridge, and slice it into very thin rounds. They won't all be even sized, but that's fine because as I discovered some people like the slightly thinner crunchier ones and others like the fatter softer biscuits. Personally I'm more inclined to the thinner, well baked variety.<br /><br />Pop some waxed paper on a couple of baking trays and distribute the rounds - leave a bit of space because they will spread a tad. <br /><br />Bake for 15 minutes or until golden brown.<br /><br />Serve with beer and a major sporting event.eatitgoodhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00248764550631380732noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-359840931727485382.post-63761733693833130212009-09-22T17:59:00.003+10:002009-09-22T18:18:30.020+10:00The pie periodI'm going through a bit of a phase at the moment - I believe everything should come wrapped in pastry. I know, I know, phase or no phase, things are always better in pastry - but this has become serious. In years to come I will look back on those last weeks of winter 2009 and wonder why everything came in pie, tart or parcel form! It will become known as my pie period. <br /><br />Anyway, all this pie can weigh on a woman's mind (and other more external body parts) so when I found a pie that was made with pizza dough, rather than buttery pastry and stuffed chock full of broccoli in my favourite new cookbook - it was straight to the kitchen with me.<br /><br />The pie I speak of is called Schiaciatta and it features in Rosa Mitchell's aforementioned book "My Cousin Rosa." The quantities that she calls for in her recipe would be fit to feed an army, or, probably, an extended family - but being just two people to eat, I cut the recipe WAY down, and still had enough for delicious lunch left-overs (it is really good cold with some cheese and a little salad on the side.)<br /><br />Here's to healthy pie!<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_oEFelnuTyxs/SriH9gU5hRI/AAAAAAAAACU/NsXQjwxptHs/s1600-h/broccolipie.jpeg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_oEFelnuTyxs/SriH9gU5hRI/AAAAAAAAACU/NsXQjwxptHs/s400/broccolipie.jpeg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5384202845240788242" /></a><br /><br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Broccoli pie</span><br /><span style="font-style:italic;">Adapted from Rosa Mitchell's My Cousin Rosa</span><br /><br />Dough:<br />5g instant dry yeast<br />1/2 tsp sugar<br />230g plain flour or Italian pizza flour<br />1 tsp salt<br />2 tbs olive oil<br />1/2 cup water<br /><br />Filling:<br />1 head broccoli - washed and chopped into small chunks (including stem)<br />2 green garlic (or spring onions or even 1/4 normal onion) finely sliced<br />30g grated parmesan cheese<br />1/4 cup olive oil + 1 tbs extra<br />2 anchovy fillets (chopped finely) - totally optional<br />Pinch of chilli flakes - to taste/optional<br /><br /><br />Mix 1/4 cup water and sugar together and sprinkle the yeast on top. Leave it in a warm place for 15 minutes until it starts to froth and bubble a bit. <br /><br />Mix flour and salt in a large bowl and make a well in the center. Into the well pour the remaining 1/4 cup water, oil, and yeast mixture. Mix well and add a bit extra water/flour if the mixture is to dry/wet.<br /><br />Knead well, roll into a ball and cover. Leave for 1.5 hours.<br /><br />Preheat the oven to 190c.<br /><br />In a large bowl mix together all the ingredients.<br /><br />Halve the pizza dough and roll out each piece into a rounded rectangle kind of shape. <br /><br />Generously oil a baking sheet and place one piece of dough on top. <br /><br />Spread the filling over the dough, leaving about 3cms around the edge.<br /><br />Place the second piece of dough over the top and seal the edges by pinching together. <br /><br />Brush the top with the remaining oil.<br /><br />Bake for about 1 hour until it's lovely and golden on top and a bit crusty. <br /><br />Leave it to rest for 20-30mins before serving. <br /><br />Eat and feel virtuous about pie!eatitgoodhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00248764550631380732noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-359840931727485382.post-68395769090543745822009-09-18T16:37:00.004+10:002009-09-18T16:44:50.322+10:00Artichokes across the seasI have a lovely friend who has gone to live overseas. In fact I have a number of lovely friends who are living very far away at the moment, but I’ve been missing one in particular a lot recently, and largely because I recently bought a new cook book. Hmmm, that doesn’t sound like it would make you miss a friend really does it, maybe I need to explain a little more. <br /><br />The book I bought is My Cousin Rosa, by Rosa Mitchell. Rosa runs “Rosa’s Kitchen” or “Journal Canteen” or “that little place upstairs next to CAE”, and my lovely friend loves to lunch at Rosa’s – and I can’t blame her. Like the restaurant, Rosa’s book is full of homely, simple, rustic and delicious Sicilian recipes, and, like eating in the restaurant, the book makes you feel as if Rosa may really be your cousin, sharing family stories and memories about food and life growing up in an Italian family in Melbourne. <br /><br />So with thoughts of friends far away, I bought some new season artichokes and set to work on a special Rosa recipe – Sicilian stuffed artichokes. Served at room temperature as part of a antipasto type meal on a warm Saturday evening with a glass of wine, these artichokes were delicious... perhaps almost good enough to bring a friend home to try a taste. <br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_oEFelnuTyxs/SrMrc2Cs9YI/AAAAAAAAACM/FtOtoqP5ToE/s1600-h/artichoke.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_oEFelnuTyxs/SrMrc2Cs9YI/AAAAAAAAACM/FtOtoqP5ToE/s400/artichoke.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5382693754181055874" /></a><br /><br />Carciofi ripeni - Stuffed artichokes<br />Adapted from My Cousin Rosa by Rosa Mitchell <br /><br />2 globe artichokes (they should be firm with tight rather than wilting or separated leaves)<br />2 slices stale ciabatta or similar finely chopped or whizzed in the food processor into coarse crumbs<br />½ bunch flat leaf parsley finely chopped<br />1 clove garlic minced<br />¼ cup grated grana padano or similar<br />1 egg lightly beaten<br />1 lemon<br />Olive oil<br />1 can tomatoes <br />Salt and pepper<br /><br />Preheat the oven to 180c<br /><br />Trim off the top third of the artichokes and chop off the stem right at the base. Keep the top 2-3 cms of the stem and peel it - discard the rest. As soon as you’ve trimmed the artichokes and peeled the stem, throw them in a bowl of water with the juice of 1 lemon and the bit of reserved – they discolour very quickly and this will help to stop that. <br /><br />In a small bowl mix together breadcrumbs, parsley, garlic and cheese. <br /><br />Take one of the artichokes and roll it around on the kitchen bench with a bit of pressure from the heel of your hand to open up the leaves a little. This actually didn’t work particularly well for me, so I was just more forceful with the stuffing. <br /><br />Take small handfuls of the breadcrumb mixture and stuff it in between the layers of leaves. You’ll have to really stuff hard. Try to get some in between each of the layers – or just distribute the stuffing throughout the artichoke as much as possible. Repeat with the other artichoke.<br /><br />Heat some olive oil in a pan and dip the top of each artichoke into the egg. Quickly pop them egg-side down into the hot oil. This is to seal the stuffing in the artichoke and will only take a minute or two. <br /><br />While they’re frying, empty a can of tomatoes into a small baking dish, along with a good grind of pepper and salt, and maybe a bay leaf if you’re feeling fancy. <br /><br />Take the artichokes out of the pan and place them egg side up in the tomatoes. Throw the stems into the tomato, cover the whole lot tightly with silver foil and bake for about an hour, or until a skewer goes through the centre of an artichoke easily. <br /><br />Eat with some crusty bread and a salad for lunch or along with some other antipasto delicious bits and pieces for a leisurely dinner. <br /><br />Enjoy with good friends, near and far.eatitgoodhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00248764550631380732noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-359840931727485382.post-70528987301967761852009-09-07T17:09:00.005+10:002009-09-07T17:16:23.827+10:00Springy soupBlossoms are out, the weather is getting warmer, and I can smell Honey Suckle in the laneways of Elwood... Spring is in the air.<br /><br />So before the warm weather starts in earnest (don’t get me wrong I’m very much looking forward to it), I would like to write a little bit about soup. There’s something deliciously special about soup – you sauté some onion or leek, throw in whatever you’ve got on hand, cover the whole lot with some stock and walk away. When you return you’ll have a flavoursome, comforting bowl full of dinner, and lunch the next day, and probably the next one as well.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_oEFelnuTyxs/SqSylANaS3I/AAAAAAAAACE/oR45iiPpTso/s1600-h/soup1.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 300px; height: 400px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_oEFelnuTyxs/SqSylANaS3I/AAAAAAAAACE/oR45iiPpTso/s400/soup1.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5378620203768367986" /></a><br /><br />The best soup I’ve ever eaten was the first time I ate Ribollita. I was in Tuscany with my family and we had gone for a drive, and gotten lost, quite spectuacularly lost, so we did what every self respecting person should do in times of despair... stop to eat. And eat we did, at a little roadside restaurant which served up hearty Ribollita and some of the finest hand-rolled Pici pasta this world has ever known. <br /><br />Ever since that first mouthful of bread and olive enriched minestrone soup I’ve wanted to make my own Ribollita – but I’ve always felt a little silly because the whole point of Ribollita is to use left overs and stale bread and re-boil the whole lot. Also, one of the key ingredients in the soup is cavolo nero, which, until I started my bi-weekly shops at the Queen Vic Market, I had never seen in Melbourne.<br /> <br />The opportunity presented itself to make authentic Ribollita a little while ago when I made some boiled kale for dinner. I must be honest here and say that in my enthusiasm to shovel boiled kale and googy egg into my mouth I got a little lazy and left the left-over kale drowning in the still warm stock in the pot. Once I got around cleaning up the kale had become quite soft, and the stock was really green! The cogs in my brain started turning, and with a quick ingredient check, I knew what I’d be making for dinner the next night – real Ribollita with some left-over soupy kale and stale bread! Woohoo. <br /><br />While I’m not going to claim it was anything like the soup I ate at that roadside Tuscan restaurant (could anything ever taste as good as it does when it’s eaten in the Tuscan sunshine?!) it was an excellent soup – and the perfect thing to eat when the Melbourne spring-time weather tricks you and turns cold again. <br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_oEFelnuTyxs/SqSyRg7K4TI/AAAAAAAAAB8/SnS2d4MUpTE/s1600-h/soup2.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_oEFelnuTyxs/SqSyRg7K4TI/AAAAAAAAAB8/SnS2d4MUpTE/s400/soup2.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5378619868952846642" /></a><br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;"><br />Ribollita <span style="font-style:italic;"></span></span><br /><br />Olive Oil<br />1 brown onion finely diced<br />2 sticks celery finely diced<br />1 carrot finely diced<br />2 cloves garlic minced<br />¼ cup red wine<br />5 dried asian mushrooms reconstituted in about ½ cup boiling water and finely chopped<br />2 cans tomato<br />About 3 cups leftover cooked cavolo nero and stock<br />1 can mixed beans (optional)<br />1 piece parmesan rind (optional)<br />1 bay leaf<br />1 spring fresh rosemary (or a tsp of dried)<br /><span style="font-style:italic;"><br />To serve</span><br /><br />1 slice of day (or 2 or 3) old bread per person<br />Olive oil<br />Half a clove of garlic<br />Grated parmesan cheese<br /><br />Heat a glug of olive oil in a big saucepan. Add the onion, celery and carrot and cook slowly until translucent but not browned (about 10 minutes.) Throw in the garlic and cook off for another couple of minutes. Turn up the heat a bit, pour in the wine and cook until it’s almost all evaporated. Throw in the mushrooms and reserve the soaking water. Pop all the other ingredients in the pot, bring to the boil, reduce to a simmer and let it go like that for about half an hour. Give it a stir every now and then – especially to make sure the parmesan rind hasn’t gotten all melty and stuck to the bottom of the pan. <br /><br />When the soup is ready, grill one piece of bread per person under the grill or pop them in the toaster. While they’re toasting, remove the bay leaf, rosemary and parmesan rind from the pot. When the bread is toasted and still warm, rub both sides of the bread with a cut clove of garlic. Place a slice of bread in a shallow bowl, give it a seriously generous drizzle of olive oil and then ladle some soup on top.<br /><br />If you’re me and would like to drink olive oil straight from the bottle, drizzle a bit more on top of the soup and then sprinkle on some parmesan cheese. Enjoy on a wintry spring day. <br /><br />The other option is to break up the bread into thumb-sized pieces and throw it into the soup too. This makes for a very hearty, thick soup and is probably a good idea if you have left over soup AGAIN and even more stale bread the next day – it’ll change things up a bit and you can pretend you’re eating a whole new dish!eatitgoodhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00248764550631380732noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-359840931727485382.post-62342800987497608722009-09-06T17:37:00.009+10:002009-09-07T17:02:15.533+10:00Where does this taste like?Some food you put in your mouth, chew and swallow. It tastes good and it rids you of hunger. Other food you put in your mouth, chew and are transported to the first time you experienced that flavour or the place where you most often eat that particular food.<br /><br />For me, fairy bread tastes like parties, Nutra-Grain tastes like my grand-parents' house in the country, tuna melts taste like Sunday night and pumpkin ravioli tastes like Milan. <br /><br />When I was 19 I set off to Europe for what was meant to be a nine month adventure roaming the continent. Instead, within the first couple of months I had found myself a tall, dark and handsome Italian man and took up his offer to go live with him in Milan. While I didn't get the traditional European backpacker experience I had my heart set on, I did get an exciting but lonely, homely but unique experience of Italy - a country which, long after the relationship in Milan ended, stays in my heart. <br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_oEFelnuTyxs/SqNzbuAro6I/AAAAAAAAABk/SgvvTe7aaDc/s1600-h/ravioli.jpeg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_oEFelnuTyxs/SqNzbuAro6I/AAAAAAAAABk/SgvvTe7aaDc/s400/ravioli.jpeg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5378269300055057314" /></a><br /><br />One of my favourite authentic experiences was Sunday lunch at a friend's parents place. Each week family, friends and ring-in girlfriends who spoke no Italian would gather in Giorgio's parents' apartment in the middle of Milan and eat all afternoon, and often well into the evening. <br /><br />The first time I went, Giorgio's mum was in the kitchen making pumpkin tortellini when we arrived. We were quickly ushered into the kitchen to assist with the pasta folding - although I tried my hardest, when it came time to serve the pasta, everyone could tell which tortellino was made by the clueless Australian girl.<br /><br />The pasta course at Sunday's lunches changed most weeks, and I think I only had the pumpkin tortellini there one more time, but it stays with me as the best pasta I've ever eaten.<br /><br />So, this week, armed with half a pumpkin, a lot of memories, and a desire to be part of the blogging <a href="http://www.prestopastanights.com/">Pasta Presto</a> phenomenon hosted by <a href="http://wheat-free-meat-free.blogspot.com/">The Crispy Cook</a>, I attempted my own pumpkin ravioli (I chose ravioli rather than tortellini because no matter how many times that Italian mama showed me how to fold the tortellini properly, mine always seem to come out messy, lopsided or inside out.)<br /><br />The verdict: it was delicious... and tasted like Milan.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_oEFelnuTyxs/SqNzsDmFn-I/AAAAAAAAABs/_0PMEiYooZc/s1600-h/ravioliopen.jpeg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 300px; height: 400px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_oEFelnuTyxs/SqNzsDmFn-I/AAAAAAAAABs/_0PMEiYooZc/s400/ravioliopen.jpeg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5378269580727001058" /></a><br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Pumpkin Ravioli</span><br /><br />The key to this recipe is the simplicity - so many filled pastas have fillers like breadcrumbs or even just too much ricotta - you really want the sweet roasted pumpkin to be the star here. <br /><br /><span style="font-style:italic;">Filling</span><br />Quarter pumpkin (I used Jap because that's what I had but any sweet pumpkin will do)<br />100 grams ricotta<br />2 ammaretti biscuits crushed (optional)<br /><br /><br /><span style="font-style:italic;">Pasta</span><br />200 grams flour (preferably Tipo "00" flour or fine semolina flour but plain will work)<br />2 large free range eggs<br />1 tsp salt<br /><br /><br /><br />Preheat the oven to 180c. Chop the pumpkin into wedges, sprinkle them with a little olive oil and pop them into the oven to roast (about 40 mins)<br /><br />Mix the salt and flour together in a bowl or on the benchtop. Make a well in the center and crack both eggs into it. Beat the eggs with a fork, slowly incorporating the flour. When it becomes too stiff to keep mixing with the fork keep mixing with your hand and knead the dough for a minute or two. If you find the dough is too dry, add a teaspoon of olive oil or water.<br /><br />Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and leave to rest for half an hour. <br /><br />When the pumpkin is cooked through, remove it from the oven let it cool enough so you can handle it. Scoop the flesh out of the skin and into a large bowl. Pop the ricotta and biscuits in and give it all a good mash. You could food processor it, but a) I don't have one b) it's quite nice with slightly bigger bits of pumpkin.<br /><br />Unwrap the dough, divide it into 2 balls and start working it through a pasta machine. While you can do this step by hand, it'd be very difficult to get the pasta thin enough and a complete pain - considering I bought a pasta machine from the Salvos for $10, they're not exactly an expensive addition to the kitchen. I like to work the dough through the first and second fattest settings on the machine about 5 or 6 times until it's smooth and elastic. Then keeping going up settings until the pasta is so thin you could read this recipe through it.<br /><br />At this stage, pop a large pot of water on to boil.<br /><br />Repeat with the other ball of dough.<br /><br />At this stage you should have two long, thin, rectangular pieces of pasta. Put teaspoons of pumpkin mixture in a straight line down the middle of the sheet of pasta at about 3cm intervals.<br /><br />Fold one half of the pasta over the filling and press down on either side of the filling to stick the pasta together and get out any air holes. Then fold the other side of the pasta over and repeat and pressing. This double fold method means that there's no annoying forking of each raviolo and they're much less likely to spill their insides during cooking. If you have a ravioli cutter then you can use that, or just a sharp knife to separate the ravioli. <br /><br />Pop them all in the boiling water and cook for 3 mins.<br /><br />Serve immediately with sauce of choice - I served mine with brown butter and parmesan cheese, which is the way Giorgio's mum served it, but it would be equally delicious with a simple tomato sauce. <br /><br />Serves 2.eatitgoodhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00248764550631380732noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-359840931727485382.post-28051210426503008032009-08-31T20:13:00.008+10:002009-08-31T20:49:36.478+10:00Eat it by the seaAdmittedly it has been a while since my last post. This has been as a result of:<br />a) buying the wrong cable for my camera<br />b) being busy<br />c) making some seriously average meals (think bland beetroot tart and crappy pasta - sigh!)<br /><br />BUT a weekend on the surf-coast with the family for birthday celebrations has changed all that! It was a weekend of rain, roaring fires, trivial pursuit, snoozes on the couch and, of course, eating obscene amounts of food. <br /><br />Due to a cold and a willing family of cooks I didn't actually cook anything over the weekend (except for a couple of flat loaves of bread - what's up with me at the moment!?) but I did eat! Apart from the home cook feasts of fresh pasta, cheese, salads, crumpets etc etc etc I also had the pleasure of eating at two wonderful surf coast restaurants - one an old favourite and the other a new revelation.<br /><br />With the help of my mum's iphone I even managed to get some semi-decent pictures of the food - yay!<br /><br />On Friday night we headed to our old favourite at Airey's Inlet - a la greque. It's a gorgeous, casual place run by Kosta Talimanidis (of Kosta's in Lorne fame) and his family. <br /><br />The menu is simple and tasty but not very veggie friendly - although they do have some wonderful sustainable fish options like local flathead and whiting.<br /><br />My family tends to order mains and lots of sides - so I ordered myself an eggplant pizza with mint, chili and kasseri and ate my fair share of silverbeet with gorgonzola and walnuts, green salad, lemon potatoes and fennel gratin. <br /><br /> <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_oEFelnuTyxs/SpullzOt7uI/AAAAAAAAAA8/Tujb4G5nfOA/s1600-h/4EA96646962111DEB49362EDDB90F874.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 201px; height: 320px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_oEFelnuTyxs/SpullzOt7uI/AAAAAAAAAA8/Tujb4G5nfOA/s320/4EA96646962111DEB49362EDDB90F874.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5376072649022500578" /></a><br /><br />The pizza was nice, but a tad dry and there was no sign of the aforementioned chili which probably would've probably given it the kick it needed to go from so-so to quite delicious.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_oEFelnuTyxs/SpumBJ4HxEI/AAAAAAAAABE/xAYh7RTB3ag/s1600-h/252EDF3A962111DE9CF082EDDB90F874.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 201px; height: 320px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_oEFelnuTyxs/SpumBJ4HxEI/AAAAAAAAABE/xAYh7RTB3ag/s320/252EDF3A962111DE9CF082EDDB90F874.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5376073118958208066" /></a><br /><br />The silverbeet was the highlight side. And not just because I think anything with gorgonzola is fabulous but because it was perfectly cooked so it still had a little bite, there were plenty of walnuts and just enough cheese to be a bit smelly and rich without killing the healthy taste of the silverbeet. Truly yumo!<br /><br />The other sides were also very good but more unremarkable and the photos I have of the fennel in particular doesn't do it any justice. <br /><br />So, with full bellies we trundled home for chocolate truffles, present opening, nougat, trivial pursuit and peppermint tea. Blissful. <br /><br />When Sunday lunchtime rolled around we realised that, shock - horror, the cupboard was bare. Luckily for us, we had spotted a new little cafe in Jan Juc (kinda on the way home) that everyone wanted to try. <br /><br />And wowee was it lucky for us - what a find!<br /><br />Swell is a little cafe in the carpark of the Jan Juc shops but it serves up some seriously good quality, veggie friendly cafe food.<br /><br />I realise that this post is getting entirely too long so I will just say one thing... Get the South Indian Veggie Burger. <br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_oEFelnuTyxs/Spunmk5OVSI/AAAAAAAAABM/b8INBVwuGlI/s1600-h/83F1917A962111DE9924AFEDDB90F874.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 201px; height: 320px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_oEFelnuTyxs/Spunmk5OVSI/AAAAAAAAABM/b8INBVwuGlI/s320/83F1917A962111DE9924AFEDDB90F874.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5376074861377377570" /></a><br /><br />Yes, it was as big as it looks and no you cannot eat it as a conventional hand-held burger and oh my was it delicious. The waitress couldn't tell us what the patty was made of but I guess it was a mixture of mashed chickpeas and veggies. There were lots of yummy Indian spices, some chutney, loads of salad and a splosh of tzaziki for good measure. One of the best veg burgers in memory.<br /><br />Everyone else thoroughly enjoyed some wraps, mexican roti and one of the most impressive looking veggie breakfasts I've seen which included some scrumptious spinach and feta piklets! Everything was rounded out with a deliciously spicey chai, milkshakes, some coffees and then we all rolled home to Melbourne.<br /><br />Overall a highly successful eating weekend.<br /><br />I'm also back on the cooking bandwagon - so expect some pumpkin ravioli and apple cake to come your way later this week.<br /><br />a la greque<br />60 Great Ocean Rd <br />Aireys Inlet<br /><br />Swell<br />16 Princess Tce<br />Jan Juceatitgoodhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00248764550631380732noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-359840931727485382.post-84465788417134934052009-08-17T11:40:00.001+10:002009-08-17T11:45:12.911+10:00All things green and leafy<meta equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8"><meta name="ProgId" content="Word.Document"><meta name="Generator" content="Microsoft Word 12"><meta name="Originator" content="Microsoft Word 12"><link rel="File-List" href="file:///C:%5CUsers%5Channahs%5CAppData%5CLocal%5CTemp%5Cmsohtmlclip1%5C01%5Cclip_filelist.xml"><link 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mso-para-margin-bottom:auto; mso-para-margin-left:0cm; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:11.0pt; font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"; mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-fareast-language:EN-US;} </style> <![endif]--> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style=";font-family:";" >At school I was the kid who had hummus and carrot sticks instead of BBQ shapes, unsweetened muesli biscuits instead of Tim Tams and cottage cheese with mung-bean sprouts instead of, well, I don’t think there’s a junk food equivalent to that. <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style=";font-family:";" >Even now, though I have a full-time job, live by myself and cook for myself most nights, every now and then I still catch my mother nodding encouragingly as I eat salad, exclaiming “Oh, delicious veggies, yummy healthy veggies” while my dad chimes in how eating healthy food makes your eyes sparkle – and who doesn’t want sparkly eyes!?<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style=";font-family:";" >So, needless to say, I have been successfully brainwashed into healthy eating, so much so that when August at the market keeps presenting me with enormous bunches of dark green leafy kale, I can’t help but buy it and grin to myself knowing how sparkly my eyes will be when I’m done eating it. <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style=";font-family:";" >I absolutely adore bitter dark green cabbage type veggies and when I read about Molly from Orangette serving them on garlicky toast with a fried egg on top, I couldn’t resist. So, this week as I walked home with a huge bunch of cavolo nero poking out of my back-pack I knew exactly how I wanted to cook it.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style=";font-family:";" >It’s really barely a recipe and, once again I must apologise for lack of photos. This time not for lack of trying but just because it was a very ugly dinner – ugly and delicious! <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style=";font-family:";" >Oh, and don’t be put off by the fact that it’s boiled rather than briefly sautéed like greens are usually served – cavolo nero can stand up to and even benefits from a bit of boiling.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><u><span style=";font-family:";" >Cavolo Nero and Googy Eggs <o:p></o:p></span></u></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style=";font-family:";" >1 big bunch of kale, trimmed, chopped into approx 1cm ribbons and washed well*<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style=";font-family:";" >1 medium onion finely chopped<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style=";font-family:";" >1 big clove garlic (or 2 little)chopped<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style=";font-family:";" >Pinch chilli powder or flakes<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style=";font-family:";" >1 litre of veg stock (I used homemade and I think it’s probably a good idea to use homemade or really super good stock because it flavours the kale)<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style=";font-family:";" >2 free range egg<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style=";font-family:";" >4 slices bread<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style=";font-family:";" >Olive Oil<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style=";font-family:";" >Salt<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style=";font-family:";" >Grana padano<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style=";font-family:";" >Gently fry off the onion in some olive oil, once it’s translucent but not brown, add the garlic and chilli and cook for a minute or two.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style=";font-family:";" >Throw in the kale and cook, giving it a good stir until it’s a bit wilted. It will seem like a lot of kale to handle in the beginning but it’ll shrink pretty quickly. <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style=";font-family:";" >Pour in the stock so the kale is just covered, bring to the boil and reduce to a simmer – cook until the kale is nice and soft, but not disintegrating into green mush – probably about 30 mins. When it’s a couple of minutes off being done add salt to taste – it’ll need a fair whack of salt, so don’t be shy!<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style=";font-family:";" >While you’re waiting for the kale to cook, toast 2 pieces of bread per person, while still hot rub them with a cut clove of garlic and brush on some olive oil. Also, fry the eggs as you usually like eggs (in butter or oil, sunny side up or down) just make sure the yolk stays nice and googy.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style=";font-family:";" >Place the toast in a wide shallow bowl and when the kale is ready pile it, along with some of the juicy, kaley, oniony stock onto the toast and top with the fried egg.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style=";font-family:";" >Grate some Grana Padano (or equivalent) over the whole mess and enjoy sparkly eyes for at least the next 48 hours.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style=";font-family:";" >Serves 2 – or one hungry person plus left over boiled kale<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style=";font-family:";" >*Once the kale is chopped and washed, if you dry it well you can pop it in the freezer where it will happily live for a week or so and come out ready to be popped straight in the pan! <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style=";font-family:";" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style=";font-family:";" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style=";font-family:";" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> eatitgoodhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00248764550631380732noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-359840931727485382.post-51642604899193635642009-08-13T20:32:00.003+10:002009-08-13T21:52:11.576+10:00Yabbies and truffles and caramel, oh my!When it comes to celebrating, my family likes to eat. In fact, every occasion from birthdays and anniversaries to exam results and home comings are honoured with a meal - preferably at a great Melbourne restaurant - although sometimes around the kitchen table at home.<br /><br />So last night we set out to celebrate my brother's 21st birthday at Cutler and Co.<br /><br />This is no longer the "awesome new" restaurant in Melbourne, and most of my family members had already been without me :( but it was my first time, and based on the number of positive blog reviews I've read about it <a href="http://www.melbournegastronome.com/2009/03/get-thee-to-andrew-mcconnells-cutler-co.html">here</a>, <a href="http://bellybellygoodfood.blogspot.com/2009/05/cutler-co.html">here</a> and <a href="http://www.tomatom.com/2009/03/andrew-mcconnells-cutler-and-co-takes-gertrude-st/">here</a>, I was expecting a lot... and I wasn't disappointed.<br /><br />My sister and I (and possibly someone else on the table but I was too busy inhaling food to take too much notice) both ordered the entree special: Yabbies with potato and truffle remoulade and shaved Yarra Valley truffles. It was in a word, exquisite. The julienne potatoes were al dente - even slightly crunchy, like a more traditional celeriac remoulade but with a milder flavour. The yabbies were just barely cooked and fantastically sweet - offset perfectly by the deep earthy rich truffle. One of those dishes you have to keep reminding yourself to eat slower and savour.<br /><br />Mains took a really long time to get to the table, but we were placated with some delicious seedy bread and butter and another bottle of beautiful pinot noir - The Acre something from Mornington Peninsula.<br /><br />I ordered the silver beet, pine nut and potato pastry which was satisfying but not as mind blowing as the entree. The pastry was perfect, not too buttery yet not dry, but the flavours of the filling were just a little bit ordinary - not bad, just not spectacular. The dish was served with a cute little "private" salad of (we think) fennel, mint, cabbage, dill and some orange juice, I was glad of the personal salad because the one on the menu that we ordered for the table was little more than some chopped up lettuce with vinaigrette - not very impressive.<br /><br />Again there was a fairly long wait for desserts - I ordered the now famous chocolate ice cream sandwich with salty caramel. I must admit, as a kid I was never a fan of the much loved Monaco bar, it was just crappy vanilla ice cream between two soggy biscuits and so I was a little nervous but a single mouthful induced lots of hand clapping and squealing and then, reverential silence as I diligently scraped the bowl clean.<br /><br />Overall, everyone thoroughly enjoyed their meal and the service was lovely, very attentive, friendly and warm which is always a pleasant surprise in uber-cool places.<br /><br />I have to apologise for the lack of photos - I'm not yet in the habit of lugging my camera around with me everywhere... I'll get better though, I promise.<br /><br />Alright, I think I'm going to go cook myself some kale, a underated humble vegetable that is the perfect antidote to too much salty caramel.eatitgoodhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00248764550631380732noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-359840931727485382.post-76206348991379898672009-08-11T22:58:00.000+10:002009-08-11T23:02:49.305+10:00In the beginning...Wow, this post has been a long time coming!<br /><br />There have been numerous scraps of paper with witty opening lines and killer first recipes - but each time I've been, well, blog shy.<br /><br />Sometimes it's best just to write and not to plan... so here I am.<br /><br />Not that I'm here empty handed though - without further ado I present to you my first two recipes... a tart which calls for almond meal and vanilla beans in a perfect combination and a chocolate "cake" requiring a scant 1 tablespoon of flour!<br /><br />Pear and Almond Tart - adapted from several blog and cook book recipes<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;">Pastry:</span>*<br /><br />200g plain flour<br />100g cold unsalted butter<br />pinch of salt<br />3 tsp white sugar<br />1 egg<br /><br />If you have a food processor just whizz everything together for 30 seconds. Or, if you're old school like me, mix all the dry ingredients together then rub the butter in till it's like bread crumbs. Mix in the egg and knead it for a minute - then wrap it up and pop it in the fridge for 30 mins.<br /><br />While you make the filling, blind bake the pastry in a tart tin (or springform round cake tin) at 170c for 30 mins.<br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Filling:<br /></span></span><span style="font-weight: bold;"></span><br />2 pears halved, cored and thinly sliced (I used bosc but anything firm should do the trick)<br />250ml milk<br />1 vanilla bean or sprinkle of pure vanilla essence<br />1 cinnamon stick or shake of ground cinnamon<br />3 eggs separated<br />125g sugar<br />250g almond meal<br />1/2 tsp baking powder<br /><br />Gently heat the milk with vanilla and cinnamon. Beat the egg yolks with 25g of sugar and slowly add to the warm milk, keep whisking and heating till it gets a bit thick and custardy - mine didn't get as thick as I would've liked but it worked out in the end.<br /><br />Meanwhile, mix the almond meal, baking powder, remaining sugar and egg whites in a bowl.<br /><br />When the custard is ready, remove the vanilla and cinnamon and pour into the almond mixture.<br /><br />Smooth the almond paste mixture into the tart crust and neatly (or as neatly as possible) arrange the slices of pear.<br /><br />Bake at 170c for another 30 mins.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: left;">Viola - pear tart<br /><br /></div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_oEFelnuTyxs/SoFl2_LR4GI/AAAAAAAAAAc/4SOAJPULfOk/s1600-h/peartart.jpeg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 360px; height: 265px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_oEFelnuTyxs/SoFl2_LR4GI/AAAAAAAAAAc/4SOAJPULfOk/s320/peartart.jpeg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5368684226148425826" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />*I'd never actually made pastry before this, so if you have a tried and true recipe/method then by all means!<span style="font-style: italic;"><span style="font-weight: bold;"><br /><br /></span></span><span style="font-weight: bold;"></span><br />World's richest chocolate cake - adapted from <a href="http://orangette.blogspot.com/2004/08/and-then-cake-came-forth.html">Orangette</a><br /><br />200g good cooking chocolate (at least 60% cocoa)<br />200g good unsalted butter<br />250g white sugar<br />5 large free range eggs<br />1 tbs flour<br /><br />Preheat the oven to 190c and butter a round 8-inch cake tin<br /><br />Gently melt the chocolate and butter over a double boiler or in the microwave (if the latter, make sure you pull it out and stir frequently!)<br /><br />Stir the sugar into the chocolate mixture and set it aside to cool a little.<br /><br />One by one add the eggs and whisk vigorously - it should look lucious and shiny.<br /><br />Stir in the single tablespoon of flour and pour into the greased tin.<br /><br />The original recipe calls for baking for 20-25 minutes. I found that the edges of the cake started to burn after 20 but the middle wasn't set enough. So, if this happens to you, just tent it with a little foil and give it a jiggle every couple of minutes. When it moves a bit but doesn't look like jelly, it's ready.<br /><br />Let it cool in the tin - it will sink considerable - never fear, it's meant to!<br /><br />Turn out and cool completely on a rack.<span style="font-style: italic;"><span style="font-weight: bold;"><br /><br /></span></span>And ta daaa... chocolate cake!<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_oEFelnuTyxs/SoFl8uOtivI/AAAAAAAAAAk/WyFGFLijmvI/s1600-h/choccake.jpeg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 367px; height: 275px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_oEFelnuTyxs/SoFl8uOtivI/AAAAAAAAAAk/WyFGFLijmvI/s320/choccake.jpeg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5368684324678634226" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />Oh, did I mention that they should each be served with cream?! I think clotted for the tart and gently whipped for the cake. Yay!<br /><br />Why oh why did it take me so long to start something that lets me recommend two different sorts of cream!<br /><br />Off to Cutler and Co tomorrow night for dinner, so should be reporting back soon<span style="font-style: italic;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">.<br /><br /><br /><br /></span></span>eatitgoodhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00248764550631380732noreply@blogger.com5