Now that was a (berry) looong break...

Wow, it's over two and a half years since I posted any posts, despite having multiple half written drafts.  Time to start posting recipes and dad-joke-style punny headlines again!  Especially since I am on my "sabbatical" in Canada and have time to write.

My favourite Canadian foods so far (apart from maple syrup) are the incredible berries... how will I ever readjust to paying $5.99 for tiny punnets in Australia again, sigh.  Blueberries, raspberries,
blackberries, saskatoon berries, I love you all.

Raspberries from Granville Island Public Market

Saskatoon Berry Pie from Waterton

My best Canadian berry tale to date involves picking blackberries on Denman Island with my friend Eli and then baking them in a blackberry and apple crumble that I will never forget.

View from Denman Island

Blackberry and Apple Crumble

Serves 4.  I leave the peel on the apple, but you may prefer to peel it first. 

Two to three cups of blackberries

One green apple

One and a half cups of rolled oats

Half a cup of almond meal

4 tablespoons of butter or non-dairy margarine (or you could use olive oil)

A few spoonfuls of sugar depending on the tartness of the berries and the sweetness of your tooth

1. Heat the oven to 190 degrees.

2. Core and quarter the apple.  Cut each quarter into half lengthwise and then cut into slices a few millimetres thick. 

3. Mix the berries and the apples together.  If the berries are tart, you might want to add a little sugar.  Pour into a baking dish.

4. Mix the oats and almond meal together.  Sometimes I add a tablespoon of sugar, but if I'm feeling wholesome I leave it out, or I add a teaspoon of vanilla essence to trick my brain into thinking it's sweeter than it is.  Rub the butter in.

5. Add the topping to the fruit mixture and bake for around 35 to 45 minutes until the topping is golden brown and the fruit is bubbling.  Check halfway through and if the topping is browning too fast, turn the oven down to 180 degrees.

Dr Pepper

One of my Christmas presents (from my lovely brother and sister in law) was a bottle of chipotle tabasco sauce, which will come in handy when I make Giant Chipotle White Beans... but of course I need more than one recipe to go with this stuff!  So I made a (virgin) bloody mary with it, declared it delicious, and can't wait to try it with vodka. 

And tonight I made a recipe I have always meant to attempt - classic fried green tomatoes (served with chipotle tabasco sauce).  The tomato plants in my garden are finally ready to harvest, but there are still some green ones on the vine.  And oh.my.god. fried green tomatoes are amazing!  I had to force myself to stop eating them so I don't ruin my appetite for the next dish I will be cooking tonight - my very first signature dish, back from the days of Brockworth Place (you know the one I mean Miriam!).  But that's going to be a story for another post...

Bloody Maria

Shot of vodka or tequila
Glass of tomato juice
Squeeze of lemon juice
Splash of worcestershire sauce
Splash (or two, or three...I like it spicy) of chipotle tabasco sauce
Grind of pepper
Sprinkle of salt

1. Pour half the tomato juice into a glass, add the remaining ingredients, stir, then add the rest of the tomato juice and give it another stir.

Fried Green Tomatoes

Well I suppose this would serve four people as an entree if the cook didn't eat all of them...

3 medium firm green tomatoes

Salt

1 cup of flour

1/2 a cup of milk (or buttermilk)

1 egg

1/3 of a cup of cornmeal (I used polenta; there are also finer cornmeals you can use)

1/2 a cup of fine dry bread crumbs

1/4 of a cup of vegetable oil

1. Cut the unpeeled tomatoes into 7mm slices and sprinkle each with salt; let them stand for 5 minutes.

2. Take three bowls and fill them as follows: Bowl 1 = flour; Bowl 2 = lightly beaten egg and milk; Bowl 3 = cornmeal and breadcrumbs mixed together.

3. Heat the oil in a pan on a medium heat.  Dip the tomato slices in Bowl 1 (flour), then Bowl 2 (egg + milk), then Bowl 3 (cornmeal + breadcrumbs).  Fry the slices in batches for a few minutes each side until brown, then drain on paper towels.

4. Serve as is or with a few splashes of chipotle tabasco sauce.

The Family Christmas Cake - Customs, please let it through!

I'm posting this one for my Dad as this is the family christmas cake recipe.  Good luck making it Dad!  And here's hoping it makes it through customs for our Sydney Christmas!

Christmas Cake

Melt over hot water 1 tin sweetened condensed milk, 1/4 lb butter, and two teaspoons of Golden Syrup.  Add four eggs beating in one at a time.  Add 1 teaspoon each Vanilla, Almond and Lemon Essence.  Sift in two cups flour, pinch salt, 1/2 teaspoon each mixed spice, nutmeg and curry powder.  Add three pounds mixed fruit floured and 1 teaspoon baking soda dissolved in 1/4 cup milk.  Lastly add 1 16oz tin crushed pineapple drained.  Bake in 9 inch lined tin at 130-135 degrees celcius for four to five hours.  (Half a glass brandy or sherry will help it keep).

And the winner is...

...me!   Yay, Dunaden came in first in the Melbourne Cup, now how will I spend my winnings of $22.60???!!!

I didn't go to the Cup this year, but instead had a most pleasant champagne afternoon tea.  I made a selection of finger food and we watched the race on TV.  It was a nicely paced day - sleeping in, then heading out for a walk to buy the ingredients, and spending a few leisurely hours in the kitchen.  Oh god I just realised I wrote "paced" in an entry on racing, I'm making naff jokes without even realising it!  That's daytime drinking for you... 

Eggplant Rolls with Minted Goats Cheese

Makes 10-12 depending on the size of the eggplant

1 large eggplant
Olive oil
120g of soft goats cheese
2 tablespoons of chopped fresh mint
Salt and pepper

1. Cut the eggplant into thin slices (about 5mm).  Brush with olive oil and grill each side until golden brown (or you could use a BBQ grill or chargrill pan).

2. Crumble the goats cheese and mash the mint into it.  Season with salt and pepper.

3. Once the eggplant slices are cool, spread a spoonful of the minted cheese onto one end  of each slice and roll up.

Carrot Dip

This makes a pretty big batch - either halve it or keep half aside for another day!

500g of carrots, peeled and finely chopped
2 tablespoons of olive oil
1 brown onion, finely chopped
1 garlic clove, finely chopped
1 teaspoon ground cumin
60ml of orange juice
Salt and pepper

1. Cook the carrots until tender - you can either steam them for 15-20 minutes, or cook them in a covered pan in a couple of centimetres of boiling water for a few minutes. Drain once cooked.

2. Heat the oil in a frying pan over a low to medium heat. Add the onion and gently cook for a few minutes.  Add the garlic and cumin and cook for another couple of minutes until the onion is soft and the garlic is fragrant. 

3. Blend the carrot, onion mixture and orange juice until smooth, and season with salt and pepper.

4. Once cool serve with crackers or toasted bread.

Asparagus, Avocado and Salmon Tortillas

Makes 12 to 16 depending on whether you get a bag of 6 or 8 tortillas!

6 or 8 asparagus spears, ends trimmed and spears cut in half (or use 12 to 16 spears if you want each roll to feature a fancy spear end!)
1 large avocado or 2 smaller avocados
Squeeze of lemon juice
Salt and pepper
210g of canned salmon, drained
6 or 8 corn tortillas or mountain bread (get the square ones if you can) cut in half

1. Blanch the asparagus in boiling water for one minute.  Drain and cool in iced water.  Drain again and set aside.


2.  Mash the avocado with a squeeze of lemon juice, salt and pepper.

3. Soften the tortillas by briefly heating in the microwave (wrapped in papertowels) or in the oven (wrapped in foil).

4. Spread each tortilla with the avocado mix, sprinkle some salmon on top, and place an asparagus spear on the end.  Roll up, and if needed secure with a toothpick.

Corn and Courgette Fritters

Makes 32 small fritters.

310g tin corn kernels, drained, or a cup of fresh or defrosted corn
150g courgette, grated
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1/3 of a cup of milk
1 cup of self-raising flour
1/2 a teaspoon of ground cumin 

Salt and pepper
Sweet chilli sauce (Mae Ploy brand preferably)

1. Whisk together the corn, courgette, eggs and milk. Switch to a spoon and  gradually stir in the sifted flour, cumin, salt and pepper.

2. Heat a little oil in a non-stick frying pan over a medium heat. Using a soupspoon, place spoonfuls of the mixture in the pan and cook in batches. Turn them once and cook until golden and cooked through. Drain on a paper towel.

3. Serve with sweet chilli sauce as a dipping sauce. 

Big Dipper

I went to the Mediterranean Wholesalers on Sydney Road the other day for the first time... rows and rows of deliciousness... it was wonderful.  My purchases included pecorino cheese and jars of artichoke hearts which I turned into a baked dip that can be served hot, warm or cold. 

Baked Artichoke Dip

I served this with thin slices of french bread and carrot sticks.

One 400g jar of artichoke hearts
Half a cup of grated pecorino or parmesan
Half a cup of mayonnaise
1 clove of finely chopped garlic
1 tablespoon of lemon juice

1. Preheat the oven to 180 degrees celcius.

2. Combine the ingredients and spoon into a small baking dish (I used a terracotta tapas dish).

3. Bake for twenty minutes until bubbling and slightly browned.

 

The last of the winter dishes... surely!

Today was a cold spring day here in Melbourne, and was definitely chilly enough to justify making a wintry soup, especially since I was cooking it for a friend recovering from illness - soup is the most restorative dish I can think of.  I am currently seeking out dishes that include the vegetables I've recently planted in my vege garden (in anticipation of the oversupply that will occur once it is time to harvest them!), so tonight's recipe includes lots of silverbeet.  It will be several weeks until my little rainbow silverbeet plants are ready, but I want to be ready so I can use it all.

Chickpea and Silverbeet Soup

Serves 4

2 cans of chickpeas
3 tablespoons of olive oil plus extra to serve
Juice of half a lemon
1 - 2 teaspoons of dried red chillis
5 cloves of garlic, crushed with the back of a knife and roughly chopped
3 sprigs of rosemary
2 tins of chopped tomatoes
Salt and pepper
1 litre of chicken stock (I use vegetarian "chicken" stock)
300g of silverbeet (1 bunch)
1/2 cup of grated parmesan or pecorino
Crusty bread

1. Drain the chickpeas and toss with one tablespoon of olive oil and the lemon juice.

2. Gently heat two tablespoons of olive oil in a stockpot, add the garlic, chilli and rosemary, and cook for a minute or so until fragrant.  Add the tomatoes and a good pinch of salt; bring to the boil, then cover and simmer for twenty minutes.

3. Add the stock and simmer for another ten minutes, and then add the chickpeas and simmer for forty minutes.

4.  Cut the silverbeet leaves from the stalk.  Trim the stalks into one centimetre chunks, and cut the larger leaves in half.  When the soup is almost ready, bring a pan of salted water to the boil; add the stalks and cook for two minutes, add the leaves and cook for another minute, and then drain.

5. Stir the parmesan or pecorino into the soup, then the silverbeet and a drizzle of olive oil.  Season as needed.

6. Serve with slices of bread that can be broken into chunks and added to the soup.

"...until they begin to splutter..."...and the foodie blues...

Thursdays are now firmly established as Experimental Cooking Nights at Dave and Tina's house.  Every week I get increasingly excited as we pick a new recipe, then Tina sources the ingredients sorted, and I turn up after work to assemble the dish.  These weekly dinner party dates have definitely lifted me out of my foodie blues - I completely lost my cooking mojo there for a while, burning this, oversalting that...   

We made this recipe a few weeks ago, and agreed it had an almost Indo-Thai taste, probably because of the inclusion of coconut.  You could of course serve it with plain rice but the pilau was easy to make and definitely gave the dish a lift.

Indian Green Fish Curry with Pea and Mushroom Pilau

Serves 4.

Pilau

2 1/4 cups of basmati rice
1 tablespoon of oil
1/2 teaspoon of cumin seeds
2 black cardamom pods
2 cinnamon sticks
3 garlic cloves, sliced
1 teaspoon of salt
1 medium tomato, sliced
2/3 of a cup of button mushrooms
1/3 of a cup of petits pois (peas)
3 cups of water

1. Wash the rice well and leave it to soak in water for 30 minutes.

2. In a medium heavy-based saucepan, heat the oil and add the spices, garlic and salt.

3. Add the tomato and mushrooms and stir fry for 2-3 minutes.

4. Drain the rice and add it to the pan with the peas.  Stir gently, making sure that you do not break up the grains of rice.

5. Add the water and bring to the boil.  Lower the heat, cover and continue to cook for 15-20 minutes. 

Curry

1/4 of a teaspoon of ground turmeric
2 tablespoons of lime juice
A pinch of salt
4 cod fillets, skinned and cut into 5cm chunks
1 onion, chopped
1 green chilli, roughly chopped
1 garlic clove, crushed
1/4 of a cup of cashew nuts
1/2 a teaspoon of fennel seeds
2 tablespoons of dessicated coconut
2 tablespoons of oil
1/4 of a teaspoon of cumin seeds
1/4 of a teaspoon of ground coriander
1/4 of a teaspoon of ground cumin
1/4 of a teaspoon of salt
2/3 of a cup of water
3/4 of a cup of plain yoghurt
3 tablespoons of finely chopped fresh coriander

1. Mix the turmeric, lime juice and salt together and rub over the fish.  Cover and marinate for 15 minutes.

2. Meanwhile, process the onion, chilli, garlic, cashew nuts, fennel seeds and coconut to a paste.  Spoon the paste into a bowl and set aside.

3. Heat the oil in a large heavy-based frying pan and fry the cumin seeds for 2 minutes or until they begin to splutter (with rage! Ha ha ha).  Add the paste and fry for 5 minutes, then stir in the ground coriander, cumin, salt and water and cook for about 2-3 minutes.

4. Add the yoghurt and the chopped fresh coriander.  Simmer gently for 5 minutes.  Add the fish fillets and gently stir in. Cover and cook gently for 10 minutes until the fish is tender.