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ardysez

~ surrender to yourself

ardysez

Category Archives: In My Kitchen

the euphoria of bread and butter pudding…

07 Sunday Aug 2016

Posted by Ardys in Food, In My Kitchen

≈ 22 Comments

Tags

Food

I don’t make many cakes or desserts or slices because we would just eat them. But once or twice in the winter I make bread and butter pudding. In recent years I made it just for Him because I didn’t like the gluten free version and I couldn’t eat the wheat version. But now that I am able to eat my own sourdough spelt bread, I thought it was high time to revisit this favourite of ours.

It is a comfort food that goes waaaay back to the days when people could ill afford the many sweet treats we now lavish upon ourselves, often to detriment. Historians have traced it back to the 11th and 12th centuries in England, then called ‘poor man’s pudding’. My husband would disagree with the idea that good bread and butter pudding is anything but the highest culinary accomplishment, be it for rich or poor man. He goes to his ‘happy place’ when I make this bread and butter pudding. Such is his euphoria, he seems to struggle to find enough ways to express his joy, each complement greater than the last. This time he declared “You could feed this to anyone and they would love it”. Well, of course that’s not true, there are plenty of people who won’t or can’t eat something like this. But if you can, and will, I recommend it.

fresh from the oven in the early evening light

fresh from the oven in the early evening light

Ardys’s Bread and Butter Pudding

8 thick, or 10 thin slices good, but stale, bread (I use my homemade spelt sourdough here)

Approx. 1/2 C unsalted butter, softened to room temp., or spreadable consistency

weight or push the slices down into the liquid

weight or push the slices down into the liquid

Approx. 1/3 C sultanas (raisins)

Approx. 1/2 C apricot jam

2 C whole milk

3 eggs

1 tsp. vanilla essence (extract)

1/2 C sugar

Butter all slices of bread on both sides. Then spread the apricot jam on one side only of each slice. Butter sides and bottom of a deep casserole (about 2 quart).  Place one layer of bread into bottom, sprinkle with 1/2 the sultanas.  Place another layer of buttered bread on top and repeat the layering.  Add a third layer of buttered/jam bread for the final layer. 

Mix together the milk, eggs, vanilla and sugar, stirring well to combine, then pour over the bread layers.  Let this sit for 45 minutes or longer, during which time you can weight the bread down into the liquid, or press it down with the back of a spoon a few times. Make sure all edges are soaked so they don’t burn when baking.  Meanwhile preheat the oven to 185 C, (375 F).  Bake for about 50 minutes, or until golden on top and knife comes out clean when inserted into centre of pudding.  Serve warm topped with more milk, cream or ice cream, or enjoy on its own.

Serves: 6-8

(The recipe can also be found under the heading of Breads/Baked Goods)

the proof of the pudding...

the proof of the pudding…

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cast iron Christmas, In My Kitchen-December

06 Sunday Dec 2015

Posted by Ardys in In My Kitchen

≈ 38 Comments

Tags

cast iron cooking, Christmas gifts, cooking, Food, Solidtaknics

Here I am, half a world away from the woman who finally helped me ‘crack it’ using my cast iron frying pan! Let’s hear three cheers for the internet and blogs!!

I heard about the pan on Twitter, from Bizzy Lizzy who lives across the country in Canberra. What a world! Last Christmas it was the only thing on my ‘list’ and our dear daughter had wrestled it into the airport and onto the luggage belt from her home in Adelaide. It is heavy. I wanted to love it, but no matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t use it without having an awful mess. Surely there was something I was missing. I didn’t grow up using a cast iron pan so I had no history from which to draw, but I did have a friend locally who uses cast iron cookware all the time. She offered to take it for a little while and see if she could figure out what I might be missing. After a few weeks she said they absolutely loved the pan and had no problems. Back to me.

No matter how I tried, the outcome was failure. Finally after complete frustration, I put it away. Sometimes the energies just aren’t working.

Then, in early November a blog post appeared on The Kitchens Garden, which many of you know. Celi, the ebullient and wise, published a description of how she uses her cast iron pans. Most of it my friend, Betty, had already told me, she is very experienced too. But the one small thing that made all the difference was that I needed to get the pan hotter! Simple, and yet, crucial. Celi recommended the pan be ‘smoking hot’—unlike myself 🙂

Betty had told me I also needed a metal egg slice (spatula, pancake turner), small if possible, but they are hard to find. It turned out I had one from my pre-married days, about 35 or 40 years ago! It had languished in the drawer for years, with only very occasional use, but I hadn’t thrown it away because I knew how rare they are to find. The head of it is about the size of my palm, and I have small hands.

Small spatula used with Solidteknics cast iron pan

Small spatula used with Solidteknics cast iron pan

So these two things, heat and utensil, were the magic keys to unlocking cast iron cooking ease. I now love my cast iron pan, made at the Solidteknics foundry here in Australia. It is very heavy, too heavy when full, for my arms to lift easily, but I use the two handed tennis shot and I’m home. I can also use the small egg slice, and a nice silicon spoon to lift things out and into the serving dish if necessary.

A couple of personal tips; I usually cook with ghee, but occasionally bacon fat or olive oil mixed with butter. After I’ve finished cooking, I put a bit of water in the pan, slosh it around, pour it out and then wipe the pan with a paper towel. The washing up is done! Using the clean side of the same towel, I wipe the pan with a bit of the ghee just to have it seasoned and ready for the next use. I never wash it with soap, just as everyone else will tell you.

Thanks Lizzy, thanks Betty, and thanks Celi!! Honestly, you have to be astounded that through social media, blogging and local friends a person can learn a whole new skill.

This is not an easy time of the year for many people. So make some time for yourself and your creative endeavours or your friends and family instead of worrying about the prefect gift or feast or decorations. Take a leaf out of this bloke’s book, decorate your Ute and call it ‘job done’. Happy Christmas to all.

Chrissy decos, Outback style.

Chrissy deccos, Outback style.

Special thanks to Celia for hosting our monthly kitchen get together, this being her last to host. Visit her through the link and find other interesting kitchens around the world, and in future visit Maureen’s kitchen to continue the journey at the Orgasmic Chef.

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a pumpkin epiphany–In My Kitchen, November

09 Monday Nov 2015

Posted by Ardys in Food, In My Kitchen

≈ 33 Comments

Tags

cooking, crockpot, Food, pumpkin, slow cooking, vegetables

You know I love my slow cooker (crock pot). Recently I found a new trick that it can do and it has changed my vegetable life. It is so simple I could hardly believe it, but then simple is usually best.

Cook your pumpkin or butternut squash in the slow cooker. Whole. With nothing else. Not even water.

Still life, butternut squash and bouganvillea bracts, edited in Waterlogue

Still life, butternut squash and bougainvillea bracts, edited in Waterlogue

I have tried it both on the high setting, for 4-5hrs and overnight on the low setting. Equally good results.

METHOD

Wash your pumpkin on the outside so that it is free of dirt or residue. Put it into the slow cooker for whatever time you choose. Put the lid on and let the magic happen.

When it is finished, lift it out with a large spoon underneath it, onto a plate or cutting board. Cut it in half to let it cool enough so you can touch it. Scoop out the seeds, scoop the remaining flesh off the skin and you’re set to go. We eat it as pumpkin mash with a little salt and butter. I freeze it in amounts that are convenient for recipes or serving sizes. The water that cooks out through the skin of the pumpkin is sweet and similar to maple syrup, but lighter. I use it to add back into the puree if it needs moisture for a particular recipe. The amount varies depending on the pumpkin.

Cooked pumpkin/squash with pumpkin water that has sweated out through skin--sweet and delicious
Cooked pumpkin/squash with pumpkin water that has sweated out through skin–sweet and delicious
beads of sweetness
beads of sweetness
cooling for scooping
cooling for scooping
pumpkin liquor, water that cooks out through the skin is sweet
pumpkin liquor, water that cooks out through the skin is sweet

And I made this… simple little gluten free Pumpkin Bar/slice from Elana’s Pantry here. Very toothsome.

Elanas Pantry Pumpkin Bars

Elanas Pantry Pumpkin Bars

Happy November everyone!

Special thanks to Celia for hosting our monthly kitchen get together. Visit her through the link and find other interesting kitchens around the world.

 

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In My Kitchen – September 2015 (how the Ghan nearly ruined my Spanish lunch)

02 Wednesday Sep 2015

Posted by Ardys in In My Kitchen

≈ 21 Comments

Tags

Alice Springs, Australia, fish, salad, Spain, The Alhambra, The Ghan

Five years ago Don and I visited Granada, Spain to see the Alhambra (so named because of the Arabic name for its reddish walls). Our very first meal, aside from the Hotel’s fabulous breakfast, was lunch in a cafe adjacent to the Alhambra. It was a sunny spring day and the outside tables were perfect. Uncertain about ordering meals, and various food intolerances making the uncertainty worse, I settled on a salad of oranges, fennel and cod. It turns out this is a very Spanish dish and we saw it a number of other times on various travels in Spain.

Breakfast pastries to die for
Breakfast pastries to die for
Interior at Alhambra
Interior at Alhambra
Classic Moorish arch at Alhambra
Classic Moorish arch at Alhambra
Paella in Granada
Paella in Granada
sculptured fruit display
sculptured fruit display

Since fennel and navel oranges are usually plentiful, and reasonable quality, here in winter, I decided I wanted to try and recreate my memory of the dish. The first challenge was to find some deep sea cod. It is not common here, not being near the deep sea and all! As I recalled, the Spanish original used salted cod but I’m not familiar with using that, soaking it etc, so I decided if I could find some fresh, frozen cod or other white sea fish, I would use that. I couldn’t see any cod in the groceries, so our butcher who sells a lot of good quality sea food was the next stop, and miracle of miracles, they had some. (I have not seen even the slightest hint of any since)

The morning I planned to make the salad I woke around 4am to the sound of the Ghan* train coming into Alice–about 12 hours late! They sound their horn upon arrival, even at 4am, it would seem. We are over a kilometre away from the station but in the quiet of the morning I could still hear it. My first thought was for the poor passengers who obviously had spent more time aboard than they had planned. Part of the Northern Territory adventure, I suppose.

Peeking through the fence at the Ghan in Alice railyard

Peeking through the fence at the Ghan in Alice railway yard

Since I was awake early I turned on the heater in the bathroom and while it was warming I snuggled back in bed for a little while. Winter in Alice is quite cold overnight. After showering and having breakfast I decided to do my grocery shopping early, although 9am would not be early in the summer! As soon as I was inside the grocery I could see the other problem with the Ghan’s late arrival. The produce section had many vacant gaps, the most worrying of which was the one where fennel is usually kept!! Despite best efforts to keep things on schedule, once in a while the Ghan hits sections of the track that have washed out, or some other difficulty. Such is the story of a train that runs through hundreds of kilometres of scrub and bushland.

I had bought the fish, and the orange, but what could I do without fennel? Time for some culinary conjuring! Somewhere in the back of my mind I seemed to remember that celery and fennel were from the same genus, though different species, and thinking that sliced very thinly they would have a similar texture, I decided to try celery in place of the fennel.

My humble recreation

My humble recreation

Cod baked with olive oil, salt, pepper, lemon

Cod baked with olive oil, salt, pepper, lemon

I baked the cod with only lemon, olive oil, salt, pepper and thinly slice lemons on top, tied in baking paper at 165C for about 20 minutes. I let them cool to room temperature because it was a salad. Meanwhile I peeled and sliced the orange thinly and used a mandolin to get the celery slices very, very thin. Once assembled on a plate I added another sprinkle of salt, a drizzle of good olive oil, and a squeeze of half a lemon. The original Spanish dish had thin slivers of red Spanish onion through it as well, but onion is something I’m unable to eat so I left it off. The result was delicious, nevertheless. I thought I had lost the photo of that special lunch, but after making what I remembered the dish to be like, the vast recesses of my grey matter led me to the five year previous photo! Next time I will add the radicchio (if I can find it), eggs and olives, now that I see what my memory had forgotten!! Now you know why I love photos so much!

That memorable meal

The glorious original

(*Ghan is short for Afghan, and the train is named for the many Afghanistani cameleers who helped settle Central Australia)

Special thanks to Celia for hosting our monthly kitchen get together. Visit her through the link and find other interesting kitchens around the world.

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In My Kitchen August 2015

04 Tuesday Aug 2015

Posted by Ardys in Food, In My Kitchen

≈ 37 Comments

Tags

Food, life, Ohio

Mum and youngest brother in 1957 kitchen--note clock at top of photo, Dad made that as well!

Mum and youngest brother in 1957 kitchen–note clock at top of photo, Dad made that as well!

The first home I remember was in Bethel, Ohio on Main Street, USA. (sounds like the setting for a play, doesn’t it?) The house had a feature fossil rock wall that was part of my bedroom and a huge, huge pecan tree in the back yard. When my parents bought the house it was a real wreck, a ‘fixer upper’–only worse! Dad remodelled every wall, floor and surface in the house, plus a bit extra. It had a beautiful yard with lilac bushes, mulberry and cherry trees and a little tiny rivulet of water that flowed in wetter years, separating the main yard from the big pecan tree at the back.

Age 9, Brownie Uniform geekiness (feature fossil wall beside)

Age 9, Brownie Uniform geekiness (feature fossil wall beside)

In summer, the pecan tree’s generous canopy would shade us from the hot sun. Dad built us a tree house in a nearby smaller tree, too. We spent a lot of time playing under the tree in warmer months and collecting pecans that fell in the autumn. Then in winter Mum would sit most evenings and crack and pick the nuts from their shells. I would help sometimes. Mum discovered that nuts freeze very well and so she would freeze packets of pecans to use year round for her baking; pecan pie, pecan sandies and fruit cake at Christmas. I loved them all. Pecans are still my favourite nut for flavour and versatility. (I have no photos of the tree, and sadly, it was cut down years ago)

We pause our scheduled post for this public service advice:

I think this must have been the beginning of my love affair with trees, nuts and food. I could see, and understand, the connection between them all. To that end, I’m going to share a link with you that is about trees, because I love trees so much. It is a six minute YouTube video by a rap artist I had never heard of before seeing this piece on blog friend Sara‘s post this weekend. I thought I’d pass it along because it is so good.

Back to our regularly scheduled blog post:

TIP: Since I am very familiar with the flavour of fresh pecans, my tip to you is they should taste sweet and nutty, not strong. I’ve noticed if I buy pecans in the winter and store them in my freezer for use in summer they are better than trying to buy them in summer (in Alice), when often they have become rancid through shipping and storage. Double wrapping them for the freezer is best.

This winter I came up with a recipe for gluten free muesli (granola) that uses pecans, cashews and pepitas and I have enjoyed it so much that I thought I’d share the recipe with you.

Nut and Cinnamon Baked Muesli (granola)

IMG_63561/4 C pepita (pumpkin seeds)

1/4 C roughly chopped pecans

1/4 C roughly chopped raw cashews

3-4 tsp Maple syrup

1/2 tsp ground cinnamon

pinch of fine salt (I use pink salt)

1.5 C puffed millet

Preheat oven to 160C (325F)

Line a rectangle baking tray with silicon paper (don’t use foil, it will stick to foil making an impossible mess). Mix everything except the millet together until the nuts/seeds are evenly coated with the syrup and spice. Then add the millet, and again, stir thoroughly. Spread evenly over the bottom of the pan. Bake for 12-13 minutes, no more or nuts may be too brown. Remove from oven and allow to cool completely. Break it up roughly and put into a jar to store for up to 2 weeks.

nut-cinnamon-granola-serving

Serving suggestion with yogurt and blueberries

This is fairly nutrient dense, so I use it on top of a bowl of fruit and yogurt, almost as a topping. Used in this way it makes about 6 servings, otherwise about 2-3 servings. Because I only occasionally eat grains I make it in this smaller quantity. Don’t tell anyone, but I sometimes just grab a little handful as a snack. Yummy.

The smell of cinnamon will perfume your house for hours. Wonderful to make in winter, especially. Of course you can change the nuts and seeds to suit your own taste, but the maple/cinnamon/pecan magic may be lost!! Also you can change out the millet for puffed rice or other puffed cereal as you like.

Have a delicious month. 🙂

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IMK July 2015– flashback to 1968

05 Sunday Jul 2015

Posted by Ardys in Food, In My Kitchen, Life

≈ 32 Comments

Tags

Bethel, Food, food as inspiration, inspiration, life

Recently a friend’s blog post brought back a long ago memory of cooking. The memory was before I ever traveled, or even thought much about it, so the ‘foreign’ foods I’d eaten were mostly Americanised. On a few occasions I’d had some fairly authentic Italian and German and that was about it. About the time I was reminded of this memory, I found a photo taken the same year and I thought you might enjoy it. Remember when girls wore curlers? BIG curlers? My best friend and I both had wavy hair, and that was just not in fashion in the 60’s. So we used the largest curlers we could find, even repurposed orange juice cans on occasion!

1960-girls-curlers

Curler girls, Lorraine on the left, me on the right–making a pie

Both being from fairly strict homes with hard working parents, we had to contribute our share of the sweat to cleaning our respective homes every Saturday. After the cleaning was done, and only afterward, the fun could begin. We would shower and set our hair in curlers to spend the afternoon drying, so that we would look beautiful when we went out that evening, if we were lucky enough to have a date or a party to attend.

One particular Saturday, I had organised the ingredients to try recipes given to me by our High School French teacher. She was the second of what would be three by the end of two years. She had actually lived in France, as opposed to the third teacher we had who was the Spanish teacher and was learning French at the same time she taught us. Not a great experience, and fascinating that I learned much at all, mon petit chou!

Mrs. K, the second teacher, had authentic French recipes for three things; bread, onion soup, and cheese soufflé. In those days I had no idea that American ingredients were any different that those used in France, and would yield a somewhat different, though reminiscent, result. Being very inexperienced at creating a menu, I decided that those three things would BE the menu. My best friend who supported me in all my crazy endeavours spent that entire Saturday afternoon helping me make the meal…in our curlers.

Where would we be without our best friends to support our adventures??

I seem to recall sampling some of the dishes at a French Club gathering we had, but certainly I had never cooked them before. At the ages of about 15 or 16 we were far from experienced cooks, though both of us had to assist with meal preparation at our homes. But probably the biggest challenge was that none of my family had tasted anything like the soup or the soufflé, so we were pushing them into the deep end, with ourselves following closely behind. In a little mid-western town of 2500 people in the late 1960’s, people did not eat this way. As I recall my family was not terribly disparaging, but I do know we never had the meal again. The amazing thing was, that we had it at all, and that it was a precursor to tasting, and cooking, so many dishes unfamiliar to me.

 

Flash forward to the present:

Just over a week ago, I found myself in the signature restaurant of one of Australia’s best known cooks (he does not call himself a chef). You can read about the meal and how it came about in this previous post, but here’s the thing…now, I’ve travelled all over the world and eaten many, very fine meals, and even cooked a few myself, but I’m still learning about my own taste preferences. Dinner at Stefano’s showed me the food that I really love to eat. It is rustic, made with quality ingredients and lots of flavour. After several very nice meals while we were away, the one dish I wanted to recreate was Stefano’s version of fennel. I love fennel, finely shredded and raw, or cooked in soups, but the best fennel I ever had was his baked version, and looked very much like this:

Baked fennel

Baked fennel

My fennel was baked at 175C (350F) in a single layer, glass baking dish, that had been generously greased with butter. The single, large fennel bulb (no stems) was cut across the layers in slices about 1cm (1/2inch) thick and laid on their sides in the dish. A generous pinch of salt sprinkled over, then 1/2 C of pouring cream, or double cream with about 1 T water to thin it, drizzled over evenly. I covered the dish with foil and baked for 55 minutes, but test to make certain the pieces are very tender. The joy of cooked fennel is a tender texture that brings out its sweetness. Remove from the oven, and turn the oven to grill/broil. Remove the foil from the baking dish, while the griller is heating, and grate 1 C of Romano or Parmesan cheese and sprinkle evenly over the cooked fennel. Place under the griller for a few minutes until the cheese turns golden. I wouldn’t presume to say this is as good as Stefano’s, but it is close enough to satisfy me until I can get back to Mildura!!

Thanks to Celia for hosting our monthly kitchen get together. My contribution this month is a bit different due to traveling and being away from my own kitchen most of the time, but I hope it is of interest, nevertheless.

 

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IMK June 2015 (how I use my slow cooker)

04 Thursday Jun 2015

Posted by Ardys in Food, In My Kitchen

≈ 27 Comments

Tags

crock pot, slow cooker

Before I start, this will be long…begin at your own risk! And most importantly, thank you to Celia for hosting our monthly kitchen get together!

Quite a few things have been happening in my life in recent months, but little of it in the kitchen. Due to food sensitivities as well as other priorities my cooking has been basic and probably not innovative, but not lacking in flavour. I’ve found myself reverting to old tried and true recipes from my past. And my past includes liberal use of a slow cooker! I’ve had a slow cooker, then called a ‘crock pot’, for about 40 years. Frankly, I can’t even believe I just wrote that, and that it is true!! That was a fast 40 years!

Rival Crock-Pot manual, circa 1977

Rival Crock-Pot manual, circa 1977

I’ve kept the little manual that came with it, since it is far better than any subsequent literature received with other slow cookers; though I hardly use any recipes these days as my tastes have mostly regressed to simple. Based on various comments I’ve had from previous posts, I gathered there was a wide ranging set of experiences for those trying to use a slow cooker, so for whatever it’s worth, here is my take on it.

This may surprise you, but I use it in the summer as well as the colder months. I love it because I can cook a roast or stew a chicken to utter tenderness with very little heat getting into the kitchen. That is a bonus where we live! But it would be of no interest if the result wasn’t full of flavour and tender. For a beef bolar roast or a whole chicken I do the following:

Stewing position for the chook is breast side down

Stewing position for the chook is breast side down

1-2 stalks of celery, chopped into large pieces

1 large carrot cut into large pieces

a few sprigs of fresh parsley

2-3 bay leaves

10 peppercorns

1 tsp sea salt

juice from half a lemon

Place all of these ingredients on the bottom of the cooker. Lay the meat on top and in the case of a chicken, place it breast side down. Cover with water to about 2/3 the way up the meat/chook. Lid on, cook on slow/low setting for 6 hrs for chook, 8 hours for beef. Debone the chicken before serving, strain the broth and use for soup later. Serve either with salad or steamed or roasted vegetables. For leftovers, make chicken salad later, and slice the beef for sandwiches or Vietnamese style beef salad in the summer.

Tip: For the chicken, once I’ve removed the meat from the bones, I pour maybe a third of a cup of the broth over the meat to store it and keep it flavourful and moist.

My preference is to buy organic or free range chicken and pastured beef. I almost never cook stews in my slow cooker and the old adage of using lesser quality cuts cooked slowly is not my thing. But if you have a family and like stews, it does a good job with those as well. We like the meat sliced thinly and used for sandwiches and salads or with steamed veg in subsequent days.

To cook a silverside (corned beef) in the slow cooker I do the following:

1 stalk of celery, chopped into large pieces

1 large carrot cut into large pieces

2-3 bay leaves

10 peppercorns

1 tsp prepared mustard (stir in some water so that it mixes with the rest)

1 tsp brown sugar

Place above ingredients into bottom of the slow cooker, then place the meat on top, fill with water to within about 50mm (1.5 inches) of the top of the cooker and cook long and slow, 8 or 9 hours. I prefer to cook my vegetables separate, as we like braised cabbage and roasted carrots or pumpkin and potatoes with silverside. Sorry, no white sauce at my house, we use our favourite horseradish that is grown in South Australia at Rusticana. (I have noticed in the USA, corned beef is sold with a flavour packet included. Use that as it contains most of the ingredients I’ve listed above, but do add the carrot and celery for extra flavour)

TIP: Once you have eaten what you want for your meal, allow the leftover meat to go cold in the strained broth. This keeps the sliverside nice and moist.

Having said I almost never cook stews in my cooker, I do sometimes cook bean soup. Due to dietary/digestive requirements, I soak tinned beans for at least 18 hours prior to cooking them with the ham. If I have a leftover, meaty ham bone I place it in the cooker with the following:

1 full stalk celery, finely chopped in tiny diceIMG_3172

Ham and bean soup

Ham and bean soup

1 medium carrot, finely chopped into tiny dice

2 bay leaves

½ tsp salt

plenty of freshly ground black pepper

4 x 400g tins pre-soaked cannellini or other similar beans

Cover with water and cook on low/slow for 8 hours. I usually like to make a gluten free cornbread to serve with it. My husband is in heaven with this meal as it takes him back to his grandma’s house in Virginia.

Pork roast from slow cooker, with roasted pumpkin and sauerkraut

Pulled Pork from slow cooker, with roasted pumpkin and cabbage.

As well as pulled pork (link amended 6/6/15), there is one other favourite meal I make in the slow cooker and it is a nod to both my husband’s and my German heritage.

Pork scotch fillet with potato, sauerkraut and cabbage

Pork scotch fillet with potato, sauerkraut and cabbage

Pork Scotch fillets cooked with sauerkraut, cabbage and potatoes.

This one starts with the meat on the bottom, then layer up with finely sliced potatoes (3-4), covered with finely sliced cabbage then a layer of sauerkraut. The cabbage can be omitted but not the sauerkraut. If you are wondering if the sauerkraut should be rinsed, yes, but only lightly. Retaining some of the salty brine on the kraut is good.

4 pork scotch fillets

3-4 thinly sliced potatoes

2 x 400g tins sauerkraut, to which I add 1tsp caraway seeds, two bay leaves, three sprigs fresh thyme and some fresh or tinned small mushrooms-optional

¼ finely shredded green cabbage

2 T dry sherry or white wine

weak chicken broth or water

salt and pepper

2 T butter, dotted around the top layer

Add some freshly cracked pepper and a bit of salt to the meat layer and the potato layer, but not the kraut layer. Sprinkle the dry sherry or white wine over the final layer, then pour over the chicken broth if you have it, or just water is fine, and dot with butter over the top. Cook on low for 8 hrs. This is a great, easy one pot meal, if you like the German flavours.

pork scotch fillets (also known as neck fillets)
finely shredded cabbage

thinly sliced potatoes with seasoning
sauerkraut layer with herbs and dotted with butter

Sorry for the length of this post—happy eating!

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in my kitchen, March 2015

02 Monday Mar 2015

Posted by Ardys in Alice Springs, Food, In My Kitchen, photography

≈ 39 Comments

Tags

Alice Springs, Food, peelhardboiledeggs, photography, topend

Firstly, and most importantly, thank you to Celia for hosting our monthly kitchen get together! And to so many who read and commented with wit and wisdom about my kitchen and garden adventures last month, thank you as well! There were many helpful suggestions and I will update you quickly.

lime-green-grasshopper

what the well accessorised fruit is wearing this summer

limes on mosaic table

limes on mosaic table

Grasshoppers are still around, but have mostly moved out of the courtyard where most of my edibles are grown. There are still many around, but these later ones at least have a sense of style and colour!

It is lime time. We’ve had to empty the tree because the mealy bug has moved in and we needed to treat that. The limes are delicious this year and I wish I could send you all some. It has been a bad summer for growing a lot of things; insects we don’t normally have, in proportions we don’t normally have, and either too wet or too hot for a number of things. Welcome to Australia.

lady bug IMK!

lady bug IMK!

On the last day of February, I walked into my kitchen to find this lovely little creature poised on the edge of the kitchen bench. After taking her portrait, I gently assisted her to a nice fresh, green basil leaf that has regenerated after the grasshoppers cleaned most of them off!

The efforts to save my Bay Tree seem successful. I gave it a hit of Seasol once I could see it was shooting new leaves, and it has come on beautifully. I’m still scraping the occasional bit of scale, but once the weather cools I will treat it again, and that should take care of things.

new growth on bay tree

new growth on bay tree

The cast iron pan has gone for a test trial to Aunt B’s kitchen, where we have deduced the trouble is definitely operator error on my part (never was much doubt), and we will endeavour to correct that. Stay tuned!

I’ve been having some delicious breakfasts, and main course salads continue a favourite while the weather is still quite warm.

mild-chili

homegrown chili, the thing grasshoppers won’t eat!

bacon-lettuce-tomato-salad

bacon, lettuce and tomato salad with green dressing (I know this would be wonderful with Celia’s sourdough croutons!)

stuffed-mushroom-breakfast

leftover stuffed mushrooms with egg and cherry tomatoes for brekky

I’m currently on a broccolini* binge. I have it in omelettes for breakfast, or steamed for lunch and dinner with a variety of modifications from bacon to cheddar or Parmigiano Reggiano. I’m sorry I can’t be biased, I love it all.IMG_6212

Here is a recent discovery of something clever that actually works; a way to remove shell from hard boiled eggs. I usually use free range eggs, as fresh as I can get them, which means they can be difficult from which to remove the shells when hard boiled. But if you place them in a jar of water, and shake gently, but enough to crack the shell all over, 5 seconds or so, the shells will actually come off pretty easily. I shook one harder, just to see what would happen, and it peeled alright, but took a layer of egg with it! So, the shaking will be a trial and error thing depending on your own strength and style!! Do let me know if you find it useful, I certainly do!

approximate ratio of egg to jar to water

approximate ratio of egg to jar to water

shake-off-eggshell

shake, shake, shake, shake it off!!

works as well as anything I have ever seen.

works as well as anything I have ever seen.

oops, don't shake too hard

oops, don’t shake too hard

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Even though insect plagues and heat have ravaged my courtyard garden, I still enjoy looking out my kitchen window at it each day. The light is ever changing and inspiring. Wishing you light and lovely-ness in your month coming.

early morning light in courtyard
early morning light in courtyard
early morning light edited using Waterlogue app
early morning light edited using Waterlogue app
dragonfly-alice-springs
photo #56 dragon fly in my courtyard
Cherry Allamande in morning light, edited using Distressed FX app
Cherry Allamande in morning light, edited using Distressed FX app

*Since one of the comments below alludes to the origins of broccolini I thought I would look it up to find some additional information for you. Here is what Wikipedia says:

Broccolini (original Japanese: ブロッコリーニ[1]) is a green vegetable similar to broccoli but with smaller florets and longer, thin stalks. Often misidentified as young broccoli, it is a hybrid of broccoli and kai-lan, both cultivar groups of Brassica oleracea. It was originally developed by the Sakata Seed Company of Yokohama, Japan, in 1993 as “aspabroc”.

The entire vegetable is consumable, including the occasional yellow flower. Common cooking methods include sauteeing, steaming, boiling, and stir frying. In Japan, it is highly popular as a spring vegetable, and usually eaten steamed. Its flavor is sweet, with notes of both broccoli and asparagus,[2] although it is not closely related to the latter.

The above is what I was led to believe were the origins, but it is useful to double check these things. Happy eating 🙂

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in my kitchen – Feb 2015

03 Tuesday Feb 2015

Posted by Ardys in Alice Springs, Food, gardening, In My Kitchen

≈ 37 Comments

Tags

Alice Springs, cooking, Food, In My Kitchen, photography

grasshopper-alice-springs

Anyone for fried grasshoppers?

This fig leaf was lunch for the grasshoppers, and they are still hungry!!

This fig leaf was lunch for the grasshoppers, and they are still hungry!!

 

 

 

 

 

 

First, thank you to everyone who commiserated and encouraged me in my time of loss of Kitchen Mojo last month. I’m happy to say it has nearly returned to normal. That is to say I’m having the usual number of failures rather than the dismal number I was having this time last month! It has been a battlefield here. We had a very wet start to January, followed by an invasion of thousands, and thousands of grasshoppers. They have nearly devoured my favourite herbs, citrus leaves, curry leaves and even my sapling fig trees. I don’t like to use poisons on my edible plants, for obvious reasons, so I have very reluctantly employed the ‘compression method’ my husband taught me.

Ick. But effective.

Well, let’s put it this way, I’m losing the battle more slowly than I was previously.

 

Bay Tree - BEFORE

Bay Tree – BEFORE

IMG_4935

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The next, and ongoing, battle was a bad infestation of scale insect on my 10 yr old Bay tree. Because of our heat here I couldn’t just spray with white oil and let it do the job. White oil will kill the plant at temps above 30C. So I had to strip all the leaves from the tree that had scale on them, while leaving the newer growth to help it recover. Then I had to spray the branches and trunk with the white oil, leave it under cover and out of direct sun for two days, then gently spray with soapy water and use a soft brush to wash it off. So far, it has worked. I am checking the leaves every few days and scraping the occasional scale off and tiny new leaves are appearing. When winter comes I will be able to spray it again.

 

soup-beans-cornbread

Ham and bean soup with corn bread

Meanwhile, in the kitchen we’ve enjoyed a few nice meals inspired by the cool temps that came with the rain event. Leftover ham bone from Christmas made a delicious, savoury cannellini bean soup, along with corn bread made in my new cast iron pan. The cast iron pan is another battle I’m slowly losing, but I have not given up.

 

buckwheat-pancakes-fruit

Buckwheat pancakes with fresh blueberries, peaches, apricots, walnuts and Greek yogurt (inspired by our own Bizzy Lizzy here)

The seasonal fruit has been delicious this year, with or without buckwheat pancakes!

peach-australian

Australian grown peach

fig-macro

If there is a more gorgeous fruit than a fig, I’d like to see it.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

lamb-bacon

Lamb Mignon created by Milner Meats, Alice Springs

A wonderful new find from our butcher is ‘lamb mignon’. They use fillet or backstrap pieces and wrap it in bacon (their own) and skewer it for cooking on the barbecue/grill. Delicious.

 

 

 

 

IMG_6184I’ve been experimenting with some salads that are substantial meals in themselves.

 

 

 

 

 

 

chilli-seeds-cabbage

finely shredded chilli and cabbages and crushed mustard and fennel seeds

chilli-cole-slaw

Chilli Cole Slaw

 

 

 

And, finally, my creation of the month, as declared by my husband, is Chilli Cole Slaw. We have some medium/mild yellow chillies growing and so far the grasshoppers haven’t developed a taste for them, so I have plenty to use. I finely shaved two colours of cabbage, added the finely sliced pieces of chilli, then… wait for it… the magic ingredients… about ½ tsp each, mustard seed and fennel seed, finely ground in my tiny mortar and pestle. For a lighter than normal dressing I used organic, Greek yogurt, thinned with a little apple cider vinegar, whatever sweetener you like, and a bit of salt. The dressing should have a sweet/sour taste which offsets the chilli nicely. I used about 1/3 C for 3 C of shredded cabbage, but adjust it to your own liking.

 

 

Happy February everyone. May there be no grasshopper plague in your lives!  Be sure to call around to Celia’s place at Fig Jam and Lime Cordial to see what’s happening in the kitchens around the world!

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IMK January 2015

02 Friday Jan 2015

Posted by Ardys in In My Kitchen

≈ 37 Comments

Tags

Alice Springs, Australia, Food, Red Centre of Australia

Our humid weather

Our humid weather

Except for the four days our daughter visited, my kitchen was not a festive place in December. Our weather was very hot… and unusually humid.

 

Martin Place, 18 Dec

Martin Place, 18 Dec

We were away in Sydney exactly during the siege, exactly in, and near, Martin Place. It has left me reeling a bit.

 

 

My Kitchen Mojo is still a no-go.

 

Tasmanian Clotted Cream

Tasmanian Clotted Cream

I have never before, in my 31 years living in the Northern Territory, seen ‘clotted cream’ in the grocery. Am sure the out of date milk in the fridge in Darwin heat may have looked the part a time or two… but to see it for purposeful procurement, was a first!

cast-iron-pan

SolidTeknics cast iron pan, made in Australia

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This gorgeous SOLIDTEKNIKS cast iron pan made its way into my kitchen via our lovely daughter. Of course it was the one and only thing on my Christmas list, which either says a lot about my lack of needs, or speaks highly for the pan, so we’ll go with the latter. The learning curve with the pan is a bit steep. I’m screwing up a lot. Eggs hate it. Yes, I have consulted a learned friend as well as two websites on the matter, and I’m closing in on the secret, but I’m not there yet. All suggestions welcome! I found out about this beautiful cookware via one of our IMK group, accomplished cook and kitchen guru, Bizzy Lizzy.

Allison making pork belly

Allison making pork belly

Delicious Fennel Pork Belly

Delicious Fennel Pork Belly

Our daughter had my kitchen humming during her visit. It was 41 C (106 F) the day she and I had planned to bake fruit cakes and roast pork belly with roasted veggies.

Of course.

My overheated brain forgot to remind me to photograph the fruit cakes, but it was such a pleasure to watch Allison so confidently making her favourite Jamie Oliver pork belly recipe I certainly didn’t miss a chance to photograph that. It was delicious!

Alpine Coconut yogurt from Coles

Alpine Coconut yogurt from Coles

I also discovered this new coconut yogurt in the grocery store, expensive, but delicious, and still cheaper by about 25% than the health food store version, though it does have a very small amount of sugar in it!

 

 

This is my short IMK post for this month… we live in hope that the food gods will smile on me in 2015. There are a few tentative glimmers here and there. New Year’s Day breakfast was a success, but you’ll have to wait until next month for that photo. It may be the only one I have!!

My very best wishes to you all! Be sure to call around to Celia’s place at Fig Jam and Lime Cordial to see what’s happening in the kitchens around the world!

 

 

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