Tag Archives: Food

last one out…

28 Tuesday Apr 2020

Posted by in Food, gardening, Travel

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We could have had one last safari, making six, before we left Gondwana. But the last two had taken a toll on my tummy that I just couldn’t shake. The effect was worse than the roughest seas on the cruise and Don was happy to be done as well. We decided to get an early start for Franschhoek (pronounced: Fran-chook). We knew we were running low on energy and we had to save some for whatever might happen on our trip home.

Farewell Gondwana.

When we said farewell to Felix we could tell he was very worried about his family and how he would support them. Gondwana had announced they would be winding down at the end of that week, keeping only a basic crew to maintain the reserve.

‘last one out, turn off the lights’

He’s behind me making fart noises, isn’t he?

Just as when we had arrived to a welcoming committee, we left with a cheeky farewell from the Gondwana inhabitants. As we drove past small towns and townships* we felt quite heavy and sad, for we could see what was coming. In the townships people live very close together and many have poor hygiene and no transport, so they were hitchhiking rides. A perfect ‘vehicle’ for an eager virus. Even though the government was being very proactive with regard to the virus, and there were only a few hundred cases at that stage, we just knew what would likely befall them.

Woman making ‘rooster bread’ at Swellendam.

The drive was, again, very pretty landscape, and we had a nice, albeit brief, refuel and loo stop in Swellendam. We watched a local woman making ‘rooster bread’ as it is called. There was a little cafe two doors away who would make the dough and this lady came every day to cook the bread for them. She would roll the dough into mounds, then one at a time she would place a mound on the grill and pat it down. When it cooked on one side she turned it over to the other side and then stacked them up ready for the cafe to use. Apparently they put anything in them you would use in a sandwich. I would loved to have tried one, but we weren’t the least bit hungry so I asked to take the photos and thanked the woman, and we were on our way again.

wildflower in the mountain pass

We drove through the Franschhoek Pass to get to the town and so we had a stunning view of the area even before we’d arrived. This region, as with Stellenbosch, was famous for wine, but we were not going to experience that side of things on this trip, due to the alcohol restrictions. Our accommodation was a rather unusual place, set beautifully with the mountain as backdrop and a stunning scene from the outside tables as well. The L’ermitage Franschhoek Chateau was what I would call a group of holiday apartments, large bedroom and sitting area, with kitchenette and luxurious bathroom. There were all kinds of balconies and outside areas to sit which we used to advantage, while planning our activity for the following day. The place was even set out for weddings, with its own chapel and small reception hall. That evening there was a small wedding and reception, without alcohol but nonetheless enjoyed.

Entrance to L’ermitage Franschhoek Chateau.
Photo from L’Ermitage Villas, Franschhoek, looking out the window of the restaurant.
Empty streets of Franschhoek.

When it came right down to it, the town was mostly empty and with the wineries and museums closed we had to get a bit creative. We had seen something about a large organic farm a short drive from town and decided we would drive there and see if they were open. Again, we were lucky. They were open and due to small crowds, we had a private tour around the main gardens. It was their last day to be open due to lockdown measures and it was the most incredible place of that type we have ever visited. Babylonstoren** used their own organic produce to make nearly everything that was sold on the farm. There was a winery (closed, of course), a farm shop with dairy products, breads, meats, olives and many other things. The Scent Factory used their own herbs to make soaps, creams, perfume and other products. Also there were two restaurants, one that served large meals and one with smaller offerings, called The Greenhouse, our choice later in the afternoon. The lamb and olive pie, halloumi and salad sandwich and a shared dessert, were all homemade using their own organic ingredients.

It was the most relaxing, nourishing and calm place you can imagine and a perfect choice for our last full day in South Africa.

The Scent Factory was true to its name. The essential oils filled the air and when we left I felt like I’d had an aromatherapy treatment!

The last morning we were away smartly, though CapeTown was only an hour’s drive. By the time we filled the car with petrol, dropped off the rental and got to the airport several hours had elapsed. We had an hour or so to wait but we had eaten breakfast before departing L’ermitage, even though breakfast was being served in the airport lounge. I noted the food was all open and subject to any airborne germs that might be around, so I was glad I wasn’t hungry. I was pretty sure that uncovered food would not be the case for much longer. We could feel the tension everywhere.

So you see, the things we worry will happen to us, seldom do. And the things that we never see coming are the ones to bring us undone. Our bags were never lost. We were never sick, or seasick. I seldom had any problem finding food I could eat or the appropriate clothes from my suitcase. Even my pants fit perfectly to the very end.

Big challenges yield big memories…and they don’t get much bigger.

Thank you for traveling with me.

The return trip that takes up from here is here.

*townships are loosely equivalent to Indigenous communities in Australia, or Indian reservations in the USA

**Babylonstoren, so called because of the various languages in South Africa, having been settled by the French Huganots and the Dutch centuries before. And ‘storen’ is the word for ‘hill’ taken from one of those languages. The garden was designed by French architect Patrice Taravella.

Cook’s Edit: Pasta and Beans with Kale

06 Sunday Nov 2016

Posted by in Cook's Edit

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Original recipe: Pasta e Fagioli with Escarole

For most of this year I have been trying to imagine a ‘category’ in which to gather the occasional food posts I write. Recently, as I was making and photographing this delicious soup, and realising how many changes I had made to the original recipe, it suddenly occurred to me… Cook’s edit. Most of us can relate to this. I think I’m not alone in viewing recipes as ‘suggestions’ and feeling within my rights to make changes to suit my diet or my tastes, not to mention availability of ingredients. I’m reluctant to make changes to cake or pie recipes, however, because the quantities and ingredients are closely aligned with the chemical reaction that lifts them and makes the texture so important.

However.

With ‘Pasta e Fagioli with Escarole’, I was not precious. 

The original recipe sounded perfectly fine but for dietary and procurement reasons I needed to make changes. Though I know what it is, I have never even seen anything labeled ‘escarole’ here in our groceries, so that was not an option either. But I have a couple of Tuscan kale plants in my herb garden and those leaves substituted nicely. My resident soup connoisseur pronounced it ‘beautiful’. I’ll take that, all day long!

I wholeheartedly encourage you to view the original recipe above, and make your own changes if need be, or you can use my version and tweak it as well. Cook’s edit.

One of the things I like best about this soup is that you don’t need meat stock to make it, or any stock at all, since it creates its own with the herbs and vegetables. Often I want to make soup and have run out of my freezer supply of stock, and don’t have time to make any. Since I can’t eat onion or garlic, water as a soup base can be pretty plain, but not this one.

Pasta e Fagioli with Kale

2 x 400 tins cannellini beans – soaked (navy beans, fagioli etc)

1 Parmesan rind* (about 2 ounces), plus shaved Parmesan for serving

2 medium carrots, scrubbed, halved crosswise and then halved lengthwise

img_2283

topped with cheese, ready to serve

2 celery stalks, halved crosswise

6 sprigs of parsley

1 sprig rosemary

2 bay leaves

2 dried chillies

sea salt, freshly ground pepper

~3 T olive oil

1/2 a large fennel bulb chopped into smallish chunks, plus the stem pieces trimmed

1 x 400g tin organic tomatoes in juice, unsalted if possible

3/4 C dry white wine (yes, this is necessary)

~1/2 tsp dried chilli flakes

~1 tsp fennel seed

2oz dried pasta, I used good quality 100% spelt noodles

~ 8-10 leaves Tuscan kale – tear the leaves from the hardest part of the stem as it often doesn’t break down easily, and just use the leafy parts (as I said, the original recipe calls for escarole, which I never see in the grocery here, and Tuscan kale is growing in my garden so I used that)

I cannot eat beans of any kind without first soaking them. It aids in their digestion (and reduces the wind factor) so 24 hours before starting the soup, I put the two cans of rinsed beans into a jug with water to let them soak.

first ‘layer’ of flavour, cheese and herbs
second layer of flavour, veggies, chilies and parsley

To make the soup stock put the parmesan, carrots, celery, parsley, rosemary, bay leaves, chilies  and don’t forget to use the stem pieces from your fennel bulb, as well as a good pinch of sea salt and freshly ground pepper into a soup pot. Add just enough water to cover the veggies, about 6-8 cups, or thereabouts. Simmer, covered, on low for about an hour. Turn off the heat and let it sit for another hour.

img_2278

sautéed fennel, to replace onion

In a frying pan, place the oil and the fennel and sauté until there is a bit of colour on the fennel. Add the tomatoes and cook until most of the liquid is gone. Add the 3/4C wine and simmer until most of the liquid is gone again.

Remove the cheese rind, vegetables and herbs that have steeped in the stock. Add the fennel and tomato mixture to the stock, and also the drained, pre-soaked beans, and the kale, cut into pieces that will be easy to get onto a spoon. At this stage add the red chilli flakes and the fennel seed. The soup needs these seasonings to make up for the lack of garlic and onion, so even if you only use small amounts, you probably need to use at least a little, or something in place of them that you prefer. Taste the broth and if needed (which it probably will) another pinch of salt and a few more grinds of pepper. Simmer for another 30 minutes and taste again for salt and pepper.

Add whatever pasta you are using, or omit it if you don’t want to use it. Follow the package directions for time to cook, I cooked my spelt noodles for about 14-15 minutes. The pasta certainly made the soup less runny, but only slightly. If you wanted to you could simmer the soup with the lid off and reduce the liquid that way, or start with less water initially.

Serve the soup with freshly grated parmesan over it, fresh bread if you eat it, or nothing at all.

(* Parmesan rind – When I finish my Parmesan cheese I save the rinds in the cheese drawer in the fridge, then add them to soup for flavour. I’ve recently discovered a recipe called Parmesan broth, which I intend investigating as soon as I have some rinds saved again…which means eating a lot of parmesan cheese first—nasty job but someone has to do it)

the euphoria of bread and butter pudding…

07 Sunday Aug 2016

Posted by in Food, In My Kitchen

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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…

revised overnight sourdough, and the trouble with no bubbles

09 Thursday Jun 2016

Posted by in Food

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close up of the gorgeousness

close up of the gorgeousness

If you don’t eat bread or are not a fan of cooking posts, you will want to find something else to read. Several of my readers are interested in this process, which is why I’m writing it; I’m not planning to become a food blog. Normal service will resume soon:)

Okay, so I know our winters are mild compared to the North American winters where I grew up. However, we do get very cold nights in the minus range (-6, 21F) and certainly in the low single digits regularly. Having no central heat, this means our house gets cold overnight. And the follow on from this means that my overnight proving of bread method (adapted from Celia’s original method here) needed to be altered.

Here is Celia’s latest adaptation of her overnight method, which incorporates some helpful videos and also adapts the recipe to a higher hydration and uses some spelt flour, but is mostly wheat. She does also have a 100% spelt recipe here, however it uses her normal wheat starter, I believe and mine uses a spelt starter.

Here is my latest adaptation of Celia’s latest overnight method which incorporates more hydration, more whole meal spelt, but is 100% spelt including the starter. I have also changed the timings to allow for the cooler winter temperatures.

Latest loaf from Revised Winter Sourdough recipe

Latest loaf from Revised Winter Sourdough recipe

and the crumb…

crumb from Revised Winter Sourdough recipe

crumb from Revised Winter Sourdough recipe

Confused? Just use my latest method above for a higher hydration loaf that also incorporates more whole meal spelt, creating a more wholesome and flavourful loaf. If you get confused about technique, consult Celia’s blog, she is the expert and has great tutorials. I’m just learning, but my recipe does work, as you can see in the photos.

my secret weapon

my secret weapon

I also want to share with those who bake bread, my secret weapon for those cold nights, which produce quite varied results in the proving stage of the overnight dough. Yes, I have a secret weapon that does not destroy life, but helps it along, especially if you are a little ‘yeastie’ living in sourdough, or if you have cold feet, but that’s another post… I present to you the rice filled heat bag. Not novel, probably been used to help bread raise before too, but it was new to me for this purpose so I thought I would share it.
In the morning if I find the overnight low in the house has prevented the dough from proving to the expansion it does in warmer weather I put the heat bag in the microwave for a minute on high. I then place it under the covered bowl to gently boost the proving activity. Also, I have found that doing the same thing by sandwiching the heat bag between two baking trays with the shaped loaf on the top tray, gently speeds up the raising process that might otherwise be painfully slow if you are waiting to bake due to other pressing things. Just make sure you only heat the bag to the normal temperature you would place it on your skin so the heat is a gentle one. You don’t want the dough to over-prove.

My starter has never had bubbles until today. It was an odd thing and why I didn’t give up on it I don’t know. From my first loaf of bread, I moved through the various steps of bred making based on times because here was no evidence of activity, until after the overnight prove and then it looks like this…

Dough after overnight prove

Dough after overnight prove

I did some reading this week and an experienced baker in Leura NSW says the starter needs to be kept in a plastic container with the lid ajar so that it gets air. This was the first I had heard this, so two days ago I tried it. Today when I needed to feed the starter before going away for a week, there were bubbles!! If you have thoughts on this, please leave them below. As I said, I’m still learning!

Also, please have a read of my friend Francesca’s bread baking adventures here, and my friend Sandra’s extra handy post with a calculation table for various amounts of starter so you will waste less. This incredible community continues to grow and develop much like the starter Celia began it all with. We are all part of a valuable movement that cares about the quality of our food, and those with whom we share it.

Happy baking. xx

 

 

 

…connections, the gifts we give to ourselves

22 Sunday May 2016

Posted by in Food, Health, Life

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I have been thinking about connections.  Specifically, connections with people, as well as whatever else sustains us in our lives. These are the true gifts we give to ourselves.

What started my thought processes ticking over was a passage from a book I’m still reading called ‘Animal, Vegetable, Miracle: A Year of Food Life’ by Barbara Kingsolver. It is a rather lengthy quote, but has so much to offer.

“…cooking is good citizenship. It’s the only way to get serious about putting locally raised foods into your diet, which keeps farmlands healthy and grocery money in the neighborhood. Cooking and eating with children teaches them civility and practical skills they can use later on to save money and stay healthy, whatever may happen in their lifetimes to the gas-fueled food industry. Family time is at a premium for most of us, and legitimate competing interests can easily crowd out cooking. But if grabbing fast food is the only way to get the kids to their healthy fresh-air soccer practice on time, that’s an interesting call. Arterial-plaque specials that save minutes now can cost years, later on. Households that have lost the soul of cooking from their routines may not know what they’re missing: the song of a stir-fry sizzle, the small talk of clinking measuring spoons, the yeasty scent of rising dough, the painting of flavors onto a pizza before it slides into the oven. The choreography of many people working in one kitchen is, by itself, a certain definition of family, after people have made their separate ways home to be together. The nurturing arts are more than just icing on the cake, insofar as they influence survival. We have dealt to today’s kids the statistical hand of a shorter life expectancy than their parents, which would be us, the ones taking care of them. Our thrown-away food culture is the sole reason.”

Recently, against much hesitation, I took a leap of faith that I was hoping would yield the product of a bread I could eat again. My hesitation was about spending time trying to do something that seemed beyond my technical ability, and for perhaps not particularly brilliant results. After years of retraining myself not to eat bread and pasta, I wasn’t even certain my ‘care factor’ was strong enough to inspire the new efforts. I used to bake wheat bread many years ago, with only moderate success, and so I was not at all certain this was an endeavour to satisfy the rather high standards for my food. But back then I didn’t have the connection with blog friends and the internet to support me!

loaf three

loaf three

loaf one.

loaf one.

After years of not being able to digest wheat options in any form, except the tiniest amounts, bread I can eat is like a little miracle in my life. As the Universe often does, it conspired to support me. The author of a blog I follow has similar problems with similar foods to myself (FODMAPS, google it, it is not as uncommon as you would think). Through her diligence she developed a spelt sourdough starter, tested it, dried it and sent some to me, along with copious notes and instructions. After text messages and a phone call I got through making my first loaf.

It was very dense, not ideal, but it was edible.

The second loaf was more edible, as was the third. More research was required. More practice as well. The fourth loaf was a breakthrough, and the fifth loaf confirmed my skills. But after five weeks of trying, loaf six…was…brilliant (she said modestly).

gorgeous oven spring of loaf SIX!

gorgeous oven spring of loaf SIX!

I think I may be hooked. There is something so satisfying about taking flour, water and salt and making something to nourish one’s body, not to mention is a beautiful thing! It is the connection with our food that our culture has nearly lost. A few brave and dedicated souls, like Barbara Kingsolver and her family, Michael Pollan, the Slow Food Movement, and the entire population of France, are helping us see our way back again.

So, this gift of bread making is more than just a connection to my food. It is the practice of a lifelong source of joy—making something with my hands. And it is the return of another joy, eating, and sharing good bread. This, my friends is how we should give to ourselves. And this, my friends is my gift to you…the recipe 🙂

Perfect texture for sandwiches or toast
mixture of higher hydration dough–very soft and sticky
after proving overnight
the joy of toast and butter

More resources if you wish to make your own connection with sourdough bread making: figjamandlimecordial; pleasepasstherecipe; zebbakes

a few quiet days…the magic fix

04 Wednesday May 2016

Posted by in Food, Health

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As some of you know I have been labouring under the effects of a nasty virus for weeks. In retrospect we think it was the flu, not just a cold. Late in the third week I took a turn for the worse–again, and pushing up against the long weekend I decided to do something desperately different to see if I could recover. I stopped. Well, my version of stopping.

I had just done a major grocery shopping trip and so I had food for the duration of the long weekend. Fortunately it was food that didn’t take loads of prep time and energy. My husband cooked salmon on the barbeque (grill) and we had simple vegetables with it. I made the leftover salmon into a delicious Nicoise style salad the next day. I made chicken breasts in the slow cooker according to my cousin’s recipe and again, it was simple but delicious. An eggplant recipe from my friend Sandra’s blog was deceptively easy and tasty. I slow cooked a pork scotch fillet roast and more simple vegetables. And for a couple of days we had the leftover meats recycled into salads and with more simple vegetables.

carrots and zucchini sauteed with thyme and butter
Salmon Nicoise style salad
Sandra’s eggplant

And I rested in between.

I’m not good at doing nothing. Everyone who knows me understands that about me. So let me explain what I did not do, so you will appreciate that what I did do was quiet time. I didn’t sweep or mop the floors. I didn’t sweep the outside areas, or work in the garden as I had planned. I didn’t go for my daily walks or do anything but a few stretches on a couple of mornings, when I felt like it. The other mornings I did nothing.

And rested in between.

Quiet activities included, reading, minimal cooking, a bit of washing and ironing in a very leisurely manner, and folding. I discovered a new book by Marie Kondo called Sparking Joy: An Illustrated Masterclass on the Art of Organizing and Tidying Up . She teaches you how to fold things for more efficient use of space and care of garments. So at several intervals, with rests in between, I dragged things from shelves and folded. I had already done the onerous task of discarding, so the folding and stacking was a finishing stage. Minimal effort for maximum satisfaction.

And rest.

For ten minutes one morning I trimmed the bay tree of this year’s supply of beautiful leaves, so that I could dry them for the coming year of cooking.IMG_8100

And then rested.

Not surprisingly, I improved each day. The head finally cleared, the chest congestion began to go, and the ache in my back began to subside. I am nearly well again. The final bit of therapy was the making of Gluten Free Double Chocolate Chip Buckwheat cookies. If only I’d known that was the magic fix I would have tried that first 🙂

Chewy, gooey goodness, with Grandma's ice cream scoop in background

Chewy, gooey goodness, with Grandma’s ice cream scoop in background

a soup story

19 Tuesday Apr 2016

Posted by in Food, Travel

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Lately I have been thinking about soup. Incessantly.

Due to an inability to digest onion and a few other frequent additions to soups I’m only able to eat my own homemade soup, or, oddly, a few flavours of tinned soups that are made with no onion. A few years ago, when I must have been short of time or energy, and thinking back fondly on childhood memories, I succumbed to the ease of opening a tin of soup. It was so heavily salted and sweetened I could hardly believe it. Next time I am short of time or energy I will stir a spoonful of Miso paste into a cup of hot water and float a few pieces of ginger in it for a more healthful repast.

On our recent travels, the weather was quite cool, icy and nearly snowing one morning, and every temperature and season between, over the four weeks. After a long, hot summer here in Alice, I had been yearning for soup weather again. Now that I had it, I couldn’t take advantage of it.

Red bud trees in bloom looking over the Ohio River
Unopened Red Bud blossoms with daffodils below
Cold weather moving into Cincinnati.
After a spring rain

Mom talked about soup nearly every day we saw her, that being a staple part of supper provided where she lives. My desire grew, but not for the institutional variety which she ate.

A couple of weeks ago we arrived home from our international travels on Tuesday and the next day we flew to Adelaide so my husband could attend a conference and I could visit with our daughter. Completely uninvited, a nasty upper respiratory virus found me and stowed away in my bag!

My kingdom for a bowl of comforting, phlegm destroying Jewish penicillin—chicken soup!

Autumn leaves in Adelaide

Autumn leaves in Adelaide

Three days after arriving back from Adelaide my husband was off to Melbourne. (I know, he doesn’t understand about this retirement concept!) I camped on the sofa with tissues, paracetamol and vegetable soup I had made from stock, frozen a couple of months before. In a viral haze that was nearly delirium, my mind drifted to the recent weeks’ events, trying to process it all and make sense of it.

Perhaps there is no sense to it. Except soup.

The fluid situations in which we found ourselves varied widely from something reminding me of the watery substance consumed in death camps in Nazi Germany to that comforting, warm and life-affirming variety made by my grandmother. She used to send someone to The Handy Store for 10 cents worth of beef shin bone, and we knew soup, studded with ceci and garden vegetables was not far off!

You can tell any soup that is made with love.

There is the bright, nourishing one brimming with friendship, seasoned with affection and support. There is the wholesome, mellow version, redolent of warmth and love, steeped from lifelong relationships.

And, there are the other soups.

Some are nearly toxic. Some are weak and unsatisfying, or reheated from a tin, containing ingredients that look like they could support life, but have little capacity for sustenance, in actual fact. We would do well to avoid them when we can. But sometimes we can’t. Why do those awful recipes get handed down in families, along with the delicious ones?

It is grim to see a situation for what it truly is sometimes. Once seen, a body needs to rid itself of toxic energies and heal. We are nearly there again, back to the good soup; the one that comes from the sun on the hills and simmers quietly in the cool autumn air, consumed amongst the tinkle of laughter and satisfaction of a life well lived.IMG_7851

Here is my favourite all-season soup recipe in its original form below, with my alterations in brackets. Most of the time I make my own version of this, always with no onion or garlic but varying spices, herbs or vegetables for flavour or with whatever I have on hand.

Summer Minestrone

Prep: 20mins  Cooking: ~45mins

1 T extra virgin olive oil

4 C water, Vegetable stock OR my preference [2 C chicken stock with 2 C water for a very light soup, or pure chicken stock for a heartier version]

1/2 onion, chopped

1 clove garlic, thinly sliced

[instead of above onion and garlic, I use 1/2tsp chilli flakes and 1tsp fennel seed]

1 x 400g can cannellini beans, drained and rinsed

250g waxy potatoes, cut into small 1cm (1/2inch) cubes

2 small carrots, cut into 1cm pieces

[I often add a fennel bulb that has been cut into 1cm (1/2inch) dice and/or celery for extra flavour]

3 large Roma tomatoes, cut into 1cm pieces (the original recipe says to peel and seed them, but I cannot be bothered)

[in winter I use good quality organic tinned tomatoes with juice instead of the tasteless winter tomatoes, this makes a heartier soup for colder weather]

1/2C fresh corn kernels

1 shelled or frozen peas

250g stringless green beans, topped and cut into 3cm pieces

2 heaped T shredded basil

sea salt

Crusty  bread to serve

1. Combine oil and onion in a large pan and cook over moderate heat until soft, for about 5mins, stirring frequently. Stir in garlic and cook for a further 1min.

2. Add potatoes, carrots and fennel, if using, also salt and chilli flakes and fennel seed and cook covered for about 20-30 minutes, or until all vegetables are tender.

3. Add tomatoes, cannellini beans, corn, peas and green beans and cook a further 5 minutes. Taste for seasoning. Immediately before serving scatter with basil and drizzle with olive oil.

Buon appetito.

breakfast and more…

07 Thursday Apr 2016

Posted by in Food, Travel

≈ 21 Comments

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I’m sitting in Adelaide, Australia having the best coffee I’ve had since last time I was here. After the coffee purgatory of the United States, I’m deeply appreciative. It’s not just me either. We walked into the Qantas Club at the Sydney airport after our last trip and I overheard the couple next to us:

She: Oooo, smell that coffee.
He: REAL coffee instead of stewed swill.

Harsh.

We are used to European style coffee here and the American coffee is very different. So different, in fact, I have given up and order hot tea in most places. In fact, in Southern Ohio and most of the Midwest, I’m afraid it’s not just the coffee that is lacking in flavour and quality. I hasten to add, I’ve had fabulous food in New York and California and occasionally at certain restaurants in between. But it’s a big country and easy to be led astray, and hard to know the local secrets, so we’ve had more bad to average meals than good ones.

Our recent trip had the priority of looking after my Mother who is frail and mostly unable to get out for meals. So we set a plan to have two meals a day, breakfast and dinner, so that we could spend the middle of the day with Mum. When you are only eating two meals a day, you want them to be good, but we had the added problem of being bone tired at the end of every day and didn’t really feel like much foraging.

Breakfast was the meal we really focused on because Americans have been eating breakfast ‘out’ for many decades and generally they do it well. Images of the classic American diner may spring to mind! ‘Two eggs lookin’ atcha, hon?’ However, I’ve realised my requirements for a good breakfast have changed. I want vegetables. In Australia, a normal cooked breakfast includes at least tomatoes and mushrooms, generally spinach and often avocado. In the Midwest, it more likely includes biscuits (scones) with sausage gravy, eggs, bacon/sausage or hash brown potatoes–delicious at its best, stodgy at its worst, and definitely light on the veggie content.

Typical American country breakfast
Buffet at Frisch’s
Fried pickles and mushrooms, oh my

After less successful attempts, we found a couple of places that were acceptable, one that was superb. The acceptable place is a modern day diner type franchise called Frisch’s Big Boy. When I was a girl we went there for burgers and cole slaw, strawberry pie and even good fish sandwiches, and French fries. Frisch’s has updated their offering with a fruit/veg/breakfast bar. We even noted a staff member using a digital thermometer recording the temps of everything on a clipboard, which reassured us that care was being taken to keep the buffet from salmonella surprise! This isn’t always the case, as you might know, with buffets being blamed for all kinds of things. So the food was not organic or local, and much of it was overly sweetened, fried, and oh, that liquid plastic cheese in the pump compartment! But I managed to put together a salad of raw broccoli, green peppers, pineapple and some cottage cheese and a bit of blue cheese dressing each time we visited. A few times I also had sausage and scrambled egg to see me through until dinner, some eight hours hence.

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My salad bar breakfast

The real favourite breakfast was found at The Original Pancake House. They create a six egg veggie omelette, bacon and gluten free pancakes that made me so happy. Of course I could not even eat half an omelette that size, so my husband shared it with me. For all the hype that eating gluten free gets in California, Southern Ohio has not embraced the trend. After reading a few menus and online descriptions we gather that the requirements for serving gluten free might be a bit stringent there making those serving gf products prepare them in areas exclusively set aside. This might be helpful for Coeliacs but for people like me who are just gluten intolerant it meant very few options, as most restaurants can’t spare that kind of dedicated space. So the gf pancakes at the Original Pancake house were a treat several times during our three week visit.

Veggie omelette and bacon at Original Pancake House
Huge aquarium in background at The Original Pancake House
For those who want to plan lunch while eating breakfast

Breakfast was a bit of an adventure many days. Our second morning at Frisch’s a lady being seated next to us loudly shared with the waitress that she had brought her own coffee because their coffee was so ‘awful’ (her word, but I silently agreed with her). On another occasion the fellow being seated behind us ordered a ‘cherry coke’ for breakfast. As if coke isn’t sweet enough, cherry syrup is added to it for a cough syrup type flavour. I’m not judging (OK, perhaps a little) that’s just what the taste is like. Vanilla Coke is also popular in that category. I used to have a friend who drank Pepsi instead of coffee each morning, pointing out to me that it was caffeinated and sweet like coffee, to which I could but agree.

Our first morning eating the hotel breakfast a man and his son came in and the hostess asked if he was with the group eating in the conference area, to which he answered ‘Yes, but that food looks gross, can we eat here in the restaurant?’ Of course he was accommodated but we couldn’t help but think what a rude example the man was setting for his young son. To each his own, I guess.

The most memorable breakfast, however, had nothing to do with the food. One morning we were too tired to hunt-and-gather for breakfast, so we ate at the hotel. Early in the process while my husband was at the breakfast bar, I saw out of the corner of my eye, a man from a nearby table come rushing to the booth in front of me, toward another man standing, but bent over–choking! The younger man started performing the Heimlich manoeuvre on the older man who was the one choking. It was not a quick fix, carrying on for at least a minute or two. A woman who we later thought must have had some medical experience came over and was encouraging and coaching the younger man to keep at it. Most of the rest of us would have not been big enough or strong enough to have done the job. Eventually the older man expelled the offending food, and was able to catch his breath. Meanwhile, the waitress had phoned paramedics who showed up only about six or seven minutes after the event. They spoke with the older man and apparently the older man had had some previous issues with choking. The paramedic suggested perhaps he might need to slow down and chew longer, to which the older man responded: ‘I was trying to eat my breakfast before it got cold!’ It very nearly was not all that was cold! Several people went over to the young man to shake his hand and praise him for his fast work. It was a good reminder that for all our divergent tastes, good people are still around us.

playing with my food

25 Thursday Feb 2016

Posted by in Food

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The heat of summer has left me with little appetite for heavy food. I decided to return to a mostly vegetable diet for a few weeks and I’ve enjoyed it. I’m channeling my heritage with these ‘recipes’ that are not terribly precise, so please forgive me!

Carrot and zucchini sauté with fresh thyme, salt and pepper

Carrot and zucchini sauté with fresh thyme, salt and pepper

I nearly always have carrots in the fridge, and in late summer zucchini as well. One evening I decided to make gluten free chicken schnitzel and was searching my mental recipe file for a simple vegetable to have with it. I came up with the idea of using my mandolin to cut fat sticks of zucchini, and small sticks of carrot and sauté them in a little ghee, with some fresh thyme, salt and pepper. So, no recipe really, just an idea and method. You need to cut the carrot pieces about a quarter of the thickness of the zucchini pieces so that they both are finished cooking at the same time. It was a great success, much more flavourful than you would think, and I’ve repeated it several times since.

Another recent vegetable discovery was a cauliflower recipe. I really only used the idea from the original I saw online because I changed the method and ingredients sufficiently that they are significantly different.

Baked Cauli Nuggets
Serve with ketchup, marinara sauce or plain
Cauli nuggets reheated for breakfast

Cauliflower Nuggets

1 small head cauliflower

1-2 eggs (I used only one large egg)

1/4 C gluten free bread crumbs (but regular ones would work, I’m sure)

1 tsp dried oregano

dash of garlic powder (or omit)

1/2 tsp sea salt

3/4 C shredded tasty cheese

3/4 C shredded mozzarella cheese

Preheat oven to 200C (400 F)

Line a baking sheet with non-stick paper

Cut the florets off the main cauliflower stem. Don’t use the large stem as it develops a strong taste. Steam or microwave them until they are fork tender. Drain. Using a potato masher, or a fork, mash the cauliflower but don’t make it into mush. Line a colander with paper towels and place the mash in it, cover with more towelling and squeeze out excess moisture.

Place into large bowl and add the remaining ingredients. Mix together thoroughly. If it seems dry add the second egg, if it seems wet, add a few more crumbs. The mixture should hold when pressed together but not be soggy.

Shape the mixture into tablespoon sized balls and place on the baking sheet. Bake for around 18-20 minutes, depending on your oven and how brown you like them.

Serve as they are for a side vegetable, or as a snack with ketchup or marinara sauce. I also found them delicious, reheated on both sides for breakfast, alongside other veggies or eggs.

Finally, here is a Nigella idea that I’m pretty sure she stole from my Grandma…

Roasted potatoes with roasted pepper pieces

Roasted potatoes with roasted pepper pieces

Roasted baby peppers with a mild heat factor

Roasted baby peppers with a mild heat factor

Roasted Potatoes with Peppers

Ingredients:

Roasting potatoes, jar of roasted peppers, olive oil, salt

Preheat oven to 185C (360F)

Peel and dice potatoes to a smaller than normal dice, about 15mm (3/4″)

Toss potato pieces with olive oil and place on a baking sheet. (I’m lazy so I use non-stick paper on my baking sheet)

Meanwhile chop some roasted peppers from a jar (this is easy summer cooking, people, and besides if you can find these little pepperdew or pepperocini roasted peppers that have a mild heat to them, they are delicious)

Bake for about 25-30 minutes or until lightly golden. Remove from oven, salt and add roasted pepper pieces

I realise these are loose interpretations of recipes, so if you have questions, fire away!

 

cast iron Christmas, In My Kitchen-December

06 Sunday Dec 2015

Posted by in In My Kitchen

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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.