Home-Ecky Becky

Canberra

2009-04-12T19:07:00.002+10:00

Apple and blackberry crumble

2009-04-12T18:51:00.002+10:00

A crisp in the US is a crumble in Australia.

3 cups sliced apples

1 cup frozen blackberries

2/3 cup brown sugar

1/2 cup plain wholemeal flour

1/2 cup oats

1/2 cup walnuts

80 g softened butter

1 teaspoon cinnamon

Preheat oven to 190 ºC. Arrange fruit in 18 x 28 cm pan. Mix remaining ingredients and sprinkle over fruit. Bake 30 minutes. Serve with ice cream, custard, yogurt or cream.

Melange

2009-03-29T21:31:00.002+11:00

I've just discovered that the kids enjoy a meal of beans stewed with vegies and served atop brown rice. So I thought I'd ruin this fantastic new trend and make it so often that they get sick of it ;). But really... how inexpensive and healthy is it to fry onion and garlic, chop sundry vegetables (tonight, yellow zucchini, red capsicum and a few stray mushrooms), drain a can of beans, top with a can of chopped toms, then cook all together with extra virgin olive oil for 30 minutes or so while the brown rice cooks?? Delish served with feta cheese on top, and a baby rocket - cherry tom - cuke salad.

Frittata

2009-03-29T21:25:00.002+11:00

Dear Son (DS) cooked frittata from The Australian Women's Weekly Kids in the Kitchen. Steamed potatoes and sweet potatoes are layered with baby rocket and basil, and then an eggy-milky-cheesy slurry is poured over, and then the frittata is baked. The end result is almost identical to the cookbook picture!!! Even though it was pretty to look at I felt it was too bland. Perhaps we should try a stronger cheese next time, or more herbs.

Tiny toms from Choko Bai Jo

2009-03-24T20:58:00.005+11:00

It's so important for me to be able to buy good quality fruits and vegetables. But I also need to have a grocery trolley when I buy them! Is this too much to ask?

I gave up on produce from Woolies and Coles grocery stores a decade ago. Our local IGA has pretty good fruit & veg in a pinch. But ideally I've been going every Friday to Wiffens at the Fyshwick Markets. Superb quality, grocery trolleys and Italian gentlemen who carry boxes out to your car (my devotion was so great that Dear Husband began to get jealous of my fruiterer).

But then the idea of local food appealed more to me in this age of climate change. We live very near the Capital Region Farmers Market. I gave it a go. Really I did. I bought some beautiful things. But aside from the dreadful traffic -- aside from the ridiculous hour you need to arrive on a Saturday morning -- aside from the fact that I have to divide the family into fruit gatherers and vegetable gatherers -- aside from the weekend throngs -- I couldn't bear it because I wanted a GROCERY TROLLEY so I could see all my leeks and beans and apples and zucchini and lettuce laid out in a row so I could say, yeah, that's the right amount. INSTEAD I'm schmucking around with green anti-plastic bags (I hate that green) forgetting what I've bought and wanting to buy LESS because it's already heavy and giving me a backache and feeling like I'm dropping money because I have to get it out so often (beans here, greens there).

Finally: almost a solution. Choko Bai Jo is a farmers outlet which is open during the week from 2 pm to 7 pm and thus I can avoid the weekend shoppers and to pay once. They sell their own produce plus other local produce, often picked that day. Including, for example, the pictured yellow grape tomatoes which were garden-delicious for dinner tonight (served with green beans, pesto pasta, and little patties of mince, carrot and spring onion).

Fatal flaw: no ^#$$#$#$ grocery trolleys. What is with these people!!! I will buy more if you let me push it around with a grocery trolley!

Explosions and fires

2009-03-24T20:49:00.004+11:00

Today my husband learned that some experimental seeds he sent to a colleague were on a Fed Ex plane that crashed at Narita Airport.

And this is the view out my kitchen window. The neighbour's car mysteriously caught on fire yesterday. Thank goodness no-one was hurt. We were home but at the back of the house, far from the fire. I didn't consciously smell any smoke but I kept thinking I might have left the burner on under dinner accidentally. I came out to the kitchen to check... and still didn't notice the wall of flames out my kitchen window until someone knocked on my front door and told me to get out of the house NOW! The kids and I ran out and watched horrified as it threatened both nearby houses ... but not even the trees burned. Kind and confident firefighters soon arrived and put the whole thing out in two minutes.

Do fires come in threes?!

Bermagui: the landscape

2009-03-22T22:16:00.003+11:00

Bermagui: the food

2009-03-22T21:46:00.007+11:00

We visited Bermagui this weekend.

Here's the view as we ate dinner at the Bermagui Beach Hotel Bistro. This is a traditional pub with reasonably priced family meals, with something for everyone on the menu (including a seafood platter, Dad!).

A coffee at Lamont's Lounge.

Smoked albacore from the Bermagui Smokehouse for lunch.

And finally: gelato from Cool-o-cream Gelati... though I prefer to call it the Bermagui Gelati Clinic due to its therapeutic qualities. 'Gelati' is spray-painted over 'veterinary' clinic which is a little off-putting until you see all the flavours... and then you forget everything when you taste it! This gelato is made with unusual ingredients donated by generous locals who share the extra bounty from their gardens.

We chose coffee, caramel cream, cherry guava and peach. Other favourites are kumquat, lemon, coconut, watermelon and yogurt. Next time I resolve to try green apple, red grape, and kefir (fermeted Tibetan milk with astonishing and varied health promoting effects, apparently).

Essential for lime addicts

2009-03-22T21:35:00.004+11:00

In the morning I drink a big glass of water with the juice from half a lemon or lime. Thank you to Margot for this birthday present which immediately became essential. It squeezes almost all the juice out quickly and easily... and the seeds stay behind.

While less essential, the mini lime green cutting board Makes Me Happy.

4 o'clock brown rice

2009-03-17T19:27:00.004+11:00

I love brown rice... but I don't think I will ever be able to move from part-time to full-time work because the best way to make it is to start soaking it at 4 o'clock. After an hour, I turn the rice cooker on and it's ready by 6 o'clock.

Perhaps I'd need to start working full time to have an excuse (and the funds!) to buy a Zojirushi rice cooker. Some of their models have settings for brown rice and whole grains (quinoa porridge? spelt pilaf?) as well as a delay timer so that the rice is cooked at a specific time (the next morning or when you get home in the evening). All but one of the models has a melody signal too... what's not to love... though a melody signal sounds like something you might grow to hate depending on the melody.

Tonight the brown rice was served with Mexican kidney beans, roasted sweet potatoes and yogurt.

4 o'clock soup

2009-03-16T21:13:00.003+11:00

At that grim after-school hour when it appears that you have nothing for dinner, unite 1-1/2 cups red lentils, chicken stock, and all lonely vegetables wandering lost in your refrigerator. Cook until vegetables socialise. Serve in a flower bowl which Makes You Happy, with a salad nearby.

3 burgers + 1 tofu burger + buns

2009-03-16T20:59:00.005+11:00

Ever since the day before Year 1, my daughter has been a vegetarian. I admire her perseverance... I'm a wannabe vegetarian but the lure of the hamburger on the BBQ is too tempting for me. Pictured is a typical compromise. When I grill hamburgers I also cook Soyco tofu which comes in a range of marinades (Japanese, Malaysian peanut satay, Chinese honey soy, Thai).

If we have meat for a meal, she can choose to substitute with this tofu or a tin of beans. And she does -- cheerfully, even if the beans are dumped cold and unceremoniously onto her plate. She inspires us to eat more vegetarian meals.

My mother's carrot cake

2009-03-16T19:59:00.005+11:00

My mother travels the world to test carrot cakes. But this recipe is her favourite -- and mine at this time of year.

2 cups sugar
1-1/2 cups oil
4 eggs
2 cups plain flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons cinnamon
2 cups grated raw carrot
1/2 cup walnuts
1 cup coconut
1 440 g (13-1/2 ounces) tin crushed pineapple, undrained

Grease pan. My mother uses a 10x14 inch (25x35 cm) pan. If you use the more common 9x13 inch (22.5x32.5 cm) pan, make 6 regular sized muffins as well (the cake will not cook sufficiently in the centre if you use all the batter in a 9x13 inch pan).

Preheat oven to 180 °C (350 °F). Mix sugar, oil and eggs well. Sift dry ingredients. Mix with egg mixture. Add carrots, nuts, coconut and pineapple. Bake for 45 minutes.

Ice with cream cheese 'frosting': 250 g (8 ounces) cream cheese, 1 tablespoon milk, 1 teaspoon vanilla, and 4 cups icing sugar.

Perfect for a birthday cake. Though perhaps not as memorable as my cake 38 years ago.

Crocodiles, clouds and chocolate pudding fruit

2009-03-10T23:37:00.005+11:00

Can you guess where I am?

Salmon on the BBQ

2009-03-09T21:03:00.004+11:00

This was the first time I tried to BBQ salmon steaks on my (oh dear do I keep mentioning it?) Weber BBQ (oh but I love it).

Let me count more ways I love it... remember all those times you've tried to grill fish and when you flip it over the fish sticks to the grill and you end with a ragged fishy mess? Welcome to my new world. Whack the fish on the super-hot W*e*b*e*r B*B*Q ... reduce burners from high to medium... walk inside to take the roast potatoes out of the oven... walk outside full of apprehension... open the cover and easy-squeesy flip the salmon over. No sticking. Photogenic BBQ stripes. Cook a few more minutes then place triumphantly on dining table.

Podfood brekky

2009-03-09T20:51:00.002+11:00

Podfood is my favourite place to go for breakfast. The restaurant is in an old cottage in beautiful gardens, with a nursery next door with original art to browse. The food is divine. This Sunday morning was not disappointing -- though I found it very expensive ($17 a breakfast, plus a 10% surcharge for Sunday). The Persian fetta made me forget the price though. And aren't the tomatoes impossibly perfect. My choice: pan seared field mushrooms on toast with slow roasted tomato and Yarra Valley Persian fetta

Poached free range eggs with slow roasted tomato, crisped bacon and wilted baby spinach on toast

French toast with maple syrup, poached berries and raspberry yoghurt

Lentil and sweet potato samosas

2009-03-09T20:34:00.005+11:00

These vegetarian samosas are adapted from an excellent puff pastry cookbook which the folks at Pampas kindly sent me. As with most Indian food, start by frying a finely chopped onion and a garlic clove. Then add 1 tablespoon curry paste, juice of half a lemon, a drained can of lentils and 300 g cooked vegetables -- here boiled cubes of sweet potatoes, though leftover roast potatoes or peas work well too.

At this stage you need an eight-year-old daughter with an enthusiasm for cooking (otherwise you can do the next part yourself). Cut thawed puff pastry squares into fourths, then enclose a decent spoonful of the filling in whatever envelope fold you desire (if you are using the eight-year-old option, the origami folding that ensues may be more creative than the standard triangle favoured by staid middle-aged cooks). Brush with egg and milk wash, and bake for 15 to 20 minutes at 220oC. Delicious to nibble while watching Edward Scissorhands.

Hakubaku noodles

2009-03-09T20:23:00.003+11:00

The bottle of wasabi noodle sauce said enjoy with hakubaku noodles... and we did! The noodle sauce is not too spicy ... only a mild horseradish flavour with the consistency of thinned mayonnaise.

This was a quick room-temperature dish to make on a hot summer evening. I boiled the green tea noodles, then added chopped vegies (capsicum, cucumber, spring onions), tofu (marinated Japanese flavour) and about 1/3 of the bottle of noodle sauce. Served with fresh beets topped with chopped spring onions to be fancy.

Pesto & plums

2009-03-02T22:07:00.005+11:00

My dear daughter (DD) has been very interested in cooking lately. She especially enjoys improvising a 'salad of the imagination'!

Tonight we made pesto pasta together. For salads, DD chose a simple bowl of chopped fresh vegies and a side of mashed avocado, tomatoes, lemon juice and yogurt.

Dessert was my department. I made a cake using old-fashioned tart plums from our neighbour's tree. The recipe was adapted from Donna Hay's Off the Shelf, one of my favourite cookbooks. Beat 125 g butter, 1 cup sugar and 1 teaspoon vanilla until light and creamy. Add 2 eggs and beat well, then stir in 1-1/2 cups self-raising flour. Spoon into an oiled and baking-paper-lined 24 cm round cake tin. Top with halved plums. Bake for 45 to 50 minutes at 160 °C (or 1 hour for a 22 cm cake tin).

Majura Primary School Kitchen Garden

2009-03-02T20:20:00.003+11:00

At the end of 2008 I was thrilled to learn that my kids' school won funding to become the demonstration school in the ACT for the Stephanie Alexander Kitchen Garden Program.

Majura Primary School will build a teaching kitchen and will expand the existing environment courtyard into an even larger kitchen garden. Each fortnight all children in years 3 to 6 will spend 1 hour gardening and 1-1/2 hours cooking and sharing a meal using ingredients from the garden, guided by a kitchen specialist and a garden specialist. The aim of this program is expressed on the foundation's website:

The creation and care of a Kitchen Garden teaches children about the natural world, about its beauty and how to care for it, how best to use the resources we have, and an appreciation for how easy it is to bring joy and wellbeing into one’s life through growing, harvesting, preparing and sharing fresh, seasonal produce.

I'm looking forward to volunteering my time to help kids cook (and eat!) in the kitchen. What a positive and joyful experience to share with children.

If you live in Canberra you can get involved as well -- even if you don't have children at Majura! Check out the website for more information or call the school, 6205 5711.

Happy 80th birthday to Auntie Jo!

2009-03-02T20:02:00.004+11:00

On Sunday it was my Auntie Jo's 80th birthday. We had a lunch with the extended family. Jo is a kind and generous woman and it is a pleasure to spoil her on her birthday. She told me that it was the best day of her life -- except for when her children were born, she quickly added.

Cousin Sue and I were in charge of salads. She made a delicious lettuce salad with roast pumpkin and mushrooms, and a Greek salad with a macadamia nut dressing.

I made three salads:

Red capsicum, eggplant and zucchinis roasted on the Weber BBQ then marinated in a balsamic vinaigrette (5 tablespoons olive oil, 2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar, garlic) and served atop baby rocket.

A bean salad in a mustardy lemon vinaigrette (90 mL fresh lemon juice, 180 mL olive oil, a good spoonful of French mustard). To three cans of beans, I added corn, celery, red capsicum and red onions for crunch.

Pasta tossed with pesto and topped with cherry tomatoes, served at room temperature.

Cousin Margaret brought cold cuts: chicken, ham, lamb. Others made boiled potatoes and sliced sourdough bread. Check out the spread!

DD cooks

2009-02-25T20:41:00.003+11:00

Tonight, dear daughter (DD) cooked potato omelette from leftover roast potatoes, broccoli, eggs and basil (with some guidance from me). Cooked on low heat on the stovetop, then finished off under the griller with cheese sprinkled on top in the last moments. She insisted that all the ingredients should be in little bowls before starting to cook, 'just like Jamie Oliver and Nigella'. I think I've found my new food stylist... didn't she arrange those vegies beautifully?

Butterflied leg of lamb

2009-02-21T22:31:00.006+11:00

I've always wanted to try the recipe for butterflied leg of lamb from the cookbook which came with my Weber gas BBQ. We had 12 for dinner tonight, so why not experiment?! It turned out well, even with the gas running out halfway through cooking and dear husband (DH) making a quick trip to get another gas bottle.

I bought a leg of lamb from the butcher, who seemed crestfallen when I didn't want to try one of his own marinades. Overcoming his disappointment he chose a leg of lamb, cut out the bone and flattened it so that the meat was a 5 cm thick rectangle, about 40 cm by 20 cm. At home I marinated the meat in 1/2 c red wine, 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil, 3 crushed garlic cloves, 1 teaspoon cumin, 1 tablespoon chopped rosemary and the juice of 1/2 lemon.

The meat was then cooked using the 'indirect' method. The BBQ is preheated on high for 10 minutes, and the lamb is seared (skin side up) for 3 minutes. Then the burner under the lamb is turned off, and the side burners are turned down to medium, and then the lamb cooks (without turning) for 35 to 45 minutes with the lid down.

The result is simply delicious, sliced thinly and served with roast potatoes. I also made my current favourite salad: grilled eggplant and capsicum, tossed with a balsamic vinaigrette and topped with bocconcini and basil. To cut the richness I often serve this salad on top of greens -- tonight, baby beet greens.

Smoothie after school

2009-02-21T22:17:00.004+11:00

After-school smoothie with thumbs-up from DS (dear son), DD (dear daughter), and DSF (dear son's friend). Yogurt, bananas, frozen raspberries, ice cream and a titch of milk whizzed in the MagiMix.

My new Dutch scraper-outer-thingie (een flessenlikker! no, really!) is handy for scraping out the last precious bits of yogurt... or pesto... or jam. Thank you, Linda!

One year later

2009-02-19T17:53:00.002+11:00

One year later, and my resolutions remain on my blog and on my file cabinet... but without any blog entries in between!
New motivation has appeared: my childrens' school has been funded to be the demonstration school for the Stephanie Alexander Kitchen Garden Program. I return with a renewed zest for food, for blogging, for community.
And let's hope motivation magically appears to start exercising again as well.

New Year's Resolutions

2008-01-05T18:02:00.000+11:00

What I did this weekend

2007-08-12T19:05:00.000+10:00

It was DH's birthday this weekend. We went away to the South coast (2-1/2 hours from home) for a weekend with friends in my favourite holiday house we have ever rented. Wow. How much do you love the slide off the verandah? The colour of the ocean slid from olive green to turquoise to deep midnight blue. Bee-you-ta-full.

Peter and Linda's birthday cake

2007-08-12T18:55:00.001+10:00

250 g butter
1 cup sugar
3 eggs
1/2 cup milk
1 teaspoon vanilla
50 g cocoa
70 g ground almonds
150 g self-raising flour

Preheat oven to 180C. Line 23 cm pan with baking paper. Beat butter and sugar. Add eggs/milk/vanilla. In separate bowl mix dry ingredients (cocoa/almonds/flour) and then stir into wet to combine. Bake 35-45 minutes.

Decadent icing: melt 150 ml cream and 200g dark chocolate in a saucepan over very low heat. Allow to cool until thick (I usually put in the freezer and stir every couple of minutes to check) then ice the cake.

Oh man oh man oh man. The icing hardens into pure essence of chocolate. So delicious as to be unphotographable.

Beautiful borscht

2007-07-13T20:41:00.000+10:00

Sigh, the borscht didn't live up to its name. I've been cooking a lot out of the CSIRO Well-Being Diet Cookbook, and this is the first recipe which isn't drop-dead gorgeously delicious. It called for 1/2 cup lemon juice. Even as I squeezed, I thought 'no way'. I dutifully added it nonetheless - due to my deep need for order in the universe and in recipes - but regretted it upon tasting. Too tart. Only barely fixed by adding yogurt and extra virgin olive oil.

Mmmm pancakes

2007-07-13T20:39:00.000+10:00

For breakfast: buttermilk pancakes topped with yogurt and canned peaches in mango juice. And a titch of maple syrup.

2007-07-09T21:18:00.000+10:00

Lamb chops.

Boiled kipfler potatoes*.

Spinach and mushrooms**.

*I've always wanted to try these long skinny German potatoes, typically described as yellow and waxy. They were OK (but hey I'm not a potato person). Glad they weren't as expensive as they usually are.

**The star of the show. 500 g sliced mushrooms fried in olive oil with 2 thinly sliced garlic cloves. Right before serving, I added about 300 g English spinach and cooked briefly. Served with black pepper and extra virgin olive oil.

Bronte beach in Sydney

2007-07-09T21:15:00.001+10:00

A couple of weekends ago we stayed at Bronte beach in Sydney. Very beautiful. And a fantastic choice of 6 or 7 non-touristy cafes for breakfast.

After slow cooking....

2007-07-09T21:12:00.000+10:00

This is what the beans looked like after slow cooking. I added some sauteed fennel and red capsicum at the end.

Tuscan beans

2007-06-25T14:22:00.000+10:00

I soaked 2-1/2 cups of white beans in plenty of water overnight. Into the slow cooker they go, along with (yes!) a whole head of garlic, an onion, a bay leaf, two chicken stock cubes, two rosemary sprigs and 10 cups boiling water (from the jug). Cook 4-6 hours on high.

I will serve these tonight, drizzled with lots of extra virgin olive oil. On the side: fresh bread and sauteed fennel and red capsicum.

Pear tartlets

2007-06-24T18:13:00.001+10:00

Tartlets made from

excess puff pastry (from meat pies)
pears poached in the lonely last drops of a bottle of champagne. The pink blush is from a few raspberries added to the poaching liquid
the dregs of vanilla yogurt

Turned out well except mascarpone cheese would have been better than the too-wet yogurt.

Meat pies

2007-06-24T18:05:00.000+10:00

Meat pies (made of lamb mince and peas) in ramekins with puff pastry tops. Served with green beans and warm beets tossed with a butter and a slurp of orange juice. I am the sole warm-beet-eater in my family. DH finds the temperature shocking. He believes beetroot should only be cold on hamburgers. Did I mention he's Australian?

Pretty porridge

2007-06-24T18:04:00.000+10:00

My morning porridge tarted up with leftover sour cherry and raspberry sauce from previous night's dinner.

Leftovers from Indian lunch

2007-06-24T17:43:00.000+10:00

In the hustle and bustle of 12 people for lunch, I forgot to take a picture. Here are the leftovers from the next day. Clockwise, starting from the top, we have:

Peter Singer's dal
Salad of chopped tomatoes, red onions and coriander with cumin and a splash of lemon juice
Raita (yogurt with cucumber and mint)
Potatoes, carrots and spinach in a sauce made of spices, almonds and red capsicums whizzed in the food processor

On rice because that's nice.

Peter Singer's Dal Recipe

2007-06-24T17:31:00.000+10:00

DH has added this dish to his repertoire. I think the secret is the Agra lamb and coconut curry powder which I bought from Mudgeeraba Spices and Curry Blends when they were in Canberra for Floriade. It's a large (300g) jar of dried spices which lasts a LONG time ... only 1-2 tablespoons per curry.

Ingredients:
1 tablespoon oil
2 cloves garlic, crushed
1 medium onion, diced
1-2 tablespoons curry powder
salt, to taste
1 cup small red lentils
3 cups water
2-3 bay leaves
1 cinnamon stick
400 g can of tomatoes
1/4 cup coconut cream or milk
2 tablespoons lemon juice

Method:
In a large saucepan, cook onions in oil. Add curry powder, garlic and salt and cook for a minute. Add lentils and stir for another minute before adding water, bay leaves and cinnamon. Bring to boil, then turn heat down very low and simmer for 20-45 minutes, stirring occasionally. When lentils have softened, add tomatoes and simmer for a further 10 minutes. Stir through lemon juice and coconut cream/milk.

Serve over rice with lime pickle and chutney.

Cooking beans in advance

2007-06-15T20:39:00.000+10:00

Tomorrow we're having friends for lunch. Dear Husband (DH) wants to make a Peter Singer save-the-planet dal. I'm feeling adventurous so am making lots of Indian side dishes. This afternoon I made raita and green beans. I love this recipe for green beans because it calls for 10 cloves of garlic and even more ginger!

I don't usually add chili to my Indian food these days. My kids are fine with the other spices usually and then the adults can add chili later.

More pictures tomorrow as I cook. I'm hoping to make naan. The dough (made of yogurt, milk and flour) will be made in the bread machine. They will be baked in a very hot oven on a pizza stone.

Australian craft and food blogs

2007-06-15T20:32:00.000+10:00

Check out these fantastic craft and food blogs written up in the recent Sunday Life.

Six and a Half Stitches
Poppalina
Nourish Me
Stone Soup
OneGirl Designworks
Cook (Almost) Anything At Least Once
Elegant Sufficiency

Tempeh

2007-06-15T20:25:00.000+10:00

Tempeh doesn't do much for me -- mostly due to the texture. I only like it when it's been fried until crispy, as I did in the first step of this stir fry. Then I removed the tempeh, stir-fried the vegies (sugar snap peas, carrots and zucchini) and then returned the tempeh to the wok.

Rissoles

2007-06-15T20:20:00.000+10:00

The men-folk in my family love rissoles (basically big meatballs). Served with leftover tomato sauce, baked sweet potato fries and steamed broccoli.

Quick vegie soup

2007-06-11T18:00:00.000+10:00

This was a clean out the fridge special: big chunks of vegies (zucchini, carrots, celery and cabbage) cooked in chicken stock with chickpeas and a lot of garlic and extra virgin olive oil.

Lemon and rosemary tofu

2007-06-11T17:54:00.000+10:00

This tofu was marinated in rosemary, olive oil and lemon juice and then baked with sweet potato fries. On the side were steamed sugar snap peas and sauteed mushrooms (to which I added extra tofu marinade at the end).

The leftovers were very good the next day for lunch. I topped baby spinach leaves with tofu and sweet potatoes and served with a dollop of tzatziki.

Lunch in Tasmania

2007-06-11T17:50:00.000+10:00

A lovely lunch in Tasmania. The soup was spinach and potato, garnished with feta and parsley. The carrot cake was topped with very sweet candied carrot strips which I thought was an nice touch.

Vegetables at Salamanca markets

2007-06-11T17:43:00.000+10:00

I went to Tasmania about a month ago and photographed these gorgeous vegetables at the Salamanca markets. Tasmania is an island state south of mainland Australia renowned for its natural beauty.

PB&J campaign

2007-06-08T20:18:00.000+10:00

I'm intrigued by the PB&J campaign. PB&J is the famous American peanut butter and jelly sandwich (substitute "jam" for "jelly", my Australian friends). Check out their website to learn how:

A PB&J will slow global warming.
A PB&J will also save water.
A PB&J will save land.

I find the environmental arguments for vegetarianism the most persuasive.

Oatmeal cookies

2007-06-08T19:55:00.000+10:00

My interpretation of the Betty Crocker classic. The oats are meant to be quick oats but I usually replace up to half with an old-fashioned rolled grain. Today I used 2 cups quick oats and 1 cup rolled barley. For dried fruit I included currants and chopped figs. For the nuts/seeds I used sunflower and pumpkin seeds so that I could include these in the kids' lunchboxes (nuts aren't allowed).

1/2 cup white sugar

1/2 cup brown sugar

250 g butter

2 eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla

2 cups flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

3 cups rolled oats (at least half quick-cooking)

1 cup dried fruit

1 cup nuts or seeds

Preheat oven to 190C. Beat butter and sugars together well then mix in eggs and vanilla. In separate bowl, stir flour with baking soda, cinnamon, baking powder and salt. Add this flour mixture to the butter mixture alternately with the oats. Finally add dried fruit and nuts/seeds. Drop by teaspoonfuls onto baking sheets and bake for 8-9 minutes.

Tofu and daikon

2007-06-07T20:57:00.000+10:00

I'm realising I've gone a little crazy in the brown rice and stir-fried greens department this week. It's what I'm hungry for, plus at the farmer's market I found so many beautiful greens last weekend.

I also found some small daikon radishes, only 2-3 cm in diameter. The big honking ones frighten me: I imagine them being too spicy and woody. I made a simple recipe from my Australian Women's Weekly Japanese cookbook: grated carrot and daikon dressed simply with some rice vinegar and a little sugar and salt. It was divinely yummy: sharp/sweet/refreshing. I also stir-fried some baby rocket with a sliced garlic clove and braised some tofu in a teriyaki sauce. A meal best eaten by combining all four dishes in each forkful.

Baked beans in slow cooker

2007-06-07T20:49:00.000+10:00

Another slow cooker recipe from "Not Your Mother's Slow Cooker Cookbook". These beans are soaked overnight then cooked for 12 hours with onions, ketchup, mustard and molasses. I halved the amount of sugary ingredients (there was meant to be brown sugar in addition to the molasses) but it was still too sweet for my husband... and the kids were not impressed... so I was the only one who really liked the beans... but I liked them a lot! I felt very Little House on the Prairie eating them (this recipe was based on an American classic that pioneers used to make over the embers of a fire on laundry day).

For vegetables I stir fried these beautiful baby bok choy from the EPIC markets (a farmer's market near our house). I also cooked these beetroot and served them room temperature with some olive oil and some chopped spring onion on top -- a trick I learned from my Norwegian sister-in-law.

Frenchy yogurt cake

2007-06-07T20:38:00.000+10:00

I've read that this yogurt cake is one of the first recipes French children learn. It is very moist and doesn't need icing. I add frozen blueberries and raspberries to make a yummy lunchbox treat.

Wet:
2 eggs
1 cup yogurt (I use plain unsweetened)
1/2 cup oil
1 teaspoon vanilla

Dry:
1 cup sugar
2 cups flour
1 tablespoon baking powder

Preheat oven to 180C. Mix wet ingredients. Mix dry ingredients. Add dry to wet, mix briefly. Bake 40-45 minutes.

Make larb not war

2007-06-07T20:09:00.000+10:00

Yes this minced-pork-stir-fried-with-carrots-and-flavoured-with-coriander-lime-and-fish-sauce is called larb. Served with brown rice and some lonely greens left lingering in the refrigerator (English spinach and snow pea sprouts). I stir fried them quite badly -- ending up with a a soggy mass -- but mixed with the other dishes and drizzled with the sweet chilli sauce, the combination was superb. The lime and coriander flavours made the gemisch particularly more-ish (ge-more-ish?).

Pizza at the Italian deli

2007-05-30T12:47:00.000+10:00

The Italian deli at the Fyshwick markets serves the best coffee and pizza in Canberra, in my opinion. The man at the Nut Shoppe next door told me their pizza dough is made only of unbleached white flour, gluten flour and yeast. They must allow it to rise for a long time, because it is so chewy and rich. This pizza was topped with artichoke hearts, bocconcini and prosciutto.

Chicken cacciatore in the slow cooker

2007-05-30T12:34:00.000+10:00

The chicken recipe comes from 'Not your mother's slow cooker cookbook': tomato sauce, vegies (zucchini, onion and red capsicum) and chicken thighs cooked in the slow cooker. Served on brown rice with green salad and baked sweet potato fries.

Saturday dinner

2007-03-03T20:38:00.000+11:00

Leftover coconut rice stir-fried with carrot, red cabbage, peas and leftover roast chicken, garnished with egg. Served with sweet chilli sauce.

Thursday dinner

2007-03-03T20:32:00.000+11:00

Stir-fried vegies and tofu with rice.

I made the basmati rice in the rice cooker with half coconut milk. A bit richer and sweet, good with a simple stir-fry.

The vegies were celery, baby corn, red capsicum and Chinese garlic greens, which I presume are the stalks of garlic. They were quite garlicky; I liked them a lot. Kind of a cross between spring onions and garlic.

Nutty bars without nuts

2007-02-27T22:44:00.000+11:00

Our school has gone nut-free because of a new student with serious allergies to nuts and sesame seeds. But sunflower and pumpkin seeds are OK, so I made nutty bars from Vive le Vegan without the nuts. I used a mix of dried fruit and seeds from the natural food store. They are bound together with honey and sunflower seed butter (another happy discovery!) and topped them with chocolate flakes. They are quite more-ish, but a little too sticky. I ended up rolling them in coconut to absorb some of the stickiness. The kids like them either way. I find if I make things like this at home, with at least some nutritional value, then they don't clamour for lollies nearly as much.

Tuna pasta

2007-02-27T22:33:00.000+11:00

A quickie from the pantry (hmm not in the pantry, now that's a thought; where's Ralph Fiennes when I need him?). While the pasta is cooking, use the oil drained from a tin of Italian-style tuna packed in oil to saute onion. Then add fresh chopped tomatoes (toss in those cherry tomatoes from the back of the fridge as well), a tin of chickpeas, and the tuna. Cook until warmed through and the pasta is all done-te (oh oh bad pun alert). Toss it all together with some added extra virgin olive oil. Served with grated Parmesan cheese and a side salad of English spinach and red capsicum.

School lunches

2007-02-27T22:30:00.000+11:00

This is my daughter's standard lunch box. Fruit and yogurt (usually frozen in my own little container) for morning tea. Egg or tofu with vegies (carrots, cucumbers or red capsicum) and bread/pita bread/crackers. This lunch doesn't have a treat but often I'll include a sweet biscuit or a slice (bar) or muffin as well.

Still loving that sesame mustard tahini sauce

2007-02-27T22:15:00.001+11:00

I have really been enjoying the sesame mustard tahini sauce I made from Vive le Vegan. It dresses up a simple meal of brown rice, tofu and steamed vegies. Oh, how virtuous and gastrointestinally well balanced I feel afterwards!

Arancini

2007-02-27T22:07:00.000+11:00

I had gluggy buckets of leftover, uninspiring chicken risotto. And to quote the blog where I got the recipe, 'when life gives you leftover risotto, you make arancini'. Arancini are deep-fried Italian rice balls. Mine weren't balls: I made them into patties since I, um, wasn't deep frying them either... and I didn't put cheese in the middle. Well whatever I ended up with name-wise, they were pretty good.

The risotto was sticky and easy to shape into patties. Then I dipped them in flour, egg and then breadcrumbs and fried them, with a generous serve of my father-in-law's famous homemade tomato sauce. The kids enjoyed them in their lunch box the next day too.

Fruit and vegies

2007-02-27T22:03:00.000+11:00

Shopping at the markets.

Vegies: cheery cherry tomatoes, Lebanese cucumbers, baby potatoes, English spinach, broccoli, red capsicums, sweet potatoes, red cabbage, carrots, snow peas.

Fruit: bananas (finally affordable!), apples, plums, peaches, grapes, rockmelon, limes.

Curry dinner

2007-02-22T20:43:00.001+11:00

An old friend stopped by last week. It was such a pleasure to see him again, and cook for him! His wife fed me often and well during my graduate school days... I only wish I could have cooked for her as well. This dinner is a well-rehearsed group of dishes, many of which can be prepared in advance.

The chicken curry uses Patak's mild korma curry paste. I fry lotsa onions until nice and mahogany brown (this 10-20 minute saute, apparently, is the secret to a thick, rich sauce). Then I add to the onions a whole jar of the curry paste, cooking until fragrant. Into the slow cooker this mixture goes, followed by ~1 cup water used to rinse the jar and the frypan. I fry 2 kg thighs until golden brown on the outside, then mix into the onion and spice paste mixture and cook on low for 2-4 hours. This short cooking time seems to defeat the purpose of using a slow cooker -- but if you cook it much longer, the chicken disintegrates into shreds, probably because of the pre-cooking. I use the slow cooker because it's convenient to have the stovetop and oven free for the other dishes.

For vegetables, I have invented this room temperature 'salad'. It has nothing to do with true Indian cuisine, but it's convenient because it keeps very well and thus you can make it the day before. And the cool texture of the still-crunchy vegetables goes well, I think, with more mushy curries.

To make the salad, I parboil cauliflower, carrots and beans until just barely cooked. Then they are marinated in a simple vinaigrette of 5 tablespoons canola oil, 2 tablespoons lemon juice, and garam masala.

I also made a raita from yogurt, grated cucumbers, mint and cumin.

Oh, and a sharp garnishy thing of coriander (cilantro), tomatoes and red onions.

And Patak's spicy lime pickles.

And basmati rice in the rice cooker.

When it was ready, I surreptitously took a photo of my plate (no use having my old friend worry about my new strange habits). Ouila, mush everything together and come up with new and exciting combinations with every mouthful!

Peach jam and nut butter

2007-02-13T21:07:00.000+11:00

My neighbour gave me bags of beautiful peaches last week (I still can't figure out how they became so luscious in the midst of our drought). I tried using the slow cooker to make jam, using the recipe from another new cookbook, Not Your Mother's Slow Cooker Cookbook by Beth Hensperger. It turned out well but I'm not so sure how much easier it was. You cook the fruit for 2-1/2 hours with the cover on. Then you remove the cover for 1-3 hours until the correct consistency is reached. After you remove the cover, you're meant to monitor it and not leave the house. It seems just as easy to cook it on the stove much more quickly and be over and done with it.

The cookbook does have an overnight recipe for apple butter... now that seems like a better idea since you usually have to cook apple butter a long time in the oven anyway.

Now I have peach jam and homemade almond butter (whizzed in the food processor) which I spread on toast for breakfast. Addictive and filling.

Vive le Vegan

2007-02-13T20:55:00.000+11:00

I adore my new cookbook, Vive le Vegan by Dreena Burton. No, I'm not vegan, but yes, I like these simple, nutritious and delicious recipes. Every recipe I've tried so far is great. The kids loved her 'energy cookies', which are full of sunflower and pumpkin seeds (which they are allowed to bring to their newly nut-free school). Then I made a creamy avocado and cashew sauce, which was very nummy on Mexican burritos. Last night I made her baked tofu (in a lemon, olive oil and herb marinade) served with green beans and sesame-mustard-tahini sauce (pictured). This sauce is seriously delicious; it's the first time I actually liked tahini (pureed sesame seeds). The garlic and vinegar and sesame oil overtake the bitterness I usually don't like in tahini. It was good served over rice and vegetables, then the next day I've been eating the tofu and the sauce in pita bread.

Hoppin' Jian

2007-02-03T22:44:00.000+11:00

Oh dear, it's very late, I've been blogging excessively and now you, my captive audience, must bear my bad jokes. Get it? Hoppin' John with a Chinese bean (adzuki) is called Hoppin' Jian?

Brother B1 made real Hoppin' John for me with black-eyed peas. But I only had adzuki beans -- and I loved this simple yet tasty dish -- so here it is. B1 got this recipe from the Californian Dry Bean Advisory Board -- as you do.

Hoppin' John

1/2 lb (1 cup) dried black-eyed peas

1 cup chopped onions

2 T olive oil

1 garlic clove

1/2 teaspoon oregano

2 cups vegie or chicken stock

Soak peas your favorite way (overnight or quick boil). Wash and rinse, discarding liquid. Cook onions in oil. Add seasonings, stock and drained beans. Cover and cook slowly to desired tenderness (~30 minutes). Tilt lid if necessary to prevent boiling over. While cooking, prepare rice to serve alongside.

Back home

2007-02-03T22:32:00.000+11:00

Back home to parrots outside my kitchen window.

The first meal I cooked after getting over jetlag was inspired by the new Joy of Cooking which brother B1 gave me for Christmas. Wow, it's a really good cookbook. I had the 1963 version, which was too old-fashioned, if complete (i.e. recipes for whale). The latest edition has a perfect mix of old favorites and new flavors. I especially like the information on whole grains and the range of international cuisines.

The recipes I used here are the Becker lamb patties and tzatziki (cucumber, yogurt, mint). I grilled the small patties on the BBQ, along with red capsicum, and served them in pita bread with spinach. Juicy and flavourful. Next time I'll add some sweet onion as well.

Sun and moon mosaic

2007-02-03T22:30:00.000+11:00

What I did in my summer vacation: made my first mosaic! Thanks for teaching me how to do it, Mom.

Whole Foods

2007-02-03T22:14:00.000+11:00

Undeterred by the embarrassment of a salsa-photographing companion, Dad next took me to Whole Foods. We don't have these in Australia and I've always wanted to go to one... and now I want one in my neighborhood now! Wow, gorgeous food. To have all these specialty products under one roof is so fantastic. At home, we have only a small portion of this range, and they are scattered around the city in a handful of small stores.

I especially liked the Arrowhead Mills organic grain products and the Lundberg Family Farm rices. And the cheeses. And the natural cosmetics and creams. And everything.

AJ's with my dad

2007-02-03T21:55:00.000+11:00

Next stop: Phoenix. I know that my dad loves me because he took me on a grocery store tour all over the city! You know it's going to be a good grocery store when there's a Tuscan-style fountain at the entrance. The produce! The heirloom tomatoes! The salsa, the salsa, the salsa: mohave mango, paradise pineapple, ruby raspberry, papago peach. Raspberry chipotle, fresca, cactus, tequila bean and lime, chipotle cha cha cha, borracho, roasted tomato and corn.

Runzas

2007-02-03T21:36:00.000+11:00

Runzas are a Nebraska thing: yeast bread filled with ground beef and cabbage. Ah, I remember many happy trips to Runza Huts in Lincoln. My mom makes fantastic runzas at home; my kids devoured them very quickly. For the first time she also added cheese to some of them which worked well -- it glued the normally crumbly filling together. The original recipe was found in the Wayne Herald newspaper but she has adapted it, mostly by increasing the ratio of filling to dough.

Mom's runza recipe

Dough:

4 1/2 to 5 cups flour

1/2 cup sugar

1 teaspoon salt

2 packages dry yeast

3/4 cup milk

1/2 cup water

1/2 cup margarine

2 eggs, at room temperature

Filling:

1 1/4 pound hamburger

1 onion, chopped

3 cups cabbage, chopped

2 tablespoons butter

3/4 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon pepper

4 or 5 drops tabasco sauce

Dough: Measure 1 3/4 cups flour into bowl. Stir in sugar, salt and yeast. Heat milk, water and margarine until warm (120 to 130 degrees F). Pour into flour mixture. Add eggs and beat at low speed for 1/2 minute. Beat for 3 minutes at high speed. Stir in rest of flour. Knead 3 minutes until smooth. Cover with towel and let rest 20 minutes (I put in microwave to sit).

Filling: Brown hamburger and onions with salt and pepper. Add tabasco sauce. Wilt cabbage in butter (1-2 minutes in microwave) and add to meat mixture. Let cool.

Assembly: Divide dough into 20 equal portions. Roll each ball very thin -- approximately 6-7 inches in diameter. Place about 3 tablespoons filling in center of each rolled dough piece. Bring edges of dough to center and pinch together to seal. Place, smooth side up, on greased baking sheet. (I find it most efficient to roll, fill, and pinch each one separately and then repeat.) Let rise 40 to 60 minutes, until indentation remains when lightly pressed with finger.

Bake at 350F for 20 minutes or until dough is done.

Quinoa with friends

2007-02-03T21:22:00.000+11:00

Next stop was homeckybecky's Midwestern test kitchen. I was impressed that even the young members of this family read my blog! I was treated to delicious cooking, walks in the frigid Minnesota winter, and peppermint tea and eggnog cake before bed.

Here we are having corn chowder for dinner, made with rich organic milk, potatoes, corn and quinoa -- a really nice way to include this fantastic whole grain to your diet. Served with baked squash, toast and a salad of lettuce and peas. Thank you, my friends, for your gracious hospitality!

Movie nights with B2

2007-02-03T21:06:00.000+11:00

Brother B1 has a fun tradition of movie nights at his house. My niece (see thumb in picture) demands every platter in the house to be filled -- nay, overflowing -- with party food. The goal: excess. Choose a plate of cheese and crackers, shrimp, nuts, quesadillas, goldfish, chips, and Chex mix, then watch a children's movie with serious inconsistencies (WHY do the bulls have UDDERS?). For dessert: cheesecake cupcakes from the Cooking for Engineers website. These were delicious and simple. A 'nilla wafer (sweet biscuit for the Aussies) is placed on the bottom of a muffin cup, then it is filled with a cheesecake mixture, topped with either mandarin oranges or cherries, and baked. Mmmmm, my brother is a very good engineer cook.

Wisconsin delights

2007-02-03T20:51:00.000+11:00

When you're in Wisconsin and you see deep-fried cheese curds on the menu... well you must order them. And while you're at it you'd better have the bratwurst with sauerkraut (served with both raw and fried onions and a real cherry Coke). That's my brother B2's thumb; isn't he cute?

I remember eating fresh cheese curds at the EAA fly-in in Oshkosh every year as a child. I was especially fond of their squeak. Indeed the Wikipedia article on cheese curds (well worth reading) (if you're not that busy) quotes the NY Times as describing the characteristic squeak sounding like "balloons trying to neck". Deep-fried cheese curds -- which are also mentioned in Wikipedia (are you surprised?) -- lack the squeak but have the advantage of being battered and deep-fried which, as we all know, improves everything.

Calzone

2007-02-03T20:47:00.000+11:00

The famous Italian sausage calzone at Scoreboard Pizza, a favorite haunt of my brother B2. I think there's a 1/2 lb block of mozzarella cheese in each one. No I did not eat all of mine... though I think one of my brothers did.

New Year's Eve Dinner

2007-02-03T20:34:00.000+11:00

I'm back from my summer holiday in the US. For New Year's Eve my dad bought king crab legs which we served dipped in butter and with sweet potatoes and green beans. We remembered these king crab legs for quite a while as their odor mysteriously lingered in the fridge for several weeks... I think my mom is only now talking to my dad ! :)

Note the Weihnachten Pyramide which is the one I brought my parents from Germany -- oh dear is it really 23 years ago? -- and which was the inspiration to find one of my own.

Comments are fixed

2006-12-20T17:50:00.000+11:00

Ooops, I accidentally prevented most people from commenting on my blog. Just fixed it -- and now I will await a flood of comments ! :)

Weihnachten Pyramide

2006-12-17T22:42:00.000+11:00

This "Pyramide" was something I asked my DH to buy for me when he was in Germany earlier this year. I bought one for my parents many years ago when I was an exchange student there, and I've always wanted one for myself. It's a traditional wooden Christmas decoration. The heat from the candles makes the fan -- and thus the little people -- rotate. Doesn't it look Christmassy with our simple dinner of salad, guacamole and ciabatta (Italian bread)?

Copy of a Sumo salad

2006-12-17T22:36:00.000+11:00

My new favorite lunch spot at the mall (hey! I've been Christmas shopping a lot lately!) is Sumo Salad. You can get a box of any of their salads for $8. Today, for instance, I had Thai chicken and rice noodle salad; tabbouleh with lentils; and felafel salad with rocket, pumpkin and couscous. Filling, light and delicious.

I made the salad in the photograph for a BBQ we went to last night, and I copied it straight from another Sumo Salad. Baby rocket, canned corn, diced red capsicum and tuna packed in chilli oil, tossed with the oil from the tin of tuna and some lemon juice. The chilli added just a little heat to the crunchy munchiness.

The night before the markets

2006-12-17T22:33:00.000+11:00

On the evening before I go fruit and vegie shopping, I often have bits and pieces of vegies that I need to use up. Tonight I used them up in a variety of vegie side dishes to be served with a big can of baked beans. The side dishes are:

coleslaw made with grated carrot and red cabbage tossed in Paul Newman's balsamic salad dressing
cold cooked potatoes cooked with a lonely zucchini and tomato
one mashed avocado.

Stir fry

2006-12-17T22:31:00.000+11:00

Stir-fried broccoli, zucchini, red capsicum and 5-spice tofu with brown rice.

Salad nicoise

2006-12-12T20:57:00.000+11:00

One of my favourite summer dinners is salad nicoise. In the cooler morning, cook the potatoes and eggs. Green beans or snow peas can be blanched briefly in the the potato water. I marinate these vegies in the fridge all day with a vinaigrette made of 5 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil, 2 tablespoons lemon juice, garlic and salt and pepper. Then before serving place these on top of lettuce and garnish with fresh tomato, Italian-style tuna (packed in oil) and olives. Delish.

Birthday party

2006-12-12T20:41:00.000+11:00

For my son's birthday party he requested:

mangos
watermelon
marshmellows
jelly snakes
bread sticks
frozen icy poles (popsicles) and ice cream

Wow, I think I got off easy, as no cooking was involved and he actually requested fruit, woo-hoo.

For the adults, I added some olives, Turkish bread and dips, cheese, and cashews.

The cake has been the same since he was 2: a chocolate bear cake, first spotted in his 'Toddler's Big Book of Everything'. The sour cream chocolate cake recipe is from Betty Crocker (circa 1985) and was topped with a REAL chocolate icing (250 g cooking chocolate melted with 250 mL cream) and oh man was the icing divine.

Pirate Pete made an appearance at the party for a treasure hunt.

Tofu tonight

2006-12-08T07:24:00.000+11:00

My son told me this was the best tofu I've ever made. I simmered it in my normal sauce of spring onions, teriyaki sauce (from a bottle) and ginger. The only unusual addition was mirin (Japanese sweet cooking wine), so perhaps that's the trick! Served with brown rice; shredded carrot and cabbage in Paul Newman 'original' salad dressing; and canned baby corn (BIG hit with kiddies).

Leftover surprise

2006-12-06T22:28:00.000+11:00

This "Spanish tortilla" is a good way to use leftover vegetables . Last night's roasted potatoes, sauteed zucchini and peas were warmed in a non-stick pan with some spring onion. Six beaten eggs were then added, and the heat turned down low until the bottom is set (the top is still wet). Then place under the griller (broiler) until the the top is just cooked. Sprinkle with grated cheese and put under the griller again until melted.

On the side, we had steamed broccoli and raw carrot sticks. For dessert: yogurt and "berry delight" from a jar.

Chicken tonight

2006-12-03T20:38:00.000+11:00

Chicken tenderloins roasted in the oven with red capsicums, cherry tomatoes, olives and garlic cloves. Served with broccoli and snow peas. Yogurt with mangos and honey for dessert.

Leftovers

2006-12-03T20:36:00.000+11:00

Leftover vegie and barley soup, salad, and toast with avocado -- served with fresh red roses (A's choice) and my grandmother's quilted Christmas placemat.

Roasted tomato and rocket pasta

2006-12-03T20:22:00.000+11:00

This recipe is on the cover of one of my favourite cookbooks, Off the Shelf by Donna Hay. Every time I look at it, I think it looks delicious, but I've made it for the first time just now. It's so simple. Roast tomatoes and garlic in the oven (30-45 minutes at 180oC for these Roma tomatoes, less for cherry tomatoes) then toss with freshly cooked pasta, chopped rocket (arugula) and extra virgin olive oil. Simple and yummy.

Mangos

2006-12-01T14:37:00.000+11:00

Mangos are definitely more seasonal than turkey dinners! We bought our first case of mangos this week and the kids are thrilled. Mangos taste delicious plus they are delightfully messy to eat. You cut the two 'cheeks' off, dice the flesh without removing the skin, then turn the cheeks inside out to eat the cubes of flesh. Then you gnaw the remaining flesh off the fibrous seed in one last decadent bath of mango juice.

When I first arrived in Australia, mangos were too richly tropical for me -- they tasted almost rotten to me. But my DH was intent that I would love mangos, and so he kept buying me them until I fell in love (with the mangos that is, I was already in love with him). In December we buy a case every other week until Christmas. Our school even has a very successful fundraiser where parents can purchase trays of mangos for $23 each!

Soup with turkey stock

2006-12-01T14:31:00.000+11:00

We've been eating leftovers all week from Thanksgiving -- along with 300 million other Americans. And the final hurrah is a soup made with the turkey carcass. I made a rich stock then added barley and vegies (carrots, beans, celery and onion). Not really soup weather here -- with temps reaching 95oF -- but a simply enjoyed meal nonetheless.

Blue is the new black

2006-11-28T21:06:00.000+11:00

Apparently A's birthday ushers in the new age of blue and green. In the past -- when she was young -- she liked pink and purple, but now it's blue and green. To farewell the old, and welcome the new, she requested that her butterfly cake includes all 4 colors. Oh dear. Super-mom to the rescue. Creating a entomological masterpiece, plus 24 cupcakes with koala and flower 'lollies' on top. She insisted, however, that Dad make his Famous Spinach Pie for dinner.

Making pies

2006-11-27T09:49:00.000+11:00

I make my pie crust in the food processor now. The trick is to whiz the pastry very sparingly, and only in bursts, so it doesn't get tough. I also cool it in the refridgerator after making the pastry and then after rolling and filling the pie plate; this does seem to help prevent shrinkage when you bake. My grandmother gave me the pastry cloth and rolling pin cover.

For the traditional Thanksgiving pies, I have had to adjust a little in Australia. Canned pumpkin is unheard of; instead I steam pumpkin chunks with a little water in the microwave for 10 minutes then mash. For the pecan pie I use golden syrup instead of corn syrup, resulting in a much darker brown surface after baking.

OK I confess: I do actually turn all the pecans the same way up after I pour into the dish, chastising myself the entire time for being so persnickety. But it does look nicer, doesn't it? Or am I losing my grip on reality?

Happy Thanksgiving!

2006-11-27T09:33:00.000+11:00

This is the first year that I've bought a whole turkey in Australia. I remember when I was poor and in university, I used to buy a turkey because it was so inexpensive and I could eat it for months (from the freezer of course!). But here in Australia, it's more unusual and luxurious to buy turkey, let alone a whole one, because of the cost. This turkey was A$13/kg, which is equivalent to about US$5/lb. Whereas in the US, I recall turkeys being on sale this time of year for 29c/lb !!! Oh well, it was good to have it for the tradition.

This menu has become MY traditional Thanksgiving:

Turkey

Mashed potatoes

Gravy

Bread stuffing (baked in oven in a separate dish, like my mother does!)

Sweet potatoes with pineapple (I can't bear to do marshmellows)

Cranberry sauce

Green beans

Pumpkin and pecan pie with ice cream

Cranberry sauce

2006-11-27T09:00:00.000+11:00

I make my cranberry sauce for Thanksgiving by grinding 200 g frozen cranberries with 1/2 a whole orange in my KitchenAid mixer. I add some sugar to counterbalance the tartness.

Summer salad

2006-11-21T21:25:00.000+11:00

It snowed here last week... but today it was 35oC (90oF)! This week's hot weather reminds me of my favourite summer salads. I almost always have the ingredients for this pasta salad at hand, so it's a good last-minute dinner.

Dressing: 1/3 cup EV olive oil, 2 T lemon juice, 1 teaspoon mustard, garlic

Salad: 300 g pasta, cooked; 425 g tinned tuna; red capsicum; canned beans or chickpeas; red capsicum; spring onions; tomatoes; capers

Served cold with celery sticks and microwaved peas.

Lentil soup

2006-11-21T21:21:00.000+11:00

Monday's dinner was in the slow cooker: a lentil soup with pumpkin, carrot, potatoes, green beans, onion, garlic and celery. I think the secret is adding extra virgin olive oil (during the last stage of cooking) which supplies the richness which even a little meat would provide. Served with toast and a salad of red butter lettuce, red capsicum and avocado.

Two fruitcakes in the oven

2006-11-21T20:26:00.000+11:00

I finished my Christmas cake on Monday. I used a Family Circle recipe from "the famed agricultural show and Country Women's Association cake judge, Norma Allen". The cake pan needed a lot of fussing: lined with baking paper; wrapped in newspaper tied with string; and baked upon a magazine in the oven. I chose a magazine with a picture of Oprah on the front (as you do). My only concern was that she'd invite Tom Cruise over -- he has a bad habit of jumping on the furniture which might make the cake fall.

The first step for the batter was to mix the soaked dried fruit and some orange marmalade. The cake mix was simple: cream butter and sugar; add flour and spices (I added cinnamon and ginger but not nutmeg); then mix by hand with a spoon. Then decorate with nuts and (ready?) bake for 2-1/2 hours at 150oC. I've never baked a cake for so long, but I guess all the wrapping plus the low temperature is the trick. After you take it out of the oven, you douse it with more alcohol (I chose Cointreau because of the lovely orange flavour) and wrap it tightly for 24 hours to contain the moisture.

Now apparently I keep it tightly wrapped for up to 3 months, adding more alcohol if desired.

Before baking:

After:

200th post!

2006-11-19T21:03:00.000+11:00

Wow, this is my 200th post! So what did I have for dinner to celebrate?

It was a warm and summery day, so I made a fresh Japanese noodle salad which I haven't made since last summer. I've changed it quite a bit from the Australian Women's Weekly Japanese cookbook so I feel I can include the recipe:

Dressing:

1/4 cup vegetable oil

1/4 cup rice vinegar

2 teaspoons soy sauce

1 teaspoon sugar

1/2 teaspoon sesame oil

Salad:

250 g buckwheat noodles, boiled then drained and rinsed with cool water

250 g green beans, cooked with the noodles

2 red capsicum, sliced thinly

~300g pre-packaged marinated tofu (today, the tofu had some chopped vegies in it)

chopped spring onions

pink ginger

sesame seeds

Toss together and serve cold, with more ginger and spring onions for sprinkling on top.

Christmas cake

2006-11-19T20:48:00.000+11:00

Americans are usually surprised to learn that Australians actually eat fruitcake (or Christmas cake, as it's known here). Instead of banishing it to be forgotten at the back of a cupboard, Australians enjoy it for dessert on Christmas Day with ice cream, custard (vanilla pudding) or cream -- or even all three!

Today I started my first Christmas cake. It is made well in advance of Christmas, then soaked in alcohol so that it will keep. Today we chopped raisins, sultanas, figs, dates and currants; they will soak overnight in brandy (or rum or whiskey if you wish). In a separate bowl are chopped glace cherries, pineapple and apricots. Tune in tomorrow for the baking of the cake.