Not much happening in the culinary stakes lately. It was roast beef a couple of nights ago and that lasts well and Michael likes it reheated with different vegetables.
However tonight we are off to Suzy's for dinner and I offered to make dessert - here is what I hope we will have.
Strawberry icecream (if it works the recipe to follow) and choc chip biscuits.
Another very easy recipe from the days when my children were younger than the grandchildren are now!
3 oz butter
1 egg
1 1/4 cup SR flour
1/3 cup sugar
1/2 cup chopped walnuts (I don't use these nowadays as the children don't eat nuts!)
1 packet of chocbits (now that was a problem when I resurrected the recipe last year - however I guessed and add about 70 g of choc bits, dark and/or white)
Melt the butter and dissolve the sugar. Allow to cool.
Add the beaten egg and add remaining ingredients.
Drop teaspoons onto greased trays and bake at 150 degrees (fanforced) for 20 minutes.
Cool on trays . The recipe makes about 25-30 biscuits.
I have also replaced the chocolate with homemade crystallised peel - more satisfying to the mature taste!
Wednesday, September 26, 2007
Saturday, September 22, 2007
All in a Day's Work!
I even turned the not-quite-full bottle upside down to show how well set it was!
Some people are too clever! However the loaf definitely did not rise as much as I'd have liked.
6 Red Bottles sitting on the bench!
Well, not actually 'red' bottles, just bottles full of red jam! I boiled away this morning and the finished product looks pretty good and tastes delicious. Now I am just waiting for the printer to produce the labels. I find the sight of jam waiting to be shelved one of the most satisfying of my cooking experiences - probably why I am still making it after so many years.
The boiling took me nearly an hour and a quarter - I am not very keen on tough rind in marmalade so probably cook it softer than most.
The method I use for vacuum sealing jams is by Isabel Webb "Microwaved Dried Fruit and Other Fruit Delicacies" . You need screw top jars with builtin sealing rings - eg. mayonnaise bottles or pasta sauce jars. Fill the jars with hot marmalade and screw on the lids lightly. Immediately after doing this put in the microwave about 2 cms apart. Cook on 50% about 2 minutes for 4 medium sized Praise mayonnaise jars. I usually watch and stop the microwave when the jam starts to bubble. Screw the lids on tightly and wait to hear them pop - sometime in the next half hour or so!! A lovely sound! this ensures the marmalade doesn't go mildew and one need not use wax which I never managed to do properly, in any case.
While waiting for the jam to jell I cooked my first rye loaf of bread in nearly 12 months. It is not yet finished but looks good.
The Rye Bread recipe for our Panasonic bread machine is as follows -
1 1/2 teaspoons (7.5mls) dried yeast
125g rye flour
375 g flour
1/2 teaspoon bread improver
22 mls skim milk powder
7.5 mls salt
15 mls raw sugar
10 mls lemon juice
22 mls canola oil
300 mls water
This is cooked on basic - medium size.
The boiling took me nearly an hour and a quarter - I am not very keen on tough rind in marmalade so probably cook it softer than most.
The method I use for vacuum sealing jams is by Isabel Webb "Microwaved Dried Fruit and Other Fruit Delicacies" . You need screw top jars with builtin sealing rings - eg. mayonnaise bottles or pasta sauce jars. Fill the jars with hot marmalade and screw on the lids lightly. Immediately after doing this put in the microwave about 2 cms apart. Cook on 50% about 2 minutes for 4 medium sized Praise mayonnaise jars. I usually watch and stop the microwave when the jam starts to bubble. Screw the lids on tightly and wait to hear them pop - sometime in the next half hour or so!! A lovely sound! this ensures the marmalade doesn't go mildew and one need not use wax which I never managed to do properly, in any case.
While waiting for the jam to jell I cooked my first rye loaf of bread in nearly 12 months. It is not yet finished but looks good.
The Rye Bread recipe for our Panasonic bread machine is as follows -
1 1/2 teaspoons (7.5mls) dried yeast
125g rye flour
375 g flour
1/2 teaspoon bread improver
22 mls skim milk powder
7.5 mls salt
15 mls raw sugar
10 mls lemon juice
22 mls canola oil
300 mls water
This is cooked on basic - medium size.
More Marmalade
Although I have made quite a bit of marmalade this year it seems to be disappearing at a great rate. I really miss not having the citrus trees in the garden with the luxury of being able to pick the fruit whenever the mood takes. However citrus and grapefruit, in particular, have been plentiful as well as cheap this year. I even managed to find some Seville oranges and what a beautiful marmalade they made.
Anyway, I bought 3 enormous red grapefruit earlier this week plus the three extra lemons which will ensure setting is no problem.
It is a long time since I have consulted a recipe book for a recipe for marmalade. Today was no exception. However in the interest of this blog I did measure the water rather than say add water to cover -my usual method!
I cut up the 3 grapefruit and soaked them in 2 litres of water overnight.
Tomorrow I will cook the pulp until soft . (For grapefruit this can take up to 45 minutes or even an hour.) Allow to cool.
Measure this pulp and liquid. Heat 3/4 to 7/8 of that quantity of sugar in a 100 degree oven. (At the same time I put the glass jars in the oven to heat as well as some saucers into the refrigerator for testing). I find we prefer less sugar than most recipes .
When the pulp returns to the boil I add the heated sugar and the juice of 3 lemons and continue to boil vigorously until some syrup dripped onto a saucer and cooled in the freezer for 5 minutes wrinkles when pushed with a finger.
Pour into the heated jars and seal.
I seal the jars using the microwave . However for accuracy sake I will dig out the reference before tomorrow.
Anyway, I bought 3 enormous red grapefruit earlier this week plus the three extra lemons which will ensure setting is no problem.
It is a long time since I have consulted a recipe book for a recipe for marmalade. Today was no exception. However in the interest of this blog I did measure the water rather than say add water to cover -my usual method!
I cut up the 3 grapefruit and soaked them in 2 litres of water overnight.
Tomorrow I will cook the pulp until soft . (For grapefruit this can take up to 45 minutes or even an hour.) Allow to cool.
Measure this pulp and liquid. Heat 3/4 to 7/8 of that quantity of sugar in a 100 degree oven. (At the same time I put the glass jars in the oven to heat as well as some saucers into the refrigerator for testing). I find we prefer less sugar than most recipes .
When the pulp returns to the boil I add the heated sugar and the juice of 3 lemons and continue to boil vigorously until some syrup dripped onto a saucer and cooled in the freezer for 5 minutes wrinkles when pushed with a finger.
Pour into the heated jars and seal.
I seal the jars using the microwave . However for accuracy sake I will dig out the reference before tomorrow.
Thursday, September 20, 2007
Catching up!
I have fallen behind and hope to catch up asap. It will probably be in reverse order.
Last night we had Richard and the Allen's to dinner. It was an opportunity to make my pork chops with the different marinade that I had promised.
This marinade is from Rosemary Stanton but my method of cooking is Jill Dupleix.
4 pork chops
Marinade in 2 tablespoon soy sauce, 2 tablespoons honey and 4 tablespoons of orange juice. (RS says that you can use gin instead of the OJ - I prefer it with tonic!) This is left for and hour or more in the refrigerator.
Drain the chops and retain the marinade.
Sear the chops in a frypan with a little oil, place in an ovenproof dish and add the retained marinade, cover and bake at 180 degrees for 30 minutes.
I served this with lemon coriander couscous, roast sweet potato and spinach.
We then had my apple and cranberry crumble - another recipe from the dark old ages!
3/4 cup plain flour
2 ozs butter
1/3 (I use a little less) cup sugar (I often use brown instead of ordinary but had ordinary last night)
4 slices of lemon rind
This goes in the processor and is blended until it looks like coarse breadcrumbs.
Into a pie dish I put
850 g can of pie apples (could dice granny smiths instead but I was in a hurry)
1/2 cup of craisins and mixed with 1/2 teaspoon of cinnamon.
Into the oven with the veges 170 degrees for more than an hour when starting to brown nicely on top. This is an old family pud with icecream or custard - last night I was too tired to make custard!
Most of my desserts are ones I made when the family were all at home and we needed 'pud' each night.
Last night we had Richard and the Allen's to dinner. It was an opportunity to make my pork chops with the different marinade that I had promised.
This marinade is from Rosemary Stanton but my method of cooking is Jill Dupleix.
4 pork chops
Marinade in 2 tablespoon soy sauce, 2 tablespoons honey and 4 tablespoons of orange juice. (RS says that you can use gin instead of the OJ - I prefer it with tonic!) This is left for and hour or more in the refrigerator.
Drain the chops and retain the marinade.
Sear the chops in a frypan with a little oil, place in an ovenproof dish and add the retained marinade, cover and bake at 180 degrees for 30 minutes.
I served this with lemon coriander couscous, roast sweet potato and spinach.
We then had my apple and cranberry crumble - another recipe from the dark old ages!
3/4 cup plain flour
2 ozs butter
1/3 (I use a little less) cup sugar (I often use brown instead of ordinary but had ordinary last night)
4 slices of lemon rind
This goes in the processor and is blended until it looks like coarse breadcrumbs.
Into a pie dish I put
850 g can of pie apples (could dice granny smiths instead but I was in a hurry)
1/2 cup of craisins and mixed with 1/2 teaspoon of cinnamon.
Into the oven with the veges 170 degrees for more than an hour when starting to brown nicely on top. This is an old family pud with icecream or custard - last night I was too tired to make custard!
Most of my desserts are ones I made when the family were all at home and we needed 'pud' each night.
Sunday, September 16, 2007
Missed a day!
Last night was easy. I went to church so the vegetables were prepared in advance and the meatloaf reheated while they were cooking.
Guess what! It is much the same tonight - fortunately Mike doesn't mind repeat meat as long as I change the vegatables or, at least, the method of cooking them. Last night they were steamed with a reheated corn cob - tonight they are roast - still potatoes and pumpkin but sweet potato and onion replacing the corn and white turnip. With only one person eating the meatloaf it is very big - it seems no time since it all disappeared in one family meal! Maybe next time I will try 1/2 quantity.
The reheated corn was cooked two nights before by a method that is so easy. I just spray some alfoil add the corn cob and spray it. Roll it up and lie on an oven shelf for 20-30 minutes depending how high the temperature is. It works every time. I do two and the second is easy to reheat in the microwave two days later.
I have written this because I lost a notebook with a recipe I desperately hunted a week or so ago. It came from a library book by Jill Dupleix (not sure of the title). Anyway I found the book on the shelf at the library and copied the recipe while I was there during the week. It is a beauty. Maple Syrup Pork Chops
Marinate 4 pork chops for an hour or more in a mixture consisting of
1 tablespoon paprika,
4 tablespoons of maple syrup
2 teaspoons of oil.
Sear these in a frypan using another teaspoonful of olive oil.
Heat the oven to 170 degrees and put in the seared chops plus any marinade for 25 minutes.
Jill D suggests that you serve with steamed greens (spinach or Asian) and a sauce of 2 tablespoons of mayonnaise with 1 tablespoon of grainy mustard stirred through.
It is so easy and so delicious.
My adaptation of a somewhat similar Rosemary Stanton recipe will keep. It is what I eventually used when I could not find the original. It is good to have two options.
Guess what! It is much the same tonight - fortunately Mike doesn't mind repeat meat as long as I change the vegatables or, at least, the method of cooking them. Last night they were steamed with a reheated corn cob - tonight they are roast - still potatoes and pumpkin but sweet potato and onion replacing the corn and white turnip. With only one person eating the meatloaf it is very big - it seems no time since it all disappeared in one family meal! Maybe next time I will try 1/2 quantity.
The reheated corn was cooked two nights before by a method that is so easy. I just spray some alfoil add the corn cob and spray it. Roll it up and lie on an oven shelf for 20-30 minutes depending how high the temperature is. It works every time. I do two and the second is easy to reheat in the microwave two days later.
I have written this because I lost a notebook with a recipe I desperately hunted a week or so ago. It came from a library book by Jill Dupleix (not sure of the title). Anyway I found the book on the shelf at the library and copied the recipe while I was there during the week. It is a beauty. Maple Syrup Pork Chops
Marinate 4 pork chops for an hour or more in a mixture consisting of
1 tablespoon paprika,
4 tablespoons of maple syrup
2 teaspoons of oil.
Sear these in a frypan using another teaspoonful of olive oil.
Heat the oven to 170 degrees and put in the seared chops plus any marinade for 25 minutes.
Jill D suggests that you serve with steamed greens (spinach or Asian) and a sauce of 2 tablespoons of mayonnaise with 1 tablespoon of grainy mustard stirred through.
It is so easy and so delicious.
My adaptation of a somewhat similar Rosemary Stanton recipe will keep. It is what I eventually used when I could not find the original. It is good to have two options.
Friday, September 14, 2007
Carnation Milk Meatloaf
This is my version of an old Carnation Milk recipe. I have been making this meatloaf or some modification of it for 40 years or more (way before any of us had heard of, or worried about reduced anything!).
600 g beef mince
1 3/4 cup soft breadcrumbs
almost 1 cup (a small tin) of Lite Carnation milk
1 chopped onion
1 chopped carrot
1/2 chopped capsicum
1 tablespoon each of tomato sauce, Worcestershire sauce, and mixed mustard
2 beaten eggs
Mix well and put in a greased piedish. 190degree fanforced oven for almost an hour. the vegetables cook nicely above the loaf in the oven.
I had the leftover salmon for my protein. I forgot to mention that sometimes (in fact, most times) I add a tablespoon of chopped rinsed capers to the salmon sauce. Also that the dish is sprinkled with 1/2 cup of basil leaves when removed from the oven.
600 g beef mince
1 3/4 cup soft breadcrumbs
almost 1 cup (a small tin) of Lite Carnation milk
1 chopped onion
1 chopped carrot
1/2 chopped capsicum
1 tablespoon each of tomato sauce, Worcestershire sauce, and mixed mustard
2 beaten eggs
Mix well and put in a greased piedish. 190degree fanforced oven for almost an hour. the vegetables cook nicely above the loaf in the oven.
I had the leftover salmon for my protein. I forgot to mention that sometimes (in fact, most times) I add a tablespoon of chopped rinsed capers to the salmon sauce. Also that the dish is sprinkled with 1/2 cup of basil leaves when removed from the oven.
Thursday, September 13, 2007
Baked Salmon and Goat cheese
Tonight we are having our Omega 3s - shopping today included a trip to Raptis - their choice was not vast. I guess the weather has added to their problems.
This is another of my favourite meals - from the 15 minute Single Gourmet.
My version is even simpler than the book's.
400g can crushed tomatoes, a teaspoon minced (?) rosemary, dash of pepper a teaspoon of brown sugar (this is my addition - I always use a little sugar with anything using tomatoes).
Put the salmon fillets in the bottom of the casserole and pour the sauce on top.
Sprinkle with dollops of goat cheese _ tonight we had a goat feta as that was what was in the refrigerator.
180 degree oven for 10-12 minutes (I find that I take longer but I like my salmon cooked properly!) I serve with baked whole potato and greens.
Also I cooked the sauce base for Lasagna - will publish that tomorrow.
This is another of my favourite meals - from the 15 minute Single Gourmet.
My version is even simpler than the book's.
400g can crushed tomatoes, a teaspoon minced (?) rosemary, dash of pepper a teaspoon of brown sugar (this is my addition - I always use a little sugar with anything using tomatoes).
Put the salmon fillets in the bottom of the casserole and pour the sauce on top.
Sprinkle with dollops of goat cheese _ tonight we had a goat feta as that was what was in the refrigerator.
180 degree oven for 10-12 minutes (I find that I take longer but I like my salmon cooked properly!) I serve with baked whole potato and greens.
Also I cooked the sauce base for Lasagna - will publish that tomorrow.
Wednesday, September 12, 2007
Balsamic Roast tomato Chicken
This is what I have prepared for tonight. Not sure I have the name right - however this is my favourite way to eat eggplant. I am also partial to capers and tomato flavouring for the chicken.
As well this recipe is so easy to prepare and cooks away quietly in the oven while the vegetables are cooking! I think mash is a must to soak up the juices! I make it according to Donna Hay's "Off the Shelf" recipe except I usually slice the chicken breasts and then they cook easily in the 20-30 minutes allowed!
As well this recipe is so easy to prepare and cooks away quietly in the oven while the vegetables are cooking! I think mash is a must to soak up the juices! I make it according to Donna Hay's "Off the Shelf" recipe except I usually slice the chicken breasts and then they cook easily in the 20-30 minutes allowed!
Monday, September 10, 2007
Carrot and Leek soup
Last night's dinner was easy - steak for him and leftover pie for me plus veges. Tonight is much the same except it is curry from the casserole bank for him!
Today we needed more soup . Lunch will revert to sandwiches when the hot weather returns but until then, most days it is soup for Mike. I had bought a couple of leeks from Coles on special a week or so ago and it was time to use them.
2 leeks and 6 carrots, chopped and softened in a splash of olive oil. Two chopped potatoes, a tablespoon of chopped ginger and one chopped garlic clove were added and cooked for a minute before an indeterminate amount of water (I just add by guess under the tap) and 2 heaped teaspoonsfuls of chicken stock powder were added. Simmer until soft. When almost cool blend until smooth and add more water if necessary. It tasted OK but I felt it needed a bit of something so used the trick I had found of adding a slurp of Soy sauce (this works with most soups, I have found).
Today we needed more soup . Lunch will revert to sandwiches when the hot weather returns but until then, most days it is soup for Mike. I had bought a couple of leeks from Coles on special a week or so ago and it was time to use them.
2 leeks and 6 carrots, chopped and softened in a splash of olive oil. Two chopped potatoes, a tablespoon of chopped ginger and one chopped garlic clove were added and cooked for a minute before an indeterminate amount of water (I just add by guess under the tap) and 2 heaped teaspoonsfuls of chicken stock powder were added. Simmer until soft. When almost cool blend until smooth and add more water if necessary. It tasted OK but I felt it needed a bit of something so used the trick I had found of adding a slurp of Soy sauce (this works with most soups, I have found).
Sunday, September 9, 2007
A place to keep my notes! Spinach Pie.
I find I collect interesting titbits and recipes . Usually I just can't find something when I need it. There had to be a way to sort and make accessible this information. This was when I realised that tags on blogs make retrieval easy. Hence this blog.
Yesterday's dinner was a Spinach tart - I had no cream to make the usual quiche but had bought some ricotta and feta for a cheese and spinach pie. Well I skimmed some recipe books and found some proportions for the ricotta and feta - 250g and 200g respectively - with 2 eggs (I eventually used 3). I added about 2 dessertspoons of rinsed capers and a sprinkle of nutmeg and 2 teaspoons of lemon juice. This was all with about 200g of defrosted spinach. I had also intended to include some pinenuts, and I think that would have been good. All this went into the processor before I poured it into a cooled precooked pastry shell (that worked well too!) and put into a 160 degree oven for about 40 minutes. Then I reheated it at 150 for as long as it took to cook the vegetables.
I was a bit worried it wouldn't taste all that wonderful but it really worked. More than could be said for Rosemary Stanton's Spinach and Ricotta Lasagne that I made a few days ago. It was much too dry - the spinach and ricotta filling was lovely but the lasagna just didn't get enough moisture to soften it. I won't keep that recipe.
Yesterday's dinner was a Spinach tart - I had no cream to make the usual quiche but had bought some ricotta and feta for a cheese and spinach pie. Well I skimmed some recipe books and found some proportions for the ricotta and feta - 250g and 200g respectively - with 2 eggs (I eventually used 3). I added about 2 dessertspoons of rinsed capers and a sprinkle of nutmeg and 2 teaspoons of lemon juice. This was all with about 200g of defrosted spinach. I had also intended to include some pinenuts, and I think that would have been good. All this went into the processor before I poured it into a cooled precooked pastry shell (that worked well too!) and put into a 160 degree oven for about 40 minutes. Then I reheated it at 150 for as long as it took to cook the vegetables.
I was a bit worried it wouldn't taste all that wonderful but it really worked. More than could be said for Rosemary Stanton's Spinach and Ricotta Lasagne that I made a few days ago. It was much too dry - the spinach and ricotta filling was lovely but the lasagna just didn't get enough moisture to soften it. I won't keep that recipe.
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