Eating Weeds... stinging nettles

Firstly I'm going to apologise for the rubbish pictures of my pasta. I'll use the excuse that I have a cold (my first in a couple of years) and I wasn't in the mood.

 

We don't eat weeds often but sometimes I get it into my head to do something a bit different. We have already had nettle pasta a time or two this season and that is probably my favourite way to eat nettles. I'm not a fan of nettle soup but Tim likes it so I make that on occasion too. The reason why I chose nettles for my pasta filling yesterday was that my spinach and silverbeet/ chard are just not ready to be picked in large enough quantities.

 

The nettles however are lush and asking to be picked or at least removed.

The secret to no stings is simple. Don't touch them. I use a rather uncoordinated  approach with scissors and tongs to snip the leaves off before blanching them. The blanching process destroys their stinging powers.

 Nettle and ricotta  filled pasta.

Ingredients

Pasta

300 grams plain flour

3 eggs

Filling

200 grams stinging nettles (or spinach, silverbeet or other greens of choice), discard stems

200 grams ricotta

1 egg yolk

100 grams Parmesan, grated

Sauce

100 grams butter

1/2 cup sage leaves

Method

Make pasta by combining the eggs and flour in a food processor until it comes together. Then knead for a few minutes until it is smooth. Allow to rest whilst making the filling.

Blanch the nettle leaves, drain and then squeeze out excess liquid.

Chop the nettles finely and combine with the remaining filling ingredients. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Roll the pasta into sheets about 5cm wide and as thin as possible. Fresh lasagne sheets from the fridge section in the supermarket could substitute.

Place a pasta sheet on a lightly floured surface and place heaped teaspoons of filling every 5cm.

Dampen the pasta around the filling and top the pasta with a second sheet.

Press around the filling to remove air pockets and seal.

Cut into squares.

Cook the pasta in a saucepan of boiling water until done to your liking. About 5 minutes for me.

To make the sauce, cook the butter in a fry pan over a medium heat for a minute then add the sage leaves.

Cook for another two minutes until the butter is slightly brown and the sage leaves are crisp.

Remove from heat and add the pasta.

Toss gently to coat the pasta in the sauce and serve.

Next time I will make a tomato based sauce for these because I think that would go well together and I prefer it to buttery sauces.

Tracy

International Scone Week

I stumbled across Celia's blog last week and I'm glad I did. If I didn't then I would have missed International Scone Week and I would have been much displeased. There is no need to have a special excuse for making scones of course but sometimes I forget that they are an easy and not too unhealthy treat and I go a while between scones. Well, in honour of such a wonderful thing as International Scone Week and having a willing morning tea partaker at home today, I decided to make some pumpkin and date scones. I like pumpkin scones and I like date scones so together, I like them doubly.

 

The pumpkin makes the mixture quite moist so they take a little longer than regular scones to bake. They also have more of a crunchy exterior than plain scones too (mine do anyway).  They are probably sweet enough without any additions but if I'm having sweet scones then jam and cream are going to be there too. Today we had a choice of rosella or strawberry jam. I had half a scone with each jam and today my favourite is rosella.

Pumpkin and Date Scones

 

Ingredients

3/4 cup mashed pumpkin

2.5 cups self raising flour

30 grams butter

1/2 cup chopped dates soaked in hot water and drained

1/4 cup sugar

milk, enough to make a sticky dough (1/3 - 1/2 cup)

 

Method

Preheat oven to 220 degrees C and grease or line a baking tin/ tray.

Combine the sugar and flour in a mixing bowl.

Rub in the butter.

Stir in the pumpkin and dates and enough milk ( a little at a time) to make a sticky dough.

Turn the dough onto a floured surface and knead a little to bring the dough together in a ball.

Press the dough out to a thickness of about 2.5cm and cut with a well floured round cutter.

Place on tray and bake for 20 to 25 minutes. They are done when they are golden and sound hollow when tapped.

It is a sticky dough so floured hands are a must. And if scones weren't good enough already, the cooking time is just about the right amount of time to get the kitchen back in order after making all of that floury mess.

Needless to say, no lunch necessary here today.
Tracy

Pumpkin and Date Muffins amongst other things

This is the rooster we took in a while back after his owner became too ill to care for him and his harem. The chooks are all well feathered now and looking much better. I call him Foghorn because his crow is like a foghorn especially compared to the higher pitched crow of our Tiny Rooster. Since they have settled in they now forage in the yard for the morning before being put back in their pen. The two roosters can't be let out at the same time because it would be a bloodbath. I don't think this guy would start anything but the little rooster doesn't like other gents on his turf.

Todays weather is magnificent. Sunny with just that hint of coolness in the air. No sign of yesterdays rain or clouds and the bees are busy, busy. But, my mum has informed me that the weekend is going to be bitter with the chance of snow in higher areas.

Now on to the muffins. I always keep some muffins in the freezer and Tim takes them to work for his tea breaks. The kids aren't fans of muffins. I think this is because they just aren't 'fun' enough. As for me, I don't really eat baked goods much at all. I just like making them. These muffins are sweet but with the pumpkin and dates they are a little bit healthy too... sort of... maybe.

I was given a very large pumpkin last week and we are almost through it. Pumpkin is right up there at the top of my list of favourite vegetables so I have been quite happy with the pumpkin-y fare we have been eating.

Pumpkin and Date Muffins

 

Ingredients

2 cups self raising flour

1.5 teaspoons cinnamon

2/3 cup brown sugar

1/2 cup milk

60 grams butter, melted

1 egg

1 cup mashed pumpkin

1/2 cup chopped dates

 

Method

Preheat oven to 180 degC.

Line a muffin tin with paper cases.

Combine the flour, sugar and cinnamon in a mixing bowl and stir together. Add the chopped dates.

Combine the butter, pumpkin, egg and milk together in a separate bowl until well mixed. Then pour into the dry ingredients and stir until just combined.

Fill the muffin cases about 2/3 full and bake for approximately 20 minutes or until the muffins spring back slightly when touched.

 

 



Tracy

Lemon Bars

My lemon trees are light in fruit this year. I suspect the severe heat and dry weather we had over summer and autumn is partly responsible. They also cropped heavily last year so a little rest for them might not be such a bad thing. My sister's tree however has lemons aplenty and she brought some up last weekend when she visited from Sydney. She also brought me three kilograms of chocolate chips but let's not think about those because 3 kilos of chocolate on my no chocolate way of eating is almost too much to bear.

 

This afternoon I made lemon bars for afternoon tea. I didn't get a picture before they were taste tested . It appears that my children prefer the pieces of slice from the centre rather than the edges.

 

I've made this slice plenty of times and it has a nice balance of sweetness and tangy lemon.

 

Lemon Bars

 

Ingredients

 

Base:

280 grams plain flour

80 grams icing sugar

225 grams butter

 

Filling:

4 eggs

350 grams sugar

120mL lemon juice

1 teaspoon lemon zest

35 grams plain flour

1 tsp baking powder

 

Method

Preheat oven to 180 degC.

Grease and line a slice/lamington tin.

Process the base ingredients in a food processor until they come together as a dough.

Press into prepared tin and bake for 20-25 minutes until lightly golden.

Meanwhile make the filling by whisking the ingredients together in a large bowl.

Pour over the warm base and bake for 25 minutes or until set.

When cool remove from tin and slice and dust with icing sugar to serve.

I'm not sure what is going to happen in my kitchen when my reserved copy of I Quit Sugar finally makes it to the library shelf. I do suspect not much because even if I quit sugar no one else here would even dream of it.

Tracy

Roasted Vegetable Soup

Last Friday we had a little trip to Murrurundi so Tim could work an extra shift there. From there it isn't too far to Scone so we headed down  to Paddock to Pantry for lunch. Soup of the week was Warming vegetable soup with caraway. YUM. So yum in fact that I emailed for a recipe but as is the way with most soups, the recipe is really more of a guideline than an actual recipe. I made my own version for us and had a delicious lunch in the vegetable garden today.

 

Roasting the vegetables adds a little richness to the soup but I'm sure if you were pressed for time, the vegetables could just be boiled in stock/ water without losing too much flavour. Anyway, this is how I made today's soup with what I had on hand. I also added a few mushrooms at the last minute because they were there and needed using today.

Possibly an even better way to prepare the vegetables would be to have a roast dinner and use any leftover vegetables or pop in some extras just for making soup.

 Roasted Vegetable Soup

 

Ingredients

1kg pumpkin, peeled and chopped into large pieces

2 carrots, chopped

500 grams potatoes, peeled and chopped

250 grams sweet potato, peeled and chopped

2 capsicums, seeds removed and quartered (I peeled these after roasting)

3 tomatoes, halved

1 onion, peeled and quartered

1 zucchini

4 cloves garlic

3 tbs olive oil

 

1.5 teaspoons caraway seeds,ground

1 teaspoon cumin seeds, ground

 

 Vegetable stock/water

 

Method

Heat the oven to 220deg C.

Using a large roasting pan heat the olive oil for a few minutes in the oven. Then add the vegetables and cook until tender when tested with a knife and the outside of the vegies has some colour.

Heat a teaspoon of oil in a large pot and gently fry the ground spices for a minute.

Add the roasted vegetables and enough stock/water to just cover the vegetables.

Cook for about 10 minutes then puree. Adjust the seasoning to suit (I don't use salt at all so you might find my recipes lacking) and the thickness of the soup too. I prefer a thicker puree (kind of like baby food) but a little more stock and it will be more 'soupy'.

 

I just happened to have a couple of capsicum still hanging on in the garden despite the heavy frosts. If I had parsnips or turnips or even kohl rabi ready then I think they would also make a nice addition to the melange of vegies.

I'm yet to convince my son that this type of cooking is wonderful fare that he could add to his repertoire of cooking (if that is what I can call the three things he cooks when at uni- curry, chilli and pasta all from jars of sauces). It could be worse, he could be living on 2 minute noodles I suppose. I have noticed there have been no leftovers here the past two weeks he has been home.

Well that is our dinner sorted tonight so I have some spare time for sewing. That's a bonus. I'm making up a bag tonight using charm squares and a stitchery panel.

Tracy

Raspberry and chocolate loaf

It's winter and not a raspberry in sight here but raspberries we had to have. Grace had a project for school which involved some food styling. She decided to make meringue nests with cream and raspberries. To say they were not the sweetest raspberries I had ever eaten would be an understatement. And at $7.99 for a 125gram punnet which equates to almost $64/kilo I was tempted to tell her to use lolly raspberries. Frozen just weren't going to satisfy either apparently. Anyway that's my gripe and I am over it now. But I was determined not to let a single one of those sour little berries go to waste.

 

 

So onto a recipe where a little tartness doesn't matter so much. Raspberry and chocolate loaf. 

 

I should have waited for a day which is more conducive to photography so I apologise for the poor pictures but fresh raspberries wait for no one.

Raspberry and Chocolate Loaf

 

Ingredients

2 cups plain flour

1/2 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda

1 cup sugar

90grams butter, softened

2 eggs

1 banana, mashed (I keep a stash of frozen bananas just for this kind of thing)

1/4 cup yoghurt

1 tsp vanilla extract

1/2 cup dark chocolate chips/chunks

1/2 cup white chocolate chunks

125 grams raspberries, halved (minus a few for school projects is ok)

 

Method

Preheat oven to 180 degC. Grease and line a loaf tin.

Mix the flour and soda together in a mixing bowl.

In a separate bowl cream together the sugar and butter until light and fluffy. Add the eggs, vanilla, banana and yoghurt and beat until combined.

Stir the wet mixture into the dry mixture until just combined then stir through the chocolate.

Fold in the raspberries gently.

Pour the mixture into the baking tin and bake for approximately one hour until a skewer comes out clean. In my oven it takes one hour but it is probably a good idea to start checking at the 50 minute mark.

Allow to cool for 10 minutes then remove from the tin and allow to cool on a wire rack.

I don't actually bother letting it cool completely before having a slice. It is delicious while still warm. And blueberries would be nice instead of raspberries too. Or just make it as a chocolate laced banana bread.

That's my recipe for the day. Frugal but not cheap. What is cheap this long weekend in Australia at least is the free access to  Ancestry. com's British records. That's what will keep me occupied on this cold damp afternoon.
Tracy

Eisteddfods and Soup Night

No, Eisteddfods and soup really don't have anything in common well nothing  I know of at least. But we did spend the better part of Saturday enjoying the voices at a 'local' eisteddfod (local being 125km from home) and we did have our Sunday soup night last night. The girls were part of their school choirs so it was a bit of a must to attend. And although I really do like listening to music, I will admit here and now that I am prone to getting fidgety when the program starts at 2pm and doesn't finish until almost 6pm.

Post Eisteddfod.

 We had a nice time anyway and got to spend a bit of time visiting a different town before the event. I also called into the organic market which I could see a few gaps in which might provide an opportunity next season. I just have to learn to become more confident and proactive in promoting the goods I have for sale. That will certainly be a test because I am not that type of personality at all.

 Our soup night was a real simple affair. Pumpkin soup made with a gifted Queensland Blue pumpkin. Hope had to have her own batch of French Onion Soup because my pumpkin soup doesn't appeal to her. In her own words, "it is too pumpkin-y". There are plenty of pumpkin soup recipes out there with all sorts of variations and adaptations so I won't bother sharing how I make it here.

The accompanying bread however was another matter. I think it is one of the nicest breads I have made.

I can't claim the recipe but I can share a link so you can make these delicious baguettes. And as is often the case, it is the simple and humble that is so impressive. A combination of water, flour, yeast and salt and voila... yum.

Music lessons, drama club and grocery shopping are on the list for this afternoon so I am off.
Tracy

Finding Inspiration

I spent the morning feeling a distinct lack of inspiration. Lots of reasons, a lack of rain, a lack of funds and a lack of sleep (and that's the main reason I'm sure) to name a few. But I did my chores, went for a walk, read a little online and then went outside to plan a few things in my mind while I worked. And in the process, I found inspiration to do what I do.

 

Bees and bottlebrush

 I took this picture yesterday when I was having new tyres fitted on my car. Oh my, what an expensive exercise that is. I was at the fire station taking a picture of poor Tim for today's photo of the day. Which by the way, I am participating in on my personal Facebook page. Of course if you are a blogging friend then you are more than welcome to send me a friend request so you can see the pictures or just to be friends .

Last week I decided to use a rather underused ingredient. I know the humble quince when made into a paste is popular  on cheeseboards but I decided to use it in a savoury casserole type of dish. And because it is tart and sweet at the same time, I coupled it with lamb and spices in a Moroccan inspired combination.

Spiced Lamb with Quince

Ingredients

1kg lamb meat, fat removed(leg is good but chops are cheaper), chopped into chunks

olive oil

1 large onion, chopped

3 cloves garlic, crushed

1 tsp turmeric

1 tsp ground coriander

2 tsp ground cumin

1/2 tsp ground cinnamon

1 tsp ground cardamon

1/2 tbsp brown sugar

2 cups vegetable stock

1 quince, peeled and cored. No quince, use a cooking apple, it works.

500 grams of pumpkin/ sweet potato, peeled and chopped into chunks

juice of 1 lemon

5 dates, pitted and chopped

 

Method

Preheat oven to 180degC.

Heat a small amount of oil in a frying pan and brown the lamb. Transfer the meat to a casserole dish.

Add the onion to the pan and cook until softened.

Add the spices and garlic and cook for a couple of minutes.

Add the stock, sugar,  and dates and bring to the boil.

Pour over the lamb and place covered in the oven for an hour.

Remove from the oven and add the juice, quince and pumpkin and bake for another hour. Remove the lid for the last half hour to reduce the liquid.

This time I served this with mashed potato and steamed vegetables but couscous and salad are nice too. A piece of crusty bread for mopping up the sauce is good too.

Tonight however dinner is looking a little less successful. I made a batch of baked beans using a recipe(from a popular television chef) which looked good but really hasn't turned out as expected. This is his last chance, I don't think I will be tempted by the pretty pictures again. They are still ok but not the wow that they promised.
Tracy

Sunday Soup Night-tears in the kitchen

Tears in the kitchen and not because my I burnt the first batch of chocolate for my tart or because I cooked it a little too quickly in the oven and it had a soft crust on top. It was scruptious and decadent and make again delicious.

 

And not because my loaf of spelt bread turned out looking like a brick. It still tasted good and I'm not sure what happened overnight in the bread maker. It has made some great breadcrumbs.

 But because of this pot of trouble. A whole kilogram of onions chopped by me. I was in tears and no matter what anti-tear technique I try, I always cry. But for soup night, it was worth it.

'French' Onion Soup

 

Ingredients

60grams butter

1kg onions (I used half red and half brown), sliced

5 cloves garlic, crushed

a few sage leaves, chopped

1 teaspoon brown sugar

1 litre stock (beef is good because of the robust nature of the soup) 

 

Method

Place butter, garlic, onions and sage in a large pot. Cook over a low heat stirring occasionally for 50 to 60 minutes. The onions will become soft and sweet but not coloured.

Increase the heat and stir through the brown sugar.

Pour in the stock and bring to the boil then simmer for 15 minutes.

 

 

It is simple to make but requires the slow cooking to get the onions just right. And tasty enough for even Hope a confirmed vegetable loather to eat willingly.

Well, that was our first Sunday soup night for 2013. Next Sunday I'm favouring the idea of a spicy carrot and lentil soup but there are a lot of days between now and then to be tempted by something else.
Tracy

Spicy

I did promise this recipe a little earlier than today but a few things cropped up. As they do.  In fact my son, Tom, came home for a quick visit and we drove him back to Sydney over the weekend. But now I am back and because the zucchini relish just wasn't spicy enough (actually it really is more than spicy enough), I made  a sambal as well.

 

Zucchini relish

Zucchini Relish

 

Ingredients

6 cups chopped zucchini

2 onions

chillies (I used 2 of our super hot ones)

1 smal green capsicum

1 small red capsicum

1.5 cups sugar

2 cups vinegar

2tbsp salt

1 tbsp paprika (I used 1/2 smoky and 1/2 ordinary)

2 tsp mustard seeds

1 tsp turmeric

1 tap ground cumin

Method

Chop the vegetables (except the chillies) into a small dice and place in a large bowl. Cover with salt and leave overnight. Drain off the liquid.

Heat 1 tbsp olive oil in a pot and add drained vegetables. Cook for 10 to 15 minutes.

When cooked, add the sugar, vinegar, spices and chopped chillies.

Stir and simmer until it reaches a thick relish consistency. This will take at least 30 minutes but depends on your stove.

Pour into hot sterilised jar and seal.

This is alittle too spicy for my liking but the rest of my household are chilli lovers. In fact, I think it would work as a nice relish without the chillies whilst still having the flavour of the other spices.

The chillies are all ripening up in a last hoorah before winter and so I thought a sambal would be a good thing to make. I don't know what comes over me at times because this is pretty severe in its heat rating and my hands are tingling hours after making it. I am a glutton for punishment though because despite the fact that I have a low tolerance for hot and spicy things, I tasted it just to make sure the flavours were balanced. A little will go a long way and  it isn't for the faint hearted. Or maybe I am just a chilli wimp.

The last of the tomatoes get a look in in this recipe too. I know the first tomato of the season is the most exciting but these ones that hang on and ripen up later in the season really have the best flavour.

Chilli and Tomato Sambal

 

Ingredients

12 red chillies, chopped

juice of 1 lime

1 onion, chopped

5  cloves garlic, chopped

4 tomatoes, chopped (I used 20 cherry tomatoes)

1 tsp salt

2 tsp sugar

1 tbsp vinegar

 

Method

Process the chopped chillies, garlic, onion and juice in a food procesor until it is finely chopped and well combined.

Heat 1 tbsp olive oil in a saucepan and add processed ingredients. Cook for a few minutes.

Add the remaining ingredients and simmer until it reaches a paste-like  consistency.

Bottle into a hot sterilised jar and seal.

As I said, a little goes a long way because it is fiery. It is a good way to give a hit of chilli to a stir fry, pasta or just on the side of a meat dish.

 

And this afternoon, I am feeling pretty good so I am going to tackle the jungle that my herb garden has become whilst I have  been under the weather.

Tracy

In the slow lane

I'm not talking about my driving even though I am the type of driver who generally uses the slow lane, I'm talking about how I am feeling generally. I am a blood donor and on my most recent visit, I was unable to donate due to low iron levels which would go someway to explaining my lack of energy of late. The low iron levels also meant a trip to the doctor, my first since Hope was born 11 years ago (I really am quite healthy) and no surprise, more blood tests done. Now it is just a waiting game and I am due back to discuss the results next Wednesday though I have been assured that it isn't too urgent. Which isn't reassuring at all. In the mean time, I am doing what I do, slower and with a lot less enthusiasm.

 

Today I made Rosella Jam. Making jam is very much a slow food process especially if you grow the fruit first. On this occasion, I did not grow the fruit. I got to chatting with someone from Grafton about their rosella flowers (my plants didn't enjoy the conditons here this summer) and next thing, I am in possession of a rather large bag of rosella. I don't need any for tea right now and these were luscious and just perfect for jam making. The eight finger limes I walked away with too were even more of a highlight.

 

Most of the jams I make are simple fruit jams that don't require too much more than the fruit and some sugar. Rosella jam does take a bit longer than say blackberry jam but it does have a slight tartness to it that is pleasant and is definitely worth the effort. It is also a jam that you won't find everywhere perhaps only at market stalls or in more gourmet stores. I'm fairly sure it isn't available on your regular supermarket shelf.

 

Rosella Jam

 

To make the jam, the first step is to wash the fruit in cold water.

Then separate the calyx and the seed pod.

 

 

The red fleshy part of the fruit is the calyx and can be peeled away from the green seed pods. The seed pods go into a saucepan and are covered with water and simmered for about 10-15 minutes until translucent and soft. This releases some pectin to help set the actual jam.

 

The strained liquid from the seed pods is pored into a saucepan with the calyces and simmered until they are very soft. Measure the pulp and add sugar on a 1:1 ratio. That is 1 cup of sugar for every cup of pulp.

 

Stir the sugar pulp mixture over a low heat until the sugar dissolves and then bring to the boil. Allow to boil until the mixture reaches setting point.

 

To test for setting point, chill a saucer in the freezer and then when the jam has been boiling for about 10 minutes, place a teaspoon of the jam on the saucer. After it cools, push your finger through the jam and if it makes a clean line throught the jam, it is most likely set. (Although what is happening is very much a result of science and chemical reactions, home jam making is definitely no science and there isn't any guarantee that what happens in one kitchen will work in another).

 

Once the jam has reached setting point, bottle it into hot sterilised jars and seal.

 

Make some scones, whip some cream and enjoy.

 

 

Creamed honey is next on my slow food to do list.

Tracy

Tomato Tart

Fairly easy, super tasty and not too bad for the body either. My son, Tom, would go nowhere near this dish with those tomatoes so front and centre and Hope would proabably rather some sort of junk food but hey, I'm the head cook here.

 

Tomato Tart

Ingredients

2 sheets of puff pastry

1 cup ricotta

2 cloves of garlic, crushed

3 tbsp parmesan cheese

a handful of fresh herbs, chopped (I used thyme and basil)

enough sliced tomatoes to cover the pastry

olive oil for drizzling

 

Method

Preheat oven to 200 deg C.

Lay the pastry sheets on top of each other on a lined baking tray and then cut into quarters.

Score the pastry about 1.5 cm in from the edge (this makes the edge).

Bake for about 10-15 minutes until lightly golden.

Mix the ricotta, Parmesan, garlic and herbs together in a bowl.

 

Remove the pastry from the oven and spoon the cheese mixture into the centre of the pastry and spread evenly to cover the base.

Place the tomato slices on top of the cheese mix.

Return to the oven and bake for another 10-15 minutes.

Once out of the oven, drizzle with a little olive oil if desired and sprinkle on some fresh basil and thyme.

 

I served it with a salad of cucumber, pearl couscous, pasrley and a little lemon juice. But a green salad would be just as nice.

 

I also didn't have ricotta in the refrigerator and living 50km from the nearest supermarket does involve either substituting some times or quite often DIY. I made a small batch of ricotta, just 1 cup which is what was needed here. It is simple enough to do.

 

To make 1 cup of ricotta type cheese, heat 1 litre of full cream milk to 90 deg C while stirring, stir in 15mL of white vinegar and the milk should separate. Drain through some cheesecloth. In a bowl, add a pinch of salt to the curds and there you go, ricotta.

No pastry? Then I think it would work pretty well on some toasted crusty bread too.

 



Now if I could just sort my insomnia out so easily, I'd be happy.
Tracy

Easy Tomato Sauce

Amish Paste, Grosse Lisse, Tommy Toes and Yellow Brandywine tomatoes.

 This tomato sauce is easy peasy and is like a tomato ketchup, not a pasta type of sauce. It's a great way of using small tomatoes that you don't want to skin for pickles etc and a few green/unripe tomatoes don't hurt the taste either.

Easy Tomato Sauce

 

Ingredients

1.5kg tomatoes, chopped

250 grams onions, chopped

190 grams sugar

1/2 cup vinegar

30 grams salt

1 teaspoon allspice

pinch of cayenne (optional)

 

Method

Places all ingredients in a saucepan.

Bring to the boil.

Reduce heat to a simmer and allow to cook for about 3 hours. Stirring regularly.

After the 3 hours you can seive the mixture and return the strained sauce to the heat to come to the boil for a few minutes.

I usually just puree it with a stab blender and bring back to the boil.

Pour sauce into warm sterilised bottles and seal immediately.

It is good to use straight away or to store in the pantry.

 

This amount makes about 2 litres of sauce.

 

Enjoy.

Tracy

On my own today

Today was the first time in over two months that I have been truly on my own at home. I miss everyone of course but it was actually a real treat to be able to get in and get things done that I had been putting off. While ever someone else is home, it seems like we are in holiday mode. Anyway, today there was no sign of holiday mode. The Down to earth forums decluttering/ cleaning focus this week is the office/ other bedroom and as Tom has temporarily moved out of the other bedroom/ office then I am giving it a good old clean out. Not too much clutter to remove thankfully but I have been dusting and vacuuming, washing walls and windows and getting a good workout.

 

I spent a chunk of the morning in the garden revamping a strawberry bed. It suffered a bit in the heatwave so I have spruced it up by culling some plants and adding compost. The numerous snails I found in the bed couldn't have been helping it either and they are history now.

 

Farm work was slow today. Just feeding animals in the morning and afternoon which has given me a great opportunity to do some cooking.

 

 

Tomatoes aplenty. They are really producing now and it's tomatoes everyday.

 Enough to make sauce. We have been out of tomato sauce for a while and this one is deliciously sweet and tangy. I will post a recipe if anyone would like it. I'm sure it is better with the seeds removed ( a seive or food mill would do the trick) but I really don't mind them.

 Made zucchini slice for the freezer. There were four zucchini in the garden which were too far gone for anything but grating or stuffing so it was slice and cake to make the most of them. There was a fifth zucchini which Tim mistook for a pumpkin it was so big. That one is too big and bold for cooking.

 And the zucchini cake. This time the chocolate variety and enough for two loaf type cakes. I packaged up into slices for the freezer. Just defrost in the microwave or even toast it before serving.

For lunch box sweet snacks, I made a honey jumble slice. I'm a big fan of ginger in sweets and this is a nice soft slice much like honey jumble biscuits only even easier to make.

 

Honey Jumble Slice

Ingredients

125 grams butter

2tbs honey

1 tsp bicarbonate of soda

1.5 cups plain flour

2 tsp ground ginger

3/4 cup brown sugar

1 egg

 

Icing

1 and 1/4 cups icing sugar

two drops pink food colouring

enough hot water to make a paste(approximately two tablespoons).

 

Method

Preheat oven to 180 deg C.

Grease and line a square 20cm baking tin.

Combine butter and honey in a small saucepan and place on a low to medium heat until the butter is melted. Bring to the boil and remove from heat. Stir in the bicarb and allow to cool slightly.

Combine dry ingredients in a mixing bowl.

Add cooled honey mixture and egg to the flour mixture and ix until well combined.

Spread mixture into prepared tin and bake for 20-25 minutes.

Remove from oven and allow to cool in the tin.

 

To make icing combine the ingredients in a medium mixing bowl.

Spread icing on cooled slice and allow to set. Cut into pieces and serve.

 

 

Tracy

 

 

Bottling and biryani

Bottling up honey. I'm keeping the packaging and labelling simple because the honey is what it's all about. Besides that, my graphic design skills are non-existent.

Sweet potato and red lentil soup

Our dinner last night , sweet potato and lentil soup. This one certainly ticks the budget meals box, costing about $2.00 to feed four of us and have left overs to stir though pasta for lunch today. Even if sweet potatoes weren't on special at the greengrocers, this would still be a cheap meal.

Tonight's dinner was still on the cheap side but no less tasty maybe even more so. My estimate of the cost is $6 to serve the four of us. Unfortunately this time though, there are no leftovers. It is an easy dish to make too which is always a bonus.



Chicken Biryani

Ingredients

1.5 cups basmati rice

2 and 1/4 cups water

1 onion, diced

3 cloves garlic, crushed

2cm ginger, grated

1 chicken breast fillet, cut in 2cm dice

1/2 tsp dried chilli

1/2 tsp ground cinnamon

1/2 tsp turmeric

1 tsp ground cumin

1 tsp ground coriander

150mL plain yoghurt

3 tbs sultanas

 

Method

Combine rice and water in saucepan and cook covered on medium heat for 10 minutes.Drain if needed.

Heat oil in a large saucepan and stir fry onion until softened.

Add garlic and spices and cook for a couple of minutes.

Stir in chicken and allow to cook for a few minutes.

Stir in yoghurt and sultanas and heat through.

Place rice on top of the chicken mix. Cover the pot with a tea towel and then the pot lid.

Allow to cook on a low heat for 10 minutes. Remove from heat and allow to sit for 10 minutes.

Remove lid(careful of the steam) and stir to combine the rice and sauce.

Serve with salad (I used tomatoes, cucumber, onions and mint tonight) and a raita.

Wow, that is harder to type than to make.
Tracy

Zucchini Cake

 

Most days we have this or the like for a snack but of late with the extreme heat, a plate of fruit has been a more pleasing meal than anything hot. My only wish is that I could grow more of the fruit ourselves.

 

 

I have been baking and cooking up zucchini as they come to try to avoid a glut and my usual go to recipe for zucchini cake is a chocolate one which you can find here. A lack of cocoa in the larder helped me to decide to make a 'plain' zucchini cake. Tastes just as good and is moist with a good crumb. But unlike the chocolate zucchini cake, there is no disguising the zucchini fact (so not as kid appealing). It is a quick to mix cake and the fifty minute baking time is just right to set the kitchen to rights and have a cup of tea ready when it comes out of the oven.

 

 

 

Zucchini Cake

Ingredients

1 large zucchini, grated and drained (about 250 grams)

 

¾ cup vegetable oil (I use olive oil)

 

1 cup brown sugar

 

2 eggs

 

2 cups self -raising flour

 

½ teaspoon bicarbonate of soda

 

½ teaspoon cinnamon

 

½ teaspoon nutmeg

 

Method

Preheat oven to 180 degrees C.

Grease and line a loaf  tin.

Beat oil, sugar and egg together until pale.

 

Stir in zucchini, flour, spices and bicarb until combined.

 

Pour into prepared tin and bake for about 50 minutes or until a skewer inserted into the cake comes out clean.

Great served warm from the oven  or can be jazzed up with a cream cheese frosting when cool.

 

Tracy