very grateful

minestrone was a favourite when i was doing my nursing training at the royal melbourne hospital in the late 60's and early 70's...exhausted and hungry after gruelling shift work my friends and i'd often walk to carlton for a bowl of minestrone (or bolognaise)..it was always served with plenty of crusty bread and butter..i started making it myself when i was living in the north of greece..it was a wonderful all in one nutritious, cheap, warming and hearty meal for me and my soldier husband..the recipe i used then was from elizabeth david's italian food..it was one of four books i had at the time..the others were elizabeth david's french country cooking, the green and gold and a book on greek cooking

i'd forgotten about minestrone soup until this morning when i was thinking about how i'd use some stock i'd made earlier in the week..lots of options whirled through my head but when i thought about some of the other ingredients i had minestrone suddenly just popped into my head..

versatile minestrone

tea with hazel

serves about 6 people

ingredients

2 litres stock (i used homemade)*
100 mls red wine
3 medium onions cut into medium dice
2 fresh garlic heads cut into quarters*
1/4 cabbage cut into large chunks
6 celery stalks cut medium (i used homegrown which have smaller stalks than most commercial celery)*
1 large carrot cut into medium dice
2 medium potatoes cut into medium dice
1/2 cup arborio rice
3-4 thin slices of double smoked bacon cut large (i used skara)
1 teaspoon (tsp) chilli*
2-3 tablespoons (tbs) organic tomato paste
8-10 dried tomatoes cut into medium pieces
parmesan rind cut into chunks
6 ruby chard leaves and stalks with stalks cut into medium pieces and leaves cut large*
large handful of rocket leaves*
1 cup fresh broad beans*
1-2 bay leaves

olive oil

salt and pepper

to serve

chopped parsley (i add it as a garnish because i find parsley goes an unpleasant dull colour when cooked) *
freshly grated parmesan
extra olive oil

method

~ saute bacon, onion, garlic, carrot, celery, cabbage, potato, chilli and bay leaves in olive oil until the onions are translucent
~ increase heat, add wine, and cook for a minute or so to burn off the alcohol
~ add stock, tomatoes, tomato paste, parmesan rind and rice and simmer for 20-25 minutes
~ just before serving add chard stalks and leaves, rocket and broad beans and cook until just tender
~ adjust seasoning

to serve

~ garnish with plenty of parsley, some parmesan and a drizzle of olive oil

notes

* home grown or home produced ingredients

suggested alternative ingredients

~ replace the stock with water
~ use other leafy greens such as spinach, kale, mustard greens, nettles and dandelion
~ replace the tomato paste and dried tomatoes with passata or fresh tomatoes
~ replace the fresh broad beans with cooked dried beans such as haricot, lima or kidney beans
~ replace the rice with pasta or use both
~ omit the bacon
~ saute the vegetables in good quality bacon or pork fat

one of life's pleasures for me is turning my home grown produce into a wholesome meal..it's not about money per se..sure this soup cost very little..for me it's more about being in touch with the ebb and flow of seasonal produce..and growing my own keeps me firmly in touch with the hard graft of those 'on the land' who provide us with sustenance..i'm grateful..yeah that's it..very grateful.. 

herbs de provence and rose olive oil cake

do you remember in the seventies when carrot cakes were all the rage? no..weren't even born then! well..believe me when i say they were de rigueur and cutting edge gastronomy back then..what? a vegetable in a cake? oil instead of butter? wow!

i got on the carrot cake bandwagon with great enthusiasm..come on..i'd just returned to australia after having lived in a small town in the mountains of northern greece for a few years..i was easily excited.. 

one day i thought i was being clever when, instead of using a flavourless oil, i used extra virgin olive oil to make my usual carrot cake..no surprise then that it tasted strongly of olive oil but my taste buds just weren't up to the flavour in a cake even though they were olive oil inured so i reverted to the flavourless stuff..now fast forward to yesterday when i put all of my decades old extra virgin olive oil in cake prejudices aside to make this recipe..the cake has herbs de provence in it too..what? herb de provence in a cake? wow!

i found the recipe for this herbs de provence and rose olive oil cake here when i was looking for ways to use all the grapefruit my girl kat gave me..the flavours in this cake intrigued me but i wasn't sure how i would like them but i think they're wonderful..i thought the rose water* would dominate but it's quite subtle and goes really well with the grapefruit..and the herbs de provence* add intriguing and delightful notes that complement the delicious fruity flavours of the olive oil..not being one to waste much i made candied peel from the juiced grapefruit skins..that was the only thing i did differently..oh..hang on..i did cut down on the sugar a bit..

note: * i used a french rose water concentrate imported by the essential ingredient purchased from here and herbs de provence, brought back from france by my dear friend robyn, that included rosemary, thyme, basil, marjoram and summer savoury..

have you come across any flavours that have intrigued and surprised you lately?

bitter grapefruit and whisky* marmalade

my girl kat brought me a whole lot of home grown fruit recently that she got from work..several of her colleagues had taken apples, lemons and grapefruit to work for anyone to help themselves but because there were so few takers i became the lucky recipient..i've made a few different things as well as this marmalade but i still have many kilos of fruit left..none of it will be wasted

bitter grapefruit and whisky marmalade

tea with hazel

makes 5 jars

ingredients

1 kilo grapefruit

1 kilo sugar**

1 litre filtered water

1/3 cup whisky (i used chivas regal that was gifted to me by a friend for cooking)

method

~ cut the grapefruit in quarters, remove and retain any seeds, and then slice the fruit finely

~ place the seeds in a muslin square and tie up into a sachet with string

~ place the grapefruit and sachet in a large saucepan, add water, and leave overnight or for about 12 hours

~ boil the fruit for 30 minutes

~ add warmed sugar but do not allow to boil until the sugar has completely dissolved

~ once the sugar has dissolved boil rapidly, stirring every now and again, until set has been reached

~ add whisky and boil for a minute to cook out the alcohol

~ squeeze the seed sachet to extract as much pectin possible and discard the sachet

~ ladle the marmalade into warm sterilised jars and cap immediately

notes:
*   'whisky' denotes scottish whisky whereas the spelling 'whiskey' denotes irish or american whiskey
** i tasted the jam as it was reaching set and it was not sweet enough so, after removing the jam from the heat, i added an extra 250 gms of sugar..after the sugar had dissolved i brought it back to the boil and set was reached quickly

i really like the bitter flavour of marmalade..do you?

this post submitted to punk domestics

chestnut cupcakes with chestnut butter cream

chestnut cupcakes with chestnut butter cream

tea with hazel

makes 12

ingredients 

chestnut cupcakes

3 large eggs

125 gms castor sugar

150 gms almond meal

300 gms unsweetened chestnut puree

3/4 teaspoon (tsp) baking powder

1 tsp vanilla essence (i used my own)

chestnut butter cream

65 gms butter

3-4 tablespoons (tbs) chestnut puree

pure icing sugar

1/2 tsp vanilla essence (i used my own)

extra

finely shaved dark chocolate

method

cupcakes

~ beat eggs and sugar until thick and creamy

~ add chestnut puree, almond meal, baking powder and vanilla essence and mix until incorporated

~ pour the mix into a jug and divide mix between 12 hole paper case lined muffin tin

~ bake at 180 deg c for 30 minutes or until cooked when tested with a skewer

~ remove the cupcakes from tin to cool on a cooling rack

chestnut butter cream

~ beat the butter and chestnut puree until smooth
~ add vanilla and enough icing sugar to make a smooth, thick, mix

cupcake assembly

~ remove a 2 cm circle by 2 cm deep piece of cake from the centre of each cupcake
~ fill the cavity with a large teaspoon of chestnut butter cream
~ dust with chocolate

the cup, plate and vase are all recent op shop finds

the teapot is a recent purchase from a second hand shop in castlemaine

i bought it to join identical red, blue and orange op shop purchased teapots

i'd love to find yellow, brown, black and white ones to match

yeasted coconut date and banana health loaf

i like calling this bread a 'health' loaf..when i ate it i reckon i felt better after having one slice so i had another one all the while feeling the good health vibe infusing my cells..but then..maybe it was just the cups of tea i had with it..

my eldest daughter gave me the scrabble cloth many years ago and the mug was a recent gift from my son

yeasted coconut date and banana health loaf

tea with hazel

ingredients

150 gms white organic flour

50 gms biodynamic wholemeal flour

50 gms organic coconut flour*

50 gms desiccated coconut

2 large ripe bananas cut into large chunks

10 large medjool dates stones removed and cut into quarters

1 tablespoon (tbs) finely diced candied orange peel (i used my own)

1 tbs finely diced candied lemon peel (i used my own)

30 gms organic coconut butter

2 teaspoons (tsp) honey

1 tsp yeast

4 tbs active sourdough starter (optional)

2 tsp murray river salt (less if using conventional table salt)

filtered water

method

~ place flours, desiccated coconut, banana, peels, coconut butter, honey, yeast and starter in the bowl of a stand mixer and add enough filtered water* to make a shaggy dough

~ autolyse for 30 minutes, add salt, and mix for 30 seconds

~ mix again for 15-20 seconds and rest for 10 minutes

~ repeat mix rest cycle once more

~ remove bowl from stand mixer, cover with a dampened tea towel, and leave until doubled in volume

~ turn the dough out onto a lightly floured bench, divide in two, gently knead in dates, and then place each piece into a large oiled bread tin

~ cover the tin with tea towel and leave until well risen

~ bake with steam at 230 deg c for 20 minutes, reduce heat to 200 deg c, cover the tin with brown paper, and cook for a further 20 minutes or until well browned

~ cool the bread on a cake cooling rack 

note:

* coconut flour absorbs a lot of fluid so the dough requires more fluid than a bread made with conventional flours only

comments

~ the addition of coconut flour means that dough was not as elastic as per a conventional dough and so it was unkneadable

~ when i cut the loaf i was a bit worried that it was going to be rather leaden but the crumb was soft with an appealing denseness and the crust thick with a satisfyingly chewiness.it was ok the next day too

anyone for a game of scrabble with a cup of tea and a slice or two? just for your health of course!

almond cinnamon cake

i'm always on the lookout for interesting recipes using egg white only rather than whole eggs because i often have several left over from making custard, creme patisserie or ice cream..yesterday i came across a recipe for an almond cinnamon cake in the book 'nigellisima', that i'd borrowed from the library, that piqued my interest..this morning i made it with the four egg whites i had languishing..and..hey.. it's extra versatile because it's gluten and dairy product free..

almond cinnamon cake

'nigellissima' nigella lawson

serves about 8

ingredients (i halved the recipe)

4 egg whites

75 gms castor sugar

75 gms almond meal

60 mls light olive oil

1/2 teaspoon (tsp) baking powder

finely grated zest of small orange

2-3 drops almond essence

50 gms flaked almonds

1/2 tsp cinnamon

icing sugar

method

~ beat the egg whites until opaque and starting to hold their shape

~ add sugar in small increments whisking and until it's incorporated and the mixture is thick and shiny

~ mix in zest and almond essence and then add the oil and almond meal mixed with the baking powder in three batches

~ pour the mixture into a 20 cm baking paper lined tin, smooth the top and sprinkle with the faked almonds mixed with the cinnamon

~ bake at 180 deg c for 30 minutes or until a skewer comes out clean

~ cool in the tin on a wire rack

~ sprinkle with icing sugar to serve

comments

~ i think this is a particularly lovely cake..it's not very sweet so it could be served with a citrus compote or a citrus glace such as the glaced cumquats i've been wanting to make..and i think rhubarb would go nicely with it too

~ the almond essence flavour was not particularly discernible so i'd consider increasing the amount of  essence to 3-4 drops next time i make it

if you made this cake what flavours do you think would complement it?

banana buns to go

my daughter has over an hour's drive to work every day and she makes a coffee and takes breakfast with her to consume on the journey..probably not recommended in the healthy lifestyle dietary guidelines but that's what works for her..it works for me too because i get to make things that are easy for her to eat..nothing worse than drips and crumbs in the lap or down the front of one's freshly ironed top..i made up the bit about the ironing..she doesn't iron either so i guess ironing aversion must be heritable..

forget those horrible liquid breakfasts in boxes which incidentally remind me of the sort of thing that's whizzed up for fractured mandible patients and looks gluggy, grey and pre digested..get the idea? no..these buns have the good stuff in them but they're not slurped through an oversized straw..there's fruit, milk and complex carbohydrates and you need teeth to eat them..i read somewhere that there's a link between satiation and chewing so they work in that department too..

banana buns to go

tea with hazel

ingredients dough

200 gms organic white bread making flour

100 gms organic wholemeal spelt flour

2 ripe bananas mashed

15 gms butter melted and cooled

200 mls (approximately) low fat milk (i used 1/2 low fat milk and 1/2 whey from draining yoghurt)

1 large tablespoon (tbs) organic candied orange peel (i used homemade) finely diced

1/3 cup currants

2 teaspoons (tsp) honey

2 tsp cardamon

2 tsp salt

1 tsp yeast

2 tbs active sourdough starter

extra milk

ingredients glaze

1 tbs sugar

1 tsp gelatine

1 tbs boiling water

method dough/glaze

~ place flours, banana, butter, peel, honey, cardamon, yeast and starter in the bowl of a stand mixer and mix adding enough milk to achieve a shaggy dough 

~ autotolyse for 30 minutes, add salt, mix briefly, rest for 10-15 minutes, mix again briefly

~ cover dough with cling film and leave until well risen

~ remove the dough to a lightly floured board and gently knead in currants

~ divide the dough into 12, 70 gm pieces, shape into rounds, and place on a baking paper lined tray

~ cover buns loosely and leave until well risen or until an impression is left after a finger is pressed into the dough

~ brush the tops of the buns with milk and bake at 230 deg c for 15 minutes, reduce oven temperature to 200 deg c, cover the buns with brown paper, and cook for a further 10 minutes or until cooked

~ brush the tops of the hot buns with the glaze (see glaze method below)

method glaze

~ mix the gelatine and sugar with water and stir until dissolved placing the bowl over a saucepan of boiling water if necessary

grab a banana bun, butter it, and go to work or back to bed with a cup of tea!

this post submitted to yeast spotting

using up egg white

coconut chocolate macaroons
with decorative adaptations

go here for david lebovitzs' recipe

makes approximately 24

ingredients

4 egg whites 

1 1/4 cups sugar

2 1/2 cups unsweetened coconut

1 tablespoon (tbs) honey

1/4 cup of plain flour

1/2 teaspoon (tsp) vanilla

1/4 tsp salt 

30 gms dark chocolate

candied orange peel

method

~ place egg white, coconut, sugar, honey, flour and salt in a large shallow pan and cook over low to moderate heat, stirring constantly, until the mixture starts to just scorch on the bottom of the pan

~ remove from the heat and stir in vanilla

~ leave to cool

~ shape into walnut sized balls and cook at 180 deg c for about 20 minutes or until browned

~ melt the chocolate in a bowl over hot water

~ once the macaroons are cooled drop a half tsp of chocolate on the top of each macaroon and then top with a small baton of candied orange peel

if you like to use up egg whites too what do you make with them?

where's the bread and butter?

i bought these plates from an op shop this week for $5

royal albert

foley

duchess

swinnerton's staffordshire 'luxor vellum'

ridgeway potteries queen anne 

royal stafford 'blue bird'

aynsley

here's the bread..just out of the oven!

organic sourdough whey (from making ricotta) bread

and a slice cut, buttered and eaten before it's cooled

have a happy weekend x

kaiser rolls

since i made some not so good rolls for my sons birthday lunch a couple of weeks ago i've been making rolls regularly and the kaiser roll stamp i bought a few months ago is finally getting used..

100% wholemeal organic spelt yeasted rolls

organic white sourdough rolls

organic white and wholemeal spelt 'in it goes (left over milk from coffee
making and a broken egg that was stuck to the egg carton)' rolls

the kaiser roll stamp was purchased from scullery made

happy weekend..x

don't judge a banana by its colour

one black mummified banana languished in the fruit bowl for a while until it became an embarrassment..i secreted it in the vegetable crisper so my daughter (who's now living with me) and sunday's birthday guests (especially those to whom i'm related) wouldn't see it and so i could spare myself the strange looks..you see..i just knew that banana was destined for stardom! 

oh no..not another banana bread recipe

ingredients

250 gms organic white bread flour

100 gms organic wholemeal flour

2 ripe bananas mashed*

1/4 cup sultanas

1 cup low fat milk*

2 tablespoons (tbs) cream*

2 teaspoons (tsp) coconut butter

1 heaped tbs organic candied lemon peel (i used homemade) finely cut*

2 tsp honey

1 tsp yeast

1 tbs active starter

2 tsp murray river salt

filtered water

castor sugar

a little extra milk

method

~ in the bowl of a stand mixer add flours, banana, milk, cream, coconut butter, peel, honey, yeast, and starter and mix adding filtered water if necessary to achieve a shaggy dough

~ leave to autolyse for 20-30 minutes

~ add salt, mix briefly, rest for 10 minutes then mix briefly again

~ remove bowl from stand mixer, cover with a damp tea towel and leave until doubled

~ remove dough to a flour dusted bench and gently knead in the sultanas

~ place the dough in a bread tin and leave, covered, to prove

~ brush the top of the loaf with the extra milk

~bake at 220 deg c for 20 minutes, cover with brown paper or foil, reduce oven temperature to 200 deg c and continue to bake for another 20 minutes or until cooked

~ spray the top of the loaf with water and sprinkle generously with castor sugar and return to the oven for 3-4 minutes (optional)

note: * these are all foods i used to avoid food waste

low fat milk: my daughter makes coffee every morning and once she's boiled the milk for the coffee a couple of times she used to discard it but i now get her to keep it for me to use in bread making

cream: i served cream with a cake i made for my son's birthday and there was some left over that i'm slowly using up

candied lemon peel: my neighbour recently gave me most of her beautiful lemon crop and i retained the rinds after juicing and candied them..

caveat: so much of my cooking is informed by what i'm growing and what i have in the kitchen..sure.. sometimes i need to shop for a particular ingredient to make a meal that i've planned but it's more the exception than the rule..this means that i rarely replicate dishes exactly..and i certainly don't expect anyone to replicate the recipes i post..it's just fun to share my passion..having said that though it's one of the best banana breads, yeasted or otherwise, that i've ever made..x

this post submitted to yeast spotting

edit note: for those not trying to use up ingredients like i was use full cream milk and omit the cream

food waste

as i wandered through the supermarket the other day i noticed a whole lot of people milling around some boxes of produce so i scurried over to see what all the excitement was about..i must have had a quizzical look on my face because without talking to me the supermarket employee pointed to the plastic bag holder..when i came back with my bag he nodded towards the boxes and told me for $3 i could fill my bag..i'm not good at bun fights so i hung back until the dust had settled accepting that i might miss out on the better produce..but it didn't turn out like that at all because i was easily able to fill my bag with quality produce such as new seasons apples and corella pears, lebanese cucumbers, a couple of heads of garlic (not the bleached imported variety), red capsicums, beetroot and organic bananas..admittedly there was a lot of poorer quality stuff in the boxes including rotting vegetation but my well honed urban foraging skills enabled me to find the better stuff among the dross..

i had a bit of a chat with the attendee while he was telling me to tie my bag securely (in case i stole a soft banana?) and as he put a bar code sticker on my bag..he told me that the same thing happens every day from 3-4 pm and that he has his regulars who come every day..i don't know that i will become a 'regular' because i buy my green groceries elsewhere but if i happen to be there at the right time i'll probably check out what's on offer again..

i checked out my bounty when i got home and the only thing wrong with the apples was the odd blemish but otherwise they were fresh and crisp..the other things weren't perfect either but there was nothing intrinsically wrong with any of it..there have been several stories in the media recently about the huge volume of food wasted annually around the world..among the doom and gloom there are good things happening though such as programs where producers, suppliers and restaurants donate food to charity..and i've seen a few television programs lately where, often for philosophical reasons, people engage in what's known as 'dumpster diving' where supermarket waste bins are raided for food..and the issue of household food waste is becoming a more salient issue in terms of media attention and educational programs..

i'm pretty sure the supermarkets' daily $3 'greens grab' is primarily motivated by money but i can see some positive aspects..the first is the economic benefit to the consumer and the second relates to waste reduction which results in reduced landfill, methane gas production and the associated effect on climate..and i get the sense that many of us, in reducing waste, respect ourselves more when we respect the hard won and precious life affirming commodity that's food..

a few articles addressing the issues i've mentioned

http://www.melbourne.vic.gov.au/enterprisemelbourne/waste/Pages/OrganicsRecycling.aspx (food donation)
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/magazine/6933744.stm (eating and cooking food from supermarket
waste bins)
http://foodwise.com.au/food-waste/household-food-waste/waste-free-kitchen/ (household food waste)
https://www.oxfam.org.au/grow/2013/01/14/how-can-you-help-cut-down-on-food-waste/ (household food waste)

roast beetroot and taleggio soup

tea with hazel

ingredients soup

2 medium to large beetroot peeled and quartered*
2 small red capsicums cut into quarters*
1/4 small pumpkin peeled and cut into chunks
4 medium tomatoes cut large
1/2 large zucchini cut into chunks (i only used this because i was low in stock and i thought this watery vegetable would amp up the fluid volume of the soup without eclipsing the flavour i was after)
4-5 cloves garlic unpeeled*
1 litre stock
olive oil
2 teaspoons (tsp) salt
1 tsp pepper
1 tsp chilli flakes

ingredients to serve

1 tsp sumac per person
3-4 slices of taleggio per person
finely cut parsley and chives
extra salt and pepper

method

~ place the beetroot, capsicums, pumpkin, tomatoes, zucchini and garlic in a roasting tray and drizzle with a little olive oil and sprinkle with salt, pepper and chilli flakes
~ roast at 180 deg c until the vegetables are well browned and softening
~ once cooked remove the roasted vegetables to a saucepan, add stock, and cook until the vegetables are falling apart
~ puree the soup and pass it through a mouli

serving
~ reheat, adding water if it's too thick, and serve with slices of taleggio, chives, parsley and sumac

note * denotes 'green grab' produce

atta milk loaf

tea with hazel

ingredients

250 gms atta flour

250 gms white bread flour

approximately 250 mls full fat milk

1 tsp yeast

1 1/2 tsp salt

method

~ mix flours and yeast with enough milk to make a shaggy dough and leave for 10-15 minutes to autolyse

~ add salt, mix briefly, rest for 10 minutes and mix briefly again

~ cover with clingfilm and place in the refrigerator overnight

~ remove the bowl from the refrigerator the next morning and leave for an hour or two 

~ turn the dough out of the bowl on to a well floured bench, stretch and fold a few times, and then rest for 20-30 minutes

~ repeat the stretch and fold and rest cycle once more

~ shape the dough into a round, sprinkle with semolina, place top side down in a muslin lined colander (or dough proofing basket) and leave until well risen

~ slash the loaf and cook with steam for 20 minutes at 220 deg c (break baking function) and then at 180 deg c for a further 20-25 minutes or until well browned

i think the milk gave the loaf a tighter crumb than i've become used to
 but happily it wasn't heavy and it went well with the soup

it was a sweet weekend..

because my eldest daughter came over on saturday and we had afternoon tea and and then we spent about 4 hours doing patchwork..my daughter is making a large paper pieced hexagon patchwork quilt using woollen fabric that my mother had..some of which are pieces left over from clothing she made for herself so it is going to be very special to my daughter because of the provenance of the fabric..

for afternoon tea we had macaroons because i had two egg whites left over from a custard i made a few days ago and because i am trying to make an effort to reduce the fat in our diets..macaroons are easy to make but they seem to have lost favour unlike macarons which are very popular.. i find macaroons quite sweet so in order to tone down the sugar blast i added very finely grated orange rind and i put a small piece of my candied orange on top..and just for fun i added some pink food colouring..

because they were a bit of an experiment i wasn't sure how they would taste but they were surprisingly good especially with 'vanilla and earl' tea..next time though i will tweak the recipe a bit and add extra coconut to offset the effect of the addition of the colouring in loosening the mixture..

i hope you had a sweet weekend too..jane