cypriot black lava salt

i was chatting about salt with my local providore owner a few weeks ago and during the conversation he mentioned cypriot black salt*..oh..that would be interesting i thought..should buy some..then i remembered that my son was in cyprus..oh..hang on..i'll see if he can get me some..long story long i contacted him about it..he brought me some back when he arrived home from his 6 month holiday just before christmas..apparently it was very hard to find though..luckily he had a close friend and cafe owner who helped him find it..seems to just be an export item and that the locals don't use it..he brought me a bottle of home produced cypriot olive oil too..he knows his mother well! i used the oil and salt in a greek style warm wilted greens salad the other day..eating it i was in greek heaven..

note:
*   black lava salt is sea salt that has purified volcanic charcoal added to it..apparently the charcoal aids digestion and detoxifies the body although i'm skeptical about the health benefits considering it's used as a garnish only and not meant for cooking and thus the amount of charcoal consumed tends to be very small

i mulched my garden heavily with pea straw this year and it's sprouted
lots of pea plants that i've let grow just for the heck of it..but bonus..
i'm now picking a handful of snow peas every day

warm wilted greens salad (horta salata) with homegrown spinach,
purslane, snow peas and garlic and garnished with shaved pecorino,
a drizzle of cypriot olive oil and a sprinkle of cypriot black lava salt

have you come across any interesting ingredients recently?

making do

i love the alchemic way in which a few random ingredients can be made into something nutritious and delicious..for instance i don't have a plethora of spinach for making spanakopita at the moment but after a little bit of foraging on the home front yesterday i found enough greens to make a hortopita or wild greens pie..i gathered rocket (i have a lot of the smaller leaved variety that self seeds everywhere), dandelion leaves, violet leaves..yes they are edible, purslane, spinach, watercress, mint and wild fennel (i collected the seeds last year from the dandenongs, where it grows wild, while on a blackberrying expedition)..and i did a bit of tweaking with my phyllo recipe..

strifti hortopita (spiral wild greens pie)

tea with hazel

ingredients pie filling (these ingredients can be adjusted to suit individual taste and the ingredients to hand)

about 5-6 cups of mixed greens (i used rocket, purslane, violet leaves, watercress, spinach and dandelion)

1/4 cup of mint cut medium

1/2 cup of fennel fronds

1 egg beaten (1 tablespoon (tbs) reserved)

150 gms feta crumbled

150 gms ricotta

1 teaspoon (tsp) salt (murray river salt)

1 teaspoon pepper

method pie filling

~ cook the dandelion leaves first in a centimetre of boiling water for 5 to 10 minutes, then add the violet and rocket leaves and cook for a further 5 minutes..lastly add the purslane and spinach and cook until all of the leaves are well wilted

~ drain the leaves in a colander, cut up with scissors while still in the colander, and then press the leaves to extract excess water (the water is like a health tonic so i drink it)

~ mix the greens with the herbs, cheeses, salt, pepper and egg and set aside

extra ingredients

sesame seeds

melted butter

ingredients pastry

200 gms typo 00 flour

50 gms rimacinato flour

35 mls olive oil

1 tbs cider vinegar

1 tsp salt (murray river)

warm water

method pastry

~ place flours, salt, vinegar and olive oil in the bowl of a stand mixer and, with the motor running add enough water to make a soft dough

~ knead for 5 minutes 

~ remove the bowl from the mixer, cover with a damp tea towel, and rest for 1 hour

~ divide the dough equally into 5 balls, roll each one into saucer shaped discs, and rest covered for 30 minutes

~ roll each disc to a rectangle about the size of a large dinner plate size and until it's semi transparent

method assembly

~ butter each sheet of phyllo, place a fifth of the mixture along the long bottom end of the pastry, and then roll up into a sausage

~ coil the sausage in the middle of a lined circular tin

~ continue in the same manner buttering the ends so they adhere to the last piece
~ brush the top with reserved egg and sprinkle generously with sesame seeds
~ bake at 220 deg c for 10-15 minutes and then at 180 deg c for a further 40 minutes or until well browned
  

 comments

~ i think the pastry made with the typo 00 and rimacinata flours was better than my former phyllo for a savoury pie..it was certainly harder to roll out but its more robust and coarse crunch suited the savoury filling
~ i thought the flavours of the leaves and herbs worked well and none overpowered the others..i hadn't eaten violet leaves before (apart from chewing on a raw one recently when i discovered they were edible) so i wasn't sure how they would go but there was no stringy chewiness or weird flavour and if i hadn't put them in myself i wouldn't have known they were there..

i'm grateful
that i'm eating weeds because i want to
not because i have to..

rhubarb, strawberry and rose water crumble with rich egg custard

there's so much to pick from my garden at the moment

cabbages

carrots

celery

cumquats

broad beans

garlic
lettuce

parsley
rainbow chard
rocket

spinach

strawberries

turnips

watercress

lots of herbs and edible flowers

and 

red red rhubarb..at last..

rhubarb, strawberry and rose water crumble with rich egg custard

tea with hazel

ingredients crumble

250 gms strawberries hulled

6-8 rhubarb stalks cut into 3 cm batons

1 tablespoon (tbs) sugar

1/2 to 1 teaspoon (tsp) rose water concentrate

seeds scraped from 1 vanilla pod

1/2 tbs corn flour

70 gms butter cut into dice

70 gms castor sugar

70 gms light moscovado sugar

70 gms plain flour 

2 tbs oats

method crumble

~ place rhubarb, strawberries, sugar, vanilla seeds, rose water and corn flour in a baking dish and mix gently

~ mix castor sugar, moscovado sugar, flour and oats and rub in butter

~ strew fruit with the crumble

~ bake at 180 deg for about 30 minutes or until the fruit is bubbling and the top is browned and crisp

ingredients custard

3/4 cup of full cream milk (i use organic unhomogenised)

1/4 cup pure cream

2-3 tbs extra milk

1 egg yolk

1 tbs sugar

1 1/2 tbs corn flour

1 tsp vanilla (i used home made)

method custard

~ put milk, cream and sugar onto heat

~ mix corn flour, egg yolk and extra milk to form a thin paste

~ add a few tablespoons of hot milk to the egg mix (to prevent curdling) and stir well

~ take the saucepan off the heat and add the strained egg mix

~ put the saucepan back on the heat and cook stirring until the custard just comes to the boil

~ take off the heat and add vanilla

tastes even better eaten while sitting outside in the sunshine

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.. 

galactoboureko with fortified wine and spice poached crab apples

bougatsa, galatopita and galactoboureko are some of my favourite greek sweets..whenever i go back to greece i make a beeline for a little hole in the wall shop in pagrati athens for bougatsa (they also sell spinach, meat and cheese pie)..i always worry that the shop might have disappeared but it's always right there where it's always been and with the same pies that i've loved since i was living there in the 70's..

they're great pies to eat for a quick breakfast on the run..when you go there the generous sized pieces of pie are already cut from larger pies that are cooked off site on huge trays..and when you order a piece the man working there..it's always a man..wraps the pie ordered in greaseproof paper and pops it into a paper bag..the exchange of paper bag and money is so quick and easy..i don't remember the exact cost but they're not expensive and they're really good quality..

while i love the quick and easy on the go bougatsa my favourite way of eating it is sitting down at a table either in a zacharoplasteion..cake shop..or in a bougatsaria..where they only sell bougatsa and coffee..with a glass of cold water and a greek coffee with 'ligi' zakeri..a little sugar......bougatsaria aren't everywhere in greece though..in my travels i once came across a small seemingly anachronistic bougatsaria in soufli in the north east of greece early one morning while i was waiting for a bus..it was the only place open at the time and it was, again, run by a man..it had the best bougatsa ever..and i also know of a couple of iconic bougatsaria in ioannina where my former husband comes from..i'm sure there are many others that i don't know of..yet..the reason i like to eat bougatsa at zacharoplasteia or bougatsaria is because of the way it's served on a plate, cut up into small bite sized pieces and dusted with cinnamon and icing sugar, and eaten with a desert fork..it's so relaxing eating it this way..

as i said earlier bougatsa is often consumed on the run and often for breakfast whereas galatopita and galactoboureko are eaten sitting down in a cafe (or it's bought to take home or as a gift) and it's eaten later in the day..greek people don't tend to eat a sweet course after a meal but they do love to linger in a cafe with a sweet little something and a coffee in the afternoon or at night..another difference is that bougatsa is thin..about one to two centimetres thick..but galatopita and galactoboureko are thicker and can range from between four to six or more centremetres thick..and instead of being dusted with icing sugar and cinnamon as bougatsa is both galatopita and galactoboureko are doused generously in a citrus or floral sugar syrup...and incidentally the only difference i can ascertain between galatopita and galactoboureko is that galatopita has filo on the bottom only and galactoboureko has filo on both top and bottom..anyway..whichever way they come they are all delicious..to me..and most greeks!

galactoboureko

tea with hazel
makes 12 generous sized serving pieces

ingredients

30 gms butter

200 gms fine semolina

2 litres milk (i used unhomogenised organic milk)

1 1/4 cups sugar* (or more or less according to taste)

3 eggs lightly beaten

2 teaspoons vanilla (i used my own)

10-12 filo pastry sheets

melted butter

method

~ in a large saucepan melt butter and once bubbling add semolina and stir for a few minutes to lightly toast and then take off heat

~ slowly add milk while whisking to prevent lumps forming

~ return the saucepan to the heat and cook until thickened and just coming to the boil

~ remove from the heat and add sugar, vanilla and, while stirring well to prevent the mixture curdling, slowly add the eggs

~ pour mixture through a sieve to remove any lumps

~ set aside to cool

~ butter a 32 cm x 22 cm x 4cm tin and layer with 6 buttered filo sheets allowing the excess to hang over the sides of the tin

~ pour the semolina custard in the tin and layer with a further 4-5 buttered filo sheets folded in half

~ bring the over hanging filo sheets over the top filo layers and brush the top with butter
~ spray the top with water to help prevent the filo lifting during baking

~ bake at 180 deg c for 40-50 minutes or until the top is browned and the custard set

note

* a greek cook would typically use a lot more sugar in this type of recipe than i did

fortified wine and spice poached crab apples

fortified wine and spice poached crab apples 

tea with hazel

ingredients

1 kg organic crab apples* stalks intact

500 mls fortified wine (i used pfeiffer topaque**)

1-2 tablespoons sugar or more according to taste

1/2 to 1 cinnamon quill

3-4 cloves

2 cumquats*** (or use orange peel with white pith removed)

method

~ place wine, sugar, spices and cumquats in a large, shallow saucepan and heat gently to dissolve the sugar

~ once the sugar has dissolved bring to the boil, reduce the heat to barely a simmer, add just enough crab apples to form a single layer, cover with a cartouche (to avoid too much evaporation), and cook gently, lifting the paper and turning the fruit every so often so that the crab apples cook evenly

~ remove any crab apple as soon as starting to soften

~ cook the remaining crab apples in batches in the same manner

~ refrigerate and use within about two weeks

notes

*     i used malus gorgeous crab apples picked from my own tree

**   i used this wine because i rarely drink and i had half of a bottle languishing..i didn't have enough so i opened another bottle! the wine was gifted to me by my daughter kat who had been gifted the wine by the wine maker who is a friend of hers

*** yeah i've got thousands of them so i use them in everything possible

serving suggestions

~ serve as the greeks typically do with a flavoured sugar syrup or do as i did and serve the galactoboureko with just a dusting of icing sugar and cinnamon, or, both that and some poached crab apples and the delicious fortified wine and spice syrup..the crab apples have a slight tartness which compliments the sweetness of the custard and syrup..either way is good..to me..not sure if most greeks would approve of me mucking around with an already great recipe..

dedicated to my boy nicholas who left for greece this week

and to his girl ruby who joins him in a month
they worked so hard to make their trip happen
so proud
so much love

cumquat cake

i pruned my cumquat tree yesterday..it's looks so much better now that its heavily fruited lower branches have been removed because the bit of trunk now showing gives the garden a bit of depth and you can see my not so discrete anymore for eating stinging nettle patch..i don't know why it took me so long to work out that a good prune was in order because its demeanor's been bugging me for quite some time..

i find pruning's always a bit of a mixed blessing..there's the good bit where i like to stand back and admire my handy work and congratulate myself on another job sorted..but then slowly my eyes dare wander towards the mountain of prunings and suddenly my mood changes..in this case there was the old classic pruner's branch disposal dilemma to contend with as well as the dozens of cumquats that needed removing from the branches..

dealing with the branches was easy..i dragged them round the back and i'm ignoring them..for the moment..i made a cumquat cake for afternoon tea with some of the cumquats..such a lovely treat to have with a cup of tea after all my hard work..i pruned my roses too..probably a bit early but i'm one of those people who, once they get a pair of secateurs in hand, are a gardening menace..anyway, to use up the stash of cumquats i've ended up with i'd have to make about a dozen cumquat cakes..even i can't eat that much cake..

cumquat cake

recipe adapted from here

ingredients

300 gms deseeded cumquats
150 gms golden castor sugar
150 gms ground almonds (commercially packaged)
50 gms ground almonds (not too fine with skin on)
100 gms dessicated coconut
1/2 teaspoon sodium bicarbonate
2 tablespoons self raising flour
3 eggs

method

~ mix all dry ingredients together
~ process cumquats until pureed
~ whisk eggs and sugar until pale and frothy
~ gently mix dry ingredients and cumquat puree into egg and sugar mixture with a metal spoon
~ pour into greased and lined 22-23 cm spring form tin
~ bake 180 deg c for about 40 minutes or until a skewer inserted in the centre of the cake just comes out clean

comments/serving

~ this cake has a slight bitterness which i like and it's not very sweet so the cumquat syrup (i used my cumquat cordial which is thick enough to use as a syrup) i served it with was a welcome addition..and it's versatile and quick and really easy to make..

happy monday monday everyone..x

dandelion, stinging nettle and radish leaf salad

i don't have any typical salad greens such as lettuce, rocket or spinach growing in my garden at the moment

seeds planted in april didn't germinate

and i haven't managed to plant any more

but they're lots of stinging nettles, new dandelion leaves (after autumn pruning) and leaves from freshly picked radishes

to make the salad

boil the dandelion leaves for five minutes in a few tablespoons of water

add radish leaves and cook briefly

then add nettles and boil for a minute or so

drain leaves over a bowl

pour boiled green's water into a glass
and drink

dress the greens with lemon juice, olive oil and salt
and eat

happy winter solstice

april in my garden

i've been very busy in the garden lately..i was up and out in the garden at about 7 am for 4-5 hours on three consecutive days this week..how lovely it's been working on those quiet cool mornings..a few light showers here and there lately softened the soil and made the work a bit easier and then yesterday it rained and rained on the freshly dug soil..i'm happy..

the hard yakka

pruned

~  lavender, tied the flower stalks into small bundles and hung them up to dry..i'll use the dried lavender in soap making
~ perennial herbs such as lovage, tarragon and mint
~ cut dandelions back

removed
~ spent annuals and biennials such as marigolds, carnations, rocket, tomato, pumpkin, beans, coriander and parsley
~ some of the over abundant nasturtium, flanders poppy and nettle seedlings that threaten to take over my garden
~ woody rose geranium, sage seedlings and a lavender (relocated)

dug
~ compost and manure into vegetable garden beds for replanting
~ around rose bushes to eliminate the fibrous roots of a nature strip tree (it's the healthiest one in the street)
~ around garden beds to neaten the edges (i have gravel paths with no formal edging)

planted
~ three types of garlic (early while, early red and italian red from digger's)
~ rose geranium suckers that had grown from the geranium plant i removed
~ sage seedings and lavender into herb garden

composted
~ prunings, weeds, spent vegetable material cut up and added to the new vegetable garden bed (see below)
~ kitchen waste, egg cartons, paper towel, cardboard and newspaper added to the compost bin along with layering of some of the former material to aid decomposition
~ compost tea made with horse poo

prepared a new vegetable garden bed
~ i trimmed the kikuyu, covered the area in op shop purchased woollen blankets ($3-$4/each) and cardboard, put bricks around the edges to help stop the invading kikuyu and then layered the area thickly with kitchen waste, cut up garden material, horse poo and a generous amount of lime..it should be ready for digging in spring

the reward

picked/picking
~ green beans (scarlet runner and blue lake), egg plant, tomatoes, carrots, spring onions, butternut pumpkin, lettuce, chilli and rainbow chard
~ coriander, parsley, celery, tarragon, oregano, rosemary, thyme, mint, lemon verbena, sage, chives, lemon balm, comfrey, pineapple sage, lavender, nettles, fennel fronds, marigold petals, violets, roses, hollyhock flowers, nasturtium leaves and flowers, and carnations
~ rhubarb, pomegranate, cumquat and alpine strawberries

seeds collected
~ rocket, capsicum, coriander, chilli

1. don burke italian tomatoes..the best i've grown in years despite having grown the plants from really old seed
2. lavender
3. a little handful of alpine strawberries every day or so
4. the eggplant have been very prolific
5. a tiny very prolific and very sour tomato that self seeds every year..i blanched these and put them through a mouli and used the puree as a base for a sauce
6. look a bit like a zucchini and then becomes like a butternut pumpkin..last year i only had one whereas this year i have six
7. this is actually last year's crop of pomegranates..i pruned the tree quite heavily last year and it has only produced 8 pomegranates this year..
8. beans, beans and more beans..except they only started producing about 3 weeks ago..i didn't have one bean all summer (the heat has been one explanation for this anomaly)

more hard yakka

need to
~ pick chillies for drying
~ plant peas, broccoli, cabbage, onions, lettuce, carrots, beetroot, rainbow chard, broad beans, coriander, sweet peas, potatoes and spinach
~ finish tidying garden edges
~ stay on top of weeding
~ remove bean plants and eggplants when production ceases
~ watch crabapples for ripening
~ transplant black currant bush

see you next month for 'may in my garden'

fresh broad bean falafel

i planted a long row of broad beans in winter where last summer's tomatoes had grown to act as a soil improver but last week i reluctantly had to pull them out to make way for climbing beans, cucumber and zucchini..i know i'm late to get them in but i seem to be struggling to keep up with the growing seasons lately..i put my garlic in late too and as a result this year's garlic heads are the smallest i've ever grown..as i stripped the sacrificial bean pods off the stalks i knew then and there what dish would be worthy of them..fresh broad bean falafel..

fresh broad bean falafel

slightly adapted from here

ingredients

3 cups double podded broad beans*#

1 small onion

1-2 garlic cloves*

a large pinch of chilli flakes*

small bunch each of dill, parsley including stalks, coriander and mint*

3 teaspoons (tsp) cumin
1 level tsp baking powder
1 tablespoon (tbs) sesame seeds
3-4 tbs olive oil
lemon juice*
salt

method

~ process all ingredients except for the lemon juice and salt
~ add lemon juice and salt in increments to taste processing between additions
~ using two large spoons form quenelles and shallow fry in olive oil until golden on each side

serving suggestion

i served mine with yoghurt and tahini (recipe follows) and coleslaw made with freshly picked red cabbage*, shaved carrot, parsley*, spring onions* and a dijon mustard and lemon juice dressing

yoghurt and tahini 

ingredients

1 cup strained homemade yoghurt

1 clove garlic grated fine*

3 tbs organic unhulled tahini

2 tsp honey (or to taste)

lemon juice*

salt

sumac

method

~ whisk yoghurt, garlic, tahini and honey with lemon juice and salt to taste
~ dust with sumac to serve

note * denotes home grown produce
        # it's best to not blanch the broad beans prior to removing the skins..blanching results in an unmanageable mixture

if you grow your own vegetables do you sometimes find it hard to clear garden beds of productive plants to make way for new seasons crops?

alpine strawberry salad dressing

a few alpine strawberries, oak leaf lettuce, dandelion, nasturtium, baby beetroot and baby rainbow
chard leaves, nasturtium flowers and buds, pansies, marigold petals and carnation petals

sprinkle a large pinch of sugar over a small handful of alpine strawberries 

and crush roughly with a fork

add the juice of half of a lemon

a glug of macadamia oil

and some salt flakes 

and pepper

then drizzle over salad

tofu salad

tofu salad*

ingredients

250 gms organic firm tofu

thumb size piece of ginger grated finely

2 tablespoons (tbs) sesame seeds

1-2 tbs kecap manis

1-2 tbs soy sauce (i used unsalted)

as much coriander as you want (i used homegrown so i used a lot) and cut as you prefer

3 -4 tbs olive oil

method

~ cut the tofu into preferred sized pieces and place on 3-4 layers of paper towel to drain for an hour or so turning the pieces occasionally 

~ heat oil and add sesame seeds, tofu and half of the ginger and cook over moderate heat turning the tofu pieces until all sides are browned

~ turn off the heat and add the sauces and remaining ginger

~ remove the tofu to a serving dish and add coriander

serving: can be eaten warm or cold..i served it warm yesterday with baked curried cauliflower but it goes well with salad

note: 

*   this is a recipe i learned to make when i was working in a cafe but i've adapted the method a bit because i found the sauce burned if the frying pan was left on the heat when it's added and i like the freshness of the extra and uncooked ginger

stinging nettle quiche with spelt pastry

stinging nettles are like an invading army in my garden..where ever there's a patch of bare soil they set up camp and they use stand over tactics on the other residents..i have a tendency to turn a bit of a blind eye to their goings on but this week i took the upper hand and gave them their marching orders from around the spinach and broad bean encampment.. 

stinging nettle quiche with spelt pastry

tea with hazel

ingredients

pastry

250 gms spelt flour

100 gms cold butter diced

25 gms grated aged cheddar

1/2 teaspoon (tsp) chilli flakes

1 tsp lemon juice 

iced water

filling

2 cups of nettle tops and young leaves*

4-6 young spinach plants

1 medium onion cut small

8-10 young spring onions cut fine

1 large tablespoon (tbs) parsley cut fine

1/2 tsp fine lemon zest

2 tbs parmesan

2 tbs aged cheddar

100 gms feta crumbled

250 mls single cream

4 eggs

1 tsp pepper

1 tsp salt**

1 tsp bacon fat

method

pastry

~ process flour and butter until it resembles fine bread crumbs

~ add cheese, chilli, lemon juice and enough cold water for the dough to just come together

~ remove from bowl on to a flour dusted bench, gently knead until the dough forms a ball, flatten into a disk, wrap in cling film and refrigerate for an hour

~ roll the pastry to fit a 23 cm tart pan with a removable base

~ line with baking paper and baking beans and blind bake for 20 minutes at 200 deg c

~ remove paper and beans, cook for a further 10- 15 minutes, then remove from oven and cool

filling

~ wash nettles and spinach well and steam separately until just wilted

~ place in colander over a bowl and leave to drain

~ cut the greens roughly with kitchen scissors while still in the colander and then press them gently with a spoon to extract a little more remaining moisture

~ saute diced onion in bacon fat until soft and set aside to cool

~ beat eggs with cream in a large pouring bowl

~ place all other ingredients in another large bowl, mix, and then distribute evenly over the pastry base

~ place the tart in the oven on a preheated tray and pour over the egg/ milk mix

~ cook at 180 deg c for 40 minutes or until the top is browned and the custard is set

notes: 

*   just letting you know that i read recently that only young nettles should be eaten because after flowering and seed setting the leaves develop gritty particles called cystoliths, usually consisting of calcium carbonate, which can irritate the urinary tract..other sources (http://foragersharvest.com/stinging-nettle-cystoliths-self-heal/  http://www.eattheweeds.com/bet-your-life-on-it-myth-busting/contradict this premise..i don't know what to believe but for the sake of my kidneys i'll pick the young leaves until i have a definitive answer..

** i use murray river salt which is less salty than some other brands so less my be required if using an alternative salt

crab apple paste

this year my crab apple tree (malus gorgeous) produced its largest yet crop of crabs and, because they looked so pretty on the tree, i was tempted to leave them on the tree well into the winter months..i did that last year though and many dropped to the ground and rotted so by the time i noticed there were only a few left..

in the past i've always used the fruit to make crab apple jelly but this year i didn't really want to make any more jelly..that's because i'd made a few, albeit small, quantities of different jellies in late summer with various mixes of blackberries, elderberries, apples and plums..having made quince paste a few days earlier the idea of using the crabs to make crab apple paste was just a natural progression..

crab apple paste

tea with hazel

ingredients

crab apples (mine weighed 1500 gms)

sugar

lemons

method

~ remove the crab apple stalks and wash well

~ place in a shallow baking tray with a couple of tablespoons of water, cover with foil, and bake at 160 deg c for an hour or until soft

~ puree the fruit in a mouli

~ measure the pulp and place in a large saucepan

~ for every cup of pulp add 3/4 cup of sugar and the juice of 1/2 a small lemon

~ place the saucepan over a diffuser and heat slowly until the sugar has dissolved then increase heat and cook stirring regularly until thick and the spoon leaves a trail on the bottom of the saucepan 

~ spoon the paste into a baking paper lined tin and leave to set for 24 hours

~ cut into squares and store in an airtight container or wrap pieces in baking paper strips and place in cellophane bags

comments:

~ i like quite a tangy paste but for a sweeter palate increase sugar to 1 cup per cup of pulp

~ the quantity of fruit i had made 16 generous pieces of crab apple paste which cost, excluding the cost of gas and electricity, about $0.03/piece

verdict:

i wasn't sure how the crab apple paste would turn out but it has a lovely colour and, even though i've only tasted a small piece, a delightfully tangy crab apple flavour..i plan on doing a cheese board with bread as part of dinner for my children tomorrow night so it'll be interesting to see how it's received by them..

a pie and a cupcake

i didn't grow up eating egg and bacon pie..in fact i didn't even know it existed until i had it at a friend's many years ago but it was love at first bite and my affection for it hasn't waned after all these years.. i don't make it often though because pastry is so artery unfriendly and that's a bit of a problem for me because i just love making pastry..i'll use any excuse to get the rolling pin out and a friend coming for lunch was a good enough reason to make my version of this classic dish..i served it hot with a good quality tomato chutney (maggie beer) and a home grown green leaf (dandelion, rocket, oak leaf lettuce, watercress and nasturtium) salad with edible flowers (marigold, nasturtium, violet and dianthus) and a fresh pomegranate juice dressing..and i made cardamon, currant and candied orange peel cupcakes to have with our bottomless pot of tea..

egg and bacon pie

tea with hazel

ingredients

150 gms diced cold unsalted butter
300 gms plain flour
iced water with a squeeze of lemon juice
1 cup of grated cheddar (i used a cloth bound english cheddar)
1 teaspoon (tsp) chilli flakes
1 tsp salt (i use murray river salt)
12 eggs
6-8 rashers bacon cut into 2-3 cm pieces lightly cooked and drained on kitchen paper
1/4 cup of chives cut fine
1/4 cup parsley cut fine
2 tablespoons milk
1 tsp salt
1 1/2 tsp pepper

method pastry

~ place flour in the bowl of a food processor, add salt and butter, and process until the butter resembles fine bread crumbs
~ add half of the cheese and slowly add water, while using the pulse function, until the dough starts to form a ball
~ remove the dough from the bowl onto a lightly floured surface and knead gently
~ divide the dough into a third and two third pieces and shape in flat rounds
~ wrap in cling film and refrigerate for an hour

assembling the pie

~ roll the larger piece of pastry to fit the bottom and sides of a 30 cm diameter pie dish trimming the pastry to the top edge of the dish and then refrigerate while rolling out the remaining pastry to fit the top of the pie
~ sprinkle the base of the pastry with the remaining cheese, add half of the bacon, add eggs and chives, parsley, salt and pepper and then remaining bacon
~ moisten the edge of the pastry with the milk and add the pastry top turning the bottom pastry over the top to form a seal
~ roll out scraps and cut out a rooster
~ brush the top of the pie with milk and place the rooster in the centre
~ carefully pierce the top with the point of a knife a few times avoiding the egg yolks
~ bake at 210 deg c for 15 minutes, reduce heat to 180 deg c and cook until the pie is well browned

cardamon, currant and candied orange peel cupcakes

tea with hazel

ingredients

155 gms unsalted butter

2 tablespoons muscovado sugar together with enough castor sugar to make 2/3 cup in total 

1 1/2 cups self raising flour sifted

2 eggs

1/2 cup currants

3 teaspoons (tsp) finely diced candied orange peel (see recipe here)

2 1/2 tsp powdered cardamon 

1/4 tsp vanilla essence

pinch salt

1 tsp cardamon mixed with 2 tbs castor sugar

method

~ cream butter, sugars and salt until pale 

~ add eggs one at a time mixing well between additions

~ gently fold in flour, peel, currants, essence and cardamon

~ divide between 10-12 cupcake cases and sift the tops with the cardamon/castor sugar mix

~ cook at 195 deg c for 15-20 minutes or until cooked when tested with a skewer

pomegranate jelly with orange custard

when i moved into my previous house i had visions of burgeoning fruit trees growing in our new and enormous garden so i went about planting a variety of fruit trees that i imagined the children picking fruit from as they played outside and i also envisaged myself bottling the fruit for my family to eat in the winter months..it didn't happen though..i struggled with the huge but beautiful ornamental trees in the garden robbing moisture and goodness from the soil, a possum plague, various diseases and beasties attacking the foliage and time constraints..

so, when i was researching fruit trees for my current garden, i opted for the hardier stuff and the more unusual such as feijoa, cumquat, elderberry and pomegranate trees..they're all doing really well and they require minimal work..i picked my first feijoa yesterday, the cumquat is massed with fruit, the elderberry produced eight umbels this year and the pomegranate has produced about 30 beautiful large  fruit..the pomegranate produced a smaller crop last year but the fruit wasn't as flavoursome and juicy as it is this year..

i made a pomegranate jelly with vanilla custard last week but i wasn't happy with the flavours because there wasn't enough complementarity between the two elements..this time i added some orange juice to the jelly and a subtle orange flavour to the custard with the use of orange zest and the finer crushed biscuit is much nicer this time too rather than the chunks i added last time.. 

pomegranate jelly and orange custard

tea with hazel

serves 3-4

ingredients 

pomegranate jelly

2 large organic pomeganates

juice of 1 organic orange* (retain the orange skin for the candied orange peel recipe below)

25 gms sugar

40 mls water

2 gold strength gelatin leaves

extra castor sugar (if needed)

orange custard

1 cup milk

1 tablespoon (tbs) sugar (or more or less as desired)

1 egg yolk

finely grated rind of 1 organic orange*

1 tbs corn flour

1/4 teaspoon vanilla
1-2 tbs extra milk

candied orange peel

skin of 1 juiced orange (see pomegranate jelly ingredient list above)

40 gms sugar

60 mls water

extra water

extras

2 savoiardi biscuits crushed into irregular sized pieces the largest being about almond sized

method

pomegranate jelly

~ remove the arils from the pomegranates

~ put the arils in a colander sitting over a bowl and press the arils with a metal spoon extracting as much pomegranate juice as possible

~ pour the orange juice through a muslin lined sieve into a measuring jug adding enough pomegranate juice to make up 200 mls of juice in total

~ put the sugar and water in a small saucepan over low heat stirring until the sugar is dissolved

~ once dissolved increase heat, bring to the boil, then remove from heat

~ cut the gelatine in quarters, cover with water to soften, squeeze out water and add to the hot syrup stirring to combine

~ add the gelatine/sugar syrup to the juice and stir
~ test for sweetness and add extra castor sugar as required stirring well to dissolve

~ divide between 3-4 glasses, cover with foil, and refrigerate until set

orange custard

~ bring the milk, sugar and orange zest to boiling point then remove from heat
~ mix the corn flour with enough extra milk to form a paste then add egg yolk and mix well
~ while mixing slowly add a few tablespoons of the hot milk to the cornflour/egg
~ strain the cornflour/egg into the hot milk stirring well to prevent curdling
~ return to a moderate heat and cook until the custard just comes to the boil and then remove from the heat
~ add vanilla, cover the surface with cling film to prevent a skin forming, and set aside to cool

candied orange peel

~ place orange skins in a saucepan, just cover with water, boil for 10 to 15 minutes then drain
~ make a syrup with the sugar and water, add orange skins, and boil for 30 minutes occasionally adding more water if the syrup becomes too thick
~ once cool cut the white pith from orange peel and cut the peel into fine batons 

assembly and serving

~ sprinkle the crushed biscuits evenly over the set jelly, dollop on custard dividing it evenly between the glasses and then top with a few pieces of candied peel
~ cover again with foil and refrigerate for 2-3 hours before serving

notes: * i used small homegrown sour oranges..if using sweeter and/or larger oranges adjust the amount of sugar, juice and zest accordingly

nurturing my spirit

i think it's great that our council provides us with 'green' bins but i've chosen not to have one and it's not because i don't have green waste because i do..in fact i have lots of it..i've chosen not to have one because i'm greedy for all the compostable material i can get my hands on..

nothing goes to waste..i have three compost piles on the go at once..two at different stages of maturity that get watered, if necessary, and dug over weekly and one that's being added to regularly..my system isn't very sophisticated though but it seems to work really well..my compost initially goes into a really large wired concertina like canvas bucket (i found it in a hard rubbish collection and cut the bottom out of it)..once it's full i lift the bucket off and move it to another spot close by..all kitchen scraps, cardboard and paper, non invasive weeds, leaves and spent vegetable material is added..i cut larger material up into smaller pieces to facilitate quicker composting..anything woody or prickly like rose prunings that's not easily compostable is cut into manageable sized pieces, tied in bundles, and stored for use as kindling..smaller stuff that's not easily tied or that's infected such as black spot and rust affected rose leaves gets put into paper bags and used as fire lighters..and the ashes from the fire then get dug into the garden..i bag invasive material such as kikuyu and 'solarise' it..a month or two in the sun and it's then ready to be cut up and used as mulch..i've hung onto the couple of buckets of soil full of the very invasive oxalis and star of bethlehem bulbs, that i've been carefully digging up, to feed to chooks but i'm still undecided whether i'll get them again or not..

solarised and cut kikuyu ready to be used as mulch

when i moved to my new house five years ago the front garden was an expanse of half dead kikuyu lawn with one camellia and the back no better..out the front instead of lawn i now have curved gravelled paths bordering beds of tall growing hybrid tea roses, herbs, and taller deciduous and non deciduous fruiting trees..the garden out the back is still a work in progress but i now have four vegetable gardens..the soil still needs lots of work even though i added trailer loads of compost in the initial stages of the garden's development and i continue to regularly add my own compost..i expect it will take many more years of work before i am happy with my soil but it will be a labour of love..

considering globally what's happening to the earth it might seem inconsequential for me to care so much about my own little bit of turf but i've found that if i don't live according to my own values, regardless of what others are doing, then i'm not at all happy with who i am..and also in looking after my soil my spirit flourishes and blooms..

papa meilland
i fell in love with this rose when i first saw it
 in the kitchen garden at heide  several decades ago