purslane and ricotta quiche

i haven't made a quiche in years but today i was inspired to make one because i wanted to experiment with cooking with purslane....quiches used to be de rigueur a couple of decades ago but they now seem quite old fashioned, however, after having revisited the culinary past i've decided to cook them more regularly..

purslane has been growing luxuriantly in my garden this summer..it always appears here and there but this year it's taken over my former garlic patch and it's begging to be taken more seriously than merely as a small player in a mixed green salad..after doing a bit of digging around on the internet i learned that purslane is high in alpha linolenic acid or omega-3 and it's also high in other nutrients and in terms of culinary use i found out that it can be used like spinach.. it seems it really does deserve to be taken more seriously..

purslane and ricotta quiche

tea with hazel

 pastry ingredients 

250 gms plain flour

125 gms cold butter cut into cubes

1/2 cup grated parmesan

1/2 teaspoon (tsp) salt

1/2 tsp chilli flakes

iced water with a squeeze of lemon juice

filling ingredients

3 cups purslane sprigs (discard the larger stems) washed

1 large onion sliced thin

200 gms ricotta

100 gms feta crumbled

1/4 cup grated parmesan and aged cheddar

4 eggs 

1/2 cup milk

1/2 tsp chilli flakes

1/2 to 3/4 tsp pepper

1 tsp salt

olive oil

pastry method

~ put flour, salt, chilli, cheese and butter into the bowl of a food processor and process until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs

~ using the pulse function add enough iced water until the mix starts to hold together

~ remove the dough from the bowl and knead the dough briefly until it forms a ball

~ form into a flat round, wrap in cling film and refrigerate while making the filling

filling method and making the quiche

~ steam purslane until just wilted and then spread onto a tea towel to cool and to absorb any residual moisture

~ saute the onion until softened and just browning on the edges and then remove to a plate to cool

~ roll out pastry to fit a 22 cm quiche tin with a removable base, place the pastry in the tin removing excess pastry and place the pastry lined tin in the fridge until the filling is ready

~ beat eggs with salt, pepper and eggs

~ add milk and cheeses and mix to incorporate

~ place the purslane and onion over the pastry and pour over the egg and cheese mix

~ bake at 190 deg c for 35-45 minutes or until the custard is set and the top is well browned

note

as i said earlier this recipe was pure experimentation but it's one that had a positive outcome because it's a flavoursome quiche that i will make again..and i can almost feel all the nutrients doing me a power of good..

green beans with olive oil (fasolakia me lathi)

last winter i prepared 3 new vegetable garden beds in the southerly aspect of my garden because i'd had several disappointing summer crops from my very exposed north facing garden..one of the beds required some initial assistance in the form of jack hammers and man power but the other two i readied myself..seventeen hours of hard graft was devoted to the second of the beds which produced 5 large bags of kikuyu (an invasive lawn) and several buckets of archaelogical artifacts in the form of broken tiles and bricks, skeletal remains, broken jewellery and bits of unidentifiable plastic..the last of the plots was the easiest of the three to prepare because i'd layered newspaper and mulch on the grass several months earlier which made the digging easier..

i've planted 3 types of beans, climbing beans, bush beans and borlotti beans, in my new vegetable garden and for the first time i've made sure to plant successive crops to prolong production....since just after christmas i've been harvesting a few of the climbing beans each day but during the last week production has increased dramatically and i've been picking about 250 gms to 500 gms a day..

many of the dishes i learned to make while living in greece rarely feature on menus in greek restaurants here in australia..one of these, green beans in olive oil or fasolakia me lathi, is a favourite of my children and mine..sometimes other ingredients are added such as meat or potatoes which is how i made the recipe today..

green beans with olive oil (fasolakia me lathi)

ingredients

2 tablespoons (tbs) olive oil

1 large onion sliced thin

2 garlic* cloves cut fine

500 gms skinned tomatoes** chopped

10 small potatoes* (optional)

1200 gms green beans*

1/2 teaspoon (tsp) chilli flakes*

3 tbs parsley* cut fine

1 tsp sugar

salt and pepper

method

~ remove the ends of the beans and leave whole or cut to preferred size

~ heat oil in a large saucepan and add onion and garlic and cook until soft

~ add potatoes, beans, tomato, chilli, pepper and sugar and cover and cook over a moderate heat until the beans and potato are tender

~ add salt to taste and stir well

~ serve hot or cold with a drizzle of extra olive oil and parsley sprinkled over

notes

*   home grown produce

** i used 700 mls home bottled tomato puree 

talking turkey

have you seen the size of turkey legs in the supermarket? they're so huge that i usually only use them to make stock and soup..but this week i found some that were smaller and i bought them with a view to mincing the meat to make turkey burgers..i avoid buying prepackaged ready minced turkey and sliced breast because i've only ever found these products with added flavour enhancers and preservatives..

preparing turkey legs for mincing is not for the faint hearted because it took me ages to remove all the tendons, sinews and pointy bones..but it was worth it because the minced meat was so pure looking (bit like the mincee!)

turkey burgers

tea with hazel

ingredients

750 gms minced turkey

1/2 medium onion minced

2-3 slices minced bacon (depending on size of bacon rasher)

1/4-1/2 cup chopped parsley

1/4 cup chopped sage

1/2 -1 teaspoon (tsp) chilli flakes

2 spring onions cut fine

2 eggs beaten

1/4 cup bread crumbs

2-3 tablespoons fresh orange juice

1 tsp or more finely grated orange rind

2 tsp pepper

1 tsp salt (or according to preference)

thin bacon rashers extra

cranberry and onion jam

small sage leaves

olive oil for frying

method

~mix all ingredients except for the last four

~shape into burgers according to preferred size and shape

~cook in oil until browned on each side

~place burgers on a lined baking tray and drape each one with a half slice of bacon

~top the bacon with 1/2 tsp of cranberry and onion jam and a sage leaf

~grill for 5 minutes or until bacon is slightly crisped and the jam is bubbling

serving

i served my burgers with extra cranberry and onion jam,  a cauliflower puree with added lemon juice and grated cheddar and a green salad with edible flowers..i also had a couple in a roll the next day for lunch with the jam and salad..

the flowers in the salad are home grown
bellis perennis petals,  carnation petals, marigold petals and whole violets

have a safe and happy weekend..x

wake up

wake up

drink 

blue sky

clouds ethereal white

new life green 

spring

sour cherry and cream cheese bread

the bread that i made today evolved at various stages after i decided to add some cream cheese i had to a dough i was making..i tend to cook by feel and sometimes it takes a while for my ideas to feel right but after considering various alternative configurations i eventually added mahlepi to the dough and i rolled the dough out and sprinkled it with a ground almond, mahlepi and sugar mix..i then dotted the dough with sour cherries and once baked i iced the loaf with a sour cherry juice and kirsch icing..

sour cherry and cream cheese bread

tea with hazel

ingredients (bread)

500 gms unbleached white flour

250 mls (approximately) cold full cream milk (i used barambah organic unhomogenised milk)

1 teaspoon (tsp) (3.5 gms) instant yeast

1 tablespoon (tbs) sugar

1 tbs murray river salt 

15 gms cold unsalted butter cubed

45 gms cream cheese

1 cup well drained morello cherries* (checked for cherry stones)

1 1/2 tsp mahlepi

3/4 cup ground almonds**
2 tbs bread crumbs

3 tbs vanilla flavoured castor sugar***

1/2 tsp mahlepi extra

1 egg 

1 tbs milk extra

ingredients (icing)

25 mls sour cherry juice*

25 mls kirsch

icing sugar

method

~place flour, sugar, yeast, mahlepi, butter and cream cheese into the bowl of a stand mixer

~with the motor running add enough cold milk to make a soft dough

~rest for 10 minutes 

~add salt and knead for 1 minute

~rest and knead for two more cycles

~remove the bowl from the mixer, cover with greased cling film, and prove until doubled

~turn dough onto a lightly flour dusted bench and knead briefly

~cover loosely with cling film and rest for 15 minutes

~roll the dough into an oblong, fold into 3, and rest for another 15 minutes

~turn the dough to the next side of the oblong each time and repeat the rolling, folding and resting twice more

~divide the dough in two and roll each piece into an oblong

~mix the ground almonds, bread crumbs, extra sugar and extra mahlepi 

~sprinkle the ground almond mix evenly over the dough leaving a 2 cm border free of mix

~dot each piece of dough with the cherries

~moisten the edges of the dough with a little water and roll up the dough

~place the two rolls of dough side by side into a greased bread tin, cover with cling film, and leave to prove until nearly doubled

~beat the egg with the extra milk and brush the top of the dough 

~ bake the bread with steam at 220 deg c for 20 minutes
~cover the bread loosely with foil, reduce the oven temperature to 180 deg c, and continue to bake for a further 30 minutes
~mix the sour cherry juice and kirsch with enough icing sugar to make a firm icing
~spoon the icing into a small plastic bag, cut off a small piece of the corner, and pipe lines on the cooled loaf

notes

* i used stoned morello cherries bottled in a sugar syrup and to make the icing i used some of the reserved syrup
** i ground my own unskinned almonds leaving some of it partially ground to provide varying texture
*** i keep several vanilla pods in my container of castor sugar

i had no idea how this bread would turn out because as i said earlier i was making this bread by feel but i think it's a lovely bread..the soft crumb has just enough sweetness (for me) from the juicy cherries and the almond mix..the mahlepi adds an overall flavour that's quite intriguing and i wouldn't know what it was if i hadn't added it myself..the almond mix is a little reminiscent of marzipan but the texture is crumbly..the crust on the sides is crisp while the top of the loaf is softer and the icing adds extra flavour and, i think, looks pretty..

this post submitted to yeastspotting

pain au lait with sultanas..

i made this sultana milk loaf today without a recipe but when i looked online later to see if there were similar recipes i found that my bread resembles the classic french pain au lait ..

it was a wonderful dough to work with because it was beautifully silky, luxuriant and well behaved..by well behaved i mean that it was easy to knead and shape..i kept the sugar content low so that the bread would be suitable to have with cheese and for sweet use..

the warm bread was complimented by 'duet' cheese

pain au lait with sultanas

tea with hazel

ingredients

500 gms unbleached white flour

300 mls (approximately) cold full cream milk (i used barambah organic unhomogenised milk)

1 teaspoon  (3.5 gms) instant yeast

1 tablespoon (tbs) sugar

1 tbs murray river salt 

60 gms butter cubed

3/4 cup sultanas

1 egg 

1 tbs milk extra

1 tsp powdered gelatine

1 tbs sugar extra

1 tbs boiling water

method

~place flour, sugar, yeast and butter into the bowl of a stand mixer

~with the motor running add enough cold milk to make a soft dough

~rest for 10 minutes 

~add salt and knead for 1 minute

~rest and knead for two more cycles

~remove the bowl from the mixer, cover with greased cling film, and prove until doubled

~turn dough onto a lightly flour dusted bench and knead in sultanas

~cover loosely with cling film and rest for 15 minutes

~knead for a further minute and rest for another 15 minutes

~divide the dough in two, shape into round loaves, and place in a well greased bread tin

~cover loosely with cling film and leave to prove until nearly doubled

~beat together the egg and extra milk and brush the top of the dough

~bake at 220 deg c with steam for 20 minutes

~reduce the oven temperature to 180 deg c, cover the tin loosely with foil to prevent burning, and cook for a further 20-25 minutes

~mix gelatine, extra sugar and boiling water in a bowl over a saucepan of hot water until the gelatine and sugar dissolve

~after removing the bread from the tin brush the top of the loaf with the gelatine and sugar glaze

note

the crust of the bread is crispy on the sides and softer with a sweet stickiness on the top..the sultanas add a welcome sweetness to the light but moist crumb..i think this bread will become a regular feature in my bread making repertoire..i have visions of a wobbly bread and butter pudding featuring generous slices of my pain au lait with sultanas..

'duet' is an artisan cheese hand made in south australia
using 50% cow's and 50% goat's  milk

this post submitted to yeastspotting

a cup of hot chocolate and a biscuit

it's no great surprise to those who know me that i love tea a lot.. i usually start the day with a pot of tea but i also love my daily latte..although having said that i only really enjoy coffee in the social setting of a cafe especially with company or at least with a crossword to stimulate my ageing neurones..then there are times, especially in winter after a long day working in the garden, when i crave a hot chocolate..and there've been times when i've been out and i'm maxed out on caffeine that i've fancied a hot chocolate..but every hot chocolate i've had has been a big disappointment..

now travelling is good..i won't argue with that..but it has its downside when the best hot chocolate i've ever had was as a 21 year old in the south of france and in northern italy..i've tried many different ways of making it myself with cocoa and/or chocolate, i've sampled hot chocolate from specialist chocolate shops that purport to have the best and i've also purchased containers of expensive italian hot chocolate powder..the main problem for me with bought hot chocolate is that it's always too sweet and because the base is pre made even at the specialist chocolate shops there is no option for adjusting it..another problem is that the hot chocolate i've made and most that i've bought is that it's too 'thin'..the hot chocolate i had in the south of france and in italy had some body to it..in other words it was hot chocolate with substance..

well there's a happy end to my hot chocolate story because i have found that i can make a decent hot chocolate at home by adding cornflour which thickens it beautifully and makes it much more substantial and satisfying..to celebrate my discovery i made some biscuits today to have with my hot chocolate this afternoon..

'tea with hazel' hot chocolate

ingredients (for each person)

1 cup organic full cream unhomogenised milk
1/2-1 tablespoon (tbs) vanilla castor sugar (adjust according to taste)
1 tbs cornflour
1 heaped tbs dutch cocoa

method

~put milk in a saucepan with the sugar and heat until nearly boiling
~mix cornflour and cocoa with enough cold water or milk to make a smooth paste
~add a little hot milk to the paste and mix
~while stirring add the paste to the hot milk and cook until just boiling

to serve

~i like to serve mine in a large breakfast cup as they do in france
~other additions:

• a biscuit (as i did this time)
• marshmallows
• stir in a couple of pieces of milk or dark chocolate
• a dollop of cream

meltaways

adapted from landeesee landeedo

ingredients (biscuit)

225 gms butter

3/4 cup pure icing sugar

1 cup plain flour

3/4 cup corn flour

ingredients (icing)

125 gms cream cheese 

1 cup pure icing sugar

1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla
a few drops of cochineal

method

~cream butter and icing sugar
~add sifted flours and mix until just incorporated
~remove from bowl and shape into a 1.5 inch diameter sausage
~wrap in kitchen wrap and refrigerate until firm
~cut into 1/2 inch rounds and place well apart on a greased or lined trays
~cook at 180 deg c for 15 minutes
~let cool a little on tray and then remove to a cooling rack
~mix the icing ingredients until smooth
~ice biscuits when they are cool

notes:
~i don't think i'd make these biscuits again because:

• the cornflour in them had a furry mouth feel i didn't like
• the icing was ok but i think i'd prefer buttercream icing or a simple lemon icing 

so tell me..do you like hot chocolate and if you do how do you like it made?