Monthly Archives: October 2010

Pan de Leche- the starfish

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Ahhh….the monkeys off my back.

Not MY Monkeys, but this monkey, (my Monkeys are frequently on my back.)

The starfish. No more shall I go to sleep muttering the words…starfish, starfish….no more shall I wake with bleary eyes, poke around for my days clothing, and wander as if pulled by an invisible chain to the kitchen muttering…starfish, starfish…

After stumbling upon this post, mentioning it to Celia who in turn sent me the instructions, then prompted by Heidiannie, then again asked by Joanna, who also sent me this post….I really just had to do it then didn’t I.

Pan de Leche dough sounded right for it. Pliable, not as eggy as a challah, it rolled perfectly and tasted like brioche. Got to love anything that tastes like brioche.

Pan de Leche- the starfish

200mls luke warm milk

2 tps dry yeast

1 egg

100gms softened butter

1/4 cup raw sugar

450gms flour

3 tbs olive oil

1 tps salt

Mix yeast in luke warm milk and set aside for 10 minutes. Mix remaining ingredients together (I used a mixer with dough hook) and also adding milk. Once mixed together, knead well until smooth and elastic. Cover and leave until doubled in size. Divide dough into 16 equal portions. Roll each portion out into a long snake, (leaving one aside to become a disk). Each snake should be the same length.

From here on in please refer to these posts, (one and two) as they will describe what to do far better than I will. The only difference being for the centre, I made a dough disk of about 1cm high to fill in the hole and then wound round a three strand plait, then tucked in again for the centre. Just before popping it in the oven, I brushed it all with milk. Baked at 220C until tips golden and then turned the oven down to 180C for a little further cooking.

* I’ve had a few posts about bread making recently. For so many people bread is a daily staple that plays a big role in the days meals. Making your own I can’t recommend it enough. It certainly doesn’t have to be like this, nor sourdough (although I’m sure you would love it). A simple bread maker machine quite often is enough. Comparing it to so many available shop breads, there really is no comparison in taste. Even if you only made one loaf a week it’s worth it.

It’s fiddle time

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You know its been a really long time when this sight greats you.

I used to play the violin when I was a kid. I was never particularly good, but I did diligently practise regularly and slowly went through a lot of sheet music. Then we moved away and there was no violin teachers to be had….Phew. My mum would ask me each year we renewed my semesters tuition fees did I still want to continue with the lessons? Yes, of course, I would always answer. Not because I loved it, but because I thought that was the answer she wanted to hear. So year after year I continue to saw away with my violin making dogs run for cover and male cats slink in a little closer as they thought a local female was on heat.

This was the special way I played my music.

Each minute I had to practise as a kid was a drawn out affair. Each minute felt like an hour. With a canny eye on the clock I could miraculously make a whole 5 minutes disappear. Yes, mum OF course that’s been half an hour practise…

Fast forward 20 years and suddenly I want to play again. Well I guess it’s not so sudden. It crept up on me. My thought wonderings would take me to my cast aside violin. The case collecting dust and two decades worth of unplayed music sitting in the corner.

So I got the old girl fixed up, a little violin servicing, and asked the violin maker if he knew of any teachers in the area. I’ll give you a lesson…really? Lets hear you play first…cue screeching cat noise- birds outside fly into telegraph poles distracted at the noise. Small children on the street stop their play, turning their frightened faces towards the house where THAT noise is coming from. Old people adjust their hearing aids, to stop the whining noise.

That’s right people, I’ve taken it up again. Neighbours have been warned. Each practise session I want to try and FIND an extra minute rather then shortening the practise time like before. The Monkeys have no interest in me doing it what so ever, and go back to tying each up and pulling apart the book case. Just one more minute boys, I’ll get dinner really soon…promise.

Four lessons in, and I’m already dreaming of bluegrass fiddle tunes, and emotive gypsy serenades.

First, I just need a little practise time finding F# again…

Weaving bread and why its fun to play with your food

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I have this very fond memory from when I was a kid. Staying at my Nana’s house and being ‘let loose’ in the kitchen. She gave me a plate full of flour, sugar, milk, sultanas, an egg and spices. With these ingredients I could do what ever I wanted and then she would cook it. Blissfully happy, I have no idea how it tasted, but I remember vividly the pride I had that I could choose what ever I wanted to do with those ingredients. It never happened again, and if I was cooking at home I always had to follow a recipe. Mum said I had to learn the basics first before I tinkered. Actually she was right, darn right. Because I know a lot of the basics now, tinkering with food makes more sense then when I cooked that flour, milk, sultana  concoction.

Playing with food and its different flavours can be so much fun. The last few months I have been playing with sourdoughs, love it, love it, love it. The last few weeks I’ve been playing with plaiting sourdoughs, plaiting, plaiting, plaiting. Then just I was about to embark on a certain ‘starfish’ that needed an intricate amount of plaiting, my brain said oh oh oh…but what if we did this instead?…Cross this with that, then that with this…Oh ok…Lets give that a whirl.

sourdough woven bread

…and that dear people is why it’s fun to play with your food. As you never know what you’re going to get.

If you would like to weave your sourdough. Make up your usual dough and when its time to do the shaping make your self a large square. Cut equal strips to go down and across. (For this one I did 8×8 strips) Making sure the strips are well floured, otherwise they will just blob together when having the final prove. Then tuck and loop, tuck and loop. For the edges, trim and then gently tuck under to tidy the sides up.

This bread makes for a good addition to soup, as it easily pulls apart.

* This post submitted to yeast spotting.

5 tips for Clove Oil use

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Clove Oil comes from the flower buds of a clove shrub or tree. It has many different uses. From being used in cooking (the dried spice) to numbing a painful tooth, to inhibiting the growth of mould. It has antibacterial, anti-fungal, and anti-inflammatory properties. It can be used as an analgesic, expectorant also as a mood uplifter. This is another little to thing to add to your household must haves. (Along with Bicarbonate of Soda, Eucalyptus Oil and Vinegar.)

Clove Oil is very potent, and a strong skin irritant so be careful when using it, (also around kids).

5 Tips for Clove Oil Use

1/ Clove Oil is a mould inhibitor, so can easily be used for wooden furniture with mould spores. Clean area first then allow to dry. With a dry rag add a few drops of the oil and rub over the effected area. It will inhibit the growth of more mould.

2/ Clove Oil can also be used as a dental anaesthetic. Dip a cotton bud into the oil and then dab on to the tooth or surrounding gum area that hurts. It has a numbing effect.

3/ Used in aromatherapy, the oil has a calming effect on the nervous system. If using an oil burner, just one drop should do the trick and get the lovely smell wafting through the air.

4/ For mould in bathrooms, especially ceilings. First clean effected area with bicarb/vinegar solution, then using a spray bottle use diluted clove oil with water to spray on the effected area- this inhibits the growth of mould spores. A dry rag with a few drops on it and rubbed in to the area also works, (depends how high your ceilings are.) Big plus, it smells so much better than cleaning with every day cleaning chemicals.

5/ Clove Oil can be bought just at your local chemist, usually in the dental area.