I let The Monkeys decorate the cake.
It’s all yours I said… make it look beautiful.
They were enthusiastic
very, enthusiastic.
Will Mr Chocolate remember what his birthday cake looked like for ever and ever and ever and ever?
I think he just might
as they certainly made it with a lot of love…
(and peanuts)
Thanks for helping boys.
It’s that time of year when there is a whole lot of fruity looking buns with crosses lingering around and a suspiciously large amount of chocolate on offer.
Whether you celebrate this time of year for religious purposes or like to rejoice with the Goddess Eostre. The changes of Autumn and Spring being celebrated, quiet time in a church, happiness over a long weekend with loved ones, or simply enjoying some time out with a good book.
What ever you get up to… make it a wonderful one.
(And if by chance you feel like making some hot cross buns, here’s a few to get you started.)
200g currants/raisins
200mls hot water
2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1/2 tsp cardamom
1/2 tsp dark malt flour
1 tsp dried yeast
250g sourdough starter
100g sugar (2/3 cup, more if you like them sweeter)
250mls milk
100g softened butter
11/2-2 tsp salt
4 1/2 cups flour (675g)
Soak the fruit in the hot water, leave for a couple of hours/ over night. Mix all ingredients together, except for the salt. Autolyse period 20-45 minutes. Add the salt and mix again, then turn out on to a lightly floured bench to knead until you get a lovely smooth ball of dough. Pop the dough back into the bowl, plastic bag over the top and leave to prove. A couple of proves and folds over the next few hours. Then out onto lightly floured surface again and divide into 16 or so portions. Roll into balls, or simply divide to get a more square shape. Pop them on a lined baking tray, cover and leave for another prove.
Crosses
1/2 cup flour
1/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup water
Mix together and spoon into a piping bag just before they hit the oven.
Then bake at 210C for approximately 15-25 minutes, (depends on the size, bake until golden.)
Glaze
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup water
Bring to a simmer for a couple of minutes and then brush onto hot buns.
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Hot Cross Buns- commercial yeast recipe
Hot Cross Buns- whole sourdough recipe
Chocolate Hot Cross Buns- semi sourdough recipe
It was the perfect antidote to a pretty stressful week. A celebration of our city living community. A chance to get together, share food, swap stories, let the kids run loose and put all my worrying tiring thoughts on pause for the afternoon. I needed that.
It had been awhile since the last one. With Autumn’s Equinox and the tail end of a Sydney summer- it seemed like a good excuse for a laden food table and a chance to watch some colourful bunting flutter gently in the breeze.
Thankfully, it takes very little to get a great bunch of people together. A group email invitation to a chosen loved spot. Invitations to invite other friends along with them, and suddenly there is a big bunch of lovely people. Ukuleles, hula hoops, bare feet and rampant yodeling are always actively encouraged at these sorts of things. This is what makes living a busy life, in a small space, in a bustling city… ok. Actually it’s more than ok, it makes it wonderful.
I was a little nervous about using the Pashmak. I hadn’t really understood why until it came out in an email to the revered foodie Tania. I had asked her for some input on what to make with the goods and suddenly it became abundantly clear to me… I was nervous because this Persian fairy floss was dainty and delicate.
Dainty, delicate… and pink!
Not three words that I would usually string together in my cooking. Rustic yes, every day yes, basic yes…but dainty and delicate? Not really.
I’d bought it with grand visions, plans changed, ideas came and went, and so did the time. When are you going to use that stuff? said Mr Chocolate helpfully… Soon, really soon.
Cupcakes possibly… a cake could be good…or perhaps a little panna cotta?
Now panna cotta sounded like the right thing although along with never having played with pashmak before I’d never tried making panna cotta before, or used gelatine for that matter.
Well that was my answer wasn’t it. The one that I had the least amount of knowledge on, and only a fluffy idea forming, well that would be the one. Of course it would be, it’s the cityhippyfarmgirl way. Hackbaking I like to call it, (and if it all ended up in colourful sloppy mess in a bowl? I had a sneaking suspicion we’d still eat it.)
300mls cream
150g natural yogurt
50mls water
75g raw sugar
1 tsp vanilla
60 mls water
2 1/2 tsp powder gelatine
Sprinkle the gelatin over the water, dissolving it. In a pot add the cream, yogurt and sugar- gently heat to dissolve the sugar. Cool a little, and add the gelatine mixture and vanilla, dissolve again. Pour into individual glasses and chill for about 3 hours.
40g lightly roasted pistachios- roughly crushed
Persian Pashmak*
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* Pashmak wilts in humidity…a lot!
If you like rose water, you can swap this for the vanilla.
There has been a whole lot of things happening in my kitchen lately, which means a truck sized amount of dishes to balance that out.
There have been delicate raspberries to sit on top of a birthday cake. Little Monkey was keen on eating them before they got to the top of the cake and had to be repeatedly reminded that weren’t getting to the cake via his mouth.
Simple vanilla biscuits for Valentines Day.
Surprisingly tasty seasonal salads, with a salute to summer.
A goody hamper very kindly given to me, full of ohhhh so many good things.
On my kitchen table sat, his and her ice cream after a remarkably crappy day….yep, that really does make things a whole lot better. (Maggie Beer your ice cream is ridiculously deliciously delectable, making them in smaller containers was a wise, wise choice.)
New old kitchen tea towels. Excellent quality and someone has already broken them in for me, which means none of that not-soaking-up-moisture business when they are still new.
And on my kitchen floor stands my little helper. Chubby fingers wrapping around my legs, while I cook and bake, as she sings me her baby song.
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What’s shakin’ in your kitchen?
Have a look at the lovely Celia’s kitchen for other kitchen happenings.
“Often life’s pleasures pass us by simply because we don’t take a moment to focus on them… Make a point of noticing everyday something that uplifts your spirit or tickles your heart… Stop to breathe in the joy of this moment and then tell someone about it. Share your joy and revel in it. When your joy is savoured, and then shared, it is magnified…” ROBIN GRILLE
Weekend get togethers with people that live near and so very far, far away. Time has stretched into years but conversation just flows…loving that.
Deep cups of chai on darkened mornings. Little ones sleep on, just me and my chai and quiet, so quiet…loving that.
Seeing pink faced, sweaty little boys laughing together. Everything is so hilarious… loving that.
Conversations that make you think, ponder, and dig deeper than you would normally venture…loving that.
Seeing her little upturned face to the rain. A joyous smile as rain drops splatter on those soft cheeks…loving that.
Tweaking favourite recipes to incorporate different flavours. Getting the thumbs up from Mr Chocolate, friends wanting the recipe and Monkey Boy declaring me to be the best mama in the world after eating it…loving that.
If anyone else would like to do a ‘loving’ post, (or simply write something in the comments). Please let me know, link back to this post and I’ll do a link up. I would love to know about those little moments in your week that have tickled your heart.
(For you Karen)
200g chocolate (around about 50% cocoa)
100g butter
100g coconut oil
200g brown sugar
4 beaten eggs
2 tsp vanilla
200g wholemeal spelt flour
In a pot add the chocolate, butter, coconut oil, sugar and vanilla. Gently melt it down and cool it. Add remaining ingredients. Pop into a greased and lined tray.
Bake at 180C for approximately 25-30minutes, and then let it cool in the tin.
I love making jams and marmalades. For me it’s the perfect way to preserve the season. Vanilla Plum Jam- a gentle reminder of hot summer days in a jar, when eaten in the cool of winter. Tarty Citrus Marmalade- Autumn love and enjoyed every week of the year on my sourdough toast.
I started making jam and marmalades back when I was a teenager. I’d watched my mum do it countless times and just learnt by watching. A couple of decades on and I still happily make my preserves although I’m not particularly good at why I do certain things, I just do.
For this reason I thought I would do a Q and A on jam making, with the ever knowledgable Mariana from Thru My Kitchen Window. Mariana’s pantry is the kind of pantry I would quite happily raid any night of the week. Those darkened shelves, I know would be lined full of beautifully made preserves. Made with a basket full of love and knowledge, (which is a pretty awesome combination when it comes to cooking.)
Q: What is the best kind of fruit to jam and do I use over ripe, or under ripe fruit?
A: Fruits that grow successfully or are native to the area where you live. Apples would be an exception; for example I live in SE Qld and I source my apples at the local farmers market. The apple growers are from Stanthorpe (over two hundred kms away) and I know the apples were picked up to three days before market. Under ripe or close to just being ripe are the best fruit to use in jamming.
Q: What is pectin, why do I need it and which fruit has the most? Can I use that packet stuff that says Jam Setter?
A: Pectin can be a hard thing to understand until you’ve worked with quite a number of fruits; at least it was for me. I would describe pectin as a ‘gummy-like substance’ that oozes from the fruit while it’s simmering. Adding lemon juice to simmering fruit helps to further release the pectin. Pectin levels are different in every fruit, eg; apples are high; strawberries are low. Preserve books generally contain information about the pectin levels in most fruits; consult them or the net and use as a guide to help you achieve the best setting. It’s worth noting that once you add the sugar to the fruit you are no longer enabling the pectin to release; so do not add sugar until you’re happy with the softness or firmness of the fruit. You may think the rind in your marmalade is very soft, but once the sugar is added it actually assists in toughening the skin, so don’t be afraid to cook down fruit with rind, unless of course you like a firm rind. The sugar will cook with the available pectin to form a gel or set; you may need to persist a few times till you get the setting right. Don’t give up, it’s all learning.
I’ve made and used my own liquid pectin stock. It’s very good; but some of the gels have been too firm so in future I’d only use it with poorer pectin fruits if at all.
I don’t use packet jam setter so I can’t comment on that one. I’ve heard that these setting agents can reduce the intensity of the flavour in the fruit. However if you’re new to jam-making then anything that will help to boost your confidence in setting the jam can’t be such a bad thing.
Q. How long do I cook it for? Is timing the same for every fruit or does it vary?
A. Cooking times for jams all vary, for example strawberry jam could take 5mins to simmer and another 5 or 10mins for setting, whilst for strawberry and apple jam, simmering could take 20mins till the apples are soft and up to another 20mins till it jells. It’s all approximate unfortunately as so many factors depend on the condition of the fruit. For instance if you use overripe strawberries you’ll most likely end up with a strawberry sauce with very little chance of setting. Unblemished, just-ripe strawberries will in the same cooking time will give you a much better jam result.
Q.What’s the saucer test, and how do I know when it’s ready? Also, I’ve heard about jam getting wrinkly, what does that mean?
A. I used to do the saucer test. Basically it’s to test how well the jam is jelling. Place a teaspoon of the jam onto a chilled saucer that’s been in the fridge. Allow a couple of minutes to cool. Then with your finger gently push the jam from one side to see if it ‘wrinkles’. If it does then your jam has reached setting point; cease any further cooking. If it doesn’t wrinkle then presumably it needs more cooking.
These days I use my wooden spoon to determine the setting of my jam, jelly or marmalade. Dip the spoon into the centre of the saucepan and slowly lift the spoon well above the pot. Tilt and watch how the liquid drips back into the mixture. If it runs off quickly, then keep cooking. When a setting point is reached, the jam should fall off the spoon in small clumpy teardrops . I much prefer using this method than the saucer test but it does take practise to recognise the signs.
Q.Skimming scum off the top doesn’t sound very pleasant, do I need to do that?
A. Yes. It’s unavoidable that some impurities will rise to the top as it should. This is a good thing. Take a metal spoon and skim away from the sides. Don’t attempt to skim from the centre of the pot; you’ll scald yourself. With some fruits there’ll be lots of scum while hardly any with others. Generally cooking the whole fruit albeit chopped, will produce greater scum. This is usually the case for jelly-making, and even more important to remove because jellies can be quite transparent and therefore the clarity depends on how well you skim the scum away during cooking.
Q. How to sterilise your jars and do I really need to? There seem to be so many different methods to do this?
A. Consult ‘canning books’ or simply ‘google’ to see recommendations on how best to sterilize. I always wash the jars and lids together in hot soapy water; rinse in boiling water, sit on a rack that’s also been placed in hot water. Arrange the jars on a baking tray bottom side down and place into a preheated conventional oven at about 80degrees; leave while the jam is cooking. Don’t put the lids in the oven till five minutes before the jam is ready. Your jars and lids should be quite ‘hottish’ just before filling. Once you’ve filled your jars, seal immediately. Place the jars side by side in a high sided tin or tray. Cover with a tea towel to help cool down slowly. I’ve yet to encounter a problem doing it this way. I read that filled jars should be reboiled for ten minutes, but I find it all so tedious and an extra step in what can already be quite an arduous task.
Q. How long does the jam keep for?
A.The greater the sugar content the longer the keeping time. If you use one cup sugar to one cup of fruit then easily a year and even up to two years. You may get some discolouration of the jam as it tends to darken a little the older it is. These days I prefer to use a ratio of between sixty or seventy five percent sugar to the fruit. In this case it’s best to use the jam between six months and up to a year. At least that’s my experience.
Q. If I have never made jam before, what might be an easy fruit to start with?
A.Choose a fruit that’s in season, one with reasonable pectin levels. Add some Granny Smith Apples – this will improve your chances for a really good set – and help your confidence for the next jam-making session. If you want to be really adventurous, go for making marmalade. You’ll have extra work with finely shredding rind, but your chances for a good setting will be excellent as citrus have high levels of pectin.
Q. And lastly, what’s your favourite jam?
A. I love a really good orange marmalade; it’s hard to beat. However; dabbling in lilly pillies and jaboticaba fruit the last couple of years has been thrilling and has produced some wonderful discoveries. And the mulberry season this year was one of the best ever. The mulberry and lime jelly I made was so intense in flavour it was unbelievable. My gifts to people turned into a nightmare! They were begging me to buy more of the stuff, so I’ll have to say mulberry jelly is my favourite. One thing it did confirm, there’s nothing quite like the taste of a home-made preserve.
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A huge thank you to the lovely Mariana for taking the time to do this and if anyone has any other questions that haven’t been covered here, please do ask in the comments. Hopefully I, Mariana, or someone else can jump in and answer. Jam making isn’t scary or complicated, it’s following some general rules and then you are away, ready to preserve the season.
‘You know what ELSE everybody likes? Parfaits! Have you ever met a person, you say, “Let’s get some parfait,” they say, “Hell no, I don’t like no parfait”? Parfaits are delicious!’ {Donkey}
Donkey was right of course, parfaits really are delicious.
The Monkeys were watching Shrek one rainy weekend recently and I was in the kitchen wondering what inspiration was going to fall upon me for the container of sprouted mung beans on the bench. I kept mentally adding ingredients to my bowl but I was also furrowing my brow a little at the same time as quite frankly, sprouted mung beans, honey and yogurt… I really wasn’t sure about it.
What the hell. I started to construct, pulled out a spoon, and tentatively tasted. Yep… Yep, I think that works. Even works quite well. I made it again several days later and then again just to make sure my taste buds weren’t playing tricks on me.
Nope, still works.
Mung beans, honey and yogurt DOES work in a parfait like kind of fashion, and I would even go as far as saying… it’s delicious.
organic sprouted mung beans
linseed meal
local sunflower kernels *
sultanas
home made greek style natural yogurt
* I found some locally grown sunflower kernels recently at Newcastle Farmers Markets– I can’t tell you how happy I was to find this, as up until now all I had found was imported. Very happy!
When I was a kid my parents would occasionally buy fish from a co-op shop down by the wharf. The fishing trawlers would bring in their catches and deposit their sea life goodies onto the shop counters. While I wasn’t so fussed on eating the fish I did enjoy playing with the fishy carcass out in the backyard.
Scales would be scraped off, hitting the old newspaper underneath. The dinner parts carefully taken inside to the kitchen and the rest of the fish bits would be all for my sister and and I to inspect.
We would squish its eye a little, have a look in the stomach seeing what it what it might have eaten just before being caught, and generally just dissect the remains to see what there was to see.
While the odd fishy innard silently being flung off onto the grass under foot, and half an hour of playing with fish guts probably made us smell like, well fish guts. I do really value those experiences.
These days our little family doesn’t eat a lot of seafood. Like any meat, I would like to know where and how it arrived on my dinner plate. In an ideal world I would catch any fish that I was to eat myself, or at least meet the person that did. Neither of those options seem particular practical for us at the moment so seafood intake is about once a year.
That once a year time had arrived and there was to be fish on the table. I couldn’t give my kids the same childhood experiences that I had, with cool green grass underfoot, and fish guts to step through… but I could do something similar.
With a sharp knife and eager fingers to prod. Anatomy was scrutinised, fins were stretched out, eyeballs were poked and a satisfying amount of respect was given to the small fish lying on the plate. This was once a life lying before us, respect I think was well deserved.
What was the fish thinking before it got caught mama?
We talked about the fish and what it meant to catch something and then eat it. Monkey Boy said he thought the fish looked sad and wondered whether it was sad because it had been caught. Little Monkey thought the fish looked like it was crying. As he had a fascination with poking the eyeball, it really looked like it was.
While I’m not a fan of attaching human emotions to animals, I won’t shy my kids away from the realities of eating meat. It doesn’t come naturally filleted and free from eyes and tails. If they choose to eat meat than I have every intention of them knowing where it really comes from.
For me this starts with respecting the fish.
Sunday yellow is…
mascarpone passionfruit with a shortcake stick
summer corn
marigold
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what are you up to this weekend?
So many good things are in season at the moment-summer really is the season of colourful plenty.
Delivered vegetable boxes are colourful and full of things that challenge my culinary skills, (yes, that still includes beetroot…)
My window boxes are cheery, and garden growings include an abundance of chilli this year. My teeny tiny potted garden is happy to grow chilli, and I’m happy that it’s happy to do that! The rosemary is also happy, which really does make a difference to a pan of roasting potatoes. (Also makes a well scented haven for any critters that decide to take up residence.)
Tomatoes, look I still get ambitious but they really don’t work for me in pots. Needs a whole lot more sun than I can offer them and when they finally do decide to give it a crack, some overly confident grub usually marches in at the crucial moment.
Some other seasonal goodies to look out for at this time
* plums, peaches, passionfruit
* broccoli, basil, beans
*potatoes, peas and onions
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Where ever you are, what are you enjoying this season?
Funny to think this little blog is now three years old. It’s also funny to look back on some of the things I’ve posted about in that three years. Somethings I feel exactly the same about them as I did then, and others, well not so much. I’ve moved on a little, and things have changed round a bit.
I was looking back on my first month of blogging in 2010 and was considering what I had to say back then. I had to chuckle. It was a funny way to start, and while I cringe at some of those first photos I put up, I do like them being there, if even just for my own comedy value.
I also still stand by that very first paragraph I wrote.
“New to the blogging world. I thought I might start one, just to watch my own progression on living as sustainably as possible in an urban environment. Finding out what works for me and my family and maybe achievable by others also living in a city environment.”
The blog has dipped and weaved a little over that time with topics and content, but living as sustainably as possible for my family and I, is still top priority for me. It’s just as important now as it was then, maybe even more so.
Knowing where my food comes from and what goes into my family’s mouth is just as important.
Being mindful of the choices we make as consumers is also just as important.
Trying to make as many things as possible rather than relying on someone else to do it for me (and is usually a whole lot of fun) is also still really important to me.
Looking back over the last three years, I thought I might revisit one of the first few dishes that I blogged about in my first month. Matthew Evans’ Apple and Blackberry Shortcake. The recipe is here if you are interested in trying it, and I’m hoping my second time picture gives it a bit more credit than the first time I did it.
Still thinking on the last three years of blogging- if I hadn’t continued with my blog, I probably wouldn’t…
1/ Have made my sourdough starter
2/ Have continued on the always amazing bread journey that is sourdough
3/ Taken as many photos as I do these days
4/ Have one particular spot to put all my ramblings and musings. Instead there would still be lots of scrappy bits of paper filled with recipes, thoughts, quotes and ideas about the place.
5/ (and best of all…and I know there are still oodles more) I probably wouldn’t have been a part of the wonderful community that blogland can be.
Three years on it was also time for a little shake up on the look of my blog. My theme I had stuck by had long since been retired from the theme options and it seemed there weren’t too may of his clinging on to the blix theme these days. We’ll see how this one works for a bit….
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Now, I was trying to think of something little I could do celebrate that fact that it’s been three years flitting about in the land of blog. So what to do?
Send you all a piece of the Apple and Blackberry Shortcake?…but it probably wouldn’t arrive in the same condition that I sent it.
Put together an awesome sponsor given hamper full of all things groovy and gifty….damn, it’s not that kind of blog.
Something beautiful and whimsically handmade?…hmmm, most of my stuff is still kind of on the learning end.
Still thinking, I thought about a card. Most people still like getting a letter, a card or a post card, and I thought, well I can do that!
So if you would like a card or postcard sent from me to you (or to your little people-if you have them- as they loooove getting mail too!…well mine do anyway.) I would love to send you one. Where ever you may be….Alaska, Argentina, Italy or Dubbo. Doesn’t matter where. Just drop me a line at cityhippyfarmgirl at gmail dot com, leave me an address and a card will be on it’s way. (say first five-ish?)
So a big thank you from me to you- the readers and commentators, as without you…well this blog just wouldn’t be the same.
cityhippyfarmgirl 