Some useful links…
Go Tap– lots of reading on the environmental impact of bottled water, opinions and stats.
Cheeki Stainless Steel drink bottles
The Story of Bottled Water– (same creator of ‘the story of stuff’)
“Drinking water in Melbourne or Sydney costs around $1.20 a tonne,” says Mr Kiernan. “Australian bottled water costs around $3000 a tonne. And Italian bottled water? About $9000 a tonne. It’s more expensive than petrol…” The Age article.
Finally a pastry that I’m really happy with. Natural yogurt, where would I be without you…
200gms butter
2 cups plain flour (300gms)
110gms natural yogurt
1 tsp vinegar
In a food processor pulse flour and butter until resembles bread crumbs. Tip out into a bowl and add yogurt and vinegar. Mix through and then knead until a smooth consistency and then pop into the fridge for awhile. Take out and roll to the thickness you want. With a ramekin that’s been turned up side down and wrapped with baking paper, drop it over the top and squish it in a bit. Then into the oven at about 180C until golden. (I used a spatula about half way through the cooking to flatten the top (which will be the bottom) you don’t have to do this though.
When they are cooked, just flip it gently out and fill with your favourite pie flavours.
In a pot add
a good slurp or two of olive oil
4 cloves of diced garlic
chopped up chicken breast or thighs
cook them up until the chicken is cooked through
add two chopped zucchini
a lemon rind strip
a good grind of black pepper
2 tps stock powder
a little water
1 tps dried oregano
and lastly 3 heaped teaspoons of plain flour
cook it all until it thickens a little and smells lemony chickeny.
Pop spoons of the mixture in to the pie shells and add some toasted macadamias or whatever other nut you may have locally.
I’ve waffled along on a few other people’s blogs recently about a few things food related. Things that I have felt are important, and before I know it my fingers have typed out half an essay. Rather than completely taking over someones comment sections saying what I think I’m going to try to rustle up a few brain cells and see if I can form an opinion here on my own blog.
Here’s a little snippet of what I think…
(Scroll down to the bottom if you want to skip the soap box waffling and go straight to the crumble.)
* I think it makes sense to eat seasonally.
* I think it makes sense to try and get a lot of your foods as locally as you can, (if you can).
* I think it makes wonderful sense to know what you are eating, and where it came from.
* I think it makes a huge amount of sense to know how to cook.
You don’t have to be cooking like a chef, but a little cooking knowledge can go a long way. You need to eat, so maybe you need to cook. Seeing pre-cooked rice, and avocado in a tube in the supermarket makes me sigh. Is this becoming our normal? Cooking rice, surely is no more difficult than learning to tie your own shoelaces, (maybe not at the same age.) It’s tricky to begin with, gauging the right way to do it, but then with a little practice it becomes second nature and you just do it.
Why do people say they can’t cook? This brings up so many questions in my mind. Is it because they have no interest in it or are daunted by being in the kitchen? If kids were brought up watching other adults go about preparing evening meals, I think it becomes second nature and an almost default setting for them. Here, stir this pot while I chop this. Turn it off when you see bubbles. Do this enough times and without even noticing you child has just absorbed some valuable cooking experience. Maybe that experience won’t be drawn upon completely while they are still living at home and busy being an insufferable teenager, but that experience will be invaluable when it’s time to move out. (No need to buy pre-cooked rice and avocado in tubes then.)
It’s never too late to learn to cook. My grandfather in his late 70’s started to cook, and I’m really proud that he has taken that on. Not out of necessity, as my grandmother still produces the majority of the meals, but out of interest. A school fundraising cookbook landed on his lap, and something in the bottom of his belly was ignited. He started to bake. Under the watchful eye of my grandmother, he starting producing snacks and meals and getting an obvious enjoyment from it. I think he also cottoned on to the fact that if he cooked, he could cater things to his own taste buds and not what someone else wanted him to eat. Sweeties!
Simple cooking doesn’t have to be tasteless. I’m sure some of my most stand out meals have been the ones with the least ingredients. Zucchini quickly cooked in some diced local garlic and olive oil, with a little sourdough on the side and I’m a happy woman. For a lot of lucky people there is an amazing amount of choice of foods out there. Simple doesn’t have to mean an un-interesting diet. Olive oil, garlic, asian/middle eastern style spices, and legumes can be cheap and all help in making a meal mind blowing within minutes. Choice is a wonderful thing. I really value the fact that I have food choice and I don’t want to feel indifferent about those choices.
Celebrity and competitive cooking shows aren’t a bad thing. In prime time television in every corner of the globe there is probably a cooking programme going on. A lot of people have embraced the celebrity chef and televised cooking competitions. If this encourages people to cook, to jump off the couch and head towards the kitchen, surely it can’t be a bad thing. A celebrity chef as a pin-up idol seems to be a much nicer alternative to some C grade celebrity famous for being famous. If I had a tween, I would much rather posters of Jamie Oliver on the wall than ….some toad who just got arrested again. There will always be some negative things to watching these programmes, but I really think the postitives far out way. I’ll take watching and learning how to cook a souffle over another dead body in CSI something or other any day.
Knowing where your food comes from, brings a sense of value. I love knowing where my food comes from if I can manage it. When ever a meal is produced from either making it myself or buying the ingredients from a producer I have met or know something of… pickle me in ginger if I don’t feel warm and fuzzy from it. I’ll be more inclined to eat in moderation and be mindful of how it tastes. Mouthfuls aren’t being thrown back willy nilly without a backwards glance to the plate. If I’ve just spent 2 days making that sourdough, I’m damn sure I’m going to appreciate every crumb of it. I’m really proud to be able to produce something tasty to go on the family table. I have a lovely memory of the first time Monkey Boy helped out making dinner. The pride he had, and the joy he got in telling Mr Chocolate, “I made that…isn’t it delicious!”
Knowing how to cook helps with staying on a budget. Knowing how to cook and stretch the ingredients that I have, has taken time and practice, (and still with much more learning to go.) Knowing how to cook gives you cooking options. Cooking to a budget, also makes you resourceful with ingredients. I’m sure that as a family unit we are spending less on food now than when Mr Chocolate and I were Monkey-less. It bugs me serving up the same meal for 3 consecutive nights, I lose interest and so do The Monkeys…But, I do get a kick out of ‘upcycling’ the meal into something else.
Bolognese- to mexican beans- to huevos rancheros
Left over rice- to bread
Dhal- to lentil burgers
Porridge- to sourdough oat bread
I also get a huge kick out of being able to preserve the seasons. Jams, chutneys, marmalades are staples and used daily in our family eating habits. Jams are used to sweeten homemade yogurt, marmalades to jazz up toast and chutneys to take a simple dinner to another level. In time to come, (with more space and more access to produce) I would love to have preserved fruits, tomato sauces, passatas and other goodies all lining my cupboards, but for the moment I’m happy with what I am doing. They aren’t tricky, and it saves us money. Oodles of it, I’m sure.
Having my own vegetable garden would be lovely, but… I can’t grow more than a few token extras where I am. So, by choosing to buy from local farmers markets, or using CSA boxes when ever I can, (and it’s convenient) it helps with buying locally, eating fresher and knowing what’s in season. When I shop at the local fruit and vegetable shop or supermarket, yes, it’s convenient by being all in the one spot, but I wouldn’t have a clue whats in season. Not a tooting clue.
The internet is full of recipes. Lots of them. You can learn how to make just about anything you could possibly imagine at the click of a button, and this I think is rather lovely.
So tell me… what do you think? Everything up for discussion if you have the time and the inclination…
There are so many variations on the humble crumble. It can be a quick an easy dessert stand by, and without it in my life there would be a huge crumbly hole.
The quickest and most basic way I have found is to…. melt 100gms butter. Add 1/2 cup brown sugar, and then add one cup of plain flour. Fork it through so it resembles bread crumbs and then lay it on what ever seasonal fruit you have. Chopped fresh plums, cooked apples, mixed berries….endless possibilities. It can go in single ramekins, a large deep dish, a low flat dish, an oven proof pot. What ever you have that is bakeproof is fine. Fruit in and crumble mixture on top. From those three topping ingredients you can build. Additions of oats, lemon zest, ginger, coriander, vanilla, almond meal, make it cake-like, crispy, cobbler-esque…
So many combinations of deliciousness! Then bake it all at 180C, until golden.
Apple something or other that was for sure. Puree, pectin, juice?…
I don’t know what it was, as I wasn’t clever enough to leave label on it in the freezer. All I know it was apple-y, it was sweet and it was mighty fine.
The Monkeys had me grinding spoonfuls of it off the frozen sides of the tub into their sweet insistent mouths.
“More! More!” They demanded like noisy, needy little baby magpies.
Alright, alright… It’s ok, Mama doesn’t really want any of this sweet frozen apple-y goodness that she found way back in the freezer…not much anyway.
Bircher Muesli is one of those tasty meals in a bowl that you know is good for you and you can cater to your own taste buds. There are so many ingredients that you substitute one for another and still get a great tasty bowl full. Dry ingredients start with oats, then you can add…slivered almonds, sunflower seeds, sesame, hazelnuts etc. Adding to that your wet ingredients, a grated apple, apple juice, milk, mashed banana, whatever tantilizes your taste buds. Leave it over night and then in the morning top it off with a dollop of yogurt, and some fresh or poached fruit. Imagination is your friend here.
It’s filling, low GI, and tastes like you should get a second bowl full.
1 1/4 cups rolled oats
1/2 cup almond meal
1/4 cup linseed meal
1/4 cup pecan pieces
1 tsp cinnamon
1 cup apple puree
Popped it all in together and then in to the fridge overnight for the dry ingredients to absorb the wet. Added a dollop of homemade yoghurt and a hand full of blueberries on top.
The cooler air, the different light, the crispness on your cheeks.
Autumn is certainly here now and with it everything seems to be deeply exhaling.
A gentle sigh.
Not the sticky wet heat that was summer.
A chance to stop and look at things with an alertness that I haven’t felt for months.
A soft breeze from far away mountain tops, stop me…
Tilting my head towards it, I embrace it and let it fill my soul.
Autumn brings promise.
A promise of creativity, warming foods, cradled mugs, looped scarves, and long exploring walks holding soft little hands.
Hands that one day will shake mine off in embarrassment.
So I’m savouring every second.
I never seemed to have mastered scones. They have always been a hit or miss kind of affair. Some times delicate airy morsels begging for a little jam or cream. At other times hockey pucks. That if stuck together, could make a rather solid house for a pint-sized person. As a teenager I once made scones that had so much bicarbonate of soda in them that everyone’s mouth tingled for an hour after eating them, (I wanted to make sure they got that ‘lift’.)
Let’s just say my scones weren’t winning awards any time soon.
So with a canny eye, and a raised eyebrow, why would I be posting a recipes for scones?
As I finally cracked it, well I think I did. I finally got results that I felt were worthy of placing on the table instead of scuttling out the back when the hockey pucks were offered up. What changed? Back to Sally Wise’s presentation at the Taste Festival in Hobart. Wise by name and wise by nature it seems as I can finally say scones and I are friends, and it’s all thanks to watching her whip some up in just a few minutes.
Perfect thing to make for a relaxing long weekend.
3 cups s/r flour
1 cup cream
1 cup of water
Lightly mix the ingredients all together in a bowl. Once combined, on to lightly floured bench, pop your dough on, and then lightly knead with your finger tips. Flour the rim of a glass (or another cutter of some sort) and cut them out. On to a tray, and then bake at 220C for 20mins.
Just the thing to team up with your favourite seasonal jam.
Dhal
Cheap to make. Healthy to eat. And tasty.
There is a lot to like about dhal. I use red lentils as they cook pretty quickly and they are an easy one to get by The Monkeys (on a good day.)
I will make a very basic dhal and then dress it up with what ever I have going. This week was served with some basmati rice, a dollop of natural yogurt, a spoonful of tomato chutney and some fresh chopped cucumber/ tomato. Use what ever you have though…some chilli for a kick in the pants is always good too.
In a pot add
2 good slurps of vegetable oil
a diced brown onion
3 cloves diced garlic
an inch of fresh diced ginger
a couple of shakes of
cumin
coriander
tumeric
brown mustard seeds (if you have them, I didn’t for this one)
fry until smells deliciously fragrant
add 1 1/2 cups dried red lentils
2 cups of water
stir it round and pop the lid on, (at a medium heat)
chop up your
sweet potato
and whack that in the pot, along with another
2 cups of water
salt to taste
stick the lid on and keep the temperature on low until the the lentils have cooked themselves soft and the sweet potato* is cooked through.
You can use any vegetable that is seasonal. I’ll quite often use pumpkin, sweet potato or silverbeet.
Not long after I first started this blog last year, it was Easter, and I was inundated with posts taunting me with hot cross buns. Delicious little bready morsals. I scrutinized, I dreamed, I gazed longingly, I especially admired the sourdough ones. Then I got side tracked and I didn’t do anything about it. Maybe next year I muttered to myself.
Easter started rearing its head again and the taunting hot cross bun posts started tempting me with their alluring photos, and seductive spices once more. Plump sultanas and glazed tops…Oh what to do? Should I try them? Should I give them a crack?
Of course you should, said the little tiny baker on my left shoulder.
Yeast or sourdough?
Sourdough!! Said the little baker with a firm kick to my head… duhh!
Right.
Sourdough it was. But which recipe? Internet, nothing was quite right. Bourke Street Bakery Cookbook?… Nah, not quite right either. Real Food Companion? Closer, but not sourdough. Back to hack basics again then. Let’s play.
Batch One.
Not bad. Consistency is good, soft, chewy and still light. Needs a bit more salt and lacking a bit in the spices. Definitely needs more oomph factor. I was feeling lazy and couldn’t be bothered rolling them into balls, so did a slab, used a divider and then gave another prove. This resulted in a non eye-catching brick like piece. For the glaze I did straight honey, which was too annoyingly sticky.
Batch Two.
Upped the spices and the salt. Added mixed fruit instant of just sultanas and currants. Wasn’t quite enough prove time though, so there were a few too many large holes once cooked. Still feeling lazy and went with the slab again. This time, dividing it just before cooking hoping that would make them less of a brick slab. Not really, still a great wedge of hot cross bun. Taste though, I was happy with and wouldn’t change anything further. The glaze was diluted a little and less sticky.
Third batch
I did a commercial yeast variation to see how they would be. Was feeling less lazy and actually rolled them, although was a bit sloppy with the sizes and the crosses. Verdict…still demolished by The Monkeys, but my heart still lies firmly in sourdough. Time factor is definitely a plus though when you are using commercial yeast. Not the whole day process that can be sourdough. (See the bottom of post for regular yeasted recipe… which looks remarkably similar to the sourdough one. For a semi sourdough recipe see the EDIT at the end.)
(sourdough)
100gms currants
100gms sultanas or mixed fruit
2 tbls brandy
150mls hot water
Mix together and soak the night before.
Dough Mixture
250-300gms starter (100%)
600gms strong bakers flour (4 cups)
1/2 tsp nutmeg
2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp dark malt flour
1 tsp cardamom
100g sugar
250mls water/milk*
100g softened butter*
(* omit these if you want vegan ones)
Mix all together, except for the salt and then leave for a while, 20-45mins (autolyse period.)
Add 2 tsp salt. Mix together. Prove for an hour or so. Quick fold on lightly floured surface. Back in to bowl to prove for another or two. Fold. Prove again. Shape into a big square to fit the tray. Prove. Use divider to shape into buns. Add the crosses.
Cross mixture
1/2 cup flour
1 tbls sugar
1/2 cup water
Mixed together and then into piping bag.
Bake at 210C for 20-25 minutes. Glaze when still hot. (1 tbls honey, 1 tbls water mixed together)
(dried yeast)
100gms currants
100gms sultanas or mixed fruit
2 tbls brandy
150mls hot water
Mix together and soak the night before.
Dough Mixture
2 tsp dried yeast
600gms strong bakers flour (4 cups)
1/2 tsp nutmeg
2 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp cardamom
1/2 tsp dark malt flour
100g sugar
250mls water/milk*
100g softened butter*
(*omit these if you want vegan ones)
Mix all dough ingredients together, leaving out the salt and leave for 20-40 minutes, (autolyse.)
Add 2 tsp salt, mix together. Prove for an hour or so, and give a quick three way fold. Leave for another hour or so. Divide dough into even balls and roll. Placing on tray. If you are feeling lazy, pop the slab on the tray and divide just before baking. Another prove for 45 minutes or so, and add the crosses.
Cross mixture
1/2 cup flour
1 tbls sugar
1/2 cup water
Mixed together and then into piping bag.
Bake at 210C for 15-20* minutes, check them if the are golden and sound hollow with a little tap, pop them out. Glaze when still hot. (1 tbls honey, 1 tbls water mixed together).
**********
*My yeasted ones cooked quicker, than the sourdough ones.
(This post submitted to yeastspotting)
***********
EDIT- Each year I have tweaked these, until finally I have a hot cross bun that I’m really happy with. There is a semi sourdough recipe that I have been using a lot here if you like the taste of sourdough but need to speed things up just a little.
On a soggy Saturday we headed to the Royal Easter Show. Raincoats, boots and snacks were packed. Monkey Boy had his eye firmly on a ride. Little Monkey wanted to see the cows. Mr Chocolate wanted to see the photography and I wanted to check out the baked goodies section. The Royal Easter Show is a yearly event that brings a little country to the city. There was a smell of roasting corn and hot donuts in the air. People scurried about with their dripping umbrellas and plastic ponchos, running from cover to cover.
With Gortex firmly in hand, (and a camera with a dying battery) we had lots of things to see…
There were dogs with big ears
dogs with big ears hidden under shower caps
There were wonderful fruit and vegetable displays. This year drawing on urban farming and sustainability as a common theme.
The winning display from S.E QLD. Lots of little details to look at.
There were the ever present surprised looking clowns
All the usual places to spend a lot of money.
Some sleek fat bottomed cows.
the unusual looking spotty chooks
delicious and highly prized fruitcake
the not so cluey guinea fowls
and at the end of the day, it’s always good to find a warm place and have a little kip.
The man looked at me.
It’s for cooking with, right?
Ah yes, yes it is.
Now how did he know that the brandy I was attempting to buy, was for cooking and not straight consumption? How did he know that I wasn’t hot footing it home, with The Monkeys in tow. Home to make Brandy Alexanders for cocktail hour for when my dear Mr Chocolate got home from a long days work. Cocktails matched with an assortment of jellied canapes and devilled something or others.
I don’t know how he knew, but he knew. I mustn’t have had the Brandy Alexander cocktail look going on that morning. Instead, I had the wholesome cook look happening… or was it the flustered mama shopping with kids in tow look, I can’t remember now.
I explained that yes, he was right, it was for cooking, I needed it for a cake and some hot cross buns, and I had run out of my brandy stash. He cocked an eyebrow, and looked at me as if I had just started beatboxing I’m a little teapot….
Cooking all that?…Is that because of My Kitchen Rules?*
Um no, no it isn’t…
150gms softened butter
140gms caster sugar (3/4 cup)
2 tps vanilla
3 egg yolks
40gms cocoa (1/3 cup)
300gms s/r flour (2 cups)
150gms yogurt (3/4 cup)
3 egg whites whipped to peaks
Cream softened butter, sugar and vanilla essence together. Add egg yolks, yogurt, cocoa and flour. (looks quite stiff at this stage.) Add whipped egg whites by folding through the mixture. Pop into a greased, lined springform pan and bake at 180C fpr approx 55 minutes.
Allow cake to cool in tin for 15 minutes and then out on to a plate.
When completely cool, cut cake into thirds, (3 discs).
Mascarpone mixture
vanilla bean mascarpone
150mls cream
1 cup icing sugar
I made my own mascarpone from 450mls cream (details on how to make it are here.) Then whipped 150mls pouring cream to soft peaks, adding the vanilla bean mascarpone, and 1 cup icing sugar. Keep an eye on it, don’t let it over beat. You are looking for soft peaks, holding itself together.
60mls hot brandy needed now
On the first cake layer, drizzle 1/3 of the hot brandy followed by a little less than 1/3 of the mascarpone mixture and then add some grated dark chocolate, (I used 75% cocoa). Second layer of cake on, and the same format. Brandy, mascarpone, grated chocolate. For the last layer, spread a thin layer of the mascarpone first, (this will keep any footloose crumbs at bay.) Then add the remaining mascarpone and grate more dark chocolate over the top.
The cake held together really well. It wasn’t intensely chocolatey or sweet. The yogurt and mascarpone kept it lovely and moist to eat, (even 4 days later being kept in the fridge.) The light was falling fast and so were The Monkeys, (dinner was calling) so the photos didn’t do this little cake any justice, but I’ll definitely be making it again.
* My Kitchen Rules, a cooking competition programme with teams of two competing against each other.
soap nuts
little cotton bag you put them in
So what are they?
“Soapnuts ( Sapindus mukorossi ) are an environmentally friendly, sustainably produced, bio-degradable and compostable alternative to commercial laundry detergents. Grown wild in India, for centuries these nuts have been used for many purposes, from laundry to cleaning jewellery and treating contaminated soil. They are most widely recognised as being an effective and environmentally friendly natural detergent, but can be used for a wide variety of other uses.” New Internationalist
Do they work?
Yep, they do. The clean just as well as any other laundry liquid I was using. There is no lingering soapy smell. There is a tiny and pleasant clean, fresh smell when I first get the washing out of the machine. You have to really stick your nose in the fibres to get it though and nothing residual once the clothing as dried. They also leave everything quite soft. No need for any fabric softners, (if you use it.) There is a really great indepth post here comparing the nuts with regular washing powder. The Monkeys don’t play neatly, and it manages to get all the grime off their clothes.
How expensive are they?
Not all. You only need to use 6-8 of the nut shells in a load and then they are then re-used for another 4-6 times. All you need to do is dry them out in between washes and peg the little bag up when you dry your laundry. So the 500gm bag lasts for ages. New Internationalist (where I got mine) claims they will last for about 6 months doing about 200 loads. That seems to be fitting in with how I’m using them too.
What do you need to do?
Put 6-8 shells in the little bag (3 are included) pop it into some hot water for a minute (I stick a bowl of water in the microwave) and then put the bag and water in with the load of laundry.
Is it too much of an extra effort to do it all the time?
Nope, not all. A minute to warm the water, and a few seconds to empty the bag to dry it and the shells. Super easy.
Can you use them for anything else?
I’ve only used them for laundry, but you can apparently use them instead of regular shampoo, hand wash, cleaning jewellery and pest control in the garden.
What to do with them when you are finished?
They can go in the compost or used as mulch in the garden.
Any problems?
No problems for me. I’ve been really happy with them, and will keep using them.
Some places to find them
new internationalist Australia
Wildsoapnuts.com Australia
Each week I make a loaf of sourdough just for me. For me, me, me.
Anyone else is quite welcome to eat it too. However, The Monkeys usually clamp their lips shut and swiftly shake their heads at the offer and there are usually far too many fruity pieces in there for Mr Chocolate to happily call these loaves his own.
So, I make one up for me. It does the whole week and I get to start the day off in a way that kicks starts the happy tastebuds.
Add a cup of chai tea drunk from my favourite op-shop green mug and the day begins.
I’ve played with The Almost Uber Healthy Loaf, a Spiced Apple Loaf, Dan Lepard’s Raisin and Cinnamon Loaf and now this little buddle of goodness. Packed full of all things good and healthy, there is no guilt at all when I slap inch thick peanut butter on it.
300gms starter
100gms (about a cup) mixture of pecan halves, linseed meal, sunflower seeds
1 tps dark malt flour
25gms (1/2 cup) unprocessed bran
150gms sultanas, chopped prunes (they were squishy and soft already, if they were really dried I would have soaked them first.)
1 tps cinnamon
190gms strong bakers flour
300mls water (approx)
1 1/4 tps salt
almonds to decorate
The usual mix, rest period, add salt, mix again. Prove, fold, prove, shape, prove. Baked at 240C, for approx 20mins and then lowered to 200C for approximately another 10 minutes. The toasted whole almonds on top give a lovely crunch to the slices.
This post submitted to the fabulous yeastspotting
cityhippyfarmgirl 