Tag Archives: food

What’s in season Sydney?

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Wandering through the Eveleigh farmers markets at Carriageworks last weekend, I was tickled pink by all the gorgeous produce that’s in season at the moment. (Speaking of pink, the pink lady apples have been delicious lately.) I was here wandering with a foodie friend, a friend who understands the subtle delight of an amazing mushroom and some locally produced olive oil. The morning was ours and wander we did.

I’d been meaning to come here for quite a while. I’d been impressed by the artisan markets on a Sunday but had yet to open my reusable shopping bag at these ones. So with a skip in my feet and coins in my pockets, we set forth.

I was also on the hunt for the Slow Food Sydney Seasonal Food Guide. Only a few people were selling them around Sydney, and I wanted one. I felt like I had been doing better with knowing what was in season, but I could still do with knowing more.

I was happy to see the smiling faces of the girls from The Little General with a stall. I had met them at the Masterchef Live foodie festival last year and had taken home some of their gorgeous extra virgin olive oil. I’m a big fan of olive oil. It’s such a simple thing that can really make any dish. Along with the prices, the differences in extra virgin olive oil tastes are huge. If you haven’t had any locally produced fresh extra virgin oil, dunked with a little crusty sourdough and perhaps a little taste of chevre… I’d suggest hopping to it. Skip the big brand imported stuff that’s on sale, (it’s probably on sale for a good reason.)

The swiss mushrooms have also been delicious. Not a week has gone by that I haven’t found a bag of good mushrooms skipping their way home. Don’t waste your time with the tasteless supermarket ones. There is no taste comparison…none.

Potatoes. Why, oh why did it take me so long to discover the wonderful world of potatoes? I’d dismissed them as a nothing vegetable long ago. Then last year I started getting Foodconnect boxes and in it were different types of potatoes. Truly a revelation. These weren’t tasteless boring, chunks of bland. Instead, little wonderous dirt covered beings and here before me was the stall that showed all those potatoes in their true glory. Toss me a potato, and get me to tell you the name and I wouldn’t have a clue, not a tooting clue though. So with that in mind, I asked for a mixed bag, (as I couldn’t decide which ones were more alluring.) Round ones, long ones, purple ones, yellow ones…

Knowing that the potatoes were grown just a hop skip and a jump away made them even more appealing. Highland Gourmet Potatoes is a family run business located in Robertson, Southern Highlands.  Sydney has two potato seasons a year, (I now know this, as I found the seasonal guide!)

saphire potato

Broccoli is one of the seasonal goodies that I can’t get enough of at the moment. Along with gai lum (chinese broccoli), kale, swiss mushrooms and pink ladies (although they are coming to an end) they have all been making regular encore presentations to the family table. Give me a plate full of broccoli cooked up with a little garlic and olive oil (The Little General), and I’m a happy woman.

and the best thing about going to somewhere like this with a foodie friend, is that you get to sample twice as much.

*****

Eveleigh Farmers Markets

every Saturday

8-1pm

smells like pink cupcakes

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I couldn’t get them out of my head.

Pink cupcakes.

Everywhere I turned. There they were in my thoughts. In all their pinkness… and cupcakey-ness.

Little Monkey was even beginning to smell like pink cupcakes.

…actually I always think he smells like a pink cupcake.

Monkey Boy doesn’t smell like a pink cupcake. But he likes to eat them. Both of them like to eat them.

Now I’ve made them I can turn my attention to more pressing matters at hand, (like reading.)

*****

Pink Cupcakes

150g softened butter

150g caster sugar

2 tsp vanilla

2 eggs

3tbls natural yogurt

80mls milk (1/3 cup)

225g s/r flour (1 1/2 cups)

Cream butter and sugar, add vanilla, eggs, yogurt, milk. Fold through flour.

Bake at 180C for approximately 25 minutes.

Icing

2 dessert spoons natural yogurt

red colouring (I used a little beetroot juice)

icing sugar

B Bread

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I have fiddled, twiddled and tweaked this recipe so many times, and I’m still unsure of what to actually call it.

Could it be wholemeal bread? Technically it’s not wholemeal as it doesn’t use the whole grain.

Bran bread doesn’t haven’t much of ring to it. Sounds like something your grandmother might be encouraging you to eat.

Keeps me regular as clock work that Bran Bread does! 

Nope. Bran Bread doesn’t work either.

How about Brown Bread? A bit dreary sounding though isn’t it?

Would you like some lunch? How about some white cheese, red tomato, on some brown bread?

Exciting no?

How about B Bread? It’s got bran, it’s brown, it’s bread, (and it’s made by Brydie.) Yep that will do.   

For such a simple loaf, I really have tweaked it a lot. Has it made a terribly big difference? Probably not.

I have played with higher hydration, (too tricky to shape) short mixes within the autolyse period, longer autolyse period, (I like leaving it about 40 minutes) using hot water mixed with the flour, long over night prove, shorter day proves, big slashes, little slashes, no slashes, (I like them) not soaking the bran (dry bits), adding the dark malt secondary, (too streaky) adding the malt with the bran and hot water, (no difference) shaping before the over night prove, shaping after the over night prove. (I’m still not sure which I prefer with this one. Depends on the time factor at this stage.)

At the end of the day though, it’s a bread that does what all good breads do. Fills your belly in a wholesome, soul uplifting kind of way.


B Bread

400g starter

700g flour (4 2/3 cups)

1 tsp dark malt flour

50g unprocessed bran (1 cup)

125mls hot water

500mls water

2 tsp salt

Add hot water and bran together, mix until all absorbed. Mix starter, flour, water and dark malt flour together for a minute or so, and then add the bran mixture (I use a sunbeam mixer with a dough hook). Rest period 40 mins. Add salt. Mix again. Prove for 1 hour or so. Quick knead on lightly floured surface. Another hour or so prove. Fridge for 12 hours. Shape. Back to room temperature and prove,(took about 3.5 hours). Slash. Baked at 240C with steam, for about 30 minutes.

This post submitted to the wonderful yeastspotting.

Taunting newspapers and Banana Oat Bars

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I’m always curious to see what other people are reading.

Passing by a young man with a very long bushman beard at 7am on a Saturday morning recently. I had to stop myself from sticking my head upside down, and asking, “what ya readin’ there buddy?” He seemed so engrossed in his book, sitting reading at the bus stop.  What was that young man with a long bushman’s beard reading at 7am while waiting for his bus?

I love reading, but too often there isn’t enough time in my day. Certainly not enough time to do all the reading that I would like to be doing anyway. I love reading the Saturday paper, but sometimes I simply have to just not buy it. The pressure to read the thing is too much. Who needs that kind of added pressure? A pile of papers slowly mounting up on the table, taunting me in its silence. If the paper could talk I’m sure it would be whispering.

You haven’t read me yet, have you…

I’m still here…you’ve walked by again and I’m still neatly folded.

Come on now, it’s nearly Friday, and I’m still very much unread…

You know what tomorrow is don’t you…paper day, again.

See how the paper taunts me? How a bundle of paper pages does that, I just don’t know.

Along with the newspaper building up, my pile of books to read is also silently gathering momentum. The beginning of the year, I had set out with a reasonable reading list that I thought was manageable given the slow rate I was reading at the time. That one book turned into two, two turned into three, three turned into ten. I can’t keep up. Have I finished any of them? Maybe one or two… But generally they are all half read. I’m simultaneously reading six books.

Now this, probably isn’t the most clever way to read a book but it’s how I’m slowly creeping through them all. There is the book that doesn’t read particularly well, but I really want to get though it as I think it’s important. There is the light reading book for when I’m so tired just before bed that I can still read a little with an eye stuck shut for want of sleep. There is the informative book that needs to be read with a clear mind, while taking down the odd note here and there. There is the escapism fiction that has essentially only been opened and closed without a proper word been consumed. There are the numerous cookbooks that need to be poured over before I can satisfactorily say that yes, I’m utilising them properly. There is the green building magazine that I adore every page of, so don’t want to flick through unmindfully as by doing that it would almost seem an insult and not do the pages proper justice. Then there is the ever growing list of books that I really want to read next.

My books are pressuring me just as that taunting pile of newspapers.  Thankfully these Banana Oat Bars don’t give out that kind of pressure.

Do you ever feel pressure from paper goods?

 

Banana Oat Bars

2 mashed up bananas

100g melted butter

1 tsp vanilla

1 tsp cinnamon

3 tbls honey

2 cups whole oats

Mix all the ingredients up in order. Press mixture into a greased pan (I used 23cmx 23cm) and bake at 180C for approximately 45 minutes.

Super easy and perfect to nibble on… while you are reading.

Basmati Kale- Frugal Friday

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Kale is something that has been sneaking into more and more of my cooking lately. It’s an easy one to chop up and quickly cook, provided you are not using the stalks which can take a little longer. (It’s also known as tuscan kale or cavolo nero.)

I find it a subtle taste, which somehow quite often gets by The Monkeys.  They seem to ignore the obvious green foliage in their dinner and any time that happens I’m certainly up for making the dish again. Being a dark leafy green it’s also loaded with all things exceptionally good for you.

The leaves cook up quickly like spinach or silverbeet, in a wilty kind of fashion that doesn’t require a whole lot of stove time. Perfect for a Frugal Friday dinner.

I used my flat bottomed wok with this little number because, 1/ I’m addicted to using the thing and 2/….actually there is no two. I just really like using the flat bottomed wok. Easily done in a regular pot though.

Basmati Kale

A couple of slurps of olive oil in the pan

add some diced garlic

the chopped kale leaves

and some basmati rice

cover the rice and kale mixture with water until it’s just over the top

add a good couple of shakes of dried cumin, coriander, (don’t be shy) and salt to taste

pop the lid on

keep a beady eye on the pot, add some more water to the top of the rice mixture when it’s all absorbed

give it a stir around and pop that lid on again

when the water has disappeared again, check to see rice is juuussst about cooked

turn hot plate off and leave the lid on for 5-ish minutes (it’s still doing it’s thing)

serve with natural yogurt or fetta and some local nuts*

for a vegan option just drizzle with extra olive oil and local nuts

and a dusting of dried chilli if you like a kick in the pants.

* I used pecan halves here. Pine nuts, walnuts, cashews etc. would all taste great though. Use what ever you can get that is grown locally. Alternatively try your local bar at closing time on a Saturday night… local nuts a plenty, (although not so great on top of your kale.)

travels and tomato chutney

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Maybe wait until I get home and we can book it together.

His words trailed behind him as he ran out the door. I stopped, frowned, and wondered why he wouldn’t have wanted me to go ahead and book the flights.  Hmm, I’m a big girl. Surely I could do this?

It didn’t take long for me to stop frowning.

Maybe it was because the last flights I had booked for his parents, had needed a little tweaking of their itinerary. It had been the parents-in-law once every 5 years break and they had asked me to sort out a weeks holiday for them. Sure. No problem, I’d love to. Three days in and I had it well and truly covered. Itinerary researched, places of interest taken down, accommodation scrutinized and everything just needing to be booked. I started with the flights, the logical first choice. With mother- in- law’s trusty credit card in hand, I paid. Confirmation email confirmed everything, along with the fact that I had just made a huge mistake. I had just flown them into the wrong city.

Excellent. Well there’s a good start. I swore, bit my nails, ranted to a friend, and then made a crazed phone call to Mr Chocolate to tell him what I had done. He laughed and said he couldn’t talk at the moment (he was at work).

So, I had two choices. One to try to change all the flights, or two change their holiday… rather a lot. I chose two, (and just between you and me, I think I actually gave them a better itinerary the second time around.) When we met up and I gave them their holiday details. I did toy with the idea of telling them some extraordinary story of how it was all booked out due to an alien space craft having just crashed into the area and all the local spok watchers were coming in from near and far to try and take a look at the big shiny aircraft. I wasn’t sure they would buy that one, so I… a little nervously, told them the truth. I had oops-ed the flight details, BUT had a lovely replacement holiday all booked for them now. They laughed, and said it didn’t matter. I laughed too, while carefully scrutinising their faces to see if it really DID matter… (I don’t think it really did.)

So it could have been for that reason that Mr Chocolate had asked for me to wait for him to book the flights…. OR it could have been referring to the time I booked some accommodation into the wrong town for ourselves and my mum coming back from a holiday. An innocent mistake that I had luckily picked up on just a few hours before we were supposed to arrive. How we all laughed and made funny jokes at my little mistake, (right after I had sworn, bit my nails and ranted to anyone that would stand still.) Thanks to a well organised international booking system, this little problem too was again righted.

As neither (minor) incidents had happened a long time ago, Mr Chocolate was clearly thinking of one or both of them and obviously thought the booking process should be monitored by someone other than myself.

Fair call I say. So I waited.

Flicking through my CWA Preserves book I did think vaguely about waiting until I had all the ingredients to one of these recipes. However, seeing as though there wasn’t a lot riding on the chutney. No flights needed to be caught, no accommodation needed to be checked in to and the chutney wouldn’t be going anywhere except the table. I didn’t. I had a bag of tomatoes waiting to be used and I had chutney on my mind. I just couldn’t decide what flavours to play with. Which recipe would I like? Actually none of them were grabbing me. They all sounded good, but they weren’t quite the flavours I had in mind. They weren’t my flavours. So with a close of the book, a little pause and a think, I got cracking.

Tomato Chutney

5 cloves garlic

2 onions quartered

2 apples quartered

1 inch peeled fresh ginger

all in the blender and give a quick wizz. Then all into a pot, also adding

3 tps cumin

3 tps coriander

and cook off for a few minutes. Back to the blender add

1 kilo of firm ripe tomatoes

pop that in the pot as well, and bring to a simmer, then add

2 1/2 cups brown sugar (loose, not firmly packed)

2 cups white vinegar

zest of 1 lime*

Cook at a simmer for about 35 minutes or until darker in colour and thicker. Then bottle.

* Don’t forget that lime. It was definitely the clincher.

Blueberry Frangipane

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3am and I’m sitting in an armchair next to Little Monkey’s hospital bed when he broke his leg. The armchair was my bed for the duration, swamped by blankets I’d made a nest for myself so I could keep one eye closed for sleep and one eye watching carefully over the little fella as he slept.

In my hand however was a the most delicious thing I had encountered for quite a while. Not hospital food, but a frangipane fruit tart. Brought in earlier, by my very thoughtful sister from Brasserie Bread.

I’m not sure whether it was the fact that I was eating it at 3am that made it delicious, or it really was the best darn tasting tart I had ever tasted. Either way, it was superb and I couldn’t get enough of it. Fast forward 2 months, and that hopsital stay is happily a distant crappy foggy memory, but that tart….

That tart, was the kind of tart that makes you sit back, and let those taste buds reminisce. I put the tart in my, will have to give that a crack one day… thought pile and then went about my business. Until Amy at Tiny Tea Room posted on a pastry-less almond Pear Tart. Now with Amy’s stunning photography I’m sure she could make a white bread cheese sandwich appealing, but non-the less that sweet almondy goodness was brought back to my mind, front and centre…. and no pastry? Even quicker!

I wanted not crazy sweet, vanilla-y tones, and a gritty type texture….oh and easy. Let’s play…

Blueberry Frangipane

150gms softened butter

1/2 cup raw sugar

2 tsp vanilla essence

3 eggs

150gms almond meal* (1 1/2 cups)

100gms course semolina (1/2 cup)

125gms blueberries

Cream butter and sugar together, Add the vanilla and eggs. Stir through almond meal and semolina. Blueberries on top. Bake in a greased, floured tin (approx 23cm square) at 180C for about 30minutes or until light golden.

* I lightly toasted whole almonds, skin on, and then blitzed them in the blender to make the almond meal.

Verdict? It didn’t quite match that 3am frangipane fruit tart but I was happy with it. Super easy, and really quick. I think this one might become a regular favourite. You can easily up the sugar if you want it sweeter, and swap the blueberries for other seasonal fruit.

almond fig and rosemary bread

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This one was inspired by the lovely Joanna at Zeb Bakes, who recently made a Roast Hazelnut and Fig Bread. It all sounded a whole lot of lovely, so I wanted to play with the flavours. I didn’t have hazelnuts… or cicely… or whole figs. But hey, I’d give it a crack.

I’d pilfered some Maggie Beer Burnt Fig Jam from my mothers pantry awhile back, and had happily been slapping it on to my sourdough in the mornings. However this was all the figgy-ness I had in the kitchen so the last bit would have to go in, (I was thinking some figgy streaks through out the bread). I only wish I’d made this bread at the start of the jar, as now, I might have to get some more, (at a real shop, not just my mother’s pantry).

The rosemary addition held its own and seemed wonderfully paired up with the fig jam. It wasn’t overwhelming in flavour, but did smell great when I sliced in to it. The almonds, I could have done better. I should have pushed them into the dough before the overnight prove, as in the fridge the dough developed a slight skin and I wasn’t sure just pushing them into the dough just before baking would be enough to keep them in. I think the bread needed some proving time around the whole almonds. Hugging them tight. Once toasted though they added a lovely subtle crunch to the rest of the bread.

I wasn’t the only one inspired by this bread. Heidi from Steps on the Journey also did her version of the same loaf. So it seems like a good one to play with… and play again, yes… I think I will.

Almond Fig and Rosemary Bread

200g starter

375g strong bakers flour

1/2 tsp dark malt flour

200mls water (approx)

1 tbls fig jam

1 tsp finely chopped rosemary

1 tsp salt

whole almonds

Mixed starter, flour, dark malt flour and water. Rest period (40 mins). Added remaining ingredients, mix, (I put the jam in last as I didn’t want it to be thoroughly mixed through, more of those figgy streaks). Leave for an hour or so. Quick knead on a lightly floured surface, and shaped into a boule and popped on a tray- decorate with almonds, covered with a plastic bag and left for about another hour and into the fridge for 12 hours. Brought back to room temperature, slash, and then baked at 240C with steam.

* submitted to the wonderful yeastspotting

Cardamom Semolina Diamonds

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Indian Semolina Balls.

That’s what I’ve got these little cardamom treats written down as. A recipe that is well entwined into my childhood memories with cardamom flavours, plump sultanas and nutty cashews. Given half the chance I would have eaten my weight in these little things. One, two…oops, ten.

I’d re-written the recipe from my mum’s recipe folder a long time ago, although had only vaguely written down the quantities and even more vaguely written down the method. I knew how they were supposed to taste, but wasn’t so sure how to get there. Then I realised I didn’t have cashews…. and I didn’t think I really wanted to roll them anyway… So that changes a few things doesn’t it.

Indian Semolina Balls turned into squares? That’s not so exciting.

Diamonds?….much more enticing.

Cashews? I never have them about…

I’ve got flaked almonds though…would that work?

Cardamom Semolina Diamonds

(Inspired from my mum, and before that a 70’s Indian Vegetarian Recipe Book)

4 tbls ghee

1 cup semolina

1 cup loose brown sugar

1 cup milk

1 1/2 tsp cardamom

toasted flaked almonds

Melt ghee in a pot, add semolina and fry until golden. Add brown sugar and cardamom, mix through. Add milk and handful of sultanas. Stir until thickens. Pour into square tin, press down and add flaked almonds. Into fridge until hardens up a bit. (or wait until mixture cools and roll into balls, replacing almonds with toasted cashews.)

10 minutes tops to make, if you’ve already got the toasted almond flakes.

chunky chicken macadamia pie

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Finally a pastry that I’m really happy with. Natural yogurt, where would I be without you…

Pastry

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.

Chunky Chicken Macadamia

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.

the humble crumble, and a little bit on what I think…

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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…

The Humble Crumble

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.