I am always looking for ways to store the inevitable summer glut of home-grown tomatoes. I make tomato sauce (ketchup) but there is a limit to how much of that we need. The recipe is here if you are interested. I also used to freeze cherry tomatoes whole for use in casseroles and other cooking. I have dabbled in making tomato paste and tomato powder. These have all been reasonably successful but somewhat labour intensive.
Our tomatoes are not ready yet but the neighbours have generously shared their harvest.
I had these spread out to ripen and today I selected the reddest ones and cut them into quarters. I placed them into a round cake tin with 2 large cloves of garlic and a handful of basil leaves (all homegrown) and a drizzle of olive oil. I cooked them in the airfryer for 25 minutes at 170C then blitzed them in the high-speed blender.
I now have a couple of jars of delicious sauce which will be perfect for pizza bases, pasta dishes or adding to other dishes for a rich tomato flavour. This was super quick and easy and I will definitely be doing it again in the future. I choose not to process the sauce but simply store it in the freezer.
I think everyone has a personal favourite way of making lasagne.
Lasagne was my ‘go to’ dish in the early days of our marriage. In fact, so much so that GMan once commented that our impending dinner guests had eaten at our place previously so we would need to think of something else!
My version of lasagne has evolved noticeably over almost 45 years due to a changing culinary landscape and a variety of dietary considerations. I have reduced the proportion of meat in the dish, eliminated cream, use gluten free flour and pasta. The latest iteration actually replaces the pasta with thin slices of zucchini and the bechamel sauce is made with cauliflower rather than a roux of flour and butter. Interested? Read on for the full details.
LASAGNE
Meat sauce
250g lean minced beef 1 cup dried red lentils 1 large onion, finely diced 2 cloves garlic, crushed 1 large carrot, grated 2 sticks celery, finely chopped 2 teaspoons beef stock powder 2 tins crushed tomatoes } – whatever combination of fresh, dried or frozen tomatoes 2 tablespoons tomato paste } you have on hand. More water may be required. Herbs (fresh or dried) to taste – I used a handful of fresh basil and 1 teaspoons of dried mixed herbs Salt and black pepper to taste
Method
Place the lentils in a bowl and cover with boiling water. Allow to stand for 30 minutes. In a large saucepan fry the onion and garlic, add the mince and brown. Add the remaining ingredients including the drained lentils. Simmer gently until the lentils are tender. Add more water if the mixture becomes too dry.
Chop the cauliflower roughly. The stalk and small leave can be included in this recipe. Steam or microwave until tender. Place cooked cauliflower in blender and gradually add milk until the mixture is smooth and a suitable consistency. Add seasonings to taste. The quantities are only suggestion so add a bit at a time until it reaches your desired taste.
Set sauce aside until required. This sauce can be refrigerated for a couple of days or frozen if you have too much. It can be substituted in any recipe that requires a creamy white sauce. You can use plant-based milk if you choose.
Other
Zucchini, sliced thinly lengthwise Grated cheese, I use a mixture of cheddar, parmesan and nutritional yeast
Assembly
Layer the various components in an ovenproof dish. I usually do meat sauce, zucchini, white sauce and then cheese and repeat 2-3 times until the dish is full.
Cook in the oven until heated through and browned on top. Alternatively, it can be heated in the microwave and finished off under the grill to brown the top.
Makes 6 generous serves.
This is the only photo I have as I did not think of writing this post until after we had eaten dinner. We ate 2 serves and the remainder were packed up and frozen in 4 individual serves.
It is a relatively rare occurrence these days for me to buy much other than consumables such as groceries and fuel, and experiences including travel, tickets to shows and events.
However, I think a recent purchase is worth sharing. Just after Christmas I was ordering some mixing bowls for one of my daughters. While perusing the website I saw some Joseph & Joseph chopping boards. These are rather expensive but were significantly reduced. I had seen my sister using them when we stayed with them early last year and I was impressed with them but had not done anything more about looking for some.
Anyway, I bit the bullet and bought two new red (naturally) boards. They are what I would regard as large and extra large. They are plastic but that is offset by their perceived longevity.
I may be a bit late to the party but here are some of the features I love about them. There is lip around 3 sides and a slight slope overall. These help to retain juices or errant bits when preparing food. Juices can also easily be poured from the deep corner. This in turn, helps to minimise waste. The recessed handles make them easy and safe to carry. One side has a spiked area which can assist in holding meat or other items in place while chopping them. There is also a narrow rubber strip on the edges which means they are stable and do not move when being used.
I have tried and used a variety of chopping boards over the years but these really appear to be the closest I have found to perfectly meeting my needs.
The other collection of boards all have their uses and will remain part of the kitchen until they break or wear out.
Fruit crumble is one of my favourite desserts but is not usually on the Christmas menu.
This year I am preparing lunch for 3 adults on what looks like being a cool and rainy day despite the fact that it is the middle of summer.
I have plenty of cooking apples and an abundance of frozen mulberries so we will be having apple and mulberry crumble with ice-cream for dessert on Christmas Day.
CRUMBLE TOPPING
Ingredients
1 cup coconut 1/2 cup sugar 1/2 cup plain flour (I use gluten-free flour) 1/2 cup flaxseed meal 2 teaspoons golden syrup 2 teaspoons powdered cinnamon 2 teaspoons powdered ginger 2 teaspoons powdered mixed spice 90g butter
Combine all of the dry ingredients in a large bowl. Add the syrup and mix through. Finely shave the butter and rub through the dry ingredients using your fingertips.
Spread the crumble mixture on top of your favourite stewed fruit and cook in oven or airfryer until the topping is lightly browned and crisp.
NOTES: This is a large quantity as I freeze any excess for future use so you may wish to halve the amounts. I only use real butter as it needs to be very firm (not spreadable) for this recipe.
While our granddaughters were visiting us my kitchen activities were limited to just getting the next meal on the table but yesterday I managed to do a bit of forward planning and preparation.
The first thing was to make some Choc Fruit and Nut Balls. These are perfect for Christmas gatherings (or any other time of the year) when you are asked to contribute a plate. They are always well-received and are super-easy to make (no cooking required). They freeze really well and it is easy to pull some out at a moment’s notice.
My next job was to make some more peanut paste. I buy raw, unsalted peanuts and lightly dry roast them before putting them in the high-speed blender. I have previously roasted them on a baking tray in the oven but this time I decided to try them in the airfryer. This worked perfectly. I did 2 batches in a round cake tin for 10 minutes at 170C.
Meanwhile, I had a batch of grapefruit marmalade simmering on the stove. I never thought I would be making marmalade in December as citrus usually ripen here in late autumn/early winter and it is now officially summer. However, GMan took the car to have some work done on it the other day and was at a loose end for about 4 hours. So, he went walking in Bendigo while he waited and happened upon some free grapefruit in a box on the footpath. He collected 8 grapefruit in his backpack and they are now marmalade.
Also, in the spirit of not wasting anything I had these remnants to deal with. The last of the peanut paste is notoriously difficult to remove from the jug of the blender so I chose to leave about a tablespoonful of the mixture and then used that to make satay sauce. I set the excess coconut from rolling the choc fruit balls aside and then used it in making another batch of gluten-free muesli.
Here is our dinner of satay chicken with rice and green salad.
All of the recipes mentioned are elsewhere on the blog as they are regular favourites here. Here is the link to the recipe index which can be found on one of the tabs at the top of the front page of the blog. I refer to it frequently because a lot of what I write is as much for me as it is for my readers. Please feel free to use the index as your own.
The link for the Choc Fruit and Nut Balls is somewhat different to the ones I make now – there have been multiple modifications and I will add the updated version later today.
We have grown raspberries in two previous gardens. In South Australia we had a few canes but barely managed to pick any fruit as our dog at the time loved fruit and would help herself. Even the prickly stems didn’t seem to slow her down. At our last home in Queensland we did pick some fruit but the biggest problem was the actual bushes which spread rampantly and were a lot of trouble for the relatively small harvest.
When we moved here there was a small clump of raspberry canes against the back fence. I honestly wondered whether they would be worth the effort after our previous experiences. We had not made any decisions when, a couple of months ago, we suddenly noticed that the canes were absolutely laden with small green fruit. A couple of weeks ago we tasted a couple of raspberries but they were not quite ready. Today we picked the first decent harvest. 560g of fresh ripe raspberries.
Ice cream and raspberries for dessert tonight.
Raspberries are not the only berries around at the moment. There is a massive mulberry tree on council land in the middle of town so we and others have been collecting mulberries. It is a messy business and my hands have a distinct purple hue but it is worth it for the 5kg I have picked so far. About 800g went into making a mulberry and apple crumble for a BBQ dinner we had on the weekend. We got 12 serves from it and it was very well received. The remainder of the mulberries have been washed, destalked and frozen in 250g bags. I will check the tree again early next week and see if there are any more ripened.
Today I am adding a new ‘recipe’ to the blog. It is tabouleh with a twist – made with quinoa rather than the traditional cracked wheat which makes it gluten free. The fresh, clean feel to this dish makes it perfect for summer meals. Unlike many salads, it can also be made a day ahead. In fact, I think making it beforehand allows the flavours to develop even more.
This is a rather loose interpretation of a recipe as the quantities are variable and can be adjusted according to taste.
The photo shows the tabouleh served with a piece a zucchini quiche for lunch.
QUINOA TABOULEH
Ingredients
1/2 cup tri-colour quinoa 2 cups water 1 teaspoon vegetable stock powder I cup curly leaf parsley, finely chopped 3 spring onions, finely chopped 1/2 tomato, diced 1/2 small cucumber, diced 1/4 red capsicum, finely diced
1 tablespoon olive oil 2 tablespoons lemon or lime juice 1 tablespoon rice wine vinegar Ground black pepper Salt
Method
Cook the quinoa in boiling water with stock powder added. Watch carefully and stir as required. Aim to absorb all of the liquid and not overcook the quinoa. Spread cooked quinoa on a tray, fluff with a fork and allow to cool thoroughly before adding the remaining ingredients and dressing.
We went into an op shop when we were out and about on Thursday as GMan was looking for a Pyrex casserole dish. He found this one which was marked as $5 but as a bonus there was 50% off all glass and kitchenware so $2.50 was an absolute bargain.
Meanwhile I thought I would cast a quick look over the clothes to see if anything caught my eye. I was in luck as I found three pieces – a top, a dress and a scarf.
The top is perfect in every respect. It fits perfectly, a pretty colour and 100% linen fabric. Additionally, I love the scoop neckline and interesting bias-cut rolled collar.
The dress is crinkle cotton and will be perfect for hot summer days. The bias-cut and frill on the lining add interest to an otherwise very simple dress. I lifted it at the shoulders as I almost always have to do with dresses and it now is ready to wear.
The final item is not for summer but I could not resist this pretty ombre blue scarf. I am sure it will get plenty of wear but I think it will go perfectly with my navy winter dress.
As promised in my last post, here is the recipe for the Eggplant Rolls which I made recently.
I have not included quantities as it depends on how many you want to make and personal taste.
EGGPLANT ROLLS
Ingredients
1 large eggplant Ricotta cheese or drained plain yoghurt Leafy greens, finely chopped – silverbeet, spinach, kale or similar Seasoning of choice – salt, pepper, mixed herbs, smoky paprika Can of tomatoes, diced Flaxseed meal Almond meal Cheddar cheese, grated
Method
Thinly slice the eggplant. Lightly cook the slices in a pan or in airfryer.
Combine the ricotta, greens and seasoning.
Spread mixture onto eggplant slices.
Roll up eggplant and place in an ovenproof dish.
Top with tomatoes.
Combine almond meal, flaxseed meal and grated cheese. Sprinkle on top of the dish and then cook until thoroughly heated and crispy.
IMPORTANT NOTES:
If you look carefully at the photos you will note that I neglected to follow my own instructions and did not pre-cook the eggplant slices. The meal was still quite edible but it is definitely much better if they are pre-cooked.
For the final cooking I generally cook until hot in the microwave then finish off in the airfryer. You could also bake these in the oven.
The almond/flaxseed meal topping is so that this dish is gluten-free. If that is not an issue you may simply choose to use breadcrumbs.
I served this meal with steamed rice, carrots and peas.
After writing this blog for over 12 years I sometimes wonder whether it has become a little stale or repetitive. However, I am reminded that there are new people popping in all the time so I will continue to share my activities here.
Since it is winter and I am struggling with a cold it is not a great time to be outdoors. There is plenty to do inside the house and most of it can be distilled down to cooking and sewing.
Cooking is essential for feeding ourselves and I try to build up a bit of a supply of meals as well as condiments. In the past few days I have made grapefruit marmalade (recipe here) from fruit which was in a giveaway box in the next block, a new batch of gluten-free pizza bases (recipe here), sourdough bread (GMan’s handiwork) as well as Eggplant Rolls and Pumpkin, Eggplant and Chickpea Curry. You can check our my vegetable curry recipe here.
The next blog post will be the full recipe for the Eggplant Rolls.
On the sewing front, I have completed a couple of mending jobs.
New elastic (salvaged from worn-out undies) to replace the elastic and drawstring in this pair of pyjama bottoms which were originally purchased 2 years ago from the $1 rack at the op shop.
This jacket is 11 years old and still in excellent condition but the zip had broken so I bought a new zip and replaced it.
I think that is the mending out of the way for the moment so I do need to set my mind to making a dress to wear to a family wedding in 7 weeks time. Watch this space as the saying goes.
organised castle 