Tag Archives: cooking

A Hot Day

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We have had a remarkably mild summer so far but yesterday it really kicked into gear. The outdoor temperature at our place peaked at 40.5C. This is not remarkable compared to other parts of the country but it was certainly enough to make us choose to stay indoors. With the blinds drawn and a couple of ceiling fans we were quite comfortable for most of the day before turning the airconditioning on in the family room for 2 hours in the late afternoon from about 5.30pm. The temperature was set on 24C and this soon made the room pleasantly comfortable.

I spent most of the day sewing and made two bags for a friend from fabric she had given me. They were mostly relatively small pieces of linen and cotton which had been carry bags from bed linen she had purchased at various times. I am really pleased with the results and looking forward to giving them to her.

Meanwhile, GMan was hardly being lazy either. He had picked 45 Nashi pears from one of our trees the previous day. This was after the birds had helped themselves. If we get organised and net the trees next year our harvest should be about doubled. Neither of us were smitten with eating the fruit raw so he decided to try stewing them. This was a raging success as they taste just like the tinned pears we both remember eating when we were growing up. It was a huge job to peel, core and slice them all but we now have one container in the refrigerator and several others in the freezer.

Today is a day of extreme to catastrophic fire danger across most of the state so we will be indoors, staying cool and most importantly, following any emergency reports and advice.

Tomatoes – A Test Run

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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.

Christmas Crumble

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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.

In the Kitchen

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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.

Daily Stuff

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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.

Countdown – Cooking

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Removalist day (17th March) is fast approaching and it is time I gave some serious consideration to the kitchen and food.

It will be almost 8 weeks between the date that everything is moved and when we actually move into our new home in Victoria. In that time we will be housesitting near our existing home, spending a few days with family and then house-sitting for a week in Brisbane before spending 5 days driving to Victoria and another 10 days in an Air BnB before our final relocation. All of this means that although I will have the capacity to cook meals, my access to a full range of ingredients and implements will be somewhat limited.

So, this morning a made a list of some of the major ingredients I have. The next step is to create as many meals as possible that can be frozen and fairly easily reheated or finished off with the minimum of ingredients.

The first cab off the rank was a batch of chilli con carne using up diced onion, mince, kidney beans and refried beans from the freezer. It made 5 serves.

Ingredients

1 large onion, diced
250g mince
500g kidney beans
1 cup refried beans
1 can crushed tomatoes
2 tablespoons tomato paste
1 cup water
2 teaspoons beef stock powder
1 teaspoon cumin
2 teaspoons smoky paprika
1 teaspoon powdered chilli
Tabasco sauce – to taste

Method

Gently saute the onion in a little olive oil, add the mince and stir until fully browned. Add the remining ingredients, combine and simmer gently for about 30 minutes. This will allow the flavours to combine and thicken slightly to a spicy, rich sauce.

NOTE: Adjust seasonings to suit your taste.

Feeding Us

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We are home again after our short trip away. It was not so much a holiday as a reconnaissance mission to our preferred relocation destination. After about 6 months of searching we may have found the ideal property. More about that in the next week or so.

In the meantime, I have packed a few more boxes – I think the count is up to about 22. I have a description and number on each box and a small notebook where I have recorded the number of each box with a more detailed description of exactly what is in it. I am hoping that this will make it easy when we come to unpack at our destination.

There is also the everyday jobs to ensure that we remain fed and clothed. Yesterday I caught up on the washing and ironing after having been away and this morning I am cooking.

We are by no means self-sufficient but we do grow some food and also prepare most of our meals from scratch.

In the interest of energy efficiency we try to cook multiple dishes in the oven when it is turned on. GMan was ready to bake sourdough bread this morning so I made a Zucchini Quiche and some baked meatballs. The bread at the rear of the photo is fruit loaf made in the breadmaker.

I picked the last of the eggplant before I pull the bushes out and clear out that garden bed. So, I am making a big batch of Eggplant and Green Bean Curry which will make at least 4 – 5 meals for us so most will go in the freezer. These will be handy for days when I don’t have the time or inclination to cook.

I had some nectarines which were not great for eating fresh so I stewed them and will use this fruit on my breakfast cereal in coming days.

I have also made a batch of coleslaw and hard-boiled 6 eggs ready for lunches, prepared the mashed potato and cut up green beans to go with the meatballs for dinner tonight. My final project for this morning is to make some more hummus.

Replenishing Supplies

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We arrived home from holidays last Friday afternoon and in next to no time we were back into building up our food supplies.

Our kitchen overlooks the vegetable garden and I could a sea of red cherry tomatoes rambling everywhere. This, coupled with the fact that we had almost entirely depleted our stock of tomato sauce (ketchup) meant that this was a high priority on my ‘to do’ list.

The recipe for the sauce is here.

I made another batch of gluten free pizza bases. I make 6 at a time and freeze them ready for an easy meal.

Recipe for the pizza bases is here.

GMan got in on the act and restocked his homemade sourdough bread.

Finally, I picked a bucketful of Davidson plums from our tree (indigenous tropical fruit) and made what I regard as the best jam in the world.

I have included links to the recipes for the tomato sauce and pizza bases.

I will do full posts about the jam and sourdough in the not too distant future.

Also, don’t forget to check the recipe index on the blog. The link to the page is ‘Recipes – Food’ at the top of the blog.

Functional or Fad?

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It is now about 2 months since I capitulated and bought an airfryer.

I had not really investigated what an airfryer was or how they worked but when I heard them being mentioned in a couple of Facebook groups I dismissed them as another unnecessary kitchen gadget. My first real-life experience of them was when we were invited to dinner a couple of months ago. The potatoes cooked in the airfryer were absolutely divine.

GMan came home and started researching various options. Coincidentally, Aldi had them in their special buys the following week so we decided to bite the bullet and see whether all of the hype was worth it. For us it has certainly proven to be $70 well-spent.

Apart from the rather obvious benefit of being able to replicate at least some deep-fried food with minimal oil there are also considerable energy savings from using the airfryer rather than a conventional oven. Food cooks more quickly and it does not heat the entire kitchen.

The airfryer is also quick and easy to clean.

My first attempt was chips which were an absolute winner. Since then I have cooked salmon, arancini balls, marinated chicken pieces, garlic and eggplant slices as well as nachos.

For the nachos, I lined the cooking tray with baking paper and assembled the nachos as per my ‘recipe’ here. 8 minutes at 190C in the airfryer and dinner was ready.

I served these with a side salad of coleslaw.

Soup for Supper

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Today I have made leek and potato soup. It is winter here in Australia and although we live in a relatively mild climate there is something appealing about a pot of homemade soup on a damp, grey day.

There are plenty of recipes on the internet for leek and potato soup but this is my version.

LEEK & POTATO SOUP

Ingredients

1 medium/large leek
3 medium/large potatoes
1 tablespoon oil
1 tablespoon vegetable stock powder
1 teaspoon dried celery leaves
1 teaspoon rosemary salt
1/2 teaspoon cracked black pepper
1.5 litres water

Method

Wash and thinly slice the leek. Heat oil in a large pot and saute the leek. Stir constantly to avoid it browning. When the leek is soft, add 1 litre of water and the stock powder and other seasonings. Simmer gently.

Meanwhile, peel and dice the potato. Microwave until tender. Reserve about 1/3 of the potato cubes and add the rest to the soup and continue simmering for about 20 minutes. Remove from heat and blend until smooth. I use a handheld blender for this. Roughly mash the remaining potato and stir into the soup. Add more water to create desired consistency. Check and adjust seasoning as required.

NOTES:

Be extremely careful when blending hot soup.

You may choose more, less or different seasoning to what I have used.

I make the rosemary salt by stripping the leaves from the stems, dehydrating them and then grinding to a powder which I mix 50/50 with a good quality salt.

Soup simmering.

The end result.