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Altruistic Pizza

21 May

homemade pizza ingredientsMister H’s favorite food is pizza.

When we first met he probably had a pizza once a week. A big greasy, cheesy yummy one with pepperoni and anchovies. We had some rockin’ pizza delivery places in our old ‘hood.

Many evenings, when exhaustion ringed my eyes, he would altruistically suggest we get a pizza delivered.

If I called him at work saying I was having a terrible day, he would suggest pizza.

When I’m sick and unable to cook, he will suggest pizza.

If my arms were broken or amputated, he would suggest pizza.

He will always take one (‘za) for the team, my man. (Disclaimer: may or may not have exaggerated slightly – sorry, darling.)

Since moving to the ‘burbs we’ve been in a pizza wasteland. With much anticipation and hope in our hearts we’ve had deliveries of all kinds of pizza.

Too cheesy.

Hard to believe there could be such a thing, but when your entire mouth is cloyed and cemented, you gotta call it how you see it. We could barely make it through a couple of pieces and we threw the rest away. Sacrilege!

Too greasy.

Shouldn’t drip oil down to your elbow. Just wrong.

Too doughy.

Shouldn’t need a set of Jaws of Life to chew through your pie.

Too much by way of topping.

Suburban pizzerias think more is more when it comes to their skyscraping pizza. The Godfather would roll in his grave if he saw these atrocities against Italy.

I started making my own, and I have to say, I’ve actually mastered the art, except that one time I was talking myself up hard but in the midst of my dough making the police arrived to take a statement about a break-in and I forgot where I was up to. I forgot to add the olive oil to my dough and it is integral it seems. That was a sad day.

Stolen goods, and dodgy pizza.

homemade pizza dough A chip off the old block (of cheese), D Man loves pizza, so this is an awesome recipe to do with your kids. It’s easy for them to be involved and not create too much havoc.

For the best dough, you need a good strong gluten filled dough, as the gluten is what gives it the brilliant elasticity needed to fling that pizza dough like a real pizza man, but in light of the wheat reduction around these here parts, today I’ve use half wholemeal spelt, and half gluten-free flours.

It didn’t get the stretch, but I rolled it out, and it crisped nicely…. no complaints from the two pizza connoisseurs anyway!

This recipe will make four pizzas.

What you will need :

  • 1 cup lukewarm water
  • 2 teaspoons dry yeast
  • 1 ¼ teaspoons sugar
  • 1 ½ tablespoons olive oil, plus extra, for greasing
  • 4 cups flour, plus extra, for dusting. I used 2 gluten-free, 2 wholemeal spelt, but I reckon plain i
  • 1 ¼ teaspoons salt
  • tomato paste
  • garlic
  • basil and oregano, dried and/or fresh
  • your favorite pizza toppings

What you will need to do :

Mix the lukewarm water, yeast and sugar together in a small bowl until combined, then leave in a warm place for 5 minutes or until frothy. Stir in your olive oil.

Pop your flour and salt together into a large bowl and whisk it to remove any lumps because we’re too lazy to sift.

Pour the yeast mixture over the flour and use your hands to bring the mixture together to form a dough. Turn the dough out onto your clean counter and use the heel of your hands to work the dough for 5 minutes until it is smooth and elastic. Gluten free flours do not become elastic, so don’t panic if you’re trying a reduced gluten dough.

Lightly grease the inside of a clean dry bowl with oil and place the dough inside. Chuck a tea towel over the dough and leave in a warm place to prove for 45-60 minutes.

Normal flour will double in size, but wholemeal spelt, or GF only rises a little.

Dust a clean work surface lightly with the extra flour and tip out the dough. Give it a couple of hits to knock back any air, and roll into a nice ball, then cut into quarters. Roll each quarter into a ball and then work it into your desired shaped.

I used rectangular baking trays instead of the traditional round, just because it’s what I have. D Man preparing his own pizzaPlace the dough balls on a lightly greased baking tray, cover and leave in a warm place to prove for 15 minutes, while your prepare your toppings.

I squirt a wad of tomato paste on the dough, and throw my crushed garlic on top and then sprinkle dried herbs. That way, when I smear it all over the pizza it all combines.

Then I do a modest sprinkle of cheese for myself and D Man, whilst Mister H likes it a bit cheesier. The thing about making them at home is you can create them exactly how you like them.

Perfect for a control freak pizza connoisseur. C’est moi.

perfect homemade pizza Some topping suggestions are -

  • thinly sliced potato, rosemary and Italian sausage
  • roast capsicum, olive, pepperoni, sliced tomato and fresh rocket on top
  • pumpkin, fetta, bacon and spinach
  • Super Supreme – The Lot!

Chuck into a preheated 200C oven and cook for about 25 minutes, until browned and crisp.

Cut into pieces, and allow to cool for a minute so as not to burn the knobbly bit behind your teeth as you bite.

D Man eating pizza

Hooking it up with Jess because I blog on Tuesdays…. Hiya, L’il J.

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Toddler Guerilla Tactics and a Sausage Roll

15 Mar Homemade sausage rolls

sausage roll ingredients Before I had children I had a very clear image of the type of parent I would be.

I would always maintain cool composure, because everyone knows children can smell fear. I would never, ever smack, nor allow junk food, and enforce a strict bedtime. My children would be clean, and my house would be tidy with just one little play area for toys.

Oh, and I would always remain fun. Naturally, I’d be the funnerest mum ever.

Fast forward almost 3 years and I can pretty much see y’all sniggering into your cup of tea.

Lego, Little People and dinosaurs are all over my floor, my kids’ faces are smeared with snot and breakfast and the piles of washing, both clean and dirty, are mammoth, and I’m sitting at my computer instead of getting onto it.

I’d like to say I’ve learned to pick my battles, but I probably haven’t. Sometimes I feel like I’m getting beaten by a little guerilla toddler.

Toddler terrorism is rife in my house, and I’m ashamed to say that I am not above bribery, and depending on the circumstance, I may even just succumb to the tyranny.

One fine example was at oh five hundred hours this morning, after I’d been up a gazillion times with a sick Kiki, and having a supremely snotty nose myself, I heard D Man saying he didn’t want to sleep anymore.

I wasn’t havin’ that.

rolling the sausage rolls

Usually, I can stealthily commando in, shove Ratty in his arms, cover him up, and be out of the room before he could say ‘I want milk’, but this morning he said -

I want the fluffy blankie.

Shit. I’d put it away. In Kiki’s room.

I said gently, No darling, it’s sleepy time now, we’ll get the fluffy blankie out of Kiki’s room in the morning. Stay in bed until it’s light outside. Night night.

I WANT THE FLUFFIE BLANKIE, shrieked my little dictator, (and I’m sure I heard a German accent – is that reference kosher? Probably not.)

A few things ran through my mind, and of course, I know I should have stood my ground, but all hell would have broken loose, everyone would have been crying and up for the day and I just wasn’t ready for that shit.

So, Mini Despot got his blankie.

And I got half and hour more sleep.

Was it worth it?

Yes.

Another one were having currently is over tomato sauce. Boy has discovered the joy of the tangy, sweet/sour condiment from the Heinz Gods, and I agree that some foods must have sauce. A pie, fish and chips, hell, even shepard’s pie, but not everything to cross the dinner table needs to be doused.

Broccoli, for instance, does not need sauce.

I put my foot down over this one, and I put it down good.

Perhaps it’s easier to stand my ground in the light of day……thankfully, these little sausage rolls a begging to be loved with sauce.

When it came to these, Boy had his way.

sausage rolls fresh from the ovenHealthy Mini Sausage Rolls

Yield : 25, depending on how big you make them

What you will need :

  • 350g pork
  • 1/2 onion, finely chopped
  • 1/2 zucchini, finely grated
  • 1/2 carrot, finely grated
  • 2 teaspoon fennel seeds
  • 1 teaspoon mustard seeds
  • 3 sheets ready rolled puff pastry
  • 1 egg yolk
  • sesame and poppy seeds
  • sauce to serve

What you need to do :

Preheat oven to 200C

Place your fennel and mustard seeds in a dry frypan over a medium heat and toast until lightly golden and fragrant. Pop into a mortar and pestle and give them a good bashing.

Lightly fry your onion until it is translucent.

Toss your pork, veges and onion and spices into a bowl and mix together thoroughly. Season well.

Cut your sheet of pastry into three equal slices and using a tablespoon to measure out your mixture, roll up your little sausage rolls until the mixture is finished.

Brush rolls with egg yolk and sprinkle with the seeds, before popping them into the oven until they are golden brown – about 20 mins.

Serve with sauce, of course.

Homemade sausage rolls

If you need inspiration for Toddler Friendly food, why not check out my ebooks?
For a measly $15 you can have two books worth of kid friendly food ideas that the whole family will love!

I’m flogging my blog with Grace today over at FYBF

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A Tribute to Triple Date Night and a Cheat’s Cassoulet

10 Feb cassoulet finished

cassoulet ingredientsWe used to have this thing we affectionately called Triple Date Night.

We were a group of six friends, three couples, and once a month or so we would call a nationality and create a dinner party. Whomever’s home was hosting would make the main course, and the others covered the entree and dessert.

You needed to make something you’d not done before and we had some wonderful meals and created some wonderful memories.
We always drank a lot of wine and one night someone even pulled out a Scooby Snack. Being as none of us had really smoked for about a hundred years, a couple of puffs and the party was over pretty quickly………aaaaah, Triple Date Night.

South American Night, Japanese Night, Italian Night, Middle Eastern Night, they all turned up veritable feasts on our tables.
I was most impressed by one special dater making home made Fortune Cookies and Turkish Delight…..I really miss that gal.

Usually, it was the girls that cooked but boys took Chinese night and I ate some of the best dumplings I’ve ever eaten. It was a time that we all cherished, but life did, as life does, change and our Triple Date Night split up.

Not for no good reason, one of the couples moved to Europe so that really threw a spanner in the works……..and we had babies and moved to the ‘burbs.
We have new and different gastronomical feats in our new home…and new and different people at our table. It shows that life is constantly evolving and changing but as long as there’s great food we can adapt!

For French night I made Cassoulet.

A real one, with succulent pieces of roast duck, herby Toulouse sausages and rich pork belly. It’s classified as French peasant food and once again I was reminded that if you’re ever going to be a peasant France is a cracking place to do it.

In Australia, peasants eat tinned Spaghetti and Spam.

That damned pot of beans took me three days to prepare in the traditional fashion and by the time it hit the table I was expecting it to positively sing like angels on my tongue.

Alas, I was underwhelmed. I smothered mine in Tabasco and it was nice. 

Not quite three days worth of nice. Also, bears mentioning that the original recipe made the biggest damned pot of Cassoulet you’ve ever seen and I was eating those beans for DAYS….

Toot toot.

cassoulet cooked

Anyway, I have since found a way to cheat it that is faster, easier and tastier. I often ferret around in the freezer and just use whatever meat I have in there…..bacon will do for speck, any chicken or duck, and old sausage works.
This can be eaten by the whole family…..I even blended some of the beans and carrot and gave it to the baby mixed with avocado. It does have a little salt in it, but I was so busy cooking this that I forgot her dinner!

Win.

What you will need :

  • 4 good sausages, I like Toulouse, choppped into chunks.
  • 1 cured chorizo, or 150g speck, sliced.
  • 1 chicken breast, or two thighs, sliced
  • 2 carrots, chopped
  • 1 onion, chopped
  • 3 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
  • 1/2 cup white wine
  • 1 1/2 cups of chicken stock
  • 1 tin of chopped tomatoes
  • 2 tins cannelini beans, drained and rinsed
  • a big handful fresh thyme and parsley, (dried is fine if it’s all you have, a tablespoon or so of each)
  • 2 bay leaves
  • salt and pepper
  • 85g fresh breadcrumbs
  • a teaspoon of dried thyme, extra

cassoulet finishedWhat you will need to do :

In a big heavy pot, preferably one that can go from stove to oven, pop your chorizo or speck on a low heat to cook and render out the fat.

When cooked remove from pot and add your sausages and chicken to cook in the rendered fat. Brown lightly and remove from pot.

Add a little oil if needed and toss in your onion and stir until translucent. Add your garlic and get it all yummo and fragrant. Toss in your carrots, and let them have a little sweat, before you add your tomatoes and beans.
Stir in your herbs and bay leaves, add stock and wine and leave for a few minutes.

Add your meat back in and let it all have a good bubble on the stove for about 20-25 minutes.

Pop your oven on to to about 180C.

In a bowl place your breadcrumbs, and season them well. Add your dried thyme and mix through.

Pop it on the top of your cassoulet and then drizzle a slug of olive oil over the top before placing into the oven until they brown slightly, and everything thickens and goes delicious.
It’ll probably take about an hour to an hour and 20 minutes.

Keep a little eye on it.

Serve it up with a lovely fresh salad – I love a baby spinach, apple and avocado salad with this as the crisp sweet apple and creamy ago really compliment the cassoulet.

I still add Tabasco to mine as I discovered something great that fateful day.

cassoulet yummy

 

For heaps more family friendly recipe ideas why not check out my ebooks.

They’re right here!

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Mexican Rice Salad and a World of Awe

3 Feb

mexican salad ingredientsI’ve had a little bloggers block of late.
The problem is not that I don’t have any ideas, au contraire, dear Holsby lovers. The problem is that I have too many things to write about and thereby slip into paralysis.

I have about 6 half written blogs at the moment, and I actually think they’re all fairly pants….but one thing I’ve discovered, is that it may well be my blog, but what I think of my posts doesn’t count for shit. The stuff I love slides by unnoticed and something I’m blasé about, y’all go nuts over.

So, it’s not for me to judge…….I’m just here to amuse.
Le jongleur, if you will.

I’ve been a little strapped for time too. No idea what I’m doing all day, but suddenly another day is gone.
I’m constantly amazed by the wonderful Veggie Mama or the divine Heart Mama. They write gorgeous and prolific blogs, they parent and they WORK A REAL JOB, too…..and they’re cool. In totally different ways, but they just seem like cool Mamas.

Zanni at Heart Mama is one of those ‘gentle parenting’ types and I ‘fessed up to her recently that when my head is about to explode and I’m going to wring D Man’s neck I endevour to take a breath a think -

‘What would Heart Mama do?’

It’s like the old ‘What would Batman do?’ but I don’t reckon Zanni gads about in black lycra.

In my mind she always speaks in gentle tones, reaches for peppermint tea, and encourages free thinking, whereas I reach for wine and hog tie when required.

Heart Mama would never do this -

HomerChokingBart
I guess everyone feels like someone else is doing it better than them. Everyone feels like other people are more together, more organised, more calm or more ‘onto it’ than them, but it’s totally pointless, really.
In a world of individuals, we really can’t compare ourselves to others.

It’s nice to have people to admire from afar though.

I made this rice salad up ages ago and I always serve it when I’m dishing up Mexican.
I’ve never really thought it to be anything spectacular, but after serving it at Fajita Sunday recently (which I’ll get around to blogging some month) I’ve actually had a number of requests for it……..so here it is.

It works as part of a feast table, but it’s also great served with marinated fish or chicken and a dollop of guacamole.

Yield : enough for 6-8 as a side or 4 as a main part of meal

What you will need :

  • 1 cup brown rice, cooked
  • 2 corn on the cob, BBQ’d if you can or 1 tin corn
  • 1/2 large red capsicum, finely diced
  • 2 marinated roasted peppers (you can roast your own but I’ve been using the jarred ones since Jamie Oliver has talked them up!)
  • 1/2 Spanish onion (I forgot one so I’m using spring onions from my garden – although I photographed a brown onion cos I forgot I had them), finely diced
  • 1 whole bunch coriander, stalks included, chopped
  • Juice of 1 lime
  • salt and pepper
  • a glug of good olive oil

What you will need to do :

BBQ your corn and slice it off the cob. If you do not have time or a BBQ it is nearly as yummy just to use a tin. Time is precious, we are not.

Todd everything into the bowl and mix well to combine. It’s best tossed and dressed an hour or so before eating so the rice has time to soak up all the married flavours.

Too damned easy……very damned yummy.

mexican salad finished

Do you know someone having a BBQ today?

Flick this quick, easy salad over to them……

If you’re looking for more quick and yummy ideas to feed your family, you can pick up my ebooks here.

 

 

 

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From my garden to my table – Warm beetroot salad.

18 Jan beetroot harvest

beetroot harvestOne of the redeeming features of living in suburbia is a big garden.

I always dreamed of having a vegetable patch, not because I’m adept at farm husbandry nor even possess a particularly green thumb, but because I wanted to teach my kids about where food comes from.

Thus far our lettuces have been prodigious and our spring onions have certainly sprung. Our truss tomatoes are also worthy of a special mention as there is nary a day that we can’t harvest a luscious, sweet fruit from the vine.

beetroot harvest I’ve had my eye on the beets for what feels like months……the leaves were fab and green, then died, then grew again, and the beets themselves, well…… they’re organic.

I was expecting greater things from my first round of beetroot. My Dad said to pull them when they were the size of snooker balls, but they sort of stopped at an assortment of testicles and eyeballs. I kept hoping for another growth spurt, alas, I think they’d done all they were gonna.

I shuffled a few around in vain hope that they would do something spectular but thus far they’re looking sad, with the leaves lying down and resting (not dead, resting).

This is one of my favorite salads of all time. It’s super easy, quick and tasty and spectularly good for you. I would like to add at this juncture that it also make a fascinating talking point for potty training toddlers, because it is most startling to a novice.beetroot salad ingredients

I admit that I usually make a much larger amount than this but my yield was a tad paltry.

Mess with the amounts to your taste. I like lots of nuts and tangy balsamic.

What you will need :

  • one bunch of baby beets or a few large beetroots, leaves intact, washed.
  • a small handful of walnuts
  • a chunk of fetta, add to taste (I’ve used sheeps this time but whatever tickles you)
  • a splash of olive oil
  • a splash of balsamic, or a squeeze of lemon juice
  • salt and pepper

beetroot salad
What you need to do :

Preheat oven to 180C

Wash beets and remove, but save, the leafy tops. Wrap beets in foil and place in hot oven for about 30 minutes (depending on size. These took only 15 minutes. Give them a poke and if they yield , they’re ready).

When cooked take out of oven and leave to cool. Take off foil and slide the skins off with a firm thumb.Discard skin and foil.
Chop beets into desired size.

If your beetroot is store bought, your leaves will need to be chopped a bit.
Mine were still little and tender.
Add olive oil to a large fry pan and toss in your leaves, stirring until just wilted.

Chuck in some balsamic or a squeeze of lemon juice. Add beets to pan. Break your walnuts up a little and toss them in, season and take off heat.
Crumble your fetta through, and voila!

Warm beetroot salad loves steak, pork, chicken or fish so it’s super versatile. Roast some potatoes, steam some beans and you are well on your way to food nirvana!

beetroot salad finished

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Beans Means…….Homemade Baked Beans.

29 Nov

I cannot hear the words Baked Beans and not think of that scene in Blazing Saddles….you know the scene I’m talking about?

Basically, it’s a load of cowboys sitting around a campfire eating beans and they all begin to thunderously pass wind only seconds after the beans pass their lips.
I’m not a huge Mel Brooks fan, but this scene is the first ever fart scene in a movie, so I will give him credit where credit is due.

You rarely see/hear farts in film. Considering they are a part of life and everybody does it, you’d think there would be a little more wind on celluloid.

I wonder if James Bond ever got a nervous tummy? He’s certainly been in some tight squeezes, so it wouldn’t surprise me, but I suppose he would not be as cool  if when push came to shove a little ‘eeep’ squeaked out of his tuxedo……or heaven forbid, a shart.

But I digress, back to beans.

I love baked beans, and they are actually incredibly good for you. Packed with iron, protein, calcium, fibre and they are low GI so they will keep you fuller for longer. All this, and they are really yummy too.

I made these beans as a side dish to a slow-roast pork belly. Pork and beans go together like Ginger and Fred, in my books. All at my table enjoyed the combo, but none more than Mister H and I who got to double up with eggs and beans for breaky the following day.

It’s surprising we didn’t singe our eyebrows, if you catch my drift.

The original recipe for this came from the Riverstone cafe in Bellingen, but I tweaked it to my taste. If you would like to see the original recipe it is here.

Yield : 6 portions

What you will need :

330g dried cannellini beans (or Great Northern Beans), soaked in water overnight

3 red capsicum, seeds removed, coarsely chopped

2 carrots, coarsely chopped

1 onion, coarsely chopped

75 ml olive oil

200 gm speck, finely chopped

3 garlic cloves, crushed

2 thyme sprigs

1 fresh bay leaf

400 gm canned crushed tomatoes

1 tsp smoked paprika

30 ml maple syrup

a good dash of balsamic vinegar

a good dash of Worstershire sauce

To serve: poached eggs and toasted sourdough

What you need to do :

Drain your beans and chuck them into a pot of lightly salted water, so they are covered with an extra couple of centimetres. Bring to boil, and reduce to simmer until they’re tender (30-40 minutes).

In a food processor, chuck your capsicum, onion and carrot until finely chopped.

Preheat your oven to 180C.

Heat oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add capsicum and carrot mix, speck, garlic and herbs and cook until soft (7-10 minutes). Add salt and pepper to taste. Add tomato, bring to a simmer and add to beans. Add 500ml water, paprika, Worstershire sauce and vinegar, cover with foil and bake, stirring occasionally.

After 2 hours, check to see if they need a little more water, add if required, pop back into the oven for another 30 mins or so, until beans are nice and tender but not mushy. You want them to retain their shape.

Stir through maple syrup, season to taste and serve with poached eggs and sourdough toast.

We’re heavy on the recipes this week as it’s time to wrap up my Spring To Do list……and then we can get onto Summer!

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Pass the Pig…..American Style Pork Ribs.

27 Nov

Anyone who knows Sydney will know Hurricanes ribs.

Their flagship restaurant is down in Bondi and I have spent many a summer’s evening getting a rack of pork ribs, smothered in Monkey Gland sauce (sounds so wrong, but it tastes so right), taking them over to the grassy edge of Bondi Beach to devour those delicious, sweet, smokey ribs and washing it all down with a long-neck of Cooper’s Green ale whilst watching the surfers catch waves in the last of the day’s rays, my hands and face all glistening brown with the delectable mess.

I used to love living at Bondi Beach.

I lived there for many years. It was the kind of place that you go out for a loaf of bread and you’d get home three days later. I used to always keep a toothbrush in my handbag because you never knew what adventures you were going to have…….was it Bondi Beach, or was it just youth?
These days I can’t leave home without a nappy bag and child kit the size of freakin’ Texas, and social events are planned at least a week in advance……who is this imposter???

When I go to Bondi now, and I’m happy that I don’t live there any longer. I just smile at all the young and fabulous actor/model/designer wannabes.

I smile because they’re invincible. I smile because their butt is hanging out of their pants; the guys from the top, and the girls from the bottom.

I smile because I used to be them.

I wonder if some ex-Bondi, yummy-mummy ever came in from the ‘burbs and smiled at me dancing on a pub table with a lampshade on my head?

Probably. ’Tis the circle of life, no?

I wouldn’t want to live there again. Nowadays, I just see dirty streets, with piles of used, dumped furniture left lying around, and run-down apartment blocks that owners refuse to fix because they know that people will pay the exorbitant rents regardless of peeling paint and carpet that your feet sticks to.
The cafe scene is totally happening and the bars are really cool, but seeing as I’m barely happening or cool these days, it’s a moot point!

Anyway, I really miss those ribs.

I’ve cooked ribs a couple of times but usually used a bought marinade that claims to be ‘Down-Home Southern Style Seriously Good Rib Sauce’ or some such. I knew I needed to venture into the land of the Monkey Gland and find something that would ease the longing for Hurricanes and transport all who gnawed the bones to the grass of Bondi, if only for a minute, with the laughter of ghosts of backpackers and D-grade actors past tinkling in our ears.

Did these do it? Were they the ‘down-home’ pig ribs I was hankering for?

Well, butter my ass and call me a biscuit…..yes, sir, they were all that and more. A hushed voice at my table even muttered the words, with a mouthful of rib,

‘Better than Hurricanes’.

I ordered American style pork ribs at the Vietnamese butcher and they went away and cut them for me. There was a moment of panic when I pulled them out of the bag at home and they were long sides of pork belly. Totally wrong for this.

But I was committed. I removed a slab of belly, and retained the ribby goodness and got a’marinating those little puppies.

This is how it went -

Yield : 2-3 whole racks of ribs, for 4-6 people

What you will need :

  • 2-3 full rack pork/lamb ribs (for me, the only rib is pig)
  •  2 large alfoil roasting trays (turkey size) and a basting brush

For the marinade :

  • 1 cup of Brown sugar
  • 1 onion
  • 2 big cloves garlic
  • 1 cup of tomato sauce
  • 1 cup of BBQ sauce
  • 1 cup of Coca- Cola (full strength) (buy 2 litre bottle, rest is used for cooking)
  • ½ cup of Apple Cider Vinegar
  • 2 tablespoons of Worstershire sauce
  • 2 tablespoons of balsamic
  • 2 tablespoons smokey paprika
  • 1 tablespoon rosemary
  • salt and pepper

Put your onion and garlic and rosemary into a food processor and blitz to a fine paste.

Chuck all other ingredients into a bowl and throw in your onion paste. Stir well to combine.

Put ribs in roasting pan with half the marinade and leave to marinate overnight.

This part can totally be done in the oven, if you so desire, but it was a stinking hot day so outside was better for me….also, you do get a bit of a BBQ flavour throughout the meat if it’s done in the BBQ. Heat up BBQ with lid / Webber to constant 120-150 degrees with lid down.

Place ribs in BBQ but not on direct heat. I had the grill on with the ribs sitting on the plate next to it.

Pour remainder of 2 litre coke into roasting pan until ribs are fully submerged. Cover with foil and punch about half a dozen holes in it.

Cook for 5 hours at no more than 150 degrees. Your juice will barely boil, if at all, and mine did not seem to reduce much at all.

Take rib tray off BBQ and fire up grill section to blazing hot. Put ribs on grill and baste with remaining marinade (don’t be shy with slapping on the marinade)

Turn ribs every 5 mins and keep on basting generously. Do this for about 30 minutes until marinade caramelises and a sticky, gooey, gorgeous crust forms.

Remove from grill and tuck in….ensuring you get the full ‘smile’ of rib sauce.

Our buddies picking lettuce from the vege garden…..

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Rekindling Old Friendships and a Snapper Named Steve

12 Nov

I was driving along in my car recently and someone I hadn’t thought of in a long time popped into my head.

This wasn’t just any old ‘someone’, but someone who was once so close to me that he and I used to call each other brother and sister. We did this not because we are related by blood, but because trying to explain our relationship to people was too hard.

We were more than friends.

We were even more than best friends.

We were BFFs…… we thought.

I don’t know exactly where it went pear shaped, there was no singular event, but I do remember the time in our lives, and it was complicated for the both of us, to say the least. We were living together, but our lives were very separate. We were both engrossed in our own stuff and I guess we needed some space.

There’s space, and then there’s SPACE, because as I was driving along I realised that this man – that I once called my brother – did not know that I was married to a red-head, with whom I was set up on blind date.

He would think that was funny.

He did not know that I had a son with beautiful, deep grey eyes and a cheeky smile, and neither did he know that I had a daughter, named after my great-grandmother.

I had no idea where he lived, or even if he lived, and I was suddenly filled with profound sadness at this thought. As soon as I stopped driving I called his phone, hoping he had the same number.

I got voicemail, of course, what an anti-climax, and I left a message just saying I was thinking about him, and maybe we could talk if he wanted to.

I left it in his court, but at the very least I wanted him to know that he was in my thoughts.

I didn’t hear anything for a few days, and then I got a text. Maybe he wasn’t ready to talk, just yet.

Maybe he needed to see if we still had rapport?

After a few tentative texts back and forth, I invited him over for lunch, and I’m so thrilled that I did because it was just like old times.

Friendship is a funny thing, isn’t it?

How someone, with whom you were once invincible, suddenly doesn’t fit, and then perhaps down the line you do fit again. Or you fit differently but it’s still nice.

It isn’t the first time my river meandered away from someone who was my left bank and then, with time, moved back towards them, and I’m sure it won’t be the last, but sometimes you just need to take a step towards someone….make the first move towards rekindling. It’s not about pride, or swallowing it, it’s about saying ‘Life is too damned short, I wonder what my old friend is up to?’

I strongly urge you to call someone today, someone you let slip away, and just tell them you’re thinking of them. You don’t need lunch or a grand gesture.

It feels really nice.

I wanted to BBQ a whole fish this Spring, and this lunch seemed the perfect occasion.

Meet Steve.

He was a 2 kilo snapper, and he was delicious.

I was hoping to BBQ a fish that I had never cooked before but when I was at the fishmonger, Steve was winking at me and I couldn’t resist his fishy goodness.

Yield : 1 BBQ’d fish

You will need :

  • one fish, cleaned and scaled
  • 3 cloves garlic, skin removed
  • juice and zest of 1 lime, retain husks
  • 1 teaspoon cumin
  • 1 birdseye chili, deseeded if you prefer
  • 50ml olive oil
  •  handful of coriander root and leaves

What you need to do :

  • Score your fish deeply in the sides to allow for the marinade to penetrate.
  • In a mortar and pestle (or small food processor) add everything except the olive oil and pound until it forms a paste. Add your oil and stir to combine.
  • Rub mixture all over your fish, and put empty lime husks inside. Refrigerate for at least 40 minutes for let the flavours infuse.
  • Our fish BBQ cage thing was too small to accommodate Steve so we got a little creative and sandwiched him between two cake racks. He didn’t know the difference and it just kept him over the heat instead on directly on it.
  • We did a little lid up, and then a little lid down action, cooking each side for about 20 minutes. He was pretty fat, so you’ll need to adjust according to the fatness of your fishy.

I really think that BBQing anything makes it yummier, and Steve was no exception. I served him with a soba noodle salad, but you could eat this with rice and Asian greens, or stir fry, or even potato salad if it takes your fancy.

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Wanton Wontons…..double happiness from my penpal

27 Oct

You’ve heard me mention my penpal from Bunny Eats Design.

My bunny-loving friend, Genie, has been a big, fat, bloggy inspiration to me and we become penpals mostly because I stalked her. This is her first ever guest post, so I’m honored to have her visiting us today…..not to mention dying to eat me some wontons. 
How good are these images?
Ah-may-zing…..Drooooool. 
Take it away, Bunster.

I picked up my wonton making skills from my Dad who owned and worked Chinese take-outs for a couple of decades. When I was old enough, wonton wrapping was one of the easy tasks that he would sometimes delegate.

Deep fried wontons are one of those Chinese side dishes that became super popular in the eighties and nineties. Easy to make and easy to sell, especially with a sweet or sour dipping sauce, these crunchy morsels are great with dinner but they’re nasty the next day and mystery meat may once have been a problem. As a Chinese foodie living in the west, I prefer to eat wontons in soup. Silky, mild and warming, they’re a great comfort food.

This wonton basic recipe makes 50 wontons which can be used immediately in soup or deep fried or frozen for future uses. You can find all these ingredients for cheap at your local Asian grocer and these days, sometimes even your normal supermarket.

Pork and Shiitake Wontons
Makes 50 wontons

Ingredients

  • 50 fresh wonton wrappers
  • 500 grams pork mince (about 1 pound)
  • 6 dried shiitake mushrooms
  • 2 tablespoons light soy sauce
  • 1 teaspoon sesame oil
  • 1/2 teaspoon five-spice powder
  • 2 tablespoons chopped spring onion
  • 2 tablespoons finely chopped ginger

Preparation

Rehydrate the mushrooms in a bowl of hot water for a few minutes until softened. Removed stems and discard. Cut each mushroom in half and then slice thinly.
Add sliced mushrooms and all other filling ingredients to a large bowl and mix until thoroughly combined.
Using a slightly heaped teaspoon as a guide, place a teaspoon of filling in the centre of a wonton wrapper. Resist the urge to overfill the wontons as they will be difficult to seal.
Next, fold the wrapper in half diagonally to form a rough triangle. I avoid folding it perfect in half, because the overlapping edges are prettier.
Then make five pleats in the wrapper starting from one end and moving across until the filling is sealed. Place wrapped wonton on a plate or chopping board.
Repeat until you run out of filling or out of wrappers.

These can be refrigerated for several days or frozen. I like to freeze wontons on a tray, then transfer to a re-sealable bag or container once they have been flash frozen.

Wonton Noodle Soup is an ultimate comfort food for me and I love it when I’m sick or hungover. This travels surprisingly well and can be put together the night before or even in the morning before work. Just drain the soup into a jar and dump the rest of the contents into a plastic container. Zapped in the microwave for a few minutes, this is a great week day lunch when you don’t feel like a sandwich or salad.

Wonton Noodle Soup
Serves 1 


Ingredients

  • 6 wontons (fresh or frozen)
  • 1 bundle dried egg noodles
  • 1 bok choy
  • 2 cups chicken or beef stock
  • 1 teaspoon light soy sauce
  • 1 teaspoon chilli sauce

Preparation

Soak the dried egg noodles in hot water for 10 minutes until softened. Drain and put into a serving bowl.
In a small pot, bring the stock plus 1 cup of water to boil. Add light soy sauce and wontons and simmer for 5 minutes.
Wash bok choy, cut into half or quarter, and place on top of wontons so the bok choy gets lightly steamed for 1-2 minutes.

I like my bok choy to to still be crisp rather than soft.To serve, pour everything into the noodle bowl and top with chilli sauce.

We don’t own a deep fryer so I don’t deep fry all that often. When I do, I fry small batches at a time in a small pot of oil. I find 4-5 wontons at a time in a small pot is a good number. If you have a deep fryer, cook as many wontons as will fit easily in 1 layer. Avoid overcrowding the pot as it will lower the temperature of the oil and cook unevenly.

Deep Fried Wontons

Allow at least 4 per person as a starter

Ingredients

  • 4-5 wontons
  • 3 cups cooking oil
  • Dipping sauce of your choice (sweet chilli, plum sauce, sweet and sour work well)

Preparation
Heat 3 cups of cooking oil in a small pot on the stove.
To test the oil for optimum temperature, carefully lower a small cube of bread into the oil and it should turn golden brown in 20 seconds.
Using tongs, carefully lower wontons into oil with filling side down so the meat is immersed in oil and cook for 5 minutes. Move wontons around the pot occasionally to make sure all sides tun golden at an even rate.
Remove wontons from oil, shake wontons of excess oil and drain upside down in a metal basket or on paper towels.
Serve with dipping sauce.

Genie is an illustrator/graphic designer and a rabbit enthusiast who really, REALLY loves food. She enjoys playing with her rabbit Tofu, fattening up her husband (The Koala) and eating with their friends in Auckland, New Zealand. Her blog Bunny Eats Design is loosely based on food, long earred critters and graphics and she dreams of designing for a food magazine or restaurant graphics and food packaging. She likes eating exotic food in exotic places and loves the mantra: “Eat well, travel often”.

 

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Devour Literature or Trash, Just Read……and Eat Vietnamese Rice Paper Rolls.

11 Oct

I read some really frightening statistics this morning, courtesy of Bunny. Eats. Design.

Here they are -

One third of high school graduates will never read another book for the rest of their lives. (THAT’S 1 in 3!!!!)

42 percent of college graduates never read a book after college. (THAT’S ALMOST 1 in 2!!!!)

This is the one though…..

80% of US families did not buy or read a book last year. (WTF!!!!! 80%??????? 8 out of 10………4 out of 5!!!!!!)

This is not referring to a lack of literacy in the slightest, but a lack of love for reading.

My parents read to me all the time, and in turn I read to my kids daily. It’s something nice to do, and it passes the time.

Obviously, they have their books and I have mine, but I get to climb into bed at the end of the day, after hiding the ‘Big Book of Dinosaurs’ in hope of being able to read a different book for D Man tomorrow (I cant be the only one that does that?), and open my book of choice and disappear from my suburban monotony bliss into whichever heady world I choose.
I adore reading. I adore words. I guess that’s why I love the sound of my own ‘type’ so much, but to imagine a life without being able to slide into an imaginary world at the turn of a page, doesn’t bear thinking about.

I just finished Julie and Julia, by Julie Powell. You know, the one they made the Meryl Streep movie out of?
Hardly War & Peace but a very fun and funny read.

Let me tell you, as one would suspect, the book shat on the movie.
The reason for this is because Julie Powell, the author/crazy woman who tackled every recipe in Julia Child’s ‘Mastering the Art of French Cooking‘ in 12 months is quite naughty.

She’s candid, she swears like a trucker and she had a gustatory baptism of fire that she is very honest about. Harvesting bone marrow and killing a lobster are not for the faint of heart.

I think it struck a chord due to the very nature of the book (cooking/blogging/eating/drinking). The book was also realistic about the fact that all that butter-laden French food made her arse balloon. I found it unbelievable in the film when Amy Adams maintained her svelte appearance regardless of the lashing of cream and duck fat she scoffed daily.

Anyhoo, read my peeps. Read. It’s better than TV.
It invites your imagination to spark and not be spoon fed imagery.
Don’t get me wrong, TV has a place, but don’t let it be the only form of entertainment in your home.

Reading to your children is proven to increase their intelligence, and comprehension. The experts say that children need 1,000 stories read to them before they begin to learn to read for themselves. Sounds like a lot? It’s just three stories a day over a year (according to Huggies).

Ok, off my soapbox…all that ranting has made me peckish so I thought I’d share another of my Spring To Do List recipes.

I love these fresh spring rolls. We sometimes go to a roll-your-own Vietnamese restaurant in Newtown, Sydney, but making them at home is so simple, delicious and healthy.
Traditionally, the Vietnamese use pork and prawns in theirs, however, I’ve also had lemon grass beef, and sugar cane prawns.

I was making these for a picnic so I kept it quick and easy……..my two favorite ingredients to any recipe!

I’m always disappointed when they have too much noodle action and not enough filling action so you can make your own ratio up to please your palate…..but, trust me, my way is really yummy!

I also put the sauce inside for ease of little people, and big people, eating outdoors, but you can make a separate dipping sauce if you want.

Yield : 14 rolls

You will need :

  • 1/2 BBQ chicken, shredded
  • 1 carrot, julienned
  • 2 spring onions, julienned
  • 1/2 packet bean shoots
  • 1 good handful of mint leaves
  • 1 good handful of coriander leaves
  • crushed peanuts
  • 100g vermicelli, I prefer green bean vermicelli but simple rice is fine
  • 1 packet of rice paper
  • 2 tablespoons ketcup manis (sweet soy)
  • 2 tablespoons sweet chilli sauce


Set yourself up a work station so everything you need is at hand.
Fill a baking tray with hot water, not scalding, just hot, and dip your rice paper in for 5 seconds.
Once upon a time I thought you had to leave it in until it was totally pliable and wet, but you don’t at all. In fact, it still feels quite cardboard-y after 5 seconds but it gets more pliable as it sits, and it’s way more manageable.

Smear a small amount of your sauce on the bottom and then add a little bit of your chicken, then your vegetables, then your herbs, bean shoots and top it with some noodles. Sprinkle some nuts on top and fold the bottom of your rice paper up, creating a semi-circle. Fold in the sides, one at a time and then simple roll the rest into a neat cigar.
Theoretically.

Call the first one a practice one, ok?
Repeat, and repeat and repeat, until you’re over it or your ingredients are gone.

If your first one looks dodgerama, maybe try a little less filling……You’ll be a pro in no time.

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