WHAT TO COOK ?

Food feeds the soul, it makes us feel good , satisfied . Food warms  and replenishes, it titalates the senses and activates the taste  buds .
For some, certain foods bring memories alive ....... So what am I getting at..?

 I was honoured to receive an invitation to speak and do a cooking demonstration at the Somers Retreat for parents of very special children....
Talking won`t be a problem , never has been .
 It`s what to cook.....? I want it to be warm  offering  hope, tasty and memorable, and  to be eaten from a shared plate , where others can join in , give strength and support to each other . The occasion must be fun and all the parents can participate in the preparation , cooking the meal will become a memory , hopefully something the parents will want to make over again for their families on their return home.
One more thing is simplicity.....economical in time and filling....
The list of ingredients must be emailed through tomorrow, so I`ll sleep on it tonight , .., and let you know later .

Today was spent in the vegetable garden , the soil needs lots of attention, even after purchasing several metres , it has to be spread on the vegetable beds , fed with soil supplements as different vegetables need and draw different nutrients from the soil in their growth cycle. Let the soil rest for  a week and then rotary hoe the new soil  into the original layer of earth , top the beds up , spread with a light layer of soil supplement and let rest for another week for the soil to settle again.This process can take weeks. It is amazing how much soil a vegetable patch requires, but it is a worthwhile when the results are beautiful home grown vegetables and fruits, fresh and in abundance .
So dinner tonight was a non fuss bouillabaisse ,made in one pot and served straight into a bowl  accompanied with fresh homemade bread.

1. packet of marinara mix  roughly 800gm.
200gm of peeled prawns with tail on
1. fennel bulb sliced
1.leek (white part only) sliced
500gm of spinach leaves
2. parsnips sliced
2. carrots sliced
1.tsp of rosemary
1. tsp thyme
3 bay leaves
1. tsp fenugreek
1 tsp fennel seeds
a slurp of olive oil.
5. garlic cloves sliced
a few saffron threads
small tin of tomato  paste
1.litre of fish stock
350ml of white wine
500ml water
tsp of both rock salt and black peppercorns

No messing about..... everything in the pot together on a low heat and leave to simmer till the vegies are tender, then add half a packet of dried tagliatelle,contiue to simmer, once the pasta is el dente , ladle the bouillabaisse and pasta into large bowls ..Enjoy..We did.

BAKLAVA CAKE / BAKLAOUA TORTE

Ah ..now  that's  got your attention !

Baklava is Middle Eastern, it is Armenian and it is Greek ,depending to whom you speak either one of the above cultures stole the baklava recipe from the other.
Over 17 wonderful weeks sharing a cooking adventure with my friend Samira, she constantly pointed out recipes that had originated in the Middle East and are now thought of as Greek.
On the other hand my friends Leonidas , Paris and Anastase in their peculiar Greek way claim ownership of everything man has created or invented..( a very modest race , indeed )

The Germans and Austrians  lay claim to the baklava torte, based on the mix of nuts, almonds ,sugar, spices and butter. It is a dry cake that is served with a sweet honey syrup.

ALMOND TORTE......

Set the oven at  180 C.
Grease 2 x 9 " free form round tins. Place in the fridge. Then line the bases and sides with baking paper.

Beat 250 gm of softened butter and a 1/2 teaspoon of almond essence and 220gm of caster sugar with an electric beater till light and fluffy.
Now beat in 4 eggs , 1 at a time until fully combined .
Stir in 1/3rd of a cup of milk , and sift 1.5 cups of self raising flour, and a 1/2 cup of almond meal and fold in, in two batches .
Divide the mixture between the 2 pans. set aside while you mix 1. cup of slivered almonds , 1.cup of pitstachios, 1. cup of chopped walnuts ..
Divide this mixture into 2 and sprinkle to cover the batter in each pan.
Bake in the well heated oven for 35 minutes.

HONEY SYRUP........

Stir 1.5  cups of caster sugar with 1.5 cups of water over hot water until sugar dissolves then add 2. tablespoon of honey, plus 5 x 1" strips of lemon rind with as much pith as possible removed, 3 tablespoons of lemon juice , then gradually bring to the boil , simmer till the mix starts to thicken .Strain to remove the rind.
Place the syrup in a jug.

Check on the cake around  35 min and once a skewer is inserted in the cake and comes out clean , take  from oven and allow to cool for 5 minutes before removing from the pans . Completely cool on a wire rack .

MARSCAPONE AND CINNAMON CREAM......

Beat a cup of thickened cream  together with 1/2 teaspoon of cinnamon a dessert spoon of caster sugar  and 250gm of mascarpone cheese till thick and spreadable.

Pour a round of syrup over each cake.
Crust side up.
Join the 2 layers together with a thick layer of cinnamon cream.
Spread the remaining cream over the top and around the side .

Serve each helping with a drizzle of syrup.

Enjoy...







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PIG EARS TERRINE...

OH... THATS RIGHT YOU ARE ALREADY GRIMACING  AT THE THOUGHT ...PIG EARS  YUK...!
Well I dare you to give this a go .....Seriously you are reading my blog, you know I hate that we kill animals for select cuts of meat and disregard the rest of the carcass  and I love good food ...so don`t knock that which you have never tried..!

You will need to visit a butcher and order 10 pig ears....it is not that hard., when you have them ...give them a good scrub and remove any hairs with a disposable razor....or you can hold the ears over the open flame of your gas hotplate with tongs and singe the hairs off.
Then place them in a saucepan of generously salted water  and simmer for an hour.

Remove from heat and leave in saucepan to cool.

Now its time  to chop 2 onions as finely as you can along with 2 carrots, 2 leeks, 2 heads of garlic,2 celery sticks and add a bouquet garni ..(parsley, thyme and rosemary  now add all of these to a large  oven proof saucepan.

Place the cooled ears in the pot with the other ingredients and add enough chicken stock to cover  all ingredients , secure the lid on the saucepan and place in the oven ..set at 180 degrees for 3 hours.

Ok times up....Remove the ears with a slotted spoon and layer them in a terrine that has been lined with 3 or more layers of cling film.

Strain the liquid off  the vegetables into a smaller saucepan and add 3.5 sheets of gelatine  to the liquid and dissolve, season with salt and pepper .

Now pour the stock mixture slowly over the ears , but just to the point of covering the ears.

Securely encase  the mixture with the cling wrap and lay a couple of tin beans from your pantry on top to weight down the mixture .

Refrigerate over night  and next day it will be ready to slice and serve with a warm Fench lentil salad..

In a restaurant you could easily pay anywhere between  $22 _ $28 a serve.....make this at home for $10.oo, the whole terrine.....

Like I said try it.

Happy birthday Peta ...miss our chats. R.I.P

Noelene

HOW DUMB ARE AUSTRALIANS ?

Its been a long time ...but I still have opinions,

A friend messaged me asking ` How dumb are Australians..?`
What can I say ?
Australians cast their vote ...... and we have a health minister who is anti vaccine, a science minister who doesn't believe in climate change.. About the boat people ...well problem solved , we will just get updates ..on WHAT ? Oh great idea cut foreign aide and pay out the pirates who are shuffling families from island to island ...and of course that will stop the boats ! Do you think ?Pirates have hit pay load with Abbott, they get money from the Australian govt. and still find a way to transport the many fearing their lives and looking for a new beginning in unsafe boats to Australian shores .
Huge issues facing our society in regards to mental health and the ageing population , just one minister...yep that should take care of it...Front page of the Latrobe valley express two weeks after the election ....120 jobs to go in the Traralgon centrelink call centre, just another blow to the local economy
The cherry on top of the cake ...is ABBOTT , Minister for womens affair...Abbott has balls but I have brains. I never voted for the liberals , don't blame me !