GIPPSLAND FM 104.7

Come and join me on Gippsland FM 104.7 on the Tuesday Breakfast Show ......... each week we will discuss a different topic about food .
Tomorrow Thursday 30 August , Gippsland FM 104.7 will be broadcasting from Midvalley shopping centre , Morwell.
Drop by , say hello , come and try my sweet seeded crackers .
See you tomorrow .

SWEET SEEDED CRACKERS

Preheat your oven to 160 deg C
Line a baking tray with baking paper
place 90 gm of banana in a processor with 1/4 cup of water .
Process till smooth .
Add 240 gm of mixed seeds ...your choice  ( sesame , linseed , pepitas , sunflower , chia , teff ) plus 50 ngm of shredded coconut .
Process till well combined .
Let the mix rest for 15 minutes .
Then turnout onto the prepared tray and spread evenly .
Bake for 40 minutes or until golden and crispy .
Remove and let cool in the pan until completely cool .....then break into  pieces to serve

 

POMEGRANATE WITH CHICKEN

This is a beautiful dish whether you use beef or chicken as your base .
Preheat your oven to 160 deg C
In a large pan heat 4 tbs of ghee over a medium heat .
Add your beef or chicken ( 1 kg )
In a large pan add 3 tbs of ghee
Add 3 peeled and sliced onions along with the beef or chicken , brown the meat and tenderise the onions , then remove and add the contents of the pan to the bowl of the slow cooker .
Stir in the finely chopped peel and juice of 1 medium orange . 250 gms of almond meal , 1 tbs of raw sugar , 1 tsp of turmeric , 1 tsp of ground cinnamon , 1/2 tsp of nutmeg , season with cracked black pepper and 5 tbs of pomegranate molasses .
Place on high for 3.5 hours .
Serve with brown rice or mixed grains .

 

LADDER TERM 3........STROMBOLI

Today I held a cooking class with the new intake of AFL Ladder participants at the Churchill Neighbourhood Centre .
We prepared from scratch STROMBOLI ........
This recipe has all the elements that appeals to my style of cooking ......the ingredients are budget based , the ingredients are best prepared in a tactile application without the added cost of modern gadgetry .
We used the basic ingredients of flour , milk and butter ....... and prepared the perfect scone batter using  a bread knife to mix .
There was so much positive energy in the kitchen .
There are some pressure points in this recipe , the mixing and the rolling, but you all did such a good job ....
Well done everyone , your completed Stromboli was some of the best I’ve seen .
Welcome back Taylah .
Already looking forward to next  week ......
Noelene Marchwicki

MUSHROOM BREAKFAST

We are heading into spring and as the temperature's climb the field mushrooms will rise .
 I went to live with my mother and step father on the farm in Jeeralang Junction at the age of 11, and remember going out into the paddocks with a bucket and knife to pick the mushrooms .
My fingers and hand would be brown with spores .
 The bucket would be filled to the rim with field  mushrooms , the smell was amazing .
I can remember my mother cooking them in a pan over  a hot plate on the IXL combustion stove , she added butter to the pan to bring out their flavour , the mushrooms were always served on toast
Decades later I prepare fresh field mushrooms the same way as my mother , the only difference is I serve the mushrooms with a sauce .
The Sauce ........
Pulverise a couple of anchovies per person with the back of a spoon , stir them into a few tablespoons of warmed cream and pour the sauce over the mushrooms on toast .
Delicious .!!!!
 

ONIONS

There are big white onions , brown onion bulbs , red onion bulbs , purple onion bulbs .
Slender tubers with long green leaves incorrectly called shallots , they are in fact spring onions .
Shallots are brown tubers whose tops have died .
The question I  am most asked about onions ....is why do onions make our eyes water .?
Our eyes water because of the fumes of cysteine, a crystalline amino acid that becomes sulphuric acid in the eyes , which in turn induces the tears to wash it out .
Now forget all the myths ..........cutting onions under running water , is impractical .
Holding a spoon in the mouth or a piece of cut apple or potato .......does not work either .
People who wear glasses have a slight advantage .
Brown onions are best for stock , cut the onions into quarters leaving the skin on , this induces a golden colour and intensified taste .
Everyone wants to know the correct way to chop an onion finely .
It is easy if 1 centimetre of the root base is left to hold the onion together when the onion is peeled .
then slice off a longitudinal slice to give the onion a base to sit on .
Using a sharp knife , slice the onion horizontally and then vertically and there you have it chopped onions .
 I love cooking with them they  fill the kitchen with warmth and promise
 

A SIMPLE NEW POTATO SALAD

Boil 6 new potatoes with a tbs of lemon juice added to the water  ( to  prevent blackening  as they cool ).
Cook till tender and still holding their shape .
Drain and pat dry on paper towelling and cool slightly .
Then slice into cubes and place in a serving dish 
In a separate bowl mix together 1/2 cup of olive oil with a 1/2 cup of white wine vinegar
Stir in a heaped tbs of minced garlic and 1 tsp of castor sugar
Add 1 dsp of chilli flakes or 1 tsp of sriracha (Optional )
Pour over the cubed potatoes .
Toss through finely chopped parsley.

A RECIPE FOR PEARS IN RED WINE

Pears differ from most fruits in that they gain flavour in the week or two between picking the fruit and ripening , they cannot concentrate their flavours if left on the tree .
Try this old recipe of pears cooked in red wine ....
Preheat your oven to 160 deg C
Peel 6 firm pears , leave the stalks attached to use as handles .
Trim the base so they sit upright in your casserole dish .
Sprinkle 1 dsp of minced ginger around the pears .
Add a good red wine to half the height of the pears .
Place the dish uncovered  in the oven .
Cooking time will depend on the ripeness of the pears , usually by the time most of the wine has evaporated .
Serve in warmed dessert bowls and drizzle with  remaining wine and ginger from the casserole and serve with honey and thickened cream ....
An oldie but a goodie .

MANGO SAUCE

Use your stick blender to process 1 whole egg  with 1/3 rd cup of extra virgin olive oil in a large bowl , until well bended .
Add 250 ml of cream , 1 tbs of Dijon mustard , the peeled flesh of 3 mangoes .
Process till smooth and creamy .
This recipe is for you Laufa Oakley,
Roast or grilled chicken and mango sauce go very well together .