FIG CHUTNEY

I have a large fig tree which was grown from a twig , given to me by Paul Salloum , one of the optometrists I worked with when I managed the Traralgon Thrifty Eyewear outlet , many years ago . The tree is laden with figs that are taking time to ripen and the birds usually beat me to the ripe figs. So it makes sense to use the partially ripe figs to make chutney and cooked slowly for 2 and 1/2 hours . I picked half a large bowl of semi soft and mostly firm figs ( green ), I guess around 1 kg^ of figs , I topped and tailed them and removed any spots from the skin , then I sliced and cubed the figs .( they were quite hard ). I placed the chopped figs in a large pot along with 2 onions peeled and sliced , 2 stalks of rhubarb ( I'm fortunate as I have rhubarb all year round in my garden , ) or use 1 large very firm apple ( peeled and sliced ),750 gm of RAW sugar , 1 and 1/2 cups of sultanas , 1 tbs of salt ,1 dsp of whole cloves enclosed in a tea diffuser ,a pinch of chilli powder and 750 ml of brown malt vinegar . Mix well with a wooden spoon and bring to a simmer over a low heat and then continue to simmer for 2 and 1/2 hours until the fruit has softened and the mixture thickened . Spoon into hot sterilised jars and seal. This is delicious . There are a lot of figs out there on the tree , I'm happy to share , the fruit or the chutney .

APPLE CHUTNEY

I thought I had made enough chutney for the season ...there has been tomato chutney , rhubarb chutney and green tomato pickles . This morning I prepared apple chutney. I peeled and roughly chopped 1 .5 kg of firm apples along with 2 large onions . These were then placed in a large saucepan along with 750gm of raw sugar , 1 and 1/2 cups of sultanas , 1 tbs of salt ,1 dsp of whole cloves in an enclosed tea diffuser , a good pinch of chilli powder , 2 skinned tomatoes and finally 750 ml of brown malt vinegar . Combine all ingredients stirring with a wooden spoon over a low heat until sugar is dissolved . Simmer uncovered for 2 and 1/2 hours or until chutney is thick . Pour into hot sterilised jars and seal .

ALL SEASON LASAGNE

It's all about chicken poached in milk , champignons, oven baked onions , garlic and beetroot, gherkins , capsicums , olives , shredded carrots , feta cheese , tomatoes , bambino bocconcino, grated parmesan ,chilli ,fresh basil , parsley , coriander, pepper and ricotta cream . This was layered between fresh lasagne sheets and dressed with fresh thyme .

CHICKEN , DUMPLINGS AND SWEET CORN SOUP

Tonight Im dining on chicken , dumplings and sweet corn soup . I invite you to try my simple dish . All this requires is 1 can of whole kernal corn ( 420gm ) with juice poured into a saucepan with 1 can of creamed corn ( 400gm ) . Stir to mix through . Next in the pot was 10 mini chicken dim sims I then added 170 gm of pulled chicken in mustard mayonaise , stirred through with a tbs of fresh mixed herbs ( oregano , parsley and thyme ). Warmed through over a low heat ...till ready to serve . This was delicious and easy to prepare , it offered flavour and filled my hunger after a really busy day .

COPHA CAKE

You will need a loaf pan 21x 10 cm . Melt 375 gm of copha , do not boil, but completely melt . In a separate bowl lightly beat 1 egg . In a large bowl mix together 480 gm of icing sugar with 1 heaped tbs of cocoa . Now add the egg , 1 tsp of vanilla extract , 1/4 cup of cream , mix well . Gradually add the melted copha . Stir until completely combined . Brush 230 gm of coffee biscuits with extra cream on both sides . Now pour 3/4 of a cup of the copha mix into base of the prepared pan . Place 4 coffee biscuits in an even layer on top , then pour 1/2 cup of chocolate copha mix over . Repeat with remaining biscuits and choc/ copha mix. End with a choc/ copha topping . Top with crumbled honeycomb or chocolate curls . Cover with plastic wrap and put in refrigerator for 2 hours . Remove from fridge for 20 minutes before serving at room temperature .

PUMPKIN PIE

For this pie I used a commercial premade sweet pastry base . For the filling you will need 400 gm of cooked pumpkin puree and placed in a bowl along with 175gm of castor sugar ,1 tbs of cornflour ,1tbs of treacle , 1 dsp of ground mixed spice or you could use ground cinnamon,150 ml of cream and finally 3 eggs well beaten . Mix all ingredients together with a wooden spoon until thoroughly combined . Pour this mixture into the pastry case , bake in the preheated oven for 45 minutes . Turn off the heat and open the oven door and leave the pie in the oven for a further 15 minutes . The aromas from the pie are amazing . This pie can served warm or cold in small servings with cream . My sons' Scottish Granny ...Jessie Mersey used to make pumpkin pie and it was her eldest grandson Marc's favourite , Jessie always made her own pastry case ..

BAKED JAM ROLL

Preheat your oven to 180 deg C. Grease a rectangular baking pan (25 x 16 cm ) Place 1 cup of self raising flour and a pinch of salt into a bowl . Add 1 tbs of butter / margarine ( softened ) with 1 tbs of milk . Mix together to make a dough . Shape the dough into a rectangle using your hands , spread with jam . Roll up from the wide side. Place in the prepared pan . To make the glaze , combine 1/4 cup of castor sugar with 1 tbs of butter / marg with 1 cup of boiling water in a saucepan , overa low heat until the sugar has dissolved . Pour the syrup over the dough and bake for 30 minutes . Serve with cream .

FIVE TIPS FOR SUCCESSFUL PRESERVES

1. Use dry , slightly unripe fruit.Under ripe is richer in pectin and acid than fully ripe fruit . 2. Gently simmer fruit until soft. 3. Warming the sugar before adding it to the fruit, the sugar will dissolve quicker , to warm the sugar place in a preheated oven 100 deg C for 10 minutes . 4. Once the sugar is dissolved you can increase the heat , which will thicken and aid in setting the preserve . 5. Pour the hot preserve into hot , dry sterilised jars , filling to the neck and seal immediately .

LEMON RICE CAKE

Preheat your oven 180 deg C Spray a 22cm springform tin with cooking spray and sprinkle with polenta . Shake to discard excess poleta crumb. Bring 625 ml of milk to the boil and stir in 150gm of aborio rice and 1/4 tsp of salt. Reduce heat and simmer , stirring from time to time until the milk has been absorbed by the rice. Transfer to a bowl, allow to cool slightly , then stir in 30gm of ground almonds and the finely grated zest of 1 lemon . Beat 4 egg yolks and gradually stir them into the rice mixture and stir in 75 gm of castor sugar . Beat the 4 egg whites in a clean dry bowl until stiff peaks form , then fold into the rice mixture. Pour this into the prepared cake pan and bake for 30 minutes , or until a skewer inserted comes out clean . Cool completely on a wire rack , dredge with icing sugar and cut into wedges to serve .

CORNMEAL CRUSTED LEMON TART

Preheat the oven to 180 deg C. In a separate bowl whisk together 1 egg and 1 egg yolk . Mix 1 and 1/2 cups of plain flour with 1/2 cup of yellow cornmeal ( polenta ). Mix in 8 tbs of chilled butter, cut in to small pieces along with 3 tbs of chilled water . Gradually add the egg mix to the dough , working with your hands until it comes together . Roll out between 2 sheets of plastic to about 1/4 inch thickness . Spray a 20 cm flan pan and mould your dough into the base and sides of the flan pan . Chill the dough covered flan in the refrigerastor . Weigh down the pastry with dry rice or pastry weights and bake in the preheated oven for 20 minutes or until golden at the edges . Remove the weights and return to the oven till the bottom is cooked . Let shell cool . FOR THE FILLING Place 2 eggs lightly beaten with 2 yolks lightly beaten in a large bowl with 3/4 cup of castor sugar ,the zest of 2 lemons finely grated and 1/2 cup of lemon juice . Mix till sugar has dissolved . Pour into a medium saucepan and heat slowly over a low heat , stirring constantly with a wooden spoon until the mixture thicens and coats the back of the spoon. Do not allow to boil or you will end up with scrambled eggs . Remove from heat and whisk in 100gm of butter /marg until it is all incorporated . Pour into the shell and refrigerate until set . When chilled , the pie is ready to be enjoyed .

APPLE AND PORK BELLY HOTPOT

This recipe is for my son Paul . You will need 1 kg of pork belly chopped into 3 cm cubes . Roughly chop 1 brown onion . You can use a pressure cooker for this recipe and decrease the cooking time by 2 and 1/4 hours , or you can use a heavy based / cast iron large saucepan with a lid . An ovenproof dish will also work . Now place the pork cubes , chopped onion , 1tbs of minced garlic, 1 tsp of fennel seeds with 1 litre of water into the saucepan / pressure cooker . Bring to the boil , then reduce heat to low and simmer for 3 hours .(if using a pressure cooker , continue to cook for 30 minutes once it has reached high pressure ) Meanwhile chop 800 gm of peeled pumpkin into cubes along with 2 peeled and cored green apples (cubed) Once the pork is ready add the pumpkin , the apples and 2 cups of shredded cabbage , 2 tbs of marg /butter , 1 tbs of apple cider vinegar , 1 dsp of sea salt flakes and cracked black pepper to taste . Mix these through the pork and simmer for 25 minutes or until the pumpkin is soft , stirring occasionally . Taste and season accordingly you are ready to serve .

TOMATO AND MUSTARD TART

Preheat your oven to 180 deg C. You need 500gm of tomatoes . Remove the peduncle ( the end that was attached to the stalk ) of each tomato . Cut the tomatoes into 1/2 cm slices . Lightly oil the baking sheet and sprinkle with polenta . I used 1 sheet of commercial puff pastry and spread 60 gm of wholegrain mustard generously folding in 1/2 cm of the sheet edge to form a border . Place the tomato slices over the pastry (overlapping )and sprinkle with dried thyme and cracked pepper, drizzle with honey . Cook in the hotoven for 12 minutes , then another 3 minutes with the oven door slightly open so the humidity can evaporate . DELICIOUS ..

CHURCHILL AND DISTRICT COMMUNITY HUB

At the Churchill hub ( neighbourhood centre ) Phillip parade , we offer range of courses, activities, the community garden , emergency meals and food , imformation ,showers , child care , library and we are alawys willing to just listen if you need to chat . The doors are always open to you .

LATROBE VALLEY COOKBOOK

Food for all the Valley community cookbook was launched on Wednesday in the VRI hall in Traralgon . The community cookbook is a free community resource and is available at a range of locations across Latrobe . Churchill neighbourhood centre ( The Hub ) Morwell neighbourhood centre Moe neighbourhood house VRI hall traralgon. All Latrobe city libraries Yinnar community garden Yallorn North post office Traralgon east community connect centre Latrobe health assembly Glengarry post office

TOMATO SAUCE

Roughly chop 150 gm of red onion 100gm of red capsicum 120gm of beetroot 800 gm of tomatoes , peeled and halved Place these in a saucepan and add 1 tbs of minced ginger and 2 tbs of minced garlic . Add 1/4 tsp of ground ginger , 1/4 tsp of ground cloves ,1/4 tsp of ground cinnamon ,1/4 tsp of all spice ,1 and 1/2 tsp of sea salt , 70 gm of honey , 60 ml of apple cider vinegar ,160 gm of tomato paste . stir to mix and bring to a slow simmer over a medium heat with the lid on for 30 minutes . then remove the lid and continue to simmer until reduced for 15 minutes . Cool slightly pour into your processor and blend until smooth . pour into clean jars , seal and store in the refrigerator .

CHICKEN PESTO PENNE

I chopped up 500gm of chicken tenderloins and poached them in milk , once the milk had evaporated , I added a handful of basil leaves finely chopped . Then I stirred through 2 tbs of minced garlic , cracked black pepper and crumbled 250 gm of Greek feta in the mix . Finally I poured 300ml of sour cream into the pot with 300ml of cream . Stir to mix thoroughly and continue to cook over a low heat . Cook penne pasta in salted boiling water as per packet directions until tender ( not soft ). Drain and stir the pasta through the chicken sauce . Serve topped with torn basil leaves , oven dried cherry tomatoes and crushed nut mix . Delicious !!

ESPRESSO

The espresso ( not expresso) like the Turkish proverb ..... "coffee should be as black as hell, as strong as death and as sweet as love " In a couple of swallows it should be gone ...

HOME MADE RICOTTA CHEESE (1)

Make your own ricotta cheese , it is really simple , if you have a fig tree or can access figs with a stem (I have read that a small branch can be taken from the tree and stir the milk with the broken end of the branch .) Add 3 drops of fig sap to 1 litre of full cream milk ( or 1/2 milk and 1/2 cream )which is at room temperature .( Do not use UHT milk ) Mix together , cover the dish with a clean cloth and leave sit for 12 hours on your kitchen bench . Then drain the curds and there you have it , ricotta .

HOMEMADE RICOTTA CHEESE (2)

This is my first attempt at homemade ricotta cheese , it is so smooth and I sampled it with fresh honey from a local Newborough hive ( thank you Robyn Grigoleit )

PASTA AT THE MANOR (2)

Lasagne layered with mince ,passata , pasta sheets and bechamel sauce .

PASTA AT THE MANOR ( 1 )

Mushroom and ricotta filled ravioli in passata .

PASSATA

This is my recipe for passata . Peel 2 kg of tomatoes , roughly chop and place them into a large saucepan over a medium heat with drizzle of cooking oil and a peeled and thinly sliced onion. Add 2 tbs of wholegrain mustard and stir through until well blended. In a separate bowl mix together 1/4 cup of lemon juice with 1/2 cup of dry white wine . Add the liquid mix to tomatoes , stirring occasionally . Drain 1 x 400gm can of champignons stems and pieces and add the contents to the sauce , 1/4 cup of sliced black olives ,1 stick of sliced celery thinly sliced , 1/2 leek thinly sliced and 3 tbs of minced garlic . Continue to cook over the heat , stirring occasionally , the tomatoes will begin to break down . Stir through 1/2 cup of honey and season with salt and pepper to taste . Delicious !!

TIME

Sometimes the best meal requires you to forget that times exists . When you cook , you work with one of the most essential ingredients of all ...time . Think about it, every meal you eat , you eat time ....the weeks it takes to ripen a tomato, the years it takes to grow a fig tree , the time it takes for the quince blossom to turn to fruit . Every meal you prepare is time out of your day , time is really about efficiency , how to do twice as much in half the time . To cultivate inefficiency and squander our best resource to make a meal that begins in the morning and you cook it all day is the greatest use of the essential ingredient.. time .