COOKING CLASSES AT THE CHURCHILL HUB.......TUESDAY 29TH APRIL

CLASSES COMMENCING AT  10.00AM
Come along and join in the community of cooking , share ideas and thoughts on cooking and recipes ..See you at 10.00am .
Bring along a tea towel .!

MINCE TARTS ...(Suitable for Vegetarians)

Fruit mince tarts that are suitable for vegetarians .........

Pastry cases made with spelt flour
The fruit mince that is made with .....
stevia, apples, raisins , sultanas , currants , orange peel, lemon peel ,treacle , rice flour , cinnamon, coriander , dill, fennel, cloves , nutmeg and ginger .
Topped with soy cream....... Non vegetarians  can use a mascarpone and  cream mix
Garnished with finely sliced lemon rind.
Yum

GRILLED BARRAMUNDI WITH PEACHES

I used this recipe back in the late 70`s ........

So how is it relevant today  ?

It`s not the ingredients or even the recipe that has dated ....it is the way it is plated that makes ALL the difference .

This is an amazing dish served on a board with the baking paper intact  or serve it over a bed of orange and chilli infused couscous .

You are the master of your kitchen , you know the likes of your patrons .....you raised them ,  come on create a masterpiece  on  the plate.
The ingredients are still the same it`s the presentation that has been overhauled and updated .


GRILLED BARRUMUNDI  WITH PEACHES ..

Mix together 2 tablespoons of  rice bran oil ,
1/2 tsp of sea salt
1/2 tsp of paprika
1/4 tsp of black pepper
1 dsp of minced garlic
1 dsp of chopped thyme

Brush the barramundi fillets  ( 1kg ) with the marinade  and let stand for 15 minutes ..
Peel , stone and quarter 3 fresh peaches .
Now place barramundi fillets in a oven tray lined with baking paper  and arrange the fresh peach quarters around the fillets . Bake under the grill till the fish is lightly browned  on both sides .
Serve over a bed of seasoned couscous or red quinoa .
Enjoy.

 

QUAIL SALTIMBOCCA WITH SICILIAN EGGPLANT CAPONATA

Let`s start with definitions.........
SALIMBOCCA....
A meat dish made from thin slices of veal and ham sandwiched together with sage and seasonings, formed into rolls , fried in butter and simmered in wine for 15 minutes.

CAPONATA ......
A salad of gried aubergines and onions with tomatoes , anchovies , capers and olives served on a dry biscuit or toasted bread.
Other fruits and vegetables may be included together with some sugar and vinegar and the whole mix may be reduced to a thick chutney like consistency.

Dice  up
 1 onion
1. capsicum
3 cloves of garlic
1 celery stick
1 red capsicum
1 eggplant
Place the vegetables in a pan with rice bran oil  over heat till just cooked .

Deep fry the eggplant and drain on absorbent paper.
Now add the eggplant to the vegetables and cook for a further 3 minutes.
Add 100 ml of red wine vinegar
50 gm of chopped  black pitted olives
50gm of pine nuts
50gm of chopped currants
20gm of brown sugar
Season with salt and pepper
Add 1/2 cup of parsley chiffonnade.


Use 1 quail per person .
Place a sage leaf on the flesh side of each quail breast
Cover the flesh with I/2 slice of prosciutto  , trim excess.
Heat a fry pan and add some rice bran oil.
Season the skin of the quail  and place skin side down for 2 minutes or until golden.
Turn the quail and finish off for 1 minute.
Rest the quail for 2 minutes in a warm place.
Serve over eggplant caponata

This is so simple really delicious and very classy .
Enjoy.

HALOUMI KEBABS WITH VEGETABLE COUSCOUS (vegetarian)

Preheat your oven to 200 deg C

Prepare your haloumi ( 1.packet 180gm ) rinse under water to remove excess brine to desired taste.
Cut into cubes roughly 30gm  each ,
Coat the haloumi with a mix of
 1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp of ground cinnamon
2 tsp of crushed garlic
2 tsp of sweet paprika powder
2 tsp ground nutmeg
pinch of cayenne pepper
 Juice of 1 lemon

Place 3 pieces of haloumi per skewer
Set aside .

Heat a pan with rice bran oil
Peel and halve 6 eschallots , place in pan
Add 200gm of sweet potato cubed
1. large carrot peeled and sliced
1. tsp of turmeric
2. zucchinis halved and cut into cubes ..
2. fat cloves of garlic sliced
1. red chilli pepper sliced with seeds.
Make sure the vegetables are mixed and coated with oil
400gm of chickpeas  , rinsed and drained
Place in oven and roast till vegetables start to brown and become aromatic

Now heat an oiled  char grilled pan
Just a hint..... spray  the prepared skewers with rice bran cooking spray.
and cook the haloumi skewers till coloured on both sides

1. cup of vegetable stock or use vegetable stock cube ,
1/4 cup of water
Bring the liquid to the boil .
Add I cup of couscous to a bowl and stir in the boiling water .
Cover and stand till vegetables are ready
Remove cover and fluff with a fork

Place roasted vegetables on a serving plate and toss through the couscous
Place the skewers on top
Dress with soy yoghurt and cracked pepper
Enjoy
The photo is pictured with chicken kebabs...but is equally delicious using haloumi .
Remember we are all vegetarians just some of us add meat to our dishes .

 

ROTTEN

When I was growing up on a farm in Jeeralang Junction ,( Latrobe valley part of the Greater Gippsland) my dad killed our own animals . He hung the carcass and skinned it in the machinery shed , he cleaned the body of the intestines  and removed the head   but saving the livers , kidneys , brains and the feet in regards the pigs . The carcass would hang and drain for up to a week unrefrigerated and in the open .
I have seen the meat maggoted and coloured but at the end of the draning time the carcass would be washed down  and patted dry My father would then lower the carcass onto a wooden slated table where he would proceed to cut the animal for refrigeration .
I have no memory of tough or dry meat as a child or a teen while we had the farm .
What each society understands by 'raw ',  'cooked " or " rotten"can only be determined through ethnographical observation and we will never be in agreement on the definitions..
What is important is we acknowledge we cannot live with hunger  and malnutrition .
Noelene

 

WE WILL REMEMBER THEM

"They shall not grow old as we that are left grow old ,
Age shall not weary them nor the years condemn;
At the going down of the sun and in the morning we will remember them "

LEST WE FORGET ......

My grandfather Francis (Frank ) Joesph Armstrong served in North Africa with the 2nd / 24th Battalion , he was killed in the siege of Tobruk .  In the shimmering deserts of Libya the battalion dug themselves into sandy trenches to hold off the onslaught of the enemy, the tenanacity and resolve of the 2nd /24th Battalion earning  them the title of the " Rats of Tobruk ".

The greatest sacrifice that anyone can make is to die to protect someone else .Thousands of Australians just like my grandfather made this supreme sacrifice in military engagments over the past one hundred  years . They died serving their country.
Even if they died in a vain and futile war , we must hold their memory sacred , and not judge the outcome of their actions but remember the motive of being prepared to die in defence of their country and fellow humans from the aggressors.

 Thank you Chris and Donna for taking me to the dawn service and sharing the story of Chris`s grandfather who lost his life in the Battle of Sommes in France , and Donna`s great great great grandfather who served in the battle of Gettisberg , he survived the battle but detoured via  Australia on his way home to Ireland  in search of " the mother lode "

Tins of salted pork were staples on the front line and much sought after fare , tonight in Castle Garden we share a meal of sticky ribs , it won`t be tinned nor will it be rotten ...but then again what is rotten .?

Go Pies !