It’s really winter now.

In fact when I log into www.weatherzone.com.au it’s currently 4.3C, but flick down the screen for the ‘feels like’ line and it reads -1.1C! 

Its cold.... I’m sitting at my desk with the gloves that Geraldine made me for my birthday (thank you G), the cardigan she knitted me last year and the scarf she knitted me!  I am wearing other clothes or I’d be sitting here with a really cold bum but it’s these hand knits I am so grateful for…thank you again G. 

The fire is burning, hot cup of tea beside me but it’s really food you want on days like today.

I’m dreaming of Arancini that I made last weekend, perfect cooking for cold days when you want to stay in side beside the stove stirring.

This recipe is one of Joseph Vitale of Bottega Restaurant in Melbourne and is easy and really warming.

50ml olive oil

¼ onion, finely chopped

200 gm Arborio rice

3 cups chicken stock

1 tbsp finely chopped thyme

50 gm parmesan grated

30 gm butter

40 gm provolone piccante

Plain flour for coating

250 gm white breadcrumbs for coating

Sunflower oil for deep-frying

Heat oil in a saucepan over a low heat add onion, stir occasionally until tender, add rice, stir to coat, then add stock, little by little until rice is slightly over cooked and stock is absorbed.  Add thyme, parmesan and butter and stir until creamy, remove from the heat.  Meanwhile finely grate 15g provolone, add to the rice mixture, spread over a tray and cool to room temperature then refrigerate to chill 1 ½ hours.

Cut remaining provolone into 5mm cubes and set aside.  Shape walnut sized balls of rice mixture with your hands, then push a provolone cube into the centre of each, pressing rice around to enclose completely.  Roll rice in flour, beaten egg and finely breadcrumbs. Refrigerate on a tray for 30 minutes.

Preheat oil in a deep saucepan to 200C.  Deep-fry arancini in batches, turning occasionally until golden.

We served these with a basil, onion and tomato salad on a big dollop of Aioli.

Delicious.

Love

Mary

Got to love holidays

This year Easter Monday and Anzac appeared on the same day and we where awarded with an extra day off.  We figured it would be rude not to utilise the time and grabbed Maggie and some kiwi friends from Raumati and met up in Port Douglas.

As well as everyone indulging in the many activities available including diving, snorkelling, shopping, beach walking, rain forest and crocodile gazing we took in a lot of really good food. 

A couple of highlights in the restaurant scene are http://www.salsaportdouglas.com.au/ and http://www.2fishrestaurant.com.au/  both we had exceptionally great quality meals and really nice nights.   I’d recommend them both and while your there don’t forget to have a sunset sip upstairs at the courthouse hotel, it’s become a bit of a tradition for us.

Food when on holiday always tastes better, we barbequed a few nights but I think the best meal of the trip was a few prawns we served with a traditional potato salad, a green salad and a tomato, mozzarella and basil salad.  

Nothing fancy, just fresh and lots of it!

Happy holidays

Love Mary 

The best Vietnamese Crispy Pancakes

It’s been a few weeks of rushing around and little time to write anything in my blog.  Nick and I enjoyed a road trip to Brisbane where we both had a few days work and had a chance to see Joe and Megs new Australian home and celebrate his promotion with a glass of champagne.  We had a great night out with them and Maggie then travelled to Byron where the five of us spent the weekend celebrating Meg’s birthday.

We enjoyed a meal at ‘The Petit Snail’ www.thepetitsnail.com.au traditional French food made with love before a rather long journey home.  The following weekend was another trip for yet another birthday in Sydney celebrating Jo's with a suprise party.  After all these celebrations it was nice to have a weekend at home to recharge before taking off again this weekend to Sydney and on to Port Douglas for a few days holiday over Easter.

With all the comings and goings we have still had time to make Apple Chutney from the apples we collected just over our fence and some Strawberry Jam and Spiced Fig Jam from local fruit.   The pantry is looking healthy.

While with Maggie and Meg we talked (amongst many other things) Vietnamese Pancakes so here is the promised recipe.  I'd recommend it to anyone looking for fresh, healthy and really tasty food.  You need to eat them as they are made so they are great kitchen bench / bar eating for a casual evening.

Pancake batter

Mix all the following ingredients together

250g rice flour

1 T potato starch

1 t turmeric (ground)

2 t salt

1 T white sugar

2 cups warm water

1 250g can coconut cream

The pancake is cooked on just one side until crisp and golden, spread a thin layer in a medium heat pan  - reduce the heat and pop a lid on and cook about three minutes.  Fill and served immediately with lettuce cups and a dipping sauce.

The filling

Pork – I use a small amount of minced pork simply cooked plain in a pan

Prawns – cooked, I poached quickly in a little water

Bean sprouts

Garlic chives or chives

Green onions

Serve with -   iceberg lettuce cups, mint leaves, sliced cucumber, coriander

Dipping sauce – mix ¼ cup caster sugar with 100ml boiling water, when dissolved add 50ml fish sauce and 100ml white vinegar 

Enjoy, Love Mary

Season fresh APPLES from Orange

We have just finished a really enjoyable weekend with the highlight being our first flight with my husband as pilot.  Nick took me for a local flight from Orange Airport taking in surrounding towns of Millthorpe, Carcoar and Springhill before a look at the huge Cadia Mine then around Mt Canobolas over some spectacular vineyards and magnificent properties and home.  It was a smooth flight with a perfect landing and I can’t wait to get up there with him again.

Harvesting is starting out this way with Apples, Pears, Apricots and Grapes all ready or near for picking. 

These apples are from the trees just over our fence so couldn’t be fresher.  The possums have been sitting in the tree having a feast, if it s good enough for them…

You will know this one it’s an all time favourite but what better idea can you think of to do with a fine apple (except to eat fresh of course).

APPLE CRUMBLE feeds 4-6 people

You will need about 750g of prepared fruit – Apples, rhubarb (needs to be cooked with a little sugar first, berries, peaches anything you like really or a mix – I like rhubarb and strawberry or apple and raspberry.  You can also get clever with spices like cinnamon and nutmeg, nice if it’s a straight apple crumble or even a vanilla pod with stone fruit would be great.  You could even try the zest of an orange or lemon.

THE TOPPING

120g self raising flour

90g butter, cold and diced

6 tablespoons of brown sugar

In a mixing bowl put the flour and a pinch of salt, add the cubes of butter and using the tips of your fingers rub the butter into the flour.  Stir in the sugar.  Pop the mix in the fridge or freezer for 10 minutes or so or until ready to cook.

Add the fruit to an over proof dish - sprinkle with the topping and put in a pre heated oven 180C for about 40 minutes

I think my favourite has to be a plain apple crumble with a little home made custard or good vanilla ice cream ....are you allowed to eat crumble and ice cream for lunch? Enjoy the Apples that are arriving in the shops right now – just check they are March 2011 NOT 2010!!

Love

Mary

Tea and Cake on the River

I’m considering blocking this blog from all except those that are following the site so if you are keen to keep in touch with us through reading this blog you will need to click on the ‘follow’ tab.  I’m getting a few hundred readers of the site and prefer to keep this more personal so would like to restrict access to people we know….if you are having problems with the link or set-up let me know.

Those of you that know us also know we love a good cake.  Mum has been encouraging of Nick taking up the careful art of baking and in turn this leads to a growing collection of baking books. 

While thumbing through one of Nicks books (that my Mum had gifted to him at some point) I found and baked the following cake.  It was served last weekend while boating on the Hawkesbury River with friends and calls for big cups of tea!  I’d recommend it as a dense and most cake, really tasty and does look better than the photo I promise. 

One of the ingredients is milk powder which I don’t think I have bought for years if ever, I’m intrigued as to what people do with milk powder as there seemed to be a lot of it in the supermarket when I went looking   - any ideas? Make home made yogurt possibly….what else? And no it wasn’t baby formula – but I guess you could use it if you have access….why not.

From the book – A treasury of New Zealand Baking

Weekend Cake

Makes a 20cm round cake, preheat oven 180 C, lightly grease / line with baking paper your tin

1 whole orange

1 cup pitted dates

½ cup walnuts

125g butter softened

1 egg

6 tbsp milk powder

2 cups flour

1 tsp baking powder

1 cup water

Chop the orange, including the skin, then whiz quickly in the food processor.  Add the dates and walnuts, processing until coarsely chopped.

Place the butter, sugar and egg in the food mixer and mix until smooth.  Sift the milk powder, flour and baking soda together. Combine the fruit mixture, water and dry ingredients.  Pour into the tin.

Bake for 40-45 minutes. 

Quick and simple, tastes great and keeps really well.

As a side we have a spectacular show of flowers on the Yucca plants at Castlecrag, if they weren't 12 foot tall and spiky I might have cut the flowers they are so beautiful.

Love

Mary

Brick Chicken

It’s been a busy few weeks with trips to Sydney and a weekend on the Hawkesbury.  We have farewelled friends from Orange and work for both of us has been a busy.  This week we are both in Sydney for work  then hope to see a quiet weekend.  Maybe time to book a couple of short holidays we have planned.  Later this month we will also be in Brisbane, great timimg to catch up with Joe and Meg who have arrived for their three year stint there.  It will be nice to have a few more family members close by.

The garden continues to provide us with fresh produce.  What looks to be the last of the tomatoes where enjoyed after slowly cooking them in a pan with a little olive oil, lots of finely sliced garlic and some thyme.  Just as they where ready I splashed some verjuice in the pan and they where perfect with a simply grilled piece of Atlantic Trout.  Delicious and couldn’t have been more simple.

On a fun note we decided to try a recipe I had found in an American cook book ‘Brick Chicken’. 

I took a chicken, cut in half through the breast and back bone then removed the back bone , rib cage and thigh bones.  After seasoning really well with salt and pepper I placed the chicken, skin down in a very hot pan with a little oil.  On top of the chicken I placed another pan and in this I stacked all the tins I could find in my pantry.  The recipe had called for a couple of bricks but they weren’t available at the time.  Made for an amusing sight as you can see below. 

After about 10 minutes of cooking at a moderate heat we removed most of the tins and decided instead to use a couple of weights from the gym  (not getting much use in there anyway) and continued cooking for another 8 minutes.  I then removed the weights and the  top pan and turned the very flat, gold brown chicken over.  At this point remove any excess fat from the pan and add a ½ cup of stock and a good squeeze of half a lemon and cook for a further 3 minutes or until cooked.  The end result was a crispy skinned, really moist and tasty chicken, served with some simply cooked spinach, tossed in a pan with a drizzle of olive oil and a taste of white wine vinegar – it was a great, fun method to quickly cook a very tasty chicken.  

Enjoy

Love Mary

PS The full recipe for Brick Chicken can be found in 'The New Brooklyn Cookbook' by Melissa Vaughan & Brendan Vaughan or visit Marlow and Sons in Brooklyn New York apparently its been on the menu there for years.