Rie's Kitchen

"When I grow up I want to be Maggie Beer"

2012-02-06T15:30:00.001+11:00

I am getting one step closer to that goal :)

Last weekend I again volunteered at the Portarlington mussel festival. This year, not only did I work in the community kitchen (and we steamed 650 kg of super fresh mussels), but I also provided cooking demonstrations using the Blanco demonstration kitchen. Thanks to Jill Hill from Blanco who as my MC, kept me on track.

Here is the article in the Geelong advertiser if you are interested https://sites.google.com/site/rieskitchenette/home/news-clippings

Top food allergy blog survey

2011-11-02T14:41:00.003+11:00

I'm not one to do online surveys. In fact I hate getting bombarded with requests to rate any number of products, but this one is different. Firstly, because it is related to a sensible topics - Mums giving advice from the lessons they have learned in dealing with their kids allergies, and secondly because my friend and fellow blogger, Kylie, has been nominated on the survey.

So if you are so inclined, here is the link:

http://www.circleofmoms.com/top25/top-food-allergy-blogs-2011?trk=t25_top-food-allergy-blogs-2011#_

I must confess I voted twice - once for Kylie ( http://kylie.wordpress.com/) and once for pig in the kitchen, who you will know I follow and quite frankly adore!

Even if you don't want to vote, this is an interesting site to find 25 blogs related to dietary allergies and is very informative, funny and helpful

CWA and CSIRO a perfect match for science week!

2011-08-10T14:59:00.003+10:00

You have probably never thought that the Country Women's Association of Victoria and the CSIRO are a perfect match but they are. This year to celebrate year of the forest, our 2 great organisations have come together to put on a travelling exhibition. It opens next week in Federation Square to celebrate Science Week and is free. Come along and marvel at the creativity of these wonderful women, and the wonders of nature. For more information visit

http://craftvic.org.au/craft-cubed/satellite-events/exhibitions/raveling-the-world

Foodie Tuesday

2011-06-24T15:32:00.008+10:00

Last week I was a guest on Lindy Burns Drive Program in the "
Foodie Tuesday" section. Thanks to all those who rang, emailed and texted comments and recipe suggestions. My topic was "gluten free cooking".

One of the callers recommended Passover recipes as they do not contain wheat flour. My Jewish friends Anna and Monica tell me that that is not quite correct and you need to be careful as Masa flour is wheat based. Still it opens up all sorts of possibilities.

You will find the audio file here if you missed it:

http://sites.google.com/site/rieskitchenette/broadcasts

Hot Cross Buns

2011-04-12T12:31:00.003+10:00

With Easter almost here, I was determined to conquer Hot Cross Buns Gluten Free.

My mum always would rise early on Good Friday Morning, and make buns. Neighbours would come in and share a wonderful feast of piping hot buns from the oven, coffee and great conversation.

This was a tradition that I continued for many years until my diagnosis of Coeliac's disease. I love my friends and family, but I am not getting up at 5am to make the buns when I can't eat them! I have tried a number of different recipes , but with mixed results.

Thank you so much to the fine folk at SpringHill farm, for this recipe from their recent newsletter.

http://www.facebook.com/notes/springhill-farm/gluten-free-hot-cross-bun-recipe/201365966563084

As you can see, they worked, and even Myles thought they were pretty good.

Like all things GF, they are definitely best on the day of cooking, and even when stored in airtight container, they don't keep well and are bound for the toaster only.

Rick Stein

2011-04-05T10:52:00.004+10:00

Last night I was privileged to be a guest at the Rick Stein's Food Odyssey tour. He was relaxed, informative and informal. The show was a great mix of cooking technique demonstrations, clips from some of his television shows and general banter.

Rick was ably assisted, prompted and teased by his long time friend and colleague Paul Sellars. Without Paul, none of the dishes would have been complete, as Rick was continually sidetracked with storytelling. Some lucky members of the audience were able to eat the dishes made. I did not volunteer as unfortunately most dishes were not gluten free, but certainly could be modified.

Thankyou to Nathan at Blanco, for the opportunity to attend. I had a great night and recommend the show to anyone who enjoys a yarn over food, and we can all pick up a few tricks :)

a day of activity

2011-03-29T18:28:00.003+11:00

It's been a busy day. I have made 26 jars of jam, (blackberry and mixed berry), designed some labels for strawberry jam, labelled and waxed 30 jars of chutney and 30 jars of sauce. I feel pretty tired, but certainly satisfied with my days efforts.

It's been a busy day thanks to my visit to Silvan last week. I had a wonderful day catching up with Pam from Silvan Berry Estate, and her fellow berry farmers Peter and Mark Chapman. I learn heaps every time I meet up with these guys. They are so knowledgeable about their product, and very happy to share their knowledge. I would recommend talking to the grower at farmers gate shops whenever you can. They are passionate about the food they grow, and it shows through in the quality. I look forward to popping up again in a fortnight when the Wilamett raspberries should be ready again. As I have said before in this blog, Wilamett's make the best jam.

My trip to Cospak was less fun, with the cost of jars increasing by 15% since I last purchased them. That with the increased costs of fruit and rental means that as of May 1st my prices will be going up $1 per jar and bottle. Sorry folks, but I run Rie's Kitchen at cost - no profits here - just the joy of making a quality product.

Day at Prahran Market

2011-03-18T14:00:00.011+11:00

Following on from my last post, as part of the Melbourne International food and wine festival, the Country Women's Association of Victoria held a "Back to Basics, tips and tricks" day at Prahran Market.

Thanks to Henrietta from the Prahran market, who organised for the CWA to meet with Lindy Burns on ABC Local radio on the Thursday before. Unfortunately, our State President, Helen Christie, was unable to join me, and so off I went alone.

Here is the audio clip of the interview if you are interested:

http://sites.google.com/site/rieskitchenette/broadcasts

The day was a fantastic success.

We undertook 5 cooking demonstrations,

and sold our goodies

and taught craft to kids ...

an absolutely fab day!

Melbourne International Food and Wine festival

2011-03-16T09:53:00.014+11:00

Oh what a week I've had! I have been very privileged to be involved, through the CWA, with this year's Melbourne International Food and wine festival.

As CWA State Vice President and State Fair convenor, I have spent months organising, cajoling and praying that our 2 events would "come off" and that they did!

Great fun, great weather, great friends and great promotion of our Association.

First Up was our State Fair on March 5th.

For the first time, we undertook cooking demonstrations, thanks to support from Blanco. These were a huge success with 40 people each session seated, plus standing room only participants.

I had also involved ECG, an education institution based in East Gippsland, who specialise in horticulture. They organised a group of growers, producers to have stalls and show their product to a "foodie" Melbourne market. Even the more conservative CWA ladies had big grins ads they tucked into Goat milk icecream!

And of course there were our own stalls selling cakes, confectionery, old cookbooks, craft, preserves, herbs and lemonade. Inside our beautiful building was the devonshire tea.

We also had a gourmet bbq and baked potato stand. And that was only the first event!

See my next post for the day at Prahran market. :)

A glorious day!

2011-02-23T17:22:00.002+11:00

Last week I had the greatest delight to share my love of cooking with 2 very special people, Sue and her very grown up son, George.
George is my best sauce customer, and he had asked me before Christmas if I could teach him how to make his own. So armed with equipment (although I forgot a funnel), I had a wonderful day with George and Sue making sauce (but not hot please Miss Rie!).
The best delight was with George when I gave him his very own chef's hat, and then once the sauce was cooked, provided him with a real chef apron and kids sized oven mit, as he had now "graduated" to being a real cook!
Instilling the love of good food in kids is so important and Jon and Sue have done a great job with George - he was a pleasure to cook with.
Here is a link to Sue's blog about the same event, with photos!
http://www.eaves.org/christmasblog/2011/02/good-food-good-friends.html

In the papers again - for a good cause!

2011-02-18T16:10:00.004+11:00

As many of you may know, I am very involved with the Country Women's Association of Victoria, and this year, as State Vice President, I have been given the role of Fair Convenor. Not good at the "no word" and not content with just 1 event, I am also co-ordinating a "Back to basics - ask the experts event" at Prahran Market on March 12th.

Here is a copy of some of the marketing done for this event. I hope to see many of you there! ( and at the State Fair on march 5th) :)

baba ganoush - yum!

2011-02-06T17:28:00.003+11:00

I have to admit that I am a savoury person - whilst others "need" TimTams, I prefer olives, pate and dip. And of all the dips, baba ganoush has to be one of my favourites. Simple to make, with eggplants doing so well this year, it was a must for a Sunday afternoon. Sorry no pictures of this one (we ate all the props!)

Baba ganoush
2-3 eggplants (or 8 Lebanese eggplants)
2 cloves garlic
salt
lemon juice (at least 2 lemons)
pinch cumin
1/2 cup fresh parsley, roughly chopped
tahini paste - 2-3 tablespoons
olive oil

Place the eggplant over a naked flame until skin burns and blisters. Turn until most of the eggplant is done. Place eggplant in a plastic bag to sweat.
When cold enough to handle, peel away the blackened skin. It does not matter if small flecks are left on the eggplant.
Using a mortar and pestle, crush the garlic with a little salt to a smooth paste.
In a food processor, combine eggplant, garlic, parsley, cumin, lemon juice and tahini. Add a dash of oil for consistency. Add more lemon juice and black pepper to taste.

To serve, place in a bowl and drizzle olive oil over the top. Sprinkle with paprika for decoration.
Enjoy!

You can tell it's Summer

2011-02-02T16:42:00.003+11:00

It's finally Summer in Melbourne - 2 days above 40 and now the tomatoes are going gang busters.
64 bottles of sauce in 3 days! and still more tomatoes on the vine ready in a day or so. Probably make chutney out of the next lot - just to change the smells in the kitchen for a while :)

Changes in the weather!

2011-01-13T12:37:00.003+11:00

What a tropical summer we are having in Melbourne! As documented earlier, this has impacted on my garden, with the demise of this years grape crop. It has however brought out fabulously juicy apricots! - There is always a silver lining!
So as Myles watches the weather radar, and gets excited about the cloud bursts over our house (over 40 mm in the last 3 hours), I have been hard at work making apricot jam. This will be the last season from this tree - and she is going out with a bang!
For those of you who make jam at home, you should note that humidity changes timings for jam setting. For example, this mornings batch set in 10 minutes rather that the usual 15. Our barometer tells me it is 80% humidity outside at the moment - very unusual for Melbourne.

Summer Special

2011-01-02T16:43:00.003+11:00

Now that the weather has started to warm up, my tomatoes are beginning to ripen. This means that in a few weeks it will be time to make sauce and chutneys again.

To celebrate, I am offering my Tomato Chutney at a Summer special price of $6 per jar for the month of January only.

To order, just visit my store on the right hand side of this page.

disastrous year for wine making

2010-12-27T13:24:00.002+11:00

It started out such a bumper spring! Bunches grew to about 45 cm.
Then in december we have had rain, rain and then a little bit of sun - just perfect conditions for mould and mite.

I have lost all of this vintage, and will need to spray sulphur next year at leaf bud to ensure that there are no lingering effects :(

Oh well, yet another reason to visit "Dan's"

Christmas traditions - mince pies

2010-12-07T18:15:00.003+11:00

I've never been a fan of mince pies - too much pastry and often they are dry.
But charged with providing some gluten free goodies for the CWA Christmas fair last Saturday I gave them a go - they were moist, moreish and were sold before they reached the display table!

NB. I used gluten free shortcrust pastry sheets from the supermarket with no problems - getting 9 shells and lattice per sheet

here's the recipe

Mince Pies
1 quantity of shortcrust pastry

2 cups mixed dried fruit
1 green apple peeled and grated
1/4 cup brown sugar
50 g butter, melted
2 tbsp golden syrup
1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
zest from 1 orange
1/2 cup orange juice
1/4 cup slivered almonds

Preheat oven to 160 degrees
Grease a 12 hole 1/3 cup muffin tin.
Roll out pastry to 5mm thick (or use frozen pastry sheets).
Cut out 12x 10cm rounds and ease into muffin tin.
Prick the base with a fork to prevent rising
Cook 10 - 12 mins untill golden. Allow to cool

Combine remaining ingredients in a saucepan and simmer for 5-6 minutes until thick.
Allow to cool completely

Fill each pastry shell with mince. Use left over pastry to make lattice
Bake for 8-10 minutes until golden and crisp

Store in an airtight container.

another minute of fame

2010-11-30T17:28:00.004+11:00

I was interviewed a few weeks ago, in relation to the Melbourne International Food and Wine Festival, and the events that I am coordinating for the Country Women's Association of Victoria. Here is the article from today's The Age - Epicure page 4

Exciting news!

2010-08-18T11:58:00.005+10:00

This year I decided to enter my Raspberry Jam in the "Berry Jam" section of the Country Women's Association of Victoria's State Exhibition.

On Thursday I nervously placed my jar on the judging table and handed in my blue slip to confirm my entry was in. Judging took place on Thursday afternoon and the awards were made public at a ceremony on Friday. Unfortunately I was working Friday.

Saturday morning I headed down to Longwarry, in East Gippsland, and wandered along all the tables and displays, marvelling at the exquisite handicrafts. I also excitedly noted many of my friends were prize winners. I was avoiding the Jam section.

A good friend, Rosalyn, came over and said, "I've been watching you. You need to come over here and see your results!" so holding my hand she led me to the Berry Jam section...

2nd place!!!!!

I am still grinning!

Winter comfort foods

2010-07-13T11:11:00.005+10:00

I love the comfort foods of winter - Osso Bucco, lamb shanks, homemade baked beans...

We have been indulging in all of these wonderful slow cooked foods over the last month, and on Sunday Myles took this photo of my version of Spanish Eggs - gluten free of course, and rather delicious if I do say so myself.
I never make it the same twice, but here is what I did this week

Spanish Eggs

Per person you will need:

1 free range egg
handful of baby spinach
chopped spring onion
1 cup of baked beans (home made or tinned)
50 grams chopped jamon or bacon

Preheat oven to 180 degrees.
Mix all ingredients except the egg in a bowl. Place mixture into ramekin and make a slight hollow into the centre. Crack the egg into hollow and season with salt and pepper.
Bake for approx 25 minutes .

other additives which I also enjoy:

crumbled goats cheese or feta
finely chopped fresh tomatoes
chopped basil or parsley
chopped spring onion

It's cold outside

2010-06-04T08:36:00.004+10:00

It was certainly cold and foggy yesterday, as I headed up to Silvan to collect more berries for Jam making.
Pam at Silvan Berrie Estate was out of Willamette raspberries, but in true country cooperation, she had contacted one of her neighbours, Peter Chapman who had. He is on 80 hectares and grows over 30 varieties of raspberries, cherries and a few peaches. We had a lovely chat, and it was obvious that his passion in good quality fruit comes from many years of experience. His farm is a family owned business, with a number of generations working together.
Peter had only finished picking last week the Autumn crop.

so jam it is. I made 20 jars of blackberry jam yesterday (I needed room in the freezer), and hope to make raspberry jam over the weekend.

Check out the recipes in the right hand side bar, or visit my online shop to try some of my creations!

Winter = comfort food

2010-05-30T15:26:00.004+10:00

What is it about winter that makes us crave comfort food? soup, stews, Osso bucco, lasagne, roasts and not to mention puddings!
Last night Myles and I played host to some wonderful friends and their two very lively daughters. Barb had put in a special request for Sticky Date pudding. In my house, this means Gluten free of course! She had hoped to take some home but unfortunately, we ate it all!

so just for Barb, here is my recipe

Gluten Free Sticky Date Pudding

200 g dates chopped,
3/4 cup Castor sugar
1tsp bicarb soda,
2 eggs
60 g butter, softened
1 cup gluten free plain flour
1 tsp vanilla essence
300 mls water
golden syrup

Preheat oven to 165 degrees C. Grease 6 x 200ml ramekin dishes
Combine dates and water in a saucepan. Bring to the boil and add bicarb soda. Remove from heat
Cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add eggs one at a time, beating well
Fold in flour
Stir in dates and vanilla
Pour into ramekins and bake for 25 minutes
Allow to cool for 2-3 minutes (this helps get them out of the dish)
Spike puddings with a skewer and drizzle generously with golden syrup. Serve with cream +/or ice cream

One of life's hiccups ...

2010-05-24T12:48:00.005+10:00

You may have noticed that I have been a bit quiet posting to my blog for a month or so. The cause has been one of life's little hiccups...

On April 8th, I was a little distracted - a thousand things to do that day and only 24 hours to complete them! After finalising my paperwork in the morning, I set off around 11 am for the first stop on my list - a visit to Campbells cash and carry to buy 20 kgs of chopped onions for my CWA Bar-B-Que fundraiser on the Saturday morning at Bunnings. Unfortunately I was also thinking about everything else I needed to do,"when I finish here I need to pick up the drycleaning, go to the bank...", " was I at the right intersection yet" , "God I need a coffee - why didn't I have one before I left home"...
I unfortunately, should have been paying more attention to driving. I did not see the red light, and had one of those "slow motion" moments as the Landcruiser came towards me!

The good news is no-one was seriously hurt.

I now have a new car, and my physio is happy that I start cooking again. Lucky really as I have 9 pumpkins in the patch, an order for Beetroot relish that I need to make up and hopefully some berries to collect from Silvan Berry Estate.

but I have learned my lesson - take time to slow down and remember the "no" word. Family, friends and health are the most important things in life.

vintage 2010

2010-03-14T14:55:00.002+11:00

Despite the hail storms last weekend, we were pleased and surprised yesterday to pick our biggest crop yet! This was helped by netting the vine against the garage wall (need to find a better way next year!!).
So now we have 11 litres of must which has started to ferment away :)
I have asked Myles to take a pictorial history of this vintage, so expect further entries as we progress to bottling in a few months time

Harvest Fair

2010-03-04T17:38:00.003+11:00

Its almost that time of year again!
I have been busy preparing more Jams and Chutneys to donate to The Country Women's Association of Victoria Inc's annual Harvest Fair.

Date: Saturday March 20th
Time: 9:30-2:30
Where: 3 Lansell Road, Toorak

Come down and see the fabulous crafts, knitware, Easter goodies, fresh produce and of course Jams and preserves available for sale, all hand crafted by the ladies of the CWA. It's an opportunity to chat to me as well (I am working on the Jam's and Preserves stall)

I look forward to meeting you all then

Spicy Tomato Sauce

2010-02-16T12:43:00.002+11:00

Thanks to all who have provided feedback regarding my tomato sauce. The change to gluten free has seen the result a little sweeter than before.
In order to counteract that, I now offer a spicy tomato sauce - with a dash of tobasco and extra chillies.
Those who prefer the sweeter variety, don't be dismayed - it is still available :)

tomatoes are ripening!

2010-02-07T15:27:00.005+11:00

From berries to tomatoes I have been busy!
Thanks again to my fabulous friends with local contacts who were able to provide me with 20kgs of perfect, Gippsland grown, vine ripened tomatoes this week.
My kitchen smells tangy, with the first 5 kgs being made into tomato chutney. It will take a few days, but all should be cooked up by the end of the week :)

wonderful berries

2010-02-01T18:03:00.002+11:00

I am heavy with that wonderful tiredness you get after a big day, but oh what a day!
Val accompanied me to Silvan Berry Estate to purchase more raspberries. Again Pam was happy to answer all our questions, and we chatted about berries in general for going on an hour!
This time I purchased 20 kg of Heritage raspberries and 5 kgs of Chester blackberries.

Last year at this time, I purchased Wilamot raspberries. This year for some reason, this variety is fruiting late and are not expected in till April. I already have my order in for 20kgs!

My freezer is only so big, so much of my tiredness comes from cooking up the 5 kgs of blackberries - that's 25 jars ready for sale (by the weekend when I have had a chance to label)

If you are after jam recipes, please see the right side bar which can take you to the right page.

Blackberry Jam

2010-01-31T11:34:00.003+11:00

I was fortunate to have a friend calling in to a berry farm this month, and she picked me up 5 kgs of blackberries.
Blackberries are much larger, firmer and more robust than raspberries although closely related. They are high in antioxidents, Vitamin C, Vitamin K, dietry fibre, folic acid and manganese.

Thanks to the Fraser Group CWA ladies who road tested the first batch of jam yesterday. I will adjust the recipe based on your suggestions, and decrease the sugar levels slightly. So now I can offer Blackberry Jam to my Bill of Fair.

Blackberry Jam (original)

1 kg blackberries washed 1 kg sugar

3 tablespoons lemon juice

In a wide, non reactive pot bring blackberries and lemon juice to the boil and cook for 5-10 minutes until the berries are broken down to your liking. Meanwhile, warm sugar in lowest possible temp in the oven. Add warmed sugar and stir until dissolved. Boil rapidly for 5 minutes until setting stage is reached (105 degrees C on confectionary thermometer). Allow to sit off the heat for a few minutes, then bottle in hot sterilised jars. (makes approcimately 1 litre)

perfect with scones (or Val Smith's gluten free sponge!)

Mussels, mussels and more mussels :)

2010-01-24T15:10:00.014+11:00

A few weeks ago Myles and I were priveleged to volunteer at the Portarlington Mussel Festival 2010. It was a perfect blue sky day, 36 degrees in the shade (not in the kitchen!!) and everyone was geared up for a great day.

Myles undertake a variety of roles including: setup; photographer; wine & food area official; and Mr Marvelous Mussel wrangler! (See pictues below)

I on the other hand, was lucky enough to spend 2 days in the commercial kitchen of the local hall.

Here under the guidance of a chef, Karin, and kitchen master, Lindsay (pictured above), the team plated over 800 meals, shelled 4 doz eggs; served 10 doz mussel pies, cooked many litres of tomato and Thai coconut sauces,

de-bearded, cleaned & steamed over 330 kgs of fresh mussels (YES, that right over 1/3 of a tonne!!) and had a great laugh.

We also managed to raise over $8000 for the local community :)

and yes we will be back next year!

Jam season has begun!

2009-11-03T11:06:00.005+11:00

Its that time of year again. The sun is shining, the bees are buzzing and fruit is coming into season!
Having promised jam to the Country Women's Association of Victoria Christmas Goods Fair on Saturday November 28th, (for more details see their link on right side bar), I have spent the last 3 days making Jam. Its strange but red jam sells the best. I have tried a new recipe for a mixed berry jam - it tastes pretty good too, and is also available from my shop - see right sidebar for more details.

But just in case you like to make your own, here is the recipe

Berry Jam
1 kg of berries (fresh or frozen)
3/4 kg sugar
2 tblsp lemon juice

steralise jars and lids and keep warm
warm sugar in oven (at lowest temperature possible)
combine fruit and lemon juice in a very large suacepan (mixture will double in size)
bring to a rolling boil and boil for 2 minutes
add sugar and stir until dissolved
return to the boil
test for setting point at 2 minutes (max 4 minutes or fruit will start to burn)
bottle in warm jars
enjoy.

It's better than tabbouleh!

2009-08-30T12:32:00.003+10:00

Searching for a gluten free tabbouleh led me to this recipe, which after some "Rie" touches I have included below. It was delicious and fresh and Myles comment was "It's better then tabbouleh". let me know what you think!

Gluten Free Tabbouleh
1/2 cup Quinoa grain cooked as per pkt
1 punnet cherry tomatoes diced
1 Lebanese cucumber diced
6 spring onions finely chopped
1.5 cups flat leafed parsley chopped
1/2 cup mint chopped
juice of 1 lemon
1 clove garlic crushed
salt & pepper
2 tbsp olive oil

chill cooked quinoa
In a large bowl toss together tomatoes, cucumber, onions and herbs.
Stir in quinoa
Combine oil, garlic, salt, pepper and lemon juice. Whisk well
Add oil mixture to salad and toss well

The flavours improve overnight.

food additives

2009-08-24T11:10:00.003+10:00

Congratulations to our friend Bridy who is about to publish her second book. Her first book "Low to No Additives" is pictured below. Bridy's son has an allergy to Sulphur and she has travelled a long journey in order to help him, and now others. It is quite frightening to think that the food we eat contains so many additives, which for some are very harmful. Who knows what they do to us all in small ways.

I have placed a link to the left of this blog to Bridy's webpage where you can get further details.

Bridy's second book has peaked my interest as it is a Gluten free recipe book. It is sold in the form of iphone app and should be available in the next week or so. If you are interested, here is the link to the preview

http://www.electricapp.com/iphone.html

Some days you can't stop at one!

2009-08-02T17:44:00.007+10:00

Today was one of those days - I needed something sweet and I needed it fast!!

For those that know me, I rarely seek sweet - generally give me dip, olives and pate any day over cakes or slices, but today was no ordinary day. A quick look in the biscuit tin saw the last of the chocolate chip cookies I had made last week. and one was just not going to be enough.

A quick flick through my gluten free cookbooks and the result was some delicious Anzac biscuits (or at least an attempt seeing as the main ingredient "oats" needs to be replaced :) For me they are over sweet, I will definitely only use 3/4 of the sugar next time.

Tips

always leave Gluten free biscuits to cool for 10 minutes on the tray before moving to the wire rack

don't scimp on moist ingredients - gluten free flour is drier than "regular"

Anzac Biscuit recipe (modified from Wheat and Gluten Free by Jody Vassallo) - no relation :)

2 cups GF cornflakes (I used organic with Blueberries); 1 tbsp golden syrup

3/4 cup dessicated coconut; 3/4 cup sugar

1 1/2 cups GF plain flour; 125 g butter

1 1/2 tsp bicarbonate of soda; 2 tbsp boiling water

preheat oven to 150 Celsius and line 2 baking trays with baking paper

combine cornflakes, coconut, sugar and flour in a bowl

melt the butter and golden syrup on low heat.

stir the bicarbonate of soda into the boiling water until completely dissolved, and add to the butter

combine the butter mixture with the dry ingredients

roll teaspoons of the mixture into balls and place on the trays (leave room for the biscuits to spread). Gently flatten slightly with a fork.

bake for 20 minutes until golden

enjoy with a coffee

a "cheeky" Gluten Free afternoon tea

2009-07-28T10:11:00.004+10:00

Last week The Country Womens Association of Victoria Inc - Fraser Group held a craft show. My talents are not "fully realised" in this area and I was challenged by one of my good friends, Val Smith, to do something other than knitting.

So after much stress, I produced an embroidered "lamington" pin cushion. When I went to display this item, it looked pretty lonely, so the few nights before the show I knitted up a piece of chocolate cake and a pink doughnut - things I haven't eaten in a long time! I think they look "good enough to eat! and guaranteed gluten free!!!"

Thanks again to Myles and Grace for a wonderful set dressed photo

the wonderful citrus tang of Marmalade

2009-07-24T17:25:00.005+10:00

It's that time of year again and my kitchen has the goergoeus smell of citrus. I have been busy over the last few days working on a new marmalade to include ruby grapefruit - I am yet to be happy with the results. Until I am, this combination will not be available for sale.
I wanted to try ruby grapefruit as it has both great colour and great tang, but the pectin levels are what stumped me this week - still its the practice that is half the fun! So to make sure this week was not a total failure I whipped up another batch of marmalade with wonderful seville oranges from Brenda's tree - Thanks again Brenda! (see sidebar on the right for recipe)

(PS. Thanks to Myles and my niece Grace Patterson for the wonderful "studio shot")

she's back :)

2009-06-05T18:03:00.002+10:00

I am very pleased to let you know that Pig in the Kitchen has returned! Take a look at the link in the right hand collumn of my blog - you won't be dissapointed.

Rie

The handing down of traditions...

2009-05-15T11:10:00.007+10:00

Yesterday I had the wonderful opportunity of saying goodbye to my grandmother, Nancy Thyne before she passed away peacefully. On the night before, and on the flight over to Adelaide, I took stock of my memories with Gramma, and most revolved around food. Usually badly cooked food, but food none the less. :)It was Gramma who taught me how to make piklets, in her little kitchen in Langham Place. She was having friends over for afternoon tea and I was put in charge of the piklets. Keen to whip the cream, I was enthusiastic about my task. Little did I know, there was a trick to knowing when to turn them over! What a mess!!!!!!!

Gramma returned to the kitchen to find no piklets, and batter covering 3 eggslides, the walls, the bench... Normally Gramma would have been quite upset, but her guests were already here, so quick to another batch. I was given strict instructions not to turn them over until she said so. So I waited, Gramma got sidetracked and batch 2 burnt to a crisp! Luckily for all concerned, I had learnt the trick by batch 3 and afternoon tea was saved :) In fact, most of my Gramma cooking stories involve black bits - custard, roasts, cakes but those are stories for another day.

So in honour of Gramma, here is my piklet recipe (gluten free now of course)

Gluten free piklets

1/2 cup rice flour
1 1/4 cups gluten free self raising flour
1/3 cup castor sugar
1/4 cup buckwheat flour
300ml milk
2 eggs
60g butter melted

Sift the flours into a bowl. Stir in the sugar and make a well in the centre.

Whisk the eggs, milk and melted butter

Pour into well and whisk until the batter is smooth

Lightly grease a frypan with extra butter.

Ladle batter into the pan and cook over low-medium heat until bubbles appear on the surface

Turn over and gently cook on the other side.

Repeat with remaining batter

Enjoy with Rie's Kitchen raspberry jam and some whipped cream.

This recipe (without the castor sugar) also doubles as great Yorkshire pudding. To cook, heat a little oil in muffin or patty tins in a hot oven. Spoon in batter and cook for 25-35 minutes (depending on the size you made them)

Welcome!

2009-05-12T12:19:00.006+10:00

As with many small businesses, it can be overwhelming when trying to work out marketing strategies, advertising campaigns etc. The production, cooking is the easy bit. I am very blessed to have a number of good friends and a fantastic sister-in-law in the marketing industry who have provided me with tips, hints and a sounding board.

Limiting myself to web-based store means that my strategy needs to include web advertising. Thanks to Rebekah I have been intouch with Google ads and now have set up an account. It is relatively low cost and hopefully will bring more people to this site to hear my ramblings and hopefully purchase some delicious, homemade gluten free jams, sauces and preserves.

So if you are one of those visitos who clicked on an add and thought to check it out,

Welcome!! Please feel free to leave a comment, or purchase some delicious goodies.

Cottage Industries... a support group??

2009-05-04T11:14:00.005+10:00

I guess before I started Rie's kitchen, I had never really thought about cottage industries in metropolitan Australia. They were something that occurred in rural and regional areas or overseas.

When in Japan a number of years ago, Myles and I did a walking tour of Kyoto visiting a number of cottage industries as diverse as tatami , fan, kimono, sweets and pottery manufacturers. It was a fantastic view into Japanese culture.

With the rising popularity of farmers markets through metropolitan Melbourne, I wonder if cottage industries are also on the rise.

On Saturday, Myles and I spent a wonderful evening with friends who we rarely get to see. I gave them a gift of some Rie's Kitchen product and was surprised to hear of their cottage industry "Green Sheep" http://www.greensheep.com.au/ who make a range of clothes and equipment for babies and toddlers - worth a look!

We got talking about marketing strategies, sales techniques etc, and it just made me think that small home grown industry like us needs a stronger voice who can offer guidance and support. many local councils have some "think tank" concepts but these are very dependent on where you live. If there is anything more out there I an unaware, but will start looking into it more.

Do yourself a favour...

2009-04-30T11:00:00.005+10:00

A sad day today when I sat down to catch up on my favourite blog, "pig in the kitchen" to read the words:

There's nothing worse, is there, than a dying blog? It's like watching a fly buzzing around on its back. It's not pretty, you feel bad for watching, yet you're incapable of administering the final blow, it seems a bit mean.For a while now I think my blog has been dying. It goes still like the fly, then has a burst of buzzy action, then stops again. So let me just give it that final thwack...

Pig in the kitchen is a bright and cheerful blog covering the highs and lows of parenting, cooking and all with a great sense of humour. All of the recipes are designed to deal with a variety of allergies including gluten, dairy and egg. Those that I have tried taste great, and Myles didn't realise they were gluten free - you just have to try the jam tarts!! All of this with some amazing food photography. I sure hope that piggy finds a publisher to turn her dream into a cookbook - I would certainly buy it and publicise it here.

so, in the words of the man in a cowboy hat, " do yourself a favour and check this out" -see link on right hand collumn.
Rie

Harvest Fair

2009-03-26T16:29:00.009+11:00

What a day!!

Perfect blue sky, the forecasted wind stayed away , 33 degrees and gorgoeus.

The first bus load arrived at 8:15am!!

Our fantastic team sold over $1700 worth of donated pickles, relish, sauce, jam and marmalde. An awesome effort. Here we can see me in the foreground, and Dorothy spotting the photographer. Diana having a well earned minute as she waited for Anne to grab our lunches

Harvest Fair preparations

2009-03-18T18:01:00.004+11:00

Well I have been busy making sauces, jams and relish for the Country Women's Association of Victoria 's Harvest Fair which will be held this Saturday at 3 Lansell Rd, Toorak. Surprisingly, I will be on the Jams and preserves stall all day (10-4pm).

I have donated for the stall: Tomato Sauce; Tomato Chutney; Marmalade; Blood Orange marmalade; Plum Jam; Cherry Jam; Apricot Jam; Beetroot Relish; Pickled Cherries and Worcestershire Sauce. For the Devonshire Teas I have also donated some Raspberry Jam.

I am very much looking forward to hearing comments from patrons re packaging, and I will be interested to see how my donations sell. There will certainly be lots of competition!! It will also be interesting to see if I get any enquiries after the fair for more orders - I certainly hope so :)

and now we have a shopping cart!

2009-03-04T17:23:00.007+11:00

I have now installed a shopping cart service to my blog, so now 24 hours a day you can order jams and sauces from me.

Just use the link in the sidebar labelled Rie's Kitchen shopping cart.

Specials and gift packs will be advertised through this site.

Initially, payment needs to be via cheque, however I have applied for credit card security and pay pal facilities to assist you.

pretty exciting really :)

Internet shopping

2009-03-02T18:36:00.003+11:00

I have always been very wary in purchasing items from the internet. I like to see them, feel them etc and am very nervous about handing over credit card details for an item sight unseen. Yes I know that you can check out reviews, only purchase through a reputable store etc but still I was very nervous.

After 3 weeks of visiting just about every homeware, cookware - commercial and domestic, store in Melbourne metro in search of a cherry pitter that could do more than one at a time I was beginning to get desperate. I have over 15kgs of cherries in my freezer and I am not going to spend 15 hours pitting them!

I undertook my research and found Gefu brand cherry stoner from an online store "Everton Online" and I couldn't be happier with the result. For under $40 I have a piece of equipment that arrived within 3 days of purchase, bolts to the bench, can go in the dishwasher and can do half a dozen in seconds.
http://www.everten.com.au/product/Gefu-Cherry-Pitter.html

So now I can announce I have 2 cherry products:

Cherry Jam
Pickled Cherries in cherry vinegar (great on a cheese platter and the vinegar is great in a vinegrette)

From the ashes...

2009-03-02T18:26:00.004+11:00

After such a hot January/February which decimated my 7 Roma tomato plants, I was fearful that my famous tomato sauce would be in short supply this year.

Then came "Black Saturday" which was a disaster here in Victoria in more ways than one. A hydroponic tomato grower in Gippsland, although not affected by fire directly lost his entire crop when water pumping equipment was destroyed and the temperature reached 48 degrees! He donated over 100 kgs to the CWA for fundraising purposes. Through my contacts, I was lucky enough to receive 52 kgs of ripe red tomatoes. (I only discarded 3 tomatoes out of all of that!!) The tomatoes were of high quality, too small for the supermarket chains.

So sauce I made!! 98 bottles in total. I only stopped when I ran out of bottles, and so reverted to chutney instead! (All gluten free of course!)

The majority of what I produced that week will be donated and onsale at the CWA Harvest Fair on March 21 (3 Lansell Rd, Toorak). All proceeds raised will go towards the work that CWA is doing for fire and drought affected people throughout Victoria.

Cherries!

2009-02-08T14:39:00.005+11:00

Thank you so much to Bev Abbott who before Christmas put me in touch with a cherry grower, Cathy, located at Red Hill in Victoria.

Cathy's crop had suffered from rain damage prior to Christmas and she very kindly put aside about 15 kgs of cherries for me in the freezer. Cathy has over 6 varieties of cherry growing on their small farm. We swapped recipes, taste tested, and above all had a great old time!
Now the challenge comes in making cherry delights - but first I am on the search for a cherry pipper that can do more than 1 cherry at a time!

Raspberries

2009-01-19T17:59:00.000+11:00

What a wonderful time I had last Thursday when I headed up to Silvan Estate Raspberries!!

I chatted to Pam the grower for over an hour - all about her 30 odd varieties of raspberries, dozen varieties of blackberries, bluberries and others. I had a ball, and learned heaps in the bargain.

So armed with 7 kilos of Willamette Raspberries I came home to experiment. These berries are very sweet, so I will need to tone down the sugar from my original attempt.

Looks like I will be hitting the market soon with all my goodies to sell :)

The sticky smell of apricots fills the air...

2009-01-14T18:44:00.000+11:00

It must be summer!!
Our ever faithful apricot tree, which for years has looked like it is on her last legs, has yet again provided us with a bumper crop.

We returned from our summer holidays to find about 3 kilos of apricots dropped on the ground :(
Luckily the old tree had many more left and I have made my first batch of jam. There is at least 2 batches left to ripen on the tree if the birds and possums don't get to them first!

Apricot jam
3kgs apricots
3 kgs white sugar
4 tbsp lemon juice
2 cups water

Wash fruit thoroughly. Cut into quaters, reserving stones. Place friut, lemon juice and water into a wide, non reactive pan and bring to the boil. Simmer for about 20 minutes.

Using a meat mallot, remove kernels from half the stones, discarding all debris. Reserve for final stage

Meanwhile, heat your sugar in a low oven (150 degrees C) until hand hot.

If you like smooth jam, use a stick processor to puree (but be careful, the mix is very hot!) Add sugar and reserved kernals and boil hard until setting stage is reached (approx 12 minutes - start testing at 104 degrees C)

Carefully ladel into sterilised jars ensuring that kernels are distributed evenly amongst jars.

Christmas celebrations

2008-12-31T17:17:00.000+11:00

Now that all the dishes are done, and my fridge is beginning to look normal again, I can stop and congratulate all those who helped us put on quite a special Christmas lunch. Myles deserves a special thankyou - he not only had to put up with my anxiety, but also did an excellent job of host whilst I was working away in the kitchen.

With this my first year of Christmas and Gluten free, I managed to put together quite a spread, nearly all of which I could eat.Only the stuffing for the slow roasted pork was out of bounds. (although I did fight for my share of the fabulous crackling)

Thanks to Mum and Dad for assistance in preparations, Handle and Rebekha for the gluten free Christmas pudding, Ivan and Jeannie for the array of Salads, Pam for the nibbles (great hummus), Fiona for a fabulous flourless chocolate cake, and Lindsay for bread and Christmas cake.

But best of all was having the people we care most about, all able to share the day with us. Its family that make Christmas special and sometimes we get too caught up in the commercialism of Christmas, or even the traditions without taking the time to value what is truly special, family. A good friend once told me of a great piece of advice he had been given before his wedding, and it applies to this occasion just as well. "Make sure you take the time to just step back for a moment and take a mental picture of everyone having a great time. " otherwise the day just seems to go too fast!

A New Year and a new beginning

2008-12-31T17:13:00.000+11:00

It is at this time of year that we all take stock of the past and look to the future. Though not one to make new years resolutions, I do believe in reviewing my achievements for the last twelve months. In 2008 these were many including, but not limited to, launching "Rie's Kitchen", developing my consultancy business and becoming more involved in The Country Women's Association of Victoria Inc.

Through hard sweat and tears, 2008 has ended up a pretty good year for me - challenges met, and my direction better defined.

I hope that you all find 2009 brings the same to you, no matter what you are trying to achieve.

Rie

A new address!

2008-12-31T17:09:00.000+11:00

To all who have followed this blog, please note that I will be discontinuing this site. You can continue to follow my cooking and gardening exploits at http://rieskitchen.blogspot.com/

Happy New Year to you all

Rie

Gluten Free - overcoming the challenges!

2008-12-09T14:24:00.000+11:00

As many of you may be aware, I have recently been diagnosed as Coeliac. This means I must remove all wheat, rye, oats and barley from my diet. For a keen cook this has provided me with a challenge.

Challenge 1 - create fresh, homemade pasta
After 3 failed attempts (or 3 successful attempts at making hot glue:) I have successfully created home made fettucine. The recipe still needs some tweaking as it did not survive a pasta machine, but after handrolling and cutting the fettucine, the results were very delicious. I will continue to refine the recipe so that I can get the pasta thinner, but here is the simple recipe

TIP: replace all plain and 00 flour (as per previous recipe supplied on my blog) with Orgran pasta flour (gluten free and contains GFG). Only use potato or rice flour for dusting.

Challenge 2 - create gluten free orange and cardemon shortbread for Christmas
First attempt at this looked to be a success, until I moved the shortbraed from the tray to the cooling rack. After 10 minutes, when I returned, the majority of biscuits had crumbled through the racks.

TIP: allow to cool slightly on the tray until beginning to firm, then place on the cooling racks. My "normal" recipe calls for 3/4 cup rice flour and 1 1/2 cups self raising flour. I was successful with 1 cup of rice flour and 1 1/4 cups of orgran self raising flour (contains GFG)

Happy cooking for Christmas :)

this one is a bit of a challenge

2008-10-19T12:01:00.000+11:00

It took me by surprise, but 2 weeks ago I was given the formal diagnosis of coeliac disease. My hope over the previous four weeks was that the blood tests were all a false positive. This means I must now stick to a strict diet of gluten free. Gluten is a component of wheat, barley, rye and oats - it is what helps stick things together. Hence wheat is used in many unexpected things to thicken or "stick" flavourings.

The obvious no goes for me are most bread, pasta, breakfast cereals, cake, biscuits etc.
The less obvious are potato chips (wheat is used in the flavourings), soy sauce (as a thickener), ice cream (as a thickener) etc. So now I need to read labels carefully.

I also need to modify my famous tomato sauce and Worcestershire sauces as they both contain malt vinegar (another gluten derivative). All a challenge for Rie's kitchen to overcome. But first on a personal quest, I need to perfect gluten free fresh ravioli :) When I get this right, I promise to post the recipe to this blog. So far we have had 2 goes. The first created ricotta clag soup, and the second although edible had the wrong texture - very stodgy. I will get it eventually!!

For anyone wanting more info on coeliac disease, or gluten free diets, check out the following website http://www.coeliacsociety.com.au/

now we have both kinds!

2008-09-04T17:22:00.000+10:00

For those who like a little more tang then sweet, I am pleased to announce that "Rie's Kitchen" now has Blood Orange Marmalade for sale. It has a deeper colour and quite a tang without being tart.
It also led to me becoming a member of "Campbells Cash and Carry". Now that is a dangerous place to shop! but does offer me easy access to 15 & 25 kg bags of sugar.

so now with 80 or so jars of marmalde on hand, I only need 1 or 2 more products to hit the markets and see how I go :)

If you are interested in purchasing a jar, only $5.50 + P&H

ready, set ...

2008-08-18T17:44:00.000+10:00

I am very excited to launch the first range from Rie's Kitchen.

Luckily for me, it was cold and wet outside yesterday, so Myles did not go Mountain Bike riding with his Dad. Instead he stayed at home and assisted me in the printing of my labels, and also putting it all together.

The most time consuming part was the ribbon. I wanted a practical way to show that the jar has not been opened. Pop lids are more than 3 times the price of regular jar lids, and for small scale operations like mine, are cost prohibitive. A trip to "Spotlight" and ribbon at $0.45 a metre does the trick with a bit of flair! Getting the ribbon centered and under both the labels (the back has the nutritional guide, mandatory for all food produce sold in Australia) almost takes 3 hands. Luckily, a trip to "Officeworks" and a box of black spot stickers did the trick and reduced my frustration :)

Together, Myles and I added the wax seal. A big plug for "Wax Seals Australia." I had the proofs for my seal within hours of my initial contact, and the seal and wax express posted to me within 24 hours!

...and it's such fun.

We also managed to label the Tomato Sauce I had made earlier this year. These are not for sale, but will be next year when Rie's kitchen is in full swing.

I would like to thank the many friends and family who have given advice regarding "Rie's Kitchen" , especially to Karen and Lisa who provided expert marketing advice regarding label design. This label is a long way from the clip art versions I used to produce, and your ideas and encouragement have helped it to this point. Thank you.

I hope to have an online service for sales of my produce in the coming months. It is a bit technical and I am getting advice. Until then, Marmalade, 270 mls $A5.50 plus postage and handling.

It's just like a sausage...!

2008-08-04T13:43:00.000+10:00

High compliment indeed!

Last week I was lucky enough to attend a traditional Italian Salami making class. It was great fun and I came away inspired. Myles's first question was "what new kitchen gadget did you buy?". None I replied I can do it all with my own equipment, although in hindsight a mincer with funnel attachment would be very useful :) Using a piping bag was hard work!

Fresh Pork and Fennel Sausages

1 kg pork shoulder; 1 tblsp fennel seeds

15 grams salt; 1 tblsp freshly cracked pepper

15 mls red wine; 1 tblsp dried chilli (optional)

8 tblsp capsicum sauce (or good quality home made tomato sauce)

sausage casings

Mince pork to medium grind (or ask your butcher to do this for you). Add all other in ingredients and mix well using your hands. Allow to sit for min 3 hours (over night is best)

Insert into casings ensuring that your funnel nozzle does not create a vacuum in the casings. If air pockets occur, do not be shy about pricking with a sterilised needle. When sausages have reached their desired length, pinch in the middle and twist

As there are no preservatives in this receipe, sausages must be eaten within 24 hours, or frozen.

Vintage 2008 - the launch

2008-08-04T13:15:00.000+10:00

I am pleased to announce the launch of 2008 Vintage from Mulgrave Heights.

And did you notice the groovy "zorks" capping the bottles. A very clever little closer that seals the bottle and can be easily removed (but not recapped). At less than A$0.50 a great Aussie invention for the small producer like me - no machines required, just a rubber mallet and gentle persuasion :)

Vintage 2008

2008-07-31T17:10:00.000+10:00

Last weekend saw Andrew Osborne and family return to "Mulgrave Heights" for the annual "pruning of the vines fiesta" This is serious work, with our wheelie bin filled to capacity.
Every year we think we have overdone it, but each year both vines spring back, strong and vigorous.

On tasting this years vintage (I have been slack and they have not been bottled) the wine had an excellent bouquet, was fruity on the tongue but a very "muddy" back palate. Almost ready to tip it down the drain, I took a sample to be professionally tested (I wanted to see if I could turn it into red wine vinegar).

To my surprise the results are that the wine is chemically near perfect. pH 3.3 (desired range 3.0 - 3.4), alcohol content 7%. The diagnosis:

our soil is heavy clay and as such the vine is short some minerals - a drop of copper sulphate removed the "muddy" taste
our vine is probably a table grape (yet to be formally identified), but the experts were surprised at the quality of what we had produced (pity they didn't try last years! - our best so far).

They suggested 2 remedies for this vintage

adding caster sugar to each bottle -sounds like cheating to me :)
blending with a sweet wine such as Lambrusco - using ours as a base

I will try the latter suggestion to save this years vintage.

Rie's Kitchen is official!

2008-07-31T17:02:00.000+10:00

I have registered the business name of "Rie's Kitchen" and all the paperwork is beginning to fall into place. I have formalised the financial setup, and I am very close to finalising a deal with a commercial kitchen to allow me to start production (once council approval has been finalised). Rie's kitchen is probably still 3 months away from being "on the shelves" but it is beginning to look less like a hobby and more like a business.

... and yesterday I purchased 150 jars as I have more oranges arriving next week - so more marmalade on the way :)

A moment of truth!

2008-06-20T11:09:00.000+10:00

It was not until I saw the photos that Myles took of my pasta making day, that I realised quite how silly I look in my apron and shower cap :).

As a great shopper, I set out to rectify this situation, and returned from "Chef's hat" (South Melbourne) with a hat, tunic and 3/4 apron. I look forward to being photographed now, looking more the part. After all, when you look good, you feel good and when you feel good, you cook great!

Ravioli

2008-06-18T14:42:00.000+10:00

Having been inspired by my Organic pasta class (see earlier post), I set out to make some ravioli using a traditional Maltese filling. Myles was heavily involved - he took the photos and was experimenting with his new lighting rig. Overall, it was an exhausting day for us both - but a great way to share an afternoon :)

Maltese Ravioli recipe

1 quantity of pasta dough

1.5 kg ricotta cheese (the fresher the better)

1/2 cup fresh parsley chopped

2 free range eggs

salt and pepper to taste

Mash all filling ingredients together. If the ricotta is more than a few days old, it will be a little dry and an extra egg or alternatively a dash of cold milk may be required. The correct consistency should see the potato masher make a "squelch" noise when lifted from the bowl of filling.

Roll pastry into sheets at size 5 on the pasta machine.

Place tbsp of filling approx 3 cm apart in middle of the sheet. Brush around each sheet with a little water.

Fold each sheet in half to cover filling. press down edge.

Using a scone cutter or tumbler glass, cut the ravioli into individual pieces. Place on a floured tray until ready for the pot.

Add prepared ravioli to boiling salted water. Ravioli will float when cooked (3-5 minutes usually).

serve with napolitana sauce.

Napolitana Sauce

1 onion

1 clove garlic crushed

140 g tomato paste

water

pinch sugar

Fry onion until translucent. Add garlic and cook 1 minute. Add tomato paste, water and sugar - stir until combined. Cook for 10 minutes and serve

Date scones

2008-06-12T13:16:00.000+10:00

My partner Myles has a soft spot for date scones. They are the perfect snack for when he returns home on a Sunday after his 20 klm mountain bike ride.

Myles is a meticulous cook. He and I struggle to cook together because I rarely follow a recipe and he is looking for exact measurements! He also does not like a recipe written as prose - dot points in chronological order is his nirvana.

Scones are something that is simple, and the rewards are instant. By the time the espresso machine is warmed up, the coffees drawn, they are ready from the oven. Last weekend, Myles made the scones. (Even yummier when made for you !)

I discovered a twist to the traditional recipe when reading The Cook's Companion by Stephanie Alexander. Her recipe has 1/2 tsp of freshly ground nutmeg. This makes such a difference

Date Scone recipe (from Stephanie Alexander)

250 g self raising flour

1/2 tsp of freshly ground nutmeg

pinch salt

20g unsalted butter

2 tbsp sugar

150g dates pitted and chopped

1/4 cup milk

1/4 cup water

preheat oven to 210 degrees C

grease baking tray
sift together flour, salt and nutmeg
rub in butter
add sugar and dates
combine milk and water and add to make a soft but firm dough
Knead together quickly
press out onto a floured surface and cut into squares.
Bake for 7 minutes, then reduce heat to 180
bake for further 8 minutes until golden

Marmalade

2008-06-12T12:30:00.000+10:00

Those Jam jars are coming in handy! Thank you to Brenda who donated 2 kgs of oranges from her garden, which combined with lemons and limes from mine have created a fabulous marmalade.

Now I am not really a fan of marmalade, but my partner Myles is. He also is a fan of photography, and this exercise turned into something we could share - I cook, he takes the photo and of course eats!

Tips

Marmalade can be tricky. It is important to remove the scum from the top after you have added the sugar, otherwise this forms crystallines in your jar and are not attractive! Another tip, to ensure that your fruit does not float to the top, is to let the marmalade cool slightly before you pour into the jars. This keeps the fruit even - see above photo.

One other tip I have learned, jars with a pop lid, need to be inverted after filling for a few seconds this creates the heat seal. As the lid cools, you will hear a "pop" and the jar is well sealed.

My recipe is a combination of many with a strong influence from Stephanie Alexanders "Seville Marmalade."

Marmalade recipe

1 kg oranges

4 large lemons

2-4 limes (optional)

2 litres water

2 kgs white sugar

Remove zest from fruit with a vegetable peeler and cut into fine julienne. (There is no short cut here!). Juice fruit and reserve pips. Cut remaining pith into strips and put into a muslin bag with the pips. Tie firmly. Put all ingredients except sugar into a non reactive pot and bring to the boil. Simmer for 1 hour with the lid slightly ajar, until liquid is reduced by half. Cover pot and leave to cool overnight.

Next day, preheat over to 180 degrees. Squeeze muslin bags very firmly into reduced liquid. Discard muslin bag. Bring liquid back to the boil with pot resting on a simmer mat. Meanwhile, warm sugar in the oven. Add sugar to pot and stir until dissolved. Boil briskly for 5-10 minutes until it has reached setting stage. Bottle in hot sterilised jars (see note above)

Chilli Jam

2008-05-23T11:24:00.000+10:00

With a bumper crop of chilli this year, I thought I would try my hand at a new delicacy- Chilli Jam.

My 1st batch has not been a success.

I turned away to sneeze at exactly the wrong time in the jam setting stage, and after washing my hands, my jam was quite dark. It still tasted OK. I bottled (see jam jars post earlier) and gave the jars away to trusty "tasters" for unbiased testing.

The results are back :

delicious with cheese and crackers

need to eat the whole jar on opening - it goes rock solid after 2 days (1 was stored in the fridge, the other in a cupboard)

I haven't given up yet, and with plenty more chilli to pick I will try batch 2 this weekend with the same recipe to have a comparison.

Mushrooming

2008-05-18T15:57:00.000+10:00

Today, my professional women's group, "Breakfast Club" (or as our husband's refer to it as "Secret Women's Business") went mushrooming on the Mornington Peninsular. Our guide, Cameron is a real enthusiast. He was quick to caution us all about eating mushrooms where you are not sure of the variety. many of the mushrooms we have in Victoria are poisonous, including some that are lethal!

Despite his intensive knowledge he always carries a reference book to double check on the variety before eating!He recommends:

A Field Guide to Australian Fungi by Bruce Fuhrer Publisher: Bloomings Books Publication date: 2005

Golden rules of mushrooming:

never enter someone's property to pick mushrooms without first asking permission
always only take what you need for that day
always use a knife to cut the mushroom, leaving the "root ball" in the ground to sprout again
do not place mushrooms in a plastic bag - they will sweat and turn to mush!

Pine mushrooms I found during our walk.

The day concluded with mushroom soup, mushroom and feta tarts and fresh mushroom pizza - fantastic! Being based at T'Gallant winery, we also explored the marriage of Pinot and mushrooms - definitely a match made in heaven.

Organic cooking class: pasta

2008-05-17T16:48:00.000+10:00

Last weekend I joined a class at "Peaceful Gardens Organic Cooking School" located at Koonwarra in East Gippsland, Victoria. The topic of the day was pasta.

Many friends queried why I was doing a pasta class. Despite years of making Ricotta Ravioli with my dad (the traditional Maltese way), I had never made pasta with eggs or used a pasta machine.

Two girlfriends, Carolyn and Rhonda joined in, and in an intimate class of 4, Tina guided us through the intricacies of making Lasagne, ravioli (chicken filling) and fettuccini. In just over 4 hours, we all had shared many cooking tales, swapped recipes and looked forward to dining on the fruits of our labour.

A highlight of the day was the enthusiasm of Tina, our mentor in the benefits of organic produce.

I am now on the hunt for a pasta machine, and looking forward to experimenting with one of my favorite foods - pasta.

Pasta Dough recipe (courtesy: Peaceful Gardens Organic Cooking School)
500g plain flour, 2 eggs, 1 dessertspoon olive oil, water

Place flour in a bowl and make a well
Add eggs to centre of the well and slowly mix in the flour
Add olive oil and a little water
Knead these together until the dough is uniform in texture and colour.
Wrap ball of dough in tea towel or cling wrap and let rest for 10 minutes
Cut the dough into small portions.
Using one portion at a time, pass the dough through the machine set to number 1. Fold in half and run again through machine.
Repeat this process through the different thickness settings. Remember to pass the dough through each setting twice, folding the sheet in half before taking it through again.
When the process is finished, flour your dough so as not to stick. Hang fettuccini over a broom handle to prevent it sticking together. Sheets can be laid between layers of baking paper.
Repeat with other portions of dough.

To cook: place in boiling water for approx 6 minutes.

NB pasta can be frozen raw, defrosted and cooked as above.

Jam Jars

2008-05-06T14:43:00.000+10:00

As I begin to "beef up" my repertoire of sauces, relishes and jams I have come to realise that raiding the "jar cupboard" and the local op shop was not going to meet my need for clean, food quality containers.

"How hard could it be?" I mused as I searched the Internet for glass producers. Very easy if I was looking for pallets worth! I have found 2 suppliers in Melbourne, happy to sell me 100 jars at a time(of each size), however lids only come in packets of 1050!!

Self doubt steps in! Will I ever sell enough jars to make the outlay worth it? Of course I will, but where do I store them! That is a problem for my partner Myles who has an uncanny knack of getting the most out of any storage space.

I intend to make chilli jam this weekend and if anyone has any insights where to access about 20 40ml jars with lids I would be most grateful :)

Mulgrave Heights - our vines

2008-04-20T12:57:00.000+10:00

Much speculation has occurred as to the variety of our vines. as yet, I have been unable to definitively categorise their variety. Both vines were well established when my partner Myles and I, bought the house in 2000.

The vines are prolific producers. In 2007, we picked over 40kgs of grape from the north facing vine alone! The bunches are large, often greater than 40 cm in length and weigh up to 750gms -1 kg each. This vine is netted ever year. Due to the position of the westerly vine (against the garage wall and inside a raised vegetable patch,) the westerly vine is left to the birds and possums, with us coming a distinct 3rd.

The grapes have a deep purple skin, a white fruit and small seeds. They are not fabulous as a table grape, but we certainly eat a few as we pick them :)

Mulgrave Heights 2008 Vintage

2008-04-20T12:31:00.000+10:00

Our back garden hosts 2 grape vines, both of the same variety (as yet unknown). One vine sits on the garage wall and is westerly facing, the second and larger vine is located on the northern fence line. Both vines are approximately 25 years old.

This year, the westerly vine had a small infestation of vine mite and as such none of the grapes were used for wine production. The northerly vine was infestation free.

With the assistance of our winemaker, Andrew Osborne (Ossy), and his 2 year old daughter Charleah, the grapes were harvested on March 9th 2008. 10.5 litres of must was achieved. Due to the unusually hot temperatures experienced that day (34) we were unable to second crush the skins or keep the must on skin for any period of time. Despite this, the must in 2008 has a much deeper colour than previous vintages.

We transferred the must from the 20 litre flask, to 2x4litre flask on 12th April. At this time our Specific Gravity was 950. Now the chemistry lessons I missed in high school become useful!