Spring has sprung

Finally!! Goodbye frosty, bleak winter. Hello sunshine, blue skies, flowers, bees, BBQ's, the smell of cut lawn clippings, swooping Magpies, flies...it's all good. Spring is the time of year when everything wakes up from its dormant wintery sleep. Especially the rosemary bush in my garden. It has obviously enjoyed the cold winter months, because it is flourishing at present. It's one of the few bursts of colour that I have in the garden at the moment.

Rosemary signifies remembrance and friendship. An old saying, and one that I wholeheartedly agree with, is that if rosemary grows vigorously in a family's garden, it means a woman heads the household. I keep trying to reiterate this fact to my husband, but it continually falls on deaf ears for some reason. Now I have proof.....mmwoo...haaa...haaa.

As well there is an abundance of oranges dropping from my tree, the branches groaning under the weight of these sweet and juicy vitamin pills.


This Weekend Herb Blogging event is kindly hosted by Kalyn, who tirelessly devotes so much of her time to this event, and her baby is nearly turning two years old. I can't wait for the party!

Originally I was going to make Rosemary Orange Mustard, to use as a condiment for dipping bread, but I think my orange yielded way too much juice than anticipated, and the end result was rather runny. No problems. It has now become Rosemary Orange Mustard Marinade, and to be honest, it will peel the skin off your tongue, it's so HOT. Rather than marinating your choice of meat, you may prefer to just baste it as you're grilling it.

Rosemary-Orange Mustard/Marinade

This grainy mustard is spicy hot but great for cooking or dipping pretzels. The flavor improves after a few days so plan accordingly.

1/4 cup yellow mustard seeds

1/4 cup brown mustard seeds

1 1/2 Tablespoons dry mustard

1/4 cup water

1/4 cup cider vinegar

1/4 cup white wine

Minced zest of one orange (about 1 heaping Tablespoon)

Juice of same orange

1/4 cup minced fresh rosemary leaves

Few dashes of salt, to taste

In a blender (or as I used a coffee grinder), grind the mustard seeds to the texture of cornmeal. Transfer to a small bowl and stir in remaining ingredients. You may need to judge the liquid and add accordingly if you want mustard consistency. Allow to sit at room temperature for a couple of hours. Stir again and taste for salt, adding more if desired.

Store, covered, in the refrigerator for up to a month.

Yield: 1 cup mustard

This will be used on tomorrow's Father's Day BBQ at my Dad's. Nothing pleases him more than being surrounded by his family, grandkids and great grandkids. So for all the Dad's in the world, have a great Father's Day.

Patagonian Lamb with balsamic roast vege salad

What a coincidence it was during the week, when I caught the very last segment of The Hairy Bikers, a.k.a. Simon King and David Myers, on tour in Argentina. They were cooking Patagonian Lamb, and of even greater coincidence, I had two perfect lamb backstraps sitting in the fridge. The backstrap is sometimes called the eye of loin or or lamb sirloin or lamb fillet. It would have to be the most expensive cut of the sheep, way up there with the frenched loin cutlets, so it's not something you would buy everyday, it's more of a delicacy, at least it is in this house.

I had to improvise with this recipe slightly, as I couldn't source dried porcini mushrooms; I just couldn't find them anywhere, so used plain old ordinary sliced button mushrooms. I'm sure the porcini would have added even deeper flavour to the dish, but it was still good. I also substituted prosciutto parma ham for the pancetta, but you can still use a good quality, thinly sliced bacon. I also added some semi-sundried tomatoes to the paste.

Served with balsamic roasted root vegetable salad, consisting of parsnips, swede, carrot, beetroot and potato, smothered in balsamic vinegar, this made a very impressive dinner. Scott from Real Epicurean is this weeks host of Weekend Herb Blogging #97. How good is this event to be going so strongly after nearly two years, and still gathering momentum? Congratulations Kalyn.

Ingredients
20g/¾oz dried porcini mushrooms
2 x 225g/8oz lamb loin fillets
2 tsp red wine vinegar
1 onion, finely chopped
3 garlic cloves, finely chopped
1 tsp chopped fresh rosemary
1 tbsp chopped fresh parsley
½ tsp dried oregano
½ tsp sugar
½ tsp salt, or to taste
½ tsp freshly ground black pepper
250g/9oz streaky bacon or pancetta or prosciutto

Method
1. Preheat the oven to 180C/350F/Gas 4.
2. Soak the porcini mushrooms in hot water for 20 minutes, then chop, discarding the liquid.
3. Trim any sinew from the loin fillets and set aside.
4. Place the chopped porcini into a food processor with the remaining ingredients, except the lamb and bacon, and blend to form a paste.
5. Place half of the bacon rashers side by side on a chopping board to form a sheet. Place one lamb fillet over the rashers at one end, so it can be rolled up.
6. Spread half the paste evenly over the top of the fillet. Then roll the fillet, wrapping it up in the bacon sheet.
7. Repeat the process with the second fillet.
8. Place the two fillets in a roasting tin, making sure the rasher ends are tucked under the fillet.
9. Transfer to the oven and roast for 15 minutes for medium-rare meat, 20 minutes for medium and 25 minutes for well done. Remove from the oven and set aside to rest for 5-10 minutes.

WHB # 96 Strawberry Shortcakes

A noticeable omission in this blog are sweet dishes. I'm more of a savoury than sweet person, hence the lack of muffins, cup cakes, desserts and other sweet delectable recipes. I'm not totally anti-sweets, I just don't cook or prepare them much. If there's a tub of icecream in the freezer, my family is happy.

So in a fit of madness on my part, I suddenly had an urge to make strawberry shortcakes. Don't ask me why. Maybe because I thought I had to justify the cost of my Kitchenaid mixer, and use it for something other than mixing bread dough. I have a morbid fear of creaming sugar and butter, as I never know when it is ready.

I decided to take beginners steps here into the world of "baking", and this recipe doesn't call for any creaming whatsoever. In fact it was made in my food processor with the Kitchenaid doing the whipping of the cream. Maybe next week I'll take the next giant step and make, wait for it, but don't hold your breath waiting,.......a cake!

This is my entry for Weekend Herb Blogging, and Zora from Kochtopf is the host of this special event.

Shortcake:
2 cups of all purpose flour
1 tblsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
3 tblsp packed brown sugar
1/2 cup butter
4 tsps granulated sugar, divided
3/4 cup milk

Filling:
1 quart ripe strawberries, washed, hulled and sliced
1/3 cup granulated sugar
1/2 tsp vanilla extract

Whipped cream:
1 cup heavy whipping cream
1/4 cup of confectioners (icing) sugar
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/4 tsp vanilla
1/4 cup sour cream

Preheat oven to 450 degrees, grease a baking sheet
With blade attachment on food processor, wiz flour, baking powder, salt, brown sugar, butter and 2 tsps of granulated sugar until mixture resembles coarse meal.
Pour mixture into medium bowl
With wooden spoon or paddle attachment on electric mixer, add milk and mix just until it forms a smooth dough.
Scoop dough onto baking sheet in 6 equal mounds.
Dust top of shortcakes with remaining 2 tsps granulated sugar.
Bake 15-20 minutes, or until golden brown.
Remove from oven, transfer to wire rack and let cool.
To make Filling, in a medium bowl, mash 1/2 the strawberries.
Mix with granulated sugar and vanilla.
Refrigerate 1 hour.
To make whipped cream, in a chilled mixing bowl, beat cream with confectioners sugar, granulated sugar and vanilla until it holds soft peaks.
Add sour cream; beat until stiff peaks form.
Cut of tops off shortcakes, and spoon filling onto bottom of shortcakes.
Cover with whipped cream and remaining sliced strawberries, replace tops.
Garnish with a dollop of cream, a strawberry half and a sprig of mint.

Gnock, gnock, gnockin' on heavens door

Lynnylu from Cafe Lynnylu is this month's host of Hay Hay It's Donna Day #14, and she has chosen gnocchi as this month's theme ingredient.

I've only made gnocchi once before, and although I was quite proud of myself, it tasted like the old home made "glue" we used to make as kids, referred to as "clag", which was just a mixture of flour and water. So when Linnylu decided gnocchi was the theme, I thought now is my chance to try again.

This time, however, I went for a ricotta based gnocchi, based on this recipe from Jaden's steamy kitchen. I'm not sure if it was the mouth watering picture that drew me like a magnet, or Jaden's hilarious explanation of how she learnt to cook. Either way, I had great fun making it, and the family (minus my recently converted vegan daughter) devoured them off the plate. So what was supposed to be a "light" meal, turned into an entree for three. Kudos to Jorj, who adores gnocchi and who used to demolish a wheel of brie or camembert in record time....she never had a single one of these luscious little pillows.

Pan-Fried Lemon-Ricotta Gnocchi

1 cup	whole milk ricotta
1/2 cup	freshly grated parmegiano reggiano (plus extra reserved for garnishing) (I used parmesan)
1 large	egg yolk
1 tsp	lemon zest (use a microplane grater) (plus extra reserved for garnishing)
1 tsp	kosher salt (or 1/2 tsp table salt) (I only had sea salt so used a good pinch of that)
3/4 cup	all purpose flour, sifted
1 tblsp	chopped parsley (plus extra reserved for garnishing)
1/2 tsp	finely minced chilli (or red pepper flakes) - adjust chilli based on your tastes
2 tblsp	clarified butter (or just butter, but the clarified butter works much better) (I used Ghee, which of course is clarifed butter)
1 tblsp	olive oil

Method
1. Combine ricotta, parmegiano, yolk, zest and salt in large bowl. Mix well. Sprinkle half of the flour on the mixture, gently turn with spatula a few times to incorporate. Dump mixture on clean, lightly floured countertop. Sprinkle remaining flour on top of the mixture. Gently knead with your fingertips, just bringing together the mixture until flour is incorporated through. This only should take a minute or two. Any longer and you will be over-kneading. *If you are using skim milk ricotta - you may have to use more flour, as there is more water content in skim ricotta.
2. Divide dough into 4 parts. Take one part and roll into a long, 1" diameter log. Cut gnocchi into 1" pieces. You may use your wooden doobie-bopper or tines of a fork to get those pretty grooves that will eventually disappear after frying anyways. (I happened to find a "doobie-bopper" at the local trash and treasure market last weekend. I'm pretty sure it's what's known as a butter pat, for making homemade butter, but I now call it my gnocchi groover)

3. Heat skillet over medium-high heat. Add butter and olive oil. when butter is just lightly browned, add gnocchi in single layer. Fry on one side for 2 minutes, flip. Add chilli. Fry other side for 1-2 minutes. Timing really depends on how big/thick your gnocchi is. Do a taste test - do you taste flour? Not done yet. Serve with a sprinkling of lemon zest, parmegiano and parsley.

4 & 20 blackbirds baked in a pie

And when the pie was opened, the birds began to sing....

Four'N Twenty Pie interpretation from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The Four'N Twenty Meat Pie was invented in Bendigo, Victoria, Australia by LT. McLure in 1947. The meat pie is a very popular food product in Australia as strong demand for the pie saw production grow from 50 pies per day to 50,000 pies per hour in between the years of 1948 to 1998.

McLure took a sampling of his pies to the Royal Melbourne Agricultural Show where they proved very popular. Increasing demand for the pie caused McLure to eventually open a Melbourne bakery in a pavilion of the showgrounds, later moving to bigger premises in nearby Ascot Vale several years later.

The Four'N Twenty Meat Pie is Victoria's best selling meat pie. It is considered a tradition to consume a Four'N Twenty Meat Pie at an Australian Rules Football match . While not as iconic outside of Victoria, Four'N Twenty pies are still the most commonly available brand in hotboxes, in service stations and corner stores across the country.

In 2006 it was announced that the Four'N Twenty pie would begin being sold on the American market.

Well, I have looked at, scrutinised, analysed and invariably cooked, lots of recipes for "4n20's", as we call 'em 'ere Down Under, but none of them matches up to this recipe. This recipe is the closest to the ridgey didgey, all Aussie Meat Pie that I have found...and of course, it's gotta be served with "dead horse'.

(Aussie slang) dead horse
(meaning) tomato sauce

This is my entry for Kalyn's Weekend Herb Blogging, kindly hosted this week by Melissa, The Cooking Diva, and whilst I've prattled on about an Australian icon, without homegrown dried oregano, (which I place in a brown paper bag, and hang in the garage until it's dry, or more than often, I forget about it), this pie would taste like that famous Colonel's recipe with only 10 secret herbs and spices...THIS IS THE SECRET INGREDIENT..dried oregano.

I remember an Italian chef mentioning on a cooking program, that only the dried purple flowers were worthy of eating. He threw the rest away! Oregano is also an excellent antioxidant. A recent study (Zheng, W. et al. 2002. Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry, Vol 49: pp 5165-5170) of culinary and medicinal herbs identified oregano as the the herb with the greatest antioxidant activity. It scored higher than any fruit or vegetable previously tested. It had higher antioxidant activity than even vitamin E.

AUSSIE MEAT PIE - makes 6 individual pies

1 onion finely chopped
500 gms (1 and 1/4 pounds) ground beef
1 cup water
2 crumbled beef stock cubes or 2 tsp stock powder
1/4 cup tomato sauce (dead horse or ketchup)
4 tsp Worcestershire sauce
Pepper to taste
A good heaped pinch (or more) of dried oregano
Pinch nutmeg
3 tblsp plain (all purpose) flour
3 sheets of ready rolled shortcust pastry, thawed
3 sheets of ready rolled puff pastry, thawed
Beaten egg to glaze

METHOD:

Cook onion and beef without any fat until meat is well browned (a non-stick frypan is recommended for this step)

Add 3/4 cup of water, stock cubes, sauces and seasonings.

Blend flour with the remaining water to make a smooth paste. Add to meat and bring to boil, stiring constantly. Boil 5 minutes, remove from heat and allow to cool.

Line individual pie tins with the shortcrust pastry, spoon in cooled meat mixture, cover pie with puff pastry sheets.

Glaze with beaten egg, then bake in a hot oven 230 degrees C, or 450 degrees F, for 15 minutes, reduce heat to moderate and then cook another 25 minutes until pastry is golden.

Oh isn't that a dainty dish to set before the king?

There was a young sprout from Brussels...

Polled as the most hated vegetable in the UK, the poor Brussels sprout seems to be as popular as a plate full of raw offal. Apologies to those who feel that raw offal is appealing.

I must admit, I've never craved these mutant cabbages. If they're served up to me I'll politely eat them, but I can honestly say they have never created a "taste sensation" worthy of remembering.

I'm not sure if it is the smell of them, the texture, or the bitter flavour that I've endured in the past that make these cute little fellas so offputting.

There is no way that I could even bribe, cajole, coax, or trick (sneakily poke one under the mashed potato) my family into eating them....eeeeewwww. I've managed to successfully serve steamed zucchini to my husband, after 25 years, without having to listen to the barrage of "why eat this stuff? It's tasteless", but when I showed him the packet of adorable baby sprouts, he emphatically "drew the line in the sand" and shouted "I'm not eating them". He was like a 3 year old, and it visibly upset him that I was going to force him to eat his sprouts. So after a 30 minute heated "discussion" on the foods he disliked when I married him which he now eats, the sprouts were sitting on the bench, developing an even bigger inferiority complex than they had before.

So it was Brussels sprouts for one that night.

This is my entry for this Weekend's Herb Blogging event #94, hosted this week by the creator, Kalyn, from Kalyn's Kitchen.

I wanted to keep the flavour simple, and not mask it with bacon, or onion or some type of sauce. To maintain the bright green colour of the sprouts, boil in plenty of water with the lid off, for no more than 8 minutes. This is due to the fact that the chlorophyll in the vegetables react with acids in the cooking water (remember the dull almost opaque sprouts we had to endure as kids?), so lots of water dilutes the acids, and leaving the lid off while boiling allows the acids to disperse.

I simply served mine drizzled with extra virgin olive oil and crumbled feta cheese. I am now a member of the ever increasing "sprout convertee" list. If only I could overcome my loathing for offal!

Seafood and cheese? Don't tell Mario Batali

Apparently it is a cardinal sin to serve seafood with cheese. It's just not Italian. A big Italian no-no. Well, it's a good thing that this starter dish is inspired from Greece. No set rules for this one. The saltiness of the Greek Feta cheese enhances, rather than overpowers, the delicate flavour of the prawns. This dish can be cooked in individual gratin dishes, or as a whole, in a large shallow dish. The flavour was...WOW. The sauce mopped up with fresh crusty bread is so good, it should be bottled.

This is my entry for Weekend Herb Blogging, a wonderful event foundered by Kalyn and hosted this week by Anna from Anna's Cool Finds.

BAKED PRAWNS WITH GREEK FETA

500 gm shelled prawns, tails intact
50 ml extra virgin olive oil
2 tblsp lemon juice
2 cloves garlic, crushed
1 tsp finely chopped thyme
4-5 roma tomatoes, finely chopped
200 gm greek feta, crumbled
1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper
Method:
Combine olive oil, garlic, lemon juice and thyme and pour over prawns to marinate
Cover and refrigerate for 30 minutes
Pre-heat oven to as hot as it goes
Mix the remaining ingredients, sprinkle over prawns then divide into individual gratin dishes, or in one large shallow flat heatproof dish
Bake in the oven until sizzling
Serve immediately with lots of crusty bread.

Oraya!

Rare Kaffir Limes

In temperate parts of Australia, fruit on a Kaffir lime tree is very rare. Well I've got a rare one. My tree is currently sporting about 6 limes, although they are very small. They are suited best for tropical areas in the north of Australia, but I'm growing the tree for the delicious leaves it bears; the addition of fruit is an added bonus. I'll see how large they become, then use the gnarly zest for added zing.

The leaves, shaped like an "8", have a flavour similar to lemon verbena, and there is no substitute for fresh leaves. The dried and frozen leaves don't compare to the fragrance and flavour of fresh leaves.

This recipe only uses 8 kaffir lime leaves, so I still have about 19,992 leaves on my tree. Always a constant supply if I feel like an Asian dish for dinner.

This is my entry into this weeks Weekend Herb Blogging, hosted by The Chocolate Lady from In Mol Araan, for Weekend Herb Blogging.

Chickpea & Pea Fritters with Chicken Salad

155 g cooked peas

75 g plain flour

2 eggs, lightly beaten

2 tblsp milk

1 (300g) can of chickpeas, drained and rinsed

salt & pepper

1 tsp canola oil



Chicken Salad

8 kaffir lime leaves, roughly torn

375 ml of chicken stock

250 ml water

2 single (large) chicken breast fillets

1 tblsp sesame seeds

1/3 cup loosely packed coriander leaves, chopped coarsely

1/4 cup loosely packed mint, chopped coarsely

1 tblsp light soy sauce

1 tblsp lime juice

2 tsp sweet chili sauce

1/2 tsp sesame oil

Method:

1. Cook peas until just tender



2. Combine flour and egg in large bowl



3. Gradually stir in the milk



4. Add peas and chickpeas (I also added extra coriander to the fritter batter), salt and pepper



5. Set aside for 30 minutes to rest



6. Meanwhile make the chicken salad, combine the stock, water and lime leaves in a frying pan over medium heat



7. Add the chicken and simmer, turning occasionally until cooked through



8. Remove from heat



9. Transfer chicken to a heatproof bowl, aloong with 1 tblsp of the stock mixture



10. Chill for 30 minutes



11. Shred chicken



12. Toast sesame seed in a dry frying pan until toasted, about 2 minutes



13. Add to chicken with coriander, mint, soy sauce, lime juice, chili sauce and sesame oil



14. Gently toss to combine



15. Heat oil in frypan over medium heat



16. Pour 1/4 cup of batter into pan, making 4 fritters, and cook for 2 minutes or until golden underneath



17. Repeat to make 4 more fritters



18. Place 2 fritters on each plate and top with the chicken salad

SNAG curry

Now before you gasp in complete horror, I have not cooked up members of the Society of North America Goldsmiths, or for that matter a Sensitive New Age Guy. I'm talking about snags...the kind we throw on the barbie, wrap in sliced bread, and slather in tomato sauce. The Australian term for a sausage. Wikipedia explains it as: In Australia and New Zealand, a snag is a link sausage, a snarler, a British banger, a brat or a sausage.

Whilst I endeavour to occasionally make my own sausages, sometimes it's more convenient to purchase the "plastic" variety at the supermarkets. Tasteless, full of fat and whatever offal they can find to throw into them.

So, after making a decision this weekend to start using up the supplies I have in my freezer, in preference to choosing a dish, then going out to buy the ingredients for, I uncovered a tray of "snags", a very large tray. to boot. I couldn't bring myself to grill them or BBQ them, they had to be disguised in a big way.

These fellas were off to a masquerade party.

I didn't really follow any set recipe, but I'll try to recreate what I did in a roundabout way.

1.5 - 2 kg (approx) of beef sausages
1 onion, sliced in half rings
4 cloves of minced garlic (or to your taste)
Small piece of minced ginger (or one heaped teaspoon of preminced ginger from a jar)
1 heaped tsp coriander powder
1 tsp chilli powder (depends on your taste again)
1 heaped tsp turmeric
I heaped tsp of garam masala (I use a unique South African mix that my girlfriend has shipped over) but any garam masala would be OK.
1 440 gm tin of tomatoes
1 1/2 cups of beef stock
Splash of soy sauce
Coriander leaves for garnish.

Boil the sausages in a large pot of water for 7-8 minutes (you could add the turmeric to the water if you wish, I added it later)

Drain and keep aside.

Fry onion till golden brown, add tin of tomatoes and cook for about 4-5 minutes, then add garlic and ginger.

In a large pot fry off your spices (coriander, chilli, garam masala and turmeric if you haven't already added it to the water for boiling the snags in)

Slice up your sausages into 1/2 inch pieces, and add to spices, stirring to coat. Add the tomato and onion mixture and mix well.

Add the beef stock and let simmer for about 10 minutes until the sausages are cooked through.

Finally add a splash of soy sauce and season with salt and pepper (do a taste test, it may not need any)

Serve on a bed of mashed potato and sprinkle with finely sliced corrander leaves

Chicken Basil Pesto Pasta

Presto Pasta Night, an event organised by Ruth at Once Upon a Feast, is turning 21 this coming Friday, so I just had to come to the party with Chicken Basil Pesto Pasta, and to congratulate PPN on reaching its majority.

This is one of the easiest weeknight meals to make, as with a lot of pasta dishes, but it is also a family favourite.

Freshly made basil pesto is best, but my supply from the freezer sadly ran out ages ago, so I'm using a storebought one. I'm going to plant twice as many basil plants this year, if the rainfall we're having now lasts until the summer. It's bucketing outside, but we are still on water restrictions until our reservoirs and water catchments start to get back to an acceptable level.

Jorja likes her variety just plain without any salad, as shown above.

I, however, like mine with slightly more upmarket, topped with tomato and avocado.


1 kg chicken thighs, trimmed of fat, and sliced into small chunks

2 cloves of minced garlic (or to taste)
3-4 tblsp basil pesto (or to taste)
500 mls thickened cream
olive oil
Dried pasta
Freshly grated parmesan

Bring plenty of salted water to the boil. Add pasta and whilst that is cooking, brown chicken in oil until golden (you may have to do this in batches to stop it from stewing)
Add garlic and fry for 1-2 minutes
Add pesto and fry for 1-2 minutes
Add the thickened cream, and simmer gently, don't let it boil
Add a good handful of the grated parmesan

Drain cooked pasta and add to the chicken mix. Serve topped with additional grated parmesan, and/or tomato and advocado. Pepper to taste.

I'm livin' in the 70's

Skyhooks, Village People, Abba, flares, bad hair styles and smoked trout pate...welcome to the 1970's Mr. Power.

When my next door neighbour offered me two trout from his freezer, I jumped at the chance and accepted willingly. I knew he would expect me to make trout pate out of them, hoping that I would repay his kindness with a tub of pate placed in his fridge for him to find after yet another weekend of trout fishing.

This specimen thawing on the bench is a brown trout. Don't you just dig his polka dot jacket? The smaller version was a rainbow trout, not as snappy a dresser as the spotty brown, I must say.

Out with the smoker (that's my BH's job) and he chose some Australian Redgum sawdust for the smoke "flavour".

Thirty minutes later and they're all done.

All up, I flaked approximately 700 gms of pink, juicy flesh from these guys.

I sorta followed this recipe from here but adjusted the ratio of ingredients to match my 700 gms of trout. I didn't add all of the butter as stated, only 250 gms, because I was going to use gelatine to set the pate into my mould, which has been sitting in the cupboard since the '80s at least (the mould that is, not the gelatine). I used dried dill rather than fresh (because I didn't have any), and used a combo of horseradish cream and a horseradish dip, which had quite a variety of different mustards incorporated. I also used a whole tub of creme fraiche...naughty.

And after great difficulty getting this fish onto the plate (I'm sure every fisherman can relate to that statement), here is the final, albeit scraggy around the edges, result.

Well crazy cats, I'm blowin' this scene and chowin' out. Time to eat.

What does this photo tell you?

Two things. It's bloody cold here this morning (sub zero), and I really need to prune my roses today.

The Pizza Palace

Whilst on a recent short break to Perth, I was lucky enough to chose an apartment in East Fremantle that was renowned for having the best wood fired pizzas in Perth, and only a short stroll from my front door.

Their menu consisted of chicken marinated in garlic, honey, soy & chilli, tossed sesame seeds, mature cheddar, shallots and chives. Or you could try chilli coconut prawns, served with fresh rocket. Or even calzone filled with ricotta, mushroom, spinach and basil - chef's recommendation is to add chicken, pepperoni or pumpkin. Just to name a few. There are over 20 mouth watering pizzas to chose from. You can find these guys at 133 George St East Fremantle WA. Remember Fremantle was where the Aussies "stole" the coveted Americas Cup with their controversial "winged keel" back in 1983. An event we can never forget, simply because the Cup hasn't been back since!

The girls opted for the chicken of course, but I preferred something a little more grown up if this Pizza Palace was as good as people told me.

I chose the Smoked salmon, capers, red onion, avocado and topped with fresh rocket and sour cream.

My copycat creation doesn't look quite the same, but the flavour was very similar.

Ready for the oven.

Where is that food stylist and professional photographer when you need them?

This is my entry for this Weekend Herb Blogging event, hosted by Susan at Food Blogga. Check out the size of that lobster on her blog! I'm green with envy

When the moon hits your eye

Like a big pizza pie ...you know how it goes. This pizza "pie" was dinner one night during the week. Normally I wouldn't have time to make the dough and wait for it to rise, but this recipe from The Fresh Loaf really caught my attention. Anything with the word ciabatta attached, and I'm hooked immediately.

I've made many loaves of ciabatta, but none in less than 2 hours. This method is a cinch. If you look at the link, it has a picture tutorial, showing step by step photos.

I used a 9" cast iron frying pan to cook this pie in. WARNING Don't bring the pan out of a 450 degree oven, with a tea towel. I have the 3rd degree burn on the palm of my hand as proof of what not to do.

Top your pie with any ingredient you have on hand or desire. I chose sopressa salami, oven roasted capsicums, semi sundried tomatoes, the leftovers from a jar of marinated champignons, basil, mozarella and freshly grated parmesan cheese.

The crust was beautiful and light, chewy as well. I normally like a thin crust pizza, but for a pleasant change I'll be using this recipe frequently.

I just have to remember to use steel plated gloves to get the pan out of the oven next time.



Now that's amore.

Unseasonal Insalata Caprese

It's winter time. The time for casseroles, roasts and hot steamy soups. Why on earth would I crave a summer salad you may ask? The Black Russians made me do it. I picked these up at the local growers market last weekend, and was ensured by the vendor that they will be the best tomatoes I will ever eat. Whilst they don't compare with home grown tomatoes plucked straight from the vine, I can vouch that they are good. Even to find a decent tasting tomato in July is an added bonus. They don't contain acid, which is great for those who suffer from gout. They definitely are sweet, but with a salt and peppery kind of flavour.

The vendor told me about a prior customer, who had obviously just had a tiff with her husband. She asked the lady if she would like to try a Black Russian, and her response was "No thank you. I'm sick of men"!!

My all time flavour combo favourite is tomatoes, baby mozarella, basil and EVOO. I could eat my way through a barrel of Insalata Caprese. So this is my entry for Kalyn's Kitchen Weekend Herb Blogging, hosted this week by Chris from Mele Cotte.

No need to post a recipe. Just layer the tomatoes, mozzarella (I only had baby mozarella so I tore it into pieces) and poke torn basil in between. Drizzle with extra virgin olive oil and freshly ground black pepper. Buono appetito.

What's for dinner Jorj?

Parenting certainly has it's ups and downs, and with teenagers, there can be more of the latter than the former. However, when something finally happens that makes you proud, the downs are somewhat insignificant. After all of the nurturing and caring for them over their growing up years, the roles are starting to reverse at last, and now I can say "what's for dinner?" the moment I wake up each morning.

When my girls were growing up, cooking never interested them. I wasn't one for "baking" as such, although they often requested Anzac biscuits, only so they could eat the raw dough before it was put in the oven.

Last night, my youngest daughter, at the ripe old age of 18, insisted on cooking dinner. As we all know, the cooking part is enjoyable, watching a bunch of raw ingredients simmer into something edible. It's the preparation and the clean up that become a chore.

Jorj leans to the vegetarian side of eating, not enjoying red meat, but can eat anything with chicken and pasta in it. So the recipe was chosen, and she "created" a vegetarian pasta bake, made with wholemeal pasta, carrots, leeks, celery, basil and tomatoes. Chicken was omitted because I didn't have any!

Her chopping technique needs a bit of practice, and her cleaning up routine needs a LOT of practice, but the pasta bake was delicious. Now if only I can encourage her to take one more step on the path of domestication, and get her to "clean up her room". My job as a parent would be complete then.