what the fetta did next (spinach and fetta linguine)

you know that marinated fetta I take to everything? you know, the one I gave my secret away and told you how easy and cheap it is to make?

I promised it was handy to always have a container marinating away in the fridge, and here is proof, in case you doubted me.

Linguine with Spinach and Marinated Fetta

cook pasta to al dente, drain and stir through a bunch of washed and chopped fresh english spinach, stalks and all (if using silverbeet, you’ll probably need to blanch/steam/saute it first as it’s quite a bit tougher, especially the white stalks), a good few spoonfuls of the marinated fetta including some oil/lemon/spice marinade.

Yep, that’s it. dinner in 11 minutes. It’s pre-seasoned: spices and lemon, saltiness from fetta, and the fetta melts a bit on the hot pasta and combines with it’s marinade to make a lush but light sauce coating the pasta. If you wanna get fancy add some toasted pinenuts or even some grilled chicken or fish for added proteins.

Or just eat it. the only problem is having any marinated fetta last long enough to make it to the pasta. Better make a double batch.

lamingtons, 100’s of baby mini lamingtons!

Can you believe I made 2 batches of lamingtons within the space of a couple of weeks? did I loose my marbles somewhere? cos those things are bloody fiddly!

I made the first batch (really mini ones) for the going away bbq of our German neighbours, as they’d been in Oz 4.5 years and NOT HAD LAMINGTONS. that is like, a national crime! then I took a couple of ‘reject’ lamingtons over to Andy and Bob’s and left Bob’s in the fridge for her, and when she ate it she txted me and demanded suggested I make them for the bbq they were throwing that Friday. And no-one can resist the powers of a Dragon-Bob, so I did!

ahem, these photos are from the German batch, I made bigger ones for the A&B bbq, because seriously, it takes some patience to spend several hours making 70+ bloody mini lammingtons.

anyway, it being ANZAC Day today (and me not really being a huge fan on the ANZAC biscuit), this is a very fittingly trans-patriotic dish to post today. I think it’s also fitting that I made them for The Germans; ANZAC Day IS supposed to be a *war: never again* statement day, and what else says *never again* like eating a sugary snack together?

Lamintons (recipe from my WILLOW Country Bake Lamington Tray - only a few bucks at woolies! score!)

CAKE
125g butter

2/3 cup sugar

2 eggs

2 cups self raising flour

1/2 tsp salt

1/3 cup milk (approx)

1/2 tsp vanilla essence

cream butter and sugar until fluffy, add vanilla, eggs, beating well. add sifted flour and salt alternately with milk, adding more milk if needed, to form ’soft dropping’ consistency. Spread evenly in a 31×25cm shallow/sheet cake tin/pan. bake for 25-35 mins @ 180 degrees C until done. cool. leave overnight to stale up a bit if you are freakishly organised and don’t need them finished, like, today.

LAMINGTON ASSEMBLY

1. cut the cooled cake into lamington size/s of your choice, halve each into two even layers and carefully spread jam and double cream (must be quite thick cream) - I found it easiest to spread one side with jam and the other with cream and then sandwich them together. (NB. you can skip this step altogether and having boring unfilled lamingtons, you know, if you really want.)

2. make a medium consistency chocolate icing (butter, icing sugar, cocoa, hot water) - it needs to be liquid enough to soak into the cake reasonably quickly, but not too much or the cake will fall apart, and thick enough to set quickly once covered in coconut. you’ll probably need to experiment a bit. and eat any rejects. I also added more hot water as I went along, cos it dried and got a bit thick.

3. set up an assembly line of 1) filled nude cakes 2) bowl of icing 3) plate of dessicated coconut 4) clean plate to hold finished product.

4. dip nude cakes in icing (a spoon helps to quickly cover all sides without soaking the cake too much), let the excess icing drip off (I found 2 forks worked well, but don’t stab your cakes, they’ll disintegrate), roll quickly in coconut, gently pressing coconut into all sides, then place on plate. as you fill up plates, put them into the fridge, it helps the icing set quicker.

5. Present a plate towering with handmade Aussie treats, and make friends for life (even though you would rather stab out your own eyes than go through this fiddly nightmare again, and your friends will have to wait months if not years before this culinary feat is reproduced. But they will remember, and hold out!)

A couple of notes:

yes, your cake will fall apart at some point, just cuss as loudly as you can and move on. Beware especially of over-soaking the cake in icing, and not being gentle enough when filling with jam and cream. But hey, look on the bright side - more rejects!

Don’t eat too many rejects. you will be very seriously ill, and possibly never ever make, let alone eat lamingtons again because the mere thought of them makes you nauseous and in danger of falling into a spontaneous sugar coma. Men or children (or child-men) to help with the rejects is a very good idea.

It is also perfectly acceptable to make unfilled lamingtons (plain cake square covered in icing and coconut) and then at some point close to eating time, cut and fill with some jam and whipped cream, like they have here. I have certainly done it before. I just really do love the surprise people get when it’s actually secretly a filled lamington, and they didn’t even know! but seriously, it does add to the fiddlyness, so that is an option.

tagliatelle with walnut-basil pesto

I have finally transfered a bunch of photos from tom’s computer/camera to my laptop, so I can fill in some puku blanks.

Here is the walnut pesto I alluded to when I posted my almost perfect walnut cracking, complete with homemade tagliatelle! This was my second round with the pasta roller I got for my birthday (thanks Rob!!) and I’m really enjoying the process (in fact, there is a big ABCD ravioli-off post coming soon!).

For the pasta I think I followed Jamie Oliver’s recipe. The pesto was simply a bunch of walnuts, a handful of basil and a grating of parmigiana, blitzed in the food processor with a bit of seasoning and some olive oil and zest/a squeeze of lemon, and I tossed it all together with some pan-fried mushies and brocolli and a few handfuls of rocket. simple! I really like walnuts, especially in something like this for a change - a bit more bitter/earthy than a pinenut or cashew.

Shout outs to Alex, who was staying with us when I made this - Hi! it was great seeing you and having a week of vege-love and pretentious yoga on the beach!

coleslaw with yogurt dressing

Some yummy coleslaw with yogurt dressing instead of mayonnaise-y dressing. feels so much healthier! Not that I have any problems with mayonnaise, but I have been completely obsessed with plain greek yogurt recently, eating kilos and kilos of it, and this was just one of the yogurt incarnations. you know, when I wasn’t spooning it straight from the tub at the open fridge.

Coleslaw ingredients included: sliced red cabbage, chopped celery - stalks AND leaves, julienned carrot, finely diced onion.. that’s about it.

Yogurt dressing was: a big splodge of greek style plain yogurt, a splosh of white vinegar, salt, pepper. that’s totally it.

Simple, colourful and delicious.

Marinated Fetta

Marinated fetta is my no-brainer go-to thing to make when I need to provide something tasty for nibbling. It looks a bit delicious, impressive and expensive, and yet it couldn’t be simpler to chuck together, either days or minutes before needed.

I hate to call this a recipe, but I get asked for it frequently, so here it is, with some attempt at quantities!

Marinated Fetta

Cut 2 blocks of fetta (a soft Danish style, as pictured, is nice, but so is a firmer Aussie one, even low fat!) into manageable cubes. In a saucepan, gently warm around 1/2 cup nice olive oil add 4-6 garlic cloves, roughly crushed, and 1-2 tbs of panch phora and take off the heat. Alternatively you can put them in a deep tupperware container and chuck in the microwave for a couple of 10 sec bursts - basically, warm until garlic is fragrant, but not coloured or crisped in the slightest. Add 1-2 tsp sumac, maybe 1/2 tsp paprika, a grinding of black pepper and several large peels of lemon zest (peeled off the side with a knife or vege peeler, not zested off).

In a deep tupperware container (I use the smallest REDA lidded mixing bowl, which is perfect), place the cubes of fetta, pour the oil mix over, then squeeze in the juice of 1/2 a lemon. Put the lid on the container, and GENTLY turn the bowl to move the liquid around the fetta, NO SHAKING!!! just gently turning it around.

Place in fridge until needed, it will store for days - reportedly weeks, but it certainly doesn’t go uneaten that long! delicious eaten with crackers and pesto, on bread, in frittata, stirred through pasta (liquid and all=instant sauce), in muffins, or.. straight out of the container, oh, about 3 minutes after you’ve made it and put it in the fridge.

g’day Dhal!

When I first arrived in Australia - NINE YEARS ago last Saturday! - I spent time in the lovely, sometimes sleepy, somewhat provincial Port Stephens (a small coastal resort towns north of Sydney). When I went to the local bowling club and RSL for beers with mates, and in shops, my money was taken with a hearty “thanks Dhal!” by the lovely Aussie ladies (of all ages, I have had this from 9 to 90 year olds).

It took me months to work out that they were not in fact calling me “Doll” (which I did think was a little weird, but then many things seemed a little weird) but saying “Darl’ ” - the ubiquitous oz-abbreviation of Darling, of course. If you are Aussie you are now shaking your head and saying “der!”, if you are not Aussie, and would like to see just what I’m talking about, see The Castle.

Anyway, in commemoration of my 9th year in Australia (I’m naturalised, too!), here is some Dhal, with a heart shaped dollop of yogurt on top.

I was re-inspired about dhal when I chanced on Peter Singer cooking it on on Talking Heads, but I don’t usually add coconut cream, because I find pulses get creamy enough on their own, thank you.

and, I’m a ‘chuck it all in at once’ kind of girl, but, you know, feel free to follow Peter if you think his version is better, but here’s mine:

In a pot or deep frying pan saute a chopped onion and several crushed/chopped garlic cloves in a little oil over a medium heat. Add spices - ground cumin, a little cinnamon, a couple of bay leaves, some panch phora. think Indian, earthy. Add red lentils, maybe 1 cup. Add quite a bit of water (maybe twice the measure of the lentils), to well cover the lentils. while that is coming up to temperature, roughly dice a few tomatoes and toss into the pan.

Stir, lower heat and keep an eye on it, as the lentils can dry out and goddamn, burnt lentils are hard to get off the bottom of the pot. add water as needed, they’ll take around 20 mins, and are ready when the lentils have melted into a sludge and the consistency is to your liking - add water or continue cooking to reach the level ’sloppyness’ you prefer - at which point you can add chopped spinach, chopped fresh coriander, as these don’t require more than a heating through. Serve as part of a curry smörgåsbord (yep, getting really transnational now!) or with rice, a splodge of yogurt, a sprinkling of coriander leaves and some flatbread. Or forget all those accompaniments, just get a bowlful of lentil hit, but the yogurt is still strongly recommended. This will provide 2 large main meal servings.

This is also a ridiculously cheap meal. A kilo of red lentils should set you back maybe $3-4 tops. you use maybe 20c worth of lentils for 2 people (admittedly I have not worked this out this is a blatant guesstimate), plus whatever an onion and some garlic cost, and you can buy the squishy on-sale tomatoes, as they’re being cooked down.

SO CHEAP!!!! I am also adding a new ‘cheap eats!!’ category to the puku, in honour of this 50c meal, and in the spirit of being a poor student/saving money for fun things. more *so cheap!!* meals to come! xxx

lemon and honey drink

do you have a homemade cold and flu remedy? did your mum make you lemon and honey drinks when you were a kid?

I got the late summer death flu that seems to be going around everywhere, and spent 3 days in a fever-coma in bed, then drugged myself stupid with cold and flu meds for the first week of honours classes at uni. I’m sure I made a good first impression staring blankly with my mouth hanging open, wheezing and leaking mucus out my nose.

Consequently I have been living on mostly yogurt, lentils and flatbreads. none of this was particularly photogenic. I craved and made tzatziki over and over and over, and ate maybe 2 kg yogurt in a week. Just yogurt, garlic, salt, cucumber. I ate lentils in soup and dahl form, and ate flatbread with beans, herbs, carrot and yogurt in some variation several times. a few other meals in the mix, but that was pretty much it…

and the lemon and honey drinks. just like mama used to make.

My Lemon and Honey Drink Recipe

squeeze the juice of 1 lemon into a mug, add ~2 large teaspoons of natural pure honey (manuka is preferable, but goddamn, it’s like $9 for 400gs here!), then add boiled water to fill cup. stir and drink while huddled under blanket (in front of roaring fire is preferable). repeat until well!

this makes a very strong tasting drink, because I like feeling the lemony acid soothing my raw throat, and when I have a flu I can’t taste much. if it’s too strong for you, add more honey, or just squeeze half the lemon and use the other half for your friend’s drink or for yours, later. der.

if you are REALLY sick, like on the verge of death, add a chunk of fresh ginger, and a small, bruised but not crushed clove of fresh garlic.

aaaah, that’s better!

note: the tall glass is for visual effect only; when ill, I advise sticking with favourite large ugly mug with handle.

This is my entry in this week’s Weekend Herb Blogging, being kindly hosted by Kel over at Green Olive Tree (a really lovely blog!). so, Lemon… yeah, everyone knows about lemon, right. a great WHB topic eh? but wait…. why are lemons so good for the flu then?

According to this website, both honey and lemon are ancient and well recognised cold and flu cures. they say: honey, because it promotes mucus flow, and lemon because of it’s acidity, which makes your delicate and infection-prone mucus membranes taste bad to the bacteria and viruses! also the natural oils are antibacterial, antiviral and antifungal, and also promote mucus flow.

Check out this wacky webpage which claims colds and flus are caught via the middle ear and lemons are alkaline and balance an overly acidic, and therefore sick, body! man, the things you find on the internets! but here is another site extolling the many benefits of lemons for health and wellbeing, and they also mention some alkalinisation powers of lemons, so who knows… (we do know they are most definitely acid - ph of 2-3, not alkaline!)

Anyway, lemons, of course, have a ton if vitamin C, which is a great immune / healing vitamin, especially in conjunction with zinc (I took supplements of both to speed up the recovery). and here is the ubiquitous wiki link, which actually does have some interesting, though non-flu related, info if you’re feeling keen on lemons now! whichever way you want to look at it, a steaming cup of lemon and honey is, at the very least, definitely going to make you feel soothed and comforted when you’re sick, so give it a go!

and while we’re on lemons, don’t they have the most beautiful little blossoms? I think citrus blossom scent has to be one of my absolute favourite smells. gorgeous!

cracking the nut

I was cracking the last of my bag of Bright walnuts for a pesto the other day, and as anyone who has cracked a pile of nuts before knows, it can get a bit meditative. I like to start trying to crack my walnuts so to leave the nutmeat whole, which believe me, is delicate work! Well, as delicate as possible with a hammer and a bloody hard shell to remove. It is pretty rare to get them out, so here is evidence of a (mostly) successful attempt!

In the spirit of disclosure, I have put the missing lobe section at the front, I hope that wasn’t the lobe responsible for deliciousness!

The pesto and accompanied handmade pappardelle coming soon! (when Tom downloads the pix from the Nikon)

Spinach and Fetta Rolls

theme song for today’s post: (click the link to listen) AC/DC : It’s a Long Way to the Shop if You Want a Spinach Roll.

Whaddaya mean, those aren’t the words? ok, you’re right, it should be sausage roll, it’s true. But today this version is very apt, because the inspiration for making spinach and fetta rolls came from the amazing ones we ate at the Beechworth Bakery in North Eastern Victoria. Which really is a long way to the shop - about 7 hours drive!

We stopped in at Beechworth on the car convoy back from our summer holiday in Bright, Victoria, having read about Beechworth Bakery in Australian Gourmet Traveller. Some of us may have been feeling a little under the weather (look, there are a lot of wineries in that part of Victoria, OK?) and the delicious spinach and fetta roll perked me right up. It was, even through the hangover, the absolute best spinach and fetta roll I have ever eaten (and as a former vego, I have eaten plenty!). They sold out, and I waited until the next batch came out of the oven and brought another one for the car (the car didn’t want it, so I ate it. boom-tish!). So not surprisingly, I was keen to try and recreate them a bit closer to home.

I used the cheater’s puff pastry recipe I found over at the lovely Cook & Eat. Cheat sounds like my kind of puff pastry. And it is SO easy.

the filling: crushed garlic, finely chopped onion, sauted, then chopped English spinach added to the pan just to wilt. Into a bowl, then add crumbled fetta, some cottage cheese, salt, pepper, nutmeg. This mixture was quite sticky, so I didn’t add egg, but one could.

Roll pastry into longish strips, fill, roll pastry around filling, with sealside ending up down, and cut into portions. I gave the tops of the rolls a milk wash, and sprinkled with sesame seeds. I made small rolls, and baked for ~25 mins @ ~180 degrees C.

The pastry was lovely and flakey, and the filling was tasty, but to be honest these were no comparison to the Beechworth Bakery’s ones. I’ll try making them again, but if you’re ever in Beechworth, I recommend the spinach and fetta rolls, hangover or no!

WBB - a healthy eats breakfast

I love breakfast.. well, I love going out for breakfast and lounging with coffees and friends and the paper and, admittedly, pork products. I’m less keen on the cereal-before-trudging-to-work-early-in-the-morning kind of breakfast, though I do try, because it is a Good Habit.

Because I am currently not doing any trudging to work in the morning or at any time, my breaking of fast is a little haphazard. If I’m going to the gym early, I might have some fruit first, then come home and be starving and eat lunch early, but if I’m going to the gym late, I slip into old Bad Habits, and don’t eat until 11am or even well past ‘lunchtime’. Bad Habit!

Here is a morning feast from the other day, that was easy to put together, with minimal dishes, not too full on either in the kitchen or in the puku (tummy), but tasty enough to motivate actually cooking and eating, while also being really very healthy, and looking kind of substantial, in a lazy weekend kind of way.

I can’t think of where it was, but I must have heard/read about some sort of middle easterny influenced egg breakfast recently, which niggled in the back of my head when I was looking for inspiration in the morning. I have no idea if there is any resemblance to the original, apart from the cumin/chilli/paprika and egg combo, but if I remember or find it again I will reference back to it to see.

in the meantime, this is so bloody simple, but really quite delicious and light.

Spiced Egg with Hummus on Toast

In a non-stick frying pan, crack as many eggs per person as each person wishes to eat, and sprinkle liberally with ground cumin, paprika, chilli flakes, cayenne, salt, pepper, sesame seeds (or of course, anything else really, as your tastebuds/pantry dictate). toast your bread of choice - mine was a thickly slice of poppyseed vienna loaf, and I toasted it over the bare flame, because our toaster is broken, and I couldn’t be assed turning on the grill for one piece of toast. It imparted a lovely smokey flavour in fact. Spread said toast liberally with hummus, place eggs (cooked to your liking) on top. eat.

In the photo, it does not appear to be a very liberal sprinkling of spices, and I think it could have managed a bit more kick, but it was really very tasty. This would make a very easy breakky to serve a large-ish group, especially as the chilli kick will ensure your guests are not turned off, if their eggs are less than piping hot when they get to the plate. Not that I’m saying you will serve them cold eggs (I’m sure you wouldn’t!), but chilli does trick the brain a bit on temperature, so you won’t be stressing as the plates go out.

I am putting this forward as my first entry for Weekend Breakfast Blogging, which is hosted for February by Tasty Palettes. WBB is focusing on healthy breakkies this month, and this gives a great protein boost via the egg and the hummus, was cooked without oil, and could further be improved by a nice wholegrain bread, so it really is a healthy eat!