food & drink: rocket pesto

Last year I planted a whole lot of rocket.  In the warmer months, it went to seed and when I finally got around to it, I whipped the plants out and composted them. This year I planted more, unawares that below the soil lurked a hidden stockpile!  The rocket self-seeded and has sprout all over my garden. We used a bit in salads and yummy quesadillas but it didn't make much of a dent to the crop.  I was keen to make more use of it so I began searching for a recipe for rocket pesto.  I followed the recipe initially but finding it had more bite to it then I intended, as my rocket was quite old (and peppery), I modified it.

Here is my tasty recipe for rocket pesto.  It's particularly good for old, peppery rocket. 

Ingredients
1 cup rocket
3/4 cup pine nuts
1/2 cup parsley 
as much oil as you like - I use only enough to make it spreadable but others like it a bit oilier

Method 
Blend!

Yum yum!  I use a teeny tiny bit on ham or salami for a tasty sandwhich.  You could also use it as a pizza base. 

food & drink: spaghetti, pine mushrooms and bacon

My mum disappered on a day trip last weekend to Creswick, a small town a bit over 100 kilometres north of Melbourne.  There a friend of hers took her mushroom picking, armed with a knowledge of what was good and what was bad from a mushroom picking course she had taken.  Mum returned with a basketful of pine mushrooms, some of which she kindly donated to us.

Late one evening, after an exhausting day, we decided to try out the pine mushrooms and a simple spagetti dish.  We melted a huge chunk of butter, added a small packet of bacon, about 6 or 7 pine mushrooms (sliced) and, when the pasta was cooked, stirred it through with some of the leftover pasta water, parmesan cheese and fresh parsley from the garden.  Delicious!

ideas and inspirations: dumpling day!

ugh.  making dumplings, as yummy as they are, is often a real chore.  Last time my partner and I made them we were almost cross-eyed by the end of the adventure.

I've been tossing up an idea for a little while as to whether making it a family and friends adventure might make the chore a bit more fun and this week I put it into practice, inviting family and friends over for dumpling day!  

The set up was pretty basic, I sent everyone a couple of different recipes I'd sourced off the web (including my one, available here).  They brought along the major ingredients, a mixing bowl and containers to store the prepared dumplings in and I provided some of the ingredients that aren't worth buying for a single use (shaoxing wine, soy sauce, etc.) and some banana cake (for energy).

It was a fantastic success!  Between five of us, we made about 250 dumplings of three different types.  I made my chicken mince dumplings, my soon-to-be sister-in-law made a chicken and pork mixture and my mother, always different, made prawn.  The whole thing kept us busy for most of the afternoon but it was NOwhere near as tedious as previous adventures.  And to show for it, I have about 100 of my own dumplings, plus some of everyone else's to sample!

We're thinking about making it a regular adventure - my soon-to-be sister-in-law has a great recipe for chicken filo parcels that I'd love to learn.

in the garden: watching things grow!

ugh. it's been a tough couple of weeks, trying to stay motivated.  but today I found the best motivation when I ventured out to take a look at how the garden's going.  it's thriving!  The brussel sprouts are growing strongly

I have long broad bean shoots, 

my cauliflowers are growing strongly in their protective containers 

and the carrots have finally sprouted.  They always seem to sprout a couple of days after I give up hope.

to celebrate, i planted some more seeds: some rocket, lettuce, bok choy and spinach.


however, to keep my motivation up, I've decided to make a list of all the things I want to accomplish in the next couple of weeks. here goes:

• mint icecream - just got to save the mint from the caterpillars
• dried marjoram to give away
• something with my lemon thyme
• nut brown sage butter - I had some at a restaurant and it was DELICIOUS!
• chicken stock
• plant more seedlings
• ginger beer
• some more lemonade / limeade
• something with my lemon verbena
• a family and friends day making dumplings - i've had a bit of interest and i think it would provide some inspiration as somethings making dumplings can get a little boring!

ideas and inspirations: in my freezer

I was at the hairdresser last night and, whilst discussing what we were having for dinner (I was having my home made dumplings) we got onto a discussion on what was in our freezers.  

In my freezer I've got spaghetti bolognaise, fish stock, dumplings and lots and lots of meat (I tend to buy in bulk - the butchers at the Victoria Markets often do special deals for 2kg lots).

I found it fascinating what she had in her freezer and I got lots of ideas for new projects.  She had dumplings too (she has a great trick for making sure they don't freezer together - she freezes them in individual layers first and then puts them in their containers - she reckons you can separate the individual layers with gladwrap).  She also had schnitzels that she'd made herself, cake, bread, almond meal, basil (in ice cubes) and ice cream. It gave me lots of ideas.  I'd love to freeze herbs and to make more stuff from scratch.

food & drink: fish stock

I got very excited last night and made ... 3 litres of fish stock.  I had an old snapper carcass stored in the freezer from a previous meal and we bought another whole snapper which we had for dinner on Monday night.  

Last night, I decided to make the most of both carcasses and made some stock.  It was much easier than I thought.  After consulting a couple of recipe books, I removed the eyes and gills, broke up the carcasses, put them in a big stock pot, covered them with cold water, put the lid on and turned the stove on to a low heat.  Once the water boiled, I took the lid off, turned the heat down and let it simmer for 20 minutes. 


After 20 minutes, I turned the heat off, strained the stock through a sieve with a chux in it, to make sure I got the last of the bones and poured the stock into 125ml (1/4 cup) containers.  

Once the containers had cooled, I stuck them in the freezer.


I made just under 3 litres of stock from 3 litres of water and two snapper carcasses.  Both carcasses were originally 1kg fish, before they were gutted and eaten.  

The first recipe I'm planning on using the fish stock for a prawn and saffron risotto recipe I found. I can't wait!!

harvesting rosemary and bay leaves: drying

Some very lovely friends came to dinner the other night and brought with them a gorgeous gift: fresh rosemary and bay leaves.  I was thrilled and immediately started pondering all the possible things I could cook with them.  In the meantime though, I'm going to dry them both.  Some more googling has revealed that, like marjoram, bay leaves acquire more flavour as they dry.  So up they went onto the wall, to replace the marjoram that's been bottled up.

The rosemary, I made into a new flower arrangement.  Apparently although rosemary can be dried, it's better in its fresh form.  I'll ponder over the next couple of days what to use it for!

harvesting my marjoram: an update

It's time to pack my marjoram away as it's dry!  It only took a bit over a week and it turns out the results of my googling are correct, it smells even stronger dry.  I've bottled it up in an old herb container and I can't wait to cook with it!  

in the garden: the greenhouse effect

It didn't take long!  It was only last saturday that we got back into the garden and planted out a range of new vegies to celebrate the onset of april and the colder, more autumny weather when good things grow.  

Many have already started to sprout and some are growing with great vigour. I think it's the greenhouse effect ... or my version of the greenhouse effect.  We got a little creative, building custom-made shelters to provide the seedlings with protection from the elements and extra warmth and moisture to help them grow.

Indoors, we sowed cauliflower and broccoli, covered the pots with glad-wrap and watered them daily.  As soon as the seeds sprouted, we removed the glad-wrap and moved them outside to get the sunlight they need to grow nice and strong.


Outdoors, my partner constructed what can only be described as the most creative use of newspaper wrap which she stuck together to form a greenhouse enclosure for our carrot, onion and garlic seedlings.  Carrots in particular like to be kept damp before they will sprout.

And now look!  We've got an overabundance of cauliflower and broccoli seedlings which we've moved outside to allow to grow even more before we transplant them into the garden.

and the garlic is already starting to shoot strongly. 

In the other beds, the first broad bean and snow pea shoots are beginning to show and the brussel sprouts are growing strongly, protected from the bugs that plagued us last year by soft drink containers. 

broad bean or snow pea shoots - not sure which at this stage!

brussel sprouts

the taste test: limeade

Finally got the chance to taste test the limeade on Saturday!  And it was good!  There were some complaints from some members of the testing audience that it needed a bit more sugar but I was happy (I like mine a bit bitter).  However, I'll consider some more sugar next time.

the taste test: jiaozi (Chinese dumplings)

Finally, the taste test!  We ate some of our dumplings last night and they were delicious.  They got a bit mangled in the pot as they stuck together a bit (think I needed to put more flour between the layers) but they were yum.  However, I think next time I'm going to go with less Chinese cabbage and more ginger, for extra flavour! 

food & drink: limeade and lemonade

Late last year I planted a lime tree in a pot.  The plant is doing very well, with lots of new shoots.  

However, I expect it will be at least another season before I get some fruit.  I've decided it would be helpful to practice for a possible fruit glut and settled on limeade as my first tester.

On Wednesday I came home from work tired, cranky and with a headache.  After reading an article in the paper this morning about distraction being the best form of pain management, I decided to experiment with a non-chemical form of relief and make some limeade.  it didn't totally eradicate the headache but certainly helped!

Here's my limeade concentrate recipe.  The recipe can also be used with lemons. 

Ingredients
equal parts lime juice, boiling water and sugar


Method

1. peel the outside of the limes and slice the peel thinly
2. juice the limes
3. combine lime juice, lime peel, sugar and boiling water
4. stir until sugar dissolves
5. leave to cool 
6. strain into bottles (I use glass soft-drink bottles which I wash in the dishwasher immediately before using)
7. to serve, mix limeade concentrate with water or soda water - I used around 1 part limeade to 3 parts water or soda water for a strong lime flavour or around 1 part limeade to 7 parts water or soda water for a milder flavour) 

ideas and inspirations: an easter bounty

Isn't this such a great idea? 

My soon to be sister-in-law made our easter gifts this year. Unfortunately we ate quite a few before this photo was taken so you don't get to see the full fruits of her labour: chocolate easter bunnies with pieces of rocky road and cherry ripe; truffles and chocolate biscuits.  I'm in heaven!  Not only did they taste better than the store bought variety but they felt extra special too, knowing she'd made them herself. I know what I'd like to give everyone next easter! 

harvesting my marjoram: dried marjoram

Today I ventured back out into the garden, this time in search of marjoram. I planted my marjoram plant about a year ago and it has grown strongly since; so strongly it's threatening to take over the herb bed.  I've decided the time has come to do something about it.

my marjoram plant

After some serious googling, I've decided that the best idea is to dry some for later use.  Apparently marjoram, unlike other herbs, improves in flavour as it's dried. It can be used in most recipes where oregano is used, including my favourite - pasta sauce. 

To prepare my marjoram for drying, I chopped some large sprigs, washed and dried them, removed any bugs (I found a few caterpillars ... I'll have to go and explore the rest of the plant for signs of more!) and hung my marjoram in a nice, cool, dry place, near my back door.  A double bonus: a wall decoration and something edible! 

drying marjoram - also doubles as a wall decoration!

Here's hoping it turns out. If it does I'll make some more. I'm thinking about giving it away as gifts.  A visit to the herb aisle at the supermarket today revealed a lot of the marjoram on sale is imported from overseas!  

food & drink: jiaozi (Chinese dumplings)

To celebrate the start of april, I'm making up a new batch of jiaozi (Chinese dumplings) to freeze.  They're great for quick meals during the week.

To start, I headed out into the garden and harvest my garlic chives (see my separate post here).   

Then I got my other ingredients ready and started preparing!


Ingredients
100g garlic chives, finely chopped
500g chinese cabbage, finely chopped
1-1.5 tblsp ginger, finely chopped
500g chicken mince
2.5 tbsp light soy sauce
1.5 tbsp shaoxing wine
1 tbsp sesame oil
750g - 1kg of dumpling or wonton wrappers


Preparation

1. sweat the chinese cabbage by putting small batches in a frying pan and heating over a high heat for a few minutes, stirring continuously, until the cabbage wilts. This reduces the moisture from the cabbage and makes it easier to work with.
2. when the chinese cabbage cools, combine with the other ingredients in a large bowl, mixing well.
3. prepare a work space with a small bowl of water, storage containers, dumpling or wonton wrappers and a bowl of flour
4. prepare the dumplings by placing a small teaspoon of mixture in the middle of the wrapper, wetting the edge of half of the wrapper with water and folding over.  for dumpling wrappers, fold into a half moon shape and crimp the edges.  for step by step photos, see here. for wonton wrappers, fold diagonally and fold into a wonton shape or, if this is too difficult to master, fold to create an envelope. for step by step photos, see here
5. if freezing, stack the dumplings in storage containers with a dusting of flour between each layer to prevent sticking

Cooking

1. to cook, bring a saucepan of water to the and add the dumplings.  cook for 8-10 minutes
2. serve with green vegetables and oyster sauce or soy sauce

I was initially very daunted by the idea of dumplings before a friend stepped me through the process!  I try not to worry too much about how they look as I still haven't quite mastered how to fold them. I just focus on getting the flavours right!  


I developed my recipe after finding a whole heap of jiaozi and wonton recipes on the net and practicing with my favourite Chinese cookbook, Food of China by Murdoch Books.

P.S. check out my posting on the taste test here

harvesting my garlic chives

Whilst I impatiently wait for this year's crops to be ready for harvesting, I thought I'd experiment with some recipes using herbs from my herb garden.


Last year I created a herb garden and planted out a whole lot of herbs including rosemary, sage, lemon thyme, marjoram, mint, lemon grass and parsley. One of my biggest successes so far has been two large bunches of garlic chives which produce more than enough for my needs, despite my love of Chinese cooking.

I try and aim to cut back my chives up to four times a year (once per season) as apparently this ensures that they never get too old and lose their flavour. However, I haven't had a chance to cut back my chives for a while and they've gone a bit wild, flowering beautifully but taking over the herb patch. 

To harvest my chives, I cut them about 1-2 inches above the ground.  I then rinse them, removing the flower stalks and any dead (brown) stalks.  I make a flower arrangement out of the flower stalks.

in the garden: autumn planting

The first weekend of april and we tackled the garden with gusto!  We pulled up the remaining straggling plants from the vegie beds, applied new compost (that I'd grown myself) and began planting.

From this:

my vegie bed: before

To this:

my vegie bed: mid-renovation

In went onions, garlic, carrots, broad beans, brussel sprouts and snow peas as well as some sort of cucurbit (my bet is on a cucumber but my partner thinks it's zucchini) that planted itself in a very inappropriate spot and needed to be moved.  We also sowed some cauliflower and broccoli in trays for replanting when they're a little bigger.  At the same time, we spruced up the herb bed and planted some lemon verbena as well as sage to replace the old plant which died.  Then we applied some lucerne mulch over everything and watered it all in well.  I can't wait until they all start to grow!

To this:

my vegie bed: after

And this:

my herb bed: after