Caramelised Figs and Yoghurt

Caramelised figs and yoghurt

Ingredients:

3 figs, sliced in halves, ends removed.
2 tbspns finely grated fresh ginger
2 tbspns honey
1 tbspn butter.
Greek yoghurt to serve

Method:

Melt butter in non-stick pan.  Add fig halves, sprinkled with ginger and honey. Cook 1 minute, then turn over and cook for another minute.  They should be nicely caramelised.  Serve with yoghurt, or cream if you want to be naughty!

Potato Salad in less than 10 minutes

Potato Salad in Less than Ten

Serves 1

Ingredients

1 large potato (Desiree is best) diced
1 tbspn capers
1 tspn salt (or to taste)
2 tbspns real egg mayonnaise
2tbspns white wine vinegar
1 tbspn finely chopped red onion
1 small gherkin diced (or diced fresh cucumber)

Method

Microwave diced potato for 3 minutes or until cooked.  Cool, but while still warm, add red onion, capers and gherkin, mix through.  Combine mayonnaise, salt and white wine vinegar. Mix through potatoes and serve with any number of things. Enjoy!

Dill Pickles

This week I tried a very easy pickled gherkin recipe from one of my favourite food mags, Delicious…and so easy! Now it’s suddenly fashionable and good for you to eat a lot of fermented foods – pickling and preserving were absolutely essential pre-modern fridges and freezers and well, if you have European roots like I have, you’ve probably grown up with them, sauerkraut (homemade, of course) and the like. Here it is:

Dill pickles

(Makes 1 L jar)

Ingredients

600g small pickling cucumbers (or enough to fill jar)
4 dill sprigs
4 bay leaves
2 tbsp mixed peppercorns
2 tsp mustard seeds
2 tsp coriander seeds
100ml white vinegar

Method

Wash cucumbers and pat dry, trimming any stalks.

Place in bowl and cover with iced water.

Chill for 4 hours.

Drain cucumber and pack closely into sterilised jar with dill, bay leaves and spices.

Place vinegar, ¼ cup sea salt and 1 ½ cups water in saucepan over medium high heat.  Bring to the boil and cook, stirring until salt dissolves.

Remove from heat and fill sterilised jar with hot brine.  Tap the jar gently to remove any air bubbles and seal tightly.  Invert jar to create a sterile seal.  Cool completely then chill for 1 week before opening.

To sterilise jar, wash metal lid and jar, dry, then place on baking tray in a 120 deg, C oven for 20 mins.  Remove and fill jar while still hot. Delicious with cold meats or in a potato salad.

Speaking of potato salad, I’ve got a quick one that I make all the time, I'll post that next time. I usually have it with my home smoked trout – recipe for that will follow later.

Salmon and Green Mango Salad

My daughter-in-law gave me a green mango one day (they have a very productive tree in Sydney’s Inner West which threatens to swamp them with mangoes every year long after the Queensland ones are finished) and so at the end of the season I made a Salmon and Green Mango salad which is yummy and really easy. Here’s the recipe:

Salmon and Green Mango Salad

Serves 1 (or 2 as an entrée)

1 Salmon Steak
1 tbsp sesame seeds
2 Dutch carrots
1 small Lebanese cucumber
1 spring onion
1/2 green mango
A few sprigs of mint

Method:

Dressing:

In a jug, mix
2 tbsps Fish sauce
Juice of 2 limes
2 tbsps sugar
2 tbsps rice wine vinegar

Sprinkle salmon steak with sesame seeds and cook in a non-stick pan until done.  Leave to cool.  Meanwhile, cut the carrots, cucumber and mango into very thin neat little strips.
Arrange sliced vegetables on a plate.  Flake salmon on top.  Pour over dressing and decorate with mint sprigs.

And why not finish off with a dessert? The figs have been fantastic this year.  When I was a child, we could only get the dried ones – there is really no comparison in flavour, but both have their uses.

Strawberries

 

'Laughter is brightest in the place where food is' – Irish proverb

'People who love to eat are always the best people' – Julia Child

In our family at breakfast we’re planning the lunch we’re going to have - and at lunchtime we’re already thinking about dinner.  There you have it, in a nutshell.

My kitchen was filled with the heavenly scent of strawberries this morning as I made my microwave strawberry jam.  I never use the stove for jam anymore.  It’s just so easy to do in the microwave, although you have to watch it carefully and make sure you use a very large bowl (don’t cover the bowl) – it’s always good to have a few under-ripe berries too – helps with the setting.

Here’s my recipe:

Easy Microwave Strawberry Jam

Ingredients:

2 punnets strawberries, washed and hulled and cut in half if they’re large
2/3 cup sugar
1 tsp lime or lemon juice
(that’s it for the ingredients – yay!)

Method:

Microwave strawberries for 3 minutes on high.  Add sugar, stir, and cook on high for about 20-25 minutes – stop and stir every 3 minutes or so until the mixture starts to thicken.  The time will vary according to the fruit. When the jam has set, (you can test it by seeing if a drop holds it shape in a saucer of water) bottle in sterilised jars.  Makes about 1 cup. Delicious!

Strawberry Coulis

Ingredients:

400g washed and hulled strawberries, sliced
1/3 cup sugar

Simply microwave the strawberries for 3 minutes on high.  Stir, then microwave a further 3 or 4 minutes.  They should look a bit mushy.  Using a stick blender, puree until smooth.  Cool and voila! you have a lovely sauce to serve over ice cream or with a panna cotta.

And here is a wonderful Strawberry Cake recipe that I got from Sarah Fielke, Queen of Quilters.

Strawberry Cake

Ingredients:

1 1/2 punnets strawberries
1 egg
1 1/2 cups SR Flour
6 Tblspns butter
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup milk
1 tspn vanilla essence

Preheat oven to 180.  Wash and hull strawberries, cutting them in half.  Beat butter and sugar until fluffy - add egg, milk and vanilla.  Transfer batter to 20cm round tin.  Push strawberries into top of cake, close together.
Bake on bottom shelf of oven for 50 mins to 1 hr.
Remove from oven, wrap a tea towel around the cake tin and leave for 1 hour.  (This last step is really important). Remove cake from tin and serve

Making Preserved Lemons

I made another jar of preserved lemons on the weekend - dead easy - a recipe I got from Hassan M'Souli's book - Morocco.

PRESERVED LEMONS

Adapted from the original recipe by Hassan M'Souli, edited by moi :)

Ingredients:

10 thin-skinned lemons, plus juice of 1 lemon
480 g (1½ cups) rock salt
1 litre boiling water
8 cardamom pods
2 small red chillies (optional)
2 bay leaves (optional)
olive oil, to cover

Method:

(Soaking time 3 days)

Scrub the lemons well and soak in water for about 3 days, changing the water daily (this disperses the gas and acids contained in the fruit). Remove from the water and cut four pockets end to end into each lemon, being careful not to slice right through.

Holding a lemon over a bowl (to catch any juice and salt), fill the pockets generously with rock salt, and arrange in a 2-litre preserving jar (see Note). Repeat with remaining lemons.

Cover the lemons with boiling water. Add the leftover salt and juice, lemon juice and cardamom pods.

Chillies and bay leaves may also be added for flavour and decoration, if you like.

Leave the jar for a few minutes to ensure that most of the air bubbles are released. Pour over a thin layer of olive oil to cover the surface. Seal tightly, and store for at least 1 month prior to use.

Correctly preserved lemons can be stored for years.



About Me

About Me

I love to cook, write, paint, exchange ideas, speak French, rudimentary Spanish, teach English and inspire through creativity workshops and cooking/baking classes for children and adults. I also offer retirement lifestyle coaching.

I’m a teacher, mentor, writer, painter, traveller, linguist, passionate cook and above all, a creator. I’m going to share with you recipes, cooking tips, short stories, my favourite books, films and plays and travelling anecdotes.