Embracing Asian flavours with traditional ingredients

Perhaps, as a result of the lack of an initial food identity, we now enthusiastically embrace the flavours of the world.  New generation chefs, bravely push the boundaries of 'Italian Nonnas' by being playful and developing new techniques with traditional ingredients.  

Australian palates in general have evolved from the early experiences of the bland Chinese eateries, to embrace authentic Asian flavours.

from Mosman Meanders & foreshore flavours

Vietnamese Style Beef Fillet

A classic roast dish with Asian flavours hits the spot for winter dinners.

 



 

To serve 4

1 Beef fillet - trimmed

6 star anise

 

Marinade

2 tbsp lemongrass, chopped  (white section only)

3 cloves garlic, crushed

1 lime, juiced with a little zest added

1 long red chilli, finely chopped

2 tbsp fish sauce

1 tbsp olive oil

 

Make 6   2 cm cuts in the beef and press the star anise halfway into the cuts.  Combine the rest of the ingredients - reserving 1/3 for sauce, coat beef with the rest.  Set aside for an hour or longer.

 

Sauce

1 small onion or equal amount of leek
Reserved marinade

1 cup beef stock

1 tbsp chinese wine or mirin

Heat a little sesame or olive oil in a pan, gently fry onion or leek, add marinade, fry for 1 minute, then add stock and wine.  Simmer for about 5 minutes.   Strain and place in a serving jug to reheat for serving on the table.

 

To cook the beef, wipe off excess marinade and sear in a little oil in a heavy pan or on a hot plate, until browned (about 5 minutes each side);  transfer to an ovenproof dish and place in oven at 120 degrees for 20 minutes, (for rare beef)   Add any meat juices to sauce and serve slices of beef with  roasted carrots, parsnips, leeks cut lengthwise; roasted potatoes and green beans. 

 



 

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Eve's Salad

Eve's Salad - Taken inexpertly with my i-phone

Warm fig and pomegranate salad

This ticked all the boxes for me when I took it along to a  friend’s  ANZAC Day BBQ ,which actually turned out to be a fabulous dinner party!!   Luckily I had chosen an elegant salad rather than “Diggers Delight”.   

OK,  so why did it tick the boxes, you ask?

 

·          The pomegranate dressing has an interesting  flavour due to my new 'must-have in the frig’,  Pomegratate  Molasses.  ("Molasses…  Molasses… it's icky-sticky goo,    Molasses… Molasses…  it al-ways stick -to -you").   No,  this is not your usual molasses.  It adds a complex but not too sweet flavour to many dishes.

     Pomegranate seeds add an interesting crunch as each little seed explodes in your mouth.

 

·         The warmed figs – I love figs in every form and have happy memories   when G and I stole  them  from an ancient tree in the garden of a long deserted villa.  They were firm,  sweet  and were warmed by the Tuscan sun;  I felt like Eve.  Perhaps Adam and Eve ate a fig and not an apple which makes  sense since they were wearing fig leaves.  So the BBQ’d  warmed figs hit a high note with me.

Here it is...  for 4 servings

Eve's salad

 4 large ripe figs cut in half .  Brush or spray cut side with olive oil.  1 pomegranate - cut in half.  With a citrus juicer, juice one half to yield 1tbsp juice after removing some of the seeds to retain with seeds from other half. 
70g goats cheese or Danish feta crumbled
DressingCombine 3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil with 2 tsp pomegranate molasses, 1 tbsp pomegranate juice and a squeeze of lemon juice
Season with salt & cracked pepper

To serve     Combine  50g rocket leaves with a handful of  basil.  Just before serving, warm the figs through , cut side down, on a BBQ.  Add figs 

     and cheese.  Drizzle with dressing and scatter with pomegranate seeds

 

 

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All Hail Kale

All Hail Kale

Here is how two Donnas  prepared this healthy vegetable which is significantly challenging other leafy greens.

 

Donna Hayes  - Kale & lentil salad

 

Kale and lentil salad

1 tbsp olive oil

3 garlic cloves, sliced

300g kale, trimmed and roughly torn

1 x 400g can lentils

300g fennel, shaved

180g feta, crumbled

1/2 cup mint leaves

1/2 cup basil leaves

 

Heat oil in nonstick fry pan over high heat - add garlic and cook for 30 seconds or until golden, add kale and cook for 2 to 3 minutes until just wilted.  Place in a bowl with the rest of the vegetables, season with salt & pepper, combine with the dressing,  and top with feta.

 

Dressing

Combine the following

1 eschalot - finely chopped

1/3 cup red wine vinegar

2 tbsp olive oil

1 tsp brown sugar

sea salt & cracked pepper

 

Clara - it's Donna from Milwaukee, USA. 

We share a passion of cooking and for fresh food.  I enjoy your recipes and ideas and I know you love healthy food.  I made something tonight I think you would love.  Try it and let me know what you think.

 

Kale salad with cucumber and green onion dressed with an asian dressing.

I just chopped kale, put it in a large bowl - massaged the kale for a few minutes to wilt it, then tossed it with thinly sliced cucumber, green onion and a little chopped chilli.  The dressing was Asian style made by combining equal amounts of Thai fish sauce, sweet chilli sauce and lime juice with a few drops of sesame oil added.  Chopped peanuts can also be added to add crunch to this delicious easy salad. 

 

Thanks Donnas

 

 

Good news about dark chocolate Easter eggs

Have you heard the good news about dark chocolate?  

Summarised from Ease Easter Guilt": go for dark chocolate - Nicola Conville, Sunday Telegraph 24/3/13
Easter promises calorific overindulgence but according to studies by researchers from Monash University, the choice of dark chocolate offers significant health benefits, including improvement of blood flow and a "feel good" factor.
It's a healthier option, especially since with a 70 per cent cocoa component, dark chocolate generally contains less added sugar and fat than milk chocolate,  with other studies stressing it be part of a healthy lifestyle, including regular exercise. 

Sounds like great news to me!

Happy Easter to you all.
Clara  - lover of dark chocolate


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Walnut Pesto Pasta is a Tuscan favourite

Alvina's Bell at Podernuovo is calling me to lunch - happy memories!

Pesto is a favourite subject of mine. This year, in my Mosman garden, one punnet of basil planted here and there, yielded constant harvest of a favourite, aromatic herb.

Traditionally Pesto is made with pinenuts - perhaps they were plentiful in Italy but they still had to be super labour intensive! Have you seen the way they have to extract each little precious pinenut. An alternative is Walnut Pesto which evolved from the need to find ways to use the walnuts which drop from the old walnut trees on the property.

We worked in the fields with Umberto, doing what needed to be done - digging out stones, picking grapes, making wine etc.

I cut the lavender and rosemary back before winter - I had helped to plant it a few years ago but since everything grows so quickly it needed cutting back.

Alvina's bell is a suspended bronze bell which she rings when lunch is ready. She has tended the vegetable garden, harvested its bounty, applied her endless creativity, and the call of the bell means that a delightful lunch awaits. We eat, exchange experiences of the morning, make plans for the evening meal (everything revolves around food of course) then retire to our villa for siesta - maybe to doze or perhaps to read the current novel which was being circulated.

Alvina's Walnut Pesto Pasta (to be served with tomorrow's Fennel and Orange Salad)
Serves 4
400g (13oz) cappellini or angel hair pasta - sea salt and black pepper to taste
Pasta comes in different shapes and sizes like angel hair or capellini, fettuccini, fusilli, linguini, macaroni, spaghetti, etc. Capellini or angel hair pasta are long strands of pasta that are commonly used with light sauces.
Pesto
Large bunch fresh basil leaves
2 cloves garlic
1 large handful chopped walnuts
extra virgin olive oil
1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese

Shred basil leaves and place in a blender with crushed garlic, walnuts and about 2 tblsp olive oil. Puree until smooth and then add the parmesan cheese and a little more oil.

Place pasta into boiling water with salt and cook for around 15 mins or until el dente which means firm to bite.
Pour over the drained pasta and garnish with fresh basil. Add a few more chopped walnuts and parmesan to taste.

http://www.timeintuscany.com/

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mosmanmeanders@gmail.com

          
 

Picking up Walnuts in Tuscany

We have been very fortunate to spend some wonderful time in Tuscany, with Alvina and Umberto at their Villas at Podernuovo.  I am missing the tranquility and the fertile abundance so am treating myself to a few retro blogs which you may not have seen.



It took a while to pick all of these and now the task
is to crack  them to release their bounty.  We became adept at this.

They say 'A Walnut looks like a little brain, a left and right hemisphere, upper cerebrums and lower cerebellums. Even the wrinkles or folds on the nut are just like the neo-cortex. We now know walnuts help develop more than three dozen neuron-transmitters for brain function.'

In the British Journal of Nutrition, a rodent study found a walnut rich diet reverses the effects of brain ageing.

G picked more than I did?   What are the secrets of filling up the bucket?...... Yes, I know the basic stuff - like the walnuts fall off the tree - (helped sometimes by extension and shaking of the human hand etc) but next time I go to Tuscany, I want to win!!

I also am aware of natural physics, such as that walnuts will roll down hills - so look there first. (I have a theory that G was told this and gathered all the good ones before I joined him in the exercise.)
Then you had to think laterally - like if they didn't roll downhill, perhaps they went sideways and settled in any depression or were caught by other foliage etc.

I spent happy times on my own picking up walnuts, enjoying just being there, then of course to enjoy 'Pasta with Walnut Pesto'.  Recipe will be on my next blog.
Clara
http://www.timeintuscany.com/  Visit the website for images of Podernouvo.

Click on 'comment' at bottom of page to have your say or email mosmanmeanders@gmail.com

 

Mango magic




Mango magic

This dish was served to us by Alvina and Umberto www.timeintuscany.com , not in Tuscany but here in Sydney when mangoes were at their best.  In true Tuscan style, fruits and vegetables in season are used in an amazing variety of simply delicious dishes.
 

For the mango jelly
makes 4 servings

2 ripe mangoes - peeled and cut (see
¼ cup caster sugar
Juice of 1 lime
1 cup water
1 tbsp gelatine powder
2 tbsp hot water
macadamia pralines - crushed

Place mango, sugar, lime juice and water into the jug of a blender and blend until smooth.
Strain the mango mixture through a sieve into a saucepan. Place it over medium heat and cook, stirring, until it’s heated through and the sugar is melted.
Place the gelatine powder into a small bowl, add the hot water and whisk well until the gelatine dissolves.
Add the gelatine mixture to the mango mixture and stir to combine. Divide the mixture into individual wetted moulds,  cover and place into the fridge for 3-4 hours until set.

To serve, arrange slices of cut mango on plates,  dip moulds in hot water and invert to release the jelly.   Serve with icecream or Greek yoghurt if desired and sprinkle with crushed macadamia praline.



 www.timeintuscany.com

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Mangoes - "King of Fruit' are insanely good for you

How to choose and cut a mango
The best way by far is to simply eat the mango after cutting it expertly as shown below. Recipes to follow.

Mango - Childers Queensland  Australia- in mid January
it was so dry the grass was crunchy beneath my feet.
Two weeks later the area is in flood.
 

Mangoes  - Noosaville Markets

 

Is it ripe?  You can't always judge the ripeness by colour as they come in many hues depending on variety. The best flavored fruit have a yellow tinge when ripe; however, color may be red, yellow, green, orange or any combination.

 

Ripeness of mangoes can be determined by either smelling or by gently squeezing. A ripe mango will have a full, fruity aroma emitting from the stem end and can be considered ready to eat when slightly soft to the touch and yielding to gentle pressure, like a ripe peach. 
 
Cutting a Mango can be a slimy, slippery challenge. The best way to go about it is to start first with a ripe, but still firm fruit. If the mango is too ripe, it will be a mushy mess, and hard to cut into pieces, though easy enough to scoop out for pulp.

Cubes

Holding the mango with one hand, stand it on its end, stem side down. With a sharp knife in your other hand, cut from the top of the mango, down one side of the pit. Then repeat with the other side. You should end up with three pieces - two halves, and a middle section that includes the pit.

Take a mango half and use a knife to make lengthwise and crosswise cuts in it, but try not to cut through the peel. Using your fingers on the skin side, raise the fruit cubes into eating or cutting position. Simply serve and eat the fruit or for a salad peel off the segments with your fingers. Or use a small paring knife to cut away the pieces from the peel.
Take the mango piece with the pit, lay it flat on the cutting board. Use a paring knife to cut out the pit and remove the peel.  Some simply eat this section holding it over the sink as you eat.
 

For easy slices cut off cheeks as above then slice lengthways

Or using a sharp thin-bladed knife, cut off both ends of the fruit. Place fruit on flat end and cut away peel from top to bottom along curvature of the fruit.Cut fruit into slices by carving lengthwise along the pit.

 

 Nutrition - They are high in fiber and antioxidants and are rich in Vitamin A, C, E, B6 and potassium. They have been found to protect against colon, breast, leukemia and prostate cancers and promote heart health and lower blood pressure.

 

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Rita cooked this dish for us at beautiful Nambucca Heads where the rocks are an incredible light blue.  Perhaps there were pirates on the coastline - anyway this was a version of Spaghetti Marinara which was superb. 

SPAGHETTI BUCCANIERI   (for 4)      {Pirate’s Spaghetti OR Spaghetti a la Rita}

 

 SUGO:

Gently (not too hot) in a small fry pan, fry 4 large, crushed, garlic cloves in olive oil for a minute – just to infuse the oil with garlic.
Add 4 quite ripe roma tomatoes, chopped up into smallish pieces.
Turn heat down, put a lid on the fry pan, and let simmer while doing the rest of the meal and  until well reduced.   Stir occasionally.
Add salt, t-spoon of sugar, herbs (recipe says just lots of parsley, but I add basil and sage too) a dollop of red wine and cayenne pepper to taste (I used about 1/3 t-spoon – could take more), and 2 heaped tablespoons of Leggo’s sundried tomato and roasted garlic mix, (smallish square bottle) … all about 5 mins before serving.   Cover and simmer some more.

Cook 400 g. spaghetti with a dollop of oil in the water to keep strands separate.

While it’s cooking, fry the seafood in a little olive oil.  You need about 200g per person.  I use Woolworth’s marinara mix, which is white fish, salmon, small prawns, calamari and mussels and add a few large prawns or whatever else I fancy.   (I cook each type separately, prawns and calamari for no more than a minute a side – probably less depending on size/thickness;   and place each lot in a small saucepan with lid, on stove top alongside, but not over, heat itself.  Salt lightly and stir through.)
Heat bowls if necessary.
Drain spaghetti into a colander, shake to remove excess water, return to pot (ensuring no water left in it) and immediately add extra virgin olive oil, tossing it through.
To serve:  pour sugo over spaghetti and mix through so it’s all well coated.   Place in serving bowls.   Add seafood, ensuring different  types are evenly distributed amongst the bowls, and gently lift the spaghetti through it a bit.   (If you add the seafood into the saucepan with spaghetti, it’s hard to ensure everyone gets a fair mix !)    
ps - more coastline & rocks in the video below.  Does anyone know why the rocks are blue? 

 

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Pomegranate seeds add colour and crunch

Lovely fresh and simple salad with the added colour and crunch of pomegranate.

Pomegratate, feta, herbs & walnut salad
Serves 4 

2 pomegranates
200g feta (I prefer Danish)
2 Lebanese cucumbers, diced small
1/2 red onion, thinly sliced
1/3 cup mint leaves, roughly chopped
2 handfuls of spinach or rocket leaves
Lrg handful walnuts - roasted
1 tbsp red wine vinegar
3 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
Salt
Dressing - Combine vinegar, oil and salt.  Roast walnuts in oven until crisp.

Break open pomegranates and remove seeds. Crumble feta  into largish pieces.  Combine cucumbers, onion and herbs in a large bowl. Toss with dressing then add seeds feta and roasted walnuts.

It would be great to receive your feedback or suggestions. Click on "0 comments". You can choose 'anonymous' from the drop down menu if you don't have a google account. Or send an email - clara@babyboomerconnections.com.au

Pavlova - a Christmas star



When cooked properly, the outside of the meringue shell will be crunchy, with a marshmallow-like texture on the inside.

Pavlova has become a star of Australian Christmas desserts. It was invented in the 1920s or 1930s, and is named for the Russian ballerina, Anna Pavlova. Sources, however, are in dispute over whether the dessert was actually invented in Australia or in New Zealand. It can be served with whipped cream and fruit or alternatively, with custard or lemon curd made from the egg yolks.

Because pavlova is made primarily of egg whites and sugar, it is a relatively light and low-calorie dessert.
It is possible to prepare pavlova a day in advance of serving, if you leave the meringue shell overnight in the oven after turning off the heat. When the cake has been decorated with whipped cream, it can be left in the refrigerator for a day or two; however, it will lose its crunchiness as the moisture from the cream soaks into the meringue shell. The following version uses a custard creme as a topping and to join the two layers.

Pavlova Torte
Serves 10
8 egg whites
300g (11/2 cups) caster sugar
1 tbsp cornflour
2 tsp white vinegar
1 tsp vanilla essence
Fruit of choice for topping and serving on the side - strawberries, kiwifruit and passionfruit pulp are favourites but I added raspberries and blueberries for extra colour and flavour.

Preheat oven to 160 degrees C. Line 2 baking trays then draw a 22 cm disc on each piece of paper.

Using an electric beater beat egg whites in a clean dry bowl until soft peaks form. Gradually add sugar, 1/4 cup at time until thick and glossy. Beat in the cornflour and vinegar.

Spoon the meringue evenly between the prepared discs; with the intended top one, use a small spoon to form little peaks around the edge of the pavlova. Bake for approx an hour, until pavlova is dry to the touch. swapping the trays halfway through cooking. Turn off oven, leave door ajar and leave pavlova to cool completely, overnight if desired or store in an airtight container.

Custard Creme
8 egg yolks
1/2 cup sugar
2 tbsp cornflour
2 cups milk
1 tsp vanilla essence
3/4 cup thickened cream or Greek yoghurt
Whisk egg yolks, sugar, vanilla and cornflour until smooth and creamy.
Place this mixture into a saucepan, gradually add milk, whisking until smooth. Stir over medium heat until custard thickens.
Bring to the boil then reduce heat and simmer for 2 minutes, stirring constantly. Custard will be quite thick in consistency.
Remove from heat, pour into a separate bowl and cover the surface of the custard with glad wrap. Allow to cool to prevent a skin forming on the top.
Fold in cream or Greek yoghurt.
Join the two layers with custard and spread it on top layer. top with your fruit of choice.

Another star of the day!


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Decadent Christmas Pud - just eat a small portion if you can!

 

To many, Christmas is a time for honouring tradition, but in a culinary sense, many here are abandoning the traditional fare for cooler options such as cold turkey and seafood.   I'm breaking my tradition of 'fit in your jeans fare' -  forgive the straying  -  just eat a small portion if you can! Or add a little less butter and sugar. I usually reduce sugar by 1/3 and in this case, the fruit is sweet enough. 

One dish, however, remains popular and will often sit side by side here in Australia, with our iconic pavlova. We enjoyed one such plum pud, a little early, cooked to perfection by my friend, Mary, Queen of Desserts. 

Much tradition and folklore is attached to the Christmas pudding. Traditionally each member of the family takes a turn stirring the mixture in a clockwise direction, making a secret wish as they go. Many people also bake lucky treats into their puddings. The pudding was usually made up to a year ahead, left to mature, then heated up on Christmas Day and brought to the table flaming with warm brandy and decorated with holly. it can be accompanied by custard ice-cream but it can also be served with cream, and brandy butter or hard sauce.

 

Clara





Here it is, the real thing - moist and fruity,
with a brandy haze!

This recipe is based on Margaret Fulton's rich Christmas pudding in the Margaret Fulton Cookbook, which was my 'bible' as an aspiring cook in the 60's.The fruit needs to be soaked overnight in brandy or rum.

Serves 8

Prep time 40 mins, cook 6 hrs

• 250 gm / 1/2 lb each raisins, sultanas and currants
• 100 gm / 3 oz candied orange, finely chopped
• 200 ml / 7 fl oz rum or brandy
• 250 gm / 1/2 lb  butter, plus extra for greasing
• 275 gm (1¼ cups) firmly packed brown sugar
• 1 orange and 1 lemon, finely grated rind only
• 4 eggs, lightly whisked
• 150 gm (1 cup) plain flour
• ½ tsp each salt, mixed spice, nutmeg, ginger, cinnamon and bicarbonate of soda
• 60 gm (½ cup) almond meal
• 140 gm (2 cups) fresh breadcrumbs

Combine dried fruit and candied orange in a bowl, scatter with rum or brandy, cover and stand overnight.

Using an electric mixer, beat together butter, sugar and rinds until pale and fluffy, then slowly beat in egg. Sieve together flour, salt, spices and bi-carb soda. Add to mixture in batches, alternating with soaked fruit mixture and almond meal. Stir through breadcrumbs.

Brush a 1.8 litre-capacity pudding bowl with butter, line the base with a circle of baking paper and dust with flour. Pour pudding mixture into bowl and top with another circle of baking paper. Cover with two layers of foil and tie with string.

Place pudding into a large saucepan with a wire rack or tea towel lining the base. Fill with enough water to come halfway up the side of the bowl. Cover and simmer for 6 hours, topping up water when necessary. Pudding may be made ahead and cooled in bowl. Reheat in a large saucepan of simmering water for 2½ hours. Serve with custard, icecream or cream.

 






 

Antipasto - Food is passion and brings people together

Hi there



Are you feeling passionate or are we just friends?

I'm back !!!!!   After publishing a book about my local area of Mosman, (two years).   We.. lll .... Ok.... if you insist ...  -  "Mosman Meanders and foreshore flavours" -  walks around the Sydney foreshores, history, photographs by Christopher  and of course ...food. 
I know you live in your own beautiful part of the world and you have your own providores (new word for me, Italian for providers), but the putting together of the antipasto plate for Christmas, requires skill, research and passion. 
And yes, I know this blast of pre Xmas  recipes is not traditional fitinyourjeanscuisine  food, but it's time to bring out your guilt free  "inner gourmet -  embracing the Christmas Spirit".

Quattro Formaggi - one of our local providors in Raglan Road, Mosman,  has the mantra  "Food is passion and brings people together." 
Putting together an antipasto plate to serve with Christmas drinks is an easy matter when you have a fantastic variety of  cured meats, cheeses and accompaniments.
Quattro Formaggi




Barossa Smoked Wagyu Beef
You are traditionally cured, cold smoked and heat treated.
 

Taleggio Cheese   Proven to be addictive.
Semi-soft, washed-rind from Northern Italy

Happy Christmas

Clara

 



 

It would be great to receive your feedback or suggestions.   

Fennel / sweet anise firm favourite with Greek Gods

Fennel - my new favourite vegetable is at
it's best in Sydney provadores.

It's been around for a long long time but relatively new to some of us.  Fire, stolen from the gods, was hidden in a fennel stalk, and given to men, according to Greek mythology. They didn't use fennel much in a culinary sense but in contemporary Greek cooking it's the leaves that are mostly used to flavour foods.

The Italians in the 17th century, bred the weedy herb to have the broader, bulb-like stem base hence rhe name, Florence fennel.
Florence fennel, the bulbous variety found in most American stores has a subtle anise (mild licorice) flavor and delicate celery texture. The bulbs are often sold with the feathery fronds lopped off. Get the ones with some fronds attached if you can -- they’re the perfect raw finish to a fennel dish, sprinkled on as a bright green top layer to echo the anise flavor.

Because it hasn't always seemed to be around, like carrots and beans, some of us needed to be shown how to prepare it and how versatile it is.   The ideal size to use the fennel bulb is when it's about the size of a tennis ball - if left to become larger, it can be stringy and have an overly strong aniseed flavour.  I buy them larger than this when they are super cheap, and use them for braising or baking.
Preparation is simple - if young, all that needs to be done is to slice it either thickly or thinly depending on what you are intending to use it for. If larger, you may want to cut out the core by cutting it in quarters and removing the hard centre. You can use the stalks but be careful of fire!



To remove, if you wish, some of the slightly stringy outer layer,
peel bulb with a vegetable peeler.



Thinly slice fennel crosswise for sautés, pastas, and salads,


Just cut across the bulb
as thick or thin as you like.


Cut it into wedges lengthwise to roast, or braise. Slice through the core,
leaving some of it attached to each wedge
to help keep the wedges together.
The core will become tender with cooking

Wrap Fennel/Sweet Anise head in plastic wrap and keep in the crisper section of the refrigerator. Fennel/Sweet Anise will keep for five to seven days in the refrigerator.

To follow - Wonderful ways with fennel.

It would be great to receive your feedback or suggestions. Click on "0 comments". You can choose 'anonomous' from the drop down menu if you don't have a google account. Or send an email - clara@babyboomerconnections.com.au

 

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Love offerings

 



No, they are not Fit in your jeans food. Sorry!

Monte Carlo

Taking its name from the famous European city, Monte Carlo is one of Arnott’s most famous cream biscuits. Created in 1926, it features two home-style honey and coconut biscuits and a layer of rich raspberry flavoured cream filling. A great everyday treat.

In response to my Mothers' Day thoughts and reflections, a special friend, Jane, wrote, "When I was a child we just gave Mum breakfast in bed with flowers on her breakfast tray and tried not to burn the toast. I would sometimes make a chocolate cake which was quite a messy process for Mum to deal with but she only offered praise at my childish attempts.
According to Mum my cake was always perfect. That's all that mattered to me. "

Clara
So much of our pleasing is to do with simple nuturing ways - which children pick up and then attempt to transfer the same loving gestures. One memory I have, is the Mothers' Day of the burnt Popcorn, when this was considered the ultimate treat for Mum in bed. It took great restraint to stay in bed, with the fumes drifting upstairs to the bedroom. And yet another, was a very creative rendition of Monte Carlos which were a favourite of mine. I think that every conceivable sweet ingredient in the pantry was combined to produce this unusual offering. (Kitchen was a treat as well!) But I loved it. Thanks xx

Click on 'comment' at bottom of page to have your say or email
It would be great to receive your feedback or suggestions. Click on "0 comments". You can choose 'anonomous' from the drop down menu if you don't have a google account. Or send an email - clara@babyboomerconnections.com.au

Chilli Jam for added zest and tingle

I have to admit to being a chilli freak.  I just love the warm tingle and added zest it gives to a dish.  Not that I like it to be too hot and I learnt my chilli  lesson in Thailand  - that is 'don't order any dish that mentions chilli or it will be way too hot for a Western palate.

Chilli jam is a great way to add chilli flavour and a touch of sweetness to a dish or to cold meats etc,  without the others complaining about it being too hot.

Chilli jam

Makes 3 1/2 cups

1kg ripe Roma egg tomatoes, chopped coarsely
2 cups (500g) caster sugar
1/3 cup (80m1) white vinegar
¼ cup (60m1) lemon juice
6 fresh long red chillies, sliced thinly
2 fresh small red Thai chillies, sliced thinly
4cm piece  fresh ginger, grated
3 cloves garlic, crushed
2 tbsp  fish sauce
1 tsp coarse cooking salt

Stir ingredients in a large saucepan over high heat, without boiling, until sugar dissolves.   Bring to boil then reduce heat; simmer uncovered, stirring occasionally,  for about 1¼ hours or until jam is thick.  (Alternatively cook in a microwave oven to reduce the time factor - stirring occasionally.)
Cool for 15 minutes.

Blend or process chilli mixture, in batches, until smooth.   Pour into hot, sterilised jars;  seal immediately. Label and date jars when cold.
Store Chilli Jam in a cool, dark place for up to 3 months.   Refrigerate after opening.

It would be great to receive your feedback or suggestions. Click on "0 comments". You can choose 'anonomous' from the drop down menu if you don't have a google account. Or send an email - clara@babyboomerconnections.com.au

Festive eggplant from Wisconsin



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Festive Eggplant

R (our jeans consultant from www.shopatnextdoor.com )

wrote "Have you ever had one of those days when you're hungry but don't want to leave home? The closest market is 20 minutes from our house. So I started with ingredients and The Silver Spoon. Just threw this together with odds and ends and page 514. Lovely.

Clara - Yes I know exactly what you mean - sometimes I need to just use whatever is in the frig. When G first started to cook once a week, he used to say things like "Where are the carrots, beans, deboned quail etc, why don't we have any ?????? etc; it took a while, but when I explained that the best cooks use whatever is in the frig and that this is a measure of their culinary creativity, we moved forward. Once a week, towards the end of the week I cook exactly this way, in order to clear the produce for the next week.

G would also say about your lovely dish,"How can eggplant be festive? It's a designer vegetable - it is not real, like carrots and beans. But because I'm married to a creative woman, I eat it and enjoy it, but let me tell you, when I cook, there ain't no eggplant or whatever you call it - Aubergine!!!, a made up name even." -

Festive Aubergines - to serve 4

Preheat oven 180C - 350 F - Brush an ovenproof dish with olive oil. Slice 4 small eggplants lengthways without cutting all the way through (cut off the stalk first). Place alternate slices of tomato (4 large), and mozzarella cheese thinly sliced, (250 g/9 oz) between each eggplant slice and the next.

Mix together, 2 garlic cloves (finely chopped), parsley and basil and sprinkle over, drizzle with olive oil, S &amp; P. Cover with foil - bake 45 mins. Serve with juices on top.

Looks scrumptious




It would be great to receive your feedback or suggestions. Click on "0 comments". You can choose 'anonomous' from the drop down menu if you don't have a google account. Or send an email - clara@babyboomerconnections.com.au