Home made Limoncello

I have long been a fan of this delectable Italian liqueur so, since I had a lot of lemons, I decided to make some.
It was very simple and here is the recipe that I used.
1 bottle of vodka
9 lemons preferably organic and definitely not waxed.
350 gm of sugar
150 ml of water.
The first step was to rinse the lemons to ensure there was no dust or dirt on them. The recipe said to grate the zest off of the lemons but I found that too much of the bitter pith was coming off too.



I reverted to peeling the zest off very thinly with a vegetable peeler. The water and sugar went into a saucepan and I dissolved the sugar over a gentle heat. (Stir and watch this well or it will either boil over or catch).
Once the sugar was dissolved, I removed it from the heat and allowed it to cool. Now I needed to sterilise a large jar with a tight fitting lid and I have always found the easiest way to do this, is to put a small amount of water in the jar and microwave for 1 minute.
Be careful removing the jar from the microwave as it is vey hot. Tip out the water and you are ready to go.



I added the lemon zest to the sterilised jar and poured in the vodka. Once the sugar syrup was cool, added that to the jar too. Gave it a good stir and put the lid on and placed the jar in a cool dark place, where it will need to stay for 30 days.
Twice a week I will need to take it out and place the jar on a flat surface and spin gently several times so that the contents are mixed.
In a months time I am to strain the contents of the jar through muslin or a fine sieve to get rid of the zest. I will then be able to, hopefully, bottle my lovely Limoncello. I did sneak a taste and it was very good already!
And so as to not waste all the lemons that I only used the zest from, I juiced them and made lemon ice locks. When frozen I will transfer them to a Tupperware container and they will be great for drinks or for when lemons are scarce.



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Gorgonzola cream sauce

Gorgonzola cream sauce. Spectacularly simple. In fact when I was told about this recipe, my usual " that's never going to work " thought process kicked in. However I tried it with great success. All you do is bring cream to boiling point and then add chopped Gorgonzola to the hot cream. A small amount of gorgonzola goes a long way !
Stir till the cheese melts and then serve over pasta or vegetables. I made a roast pumpkin pasta dish and poured the cream sauce over it. It was so good!


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Lebanese spiced eggplant

Recently I tasted a great eggplant spread at the markets in Darwin. It was served on zattar bread with labnah on top. A squeeze of fresh lime juice completed this wonderful taste treat.
I wanted to recreate it when I got home,but I did not have a lot of luck finding a recipe. I had thought that pomegranate molasses was part of the recipe and I managed to track down a bottle. Let's just say I think this must be an acquired taste!
After trial and error I have developed my own recipe. The family loves it!
It's very simple and the taste intensifies the longer it is left.



First I peeled the eggplants ( I had two large eggplants) and sliced them thinly. I sprinkled the sliced eggplant with a dessert spoon of ground coriander,a dessert spoon of ground cummin, a dessert spoon of Cajun spices and salt to taste. Finally I added a tablespoon of minced garlic and a good slug of local Fleurieu peninsula olive oil.



Toss the eggplant to coat all the slices well.
The next step was to char the eggplant.
I found the easiest way to do this was to use my George Forman grill and it was a great success. The oil that drained off I just kept adding back to the eggplant on the grill.






Once it was cooked and had a bit of colour I placed it in a covered container, added about a tablespoon of a really good aged balsamic and a little more olive oil. Keep it in the fridge. It would probably last about a week or it might last longer but I wouldn't know, I ate it all in 4 days.
I bought a wonderful loaf of artisan bread from "The Wild Loaf " at the Adelaide Central Market. Their new quinoa and chia seed loaf was the perfect base for my spread. Bread sliced thinly, topped with my eggplant and labneh, a generous squeeze of lime juice and it was wonderful. Even if I say so myself!


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Labneh Lebanese cream cheese made simply at home.

"This is the Lebanese version of cream cheese and is a lot tastier and lower in calories and additives than commercial cream cheese.
It is sort of a cross between cream cheese and yoghurt. I made mine with low fat Greek yoghurt. Next time I will try making it with Kangaroo Island sheep yoghurt.
I first tasted this at the Darwin markets with an amazing eggplant pickle that contained pomegranate molasses and other spices. It was served on a zattar pitta bread. Trying to develop this pickle recipe myself as I can't find one that tastes the same as I remember.
The good news is that you don't need any special equipment to make this cheese and it is very easy to make. The most important thing to remember is that everything must be scrupulously clean.
The concept is to strain the whey or liquid out of the yoghurt. Rather than using a colander over a bowl I used my stainless steel saucepan and steamer and it worked well.



1.
I lined the steamer with a double layer of immaculately clean, undyed muslin and to be sure it was sterile I soaked it in boiling water.

2. I spooned in the yoghurt and sprinkled it with rock salt and gently stirred it in.



3.
Put the lid on and place in fridge.



If you are using bowls and a colander then tie the corners of the muslin together to keep it covered. If you want the whey to be forced out faster, put a plate on top as a weight.
4. Leave for about 12 hours in the fridge.

5.
When well drained it will be the consistency of cream cheese.
6.
Spoon and scrape from the cloth, drizzle a little good quality olive oil over it and store covered in the refrigerator until needed.






7.
You can mix in fresh or dried herbs, minced garlic, cracked pepper or anything you would use to make a herbed cheese. It also makes a great base for your favorite dip recipes.
8.
Or you could add a squeeze of fresh lime juice and some cumin and spread it on pita bread.



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Easy summer dessert for Nutella fans

This was so easy and looked good on the plate!
Using the metal ring forms',not sure what they are called, but they look like wide egg rings. I set the rings up an a tray with a piece of baking paper under them.
I broke chocolate wheaten biscuits up to make them fit into the rings, as a base. Then I spread Cadbury chocolate chip,vanilla ice-cream over the biscuit base.
Next I put a generous dollop of Nutella on top.



Then another layer of ice-cream followed. On top, I put an even more generous dollop of Nutella and sort of roughly swirled it around.



Covered the tray with glad wrap and put it back in the freezer till I was ready to serve.
You could use any fruit, but I had strawberries, blackberries and mango which I soaked in a little sweet dessert wine and a little sugar. Use your favorite alcohol for this or none if you prefer.
When it was time to serve,I just loosened around the edges of the rings with a knife and they just pushed out.
Put the fruit on top and served.
It was so easy because I had made the icecream base the day before.
Best of all, I made more than was needed, so now have them ready for a quick dessert. Although I am hoping I will forget they are there, which unfortunately was not the case with the left over jar of Nutella.
I think I was depressed.
Earlier in the day the Wii trainer on my Wii fit plus had told me in his little, upbeat voice that is was only 349 days since we had last met. After checking my weight, informed me that I did not seem to have met any of my goals set then either.
Luckily the Wii remote was firmly strapped to my wrist or I might be shopping for a new TV! When I finished my routine he asked me if I would like to know how many calories I had used. His next question was would I like to know how much food that equated to. I was sorry I asked when he told me it was one boiled lolly
Anyway this was a great no stress dessert even if I dare not try and equate how much exercise the Wii would want in return for a serve.
Ignorance is bliss!


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Garlic harvest and garlic sauce for meat

Just harvested a friend's garlic crop!
I have made lots of jars or minced garlic in oil for family and friends. I have hung some to dry, using bird netting offcuts to make a bag and an old meat hook bought at a garage sale. It has come in handy.



We were having a barbecue so made a version of a steak Dianne sauce. It was so easy and tasted great.
I fried shallots ( the ones in my garden are so strong, tears pour down my face when I chop them). Added about a tablespoon of minced garlic and fried this to golden brown, getting all the pan scrapings as well. A good splash of vodka followed. It should have been brandy but I didn't have any. Then a very generous splash of Worcester sauce followed by about a cup of cream and salt to taste. Just heated it through, stirring all the time. I put it in a serving jug and microwaved it on low power to reheat. Lots of compliments.



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Healthy biscuits not for the faint hearted

My daughter wanted a biscuit to take the place of breakfast when she is racing out the door for uni. The criteria was reasonably healthy, very filling and easy to eat in the car and travels well, for example doesn't break up in a bag.
This is what I came up with, using organic where possible and trying to use some of the "ancient" grains. You can also use your favorite grains.



Put
100gm of kibbled rye
100gm of quinoa
50 grams of black or red chia seeds
In a bowl and cover with boiling water.



Give it a good stir and if still dry in parts add some
more boiling water. Wait until all the water is absorbed.(about 10 minutes)
In another bowl put 1/2 cup of olive oil and add 1 cup of sugar and a capful of vanilla essence. Beat well. Add the seed mixture and
1/2 cup of almond meal or ground hazelnuts
1/2 cup of LSA
1/2 cup of psyllium husks
1/2 cup of oat bran
1/2 cup of plain flour
Mix well. I find it is best to do this by hand, gradually adding 1/2 cup of milk. If it is too wet add some more flour. It should look like this...



Grease your trays well. Take a piece of mixture about the size of a walnut, roll it into a ball and then flatten between your hands and place on the tray.



Oven at 200 degrees Celsius. After 10 minutes take the biscuits out and with a fork press them all as flat as possible. Return them to the oven for a further 15 minutes then take them out again and turn all the biscuits over and return to the oven again. Leave for a further 20 minutes then take them out and place on a cake cooler. Place in an airtight jar once they are completely cold.
(Depending how hot your oven is the biscuits can start to crisp up. So keep an eye on them towards the end of the cooking time)
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Moroccan beet root dip

I had never realized how easy beet root is to grow. It adds a lovely earthy taste grated into salads, but I love beet root dip.



Remove the tops and the roots but not the skin. Wash them thoroughly then cut up and place in baking tray.



Toss them in oil and sprinkle with salt. Bake in a slow oven till cooked. To save on electricity I usually bake something else at the same time.
When cool I put the beet root in a food processor, add about 100 gm of cream cheese, just a splash of olive oil, 2 tablespoons of runny honey, juice of 1/2 a lemon, 1/4 teaspoon of chili powder and 1/2 teaspoon of cumin. Adjust the spices to your taste. Process till smooth.

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Cream cheese stuffed apricots

I was just given some apricots and couldn't wait to make my favorite fresh apricot recipe!



It is so easy and if you take a plate of these to a party or barbecue then stand back to avoid being trampled.
Wash the apricots then cut them in half and remove the stone.
Because I keep my honey in the fridge to beat the ants I have to soften it in the microwave. To 80gm of cream cheese( I use the light one pretending to be virtuous) I add 1 tablespoon of runny honey, a capful of natural vanilla essence and a handful of slivered almonds. You can adjust this to suit your own taste preferences.



Mix it up then spoon it onto the apricots.
It is the sort of thing you can pretend is healthy, well the fruit is!



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Spiced apple and zucchini cake with maple syrup icing

It's that time of year when the zucchini crop begins to overwhelm you. In the beginning you anxiously watch the tiny ones begin, then suddenly they reach a point where over night they appear to have been injected with steroids!



In order to use up zucchini I decided to use it for the birthday cake. So not wanting to make the same boring recipe that I feel like I have made forever, I decided to invent a new one!
This is so easy because it all goes in one bowl. Saves washing up time. Into a big bowl tip three cups of SR flour, two cups of sugar, 3 eggs, 400 gram of grated zucchini, 200 grams of grated apple, 1 heaped teaspoon of baking powder, 2 heaped teaspoons of ground ginger, 2 heaped teaspoons of cinnamon, 2 heaped teaspoons of mixed spice, 2 teaspoons of bicarbonate of soda, pinch of salt, 1 cup of good quality light vegetable oil and approximately 1/4 cup of milk. Mix this all together very well. It is a quite heavy mixture to mix, so possibly a good arm exercise as well.
It makes a big cake, my tin was 26cm. I always take the time to grease and line the tin now because it's better than finishing up with half a cake on the cake cooler!
You could always make it in two smaller tins. Freeze one without icing and ice it when you need it.



The mixture is quite wet but if it looks too wet add a little more flour. Here it is in the tin. Bang the tin down on the countertop to get rid of any airspaces.



All ovens are different mine is fan forced electric and I put the cake in the middle shelf at 180 degrees Celsius. It took about 45 minutes. But just test it and as long as the cake is firm in the middle and is coming away from the sides of the tin and when tested with a skewer, the skewer is free of any sticky residue it is cooked. If in doubt leave it in longer. Better to make sure it is cooked and it won't hurt the cake.
Leave it to cool in the tin for bout 30 minutes then tip it out onto a cake cooler. Let it get completely cold before icing it. Icing was really simple. I melted 60 gms of butter and about 1/2 cup of maple syrup in a saucepan. You will really need to watch this as it will burn and you only want the butter to melt. I never measure icing mixture just go by consistency but put about 2 cups of the powdered icing mixture into a bowl and add the butter maple syrup liquid. Stir this, I find using a knife the easiest. Then add thickened cream till the icing is the correct consistency. Firm enough to spread but not runny enough that it finishes up on the serving plate and not the cake. The beauty of making icing is you can't go wrong. If it is too thick add more cream. Too runny add more icing mix. If you make too much there will always be a candidate to lick the bowl. At least there is at our place.



I served it with cream it was so good!


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Mexican nibbles

This was another invention to serve with drinks. So easy too!
I put a can of drained red kidney beans in the food processor and made it it into a mash. Heated some oil in a non stick pan and then fried the bean mash, added some more oil as needed. Then I just added a sachet of the Old Peso taco spice mix and continued to fry it to release all the flavours. Mix it all in well. I kept that mixture warm and made guacamole, just the usual sour cream garlic, lemon juice and avocado.
Take a bag of plain Doritos, now this was the challenging bit. if you are like me and always manage to buy the bag that someone appears to have stood on, then finding unbroken ones will be a time consuming exercise. Once I had done this, I spread the whole Doritos on a large plate, and put a small amount of the beans topped with guacamole on each one. They were delicious. The trick was to get them to the table before the person carrying them ate them. Enjoy, we did!



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Vegetarian " sausage" rolls

As part of my long lunch I have made my version of sausage rolls. Here is a confession. I love Lion pastry mix. Whilst I do like to make my own pastry this is really quick and easy. I follow their directions but I add juice of a lemon as part of the liquid ingredients. It makes all the difference!
So here goes:
Drain 1 can of chick peas and 1 can of kidney beans put in the food processor with 1 large onion and a tablespoon of dried mixed herbs. Add 2 eggs and fresh herbs. To prepare the herbs I strip them from the woody or thick stems and roughly chop them before adding to the processor. I have used sage leaves, parsley, marjoram, rosemary and oregano.



Now I don't use a lot of salt so this is up to you but I have added a pinch of rock salt. I also add 1 dessert spoon of vegetable stock. Process it all and then tip into a bowl with I cup of fresh breadcrumbs. Mix thoroughly.
Roll out the pastry.


I make a line of the filling on the pastry.



Then I moisten one side of the pastry before folding the other side over to join up.



I gently press along the join with a fork.
Then cut into pieces and place on a greased oven tray.



I bake at 180 degrees in a fan forced oven for about 30 minutes.



You will notice that the tray is not quite as full as when it went into the oven. I tested one and could not stop. So much for the diet!



With my home made tomato sauce from last season. Yum if I say so myself.
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Self saucing chocolate pudding

This has been a family favorite forever!
When it is baked it is a chocolate pudding with a thick chocolate sauce under it.



Cream 60 grams of butter with 1/2 cup of sugar. Add one egg and a teaspoon of vanilla and mix well. Add 1 cup of self raising flour and 2 level tablespoons of cocoa. I like it really chocolatey so I add a tablespoon of drinking chocolate as well. Add 1/2 cup of milk. Mix well. Put the mixture in a well greased oven proof dish.



Now make a topping by combining 1/2 cup of sugar 2 level tablespoons of cocoa
( once again I also add some drinking chocolate too) mix this well and then sprinkle it over the top of your pudding.



Finally carefully spoon 1 1/2 cups of hot water very gently over it. Bake in a moderate oven for 35 to 40 minutes.
Serve with cream and a few fresh strawberries. This also works well in individual ramekins.

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Pudding update

I just tipped my pudding out onto a plate and managed to leave some behind in the dish. But just got it out with the egg slice and put it back on. You can't even see the problem. This is why you have to grease the dish very well. And even then sometimes it can stick a bit. Perhaps I should put baking paper in the bottom. I will do that next Christmas.



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Best ever easy traditional Christmas pudding Part Two

See part one here: http://mumskitchengarden.blogspot.com.au/2012/11/my-mother-and-grandmother-used-to-make.html

Now that the dried fruit has soaked up all the alcohol it's time to make the pudding.
To the fruit add 1 cup of fresh breadcrumbs. I prefer to make my own using a nice grainy bread. I remove the crusts and put it through the food processor. Because the crumbs are so light push them down in the measuring cup. Not too much though! I add 1 teaspoon of cinnamon, 1 teaspoon of ground ginger,1 teaspoon of mixed spice, 1 cup of raw sugar, 2 eggs,1/2 cup of blanched slivered almonds, 100 grams of melted, softened butter, 2 tablespoons of brandy and a cup of plain flour.




The secret to how moist this pudding is comes from the next ingredient. Take two granny smith apples, peel them and grate them into the mixture. I find the easiest way to do this is to peel the apples,and then using them whole, just grate them down to the core, which I discard.




Mix the ingredients together well. If it seems too wet just add a little flour, but it is a very wet looking mixture.




I use a Corning ware dish to cook it in. One that has a lid,but any microwave proof glass or ceramic container is suitable.
Grease the container very well with butter.




Put the mixture in the container and press it down firmly with a spatula. Gently bang the container on the bench top to knock out any air spaces.




Now the easy part, put it in the microwave for ten minutes. Take it out, cover it and let it stand for about 5 minutes.








As you can see it still looks wet in the middle. It goes back in the microwave for another 10 minutes.




I took mine out at the end of this and it still looked a little wet in the middle so I put it back in microwave for another 3 minutes with the top on. If you don't have a container with a lid I would just use microwave film or just put a plate on top of your container.




It smells wonderful!
I will just let it cool and then cover it tightly with food wrap. Normally I would have made my pudding months ago so I would have frozen it. But because Christmas is so close I will keep this in the fridge till Christmas eve. Then I will take it out and let it come to room temperature before I reheat it on Christmas day.
To reheat it I will sprinkle a little water and brandy over it and then put it in microwave for 10 minutes then let it stand covered for 5 minutes and then put it back in for another five minutes. Serve it with fresh cream and brandy sauce. Some of our family even add ice cream.
Your guests will be sure that this has been made the traditional way. They will tell you they can always tell the difference. So just smile and accept the praise.
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