Month: June 2017

Quick Bread

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Although we enjoy making various yeast breads, in the breadmaker I must admit, that needs planning and sometimes a quick bread is called for. I have made beer bread but if you have no beer to hand it is a bit difficult. The other night we decided on a comfort bowl of soup and it was too late to make ‘real’ bread. I had been meaning to try Soda Bread for ages, and a quick google found this wonderful site. Alas, no buttermilk! Further research lead me to believe I could achieve what I wanted with ordinary milk and here is the result.

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Soda Bread

A quick, light fluffy bread using ordinary milk.

Course: Side Dish
Cuisine: Irish
Servings: 4
Calories: 220 kcal
Author: Sharon
Ingredients
  • 225 gm flour
  • 1/2 tsp raw sugar
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 1/2 tsp baking soda - heaped
  • 1/2 tsp baking powder
  • 100 ml milk
Instructions

  1. Preheat oven to 200C.

  2. Sift the dry ingredients together twice into a large bowl, make a well in the center. Pour milk in and stir until you have a soft dough (if necessary add more milk a tablespoon at a time).

  3. Turn dough out onto a lightly floured board and knead into a ball, do not knead for longer than 30 seconds. Cut a cross in top. 

  4. Gently place in greased casserole dish. (See note) and place in oven, set timer for 30 minutes. Remove lid and bake for further 15 minutes.

  5. For a crunchy crust put on a rack to cool. For a soft crust,  wrap the bread in a tea towel to cool.

Recipe Notes

The bread can be baked on an oven tray, but I use a cast iron casserole dish with a lid. Lightly grease dish with butter.

SharonLeave a comment

Cauliflower Curry

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The best laid schemes o' mice an' men / Gang aft a-gley.
Robert Burns - To a Mouse.

Cauliflowers are temperamental little things, they like everything just right. Provide ideal conditions and they will offer lovely tight heads for you epicurean delight. Unfortunately Mother Nature can also be temperamental and upset the best laid plans. I like to use those slightly yellow, stalky cauliflowers in a curry, once everything is mixed the only thing on a diner’s mind id taste!

Serve this with Naan bread and rice, it freezes well and once you have 2 or 3 various leftover curries in the freezer you have a curry party ready to happen.

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Cauliflower & Potato Curry
Prep Time
20 mins
Cook Time
30 mins
Total Time
50 mins
 

This is a creamy, mild curry. 

Course: Main Course
Cuisine: Indian, Vegetarian
Servings: 4
Author: Sharon
Ingredients
  • 200 gm potato - chopped into 2 cm pieces & cooked
  • 1 medium cauliflower head - cut into pieces & cooked
  • 1 small onion - finely diced
  • 1 small green pepper - finely chopped
  • 3 cloves garlic - crushed
  • 1 tsp grated fresh ginger
  • salt & pepper
  • 2 Tbsp oil
Spices
  • 1/2 tsp ground turmeric
  • 1/2 tsp chili powder - more or less to your taste optional
  • 1/2 tsp garam masala powder
  • 1 tsp ground coriander
  • 1 tsp ground cumin
  • 1 bayleaf
  • 1/2 tsp caraway seeds
  • 1/2 tsp fenugreek seeds
Sauce Ingredients
  • 1/2 cup pureed tomatoes
  • 1/4 cup ground almonds
  • 1/4 cup water
  • 1/2 cup coconut milk
  • 2 Tbsp greek yogurt
Instructions

  1. Heat oil in large frypan and saute onion, green pepper, garlic, and ginger, with salt and pepper to taste for 10 minutes over a low heat till soft. This can be done while potatoes and cauliflower are cooking.

  2. Mix spices together, turn heat on onion mix to medium and add spices, stir for 1 minute.

  3. Add all sauce ingredients except yoghurt. Cover and leave to simmer for 10 minutes over low heat.

  4. Stir in potatoes and cauliflower, add yoghurt and stir until everything is hot.

Recipe Notes

There are some less common spices in this recipe, at a pinch use curry powder instead of dry spices.

Fennel seeds could replace fenugreek and caraway.

Cream instead of coconut milk or sour cream instead of yoghurt. 

SharonLeave a comment

Corn Chowder

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Winter and soup go together without a doubt, and it is nice to have a selection of flavours available so you can enjoy the seasonal harvest. Corn is not a winter vegetable, I know, but we have quite a supply in the freezer from the summer abundance.

This soup uses corn on the cob, as you  use the cobs for the stock, no waste, another thing I like.

 

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Corn Chowder
Prep Time
20 mins
Cook Time
20 mins
Total Time
35 mins
 

Smooth, creamy, and delicious, you can really taste the corn in this vibrant soup.

Course: Main Course, Soup
Cuisine: Vegetarian
Servings: 4
Author: Sharon
Ingredients
  • 6 ears corn
  • 1500 ml vegetable stock
  • 1 bay leaf
  • 1 tsp fennel seed
  • 1 tsp coriander seed
  • 1 tsp whole black peppercorns
  • 1 stick celery
  • 300 gm potato - cut in quarters
  • 4 Tbsp butter
  • 1 medium onion - chopped roughly
  • 2 cloves garlic
  • 150 ml cream
  • 150 ml milk
  • 1/2 cup cheese - grated
  • sea salt
To Serve
  • spring onion sliced finely
  • sour cream
Instructions

  1. Remove corn kernels from cobs over a bowl and reserve for later.

  2. Scrape cobs over a medium saucepan to collect any milk and then break cobs in half and add to pan. Add Stock, bay leaf, fennel and coriander seeds, peppercorns, celery, and potato pieces. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer for 5 minutes. Leave to cool for a few minutes.

  3. Meanwhile, melt butter in large pan over medium heat. Add onions, garlic, and corn kernels, with salt to taste. Saute until onion is soft, about 8 minutes. Remove potato quarters from stock, and add to pan with onion and corn mix.

  4. Strain stock to remove cobs and whole spices. Add stock to the other pan and simmer for a further 10 minutes until potato is tender. 

  5. Using a stick blender (see notes) puree soup until smooth. Stir in milk, cream, and cheese. Reheat to serve.

To Serve

  1. Place a teaspoon of sour cream in middle of soup and sprinkle with sliced spring onion. 

Recipe Notes

If you use a blender instead of a stick blender you will need to cool the soup for at least 30 minutes first.

SharonLeave a comment

Silverbeet or Chard?

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“What is in a name? That by which we call a rose by any other name would smell as sweet.”
William Shakespeare

Recipe for Silverbeet pie below.

Like many of you, I imagine, I grew up with boiled Silverbeet as a side vegetable and do not have particularly fond memories of the dish. I believe this may explain my tendency to refer to the same vegetable as Chard or Swiss Chard today. Are they the same? Pretty much Yes!

One of the reasons plants have Latin  names is so we can know their family and a brief description, in the case of Silverbeet the Latin name is Beta vulgaris. So we know it is a member of the common (vulgaris) beet (Beta) family, okay so for those having a laugh we have cleared up the idea that the vegetable lacks ‘good taste’.

Kings Seeds describes Beet Ford Hook as standard Silverbeet, and their other varieties as forms of coloured Chard.

To further confuse matters Perpetual Spinach is Beta Vulgaris,  while most other spinach varieties are Spinacia  (Spinach) oleraceaare (pot herb). So, my point is when it comes to actually making the following recipe feel free to use a green leafy vegetable of your choice. A note about pastry – by all means make a savoury short pastry for this dish (I did in the pictured pie) but if time is of the essence use a pre-rolled sheet of bought flaky pastry.

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Siverbeet Pie with Prunes
Prep Time
10 mins
Cook Time
25 mins
Total Time
35 mins
 

A simple seasonal vegetarian pie using green leaves.

Course: Main Course
Cuisine: Vegetarian
Servings: 2
Ingredients
  • 1 small onion finely diced
  • 2 garlic cloves crushed
  • 1 TBSP olive oil
  • 200 gm silverbeet leaves
  • 8 prunes
  • Fine sea salt
  • 1 Tbsp olive oil
  • Pastry
  • 2 TBSP rolled oats or farro
  • 3 TBSP pine nuts - toasted
  • freshly ground black pepper
  • 1 egg yolk
Instructions
  1. Preheat oven to 200C

  2. Heat oil in small pan and saute onion & garlic until soft.

  3. Rinse silverbeet leaves, roll and slice into strips.

  4. In a food processor chop prunes, add onion, garlic, second measure of oil, and ½ tsp salt - process until they form a paste.

  5. Roll 1/2 of pastry out to form a 28 cm circle. Transfer to a baking sheet.

  6. Spread prune mixture over the circle, being careful to leave at least a 2.5 cm border. Sprinkle oats or farro over prune paste to absorb extra liquid.
  7. Scatter pine nuts on top and arrange silverbeet over all, maintaining clear border. Grind a little pepper over everything.
  8. In a small bowl, whisk egg yolk with 1 TBSP cold water. Use some of this to moisten border of pastry.
  9. Roll remainder of pastry to a 30 cm circle or slightly bigger. Drape over pile of silverbeet. Use a fork to crimp and seal edges of pastry together. Poke a sharp knife into top of pie to create 2 air vents.
  10. Brush top of pie with remaining egg yolk and bake for 25 minutes.
Recipe Notes

Kale, Swiss Chard, or spinach may substituted for Silverbeet.

If using bought flaky pastry, cut in half diagonally.

Did you enjoy this? What did you serve with the pie?

SharonLeave a comment

Healthy Soil = Healthy Plants = Healthy People

Healthy soil that is used to grow our food needs assistance to stay that way, as plants grow they deplete the soil of its nutrients and moisture. Healthy soil also aids in the conservation of water, meaning less irrigation.

Healthy plants attract less destructive pests, so will need less chemical intervention and will lead to healthier people.

There are many ways of improving the health of the soil, and for many years gardeners and farmers have reached for chemical fertilisers to assist them in producing larger, and faster, crops. However, the move toward sustainable use of the earth is leading to more organically friendly ways of fertilising our vegetables and fruit.

What is Fertiliser?

According to the dictionary it is: a natural or chemical substance that is spread on the land or given to plants to make the plants grow well.

Well, it seems to me the natural way sounds much healthier.

Biochar is one of those things that could make a huge difference to the way we treat our soil. Biochar is charcoal made from plant material and agricultural waste and is one of the many things that can aid in improving soil condition. It is a fine-grained charcoal produced from the slow burning of organic matter in a low- or no-oxygen environment. It is used as an additive to soil to improve nutrient and water retention, and carbon storage (to mitigate greenhouse gasses). For an academic article on Biochar see here.

The technique of using charcoal to improve soil has its origins in the Amazon Basin 2500 years ago. The soil there today is rich and dark with a neutral pH.

pH is a scale of 0-14 that measures acidity/alkalinity of soil. A neutral pH is 7 and most of us would be happy if our reading was between 6 and 7. HOWEVER, this does not take into account the percentages of particular nutrients.

When our plants look sickly we usually go to the nearest outlet selling fertiliser, buy a bag, and add it to the garden. But, what are we buying?  Most general fertilisers are a mix of N-P-K (Nitrogen, Phosphorus, & Potassium) and often the bags have varying proportions of each of those – e.g. N-P-K 6-5-5 means 6 parts nitrogen to 5 parts phosphorus and 5 parts potassium. All well and good, but some may be 20-5-5 etc. As we will see as we go along different plants need different amounts of these essential nutrients, so surely it is healthier for our soil and plants (and by association us) to add these nutrients separately or through natural methods. Besides the 3 essential nutrients (N-P-K) fertilisers will contain trace elements such as Zinc and Boron, again every plant has its own needs and will give you signs as to deficiencies or over abundances.

Over the next year we will be moving to a no till, no additives style of gardening, so stay tuned for updates. 

Nitrogen

Nitrogen is one of the more elusive plant nutrients. Its availability depends on numerous other factors such as moisture, condition, and the active organisms in the soil. Nitrogen is essential for plant growth, and it is required for photosynthesis (greening) to occur.

Phosphorus

Needed for good root growth, plant maturity and photosynthesis (the use of sunlight and carbon to release oxygen).

Potassium

Aids the manufacture of sugars within plants, which has a direct bearing on a plant’s ability to resist diseases. It assists plants to cope with water and drought. Potassium also assists photosynthesis, particularly for plants in semi shade. Lastly, it encourages growth.

Calcium

It builds the cell walls of plant tissues and neutralizes acids produced by plants as toxic by-products of metabolism. It regulates the availability of other nutrients, builds plant proteins, and prevents magnesium toxicity.

Magnesium

Magnesium aids in a plant’s use of other nutrients, including nitrogen, phosphorus, and sulfur. What may appear as a phosphorus deficiency, for example, may be a magnesium deficiency that results in a plant’s inability to absorb phosphorus.

Sulfur

It helps plants produce proteins and enzymes, soil can struggle to retain sulphur especially if it is sandy.

Trace Elements

Nine nutritional elements exist as trace elements, and plants need them only in minute amounts. Oxygen, carbon, and hydrogen come from air. The other 6 are:

Zinc Zinc aids the creation of amino acids.

Boron Boron influences cell development and division, fruiting, flowering, stem growth, and a host of other plant activities.

Manganese Aids healthy growth.

Iron Plays major roles in the production of chlorophyll and in the nitrogen-fixation process. It also helps reduce nitrates to ammonia for the synthesis of plant proteins.

Copper Activates plant respiration and iron usage.

Molybdenum Aids in development of leaf growth

SharonLeave a comment