Bits and Pieces

Pete and I started talking about his recipe and ended up discussing half a dozen things so I though it was important to put in some follow up information.

Snail forks: I got the snail fork half right (as you can see from the pic) but they don't have little hooks on the end.

Purging snails: another thing I (almost) got right - the most common way to purge snails is to allow them to fast for about 5 days. Some googling has told me that you can feed them cornmeal, oats or bran just before this time, but the most common method remains a fast.

River Cottage: home of all things wonderful - currently on ABC1 but check out their website for more info.

Cheesy Cauliflower: (as opposed to cauliflower cheese) I blogged about this when I first made it because it was so good and so easy but reproduce it here:


Dead easy and particularly delicious. For the cambembert: cut it into wedges, dip in flour, egg and breadcrumb and then deep fry until golden (but no so golden that the cheese has melted). For the sauce: cook cauliflower florets of 1 biggish cauliflower in milk with 1 bay leaf and 1 clove until the cauliflower is tender. Remove bay leaf and blend until smooth.

Dip cheese into sauce and grin madly :-) All up, from start to finish, about 15 - 18 minutes.

PS: The left over sauce made a scrummy topping for toast lol


Snail fork image: Hospitality Wholesale
Cheesy Caulifower image: Pearl Maya

Byron Bay Chilli Company

Surely one of the best chilli sauce makers in the world - with an almost complete set of international awards to prove it - Byron bay Chilli's are also home to salsa and corn chips. Drop by their website to check out your local suppliers, buy some delights online or check out a great range of recipes. And if you would like someone else to do the cooking, and you are in Byron Bay, swing by OzyMex - it is just by the main roundabout, you can't miss it!

For listeners closer to Bellingen, swing by and meet John and co, have a taste and a chat at the weekend's Sawtell Chilli Festival. And if you aren't a big chilli fan, drop by anyway as Sawtell's First Avenue explodes with food, entertainment and color.

Bush Tucker Shack

Photo of some of the foods mentioned in today's show (clockwise from top left): crayfish, pipis, riberry, lemon myrtle, lily pily, macadamias, damper. For more info check out the Bush Tucker Shack Facebook page.

Links for the photos: Lily Pily, Crayfish, Riberry, Lemon Myrtle, Pipis, Damper, Macadamias

Bush Tucker Shack

You can contact Sue from the Bush Tucker Shack on Facebook or find them at the Dorrigo markets (first Saturday of the month) or the Woolgoolga markets (second Saturday of the month).

The Quarmby's are legends (says me) and if you want to find out more you can check out the Landline interview or their website. You can also follow up Mark Olive here.

Sue mentioned a recipe for Wattleseed, Chicken and Macadamia curry. Sue talked about adapting the recipe to suit her but a great starting point if you wanted to make your own is this recipe.

Stove Top Pizza

The oven in the new house isn't working but I had a hankering for pizza so decided to experiment on making a stop top version. Now I confess I had thought pizza earlier in  the day and it proved a happy coincidence that there was basil in the fridge so the pesto had already been made (using peanuts just for a change).

Next step: caramelizing the onions (which we learnt how to do a few weeks ago with Pete Bufo). So I chopped up three onions and cooked them for nearly an hour in a little butter over very low heat. Just perfect!

Then it was time to make the dough (3/4 C warm water mixed with 1 t of sugar and 1 sachet yeast and then combined with 2 C flour and kneaded until smooth and pliable) and add the toppings - my homemade pesto, shredded cheese, my homemade caramlized onions and sliced mushrooms. More toppings that I would normally add but I was feeling a little wild and decadent.

I researched the process for cooking on a stove top (cover the pizza with a lid or tight fitting foil and cook on low for about 15 - 20 minutes to all the toppings to cook, the cheese to melt and the base to crust (but not burn). With instructions that easy, it was worth a try.

Results: 6.5/10. Things I would change next time: make a thin crust pizza - the dough around the edges wasn't fully cooked through - although it was towards the centre of the pie; use a heavy based pan rather than my cheapie frypan; use less toppings - the flavors were great and certainly went together but there was too many big flavors for me to fully appreciate each of them (next time I shall do a pizza bianca with the caramelized onion on one half and the pesto and mushrooms on the other half); and, use half as much cheese - I generally just use a sprinkle of parmesan and I put a bit too much on this one. Not that these were big faults as such, more like tweaks ..... and a reason to cook pizza this way another time :-)

Bellingen Public School

You don't get more local than the local school and the Bellingen Public School has released a cookbooks filled to the brim with recipes contributed by parents, students, staff and friends of the school. As well as real recipes using common ingredients, the recipe book also forms part of the schools fundraising program.

Available for the bargain price of just $15 from the School or the Bellingen Library.

Why stop at one, why not get enough for all of the stocking stuffers you will need for Christmas 2012.

Image: Nelson Stark with his winning cover for the recipe book. Photo from the Bellingen Courier-Sun

Hafla Gourmet Dips

Made locally using the best ingredients possible, Halfa Gourmet Dips are enough to get the tastebuds watering.

And don't limit yourself to just eating the dips with a biscuit or carrot stick - what about stirring through pasta as the base of a quick and easy meal, adding them to stir-frys, using the dips instead of butter in your sandwiches - you are only limited by your imagination.

And when you visit the website, don't forget to leave your feedback - let Alon know what you thought of the product, or even send him a photo of the feast, party or casual get together where it was enjoyed.

Hafla is a great local company available in stores from Sydney to Brisbane.

Hints and Tips - Cutting the Food Budget

1. Plan your meals and make a list - stick to it.

2. Only buy seasonal produce.

3. Use leftovers the next, or freeze then, or upcycle them.

4. Make your own baby food by freezing iceblock sized portions of fruit, vegetables or other foods.

5. Don't go shopping hungry.

6. You don't need more than a palm sized piece of red meat two the three times a week - eating larger servings more often are just wasted.

7. Make your own meals from scratch - pre-pared food is usually more expensive.

8. Cut out or cut down the take-aways - home cooking is usually a lot cheaper and more healthy - and tastes better too! This includes taking your own lunches to work or school.

9. Grate your own cheese rather than buying shredded. This applied to pre-cut onions as well.

10. Check the unit pricing.

Hints and Tips - Eggs

Todays H&T is all about eggs

1. Eggs are beautifully ovoid and delicately shaded in whites and creams but despite their beauty they shouldn’t be stored on public display – they should be stored in the fridge.

2. Refrigerate eggs in the carton – the shells are porous and can absorb flavors and ordors from the kitchen – but the cartons keep them safe.

3. If you collect eggs from your own chooks, never wash them – once they have become wet they are even more porous – allowing smells and bacteria to permeate the egg. Instead, lightly brush them with some steel wool to remove and droppings, dirt or other mess.

4. When cooking, unless the recipe states otherwise, always use eggs that have been removed from the fridge and allowed to return to room temperature. It takes about 30 minutes for an egg to come to room temperature. If you are short of time – and going to use the egg straight away, you can rest it in some warm (not hot) water.

5. When beating egg whites, use a stainless steel, glass or ceramic bowl and make sure it is scrupulously clean from any residue fatty deposits. If there is any risk it might not have been washed properly, wipe out the bowl with some white vinegar on a paper cloth and allow to dry before using.

6. Don’t let beaten eggs sit while you complete other stages of a recipe – use them immediately.

7. To check the freshness of an egg drop them into a tall glass of water – the lower the air sits in the glass the fresher it is. Each egg has a small air sack and this expands the older the egg – which is why they begin to float as they age.

8. Older eggs are easier to peel than really fresh eggs.

9. When beating eggs a soft peak is achieved when you lift up the beater (after turning it off) and a peak forms and then gently falls over. A stiff peak has been achieved if the little peak stays standing up.

10. If you crack an egg and find a bit of shell has broken off, use the remaining shell as a scoop – it appears to attract any random bits whereas they run away from cutlery and fingers.

Basic egg recipes: boiled egg, fried egg, omelette, pavlova, frittata, mayonnaise, meringue, devilled eggs, egg salad, quiche, egg nests, scrambled eggs, poached eggs,  scotch eggs, French toast (eggy bread), custard, baked egg, huevos rancheros. Check out the recipe links on the left hand side for more recipe ideas or share your own recipes as a comment.

And for something completely random - if you are cooking with emu eggs, 1 emu egg is equivalent to about 9 chicken eggs :-)

Partnering Lamb

Whether you are roasting, grilling, barbequing or casseroling you lamb consider using some of these perefect flavor matches with it:

Garlic, Rosemary, Mint, Thyme, Oregano, Bay Leaves, Parsley, Basil, Coriander, Marjoram, Dill, Sage, Tarragon

Allspice, Paprika, Cloves, Ginger, Lemon Pepper, Curry Powder, Moroccan Spices, Chilli

Lemon

It certainly isn't a comprehensive list - let us know what your favorite combinations for rubs, marinade and sprinkles are.

And the perfect mint sauce is not a bought one:
Mix about 1/2 C vinegar with about 1 1/2 t sugar until dissolved and 3 T  chopped mint.  Allow to sit for at least an hour to let the flavors develop - the longer the sitting, the more flavor.

You can adjust any of these amounts by a very large margin to taste.

Image: from Wizard Recipes - Garlic Roast Leg of Lamb

Hints and Tips - General

1. If your gravy looks a little bit pale try adding some soy sauce - just make sure you taste as you go along.

2. If a recipe calls for fresh herbs and you only have dried, the general rule is to use 1/3 - 1/2 of the amount of dried herbs the recipe lists for fresh herbs.

3. To refresh wilted vegetables, take off any brown bits and sprinkle with water. Wrap in a paper towel or tea towel and put in the fridge for about an hour.

4. Freeze leftover wine in icecube trays for use in casseroles and stews.

5. Store your dried herbs away from the light and heat as they will casue your herbs to lose their flavor more quickly.

6. Color code your chopping boards to minimise the chance of food poisoning. If nothing else, have a meat only board.

7. To reduce the fat in stews and casseroles drop in an icecube while it is still cooking - this will cause the fat to stick to the ice and it can be easilt removed before the ice block melts. Repeat as necessary.

8. Instead of making garlic bread, swap the garlic for your choice of herbs and spices for a different twist on an old favorite.

9. If a recipe calls for dried beans and you only have the canned variety, the general rule is to use 3 times the amount of canned beans the recipe calls for dried beans.

10. To store fresh herbs in the fridge, wrap them in damp paper towel and then in a plastic bag

Hints and Tips

Top 10 for the week

1. Substitute self raising flour for 1/3 of the plain flour in your pastry for a flakier result (thanks to d. for this one)

2. Store mushrooms in the paper bags provided. Plastic bags make them go slimy.

3. To separate an egg crack it into your hands and yet the white slip through your fingers. Make sure you wash your hands first of course.

4. Freeze lemon juice in ice-cube trays. Each cube equals about 1 Tablespoon.

5. Use vegetable water from boiled or steamed gravy in stock and gravies.

6. Add bulgar and vegetables to your mice when making burgers - it stretched out the mix, adds sometexture and tastes great.

7. You can use the water used when making corned beef as the base for a ham and pea soup.

8. When making salad sandwiches for school lunches put the tomato in the middle to help stop the bread from going soggy.

9. If your stew is too salty cut up a potato, wrap in muslin and add to the dish. When cooked, remove and recyle - the potato will have absorbed the extra salt (thanks to Pete B for this one).

10. Save and freeze all of your uneaten bread crusts and use to make fresh breadcrumbs as needed.