Fish with butter sauce

The only way this could get better would be to have it with bacon...

Beurre Blanc
1/4 cup (60 ml) dry white wine
1/4 cup (60ml) white wine vinegar
1/2 a small onion - thinly sliced
4 tsp lemon juice
200g butter - chopped and chilled

Put the wine and vinegar into a small pot and bring to the boil.
Add the onion, season and reduce the heat to low.
Cook until most of the liquid has evaporated - you need to leave about 1 - 2 tbsp.
Add 2 tsp lemon juice then strain - keep the liquid.
Return the liquid to a clean pot and bring back to hot.
Turn the heat down again and whisk in the butter piece by piece - wait until each piece is melted before you add the next - keep whisking.
Add the remaining 2 tsp lemon juice, season to taste and keep warm.

Pan fry your fish in butter.
Serve fish with sauce spooned over. We had ours with zuchinni, Rick had potatoes too.

Yum

Have you tried this yet?

 I keep reading about how fabulous Coconut Oil is, so I bought some... And it is! Such a subtle flavour. Some bloggers have mentioned eating it by the spoonful - I'm not up for that - yet - but I did lick my finger and it is really good stuff. It melts in your mouth like the best Belgian chocolate and doesn't taste at all oily. I expected it to be a bit like lard, but it isn't at all.
 I cooked last week's liver and bacon in it, and I made a date and chocolate and almond and coconut oil thing yesterday (I know I'm dieting, but it was one of those days). I'll do the recipe tomorrow - Yoshi has helped me eat some steak and is now asleep on my lap. It's kinda hard to blog around a cat.

This picture was taken in summer, but the effect is the same

I think I need to get out more

Look what I found at the supermarket ... Gluten Free Oyster Sauce! I'm so excited :-)

Herb Gravy

Blogger is back! Yay!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Being unable to use blogger has been like having an arm cut off... now they just have to make the comments bit work again... or is that just me?

I made roast pork for dinner last night, with pumpkin, kumara (sweet potato) and parsnip.
There is no recipe - you just put everything in the oven and wait for it to cook.
With a roast dinner, you need gravy - you just DO!
I found this one:  http://www.elanaspantry.com/herb-gravy/
It is easy and really, really good.

The trouble with following food blogs is that you keep finding lovely recipes that you want to try, and my usual technique of putting a post-it-note on it - doesn't work well with a computer...
AND it also means the recipes (ninehundredandseventytwelve of them!) I have already put post-its on, is as large as it ever was :-)

On the diet side - I dished up our meal last night (Rick usually does this). I dished my meal up so small that Rick was worried 'Is that all you're going to eat?'
I ate half and was full.

Things to do before summer is over.

In the middle of summer, when we have had our fill of tomatoes, it is hard to imagine that come winter time, when we think we will never see blue sky again (this is New Zealand, Aotearoa - the Land of the Long White Cloud... I live in Palmerston North, where cloud is common, and usually grey) that something as simple as this will make roasted, tinned tomatoes taste like heaven.
We are in the process of tucking our vegetable garden in for the winter, piling on grass clippings and leaves, golden and crunchy. In spring we will add truckloads of compost. Everything rots down to a lovely dark, wormy mass - perfect for planting next year's tomato plants.

Too good to waste!

Basil Sherry

Fresh Basil - wash it if you need to, but make sure it is dry
Sherry - the liquor store we go to only has medium sherry, which seems to work just fine, but dry sherry is apparently better.

Pack a clean, dry jar with basil leaves - really cram them in.
Pour sherry carefully into the jar until the basil is covered - bump the jar to knock out any air bubbles.
Put a lid on it.
Leave it for 10 days.
Strain off the sherry, pour it over fresh basil and leave it for about 12 days.
Strain off the sherry again.
Sprinkle a spoonful or so over roasted, tinned tomatoes and taste summer.

Basil Sherry on the right... tarragon vinegar, left and middle

Note to self...

The Pomegranate Molasses marinade for salmon IS fabulous with pork slices.

Simple things make me happy.

"To have her meals - her daily walk, and her fill of novels, and to be left alone, was all that she asked of the gods."  Anthony Trollope: The Eustace Diamonds
I would add - "cats" to that list, but otherwise this passage from The Eustace Diamonds pretty much sums me up.

I made roast lamb. Roast dinners need gravy. I needed a gravy that could be made ahead. This one is simple. I was happy.

Olive Oil Enriched Gravy

400ml stock - I used home-made vegetable stock
100ml dry white wine
25g sugar (2 1/2 tbsp)
Fresh herbs - I was making gravy for lamb, so I used rosemary - a BIG sprig
30ml (2 tbsp) olive oil

Put the stock into a small pot. Bring to the boil over high heat and boil until reduced by half.
Into a second pot, put the wine, sugar and rosemary. Bring to the boil, reduce to a simmer and reduce by half.
Pour the two together, add olive oil and bring to the boil.
Thicken if you want to - I did, I used a cornflour slurry
Season with salt and pepper and serve hot

Bitter and Sour... no - NOT me!

I've been craving sour and bitter flavours lately. Lots of lemon, rocket (arugula) salads, vinaigrette dressings etc. I don't know why, but I'm happy to go with the flow. This pomegranate molasses marinade is brilliant with salmon. It is sweet/sour/salty and cuts through the richness of the salmon beautifully. Pomegranate molasses is dark garnet in colour, thick and luscious with a sharp tangy sweetness. I get mine at the Indian Grocery around the corner from us. I'm going to ask the young couple who own it (Nasmeen and Im Patel) if I can take photos in there - the place is magic, I'd love to share it.

Pomegranate Marinade for Salmon

4 tbsp pomegranate molasses
2 tbsp honey or maple syrup
2 tbsp gluten-free soy sauce

Stir it all up, put your skinned and boned salmon fillets in and turn over to coat in the marinade.
Cook the salmon in a very hot oven for 8 - 10 minutes.

I imagine this marinade would work really well with lamb, pork or chicken too.... mmmm

Mint Chutney

Digby Law was a New Zealand chef who sadly, died far too early, some years ago. This recipe is adapted from his book Digby Law's Pickle and Chutney Cookbook. He described it as 'Strong and superb, use it sparingly in lamb sandwiches, with barbecued lamb, with lamb burgers or with roast lamb.' This recipe book is one of my favourites, full of wonderful and unusual recipes - perfect for someone like me, who loves preserving food. I get such a thrill from having all the jars full and the pantry shelves groaning... (I have made this chutney both as Digby Law wrote it, using malt vinegar, and this way - it is unquestionably better in the original, but it is not gluten free - so I have had to change it - I hope he wouldn't mind)... and it is still really, really good.

Mint Chutney

250g fresh mint leaves - this is a huge amount of mint, I picked all season, freezing it as I went until I finally had enough
1 tbsp salt
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
125g raisins
50g fresh ginger - sliced
25g garlic - sliced
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 cup cold cider vinegar
1 cup hot cider vinegar

Blitz the mint leaves in a food processor until finely chopped
Add the dry ingredients and whizz until well chopped
Add the cold vinegar and whizz until smooth
Put the paste into a bowl and add the hot vinegar
Allow to cool and spoon into small jars and seal.

Living in the moment

Tonight we're having coleslaw for dinner. Ina made this lovely looking coleslaw here http://glutenfreedelightfullydelicious.com/?p=7312 which I will make. But first, I need to make mayonnaise.

I actually made this by hand - rather than in the food processor. I've spent this lovely (but chilly) day tidying the shade-house. This after a sleepless night in which my little cat kept me awake from midnight on... why don't I put him outside? Because he has the sweetest trick of jumping to the window-sill and knocking on the window to be let back in... you're damned if you do and damned if you don't, because he can keep the knocking going for ages. So, now I feel like sitting quietly and doing something restful...

Mayonnaise

4 egg yolks
2 garlic cloves - peeled
1 tsp wholegrain mustard
2 tbsp lemon juice
500ml (2 cups) salad oil
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

Put egg yolks, garlic, mustard, lemon juice and 2 tbsp of the oil into a food processor.
Blitz till smooth.
With the processor running, slowly add the rest of the oil through the feed tube.
Season to taste.
This makes a very thick mayonnaise - perfect for sandwiches. To make it thinner, add 2 tbsp of boiling water and process.
Mayonnaise will keep, covered in the fridge for 2 - 3 weeks

Quince Jelly and good neighbours

We have been so lucky. We have had the same neighbours on all sides for as long as we have lived in this house - 25 years so far. And they are all good people.
Nettie and Gerald raised a large family next door - most of whom were grown and gone when we arrived in the neighbourhood. They had and still do have, the most amazing, inspirational veggie garden. They have been kind and generous neighbours - generous with advice, encouragement and produce.
Besides veggies, they also have some fruit trees. Including one that is now coming back into fashion - a quince tree. The tree is small, but laden with fruit. Nettie gave me some this week and I have been turning them into jelly. You can't eat quince raw - it's too sour, but cooked it comes into its own.

Wash the fluff off them, cut them up and put them into a big pot. Cover with water, bring to the boil and cook until the fruit is soft. Leave in liquid to cool.

You are supposed to strain the fruit, using a muslin bag, overnight - without squeezing - to get the juice out. This will give you lovely clear liquid that will make a jelly so clear that it almost sparkles.

 However, I don't care that my jelly is a little cloudy - I'm not entering it into any competition, or planning to sell it. So, I wait until the fruit is cool, then I put it into a sieve and squash the bejeebers out of it, to get as much liquid out as possible. It's the pale pink liquid you want - discard the pulp.

 Then I strain the juice through a piece of muslin, into a measuring jug. Quince needs one cup of juice to 3/4 cup of sugar to make a beautiful jelly.

Put the measured juice and the sugar into a large pot. Bring to the boil and boil until it reaches 105-106c on a sugar thermometer. Back when I  had no clue, I made beautiful jelly with no trouble at all. Then I had a disaster and turned one lot of crab-apple juice into toffee, and the next lot didn't set - so I re-boiled it and... turned it into toffee...

I didn't want to waste this beautiful juice, so I bought myself a present yesterday. A sugar thermometer - no mucking around, perfect juice every time. It cost about $38 dollars and I reckon it is worth every cent.

And the scent of quince is heavenly - cloves, apple blossomy, sweet

Tomato Water

Each year Rick asks me how many tomato seeds he should plant. Each year I say "Six or Seven". This year we have 24.

This is what I picked today.

I munched them in the whizz

Then I put them in a colander, lined with clean tea towel, and I hung it over a bowl to drain.

It'll drain overnight in the fridge. The clear liquid that comes out the bottom is tomato water - the concentrated essence of summer. I'll freeze it in little cubes and use it over winter, when this heat and humidity are just a memory.

I've never done this before. I sure hope it works...

It DID work!!! These smell stunning.

I have a confession - I miss junk food

When I was told I had celiac disease, I was so relieved that there was finally an answer to why I had been SO unwell for so long. I went gluten-free straight away, immediately. I sometimes wish I had had a 'last meal' (or several). It's not that I really miss junk food - it's more that I miss the ease of junk food. There are times when I just can't be bothered cooking. It's too hot, too whatever and I just want food without the bother of cooking it. Rice noodles are just the thing. I had a pile of coriander (cilantro), so I made this sauce...

CORIANDER SAUCE
1/4 cup fish sauce (nam pla)
1/4 cup caster sugar
1/4 cup rice vinegar
1/4 cup lime juice
Mix together, stirring until the sugar has dissolved. Then add
2 long red chillies - finely chopped
1/3 cup finely chopped fresh coriander

Serve the sauce over rice noodles, top with chopped peanuts, snowpea sprouts, shredded chicken or thinly sliced steak. Cool, fresh, delicious.

I wish you could smell this!

cheating is good

and because even celiacs deserve gravy.

CHEATS GRAVY

2 cups of chicken consomme
 1/2 cup of sherry or madeira
1 tbsp redcurrant jelly (or crab apple, quince - whatever)
Place in a medium saucepan and simmer 5 minutes over a moderately high heat until reduced and thickened by 1/3. Season to taste.
For lamb - add a little rosemary
For Chicken or Veal - add tarragon.

Chilli Jam

This jam is delicious, and it uses some more of the tomato glut.

CHILLI JAM

2 1/2 kg tomatoes - chopped (you can skin them if you want - I don't)
70g garlic - skinned
70g fresh root ginger - skinned and sliced
3 - 4g small dried chillies - about 20
1 tsp salt
1 tsp ground cumin
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground cloves
937ml vinegar - I use Cider
2 1/4 kg white sugar

Put tomatoes, garlic and ginger and chillies into a large pot and simmer for about 20 minutes.
Add salt, spices and vinegar and bring back to the boil.
Next add the sugar. Simmer for about an hour, stirring regularly.
Blitz the sauce in a food processor.
Return to the clean pot and simmer until a jam consistency.
Bottle.

My little mate - Happy Birthday. 11 today.




 

Tomatoes.... or should that be TOMATOES!

Every year, the Silver Fox asks me "How many tomato seeds should I plant?" and every year I say "Seven".
Every year he ignores me.

So, each year we have a glut. And I make sauce.

EVERLASTING TOMATO SAUCE

3kg tomatoes - chopped
1kg unpeeled apples - chopped
1kg unpeeled onions - chopped
3 cloves garlic
100g common salt
750g brown sugar
30g allspice berries
30g whole cloves
7 cups vinegar (the original recipe calls for malt vinegar, but I can't have that so I use cider vinegar)


Tip allspice berries and cloves into a piece of muslin and tie with string.
Add to the pot with all other ingredients and simmer at least 4 hours.
Remove spice bag and whizz all other ingredients in a food processor.
Bottle.
Do not cut down on spices or on cooking time.

Zucchini Hunny



Little Ones...


Zucchinis are  tricksy beasties - I'm sure, if you look carefully enough, that you can actually see them grow. Once moment a sweet little zucchini - turn your back for a second - and they turn into marrows!
And we planted four in our small veggie garden! FOUR! Yikes!
So, now I have to figure out how to use them up. Because I can't bear to waste food - a legacy, I think, of my childhood mealtimes - mum and dad telling us to eat everything on our plates, because the starving children would be happy to have such a meal.
Friends and neighbours are starting to avoid me - all zucchini'd out....
So, I made pancakes, twice,  using a recipe by Erica Kerwien of Comfy Belly. Erica has great recipes - you can find her here: http://www.comfybelly.com/  ,and they were delicious - I prefer the buckwheat version, and I added a clove of finely chopped garlic.

Eeek!

Yum

Then I made Zucchini Jam, but I called it Lime Hunny - because  suspect my dad would not eat it if he knew what it was made of! One day I'm going to use it to make zucchini meringue pie.

Lime (or Lemon) Hunny
500g zucchini, chopped and steamed - I use green ones with lime juice and yellow ones with lemon
Blitz the cooked zucchini in a food processor until completely munched
Put the zucchini pulp into a pot with
500g sugar
60g butter
juice and zest of 2 Limes (or Lemons)

Bring to the boil, stirring until the sugar is dissolved.
Boil for about 30 minutes, until the jam has a consistency like Lemon Curd.
Bottle.
As there are no eggs in this preserve, it doesn't need to be refrigerated once it is opened. It also keeps longer than traditional Curd would... and dad loves it! Job done.

...on the left...