Hummus and Seed Cake - But Not Together

Our singing group meet up coincided with Valentines Day this week and with a plethora of love songs in our books I set the mood with hummus and beetroot dips. To create the heart motifs in the centres, choose a wide shallow dish, like these small fluted flans. Place an oiled cookie cutter in the middle and fill the outer being careful not to disturb the position of the cutter. Next spoon in the contrast dip and gentle slide the cutter straight up.

I kept these really simple as one of our group is multiple food intolerant and I really don't think the internet needs yet another hummus recipe but I will say that a point of difference in this batch is that I make my own tahini in the thermomix - easy peasy, Beetroot is ready now in our garden and again, there are multiple recipes you could use. This one is without dairy or cashews. The beet was roasted in the oven, cooled, peeled and wizzed with lemon juice, tahini, cumin, salt and garlic. Just a simple puree really.

The Shearer will come home to a custardy carroway seed cake and I have adapted the recipe for the Thermomix and you'll find it here.

I had a little mixture left over and made a few small heart shaped cakes for my work colleagues too.

I offer love to you 

it is limitless

please spread it

X

A Shared Table - Garden Style

Summer has been hot and perfect!

The halcyon days, blindingly bright and bluer than blue skies above.

The clouds and rain so elusive.

Gardeners in Tasmania have been able to grow melons this year, truly a rare feat.

The children have flown back to China and we were pathetically wandering for a couple of days trying to find our rhythm again. The house seemed so quiet and our days filled with hours.

Before they left we had a BBQ for family and friends to catch up with them, escaping the heat within the shade of the giant cherry plum trees.

Our garden is abundant and provided so much for our shared table

Crisp lettuce salad with peach slices and purple torfino beans

dressed with balsamic and oil and a scattering of fetta.

Roasted root veg tumbled through greens

Cous Cous with the first of the season tomatoes and plenty of fresh herbs

and the classic

Beetroot and Carrot salad with currants and pumpkin seeds

and 

for dessert

Upside down plum cake

Peach and rhubarb with vanilla bean Crumble

Great food, good friends and happy family.

It doesn't get any better than this!

When Life Gives You Leftovers...

This is what the other side of the market looks like.

We resumed our growers' market yesterday with a soft opening.

I returned home with a few bunches of spinach and a bunch of beetroot.

For those of you who looked at our seasonal offerings of greens, beets, herbs and eggs and scratched your heads, here's what you could have made....

Simply substitute a couple of eggs from your pasta recipe for some puree.

Simply steam your beet and puree or blanch the greens and drain and pat dry before pureeing. 

If you have a Thermomix, place the beets whole in the thermo steamer with 1500g of water and cook for 25mins, varoma temp speed 3. Then place the washed and chopped greens into the top tray and varoma for a further 8 mins speed 3.

I pureed the veg in the thermomix and added 3 eggs, a splash of olive oil and 500-600g of flour. Process at 2min on interval knead. It should look a bit breadcrumby. 

It's not an exact science when working with puree, be prepared to add a little flour to get your dough right. Let it sit. Then a couple of minutes later as the gluten works it wants to come together into a ball so gather it together and place in the fridge covered for anywhere up to an hour. I find this gives a lovely elastic and silky dough.

Next make lots of lovely shapes and styles. You can leave to thoroughly dry and it will store in an air tight jar for ages. 

My favourite is "bow ties" 

Cook in boiling water till soft but still firm then drain and toss in butter and herbs, maybe add some chorizo, broad beans, mushrooms...

OR

make a sensational spring nettle pesto...

but that's another story....

Tomato Paste for 70 Cents a Jar and Other Savings

My daughter's final weeks of a difficult pregnancy were right in the middle of tomato season so I bottled what I could and made some relish and got the sauce done but the paste had to wait. I turned about 25kg into pulp and then froze it in containers in the freezer till I could devote a day to paste making.

We got a call to say that a sheep was ready and heading for our freezer within the week so it was time to clear it out and defrost ready for the arrival and so the pulp had to be dealt with.

You can read how I make tomato paste here or in the recipe book.

It is a process that takes quite a few hours in the oven so it's good to make economical use of it and bake along.

I had cut a pumpkin a couple of days before and that needed cooking off so I cut the rest up and it went in on trays with the tiniest sprinkle of some of my home grown caraway seed to roast. For lunch we mixed some of the pumpkin with lacto-fermented beetroot (recipe link here) and a dollop of home made yoghurt. The sweetness of the roasted pumpkin goes so well with the salty tanginess of the beets.

After lunch I roasted a chicken which also made space in the freezer. This is one of the young cocks that we raised for meat. We don't raise a lot of chickens but every year Craig gets about 20 day old chicks to raise and usually there is half and half of each sex. We cull the boys at about 14-16 weeks. The meat is amazing and takes me right back to childhood to how birds used to taste. This became dinner and the roasted pumpkin was added to the other vegetables accompanying it.

Some of the pumpkin went into ravioli and the rest went into soup the next days.

THEN,

when I finally turned off the oven I popped in a casserole dish of heated and cooled milk with a couple of tabs of yoghurt to make another batch of fresh yoghurt which was left overnight for a slow ferment and in the morning ready to eat. Yum!

So although I had the oven on for several hours I managed to make economical use of it. It was one of the things drummed into us at school during Home Economics class.

So working on the oven cost of about 35 cents/hour I spent say about $2 for the day but created several meals and ended up with 9 bottles of tomato paste.

I spent a further .30 on water bathing the paste in the bottles and $4 for sealing rings

 so that means I made each 280g bottle of paste for $0.70.

lunch cost about $0.20 for the home made yoghurt

roast dinner cost entirely free except for a tabs of flour and say $0.50 for onions (we didn't grow)

dinner the next night of pumpkin ravioli for 2 was probably no more than $2

Soup cost next to nothing but a few cents for heating

1 lt yoghurt total cost about $2

ALL that food for less than $5.00

and a batch of tomato paste for the pantry that should last us the year through for $6.30

I haven't taken costings to the nth degree like water for the tomato plants and I certainly haven't added a labour cost but you can certainly see how much you save by doing it and growing it yourself. It is without a doubt a team effort with Craig putting in more hours in the garden than I do and while we love making our own pasta I don't know that I could "whip up a family batch of ravioli" if I had a gaggle of young children. You might think it seems like a lot of work but it all unfolded nicely and I had a beautiful productive Sunday. There is nothing nicer than pottering at home, nurturing family, filling the pantry and getting things done. 

Hydrating, Saturating and De-hydrating

Actually it is more than just re-hydration of the beans. I'm following the theory and method from the Nourishing Traditions book. I'm soaking the beans which contain phytic acid and enzyme inhibitors in order to deactivate these properties and avoid digestive stress and allow protein assimilation and absorption. The beans are so inexpensive and nutritionally packed but they do need to be processed properly. I know some books don't even suggest soaking the beans and certainly the cooking time is usual given as "till tender". According to the Nourishing Traditions book it is suggested the beans are soaked for 12-24 hours and some in acidulated water (lemon juice or whey) and then simmered for 4-8 hours.

Here is a high definition photo of the beans soaking showing them covered in tiny air bubbles. (Looks similar to the pencil drawing of Richard Klekociuk) I've tried eating dried beans without soaking and simmered till tender and although they are certainly edible, the stomach "discomfort" and "wind" is not pleasant. I tend to soak the beans and then cook them for several hours in a slow cooker as part of a meat casserole. In summer after a good long simmer, I rinse and refrigerate and use in salads.

I'm also dehydrating. Can you guess what they are?

Blackcurrants.

These currants are so tart not even the birds touch them (well almost never) but they are full of pectin which makes them great to mix with other berries and fruit that may be low in pectin required for jam and jelly setting (more about pectin here). They are rich in vitamins and anti-oxidants and also make delicious cordial but instead of making cordial this year with them I have decided to dehydrate them.

While they are fresh and plump and round, just one can make your lips purse tight and your cheeks contract hard over the teeth but when dehydrated they seem to concentrate their flavour and though still "tangy" they are quite delicious and incredibly tasty in a pumpkin and cous cous or quinoa salad with some mint and maybe a honey/chilli dressing. These could also be used in place of the dried currants in the Beetroot and Carrot Salad with Pomegranate Dressing 

All very good reasons to include easy growing black currant bushes in your garden.

Can you guess what these are? They are not marshmallows...

Daikon

The long white radish.

I'm pickling these in a natural fermentation method same as we did for the beetroot (in this post) and cucumbers (this post here).

In the one on the right I have also added a modest amount of my home grown caraway seeds. Lee from Killiecrankie Farm Nursery has warned me that growing and using your own caraway is much more potent than the shop bought seeds so I am being conservative with the amounts.

After a couple of weeks saturating in the brine fermentation should be complete and my mouth is watering just thinking about it.

So we are still keeping busy waiting for summer to arrive in Tasmania and filling in the days before the tomato glut processing. 

What are you preserving at the moment?

Beetroot Glut

Perfect weather at the market yesterday and there is a subtle change in the produce available.

Chard, spinach, radishes are giving way to beetroot, figs and berries.

Coriander, celery leaf and sage are giving way to parsley, basil and mint.

We are enjoying a glut of beetroot at the moment and my hands are commonly pink at some point daily.

We are boiling them and slicing them for sandwiches or enjoying them hot as a side vegetable at dinner.

We are adding cooked chunks to salads or using it raw grated with carrot and dressing it with a pomegranate molasses, olive oil and cider vinegar dressing with walnuts and feta.

I am also naturally fermenting some for lacto-fermented pickles.

Tangy crunchy beetroot slices for anti-pasto platters.

It is on my bench and being turned daily. 

I took inspiration from this recipe here for my pickling solution flavours.

Salads Have Seasons

I know many of you are food growers and many more of you are more than competent cooks but there are some people who still feel very constrained about a green salad. I meet at least a couple of them every market day. One lady stood in front of two of my huge full baskets of mixed lettuce leaf and asked me if I had any lettuce. I knew she had meant to say she was looking for an iceberg lettuce so I directed her to the shop across the street because you can lead a horse to water but you can't make them drink.

There are others though whom I meet at the market who are embracing some new foods like rat tail radishes and garlic scape and using flower heads like chives, calendula and borage.

Sadly even my own mother said to me just last month "I can't have a salad without tomato"

Well yes you can, especially if they are not in season.

One of my favourite ways with a salad at this time of year is mixed leaf of young spinach, beet leaves and the last of the Asian green leaf with very lightly steamed potato dumped hot onto the leaves with a dollop of natural yoghurt and a spoon of mustard and left to cool and ever so slightly wilt the leaves.

Or like the salad above foraged from the garden; a couple of baby beets, some baby blue sapphire potatoes, a carrot, a few asparagus spears, all lightly steamed and then added to leaves with chopped garlic scape, raw young peas and wilted beet leaves.

It's still a salad.

How about a bowl of loose lettuce leaf (butter, curly, lollo and red coral) with Asian green flower heads, delicious chive petals, wilted beet stems, chopped rat tail radishes and two sliced eggs ready for a simple dressing of olive oil and lemon juice.

This is a salad too.

No iceberg, no tomatoes and no cucumbers ready yet either.

There is so much more excitement to be had from your food. It is important for your body to get many nutrients and it is also important to have bitters and raw greens in our diet that stimulate digestive action from the moment your tongue tastes it.

There is no need for heavy seasoning when you are sprinkling chopped garlic scape or chive flowers and there is a whole other world out there when you start adding some fresh herbs too. When the scape is gone and the chive heads are finished, it will be the season of basil. 

So when you come across a growers stall, open your mind and adjust your thinking from the classic supermarket shop and embrace the seasons as they ebb and flow offering new and exciting taste combinations. Be guided by your growers and what's in the garden now.

Living Better in October

We talked about 

Christmas gifts

Making decorated candles

Making home made paper hanging ornaments

which led to memories about 

saving foil milk bottle lids for decorating

and stories of painting pop corn for stringing.

(Milk bottle top bells image from here)

We talked about making simple salves from Calendula in the garden

soaps,

herbal tea bags for bath soaks

We talked about 

simple Christmas traditions, each family member taking a turn to stir the pudding for luck and the hidden objects in a plum pud.

We talked about the overwhelming amount of "stuff"

Georgia's family give the children coupons for fun things to do together. It's about spending time with children rather than buying more "stuff". They have coupons for going to the movies or an afternoon at the swimming pool or a trip to the beach.

We talked about broad beans;

The difference between planting in autumn or in spring,

their tendency to get rust, a fungal disease, as the weather warms up, 

About not composting affected plants.

About not trying to squeeze that last 6 pods from the crop and knowing when it is time to harvest and call it quits, ready for the next crop.

We talked about artisan pasta making and Brad is going to share his recipe for beetroot pasta and roasted capsicum pasta.

Gemma shared her recipe for Beet Leaf Ravioli. 

A great way to use the leaves from beetroot, both thrifty and nutritious, not to mention delicious.

Filling for Ravioli:

500g Beet Leaves (stalks Removed)

Maldon Sea Salt

1 small red onion

100g unsalted butter

4 tblsp marjoram leaves

1 garlic clove (finely chopped)

150g Ricotta (lightly broken up with fork)

100g Parmesan

1/2 nutmeg (freshly grated) or just use nutmeg spice!

Gently fry onion in butter until onion begins to brown. Add marjoram and garlic and stir for 1 minute then add beet leaves. Cook together briefly, season then allow to cool. Stir in Parmesan and ricotta. Add nutmeg and season to taste.

Make fresh pasta to your favourite recipe (or buy fresh lasagna sheets) Cut pasta into squares. Add small amount of filling to each square. Top with another square and pinch around edges to seal (ensuring you have removed as much air as possible - to stop them exploding in the water!).

Add to boiling water. Allow them to float to the surface but ensure they have had enough cooking time so that filling will be heated through.

We talked about poultry;

laying hens,

different breeds,

free range turkeys,

quail and their housing,

incubation,

chicken raising

We talked about growing up in small communities

outback towns, the syncronisity of life and the bravery of those a little different who swim against the current of life's stream.

We talked about Killiecrankie Farm's Open Day

We talked about Mount Gnomon products and Langdale Farm pork (also at the Killiecrankie open day)

we talked about Eliza's great video and that ham ordering had begun.

We talked and talked and reminisced and talked some more.

I probably have forgotten to mention lots more.

The most important thing is that everyone shares and brings knowledge of some sort with them and we all leave a bit richer for the experience.

Thank you everyone for a lovely time

xxx

You Must Try This Recipe

I had a big day on Sunday cooking ALL day!

As well as the seasonal cookery there was also some photos I needed to create for the cook book I'm working on for Christmas.

Some of my saved photos are too small in format so I have had to re-do some....

Like the beetroot pie.

Recipe here.

Bonus! Lunchboxes sorted.

Beetroot Pie

My friend from work had a gathering at her home on Sunday and she called it "A Little Bit of Sweden". She is Swedish but has lived here for many years and in that time has gathered some wonderful friends from her many facets of life. She teaches yoga, is a massage therapist, has a certificate III in horticulture and passionate about the environment.

She is also vegetarian and the buffet table groaned with European influenced epicurean delights in every colour of the vegetable rainbow. The beetroot pie really caught my attention and my friend has kindly converted the recipe for me from Swedish. Instead of chevre I am using ricotta and some feta as Craig is not fond of goat's cheese.

Beetroot Pie

Serves 4-5

450g of fresh beetroot

50 ml of blackcurrant gel

Base

75g walnuts

150g butter

generous cup of flour

1 egg yolk

1-2 tabs cold water

Filling

175g chevre

100 ml cream

2 eggs

100 ml milk

2 tabs fresh thyme

salt and pepper

Oven 200 degrees (Celsius)

Roast the nuts in a dry fry pan and the then chop very finely and work in with the rest of the base ingredients to form a dough. Use a pie form and pre-bake for 10 mins.

Peel the cooked beetroot

Mash the cheese and mix with the cream, milk, eggs, thyme and season to taste. Pour into the pastry shell and lay slices of beetroot on the top/in it.

Bake for 20-25 mins. Brush some warmed blackcurrant gel on top.

At the same party I also met another blogger from the area, Apple Island Wife, and her family who are neighbours to my friend Lee from Killiecrankie Farm I love Tasmania and it's constant 6 degrees of separation. I also felt very warm and fuzzy looking around the eclectic group of people who had embraced this dynamic lady so far from home and family and made her one of our own. We celebrated her heritage and had practiced our Swedish words and sipped heavily spiced Gluwein.

Tak fur matten

(Thank you for the food)