produce

Our tomatoes are ripening very slowly this year. I am a temperate babe and really do love the coolness and the rain though yearning for a bit more sun to help bring on the zucc's and cuccs.

In between the seemingly endless showers of rain last week we managed to glean some apricots from a tree hanging hanging over the fence down the road. We managed to pick a few kilo before they split and I bottled some for a sunny day!

Spicy Tofu and vegie pilaf

Here's what i had for dinner tonight. If you are not into tofu try substituting it with lamb or chicken.

Ingredients:

• 1 1/4 c long grain brown or white bhasmati rice
• 1 Tbsp cooking oil
• 1 lb firm tofu, drained
• 2 Tbsp tamari or soysauce
• 1 small onion chopped
• 1-2 cloves garlic chopped
• 1 stalk celery, chopped small
• 1 small zucchini, cubed
• 1/2 red or green pepper, diced
• 1 or 2 ripe tomatoes, chopped or 1/2 c tomatoe puree
• 1 tsp cumin seeds
• 1 tsp black mustard seed
• 1 tsp dried basil leaves
• 1/2 tsp dried marjoram leaves
• 1/2 tsp dried thyme leaves
• 1 - 2 Tbsp minced jalapeno pepper, halved and seeded, or 1/8 - 1/4 tsp cayenne
• 1 - 2 Tbsp fresh ginger, peeled and minced, or 1/2 - 1 tsp dried
• 1/2 tsp turmeric
• 1 bay leaf
• 1/2 cinnamon stick
• 4 green cardamom pods
• 2 Tbsp olive oil
• 1/4 c cashew pieces, toasted in a dry pan or with a little oil
• 1 tsp salt
• 2 1/4 c. water
• 1/4 c. minced cilantro or parsley

Directions:

1. If using brown bhasmati rice, soak 4 - 6 hours, or 1 hour in boiling water
2. Drain (your plants will love the soaking water), rinse 3 times, set aside
3. If using white bhasmati rice, rinse and drain until the water is clear
4. Drain and cut tofu into smallish cubes or slices
5. Marinate in Braggs or soy sauce 15 min - 1 hr
6. Heat 1 Tbsp oil or ghee in a non stick frypan, and lightly brown tofu pieces on 2 sides and set aside (leave this until last for slow cooker or crockpot cooking)
7. Prep veggies
8. Sauté onion add garlic and veggies, (including jalapeno & fresh ginger if you're using) in oil 5- 10 minutes
9. Add remaining spices and herbs, except cilantro, and sauté another two minutes
10. Add rinsed, drained rice, sauté another 2 minutes
11. Add salt, water & tomato puree if using
12. Slow Cooker or Crockpot: Place all in preheated crockpot, cook on low for 1 hour, or 2 hours for brown rice. For the slow cooker, it's better to marinate the tofu ahead, then fry just before before adding to the cooked rice and veg
13. Stove Top: Bring to a boil, cover & simmer 30 min for brown rice, 10 - 15 min for white
14. Remove the bay leaf and cardamom pods, which will be floating on top
15. Gently stir in the tofu, cashews and cilantro or parsley, and cook for 5 - 10 more minutes

Surprisingly good sponge!

I am not sure what prompted it but I recently became interested in trying to cook a sponge cake. Recipes like this one spark memories of learning to cook in my Intermediate School cooking classes. (equivalent of year 5-6 although we had a school that taught these years separate to primary and high school) In class we were taught several different methods for cooking eggs, we started with poaching and moved onto lemon meringue pie, queen cakes and souffles. I must look up my old reports to see who my teacher was and how i was graded (I bet I'll find a comment on how I talked too much or was easily distracted!) I found this sponge recipe on the internet and doubled it to make the enormous stake pictured. The kids enjoyed triple sifting the cornflour not to mentiondevouring the one i made for Vito's birthday. The are eating it like cats or dogs (one of there favorite pass times) because it was too big a piece for them to pick up. However i must find an alternative to the whipped cream, while tasting so good at 45% fat it has got to be bad, bad, bad!!!

Ingredients

2 eggs, separated 
½ cup cornflour 
⅓ cup caster sugar 
½ teaspoon bicarbonate of soda 
¼ teaspoon cream of tartar

Method

Preheat oven to 180°C.

Beat the whites until stiff then slowly add the sugar.

Add the yolks and beat well.

Sift the cornflour, bicarbonate of soda and cream of tartar together 3 times.

Fold into the mixture with a metal spoon.

Pour into a greased 20 cm pan and cook for 20 minutes.

Recipe notes

For a chocolate sponge, add 1 and half tablespoons of cocoa to the cornflour mix. Alternati

vely use a gluten free cornflour. The sponge will still rise perfectly every time.

amaretto biscuits

Happy new year and apologies for the lack of posting. I am not much of a christmas cook but to make up for my idleness i wanted to share one of the highlights of christmas this year. Aside from the amazing turkey with a delicious stuffing prepared by brother in law Anthony my lovely sister in law Rita baked these Amaretto biscuits. They were bellissimo! This recipe calls for both bitter and sweet almonds, but if you can't find bitter almonds, just substitute the sweet ones

Ingredients

1 1/4 cups sweet almonds

1/2 cup bitter almonds

1 cup super fine sugar

2 egg whites

1/2 tsp almond extract

If you buy almonds with skin, you'll have to take this first step - otherwise, skip ahead.Preheat your oven to about 300 degrees. Bring a small pan of water to a boil, and drop the almonds in for about 1.5 - 2 minutes. Then drain out the water, and rub the almonds in a dry cloth to remove the skins. Then spread them on a baking tray and put them in the heated oven for about 10 - 12 minutes (without letting them brown). Remove them from theoven and allow them to cool. When they are cool, grind them up in a food processor, combining with about half of the sugar. With a beater (or stand mixer), whisk the egg whites until they form soft peaks (when you lift your whisk out a point forms and then falls over). Then sprinkle half of the remaining sugar over the whites and keep beating them until stiff peaks form (when you lift your whisk out a peak stands and stays up). With a spatula, gently fold in the remaining sugar, being careful not to over-work the whites. Spoon the almond mixture into a pastry bag that you have fitted with a round/smooth tip. Prepare a baking sheet by covering it with a sheet of parchment paper. Dust it with flour. Let out all the air in the pastry bag, and with a firm squeeze, pipe out the mixture into small rounds about the size of a walnut. Let stand for about 2 hours.Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Bake the amaretti for about 15 minutes or until they turn light gold. Remove from the oven and let cool. When they are cool, you can store them in an air-tight container, or serve them right away with a cup of steaming espresso. Buon appetito!