On The Road Again - Tamworth And Beyond - Part Three

You asked for it, so here it is!  Well, maybe you didn't but you're getting it anyway :=)  More about our recent trip down south/out west.  We love a roadtrip!  And art galleries, and mountains and wildlife, and food, and architecture - well, you get the drift ...

we saw kangaroos at Ebor-Guy Fawkes Cemetery, NSW

  

we stayed at The Pottery Shed cottage in Boambee near Coffs Harbour
- see the wee gas stove?

we took a walk on the Coffs Harbour Jetty

and joined lots of folk taking a morning stroll

heading here!

I bought a small ceramic whale here, by Indigenous artist Tony Hart

I ate a fabulous rösti with grilled halloumi

while Mr P. had "magic" apple-cinnamon pancakes

we had lunch here in Sawtell (as per above)

we visited the brilliant new building holding the Coffs Harbour Council/Library and Art Gallery
 - artwork on wall by Reece Flanders titled River Connections

Mr P. and I loved this building!

and we enjoyed walking around the top storey of the building

we had time for a coffee!

And then we drove the 4.5 hours home, back to Brisbane.  Some misguided people would like to suggest that time goes backward when you cross the QLD border.  How silly of them, and how clever of us to keep 'em away - hehehe ...

the whale by Tony Hart

Preserved Lemon Harissa

Last year our Tassie friends came up for a visit, and kindly gave us some organic Meyer lemons from their tree.  I turned some of them into preserved (salted) lemons, and there they sat in our fridge since last Winter.  (This was written a few months ago!)  So I decided to turn them into preserved lemon harissa.  'Cos I love to whizz things up in my food processor.  "So satisfying!" as a certain YouTuber (EmmyMade) often says.

I've adapted a basic harissa recipe from Taste.com.au, adding a few extra ingredients, like the preserved lemons, the rose petal powder and honey (and lemon EVoo).  Why not go big? :=)  So here we have it - the Sherry version.  

the result - 2 wee jars of paste

Makes 2 small jars:

ingredients:

2 long red chillies  (looks like I added some dried chilli flakes too)

2 green jalapeños

130g./4.5 oz (approx.) of preserved lemon rinds (no flesh)  see Notes

2-3 garlic cloves, chopped roughly

1/2-1 tsp sea salt flakes  

1/2 tsp ground rose petal powder (or dried rose petals) or a sprinkle of rosewater (maybe 1/8 to 1/4 tsp?)

1 tsp ground coriander

1 tsp ground cummin

3-4 tsp EV olive oil, or 1 tsp lemon-pressed EVoo + 2 regular EVoo

1/2-1 tsp honey (optional)

1 tsp EV olive oil on top of each jar

Method:

Chop up the chillies and jalapeños, removing most (or some) of the seeds (all of 'em if you don't fancy the heat)

Throw the de-seeded little babies into your food processor (a small-ish one if you have it) or grab your mortar and pestle if you're going old-school

Put in the preserved lemon pieces, without the flesh, and the garlic, and blitz away

And add the rest of the ingredients (sans the last amount of EV olive oil)

And blitz!  till as smooth or chunky as you please

Spoon into small jars, top with EV olive oil, and keep in the fridge for a month or 2

Notes:

Use all red chillies, or your choice of chilli - green, whatever :)

Use more or less preserved lemon, as you wish

ingredients gathered

in go the chillies and jalapeños

and the preserved lemon rinds, and garlic

and the rest of the ingredients

spoon into small jars

and keep in the fridge for a month or 2

c. Sherry M.

I used the harissa in a chicken traybake one night.  I had about a kilo/2 lb of skinless chicken thighs, which I tossed in 3 Tbs maple syrup, 3-4 Tbs harissa paste, a huge splash of EVOO, and salt and pepper.  Baked at 185C for about 25 minutes.  Delicious!

and don't forget the veg.!

Mr P. is sick with a cold at the moment, not that he lets that stop him.  He's still working as per ...  I am feeding him up, and giving him lots of vitamins.  I made a preserved lemon hummus yesterday (I'll blog it eventually), and added lots of garlic to help kill the germs (just kidding) - but you never know!

He's convinced that the flu jab helps keep the colds at bay too.  He read recently that we need a second jab each winter!  Crumbs, when does it stop?  I am a pin-cushion already these days.  Wow, those shingles shots were a blast!  I reckon this harissa will kill 'em all too - the germs I mean. 

Hazelnut Anzac Biscuits

Did you know that it's actually illegal to change the ingredients in Anzac biscuits?  Or to call them anything other than biscuits?  You can be fined up to $51,000 or even go to jail for a year.  So I was a wee bit surprised to see this recipe in an English cookbook, with a slightly changed name and extra ingredients.  Naughty, naughty!

Okay, so I am a bit late with getting my Anzac Day post up (25 April late!).  Nevertheless here we have hazelnut anzac biscuits from A Good Day to Bake by Benjamina Ebuehi.  Our local Historical Society (not the one that Mr P. is the President of) helps put on an Anzac Day service each year.  

They have a sausage sizzle, and sell Anzac biscuits to raise funds for charity.  So each April, I make a bunch of biscuits to help out.  One year, I made over 65, but this year I just made a couple of dozen (in 2 batches).  I found out from this recipe that the tastiest way to make Anzac biscuits is to toast the oats (and nuts) first!  

looking delightfully toasted and chewy/crunchy

Makes 12-16:

ingredients:

65g./2¼ oz hazelnuts, blanched

80g./2¾ oz rolled oats (not instant)

190g./6¾ oz plain flour

90g./3¼ oz desiccated coconut (unsweetened)

1/2 tsp sea salt flakes

150g./5½ oz butter (unsalted if you wish - noooooo)

150g./5½ oz soft brown sugar

70g./2½ oz golden syrup    see Notes

1 tsp bi-carb soda (baking soda)

Method:

On goes your oven to 180C/350F to heat up

Line 2 baking trays with baking paper

Chop up the hazelnuts roughly and throw into a large frying pan with the oats

Over a medium-high heat, toss and turn till they are toasty (c. 5 mins.)

When smelling delicious and looking nicely toasted, take them off the heat, and tip them into a large bowl

Then add the flour, coconut, salt, and give it a good stir

Grab a medium saucepan, and melt the butter, sugar and syrup together

Once it's simmering, add the bi-carb, stirring with gusto to bring it together

When it is foaming and a bit thicker, remove from the hob, and tip into the dry ingredients

And stir very well! till everything is evenly coated

Grab a tablespoon or a small ice-cream scoop, and place these nicely formed balls of dough onto the baking tray, about 2.5cm/1 inch apart

Use a fork or your fingers to flatten out the tops a wee bit

Bake for 12-16 minutes (mine took 16), till you have firm edges (whatever that means)

If you want 'em crunchier, give them a few more minutes in the oven

Place them on a wire rack to cool

You could even use them for ice-cream sandwiches, especially if you dip the whole thing in melted chocolate after putting ice-cream between two of these lovelies

Notes:

If you can't get golden syrup, you can try honey or molasses or corn syrup (if you must) or brown rice syrup etc.  Just Google 'subs for golden syrup', my friends

gather your ingredients

toast your nuts and oats!

looking golden-brown and delicious

bi-carb in, and the magic happens

stir the foamy wet into the dry

ready for baking at 180C/350F for about 16 mins.

ready!

don't they look golden and munchable? :)

cool 'em down on a wire rack

I made 25 or 26. My second batch was a siren call I could not resist

c. Sherry M.

Red Salmon, Basil And Parmesan Fish Cakes

I love a good fish cake, and you can always rely on Belinda Jeffery to give you a good recipe - for anything!  This is from Belinda's book In Belinda's Kitchen.  I've mentioned before (probably more than once) how I went to one of her cooking classes with a friend; she was waving her knife around and I was waving my hand around, and the two met mid-air.  Blood and swooning all over the place!

And then I went to another class with a different friend.  No blood this time, but I came over all faint and had to lie down for a while.  Who knows why?  So odd.  Belinda no longer holds classes, but does demos at food festivals, etc.  No, not my fault ...  :=)

add a bit of salad and some mash

Makes 9 or 10 small patties: (Belinda says this feeds 2-3)

ingredients:

1 x 415g./15 oz can of red salmon (or use 2 x 210g./7.5 oz cans)

40g./1.4 oz of cold smoked salmon (optional)    see Notes

2 large spring onions, finely chopped

1/4 cup (c.25g./1 oz) celery, very finely diced

2 Tbs of basil (either fresh or lightly-dried), finely chopped if using fresh

2-3 tsp chives, finely chopped (I used lightly-dried)  (optional)

1/2 large red chilli (or one small), finely chopped

1/2 teaspoon of Tabasco (or your fave hot sauce)

1/2 tsp of Worcestershire sauce

1/4 cup (75g.) of mayo

sea salt flakes and freshly-ground black pepper, to taste

2-3 Tbs panko breadcrumbs, or regular if that's your fancy

extra panko breadcrumbs (about 4-5 heaped Tbs) or plain flour, for coating

2-3 Tbs EV olive oil, for frying 'em up

basil leaves and wedges of lemon, for serving

A green and/or a potato salad to go with ...

Basil mayo:

Make your own mayo if you have the time or inclination, otherwise use good quality bought stuff (Kewpie is my fave) - 2/3 cup - around 200g./7 oz

1/3 cup (30g.) parmesan, freshly grated - or more!

10 large basil leaves, finely chopped

a splash or a dash of Tabasco or sriracha  (optional)

Method:

Drain the fish, remove the skin and bones, and place into a large mixing bowl 

Grab a fork or small tongs, and break it up into big flakes

Now add the spring onions, celery, basil, chilli, Tabasco, Worcestershire sauce, mayo, salt and pepper

Then add most of the panko/breadcrumbs - add more or less according to the moistness of the fishy mixture

Mix it all very gently so as not to break the fish up too much, then let it sit for a few minutes to recover its equilibrium

Shape into 9-10 small patties, about 1.5 cm/0.5 inch thickness

Put them on a baking-paper-lined tray or plate, cover loosely with plastic wrap and whack 'em into the fridge for at least half an hour

For the mayo:

Stir all the ingredients together in a small-ish bowl, taste for seasoning, then place in the fridge till the patties are fried up

The patties:

Take 'em out of the fridge, lightly coat in panko or plain flour, and place into your non-stick frying pan over medium-low heat - don't forget to heat up the EVoo first!

Fry them five minutes each side, or till crisp and brown

Drain on paper towel

Serve with the salad, mayo etc

Will last in the fridge for a few days, in a well-sealed container

Notes:

I just happened to have a slice or 2 of smoked salmon in the fridge so bunged that in as well!

Another funny story about the cooking classes - they were held in the Northern Rivers region of NSW, about 2.5 hours away, so we stayed at a holiday apartment, with our friend.  We were told very emphatically that we had to be super-careful about cooking in the tiny kitchen as the smoke alarm was very sensitive.  And we would have to pay for the emergency services!  

So, we were careful (takeaways for dinner, no cooking), and went to bed - only to be woken up by a screaming alarm, (thankfully not ours), several fire trucks, firies, police, neighbours etc, and had to run out the front in our pyjamas.  A very exciting night!  

ingredients gathered

ready for chilling 

and now ready for frying

stir up the mayo

get Mr P. to fry 'em up - hehehe

aaaaand flip!

and eat!  Where did that mash come from? :)

c. Sherry M.

In My Kitchen - September 2024

It's September and the first day of Spring!  And it's Father's Day (shouldn't that be Fathers' Day?).  August has been incredibly warm, and I think a long, hot summer is on the horizon.  It is also our local Historical Society's monthly meeting, so we may not have a big crowd as all the dads and granddads and their families will be otherwise engaged.  

Mr P. is still the President, and I am now the Vice President, rather than the Archivist this year.  A change is often a good thing :=)  The Society takes up a fair bit of our time, more than we expected really, but it has been fun meeting new people and learning new things.

a sneaky extra curveball!  Our annual group shot of the Society members

In My Kitchen:

I bought my annual bottle of EVOO from Ashbolt in Tasmania

I made chocolate cake for the 2nd birthday of our local bookshop: The Quick Brown Fox

and I bought some Arctic sea salt  (as gifts mostly!)

Yep, another tumbler - by Milly Dent this time

a couple of Baconfest tea towels I bought in Kingaroy

Mr P. and our friend Ms. M (and moi, of course!) had a weekend away recently, staying overnight in the small, country town of Kingaroy (peanut-growing capital of Queensland).  Baconfest was on the following weekend, so there were pink pigs everywhere!  On signs, on shop windows, on the streets, on tea towels, on earrings ...

I bought a few local goodies ...

I can't resist enamelware, and that scoop - so gorgeous, and such a wonderful tool!

That scoop is so marvellous!  It has the perfect heft in your hand, and the bowl is so wonderfully shaped and so smooth, that it just cuts through the ingredients you're scooping up!

peanuts from the peanut capital, of course!

cute plates from Donna Sharam

and a few more spices from Herbie's

fresh bay leaves ready for the freezer

thyme leaves dried in the microwave

and the curveball: self-portrait by Mackenzie Cox

I bought this online from the Incognito Art Show, where you don't find out the artist's name till you receive the artwork.  I love this one!

c. Sherry M.

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