'Use Up That Jar Of Miso' Biscuits/Cookies

Who would think to add salty, umami miso paste to a sweet biscuit?  Cherie Hausler that's who, in her cookbook A Plant-Based Farmhouse.  Then again, I love a bit of sea salt on a chocolate biscuit or dessert ...  so it's not that odd!

I took some of these into our local bookshop, thinking the miso flavour might be a bridge too far, but they went down a treat, apparently.  We are so lucky in our little suburb to have this fabulous bookshop (Quick Brown Fox) run by two fabulous ladies!  They run heaps of craft sessions during school holidays, and run many a bookclub in the shop.  I've made treats for bookclub, and Love Your Bookshop Day, and book launches ...  Such fun!

gotta make these again!

Makes around 25:

ingredients:

150g./5.3 oz butter, at room temp.

110g/4 oz caster sugar

1 large (60+g.) egg

105g./4 oz white miso paste  (or red)   see Notes

250g./9 oz plain flour

1 tsp baking powder

choc bits or chopped nuts on top - I used a (290g.) bag of white chocolate melts, and some Lindt choc-orange!

one Flake chocolate bar, and/or more chopped chocolate after baking, to decorate  -  

Method:

Butter and sugar go into your food processor (or a mixing bowl where you will beat like the devil), and whizz away till you have a fluffy, creamy mixture (scrape down the bowl when and if needed)

Add the egg (motor running), then the miso paste

And then add the flour and baking powder - and pulse it in, briefly -Cherie says till you have a soft, thick, mousse-like dough!

Now divvy up the dough into two pieces, and slap each piece onto a piece of baking paper

Then knead very briefly (you might not need to knead, as the dough is very soft) and shape into 15cm/6 in. logs

Roll up the dough in the paper, screw up the ends and whack into the fridge for 2-3 hours

On goes the oven to 160C/320F, while you grab a baking tray and line it with baking paper

Slice up into 1cm (c.½ inch) discs, place them on the tray, and press the sprinkles and/or chocolate bits into the dough

Bake for 20 minutes or till golden

Cool on the tray completely  (can be stored in an airtight container for a few days)

Add extra chocolate bits or sprinkles after baking, if you fancy - I did!

Notes:

You can use other pastes like Nutella or peanut butter or whatever takes your fancy (Cherie even suggests marmalade!)

She also says to use unsalted butter, but that's the devil's work!

You can use electric hand beaters to cream the butter and sugar, if you don't have a food processor

I used 90g. of white miso and 15g. of hulled tahini paste

divvy up the dough!

lay them on baking paper

twisted up like Egyptian mummies

cut into discs

onto the tray, and press in the sprinkles and the chocolate

cool 'em down on the tray, then onto a wire rack

looks like the white chocolate melted, then hardened - yum!

Green Beans - Cheesy And Garlicky!

The weather is cooling down (slightly) as we've passed the Autumn equinox now, so I'm finally putting up this post.  Green beans are available year-round, but Brussels sprouts are an autumn/wintry veg., so it's perfect timing for this dish, which I actually made six months ago in late Winter!

So, after the cyclone, we've now got flooding in western Queensland - the worst in recorded history.  The poor farmers have lost huge numbers of their livestock so meat prices are going to escalate here.  Ah well, Mr P. and I don't really eat meat these days ...  but I am wondering how the price of butter and milk will go, though I believe it is mostly beef cattle out west.  Those poor farmers knowing all their livestock and pets would drown as they themselves were evacuated.

apropos of nothing :=), here we are at the NGV in Melbourne
 for the Yayoi Kusama exhibition

Serves 3-4 as a side dish:

ingredients:

500g./18 oz of green beans, or a mix of your fave green veg.  see Notes

2-3 Tbs EV olive oil

sea salt and black pepper, to taste - maybe 1/2 tsp salt and a dozen grinds of pepper

2-3 garlic cloves, chopped roughly

parmesan, freshly grated - as much as you please - maybe up to 50g./1.8 oz? but go for it! 

Cayenne pepper, chilli flakes, cummin seeds, or dukkah - a good sprinkling, but it's up to you how much  (optional)

3-4 Tbs panko breadcrumbs (optional)  (Use gluten-free if needed)

green beans!

feeling seedy? yep :=)

Method:

Turn on your oven to 210C/410F

Prep your chosen veg. - i.e.  green beans topped and tailed, Brussels sprouts trimmed and halved

Place the veg. into a large mixing bowl; add the olive oil, salt, pepper, garlic and parmesan and give it all a really good toss

Now grab a baking paper-lined tray, throw on the veg., and sprinkle over the extras (cayenne, etc) and the panko if using

Into the oven for 15 minutes, or till well-roasted, tender, and a wee bit charred

A great side dish with whatever you fancy!

Notes:

I used a mix of green beans and Brussels sprouts but you can use whatever veg. you like - cauliflower, broccoli and so on

ingredients gathered

vegetables prepped

in goes the cheese et al

give it a good mix

and pour out onto a lined baking tray

and roasted at 210C/410F for 15 mins.

I served it with battered fish fillets

who doesn't love a Brussels sprout? 
Lots of folk apparently :)  but we do!

In My Kitchen - April

April?  How the heck? ...  Oh my, Mr P. is having another birthday already!  As are a few friends; I guess all the parents were keeping warm in those cold Winter nights nine months beforehand:=).  

March was interesting here in old Brisbane town.  We waited (and waited) for the cyclone to hit, and I had a prolonged bout of bronchitis.  So these days, they just let you get over it in your own good time, without medication.  And it takes a bit of time to get over it fully - third week already ...  

And speaking of medication, I don't want to get political but what's with all the childhood diseases coming back?  Mm, you know what I mean.  Time for our 'flu jabs soon!  (Which my lungs will appreciate.) 

our local brook which often floods, and did its best during the cyclone! 
The footpath is in the foreground (under water)

In My Kitchen:

I made another batch of pickled beetroot

and I bought lots of chocolate when we were in Melbourne

and I made more chutney - nectarine this time

paper napkins and a Yayoi Kusama fridge magnet from NGV Melbourne

yep I bought 2 different kinds of hot choc!

and some sweets

I bought this gorgeous little Japanese pourer/jug

foodie gifts from friends!

fridge magnet on the fridge :=)

and the curveball -
a mango-wood sculpture of a coelacanth by our mate Chainsaw (Christian) Newton

Right, that's it for this month from me.  So let's go, everyone!  Looking forward to seeing you here this month; everybody (with an appropriate post) is welcome.

c. Sherry M.

Be a part of our friendly IMK community by adding your post here too - everybody welcome!  We'd love to have you visit.  Tell us about your kitchen (and kitchen garden) happenings over the past month.  Dishes you've cooked, preserves you've made, herbs and veg. in your garden, kitchen gadgets, and goings-on.  And one curveball is welcome - whatever you fancy; no need to be kitchen-related.  

The link is open from the first of the month to midnight on the thirteenth of the month, every month.

Options for adding your post to IMK:

1. Add via the Add Link button at the bottom of this post.  Instructions can be found on the sidebar of this page, under the Add your IMK link OR:

2. Comment on this post, providing a link to your post so I can add it manually to the list below OR:

3. Email me: sherrym1au@gmail.com, with your link or any queries about the link process, or if you would like it to be added after the 13th ('cos I'm happy to add it for you later)

Carrot Cake Granola (AKA Toasted Muesli)

Someone on social media scolded me for saying granola and muesli are the same, but of course I meant toasted muesli, which is what it is/was called in Australia till recently.  You can still find packets in the shops called toasted muesli, but it is becoming rarer.  Sigh!

This recipe is from the Donna Hay Christmas: Feasts and Treats cookbook.  Not sure what is especially Christmas-y about it, but we did enjoy eating it.  Speaking of cookbooks, I am in two virtual cookbook clubs, so I get to see a fair few books that I wouldn't normally pick up.  It is fascinating to me how a particular cookbook will appeal or not.  I'm checking out a Desserts cookbook for one of the clubs, and I'm just not feeling it, so I will leave it be for this month, and hope that I enjoy next month's book choice.

I've had bronchitis over the last couple of weeks (still not totally better), so choosing a recipe seems like too much hard work right now :=)  I went to our doctor, who is a very laid-back, laissez-faire kind of bloke.  He asked what I expected from this visit?!  Umm, maybe a diagnosis and suggestions for treatment?!!  He casually, in passing, told me I have bronchitis, but that's as far as it went.  So back home I went to my sick bed, not much the wiser.  

crunchy, nutty, spicy!

Makes 12 cups:

ingredients:

360g./4 cups rolled oats

240g./2 cups carrot, grated

230g./2 cups pecans, chopped (how you please - big or small)

200g./2 cups walnuts, also chopped as you please

75g./1 cup shredded coconut (not sweetened)

3 tsp ground cinnamon

1.5 tsp ground ginger

1.5 tsp ground nutmeg

250 mL/1 cup pure maple syrup   see Notes

125 mL/half cup neutral vegetable oil or lightly-flavoured olive oil  see Notes

1 Tbs vanilla paste/extract

220g./1.33 cups raisins or cranberries (or dried fruit of your choice)

Toasted sesame seeds/almond flakes/roasted cashews - optional extras on top after baking  (my option!)

carrots of course :=)

pecans, too

Method:

Whack on your oven to 160C/325F to heat up

Grab 3 large baking trays, and line with baking paper

Into a large mixing bowl go the: oats, carrot, pecans, walnuts, coconut, cinnamon, ginger and nutmeg

Give this mix a really good stir to combine

Then add the maple syrup, oil and vanilla, and mix gently to coat

Spread out the mixture evenly on the 3 trays, and bake for 20 minutes

Stir the 3 trays, and bake for another 10-15 minutes till golden, and crunchy, and smelling good

Let the mixture cool on the trays, then tip into a large bowl, and stir in the dried fruit (and the optional extras for serving) 

Can be kept in an air-tight container for 4 weeks

and a wee bit of nutmeg

Notes:

If you'd rather use another kind of syrup like rice bran, or agave nectar or honey, go ahead!

I used sunflower oil with a bit of EVoo as I had no light olive oil

get your ingredients together

and give 'em a good mixing

mix mix mix, my friends

stir in the maple syrup, oil and vanilla

ready for baking - 160C for 20 mins.

adding the fruit

and the extra garnishes

oh yeah, add that syrup

Tuna Rice Dill And Egg Salad

Mr P. and I don't eat much meat, so fish is a go-to in our kitchen.  I always have heaps of tinned tuna in the pantry, and various sorts of salmon in the fridge.  As it's now officially Autumn, (hear that, Tropical Cyclones?), I decided to make this in-between days salad from Belinda Jeffery's Utterly delicious simple food.  

This is protein-packed, (energy-boosting, says Belinda) and full of flavour.  Well, except for the dill.  We are not huge dill fans in this household, to be frank - or anyone else for that matter :=)  So I loaded up my slightly-less dillified version of this tasty salad with chives and parsley and dried oregano (I think).  

Speaking of herbs reminds me of the gorgeous basil plants we used to have in the back garden, which were adored by the native bees when in flower (they seem to like blue flowers, like their blue bottoms).  Nothing better than wafts of herby perfume coming in your windows.      

c. Louise Docker (Wikimedia Commons)

Serves 4-6:

Ingredients:

Lemon dressing:

125 mL (1/2 cup) of EV olive oil

2 cloves of garlic, finely chopped

60 mL (1/4 cup) lemon juice, freshly squeezed

splash of balsamic vinegar

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

Salad:

440g./2 cups cooked rice  (Belinda says to use long grain, brown or white)

2 large stalks of celery, very thinly sliced

1 small, green capsicum (bell pepper), diced - small or large dice; you pick!

4 spring onions (scallions), thinly sliced - on the diagonal, if you wish

2 x 185g./6.5 oz tuna in oil, drained and flaked with a fork

a very large handful of dill, chopped   see Notes

12 kalamata olives, more or less as you see fit

3 eggs, hard-boiled and roughly chopped   see Notes

Sliced spring onions and extra dill, to serve

Lemon wedges, to serve  (don't tell, but we didn't bother)

A handful of white and black sesame seeds, scattered over the top

start dicing!

and chopping

Method:

Place the dressing ingredients into a jar, seal it, and give it a really, really good shaking - add more seasoning or lemon juice if you like

Grab a large bowl, and chuck in the rice, celery, capsicum, spring onion, tuna and herbs - and give it all a good mix

Now the dressing goes in, and you give that a jolly good stir

When you are going to eat this, add the olives and the chopped egg (keep aside a few olives and a bit of the egg for garnish, if you want)

Add some extra spring onion, herbs, chopped egg and lemon wedges to serve (optional)

And the optional sesame seeds, if using

thinly slice your spring onions

Notes:

Mr P. and I are not huge fans of dill, so I added chives and parsley too, and less of the dill :=)

Mr P. has started boiling eggs with boiling water first, rather than from cold: he boils the water on the stovetop, then lowers the eggs (carefully) into the water - 6 minutes for soft-boiled, 7-8 for hard(er) yolks

chop those eggs!

looking good

oh so fresh and delicious

and eat!

(Joining in with Jo from BKD Cookbook Club.  This month's theme is seasonal recipes.)