Sticky Midnight Gingerbread

I love the name of this: midnight gingerbread.  Sounds a bit magical to me.  And it certainly tastes a bit magical too.  This is a recipe from Ruby Tandoh's book Flavour Eat What You Love.  Now you know I love Ruby, my friends, so I was really hoping this would be a great recipe and happily it is.  Not too sweet, wonderfully spicy, moist and delicious.  This would be great to take to a big gathering of friends and/or family.  Or give some away to your neighbours, as I did:-)

be generous with the icing sugar

Serves 12, or many if cut into small slices:

ingredients:


225g. butter

225g. black treacle

225g. soft dark brown sugar

thumb-sized piece of fresh ginger, peeled and grated

3 large eggs, lightly beaten with a fork

375g. plain flour

4 tbs cocoa powder

2 tbs ground ginger

4½ tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp sea salt

375 mLs strong black tea, still hot

icing sugar, to dust the top


Method:


Line the bottom of a 20cm X 30cm X 3cm slice tray with baking paper, and lightly butter the sides

Melt the butter and treacle in a small saucepan, then tip into a large mixing bowl

Now stir in the brown sugar and grated ginger

Whisk in the eggs, then add the flour, cocoa, ground ginger, baking powder and salt and give it a really good whisking till smooth

Pour in the hot tea, and beat in really well

Whack the batter straight into the baking tin and into the oven @ 180C for 35-45 minutes or till a skewer comes out clean from the middle of the cake (Ruby says "more or less clean")

Let it cool right down, then swaddle like a baby in clingfilm and a tea-towel and put it away somewhere safe

And WAIT for 48 hours!

Then toss icing sugar very generously all over it, and slice it up

Store in an airtight container for up to a week


Notes:

After peeling the ginger, I ended up with about 35g., which was proclaimed "the perfect amount" by our houseguest Ms. MA

ingredients gathered

dry ingredients ready for whisking in 

strong hot black tea

luscious black treacle

whisk everything together till you get a smooth batter

after baking for close to 45 mins @180C

ready to slice up - yep I ate that wee corner already:-)

icing sugar strewn over, and ready to eat and/or gift 

There was a lot of cake, and only me and Mr P. to eat it, so I cut it up and gave heaps away.  We still had some a week later, and it was still in tip-top condition.  Of course, I kept it in an airtight container.  This really is a lovely, moist cake with a lovely flavour.  Good on ya' Ruby!

artwork © Sherry's Pickings

Pochito Sydney - Review

Pochito - mmm, what does it mean?  According to them, it's when you're in a happy/drowsy state after a satisfying meal.  Oddly, there is no such word when you Google it, nor does it exist in my super-huge Spanish/English dictionary that I've had since Uni days:-)  Maybe it's a secret Chilean word...

a gorgeous day in Sydney

We ended up here for lunch recently, when visiting Sydney for a book launch.  (Yep, the one which included my short story.)  Our dear friend Ms. TW picked us up from the airport, and swept us away for a Chilean street food lunch.  As you can see, they specialise in empanadas and coffee.  We were in desperate need for food, as they don't feed you on planes anymore.  Remember the good old days when they actually gave you a proper lunch or dinner?  Nah, it's pretty dim in my mind too.

Mr P. heading in with determination

Mr P. on the hunt for food, glorious food - tra la la, as the song goes.  He loves his carbs so empanadas were a must; all that glorious housemade pastry to come...  

pork and more pork:-) 

So yep there's lots of pork here and if you don't like pork, go for chorizo - no hang on, that's ... pork.  As you can see, pork is all the go here.  Now as some astute readers know, I am not a pork fan, so I stuck to the empanadas.  Mr P. chose them too, while Ms. TW (The Writer) went for the Bacán.

Bacán $10

This is grilled chorizo on a roll, with slaw and a coriander salsa.  Ms. TW especially loved the salsa, coriander being a fave herb.  She enjoyed the spicy, tangy sausage, and the fresh slaw.  She felt this was a great combo of flavours and textures.

Mr P. awaiting his lunch

Mr P. looks very anxious and expectant here, doesn't he?  Not to worry; he was soon indulging his fetish for carbs (tee hee).

garlic chilli cheese and prawn empanada $7

This was deliciously cheesy, though I wouldn't have minded a bit more prawn and garlic.  But for such a good price, you really can't complain.  I wolfed this down, so sadly there are no photos of the interior.  The friendly waitress cum part-owner told us that all the pastry is house-made, and all the empanadas are handmade.  

spinach and ricotta $5

You're now going to be spammed with photos of anonymous pastries, my friends :-)  'Cos we ate 'em before I could photograph them.  Mr P. said this was the spinach model, so we have to trust him, don't we?  The verdict: 'pretty good, and as expected.'  And 'should have tipped the hot sauce over it.'  Why did we not copy that table of Spanish-speaking young ladies next to us, and make use of the hot sauce?  Next time, readers, next time. 

chicken and mushroom $6

Mr P. tells me this was the chicken and mushroom version, which he loved.  He said it had a fabulous, herby, white sauce, good pastry (told ya!), and was just a great combo.  Our friendly waitress who is also the part-owner Paulina, told him this was her grandmother's recipe.  Or maybe her mother's?  Oh Mr P., keep your head straight.

traditional beef $6

  
Mr P. and myself had one of these each, which were not bad.  I think we both found the filling a bit bland though.  Once again, I say to myself, 'hot sauce, girlie, hot sauce.  Why didn't you use the hot sauce?'  

interior of the beef version

I managed to get a shot inside this one:-)  You can see the boiled egg and olives here.  

alfajor $4

Delicious, delightful, dulce de leche shortbread sandwiches - yep, I had to try this.  And it was a delight - sweet, caramel-y, coconutty deliciousness, with a tender, crumbly shortbread.  A sweet treat indeed.

Colombian coffee $3.50

Ms TW let me try her coffee; this was a really great cuppa, so smooth and flavourful.  One of the best coffees I've had in a while, in fact.  Ms TW was also suitably impressed with it.  Just so smooth and strong - like our men?:-)

Berlines with caramel $5

These are yeasty German doughnuts popular in Chile, and apparently so-called due to the large German influence from German immigrants to Chile during the latter half of the 19th century.  I just know they are delicious, my friends.  Look at all that squidgy caramel!

Berlines with vanilla bean custard $5

And here we have the vanilla version.  See the lovely black specks of real vanilla?  What could be nicer?  Yep, that's right - nothing:)

hot sauce!

And here we have the hot sauce.  We really should have copied those girls:-)  They were sprinkling it on their food with great gusto and abandon.  As were the many other happy customers.


Pochito is a friendly, homey café, with food that is from the heart of the owners Paulina and her mum Patricia.  And clearly it is popular with the Spanish-speaking locals, and others too.  Worth a drop-in after a lunchless plane flight, for sure. 



1021 Botany Road, Mascot 2020
Ph: 0412 603 100

Open Wed to Sunday till 3 pm (4pm on Saturday)


 

In My Kitchen - September 2019

It's September, it's Spring and they've had a bit of rain out west.  Hip hip hooray!  The locals had started to buy in water as the dams are nearly empty, so even a small amount of rain is welcome.  Fresh green leaves are appearing, and flowers will be blooming.  It's a beautiful time of year here in sunny Queensland before it gets too hot.

August is a blaah month, and not much happened here in Pickings Land.  Mr P. and I both got mild colds, at separate times.  We travelled to Sydney for a weekend; we bunkered down and did ... not much.  But there was food, and there was cooking.  Always a comfort, even if it's still on the cruddy old oven.  The new one has taken up permanent residence in the dining room, while we wait and wait for the stove men to come do their thing(s)...  

young butcher bird 

Just for a bit of a change, I am showing you a juvenile butcher bird sitting on our back deck, waiting for some food.  S/He still has baby feathers, so not quite as black as they will become.  S/He comes to the kitchen window, and begs me for food.  Such a sweetie, even though as adults they eat other birds' eggs!  I love her whiskers though:-)


Come and join in everyone, for this month's In My Kitchen.  All welcome, new and old.  We love to see your global kitchens, and it's such fun to see what's happening in the 'other' hemisphere.  You know who you are:-)


In my kitchen:

that spread is a bit ... odd

  
I loved the nuts, but the spread is kinda weird; not sweet at all so probably a bit too healthy for me.  It will go in smoothies for breakfast.  Macadamias originated here in Australia sixty million years ago, and have been a staple food item for the indigenous peoples for a very long time.  So delicious!

a sweet little tumbler from Magnolia Mountain

I have several items from Magnolia Mountain, but this one had to join the collection.  They make beautiful things!

I won these!

It was Love Your Bookshop Day recently, and my fave indie store Avid Reader had a cake-off, as they do each year.  So I baked, and I won the above.  I'm not sure what category I won, as they all seemed to be taken already:-)  (I love the zero f**ks tea towel.)  

Edchup?

This is Edchup, named after Ed Sheeran the singer.  See the cute little tomato face with his spectacles?  Why?  Who knows?  Tastes the same as good old ketchup.

as per the labels

We go through a fair whack of olive oil in this house, and I love pearl barley.  It reminds me of my childhood; mum used to make a hearty soup with it.  I guess it fed lots of hungry children cheaply.  Oh, and there's a tea towel too.  You know I can never have enough of these in my linen cupboard:-)

I love Ruth

I love Ruth, and this is another fascinating read; this time about her tenure as editor of Gourmet magazine.  I sped through this one in a few hours.

one delicious quiche

This quiche is made to Ruth's recipe; it always works!  So, not only is she a good writer, but she's also a great cook.  And I've loved other recipes of hers too - like that ginger bundt cake.  Mm, must make it again.

the boastie bit

Okay folks, here is where I do some boasting.  I've had a story published in this anthology.  That's why we were in Sydney on the weekend - for the launch.  I even got to sign some books.  It was very exciting, I have to tell you.  Not food related, but I had to spill the beans.  It's very exciting to see your name in print, I have to say.  Well, that's it for another month.  Come one, come all, fellow foodies; join in the IMK fun for September.  Looking forward to all your wondrous posts.  Cheers!


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Sherrys Pickings

Halloumi Salad With Caper Dressing

Regular readers will know I love quaint cooking books; community and school cookbooks, or just vintage and weird:-)  I bought a cute little book from a High School up the coast a while back, full of homely, family recipes.  There are some fab family dishes here from desserts to pies to bakes.  The book is divided into five sections: bakery/entrées and dips/soups and salads/mains, and desserts.  I like the way they start with Bakery, which has lots of delicious sounding cakes and tarts.  These clever folk have their priorities right:-)  

This book even has a few surprises like a rabbit dish, paella, goulash, and maple syrup glazed lamb shanks.  The photos are attractive, and the book is well set out with 2 recipes to a page.  Mr P. and I love going to Maleny, a hinterland town that has a lot of greenie/hippie type inhabitants.  This lovely little cookbook reflects the diversity of the town.  My fave story of staying in Maleny for the weekend is being bailed up and bitten by a couple of mad donkeys.  Yes I do mean the ones with long ears and big teeth:-)  One of them had a big nibble of my arm!  I hope I was tasty...      

grill your veg. and halloumi

This recipe is provided by Claire Michell, one of the Maleny High students.  Simple but delicious.  


Serves 2 as a main, 4 as a side:


ingredients:


caper dressing


2 tbs extra virgin olive oil

1 tbs lemon juice

1 tbs white vinegar

1 tbs capers 

1 tsp crushed garlic

1 tsp mustard - grain or Dijon

pinch of dried oregano

sea salt and ground black pepper, to taste - maybe 1/8 tsp of each?


Halloumi salad


250g. (8 oz) halloumi cheese

3 zucchini

1 large potato, sliced thickly, parboiled or microwaved

400g. (14 oz) tin or jar of artichoke hearts, drained

1 red capsicum, cut into 4-6 pieces (optional)

1 lemon

2 tbs extra virgin olive oil


Method:


Place the dressing ingredients into a glass jar with a lid

Shake very well, and let it commingle for at least 30 minutes

Slice the halloumi into 8 pieces

Halve the zucchini lengthways, then cut each half into 3 chunks

Quarter the lemon, and put into a large bowl with the halloumi, zucchini, potato, artichokes, capsicum and olive oil

Toss everything gently to coat in the oil

Put everything on a hot grill plate, and let it become beautifully browned and tender

Pile onto a serving dish, and pour the dressing (after a quick shake) over all the delicious veg. and cheese


Notes:

You could use different vegetables with this:  try eggplant. mushrooms, broccolini or asparagus

Mr P. microwaved the potato for three minutes before grilling

Try other herbs in the dressing, like thyme or parsley

Mr P. suggests tzatziki would go well with this, in place of the vinaigrette

dressing ready for a good shaking:-)

shake shake shake ... la la la ...

veg. and halloumi chopped up and ready for the olive oil  

Mr P. microwaved then grilled the potato slices 

toss everything in the olive oil (yeah ok, so I like a glove)

throw the veg on the grill plate

toss gently with the vinaigrette

and eat!

such a cute book, filled with family-friendly recipes 

artwork © Sherry's Pickings  

Pizza Muffins

Pizza muffins, savoury muffins, call them what you will - they make a tasty snack.  Of course I love sweet muffins too - especially the blueberry kind.  When my father-in-law died fifteen years ago, I made a batch of muffins to take up to feed the grieving family.  For the first time ever, they were flat and unhappy little muffins, sunk down in misery in the muffin tray.  I guess they were reflecting the sadness we all felt...  But these little darlings will make you very happy, my friends.

savoury, cheesy, delicious morsels

I hunted through my multitudinous cookbook collection for muffin recipes and came up with the basics for the amount of flour, baking powder and so on.  Then I added in all the tasty pizza-like bits and bobs: cheese and olives, basil, ham and tomato paste...  Mr P. and Princess Pia were both fans of the finished result of my playing-around.  I hope you are too:-)  And don't be put off by the long list of ingredients; this is such an easy recipe, and it comes together very quickly, with delicious results.



ingredients:


250g. (8 oz) plain flour 

2½ tsp. baking powder

1 tsp bicarb soda

2 tsp lightly dried parsley (optional)

1 egg, lightly beaten

2 tsp basil paste

2-3 tsp tomato paste

150 mLs plain yoghurt

100 mLs buttermilk

75 mLs milk approx.

45 mLs olive oil

40g. ricotta

80g. ham, chopped roughly

40g. kalamata olives, sliced finely

50g. parmesan, grated

25g. roasted capsicum, chopped roughly

1/2 tsp sea salt

1/2 tsp ground black pepper

2-3 tsp spaghetti sprinkles (optional) for the top



Method:


Sift the flour, baking powder, bicarb soda and parsley into a large mixing bowl 

Whisk the egg in a large jug, then add the basil and tomato pastes;  stir well

Add the yoghurt, buttermilk, and milk into the jug and stir very well - you want to have 350 mLs all up in the jug, so adjust the plain milk as necessary

Now the olive oil and ricotta are added to the yoghurt mixture; you've got the picture - stir well

Whisk the ham, olives, parmesan, capsicum, salt and pepper into the flour mixture

Gently fold the yoghurt mixture into the flour; don't worry about lumps or bits of flour - you don't want to overwork the batter

Spoon the batter into a lined or greased 12 hole muffin tray and cast the sprinkles over the top; this batter makes 15 muffins so you will need to bake these, then bake the rest (unless you have 2 trays)

Bake at 180C for 25-30 minutes till golden

Leave to cool in the tray for 5 minutes, then place on a wire rack

Delicious with lots of butter


Notes:


I used patty pan liners to bake these, but you could just grease the holes well with butter

I baked 12 muffins, then used the rest of the batter to make one big pancake-like object - Mr P. was a big fan of this!

Spaghetti sprinkles are a mix of chilli, herbs and spices

whisk the flour, baking powder etc together 

gathering ingredients 

stir the wet and dry ingredients together - gently 

ready for the batter (I just think this shot is cute)

ready to be baked @180C for 25-30 mins.

savoury golden beauties

you can smell them from here:-)

fluffy, savoury muffins

   artwork © Sherry's Pickings