Preserved Lemon Hummus

I love a garlicky, lemony hummus or is that hommus?  Or even houmous?  Dunno but I like to eat it.  I have made many a hummus, adding different herbs and spices, or some lime instead of lemon.  (I have to say my very fave is a medieval hummus that is made with lots of green herbs.)

But here we have a recipe by Cherie Hausler from A Plant-Based Farmhouse, which uses preserved lemon.  As I usually have a jar of my homemade lemons in the fridge, I happily decided to make this version.  In fact, I preserved some Meyer lemons with mountain pepperberries recently, and they turned a beautiful pink!

I also made tomato relish, which I handed over to my mate Chainsaw Newton, along with some of my other homemade condiments in return for a fabulous artwork of his.  See Gelato Bob below :-)  I have quite the collection of Bob's!  (Or is that Bobs?)  The things you can do with a chainsaw and a wee bit of fire.  

great with crackers or crudités

Gelato Bob by Chainsaw Newton

Makes about 400g./14 oz

ingredients:

40 mL/1.25 oz lemon juice

60g./2 big oz tahini

250g./9 oz chickpeas, tinned or cooked up by your sweet self

30 mL/1 oz EV olive oil, plus more for drizzling

30 mL/1 oz water

1 Preserved Lemon quarter, plus 40 mL/1.25 oz of the brine

2 large garlic cloves, peeled

a pinch or 2 of sea salt, if needed

1-2 Tbs toasted and/or black sesame seeds, to sprinkle over the top

Method:

Into a blender or food processor, you add the lemon juice and tahini and let it rip - 'till whipped and creamy', says Cherie

Then you chuck in the other ingredients, and keep blitzing till smooth

Scoop into a bowl, and throw on some EV olive oil, and some sesame seeds if you fancy

Eat with crackers, or crudités, or whatever you like

Notes:

Cherie doesn't say if you use the complete lemon quarter, or just the skin so do what you like; I usually take out most of the flesh

I added quite a bit of the lemon, as I like my hummus tangy!

in they go

and blitz!

grab those crackers!

my homemade lemons

which turned pink!

c. Sherry M.

Lime Syrup Buttermilk Cake

Buttermilk, you ask?  Yes, it's becoming a bit of an anachronism these days.  I tend to make my own version with milk and lemon juice anyway.  Though for this cake, I used Greek yoghurt, almond milk and the juice of half a lime!  Use what you have; be frugal, finish off that just-about-to-go-mouldy stuff in your fridge - nah, just kidding.    

This recipe is from The Australian Women's Weekly Cakes & Slices Cookbook - Vintage Edition.  Phew, what a mouthful.  For those who don't know, the AWW have produced much-loved cookbooks for many years.  The recipes always work, and are made in the simplest (and best) way.  I think every Aussie household would have one or more of their cookbooks! 

The AWW cookbooks bring back memories of me, mum and my sister, all cooking together in our tiny, freezing cold, living in the mountains with no heating kind of way.  Mum had a Sunbeam Mixmaster (didn't everyone's mum?) which I imagine was a gift, as we were bloody poor.  I've seen some vintage models still around the ridges (I even saw a blogger some time ago with a still-working, pink one!); wish I still had mum's!  Anyhoo, let's get on with the recipe. 

looking all syrupy and deliciously moist :=)

(This makes a 20cm/8 inch cake:)

ingredients:cm/

250g./9 oz butter

1 Tbs lime zest  (about 2-3 limes needed)

220g./8 oz/1 cup caster sugar

3 large eggs, separated

juice of half a lime  (optional)

1-2 tsp vanilla extract (optional)

300g./11 oz/2 cups self-raising flour

240 mL/8 oz/1 cup buttermilk   see Notes

Lime Syrup:

1/3 cup lime juice   see Notes

3/4 cup sugar   - I used caster

1/4 cup water

zest of half a lime (optional)

Method:

Butter and flour your 20cm/8 inch baba pan, and shake out the excess flour  see Notes

Put the butter, sugar and rind into a small mixing bowl, and beat 'em up with your electric beaters till creamed - you know - pale and fluffy

Beat in the egg yolks, one at a time, till combined nicely

Now spoon/pour the batter into a big mixing bowl

Briefly stir in the vanilla and lime juice, then add half the flour and half the buttermilk, give it a good mix and add the other halves of flour and milk

Put that aside while you beat the heck out of those egg whites -  nah, just till soft peaks form

Then fold 'em gently into the cake batter, in 2 lots

Now pour/spoon that batter into your greased and floured tin

Bake in a moderate oven (180C/350F) for about 1 hour (they say) - check after 50 minutes

Let it sit for 5 minutes, (while you now make the syrup!), then turn onto a wire cake rack

The Lime Syrup:

In go the lime juice, sugar and water into a small saucepan

Give it a quick stir, and keep stirring over a medium-low heat till the sugar is dissolved

Let it come to a boil for about 30 seconds, then take off the heat

Now you are going to stir in the lime zest, and 

Pour that syrup over the still-warm cake, which it will suck up into its cakey heart  see Notes

Any left-overs will keep in an airtight container for a couple of days

Notes:

Use lemon or any citrus you like, really

I made my own buttermilk with about 2/3 cup yoghurt, just under 1/3 cup almond milk and the juice of half a lime!  Stir together and let it get thick and oddly curdled-looking :=)

The recipe is in cups, so I finally gave up when it came to the syrup, and used their measurements!

The optionals are my own additions

A baba tin is one that has an empty ring in the middle, like a bundt pan but it's a bit smaller (the hole I mean); use a bundt pan if that's all you have

Make sure the cake is sitting on a rimmed plate or a tray so the syrup doesn't go all over your bench when you pour it over the cake

gather those ingredients

get ready to cream that butter and sugar

juice that lime to make your buttermilk

cream the butter and sugar, and whip up those egg whites

pour/spoon into the baba pan

let it sit for a bit while you make the syrup

so make it!

pour it over the warm cake

looking tasty I have to say

Ms M. displaying her dessert

c. Sherry M.

In My Kitchen - November 2024

You know I have to say it - eek!  how did it get this far into the year?  Eight weeks till Christmas?!  And what a mixed bag this year has been.  And storm season has started early!  We had a whizz-bang ripper storm the other night, with huge winds and rain and a wee bit of hail.  Could be the start of something ...

October was a busy one - I made 3 sorts of muffins for our local indie bookstore The Quick Brown Fox for Love Your Bookshop Day.  I picked jaboticabas and made jam, and I made basil paste and mustard, and cake (my fave German chocolate cake).  We went away for a weekend, to one of our happy places - the Granite Belt, home to many vineyards, and fruit farms, and arty people.  

Here's to a splendid November; feel free to join in, everyone.  We're waiting to 'read all about it' !:=) - as they used to say in the movies.  Was that in the old Superman/Clark Kent days with George Reeves?  I sometimes think of the other fella - Christopher Reeve, and how his whole life would have been so different if he had hit his spine just one centimetre to the left or right ...  There but for the grace of God, as they say!  Anyways, here we go!

In My Kitchen:

there were pineapple mini muffins for Love Your Bookshop Day

and corn muffins

and another cookbook

and a (free) Santoku knife from the supermarket

I made mustard - again!  Mr P.'s fave.

and some basil paste (not pesto) - just basil, salt and EVoo

I bought a few goodies on our recent weekend away in Stanthorpe

and a few more things

Yep, another one!  But Nagi is worth the shelfroom!

So, here we are, racing to the end of the year.  I hope everything is going well for everybody!  See you in December, my friends.  Well, or before that, if you read my other posts :=)

Oops, nearly forgot the curveball!

a beautiful bee by Lauren Broughton

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.

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Kladdkaka - Swedish Chocolate Cake

Has anyone watched the lovely YouTuber Emmy of Emmymade?  I love her videos!  And I am a big fan of her lovely smile and warm demeanour.  And she tries all sorts of interesting recipes, and eats interesting and weird foodstuffs.  Or she just makes regular ones like this delicious chocolate cake.  And you can't really go wrong with chocolate cake!

The more chocolate the merrier - witness Nigella Lawson's Quadruple Chocolate Loaf Cake for starters!  I often use the chocolate syrup from that one on other cakes that are a bit dry.  But I digress; we are here for this Swedish beauty.  

And talking of Sweden, Mr P. and I spent one whole hour in Sweden years ago.  Yes, I kid you not.  We were backpacking thru' Denmark, and decided to hop on the ferry to Sweden, with only Danish kroner in our pockets.  So we hopped on in Helsingor and ferried across to Helsingborg, Sweden.  The lady at the Tourist Office took pity on us, and let us use Danish kroner to buy a soft drink.  We wandered around for a bit and jumped back on the ferry.  And then took a train (or was it a bus?) back to our room in the former - or was it? - house of ill-repute with mirrors on the ceiling!   

But let's head to the cake!  I just love a really squishy cake, don't you?  And a dollop of crème fraîche on top goes down a treat too.

look at that squishy moist interior :=)

Serves 8:

ingredients:

135g./5 oz butter, melted

350g./12.5 oz white or caster sugar

30g./1 heaped oz cocoa powder

25g./1 scant oz black cocoa powder (or regular if you don't have this)

3 large eggs, lightly beaten

1 tsp vanilla extract/paste

110g./4 oz plain flour

2 Tbs icing sugar/powdered sugar

Method:

On goes your oven to 170C/350F to heat up

Now you grab your 18cm/7 inch springform pan, grease and line it with baking paper - bottom and sides

And melt the butter (if you haven't already) in a medium saucepan, then stir in the sugar and cocoa powder(s)

In a separate medium bowl, beat the eggs gently with the vanilla

Fold/stir in the eggs, then the flour in 3 additions into the buttery mixture - you know what I mean! - fold in a third of the eggs, then a third of the flour and so on till all gone

Once beautifully and lightly combined, pour/spoon the batter into your prepared pan

Now bake for around 45 minutes; you want it slightly jiggly in the centre, says Emmy

Let it cool down till room temp., before whacking it into your fridge for a couple of hours - or more, if you have the patience :=)

Then sprinkle that icing sugar over the top, slice it up and hand it out

Notes:

I watched her video for this one again, and it is quite different in method to her written instructions so you can go either way!  Add the eggs in at the end without beating them first or just follow her written recipe - which I did!

yep, I got started!

a lovely chocolatey batter ready for the oven 

into the oven it goes

and out it comes after 45 mins. at 170C

let it rest in the tin till room temp., then into the fridge for 2 hours+

and cut yourself a slice

even Nemo wants a piece :=)

c. Sherry M.

Smoked Salmon Potato And Asparagus (or Broccolini) Salad

As much as I enjoy watching Jamie Oliver on the telly, I have never been one to make his recipes. But a friend (or my cuz?) gave me his 15 Minute Meals cookbook a while back, so here we are.  This was our Cookbook Club's monthly book a few months ago, and luckily I had a copy already.    

My shelves are groaning with many a cookbook (and regular books), but will that stop me buying Nagi's new one this month or Nigel Slater's or Stanley Tucci's or Alice Zaslavsky's?   Nah, of course not.  Though I do give many books away or donate to our local Uni for their annual book sale.  

I recently lost a fair bit of money ordering books from a company that went belly-up, taking everyone's money!  And I also ordered Nigel Slater's new one online, but when I read the bookshop reviews, they were all scathing about the lack of service etc, so I have asked for my money back.  'Cos you just never know!  Once bitten, twice shy, and I have certainly been bitten!  Fingers crossed!  Ooh, I just checked - yay, my money is back!

gather your ingredients

Serves 4:

ingredients:

500g./18 oz baby potatoes

4 rashers of smoked pancetta (see Notes) or 120g./4 oz mushrooms, which you have sliced into a bowl with: 

1-2 Tbs EV olive oil  (use 2 Tbs:=) Go on!)

1/2 Tbs sherry vinegar (or apple cider vinegar)

sea salt flakes and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

A few dashes of Green goddess seasoning  (optional)

Which you leave to marinate for 10 minutes

1 tsp English mustard

1 heaped tsp wholegrain mustard (or use 2 tsp wholegrain if you prefer)

4 Tbs Greek/natural yoghurt

1-2 tsp white wine vinegar

1/2 bunch of fresh dill

1 tsp hot sauce  (optional - my idea to add)

1 red chicory (says Jamie!) or about 30g./1 big ounce baby spinach leaves

180g./6.5 oz cold smoked salmon   see Notes

1 bunch/300g./10.5 oz asparagus or broccolini or snow peas

1 lemon, cut into wedges, for serving

Serve with lightly grilled bread (and butter) if you wish

Method:

Boil or steam (or microwave) your potatoes till tender

In the meantime, make up the mushrooms so they have time to marinate

Lightly steam or boil the asparagus or broccolini till as tender as you like 'em

Chop up the dill

So just lay the green veg. prettily on a platter, then place the potatoes and mushies on top, then cast the salmon (which I snipped up with scissors first) over the lot

Mix up the mustards, yoghurt, dill, vinegar and hot sauce in a small bowl, then pour over the salad

Serve with the lemon wedges, and bread and butter

Notes:

Marinate the mushies for 10 minutes before putting the salad together

If using pancetta, Jamie says to give it a blast on the griddle pan - i.e. let it get golden :=)

Jamie says to use 240g. of salmon but I only had 180g. and that was fine

gather together your prepared ingredients

mix up the dressing

lay the veg. on a platter, and snip up the salmon

pile everything on top

ready for eating, watched over by Dino 

(Joining up with Min from Write of the Middle blog for her weekly link.)

c. Sherry M.

Jaboticaba Jam

So, our jaboticaba tree fruited like a maniac on steroids the other week.  It is a Brazilian rainforest tree, happily for us planted by the previous owner of our house.  It fruits twice a year (though a friend said they knew someone who had a tree that fruits four times a year).  The fruit grows all over the trunk and branches directly, so it looks really weird!  (As you may have seen in my most recent post.) 

I invited a friend over to pick some fruit, as he is a keen jam-maker, and a very keen forager.  He came over with a large bucket and picked heaps, but it made little difference to the fruits on the tree.  Soooo many fruits!  And the bats and possums must have been having a feast.  Mr P. and I did some house painting just near the tree and were nearly overwhelmed by the fermenting fumes.  I imagine incredibly alcoholic!  So drunken, crazy bats flying over!

here it is before the fruit ripened in the next couple of days!

The whole thing was done and dusted in about five days; it flowered, it fruited and they fell off!  There might be another harvest at Christmas time.  I have bags of fruit in the freezer for more jam-making in the future, anyway.

Original Recipe by Sherry:

ingredients:

420g./15 oz of apples and/or strawberries – strawberries lightly mashed, and apples grated or blitzed in the processor    see Notes

80g.-100g./3-3.5 oz or so of whole jaboticaba fruits – skin on (‘cos that’s where the pectin lies)

400g./14 oz caster sugar – half raw and half white caster – or use all white or all raw sugar

Juice from one lemon – maybe 2 Tbs?

1-2 big tsp vanilla extract

¼ tsp rosewater

Big splash of spiced rum - optional, but delicious!

Method:

Put the fruit and sugar into a large saucepan and under a low heat, and bring to the boil while stirring, till sugar dissolves

Then turn up the heat, add the other ingredients, and boil rapidly for up to 10 minutes (watch out for splashes) – no more than ten, stirring often.  This stuff sets like concrete if you boil it too long!

Check for set from 8 minutes on!   i.e. – put a saucer in your freezer for ten minutes, spoon a small amount of the jam onto it, and if you can run your finger thru it after a few seconds, it is ready to go

Let it cool down a wee bit, so you are able to safely spoon out all the skins and seeds – tedious but necessary

Then spoon/pour the jam into sterilised jars (I put my jars in the dishwasher to get super clean!)

Keeps in the fridge – well, for ages!  Unless you eat it all first :=)

Notes:

I peeled my apples but you don't have to.  I used red apples 'cos they were lurking in my crisper, but you can use your fave apple!

If you have a lot of fruit still on the tree (and you will!), place them into a plastic freezer bag in a single layer (and you can freeze them for a couple of months, maybe more), and then when next making jam, let them thaw out and make the jam as above

tip the fruits and sugar into the saucepan

and let it boil! but only for 10 mins.! And stir it often

ooh it's so shiny and beautiful!

so delicious!

so enchanting! so mysterious! so pretty!

c. Sherry M.