Gurkensalat 2.0

I love the name of this salad.  Clever Alice!  (Yes, I know it means 'cucumber salad' in German, but she has rung in a couple of changes.)  This is from Alice Zaslavsky's book Salad for Days.  Diligent readers will remember that Alice came to our local bookstore in 2023, and I made one of her cakes for the book launch of her previous book The Joy of Better Cooking.  It was delicious, and Alice was equally delicious :=)  

I made half of her recipe, as it was just for me and Mr P., but here is the full recipe below.  This is almost like a pickled cucumber dish, and as you know, you can't keep me away from a good pickled veg.!  I even made another jar of pickles the other day, as I still had one of these big boys in the fridge - or is that bad boys?  Or big, bad boys?  Take your pick :=)

I maintain that my mum was way ahead of her time, as she always did a very quick pickle of the cucumbers we had on our dinner plate.  She always used malt vinegar, and just soaked the cuke slices in the vinegar with a bit of salt and water for a while before dinner.  Mm, this brings back the memories of chunks of cheese, and grated carrot plus tinned beetroot slices ...  Oh, and iceberg lettuce of course!

ready for dressing

Serves 4-6 as a side:

ingredients:

40g./¼ cup currants  (I used half currants/half barberries)

2 Telegraph/Continental cucumbers (the long and thin ones)

1/4 red onion

1/4 tsp of sea salt flakes AND of caster sugar

Dressing:

130g./½ cup plain, thick yoghurt

juice of half a lemon

1 garlic clove, finely chopped or grated

1/4 cup parsley - yep, you guessed it - finely chopped

1 Tbs fresh coriander, chopped

1 Tbs dill, chopped (and a bit extra for garnish)

The Other Bits and Bobs (says Alice)

1 small or half a medium lemon

2 Tbs EV olive oil

freshly-ground black pepper

a scattering of toasted pinenuts - maybe 2 Tbs? (optional) 

Method:

Peel and slice your cukes finely, and slice the onion into very thin rings

Place the currants in a small bowl and pour over just-boiled water to cover; leave aside to get plump and moist (hehehe)

Your cuke slices and onion go into a medium bowl; throw on the salt and sugar, and leave 'em to get tasty for 5-10 minutes

Now make the dressing: Place the ingredients into a mixing bowl, and give 'em a good whisking. Add a bit of salt and pepper if you fancy

And decapitate that lemon; no, no, I mean cut off its top and bottom and peel every bit of skin and white pith from its citrusy little body

Slice (against the grain, says Alice) ever so finely into thin, thin discs - (my take is to halve or even quarter these discs so you don't end up with a big mouthful of ever-so-tangy lemon)

Here's where you get artistic: grab a pretty platter, and lay the cucumber and onion carefully (or not) over it - (you may have to drain them first)

Drizzle/spoon the dressing over the cucumber and onion, then place the lemon where you like, followed by the drained currants and the dill

Splash on some EV olive oil, and some freshly-ground black pepper, and scatter the pinenuts over it all, if using

I served this with some leftover chicken kebabs

Notes:

Notes?  Notes?  Nope, no notes today

slice 'em up!

arrange prettily on your platter

plated and ready to go

we had it with chicken kebabs

(Joining in with Jo Tracey from BKD Cookbook Club - Brookford Kitchen Diaries; this month's theme is healthy recipes!)

c. Sherry M.

Parsley, Preserved Lemon And Caperberries

I didn't realise before making this that parsley came first in the title because - guess what? - parsley is the hero ingredient here.  So get the freshest parsley you can when making this.  Out of the garden would be best of course.  Damn those sneaky, parsley-eating possums!  Supermarket parsley it is then :=)

This is another recipe from Harvest, the massive tome by Maggie Beer.  It's heading back to the library pronto, as I am not feeling the love for this book.  It could just be me, not you, Maggie.  There are so many recipes in this book - over 350 I think - so there's something for everyone.  But I just can't get over her dislike of chillies, and spices.  Somehow she missed the huge Asian influences on Aussie cooking!  

Serves 4:

ingredients:

12 caperberries, de-stalked; 6 of them cut in half lengthwise  (I used 20 small ones)

1 cup parsley (15g./0.5 oz) - I used curly, but Maggie says flat-leafed

1 Tbs preserved lemon rind, finely sliced  see Notes

40-55 mL (1.3-2 oz) EV olive oil    see Notes

2 thick slices of a hefty bread - pane di casa, sourdough, or similar, torn into chunks (or chopped by Mr P.) - use gluten-free if desired

1 Tbs red-wine vinegar (or vinegar of your choice - I used my homemade blood-orange vinegar)

black pepper, to taste

a handful of pine nuts (optional)

Method:

So de-stalk half the caperberries, slice 'em up and throw them into a salad bowl

Add the roughly-torn (or chopped) parsley leaves (or leave them as - well, leaves)

Chuck in the finely sliced lemon rind

Heat up a grill plate and cook up the brushed-with-EVOO bread slices/now chunks till nicely scorched/golden (or do it in a frypan)

These go into the bowl, along with the rest of the EVOO, vinegar, pepper and pine nuts - Oh I forgot!  Add the other half of the caperberries, too!

Toss and leave for a few minutes so the dressing can soak in

Serve with a protein and/or another salad of your choice

Notes:

I used 2 wedges of (my homemade) lemon rind 

Maggie uses 80 mL of EVOO, but I thought that was way too much, so I used 20-25 mL for the salad, and 20-30 mL for the bread grilling

Does anyone else think flat-leafed parsley tastes like grass clippings?!  And not in a good way ... bluuurrrgghh

grill your bread

get Mr P. to chop it up into chunks

serve it with grilled halloumi if you fancy

and a sweet potato and bocconcini salad

and with halloumi

C. Sherry M.

C. Sherry M.

Aunty Kath's Savoury Scones - International Scone Week 2022 (#ISW2022)

I love lighthouses!  There, I've said it.  I don't know why, but they really speak to me.  We've holidayed in the lighthouse keepers' cottages at Byron Bay a few times, and visited many more.  It's wonderful when the sun goes down, the gate is locked, and you have the whole ocean to yourselves.  There used to be goats on the cliffs, but they got rid of them due to soil erosion, and damage to the native plants.  But I liked them!  So nimble, so clever, so smelly.

Lighthouses?  But this is about scones, is't it?  Yes - yes, it is.  This recipe is from The Lighthouse Cookbook, and the recipe is by Jan Rhodes.  Profits from this book went to restoration work on Deal and Tasman Islands in Tasmania.  The compiler Shirley Baker and her husband Dallas settle(d) on Deal Island for three months every year to caretake voluntarily.  Such a wonderful project!

even Sully and Mikey want some of these!

A big thanks to Tandy from Lavender and Lime blog, for her annual hosting of #InternationalSconeWeek2022, first started by Celia from Fig Jam and Lime Cordial.  Every year it has been a fun search to find an interesting scone recipe.  I think my fave was the one where you actually beat the bejabbers out of the dough with a rolling pin!

Makes about 17:

ingredients:

3 cups (465g./16.4 oz) self-raising flour

1/2 tsp sea salt flakes

1 Tbs (20g./0.7 oz) butter

1 large brown onion, finely chopped - (my onion was about 185g./6.5 oz)

2 rashers bacon (around 50g./1.8 oz), finely chopped

3 Tbs fresh parsley, chopped

2 cups (250g./8.8 oz) cheese, grated

1/2-1 tsp cracked black pepper

around 250 mL/8 oz 'ish milk

Method:

Whack your oven on to 220C/430F to heat

Grab a large mixing bowl, tip in the flour and salt, and give it a stir

Rub the butter into the flour between your fingertips (or cut it in with a knife) so it ends up looking like breadcrumbs

Now stir in the onion, bacon, parsley, cheese and black pepper

Add the milk bit by bit, till you form a soft dough - you may need a bit more, or a bit less depending on your flour

Tip the dough out onto a floured surface, knead gently, then pat into a 2.5cm./1 inch round or rectangle

Use a flour-coated scone cutter or rim of a glass tumbler to cut into rounds; keep going till you run out of dough :-)

Place on a lined baking tray, and bake on a high shelf for about 12 minutes or till golden on top (mine took longer as our gas oven is sooooo moody)

Let cool on the trays for a few minutes, then put onto wire racks to cool - or eat 'em warm, as they're delish with melting butter

Notes:

I blitzed the onion in my wee food processor, which of course breaks down the water cells, so I then sat the onion in a sieve for a bit and pushed out the excess liquid with a spoon

Use other herbs (rosemary/thyme?) if you fancy - I added chives too

I used one cup of Parmesan, and one of Vintage Tasty cheese; my notes say I used only 180 grams of cheese (??) but more cheese can only be a good thing :-)

I chopped the bacon, and blitzed the herbs and onion the day before making the scones

ingredients into the bowl the next day

mixing up the dough

ready for the oven at 220C for c. 12 mins.

and out of the oven after 20 mins. (my oven is slooooow)

ready to eat

'gimme, gimme, gimme' ... 'a scone after midnight' (thanks Abba)

Deal Island Lighthouse (Wikimedia Public Domain)

Byron Bay Lighthouse (Wikimedia Commons)

                                              (Author Alistair Cunningham)

I do have photos of us at Byron Bay, but goodness knows where they are!  Thank heavens for Wikimedia Commons.

© Sherry M.

Oat Biscuits With Apricot, Rosemary And White Chocolate

I have a friend: her name is Catherine and she's a wonderful artist.    And she has a friend who has a daughter who is a food blogger.  So of course I had to buy her new book Wild Sweetness (by Thalia Ho).  The subtitle is Recipes inspired by Nature, so there are interesting ingredients like rosemary in the biscuits I've made today.  

What is it about rosemary lately?  My poor little bush has been lurking in the garden, unloved for many a moon, and now suddenly I've used it twice in two weeks.  Excellent herb, of much determination and grit, always there with its robust smell and taste.  And perfect for this delicious oat biscuit as we reach Anzac Day for another year on April 25.  Google it, foreign friends, if you're interested in this oft-times emotional remembrance of our soldiers, past and present.

golden bites of white chocolate heaven

Makes 16 chunky little darlings

ingredients:

225g. of plain flour (1¾ cups + 1 tbs)

160g. (2 cups) rolled oats

1 tbs rosemary leaves, chopped

1 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp sea salt

230g. (1 cup) butter, softened (not melted)

175g. (3/4 cup + 2 tbs) white or caster sugar

1 tsp vanilla extract

zest of an orange

140g. (3/4 cup + 1 tbs) white chocolate, chopped into small pieces

85g. (1/2 cup) dried apricots, chopped into small pieces

sea salt flakes, for sprinkling on the top before baking

Method:

Whisk the flour, oats, rosemary, baking powder and salt in a large bowl till well-combined

Beat the butter and sugar together (in another bowl) till creamy - three minutes in a stand mixer or six minutes with handheld electric beaters

Now beat in the vanilla and orange zest

Scrape down the sides of the bowl, and at a looooow speed, tip in the flour mixture till it is just combined with the creamed butter and sugar, and still a teensy bit floury

Then add the chocolate and apricots, and stir them in with vigour

Into the fridge the dough goes for half an hour, to chill

While the big chill happens, place your oven racks on the upper and lower thirds of the oven

Line two baking trays with baking paper, and turn your oven on to 180C/350F to warm up

Now grab the chilled dough, tip out onto a lightly-floured surface and pat into a 2.5cm/1 inch thick rectangle (or circle, no matter)

With your 6cm/2.5 inch biscuit/cookie cutter cut out beauteous, chunky, firm circles of dough and place them on the trays - leave a bit of room for each one to breathe and spread

Keep going till all the dough has been cut into circles (I had a bit of leftover dough so Mr P. ate it for me, being such a kind soul)

Sprinkle with sea salt, and bake for 16-18 minutes till light golden brown, making sure you swap the trays over halfway through the bake - i.e. top one on the bottom and bottom one on the top

Take 'em out, leave to cool for a few minutes, then let them cool completely on wire racks

Keep for a few days in an airtight container (not in the fridge)

Notes:

You may think 1 tbs of rosemary is too much, but it cooks out beautifully when the biscuits are done

Thalia says to use unsalted butter but I like my butter salted, so use whatever you prefer

Chop the white chocolate into small pieces so your dough doesn't fall apart (I used Lindt white chocolate) but use dark if you like

This is a dry dough that you'll think is not gonna work, but it does, my dears: as Thalia says, these are biscuits not cookies.  These are substantial, manly type fellas ...

ingredients gathered

creamy buttery zesty mixture

stir in the chocolate and apricots

slap your chilled dough onto a lightly-floured surface

there were two trays (honest) heading for the oven at 180C/350F

golden lovelies after 18 mins. - they weren't burnt, truly:-)

a plateful of lovelies

golden bites of salty chocolate pleasure

© Sherry M.

it's pinker in real life :-)

(Joining up with Marg from Intrepid Reader for Weekend Cooking.)

Pasta with Mushroom Cheese Sauce and Basil

Regular readers may be aware that I'm not a huge pasta fan, especially if it comes floating in a sea of tomato sauce.  Darn those Spanish conquistadors.  Did they have to bring the tomato back to Europe, after invading the Aztec empire?  Ah well, at least they brought back chocolate, for all the chocoholic fiends (who? Me?).  

So you're probably thinking, what's going on here?  Well, this is pasta enveloped in a cheesy sauce, made with Mersey Valley spreadable cheese.  I decided to make (nearly) the ultimate sacrifice, and give this recipe a go for the blog.  Mr P. was very happy, as he looooves pasta.

This recipe is on the packet, and normally I shy away from such things, but this one caught my eye, so here we are.  I added bacon to it for a meaty zing, but make it without and you have an easy vego dinner.  This soft cheese is described as 'Vintage Club Cheddar, sharp and creamy', so you get the idea if you're hunting up a similar cheese.  Apparently a Club Cheddar is a mix of cheeses, blended till it becomes soft in texture.

creamy, cheesy, herby - delish!

Serves 4:

ingredients:

300-350g./10.5-12.3oz pasta (fusilli or penne)

2 tbs olive oil

1 brown onion, chopped

3 rashers (about 100g./10.5oz) rindless bacon, chopped

1-2 cloves garlic, finely chopped

250g./8oz of mushrooms, sliced

375 mL (1½ cups) of cream - thickened or pure

1/2 bunch basil leaves, chopped or torn

150g./5oz of Mersey Valley Spreadable cheese

a hefty dash of dried oregano, and of lightly dried chives (optional)

sea salt and black pepper, to taste

40g./1.4oz of parmesan cheese, grated

Method:

Fill a large saucepan with cold water, bring to the boil (see next step now), tip in your pasta of choice and cook it for the requisite number of minutes as per the packet - or to your favoured degree of al dente

While the water decides to boil, get on with the sauce - i.e. start chopping!

Grab a large saucepan or frypan, pour in the oil, let it heat up, then tip in the onion, bacon, garlic and mushrooms

Stir till everything becomes tender, golden and smells delicious

Now pour in the cream, and let it simmer till the sauce starts to thicken

Grab a wooden spoon and stir in the Mersey Valley cheese

Turn down the heat, and season with the salt and pepper

Throw on the basil leaves, and the dried herbs, toss the drained pasta and sauce together, and sprinkle with the parmesan cheese

Serve with a chopped tomato and red onion salad - tomato, red onion, olive oil, lemon juice, salt and pepper

Notes:

Their recipe says to cook up the pasta after the sauce is done, but that seems odd to me, as your sauce will be sitting around getting cold and gluggy for up to 20 minutes!  I reckon start the pasta when you start chopping, so they're ready at the same time

They say use 350 grams of pasta - this is a lot!  You can easily use less, unless you really love lots (and lots) of pasta with your sauce

gather your ingredients

sauté the veg.

add the cream and basil

get Mr P. to stir in the pasta

grate the parmesan

and eat!

This is a very rich dish, so you may not need a lot of it.  The salad helps cut the kilojoules (if only!).  I've been giving meals to our elderly neighbour during Covid, so we took a bowl over to her.  I hope she doesn't think I'm trying to do her in - death by cholesterol:-)

(Joining up with Marg from the Intrepid Reader for Weekend Cooking.)

artwork © Sherry's Pickings

Thyme To Dry Those Herbs

Regular readers may remember me bemoaning the plague of possums, bugs, birds - especially bush turkeys - that ravage our garden.  Well, what used to be our garden. Once upon a time, we had a herb and veggie garden full of beautiful tomatoes and herbs swaying in the sultry Brissie sunshine.  The sea breeze that picked up in the afternoon would waft the heavenly aroma of basil and rosemary through the house, but alas no more. The above-mentioned plague of beasties took over!

there is still a tiny rosemary bush in the garden bed - the possums aren't fans?:=)  

So now I buy from markets and stores, or badger friends for their home-grown produce. I used to be one of those naughty people who buy a herb, use a bit and throw the rest away.  But I am more frugal and careful these days, so I chuck soft herbs straight into the freezer, or blitz them into purees, and store in ice cube trays or plastic bags.  


I had a big bunch of left-over thyme this week, and was wondering what to do with it.  I Googled it of course and found this superb method of drying hard herbs in just a couple of minutes.  I was a bit sceptical when I read it, but now I am a convert.  


So first rinse and dry the herb very carefully if needed.  I bought one of those packets that are already washed so I just laid it down on a piece of kitchen paper so it could air after being in the fridge.

  lay it down to dry/air   

Now you just need to give it 30 seconds in the microwave.  And keep doing this till it is dry and crumbly.  Turn it over each time you put it back in the microwave.  You may need to do it for 4-6 bursts so about 2-3 minutes.

after 30 seconds in the microwave  

In the first 30 seconds, it spattered and steamed up a bit so I was worried!  But I took it out and it had already started to dry out.  I ended up giving it 5 bursts of 30 seconds = 2.5 minutes.  I think it was actually ready after 4 bursts but I wanted to be really sure.

all done after 2.5 minutes

The stems were easily stripped of the dry leaves after the 2.5 minutes.  I was amazed to be honest.  I didn't really think it would work but it did.  Throw away the stems and place the leaves in a storage jar.

all done!

Here it is all done, and in the jar to be used over the next few weeks or so.  I am a happy little cook having found this useful way to save herbs.  And I feel so darn virtuous.