My Sunday Photo 6 December 2015

a lovely photo of my mum when she was about 12 or 13  

My mum  died many years ago on the 8th December.  She was only 46, with so much more life to live.  Life is not always fair.  It is lovely to see her here full of youth and hope, with all her life ahead of her.  Every day that I am older than the age she died, I am grateful to still be around:=)   Who knows what the future holds?

Annabel's Easy Pizza

I am not sure how many Aussie cooks and food bloggers know of Annabel Langbein, but I hope it's a lot 'cos I love her!  I love watching her shows.  With her cheeky grin and that beautiful NZ countryside in the background, for me she can do no wrong.

Mr P. and I have been to New Zealand half a dozen times, and always love it.  The countryside is gorgeous, and the people so interesting and friendly.  And there's always the hope that a hobbit will pop up somewhere.  Oh, and they have weird and wonderful foods too that you won't find here.  We came upon rhubarb sparkling water for instance! And delicious local crayfish, and abalone.  And local honey, and fabulous breads, and and...  

I guess that's an orc:=)   

I have been making a baking soda pizza dough for years, but it is always a little salty/soda-y even when I add herbs and parmesan to it, so I was glad to see that Annabel has come up with this 2-ingredient dough for pizza.  

So - easy peasy lemon squeezy, here it is:

Take 2 cups of self-raising flour to 2 cups of thick Greek style yoghurt - you get the idea; you can double it if you need to; just equal quantities of flour to yoghurt.

Add 1 tsp of salt and mix to a soft dough - it is very soft and sticky so use a rubber spatula or a knife to mix it in (don't be tempted to add more yoghurt here; it will be enough)

Press it (with very well-floured hands) onto a piece of lightly floured baking paper

Pre-heat a round or rectangular baking tray in the oven at 220C

Now cover your dough in whatever you fancy:  you could use a tomato sauce or do as I did, mix 120g. of ricotta with 1/2 tsp hot chipotle sauce and spread over the base

I then added:

100g. prosciutto cut into strips
1/2 dozen cherry tomatoes, halved - (on Mr P.'s side of the pizza)
8 bocconcini, halved
1/2 small potato, very finely sliced
salt and pepper to taste
1 tsp chopped rosemary (less or more as you fancy)
3-4 tbs parmesan, grated


Grab the heated tray from the oven and slide the pizza AND the baking paper onto the tray - carefully!

Bake for about 20 minutes till golden and delicious - you will know what that looks like:=)  


Tips:

Make sure your hands are very well-floured, and cast more over your hands and the dough if you need to

Press out the dough till it is very thin - no more than half a centimetre

Make sure the tray is hot before placing the pizza on it 

You will have more than enough for one big pizza so either freeze the rest or make another small pizza, or do as Annabel suggests, and make several small dinner plate sized pizzas.  She suggests this will make at least 4.

2 ingredients - (well, 3 really)  

grab that rubber spatula and mix    

pat it out with well-floured hands onto baking paper         

grab your toppings; whatever you fancy    

mixing chipotle sauce into the ricotta   

ready for the oven  

oh yum!

my delicious pizza doodle :=)

In My Kitchen - December 2015

The dreaded C word is almost upon us, and I am not freaking out at all!:=)  That's reality TV speak folks; it doesn't matter what show or what is happening, they are all "freaking out".  But I'm not, so don't you worry about that (as a famous Queensland politician used to say). 

And in the meantime, here's my In My Kitchen post for the month just gone.  Feel free to join in with Celia from Fig Jam & Lime Cordial in the monthly kitchen show 'n' tell from around the globe.  

fresh biodynamic Aussie garlic - the best!  

Patrice grows wonderful biodynamic garlic.  I buy a box every year, divvy them up into cloves (skin on) and shove them in the freezer for the months to come.  I had to buy a head of Mexican garlic recently much to my dismay.  It was actually rotting, so went straight in the bin.  Never again!

I love this hand carved black walnut ladle all the way from Colorado   

Robert from Kitchen Carvings in Colorado makes these gorgeous wooden utensils from reclaimed wood and old trees.  I want one of everything:)  

a new artwork on the wall near my kitchen   

This wonderful piece is by local artist Pamela Gough.  She does a lot of research on historical street maps of Brisbane, and includes some of them in her art.  This one is of an area near our house, with the old street names showing in the middle.

a wee gift from our friend Mel  

Our friend Mel runs a cooking school in the local village.  She is a gorgeous blonde Amazon originally from Zimbabwe.  This is her clever book on blinging up your food. Lots of edible flowers are involved:)  Check out her website and you will find me in a couple of the school's promotional videos.

a batch of my homemade Worcestershire sauce   

I've made a really fiery batch this time.  I think the jalapeños were super hot.  You just never know with chillies till you eat them how hot they are. The recipe is on the blog; just type it in to the search button.  

a rainbow of floppy cutting boards   

For years I have had one of these useful boards, but now it is scratched and bent and a bit sad.  Luckily Mr P. noticed a set of 4 (for $8!) when we were in a kitchen/gift shop on the weekend.  I love them because you can chop on them, then just pick up the board like a funnel and tip it into your frypan or whatever.  So easy. Brilliant! 


It has been a fairly quiet month in the Pickings kitchen.  The dreaded flu/virus has kept me low for well over a week, and the heat and humidity have been high.  None of this is conducive to cooking I'm afraid.  Never mind, Christmas is on the way with lots of Christmas goodies to make.  Merry merry Xmas to you all fellow IMK'ers.  It has been a wonderful year getting to know you or getting to know you better!

Chicken Wraps With Chipotle Mayo And Salsa

Chicken, mayo and chillies?  Yep sounds good to me.  This is a terrible confession for a food blogger but I have never made my own mayonnaise.  I know!  I can hear you gasp from here.  I did think for a minute when I saw this recipe that I would use bought mayo, but then I thought better of it.  So for the first time in living history, you will find me attempting home made mayo.  Plus a few other bits and pieces:=)  

I am making my version of this recipe from the book What Katie Ate; Recipes and other Bits and Bobs by Kate Quinn Davies.  This is the final book of the year being perused and used in The Cookbook Guru Book Club.  Everyone is welcome to join in!


ingredients:

500g. chicken breast tenderloins (or fillets cut into strips)
2 limes, zested and juiced
1 large clove of garlic, crushed
1 tbs olive oil
1 tbs of mint leaves, roughly chopped
sea salt and black pepper to taste

chipotle mayo:

1 egg yolk
1 tbs lemon or lime juice
salt and pepper to taste
1 cup (250mls) of light olive oil - I used 1/2 cup olive oil and 1/2 of peanut oil 
2-3 tinned chipotle chillies, finely chopped
2 tsp sliced pickled jalapeño chillies, also finely chopped

chunky salsa:

4 ripe tomatoes
1 red onion
1 green capsicum (bell pepper)
salt and pepper
1.5 tbs sherry vinegar (or whatever vinegar you have)
2 tbs olive oil

To serve:

8 tortilla wraps
2 avocados, sliced or diced
handful of coriander leaves
mint leaves (optional)
lime wedges (optional)


Method:

Place the chicken tenderloins or strips in a shallow baking dish

Make the marinade by whisking the lime zest and juice, garlic, oil, mint, salt and pepper in a small mixing bowl

Pour the marinade over the chicken, cover with clingfilm and place in the fridge for 20-30 minutes

Put all the ingredients for the mayo in a narrow jug and whizz with a stick blender till thick and smooth

Cover and place in the fridge till needed

Bake the chicken strips at 180C for about 10 minutes (take the clingfilm off!)

De-seed the tomatoes and cut into wedges, slice the onion finely, and chop the capsicum into small chunks

Place them in a bowl; add salt and pepper, vinegar and olive oil and toss together

Warm the wraps in the oven for a few minutes on low-about 170C

Each person can make up their own wrap by spooning on some chicken pieces, mayo and salsa in the middle of the wrap
Add avocado slices, coriander leaves, mint leaves if using and extra lime squeezed over if desired

Fold the bottom of the tortilla over the filling, then fold one side to the middle, then the other side so you have a tortilla envelope

Serves 4

Tips:

Jalapenos can be bought in a jar at the supermarket (I got mine at IGA)
Chipotles may not be easy to find; I bought pepper chipotle sauce at Coles, and organic salsa de chipotle at an organic grocer - Katie says you can use the sauce instead, so there:=)

If you want to make the mayo by hand (eek!), whisk the egg yolk, lemon juice, salt and pepper in a small but deep bowl; gradually add the oil and keep beating in till it is thick and smooth; then stir in the 2 kinds of chillies which will need to be very finely chopped

Katie's recipe asks for chicken fillets to be beaten thin, marinated and grilled, then sliced.  I don't have a grill so I figured baked tenderloins would be the go.  (Whisper, whisper - you could even chop up a roast chook from the shops).

whisking the marinade

baked for 11 minutes 

trying to make mayo!  

disaster struck!  Huge mayo failure (sorry about the thumb)  

Well folks, my first go at mayo was a disaster.  It simply would not emulsify no matter what I did.  Mr P. googled it for me, so I added more juice and another egg yolk, and I kept beating but nothing happened.  After 30 minutes of pulling out my hair and lots of swearing, I took the advice Mr P. found for me, which was - sometimes the mayo wins! 

So yep bought mayo it was!  Just add the finely chopped chillies and seasoning to a cup of bought mayo.  I squeezed in a bit of lime juice for flavour too.  We like it hot in this house so I added both types of chipotle sauce to the mayo.  I kept adding it till it was hot enough, but start with a couple of teaspoons. 

chipotle mayo   

ready to wrap and roll! 

It may be heresy to say this, but I am not a huge fan of this book.  I don't really like the well-worn look of it, or the dark pages.  And I am not fond of the heavily styled look of the recipes. Sure it can be attractive, but after a few pages, everything starts to look the same. 

But more importantly, I had to go through this book at least half a dozen times before I found a recipe that appealed to me.  Katie says that she is one of those people who likes to make canapes for 50 (!); clearly she is a person who likes detail and repetition, which I am not so keen on.  

I'm afraid it was all a bit of a disaster for me trying to get this recipe up as I fell prey to a ghastly virus last week.  (And of course the Great Mayo Disaster didn't make me any fonder).  Perhaps that has coloured my view of the book, but sadly I have to say it ain't my fave and it is happily going back to the library this week.  

red and green jalapeños

My Sunday Photo 29 November 2015

street art under the railway bridge  

I really love public art and installations.  As we drive around the city, I am always on the lookout for anything new.  We saw this yesterday as we were out and about buying Xmas presents.  Oh boy, was it hot and humid!  And there were crowds everywhere due to Xmas markets and the big climate change march.  

I love this piece of street art.  It is really huge, and I thought that the barbed wire gave it an edgy look.  There are a number of other piers (the name for a bridge's column) with different artworks, but this is my fave!  

Watt Restaurant And Bar

the newly refurb'ed industrial chic look at Watt Bar    

Surprisingly for a riverside city there are not that many places where you can eat while watching the (brown) waters flow.  Unless you want to pay mega bucks in the CBD, you are confined to a tiny number of eating places on the river.  One of these is Watt, which is located at the Powerhouse New Farm.  It has recently undergone refurbishment, and now comprises New Farmer's Kitchen, and a bar which offers share plates, and tasty morsels.

One recent sunny Saturday, Mr P. and I grabbed the SIL (sis-in-law) and took a drive to New Farm to check out the new surroundings and food.  SIL said this was her first time ever at the Powerhouse, but she does live up the coast so she has an excuse.:=)

It was mid-afternoon and we were all starving so we speedily perused the menus.  Mr P. kindly headed off to the bar to place our order.  The staff were friendly and efficient (he reported back). And he was impressed with their prompt and polite service, which is not always a given these days.

a glass of Chandon for me - $11  

you guessed it!  ginger beer for Mr P.  (oops-didn't get the price)   

smoked mozzarella and mushroom croquettes $12  

These were delicious; packed full of cheesy, mushroomy flavour, crisp on the outside and unctuous on the inside.  I have had my share of croquetas lately at various tapas establishments and these were a darn sight better.

salt & pepper squid with coriander and citrus $14   

These weren't quite as successful as the croquettes.  They were a little limp, and didn't have a huge amount of flavour to them.  I am not sure if the coriander was meant to be leaves or ground but I couldn't really taste it (or see it) either way.

rosemary salted chips w/- aioli $9  

The chips were crispy and hot but once again the flavour was a bit hard to find.  I am not sure why chefs are holding back on the seasoning these days, but I like to see salty flakes sparkling on my chips like diamonds.  Sadly I didn't get that so I was a teeny bit disappointed.  SIL asked me plaintively: "where's the rosemary?" "Dunno," was my answer.  Perhaps diners could be given a small bowl with the seasoning so they can add their own to their heart's content?  

buffalo wings w/- Frank's sauce $14  

This was a delicious and generous serving of spicy wings.  I think I ate most of them; well, Mr P. doesn't eat meat on the bone (I know!) and SIL is careful with her eating. They had lots of flavour and just enough sauce to coat them.  Just a suggestion - perhaps a finger bowl or wet wipes could be provided with this dish?

prawn sliders on brioche buns $12     

There were in fact 2 of these on the plate which surprised and pleased me.  Once again, we thought this was a generous serving.  The slider had good flavour, with a soft bun which went well with the prawn filling.  A few leaves added a bit of freshness and contrast.

hot dogs $10

Mr P. enjoyed the hot dogs which were annointed with mustard and tomato sauces. "Better than average," was his comment after wolfing them down.  He also said they needed more mayo; mayo? all I see is cheese:=)


There was a friendly and tranquil atmosphere here.  Families with small children, couples and even a student with her books spread out around her were all taking advantage of this riverside establishment.  I couldn't help thinking how wonderful it would have been if the restaurant engaged more with the river; for instance having seats built over the water (probably Council regs. against that).

If you are after more substantial eats, try The New Farmer's Kitchen.  There is a pre-theatre dining menu, and a child's menu for the "little farmers".  The menu proclaims their use of fresh, local and seasonal produce.  And if you feel like having an event here, there is a private dining room and function spaces.  

if you are lucky, you may get to see the resident water dragon 

 

My Sunday Photo 22 November 2015

tulip sculpture at Bowral New South Wales  

This photo is from our recent trip to Canberra.  As we drove from Sydney, we stopped at this little town for a break.  This gorgeous garden was full of Spring flowers and a few sculptures, including this tulip.  We had missed the Tulip Festival by a couple of weeks but there were still heaps in bloom.  Such a restful and beautiful place to stop.