In My Kitchen - November 2022

Will I say it?  Will I say it?  Yes, I will - just under eight weeks till Christmas!!  OMG!  This year flew by, didn't it?  I won't be sorry when it ends; it has not been a great year for the Pickings' household, or for various friends.  But the least said about that the better.  You know the old saying: "Least said, soonest mended?"  So my lips are sealed :=)

Am I the only one who doesn't like Octobers and Augusts?  I mean, I don't like them in general.  Am I nuts?  Mr P. said 2023 has to be good because it's a prime number!  Well, interesting - here's hoping.  Anyways, onwards, my friends.  Let's take a look back at October, the month that was.  Please join us, my virtual, global friends.  All welcome.

In My Kitchen:

yep a garlic crusher and a cute little cup

I quite like the garlic crusher, but I think it will work better on fresh garlic rather than the frozen cloves I use.  Love the little cup from Pottery For The Planet!

there was another big batch of tomato and capsicum relish

and another Japanese tumbler for my morning coffee

I can't resist Japanese foods or homewares.  I bought this miso cup online from a store in Sydney.  It's by a Japanese ceramicist Mr. Kotsuji.  I love drinking my morning coffee from its smooth, beautiful surface.

a purple-tinged handmade Murasaki glass tumbler

This is handmade in Japan by Toyo-Sasaki Glass; a beautiful lead-free crystal enhanced with a Japanese violet colour.  So lovely.

and organic lemons and a lime from Tassie friends

Our mates from Tasmania were up, bringing organic lemons (Meyer I think) and a lime from their trees.  I have made preserved lemons and a chicken with lemon dish.  So wonderful with their soft, pliant, thin skins.  Yep, gotta say it - the fruit, not the friends :=)

and a surprise gift from my oldest friend

This was a marvellous gift from my oldest (longest-known) friend who lives over one thousand kilometres away.  We usually catch up once a year but due to the global pestilence, we haven't seen each other for quite a while.  Soon I hope ...

lemons preserved with bay leaves and peppercorns

And into the fridge they go, to mature.  I added some native pepperberries too for a bit more flavour.

and finally my curveball - a sculpture by John Shaw

This wonderful piece by John Shaw (a former pilot with Royal Brunei Airlines) is carved from a piece of maranti driftwood that he found on a beach.  I call her Twiggy!

So please join in everyone!  And here's how to:

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 a 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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Blood Orange Vinegar

Blood oranges are still in season - just.  Though you can use pretty much any fruit or berry (or herb) you fancy to make this.  It's a very simple concoction, where you soak fruit in vinegar for a week or so, then strain and bottle.  I was inspired to make this when I saw an ad for a French passionfruit vinegar.  I can't buy it here, so it came to me that I could make it myself, but use blood oranges instead.

Blood orange season is short and sweet, so I've been using them while they're available.  I've also made raspberry vinegar in the past; such a glorious colour, as is this!  I was also inspired by a couple of recent blog posts with similar recipes - one from Angie's Recipes blog, and another by ...  Sorry, I can't remember whose blog, but I think it was for blueberry vinegar.  If it was you, please remind me, friends.   

so pretty, tangy and fruity

ingredients:

350 mL/12 oz vinegar - use a good quality white wine vinegar

4 blood oranges - use the peel of 3 blood oranges, and zest of 1

flesh of 2-3 blood oranges

the juice from 1-2 of the oranges

2-3 Tbs caster sugar

Method:

First scrub the fruit with a potato brush, then pat dry, and peel and zest away

Pour the vinegar into a small saucepan, and heat gently till just about boiled - when you see a bubble or two on the side, take it off the heat

Place all the fruity bits and pieces into a glass jar, pour over the hot vinegar, stir in the sugar, seal the jar and place in a dark spot for a week or even two

Shake every second day, till you're ready to finish it off

Then strain out the bits by tipping the mix into a sieve/strainer lined with a piece of muslin (don't squish the fruit through the muslin as it will go cloudy)

Leave it for an hour or two to finish straining, then pour/ladle into a sterilised jar or bottle

Best placed in the fridge where it will keep for up to six months

Use in vinaigrettes, or maybe even with sparkling water like a shrub drink 

Notes:

I've read recipes for this where they say to use room temperature vinegar, but you may then need to leave it to infuse for 2 weeks rather than one in order to get the full flavour out of the fruit

You can double the recipe if you feel the need for lots of the fruity stuff

ingredients gathered

start peeling and zesting

chopping up the flesh, and into the jar

ready for the hot vinegar

vinegar and fruit ready for steeping for a week

and a week later - ready for filtering

a muslin-lined sieve/strainer sitting over a large bowl

pour the vinegar into a jug, then decant into bottles

and end up with pretty bottles

love that colour!

C. Sherry M.

Amarena Cherry Cake - À La Alice Zaslavsky

I met the lovely Alice recently!  I made two of these cakes for her book launch at our wonderful new local indie bookshop The Quick Brown Fox.  Phew, that's a lot of adjectives.  Alice was a Masterchef Aus contestant some years ago, and now writes cookbooks, is on tv and radio, and so on.  Her cheery smile is ubiquitous.  

I love cherries - so luscious, so round and sweet.  They remind me of our backpacking travels through Europe; of buying huge bags of them in Belgrade, a city full of young soldiers in uniform, carrying rifles.  Of our many times in Tasmania, picking them off our friends' tree in their backyard overlooking the Derwent River.  Of happy summer feasts, enjoying them in their short season.  Cherries make me think of Christmas, 'cos that's when we see them in the shops.  Don't buy those imported ones, my friends!  Stick to the season.

oh so moist and delicious

Recipe by Alice Zaslavsky:

Serves 8-10:

ingredients:

180g./6.3 oz almond meal (ground almonds)

60g./2 big ounces dessicated coconut

1/2 tsp sea salt

250g./9 oz caster sugar

4 large eggs

1 tsp amaretto (optional)

1 tsp vanilla extract

1/4 tsp almond extract (see Notes) 

200g./7 oz butter, melted and cooled 

Nicely rounded handful of flaked almonds

240g./8.5 oz jar of amarena cherries, drained (see Notes)

icing sugar for dusting (optional)

extra fruit and mascarpone for serving (optional)

Method:

Turn on your oven to heat to 180C/355F

Grease a 20 cm/8 inch springform cake tin, and line with baking paper - see Notes

Whisk the almond meal, coconut, salt and caster sugar together in a medium bowl

In a large bowl, whisk the eggs together, add the extracts and whisk them in well

Pour the cooled butter into the egg mixture, and whisk till everything is well combined 

Now scatter the dry ingredients over the wet mixture, and whisk in well - Alice says this makes a very runny batter, but I didn't really find this, so I think you'll be fine whether it's super runny or just a  normal batter

Bake for 20 minutes, then take out of the oven, cast the almond flakes and cherries over the top of the cake, and back into the oven for another 20-25 minutes (mine took the extra 25 mins. both times)

Let it cool in the tin, sitting on a wire rack, then serve with icing sugar and extra cherries if desired

Notes:

Alice suggests 1/8 tsp bitter almond aroma but honestly, who has that in the pantry? :=)  Not me!  And she does say it's optional ...  

I bought a tub of Amarena cherries at our local deli, which I think were better than the jarred ones.  I drained them, and kept the syrup as a cordial

I used a regular cake tin, with lots of baking paper up the sides so I could just pull the cake out of the tin - it worked fine

I made this cake two separate times, and neither time was the batter very runny; the first time in fact it was rather dry, and the second time just a normal batter - perhaps it depends on the freshness (or not) of your almond meal and coconut :=)

ingredients gathered

whisk your eggs

whisking dry into wet

et voilà - a lovely batter for cake number 1

the second cake batter - a bit runnier than the first time

first one ready for the oven

second batch heading to the oven

and ... baked

enjoy with fruit and cream to increase the joy

the lovely Theresa with my cakes for the book launch/morning tea

almonds and cherries

Braised Ginger Chicken

I think I've mentioned before that I'm in an online cookbook club called Lambs' Ears Cookbook Club.  Last month's book was Chinese-Ish by Rosheen Kaul and Joanna Hu.  I chose to make this dish - braised ginger chicken.  I'll be honest - Mr P. and I were not big fans of this one.  We ate it one night, but left heaps which I blinged up the next night.  

So this recipe is more my version of it, rather than straight out of the book.  And isn't that what cooking is all about?  Tweaking a recipe your way so you love it!?  As much as I appreciate the appellation contrôlée kinda foods, I think recipes should be your guide, not your master or mistress :=)

And speaking of ginger - Mr P. tells me of a time where his dad (who liked to brew his own) tried to make homemade ginger beer, but with glacé ginger rather than fresh (by mistake).  Yep, with all that sugar, it blew its stack and ended up all over the shed.  And that reminds me of the time I made homemade ginger beer, which literally exploded and blew out our dining room wall!  Oh, that Summer heat we have in old Brisbane town.  I must try to make it again in Winter :=)

ready for eating - with steamed veg.

Serves 4:

ingredients:

40-60 mL/1.3-2 oz sesame oil

6 cm piece (c. 80g./2.8 oz) old ginger, skin on if you wish, finely finely sliced and then each slice quartered (or not) - see Notes below

650g./23 oz chicken thigh fillets, chopped into large chunks

150g./5.3 oz mushrooms, roughly chopped (optional)

100g./3.5 oz baby corn, chopped (optional)

100g./3.5 oz red capsicum/pepper, roughly chopped (optional)

1 tsp sea salt

1 tsp caster sugar

1 tsp soy sauce

1-2 Tbs water

1 tsp Mirin or mirin seasoning, or dry Sherry

1 Tbs Chinese rice wine or dry Sherry 

chopped herbs of your choice - I used parsley, chives and fresh coriander (cilantro) 'cos that's what's usually in my pantry and fridge

steamed rice or egg noodles for serving

Method:

Heat up the sesame oil in a wok or large frypan over medium heat

Tip in the ginger and stir for several minutes till tender and fragrant

Add your chopped chicken and stir for 4-5 minutes till starting to brown and cook through

Now add the mushroom, corn and capsicum if using, and stir in the salt, sugar, soy, and water

Whack on a lid, and let it simmer for 7-8 minutes

Check that the chicken is cooked through, then stir in the Mirin and Chinese rice wine 

Cast the chopped herbs over the top, and serve with rice or noodles

Notes:

We preferred a lesser amount of sesame oil, so I used less

Apparently you can find old ginger at Asian food stores but obvs. you can use regular ginger like I did!  I first made this dish with the sliced, unpeeled ginger which we did not like (an unpleasant mouthfeel and taste), so I made it again with small pieces of peeled ginger, which was much better for us, but you do you

The recipe calls for 6-8 thigh fillets, cut in half, but we prefer smaller, bite-sized chunks

The optional veg. that I suggest are not in the original recipe, but Mr P. and I much preferred a bit less chicken and lots of veg.!  So add another 150 grams or so of chicken if you are not adding any (or much) veg.

ingredients gathered (plus a few steamed veg. for my original side dish)

slice and chop your ginger

stir-fry your chopped ginger

add the chopped chicken

looking juicy :=)

dinner is served!

and we had it again as a stir-fry with rice the next night

(Joining in with Marg from The Intrepid Reader and Baker for Weekend Cooking.)

ginger root

Blood Orange Cake

It's still blood orange season here in Australia, so I thought I'd better get this recipe up pronto.  I was flicking through a book by Kate Young (an ex-Brisbanite) called The Little Library Year, and saw this recipe for blood orange cake.  Her recipes are inspired by books she has read, hence the title.  She has a blog called The Little Library Café, which is where I first came upon her.

Apparently this recipe was inspired by Sherlock Holmes; something to do with murder and orange pips!  Ah, now I see: I've looked it up, and there is a short story by Conan Doyle called - yes, you guessed it - "The Five Orange Pips".  You get them when you're about to die!  Of all the portents of doom, I would never have thought of orange pips!  Hopefully there were less than five pips in this cake :=)

  

yep, we started hoeing in already :=)

Serves 10:

ingredients:

For the crystallised oranges:

150g./¾ cup caster sugar

100 mL/a scant half cup water

2 blood oranges, cut into thin slices/rounds

For the Cake:

200g./7 oz butter

150g./¾ cup caster sugar

3 large eggs

110g./4 oz plain flour

4 Tbs sour cream

200g./7 oz almond meal (ground almonds)

2 tsp baking powder

Sour cream or mascarpone to serve

Method:

Butter well, and line a 20cm/8 inch round cake tin (loose-bottomed if you have one) with baking paper 

Turn your oven to 160C fan/180C/350F to heat 

And prepare your oranges - put the sugar and water into a medium saucepan, and stir over a medium heat till the sugar melts

Add the orange slices and cook on high for five minutes

Take the slices out, place them on a baking-paper lined tray to cool, while you reduce the syrup on low for two to three minutes till nicely thick (like golden syrup)

The cake:

Grab a large mixing bowl, and beat the butter and sugar together till light and fluffy

Add the eggs one at a time, with a spoonful of flour, and beat till nicely combined

Mix in the sour cream, then fold in the almond meal, and sieve the rest of the flour (what's left after beating in the eggs), and the baking powder onto the batter

Fold in gently-gently, and stop as soon as the batter is combined

Grab a silicone brush and paint the syrup over the bottom of your prepared cake tin

Place the orange slices in a lovely pattern over the syrup, and spoon on the cake batter

Smooth it out, and whack the tin into the oven for about an hour or till a skewer comes out clean

Cool it in the tin, then turn it out (invert) onto a serving plate (orange slices up)

Remove the baking paper (!) and serve with the sour cream or mascarpone

Notes:

Try normal oranges if you can't get blood oranges

I use 66 gram/2.3 oz eggs

I don't have a loose-bottomed tin so I just used a regular cake tin; as the cake gets turned over anyway, I'm not sure why Kate suggests a loose-bottomed cake tin

I actually cooked my syrup down a wee bit too far, so I had to heat it again briefly in order to paint it on the bottom of the cake tin :=)

P.S. I've had a chat with Lorraine from the Not Quite Nigella blog today, and she pointed out that she has posted a recipe previously that is very, very similar to this one.  So I just wanted you all to know that Lorraine looks to be the original developer of this recipe!  Not sure where Kate would have picked it up.  The recipes are just so, so similar ...  Please check out Lorraine's blog for her version of this lovely cake, too! 

slice up those colourful oranges

into the syrup they go

look at that colour!

add the almond meal and flour to the creamed butter and sugar

paint the syrup on the bottom of the tin

place the slices over the syrup

smooth the batter over the orange slices

beautifully baked

and the pretty inversed bottom now top

it didn't last long!

Blood orange