In My Kitchen - January 2024

Greetings, Earthlings!   No, hang on, that's Marvin the Martian.  Happy New Year, my Earthling friends.  Phew, I feel like I just got through 2023 by the skin of my teeth.  So 2024, I'm looking at you to be a whole lot more palatable.  I hope your festive season was a wondrous one, dear blogging friends.  

Mr P. and I had a very quiet Christmas Day on our own, having a delicious roast chook for lunch, followed by a big nap (for him) and some reading for me.  I got a few books for Christmas, including one called Brisbane Bookshops, and Jamie Oliver's latest.  Oh yes, and we had big storms over the east coast, with golf ball-sized hail in some parts.  That's an Aussie Christmas for you.  (Edit: there have been some deaths due to the storms.  Sad days.)

This will be a quick In My Kitchen post; too much to do over the break, don't you know? :=)  We are heading away for a few nights, and I will finally get to see the Museum that hubby designed at Murgon.  So here we go ...

In My Kitchen:

the cutest ceramic fish plate by our mate NatPop

I buy a box every Christmas of Patrice's biodynamic garlic

and I make a batch of mango chutney

I made caramelised red onion jam

I love a terrific condiment

I pickled some cucumbers - my best batch yet, I reckon :=)

there was Persian rice with dill made by our dear friend Ms. Atee

She is also a clever architect, artist, wife and mum.  And a lovely person to boot.

I grabbed a couple of books by our friend Mel

Mel runs a very successful cooking school here in Brisbane called Vanilla Zulu.  She is from Zimbabwe via South Africa, and often pops up on morning television these days.  And she's punched out half a dozen cookbooks in her spare (hehehe) time.

I made citrus cordial

yep, and bought another cookbook

some Christmas gifts

not exactly in my kitchen, but ... my latest foodie bookmarks

I do a few different ones several times a year.  These are my Christmas ones that I hand out willy-nilly to all and sundry :=)

the curveball! Yep a ceramic skull

This is a (prize-winning) ceramic skull by our friend Starr.  She has recently moved studios, so we headed along to one of her open days.  Where I saw this fabulous skull, which I had to have.  It's a ripper!

Crumbs, this post is a bit longer than I envisaged.  And there are heaps more Christmas gifts to show off.  Oh well, February ...

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.

Options for adding your post to IMK:

1. Add via the Add Link button at the bottom of this post.  Instructions can be found on the sidebar of this page, under the Add your IMK link OR:

2. Comment on this post, providing a link to your post so I can add it manually to the list below OR:

3. Email me: sherrym1au@gmail.com, with your link or any queries about the link process, or if you would like it to be added after the 13th ('cos I'm happy to add it for you later)

You are invited to the Inlinkz link party!

Click here to enter

Tuna Dip With Dukkah

Here's a fishy dip for Christmas entertaining.  It includes tuna and anchovies but don't worry, it's not all that "fishy" in taste.  I found it fairly mild, but I guess if you're not a fish fan ...  But I definitely am, and I also like a fishy phrase.  One of my faves is about slapping an annoying person in the face with a wet herring.  Which reminds me of that Monty Python sketch.  But I digress ...  

This recipe calls for Philly (cream) cheese, which I have not used in a very long time.  I found that it is no longer the cheese I remember, sadly.  Okay for dips and cheesecakes, but the texture has clearly been dumbed-down.  After discussing it on a FaceBook group, we decided it is now full of water and 'fillers', rather than delicious milk from the cow.  Sigh! ...  And the texture is just so gummy and squishy and bluuuurrgghhh.  Anyways, it's fine in a dip where it gets blitzed up.

Merry Christmas and happy festive season to all.  See you in the New Year, my friends.  Thank you for all your support this year!

c. Sherry M.

(Recipe from Donna Hay's Christmas Feasts and Treats)

Makes one good-sized bowlful:  see Notes

ingredients:

185g./6.5 oz tuna in chilli oil - drain it but keep the oil 

3 white anchovy fillets  -  see Notes

250g./8 oz Philly cream cheese (use any brand), cut into chunks

2 Tbs lemon juice

2 Tbs EV olive oil

sea salt and ground black pepper, to taste

dukkah, for sprinkling on top

baguette or ciabatta stick, to serve with

lemon wedges, if you fancy (I didn't)

Method:

Basically, you will chuck everything into your food processor, scraping down the sides as you go - for 3-4 minutes! says Donna.  Now this seems like a very long time to me; I guess it's to emulsify the mixture but I only did it for 2-3 minutes max.

Whack it in the fridge for at least 1 hour (longer in humid QLD), then sprinkle with the reserved chilli oil, and throw on the dukkah

Serve with the sliced up bread, and lemon wedges if using

Notes:

Donna says this makes 2.5 cups of dip; I guess it did :=)

I hunted around for white anchovies but they were nowhere to be found, so I bought some good quality, organic regular variety

Add a bit of lemon zest, and maybe a few chilli flakes, if you fancy - 'cos I did!

ingredients gathered

drain the oil, and set aside till later

chuck everything into the food processor

and give it a good blitz - for 2 or 3 (or 4) minutes :=); shove into the fridge

chill it well, splash with chilli oil, sprinkle with dukkah, and serve with bread

c. Sherry M.

Chocolate Nut Bars

I was a bit worried about these to be honest, but they were delicious! ...  Now writing this some weeks later, I can't remember why I was so worried about them.  They were very delicious!  This recipe is from Liz Harfull's Tried Tested and True, a fabulous book with recipes from community cookbooks - my fave kind!

There are 3 layers to these bars, but they are easy to do, especially if you make the base in the food processor (yes, do it!).  I made these, and mini muffins, and berry muffins for a friend who was having a huge clean-up in her house and yard.  I snuck a couple of pieces for Mr P. and myself to test them out.  Yep, delicious!  

Talking of cleaning up the yard, I was planting out some freesia bulbs one day, when I dug up a tiny, wee baby eastern bearded dragon.  S/he reared up and opened her beautiful, bright yellow throat at me.  It was amazing to me that they actually live right under the soil!  S/he was a sweetheart, so her throaty little display didn't worry me at all.  We are so lucky to have abundant wildlife in our suburbs; well, maybe not so much with the foxes.  

pre-chocolate coating

Makes a 20cm x 20cm square:

Ingredients:

Base:

110g./4 oz wholemeal plain flour

1.5 Tbs cocoa powder

3 Tbs raw caster sugar

90g./3.2 oz butter, chopped

Topping:

2 large eggs

150g./5.3 oz raw caster sugar

3 Tbs plain flour

1 tsp baking powder

60g./2 big oz walnuts, chopped

45g./1.6 oz dessicated coconut (unsweetened)

110g./4 oz glacé ginger, chopped 

1 tsp vanilla extract or paste

90g./3.2 oz dark chocolate (70% is good)

Method:

On goes your oven to 180C/350F

Butter and line with baking paper a 20cm/8 inch square and shallow cake pan/baking tray (with sides)

For the base, you sift the flour and cocoa into a large bowl, and then stir in the sugar

Now rub in the butter with your fingers till it's looking like fine breadcrumbs, or do what I did - chuck the flour, cocoa and sugar into your food processor and pulse the butter into it till - yes, you guessed it - it looks like fine breadcrumbs

Pulse it a few more times till it comes together,  then press it into your baking tin

Bake for 15 minutes - and in the meantime - 

You will be making the topping during this 15 minutes :=) so, beat your eggs well in a large mixing bowl; add the sugar and beat till thick and light and fluffy (but the sugar doesn't have to be dissolved, says Liz)

Grab another bowl, sift (or whisk) the flour and baking powder together, then fold this mixture into the fluffy, eggy mixture

And now add the walnuts, coconut, ginger and vanilla - gently my dears, with a firm but tender hand till beautifully combined

Pour this topping mixture over your still-hot base, then whack it back into the oven for 30 minutes - you want it a lovely golden-brown colour and firm to the touch of your delicate fingers :=)

Now let it cool down, melt your chocolate (in the microwave is a good method) and spread it all over the top of the nutty base

When cool (but before the chocolate has completely set), slice it up into squares

Keep in an airtight container for a couple of days

Notes:

Use whatever nut you fancy here

Liz suggests melting 20g./0.7 oz butter with the chocolate if you are worried about it setting too hard on top, so that cutting will be easier

press the chocolate-y base into the lined baking tin

pour on the topping 

golden-brown after baking for 30 mins.

slather on that chocolate 

Sadly, I didn't get to take any photos of this looking pretty on a platter, but you can guess how pretty and delicious it looked!

c. Sherry M.

Eastern bearded dragon (author JJ Harrison)

(Joining in with Min from Write of the Middle blog - #WWWhimsy)

Christmas Crack

AKA Chatters' Crack, and most likely known as many other kinds of crack :=)  Nope, not the drug nor the Irish version of a good yarn in a pub, but rather, that delicious sweet treat of salty crackers topped with a caramel layer, and a chocolate layer, and lots of sweet bits and bobs of your choosing.

I have seen YouTube videos of people using pretzels and similar salty bases, but the Saladas worked out really well.  This recipe is a mish-mash from B. Dylan Hollis's book Baking Yesteryear, various foodie YouTubers, and a recipe from the Chatters' - i.e. Chat 10 Looks 3 - Facebook Page.  I pretty much halved Dylan's recipe; I was taking this to Cookbook Club, and there's only so much we can eat.  Just double it if you fancy more, or have a bigger baking tray!

so delicious!

Makes 1 tray of delicious chocolate treats:

ingredients:

7 x Salada biscuits  see Notes

110g./4 oz butter, softened

110g./4 oz light brown sugar

1/2-1 tsp vanilla extract

big pinch of sea salt flakes

110g./4 oz chocolate chips or thin chocolate like Lindt 70%

1 Flake chocolate bar (or choc. bar of your choice) - 30g./1 big ounce! - broken or chopped up

30g./1 big ounce chocolate hail/sprinkles

70g./2.5 oz pecans

And bling of your choice - M & M's, + chocolate hail, + sprinkles, whatever you fancy!

Method:

Turn on your oven to 180C/350F to heat up

Line your tray with alfoil and baking paper, and lay the biscuits down over the base - make sure you've left a large paper overhang so the caramel stays in the tray and you can easily pick the whole shebang up out of the tray when cutting/breaking up

Grab a medium saucepan, combine the butter and sugar over low to medium heat, and bring it to a boil, while giving it the occasional stir 

Now let it boil for 3-5 minutes, stirring now and then, till thick and gloopy (as Annabel from the Chatters' Page says) - watch it carefully; don't let it burn like some people may have done at some stage :=)

Stir in the vanilla and salt, and pour the hot, bubbly caramel mixture over the salty biscuits - you may need to spread it with a palette knife

Whack into the oven for 7 minutes, then take it out and sprinkle on the chocolate chips or pieces of chocolate (I used a Flake bar and chocolate hail also)

Let it sit and melt for a couple of minutes, then spread it out over the caramel-y crackers   see Notes

And throw on your nuts and bling!

Let it cool down, then break it up/slice it up into delicious chunks

Store leftovers (leftovers??) in an airtight container (the Arnott's recipe says not to refrigerate, but if you live in sub-tropical climes like me ...

Notes:

Dylan says to use 40 saltine crackers; my 36cm x 25cm baking tray held 7 Salada biscuits comfortably (one was broken in half to fit)

FYI - Saltines are 5cm x 5cm, whereas Saladas are 10cm x 10cm

If your chocolate layer isn't melted enough, whack it back in the oven for a minute or two

If you are doubling the recipe, bake it for a bit longer - maybe 12-15 minutes before adding the chocolate

oops! forgot the alfoil under the baking paper

Dylan getting into his crack :=)

let that mixture bubble!

throw on the chocolate!

and even more chocolate :=)

heading out to Cookbook Club

we had lots of goodies!

c. Sherry M.

(Joining up with Min for #WWWhimsy linkup.)

In My Kitchen - December 2023

I am pre-empting myself, but by the time you read this, I will have had (Fates allowing) my second eye operation.  Yay!!  And I've had another crown put on a tooth in the meantime.  My bank balance is teetering on the edge at the moment :=)  Why are doctors and dentists so blithe with OUR money?  

Sure, give me one of those extra-expensive dental crowns and yep, throw in a massive filling, and an expensive bone scan etc etc ...  Grrrr!  Let's hope next year is a lot less hard on the purse, emotions and mental health.  Anyway, enough whingeing, my friends.  Let's look at some good stuff, before we all descend into Christmas madness.

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays of whatever sort you fancy!  See you all in January, my friends!  Have a marvellous and wonderful festive season.

c. Sherry M.

In My Kitchen:

there were Halloween biscuits

I gave some to my dentist's office.  Tee hee ... Cavities here they come.

there was homemade chicken soup

and blanched green beans for the freezer

I bought local honey at Tyalgum Country Store

This is a fabulous general store out in the countryside.  They serve food and coffee, and sell groceries, and bits and bobs.  I loved it!!

and coffee drip bags from a coffee roaster down the coast

there were Diwali sweets from our Fijian-Indian friend

and another cute tumbler from Miss E. pottery

I made blackberry compote for my porridge 

and I blanched cauliflower, which was heading to the freezer

and I bought this online from a Japanese store in Sydney -
 there is roasted sesame dressing, and a yuzu ponzu

and the curveball: a portrait of our house by our friend Ms. Atee

c. Sherry M.

Be a part of our friendly IMK community by adding your post here too - everybody welcome!  We'd love to see you.  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.

Options for adding your post to IMK:

1. Add via the Add Link button at the bottom of this post.  Instructions can be found on the sidebar of this page, under the Add your IMK link OR:

2. Comment on this post, providing a link to your post so I can add it manually to the list below OR:

3. Email me: sherrym1au@gmail.com, with your link or any queries about the link process, or if you would like it to be added after the 13th ('cos I'm happy to add it for you later)

You are invited to the Inlinkz link party!

Click here to enter