Chocolate Rum Truffles or Christmas Trumffles

It's Christmas Eve and it's starting to feel like Christmas, especially when these delicious chocolate truffles are made and sitting in the refrigerator waiting to be enjoyed. My first batch only had 2 tablespoons of rum in them, however when they are refrigerated as we need to during a hot Queensland summer the flavour of the rum tends to reduce so I doubled the amount in the next batch and Mr. HRK and Shannon gave them the thumbs up, after trying a couple of them of course just to make sure. They are delicious with an afternoon  cup of  tea or coffee or an evening aperitif.

I hope you are enjoying the lead up to Christmas and that the commercial frenzy of the event hasn't affected you too much.

I have to admit that when I first starting making these  little balls I was calling them Rum Balls. However as often happens, the recipe evolved into more of a truffle like mixture so that is what I have called them. Shannon also reminded me that my classic Rum Balls used to always be made with Weetbix and had coconut in them. So do you prefer to make Rum Balls or Truffles at Christmas time or is there another traditional sweet family treat that you like to make?

Shannon has named these Trumffles as they are a cross between a Rum Ball and a Truffle, ha, ha.

Merry Christmas everyone.

Ingredients:

250g sweet biscuits, such as Mcvities Digestives Milk Chocolate biscuits or Arrowroot biscuits
1 cup sweetened condensed milk
1/2 cup cocoa powder
1 1/2 cups desiccated coconut
4 tablespoons rum (I used Bundaberg Rum)
Chocolate sprinkles and extra fresh desiccated coconut for coating in two separate batches

Method:

Drop your biscuits separately into the food processor through the chute whilst motor is running to make fine crumbs.
Place the biscuit crumbs into a mixing bowl. Stir in all of the other ingredients until well combined.
Cover the bowl and refrigerate for 1 hour until mixture is cold and firm.
Roll level tablespoons of the mixture into bowls. This may be easier if you dampen your hands first.
Lightly roll each truffle in either coconut or chocolate sprinkles or cocoa powder.

As these may be served at a family gathering over Christmas, a special Kid's edition can be made minus the alcohol by replacing the rum with 2 teaspoons of vanilla extract, and reduce the cocoa to 1/3 cup.

(This recipe is loosely based on one I saw on a Jamie Oliver Website, and then for some reason I couldn't find it again. )

I'd like to thank you for reading my blog and supporting me with your comments throughout the year. I'd also like to thank those bloggers who have inspired me throughout the year with their enjoyable and inspiring posts. We are all part of a very diverse, global and supportive blogging community, which I look forward to being part of in 2018.

This will be my last post for a while now, possible until mid-January.

Wishing all the best for a wonderful Christmas with family and a healthy, safe and rewarding 2018.

Bye for now

Pauline xx

Everett's Lychee Farm at Mareeba, and Rusty's Market in Cairns, they've got it covered

We drove up the range to the Atherton Tableland from Cairns, which is inland and to the West, in search of the best Lychees and Mangoes, at the best price we could find. Lychees are at the height of the season right now, and Summer of 2017 has been a good season, as it has also been for Mangoes. Mareeba is the food bowl of the Tablelands, and as we approached the thriving township, we discovered Everett's lychee farm, marketed as F.N.Q Lychee. We drove through rows and rows of lychee trees covered in nets to protect them from the Flying Foxes and the birds and came to the distribution and sorting centre where there is an ordinary refrigerator storing  bags of Grade One lychees, and bags of seconds, all for sale to the public.

Easy Pecan Pie with Maple Syrup to enjoy for the Holidays

Pecan Pie is a traditional American dessert and Thanksgiving favourite, and whilst there are stacks of recipes and variations out there, this one is so simple without compromising on taste or quality. I really encourage you to give it a try, as it is just so quick and easy and delicious. My only concession is to buy a frozen shortcrust pastry base, as I am baking this in Tropical Cairns, and the thought of making pastry in the Tropical Summer heat of 33 deg. is rather challenging. I  bought a frozen pastry base which can be used for both savoury and sweet tarts, as I like the contrast of a slightly savoury base with the sweet filling.

Traditionally Karo Syrup is used when making Pecan pie in the U.S., however the maple syrup works beautifully and some books say it was used before Karo Syrup, a form of corn syrup,  became the preferred choice. Texas claimed the Pecan Pie as it's official dessert in 2013, as the Pecan nut is  the official nut of Texas. Just a little bit of history there.

The biggest challenge with this is being very careful with the pastry so that it arrives home and into the freezer without being broken. I bought two just in case. Well Murphy's Law prevailed, I don't know how it happened, but one ended up in lots of small pieces and the other one stayed in tact, thank goodness. Not to worry though, because as my daughter Shannon said, the second broken one can still be baked and sprinkled over other desserts, ha, ha. Waste not, want not.

While the pie is baking, the pecans rise to the top, leaving a gooey layer of sugary custard below almost like a light caramel, which contrasts well with the crisp nutty surface. To be honest, I haven't baked a Pecan Pie for a long, long time, although I had eaten this particular one before when my friend Chris made it. She very generously gave me her recipe. I think it will become a family favourite. I was cooking this for Shannon and Dan, and of course Mr. HRK, and as Dan is originally Canadian, I thought that he would appreciate this traditional dessert, and he certainly did.

This only took me about 10 minutes to assemble before placing it in the oven, and as I was also making lasagna for the main course, it was great to make a very easy dessert.

Serves 4

Ingredients:

Sweet short crust pie case (frozen)

3 eggs beaten

1/2 cup sugar

½ cup maple syrup (the real stuff, not imitation)

½ teaspoon vanilla

1 cup chopped pecans

Method:

Preheat oven to 175 deg. F

Mix eggs, sugar, maple syrup, and vanilla together.

Spread chopped pecans over your pie base and pour mixture over the top. (Sometimes the brand of pie case can be a little small for the mixture if the eggs are extra large and some spillage can occur so place pie on a tray.)

Bake in a moderate oven for 30-45 minutes. This depends on how hot your oven is. At home, I probably would have cooked this for 40 minutes, however Shannon's oven is quite hot and I took it out after 35 minutes as I didn't want to risk burning it.

Serve with a delicious ice cream.

Pecan Pie straight out of the oven

I was a bit worried about taking the pie out of the alfoil case as it was the first time I have baked a frozen tart shell, and I didn't want it to risk breaking it up. However next time I make it I will be brave and remove it from the alfoil, ha, ha.

Thanks for dropping by.

Best wishes

Pauline

Pomegranate Flavoured Baba Ganoush

The silly season of parties has started for some in the lead up to Christmas, which often means taking a plate or a dip to share. I have made this seriously delicious eggplant or aubergine dip a couple of times now, and the last batch kept in the refrigerator for nearly two weeks. It actually improved in flavour over that time. The pomegranate molasses and mint give this a distinctive Middle Eastern flavour. It is essential though to use freshly picked eggplant for the best result.  This recipe comes from the amazing Maggie Beer's Recipe for Life Book, a worthwhile purchase, and when I saw this list of ingredients including mint and pomegranate molasses I had to try it.

I have also frozen a couple of containers full, minus the pomegranate seeds as it makes quite a lot, and these will be great over Christmas, with the pomegranate seeds providing a festive garnish when needed.

Ingredients:

Serves 6-8

2 large eggplants or smaller eggplants such as Japanese or White to the equivalent of 600-800g.
1/3 cup (90g) unhulled tahini
1 clove garlic, crushed
1 tablespoon pomegranate molasses
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1-2 tablespoons lemon juice
Sea salt flakes and freshly ground black pepper to taste
1/3 cup (80ml) extra virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons chopped flat-leaf parsley
2 tablespoons chopped mint
Seeds of 1/2 pomegranate for garnish

Method:

Preheat your oven to 250 deg. C. (fan forced)

Place the eggplants on a baking tray and roast for 20 minutes or until the skin has blackened and blistered and the flesh is soft.  Remove them from the oven and set aside on a tray to cool. When cool enough to handle, peel off and discard the skin and scoop the flesh into a colander. Leave the flesh to drain for about 10-15 minutes.

In your food processor, process the tahini, garlic, molasses, cumin, lemon juice, salt, pepper, and olive oil until smooth. Add the eggplant and the chopped herbs and pulse until just combined. Check the seasoning, then transfer to a serving bowl.

To decorate, garnished with pomegranate seeds scattered over the surface of your baba ganoush. Serve with Lebanese bread, biscuits, or  barbecued broccoli as Maggie Beer suggests.

I also have an easier and more economical recipe for Baba Ganoush on my blog, but it is still a very tasty version. It is  essentially minus the pomegranate, molasses and mint and you can find that recipe  here. It just depends whether or not  you want to invest in a fresh pomegranate and some pomegranate molasses and show off over the Christmas season a little which can be fun and is always appreciated.

Best wishes

Pauline

The splendour of the Blood Lilly (Haemanthus) in Tropical Gardens

  

The African Blood Lilly with large red globe shaped blooms, resembling a very soft brush or a pincushion even, arrives unannounced, saying Look At Me and quietly takes centre stage. Splashes of brilliant red tinged with gold throughout our Tropical Garden signals to me that Christmas is on it's way. The bulbs which grow quite large if left alone, lie dormant beneath the ground for most of the year, some lush green leaves appear and then if the weather conditions are to their liking, the flower bursts into song in early Summer. We have had ideal weather this year for tropical bulbs, with rain showers, cloudy conditions and not too much heat just yet. However if you live in a frost prone region, these bulbs are not for you.

Beef, Sauerkraut and Mango Chutney Goulash

This is a slow cooker Goulash with a Tropical twist, hence the addition of my homemade Mango Chutney, and why not? There is no standard Goulash recipe.  I have called this recipe a Goulash because by one definition it is a thick meat stew, first made by Hungarian cattle herders and stockmen.

Traditional and Homemade Christmas Plum Pudding

Plum Pudding, yum. Christmas preparations have started in my house. I have a Christmas list, and making a traditional Christmas Plum Pudding is on it. 

Eggplant Parmigiana

Parmigiana, yes please. Freshly picked, tender young Japanese Eggplants are the secret to the success of this recipe, particularly if it is being served up to family or guests who aren't devotees of the eggplant. I try to cook them on the same day they are picked from our garden, or if you don't grow them, they will probably be available at a Farmer's Market and should have been harvested that same morning. 

Nigella's Chocolate Cake with Coffee Buttercream

On Friday, I made a Chocolate cake with Coffee Buttercream and I really enjoyed making this cake. I haven't cooked a double layer cake with a buttercream icing for quite a while, and it's how cakes always used to be made, generally with icing.  This was simply a matter of adding the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients, with no electric mixer involved, just a wooden spoon and a bowl. A cinch to make. We had our tennis friends over for Dinner, after tennis,  and as it was Lou's birthday, I wanted to make her a proper cake with icing, that could be nicely lit up by candles. The cake I chose is from Nigella Lawson's latest recipe book, "At My Table", and thanks Nigella because it is delicious and a delight to eat.

It's so nice to celebrate with cake, don't you think. As we get older, the saying of "a second on the lips, a lifetime on the hips" becomes particularly relevant, unfortunately, so Mr. HRK and I try to limit ourselves to desserts and cakes for mainly celebratory events now. We are getting better at it. Twenty years ago that wasn't an issue for me. However it is amazing how often celebrations come around and of course as a starter I have cake every Tuesday at Mahjong, which is a longstanding tradition, and so life goes on. It's all about enjoying a celebration now and then, and balancing our diet and lifestyle around the celebrations.

Anyway let's cook:

Ingredients for the cake:

225g Plain Flour
275g Caster Sugar
75g sieved good quality Cocoa
2 teaspoons Instant Espresso Coffee Powder
2 teaspoons Baking Powder
1 teaspoon Bicarbonate of Soda
175ml Full Cream Milk, at room temperature
175 ml Vegetable Oil, plus more for greasing the baking tins if you wish (I used butter for greasing mine)
2 large Eggs, at room temperature
250ml of Water, from a freshly boiled kettle

Ingredients for the Icing

350g icing sugar
175g soft Unsalted Butter
Instant Espresso Coffee Powder, 2 1/2 teaspoons, dissolved in 1 x 15ml tablespoons just-boiled water
(All of my tablespoon measurements are 20ml and that is what I probably used in this recipe with no problems)
This icing is a cinch to make in a food processor. Because it is warmer and more humid where I live than where this recipe was probable tested, I thought I might have problems with the icing melting all over the cake but it held it's consistency beautifully, although it is slightly cooler here at the moment.

1. Preheat the oven to 180 deg. C./160 deg. C. Fan forced
2. Grease the sides and line the bases of two 20 cm cake tins. It is important not to use cake tins with loose bottoms as this mixture is very runny (a very liquid batter).
3. Combine the flour, sugar, cocoa, 2 teaspoons of powdered instant espresso powder, baking powder and bicarb soda in a large bowl. Mix with a fork until thoroughly combined.
4. Whisk the eggs, milk and oil together in a smaller bowl. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry and with a whisk or wooden spoon beat to mix until you have a smooth, but thick mixture like a fudge.
5. Gently beat in the just boiled water, scraping the sides and bottom of the bowl as you do.
6. A smooth dark, glossy and fairly runny batter will develop and when everything is well mixed, pour equally into the two tins. (If you have a large batter pouring jug that you can mix the ingredients in use that for easier pouring, however I just used a large bowl.)
7. Place the cake tins into your oven for 25-35 minutes, but Nigella suggests that you start checking at 20. Mine took 35 minutes to cook, by which time, the cakes were coming away from the sides of the tin, and a few cracks were forming on the surface. Don't worry about that, it will all be covered up by delicious butter cream icing. When the cake tester came out clean I knew they were cooked.

8. Cool the cooked cakes in their tins on a wire rack for 15 minutes, before unmoulding gently and peeling off the lining on the base. The cakes need to be handled gently so as not to break.

Let's make the icing now:

Generally when I make icing for a cake I just do it as I have always done and add the ingredients until it looks, feels and tastes right. However luscious Buttercream is a different story so I followed this recipe.

Pulse the icing sugar in your food processor a few times to remove any lumps but make sure the feeding funnel on the lid is covered so that icing dust doesn't fly everywhere:)

Add the softened butter and blitz to mix, scraping down the bowl once or twice.

With the motor running again, pour the coffee down the funnel of the processor and quickly blitz. Remove the blade carefully and scrape down the blade with a spatula.
Place one of the cakes on a serving plate or stand, flat-side up. It is probably better to place the highest cake as the base. Spread the lower layer generously with half the coffee butter cream, then make a sandwich with the second layer, with the top of the cake facing upwards.
Pile the rest of the butter cream on top, and use a wide icing knife or spatula to spread the icing, over the cake. Nigella uses the word swirlingly to describe this technique which I love.
Decorate as you wish. I used smashed pistachio nuts, or you could use chocolate covered coffee beans as she did. It is your choice.

If you eat some cake this week, I hope you really enjoy it. Have a great week. We are enjoying some rain which is wonderful, and means it is also cool.

Best wishes

Pauline

Asian Pork Meatballs for a Melbourne Cup lunch

These delicious Pork Meatballs lend themselves very well to being baked in the oven and for me that is much easier than standing over a hot sizzling fry pan, as nice as that sounds, and cooking them carefully and hoping that they don't break up when I turn them over. 

My Green Mango Chutney recipe, it's spicy and sweet

This Mango Chutney, made from green mangoes freshly foraged, is a family recipe from my Mum and her family which I have always used. Anglo-Indian style chutneys basically consist of a fruit or vegetable, malt or cider vinegars, sugar, herbs and spices

The Old Station Teahouse, Cape Hillsborough, Mackay

Morning tea, mangoes,a Tawny Frogmouth,  and much more, that's what we found this morning when we took a drive to the Old Station Teahouse near Ball Bay.  We live in  sub-tropical Mackay, so we have been to the Old Railway Station quite a few times before, particularly when we have visitors, as it is only a 30 to 40 minute drive to get there along the Northern Bruce Highway. The drive at this time of year is very scenic and very green following some nice rain. We drive through lush cane fields,  past rocky and rugged hills such as The Leap where there is a great pub by the way, turn right at the Cape Hillsborough turnoff. We continue past glistening lagoons and egrets, cane paddocks, more craggy rocks, cattle and beautiful scenery, follow our nose and we  arrive at the Teahouse.



This trip wasn't just all about the food, as strange as that sounds, as we only had coffee and shared a delicious slice of Orange cake, we are saving our calorie intake for the weekend, LOL. The Devonshire Teas looked enticing though. I am also hoping to indulge in one of their High Teas for a special occasion one day. However, there are  lots of mango trees on the property, and the owner generously offered us bags so that we could collect some of the green mangoes off the trees. In the North it is mango season, called Mango Madness by some, and on the weekend I hope to make my first batch of Mango Chutney, from green mangoes, so I suppose you could say the trip was also about food, which was serendipitous as I hadn't planned for that. After all if we don't pick some whilst they are green, the flying foxes will take them.

There are still plenty more mangoes left on the trees for any of my Mackay friends who might be reading this. I only collected a bucket full, as a batch of My Mango Chutney recipe requires 2kg of chopped green mango and makes about 10 jars so that is enough, and I had also collected a few during the week from some roadside trees. The locals are mango hunting for green mangoes, a lovely tradition in Northern Australia in early Summer. I didn't mean to just talk about mangoes to start with, however that shows how excited I am to have found some. By the way, we don't pick green Bowen mangoes for chutney, they are left to ripen for munching on.

Green Common Mangoes for the picking

A Tawny Frogmouth related to a Kookaburra, that we think had been injured and is in captivity until it recovers.

The Old Station Teahouse is full of history, with the original building dating back 110 years when it was the Old Station House selling train tickets. The history has been captured and detailed beautifully with lots of Old School bric a brac, vintage furnishings and also some very traditional plants in the gardens.

For my garden and plant loving friends, a wander thought the gardens finds many treasures, such as soft cane dendrobiums in flower, water lillies, and many lush tropical plants and climbers.

A golden soft cane Dendrobium in flower

Breadfruit

After some recent rain the gardens are springing back to life following a dry Winter. For visitors with pets, I think it is also dog friendly as a large outdoor deck area separate from the Station itself  brings a nice respite amongst the trees. Fairy lights, ancient trees from the Old Station days, orchids and bric a brac are all on show and to be enjoyed as we indulged in our morning tea. This is also a perfect venue for outdoor weddings, with  the beautiful surroundings and sizeable reception area, and the catering available through the Teahouse or the highly reputed NE foods in Mackay. It really ticks all the boxes for a versatile meeting place.

A splendid Oncidium Dancing Lady

And there's more. On Saturdays and Sundays, the Wood Fired Pizza Oven lights up and with a couple of cold drinks this is the place to be. We have indulged quite a few times before and the pizzas in this ambient outdoor setting are to be recommended.



For Northern visitors, a right turn off the highway towards Cape Hillsborough, and this must be the first stop. Then the Cape Hillsborough National Park beckons, with the beautiful beaches of Ball Bay, an early morning rendezvous with Kangaroos on the beach, coconuts lying on the beaches  presumably for the taking, numerous walking tracks and much more.

This place has won many awards

All of my thoughts and comments are independent and unconnected to the owners, and the food is always independently paid for. Check out their website or Facebook page for more details if you are interested in learning more.

Have an enjoyable weekend.

Best wishes

Pauline

Carrot, Ginger and Turmeric Soup and some Birdwatching

The Aussie Backyard Bird Count

We've been doing some Bird Watching and twitching this week and entering our findings on the Aussie Backyard Bird Count app, which has been remarkably easy to use and a lot of fun. Unfortunately it finishes today. I missed doing it the on first two days, which didn't matter at all and then once I worked out how to use the app it was easy. Mr. HRK is the more knowledgeable twitcher in our family, however this has been great not only for contributing to a better understanding of  the populations of Australian birds and aiding with their conservation nationally, but also increasing my knowledge of the bird population in our very own backyard and frontyard. The watching and counting was done at 20 minute intervals, so armed with our Bird identification book and my phone on which the app is loaded, we sat out in the cool of the afternoon near the bird bath mostly, and managed to identify and name correctly all of the birds we saw. There is also a Bird Identification section on the app however I found it easier to use our book.

The following photos are the ones off the app, from just one of the sessions although photos didn't appear for the Torresian Imperial Pigeon or the Yellow Honeyeater. Each day we identified a couple of additional species and at this point in time in our backyard, we have sighted 17 different bird species, and 111 birds. Throughout Australia, 628 different species have been identified; 1,812,067 birds have been sighted; and 52,602 Checklists have been submitted. What a great effort.

Rainbow Lorikeet

Willie Wagtail

Magpie Lark

Australasian Figbird

Brown Honeyeater

Noisy Friarbird

Torresian Crow

Spotted Dove

It is quite exciting, that we also have the Figbirds, the Magpie Larks, the Friarbirds and the Brown Honeyeaters  nesting in trees in our yard. I'm pretty sure the Willy Wagtails are nesting very close as well. We do our best not to encourage the crows to take up residence, I hope that doesn't sound mean, however the Willy Wagtails ensure that the Crows don't hang around for long as well.



It might seem strange to you that I am also writing about soup as we enter into Summer here in our Great Southern Land. I made this when there were lingering rain showers, and the evenings were really cool. We had also been eating a lot of meat for various reasons, and I felt the need for as many healthy vegetables as possible and also healthy spices such as ginger and turmeric, which I have a lot of in my pantry. As carrots have been in abundance, and I had quite a few carrots still lurking in my frig, this soup came together nicely on a coolish night. This also reminds me of how our neighbours in the Northern Hemisphere are experiencing cooler evenings now.

I hope you enjoy it and give it a try.

Carrot, Ginger and Turmeric Soup

Ingredients:

3 tbsp olive oil
1 red or white onion
2 tsp ground turmeric, or a piece of fresh root, about 2cm.
1 tbsp root ginger, chopped, about 35g will give the right amount of heat
2 garlic cloves, chopped (depending on the size of the clove)
500g carrots, thinly sliced or into chopped into 2cm chunks
400ml good quality, preferably homemade Chicken stock
Juice of 1 lime

Method:

Sweat the onion in olive oil with a large pinch of salt in a large pan, for 5 minutes
Add the turmeric, ginger and garlic and cook for 1-2 minutes.



Add the carrots and stir in the stock.



Bring the mixture to the boil, then reduce the heat and allow to simmer covered, for about 25 minutes.
If you like a smoother soup and I do, blend the soup with a hand blender  until there are no lumps.
If you think the soup is too thick for your tastes, add the lime juice, more stock and water and then some organic Coconut Milk until it is the desired consistency.
It is nice to finish off the soup for serving with a swirl of Coconut Milk anyway.

Season with rock salt and white or black pepper to taste.
Serve with some chopped parsley or mint.

Best wishes

Pauline

How to Make Vanilla Extract or Essence from the Vanilla Orchid Bean from scratch

In the Tropics where I live, it is possible to grow your own Vanilla Beans. It is just like growing an Orchid because that is what it is, a Vanilla Orchid. Vanilla Extract  is an essential ingredient in most cakes and if you also like making custards and ice-cream you can't do without it. I can' go without it, and the good news is that you don't need to use very much of it in most cooking. I like to cook from scratch when I can, and as I have a few extra vanilla beans on hand, why not make my Vanilla Extract from scratch as well. So easy. I have two vanilla orchids growing, one is climbing up our Golden Penda tree, the other one is clinging to the mesh on the inside of a covered raised garden, as protection from the Summer heat. The second one has a lot of potential, as it will be much easier to access the flowers and pollinate each flower individually. The Vanilla bean originated in Mexico and Latin America and to this day is the only Orchid that is edible. The Aztecs in 1427, in Central Mexico, were the first people to use vanilla in Chocolate drinks for which they are still famous. 

Vanilla extract on the first day of making.


I bought my first Vanilla plant at the Farmer Markets in Bowen just North of here, a couple of years ago and attached it to the large Golden Penda tree in our Rainforest garden section in the backyard. It is steadily climbing through the tree, and has sent a long root down the tree to the ground, which is what they do for extra nutrition and stability I suppose. The root should be fertilised every couple of weeks with an Orchid fertiliser. When the vine starts to grow out along a sturdy branch, I will need to let it hang down off the tree rather than let it climb further up the tree, so that I can access the pale lemon flowers for pollination.

Yellow, fragile and waxy Vanilla Orchid flowers. Photo courtesy of Dan Sams-Getty Images

 Roots from the vanilla vine growing on our sturdy Golden Penda tree and heading for Earth.

Below, Vanilla Vine, No. 2 is  growing on the front right inside the hutch. Galangal is growing on the other side of the hutch, and is enjoying the rain showers.

A close up of the Vanilla vine.

This second one was given to me by my friend Chris,  who also gave me the three home grown vanilla beans I have used in this Organic Extract flavouring brew. Chris now harvests an annual crop of Vanilla Beans from her vine, quite an achievement, and it is the vine that mine is a derivative of, which she then dries and processes herself to produce her high quality organic Vanilla Beans. Chris and her husband were away on holiday for a couple of weeks this past fortnight,  and Mr. HRK and I, after a "training" session, visited the vine early each day to pollinate the flowers. This needs to be done before 11am each day or they will wilt and drop off the vine before being pollinated. We don't have the essential bee in Australia to pollinate the flower so it needs to be done by hand, meticulously. The stingless Melipona Bee is native to Mexico and is the only insect capable of pollinating the flower. Hence, the high cost of good quality vanilla pods to buy commercially. So with our recent experience  with pollinating the Vanilla orchid flowers, we are ready for when our vines decide to start producing flowers, and ultimately pods, hopefully next year. However it could take another couple of years.

This is how the vine attaches and secures itself to the mesh.

Let's make some Vanilla Extract  from scratch



Ingredients:

Easy Vanilla Extract

3 Vanilla pods
1/2 cup Vodka, (or Rum or Brandy or Bourbon) (alcohol)
1 long, narrow bottle or jar (I used a sterilised capers jar)

Method:

Split the vanilla pods down the middle lengthwise.
Place them in the bottle, and cut them in half to easily fit if necessary.
Cover with the vodka, or whatever alcohol you are using.
Seal your bottle and give it a shake. Small pieces of vanilla seed will swim through the vodka.
Label your jar with today's date, so that you will know in 4 weeks that it is ready to use.
Find a dark place in your cupboard and store it there.
Remember to give it a shake a few times a week.
It will get stronger the longer you leave it and you can keep topping it up with . Keep adding more vodka as the bottle empties, or just add another pod or two as the flavour wanes.

After you use the vanilla pod seeds, you can add these pods to the bottle as well, in addition to adding them to your Caster Sugar for flavouring. Waste not, want not.

You may remember my last post was about the Ginger cake I cooked for the Mahjong ladies during the week. Well talking about recycling, we still have some of the cake left and it is Mr. HRK's birthday today, so we are about to have some Coffee and leftover Ginger cake. He loves the combined flavours of Tarragon and Ginger so I have decorated a large slice of cake with edible tarragon flowers and edible viola flowers. The flavours of tarragon and ginger marry perfectly together. Voila, it is now his Birthday cake, and this is all we really need to celebrate this morning when we have no family around. Let the celebrations continue.



Have a special weekend everyone.

Best wishes

Pauline