In My Kitchen, December 2024

 What is it about December each year which means the pace of living ramps up, and we are trying to cram too much into our lives in these last few weeks before Christmas. I refuse to be hurried or succumb to too much Christmas hype, and I think by now I have met all of the deadlines on my list. Christmas cards? Not sent yet. Do you still send them? I am wavering.

Portuguese Custard Tarts cooked in my Pie Maker amid Cyclone Jasper

Why  travel to Lisbon or anywhere else in Portugal to enjoy their famous Portuguese Custard tarts, when you can make them in your own kitchen at a fraction of the cost, and honestly they are just as delicious. We holidayed in Lisbon about 15 years ago, and we really did enjoy their custard tarts, note the plural, every morning with our espresso coffee along with the locals, but now I am just happy to cook and eat them in my own kitchen. It's cyclone season here in Far North Queensland, and Cyclone Jasper has been and gone.

In My Kitchen, December 2023

 

I'm in the mood for Christmas now, which is great, because it's nearly here and the stunning colours of Christmas are naturally occurring in our garden. Bring it on. It's been a big morning today. The fruits for my Christmas Cake and my Christmas Plum Pudding are now macerating, and the Rum Ball mixture is chilling in the refrigerator. I'll roll these traditional little festive balls in coconut tonight. I needed to start all of these preparations early at 6.30 am this morning, before the heat of the day set in, and I am so relieved that I have made a start. Hopefully the cake will be baked and the puddings made by the end of this week. I am usually earlier than this making the Christmas cake, but I've been fairly casual about it all this year, and they will still taste great and make it feel like Christmas, even if lunch is fairly simple. 

In My Kitchen, December 2022

This is the Christmas Edition of In My Kitchen, and 'tis the season for baking. This also means my friends, that it's the season for Mangoes and Lychees here in tropical North Queensland. Bowen Mangoes which are the best to buy in our humble opinion, were costing $15.00 a bucket at our local market last Saturday. Just this morning we picked up a bucket for $12.00 from a roadside stall, and a bag of lychees. Bowen is just a couple of hours North from us. The lychees were a bit more expensive, the first of the season, but we couldn't resist them, they are a precious commodity, and for Christmas holidays only. We'll be freezing, dehydrating and eating mangoes for the next month, and then eating frozen mango with ice cream and yoghurt for the rest of the year. Dried mango is great for just snacking on. We'll also be looking out for the Common mangoes from backyard trees, strictly for making delicious Mango Chutney with, which we traditionally eat with our Christmas ham.

Christmas Rum Balls and Chocolate Rum Truffles

 

Fragrant and sweet, Rum Balls are a Christmas tradition in our family, and I can't imagine Christmas without a batch of these in the refrigerator to enjoy on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. However it's never too early to eat them. Rum balls are the quintessential Christmas treat. They can be served as a dessert, for afternoon tea, or as an edible gift.

 Weet-bix made by the Sanitarium Health Food Company, and incidentally 97 % whole grain and low in sugar, are often a standard cereal packet to be found in most Australian household pantries. The slogan on the packet reads, "Aussie kids are Weet-bix kids".  At the bottom of every large weet-bix box or packet in the pantry, you will find some crushed biscuits and crumbs which have fallen to the bottom. These are great to use for rum balls. 3 crushed weet-bix are the equivalent to 1 cup of crushed biscuits if you want to use some of those for your rum balls.  By the way this post isn't an ad for Weet-bix, but it is a very versatile and healthy cereal.

I've increased the amount of rum in this recipe this year, no surprise there say my friends. I've almost doubled it in fact.  J & D called in for a cuppa a couple of weeks ago and I had just made my first batch of Christmas Rum Balls. After a taste test, Mr. HRK and J & D thought they were delicious, but all agreed that more rum was needed. So I've taken note, and this batch has the spirit of Christmas in each delectable mouthful. Just halve the amount of rum if you wish though, they will still be delicious, and this goes without saying of course if they are being eaten by children as well. We only drink and cook with Bundy rum in our part of the world, a Queensland spirit which has its origins in the sugar cane fields grown around Bundaberg, since 1869. The Bundaberg Rum Distillery and museum are still open, offering tours to the public almost daily. This is on our list of things to do when we start travelling south again.

Roll these little balls  in coconut or chocolate sprinkles, I like to do a batch of both. We are just home after a small holiday up North, and so now it's time for some traditional Christmas cooking.

Ingredients for Christmas Rum Balls:

10 Weet-Bix Cereal biscuits
1 packet glace cherries, finely chopped
395 g can sweetened condensed milk
6 tablespoons Queensland Bundaberg Rum
2 tablespoons cocoa powder
1 cup raisins (chop them up if you wish, I don't anymore)
1 cup desiccated coconut 

Method:

Makes 40

Crush weet-bix with your hands for a bit of crunch, or crush finely in your food processor. 

.Finely chop cherries. Mix together all ingredients except coconut. 

Place mixture in a covered bowl in the refrigerator for 30 minutes, or even overnight to allow the flavours to infuse the fruit. If you have the time, the rum can be poured over just the fruit in a covered bowl, to macerate overnight, before adding to the rest of the mixture. 

Place coconut in a separate bowl when you are ready to assemble the rum balls.

Remove weet-bix mixture from the refrigerator, and using a small biscuit scoop, remove scoops of mixture and roll into balls with wet hands.

Roll rum balls in coconut or chocolate sprinkles one by one, and store in the refrigerator in a covered container until ready to eat. Some coconut may infiltrate into the rum ball mixture, and that's okay.

They will keep refrigerated for a month in advance.These also freeze well..

The photo below is from a Christmas post, where I added more cocoa and used biscuits as the base. Still delicious. However my family still prefer traditional Rum Balls made with Weet-bix, they love the family traditions of Christmas.

Find the recipe for these Christmas Rum Truffles at this link:

HAPPY RETIREE'S KITCHEN : Chocolate Rum Truffles or Christmas Trumffles (happyretireeskitchen.blogspot.com)

Warmest wishes,

Pauline

Homemade Creamy Whole Egg Mayonnaise and a Creamy Blue Cheese Dip

It's the Silly Season and all of the Christmas parties are  happening right now, and this often means taking a plate of nibbles along. I would like to share with you the most delicious dip recipe based on Blue Cheese to make your life easier. This dip can also be made well in advance so will be a perfect addition to your Christmas Day celebrations as well. So instead of taking along a cheese platter, why not take this Blue Vein Cheese dip with crudites, you will be very popular when you do.

At this time of the year, the cost of food goes up at the supermarkets, and I find myself buying extra  food items as Christmas cooking is high on my agenda. This becomes expensive and one of the items  added to many party foods is mayonnaise. Save yourself some money and make this mayo at home and you will know exactly what ingredients are in it. No preservatives at all. It is a cinch to make, it emulsifies in seconds, and is delicious. I made a double batch this time as I know I will be using more of it over Christmas. This is the easiest method for making mayonnaise, and I promise you that once you have done this, you will never spend the money to buy Whole Egg Mayonnaise again.

I used 80 g of my homemade mayo in this Blue Cheese Dip recipe, so I thought I would post both of them together. My trusted friend from Tropigal blog shared these two recipes with me, so thanks Julie.  I am also making my Prawn Cocktails for Christmas Eve, and this mayonnaise will be delicious in  the Rose Marie sauce.

Homemade Mayonnaise Ingredients:

1 egg
1 tablespoon mustard - Wholegrain or Dijon
1 tablespoon acid e.g. Apple Cider Vinegar
Salt to taste
1 cup Light Olive Oil



Put all of the ingredients into a tall receptacle, such as the one that comes with the Stick Blender, or your Easiyo yoghurt container (which is what I use) and blend from the bottom up with your stick blender. It emulsifies in seconds.




N.B. Experiment with oils, but Virgin Olive Oil is too strong.

Store in the refrigerator for as long as needed or as long as it lasts.





Blue Cheese Dip

80 g mayonnaise I used homemade mayo from the recipe above
80 g Blue Cheese, finely chopped if it's a hard cheese
80 g sour cream
1/2 teaspoon onion powder
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon dried dill
pinch of salt




Whizz it all up.



This dip tastes even better the longer you chill it before serving.

Life is pretty busy at present before Christmas holidays, so this will be my last blog for a while, I think, unless I find some time and just need to write. I know I will be cooking, that's a given.

Thank you to all my blogging friends, who have taken the time to share their recipes and lives with me and also to those who take the time to read and comment on my blog. Your interest and kind comments make it all worthwhile. It's been a great year, and I've enjoyed your online friendship. Have a wonderful and meaningful Christmas everyone, and I hope 2020 brings you good luck, good health, happiness and rain.

Best wishes


Pauline

It's All about Christmas In My Kitchen

Here in Tropical North Queensland, our verandahs and patios become as much a part of our kitchen and eating area as our inside kitchen does. We spend a lot of time outside in our outdoor kitchen. So I thought as part of my In My Kitchen series for Sherry's Pickings, it was appropriate to showcase my latest orchid which is flowering in my outdoor kitchen. 

Dulce de Leche Banana Bread and Merry Christmas

How can any cake with Dulce de Leche, sour cream and chocolate in it's list of ingredients not be absolutely delicious? This one certainly is. Dulce de Leche, made by boiling tinned condensed milk for a couple of hours  to make real caramel, lasts for ages in the refrigerator as well, as long as it is hidden from the man of the house, ha, ha. I boiled four cans of condensed milk early in September and this is the last one to be used. However it can also be purchased at gourmet deli shops. I used my largest loaf tin for this cake, the one I bake my largest loaf of sourdough bread in and it was the perfect size. That was probably the most difficult decision I had to make, otherwise this was a cinch to make.

It's holiday time, so happy holidays and Merry Christmas everyone. I've really enjoyed hearing from you all during the year and reading your blogs as well. I hope you spend Christmas with the people that you love, doing the things that you enjoy, and eating the foods that comfort and excite you. I will be.

This recipe is adapted from a Delicious Magazine recipe. Thanks Delicious.

Ingredients:

Makes approx. 14 slices

2 cups (300g) plain flour, sifted
 1 1/4 cups (300g) sour cream
100 ml thickened cream
1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
125g unsalted butter, melted and cooled
250g caster sugar
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp baking powder
50g dark chocolate chips
2 large ripe bananas, mashed
1 cup (100g) walnuts, toasted, chopped
1/3 cup (110g) dulce de leche
125g pure icing sugar, sifted
1 1/2 tbs espresso, cooled

Method:

Preheat the oven to 180 deg. C. Grease a 28 x 12 cm loaf pan (mine was a little bigger)and line the base and the sides with baking paper. (I used the largest loaf pan I own for this recipe, which is the one I bake a loaf of bread in.)



Add the sour cream, thickened cream and bicarb soda to a large bowl which will serve to mix the whole mixture.. Lightly combine this mix, and set aside for 10 minutes, when bubbles will appear through the surface.

Add the cooled melted butter, the sugar, and the beaten eggs, and stir to combine.

Stir through the cinnamon, the flour, and the baking powder.
Add the dark chocolate chips, the mashed banana, and half the walnuts.
Fold through the dulce de leche .

Pour the mixture into the loaf tin and bake for 1 hour or until a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean . If it browns too quickly cover with foil, I didn't need to do this.

Cool for 10 minutes, then turn out onto a wire rack to cool completely.

Combine the icing sugar and the espresso coffee until a soft icing forms, I didn't need to use all of the espresso to achieve the right consistency. Drizzle over the banana bread and top with the remaining crushed walnuts.This icing is so very delicious.

Until next year, stay safe.

Warmest wishes

Pauline  x

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. 

Spoil yourself with Baked Rice Pudding

BAKED RICE PUDDING

It's Saturday afternoon, there are rain showers around, so it seems the perfect opportunity to do some long, slow cooking and make this very economical and very satisfying dessert. There are so many variations of this baked rice dessert out there, however when I am cooking for my family this is the recipe that I always use otherwise it just wouldn't measure up. My Mum made it, her Grandmother made it, and now I make it. It is great comfort food, and puffs up beautifully when first cooked. However, be aware that the the delicious nutmeg infused skin will deflate when it is removed from the oven. This doesn't affect the taste at all. All you need is some time to cook it, and some very basic ingredients. Whilst it requires a slow oven, it can be cooked on the lowest oven rack if you are slow cooking a piece of  lamb or pork at the same time. It can be served with stewed aromatic fruits if desired, however it is delicious just on it's own. I earn some serious brownie points when I take the time to cook this for Mr. HRK.

My tip is that if you aren't a real sweet tooth or you are cutting calories before Christmas, halve the amount of sugar and it is still delicious. However I really think the full cream milk needs to be used in this recipe.

Ingredients:

3 tablespoons short-grain or Arborio rice
300 ml water
600 ml full cream milk
3 tablespoons sugar
nutmeg, freshly ground if possible but not essential

1. Place the rice in a pie or casserole dish and add water.
2. Cook slowly in the oven (150 deg. C) until rice absorbs the water. (Allow about 30 minutes)
3. Add milk and sugar to the hot dish and mix well. Sprinkle well with nutmeg and add a few small pieces of chopped butter on top as well if you wish
4. Bake in a very slow oven for about 1 hour. When a brown skin forms  the rice mixture is creamy it is cooked.
5. Serve cold with stewed fruit.

Oven Roasted Tomato Sauce

Tomatoes, luscious ripe Roma tomatoes, are still in abundance thank goodness in North Queensland, but soon it will be too hot, and the season will be finished. So much of my cooking at present is about preserving what is seasonal, so that I have it either in my freezer or my pantry when those particular items become too expensive. However, at times I weaken and use those supplies, like last night when we indulged in homemade pasta and whilst I had made a delicious bolognese sauce as well, I just had to try my new Roasted Tomato sauce. I think everyone enjoyed it.

It is so easy but lots of tomatoes are required, so I think it will be a trip to the markets again to buy some more.

Dear friends do you find that you preserve excess quantities of fruit and vegetables for the future but find yourself dipping into them for convenience. I think it just makes life easy at times and takes the pressure off if guests are arriving, After all isn't that what a lot of restaurants do?

This Tomato sauce recipe is a River Cottage classic, obviously made over there with a selection of British tomatoes and this can be the mainstay of a lot of delicious meat based and vegetable cooking.

Trays and trays of tomatoes waiting to be roasted

This recipe makes about 500 ml of sauce

1.5-2 kg ripe tomatoes, larger ones halved (A selection can be used but I used all very ripe Roma tomatoes)
3 garlic cloves, finely chopped
A few sprigs of thyme
A couple of sprigs of marjoram if you have it but not essential
2 tablespoons olive oil or canola oil
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

Method:

Preheat the oven to 180 deg. C. Lay the tomatoes, cut side up if halved, on a baking try. Scatter the garlic and herbs over the top, trickle over the olive oil, and season with plenty of salt and pepper.

Put the tray in the oven for about an hour, until the tomatoes are completely soft and pulpy, and starting to crinkle and caramelise on top. Yum!

Take the tomatoes out of the oven and set aside the baking tray on a cooling tray  for about half an hour or so.  Depending on the tomatoes, you may not need to rub them through a sieve with a wooden spoon, or use a traditional mouli. I found that my tomatoes just popped out of their skins making it easy to simply process the tomato pulp into a sauce.

Bolognese Meat Sauce recipe

Homemade pasta recipe

A Peaceful Dove bringing life, hope and peace to our North Queensland Tropical garden at Christmas time

A ready built home for the family, with interior decorating included. Recycling at it's best. She's been sitting on her eggs for a couple of weeks.

A flimsy nest of twigs and grasses in the peg basket. Since this photo, there are now two eggs.

Happy Friday to my friends, and prepare to take a tour of my tropical garden. 

The birds, the edibles, and the ornamentals  bring our garden to life each day. We enjoy our morning cup of freshly brewed coffee on our patio before the heat of the day radiates to force us inside. However, salutations to our very maternal Peaceful Dove who continues to sit on her eggs in the peg basket on our Hills Hoist washing line,  through the heat of the day and the cool of the night. I am so conscious at times of her lying out there exposed to the elements. and I have even at times in the heat of the day moved the washing line around so that she is in the shade of the neighbouring Golden Penda Tree. Neil has firmly secured the peg basket to the washing line to ensure it doesn't blow to the ground during windy weather which happened last year, when she or another Peaceful Dove was siting on her eggs.  She is very used to us now, and doesn't fly off when we walk nearby or do the watering around her. She is now sitting on two eggs, when I took the earlier photo she was only sitting on one egg. It's a beautiful thing really to see her so bravely guarding her future offspring. We are looking forward to the eggs hatching, and hope it all goes well for her.

Yellow gerberas saluting the sun

Beautiful Vanda Robert Smith x Asca Thai Ruby flowering again after a few years. 11 years old. A senior citizen in the orchid world perhaps.

Bromeliads flowering at last like a torch 

Christmas flowering of lush and tropical Heliconia "Kawauchi", a relative of the banana

A miniature rainforest

Flowering Thumbergia loved by the birds

Italian and sweet basil, our future pesto ingredient

Caladiums in harmony with the Desert Roses

Crotons, Caladiums, Pentas in a tropical medley

Potted Oregano adjacent to the purple ground orchids and tarragon

Everflowering New Guinea bottlebrush tree, a haven for the nectar loving birds

Covered Turmeric and ginger patch emerging

Summer Basil Pesto from home grown Basil in the Tropics

It's the season to be jolly and also the season to grow Basil and make Pesto before the serious and fun Christmas cooking starts. It is difficult in the tropical heat to grow much else, except perhaps other sun loving Mediterranean type herbs, chillies, small tomatoes and eggplant.

Deconstructed Cheesy Cabbage Rolls

Deconstructed Cheesy Cabbage Rolls

Jump to the recipe here:

I had to try this recipe from Not Quite Nigella's blog, one of my favourites by Lorraine Elliott,  as soon as I saw it. I had a busy day coming up, and a meal waiting for me in the slow cooker when I arrived home from Mahjong just sounded perfect. It didn't disappoint, and now I can't get enough of it. It is pure comfort food, even though it is very hot weather in the North. Because I made a large quantity I have been able to experiment with a little tweeking for variation. Today we ate it with my homemade mango chutney which was delicious.

I also added a few extra ingredients when I cooked it. A couple of rashers of chopped bacon, as bacon marries so well with cabbage, two chopped large red chillies for some zing, and a couple of sprigs of fresh thyme, perfect. However, it can stand alone without the chillies, bacon, or thyme as on Lorraine's original recipe. Cabbage is such a resilient vegetable and doesn't disintegrate at all during long slow cooking, or if cooked in the pressure cooker.

Preparation time: 15 minutes

Cooking time: 25 minutes (pressure cooker), 1 hr. 10 mins (stovetop), 7 hours (slow cooker)

Ingredients:

OIL FOR FRYING

1 ONION, PEELED AND CHOPPED

2 AUSTRALIAN GARLIC CLOVES, PEELED AND CHOPPED

2 LARGE RED CHILLIES, DESEEDED AND FINELY CHOPPED (optional)

500g BEEF MINCE

2 RASHERS BACON, FINELY CHOPPED (optional)

2x410g TINS DICED TOMATOES

850g CABBAGE, CORED AND SLICED INTO WEDGES

2 TABLESPOONS TOMATO PASTE

2 SPRIGS OF THYME (optional)

1 CUP MACARONI  OR OTHER PASTA

1 CUP GRATED CHEESE

LET'S COOK:

• Heat a frypan on medium heat and add the oil. Fry the onion and garlic until translucent. Turn up the heat to medium high and add the mince, chillies and bacon breaking  up the mince with a large spoon. Transfer the whole mixture to your slow cooker or pressure cooker, or just a very large cast iron pot for the stove. I am lucky that I have an outside power point on my patio bench, so I plug the slow cooker in there to keep the heat out of the kitchen.
• Add the tomatoes, cabbage, thyme leaves and tomato paste to the pot.
• Cook the slow cooker for 6 hours, the pressure cooker for 20 minutes, and for the cast iron pot, cook for 1 hour.
• Add the macaroni and cook for the following additional times: pressure cooker 5 minutes, slow cooker 40 minutes, cast iron pot 10 minutes. Stir through the cheese  and serve.

Enjoy.
Best wishes

Pauline