In My Kitchen, June 2021

It's Winter, we're loving the change of season, and hot delicious beef pies are always popular here in tropical North Queensland when the weather turns so chilly. It's been down to 5 degrees the last two mornings, however the days are sunny and sublime but still cool. I made a dozen Beef Pot Pies last week, it was an easy way to feed 11 people, with one left for us for lunch the following day. Tennis players are hungry people. It's a pleasure to be in the kitchen right now, however I am torn, as the garden is also calling me for attention, and the beautiful sunshine outside is demanding to be enjoyed. This post is part of the monthly In My Kitchen series, a global event,  hosted by the lovely Sherry from Sherry's Pickings. I hope you enjoy it.

I used my Aussie Beef  Saltbush Stew recipe to  make the these  Beef Pot Pies. I kilo of beef chuck steak cooked up beautifully in the slow cooker, and was the perfect amount for 12 pies. I topped the meat up with some separately sauteed mushrooms, and they were delicious. The red wine I added just might have helped as well. Luckily I have 12 matching white ceramic dishes, so I  spooned the beef filling into the dishes, and then used bought puff pastry to cover them. Normally I would make my own shortcrust pastry, but I had a sticky date pudding to cook as well so I took a shortcut with the pastry. They were delicious. I used an egg wash of beaten egg and a little bit  of milk, so that they browned up as required. Here's the link to the Beef Stew recipe if you missed it before. I posted about my Sticky date pudding quite a few years ago when I was new to blogging, and that post needs updating, however I use that recipe all the time, it's delicious. Here's the Sticky Date Pudding link.

These are the photos of the Beef Pot Pies being cooked and assembled.

Ready for cooking in the Slow Cooker

Waiting for the Puff Pastry

 In my last post about my Greek Inspired Cauliflower, I mentioned a Speed Peeler, and asked if anyone had one or had heard of it. The reason was that Jamie Oliver mentioned one in his Cauliflower recipe that I had based my recipe on. No-one seems to have heard of it. Well no surprises that when I googled it, a speed peeler is one of Jamie's kitchenware products, available on sale at Woolworths here in Australia, probably in the UK and other countries too.  I'm not rushing out to buy one as I think my vegetable peelers do a great job, and I think I might have bought one like this before during my long culinary vegetable peeler purchasing history, which has since broken as they all eventually seem to do, for me anyway.

Here is the link to the infamous 3 in one Speed Peeler if you want to take a look.

Jamie Oliver 3 In 1 Speed Peeler Each | Woolworths. Mystery solved.

I've also been doing a little bit of online shopping, and bought a 12 cup Mini Bundt Pan from Kitchen Warehouse. I  still have to try this tray out, but I have a nice little bundt cake recipe in mind which I was so excited about when I first saw it. It might have to wait in the queue though until after the holidays.

Red Rosellas, also known as native Hibiscus are fruiting well up here in the North. Friends P & J left for holidays a couple of weeks ago, and as a parting gesture suggested that I pick the rosellas from their bush and make jam or whatever I wish with them. They've been picked, this is them in the photos below, so perhaps this weekend they will transform into Jam, if not, they will be deseeded and frozen until I have more time. However, if you have any ideas about what else I can do with them, I would love to hear from you.  Rosella jelly is also an option. Rosella Jam is one of my favourite jams, delicious with hot scones and cream, and lots of it.

Freshly picked rosellas

Rosellas still on the bush

We always eat salmon at least once a week, and this is generally a simple meal with vegetables, or I might bake it in alfoil with fresh grated ginger, soy sauce and vegetables.  However this time I was excited that I could add some of our home grown radishes to our plate, which were very crisp and mild flavoured, and sprinkled with delicious home grown dill. It's impossible to grow this herb here in the tropics in Summer as the humidity results in a white mildew forming all over the plant. I have three dill plants growing so well at the moment so I'll be using dill as often as I can in the kitchen during Winter. I just love the flavour. Notice the salmon skin will peeled off, and that is a treat for Locky our dog.

Last Wednesday night was the first match in the State of Origin Rugby League football season, where Queensland and New South Wales battle it out on the football field for supremacy. It's an historical competition, where players are selected according to the State they grew up in, either Queensland or New South Wales, not the team they play for so there is a lot of passion involved.  Townsville, also in tropical North Queensland scored the sought after location for the first match last night as Covid ruined the chances of the usual southern City rivals hosting the match. This was the first ever match held outside an Australian  capital city and Townsville and Queenslanders were on a high. So was Mr. HRK who has a very strong inherited football gene running through his veins. So he cooked dinner from scratch, and I have called his pizza, Make It Like a Man Pizza. He did very well and it was delicious.

He made the dough from scratch, cooked the pizza on a granite block in the BBQ of course, as that's what a man does. He used the Turkish flatbread recipe we used a few weeks ago for our Turkish Feast dinner and it was crispy and delicious and much quicker than the traditional pizza dough recipes we have used before. He halved the Turkish flatbread recipe as we only needed two pizzas,

Firstly the Cooks note: This recipe makes 4 large flatbreads, however if you prefer them smaller like pita bread,  cut the dough into 8 portions. 

If you can't find Greek style yoghurt, use regular yoghurt and reduce the water  in the recipe to 1 1/4 cups.

The flatbreads also make crispy and delicious bases for pizza. The smaller ones are excellent as pita or pocket breads.

Use plenty of plain flour when you are rolling out the flatbreads to prevent them sticking to the bench, and use a floured rolling pin

Ingredients:

(No oil needed to cook)

4 cups Plain Flour 

1 sachet (7 grams or .25 ounce) active dry yeast 

1 1/2 cups warm water (110 degrees F/45 degrees C, if you are pedantic, we're not)

1/2 cup Greek-style yoghurt

1 tablespoon white sugar

1/2 tablespoon salt (the original recipe used 1 tablespoon but we thought it was slightly too salty, up to you)

Method:

1. Dissolve the yeast, sugar and salt in a small bowl with the warm water. Add the water and the yoghurt to the flour and mix well. The dough will be nice and soft but not sticky. Tip the dough onto a lightly floured bench and shape it into a ball. 

Now cover the dough with a damp cloth and allow it to rise at room temperature for 3 hours. ( We place ours in the warm laundry, where our hot water system happens to be, and close the door, and it sure did rise!)

2. Cut the dough into four triangular portions. Shape the dough into rounds and flatten each round on a well floured bench as though you are making pizza dough. We flattened ours out further with a floured rolling pin so that it was a larger and thinner flatbread and it was perfect.

3. To cook your flatbread, choose either the BBQ or a cast iron skillet. As Mr. HRK was cooking, he chose to use a pizza stone in the BBQ, which worked like a dream. Preheat the BBQ or stove to a medium-heat. Place one round of dough on the BBQ or skillet and bake until the brown spots on the bottom, about 1 minute. Flip the bread and bake for another minute. Remove the bread and wrap it up in a clean tea towel to keep warm. We separated them with baking paper like you do with pancakes in case they stuck together with humidity around, but it really wasn't necessary.

For the whole Turkish Feast backstory about these pizza bases you can find it by clicking on this link:

Oh did I forget to give you the score from the game on Wednesday? Well it was an annihilation by New South Wales over Queensland, however the food in our kitchen was great. Better luck for the next match hopefully, always optimistic.

It's been a busy week's cooking with the pie dinner last Friday night, then Mahjong was on Tuesday afternoon at my place so I made one of my favourite cakes. A generous neighbour gave me some lovely, juicy limes from their backyard tree, so I baked my Lime Syrup and Coconut Cake, you can click on this link for the recipe. Always a favourite, served with yoghurt,

Delicious and tangy Lime Syrup and Coconut Cake

Cooking the lime syrup

Grating the lime zest

My Apple and Sour Cream Cake Slice is always a great stand by when I'm in a rush and need to make a slice quickly. So as well as the Lime Coconut Cake I also made this slice on the morning that my afternoon bookclub were meeting at my place. We all take turns at hosting book club so it only comes around once or twice a year. While our Mahjong group traditionally eat just cake with coffee , the Book Club ladies always put on quite a spread for afternoon tea, so I know that a cake, a slice and a nice cheese platter will all be eaten, particularly in this cooler weather. It's always a lovely afternoon, with lots of interesting discussion. The book we read for yesterday's meeting was Bruny by Heather Rose. Yes as in Bruny Island in Tasmania. It's a work of fiction, but really gets you thinking about a lot of controversial and very relevant topics currently. A great read.

Phew, I've been chopping and dicing a whole large cabbage all morning, 2 1/2 kilos of it in fact, as this is the perfect amount to fill my new Davis & Waddell Sauerkraut crock. It was a birthday present from good friends back in February, and now that we have some cold weather, it's the perfect time to use it. Hopefully the fermentation will progress well, and I can bottle some sauerkraut in a few days. This is my Green Cabbage Sauerkraut Recipe if you feel inclined to start fermenting as well.

 

Now that the weather is so cold, Locky needed a new coat to keep him warm. He was a real head turner in the pet shop and no wonder as he looks so cute in his orange coat. We suspect he likes it.

That's all for now folks. 

Hope you have something very enjoyable planned for this weekend.

Warm wishes,

 Pauline

Party Pizzas and Lots of Rain

These Party Pizzas are so easy, that I feel a bit guilty writing them up as a recipe. Do you sometimes just feel like something really tasty like pizza, but don't feel like making your own dough or visiting the supermarket to buy ready made pizza bases, or spending the money to buy take away pizzas? These are the easiest bite sized pizzas I have ever made. They may be just bite sized, but they are BIG-sized flavours,with zero effort. In fact you will feel as if you have had a night off from cooking and everyone will be happy to pitch in and help. 

Great news for us is that we had 75 mm of rain last night, which is around 3 inches. It bucketed down and was windy and cold as well. Just like we expect a tropical wet season to be like. Showers were forecast, but we didn't expect this much rain. Hopefully the sugarcane farmers will be happy if they have harvested their cane and replanted. I wish though that we could send some of it off to the drought affected areas around Australia. Dylan, who is our 12 year old young neighbour from up the road came up for a chat after school just before, as he often does when Mum and Dad are working, and remarked how much he loves the rain. I agreed with him, but just reminded him that there are many children his age in Australia who have never experienced rain like that where they live. It's still overcast and it feels like there could be more showers on the way. Here's hoping, although the parsley is already looking waterlogged as is the pomegranate tree.

We are also happy that SBS is televising the U.S. Open Tennis tournament on TV now, and that our young Australian player, John Millman,who is from Brisbane and is a proud Queenslander, has made it to the quarter finals. I'm a bit sorry that it was Roger Federer he needed to beat to win, as Roger is also a favourite, but what a coup for John. He played the match of his life. So if you like watching the tennis, tune in tomorrow as he will be playing Djokovic (hope I spelled that correctly.) Fingers crossed for John Millman.

 Back to food. Pizzas are perfect on the weekend for brunch with a salad, or as an appetizer, or as a finger food idea for a party. They can also use up leftovers in the refrigerator as well, as the ingredients can be quite versatile. These are one of the items on the menu for our family party in 10 days time. 90 little pizzas can be made from a 10 pack Puff Pastry box. Very economical when catering. This recipe is for 18 pizzas which Mr. HRK and I enjoyed over a couple of days. Just increase the quantities as needed.

Ingredients for 18 mini pizzas

2 sheets of frozen puff pastry
2 cups grated tasty cheese
1 chopped red capsicum
1 cup classic pizza sauce (homemade or purchased)
1/2 cup chopped basil or oregano
1/2 cup roughly chopped black olives
Finely chopped bacon or salami to sprinkle over the top of the pizzas before baking

Thaw out two sheets of Puff Pastry. Cut each Puff pastry sheet into 9 squares. (For a larger quantity of pizzas, buy a 10 pack box of Puff Pastry and cut 9 squares from each sheet until each person has at least 3-4 pizzas)

Let's cook:

Grease two muffin trays very well and place a pizza square in each hole (18 for this recipe)
Throw the combined ingredients into a large bowl. Mix well together.
Brush tomato sauce over pastry bases.
3/4 fill pastry cases with ingredients and sprinkle with bacon or salami if desired.

Cook in a moderate oven for 20 minutes..



Now it's back to the kitchen to make some Chicken and vegetable soup for dinner. I'm going to enjoy this cool rainy weather while it lasts. It's moving on tomorrow apparently.

This is my Pizza recipe when I feel like making real pizza.

Bye for now,

Pauline

State of Origin Pizza BBQ style

Click here for recipe:

Maroon is our favorite color tonight, it's State of Origin , Mr. HRK is excited and dinner is his choice. It's kind of like Make it like a Man.  Well, it is actually traditional for us to make pizzas on State of Origin night, and he has excelled himself. They must be cooked in the BBQ oven, and the dough is thin and crispy, perfect. This is partly due to a gift I bought him recently, a pizza tray with holes in the base and slightly elevated. My homemade passata topping provides an aromatic and flavoursome addition. A glass of red or rather maroon wine, a nice Pinot Noir and we are set for the game.

Our BBQ has been utilised in a variety of ways today. Mr. HRK has roasted his coffee beans to perfection in his homemade coffee roasting drum. I chargrilled some of our homegrown eggplants, blackened the skins, in preparation for making my Baba Ganoush. This was followed by the pizza.

Pizza dough recipe:

400g (14oz/2 2/3 cups) plain flour
14 g (1/2 oz/1 tablespoon) dried yeast
2 teaspoons sugar
1 teaspoon salt
250ml (9 fl oz/1 cup) lukewarm water
3 teaspoons olive oil

1. Place the flour, yeast, sugar and salt in a bowl and make a well in the centre. Combine the water and olive oil and add to the flour mixture. Use a wooden spoon and then your hands to  mix a dough.
2. Turn onto a lightly floured surface and knead for 5 minutes or until smooth and elastic.
3. Place the dough in an oiled bowl and turn to coat lightly in the oil. Cover loosely with a clean, slightly damp tea towel or plastic wrap and set aside in a warm, draught-free place for 1 hour or until doubled in size.
4. Knock back the dough by punching your fist into the centre of the dough. Turn onto a lightly floured surface and knead for 2-3 minutes or until smooth and elastic. Use immediately as directed.

Add your favourite toppings to the pizza. Allow approximately 10 minutes cooking time in the BBQ with the hood down. As you can see there is a lot meat on this pizza because it's football tonight. However add lots of other toppings such as capsicum and mushrooms if you wish.

TIP:

For a crispy base, sprinkle grated mozzarella cheese over the base first, then add your homemade aromatic passata or bought tomato sauce and place in blobs over the cheese. 

Then add the remainder of your favourite toppings, remembering simple is best with pizza, including lots of home grown oregano and basil and you are on your way to the traditional Pizza Margherita.

(The dough recipe is taken from "Make me pizza", published by Murdoch books.

Variations to the dough:

Wholemeal pizza dough:

Replace the plain flour with 400g (14 oz/2 2/3 cups) wholemeal flour and add an extra 50 ml (1 1/2 fl oz ) lukewarm water

Rosemary pizza dough:

After kneading in step 2, add 2 teaspoons very finely chopped rosemary and knead for another 1 minute to incorporate.

Parmesan pizza dough:

After kneading in step 2, add 40 g (1 1/2 oz) finely freshly grated parmesan cheese and knead for another 1 minute to incorporate.

Warm wishes, 

Pauline