The Importance of our Family and our Pets

Lockie and Kali

This hasn't been the best of weeks.

We all have those weeks which we wish would end quickly and we could start again. I am generally a fairly optimistic and outgoing person I think,  but sometimes events happen which make you retreat into yourself, and just focus on your family, your home, and what is really essential.

Last Sunday started with some variety of stomach virus which laid me really low, and and left me after all of the action had settled down a couple of days later, only wanting soft boiled eggs and toast soldiers to eat, such a time honoured comforting classic with an upset stomach, and sweet mandarins for dessert. Does anyone else remember having soft boiled eggs and soldiers when they were growing up? Such a treat. I still haven't had a cup of coffee since the weekend, only cups of black tea, and this is definitely an indicator for a foodie that all is not well in the eating department. I even cancelled Tuesday Mahjong, and the delicious cake I had planned to bake. Sad but true.

However, that aside, yesterday we received the awful news that our beautiful Grand dog, Kali, one of our son's two Border Collie dogs in the Perth Hills, was badly injured. She escaped early yesterday morning before dawn from their property, decided to go for a long walk or probably a run in Kali's case being a Border Collie, and was badly injured but still managed to make it home and climb up on her chair at the front of the house and wait to be found. She survived 7 hours of surgery late yesterday and last night and now is still  sedated at the vet's surgery. Thankfully, there is no internal bleeding or organ damage but she has hundreds of stitches and staples across her chest, two teeth extracted, and her left leg has been repaired as much as possible but may require more surgery.

Our beautiful Kali

Needless to say, everyone is very shaken up and upset over Kali including me as we have spent a lot of time with the dogs and they are very much part of the family. Thankfully her brother Lockie, a chocolate and white border collie,  didn't decide to go along for the excursion as well. He is a lot more sedate in nature. However Kali is a beautiful and very affectionate dog, and normally very streetwise and obedient when we take her out walking. The vet thinks she has been hit by a car which explains her injuries.

When these things happen just out of the blue for no reason, it is certainly a wake up call for everyone, and often involves a lot of soul searching as to why it  happened. Family pets are an integral part of the family, but are also very perceptive to any issues surrounding them. They are animals though, and prone to impulsive behaviour when least expected. Who knows what Kali went looking for in the early hours, as they are locked up during the night and had only just been let out of the house.

Happy times walking with the dogs in the country after little Hugo was born

Anyway I won't dwell any further on this, and hopefully she will be able go home tomorrow to lots of spoiling and attention.

Anyone reading this, who has pets knows that  having them is mostly very rewarding, however the unexpected is bound to happen sometimes, and sometimes there are tears.

So consequently, I have done next to no cooking this week, despite my best laid plans, had intended to do a lot more blogging but haven't, have done some cleaning and washing and a little gardening but that is all. However it doesn't matter does it? All the rest can wait. The most important thing is to give support to my family where it is needed and be available to help if necessary.

Take care everyone and I hope your week is going well. To my friends who are reading this, I will try and catch up soon.

Best wishes

Pauline x

Coconut and Lime Ceviche as a starter or canape, from the kitchen of Pinetrees Lodge on Lord Howe Island

Coconut and Lime Ceviche

Greetings from Food and Wine week on Lord Howe Island. Ceviche is typically made from very fresh raw fish which is "cooked" or cured in citrus juices such as lime or lemon. With other ingredients added such as fresh herbs and spices, it is a delicious, light and zingy starter for any meal. We used a very fresh fillet of Kingfish, about 500g, trimmed and cut into 1 cm cubes. The fillet needs to be at least 1 cm thick. However any firm white-fleshed fish could be used. With this recipe, the actual cooking of the fish is the easy part, as the acidulant in the lime juice  “cooks the raw fish”.

How to make Japanese Gyoza Dumpling Delights with Dipping Sauces at home

Japanese Gyoza Dumplings

Gyoza is a Japanese dumpling meal which is easy to make in your own home, I know because we have made a few batches of them now, and collected a few useful tips along the way which I would like to share.  They are fun for the family to make together, extraordinarily delicious, and inexpensive on the budget. We have been smitten with them ever since friends in Perth cooked them for us for dinner one evening, and now we can't get enough of them. They are a very famous food in Japan, either for dinner or for eating out, but actually originated from China. The Japanese people discovered the art of making dumplings when they invaded China in the late 1930's and brought the idea back to Japan, or so the story goes. The Japanese dumpling is usually fried and then steamed, or as our friends cooked them, steamed and then fried. That is a personal choice, and we actually prefer them just steamed which is much faster, as when you are cooking them for the family or friends you will find yourself cooking more and more of them as they disappear before your eyes. I don't have a photo of any fried gyoza that we prepared, as they were gone before we could say itadakimasu, which is traditionally said in Japan before eating or receiving food.

We were talking about making Japanese Dumplings, and Mr. HRK who likes using different tools and cooking utensils in the kitchen as well as in his shed, went on a shopping mission with Shannon when she was home, and returned with a Dumpling Shape Maker from the House Kitchen shop. It has taken a little bit of practice to perfect the process, but it seals up the dumplings with the perfect shape, and crimps the dough edges perfectly. It is also versatile, as ravioli, pies, fruit pies, mini pizza bites and calzones can be made with it.

Shaping the Dumplings

We discovered that the Dumpling Maker works best if the cutting edge at the back is brought toward you first and the front piece is moved into the back piece, which then work together to cut the wonton wrapper perfectly, allowing the unwanted edge of the wrapper to be pulled off neatly. So a teaspoon of the prepared pork mince filling is placed in the middle of the square wonton wrapper, which is already positioned in the Dumpling Maker. The back and front pieces are brought together to cut and seal the wrapper. I didn't see the need to use water or egg white to seal the edges however if you are making them yourself without the help of a Dumpling Maker it is probably necessary for a good seal. We now have a team approach. I make the Pork Mince Filling and the sauces, and  Mr. HRK  shapes and cuts the dumplings. We then share steaming them in the basket over boiling water, and voila they are ready to eat.

Gyoza Dumpling Shape Maker. Waiting to be steamed.

This is my recipe for the Pork Mince Filling used in the dumplings:

Pork Mince Gyoza Filling Recipe

Ingredients:

500g pork mince
4 teaspoons soy sauce
1 teaspoon hoisin sauce
1/2 teaspoon sesame oil
2 crushed garlic cloves
4 cm piece of fresh ginger root, finely grated
2 green onions finely chopped, or chopped chives
Finely chopped Coriander leaf and root if you like the taste. (The jury is out on whether or not to use coriander in Japanese dumplings. I love it but the Japanese purists probably don't use it. It's a personal preference.)
Some recipes also add finely chopped cabbage. We didn't in this recipe and didn't miss it at all.

1 packet of wonton wrappers (40)

Method:

If the weather is humid, it is best to cover the dumplings with glad wrap on a tray and keep in the fridg, or they can even be frozen for later.

Otherwise they can be prepared and left to stand on the kitchen bench on a well aired tray, for an hour or so before cooking.

We used a traditional Chinese cane steaming basket, lightly sprayed with cooking oil and cooked the dumplings a layer at a time ensuring they didn't come in contact with each other as they can get sticky. One side can then be fried before serving.

Serve as soon as possible after cooking.

Cooked gyozas ready for serving

Dipping Sauces:

It is nice to serve a few different dipping sauces with the gyoza.  The following one is a favourite that I used last time. We also served a small dish of Ponzu Sauce, which is a unique Japanese sauce combining the delicate flavours of citrus, vinegar, soy sauce and mirin, which was  a foodie gift from friends. It offered a nice contrast to the following sauce. Ideas for yoghurt based sauces are below.

Gyoza Dipping Sauce:

1/2 cup rice wine vinegar
1/2 cup low salt soy sauce
1/2 teaspoon crushed red chilli flakes (optional depending on your guests preference)
1 garlic clove, minced
1/2 teaspoon minced fresh ginger root
1/3 cup thinly sliced green onions
1 teaspoon sesame oil

Method:

Whisk together all of the ingredients in a bowl and leave to sit for 15 minutes before serving. This will keep in the refrigerator for at least 1 week. This recipe is based on one I found by Rebecca Friedman.

Our friends, Jamie and Lisa who first cooked these for us also gave me the following ideas for sauces. The yoghurt sauce is delicious.

 Yoghurt based dipping sauce, allowing for a fusion of flavours:
Yoghurt marbled with crushed garlic and possibly pesto, or any flavours that compliment the creaminess of the Yoghurt, such as Harissa or your favourite dips. It's fun to experiment with what you have on hand.

A combination of Kecap Manus and Sweet Chilli Sauce, an easy option for a sauce if you are short on time is a favourite of Jamie and Lisas and was also really delicious.

Another edition. Lots and lots of gyozas for the family which will disappear very quickly

Thanks for visiting and I'd love to hear from you with any stories you have about eating gyoza. Have you eaten them or made them before and what is your favourite dipping sauce?

Best wishes

Pauline

Vietnamese Char Sui Pulled Pork, with Japanese Pickled Cucumber, Pickled Galangal, and Red Cabbage Asian Slaw

I'd like to share with you my Vietnamese Char Sui Pulled Pork recipe which we cooked a couple of nights ago and it was amazingly delicious, with the Char Sui Sauce being the secret ingredient. The flavours and textures of the Japanese Pickled Cucumber, the Pickled Ginger and a Red Cabbage Asian slaw married perfectly with the flavours of the Pork and the sauce.

A Surprise Party to Celebrate our 40th Wedding Anniversary with Family and Friends

It's been a lovely and busy weekend, the highlight being a surprise party on Saturday night at our home, organised by Shannon, to celebrate our 40th Wedding Anniversary. Of course she had a few very talented co-conspirators who assisted with this achievement, but essentially she pulled off a real coup. I like to think that I am fairly perceptive and know what is going on around me. Well she can write the book now on how to pull off a real surprise. I've trained her well ha, ha. 

Everyone brought a delicious salad or nibbles and  Shannon bought some very tender steak so a BBQ was the perfect way to entertain on our patio, followed by Mud cake for dessert.

This magnificent chocolate Mud cake was baked and iced by the lovely Elise, who made it right through to the quarter-finals of Masterchef, collecting quite a fan base along the way, and is a good friend of Shannon's. It was 3 layers, with a chocolate ganache topping and layers joined with butter cream and salted caramel. Shannon decorated it with a beautiful posy of fresh flowers on the day of the party. Unfortunately there is no likelihood of my obtaining the recipe for this cake, Elise's secret weapon, but it was unbelievably rich and delicious. It was such an interesting phenomena that as all of our friends were eating it there was complete silence, almost a sign of reverence for the cake, which continued even after they had finished eating. Have you ever experienced that when your friends are eating something so good either at home or at a restaurant that everyone just goes quiet and savours the deliciousness of the meal?

Sparklers on a cake add to the festivity of the occasion. 

We had a 10 hour drive home from Cairns on Wednesday, and Shannon managed to conceal the cake in her car, packed in freezer blocks in a broccoli box along with an Anniversary gift from Neil, Shannon, Matthew and Myrtille, a beautiful patchwork quilt. Unfortunately Matthew and Myrtille couldn't be with us as we only left Western Australia a week ago, but they were here in spirit and called us on Saturday night and on Sunday.

Shannon's lovely Tonkinese cat, also came along for the ride and didn't let on about the secret either. I'll try to include a photo of Nala at some stage. Thanks to our friends who were available to help us celebrate, it was a memorable night and one to always remember. 

Over the next week whilst Shannon is home we will be going out more than usual  and having a great time, so blogging will not be as often or catching up with other peoples blogs. After she goes home though, there will be time for that. I am prepared to just drop most things and enjoy having her home.

Have a nice week and thanks for visiting my blog.

Best wishes

Pauline

The Simplest ever Honey and Date Biscuits for Afternoon Tea

Honey and Date Biscuits

We drove home  from Cairns on Wednesday, a long 10 hour drive because of all the road works and the trucks, and it is such a relief to be home. Considering Mackay also suffered the onslaught from Cyclone Debbie, our garden looked in tact thanks to the support of our friends and neighbours, and our house was surprisingly free of mould and dust inside. I placed lots of DampRid containers in the cupboards before we left and I think that helped to keep the cupboards fresh and mould free, which can be a problem during wet weather here in the Tropics.

 However driving past Bowen and through Prosperpine, it looked like a war zone.  Trees denuded of foliage, road signs partially pulled out of the ground and at awkward angles with the road,  and houses in various states of disrepair. I believe it is even worse around Airlie Beach. I really feel for all of those people who are still coping with the lodgement of insurance claims and trying to get their homes and lives back in order.

I know I am happily at home when the baking starts and there are fresh flowers in the house. The heavy rain from Cyclone Debbie has resulted in a beautiful flush of tropical flowers in the garden , so it was lovely to have Heliconias and Ixoras to  pick and bring inside.

I saw this biscuit recipe on my friend Garrick's Facebook page the other day, I used to work with him, and I had to try it. Biscuit recipes need to be quick and easy and are often cooked on the go with short notice, as everyone is eagerly  waiting for morning or afternoon tea and time is at a premium.

These biscuits are just processed very quickly in the Food Processor. Our daughter Shannon came home with us for a holiday and thinks they are delicious. To be honest she is probably the main reason I made them, as it is always a really nice feeling to cook for my family and she really appreciates homemade food. Shannon is a great judge of good cakes and biscuits so I am happy to pass this recipe on.

Honey and date biscuits

Made on the trot for afternoon tea. Simplest recipe going. (Garrick)

Ingredients:

1/2 cup plain flour
2 cups oatmeal or muesli (I used Rolled Oats)
8 dates (chopped and stones removed)
1 egg
4 tblspns honey
100g oil
(1/2 cup nuts optional. I used shelled pistachios this time)

Let's cook:

Process quickly all ingredients at once in the Food processor. Place heaped teaspoons full on a baking tray lined with baking paper. 150C (fan) 180C (normal oven) 12-15 mins. Makes 18.

I dusted mine with a light sprinkling of icing sugar, just for presentation.

When we were outside in the courtyard  enjoying our afternoon tea and the biscuits,  Lorikeets were frollicking in our bird bath. They are such beautiful birds to watch, very noisy though. At the moment, they must think they are in heaven or a five star restaurant, as in our back yard they have three trees in flower to choose from. The very old Melaleuca Paperbark, the Golden Penda, and the New Guinea Bottlebrush. It is hilarious and entertaining to watch them flitting from tree to tree and squabbling as they go, and then stopping for drinks at the birdbath. Even our resident  birds are  foodies, ha, ha.

Thanks for  visiting and have  a nice weekend.

If you  make these biscuits or do something different with the recipe,  please  send me a comment.  I'd love to  know  what  you  think   of them.

Best wishes
Pauline

Enjoying Tolga in Far North Queensland, and the Rocky Creek War Memorial

Rocky Creek War Memorial  Park

Original  and restored Tolga Railway  Station

We are travelling on our way home so this is an update on what we are doing from my phone, on the run.  It is nice to be back in Queensland. A timely  drive yesterday  for Neil and I up to Tolga, located  on the  Atherton  Tablelands near Cairns  with our War Veterans being in everyone's thoughts  today. Rocky Creek just North of Tolga is the site  of  the  Rocky Creek  War Memorial  Park, situated  on the 2/2 Australian General Hospital  laundry  and medical  stores site. It was a 3000 bed hospital  treating over 60,000 patients  from 1943 to 1945. During WW II, the Tablelands area became the largest military  base in Australia, with camps scattered  throughout  including  Atherton,  Ravenshoe, and  Tinaroo. Many of our World War II Veterans  went  there  for training  before serving  overseas.


We called in to take photos  for  our good friend Lou of the memorial to her  dear old Dad's Infantry Battalion, the 2/11. Photo above.  We had the pleasure  of meeting  him recently in Perth.

 The original  Tolga railway  station  which the soldiers  would  have  passed through  is now a very  well restored and maintained  Military  Museum in Tolga and well worth  a visit . The Tolga Wood and Art Gallery across  the road from the Museum  is a lovely and welcoming resting spot for morning tea and some shopping. No photos of this unfortunately as it was raining.   It was a really  nice morning out up on the Tablelands at Tolga.

There is also a 72 hour  rest area adjacent  to  the War Memorial  Park for self contained  caravans  and motorhomes for a $5.00 a night  donation to support  the  War Memorial.  It is all very well  managed.

Best wishes

Pauline