Country Style Green Apple And Walnut Cake

 

I like to have fresh cake made for the weekend, such a treat don't you think to eat cake on Sunday with a nice coffee, and this one ticks all the boxes. No icing on this one though, just sifted icing sugar, but you could ice them if you really must. This recipe, was adapted from a school recipe book in Western Australia by Matthew Evans, of Gourmet Farmer fame. These aren't fancy cakes,  they are low cost country style apple cakes, moist and crumbly, and taste even better the day after they are made. Matthew Evans lives in Tasmania where apples are plentiful, and I always have apples in the fruit bowl and walnuts in my freezer staying fresh, so it is easy to make this cake. Apples and walnuts should always be together.

Granny Smith green apples are the best kind to use for this cake. Those of you of my generation might remember Roger Miller's famous song "little Green Apples, from his 1968 album "A Tender Look at Love", which he wrote for his wife. It has been covered many times by various artists and even though I have to say it wasn't an actual favourite of mine, the song bounced into my head as soon as I started thinking about green apples.

"God didn't make little green apples

And it don't rain in Indianapolis in the Summertime

And when myself is feelin' low

I think about her face aglow and ease my mind" 

And if that's not lovin' me, then all I've got to say, .........

Written by Roger Miller. 1968

After that moment of self indulgence, back to the cake. The consistency of this cake mixture reminds me of a mixed fruit cake mixture, where there is a minimum of cake batter and maximun of fruit, and where the mixing spoon stands up by itself in the centre, a sure yardstick of a good fruit cake.  The first time I made these cakes, the mixture makes two 20 cm cakes,  one was eaten very quickly, and the other one sat in the refrigerator for over a week and still tasted perfect, like any fruit cake should. I was pretty thrilled with this recipe. The bonus with making two cakes, is that if you need one for an occasion, pop that one in the frig, leaving the other one to be eaten by the family. 

My 4 year old grandson living  in the Falkland Islands is invited to a lot of birthday parties, in fact in Stanley it seems that everyone in the class is invited to every birthday party always held at a large venue in the town with jumping castles etc, so that means a lot of parties and a lot of cake. Because the population there are basically British, and we know they have a sweet tooth and love cake, well they do in the Falkland Islands anyway, (hope I'm not generalising too much),  I am told there is always a predominance of cake over savouries and healthy food, at the children's parties. Some of the parents, including my son and his wife worry about the amount of cake the children are eating, and when I made this cake I thought this would be the perfect kind of cake for a children's party. Sweet enough, or the sugar can be halved, and there is plenty of fruit in the mixture. That's what I told myself anyway as I ate a second slice. It could be iced and decorated and still be much healthier than a bought one.

Ready to be iced if you wish.

Dusted with icing sugar

This recipe will make 2x20 cm cakes and this time I made a loaf cake and a round one, I have also made a large 23 cm cake, and a couple of muffin size cakes which can be frozen. Whatever works for you will be fine.

Ingredients:

6 large apples, or 8 small, preferably Granny Smith or some other sour variety

200 g (1 cup) demerara or raw sugar (or use a mixture of brown and caster sugar)

2 eggs, lightly beaten

few drops vanilla extract

125 ml (1/2 cup) Extra Virgin Olive Oil

200 g very fresh walnuts, broken up

250 g (2 cups) self-raising flour

pinch salt,

1 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon mixed spice or baharat

Icing sugar and thick cream to serve

Instructions:

Preheat the oven to 180 deg. C. Grease and line two 20 cm round cake tins or use loaf tins. 

This is a sit down job. Peel and core your apples. Cut and dice into pieces the size of a 5 cent piece. 

Place the apple into a large mixing bowl and add the sugar, eggs, vanilla, oil and walnuts.

Sift in the flour, salt, and cinnamon, and stir to make a smooth batter.

Divide the batter between the tins, then bake for 40 minutes. Test to see if it is cooked by inserting a skewer into the mixture and if it comes out clean, voila the tins are ready to place on a cooling rack. 

Cool the cakes in the tins for a few minutes, then turn them out onto your wire rack to cool.

To serve, dust with icing sugar and serve with a dollop of thickened cream or yoghurt. 

I hope you are enjoying a relaxing weekend, wherever you are.

Warm wishes,

Pauline

Golden Zucchini and Spanish Onion Fritters

 

Who doesn't love a fritter, whether it's vegetarian or loaded with corned meat, or in the form of a rosti, a bhaji, or a potato cake. They are all based on the same theme, crunchy on the outside and delicious on the inside.What a wonderful surprise these fritters were, considering they are made with chickpea flour, and are gluten free, dairy free, and egg free, which isn't something I normally think about, so you can just about make them for everyone without needing to worry about any culinary issues. These are perfect for a meat free Monday dinner.

I purchased some chickpea flour from the supermarket especially for this recipe, after I had watched a cooking segment on the ABC News Breakfast programme (Australia), where Alice Zaslavsky, resident chef, presented them to the hosts Michael and Lisa and of course they were devouring them on air, how unkind, although they probably don't have time for brekkie before the show.  They looked delicious and made me just a bit peckish, I hadn't eaten brekkie either by then. Alice didn't actually cook them on the show, however there is a video on ABC Everyday of her making them, and I felt I needed to give them a try in my kitchen. 

Chickpea flour (or besan flour) whilst being free of gluten,  acts like egg when you add liquid to it. In this recipe the liquid from the zucchini after it rests with salt, is enough to bind the flour. As Alice said, the water you drain out of your chickpea tin can also act as a common plant-based egg replacement if necessary, aka aquafaba. The ratio of vegetable to flour is perfect in these fritters, however if you want to add more vegetable such as peas or grated carrot you can.

Let's Cook some fritters:

Ingredients:

Makes 10 - 12 fritters

400 g (3-4 medium sized ones) zucchini

100 g (1/2 a small one) Spanish or red onion

1 teaspoon salt flakes, plus extra for sprinkling

1 cup (110 g) chickpea (besan) flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

3 tablespoons olive oil

Method:

1. Use the grating function on your food processor to coarsely grate the zucchini and the onion, or do this using a hand held grater. I don't have a good relationship with graters so I avoid them whenever I can, but if you are ok with them use the coarsest teeth on your grater.

Sprinkle a teaspoon of salt flakes on top of the grated zucchini in a largish bowl and stir through the salt, mix it all up and let it rest for 5 - 10 minutes. It should get really juicy, as the zucchini releases all those lovely juices which binds the chickpea flour together.

2. Scatter the chickpea flour on top of the zucchini mixture, either through a sieve or by mixing it with your fingers to sift out any lumps. Sprinkle in the baking powder.  Stir all of this together with a spatula and it should start to come together to form a ball of batter in your bowl. If it is still too wet to come together, slowly add another tablespoon of chickpea flour until it binds together.

3. In a frypan, add two-thirds of the olive oil (2 tablespoons)  and when it starts to heat up, or "shimmer" add heaped tablespoons of the mixture into the pan, but not too closely together or it will be difficult to turn them over. They should be sizzling slightly. After putting the mixture in the pan, flatten each fritter slightly with your spatula or egg flipper. 

4. As the bases of the fritters start to cook they will become golden and crispy, and that is when you flip them over using your egg flipper and a spoon. Cook both sides, drain them on a kitchen towel on a plate, and whilst still hot, sprinkle lightly with salt flakes. Keep warm in the oven until they are all cooked.

The fritters will keep well in a covered container in the frig for 4-5 days, or an extra batch can be frozen, thawed out overnight and then reheated. I haven't done this, but Alice says to "whack'em in on a lined tray, crank up the oven to 160 deg.for 10-15 minutes, because by the time the oven's heated up, the middles have too."

Garnish with coriander or parsley and dive in.

Variations:

Add some frozen peas or corn to your vegetable combination. Just thaw them by pouring some boiling water over 1/2 cup of either, drain and add to the mixture. Other vegetables can also be used such as grated sweet potato, carrot, pumpkin or beetroot, how versatile is that?

Or add some spices such as smoky paprika, cumin, or curry powder, depends on what mood you are in, and what your gut tolerances are. Surprise your family by adding something different each time.

Thinking of all our friends overseas and in Australia who are still in lock down. Stay safe, the vaccinations can't come soon enough can they?

Happy cooking and delicious eating, 

Pauline

Melt in Your Mouth "Custard Kisses" for Valentine's Day

Happy Valentine's Day everyone. I found this nostalgic recipe for Custard Kisses in one of my Mother's old recipe books and I thought they would be perfect to make for Valentine's Day for a little treat. They are a beautiful, melt in the mouth, dainty biscuit, perfect to enjoy with a cup of tea.

Chicken Enchiladas

 

Mexican food is fresh, vibrant, delicious, and should be fun to cook and eat. It's an easy way to feed the family and they will love it. 

IN MY KITCHEN - February 2021

 January 2021 was a month of recovery and readjustment from Christmas holidays, concern over the Covid crisis, tropical heat, some tropical rain, reading good books, relaxing, and not that much cooking or gardening. We were in Cairns, Far North Queensland for Christmas and New Year, and drove home on the 2nd January, just in time before the roads flooded the next day near Ingham cutting off the Bruce Highway to all traffic. We drove carefully through some torrential rain that day, and it was lovely and quite a relief to arrive home. Despite a wonderful holiday, there's no place like our own home. 

When we're in Cairns we always go to Chef Link, a countertop store and warehouse which supplies all of the Cairns restaurants, cafes and bakeries with their catering requirements, but is also happy to sell to and assist members of the public at no extra cost or the need for an ABN. I love this shop, and they are always so helpful. They will also accept orders online. Mr. HRK was looking at their coffee cups, I was looking for bread making equipment, and anything else that caught my eagle eye.

This time I bought a Herbert Birnbaum, plastic polypropylene Brotform, or a bread proofing basket. Brotforms, Bannetons, and bread proofing baskets are all the same thing. This range is made in Germany, is guaranteed to last a lifetime, and is recyclable.  I can't wait to try it. No need to use a tea towel or any cloth to cover the base, it just needs to be misted and lightly floured and the dough placed in it to rise. If it works to my liking, I'll invest in a rectangular one for a large loaf as well. I have a couple of round cane bannetons which I bought at Chef Link during 2020 last year, but they need a tea towel insert to work. Can't have too many though I reckon. 

Then we ventured onto the shopping centres, enjoying the air conditioning during the Cairns heat,  and whilst in a kitchen shop, we bought a new chopping knife. The Japanese make great knives, and their packaging is very attractive and designed to house the knife very well. Mr. HRK likes to use a good, sharp knife when he's chopping and I'm very happy to support him with that.

It is a Baccarat Kiyoshi Japanese Stainless Steel 42012 15 cm Chefs knife. The packaging says it is inspired by the traditional Japanese craftsman and Samurai sword makers.The blades are made from premium Japanese Steel that has been mined in the same Japanese region of Chuo-Ku, Chiba since the middle of the last century. I hope that is all true because I love a good story about the kitchen items we buy.

I still can't bear to discard the beautiful packaging, so I store the knife in its packaging in a drawer.

Australia Day, always on the 26 January,  was somewhat of a meat fest here , when good friends Paul and Jenny, brought over some very large, marinated beef ribs which we cooked in our BBQ. 

I made a sourdough cob loaf to complement the meal, and I used my cane proofing basket for this one.

There were some delicious salads, mixed grain, potato and tomato.

We had a great time and ate and laughed a lot.

And for dessert, I made Mango, Lime and Coconut Panna Cotta which I wrote about in a previous post, and here is the link to the recipe if you missed it and are interested. The recipe serves 6 people.

The seasonal Bowen mangoes were delicious during December and January here, but are finished now making way for the southern stone fruits.

I haven't been cooking nearly as much as I usually do, blame the heat and the holiday vibe. However I made some delicious Chicken Burritos from scratch recently. Believe me, there were no El Paso spice mixes to be found in this recipe. I'll be publishing it on my blog shortly. I just have to make them again  to take a photo of the finished product. I have photos of the process, but I forgot to take a photo before they all disappeared. Familiar story?

Throughout January it has been very hot and humid and we ate lots of salads. Salads, salads, and more salads was my mantra. Last week, I made some comfort food though, as my gut was telling me to take a step back and just eat some plain steamed vegetables, chicken, brown rice and so forth. Part of the problem I think is that Mr. HRK is waiting to have surgery on his sinuses this month, and as a consequence can't taste anything, which is quite frustrating for him so I have been trying to spice my cooking up a bit more than usual so that he can hopefully taste some food. I might have overdone it with spices when I have actually cooked, so I am being careful for a while and eating blander foods, while he continues to add condiments like Kewpie Mayo with wasabi and sweet chilli jam to our meals which he loves.

I made one of my favourite comfort food dishes last week for us, Paleo Beef Chow Mein which just has a minimal amount of curry powder added and is full of vegetables.  Always a winner. I used cabbage instead of kale which is in the original recipe.

Beef Chow Mein with some Kewpie mayo added for Mr. HRK.

Lots of fresh green cabbage added, yum.

Because I haven't been doing that much cooking compared to what I normally do, it's been the perfect time to clean and reorganise my pantry, spice drawer and baking products. I discarded quite a lot of unnecessary clutter and have made some space for the rest of the year. Mind you my friends, I found a couple of duplicate spice jars, as the small jars are now arranged in alphabetical order. I wonder how long they will stay that way. However I am very happy with the result.

We are looking forward to watching some tennis this month, with the Australian Open Tennis Tournament starting tomorrow in Melbourne. The overseas tennis players are so happy to be here and to be able to play after not much competition in 2020 because of Covid. Hope it all goes well for everyone. The summer of tennis in Australia is a long standing tradition. We love our tennis.

I am sending this post to Sherry of Sherry's Pickings for the In My Kitchen event, that was started by Celia of Fig Jam and Lime Cordial,  If you would like to join in, send your post to Sherry by 13th of the month.  Or just head over to her blog to read more In My Kitchens.

 

That's all folks and thanks for visiting.

Best wishes.

Pauline

Mango, Lime and Coconut Panna Cotta

Australia Day tomorrow in the land Down Under, always the 26th January, when Aussies celebrate a Public Holiday by heading to the beach (whilst still practicing social distancing of course and avoiding the stingers here in North Queensland), or by having friends and family over for a late barbie in the arvo, playing some backyard cricket, and generally kicking back with a stubby or two (a bottle of beer that is), and some of the men might still be wearing stubbies (short shorts). It will be red wine for Mr. HRK and me, and celebrating how lucky we are to be living in this large sunburnt country of huge climatic extremes. I know I am glossing over the political arguments that always arise in the lead up to Australia Day, but I think I'll  leave that to the media and the politicians.

Lamb is often the meat of choice on Australia Day for the BBQ, or seafood, however we will be enjoying beef ribs this year with our good friends who are doing the marinating and we are doing the cooking.

It's my job to provide dessert, and generally host the meal, so whilst I still have some of the delicious Caramel Mango and Coconut Ice cream from a previous post still in my freezer, I also still have a few of the fresh mangoes in the frig that we picked ourselves. A chilled mango Panna Cotta  with sweet fresh mango seemed perfect as it can all be prepared the day before, and perhaps we will have just a smidgen of ice cream as well. The two desserts really are a perfect pairing, as the ingredients are quite similar, both cold, and will complement each other beautifully. Add a couple of meringues in place of the pavlova if you have them, and we are set. My friends are you still enjoying mangoes this summer? It is a short season for them from November to March approx., however they can be bought frozen now, so we can enjoy mango desserts all year round. No complaints here. As we had a few extra, we sliced and froze some mangoes last week, so now we can eat them throughout the year, much more reasonable than buying frozen mango at the supermarket.

INGREDIENTS:

300 g fresh diced mango (2 cups) , or thawed frozen mango

600 g Vanilla Custard, homemade or from a carton

70 g caster sugar (1/3 cup)

1/4 cup fresh lime juice (60 ml)

1 tablespoon finely grated lime zest

6 g small gelatine leaves (about 4)

2 cups (560 g) coconut flavoured yoghurt, lactose free will be fine

1 medium ripe mango (430 g), extra, thinly sliced for garnish

 100 g mini meringues for garnish if using

METHOD:

Pour your custard into a large bowl. I'll admit I guiltily bought the custard for this dish, as I was also baking sourdough bread this morning so time was at a premium. 

Then process the diced mango until smooth in your food processor.

Place the gelatine leaves in a small bowl of cold water until softened, allow about 5 minutes. Do this as close as possible to coincide with the lime mixture being taken off the heat, which is the next step.  Squeeze the excess moisture from the gelatine, and add the gelatine to the saucepan of heated lime juice and mango puree. Stir until the gelatine is dissolved.

Place the sugar, lime zest, lime juice, and just 1/4 cup of the mango puree in a medium saucepan. This mixture needs to be stirred over a medium heat until it reaches just below simmering point. You will see some steam start to come off the surface, but no bubbles. Allow about 3 minutes for this.

Now you need to work quickly. Immediately whisk the lime mixture, including the softened gelatine, into the custard. Spoon in the yoghurt and the remaining mango and whisk until smooth.

Strain this mixture through a fine sieve into a large jug. This might take a little time because of the sieving process, and you will be left with a small mixture of thick fruit pulp and custard in the sieve. It is quite tasty and nice with any leftover yoghurt, waste not want not. The panna cotta should be smooth and lump free.

Select 6 x 1 1/4 cup (310 ml) shallow bowls or ramekins, and pour the panna cotta mixture into them . Cover and refrigerate for at least 4 hours, or overnight until set.

I made these dishes late in the morning before lunch, and they were beautifully set by 5 pm that afternoon. Garnish the dishes with sliced mango, and mini meringues or whatever you wish really. Some toasted coconut flakes would also be nice. There was some multitasking this morning, with three sourdough loaves baked, whilst I did the prepping for the panna cotta. \

After I had taken the photo for this post, I said to Mr. HRK, " I think I might have put too much mango on the panna cotta for the photo." He said, " You can never have too much mango." Always helpful, he said, "I wouldn't use the toasted coconut flakes next time." 

This is the cob loaf I made this morning, and two other sandwich loaves to be sliced for the freezer.

Happy Australia Day, and to my Australian friends and any Aussies overseas,  how are you celebrating tomorrow?

Warm wishes

Pauline

Two memorable days in Valparaiso, Chile

I was reminded this week that around this time only last year we were in Valparaiso, Chile, which is about 80 kilometres from Santiago, and home to the Chilean Navy. Valparaiso is often referred to as the garden city, and indeed it was, however I remember it mainly for its spectacular seafood and zany and colourful street art. As none of us can travel overseas yet, I thought I would share our photos with you vicariously, and travel down memory lane or the streets of Valparaiso once again from our lounge chairs.

One of the highlights of our two days in Valapraiso was lunch at a beautiful little restaurant called Espiritu Santo, where I ate the best Ceviche I have ever had and Neil enjoyed a plate of black ink squid. I never thought I would see him order a dish like that but he loved it. Firstly though, every meal there must begin with a Pisco Sour, the traditional drink of Chile, and this one was based on wine. 

A very fresh and delicious Ceviche at Espiritu Santo, comprising all local and unfrozen seafood, and in true Chilean fashion scattered with corn and avocado. Every mouthful reminded me of the ocean. The secret to this Ceviche, was the freshest possible seafood caught just that morning and "cooked" in lots of lime juice.

Fresh Black Ink Squid which Mr. HRK really enjoyed.

There was also some very impressive original art painted on the wall inside our shipping container apartment at the Wine Box Hotel.

Beautiful gardens are an attraction at the entrance to Valparaiso.

Naval ships at the port

After a delicious complimentary breakfast at the Wine Box Hotel on their rooftop restaurant, we walked it off up and down the hills admiring the street art adorning the many houses. Valparaiso is full of surprises and the art makes a real statement. It is one of the many features that Valparaiso is renowned for.

For those of you that love cats.

Paintings of beautiful birds were very effective

I loved this  painted street, very huggable.

There were a few photograph sessions to send home.

What fun to have this painting on the front of your house.

A beautiful rose in one of the front gardens.

Waiting for a much needed coffee after walking all of those hills.

We continued to walk to the famous house of controversial Chilean Poet Laureat Pablo Neruda, very interesting, and yes there were more stairs.

This is the Naval Academy at Valparaiso.

 

On the drive to Valparaiso with our guide, we indulged in just a little wine tasting at Casablanca. Chilean wine is very good.

After revisiting my photos, I wonder how the restaurant, the hotel, and the people we met there are coping with the impact of Covid 19. I fear that they have had a very difficult time of it. I am so thankful we visited when we did, a once in a lifetime experience.

 I am making this fresh salad today which reminds me somehow of Chile where corn is added to everything. They also grow beautiful capsicums and other vegetables in the fields between Santiago and Valparaiso. If I add some cooked quinoa to this salad as well,  it will really embrace my memories of Chile and indeed Peru.

Ingredients:

1 roughly chopped Mango, or any firm mango
1 cup chopped cooked pumpkin
2 tablespoons chopped coriander of more if you really are a coriander fan (to taste really)
1 drained can of corn kernels
4 shredded lettuce leaves
2 cups roughly chopped cucumber
1 chopped red capsicum
2 cups finely chopped carrot
1 cup cranberries
1 drained can chickpeas
1 punnet chopped cherry tomatoes
1/2 cup chopped shallots or more if you like the zing
1/2 cup baby capers (optional)

1 cup cooked quinoa

Method:

Mix all the ingredients together and refrigerate. Add the pumpkin, mango and tomatoes just before serving if you prefer so it is all perfectly fresh, however this keeps in the refrigerator very well for a few days.

Warmest wishes,

Pauline