Strawberry Sandwich

I have mentioned before that I don't have a "sweet tooth", rarely craving anything desert-like beyond fruit, nuts and perhaps some goats/sheeps milk yoghurt. However, since my recent illness my body has been a bit deflated nutritionally, and although I am trying to eat lots of fresh fruit, veggies, nuts and legumes - which I usually do anyway, I have felt like being a bit "naughty" and indulging in some fat and sugar filled delights! My latest sweet treat creation was a thoroughly indulgent strawberry sandwich, inspired by a multitude of eggs - which my chickens saw fit to continue laying although it took every once of my strength to drag myself out of bed to collect them daily, and, an abundance of luscious and deliciously sweet mid-season strawberries. I'm not lying when I say that this sandwich cake is devilishly indulgent, and although it bordered on being too sweet for me - whilst still being totally moreish and irresistible, my famously sweet toothed husband managed to devour two large pieces effortlessly in one sitting - the glutton! Happy Baking.

Pastry Cream
3/4 cup soy milk
1 tsp vanilla extract
3 egg yolks
1/3 cup caster sugar
2 heaped tbsp cornflour

Place soy milk and vanilla in a small saucepan and bring to the boil, making sure it does not boil over. Beat remaining ingredients with electric mixer until thick, then slowly add milk, beating constantly until combined and frothy. Return mixture to saucepan and continue to mix thoroughly over heat until thickened. Place into a bowl and place plastic wrap over surface of cream to ensure skin does not form. Refrigerate until cool.

Cake
3 x 60gr eggs
180gr nuttelex
180gr caster sugar
180gr self-raising flour


Preheat oven to 180 degrees celsius. Line and oil a 20cm deep sided cake tin.
With electric mixer beat nuttelex and sugar together until light and fluffy. Continue to mix whilst adding eggs, one at a time. Mix to combine and enlarge. Sift in flour and stir with a wooden spoon until thoroughly combined. Spoon mixture into cake tin, smoothing out top with a spoon that has been dipped in hot water. Bake for 25 mins or until golden and the top springs back when touched. Turn out onto a wire rack and let cool. When cool use a serrated knife to carefully cut through the cake longways, separate the two halves.

To assemble
Liberally coat the bottom piece of the cake with strawberry or mixed berry jam and top with freshly sliced strawberries. Coat the cut side of the top piece of cake with the pastry cream then gently turn this onto the bottom piece. Finally, dust with icing sugar.

Vegetable and lemon soup

I've been a bit quiet with posting lately due to contracting the "flu", which everyone I know seems to have had or has. I wasn't very hungry for a week or so, and found myself sipping on simple veggie broths made out of vegetable or vegetarian chicken stock, and if I was up to it, perhaps a sprinkling of veggies. However, before I succumbed to the worst of the illness I made this healthy and hearty soup in a last ditch effort to ward off the evil virus which was intent on seeing me spend a miserable week in bed. Obviously it did not have the desired effect, as three weeks later I still don't feel 100%. Nevertheless, it was yummy and supplied my body with a multitude of nutrients which, when I was unable to eat for a number of days it promptly utilised.
I must say that the aroma from the simmering stock was overwhelmingly delicious, and the smells which lingered in my shut-up tight house, delightfully comforting. The yoghurt proved to be an explosion of taste bud tingling flavours which I can't wait to try in future recipes, although, it is probably not the best addition for anyone that has a "chesty" illness. The stock will keep in the refrigerator for a few days and could be used to add a "zestiness" to other dishes or consumed as a simple broth by those who are perhaps not feeling the best. I hope that even if you aren't feeling 100% you gain comfort from this delicious soup.

Heat 2 tbsp of olive oil in a large stockpot and add
1 onion roughly diced
6cm piece knob of ginger roughly chopped
4 cloves garlic roughly chopped
1 tsp crushed chilies
6 bay leaves
1 tsp peppercorns
2 cups roughly chopped root vegetables
leaves off a bunch of celery
big handful of thyme
bunch of flat leaf parsley

Saute for a couple of minutes to release flavours, then add 1 lemon squeezed then roughly chopped, 2 tsp salt and 2l of water. Cover then bring just to the boil before reducing heat and simmering for up to 2 hours. Allow stock to cool.

Peel and dice 1 large potato, 1 large carrot, 1 small swede and 1 large yellow button squash. Add a knob of nuttelex or butter alternative to a saucepan and saute for 5 mins or until veggies start to soften. Add 1/4 cup of dry sherry and evaporate off slightly. Add 6 cups of strained stock and season if needed. Bring to a simmer then reduce heat and cook for 20-30 mins until veggies are tender, adding 1 cup of peas in the last couple of minutes.

For the yoghurt, combine:
1/4 cup finely diced coriander
2 tbsp preserved lemons finely diced
1/2 cup of sheep's yoghurt (or any type of plain yoghurt)
pinch of salt
good glug of olive oil

Mother of Vinegar

I thought I would share with you a phenomenon I have been observing in my kitchen.

I'd purchased this bottle of white wine vinegar, forgetting I already had an open bottle. When I realised my faux pas I chose to finish off the older bottle, reserving this opened yet hardly used bottle. One day late last year, whilst digging into the depths of the cupboard where I had stored it, I was fascinated to discover that unusual jelly like "rings" were forming within the liquid. Curiosity got the better of me, so I googled this strange phenomenon and concluded it could only be the substance known as 'Mother of vinegar'. Forming within fermenting liquids, 'mother' is composed of cellulose and acetic acid bacteria. As strange as it may look it is a perfectly harmless substance and in fact, is believed by some to have a multitude of health benefits. It can also be used to 'start' vinegar from wine. To accelerate the rate of production of 'mother' in this particular bottle, I left it in a sunny position on the kitchen bench.

Due to an unfortunate altercation with the cat, this bottle of 'motherish' liquid is now decomposing in the vegetable garden, and if I decide to ferment my own vinegar I will have to purchase some 'mother' to start it with. Oh, the joys of being 'ruled' by mischievous cats!

French lentil soup / stew

Over the past week a number of my neighbours have been bedridden by various strains of the "flu". Thus, I thought it a nice gesture to distribute some warming and nutritious lentil soup. In a previous post I mentioned my affinity for French/puy lentils. I know that chefs/cooks like these particular lentils for their ability to retain their shape and texture during cooking, so I often come across them in various recipe books/magazines. Whilst browsing Skye Gyngell's: A Year in My Kitchen, I was pleasantly surprised and inspired by her recipe for Braised lentils. Although this recipe is modelled on Skye's I have added/omitted a few ingredients and chosen to serve mine as a thick soup/stew. Also, after cooking I chose not to remove the vegetables, instead choosing to let it cool before refrigerating overnight and then reheating the next day after cutting down some of the biggest chunks of vegetables. In hindsight I should have cut the vegetables smaller to start with, but how boring would life be if we all knew what we were doing to start with!

375gr puy lentils rinsed

stalk of celery roughly chopped

1 onion peeled and roughly chopped

1 carrot roughly chopped

3 cloves garlic peeled and roughly chopped

a good knob of fresh ginger peeled and roughly chopped

4 bay leaves

4 dried red chillies

handful of parsley roughly chopped

handful of coriander including roots roughly chopped

2 vegetarian chicken style stock cubes crumbled

1 tsp sugar

1 tsp white pepper

Place all ingredients into a stockpot, make sure lentils are covered with water and bring to the boil. Reduce heat and simmer covered for around 30 minutes or until lentils are cooked but still retain shape. Remove from heat and cool, then refrigerate over night. When ready to serve bring back to room temperature and reheat.

Serve with some generously buttered soft bread.

Breakfast Muffins

For an easy breakfast, as an accompaniment to a more substantial breakfast, or as a "snack" to keep you going until brunch, these tasty and hearty vegetable breakfast muffins will be enjoyed by all. Once you've made them I'm sure you'll find yourself an expert and have the confidence to vary the vegetable component on a whim, or as seasonal produce becomes available. If you'd rather be sleeping in than spending time (15minutes) preparing them, have the mixture prepared the night before and refrigerate until you are ready to bake them in the morning. Alternatively, bake them in the evening and reheat for a minute in the microwave in the morning - delicious!
I think the best way to approach making these yummy muffins is not to be too pedantic. Add whatever vegetables you feel will go. Just make sure the batter isn't dry to the point of dough or wet like pancake batter. The best consistency is more towards that of a not quite smooth batter.

2 carrots grated
1/2 red capsicum diced
1 zucchini grated
1/3 cup fetta crumbled
2 cups self-raising flour sifted
1 tsp ground chili
1 tbsp dried herbs
pinch asafoetida
1 tbsp caster sugar
salt and pepper
2 eggs lightly whisked
1 cup soy milk
1/3 cup vegetable oil

Heat oven to 210 degrees celsius and oil a 12 hole muffin tin.
Add vegetables and fetta to a large bowl and mix in flour, chili, herbs, salt, pepper, asafoetida and sugar. Make a well in centre of dry ingredients and add combined wet ingredients. Mix with a fork to combine, however, you don't want the batter smooth.
Spoon batter into prepared tins and bake for 20-25 minutes or until puffed and golden. Let muffins rest for a few minuted in tin before turning out onto wire rack to cool.

Vegetarian Birthday "Cake"

Well, I can't take the credit for this delicious idea as it was recently part of a Birthday gift from my Mother to me! This photo does not however do this delectable creation justice, but as we were all in such a hurry to savour this artistic creation we couldn't dither with camera formalities. Not only did this inspiring "Cake" look fantastic it tasted absolutely Divine. If I'd been selfish and glutinous and devoured it all myself I may have thought it was because I'm not accustomed to eating sweeet and mouthwatering "cream", but everyone, including my sweets connoisseur husband, thought it tasted absolutely magical! Although it is a no-bake "cake" and consists of relatively few ingredients it does require a bit of loving care and artistic flair to create. I would also suggest you splurge a bit and use the best quality ingredients available.

You will need:

Lots of fresh berries. Mum used strawberries and blueberries which, although not quite in season at the time, were still succulent, juicy and flavoursome.

At least 20 little meringues. The ones on this cake were shaped like love hearts!

A container of vegan soy cream - DIVINE!!!

A dash of sugar tohelp beat the cream.

A vessel of some sort - you could even omit the little meringues and fill one large one.

LOTS of imagination and creativity to assemble it into a "cake" inspired by Love.

What I adore about this idea is that you can make it as small or large as you want, and as elaborate or simple as you desire, it's all about unleashing your creativity and the love you have for the one you are creating it for.

Decorating with chillies

Despite some very cool and wet weather lately, there is a proliferation of ripe chillies on the neighbourhood's chili plants. Habernero, and the vivid red and very hot variety commonly known as birds eye, appear to be the most grown in our domestic gardens. Obviously because of the intensity of these two varieties it is impossible to consume too many too often. One neighbour has 3 birds eye chili plants up to 1.5 meters in height which literally have hundreds of ripe and ready to eat chillies at any one time! Having experimented using them in a multitude of ways from chili jam to a strangely delicious chili dessert I must say I am almost over using chillies for the time being! But what to do with the multitude still left? Chillies freeze well if double bagged but since my freezer was already bursting at the seems with a lifetimes supply I thought I would experiment with some decorative uses for chillies. On the Internet I found a multitude of ideas for chillies and was especially enamoured with the idea of chili ristras. I found the traditional method of tying each chili individually a bit overwhelming, so with a sharp needle and some strong thread I threaded each chili on through its intact stem. The above photo is of the first ristra I made which took me a couple of hours whilst sitting in front of the television one night. Since then I have made a number of others, experimenting with height, thickness and incorporating a couple of other varieties of chillies. If you have a glut of chilies I would definitely recommend you spend a few hours in creating such pleasant decorations as these. Like I said we've had quite a bit of wet weather here lately, however I waited until a sunnny day when the chillies were dry before I picked them. I didn't worry about washing them as they were pesticide free to start with and I figured had already been thoroughly washed! Remember chillies are hot and the substance which gives them this heat - capsaicin, will transfer to your hand when handling, so don't rub your eyes/face, and wash your hands extra thoroughly when finished. It's been over a month since I made this first ristra and the chillies are beginning to shrivel up and take on a dried appearance which is fine by me, as I'll have some beautifully dried chillies to experiment with in the future! Hacer feliz de ristra! Happy ristra making!