Creme Brulee a la Maple

This creme brulee has a voice.

Mum got me a blowtorch and after making a huge Pavlova I took the opportunity to make this with the leftover egg yolks to serve on the side. It was liked. The bowls were scraped clean because I added a bit of extra maple syrup at the bottom....

I used the recipe from "O Pistachio"

Spring Potato and Egg Salad

Spring Potato and Egg Salad

Ingredients

6 fresh free range farm eggs, hard boiled

handful of fresh chives with flowers

handful of fresh parsley

1 spring onion, finely sliced

1 gherkin, diced into tiny cubes.

1 tbsp capers

2 desiree potatoes, peeled

4 kipfler potatoes, peeled

1 carrot, peeled, halved lengthways and finely sliced

3 tbsp natural greek yoghurt

1 tbsp dijonaise

Method

Boil potatoes in salted water till just done but remain firm (not soft). Set aside to steam off.

Cut boiled eggs into quarters.

Dice the potatoes into chunks.

Finely chop the parsley and chives and add half to the yoghurt and dijonaise. Season.

Mix the potatoes into the dressing with the other ingredients.

Scatter the eggs on top and the remaining herbs.

Season with Pepper.

Garnish with chive flowers.

Chicken Carbonara (w/ Spinach and Garlic Fettucini)

Chicken Carbonara w/ Spinach and Garlic Fettucini

Ingredients

1 tbsp olive oil

1 clove garlic, crushed

1 chicken breast diced into 2cm chunks

Mulga smoked bacon, 2 x 0.5cm slices, cut into 1x3cm strips

Proscuitto 2 x 0.5 cm slices, cut into 0.2x1cm strips

2 handfuls button mushrooms, sliced

2 large fresh free range farm eggs, whisked briefly

handful of pecorino pepato finely grated

1/2 cup duralina (durum wheat semolina flour)

1/2 cup tipo '00' flour

1 fresh free range farm egg

Cooked baby spinach leaves, squeezed of juices into a ball the size of an egg.

1 clove garlic, crushed

optional: (+ - 1 egg yolk)

Method

To make the pasta combine the duralina, tipo flour, 1 whole egg, spinach and garlic in a food processor and pulse till crumbs form. Add a little more flour if it is too sticky. Add the extra egg yolk if it is too dry.

Knead briefly into a ball. It should be a firm, mouldable consistency.

Geoff and his pet pasta:

Wrap in plastic and place in fridge for at least 20 minutes. Pour yourself a nice drink, Semillion was our choice.

Meanwhile prepare the other ingredients.

Remove the dough from the fridge. Secure the Pasta Maker and roll out the dough working it through the first setting a few times while repeatedly folding the dough onto itself to create a silky consistency.

Continue to the 7th setting (2 down from the thinnest).

Cut the fettucini yourself with a knife by rolling up the sheet or pass through a fettucini cutter.

Lovely green pasta.
Toss with flour on the bench and set aside.

Heat the olive oil in a pan and saute the garlic and chicken with some salt and pepper. Once browned, add the bacon and proscuitto and cook for 5 minutes. Add the mushrooms and cook till browned.

Bring a pot of water to the boil and salt generously. Add the pasta and stir immediately to stop sticking.

Cook for 5-8 minutes. Dan put in his token 5 minutes of assistance!

Remove with tongs and add to the saute pan. take the pan off the heat and add the two whole eggs. Stir through to cover the pasta. Do not stir too vigorously as the eggs will scramble. This is still nice though, dare I say it.

Add more pepper to taste and serve with a fine grating of pecorino pepato.

Flaky Frittata

Yesterday I cooked a stir fry with soft tofu. It was really nice – I like its texture, it is like ricotta cheese. I bought some filo pastry to inspire me to invent something new yesterday, so today I invented a recipe to use it with Tofu:


Flaky Frittata

Filo pastry
1/2 cup sliced sweet potato or kumara
1/2 cup sliced white potato
1 cup sliced zucchini
6-8 Large Free range farm Eggs
1 packet Soft organic tofu
1 punnet Cherry tomatoes
½ cup Ricotta cheese
Your choice of herb (sage, oregano, rosemary or thyme work well)
Pecorino pepato
Handful of olives for top



1. Slice potato and sweet potato thinly (2-3mm) with a good sharp knife, and microwave for three mins covered with a little water. Drain and set aside.

2. Place filo pastry in a oiled baking tray or pie dish; two sheets at a time brushing with butter or olive oil in between. Allow the corners to flair out over the edges.

3. Beat eggs and season with pepper and salt

4. Place a layer of mixed sweet & white potato & zucchini slices in bottom, sprinkle selected herbs from your garden, a handful of halved cherry tomatoes, and some ricotta in the gaps. Add extra salt and pepper if desired.

5. Pour some beaten egg mixture over this layer to just cover it

6. Place a layer of thinly sliced tofu.

7. Repeat steps 4-6 once more

8. Finish with a layer of potato and scatter olives over the top with a sprinkling of herbs and pecorino pepato.

9. Bake at 180°C until browned and crispy


I think this recipe would be a great brunch recipie for a lazy weekend at home. I might cook it this Sunday and go for a run and get the paper on the way back while its cooking!

Sunny Sunday morning

This morning I had a nice walk in the park, then I swung by the local indian store to get some spices and some eggs from their chickens and desperately want my own chickens.

I trundled home very happy with myself, loving the almost-quietness of westmead; where complete quietness is sporadically accentuated by the subtle sounds of people having tea on their balconies, a man riding a bike down the shop, a lone car off for the day somewhere, morning birds chirping and whilstling, a lady walking down the street in her flowing orange weekend saree with an almost undiscernable pit-pat of her slippered feet, and the little indian kid next door playing cricket with his dad in the park at the end of the street. The sky, equally blue and clouded with light grey marshmellowing shapes, created a cosy, shaded, but bright, clear and clean type of day in the streets of Westmead.

Despite my positive outlook on life here I deeply desire to be somewhere else.

I have had a pretty stressful couple of weeks at work because I am really passionate about what i am doing, and the problems that crop up make me want to study all night when I get home and get there as early as possible the next morning to start back on them again. I decided that this weekend I would have some Rachel Time, and do what I love - bushwalking on Sat, lazing and cooking and reading on Sunday. So today I got home from my shop and had an invigorating shower and tended to my scratches from yesterday (went for an exploratory walk in the Wollemi) and watered my ferns on the balcony.

I then cooked a delicious breakfast: Smoked salmon, grilled tomatoes, mushrooms, shallots and perfect poached eggs with toasted yeeros leb bread.


Anna, a friend of my sisters, has a blog on home cooked food and I would like to thank her for inspiring me to make one so I can share my experiments. Her Blog is here.
Anna and my sister Julie work at WWF and are organising Earth Hour 2009.
With this in mind, I calculated my carbon footprint this morning after breakfast; My outcome is 1.7 earths. It isn't good, but it could be worse. It makes me feel driven towards building my own sustainable house - because at the moment that is the only thing I cannot change. I eat fresh produce, use energy efficient lighting and candles at dinner, gas stove, not much meat (though not much fish - I should increase that) and dont drive a car much at all. I ride my bike and grow as much as I can. I will keep getting better into the future. I want to plan my life away from the city. I have to listen to myself and know where I want to head, where I will find a home one day. It wont be here.

Calculate your carbon footprint here: (it doesnt take long)

http://wwf.org.au/footprint/calculator/