Curly Kale and Zucchini Salad

Mum and I made this gorgeous salad.

Kale is extremely good for you. High in iron, vitamins A, C an K, sulphur and fibre, anti-inflammatory and omega-3's. Apple cider vinegar is also anti-inflammatory, and contains the same important nutrients as apples - including pectin, beta-carotene and potassium - plus enzymes and amino acids formed during the fermentation process. The high potassium content encourages cell growth, and prevents that tired lethargic feeling you can get from lack of these nutrients. It also contains calcium and magnesium and enables the stomach to produce hydrochloric acid, which aids digestion. 

ingredients

1/4 red cabbage
1 bunch of Kale
2 zucchinis
1 carrot 
apple cider vinegar
baby tomatoes
a really good olive oil
salt and pepper

method

Mix equal amounts of vinegar and olive oil together for a dressing.
Finely slice the cabbage and Kale and soak in the dressing.
Peel the zucchini and carrot thinly or use a julienne noodle maker to cut long curly lengths.
Cut baby tomatoes in half
Add salt and pepper and toss


Add things like figs, avocado, chutney and ham....mmm

Homemade Traditional Apple Pie

My Homemade Traditional Apple Pie

Ingredients

1 1/4 cups plain flour

1/2 tsp salt

1 tbsp raw caster sugar

250g organic unsalted butter

1/4 cup milk

1kg apples

1/8 cup raw caster sugar

1/8 cup brown sugar

1/8 cup granulated sugar

1/4 tsp salt

1 tbsp cornflour

1 tsp cinnamon

Method

First, make the pastry. Have a bowl ready.

Chop the chilled butter into cubes and place on a bench with the flour and salt.

Use a rolling pin to roll the butter with the flour.

Do this for about a minute then return to the fridge in a bowl to re-chill the butter.

This is important as we are making nice flaky pastry and the butter has to remain cold to form layers without melting and forming globs.

Roll the mixture again, folding over a few times to keep mixture together.

Return to the bowl and add the milk. Bring together with your hands.

 Separate into two balls (1/3 and 2/3 of the mix)

Refridgerate both, separately covered in plastic wrap.

 Meanwhile, weigh out just under a kilo of mixed apples.

Peel (a ceramic peeler was excellent here), core and slice the apples.

Add cinnamon, sugars and salt. Leave in bowl to macerate for 15 minutes. 

Make a tea...peruse the garden...

Then, place the apples in a sieve or colander above the bowl to allow the juices to drain out.

While waiting for the apples to drain, roll out the pastry and line to pie dish.

Place larger refridgerated pastry on a well floured benchtop.

Allow to warm up for about 5 minutes then start rolling out.

Roll to the size of the pie dish plus an extra 10cm for the edges.

 

 Lay pastry over pie dish

 Trim edges with a sharp knife

Place in the fridge covered in plastic wrap.

Back to the apples: reduce the apple juices in a saucepan by about one third so they are syrupy.

Pour back into bowl with apples and add the cornflour and mix well.

Add this to the pie and return to the fridge.

Roll out the remaining dough into strips and make a lattice over the pie. 

Place in fridge covered for 30 minutes to allow the pastry to relax.

Preheat oven to 190 C, then bake for approximately 40-45 minutes.

Serve with creamy chardonnay!

Spicy chilli pork with knarly jerk hot sauce and salad

Ingredients (for 2 people)
salad:
200g Pork loin
2 cobs of corn
1 head of lettuce
bunch of mint
bunch of coriander
baby tomatoes

sauce:
6 ripe tomatoes
3 bay leaves
3 shallots
1 knob ginger
1 habanero chilli
3 cloves garlic


Method

Preheat oven to 180 degrees C.

Put all sauce ingredients in a blender and blend for 5mins.
Cook in a saucepan till thick and keep stirring while simmering it.

Blacken the corn on a griddle pan then place in the oven.
fry the pork till medium then place in the oven for 10 minutes.

Polish Pierogi

Last week I visited Leszek and Nicoles place and we made these delicious Polish dessert dumplings called pierogi. Before that we had such a nice soup, I really want to try and make it sometime, it was a sourdough and polish sausage and potato soup, served with edible brassica flowers :)  I also got to try some amazing cinnamon-apple and grapefruit and cherry flavoured polish vodka cocktails, the honey vodka was by far my favourite with the dessert..

Ingredients

300g plain flour
2 egg yolks
1 cup water (or enough)
1 pinch salt
blueberries
butter and cream

Method

Mix using a mixer with a dough hook all the ingredients except the blueberries.

Make a nice dough that is silky but doesnt stick to your hands.

Roll out to approx 3mm thickness and cut rounds with a cup or glass.


Add a few blueberries to the middle and crimp around the edges.

Boil in a pot of water for approximately 5 minutes.

Serve buttered, with cream sweetened with sugar and Polish Vodka!

Gabe's Popcorn

I tried to replicate an amazingly tasty popcorn variation Gabe and Shaz shared with me before we drove to Dan's place before a skiing weekend.
I throw in a wide range of random spices to popcorn and most things work
Chilli is good. 
Cocoa and brown sugar is also a goodie but I prefer savoury/lemon

Ingredients

Rice Bran Oil
Popcorn kernels

herb and garlic seasoning
lemon zest
lemon juice
rice wine vinegar
lemon infused olive oil
*optional raw caster sugar

Method

Mix dressing ingredients together to get a balance of savoury flavours - salty and vinegary. Add a touch of sugar if you like it like that.

Heat the RB Oil in a saucepan with a lid, enough to coat the bottom with about 2mm.
Add corn and put lid on and shake sporadically while the corn pops
Once most of the corn is popped, place in a big bowl and add some of the dressing, mix and add more to your taste.

Chia Ciabatta

I used the River Cottage Recipe Book, and advice from The Sourdough Companion website on adding chia seeds which absorb 6 times their mass in water.

 

Soak 2 tbsp of chia in 12 tbsp warm water.

Add this paste to the ciabatta dough before forming into loaves.

This keeps the bread more moist, and fresher for longer.

Maple Toffee Bacon

This is amazing in caesar salad or...any salad.

I do it on the stove so I can watch it, make sure it doesn’t burn, and taste test as I go, of course.

Some people may choose to oven bake it.

 

Method

Get whole strips of bacon, remove rind and cut it up into pieces.

Put in frypan, cook for a short period to render some fat, drain.

Add back to pan with enough maple syrup to coat bacon with a little extra to spare in the bottom of the pan, but not so its swimming.

Cook on low heat till it goes sticky. Approx 10-15mins. Remove from heat and put in a ceramic bowl to cool.

Optional: add extra maple syrup (swimming) and cook until it candies then spread out on a wooden board and fracture it into shards after its cooled. This makes harder pieces that can be added to salads and wont go soggy.