montjoye

I've been thinking of making Anzac biscuits since before Anzac day. I had no sweet biscuits left in the house, so today I finally made some. The catch is that I thoroughly dislike desecrated coconut. So here below is today's attempt. I've combined two recipes and replaced the coconut with nuts.

Mix in a large bowl:
1 extrovert cup of rolled oats
1 shy cup of sugar
1 cup plain flour
1/2 cup almond meal
1/2 cup chopped walnuts

Heat together until simmering:
125g butter
2T golden syrup
2T water
Then add 1t bicarb, stir, let it foam up, then mix into the dry ingredients

Form to balls, on trays, 180deg, ~15min. Cool on trays until they hold shape, loosen, finish cooling on racks.

They are pretty jolly good. I think I might use mixed chopped nuts next time. The walnuts are yummy but there would be better crunch from things like almonds.

Recording what I did so I don't have to work from memory next time.

From right to left:

the white ones are whipped almond (gluten free)
2egg whites, whipped
200g castor sugar, whipped in slowly
200g almond meal folded in.
spoon to tray- on reusable non stick mat or baking paper
bake ~25min at 150C

the darker domed ones are hazelnut almond (gluten free)
2egg whites
200g castor sugar
50g roast hazelnut meal
150g almond meal
mix/knead together
roll into balls
place on nonstick trays
bake ~25min at 150C

the flat ones* are lemon and contain gluten
1.5c SR flour
1c sugar
50g butter melted
4 egg yolks (from above)
1T grated lemon rind
1T lemon juice (approx)
mix/knead together
roll into balls, roll in almond meal
place on nonstick trays
bake ~15min at 180C

I made these in the order written above, all in the same bowl, then did a big wash up after. Quite efficient. The first two are based on information from Elspeth. The last is a family recipe from my childhood, tweaked to use up the egg yolks. Now I just need to pack them up for transport after they are properly cool.

Well I was aiming at jelly but didn't manage a set. The flavour is excellent though.

1kg mulberries
1kg granny smith apples- cored (except one) and chopped
(recipe said to core them all. I wish I'd cored none)

Put each fruit to different saucepan. Cover with water. Boil each until soft. Strain through separate bags. combine equal volume of juice from each fruit (it was close enough, I used the lot). Add 2/3cup sugar for each cup of juice. (add juice of one lemon, this was not in the recipe). Heat gently until sugar dissolved. Boil until set.

Except I boiled for an hour and didn't get a set. That long boiling made for a very reduced and thus flavoursome sauce though. I did get a very soft set on the partial jar that included pan scrapings, but not on the full jars. I do wonder what would have happened if I hadn't cored the apples? Anyway, this should still be amazing on pancakes, icecream, yoghurt etc.

I rather like my new small labels that I bought with preserves in mind. A pricey solution upfront but an easy one and that packet should last a while. Any more than a jar or two and I'm not keen on handwriting the labels.

Mrsbrown, MsNotagoth and I put vast amounts of pig into various cures tonight. If all goes well, we will have ginormous quantities of bacon, pancetta and a pork version of bresaola. Maybe more words later when I'm not so shattered tired.

We concluded that if there is a next time, we should mix up the cures in advance.

I'm off to put the piggy cloths in to wash. Good night.



http://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/gallery/2011/may/13/how-make-bresaola-in-pictures#/?picture=373889060&index=0

http://adventureswiththepig.wordpress.com/tag/prague-powder/

http://mistermeatball.blogspot.com.au/2011/10/how-to-make-pancetta.html

The ermine one had goslings for sale, so I put my hand up for one for Chrissie lunch. There was a little nervousness as not only had I and my parents never cooked one, none of us had ever eaten one either. But we were brave, goose eventually turned up and was cooked.

I basically used a modificaiton of St Stephanie's roast chicken method*.  The stuffing was my version of a combination of a few recipes**

It was fabulous! that meat you can see below is breast meat believe it or not. So rich and tasty. Just as well we were only 3. The portions underneath the bird really needed more time in the oven.

Potato salad with mustard, mayo, parsley. Tomato salad with basil, little baby cheeses and balsamic. Orange salad with mint, macadamia oil and good white wine vinegar. Pear salad with spinach, fetta, walnuts and pear vinegar. Yum, yum.

Now the bones are boiling for stock, the tablecloth, napkins etc are being washed and the folks are asleep :-)





* 180C fan forced, rack in the pan, 1cm water. 30min with the bird on one side, 30 min the other, 1hr breast up. this goose was just shy of 3kg and needed more time. If I ever have opportunity for another try, then longer on each side would be useful I think.

**
2c good bread crumbs, dried
one stick celery chopped
grated rind one lemon
2 mushrooms chopped
2 egg yolks
splash sherry, olive oil
thyme, sage, S+P

• 1 tsp black peppercorns
• 1 tsp anise seeds
• 6 cloves
• 1/2 cinnamon stick
• 2 dried bay leaves, crumbled
• 2 cups dry red wine
• 1.25kg white sugar
• 2 kg plums
• 1/3 cup (80ml) lemon juice

1. Place a couple of small saucers in the freezer to chill. Place spices, bay leaves, wine and 1 cup sugar in a large, wide, heavy-based saucepan and stir over medium heat until sugar dissolves. Bring to the boil then simmer for 10 minutes. Turn off heat and leave to cool. When cool, strain though a fine sieve over a bowl.
2. Return strained syrup to pan with 1 cup water and plums. Bring to the boil. Cover with a lid and simmer over low-medium heat for 35 minutes.
3. Uncover pan. Add lemon juice and remaining sugar. Cook, stirring, until sugar dissolves. Bring to the boil then simmer, uncovered, over medium heat, skimming any scum from top, for 45-50 minutes or until jam jells when tested. To test, place a small spoonful on a chilled saucer then return to freezer for 1 minute. Run your finger through chilled jam; it should be the consistency of honey and wrinkle slightly when pushed. Once at this stage, pour into hot sterilised jars and seal.

from Taste.com.au

I scaled this up to 3kg plums, also added a moule step at the end of step 2. As best I could tell, very late at night and exhausted, it tastes very promising. I'm hopeful this will be a very good thing.

well runny jam or the latest batch of apricot sauce. It's yummy whatever one calls it. This year I've made it smoother, I blended up the fruit as well as using grated lemon rind and ground cinnamon.

Also 3kg of apricots aren't taking up space in my freezer. Neither are 800g of passion fruit pulp- that is now sauce in jars too, a speriment, not sure what I will do with it but hopefully I'll think of something.

I'm keen to make something out of assassinus's plums when they are ripe. I'm thinking something like an asian plum sauce though that is supposed to be made with red plums.



Passionfruit Sauce
800g frozen pulp
500g sugar
juice one lemon

boil half hour
bottle

Ruddy site wouldn't let me copy this electronically so here it is typed out.

125g butter
3/4c castor sugar
2 eggs
2c SR flour
1/2c milk
pulp 4-5 passionfruil

cream butter/sugar, beat in eggs. Beat in sifted flour alternating with milk. beat in passionfruit pulp.
grease and flour tin. Bake mod oven 40min. Or 25 min for two sandwich tins. Feeds about 12.


1T soft butter
1 1/2c icing sugar
pulp 2-3 passionfruit
mix up in turn. half to middle, half to top of cake. Or maybe keep two thin cakes separate for children or lots of people.

Twas Most Yummy. Can you tell I was trying to use up my fruit? I'm holding off pruning the vine. Need to do it soon but there is plenty still only half ripe.

I do however recommend making sure you have lowered the beaters before turning them on. Actually, your mixer will probably insist you do that. My ancient one, originally Mama's, is perfectly happy for one to turn them on while raised and flings mixture about the room with gay abandon. Cake would have been a bit bigger if I hadn't done that :)