I quite like master stock and the lovely aromats that go into it. We have a number of chicken and duck dishes that use master stock so it can get a bit of a work out in our house. In case you are interested, my 'secret' recipe is basically a blend of a few that I found on the 'net.
Now, the weather is getting chilly and so warm drinks are favoured over cold, especially in the evening. A few day ago I thought I'd make some mulled wine and a quick google search gave me plenty of options. Jamie Oliver had what looked like a particularly tasty drop so I made a small batch of that, minus the star anise because I just couldn't find it any where.
It was good, but definitely lacked brandy.
Of course I thought the brandy would just improve it, so the next night I made the same recipe with the addition of the brandy and star anise.
The flavours were good, but it took me a bit to finally put my finger on what in particular it was that was so interesting about this drink.
Hmmm, what is in it? Star anise, cloves, cinnamon, citrus peel... All of those are in both my master stock and mulled wine. They also both have wine (shao xing/ red). Now I'm not about to start adding soy sauce, garlic and ginger to my mulled wine, or sugar and brandy to my master stock, but the similarities were perhaps a little too close for comfort.
It was worth trying something new but given I'm quite happy with the master stock blend, we'll need to go with a different mulled wine recipe in the future!
Wednesday, June 13, 2012
Sunday, June 10, 2012
Planning in the patch
Today's task is tackling the patch. We have a fair bit of clearing and tidying to do in there but many hands make light work.
The seeds that my littlies and I sowed a while ago are growing nicely but I'd like to get some more in soon.
Unfortunately it's a bit cold for direct sown seeds to germinate too well at the moment, but there are a few options. I could buy some seedlings, or sow into paper pots and keep them inside or in the green house or sow under a cloche and hope for the best.
For now we'll get the patch looking neat and plan out where to from there.
The seeds that my littlies and I sowed a while ago are growing nicely but I'd like to get some more in soon.
Unfortunately it's a bit cold for direct sown seeds to germinate too well at the moment, but there are a few options. I could buy some seedlings, or sow into paper pots and keep them inside or in the green house or sow under a cloche and hope for the best.
For now we'll get the patch looking neat and plan out where to from there.
Monday, June 4, 2012
How to grow a planet
I caught the end of a documentary on the telly last night and it looked pretty interesting so I've just looked it up on ABC iView to watch it all. It is called "How to grow a planet", a BBC Scotland production presented by Professor Iain Stewart.
Professor Stewart is actually a geologist, but in the opening minute of so he captured my thoughts so well in how he talks about how amazing seeds are. How something so tiny and seemingly insignificant can grow into something truly awe-inspiring is one of the things that I love most about gardening.
I'm looking forward to the rest of the series now!
Professor Stewart is actually a geologist, but in the opening minute of so he captured my thoughts so well in how he talks about how amazing seeds are. How something so tiny and seemingly insignificant can grow into something truly awe-inspiring is one of the things that I love most about gardening.
I'm looking forward to the rest of the series now!
Sunday, June 3, 2012
Another batch
My dehydrated fruit is also finished and ready for lunch boxes during the week. Yum.
Saturday, June 2, 2012
English muffins
It is wet and dreary here. With working bees planned and things to do outside, the rain has put a dampener on some of our plans.
But when it is cold and wet, it feels like good baking weather. Today I thought I'd try something that I haven't made before. English muffins.
You know the kind, flat buns that you split in two and toast in the toaster.
I was actually surprised how easy they were. I put the warm milk (225ml), soft butter (55g), flour (450g), yeast (2tsp), salt (1tsp) and sugar (1tsp) in the breadmaker to make the dough. Then I gave it a quick knead and patted it flat before cutting out circles with a cookie cutter (a bit like making scones). I sprinkled a little polenta over them and cooked in an oiled pan on low heat for 7 minutes each side.
I would post a picture, but they were eaten before they cooled because they were just so good. They were so simple too, I don't know if I'll buy English muffins from the store again!
But when it is cold and wet, it feels like good baking weather. Today I thought I'd try something that I haven't made before. English muffins.
You know the kind, flat buns that you split in two and toast in the toaster.
I was actually surprised how easy they were. I put the warm milk (225ml), soft butter (55g), flour (450g), yeast (2tsp), salt (1tsp) and sugar (1tsp) in the breadmaker to make the dough. Then I gave it a quick knead and patted it flat before cutting out circles with a cookie cutter (a bit like making scones). I sprinkled a little polenta over them and cooked in an oiled pan on low heat for 7 minutes each side.
I would post a picture, but they were eaten before they cooled because they were just so good. They were so simple too, I don't know if I'll buy English muffins from the store again!
Friday, June 1, 2012
Pasta sauce?
My husband makes delicious pasta sauce, so when it is his turn to cook pasta is a favourite.
He made pasta with a tomato based sauce a few nights ago and it was different to the normal sauces that he makes. Sure, there is variation, but this was different and we couldn't quite pick why. He'd used the same basic ingredients as usual. We've been making tomato based things with my bottled tomatoes from our garden for a while and they are delicious.
At dinner time it was like we we doing a MasterChef challenge of picking the mystery ingredient only we knew everything that went into the sauce and we still couldn't pick the flavour. It was a delicious sauce. Full of flavour tasty and sweet.
Was it the Hungarian paprika? Is that sweeter than Sweet paprika? I don't know... It was home grown tomatoes, and they are much tastier than regular canned tomatoes...?
It has remained a delicious mystery.
Until this morning when I was looking in the fridge. You see, I made this batch of tomato chutney in the breadmaker which hadn't quite thickened enough. It was really yummy on sandwiches so I had been using it, but I probably just needed to put it back on the stove and thicken it up.
The tomato chutney was no where to be found. I opened the dishwasher and jar from the chutney was sitting there sparkling clean.
As it turns out pasta sauce is delicious with a couple of jars of bottled tomatoes and a jar of homemade tomato chutney. It adds complexities that are hard to describe, yet pleasing to the taste buds.
He made pasta with a tomato based sauce a few nights ago and it was different to the normal sauces that he makes. Sure, there is variation, but this was different and we couldn't quite pick why. He'd used the same basic ingredients as usual. We've been making tomato based things with my bottled tomatoes from our garden for a while and they are delicious.
At dinner time it was like we we doing a MasterChef challenge of picking the mystery ingredient only we knew everything that went into the sauce and we still couldn't pick the flavour. It was a delicious sauce. Full of flavour tasty and sweet.
Was it the Hungarian paprika? Is that sweeter than Sweet paprika? I don't know... It was home grown tomatoes, and they are much tastier than regular canned tomatoes...?
It has remained a delicious mystery.
Until this morning when I was looking in the fridge. You see, I made this batch of tomato chutney in the breadmaker which hadn't quite thickened enough. It was really yummy on sandwiches so I had been using it, but I probably just needed to put it back on the stove and thicken it up.
The tomato chutney was no where to be found. I opened the dishwasher and jar from the chutney was sitting there sparkling clean.
As it turns out pasta sauce is delicious with a couple of jars of bottled tomatoes and a jar of homemade tomato chutney. It adds complexities that are hard to describe, yet pleasing to the taste buds.
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