Tag Archives: family

Apricot Jam from Dried Apricots

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Everyone loves apricot jam but the fresh fruit is in season for such a short time and expensive. Using dried apricots is the answer. This recipe comes from Aussie cook Matthew Evans, although I’ve cut down considerably on the sugar.

If you live on your own and don’t think you can manage to eat it all, a jar of jam makes a great gift for friends. And a dollop on Greek yoghurt is divine. Or use it instead of Lemon Curd in these delicious and quick Blueberry Parfaits.

500g dried apricots
1.5L (6 cups) water
2 cinnamon sticks (optional)
Juice of 1 large lemon
1-2 cups sugar

Place apricots in a large, heavy-based saucepan or jam pan. Add the water and leave to soak overnight. Add cinnamon sticks and simmer for 20 mnutes or until the fruit is soft. Remove cinnamon sticks if using, add the lemon juice and one cup of sugar.

Cook for a few minutes or until the sugar has dissolved, then taste and add more sugar as required. I used about a cup and a half but we don’t like our jam too sweet.

At this stage I used a stick blender to break up some but not all of the fruit, leaving it thick and chunky. Cook for a few more minutes or until you have jam consistency.

While the jam is cooking prepare about half a dozen small jars. Wash and dry them then microwave on High (without the lids) for 2 minutes to sterilise.

Pour the jam into the hot jars and seal while hot with the lids. Store in a dark cupboard and refrigerate after opening.

Makes 4-6 jars depending on size

Old Fashioned Lamb & Barley Soup

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My mother always served a roast for Sunday lunch, on a four week rotation. Beef, then pork, then lamb, then chicken, then back to beef again.

Roast beef was accompanied by Yorkshire puddings and horseradish sauce. Roast pork by home-made bread stuffing (bread, onion, mixed herbs, an egg and salt and pepper) and apple sauce. Roast chicken was stuffed with the same bread stuffing and roast lamb was always served with mint sauce. In addition to these traditional accompaniments, the Sunday roast also came with gravy, roast potatoes, carrots and one or two green vegetables.

On Mondays dinner would consist of leftover meat from the Sunday roast, usually cold with hot veggies. On Tuesdays my mother made a chunky soup with the bones. Sometimes, if there was enough meat left over, she would get another meal out of the Sunday roast by making shepherds pie, chicken curry or rissoles – a kind of meatball which was popular back then. On Thursdays we might have sausages with gravy and creamy mashed potatoes or Spaghetti Bolognese, a recipe my mother learnt to make while living in Malta during WWII. Friday dinners were invariably from the fish and chip shop, or occasionally from the Chinese takeaway. Or we might have Mum’s Kedgeree.  Saturdays we had ham and salad, before watching the latest episode of Dr Who. Then we were back to Sunday again. There wasn’t much variety, but the food was always tasty. We didn’t eat a lot of meat, but filled up on vegetables, which we now know is a healthy approach to life.

You may remember your mother making this hearty soup with the bone from a roast leg of lamb. It comes from a postwar era when nothing was wasted. It’s very economical, making an inexpensive meal to serve at least four people. It’s simple, comfort food.

I didn’t have a meaty lamb bone so I bought four lamb forequarter chops, used two to make this soup and froze the other two to make it again in a couple of weeks. We still have another few more weeks of cold weather in Canberra, before Spring arrives.

1 cup pearl barley
1 meaty bone from a leg of lamb or two lamb chops
3-4 celery sticks
2 medium onions
1 large clove of garlic, crushed
3 or 4 carrots
2 or 3 potatoes (optional)
2 stock cubes (vegetable, chicken or beef)
2 L of water
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 tsp sugar
Chopped parsley to serve

Cover the barley with cold water and leave it to soak overnight. If you’re using lamb chops place them in a large heavy bottomed saucepan with a little olive oil so they don’t stick and cook them on both sides until they’re brown. If you’re using the bone from a leg of lamb you don’t need to do this, just put it in the pan. Peel and chop all the vegetables and add them to the pan with the water, stock cubes, drained barley and sugar. Simmer for an hour or until the barley is tender. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Remove the chops, cut up the meat and put it back into the soup. With a lamb bone remove any meat and put it back, discarding the bone.

Serve sprinkled with parsley

Serves 4

Gluten Free Dairy Free Fruit and Nut Loaf

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I don’t have a Thermomix, but my friend Rosi has one she she sent me this recipe. I have adapted it by using my Magimix food processor to chop everything very finely for the paste.

This delicious cake is perfect with a cuppa and would make a welcome addition to packed lunches this week. A yummy treat which is gluten free, dairy free, not to mention healthy.

Nut Paste:
200g shelled almonds
50g pumpkin seeds
50g sunflower seeds
50g sesame seeds
1 tsp salt
1 Tbs sweetener (sugar, honey or maple syrup)
2 Tbs oil (vegetable, nut oil or olive oil)
Cake mixture:
120g pitted dates
70g dried figs or dried apricots
1 tsp fennel seeds (optiona)
4 eggs
1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
1 Tbs cider vinegar
1 cup walnuts, macadamias or pecans (optional)
Sliced or slivered almonds to decorate (optional)

Nut Paste: place all ingredients except the oil in food processor and process for 1-2 minutes or until very finely chopped. Add the oil and continue to process until the mixture starts to stick together. Scrape out into a bowl. No need to wash the food processor.

Preheat oven to 150°C. Grease and line a loaf pan with baking paper.

Place dates and figs or apricots in food processor with the fennel seeds, if using, and process to chop coarsely. Add eggs, bicarbonate of soda and vinegar and mix. Add the nut paste and mix well, stopping to scrape down the sides. If using, add the cup of nuts now, leaving them whole or in large pieces.

Scrape into the loaf pan, smooth the top, then sprinkle with the almonds, if using, and press them lightly into the mixture. Bake for 40-50 minutes or until a skewer inserted into the middle of the cake comes out clean. Don’t overcook – mine was ready in 40 mins. Cool, remove from tin and serve in thick slices, plain or buttered.

Makes 1 loaf

Variations: use raisins or sultanas instead of the dates or figs. Use walnuts instead of almonds in the nut paste.

Chicken with Lemon, Garlic & Parmesan

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This quick and easy chicken dish is perfect for a busy week night. Leftovers are delicious in wraps, salads and sandwiches.

1 kg skinless, boneless chicken thighs
Marinade:
¼ cup olive oil
2 Tbs lemon juice
4 cloves garlic, crushed or 1 Tbs grated ginger
1 Tbs honey
1 tsp paprika
1 tsp salt
1 tsp oregano
¼ tsp chilli flakes
¼ cup finely grated Parmesan
Freshly ground pepper to taste
To garnish:
Fresh herbs

Mix all ingredients for marinade. Marinate the chicken in about three quarters of the mixture. Keep the remaining quarter for serving. Make sure the chicken is well-covered with the mixture, then leave it to marinate, covered, overnight in the fridge. If you don’t have time to marinate it overnight, a minimum of 30 minutes will do.

Cook the chicken at 200ºC in the oven, or on a hot barbecue or in an air fryer at 200ºC for 20-25 minutes or until cooked through and browned. Turn over about halfway through cooking. Slice downwards and arrange on a serving plate. Drizzle with the remaining marinade and garnish with herbs.

Serves 4

Finding a Cleaner

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Some years ago my cleaner had major surgery and had to stop cleaning. I put an ad in the local paper looking for a replacement and got four responses.

First on the list was a nineteen year old girl who wanted the money but didn’t have a clue about cleaning. As I walked past the bathroom she was holding the toilet brush gingerly between thumb and forefinger, nose screwed up, poking madly into the bowl while flushing at the same time. When I suggested she might need a cloth to do the rest she said “Oh, do you have to clean the outside as well?” She had to go.

Next was a Polish lady who said “It’s a very nice house, apart from ze dog who lives inside.” Our golden retriever was petrified of her and she only lasted two weeks. It wasn’t a good match.

Next on the list was a young Vietnamese girl. I showed her around and explained what needed doing. Everything seemed fine. On the appointed day she arrived with her father and left him to do the job. He obviously had no experience and communication was a disaster as he spoke no English.

We had friends coming for dinner that night and Mr Nguyen was making painfully slow progress. “Friends are coming for dinner tonight so I want everything to look nice,” I said in a desperate attempt to speed him up. With that he smiled, stood to attention, saluted and went out to do the gardening. He had to go.

Last on the list was a lady from Pakistan who could only come on Saturdays. She sang Gospel songs at the top of her voice while she worked. Her favourite job was scrubbing the bathroom, which took her at least an hour. The Hallelujas echoed around the house.

Matthew was trying to read the weekend newspaper and said he couldn’t cope with the singing. She had to go. Seeing my frustration he suggested we do the cleaning ourselves. So that’s what we did for several years.

We’ve now found a lovely girl from Colombia who does a great job and everyone is happy. The dog and the cat both love her and I get to practice my Spanish.

This is a favourite fish recipe I was given by my cleaning lady in Israel, many moons ago.

Japanese Soboro Donburi

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Looking for something quick to make with half a kilo of minced beef? Try this Japanese rice bowl recipe.

Donburi in Japanese means rice bowl dish and there are lots of different variations using chicken, pork, eggs and so on.

This combination of minced beef, ginger and frozen peas, served with steamed rice, isn’t a sophisticated dish, but it can be whipped up in no time flat. The perfect mid-week dinner to serve when everyone is asking “What time’s dinner Mum?” and you haven’t got time to make that packet of mince into spag bol or lasagne.

Cut down on the ginger if the kids aren’t mad about it. Some people aren’t fans of rice cookers, but I love mine. Switch it on when you start to prepare the mince and the whole dish will be ready to serve in around 15 minutes. Feel free to add some chilli or

500g lean minced beef
1/3 cup sake or dry sherry
¼ cup soy sauce (or substitute oyster sauce)
¼ cup water
1½ Tbs sugar
1-2 Tbs grated fresh ginger
1 cup frozen peas
To serve:
Steamed rice
Japanese pickled ginger*
Thinly sliced spring onions (scallions) (optional)

In a large heavy saucepan, place the beef, sake or sherry, soy sauce, water and sugar. Cook over medium to high heat, stirring often to break up any lumps, for about 5 minutes. Add the ginger and peas and continue to cook for 4 minutes or so, stirring often, until most of the liquid has evaporated but the mixture is still moist. Check for seasoning and add a little salt if necessary.

Divide rice between 4 or 5 bowls, top with the beef mixture and garnish with the pickled ginger and spring onions if using. I didn’t have any for the photo.

Serves 4-5

*available in jars in the Asian section of your supermarket

Chocolate Bread and Butter Pudding

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Someone gave my daughter Catherine a Panettone for Christmas.  As they don’t like Panettone very much, she gave it to me.  I have to admit I’m not mad about the Italian answer to Christmas cake either, but my “war mentality” doesn’t allow me to throw good food away.  So I stuck it in the freezer.  Catherine laughed when she saw me do this and admitted she had inherited my “waste not want not” approach to food and if she hadn’t been travelling she would have frozen it too.

This weekend I used just over half the Panettone to make a delicious chocolate bread and butter pudding, adapted from a recipe by Delia Smith.  She uses ordinary white bread with the crusts cut off.  You could use bread, panettone, croissants, brioche – anything which needs using up – which is how this traditional British dessert was first invented – to use up stale bread.

9 slices of day old white bread – or the equivalent in panettone, brioche or croissants
150g dark chocolate (I used more like 175g to make it really chocolatey)
75g butter
425ml cream
4 Tbs dark rum (optional)
pinch ground cinnamon
4 Tbs caster sugar
3 large eggs, lightly beaten
To serve:
Icing sugar
Thick pouring cream

Butter a rectangular lasagne-type dish.  In a large bowl place chocolate, broken into squares, butter, cream, sugar, cinnamon and rum, if using.  Microwave until melted which will take a couple of minutes. Stop every 30 seconds or so to stir the mixture and stop as soon as it’s melted.  Delia does hers the traditional way over simmering water which is safer.  Using the microwave is quicker, but you need to keep an eye on it.  Whisk in the eggs with a hand whisk, until well-combined.

Pour about 2cm of the chocolate cream over the base of the dish, then arrange about half the panettone slices or bread slices, overlapping if necessary to cover the base of the dish.  Panettone slices are large so you need to cut them into about three and use them like a jigsaw puzzle.  Pour in half the remaining chocolate cream and push all over with the back of a fork so the panettone soaks it up.  Arrange the rest of the panettone or bread over the top, pour in the remaining chocolate cream, push with a fork so there are no dry bits left.  Cover the dish with plastic wrap, leave for a couple of hours at room temperature then refrigerate for 24-48 hours.

Remove cling film and bake at 180°C for 35 minutes or until the top is brown and crunchy and the bottom is cooked but still soft.  Remove from the oven, allow to stand for a few minutes then serve dusted with icing sugar.  Pass a jug of thick pouring cream separately.

Serves 6-8

Spicy Korean Beef in the Slow Cooker

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If you have a slow cooker and are time poor then this recipe, adapted from one by Nigella Lawson, is for you.

Nigella uses brown rice. I used pearl barley and added some toppings. We love pearl barley, which you can use as a substitute in most recipes which call for brown rice.

500g minced beef
1 can chopped tomatoes and 1 can water
1¼ cups pearl barley (or brown rice)
¼ cup Sriracha chilli sauce (or another chilli sauce/paste)
¼ cup soy sauce
1 packet 250g beansprouts
To serve: 
Sour Cream
Grated cheese (I used cheddar)
Chopped fresh coriander

Place minced beef, tomatoes, water, pearl barley or brown rice, chilli sauce and soy sauce in a slow cooker. Stir to combine, then cook on low for four hours, stirring a couple of times. When the pearl barley is tender it’s ready. Place beansprouts in a bowl. Cover with boiling water, stand for one minute then mix into the meat mixture. Allow to heat through for 15 minutes.

Serve as it is or topped with sour cream, grated cheese and coriander. Can be served in wraps or taco shells or on top of corn chips.

Additions: if liked, add a drained can of corn or a couple of cups of frozen peas about half an hour before serving. I also added a splosh of dry sherry. Why not?

Beef Casserole with Spring Onion Mash

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A good beef casserole accompanied by mashed potatoes to mop up the gravy is the sort of comfort food we all enjoy as the weather gets cooler. These old-fashioned dishes take us back to our childhood and Mum’s cooking.

This casserole doesn’t contain any tomatoes or herbs, allowing the flavour from the mushrooms and the sherry to shine through. It can be made in the oven or in a slow cooker.

Beef Casserole with Spring Onion Mash

2 Tbs oil
1 kg lean stewing beef such as chuck steak
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
150g speck or bacon cut into chunky pieces (lardons)
2 onions, peeled and chopped
3 carrots, peeled and cut into sticks
250g mushrooms, wiped and thickly sliced
3 cloves garlic, crushed
2 cups water (only 1 cup for Slow Cooker)
1 beef stock cube
2 Tbs Worcestershire sauce
½ cup dry sherry or red wine
Spring Onion Mash:
1 kg potatoes, peeled and cut into even-sized pieces
25g butter
¼ cup milk
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
3-4 spring onions, thinly sliced (optional)
To serve:
Chopped fresh parsley

Trim beef and cut into 3cm cubes. Season. Heat 1 Tbs oil in a large frying pan and brown half the meat all over until nicely caramelised. Put beef into a heavy Le Creuset-type casserole with a lid or into a Slow Cooker. Repeat with remaining oil and beef. Add the lardons to the pan and cook, stirring until light brown. Add onions and cook for 3-4 mins stirring regularly, until starting to soften. Add carrots, mushrooms, garlic and a touch more oil if necessary and continue to cook for 3-4 mins. Tip vegetables into the casserole with the beef.

Add water, stock cube, Worcestershire sauce and sherry or wine. If using a casserole dish cover and cook at 150°C for two hours or until meat is tender and sauce has thickened up. If using a Slow Cooker use only one cup of water, cover and cook for 3-4 hours on High or until meat is tender and sauce has thickened.

Casserole will keep in the fridge for 3-4 days or you can eat half and freeze the rest. Reheat, check seasoning and serve garnished with chopped parsley and accompanied by Spring Onion Mash to mop up all the gravy.

Spring Onion Mash: cook potatoes in boiling salted water for 20 mins or until tender. Drain thoroughly then mash with a potato masher, adding the butter and milk. When smooth and creamy season with salt and pepper and fold in the spring onions if liked.

Serves 4-6

Spinach and Feta Pastries

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This recipe for Spinach and Feta pastries was one of my most popular posts, so here it is again. I’m travelling in Europe so there will be a few repeat posts while I’m away.

These are a great addition to lunch boxes, picnics and buffet lunches. They are also great to serve with drinks. Most kids love them and it’s a good way to get them to eat more green veggies.

Once cooked and cooled, if not serving immediately, you can keep them in the fridge for a few days or freeze them. They will just need a few minutes in a hot oven or an air fryer to heat up.

1-2 sheets bought puff pastry
Filling:
About 225g frozen chopped spinach, thawed (I used half a 450g pkt of spinach nuggets)
100g feta cheese, crumbled
¾ cup thinly sliced spring onions
2 cloves garlic, crushed
1 egg
1 Tbs olive oil
1 Tbs chopped fresh parsley
Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
Extra:
1 beaten egg to brush

Preheat oven to 200°C. Squeeze any liquid from the spinach then mix it with remaining filling ingredients. Cut out 12 squares of puff pastry, approximately 8cm or 3 inches square. I got nine from one sheet of ready-rolled puff pastry.

Lightly but thoroughly (mine got a bit stuck) oil a 12 hole muffin pan and place a pastry square in each. Place a rounded tablespoonful of filling in each, then go back and use the rest to top them up. If you have too much you could use another muffin pan and make a couple more but I found the mixture made exactly 12.

Pull the four pastry points over the top of the filling and pinch lightly together. Brush with beaten egg, then bake for 20 minutes or until golden. Serve warm or at room temperature. Can be kept in the fridge for 2-3 days and reheated for a few minutes in a hot oven or frozen.

Makes 12