Category: Fruit

After School Snacks – Date Crunchies

Part Two of A in The A-Z of Cooking concerns itself with one of the best meals of the day, the after school snack.

I chose to make the Date Crunchies purely on the basis that I had every single ingredient already in my pantry.

That never happens!

Date Crunchies2
Date Crunchies2

But first, two intros to After School Snacks.  The original from The A-Z of Cooking

 “Welcome home your hungry young scholars with something nourishing to tide them over until suppertime”

May have pleased mothers but set children all over the world weeping. They didn’t want something nourishing, they wanted something chockful of sugar with maybe a bit of artificial colouring thrown in.

Not so my After School Snacks Haiku:

Hungry After School?

Dates and Oats Make Good Crunchies

Yummy for your tum.

Did I miss a career in marketing or what?

And…we’re done with the poetry.  Trust me.  There will be no sonnets to breakfast food, no odes to the buffet.  Unless you really like them.  In which case get ready for a whole heap of limericks and haikus because that’s about my limit. 

Date Crunchies1

Date Crunchies – The Good

  • These are kinda sorta almost healthy with the sweetness coming from dates and honey instead of sugar, and the use of oats and wholemeal flour.
  • Dates, honey and cinnamon are a combination that works amazingly well together. And the little bit of lemon made the it even better!
  • I think I probably like them more now than I would have as a child when I would have wanted something sweeter.
  • Apparently they worked well with a glass of milk.  This is on hearsay only.  I have never liked milk and even the thought of drinking a full glass of it makes me want to gag.
  • Working the dough was the best arm workout I have had in a long time.  I’m pretty sure I’ve staved off bingo wings for at least another year just by that alone.
Date Crunchies 4
Date Crunchies 4

 Date Crunchies – The Bad

  • The the quantities in the recipe seemed wrong. I needed a lot more water to soften the dates and a pinch of cinnamon is no good to anyone.  You need at least 1/4 teaspoon.
  • More than this though that pasty was way too short.  I was lovely and light but you just had to look at it the wrong way and it crumbled. It needed an egg or something else to bind it together a bit more.
Date Crunchie
Date Crunchie

 Date Crunchies – The Ugly

Let’s also address the other elephant in the room when in comes to this recipe. In some places in Australia, “date” is a colloquial expression for one’s…well…anus.  So a date crunchie is probably not something that should be even remotely appetizing.   As for these?  They were better than that.  Just not by much.

In all honesty, they were perfectly acceptable.  They were average.  There was nothing fundamentally hideous about them.  Truth be told, it’s taken me ages to write this post simply because I find it really hard to describe food that’s just….meh….

WouId I have wanted these as an afternoon snack when I was a child?

Hell no.

But  I was a weird  only child with a working mother.  She didn’t have time to bake and I had an idea that anything homemade was bound to be inferior to something that could be bought from a shop.  I was far happier with a perfectly formed store-bought Tim Tam than anything homemade and vaguely hippyish.

Now?  That date filling was rather nice…but you know what?  I think I’d still prefer a TimTam.  I may make the Date Crunchie dough again just so I never have to do another tricep dip in my life.

Date Crunchies – not an epic fail, not even a fail, just not much of a pass… And with that, we’re done with the A’s.

Next time we venture into The A-Z of Cooking we’re heading to Canada for B..B..Breakfast.

Have a great week!  Signature 1 Vintage Valentine Quick as Wink2

 

Peachy Keen for Peach Sorbet with Lavender & Rosemary

Summer, and peach season, is pretty much drawing to a close here.   So, if like me, you love the stone fruit, how can you prolong the taste of summer through autumn, winter and spring?  By making this gorgeous sorbet which combines lovely sweet peaches with (ahem)…homegrown lavender and rosemary.  Yes, I have garden produce!!!

This is so simple, just these three ingredients, some sugar and water.

Peach Sorbet Ingredients2
Peach Sorbet Ingredients2

And you get one of the loveliest ice creams ever.   This is really refreshing without being too sweet –  the lavender and rosemary are not overpowering but add a little depth to the fruit and sugar.

AUTUMN – The Sorbet Ma’am, Just The Sorbet

Autumn in Melbourne is lovely.  You get cold crisp mornings, warm days and cool evenings.  To prolong the taste of summer as it starts to get darker and cooler, this peach sorbet is perfect just on it’s own in a cone. All alone.  Like a rolling stone.

Yes.  I think it’s enough now too.  Because I heard you moan and groan.

Really stopping…NOW.

Because just look at this peachy goodness!

Peach Sorbet
Peach Sorbet

WINTER – Baked Peaches With Amaretti and Amaretto and Peach Sorbet

Mmmm…hot baked peach, cold peach sorbet , herby, nutty, sweet and boozy….that’s about all my favourite adjectives right there.  And I totally forgot to take a picture of it before eating half of it.  So I had to borrow a peach off my friend’s plate to take this picture.  Thanks for the peach Monica!!!

Peaches Baked with Amaretti and Amaretto2
Peaches Baked with Amaretti and Amaretto2

You may be wondering where you are supposed to find peaches in winter?  Well my mum used to make this for us waaaaay back and we only ever used to have it with tinned peaches.  And believe me, this is one of the few things where you will ever hear me say that this works as well (maybe even a little better) with tinned as fresh.

SPRING Into A Peach Sorbet Bellini

Spring in Melbourne means the Spring Racing Carnival which means lots of champagne.  You can really welcome the warmer days by adding a dollop of the peach sorbet into the bottom of your champagne glass for a fabulous take on a Bellini.

So good even Lulu wants one!

Lavender and Rosemary Bellini2jpg

Lavender and Rosemary Bellini
Lavender and Rosemary Bellini

Hope your week is peachy keen, jelly bean.

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Peach Sorbet with Lavender and Rosemary (3 ways)

This deliciious and easy to make peach sorbet will bring back the flavour of summer all through the year

Ingredients

Scale
  • For The Sorbet
  • 200g sugar
  • 2 tbsp edible dried lavender
  • 2 springs of rosemary, about as long as your thumb
  • 1 kg of peaches
  • 200g water

To Serve

  • Ice cream cones

For The Baked Peaches with Amaretto and Amaretti

  • 4 large peaches, or you can used tinned, in which case you will need 10 halves
  • 20 crumbled amaretti biscuits
  • 4 tbsp Amaretto Liqueur
  • 2 tbsp brown sugar
  • Butter for greasing the pan
  • 4 scoops of sorbet

For The Bellini

  • Sparkling Wine
  • Rosemary sprigs and lavender sprigs and peach wedges to garnish (optional)

Instructions

For the Sorbet

  1. Place the sugar, water, lavender and rosemary into a small saucepan. Bring to the boil, stirring occasionally. Then simmer for 5 minutes.
  2. With a paring knife, make a small cross into the bottom of each peach. Place in a bowl and pour boiling water over the peaches. Let them sit for a few minutes then tip into a bowl of iced water. The skin should now be quite easy to peel off. Cut the peaches into wedges and place them in the sugar syrup.
  3. Once this mixture is cool, remove the peaches and place them in your blender, strain the syrup to remove the lavender buds and rosemary and add the liquid to the blender. Blend until the mixture is smooth.
  4. Churn in an ice cream maker according to manufacturer’s instructions. Transfer to a container and chill in freezer for 2 to 3 hours, or until firm.
  5. Serve with ice cream cones or as described below.

For The Baked Peaches with Amaretto and Amaretti

  1. Preheat the oven to 200ºC.
  2. Lightly butter a baking tray
  3. If using fresh peaches, cut in half, remove the stones and, using a melon baller or a teaspoon, scoop out a little bit more of the peach flesh and place in a small bowl. If using canned peaches, finely dice 2 peach halves and place in a small bowl.
  4. Place the crushed biscuits, the amaretto and 1 tbsp of sugar in the bowl along with the peach flesh. Stir to combine.
  5. Fill the peach halves with this mixture.
  6. Place the peaches onto a baking tray. Sprinkle with the remaining sugar.
  7. If using fresh peaches, bake for around 20 minutes until cooked through then place under a hot grill for the last 5 minutes to really caramelise the topping. If using tinned peaches, bake for 5 minutes, really just to warm the peaches through then place under the grill for the last 5 minutes.
  8. Serve immediately, 2 to a plate with a dollop of sorbet.

For The Bellini

  1. Add a dollop of sorbet to your champagne glass.
  2. Top with sparkling wine.
  3. Garnish as desired.
  4. Enjoy!!!

Notes

  • I like to leave my biscuit crumbs fairly rustic so they vary in size from crumbs to larger chunks.

 

Jane Grigson’s Watercress and Orange Salad

Little darling, it’s been a long cold lonely winter,
Little darling, it feels like years since it’s been here

Ok, so not exactly true for Melbourne, although it has been a fairly shitty summer.  But certainly for my friends in the States, it must feel like that.  But hopefully, this Watercress and Orange Salad will bring you some virtual sunshine.

Watercress and Orange Salad 5
Watercress and Orange Salad 5

Here comes the sun, here comes the sun
And I say it’s all right

This is a very cool salad from Jane Grigson’s Vegetable Book.. I think it looks like a big, beautiful sunflower. And not only is it pretty; it is super tasty too.  How could it not be – peppery watercress, tangy sweet orange, earthy toasted walnuts and salty olives. And it looks so 70’s.  I think it’s the combination of green and orange….

Here is the original recipe from Jane Grigson:

Orange and Watercress SaladAnd here is the original version:

Jane Grigson's Watercress Salad
Jane Grigson’s Watercress Salad

This is very simple to put together.  Line your plate with watercress and start piling in your ingredients.  The worst bit if you do it in the circle is stripping all those watercress leaves.

Watercress Salad LeavesLike a circle in a spiral, like a wheel within a wheel…

Watercress Salad Leaves2Never ending or begining on an ever spinning wheel….

Watercress Salad Leaves3I found the best way to get the orange slices as thin as possible was to cut them with the skin still on, then cut the peel and pith away with a pair of kitchen scissors.

Oranges for the watercress saladThen just add your walnuts and / or olives.

Before serving, a grind of pepper and a splash of vinaigrette made with some sherry vinegar and voila!!!  Or should I say “Velado!” because this really has a Spanish feel to it.

I had this with some grilled salmon the first time I made it and it was delicious!!! The second time I had it with some prawns and it was, again super.  I would love to try it with duck as per Jane’s suggestion.

And I made it a third time but this time tweaked the recipe a bit – I added some feta cheese and a teeny bit of red onion.  This time, I had it with a lovely sourdough baguette for a light lunch and it was perfection!!!  And yes, I made this three times in about ten days.  It’s that good.

Watercress and Orange Salad 6
Watercress and Orange Salad 6

So far, Jane Grigson’s recipes are turning out to be amazing.  I am a little disappointed that it is now March and we have another book to focus on at The Cookbook Guru.  But wow!!!  What a book!!!  I am super excited about stepping across the Strait of Gibraltar to Morocco for my next venture with The Cookbook Guru!!!

And, if you are struggling through a long cold and lonely winter either physically or mentally, here is a little anecdote that may help.

Back in 1969, there was not much joy camp Beatle – there were personality clashes, legal battles, business disputes….things were going to hell in a handbasket.  But in the midst of all the problems, all the trouble and strife, George Harrison (by far my favourite Beatle) walked into Eric Clapton’s garden with an acoustic guitar and wrote, to my mind anyway, one of the most beautiful, hopeful songs ever written.  In the midst of adversity and all that…

And just to tie it all in together, here is George singing  that song with some Spanish subtitles.

All together now

Sol, sol, sol
Ahí viene

Have a great week.  I hope all your clouds have silver linings.

Signature 1 Vintage Valentine Quick as Wink2

Locket’s Savoury & Pimped Up Locket’s Savoury (GF)

Pimped Up Locket's Savoury

One of the best things about 2014  was connecting with other cooks and bloggers and cooking from the same books. I love doing it in person at the Tasty Reads bookclub but it was also so much fun doing the Joan Crawford inspired dinner for Jenny’s book launch.

Locket's Savoury 1
Locket’s Savoury 1

So, I was super excited to find this blog:

https://thecookbookguru.wordpress.com/what-is-the-cookbook-guru/

Which is pretty much all cook-a-longs.  They choose a new book every two months and anyone can cook from the book and post on their own site.  Then, Leah shares what everyone posts on The Cookbook Guru.  What a great idea!!!

The book for January and February is Jane Grigson’s Vegetable Book.    First published in 1978, this has become a classic.  And very auspicious that I get to start with a book full of retro recipes.

I was even more excited that there were a whole heap of artichoke recipes because the local continental deli had been having a sale and I bought about a ton of artichokes because they were something insane like 50 cents a can.

Then I read Jane’s advice on

How to choose canned artichokes.

“Don’t”

Huh….Jane apparently doesn’t mince words.  I like her already. But anyway I hightailed it out of artichokes and landed at the very other end of the book at watercress and found this lovely recipe for a very fancy grilled cheese called Locket’s Savoury.

Locket's Savoury 2
Locket’s Savoury 2

I did have a little giggle when I read the name of this dish.  Back in the day, we used to have a footballer by the name of Lockett nicknamed Plugger because….I have no idea why and have sufficient lack of interest in football to be arsed to Google it.  Anyway, some time before the Grand Final one year (the equiv of the Super Bowl or the FA Cup Final),   Plugger hurt his groin.  And I swear for an inordinately long amount of time,  it seemed like if you picked up a newspaper, turned on the radio or the tv, all you heard about, all people seemed to care about was Plugger’s Groin.  Strangers would approach you on the street and say “So, do you think it will be good for the Granny?”

“What?”

“Plugger’s groin.”

Not since David Beckham made those underwear ads has an entire nation been so obsessed by the state of a football player’s nether regions.  And yes, by the way…we do nickname our Super Bowl/FA Cup etc The Granny. As in a little old lady.  That’s Australia for you.

So, all that was Lockett’s Unsavoury, let’s turn to the matter at hand – Locket’s Savoury

So simple. So delicious, and just 4 ingredients.

Bread

The original recipe called for white bread.  I used this beautiful seeded ciabatta. Jane’s recipe called for the crusts to be cut off.  I left mine on because I love the taste of the toasted seeds!

Locket's Savoury - Bread
Locket’s Savoury – Bread

 Watercress

One of my favourite  greens.  I love the peppery taste of it!

Locket's Savoury - Watercress
Locket’s Savoury – Watercress

 Pears

Are probably my least favourite fruit.  Will this recipe redeem them in my mind?

Locket's Savoury - Pear
Locket’s Savoury – Pear

 Stilton.

Mmmmmm…blue cheese. Happy days….

Locket's Savoury - Stilton
Locket’s Savoury – Stilton

Stilton is apparently the king of cheeses.  Who knew cheese had a royalty.  Who’s the queen?  And more importantly who is the red headed reprobate prince flashing it’s arse and donning a swastika for high jinks?

I’m betting it’s goats cheese.

Locket's Savoury3
Locket’s Savoury3

This was awesome.  It actually made me like pears.  And that’s saying something!
There’s a few more totally awesome watercress recipes in this same book and I have a ton of it left so you may get a few more o’ these before the month is through.  There is definitely one more I have to do.

Locket's Savoury 4
Locket’s Savoury 4

Here is Jane Grigson’s recipe:

Locket's Savoury RecipeThis was really good. Super tasty, super easy and I wouldn’t change a thing in Jane’s recipe.

Or would I?

The more I thought about it, the more it seemed very unfair that my gluten-free friends missed out on this delight.

So without further ado, meet the pimped up, gluten-free Locket’s Savoury

Pimped Up Locket's Savoury
Pimped Up Locket’s Savoury

Basically, scrap the bread, use a slice of pear as the base.  Add your watercress and Stilton.  Throw in some chopped walnuts.  Once done, sprinkle with some chives.

In some ways this was almost better.  Those pears got all caramelised and…dare I say it, delicious!!!

I’m so looking forward to doing the Cookbook Guru Cook-a-longs.  And you know what would be even better?  If you all did it too…

If you did want to, you already know the book for the rest of Feb.  March and April is The Food of Morocco by Paula Wolfert.  My local library has a copy of this. Yours probably does too.  I also got the Jane Grigson book from the library.

But PS..The Locket’s Savoury is the gift that keeps on giving.  Those little bits of blue cheese that slide off as you grill the cheese and go kind of crunchy.  So good to eat later!!!

DSC02463

Have a fabulous week!

And I would love to know your royal family of cheese!!!

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Pimped Up Locket’s Savoury (Gluten Free)

A gluten free version of a delicious watercress, pear and blue cheese recipe from Jane Grigson

Ingredients

Scale
  • 1 pear
  • 24 sprigs of watercress, depending on size
  • 23 slices of Stilton
  • 4 walnuts chopped
  • 1 chive, chopped
  • Freshly ground black pepper

Instructions

  1. Slice the pears into six slices, discarding the core. You will have some rounder pieces as well as some more “pear” shaped pieces.
  2. Remove the leaves from the watercress sprigs and place over the pears.
  3. Cover with stilton
  4. Sprinkle with chopped walnuts
  5. Place under a hot grill until cheese is melted and walnuts are toasted.
  6. Sprinkle with chopped chive and black pepper.
  7. Enjoy!

Notes

  • You can easily increase the quantities for this, I made mine for one because I only had one pear and minimal watercress left.

Nutrition

  • Serving Size: 1

Surprise! Orange Chicken Salad

OMG. I was downloading some photos from my camera of the Ice Iced Vovo when I found all the photos  I had taken of the Orange and Chicken Surprise Salad. I had totally forgotten about it. How,  I do not know.   I’m sure I didn’t drink THAT much over the holiday period.  I’m equally sure you will agree that the Orange Chicken Surprise Salad should be unforgettable (in every way).

Given that I have named January the month of crazy, it seemed fitting to post it here.  I totally had something else in mind to close out the month and we may yet get there.  But this had to get a mention.

It looks quite pretty.  Like a lovely orange jello dessert.  But wait!  A surprise lurks within.

Surprise Orange and Chicken Salad
Surprise Orange and Chicken Salad

Not much of a surprise as the name pretty much gives it away….(There must be some sort of term for that….is it a paradox? A tautology?  Someone smarter than me please tell me….) But  hiding under that innocent orange jello exterior is a chicken salad.  A rather tasty chicken salad to boot.

Surprise Orange and Chicken Salad2
Surprise Orange and Chicken Salad2

The idea of mixing sweet jello and savoury items kind of freaks me out.  It should not work.  It freaks me out even more when, like this, the result is actually pretty tasty.  Mind you, I loaded the jello with lemon juice so it was not as sweet as the original recipe dictated which may have helped make it a bit more palateable to my taste.  The original recipe is below:

Orange and Chicken Surprise SaladThe hardest thing about this recipe is getting the layer of jelly on the top the right thickness.  My cup sank way too deep the first few times, requiring some melting and resetting of the jelly.  It was still a little bit thin in this version and it kind of fell into a heap when I cut  into it.

Orange and Chicken Surprise Salad
Orange and Chicken Surprise Salad

But all up, this was a success.  The jelly actually added a light tangy touch to the salad which was refreshing both on a hot day and after the heavy meals of Christmas.

My version, which includes cranberries and tarragon is below.

I’ll be spending this week working on my post to celebrate Australia Day….I’m venturing into the best left alone arena of “things people eat when drunk”  and, believe me, whether I love it or hate it, it’s going to be a doozy!!!

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Orange & Chicken Surprise Salad

Surprise! Hidden beneath the layers of tangy orange and lemon jelly is a super tasty chicken salad.

Ingredients

Scale

For the Jello

  • 2 packets orange jello
  • 2 1/2 cups orange juice
  • 1 cup lemon juice
  • 1/2 cup boiling water, just off boil

For The Salad

  • 11/2 cups finely diced cooked chicken
  • 1/4 cup mayonnaise
  • 1 tbsp chopped parsley
  • 1/2 tbsp chopped tarragon
  • 1/2 tbsp chopped chives
  • 1/4 cup (about a handful) of cranberries, chopped
  • 1/4 cup slivered almonds, toasted
  • 1 stick of celery, diced
  • more lemon juice to bind, if needed
  • salt and pepper to taste

To Garnish

  • 1 orange peeled and segmented
  • Mint leaves
  • Cranberries

Instructions

  1. Combine the jello, fruit juices and boiling water, stirring until the jello melts. Place in fridge to set.
  2. When about half set place a small bowl into the jello and weigh it down (baking beans are ideal if you have them, otherwise use rice or beans or anything else you have to hand).
  3. Chill for several hours until very firm.
  4. Meanwhile combine all the salad ingredients and season to taste.
  5. When the jelly is set, take a sharp knife and dip it in hot water. Dry the knife then ease all around the small bowl. You may need to dip it in the water a couple of times.
  6. Once the bowl is removed pack the chicken salad into the cavity. Put foil or a plate over it and chill until firm.
  7. When ready to serve, place the mould in hot water to loosen the jelly, it only needs to be in there a short time. Then turn it out and garnish with the orange segments, cranberries and mint leaves.

Notes

  • If your cup sinks too low in your jelly mould like mine did, place the bottom of the mould in hot water. The jelly will melt. Keep the mould in the water until you get the level of jelly you desire then place back in the fridge to reset.