Childhood memories and winners

Thank you to those who joined in the jam and chutney competition last week. I had some great stories from people about what special treats they remembered from childhood.

I love this one from Anita:

My Dutch grandmother used to make these delicious croquettes. I took then for granted until I was on a Contiki tour and everyone tried them when we visited Amsterdam. They loved them and I was very proud to let everyone know that croquettes were something I regularly enjoyed. 

And this one, from Bree, reminded me of how as children we can just love the simple things:

My Grandmother used to make asparagus pies, just tinned asparagus in little ramekins with a bit of white sauce and cheese on top - a huge family fave which my mum still makes for me now, although sometimes we now do use 'real' asparagus!

I also received a few responses by email and I've asked the authors if they minded me publishing a few of the comments as they are such beautiful stories.

From Sonia:
My 4 siblings and I would fight tooth and nail over our Nana’s delectable Rice Pudding. I searched for 3 years for a double boiler to be able to make it exactly the way she did. Nana said you can’t make Rice Pudding without it. Double boilers were very popular way back when, but very hard to find in recent years.

And from LL:
My favourite childhood recipe was my Nan's 'Italian' spaghetti. This was no spaghetti bolognese made on mince, but instead a chunky salty quite dry meat sauce that she made from meaty bacon bones simmered with tomatoes and herbs on low heat all day before being tossed with piping hot spaghetti to serve!! Gob-smackingly good!!

Don't they just make you drool.

But I guess you would like to know the winners. And yes I did mean plural 'winners'. I was so overwhelmed by the beautiful comments -- and I'm so glad it wasn't based on the comment, otherwise I'd still be deciding -- I decided to pick two winners. They are:

Sandy:
My favourite childhood treat was my Mum’s apple pies – because she did not have the appliances of today to mix pastry, etc. I can still see her kneading her fabulous pastry by hand on our kitchen bench before adding her cooked apples (no canned ones here!) – they were the most delicious pies and I could never imitate them no matter how much I tried and that pastry just melted in our mouths. These pies were always served after the obligatory Sunday roast. I can still smell them cooking now!! Then again, there were her banana cakes . . . . .  must save that one for another competition!

Cara:
My mum was a fabulous cook, but her speciality was early 80s cocktail party finger food. She threw 'do's for my dad's business associates almost every weekend, so on Mondays, my lunch was usually a mystery box of canapés... Mini quiches (noice), frilly toothpicks skewered with coloured pickled onions, olives and cheese cubes (different) and on more than one occasion, a tin of smoked oysters accompanied by a tiny cocktail fork (unusual). My friends would gather round for the big reveal, but didn't usually want to swap (even mini quiches were a bit too foreign for our small town). But I loved it!

I hope you all enjoyed reading these as much as I did. I'll be sending our two wonderful and humorous winners their peach jam and pear chutney soon.

Until next post, happy cooking!

Competition & jamming around with preserves

For me there's something therapeutic about cooking seasonal goodies and preserving them in jars. I revel in the process of selecting the tastiest looking fruit or vegetables and then knowing I get to spend several hours in my kitchen concentrating purely on sterilising, chopping, stirring, testing, stirring some more and finally bottling.

Wonderful fresh produce from Brisbane CBD Jan Power's
Farmers Markets. Olives kindly supplied from Liz's Olives
and the meat from my friends at Rangeland Quality Meats.

In our busy, fast paced world I find preserving food is a rare treat in down time. And, of course, it's an awesome skill to have. I'm not the only one who thinks it's a fantastic skill. I've recently come across an incredible project called Dirty Girl Kitchen. The founder, Rebecca Sullivan, is ensuring all those fabulous skills our grandparents had in preserving everything, is not lost.

Another reason I love making jars of goodness, is that they make brilliant presents. These jams pictured my beloved and I gave as gifts at our wedding last year.

Portuguese pumpkin jam

Each guest received either Portuguese pumpkin jam (it's not as scary as it sounds), pear chutney or spiced apple jelly.

You can see the little gifts of preserves on the
wedding tables.

It would be unfair to talk about all this gift giving if I didn't have a couple of scrummy jars of jam and chutney from my recent bottling session aside for a lucky reader. All you need to do is leave a comment below or email me at theselfraisingkitchen@gmail.com and tell me what your favourite childhood treat was; mine was my Nana's baked cheesecake, YUM! I'll pick the winner next Friday, 2 March and you will receive a bottle each of peach jam and pear chutney. 

Peach Jam

by Maggie Beer  

Maggie Beer's peach jam

Ingredients
1 1/2 kg peaches
750g sugar
Peel of one lemon
Juice of two lemons
2 tbsp Amaretto (I used Frangellico)

Chopped up peaches

Method
Cut peaches into chunks, leaving skins on (this adds colour) and take out the stones. Use really ripe fruit for the flavour, but also some less ripe ones as these have a higher level of pectin (which you need to set the jam). Don’t keep the peaches in the fridge, as this also will reduce the pectin levels.

Put the cut peaches into a pot and simmer at a very low heat, adding lemon peel to add the tart taste and also to increase the levels of pectin.

Tie some of the stones in to a clean chux and add the bundle to the peaches continuing to simmer and stir every now and then to prevent burning the bottom of the saucepan. (SRKitchen tip - I just placed some stones directly in with the peaches.)

Once the fruit seems cooked take the stones out -- SRKitchen tip: I used a hand blender at this point so there weren't chunks of skin in the jam -- and stir in the sugar, adding lemon juice to check the flavour.

Cook until the jam begins to thicken. To see if it is ready test by taking a spoonful and put onto a saucer to see if it sets in the fridge. (SRKitchen tip - I place a saucer in the freezer while still cooking the jam. I then test the jam by putting a small amount on the cold saucer and leaving it for a few minutes. When you push the jam with your finger, if you get wrinkles in the jam it is ready for bottling.)

Just before pouring into the jars add Amaretto/Frangellico. Maggie doesn’t sterilise the jars, but you must use clean jars, fill them to the top and then invert them so that the hot jam sits on the lid and so all sides of the jar are ‘sterilised’ by the hot jam. (SRKitchen tip - I do still sterilise them in the oven. Simply place your clean jars and lids in a cold oven, heat it to 120 degrees celsius and leave for about 30 minutes.)

Once you have opened the jar, refrigerate the jam until the pot is finished.


Pear Chutney
by Jenny Disney from the Country Women's Association

Pear chutney bottled

Ingredients
2kg firm pears
2 large brown onions, finely chopped
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 small, fresh hot chilli, chopped, seeds as well
1 tsp ground coriander
2 tbsp mustard seeds
1 tbsp salt
5 cm piece fresh ginger, peeled and cut into strips (I grated the ginger)
1 cup sultanas
grated rind and juice of 1 lemon
3.5 cups cider vinegar
4 cups brown sugar

Pear chutney ingredients just starting to cook

Method
Peel the pears and chop into small pieces about the size of a sultana and put in saucepan with all the remaining ingredients except the sugar. Heat slowly and stir gently until the pears have begun to soften.

Add sugar to the pan, stir until it has dissolved and continue cooking until chutney is dark, glossy brown and thick (20 - 35 minutes).

Sugar's been added, almost ready for bottling

Put chutney into hot sterilised jars and seal.

Wait at least 3 weeks before using so the flavours can mature.

Store in a cool, dark cupboard. keeps for at least 12 months.
_____________________

SRKitchen Tip
To get your jam or chutney into the bottles, chop the bottom off a funnel so chunks can get through.

My very cheap, chopped up funnel
for preserve making

Tweet me @SRKitchen
Friend me @ www.facebook.com/TSRKitchen

You, me & Dupree - whitebait, fish curry and the queen of puddings

Have you ever wondered what is in a bachelor's kitchen...or more appropriately, what isn't in a bachelor's kitchen? (Of course that question is meant for those readers who are not bachelors.) Well recently The Self-Raising Kitchen went roving and provided a dinner party for a friend.

A dear friend of my Beloved's is self-named Dupree.

I haven't actually seen this movie, but our Dupree does have a job, does not live with us, but is a regular at our dinner table, which we love. Honestly, Dupree!

After much discussion and attempts at finding a mutually convenient date in the diary, we finally set up a dinner party with friends of Dupree's at Dupree's abode with the self-raising kitchen as the caterer. It was so much fun; and a challenge, experiencing exactly what I should have thought to bring with me...starting with kitchen scales.

I think what completely cracked me up (made me laugh) was when I asked Dupree if he had a wooden spoon. He said, "Yeah, second draw down." So I opened the second draw and was confronted with the sweetest, cutest, tiniest wooden spoon.

THE wooden spoon. Length approx. 20 cm

I know what you're getting for your birthday, Dupree.

Arty 'spoon' photo taken by Dupree

Wooden spoon aside, I think the biggest test for me was making a dessert with no kitchen scales. This also meant making my first ever jam - which went into the dessert - by guestimation.

The menu

Each recipe came from the Australian Gourmet Traveller Annual Cookbook. 

I've made some adjustments

Starters

Crisp chilli whitebait and green mango salad

Mains

Burmese-style fish curry with noodles and mustard greens

Dessert

Queen of Puddings

Crisp chilli whitebait and green mango salad

This recipe would also be perfect for a light dinner. Beware of the amount of chilli you put in, I nearly ruined the taste buds of Dupree's guests.

Serves 6

Crisp chilli whitebait and green mango salad (photo by Dupree)

Ingredients

vegetable oil for deep frying
50g plain flour

salt and white pepper
750g whitebait (500g would be plenty)
1 green mango, cut into julienne
1 cup (loosely packed) each Vietnamese mint, coriander and round mint (use normal mint if unable to find the other types)
30 gm fried shallots (you can make your own or buy from Asian supermarkets)
2 spring onions, thinly sliced

1 red capsicum, finely sliced

250g baby spinach leaves

lime wedges to serve

Mint dressing
2 garlic cloves, coarsely chopped
1 small red chilli, coarsely chopped
35 gm white sugar
1 cup each (loosely packed) Vietnamese mint and round mint, coarsely chopped (or just normal mint)

60 ml (¼ cup) lime juice
60 ml (¼ cup) fish sauce
60 ml (¼ cup) rice vinegar

Whitebait frying (photo by Dupree)

Method
For mint dressing - pound garlic, chilli and sugar in a mortar and pestle to a coarse paste, add mints and pound to combine and set aside. Just before serving, stir in lime juice, fish sauce and rice vinegar.

Preheat oil in a deep-sided saucepan or deep-fryer to 180C. Combine flour, salt and white pepper in a shallow bowl. Dust whitebait in flour mixture, in batches, and deep-fry until crisp and light golden (4-5 minutes), then drain on absorbent paper. Fry twice, in batches, to make them extra crispy.

Combine mango, spinach, capsicum, herbs, fried shallot and spring onion in a bowl, drizzle with a little mint dressing. Toss lightly to combine. Place on your serving plate and put whitebait on the top to ensure they stay crispy. Serve with extra mint dressing and lime wedges.

Burmese-style fish curry with noodles and mustard greens
serves 6

Burmese-style fish curry with noodles
and mustard greens (photo by Dupree)

Ingredients
80 ml (1/3 cup) peanut oil (olive oil will also suffice for those with nut allergies)
4 red shallots, thinly sliced
4 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
800 gm thin fresh rice noodles
To serve: coriander sprigs, small green birdseye chillies, pickled mustard greens (available from Asian supermarkets and well worth getting. They are delicious), lime wedges and chilli powder (only include what you like)

Fish curry
1 tsp shrimp paste
6 vine-ripened tomatoes, scored
60 ml (¼ cup) sesame oil
2 onions, finely chopped
6 garlic cloves, crushed
30g (5cm piece) ginger, cut into julienne
2 lemongrass stalk, white part only, finely chopped
1/2 tsp fenugreek seeds
4 tsp finely chopped fresh turmeric (available from a good green grocer. Wear gloves when chopping or you will look like you like playing with yellow paint)
1.5 tsp each sweet paprika and ground chilli
750 ml coconut milk
3 fresh curry leaf sprigs
2.5 tbsp tamarind purée (most supermarkets now sell this, or try an asian supermarket), or to taste
2 tbsp fish sauce, or to taste
2 tbsp caster sugar, or to taste
4 firm white fish fillets, such as coral trout or barramundi (about 225gm each), skin on. I used barramundi.
Juice of 1 lime, or to taste

Tomatoes blanching (photo by Dupree)

Method

For fish curry, preheat oven to 180C. Wrap shrimp paste in foil and roast until fragrant (5-10 minutes), then set aside. Meanwhile, blanch tomatoes until skins split, then refresh, drain, peel, finely chop and set aside. 

Heat sesame oil in a wok or large saucepan over medium-high heat. Add onion, garlic, ginger and lemongrass and sauté until softened (10 minutes), add fenugreek, turmeric, spices, shrimp paste and sauté until fragrant (1-2 minutes), then add coconut milk, curry leaves, tamarind, fish sauce, sugar and tomato and stir occasionally until flavours meld (20-30 minutes). Add fish and cook over low heat, breaking up slightly with a wooden spoon, until cooked through (4-6 minutes). Add lime juice, adjusting seasoning to suit your taste, keep warm.

Meanwhile, heat peanut oil in a saucepan over medium heat, fry shallot and garlic separately until golden (3-5 minutes). Remove with a slotted spoon and set aside to drain on absorbent paper. Or, you can purchase these from Asian supermarkets.

Place noodles in a heatproof bowl, cover completely with boiling water and stand until heated through (1-2 minutes), then drain and serve with fish curry, fried garlic and shallot, coriander, chillies (if using), mustard greens, lime wedges and chilli powder (if using) to the side.

Queen of Puddings

This tradition British dessert can be made in separate ramekins or in a pie dish.

Serves 4

Queen of Puddings. I was shocked these actually turned
out considering everything was measured by feel
rather than weight (photo by Dupree)

Ingredients

140g fresh fine breadcrumbs, from white bread
Finely grated rind of 2 lemons
200g caster sugar
225ml each milk and pouring cream
1 vanilla bean, split and seeds scraped
4 eggs, separated
butter for greasing ramekins or pie dish

Berry jam
500g (2 punnets) strawberries, trimmed and quartered
300g caster sugar
100g (½ cup) frozen raspberries
Thinly peeled rind and juice of 1 lemon

Making the jam  (photo by Dupree)

Method

For berry jam - combine ingredients in a saucepan, bring to the boil over medium-high heat and stir frequently until mixture reaches setting point (20-30 minutes; see note), then set aside to cool. You can also gently heat the sugar in a low oven before placing it in the saucepan. This will prevent scum forming on the surface. 

Preheat oven to 180C. Combine breadcrumbs, lemon rind and 40g sugar in a heatproof bowl, set aside. Bring milk, cream, vanilla bean and seeds just to the boil in a saucepan over medium heat, pour onto breadcrumb mixture and stir, then stand until breadcrumbs swell (3-5 minutes). Remove vanilla bean and discard, then stir in yolks until well combined. Spoon into 4 buttered 200ml ovenproof dishes and bake until custard just sets (12-15 minutes). Keep warm.

Meanwhile, whisk eggwhite in an electric mixer until soft peaks form (3-5 minutes). Gradually add remaining sugar in a steady stream, whisking continuously until stiff and glossy and sugar has dissolved (3-5 minutes). Spread a very thin layer of berry jam over puddings (remaining jam will keep for one month), top with meringue and bake until golden (5-10 minutes). Serve hot.

Note - to test setting point, place a few saucers in the freezer while jam is cooking. Remove jam from heat and spoon onto a cold saucer, return to freezer for 30 seconds, then push with your finger. If it wrinkles, it’s ready. If not, cook jam for another few minutes, test again, remove from heat and set aside to cool.

So, to my friends in the wider Brisbane area, who would next like to experience the roving self-raising kitchen? Remember, you will be my guinea pigs.