Abracadabra....the magic of butterflied chook.

 

hey culinary peeps. i must confess i am a supermarket meat stalker. with two young adult men, one with an appetite of 10 i am always on the lookout for a bargain. most of those bargains come in the form of whole chicken some less than 4 bucks. my method is to pounce and then chuck the chook in the freezer until i am ready to cook it.

and nothing is quite as simple as a butterflied chicken roasted in the oven, served with a tasty salad or whatever else takes your fancy. i have made this chicken several times. my inspiration comes from lovie and the power of vegeta which you will find in any slavic household. if you don't, then they are surely imposters. this handy seasoning is the cornerstone of many a slavic dish but is handy for most savoury creations. just make sure you have your vegeta license if you are new to its powers or ask some sweet baba and she will show you how much to use.

so for my chicken  i just use some kitchen scissors to cut straight through the back and then butterfly it which will ensure that the cooking time is reduced. for the seasoning i use about 2 tspns of salt which i rub all over the chicken, i rub about a tbspn of vegeta all over the chicken and in the cavity and then dollop 2 big tablespoons of garlic, no garlic shaming here, it can come straight out of the jar or finely crush about 6 cloves. follow that with 1 heaped tablespoon of cracked pepper and then a generous coating of olive oil. zest one large lemon and squeeze the juice all over the chicken. pop onto a tray lined with baking paper and slash the legs, thighs and breasts to the bone and then put into an oven at 180 degrees celsius, check after 45 mins and then increase temp to 200 for another 10-15 mins for crispier skin. you can check by slicing into the thigh to ensure that it is cooked. 

 

red lentil, pumpkin and veggie soup...

 

Ok folks talk about a downpour and decline in temperature. what has happened to spring?

spring, spring where have you gone?

here is a very easy soup which can be made in about 45mins, including cooking time, leave it in the fridge overnight and its flavours become even more enhanced.

i had my gorgeous vres ( we are a secret group of highly trained professionals, if i tell you what we do then i am afraid...lol) for lunch yesterday and had a request for this recipe and so here it is. i re-checked my blog and was surprised to see i had not already included it. i got this recipe from a colleague many moons ago  when i was living In WA and have done as Lovie always does, have of course tweaked it, a little addition here and there and you end up with a delicious red lentil coconut curry soup laden with a few extra veggies.

red lentil curry coconut soup.

ingredients.

1 cup of red rosy lentils…i get mine from gaganis but you can also purchase them from coles

1medium onion quartered and sliced

1 large clove of garlic crushed or a tspn of crushed garlic from the jar…no garlic shaming here viewers

oil whatever you prefer, i just use olive

1 heaped tablespoon of keens curry powder

1 tspn of salt 1 litre of chicken stock plus some extra stock powder, i use a tspn of vegeta ( yes you heard me) or you can just use chicken stock powder…plus another litre of water

1 medium carrot peeled and diced

1 medium potato cubed

1 wedge of pumpkin…i usually just buy a wedge of kent which is probably about a quarter of a medium sized pumpkin, peeled and cut into chunks

1 can of coconut milk

method

pour a few glugs of oil into a pot, when hot add lentils, curry powder, salt, stock powder or vegeta plus garlic and onion and sauté

add all your veggies and liquid stock plus water, bring to boil and then simmer until lentils are cooked and veggies are soft

i do not blend this soup as i prefer a chunkier texture so i just use a potato masher and smash the veggies

add your coconut milk and season to taste, sometimes i will add a little more curry powder, if your soup is too thick then just thin with some water and adjust seasoning…done and enjoy

Danish seeded bread rolls...

 

my sister sent me these via insta. i managed to find the original poster on you tube but unless you understand danish or have a handsome danish viking neighbour better utilise google translate, lol. although on second thoughts a handsome viking might come in handy! still it is worthwhile to watch her demonstrate how she makes them. some time and effort and you will have a dozen buns that will taste as delicious as they look. 

this recipe requires a little patience, to make the mixture is easy enough but you must put it in the refrigerator for at least 8 hours, better still, make it the night before and bake them when you get home or wait for a lazy sunday to fill your kitchen with the divine smell of freshly baked rolls.

also this is not a dough you can shape by hand, just slap it on to the tray i used a large serving spoon and made 12 rolls baked in two batches. if you follow this recipe to a t then you will be buttering them in no time.just a word of warning... if you have teenage sons then best hide a few for later or you will most likely never get to taste one, hee-hee...eli 6, isaac 2, moi 1...rest given away.

DANISH SEED BREAD ROLLS…

ingredients

10gms dry yeast

100 gms grated veggies…50 carrot/50 zucchini

300 gms Greek yoghurt

125 gms rolled oats

100 gms wholemeal plain flour

500ml  cold water

500gms bread flour

200gms mixed seeds/kernels…i used pumpkin, sunflower,

sesame and poppy

1 ½ tspns salt

method

place yeast, veggies, yoghurt, wholemeal flour, salt, rolled oats and water into a bowl, mix thoroughly, add bread flour and mix well. place bowl in fridge covered for at least 8 hours or better still overnight.

ensure oven is heated to maximum temp 240-250 C.

line a tray with baking paper. when oven is sufficiently heated, use a large serving spoon, like a salad server, dip in hot water and place mounds of dough on tray. this mixture should make about 12, so 6 at a time on a large oven tray if you have a 900mm oven. place 100ml of water in bottom tray or a cake tin on bottom shelf for steam and put buns in oven and bake for 20 mins, place on cooling rack. bake the next 6 or place dough in fridge and bake another batch the following day.

* I have discovered that mysecond batch needed some longer cooking time. After 20 mins check one of the rolls and if it is still slightly under cooked bake for qnother 5 mins.

 

 

 

 

cheap, comforting and quick

hey viewers are you wearing 3 pairs of socks and 2 dressing gowns to save on heating costs? or do you happen to have a son who is a bottomless pit who is eating you out of house and home or a pussy cat who has expensive tastes? if any of this applies to you, welcome to my first recipe that fits under, cheap, comforting and quick. this particular recipe has been requested  so here is the first one in the series...miss margie's macaroni. this recipe is a bit of a free range one that i created as a quick comfort dish to feed hungry boys, well it will feed anyone who is hungry. i have been making this for ages for my ravenous sons as a quick dinner loaded with veggies. so here it goes and happy macaroni eating to you.

ingredients

500gms of pork mince

1 med onion quartered and sliced

3 cloves of garlic crushed

120gms of baby spinach

2 carrots grated

½ cup of finely sliced celery

2 tspns of vegeta

pepper to taste

1 jar of any type of spaghetti sauce

2 cups of dry macaroni

chicken stock

method

saute onions, garlic, celery and carrots in a few lugs of olive oil with vegeta. add pork mince and break it up and cook for a few mins. add half of the spinach and allow to wilt, then add two cups of dry macaroni, 1 jar of spag sauce. mix through and add enough chicken stock to cover macaroni. add rest of spinach on top, bring to boil, mix spinach through and then turn to low, put on a lid and cook for 20 mins until macaroni cooked. season with salt and pepper, sprinkle with pecorino and serve. that’s it folks.

Fart on...lol

• hey foodies are you ready to fart on? Lol…i know but seriously as delicious as this recipe straight from lovie’s kitchen is, you have been warned. i would advise you to eat it in the company of trusted friends or family or perhaps you may need it for another purpose…say to get rid of some love pest  or maybe save it for the black friday sales if you have your eye on something in particular, hee-hee.

this soup is a childhood favourite and there are variations of it. in hrvatski terms it is known as grah and is basically a bean and kransky sausage combo. my mum lovie has a bit of a different take on it which in my opinion super charges the taste level and maybe the fart power too! we made this together this past weekend and i added another touch which elevates this humble soup into a hearty meal and skyrockets your carb intake. along with this delicious soup i made a batch of fresh lepinja , soft pillows of yeasty goodness made better with lashings of butter. guaranteed to be on the weight watchers banned list but truly they are just too hard to resist. even moi who is on a health kick managed to eat one and half from a batch of 12 which in my books is pretty good going coz i did lock myself in my room to stop myself from eating the left overs. luckily for me i have two  young hungry men who saved me from a carb overload and blood sugar catastrophe. actually if the truth be known i gave 4 to my mum and two to my sister, lol which left us with 6. technically i was entitled to two but my good friend anica came for lunch and she had a half of one and of course being polite i had the other half but then snuck in an extra one later in the day…yes with vegemite and butter and it was sooooooo good.  (please refer to a previous post for lepinja recipe and make sure you pay your respects to brigita husic’s youtube video, link included)

i have been farting for two days but fortunately ceased upon my return to work but hey the farting is definitely worth it, so here it is folks…lovie’s grah

*Please note before contemplating making this soup you must soak your bean mix or beans overnight

ingredients

1 smoked ham hock

3 kransky sausages, put these in whole, for a bit of a kick you can get the chilli ones

1 large onion finely diced

5 cloves of garlic crushed

4 medium carrots peeled and kept whole

3 stalks of celery finely diced

2 stalks of whole celery

1 tablespoon of vegeta

½ tspn of ground black pepper

1 tablespoon sweet paprika and 2 tablespoons of plain flour to thicken

parsley for garnish

1 kg pack of continental soup mix soaked overnight

( I get mine from gaganis) this must be soaked overnight, alternatively you can also use  borlotti beans but I recommend going to gaganis and buying the continental bean soup mix as this is my mum’s variation and take it from me if you have ever had any of lovie’s cooking you will heed this advice!!!

 method

place bean mix, ham hock, kranskys into a large pot, add onion, garlic, diced celery, whole celery and whole carrots. add vegeta, pepper and cover with boiling water until completely covered. Bring to boil and then simmer for 1 and a 1/2 hours- 2 hours. meat should fall off ham hock. remove whole celery, carrots, ham hock and kranskys, peel kranskys if you desire and add back to soup, shred ham hock meat and add back to soup, chunk carrots and add back to soup, discard whole celery. mix flour and sweet paprika together in a cup, add some soup stock and mix to form a smooth past then, add back to soup to thicken it. add some chopped parsley, season to taste with a teaspoon of salt if you feel it needs it. serve with freshly baked lepinjas or crusty bread and fart on!

 

introducing...torta caprese...saviour for the gluten intolerant

 

hey viewers do you want to have your cake and eat it too?

i have to confess i have had my fair share of cakes over the years, hee, hee but unfortunately i have had to activate the cake brakes in the name of health. that is not to say i don’t sneak a few crumbs every now and then just don’t tell the cake police aka my sister, my mother, my sons who have taken to watching my food consumption with eagle eyes…drats!

now some of us sadly  in this culinary world cannot partake in the smorgasbord of cake heaven due to food allergies and intolerances but please don’t tell me you have a visual allergy to parsley…true story. does such a thing genuinely exist? if that is the case then i must have a visual allergy to my ex, ha-ha…no seriously that is just my little joke, more like a visual allergy to his new wife. but then again i shall not succumb to being a mean girl ( well maybe only when needed) and instead introduce you to the wonderful creation from naples, torta caprese.

this gluten free wonder is a naples staple and i came upon its discovery through my little sestra chef magnifico who happened to be given a cookbook by loredarlz, our friend in common. yes it involves almonds but no oranges here folks and makes a wonderful alternative to the standard orange, flourless creation that once upon a time was about the only dessert offering to the gluten free. and you don’t have to be a coeliac to enjoy it. so in honour of my buddies who genuinely are gluten intolerant, here is a dessert for you which you can serve up to anyone and enjoy yourself with a big dob of thick cream or mascarpone on the side. i recently made this for a birthday and it was received with oohs and ahs so take it from these lovely ladies it is worth the time, effort and you can be an inclusive baker.

*tips from the test kitchen

 

although this recipe is from the book an extra cup of almond meal is added to the batter

 i used my calibut 54% dark chocolate chips for this, so if you are not a huge dark chocolate fan then use good quality standard dark chocolate, such as old gold

 beat, beat, beat for a good 10 mins, those yolks and sugar need to be creamy

 double line the sides of your cake tin, this can be achieved by folding the baking paper in half and having open edges at the top…also grease your tin  and line the bottom but this can be a single layer of baking paper

 check cake after 50 mins by inserting skewer in the centre

 torta caprese

 ingredients

250 gms unsalted butter

250gms of castor sugar

6 large eggs separated

60ml limoncello liqueur

400 gms blanched almonds…roughly chopped or roughly blitzed in food processor, plus one cup of almond meal

250gms good quality dk chocolate

icing sugar for dusting

method

preheat oven to 180 C or 350 F

melt the butter in a heatproof bowl over a pot of simmering water, then allow to cool slightly.

beat egg yolks, sugar and limoncello until thick and creamy, 10mins

in a separate bowl whip egg whites until stiff, then fold into egg yolk mixture and also add the butter.

fold in almonds and chocolate, pour into a very well lined 10-inch cake tin and bake for 50-60 mins or until skewer inserted comes out clean (check at 50 mins)

when cool dust with icing sugar and serve with a dollop of thick cream or mascarpone…enjoy.

 

 

 

 

 

a tale of three hamburgers…

 

a couple of hamburgers by james thurber is one of my favourite short stories. have you ever read any thurber viewers or know of his writing? well if you are familiar with the secret life of walter mitty then thurber is responsible for that piece of fiction. it was even made into a movie, breathtaking scenery, iceland is and has been on my bucket list for some time.

i still have the copy of collected short stories where we had to read thurber for an english assignment. i forgot to return it and am kind of glad i did. every now and then i will read a couple of hamburgers again but today i bring you the tale of three hamburgers instead.

growing up in the west we had the fortune of living close to a wonderful fish and chip shop called jacks. it is still there today but the original owners have since long gone. however, my childhood connection has developed into lifelong friendships with two wonderful sisters who grew up there in a lovely, large family of six plus two makes eight.

when we were growing up it was a real treat to go to the fish and chip shop to buy two hamburgers. my dad would send one of us and we would begrudgingly walk the distance. but once there we were greeted by two familiar and friendly faces, husband and wife who worked together as a team. i would put in the order, two hamburgers with the lot and while they made the hamburgers which i knew to be delicious i would check out the pinball machine in the corner. if i was lucky someone would come in and put some money in and bring the jukebox to life. that jukebox remains today in my friends loungeroom as a long-time memory.

so once the hamburgers were done, whoever had been sent would walk home and then the torture began, lol. my dad would sit at the kitchen table and unwrap the white paper, then unwrap the first hamburger. my sister, brother and i would all sit at the kitchen table and watch my dad eat the first one. juicy meat, egg, lettuce, tomato, the aroma of hamburger penetrated our nostrils while we sat there like greedy seagulls waiting for a crumb. he would take his time, savouring every bite and we would sit there waiting to see if we would get an offering. i actually don’t know why my dad did that. i think it was just one of his games that he played to amuse himself. in hindsight considering the size of the hamburgers he was really never going to eat two anyway but as kids that never really occurred to us. then dad would get a knife and cut the burger into quarters and we would get one each and i have to say they were the best fish and chip hamburgers ever. we would devour our quarter while dad ate the last one and then we would be on our merry way. i have to admit i actually bought a hamburger with the lot last week ( minus the pineapple…no apologies there but pineapple does not belong in a hamburger) from my local take away while son number two was gifted a lamb yiros. it was delicious and inspired me to make my own.

hamburger number three. when i was a teenager i would catch the bus every saturday to the croatian nun’s convent in north adelaide. i was invited by a fellow croat from school to partake in embroidery classes (true story). i actually really had no interest in going but my lovie blackmailed me into going by enticing me...  you guessed it, a hamburger from jack’s fish shop on the way home. of course i was a sucker for that lure. and i have to say i did try viewers, i really did, well… for about three hamburgers worth. that was about all i could take. i just wasn’t cut out for it. for a start the nuns wouldn’t speak in english and i felt like a heathen as they were not impressed i didn’t know the lingo of the motherland. shame on me. my sewing skills were pretty rubbish, actually make that crapola and it didn’t help they were looking over my shoulder and hovering around me while the other girls could have embroidered their folk dancing costumes with their eyes closed but alas not me. i had to farewell ena begovich (of course her identity is a secret) much to her disappointment, because i quit and was not coming back. and after my third hamburger as much as i appreciated them, the lure had been exhausted and i failed gaining my certificate in obedient girls’ embroidery stage 1. so i went home, put some band aids on pricked fingers and played football in the streets with my brother instead. somehow, I don’t think the nuns would have approved but hey god's sisters were certainly not going to influece me.

the following recipes are one from me and one from lovie as these were the hamburgers she would make for us when we were growing up. add to that home-made lepinja, lettuce, tomato and mayo and there you have it. two variations of the burger folks, one you can make with turkey or chicken mince and the other with beef.

turkey veggie burgers

ingredients

500gms turkey or chicken mince, i used steggles which is 400gms

1 carrot grated

2 spring onions finely sliced

1 stalk of celery with leaves, if no leaves throw in a handful of parsley, very finely sliced

50 grams of cauliflower grated

2 cloves of garlic crushed

1 teaspoon of vegeta, 1 teaspoon of salt, 1/2 teaspoon of white pepper

1/2 cup of breadcrumbs

1 egg

method

1.sautee all veggies, garlic in some olive oil with 1 teaspoon of vegeta, 1 tspn of salt and ½ tspn of white pepper

2. add to mice, then add ½ cup of bread crumbs, (i used panko crumbs) and one egg, mix throroughly and shape into patties

3. fry in oil until browned nicely on both sides and then turn down heat, put lid on and cook for about 10 mins, then take lid off, cook for another 5 if needed.

Lovie’s hamburgers

Ingredients

500gms of beef mince

I medium onion very finely diced

2 cloves of crushed garlic

½ cup of breadcrumbs

1 egg

1 teaspoon of vegeta, 1 teaspoon of salt, ½ teaspoon of pepper

some fresh parsley finely chopped

method

1. sautee onions and garlic, vegeta, salt and pepper in some olive oil

2. add to mince and mix thoroughly

3. add breadcrumbs and egg, mix thoroughly, shape into patties

4. fry until nicely browned on both sides,  then turn heat down and cook until done