August 2018 – MakeCookGrow.com

Reading Fay Weldon, Watching Un Village Francais and Some Cooking

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READING Chalcot Crescent, by Fay Weldon, English author, essayist, feminist and playwright. Written in 2009, Weldon imagines the life that might have been lived by her stillborn younger sister whom she envisaged as a once famous author, a national treasure and a fierce feminist. The younger sister steals Weldon’s life. It’s 2013, Communism has failed, Capitalism is abandoned except by the public servants of the people, who like the best of everything, and frugality has ruined the economy. Centralized government rules. This take on Britain in 2013 is astute, funny and thought provoking. Sounds a bit grim but was a good read.

WATCHING The first series of Un Village Francais, the story of a fictional French village near the French/Swiss border and it’s inhabitants and their lives during the German Occupation from 1940 -1945. It highlights the challenges and dilemmas of surviving as families are shattered, people disappear and food becomes scarce. It shows the repression and fear during occupation, the disparate French Resistance groups all interspersed with individual loyalties and antisemitism. We borrowed it from the library. Can’t wait for the next series.

MAKING Spanakopita, feta and spinach pie. This is my recipe so I don’t know how true it is to the original Greek recipe but it tastes very good, hot or cold. It makes four generous serves or six light serves. Dice one medium sized onion and cook it in a dessert spoon of butter in a bowl in the microwave until the onion becomes opaque. Add it to 250gm ( 0.55lb ) broken up goat feta and one thawed packet of spinach (200gm/0.44lb) squeezed dry. I’ve tried making it with fresh spinach from the garden but can’t cut it finely enough to get the same results. Stir in two beaten eggs and a teaspoon of nutmeg. Of course, you can use any good feta, not just goat.

Line a medium sized casserole dish or similar with two sheets of filo, draping about a third over the edge to make the top, spread melted butter with a pastry bush on the sheets and add two more. Add the feta/spinach mix, smooth off, then fold remainder of the sheet over the top of the dish and smooth it down before brushing with melted butter. Put in 175 C (350 F) degrees fan forced oven and check after 35 minutes. The top needs to be golden and crisp.

Serve with roasted or steamed vegetables. Enjoy!

Our son wears sober suits or standard chinos and shirts to work. His socks are a different matter.

Our weekend treat from our favourite macaron shop Cafe des Delices in Dalkeith. They lasted three days.

Made bread and discovered the new oven is hotter than the old oven, so will modify the temperature next time.

This Sunday 2nd September is Father’s Day in Australia. The gifts are bought and wrapped for my husband and we will cook a roast lunch, open some wine and enjoy family time, remembering our treasured fathers, too.

How will you celebrate Father’s Day?

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It’s All About The Food And A New Oven

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Look at these beautiful winter foods! We’ve had a lot of rain this winter and citrus fruit has been plentiful. I’ve made jams, lemon meringue pie, lemon drizzle cakes and all sorts of salads, sauces and marinades with limes, pink grapefruit and lemons. My husband says the mandarins are the best. I gave up on my mushroom farm and bought these luscious, big brown mushrooms. I am the only one who eats them….lucky me!

The last of the passion fruit. They were heavy and full of pulp and I was going to make passion fruit butter, but we just ate them instead.

Lovely lemons made a lovely lemon meringue pie.

Put leftover bread in the oven while the spinakopita, a fetta and spinach pie, cooked and then processed the toasted pieces to make breadcrumbs. I’ve made chicken, beef and turkey rissoles almost every week this winter and they all call for breadcrumbs.

Spinakopita. I used to make this years ago and made it again for a vegetarian friend and have kept making it. Really enjoying the contrast of flavours. Delicious hot or cold.

A busy day and sushi for dinner. We really enjoy sushi and there’s leftovers for lunch the next day. We always order from the same place.

Fresh mussels were $4 a kilo at The Boatshed so I cooked them in white wine until the shells popped open, then sprinkled them with parsley and poured them into bowls with crusty bread. So fresh and so tasty.

Made a big pot of soup using carrots, cauliflower, celery, a swede, a parsnip, an onion and some potato plus homemade stock. I fried the onions first in a splash of olive oil then added the other vegetables and the stock and let it boil until it was soft, then used a Bamix to puree it all. Forgot to take a photo as we were too busy eating it!

This Kleenmaid Brandt double oven is nearly twelve years old and has been used almost every day. It has been very good, until it wasn’t; the ON/OFF dial stopped working. The electrician came and the replacement part was going to take three months to arrive, cost a frightening amount of money and then needed to be installed. By the time he’d had shown me another problem he’d have to fix, I knew the answer was a new oven.

Set off intending to get another white oven but that wasn’t possible. Oven shopping isn’t fun and when we found a stainless steel double oven with the qualities we wanted we bought it.

Old oven out, new oven in. So glad the cavity was a standard size and the new oven slipped in and was screwed into place. Then we had to run it for 30 minutes. It smelt awful but has been fine ever since. I baked a loaf of sourdough the next morning. The new oven has the ability to be set at 40 degrees to prove bread dough, one of 50 cooking programs and is pyrolytic, or self cleaning. Steep learning curve!

Recently we visited a cousin’s farm and lunch ended with cheese, crackers and quince paste. Delicious. I had three quinces so made some paste myself. Quinces are unfashionable and hard to get and not very attractive. They cannot be eaten raw and need to be cooked for a long time with sugar. They go from white fresh to a gorgeous pink when they’re boiled or baked and taste great.

To make QUINCE PASTE, peel, core and cut up 2 kilos of quince. Bring to the boil with half a cup of water (125ml) in a heavy based pan, reduce heat to a simmer. Cover and simmer for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally. It should now be a thick pulp.

Puree in a blender or with a stick blender then weigh the puree and add 250gm sugar for every 500gm of puree. ( I reduced the sugar by 50gm and it is still very sweet ) Return to saucepan, simmer for 45 minutes uncovered, stirring regularly then pour the mixture into a baking dish, about 2.5 cm deep, lined with parchment paper and allow to cool.

The paste was still runny, so I put it in a moderate oven for 35 minutes, then allowed it to cool and it was glossy and firm. I cut it into rectangles and wrapped it in parchment paper.

The paste needed to be stirred regularly while it simmered for 45 minutes so I made crepes, too, using batter made of the “discard” from the sourdough mother/starter I use for sourdough bread, with an egg and almond milk added. So, pour crepe batter into pan and swirl to spread, stir paste, walk from one end of the house to the other ( 75 steps) flip the crepe, stir the paste and walk. Repeat until all the batter was cooked and the paste was ready to pour into a dish.

Quince paste, or Dulce de Membrillo in Spanish, is a delicacy eaten with cheese and crackers.

Served the crepes with strawberries seeped in kirsch and icing sugar, plus lemons and sugar. Very nice weekend lunch.

PLUTO. On the 24th of August, 2009, following intense debate, astronomers decided to demote Pluto from being a planet, so, officially, there are now eight planets in the solar system. Pluto is now a dwarf planet.

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Visiting Mandurah

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Sun, surf, sand. That is the image I get when I think of Mandurah. I grew up further down the coast and we passed through Mandurah regularly en route to Perth. Lots of beach shacks for summer holidays and also retirees, often farmers from inland. Mandurah was particularly famous for it’s crabs. There was also a fishing industry and not much else.

That has all changed! Mandurah, about 80 km from Perth, is a huge, sprawling area of housing estates, apartments, beaches, cafes and restaurants and shops, the newest a redevelopment of the shopping centre. It is now very big and there’s so many shops. We also enjoyed eating lunch at the shopping centre.

The two photographs above show where the Dawesville Channel, also known as The Cut, meets the Indian Ocean. This man made channel connecting the Peel-Harvey Inlet to the Ocean was designed to regularly flush clean the Estuary which was marred by the build up algae and has been very successful.

This is the view from our hotel room. It was mesmerizing, day and night. To the left is a cinema, a theater, then some restaurants. It’s a lovely walk around the bay, when it’s not raining.

Our balcony with more of the great view. Just sat and watched the Canal and Dolphin Cruise boats, people walking around the inlet and the birds. Calm and restful.

Quite luscious smelling toiletries in a good sized bathroom.

Comfortable reading corner. Our room was large, comfortable and had a great view. When we checked in the lady told us that as we were only staying two nights they wouldn’t service the room. I asked what this meant and she offered to let housekeeping know we’d like the bed to be made and it was, but I expect that at a hotel!

These artificially created canals with their luxurious homes and apartments with their own moorings have also attracted many dolphins.

Canals joined by walkways. These bridges reminded me of Venice.

More canals. It is very easy to walk around this lovely area.

The traffic bridge was illuminated at night with blue lights morphing into violet and back to blue. Very pretty, especially with headlights moving across it.

Our new favourite, a shared tasting plate.

Enjoyed some street art along the foreshore.

Daybreak on our last morning in Mandurah. Lovely clear day, no rain and much warmer. We are experiencing a very wet winter, so good for the environment, but I don’t have appropriate clothes to be outdoors in rain, wind and hail so I’ve been very cold and wet, sometimes. It has been a welcome change from our usual mild winters.

Fruit from the buffet.

Yesterday this table was laden with the buffet breakfast, today a leaf in a vase. We enjoyed our breakfasts at The Sebel which were part buffet complimented by ordering from the cooked menu. First morning this worked well, overseen by the waitress, but the second morning was different as they are trialing a new system. It didn’t work well!

Today is Vanilla Custard Day. Vanilla Custard is thought to originate in Ancient Rome and is still popular, unlike the fish and meat custards popular in the Middle Ages.

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Visiting Denmark, Western Australia

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Denmark, on the south coast in the heart of the Great Southern region of Western Australia is about a five hour drive from our home in Perth. We stopped for a treat at the Mount Baker Bakery. It was very good.

White settlement was established in 1895 when a mill town was built by the Millar brothers, later Millars Timber and Trading Company. They operated in Denmark until 1905. Other important industries since then include fishing, farming, dairying, vegetable and fruit growing, all still evident, along with tourism and viticulture.

Silver Road leading to our chalet. Apart from being surrounded by amazing forests, Denmark township offers some historical buildings, lots of interesting food and usually, art and craft galleries but these were all closed when we were there.

My grandfather was born in Denmark in 1895.

Redgum, our chalet at Karrak Ridge, chosen because it has beautiful views, clever design elements and we could take Louis, our dog! Behind Redgum is 50 acres of karri forest and in front, never ending views over the tanks, dams, alpacas, sheep and cattle, then valleys and green hilltops in the distance. It was very quiet and restful here.

The chalets are elevated, maximizing the views, but also very private.

This is the bedroom and like all the floors in the chalet it has timber boards with under floorboard insulation to retain winter warmth and prevent draughts. ( Previous three photographs used by permission of Karrak Reach)

The clerestory windows capture the winter sun so less energy is required to heat the chalet. There is also a biolytix recycling system, a method of treating wastewater.

I sometimes get hay fever from dust so when we’re booking accommodation I look for tiles and floorboards, blinds and shutters and leather furniture as they are less dusty.

The meet and greet committee at the front door.

We visited relatives on their farm and had a lovely day. This is the wonderful terrine we enjoyed for lunch. The photos of their crops ….not so good!

More of the karri forest.

A lot of the food we ate featured locally produced vegetables and protein. It is easy to find out where the food is sourced.

We enjoyed eating out in Denmark. Despite many places being shut for winter we found a range of food options.

Two views of Wilson Inlet, the largest inlet on the southern coastline. Wilson Inlet is part of a really pretty body of water but on a freezing cold, wet and gloomy day it was hard to capture how lovely this area is as photos were taken quickly between rain and hail. Not ideal holidaying conditions but we enjoyed driving around the coastline, visiting relatives, eating in cafes, restaurants and a brewery and relaxing in our cosy chalet.

These little blue wrens darted around in the restaurant. We also saw small birds with bright red breasts just like robin red breasts but I’m not sure what they were, apart from gorgeous!

Louis lurked quietly under tables in outdoor areas when we ate. We cannot take our dogs into restaurants in Australia.

Ten years ago we were in the same area for a wedding and bought Ugg boots for my husband which he has worn every winter since. They were beginning to look a bit forlorn so we went back to the leather shop near Nornalup and bought a new pair. The next night we enjoyed dinner with the couple whose wedding we attended ten years ago. They now have two gorgeous little boys!

Today is WORLD LION DAY intended to pay tribute to this beautiful and fearsome animal. Lion numbers have dramatically declined to the point where the species is being considered endangered.

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How To Make Grapefruit Marmalade In The Microwave

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I was very interested when a friend mentioned she’d made marmalade in the microwave and decided to experiment. This seemed a quick and easy way to replenish our marmalade supply and use up some of the winter citrus crops.

The same friend gave me large, luscious pink grapefruit so I decided to use them to make marmalade. This was so successful I will try the same method to make lime and kumquat marmalade, too, as I have access to both at the moment.

To begin, I scrubbed two grapefruit, weighing one kilo, then peeled them using a potato peeler.

Using a sharp vegetable knife I cut the peel into thin strips, which released the wonderful aroma of the oil in the peel.

I carefully removed as much pith as I could, then cut the grapefruit into segments making it easier to remove any remaining pith and seeds.

Put the fruit ( about two cups) with their juice and peel into a large microwave safe bowl with two cups of sugar. Cooked it on HIGH in 5, five minute bursts, stirring at the end of each five minutes. I dropped some on a saucer at the end of four five minute bursts (20 minutes) and thought it was not ready and repeated this after the fifth session and thought it was just right and it was thick and ready.

I had washed the jars in the dishwasher earlier but put them in the sink and poured boiling water over them and the lids before emptying them and leaving them to air dry on the sink.

The marmalade was thick, rich and not too sweet, so just as my husband likes it. Chunky with peel and fruit pulp, it smells and tastes wonderful. I’ll be making marmalade this way in the future.

This is the first time I have made marmalade in the microwave. This way is much quicker than making it in a pot on the stovetop and seems less sticky, too, but I don’t know why! Two very big pink grapefruit made two jars of marmalade so next time I will double the proportions.

Set the table for lunch. We’re a family who like serviettes/napkins but I don’t like washing and ironing small, elegant ones, so years ago I bought a set 0f three similar tea towels and we use them instead. They are a generous size and are 100% cotton so wash well. I no longer iron them. They come off the line and straight back into use on the table.

First thing I made this morning was French Onion Soup for our lunch. I peeled and thinly sliced four onions and cooked them in a little butter until they were translucent, then stirred through a dessertspoon of plain flour. Next I added 1 lt of water and 110 ml of white wine and let it cook for about half an hour, stirring every now and then. Seasoned to taste. Served four.

I didn’t have any ovenproof bowls so toasted the sliced baguette topped with gruyere cheese under the grill and put slices on top of the soup. Delicious.

My husband and son went out to get the cheese for the soup and returned with some surprises, too. We had one box of the bakery treats with coffee after the soup and then settled to the weekend papers. I also have the sourdough “mother” out in the weak winter sun, hoping it will bubble and froth enough to start a loaf this evening so I’m going in and out, checking on it, but think I will have to slightly heat the oven and put it on the door for a while.

The other box of treats was enjoyed at dinner time. Pretty colours, delicate flavours and very easy to eat! We always get macarons from the same place and they are always very good.

While things were boiling and bubbling away I went out and collected the seeds from the basil plant, put them in a paper bag and hung them to dry until it is time to replant.

Today is International Beer Day, recognizing breweries, brewers, bartenders and, of course, beer itself.

Beer has been enjoyed since about 6000BC. Ancient civilizations considered beer a food staple. Often, it was more pure and safer to drink than many water supplies.

So celebrate International Beer Day today with your chosen brew!

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