I can make relish, jam and pickles, but I always assumed marmalade was in the advanced category. I think it’s because every recipe I read gave finicky and painstaking instructions regarding the removal of pith, zesting the skin, fine slivers of lime peel curling like the eyelashes of kittens…I’m as impressed by a croquembouche as [...]
Also taggedIt’s wintry lately. Fog on the Brindabellas, frost on the car, etc. I could go on, but you get it. Winter draws its sexy cloak o’er the land and the fruits and vegetables swoon from the stalks. It’s stockpile time! Food traditions are interesting: in particular, I get a kick out of “use it up” [...]
Also tagged abundanceMy Dadini just came back from a trip up towards the north coast. While away, he stayed with some old friends who are avocado growers. Guess what I have many of? Many delicious, uber-ripe green friends are now crowding my fridge. A mix of Shepherd and Hass, if you’re interested. I’m not even sure how [...]
Also tagged banging onYou know what’s great? Gnocchi. You know what else is great? Carrots. Boy howdy, those two things sure are great. Wouldn’t it be even greaterer if some genius combined them? Well, ’round Chez Spoonfully, we be smart. Enter M and his dynamic brains. He roasted four fat orange carrots until they were mashable, and then [...]
Also taggedThe trick to making the besterest felafels, as discovered by M this week: don’t use cooked chickpeas. Use dried ones, which you boil for ten minutes and then leave to soak, heat off, for a few hours. Add seasonings of choice and a little flour, mash it all up in the food processor and chill [...]
Also taggedEver had shakshouka? It’s a thick, spicy soup with capsicum, onions, tomatoes and such, and before you serve you poach eggs in it. It’s one of the finest culinary creations known to man, particularly when served with flatbread sprinkled with za’atar. Ever had pizza? ‘Course you have. I’m not going to fuck with you on [...]
Also tagged awesomeEarth Hour Party: time to make a cake. I kept it easy, with a simple moist chocolate cake. Having seen Pencil Kitchen’s Mango Upside Down Cake (and holy CRAP that looks freaking delicious and different and totally new to me), I was intrigued by the dark, moist chocolate cake, the first chocolate cake recipe I’ve [...]
Also tagged bakingStumped for inspiration, yet finding myself in the kitchen armed with a spoon and a bowl, I turned my attention to the Foodin’ Challenge List! Today’s spectacular triumph: cornbread. Cornbread is so easy I feel a bit embarrassed about listing it anywhere even tangentially connected to the word “challenge”. It’s easier than muffins. It’s easier [...]
Also tagged awesome, The Learn-How ListEvery second person I speak to has too much of something. After I finished the fantastic backyard plum crop, my Mumini brought me a share of white-fleshed nectarines that one of her coworkers had dropped off — my share amounted to about 3kg. I gained about the same of fresh homegrown apples in the same [...]
Also tagged abundanceToday I ticked a big one off the 2012 Cooking Challenges list: making pasta. I’ve made it before, but it was pretty wobbly and I wasn’t too proud of it. I haven’t made it solo since M and I bought a pasta-roller-dealie: we’ve been making our own pasta for ages (which is to see M [...]
Also tagged awesome, The Learn-How List