Easter Sunday

Yesterday was pretty relaxed. It was a little different from the past couple of years when we've usually spent the end of the day down the beach in the Canunda National Park with family.

My nephew was in town though, and he joined us for dinner at home, which was great as he is off to live in Japan. My neice, his cousin is also in Japan for the next few years. Who would have thought that was going to happen ever. We miss them already.

I spent some time pottering about the garden, and the kitchen, lingering far too long where the chocolate was being stored and unsuccessfully resisting the temptation. God damn you caramel popcorn chocolate eggs!

I took the camera outside where Ellie our kitten explored the outdoors, Summer pretended to be a super hero and I basked in some Autumn sunshine.

I finally pulled out my basil plants, all measly four of them, and made my own pesto. My first batch ever! I had them growing in pots with tomatoes, which I pulled out a couple of days ago. 

I've used pumpkin seeds(pepitas) in my pesto. Traditionally pesto has pine nuts in it, I didn't have any of those, I always have pepitas as I use them in porridge or with yogurt.

Basil and Pumpkin Seed pesto

2 handfuls of fresh basil(about a cup)
1 small garlic clove
20 grams pumpkin seeds
15 grams parmesan cheese(just the cheap packet stuff, I not fancy!)
1/2 teaspoon lemon juice
2 tablespoons of olive oil

Blitz in a mini processor, place in a jar and store in the fridge.

I usually pour a little olive oil layer on top of the pesto.

The basil pots. I pulled out the tomatoes that were growing with the basil. I have replanted Silverbeet in one and Coriander seeds in the other.

One of our beauty parrots

Supergirl rescuing the cat from certain peril

Super girl rescuing a teddy in distress

Supergirl painting herself with her 'sidekick' Peppi the dog, rescuing the cat from a tree, while I made pesto. All the cute!

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Brown rice and quinoa tabbouleh

I always hear about how good quinoa is for my health, and I should be eating it. But dang, it costs an arm and a leg!

Whenever I see it at the supermarket, I look at it and think I should buy some of that. I then look at the price and think, nah, fuck it.

I am however happy to buy Sunrice's Brown rice and quinoa. For around four dollars, I get the health benefits without the price sting.

My mum is a gun at growing herbs and veggies, and her parsley plants are so big. Lately when I go visit her, I pick a big bunch and keep them in a vase in the kitchen. Not only does it look good, I love using it and this is what I love to use it for, amongst other things.

A delicious and healthy tabbouleh, not made with the traditional bulgur, but with brown rice and quinoa.

It is a fantastic way to reap the health benefits of parsley, including vitamin K, vitamin A, vitamin C, folate, iron and a treasure trove of other vitamin and minerals. It's also a fabulous antioxidant and anti-inflammatory.

Brown rice is a much healthier choice, as it hasn't been processed as much as white, therefore retaining more nutrients. Quinoa is a little grain that packs a big punch in health benefits including all nine essential amino acids(making it a complete protein). It's a shame it costs so much!

Brown rice and quinoa tabbouleh

2 cups cooked Sunrice brown rice and quinoa
2 tomatoes, diced
1 small onion, finely diced
1/2 large cucumber, diced
2 cups firmly packed parsley, chopped
juice of a lemon

Combine all ingredients in a bowl and serve. Voila!

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Cheese and Thyme Scones

I always have a jar of dried herbs in the pantry. I stepped out in the garden with my kitchen scissors and picked a bunch to hang up in the window to dry. Rosemary, basil mint and thyme. 

When dried, I pick the leaves of the stalks, chop them up and chuck them in a jar. Sometimes all mixed together or in their own separate jars. 

When my basil started to go to seed recently, I picked it to dry so I had it in the pantry when the plant wasn't in the garden. I usually leave at least one to go to seed, so it comes up again on it's own.

I have some basil mint though, which is great to use instead of fresh basil. Worth investing in some, just put it in a pot.

I usually make these scones with dried marjoram. Marjoram is very similar to oregano, just a different flavour. I've just planted some in the garden, the last lot died! I made them with thyme, and they are just as moorish. Fabulously rustic and perfect with soup or a fresh flavoursome salad. This recipe makes about 18 scones.

Cheese and Thyme Scones
1 cup wholemeal plain flour
1 cup wholemeal SR Flour
pinch of salt
3 Tablespoons(60gr) margarine
1/4 teaspoon dry mustard
2 tsp dried thyme
2/3 cup finely grated cheese
120 mls milk
3 tablespoons(60gr) cottage cheese*
1 tablespoon sunflower seeds

*If you don't have cottage cheese, use sour cream or yogurt. Otherwise just add another 1/4 cup milk.

Preheat oven to 220 degrees.

Place flours, salt and margarine in a bowl. Rub margarine into flour until it is all incorporated and resembles bread crumbs.

Add the mustard, thyme and cheese.

Mix in milk and cottage cheese to form a soft dough.

Roll out dough to about 2cm thickness, on a floured surface. Cut out scones with a 5cm cutter.

Place scones on a greased tray(I used olive oil spray). Brush with milk and place sunflower seeds on tops.

Bake for 12 minutes. 

An InLinkz Link-up

Parcel - the herb and Mushroom Risotto

This is a handy herb to grow if you have the space in the garden. It's a perennial, so it will die down over winter, only to flourish back, ready for use in the spring.

I made a gorgeous mushroom risotto last week that called for celery. I didn't have any, but what I did have was Parcel in the garden. It's leaves look like flat leaf parsley, but smells of and has the flavour of celery, so I used it to substitute. It worked a treat.

I used some of the mushrooms that we found in June that I had frozen.  

1 onion, sliced thinly

2 celery sticks, sliced

2 tablespoons oil

350 grams mushrooms, sliced

1 lemon, finely grated rind and juice

175 grams arborio rice

400 ml vegetable stock or chicken stock

125 gr frozen peas

75 grams grated cheese

2 tablespoons grated parmesan

2 tablespoons chopped parsley

Fry onion and celery for a few minutes in oil. Add the mushrooms, lemon rind and juice and cook for 10 minutes.

Add in the rice, stirring for 2 minutes. Add stock and simmer gently, covered, for about 20 minutes. If the rice isn't tender and there is no more liquid add a little more stock or water and give it another 5-10 minutes.

Stir in the peas, cheeses and parsley until the cheese has melted. 

Serve and enjoy. Delicious.

Flowering Rosemary

Papaya Salsa

Half a papaya, diced

1/4 medium red onion, finely diced

1/4 green capsicum, finely diced

2 vietnamese mint leaves, finely shredded

2 Tablespoons parsley, chopped

2 Tablespoons lime juice

Mix all together. 

Serve with seafood, chicken or pork.
It would be equally as awesome with a bit of pineapple added to it, or whatever else you fancy, tomato, cucumber. 

You could use coriander and a little chilli in the place of the vietnamese mint. I used the mint because that's what I have growing right now.  It has a corianderish flavour with a hot bite to it.

I found a plant in the bargain bin for $1 because it was on it's last legs at the nursery. It was sold under the name of 'laksa leaf'. Make sure if you buy some you put it in a pot, it will run rampant in the ground!

I never have a lemon or lime for that matter when I need one. What I do have is citric acid in the pantry. Brett once decided to make lemonade and it's been sitting there ever since. I drop the smallest pinch in a couple of tablespoons of water and voila, lemon juice! It's workin out for me at the moment anyway....

If you have any left over papaya, puree about half a cup and mix together with a tablespoon of honey for a refreshing face mask.

Papaya contains natural enzymes that remove dead skin cells and honey will moisturise. 

Leave on for 15 minutes, preferably in hot bath with a glass of your favourite bubbly, garnished with a chunk of papaya. Mmmm, bubbly......

Competition entry linked at Mummyhood101 and CRAP mumma

Watermelon Salad

With the warmer weather heating us and our houses, as we get outdoors for dining, entertaining and cranking up the barbie, it's time to turn to salads instead of veggies for our dinners. Using whatever's on hand, in the pantry or fridge, the garden even, I love mixing it up and having something different besides the normal coleslaw and tossed salads, which there is nothing wrong with, they are reliable standards and we love them.

1 kilo watermelon flesh, cut in chunks

1/2 onion, sliced thinly

Mint leaves, about 40, torn

If you want it a little fancier, add

100gr pitted olives

200gr feta cheese, sliced and broken

Besides the mayo (sometimes homemade) for the coleslaw, and tangy tomato dressing for pasta salad, I don't usually dress salads. I like them au naturale. If I do I only use lemon juice and olive oil. I can't stand the plastic bottle stuff, the supposed "italian/french dressing", I don't live in the same universe as the makers of that stuff. Blerk!

You could use lime juice and olive oil as a dressing, but for an adults only salad, try whisking up these ingredients for an ouzo dressing

    2 tbs red wine vinegar
2 tbs olive oil
1 tbs ouzo
Salt & ground black pepper

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Grilled polenta

   3 cups water

     1 1/2 tsp salt

     1 1/2 cups polenta

     1 tsp thyme

     a grind of black pepper

     1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese

     2 Tbs olive oil

     1 clove garlic, crushed

   In a saucepan heat the water and salt over medium-high heat.  Bring to a simmer, but don't let it boil.

   Slowly whisk the polenta into the simmering water. Whisk constantly until it begins to thicken, 2 or 3 minutes. Add the thyme, cheese, garlic and olive oil.   

    Reduce the heat and simmer, stirring regularly, for a few minutes until it is very thick

   

   Fill a loaf tin lined with cling wrap with the polenta. Smooth the polenta out evenly.

Cover and leave for the day or overnight.

(I leave an excess of cling wrap and use this to wrap over and cover)

        Remove from the refrigerator and flip over onto a cutting board. 

   Slice the polenta about 1/2" thick.

Brush the polenta slices with olive oil and fry in a pan or put under a grill for 4-5 minutes each side.

I had mine with some tuscan meatballs, but would be nice just with some salad. I haven't had grilled polenta for a long time, I used to make it quite a bit and was only reminded on the weekend watching Jamie Olivers  15 minutes meals on the telly. He served it with a tomato based sauce, mushrooms and chicken. Some wilted spinach and roasted cherry tomatoes would go down a treat too, topped with some fancy arsed cheese and maybe some black olives. 

Open Garden #2

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Coriander

I was excited to find some coriander, or cilantro, coming up from seed near the vegie patch. It's a love or hate kind of herb. I love it in a fresh salad with chick peas, tomato, cucumber, celery and spring onion. Whereas my mum hates it in anything.

If you have it in your garden, and like to companion plant, it goes well with dill, chervil and anise, but if grown with fennel it will wilt. Dill, chervil and coriander growing amongst carrots and cabbage will protect them from pests.

Big Mac sauce!!

Drivelology posted the you tube video on how to make Big Mac sauce on her blog. I was a bit excited!

Who knew it had dill in it? I have dill coming up in the veggie patch from dropped seed, and had a go at making the sauce to have with our burgers for lunch. I don't use dill for much, usually in potato salad, so happy to have something else to use it for.

 

The video didn't really give exact measurements, but this is the recipe I used(round about). You can adjust it to what you think tastes like Big Mac sauce for you.

Ingredients ready

1/2 cup of Mayo

2 Tblsp Tomato sauce 

1 Tblsp American mustard

1/2 onion, finely chopped

3 tsp caster sugar

2 Tblsp chopped dill

Mix all together, taste and adjust if needed.

This is the sauce I ended up with, we had burger sangas for lunch, there was a hint of Maccas there, probably would have been a bit more if we had some microwaved buns to use instead of sliced bread!

Drying Herbs

My old vegemite jar of mixed herbs is getting low, I cut and hang the herbs for a couple of weeks, then chop them up. 

Rosemary

Basil Mint

Oregano

Thyme

Sage

What herbs do you have growing and do you cut and dry them yourself?