Home-made bread

I love to make my own bread. Usually as a quick and easy starter when we have friends for dinner (served with a good quality locally grown olive oil and a homemade dukkah). But now, the more I read labels in the supermarket, the more I despair in terms of how far we have come from traditional fare. Bread, when made at home, is simple and healthful - nutritious, too. If I'm making it for the kids, I form it in a loaf tin so that it's got a bread like shape for sandwiches. 

Ingredients

2.5 cups spelt flour

3/4 cup teipd water

activated yeast (2 tablespoons dried yeast, 1 tablespoon caster sugar, 1/3 cup warm water, combined in mug and left to bubble for about five minutes).

In a large mixing bowl, sift the spelt flour then add the activated yeast and 1/2 the tepid water. Mix, adding extra water slowly as needed until you get the right consistency. I use a kitchenaid with the dough hook, but you can easily do this by hand, either using your fingers to combine and then turning it out onto a flat work surface to knead until elastic, or using a spoon if you don't like the squish squish squish of dough. 

The test of a dough being ready to rise is when you can lightly press a finger into the surface and the finger mark immediately bounces back. Cover it with a bowl and leave to rise for about an hour, until it's roughly doubled in size. Punch it back once and then either shape it into a loose form bread, or press into a loaf tin. Again, leave it to rise for about an hour, making sure it's covered from draughts. 

Preheat the oven to 190'c and bake for around 40 minutes. Once it's finished (and you know it's done by tapping the bottom of the loaf and you hear a solid sound) leave it to cool to room temp. If you're intending to use as a sandwich loaf, refrigerate until cold and then slice thinly. I freeze mine in zip lock bags and then just use as needed. 

Amo Zucchini!

I'm a little annoyed that the lengthy (and because you'll never read it and therefore be able to verify, let me also say witty, insightful and inspiring) post I just penned, errr, tapped out, has been eaten up by my ipad (yes, that is just how tasty it was!) and it's fast approaching the witching hour, all I can do now is bullet point what I originally wrote. 

1. I love zucchini (AMO ZUCCHINI! LONG LIVE THE GREEN!)

2. Penne Giardiniera obsessed

3. Bastardised version which my kids love (including homegrown zucchini flowers) 

4. Recipe to follow. x

Hot Chocolate and Marshmallows on a Rainy Afternoon

After the hell-on-earth heatwave we've had for most of the last month, you can well imagine our jubilation at waking up to the sound of delightful rain! And rain it has, all day long.

The air is thick with the smell of it, and the sky is woolly and grey. A cool breeze is finally running through the house, trying to whisper relief into the heat fatigued timber and bricks. And my little people have finally been able to get back into the garden without sunscreen, hats and long sleeves. They've had a lovely morning playing in puddles and getting muddy, and now, as the day draws to a close, I'm giving them the perfect afternoon (in my opinion, anyway). Snow White, and hot chocolates with marshmallows. 

These are heavenly 'made from scratch', but if I'm completely honest, that had more to do with the ingredients I had to hand than any virtuousness on my behalf.

Homemade marshmallow is both easy and incomparably delicious - a wholly different creature to the powdery puffs you buy at the supermarket. Using organic raw caster sugar, gelatine and water (with two drops of naturally derived pink colouring) I made this marbled bloc of mallow. 

For the hot chocolate, I melted dark chocolate over low temperature, slowly whisking a full fat milk from a good quality and local dairy. 

As this was for small people, I then let the hot chocolate cool down a bit before serving with a scoop of the chilled marshmallow on top. 

I'll confess, I have puritan tastebuds when it comes to drink - I'll take my water in abundance with my poisons on the side (coffee, black, and wine, red). But one sip of this tempted me into the realm of impossible-to-resistness and I poured myself half a cup. 

Now, back to those sweet little dwarves of mine and the fabulous Snow White!

Steamed Gow Gee - vegan.

Ingredients: 

Store bought gow gee papers (round) - available in the refrigerated section of most supermarkets, or asian grocers

A combination of filling - I used onion, potato, celery, garlic, peas and mushrooms, which I minced by hand to a fine consistency

1 tsp ground cinnamon

1 tsp ground cumin

Butter/oil for frying

A little water

Melt butter in a pan over moderate heat. Add your vegetables and cook until soft. Add the spices and stir until combined. 

Lay the gow gee papers out on a clean work surface and spoon a small teaspoon into the centre of each round. 

Using a clean finger or pastry brush, run a little water around 1/2 of the outer rim of the pastry, then fold in half to form a crescent shape. Clip the outer edges together, applying firm pressure, to make the shape. 

Steam for around 3 - 5 minutes, then turn off the heat. Once you've steamed them, tip a little cold water over the top to make them easier to lift from the steamer. 

I served these with a sauce made with sesame oil, honey and white wine vinegar, plus filtered water. 

Alphabet Cookies

"Now I know my ABCs (and ONE TWO THREEs) won't you come and have cookies with me?" Well, that's the way it goes in my house!

A little while ago I bought these awesome alphabet stamps from a great antique market. Each individual letter is about the size of an old fashioned type writer key and I love love love them. I gave them a good wash before baking with them, of course, but I don't know if I'll ever be able to use them for anything other than words in cookies now!

A while ago I blogged my outrage about biscuits being made with packet cake mix, and this is why. These little guys have butter, organic raw caster sugar, spelt flour, vanilla seeds and a little filtered water. That is it. What a fun and treat-tastic way to help little guys learn their letters and numbers.

Croquette, Vegan and GF

Okay. These are insanely easy and fun to make and I can't believe I haven't been making them before now. Croquettes can be made with pretty much any combination of ingredients that you like, or have on hand. Do you like ham and cheese? Fine, that will work. Vegetarian? Great - add whichever vegetables you like. Salmon? Tuna? Sundried tomato and feta? The possibilities are as endless as your pantry and imagination. Here's the basics. 

Make a white sauce, and for the purposes of this recipe, I used olive oil instead of butter, spelt flour* to make a roux, then used a vegetable stock instead of milk. Of course, you can make your white sauce with butter, flour and full fat milk, it just depends on your preferences. 

Once you've got a good, thick white sauce, place it in the fridge to cool and thicken then add whatever flavourings you want. I added a mix of broccoli, carrots, onion, cauliflower and zucchini, all finely cubed and chopped. You can add cheese if you'd like, herbs, garlic etc. 

Add a little extra flour if your mix is too sloppy. You want to be able to form a scoop of the batter into a sausage shape, then crumb (cornflake crumbs, almond meal, rice crumb or wholegrain breadcrumb). Fry over moderate heat until browned on all sides then finish in the oven for around 20 minutes (on 180'c). 

No-Fry Falafel

Back when I was veggo, falafel were one of my favourite things ever. So delicious and full of flavour, and reasonably virtuous. I've tweaked my technique to make them even better for you, and my kids LOVE these. My son would eat a whole batch if I left him alone with them. 

Ingredients: 

Two tins organic chickpeas, drained and rinsed. 

3 tablespoons spelt flour/rice flour/corn crumbs

3 cloves garlic, peeled and roughly chopped. 

1/2 an onion, roughly chopped

2 tsp cumin

1 tsp fennel seeds

1/2 tsp cayenne pepper (optional - my kids don't seem to mind the kick it gives them). 

A couple of teaspoons good quality Olive Oil, and a few wedges of lemon or lime to serve. 

Preheat oven to 160'c.

Combine all the ingredients in a food processor, pausing occasionally to scrape down the sides of the bowl. Pulse until it's coming together semi dough like, but don't over process it. Add a little extra flour if necessary or a little water if it's too dry. 

Use a teaspoon to scoop our a small amount, roll into a ball between wet palms and then place on a baking tray lined with paper. Bake for around forty minutes then remove from heat. They'll be a little cracked on top - that's fine. Drizzle with olive oil. Either serve immediately with lemon or lime, or leave to cool to room temp then you can refrigerate for a couple of days.