the shady pine

Jerk spiced chicken

2012-06-18T06:00:00.000+10:00

I must declare my love for the ever enduring slow cooker! Apart from some browning of meat (which I've been known to forgo many a time), you simply throw your ingredients in, whack it on and leave it alone for hours to simmer away ever so slowly. In fact, even lifting the lid to give said dish a stir is not recommended as this breaks the seal of the lid and cooking time needs to be increased.

I knew that anything requiring such little effort, that could produce such succulent and delicious results after a bit of neglect would be a staple in my kitchen. And indeed the slow cooker comes out at The Shady Pine as soon as the cold weather announces itself.

I've had fun experimenting with slow cooker recipes for a while now. However this recipe for Jerk spiced chicken drumsticks in a newly purchased slow cooker book won me over initially because of the name. It continued to win me over because even though there is a long list of ingredients, everything except the chicken , is whizzed up into a paste in the processor so there is no lengthy prep.

You simply pour the paste over the chicken and let it cook away. Ultimately, what really won me over was the fantastic taste. The flavour from the paste is perfectly balanced. The initial recipe called for 2 chillies, hower after tasting the chilli I had bought I decided to only use one. This proved to be a good decision as one chilli was more than enough to impart some heat without taking over. So I'd recommend checking the heat of the chilli to be used and adjust according to your heat tolerance.

I also decided to add the juice of a whole orange instead of the two tablespoons the recipe called for to make a larger quantity of sauce. This also worked and I poured extra sauce over the steamed rice that I served with the chicken. In fact, this sauce is so delicious, I'd be happy to eat it with steamed rice in its own right!

Jerk spiced chicken drumsticks

Adapted from recipe in Women’s Weekly Slow Cooker 2, pg54

Serves 4

Ingredients:

Olive oil spray

8 chicken drumsticks

4 spring onions, roughly chopped

2 inch piece of ginger, finely sliced

2 tsp ground allspice

1 tsp ground cinnamon

1 fresh green chilli, chopped

1 tsp ground black pepper

1 tsp salt flakes

3 cloves garlic, sliced

1 tsp mixed herbs (I used Italian brand, Ariosto mixed herbs for chicken. This is a really lovely mixture of herbs including basil, marjoram, sage and more)

2 tsp fresh thyme leaves

2 Tbs brown sugar

1 Tbs apple cider vinegar

Juice of 1 orange

A slow cooker and food processor are required for this recipe; I used a 4.5L capacity slow cooker.

1. Heat a pan over high heat. Spray pan with oil and brown the chicken drumstick in batches.

2. Place chicken in the bottom of the slow cooker.

3. In a food processor place spring onions, ginger, garlic, spices, herbs, pepper, salt, sugar, vinegar and orange juice. Process this to a fine paste.

4. Pour the paste over the chicken in the slow cooker and mix well. Place on the lid and cook on slow setting for 2.5 hours. After this time, increase the heat setting to high and cook for another 1 hour.

5. Serve chicken with rice and steamed vegetables with extra sauce if desired.

Date crumble slice

2012-06-12T18:00:00.000+10:00

When my Scottish friend told me she'd be travelling back to Scotlant while her husband remained in Australia and his 60th birthday happened to be during her time away, a whole bunch of family and friends decided to plan a surprise 60th birthday party. Our friend Gordon is always lending us a hand with various bits of landscaping or odd jobs and we were really looking forward to planning his party to celebrate this milestone.

A few of us got together one Friday night to plan the party then divided the work between us. The idea was that everyone invited would bring along a dish which would be put towards the meal. I decided to make a massive lasagne. This is always popular and convenient for feeding a crowd. I also made a batch of delicious date crumble slice. I followed the recipe found here as it always turns out perfectly. I figured the oats were a very distant nod to Gordon's Scottish heritage while the slice itself could be conveniently held in one hand while balancing a cup of tea in the other.

Besides the party being a surprise, we also hired a bag piper to come along and play a few Scottish tunes so this was something everyone was waiting to see. Our friend was genuinely surprised by the party and was speechless as the bag piper entered playing a familiar tune. Our job was done! The evening was a real success and everyone bringing a dish worked really well. There was such a range of different food to be enjoyed and all of it was simply delicious. The slice was a perfect addition to the dessert table and it was nice to see it being enjoyed!

Coconut, chocolate and banana mini muffins

2012-05-31T11:43:00.000+10:00

Do you ever just get that itch to bake something? I do. Often it's just a need to do something methodical. I find that a bit of mixing and stirring, no matter how simple the recipe, gets me to a semi state of zen. At times like this when my mind is wandering about, I like to stick to something simple and satisfying like these muffins.

I adapted this recipe somewhat and replaced the butter in the orignal recipe with macadamia oil. This cuts out the saturated fat that I try to keep to a minimum without comprimising on flavour as macadamia oil works really well in baking. I also didn't have any chocolate chips on hand but did have a full block of 70% dark chocolate at the back of the pantry so I made do by chopping the chocolate with a sharp knife into little chunks. Finally, I replaced the regular caster sugar with the raw variety. You may also like to replace the regular flour with wholemeal, however I had run out so used the regular kind.

These little muffins are moist and delicious. The balance between the chocolate, coconut and banana for me is perfect and no one ingredient overshadows the other. The muffin mix easily comes together in a matter of minutes and they are really quick to bake for a treat in a hurry.

Coconut, chocolate and banana mini muffins

Adapted from recipe by Mandy Biffin, delicious. - October 2005, Page 120

Makes approx. 30 mini muffins

Ingredients:

¼ cup macadamia or vegetable oil

½ cup raw caster sugar

1 large ripe banana, mashed

1 egg, lightly beaten

1tsp vanilla extract

1 cup self raising flour

½ cup desiccated coconut

¼ cup dark chocolate chips

4 Tbs of milk (or add a little more if needed to get a good consistency)

Oil spray

1. Preheat oven to 200C.

2. Combine the banana, oil, beaten egg, vanilla and milk in a small bowl.

3. In a another mixing bowl, combine sugar, flour, coconut and chocolate chips.

4. Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and mix well until combined.

5. Lightly spray the holes of a mini muffin pan.

6. Fill each muffin hole with heaped teaspoons of mixture.

7. Bake for 10-15 minutes depending on your oven until the tops are lightly golden.

8. Remove tray from the oven and allow to cool for 5 minutes.

9. Carefully remove the muffins from the tray and place on a cake rack to cool.

Favourite things in May

2012-05-28T13:26:00.000+10:00

Today's post is not a recipe. It is however filled with my top 5 favourite things in May. I hope you enjoy!

1. Where I ate lunch recently is Lotus Story.

Tucked away at the far end of Dawn Fraser Avenue of Sydney Olympic Park is Lotus Story. This place does really good Vietnamese food which is more targeted towards the lunch crowd working in Sydney Olympic Park. But if you happen to be out that way it is really worth trying as the flavours are delicious and true to the Vietnamese cuisine. On the menu are a range of salads, curries, rice paper rolls (try their lemongrass beef rolls if you get chance…they are outstanding) and even Asian inspired baguettes baked on the premises!

2. Where I would have lunch given time and funds is Quay restaurant.

We’ve seen Peter Gilmore appear on Australia’s version of Master Chef and certainly the creative flair he displays with food is really something unique. With that kind of talent, a dining experience at Quay restaurant is on my hit list, but it may need to wait for a special occasion.

3. My next kitchen purchase will be this Le-Chasseur pie dish.

My guilty secret is that I enter an apple pie bake off competition each year. It is a bit of fun and a great inspiration to keep perfecting my pastry recipe. However there are some serious apple pie bakers out there who consider every element from the type of apple to the pie dish they use.

4. The movie I would watch again is Midnight in Paris. Read a review here.

One of my pet hates is re watching movies. I always remember the story line and on the most part, sitting through it again equates to something like sitting in the dentist’s chair for me. However there are a special handful of movies which I can watch again and again. Usually these movies are character rich and something about a character’s experience will tug at my heart strings or peak my curiosity. Often but not always, these are described as art house movies. This is such a movie.

5. Best girly afternoon I’ve had is a special high tea with a girlfriend at The Victoria Room.

This place is old worldly, charming and true to its name. I took my friend here to celebrate a special occasion. Adding to the charm was a table near us filled with a little girls birthday party. Those little girls sipping on their tea and eating cucumber sandwiches was just adorable.

Spiced beef Naan bread

2012-05-23T05:00:00.000+10:00

I think I've mentioned my local Indian takeaway here before and how truly delicious and authentic the food is there. One of the regular menu items that I order is their Kheema naan bread cooked in the tandoor. The inside of this bread is filled with the most aromatic and deliciously spiced lamb. The smell when you cut into it is second to none.

In fact, I've been known to swing past the Indian place on my way home to grab a couple of these breads along with some raita. I'll put together a quick tomato and cucumber salad at home and there's dinner!

So it was this bread that inspired me to have a go at my own version. I had minced beef on hand so I used it instead of the lamb. As for the spices, I just guessed and used a combination that I considered would work well together instead of trying to exactly replicate the mix from the takeaway as I knew it would be very tricky to get right.

I'll warn you right now that the smell that comes out of the oven when you bake this bread is intoxicating. You will want to throw the oven open as soon as you can and bite straight in. Which is exactly what I did. With Mr Shady Pine and Coco the crazy cat pacing the kitchen I was glad that there were two of these breads. One of these was cut up and devoured within minutes after its exit from the hot oven. While it wasn't a replica of the kheema naan that I order, it was utterly delicious in its own right and pretty straightforward to make.

Spiced beef Naan bread

Makes 2 filled naans

Ingredients:

Beef filling:

300g minced beef, I used lean mince

1 clove garlic, crushed

½ red onion, diced

1 tsp ground coriander

1 tsp ground cumin

1 tsp smoked paprika

S&P to taste

1 tomato, diced

2 Tbs tomato paste

Naan bread dough:

2 x 7g dry yeast sachets

3 Tbs warm water

2 cups of strong bread flour or plain flour

1 tsp salt

1 tsp sugar

1 egg

3 Tbs plain yoghurt

1 Tbs olive oil plus extra for beef

For the bread dough:

1. In a bowl mix the yeast, sugar and salt together. Add the warm water and allow to sit in a warm place for 10-15 minutes.

2. Meanwhile, mix together the egg, oil and yoghurt in a small bowl.

3. To the yeast mixture add the flour and the egg and yoghurt mixture.

4. If you have a dough hook attachment, use this to knead the dough for about 10 minutes until smooth and elastic. Otherwise you will need to manually knead the dough on a floured surface for a good 15 minutes at least to get the same consistency.

5. Preheat the oven to about 40C. Place the kneaded dough in an oiled heat proof bowl. Leave the dough in the oven to rise for about 35 minutes.

6. Turn out the dough onto a floured surface. Cut the dough into 4 portions and roll out each portion into a rough oval to about 5mm thickness.

For the beef filling:

1. Heat a tablespoon of olive oil in a non stick pan. Add the onion and garlic and sauté for 2 minutes on low heat.

2. Turn up the heat to high and add the mince. Fry until browned.

3. Add the spices and S&P and fry for a couple of minutes until spices are cooked.

4. Add the tomato paste and cook for another minute. Add the tomato and cook for a minute.

5. Set aside mixture to cool down slightly.

For the beef naan:

1. Preheat the oven to 220C.

2. Place 2 of the naan dough ovals side by side on a large baking tray.

3. Spread half the beef mixture on each oval.

4. Top each oval with the remaining two dough ovals and press along the edges to seal the breads.

5. Bake in the oven for about 15-20 minutes depending on your oven but make sure the bread comes up golden brown.

Beef and Guiness pies

2012-05-15T20:29:00.000+10:00

In my last post, I told you about the peas that I made recently as a side dish for a dinner party. This was served as part of a main meal which I also wanted to share with you. But before I do, let me tell you about the inspiration for the main dish.

Miss Saltwater and I have been friends for a very long time. Suffice it to say we used to run around the school playground together and followed the latest boy bands....NKOTB anyone? Embarrising now I know! But we've remained firm friends ever since. We also both love to cook. Our cooking styles are similar in some ways and different in others. This is really good for picking up new recipes and getting tips to renew old favourites.

One of the things Miss Saltwater cooks to perfection are pies. And I'm not talking about your run of the mill pie. I'm talking about melt in your mouth fillings with punchy flavour and crisp pastry. She does some mean variations too like chicken and champagne. But my firm favourite is her version of the Beef and Guiness pie.

The pie filling uses a can of the famous Irish Guiness. This together with some stock and a few other bits and pieces is used to cook down the beef on really low temperature for 6 or 7 hours until it is absolutely tender to the point that the beef shreds itself. The unfortunate thing is that I was rushing around so much on the night of the dinner that I never remembered to take a photo of the filling. So hopefully you will just trust me when I say how utterly luscious and rich it was.

My tip for making this pie is to make the filling a day in advance and use cold filling to fill the pie dishes. This way you will avoid the steam from the hot filling giving you soggy pastry. Oh and speaking of pastry, the star of this pie really is the filling and as you are only using some puff pastry for the top, I would not bother with making pastry from scratch. Although if you have the time and inclination then go for it. In this case, I can recommend Maggie Beer's sour cream pastry recipe.

Beef & Guinness pies

Serves 8

Ingredients:

1.6kg casserole or chuck steak, diced in 4 cm chunks

1 brown onion, diced

2 garlic cloves, crushed

1 can Guinness Irish beer

3 Tbs tomato paste

300ml beef stock

2 Tbs caramelised onions, I used store bought

2 ready rolled sheets of puff pastry, thawed and cut into quartered into squares

S&P to taste

2 Tbs fresh thyme or rosemary, finely chopped

2 Tbs plain flour

Olive oil or spray for browning meat

Milk for brushing the pastry

1. Heat olive oil in a non in a large heavy bottomed pot. Brown the beef in batches. Transfer to a plate and set aside.

2. Heat 2 Tbs olive oil and sauté the onion and garlic for a few minutes until transparent. Return the beef to the pot. Add the plain flour and fry for a couple of minutes to fry out the raw flour.

3. Add the tomato paste and herbs and fry for a minute.

4. Add the beef stock, Guinness and caramelised onions to the pan. Add plenty of salt and pepper. Stir well and cover.

5. Simmer on very low and gentle heat for about 6 hours until the meat has started to break down and begins to look shredded. Set aside to cool the beef mixture.

6. Preheat oven to 180C.

7. Fill oven proof ramekins with beef mixture to about ¾ full. Cover with the pastry squares and press the pastry to seal it well against the ramekin. Cut small incision in the middle of the pastry of each ramekin for the steam to be able to escape.

8. Place ramekins on a baking tray. Brush the pastry tops with a little milk and bake the pies for about 20-30 minutes until the pastry is golden and cooked.

9. Serve hot with a side of baked potatoes and peas (see the Petit Pois recipe here in my previous post).

Petit pois and turning leaves

2012-05-07T16:32:00.003+10:00

It seems like an age since my last post here. Things have been hectic at The Shady Pine and there are a few projects on the go seemingly all at once!

One such project has been some landscaping which has been on the back burner for a long time. The intention was to do some of this work over summer but it was such a wet summer that there never seemed to be more than a day when the heavens didn't open up. So a few things got delayed.

As the drier autumn weather started to appear, Mr Shady Pine and I wanted to get some of this work out of the way before the long winter inevitably arrives. And I am so glad that we waited. We got to labour away outside in some glorious autumn sunshine with the bearest hint of crispness in the air. Besides that, the changing scenery outside was something to behold. The leaves had started turning into their varied hues of amber and gold and the colours were glorious in the afternoon sun.

One evening recently, we had a few friends over for dinner and we enjoyed some great laughs. One of the side dishes for the main meal were these peas or petit pois. I love their green vibrancy and the fact that this is a warm and easy side dish. I'll talk obout the main feature of the meal in my next post but for now I hope you enjoy this little side dish. This is a great accompaniment to all sorts of meat dishes and super easy to prepare.

Petit pois

Serves 6 as a side dish

Ingredients:

300g frozen baby peas

1 cos lettuce, shredded

1 leek; white part only, sliced

8 slices lean short cut bacon, sliced

25g good quality butter

1 Tbs olive oil

S&P

1. Heat the olive oil in a non stick frying pan over medium heat. Add the leek and bacon and cook for about 5 minutes until the leek is soft and the bacon is cooked. Set aside.

2. Boil the peas for about 3 minutes until just cooked. Drain and set aside 2 Tbs of cooking water.

3. Place the peas and reserved water in a bowl. Add the leek and bacon mixture to the peas.

4. To the peas add the lettuce, butter and S&P to taste. Mix well until the butter is melted by the hot peas and all the ingredients are well coated. Serve immediately.

Salmon, pumpkin and fetta cannelloni

2012-04-23T05:00:00.000+10:00

I recently bought a portion of beautiful looking hot smoked salmon. Yes it looked gorgeous in all its salmon glory. However I have to be honest and tell you that I had an alterior motive. You see for a long time, Mr Shady Pine has waxed lyrical about how much he despises smoked salmon.

I could never understand why anyone would dislike something as decadent and delicious as smoked salmon. So I prodded and found out that the texture of the smoked salmon played a big part. Texture, was also the reason why Mr Shady Pine didn't eat avocados for a long time too.

So why would I buy smoked salmon for someone who dislikes it you may well ask? Well staring at it at the shop, two reasons struck me. Firstly, the hot smoked salmon has a different and firmer texture compared with the regular kind. And secondly, I've wanted to try it wrapped up in this cannelloni. In the recesses of my mind, I also thought it was a clever way to disguise the fact that there was salmon in this dish.

So I served up this cannelloni for dinner with a green side salad. When asked what it was, I simply replied that it was cannelloni and didn't elaborate further. That seemed to satisfy the need to know, so I sat back and waited for the verdict. Luckily Mr Shady Pine thought it was delicious and still didn't ask what was in it. So you can imagine the look of surprise when I announced that he had in fact been eating smoked salmon. When he ate the leftovers with gusto again the next night, I knew that progress had indeed been made.

Salmon, pumpkin and fetta cannelloni

Serves 4

Ingredients:

Napolitana sauce, recipe here

150g portion of hot smoked salmon, skin removed and flesh shredded

4 fresh lasagne sheets

½ butternut pumpkin, peeled and cut into 4cm chunks

70g fetta plus 30g extra for the topping, crumbled

½ cup parmesan cheese, grated

1. Preheat oven to 180C.

2. Cook pumpkin by either steaming or boiling it until tender.

3. When cooked, mash the pumpkin and add S&P to taste.

4. In a lasagne dish, place 1/3 of sauce to lightly cover the base.

5. Cut each lasagne sheet in half width ways to create 8 smaller sheets.

6. Take a pasta sheet and place a couple of tablespoons of mashed pumpkin along one edge. Sprinkle some fetta on top of the pumpkin. Spread some shredded salmon on top of the fetta and roll into cannelloni. Repeat with the rest of the pasta sheets until all ingredients are used.

7. Arrange the cannelloni in the baking dish. Spread the rest of the sauce on top of the cannelloni, ensuring they are all covered with the sauce.

8. Spread the remaining fetta and parmesan cheeses on the top.

9. Bake for 20 minutes or until the pasta sheets are cooked through.

Classic scones with strawberry jam and cream

2012-04-18T05:00:00.018+10:00

The folks over at Beerenberg sent over some products as part of their ''Making Food Amazing'' campaign. As Sally Paech from Beerenberg states, the campaign is all about the Australian ''love of simple and unfussy food, using fresh, quality local ingredients''. The campaign is also supported by chef Michelle Campbell who will providing her wonderful recipes making use of these lovely quality products. ''Making Food Amazing'' also coincides with the launch of Beerenberg's online store here.

When I saw that they had sent over their gorgeous strawberry jam, I just knew that I had to make some scones to have with it. You see, I love scones with strawberry jam. I like scones and I like strawberry jam, but I love them more when they get together. Yes I've tried a myriad jams with my scones; I've tried raspberry, fig, blueberry (Beerenberg by the way make a lovely blueberry jam ), cherry, blackberry and countless others. And I will continue to experiment with different jams but something happens when I try a new jam on top of my scones. I inevitably compare it to strawberry jam.

Don't get me wrong, I love all those other jams. I even prefer them with things like pancakes, a piece of sourdough toast or when spread in the middle of a sponge cake. It's just that when it comes to the scone, I have yet to find a more perfect pairing than good old strawberry jam. So whenever I think of strawberry jam, I instantly think of scones and vice versa.

So tell me dear reader, are there some flavour combinations that you think simply cannot be beaten?

Scones
Recipe for scones is adapted from The Perfect Cookbook by David Herbert
Makes about 8 scones

Ingredients:
1 ¾ cup self raising flour
½ tsp baking powder
1 Tbs raw caster sugar
Pinch of table salt
30g butter, diced
½ cup milk
1 tsp lemon juice
1 egg, beaten
¼ cup sultanas (optional)
Extra milk for brushing

1. Preheat oven to 200C. Line a baking tray with baking paper.
2. Combine the flour and baking powder in a mixing bowl. Add the sugar and salt.
3. Add the butter and rub the butter into the flour with your fingertips until breadcrumb consistency is formed.
4. In a jug, combine the milk and lemon juice. The milk will slightly curdle. Add to the flour mixture and add the beaten egg. Mix together to form a dough.
5. Turn out onto a floured surface. Shape the dough into a ball and flatten out to a thickness of about 3cm or 1 ¼ inch.
6. Using a round cookie cutter, cut out rounds of dough and place onto the baking tray.
7. Brush the scones with milk and bake for about 12 minutes until risen and golden.
8. Serve warm spread with whipped cream or butter and strawberry jam.

Saffron risotto

2012-04-16T05:00:00.019+10:00

When I think of comfort food, risotto is right up there...right next to linguine with slow cooked ragu. I like simple, really well cooked, creamy risottos. Creamy, not because of added cream or butter, but creamy from twenty minutes of starch releasing stirring.

I'm not so much in love with what risotto has morphed into at some places. You know the ones, they are jam packed with all sorts of ingredients that take away from the starchy delicacy of the rice. In fact the most memorable risotto experience I have ever had was at Tutto Bene in Melbourne. It was a balsamic risotto that I long for to this day. It was the simplest, creamiest risotto, not too dry and not too wet. Drizzled over the top was the most magical aged balsamic that was vinegary and sweet at the same time and it cut through the rich parmesam laced risotto with perfection. That dish was a stroke of genius.

Recently, Mr Shady Pine and I spent the entire day working around the house and doing jobs before winter arrives. This involved gardening, lifting things from here to there and cleaning...lots and lots of cleaning. By that afternoon we were well and truly spent. It was one of those days where you are fully aware of all the energy you've exhausted and all you can think about is eating something nourishing and filling.

This saffron risotto came to the rescue thanks to the pantry. It is a really delicate risotto with that lovely and unique flavour from the saffron. As well as the flavour, the saffron imparts that beautiful golden colour and the red threads look lovely throughout the rice. This risotto delivers on flavour and I adore its simplicity.

Saffron risotto
Serves 2

Ingredients:
1 cup Carnaroli or Arborio rice
2 Tbs olive oil
¼ cup white wine
½ small red onion, diced finely
1 garlic clove, crushed
Large pinch of saffron threads
375ml of chicken or vegetable stock
¼ cup parmesan cheese, finely grated

1. Combine the stock and saffron in a small saucepan and heat to a simmer then remove from the heat.
2. In another saucepan, heat the olive oil. Add the onion and garlic and cook for a few minutes until the onion is transparent.
3. Add the rice and stir for a minute until the rice is coated with the oil. Add the wine and stir until wine is absorbed
4. Add a ladle of stock to the rice and stir until stock is fully absorbed. Repeat the process. This should take around 20 minutes. At the end ensure that the rice is creamy with a little bit of stock and not dry.
5. Turn off the heat. Stir through the parmesan and serve immediately.

Ham & red lentil soup

2012-04-10T05:00:00.015+10:00

It's been so nice to have a long Easter weekend. After spending most of the weekend with family, conducting an easter egg hunt then eating what seemed like a tonne of chocolate eggs, it was also nice to get back home again.

I took myself for a walk and enjoyed the crisp morning air. Then Mr Shady Pine and I took time out and had brunch at a local cafe here. It was really peaceful enjoying the valley views and a beautifully cooked breakfast. Sipping our coffee, there was nowhere to rush to. Bliss!

It was the sort of beautiful Autumn sunny day where you knew that as soon as the sun bid its good night, it was going to be a chilly evening. Chilly evenings got me thinking about soup. And the thought of soup saw me standing in front of the butcher shop. So it was this chain of thoughts that propelled me home with a smoked ham hock and inevitably had me cooking this soup.

Like all good soups, this one takes time. But it's lovely to have a big pot of soup bubbling away gently as you potter around the house. Do take the time to find a good quality ham hock for this soup as it will make all the difference. Once the soup is cooked, the meat should be falling off the bone. Only then can it be shredded and returned back to the lentil thickened broth to make this hearty and delicious soup.

Ham & red lentil soup

Ingredients:
1 smoked ham hock
1 ½ cup red lentils
2 carrots, diced
3 stalks celery, diced
1 brown onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, crushed
1 Tbs sweet paprika
1 tsp dried chilli flakes (optional)
2 Tbs olive oil
400g tin of chopped tomatoes
1.5L water
¼ cup chopped parsley
S&P

1. Place the ham hock in a large pot. Cover with cold water and bring to a boil then turn off the heat immediately. Drain the hock and put aside.
2. Rinse the lentils well in a colander.
3. Heat the olive oil in a large soup pot. Add the vegetables and garlic and sauté for about 8 minutes.
4. Add the paprika, pepper to taste and chilli if using and cook out the spices for a couple of minutes.
5. Add the tomatoes, lentils and ham hock to the pot.
6. Add the water. Stir, cover and allow to simmer on low heat for about 1 ½ - 2 hours. Add salt to taste half way through cooking time.

7. Remove the ham hock. Shred the ham and discard the bone. Return the shredded ham back to the pot. Stir in the parsley and serve hot with crusty bread if desired.

Easter Egg Cupcakes

2012-04-06T16:00:00.006+10:00

I never used to be one for novelty sweets or desserts. That was before my two gorgeous nieces entered the scene...one of them only arriving a couple of weeks ago and is just the most gorgeous little bundle! Now I just want to make them gorgeous pink swathed cakes pretty enough for a fairy princess. Or something along those lines anyway.

I can't wait to spend the entire Easter long weekend with these two gorgous munchinks!! They are the inspiration behind these Easter egg cupcakes which I am certain the older of the two won't be able to resist. In fact if a sneaky little Easter egg goes missing, as they sometimes do, I'll know where to look!

I hope everyone has a lovely Easter and you enjoy some time out with your loved ones. xo

Easter egg cupcakes
Makes 12

Ingredients:
1 cup self raising flour
½ cup raw caster sugar
¼ cup milk
100gm unsalted butter
1 egg
2 tsp vanilla extract

Icing:
2 cups icing sugar mixture
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 Tbs softened butter
2 Tbs milk
12 small chocolate Easter eggs
Sprinkles

1. Preheat oven to 180C.
2. In a mixing bowl, beat the sugar and butter together until smooth and creamy. Add the vanilla and egg and beat for another minute.
3. Stir in the flour and milk until a smooth batter forms.
4. Place paper cases in a muffin tin. Spoon a couple of tablespoons into each case.
5. Bake for 15 minutes. Allow to cool for a few minutes then turn out onto a cake rack to cool completely.
6. For the icing, combine the icing sugar mixture, vanilla extract, butter and milk and stir until a smooth and rich icing forms.
7. Spread the icing over the cooled cup cakes. Top each cupcake with sprinkles and a chocolate Easter egg.

Midweek stir fry

2012-04-03T21:45:00.012+10:00

This week I had bought some lovely eye fillet steaks for dinner with Mr Shady Pine. Eye fillet is my favourite cut of steak. I only like a small amount of red meat, so I find this to be the prefect little medallion of meat.

I was looking forward to getting home and having this gorgeous steak with a side of crushed potatoes and a green salad. Mr Shady Pine has been working long and hard of late on a huge bid with his team and it was at a critical stage in their preparation. So I wasn't surprised to get a late call that afternoon to say that the entire bid team was working late into the night and that Mr Shady Pine wouldn't be making it home any time soon.

And with that news, I decided to turn the dinner plans around as I didn't want to cook just one of the steaks and leave the other one. So I started chopping away in preparation for a stir fry. This was a way to take care of all the beef and have a ready and complete meal for Mr Shady Pine for later.

So tell me, do your dinner plans ever get switched around at short notice and what do you do in that situation?

Beef & Singapore noodle stir fry

350g beef, cut into strips
200g Singapore noodles, prepared according to packet instructions
1 small red capsicum, cut into thin strips
1 small red onion, sliced
2 carrots, sliced
3 Tbs soy sauce
3 Tbs sweet chilli sauce
1 Tbs Chinese Cooking Wine
2 garlic cloves, crushed
1 red chilli, deseeded and finely diced
1 Tbs peanut oil
Pepper

1. Heat oil in a wok until very hot.
2. Add the beef strips and stir fry until browned. Add the vegetables, garlic, chilli and pepper. Stir fry for about 3-4 minutes.
3. Add the noodles and all the sauces. Stir fry for another couple of minutes and serve immediately.

Finger buns

2012-04-02T05:00:00.019+10:00

Before the issue of childhood obesity and before the day of the sugar police making their way into Australian schools, you could get some damn good stuff at the school canteen. Now granted, I do think it's a good idea to somewhat regulate what's offered at the school canteen and ensure that healthy food is a priority. But I can't help but wonder what kids in the future will look back on with nostalgia.

What I remember about my school canteen is the finger bun. Every week with my pocket money in tow I would have the pleasure of deciding on a treat. For me nothing could beat the finger bun. Sitting there all glazed up with the pretty pink icing, there was never really any competition.

From time to time, I'll see these at a cafe or bakery and just the sight of them reminds me of childhood. So when I was recently flicking through a new magazine and came across a recipe for finger buns, I knew I had to make them.

These do take a while to make but like most baking, the end is definitely worth the means. What you end up with are deliciously spiced and sweetly glazed buns. I served these for afternoon tea on the day I baked them to Mr Shady Pine and a friend who were working hard on a landscaping project at The Shady Pine. Four finger buns later, I gathered they enjoyed them! While I really loved having one with my coffee, what I really enjoyed was making these and seeing the end result. The school memories made it all the better.

Finger buns
Makes 12
Recipe adapted from Super Food Ideas magazine, March 2012 issue, Recipe by Kim Coverdale

Ingredients:
7g sachet yeast
1/3 cup raw caster sugar
½ cup milk, warm
2 ½ cups baker’s plain flour
1 tsp mixed spice
1 ½ tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp vanilla extract
50g butter, chopped
1 egg
½ cup sultanas
¼ cup warm water
Extra milk for brushing
Hundreds and thousands and desiccated coconut to decorate
Pink icing:
1 ½ cups icing sugar mixture
10g melted butter
2 Tbs hot water
Few drops of pink food colour

1. Place yeast, sugar and milk into a bowl and mix well. Rest for 10 minutes or until the mixture start to bubble.
2. In a large mixing bowl add the flour, spices and butter. Rub in butter until breadcrumbs are formed.
3. To the flour add the yeast mixture, ¼ cup warm water, egg, sultanas and vanilla. Mix well. Cover and leave to rest in a warm place for an hour or until the dough is doubled in size.
4. Preheat oven to 200C. Prepare two baking trays.
5. Remove the dough from the bowl onto a floured surface. Knead for 8-10 minutes. Divide the dough into 12 equal portions and shape each into a log about 12-14cm long. Place logs onto baking trays. Cover and rest for another 15 minutes.
6. Brush the buns with milk and bake for 12 – 15 minutes until golden brown.
7. Place cooked buns on a cake rack to cool.
8. Place all the icing ingredients into a mixing bowl. Mix well until a smooth icing is formed.
9. Spread icing over each finger bun and decorate using the hundreds and thousands and desiccated coconut.
10. Serve as is or cut in half lengthways and spread with butter.

Parmesan, pepper and chilli savoury biscuits

2012-03-29T05:00:00.015+11:00

Have you ever tasted something expecting it to taste one way, but having it taste completely different to what you thought it would be like?

A couple of years back, I was at a Christmas drinks party of a friend who happens to be a fabulous cook. She is especially talented when it comes to creating food for entertaining. When you are at one of her parties, you can expect really beautiful and elegant food. I look forward to her functions every time as I am always pleasantly surprised by what she chooses to serve up.

This particular Christmas party was a cocktail party and my friend had prepared a buffet style menu. When I think of a buffet I think of paper plates loaded with ham and pasta salad, usually at a big family function. This was not that kind of buffet. My friend had prepared a feast for not only our stomachs but our eyes as well! The buffet table was a double tier table that had an upper and a lower table surface. And this was filled with the most incredible looking food. The bottom tier had all sorts of beautifully presented food; from seafood to delicate finger foods, you name it and it was all there. The top tier though was dedicated to dessert; panna cotta, trifle, cakes, biscuits, fruit and different cheeses.

Having feasted on some lovely food that evening, I turned my attention to something sweet. I zoned in on a platter of delicious looking biscuits and decided to try one. I was expecting a decadent, crispy and most of all sweet biscuit. This is not what I got. What I tasted instead, was decadent, crispy but very much a savoury flavour. The biscuit packed a punch with a definite hit of parmesan and an ever so slight chilli heat. It was absolutely delicious! I have always held on to this memory, mostly because I was expecting to taste one thing but instead got a pleasant surprise that only comes with the unexpected.

These biscuits are inspired by my friend's biscuits from that night. They make a really lovely addition to a cheese and fruit platter.

Savoury parmesan, chilli and pepper biscuits
Makes about 15

Ingredients:
75g plain flour
65g parmesan cheese, grated
65g butter, chopped
1 tsp salt flakes
½ tsp ground black pepper
½ - 1tsp dried chilli flakes
2 Tbs cold water

1.Place all ingredients into a food processor and process until a dough comes together.
2.Place a sheet of baking paper (approx 20cm in length) on a bench surface.
3.Roll the dough into a log with a 4-5cm diameter. Roll in the baking paper twisting the ends to secure. Place in the freezer for 30 minutes.
4. Preheat oven to 190C. Line a baking tray with baking paper.
5.Remove the dough from the freezer. Slice into ½ cm slices and place on the baking tray.
6.Bake the biscuits for about 10-12 minutes. Remove from the oven and allow to cool.

Avocado and vermicelli salad with ginger sesame dressing

2012-03-27T05:13:00.001+11:00

There's nothing quite like the silky texture of an avocado. With autumn truly upon us now, I've been experimenting with heartier salads. So when I was looking to make my latest autumn salad, I knew I wanted to incorporate avocado into it. Not only are avocados in season at the moment, they can also help to turn any light salad into a meal.

I decided to use a base of warm vermicelli rice noodles which are not only perfect for the start of the cooler weather, but the warm noodles absorb the delicious ginger dressing beautifully. To add some crunchy texture to this salad, I used a sprinking of roasted peanuts. These are the perfect accompaniment to all of that silky rich avocado.

Finally, the dressing is the element that brings all of these ingredients together. I only used a small amount of ginger in this dressing as I don't like the ginger to overpower the delicate avocado flavour. In fact the balance of sweetness, saltiness and acidity is really important. The addition of toasted sesame seeds not only adds a textural element in the dressing but also compliments the sesame oil and both add a heap of flavour.

I love eating this salad on it's own for lunch or dinner. But if you're like Mr Shady Pine, you may like to add a more substantial serving of protein. A nicely pan fried piece of fish or chicken is a good choice.

Avocado and noodle salad with ginger sesame dressing
Serves 2

Ingredients:
1 avocado
¼ cup roasted peanuts
1 ½ Tbs sesame seeds
1 Tbs soy sauce
1 Tbs rice wine vinegar
1 Tbs olive oil
1 tsp sesame oil
1 tsp raw caster sugar
½ tsp dried chilli
1cm piece of ginger, finely grated
125gm vermicelli rice noodles

1. Cut the avocado in half, remove the seed and scoop out each half. Slice into 5mm slices lengthways.
2. Place rice noodles into a bowl of boiling water. Allow to soak for 3-4 minutes. Drain the noodles.
3. Toast the sesame seeds in a non stick pan over medium heat until golden brown.
4. In a small jug or mixing bowl combine the soy sauce, vinegar, olive oil, sesame oil, chilli, ginger and sesame seeds.
5. To assemble the salad, spread the noodles at the bottom of a platter. Arrange the avocado slices on top of the noodles. Scatter the peanuts over the avocado. Drizzle the dressing over the salad.
6. Serve salad as it is or as side in a meal.

New blog banner and date night

2012-03-23T10:26:00.014+11:00

If you are a regular visitor here you would notice a brand new look for The Shady Pine. I was so excited to work with the talented Katrina from The Media Maid on a fresh new look for the blog. Thanks to Katrina's hard work and creativity, I could not be happier with the outcome. If you drop by Katrina's website and think she looks familiar, it could be because of her appearance in last season's show of The Block. I hope you like the brand new look as much as I do!

In other news, Mr Shady Pine and I try and have date night about once a week. Recently, Kravings @ Kurmond announced the release of their updated menu so we were keen to try it. This is a place we visit somewhat regularly so a new menu drew us in.

For entree we each had a plate of crispy wontons with a herb, garlic and cream cheese filling on a bed of tomato and saffron sauce. The wontons were really crispy and delicious and I could have easily eaten another serving of these.

For mains Mr Shady Pine had an eye fillet from the new grill menu. It was medium rare and cooked perfectly. For my main, I had sesame crusted salmon on a bed of noodles with ponzu sauce. I really loved the crispy fried enoki mushrooms that were on top of the salmon. Initially I thought it was just a pretty garnish but in fact it added a lovely flavour that compimented the overall dish.
Finally for dessert we shared a decadent semifreddo with homemad honey comb and crusted with dark chocolate. On the side was a piece of almond brittle which gave a really nice texture to the dessert.

Kravings

452 Bells Line of Road, Kurmond

02 4573 1211

Steam bag fish and corn salsa

2012-03-21T05:00:00.001+11:00

Fish is not something I've always been confident in cooking at home. As kids we didn't grow up eating a lot of fish. Instead our diet was mostly made up of vegetables alongside meat or chicken prepared in a multitude of ways.

As I began eating out a lot more in later years, I would regularly order fish when out at a restaurant. However I was not game to cook it often at home. In fact in the early days my attempts at cooking fish generally produced over cooked or dry fish so for a long time I avoided cooking it at home. Which in itself created a problem as I love to eat it.

So on I went thinking I would just live with never cook fish at home. That is until a friend shared this cooking method of effectively creating a steam bag. This cooking method means that the fish remains really moist and flaky as the moisture can't escape from the bag. The creation of a steam bag also allows you to add other liquids like stock, wine Asian sauces or pretty much any flavouring you heart desires.

In this instance I added soy sauce together with some shallots, garlic, chilli and sesame oil for a really fragrant piece of fish. I served this with a really simple corn salsa with a lime juice dressing.

I'm happy to report that these days I cook fish regularly at home, and with a bit of practice it proved not to be as scary as I once thought!

Steam bag fish with corn salsa
Serves 2

Ingredients:
2 x 140g fish fillets (I used ling this time but vary it with whatever fresh fish I can get at the time)
2 Tbs soy sauce
1 spring onion, thinly sliced
2 small garlic cloves, finely diced
2 Tbs coriander leaves
1 tsp sesame oil
S&P

For the salsa:
1 large corn cob, kernels removed
½ capsicum, finely diced
½ small cucumber, finely diced
1 Tbs coriander, finely chopped
Juice from ½ lime
1 Tbs olive oil
S&P

1. Preheat oven to 180C fan forced.
2. Take 2 lengths of aluminium foil approximately 20cm long and lay it on a bench. Take a slightly smaller length of baking paper and lay it on top of each piece of foil.
3. Place a piece of fish on each section of the baking paper. Create a bag with an opening at the top by rolling the sides of the foil.
4. On each piece of fish in the bag place 1Tbs soy, ½ tsp sesame oil, half the spring onions, garlic, coriander and S&P.
5. Seal the top of each bad by rolling the foil completely closed ensuring each bag is sealed.
6. Place each steam bag on a baking tray. Bake in the oven for about 20 minutes.
7. Place all the salsa ingredients into a mixing bowl and mix well.
8. Serve the fish either still in the steam bag or placed onto a warm plate with a side of corn salsa.

Chocolate orange almond cakes

2012-03-19T05:00:00.000+11:00

You may recall me talking about our regular card nights here. We take turns hosting these evenings amongst the neighbours. While I enjoy the card games, I am really enjoying the social aspect of these regular events. And I am also loving the food! What I like is that each person will have their own style or twist to the evening unlike anybody else.

One set of neighbours is more traditional in what they serve up. So we know when we go to their place it will simply be good food and lots of it. Another neighbour is great at desserts and is renound for her cheesecakes....the most impressive looking one to date is a massive mirangue cheesecake! And yet another does delicious Asian inspired fare. So it's been really interesting as these evenings have become as much about getting together for a great meal and chat as well as the card game.

The last card evening was hosted by our lovely neighbours who put together a delicious Malaysian inspired menu with lots of tasty spiced chicken and beef skewers and fried rice. I brought along these little individual chocolate almond cakes with a side of orange segments. These are best served while warm or slightly reheated in the microwave with a side of orange segments. Add a scoop of ice cream or dollop of cream for something even more luscious!

Chocolate orange almond cakes with orange segments
Makes about 8 individual cakes

Ingredients:
1 cup almond meal
1 cup icing sugar, sifted
½ cup plain flour
½ tsp baking powder
½ tsp bicarb soda
125g unsalted butter, melted
5 eggwhites, beaten to soft peaks
¼ cup Dutch cocoa
1 Tbs Cointreau
Zest of 1 orange
Oranges in Cointreau syrup:
3 oranges, segmented
2 Tbs Cointreau
4 Tbs sugar

1. Preheat oven to 180C.
2. Grease muffin tin.
3. In a mixing bowl, combine almond meal, flour, icing sugar, baking powder, bicarb, cocoa and orange zest.
4. Fold in the eggwhites into the flour mixture. Add the Cointreau and mix.
5. Pour the batter into the muffin tin and bake for about 30 minutes until a skewer comes out clean when inserted into the middle of a cake. Leave to cool in the muffin tin for 5 minutes before turning out onto a cake rack.
6. For the orange segments, place the orange segments and sugar into a small pan over low heat. Simmer for a few minutes. Add the Cointreau and light with a match if you dare to flambé the oranges.
7. Serve cakes warm with cream or ice cream if desired.

Roasted pumpkin soup

2012-03-16T05:00:00.003+11:00

Roasting vegetables is my favourite way to prepare them for making soup. The roasting process adds the caramelisation and brings out the natural sweetness in the vegetables. As autumn comes on, I usually start soup season with a simple pumpkin soup. It's a simple, uncomplicated soup I want to eat in Autumn as the weather starts to turn chilly.

Roasting the pumpkin first is my favourite way to make pumpkin soup and it produces so much more flavour compared with steaming or boiling it. As well as roasting the pumpkin, I also like to add a red onion and some garlic cloves with their skins on to the roasting tray. Roasted garlic is just heavenly! Unlike its raw sibling, roasted garlic brings a mellowed and delicate flavour without any of the raw garlic punch.

You can use vegetable or chicken stock to make this soup, however I just like to use plain water as I like the flavour of the vegetables coming through.

What soup do you like to make to mark the start of the cooler months? Is is a light broth based soup or a more substantial soup?

Roasted pumpkin soup
Serves 2

Ingredients:
Half a butternut pumpkin, peeled and cut into 4 cm chunks
1 tsp cumin
3 Tbs olive oil
1 small red onion, roughly chopped
6 cloves of garlic, left in their skin
2 cups water or vegetable stock
S&P

1. Preheat oven to 180C.
2. Place the pumpkin to a baking tray lined with baking paper. Add the onion and unpeeled garlic.
3. Sprinkle the cumin over the pumpkin and onion. Add the olive oil and plenty of S&P.
4. Roast for approximately 40 minutes.
5. Remove the vegetables from the oven. Place the pumpkin and onion into a food processor. Squeeze the roasted garlic out of their skins and place into the food processor.
6. Add the water to the pumpkin and process until smooth.
7. Taste for seasoning and add S&P to taste.
8. Place the soup into a pot to heat.
9. Serve hot with crusty bread and a dollop of crème fraiche.

Candied carrots

2012-03-14T05:00:00.016+11:00

It's nuts to be so crazy about carrots. Not just any carrots but baby candied carrots. The idea for these came from my longtime friend Ms Saltwater many years ago when she would have people over to her new apartment and cook beautiful gourmet meals. Here we would spend an afternoon lazing about and eating her wonderful food.

Since then I've roasted baby carrots using an infinite variety of spices but this one using maple syrup and cinnamon remains my favourite. Ms Saltwater uses honey which is equally as good and I vary it between honey and maple syrup depending on what's in the pantry. Needless to say, please don't use the maple flavoured fake syrup. If no other option, I think the better choice is to even use brown sugar.

There's really not too much to the recipe but the results are thoroughly mouthwatering. The majority of the work is done by the maple syrup and the oven to turn these into sweet little morsels that I can eat on their own. But they are also perfect with any sort of roasted meat or Morrocan inspired dish either vegetarian or with meat. We had these sweet little carrots as a side to a roasted garlic and lemon lamb and it was utterly delicious.

Candied carrots
Serves 2 as side dish

Ingredients:
1 bunch of baby Dutch carrots
2 Tbs maple syrup or honey
2 tsp cinnamon
2 Tbs olive oil
S&P

1. Preheat oven to 180C
2. Cut off the green tops of the baby carrots leaving about 1cm for presentation. Peel the carrots. 3. Line a baking tray with baking paper
4. Place carrots, maple syrup, cinnamon, olive oil and S&P in the tray. Mix all ingredients until well combined.
5. Bake for about 40-45 minutes until carrots are dark golden brown.

Upside down plum cake (and Beerenberg giveaway winner)

2012-03-12T03:00:00.004+11:00

With all the crazy rain we've had recently, Warragamba dam has certainly reached its storage capacity. After almost a decade of drought, you would think this a great thing. But we are a land of extremes and after dealing with times of drought the rains have come.

Many people, especially towns out west are cut in half by flood waters. But even the city didn't escape flooding and this past week saw a traffic nightmare throughout Sydney due to roads cut off by water.

While we live up fairly high, our main access road crosses the Hawkesbury River. This is our main road in and out. The only other option is to go further up the mountains crossing them and doing a loop that would take 2 to 3 hours. So on hearing the news last Friday that the bridge over the hawkesbury was due to be closed, both Mr Shady Pine and I dashed home from work not wanting to be cut off and be subjected to the alternate long drive home.

What I didn't expect was such a panic from people. I stopped in at our closest supermarket on my way home to get some extra supplies in case the bridge was closed for several days and was faced with mayhem. People were everywhere cleaning out the shelves. I felt like I was on the set of a disaster movie. So I grabbed the essentials and high tailed out of there as quick as I could.

In the end the bridge was only closed for a day as the flooding wasn't as severe as predicted. But while it was closed I did enjoy a sense of being cut off from the world for a little while. I pottered around the house. I thought about how we would get on if we were completely cut off for a long time. I figured from the supplies in our pantry, freezer and garden we would probably have enough food to feed us for a month easily.

I also baked. With lots of stranded neighbours I figured I would have a cake on standby for any visits. I had exactly 4 plums in the fruit bowl and this recipe called for 4-5. This cake is a really lovely balance between the fruity plums and cake batter. Also, because the plums are spread out on the bottom of the cake tin with sugar, they turn really jammy, sticky and delicious when the cake is turned out.

I am also pleased to announce that Sarah from From my Vegie Patch to Plate is the winner of the Beerenberg giveaway draw....congratulations Sarah!

Upside down plum cake
Adapted from cake recipe here

Ingredients:
4 plums
1 cup plain flour
½ tsp baking powder
½ tsp bicarb soda
60g butter
¾ cup sugar (preferably raw caster sugar)
½ cup milk
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla essence

1. Preheat oven to 200C.
2. Line the base of a 23cm round cake tin with baking paper.
3. Sprinkle 2 Tbs of sugar on the base. Arrange the plums in a circular pattern on top of the sugar and covering the base of the tin.
4. In a mixing bowl, mix the butter, vanilla, sugar and egg with a mixer until the sugar has dissolved.
5. To the butter mixture, add the flour, baking powder, bicarb and milk and mix well with a wooden spoon to make a smooth batter.
6. Spoon the cake batter over the top of the plums ensuring the batter is well spread out.
7. Bake for 25 minutes. The cake will be cooked when a skewer inserted into the cake comes out clean.
8. Allow the cake to cook for 5 minutes in the tin before turning it out.
9. This cake is best served warm with a dollop of cream if desired.

Beef, ginger & honey stew

2012-03-07T20:45:00.013+11:00

It's been a strange old summer here. While there have certainly been a few hot days and also some steamy humid days, much of summer was marked with rain and quite a few cool days. Where we live up in the mountains, it is usually a bit cooler no matter the time of year compared with Sydney. There have been days during summer I would have considered to be soup days. But I hung on and stuck to the mostly lighter summer fare, somehow unable to cook hearty cool weather dishes until at least the calendar said Autumn had arrived.

I love the arrival of autumn and it is by far my favourite season for cooking. I love the slight crispness in the air and how it draws me ever closer to the kitchen. I can happily spend much of the weekend pottering around the kitchen with a pot bubbling away slowly. Or I am very happy with coffee cup in one hand, flicking through one of my recipe books and seeking inspiration for the next dish.

So with the arrival of autumn, I was absolutely hanging out for the first cool day when I could make something hearty and warming. As good as the summer salads were with all their infinite variety, by the end of summer I am really loooking to cook something more substantial not to mention slow cooked.

I decided on this beef, ginger and honey stew which is slow cooked for an hour and a half to produce a luscious stew and tender falling apart beef. The ingredients here are an inspiration from the many Asian ingredients in my pantry and the ginger I had bought from the green grocer that morning.

Beef, ginger & honey stew
Serves 4

Ingredients:
600g beef (I used rump but use any cheaper cut of meat in this dish), diced
2 large carrots. Sliced
3 stalks celery, sliced
1 onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, finely chopped
2cm ginger, finely chopped
2 Tbs soy sauce
2 Tbs honey
1 Tbs Chinese cooking wine
1 tsp sesame oil
1 tsp dried chilli (optional)
1 ½ cups beef stock
Pepper
2 Tbs olive oil
1 Tbs plain flour

1. In a heavy based saucepan, heat the olive oil and brown the beef in batches. Remove beef from pan and set aside.
2. To the pan in a little olive oil, sauté the vegetables, chilli (if using), garlic and ginger for a few minutes.
3. Return the beef to the pan with the vegetables. Sprinkle the flour over the mixture and fry for 2 minutes.
4. Add the soy sauce, wine, honey, sesame oil, pepper and stock. Allow to come to a simmer.
5. Place on a lid and simmer on very low heat for about 1.5 hours until the meat is very tender.
6. Serve with rice or noodles if desired.

Beef sausage rolls & Beerenberg products GIVEAWAY!

2012-03-05T05:00:00.004+11:00

I am really excited as today marks the very first reader giveaway at The Shady Pine! I am also chuffed that the products to be given away are from Beerenberg. Beerenberg are an Australian company based in Hanhdorf, South Australia specialising in a multitude of chutneys, sauces, jams and other condiments. To read more about the Beerenberg success story you can visit here. I've used many of their high quality products for some time now and have never been disappointed. Read on for entry details to the giveaway.

To celebarate this first, I decided to make some beef sausage rolls just because they are the perfect party food in my opinion. These ones are made using beef mince instead of the usual sausage mince which I prefer as it is leaner, and with the addition of a few ingredients they remain nice and moist and full of flavour. We ate these with a delicious hot tomato chutney one Friday night and it was the perfect way to celebrate the end of the working week!

Now to the giveaway....the lovely people at Beerenberg have provided the following gorgeous range of products for one lucky reader to win:

2 x Balsamic Beetroot Chutney

1 x Blood Orange Marmalade

1 x Blueberry Jam

1 x Tomato Sauce

1 x Taka Tala sauce marinade

For your chance to win all you have to do is:

1. Leave a comment to this post. Remember to link to your blog or email theshadypine@yahoo.com.au with your email details.

2. Like The Shady Pine of Facebook.

Anyone can enter and entries will close at 3pm AEST Sunday 11th March. The winner will be announced here on Monday 12th March.

Beef sausage rolls
Serves 4 as part of a meal or 8 as finger food

Ingredients:
500gm lean beef mince
2 sheets of frozen puff pastry
1 large carrot, grated
1 Tbs olive oil
1 large garlic clove, crushed
1 small onion, finely diced
1 Tbs soy sauce
2 Tbs Worcestershire sauce
3 Tbs of your favourite tomato chutney (I used Beerenberg’s Hot Tomato Chutney)
1 egg, beaten
1 Tbs sesame seeds
S& P to taste

1. Preheat oven to 180C fan forced. Line a baking sheet with baking paper.
2. In a pan over medium heat, heat olive oil and sauté onion and garlic for a few minutes until transparent. Take off the heat and leave to cool.
3. Allow the pastry sheets to defrost for 5 minutes.
4. In a large mixing bowl, add the mince, onion & garlic, carrot, soy sauce, Worcestershire sauce, chutney and S&P. Using your hands, mix together really well until all the ingredients are combined.
5. Place half the beef mixture on each pastry sheet. Spread the mixture into a sausage shape lengthways along the pastry sheet. Using a pastry brush, brush a little egg wash along one side of the pastry. Roll the pastry and beef mix forming a long sausage shape.
6. Place the rolls on the baking tray. Cut each roll into 4 or 5 sections. Brush the sausage rolls with the egg wash and sprinkle the sesame seeds on top.
7. Bake for about 45-50 minutes until the pastry is golden brown and the beef in the rolls is fully cooked through.
8. Serve with your favourite sauce or chutney if desired.

Brunch

2012-03-02T05:00:00.008+11:00

Brunch is what I consider a convenient and forgiving meal. It's the thing I most look forward to on a weekend if I've had the good fortune of a sleep in. Brunch is the meal that forgives the fact that you've missed breakfast and that it's too long to wait for lunch.

What I love about brunch is that the rules that might be associated with breakfast and lunch don't apply. If I feel like bacon and eggs but want to have a chocolate muffin as well, then that is just fine.

The other thing I like about it is that it's social meal that doesn't eat into the whole day. Breakfast always seems to early to invite friends around or to meet at a cafe. While a weekend lunch will take up most of the afternoon. But brunch comes at a more civilized hour allowing you to catch up with friends but then get on with the rest of your day.

I made roasted tomato, spinach and goat cheese on toasted sourdough for brunch recently. The tomatoes roast away in the oven and need no attention while you prepare coffee, juice or fruit or all of the above. The sharpness of the goat cheese is lovely with the sweet roasted tomatoes and the sourdough soaks up all the lovely roasted tomato juices. This is a really nice brunch alternative that's so tasty but easy to prepare.

Roast tomatoes, spinach and goat cheese on toasted sourdough

Makes 2

Ingredients:
4 roma tomatoes, sliced in half lenghtways
2 thick slices of sourdough bread
2 large handfuls of baby spinach
60g goats cheese
1 garlic clove, cut in half (optional)
Olive oil
S&P
1 tsp raw caster sugar

1. Preheat oven to 180C.
2. Place tomatoes on an oven tray. Drizzle with olive oil, sugar and S&P. Bake for 20-30 minutes until the tomatoes start to break down.
3. Toast the sourdough and rub garlic if using across the toasted bread.
4. Meanwhile, heat a tablespoon of olive oil in a non stick pan and saute the baby spinach for a couple of minutes.
5. To assemble, spread half the goats cheese on each slice of sourdough, top with the baby spinach and tomato.