Cooking catch-up

November has dawned - well, three days ago - and we'll see if Miss Eagle can do any better at posting than she has done in recent times. August was illness, September was recovery, and October was - well, dear Reader, you can see for yourself what I've been up to if you pop over here.

So, let's do some food catch up. Above, was my contribution to the blogging lunch described here.

Those rolls on the left are a vegetarian substitute for sausage rolls and they go just as well dipped in tomato sauce.

Vegetarian Rolls

Dear Reader, you can sort yourself out on quantities. I used:

• 1x425 g tin of chick peas, drained
• 2 potatoes
• 1 onion
• Grated cheese
• Fresh herbs
• 1 egg
• 2 sheets of puff pastry
• Sesame seeds

I blended the first five ingredients in the food processor. I put spoonfuls of the mixture in a strip along the length of the pastry sheet. Rolled it over, brushed the edges with milk to stick them together, cut down the sheet, cut up the roll and placed on a baking dish and continued like this until the two sheets were used up. Then I brushed all the little rolls with milk and sprinkled sesame seed on top. I did have some of the mixture left over. That was beautiful for breakfast the next day tossed in the pan with a fried egg.

Fruit and Cheese Skewers

You, dear Reader, don't require a recipe for these. You can see what goes into them, how they are done. I used a Colby Cheese. Colby is a mild cheese that suits a broad range of tastes. Coming as it does in a block, it is easy to cube for the skewers. As for the fruit, it is your choice. I used water, rock and honeydew melons and pineapple. But strawberries would be a great inclusion.

We are now getting into the rhythm of the deliveries from Aussie Farmers Direct. Our milk comes from the Western District and is processed and packed by the historic Warrnambool Cheese and Butter Factory, which sits on the Great Ocean Road at Allansford. Our fruit and veges (see pictures above) arrive every Wednesday.

They are first class and, because they are so fresh and of such high quality, they keep very well. This is an important factor in a household comprising two single people. Herself optimistically signed up for the Family Pack and not the Two Person Pack. So each Thursday, I am getting into the habit of sorting, storing and planning. If we can manage to get through a Family Pack of fruit and veges a week rather than pick up the odd piece as we go, then there'll be roses in the cheeks of this household!

Our free range eggs come early in the week - and, in case we are not using them up quickly enough, a quiche goes on the menu along with a fresh salad. However, what you see pictured above is the Lazy Cook's Quiche. I figured if one can have small bread cases for savouries, why not large ones? So here is the Lazy Cook's Quiche:

Lazy Cook's Quiche

Bread Case: dip sufficient slices of bread in milk to line your pie dish. (My dish is large.) Ensure that slices abut and/or overlap so that the plate is covered. You will need to trim slices for the edge and, if necessary, to cover abutting corners. When placing the bread around the edges put the crust uppermost because this gives a nice crunchy crust when it is baked.

Filling: I used fresh asparagus, onions, diced potato, peas, fresh herbs, 4 eggs beaten with Carnation Evaporated Milk, salt. Quantities will vary according to the size of the pie plate and the vegetables you have available.

Bake in a slow oven (somewhere around 150 degrees to 170 degrees) on a low shelf. When the filling is set cover with grated cheese. Continue to bake until the cheese is golden brown. I usually turn off the oven when the cheese is melted right across the quiche but is not yet brown. I then leave the quiche in the oven. It continues to cook and can be left until it is the right temperature for serving. Allowing about 45 minutes to an hour for cooking is best so that the egg mixture is set and the vegetables are cooked through but not overdone. Quite more-ish!

I have taken the laziness and bread casing a step further with an Apple and Pear Tart. The bread casing was done as described for the quiche, apples and pears were cored and sliced thinly (four pears and five small Granny Smith's), the juice of an orange sprinkled over them, along with three dessertspoons of brown sugar. Again baked at 150-170 degrees. A low temperature is needed to allow the fruit to cook through. The fruit is piled on because as the fruit cooks and loses its liquid, it sinks down. This was a vote-winner.

As I write this, Melbourne has received soaking rain for the past eighteen hours. It is wonderful and most welcome. I worked very hard to get the vege garden in and planted because there is a local wisdom which says that, to have tomatoes for Christmas, they have to be planted by Melbourne Cup Day. My plants have been in for just over a week and now, with the rain, all that is needed is some moderate weather for them to take off - I hope and pray. Tomatoes for Christmas? We'll see.

And now for the piece-de-resistance.

Cappuccino Cake

Ingredients:

• 250 g pack of butter, softened
• 250 g light soft brown sugar plus 2-3 tablespoons
• 300 g self-raising flour
• 4 eggs beaten
• 50 g walnuts, toasted and finely chopped (food processor is easiest), optional
• 200 ml very strong coffee (made fresh or with instant), cooled. (You are using Fair Trade coffee, aren't you, dear Reader?)

Frosting:

• 500 g tub mascarpone
• 2 tablespoons light soft brown sugar
• Cocoa powder or drinking chocolate, to decorate

Method:

• Heat oven to 180 degrees Centigrade/ 160 degrees convection
• Butter 2x20cm sandwich tins
• Line the bottoms with greaseproof paper.
• Beat butter and sugar together with electric beaters until pale and creamy.
• Add the flour and eggs in one go
• Keep beating until evenly mixed.
• Fold in the walnuts (if used) and half of the coffee.
• Spoon the mix into the prepared tins and bake for 25-30 minutes or until golden and well risen.
• Leave the cakes in their tins for 5 mins before turning onto a wire rack.
• Sweeten the remaining coffee with the extra sugar and sprinkle 4 tablespoons over the sponges.
• Leave to cool completely.
• While the cakes cool, make the frosting.
• Tip the mascarpone into a large bowl and beat in the sugar and remaining coffee until smooth and creamy.
• Use about half of the frosting to sandwich the sponges together then, using a palette or cutlery knife, spread the rest of the frosting over the top of the cake.
• Decorate with a dusting of cocoa powder or drinking chocolate.

This recipe is from Jane Hornby and is published in the BBC's Good Food magazine of May 2006.

Meatloaf Glaze and Orange Meringue Tart

Miss Eagle and Herself are a mother and daughter: two single women. So sometimes food is "catch as catch can" but we do have a few proper meals during the week. Some meals are prepared by Herself. Herself is a good cook but is not into food preparation in a big way. Miss E prepares some and now, being at home all the time with Herself as the worker, tries to do the maternal putting-a-decent-meal-on-the-table-for-the-hard-worker thing.

Herself has not yet taken the plunge into a meatless diet although she recognises that would be preferable. She gives two reasons: her susceptibility to iron deficiency and her acculturation to a meat diet. So Miss E does prepare carnivore food - usually about once a week - in consideration of Herself although she does note some decrease in beef consumption in Herself's diet. So, during this week, Miss E prepared a small meatloaf: something she hasn't cooked in at least two decades. The rainy, cold Melbourne weather this week has meant that good, old fashioned, solid comfort food is much appreciated. So the meatloaf came served with mashed potatoes, mashed pumpkin (Australians regard pumpkin as a vegetable more than a fruit), and peas. Miss Eagle always glazes her meatloaf and this time used a different ingredient because there was no brown sugar in the cupboard. The recipe for the glaze is below. Miss E presumes you all have your own favourite meatloaf recipe stashed away somewhere.

MEAT LOAF GLAZE

Ingredients + Method:

• 1/4 cup of commercially prepared tomato sauce/ketchup
• 1/4 cup of commercially prepared barbecue sauce
• 1 teaspoon of commercially prepared mustard
• Worcestershire Sauce to taste (1/2 teaspoon to 1 teaspoon perhaps)
• (The sauces can be varied to taste - chili sauce for instance)
• 3 rounds of palm sugar (would usually use about 1 tablespoon of brown sugar)
• Mix together until sugar is dissolved.
• If using palm sugar, you will need to heat ingredients in a pan and keep stirring until the palm sugar rounds dissolve.
• Brush over meatloaf

Dessert was Orange Tart served with custard. The oranges that were used were Australian grown Navel Oranges. These are the most readily available oranges in Australian food markets. Citrus growing has been problematic in Australia in recent years and we have watched with sadness as many growers have uprooted their trees. Australians are amazed at this - particularly when they see Californian Navel Oranges in the supermarkets on occasions. In the last year or two though, there has been a focus on Australian-grown fruit and vegetables and, generally, food markets are taking pains to label the national origins of produce. It is not clear to all of us how beneficial this is to Australian growers overall and we do know that some fruit canning companies have gone out of Australian hands in recent years and a lot of fruit products list on their labels that they are constituted from local and imported products. In spite of the severe and prolonged drought experienced in Australia through which our food producers have battled, Australians still think of their land as a land of plenty and food sufficiency. So, many of us are saddened when basic food lines come from elsewhere. Now to the Orange Tart. First a disclaimer. Miss Eagle is not copycatting Ahn at Food Lover's Journey. Miss E has only caught up with Anh and her marvellous Candied Orange Tart this morning. Perhaps because we share the same Melbourne weather, the need for Orange Tart was on the wind! Anh's tart looks wonderful with candied orange slices so Miss E resolves to try this one out. Miss Eagle's Orange Tart has been tweaked from Amy Schauer's Orange Tart in The Schauer Australian Cookery Book (p.413) so the ingredients below are Miss E's.

ORANGE TART

Ingredients

Pastry. (Miss Schauer calls this Cake Pastry. My mother called it Biscuit Pastry. The reference to cake/biscuit is because of the method which begins with creaming the butter and the sugar)

Ingredients

• 3 oz butter
• 4 oz sugar
• Vanilla (a capful)
• 1 egg yolk (save the white)
• 6 oz self-raising flower
• 4oz milk (approximate)

Method

• Cream butter and sugar
• Add vanilla
• Add egg yolk
• Fold in flour and milk alternately
• Line a pie dish. The one I used is approximately 1" deep and 8" across the base.
• Please note this pastry can be difficult to handle. In summer, it may be best to refrigerate before rolling it out. The pastry is very short and it may not be possible to roll the total amount around your rolling pin to place across the pie dish in one movement. You may have to put the pastry in to the dish in pieces pressing them together.
• Bake blind in a very moderate oven until golden.
• Remove from oven
• Cool and then fill.

Filling

Ingredients

• 1 cup sugar
• Juice of 2 large oranges
• Juice of 1 lemon
• 1 cup water
• Pinch of salt
• 2 egg yolks (save the whites)
• 2 good tablespoons of custard powder
• 1 teaspoon butter

Method

• Place all ingredients in a saucepan and bring to boil stirring until boiling.
• Let the mixture just begin to thicken (don't boil for too long or mixture will be too thick or may even go lumpy)
• Pour into baked pie case.
• Cover with Meringue

Meringue

Ingredients

• 3 egg whites that have been retained
• Caster sugar (4 to 6oz approximately)

Method

• Beat egg whites until peaks form
• Add sugar a dessertspoon at a time, waiting until each addition is beaten in and dissolved before adding the next.
• Spread over cooled filling.
• Bake tart in a moderate oven until the meringue is set and lightly browned.

Following Anh's example, Miss E will be participating in Sharmi's blogging event A Fruit A Month.

Vicious Ange's Kluski Soup

This post was put up two days ago. Miss Eagle is bringing it to the top again because the Photo Friday challenge is "Large". For why this qualifies, please see Ange's remarks in the Comments.

Delicious! Miss Eagle has made the Kluski Soup recipe from Vicious Ange.

It is simple! And the dumplings just the best ever!

Miss E had always made dumplings like scones.

Never again - after this lovely, light, eggy dough.

Thank you, Ange - and thanks to your Mum and Grandma.

The Rainbow Lorikeets were partying and enjoying their food as Miss Eagle stepped it out en route to her local patisserie this Sunny Sunday morning.

The patisserie is the Arena Boys Bakehouse at Shop 4, 70 Glenfern Road, Upper Ferntree Gully.

Phone 9758 0022

The Arena Boys bring a mix of Italian delicacies to an Aussie mix of pies, rolls, and vanilla slices as well as a wide range of breads and bread rolls.

The bikkies stand

Mousse for dessert?

Pies, pasties and sausage rolls - a wide variety of flavours

Miss Eagle's Sunday morning purchase.

Two ciabatta rolls; two cannoli; and two rum baba. One each for Miss E and Herself. We were not impressed by the rum baba but the ciabatta and cannoli went down the hatch very nicely, thank you. The Arena Boys are quite an asset to this neck of the woods. Upper Gully's bakehouses are Woolworths and Bakers Delight so you can see what Miss E means.

Vegetable texture

These Vegetable Pies are Miss Eagle's favourites. Over at Photo Friday,the subject this week is Texture. These Vege Pies are laden with texture. The pastry is Puff Pastry out of the freezer cabinet at Maxi's. It lines the pie dishes and makes twisted ribbons of pastry for decorating the top. On the pastry base, the first layer is mashed pumpkin. This is a wonderful base for whatever and however you choose for layering the remaining vegetables. The green in the photograph is asparagus and the red is strips of capsicum. Somewhere down below are pumpkin and squash and onions and herbs. Sprinkled on the top are tiny cubes of feta. The secret of wonderful appetising food is colour and texture and these pies have both in spades.

Savoury Tartlets with Bread Cases

There is a magazine called Diabetic Living published under the Better Homes and Gardens (Australian version) imprint.

Miss Eagle picked up Issue 7 - January/February 2007 but can't speak for every other issue. Attached to Issue 7 was a booklet with 63 food ideas for summer and an emphasis on lunch boxes. Miss Eagle decided to make the Salmon and Asparagus Quiches on page 22 of the booklet.

Miss Eagle decided on these because, when there was a "bring a plate" lunch at work prior to Christmas, she noticed the surprise of some about the bread cases of savoury tartlets brought by one contributor. She wondered how many others might be surprised and/or interested.

People in Miss Eagle's pre-baby boomer age group won't be at all surprised. In the days of ladies' church fellowships with monthly meetings and "bring a plate" activity, bread cases were regularly seen. They are easy to make and keep well in an air-tight jar. In those long ago days, small fluted metal flan trays with lift out bottoms were not around. We had patty cake tins. These are now referred to (as a tribute to American colonisation) as muffin pans.

So here is the recipe below. Miss Eagle found this recipe a bit rich for her tastes and next time around will restrict herself to an egg, cheese and onion and herb mix.

SALMON AND ASPARAGUS QUICHES

Ingredients: Non-stick cooking spray; 12 slices (toast thickness) sour-dough vienna, crust removed; 1 bunch (195grams) asparagus spears, woody ends trimmed, cut into 2cm lengths; 1x210 gram can no-added-salt red salmon, drained, bones and skin removed, flaked; 4 egg whites (from 55 gram eggs); 2x55 gram eggs; 185ml (3/4 cup) skim milk; 1 Tbsp chopped fresh chives; freshly ground black pepper

Method: Preheat oven to 180 degrees celsius; spray muffin pans with cooking spray. Using a rolling pin, roll each slice of the loaf until about 4mm-thick. Press two slices into each pan, overlapping slightly to completely line the pan. Press together the edges to seal well. Spray lightly with the cooking spray. Bake for 8-10 minutes or until lightly golden and crisp. Meanwhile cook the asparagus in a large saucepan of boiling water for 1-2 minutes or until tender crisp. Drain and refresh under cold running water. Drain. Pat dry with paper towels. Divide the asparagus and salmon evenly among the baked bread cases. In a small jug, whisk together the egg whites, eggs, milk and chives. Season with pepper. Evenly pour the egg mixture over the filling. Bake for 25-30 minutes or until the filling is just set. Set aside in the pans for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack. Allow to cool.

Miss Eagle's Notes

1. Miss Eagle used to types of bread. One was a pre-packaged and sliced multi-grain bread. The other was a sour dough loaf of Phillipa's. The sour dough loaf was not pre-sliced so the slices Miss Eagle cut were thicker. As well, the bread is stiffer. The multi-grain loaf was softer and rolled very thin. It fitted better into the pans and left a nice amount of room for the filling. The sour dough loaf while it came up nicely in the baking did not hold as much filling. I think for keep, etc. perhaps the multi-grain bread might better because it makes a neater, thinner, size. Sorry, Phillipa.
2. For quiches and scrambled eggs, Miss Eagles prefers to use evaporated milk - and there is a light option available. It is thicker and richer than ordinary milk and a better consistency for this sort of food preparation than cream.

At work: lunch with a lift

The Boss came out the other day and said "Everyone's been working so hard lately, I want to give them a lift. Thought we'd have a lunch and get some pizzas in. What do you think?" Well, dear Reader, Miss Eagle's face scrunched up.

Pizzas certainly would not give her a lift - and she didn't think it would anyone else either in this predominantly female department. "OK" he said "you look after it." Well you don't give Miss Eagle an inch but she takes a mile and here is what she did. Miss Eagle did the fast food bit - sushi, Subway, and pita wraps. She brought in some desert from home. Also from home came various bits and pieces to make things look very special and here is the result. People loved the whole deal - and it did give everyone a lift! Smiles on faces everywhere!

This is the entry to where lunch at work was served.

Catering was for almost 30 people.

The work of our department is such that staff could not just be taken out for lunch and - even in-house in the suburbs - the nature of the work required that attendance at lunch be staggered.

The Pita Wraps

The Subway subs

The Long View

The Sushi

The Desserts were strawberry tarts: large ones based on the recipe for the smaller tarts below and a farmhouse apple pie.

Farmhouse Apple Pie

The Farmhouse Apple Pie was made from Miss Eagle's favourite biscuit pastry and ten granny smith apples (peeled, quartered, cored, and sliced) and carefully placed, nay packed, into the pastry, then sprinkled with brown sugar and cinnamon (please note: no added liquid) with lattice placed on top. Pastry was then brushed with egg yolk although milk can be used. Then baked in a moderately slow oven. The apples were an inch or two above the top of the deep pie dish. After the slow cooking process, the apples had settled down to being level with the top of the pie dish.

Please Note: The pastry Miss Eagle used was from a quantity already in the fridge. The quantity in this recipe will, almost certainly, be too large but the remainder can be stored in fridge or freezer and it makes wonderful bikkes so you can get out the biscuit cutter and get busy.

Strawberry Tarts from Delicious

(These are small tarts. The recipe is simple so easy to do a large version)

Ingredients: 250 grams of your favourite plain biscuits; 75 gram of unsalted butter; 250 grams of mascarpone; 1 egg, lightly beaten; 1 teaspoon vanilla extract; 1 tablespoon icing sugar; 250 grams strawberries, hulled, halved or quartered if large; 1/2 cup redcurrant jelly, melted.

Method: Lightly grease four 10cm loose-bottomed tart pans. Process the biscuits to fine crumbs in a food processor. Add the melted butter and pulse to combine. Press the biscuit mixture into the base and sides of the prepared pans, then chill for 30 minutes to firm. Place the mascarpone in a bowl with the egg, vanilla and icing sugar, and whisk to combine. Fill the tart shells with the cheese mixture, then remove from the tart pans (you may need to wipe the outside of the tart pans with a hot cloth to loosen). Place the strawberries on top of each tart and brush with the melted redcurrant jelly. Serve immediately.

Miss Eagle's Notes

• Miss Eagle prefers not to use the food processor for crushing biscuits and adopts the following method. Place biscuits inside a plastic bag. Take a large wooden rolling pin and bash biscuits into small chunks then roll the small chunks (still in the plastic bag) into fine crumbs. Easier, finer crumbs, and no mess!
• When Miss Eagle filled the tart shells in the morning before going to work, she must have been half asleep. It was not until later that she realised she had simply spread the mascarpone on to the shells and not mixed it with the egg, vanilla and icing sugar. Still tasted great! Proof of how marvellously simple this recipe is when it can be adjusted in your sleep and it still tastes wonderful!
• Miss Eagle has been known to forget the redcurrant jelly as well - and it still tastes wonderful. Miss Eagle hasn't tried it but she suspects that any melted jam would taste wonderful over the strawberries and mascarpone.