Argghh - Swordfish & Chips

When I was in high school my part time job was working at a local fish'n'chip shop called 'Fisherman and the Sea'. I would come home on a Friday night and my clothes and my hair would stink of all the oil and fish that we had been cooking with. Despite the smell, I worked there for 4 years and actually had a pretty fun time!

Despite working there for 4 years - we never served Swordfish. I always make myself Barramundi or Perch when I was working and our standard fish was Basa. But I have come to enjoy Swordfish. Swordfish's meaty texture and mild flavor are two reasons for its popularity. In addition to good taste, swordfish offers a low-fat, low-calorie choice for health-conscious consumers. And don't forget the heart-healthy benefits of swordfish: rich in omega-3 fatty acids and other vitamins and minerals.

Last night when I got home from work, I decided to make fish'n'chips for dinner. That morning I had removed the swordfish stakes from the freezer to defrost - I think that Milka was going to make them in some sort of cream sauce with rice (but I didn't feel like that, so I got in quickly and started preparing before she got home).

As I begun peeling the potatoes, Phillip's niece and nephew came in and decided that they too were interested in having some chips. So I doubled the quantity of potatoes and started to cook them early, so that they could enjoy some chips and tomato sauce before they left - it was a lot of peeling!!

PIRATE SWORDFISH
4 swordfish stakes
1 head of garlic
1 lemon
1 lime
parsley
olive oil
salt & pepper

CHIPS & ZUCCHINI
12 potatoes
4 zucchinis
vegetable oil (for deep frying)
1 clove of garlic
olive oil
salt & pepper

Into a deep saucepan pour in vegetable oil so that it is about 3 inches deep. HEAT.

Peel and wash potatoes, then dice into chips. Layer the chips onto paper towel or a clean towel - making sure that you remove all excess water and the chips are dry to touch.

Carefully add the chips to the saucepan in batches to ensure they do not burn. Remove from the oil and season with salt.

Drizzle a frying pan with olive oil and heat. When hot add the swordfish stakes and cook until golden brown. Before turning top the stakes with crushed garlic, lemon juice, lime juice, salt and pepper. Cook until golden brown and then top with parsley.

Cut the zucchinis in half, and then in half again. Place into boiling water and cook for 5 minutes. Drain water, and add crushed garlic, a drizzle of olive oil and season with salt and pepper.

Spinach & Ricotta Cannelloni

The spinach looked so lonely in the garden after Milka decided that she didn’t want to eat the lettuce that Steve planted and so ripped it out and put it in the bin. Sometimes I think living with Phillip’s parents is one big episode of ‘Home & Away’ (An Australian Soapie & Milka’s favourite show), but it’s interesting and full of love never the less. 

So, since I knew that Steve would be heart broken if the spinach ended up with the same fate as the lettuce, I decided to make spinach and ricotta cannelloni last night. Sonya and Danny (our favourite Italian couple who are busy building their house and planning their wedding) would probably look down their noses at my quick and easy version. But I just got home from work and didn’t have time to make fresh pasta or the tomato sauce from scratch. 

Plus, I'm trying to motivate myself to be healthier and try and exercise more - beginning last night. I wanted something that was quick to whip up and therefore left me with time to persuade Phillip to come for a walk with me. Although, we did not get as far as I normally run on a Saturday it was a walk all the same and a step in the right direction.

SPINACH & RICOTTA CANNELLONI
2 bunches of spinach
1 bunch of spring onions 

1 brown onion
500 grams ricotta
300 grams of grated tasty cheese
6 cloves of garlic
1 egg
2 boxes of cannelloni shells
1 bottle of roast garlic, onion and tomato sauce
Olive oil
½ cup white wine
salt and pepper

Wash and shred the spinach. Place it into a frying pan with the diced spring onions, diced onion, crushed garlic, a dash of olive oil, white wine and a pinch of salt. Cook until the spinach halves in size. Set aside to cool for about 5 minutes.

Add the ricotta, egg and 100 grams of grated cheese. Season with salt and pepper and then mix, mix, mix.

Push the filling into the shells using a teaspoon. Layer the filled shells in a baking dish and top with sauce and extra grated cheese.

Bake in a 180 degree oven for 30 minutes. And serve with a fresh green salad… 

Options could include:

- Fresh Green: Lots of mixed green leaves, spring onions, vinegar, olive oil and crushed garlic

- Rocket, Pear & Parmesan: add to the aforementioned ingredients a dressing of dijonaise, lemon juice and olive oil

- Lettuce, Fig and Walnut: add to the aforementioned ingredients some Mersey Valley crumbly cheese, season with salt and olive oil.

I don’t have a ‘beef’ with Mushrooms

Non-mushroom eaters have given mushrooms a bad name. [This post is specifically targeted at Phillip and his friends and all who turn their noses up at mushrooms. Those who will not eat mushrooms when they come out as part of a big breakfast on a Sunday morning or as part of a stir-fry or will even pick them out of a good meat pie.]

Mushrooms are quiet tasty, in fact most Australians think so. According to www.mushrooms.net.au, about half the Australian child population either like or love mushrooms and over 90% of people over the age of 25 either like or love mushrooms.

More than 85% of Australian households purchase fresh mushrooms regularly; 55% of them buy at least once per week and 38% of primary grocery shoppers always have them on their shopping list. The average purchase volume is 457 grams.

Mushrooms are, in fact, the second most valuable fresh vegetable crop grown in Australia, after potatoes. Now that’s saying something!

So why do so few have such a big ‘beef’ with mushrooms? Especially when mushrooms are such a great source of protein and can be a substitute for beef or meat to make a recipe vegetarian friendly.

Last night, it was surprising cool for a Canberra summer. I guess it’s all the crazy weather that we are experiencing – with such devastating floods in Brisbane, northern NSW and now even in Victoria. Instead of a hot and dry 30 degree night, we experienced a cool, wet night – perfect for soup.

Milka had brought home a rather large bag of mushrooms a couple of days ago, which we were going to make into a mushroom and seeded mustard sauce for some chicken breasts. I’m not too sure what distracted us, but never the less, yesterday a big bag of mushrooms that needed to be used, sat in our fridge.

I made this delicious thick and creamy mushroom soup that was rich and ‘beefy’ enough to twist the arm of any die-hard carnivore to this vegetarian mushroom soup.

MUSHROOM SOUP
1 kg mushrooms
2 large brown onions
4 gloves of garlic
2 tablespoons of olive oil
2 tablespoons of butter
2 tablespoons of instant gravy powder
1 tablespoon of flour
2 litres of vegetable stock
salt and pepper

Into a large saucepan place the oil and sliced brown onions. Cook over a high heat making sure they are nice and translucent, before adding the mushrooms and butter.

Brown the mushroom and onion mixture, before adding the crushed garlic and flour. Mix making sure that all of the flour is cooked before adding gravy powder and vegetable stock. Simmer for 20 minutes.

Place 4/5 of the soup into a blender and blend on high for 3 minutes. Return this soup back into the pan with the remaining 1/5 of unblended soup. Stir and then season with salt and pepper.

Strawberry Mousse Cake

Yesterday was Steve's (Phillip's Dad) 70th birthday - although it wasn't the happiest of days. Steve's best friend past away and whilst we were at the funeral parla our house was broken into! Luckily, the robber didn't steel the birthday cake that I had made the night before. 

Birthdays are important to me. And it's really just not a birthday without a good birthday cake! When we were little my Mum would let us choose whatever cake we would like (and normally the meal that we would eat before it). Unfortunately, Steve wasn't home the night before his birthday for me to ask what type of cake he would enjoy - but I don't think that you can go wrong with a Strawberry Mousse Cake or 'Jagoda Grudva' in Croatian.

Strawberry Mousse Cake

3 punnets of strawberries

1 cup of caster sugar

1 lemon

300 grams of thicken cream

300 grams of double thicken cream

1 tablespoon of gelatin

2 tablespoons of boiling water

1 sponge cake

1 flake (or chocolate bar)

Line a baking tin with glad wrap and then line with the sponge cake. Set aside.

In a blender, place gelatin, boiling water and the juice of half the lemon. Blend for 1 minute on high.

Wash and remove the green from the strawberries. Cut 2 punnets worth of strawberries into quarters and then place a quarter of those strawberries with a quarter of the sugar into the blender and blend for 1 minute. Repeat the process until all the strawberries (i.e. only 2 punnets worth) and sugar has been combined.

Add the thicken cream and blend for a further minute. Pour the mixture into the lined tin. Add half of the remaining strawberries into the mousse. Top the mousse with remaining sponge cake and refrigerate over night. 

To serve, turn the cake out onto a plate and top with double thicken cream, remaining strawberries and crumbled flake.

Corn and Crab Fritters

Last weekend was Summernats, and that meant that I needed to escape Canberra and all its Summernats 'glory' and seek calmer streets. I headed home to Sydney to catch up with my family and friends. Phillip stayed behind and spent the majority of his time working in the warehouse.

Mum and I had received quiet a few cook books for Christmas and so Saturday provided an excellent opportunity to take a recipe or two for a test drive. I chose Corn and Crab Fritters with dipping sauce out of the 'Delicious' Cookbook by ABC. I made a few changes to the recipe (as I didn't want to wash up all the equipment it involved) but I don't think it affected the taste or even the texture in any way.

This dish was quick, simple and oh so tasty -  Meika (my 6 month old niece even enjoyed her first taste of lime on her rusk).

Corn and Crab Cakes
250 gram can of crab meat
450 gram can of sweat corn kernels
4 shallots
1 bunch of coriander
1 egg
1/3 cup of flour
salt and pepper

Dipping Sauce
1/3 cup of water
1/3 cup caster sugar
2/3 cup of white vinegar
1 tablespoon fish sauce
1 tablespoon chili sauce
coriander

In a small saucepan, place the water, sugar and vinegar. Warm over a low heat, stirring constantly until the sugar dissolves. Set aside to cool.

Into a bowl place the drained corn and crab meat. Add flour, egg, salt and pepper. Finely chop the shallots and the coriander (including the stems and roots, reserve some stems for the sauce) and add to the mixture. Mix until it is all combined.

Heat some olive oil in a saucepan. Once it is hot, add small amount of the mixture to the pan. Wait for it to brown before turning and cooking on the other side.

Finish the dipping sauce off by adding the fish sauce, chili sauce and reserved coriander stems. Serve with lime wedges.

Food Competitions - food for thought

I've been reading a lot of blogs lately, as I am a member of Foodbuzz. And today I came across this blog, The Housewife Diary, which peaked my interest - Why you ask? Because this blog is running a competition that isn't limited to US residents (here is her first competition).

And it got me thinking, why do so many American blogs offer competitions but they aren't a big thing in European or Australian or Asian blogs?

Even when I googled 'Australian Food Competitions', I was unable to find many of interest.

I did find a website for the 'Aussie Food Shop' who was running a competition to win an Aussie Food Hamper - http://www.aussiefoodshop.com/australian_food_hamper.html - you might be interested?

Do you enter competitions?

Pavlova Roll

I don't think that any one should live through a festive season without enjoying a pavlova roll. I think, as I key in this entry, that I may have had one too many pavlova rolls as my work skirt seemed a little tighter this morning than usual. Maybe six this silly season was too silly - but this dessert is just too good!

This is a recipe that my Mum found in a magazine called 'The Notebook' and over the years most of my family have given this recipe a go - me, my sister and my cousin.

I've amended the recipe a little - I think I've made it easier and a little less expensive, so why not give this version a go!

1 x 250g ctn mascarpone
1/2 cup (125ml) double cream
11/2 tbs icing sugar mixture
1 tbs Grand Marnier liqueur
7 eggwhites
13/4 cups (375g) caster sugar
2 tsp cornflour
2 tsp white vinegar
Icing sugar mixture, extra, to dust
Berry compote
1/3 cup (75g) caster sugar
1/3 cup (80ml) water
1 x 500g packet frozen raspberries, thawed
2 x 250g punnets strawberries, hulled, thinly sliced
1 x 150g punnet blueberries

1. Combine the mascarpone, cream, icing sugar and Grand Marnier in a small bowl. Cover with plastic wrap and place in the fridge to firm slightly.

2. Preheat oven to 160°C. Grease and line the base of a 24 x 30cm Swiss roll pan with baking paper. Use an electric mixer to beat the eggwhites in a medium bowl until soft peaks form. Gradually add the caster sugar while continuously whisking. Continue whisking until thick and glossy and sugar dissolves. Add cornflour and vinegar and use a metal spoon to gently fold until just combined. Spread mixture into prepared pan. Bake for 20 minutes or until just firm. Remove from oven and set aside for 3 minutes to stand. Lay a clean tea towel on a clean work surface. Top with a large sheet of baking paper and dust with extra icing sugar. Turn pavlova out onto baking paper and set aside for 10 minutes to cool.

3. Spread mascarpone mixture along the long side of meringue closest to you. Carefully roll pavlova, using the paper and tea towel as a guide, to enclose filling. Keep pavlova wrapped in baking paper and tea towel. Transfer pavlova roll to a tray and place in the fridge for 3 hours or overnight to set.

4. To make the berry compote, combine the sugar and water in a small saucepan over low heat. Cook, stirring, for 2 minutes or until sugar dissolves. Add the raspberries into the saucepan and bring to the boil, when the sugar syrup starts to rise up remove the saucepan from the heat and set aside to cool.

*The trick here is not to process (or blend) the sauce, some of the berries will have broken down in the boiling process, and some will remain whole. This means you don't need extra fruit to put on top of the pavlova.

5. Transfer pavlova roll onto a serving platter. Remove paper and tea towel. Top pavlova roll with strawberries, blueberries and drizzle with half the raspberry coulis. Cut into slices to serve with remaining raspberry coulis.

 

http://verygoodrecipes.com/white-christmas-challenge