Garry Slice - buttery oaty coconut slice

I don't make pretty biscuits as you might have gathered by now, but as Rick Stein says "A sweet disorder in the dress kindles ... a wantonness" Robert Herrick C17 lyric poet. A man well actually 2 men after my own heart,

My brother-in-law gave me this recipe. It’s simple and simply delicious with a cuppa.
Ingredients 1 cup rolled oats 1 cup SR flour - try it with wholemeal or spelt for extra depth of flavour 1/2 cup desiccated coconut 1/2 sugar (I use brown but white is fine) 150g butter 2 Tbsp honey or a blend of honey and golden syrup 1/2 cup sultanas 1/2 cup currents Method Melt butter, add honey and cool a little and mix it into the rest of the ingredients. Spoon into a 28 x 18cm tray, press down and smooth the top. Top with a sprinkling of sesame seeds or just leave as is. Bake at 170 C for 20-30 mins. Cool a little before cutting. This makes delicious biscuits! Just roll Tbsp (or tsp for bite size) amounts into balls, pop on a tray then flatten slightly. Keeps well if it lasts!! Chook’s note: you could try substituting some of the dried fruits. I added candied peel to the last batch - a nice little surprising zing in the mouth occasionally. Maybe use dried apricots or craisins or raisins or a combination. But try the recipe first to see how and if you’d like to change it. I recommend NOT to use a butter substitute.

Hortopita – mixed greens pie (Spanakopita - spinach pie)

Ingredients

1/4 cup olive oil
1 onion, finely chopped
1 bunch shallots (spring onions), finely chopped
2 garlic cloves, crushed
1.2k greens – silver beet, chard, spinach, rocket
2 Tbsp chopped dill and/or parsley, basil and mint
250g feta cheese, crumbled
150g full-fat ricotta cheese*
3 Tbsp grated kefalotyri cheese or Parmesan cheese
4 eggs, lightly beaten
1/2 tsp grated nutmeg
4 sheets flaky pastry

Method
Preheat oven to 185°C.
Heat oil in a frypan, then add onion, shallots and garlic. Cook for 1 minute until softened, then add greens (I use the lot, stalks and all). Cook, stirring, over low heat for 1-2 minutes or until wilted.
Drain in a colander and cool, then combine with cheeses, egg, nutmeg, salt and pepper (I use fresh ground white pepper because it has a dark earthy spiciness).

Brush a baking dish with butter or oil or simply line with baking paper. Lay sheet/s of pastry on the bottom and sides when spoon cheese mixture over top. Cover with remaining pastry and tuck edges in. Brush top with butter or egg wash and score.

Bake for 45 minutes or until golden. Rest for 10 minutes before cutting.

Chook’s note: if you have a reliable source for Greek-style wild greens, use these: you once could buy them at the Richmond Saturday street market. They can include nettles or bitter greens like chicory, dandelion, sorrel. But if you can’t source these use a good mixture of whatever is available to get a depth of flavour. 
I don’t get too fussed about the cheese except for the feta which is a must.  Instead of ricotta I use cheddar and/or mozzarella.
The original Hortopita calls for filo but I rarely have this on hand (and I can’t be bothered making it) so I use frozen flaky pastry.

Paella

There are numerous versions of Paella, this is mine and it's yum!

Ingredients
100 ml Olive oil
150g chicken thigh
1 chorizo sausage
2-3 Bay leaves
2 red onions diced
3 cloves garlic crushed
1-2 red capsicums or 100g roasted peppers
1 tsp smoked paprika
2 sm red chilies finely sliced
Pinch saffron
1 tsp cumin
2-3 Roma or other tomatoes diced
100ml dry sherry or white wine or add in a very good splash of sherry vinegar
Salt and pepper to taste
300g Arboria rice
1L chicken stock (maybe add a splash of fish sauce)
200-300g mixed seafood – calamari, scallops, green prawns, mussels, etc
½ cup peas
Handful each coriander, mint and basil leaves
1-2 lemons cut into wedges

Method
Heat half the oil in lg flat pan and brown/par cook the chicken and chorizo.
Remove from pan and add remaining oil. Sweat onions and garlic with bay leaves.
Add paprika, chili, saffron and cumin heat through, take care not to burn it. Add peppers, tomatoes and sherry and simmer gently.
Add the rice and coat with the mixture then pour in warmed stock, stir thoroughly and simmer. When part cooked add the seafood and chicken and chorizo mixture and cook over very low heat till liquid is absorbed and the rice is cooked – add more liquid if necessary. Resist stirring so that you get a crust on the bottom. Finally add peas and seasoning if needed.
Scatter with herbs, stir through lightly and serve with lemon wedges.
Serves 4 - my size servings!

Preserving garlic

I got a mass of garlic back in January when poor farmers from east Victorian were practically giving it away - I call it my bush fire garlic. Rather sad. I finally got around to preserving it.  I've never done it before so I have used 3 different methods - freezing, preserving in cider and oil.
Freezing
Simply separate the cloves, peel, wash and bag in zip-lock bags.
They  should keep for a few months.

Preserving in Cider vinegar
Separate the cloves, peel and wash.
Place the whole cloves in jars leaving 1-2 cm space from the top.
Pour apple cider vinegar to cover the cloves. You can add herbs or spices to make more flavoursome - I added fresh thyme and a small bay leaf.
Close the lid and leave the garlic at room temperature for 1 to 2 weeks, then move it to a cool storage place - dark cool cupboard or the like or the fridge. You may need to “burp” the lids a few times over the first couple of days to release any built-up pressure in the jars.
Evidently there is a process of interaction between the garlic and vinegar that will turn the cloves a green color over the course of the first several days. This is a normal part of the process and eventually, the cloves will turn back towards their original color. That's what they say - I'm still experimenting.
Leave to pickle for 2-3 weeks before eating.

Preserving in extra virgin olive oil
Separate, peel and wash cloves. Place these with 1 tsp each of salt and sugar into a medium saucepan and pour over just enough apple cider vinegar to cover.
Bring to the boil and cook for 2-3 minutes or until the garlic is just tender but still firm - don't overcook.
Drain well and pat the garlic dry on paper towels. When cool, pack into sterilised glass jars, add herbs and pour over EV olive oil to cover completely. Seal and store in the fridge for up to 2-3 months. Use the leftover garlic-infused olive oil for dressings.

Good luck!

Seeds and dried herbs

We went away in February with a small harvest of sprigs of herbs and rocket and onions hanging around the kitchen. The onions, which came from our community garden, have now all been used, and the seeds gathered from the bunches of rocket seed pods, these will go back to the community garden down on the corner.
The herbs out of our garden - mint, thyme, sage - have dried and been stripped with some ending up in a salt cellar with dried lemon zest, salt and pepper. Coriander seeds harvest from our balcony pots are being successively planted to give me ongoing coriander - well that's the plan! our families of birds love to help me in the garden - say no more! Also packed away in jars are dried bay leaves from the Bay tree in the community garden. So much from our inner city pots.  I love our 'urban farm'.

Luxury with left-overs - Savoury pancakes

Incidentally this is my old Tupperware jug from the early 70s. It's still my favourite mixing bowl

A favourite breakfast or lunch in our house is savoury pancakes made with left overs. I use Mum's drop scone recipe (see post 8 June 2017) and throw in whatever left-overs look OK in the fridge - usually vegetables but also rice or pasta.  Add a chopped onion and voila! served hot with butter, salt and pepper, it's yum.
Lately I have been substituting half the wheat flour with chickpea flour. It's best to make it ahead and let it sit for an hour or so.  And I also add a couple of Tbsp of oat bran. Try also adding some ground turmeric or cumin for a little extra piquance.
The term Luxury with left-overs is a bit of a giggle really. It came from my 1960s edition of the  PWMU (now held together with a rubber band) which my Mum gave me when I got married - you might have something just like this. It's a bit of a standby for basic stuff but also rather a nostalgic trip into the past. For instance in the Luxury with left-overs section they have included fish salad, kedgeree (which I love made with smoked cod), and a strange number called Empire Puffs. There's also an Invalid Food section and Odds & Ends which is intriguing - how to make soap, pickle ham, a remedy for constipation, boiled starch - ugh! remember scratchy school shirt collars?
The back page is devoted to Weights & Measures. Do you know what a gill is? no I didn't either. It listed as equivalent to 7 Tbsp or a teacup, not a breakfast cup mind! it seems that the gill was introduced in the C14th to measure individual servings of whiskey or wine.
Enough ..... lets eat!

Green tomato and apple chutney

Ingredients
1Kg green tomatoes, chopped
500g cooking green apples, peeled and chopped
200-300g green capsicum
500g shallots (or onions) chopped
225g seedless raisins
450g demerara sugar (I use brown sugar for a richer taste)
½ tsp ground ginger
1 tsp ground mixed spice
2 -3 tsp salt
600ml malt vinegar

Method
Put all ingredients in a large pot. Bring to the boil, reduce heat and simmer uncovered until well reduces stirring occasionally to prevent sticking.
Ladle into jars and cover.
Makes about 3kg.

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Waldorf Caesar salad

A delicious combination of ingredient

Ingredients
2 eggs
2 Tbsp olive oil
4 rashers of bacon, finely sliced
½ cup whole-egg mayonnaise
½ tsp Worcestershire sauce
1 Tbsp lemon juice, plus a little extra
¼ tsp black pepper (or less to taste)
1 red apple, finely sliced + tossed in little lemon juice
2 celery stalks, finely sliced
2 baby cos lettuces, leaves torn
½ cup toasted walnuts
1 sm red onion cut into fine rings
½ cup grated Parmesan

Method
Boil eggs for 8 mins, then transfer to ice water. Peel when cool and cut into quarters
Heat a frying pan over medium heat, add 1 Tbsp of the olive oil and fry bacon till crisp.
In a large bowl, add the mayo, Worcestershire sauce, lemon juice, pepper and the remaining 1 Tbsp oil and mix to combine. Add the apple. Celery, lettuce, walnuts, egg and red onion and toss to coat in dressing. Transfer to serving plate.
Pour the bacon and any rendered oil over the salad and scatter with Parmesan. Grate some black pepper over the top and serve.

Pasticcio of farfalle - comfort food

Ingredients
500g farfalle pasta
3 Tbsp olive oil (plus extra)
300g veal or beef mince
Salt + pepper
1 brown onion, finely chopped
5 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 bunch flat-leaf parsley, leaves picked
1 tsp grated nutmeg
½ cup peas (fresh or frozen)
200g grated *grana padano cheese
350ml pouring cream
4 eggs
3 Tbsp extra grated grana padano cheese

Method
Preheat oven to 170C
Cook pasta until al dente. Drain and set aside.
Heat oil in large pan over medium heat, add mince and cook until brown. Season then remove from pan.
Add onion and garlic to pan and cook over high heat for 4 mins. Add cooked mince, parsley and nutmeg, stir to combine.
Place cooked pasta in large bowl and add mince mixture, peas, cheese, cream and eggs. Season then add extra olive oil to taste and stir to combine.
Spoon into a large baking dish and press with back of spoon,
Sprinkle with extra cheese and bake, covered with foil, for 30 mins. Remove foil and back for 20 mins or until golden.


Chook’s note: This is a very forgiving recipe so tweak it to your taste or to what you have available. I usually cut into serving size pieces, wrap in foil and freeze. It can be eaten cold so good for a picnic.  It’s a solid meal and real comfort food – for pasta lovers. 
*Grana padano cheese is similar to Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese, what we usually call parmesan. They’re both hard, crumbly cheeses made from cow’s milk