​Pinging our way north September 2017

The Gibbs River Road and other rough roads just about did our freezer door in. Thank goodness for duct tape! For the past 6 weeks it has been holding everything together. It's fixed - hooray! And I have cooked up a storm to restock ready for our last long leg home.
A newie I tried today is boiled fruit cake in the DreamPot. Looking forward to the first cut!

All we need to accompany that is a wee sip of whiskey or better yet of Pinging Chook gin! Can you beieve it? My beautiful daughter in law made a special concoction at a master class last week and named it the Pinging Chook. Thank you gorgeous. Can't wait to try it!

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Potato gratin

* 2 tbsp butter
* 3 lg potatoes, peeled and thinly sliced
* Salt & pepper
* 1 cup of milk or 1/2 milk and 1/2 cream
* 1/2 cup grated cheese

Method
1. Melt butter in large heavy based pan (small camp oven would work) over medium heat
2. Layer the potatoes, season and over milk/cream.
3. When milk begins to simmer, reduce heat and cook for 20-25 mins until potatoes are tender.
4. Sprinkle with cheese and cook 3-4 mins to melt cheese. If you like a browned top, give it a blast with your kitchen torch or put under the griller (if you have one).

Chooks note: recipe thanks to Catherine Lawson, ON THE ROAD, September 2016.
Catherine serves this with red wine steaks. We cooked this in a bush camp and it was delish!

Red wine sauce
1. Melt 2 tbsp butter and cook 1 finely sliced red onion until soft.
2. Add 1 tbsp brown sugar and cook for ~10 mins to caramelise the onions; stir occasionally.
3. Slowly pour in 1/2 cup red wine and 1/2 cup beef stock. Bring to the boil and simmer uncovered for 10 mins.
If you find it too sweet cut back on the sugar
Serve over your favourite cut of grilled steak or Salisbury steak (rissoles)

Turn it into onion jam - reduce amount of stock, add a dash of vinegar (perhaps Chinese black) and Worcestershire sauce. Great on sandwiches or with cheese.

​Beef Stroganoff a la caravan

I bought mushrooms cheap the other day so have dug out a couple of favs - mushroom risotto with pearl barley (see earlier post) and stroganoff. I often make strog with chicken but I had beef so that's what I used this time.

Ingredients
* plain flour
* 500g lean beef strips (or chicken thigh)
* 1 1/2 tbsp olive oil
* 1 brown onion, thinly sliced
* 250g mushrooms, sliced
* 1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
* ½ - 1 cup beef stock
* ½ - 1tsp paprika to taste (sweet or smoked) – optional
* A smidgeon of chilli flakes – optional
* A few slivers of preserved lemon or lemon zest (whatever you have) – adds to the essential sourness of the dish
* 2-3 tbsp sour cream to taste
* Pasta to serve

Method
1. Lightly flour meat (chicken works as well as beef but use thigh meat for flavor).
2. Heat 1 tablespoon of oil in frying pan. Add the beef. Cook over high heat until meat is browned, stirring occasionally. Remove.
3. Heat 1/2 tbsp oil in a large non-stick frying pan over medium heat. Add onion. Cook for 2-3 minutes.
4. Increase heat to high. Add mushrooms. Cook for a few minutes, or until just tender.
5. Add beef to the onion and mushroom mixture. Stir in stock and Worcestershire sauce and other optional ingredients if desired. Bring to the boil. Reduce heat to medium-low.
6. Simmer until meat is tender and sauce has thickened (you can always add a little flour to thicken the sauce if necessary).
7. Season with salt and pepper. Remove from heat. Stir in sour cream – or if you are like me you can stir it in earlier. It gives a richer flavour (even if the cream splits a little)

Serve with pasta and greens.

Chook’s note: I rarely have sour cream in the caravan but I usually have long life cream. I sour this little boxy number with lemon juice, zest, preserved lemon, whatever I have on hand. Takes me back to the 1960s and making French onion dip with packet soup and sour cream which we had to sour ourselves.  Remember?

​Minestrone Soup

This is Jamie Oliver's recipe highly recommended by my friend Pat. Pat suggests cooking with a friend to share the chopping and of course to increase the enjoyment factor! Thanks Pat.

Ingredients
3 tbsp olive oil
2 celery stalks, sliced
2 leeks, sliced
2 carrots, chopped
2 garlic cloves, crushed
300g potatoes, diced
1.5 L boiling stock or water [Pat uses 1L veg stock plus ½ L water]
Sea salt and pepper
50g small macaroni or dried soup pasta
400g canned chopped tomatoes
2 tbsp tomato paste
½ pkt soup mix, soaked overnight, drained; OR  400g tinned borlotti beans, rinsed
200g (1 bunch) silverbeet leaves, roughly chopped
2 zucchini, roughly chopped
To serve
2 tbsp pesto
2 tbsp grated Parmesan

Method
* Heat olive oil in a large heavy-bottomed stockpot, add celery, leeks, carrots and garlic. Cook over gentle heat for 10 minutes.
* Add potatoes and water or stock and bring to the boil, skimming surface if necessary. Lower heat, add salt and pepper and simmer, partly covered, for 20 minutes.
* Cook pasta in a pot of simmering salted water until al dente, then drain.
* Add tomatoes, tomato paste, beans and silverbeet leaves to soup and simmer 10 minutes.
* Add zucchini and simmer for 10 minutes or until the soup is nice and thick (mash a few of the beans to thicken it further).
* Add pasta and heat through. Serve in warm pasta bowls and top with a spoonful of pesto, grated parmesan and extra pepper.

Serves 4
Tip: Jamie Oliver suggests using up all those half-used bags of pasta at the back of your cupboard.
Happy cooking!!

Chook's comment: this is a seasonal soup and evolved using what ever vegetables were available. This can be made in the DreamPot or slow cooker.

​Vietnamese food made simple.

If you want to experiment with cooking Vietnamese food then take a look at this book. It's available as a paperback or for Kindle (you can download the app from the Amazon site - too easy!)
Lemongrass, Ginger and Mint Vietnamese Cookbook: Classic Vietnamese Street Food Made at Home
Author: Linh Nguyen
Authentic and delicious, the recipes in Lemongrass, Ginger and Mint Vietnamese Cookbook bring Vietnamese restaurant favorites to your family’s dining table.
From phở and spring rolls to bánh mì and sticky rice, authentic Vietnamese food is as rich as the culture from which it comes—and replicating these dishes at home is easier than you might think!
Available at Amazon.com

Chook's note: I don't have a copy (yet) so can't recommend it, but from what I have seen from the preview it looks interesting.

A couple of fishy little numbers!

Ann's Tuna Pie

Looks good enough to eat! 

425 g Tuna drained
4 eggs lightly beaten
120 grams grated cheese
24 Premium biscuits crushed
1 onion finely chopped
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 1/2 cups evaporated skim milk

Method
*Mix all ingredients together pour into a casserole or quiche dish, bake at 180 c for 35 –40 minutes
Serves 6

Chook's suggestion: if you don't have an oven, cook in deep pan. Dot with butten or a little grated cheese and flame the top.

Ann's Salmon Patties

Pat a cake, pat a cake

200 g canned salmon
1 egg
2 slices bread
1 onion finely chopped
¼ tsp mixed herb (optional)
Freshly chopped parsley
Salt and pepper to taste
2 tbsp bran (optional)

Method
* Beat egg and mix in salmon.
* Add remaining ingredients to blender and process until combined
* Add to fish and egg and mix well. Divide equally and shape into patties (you can use 2 tbsp of bran to coat patties).
* Refrigerate several hours or overnight then cook in non stick pan.
Serve with yogurt sauce

Yogurt Sauce
¼ cup natural skim milk yogurt
2 tsp mayonnaise
1 tsp lemon juice
2 tsp Worcestershire sauce
Place all ingredients into a saucepan and simmer gently until mixture thickens

​Ann's Chicken Cacciatore

A stand in for Ann's dish!

2 x 180 g chicken Maryland pieces without skin
¼ cup sliced onion
2 large cloves garlic, chopped
90 g button mushrooms sliced
400 g can of chopped tomatoes
1 tbsp tomato paste
1 large bay leaf
Black pepper to taste
Fresh parsley, chopped

Method
* Slash chicken pieces 2 or 3 times to prevent shrinkage. Dry fry for 3 to 4 minutes in a non-stick pan to brown lightly.
* Add all other ingredients, cover and cook slowly for 45 minutes or until chicken is tender. Remove bay leaf.
* Sauce maybe thickened with 1 tsp cornflour mixed with water.
* Garnish with chopped fresh parsley.
Serves 2