the cooks larder

There isn’t a day that passes that I don’t appreciate living in such a beautiful part of the world… but part of me is desperate to own land and have a huge vegetable patch and grown my own food. At the end of Autumn I tried to enjoy a little of both by ripping up a garden bed and drawing up a vegie patch plan. It looked so good on paper I proudly blu-tacked it to the wall!

the first pea

A perfect little baby and all ours...maybe left a little too long on the stalk

A small but satisfying 'harvest'

Teeny weeny but packed with flavour

I was hoping by now to be showing off lots of home grown produce… but between that awesome amount of rain we had at the beginning of winter and 40kg dog who likes to sit in the patch (because it has a good view into the kitchen) our first real attempt at a garden is probably best rated as a failure! Although we have had a limited supply of chives, oregano and parsley throughout winter and some tiny little carrots that have been teased to the surface by impaitent fingers…

A few weeks ago I heard shrieks of delight from my avid 9 year old gardener as she discovered our first snow pea had grown despite the odds! No rain, dog or possum deterred this little wonder and by the end of the week we had a modest handful of perfect peas! This week we pulled up the carrots…

There was really no point cooking our tiny vegetables so we sat and enjoyed them raw – and they were unbelieveable! Sooo sweet and crisp and it was strangely satisfying not to wash them before we ate them, knowing they were completely spray free!

I had planned to cook this dish with my beans and peas – a dish that would really let them shine but alas, they wont be home grown this year. Maybe next….Wait for a lovely warm spring day and serve this recipe with your favourite Spring Lamb or fish dish.

Super Simple Warm Fresh Pea Salad with Goats Cheese and Lemon and Herbs.

• 3 cups of fresh peas, snow peas, sugar snaps [whatever is best and freshest]
• zest of 1 lemon
• juice of one lemon
• handful of fresh herbs [basil, chive, mint, oregano - again whatever is best and freshest]
• 200g grams Meredith Chevre

Fill your largest pot with water and salt it generously. Bring to the boil. Fill another big bowl of cold water and set aside. In another bowl put the lemon zest, lemon juice and a generous glug of your best olive oil – enough to coat the quantity of beans. Set aside.

Plunge the beans/peas into the water and cook only for 3-4 minutes till they are a vibrant green colour. Plunge into the cold water to stop them cooking. Then tip them into the olive oil and lemon juice bowl. Toss to combine. Throw in the herbs, toss to combine and tip onto a platter. Crumble over the goats cheese and drizzle over any remaining lemon olive oil. Season with salt and pepper and serve immediately.

PS….I haven’t given upon growing my own vegetables and the summer garden will soon be planned and plotted with trip back out to Castle Hill Markets for the best seedlings I have seen. And with help of Lolo Houbein’s fabulous book “One Magic Square” hopefully we will have more success….read this interview with the inspiring Lolo here by Patrice at the Womans Nook.

The weekend before last we packed the car with the kids and Nanna and  headed out on a family excursion along the Hawkesbury Farm Gate Trail. We started from the Castle Hill Markets – a real growers market. Here we mingled with locals and out-of-towners and bought some amazing organic fruit and vege along with loads of great produce. We tasted interesting foods like smoked crocodile and finger lime curd before heading out on the farm gate trail – first stop at M&A Meats for some rib eye… then we picked vegetables and enjoyed a stunningly simple and satisfying lunch at The Hawkesbury Vegetable Farm run by the Sultana Family. It was such a simple pleasure to harvest fresh vegetables and pay the farmer direct…we went in search of oranges to pick but the farm was closed so we finished up on the verandah at Enniskillen Orchard overlooking the pretty Grose Valley enjoying tea with scones and jam.

It was a long day and this is a long post… it was a snappers delight and snap I did! At the bottom of this post I there is a link where you can find out all about the Farmgate Trail….We will be heading back in Spring for all the new produce and definitely in Summer for the fruit!

It was so good to eat such fresh vegatables and meat all week…

Crossing the Hawksbury River - Richmond Bridge

farm fresh flowers

I saw mushrooms I'd only ever read about...

along with old favourites

Freshly cooked Poffertjes for breakfast

the best selection of herbs and seedlings I've ever seen at a market... going back for my summer garden

This sign tells you that you are buying directly from the grower

Preserved lemons from The Farmers Wife

Fresh produce everywhere

Wouldn't be a market without a sausage sizzle!

Citrus a'plenty!

Doesn't get much fresher!

Took a bag of these carrots home - all weird and wonderful

lovely colours, flavours and shapes

more amazing citrus

Beautiful enough to be a wedding bouquet!

A mountain of dutch carrots

Miss 9 chose this enormous apple... it was the best i have ever eaten!

but there were plenty to choose from

and lots of cheeses

Then back on the road to follow the farm gate trail... odd sight seeing farms along side 'plastic' housing developments and highways

First stop... Wilberforce to see a classic butcher shop attached to their abattoir - M&A Butchery. Bought some great rib eyes, rather roughly butchered but great flavour and incredibly cheap!

then off to family run Hawkesbury Vegetable farm to pick vegetables

rows and rows and rows to choose from

The middle daughter (1 of 6 kids) on the Sultana family farm shows us around making pointing out the best produce and picking it for us

It was a bit early for the broad beans...

but we did find this perfect early bird

Ice berg lettuces hiding in the weeds... they leave the weeds over winter to keep the lettuces snug and safe from the harsh Hawkesbury frost ...but come summer they will all be stripped out

this was the best savoy cabbage I have ever tasted...and certainly the freshest. We shredded it for salads with parmesan and balsamic; we chopped and braised it with garlic... yum yummo

Beautiful leeks that were later baked under a roast lamb

... growing beneath big blue skies

this is as direct from the farmer as you can get!

Then its off to the shed so farmer Joseph Sultana can add up our purchases... $15 for an enormous box including leeks, celery, silver beet, savoy cabbage, iceberg lettuce...!

a farmer's hands

Joseph's younger daughter takes our vegetables to the car. All of the kids seem to have a job on the farm, clearly this was her role because she wasn't going to let us carry it oursleves!

now it was time to head off to the Sultana family's little cafe for lunch.

Here we found the youngest daughter peeling their potatoes and the oldest daughter slicing them up for real chips...

whilst making garden fresh salad rolls

but we couldnt resist the home made pies... vegetable of course!

and they were amazing...

as were the real chips...

With our bellies fully satisfied we headed off to pick some oranges...

the trees where loaded with citrus but the farm was closed... only for public to pick their own oranges every day except for Saturday! Very disappointed...oh well

I couldn't resist this old farm truck... i love them regardless of cliche!

and I love the old farm houses...

We passed a lovely orchard of blossoming nectarine trees... so so pretty and a lovely sign of things to come this summer... before having scones for afternoon tea

All the details about the Hawkesbury Farmgate Trail are here: www.hawkesburyharvest.com.au ….. Don’t forget to take a insulated cold bag and ice packs to get any special purchases home safe!

all in the pot!

Making your own stock at home is not only good for your cooking, it is good for your budget, good for the environment and good for the worm farm! Whenever cooking  throw your biggest pot on the stove and toss in all of your vegetable scraps – onion skins, celery tops/leaves, leek tops, carrot tops, garlic skins or roughly chopped older garlic, herbs etc along with whole peppercorns and fresh bay leaves [get a tree if you don't have one because they are pretty and practical]. Bring it to the boil  and then simmer for a few hours. I will also add fresh chicken bones if I have them or even left over roast chicken bones, lamb bones etc for a meatier stock. You will know it is ready when it tastes good! Freeze or leave in the fridge for no longer than a week – use it for the base of soups, braises, risottos, poaching, sauces etc. If you have a compost or worm farm the soft, quick to break down vegetables will be appreciated greatly. No waste. Very Satisfying indeed!

We don’t tend to eat pork at home very often other than at Christmas time. I’m not sure exactly sure why but this is a great mid-week dinner. Serve it with celeriac mash for something different. Celeriac for some odd reason can be very expensive – if this is an issue use half celeriac and half potato or otherwise your standard potato mash will still be delicious. Excuse the rushed photographs… it was a chilly night and dinner was going cold!

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One of the best things about owning the Cooks Larder (apart from access to amazing food everyday) is meeting lots of people. Last weekend by chance I met a very clever woman indeed… she and her brother carve beautiful crochet hooks from sticks… so simple, so lovely, I just had to ask to borrow them so I could photograph them. People who know me well know that when not cooking I love a bit of craft …. so I dug out my kitchen twine from the messy third draw (usually reserved for stringing up the Christmas turkey) and crocheted a classic granny square… very appealing even if totally useless!

The first week back at school is tough on everyone involved so it is definitely time to get back to to basics… and you can’t get more basic than this stew. This recipe doesn’t even call for the meat or vegetables to be browned beforehand, making it very fast to prepare. I really don’t like the word stew… in fact we can never use it on menus because it just doesn’t sound delicious! SO call it a braise, call it slow cooked beef – call it whatever you like. It is simple but tasty enough to hit the spot. You can add herbs to taste, more vegetables such as mushrooms, hot paprika, bacon, more or less garlic or red wine. Throw in leeks if you have them but don’t worry if not… it is always satisfying. Serve with mash, steamed greens and a big handful of parsley. I make a double (or triple batch now that I have invested in an extra big Le Creuset dish) because it freezes very well and makes for a fabulous pie mix!

Simple Beef Stew

• 1.5kg beef (chuck, blade or gravy) cut into 2-3cm chunks
• 1 can diced canned tomatoes
• 2 sticks of celery, chopped
• 2 carrots, chopped
• 2 onions, chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, chopped
• 2 tablespoons plain flour heavily seasoned with salt and pepper
• 1-2 tablespoons paprika
• 1 cup red wine

Toss the beef chunks in the seasoned flour. Shake of any excess. Put all ingredients into a large oven proof pot and cook for 1.5-2hours. Check if meat is tender – cook for 20mins longer if not and check again. Yup. That’s it!! Plenty of time for slow baths, homework and lunches to be made AND maybe even an early night!

particularly delicious after rainy rugby training….

It’s school holidays and it’s a bit cold and bit rainy …looks like there are going to be lots of indoor days. This means endless rounds of Rummikub (if you don’t have this number game, get it soon – it’s great). Half way through our first round we definitely needed a mid morning sweet treat – fast. The cupboard was rather bare but we managed to pull together enough ingredients to bake these great little cookies using the very basic ingredients on hand.

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Picked this morning

I was lucky enough to receive a big bunch of broccoli today – just cut from a home garden. I dream of having a garden that produces vegetables like this…. perhaps one day. When given a gift like this I feel an enormous responsibility to use it well with great respect and to use it as soon as possible so we can actually enjoy produce that is less than 24hours old! What a privilege! SO here is what we ate for dinner tonight: a simple dish showcasing this deliciously fresh broccoli…

Friends of broccoli: Chilli, garlic, lemon and parmesan

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Frozen berries will work just fine...

Bread and butter puddings work well in a big dish, or individual like these...

Some people love them, some people don’t – others simply wouldn’t dare to eat such a shamelessly indulgent combination: bread+butter+cream+eggs+sugar! Being the daughter of English parents meant I grew up with bread and butter puddings regularly appearing on our table – though mum always used sultanas – never raspberries. Here is the recipe, based on my mums pudding. It always sells out at The Cooks Larder…  I have also included a few variations on this favourite …Enjoy!

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Lately we have been looking for any excuse to drive across town to go to Iggy’s to get bread…. Avalon to Bronte is quite a trip for bread, even for amazing bread. Especially since I am always on about reducing food miles by eating as local as possible… But a few weeks back we had the perfect excuse to be in Bronte because amid the endless rain there was a pause. So we headed over the bridge armed with our excuse  -  exercise!  You see I have never experienced the Bronte to Bondi walk and this  was the perfect day to see this beautiful wild coastline – dark and stormy but when the clouds lifted there were brilliant summer-like blue skies. Everyone was out – some bolting out for a run; dog owners taking a stroll; desperate sun lovers lying on the beach (in their bikini’s – come on it is June) and happy couples gazing out to sea… while we walked off the bread. Luckily I took my camera to snap away. Here are some of the things we saw – sorry, a whole post without any food pics! » Read the rest of this entry «

cavolo nero

Every season I seem to develop a love for a particular food and find myself looking for ways to eat it as often as possible. This season it is definitely cavolo nero… the fabulous Tuscan cabbage. I’d love to say that I have just picked these bunches from my garden but alas, between the excessive rain here in Sydney and a large dog who likes to trample the garden, my tiny seedlings are struggling to stay alive… I don’t think they will ever look like this…. never mind. Here are a couple of simple ways I have been enjoying cavolo nero and feel so so nourished and healthier as a result!

• Shred finely and saute with garlic to serve with fish, beef, pork sausages.
• Cut finely and stir into soups for instant colour and flavour
• Served sauted with roasted almonds, garlic, lemon zest  for a healthy lunch
• Sauted with pancetta, garlic and tomatoes with loads of freshly grated parmesan for a simple dinner
• Witled with poached eggs – great start to the day…
• This is a fabulous recipe from Heidi Swanson that I shared on my birthday today with some lovely friends and a bottle of Veuve….(although I drastically upped the garlic and olive oil and accidently forgot the walnuts. I also substituted corona beans for large lima beans and cavolo nero for the kale).

When my kids know steak and vegetables are on the menu for dinner they are never enthusiastic… I get it, it is after all one of the more boring but practical dinners because it is both quick and healthy. Since doing the vegetables this way however, the dinner is greeted with far more enthusiasm! They are seriously tasty!

Make all the vegetables even if you think the kids won’t eat them… you might be surprised that they will at least try even the capsicum when it is cooked like this – my youngest is a new convert now! Make more than you need because the left overs make for a delicious lunch the next day – piled high on sandwich, mixed with rocket and tuna or tossed through lentils with balsamic! These vegetables are also perfect for an antipasto platter – serve them with a crumble of fresh goats cheese or chunks of parmesan.

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I love lemon [in case you haven't noticed]… and lemon and chicken are best of friends especially in winter…. This is a simple way of jazzing up your normal roast chicken and really infuse it inside out with flavour. You could also add a grated garlic clove or chopped parsley to the mix but there is something about the clean freshness of the lemon and a touch of salt that is a winner for me…. but use this process for making a multitude of compound butters with endless flavour combinations: chilli & coriander; sage and garlic; parsley, thyme and chive, redwine and chive and so on…..use them with chicken or when pan frying fish or top a steak with a thin slice for added richness. » Read the rest of this entry «

Okay. So I am no longer in Bali and it’s up to me to cook dinner…. Current Reality = Freezing cold, hungry family, tired from work. Never mind I have the solution with this very easy-all in one dish-throw in the oven- feed everyone family dinner…Pork Sausages baked with green apples, tiny onions, fennel, garlic and celery. Served this tonight with cabbage sauted with more garlic and a touch of butter and some steamed broccoli.

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Having just arrived back from Bali I was hoping to share with you some amazing food experiences… With our own fabulous cooks at hand we ate [and ate, and ate... and ATE] thanks to the lovely Wasi but we kind of just relaxed and it was hard to even get out the camera… but despite all of the amazing food the stand out was these incredible mint drinks…we managed to find out the ingredients… » Read the rest of this entry «

School is back and so are the lunch boxes.. this is another lunch box loaf to kick off the term – it ticks all the boxes….simple, quick, with only a few ingredients. I have been making this recipe since I was a child, as did my mum, as did my grandmother. Everyone should have a family recipe and I guess this is ours, not in the least bit gourmet but ours all the same….Family recipes are always more about the memories than actual food. My memory is getting home from school and eating this simple loaf still warm with butter…but to be honest, it tastes better cold the next day still with the butter! I particularly love the frugalness of this recipe –  it is after all  a wartime recipe. So just one egg, no milk, no butter, no fuss. The unique flavour comes from the malt and the treacle…

PS…. If you’d like to share your family recipes with me on this blog, please feel free to send them in [smackie2@optusnet.com.au] with a little about the story and memory it holds for you. I’ll make and photograph the recipe and share with all our readers! » Read the rest of this entry «

Too much mix

.... Just right!

In the Show Time  post I promised to get back to you about the cupcake, or patty cake, recipe I was going to try from The Country Show Cook Book. As mentioned finding a good old patty cake recipe had been proving difficult – many tried were too rich, others too dry, others too sweet. Well I am happy to report that the reason this recipe by Yvonne Maslin has won so many awards over the last 28 years was clear – they were perfect and totally simple!

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Easter is almost gone. This year I realised we really don’t have an Easter food tradition [barring chocolate of course] and for a family that loves food like mine, this is an issue that needs to be rectified! Given I have one whole year to pull something together there is clearly plenty of time and I should possibly focus on something practical like the laundry or something. Hmm … I don’t think so! Actually I already have a contender for the winning recipe from the very lovely Patrice at Womans Nook. She has just published on her website a beautiful looking recipe for an Easter Sunday Bread… much more sophisticated than a Hot Cross Bun. Patrice advises not to wait till Easter to make it so I’m going to give it a go soon… It’s certainly a little more work than my average lunch box loaf but I can imagine the lovely yeasty sweet fresh bread aromas that will fill my kitchen…and bring them all running! » Read the rest of this entry «

This recipe is based on one I found in Dish magazine. Of course anything cooked on one-tray or pot always catches my eye for family food. This is not only a great meal for a quick midweek dinner it is a perfect school holiday recipe [especially if the rainy weather has set in where you live] – the kids in our cooking school classes at the store  this week did a fantastic job and all their plates were clean!! » Read the rest of this entry «

Mortar and Pestles are such good things…

If you don’t have one – invest soon. Try the Asian supermarkets for good heavy duty ones at great prices. Buy the heaviest you can possible handle. They are superior to food processors because they grind rather than chop. This allows the food to exude all of their essential oils giving a more intense flavour. It seems like more work but it is surprisingly fast,  is far more satisfying and you have better control over the result. If you have never made a hand pounded pesto do so soon – you will be amazed that the flavour difference! It really doesn’t take long at all – consider it an upper body work out or share the load around the kitchen – kids love it!

PS.. I’m often asked which is which: the mortar is the bowl and the pestle is the heavy bat-shaped stick you grind or pound with…