All Food is Good Food

All Food is Good Food - this is the message in our house.  There are no 'bad foods'.  This approach is recommended by almost all dieticians and child rearing experts these days, to help avoid food issues later in life, and to prevent attributing values to food.  Since I love food - all of it! - this comes naturally to me.  Someone asked me recently, "but how about all that processed crap?  Don't you want Tabitha to avoid that?"  My answer is, yes, of course, but I don't consider that sort of thing to be 'food'.  It's more like a food-like-processed-product.  Sure, I eat weird processed food from time to time, but I don't consider it to be proper food.  So perhaps the statement should be, All Real Food is Good Food.

Here is roughly 4kg of American-style, slow smoked barbeque meat.  Pork ribs, lamb ribs, pulled pork, pastrami, pulled chicken, pulled brisket, chicken wings, pickles.  We also had hand-cut chips (none for Tabitha, she has still never eaten a chip, she doesn't know they exist for now), beef chili and coleslaw.  All the meat rests on slices of thick bread, which soak up the delicious, homemade barbeque sauce.  We get out BBQ from Big Boy BBQ in Caulfield South.  I thoroughly recommend the place - the owner imported a smoker from the US after becoming frustrated that he couldn't get good BBQ in Australia.  Having eaten a lot of BBQ in the States, I can tell you that this comes pretty close.

As with all things, moderation.  A mountain of BBQ is fine for dinner occasionally - a trip to the Farmers' Market helps swing the pendulum back.  I needed my enormous cane washing basket to haul up all my purchases from the car:

2kg peaches, 2kg nectarines, 2kg apricots, a bunch of skinny new leeks, a bunch of chard, baby colourful heirloom carrots, larger purple heirloom carrots, a few fun types of zucchini, coriander, 3 dozen eggs, 2 litres of raw milk, 16 veggieburgers.  Also in the fridge, some bacon and pork.  Later in the day, a trip to another market, bringing home 2 butternut pumpkins, apples, potatoes, onions, more carrots, celery, lamb chops, 2 whole chooks, organic mince and steaks, 3 avocados, some rockling fillets and assorted capsicum/lemons/cucumber/sweet potato/ginger/garlic etc.

Add to the above, a trip to the IGA for yoghurt, butter, cheese, chickpeas, matzo meal, bread, oatmeal, and we have a full week's worth of groceries.  It's rare that I do a full week's load of groceries in a single day, so it was quite fascinating, to me, to see what our weekly diet includes!  No doubt, I will need to buy something or the other during the week, and the above is supplemented by all the ordinary cupboard supplies and what is in the garden.

I have found that the only way to keep stone fruit from going mouldy while it ripens, is to sit them out on the bench, not touching any other pieces of fruit.  So I have my 'army of fruit', neatly marching along the bench.  As soon as a piece of stone fruit is ripe (by touch and suddenly smelling strongly gorgeous), I put it in a tupperware container in the fridge, taking out what I need for the next day, the night prior.  This is what the stonefruit-selling lady at the market tells me, and it seems to work.

 Since I lugged home two whole butternut pumpkins (on sale and looking irresistible), I made a double batch of pumpkin soup.  Now, pumpkin soup, like bolognaise, seems to be the sort of food where everyone considers their own (or their mother's/father's/grandmother's) to be The Best Recipe.  I would like to throw this recipe into the ring - it is from my father, and includes cumin.  You must roast the pumpkin pieces first for the best flavour.

Roast Pumpkin Soup 

(large batch, makes 3.5 litres or so)

2.5kg of peeled, chopped butternut pumpkin

2 large brown onions, diced

4 teaspoons ground cumin

2 large carrots, peeled and sliced

2 celery sticks, sliced

2 litres of vegetable stock (I use Massel cubes)

Toss the pumpkin in olive oil, then roast at 180 degrees for around 40 minutes, or until softened and lightly browned at the edges.

In a very large saucepan, cook the onion in a little olive oil until just softened, then add the cumin and cook, stirring, for 2 minutes.

Add the carrots and celery, and cook for a further 3 minutes stirring.

Add the roasted pumpkin and stock, then bring to boil.  Reduce to simmer, and simmer for around 40 minutes, half covered, or until the carrots are cooked.

Allow to cool a little, then either blend in a blender or food processor (in batches) or use a wand immersion blender.  A standing blender will get it the smoothest.

Season to taste with salt and a decent amount of pepper.

Serve with a big dollop of natural yoghurt or sour cream, and some chopped parsley or coriander.

This soup freezes well.  It's quite thick - if you want a thinner soup, simply add a little more vegetable stock.  If you don't have a very large saucepan, just make a half batch.

Here is a bowl with natural yoghurt and coriander.  It's not super-smooth, as I blended it in the food processor.  It is so filling!

The old mini-garden is going quite well.  I thought that everything was winding down, as the plants got hit with some major heat and not much water for a week or so, but a good water and feed seems to have given everything a second wind.

The tomato plants (the foliage) is looking a bit worse for wear, but they are nonetheless producing masses of lovely tomatoes:

My thyme and parsley are bushy, despite major harvests of late:

I am shocked by how well the basil is going.  Just two weeks ago, I completely stripped the plants.  Bare.  Just stalks (for making pesto, you remember?).  Anyway, with a good feed and some sunshine, they are looking fuller and healthier than ever.  Something tells me I'll me making more pesto soon...

My little jewel strawberry plant (not sure what variety, the berries are very small but amazingly sweet) has come back from the near-death, and is covered with a dozen or so pretty pink flowers and even more new strawberries:

Speaking of pretty flowers - my awe will never tire for the spectacular passionfruit flowers.  What a wonderful plant to have in the garden.  Masses of these at the moment:

And thankfully, a reasonable number of these (despite The Daddy hacking the vine back to a third of its size, because it was threatening to pull down the fence):

Here it is, post-haircut, along the back fence:

Aren't toddlers hilarious?  They are always up to something, and guaranteed to make you laugh a hundred times a day.  Here is Tabitha, in a t-shirt and nothing else, with her baby 'swaddled', finishing up her game of golf in the yard:

While we are lucky to have plenty of pretty flowers in the garden (snapdragons, petunias, star jasmine and strawberry and passionfruit flowers) I tend to buy-in my house flowers.  I dream of one day having a large enough garden to grow my own flowers for cutting.  In the meantime, I put freesias or jonquils in the bathroom, white lisianthus in the living room,  peonies in the bedrooms, herbs in the kitchen, and roses in the living room.  

Because roses are expensive, I get more bang for my buck by buying very short-stemmed roses, then trimming them down to around 10cm, and popping just 4-5 each in little jam jars.  I can get a few lovely little jars of roses this way, from a single bunch.  It's best to buy varieties which are very full, because as they open out, you might find you can get away with only 3 per jar, transferring the extras to yet more jars.  If you change the water every day or two, and add a dash of small bleach to the water, you can easily get a week or so from the roses.  A few jars of roses, grouped together, look so pretty.  I save any attractive jars - in particular, from my Rose's Breakfast Marmalade.

Do you have any other flower arranging tips for me?  I'm always looking for ways to display flowers that don't cost a fortune!

Visit from Baby G and Chocolate Brownies

A terribly exciting thing happened this week.  Our home was blessed with a visit from beautiful Baby G and her mother, Miss Kitty-Cat. 

She even arrived wrapped in the blanket I crocheted her - you can read all about the blanket saga, and Baby G's baby shower, HERE.

I am not exaggerating at all when I tell you that Baby G is the happiest, sweetest-smiling little poppet you've ever seen.  Her smile makes her whole face crinkle up into a pink circle of dimples and sparkling eyes.  And her hair is incredibly luscious, lucky thing.

Tabitha was quite intrigued.  She is partial to a bit of baby-watching and (unfortunately for G) baby-poking.  She wanted to see her little toes, so her mumma kindly obliged and pulled out a (adorable and pink) foot for some toe viewing.

Tabitha was fascinated to watch all these things that she, herself, does - like having a nappy change, and she loved watching Baby G have her milkies (sorry about that Miss C-K, Tabby got up a bit close and personal!)

Note Tabitha's very Serious Expression.  Observing babies is Serious Business!

Our guests brought a beautiful (and enormous) pink meringue from Burch and Purchese for Tabitha.  She opened it, exclaimed "ohhhhh!  Awwwww!' and carried it around hugging it, but had no idea what it was!!

Once we showed her it was for eating, she said, "oh!  Cake!" and was even more impressed.

Never fear, the adults were not left without sweet treats!  My friend Amy was also over to coo at the baby, so we had cakies galore, thanks to Miss K-C.

Can you remember this dress?  I bought it at a trunk show for the Melbourne label Olive's Friend Pop.  They have the most divine little 50s-style clothing for children.

Such a pretty dress requires pretty shoes - these are pink metallic Bloch ballet slippers, which she received in June last year as a birthday gift from one of her baby friends:

Excuse the photos - they are a little blurry, because she was over-excited from the baby visit, and couldn't stay still!

I am so sad that I don't get to cuddle Baby G every day that I had to go and make an enormous batch of chocolate brownies.  I will eat them all to cheer myself up.

The recipe is HERE, in case you also need cheering up for any reason...

Basil Glut and Pesto

I have several basil plants in the garden, in a full-sun position.  Basil needs a decent amount of feeding - I use an organic liquid fertilizer every week.  Apart from that, a reasonable amount of water and plenty of sunshine, and remember to pick it often to encourage more plentiful and bushy growth.

Tabitha and I picked an enormous mixing bowl full of basil leaves this afternoon - about 10 cups, or 3 cups very firmly packed.  Tabitha likes to pick leaves of basil off the plants and eat them - today she also tried picking some thyme and eating it, which she was less fond of.

I made loads of pesto - it is just the easiest thing in the world.  In fact, I made most of it with Tabitha held on my hip, as she was feeling clingy and cuddly (just before bedtime).

Pesto

In a food processor (or blender or very large mortar and pestle) blend 3 firmly packed cups of basil (washed and dried - my three rinsings turned up four caterpillars and a spider!) with 1 1/4 cups extra virgin olive oil, 6 crushed garlic cloves, a generous teaspoon of salt and about 100g or so of pine nuts.

Once blended, stir in 200g finely grated, best-quality Parmesan cheese.

You can freeze pesto, or else pack it firmly into jars and pour a few millimeters of olive oil over the surface to prevent it oxidizing.

Use a generous amount of pesto with pasta, or to grill chicken or fish, or on homemade pizzas, or add to a zucchini slice, or stir a spoonful into a vegetable soup for 'Soup au Pistou'.

Tabitha, like most toddlers I know, adores pesto.  The Daddy likes me to add finely chopped chili, which is definitely good too.

80-something Birthday Party

My nanna turned 83 last week, and some of the family got together on Sunday to celebrate.  It was a low-key lunch (by her request) and everyone brought along a couple of dishes to share.  I decided to make a Quiche Lorraine and a Zucchini Slice.

Rolling out pastry in 37 degree, high humidity weather is challenging.

On a hot day especially, but really, any time you make pastry, I thoroughly recommend chilling as much as possible.  Chill the diced fat and flour in the bowl for ten minutes or so before rubbing in.  Chill the pastry, wrapped in clingfilm, for a good half hour or more before rolling out.  Chill the rolled out pastry, in its tart tin or pie dish, in the freezer for 10 minutes before forking the bottom and baking.

Quiche is one of my favourite dishes to make for a simple home lunch or dinner, or for taking along to a shared brunch or lunch.  It's easy to make (ridiculously so), and the homemade versions are generally a billion times better than anything bought (both my mother and The Daddy hate quiche, but love my homemade quiches).

It's so easy to make lots of different varieties off the same base (blind baked shortcrust base, with egg custard mixture, then just add whatever filling you want - spinach and feta, bacon and onion, leek, mushroom, smoked salmon and dill etc).

 Here is my recipe for quiche (with the Lorraine version instructions).  I have given very 'shorthand' pastry instructions, you might need more info if it's your first time making pastry.  PIE by Ken Haedrich is the best, best, best book on pastry I know of.

Quiche Lorraine

Prepare your shortcrust pastry (rub 125g cold butter into 250g plain flour, add enough chilled water with a squeeze of lemon to just bring it together, press into a fat disk, chill in plastic wrap for 30 minutes or more).

Roll out, and press into a 23cm loose-bottomed flan tin (I use a non-stick one, generally).  Chill in the tin, in the freezer, for 10 minutes, then remove and poke several holes in the bottom with a fork.

Blind bake at 200 degrees for 15 minutes with foil and beans inside, and 10 minutes without.  Brush an eggwhite over the bottom, thinly, then stick back in the oven for a few minutes to set (this helps keep the pastry crispy with the wet filling).

Now, fry together around 200g bacon (5 small-ish free range rashers) with a large, diced brown onion.  You want them softened and lightly browned.  Set aside.

In a large mixing jug, combine 4 eggs plus one yolk (if you used the white when blind baking the pastry, otherwise don't worry), together with 3/4 cup of cream, 1/2 cup milk, salt, pepper and freshly grated nutmeg.  Add in the onions and bacon.

Pour the filling into the pastry shell - if you have any leftover filling, you can pour it into a ramekin or two and bake them separately.

Bake the quiche at 160 degrees for around half an hour, or until just set - ideally, the middle would still have a faint touch of jiggle to it.

Serve warm or at room temperature, with a green salad and some tomato relish!

Now, you can use whatever filling you want instead of the bacon and onions.  Just remember the ratio for the custard of one egg to every quarter cup of milk or cream - most recipes use one egg to every 1/2 cup, and please feel free, but I prefer a much eggier quiche, with plenty of filling as well!

I also made a Zucchini Slice.  This one is a real winner - delicious, dead easy, appeals to kids and adults alike, lovely served cold for lunches during the week, and you can vary the fillings as well.

It's a perfect dish for Baby Led Weaning, as it's high in protein, veggies and easy to eat cut into 'fingers'.  You can omit the bacon and salt if you are cooking for a baby.

I think the original recipe came from a website, possibly Taste.com.au, but it was given to me by a former colleague.

Zucchini Slice

Preheat oven to 160 degrees.  Line bottom and two longest sides of a 20x30cm slice tray, or roughly similar size, with baking paper.

Beat together, with a whisk, 5 eggs and 150g self raising flour, sifted, until smooth and lump-free.

In a large bowl, combine this with

• 375g grated zucchini (squeeze out excess moisture if it seems wet)
• 1 cup grated cheese
• 1/4 cup milk or cream
• Tablespoon of olive oil
• Salt and pepper
• 200g diced bacon
• 1 large diced onion (note - I generally fry the bacon and onion together to lightly brown, first, for improved taste.  But it's not the end of the world if you don't)

Once everything is mixed together, pour into the prepared tray and bake for 30-45 minutes, or until just set (don't overcook).

I like to cover the top with sliced tomatoes or cherry tomatoes prior to baking.  You can also try replacing the zucchini with grated sweet potato or spinach.  You could add cubes of feta.  You could use ham instead of bacon.  Try smoked salmon and leek instead of bacon and onion.  Add capsicum or corn to the zucchini recipe.  Try adding a big dollop of pesto.  All of these variations work beautifully.

This slice is one of Tabitha's favourite foods, and gets pulled out most weeks here.  It's a great way to serve protein and vegetables.  I often cook it with no bacon, or just a single rasher, if I'm making it primarily for Tabitha, and I won't add extra salt.

Mum made a pretty layered sponge cake, with fresh raspberries and raspberry jam with the whipped cream filling: 

Waffles, Cookies, Porridge and Toy Rotation

We've had cherries so big that Tabby needs to eat them in bites, like an apple.  She is very good at spitting out the pip.

Eating cherries and having a cuddle with Daddy:

Believe it or not (and if you live in Melbourne or Sydney, you will certainly believe it), amongst these hot days, we've had a fair number of cold, rainy days too.  I don't mind - I use it as an excuse to cook my cool-weather favourites such as paprika chicken with buttered spaetzle:

And enormous platters of schnitzel with fresh parsley and lemon juice:

I can eat my own weight in schnitzel, no lie.

Cooler days mean porridge - I've been experimenting with Steel Cut Oats.  These have a superior taste, texture and nutritional value to classic rolled oats (I'm leaving out 'instant oats' as I don't consider them worthy of the name porridge).  The problem is, steel cut oats take forever to cook.  I've been told to soak them overnight and then cook for around 30 minutes, stirring semi-regularly, over low heat.  I have not yet managed to have them cooked to my liking in less than an HOUR!

Standing and stirring for a full hour, first thing in the morning on an empty stomach, is not fun.  To say the least.  I am keen to keep trying though - I might try cooking them in a low oven, or soaking for longer.   At any rate, I am perfectly happy with my Carmen's Classic Oats (rolled oats) which take around ten minutes on the stovetop.  So I may well give up on the steel cut oats soon - but they do have a fabulous chewy texture, and they are one of the most filling foods I've ever eaten.

If you're interested in giving them a go, there is loads of information online - I use around 2 parts water to 1 part milk.

Porridge is one of Tabitha's favourite foods - she loves the steel cut version too.

Her cutlery skills are going brilliantly - she can easily manage a bowl of porridge on her own, with no spills.  Even, as below, if I give her a full size spoon (all the small ones were in the dishwasher):

 

I made a batch of chocolate chip cookies for Tabitha's godmother Sophie's birthday.  These are the recipe from the Milk and Cookies Bakery in NYC.  You might remember that I've posted about them before?  They contain oats, blitzed in the food processor to become a coarse flour.  They are brilliant.  Last time I posted the recipe, I mentioned that I was going to try them again with less butter (see post HERE).  I did, and I now bake these with 2/3 of the original butter, or 8 ounces, which is (conveniently) just a fraction under a 250g block of butter.

I've posted the revised recipe below, in more useful metric measurements.

Here is a big pudding basin full of the dough - this cookie dough benefits immensely from a couple of days in the fridge, wrapped well with cling film.  I'd recommend 48 hours, and no less than 24 hours, in the fridge before cooking.  You can also roll balls of this (after the resting period) and freeze them in snap lock bags - you can bake them straight from frozen!

Here is the revised metric recipe:

Chocolate Chip Cookies

220g old-fashioned rolled oats

220g plain flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

225g unsalted butter, at room temperature

200g white sugar

200g brown sugar

2 large eggs, at room temperature

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 cup chocolate chips

Preheat the oven to 175 degrees Celsius.

In a food processor, blitz the oats until they are finely ground.  Transfer to a mixing bowl, and stir in the flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt.

Put the butter in the bowl of a standing mixer, and mix on medium speed for a couple of minutes, until light and creamy (do NOT beat on high speed - the friction generated begins to melt the butter slightly, which affects the absorption of the liquid into the flour.  It's a minor, fussy thing, but trust me)

With the motor running, gradually add the sugars, beating on medium until light and creamy.

Add the eggs, one at a time, and beat to incorporate, scraping down the sides of the bowl after each addition with a spatula.

Beat in the vanilla, and then slowly beat in the dry mixture and the chocolate chips.

When the mixture is still streaky, remove the mixture and very lightly knead together on a well-floured board (sometimes I do this, sometimes I don't).

Wrap the mixture in clingfilm, or in a bowl with clingfilm pressed over, and keep in the fridge for 24 - 48 hours.

Form the dough into tablespoonful sized balls, and place (5cm or so apart) on a cookie sheet lined with baking paper.

Bake for around 12 minutes, or until lightly browned in the middle.  When you take them from the oven, use the baking paper to immediately remove the cookies onto a wire rack - otherwise they will keep cooking on the hot tray.

Cookies are always a good birthday present.  For Sophie, we added a cute knitting book:

Tabitha was very excited to have a visit from Sophie! 

More cherry eating in the back yard:

Vampire baby, dripping with crimson cherry juice:

I've chatted to lots of people about toy rotation lately.  I think it's an excellent idea, however, in practice, I tend to keep a small collection of 'favourite' toys out, and rotate the books and smaller toys weekly.  Below is the group of favourite toys, which get tucked neatly into the corner of the living room, beside the bookshelf.  This group includes:  the ride-on Wheely Bug pig, a tea set, a set of 100 wooden blocks, a set of alphabet plastic 'Peek-a-Blocks', a spinning top, a pull-along cat, a box of cardboard Maisy Mouse stacking blocks, and a hammer-ball wooden toy (which I enjoy nearly as much as Tabby for some reason!)

Next to this collection, in the bookshelf, I keep a pull-out basket full of smaller toys, which I do rotate (I keep the others in a large drawer elsewhere).  For example, this week, there is felt playfood, finger puppets, some felt animals and a fun 'bullfrog book' which is part book, part hand-puppet.

I rotate the picture books every few days - partially for my own sanity.  Tabitha has around 80 picture books and board books (we are lucky to get lots of great hand-me-ons from my sister and cousins), but there are around a dozen favourites, and there is only so many times I can read 'I Went Walking' without getting bored!

Here is today's collection of books - each will be read several times before the day is through:

One area where I cannot, and would not, rotate toys is in Tabitha's cot.  She is quite attached to her collection of 'sleep toys', which includes a soft lambswool 'Flat Out Bear', an organic wool lamb, a Steiner baby doll, and two plastic soft-body babies:

I've had a waffle iron for over 6 years, but in all that time, have never managed to cook a waffle I was really thrilled with.  After much reading and experimenting, I have come up with the Ultimate Waffle Recipe!

It's crispy, full of flavour and, to my tastes, the best home waffle I've had.  If you have a waffle iron (I recommend - you can pick up my great Breville one for less than $40 I think), I recommend giving this recipe a go.

Crisp Buttermilk Waffles

200g plain flour

60g cornflour

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon baking powder

½ teaspoon baking soda

1.5 cups buttermilk

½ cup milk

180ml canola oil

2 large eggs, separated

2 tablespoons sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Preheat the oven to 100 degrees Celsius.

Mix the flour, cornflour, salt, baking powder, and baking soda in a medium bowl.

Combine the buttermilk, milk, and oil in a measuring jug, then lightly whisk in the egg yolks.  Set aside.

In a clean bowl, beat the egg whites to soft peaks. Add the sugar and beat until the peaks are stiff and glossy. Beat in the vanilla extract.

Add the buttermilk mixture to the dry ingredients and whisk until just combined.

Fold through the whipped egg whites, gently with a large metal spoon or spatula, until just combined.

Pour the batter onto the hot waffle iron (around half a cup per waffle) and cook until the waffle is crisp and golden - with this recipe, if you try and lift the lid before it's cooked, it will pull apart.  So if the lid doesn't lift easily, the waffle probably isn't done yet.  You might need to experiment with the heat dial on your iron - I set mine to a little hotter than medium.

As you cook the waffles, sit them on the oven rack, in a single layer, to keep them warm and crisp (do not stack).  Once they are cooked, serve straight away!

You can freeze extra cooked waffles, and re-heat them in the toaster for a quick morning waffle hit.

We like to serve these with plenty of maple syrup, and either double cream or ice cream.