A moment of truth!

It was not until I saw the photos that Myles took of my pasta making day, that I realised quite how silly I look in my apron and shower cap :).

As a great shopper, I set out to rectify this situation, and returned from "Chef's hat" (South Melbourne) with a hat, tunic and 3/4 apron. I look forward to being photographed now, looking more the part. After all, when you look good, you feel good and when you feel good, you cook great!

Ravioli

Having been inspired by my Organic pasta class (see earlier post), I set out to make some ravioli using a traditional Maltese filling. Myles was heavily involved - he took the photos and was experimenting with his new lighting rig. Overall, it was an exhausting day for us both - but a great way to share an afternoon :)

Maltese Ravioli recipe

1 quantity of pasta dough

1.5 kg ricotta cheese (the fresher the better)

1/2 cup fresh parsley chopped

2 free range eggs

salt and pepper to taste

Mash all filling ingredients together. If the ricotta is more than a few days old, it will be a little dry and an extra egg or alternatively a dash of cold milk may be required. The correct consistency should see the potato masher make a "squelch" noise when lifted from the bowl of filling.

Roll pastry into sheets at size 5 on the pasta machine.

Place tbsp of filling approx 3 cm apart in middle of the sheet. Brush around each sheet with a little water.

Fold each sheet in half to cover filling. press down edge.

Using a scone cutter or tumbler glass, cut the ravioli into individual pieces. Place on a floured tray until ready for the pot.

Add prepared ravioli to boiling salted water. Ravioli will float when cooked (3-5 minutes usually).

serve with napolitana sauce.

Napolitana Sauce

1 onion

1 clove garlic crushed

140 g tomato paste

water

pinch sugar

Fry onion until translucent. Add garlic and cook 1 minute. Add tomato paste, water and sugar - stir until combined. Cook for 10 minutes and serve

Date scones

My partner Myles has a soft spot for date scones. They are the perfect snack for when he returns home on a Sunday after his 20 klm mountain bike ride.

Myles is a meticulous cook. He and I struggle to cook together because I rarely follow a recipe and he is looking for exact measurements! He also does not like a recipe written as prose - dot points in chronological order is his nirvana.

Scones are something that is simple, and the rewards are instant. By the time the espresso machine is warmed up, the coffees drawn, they are ready from the oven. Last weekend, Myles made the scones. (Even yummier when made for you !)

I discovered a twist to the traditional recipe when reading The Cook's Companion by Stephanie Alexander. Her recipe has 1/2 tsp of freshly ground nutmeg. This makes such a difference

Date Scone recipe (from Stephanie Alexander)

250 g self raising flour

1/2 tsp of freshly ground nutmeg

pinch salt

20g unsalted butter

2 tbsp sugar

150g dates pitted and chopped

1/4 cup milk

1/4 cup water

preheat oven to 210 degrees C

• grease baking tray
• sift together flour, salt and nutmeg
• rub in butter
• add sugar and dates
• combine milk and water and add to make a soft but firm dough
• Knead together quickly
• press out onto a floured surface and cut into squares.
• Bake for 7 minutes, then reduce heat to 180
• bake for further 8 minutes until golden

Marmalade

Those Jam jars are coming in handy! Thank you to Brenda who donated 2 kgs of oranges from her garden, which combined with lemons and limes from mine have created a fabulous marmalade.

Now I am not really a fan of marmalade, but my partner Myles is. He also is a fan of photography, and this exercise turned into something we could share - I cook, he takes the photo and of course eats!

Tips

Marmalade can be tricky. It is important to remove the scum from the top after you have added the sugar, otherwise this forms crystallines in your jar and are not attractive! Another tip, to ensure that your fruit does not float to the top, is to let the marmalade cool slightly before you pour into the jars. This keeps the fruit even - see above photo.

One other tip I have learned, jars with a pop lid, need to be inverted after filling for a few seconds this creates the heat seal. As the lid cools, you will hear a "pop" and the jar is well sealed.

My recipe is a combination of many with a strong influence from Stephanie Alexanders "Seville Marmalade."

Marmalade recipe

1 kg oranges

4 large lemons

2-4 limes (optional)

2 litres water

2 kgs white sugar

Remove zest from fruit with a vegetable peeler and cut into fine julienne. (There is no short cut here!). Juice fruit and reserve pips. Cut remaining pith into strips and put into a muslin bag with the pips. Tie firmly. Put all ingredients except sugar into a non reactive pot and bring to the boil. Simmer for 1 hour with the lid slightly ajar, until liquid is reduced by half. Cover pot and leave to cool overnight.

Next day, preheat over to 180 degrees. Squeeze muslin bags very firmly into reduced liquid. Discard muslin bag. Bring liquid back to the boil with pot resting on a simmer mat. Meanwhile, warm sugar in the oven. Add sugar to pot and stir until dissolved. Boil briskly for 5-10 minutes until it has reached setting stage. Bottle in hot sterilised jars (see note above)

Chilli Jam

With a bumper crop of chilli this year, I thought I would try my hand at a new delicacy- Chilli Jam.

My 1st batch has not been a success.

I turned away to sneeze at exactly the wrong time in the jam setting stage, and after washing my hands, my jam was quite dark. It still tasted OK. I bottled (see jam jars post earlier) and gave the jars away to trusty "tasters" for unbiased testing.

The results are back :

1. delicious with cheese and crackers


2. need to eat the whole jar on opening - it goes rock solid after 2 days (1 was stored in the fridge, the other in a cupboard)

I haven't given up yet, and with plenty more chilli to pick I will try batch 2 this weekend with the same recipe to have a comparison.

Mushrooming

Today, my professional women's group, "Breakfast Club" (or as our husband's refer to it as "Secret Women's Business") went mushrooming on the Mornington Peninsular. Our guide, Cameron is a real enthusiast. He was quick to caution us all about eating mushrooms where you are not sure of the variety. many of the mushrooms we have in Victoria are poisonous, including some that are lethal!

Despite his intensive knowledge he always carries a reference book to double check on the variety before eating!He recommends:

A Field Guide to Australian Fungi by Bruce Fuhrer Publisher: Bloomings Books Publication date: 2005

Golden rules of mushrooming:

1. never enter someone's property to pick mushrooms without first asking permission
2. always only take what you need for that day
3. always use a knife to cut the mushroom, leaving the "root ball" in the ground to sprout again
4. do not place mushrooms in a plastic bag - they will sweat and turn to mush!

Pine mushrooms I found during our walk.

The day concluded with mushroom soup, mushroom and feta tarts and fresh mushroom pizza - fantastic! Being based at T'Gallant winery, we also explored the marriage of Pinot and mushrooms - definitely a match made in heaven.

Organic cooking class: pasta

Last weekend I joined a class at "Peaceful Gardens Organic Cooking School" located at Koonwarra in East Gippsland, Victoria. The topic of the day was pasta.

Many friends queried why I was doing a pasta class. Despite years of making Ricotta Ravioli with my dad (the traditional Maltese way), I had never made pasta with eggs or used a pasta machine.

Two girlfriends, Carolyn and Rhonda joined in, and in an intimate class of 4, Tina guided us through the intricacies of making Lasagne, ravioli (chicken filling) and fettuccini. In just over 4 hours, we all had shared many cooking tales, swapped recipes and looked forward to dining on the fruits of our labour.

A highlight of the day was the enthusiasm of Tina, our mentor in the benefits of organic produce.

I am now on the hunt for a pasta machine, and looking forward to experimenting with one of my favorite foods - pasta.

Pasta Dough recipe (courtesy: Peaceful Gardens Organic Cooking School)
500g plain flour, 2 eggs, 1 dessertspoon olive oil, water

• Place flour in a bowl and make a well
• Add eggs to centre of the well and slowly mix in the flour
• Add olive oil and a little water
• Knead these together until the dough is uniform in texture and colour.
• Wrap ball of dough in tea towel or cling wrap and let rest for 10 minutes
• Cut the dough into small portions.
• Using one portion at a time, pass the dough through the machine set to number 1. Fold in half and run again through machine.
• Repeat this process through the different thickness settings. Remember to pass the dough through each setting twice, folding the sheet in half before taking it through again.
• When the process is finished, flour your dough so as not to stick. Hang fettuccini over a broom handle to prevent it sticking together. Sheets can be laid between layers of baking paper.
• Repeat with other portions of dough.

To cook: place in boiling water for approx 6 minutes.

NB pasta can be frozen raw, defrosted and cooked as above.