Monday, May 31, 2010

Monday, May 31st

I was surprised at how accessible The Ilium was. Wish I had read it years ago.

Rice bake

500ml Cooked rice
100g Gorgonzola, grated
1 small Onion, grated
350g Black Mushrooms, grated or chopped
2 Free Range Eggs, whisked
5ml Salt

Mix all, pour into buttered Pyrex, bake for 20 minutes at 180C.

Thursday, May 27, 2010

Friday, May 28th

Chocolate Tart

125g Butter, melted
125g Sugar
50g Cocoa powder
150g Flour
5ml Whiskey
Mix together and press into tart Pyrex. Refrigerate.

100g Butter, melted
100g Cocoa powder
250ml Cream
250g Cream cheese
75g Tapioca flour
Mix together in pot on low heat. Remove from heat before adding eggs.

3 Free Range eggs
250ml Hazelnut flavoured syrup
Whisk together and add to cream mixture. Pour into pastry case.

30g Pine nuts
Sprinkle on tart. Bake at 180C for 20 minutes. Not very sweet.

Thursday, May 27th

Changed to E.V. Rieu's translation of The Iliad after book 4.

Macaroni Cheese Update

500g Penne, cook as per packet instructions, use lemon salt, leave in colander

250ml Cream, put in empty pasta pot on low heat
200g Cumin cheese, grated, add to cream and stir until melted
5ml Cumin, add
30g Pine nuts, add

Mix well, return pasta to pot, stir through, serve with greens.

Wednesday, May 26, 2010

Wednesday, May 26th

Having read about Homer's Iliad my entire life, I am now reading Richard Lattimore's translation.

Potato & Veg Bake

700g New Potatoes, boiled
180g Baby Spinach, blanched
500g Cauliflower, steamed
400g Mushrooms, fried in butter
250ml Sour cream
7ml Lemon salt, add to cream
100g Cheese, grated (optional)

Place vegetables together in Pyrex, pour salted cream over, sprinkle with cheese, bake at 180C for 20 minutes.

Tuesday, May 25, 2010

Tuesday, May 25th

Had fun evening with Merriam Webster's Encyclopedia of Literature. Scary to realise how much one does not know!

Layered Cake

Made this for myself last night, have already eaten more than a third. Not difficult to make.

125g Butter, melted
60ml Cream, stir into butter
100g Sugar, add to mixture
15ml Whiskey OR Frangelico, add
4 Free Range Eggs, separated. Set whites aside and stir yolks into mixture
180g Flour, sieve onto mixture with baking powder and stir well
5ml Baking Powder

Mix well, divide into 2 cake tins, lined with baking paper, set aside.

4 Free Range Egg Whites, whisked until firm
100g Sugar, whisk into whites
5ml Cinnamon, whisk into meringue

Divide in two, spread on top of mixture in cake tins.

50g Pecans, chopped

Sprinkle on top of meringue layer in cake tins and bake for 20 minutes at 180C. Cool in tins.

50g Butter
100g White chocolate, melt with butter in microwave for 1-2 minutes
250ml Cream cheese, stir into melted chocolate
250ml Cream, add to mixture
25ml Hazelnut flavoured syrup OR any sweetener to taste, add to mixture.

Divide creamy topping and spread on cool cake as filling and topping.

Monday, May 24, 2010

Monday, May 24th

Heroes was a great read. Not one of the characters fit my idea of heroism, but then I do not think that anyone could. Of the men in the book, Francis Drake is to me the most loathsome and Wallenstein the most intelligent and interesting.

Melkkos
for 2, takes 15-20 minutes to make

500ml Milk, put to boil in small pot
50ml Butter, melted in cup
50ml Tapioca flour, mix with butter and add to milk, stirring well

3 Free Range eggs, separated, whisk whites until firm and set aside.
50ml Sugar
50ml Maizena (corn starch)
Mix yolks, sugar and Maizena and whisk into milk mixture on stove.

3ml Vanilla paste
7ml Cinnamon
Fold into milk mixture along with whisked egg whites, remove from heat and serve.

Pomegranate goes very well with this.

Friday, May 21, 2010

Friday, May 21st

Now reading about Wallenstein in Heroes.

Salted Lemon

This is my most essential flavouring agent. I use the minced lemon in most savoury dishes and the salt when boiling pasta, rice and potatoes. It is an ancient way of preserving lemons and variations on the recipe abounds.

It is impossible to give exact amounts as much would depend on the size of the lemons and the size of your bottles.

Unwaxed lemons, quartered
1kg Coarse salt
26g Pickling spice
1 Cinnamon stick
2 Fresh Bay leaves
Other whole spices that you might have a lot of, I often add mustard seeds.

Mix salt, spices and leaves, layer salt and lemons in clean bottles. Check on the bottles for the first week or so, level of salt will fall and must be topped up. Leave to stand for at least a month before use.