609/1038 - Stephanie's quince and browned butter tart

This is the second last of my little run of quince recipes and it is an absolute ripper. And how could it not be? Combine home-made shortcrust pastry (which is a winner every time in my opinion), sensational poached fruit and a burnt butter topping that is so incredibly good it is going to be replicated in my kitchen ad infinitum.  

I am embarrassed to share just how much of this tart ended up in my belly. Let's just say my already snug jeans are relieved that the last piece has been devoured.   

My tips for this recipe:

• If using a loose bottomed flan tin, set it on a tray in order to move it safely in and out of the oven. I learned this tip the hardest way a few years ago, sliding my hand under a flan tin as I picked it up and popping my uncooked crust and filling up, out and all over the floor. 

• Don't worry too much about perfect placement of the quince; the topping covers it anyway. I just cut thick slices and squashed them together so that there were no gaps in between. 

• As always, feel free to substitute the castor sugar for coconut sugar. I had a bit left over from the pancakes which was mixed with cinnamon so I tipped that in there too. Do your taste buds a favour and add a good dash of cinnamon. It is wonderful. 

• I blind baked the pastry the night before and then ran out of motivation. Feel free to do the same and leave it in a sealed container overnight if required. It doesn't appear to do it any harm. 

• As soon as your butter starts to brown, get it off the heat! It will continue to cook for a time and so you can swirl the pan off the heat for a minute or so more if required. As soon as you are happy with the colour (and that incredible smell that will emanate) start to tip it, whisking, into your egg mixture. 

Just. So. Good.

New York Bagels (Not a challenge recipe)

We have developed a taste for bagels in my house which would not be such a bad thing if they were not so expensive! When I realised we were shelling out $1 per bagel I decided it was time to try making them for myself. I (ever so slightly) adapted the bagel recipe listed on Taste and was very happy with the result. Even better than the taste, they cost just under 10 cents each to make!

Ten bagels for the cost of one? I'll take that.

The centres of these incredible bagels are somehow light and fluffy but also wonderfully chewy. But the centres have nothing on the chewiness of the amazing crust. The only thing I need to improve on is making a bigger hole next time so that there is more crust to enjoy. The best feedback was from my eldest who said, "I like the ones we buy, but yours make me close my eyes when I eat them. So good."

If you are also a bagel lover, this recipe is one you must try! 

Fluffy & chewy New York bagel recipe

DOUGH (WET)
1.5 cups very warm water
3 tsp dried yeast 
1 tbsp castor sugar

DOUGH (DRY)
600g plain flour
2 tsp salt

Oil for tray

FOR BOILING
2 litres water
1 tbsp castor sugar

TOPPING (OPTIONAL)
1 egg (lightly beaten)
Seeds of your choice (Poppy, chia, linseed, sesame)

• Combine the warm water, yeast and castor sugar in a bowl. Stir well and leave for 5 minutes or until frothy.

• Combine flour and salt in a large bowl. (I used my KitchenAid bowl)

• Pour wet yeast mixture into the flour and knead for 10 minutes by hand or around 5 minutes in the KitchenAid with a dough hook or until smooth and elastic.

• Put dough in a bowl (or leave in the KitchenAid bowl), cover with a tea towel and prove in a warm place for 30 minutes

• Oil a large oven tray

• Divide dough into 10 x 100g pieces and roll into balls. Poke a hole in the middle of each one (make it a decent size) and place on oiled tray, flattening the bagel a little with your hand. Prove the shaped bagels on the tray under a tea towel in a warm place for 10 minutes.

• Combine water and sugar for boiling in a large saucepan. Stir well and bring to the boil.

• Boil bagels, 3 or 4 at a time, for 3 minutes each side (6 minutes total). Use a slotted spoon to move them in and out of the water and to flip them at the halfway point. Place bagels back on the oiled tray when they are done. 

• (Optional) Brush with lightly whisked egg and top with seeds of your choice. I used poppy seed and linseed. 

• Bake in a 180°C oven for 18-20 minutes. They should be golden on top and sound hollow when you knock on the underside. 

Cool on a wire rack and resist them for as long as you can!

608/1038 - Quince pancakes for breakfast or brunch

The quince just keeps on coming...

This pancake mix does not need resting and so these are a FABULOUS idea for a fast breakfast; assuming you have poached quince on hand of course! The sugar in the poached quince caramelises as the pancakes cook and so the result is unbelievably sweet. Cream would definitely be too much for these beauties and we opted for a Greek yoghurt topping instead. I also added a tiny pile of poached quince and a sprinkling of coconut sugar and cinnamon which was a wonderful combination. In hindsight, a small pile of toasted almonds would have been lovely on top. Next time...

You need to be very careful making these as they cook quite differently to regular pancakes. Instead of waiting for bubbles to appear on top, keep an eye on the underside and turn them over as soon as they are quite brown. Medium heat is quite sufficient and I found that if the pan was even a little hot they cooked far too quickly. 

I have two teenage boys and this amount was still too much for the four of us. This is not a bad thing as they will make a wonderful snack for us throughout the day. 

I think I am in love with poached quince x

607/1038 - Gooseberry butter (but with raspberries)

This treat was made especially for a dear friend of mine. We have been close for more than 25 years and we have that kind of wonderful friendship that does not change, no matter how much time we spend apart. He is quite simply one of my favourite people in the world and so when I found out he loved raspberry, I just had to find a recipe that would fill my macarons and satisfy his penchant for this fabulous fruit. 

I feel some guilt for switching the fruit in this recipe but have decided that if I ever want to finish this challenge I need to make substitutions for ingredients which are difficult to find. This was a difficult mental hurdle for me to get over but now that I have decided that messing around with main ingredients is not the end of the world, there are more than a few recipes that no longer haunt my thoughts!

There is a reason behind my desire to make this particular friend smile and it is not a good one. While it is true that our friendship has never waned, in some ways it will never be the same as it was. There is a veil of sadness that covers us now when we meet and every day that I do not see him, he is not far from my thoughts. 

The truth is that my friend is not well. In fact we have no idea how much longer he will be able to eat and if I am honest, no idea how much longer he will be with us. My friend is battling the most hideous of all diseases, Motor Neuron Disease. His decline has been rapid and devastating. He still possesses his incredibly dashing good looks, sharp wit and beautiful and wise soul that is largely unmatched. But his body is failing him. He no longer has the full use of his hands and he has been wheelchair bound for some time now. His beautiful singing voice has also been taken from him. I could go on.

...and in this unwinnable situation, I do what I do best; show my love with food.

My tips for this recipe;

• Castor sugar can be substituted for coconut sugar. It is one of my favourite sugars and so I generally do this when possible.

• If you see tiny bits of egg in the mixture when you add it, don't panic! It disappears. Just keep stirring (and stirring, and stirring...)

• I like texture (and hate waste) so didn't bother to strain the mixture. Instead I simply mashed the fruit with a wooden spoon as it broke down.

• Given my example above, it appears that substituting gooseberries with another berry is a viable option. 

606/1038 - Eliza Acton's quince custard (with mini angel cakes)

Given the wide variety of foods that have been experimented with in my kitchen, people might be surprised to discover that this week's foray into the quince chapter is the first time I have worked with this fruit. 

Of course, anybody who is aware of my zillion different food allergies and intolerances would not be at all surprised. Quince is not really my friend and last night's gut ache confirmed that this is still the case. The pain was absolutely worth it though. This custard is beautifully sweet with a zingy finish thanks to the addition of lemon juice. The best thing about it was that it used up a stack of the quince poaching syrup and took only a few minutes to make. 

Pairing it with little mini angel cakes was a stroke of genius, creating a fabulous and fun little dessert and of course, using up the spare egg whites at the same time. I cooked the cakes in muffin tins, gently prising them out with a flexible spatula. They were like little bite sized pieces of heaven and, unlike me, very good friends with quince custard. 

605/1038 - Poached quince

It's quince season and I will be making the most of it this week.

First up (and first recipe cooked from the quince chapter) is a big batch of poached quince. One of the things I like best about cooking is that it is just one big science experiment. There is something deeply satisfying about putting creamy coloured fruit into the pot and pulling it out hours later a beautiful ruby red. 

I was a bit thrown when I tried to put everything in my beautiful copper pot and realised it was not going to fit! I decided to halve the ingredients and cook one batch in the oven and the other on the stove top. Interestingly they both took the same amount of time to cook which is great to know that I have options next time. 

My cooking tips for this recipe;

• If you have a mesh bag for making nut milk or even the little mesh produce bags (I used one of each) they work perfectly as the holder of quince cores and pips. Admittedly they came out a little red but a bit of natural colouring can't hurt!  

• A teaspoon of vanilla bean paste can be used in place of the vanilla bean. 

• Be gentle when putting the pieces of quince into the sugar syrup or risk ending up with little sticky spots all over your table, floor and clothes. Hindsight is a wonderful thing.

I will be honest; we like poached fruit but we don't love it. With this (and efficiency) in mind, I will be turning this lovely red pile into a variety of different things this week. Why tick off one recipe when you can tick off several? 

Stay tuned for all things quince.

604/1038 - Barbecued skewers of bay leaves and pork

I bought the pork fillet for this recipe weeks ago. It went from the fridge to the freezer about four times, oscillating between my good intentions and periods of slothful indifference. 

Yesterday was finally the day I defrosted it fully, made a batch of baguettes and then actually took the time to put this lovely dinner together. For anybody keen to try this recipe out, here are my tips for success! 

• Use metal skewers. They are relatively inexpensive, don't need pre-soaking and are a good choice for the environment

• A barbecue is great for those who are keen, but a barbecuer I am not. A griddle on the stovetop, or even a frypan if you don't have a griddle is a more than adequate alternative

• Rashers of streaky bacon can be used instead of cubes. Simply fold them lengthwise and then in half a couple of times the other way so that you end of with a little folded cube

• Use the thinnest baguette you can find otherwise risk the slices being so thick your pork won't get a look in on the hotplate. Alternatively, cut each slice in half. If you are a keen baker, simply make your own and roll one much thinner than the others

• If you send your son into the yard to pick bay leaves, make sure your instructions are clear. Below is evidence of the variety of leaves mine brought in before he finally found the right tree

Finally, enjoy these beautiful skewers! They are packed with so much flavour thanks to the bay leaves and the inclusion of crusty bread was a revelation. Serve with piles of crunchy raw vegetables and you have an incredible and well balanced dinner on your hands.

Leaves from the passionfruit vine, a bunch from the olive tree
 and then finally, some bay leaves

603/1038 - Braised fennel in meat juices with cheese

Vegetables do not have to be boring!

We adore fennel and this recipe was lovely served alongside a beautifully roasted pork shoulder. My husband looked after the pork on this night, reaffirming our longstanding tradition of making quite the formidable cooking team. Of course, I don't mean the kind of couple who should appear on My Kitchen Rules. More the kind that can produce beautiful and complementary dishes for the same meal whilst gently avoiding one another in the kitchen, ever mindful of not stepping on one another's toes, both physically and metaphorically.

My new, and already much revered, agreena wrap got another airing while cooking this recipe. Instead of using a sheet of baking paper to contain the moisture, I used a large wrap, careful to keep it away from the edges of my copper pot given the amount of heat it generates. 

The inclusion of parsley, fennel tops and a handful of parmesan at the last minute ensured this was another vegetarian winner.

No baking paper! Using my re-usable agreena wrap to keep the moisture in.  

602/1038 - Scallops with Jerusalem artichokes

To spice things up a bit we have changed our weekly market trips from the Queen Victoria Market to our local Preston market. These beautiful scallops were officially our first Preston market seafood purchase and we were very happy with them indeed!

I have never baked scallops before and while I still prefer them fried, this was a lovely change and also incredibly fast to cook. 

As usual, the Jerusalem artichokes came from our regular neighbourly donor. Any future donations can be prepared in any which way because the Jerusalem artichoke chapter is done and dusted! 

That's 21 chapters finished now. Goodness, only 104 to go...

601/1038 - Crumble topping

I am probably late to the party but Greek yoghurt on dessert is my new very favourite thing! 

Since making the syrup cake a couple of weeks ago and enjoying it with yoghurt, I have started putting it on top of everything and this crumble was another opportunity to indulge my new obsession.

This was possibly the nicest crumble I have ever made and I am putting it down to the fact that the fruit was puréed which meant that the flavours melded beautifully. From memory (I made this a few days ago!) I used pomelo, red grapes, banana, strawberries and blueberries and just a little bit of crystallised ginger because it is my go to snack and I buy it by the kilo. A sensational combination. 

There were two options for the crumble topping and I opted for the one which replaced some of the flour with rolled oats and loved the extra crunch it provided. 

I do love to cook desserts as individual portions and it was lucky I did or we might have been fighting over who got the larger serve. The Greek yoghurt was simply amazing on top; in my opinion much better than cream or ice-cream.

I am drooling as I write this and have decided I will whip this up again for dessert tonight.

Simple. Tasty. Fabulous. (...and better than my husband's!)

600/1038 - Yoghurt and citrus syrup cake

It is so very hard to believe I have made it to 600 recipes! 

When I started this challenge almost seven years ago I had no idea how long it would hold my interest. As it turns out, it has become a lovely (and very productive) form of meditation for me in the midst of an otherwise busy life. 

This year will see less recipes cooked as I head back to university and get my head back around being a full time student. Seven weeks in and so far so good! This cake was the result of me needing to get my head out of the books for a minute so that my brain didn't explode.  

I used pomelo as the citrus in this cake which is very much like a grapefruit in taste. Of course I am drinking a smoothie as I write this filled with the pomelo pulp thinned out with almond milk. A healthy lead up to a very decadent dessert. We plan to eat this with honey flavoured Greek yoghurt as per Stephanie's suggestion and I might also try it with some ginger flavoured yoghurt too. Of course I have no problem trying multiple pieces in order to figure out which yoghurt works best!  

So hooray for 600 recipes...and now back to the books. 

599/1038 - Zabaglione with mascarpone

Italian desserts really are the bomb! 

We had some beautiful figs gifted to us from another neighbour of my husband's work and I just knew this recipe would be the perfect accompaniment to what is one of my very favourite fruits. As well as needing something to go with the fruit, I had opened a tub of marscapone to make icing for a cake (a green one for St Patrick's day no less!) and needed a way to use the rest of it up. I believe this is what is called a win-win scenario.

I made the amaretti myself and they were absolutely beautiful. If anybody needs a recipe, I used this one. Two of my boys don't like figs and so they ate this with extra crumbled amaretti instead. Personally, I thought the figs were what tipped this over into sensational territory and highly recommend their addition to this dish.

I halved the zabaglione recipe which not only turned out to be the perfect amount for four, but it meant that I used four yolks in the zabaglione and four whites in the amaretti mix. Perfect, no?

My oldest is off to camp today and so we ate this as his farewell dessert last night. Celebrate with food...who me?

I have assignments coming out of my ears and so I can't guarantee when the next recipe will happen but am assuming we will hit this wonderful milestone sometime in April. Exciting! x

598/1038 - Prawn (in lieu of rock lobster) oil

Where has this fabulous concoction been all my life?

Loving this prawn oil so much has had me lamenting all of the prawn heads I have discarded over the years. Making it was so very easy and the number of meals we have eaten with the oil is still growing! My favourite was spaghetti, well coated with prawn oil and topped with loads of fresh tomato, rocket and freshly cracked black pepper. So very good. 

Of course this recipe actually comes from the rock lobster chapter but given how difficult it is to obtain green rock lobster heads, I opted to take Stephanie's suggestion of using prawn heads in their stead. 

As the heads cooked, my house was filled with the most incredible smell, which continued to make me hungry until the next day with the oil sitting out overnight to marinate. 

Quite simply, an absolutely wonderful recipe and very highly recommended! 

Simmering with the vegetables

597/1038 - Prawns with ginger, spring onion and tomato

Look who found another prawn recipe hiding in the ginger chapter! 

We love seafood in our house and we especially love it fresh from the market. My youngest and I have swapped our weekly market day to Saturdays and so yesterday we happily brought home a kilo of prawns to enjoy. 

This is an interesting recipe in that the prawns, apart from the head & intestinal tract, are left intact. What I didn't expect is how fabulous they would taste, shell, legs, tail and all! The frying process (shallow, not deep-fried) makes the whole prawn edible which of course has the added bonus of reducing the smell in our bin the next day. Less shells, less smell...

The only change I made to the recipe was to fry in sesame rather than vegetable oil and also to use more prawns than was recommended. In hindsight I should probably also have increased the amount of topping, but the prawns were still flavourful so no harm done. We ate them with rocket and plain rice which meant minimal preparation and clean up. Perfect for a Saturday night! 

The motivation for our purchase was actually the prawn heads, which I will be turning into prawn oil today. I do love the smell of prawns cooking in the morning... 

596/1038 - Chocolate macarons

The reason for making this lovely dessert was twofold; they will serve as a thank you present for the beautiful people who have been looking after my bonsai since December and will also be one of the dishes I am sharing with friends at a long overdue get together tomorrow.

I am not a huge chocolate fan myself (although I will clarify this unusual stance in a moment) so I would not have thought to make this flavour for myself. Give me a good salted caramel macaron any day or anything fruity (raspberry, lemon, strawberry...)

My dislike of chocolate desserts is a weird one. I adore chocolate but don't love it when it is served in other forms. Chocolate cake - bleugh. French pastries or churros dipped in chocolate - double bleugh. Death by chocolate desserts - kill me now. It is a heaviness issue that I have. If a chocolate dessert is paired with a fruity parfait or sauce I am good to go. I also quite like chocolate with something crunchy such as cannoli or lightened with lemon zest. Fussy I know. But it's OK because I am generally the maker of the dessert, so I can afford to be fussy!

I love making macarons but have generally opted to use the Italian meringue method. After cooking Stephanie's version, I am a convert! These were really easy to put together and came out beautifully smooth. The trick to the smoother mixture was to blitz the sugars and almond meal in the Thermomix which made them insanely easy to sift. Quite frankly, I can't believe I hadn't done that before. 

I haven't actually eaten one yet (partly self control and partly because they are chocolate) but I am told they are fabulous by my little family who couldn't wait. I personally think they are better the next day (or even two days after being put together) and straight out of the fridge so I will relent and test one out tomorrow.

Stephanie's macarons for the win! x

595/1038 - Crème caramel

Another year, another wedding anniversary...

I am sure I have said this before, but celebrating on prescribed dates and present giving could be banned tomorrow and I would not give it a second thought. Christmas, Easter, Valentine's Day and the ever-divisive Australia Day could all disappear and I would be one happy camper. I do realise I am on my own with this one, but I am not ashamed to admit that most celebrations are completely lost on me. I am not religious, and in many ways not sentimental, so my feelings on this matter are not much of a surprise to those around me. 

I think I would like to keep birthdays and definitely the verbal recognition of anniversaries, but if presents are given I would prefer that they be home-made and usable. The fact that people already have more stuff than they need, coupled with the angst of reciprocal present giving, is the stuff of  my nightmares. 

So even though we don't always bother to celebrate another year of wedlock, today I decided to do a bit of cooking to commemorate the occasion. If I am honest, the date simply coincided with a desire  of mine to cook and hang out in the kitchen. But I am calling it romantic anyway... 

I have been DREADING this recipe for the most ridiculous reason. I have another crème caramel recipe which works perfectly every time and I just hated the thought of trying one that might not be as good. To add to the pressure, Stephanie's version is cooked in one dish and I have always divided the recipe into individual serves. My main thought today as this dish chilled in the fridge was, "Please come out in one piece!" 

I decided to listen to Stephanie's suggestion regarding orange zest, and steeped it in the milk for an hour before cooking, which was a really lovely addition to this simple dessert. I also threw some zest on top after it was turned out and served the dessert with slices of orange.

It feels good to have that monkey off my back! 

594/1038 - Goat's cheese on salad leaves with an anchovy dressing

Fried goats cheese is my new best friend!

I used a jar of marinated goats cheese for this recipe, dabbing the oil from each piece of cheese with paper towel before the egging and crumbing stage. The great thing about goats cheese is that if it comes apart when sliced, it is easily squashed back into shape.  

This is not a super fast recipe but by George it's worth the effort! Admittedly I did make the breadstick from scratch so other (sane) people who simply head to the local baker for a store bought version will not spend anywhere near the time I spent in the kitchen yesterday.  

After a few nights without a substantial amount of red meat, I added some sliced and fried beef short ribs to the meal to appease the men in my house.  

This was SO much more than a salad. Very happy with this one.

593/1038 - Panang gai - dry chicken curry

I am sure it is of no surprise that, at this stage of the challenge, I have exhausted many of the recipes which have ingredients that reside in my pantry. 

Nowadays there is more planning involved in the cooking, and today this involved a trip out to pick up a small tin of green peppercorns and some coconut milk. I have no idea if it is common or just in my house, but I am forever using a half tin of coconut milk and then tossing the other half after its obligatory three days of taking up space in the fridge. Imagine how thrilled I was when I discovered 165ml tins! 

I made 2/3 of this recipe tonight (I had only 500g chicken) and so this was the perfect sized tin for our dinner with not a drop of wastage. Colour me happy!   

It turns out this was a very simple recipe and a good mid-week meal. I served it with jasmine rice and a pile of fresh vegetables (capsicum, tomatoes, rocket) which made it insanely fast to get to the table. Of course, I left a mountain of dishes in my wake but when I cook I am not on dishes duty so I don't see this as a problem!  

Somehow I missed the fact that there was supposed to be fresh basil to scatter over the finished product and so I made do with finely sliced rocket; as it turns out, a more than satisfactory substitute. 

Anybody who watches my blog regularly will be quite surprised that after an incredibly slow patch, I have now written six posts in little more than a fortnight. There is a reason behind this and it is a good one! I plan on having an incredibly busy year in 2018 and am trying to knock out as many recipes as I can before the madness starts in March.  

More to come!

592/1038 - Tung po pork

Tung po pork!

Honestly, we love pork belly...but Tung po pork! This dish was absolutely worth the hours it took to cook and was a tremendous way to use up yet another section of our enormous pork belly purchase. There is just so much belly; if you look hard enough you can see a piece of the roast pork I cooked at the same time. The crackling on that was FABULOUS...

The meat was so very tender it didn't require slicing but simply fell apart as it was handled. Amusingly, I forgot to add the sauce to the meal but have stored it in the fridge and plan to use it to enhance whatever veg combo I throw together tonight. It really didn't matter; the meat was full of flavour and an absolute delight to eat as it was. 

Oh and look at that...a recipe not based around cabbage!

591/1038 - One-pot cabbage soup

There has been a lot of cabbage consumed in our house lately and I lay the blame for this squarely on the shoulders of my husband. Whilst planning the execution of the cabbage parcel recipe (previous post) I added the following to our electronic shopping list;

Green cabbage (whole)

Simple, right? Well my husband thought he was pretty clever buying me two cabbage halves...because two halves make a whole, right? Except that cabbage parcels are pretty hard to make with half-sized cabbage leaves. Fast forward and my fridge contained not one but two cabbages waiting to be turned into something fabulous.

So first came cabbage parcels and then a couple of nights ago I resurrected Stephanie's cabbage and anchovy salad (still wonderful). This soup was next on the list and even my boy who is not a huge soup fan was happy with the result.

We made a successful return to the Queen Victoria Market in the early hours of the morning (our first for 2018) and one of my big scores was a half kilo of meaty off-cuts which was largely bacon pieces with some of this and some of that mixed in. I used it in place of the slab of bacon listed in this recipe and it worked beautifully. It was of course a bonus that it cost only $3.50. Proof that a wonderful meal does not need to cost the earth.

LOVED this one x

590/1038 - Cabbage leaves stuffed with pork, sausage and rice

Whilst creating time consuming little parcels of food is not one of my favourite things, I do love an excuse to use my beautiful Mauviel copper rondeau. It is such a thing of beauty and one of only a handful of kitchen purchases I have made in the last couple of years. 

This recipe was not especially difficult but I do think if I made it again I would take the lazy path and simply cook the stuffing ingredients with a pile of shredded cabbage. It wouldn't look anywhere as pretty, but the flavour would still be there and surely that's the main thing!

As expected, this recipe fed my family of four twice; the first night on a bed of mashed potato and the second with a load of extra cabbage and diced pumpkin added to the stock/tomato mixture in which my parcels were cooked.

I bought an ENORMOUS piece of pork belly while shopping for this recipe and so if the weather cools on Sunday as predicted, Tung Po Pork should be next up on our challenge menu.

Mexican flour tortillas (Not a challenge recipe)

We recently visited Boquillas del Carmen in Mexico; a very secluded little town located by the Rio Grande, just across the river from Texas. 

Boquillas survives on the income derived from a river crossing which is accessed via Big Bend National Park. The crossing of the river is undertaken in a small rowboat, which is followed by a trip to town in the form of a walk, a drive or a gentle ride on a burro (donkey). Of course we rode burros! 

We were looked after by a lovely young man by the name of Abraham, who walked us around the town and told us a bit about its people and its history. Allowing a guide to look after you while visiting is one of the ways the town is supported, with guides earning tips from the "tour" they provide. Spending some time with Abraham was a wonderful aspect of our day and we were thrilled that he joined us for lunch at the wonderful Boquillas restaurant. 

We ate many tortillas whilst in America, but none were a patch on the ones served to us at Boquillas Restaurant. Their version had the most unbelievably flaky texture and almost melted in your mouth. Not a simple feat for a dough based item! I have simply never eaten anything like them and while I would like to say that the ones I made were as good, I am afraid they were not. Don't get me wrong, I was thrilled with how these came out but I am ranking them firmly behind the only truly Mexican tortillas I am ever likely to experience. 

Of course I lugged my new tortilla press home from Boquillas (because is there anything better than a tortilla press all the way from Mexico?) and it was instrumental in helping me to make my very first quesadillas for dinner last night. 

I found multiple "authentic" recipes on the internet and of course I slightly tweaked what I found and came up with the following. I also saw many a blog post on the useless nature of a tortilla press (compared to using a rolling pin) and I couldn't disagree more with their assertion. I have made somewhere in the vicinity of 1,000 flatbreads in my time (possibly a slight exaggeration) and have always flattened them using a rolling pin. After making this batch of tortillas, my view is that not only does the press create beautiful round and elegantly thin tortillas (important for quesadillas!), it is also incredibly fast to use and meant that I was not running between the stove and the table (where I usually roll) as I cooked. For somebody who usually despises useless kitchen gadgets, I am 100% convinced that this purchase was sound.  

For anybody looking to make their own tortillas, here is my version. I do, however, reserve the right to make amendments to this as time goes on! 

Tortilla recipe (makes 16)

2.5 cups plain flour

1/2 tsp salt

1/3 tsp bi-carb

1/4 cup lard

1.3 tsp lemon juice

1 cup very warm water

1. Combine flour, salt & bi-carb in a bowl. Stir well. 

2. Add lard (I used duck fat saved from a roast duck dinner) and rub through with your fingers until it has disappeared into the flour.

3. Add lemon juice and the water (slowly) all the time mixing with a butter knife. There may not be a need to add all of the water - you just need enough until the dough has come together but is not sticky. 

4. Gently knead into a ball and then shape into 16 smaller balls, each one a little bigger than a golf ball.

5. Leave to rest under a tea towel for one hour. 

6. Set yourself up with a small frypan. The small pan will allow the heat to be trapped in a "bubble" to cook within, whereas a larger pan will make the edges of the tortilla too cold and the lovely puffy bubbles you will be seeking will not appear. Heat the pan to a little over medium and allow the pan to become very warm before inserting your first tortilla.

7. Set the tortilla press up on the bench, very close to the frying pan. Place a ball in the very centre of your press (I covered mine with baking paper top and bottom) and press down very hard. Hold for a few seconds and then gently remove the raw tortilla and place it straight into the pan. If you have rested your dough for long enough it should hold its size and not spring back on itself. 

8. As the first tortilla is cooking, flatten a second tortilla in the press, holding it flat for at least a good few seconds. 

9. Cook the first tortilla until puffy bubbles have formed and when you take a peek underneath, none of the dough looks raw. Flip it over and fry until just cooked. 

10. Remove tortilla and keep warm inside a clean tea towel or a cloth bag designed to store ham (my preference!)

11. Repeat and enjoy.

My first batch of tortillas were made into mouth watering chicken, cheese, capsicum and onion quesadillas, but of course the tortilla options are endless.

On the Texan side of the river, looking over to Mexico

589/1038 - Glaze for a baked ham

We are now in month seventy nine of this challenge (yes, really!) and of course I am keen to continue my unblemished record of posting at least one recipe in each calendar month. 

I knew I would be overseas for two thirds of January (and then jet lagged for the remainder) and so please forgive me for posting a recipe I prepared before we headed offshore. 

This beautiful ham was actually cooked for a client, but thankfully they only ordered half a leg and so there was plenty left over for my family to enjoy. Smoked and wonderfully flavoured before I did anything, this mustard and honey glaze simply enhanced an already fabulous product. We ate it with home made baked beans which again, was a client order that I simply doubled as I put it together. My family are very used to eating meals which are based on client orders of the day.  

As evidence that I WAS away and have not completely lost focus for this challenge, I am sharing below what was my synopsis of our road trip in the south west of America.

Enjoy! 

10 things I learned while road tripping in the US

1) America is probably the only place I will be told I have a cool accent. I was also asked repeatedly if I was from England, which I can only assume is because Americans think we all sound like Steve Irwin. Crikey.

2) The interpretation of speed limits depends on your location. If you are driving in Texas, feel free to drive 5 miles over the speed limit and the police won’t bother you. I like Texas. I especially liked Texas when I was hooning down the highway doing 85 (136km) in our Canyonero.* 

Conversely, according to the California road rules, not only can you be pulled over for exceeding the speed limit, but you can actually be charged for driving at ANY speed if the officer deems your speed to be inappropriate for the weather, the traffic conditions or his/her current mood. You read these rules, observe the limits religiously, and then realise everybody is actually driving at least 10 over and decide it would just be plain rude not to keep up with the locals.

Phoenix drivers do not appear to follow any speed limits. More on scary Phoenix drivers in the next section. 

3) Driving styles vary across the country. Wildly. 

Texas – Fast but friendly. Indicate and you shall be let in. 

LA - Fast. Not friendly. Change lanes if you are brave (or if you have a Canyonero). Pretty much the same as Melbourne but with bigger roads and more cars. 

Palm Springs – Slow speed limits and everybody complies. If you drive a canyonero you will be stared at and occasionally pointed at. Texas trucks stand out in this world of more tastefully sized cars. 

San Francisco – Frantic. Not friendly. Plenty of honking. Just like Melbourne but with REALLY steep roads. 

El Paso - Fast, no matter how packed the roads are. Drive well, stay in your lane and you will survive. 

Arizona – Like driving with a zillion P-platers all late for the same party. Apparently driving ten over while crossing four lanes to exit a highway is a thing here. Saw four accidents in less than an hour. Slightly terrifying. 

4) American road rules make sense. Being allowed to turn right on red (equivalent of left on red here) is hands down the best thing about driving in America. No more light going green and then stuck waiting for pedestrians. We NEED this rule here! 

Four way intersections (and roundabouts) which work on a first come, first served basis are the bomb. Even at the busy ones, the traffic flowed beautifully - North and South go, then East and West. Repeat. The only strange thing about this method is the weirdo Australian who felt the need to grin and wave every time she had her turn. Even though it’s the law, it still feels as if people are letting you through because they are lovely. 

5) Travel guides don’t speak for me. As a family, we definitely enjoy the road less travelled. While we loved San Francisco (the only place on our trip which is consistently rated as a top destination in the US), the highlights of our holiday occurred in the smaller towns and of course in our Mexico crossing. We loved the friendliness and hospitality of the smaller towns as well as the discovery of people, places and landmarks we had not already seen or heard of a million times before. 

6) Southern hospitality really is a thing. From opening doors to drivers actually moving out of the way when other cars indicated or merged, we just loved Southern hospitality. The people of Fort Stockton were perfect examples of this. We caught a couple of nasty rocks on our windscreen and the lovely men in the windscreen repair place fixed the two, rather significant, cracks for free. Also, there are Starbucks EVERYWHERE in the states and the staff do not work for tips (because you don’t tip for take-away) but only in the South will Starbucks employees say hello to everybody as they walk through the door. Just so lovely. 

7) No matter where you are in America, there are many people who agree that Trump is a twit. While in the US, we tried very hard not to offend those around us. We didn’t take the Lord’s name in vain, refrained from saying the word “toilet” in public and largely kept our political commentary to ourselves. Even so, it was not difficult to find others snickering about the possibility of building a wall through a national park or laughing at his incorrect singing of the national anthem. Restored our faith in human nature. 

8) Coffee can be obtained and enjoyed. It is actually not too hard to find a decent coffee, with lattes being offered quite regularly at cafes and even stores which specialised in other things such as ice-cream or pie (although Starbucks is an adequate fallback if your search for a latte fails). The coffee we had at Cedar Coffee Supply in Alpine was better than most you can find in Melbourne. Thanks be to Yelp (and Sue, our Yelper) for finding this one. If you do get stuck with regular brewed coffee, beware the creamer! Half and half is not too bad but the French vanilla variety is blow your head off sweet. I made the mistake of adding two to my first coffee and thought my eyeballs were going to pop out of my head. Also, one brewed coffee is not enough to knock out the inevitable coffee headache so be sure to double up. 

9) My propensity for being accident prone knows no geography. A trip and fall in a carpark, headbutted by my youngest as we slid into our seats at lunch and that special moment when I dropped my keys just as my eldest swung our heaviest suitcase from the Canyonero. Somehow I did not need to utilise our travel insurance but we wouldn’t have dared leave the country without it. 

10) Don’t judge a book by its cover. Of course this is something I already knew, but a particular incident made me realise I am not as good at practising this as I thought! Completing my transaction at the lovely XOX truffles, I glanced up as an ultra cool young man walked into the store. I chatted to SO many strangers on this trip (asking for directions etc) but this was definitely not somebody I would have approached for assistance; he simply looked way too cool to engage. As the truffle man handed me my receipt, he informed me that a receipt had also been e-mailed to me. He saw my shocked expression and explained that my e-mail address was already in the system (I had provided it to a BBQ place in Austin). My response was something like, “Oh that is very efficient…and just a little creepy!” I heard some giggling behind me and turned to find the cool guy giggling and repeating, “Just a little creepy!” Judgement busted. I still smile every time this runs through my mind. I am sure there is more but this will do. 

I loved America, its people and its road rules (and my Canyonero) Will be back for sure x

*Oversized Texan SUV, designed to lug around one month's worth of clothes for a family of four plus many, many purchases. 

588/1038 - Hollandaise sauce

I made hollandaise sauce and it was FABULOUS!!!

Well of course it was. Being filled with butter and egg yolks it was bound to be pretty special, but of course I am excited because it was perfect! Silky smooth, perfectly seasoned (thank you white pepper!) and moreish to the nth degree. 

I halved the recipe because I am supremely conscious of the amount I have been eating lately and I just knew if it was good I would see an insane amount of said sauce end up on my breakfast, on my brunch toast, on my spoon..... 

A half measure was perfectly enough to serve a family of four and we ate it with a quirky little mix of raw beetroot, cucumber, leftover roast lamb, asparagus (obviously) and poached eggs. 

Sort of a clean-out-the-fridge type dinner, the hollandaise was my way of showing I had made some sort of effort. Also I figured if there was enough on the plate that excited the boys, they would swallow the pile of raw, grated beetroot without question. (It worked.)

There is a very good chance this will be my last post until next year as things are going to be completely mad until at least mid-January.

Until 2018! x

587/1038 - Salad of grilled lamb

Simple, simple, simple! 

Everybody knows I love to cook, but I do still struggle to find wonderfully simple and tasty mid-week meals. This is definitely one of those! 

This was the first time I had attempted to create gorgeous cross-hatch grill marks on my meat and now I am kicking myself for not taking a picture before I sliced it up. With the digital timer running, I stuck to the one minute per position grilling time and was thrilled that all four fillets turned out perfectly. 

Given my utter focus on the meat and its constant need for attention, the best I could muster vegetable-wise was the recommended handfuls of baby spinach the meat was to be laid upon. Unlike me to have such little variety on the plate, even my eldest looked at his dinner plate and said, "Oh just spinach. OK."

Anybody out there with a lamb backstrap and no inspiration, this recipe is for you! x

586/1038 - Pumpkin and amaretto tart

This is the second time I have made this pumpkin and amaretto filling. The first time it was as a filling for ravioli, which we absolutely loved...but as a tart filling it is even better! I am pretty sure this is because you get a much bigger mouthful of the stuff when it is not wrapped in pasta. 

I did meddle with the recipe just a bit, making the following changes;

• Substituted the sage for fresh tarragon because my lovely sage plant has died! A project for the coming weeks, I think
• Swapped amaretto for Sambucca. So good! 
• Roasted, instead of steamed, the pumpkin. I think either way would work well

The trick to really making this tart special is to take the butter to a lovely burnt place when frying the sage, or in this case, tarragon. It should be dark and smell quite nutty when it is ready. My mouth is watering just thinking about this again.  

Because my pumpkin had SO many seeds, I felt bad throwing them in the compost. While the pastry was blind making in the oven, they were washed, dried and spread on an oven tray. They cooked at the same time as the tart which meant no wasted energy, and most importantly, less heat for my house in this warm weather. 

My last recipe signified the beginning of a new chapter (kiwifruit) and this recipe represents the twentieth chapter I can tick off my list! That's right, of one hundred and twenty five chapters, we can now officially say goodbye to;

Broccoli

Prawns

Bacon

Sweet potatoes

Chives

Bugs

Asian greens

Abalone

Corn

Carrots

Parsley

Cauliflowers

Mint

Kangaroo & Wallaby

Lentils

Beans, dried

Pasta & noodles

Bananas

Apples

...and now Pumpkins! 

Getting there x

Roasted pumpkin seeds with smoked salt. Mmmm...

585/1038 - Kiwifruit sorbet

With some ageing kiwifruit in the fridge, I went to the supermarket specifically to buy some glucose syrup so that I could make this recipe. I will be honest, I was not excited. I have no idea why, but the thought of  kiwifruit sorbet just did not float my boat. 

Clearly, I have no idea. Kiwifruit sorbet is, quite simply, a revelation. Smooth, sweet and with just the tiniest hint of tang, it is now ranked in my top ten of desserts. It really was that good! I was not alone; my little family of four wolfed down the entire batch minutes after the churning was complete. It was almost not worth the effort I took to carefully freeze the kiwifruit shells to use as little bowls, but of course it made for a lovely photo even if that little touch was lost on those closest to me. 

This wonderful, wonderful recipe marks yet another chapter started, with only 14 chapters as yet untouched out of 125. 

It has been almost a month since my last blog post (goodness, it sounds as if I am in the confessional) and I will admit I have been suffering from a severe lack of interest in this challenge. I have no idea if my enthusiasm will return and so for now, I am simply glad that I managed to push out my self-imposed minimum of one recipe this month.  

Stay tuned. Hopefully a burst of challenge energy is coming my way. 

584/1038 - Black satin duck with egg noodles

Keeping up with this challenge continues to be challenging! 

My little catering business has been going gangbusters and yesterday turned out to be the absolute highlight of my new career to date.

A few months back, I decided it was time to begin hosting my own events. Not only would events create an opportunity to connect with my clients in a different way and showcase items from my catering menu, they would also enable me to utilise my currently dormant project management skills. Most of all, having command of every aspect of an event plays very well to my control freak tendencies. I quite comfortably embrace my inner control freak, knowing that it is generally used for good rather than evil. 

Announcing the first event was a nerve-wracking experience. Thankfully, the bookings rolled in and yesterday saw fifty five beautiful souls fill a room and enjoy my food. By far, the best outcome from the day was the good that was generated in the form of 60 lunch packs a Fork for your Oyster will be donating to people sleeping rough on the streets of Melbourne. A result I and my wonderful guests are very proud of. 

This duck recipe actually happened a couple of weeks ago, before madness struck. As I attempt to cast my weary mind back to this recipe, I am reminded of an incredibly flavoursome meal, which was much easier to put together than I had imagined it would be. 

I will be honest and admit that I forgot to add the flavouring to the noodles. It mattered not. The flavoured 'gel' encasing the duck was easily stirred through the noodles and the result was wonderful. 

Another one to love x

583/1038 - Melita's black olives

I received a wonderful gift of more than five kilograms of olives from my mum's neighbour, whose tree was practically drooping with the weight of so much luscious fruit. It was so laden that my mum also took over five kilograms and is also following this recipe as I write!

Remembering to change olive water every two days for a forty day period is a L-O-N-G time to be engaged with one project and so I am thankful my husband took over this part of the recipe. 

It was fascinating to taste an olive every now and then and to experience the gradual reduction in bitterness; a bit like salting and rinsing eggplant but in the slowest of motions. On day forty we were pleasantly surprised to find that they were ready perfectly on time...but of course on that particular day I seriously couldn't be bothered moving on to the bottling phase. 

Fast forward a couple of days and, having never pickled my own olives, I was surprised when the entire job took me less than thirty minutes. It was, of course, very handy that I had the most enormous jars on hand to encase my salty little treasures and also that I just happened to have a jar of preserved lemons ready and waiting to assist with the flavour enhancement. I didn't make much of an effort to ensure my bits and pieces were showing in the photo (lemon, thyme and garlic) but I suspect they will do their job most efficiently whilst nestled in the centre of the bottles.

I have a very special lunch event coming up (fifty odd guests, no biggie) and have decided to whip up some olive paste to accompany my ever popular flatbreads. Not a bad plan, as I imagine there are only so many olives a little family can eat! x 

582/1038 - Black forest sour cherry crêpes

It has been a crazy time in our house lately; not least because the Richmond Football Club finally won themselves a premiership.  

Please excuse me while I hijack this post* to celebrate a win we thought might never come...

At the beginning of the year, the Tigers were not expected to perform at the highest level. Last year's performance was a bit flat and Tiger fans were feeling the same way. Undeterred, I made it my mission to attend as many games as possible this year, largely to ensure a strong connection was maintained with my oldest boy. Although we do converse regularly, there is only so much interest a teenage boy can maintain when it comes to political news and world events. 

It was time for me to reinvest heavily in football. 

The year turned out to be more enjoyable than we had hoped; the first five games going Richmond's way and in all, only a handful of heartbreaking losses to endure. My boy and I took to tagging one another in various football related posts and of course the will-he-won't-he discussions regarding the re-signing of Dustin Martin was a conversation which dominated our household for some time. My maternal instinct was strong and I was confident he would stay, having observed his incredible journey of personal growth at a club which clearly provided him with a support structure significantly more important to this young man than simply the provision of his salary. 

Frequently the subject of ridicule, I regularly referred to the extraordinary camaraderie amongst the Richmond players as being one of the keys to their success. I have worked in many environments throughout my career and have not once been a part of a high performing team which did not also include a very special personal connection between its members. Of course I felt vindicated when the coach professed to his players that they were the love of his life. I am willing to bet Mrs Hardwick had something to say about that particular revelation!  

But back to number 4. Whilst I realise some people are prone to judging Dustin Martin based on his haircuts and neck tattoos, I see a young man who inspires young players to behave admirably on-field. A young man who regularly gives his all and accepts questionable umpiring decisions with a grace that is beyond his years. I could not care if his entire body was just one big tattoo - I'll take him as a role model for my boys any day. Let's face it, we all loved Matthew Richardson (and still do - who's heart didn't melt when he came up on the big screen in tears?) but inbetween acts of football greatness, his behaviour towards the game's officials, and occasionally his teammates, left us wincing with discomfort. The current young side at Richmond show none of that, even in the face of humiliation (read: St Kilda trouncing, Round 16). I couldn't be more proud watching them than if they were my own boys.  

After an immensely satisfying home and away season, we were lucky enough to score tickets to both the qualifying and the preliminary final. Sadly, I accidentally booked a catering gig for September 23rd (what was I thinking?) and so the night of the prelim saw me at a stove, on a boat, stirring risotto and watching the game on my iPad. If I couldn't be at the game, I was going to keep track of progress one way or another! 

Of course being the boss I didn't have anybody to tell me that watching the football as I worked in an open kitchen was not the most professional of looks but I was confident that Melbournites would understand. Given the number of times I heard the young guests singing the Richmond theme song throughout the night, I would say my assumption was correct. My husband tells me that multi-tasking is simply a way of doing two or more things simultaneously and at a sub-standard level. My perfectly finished mushroom risotto said otherwise, so I am calling that myth well and truly busted.

Since the final siren sounded on the last day of September (well actually, since some time late in the third quarter), my husband has been more at peace with himself than he has been in the twenty three years I have known him and my teenage boys can finally wear their AFL colours with pride. I will never forget a teary seven year old looking up at us and asking why he had to follow Richmond. We told him that being loyal to your chosen team, no matter how badly they were performing, was important and that their time would come. Of course we had our fingers crossed behind our backs as we said this, desperately hoping that we were speaking the truth.

But, given this is actually a cooking and not a football blog, I digress.  

It was a weekend of much jubilation and we felt a celebratory cake was in order. My very favourite cake is a black forest and so plans were made to put one together. I scanned 'The Cook's Companion' for a recipe and, once I realised these crepes existed, laziness kicked in and a new plan was hatched. 

Frustratingly, I made a mess of the first two. Proving the value of this blog, I took a look at what I had written when I first made crêpes and realised I needed to reduce the heat. Of course it makes sense that crepes require a much gentler heat than our regularly thrown together pikelets, the more robust member of the flat cake family.  

Only two of us are cherry fans and so the filling amount was duly quartered. I eagerly anticipated the result, only to take a bite and realise that the chocolate filling was a bit too rich for my taste. I am assuming my body is trying to give me the message that more fat is not required since I have added so many layers of it to my midriff over the last couple of months. No matter, the other cherry lover was in heaven and at the end of the day, we still have the premiership. 

Go Tiges x

*Apologies to my non-football readers x 

My first (and only) football jumper, complete
 with Nick Daffy signature, circa 1995