Playdough

So we baked up a batch of this earlier in the week and it went down well. Didn't even get eaten (well, may just a small amount of licking the fingers). Originally we optimistically started out with three colours (red, green and yellow) but it very quickly started to look like this.

The red is a bit psychedelic as I accidentally tipped too much food colouring into the mixture, then had to walk around for the next few days with bright red palms.

Anyway- here's the "recipe" I used (they all seem to be basic variations of the same ingredients):


2 cups plain flour
2 cups warm water
1 cup salt
2 Tablespoons vegetable oil
1 Tablespoon cream of tartar (optional for improved elasticity)
Food colouring




Mix the ingredients (Except for food colouring) in a saucepan and beat to combine. Stir over heat until the mixture thickens. When cool enough to handle, knead on a clean surface until it is smooth and elastic. (If mixture is too sticky just return to the saucepan to cook a bit longer). Divide into balls and add food colouring. Sit back and watch the fun.

Sweetcorn Relish

This is just like the stuff you can buy at the supermarket, only nicer. This makes a delicious dip when combined with cream cheese (I'm sure you've all tasted this at a BBQ when you were younger). Or you can serve it alongside roast beef or a corned silverside (mmmmm, boiled meat).

5 fresh sweetcorn on the cob

2 capsicums (any colour) deseeded and chopped finely

3 celery sticks, chopped

1 onion, finely chopped

2-3 cloves garlic, finely chopped

1-2 red chillies, deseeded and finely chopped (optional)

350g sugar

450mL apple cider vinegar

Sea salt

50g plain flour

1 teaspoon mustard seeds

¾ teaspoon ground turmeric

½ teaspoon celery seeds

Boil the corn cobs in a large pot of water for 4 minutes. Remove the corn cobs and reserve 200mL of the water.

Cut the kernels off the corn cobs. Put the corn and the reserved cooking water in a pot, together with the capsicum, celery, onion, garlic, chilli (if using), vinegar, salt and sugar.

Bring to the boil, and simmer for 10 minutes.

Meanwhile make a runny paste with the flour, spices and approx ¼ cup of water. Add this to the boiling pot (stirring as you add it), then simmer for a further 15minutes. Stir occasionally to prevent the mixture sticking.

Place into sterilised jars and boil the filled jars in a large pot of boiling water for 10 minutes to seal the jars.

Where have all the figs gone?

Jerusalem Artichokes in Flower

Our Jerusalem Artichokes have just come into flower and have added some nice colour to our garden leading into Autumn. It still surprises me how similar they look to daisies when in full bloom and how very different they are to their better known cousins. 

Soon as winter approaches the flowers will wither and the long stalks, which are between 6 to 8 feet tall, will die back to the ground and then the bulbs will be ready to pick. It is growing time now and hopefully the bulbs are getting nice and fat. We usually leave the bulbs in the ground over winter and go and pick them as we need or feel like it. 

I started our crop about 7 years ago from a one small bulb taken from a family friend and we have eaten kilos of them ever since. Just be wary if growing at home, they can be invasive!  

I just love the nutty flavour of the artichoke and while we just love roasting them with our other vegies, i have let the crop grow larger than previous years as i wanted to experiment a little more (maybe a soup). Stay tuned for some recipes over winter. 

Homemade Hot Cross Buns

So these buns take a bit of effort, which can be hard to justify when hot cross buns can be purchased pretty much anywhere for about 60 cents a pop. (And who doesn't love those half-dozen hot cross buns that you buy at the supermarket that stay soft for weeks).

But these buns are worth the effort just for the smell of having them baking throughout the house. Unfortunately they don't stay soft for weeks, so eat them immediately (or freeze them and enjoy them for longer).

160g (1 cup) raisins

115g (3/4 cup) currants

50g mixed fruit peel

Grated zest of 1orange

100ml fresh orange juice

1 tablespoon (15g) dried yeast

60ml (1/4 cup) warm water

185mL (3/4 cup) warm milk

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

125g melted unsalted butter

90g (1/2cup) brown sugar

1 tsp cinnamon

1 tsp ground nutmeg

625g (5 cups) plain flour, sifted

1 teaspoon allspice

3 eggs

1 teaspoon salt

60g (1/2 cup) plain flour (extra)

Glaze:

115g (1/2cup) caster sugar

Soak the raisins (roughly chopped), currants & orange zest in the orange juice overnight.

Combine the yeast, warm water and a pinch of sugar in a bowl. Whisk and set aside for 15 minutes to go frothy (to make sure yeast is active). 

Combine the melted butter, vanilla extract, brown sugar, warm milk, cinnamon and nutmeg in a large bowl (e.g. mixmaster). Combine the sifted flour with the allspice. Stir the yeast mixture and 3 cups of the flour into the milk mixture. Beat to combine. Add the eggs, one at a time then mix in the remaining flour, salt and mixed fruit (including fruit peel).

Beat for 10 minutes using a dough hook, or knead by hand for 5-8 minutes (the mixture will become tacky). Set aside in a well oiled bowl for 1 hour.

Divide the mixture into 12 pieces. Roll each piece into a small ball and place on a well oiled tray. Set aside in a warm spot for another 30 minutes to rise.

To make the cross: mix together the extra 1/2cup of plain flour with 1/2cup of water to make a thick paste. Pipe onto the buns.

Place in a preheated oven (170 degrees) for 35-40 minutes.

To make the glaze, combine the sugar with ½ cup of water in a saucepan and boil until dissolved. 

Brush the buns with the glaze for the last 5 minutes of baking time.

Figs with vanilla ricotta and honey

Our figs are starting to dwindle. We have preserved a heap, eaten a heap and exchanged them for pizzas at our local pizza shop. Our daughter walks to the tree, points to it and says "Um"!

We made this vanilla baked ricotta with the fresh vanilla pods our friend smuggled into Australia from Bali (thanks Gin). It is officially our new favourite way to eat ricotta, and would be great with lots of different fruits (like rhubarb or a compote of Autumn pears, apples and quince). But the figs make it seem more exotic.

750g fresh ricotta
2 cups icing sugar
2 eggs plus 1 egg yolk extra
1 vanilla bean (split)
9 figs
caster sugar
honey

Preheat the oven to 160 degrees and grease and line a medium loaf tin.

Place the ricotta in a bowl with the icing sugar, eggs and scraped out vanilla bean. Beat until combined then pour into the prepared loaf tin.

Place in a roasting dish and fill the dish with enough water to reach halfway up the loaf tin. Bake for 30-40 minutes (until just set).

Remove the tin from the roasting dish and leave to cool completely. When cool, turn the baked ricotta out onto a board, then slice into 1.5cm thick slices.

Cut the figs in half and sprinkle each one with a few pinches of caster sugar. Place under a hot grill and cook until the sugar starts to caramelize.

Serve a slice of baked ricotta topped with the figs and drizzled with honey.

Rosewater and Plum Jam

We are taking advantage of the end of season surplus of fruits and squirreling away for the long cold Melbourne winter. Our plum tree rewarded us with 5 plums this year (they were delicious). So we bought a few kilos at the markets last week and made a batch of this delicious jam (another Greg Malouf recipe).

As a dear friend noted, this tastes just like Turkish Delight Jam. Yum.

2.5kg plums

50mL Rosewater

Sugar

Place the plums in a large heavy based saucepan with a small amount of water and boil for about 10 minutes (until they are soft and mushy).

Strain them overnight through some sort of cloth (like a kitchen chux).

Pour the strained juice into a pan with 500g of sugar for every 600mL of juice. Stir over a low heat until the sugar has dissolved then bring to the boil.

Boil for 20-25 minutes, until the jam reaches setting point  (a spoonful placed onto a cool dish in the fridge will develop a skin).

Remove from the heat and skim the froth from the surface.

Stir in the rosewater then carefully ladle into sterilised jars. Return the jars to a pot of boiling water and boil for ten minutes to seal.