Sprouting Adzuki Beans

Adzuki Sprouts go really well with Choy Sum.  They are very similar to mung bean sprouts. Though they are a slightly larger seed and take a day or two longer to sprout.

No seed planting today. The beds needed a bit more work and a large pot had blown over and broken. The plant was the money tree that had originally been in the tiny pot. The plant was fine not damaged at all and I had a large pot spare.  So a bit of tlc and  you would never know the plant been in a disaster. I have moved it into a place out of the wind.

But the beds are ready now so lets hope tomorrow we get some seeds planted.

Poached eggs and a large fresh salad for lunch, dinner however was delicious my friend Ann Jenson’s lentil soup. Check out the new recipe.

Happy gardening RosieG

Growing, Growing, Growing and Making Mayonaise.

Carrots and Homemade Mayonaise

Everything is growing. When I got back from Sydney the beetroot are coming up, five of the English Spinach are showing. The radish, the Mizuna lettuce, the silverbeet all flourishing. We didn’t buy lettuce this week there is enough in the garden and the lettuce we pick fresh daily has taste and flavour.

Silverbeet is my alltime favourite leafy green,  tonight I sauteed an onion a couple of cloves of garlic, the silverbeet and a handful of blackeyed peas. With a couple of eggs dropped in. Lovely and very healthy.

Making Mayonnaise,

Beat egg yolk with a little mustard. Add oil very very slowly.  My recipe was one egg yolk and 500 mls of oil. The first batch I made separated, the way to recover the mayonnaise is to simply re-do it using another egg yolk.  Beat an egg yolk  and add the separated oil.  Same problem too quick, it separated.  I am determined to work this out.  Another egg yolk, this time I added the separated oil teaspoon by teaspoon. It worked perfectly I added a good squeeze of a nice juicy lemon and a clove of crushed garlic made it into an aioli.

The secret is slowly slowly slowly add the oil. The finished mayonnaise was thick creamy and tasty.

Beetroot leaf and Chickpea salad.

The great thing about Beetroot is whilst you are growing beetroot underground, you are getting leaves above ground.  Beetroot leaves taste like beetroot just lighter.  Delicious in a salad with sprouted chick peas, purple onion and apple cider vinegar dressing.

The Chickpeas are protein and carbohydrate very good for the women planning to run 10k tomorrow morning.

Raw Hummus bi Tahini

Fourteen Days of Green and Leafy,  what a challenge, the first thing I realized was that I needed to plant more seedlings and seeds. The second thing was that I needed more. What to do?  Sprouts have been the answer, so quick, so easy to grow, and so fresh.

Hummus is one of my favourite dips, I usually use cooked chick peas but you can also use sprouted chick peas.  Sprouting the chick pea makes it as edible as cooking it, it’s taste is similar but lighter and fresher.

3 cups of Chick Pea Sprouts into the blender. A clove of Garlic and a good pinch of salt. Roughly a 1/3 cup of Lemon Juice and 1/3 cup of Tahini, In raw Hummus I use a couple of tablespoons of virgin olive oil. Traditionally Hummus has a swirl of olive oil on the top, putting it in with everything else adds a sweetness to the dip.

Blend it all till a smooth paste,  taste and adjust flavours.  Serve with chopped carrot sticks, broccoli, any vegetable you like.

Sprinkled a little mustard and cress on the top. Beautiful.

Leafy greens and a Shoulder of Pork cooked for tomorrow.

Picked lots of small leaves. Beetroot leaves, mini silverbeet leaves, a couple of nasturtium leaves, radicchio lettuce, little bit of parsley and my favourite marigold flowers.

We had a lazy Chicken Curry (made with curry powder)  So lots of fenugreek sprouts went into the leafy greens.

Tomorrow is a busy day after work  I am going down to Broadbeach to pick up my running number for Saturday mornings 10k run in the Gold Coast Marathon.  So tonight I am cooking a shoulder of Pork for tomorrow.

Shoulder of Pork is delicious cooked slow.  Right now this meat is incredibly cheap $3.99 a kilo and I will get at least two meals from this 3kg piece.

I always get the butcher to give it more scores.  Pierce the Pork randomly through the top.  Push slivers of Garlic and Rosemary through into the meat. This gives amazing flavour.  Rub the top of the meat with plenty of salt, a  little olive oil and left over bits of Rosemary.

Turn the oven up to full heat.  Put the Pork in and leave it on full heat for fifteen minutes.  Turn the heat down to 170c or 150c in a fan forced oven.  Cook for two hours pour over a cup of apple juice or a cup of white wine.   Cook for a further hour.   If we were cooking and eating this on the same day,  even though shoulder doesn’t normally give crackling cooked this way you will get a beautiful crisp top that if you love crackling you won’t be able to stop eating.

Follow the same procedure for  a leg of Pork to get beautiful crisp crackling. Its the salt and the high beginning heat that bring the crisp crackling and make that lovely Pork fat so edible that you can’t stop eating it.

Pesto

Delicious Pesto.  Basil, garlic, pine nuts, parmesan cheese, and a little olive oil. Because we were eating it with a very rich Osso Bucco I added some lemon juice, Normally I would stir lemon juice, chopped garlic and parsley through the Osso Bucco.  Tonight with the Pesto there is enough flavour so simply added a shot of lemon juice to the Pesto.

The basil plant was getting a bit straggly with tough stalks, so it has been chopped right back and I am planning to plant both seedlings and seeds this weekend.  I have left it in the ground though and hopefully will get a few leaves whilst I wait for the new basil.

All the basil went into the blender with about 60g of pine nuts a couple of cloves of garlic a good squeeze of lemon juice and a splodge of olive oil.

I never measure, just blend it all together and taste.  Add a little more of whatever your tastebuds tell you.  Because David eats dairy free in this house the parmesan is served separately.

Pesto originated in Genoa Italy and is usually prepared in a mortar and pestle or chopped with a mezzaluna knife.  Being a busy mum I whizzed it up in the blender but I will have to give the hands on method a go another day.

Lima Bean Bacon Soup with silverbeet

 

Make a stock from bacon bones.  Cover the bones with cold water, bring to boil and simmer for 2 or 3 hours with an onion and carrot until the stock is well reduced and full of flavour.  Strain the liquid and throw the bones away.

Cover Lima beans with plenty of cold water and soak overnight.

I usually prepare this one or two days before I want the soup.  It only takes a few minutes to get ready and then cooks away while you do other things.

When you are ready to make the soup.  Slice a couple of onions and saute them till transparent.  Add a couple of peeled and chopped potato,  you can add 2 or 3 chopped rashers of bacon if you wish. Sprinkle over plenty of cracked pepper and cook this together until the potato has picked up lots of flavour from the onion. Add 2 or 3 carrots the rest of the stock and the Lima beans.  It is best to take the skins off the Lima Beans.

Pour the stock over and cook gently until the beans and vegetables are cooked about 30 or 40 minutes.

Stir through chopped silver beet and serve.

Very healthy and delicious meal that all up only took around 20 to 30 minutes to make.

Yorkshire Picnic Pie, Fenugreek Salad

Yorkshire Picnic Pie, Fenugreek seed salad

Yorkshire Picnic Pie

Picnic Pie

Ham and Egg Pie

We had a lovely day at Queensland Raceway. We picnicked on the hill whilst watching the old cars race round and round.

Yorkshire Picnic Pie is  a simple and tasty pie which can be eaten hot or cold.  Line a deep dish with Pastry, Layer whole eggs and leg ham and top with a circle of pastry. Bake until nicely browned, it takes a while to bake because it is so dense.  You will use at least a dozen eggs, this one had seventeen eggs. But it will make two meals.  It is so simple yet delicious. For the best flavour use ham off the leg and organic eggs.

It only needs a light salad today we used the last fenugreek sprouts and a bit of onion and tomato, to make a substantial lunch.

Fenugreek sprouts salad

Fenugreek sprouts, marigold flowers, fresh curly parsley, and purple onion. Sprinkled with ground coriander seeds. Everything out of the garden except for the onion.

Fenugreek sprouts are so easy to grow. Put a couple of tablespoons of sprouting fenugreek seeds in a jar, leave plenty of room for them to grow. Cover with warm water, not from the tap. Cover jar with a small piece of cloth. Next day pour off the water, rinse with fresh clean water.

Rinse and drain the sprouts twice a day. Place them in a warm airy spot but not in direct sunlight.

I started these Sunday evening and they were ready to eat Thursday 4 days later. Fenugreek has a spicy Indian Curry taste.

Fenugreek is also reported to have many health benefits. It is known to be a lymphatic cleaner. The lymph glands are the cleaners of the body. It runs alongside the blood getting rid of all the waste.

Sprouts are one of the best healthy raw foods.

Silverbeet and basil

Cooked Garlic in Olive Oil, then stirred through silverbeet, basil and a sprinkle of chilli. Served this with a gravy beef cooked forever till it falls apart.

I love winter slowcooked meat. The best way to start it is to brown the meat really well, This is what gives that delicious richness. Then add lots of onion to make nice thick gravy. 2kg of meat, 1 litre beef stock a couple of onions. Cook for around three hours in a slow oven with a lid on. There is enough meat for two meals. When you get home home from work just heat it up, cook Gnocchi and add the leafy greens. And like all the best recipes for working mothers it will make another meal. Just watch this space.