Kitchen Therapy

Monthly Archives: December 2011


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2012 – Resolutions and Peach Jelly and Vanilla Panna Cotta

I am a sucker for New Beginnings.
A Fresh Start.
Hope and Possibilities.

To me, a New Year is like buying a new Journal.
The pages are crisp, clean and waiting to be written on.
I get butterflies in my stomach in anticipation.

I love setting New Year Resolutions.
(I forget most of them by mid January).
But my goodness I love setting them!

So with New Year’s Eve approaching, I was not going to let my favourite time of year slip by me in a blur of busy-ness!

I have been wanting to do the Bondi to Bronte walk for a few weeks now.
So I convinced my husband and kids a 7 km, cliff walk, was exactly what we all needed!
The cliffs, the ocean, the crashing waves, it all feels so… cleansing!
But at the same time it’s Bondi beach.
It’s fun and exciting and a place where anything can happen!

So as we walked from Bondi beach…

Past the Bondi Icebergs…

And made our way to Bronte…

Where we stopped and had lunch…

I FELT the frustrations, the regrets and the limitations I had wittingly and unwittingly imposed on myself and exposed myself to.
The hurts, humiliations and embarrassments.
The worries that kept me up at night.
The people that let me down (again and again) as I turned a blind eye.
And those that were always there and I shamefully took for granted.
I didn’t run away.
I wanted to!
But that’s not what today was about!
Today was about new beginnings and making resolutions.
And I couldn’t get to the fun part until I worked through the messy bits.

On the walk back I thought of all the good stuff of 2011.
The achievements, successes, joy and love.
I tried to pinpoint what I was doing around the times that I felt at my best.

I also starting to think about a story I read by an author (no idea who it was). They said one year they set themselves one resolution. To not tell a lie. Sounds simple! But this one little resolution led to the dissolving of friendships and relationships and incredible turmoil. In hindsight, they said they could see it was a necessary step to finding what they’re about in this life.

So rather than making my usual list of resolutions, I too have only picked one resolution for 2012.

To be PRESENT.

Science has now confirmed that our mind can change the brain’s circuitry and change the connections our brains make. We filter input in our own unique way based on the life experiences we have had. As a result we can get into a rut, making the same choices again and again.
Choices that are familiar and comfortable but not necessarily good for us.

Being present means we remain open to ourselves and others.
It means, when stuff comes up for us, we don’t react in our usual ways.
It means sitting with unpleasant feelings, like uncertainty and vulnerability, without reacting.
And when the need to run, fight, please, or plead subsides, we have clarity.
We are open to the present moment without judgement.
We are open to all the possibilities of life.

And what could be more exciting than that?

A clean slate to write on for 2012.

We came home and made this Peach Jelly and Vanilla Panna Cotta.

I saw this dessert in Issue 6 of the Donna Hay Magazine a few years back.
It looked so festive and elegant I couldn’t resist it.
I have been making it every year since.
It’s become tradition.
We all look forward to it.
As the panna cotta sits on the stove cooling, we stand around, chatting and dipping our spoons into the silky smooth mixture.
We all look forward to it.
For our family this dessert signals the holiday season is here.

PEACH JELLY AND VANILLA PANNA COTTA
(pretty much as it appears in Issue 6 of Donna Hay Magazine) 

Peach Jelly

1 1/2 cups water
1/2 cup sugar
1 vanilla bean, split and scraped
3 peaches, halved and stoned
1 tbsp gelatine
1/3 cup raspberries

Vanilla Panna Cotta

2 tbsp gelatine
1/3 cup warm water
3 3/4 cups single or pouring cream
1 cup icing (confectioner’s) sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract

1. To make the jelly, place the water, sugar and vanilla bean in a saucepan over medium heat and stir until the sugar is dissolved.
Add the peaches and allow to simmer 3-5 minutes or until soft. Remove the peaches, slip off skins and set aside. Place 1/4 cup of the peach liquid in a bowl, sprinkle over the gelatine and set aside for 5 minutes. Add the peach and gelatine mixture to the remaining peach liquid, stir and simmer for 2 minutes or until the gelatine is dissolved. Remove the vanilla bean. Place the peaches cut side up in a well greased loaf tin, sprinkle with the raspberries and pour over the liquid. Refrigerate for 2 hours or until firm.

2. To make the panna cotta, sprinkle the extra gelatine over the extra water and set aside for 5 minutes. Place the cream, icing sugar and vanilla in a saucepan over medium heat and stir until the sugar is dissolved. Add the gelatine mixture and simmer over low heat for 4 minutes or until the gelatine is dissolved. Remove from the heat and allow to cool to room temperature. Pour the panna cotta mixture over the set jelly and refrigerate for 6 hours or overnight. Invert and slice to serve.


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Gingerbread Christmas Cookie Tree

I remember someone telling me that the purpose of meditation was to give us a break from our daily lives. While meditating we are focused on other things, our breath, our body, the present moment. Anything but what has been consuming us and occupying our thoughts. At the end of our meditation time we step back into our lives. But we do so refreshed. We’ve had a break from all our worries, duties and roles. And now we return recharged and the time away has, hopefully, given us a new perspective. A more detached and objective way to see our lives, and with fresh eyes, we can tackle our concerns with new ideas that were hidden from us while we were caught up in the story that was our life! I honestly cannot remember where I picked up this broad definition of meditation, but it’s stuck with me.

That’s what I love about cooking and in particular, baking. My way of being in the world can be very much in my mind and not much happening in the body! My mind can be a hive of activity, sometimes it feels like it’s home to a loud, chaotic, formula 1 race track. You’d never know what’s going in there by watching me, my body goes through the day doing it’s thing and not getting in the mind’s way. Actually it’s learnt to stay out of the mind’s way! And that’s where baking and cooking come into play.

Doing something that is physical and new requires me to focus fully on the activity at hand. My mind tries to gloss over instructions so it can get back to solving the latest drama, but I’ve learnt the more active my mind, the more complex the recipe I need to pick needs to be. I have to concentrate on what I am doing and force myself to take a break from the tapes playing in my head. And when the business and dramas are big, like at Christmas time, doing anything complex is the last thing I want to do! That’s how I new it was time to undertake a challenge. I have been wanting to make a Gingerbread House, but I have been sick with the latest bug the boys brought home and when I saw Gingerbread Christmas Trees I was sold! They looked amazing and somehow not as daunting as the houses, to me.

I made the dough using the recipe below from Gourmet Traveller. I also had five 11-year old boys in the house having a sleepover, friends dropping in and still feeling weak from the bug. The combination wasn’t great. After many hiccups, I took my first batch out of the oven and then dropped them!
At this point my 14-year old decided to step in. My goal was to spend some mother daughter time while the boys were destroying the house. She was reluctant to begin with, but I stepped back fully and other than making the dough and destroying the first batch of stars, she did everything. 

She is also an “in her head” sort of person. 
So it was great to sit back and watch the meditative process of baking in action.
She was in “flow”.
She had purpose and an incredible sense of achievement at the end of it all.
And while she took pics of her creation to post on facebook and tumblr, I took pics of her to post here.

Remember to take a break from the busy-ness of the season, whatever form your ‘meditation’ takes, take time to do it and you will be rewarded with a renewed sense of perspective, love and joy!

MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYONE!

Gingerbread Recipe (as it appears in Gourmet Traveller for their gingerbread house recipe)

700g plain flour
190g each light brown sugar and dark muscovado sugar
1 tbsp baking powder
1 tbsp ground ginger
1 tsp ground cloves
220g cold butter, cubed
180g golden syrup
2 eggs

1. Process half of each of the flour, sugars, baking powder and spices in a food processor to combine well. Add half the butter, process to combine, then add half the golden syrup and 1 egg and process until mixture comes together (3-4 minutes). Turn onto a work surface, knead until mixture comes together, wrap in plastic wrap and repeat with remaining ingredients. Refrigerate to rest for at least 1 hour.

2. Preheat oven to 180 degrees celsius. Roll our each piece of gingerbread on a lightly floured surface to 3mm thick. Cut decorative shapes out and place on trays lined with baking paper and bake in batches until darkened around the edges. About 10 minutes. Cool on trays for 5 minutes then cool on wire racks.

Royal Icing Recipe (as it appears in Gourmet Traveller for their gingerbread house recipe)

2 egg whites
450g pure icing sugar

Whisk egg-whites in a bowl, gradually adding icing sugar to the mixture until it is smooth holds a stiff peak. Leave white or colour what ever shade your desire the spoon into piping bags fitted with desired piping tubes.

To assemble:
Pipe icing onto each star in whatever pattern you fancy and we dabbed icing in the middle of each star to stick the tree together.


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Potato Chip Tortilla

This week’s French Fridays with Dorie recipe was a perfect fit for the week we’ve had!

In Sydney, it is the last week of school for 2011!

It’s a week of school concerts, presentation nights and christmas get togethers at friend’s houses…

There’s a lot of food, a lot of kids and a LOT of driving everyone around!

It’s not just the end of school for 2011…

And saying goodbye to friends going off to high school…

It is also the end of all the extra curricular lessons & activities for the year.

Music lessons…

Sports…

And oh so many parties!!!

 As everything winds up for the year, things get incredibly hectic!

So, for us, this week’s recipe was perfect!
It was easy and delicious.


And as everyone came and went throughout the day, we snacked on the tortilla wedges!

I am looking forward to reading how the rest of the French Fridays with Dorie group went with this recipe!


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Chard Stuffed Pork Roast with Crispy Golden Crackling

I love bacon.
I adore bacon.
But that’s’ where my interest in pork begins and ends.

The rest of my family have another love in addition to bacon.
Pork Crackling!

Now when you’re a family of 5, negotiations are just a part of life.
I get to stuff the pork loin with Swiss chard and raisins, and they get crackling!
Everyone’s a winner!

I followed Dorie Greenspan’s recipe, from her book ‘Around My French Table’, right up to the last step.
But instead of patting crushed peppercorns and coriander over the pork roast, I substituted Donna Hay’s steps to achieving the perfect crackling! (My husband just read this and wanted me to stress how incredible the crackling was).

*As soon as you get your pork home, remove the wrapping and place the pork on a plate in the fridge until ready to prepare. This makes the skin dry out, which helps create a crunchy surface.
* To make the crackling really crispy, make sure the oven is very hot – preheat for about 20 minutes at 220 celsius.
* Rub salt and oil into the scored pork after tying. Table salt spreads further than sea salt and helps give the crackling its crunch.

I then cooked the pork for 20 minutes at 220 celsius, then reduced it to 200 degrees celsius and cooked it for another 50-55 minutes.

I peeled potatoes and pumpkin, tossed them in a little oil, salt and pepper and added to the baking tray with the pork when I reduced the temperature to 200 degrees celsius.

We all loved this dish.
It was so delicious!
The stuffing flavoured the meat and the vegetables, really lifting and enhancing the flavours.

The cracking was truly out of this world!
I usually can’t get past the fact that I am eating fat.
But oh my goodness!!!
It was divine!

I am really looking forward to the leftovers…

And I cannot wait to see what the rest of the French Fridays with Dorie group came up with!


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Matafan – fluffy mashed potato pancakes


“A cross between pancakes and blini”  is how Dorie Greenspan describes this week’s French Friday’s with Dorie recipe.
She suggested serving them with maple syrup or as an hors d’oeuvre topped with creme fraiche and whatever catches your fancy!
They really are incredibly versatile and can be served at any time of day!
But just as she writes in her book ‘Around My French Table’, they barely made it out of the kitchen.
As I poured each one into the pan, someone was standing by waiting for it to cook and eat!

It’s getting hot here in Australia.
We are spending more and more of our time at parks and beaches…

So these pancakes were a welcome treat!
Light and satisfying enough to eat throughout summer.
You’re only limited by your imagination as to how to serve them!
I stuck to Dorie’s serving suggestions this time, but I can’t wait to see what great ideas the rest of the French Fridays with Dorie group came up with!