Dinner

I've been tring more vegeterain meals recently after watching a documentary called The Game Changers.

Its about pro atheletes reporting higher stamina and energy. With a race on the horizon I thought I'd give it a shot to see if it influences me.

Side of chips or salad depending how indulgent you feel.

I've been tring more vegeterain meals recently after watching a documentary called...

Mushroom Burgers

Locky's Recipes

Quite possibly the most delicious roast potatoes you can make. These cripsy beauties are brown and crunchy on the outside and soft and fluffy on the inside.  So what's the secret? Parboiling the potatoes, coating them in duck fat, and then roasting at a very high temperature :)

Quite possibly the most delicious roast potatoes you can make. These cripsy beauties...

Jonathan Potatoes

I can't remember where I stumbled accross this recipe for meatballs. But it works a charm. Soft fluffy meatballs that can be modified into many dishes. I've meat spaggetti meatballs, morrocan madras curry even transformed them into burger patties.

500g mince (generally I go for beef, but could be lamb or goat)

The ingredient base is too easy! Which makes a great base to get creative with. For Spaggetti meatballs adding parmasan into the mix works a treat!

Get yourself two small mixing bowls and one large. Measure out the breadcrumbs first while the measurer is still dry. Place in a small mixing bowl then measure out the milk and place in the same container. Giving the milk and breadcrumbs time to soak in helps them bind the other ingredients together later.

In the other small mixing bowl crack an egg into it and whisky with a fork... or a whisk.

Now dice an onion put it in the large bowl with the mince. The milk and bread crumbs should have soaked in. Combine all the ingredients together now. With clean hands start smushing. It'll take a few minutes of smushing until its all well combined. If you have kids or other yongsters about this is a great time to get them involved. Getting kids involved in kitchen takes is a great way to get them interested in food and cooking. Plus its a lot of fun getting your hands dirty.

Grab a portion (I go for a heaped tablespoons worth) between the plams of your hands and roll is around to form little sculpted balls. If you're making burger patties make larger portions then flatten out on the bench by pushing down, this will make nice disks.

You can fry these on a grill. Bake them in the over. Or place whole in a sauce to simmer away. They're so well combined they don't break apart even if they're submerged in a deliscious tomatoe sauce or stock.

I can't remember where I stumbled accross this recipe for meatballs. But it works...

Basic Meatballs

I love Aioli. My parents used to make it when we were growing up. Even when I was very small I could not get enough of the strong, garlicy flavour.  It's so simple to make and goes well with... everything. If you like garlic you should definitely try this recipe.

Salt to taste - approximately half a teaspoon.

The traditional way is to use a mortar and pestle to crush your garlic and salt together.  Don't worry if you don't have this, you can use a garlic crusher instead and still get good results.

Start by peeling your garlic. The number of cloves you choose to use will mostly depend on how much kick you want your aioli to have. I personally like to use 3-4 large cloves of garlic, or more if they are smaller. I'm generally aiming for around 3-4 teaspoons of crushed garlic. This will make a strongly flavoured aioli and you may want to use less accordiing to your taste.

Crush the garlic and salt together using the mortar and pestle. You want to get as smooth a paste as possible, so be sure to put your elbow into it.  If you are using a garlic crusher then crush your cloves into a bowl, add salt and mix together.

Take one egg at room tempertature and seperate the yolk from the white as carefully as possible. Add the yolk to your garlic and salt mixture.

Next take a fork or small whisk and combine the egg yolk with the garlic and salt. Keep mixing it until you can see it start to bind. It should look sticky. 

Now add olive oil a few drops at a time and keep mixing. It is important not to lose the sticky texture, the mixture should stay thick. If it suddenly turns runny you've generally faailed and will need to start over, or though there are some rescue actions you can attempt. The key is just adding the oil very slowly and patiently, If you do this and take your time the Aioli should stay bound. 

Keep adding oil and mixing with your fork or whisk until you have a decent amount - I usually aim for a volume about the size of my fist. At this point the aioli should be so think it will hold the shape of a ball while you are mixing it.

When you are happy witht the quantity and solidity cover your aioli and set aside in the fridge for around 30 mins to chill before serving. You can make it ahead of schedule and chill for longer if desired. It can lose its consistency if left for long periods in the fridge though - I like to use it on the same day if possible.

Now serve with whatever you desire - in our family freshly cooked, hot baby potatoes are a favourite. Or carrot and celery sticks. It's delicious with everything! 

I love Aioli. My parents used to make it when we were growing up. Even when I was...

Traditional French Aioli

Condiments

This is so easy! But does need a lot of time on the stove. I cooked mine for 3 hours until a beautiful ruby red colour.

Chop peal and de-seed the quinces. Pop in a pot with the water and sugar. Simmer for hours! About 3. The mixture to begin with will look like stewing apples, but as time goes on they turn a wonderful ruby red colour. This is a sign they're done.

But you have to be attentive, I burnt this batch and nearly ruined my favorite pot. I managed to salvage what was on top.

Interestingly quinces have a lot of tannins in them, which make them horrible to eat as is. But as they're cooked these tannins break down which becomes this ruby red. This is also an indication that the paste is ready.

This is so easy! But does need a lot of time on the stove. I cooked mine for 3 hours...

Quince Paste

Baked Things

I'm not gluten intolerant but I do love this cake. It's a little heavy being denser than flour.  But the syrup makes it nice and moist. The orange flavour develops after a day or two, which personally I prefer.

The trick is to boil the oranges, whole, twice. Cover the oranges with water in a pot, bring them to the boil and simmer for 15min. Rinse and repeat. More cold water and another 15min simmer. Blast them under a cold water tap to stop them cooking and making them easier to handle.

Now roughly chop them and remove any seeds. And blitz them in a food processor. I don't have a food processor so I use a nutribullet type thing. You could use a magic wand, or chop the sh*t out of them, they may end up a little coarse but personally I'd like it.

Whisk the eggs and sugar together. Then add the orange pulp, almond meal and baking powder. Mix gently until just combined. The key to most baking (bread aside) is to not over combine.

While thats cooking you can make the syrup. The scond orange is optional, but I like the bitter orange taste, so I slice the second one up and put it the mix. Plus it makes a great garnish. You need to soften the rind and optional second orange slices. Place in a pot, bring to the boil and simmer for 5 min until soft. Make sure you have the right water quantity at this point and mix in the sugar and stir until disolved. The more water the mositer the cake. Roughly half a cup suits me. Set the mixture aside to cool while the cake bakes, then spoon over the cooked cake.

I'm not gluten intolerant but I do love this cake. It's a little heavy being denser...

Orange Almond Meal Cake

Beverages

I had to join the Kombucha band waggon. Mostly because I love a beverage and having Kombucha in the fridge saves me reaching for the beers. Also, I just enjoy brewing. Having dappled with beer brewing Kombucha is a breeze. And you get the reward within a week or two.

I say a week or two because technically it's ready after a week. But you can do a second fermentation in a bottle. This carbonates the brew, by sealing off the air it keeps any gas that would otherwise escape locked in the bottle. It also gives you a chance to flavour it. In the photos below I tried Mandarin.

It would be best if you had a glass vessel to brew in. I'd avoid plastic. Glass is easy to clean too. There is no need to get clinically sterile with it. Just a good wash in hot soapy water and you're good to go.

Also, you need to get a scoby either off of a friend that brews or online. I picked mine up for AUD 10 which was delivered to me.

This recipe makes 3 litres, I use a 4-litre glass jar to brew it in.

I add the sugar and tea bags in a mixing bowl with 500ml of boiling water. The first time I boiled all the water then I had to wait hours for it to cool down. You can use warm water but boiling water kills the scoby and starter kombucha. After the tea has steeped for 10 minutes, when it's looking lovely and tea-like you can add the 2.7 litres which cools. Next, add the starter kombucha and the scoby. I cover the jar with the lid but don't seal it! The gas needs to escape. Then put the vessel in a dark place. I use the pantry. The length of time you leave it to brew will vary depending on the condition it's brewed in and how acidic you like it. Other recipes I looked up suggested 5 to 7 days. For me in Melbourne and currently winter I've been leaving mine for about 12 days. Just taste it and you'll figure it out. The sugar is supposed to be eaten up by the microbes. So a good test is to taste it, if it's not sweet it's ready. If it's your first brew, try tasting it after 5 days, if it's too sweaty leave it longer.

Once it's good you can bottle it and flavour it. Bottling and flavouring deserve their own write-up.

I had to join the Kombucha band waggon. Mostly because I love a beverage and having...

Basic Kombucha Brew

This was the first time I've made scones and I was pleasantly supprised how easy they were to make. 

Combine the dry ingredients, sifting the flour if nessasary. Gather the wet ingredients together then combine with the dry. The trick is to not over work it, don't knead the mixture, just stir until combined.

This was the first time I've made scones and I was pleasantly supprised how easy...

Total: 38