Did you say 'mock' chicken?

There is not much call for 'mock' anything these days. But this is a recipe I could not do without. My Nana made this whenever there was a party or family gathering - always served with jatz crackers.
Often when we came to stay on the weekends at her farm, there would be a jar of it in the fridge. I loved it best spread on my toast for breakfast. I still do.

When my Nana died, their was no discussion: along with cakes and finger sandwiches, there would be bowls of mock chicken and jatz at her wake.

Nobody ate it. They didn't understand. As the crowds dwindled in the late afternoon, our immediate family sat at a long table with six bowls of mock chicken and jatz all to ourselves.

I've been making it a bit lately. When I am cooking it, the smells in my own kitchen transport me back to her tiny, cottage kitchen.

It is like she is very close by.

Mock Chicken

makes 1 cup

• 1 tablespoon butter
• 1 cup tomatoes (diced)
• 1 onion (diced)
• 3 slices bacon (diced)
• 3 eggs (lightly beaten)
• salt and pepper
• 1 tablespoons cheddar cheese (grated)

Heat the butter in a large frying pan and gently sauté the tomatoes, onion and bacon. When cooked, add the eggs, stirring constantly until they are cooked. Season to taste and stir in the cheese, until melted.

Either serve immediately on hot toast or keep in the fridge as a dip.

There's something fishy around here

I found some small, forgotten fish at the back of my freezer. I couldn't remember how long it had been since my husband had caught them, so I decided to use them to make stock. It turned out that the flavour of the fish was fine and I used the cooked flesh to make fish cakes for dinner.

We don't like wasted food around this house.

Fish Stock

makes approximately 2 litres

• 2 kilo. fish bones, heads or carcasses (well washed and gills removed)
• 2 onions (roughly chopped)
• 2 leeks (roughly chopped)
• 2 carrots (roughly chopped)
• 2 stalks celery (roughly chopped)
• 4 bay leaves
• 4 stalks parsley
• 4 stalks thyme
• 10 black peppercorns
• 750 ml white wine
• 2 litres water

Put all of the ingredients into a large stockpot and slowly bring to the boil. Reduce the heat and simmer for 20 minutes. Skim the surface while the stock is simmering if necessary. Strain. This can be refrigerated for 1 day or frozen for 2 months.



This fish cake recipe has been adapted from a Dutch Jewish recipe (viskoekjes) The original recipe had used twice as much fish, but I did not have that much at hand. The original recipe had rolled the fish patties in matzah meal, but again I only had fresh breadcrumbs in the house.

We loved them just as I have written here. In fact my daughter talked about them for days. The flavour reminded me of the fish cakes that my Nana used to make, so I have taken liberty to call them Nana's Fish Cakes.

Nana's Fish Cakes

serves 4-6

for the fish cakes

• 1 onion (finely diced)
• 50 grams butter
• 500 grams white fish fillets (cooked and flaked)
• 2 eggs (lightly beaten)
• 600 grams potatoes (boiled and mashed)
• 1 tablespoon parsley
• a pinch nutmeg
• salt and pepper

• fresh breadcrumbs to coat

• oil to shallow fry

• lemon wedges to serve

Melt the butter in a small frying pan and gently saute the onions until soft. Leave to cool. Once cooled, mix all of the ingredients for the fish cakes together, refrigerate for 30 minutes. When you are ready to cook them form the fish mixture into small patties and coat them in the breadcrumbs. Heat oil in a large frying pan and shallow fry the fish cakes for 3-4 minutes on both sides until brown. Drain on kitchen paper and serve immediately with lemon wedges on the side.

Lamb mince and spaghetti

I grew up on spaghetti and mince. My Nana's spaghetti and mince, she always made a big batch of it on the farm when we came to stay for the holidays. We would eat it for dinner and then again for breakfast on toast the next day.

Many years ago I discovered this recipe, I think it might be of Lebanese origin? I can't remember. It too, is comfort food. When I cooked it, I wondered at children on the other side of the world, was this cooked by their grandmothers for them too?

My children love it. It is easy to make and a good alternative to spaghetti bolognese. And just like spaghetti bolognese you can puree some vegetables and hide them in the sauce!





Lamb Spaghetti and Mince

serves 6-8

• 500 grams spaghetti (broken into 10cm pieces)
• 500 grams lamb mince
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 onion (finely diced)
• 1/4 cup pine nuts
• 1/4 teaspoons salt
• 1/4 teaspoons pepper
• 1/4 teaspoons cinnamon
• 1 x 450 gram tinned tomatoes
• 2 tablespoons tomato paste
• 1 cup water
• 3 tablespoons parmesan cheese

Preheat oven to 180 degrees. Grease large (28 x 32 cm) baking dish. Cook the spaghetti until al dente. Meanwhile heat the oil in a large saucepan and sauté the onions until just soft. Add the lamb and brown lightly. Add the pine nuts, salt, pepper and cinnamon and mix well. Add the tomatoes, tomato paste and water. Bring to the boil, then reduce the heat and simmer for 30 minutes. After the 30 minutes, add the spaghetti to the sauce and mix well. Pour into the baking dish and sprinkle with the cheese. Bake in oven for 5 minutes or until the cheese has melted. Serve immediately.

Sweet Strawberry Pancakes

This recipe comes from an unusual source.

It was given to me by a guy I used to work with. I never had much to do with him, he worked in a different department and our lives and interests where very different. I never expected to getting recipes or cooking tips from him.

But one day we found ourselves at the lunch table together. He was telling me about the strawberry pancakes that he had made for his children that weekend. He was so animated when telling me about making these pancakes. The kids stirring the batter and chopping the strawberries, his older son, flipping the pancakes as they bubbled. Thick spongy pancakes to be served with great dollops of sweetened thick cream.

I told him he must give me the recipe and he happily wrote it out on the spot. He was excited to share it.

So I thank you Micheal, wherever you are. I know that you would not mind me spreading the word on 'your' yummy strawberry pancakes.



Strawberry Pancakes 

serves 6  

for the pancakes

• 3 cups self-raising flour
• 3 tablespoons caster sugar
• 4 tablespoons honey
• 2 eggs
• 2 1/4 cups milk
• 1 cup strawberries (diced)  
• butter or oil for frying

to serve

• 300 ml cream (whipped and sweetened with 3 teaspoons caster sugar)
• 250 grams strawberries (quartered)

Preheat oven to 100 degrees. In a large bowl, mix together the flour, sugar honey, eggs and milk to make a smooth batter. Fold the strawberries into the mixture. Heat a non-stick fry pan to medium heat. Add the butter or oil. To make each pancake, spoon a couple of tablespoons into the center of the fry pan and leave to cook until bubbles start to form on the surface of the pancake. When they start to burst, flip the pancake, cook for 1-2 minutes or until golden brown. Continue this process until all of the pancakes are cooked. Keep the cooked pancakes warm on a plate in the oven. Serve with the whipped cream and strawberries.

Homemade Chicken Nuggets

I have been getting lots of kids cookbooks from the library lately. As a result I have been cooking lots of child friendly meals. I have been cooking some of our old favourites and playing around with some new ideas.

My own children are getting older, and I have started to think about cooking for other people's children. There will be more friends who come for lunch or dinner and eventually there will be sleepovers. As my cousins children get older, I can't wait for them to come for a visit over the school holidays.

I want any child to get excited by what goes onto their plate.

Over the last few weeks we have been 'road testing' homemade chicken nuggets. My children have never eaten nuggets that weren't homemade. But usually I cheat. I buy crumbed chicken schnitzels at our local butcher, cut them in strips and call them chicken nuggets.

I have decided to do it properly and have played around with spices and herbs in the mix and tried different types of crumbs. But this is what I have come up with as 'the best' for our family.

I prefered them plainer and made with ingredients that I always have in my fridge or pantry. My husband and I are still debating about the cheddar cheese. He found the nuggets with it, too cheesy, but the children cleared the plate. So I have made the cheddar cheese optional, to suit your tastes. At our house, I will be adding cheddar if I serve the nuggets with tomato sauce and not adding it if I am serving them with yoghurt sauce.

The wedges were just something that happened and stuck. I made them for a quick midweek meal and my daughter could not get enough of them. So now when I mention chicken nuggets, there are always wedges. And a salad.

I have added a favourite yoghurt dipping sauce recipe too. Of course there are so many other sauces to dip your nuggets into. My son likes tomato sauce, but my daughter prefers the yoghurt sauce.
 
Chicken Nuggets

serves 4

• 500 grams chicken breast (about 3 breasts – cut into 3 x 5 cm strips)

for the batter

• 1/3 cup plain flour
• 1/3 cup milk
 • 1 egg (lightly beaten)
• salt and pepper

for the crumb mixture

• 2 1/4 cups cornflake crumbs
• 1/2 cup cheddar cheese (grated) - optional
• 1/2 cup parmesan cheese (grated)

• olive oil

Preheat oven to 200 degrees. Grease a baking tray with olive oil. Mix all of the batter ingredients together and set aside. Combine all of the crumb ingredients and set aside. Dip the chicken into the batter and then the crumb mixture. Lay onto the greased tray and drizzle with olive oil. Bake for 10 minutes.

Garlic and Herb Wedges

serves 4

• 1 kilogram new potatoes (washed and cut lengthways into 6 wedges)
• 3 - 4 garlic cloves (smashed and roughly chopped into 3-4 pieces)
• 2 - 3 tablespoons fresh herbs - rosemary and thyme (roughly chopped)
• olive oil
• salt and pepper

Preheat oven to 200 degrees. Mixed all of the ingredients well in a large baking dish, making sure the potatoes are well coated with oil. Bake for 45 - 60 minutes .

I usually toss the potatoes gently with an egg flip a few times during baking to ensure that the wedges are browning all over.

Lemon Yogurt Sauce

• 3/4 cup natural yoghurt
• 2 tablespoons lemon juice
• 1 teaspoon lemon zest

Mix all of the ingredients and serve. Make this the day before if you can to let the flavours develop.

Collected and shared

I picked up this book at the library last week. The author has collected recipes from friends and family from around the world and put into this cute little book - hence the name.

We have already cooked:

• hardly baked 'kladdkaka', a small Swedish chocolate cake made by Johanna

• cabbage stew, like lasagne with cabbage, a family recipe handed down to Hege's from her father

• leek pie, a recipe Meri knows by heart
• chicken, pomegrante and walnut casserole, Noorshin's traditional Persian recipe

I absolutely love food with a story, with a history. To me, that is true comfort food. Cook food with love. Share food with love.

I really like Kristin's (the author) recipe swap idea. The perfect dinner party. Everyone who comes along brings one of their favourite dishes to share and the recipe for everyone to take home with them.

On a similar theme, I was reading about a jam/preserve making parties recently. In not one, but two different publications. I started thinking back to when I lived in Brisbane years ago. A friend and I would buy a huge box of strawberries, mid season and get together to make luscious strawberry jam. We did this a few years running. I remember us in our old kitchen, the many windows flung open to the warm breezes and scent of jasmine that climbed the fence below.

And that smell of strawberry jam!

I didn't realise until now, how important those days were.....

Anyone for jam making?

Flea market finds...

Thanks to my Mum, these couple of goodies turned up at my house this week. The bread maker was $5:00 and the separate bread machine book found at another garage sale was $1:00.

So if it works, and it should, we will be eating freshly baked bread around here very soon.

Yummy.

Go here, to see what other treasures have been found this week