The Kitchen Playground

It’s school holidays here at the moment. Glorious school holidays. Today, the Ankle Biters had some friends over and I got to enjoy the adult company of their respective mothers. One of the mums has coeliac disease so I took the easy way and made soup for the grown up lunch. The tricky part was that I missed the farmers market last Saturday and I have been determined to make do until the next market, which is tomorrow. So supplies were somewhat limited. We were all pleased with the results of my rummaging through freezer, fridge and garden.

I made this in the thermomix, it could be made conventionally by cooking on the stove top with a final puree at the end in either a food processor or with a stick blender. I used silverbeet that I blanched and froze last summer. Fresh would work just as well as would fresh or frozen spinach.

Silverbeet and Lime Soup
1 large onion, peeled and quartered (or finely chopped if not using thermomix)
large dob butter
500g silverbeet (or spinach)
2 tablespoons vegetable concentrate (or 2 stock cubes)
2 small potatoes, peeled and cubed
1 litre water
juice 1 lime
1/2 cup sour cream

1. Place onion in thermomix and chop for 5 - 10 seconds on speed 8. Scrape down sides of bowl
2. Add butter and saute for 4 minutes on speed 1
3. Add silverbeet, stock, potatoes and water. Cook for 20 minutes at 100 degrees on speed 3
4. Add lime juice and sour cream. Blend for about 10 seconds on speed 8 (or until desired consistency is reached)

Later, over a nice cuppa, we ate lemon tea cake. Which was ridiculously quick and easy to whip up, particularly in the thermomix. And a lovely day was had by all!

Tags: lemon tea cake, silverbeet, Soup, thermomix, Vegetarian

The Bread Winner is a dessert lover. Which is unfortunate for him because I am not much of a dessert maker. Not something I grew up with so not something that often occurs to me to make. On the bright side, he does love a crumble and they are super quick and easy to make.

I have a basic formula and I vary it according to what I have in the house. It goes like this.

1. Grease a baking dish
2. Put fruit on the bottom
3. Top with crumble mixture (1/2 cup plain flour, 1/2 cup oats, 1/2 cup muscovado; rub flour and butter together to breadcrumb consistency and mix oats through)
4. Bake in a moderate oven for about half an hour

I usually combine the flour and (chilled) butter in the thermomix on roughly speed 6.

What could be easier?

This weeks variation used chestnut flour because I’m trying to use it up and a mix of home grown and bottled peaches, home grown rhubarb and farmers market strawberries. The verdict was delicious, with a side serving of bugger we’ve run out of cream.

Tags: Dessert, fruit crumble, thermomix

A while back I compiled a document full of slow cooker recipes from a variety of sources. Unfortunately, I didn’t note the original sources. Which was not very bright of me. I think they largely came from cooking forums. Tonight’s meal was an adaptation of one of those recipes and it is absolutely superb. We will definitely be having this one again. I prepared this yesterday and left it in the fridge overnight.

Slow Cooker Chicken Tikka Masala
1 tsp garam masala
2 tsp coriander
1/2 tsp chili powder
2 tablespoons tandoori spice
1 chicken, jointed
1 tsp rice bran oil
1/8 cup butter, melted
2 cm piece ginger
4 cloves garlic
1 onion
1/2 cup raw cashew nuts
3/4 cup vegetable or chicken stock
140g tomato paste
3/4 cup yogurt
1/4 cup cream
seasoning
1. Dry roast spice until aromatic in thermomix (2 minutes, 100 degrees, speed 1), or in a frypan. Remove from heat and set aside.
2. Place onion, ginger and garlic to thermomix or food processor and grind to a paste (approx 30 seconds on speed 6 in thermomix).
3. Heat oil in a fry pan and sear chicken on both sides. Place in the slow cooker.
4. Add butter, the toasted spice, cashews, onion paste, stock, tomato paste, yoghurt and cream. Stir to combine.
5. Cook for 6 - 8 hours on low. Serve on rice.

I also whipped up a chocolate ganache filled brioche from Artisan Bread in Five Minutes. I’m going to have to work very hard at gym this week.

Tags: brioche, chicken tikka masala, crock pot, slow cooker

My freezer is 25 years old and it still has its original seals. Which need replacing. Badly. So my current hobby is cramming as much of it’s contents into the freezer above the fridge as possible in order to empty the big freezer and have the seals replaced. Yesterday I puled out a free range pork fillet which brought to mind a pork tenderloin recipe I saw recently.

A fillet really isn’t fat enough to stuff so instead, I drizzled some olive oil in baking dish and spread some blanched silverbeet (chard) mixed with chopped tomatoes, both fresh and dried. I scattered about 6 small, peeled garlic cloves amongst all that. The pork fillet sat on top and had another drizzle of olive oil and plenty of seasoning.

Whilst the meat and side dish of scalloped potatoes cooked, I made a simple mushroom sauce using butter, sliced mushrooms and some glace de viand with tapioca starch to thicken slightly. After about half an hour at 180 degrees, the pork was perfectly cooked. Juicy and moist.

Tags: Pork

Risotto is so quick and easy in the thermomix that it has become my fall back meal when all other plans disintegrate around my ears. Or when I’m feeling extremely lazy. This little beastie was inspired by a poorly stocked fridge, a late afternoon arrival home from a weekend away and the flavours of colconnon. Well my version anyway which incorporates bacon.

Cabbage and Prosciutto Risotto
45g parmesan, cubed
60g butter, cubed
1 onion, quartered
3 garlic cloves, peeled
1/8 cabbage
950ml vegetable stock
100ml white wine
300g arborio rice
1 dollop cream
8 slices prosciutto, fried until crisp
8 leaves sage, lightly fried
seasoning

1. Place parmesan in thermomix and grate for about 7 seconds on speed 7. Remove and set aside.
2. Place butter ( minus one cube), onion and garlic in thermomix. Chop for 5 seconds on speed 7. Cook for 2 minutes at 100 degrees on reverse speed
3. Add the rice and cook for 2 minutes at 100 degrees on reverse speed 1.
4. Add wine and cook for 2 minutes at 100 degrees on reverse speed 1.
5. Addd stock and cabbage and cook for 15 minutes at 100 degrees on reverse speed 1.
6. Stir in half the parmesan, dollop of cream and remaining butter. Season to taste.
7. Serve and top with prosciutto and sage leaves.

In an otherwise low news week here at chez KP, First Born made a beef and veg stir fry this week. Slicing the rump steak defeated him and he is struggling to master his knife skills but remains undaunted.

Tags: Risotto, thermomix

Poor old First Born has one of the myriad of lurgies floating around Melbourne and took today off school. He still felt up to his regular cooking night and decided to use the extra time wisely. He made two courses.

First on the menu was chicken noodle soup. In true Kitchen Playground fashion, I’m teaching him a scanty diregard for both prepackaged goods and the strict following of recipes. There was no chicken stock left in the freezer and I didn’t want to buy pre-made stuff so First Born made his first stock. Albeit a very basic one. He put a whole chicken in the slow cooker with a couple of tablespoons of my vegetable stock concentrate. He covered the whole lot with water and turned it on to high. Then we ignored it for a few hours.

I removed the kernels from three corn cobs, the knife work involved is a little beyond the five year old level. First Born roughly chopped a bunch of kale and then pureed it in the thermomix. I took the chook outof the slow cooker, removed the skin and bones and First Born shredded the meat with a coupe of forks. Then he added the kale, corn and chicken to the stock. For a final touch he chose rice noodles rather than the usual chicken noodle soup noodle. The slow cooker was a great way to introduce him to soup making as he didn’t have to worry about frequent stirring. After about half an hour we ate and it was fabulous. He’s turning into a jolly good cook that boy of mine. Best of all, he loves it.

He’s even learning to keep the shopping list up to date when he uses the last of something.

Lil Miss was allowed to help the young Master Chef with dessert. We amalgamated a couple of recipes and the result was moist and delicious. So delicious that even after a generous portion for dessert, a certain Lil Miss crept out of bed, into the kitchen and gobbled her way through a goodly portion before she was discovered.

Banana Yoghurt Crumble Cake
125g butter
120g muscovado
2 eggs
2 very ripe bananas, mashed
200g vanilla yoghurt
200g plain flour
1 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
60g butter
1/3 cup flour
2 tablespoons muscovado

1. Preheat oven to 180°C. Grease a 22cm springform pan with melted butter and line with non-stick baking paper. Or be lazy and use a round silicon cake tin.
2. Beat butter and margarine in thermomix or with beaters until pale and creamy. Add eggs and beat well. Add bananas and yoghurt and combine. Add flour and baking powder and mix until combined. Don’t overmix.
3. Combine extra butter, flour and muscovado until it resembles breadcrumbs and scatter over cake.
4. Spoon mixture into prepared pan and bake in preheated oven for 50 - 60 minutes or until a skewer inserted into the centre of the cake comes out clean. Remove from oven. Stand for 5-10 minutes then remove cake from pan and place it on a wire rack to cool.

Tags: banana yoghurt cake, chicken noodle soup, crumble, kids cooking, slow cooker

Poor old First Born is a bit under the weather but we still had slow cooker night even without swimming. He just has a cold but I’m worried that his hearing may be affected. After all he did tell me that at assembly the Principal announced ‘come to school naked’ day. It wasn’t mentioned in the newsletter so I’ll just assume he misheard.

Black Bean Chilli Con Carne
1/2 cup black beans soaked overnight and drained
500g mince meat (that’s ground beef)
2 tsp chili powder
2 tsp ground cumin
3/4 tsp salt
1 small onion, chopped
3 clove garlic, minced
1 can diced tomatoes
1 cup salsa
Toppings: sour cream, mached avocado, grated cheese, salsa and corn chips.

1. Place all ingredients in slow cooker, combine well and cook on low for 8 - 10 hours.
2. Ladle into bowls; serve with desired toppings.

Tags: black beans, budget meals, chilli, crock pot, Quick and easy, slow cooker

So much for swine flu, there’s a head cold doing the rounds of Melbourne which is intensely irritating. It’s swept though chez KP leaving a trail of snot and grumpiness behind it. I decided to chase it away tonight with a very vegetable soup. I made it in the thermomix but it could easily be made on stove top with a stick blender or food processor to puree.

I know that the theory with the thermomix is that it doesn’t need to be any bigger because it’s so quick. I don’t care. I want it twice the size. So I’m always challenging its capacity. This recipe took it right to the brim. It’s possibly a minor miracle that I didn’t spill a drop.

Potato, leek, cauliflower and broccoli soup with blue cheese.
1 leek
1 large (or 2 small) potatoes
800ml water
1 large (or 2 small) head broccoli
1/2 head cauliflower
3 tablespoons stock concentrate
3 tablespoons flour
200g blue cheese
400ml milk

1. Peel and roughly chop potato and leek. Place in thermomix with water.
2. Cook for 10 minutes at 100 degrees on speed 1
3. Add 1/2 the broccoli and cauliflower, roughly chopped. Puree for 10 seconds on speed. Add the remaining broccoli and cauliflower and puree for another 10 seconds on speed 6.
4. Add stock concentrate and cook for 5 minutes at 100 degrees on speed 1.
5. Add flour, milk and crumbled cheese. Cook for a further 5 minutes at 100 degrees on speed 3.
6. Puree for another 10 seconds on speed 7 or longer until desired consistency is reached.

With a freshly baked loaf of bran enriched bread, this made wonderful dinner for a convalescing household. Until, in an unrelated incident, Lil Miss through hers at her brother. That’s just the joy of three year olds. Who said it was the twos that are terrible anyway?

Tags: broccoli, cauliflower, Soup, thermomix, Vegetarian

The preparation for this dish is reasonably time consuming with all the chopping and browning but it is well worth it. Particularly as it makes a truly mammoth amount of soup. We get up to five family meals from one batch. Ideally, I would do this in my mammoth stock pot but as I’m lazy about stirring, I generally use my 6.5l slow cooker and curse myself at wash up time as it overflows and is a right bugger to clean.

Ordinarily I am neglectful when it comes to browning things before I throw them in the slow cooker but I think for this dish, it is well worth the extra effort. Getting that colour into the meat and vegetables really does impart a wonderful flavour to the finished soup.

I used the pan I had used for the breakfast bacon for this batch so the meat and veg were browned in a combination of olive oil and bacon fat which worked wonders on the meat. I used diced lamb chops instead of shanks as I got 12 for them for a song. I think shanks give a better end result though.I also whipped up some pita bread and served it on the side, straight from the oven. A perfect accompaniment.
Lamb Shank Soup with Pearl Barley and Lentils
1/2 cup virgin olive oil
4 lamb shanks, cut into 3 cm pieces
salt and black pepper
3 brown onions, sliced
6 garlic cloves chopped
2 leeks trimmed, chopped
1/2 celery, chopped
4 carrots chopped
2 tsp ground cumin
2 tsp ground cinnamon
2 tsp black pepper
1-2 tspn caraway seeds
2 tsp ground coriander
1 pinch saffron threads
2.5 litres water (or as much as your can fit in your pot up to that amount)
1 x 400 g can chopped tomatoes
2 tablespoons stock concentrate
3/4 cup pear barley
1/2 cup red lentils
1/2 cup dried haricot beans, soaked overnight
1/2 cup dried chickpeas , soaked overnight
1 cup frozen peas
1 handful chopped mint, coriander + parsley (whatever you like, just one, or all three)
plain greek style yogurt to serve
juice of 2 lemons to serve

1. Using some of the oil, brown the lamb shanks, remove, place in slow cooker turned to high and season with salt and pepper
2. Heat remaining oil, add onion, garlic, vegies, leeks, spices and saffron, cook until slightly reduced and just starting to take on some colour.
3. Add the ingredients above plus tomatoes, stock, beans, chickpeas,  barley, lentils and water to the slow cooker. Cook on high for 4 - 6 hours or on low for 10 – 12 hours.
4. Serve with a dollop of yogurt, a squeeze of lemon juice and fresh herbs.

Recently, First Born staged a large and rather noisy protest that he never gets to choose what we have for dinner and he never gets to make dinner. My boy loves a superlative. So we struck a deal that Wednesday night would be his night for cooking.

We get home from swimming Tuesday nights and while I dish up, he peruses his favourite cookbook and decides what he wants to cook the following night. With minor negotiations depending on the ingredients I have to hand. This week, fried rice was his meal of choice.

Now that he has reached the grand old age of five and a half, we decided that he could have his first experience of using an actual sharp knife and cooking at the stove top. Exciting times at chez KP.

Thanks to the thermomix and his burgeoning literacy, cooking the rice was child’s play. Literally. I sliced the kernels off the corn. He measured out the peas, cut the capsicum, beat the egg. He also added the left over scraps of shredded beef we had put aside from the previous night. I turned the hotplate on and added the oil. I also added the rice to avoid any oil splatters on him. From there, First Born added his ingredients and stirred while I held the handle of the wok steady to avoid any tipping.

The dinner was delicious and First Born nearly imploded with pride. He is taking the leftovers to school for lunch tomorrow, largely so he can tell everyone he cooked it I think.

Tags: fried rice, kids cooking, thermomix