December Food Edition 5 - Macadamia Toffee

This recipe has been copied from a hand written recipe in a friend's collection, so I am unsure of its origin.

225g (1 cup) white sugar
80ml (1/3 cup) water
200g unsalted macadamia nuts*

*I did two batches, one with 200g macadamias, which seemed way too many, next one with about 50g, not enough. I reckon somewhere in between, depending on how nutty you want it.

Combine white sugar and water in a heavy saucepan over low heat. Cook for 5 minutes or until sugar dissolves. Increase heat to high and bring to boil. Cook - without stirring, occasionally brushing sides down for 5-7 minutes until golden. (The colour changes quite rapidly, so keep an eye on it. I burnt the first batch, although it was quite tasty!). Reduce heat to low, add macadamia nuts, and cook for 1-2 minutes stirring until nuts are covered. Pour onto lined tray (baking paper). Allow to set - I just left mine on a chopping board on the bench overnight covered up and it was set nicely. Coarsely chop or snap with your hands.

I served this alongside a chocolate torte with double cream at a family christmas lunch.

My first attempt at toffeeeeeee

Gluten free chocolate torte

The one at the front is the burnt one, with far too many nuts, the one at back much closer to what was intended.

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December Food Edition 4 - Orange and Passionfruit Melting Moments

One of my BFFs has problems digesting gluten, so I had a crack at some gluten free yoyo's / melting moments. Recipe is here: http://gourmettraveller.com.au/orange_and_passionfruit_yoyos.htm from Gourmet Traveller - I replaced the plain flour with plain gluten free flour - buy in any good supermarket.

A nice short biscuit, not too sweet. I wished the orange was a little more prominent, but they were nice. Paler that normal yoyos containing custard powder.

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December Food Edition 3 - Early Christmas Dinner

A few weeks before Christmas we decided to throw a dinner party as a spur of the moment thing, for our wonderful local 'family'. We ate well -  a big roast leg of lamb, spuddies in rosemary, dutch carrots cooked in red wine vinegar, thyme and garlic (smashing!), sweet potato, pumpkin, greens... followed by xmas pudding and brandy custard. There were great plans for yorkshire puds to soak up the yummo sauce, but I got a little distracted by the cider supplied by one of my guests!

Lamb, with rosemary, garlic and anchovies stuffed into those little slots.

They're bloody gorgeous, wish I'd taken a photo when they were cooked.

Nice pair of jugs!

I may get killed for this, but here are the wonderful people that I got to spend my early Christmas dinner with! Love them.

Anyway, happy Christmukkah one and all. Hope you got to eat some smashing food, with some smashing people like I did!

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December Food Edition 2 - Peppermint Chocolate Fudge

My lovely husband sometimes says there are two things in this world that you shouldn't watch being made - laws and sausages... but I think there's a third part to this...

I call this stuff fudge, although... dear foodists, I know its not truly 'fudge', but it feels, looks and eats like fudge, so for today, we're going with that.

Blitz 2 packets of chocolate ripple biscuits in the food processor (or bash up in a bag with a rolling pin if you have no FP). Melt 1 large block of peppermint filled chocolate (I used cadbury peppermint block, see photos) together with 125g unsalted butter. [I used microwave, but a bowl over saucepan of water probably works too!]. Put biscuits, chocolate/butter mix and a can of condensed milk into a large bowl and mix like crazy until combined. It gets pretty sticky. When combined, tip into a slice tray lined with baking paper. Heat up a dessert spoon under hot tap water, shake off then use the back to smooth out the top of the "fudge". Give the tray a bash on the bench for good measure too. Grate a Peppermint Crisp chocolate bar over the fudge, and if you like, drizzle melted white chocolate over too. Pop in the fridge overnight. Cut into small pieces (its quite rich). Trim off the messy edges first if you have high standards - I personally find this a great shame and waste of fudge, so enjoyed eating the trimmed off bits for breakfast!  I gave this away at Christmas and it increased my street cred imensely! Forget the ingredients, and enjoy!

Blitzed chocolate ripple biscuits

Cadbury Dairy Milk Peppermint

Condensed milk, chocolate ripple bickies, melted chocolate and butter. Heaven on a stick...

Yes, I made two batches at once - I call it multitasking, you might call it "Erica doesn't have forearms big enough to stir a double batch all at once, what a wuss".

Before the 'setting'

Set.



The pieces are "small". Trust me.



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December Food Edition 1 - Apricot Jam

My camera cable has been found, and I have finally been able to download hundreds of pictures off the camera, and write in my blog!

I'm thoroughly enjoying being on holidays for a few weeks over Chrissy and new year, and have been making the most of the time off, making copious amounts of jam, fudge and many other sweet treats.

Our stone fruits are in various stages of ripening, and being eaten by hungry birds. The apricots are always first, so my story will start with apricot jam.

Apricot Jam
This is our third summer living here, and hence my third crack at apricot jam making. Previous years I have shared my fruit, but this year there was less (we haven't been able to water much, as the river pump is out of action, and we have only one house tank)... so I kept it all to myself. I did share the finished product around though of course!

I ended up making 3 big batches over 2 days, using Stephanie Alexander's recipe from Cooks Companion. I managed to get it to set (somewhat) without adding any pectin, just the last few lemons off the tree.

Apricot Jam Recipe
1.5kg apricots, firm-ripe rather than soft,
1 cup water
2 tablespoones lemon juice
1.5kg sugar

Wash, halve or quarter the fruit and remove stones (don't throw them away...)
Preheat oven to 160 degrees Celcius.
Put the apricot stones inside a teatowel and crack them open with a meat mallet (probably a nut cracker would do the job, but I don't have room for one in my kitchen!) Extract the kernels and set aside. Discard all the debris, making sure that none of the sharp shell falls into the kernels - they would really hurt to crunch into!

Put water, fruit and lemon juice into non reactive saucepan, bring slowly to boil. Simmer about 20 mins, or longer if you like your jam less chunky. Meanwhile put sugar into oven on a tray and warm it to hand-hot in the oven. (A note here, I find the 160 deg oven is simply too hot to do the job [my hand-hot is a lot less that 160] and a bit of a waste of energy, next time i'll just put the oven on as low as possible and bring it to hand-hot). Suit yourself. Add warmed sugar and reserved kernels to pan, stirring until sugar dissolves, then boil rapidly for about 15 mins or until setting stage. Pop into hot, sterilised jars including the kernels.

Apricot Kernel peeking out from hard shell

Kernels

 




The finished product - notice my special birthday gift in action - HHC labels from my awesome friend Cathy!

I hope you enjoy the recipe, and those of you who received a jar under the Christmas tree on Sunday, please let me know what you think!

Coming up next... Peppermint and Chocolate Fudge...!

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Best Vegetable Recipes of 2011

The best vegetable recipes of 2011 from A Veggie Venture, just one per month, all in one handy spot for easy reference.

It's that time of year, the week when we food bloggers look back over a year's worth of recipes and pick our favorites!

I love-love-love this process! It really helps us hone our recipe collections, highlighting the best of the already very good, especially for sites like A Veggie Venture and my food column Kitchen Parade which by design, already post only really good recipes, the ones that work, the ones that are special or especially useful.

But I also love all the many sources of "best of the year" lists for movies, books, gadgets, etc. So this year, I'm collecting "best of the year" lists on Pinterest. (Food bloggers, be sure to let me know when you post your own best of 2011 list.) Follow me there and you'll see all the new entries over the next couple of weeks. And hey! Follow me on Pinterest and I'd love to follow you, too! Need an invitation? Just send me a quick e-mail via recipes@kitchen-parade.com. All I need to know is which e-mail address you'd like to use for Pinterest.

But okay, here you go, my favorite recipes for 2011. Do we share a favorite? Have I missed one you loved? Let me know in the comments!
Keep Reading ->>>

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Of Favorite Cookies & Cookbooks: A Christmas Special

For cookie bakers, No-Roll Christmas Sugar Cookies aren't to be missed, they're the best chewy and butter sugar cookies you might have ever tasted but without all the fuss and muss of rolling and decorating. I'm making them for my cookie swap next week, the - get this! - 19th annual.

For home cooks, savory and sweet both, the Food52 Cookbook isn't to be missed either, it's one of two favorite new cookbooks in 2011. It's a collection of "best of the best" recipes from home cooks -- I think it's fabulous and am giving away a copy!

Head on over to Kitchen Parade, No-Roll Christmas Sugar Cookies (or click the photo) for the cookie recipe and cookbook giveaway. It's easy to enter to win -- US and Canadian residents for this giveaway, please, through December 14th.

MORE GIVEAWAYS? I've started posting giveaways (mine and other food bloggers') on a special bulletin board on Pinterest. Follow me there for the latest! And it's Christmas -- right now there are a BUNCH of giveaways going on, including for wonderful LeCreuset Dutch ovens and other cooking gear.

WHERE IN HECK ARE THE VEGETABLE RECIPES? So isn't A Veggie Venture the food blog about vegetables? Yep, it is, except in December when our interest in vegetables falls to the wayside in favor of, well, Christmas cookies, holiday parties, picking out just the right gifts, decorating the tree, sitting by the fire with a hot mug of Scandinavian mulled wine (my recipe is fruity, not sweet and by the way, made for a much-lively Scandinavian dinner party weekend before last) or passing along along family traditions like making Swedish Potato Sausage. Here's my promise, made on a stack of sliced beets: Come January, A Veggie Venture will return to its usual programming, all vegetables, all the time.

Can't wait? Here are vegetable recipes I've featured during December in prior years:
Keep Reading ->>>

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Holiday Baking Tips + A Cookbook Giveaway ♥

Hello Vegetable Lovers!

Anyone gearing up for Christmas baking will definitely want to check out Holiday Baking Tips from a Certifiable Cookie-Baking Fiend. That "fiend" would be me: during December, your 'veggie evangelist' is turning into a part-time 'cookie evangelist'.

Plus I'm giving away a copy of Chewy Gooey Crispy Crunchy Melt-in-Your-Mouth Cookies, the award-winning cookie cookbook by Alice Medrich.

Contest open through December 8, 2011 to readers from across the world - hello, Canadian readers! : - ) To enter, click the photo >>>>>>>

Happy Baking!

Keep Reading ->>>

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Healthy Holiday Salad with Broccoli, Cauliflower & Dried Cranberries ♥ Recipe

A "healthy holiday makeover" of that broccoli salad we all know and love, you know the one from church potlucks, right? the broccoli salad with bacon and raisins and cheddar cheese? My recipe uses tiny florets of fresh broccoli and fresh cauliflower for a little green and white holiday color, then substitutes dried cranberries for raisins. And the dressing? It's my favorite light mayo dressing, thinned with a little buttermilk and brightened with lemon zest. (Weight Watchers, just one point for those still counting points in the "old way" and 2 points for those who count with PointsPlus.)

So the first year that all you vegetable lovers abandoned A Veggie Venture in December, my feelings were a little hurt. What vegetable recipe, I wondered, could compete with fancy appetizers and platters of oh-so-pretty Christmas cookies? Last year, I even implored, Let's Give Salads with Abandon!

But the thing is, even during the holidays -- maybe especially during the holidays -- nothing hits the spot like a plateful, even a spoonful, of healthy vegetables. Here's a salad that takes the summer classic, that broccoli salad with bacon and raisins and cheddar cheese, and gives it a healthy makeover with colors and flavors suitable for a casual holiday supper. (Side Note: How in the world does something with piles of calorie-dense bacon and raisins and cheddar cheese ever get to be called "salad"?! Jeepers!)
Keep Reading ->>>

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Favorite Recipes for Thanksgiving's Top Twelve Favorite Vegetables

Welcome to A Veggie Venture's collection of
Thanksgiving vegetable recipes!

Since 2006, it's tradition at A Veggie Venture to feature Thanksgiving vegetable recipes throughout November. This collection features recipes for your favorite Thanksgiving vegetables, the ones long-time readers and frequent visitors themselves voted for! The collection holds more than three dozen featured Thanksgiving recipes, all:

perfect for special dinners but not over the top
fresh fall vegetables prepped mostly or entirely in advance
easily multiplied for large gatherings and divided for small ones
and a little different for A Veggie Venture, no skimping on butter, cream and cheese!
Keep Reading ->>>

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Greek Lentil Soup ♥

Hey Vegetable Lovers, this is my annual "public service announcement" -- the reminder to "make soup first" before starting to cook for Thanksgiving. That way, after a big day of cooking, there will be something in the fridge to actually eat, not just food for Thanksgiving Day. Naturally, I have a recipe to share too ...

A simple lentil soup, cooked in a broth scented with bay leaf, garlic, rosemary and a surprise ingredient, cinnamon. Vegan.

I've been mesmerized by the photographs from a new-ish cookbook by Tessa Kiros. I loved an earlier cookbook, Falling Cloudberries: A World of Family Recipes, mostly because it's an unlikely combination of Finnish, Greek and South African recipes, cuisines I've been lucky to know, in person, right in situ. (And long-time readers have seen two recipes from Falling Cloudberries, Lamb Roast with Lemon & Oregano and Homemade Finnish Mustard which is always -- always -- in my fridge.)

The new cookbook focuses on just one of those food traditions, Food From Many Greek Kitchens. The photos are only occasionally of food, mostly of home life, perhaps, I suspect, of a romantic notion of a home life that comes from another era. Rustic. Colorful. Everyday. Like photographs so old the faces are rubbed away. Church doors emblazoned with Greek crosses. Old flags and bottles and postcards and chairs. Shop windows with sausages and crusty loaves of bread. Greek Orthodox clerical robes. Well-worn kitchen bowls and cutting boards.
Keep Reading ->>>

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