Vegetarian Risotto Sausages

May was a very busy month and it looks like June will be as well. There has been lots happening around here! We've also attended many gatherings with friends and family, both here in Welly and in Christchurch. All involving good times, sharing meals, the odd bottle of wine (or two) and catching up with the very special people in my life. I always feel very blessed when I am with them.
Over Queens birthday weekend, I attended an interesting session at Handmade called  "Planning an edible summer garden". Our group was small but big on ideas. And I picked up some great tips from Rachel (of The Kitchen Garden). In fact the very next day (with renewed enthusiasm) I dug out the remaining compost, put my vegetable garden to bed by laying down pea straw and ordered a stack of stuff from Kings Seeds. The winter months will give me plenty of time to really plan the summer garden. There are a number of things I won't be growing anymore, and a few I will give a bit of a go.
Last week we had a team of arborists on the property. Their work has made a huge difference to our garden (and our view), and all the trimming and lopping produced a huge pile of gorgeous mulch which (thanks to the hubby and a guest) is now spread over the other parts of our garden, quietly doing its magic over the winter months.
The same said guest gifted me a copy of  'Mackenzie Muster, "A century of favourites". Published in 1984, it's a great little recipe book, with some very weird and wacky recipes, not likely to be cooked here but interesting to read about them just the same. The recipe for Liver patties or Lamb in a Hollow Log springs to mind.... But I might try the Turkish Pilaf, it sounds a bit exotic for its time!
The book is interspersed with local prose and pen drawings and amazingly it was in the Eat my Books library. I'd love to know how many were printed. So thank you for your present Paula, I will treasure it.
On Sunday I found myself sorting out a cupboard and came across a folder of old Next magazine recipes. I spotted a recipe for Vegetarian Sausages. With not a bit of offal or meat in sight, they are really simple to make, very tasty and a total hit in our household! We not only liked the flavour, we also liked the chewy texture.
Please excuse my photo, my sausages look more like torpedos and they did not photo well in the early evening. I will take more care next time. We cooked a few for Monday's dinner and popped the remainder (uncooked ones) in the fridge for the following night. This worked really well, they held their shape.
The recipe could easily be adapted by using gluten free breadcrumbs.

My effort, a humble but tasty sausage

Vegetarian Risotto sausages (Next magazine) Serves 4 - but it served more like 8 large sausages

1 onion, peeled and finely chopped

1 tbsp oil

25g butter

2 cups Arborio rice

4 cups vegetable stock
2-3 eggs beaten

6-8 halves sundried tomatoes – chopped

250g mozzarella, cut into 1 cm cubes

½ c freshly chopped basil

1 ½ c fresh white breadcrumbs (I will try Panko bread crumbs next time)

Clarified butter or oil to fry (I used canola)

In a large heavy-based saucepan, gently cook the onion in the oil and butter for 10 minutes

until soft but not brown.

Stir in the rice, and cook for a minute so the grains are glossy and white.

Add ½ cup stock, stirring constantly over a moderate heat until the rice is absorbed all the stock. Add the remaining stock, ½ cup at a time, stirring continuously. Allow to cool.

Combine the eggs, tomatoes, cheese and basil and fold into cooled rice.

Shape into sausages, roll in breadcrumbs and pan-fry in the butter or oil until crisp and hot.

Serve with salad greens.

From the magazine photo - what they should look like!

Eat my Books, discovery of a great website

I have discovered a wonderful new website. One of my friends from my food appreciation club told us about it. It is called Eat My Books http://www.eatyourbooks.com/
It was designed by two British sisters, (one based here in N.Z., with the other sister in Boston). It is a godsend for people (like me) who have scores of recipe books and who seems to spend hours looking for the right recipe or one to use a particular ingredient on hand.
How it works.... it allows you to create an online library of all your recipes from books, magazines and favourite blogs. Which means no more searching for a recipe when you want to use up that kilo of fresh figs or a bucket of lemons! 
You can search and add your books from their extensive list. They suggest buying a bar coder to scan the books IBN number, which is certainly a quicker way if you use that option. But I just made a list of my favourite books and it didn't take long to add them into my library.
After logging your books, it indexes all the recipes from said books. Once set up, all you do then is search with your key word, it lists all your options and where to find the recipe. You then look it up in your book listed and viola! the recipe quickly found. Some listings also include the full recipe, especially when it is linked to another publication. It's so easy.
As I said, It will also link to your favourite blogs and magazines - I have yet to complete that part. But it will mean I can put some of my 14 years of the Cuisine magazine to more effective use!
There are three options for subscription. I took the monthly one at US$2.50, I thought that was pretty reasonable, but you can take out a yearly subscription if you so desire. I wanted to check it out before committing to a year.
Take a look and see if you agree with me - it is brilliant!.....

And just because I felt like it and I had to clear my freezer to make space for more stock, I made this little bowl of decadence in a blink of an eye.
Take some frozen strawberries from last summer, throw them into a pot, bring it to a fast boil, add sugar and boil until it is thick and jammy. Test on a cold saucer. And hey presto, a fresh easy topping on plain buttered scones or pikelets. Delicious.... and reminds me of warmer, sunnier days!

Slow cooking while the rain just keeps coming

Great piles of autumn leaves are forever gathering at our front door. This might have something to do with gale force winds every day of the last week or so. And to say it has been raining here lately is a bit of an understatement. Granted, we needed some rain for our very dry garden but after a couple of weeks of (what has seemed like) constant downpours of the wet stuff, the novelty has somewhat worn off.

The sun finally came out, with a 23C day - crazy weather!

So, at the beginning of this week, we upped the flames on the lovely gas fire and out came the comforting food to cheer us up.
In a busy life, Joan Bishop's NZ Crock Pot and Slow Cooker cookbook is a 'god send'. This little gem was first published in 1985 and has been reprinted 16 times. That's a lot of books! I bought my copy in 2006 and it's often the recipe book I turn to when I want an easy evening meal, one I can prepare in the morning and forget about for most of the day.
With a busy day ahead and rain 'bucketing' down outside I took a look at what I had in the fridge. Most experienced cooks know what goes with what, as some vegetables are well 'suited' to certain meats. I found once I had this knowledge I was able to experiment a bit and create some great recipes, just based on what I had in the fridge and pantry. On this occasion, out came the following.....
6 boned and skinless chicken thigh meat pieces
2 carrots
1 stick of celery
3 courgettes
1 green pepper
1 red onion
a handful of mini tomatoes
Next step... 
I cut each piece of chicken into 3 bits and dusted it with a little flour, browned them in a little olive oil and placed them to one side. (By dusting with flour and browning you add a little cooked thickening to your dish).
I chopped the peeled carrots and onions, sliced the celery and green pepper (seeds removed). These were then placed in the same pan and saute`d for a few minutes. While it adds an extra step to the proceedings, doing it this way gives more flavour to your dish.
Into my slow cooker I added a large tin of passatta sauce. (I like using passatta as it is thicker and denser in flavour). Add the chicken and vegetables and about 1/2 cup water. Add seasonings to taste. (You shouldn't need much as passatta is usually quite salty). Mix together and put the lid on. Set the cooker to High.
Note: The passatta usually contains all the herbs you need but if you are just using a few tinned chopped tomatoes add oregano, basil, and or thyme. You need to be careful with how much water you add. The vegetables break down and add a lot of water to the dish and you do not want it to go too sloppy.
I checked with Joan Bishop's book and figured it would take about 4 hours to cook. About 10 minutes before serving I gave the dish a stir and added the mini tomatoes. It was perfectly cooked and really delicious. I served it with crushed buttery potatoes and green beans.
No photo with this recipe, the camera could not do it justice...
Footnote: This quantity was good for two meals for us. I had quite a lot of lovely 'gravy' and a small piece of chicken left over so poured it all into the food processor and gave it a whizz for a minute. Viola! Tomato, vegetables and chicken soup for lunch, with hot buttered Burgen of course!

Pumpkin and books

I belong to a book group, I am a recent recruit but it has been going for 12 years now. We meet each month to discuss various books we have read, then we have tea and (usually) cake for supper! We take turns to host the group in our home and it is my turn next week. I have taken my time to research what to bake as I really like to surprise everyone with my choice of cake on the night. I don't think we consciously try and outdo each other with making something different each time, for me it is more about sharing a new recipe so my friends can add to their repertoire of baking. 

When I came across this recipe I instantly thought of my little grand-daughter aged 4, she will not eat too many vegetables. As she grows older she is slowly adding to her limited list but I have noticed a preference and a love of sweet things (a little like her Mum) and this is the perfect way to introduce her to pumpkin - disguised in a delicious cake!

I love my new zester, a recent addition to my kitchen, how did I manage without one like this....

Pumpkin and Date cake

From Lynda Hallinan’s column  SST – Sunday magazine   

3^rd June 2012 from a competition she ran with her readers.

Preheat oven to 180 degrees Celsius.

Peel, dice and simmer 450g pumpkin in unsalted water for 20 minutes until very tender.

Drain, press out water and mash until smooth. Set aside to cool.

Grease and line the base of an 18cm square cake tin.

Cream 225g of softened butter, the finely grated zest of 2 oranges and 175g caster sugar until pale and fluffy. Beat in 2 eggs, one at a time, and stir in 150g chopped dates, 40g desiccated coconut and the mashed pumpkin. Sift 275g of self-raising flour and fold into the mixture with 100ml of milk.

Spoon the cake batter into the tin, smooth the top and bake for 1 ¼ hours.

Leave the cake in the tin for 5 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool.

Sprinkle with extra caster sugar to decorate.

Nice served with whipped cream or yoghurt.

lovely and moist and when sliced a pretty orange colour

Pumpkin and books

I belong to a book group, I am a recent recruit but it has been going for 12 years now. We meet each month to discuss various books we have read, then we have tea and (usually) cake for supper! We take turns to host the group in our home and it is my turn next week. I have taken my time to research what to bake as I really like to surprise everyone with my choice of cake on the night. I don't think we consciously try and outdo each other with making something different each time, for me it is more about sharing a new recipe so my friends can add to their repertoire of baking. 

When I came across this recipe I instantly thought of my little grand-daughter aged 4, she will not eat too many vegetables. As she grows older she is slowly adding to her limited list but I have noticed a preference and a love of sweet things (a little like her Mum) and this is the perfect way to introduce her to pumpkin - disguised in a delicious cake!

I love my new zester, a recent addition to my kitchen, how did I manage without one like this....

Pumpkin and Date cake

From Lynda Hallinan’s column  SST – Sunday magazine   

3^rd June 2012 from a competition she ran with her readers.

Preheat oven to 180 degrees Celsius.

Peel, dice and simmer 450g pumpkin in unsalted water for 20 minutes until very tender.

Drain, press out water and mash until smooth. Set aside to cool.

Grease and line the base of an 18cm square cake tin.

Cream 225g of softened butter, the finely grated zest of 2 oranges and 175g caster sugar until pale and fluffy. Beat in 2 eggs, one at a time, and stir in 150g chopped dates, 40g desiccated coconut and the mashed pumpkin. Sift 275g of self-raising flour and fold into the mixture with 100ml of milk.

Spoon the cake batter into the tin, smooth the top and bake for 1 ¼ hours.

Leave the cake in the tin for 5 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool.

Sprinkle with extra caster sugar to decorate.

Nice served with whipped cream or yoghurt.

lovely and moist and when sliced a pretty orange colour