the growth of my garden #2

the garden has been flourishing over the past few months, with a great abundance of veggies being harvested and munched on most days. at the turn of the season some new crops were planted, whilst others have just begun to produce, and others have reached the end of their production; the wonderful cycle which sees delicious new produce come and go as the months go by. 

here is just some of the progress of my bountiful garden...

happy worms = healthy soil = heaps of veggies!

               

these are the first spuds to be harvested from the garden. a good few desiree's came from just one of many plants, and they were simply steamed and served with salt, pepper and olive oil.

the carrot crop is going wonderfully, the foliage has gone a little wild, but there are some big, flavoursome orange carrots beneath those glorious green tops.

our purple heirloom carrots... although these were not as successful as the other carrots; they are quite small as they were a bit cramped in the pot; they are equally delicious in flavour and their purple skin is just beautiful.

the broccoli has had a bit of a hard time lately, being munched upon by the worms of the white cabbage moth, but the stems of the broccoli are well and truly developed now and no doubt will have have big heads of green florets on them soon.

the beetroot have been an exceedingly successful crop, with many big purple bulbs being produced. they are yet to be tasted, but if they taste as good as they look, i am sure they will prove to be a gastronomical delight!

these tomatoes were planted just a few weeks ago and are going wonderfully, the strong tomatoey smell as i walk by is just amazing. fingers crossed they don't get attacked by fruit fly!

woah, look at those babies! i was a bit shocked when i saw these cucumbers for the first time hiding under their big green leaves, they grew so speedily. from a small yellow flower; to a short, little, spikey green cylinder; to this, in just a matter of days!

cucumbers tend to have this effect on people.

green papaya salad and fresh juicy papaya breakfasts with lime are on their way! there are about four fruit visible at the moment, and they look very promising. the banana tree seen to the left is also continuing to flourish, growing taller and continually sending up new suckers.

unfortunately the sugar snap pea plant was ripped up just days before i could take a photo of it, but here are some of the little beauties that it produced. we literally had peas coming out of our ears, they seemed to just grow overnight. the sweet juicy peas were enjoyed by all, but the plants were removed as we had seen the best of the peas, and were beginning to struggle with the heat.

that is all for now.

- thefridgeraider

recent happenings.

thefridgeraider has officially finished her hsc! hurrah! i have missed my blog over the past few months, but after this long period of neglect, i am ready and rearing to begin blogging again.

i set off on a foodie adventure in a week or so, with my dear sister to my father's homeland, tasmania, and so i am sure i will arrive home filled with both food, and lots of inspiration for my blog!

here are some pictures from some days recently gone by...

some delicious sweet corn fritters with sour cream and chives.

a deranged lady with some chicken feet on a foodie excursion to sydney, featuring miwa, shamus and jords.

chat thai oh chat thai, i love your pretty silver receptacles and your old brick walls.

porky pig.

- thefridgeraider

my oh my, its a lemon meringue pie.

short, buttery pastry filled with a tart, lemony curd; all topped off with sweet, snowy, golden meringue... what more can you ask for in a humble sweet pie? i recently took this pie to a dinner party with some friends, and it was scoffed down enthusiastically by all. here are some pictures of a few stages of the making of this pie, along with the recipe.

my rested dough, about to be rolled 

out and gracefully placed in the pie dish.

 a beautiful pastry shell, just hanging out, 

before being docked and popped in the oven.

 gloriously golden pastry shell! ...yes, 

i may have been a bit enthusiastic with my docking.

 the maillard reaction on my meringue, 

resting atop of the unctuous lemon curd.

 a snowy heaven of fluffy meringue!

you will need:

• for the pastry
• 2 cups plain flour, sifted
• pinch of salt, sifted
• 1 tbsp icing sugar, sifted
• 185g butter, softened and diced
• approx 2 tbsp water
• for the curd
• 4 tbsp plain flour, sifted
• 4 tbsp cornflour, sifted
• 2 tsp grated lemon zest
• 3/4 cup lemon juice (generally 3-4 lemons)
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 1/4 cups water
• 90g butter
• 4 egg yolks
• for the meringue
• 4 egg whites
• 1 tbsp water
• pinch of salt
• 3/4 castor sugar

method:

1. add all dry ingredients into bowl or food processor, and rub in or pulse butter into the flour until the mixture looks like fine bread crumbs, with no lumps of butter. add enough water to make a firm yet pliable dough. refrigerate for 30 minutes.

2. roll out pastry on a floured surface to fit a 30cm pie dish, you may have some leftover, which yu can freeze and re-use. use rolling pin to lift pastry onto the pie dish and gently ease pastry into the edges of the dish. dock the base of the pastry and bake at 180*C for 10-15 minutes, or until golden. cool.

3. combine flours, sugar, lemon rind and juice and water in a saucepan and blend until smooth. stir constantly over a medium heat until the mixture thickens and boils. reduce the heat and stir for a further two minutes. remove from heat and stir in butter, until it is incorporated and then mix in the egg yolks. cool.

4. pour cooled lemon curd into pie shell, and jiggle it about to make it level. beat eggwhites, salt and water in a bowl with an electric mixer, on high until soft peaks form. gradually rain in sugar until it is all dissolved. spoon meringue on top of curd, spreading to the edges of the pastry and create wispy bits of meringue with a palate knife or spatula. bake at 180*C for 5-10 minutes or until nicely browned. cool and then serve.

enjoy.

- thefridgeraider

the growth of my garden.

over the past few days, my father and i...(mostly my father)... have been labouring away making 3 beautiful raised vegie beds for our garden. during these few days i have learnt many things, including: 

1. what 'wet wood' is and what 'dry wood' is.

2. the art of wielding a drill!

3. and finally, that shoveling and lifting dirt is very tedious and produces a sore back.

to make our boxes, my dad cut all the pieces of wood (which was wet wood and therefore heavy, unlike dry wood) to size and then we carried the bits of wood out into the garden and set them up in place, making sure they were level and straight; and adjusting them when our neighbour commented that they were not level and straight. i was given the task of drilling the holes into the wood and then my father drilled the screws in, as i was not so successful at that job. but i was successful at fetching the screws for him and dunking their ends into petroleum jelly, to let them slide into their new homes with ease and comfort.

dad then lined the boxes with thick plastic to stop any leakage of dirt and chucked some rocks and stuff on top of the grass which he had dug up, to help with drainage. next came the fun task of shoveling and transporting one tonne of sand and three cubic metres of dirt from the driveway to the boxes. the sand was put in the bottom of the boxes and the dirt on top. this took a long time. we then finally mulched the tops of our vegie beds with some delicious compost.

in our new raised vegie boxes, we planted a lovely winter crop of sugar snap peas, broccoli, beetroot, carrots, parsnips, radishes and mustard greens.

we didn't have quite enough dirt for this final box, so we put as much dirt as we had in the bottom, and then topped it off with straw. in the straw we planted some desiree potatoes; the tops of which will grow up nice and green and tall, covering up the unsightly mismatched plastic.

here are some pictures of two of the members of our tropical fruit garden, the papaya tree and lady finger banana tree. the papaya is growing strong and has several fruit on it, you can see the biggest fruit so far in the second picture below.

the banana tree is also doing well, and has produced two 'suckers' around its base, which will replace the main tree when it eventually fruits and dies.

here is some of our bounty crop of ruby chard and silver beet, growing at the feet of our tropical fruit trees. both of these are a delicious alternative to spinach and they can be added to many dishes. one use for either ruby chard or silver beet, is in my magical breakfast wraps, a map for which you can find here.

 - thefridgeraider.

portuguese custard tarts - made in australia.

these little portuguese babies were whipped up this afternoon, and they were pretty darn delicious indeed. crisp, thin flaky pastry; rich, creamy, eggy custard; all topped off with a traditional burnt-ish finish. delicioso.

i used bill granger's recipe for these tarts, which i came across on Not Quite Nigella a few weeks ago. i had been as keen as a bean to make these portuguese custard tarts during these few weeks, and the perfect occasion arose this afternoon, as it was cold and frosty, and i had some cream handy, leftover from making panna cotta the day before. i strongly suggest making these tarts...they may save you a trip to petersham and back, or maybe even portugal! but, then again, im sure that portugal would probably take the cake anyway.

- thefridgeraider

when the moon hits your eye like a big pizza pie.

pizza. when made properly, it is a beautiful thing. when not made properly, it is not a beautiful thing. the key(s) to a top pizza, i believe are: a thin, crispy base and minimal toppings...less is more. on this particular pizza i used little slices of roasted sweet potato, grilled zucchini, roasted capsicum, mushies, olives, fetta and prosciutto, topped off with some fresh baby rocket. fresh basil is also essential on a delicious pizza.

other fantastic pizza toppings include: red onion slices, bocconcini, roasted potato slices, roasted garlic, anchovies, cherry tomatoes, baby spinach, mozzarella cheese, roasted chicken, pesto, shaved parmesan, caramelised onions...etc etc etc, the list goes on and on. but this list should never include pineapple or copious amounts of cheese.

the pizza base recipe i use goes as follows:

you will need:

500g strong bread flour

1/2 tsp salt

7g or one sachet of dried yeast

1/2 tbsp caster sugar

325mls of lukewarm water

method:

place lukewarm water, sugar and yeast in a jug, stir to dissolve and sit in a warm spot for 5 minutes covered with a tea towel. when the yeast has activated, pour mixture into large bowl with flour and salt. mix until he dough comes together and then knead for 10 minutes. place the ball of dough in a bowl and let it sit and rise in a warm spot covered with a tea towel for 15 minutes or so. your dough should now be soft and increased in size, divide into portions (this amount of dough easily makes 4 large pizza's) and roll until very thin. if you wish for your pizza's to be thicker, you may only get two bases out of this amount of dough. top with your favourite toppings and bake in a hot oven, 220*C for 10-12 minutes. if you have a slower oven, crank it as hot as it will go, to ensure it has a crispy base. and also, a pizza stone or two is a device well worth investing in.

 - thefridgeraider

panna cottas and pearls.

last night i made my first ever panna cotta. a delicious coconut and kaffir lime panna cotta with strawberries and lime syrup, a recipe from the delightful Marion Grasby. it was also my first experience working with gelatine leaves, and my unfamiliarity left me looming with nightmarish questions, as i left my panna cottas to set in the fridge overnight to set; the most obvious of these being 'will they set?!' but alas, all was well, and my panna cottas set to their deliciously wobbly creamy perfection :)

panna cotta seems to have a strange enigma surrounding them, instilling fear in the minds of amateurs approaching the task of making them. but do not fear i tell you, the process is actually quite simple, with really just a mix, heat, infuse, whisk, strain and set involved. and voila you have a panna cotta!

the recipe for this coconut and kaffir lime panna cotta with strawberries and lime syrup is one of the many delectable recipe's featuring in Marion Grasby's new cookbook Marion - Recipes and stories of a hungry cook and you can find the recipe here.

to finish this post, i leave you with a pearl of wisdom from my mother, spoken after we consumed our panna cottas on a sunny saturday afternoon. i was suggesting to her that perhaps i should make the servings a little smaller next time, as i only used 4 glasses to serve, instead of Marion's suggested 6, but she wasn't convinced, and i said...

'they were really quite filling though, weren't they mum?'   

 to which she replied...

'well, there isn't really much point eating something if it isn't filling, is there?'

what a wonderful attitude to have!  

my morsel of the marvelous marion!

On the 29 of June, I had the great honor of going to Author Talk at Shearer's Bookshop in Leichhardt to see Masterchef Season Two favourite... the marvelous Marion Grasby! I had been awaiting this event with great anticipation and excitement for many days, and when the night finally arrived, I felt ill with excitement and nerves! I was going to meet my food hero!

Before Author Talk began my sister, Jess, and I went to sate our appetites with some delicious Pho' Bo and Bu'n Bo at Tra Mi in Marrickville. My Pho' was simply delicious, warming and aromatic, everything that one expects from a bowl of Pho' Bo and I powered through the seemingly endless bowl with great vigour. And Jess' Bu'n Bo was a delicious mix of noodle-y, salad-y, beef-y, fried shallot-y goodness. Jess and I also scored ourselves some free black herbal tea when we asked where we could purchase some. Hooray for free tea!

Pre-Marion Pho' Bo of course!

...My beautiful sister and I beaming with excitement pre-Marion! I wore big round button-like earrings, a signature Marion trademark that I have observed over the years; and Jess wore a cardigan, skirt and leggings, in typical Marion fashion! 'Its freaky that you know this,' you may be thinking. Yes, yes it is. The sign of a truly dedicated fan.

Excited Sisters!

Even though I am only 17 years old, it was clear to me that Marion spoke with clarity and direction beyond her years. Marion's whole face lit up when speaking about her life and food experiences. It was a real joy to laugh with her as she reflected over her life, focusing on the last few eventful years in particular; the time when Marion broke into and made her mark upon the food industry. During her talk Marion spoke about her years growing up in Darwin, Papua New Guinea and Queensland; and the various memorable (and not so memorable) food experiences that accompanied these places. She also spoke about her more recent years and experiences in South Australia and Thailand. Marion spoke enthusiastically about her Thai heritage and the influence that it has had upon her and her food.

At the end of the night, I had the chance to purchase Marion's beautiful new book, Marion - Recipes and stories from a hungry cook. Marion signed my book with:

'To Lydia, You wok! Love Marion xx'

Then I got a photo with Marion herself, yes, I touched Marion! I was so elated from and thankful for the little 'morsel' of Marion that I got at Shearers. And in the same way that Marion thanked and showed much gratitude to those that inspired and continue to inspire her, Marion, if you ever read this, I say a huge thank you to you!

Me and my foodie Hero!

At the end of the night there were a number of samples of Marion's recipes for those at Author Talk to feast on including Sweet Pepper Chicken, Mushroom and Taleggio Toasties, and some lovely iced Gingerbreads.

My signature 'eyes half closed' look while munching on Marion's delectable Gingerbread!

Thank you again Marion. I look forward to meeting you again one day.. hopefully next time I will be a little less star struck and will be able to talk to you a little more!

And in the words of Marion herself, i say,  'Happy dreaming and happy eating!'

thefridgeraider@Terrigal Beach.

Todays artistic efforts featuring my foodie friends Shamus and Miwa.

This creative expression was carried out following a feast of Red Curry Chicken and Pumpkin, Stir fry Chicken Cashew Nut and Stir fry Tofu and Vegetable with Peanut Sauce. Yum! AND... some delectable pecan caramel ice-cream from my beloved Terrigal Ice-creamery.

* please note that the spoon was retrieved and binned after the taking of this photo, as i am not a fan of choking seagulls. or even worse, not a fan of someone stepping on the spoon, and catapulting sand into their face.

sand is not delicious.

a map to the most magical breakfast wrap.

serves 1
you will need
1 mountain bread
olive oil
1/2 a spanish onion, finely sliced
teaspoon of brown sugar
balsamic vinegar
a few slices of avocado
a few slices of tomato
2 leaves of ruby chard (or rainbow chard/silver beet/spinach)
2 eggs
water
a few basil leaves
salt
pepper

method
add finely sliced red onion to a frying pan with a splash of olive oil and fry until soft and translucent. add brown sugar and a generous drizzle of balsamic vinegar, stir until sticky and caramelised. set onions aside. slice ruby chard (leaves and stems) and add to a frying pan with a little olive oil. Saute until it shrinks a little bit and add the eggs that have been lightly beaten with 2tbsp of water and some freshly ground pepper, gently stir and leave omelette to set. fold omelette into a rectangular-ish shape and season with salt. to serve place silver beet omelette on mountain bread and top with some sliced avocado, a few slices of tomato, a scattering of fresh basil and the caramelised red onions. roll up, roll up and eat away.
enjoy.

some sauteed mushrooms would also be quite delightful in this breaky wrap.

risotto al funghi.

serves 3-4
you will need
dash of olive oil
small knob of butter
1 small onion, finely diced
2 cloves of garlic, crushed
4-6 field mushrooms, sliced
1 1/2 cups arborio rice
splash of verjuice
4ish cups vego or chicken stock
1/2 a lemon
parsley, finely chopped
parmesan, grated
pepper

method
get stock on a gentle simmer in a saucepan and let it do its thing. in a larger saucepan, heat olive oil and butter over a medium heat, add onions, saute until translucent, add garlic, stir and add mushrooms. saute until the mushies soften a little. add rice and stir for a minute or two until the rice is well coated in oniony/mushie mixture. deglaze with a good splash of verjuice. using a ladle, slowly add hot stock, little by little, until the rice is cooked and will absorb no more liquid, continually agitate the rice while doing this. it should take about 20 minutes. when the risotto is creamy and the grains of rice are cooked, add a good squeeze of lemon juice from half a lemon, and some zest if u like extra zing. stir well and remove from heat. stir in parmesan and parsley and some freshly ground pepper at the last minute.
enjoy.

soup of potato, potato and leek.

for best results eat wearing trackpants and ugg boots.
serves 4

you will need
5-6 medium potatoes, peeled and cut into small chunks
1 large leek, halved and sliced
olive oil
butter
1-2 thyme sprigs
1-2 bay leaves
700ml-1L vegetable or chicken stock
150 ml milk
salt and pepper

method
sweat off leeks with a generous splash of olive oil and small knob of butter in a large saucepan over a low heat for around 10 minutes. add a few sprigs of thyme, a couple of bay leaves and a good grind of black pepper to the leeks. add potatoes to the saucepan, stir and add stock, enough to cover all but 1-2 cm of the potatoes. simmer with lid on the saucepan until potatoes are tender, 15 minutes or so. take saucepan off the stove, add milk to the soup and pulverize using a stick blender or food processor until smooth. add more milk or stock to achieve desired consistency, taste for salt* and add if required. reheat for 5 or so minutes after blending and serve.
enjoy.

*depending on the saltiness of your stock you may or may not require salt.

a bowl of bircher to nurture your morning hunger pangs.

serves 1

you will need
1/2 a cup or so of muesli (i either use Carman's Natural Bircher Style muesli or my mothers own muesli blend, consisting of rolled oats, crushed almonds and walnuts, pepitas, sunflower seeds, shredded coconut, dates, sultanas, sesame seeds and linseeds.)
1 apple
lemon
ground cinnamon
natural or greek yoghurt
blueberries

method
start this recipe the day before by adding the muesli to your favourite breakfast bowl along with  an apple which has been grated using a microplane, to create a fine juicy apple mush. mix the apple and muesli with a good squeeze of lemon to taste and a generous sprinkle of cinnamon. leave to soak in the fridge overnight.
wake up the next day, walk to fridge, take bircher out of the fridge along with some yoghurt. add a good dollop or two of yoghurt to the muesli, mix well and scatter with some little blue balls of antioxidants... the humble blueberry.
enjoy.

fish stew w. white bean and roasted garlic puree and roasted carrots.

this delicious meal was just engulfed by three large mouths. it made fore-mentioned mouth's taste-buds dance with delight.
serves 3

stew

olive oil

1 spanish onion, sliced

a scattering of fennel seeds

a pinch of chilli flakes

1 bay leaf

1 tin of tomatoes

some water or verjuice

salt and pepper

500gms firm white fish in large pieces

basil leaves

puree

1 tin of cannellini beans, rinsed

1/2 bulb of garlic

some lemon zest and rind

dash of water or stock

olive oil

salt

carrots

6 medium carrots

olive oil

salt and pepper

method

preheat oven to 160/180*C. oil carrots liberally and throw some salt and pepper on them. chuck on an oven tray with unpeeled garlic (for puree) also drizzled with olive oil and pop in the oven for around about 25-30 minutes or until soft and golden.

preheat frying pan. sweat off onions until softened. add some fennel seeds, chilli flakes, and bay. throw in tomatoes, add a splash of verjuice and simmer awhile, for 5 minutes or so. add fish and gently simmer until cooked, 7-10 minutes, depending on the thickness of the fish. it should feel firm and become opaque. tear basil into stew before serving. season with salt and pepper.

take garlic out of oven after 15-20 minutes, when lightly golden and soft, and squeeze out of skin. blend cannellini beans, and garlic, add water/stock to make a smooth puree. add lemon juice, zest and salt to taste. heat puree over a low heat on the stove.

serve fish topped with tomatoey goodness beside a dash of bean puree, with the carrots resting upon the puree. garnish with some basil leaves.

enjoy.