leek, feta and mushroom tart

I love when I have that kitchen intuition that means I don't need a recipe but it does mean this isn't a complete recipe. If you do decide to make this be sure to ask me anything on my facebook page.

For tonight's dinner I used ready made puff pastry for the tart which is a first in a while. I lined a greased pie dish with the pastry and blind baked the shell for 10 mins at 180°c then removed the baking paper & weight and baked for a further 15 mins. 

I combined ten eggs and a big splash of milk before sweating off a sliced leek in some butter. 

The egg mix can then be poured in to the shell along with the leek, about 70g of crumbled feta and some sliced Swiss brown mushrooms to decorate. 

The tart needs to be baked at 180°c for about 30 minutes (until the egg mix is firm). You may need to cover the tart for a further 15 mins with foil so the edges don't burn. 

This can be served with a green salad or a salad of your choice. 

Bali & back in the kitchen

We were away in Bali last week (more on that in frture posts) and I was just busting to get back in the kitchen after tasting and cooking some great food. Being inspired by new flavours and combinations and influences always leaves me hankering to cook in my little kitchen.

With the impending birth of Baby #3 (in four or so weeks) I am keen to stock up the freezer with ready-made meals too.

After flying in first thing Saturday morning, it didn't take me long to kick in to gear. This week I've made:

Sunday 
Pesto (Thermomix)

Two litres of roasted tomato passata (see recipe post) for our pesto/tomato pasta dinner (and plenty for the freezer)

Monday 
Nigella's Chocolate Pear Pudding
note: I used fresh, peeled Bosce pears but the tinned ones would have made for a more moist pudding. You could reduce the cooking time if using fresh pears.

Tuesday
Nachos: meat and bean. I chopped the veggies (carrot, zucchini) and cheese in the Thermomix.

Wednesday
Yoghurt - recipe from the Thermomix Everyday Cookbook
note: I set mine overnight - in the oven (switched off) where it can't be bumped.

Sausages with (thanks to the Thermomix) steamed veggies (carrot and brussel sprouts) and mashed potato and sweet potato.

Thursday
I tried my hand at repeating two of the dishes I learned at a cooking class I attended at our resort last week - the traditional bumbu paste and peanut satay sauce (recipe to come). The Thermomix was very handy when it came to chopping and blending the ingredients but I'd still like to get my hands on a wide, shallow stone mortar used in Bali.

I've portioned the bumbu in snap-lock bags for the freezer and the satay is in the fridge. There was a little sataythat wouldn't fit in the jar so I'm marinating some tofu in it in the fridge.

A moussaka (see my recipe post) is slow cooking in the oven too. This will be added to my freezer collection.

Notes: Thermomixers - you need to know that you can cut down the prep time for this by A LOT. Use the recipe for bechamel sauce from the EDC and you can shred the lamb in the TM - speed 3/2secs. It would be easy to over-shred so be careful. 

Tonight we're having a fennel, leek and mushroom risotto.

Friday
Tomorrow I'd like to make some of Ottolenghi's fish cakes (with some fish J caught) and a leek and fetta tart for dinner with salad. That's the plan anyway!

The Thermomix makes short work of bumbu paste.

Satay Sauce

winter warmer: vegetable pea and ham soup

I can feel it! The weather is cooling.

We are not a huge soup-loving family so let's call this dish a veggie, pea and ham stew! It's chunky, salty, tasty and warming - ideal for the weather change.

I have it on good authority that a ten-month old baby will inhale this stew! I gave a friend some over the weekend and her daughter went back for thirds! 

I posted this on my Facebook page this week too.

The recipe is simple and versatile. You can add whatever veggies you have in your crisper (even if they aren't too crisp anymore!)
  
There's a great butcher down the road from us. Before you buy products it's good to know the origin and producers commitment to animal welfare. Our butcher supplies free range, hormone, chemical-free meats. 

Ingredients

1 ham hock
2 onions, diced
10 garlic cloves, minced or sliced
Spices - coriander, cumin, mustard seeds (all about 2 tspns, freshly ground in mortar and pestle)
Veggies - 2 zucchinis, 2 carrots, half bunch celery including chopped celery leaves
Stock or water 
Split peas - green and/or yellow

Method 

Simply chuck a ham hock in to hot pan to brown off a bit turning every 2 minutes for 8-10 minutes. I like the caramelised flavour this adds to the soup. 

Throw in onions, garlic cloves and spices to sweat for about 3 minutes.

Add any veg you like and a few litres of water. I added 5L because mine is a big pot. You can use stock or part stock/part water or a stock concentrate mixed with water (the TMX one is great for this).

Add about 300g split green (or yellow of both) peas. 

Bring to boil then simmer (covered) for 2hrs or so. I retain the ham meat (not fat) and chop it up then add it back to the soup. We like our soup stew chunky but you could blend it if you prefer it to be smooth.

Serve garnished with parsley. And bread... with butter.... yum!

This can be cooled (you might want to remove fat from top) and frozen for later meals. 

With our Baby #3 due in 7 weeks I think I'd better start filling the freezer!

Miss May Blossom http://www.facebook.com/MissMayBlossom

chocolate choc-chip coconut cookies

 You can find my 4-star Thermomix recipe on the Thermomix Recipe Community.

 Ingredients for 22 portions

• 130 grams Butter
• 100 grams rapadura or brown sugar
• 2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 egg
• 140 grams wholemeal plain flour
• 80 grams wholemeal self-raising flour
• 20 grams cacao powder or cocoa powder
• 90 grams dessicated coconut
• 120 chocolate chips

Method 

1.Preheat the oven to 180 degrees. Place butter, sugar and vanilla essence in bowl and cream on sp 4/40 sec. Scrape down bowl.

2.Add egg and beat on sp 4/10 sec.

3.Add plain flour, SR flour, coconut, cacao (or cocoa) and combine on sp4/20 sec.

4.Add choc chips and mix on on sp1 to incorporate.

5. Roll dessert spoonfuls of mixture into balls and place on trays lined with greaseproof baking paper.  Gently flatten with a fork and bake for 12-15 minutes.  Let cool on trays for 5 mins before before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.

Miss May Blossom on Facebook:
http://www.facebook.com/MissMayBlossom 

For my other Thermomix recipes:
http://www.recipecommunity.com.au/search/tmrc_solr_recipe/miss%20may?filters=type%3Arecipes