we'll be making jam... blackberry jam

As the Michelle Shocked song goes "if you want the best jam you've got to make your own." 

That's precisely what we did today. While Baby A slept the big kids & J went out to harvest more blackberries. 

I used the Thermomix to make this batch of jam and despite the lemon being omitted (it was full of grubs) there must have been enough pectin to thicken it. Again I read a few recipes and came up with this one with a slightly less sugar to berry ratio. 

This recipe makes about a litre of jam. 

ingredients 

700g blackberries 

500g raw sugar 

 

method 

Rinse the berries under cool water and drain. Add 500g of the berries to the Thermomix bowl. Add the sugar. Set the timer for 45 mins/speed 2/100°c. After 45 minutes add the remaining blackberries and increase the temperature to Varoma. Cook on 15 mins/speed 2/Varoma. 

To test the jam place a teaspoon full on a saucer. Wait until it's cooled slightly & run your finger through the mixture. Place saucer in the fridge. If, after a few minutes, the jam doesn't run then it is set.

Store jam in hot clean sealable jars or just scoff it! This is good on toast or with ice-cream!

lamingtons

It was 8:30pm. A friend emailed to confirm she was coming to visit the following day. Between us we have 6 kids (including one baby). I'm not sure why I thought of making lamingtons but they suddenly came to mind and I just couldn't shake the idea that I needed to make them. I remember someone once telling me they were a hassle to make but by 9:30pm I had a plateful of lamingtons!

I have a faint memory of eating a lamington with my grandmother when I was young. I suspect I probably just licked the icing off! Let's see if these beauties are good enough for the kids to eat the whole thing! 

I used a Thermomix recipe but I've found a Margaret Fulton recipe for lamingtons from my favourite baking cookbook.

Margaret notes that you can bake the butter cake the day before you ice the lamingtons and this will prevent the cake from crumbling. You can also freeze the cake but you'll need to thaw it for 24 hours before using. 

Lamington will keep fresh for a few days.

According to Margaret Fulton lamingtons are "thought to have first been made for a tea party for Lord Lamington, who served as Governor of Queensland from 1896 to 1901."

thermomix lamington recipe (can be found here)

ingredients
lamingtons

• 120 g sugar
• 4 eggs
• 1 tsp Vanilla Bean Paste
• 50 g unsalted butter, , melted
• 120 g Self Raising Flour

lamington icing

• 25 g unsalted butter
• 160 g milk
• 500 g icing sugar
• 50 g Dutch processed cocoa
• Shredded coconut to coat

method
lamingtons

1.Preheat oven to 190C. Butter and line a 20cm square cake tin and set aside.

2. Place sugar into mixing bowl and mill 10 sec/speed 10.

3. Add eggs and insert Butterfly. Whip eggs for 7 min/50C/speed 3.

4. Add butter and vanilla paste and stir through 5 sec/speed 4.

5. Remove Butterfly. Add flour and with dial set to 'Closed Lid Position' mix for 10 sec/ Interval speed. Finish mixing with spatula by hand if necessary.

6. Pour into prepared tin, spin to level and bake for 15 - 20 minutes or until golden and springy to touch. Cool for 5 minutes before turning out onto rack to cool completely.
Freeze for 30 minutes before cutting.

icing

7. Place butter and milk into mixing bowl and cook 2 min/80 C/speed 2.

8. Add sugar and cocoa and blend for 20 - 25 sec/speed 4.

9.Trim sides of sponge and cut cake into 16 equal sized cubes.
Scatter coconut over a tray.

10. Pour icing into deep bowl. Using tongs, put each piece of cake into icing and coat liberally. Place onto coconut, push coconut up onto sides and on top to finish. Transfer to flat tray lined with baking paper. Repeat until all are covered, refreshing cocnut if necessary.

11. Allow icing to set before serving.

Margaret Fulton's lamington recipe

Basic butter cake

ingredients

* 160g butter, softened
* 3/4 cup (165g) caster sugar
* 3 eggs, lightly beaten
* 1 2/3 cups (250g) self-raising flour
* a pinch of salt
* 1/2 cup milk

method

1. Preheat the oven to 180ºc. Grease a 30cm x 20 cm lamington tin and line the base with baking paper.

2. Using an electric mixer, cream the butter and gradually beat in the sugar with the vanilla, until the mixture is light and fluffy. Gradually beat in the beaten eggs. If using an electric mixer, add the eggs one and a time and beat well after each.

3. Sift the flour and salt (some cooks do this three times), and then fold into the creamed mixture alternately with the milk beginning and ending with flour (it is important not to overwork the mixture). Add a little more milk if necessary so that the mixture drops easily from the spoon. Spoon the mixture into the prepared the tins and lightly smooth the top.

4. Bake for 30-35 minutes, or until a skewer inserted in centre comes out clean. Turn out onto wire racks to cool, then cut in to small oblong shapes or cubes.

lamington icing

ingredients
* 3 cups (480g) icing sugar
* 3 tablespoons cocoa powder
* 4-6 tablespoons boiling water
* 1/2 teaspoon butter
* a few drops of vanilla essence
* dessicated coconut

method

1. Sift the icing sugar and cocoa into a bowl. Add the boiling water, butter and vanilla then stir until smooth and shiny.

2. Spread some of the dessicated coconut on a large plate. Dip the cake shapes in the chocolate icing then immediately roll in the coconut. Leave on a wire rack to set.
 

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carrot cake

I love carrot cake. I love the texture and moistness and I have learned that the best carrot cakes contain oil rather than butter. I made this Thermomix recipe for friends this morning. The icing was simply icing sugar (from raw sugar), creamed cheese & orange juice. I like to use my mandolin to grate some orange zest over the top of the cake.  

Here's the recipe: http://www.recipecommunity.com.au/baking-sweet-recipes/french-carrot-cake/182857

Have you got a favourite cake recipe? 

 

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

what's cooking good looking?

What's been cooking in your kitchen?

I haven't quite found my rhythm enough to blog regularly since our beautiful boy arrived seven weeks ago and truth be known I just want to be with him and breathe him in and watch him long enough to see him grow before my eyes. Babies change so rapidly and grow so quickly. It's cruel because I just want time to stop. I want to savour every second with him. Having a newborn is special beyond words, getting a grin from him is heart melting and watching my elder two make him smile and laugh (B 5.5 and P 3.5) is incredible. What a bond.

So I have been in the kitchen - making time while A sleeps. I'd love to share some recipes with you. I often post on my Facebook page so if you want to keep up with what's happening in the May Blossom kitchen you can like my page.

Saltbush Lamb with pumpkin puree, couscous & toasted pine nuts

Shane Delia's Saltbush Lamb (featured on SBS Food recently) was a hit with my parents last week. Though lacking in saltbush (I need to source this) it was well seasoned with sea salt flakes. I cooked the lamb over 8 hours at 120ºc because I had the time. If you're not home during the week this is a good one for the weekend when you can leave the oven on. I served the lamb with pumpkin puree, toasted pine nuts and couscous cooked in the lamb liquid (recipe below).

My couscous recipe

500 g couscous
800 ml lamb juices (after the slow cook, from the pan) or boiling water if you aren't making the lamb dish
30ml olive oil
25 g unsalted butter, diced
1 tsp cumin seeds, freshly ground 
1 garlic clove, crushed
Half a bunch parsley, chopped
Half a bunch coriander
Half handful mint
juice of 2 limes
Salt and pepper, to taste 

Preheat oven to 150ºc. Line a large roasting pan with baking paper. Add the couscous and salt. Pour over the lamb juices and olive oil. Stir, cover with foil and leave for ten minutes. After ten minutes dot couscous with the butter cubes, cover with foil and bake for fifteen minutes. Remove from the oven and fluff up with a fork. 

Once the couscous has cooled, transfer it to a large bowl. Add the cumin, garlic, herbs, lime juice and pepper and mix with a fork. Garnish with a sprinkling of chopped herbs.

Shane Delia's saltbush lamb recipe

http://www.sbs.com.au/food/recipes/lamb-saltbush-compressed-melon

We made these Thermomix Whatever Biscuits with sultanas and dried apricots for morning tea. You can add whatever you like to these and they're super easy if you have a Thermomix or food processor.

 http://www.recipecommunity.com.au/baking-sweet-recipes/whatever-biscuits/17178

My husband has caught lots of fish in the past week. The Australian salmon doesn't have a great reputation but it makes some wicked fish cakes. I love this recipe from Ottolenghi because it doesn't contain gluggy potato and the result is beautiful, vibrant fish cakes.

Ottolenghi's full-of-herbs fish cakes
make 12-16 cakes (depending on size)

2 tbsp olive oil
4 shallots, peeled and finely diced
3 cloves garlic, peeled and crushed
30g fresh coriander leaves, chopped
25g fresh dill, chopped
20g fresh basil leaves, finely shredded
6 lime leaves, finely chopped
1 lemongrass stalk, bruised and finely chopped
½ tsp ground coriander
400g haddock fillets (or other firm, white fish), skinless and boneless
10g fresh ginger, peeled and finely chopped
1½ tsp fish sauce
½ tsp lime zest
½ egg, lightly beaten (use the other half for something else)
1 tbsp corn flour
Salt
50ml sunflower oil
1 lemon, cut into wedges

Heat the oven to 180C/350F/gas mark 4. Heat the olive oil in a medium frying pan, add the shallots and garlic, and sauté on a medium heat for five minutes. Turn the heat up to high, add the herbs, lime leaves, lemongrass and ground coriander, and cook for two minutes. Remove and allow to cool.
Cut the fish into rough chunks and place in a food processor. Blitz in a few pulses, just until it's broken down into approximately 0.5-1cm pieces – take care not to over-process.
In a large bowl, mix together the oniony, herby mass from the pan, the fish, ginger, fish sauce, lime zest, egg and corn flour, and add a quarter-teaspoon of salt. Split the mix into 40g portions, form each into a long, 8cm x 4cm kebab, and gently flatten a little.
Heat the sunflower oil in a large frying pan on medium heat. Fry the fish cakes in batches for about 90 seconds on each side, until lightly golden. Transfer to a baking tray and place in the oven for about two minutes to cook through. Serve hot with a wedge of lemon.

http://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2012/aug/24/herb-fish-cakes-recipe-ottolenghi

and then there was this! A very naughty treat but one we shared with my parents!

http://www.the4blades.com/new-york-baked-cheesecake-thermomix-recipe/

I get inspiration from everywhere and I can't remember why I decided to but I suddenly decided I'd like to make a baked cheesecake last week. It's dead easy in the Thermomix. If you do make this for guests it's best not to share the list of ingredients.

I did replace the vanilla extract with a good vanilla bean paste. Gosh it was good!

Do you know where I can source salt bush in the Sydney region? What have you been cooking?

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

black magic cherry cake (revisited and revised)

I am reposting this recipe. Yesterday I was rummaging through my pantry when I found a jer of black cherries. I bought them especially for this recipe but I hadn't got around to making it. It's been a year since I did make this cake so today was the day. It's rainy outside. I've bought a brand new box of tea and I'm envisaging sitting down in 45 mins to enjoy a slice and a cuppa.

I am also reposting this because I've tweaked it to be made in the Thermomix. I didn't have the Thermomix when I last made it. I've also included the original recipe for non-Thermomix users so you don't need one to make it!

Thermomix Recipe

ingredients

125g unsalted butter (cold, sliced)
300g brown sugar (loose)
240g SR flour
1 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp freshly grated nutmeg
410g can pitted black cherries, drained well

1 tspn baking powder
1 egg
300ml fresh cream
finely grated zest 1/2 lemon
1 tbls lemon juice

icing sugar and cream, to serve (optional)

method

Preheat the oven to 180ºc.

Grate cold unsalted butter (sliced) in the Thermomix bowl on sp 4/4 secs.
Add brown sugar, SR flour,cinnamon and nutmeg and combine on sp 9/20 secs until well combined and has the consistency (and look) of sand.

Place half the mixture in a greased and lined 22cm round cake tin. Shake, level and pat down lightly. Arrange the cherries over the mixture.

Add baking powder, egg, cream, zest, and lemon juice to the remaining mixture and combine sp 5/10-12 secs.

* tip: gradually and gently increase the speed from 1-5 so the mixture doesn't 'climb' the sides of the bowl.

Gently pour the cream mixture over the cherries.

* tip: once the bowl is empty spin the blades on sp 6 to loosen the batter from under the blades.

Bake for one hour or until a skewer comes out clean. Cool in tin for 15 minutes before turning out. Sift icing sugar over the top and serve warm with cream.


 


_____________________________________

This cake is a magic cake. I love the way you transform one half of the mixture from the same basic ingredients. The cake is crumbly and delicious, best eaten warm with cream.

ingredients
2 cups SR Flour
2 cups brown sugar (loose)
125g unsalted butter (cold)
1 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp freshly grated nutmeg

1 tspn baking powder
1 egg
300ml fresh cream
finely grated rind 1/2 lemon
1 tbls lemon juice
410g can pitted black cherries, drained well
icing sugar, to serve

method

Preheat the oven to 180ºc. 

Place sugar and flour in a large bowl. Grate the butter coarsely on top and stir through. Stir in cinnamon, nutmeg and mix well. Place half the mixture in a greased and lined 22cm round cake tin. Shake, level and pat down lightly. Arrange the cherries over the mixture.


Add baking powder to the remaining mixture and mix in well. In a separate bowl beat the egg, cream, lemon rind and lemon juice together. Add to the remaining mixture and combine well. Gently pour the cream mixture over the cherries.

Bake for one hour or until a skewer comes out clean. Cool in tin for 15 minutes before turning out. Sift icing sugar over the top and serve warm with cream.

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

feasting on the family farm

I've been meaning to get back to this post for months but I think it's time I released it in to the ether. This could be read as an ad for the Thermomix (I'm not a consultant) but if you're interested in the gadget it may give you an idea of it's versatility. I rarely use it for all-in-one meals (though I am trying out more of these) but I do use it in the preparation of meals every day. 

Spending the days preparing and cooking meals, with great ingredients, in an iron shed, in the middle of a paddock, is pretty much my idea of heaven. Meals are shared, eaten together outside at the table and at night - around the fire! 

This gives us a little taster of what it will be like when we hit the road in a caravan in 2015!

We’re fortunate to have a basic kitchen set-up on the family farm and it was put to good use this week during our holiday. I didn’t leave home without my Thermomix though.

I had a concise meal plan – with the intention of not having to go in to town, especially to buy any extra ingredients. As it turned out we did need a few extra things but I made sure that my organic produce delivery was timed to coincide with our departure of Sydney.

These are some of the meals we ate during our week away from civilisation...

It’s times like this that the Thermomix comes in to its own – as a versatile tool in the kitchen for the preparation and cooking of savoury and sweets.  As well as meals we need snacks and goodies for when visitors pop by. 

I hate waste - especially food waste (and we have to visit the tip to get rid of it) so everything we brought fresh was used. If there was bacon left over from breakfast it was thrown in a salad for lunch. You get the idea!

As well as the Thermomix we have a microwave that doubles as an oven and an electric frying pan.

Below are a few meals I used the Thermomix to prepare.

Breakfasts can be as simple (muesli) or complicated as we like down here, after all we have all day! A few mornings we ate bacon and eggs. Dippy eggs were prepared in the Thermomix (using this recipe) but you have to be careful not to overdo them! 12 minutes was too long.  You can also steam/poach the eggs, which we tried too. My husband is a fiend for Hollandaise and the recipe (from the EDC) is ready in 8 minutes in the Thermomix. We have a BBQ for bacon.

We used the remaining Hollandaise as a dressing for a Caesar salad for lunch.

Passata – One again - here is my roasted tomato passata recipe. Simply bake tomatoes (bruised and battered are fine) with an onion, garlic, fresh basil and chilli (optional) on 200ºc until the onions are soft and tomatoes are beginning to caramelise. Empty them in to a food processor or the Thermomix and whizz until they are a sauce consistency.  I use the passata on pizzas, fresh pasta and a base for lasagne, bolognaise and kidney bean nachos. It freezes well too.

Pizza Bases – I use the recipe from the Everyday Cookbook. You could use gluten-free flour if need be.

Flat Bread – I found this recipe on the recipe community and used it to mop up curry one night.

Pasta – one of the first meals we ate here on the farm was homemade fettuccine. Again, I used the recipe from the Everyday Cookbook. I brought down my pasta roller and rack. J and the kids collected a bucket full of nettle from the gully and some beautiful mushrooms so we ate the fettuccine with a nettle pesto and garlic butter mushrooms. There’s something so satisfying about preparing a meal with basic ingredients, from scratch. 

Lasagne – the béchamel sauce recipe from the Everyday Cookbook worked a treat. I cooked the filling in the frying pan and used ready-made organic lasagne sheets. You could also use thin slices of zucchini or eggplant instead of pasta. 

Green Curry – I was desperate for a spicy dish and the Thermomix makes preparing curry pastes easier than deciding on a jarred alternative in the supermarket (not to mention healthier). I modified a few recipes and came up with my own version (which I've since thrown out!.) I used this paste as one of my inspirations so give it a go if you want a green curry. It’s good and can be used with any meat (or tofu) and veggies. I serve it with brown rice (cooked in the Thermomix).

A shopping list

* As well as a healthy supply of fresh fruit (great for snacking) and veggies (the basics - garlic, onions, and veggies that are good for the week- carrots, potatoes, zucchinis, olives) we also packed the following:

* tins of  lentils, chickpeas and beans which are great for chucking in salads. Our kids also like bean nachos. 

* Quite a few cheeses - mozarella, cheddar, deli cheeses (for pre-dinner snacks), haloumi (for salads) and parmesan for pesto. 

* Nuts - pine nuts (for pesto) and others for snacking.

* Dried fruit for snacking. 

* Flours - pasta, plain and SR. I threw in cocoa (which came in handy when I needed to make a chocolate cake for visitors). If the weather turned I as also prepared to make play dough for the kids so I took food dyes. 

* Milk - not long life. We just travelled with tonnes of ice bricks and stocked up when we ran out. We do like a good coffee on the farm and good coffee means fresh milk. Next time I'll be making yoghurt there instead of buying it, too.

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

chocolate & beetroot cupcakes

Do you need a bit of lunchbox inspiration? 

Here's a little recipe for chocolate and beetroot cupcakes I knocked up this morning! I've added this to the Thermomix in Australia recipe community. 

If you don't have a Thermomix you can use a food processor or a hand blender but you'd need to finely grate the beetroot.

Chocolate & Beetroot Cupcakes

Ingredients

150 grams Fresh Beetroot, peeled and roughly chopped
2 eggs
2 tablespoons milk
70 grams brown sugar
100 grams Butter, melted
150 grams Self Raising Flour
2 teaspoons cinnamon, ground
2 tablespoons good quality cocoa, or cacao powder

Method 
1. Preheat oven to 180 degrees. Grease three mini cupcake trays if you aren't using greaseproof trays.
2. Put the beetroot in mixing bowl and chop for 10 secs/sp 7.
3. Add eggs, milk, sugar and butter to TM bowl and mix with beetroot for 10 secs/sp 5
4.Add the flour, cinnamon and cocoa and mix 5 secs/sp 4. If needed, scrape down the bowl and mix for a further 3 secs/sp 7.
5. Using a teaspoon to spoon mixture into muffin tray. Bake for 11 minutes.

Tips
* I use a silicone mini muffin tray for these cupcakes that way I don't need to grease the tray.
* I use Van Houten cocoa. You can find it in supermarkets.
* I'm freezing these in batches to be thawed the night before.

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

wheat, nut & dairy-free muesli bars with raw cacao

These are a great lunch box idea! So many schools/preschools ask that lunches don't contain nuts. This recipe is also perfect for those who are lactose and gluten intolerant. If you don't own a Thermomix I am sure you could make these in a food processor. You would just need to use pre-ground rice flour. 

These muesli bars taste healthy but there's nothing wrong with that! 

ingredients

65 g brown rice
1 tbsp linseeds
1 tbsp chia seeds
half an apple
200 g your choice of dried fruit (e.g. dates, apricots, cranberries, sultanas, goji berries etc.)
90 g whole oats
70 g unsweetened puffed rice
25 g coconut, dessicated
1 tbsp pepitas
50 g organic coconut oil
2 eggs
50 g honey
30 grams raw organic cacao nibs
1 tbsp sunflower seeds  

method
 

1.Pre-heat oven to 180c degrees. Line the base and sides of a lamington pan with baking paper.

2.Add the flaxseeds, chia seeds and brown rice to the TM bowl and grind for 20 seconds on speed 9. Set aside.

3. Place the apple half in the TM bowl and grate for a few seconds on speed 5. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and add the dried fruit. Turn to the lid closed position and pulse on Turbo 3 times until the dried fruit is evenly chopped.

4.Return the seeds and rice to the TM bowl together with all of the remaining ingredients. Combine on reverse for 20-30 seconds on speed 3 until well combined.

5.Transfer the mixture to the prepared pan. Use the back of a spoon to press the mixture evenly into the pan and smooth the surface.

6. Bake for 15-20 minutes until lightly browned. Allow to cool for about 20 minutes in the pan before cutting in to 16 chunks. Cool on a rack before eating. Store for up to 5 days in the fridge.

You can also find this recipe on the online Thermomix recipe community: http://www.recipecommunity.com.au/recipes/wheat-nut-dairy-free-muesli-bars-raw-cacao/95370