Only for #Aussies, I suspect. Seven-Ingredient Vegemite and Cheese Biscuits

https://www.broadsheet.com.au/national/food-and-drink/article/recipe-savoury-seven-ingredient-vegemite-and-cheese-biscuits

#CookingAU #vegetarian #EggFree

I am raiding Broadsheet for some recipes this morning. Here's the wonderful Sun-Kissed Sanga

https://www.broadsheet.com.au/national/food-and-drink/article/recipe-cut-lunch-delis-libby-dunlops-sun-kissed-vego-sanga

#Straya #vegetarian #cookingAU

To tempt or inspire....

Zucchini (or use radish) with Soy and Wasabi

I am a great fan of wasabi – anything hot for that matter. Horseradish, mustard, wasabi. I like it when it gets up your nose and leaves you breathless with its heat. Now you don’t have to like it as hot and pungent as I do in order to like this snack/salad - you can temper the taste to your own preferences.

It is a lovely dish, put together in 3 or 4 minutes, perfect for Summer evenings or any time the weather has a bit of heat in it. Use zucchini or red or white radishes – they work equally well.

The idea came from one of my loved books – #JamTodayToo, by #TodDavies. A treasure trove of easy to make dishes with at-hand ingredients.

#TemptOrInspire #FromTheArchives #FromTheKitchen #CookingAU #food

3/ 🧵 /Saffron Swirls and Cardamom Dust /Ashia Ismail-Singer

As mentioned, the author lives in NZ now, after migrating first from India to Malawi where she grew up, and later to NZ. She has a fabulous website here https://www.ashiaismailsinger.com/ where you can view even more gorgeous photos. This, I think, is her 2nd cookbook.

Recommended for all lovers of the exotic, and the sweet.

#cookbookReviews #cookbooks #cookbookReview #LTCCookbookReviews #cooking #cookingAU #SaffronSwirls #AishaIsmailSinger #NewZealandCookbookAuthor #Food

2/ 🧵 /Saffron Swirls and Cardamom Dust /Ashia Ismail-Singer

Down to some nitty gritty. Many of the pages are verging on black, and these are useless to jot notes on unless you have a white ink pen. Go get yourself one. The book has 1 attached bookmark ribbon, sufficient for a book of this size. The book lies beautifully flat when open, so no need for weights when you are cooking from it.

Some of the recipes are egg-free, but not enough is this is your dietary preference 😢 UNLESS you just love Indian desserts and reckon the book is beautiful enough for the ones that are egg-free.

The book is divided by season, and is written in NZ, so the seasons might just align with ours (I find European seasonal books have to be adjusted by a month or two).

The recipes are spice-forward, and she has a couple of pages at the beginning of the book with information on the ones she uses.

#cookbookReviews #cookbooks #cookbookReview #LTCCookbookReviews #cooking #cookingAU #SaffronSwirls #AishaIsmailSinger #NewZealandCookbookAuthor #Food

1/ 🧵 /Saffron Swirls and Cardamom Dust /Ashia Ismail-Singer

Have I got a book for all you sweet tooth baking fiends out there. A dark mysterious book full of delights influenced by India, the Middle East and beyond.

Book: Saffron Swirls and Cardamom Dust
Author: Ashia Ismail-Singer
Published: 2021
Publisher: Bateman Books
Pages: 192
Price: Around $40AU. Ebook is available and can be cheaper.

It is a fabulous, mysterious, dark-paged book with luscious photos, enough to give you cavities by just looking. There are some familiar recipes and others evocative of exotic cuisines elsewhere.

#cookbookReviews #cookbooks #cookbookReview #LTCCookbookReviews #cooking #cookingAU #SaffronSwirls #AishaIsmailSinger #NewZealandCookbookAuthor #Food

From the kitchen tonight....

🥔 It has been a fabulous and so so hectic work day, so tonight I am making the fabulous Potato and Roast Cauliflower Salad with Olives, Feta and Rocket (Arugula). It is from #SixSeasons, by the lovely #JoshuaMcFadden.

📖 The cookbook #TheVegetarianBistro by #MarlenaSpieler has arrived - ordered because someone (forgotten who) mentioned it here on Masto. Thank you - you know who you are.

🇫🇷 It is a book I saw when working in France in the late-ish 1990's and I tried to buy it when I arrived back in Australia. I couldn't find it here. BUT when it was mentioned on Masto, I found a copy in the US, cheap enough that if it didn't arrive it wouldn't matter.

📦 But it did arrive and I am over the moon after all this time. A fabulous book of French recipes without meat, fish or fowl. It will be my evening's reading.

#FromTheKitchen #WhatIAmCooking #Vegetarian #EggFree #cooking #cookingAU

From the Kitchen this weekend....

🌶️ Tonight is a mung bean and greens curry on rice with yoghurt and crispy onions, a carrot chutney (HM) and a pickle.

🍚 I chose a short grain rice tonight instead of the usual long grain basmati. Just for a change.

🤗 During the breaks in the soccer last night I pottered in the kitchen to relieve the stress of the game. Oh my goodness! What a game! I made another jar of ginger paste (ginger ground with a little vinegar and salt for preserving).

🐄 And also put 2 litres of yoghurt on to "brew" overnight. Half went in the EasiYo thermos container, and half in the dehydrator on the "yoghurt" setting. I love getting them out and seeing the yoghurt perfectly formed. I suspect the dehydrator works just a tad better, but there is little in it.

🌊 I put some kombu on to soak overnight (hence this thread this morning https://mastodon.au/@LifeTimeCooking/110879772680720733). I used 2 types of kombu, Hidaka and Rausu.

🍲 The kombu soaked overnight, then I bought it slowly to just under a boil, added miso and enjoyed an awesome bowl of miso soup. The best miso soup for a while!

🥙 Also yesterday I made dosai - a quick multigrain one where you mix several flours to a batter, sit for a short while, and make those awesome Tamil flatbreads. See here for deets: https://mastodon.au/@LifeTimeCooking/110874240038358211

🍏 While the dosa batter was resting, I whipped up the best Indian quick chutney ever! Tomato, apple and ginger chutney - spicy and absolutely delicious!

📖 The recipe for the dosa and the chutney (what an excellent pairing) are from #Tiffin by #RukminiSrinivas

🥒 Today's pickles are HM Indian quince oil-based pickles.

#FromTheKitchen #WhatIAmCooking #WhatIAmEating #vegetarian #eggFree #indianFood #Cooking #cookingAu #JapaneseFood #food

From the Kitchen already today:

Baingan Bharta - spicy mashed eggplant. I used roasted eggplant pulp from the freezer, also some cherry tomatoes from freezer, with onion and spices.

I topped with very limey char-grilled broccolini. A perfect Friday brunch dish.

Recipe is from @MadhurJaffrey's book #FlavoursOfIndia. There are lots of different but similar recipes around, and I like to try different ones. My favourite so far is from #Tiffin by #RukmiiSrinivas

#IndianFood #CookingAU #vegetarian #vegan #FromTheKitchen #WhatIAmCooking #WhatIAmEating

Tried,Tested and True / Liz Harfull

Having looked at the 2 Blue Ribbon cookbooks by Liz Harfull (see ⬆️ ) , it is worth completing the trio with her latest book.

🇦🇺 Tried True and Tested is a collection of recipes from community cookbooks, the ones that were very common mid to late last century. Accompanying the recipes are gorgeous stories of the people who contributed them. Not only does it contain those recipes we grew up with, it is another book that showcases Australian food history. You can see it on Liz's website https://www.lizharfull.com/lizs-books/tried-tested-and-true/

True to the form of the community cookbooks I had, often published by church-affiliated women' groups and the Country Women's Association, this book contains mostly sweet recipes and meat recipes. There were very few veg recipes in those books! I used to have quite a few from my Aunties.

Tried Tested and True, by Liz Harfull
Published: 2018
Publisher: Allen & Unwin
Pages: 320
Price: Around $25AU, beginning to be scarce. Ebook is available and can be cheaper.

Recommended by lovers of older recipes and of Australian food history.

#cookbookReviews #cookbooks #cookbookReview #LTCCookbookReviews #cooking #cookingAU #TriedTestedTrue #LizHarfull #AustralianFood #AustralianCookbookAuthor

From the Kitchen today....

💚 Spinach was on the agenda, and I was reminded how bright green it can get when sauteed. Delicious. Simple, easy, with pine nuts and nutmeg.

💚 Leftovers of the 13 Treasure Happiness Soup - it is always so good you can't stop at one bowl. Two is the absolute minimum. There is enough for tomorrow 🥳

💚 Chilli Paneer 🌶️ 🌶️ 🌶️ Who'd have thought it would be as good as (or better) than some restaurants? 🤦‍♀️ Paneer lightly battered, in a sauce made primarily from (chilli, onion, garlic. red capsicum) with chilli sauce, soy sauce and tomato sauce. That's #IndoChineseFood for you 😋 😋 😋

💚 Oh! My! OH! MY! When the (chilli, onion, garlic. red capsicum) hit the hot oil in the pan - the aromas! I think the street was salivating at my kitchen window.

💚 The recipe is from #ChaiChaatChutney by #ChetnaMakan.

💚 With the paneer was more of the sprouted brown basmati, which is my new love. Found just before the rice crisis hits, so I may never ever find any more 😭 💔

#FromTheKitchen #WhatIAmCooking #WhatIAmEating #vegetarian #EggFree #cooking #cookingAU #IndianFood #IndoChinese

A quick update From the Kitchen today....

🍞 From the Oven tonight - right now, making the house smell of fresh baked bread - a round ring of Fennel Seed and Salt Bread. I used poppy seed, fennel seed, ajwain and celery seed. Yum.

🍲 Just perfect to have with the Lima Bean Tomato Soup with Tofu Puffs.

#FromTheKitchen #cookingAU #cooking #WhatIAmCooking #WhatIAmEating #food #vegetarian #eggFree

From the Freezer.....

🍅 Last summer, I placed cherry tomatoes from the garden, excess to kitchen needs, in ziplock bags and froze them. The larger tomatoes were chopped or pureed in the blender and frozen.

🍅 I could never have predicted how much I have used these - it is only July and I have 1 small bag of cherry tomatoes left. The rest has been used in day-to-day cooking.

🍅 I also made various tomato sauces in Summer and froze them. I have plenty left, but will miss the simple, plain, easy tomatoes.

🥕 I also froze shredded carrots and zucchini - so much zucchini I thought I would never use it all. But I am also close to the end of them. They get added to soups, tofu scrambles, pasta sauces, and so much more.

🌿 I used the last bag of pesto from the freezer yesterday 😢 I had to search deep into the depths of the freezer to find it. I had given up hope, but found it at the bottom of one of the drawers.

#FromTheFreezer #FromTheKitchen #Vegetarian #EggFree #cookingAU #cooking

For scrambled tofu fans, this is this weekend's scramble, made with pesto and cherry tomatoes:
https://herestheveg.blogspot.com/2015/12/pesto-scrambled-tofu.html

It's from (a couple of) my favourite Melbournians, Cindy and Michael from Where's the Beef?

I had some tofu in the freezer, and also pesto (made last Summer) and cherry tomatoes (also from last Summer), so it is an easy dish for us today.

#FromTheKitchen #WhatIAmEating #WhatIAmCooking #Vegetarian #EggFree #food #cookingAu #cooking

From the Kitchen today.....

🌿 I've made a lovely pepper mix with long pepper (pippali), white pepper and black pepper. It layers flavours in a dish, rather then being just black pepper bitey.

🌿 Same with the salt. I ground some sea salt today with some dried lemon verbena from @collettell 's place. She gave it to me fresh, but I didn't get around to use it, so it dried on the Kitchen Bench.

🌿 I am grinding half a dozen bunches of coriander I got today, very cheaply, into coriander paste (with salt and vinegar), for easy dolloping into Indian dishes. My last jar is almost empty. It is also time to do another jar of ginger (same process). I sometimes do garlic, but am happy slicing it atm. I love to slice rather than chop.

🌶️ I have been sorting out my pantry (mainly a heap of dals and other Indian ingredients, but other things too). I MUST reduce the amount I keep on stock. I am making some progress and created some additional space today. I think I will get the huge bag of seasalt (which sits in another unrelated cupboard) into the pantry now.

🛍️ The Indian Plaza has fabulous Village brand paneer in large blocks. I cut them in 4 and freeze them for delicious future dishes like Paneer 65 (or Chilli Paneer).

🧊 Speaking of the freezer, I am making *a little* headway in making room, but as soon as I use something up, I make another dish for the freezer. 🤔

🍚 Did I tell you I made black rice congee the other day? Delicious (mix of black rice and white basmati).

🍄 Some dried mushrooms are soaking for a weekend risotto.

🍅 I made a spicy Indian tomato sauce base for future Indian potato dishes, also in the freezer now.

👚 The washing is on, so I don't have to do it tomorrow.

#FromTheKitchen #WhatIAmCooking #vegetarian #eggFree #cookingAU #cooking #food

#HettyMcKinnon says "For a bouncy, firm texture, simmer your tofu for a few minutes". Now I know why I love steamed tofu so much - I guess it is similar.

https://www.epicurious.com/expert-advice/boil-tofu-for-a-bouncy-firm-texture

#AustralianFood #Tenderheart #food #cookingAU #cooking #vegetarian

Diving into #MeeraSodha #East again this morning for more Scrambled Tofu Akuri. Akuri style is from the Indian Parsi community, and uses chilli, ginger, cumin, garlic, coriander leaves and tomato.

I used Pressed Silken Tofu this time, and it was perfect. I love her idea of draining the tofu for 10 mins prior to cooking. Yum. A definite favourite, along with Ottolenhi's scrambled harissa tofu.

BTW, I prefer scrambled tofu made with silken tofus over the more popular firm tofu. It is naturally more creamier and soft, whereas you do need to be careful of moisture when using firm tofu - recipes often add milk, cream and even mayo! No need for that here.

#Food #cookingAU #cooking #IndianFood #WhatIAmCooking #WhatIAmCookingFrom #WhatIAmEating #vegetarian #EggFree

I popped into the shops when I was out and about yesterday, being productive - and found CELERIAC and BELGIAN ENDIVE! Both are very rare in my neck of the woods, and I was overjoyed. There will be Celeriac and Fennel Soup soon.

#food #Treasures #cookingAU #cooking

To tempt or inspire....

I have been collating recipes for whole mung beans for my daughter who has a surplus of them. This is one of my favourites.

Khar: garlic-flavoured mung beans with greens

Khar is a unique Assamese dish, traditionally served as a starter.

Khar can be made with a variety of ingredients – pulpy vegetables such as gourds, papaya, pumpkin, zucchini, eggplant and cucumber, as well as lentils and a variety of greens. Here we used Mung Beans although toor dal and urad dal are also common. I have seen it made with rice flour and no lentils.

The greens can be any mix you like, and I often use mustard greens with chilli leaves (when I can get them). I have even addes some betel leaves (when available).

The recipe has a lot of garlic in it which softens its raw bite due to the cooking and adds a lovely umami flavour.

Don’t confuse this dish with Lebon Khar, which is a Middle Eastern dish of cucumber and sour cream or yoghurt with a vinegar and mustard dressing.

#TemptOrInspire #FromTheArchives #FromTheKitchen #vegetarian #EggFree #cookingAU #cooking #IndianFood #AssameseFood

From the Kitchen today...

👩‍🍳 Not a lot happening, but the oven was on for most of the day. The kitchen was delightfully fragrant and warm.

🍲 The Spicy Roasted Carrot and Apple soup is still divine. I threw some extra veg onto the roasting tray - half a green capsicum, a celery stick, a lone chilli, 2 small potatoes, all needing to be used. The curry spices were warming but not too hot. Silky smooth. Are pureed soups out of fashion? I love them. 🤫 I had 2 bowls.

:🍚 The left-over zucchini risotto from last night was made into fritters and fried. Such a good use of left-overs. Delicious.

🍎 The quinces were baked, flavoured with vanilla, cinnamon and lavender. The lavender was from the lavender sugar I made last year. The quinces are baked in syrup for 4.5 hours in a slow oven until deep ruby red. It is always amazing to watch them change colour. Enough for dessert and for topping muesli in the morning. Recipe from Food of Life cookbook.

:pumpkin_tired: The last butternut from the vine is picked and waiting on the Kitchen bench for inspiration. I have no plans yet.

:pumpkin_tired: The huge butternut the neighbour shared with me recently was still quite green. I don't think I have ever tasted an unripe pumpkin before. It looked really good and was very solid, but the texture wasn't right when cooked. Such a pity. Picked waaaaay too early.

#FromTheKitchen #cooking #cookingAU #vegetarian #eggFree #WhatIAmCooking #WhatIAmEating