The Barefoot Cookbook

Smiley Face Pie

2008-12-20T20:25:00.003+11:00

This pie is merely a meat and veg pie - but if you use the left over pastry to create a smiley face on top - then my kids will eat every last vegie inside! The recipe doesn't contain many ingredient amounts, this is for the simple fact that I don't know what dish you will be cooking it in. The amounts for a small pie dish are completely different to the amounts needed for a roasting tray.

Ingredients

Shortcrust pastry
mince
fresh vegies from the garden
curry powder
thyme
ground cumin
1 tbsp flour
a splash of worchershire sauce
salt/pepper (to taste)
water

Method

1. Roll out half of the pastry and lay it into the greased dish. Blind bake in a hot oven for about 10 minutes.
2. In a pan heat some oil and saute onion and the mince. Add the other vegetables and saute for a couple of minutes.
3. Add the flour and cook for another minute. Now add about 1/2 cup of water, along with the spices, herbs, sauce and salt and pepper. Allow to cook until the vegies are soft.
4. Spoon the mixture into the pie dish. Then roll out the remaining pastry and lay over the top of the pie. Seal and make a face with the remaining pastry. Baste the top with milk.
5. Bake in a moderate oven until the pastry is crispy and golden.

Old Fashioned Homemade Lemonade

2008-11-27T11:01:00.002+11:00

This is one of my favourite summer drinks. It is quick and easy to make and is the wettest drink I know.

Ingredients

8 frozen cubes of lemon juice
4 tbsps sugar
1 litre water

Method

**NOTE**

I have used frozen cubes of lemon juice because that is how we store all our excess lemons. But alternatively you could use fresh lemon juice and normal ice cubes to make the drink colder. There are approximately 2 cubes per lemon.

Place all the ingredients into a jug and stir until the sugar has dissolved. Serve immediately or store in the fridge for up to 24 hours.

Variations

1. Use a blend of half lemon and half orange for a sweeter alternative

2. To each glass add the juice of half a lime and a few splashes of aromatic bitters

3. Add a little chopped mint or salad burnett

Homemade Mayonnaise

2008-11-07T09:35:00.003+11:00

This is one of those recipes that used to be really hard to make. With the advent of blenders and food processors, this recipe will take no longer than five minutes to make - yes, you read that right! The flavour is so much better than the shop bought imitations, that it is likely you will never go back once you try this.

Ingredients

1 Standard sized egg
1 cup Pure olive oil (do not under any circumstances use 'extra virgin' olive oil - the flavour is way too strong for mayonnaise)
2-3 tbsp Vinegar
2-3 tsp Sugar
up to 1 rounded tsp Mustard (use any form of mustard - wholegrain and honey mustard are particularly nice)
Salt/Pepper (to taste)

Method

**Please Note: All of the ingredients must be at room temperature, otherwise curdling of the mayonnaise will occur.**

1. Put the egg, 2 tbsps of the vinegar, 2 tsps of sugar, mustard, salt and pepper into a food processor. Whizz on HIGH until all the ingredients are fully combined
2. Using the feed shoot at the top of the food processor, ever so slowly add the olive oil. Keep adding the oil in a thin stream until it is fully combined and the mayonnaise is thick
3. Turn the food processor off and taste the mayonnaise. Sweeten it or season to taste. If the mayonnaise is too thick, add a little more vinegar and blend again

I am unsure how long this will keep in the fridge, but with the high oil content, I would imagine it would last some time.

Lemon Butter

2008-10-23T11:59:00.006+11:00

Now that spring is here our hens are laying like there is no tomorrow. Meanwhile all the lemon trees in the area are weighing heavily under the burden of their fruit. So it is now the time of year when I make all my lemon butter that will be given away as presents come Christmas time.

*This recipe has been adapted from one that can be found in the P.W.M.U Cookbook*

Ingredients

125g Unsalted butter
2 cups Sugar
4 Standard-sized eggs (or 6 bantam eggs), lightly beaten
Juice of 4 big lemons
Grated zest of 2 lemons

Method

1. Grate the rind of two lemons and then juice all four
2. Put the butter and sugar into a pan onto the LOWEST heat possible. Stir until the butter is melted and well combined with the sugar
3. Mix through the lemon juice and zest. Stir through until the sugar has dissolved
4. Now take the pan off the heat and add the eggs. Whisk immediately to prevent lemon flavoured scrambled eggs. If you are worried that the mixture is too hot then let it cool slightly before adding the eggs
5. Place the pan back onto the stove top (still on the LOWEST heat) and whisk constantly until the mixture has thickened
6. Pour into sterilised jars, allow to cool and seal. Then add preserving wax to the lids

**Sterilizing Jars**

1. I save all glass jars that have the pop button on top. The only exception to this rule is Heinz baby food jars. They rarely reseal properly.
2. Preheat the oven to 100 degrees
3. Scrub the jars thoroughly in very hot soapy water. I allow them to drain a little and then pour boiling water over them to rinse them.
4. Now pop them into the oven on trays at 100 degrees to dry them. They need stay in the oven until I fill them.
5. Then I remove them using the trays (do not touch them or they will no longer be sterile). When the jars are filled, pop the lids on (try not to touch the inside of the lid) and allow the jars too cool. Once the buttons pop down they are sealed.
6. They can be stored like this, but as an extra precaution, they can be either dipped into preserving wax or paint the wax around the lid.

Austrian Chocolate Cake

2008-10-19T18:23:00.004+11:00

This is probably the most decadent way that I know of to use excess eggs. I have adapted this recipe from one printed in 'Step by Step Desserts and Confections' published by DK (ISBN 1-875566-21-X)

Ingredients

200g dark chocolate, broken into pieces
135g unsalted butter or margarine
5 eggs, separated
180g white sugar
45g plain flour
5g baking powder
Whipped cream, for serving

Method

1. Preheat oven to 170 C
2. Melt chocolate and butter in a pan over a very low heat. Remove from heat and allow to cool slightly
3. Beat egg whites until soft peaks form, gradually add 60g of the sugar. Continue beating until stiff peaks form
4. In another bowl, beat egg yolks and remaining sugar together until very thick and pale yellow in colour. Now add the melted chocolate mixture and beat until completely mixed. Now add the flour
5. With a whisk or spatula, gently fold in the egg whites
7. Spoon the mixture into a 23cm round cake tin. Bake for 30-35 minutes
8. The cake will rise and crack while cooking, forming a merengue-like topping. The cake is cooked when a skewer inserted comes out moist, but with no cake sticking to it
9. Cool cake in the tin, the top will collapse in on itself creating a crusted top and incredibly moist base.
10. Serve cold with whipped cream

Celery with Egg and Lemon

2008-10-06T20:52:00.003+11:00

This recipe is for my mate Jen - she's after new recipes for her celery glut. This is an old greek recipe that combines the wonderful flavour of celery with the traditional flavours of whipped egg and tangy lemon. Anyone who has tried the greek take on chicken soup or their famous meatballs will recognise this wonderful combination.

Ingredients

6 lamb chops or shanks (be aware that cooking times will differ between the two cuts)
A bunch of celery
4 eggs
Juice of 2 lemons
Salt and pepper (to taste)

Method

1. Boil your meat until tender. For chops this will take about 1 hour, shanks will take at least 2 hours of cooking
2. Whilst the meat is cooking, destring the celery and chop it into 3 inch pieces
3. Once the meat is tender and the water it has cooked in has reduced, add the celery and simmer for half an hour. It is important to reduce the water content before adding the celery as there is a high water content in this vegetable that will be released back into the cooking pot as it simmers. Once the celery is cooked, turn the heat off
4. Seperate your eggs and beat the egg whites with electric beaters on a HIGH speed until soft peaks form. Now turn the speed down to MEDIUM and add the yolks. Once they have combined, turn the beaters down lower still and add the lemon juice at a SLOW speed. It is important to maintain the correct speeds when mixing these 3 ingredients or they will curdle when the lemon is added
5. Now, still at a SLOW speed, add approximately 500ml - 1lt of the hot liquid from the meat and celery to the egg and lemon mix. You will need to add this as slowly as possible so as not to cook the eggs. This results in scrambled eggs and is nowhere near as appetising as it should be - although it still tastes the same. Once some of the hot liquid has been added to the egg mix, you can safely pour this entire mixture back in with the meat and celery. Mix thoroughly with a wooden spoon
6. Serve this immediately with some good, homemade crusty bread

Springtime Fritata

2008-10-03T21:17:00.003+10:00

This is an ovenbaked fritata that can be changed to suit what ever is currently growing in your garden. At the moment it is Springtime in Australia and I desperately needed a way to use all the eggs and going-to-seed silver beet.

Ingredients

6-8 eggs (this depends on the size of your hens and the eggs that they lay)
A little milk
A handful of silverbeet (use the smaller leaves that are going to seed at the top of the plant)
3 small leeks (or one large)
1 bacon rasher, thinly sliced
A small wedge of ricotta
1 small handful of grated peccorino cheese
Grated tasty cheese
Salt and pepper (to taste)

Method

1. Wash the silverbeet thoroughly and strip the leaves from the middle vein. Discard the veins. Wash and chop the leeks
2. Mix the eggs and thin it with a little milk. Add the crumbled riccota and grated peccorino. Season with salt and pepper.
3. Grease an oven save dish and pop in the silverbeet, leeks and bacon.
4. Pour over the egg mixture.
5. Grate enough tasty cheese to thinly cover the top.
6. Pop the lot into the over and cook at a moderate heat until it puffs up and is golden on top.
7. Allow to cool a little and serve. Fritatas actually taste better at a warm temperate.

Pasta Cabonara with Peas

2008-10-03T20:59:00.004+10:00

I invented this recipe the other night for dinner after picking a big pile of sugarsnaps, early masseys and snowpeas.

Ingredients

Homemade pasta
250ml cream
Peas (I used 3 different varieties, but it is okay to use what ever you have on hand)
1 medium onion
3 small leeks (or one large)
Peccorino cheese (or substitute with parmesan)
Salt and Pepper (to taste)

Method

1. Fill a large pot with water and pop it onto the stovetop to heat up. This is to cook the pasta in later on.
2. Blend the eggs and flour for the pasta in a food processor and set aside.
3. Over a gentle heat, saute the chopped onion and leeks until soft. Now add the snowpeas and allow these to soften also.
4. Add the cream and simmer until it has reduced and thickened.
5. While the cream is reducing, roll out and cut your pasta. Add to boiling water to cook.
6. Add your shelled peas now and a small handful of grated peccorino cheese. Allow it to melt and mix through and then season with salt and pepper.
7. Drain the pasta and rinse under water. Add it back to the pan and pour over the sauce. Stir through to combine and serve immediately.

Pasta - The Real Homemade Stuff

2008-09-25T20:47:00.003+10:00

Now, when I talk about using pasta in a recipe - this is the stuff I'm talking about. I am certainly not talking about that hideous anaemic dry stuff that they fob off in the supermarkets these days. Real pasta should be yellow, the very colour of the yolks that your backyard hens have provided. It should be thick and tasty and of a texture that cannot be described to anyone that is used to submitting themselves to an inferior product.

Now, I can hear you all say - 'Well, pasta is pasta. It's only the handle for the sauce.' And this is the point at which I scream - really loudly. Can you hear me yet? I dare you all to go out and try this recipe - you'll never go back to the shop bought stuff once you have eaten the genuine article.

And that's a guarantee!

So here is the recipe:

Homemade Pasta

Ingredients

Eggs
Flour

Method

1. Wander out to the chicken coop and collect some eggs - one for each adult. If there are children, you will need 1/2 an egg per child (yes, my chooks don't lay in halves either ;-p )

2. Now get out your kitchen scales and for each large egg, add 125 grams of flour. You can use any type of flour you like, but if you are using Farina flour, add up to an extra 25 grams per egg. If you have bantam eggs, then you will need to start with 100 grams (sometimes even less) of flour and work your way from there.

3. Add the eggs first and then the flour to a food processor and blend until combined. You can do this the old fashioned way - dump the flour onto a table and add the eggs and mix until a stiff dough has formed and all the ingredients are combined, but a food processor is a hell of a lot easier! The correct consistency should look like large breadcrumbs, but if it forms into a solid dough, then there is too much moisture and more flour will need to be added. Oh, and don't worry if you think the mixture is too stiff - it isn't.

4. Now put the water on the stove in a large pot. Crank up the heat. There is no need to add any oil or salt to the water. Salt (and trust me on this one) will only toughen your pasta.

5. Now pull out your pasta machine. I paid $40 for mine and it works just as well as the really expensive ones, but then a friend of mine paid $30 for a dud. Unfortunately it all comes down to trial and error . Now separate the dough into fist sized lumps. Dip each lump into some flour and roll it through the machine a couple of times on the widest setting. Now start decreasing the settings with each roll until the desired thickness is reached. This thickness will be about half the desired thickness of the cooked pasta.

6. If you are making lasagna, then your job is done. If you are making fettuccine, then you will need to run each sheet through the large cutting attachment (which will have come with the pasta machine). If you are making noodles (ie/. for Asian dishes), then you need to run it through the small cutting attachment. Yep, that's right - there is no difference at all between pasta and noodles.

7. After each sheet has been cut, dump it straight away into the boiling pot of water to avoid any sticking.

8. Now it's just a matter of letting it cook to the way you like it.

9. Enjoy!

Welcome - take a seat...

2008-09-25T20:21:00.001+10:00

...it's been a while that I have been maintaining my blog 'The Barefoot Gardener'. In this time I have focused on my garden and the endless tasks that arise from growing food. Now, I feel it is time to start sharing the plethora of recipes that I have developed.

Growing food is a funny practise. Mostly you focus solely on getting the ground prepared and the seed in. Then the long wait begins. Patience is certainly a hard earned virtue in any kitchen garden. But once the food is grown, there is suddenly that 'Uh-Oh' moment. You have the food, you have cooked it up a few times and then you realise that you only have four different ways to eat silver beet!

This blog will (hopefully) help seasonal gardeners and cooks prepare interesting meals from the same foods. Many of our family's meals nowadays are spur of the moment occasions. Sometimes I have something in mind, sometimes I let the garden talk for me. Always, I am on the lookout for that elusive recipe that will make zucchinis more appealing after eating them for weeks on end. I must admit, I haven't found that recipe....yet. But where there is a garden and an enthusiastic cook to tend it, there will always always be new recipes to be had.

**NOTE**

I cook from the heart. As a result, I know exactly how much pasta it takes to feed our family and how much cheese we like in a recipe. I have absolutely no idea how to cook for you and your family though. Therefore most of my recipes are fairly sketchy when it comes to amounts. Feel free to experiment and find out exactly how your family works and what they all like to eat.