Meals from nothing...Hints and Tips # 1...

What do you do, when, like Mother Hubbard, the cupboard is bare?   First of all, can I say, that with a little forethought, and very little money, your cupboard never needs to be completely bare. At a minimum, even in my most cash strapped days, I had pasta, rice, herbs and eggs in my cupboard. Alas, Covid-19 has shown us all, that when everyone's cupboard is bare, even those things are hard to find!   Dried beans and pulses, as well as the tinned ones, tinned vegetables, tinned fruit, preserved fruits, dried fruit and vegetables, pickles, tinned fish like salmon and tuna...all the things we usually imagine will be our fallback position in tough times, also suddenly were unavailable.   Lesson learned, right?   The month of June 2020, will be all about meals from nothing. Hopefully, we can discuss how to stock our pantries well, and even pleasurably, even when things really do go pear-shaped. Because, who knows what our real 'normal' is going to look like in the future.   Please chip in with your own favourites as we go along.   Hint No. 1 - herbs and spices   I try to always have some unusual herbs and spices, and a few little 'luxury' items on hand, even in the toughest of times.   Kombucha is a new 'luxury' here, and whilst I don't brew my own (yet!), I do have an obliging friend who provides hers in exchange for fresh herbs.   The addition of exotic spices, too, can make the plainest of ingredients into something delicious.  

  Last night I made my quick version of Dhal Makhani...a super lush and creamy lentil and red bean soup/stew. I have a few ways of making this according to what I have around. Here's the first one.   Dhal Makhani in four sentences

Saute a pinch of fenugreek and cardamom seeds, then added a chopped onion. To that, add a tin of drained red kidney beans, and a tin of drained and rinsed lentils. Add a teaspoon of minced ginger and garlic, ground cumin and turmeric, and a half a teaspoon of chilli powder. Toss in the equivalent of about half a kilo (1 lb) of tinned tomatoes, tomato passata, tomato juice, chopped fresh tomatoes or even condensed tomato soup.
Simmer for a while, stir through a couple of spoonsful of cream, sour cream, Greek yogurt, cream cheese or coconut cream, and serve with gluten free naan bread and a glass of Kombucha.
Yum!
Apologies to the purists who would have me hung, drawn and quartered for not making this dish in the authentic manner.   Hint no. 2 - work with what you have and be creative
We had a very thrown together meal another night, as the fridge was looking a bit empty. I'm trying to stretch my shopping days by one each week, so I will shop Tuesday for example, when normally I'd shop on Monday.
We had a smallish tin of red salmon which I buy at Aldi, and which is so inexpensive for the quality, it's ridiculous. We had some limp rocket (arugula), a quarter of a small pumpkin, and another tin of Aldi lentils...also so inexpensive, even if it's just for the convenience of having the tins on hand for this situation.
I mixed the salmon with two eggs, two slices of bread cubed minutely, the limp rocket (arugula), and some seasoning, and moulded them into patties.   I cubed the pumpkin and roasted it, then mixed it with the drained and rinsed lentils, and a smidge of juice from a Lemon and Cayenne Pepper juice I bought at Woolworths (single serve) and which was so tangy I couldn't finish it as a drink! It worked magnifico as a salad dressing though.
I found a few stray pistachios hiding up the back of the pantry, and shelled and chopped them.
Then I dusted the salmon patties in potato flour, which gives everything the most fantastic crisp coating ever, and pan fried them.
Well, the meal got the biggest thumbs up from the troops and once again shows what you can do with what appears to be very little, by maintaining your stockpile of tinned pantry staples and a few unusual flavours.   Hint no. 3 - think laterally   Thinking laterally can really help sometimes.   Many cuisines are born out of sheer necessity and availability of produce (or lack thereof), so don't be afraid to substitute.   Cream in savoury dishes, you can substitute with milk, cream cheese, coconut or other nut milk, yoghurt, powdered milk, evaporated milk (NOT condensed milk), potato flakes, cornflour or arrowroot mixed with a little water, butter or margarine, or even mashed potato to add richness.   Now that we eat gluten free, we realise that lots of bread and pasta products can be replaced with gluten free crepes, dumplings, pancakes (hotcakes) and scones (biscuits), puffed tofu (Inari), Asian rice noodles, and even very thin omelettes if it's to be used as a wrap for other things.   Vegetables can often be substituted and interchanged at will, and can also replace bread and pasta in many dishes. We have toasted slices of Sweet Potato (Kumera) to have spread with avocado for breakfast for example. And Moussaka is much like Lasagne, but with Eggplant (aubergine) used instead of pasta between the layers. I've also made lasagne using crepes, zucchini ribbons, thinly sliced pumpkin (butternut squash), and thinly sliced potato. Not to mention, spaghetti or other pasta instead of the lasagne sheets. A layer is a layer is a layer, right?   I'll continue to share more ideas this month, but please, tell me your favourites too.   ...Mimi...    

Celebrations....my top four tips for faultless celebrations and entertaining...

 

 

I have a few go-tos when it comes to entertaining and celebrations.

 

Alas I am currently deprived of opportunities for pretty table settings, as home renovations continue here, but I do love the cooking.

 

When I was younger, I relished scouring my cookbooks to try something new.

 

These days, anything 'new' is usually out of my own imagination!

 

 

A case in point is this Prawn and Chorizo tray bake I came up with a while back during the early days of Covid-19 isolation.

 

How much easier can it get? Frozen prawns gently poached in salted water. Don't boil them. Just bring to a simmer in salted water, then switch off and put the lid on. Let them steam until pink and curled. Spread them on a tray with mouthwatering slivers of chorizo, and whatever veges you have on hand. Roast  in a moderate oven till it smells lush (the prawns are already cooked, remember). Serve with greens, or over pasta, or rice.

 

 

My favourite cake recipe is here. It's an absolute winner, and so versatile. You can omit the cocoa and add other flavours too. These are mini cupcakes with a secret filling of tinned caramel, dusted with icing sugar, and sprinkled with edible rose petals. Utterly delish, and presentation +++.

 

The simplest things can look fancy with a strawberry on top. This is a home made custard pot, upended into a ramekin, doused in maple syrup, and decorated prettily. House version of Crème Caramel anyone?

 

You can make custard with cornflour.

 

Here's the recipe in four sentences:

 

Whisk two heaped tablespoons of sugar into 1 litre (1 3/4 pints) of milk, and heat on the stove or in the microwave till steaming. Mix 4 tablespoons of cornflour to a paste with a little cold milk, and add to the hot milk, whisking to combine. Heat, stirring often, till thickened. Add vanilla extract and a little yellow food colouring.

 

You can vary the consistency by increasing or decreasing the amount of cornflour you use. After a few batches, you'll get to know what consistency you prefer. We like them firm like little puddings.

 

 

Fruit and/or Nut clusters....gotta be happy when melting some chocolate or chocolate buttons, mixing in some dried fruit and nuts (or M&Ms or chopped jelly beans or freeze dried berries), and dropping spoonsful onto a sheet of baking paper to set, results in oohs and aahs. Decorate with cake decorating pretties if desired. Perfect as a gift or treat with coffee. And they look so appealing!

 

 

If you've got vegetables, a saucepan, and a stick mixer, you've got soup. You don't need a recipe. This one was made from the odds and ends in the refrigerator and the tops of the celery stalks, leaves and all. Just simmer everything together with some stock cubes and onion. Remove some of the liquid before blitzing with the stick mixer. You can always add it back in, but the aim is to have a nice thick soup, not a watery one. Add seasoning to taste, and swirl a bit of cream through when you serve it. Can't go wrong.

 

Pies are always a hit of course. Pastry was my nemesis for a long, long time. Especially once we decided to be gluten-free in support of our daughter. Then I discovered Lard and a pastry blender.

 

Whilst Lard is not something we'd eat every day, it makes the lightest, crispest pastry EVER. And anyway, 120gms (4 ozs) of Lard spread over 6 pies, is no worse than some of the stuff people buy and eat every day....hello McDonalds?

 



 

And this thing....this Pastry Blender, is sort of used like a potato masher to mix the shortening with the flour. The bit where you have to rub it in with your fingertips always annoyed me. Not good with repetitive tasks here. I made pastry in literally 90 seconds with it yesterday!

 

Here's Nannas pastry recipe in four sentences...with or without Pastry Blender!

 

My top tips for successful entertaining or special occasion meals.

 

1. Stick with what you know, served beautifully.

 

2. You can't go wrong with:

 

* a soup

* a tray bake or pies served with fresh seasonal vegetables or salad

* a favourite cake or custard based dessert.

 

3. Chocolate is always a winner with coffee and tea after a good meal.

 

4. You don't need lots of fancy equipment to make sensational food.

 

What are your entertaining or celebration meal go-tos?

 

...Mimi...

 

 



Motherly Advice...are you prepared for the unexpected?

 

I think we've all learned recently, is that we are not always prepared for unexpected events in life. I am all kinds of 'prepared' in general day to day terms, but who could have prepared us for Covid-19?

 

A friend of mine was hospitalised recently. NOT with Covid-19 thankfully.

 

She's home now, but you wouldn't believe what a pressure this unexpected confinement introduced into their lives. Apart from the very obvious worry for her and her family, it transpired that she had no sleepwear suitable for public viewing being a trackpants and tshirts for pyjamas kind of girl, and no toiletries that were not currently in use by the family.

 

Her husband was entrusted with the task of remedying the situation, and whilst you might imagine that husbands would be good at buying their wives sleepwear, judging by how that's marketed for Mothers Day, under duress, it's not that easy. And certainly not with current restrictions on shopping with many retailers being closed!

 

What size, what sort of fabric, what colour, would she wear pants and tops or nightgowns, what size slippers...these were all the kinds of decisions he had to make, without the relevant information at hand.

 

He also had to buy toiletries of all kinds, likewise without knowing what he was doing really...how many husbands really know our preferred toothpaste, toothbrush, soap, deodorant and so on. And of course, when you're unwell, the familiar becomes so important.

 

He managed, but his wallet was several hundred dollars lighter for the experience, which did not help anyones state of mind at the time.

 

This got me thinking that first of all, my husband would not have a clue if this were to happen to us. I have very particular taste in sleepwear, toiletries and general items of comfort, and the poor man would not know where to begin.

 

And secondly, with a very difficult Mothers Day coming up, given isolation and social distancing measures, could I use this idea to generate some gifts for the Mums in my life?

 

That list might include a handtowel in a favourite colour, with a pretty soap and body wash , like these...

 

 

Some pretty nightgowns would be absolutely essential, and I have a collection of patterns, both my own vintage ones and ones I've found on eBay or in thrift stores. Sleepwear styles do not change much from one decade to the next, and these styles remain comfortable and attractive even given their 30+ age...

 

Even a style like this one below, is surprisingly easy to construct, and when you're ill, it can be empowering to have a pretty nightgown...

 

 

Pharmacies always have little miniatures of toiletries available, and even samples can be a handy thing, and are given away routinely upon request in some pharmacies and department stores.

 

Imagine a gift that included a pretty nightgown (or two), some face washers or a handtowel, and a favourite soap, a dry shampoo and hair care items, toothbrush and toothpaste, lip balm, hand cream, light makeup items, and all presented in a drawstring bag in a sweet print.

 

Pretty, useful, and welcome for anyone of any age.

 

I ended up assembling a kit each for my two sisters for Mothers Day. Now daughter has requested one...hopefully not in case of hospitalisation! Then I'll try to assemble one for myself.

 

What would you add to your emergency self-care kit?

 

 ...Mimi...

Insourcing...a good week and my 6 kitchen essentials (they're not what you think)...

 

Social media has a lot to answer for in exhorting us to buy stuff sometimes.

 

There are groups with thousands, I mean tens of thousands of people on social media, sharing recipes for new ways to use their pie-maker, jaffle-maker, sandwich press, breadmaker, rice cooker, coffee bean grinder, Kitchen Aid, coffee machine, slow cooker, electric frypan, air fryer, benchtop grill or oven, egg boiler, pasta machine, and so on.

 

Me? I look at that list and think 'sooooo many appliances', and 'soooo much clutter', as well as 'sooo much storage space need'.

 

I nearly succumbed when an online friend shared pics of her delish looking cakes, frittatas and other assorted goodies, all cooked in her piemaker. Nearly.

 

But I realistically looked at the way I cook and what we eat, and decided against it.

 

Instead, here is what I cooked this week and last week, with nary a KMart appliance in sight.

 

1. First of all, this simple enamelware oblong pie dish is perfect for any baked meal or dessert. It's the right size for our family of three, and accommodates a small roast, a baked custard, a frittata or quiche, a meat or fruit pie, a meatloaf, a lasagne, baked rice pudding, bread and butter pudding, apple sponge, apple roly poly, fruit crumbles or clafoutis, and a dozen other dishes with ease. It cleans up like a dream, and takes up almost no space in my cupboard.

 

 

2. My Dutch Oven, purchased at Aldi for about a fifth of the price of a 'name' brand, easily fits four lamb shanks, a large roast, a huge gluten free brioche or cobb loaf, a mammoth casserole, a family sized potato bake, an enormous chicken, a small turkey, a ham hock or two for soup, and doubles as my slow cooker. I seared these lamb shanks at 6:30am, and threw in a quartered onion, some bay leaves, and some baby potatoes, and that's been happily simmering away in my oven on 100C (about 220F), for dinner tonight.

 

 

The same Dutch Oven cooked my end-of-week green soup for lunches earlier in the week....

 

 

No slow cooker required.

 

3. My Texas sized muffin pans are used for muffins, cakes, frittatas, quiches, meatballs, mini lasagnas, mini meatloaves, meringues, individual pies, baked bacon and egg, and stuffed tomatoes or potatoes. Cupcake liners keep them pristine, and make transfer from pan to fridge (or pan to mouth!), easy-peasy. Really don't need a pie maker, however much I may wish for one.

 

4. For big mixing tasks, I have a Sunbeam Mixmaster. No Kitchen Aid here. This works for everything I cook. It lives on my bench with it's two bowls. The beater and whisk attachments live in a drawer.

 

 

5. Individual plastic containers, allow me to portion control many things, from homemade custard and yoghurt, to snacks and desserts for work, saving money in a dozen ways.

 

6. Ziplock bags give me great storage options for my prepped vegetables and fruit, and anything that requires portioning and freezing. A sheet or two of paper towel inserted into them, helps absorb moisture and keeps leafy veg and soft fruit, fresher for longer. These store flat for use in my kitchen drawer. No cumbersome 'specialty' containers necessary. I'd struggle to fit a cabbage, a kilo of broccoli, a bunch of celery, a kilo of beans, and six zucchini in my refrigerator crisper. But not if I cut them up, pop them into a ziplock bag in ready-to-use portions, and put them to bed sleeping upright in the crisper drawer as seen above. Another tip here, is to always use the leafy or 'soft' veg and fruit early in the week...such as spinach, zucchini, beans, and Asian veg, and the 'hard' stuff in the latter half of the week, such as broccoli, pumpkin, celery, snow peas, beets, and carrots. Planning meals accordingly, really helps.

 

This week, I used all of those items, to fill my refrigerator with meals and snacks for the week ahead. I love pre-preparing this way. It saves us time, money, energy and storage space.

Everyone is different though.

What are your top kitchen essentials?

...Mimi...