Pickles7

Made this this afternoon "PERFECT" Hmmmmmm

Madeira cake

prepare a 25 cm tin, I only ever paint my tins with tin glide, recipe for tin glide is on post #20, this thread. .

sift together
250 grams of self raising flour
125 grams of plain flour

cream
250 grams each butter and caster sugar

add 5 eggs, 1 at a time adding a Tblsp of the flour after each egg

fold the rest of the flour in along with
grated lemon rind and juice of two lemons. [not Meyer lemons]

Bake 1 hour and 20 minutes @160 deg C

Leave this cake 24 hours before icing.
enjoy.

Irish stew

Simple, Delicious, & Nourishing.

I am cooking this over night in a slow cooker.
16 neck chops
2 medium ch onions
6 peeled and chopped carrots
3 tsp salt
2 tsp gr. black pepper
2 cups of water
###1 chopped habanero chili ### A little hot for small children
4 good hand fulls, of chopped up silver beet stalks. [Optional, my family won't eat the whites in silverbeet, lol ]
put cooker on high and turn down to , low.
Cooked 8 hours. The meat is falling off the bones.
I poured the liquid off into a narrow container, the fat was easier to skim off the top without setting it.
return to heat adding a can of drained peas [ mintless] reserve the liquid,
Add 3 Tblsp of cornflour to the liquid and thicken the stew, add more if you need to.
I served this with , mashed potato, boiled whole carrots, silverbeet greens.

#############Malt vinegar, 1st stage.
Vinegar is made by two distinct biological processes, both the result of the action of harmless microorganisms (yeast and “Acetobacter”) that turn sugars (carbohydrates) into acetic acid. Many foods involve some type of bacteria in their production i. e. cheese, yogurt, wine, pickles and chocolate.
Though one might suspect that malt vinegar is a simple process, no harder than wine making, it is however an involved and complicated process. Though it is thought that vinegar was a chance discovery and is 1000, s of years old there are references to vinegar and its use in food and medicine that are over 5000 years old. Simply it is wine that had gone off what the French aptly call VIN aigre - meaning sour wine and one can make vinegar from any material that one can make wine from. Malt vinegar is made from malted barley. However the modern day product is a lot more complicated than simply letting a barrel of wine go off (though that would work). It is a two-fold fermentation of barley malt or other cereals where starch has been converted to maltose
The first process is the alcoholic fermentation and occurs when yeasts change natural sugars to alcohol (beer wine making etc)
In the second process, a group of bacteria (called “Acetobacter”) converts the alcohol to acid. This is the acetic or acid fermentation that forms vinegar. Getting a bacteria culture to grow is important; timing is important; and fermentation needs to be carefully controlled.
##############Brew
Ingredients
Malt Extract. one 40oz can dark or stout malt (obtainable from most home brew shops and some health shops
Yeast 2 tsp brewers yeast (or stout yeast if you can obtain it)
Sugar 8 cups of unrefined white sugar,
Method
• Pour 10 litres of fresh, cold water into a 10 gallon plastic bucket that has a lid (If the bucket is new, wash it out with baking soda and rinse well to remove the plastic smell)
• In a large pot, bring 7 litres of water to a boil.
Add the malt extract. Stir and cook uncovered for 20 minutes.
• Add the sugar and stir to dissolve.
• As soon as the sugar is dissolved, pour contents into the bucket. Pour, or 'splash', the contents quickly, which adds air to the mixture the air allows the yeast to grow quickly
• Top up with bottled drinking water, distilled water or boiled tap water until so that your bucket is half full. Let it cool to blood temperature
• Sprinkle in the yeast, and stir well, loosely Cover with lid if too tight your malt could explode from the carbon dioxide gas that is produced. )
Keep covered and avoid unnecessary opening. The malt will be ready in 6- 10 days, depending on ambient temperature of the room Ideally the room temperature should be 20-24 Celsius at the highest; you could getaway with a slightly lower temperature of no less than16 Celsius but it will take the malt a day or two longer to ferment.
Test for readiness with a hydrometer. Set hydrometer into the malt and spin it once to release bubbles which cling to it and give a false reading. The ready reading should be about 1. 008. If you don't have a hydrometer, you can judge readiness by tasting a sample - it should not be sweet tasting. There should be little or no bubbling action in the malt. At this point the malt is ready for the next stage

##########Malt vinegar, 2nd stage
Aceto conversion
Take about half a litre of your finished malt and place it in a large open jar it need to be left uncovered to allow the musty mould to develop (this is called the vinegar mother) Place the jar in a cool (but not cold) dark room A garage or shed or cellar would be ideal, in about a week the liquid will have a mould on or a misty residue in the body of the malt. This is your finished mother and all you have to do now is to strain the mother through some very fine muslin to remove the mould, mist and any bugs that happened to fall into the mother. Then you add the strained mother to the rest of your malt, leave it covered with some muslin held tightly over your bucket (knicker elastic works really well for this) for a minimum of 2months though 3 or 4 would be better. You should now have really healthy and fantastic malt vinegar
Part 3 pasteurization
Now you could just use the vinegar as it is, but it will go misty and cloudy quickly because the Acetobacter is still alive and trying to make your whole batch of vinegar into a mother. To prevent this you have to heat your vinegar to 170F and hold it at this temperature for 20 minutes. This will kill all the bacteria and give you really good delicious and stable malt vinegar. Chill and bottle your vinegar will keep for years if kept in a cool dark place
You can make smaller amounts (adjust the quantities of malt and sugar accordingly) but this is such an involved process that a larger amount means less work.

################Quiche , crust-less
I usually make a quiche using the left over food out of the fridge adding a can of salmon. use cooked veg. squeeze the juice from the spinach. Arrange the veg and fish over a greased quiche dish.
In a bowl, whisk
1\2 cup flour, 1\2 tsp baking powder, 1 tsp salt,
1\2 tsp pepper, 4 eggs, 2 cups of milk, 75 grams of melted butter.
pour over veges.
sprinkle over 1 cup of grated cheese.
Bake in a moderate oven for 45 minutes.

##########Pie pastry , sweet or savoury
3 cups of plain flour,
1 & 1/2 teaspoons of baking powder,
1/2 teaspoon salt,
12 Oz's of vegetable fat, chopped up small. .
mix with
1 & 1/2 cups of milk with 3 teaspoons of vinegar added.
roll out to approx 40 x 80 cm oblong... , give 4 or 5 book folds. . , You can still just see little bits of fat, that is OK. , rest in the fridge for 45 minutes.

###############Napoleon cake
buy a trifle sponge, [ Ernest Adams ] good. cook a sheet of puff pastry, prick it well before cooking, put an other tray on top after cooking, cool. Split the cake in half, jam it with raspberry jam, spread that with a layer of mock cream, put pastry on , spread that with cream, spread a layer of jam onto the other bit of sponge put on top. Ice with raspberry icing.

################mock cream.
Probably cream two Napoleon cakes. I would divide it into four lots and make sure before starting. . Thicken 500 mils of milk, 250 grams of sugar with 50 grams of cornflour.cool, stir as it is cooling to avoid a skin. Cream 1 pkt of butter, 1 teaspoon of vanilla, add cool custard a little at a time. May even add more custard, taste and see.

########Buggers to float...
3 cups of self raising flour, 1/4 tsp salt, approx. 1 cup of water, ... mix to a soft dough, need, cut like you would scones... deep fry...

Bean salad#############Dressing

I buy cans of cooked beans for this.
I try and keep 2 cans in the fridge, all the time.
Dressing... . Simmer, 1 1/4 cups of malt vinegar,
1/2 cup of brown sugar,
1/2 cup of water,
1 Tbsp honey,
1 Tbsp oil,
1 1/2 tsp salt,
2 tsp soy sauce,
pepper to taste.
cool.
Pour over drained beans, try and leave the salad in the fridge a while before using.

"Fly cemetery"###

2 trays of "custard square pastry "above

Dry fruit,
cake crumbs or bread crumbs
[ this is where your not so popular baking can go, freeze until you have enough. ]
Add a few spices, stewed apples to moisten,
a 1/2 cup of sugar , [taste
2-3 eggs,
needs to be sticky. Spread onto a sheet of raw pastry, wet edges.
Put another sheet of pastry on top, prick well with a fork,
milk down sprinkle with caster sugar and bake in a hot oven.

No quantities given, as it really is a case of using your own cooking skills... . taste before adding the eggs... . dose it look fruity enough? etc.

pickle ### 1 kg of gherkins.

wash them well not leaving any flower ends on.
Dissolve 1/2 cup on sea salt in
4 cups of water.
Line a non-metallic bowl with grape leaves, put gherkins on top,
cover those with more grape leaves. pour brine over and Leave for five days in a cool place to turn yellow. Deal with sooner if they go yellow faster.
Drain.
boil up 4 cups of white vinegar,
1 cup of sugar,
2 Tbsp of black peppercorns,
1 Tbsp each of, whole allspice, whole cloves, whole mustard seeds.
1 cm sliced root ginger.
Add gherkins and simmer until they turn olive green again ,
pack into jars, cover with the vinegar, put lids on. enjoy.
I do a jar at a time.

##Vegetarian Nut Loaf
Preheat oven to 190 deg c, prepare a loaf tin, line it with baking paper.
Heat 1 Tbsp olive oil in a large pan, gently cook for 10 minutes ;
1 ch onion
1 thin sliced leek
2 sticks of celery
225 grams of sl. mushrooms
2 crushed garlic cloves
Add
425 gram can of rinsed and drained lentils
1 cup of mixed nuts [ hazelnuts, cashew, almonds, finely chopped
50 grams of flour
50 grams of vegan, grated cheese
1 medium egg [ or egg substitute ]
salt and pepper
a handful of chopped mixed fresh herbs.
bake 50 - 60 minutes, or untill it is cooked
I made this for my Daughter In-law, it was divine.
Nice cold as well.

###savoury muffins
2 cups flour
1 cup grated cheese,
1 tsp salt.
1 1/4 tsp b soda
2 1/2 tsp cream of tartar
may add ch parsley, ch onion, cooked bacon etc.
mix together
2 eggs
1 cup of milk
4 Oz's melted butter
mix with dry ingredients
Bake 15-20 minutes 220%C

I use my tin glide on all my baking tins.
you will find the recipe in this thread...

##Orange Muffins.
Whizz up 1 whole orange [ 400 grams approx]]
1 egg
1/2 cup of canola oil
1 small cup of sugar..
Sift
1 and 1/2 cups of plain flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon of baking soda..
mix the wet into the dry.
Makes 12 muffins, it is a wet mixture.
bake 20 minutes @ 180 % c
These would make nice cup cakes as well as they have a nice round tops
I cut the thick top and bottom from my orange, and added more orange to make up the volume.

##Easy chops

6 mutton chops
3 Tablespoons flour
1 1/2Tablespoons sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons salt

2 Tablespoons worcestershire sauce
3 Tablespoons tomato sauce
1 1/2 cups boiling water

1 chopped onion
4 chunky chopped carrots
4 chunky chopped parsnips

Turn slow cooker on high to fill in this order.
veg's
meat
dry... mixed mixture
wet... mixed mixture

Turn slow cooker down to low , cook for 8 hours
Add a can of peas ,or beans, heat through before serving.
enjoy.

vinaigrette dressing

vinaigrette dressings are a little personal as to how you flavour them.
As a rule , 4 parts cold pressed olive oil , 1 part vinegar or lemon juice,, salt pepper to taste. You can add mustard, garlic, chillies, sugar, just whatever you wish. I now spray my salads on the plate at the table, perfect.

raisin bread, spicy fruit.

450 grams of flour,
2 tsp sure-bake yeast,
2 tsp sugar,
3 tsp cinnamon,
1 tsp mixed spice,
2 Tbsp soft butter,
2 Tbsp milk powder,
1 tsp salt,
320 mils of warm water.....
add 1 cup of raisins at the beep........

I weigh up several plastic bags of any bread mixes I make up to the ....butter and water....fruit..... saves a lot of mess and time. I write on the bag what is required to be added.

pickled onions

Soak as many onions as you want to pickle in brine, 24 hours...
Drain, pack into jars,
put 2 black peppercorns,
1 small dry chili,
a clove,
a slice of fresh ginger, into each jar....
cover with cold spiced vinegar....

Brine...multiples of
1/4 cup of sea salt and 2 cups of water...

Spiced vinegar...boil, for 5 minutes,
4 cups of malt vinegar,
1 cup of brown sugar,
1 Tbsp whole "all spice"...
ready in about 6 weeks.

Queen pudding

Beat 3 egg yolks ,
1/2 cup of sugar ,
1/2 tsp vanilla ,
2 cups of milk ,
2 cups soft bread crumbs....
bake in a baine marie in the oven at 150% c. for 45 minutes...
spread with raspberry jam....
beat 3 egg whites stiff add
6 Tblsp sugar beat till stiff
pile onto pudding and return it to the oven for 5 minutes @200% c.

Lemon Delicious.....

1/2 cup of sugar ,
1 Tblsp flour ,
3 egg yolks ,
grated rind and juice of 1 lemon ,
mix untill it is smooth ,
add 1 1/2 cups of milk ,
beat 3 egg whites untill stiff adding
1/2 a cup of sugar beating well ,
fold whites into yolks....
stand dish in hot water [ baine marie ]
bake 35-45 minutes @175% c

Bearnaise sauce

cube 250 grams of cold butter into 1cm cubes, put into fridge....
reduce 1/2 cup of white vinegar ,
1/2 tsp dry tarragon ,
1 Tbsp ch onion..to half..strain....

beat 4 egg yolks ,
strained vinegar with a fork in a small bowl, over a pot of near boiling water...
as it warms beat in a cube of cold butter,
adding the butter as it is incorporated into the sauce....
should be thick n creamy....
if it splits add 1 tsp ice cold water and continue to beat....
don't despair,
if you don't get it the first time try again....It is such a handy sauce to master....
good luck

If you start over, and get it right, you can add; little at a time, the split sauce..

jam testing

sugar thermometer test for jam.

Boil until 111 C or 222 f. put jam into hot jars, put the lids on while hot.
****** test for pectin
1 tsp of juice, 3 tsp of methylated spirits. shake gently leave 1 minute, . The juice will clot firmly if there is enough pectin. If it doesn't it may pay to add some.

King..jam setting..mix..pectin base..Handy to have in your pantry.

Roux

cream sauce=no. 1.=75 grams each butter , flour=600 mils milk..

filling sauce=no. 11.=120 grams each butter , flour=600 mils milk..

croquettes=no. 111.=150 grams each butter , flour=600 mils milk..

melt butter add flour and cook untill "grainy"
add milk stiring all the time...
add salt and pepper, to taste , for savoury
or
sugar to taste , for sweet.

garlic sauce....

roux , no 11....1 cup ,
2 Tblsp brandy ,
crushed garlic to taste....