Nana, My Mum~Tere and Uncle Rex

I adore my Grandmother, Lyn Jameson, a remarkable women from a resilient era.

Nana (As we call her) is a funny old stick ( as her son-in-law, My father USED to call her) who can spin a good yarn, make a delightful carrot cake with lemon cream cheese icing and loves nothing finer than a glass of claret and a belly full of laughs.

Photo by jules:stonesoup

My Nana is  quite the accomplished cook. Her Steamed fruit pudding that she invented some 60 years ago has won her fame the globe over and appeared published as a winning recipe  in the Geelong News on December the 17th 1991. I will publish it in its entirety shortly, for the online community to enjoy!

She is also a published writer “Akatere~ a place far away“  which is a novel based on her youth  and an artist that uses the medium of oil on canvas.

Every time I make the south bound journey to visit with my Nana she  has a few choice narratives and humorous fables that we share over a glass or so of her favorite ‘plonk’.

Upon visiting with her a few weeks ago, she ambushed me with a hand written recipe that she then made me stand up and read a loud to her and my then giggling mother.

Hmmmm, I sense a conspiracy.

Although she does not take credit for this clever recipe, credit lies in the passing on of wisdom between a Grandmother and one ever so grateful granddaughter.

I love you Nana! Thank you for making me smile

My Nana Lyn and Grandpapi Cliff

Fruitcake Recipe ~ and

Guaranteed to make you one!

Please ensure you read this recipe a loud to someone you love from start to finish…

Ingredients:

4 Liters of Whiskey

1 cup water

1 cup sugar

4 large eggs

2 cups dried fruit

1 1/2 cups all purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon salt

1 cup brown sugar

Lemon juice

Nuts

Method:

• Firstly sample the whiskey to check for quality.
• Take a large bowl. Check the whiskey again to be sure it is of the highest quality. Pour one level cup and drink.
• Repeat.
• Turn on the electric mixer and beat 1 cup butter in large fluffy bowl.
• Add 1 teaspoon sugar and beat again. Make sure the whiskey is still O.K.
• Cry another tup. Turn off mixer.
• Break 2 legs and add to the bowl and chuck in the cup of dried fruit.
• Mix on the turner. If the fried druit gets stuck in the beaters, pry it loose with a drewscriver.
• Sample the Whiskey to check for tonsisticity.
• Next, sift 2 cups of salt or something. Who cares. Check the whiskey.
• Now sift the lemon juice and strain your nuts.
• Add one tablespoon of sugar or something. Whatever you can find.
• Grease the oven. Turn the cake tin to 350 degrees.

Dont forget to beat of the turner. throw the bowl out the window. Check the Whiskey again. Go to bed.

Who the heck likes fruitcake anyway.

Bottoms UP Nana!

Not sure what to wear to the Halloween costume party this year?? Eli from Freshman in the Kitchen has 10 TOP tips to dress you as your favourite culinary star.

Fancy yourself a Gordon Ramsey? How about the Grandmother of American cooking ~ Julia Childs?  If your in need of some inspiration and a good giggle… Take some time to have a read of this!

“Ohhh, you’re dressed as Michael Jackson. That’s creative.”

photo by tico24

Served piping hot from the oven slathered in a rich helping of butter and its Good Morning Good Friday!!

Have you ever wondered where this Easter tradition stemmed from and how can you could get your hands on some more hot buns?

Most people believe that the hot cross bun symbolizes the Crucifixion of Christ, and yes to a great extent this is the case.

The bun that we now know,  serve and eat on Easter Good Friday is a symbolic gesture to a christian heritage that celebrates the resurrection of Jesus Christ. These leavened buns are traditionally made with spices and currants and crossed with a paste before being baked to a golden brown and eaten with much gusto and even more butter!

To delve a little further into our colourful history is to uncover our humble little spiced bun as a baked goodie steeped in traditions and folklore.

Some believe the origins of the hot crossed bun to be in honour of the Saxon goddess of light Eostre whom they celebrated at the time of the spring equinox in April with the cross symbolising the four seasons. Eostre is also believed to be the origin of the word Easter.

It is also said that in merry old England during the reign of Elizabeth the 1st, a squabble of sorts broke out amongst the Protestants and Catholics over what was a very popular spiced bun served throughout the land. Queen Elizabeth I attempted to ban the sale of hot crossed buns to ease the conflict but due to public outrage passed a law restricting the sale of these hot tempered baked goods to Easter and Christmas only.

Superstitions come thick and fast with the hot crossed bun, with a couple of my favourites being:

1. Hang a bun in your kitchen and it will protect you from fire- now  a smoke alarm seems to do the trick.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                         2. If going on a sea voyage pack a little bun in your Louis Vuitton and you will be protected from shipwreck.

A few folklore’s that might make you smile are:

1. Kissing the hot cross bun before you eat it as it’s is supposed to bring you good luck.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  2. Sharing your hot crossed bun with someone special will ensure a long lasting friendship.

If you need anymore reasons to eat your way through a batch of hot crossed bun I’ve included a spice infused recipe that I’ve adapted from Nigella Lawson that  should get you into the kitchen and into a great Easter tradition. Or even better maybe you have a recipe you would like to share that’s tried and true. Drop me a note, I would love to hear from you!

Happy Easter everyone…. now pass me the chocolate.

Hot Cross Buns

Photo by Bridget

Firstly infuse your spices by heating the ingredients below until they just come to the boil. Remove from the heat and allow to cool and infuse further until the mixture cools to blood temperature. This little spice mix will form the flavor profile of these hot cross buns and make them extra special and tasty.

220mls of milk
50gms of butter
5 cardamom pods- slightly crushed
The zest of 1 orange and 1 lemon
2 cinnamon quills- slightly crushed
2 cloves
1 Marsala chai tea bag- for extra spicy kick!

Into a large mixing bowl combine the ingredients listed below.

400gms of strong flour- the type used for baking bread as a high gluten content is required here
15gms of instant yeast
150gms of raisins
1 tsp of ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp of ground nutmeg
pinch of ground ginger

Remove and discard the cardamom, cloves, cinnamon quills and tea bag from the liquid and mix one egg into it. Now combine the liquid with the dry and knead the dough either by hand on a floured surface or in a mixer with a dough hook attached until the dough is smooth and elastic.If the mix is dry add a few more drops of warm water. This could take 3-5  minutes depending on the elbow grease that you apply.
Mould the dough into a ball and place in a lightly oiled large bowl covered with plastic wrap. Allow the dough to prove and double in size in a warm place in the kitchen for 2 hours.

Once it has doubled in size, punch back the dough and knead again until smooth. Divide the dough into small balls- approx 14-  and roll into cute little balls. Place the balls on a lined baking tray so that the buns are just touching and cover with a tea towel and allow to prove again for a further 45 minutes. While this is happening preheat your oven to 220 C.

Using an egg wash made of 1 egg mixed with a touch of milk, brush this over the buns and make the cross paste using 3 Tblsp of flour, 2 Tblsp of water and a pinch of caster. Mix this together well and dribble a cross on each bun before placing in the oven and baking for 20 minutes or until the buns are golden brown and hollow sounding when you tap the bottom.

Make a fruit glaze using 2 Tblsp of apricot jam mixed together with 1 Tblsp of boiling water and brush this over the hot buns before serving with lashings of fresh butter.

photo by Lisa Brewster

15 Powerful reasons to eat chocolate

t’ will make old women young and fresh
Create new motions of the flesh
And cause them to long for you-know-what
When they but taste CHOC-O-LATE

William Wordsworth (1770-1850)  British poet

Early Central American cultures worshipped and revered it, European ladies supped it during mass and the french aristocracy surmised in its amorous potentials. Chocolate or cacao has been in culinary and therapeutic use as far back as 1500BC were the Mayans used the seeds from Theobroma Cacao as currency.

In those days 3 cacao seeds could buy you an egg or splash out a tad and 12 seeds could buy you the attentions of the village strumpet.

Fortunately for us, Christopher Columbus was the adventurous type and in 1502 commandeered a canoe laden with the now infamous seeds and brought them back to the new world for all to surrender to its chocolate grandeur.

So at the risk of sounding superfluous to some certified granivorous  choc-o-holics, I set out to discover  whether we required any more reasons to eat chocolate other than it tastes delicious and came up with a few advantages that indeed make it  vital for us to partake daily!

Not only will you be doing your heart a favor by nibbling on a square of dark rich heaven but it also helps to increase levels of “good cholesterol”, enhances brain function by improving blood flow to the brain and researchers have shown that eating dark chocolate can fight skin cancer.

Ultimately chocolate appears to be extremely beneficial to our skin with recent studies showing that dining on chocolate can improve skin quality and reduce wrinkles and even increase the skins natural SPF quality making it less vulnerable to sunburn. And speaking of skin, what of the supposed old wives tale that chocolate gives you pimples? I can joyfully proclaim that chocolate neither causes nor aggravates acne.

So far eating chocolate seems to be ticking all the boxes and couldn’t possibly go any higher on my daily things to do list but as Jack Ripely so coined the phrase “believe it or not” I challenge you to believe it, the food of the gods just keeps on getting better.

Certain times of the month can be tougher on the fairer sex with hormones raging and tempers flaring, chocolate helps to improve PMT symptoms.

Feeling a bit low and unhappy? Chocolate contains serotonin which is an anti-deppresant and is cheaper than seeing a therapists.

Need a bit of help with bedroom gymnastics? Chocolate contains the natural chemical compound phenylethylamine that produces similar feelings to falling in love, increases libido and caffeine  is also found in chocolate which will help to keep the energy levels going…and going.

“Who needs love, I’d rather eat Chocolate” as stated by one true chocolate aficionado, none other than Mr. Willy Wonka-

What of the health benefits? , Its delicious and that’s all that most people need to know. But surely some  of you may be thinking it’s fattening and full of sugar. This leads us in to the type of chocolate that is being consumed as well as the quantity.

Choose a good quality dark chocolate- “as dark as the devils bum..” so said the Marquis De Sade from his prison confines as he ordered his daily rations of dark chocolate and sexual aides.

The darker the better as  this type of chocolate contains higher levels of antioxidants and flavonoids and is a natural appetite suppressant and contains chemicals that block the cravings for sweets.

Anyway, I’ve heard that if calories are an issue, store your chocolate on top of the fridge as calories are afraid of heights.

In all seriousness, everything in moderation is the key to a successful and happy life and chocolate is no exception.

It melts in the mouth thanks to its tempering quality of melting at blood temperature or 37 degrees Celsius which just adds to its mystic qualities.

So I leave you with this magical recipe that hails from two kitchen wizards in the form of Rose Gray and Ruth Rogers from The River Cafe in London. Chocolate at its best.

Chocolate Nemesis Cake

Serves 10-12

675 gms bitter-sweet chocolate 70% broken into small pieces
10 organic eggs
575 gms caster sugar
450 gms unsalted butter, softened

Preheat the oven to 160 C/325 F and line a cake tin with greaseproof and then grease and flour it.

With an electric cake mixer,beat the eggs with a third of the sugar until the volume increases by four. This should take about 10 minutes.

Heat the remaining sugar with 250mls of water until the sugar dissolves to a syrup.

Stir the chocolate and butter into the hot syrup and then remove form the heat and allow to cool slightly.

Add the warm syrup to the eggs and mix gently for 20 seconds, no more. Pour into the cake tin and place in a bain marie.
It is essential that the water level in the bain marie comes up to the top of the cake tin so that the cake cooks evenly.

Bake for 50 minutes or until set. Test by placing the flat of your hand gently on the surface.

Leave to cool in the tin before turning out.