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Moo’s Frog

April 1, 2011 by Celia @ Fig Jam and Lime Cordial

Our friend Moo was in Proserpine, Queensland recently.

Whilst there, he and a friend purchased a  $12 palm tree from the local Woolworths, and were delighted to find this tiny frog hiding in amongst the leaves.  It was really very small, and not the least bit perturbed by the human company…

Moo, who is a marine biologist but not a herpetologist, believes this is a small dainty tree frog, camouflaged to its surroundings.  Frogs can be notoriously difficult to identify, so if there are any herpetologists out there, please let us know if that’s not right.

And in case you’re wondering…Moo and his friend released this little guy into the lush verge surrounding the Woolies carpark.

Live long and prosper, tiny green tree frog!

Posted in Food & Friends | Tagged , , | 32 Comments »

Almond Bread

March 30, 2011 by Celia @ Fig Jam and Lime Cordial

There’s almost always a surplus of egg whites at our place.

These are usually turned into meringues, marshmallows or, if I’m feeling energetic, almond bread.

The secret to successful almond bread lies in the slicing – the thinner you can cut the slices, the crisper and more elegant the finished biscotti. I find it hard work, as the loaf is heavy and stiff, but the end results are always worth it.

This recipe  makes quite a large quantity, and we stash our surplus in airtight containers in the freezer – they defrost at a moment’s notice when guests arrive.

  • 3 egg whites
  • 1/2 cup (110g) caster (superfine) sugar
  • 1 cup (150g) plain (all-purpose) flour
  • 1 cup (150g) unblanched almonds
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract (we use homemade)

1. Preheat oven to 180C (360F) or 160C (320F) with fan.

2. In a large mixing bowl, beat the egg whites until stiff (but don’t overbeat), then gradually add sugar, beating until the mix is thick and glossy.

3. Using a metal spoon, fold in flour, almonds, and vanilla, mixing well but gently.

4. Turn the batter into a small loaf pan which has been lined with parchment paper, smooth out the top and bake for 30 minutes until golden brown.  Cool in the pan, then turn the loaf out (I usually leave the paper on), and wrap in foil. Refrigerate overnight.

5. The following day, preheat the oven to 150C (300F) or 140C (285F) with fan.  Remove the loaf from the fridge and cut it into thin, even slices using a strong but thin-bladed knife (sharpen it before you start) and lay them out on a parchment lined baking tray.   You’ll get lots of cookies, so make sure you have a couple of trays ready.  Be warned that this can be hard on your hands.  Some people use a mandolin to slice their almond bread, but I’ve never had any luck with this – the finished loaf is way too hard for my little hand-held cutter.

6. Bake the slices until golden and crisp. Start checking after 10 minutes – my last batch took about 18 minutes, but it varies depending on your oven and the thickness of your slices. Cool and store in an airtight container.

Tip: the aim is to get the slices thin enough so that they curl a little as they bake, but not so thin as to burn.  I didn’t quite manage that with most of mine, but these few wavy ones made me very happy!

Click here for a printable version of this recipe

Posted in Recipes | Tagged | 58 Comments »

Dog Treats for Bob

March 28, 2011 by Celia @ Fig Jam and Lime Cordial

I’m not really a dog person, but I am completely smitten with Uncle Steve’s dog, Bob.  He’s a very old curly retriever, and the gentlest of souls – whenever Steve is here, Bob just lies on the deck, completely content to be in company.

Inspired by Joanna’s post on dog treats, I tried to make some for Bob last week.  Much to Pete’s disgust, I boiled up half a kilo of chicken livers, then blitzed the drained livers in the food processor with two cups of flour, an egg, a little oil and enough of the boiling liquid to form the mixture into a pliable dough.

This was then patted out and cut into shapes and baked in the oven at 175C (with fan) for about fifteen minutes.  I didn’t have dog bone cutters, so I used Christmas tree ones.  Bob loved them!

Posted in Food & Friends | 41 Comments »

Bruschetta

March 27, 2011 by Celia @ Fig Jam and Lime Cordial

Inspired by Guy Grossi on Italian Food Safari, I made bruschetta for lunch today.

1. Place slices of day old sourdough onto a lined baking tray, and bake in the oven until crisp.  Alternatively, toast the slices in a  dry griddle pan, or in the toaster.

2. In the meantime, heat some oil in a frying pan and fry a chopped onion until soft, then add either fresh whole cherry tomatoes, or chopped Roma tomatoes (which is what I used).  Season with a little salt, and stir over the heat until slightly softened (but not cooked down to a pulp).

3. Cut a garlic clove in half and rub it over the top of the hot bread slices.  Scatter over a little chopped Italian parsley, then drizzle with extra virgin olive oil.

4. Top each slice with a spoonful of the tomato and onion mixture, and scatter over a little torn basil. Season with grated black pepper and serve immediately.  A perfect Saturday lunch!

Here’s a clip from the first episode of Italian Food Safari, for those who don’t have access to Oz television – it was a great series, and well worth watching.

Posted in Frugal Living, Recipes | Tagged , , | 37 Comments »

Giant Zucchinis and Fig Marmalade

March 25, 2011 by Celia @ Fig Jam and Lime Cordial

It seems we’re the only ones who weren’t able to grow zucchinis this year!

Diana grew giant yellow ones, my friend Becca was over-run with them, and last week Pete’s baby sister Penny sent down the doozy of them all!  For a couple of days, the “monster” just sat on the kitchen bench (it was too large to fit in the fridge), but by Saturday morning I’d built up my chi enough to tackle it.

Not a single bit of the zucchini went to waste!  The top and tail, plus all the seeds, were eaten with relish by the chooks.   The bottom half was sliced into large chunks and roasted with potatoes, turnips and capsicums as an accompaniment to our Saturday night roast.

And on Sunday, the top half was turned into two large zucchini slices, enough to feed the neighbourhood!

. . . . .

One of the foodie treats that I always buy from Harkola is this Lebanese fig marmalade – a delicious chunky paste of figs, sesame seeds, anise and sugar.  It’s ridiculously cheap ($4.95 for 800g) and packed to the brim with large pieces of fruit.  The sesame seeds give the marmalade an unusual flavour, and make it perfect for incorporating into savoury dishes.

Last weekend I had a jar of this to use up, plus a bag of turkey breast offcuts from Paesanella, so I made a filled focaccia.  The basic recipe is here, and my add-ins for this batch were:

  • 200g turkey offcuts, chopped
  • 200g fig marmalade
  • 65g Picasso sheeps’ cheese

It could have used a little more cheese, but this recipe is always made with whatever I have leftover in the fridge, and that was all I had.

The resultant loaf was a seductive blend of sweet and salty flavours – Pete and Uncle Steve loved it!

Posted in Food & Friends, Frugal Living, Recipes | Tagged , , , , , , | 35 Comments »

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