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Lemon and Vodka Sorbet

October 13, 2010 by Celia @ Fig Jam and Lime Cordial

Those of you who’ve been reading our blog for a while might recall that we received a bottle of lemon vodka for Christmas.

It sat unopened in our hall cupboard until I found this simple recipe in the Silver Spoon cookbook.  Serendipitously, both the cookbook and the vodka were gifts from our friends Pete and Nic!

  • 3 lemons
  • 200g (7oz) caster (superfine) sugar
  • 50ml (10 teaspoons) vodka
  • 500ml (2 cups) water

1. Thinly pare the rind of one lemon and squeeze the juice of all of them.

2. Place the water, sugar and rind into a saucepan and bring to a boil, stirring until the sugar dissolves.  Boil for 15 minutes, then remove from heat.   Remove and discard the rind, and allow the mixture to cool.

3. Strain the lemon juice into the syrup and add the vodka, stir to combine, then pour into an icecream maker and churn until frozen.  The alcohol keeps the sorbet relatively soft and scoopable straight out of the freezer.

As the vodka isn’t heated, the sorbet packs quite an alcoholic punch.  Best shared with neighbours who can walk home!

Click here for a printable version of this recipe

Posted in Recipes | Tagged , , , , , | 27 Comments »

Teeny Tiny Happinesses

October 11, 2010 by Celia @ Fig Jam and Lime Cordial

Sometimes, the smallest things in life can bring a little cheer.  We refer to them as teeny tiny happinesses. Here are the moments which brought me joy today…

Teeny Tiny Happiness #1

I opened my inbox this morning and found my friend Mazza the Toymaker’s Halloween newsletter.  How cute are these little guys!

. . . . .

Teeny Tiny Happiness #2

I bought this pocket SAS survival guide at a discount book stall for $4.

When I brought it home, Small Man said, “I’ve been looking for that, mum, how did you know?”

How did I know my quirky son would like a compact book on building artic shelters and figuring out which monkeys were safe to eat?  Just a lucky guess…

. . . . .

Teeny Tiny Happiness #3

Our six lovely ladies laid six gorgeous eggs today!  I can’t decide if we should scramble them for breakfast, or turn them into a triple batch of marshmallows.

By the way, if you’d like to ooh and ahh over some perfectly formed eggs, have a look at Christine’s entries in her local show!

. . . . .

Teeny Tiny Happiness #4

I am stupidly happy that my handbag has a pocket on the outside which is exactly the right size for a car park ticket…

. . . . .

Teeny Tiny Happiness #5

Someone rang me today to thank me for my “unfailing optimism and quirkiness”.  I was very chuffed by the compliment!

. . . . .

Teeny Tiny Happiness #6

I can’t tell you how happy I was to discover that all the fish in our pond are still there – but the mosquito larvae are not.

. . . . .

Teeny Tiny Happiness #7

This morning, my friend Maude, who lives across the road, came over for a cup of tea.  M and I are both early risers, so we’ll often have a cup of tea at 6am, before the rest of our families are awake.  It’s such a lovely, gentle start to the day.

. . . . .

Teeny Tiny Happiness #8

My lovely friend Wendy owns The Fresh Green Bag, a company which specialises in reusable grocery bags.  I was soooo taken with her new range of mini bags that I bought some to share with you.  These are brilliant – I now have two in my handbag at all times.

They fold down to teeny tiny…

…and open up to carry a large load of shopping.  I recently brought home six kilos of groceries in one!

Would you like a couple of these incredibly cute minis?

I have ten to g1ve αway – five sets of two.   I’ll happily mail these to both Australian and international addresses.

Please εnter before 21st October by sharing with us one little thing that’s brightened your day.  And please make sure to tell us if you’re based in Oz or overseas.

Wishing you all a wonderful day filled with many teeny tiny happinesses!

. . . . .

Congratulations to Kitty, Intolerant Chef, Preppy Pink Crocodile,
Judy and Keri!  I’ll be emailing you all shortly!

Posted in Food & Friends, Musings | 75 Comments »

A Simple Chicken Soup

October 10, 2010 by Celia @ Fig Jam and Lime Cordial

This recipe isn’t simple in its construction, but rather in the clean, uncomplicated flavours of the free range chicken and vegetables.  Mind you, it’s not that hard to make either!

I cook my chicken following a technique from Terry Durack’s Yum and use the resultant stock and meat as a base for both this recipe, and for traditional Hainanese chicken rice.

Chicken and Stock:

  • 1 free range chicken (mine was about 1.7kg)
  • 2 slices ginger
  • 2 spring onions, coarsely chopped
  • 1 tablespoon fine sea salt

Soup:

  • 2 large carrots or 6 baby carrots
  • 225g egg noodles
  • 2 onions, sliced
  • 4 spring onions, white part finely sliced, green part coarsely chopped
  • handful fresh parsley
  • salt and pepper to season

1.  Place the chicken, breast up, in a stock pot “just large enough to hold it snugly”, as per Mr Durack instructions. Add enough cold water to just cover the bird.

2. Add the ginger, spring onions and salt and bring to a boil.  Simmer for five minutes, then turn the chicken over and cook for a further five minutes.  Now cover the pot, turn off the heat, and allow the chicken to continue steeping for 40 minutes. Check the chicken by inserting a skewer through the thickest part of the thigh – if the juices run clear without any hint of pink, then the chicken is cooked.

3. Remove the chicken from the stock and allow it to rest on a plate.  When cool enough to handle, remove the skin and shred the meat into bite-sized pieces.  We don’t use all the meat in the soup, and will usually keep some of the breast or thigh meat back for school lunches the following day.

4. Using a slotted spoon, strain the ginger and spring onions out of the stock and discard.   Add the peeled and chopped carrots, onions and spring onions and bring the soup to a boil, before adding the egg noodles and shredded chicken meat to the pot.  Taste the stock, and season with salt and pepper if desired. Once the noodles are cooked, serve generous bowlfuls with a sprinkling of chopped fresh parsley.

Click here for a printable version of this recipe

 

Posted in Recipes | Tagged , , , | 25 Comments »

Broad Beans

October 8, 2010 by Celia @ Fig Jam and Lime Cordial

I’d never tasted young broad beans before!

These were the first pods off our backyard plants, and the beans were so fresh and tender that they didn’t need double peeling…

I had beans on toast for lunch, made to this fabulously simple Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall recipe.

The baby broad beans were blanched briefly (oh, how I love alliteration), then panfried with pancetta, slices of spanish onion, lemon juice and a little olive oil.  It was simply sublime on sourdough.

(If inspired, feel free to cleverly comment with a-little alliteration!)

Posted in Frugal Living, Recipes | Tagged , , | 32 Comments »

Quick Mix Chocolate Fudge Cake

October 6, 2010 by Celia @ Fig Jam and Lime Cordial

This recipe is for my friend Ellen, who took umbrage with my comment that our chocolate slab cake was almost as easy to make as a packet mix (truly it is, El, but maybe not at 11pm).

This cake is even easier, only requires a few ingredients, and is made and iced in the blink of an eye.  It’s not as moreish or luscious as the chocolate slab cake – but a pleasant treat nonetheless.  And it’s perfect for those times when you just need something super quick and easy.

Chocolate Fudge Cake
(adapted from the Australian Womens Weekly’s Cakes and Slices Cookbook)

  • 250g (9oz) dark chocolate, chopped (I used Callebaut 811 54% callets)
  • 125g (½ cup) unsalted butter, chopped
  • 150g (2/3 cup) castor (superfine) sugar
  • 100g (2/3 cup) self-raising flour
  • 4 large (59g) free range eggs

1. Preheat oven to 190C (375F) or 175C (350F) with fan.

2. Line a 23cm (9″) square tin with parchment paper.  The original instructions called for a 19cm x 29cm lamington tin (7½” x 11½”), but I didn’t have one.  The cake would probably work just as well in a 20cm (8″) square, but it might need a slightly longer baking time.

2. In a large pyrex mixing bowl, melt the chocolate and butter together in the microwave, using short 30 second bursts on high and stirring well between each (this could also be done in a double boiler on the stove).   It will only take a minute or two – take care not to scorch or boil the mixture.  Stir well to combine and allow to cool slightly, to ensure  the eggs don’t scramble in the next step.

3. Add the castor sugar, self-raising flour and eggs to the bowl and beat with an electric mixer on low until all the ingredients are combined.  Then raise the mixer speed and beat well for 3 minutes until the batter is smooth and light.

4. Pour and scrape the  batter into the lined pan and bake for 20 – 30 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the cake comes out cleanly. The original recipe specified 30 minutes, but in my fan forced oven, this cake was ready in just 20 minutes.  Allow to rest in the pan for about 10 minutes before lifting onto a wire rack to cool.

5. The original recipe was served simply dusted with icing sugar, but I topped ours with a half batch of our ever reliable Jamie Oliver chocolate icing, using the quantities below:

Chocolate Icing
(from Jamie Oliver’s Return of the Naked Chef)

  • 50g/1¾ oz unsalted butter
  • 50g/1¾ oz dark chocolate (I used Callebaut 811)
  • 50g /1¾ oz icing sugar (sifted)
  • 1½ tablespoons (6 teaspoons/30ml) milk

Melt the ingredients in a bowl over some lightly simmering water. Stir until blended well and allow to cool slightly. Pour over cake and allow to set.

Click here for a printable version of this recipe

Posted in Recipes | Tagged , , , | 31 Comments »

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