SOUP

confession... some are mine, some are from the internet and some from my recipe collection

Winter is starting to impose its grip... such a romantic notion in this age of over heated houses and work places air-conditioned to within an inch of everything.

But, lets pretend anyway that we must brave the cold, slip into our corduroy pants, pull on the heavy duty jumper, drag the woollen hat low over our head and slip into the leather gloves. We are ready to walk outside.

Mind you there are still some things that need us to do all that, shopping in the markets, the farmers markets and maybe a bit of football. Its soup time, and that means its also bread time.

Soup is easy, not even starting to be complicated, unless you make the choice of making your own stock, not a bad idea but I am hard pressed to believe that many of you would do that, even though it is way better with a much richer taste. But lets assume that you forgo this challenge and decide to use stock powder or a liquid stock (please read the ingredients!). Or in some cases, no stock at all.

But, should I be wrong, unlikely I know and thanks for that! Then I am following with a couple of stock recipes...

White Stock

*this stock is used as the base for many sauces

*it is a great flavour booster for any dish that needs some richness

*pasta sauces taste great when a splash or two are added

*keep it in the freezer in ice cube trays and thaw when you want to use it.

*can be made from veal, chicken, lamb or game.

*it’s called white because the bones and vegetables are not browned in the oven

*bouquet garni is described in the herb section

*if making chicken stock, do add the skin, it has lots of flavour and the fat can be removed later.

*lamb bones make a good stock but should be reserved for lamb dishes.

Ingredients

2 - 3 kg’s (4 - 6 lbs) veal, chicken, lamb, bones. You chose, but for chicken buy a soup bird from any Asian chicken shop.

2 white or brown onions quartered

2 carrots (don’t bother to peel them, just make sure they are clean) quartered

2 stalks of celery cut into 5cm lengths

large bouquet garni

10 peppercorns (white or black are ok)

1 or 2 cloves garlic, peeled but not chopped (you want the flavour and sweetness)

3 - 4 litres of water.

Use a pan that is non corrosive and put all the ingredients in together, bring slowly to the boil and turn to simmer, the pot should simmer with the lid on to start as you are getting the bones to give off their flavour, later remove the lid, simmer for 4 - 5 hours. In the last hour, use a metal skimmer (a round flat disc with a handle with holes) to remove any scum that rises.

Strain the stock through a conical sieve and place it in the fridge, this way the fat will rise and set on the top and can be easily removed.

Brown Stock

*this stock is usually made with beef bones, rich game bones can be substituted, a brown veal stock can also be made

*you can reduce this stock over a long time, it then becomes what is known as ‘jus’ it is of course simply a concentrate... if you make more stock than you need, try reduction, it definitely adds great flavour to a sauce.

*the secret is browning, this is caramelising the sugars and it is what brings the colour and flavour

*get your butcher to crush the bones if you can, its easier to get them to brown.

*store this stock in the deep freeze, even the ‘jus’.

Ingredients

2 - 3 kg (4 - 6 lbs) bones ...  beef, veal, game all cut small and crushed if possible

2 onions quartered

2 carrots quartered

2 stalks of celery in 5 cm pieces

large bouquet garni

10 peppercorns (white or black)

1 - 2 cloves of garlic peeled but not chopped

3 - 4 litres of water (don’t add wine with this stock, it should have a flavour that is rich and strong enough without it)

In a baking dish, put the bones and vegetables, turn the oven to 230°c and roast the bones and vegetables (you may need just a splash of oil) until they have all become browned, don’t be shy about this, you must brown them well).

Remove the bones and vegetables and place them in a stock pot, put the baking dish over the gas or electricity on the stove top, add enough water to scrape from the pan all the juices and browning and make sure they are well dissolved.

Add this water and the rest of the water along with the herbs and garlic to the stock pot and bring to the boil for 4 - 5 hours slowly to get all the flavour, remove any scum that rises.

Just a tip, if you want a great tasting extra brown stock, put half of one of the onions on a cooking fork and barbecue it over a gas flame until it is really brown, toss it into the stock pot and the flavour will be great.

So, now you've made the stock. Easy. But a word or two about the stock cube/powder that you use. Many of these powders are made from chemicals or at best a lot of chemicals in the end the stock powders that I prefer are made by a Swiss Company and have at least a modicum of reality. Just be sure that you are not taking too much chemical into your already chemically challenged bodies. That said I have to confess that I often add a bit of chicken stock to dishes, powder form... just be very aware of the high salt content, but even in a simple pasta sauce that is somewhat lacking in depth, this can lift it. In a meat gravy a spoon full first of vegemite is the first line of getting a good flavour, the second is some beef stock powder. Of course those liquid stocks claiming to be 'natural' should be closely scrutinised.

Soups are a great source of food and given that todays world is not leaving any of us with much time, they can be made quickly and even with scant ingredients, be great food. I have included a bunch of simple soups and some that are more complex, none are hard and I urge you to give them a go.

Just before that, good soup demands good bread. A whole subject in its own right, just hunt down the best you can find have it warm and crusty and in my case, with a slather of butter or oil.

Salmorejo

Thick Cordoban Gazpacho

Serves 6

Difficulty: easy

Ingredients

6 tomatoes, coarsely chopped

2 cloves garlic, chopped

1/4 cup 

http://www.tienda.com/food/pop/vn-13.html?cnsw=1";>sherry vinegar

1 cup 

http://www.tienda.com/food/pop/oo-25.html?cnsw=1";>extra virgin olive oil

1 tablespoon salt

2 day-old country-style bread rolls, about 3 ounces each, torn into pieces and soaked into 1 cup water for 10 minutes, or 2 fresh rolls, torn into pieces

1 egg yolk (optional)

3 hard-boiled eggs, peeled and finely chopped

3 ounces 

http://www.tienda.com/food/pop/jm-01.html?cnsw=1";>spanish ham

, finely chopped

Preparation

In a large bowl, combine the tomatoes, garlic, vinegar, olive oil, salt, and soaked bread and any remaining water (or fresh bread) and mix well.

Working in batches if necessary, add the tomato mixture to a blender or food processor and process at high speed until smooth. For an specially smooth texture, pass the pureed mixture through a food mill fitted with the medium plate, and then, if desired, return it to the blender or processor, add the egg yolk, and process until thoroughly incorporated.

Transfer to a bowl, cover, and refrigerate for at least 4 hours, or until well chilled.

Just before serving, taste the soup and adjust the seasoning with salt.  Ladle into chilled soup plates, garnish with the chopped eggs and ham, and serve.

Potato And Leek Soup

4 large leeks that you have trimmed top and bottom then sliced thickly and put into a bowl of cold water to rid them of the dirt that clings

50 gr (1 1/2oz) butter

2 medium potatoes (not too small) peeled and diced

1 medium onion, chopped small

850mil (28floz) of chicken or vegetable stock

275 mil (9floz) milk

salt and pepper

Put the butter in a heavy based saucepan and melt, add the leeks and onions and cook over a ,moderate heat until they begin to become clear, they should not brown, add the potatoes and stir them around coating them with the butter. Put the lid on the pan and allow the whole lot to sweat over a low heat for about 15 minutes, give them a stir occasionally.

Add the stock and the milk and bring all to the boil, turn the heat down and put the lid back on, now simmer for a further 20 - 30 minutes until all the vegetables have become soft.

Use your hand held liquidiser and process the soup until it is thick and creamy, return to the heat and bring back to the boil, but don’t overcook, it will burn easily now.

Serve it with chives or put it in the fridge for the next day and call it vichyssoise, serve it cold with some sour cream swirled in. Very versatile.

Cold Soup From Andalusia

1 1/4 kg (2lb 8oz) of fresh ripe tomatoes peeled, seeded and chopped or equivalent Italian tinned tomatoes

1 green capsicum seeded (and peeled with the potato peeler) and chopped

1 medium red onion coarsely chopped

1 large cucumber, peeled, seeded and coarsely chopped

5 - 6 tblspn good red wine vinegar (don’t try this with brown or white vinegar, it will not be the same)

3 large cloves of garlic minced

1 1/4 cups of tomato juice

1/4 cup of extra virgin olive oil

1 thick slice of good day old crusty bread, crusts removed and soaked in water then squeezed dry

salt and pepper

In a bowl put the tomatoes, green capsicum, onions, cucumber, vinegar, tomato juice, olive oil and bread, using a hand held blender, puree the mixture until it is very smooth. Season with salt and pepper and chill.

Meanwhile make a garnish... Fry some more of that day old bread, this time cut into 1cm dice, in some olive oil that has been flavoured with garlic, drain and set aside the croutons. Chop some more cucumber into a fine dice along with some red capsicum and tomato to make 1 1/2 cups in all.

Serve the soup in a great ice bowl (you can make it yourself by putting two plastic bowls together and filling the intervening space with water, set it in the freezer, you can even float some flowers or herbs in the water, lightly oil the inside of one plastic bowl and the outside of the top bowl to make it easier to remove. Or, if this is too much trouble, ask your friends for a great terracotta bowl for a present, chill it well and serve it in that with the garnish floating on top.

Ham Soup With White Beans

One of those great winter soups that you can make a meal of and leave the table deeply satisfied.

155gr (5oz) dried white beans

6 - 8 stems from Italian flat leafed parsley (you should always keep these, they are so handy to use in a flavour base, just freeze them when you have cut the leaves off and get them out when you want them)

pinch of dried thyme

2 bay leaves

1 tblspn virgin olive oil

125gr (4oz) thickly sliced smoked bacon cut into a 50mm dice

1 medium onion chopped

3 cloves garlic chopped finely

2 smoked ham hocks (available from most delicatessens)

4 tomatoes peeled, seeded and chopped or 1 1/2 cups Italian tinned tomatoes drained and chopped

6 cups good chicken stock (see above)

3 fresh mint stems, bruised with the back of your kitchen knife

salt and black pepper

5 tblspns chopped fresh mint

Cover the white beans with water and soak overnight. Next day, place them in a pot with the parsley. Thyme, bay leaves and enough water to cover the beans by 4 cm. Cook the beans on a simmer for 35 - 45 minutes.

In another pot, add the olive oil and fry the onion and bacon until the onion is soft, add the garlic and cook for a further 3 minutes, add the ham hocks, tomatoes, chicken stock and mint stems, simmer for 1 hour.

Add the beans and continue to simmer for a further hour. Remove the parsley, mint stems and bay leaves. Take the ham hocks out, remove the skin and return the meat to the soup, do not ad the bones. Season with salt and pepper and garnish with the chopped fresh mint.

Onion Soup From Tuscany

4 large white onions

4 medium leeks well washed to get rid of all the grit and dirt

125gr (4oz) pancetta in one piece

1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil

6 cups of good chicken stock

3 tblspns of balsamic vinegar

1 cup good red wine

salt and pepper

6 slices of good Tuscan style bread

2 cloves garlic peeled

parmesan cheese to taste

2 tblspns chopped fresh parsley

Peel the onions, cut into very thin slices, cut the leek into 50mm slices, after you have cleaned and dried them, use about 6cm of the green and all the white. The pancetta will be in a roll, unroll it and cut into 25mm slices.

Heat the olive oil in a soup pot, add the pancetta and cook until some fat has been rendered, add the onions and leeks, cook for 15 minutes, add the stock and simmer for 30 minutes.

Just before serving, add the vinegar and red wine, salt and pepper. Rub the bread, one slice for each bowl, with the garlic, toast lightly and place in the bottom of each bowl, pour the soup into the bowl on top of the bread, garnish with the chopped parsley and shave some parmesan onto each bowl (use the potato peeler).

Butternut Squash, Carrot And Coriander Soup

1kg (2lb) of butternut squash

3 tblspns olive oil

1 large onion chopped

1 tspn paprika

1 1/2 tspns ground cumin

3/4 tspn turmeric

1 tspn ground coriander

sat and pepper

4 large carrots, trimmed peeled and coarsely chopped

1 tspn sugar

3 cups chicken stock

3 cups of water

1/2 cup plain yoghurt

2 tblspns fresh chopped coriander leaves

Preheat the oven to 180°c/360°f

Cut the squash in half, place it on a lightly oiled baking sheet and bake for 45 - 60 minutes until the squash is soft and you can spoon out the flesh.

In a soup pot, heat the oil, cook the onion until soft for 10 minutes, add the paprika, cumin, turmeric, coriander, salt and pepper, fry for 2 minutes, stirring occasionally, add the squash, carrots and sugar, fry for a further 10 minutes. Add the chicken stock and water, bring to the boil, reduce and simmer uncovered for 30 minutes until the carrots are soft.

Puree in a blender in several batches until the soup is smooth and light. You can thin the soup with extra stock if it is too thick.

Season with the yoghurt, salt and pepper and stir well. Serve in bowls with chopped coriander on top and a swirl of yoghurt.

This soup improves if made the day before you want to eat it.

Scotch Broth

1kg (2lb) neck lamb cut into even sized pieces you can use lamb shanks if you would like, 4 good sized or 6 small ones would be about right for this recipe

1.75 litres of cold water

50gr (1 1/2oz) pearl barley

1 large carrot

1 medium turnip or parsnip

1 medium onion,

3 leeks

1/2 small white cabbage

salt and pepper

Place the meat in the cold  water, bring to the boil and skim off any scum that rises to the surface, add the rinsed barley and simmer with the lid ajar (slightly off to one side so that the steam can escape) for an hour.

Prepare the vegetables by peeling and cutting them into a 5mm dice. Wash the leeks well and cut into disks 5mm thick. Shred the cabbage finely.

Add the vegetables to the brother and cook until they are tender 45 - 60 minutes.

Remove the meat bones from the soup and return any meat to the soup. Drain any fat from the top of the soup by tilting it to one side.

Sprinkle the top with parsley and serve.

Cream Of Celery Soup

350gr (11oz) trimmed celery stalks, leaves reserved

110gr(3 3/4oz) potatoes peeled and cit into chunks

white part only of two medium sized leeks, cut into rings and washed well.

25gr (1oz) butter

600mil (20floz) good chicken stock

1/4 tspn of celery seeds (from the herb section of most markets)

150mil (5floz) cream

150mil (5floz) milk

salt and pepper to taste

In a soup pot, melt the butter, add the chopped celery, leeks and potatoes to the pan and toss them well in the melted butter, place the lid on the pan and cook gently for 15 minutes to soften.

Add then stock with the celery seeds and some salt, bring to a simmering point and cook gently for 20 - 25 minutes until the vegetables are really tender.

Puree the soup with a hand held processor, return to the pan and add the milk and cream, add salt and pepper to taste.

Serve each bowl with a leaf or two of the celery floating on top for extra flavour.

White Kidney Bean And Silver beet Soup

225gr (7oz) silver beet

salt

2 flat anchovy fillets

1/4 tspn dried rosemary or a small sprig of fresh rosemary

6 tblspns extra virgin olive oil

2 whole cloves garlic, peeled

90gr (3oz) white kidney beans soaked and cooked as per normal. (soak overnight, cook for 45 - 60 minutes until soft and tender)

black pepper

90gr  (3oz) short tubular pasta 1cm long

30gr (1oz)  freshly grated parmesan cheese

Wash and trim the silver beet well, trim the ends that are discoloured. Put the silver beet in a pan with just the water clinging to it, add 1 tspn of salt and place the lid on. Cook over medium heat until tender. Drain, reserving all the cooking liquid, chop the silver beet coarsely.

Chop the anchovy fillets with the dried rosemary (if using fresh rosemary don’t chop it). Put the olive oil and garlic in a small pan, fry over very low heat until the garlic just begins to colour, add the anchovies and rosemary. Stir for a few minutes and remove the garlic and if using fresh rosemary, discard that too.

Put the coarsely chopped silver beet in a pan with the oil, fry for a few minutes stirring to coat well with the oil, add the cooked beans and a generous amount of salt and pepper. Cook for 2 - 3 minutes.

Add the reserved cooking liquid from the silver beet and enough water or chicken stock if you have some to come up to about 12 cm deep, bring the liquid to the boil add the pasta and cook until this is al dente. Correct the seasoning.

Mix in the grated cheese and serve with a good crusty bread with some extra virgin olive oil drizzled on top of each bowl of soup.

Green Soup

1 onion, peeled and chopped finely

30g (1oz) butter

1 tablespoon flour

2 1/2 cups homemade chicken stock

salt and freshly ground pepper

outer leaves of2 large lettuces, shredded

1 handful spinach or sorrel leaves

stalks from 2 small bunches of watercress

1/4 cups milk, scalded

3 tablespoons cooked peas

2 to 3 tablespoons cream

to serve:

1 teaspoon freshly chopped mint

Sauté the onion in the butter until soft, then stir in the flour and cook for 1 minute. Add the stock and bring to the boil while stirring. Season with salt and pepper, stir through the greens and simmer for 10 to 15 minutes. Remove from heat, cool and transfer the mixture to a blender and blend until smooth, return the soup to the saucepan, add the milk, adjust the seasoning and cook until heated through, spoon the peas and cream into a warmed soup tureen, pour the soup over and serve topped with chopped mint.

Chicken Broth

The stock, about 1 litre, from the steamed fowl then the bones and skin returned to the stock for a further boiling to give you a very hearty and rich chicken stock.

3 tblspns finely diced carrot

2 tblspns finely chopped onion

50 gr of white rice

150 mil of thick cream

Place all the ingredients except the cream into the pan, simmer until the vegetables are cooked, add the cream, salt and pepper and serve.

It is that simple.

French Onion Soup

500 gr of brown onions cut into slices

60 gr butter

1 tblspn of flour

1/4 tspns of sugar (it helps the onions brown)

1 litre of goof, well flavoured beef stock, use the cubes if you have to, watch the salt, a spoon or two of beef extracts in the stock will also enrich it.

1 fresh bread stick or loaf

parmesan or gruyere cheese

Melt the butter in the bottom of a good heavy saucepan, add the onions and the sugar, cook slowly to a good brown so that they are almost melting, add the flour and stir to distribute and cook the flour a little, add the stock and vermouth (if using) and cook at a simmer with the lid off, for 30 minutes.

Toast slices of the bread and top with a generous quantity of cheese, place these in the bottom of a soup bowl, top with the soup and place them quickly under the griller to melt and brown the cheese slightly.

A Soup Base For A Variety Of Cream Soups

750 mil of good white stock (veal or chicken)

1 medium white onion cut into dice or 1 leek washed and cut into rings

30 gr of butter

25 gr  of flour

salt and pepper to taste.

herb of your choice

The vegetable possibilities are...

*lettuce, use two medium heads chopped fine, add sorrel for extra flavour

*watercress, 2 large bunches of cress.

*spinach (English) 500 gr of spinach add some grated nutmeg and basil

*cucumber, 2 - 3 large, peeled and cut into a dice, seeds removed, flavour with mint.

*asparagus,  30 - 40 spears, cut into a 2cm dice,

*2 white onions, baked in foil in the oven, cooled and diced.

*carrot, wrap them in foil and cook in the oven for 1 hour, chop them finely.

*mushroom, 220 gr of finely chopped mushroom of your choice, sweated in a closed pan until soft.

Melt the butter in a saucepan, add the onion to sweat with the lid on, add the vegetable of choice to sweat in the butter, also with the lid on, stir in the flour until it is well amalgamated. Add the stock and bring back to the boil. Boil for about 30 minutes or until the vegetable of choice is cooked. Puree the mixture and return to the pan with the addition of 125 mil of cream, salt and pepper.

Cream of celery and celeriac soup

Ingredients (serves 4)

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 medium brown onion, chopped

1 bunch celery, trimmed, washed, chopped

1 medium celeriac bulb, trimmed, peeled, chopped

250 gr coliban potatoes, peeled, chopped

2 garlic cloves, crushed

1.5 litres chicken stock

3/4 cup pure cream

2 tablespoons chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley leave

Method

Heat oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add onion. Cook,

stirring, for 2 minutes or until onion starts to soften. Add celery,

celeriac, potato and garlic. Cook, stirring, for 5 minutes or until

lightly browned.

Increase heat to high. Add stock. Cover. Bring to the boil. Reduce

heat to low. Simmer, covered, for 30 minutes or until celery is

tender. Remove from heat. Set aside for 5 minutes to cool slightly.

Process soup, in batches, until smooth.

Return soup to pan over medium heat. Stir in cream. Season with

pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally, for 5 minutes or until heated

through. Serve topped with parsley.

Spinach & potato soup

Ingredients (serves 6)

1 leek, chopped

3 garlic cloves, crushed

1 tbs olive oil

1 tbs ground cumin

1 litre (4 cups) vegetable stock

2 cups (500ml) water

400 gr coliban potatoes, peeled, chopped

2 bunches English spinach, trimmed, chopped

Swirl of thickened cream and purchased croutons, or warm crusty roll, to serve

Method

Sauté 1 leek, chopped, and 3 garlic cloves, crushed, in 1 tbs olive oil in a saucepan. Stir in 1 tbs ground

cumin. Add 1 litre (4 cups) vegetable stock, 2 cups (500ml) water, 400g coliban potatoes, peeled, chopped.

Bring to the boil.

Reduce the heat to medium and simmer uncovered, for 15-20 minutes or until the potato is tender. Stir in 2

bunches English spinach, trimmed, chopped, until bright green in colour and wilted. Cool slightly. Place

soup in a food processor and process until smooth.

Return the spinach & potato soup to the saucepan and stir gently over a low heat until heated through.

Ladle into serving bowls and serve with a swirl of thickened cream and scattered with purchased croutons,

or with a warm crusty roll on the side.

 

 

MARINADES

 

Char Siu Sauce/Marinade

 

 

Char Siu is a marinade that is used specifically for Pork. I have tried it on other meats, lamb is good.

The cuts used most are the belly and the eye fillet. In the case of the belly, the skin is removed and the belly is cut into strips about 2.5 cm wide and the length of the belly, in the case of the fillet, any connective tissues are cleaned off.

I like to try and marinade for a minimum of 24 hours and up to 48. Char Siu is a sticky, flavour filled sauce that needs time to penetrate the meat.

Use a zip lock bag and place the meats into the bag and a generous amount of the marinade, make sure that all surfaces of the meat are well coated and as much of the air as possible removed, place in the refrigerator for 22 hours or 46 hours, bringing the meat out of the refrigerator for two hours before cooking to allow it to come to room temperature.

Three choices for cooking... oven, grill or barbecue. In each case it is essential that the appliance be turned to maximum heat (domestic ovens take 20+ minutes to get hot). The grill should also be well heated as should the barbecue. Do not throw away the marinade from the bag, it will be used to baste after cooking.

For the oven... place a drip tray under a shelf that is at the hottest part of the oven, make sure the shelf is clean, place the pork on the shelf and close the door. It is hard to give a definitive cooking time, after 25/30 minutes you may want to test the meat, the eye fillet will be cooked, the belly pork not and will likely need another 25/30 minutes. Do NOT over cook, the meat should be sticky and brown on the outside and moist in the middle.

For the grill... you will need an exceptional grill that can be well heated. Place the meats on the oven tray over a drip tray and cook until done... turn as needed.

For the barbecue... traditionally this would be done in a Chinese style oven/barbecue (looks like a tandoor oven) with the meats suspended and the oven super hot...this has the effect of cooking the meat very quickly, leaving it moist and deliciously browned. The same method is used for Ducks.

Which ever way you go, please remember to baste the pork (or lamb if you have tried it) with the marinade/sauce after cooking.

Serve with rice and stir fried vegetables.

Barbecue Sauce/Marinade.

 

Owing much to the USA this is typical of the type of sauce that can be used two ways.

Way 1... is to use it as a marinade for up to 24 hours before cooking. This is purely to add flavour, it is not designed to tenderise.

Meat choice... in some countries, the meat chosen will be a large roast size weighing up to four or five kilos. Alternatively this can be used on steak sized or even on sates. The best technique is to have the meat in a zip lock bag and be well rubbed with the sauce, then allowed to rest in the refrigerator for up to 24 hours. Remove from the bag, cook as desired.

Way 2... the meat you choose can be rubbed with a dry rub, marinaded in any way that you desire, even simply given a nice rub with some good olive oil, salt and pepper. It is then cooked according to your choice and the sauce is used to paint onto the cooked meat prior to serving.

Rib Rubs. 

We are somewhat inexperienced in cooking this cut of meat. Yet it is cheap and often delicious meat that will be well worth learning the techniques.

Wending your way through the choice of rib is a little fraught and you will need to decide if you are going to have the ribs running as ribs or be cross cut. They can be called long ribs, short ribs. The third way is if you are buying beef ribs for an Asado (South American) barbeque in which case it will usually be different.. for more information please research.

Two ways to use the rub... dry or wet, the classic way is dry. The method is very simple, rub the meat with the dry rubs and allow to stand for up to 24 hours (your guessed it... in a zip lock bag), it is not usual when cooking meats with dry rubs, to cook on high heat as this will burn the spices and turn them very bitter. If the heat is a high temperature, then be sure to baste the ribs with some oil to ensure that they seal and retain moisture. The oil will crisp them.

The second way is to mix the rub in with some oil and lemon juice (or even some wine... you are looking for anything acidic) and rub this into the meat, and again in that enless supply of zip lock bags, allow the meat to stand for 24 hours.

Ribs are traditionally cooked on an open flamed barbeque and this does seem to bring out the best flavour in them. Cook as per your normal barbeque method and serve with salads. And provide plenty of serviettes

For more information

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A Clattering of Dishes

The Country Women’s Association seems to never had quite the acclaim that it should. Well in my opinion anyway. There is a problem in the food world. We have become complacent and accept that which we are told (and fed) by food gurus, restaurateurs, supermarkets and manufacturers. Its all wrong and we have lost the essence.

I find it unbelievable that people would get excited about being able to make a cake without opening a packet! That cooking something from our past food history is either regarded as completely unacceptable because it is somehow perceived that a food from say 50 years back, is over fatted, over salted, over sugared, over spiced or just plain bad for you, Or greeted with acclaim! This is all becoming a nonsense.

We seem obsessed with eating from the four corners of the globe, with every possible twist and turn, and yet seem to have scant knowledge of the foods from the countries we visit in our kitchens. The USA has developed food cultures, the foods of the South, the Jewish influence, the Italian migration all have defined areas of influence. Can you define an Australian food? God knows there are whole organisations sprung up that are desperately trying to define and convince us that a true Australian cuisine exists and that it is also dependant on the region and the terroir. I am sorry, but I remain as yet, unconvinced.

This all came about from me watching a few European cooking shows in particular a show with two Italians, Antonio Carluccio and Geraldo Contaldo called Two Greedy Italians...

http://www.carluccios.com/antonio/two-greedy-italians

This show encapsulates for me the sense of place, of people who know their food, of locals who enjoy all that their region and the restaurants and cooks of their area offer. Now I am sure if the truth be told there are many places in Italy where food and cooking is just as confused as the restaurants strive to gain more and more of the tourist dollar and thus offer foods that are not essentially part of their norms.

Take a look and have a read about French food. I have recently read some autobiographical books by Australians in the food business, one in particular who has in some ways dominated the food and eating of Sydney siders and who recently went through a very difficult financial problem. Reading his story is both interesting in the development of food in this country since the 1950's and yet sad as we see the often fraught struggles by Australian chefs to have French food as the centre of their personal universe.

Its reasonable to acknowledge that the French have developed their own foods in ways that make them the master of a certain cuisine style, but it is also not unfair to say that very often the acclaim in which certain chefs in France

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:French_chefs

(mostly men I note!) are held, has made for a cuisine style that is now beyond the pocket of most, has lost simplicity and purpose and been relegated by many to being irrelevant in todays food world. Of course it isn't if we look at what the French have given to cooking, its clear that without them and their influence and the joy with which even the most ardent non cook in France, approaches the table, we would not enjoy much of what we eat today... Mayonnaise, Béchamel and on and on. Note too that in Europe, meat is getting way beyond the budgets of many people and even that is impacting strongly on the eating habits of ordinary people. It is also fair to say that this was always the case in the past, hence the growth years ago of preserved meats, sausages and general charcuterie which enabled everyone to enjoy meats apart from providing a way of preserving food for use later.

The Spanish and Portuguese approach food in a very different ways. Look at canned food for example it is almost in complete contradiction to tinned foods in our own country. The Spanish put only the very best in the preserving process and the quality of the canned products is amazing and completely trusted. The Spanish also have a very strong attitude to regional foods and work hard to protect tradition. I would be completely amazed if a Spanish woman was to cook from Thailand tonight, The Middle East tomorrow night, Greece the following night, Indian curry on the following and then topped it all off with Roast Leg of Lamb and three veg with brown gravy. The Catalan cooks will cook foods of that region, the cooks of Seville, from there and the Andalucians from that area. It may be true that Spanish food is influenced by the foods of North Africa, but that has long be subsumed into the local food style of Spain.

There are a number of issues to contend with ... influences, knowledge, cooking and confusion. Lets start at the beginning.

Influences in the past were what we knew, what was passed on to us by watching our families cook, what we learned from others as we grew and started to explore foods. In my own case, when I came to Melbourne I met people from other countries, Italy, Greece, the UK, Holland and even a Swiss family. It was exciting and began for me a way of life that remains undimmed as I have wandered through the years. Underpinning all that I have learned over the years is what I guess is called basics. Its the wheelhouse of the kitchen, how to make a white sauce, the techniques for baking, how to buy and cook meat in the way that my family have done for years. I suspect that knowledge is something that needs to have some sort of foundation, something that locks it into a place that allows you to fly as you experience all manner of life's lessons.

It has long fascinated me that when I dream of the foods of my youth, my families table, I recall simple foods, simply cooked which depended on the quality of the base ingredient, the choicest cuts of meat, the best vegetables butters and cheeses. The seasonal fruits and the vegetables which every year my father would tend with love and care, the eggs and the occasional fowl that would grace the table. My mothers foods were not complicated, yet in every way delicious.

In the era of my childhood such things as pasta and rice rarely if ever made it to our table. My mother simply did not have the ability to use these ingredients, I doubt that in her long years in the kitchen that she ever cooked pasta or for that matter any noodle dish at all, they simply did not feature as foods to be eaten at that time. Rice did make an appearance, but in tiny piles to one side of an otherwise unspeakably awful yellow curry which in effect could have been anything, but most likely was beef. The fact that my mother made this awful concoction which, I suspect came from a recipe handed on to Mum by one of her many friends, possibly from the bowling club. That and tripe were the only two things that were part of Mum's repertoire that I found completely horrible and would, given a chance avoid eating. Tripe I simply refused to even taste, the smell was enough to turn my stomach.

Learning at the side of someone who knows instinctively how to do things and passes it on is great, you get to understand the dynamics of cooking, the inner workings. Perhaps that’s why I am always attracted to books and television shows that are about the everyday food and not about the high flyers, maybe that’s also why I am not very enthusiastic about cooking shows that are always about food style, where fourteen year olds cook complicated food that they have not the slightest idea of the etymology of food.

http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?term=food

Knowledge comes from simply doing it... As I said in the above paragraph, a child or a monkey can be trained to make and do complex things, but it does not mean they know about it, they are just trained to do it. What we need is to base our knowledge on a platform of real experience and then build.

Cooking seems to have become more of a challenge today as we create and build kitchens that are technologically impressive, but lack the warmth and comfort of say my own kitchen where I can explore my food obsessions without worrying that I may destroy some aesthetic of the pristine space. I know its impossible to recreate such warm and glowing kitchens as say Julia Childs

http://americanhistory.si.edu/exhibitions/exhibition.cfm?key=38&;;exkey=59

and to equip every kitchen with the likes of

http://www.e-dehillerin.fr/en/index.php

But dear readers, try, it will be a life changing moment and the rewards for all concerned, phenomenal.

Confusion is all about be pursuaded by those in whom you put your trust (example Master Chef) and believing every word they say. Confusion is about following the dictates of others like the pursuasive spin doctors who control the worlds of the supermarkets and who, if the press is to be believed, are hell bent on the destruction of much of the infrastructure that has be part of their own supply chains. My beliefs about the impact of these spin doctors and the deleterious effect their endless persuasive ways in pursuit of market share and greater profit, is hardly printable. Suffice to say that in the end, we need to follow our own well educated palates, we need to regard our bodies as temples of a beneficent god, feed our family what will keep them healthy in a world that is increasingly aggressive and thoroughly enjoy the experience of food eating, buying and cooking.

Recipes... I am including here a few basic but excellent sauce and mayonnaise recipes, these are gifts to us from the great chefs of the UK and France and show clearly the debt we owe to them. I beg you o learn them and urge you to try them for appropriate dishes.

English Salad Sauce

*Don't sneer until you have tasted it, it does have some merit.

*Its great with a potato salad with a splash more oil.

*Goes well with cold fish.

*Someone invented it in 1845.

Boil the three eggs for 9 minutes from when the water comes to the boil, cool the eggs under running water and peel, keep the egg whites for something else, you are only using the yolks.

Place the yolks in a bowl and add one tablespoon of cold water and crush them to a paste, add a pinch of cayenne pepper plus 1/4 tspn of salt and work it in.

To this mixture add 150mil (5floz) of thick cream bit by bit, working it in well, when you have got all the cream in, add 4 tspns of white wine vinegar and work that well.

It should have the consistency of thick cream rather than mayonnaise and you can change the seasoning a little if you want to.

Basic Mayonnaise

*This is a no cook sauce that is done by emulsification.

*Have the eggs at room temperature.

*Make sure that the bowl is very clean and dry.

*You can allow 1 egg yolk per 175mil oil.

*Use the best olive oil you can, take no notice of what anyone says, it does taste better

*There are vast numbers of modifications you can make once you have masted the basic sauce...aioli (garlic mayonnaise) herbs, cream, hard boil eggs, gherkins or cornichons, shallots, tomato chips and on and on.. the choice is only limited by your imagination.

*Try some Thai flavours, it make a great change.

*Try some chilli and coriander in the mayonnaise, use orange instead of lemon juice.

*Add some mustard seed and use brown sugar.

*Try some dill weed.

*You can do it in the blender.

2 egg yolks at room temperature

sat and pepper

2 tblspns of white wine vinegar or lemon juice

Dijon mustard if using

300 mil (10floz) of extra virgin olive oil

In a small bowl, begin to whisk the egg yolks with the salt, pepper and half of either the vinegar or lemon juice.

When the eggs are beginning to thicken, start to add the oil, this must be done in a very slow, steady stream...slow, slow, slow....don't rush, whisk well all the while until the oil starts to become absorbed (its called amalgamated) into the eggs, once it has started to thicken, you can proceed a little quicker but the oil must not get ahead of you. Whisk in all the oil and add the balance of the liquid, adjust seasoning.

Use the Blender

The blender method is simple, place the egg yolks, vinegar or lemon juice and a tablespoon of oil into the blender, process until it is thick then open the top with the machine running and add the rest of the oil in a slow continuous stream, turn off the machine when it has all been amalgamated.

Basic Béchamel

*This sauce is the basis for so much and so many other sauces, you have to master it.

*Thin béchamel is used as a glazing sauce.

*Thick béchamel is the basis for soufflé (just up the flour and butter to 30gr each).

*Cheese sauce is made by adding cheese to the basic sauce (parmesan or gruyere is best).

*Cream sauce is similar but substitute cream for some of the milk.

*Mushroom sauce is made with the addition of mushrooms that have been sliced and fried.

*Onion sauce is made by adding onion that has been baked to a soft puree.

*Tomato sauce is made with the addition of tomato puree and a splash of vinegar.

*Curry sauce can be made by adding some curry powder.

*Oyster sauce, used to accompany steak is just the addition of some oyster juice and a couple of egg yolks along with some poached oysters.

* Experiment yourself, try some Italian flavours such as basil, oregano, chopped sun dried tomato, turn it to any cuisine you fancy by using flavour bases from the country in question.

250 mil (8floz) milk, make it hot and if you want to, you can infuse the milk with onion, peppercorns or a bay leaf

22gr (3/4oz) butter (unsalted is best but if you use salted, you may not require any additional)

22gr (3/4 oz) plain flour

freshly grated nutmeg.. this is not essential but is classic

salt and pepper

In a saucepan, melt the butter and stir in the flour, use a whisk, it’s easier, put the butter and flour back on the gas and cook for about a minute, this allow the flour nodules to open.

Take off the heat and slowly pour in the hot (strained) milk whisking well all the way, put back onto the heat and keep the wick moving about, a figure 8 is said to cover all the saucepan, it will thicken quickly.

Taste for seasoning and add the nutmeg, salt and pepper.

To keep from getting a film, you can either put a piece of greaseproof paper on top or float a little melted butter, which ever you think is better for you.

Veloute Sauce

*This is one of those classics that you see in recipes all the time.

*The sauce is made from the poaching liquid, often a court bouillon, that the main dish has been cooked in.

*You can be very innovative with additions to this sauce, chopped herbs, chopped cooked spinach, mushrooms, mustard, vinegar and sugar.

*This is the method for making some of the fish sauces made from the shell of fish such as lobster.

*The famous egg and lemon sauce of Greece is made with this method.

*Corned beef juice works well with this sauce, add some sugar and mustard to make a great sauce

375mil (12floz) of stock or liquid from the main poaching liquid

22 gr(3/4oz) butter

22 gr(3/4oz) flour

salt and pepper

The technique is the same as béchamel, butter in the pan, mix in the flour and add the stock whisking well all the time.

You will see that the stock from a poaching liquid often is quite fatty, try and avoid too much fat if you can.

Basic Vanilla Custard

500 mil (16floz) of milk that has been infused with a vanilla pod over a flame for 10 minutes and strained (don't fuss if you haven't got a vanilla pod, try and get some great extract of vanilla, not essence, but essence will do if all else fails)

5 egg yolks (keep the whites for a batch of meringues or a dessert of floating islands later, you can even serve the floating islands on this very custard)

60gr (2oz) sugar

Whisk the egg yolks and the sugar together until it is thick and has changed colour to a paler version..3 - 4 minutes of hard work will get it done, then pour in the warm milk, whisking well all the time.

Return the saucepan to the heat and heat gently, if you are nervous, do this over a pot of boiling water, it may be safer. It will begin to thicken and its ready when your wooden spoon can have your finger drawn over it and the path remains clear.

Don't overcook the sauce, it will curdle... You cannot save it if it does, you have just made sweet scrambled eggs

* Add some melted chocolate to the vanilla custard for a great chocolate sauce.

* Flavour it with your favourite liqueur... don't add quite as much milk.

* Orange zest to flavour the milk has a great taste with a splash of sweet sherry.

*This is the basis for Bavarian creams.

* It will keep in the refrigerator for 2 days and can reheat in the microwave on low.

* It becomes much thicker when it is cold.

 I Baked

Its all to do with the romance of the past, nostalgia. In the end I can change that, a reminder of my D2 will soon put paid to that and the nagging 'its not good for you' brings me undone.

Then the mental gymnastics starts... but I am good! NO you are bad! But I eat well! NO you dont, you eat stuff thats bad for you! Don't! Do! It goes on and on. But I made wholemeal bread, thats good for me! True, but not too much! What's life if you have to be a slave to food? A tiny small transgression won't hurt! Yes it will, your feet will drop off! Nooooooo thats not fair! If I bake and don't eat will that be ok?

I baked.

By this time there was no choice but a trip down nostalgia lane was so on. And I had decided that being wise and not eating any of the divine, decadent, deliciousness that was possibly to erupt on my benches was not only good planning, but essential for life.

I can be so noble! Occasionally.

Ottolenghi's had baked some Welsh Griddle Cakes, stirred some deeply buried memory. Griddle was all about how you cooked the cake (scone, pikelet or even crumpet). I had long since given mine away or maybe sold it, I know at one point I had one, it was a disc of metal that had this large handle, it was designed to be suspended over a fire. There is something sort of old hag about a griddle plate, kind of fits in with the cauldron bubbling over the open hearth. In fact if you have one of those fancy assed steak griddles with the lines.. what IS that all about, at what point in time did we sort of have this collective moment when we just knew... convinced... that meats with brown lines on them were way wayyyy better than meat grilled without??? I am googling!

Try this on for... http://artofmanliness.com/2008/03/12/grilling-the-perfect-steak/

Nuhuh... not a thing, I have just tweeted, let see if some of the grill meisters out in twitter land can convince me of why. Not a twitter back... either I am a bad bad tweeter or maybe boring. I once asked a fellow foodie what their take on twitter/tweet was and they said (delicate souls please look away) 'its all a question of how far you can get your nose up some other person's ass'. Crude but oh so true.

Did you know that in Scotland they call them girdle cakes. In the rest of the UK (apparently) they are called griddle. Interesting too that each of the major areas of the UK, had their own type of griddle plate.

The blessed Iris did not I suspect, follow the recipe and I don't think she EVER put an egg in a plain scone dough, she would have thought that was simply strange, she was a very CWA woman. She did put an egg in a date scone and I think in a cheese scone. Egg in plain scone was called Cream Scone. Iris did cook some scones on the stove top, Lindsay was fond of that. My father was quite capable of knocking off twelve scones at a sitting and since we had them at least once a week either on Saturday or Sunday, mostly sundays, after a light first course of cold meat and salad, Dad would need to fill up on a slice or two of fruit cake and a bunch of scones, Dad prefered plain scones because then he could ladle them with great dollops of cream and jam. So Iris would drag out the heaviest frying pan and cook a few in that. (Note here that it would NOT have been greased with butter, certainly not oil ... that was not for eating... but in fact withe lard.)

Its not all that easy. Most scones are about 1 to 1.5 cm thick and need a decent heat to make them rise. The heat that you can generate on a griddle plate will mean that you will need to turn them over again and again to be sure that they don't burn and that the heat will penetrate. They can easily turn out to be soggy centered and I hate that in a scone. I want moisture, but not sog. If you grab a bit of scone and press if between your fingers and it reverts to dough.. you did it wrong.

The first batch of Welsh Griddle Cakes burned. There I've said it. I used the old black pan, put a bit too much butter and had the gas too high. I also had the Griddle cakes too thick, although I claim that the recipe was wrong, they said 1 cm + thick. Wayyyyy to thick, 50 mm is more than enough and even a bit thinner if you can. I am a fast learner, the second batch were much better.

Think biscuit, not quite a cake, not quite a biscuit but more on the biscuit side than cake.

There is a bit of contention about how to eat them... some like extra butter, some like a sprinkle of sugar and some like cream and jam, Lindsay's choice I am certain of that.

2 cups of SR flour

1/3 cup white sugar (non purists can use brown and I would suspect even wholemeal flour would work except that you would most certainly need more liquid.)

1/4 tspn salt

1/4 tspn cinnamon and 1/4 tspn mace powder

113 grams of cold diced butter

3/4 cup of dried fruit (currants are traditional, but you can use any dried fruit you wish).

1 large egg lightly beaten

60 mil of milk, best at room temperature.

Mix the sugar, flour, spices and salt, all the cold diced butter and with a pastry cutter or your fingers, rub the butter until it resemblescoarse breadcrumbs.

Make a well in the centre into which you add the beaten egg and half the milk. With your fingers and without over working the dough, begin to bring it together. I add the fruit bit by bit as this process is happening. Almost certain you will need the rest of the milk.

When you have a dough, flour the surface you are going to work on and roll out the dough to 50 mm thickness, not more. Cut into circles with a biscuit cutter. Use all the dough by rerolling and cutting circles.

Preheat your chosen appliance (electric griddle plates to about 175 c) give the plate a wipe over with some butter and place the discs onto the surface, cook for about three minutes per side or until golden brown.

Sweet Options..

Fruits (any dried) but try blueberries, cranberries or raspberries

Spices ... your choice. (but remember these are not the main game, but a flavour addition)

Flour ...your choice (some flours eg: wholemeal use more liquid and so you may need to increase the milk.)

Lemon or Orange rind.

or

The Savoury Option

These would be delicious and, if you are going the savoury route, cut out the sugar and replace with grated parmesan.

Herbs (chopped fresh, your choice)

Spices ... Paprika, cayenne, chilli (just use the sweet spice measure for this)

Cheese (small pieces of feta or other cheese of choice, just be aware of the melting point)

Sundried Tomato

But then I was reminded, its Xmas Pudding time. Not possible, absolutely not. According to those supermarkets, we have just got over hot cross buns and very likely will see them soon again. What between Hot Cross Buns, Easter Eggs, cold wet winter, how in the name of all thats holy can it be time for Xmas.

Its becoming an agony of decission. There are times when it would be great to simply leave the whole thing to others and just not fuss.

The other thing that I must grudgingly admit hails from the USA, is a shortcake dough and this is both simple and delicious and makes a great spring/summer desert filled with cream, mascapone or even a creme pattissiere and then fruits.

Shortcake Dough

3 cups of plain flour

5 teaspoons baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup sugar

1/2 cup butter chilled and cut into squares

1 egg beaten with

1/2 cup milk

1 teaspoon Vanilla Essence

Chop butter into the flour, add the baking powder salt and the sugar till breadcrumbs then mix in the egg and milk and vanilla to make a dough place on a board and kned with a light hand, split the dough into two, roll out to two even sized discs about 1 cm thick, butter the top of one lightly and top with the second, place on a baking tray and bake in 180 c oven for 15 minutes, allow to cool and split in half. Fill with..

I personally like creme pattisiere, but whipped cream is also great.

Filling can be berries of any kind or gently poached fruits or oven baked fruits (figs, peaches, nectarines, poached pears)