Summer and Autumn Harvest

It is time for me to clear up my vegetable patch.  It has been a good harvest.  We had a lot of variety of vegetables which are suitable for cooking.   I did a lot of cooking from the vegetable garden, created
exciting new recipes.

You do not need a lot of space to plant lettuces, this is what I did.  I bought salad mix seedling, and I planted in a pot (you need a good quality soil mix).  It was for our daughter Jane and her husband Ed who were coming for a visit from the Netherland.   Six weeks later or even less, I harvested the salad mix.  We all enjoyed,  my composed salad with fresh lime dressing



Vegetables and Nectarines Harvest, Planting and Growing

Seventeen days after planting,  It's growing very well.

Family and Childhood Favourites

We had a lot of family gatherings when I was growing up.  My parents loved people, they often had friends to come to our home, and my mother always served beautiful spread for them.  Sweet glutinous rice rolls (Lemper) is one of my favourites.  I could not have them at any time, because my mother liked to serve the Lemper for a special occasion.

From the celebration of baby's birth, family's prayer group, Christmas, Easter to a wedding, we always had Lemper on the menu.  It has been my favourite.  Sometimes I cook Lemper for my family too.

This Lemper is my interpretation of Javanese Lemper.  The tradition of Javanese Lemper is cooked/wrap in banana leaves.  Shaped into small logs.  Served unsliced.

The Recipe:

Lemper

(Javanese glutinous rice rolls with sweet meat)

The Rice:

2 cups glutinous rice, soaked with 2 cups water

1/3 cup desiccated coconuts

2 cups of water

½ teaspoon salt

1 tablespoon white sugar

1 tablespoon vegetable oil

Method

Put the rice that has been soaked in a heavy-based cooking pot

Add in 2 cups of water and the desiccated coconuts, cook over med heat

Bring it to a boil and stir from time to time, keep on cooking without a lid

When the liquid is almost absorbed add the salt and sugar, stir and mix

Cover the pot, lower the heat and keep on cooking for 11-13 minutes

Fluff the rice, add 1 tablespoon oil, then mix thoroughly, cover-let it cool.

When it is completely cool, you can start making/rolling/stuffing the Lemper.

The Meat: (filling)

250 g minced beef

1 tablespoon oil

½ cup stock or water

1/3 cup chopped onions

Some salt

1 tablespoon-heap brown sugar

1 tablespoon sweet soy

Sauté the onion with the oil until softened; add in the meat and cook to brown

Stir in the stock or water and salt; continue cooking until the liquid almost gone.

Add in the sugar and sweet soy, stir and keep on cooking for 2 minutes.

The meat mixture should be moist not to dry.  Let it cool.

Shaping the Lemper

You need: a piece of foil, baking paper and plastic glad wrap

Place the three parts of the wrapper in order

Put the cold rice on the plastic and spread it evenly to 30 cm x 20 cm about 1/3 cm of a thickness ( wrap your fingers with a  piece of glad wrap, so you won't get sticky fingers, or dip your fingers in water so you can work better this way) 

The next layer: place the meat on top of the rice and spread evenly

Roll the Lemper, from the side close to you roll it over and over to enclose.

Wrap in a cloth; let it cold entirely before you slice it.

Slice 1 cm thick.

To serve:

Serve with tea as a snack

Have fun.

Susy

Step by Step how to Do

The Herbs Garden

In my garden the herbs are looking good for this time of the year, I think.  Some of them  I planted in the ground but most of them I planted in pots.  I use a lot of fresh herbs in my cooking and also for garnishes.


Potted Herbs and Roast Chicken with the mix herbs butter

Flowers And Garden

Herbs, flowers and vegetables are playing a big part of my cooking.  I do a lot of gardening,  I am a keen gardener.  I think I have a reasonably healthy garden.  It is smallish front yard and backyard but beautiful. In the backyard, we have a lot of colours. Red, yellow, pink, orange roses, also purple, pink hydrangea and more. The front yard the colour scheme is green and white.  It is very calm and pleasant.
I cut fresh flowers for the house to brighten up the rooms regularly.

These are some pictures of my flower arrangements.

Spinach Pie For A Treat

Last week my children came home for a visit.  My daughter decided to stay another day.  Most of the time, I love to serve a variety of meals/dishes.  From rice to roast, we had., very enjoyable.
I was so pleased that I could catch up with her a bit longer.  So I cooked her spinach pie for lunch.  I did not have the spinach though so I used the Swiss Chards instead.  I used my own pastry ' Susy's water pastry'.

This is the recipe for you.

Rainbow Swiss Chards Pie with Feta Cheese

(Makes 12 mini pies)

Ingredients:

Swiss chards, chopped (3cups)

Chives and mints, chopped ½ cup

Onion, a half-chopped

6 eggs

200 g Feta cheese

Salt to taste

1cup oil and some butter

Water pastry: a batch from the recipe - ‘Susy’s water pastry.’

2 trays of shallow pies in

Method

The pie filling mixture:

Sautee the onion with 1tablespoon oil until softened.

Add the chopped Swiss chards, chives and mints and cook until wilted, let it cool

Add in chopped/mashed feta cheese, eggs, some salt and mix them thoroughly

Warm some butter then mix with the reminding of the oil for brushing.

Brush the tins with oil mixture lightly.

The Pies

Brush a round pastry with the oil mixture

Place it on the mould (the pastry should be a lot larger than the mould) and put

1 tablespoon full of the pie mixture, gather the pastry to enclose the filling.

Do this sequence until you fill up all the moulds (six rounds in a tin)

Brush the mini pies with oil, bake in the preheated oven of 175 degrees C for 18 minutes

The pies should look golden brown.

To serve:  For a light lunch or for a pic nick.

Happy cooking and enjoy

Susy

STEP BY STEP HOW TO DO

PASTRY

Pastry making is fun.  Here I am showing you how to make 'water pastry.'

Susy’s Water Pastry

Ingredients:

1cup plain flour

½ teaspoon salt

2teaspoons oil

1/3cup warm water

Method

In a bowl, place the flour and salt.

Stir in the warm water and oil and mix thoroughly

Knead lightly onto a floured board, to make a soft dough.

Wrap in a cloth/tea towel, let it rest for at least 45 minutes

Unwrap the cloth, knead the dough again very quickly

Divide the dough to 6-12 and shape them into circles

Roll them to large and thinner circles, until almost see through.

Now you have a beautiful thin water pastry that is ready to use.

I use the pastry for pies, strudels, dimsums.

Our Christmas 2010

Easter is almost here.  I am sharing recipes for the Easter feast soon.  Now I like to show what I cooked for the last year Christmas.

Christmas is a particular time for everyone.  We all get together, time to catch up and time to share.
I wish to share my easy and festive recipe of our Christmas Turkey for 2010. 
We had early Christmas party last year because my oldest daughter Melanie and her family had to be with her parent's in-law in Tasmania and Susan my youngest daughter had to go spending her Christmas with her sister Jane who live in the Netherland.
We all had a great Christmas and a wonderful time.

The English tradition of Christmas Turkey presentation: The legs should be garnished with cutlet frills.  With a string of sausages, still in unsevered links and draped across its breast as it comes to the table. The turkey is known as'An Alderman in Chains. ( English Recipes by Sheila Hutchins)

Our Christmas Turkey is presented differently.  I like the plater looks beautiful, bright and festive.  Just by adding fresh herbs and cut flowers from our garden.

The recipe:

Our Christmas Roast-Turkey

(Turkey is stuffed at both ends, in the crop and in the body)

Ingredients:

1 whole Turkey approx 5 kg

100 g butter

String, baking paper and foil

For stuffing and basting

Stuffing for the body

250 g minced pork

50 gr-shelled pistachios

10 dried apricots-chopped

1 large lean bacon-chopped

1 large onion–chopped

2 tablespoons mix fresh herbs

(parsley, rosemary, sage, lemon thyme)

1tablespoon brandy or sherry

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 egg-large

1cup heap full of fresh white bread crumb

Some freshly ground pepper

Salt to taste

                Place all ingredients in a large bowl, and mix them thoroughly until combined.

                Keep in the refrigerator, until you are ready to stuff the turkey.

Stuffing For the crop- the neck

90 g minced chicken

30 g minced pork

10 chestnuts, shelled/cooked – chopped

30 g of almonds whole

1 tablespoon chopped onion

1tablespoon mix fresh herbs

(tarragon, thyme, sage)

1tablespoon olive oil

1 small egg

A dash of brandy

½ cup new white breadcrumb

Some freshly ground pepper

Sal to taste

                Place all ingredients in a bowl, and mix them thoroughly until combined.

                Keep in the refrigerator, until you are ready to stuff the turkey

Basting mixture

Mix 1tablespoon marmalade, soy and brandy and olive oil for basting at the last stage of cooking.

The turkey

Wash and dry properly.

Lay the turkey on the working bench

Stuff the body with the stuffing, fill up the cavity but do not over stuff, allow the filling to expand during the cooking.

Stuffing the crop, fill the cavity of the neck with the stuffing.

Tie the two legs together (loosely) with the strings.

Rub the whole turkey with the butter.

Place the turkey on a large baking dish, breast side up to cover with baking paper and foil

Cook in the preheated oven at 165 degrees C for 3 hours and 20 minutes.

Take the paper and the foil; baste the turkey with the basting mixture.

Continue cooking for 40-50 minutes uncovered

The turkey should look golden brown.  Rest the turkey for 25 minutes before carving.

The Gravy: makes from the turkey juices, add some stock, flour salt to taste.

Garnishes: roast potatoes and sweet potatoes, beans and peas cooked in herb butter and honey carrots.

Note: The stuffing is very compact so that it cuts in slices.

               

Our Christmas Turkey is decorated with a bouquet of fresh herbs, a red rose and rose petals from our garden.

Susy

Dishes From Java

Family get together.    Javanese Cooking for Susan.

From left to Right

1. Spicy prawns with sugar peas, 2 Hot spicy beef balls in coconut sauce, 3 Potato egg dumplings

 1 Egg wrapped in fish curry    2 Steamed rice cone with a fresh salad dressed in coconut dressing

 Front row: Hard boiled egg in sweet soy