Angelica

Glace  Angelica

I bought an angelica plant at the farmers' market last year,  I think it's growing well.  I want to make glace angelica.  It does need a lot of preparation, but I am for it. I hope I could find an easy recipe.
The plant is tiny, it is not ready for preserving or candying yet.  I may have to wait a little longer.

My Angelica Plant

I like to share a recipe daily if I think it is fit for all of you to try.  But today I want to show you about my reinvention of Bisteeya- Moroccans Pie.  It is a vegetarian pie, with fillings of broccoli and egg custard with turmeric flavour.  For chicken bisteeya, you would have chicken, egg /lemony custard and almond nuts. I serve the broccoli bisteeya- this pie with almond nuts as the topping, it is the crunch of the almond nuts that give extra delight for the dish.  See what do you think, it is delicious and an excellent vegetarian dish.

Susy's Broccoli Bisteeya

A Slice of the Broccoli Bisteeya.

Tomorrow is the first day of spring, I have been having a good winter, and I am welcoming the spring with enthusiasm.

The Promising Wisteria. Lots of Buds

This month is a particular month for friends as they had their birthdays.  Also, today is a birthday to a dear friend-Nicole and a wedding anniversary to our eldest daughter Melanie.

Happy birthday to you all and hope you had a great day: Dianne, Mrs A, Martine, Eileen, Don, Berry, Heather, Jeff and Silvia.  To Nicole, have a fantastic day today, happy birthday. 
Happy 10 wedding anniversary to Mel and Lance.

I am thinking of my parents. Also, they could have been their 63 wedding anniversary today. Thank you both, mother and father- ibu / Bapak.  
I am sure they have celebrations in God's garden.

Lilac is my mother's favourite colour

Until Next Post
I hope you all have been enjoying the last day of winter.

Susy

Ricotta

Steamed Ricotta  Stuffed With Egg


Scotch Egg reinvented.  We have the Scotch egg - meat stuffed with boiled egg then fried, or crumbed first then fried.  This time I am thinking for a vegetarian dish, how about steamed ricotta stuffed with a boiled egg. It can be yummy, served with a lot of salads, and generous nuts, that way it becomes a substantial vegetarian dish.

Ricotta Stuffed with Egg Garnished with Leafy Green, Diced Sweet -Potatoes
Glazed Macadamia and Pecan Nuts

The reinvented dish worked out very well, the garnish matches the food perfectly.  The subtle taste of ricotta blends with the glazed nuts beautifully.  I think it is a very delicious, healthy and elegant dish.

My idea was based on an experience when I was in Assisi, I remember that the local people were selling the fresh ricotta along the street.  The ricotta was served with honey.  I bought and tried some, It was so  Delish!


Recipe
Steamed stuffed ricotta with egg.

Ingredients:

200 g ricotta cheese
1 egg
1 tablespoon flour
1 cup sliced leeks+22 g butter
Salt to taste
4 boiled eggs, shelled
glad wrap and foil
Method
Cook the leeks with the butter until soft
Add in the egg, flour, salt,  mix them to combine
Refrigerate while you are peeling the shell of the eggs
Wrap the egg with the ricotta mixture,
Then wrap each stuffed ricotta in a piece of glad wrap

And wrap it again in aluminium foil before poaching
Poach the stuffed ricotta in gentle simmer for 12 minutes
Turn them over after cooking for the first 8 minutes,
then continue cooking for 4 minutes
Take them out, and drain in a container.  Place them on a dry plate.
When they are cold, keep them in the refrigerator until serving time.
To serve
Served with a salad and glazed nuts in honey


Enjoy, have fun and happy cooking
Susy

Chicken

Double Cooked Chicken

Fried Chicken Javanese Style - Ayam Goreng Jawa

I wish to share the recipe of the traditional fried chicken from Java.  People do cook this chicken at home, but it is commonly available in the shops, or at the market, It is a double cook technique, firstly you have to braise the chicken, followed by deep frying the chicken until golden.

Ayam Goreng Jawa - Lalaban Segar-Sambal
Fried Chicken Garnished with Fresh Salad and Sambal

My parents were very fond of this dish, mother used to buy a lot of.  I don't cook the dish very often, as I am happy enough to cook chicken, by baking or roasting but, I use the same spices.  Cooking with oil is troublesome for me, but it is good to do it sometimes, especially the dishes from Java.  Ayam goreng is my favourite,  It is so delicious to be served with steamed white rice or yellow rice and garnished with salads.

How to cut chicken Javanese Way

The whole bird is divided into six pieces.  Two breast pieces and the wing is attached to the breast.  Two chicken thighs, and two chicken legs, and traditionally the chicken feet are hooked on to the legs.   The chicken feet are discarded here in Australia, the whole bird sold without the feet.

The Spices

onion, garlic, coriander, tamarind pulps, salt,

 Salam leaf/galangal and palm sugar in the middle

Ayam Goreng Jawa

1 whole chicken, cut into pieces

Spices:

1 teaspoon coriander, ground

2 cloves garlic

1 onion

2 teaspoons rock salt

2 tablespoons grated palm sugar
1 teaspoon full of salt!

1 tablespoon tamarind juice+pulps

1 small piece fresh galangal

1 salam leaf

1 cup of water

2 cups or more vegetable oil to fry

Method

Put the ingredients into a mortar; ground them to make a rough paste.  You could use a blender too.

Rub the paste onto the chicken pieces, place them in a cooking pot; add in a cup of water.

Cook it over medium heat to braise for 10 minutes; and continue braising for another hour over very low heat, covered.  Check it out from time to time

The liquid is almost absorbed in this stage, take it off the heat, keep aside to cool.

Frying the chicken:

Put the oil in a wok or a frying pan; when the oil is hot (not too hot) put a few pieces of chicken to deep fry,  cook over medium heat until golden brown.

Take them out and place them on a plate

To serve

Serve hot or room temperature with rice, garnished with salads and sambal*

*Sambal is hot chilli relish.

 Enjoy!

Vegetarian cooking is coming soon, stay tuned.
Susy

The Grand

My Gand Father  -   Simbah Kakung


I did mention earlier that my husband and I joined the local sporting activity - Table Tennis or Ping Pong.   We did it for health reasons.  My husband knows how to play, he played when he was a young student.  I did not know how to play the games even though at my grandfather's house, there was one table.  He owned and lived in a large house: Rumah Joglo (the traditional Javanese house). He loved to have an open house where everyone - mainly young people - were welcome to play table tennis or Ping Pong games.  I was living away from home to do further study then, and my parents also moved to live at their new home at a different place.


My grandfather always enjoyed his black tea and freshly homemade coconut sugar
(gula Jawa)


I thought of my grandfather today because this month we had been playing Competitions.  To make the story short, our team -  the Gold team level five won the first place, we got the premiership.  We did great, I did well.  If my youngest brother learnt about this, he would say, oooh that was the ERA of simbah kakung - (grandfather).  It's so ridiculous to him that I play a sport!!!! That was good to be in a competition,  I have learnt a lot about myself,  I think I have improved.  I am sure that my grandfather would have been proud of me.

Potted palms were my grandfather garden. He had beautiful clay pots!

Potted Palm

I was told: when I was only two years old my grandfather took me out to visit my other grandparents (from my mother’s side), they lived about 11 km from our town.  We had to take public transport to get there.  So we did, only halfway through, because my grandfather thought it would get there too soon.  He wanted to spend more time with me.  So we continued our journey on food, my grandfather carried me with selendang, and I was so happy to be cuddled that way.    In Java, we did not have a pram, babies are taken with a cloth (selendang).  I needed a change, instead to be carried all the time I wanted to walk too.

Diced Fresh Coconut Sugar was His Favourite Sweets

Diced coconut sugar (gula Jawa)

Then the story goes:  Sometimes my grandfather allowed me to walk, I took my time (I was told), I walked a little, then I hopped - playing my own games, all of that apparently pleased him.  Most of all, I loved to stop along the way to gather wildflowers along the street.  He was so pleased to see me to have a lot of fun.  We had to go through the creek or little river, and on the bank on that river were a lot of beautiful flowers that I could pick and collect.  I was delighted if I could pick and have the flowers by myself.  When I had enough, then I asked my grandfather to be carried again, so he did.  I fell asleep while I was carried by my grandfather, peacefully, of course.  It took us hours that particular journey, but we both were happy.  Thanks, mother, for this lovely story.  I miss you all.

When I was told this story, I felt so touched that my grandfather loved me so much, I felt so special.  He is no longer with us, in 1977 to join my dear grandmother who had passed on earlier, I was only one year old, I don't remember her.  I am sure she loved me too.

I do understand why I love flowers so much, and now I have a reliable company to follow me around to get flowering plants if I wish to.

Simbah Kakung is Javanese for Grandfather.


Enjoy the story!

Susy

Cheeses

Feta Cheese Pie

Feta is one of the Greeks' contributions to the world about good food.  I love Feta, it's very salty, but you need only to eat a little.   You can do so much with Feta.  You can cook or enjoy it as plain cheese.  You can marinade in olive oil then serve as mix salads, and also you can make pies. To keep the cheese, place it in a jar and fill up with generous olive oil and herbs, or place it in a container and fill up with water, change the fresh water daily.  

Today I wanted to enjoy the Feta my own way.  I cooked a Feta cheese pie,  this is what I did; I prepared my rich water pastry (using water and egg to make the pastry), then I filled this pastry with Feta cheese and mix herbs-oregano, mints and crushed bay leaves.
I cooked the pie on top of the stove, I did not need to bake the pie in the oven.  It worked very well.

Feta Pie in Layers Pastry

Serve this pie hot or room temperature. It's suitable for the next day too. I like to eat it by hand, and I enjoy this pie with a glass of wine.

Flaky and layers pastry with
creamy Feta cheese in the middle

Feta Cheese Pie
garnished with avocado and almonds

 

The family always enjoys my homemade pastry.  What I like about this pie is the soft inside layers and the crispy outside.  It's so delish. It was Successful cooking indeed.


Until next post
Susy

Flowers

Collections

Cyclamens   -   Orchids Cymbidium   2011


I have fresh cut flowers or living flowers for my living room and the kitchen most of the time.  I love it that way.  Flowers are beautiful, they have lovely colours that brighten up the rooms. They make the rooms look so festive.

Now is the flowering season for cyclamens and orchids.  You can keep both flowering plants inside the house for display, but you have to remember to air them from time to time.  Every second day, I put my cyclamens outside at night time for fresh air then I put them back inside the house in the morning.
For the orchid, I take them outside to water them, and I let them stay there for a few hours.  They do need fresh air and the morning sun.

I added a new orchid-Masdevallia and new cyclamens for my collections this year.  I hope these plants grow well, so next year I will have a lot more flowers.

Pictures of flowering cyclamens so delicate and beautiful, also the orchids, they are absolutely gorgeous.

Masdevallia veitchiana  'Angel Frost'

I have been busy gardening, also airing and watering the orchids and looking after the cyclamens. The weather has been great, it's dry, warmish and there was no wind.  It's perfect for the activities.  A busy, busy day!  Time flies if you have a good time.

I did not have time for cooking today, and yet I am happy enough because working for the flowering plants really pleases me too.


Stay tuned for new recipes soon
Susy

Meats - Meatballs In Tomato Sauce

Mince   Meat


Braised  Meatballs in Tomato  Sauce.

Gently braised meatballs in tomato sauce are one of the best Italian cooking.  This dish and pasta have been a part of my family meals since 1974.  Thanks to Nonna Bochinno who taught me how to cook Italian food

I remember vividly about Lina, the oldest daughter of Nonna Bochinno was a dear friend to my family. She picked me up every day to have lunches at her place for more than a month.  Nonna always cooked hot meal daily, started with soup or pasta, and then followed with meat and salads. Beautiful, generous and delicious hot meals every single day.


The cellar was full of homemade tomato sauce, wine and grappa, they had a large vegetable patch, and a large garden with a lot of roses.   My daughter and I spent a lot of days there while my husband was at work to teach at Monivae College Hamilton.  I was so impressed with this Italian hospitality and kindness.  They are a genuine people and loving family.  We have been friends since.

Today I cooked meatballs in tomato sauce, this dish was the first dish that I ever tasted at their home for lunch.  That was a very delightful lunch, I loved Italian food straight away because I love cooking,  I could learn Italian cooking very quickly too.   Since then, Italian cuisine has been a part of my cooking for my family meals.

Braised Meatballs In Tomato Sauce

They had a hot lunch every day, a carafe of wine was always on the table for everyone.   I never forget this, that a bowl of Parmesan cheese was readily available at table always.
The evening meal was more elaborate, they had more dishes, wine, cheeses and desserts daily, and always guess to be entertained.  They love people. 

My Sweet Memories

The Lunch with The Ferrarrettos and Nonna - Nonno Bocchino

Always a Salad, Wine and Parmesan Cheese at Table

Spiral pasta with tomato sauce and Parmesan Cheese

(Lunches started with a hot soup or pasta)

Braised Meatballs Served with a Salad,

(meat and a salad were served for daily lunches)

Recipe

Braised Meat Balls in Tomato Sauce

Ingredients:
250 g veal mincemeat
350 g minced beef
1 egg
1 onion, chopped finely
2 cloves garlic, crushed
1/2 teaspoon salt
Oil for pan-frying

For the Sauce

1onion, chopped
2 garlic, crushed
1 large carrot, grated
2 cups stock
500 g fresh tomatoes, chopped
1cup tomato paste
1 cup red wine
1 teaspoon dried oregano
½ teaspoon white pepper
½ cup olive oil
(you can use fresh herbs, basil, parsley)

Method

The meatballs
In a bowl place the two - mincemeats, add in the onion, garlic, salt and the egg
Mix them together to combine and shape into small balls (16)
Pan-fry the meatballs in shallow oil until golden brown, take them out and keep aside

The Sauce

Sauté the onion, garlic in hot oil, until fragrant and transcalent

Add in the fresh chopped tomatoes, cook till simmering until the vegetables are softened
Add in the stock, grated carrots, salt, pepper, herbs-oregano, and the wine.
Bring to simmer again and add in the tomato paste cook for 10 minutes, stir it from time to time.  Then reduce the heat into very low and cook for one hour, covered.
Put the meatballs in the sauce, and cook for 10 minutes over high heat.

Lower the heat then cook the meatballs in the sauce for another hour, covered.  Stir it now and then, just to make sure it does not get burnt.

(This sauce is vibrant red in colour, and the taste of the tomato is so delicate but flavoursome, because of the extended braising technique)

To Serve

Serve with pasta; Place the pasta in a bowl, top it up with the sauce and Parmesan cheese.  Follow by the meatballs on a separate dish and garnished with a salad.

  

Preparation And The Cooking

grated carrot, tomato paste and red wine

first stage: meatball braised in tomato sauce

the second stage: add in the carrots, wine, tomato paste

and oregano

third stage: braising the meatballs in tomato sauce

over lower heat

the last stage, the final result of braising

the sauce looks so red, rich and flavoursome

(Total Cooking is Two and a Half Hours)

This cooking is dedicated to a special lady who thought me how to cook Italian cuisine in 1974. Nonna Bocchino was a great cook, a good teacher and a kind person. 

Hi Lina, I do hope this cooking is close enough with Nonna's kitchen.

It has been great to prepare this post, until next time.

Susy 

Photo Gallery

Beautiful, Delicious Cooking:  Savouries  To  Sweets

Random Pictures Selections from My Cooking

No food preparation today! 

 Until next time.

Susy