Sheepish Pie

It’s hard to believe that I’ve been married a year and a half and it’s been only recently that I made my version of shepherd’s pie for E to try.

At one point, I was making this every week. I was in love with the whole one-dish concept, that was carb, veg and meat all in one meal that I could make before hand, put in the fridge and just slice out for each meal.

Then I got married and forgot all about it.

Usually, this style of pie hides all manner of variations on meat and veg — the names  ‘shepherd’s pie’ (usually mutton) or ‘fisherman’s pie’ (with, you got it, fish)  are more like guidelines to me.

The layers of the pie

For this first pie as a married couple, I decided to go for the following ingredients:

Bacon (about 3 slices, snipped into small pieces)

Onion (1, sliced)

Shallots (about 3 or 4, also sliced)

Garlic (chopped, one heaped teaspoon)

Minced beef (about 600g)

Celery (about 4 sticks, sliced)

Capsicum (where would I be without this, eh? 1 red, 1 yellow, diced)

Mushrooms (about 5, sliced)

Potatoes (of course; it isn’t shepherd’s pie without mash on top. 4 boiled, skinned and mashed)

To flavour the potatoes, I used butter, some milk, salt and finely grated parmesean cheese.

My Sheepish Pie, topped with a golden brown crust of cheese

First, I boiled the potatoes (this takes the longest of everything else in the prep process).

Then I skinned them, and mashed them with the aforesaid ingredients, before setting it aside to rest while I prepared the rest of the ingredients.

I fried the bacon to release the fat and flavour, and when the pan was greased, I threw in the onions and shallots to brown and wilt. When they had softened sufficiently, the garlic went in for a little bit of browning just before the minced beef went in. I sprinkled some salt, pepper and dried herbs (I used the bolognaise blend) and stirred the meat in the pan till it was all cooked. I then added the veg — celery and capsicum — and stirred it around before putting the lid on to let some cooking take place. A few minutes later, the mushrooms went in, and the whole mix was again allowed to cook for a few minutes. The everything was poured into a glass form, the potato layered on top. I then scored the potato with a fork to decorate it, topped it with more grated parmeasean, and then popped it into the oven at 180 deg. celcius for about 30 minutes.

It was so good, we ate the whole potful!

 

Bran Pancakes

It’s been ages since I last wrote a food blog for us. That was partially due to the fact that I had decided that I want to include our recipes, no matter how simple, as well as a description of taste. Thing is, I keep forgetting to keep track of the recipes. More importantly, I keep forgetting about taking photos till after I’ve eaten everything and there’s nothing left that can be photographed.

:p Some blogger I’m turning out to be.

So I’m going to try again, and I’ll start this new year of successful food blog entries with…. BREAKFAST!

E can hardly stop eating long enough for me to get a proper shot

I made bran pancakes for breakfast this morning, with a very simple recipe:

3/4 cup self-rising flour
3/4 cup bran flakes
1 egg
1 1/4 cup milk
(just put all the ingredients in a bowl and mix with a spoon or beater till smooth)
Optional Additions:
2 slices of pineapple
Or
1 tbsp blackcurrant jam
Or
Chocolate buttons

I wanted breakfast to be a little more special because yesterday was Valentine’s Day and we didn’t get to celebrate it together. So, I made E 3 different types of pancake, using the pineapple pieces in one, mixing blackcurrent jam to flavour the second pancake and including chocolate buttons in the last pancake for the grand finale.

The pineapple chunks were really gave the pancakes some sweet, juicy oompah! Thank goodness I remembered to take photos before the food was all gone -- again!

The result?

The texture of the pancake was springy, and the inclusion of the fruit gave it a nice juicy sort of moistness. There was no real need to add any other toppings, although E and I both love our butter. The bran gave the pancakes some added texture and also felt very good — satisfying but not too heavy.

Served with coffee, E and I agreed that the pancakes were absolutely fantastic!

Our First Sourdough Loaf

Sourdough Loaf I

Eric did some research on this one. He’s actually been researching sourdough bread and how to make it, since sourdough is a more natural leavening for bread. Basically it’s flour and water and you let it sit on your kitchen table till kingdom come. Something like that. Eric is the new expert in the house on them. Furtively, he feeds the dough like some new-found pet. When I need to use it, he pours out the measure of sourdough for me because I’m still uncertain about proportions of flour to sourdough.

The first recipe we followed for a sourdough bread needed to be left over night to rise. Then in the morning, I got up to bake it so that we would have nice, warm bread for breakfast.

I also baked a cake along with the bread, but I think we were more curious about the bread than anything. The bread had a lovely fragrance and tang quite different from what we previously achieved with yeast as a leavening. It’s a fantastic base for savory and herb breads, I think, because I can imagine the flavours blending in really well.

If ever a bread looked like it could speak, this would be it.

The slices of bread went fantastically well with Emmentaller cheese as well as Vegemite, which our house-guest is particularly fond of. As an accompaniment to an eggs-and-bacon breakfast. It also goes well with sweet spreads, like kaya and brandy butter and nutella, but I think I’m biased towards the savory toppings at this point. I’m terribly curious and eager to try baking a bread with herbs thrown in.

I’m also wondering why my loaf developed a ‘mouth’, so to speak. There was a clear ‘break’ in the dough, as if all the air wanted to find its way out there. It’s not very pretty, so my loaves are far from ready to be sold in any kind of commercial context — I’m not even sure if I would bring over a loaf for my dad to try if it continues looking like that. At the same time, if I can’t explain it, I can’t modify the cooking to prevent it from happening.

In addition, wishing I knew what to do about the long time that it takes the bread to rise, would be great. Our first loaf had to be left overnight. Our second loaf wasn’t meant to be left over night, but it took almost about that amount of time for it to rise, and then, after it was baked, it had apparently ‘flattened’ back down, and we wound up with a loaf that was only about an inch high, which is pretty short for a loaf. Eric was completely baffled. I guess I should’ve taken a picture of that loaf, but in my curiosity to find out what it tasted like, I forgot.

Bai-Hei

Peanut-Butter Banana Choc Chip Muffin-Cake and The Chocolate Cake

Tonight there is another party and so I decided to go with the chocolate cake — Chocolate cake is invited to most parties, I think. Even at the few parties I’ve had at my place, no matter how small, there’s always been room for chocolate cake.

I’m having fun with this recipe. For one, I know that it works, and so I have been experimenting with portions and stuff. Today’s modification was peanut butter instead of butter, which has worked for another bread recipe as a replacement. I also decided to include a little flaxseed meal in it to make it a bit more healthy. Those who are going to be eating it might need a bit of boost since they plan on indulging.

Instead of the cinnamon rolls, I decided to go with a banana muffin recipe mainly because I had bananas that needed finishing faster than I an manage on my own. I find that if I use really really ripe bananas, there’s a kind of alcoholic tinge in the taste of the muffin that is quite piquant while also being completely natural. I was, however, feeling somewhat lazy this morning — too lazy to be bothered with greasing twelve muffin cups — so I just baked it all like a cake. So long as it tastes good, I suppose no one will mind.

So far, it all looks good. The chocolate cake ‘erupted’ a little bit — I think that’s from too much heat on the top that cooked it before the rest of the cake got to rise to the fullest extent. No matter. It looks yummy anyway.

Hei-Bai

What happens when I can't decide what to contribute to a potluck.

Chocolate cake from scratch and cinnamon rolls almost-by-the-book.

I thought I’d add these photos which I had taken of the cinnamon rolls and the chocolate cake but didn’t have time to upload that day…

Cinnamon Roll Cuties

Dark and Delicious e Chocolate cake

Blackberry Blackout

My Blackberry Blackout

Today, my kitchen was Blooper-ville.

I decided to mess with another recipe. I wanted to make a cake but didn’t have enough butter. What I did have was buttermilk. I researched and found this recipe which was perfect because 1) it didn’t require butter, 2) it required buttermilk, 3) it was a chocolate cake, 4) it was a one-bowl recipe (ie. toss all ingredients into one big bowl and mix it till you are happy)… What could go wrong?

Nothing, right?

That’s why I decided to mess about with the recipe by using 1/4 cup of sugar instead of the recommended 2 cups (what was I thinking? Have you read my ‘Perfect Plastic Cake’ blog? Step 9 is very appropriate for describing how I felt when I first tasted the cake), replacing 1/4 cup of vegetable oil with coconut milk, and pressing tinned blackberries (with the syrup strained out) into the top of the batter before sending it in to be baked.

Of course, there was all the shock and horror about the plastic box melting around my fresh bread, etc. etc., but that was already dealt with.

I think the cake isn’t sweet enough (yeah, surprise, surprise). The chocolate taste is quite strong, and the texture of the cake is actually quite good — it’s light enough while also being moist to a point of creaminess as a sensation on the tongue. I think if I had substituted the hot water in the recipe for the blackberry syrup, the cake would have been just sweet enough.

Rescued by E and Pretty

E said the sweetest thing though: he said that he loves the cake and thinks its great because to him, eating cake doesn’t have to be about the sugar or the sweetness. It’s about the taste and the texture and he’s immensely pleased with both. I was still upset about how absent-minded I’d been about the bread, and was a tad disappointed with the cake not being sweet enough — it’s crazy, but his reassurance made me cry. After all, though I bake to please myself, I also bake to please him. The thought that he would suffer eating my cake was silly (he would say) but devastating (‘You’re breaking your head again,’ he would say if he knew).

E was actually key to saving this cake. Like I said, I was living in Blooperville today, and forgot to loosen the cake from the tin before trying to tip it out. Yes, how could I forget? Well, I did. And so most of my cake came out, and about a third clung to the bottom of the pan. E helped me put it back together and made it pretty so I could take pictures of it.

Perfect Plastic Bread in 10 Easy Steps

Today, I accomplished the ultimate in baking: I baked a bread that will last probably until the next millennium.

Step one: Bake a loaf of perfectly beautiful wholemeal flaxseed loaf with dash of sage and topped with a sprinkle of oats.

Step two: Taste test a slice or five with breakfast to confirm that it does taste as wonderful as it smells.

Step three: Place it in a plastic box for storing, and place the box in the oven to hide it from the ants and so as not to have to fridge the fresh bread.

Step four: Forget about the bread stored in the oven.

Step five: Pre-heat the oven at 150 degrees Celsius for ten minutes.

Step six: Open the oven to slide in today’s latest experiment (choco-coconut blackberry cake) and discover fresh bread, now reheated and toasty, and encased very tightly in green and transparent plastic. The box has disappeared.

Step seven: Shriek and jump about waving oven mitts in a helpless manner before pulling out the perfect plastic bread and trailing long pliable ribbons of plastic.

Step eight: Shuffle feet uncertainly. Hesitate. Place cake to bake in hot oven.

Step nine: Feel shame. And embarrassment. And chagrin. And befuddlement. Feel the pure and utter joy at asking the ultimate existential question: Where the heck was my head at??

Step ten: Photograph perfect plastic bread for embarrassing blog confession.

It's a wrap. Mostly.

This is the perfect bread to make if you desire to:

1) have the bread last to feed you and your spouse till your golden anniversary (or perhaps till your grandkids’ golden anniversaries),

2) save money on buying one of those machines for sealing your food in plastic bags,

3) have pre-toasted, extra crunchy bread for breakfast,

4) create a centre piece for your art show that provokes discussion about how natural healthy foods are increasingly being processed in ways that negate their innate nutritional value, and about how man is basically his own pollutant,

And,

5) lose weight by having fewer carbohydrates in your diet.

"Before"