Things seem to have been busy down on the farm and some how I have not had time to add to my blog and of course I am back at work so time is of the essence.
Last weekend was the weekend of the grand daughter and she helped with everything. We planted some new tomatoes in the glass house with a cucumber and a zucchini. She' that has to be obeyed' was responsible for planting the pansies and adding small amounts of fertilizer under the plant as it went in. As everything is done in a hurry by the grand daughter the job was done super fast.
Peas are climbing up their stakes and flowering already and we have at over supply of silver beet and eggs. I have cooked the silverbeet and chopped it finely before squeezing all the moisture out and adding it to white sauce made with equal quantities of cream and milk and a good grating of nutmeg. This mixture freezes well in small pots and is available at a moments notice or even better if I remember to take it out before going to work.
I do the same with mashed carrot and parsnip and I find it easy to put the mixture into small plastic zip lock bags which I can squeeze the air out of and flatten so that they sit neatly in the freezer andit unthaws in a trice. And I have just used up the last of the runner beans which I froze using this method during the glut of the heady hot days of last summer.
I had coffee with the daughter at the garden centre and talk, as always turned to our vegetable. She is of the same opinion that if you have a small garden you should only grown the things you like to eat not the things that look pretty. For example the husband wont eat lettuce. Says that he is not a rabbit and he hates the stuff. But he love radishes and spring onions, fresh peas and beans. Beetroot is always a great mainstay and he loves it in sandwiches and with the weekly hamburger ritual.
So going back to the discussion with the daughter we are both going to have a big push and experiment with the tomatoes this year. I never seem to grow enough and remember the days up north when I used to freeze great bags of whole tomatoes for use in usual winter casseroles, their skins just slip off as they thaw and you just chuck them into sauces etc. they do loose a little flavour but are terribly convenient and not washing of sauce jars. And by that time you are sick of making sauces, relish and chutney. there is also the thought that the end of season is coming and you have to use the green tomatoes as well.
I adore friend green tomatoes. They are so simple. Cut the tomatoes into thick slices and sprinkle them lightly with salt and pepper and a little sugar. Quickly dip them in beaten egg and polenta for a really crunchy coating. Delicious with mayo or as a really interesting accompaniment with steak or fish. You can do the same with firm ripe tomatoes but you don't get the same textural experience which is quite unique to this dish.
On Saturday night I delivered some eggs to the next door neighbour and with a couple of brandies we had a delicious chicken and cranberry pate. Yesterday I managed to get some organic chicken livers and set about replicati it. (Organic chicken livers have a much softer taste an as so many of the impurities of what we eat are filtered through the liver and I have a bit of a horror of what non organic chooks are fed).
So at 10pm in some unexplained burst of energy I set about to replicate it and successfully succeeded.
Chicken and cranberry pate
Gently saute one diced red onion in 125grams of butter until it is translucent. Add 125 gms of chicken livers and cook very slowly until they are just pink. Turn the heat up a little and add 1/4 port, a pinch of chili flakes, 1 tablespoon dried cranberries, a good grating of nutmeg and a teaspoon of chicken stock powder. Cook for a minute and set aside to cool slightly. I add a large tablespoon of cream fresh at this point but it is not necessary but adds a silkiness and another dimension. Throw in the blender and blitz until smooth. Pour into potetls and eat with loads of unsalted butter and die a blissful death!!!
I have used this method using diced chicken thighs gently cooked in the butter mixture and that is even more delicious spread on hot Vogels bread with a tomato just picked from the garden.
I think I need to talk more about pate and what you can and cant do to add to them. How to add texture or add smoothness.
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