Lamb Kofta

We really enjoy Middle Eastern food and so we eat it quite a bit.  It is one of those cuisines that turns basic ingredients into delicious meals by using lots of spices for flavour.

Kofta or Kafta is a form of meat ball generally consisting of ground meat, spices and onions common from the Middle East, to Greece and as far as India.
Every country has a slightly different take on what is included in the mix and this is one of my versions.  It uses spices common to Lebanese cookingincluding Sumac but feel free to adapt to your own tastes.  Sumac is a ground up berry and is usually found in the spice section. The other version I make uses grated onion, allspice, chilli, paprika and cumin so it really is us to you what you include.

Lamb Kofta

1 Kg Lamb Mince
1 Tsp Ground Coriander
1 Tsp Ground Cumin
2 Tsp Sumac
1 Clove of Crushed Garlic
1 or 2 Quarters of Preserved Lemon (See Notes Below Recipe)
1/4 Tsp Salt
1/4 Tsp Pepper

Mix all of your ingredients together and set aside for at least 1 hour in the fridge to allow the flavours to infuse.
Shape the mixture into sausage shaped meat balls about the length of your thumb.  You have the option of skewering onto soaked bamboo skewers or just cooking as they are.  Cook in a hot griddle pan or fry pan.

Serve in flat breads with any or all of the following: Hummus, Tabbouleh, Olives, Caramelised Onions, Feta, Lettuce and Tomato.

Using Preserved Lemon

When using preserved lemon you need to remove all of the flesh of the lemon and then give the remaining skins a rinse under the tap.

You then need to remove all of the pith to leave just the preserved skin behind.  This is easiest to do by flattening the lemon out on your chopping board and using a knife on its side cutting flat across the board as well.
When you are left with just the skin you can dice it finely and add it to your dish.

I use preserved lemon in rice, couscous, salads and meat dishes and I am sure there are other uses too.
Lemons are currently in season so it is the perfect time to make some preserved Lemons and I will share my recipe with you tomorrow.

The Weekend Kitchen

We have just enjoyed a long weekend here in Queensland and it was a weekend filled with visitors so there was quite a bit of action in the kitchen.

Sunday saw Hubby's family gather at our place for a BBQ lunch.  I made some deviled eggs (which is something I make often for gatherings since we have lots of eggs, even though it is quite retro it seems to be something everyone likes), a vegetarian nicoise salad and a sponge cake.

My father in law thought I had added something to the sponge cake to make it so yellow and I had to convince him that it was just the yolks of the eggs.
Monday was a quite day at home but I made a pot of vegetable and barley soup that turned out to be very thick as I over did it on the barley.  We had some for dinner but I froze the rest to have on hand for easy weekend meals over the coming weeks when I know we ave things planned during the day.

Devilled Eggs



Do not use fresh eggs for this recipe.  Your eggs need to be at least 2 weeks old or you will not be able to peel them without the white breaking up.  This recipe can be be scaled up for parties and if you are not a fan of curry flavour you can use mustard powder instead.

6 Eggs
1/4 Whole Egg Mayonnaise
1 Tsp Curry Powder
1/4 tst Salt
1/4 Tsp White Pepper

Bring your eggs to the boil and boil for 8 minutes.  Drain the eggs and cool by filling your pot with cold water and changing it every few minutes until the eggs are cool.  Peel your eggs the cut each one in half length ways.  Gently pop the yolks out into a small bowl and set the whites aside to be filled.
Add the mayonnaise, curry powder, salt and pepper to the yolks and mash them together until they are smooth.
Use a teaspoon to refill the egg white halves.  You can then sprinkle the top of each one with a dusting of paprika or some chopped chives.  Cover and chill for a few hours before serving.

Sponge Cake

This is a really easy sponge cake recipe and you can double it and split the mix between 2 tins if you want a really tall sponge cake.

3 Eggs
Pinch of Salt
3/4 Cup Castor Sugar
1 Cup Plain Flour
1 Tsp Baking Powder
50 gm Melted Butter

Preheat your oven to 190 degrees.  Grease line a 20 cm round spring form tin.  When lining the sides allow your baking paper to come up above the edge of the tin by 2-3 cm.
Using an electric mixer beat your eggs and salt on high speed for 2 minutes then slowly add your sugar and beat until thick.  Meanwhile sift your flour and baking powder together.  Stop your mixer and sift your flour a second time into the egg mix and fold through until just combined.  Fold in the melted butter and pour into your lined tin.
Bake for 30 minutes and when cooked remove from the oven and leave in the tin for 10 minutes before releasing and turning out onto a cooling rack.  Once cool slice and fill with jam and cream if desired.

What did you get up to in the kitchen over the weekend?

Mixed Vegetable Curry

This is a really easy and very tasty curry that is satisfying enough to keep even the carnivore in the family happy.
I try and make sure we have at least 1 meat free day a week because even though we have a freezer full of meat this can also be the reason we eat meat at most meals.
We have heaps of beans and still a few eggplants going in the garden at the moment and the other day I found some frozen cauliflower that I froze at the end of last winter so they really needed using up.  Perfect for this dish along with a few spices and some other basic vegetables.

Mixed Vegetable Curry

1/4 Cup Natural Yogurt
2 Cloves Crushed Garlic
2 Tsp Grated Ginger
2 Tsp Salt
1/4 Tsp Cracked Black Pepper
1 Tsp Ground Coriander
1 Tsp Ground Chilli Powder
1/2 Tsp Garam Masala
4 Bruised Cardamom Pods
2 Tbs Oil
2 Diced Onions
2 Medium Potatoes cubed
1 Sliced Carrot
300 gm Cauliflower Florets
2 Small Eggplants cubed
1/2 Cup Water
1 Cup Coconut Cream
150 gm Green Breans
Mint and Coriander to garnish

Combine the yogurt, garlic, ginger, salt, pepper and spices in a small bowl and set aside at least minutes.
After about 5 minutes heat the oil and cook the onions stirring until the onions are lightly browned.
Add the carrots potatoes,eggplant and cauliflower and cook for 5 minutes stirring occassionally.
Add the yogurt mix, waster and coconut cream and simmer covered for approx 15 minutes or until the potatoes are just tender.
Add the beans and cook for 5 minutes.
Serve up and sprinkle with chopped mint and coriander.

If you do not like things spicy either halve the chilli or leave it out.  And feel free to use what ever vegetables you have on hand.

Slow Living May 2014

Linking up with Christine again this month and this month seems to have been quite busy.

Nourish -Make and bake as much as possible from scratch. Ditch over packaged, over processed convenience foods and opt for 'real' food instead.
All of our meals were cooked from scratch again this month and I have been thinking about how living in the country gives us a real advantage in this area.  We just do not have the temptations that exist when you live in or close to suburbia.  We are still really focused on using up the food we have on hand and making good use of what we have growing in the garden (even if this means 1000 ways with Pak Chow) rather than doing any shopping.
I made a huge Bacon and Egg Pie (with Pak Choy of course) that used about a dozen eggs and it kept us going for days.

Pear and Almond Cake with Ginger Syrup

Bacon And Egg Pie

Prepare - Stockpile and preserve. Freeze extra meals or excess garden/market produce. Bottle/can, dehydrate or pickle foods to enjoy when they are not in season.
Mostly we are making use of our stockpile rather than adding to it since we are currently in a situation where we have had to cut costs.  This is an incentive to not go shopping and to use up things that we have on hand, so the pantry is also getting a clear out.  This month I did add a few things, some preserved lemons and some cherry chutney which we to use up some lemons I was given and some cherries I had stored in the freezer.

Reduce - Cut down on household waste by re-using, re-purposing and repairing.
In our ongoing efforts to reduce the clutter in our home this week I finally got around to sending off all our old phones and chargers for recycling.

I also found out that soft plastics can be recycled and located the nearest drop off point to us.  It is 50km away but we do tend to be in that area at least once a month so for now we are washing out all out plastic (where required) pegging it on the line to dry and then bagging it up ready to be dropped off.

This month I also turned an old blanket into a dog coat for Jessie which cost me a total of fifty cents.

Green - Start (or continue!) using homemade cleaners, body products and basic herbal remedies. The options are endless, the savings huge and the health benefits enormous.
Just the usual happening on this front.  As it is citrus season I have a catch of citrus cleaner on the go but since there is just the two of us we do not go through that much of our cleaning products.

Grow - plant/harvest. What's growing this month? What's being eaten from the garden?

The garden is producing lots of Pak Choy, cherry tomatoes and beans at the moment plus herbs and the odd eggplant, we also have plenty of citrus.  I am having another go at broccoli but I may have gotten them in too late and I am growing spinach for salads and rainbow chard for us and the chickens.

Pak Choy growing really well

Create - To fill a need or feed the soul. Create for ourselves or for others.

Creations have been on hold this month and reading has taken over.

Discover - Feed the mind by reading texts relevant to current interests.
I have been reading lots over the last month.  Liz lent me some great books and I am working my way through them.
This month I read You Can Farm by Joel Salatin and a few books about farming from the library.  The Joel Salatin book was inspirational and filled with great information but the books from the library were about very traditional farming methods based on high chemical usage which is not what we are about.

Enhance - Community
This month I am working with a number of small business owners in our community to get feedback from shoppers about their spending habits and what prompts them to shop outside of our community instead of locally.
We are also undertaking a campaign of encouraging the community to shop locally and what the benefits of doing this are.  I have been writing weekly press releases for our local paper and so far they have been well received.

Enjoy - Life! Embrace moments with friends and family. Marking the seasons, celebrations and new arrivals are all cause for enjoyment.

During May we celebrated mothers day with my mother in law and my sister in law who became a mum for the first time in March.

My brother in law, sister in law and baby

All the Men of the family

Proud first time grandparents

It is such a joy to share these moments with Hubby's family knowing that they will not happen as often once we move to New Zealand.

What have you been up to?

The Weekend Kitchen

We were quite busy out in the garden over the weekend so there was not much action in the kitchen but I did manage to make a batch of  chocolate crunchies.

I also processed up all of the egg shells that had dried during the week.  I like to dry them well either in an oven that has just been used or on top of our wood stove.

Than I crush them up in my morter and pestle until I have quite a fine mix.

Once they are nice and fine they are ready to be fed back to the chickens.  I like to do this by adding a few table spoons to their wet mash  once a week.  It is really just a top up as they have access to shell grit at all times as well.

What did you get up to in your kitchen over the weekend?