Madam Pele's Gift!!

On the Big Island of Hawaii is a volcano called Kilauea, where the Hawaiians say Madam Pele lives!!! The name was given to her by the Islanders and means, "Goddess of the Volcano." Every now and then Pele reminds us she is there with a lava eruption!!

When you drive around the rim sometimes you can smell sulphur which is emitted from the volcano. If you are not there during an eruption, don't worry, you can see where the lava previously left its mark.

In the national park I stopped at the visitor centre. There was a large glass case for you to view with objects people sent back. Many people felt they had bad luck or were cursed by Madam Pele for taking things such as pieces of rock or lava from her crater. One Japanese lady sent her shoes back for forgiveness, believing her bad luck resulted from walking on the edge of the volcano.

Samuel Clemens, better known as Mark Twain, loved the Hawaiian Islands. Today in my little collection of books is "Mark Twain's Letters from Hawaii." I bought it on my trip to the Big Island and treasure it very much.

They say the Islanders used to throw gifts into the volcano for good luck. Today I am not there, but I write a recipe as a gift for Madam Pele, hopefully she will send me some luck!


Scallops with Spicy Mango Macadamia Salsa

Serves 4 people

Ingredients

2 dozen scallops (allows 6 per person)

2 large mangoes, diced

2 tablespoons lime juice

3 tablespoons chopped coriander
1 small red onion, chopped

1 red chilli finely chopped with seeds removed

One third of a cup chopped Macadamia nuts

1 teaspoon of fish sauce

1 teaspoon brown sugar

2 tablespoons olive oil

Method

Make Salsa first.

In a bowl place lime juice, fish sauce and brown sugar. Lightly beat together with a fork until mixed.

Then put in the diced mango, coriander, onion, chili and lastly the macadamia nuts. Mix well and then place in fridge to chill.

Warm a grill on low heat. Wipe with olive oil  so scallops don't stick.

Place on the scallops and cook one minute each side.

To serve place on a scallops in the middle of the plate with a salsa on the side. Decorate with a small sprig of coriander.

Enjoy!

The Main Attraction!!!!

It is the time of year here where the days are beautiful. The air is cooling down and at night you can sleep with the covers on! 

Easter is not far away, the shops have Easter eggs everywhere.

In other parts of the world Spring approaches.

Years ago when I went through Colorado, in one of those cute little ski towns, I discovered something unusual. 

In the main street there was a Bakery, nothing unusual about that, except what was out front.  Street trees with Bagels on them! 

The bakery was open so I went inside and inquired why this was so! The lady explained she felt sorry for all the little birds that had hardly anything to eat through Winter and one day she decided to place a day old bagel on the bare leafless tree. Within minutes, a lot of little birds came and ate it. So, she decided from that day on to put a few out each week in Winter for the birds to eat.

I didn't try the bagels but they had the best cinnamon rolls and coffee I ever tasted!

They had so many yummy things to choose from, little individual pot pies caught my eye, they looked great and the lady gave me the recipe, which I changed to my taste and want to share with you.


Chicken and Leek Pie
                                                                                                          
Ingredients

Serves 4 people

1kilo of chicken breast fillets, chopped
2 tablespoons olive oil
4 tablespoons of butter
2 leeks, washed and chopped finely
Half a cup of plain flour
2 to 3 cups of chicken stock
Three quarters cup of sour cream
4 medium potatoes peeled, cubed and cooked(boiled)
1 teaspoon of wholegrain mustard
4 puff pastry sheets
1 egg

Method

In a fry pan put in oil and chicken, cook on low to medium heat until lightly brown. Take off stove and place chicken in a bowl. 

Return fry pan to stove, add 4 tablespoons of butter and a drop of olive oil (this will stop butter from burning). Place in chopped leeks and cook until soft. Gradually add flour one tablespoon at a time to leeks. This will thicken quite quickly. Take off stove and gradually add chicken stock, sour cream, potatoes and mustard. Return to the stove and allow to cook until mixture combines and you have a nice creamy texture.

Have the ceramic oven proof individual dishes ready(about the size of a bread and butter plate). Place in chicken mixture - fill to about three quarters of the way (If you fill them to the top it bubbles over the edge in the oven). Now place one sheet of pastry over each dish. One at a time, cut edges off the pastry looks it like a lid. With extra pastry you can cut out decorations. I normally do two leaves, roll a couple of ball shapes and put them in the middle.


Finally, take egg, beat and then brush over pastry, this will make it nice, golden brown and crunchy.


Place on a tray and put in a moderate oven for about 10 to 15 minutes until golden brown.

 

What a Tart!!!

Growing up we had quite a big back yard with various fruit trees. The smell I remember most of all was the citrus trees, lemon, orange and mandarin.

The lemon tree had lemons with a thick flesh and they were very juicy. (A Meyer lemon tree).

Once a year we picked the lemons and Mum made juice. The juice was put into bottles with a few added ingredients, that way we had  lemon juice right through Summer.  Sometimes Mum would make delicious Lemon Butter - a lemon spread that was great on fresh bread!!

Today, I want to share my lemon recipe.
 

Bernadette's Lemon Delicious Tart 

Ingredients

For Pastry
1 cup of plain flour
50g cold butter chopped
1 tablespoon of icing sugar
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 egg yolk

2 tablespoons of cold water

For Filling
3 eggs, plus 2 egg whites
1 cup icing sugar
2 tablespoons finely grated lemon rind
Half a cup of lemon juice
200g light sour cream

Method

Pastry
Place flour and butter in a bowl and mix together with clean hands until like breadcrumbs. Add icing sugar, oil, egg yolk and 2 tablespoons of cold water. Mix together until the ingredients forms a ball.


Turn the pastry mixture onto a floured surface and roll out until large enough to cover a pie tin. Please note: make sure pastry is not too thick. Trim edges and chill in fridge for about 10 minutes.


Pre heat oven to 180 degrees or moderate oven. Place the pie tin on a baking tray, makes it easier to remove from oven.
Cover the pastry with baking paper and place dried beans or rice on top. This will stop the pastry from rising but will allow pastry to cook. Bake for about 10 minutes, take from oven remove beans and baking paper and place back in oven for further 5 to 10 minutes or until lightly brown.


Filling
Beat egg whites and eggs until well combined. Gradually stir in the sifted icing sugar, lemon rind and lemon juice. Make sure there are no lumps. Now, add sour cream and stir in well.
Carefully pour the mixture into the pie shell and bake on a reduced heat at 150 degrees for a further 25 to 30 minutes.

When cool dust with icing sugar. Serve a slice of pie with fresh whipped cream on the side!

Hidden Treasures!

Caves are found in many parts of Australia, Western Australia has quite a few in the South. Most recognize the South West region for Margaret River with its vineyards, beautiful surfing beaches and Karri forests.

I’d like to tell you about another of its treasures.

The caves, which I read recently numbered over 150, were formed by an under water system. On Caves Road there are 3 open to the public, Lake, Mammoth and Jewel. 


I visited the Lake cave, it is a hidden treasure, with water reflecting off the giant stalactite crystals hanging from the cave’s ceiling. A guide explains the history and gladly answers any questions. There is a charge to visit, but you don't mind because the money goes to looking after the caves. Don't you want future generations to be able to enjoy what nature created for us?

If you ever visit this part of the world I recommend you visit the South West caves.

After the tour, my friends and I sat in a nearby cafe and talked about our adventure. The menu featured delicious food; I was tempted by the veggie burger. It was so good, when I went home I created my own version.

Bernadette's Veggie Burger 

For 4 People

Ingredients

Burger mix

Half a peeled and grated zucchini

1 medium peeled and grated carrot

1 peeled and grated potato

1 peeled and finely diced onion

1 large egg

2 tablespoons plain flour

Half a teaspoon curry powder

1 teaspoon sesame seeds
Half a cup of fresh and finely chopped parsley

3 tablespoons of vegetable oil

For Burger assembly

lettuce leaves 

finely sliced tomatoes

beetroot

grated cheese

mayonnaise

Salt and pepper to taste

Buns 

Method

Place all the burger mix ingredients in a bowl and mix well. To make individual patties, take with hands enough to make a large ball and squeeze some of the excess juice and slightly flatten patty. Place on a plate and refrigerate for half hour.

Put a fry pan on low to medium heat and add vegetable oil.

Place patties in fry pan and cook slowly until brown. Patties may take 15 minutes to cook through.

Cut buns in half and place under a grill to slightly toast.

Place on plate and assemble your burger, bottom half of the bun, patty, salad, mayonnaise and top of the bun.

A Feast Fit For A King!!!!

One of the most breath taking drives is from South to North Carolina in the Autumn.  Driving through the mountains the trees were all shades of red, orange and yellow. The mountain air was crisp and you knew Winter wasn't far away.

Biltmore House is a spectacular place in Asheville, North Carolina. The house was originally owned and built by the Vanderbilts. Not your regular house, it was more like a palace. Visitors could tour a small section because most of the house was still occupied.

The estate and gardens were grand. At the dairy milk was turned into delicious creamy ice cream and sold, what a treat!

A duck pond caught my eye. I purchased a print featuring the Biltmore ducks which I still have on my wall today!

Thinking of the different colours of Autumn inspired my next recipe.

Bernadette's Moroccan Lamb Shanks       

Ingredients

For 2 People

4 French cut lamb shanks

1 tin of chopped tomatoes

Half a cup red cooking wine

1 and half litres of beef stock

1 onion peeled and diced

Half teaspoon fresh chopped garlic

1 and half tablespoons Moroccan spice mix (I use Master Foods)

2 tablespoons of olive oil

Three quarters of a cup of red lentils

2 small peeled and diced carrots

1 stalk celery diced

1 tablespoon of cornflour

2 tablespoons cold water

Method

In a fry pan on low heat, brown lamb shanks in olive oil on all sides. Remove from fry pan and drain excess oil from shanks.

In a large oven proof dish put tomatoes, wine, beef stock, onion, carrot, celery, Moroccan spice and lamb shanks. Cover with a lid, or Alfoil if no lid, and bake in a moderate oven for about 1 hour.

Take out of oven and stir carefully.

Return to oven for a further half hour. Remove once again from oven and add lentils.

Back into oven for approximately 15 minutes until lentils soften and thicken the sauce. If you find the sauce is not thick enough, you may add the cold water and cornflour mix. Add a little at a time to achieve the desired texture.

I like to serve this on a bed of mash potatoes, you may prefer Couscous - I'll leave that up to you!

A Little Bit Saucy!!

Texas - "The Lone Star State" is a big place. Known for many things, such as The Dallas Cowboys (a football team) and of course, oil. 

Yee ha! You can almost hear the cowboys rounding up the cows! The city itself is big, old and modern. I visited the famous landmark, the School Book Depository building where Lee Harvey Oswald fired the fatal shots at JFK. 

Barbecue places are all over Texas. So many restaurants trying to out do each other with the biggest and best steaks, washed down with Lone Star Beer. The most common cow in Texas is called the long horn for obvious reasons.

Barbecue steaks, ribs, chicken, you name it, they barbecued it and I tried it. They have buns filled with shredded barbecue meat with sauce, sounds unusual, but nice. Sometimes different woods like mesquite are used to smoke and add flavour to the barbecue.

Barbecue sauce went on a lot of things. Every time I asked what was in the sauce, I got a strange look. Most said, "Sorry Ma'am, it's a secret recipe."

After trial and error, I have come up with a blend and want to share it with you.

Bernadette's BBQ Sauce - Marinade

Ingredients

2 cups of ketchup

1 teaspoon of fresh garlic chopped

1 and half tablespoons of brown sugar

2 teaspoons whole grain mustard

1 and half tablespoons dried french onion soup mix

1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce

Method

Place all ingredients in a bowl and mix. 

You can use this on chicken, pork or ribs. I marinate the meat and sauce together in fridge for at least 1 hour before cooking. Keep some of the sauce aside to brush on the meat when barbecuing.

To avoid burning the marinade I suggest you place alfoil on the barbecue. Cook meat until almost done, then transfer and flame grill.  

SHE'LL BE APPLES

My father took Sunday drives seriously.....we never knew where we would end up!  Mum packed a picnic lunch of sandwiches and a delicious cake.

Off we went, north, south, east or west... we discovered Western Australia is a big place!

My sister and I sat in the back of the car playing all sorts of games. We loved to drive Dad and Mum crazy ....as kids do!!!

We stopped at petrol stations in various country towns to stamp our passbooks. I'm not sure, I think we purchased the books from a service station. Then the passbook was stamped each time you visited a country town service station. A bit like overseas passports, except they were not official.

One place we visited a few times was Dwellingup, about 2 hours south east of Perth, it was a Sunday drive and Dad took his time! The town was almost wiped out by bush fires in the 1960's. The town's main source of income was the local saw mills where Jarrah trees were brought in, cut up and sent off for various uses.

The local people grew their own produce. I remember the apple orchards. We stopped at the same place every time and they sold us a box of apples for a few dollars. So crisp and fresh........ surprised any made it home!!

Thinking of this has inspired me to give you an Apple Pie recipe.

BEST EVER APPLE PIE

Ingredients

FOR PASTRY
1 and half cups of plain flour

Three quarters of a cup SR flour

Half a teaspoon of salt

1 tablespoon of white sugar

250gms butter chopped
A quarter of a cup of sour cream

1 teaspoon of lemon juice

FOR FILLING

2 tablespoons lemon juice to put with apples

4 granny smith apples, cored, peeled and sliced

2 pears, cored, peeled and sliced

Half cup of white sugar

2 teaspoons of mixed spice

1 egg for the top 

Method

Preheat oven to 180c. Grease a pie dish and put to one side.

To make pastry first. In a large bowl, combine flours, salt and sugar. Add butter and work into flour until it resembles bread crumbs.

Add sour cream and lemon juice to the bread crumb mixture. Using hands, knead until a ball forms. Wrap in cling or plastic wrap, refrigerate for about 1 hour.

While the pastry is chilling make filling. Place apples and pears into a bowl, mix in flour, sugar and mixed spice. Using hands, combine all together then add lemon juice. Put into fridge and keep chilled.

Remove pastry from fridge and take off plastic wrap. Flour a board with a little plain flour and cut pastry in half. Put half aside and roll out the other until quite thin, using a rolling pin. When ready, flour rolling pin and wrap pastry around it. This makes it easier to transfer to pie dish. Once in pie dish, press evenly with your hands leaving excess pastry hanging over the edge. Flour board once more, roll out other half of pastry, leave on the board for only a few minutes until ready to put on top of the pie. If you leave the pastry longer than a few minutes, it will dry out.

Take filling from fridge and fill the pie base. Mixture may seem a lot, but it shrinks as it cooks.

Now for the top. Same principle, flour rolling pin again, wrap pastry around it and transfer to the top of the pie. Cut excess pastry from the edges, then pinch around the edge with your fingers. This seals the pastry together and stops the filling bubbling out.

Decorate the pie with excess pastry by forming three little balls about marble size. Place on the top, in the centre of the pie. Cut out two leaf shapes and place either side of balls. It takes 5 seconds and people will be impressed.

Beat an egg and brush over top of the pie. Place in the oven and cook for about 45 minutes or until golden brown.

Serve with whipped cream, ice cream or custard.