Tuesday, June 5, 2012

cooking up

As we've just wrapped up Autumn and are welcoming the Winter in (and what a blustery wet one it is so far!) it's been mainly about wintery green salads and hearty soups around here. With lots of homemade bread to fill up on.


Rocket, kale, tatsoi and other mixed leaves are growing pretty well in the garden right now.


Rolls spread with ricotta and topped with some homemade Italian style preserves. Not made by me, but given to Daniel by a customer. I must learn how to make these.


This was the last glut of Autumn tomatoes that were ripened indoors. Roasted with herbs, they made a delicious pasta sauce.  That yellow liquid is whey, which I was using for bread dough.


More salad greens topped with feta, roasted Jerusalum artichokes and toasted nuts. Dressed with a vinaigrette of olive oil, apple cider vinegar, mustard, maple syrup and sea salt.


Would you believe I've survived the past few weeks with no pasta pot? (I'd been using my Staub which was really made for better things than boiling water). After years of saucepans that didn't seem to last the distance, I am really hoping that the extra spent on these two American made saucepans was worth it. So far I am very impressed.


Silverbeet for pie.


Making easy vegetable stock out of scraps and then adding pearl barley or lentils has made a well received after school snack. Easier than baking.


Pumpkin scones from my Country Show cookbook. A great way of using up the pumpkin I was given by a neighbour.


Now that I've got my head around the whole soaking beans overnight thing, soups are coming together far more easily these days. This one had an added ham hock and simmered gently all day. At the very end I added a few handfuls of risoni. Just the thing for a cold winters night. 


What have you been cooking up/eating in your kitchen?

14 comments:

  1. a whole lot of kitchen envy going on here tania. my oven element is broken - waiting repair. i have been making the most of my stove top, but not having an oven to bake is slightly depressing. your new pots by the way are beautiful. xo

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  2. hi tania, i have started reading the everlasting meal- a purchase inspired by you- it is so much better (although different) than what i even expected. thanks so much for putting me onto it.

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  3. I am suddenly starving for some soup...All looks delicious!

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  4. So warm, real, honest and nourishing.

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  5. Put the kettle on.....I'm coming over! Yum, yum and yum. Never really thought about winter greens for salads before but I do love a roasted autumn veggie salad. I wonder if it is too late to plant winter greens? Did you grown them from seed or seedlings? I love winter for slow cooked food...cassaroles, soups and stews that get better and better the longer they are cooked.

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  6. Hi, were they eggplant and capsicum...? I made them just recently...although I didnt have enough capsicum at the time...I am okay with a fair few Italian methods passed down but have found the book Mangia, Mangia really wonderful for the lemon custards, some of the preserves and those special things that I was unable to learn from my Mother in Law before she passed away...I really recommend it and it will show you how to make the preserved eggplant/capsicum...I did them here...http://enchantedthingsprimitives.blogspot.com.au/2012/04/pickled-eggplant.html
    Suzanne.

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  7. Lots of deliciousness in your home:) I really love the sound of that vinaigrette you made I very rarely make a dressing but your homemade one would be lovely to try. Last night we had a bowl of market stew using some greens from the garden it was delicious to eat on a cold night. x

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  8. @Teaching of Thom - I planted from seed in early to mid Autumn. I'm not sure how cold it gets where you are (some more temperate zones would be fine to plant in now) but it's a little too frosty to plant most things now.

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  9. @Enchanted Moments - yes it was eggplant and capsicum. Funnily I have that book on my wishlist. Thanks for the link.

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  10. We are getting some awful winds at the moment..perfect for soups!I love your idea of barley in some stock...wish my girls would eat as well as your lovely Violet is in that pic!!
    Beautiful simple food pics Tania that make me want to wander through the garden and then do some cooking!
    I just made a nice peanut chicken curry with heaps of vegies for dinner tonight...it's warming the house beautifully now. I love that cookbook...borrowed it from the library and loved going back in time a little too!

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  11. I also have food envy. all that gorgeous healthy comfort food, has given me so much inspiration for our week ahead. I've made lots of vegetable & lentil soup of recent. We have all struggled with colds, so was hoping that soups would be the magic cure!! Nx

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  12. Oh that's exactly the right kind of food for the colder days. We have got our slow cooker a lot at the moment for casseroles and are also having a lot of soups. And maybe a little more red wine :P

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  13. Wow! It looks like a foodie magazine shoot! You've made me hungry though:) I love doing roasts during winter (and not just because the oven warms the place up admirably). I have decided that there is not any kind of vegetable that cannot be roasted, if co-erce long enough:D

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  14. hi tania
    beautiful pics!!!!all your food looks
    very delicious and makes me hungry.
    wish you a nice time in your cosy home
    blessings, regina

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