Homemade Bread

I have always wanted to make my own bread, nothing like the smell of it baking and how soft and delicious it is fresh from the oven. The effect of paying upwards of $6 for a decent loaf these days is further inducement.

Some of the lovely ladies in my mother's group make their own bread and have been bringing it to share at our get-togethers. It is absolutely delicious and they promised me it is also easy, cheap and relatively quick to make. 

This inspired me to finally give it a try, so I asked for the recipe and last night I attempted to make my first loaf of bread. And what do you know? Success!!! 

I was so proud of my first little loaf. It reminded me of scones, particularly fresh from the oven.

For this one I used basic wheat flour, but even if you use organic spelt flour or any other specialty flour it works out at about $1.20-$3.20 a loaf. The recipe:

300grams of wholemeal flour

200grams of plain flour

300mls room temperature water

1 teaspoon of salt

1 teaspoon of brown sugar

1 x 7gram packet of Tandaco brand dry yeast

* Mix all dry ingredients together

* Add tepid water gradually and turn mixture out onto a lightly floured bench to knead

* Knead well.

* Form dough into a ball, place on a breadboard, cover with a clean tea towel and then set in a warm place to rise for about 30-40 minutes.

* Knead dough again and place into a greased loaf tin (butter or olive oil), score the top with a sharp knife diagonally a few times and brush with butter or olive oil.

 * Leave to rise in a warmish place for at least another 40 minutes (can be much longer though).

* Place in a pre-heated 200-210 degree Celsius oven for approx 20-25 minutes or until top is golden and the bread sounds hollow when tapped.

* Turn bread out of tin and place on a wire rack to cool.

* Allow to cool for at least 30 minutes before cutting the end off and slathering with butter :)

The type of flour you use is all up to you, this is just a standard wholemeal loaf. 

I am actually really excited to try a few variations, like spice and dried fruit or olives and chilli flakes, the options are almost endless!!

Have a great time making this, I have really enjoyed it and will be making plenty more of my own fresh bread in future! Mmmm....

We recently took a fantastic mini-break to Central Victoria and stayed at the beautiful Hurlstone Homestead.

As you can see below the Homestead is gorgeous, surrounded by lovely gardens featuring mature trees, ponds, a lake and plenty of lush green lawn. It seems incredible that this oasis was little more than a dusty paddock 25 years ago.

Our extremely personable hosts Marg and Kerry Atley were happy to share the history of the property's transformation and to tell me about HelpX, a program that I'll certainly be making use of the next time we travel.

HelpX or Help Exchange, is a program which links B&B's, farmstays, lodges, ranches and sailing boats with travelers. The general idea is a that of a cultural exchange, whereby travelers work for 4 hours per day in exchange for meals and accommodation. The exact conditions and length of stay can vary from place to place, but you can view host and traveler profiles on HelpX's website and get in touch to sort out all of the details before you even arrive.

For anyone starting a new venture, farm, hostel, etc, it is a great way to get some helping hands on the scene if you have a room to share.

Every time I have traveled I find that it is the experiences which bring me into close contact with the local community that provide the richest experience and the best memories, not the overnight stays in homogeneous 5 star hotels.

If you feel the same way then you might want to consider checking out HelpX before you plan your next trip.

Enjoy!

Eco store products

In a bid to a live better, more wholesome existence, closer to nature and with as few nasty chemicals involved as I can manage in today's world, I went looking for some better beauty/cleaning options.

I loved idea of buying cleaning products that use no harmful chemicals but found that most of the products available online or in Organic supermarkets were horrendously expensive compared to the regular chemical-laden varieties.

I understand that these products use better quality ingredients and therefore cost more to produce, but trying to live better on a budget made these products pretty much out of my reach.

Then there are the super-natural options, made with vinegar, bicarb soda, coconut oil, lye, lemon juice etc... We do use white vinegar as a surface cleaner, but I haven't yet found the time or sufficient motivation to make my own beauty and cleaning products using these ingredients (though it is on my agenda).

In the meantime I have found a great line of products which are not that much more expensive than the products I used to buy and which are readily available in major supermarkets.

Eco Store products are clearly labelled, made using natural ingredients, free from 'nasty chemicals' (their words), not tested on animals and highly concentrated for increased value.

There are plenty of different products and a great online store- for a full range, check out the website: http://www.ecostore.com.au/

We have tried several and can highly recommend the following:

Orange and Patchouli Handwash

Conditioner for Dry/ Damaged Hair


Lemon Dishwashing Liquid


Laundry Powder


Soap- Coconut

Soap- Lemongrass

Soap- Goat's Milk

Homemade Muesli Bars- with variations...

We love muesli bars in this house, I used to buy them every week with my regular shopping. My husband would take them to work and they would make great snacks for myself or my daughter when we were on the go.

Then one day I read the ingredients closely and discovered that a bunch of things I wasn't so keen on lurked in even in the best & most health conscious bars. Things like sugar syrup, glucose solids, glycerol... and some had shockingly high sugar levels. Plus they were about $5 for a box of 6 bars.

So I decided to make my own and started searching for a really great Muesli bar recipe.

Luckily enough, one of the wonderful Mums in my local mother's group had a delicious, healthy and cost-effective recipe she was happy to share.


I have added a few bits and pieces to really squeeze as much goodness in as possible, and here it is, a great recipe you can make on Sunday and use all through the week in school lunches, for snacks, or as a great pick-me-up with a cup of tea!

Here are the basic ingredients:

1 cup of rolled oats
1 cup of finely chopped dates
1/2 a cup of self-raising wholemeal flour
1/2 a cup of desiccated coconut
1/2 a cup of soft brown sugar
155 grams of butter
1 tablespoon of honey

Here is the super healthy deluxe version with lots of seeds:

1/2 a cup of rolled oats
1/2 a cup of rolled spelt
1 cup of finely chopped dates (see note below)
1/2 a cup of self-raising wholemeal flour
1/4 cup desiccated coconut
1/2 cup shredded coconut
1/4 cup soft brown sugar
1/2 a cup of 'freedom foods' rice puffs
1 teaspoon black chia seeds
1 teaspoon linseeds
1 teaspoon sesame seeds
2 teaspoons sunflower seeds
2 teaspoons pepitas
2 teaspoons flaked almonds
155 grams of butter
1/2 a cup of honey

**NOTE- the quality of the dates is important- if you use dry dates you will get a drier, harder muesli bar. The softer and squishier the dates, the better the texture of your end product.

Some Variations-
* Use sultanas and dried cranberries and chopped macadamias/almonds - halve the amount of dates.
* Use golden syrup instead of honey
* Use rice/millet/barley flour instead of wheat flour and 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
* Use lots of chopped nuts
* Use mixed dried fruit instead of dates- cherries, apricots, sultanas, currants, blueberries, mixed peel.
* Drizzle melted dark chocolate over the top before slicing for an indulgence :)

Directions:

- Add all ingredients except the dates, butter and honey to a large bowl and mix thoroughly.

- Chop the dates finely.

- If the dates are nice a squishy (and they should be) add them to the bowl and rub them through the mixture so that you don't get big lumps of date in your muesli bars.

- Chop the butter into smaller cubes, add this and the honey to a small saucepan and heat on medium until all the butter has melted- do not allow to boil.

- Once melted, add the butter and honey to the bowl and stir thoroughly.

- Empty the mixture into a slice tin and press it down firmly and evenly into all the corners

- Cook in a pre-heated oven on 180 degrees Celsius for 20 minutes, or until light golden brown on top and a bit darker around the edges.

- When cooked, remove from oven and allow to cool for 5 minutes- slice into bar-sized portions while still warm.

- Allow to cool fully, then pack in an airtight container in the pantry (after trying a slice of course).

- Will keep for a week. Enjoy!!

Homemade linguine

Had a great pasta making day with some friends today! It was a lot of fun and fantastic to have your own pasta made with ingredients you know and trust (free range eggs for example).

We let our kids run around and play together (you know, decorate the wardrobe with felt pens, jump off the couch onto bean bags etc...) whilst we got together in the kitchen and made pasta.

We brought our own flour and two people had brought fresh eggs from their own or their neighbours' chickens. I decided to go a step healthier and bought some bio-dynamic wholemeal spelt flour from my local organic shop.

This was the basic recipe:

200 grams of plain flour
2 eggs
pinch of salt
1 tablespoon of olive oil

**NOTE- if using wholemeal flour, use 150 grams of wholemeal flour and 50 grams of plain flour. Don't sift wholemeal flour.

- Sift the salt and flour together (unless using wholemeal flour).

- Lightly whisk eggs and olive oil together

- Either combine in a mixer with a dough hook or place the flour in a mound on a clean surface, make a well in the centre, place the egg mixture in the well, and gently fold the flour into the middle until completely combined.

- Knead the dough into a smooth ball.

- Cover in cling wrap and let it 'rest' in the fridge for 30 minutes. This makes the dough more elastic and less likely to fall apart.

- After 30 minutes unwrap the dough and roll it flat with a rolling pin on a floured surface. Either cut out desired shapes or cut into thin strips and put through a pasta machine (several times through the flat roller on progressively thinner settings and then through the cutting roller) for spaghetti, linguine or fettuccine.

- Lay the pasta on baking paper or hang it over a pole (chair, rack, wooden spoon resting between two saucepans- anything much will do) to dry for a few hours.

- If transporting- place in a container with a little polenta and shake it around a bit, this will soak up some of the moisture and prevent it from sticking together.

- When cooking, fresh pasta doesn't need much time. Add to boiling salted water for as long as it takes the pasta to rise to the top of the water, remove and drain immediately.

- Add your favourite sauce, or just olive oil, cracked black pepper and Parmesan cheese and enjoy!

My Mother-In-Law's Easy Dhal

This is a great dhal recipe handed down to me from my mother-in-law. It is relatively quick and uncomplicated and makes a great side dish, but can stand alone as a tasty meal...

1&1/2 cups of red lentils
1 teaspoon of salt
3 cups of water
1 teaspoon oil
1 onion
2 cloves of garlic
1/2 a tin of diced tomatoes
1 tablespoon of curry powder
1 teaspoon of cumin seeds
1/2 a teaspoon of chilli flakes
1 bunch of coriander

* Put the lentils in a saucepan with the salt. Add the water and let it soak for a couple of hours (or leave it in a lidded saucepan on the stove before you go to work).

* Boil the lentils then reduce to a simmer (add water if it looks like they will dry out).

* Meanwhile, finely chop the onion and garlic, add to a frying pan with the oil, cook until golden, adding a little water when necessary.

* Add the curry powder, cumin seeds and chilli flakes to the onion and fry for a minute or so until aromatic.

* Add the tomato and then the onion and spice mixture to the lentils.

* Simmer and stir until about the consistency of porridge.

* Chop coriander leaves and stir through.

* Let the dhal sit for 5 minutes off the heat and then serve with natural/greek style/biodynamic plain yoghurt.

Nice Dhal, Darl!

My first experience with dhal was at the age of 12. I went to dinner with my mother at her friend's house and was treated to an Indian banquet. My mother's friend was Australian, but her husband was Indian and they had lived there for a number of years. During that time she had learned an impressive array of authentic recipes. Sadly, she forgot to put salt in the dhal on this occasion, and my poor uncultured tastebuds immediately rejected dhal as being strange in both texture and flavour.

Fast forward 20 years and I am trekking in Nepal with my husband. We are on the Annapurna circuit and the only thing we feel safe eating for most of the 25 day trek is dhal bhat, a tasty and filling combination of potato and chickpea curry and rice. We would eat it for lunch and dinner sitting in teahouses or out on rooftop terraces watching the wind blowing the snow off the top of the mountains surrounding us.

That seems so long ago.

Now I am a mother, increasingly interested in healthy eating and so attending an Indian vegetarian cooking class held in a small organic shop in Seaford. The shop is called New Harvest Produce and is one of a number of small quality organic shops I happily notice popping up all over the place. The course is jokingly called "Nice dhal, Darl!" as this is what the shop owner's father says to her mother whenever she cooks dhal.

Teaching the class is Malini Jayaganesh, whose business card says Food Writer and Cookery Presenter, but who also works full time in IT. She is originally from Kerala, an area in Southern India and speaks about food being a time capsule of family traditions, a way to connect with your culture and a method of maintaining health and well-being by following Ayurvedic principles.  Malini is calm and friendly and although she is going to cook 4 different types of dhal for us in under 2 hours, she never seems hurried or flustered.

We are given a sheet of paper containing recipes she learnt from her grandmother and aunts, featuring West Coast Dhal, Himalayan Dhal, South-East Coast Dhal and Desert Dhal. This is to highlight the variety of different cultures and cuisines found within India. 

Malini has pre-prepared a tray containing 17 different containers of legumes foraged from her pantry. She says that she is running a bit low by Indian standards.

The tray is passed around and I am invited to inspect the beans closely. Malini discusses some of the less commonly used beans like Kala Channa- black chickpeas which are great for diabetics and Adzuki beans, which will be used in the West Coast Dhal.

We begin by talking a bit about dhal. A combination of legumes and other vegetables, it is an inexpensive form of protein and a wholesome, stomach-filling meal. Vegetarians need to include a variety of legumes in their diet to ensure they consume the full spectrum of essential amino acids their bodies would otherwise get from meat. Malini says that her family has been vegetarian for 700 years and that her grandmother would cook particular meals based on the cycle of the moon to ensure the necessary variety in the family's diet.

Cooking dhal must always begin with soaking the beans overnight (although red lentils can be just boiled for quick preparation) and the soaking water MUST BE DISCARDED before rinsing and then cooking the lentils in boiling water. When the beans are ready, discard the cooking water also. This is because there is a substance under the skin of the beans that causes gas and indigestion.

To cook the general rule is to add 1 cup of beans to 4 cups of water, bring to the boil and then simmer for about 40 minutes. Malini has pre-cooked all of the beans for our recipes and says that they can also be frozen in portions at this point.

The cooking begins with Desert Dhal, from Rajasthan in Northern India. This uses mung beans and is cooked with capsicum, mushrooms and an amazing blend of spices. The shop sells a spice blend which has the most tantalizing aroma and is well worth the investment.

When this is ready it is taken out the back and served to us on little plates with a slice of millet bread. It is fantastic! And I am not even too keen on capsicum or mushrooms!

We then move on to West Cost Dhal, which uses adzuki beans, pumpkin, zucchini, yellow button squash and coconut cream. 

Next comes the more complicated Himalayan Dhal, which uses 17 different ingredients and calls for the curry to be made from scratch. 

This is the spicy chickpea and potato curry I ate in Nepal, it smells wonderful when it is cooking and is whisked out the back of the shop when ready so that we can complete the course by cooking South-East Coast Dhal.

This includes leafy greens such as kale and bok choy, is made with red lentils, coconut and mustard seeds. It is delicious and apparently goes quite well with fish.

The Himalayan Dhal is brought out and as soon as I taste it, I am transported back to the mountains. It is lovely. 

I had a great time at the "Nice dhal, Darl!" course and if you are in Melbourne I would recommend keeping an eye out for future courses held at New Harvest Produce. 

I will include some of these dhal recipes in future posts, but for now, some golden rules to remember when cooking dhal:

* Always soak the beans overnight and discard the soaking water.

* Rinse thoroughly before adding the cooking water.

* The beans can be frozen in meal-sized portions once cooked, so you don't have to plan so far in advance every time you make dhal.

* Dhal always tastes better the longer it has to sit, so let it settle on the stove for a bit before serving and in the unlikely event that there is any left over, eat it for lunch the next day :)