Sunday Cooking

Le Creuset Love

On Sunday after spending the last 36 odd hours in bed resting to avoid the beginnings of a cold get any worse I made Chicken soup. It started off with the roasting of chook and some carcasses I had in the freezer. Once the chicken had roasted I stripped it, saving the meat to go into the soup later on and the bones for the stock. I sweated some onions, carrots and leeks in the pot, then I added the chicken bones/skin, water and some sage and let it simmer gently for an hour or two. Then I strained it and strained it again through cheesecloth. Then I let it cool and cracked an egg white into it and brought it back up to heat to clarify it. I read about using the egg white to clarify it in Michael Ruhlman’s book The Elements of Cooking which I am reading with much joy at the moment. I ended up with the most glorious stock, just this delightful chicken flavour. I froze half of the stock to use at a later date and left the other half in the pot and added an assortment of diced vegetables, macaroni and the chicken and let it all simmer again.

When it was all cooked I had this pot of the most delightful soup I have ever made with enough for about 7 meals 😀 I like it when I have lots of leftovers 😀

Leftovers Quiche

Leftovers Quiche

This is a quiche I made the other week has a handy way to use up assorted deli goods, vegetables and pastry in the fridge. The quiche was filled with sautéed onions, garlic, capsicum and shallots, sun dried tomatoes, Camembert, ricotta, lots and lots of thyme, the yummiest smoked olives and of course some egg, cream and seasoning to bind it all together. It was so so so so so good and such a nice treat for lunch at work, where I would give it a burst in the microwave before placing it on the sandwich grill to crisp it all up. Just a quick and easy way to use up some leftovers in the fridge.

Perfect Day

Peach Blossoms

Lou Reed is Lou Reed. I heard this song for the first time on the weekend and I just can’t stop saying the words over. It is just a sweet little song and I guess why I love it is just how low key the instruments are, letting the focus be on Lou, his voice and the song lyrics.

Perfect Day
Lou Reed
Transformer (1972)

Just a perfect day,
Drink Sangria in the park,
And then later, when it gets dark,
We go home.
Just a perfect day,
Feed animals in the zoo
Then later, a movie, too,
And then home.

Oh it’s such a perfect day,
I’m glad I spent it with you.
Oh such a perfect day,
You just keep me hanging on,
You just keep me hanging on.

Just a perfect day,
Problems all left alone,
Weekenders on our own.
It’s such fun.
Just a perfect day,
You made me forget myself.
I thought I was someone else,
Someone good.

Oh it’s such a perfect day,
I’m glad I spent it with you.
Oh such a perfect day,
You just keep me hanging on,
You just keep me hanging on.

You’re going to reap just what you sow,
You’re going to reap just what you sow,
You’re going to reap just what you sow,
You’re going to reap just what you sow…

Squid Stir Fry

A couple of Saturdays ago Andrea and I visited the West End Green Markets and then Reverse Garbage. The weekend after that Mum and I did the same thing 🙂

One of the stalls at the markets is a fish shop filled with polystyrene boxes of ice and seafood. I had eyed the local squid off the week before when I went with Andrea. When I went the following week with Mum she had brought an esky along in the the boot of the car, perfect for carting home seafood. I picked a nice looking squid mantle, and proceeded to pay for it at $8/kg, the mantle cost me a whopping $2.50. A bargain price for protein that would give me two meals.

The process of cleaning the squid was an experience but fun. I had watched squid being cleaned before but never tried it myself. It didn’t look that hard and it wasn’t just messy. I had a meal dancing in my mind though so it was worth it.

Squid, Basil & Chilli Stir fry
Squid Stir-fry

Ingredients
Cleaned squid
Onion
Garlic
Capsicum
Nam Prik Pao/Chilli Jam/Chilli Paste in Oil
Kecap Manis
Light Soy Sauce – I used Tamari
bit of water
Asian greens
noodles or rice to serve

Clean the squid and make cuts at a 45° across the squid on both diagonals, taking care not to cut all the way through the squid. Then cut the squid into diamond shapes.

Heat a little oil in a wok and fry the onion, capsicum and garlic for a few minutes. Add a spoon of the chilli jam and a dollop of the kecap manis and the light soy sauce and stir through. Add the squid pieces and give a quick stir. Pour in a little water and place the Asian greens on top and give a quick steam. Toss through a handful of fresh basil leaves and serve on noodles or rice.

RACQ Woes

It all started Saturday morning, I was in the car, all ready to make my weekly trip to the West End Markets.

I turned the key, the engine turned over but then nothing. I tried again. The same again. Luckily Andrea and her boyfriend so we were able to jump-start the car and then it was fine and off to the markets. I thought I must have just left an interior light on.

Sunday arvo, I needed to make a trip to the shops. I was making something. Oh yes that is right, I was making pasta and and needed some meat to make a sauce for dinner. I hopped in the car, turned the key and nothing. The engine didn’t turn over, the battery light didn’t light up. I was not happy.

I borrowed Andrea’s car and went to the shop and came home and kept making pasta (I had ravioli the next three days for lunch or dinner (so yummy) and I now have two containers of pasta dried in the cupboard ready for use.

Thinking of my week ahead. I called the RACQ after I had eaten on Sunday night. A nice chap came, had a look round the inside, tested the battery which had a paltry 0.2v left in it. He noted that the battery was just over four years old so was probably reaching the end of its natural life. He filled the battery up with water and advised me to take it for a long drive to charge the battery.

Monday arvo, I hopped in the car, turned the key and nothing. So I called the RACQ again, a test of the battery showed that it had 0.2v in it again, the RACQ guy advised me that I really should have had put the battery on a bench charge overnight to charge it 100% but who has one of those laying around. I asked him to just replace the battery and hopefully that would fix everything.

Tuesday morning, I jumped in the car and drove it down the street to the train station. Yeah it worked!!! Tuesday afternoon I walked back to my car from the train station. I turned the key in the lock and woe is me, only the driver door unlocked. Still I jumped in the drivers seat and turned the key. Nothing. Nothing. Nothing.

I called the RACQ again and he was at my car in minutes (I had seen him with another car outside the train station. This time he jump started it, had a really good look round the car to see if there was a light or something that could be draining the battery and found nothing. After a quick call to the Auto-Electrician to see if they could have a look at the car. I drove the car over and left it parked outside.

I got a call the next day. The alternator had gone. It is now fixed though and my car is running smoothly again D:

West End Markets

For the last few weeks I have made a trip each Saturday morning to the West End Markets and oh how I loved them more than any of the other markets I have been to in Brisbane. A lot cheaper than the Jan Power markets and more general fruit and vege stalls as opposed to speciality olive and dip stalls, a whole lot more stalls than the Nundah markets. Just the perfect mix of everything.

I can get bananas from a banana grower at Crabbes Creek, near where Grandad grew up. I can get apples and pears from this lovely old Italian (?) man from Stanthorpe. Heritage tomatoes from this lovely lady. Fresh local squid from the polystyrene box fish shop. Turkish bread that is at least a meter long from the Highgate Hill bakery and everything else I need for the week.

The other week Mum came with me and I took these photos of her sitting on the soccer field eating some American cherries after our shared Hungarian spinach thing which we had for breakfast.

Mum

I probably won’t be going the next two weeks as I have weddings on both Saturdays but generally this is where you will find me on a Saturday morning.