Salsa Mark 2

So... I got a little experimental with my next batch of salsa.

In addition to the original ingredients, I have added:

About two tablespoons of red kidney beans (to counter the vinegariness)
2 tblspn of flax seed oil (to make it thicker/creamier)
2tsp of tomato paste

and the diced Jalapeno is replaced with one whole sliced Jalapeno, will from the jar.

It seems thicker, slightly paler and a little sweeter then before. I'll have to see how it goes with the Pork Carnitas.

Boxed Lunch

When I'm being particularly organised, I buy the foil boxes with lids and pack leftovers or extras into them for meals on the go. Most of these can be heated up in the microwave, or cooked from frozen in about an hour in the oven.

My latest version of this was an attempt at Mexi-Rice, using grated cauliflower as a rice substitute, topped with spiced mince, salsa and cheese. The cauli-rice was very wet however, leaving a large amount of liquid in the bottom of the box after cooking. I didn't bother pre-steaming it as I thought this would happen when it was reheated. I might give that a go next time, but to be frank, the excess moisture was not as annoying as pre-cooking would have been. I might also end up with cauli-mash instead of cauli-rice from overcooking.

Other combos are often just a shake of frozen veges with some protein and sauce. I'm trying to come up with more combo ideas as a way of easy pre-planning my meals.

Coffee Jelly.

I add a number of supplements to my coffee in the morning. It ends up like a health tonic. One of these is gelatine. I'm also working on pre-making batches of iced coffee to cope with the summer heat and to speed up my morning routine.

The result?  I had coffee jelly for breakfast this morning.

It was suprisingly tasty.

I've added some more water to see if I can revert it to a drink. I don't know why I didn't think this would happen.

Custard

This is something I've been wanting to try for a while, as custard is a gateway recipe to a number of other dishes... like ice-cream.

Baked custard is also something my nan used to make for us, and it gives me all kinds of comfort feels.  This is for a pouring custard, as it's a hot day and I didn't want to use the oven.

I pulled the original recipe from Mrs Beeton's.

Original "Cup Custard" recipe.

1/2 pint milk
Vanilla
1 egg + 1 yolk
1oz caster sugar
2 tblspn double cream.

Adapted recipe

250ml half cream, half water.
Vanilla
1egg + 1 yolk
30gms Natvia
2tblspn double cream.

Instructions:

Warm Milk
Mix eggs and sweetner to liquid.
Pour milk over eggs and strain into metal bowl rinsed with cold water.
Place metal bowl over saucepan of water (double boiler)
Cook til eggs thicken, whisking continuously.
Do not boil.
When custard coats spoon, pour into cool bowl and add vanilla and cream.
Stir while cooling to avoid skin forming.

Results

Overall, I would call this a success. It's not somjething that I've tried before, and it came out with good texture and is very close to the commercial pouring custards.

My only two reservations are that it seems a bit sweet - I would probably cut the natvia down to 20gms on my next attempt - and the texture is a little grainy. I think I may have slighty overcooked the custard and curdled the egg proteins slightly. Next time I will have a bowl of ice nearby to dunk the bowl in as soon as it starts to thicken, to see if the texture is improved.

I might also look at trying a baked custard, substituting the cream/water for coconut milk or adding cinnamon or other flavours instead of vanilla (melted chocolate?).

Salsa

I love salsa. This becomes a problem, as the salsa I particularly love (Byron Bay) runs to $6 or $7 a jar sometimes.

There is quite a good, fresh, homemade version I have made in the past. The recipe came in the instruction manual of my magic bullet blender. The only problem is, it calls for mostly fresh ingredients, and can be quite watery depending on the tomatoes used. I've modified it as per below to be mostly pantry/fridge items so I can make it in a flash.  I'm still working on the final result. This batch was quite good, but a little more oniony then I would normally prefer.

Pantry Salsa.

1 can diced tomatoes
2 tsp crushed garlic
4 tblspn frozen onion (or try 2 tblspn jar onion. You might be able to use onion powder, but I haven't tried this. It might make the salsa thicker though.)
1/2 Jalapeno (I buy these in jars, can't find them fresh anywhere).
4 sprigs of coriander (just the length of my thumb. This is the only fresh ingredient. The jars and paste versions just aren't the same)

With the magic bullet, I pour them half and half in the order above into a cup, then blend each for only two pulses. This keeps the texture thick and chunky.

If you have a normal blender, I'd put the ingredients in in reverse, then pulse a little. Not too much, or it will be a sauce/soup, not a salsa.


I would like to improve the water content and possibly increase the heat factor, but this is good enough to eat straight away. It keeps for some time in the fridge.

Possible additions:

Onion/garlic powder for thickness
Different chillis
chilli powder
cumin powder
coriander powder
refried beans/beans in general (adds a depth to the flavour)

Turkish Eggs

Giving up breads and cereals at breakfast was a challenge. I've always been a weetbix eater.

I've found a few recipes since then that I can use in place. This one looks pretty fancy... but really isn't. It's another of those very forgiving recipes. The below is what I would make. You can use a larger pan, more eggs etc if you want to feed troops.

Turkish Eggs.

3 eggs
1 jar of bolognaise
Handful of baby spinach.

1. Wilt the baby spinach in a small frypan
2. Layer it over with the bolognaise until the bottom of the pan is covered, and the mix rises about halfway up the sides.
3. Wait until this is simmering, mix it a little, then crack the three eggs into it. Put the saucepan lid over.
4. Check every few minutes to see if they eggs are cooked.
5. Serve straight from the pan.

Variations : Add

• fetta cheese
• parmesan
• fresh basil or oregano
• beans
• mince
• diced bacon
• ham
• olives
• dried tomato
• use puree tomatoes or diced tomatoes instead of bolognaise.
• salt/pepper.

Eventually you will learn to guess when the eggs are done. They poach in the bolognaise, and I prefer it when the yolks are still a little runny.

Ginger Nut Log

This recipe is evil. I've seen more complicated versions out there, but this one make good use of the way the flavour of the ginger nut cookies and the texture of the cream come together.  I first made this when I was about nine, and it involved dipping the cookies in orange juice first. This is only necessary if you want this to set quickly.

This is not a low sugar meal, paleo meal. I need to work out how to make ginger nut biscuits before I can work out how to adapt this. I might be looking at something closer to a pie in the end.

Ginger Nut Log

1 pkt Ginger Nut biscuits
250ml whipping cream.

Instructions:
Whip cream til peaks form.
Lay out a sheet of foil.
Sandwich biscuits together with about 2tsp of cream and set into long, cylindrical formation.
Spread remaining cream over outside of the biscuit log, and use foil to roll into log.
Put in fridge for a few hours.
When ready to serve, pull the log out and unroll it.
Slice on the diagonal and serve on plates.


The flavours of the spice and ginger bleed a little into the cream, and the cream softens the biscuits into a cake-y but smooth texture. This dessert always reminds me of Christmas, so I would really like to retain it.