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.

Bolognaise

Bolognaise is one of the easiest meal bases to make. I've found that you can add ingredients almost randomly, as long as they come from a vaguely Italianate school of flavours.  The big secret trick with bolognaise is the cooking method -low heat, slowly cooking for a very long time is the only way to get that rich, thick sauce. I set it on the lowest heat in my big stock pot, and let it simmer for a minimum of one hour, stirring occasionally.

The essential ingredient is the tinned diced tomatoes.

The list of optional ingredients is below. These can be fresh, old, dried, tinned or whatever. I usually taste as I go. If it becomes overpowering, I add another can of tinned tomatoes to thin the flavour intensity a little.

olive oil
butter
onion (lightly cooked to translucency in an oil, not too much)
mushrooms
garlic
oregano
basil
tomato paste
chicken stock powder
salt
pepper
cumin
red wine dregs
chilli
olives
anchovies

...but no capsicum. I hate capsicum. If I want it thinner, I use the immersion blender.

It stores in the fridge for a long time, and can be used as the base for Turkish eggs, pasta, pizza, meat or vegetables.  I have also used the blender and added some chicken stock to turn it into a soup.

Pork Carnitas

This is the third or fourth time I've made this. It's a very forgiving recipe and impossible to mess up.

I go heavier on the cumin, because it tastes like mexican to me.

I can't recall where this recipe originally came from.

Pork Carnitas.

Rub:
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon crumbled dried oregano
1/2 teaspoon ground coriander
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Crockpot:
1 (2 kilo-ish) boneless pork shoulder roast
2 bay leaves
2 cups chicken broth

Directions

1. Mix together salt, garlic powder, cumin, oregano, coriander, and cinnamon in a bowl. Coat pork with the spice mixture. Place the bay leaves in the bottom of a slow cooker and place the pork on top. Pour the chicken broth around the sides of the pork, being careful not to rinse off the spice mixture.
2. Cover and cook on Low until the pork shreds easily with a fork, about 10 hours. Turn the meat after it has cooked for 5 hours. When the pork is tender, remove from slow cooker, and shred with two forks. Use cooking liquid as needed to moisten the meat.
****

The recipe comes out moist and tender. It's good in quesadilla, sandwiches, salads... anything really. Leftovers freeze very well. It can also be added to a fry up to crisp up the texture slightly.

I sometimes pack it with frozen veg and salsa as a meal. A quick heat in the microwave, and it makes one of those easy, edible meals for workdays.

Mayo Attempt #1

Recipe:

2 egg yolks
1/2 tsp Australian mustard (I was out of Dijon)
3 tsp Lemon Juice (not fresh, out of the squeeze bottle)
1 cup coconut oil

Directions:
Add first three ingredients to blender.
Blend, and slowly drizzle in oil

Results: 

A pale yellow, soupy mass with a creamy but runny texture.
Smells strongly of coconut oil.
Not appetising at all.

Theories:

• The blender I own has a well around the base of the blades. This meant that the egg yolk could not be beaten up to incorporate the acids before I started adding the oil. This may have affected the emulsion. I will try the motorised whisk and a bowl next time.
• The eggs were straight out of the fridge. Could the temperature have affected the results?
• The flavour of coconut oil is way too strong. I will get some olive oil to experiment with, then move up to macadamia oil when I have this technique down pat.
• Apparently, I can alternatively use vinegar instead of lemon juice. I'm not sure about the acidity levels of squeeze bottle lemon juice, but I have apple cider vinegar I can use instead.
• After looking at this recipe, I probably added the oil too rapidly. I will use a spoon to add oil very gradually next time to encourage emulsion.

About the Blog

My goal is to improve my health.

Food is the primary component of this and, as such, I need to relearn my basic cooking skills. Each recipe is trialled with successes and failures recorded. I am using a blend of paleo, sugar-free and bio-hacking techniques.

These are experiments with various recipes, supplements and the effects these cause.

Chia Chocolate Mousse

Test One of recipe taken from : http://www.iquitsugar.com/recipe/the-best-vegan-chocolate-mousse/

Modified as per below:

Chia Chocolate Mousse

400ml can of Coconut Cream
1/4 cup raw cacao powder
1 tblspn of Natvia
1/4 cup (almost) of chia seeds.

Beat all ingredients together and pour into serving tubs. Chill in fridge at least three hours.

***
I missed adding the full 1/2 cup of cacao as I was on the phone to Woolies, trying to find out where my groceries are (#firstworldproblems) and I was distracted. I love the luxury of delivered groceries.

This recipe pre-fails the Scott test, owing to the coconut cream.

***

3 hours later, and it is very good. The texture reminds me of the commercial fast food mousses, but a really good quality one with a creamy rather then a rubbery feeling. The coconut did not come through at all to me, tasting just like a rich dark chocolate despite the missing quarter cup of cacao. It was just sweet enough, with no aftertaste from the natvia.

The only downside would be the slight crunch of the chia seeds in the mousse. I was expecting this though, and it did not detract from the overall appeal.

I would definitely rate this as a success.  Light weight, probably good for summer. Might be good with strawberries.