Preheat oven to 180degC (160degC fan forced). Line the base and sides of a 20cm x 30cm slab tin with baking paper.
Place the chocolate squares and butter in a heatproof bowl over a saucepan of simmering water – don’t let bowl touch the water. Stir with a wooden spoon to combine well. Remove from heat when melted and set aside to cool.
In a mixing bowl, whisk the eggs with the caster sugar, vanilla extract and orange zest until light and fluffy. Stir in the cooled melted chocolate mixture, then fold in the sifted flours. Stir through the chopped nuts and white chocolate chips.
Spoon mixture into the prepared pan, spreading out evenly with a spatula.
Bake for 20-25 minutes until top has a firm crust. Leave to cool in the pan, dust with icing sugar, then cut into  squares.

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Father's Day Cake

And what Dad doesn’t dote on cake made specially for him by one of his children, even if it is a little lumpy?
Some dads, needless to say, can get too much of a good thing.  When we were young, my three sisters and I spent many Sundays baking cakes and biscuits. Our Dad was the guinea pig.
Chocolate cakes seemed to be our specialty (probably because the mixture tasted so good!).  By the time we had grown up, he’d been offered hundreds of different versions. These days it takes a lot of convincing to get him to take even one slice of chocolate cake.
There are those who criticise the commercialisation of Father’s Day, claiming it is yet another excuse for a feast of consumerism and sticky, sickly sentiments.  But what father can resist something freshly baked – and just for him?
Most Dads love anything made with chocolate. Brownies are a always a hit, and you’ll find a recipe for white chocolate brownies (opposite) which are very sweet and irresistible.
Quick mix cakes are easier for children to make. Below are two versions which kids can make (with a little help from mum, depending on their age and stage): in the first version, you start the cake by combining the first seven ingredients together in a saucepan, then adding the sifted dry ingredients and pouring into a cake tin; in the second you put all the ingredients together into a mixing bowl, add the cooled melted butter, and beat them together.  It’s important that your eggs and butter are at room temperature before you begin and that you remember to preheat the oven. Sit the cake on the middle rack in your oven and test to see if it’s cooked by inserting a skewer in the centre – if it comes out clean, remove it from the oven. If you follow these rules you’ll have success – and a happy Dad!

Boiled Chocolate and Raisin Cake

This cake is a marvel – surprisingly luscious and moist given that the ingredients and method are so simple.  Do make sure to dissolve the soda properly.

375ml water
150g raisins
250g unsalted butter
250g sugar
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
30g good quality cocoa
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon bi-carbonate soda
60ml boiling water
250g plain flour, sifted

Preheat oven to moderate (180degC/160degC Fan forced).  Grease and line a 23cm round cake tin.
Put the first seven ingredients into a medium heavy bottomed saucepan.  Stir together well, bring to the boil and simmer for five minutes.  Remove from heat and allow to cool.
When mixture has cooled, dissolve soda in the boiling water and add to the saucepan along with the flour.  Stir with a wooden spoon to combine well then pour into prepared cake tin.  Smooth the top.
Bake 40 – 50 minutes of until a skewer inserted in the centre comes out clean.
Dust lightly with cocoa or icing sugar before serving.

Tip: try 1/2 teaspoon ground cloves mixed with 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon for a change of spice.

Quick-Mix Chocolate Cake

If you have a bundt tin (a fluted tin with a hole in the centre, similar to a kugelhopf, us it to make the cake look more festive.

180g unsalted butter
250g self-raising flour, sifted
400g sugar
50g cocoa powder, sifted
4 eggs
250ml milk
1 teaspoon vanilla

Preheat oven to 180degC (160 Fan Forced).  Grease and line a 23cm round cake tin or brush a 26cm bundt tin with melted butter (or use cooking spray).
Melt the butter in a saucepan. Set aside to cool.  Put remaining ingredients into a mixing bowl and pour the melted butter over the top.  Beat well for three minutes.
Pour mixture into prepared tin and bake 4- 45 minutes (test for doneness with a skewer). Leave in tin for ten minutes before turning out.  Ice with fudge icing and cover with flaked coconut or chopped nuts.

Chocolate Fudge Icing:
150g dark or milk chocolate, chopped
90g unsalted butter
125ml condensed milk

Place all the ingredients in a pan, and place over low heat, stirring until chocolate and butter are melted.  Stir well to combine, set aside to cool until thick (a spatula or knife dipped in hot water, then wiped dry, will make this easier).

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Garlic

Old friends of this member of the allum family will not be surprised by this, but newcomers may be caught off guard. Crush a clove or two and add it to a salad – its pungency is unmistakeable.
But cook the cloves slowly with a casseroled chicken and their flavour is transformed into a delicate sweetness.
I once attended a cooking demo at the Aspen Food and Wine Classic in Colorado, U.S.A., given by the Italian cookery author, Marcella Hazan, in which she showed its inconstant nature in a number of dishes. To obtain the most subtle scent of garlic, she pointed out, peel it, taking care not to cut it, fry the whole clove until it becomes a very pale gold colour, then remove it from the pan before adding other ingredients.
To increase its intensity, crush it before peeling it. For a delicate, sweet, but barely perceptible flavour, cut the peeled clove into very thin slices, cook it briefly until it just sizzles, then add the other ingredients.
For a dish requiring a lustier garlic aroma, chop the peeled garlic finely, cook it until it is pale gold, then add the other ingredients.
Raw garlic chopped to a puree is the most powerful of all.  Mixed with olive oil, it becomes aioli, the garlic mayonnaise of Provence.Remember that the finer garlic is chopped and the darker it is cooked, the sharper it will taste.
If you overcook it and it becomes brown or black, it will taste acrid – best to toss it out and start again. Marcella is not a fan of crushed garlic as crushing garlic releases its essential oils.When buying garlic, look for fresh tender plump cloves without green shoots.
One of my favourite ways of dealing with garlic is to cook the whole bulb. I take a slice off the top, drizzle the cut cloves with olive oil then wrap it all up in foil and bake it in a moderate oven until the cloves are tender.  When it’s cool enough to handle, I squeeze out the soft subtle flesh from each clove (magic!) and can eat it on the spot.  Great spread over crostini or bruschetta or to accompany grilled lamb cutlets. It has the consistency of butter and its flavour is sweet and subtle.
We grow a number of different varieties in Australia – the Creole (or Mexican), Itaian and Russian being the major ones.  The colder the winter, the stronger the garlic will be. The Creole  has larger cloves; the Italian has smaller cloves with a pinkish tinge (and stronger flavour) whilst the Russian Giant (or Elephant garlic) has large individual cloves and is darker in colour.Experts claim the latter is not, however, a true garlic and its flavour is rather bland.  You’ll find Thai garlic (katiem) in Asian food stores – it is smaller and sweeter than the Italian and has a purple tinge.
We still have to import a lot of garlic, much of it from China, because we don’t grow enough.  It’s often stale, wrinkled and old. Best to avoid old garlic because it can be bitter.
In spring, some farmers’ markets and greengrocers carry fresh young green garlic which looks rather like a baby leek. If you slice it finely and toss it through a salad or pasta, it will add a lovely zing.

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When I’m at the farm, I usually sit out under the mango tree in the sun and prepare the fruit as it takes some time to cut all the fruit.  Sadly this year, the old mango tree had lost all its leaves – a fungal infection seems to have got into it.
To prepare the fruit: wash and scrub the cumquats (preferably the oval ‘Nagami’  variety which have a tart pungent flavour) .  Halve or quarter them, depending on their size. Remove the seeds and put them in a cup covered with water.
Place the cumquats in a large bowl and just cover with water. Cover with plastic wrap and leave them to sit overnight.
Next day, measure the cumquat/water mixture into a large pot or preserving pan. For every cup (250ml), allow 185g (3/4 cup) caster sugar.  Strain the seeds, adding the liquid to the cumquats.  Tie seeds up in a muslin bag and add it to the cumquats (best if tied to the sides of the pan).  Bring cumquats and water to the boil, turn down heat and simmer for 30 minutes, skimming off any scum that forms on top with a mesh ladle.  While cumquats simmer, heat the sugar in a moderate oven for about 15 minutes.  Pour warm sugar into cumquat  mixture and stir well with a wooden spoon.  Bring back to boiling point, and simmer, uncovered, for about 40 minutes or until it reaches setting point.  A simmer pad is useful to prevent burning or sticking. From time to time, skim off any scum that forms on top.
Turn off the heat and ladle into warm sterile jars  Cover with a tight screw-top lid.

Tip 1: To test for setting point, place a saucer in the freezer for five minutes. Remove and drop a small amount of the marmalade, onto the saucer, let cool for about 30 seconds.  If it wrinkles when you run a finger through it, it is ready.  Look out for seville oranges – they also make a great marmalade.
Tip 2: Try using it in marinades for pork or duck dishes to add extra flavour.
Note: This recipe is from my first book, “The Cook’s Garden” (Harper Collins 1992).

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Citrus fruits and fresh farm eggs, Bend of the River

At this time of the year, the citrus trees (oranges and lemons, grapefruit, cumquats and mandarins) are laden with fruit, and the kitembillas (Sri Lankan gooseberries ) almost ready to be picked.  I even found a ripe black sapote (or chocolate pudding fruit) under one of the trees, an early specimen.
This year, however, the white cockatoos were there ahead of me.  As I walked down the hill toward the trees, I spotted one with his sulphur crest on display, getting stuck into the yellow dragonfruit (how he avoided the prickles is beyond me).
Quite a few of the trees had been netted which kept the birds at bay, but those with no nets had been savagely attacked.  Big hunks of fruit had been gouged out, leaving  just the white pith and skin. It always amazes me how much damage these birds can do, especially when they decide to attack the wooden balustrade around our old Queenslander homestead. My mother tells me they love the seeds.
Fortunately the cumquats were untouched (too sour?) and I was able to pick a basketful, enough to make a good batch of marmalade (see recipe). I’ve always loved the look of cumquats and the way their bright orange fruits add cheer to a grey winter day.
Along with screeching cockatoos, there are also bantams and peacocks to contend with.  They scratch away under the trees, much to my mother’s annoyance, though the sight of a peacock strutting through the orchard with his tail fanned out always takes my breath away.
There are ducks and geese too, some of which leave their eggs nestled under trees (they make fabulously rich frittatas). With all that birdlife, it can get pretty noisy.
It’s certainly no place for the timid of heart. At night, the scratching of the peacocks on the tin roof can be most disconcerting, as can the groans of the old wooden house when the wind is up.
After many decades, I’ve become accustomed to such sounds.
But there is one which still terrifies me.
And that is the sound of tins and bottles crashing to the pantry floor in the middle of the night.  This has happened a few times when I’ve visited, and I know it means we have an uninvited guest: a carpet snake looking for food.
On this trip, however, I was in for a big shock.  While sitting at the computer one afternoon, I felt something move on my left thigh.  I looked down and on my lap saw a snake head, its tongue moving from side to side.
“Arrrghhhhhhhhhh……,” I screamed and leapt up, running out of the house.
“What is it, what is it?” cried my mother, who was busy in the orchard putting fertiliser around the trees.
“Where is it, where is it?” she demanded, when I was able to get the words out.
By the time we got back inside, all six metres of it had curled up in a tight ring under a cupboard. After much brandishing of broomsticks and hurtling of tins, we managed to get him out on the wooden verandah and firmly close the doors.
But he was not to be so easily defeated.
Next morning we found him down in the chook yard getting stuck into the eggs.
Fortunately, a friendly beekeeper was visiting the farm that day, and knew what to do.  He managed to get the snake into a hessian bag, tie the knot, and transport him to another part of the valley.
I just hope he hasn’t found his way back by the next time I visit.

Note: for more farmyard tales, you might like to read a book about the farm called “Bend of the River – a family pastoral” by Jerry and Skye Rogers (Lansdowne 1998).

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Preheat oven to moderate (180degC/160deg fan-forced). Lightly butter tray. Layer with 6 – 8 sheets of filo, brushing lightly with butter (chef prefers to butter every second or third sheet, not every sheet).
Place chard or spinach in a pan in 100g butter, cover with a lid and sweat until softened. Remove and cool.
Combine cheeses and remaining ingredients in a mixing bowl.  Fold through spinach, check seasoning and press mixture into pastry base.
Top with another 6 – 8 sheets of lightly buttered filo.  Bake in pre-heated oven 50 – 55 minutes.

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]]> http://www.sheridanrogers.com.au/2010/08/10/mavis-spinach-and-fetta-slice/feed/ 0 http://www.sheridanrogers.com.au/2010/08/10/mavises-fabulous-kitchen/ http://www.sheridanrogers.com.au/2010/08/10/mavises-fabulous-kitchen/#comments Mon, 09 Aug 2010 22:58:24 +0000 Sheridan http://www.sheridanrogers.com.au/?p=2377 It’s lunchtime when I arrive at Mavis’ Kitchen, Uki, a glorious 25 acre property at the foot of Mt Warning in northern NSW. I’d hoped to arrive a little earlier, but had made a mistake and driven  straight into the quaint old town of Uki. A local hippy pointed the way and I retraced my path [...]]]> It’s lunchtime when I arrive at Mavis’ Kitchen, Uki, a glorious 25 acre property at the foot of Mt Warning in northern NSW.

Mavis' Fabulous Kitchen

I’d hoped to arrive a little earlier, but had made a mistake and driven  straight into the quaint old town of Uki. A local hippy pointed the way and I retraced my path 4.5Km, turned onto the Mt Warning Road, crossed the trickling Tweed River, turned right, and there before me stood a brilliantly white, grand old Queenslander.
Walking up the nasturtium-strewn path, I noticed one of the chefs (Jenni Jones) picking salad greens from the stunning kitchen garden. She later told me that they use excess nasturtium leaves, and also mustard greens, to make different varieties of pesto.
Upstairs, I’m greeted by one of the friendly staff and shown to a table on the white-trelissed verandah overlooking wide-sweeping lawns, a pretty dam, and Mt Warning, a powerful presence in this area. A long blackboard menu features the dishes of the day which might include creamy egg and potato salad, halved roma tomatoes (that taste just like they did when you were a kid) and rich crimson wedges of home-grown beetroot. Or it might be a tender beef Wellington drizzled with a light wine sauce, or perhaps baby carrots, spring onions and goat’s cheese which have been artfully arranged on a crispy pizza base, scattered with fresh rocket and a splash of balsamic dressing.
Many of the dishes include organic salads fresh-picked from the  garden, farm eggs, and local products such as Tweed Valley cheeses (fetta, ricotta, brie, haloumi), Northern Rivers olive oil and olives and fresh goat from a nearby farm at Roberts Bridges.
I opted for the fetta and cheese pie (recipe opposite), which proved to be a very generous serve, followed by cheesecake and a cup of local organic coffee.  Delicious, simple and unpretentious.
A range of organic wines (including Rosnay, Tamburlaine, Richmond Plains and Thistle Hill) is also available, some by the glass.
A stroll around the garden after lunch before being shown to my accommodation left me gobsmacked.  Set out in a double-shamrock pattern, the vegetable and herb garden boasts a wide range of greens including chervil, mint, mustard greens, Cos lettuce, radicchio and parsley.  They grow in deep organic soil which is contained by upright terracotta tiles which come to about knee-height. Lush citrus trees such as ruby grapefruit, cumquats and oranges stud the centre.
“Mavis’ Kitchen is about giving people a connection to where their food comes from,” explains owner Charlie Ebell.
“It’s about connecting back to the earth, to our planet, to nature.  We want people to come here and to relax.”
Charlie attributes his passion for food to his mother, Mavis, and named the property after her. Having catered for many years in the fast lane at Harley Street Brasserie in Labrador, this business is a real change for Charlie and partner Peter Clarke.
“The garden keeps me sane,” says Charlie, beaming.
Accommodation on the property includes a charming log cabin, an old dairy and a stunning modern three-bedroom Balinese-style house, perfect for groups.  You won’t be in any hurry to leave. If you decide to stay overnight, the fridge will be stocked with all you need for breakfast (farm eggs, bacon, milk, orange juice) and fresh coffee and bread supplied.  Peter and Charlie’s attention to detail is admirable.
Mobile phone coverage is intermittent which means you can really drop out for a day or two. It’s the perfect place to kickback.

Open for lunch Wednesday to Sunday; and for dinner on Friday and Saturday night. Stay overnight and explore the beautiful Tweed Valley on your way home the next day. Lunch prices range from $15 to $21 for a main course; for dinner,  a set $29.50 for two courses or $34.50 for three; an overnight stay is $210 per cabin, including breakfast.

Mavis’ Kitchen and Cabins at 64 Mt Warning Road, Uki (10 minutes from Murwillumbah). Phone: 02-6679 5664.
Email: home@maviseskitchen.com.au
www.maviseskitchen.com.au

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Wild Brumby Distillery and Cafe

What better way to warm up than in this cosy, funky Schnapps distillery which doubles as a cafe/restaurant?
Set up a few years ago by Brad Spalding and his wife Monika, Wild Brumby is situated  eleven kilometres from Jindabyne, NSW,  in a valley on the Alpine Way, a 100Km stretch of road which winds its way through spectacular scenery.
The valley lies just beneath the snowline and is full of wild brumbies, kangaroos, emus, parrots and kookaburras. It’s also home to a diverse mix of eco-friendly and up-market accommodation and an excellent restaurant.
As soon as you enter the Wild Brumby park, you become aware of a unique sense of style which makes spectacular use of the stark khaki and brown colours of the landscape – and which successfully marries Austrian and Aussie influences.  Man-made ponds, expertly polished boulders and rusty sculpture balls greet the eye.
The path leading to the distillery is studded with stylish rusted outdoor lights and not far from the front door is a life-size sculpted wild brumby.
All this before you’ve even tasted Brad’s schnapps and Monika’s Austrian food. A former ski instructor, Brad learnt the art of distilling schnapps in Austria, and now makes a wide variety of flavours to exacting European standards, from high quality Australian fruit.   Flavours include organic raspberry (grown on their property), Peach (fabulous with champagne), Pink Lady, Butterscotch (sweet and very popular), Mango, Pear William (fantastic), Peppermint and Sour Apple.  Flavouring are subtle yet unmistakeable.  Never having drunk Schnapps, I became an instant convert.  Last year, he added kosciuszko vodka 101 to the list. Brad is a likeable and eccentric character who occasionally dons a wig and plays Austrian folk songs on the accordion for guests.
Monika runs the kitchen and her presence can be felt in every nook and cranny.  We tried the soup of the day (cauliflower), the veal schnitzel, served with potato salad,  and Kassler (pan fried loin of smoked pork) served with sauerkraut and rustic mashed potatoes.  All delicious and just the thing to cheer you up on a cold bleak day, washed down with a glass of ‘Benz Zee Knees’ wine and a shot glass of Brad’s Schnapps.

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www.wildbrumby.com

Pat schnitzels dry with paper towels and season with salt and pepper. Dust schnitzels lightly with the flour. Dip each one
into the beaten eggs allow excess egg to drip off. Dip into the breadcrumbs, firming them on with your hand. Place on a tray in refrigerator, covered with plastic wrap for 15
minutes so that the coating stays on when cooked.
Heat oil and butter together in a frying pan over medium heat. Add 2 chicken schnitzels and cook 4-5 minutes on each side or until golden all over and cooked through. Remove to a warm
place and cover. Reheat the oil and repeat with remaining chicken pieces.
Serve immediately with a wedge of lemon, steamed baby potatoes and a green salad.

Tip: you can also make these with flattened chicken breast or pork.  You can also add some freshly grated parmesan to the breadcrumb mixture for a different flavour.

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