Spatzle and Noodles...

The Daring Cooks challenge this month (Okay, so I'm late posting...) has been fun. It was presented by Steph of Stephfood, and she challenged us to make noodles without the use of modern gadgetry. We have had a lot of noodles in this house, this month. Some were good, others not so good. I even bought a pasta machine, and had a go at making my own pasta (a hand cranked machine it was) but that wasn't so successful. I did manage to get enough for a small bowl, but I don't know if I will attempt that again! By far, the favourite was the spaetzle. We had this several times, and it is so quick and easy that I have even made it for lunch once or twice. The first time I attempted this, the dough was quite difficult to press through the holes, but after watching a chef make spaetzle on you tube, realised I had too much flour so just had to try again - the result was wonderful! Instead of the plain flour, I used soya flour for added protein since the starch in plain wheat flour does have a certain affect to my system that is not so desirable! The soya flour gave it a lovely nutty flavour and those undesirable affectations were not present at all.



The dough



Put a large pot of salted water on to boil while you prepare the dough. Then mix together 2 eggs and 1/2 cup of milk, then whisk in about 1 1/2 cups soya flour. (This is approximate measurement - I added the flour until the dough was the right consistency, which is a bit more stiff than a pancake mixture; not runny, but soft enough to push through a potato ricer.)

Once the dough is ready, you need to place the dough into the potato ricer and push the dough through the holes into the boiling water. Once you have all the dough into the water, the dough will rise to the surface when it is cooked. I waited until all the dough was in, then left it to boil a minute or so before removing with a slotted spoon.

The spaetzle was fairly long, and my potato ricer has a choice of two different size holes. I tried both and found that the better spaetzle came from the smaller hole.

The finished spaetzle, with some browned butter and pine nuts added. It was so tasty!

And since I had a new potato ricer, and was enjoying how you can mash the potatoes so easily with it, I had to try the gnocchi as well! I loved how you didn't have to peel the potatoes but just push them through the holes, and in the bowl you had mashed potato, and the skin was in the machine. No more burnt fingers! The gnocchi was also served with the burnt butter and pine nuts, with a bit of cheese sprinkled on top. The recipe is below for the gnocchi - it is so easy, and doesn't take long and was very filling. I didn't use the soya flour for the gnocchi, so I'm not sure how it would go.

As you can see in the photo, I made the gnocchi into small balls, then flattened the balls and indented each ball with my thumb. I found the other method to be very fiddly, and this was quick and easy.

Gnocchi Recipe:

4 medium sized desiree potatoes
1 egg
2 cups plain flour

Steam/boil the potatoes until just cooked. When cooked, peel and mash the potatoes (or put them through the ricer). Season with salt (and pepper if desired). Add the egg and mix well. Add the flour in 2 or batches, mixing well after each addition. The dough should be fairly firm. Roll the dough into a long "sausage" and cut the dough into pieces about an inch long, so that each piece is about the size of a walnut. Roll them into balls, and then indent each one with your thumb.

Bring a large pot of water to the boil and then add the gnocchi. They will sink, but as they cook, they will rise to the surface. Remove them once they have risen to the surface. Add the sauce you desire over the top and enjoy!

I used a litte butter, melted in a pot and browned. Add some pine nuts (walnuts are also good), garlic to the butter and cook briefly before mixing into the gnocchi. Sprinkle some cheese on the top.

 

Gumbo, this months Daring Cook's Challenge

This month, Denise from There's a newf in my soup was the hostess for the Daring Cooks challenge.  She challenged us to make Gumbo.  There were heaps of recipes to choose from, and it was an interesting challenge.  Interesting?  To this vegorama, it seemed that the main ingredient in all those recipes was seafood, or meat.  Okay, not beyond vegoramarising a recipe, first of all I looked for a vegetarian gumbo recipe - there are quite a few out there, but I chose this one to be the basis for my gumbo...

http://www.bogdanraczynski.com/show/recipe/75/0/Vegetarian_Gumbo.html



In addition to the what is listed, I also added a couple of carrots diced and also potatoes.  I couldn't find file powder anywhere here, but did find Cajun spices, so I substituted those.  The end result was fairly tasty, all my visitors enjoyed it, but it was very labour intensive.  The roux, which is the basis for the gumbo takes a long time to get right and you can't leave it while it browns, lest it burn!  So I don't know if I will make this recipe again.  But it was a great challenge - thanks Denise!

The Valley of the Shadow of Death

1 The LORD is my shepherd;
  I have all that I need.
2 He lets me rest in green meadows;
  he leads me beside peaceful streams.
3   He renews my strength.
He guides me along right paths,
  bringing honor to his name.
4 Even when I walk
  through the dark valley of death,
I will not be afraid,
  for you are close beside me.
Your rod and your staff
  protect and comfort me.
5 You prepare a feast for me
  in the presence of my enemies.
You honor me by anointing my head with oil.
  My cup overflows with blessings.
6 Surely your goodness and unfailing love will pursue me
  all the days of my life,
and I will live in the house of the LORD
  forever.
(The New Living Translation of Psalm 23)

This week I have been walking through the dark valley of death.  It hasn't been pleasant - horrendous, in fact.  It was after I came home from hospital that this Psalm suddenly took on new meaning for me.  I don't think I've ever felt as close to the shadow of death before.  But it was with that realisation that it also dawned on me that neither had I been afraid.  "Your rod and your staff they comfort me."

The shepherd's staff was something he used for support, to help him get over the rough terrain (and the terrain is very rough in the Middle-east!).  The rod, though, is a little different - it has several functions which make it particularly interesting in light of this Psalm, and a walk through the valley.  The rod was somehow used by the shepherd to mark his sheep, I guess a bit like the farmers these day brand their cattle.  But I think the most important use of the rod was to guide and protect the sheep - with the rod, the shepherd would ensure the sheep were guided to safe pastures and the rod would also drive away the wild animals that would hunt the sheep.

This week, I have felt the hand of God around me, marking me as His own.  This is as much HIS choice as it is mine!  I want to belong to Him, and I'm grateful for His protection this week.  The Good Shepherd has been there with me in my journey, guiding me and protecting me with His rod, supporting me with His staff.  Oh, how I have coveted this assurance throughout my life, and it has been there all the time.

     I recently commenced studying for my Masters.  As part of this course I am undertaking what is referred to as Clinical Pastoral Education - it is learning by reflection in a Clinical Pastoral setting.  Hospital Chaplaincy.  I am learning that it is not about religion, but rather, it is about holding a person where they are at and supporting them in a crisis, or just supporting them.  There is a lot of tension in this course.  Not the kind that is negative - rather I am becoming conscious of tension in life in general.  I've always seen things in black and white before.  I mean - how can something be both black and white?  Or soft and hard?  And yet, while I am enjoying this course, there are aspects of it that are difficult and I don't particularly like!  But all of it means that I am learning and growing.  In my reflections of this, I started to think about the tension that God must have experienced.  It being Easter and all.  I mean, long before this world was created even, God's son made a promise that should these created humans, choose to sin, then He would take our place and die so that we might have the opportunity of living with Him in a perfect world one day.  It's easy to make a promise.  It can be harder to fulfill the promise.  Ever made a promise you didn't want to keep?  You didn't realise how hard it would be?  When my son was very young, we were mucking about the pool one day - he was swimming, I was teasing the dogs and making them bark while I was supervising my son.  I was dressed for work.  My dog thought I was falling in the pool and getting quite excited about it all.  My son caught the excitement and said "go on Mum.  I DARE YOU!"  I said to him "what do you dare?"  In a fit of confidence (well, I mean, what mother is going to jump in the pool, fully dressed and ready for work?) he said "I promise I'll give you my allowance for SIX MONTHS!"  I jumped in. 

He learned that day (and the following six months...) how hard it is to keep some promises.  And to be more careful in daring someone else!  But God knew exactly what He was promising.  He knew what separation from His Father meant - He knew the risk.  And yet, when it all boiled down, He kept His promise.  Despite the shame, the heartache, the pain, the separation - He kept His promise.  Talk about tension!  I'm so grateful that He kept His promise.  I'm grateful that He was victorious - because that means that He bought me with a price, and THAT means that He has adopted me.  I'm His daughter - with all the rights and privileges that a daughter of the Most High God has.  

The photos below are ones I took when visiting Jerusalem in 2007.  I thought you might like to visit them with me... 

The slab where the body was laid

The sign on the door

The garden tomb area.  A sacred place.

The garden tomb. 

We don't know if this was the actual site where Jesus was laid and was resurrected.  I like to think it was.  There are two "traditional" sites in Jerusalem, one being inside the Dome of the Rock, and the other being this one. 

Edible Food Containers

I'm a member of The Daring Kitchen.  Have been enjoying the challenges that are put forth each month that the Daring Cooks create and test.  My family is very patient with me and tolerate the new concoctions that are now developed in the kitchen each month.

The Daring Cooks challenge for April was to make edible food containers.  This conjured up many things to the members and some of them were amazing, to say the least.  My imagination wasn't quite so adventurous, but it was very much appreciated!  I actually made two edible food containers, the first one was a great hit with the family.  The second one, not so much - the only time the MOTH (Man-of-the-house) likes soup is when we are out visiting.  So I enjoyed the soup and damper, they all enjoyed the tortilla...  

I made an edible food container out of a baked tortilla, which was shaped inside a pudding bowl, and then baked.  The tortilla was put into the microwave for 15seconds on high to make it more pliable and then baked for about 15 minutes in a moderate oven, until crisp.  The bowl was filled with chilli beans and served with salad...

Chilli Beans

500g dried red kidney beans

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 onion, chopped

2 garlic cloves, minced

chilli to taste 

1 500g can tomato soup

500 g tomatoes, peeled and diced

Method:

I cook the beans in my slow cooker - rinse the beans first, then for each cup of beans, add 4 - 5 cups of water, 1 teaspoon salt and cook on high in the slow cooker for about 8 hours.  Once they are cooked, drain.

Saute the garlic and onion in the olive oil.   Add the chilli (I used powder, but you can also use finely chopped fresh) and fry for a few minutes, until aromatic.  Add the tomato soup and the tomatoes and the beans.  Mix well.

Pumpkin Soup in Australian Damper

Pumpkin Soup:

Saute 1 large chopped onion and 3 cloves minced garlic gently in 1 tablespoon olive oil.  Add 1 medium large diced potato, 2 cups diced pumpkin (kentish or Queensland Blue pumpkin is ideal) and fry gently for a few minutes, and then add 100 g washed red lentils.  Add enough water or vegetable stock to cover the vegetables and simmer gently until all are cooked.  Blend until smooth.  Serve in a bowl fashioned from Damper (recipe below) - you can also use sour cream to garnish.  This family isn't a lover of sour cream, so we used the parsley instead.

Australian Damper

This recipe is said to have been a favourite during the depression and is one used by the outback matilda, as it is easy cooked over the campfire.  I remember as a kid, we used to get the dough and wrap it around a stick (duly washed and cleaned of course!!) and held over the coals until it was cooked.  You then take the cooked dough off the stick and fill the hole up with golden syrup, jam or honey.  A great favourite.  Here's how to make it:

2 cups self-raising flour

1/2 tspn salt

1 - 11/2 cups milk

2 teaspoons butter

Rub the butter into the flour and salt.  Add most of the milk all at once and cut into the flour with a knife.  The dough will be sticky.  Add the rest of the milk if the dough is too dry.  Place on a well floured surface and form into round loaf.  Cut a cross into the top of the bun and bake in a preheated oven at 180 degrees celsius.  When cooked, hollow out the bun, and fill with pumpkin soup.