Love for Love Apples

Even though I ran away to New York for the summer, I came home to a good yield of my home grown Heirloom tomatoes.  I have to admit, I didn't have so much luck with the larger Beefsteak and Moneymaker varieties, but the small cherry and plum tomatoes proved to be more successful, abundant and less prone to their skins splitting.  (If anyone knows what causes this, I would love to know).

I have planted out some Roma tomatoes which will hopefully give me a crop for early Summer so this is something to look forward to!

I just finished reading a lovely book, 'A Homemade Life' by Molly Wizenberg.  Anyone who likes food, or likes to eat should read this memoir.  I won't give the story away, I happened upon it through a recommendation in my Amazon.com list so purchased it blindly without knowing anything about the story and I must say, loved it.

What made me mention the book in this blog entry is because Molly includes a recipe for Tomato and Fennel soup.  I had never cooked a fennel bulb before in my life until a few nights ago when I decided to make this soup, so I approached it with a little trepidation.  My father is not a fan of fennel, in fact he is very vocal about how much he dislikes it!  Needless to say, he was in the back of my mind whilst making it.  The flavour is mild and not at all over powering of aniseed like I was expecting.  (Ha Dad!)  Overall I thoroughly enjoyed it and will certainly make it again.  The soup is good for a cool wintry night.  It is very hearty.  The tomato, onion and fennel are chunky, so be sure to have a hunk of good sourdough, or grilled cheese alongside for dunking (or a hunk to eat it with, I mean, what's better on a cold night?)

I was in a celebratory mood for no particular reason, (maybe a tomato high?  Who knows?) so made Insalata Caprese for a starter - Just because.  Even though I am a little lactose intolerant, what harm could a little fresh mozzarella do?  (Don't ask!)

Tomato Soup with Two Fennels - Molly Wizenberg, A Homemade Life

In this recipe, Molly uses 2 medium fennel bulbs, 4 cloves of garlic and 2 teaspoons of fennel seeds.  I tweaked it as I was a little scared of these amounts but if you would like to stay true to her recipe, go by those quantities, otherwise go with mine.

1 tbs olive oil
1 medium brown onion, thinly sliced
1 medium fennel bulb, trimmed and thinly sliced
1 clove garlic, finely chopped
1 tsp fresh thyme leaves
1 tsp fennel seeds
2 cans whole peeled tomatoes
Salt and pepper to taste
pinch of sugar (to cut the acidity of the tomatoes)

In a large saucepan or Dutch oven, warm oil.  Add onion and fennel and cook until the onion begins to soften.  Add garlic and cook, being careful that it doesn't burn for about 5 minutes over a medium heat.  Add thyme and fennel seeds and cook for around 2 minutes or until fragrant.  Add tomatoes, and crush them with the back of a wooden spoon (or alternatively a potato masher).  Add a cans worth of water and bring the soup to the boil.  Bring down the heat to a gentle simmer and cook uncovered for about 45 minutes.  If it seems a little thick, add more water.

You will know the soup is cooked when the fennel is nice and tender.  Season to taste. Adding a pinch of sugar will cut the acidity and add a nice sweetness.  Molly says to add a splash of red wine vinegar if the soup tastes a little bland, but I didn't find this necessary.

Remember this dish is more like a vegetarian stew, rather than a soup and makes enough to serve four. 


Insalata Caprese - by Me and a bazillion Italian Nonna's who I wish were mine :)

2 large, vine ripened tomatoes (at room temperature)
1 tub baby bocconcini cheese or 1 large ball of Buffalo Mozzarella
Olive Oil
Balsamic vinegar (this time I used white balsamic)
A small handful of fresh basil leaves
Salt and pepper

Slice tomatoes and cheese into thick rounds and arrange on your serving platter of choice.  Season liberally with salt and pepper (the tomatoes especially) and anoint with a good slug of good olive oil.  Add balsamic vinegar (I pour into a teaspoon and add it this way, so I have more control, otherwise it tends to just flow out of the bottle and everywhere you don't want it).  Scatter with basil leaves.  I like to let this salad sit for about 15 minutes before eating so that all the ingredients are at room temperature and soak up all the delicious oil and vinegar.  Serve with a nice crusty bread (or hunk as discussed previously)...

Do check out 'A Homemade Life'.  I know you will enjoy it as much as I did.  Come over for a cup of tea and a slice of cake and you can borrow it from me if you like :)

Until next time...

Kitty xx

I've never been to an Italian Wedding but I made one...

The weather is still cold and wintry, which means the soup pot is a permanent fixture on the hob until the weather warms up.  This also means that at the farmers market there are the most amazing winter vegetables available.  White turnips, purple turnips, parsnips, cauliflowers... all these wonderful veg for roasting and making thick and satisfying soups.  Oh so tempting!

Last week I bought some Kale and Cavolo Nero.  For those unfamiliar with these veg, they are related to the cabbage family.  Cavolo Nero is also known as 'Italian Cabbage', though it looks and feels more like a tougher, leathery form of silver beet.  Kale on the other hand looks more like a thick, plasticky lettuce.  (For any Americans, Kale is closely related to what you know of as 'Collard Greens').

Both are very high in vitamins and have a deliciously earthy flavour when cooked.  My mission was to use these two ingredients in soups.  I ended up making two soups, Italian Wedding, in which I used kale in place of escarole (endive) and a Minestrone, where I used the Cavolo Nero in place of spinach.

Out of the two soups I made, I have to say that the Italian Wedding was my favourite, I think because of the meat balls which, in a soup are a satisfying and surprising addition.  The Kale gave it a nice earthy flavour.  It made it taste 'healthy' if that makes any sense! 

Here is my version of Italian Wedding Soup

Italian Wedding Soup

400g minced beef or pork
1/4 tsp onion powder (or a little grated onion, I find onion powder just easier)
1/4 tsp dried oregano
1/4 tsp chili flakes
Pinch salt
1/4 cup breadcrumbs
1 egg
8 cups chicken stock
1 carrot, chopped
2 sticks celery, chopped
1 clove garlic, chopped
1 onion, chopped
1/2 cup risoni or orzo
Small bunch Kale/Cavolo Nero/Spinach/Endive, chopped
Olive Oil
Grated Parmesan

To the mince, add onion powder, oregano, chili, salt, breadcrumbs and egg.  With clean hands (or a wooden spoon) mix well together to combine.  Using wet hands, form into small meatballs and set aside in the refrigerator for about 30 mins. 

In a saucepan, heat 1 tbs olive oil and add carrot, celery, garlic and onion and fry for about 3-5 mins or until onion is translucent.  Add chicken stock and bring to a simmer.  Add risoni or orzo.  Heat a frypan and add 1tbs olive oil.  Add meatballs and fry until golden all over.  Add browned meatballs to the stock mixture.  Bring to a simmer and add your chosen greens.  Simmer until greens wilt slightly.  Season to taste and sprinkle some grated Parmesan cheese over the top.

Serves 4.


So there you have it.  I had an exciting weekend fossicking at the markets for some new veg (for me finding new greens is exciting!) and used them in a nice new hearty soup, which I am sure is going to become part of my Winter repertoire.

Until next time...

Kitty xx

The Great Sunday Pantry Clean-Out!

It is a dreary Autumn day in May.  The sun refuses to come out.  It is too much to think about being a weather forecaster to risk doing any laundry - and the cost of electricity these days makes me wince at using the dryer.  So what to do?...  Cook of course! 


I have set myself a challenge - to try and cook from my fridge and pantry with as many ingredients on hand as possible to make as many dishes as possible.  Today, I made a pretty significant dent in my 'home' produce department, without having to go to the supermarket.  I made 3 dishes today without the need to buy anything other than 1 item, which was more out of want than need - a bottle of red wine!


To begin with I made roasted pumpkin soup.  This was so amazingly simple I hardly need to leave the recipe.  If you know how to roast vegetables and use a blender, you can make this soup.  Let me give you a quick run down.

Roasted Pumpkin Soup
1kg of pumpkin, peeled and chopped
2 medium potatoes, peeled and quartered
1 onion, peeled and quartered
1 large carrot, peeled and cut into chunks
2 sticks celery, cut into chunks
1 tbs fresh rosemary, chopped finely
1tbs each of ground coriander and cumin
2-3 cloves of garlic, skin on (peel after roasting)
Salt and pepper
Olive oil
Water or stock (enough to thin out the puree)


Put all ingredients into a roasting pan, drizzle with olive oil and roast for about 30-45 mins or until veg are nice and tender and have a nice caramelisation (I hate that word but this is what you are looking for).  When done, transfer to a blender and blitz, adding water or stock to thin the puree out to your desired consistency - and to help with the blending process.


Transfer to a saucepan and bring to a low simmer.  If desired, you can thin the soup further with some cream.


The soup will be slightly sweet from the roasting of the vegetables and the cumin and coriander seed give it a kind of lemony echo.  Roasting the garlic also gives it a nice mellow sweetness.  This recipe will yield just under 2 litres, depending on how thick or thin you like it and will freeze well.


Next I made a beef and red wine stew to have with home made pasta (I am such a show off I know).  Here is my crude attempt at a recipe for this dish!


Beef and Red Wine Stew
500g beef chuck, diced
1 medium carrot, diced
2 ribs celery, diced
1 large onion, diced
1 clove of garlic, crushed
1 tbs rosemary, chopped finely
1 bay leaf
1 can diced tomato
1 cup red wine (I like Shiraz or Cab Sav)
2 cups beef or veg stock
Olive oil


Cook the onion, garlic, carrot and celery, rosemary and bay leaf in a heavy bottomed pan with a lug of olive oil until translucent.  Add the beef and cook until browned (and make sure you get some nice brown jammy bits on the bottom of the pan).  Keep the heat up and add the wine, letting it boil off for about a minute to reduce a little.  Add tomatoes and cook for about a minute or two (this helps get rid of the raw taste of tomato.)  Add your stock and turn heat down to a low simmer and let cook for 2-3 hours, keeping an eye that the sauce doesn't catch on the bottom of the pan and burn.  The stew will be cooked when the meat is falling apart and the sauce has reduced.  Serve with mashed potato, polenta or your choice of pasta.


Next we bake!


I have had some dates in the freezer for a while which I had pretty much forgotten about (ants don't get inside of my freezer) and in the pantry I had a packet of Californian Walnuts.  To me that just screams Date and Walnut Loaf!

Date and Walnut Loaf
1 1/2 cups pitted dried dates, halved
1 1/4 cups water
1/2 cup, firmly packed brown sugar
80g butter
2 cups all purpose flour
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp ground ginger
1 tsp cinnamon
Pinch of nutmeg
2 eggs, lightly beaten
100g walnuts chopped


Preheat oven to 180°C.  Grease and line a loaf pan.  Place dates, water, brown sugar and butter in a saucepan. Cook over medium heat, stirring gently until the sugar dissolves. Bring to the boil, reduce heat and simmer, uncovered, for 2 minutes.  Allow to cool for 20 minutes.


Sift the flour, baking powder and spices into a large mixing bowl. Add the beaten eggs to the date mixture and stir well to combine. Pour the date mixture into the flour mixture and use a wooden spoon to bring the mixture together.  Add the walnuts and stir until combined.


Transfer the mixture into the pan and bake in for 45-50 minutes or until a skewer inserted into the centre of the loaf comes out clean. Turn onto a wire rack to cool.  Serve on its own or slathered with butter and a cup of tea!  (Which you will probably have earned once have done all the dishes!)


So all in all it was a very productive day.  I have soup for my lunch tomorrow and enough stew to freeze and keep for another time.  The loaf will be a wonderful snack before bedtime and also serves as my morning tea for work tomorrow.  I also have enough pasta dough to make 2 more serves of fettucine.  It feels so good to be thrifty and at the same time I am eating like a Queen!


Until next time...


Kitty xx