Field mushroom quiche

Last night we had this quiche, made with more of our foraged mushrooms. I used this recipe, with a few changes: I didn't have shallots so I chopped an onion, I used 'Colby' cheese (a soft cheddar type), and I also added a few leftover boiled potatoes (cold and chopped). It was a very tasty quiche, will definitely make it again (no shortage of mushrooms at the moment!!).

Zucchini and feta fritters with guacamole

I made these for lunch today for the first time and they were good. To make the fritters (enough for 2 people, about 8-9 fritters) just mix the following together:

2 eggs
about 3/4 cup flour
handful chopped coriander
3 spring onions, chopped
About 1 1/2 cups grated zucchini
About 100g feta, crumbled
Sea salt and pepper
Lemon zest
A little milk to thin

Fry in oil (I use grapeseed) and a little butter until golden brown. Serve with a dollop of guacamole on the side, great recipe here. YUM!

First of the spring asparagus

Not out of our garden unfortunately, but still delicious. For dinner tonight we had lightly steamed asparagus, organic broad beans (from a kind neighbour), a handful of peas, all in a creamy white wine sauce with a little lemon zest, and some freshly made pappardelle pasta. Oh, and of course a little grated romano cheese on top.
Am now just having a little shot of Lemon Z limoncello to round off the meal - yum!

The mushroom fest continues...

Yes we are still enjoying those mushrooms!

This is one of our favourite pasta meals, see here for the recipe. Topped off with a sprinkle of fresh parsley, lovely.

Wild mushroom soup

This recipe is adapted from one out of a cook book in my collection called The Soup Bible by Debra Mayhew (Select Editions), a collection of over 200 soup recipes from around the world.

2 Tbsp olive oil
1 Tbsp butter
1 large onion, chopped
1 garlic clove, crushed
300g fresh wild mushrooms, sliced
1L homemade stock (I used a mix of chicken and vegetable)
About 150mls fresh cream
Sprigs of thyme
Salt and pepper

Saute the onion in the oil and butter for about 5 mins until soft but not browned. Add garlic, fry for a minute more. Add the mushrooms and thyme, stir for a few mins until they begin to soften. Add stock and bring to boil, season, then reduce heat and half cover pan. Simmer for about 30mins. Blend the soup. Check consistency of soup, thin if necessary with more stock or water. Add cream and reheat gently.

Because I used mature wild mushrooms the soup came out an amazing dark brown colour. The taste was very good indeed. I don't think I'll have any problem using up the large quantity of mushrooms that G collected!

Wild mushrooms again and creamy mushrooms on toast

We were once again fortunate to be given access to pick lovely fresh field mushrooms. G came home with a big bucket yesterday.

So last night I made one of his favourite mushroom recipes, Creamy mushrooms on toast. Very easy to do.

In a saucepan add about 2Tbsp olive oil and a thick slice of butter, when melted add a crushed clove of garlic and stir for about a minute. Add 450g mushrooms, cleaned and chopped into chunks, put the lid on and leave on low heat for about 15 mins until cooked. Add a grating of nutmeg and some salt. Stir, add 300mls cream turn up heat and let bubble until thick. Serve immediately on thickly cut buttered toast. This is a tasty recipe with shop bought mushrooms (I normally use Portabello or brown mushrooms as button mushrooms are quite tasteless) but using the wild mushrooms the flavour was very good indeed.

N.B. It goes without saying really but if you want to try wild mushrooms make sure you know what you are picking, go with someone experienced in picking them until you are confident in identifying the edible varieties.

Baked zucchini stuffed with red rice

Yes zucchini is still on the menu......!

This is a recipe I made up with what ingredients I had on hand, mainly some big zucchini which got away on me (not quite marrows but bigger than I prefer to cut them as zucchini), also some red 'Carmague' rice which I had in the pantry and was keen to try.

3 large zucchini sliced lengthways, flesh scooped out and reserved
1 red onion, chopped finely
1 clove garlic, crushed
Some roasted red and green pepper, skin removed (about 1/2 capsicum, but you could use more)
Fresh thyme
Sea salt & cracked pepper
Some cooked red rice (I used about 150g)
Grated cheese

In a frypan, fry the onion and garlic in a little oil until soft. Add the chopped up zucchini flesh. Fry with a dash of water until soft. Add the chopped peppers, and thyme leaves, season to taste.

Cook the rice, it takes quite a long time (similar to brown rice in texture) about 40mins all up. Add to the above mixture, adjust seasoning.

Put a dash of olive oil in an oven dish and line up the zucchini. Fill zucchini with the mixture, top with grated cheese. Add 1/2 cup water to the dish. Cover with tin foil. Bake for about 50mins at 180 deg C. Remove foil, bake uncovered for further 10 mins.

I've seen a similar recipe including beef mince which sounds tasty, but this dish was just fine for dinner and was surprisingly filling.

Kohl rabi - the verdict

OK I cooked up the kohl rabi last night, I picked the other one that I thought was ready so there would be enough. It was a little green and crunchy and I had my reservations about using it but I thought it would be a shame to throw it out without trying it. The first one I picked was nice and white.
Anyway I peeled them both as I thought the skin would be a bit tough. Then I chopped and boiled the bulbs until tender, fried an onion in olive oil added some garlic and then the washed and chopped kohl rabi leaves. These were sauteed (lid on) for a few minutes until wilted, then I added a little cream and pureed the whole lot (including the bulbs of course).

Anyway, the verdict was.... not bad but not delicious. However, I wonder if my kohl rabi was a bit old and tough and that this recipe would be nicer with smaller, younger plants. Or maybe I stuffed up by putting in the greener one. In any case, I have put some more seedlings in the garden so I'll try again in a while. Maybe I'll another recipe also.

Fried rice

I only learnt how to cook a good stir fry in recent years, since viewing Kylie Kwong's cooking show on TV.

This recipe for fried rice is based on a recipe from her book Heart and Soul.

As well as being a nice comfort food, fried rice is the best homemade "fastfood", it's so quick to cook (so long as you have cooked rice in the fridge).

About 2 Tbpsn peanut oil
2 large eggs, beaten

1 1/2 Tbspn ginger, finely chopped
2 cloves garlic, diced
1 onion, finely diced
1/2 cup chopped bacon or ham
1 tsp white sugar
2 Tbpsn shao hsing wine/Chinese cooking wine (or if not available use sherry)
3 cups cold cooked white rice (day old is best)
1 Tbpsn oyster sauce
about 1/2 cup spring onions, finely sliced
1 tsp vege stock powder or a splash of liquid stock
1/4 tsp sesame oil
Chopped red chilli(es to suit your heat requirement)
Splash of soy sauce

Prepare everything first and have it all lined up ready to go in the wok, as the cooking time is very short.

Heat oil in wok and pour in beaten eggs. Cook for about 1min, scrambling them lightly with a fish slice. Remove and set aside on a kitchen paper towel.

Wipe wok (carefully it will be very hot!) with more kitchen paper, add extra oil and stir fry ginger, chilli and garlic for 1min. Add onion, stir fry for 2min, add bacon and stir fry for another minute. Then add sugar and wine. Lastly add rice, the reserved cooked egg, oyster sauce, spring onions, stock and sesame oil. Stir fry for about 3min. Roughly chop egg as you stir.

Serve in bowls, eat with fork (or chopsticks if you prefer) with a splash of soy sauce or tamari to taste. (This quantity serves 2 people). Obviously omit bacon or ham if you are wanting a vegetarian meal..

Pumpkin soup

The pumpkins are keeping quite well, although we noticed a bit of caterpillar damage to one end of one of the large banana pumpkins, so I cut out the damage and made up a big batch of soup today with most of the remaining pumpkin. Here is the recipe. I doubled the quantities and will freeze some of it.

1 Tbspn olive oil
2 large onions, chopped
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp ground coriander
1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
1kg pumpkin, cubed
1L vegetable stock
Optional: dash of cream stirred in before serving

Sautee onion in oil on low heat for about 7 mins, should be soft but not brown. Add spices, turn up heat and cook for about 1min stirring.
Add pumpkin and stir to coat. Add stock and bring to boil, cover and cook on low heat for about 30mins.
Cool slightly. Whizz with a stick blender or food processor. Return to low heat, add salt and dash of cream if wished, mix. Serve hot with toast or fresh crusty bread.

Mushrooms and crab apples

Well once again we were given a whole lot more field mushrooms, just delicious. I made mushroom and bacon pasta again, also made cream of mushroom soup which was very nice. Just fry chopped onion and then mushrooms, add some milk, add some torn up white bread, let the bread soak up the milk, then whizz, add some cream and some herbs - I used thyme, the recipe called for parsley but as hubby isn't a great fan of it I left it out, add salt and pepper to taste and serve with fresh bread or bread rolls.

I've also made a whole lot more crab apple jelly recently. This time round it was much more successful, setting just right and no froth as I was vigilant about scooping it out during the cooking process plus I poured the jelly into the jars through a small sieve. I must have about 35 small jars now. Also enough juice to make another 25 or so......... yikes, oh well will keep us going for some time, plus always good to have in the pantry to give away as gifts.

Field mushrooms

We were lucky to be given a harvest of fresh field mushrooms today (thanks Bruce).


One of my favourite recipes for mushrooms is Mushroom and Bacon Pasta.

Olive oil
1 small onion chopped
1 clove of garlic
About 150g mushrooms, wiped and chopped
A few rashers of good quality bacon, chopped
Cream, about 300mls
Sea salt and cracked pepper
Pasta, I use dry spirals or penne, but fresh is always best if you can get it.
Parmesan or Romano cheese for serving


Fry onion, garlic and bacon in oil until soft.
Cook pasta until "al dente".
Add mushrooms to bacon and onion mixture, cook through and then add cream, let it bubble and thicken for a while.
Mix pasta with the sauce, serve on hot plates with the cheese grated on top and salt and pepper to taste. Maybe a little green salad on the side. And a glass of nice wine. Delicious.

Pumpkin and sage risotto

I have started to chop up and process the large Banana pumpkins. Yesterday I sliced and oven baked quite a lot, to pulp and freeze in 1 cup size batches for use later in scones etc.

I also made our dinner, a pumpkin and sage risotto.

1 chopped onion, softened in olive oil, add about 1/2 dozen chopped fresh sage leaves, then about 170g risotto rice. You need about 600mls stock, add about 1/3rd to start then add about 250g finely chopped pumpkin, gradually add all the stock as the rice absorbs the liquid. Stir frequently. When done to the consistency you like (I prefer slightly al dente, my husband likes it softer) serve with grated parmesan or Romano cheese. I ran out of this so we also had some grated cheddar on top. And garnish with a few fried sage leaves.

Very tasty.

Tomato, feta and basil quiche recipe (again)

I made this one again but with slices of tomatoes not cherry ones.

Here is a photo.

Rustic home made pizza

Here is an easy way to make delicious pizza. I use my breadmaker to make the pizza dough, just follow the instructions given. Then I roll out and shape the dough to fit what pans I have available, doesn't matter if it isn't perfect. Then I top with whatever I have on hand and feel like.
Tonight I made pizza with a base of a homemade sweet tomato and apple chutney (will post recipe separately), then some finely chopped white onion, finely chopped mushroom, grated mozzarella cheese, chopped home grown tomato, then fresh herbs - I used marjoram, sage, rosemary and thyme, then lastly some ground sea salt and pepper.
Cook for about 10mins in a hot oven (200 degs C) until golden brown.

Tomato, feta and basil quiche recipe

Pastry:

1 cup flour

1/2 tsp salt

1/3 cup cold butter (about 80gs) cut up into cubes

2 to 3 tbspns ice cold water

If using a food processor put flour, salt and butter into it and process until crumblike. Add just enough water to form a ball. Do not overmix or pastry will be tough. If not using food processor put flour and salt into bowl, add butter and mix using finger tips until crumblike. Then add water and gently shape into ball. Wrap in plastic film and put in fridge for about 1/2 hr to chill.

Meanwhile prepare filling. I used a small tub of cherry tomatoes, approx 300g, but you could also use big tomatoes, sliced up. I cut them all in half so they were nice and small. In a bowl mix up 3 eggs with 2/3 cup milk and 1/2 cup cream, some sea salt and freshly ground pepper.

Roll out pastry to fit a quiche dish, then blind bake (line with tin foil and put dried beans, rice or pie weights in) for 10 mins on190 degs C. Then remove foil and bake for a further 5 mins or so until the pastry looks done. Remove and cool.

When pastry case cool, add crumbled feta, about 150-200g, then cherry tomatoes, a few torn basil leaves.Carefully pour over the egg mixture.

Bake for about 40mins at 190 degs C. Should be nice and golden brown and not runny when you shake the dish.

Serve with a green salad. Yum!