Christmas Baking - Day 2: Fig, Walnut and Fennel Roulade

So the second thing I am making this year for gifts is a Fig, Walnut and Fennel Roulade.  I know this sounds like some weirdly flavoured swissiroll but it's actually something that you would serve with cheese - in the same way you might have quince paste.


The recipe is from Feast magazine this month and was contributed by Matthew Evans.  I followed his ingredients but changed the method considerably.  Here is where you can find the original recipe and method or you can buy the magazine (well worth it for the delicious Tropfest menu they have in there - pretzels!!!)

 

Method

1.  I blitzed the figs in the food processor because I had my tiny assistant in the kitchen who can now reach the bench and I don't like using knives near him.

2.  I toasted the walnuts and then added them to the processor and blitzed again.








 

3.  I crushed the fennel and cloves together in a motar and pestle - such a good smell.








4.  In a bowl I put the brandy, fennel seeds, cloves, black pepper and honey then dumped out the figs and walnuts and mixed it all (use a spatula - so much less much).










5.  I portioned the mix into little logs (I will wrap them like bon-bons) and then rolled them in some rice flour.

6.  I then wrapped each individually in baking paper and put them in a contained to be weighted down with a tin of food I will never use!









Note: It says in the recipe to weight them down for three days and that they will keep air-tight for 3 weeks so they should be perfect for Boxing Day - Yum!

Blog Love: What I'm Reading

Not that I have a lot of time for reading - so mostly I am currently looking at blogs with a lot of pictures and also blogs that are written by mothers.

Here is my current reading list:

A Bowl Full Of Lemons

I thought that I had a stationery problem - it's not looking so bad now.  This site is the stuff of dreams - I have never seen anyone so organised or colour co-ordinated in my life.  If you are looking to do some culling and organising or thinking about how to set about your finances, pantry, emergency supplies or anything else for that matter, this is the site for you.

The Japanese Vegetarian Kitchen

My Mum put me onto this site - it is written in English by a Japanese speaker as a way to practise her English.  All the recipes here have step-by-step photographs, few ingredients and taste amazing.  There is not posting schedule but there is plenty in the archives to keep you in the kitchen.  Many of the recipes are also vegan, and if you have trouble finding ingredients, Izumi often lists alternates that you can use.

Mamacino

This blog is written by an Australian Mum, Kristen who is interested in "kids, food, travel, life" but the bit that interests me most of course is the food.  The blog features advice on everyday life as well as featuring recipes and links to other great resources (hello the world of probiotics).  The photography is also amazing and the styling to-die-for.

 

Wild Fermentation

I know this title sounds a bit weird but I, like everyone else, seem to be hooked on probiotics and making them myself (not that I have actually done anything about it yet).  This is a resource blog - not too many pictures.  If you want to know how to make something like kimchi or some type of fermented vegetable this is your mecca.  Written by American Sandor Ellix Katz who looks on fermented foods as an important part of healing the body.

Recipe: Cannelini Bean Patties

I have been thinking about what I can blog about lately and most of the ideas I have come up with are parenting-related, but this one is not.

My husband loves hamburgers but being vegetarian I have to come up with something for myself that is as easy and tasty.  There are some great commercial products available but I find that all of a sudden, the price has gone up on a lot of them and they are as expensive as meat to buy.

This recipe is a cross between Nigella Lawson's burger recipe in Nigella Express and the method from the bean ball recipe in Veganomicon.

You can really use any beans but here is the version I have enjoyed most recently:

Ingredients

• 1 can cannelini beans - rinsed
• 1 tablespoon caramelized onions
• Tamari - to taste
• Worcestershire sauce - to taste
• Salt and Pepper

Method

• Mash the can of beans
• Add the caramelized onions
• Add tamari, Worcestershire,  salt and pepper sauce to taste
• Mould into patties and fry.  Do not attempt to turn over for awhile or they will break up.

I got three patties out of this amount and they were great reheated under the grill with some ketchup manis for a quick snack.  Too easy.

Recipe - Mushrooms on Toast

I absolutely adore mushrooms which is handy being vegetarian. I don't even mind eating the little button mushrooms that everyone thinks have no flavour.

Here in Australia, I know Spring is not the right time for mushrooms but I (as previously) mentioned am tardy in the blogging department. But I do still make this abut once a week. The mushrooms that I use are whatever I have on hand. In the past I have enoki, chanterelle, yellow oyster, oyster, swiss browns and shitake's as well as plain old mushrooms.

This recipe began life in a book called Practically Macrobiotic (an amazing book with the most beautiful illustrations). It was in it's original form called something like mushrooms on fried sourdough toast. The main flavours used were ginger, garlic and sesame oil as well as the mushrooms. I tried it a few times as the original and just could not help myself and had to add to it. So now this is roughly what I use each time:

• Mushrooms
• Garlic
• Ginger (I am sorry to say both the garlic and ginger are ready crushed from a jar - but it's breakfast)
  
• Preserved lemon
• Dried Thyme
• Olive Oil
• Sourdough bread - toasted

The preserved lemon gives it all the seasoning I find it needs and makes it intensely sour. It's the same feeling you get from having some umeboshi at breakfast - invigorating and slightly mouth puckering. I know sour is not a taste everyone would like a breakfast but isn't that the point. Everyone can make their own breakfast exactly how they would like it and everyone knows exactly how they would like it (apparently breakfast service is the bane of some chef's lives - trying to get everyone's eggs right).

I thought that I would also share a vintage recipe with you for mushrooms on toast from Good Housekeeping Picture Recipes for which I cannot find a date. The mushrooms are under the Smorrebrod section - After Dinner and Cocktail Savouries.

Menu Plan Monday

Here is my menu for this week

Monday

B - Fruit & Soy Yoghurt

L - Salad with Tofu

D - Mexican Pasta

Tuesday

B - Muffin with banana and honey

T - Tabouli Salad with Veggies

D - Mum's

Wednesday

B - Oats with fruit

L - Muffin with lentil patty

D - Grandma's

Thursady

M - Muffin with cream cheese and tomato

L - Pumkin Soup & Salad

D - Veggie Stir-fry with Brown Rice and Tofu

Friday

B - GF museli & Soy Yoghurt

L - Salad sandwhich with mayo

D - Leftovers

Saturday

B - Pancakes

L - Salad and lentil Soup

D - Tofu Fajitas

Sunday 

B - Scrambled tofu with veggies

L - Lentil Salad

D - Veggie Pizza with vegan cheese

Baking

Apricot & walnut Slice

Prune and Apple Slice

Bad tofu?

Today I am feeling a little worse for wear due to some bad satay tofu (I'm not one for looking at expiry dates).

Other than that I have been going well being vegetarian.  On Friday however I did have fish and chips for lunch with my mother from Ocean Masters because it is her favourite.  I have to get to know what I can order at fast food places so I don't have to do it again.

I find that I am not missing the taste of meat at all.  I have even been editing my vast collection of recipe books down to ones the have a fair amount of vegetarian recipes in them.

The other most trying part of this is that people (mainly my Grandmother) think that it's absurd that I feel sorry for animals and don't want to eat all those hormones and antibiotics.  I'm not pushing for them to be vegetarian so why should they push for me to be an omnivore?

I am having my best friend and her boy over for dinner tonight so hopefully I will be able to make something nice.  I am thinking:

• Fresh sweet corn chowder (with bacon sprinkled on after serving)
• Pilaf with the chicken cooked separately
• Salad
• Ice-cream and hot chocolate (they don't drink tea or coffee.

Yesterday I also tried some new vegan foods:

• S0y King Butter (which doesn't melt so I think it's for sandwiches)
• Soy King Cream Cheese (this did melt and was great)

Below are some photos from dinner one night and a bush walk we did down to Elvina Bay (on the hottest day of the year - Tuesday).

This is a lovely dinner we had on the balcony with our new favourite wine - Knappstein Enterprise Cabernet Shiraz 2005.

Even Coco Chanel wanted to try it

This is the beau at the bottom of Lovitt Bay where there is supposed to be a swimming hole but as we have a drought - nothing.

The beau took these amazing pictures looking up at what normally is a waterfall.