Gorgeous Garden Gazpacho

My garden brings me great joy, gentle exercise, and occasionally a generous glut of gorgeous vegetables

As you may have noticed from all my whinging, it has been hot. Very hot. And sometimes cooking is much less appealing than usual- I just don't want to turn on my oven or hot plates at all, or stand outside in the sun to use the bbq either
The perfect answer to avoiding the heat while still feeding my family fresh, healthy meals gathered from the garden is Gazpacho

Gazpacho is a peasant dish from southern Spain, around about Andalusia, where all these delightful veggies grow in abundance throughout Summer as well. As it's been around for many, many years, I figure that I'll stick with the classics and enjoy a night off from the heat for a change!

Gorgeous Garden Gazpacho- start a day earlier than serving for best results

1- 1/2 kg fresh Tomatoes
1 Red Capsicum
1 Cucumber
1 or 2 cloves of Garlic
1/2 - 1 mild Chilli
2 slices gf Bread
1-2 tab Sherry Vinegar
3-4 tab good Olive Oil
Salt to taste

 

Time to trim the veggies:
Make sure you remove all the seeds and membrane from the capsicum. The seeds are yucky and hard and the membrane can be bitter, so best to take it all out

As my cucumbers are nice and young and very fresh I won't bother peeling them or taking the seeds out. The seeds and peel can be quite bitter as well if they're not in they're prime, so best to remove them if you're not sure

Now, if you wanted to be fussy, you could blanch and peel the tomatoes as well- but why bother I say! Just roughly chop them a very little and you're done. Now a little tip from our friend Heston- he recommends leaving a bit of the tomato stalk to simmer with tomatoes when making a sauce as it adds a lot of fragrance and flavour. I'll add mine in after the blending while it's soaking for a very easy flavour boost

Peel the garlic and depending on how much of a buzz you want, you can leave the seeds in the chilli if you like

Quickly splash the bread with a good glug of water

Then squeeze the excess away. The bread will add a nice bit of body and almost a bit of 'creaminess' to the texture as well

Everything ready to go!

Bung it all in to a food processor or blender with the olive oil

Then whizz, whizz away until nice and smooth

Of course you could just eat this soup as is with all the veggies bits mixed in, and it's quite nice really, but to be authentic and fancy you need to strain the whole lot leaving the solids behind

Nice and smooth and clear

Test the fresh flavours, then mix in a tablespoon or so of the sherry vinegar to taste. The vinegar will add a sweet sharpness that works beautifully with the veggies, but be careful not to overdo it as the flavours will continue to mellow and develop overnight. Time to pop in the tomato stalk as well and let it do it's magic....
Let the soup sit covered in the fridge overnight

Before serving, check the flavours- does it need salt, a splash more vinegar, a pinch of sugar if your veggies aren't home grown? If it's very thick it's ok to thin it out a with just a little chilled water.

Serve straight from the fridge, and drizzle with a little more olive oil just as you serve to finish off one of the nicest soups you'll have all Summer- I promise

For a bit of added yumminess I served my soup up with some more of the bread topped with soft goat cheese- delicious!

So Dear Readers, what do you think of cold soup and do you like goat cheese too?



 

Steamed Chinese Pork Buns- Char Siu Bao

 

I find it really interesting that the most popular post I've ever written is the one for my Gluten Free Chinese Dumplings , closely followed by Steamed Coconut Buns


Yum Cha or Dim Sum, is one of the most wonderful meals in the world- at least if you listen to my littlej, and though often taking my health in my hands, we occaisionally venture out into the great unknown and indulge.
Now sometimes it's all good. The staff are friendly and helpful, my little printed cards in Chinese stating that I'm allergic to wheat are recognised, and we have a great time. Other times..... not so much. Really the only way to be sure of food purity and no cross contamination is to build up a decent repitoire of dishes and recreate the whole Yum Cha experience here at home

I know that it sounds like a whole lot of work, but I like to make a whole heap of each item at a sitting, then divvy them up into meal lots and freeze them. That way I have a mix of goodies for steaming or baking and Yum Cha or Dim Sum is just half an hour away whenever the mood takes us! Win Win! It's well and truly worth it and can be a whole lot of fun too



The very original recipe for these buns comes from Jamie Oliver, but I've tizzied them up a bit to suit the style of dough I wanted and I think it works just fine. I haven't given a recipe yet for the BBQ pork but it will be coming soon. If I'm in a hurry I usually pick some up at our local Chinese BBQ house with no problem- just make sure it's definitely gluten free. If you're really stuck, just use minced pork instead

Changs and Ayam make great gluten free Asian sauces

BBQ Pork Filling

300 gm gf BBQ Pork
1/2 cup Water
2 tab gf Oyster Sauce
2 tab gf HoiSin Sauce
2 tab Honey
1 tsp Sesame Oil
3 tsp Cornflour
3 tsp Cold Water



Chop the pork into nice little pieces, you don't want to be tearing huge chunks apart inside your bun

Pop the 1/2 cup water, sauces, honey and sesame oil into a fry pan. Bring to the boil while stirring to bring it all together

Add in the pork and stir to coat it all in delicousness

Mix the cornflour and cold water into a slurry, add about 2/3 of it into the pork mixture and stir, stir, to thicken up
Now this needs to be fairly thick but still loose and not dry, so adjust the thickening with a touch more slurry or thin it back down with a bit more water as necessary

Let all the yumminess cool in the fridge for an hour or so
The mixture will always thicken further when cooled but that's a good thing as it makes it easier to fill the buns later

Fluffy Bun Recipe

1 tin Coconut Milk
2 tins worth gluten free SR Flour
2 tabs Oil or Lard
2 tab Castor Sugar
3 tsp gf Baking Powder
big pinch Salt

Pop all the ingredients into a food processor and whizz it up quickly until all combined and it turns into a slightly soft, sticky dough

Tip it out, then gently knead it into a solid round. Divide the dough into 16 even pieces

Pat each piece of dough into a small round that will comfortably fit on your hand. Try to make the edges a bit thinner than the centre

Slightly cup the dough, then place a good teaspoon of filling into the middle

I pull the edges together in a triangle to start the pretty flower bud shape, but as long as it's all enclosed that's all that really matters

Pinch the opposite sides together

Finished product!

All ready to go- not really perfect, but that's fine

Steam away happily for about 10 minutes, or until glossy and cooked through and not doughy in the middle

Steamy hot and ready to eat

The dough should be soft and a bit fluffy- but remember these are gluten free and will never be as light as air as 'regular' flour buns. I haven't found a fool proof method of replicating that soft, billowiness yet, but as long as you realise the limitations of gluten free flour you should be OK

Definitely at their best served hot and soft with the filling oozing out deliciously, a real Yummy Cha treat indeed!

So Dear Readers, what's your favourite Yum Cha/ Dim Sum dish and restaurant to go to?



Other delicious Yum Cha or Dim Sum posts you might enjoy:

Thai Pearl Dumplings

Stuffed Eggplant

Spring Rolls

Mango Pudding







 

In My Kitchen Garden- February 2014

Happy February Dear Readers!


It has been a season of extremes so far this year with the Big Freeze going on with our Northern Neighbours, and Horrific Heatwaves carrying on here at home


It's the start of the month again and that would normally call for my usual show of bits and pieces as I join in with lovely Celia's In My Kitchen post. This is a fun round up that travels the world and visits Bloggy Buddies all over as we peep into their kitchens for a bit of a sticky beak

I thought I'd mix it up a bit this month and instead of showing you the same old/same old inside, I'd share what's happening in my Kitchen Garden instead. We've had such hot weather and weeks and weeks of 37*C, 38*C and a whole week of 40ish too, so things are a little droopy at the moment, but bear with me as we explore some of the various bits and pieces that make up my Kitchen Garden



In My Kitchen Garden...
you can see the groundwork we laid last year at the start of Spring. The drippers have been wonderful and probably the only reason the garden has survived the extended heatwaves we've had this season. The system is connected to a timer so I don't even have to remember to turn it off, I'm very spoiled indeed! The three raised beds have three rows of drippers down each, then the hose continues behind the shed and around the corner and loops through the fruit barrel area as well

In My Kitchen Garden...
is a forest of Asparagus.This has been producing for months now, and in the hot weather you can see them growing taller by the hour. If you miss picking the stems they shoot up to become a ferny mass that shelters the new little spears underneath and keeps them nice and pale

In My Kitchen Garden...
are lots and lots of pots and wine barrels. You can see the toll the heat has taken with so many of my herbs giving up the fight. The big barrel is choc full of potatoes and the tall things are Jerusalem artichokes. A couple of berry plants are growing along the dog fence, allowing doggy plenty of opportunity to pick them before I can beat him to it

In My Kitchen Garden...
is flowering mint that reaches to my waist, and pineapple sage that is as tall as me. I have to delicately pick my way through the undergrowth to find strawberries, rhubarb, nasturtiums and horseradish. The citrus trees and other herbs line the back fence and you can see how yellow they are from the sun at the moment. I think I'll have to feed them well to keep them happy

In My Kitchen Garden...
is my first real crop of Finger Limes. This is a gorgeous Australian native plant that makes little pearls of juice like caviar inside the odd shaped fruit. There are 19 fruit growing this year, and I'll keep you posted when they're ready to go

In My Kitchen Garden...
is my first Kaffir Lime fruit as well. I grow this tree to use the delicious, fragrant leaves in SE Asian cooking and the fruit is just a bonus

In My Kitchen Garden...
Is a very sun burnt blueberry bush. This one is an early fruiter and has already cropped so it's not too bad. It recovered quite well last year so I'll just  see how it goes. Luckily I have a late fruiting one that is well shaded at the opposite end of the garden and doing well

In My Kitchen Garden...
are strawberry plants bursting through the wire gate and threatening to smother every bit of spare dirt around. The gate is to keep the dog out as he loves foraging for the fruit and if I dare to put any extras down while picking he will snaffle them up as soon as my back is turned. I have tried making him spit them out, but slobbery strawberries just aren't worth the effort

In My Kitchen Garden...
is a new Coffee Plant. You can see that it's a bit burnt on the leaf too, despite being tucked away in a corner. I'm waiting for cooler weather before planting it out in a wine barrel. I'll need somewhere a bit sheltered, and it will need covering from frosts in winter as well. Some tropical plants manage OK here in Canberra, my curry leaf tree is fine, and the ginger plant is doing really well. Lemongrass dies off in winter and needs to be looked after a bit, but my pineapple lilly comes up every year

In My Kitchen Garden...
are masses of tomatoes. As you can see these ones have defied attempts to stake and contain them, and now happily sprawl across the garden bed at will. The top ones have bleached from the sun and some have even developed big blisters so I think I'll have to cook them up soon. I have about 5 different varieties growing in the big beds, and despite staggered planting, the heat means that they are all cropping at once

In My Kitchen Garden...
hiding behind some tomatoes are about 8 big eggplant bushes. As they are shaded they're doing really well and cropping heavily

In My Kitchen Garden...
is the most exposed garden bed. As you can see, my lettuce has been bolting to seed before it's ready to pick. The basil has as well, so that was a real shame. The heat has also caused a few of my vines to hold back, so I'm hoping the predicted cool change this week will bring them on before it's to late

Near My Kitchen Garden.... is a Mystery Object I spotted in one of my trees yesterday while watering the garden. Closer inspection revealed it to be one of my good Tupperware containers full of goodies that littlej had put out to feed the parrots that come and visit. She did mention asking for some Trail Mix on the weekend, and as we had none she took things into her own hands with her usual flair

It's full of gourmet macadamias, walnuts, pecans, pinenuts, oats and shredded coconut. What well fed parrots we will have! BigJ has also put up a parrot nesting box in the front yard to encourage happy families to settle- maybe we'll have some extra mouths to feed soon. We get Crimson Rosellas and Eastern Rosellas every day, and sometimes spot Grass Parrots and the very rare sighting of King Parrots as well. Last year we even saw some blue headed yellow parrots that we couldn't name. White Cockatoos sometimes go next door to steal from the fruit trees, but our dog thinks they make too much noise and keeps them out of our garden- thank goodness as they're so destructive

Finally, In My Kitchen...
Is a bench full of Garden Bounty picked from my Kitchen Garden today!
2 big eggplant, 1 firm cucumber, some fragrant herbs, 1 1/2 kilos of mixed tomatoes, a punnet full of strawberries and 2 little stems of glorious asparagus. All the makings for a Meal Fit For a King. I am so blessed and happy to step out my door and be spoilt for choice with so much fresh produce, and I really could do better with very little effort indeed. I have been giving away veggies to my neighbours, filling my freezer, eating fit to bust and there's still more- I'm so rich indeed!

So Dearest Readers, do you have a veggie patch, and what would you make with this selection of Garden Goodness?