Homestyle therapy.

When life kicks you up the arse, it is best to bake. I think, I learnt patience and upped my zen by baking. I think this is my fourth night in a row with only a couple of hours sleep, and I have officially run out of sleeping tablets.
And, after working at the gallery yesterday and going to the night market against my body, I had to take the day off. I am convinced that I have an eye infection as I can't stop crying out of one of them so, it makes it hard to read.

I had intended to bake these and go to the SHAC free-free exchange, gathering thing today, but then I realised that I am not into uni life. I hate mingling with uni people and I would rather swallow glass while being lit on fire and defecated on at the same time.

When a poster says to bring something to exchange or a skill or a haircut, I can only imagine the majority of upper-middle class spawn documenting their beginnings of rebellion, hoping it will make it to the news for their parents to see. I can see a sea of green, blue and pink hair, as if a dairy product had gone off in the fridge, swarming through the length of Faraday St. Then, after they dissipate, the remaining few, who probably organised it and are too hungry to cook, will end up going to Threshermans for those awful baked goods and pub food, without the pub.



Savoury polenta muffins to mend what a leotard cannot
Makes 12
6 slices of prosciutto, diced (optional)
1 finely diced onion
1 large handful of decent olives pitted and diced
1 fresh tomato, diced
kernels from 1 cob of corn
1/2 barrel of La Luna Goats cheese, diced
150g plain flour
150g polenta
1 tbs caster sugar
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
2 large eggs
250 mL milk (I used soy, so it made the batter sweeter. If using moo, add more sugar)

Preheat a fan forced oven to 190 degrees.
Saute off the prosciutto if using, and transfer to paper towel. Sweat off the onion in the prosciutto fat or rice bran oil and set aside.
Mix the flour, polenta, sugar, baking powder and salt together in a large bowl.
Whisk the eggs and milk together.
Add the egg mixture to the flours and stir, halfway through, adding the other ingredients.
Divide into a 12-hole greased muffin pan and bake for 20 minutes or till it tests done.
Serve with a chili and tomato chutney.

I Love My First Day of the Week.

I have a beautiful friend who is so giving, that sometimes the world kind of takes that opportunity to shit on her. When people find out her name, they do this annoying dance where they ask if her parents were hippies, or if she changed it. Stupidly enough, these people also don't know anything about art and who she was named after, or the contribution that this person made to the Heide.

Yesterday was one of those days where beer and some cooking could fix the girl. I thought that she probably needed some real food after what she got shat on with, and the only thing she had at home was pita bread and vegemite.

That was tragedy in its purest form.

So, I cooked for this woman, my real wife (sorry Bjork) and fed her booze.

Oh, I love my first day of the week. (Yes, yesterday was Tuesday, but if you're smart enough, you'll work it out.)

After I saw this tart on Haalo's site, I decided it would be a good way to use up asparagus. But obviously, the idea of the tart was the only thing, and I may have bastardized the idea.

Asparagus Tart For My Favourite Tart

1 bunch of asparagus, trimmed
2 slices of prosciutto, sliced
1 clove of garlic, minced
1 leek, sliced, white part only
1 head of broccoli, stem sliced and florets quartered
1/3 barrel of La Luna cheese, diced
3 eggs
200mL cream
6 sheets of filo
butter
salt
pepper

Preheat the oven to 180 degrees. Find a rectangular baking dish and measure the asparagus to the width of it and trim the excess off. Slice the trimmed parts and set aside with the broccoli.
Blanch the asparagus and halve length ways.
Meanwhile, render the fat from the prosciutto and add the garlic and leek, followed by the asparagus stalks and the broccoli. Season and allow to soften.
Line the baking dish with the filo, brushing melted butter between the sheets. Take the eggs and cream, and whisk together, seasoning with salt and pepper.
When the mixture in the pan is cooked, place it over the filo and pour in the egg mixture. Then, take the spears of asparagus and line it over the top, alternating direction of the spear.
Dot with the La Luna cheese and bake for 20-30 minutes, or till it has set.

Feed it to your lady.

Indecision

Not just a good book by Benjamin Kunkle but a great way to cook. That coupled with procrastination makes for a great meal. Assuming that you have read the lead up to this, what I have just cooked really makes me happy that Spring is here.

Yes, that is right, vegetables have personalities, and I am not the only one who thinks that.

I would have taken a photo, but my camera privileges have been revoked.

Broad bean, leek and lemon risotto
Serves at least 4

1 onion, diced
1 clove garlic, minced
1 large leek, sliced, whites only
20g butter, unsalted
extra virgin olive oil
1 cup of carnaroli rice
white wine
zest and juice of 1 lemon
3-4 cups of hot vegetable stock
1 heaped teaspoon of seeded mustard (that's right)
200g double podded broad beans
30g grated parmesan
1/3 barrel of Holy Goat La Luna cheese, diced

Sweat off the onion, garlic and leek in butter and and oil. When it has become translucent, turn the heat up to medium and add the rice. Coat in oil and wait till it also becomes translucent and add around half a cup of white wine. Add the zest. Allow the alcohol to cook off for a minute and add the hot stock, half a cup at a time and stir the rice each time till you need to add more. When the rice is almost al dente, add the juice of the lemon as well as the mustard and mix through. Add the broad beans when it is a minute from being done, just to warm through as they are already cooked. When it is al dente, add the cheeses and stir through. Check for seasoning (I just needed to add pepper because the cheese is quite salty).
Eat very slowly so you don't have to start on that essay of yours.

Well

it seems that options have opened up once more. I found the barrel of La Luna Holy Goat cheese which would go so well with the broad beans.



So, I am tossing up between making a lemon risotto with some stock I have in the freezer and then stirring in the cheese and broad beans at the end.

Sigh, I guess I could always do the same with pasta, but it all depends on time. And time, I don't have.

Ok, essay, ho!