Ginger and Lime cheesecake

Gingerbread

I love gingerbread, but I have never tried making it before (until now!).  It turned out to be quite a dense cake, but nonetheless tasty and really good with yoghurt or custard!  I had made it for a Dove Pink Ribbon morning tea I was hosting to raise funds for the Breast Cancer Foundation, and it was å successful, enjoyable morning/afternoon/whole day event!

This recipe comes from my book "All Things Nice" with Jo Seagar.

Gingerbread

125g butter
1/2 cup white sugar
1 cup treacle
1/2 cup milk
3 cups flour
1 1/4 tsp baking soda
1 heaped Tbsp ground ginger
1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp ground cloves

I am lucky that my flatmate has a coffee grinder - which is perfect for grinding up fresh spices.  I buy cinnamon sticks and just grind them in the coffee grinder, which gives it a wonderful fresh taste and smell. I do the same with cloves.

Preheat the oven to 160 degrees C.  Line a 23cm square cake tin or small roasting dish with baking paper (I just used a round cake tin and greased it and dusted it with flour).

Heat the butter, sugar and treacle together in a saucepan until butter is just melted.

Remove the pan from the heat and stir in the milk.  Cool slightly.

Sift the dry ingredients into a bowl.  Make a well in the centre and tip in the liquid ingredients.  Mix quickly without overmixing.

Pile the mixture into the prepared tin and bake for 45-60 minutes until the gingerbread is nicely risen and a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean.

Cool in the tin for 10-15 minutes before tipping out onto a cake rack.  Dust with icing sugar to serve.

Enjoy!

Ginger citrus marmalade!

I am really enjoying my journey on my ginger quest.  I get all excited whenever I come across a recipe with ginger in it.  So guess how I felt when I came across a recipe for a marmalade with ginger and lime in it!  (that's right.... EXCITED!!)

This recipe came from a book called "Jams and Preserves", by Gina Steer.  It is a lovely book (the tomato chutney I made a while ago came from this book too) and is one my sister gave me for my birthday.  So off I went to the local market on a Saturday morning and came back with fresh limes, ginger and lemons.

Ginger Citrus Marmalade
makes about 1.3kg / 3lb

4 limes (preferably unwaxed), scrubbed
2 large lemons (preferably unwaxed), scrubbed
small piece fresh root ginger, peeled and chopped.
1.2 litres / 2 pints water
2 tsp ground ginger
about 900g / 2lb preserving sugar (see method)  (I couldn't find preserving sugar, so used jam sugar instead.  The type of sugar is quite important, I will explain at the end)
115g / 4oz stem ginger, chopped.  (I presumed this was crystallised ginger, which was all I could find).

Cut off and discard both ends from the limes and lemons and wash thoroughly.  Place in a large saucepan together with the chopped root ginger and the water.  Bring to boil then reduce heat, cover with a tight-fitting lid  and simmer for 1 1/2 hours, or until the fruits are very soft.

Cool slightly, then drain off liquid and reserve.  Chop the fruits as finely as possible, discarding the pips.

Return the chopped fruits to the rinsed out saucepan, together with the reserved liquid and ground ginger.  Add the sugar, allowing 450g/1 lb sugar for every 600ml / 1 pint of liquid.  Heat gently, stirring frequently, until the sugar has completely dissolved.

Bring to the boil and boil rapidly for about 15 minutes or until setting point is reached.

Leave to cool for 5 minutes then stir in the stem ginger.

Pour into warm sterilized jars and cover with waxed discs.  When completely cold, cover with cellophane or lids, label and store in a cool place.

(note:  I haven't been able to find waxed discs, so I just pour the marmalade into jars and put the lid on.)   

Sugar: the type of sugar you use is important.  Preserving sugar should be used with fruits that have a high pectin content - the large sugar crystals allow the water to move freely between the crystals on the base of the pan, reducing burning and creating less froth and scum during boiling.  Jam sugar has a balanced amount of natural pectin and citric acid, which helps fruits with a low pectin content to set.

"Scrapbooking" recipes

I have accumulated quite a few photocopied recipes over the years (thanks to the bookman that drops off recipe books at work for us to buy), I have printed off recipes that I have found online, and I have saved magazines with recipes in them that I would like to try.  Problem is, I forget about the recipes because they are tucked away in magazines or I can't remember where I saw that recipe and don't know where to find it without going through a stack of magazines.

So, after being inspired by an arty recipe swap I took part in recently, I decided to scrapbook my recipes.

My recipes folder

                                       

You will need:
A ringbinder
A selection of paper:
Scrapbooking paper
plain A4 paper (coloured)
Scraps of paper, plain or printed
Paper napkins and doilies are also useful.
Plain white photocopy paper
Glue
Craft knife
Ruler                                                                                                    
 Guillotine (very helpful but not essential)
A cuttlebug (or any die-cut machine) is great for embossing and die-cutting shapes, letters, tags, etc, but again, not essential.
A variety of stamps and hole punches (eg hearts, dragonfly, butterfly, or whatever you have).
Paints / inks / watercolour pencils / colouring pencils / crayons etc.

 

Choose a selection of paper to cover your ringbinder with.
Measure the spine, allowing for a 1 inch allowance around all sides.  Measure your paper, and use a ruler and craft knife (or guillotine) to cut to fit.  Before gluing, line it up along the spine and make pencil marks so you know where to put it and fold the paper over the edges.
Glue onto spine, turning over and glueing down the top and bottom onto the inside of the ringbinder.

Measure the front of the ringbinder, giving yourself a 1 inch/4cm allowance around the 3 edges of the ringbinder (top, bottom, and side).  Cut your paper to fit, lining it up along the edge of the spine.  Make pencil marks on the wrong side of your paper, so you know where it fits.  Fold paper over the edges to crease.

For the corners, open your paper back up again (after folding and creasing).  Bring the corner of your paper over the corner of the ringbinder to make a triangle.  Press down to make a sharp crease.  Then fold one side of the paper up and over, and repeat with the other side.  When all your creases have been made, apply glue to your paper and carefully glue onto the front of your ringbinder first, smoothing out as you go to avoid any air bubbles or creases.  Turn over and glue your corners down first, then glue the sides.  Repeat with the back of the ringbinder.

Cut paper to fit the inside of your ringbinder.  You may like to use small squares and piece them together to fit (like patchwork) or use a large piece of paper to cover.  

 

Get out the plain A4 photocopy paper, and paint / stipple / smear / sponge / draw / use crayons.  This is your background.  It doesn't have to be perfect.  You may like to use a touch of gold or iridescent paints over your base colour.  You may like to use watercolour paints (or watered down acrylics) then draw into the wet paint using watercolour pencils.  Lay them out to dry then paint the other side.

Sort out your recipes.  Cut them out and trim them up.  I have pasted mine onto plain paper to give them a border.  You can use fancy scissors to trim the edges of the borders.

Once this is done, sort them out into how you want to group them: desserts together; icecreams; chutneys and sauces together; pasta dishes; entrees; dips and snacks; etc.

I lay out my painted backgrounds over the floor and then place the recipes on them.

Start experimenting with layouts.  If the recipes come with pictures, you may like to put them next to the recipe.
Gather up your pretty papers, napkins, doilies and lay them out on your backgrounds alongside your recipes and work out placement.  Cut out strips of decorative paper to use as borders along the edges of your pages. I like using doilies in the corners as a pretty decorative touch.  Split the napkins so you just have the top part, tear out the images and lay out on your page.

Once you are happy with the layout, start pasting!

Once the pasting has been done, then you can start embellishing your recipe pages with stamps, punches, motifs, pictures, tags.
Go through magazines to look for pictures you like; draw simple shapes (if you can't draw) such as chillies and strawberries,  colour them in and cut and paste.

This is a work in progress!  I have chosen not to laminate my pages, but to keep them in plastic pockets, so I can write on them or add things to them over time as I wish.  

Epic steamed ginger pudding

Steamed ginger pudding on a cold rainy evening... what could be better?  Steamed ginger pudding with custard and cream, of course!  I love pudding, I have such a sweet tooth.  This pudding exceeded my expectations, though - it was light, moist, spongy, saucy, sweet, sticky, and my flatmate and I went back for seconds... and then thirds!  It was truly an epic pudding, and every time I took a mouthful I thought "Wow! This is amazing!" (even though I had made it myself.  I am usually quite modest.)  I am lucky enough to own a steamer and it is so easy to use.  You just fill the bottom part up with water, place the containers on top, put the lid on, and switch it on to however long you want it to cook.  The best part, though, is that unlike traditionally steamed puddings which have to cook for 2 hours, the steamer cooks my pudding perfectly in only 35 minutes.  Before I had a steamer, I used to bake them in the oven and that worked too, but it isn't as moist.

This recipe came from my old, battered, 1974 edition of the Edmonds Cook Book.

Steamed Ginger Pudding

 4 oz butter 

2 oz sugar

2 Tbsp golden syrup

1 egg

8 oz flour

a knob of fresh grated ginger (or 2 tsp ground ginger)

1 tsp baking soda (bicarb soda)

about 150ml milk

Cream butter, sugar and golden syrup together.  (I also added 1 tbsp of molasses, as it is full of nutrients. The label says it can be used as a replacement for golden syrup, but I tried that the second time I made this, and it wasn't as good - not very sweet at all. So best to just add 1 tbsp of molasses along with the 2 tbsp of golden syrup). 

Add egg and mix well.

Dissolve baking soda in milk and add alternately with dry ingredients.  (although I just threw it all in and then mixed it up).

Pour a thin layer of golden syrup over the bottom of your baking dish / casserole dish / steamer bowl).

Pour pudding mix over the top, taking care not to displace the golden syrup in the bottom.

Steam for 35 minutes, or bake for approx 45 minutes at 180 degrees.

Serve with your choice of custard, cream, or ice cream.

leftovers were also wonderful for breakfast the following morning!

Thai Green Curry

mmmm... Thai Green Curry.  I had never tried this before until my flatmate made it for me, and now I am hooked.  At the moment at the Mangere markets you can find fresh lemongrass, fresh limes, and chilli's.  Limes at the market are only $6 per kg, as opposed to $26 in the supermarkets.  Limes don't come into season very often, so I am making the most of them on my Saturday morning forays to the market.  And with the discovery of fresh lemongrass at one of the stalls as well... I get the feeling that there are some exciting times to be had in my kitchen this week.

Thai Green Curry       (not from a recipe book this time)

I haven't provided amounts as it depends on how much you are making and how flavourful you want it.    Use whatever you think is appropriate.  I can't eat overly spicy foods or hot foods, and while it looks like there are a lot of chilli's in the dish, using them whole like this provides flavour without too much heat. (Just make sure you don't accidentally bite into one!)

chillis
garlic
ginger
1 packet tofu
lemongrass
limes
capsicum
1 can bamboo shoots
kumara
green curry paste
400ml coconut cream

You can also put in any greens on hand, baby corn, carrots, tomatoes, spring onions, and star anise. Likewise you can omit the kumara, but it adds a lovely sweetness to the curry. You also don't need the tofu; this is the first time I put in tofu - I wanted to add in some protein.  I have used paneer cheese before too, which is nice.  You can use whole chillies and just pull them out later so you don't accidentally eat them.  This saves you both time slicing and deseeding chillies and it saves getting your fingers covered in chilli.

 Pat the tofu dry and chop up.

To prepare lemongrass, remove the top woody section; halve the lemongrass lengthways; then use something hefty to smash it.  This helps to release the lemongrassiness of the lemongrass.  (Note that you don't actually eat the lemongrass, but you want to impart the flavour into the dish.) 

Chop up the limes into small wedges.

 Heat oil in a large frypan.  Add grated ginger, garlic, whole chillies, stalks of lemongrass, star anise.  Squeeze some of the limes into the pan to impart the lime juice and add the skins; add the remainder of the lime wedges.   Fry for 5-7 minutes until everything becomes fragrant.

Drain the bamboo shoots and add to the fry pan.

 Tofu can either be added straight to the pan, or fried first to crisp up the outside. Either fry tofu in a separate pan, or simply push the spices to one side, add the tofu and fry until golden, turning over (tongs make this easy) to cook evenly.  

 Add a large dollop of green curry paste.

 Add sliced kumara, chopped capsicum and any other vegetables you are using.

 Add the can of coconut cream.  Half fill the empty can with water and add this too, to make the sauce liquidy.

 Stir every now and then.

While the kumara is cooking (about 12 minutes), cook the rice until just tender; drain.

 When the kumara is cooked, it is ready to serve.  If plating up in a bowl, put the rice in the bottom of the bowl and serve the curry over the top.  If serving on a plate, you may like to serve the rice on one side and the curry beside it.  

 Watch out for whole chillies! you may like to provide a small plate to put in the bits of lime, chilli's and the lemongrass stalks.  You can suck on the lemongrass stalks and the lime wedges before discarding as they contain plenty of flavour.